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wreckage of our apartment in a daze, the humid breeze blowing in through the shattered window and out through the broken front door, which still hung from one stubborn hinge. Tānchi ’ s wails pounded through my head as I went to the crib, my shoes crunching through broken glass.
     
    “ Shh , ” I whispered, kissing his forehead. “ It ’ s okay. Calm down … ”
     
    He was so fragile. His little bones were like spun glass beneath his skin. It was a miracle he hadn ’ t been cr u shed during the attack or my airbike stunt afterward. The gate end point in the alley was probably how they ’ d left the building anyway; what had I even been thinking? I could have just waited there and ...
     
    And what?
     
    “ Shh , Tānchi . ”
     
    I clenched my fists and tried to calm down. Tānchi ’ s presence vibrated, anxious as he felt around in my head. He sensed danger, but relaxed a little at the sound of my voice.
     
    Outside, I heard a siren chirp and when I turned I saw a streak of blue flash among the streams of traffic. Even if the soldiers didn ’ t come back, it would only be a matter of time before the place was crawling with security. I had to get out of there, and fast, or a detention center might be the least of my worries.
     
    “ Shh ... ” I stroked Tānchi ’ s cheek. “ It ’ s okay. I ’ ll be right back. ”
     
    “ I love you like you were my own flesh and blood, Sam. ”
     
    My throat burned and I cleared it, blinking back tears as I stepped away from the crib. I spotted my knife, the tip still red with blood, and wiped it on my pant leg before folding the blade in and dropping it in my pocket. Lying on the floor two steps away from it was a shiny black object, like a little electronic corkscrew. Dragan ’ s security twistkey.
     
    I picked up the key, turning it over in my fingers. Twistkeys were used to alter gate destinations. All the soldiers carried coded keys that let them override the street gates.
     
    “ Search him. Find the twistkey. ”
     
    “ He doesn ’ t have it. Just the standard issue. ”
     
    The soldiers had been looking for one, but not this one. I stuck it in my pocket and crossed to the broken window that looked out over the city. The remaining curtain billowed in the warm wind as I passed into the kitchen and took the last ration from the fridge, then grabbed the surrogate ration kit and slung it over my shoulder.
     
    As I moved down the hall, I saw both bedrooms had been tossed. The door to the safe had been cut off and propped against Dragan ’ s desk. Inside I could see a gun and some other stuff they ’ d left behind.
     
    I grabbed my backpack from the floor next to my bed and stuffed the ration into it before heading back to the safe. Inside I found a palm pistol with a scope, a stunner, and a baton. I wrapped them in a towel and stuffed them in the backpack. Underneath the weapons sat an emergency ration sheet and Dragan ’ s spare security badge. I put the badge in my wallet next to mine and took the sheet, revealing a strip of three pill tabs underneath. They were clear blue, with sparkly speckles inside. I flipped the strip over so I could see the foil backing, and used the 3i to run a search on the text there.
     
    The first few links that popped up were for something called seritoxedrine or “ blue shard, ” a military-issue battle drug. I stuffed it in my pocket along with the ration sheet. I pulled an intact pint of shine from the wet bar ’ s wreckage and dropped that in too, then shouldered the pack and went back for Tānchi .
     
    “ Come on, ” I told him, taking his swaddle out of the crib and cradling carefully him in my arms. “ Come on, we have to go. ”
     
    I ran with him, and fled into the city. By the time I stopped to think, I was deep in T ù zi-wō under a canopy of flashing signs, pushing through the street market against a tide of shoppers and sellers looking to beat the sweep. I hadn ’ t stopped long enough to even think