Gray couldn't sleep that night.He got home past midnight. Eli had fallen asleep in the car on the way back, head against the window, his hand still holding the cuff of Gray's jacket. Gray carried him inside and laid him on his bed without waking him. Lily was already asleep. He sat on the edge of his own bed and stared at the wall. His phone was on the nightstand, buzzing in steady intervals. He didn't pick it up. He stayed there until the sky outside the window started changing color, then he got up and made coffee.By morning, the city had split open.Every news channel was running the story. As an entire broadcast. Anchors sat behind desks and narrated footage from the venue, the arrest, the broadcast, the testimony. They played clips of Benjamin Crowe's report. They played clips of Alistair's rant about Cedric Ventura. They played clips of Eli standing at the microphone in his short-sleeved shirt, speaking in a voice so quiet the boom operator had to adjust mid-sentence.They pl

Gray couldn't help but stand in his bedroom, lost in thought.Suddenly he opened his eyes and sat on the bed."System," he said.The chime came immediately. The holographic blue screen materialized in the air in front of him.[How can the system assist the host?]"I need a location. A person. Right now."[Specify target.]"Mara Smith. She was taken approximately one hour ago. I need her exact position."[Processing request.]The screen flickered. Numbers ran across it. A map began forming, zooming in on the city, narrowing from district to block to street.[Target Location identified.][Industrial district. Warehouse complex. Building 4C, north end.][Distance from host: 23 minutes by car.]"Cost?" Gray asked. His voice was flat.[Location tracking: $30,000.]He didn't blink. "Pay it."[$30,000 deducted.]The map stayed on screen. A red dot pulsed on a building near the waterfront. Gray memorized the street name, the cross streets, the shape of the complex."One more thing," he said.