“Don’t step off that stair-tread ungrounded!” Lin Mei screamed, her fingers digging into Julian Vance’s jacket.
She held Julian’s Store #04 Employee Manual open in one hand and Transit Sheet 4A in the other.
Outside on the rain-swept sidewalk, Enforcer Krell had reached the peak of his backswing. The twenty-pound brass sledge-stamp hung poised over his crimson helmet, ready to smash Store #04’s night-pay drawer.
Across the street, the three Customers Without Faces stood on the edge of the curb. Their yellow slickers dripped into the flooded gutter as their smooth gray heads leaned forward.
“Read the clause, Lin!” Julian shouted, his boots planted on the top step-well riser. “Give me the legal authority!”
Lin Mei shoved the two open manuals under Julian’s eyes.
“Clause 14-B of the Shift Covenant!” Lin Mei recited, her voice cutting through the wind. “An accredited municipal employee holding two matching badges may establish a temporary apron! The apron extends up to fifteen feet between a transit coach and a retail window!”
“What is the condition?” Julian barked.
