Kevin Wade Johnson
2025
Nobody liked pickpockets. And since municipalities couldn't afford police, or much of anything else, when people got a free shot at a thief or robber, they took it. It's all the retribution most muggers and such would ever face. Aside from the man in the overalls and tool belt—empty except for a machete—there stood a group of three women, all carrying clubs or batons of some sort. The man stood apart from the women, and I stood apart from them all, which seemed to suit everyone. Considering costs, I was sure the man had a month-long subway pass, or even longer. If he was the foreman, he could probably afford it. And if he was a supervisor, with crews at more than one site, he'd have to. Not much of anyone was having much work done on buildings, except minor things paid for with some kind of service in exchange. When I'd needed to stay put a couple of months, but the roof was leaking, I'd guarded a construction site for a few weeks in return for the patching. Everything was like that, unless you were a plutocrat. For the rest of us, if you were lucky, and lived someplace with solar—prime squatting grounds, you'd better be able to hold onto the place—if you had that, then you'd have power for part of the day, anyway. Likewise with a rooftop wind turbine. And if you had any income, you spent it on running water and sewer service—or hoped the septic held up. Or you spent it buying a gun…and found yourself with no clear path forward except crime. Because there weren't too many other things to do when a weapon was your only asset.
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