Chapter 12 · Undercity Broker - Chapter 12: Everybody Wants a Piece

Lin walked fast through Container Row. The subway ticket was in his pocket but it felt like it was burning through the fabric. Everyone was looking at him now.

Not just looking. Tracking.

He'd made too much noise. The curse left a trail Dr. An could follow, and if the doc could track it, so could the Bureau. So could Su Jin's network. So could anyone with the right tools and the wrong intentions.

A kid leaning against a rusted shipping container watched Lin pass. The kid's hand moved to his pocket. Lin didn't break stride. Two containers down, a woman pretending to sort scrap metal looked up too long. Her eyes flicked to someone behind Lin.

Yeah. He was being herded.

Lin turned left into the narrow gap between two stacked containers. The passage was barely wide enough for his shoulders. He kept moving, boots scraping on concrete dusted with rust and old engine grease. Behind him, footsteps. More than one set.

He came out into one of the wider junctions where four passages met under a ceiling of welded rebar and sheet metal. Su Jin was waiting.

She wasn't alone.