Sudetenland Tales by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Sudetenland Tales

Page 24

mediators, trained in everything from de-escalation to back alley contracts. They’re respected because they listen and they never raise their voice.

The Circuit is the hardest to pin down, as they are a semi-mythic alliance of hackers, ex-cops, and ex-cons. They manipulate infrastructure like illusionists; turning lights and cameras off just long enough for someone to escape or do something foul, rerouting delivery drones to stash supplies, blocking surveillance feeds when justice means staying unseen.

It was a 2:47 AM shift when Lenny pulled into what used to be Jefferson Square; a mosaic playground now fractured by chain link fences and burn barrels. The Watchdogs patrol the west perimeter in orange safety vests, some armored beneath. On the east edge, the Street Arbiters gather in silence, their neutral gray jackets looking almost clerical in the firelight.

Between them: a shattered delivery drone was still smoking. Rumor says it was rerouted by the Circuit to smuggle insulin. Each side claims the cargo. Neither side will budge.

Lenny steps into the middle, not as referee but as a reminder.