An Introspective Pause

You don't run from police, not even drones. They also do a comprehensive body scan, so I had no choice but to stash the chip with Acrylic's memory. Faking tying my shoe, I furiously dug a little hole with the key and buried both in the sandy soil beside the recycling bin. I prayed it would remain undisturbed.

Jail was not bad. The cots were decently padded, and I was fed. I couldn't remember the last time I had a full meal. When questioned about why I was messing with a recycling bin I told them I'd heard there was food there left for vagabonds. I was filthy enough for them to believe me. My disguise held up, too. The synthetic mask was a second skin which the scanners didn't pick up on.

I laid back on the cot, content to wait for extraction. Something moved in my sleeve - the empty mod container in which Fetus had stored the key. The scans hadn't picked that up. I mentally kicked myself. I could have hidden the chip in there! Anger welled up. I was making too many mistakes.