The store was spread over two storeys, with dried goods and household products on the second level. Cedar frowned at the price label on a package of meat. The number had been hiked up since his previous shop the past week. This kept on happening; the cost of food was going up so rapidly that the capped salary rates of the Umbudu just weren’t matching in any sensible way.

Cedar knew that parts of the Umbudu Colony were poverty stricken and judging from the signs, things were only going to get worse.

“What’s that?” Vaki prodded at the plastic wrapped pack Cedar was holding, his bandaged fingers leaving a depressed indentation in the chilled meat contents.

“Chicken,” Cedar replied absently, chucking it in their cart that Vaki was leaning against.

“A bird?” Vaki looked vaguely ill as he peered back into the cart at what had been going to be their dinner.

“Not a real one,” Cedar shrugged, “all meat is grown in a lab, the animals are never actually ‘alive’. Well, I mean they’re living organisms but…” Cedar trailed off at Vaki’s wide eyed expression. Perhaps trying to define what it was to be truly ‘alive’ at 9 pm in the butcher’s aisle with your fugitive android wasn’t the best idea.

“Don’t sweat over it,” Cedar shook his head, heading towards where a bored looking woman was attaching yellow discount stickers to produce that was soon going out of date. Cedar grabbed three more packs of meat before realising that Vaki had abandoned their cart.

“Fucks sakes,” Cedar growled, manoeuvring the belligerent metal cart into the next aisle where he spotted Vaki staring at a row of assorted fruits.

“You like these,” Vaki pointed at some shrink wrapped sausages of durian paste. “You have four of these in the fridge.”

“Had,” Cedar muttered bitterly, thinking of the expensive fruits that had been ruined by the milk spillage.

“We can buy more?” Vaki asked hopefully, his eyebrows raised as he picked up one of the fruit paste cakes.

“Maybe after next month’s pay check,” Cedar grouched before catching himself. There was no way the android would still be around by then. “I’m going upstairs, you coming?” he huffed.

Vaki nodded absently before they approached the corrugated metal moving walkway that ascended up at a sloping incline. Vaki let out a grunt of surprise as the weight of the shopping cart rolled backwards into his chest.

“You need to lock the wheels,” Cedar explained, nudging the cart with his foot so it slotted into place with the ridges of the escalator. He pressed the palm of his hand against Vaki’s lower back so as to stop the younger man from tipping backwards.

Vaki’s figure was small and slender and Manya’s tight fitting clothes only accentuated this. The fabric of the grey sweater was thin and Cedar could feel the notches of Vaki’s spine beneath his fingertips.

He sighed, removing his hand and glancing back down at the milling shoppers below them. There was a woman trying to drag her screaming toddler away from the ice cream freezers, knocking into a tall blue haired man in a mask.

Cedar frowned and whipped back round, the man had seemed familiar, even if just for a moment.

“Look!” Vaki cried out quietly, tugging on Cedar’s shoulder and redirecting his focus. “They have a bird here too!”

Cedar glanced up to see that the grocery store had indeed invested in a drone bird camera. Its metal body had been spray painted with the store’s white and red logo and occasionally a few pieces of candy would drop from its talons, exciting the children below.

“Marketing ploy,” Cedar shrugged as they reached the end of the walkway and pushed the cart back onto solid ground. “I’m going to go get some absorption powder or granules. We need canned beans, think you can manage that without destroying the store?”

Cedar frowned in confusion as Vaki’s face did a strange spasm, it almost looked like the android was upset. “Of course,” Vaki nodded, his non bandaged fingers white and tense where they wrapped around the cart’s handle.

“Meet back here in ten minutes,” Cedar nodded, “if you see any canned corn pick that up too okay?”

He watched as Vaki walked off, a few strands of amethyst hair flicking out from the back of his beanie, stark against the pale of his neck.

Cedar frowned as he walked down the electrical appliances aisle, a tub of granules in his hand. The screens were all playing the same news segment; the governor’s murder was of course the main headline. Cedar grimaced as he caught sight of himself, standing next to Rish at the crime scene.

“Not exactly your best angle is it?”

“Jesus fuck!” Cedar swore as he nearly jumped out of his skin. Captain Jones was standing behind him in home clothes and carrying a basket.

“What’s happening?” Cedar asked quickly and urgently. He was off duty but Umbudu cops still carried their guns and badges, Cedar’s fingers twitched towards his holster.

“Christ alive Tanaka, stand down,” Jones reeled backwards, “I’m just doing the weekly shop with the wife.”

“Right,” Cedar cleared his throat. The appearance of his captain had sent his adrenaline into overdrive, he had been so spaced out thinking about…

Vaki