Page 75 of Drift

Drift crouched and ran a touch over the sleek streaming system.

The Cambridge Audio Evo 150.

He gave a silent whistle. Two-and-a-half grand, way out of even Jackson’s price range unless selling it on, but bloody good with its streaming capability, and that’s what he needed now.

Phones could come with biometrics, homes with security systems, but get into a home and opt for access to something as… innocent as a playlist…?

It was a smart choice because it was controlled mostly by phone, so banking details and purchases were only made from the phone used to set it up. If the stereo got stolen, the phone could disable the system itself. No personal info stolen.

But it did allow easy access to anyone in the home without anyone having to use a pin number to access the playlist via the main unit, here.

And music lists were just that right?

Playlists?

Drift picked up the remote and flicked it on, then a home screen sent a mix soft light a few feet into the hall.

Playlists came up, and he tapped at it.

Five lists in total, each with a name.

Old Mukka.

Jan.

Jack.

Light.

Not Jack Here.

Four… maybe five main players in the home, depending on that lastNot Jack Herepiss take.

Drift ran with the first.

Old Mukka.

Only sixty songs were listed, and they ranged from “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas, to Fleetwood Mac’s “Need Your Love So Bad”, with the most recently played…

“Reputation” by Post Malone.

Drift winced. He knew the song. “Got a bad one there you don’t give a shit about, Mukka?” But he was male, most definitely. No one used Mukka for a woman. And from his musictastes: late thirties, early forties? Definitely not prone to change when he found what he liked.

“Dad’s pants?” Drift snorted. Gotta be Dad to have tastes this damn old. A worker too with how little time he seemed to have for music, or maybe his recreationals lay elsewhere: audio, movie… podcasts and conspiracy? It was anyone’s guess, and as this system only seemed happy with streaming music, it didn’t give too much to go by any other way. So Dad liked his privacy too even in his home.

“Next.” Drift swiped back to the main menu.

Jan.

A little better. Jan had a small dip into trance music with “Phone Down”, “Sandstorm”, and100% Clubland, but nothing more contemporary like House Music. Also maybe more a modern romancer with Ultravox, Duran Duran, and Spandau Ballet and such filling the list.

Early-to-midthirties, maybe?

Jan? Janice, Janet…?

“Mom?”

Drift shrugged. Her music list was longer, crossing a few genres, more like a disaster playlist than anything. And her recently played? Drift thumbed at the list.

---