Em's Gator Club

Swing, software, and shady deals at the heart of future Boise's subculture. The swingin' cats of Boise don't just come to the Gator Club for jazz and gin, but for what Emery Wilson offers in the back room. They deal in contramods—nanobot software and devices unobtainable through legal means. Though many dealers make their living from sex mods and dope injections, Em—who has hemiplegia and knows how it feels to have a disability—gives away innovative medical aids and prosthetics for cheap. But altruism is hurting their wallet. If they can't come up with rent for the club by the fifth, the jive joint will close and Em will be out on the street.

Enter Joe: a square with an urgent need to cure his addiction to a powerful new drug, and a wad of dough if Em can help. But commissioning a cure means Em will have to venture into the foul domain of a shady programmer, risking reputation and appetite. When commissioning the cure becomes more complicated—and dangerous—than first expected, Em will need to use wits, grit, and their own contramod to keep the club, and themselves, alive.

This is a short story prequel to Mazarin Blues, the first book in the queer and cozy decopunk series, Hep Cats of Boise.