Emma left a thin thread of mental power holding the seawater in one corner of her space. Drained, she stretched out in the inflatable motorboat.
Her stomach growled. She took a meal from her space, ate her fill, and steered back to shore. Before leaving, she bought five inflatable motorboats and three private submersibles, with delivery to the warehouses behind the market.
On the drive home in the box truck, she checked the time. Six o'clock.
She parked the box truck outside the villa community, took out her electric scooter, and rode in. Several of the vehicles she'd bought at the dealership were already waiting outside her villa.
She drove them into the underground garage, then stored them in her space. Finally, she could breathe. A shower, then bed. She set an alarm for three a.m. and sank into a deep sleep.
Without enough rest, she'd run herself into the ground. She couldn't afford that with so much still to do.
At three, the alarm went off. She was out of bed in a moment. A men's jacket, a mask, a baseball cap, hiking boots. She covered herself from head to toe.
Outside the community, she got into the box truck and headed for the downtown wholesale district.
Most places had closed for the night. The barbecue stands were still going. She stopped at each one and ordered nearly two hundred skewers, paid, and promised to come back for them.
The wholesale district was quieter still. She drove in. Nobody at the warehouses, just as she'd expected. Key in the lock, doors open. She ducked inside and quickly shut them behind her.
She made a show of checking inventory while searching for cameras. All four corners, overhead, inside and out. Only when she was certain there were no people or cameras did she act. With a thought, she moved the stock into the upper level of her space.
The packed warehouse emptied in an instant. Outside again, she searched her navigation app for nearby mountain villages with few residents.
Her skewers were ready on the way back. She loaded them into the truck, then transferred them to her space.
At home, she checked her phone. An E City weather alert. A text from her aunt, Uncle Robert's wife.
"Emmy, your older cousin Hannah got into the best business school in D City! We're making a celebration spread at home tomorrow, with your favorites, too. You never look after yourself properly on your own. Come over to Uncle Robert's tomorrow if you can. Let's get everyone together."
She switched off the phone. It had only been a day. They still hadn't found out she'd sold her shares. Would they be quite so concerned once they learned Bennett Technologies had changed hands?
What good was sitting on all that money? After the apocalypse, it would be wastepaper. She could try to spend it. Nobody would want it.
The sun crept up. She stood at the window for two minutes, then turned on her phone to check the tracking updates. Ten days in E City. That was the plan. Twelve at the absolute most.
She scrolled through her shipments. They should all reach her door by noon or sometime that afternoon. She ordered ten breakfasts from each nearby breakfast place through a delivery app, then searched for phone stores.
Twenty minutes or so later, the doorbell rang. She pulled on a jacket. Two delivery drivers stood outside with four heavy orders between them.
"Thanks." She took the bags and waited for the rest. Once everything had arrived, she brought it inside and put it into her space.
Breakfast finished, she drove to a phone store. She didn't need impressive specs. Just somewhere to keep videos she could use later. Growing vegetables. Cooking.
She'd never cooked a meal herself. Ms. Harris always did the cooking and called her when it was ready.
Twenty-odd phones of each type, plus tablets. More than two hundred devices altogether. She stuck a note on the back of each phone. At home, she'd label them with whatever she downloaded onto them.
Easy to find the right one. No mixing them up.
Phones stored, she drove the box truck to the diner.
Her phone buzzed. Mr. Carter. She answered. "Hello?"
"Ms. Bennett, everything's in the warehouses. The meat's in the freezer section at the back of the warehouse. Want me to put in a camera? You've got a lot here, and there's usually no one watching it."
He meant well. But after she cleared the stock out tonight, she probably wouldn't need the place anymore.
"It's fine. No hurry. I'm around here a lot at the moment. I had someone haul the previous shipment away last night."
"All right. Now that we've delivered everything, Ms. Bennett, when could you settle up?" Several people fell quiet, barely breathing as they waited for her answer.
"Get everyone together. I'll come by at two and pay the balances." So that was it. She hung up, tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, and picked up speed.
At the diner, an employee helped load the meals into the back of the truck. Once the employee had gone, the food went into her space.
She collected the orders from the other restaurants, then headed to the wholesale district. Mr. Carter's shop again. Everyone was there, waiting.
Calculator in hand, bank card beside her, she paid off the balances by card.
"Mr. Carter, where's the best ranch in E City?" She wanted livestock for her space.