8. Texas Radio

Mona wakes in a squalid Florida squat, fastidiously executing her practiced routine to dress without touching the filthy floor. Remembering Eddy’s broken promises about Florida, she heads to the market and mall, wary of theft and authority, and buys secondhand clothes with rare confidence and care.

In the market’s bustle she notices a bearded man in sunglasses watching her, reads him as some kind of suit, then loses sight of him. A street evangelist’s hologram blares nearby. Mona is drawn to a poster of Angie Mitchell, studying the image and briefly imagining Angie’s opulence as an escape from her own life.

Returning to the squat, Mona finds Eddy with the same bearded watcher, who introduces himself as Prior. Prior remains cool and observant, providing a Lufthansa bag and overseeing Mona’s packing while revealing little of his intentions. Mona feels light-headed with anticipation, convinced departure is finally real.

Prior drives Mona and Eddy through warm Florida rain to a private airfield. Memories of first meeting Eddy in Cleveland surface, underscoring Mona’s long drift into his orbit. At the airport, Prior handles logistics; Mona notes Eddy’s practiced swagger.

They board a small, sleek private jet rather than the commercial experience Mona knows from stims. As the plane lifts, Mona dozes to the remembered twang of distant “Texas radio,” leaving Florida behind and moving toward an unknown plan shaped by Prior’s control and Eddy’s schemes.