The Churn
Chapters - James S. A. Corey
Story: The Churn
In the drowned edges of Baltimore, a young man known as Timmy works as muscle for a local crime boss named Burton, having impressed the man by killing a debtor in a way that suggested he wouldn't have paid up. Timmy's childhood friend Erich, a skilled identity hacker with a stunted hand, vouched for him and remains his closest ally. His anchor in Baltimore is Lydia - an aging former prostitute who knew his mother and was there when he was born; not lover or surrogate parent, but the only person in his life who knew him before. When the security service rolls out one of its periodic crackdowns - "the churn" - identity hackers are scooped up and Burton's operation starts to come apart around its edges. Timmy moves through the disruption with the same flat, unsettling practicality he applies to everything, and when men sent by Burton catch up to Lydia, Timmy tracks Burton down and kills him for it. The story ends with Timmy leaving Baltimore behind, taking on a new identity and heading for the stars, setting the stage for the man who will become Amos Burton of the Rocinante.
POV: Amos Burton, Erich