Chapter 23 · Undercity Broker - Chapter 23: Everyone Wants the Broker

The first gun went off before Lin Mo got both feet onto the platform.

The shot punched a hole through the rusted ad board beside his head. Old paint and metal dust sprayed across his cheek. He dropped behind a stack of cracked plastic crates, clutching the oilskin file against his chest.

Nobody in the market screamed.

That was worse.

The market had gone dead quiet when every light died. Now the emergency lamps were back, weak red strips nailed under train-car roofs. They painted everyone the color of raw meat. Scavengers stood by their stalls with hooks, knives, and pipe guns. Clinic runners held their breath near Dr. An's car. Lei's people had spread across the far platform, black jackets open, hands near their weapons.

And in the middle of it all, Su Jin stood beside the old ticket gate with a machete hanging loose from one hand.

She looked at Lin's file.

Then she looked at him.

"You brought trouble home," she said.

Lin wiped grit from the corner of his mouth. "I got chased through a collapsing tunnel. I didn't exactly stop for a vote."

Lei laughed from across the tracks. "Still talks like he's got choices.