Chapter 6: Smoke and Secrets
467 Words
*Smoke and Secrets*
The sky over New Avalon was stained with the orange glow of neon lights and the endless haze of exhaust. By now, Jayden had grown used to the rhythm of the streets—waking up before the sun, serving tables in Mr. Zeke’s greasy diner, and crashing in his box room above the shop with a busted fan and a leaky pipe. But this morning was different. The streets were quieter. Tense. Like something was about to break.
Mary waited for him at the corner with two cups of cheap synth-coffee. “Heard the East Blocks got raided last night,” she said, tossing him one. “Police drones lit up the whole block.”
Jayden sipped. “Probably looking for black-market chips again. Zeke’s been nervous lately.”
Mary frowned. “Zeke always looks nervous. Like he’s hiding a body.”
He smirked. “You say that like it’s a joke.”
They walked the usual back route to the diner, cutting through alleys filled with graffiti, broken tech, and the sleeping homeless. Jayden’s mind wasn’t on the shop, though. It was on the package he found under Table 9 two nights ago—an unmarked flash drive wrapped in foil, left by a man in a silver coat who never returned.
He hadn’t told Mary yet.Inside the diner, business was slow. Zeke barked orders and slapped cold meat onto metal plates. The usual gangsters came in for morning noodles, and Jayden served them with a fake smile. But as the hours passed, a strange car parked across the street caught his eye—black, polished, too clean for this part of town.
“They’ve been watching since yesterday,” Mary whispered while restocking the fridge. “You think someone knows?”
Jayden nodded slowly. “I think I’ve got something they want.”
That night, he locked the diner, handed Zeke his apron, and walked Mary halfway home. At her door, she grabbed his arm. “Jay… what’s going on?”
He hesitated. “You trust me?”
“With my life.”
He pulled the flash drive from his sock and handed it to her. “Hide this. If anything happens to me, don’t look at what’s inside—just get it to someone who can.”
She stared at him, scared now. “Jayden… are you in trouble?”
He forced a smile. “Not yet. But I think we’re about to be.”
He turned and walked off into the dark, the distant sound of hover engines humming through the alleyways. Somewhere above, a drone’s camera followed him.
This city didn’t forgive kids like him. But Jayden wasn’t just some poor boy with fast hands anymore.
He was about to make noise. And the whole city would hear it.
- Writer
