Lusso said, “Now. Ms. Ria Jun. Give me a list. Who would want your ass this badly?”

Ria said, “What do you mean?”

“Well, somebody hates you. You have to have a clue, right?”

“Nobody does. Everyone likes me.”

“Huh?”

“I’m an idol, right? Everyone likes me. That’s my job.”

“Are you kidding me? I could get on the Net right now, and I bet I could find at least a couple thousand who hate you just because you’re prettier than them.”

“I don’t know. Why would anyone hate me? I haven’t done anyone wrong!”

“No lawsuits, no scandals, no anything?”

“Ah. Maybe.”

“Maybe? This isn't a hard question to answer.”

“Well…”

“Let’s make this quick. I’ll look through the higher ranked members of your staff. Only they would have enough influence to be able to pull this kind of shit. Let me know if any of these people ring any bells.”

Lusso cleared his throat. He said to his phone, “Give me the list of staff with admin privileges from Luman.”

Lusso said, “Alright. Your current Head of Security, David Asknow.”

Ria said, “There was a small misunderstanding with him. I apologized.”

“Next, Ulrich Simmons. Audio engineer.”

“He’s kind of a creepy guy, but we’ve never fought.”

“Samantha Alix. Your manager.”

“She’s… It’s complicated. But she likes me.”

“Last on the list. Vera Instance, Head of Camera Crew.”

“He had some problems, but it wasn’t my fault.”

“Hey. Ria.”

Lusso sighed, then inhaled deep, face reddening, as if he was about to blow a house down.

Lusso bellowed, “DON’T GIVE ME EXCUSES, GIVE ME FUCKING INFORMATION!”

There was no answer on the other end. Lusso checked to make sure Ria hadn’t hung up.

“Are we ready to work together here?”

From the other side, Lusso heard a muffled “Yes.”

____________

Lusso stepped into the cleaning closet. The lights blinked on, bouncing off chrome shelves and cabinets. Lusso cringed, shielding his eyes with a palm until his eyes adjusted. Supplies were lined up in a military orderliness and in perfect condition. There wasn’t a shadow in sight. Lusso looked into his reflection on the side of a cabinet, combing his hair backwards. Ki Won City was further from Felicity than Inch City was, but in terms of newer buildings and cleanliness, it was closer.

Ding cracked a smile. Lusso didn’t think he’d seen him smile for a couple months now. The last time he did was when he bragged about a new robot cleaner he’d bought that he claimed removed dust on the atomic level. Lusso didn’t doubt that something like it existed, but he doubted that Ding earned enough to buy one, even if he’d been saving up for years. After Lusso found out how much he’d bought it for, he was sure that Ding got scammed.

Micky said, “When are the DNA scans out?”

Lusso said, “Soon. Ria paid them a fat check.”

“Tracing back the camera?”

“That won’t take long either. Both probably by the end of today.”

Micky propped up a chair against the wall and collapsed into it, closing her eyes. She cracked an eye open, looking at Lusso.

“Wake me up when you switch.”

Lusso nodded. He shook a pill out of a case he had in his pocket. He held it up between his index finger and thumb, turning it over in the light. It was like a snowglobe, but instead of snow, yellow dust like desert sand filled most of the inside, hiding a metallic sphere no thicker than the sharp point of a needle. Lusso checked his phone. 6:38 A.M. He poured water into his mouth from his canteen, and dropped the pill inside, downing everything in one go.

Lusso kept an eye on the time and logged into his Medicheck app. He checked Yena Tessino’s profile. Vitals were still steady. Lusso typed in a phone number, then his thumb hovered over the call button. Lusso pressed down, slowly.

One ring, two rings, three rings, four. Lusso thought of ending the call. As he moved his thumb to end the call, Yena picked up.

Lusso said, “How do you feel, sis?”

Yena said, “What time is it?”

“6:42, A.M.”

“Just checking to make sure you knew what time it was, when you called me.”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with it?”

“Most people sleep at this time.”

“You think that ‘cause you’ve never worked a real job before.”

“Shut the fuck up! You’ve never worked a day in your life.”

“I am right now.”

“We’ll see how long it takes to you to get fired from this one.”

Lusso eyed the time. 6:43.

“Yeah. Gotta go now. Busy busy day today.”

“Kill yourself.”

Lusso ended the call.

He said, “Looks like she’s doing fine.”

He shook Micky’s arm. Micky jerked awake.

Lusso opened up an app titled Backseat Driver. It was bootleg Expie software he’d bought from some online seller. It wasn’t as good as the real thing, but it would get the job done. He checked the status of the metallic sphere he’d swallowed. It was wireless, connected to his phone. Right now, it rested at the stem of his brain, unmoving.

Lusso said to Micky, “If anyone comes—”

Micky waved her hand dismissively, saying, “Go. I got it.”

Lusso looked down at his phone again. A button pulsated green at the middle of the app, electricity arcing from it to the edge of the screen. It read, “SWITCH.” Lusso took a deep breath, exhaled, and pressed it.

Lusso felt nothing for a moment, as if all of his senses had been taken away. He was just aware of his consciousness floating, suspended in the fluids of his brain. Then his senses flooded back to him again, except they weren’t his.

Ria was at the restroom sink, looking at the mirror. Lusso looked through her eyes at her own eyes in the mirror. Lusso had to admit, she really was beautiful, but not like the identical, artificial way that plastic surgery shops made you to be. The people who walked out of those clinics might as well have had the autograph of the lead surgeon etched onto their foreheads, the way companies printed their brands on products. She was natural, authentic. Or at least so artificial that she seemed authentic. If anything, the two beauty marks that dotted under her left eye, and the way her skin wasn’t a paper white canvas, but had a light, warm tan added to her appeal.

Senses other than sight began loading in. He felt the cool marble sink under Ria’s warm hands, smelled the sharp sting of antiseptic in the bathroom, then taste. The lingering acidic puke residue hit Lusso like a punch to the face, causing him to retch in the cleaning closet. He felt fire searing his throat. The bootleg Expie software irregularly magnified and reduced senses. This time, it had magnified sense - he guessed by around 200%. He wondered if he should have bought the real thing. Lusso assumed this was the burger from last night - he could make out hints of burger patty and tomato. Ria cupped her hands below the automatic sink. Ria gargled the water and spit it out. Small bits of half-digested food swirled down into the sink.

Lusso felt Ria’s vocal cords and diaphragm moving in tandem to speak. Ria murmured to herself, “Sorry Lusso. I need to stay thin.” Lusso shuddered. The way she murmured was sensual, as if she were whispering into his ear.

Out of habit, Lusso tried to turn his head, move his eyes to see his surroundings, but he couldn’t. He remembered why he didn’t like Expie. You couldn’t control anything, but were a passive observer, watching and feeling the experience that you were spoon-fed. This was Ria’s world. All he could do was look closely within the limited information he was given, and make his best guess on their suspects.

Ria said, “We’re off now.”

Ria turned, and led Lusso into the organized mess of backstage preparations. Everyone knew where they had to go, but everyone was short on time. Roadies, Expie techies, stage decorations, moved in a constant rush hour of silent traffic. Constant communication flooded the unseen cloud server that everyone was connected to, made evident by the silent mouthing of words and twitching lips. The only people standing still during the rush were security staff, dotted sparsely at intervals throughout backstage, watching. Ria checked her phone. She had twenty minutes left before she had to prepare.

When Ria moved through the crowd, she didn’t have to tell people to move. Like she was Moses parting the flood, she glided through the crowd until she arrived at her destination. People moved out of the way for her, staring momentarily as she passed by, then heading straight back to work. The door of the room had a placard on it reading, “Main Dressing Room.” Ria pressed her hand against a black panel on the door, and magnetic locks withdrew with a click. Ria pushed inwards, walking into the room.

Ria said, “Hi Sam. How are you doing?”

“A solid okay out of 10.”

Lusso guessed this was Samantha Alix, Ria’s manager. Ria told him that she’d been with Samantha since she was 5. She’d grown up under Samantha’s care while Samantha took care of her own kids. Ria didn’t mention much about Samantha’s kids, but Lusso noticed that she tried to turn the subject when they were involved. Samantha sat on one of two chairs in front of the makeup desk, which had a large, rectangular mirror rising from it. Samantha had placed her purse on top of the desk. She had short, faded orange hair, and freckles dotted her cheeks. She had hooded eyes, black circles. Samantha forced a warm, tired smile. She waved Ria over to the chair next to her. As Ria took her seat, Samantha looked down at Ria’s hands, clicking her tongue.

“Ria, have you been using the hand lotion I bought you?”

“Sorry. It’s been hectic. I forgot.”

“I guessed.”

Samantha sighed, pulled a tube of lotion out of her purse, and squeezed a thick line of white paste over Ria’s hands. She massaged the lotion into Ria’s hand, kneading her fingers and pressure points. Lusso felt Ria’s muscles relax.

“Thanks Sam. Did you sleep yesterday?”

“I did, for a little bit. But I sprained my ankle, and had family on the line yesterday.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Mari.”

Ria’s body froze, her eyes fixed on Samantha’s irises - the color of gray, smoldering ashes. Ria’s pulse increased steadily as she waited for what Samantha had to say.

“Did you think about it?”

“Yes.”

Samantha reached over, holding Ria’s hands in hers.

“Please. Just a couple months is all I need. Then I’ll be back, I promise.”

Ria licked her dry, cracked lips subconsciously.

“I-I don’t know.”

Samantha looked at Ria with tears in her eyes. For a moment, Lusso caught a flash of anger, flaring up quickly, then disappearing as soon as it had come.

Ria said, “Maybe… after this tour?”

Samantha said, “Thank you so much. Mari. I need this. And maybe you do too. Being with someone else, not me all the time. It’ll be good for you, I promise.”

Ria said, “But you have to come back, alright? I need you, Sam. I don’t know how I’d manage without you.”

Samantha said, “You’ll have to learn. You won’t have me forever, you know?”

Ria said, “I wish I could.”

Samantha parted Ria’s hair to the side, stroking her head. Ria lowered her gaze to Samantha’s chest. Out of the corner of Ria’s vision, Lusso caught a glimpse of Samantha’s gray eyes hardening, like stone. She looked down on the top of Ria’s head coldly, like she was looking at a stranger.

Samantha said, “That’s what I wish too, Mari. You’ll do fine on your own. I promise.”

Ria said, “So how’d you sprain your ankle?”

Samantha talked while she checked her phone, looking down at it. Lusso noticed there were no notifications.

Samantha said, “I swear I felt a notification. That’s weird.”

She met Ria’s gaze again.

“I took a walk to cool off after talking to family, and I stepped on a rock.”

Lusso felt Ria hold her breath, then she said, “About when was that?”

Samantha’s eyes widened with surprise. “When?” She looked upwards, placed a hand over her mouth, mulling over the question.

Samantha said, “About 1? In the morning? Why?”

Ria said, “Nothing. Just worried for you. It’s not safe out at night.”

Samantha said, “Inch City’s a little better than Felicity. We were on the good side of town anyways.”

Ria said, “Still.”

Someone rapped the door from outside. Samantha placed her phone on the table. She waved Ria down, saying, “I’ll get it.”

Samantha strided to the door, and answered it.

A bald, bearded man looked in from behind the door, and said, “Security check.”

Samantha looked back, and said, “I’ll get checked up with David first. Hold tight, okay?”

Ria nodded. Ria looked at the door that had been closed just a moment ago, then at her hands. Lusso could pick out small, jagged, talcum powder white lines etched over Ria’s palms. The lotion hadn’t done her much good.

Ria said, “I’m sorry Sam. I … have to do this.”

Tears blurred Lusso’s vision as Ria picked up Samantha’s phone. Ria wiped them away with the back of her palm and took a shuddering, deep breath. She fooled the fingerprint scan with a clear film she pulled out of pocket. Lusso saw the purple outlines of Samantha’s index finger on it. Lusso grinned. He hadn’t expected her to be this daring, but he welcomed the surprise.