Ghosts of Koa, The First Book of Ezekiel Read Online Free PDF Page A

eyeing his gun holster warily. She was careful to keep her empty hands in full view. "I'm a daily commuter. The guy that used to be posted here could vouch for that."
    "The guy that used to be posted here isn't vouching for anything. He got hit with a stroke this afternoon and kicked the bucket. You're gonna have to deal with me now, sweetheart." Kirk's mouth curled down. "Ghosts like you aren't supposed to be out this late. It's past curfew. What were you doing over in the Seventh?"
    Zeika pushed back her hood and cowl, almost having forgotten she was wearing it. Her long braids spilled out, but she tied them back into a ponytail as she stepped up him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pendant, trying to ignore the way his hand was gravitating to his gun holster. She held it out to him, and after shooting her a suspicious glare, he took it from her, examining it.
    "Name?" He took a pad out of his pocket.
    "Anon. Like 'cannon'. Drop the 'c' and the extra 'n'."  
    "First name?"
    "You don't need it. There's only one Anon on there."
    He glowered at her, flipped the pad closed. "How do I know this pass isn't forged?"
    "It could be," she said, sighing. "But why would I want to forge a pass to get into the crappy Fifth? 'Specially if I'm coming out of the Seventh?"
    "That's a damn good question." Kirk's partner, a man with a gruffer voice and twice the gut, stepped forward out of their booth, his eyes piercing her with accusation. "What kind of business are you into over there anyways, civvie?" The tattooed badge on the right shoulder of his uniform blazed darkly as he advanced. It was the Monas Hieroglyphica, the symbol of the Alchemic Order.
    Zeika narrowed her eyes. "My business is that I break paper there. And if you've forgotten, Azure, the Seventh belongs to Civilians. You can squat on our turf all you like, but that doesn't make it yours."
    "Sounds an awful lot like something a Koan would say. Don't it?" The other AP turned to Kirk, who was still investigating the work pass.  
    "I don't have to be Koa to know bread from bullshit," she snapped. "I have a work pass, and it's legit, so let me through. Besides, seems to me like you have a lot more to focus on than a small-time waitress trying to make it home." She motioned around the plaza filled with refugees and homeless.
    "You telling me what my job is here, scarlet?" With a dark gaze, the AP took a step closer, and his shoulders seemed to widen as he looked down on her.  
    Zeika tensed, and on reflex, she raised her hands, keeping her eyes level with his. Surprise flickered through the AP's face.
    "Heh," he muttered. "So we've got a tough one here. She thinks she's got special privilege. Someone over in the Seventh giving you 'special privilege', kid? An older Azure gentleman, perhaps?"
    She pursed her lips. "Let me pass."
    The AP's grin widened. "The only way a civvie like you could get a work-pass like this is if you've become an Azure trash can. Whose horn are you tootin' over in the Seventh?"
    She seared the guard with a hellish gaze as he smirked down on her.
    "She's not gonna say," Kirk said, finally looking up from her work pass. "Business contracts like that are 'don't-ask-don't-tell'. The little brat must be beddin' a higher-up."
    "Yeah, well you know what they say about civvie chicks, 'specially the young ones." The guard never broke his triumphant gaze with hers. "Lips sealed tight, pussies like black holes... suck everything in."
    She trembled, feeling rage kick up her adrenaline. She didn't have time for this, but she definitely felt ready to make some if he didn't get the hell out of her way. "Let. Me. Pass."
    Kirk smiled. "With pleasure." He handed her pass back to her and stepped out of the way.
    "Dicks," she muttered, and she brushed by him, passing through the checkpoint.
    She spared another angry glance back as she walked through-- and saw that the man she'd bumped into earlier had stepped fully out of line, box and all, and was talking to the