James Wake
Stories
1
Chapters
5
Words
21.8 K
Comments
1
Reading
1 h, 48 m
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It was ugly, really. Horrid. She stared at herself in a small mirror, the gem around her neck barely catching her eye. “Stunning,” the salesman said. “That color is perfect for you.” She ignored him. He didn’t know what he was talking about. The gem on this necklace was too big and tawdry. Not at all like the simple, elegant silver thing a few inches farther down the display, with diamonds so small and clear they looked like pinpricks of light running down the chain. It had caught…-
21.8 K • Completed
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There wasn’t much happening in the fashion district at four in the morning. Nadia had parked her scooter some blocks away and calmly walked down small alleys and side streets without seeing a soul. If she had run into someone, all they would have seen was a young woman with a black turtleneck peeking out over the collar of a white trench coat. “Voice check,” she whispered. Sensors in the collar of her turtleneck turned the vibrations into words. “Still loud and clear,” Tess said through the…
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21.8 K • Completed
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Officer Jackson hated these calls. Auktoris security already had the scene cordoned off, a picket line of men and women in a ring around the front of the store. Not the rent-a-cop schlubs that were so common around the fashion district—a real Auktoris Private Security team, their answer to police SWAT units. All black, full tactical armor, each face covered with a blank shell of a helmet. She landed her bike nearby, feeling the warm draft of the engine exhaust off the street even through the thick…
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21.8 K • Completed
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“Pay dirt!” Tess said. “This stuff is moving.” Nadia ran her index finger around the rim of her coffee cup. Late-afternoon light bathed the office. Soft and gentle, it stung in her eyes. “And here’s another deposit,” Tess said, pacing behind her. “I haven’t even put it all up yet.” “You’re selling it already?” “Sure, why not?” Nadia rubbed her temple with two fingers as she squinted at the coffee. She took a tentative sip and jerked back. Still too…
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21.8 K • Completed
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Days later, Nadia stepped out of the Pass out From Exhaustion Suite cursing the late-afternoon sunlight. The suite had really been earning its name lately. She shuffled along, wiping her eyes, legs stiff and screaming with every motion. “Look who’s up!” Tess said, far too cheerily. She was at one of her workbenches, wearing huge safety goggles as she did…something. Nadia’s eyes were too weak just yet. She fumbled around at one of her desks, having already given up on coffee—it was never…
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21.8 K • Completed
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