“Quickly,” she hissed. I could barely see her, crouched as she was. But at her insistent waving of her hands after I finally made eye contact with her, I crouched as well to fit behind the dumpster where she hid.

“What are you doing here,” I asked, keeping my voice low enough as to not be heard from the street. “Have you lost your mind?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head hard for emphasis as she squeezed her eyes shut. “I just need to be near metal. It disrupts their signal.” She opened her eyes and brought both wrists towards her face. “Primarily the tracking feed.” Her wide, purple eyes glared at the almost translucent skin and if she could follow the network of veins beneath. “They know I’m Compromised.”

A feeling like a tiger sweeping my bowels out with a powerful paw stunned me into silence. “Are you saying what I think your implying?” I reached up and grabbed her right hand in a strong grip. “Tell me you’re not.”

“My Fi-fi-fi-firewalls are coru-ru-rupt.” She glitched and froze.

“ERICA,” I yelled.