The night market

Rebecca and Adam were rugged up against the chill of early winter. They were at the northern end of Swanston Street, walking along one of the laneways between the Brewery redevelopment and Melbourne Uni.

‘Why midnight?’ Rebecca complained. ‘I’ve got to get the kids out of bed at seven.’

‘They’re geeks, Bec. They sleep during the day.’

There was a steady trickle of people moving ahead and alongside of them, all going in the general direction of Foster’s Plaza. As they moved into the Plaza proper, with its all-night bars and eateries next to the student accommodation, Rebecca became aware of a group of trestle tables set up on one side of the plaza. Groups of people milled about in deep discussion. Around three hundred people were moving around the impromptu market buying selling, dealing. The actual location of the computer market shifted regularly as it was an unofficial gathering without licences or credentials. Only if you knew someone could you find it on any given night.

Adam led her up to one of the tables. ‘This is Eric, he’s helped me out with a couple of things in the past.’

A tall dark-haired youth wearing a shaggy faux fur coat stood and shook hands.

‘What can we do for you?’

Rebecca removed a piece of electronica from her backpack. ‘It’s from an irrigation system,’ she said, handing over the football-sized box. ‘We need some new instructions written, but it’s a sealed unit. It will take weeks to send it back to the manufacturer in the States.’

The youth turned the device over in his long, sensitive fingers.

‘I know these,’ he said.

Rebecca found herself unreasonably nervous. ‘It’s still under warranty, but we can’t afford the system to be down for weeks.’

The youth looked at her with a knowing smile. ‘So you want the changes to be invisible?’

Rebecca nodded.

He shrugged, ‘Whatever. It will be ready in two days. Back here.’

As they walked away, Adam smiled at his older sister.

‘Don’t say a word, Adam,’ she hissed. ‘Why does just hanging around with you make me feel like a crook.’

Adam laughed. ‘Relax, sis. I’m not a crook. I just like to test the rules.’

‘Whatever.’