SEATTLEHAMA: A KISS

I held the mini-T in the palm of my hand and stared at it. When I had first seen it, I assumed Bunné Hurts meant that she was in pain. That for all she had done in the slubs, for all the misery and death she caused us, she was the one grieving. But staring at it in the dim interior of the Time Integral entervator on my way back down, I decided it probably meant that she knew she caused pain, that she maybe even reveled in it. And the reason she had made those awful non-woven, ill-fitting B-shirts was because she wanted to torture us. For the first time in my life, I understood that the injustice and cruelty of the slubs was by design.

When the entervator stopped at 200, I didn't get off to return to Pilla's, but instead traveled all the way down to the Keep.

I now knew why Vada had taken me to M-Bunny headquarters. It wasn't about my father, or Rik, or even me-it was about the whole system, and the person who had designed it. Stuffing the mini-T into a pocket, I told myself that I had fully awakened, and was ready to fight. Only where my father had failed, I would succeed.

The entervator Keep was packed. I had to push past legions of costumed WaterButties, Tomoki Jones, Val the Impliers, and some guide droning on about the inventor of the entervator to reach the schedule board. The Showhouse was due in ten minutes. I headed to their parking place and waited.

The craft landed right on time. A beat later the door opened and about forty passengers exited. When the last stepped down, Vada came toward the doorway. I could tell that something was wrong the instant I saw her face. When she saw me, she just grasped my arm, and jerked me inside. She almost dislocated my rotator cuff she pulled so hard.

"Ouch!" I said rubbing my shoulder. "What's going on?"

"Shh!" She bolted the door. "The satins are looking for you!"

"Me? What for?"

"They think you killed Izadora." Her eyes were angry. "She was murdered half a year ago."

"I didn't kill anyone! Who is Izadora?" I looked from her to Red Hat and back. "Really. I don't know what you're talking about." An instant later, cold dread filled me. "This woman who was killed… what was she wearing?"

Vada waggled a hand in the air. "I don't know… clothes! But you're the one they're looking for. You have to tell me the truth!"

"What kind of clothes?"

"I heard she was wearing a suit by Chester Brilliantine." Red Hat was leaning against the controls and fishing candy from a pink box. "Made of mahogany drap-de-Berry."

I felt as if I'd been slugged in the gut. "I know her! I mean I don't know her. But I was just supposed to rip a yarn from her! Someone else was there. Some man in an invisible suit bashed her against a wall. He tried to get me, but he missed and ran. I didn't know what happened."

"Shit!" Vada covered her face with her hands. "Shit on everything!"

"But I swear I didn't do it! You have to believe me. I was just supposed to rip a yarn. I didn't even do that."

Vada let her hands flop to her sides and gazed at me. "No. I believe you. But-and this is the terrible part-you've been pinned for the crime."

"Me? How? And that was months ago!"

Vada frowned at Red Hat and released a long sigh. "At first the authorities said her death was an accident, but the opposition wouldn't let it go. They demanded more investigation. And then just a week ago, a Bunné opponent stole the body and did tests that showed Izadora was killed with dark Xi."

"Her expression was a terrible scream."

"It's a horrible way to die. Since Bunné controls the quasi-legal Xi trade, there was a call for a new investigation, but yesterday, Bunné's people said they had new evidence that pinned you: they had a yarn you ripped from her."

"I didn't rip a yarn! I saw some ghost thing strangle her."

"Yes. It's not truth they're after," added Vada with a sigh. "They want a convenient solution."

"An illegal slubber is the perfect crease," said Red Hat.

Vada nodded slowly. "We were about to ask you to help us."

"I want to help!"

Vada smiled forlornly. "We wanted you to do one of those yarn rips for us."

"Bunné," added Red Hat.

Vada rubbed her eyes. "Two years of work down the sewers!"

"But I could do that!" I laughed giddily. "I can rip a yarn from Bunné. No problem. Just tell me when and where."

Vada looked at Red Hat. "What's he going to do now?"

He pulled a small glowing candy from the box and tossed it into his mouth. Looking me up and down, he said, "Hide."

"Just tell me where Bunné will be and what you want," I said to Vada.

She shook her head slowly. "It's much too risky. The satins are looking for you. You're the current top anti-shopper. They'll find you."

She didn't understand how good a yarn ripper I was. "Vada, listen. I can rip any yarn anywhere from anyone. Just tell me what you need!"

She shook her head. "It's impossible now."

"Let me try. I can do it."

"When the time is right." She glanced at Red Hat. "The story is that because she trusts no one, she wears all her company information in the clothes on her body. If we could get a yarn off it, we'll have enough to destroy her… or at least cause terrible problems."

"That's easy!" I said with a laugh.

"Nope," said Red Hat.

"You have to understand that Miss Bunné is a top weave scientist besides being a talented businesswoman, a singer, and an epic master. We're dealing with someone on a very high level."

"He needs to go, and so do we." Red Hat crunched down on a candy in punctuation.

Vada ignored him. "She invented the self-spinning cluster, the Konkordia knit language, Bosweave, and expanded dark-knot theory. We believe it will be difficult."

I patted a pocket. "I've got my pulls with me. I just need to glue them in, and I'm ready."

"Time," said Red Hat.

Vada glared at him. "Xavier," she said, "could you give us a moment?"

Xavier, I told myself. That was her husband's name.

He exhaled. "There's no time."

"One minute."

He shook his head. "Twenty-nine seconds."

Vada rolled her eyes. "By the way, Tane, this is my brother, Xavier."

"Oh." A grin spread across my face. "Nice to meet you!" I held out my hand.

He shrugged noncommittally, then ambled past me to a little door at the back of the ship and slammed it closed behind him.

"He's just…" she stopped. The idea of explaining seemed to instantly exhaust her. "Tane… I… I appreciate your willingness to help. You don't know what that means to me, but…"

I stepped before her, sensing an equality between us. Touching her right forearm, I leaned in. I had never kissed someone without a mouth stocking or any fabric between us, and the idea seemed a little disgusting and maybe dangerous-yet I put my mouth on hers.

After just a few seconds, she pulled back. "Wait… you're complicating this right now. I like you, but we have to wait. And Xavier and I must go. If you've been followed we'll be linked and we will be killed. We had an agreement that we could stay in Seattlehama only if we keep absolutely clean and uninvolved." She frowned at me. "Do you understand?"

"I'll go with you."

She glanced toward the door, fumbling for her next word. "If you're with us and we're caught, you're dead for sure. You're safer on your own."

"I want you," I told her. I kissed her again.

"Shit!" Xavier burst from the back and sprinted to the controls. "They're coming! Get him out. We're going up!"

Vada's lipstick was smeared. She turned away.

"Where are you going?" I asked her. "It doesn't matter. I'll come with you!"

When Vada turned back to me, her mouth was wiped clear. "Tane, for your sake, you must go! If we're involved, they will want us more than dead. You can escape. Just stay away from the entervators. Hide somewhere. And try and get out of Seattlehama. You'll be fine."

"Get him out!" cried Xavier. "We're starting up!" He turned a lever and I could feel the entervator latch onto a cable.

"I'm sorry, but you're really better off alone!" said Vada, hurriedly unlocking the door. "We're Toue. We're wanted in all cities. I'm very sorry, but you must go."

The ground was slowly falling away. I had to jump before it was too late. I landed hard on the cushioned pad where the ship had rested, and rolled to look up at the Showhouse.

I stood, straightening my Fleece Swansdown jacket and brushing off the dust. I didn't like how she first kissed me back only to then shove me out. What was the rush? I was the one in trouble. And if she really needed help, I knew I could rip a yarn from Bunné. I could do it without looking. I thought about going right now and doing just that to show them. She had to be somewhere in her boutique. Maybe Necklace knew where.

And then I heard it. "That's him, officers! That's the killer." I knew the voice.