Pulse

taking my Tablet or not?”
    Wade smiled as he looked up from the bench on which he was sitting. Clara was sitting next to him, smug as usual, not saying a word.
    “I think you’re paranoid. Most drug dealers are.”
    “I’m not a drug dealer. That’s a low blow. You’re making me do this, remember?”
    “Well, I’m not taking your Tablet. Why would I even do that? I hate carrying one of them around, let alone two.”
    “I don’t believe you. You’re pissed off because I bought stuff for your girlfriend. Dude, she’s totally out of my league. I’m not even in her universe. Just do me a favor and leave my Tablet alone, okay? It’s nerve-racking enough making this stuff for you all the time.”
    “You’re spending Coin on gifts for girls?” Clara asked. Hawk considered Clara the highest-ranking a-hole in the entire world. He couldn’t stand how condescending she was.
    “Actually, it’s none of your business what I spend my Coin on. And while we’re at it, I’m not making any more Wire Codes for you guys. I’m done.”
    Hawk was a hell of a hacker. He hadn’t paid for pants and shirts for Faith and Liz; he’d programmed around that little problem. All the money he’d ever made was stacked up in Coin in different online accounts. He was loaded, but he was also tiny and generally afraid of large people, one of whom had gotten up off the bench.
    “I think you should keep making Wire Codes when I’m willing to pay for them,” Wade said. “It’s in your best interest.”
    “I’m not doing that.”
    “Wanna bet?” Wade was standing about two inches from Hawk, staring down at him from an alarming height advantage.
    “Yeah, I wanna bet,” Hawk said. He had an ace up his sleeve and decided it was time to play it. “I saw Faith this morning. You know, your girlfriend ? She’s not too much into the party scene. Looked to me like someone the morning after their first Wire Code. Why do you suppose that is?”
    “Is this urchin trying to blackmail you?” Clara asked. She was genuinely surprised.
    “All I know is, the day after, for a first timer, there’s not much memory to go on. Very fragmented. I’m guessing you’d rather she didn’t know you slipped her a Wire Code without her agreeing to it. Anything else happen you don’t want her to know about?”
    Wade’s hands were shaking. Hawk thought Wade could probably crush every bone in his body using nothing but his pinkie, but he didn’t back down.
    “Stop messing with my stuff, that’s all I’m asking,” Hawk said. He was so sure that the Quinns were taking his Tablet in order to get him to lower the price of Wire Codes, he was willing to risk a punch in the face.
    “That’s going to be real easy, because I already told you; I’m not taking your Tablet. All the same, I think I need some new insurance of my own. Keep Faith out of this. There’s no reason for her to know; we were just having a little fun. You keep your mouth shut, and I’ll do the same. A lot of people around here would like to know who makes the Wire Codes at this school. I think I know who that might be.”
    “I know, too,” Clara said, assuming they’d gotten the upper hand.
    “You’re forgetting an important detail. It’s common with drug addicts, so you shouldn’t feel bad. I know who takes them,” Hawk said. “I keep a record of every transaction. Not just when they’re purchased, but when they’re used . And on what Tablet.”
    He was scared to death. He had just told a huge lie; and furthermore, he’d made a monster blunder. If he’d had those kinds of records, there would be only one place to keep them. On his Tablet! He’d just given the Quinns one more reason to keep taking it, and the next time he might not get it back until it was too late. All he had going for him was Faith Daniels. The only thing that mattered now was how much Wade liked her.
    Wade shook his head and smiled, backing away from Hawk. He lurched forward with a fist that stopped just shy of Hawk’s face, but Hawk didn’t flinch, not even an inch.
    “Business as usual then,” Wade said.
    Hawk could hardly breathe, but he was able to get the words out before he turned around and walked away. “Business as usual.”

Chapter 8
You Moved Me
    Once Hawk was gone, Faith took her Tablet to bed and lay down, flipping through images she’d drawn when she should have been studying. She used a stylus to draw the really intricate ones: drawings of landscapes and portraits of