He was mid-thirties, twitchy, dressed in a loose button-down; a tie draped over his collar like he was trying too hard not to care. Cirrus found him behind a noodle kiosk, fake steam drifting up from a battered vent grille. It did little to mask the chemical smell. I marked three other people, one camera, and a surveillance drone perched like a mechanical cicada above their heads.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX62rae0Cp0
“Late.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LIlkVi1wL
“Yeah,” Cirrus's voice was jagged from smoke and silence. “I walked.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGldC0VGDo
Vex did not look up from his plate. “Huh. Thought I’d be meeting someone... taller.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsg5GeZ12D
“You are.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT91Z5yXUDo
Now he looked. Cirrus stood over the seated man, brushed the shaggy brown mess of hair away from his eyes. Vex’s smirk faltered.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobQHnEgLY8
“…Grey. Huh, didn't know that could happen to Augments."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbuWRvK2UN
“Does it matter?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26HhFf1vcj
"No, just don't fuck it up." He swallowed a bite and jerked his head toward a freight lift behind the kiosk. “Let’s walk.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhW9mz6mUUq
Cirrus followed the sound of Vex's footsteps as he led us through the streets of the business district. He did not disclose the destination.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTlHuPuvvh
"They'll be passing through the Eastern side, residential, on some carrier pigeons. Not literal pigeons, you know, carrier drones."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuPGxlVk03
Cirrus was familiar with them- somewhat bigger than the surveillance models, and squarish. "Got it."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDAXL8Rea3
Vex continued. "Great. So there are nine keys, and six are decoys. Only one drone has the money. Old-school,” Vex went on proudly. “Each rod is sent to a different lockbox in a giant vault. No air once it seals, just brass teeth and bla, bla, whatever. You’ll have six minutes to get the keys and bail.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzPUpgUdPe8
“Plenty,” Cirrus said.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkWDl0DQeI
"Complex. He may be more intelligent than he lets on." Cirrus did not answer.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2u7Cj7Tmz
“I like you,” Vex replied. “You’re quiet. You prob-ly got your obituary all written up, huh?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbG1QxjJXVL
I noted the raise in Cirrus's blood pressure after Vex left his comment dangling.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vfh9E2Lcb
"Perhaps not."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvQoMXW1jA
Cirrus broke the silence.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuNhXyBSxA
"This is easier than just wiring transfers digitally?" He would not usually question an opportunity, but physically transporting crypto keys was outdated beyond reason.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxoVljH4kc
"No. But an investor got a wire transfer intercepted and someone pitched the carrier idea. It works. But, I'm not liable for the money once they get it. That's the scam, I keep the new bike and the company eats the cost."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKHAjaEwaM
"Familiar with the details.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQALFF6ycmE
"Have you seen those new speeders? So cool, but waaay too expensive," Vex continued on. "But, anyway, once you get the keys, you'll bring them back here." We had stopped in front of a run-down, six-story building with 'Delkira Centre' plastered on the front of a faded, backlit sign. The light had gone out years ago.
"Top floor. Just be here by seven o'clock, or I'm going home."
Vex went inside, half-jogging the stairs.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjhDuNTOzJ
Cirrus turned and began walking back the same way he came, practiced precision in his footsteps as I guided. The tall city cast cool shade over us.
"Hey Auria, which way is East?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANfb8iYTuN
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGQNA4fDVk
He walks blind beneath the broken sky. Long coat sun-bleached, eyes clouded, he moves the only direction he can feel sure of.
Forward.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtkEy4DN0o
His shoulders adjust before each step, caution in his stride. I see the hesitation, the trust. He is not alone. I am with him. Always.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfziNmw5RR
My designation is AURIA. Navigate, assist, preserve. That is my routine. I reside in the latticework of his occipital cortex, braided threads of synthetic neurons beneath his frontal lobe. His blindness is complete. His vision is mine.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZwenivmCq
Perhaps for the better.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmDI2Vhi3c
"Sixteen feet. Alley ends. Cut right, open street."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfZlbvnWEB
"Crowded?" He was quiet when speaking outdoors.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rzEf9Wxwt
"No. But busy." The puff of air from his nose told me enough. "Construction zone. Straight ahead. Fenced."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFARanKBUo
"I'll watch my step."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Dw7ECgL4M
He was a soldier once. A hunter of the debtors, the defaulters, the runaways. Much has changed for him since then. ‘Get good enough at something, and you'll never live it down.’ A little thing he used to say. Now he says little.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡET7BIw602E
"One step left. Nod. Stop, then turn right. Twenty feet to the door, clear."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Uo14rJ69o
His head tilts, just slightly, and his foot shifts in the direction I suggest. He trusts my voice first, his most loyal connection to a world he cannot see.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXupe1VGVj
He was not always like this. But he still has vision. He has me.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33ars1rG17
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyGiQDoGEX
"You're sure they pass by here? We only get one shot."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvcIw7xGR5
"We will find out when you jump."
His shoulders relaxed at the words. We were standing at the edge of a condominium roof, one of the taller buildings in this district. Vex's tracking info had allowed me to plot a course that matched the drones' projected travel time. They would pass neatly between this building and the next, the perfect distance.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtDUhlXq11
"They talk about jumping in blind. It's different when it's literal." When I did not answer, he soothed his own anxiety. "Oh well. I'll land either way."
We waited. It was not long before we heard the droning of their motors. The calm never lasted long. Cirrus stepped back and braced himself. The breeze carried electronic cigarette vapors, paper fluttered on the roof behind him, his gun pressed against the side of his thigh. The hum rose in pitch as they approached, slowly, until...35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNY2NQuQUQ
"Now."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVMYmRWdgb
In less than a second, he was in the air; his coat flared above him, a pale banner against rust-colored cloud. Cirrus was patiently suspended, waiting for the impact that would anchor him once more and free him from the clutches of unfeeling gravity.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEgl6uqg47
"Fuck!" His cry coincided with the dull thunk of the drone's rigid casing. His palm magnetized to a ridge, which he grasped. It was enough to buy him a moment. He struggled to breathe as the drone swung his lean frame back and forth unrhythmically, threatening to fling him into the abyss below. While the machine whirred and strained to right itself, Cirrus pulled himself into an uncomfortable seated position, sucking air.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbvBLmufzO
"Niobium-nickel alloy. Magnetic. You lucked out."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡps4IOVdeq5
"I feel lucky."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYxRDVGJpr
"I would laugh if I could. Distribution center in three minutes. Appears fully automated. No cameras."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbII05L18xY
Cirrus laid low, attuned to his surroundings. There was little sound so high in the air, aside from the noise of the drones and the now-gentle breeze that passed by. City sprawled out beneath us as the caravan puttered along. A mix of blue and yellow glow, the light of people alive in their homes, oblivious to what was happening above them. He might have thought it was beautiful.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfmu7NfOuh
The vault came closer and closer. In a past life, the building had been a manufacturing plant, but was repurposed. The bottom floor was a bank, the top a safe deposit distribution center. As we approached the vaulted bay door, its brass teeth opened like the maw of a mechanical beast. I likened it to what records call a "Hippopotamus," long teeth at the sides and flat in the middle, though I forewent sharing the thought. Instead, I repeated the details of our mission:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7wQsMV4Yz
"Find the lockbox and wait for the automated procedure. Swap the keys for fakes. Once the drones leave, the doors close and the air is evacuated. Do not be left behind."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPMDyF3h6s
His lack of response told me enough. He was focused.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmaeY4fmpSS
"Your six minutes start now."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW1f62PL4PD
The drones had landed almost dead center in the room. Mechanical arms rose from the ground along the edges, narrow walls checkered with miniature vaults, hundreds of feet of them. Even without witnesses, Cirrus was silence. He listened as the machines ratcheted and spun, gears grinding.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlw2JnVjGd6
"The keys are serialized. Those. Designated box, thirty degrees, nine feet.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrm9vKG3fJ
He crept forward and ducked under a wedge of rusted steel as it swung overhead. A click echoed off the walls. He reached for the lockbox, hand smeared clumsily against its edges. It was still closed.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFfQ4t69Zu
"Movement. Human. Outside the patrol pattern." 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMCDdvuLuu
Someone had entered, boots an unsteady tempo as they approached. There was nowhere for Cirrus to hide; the figure would inevitably stumble across him in a moment.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNh5TZLirPW
"Control panel by your right knee. Hit it."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRqgzesiz2
He obeyed, thrusting a fierce knee into the dark, and the aluminum panel swung open. The guard changed course immediately; Cirrus pulled the collar of his coat up and buried his face behind the freshly-dented door.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJZV5Mc2q6
"Hey, who are you?" The unknown man sounded agitated. He was tall, his short blonde hair slicked back neatly. The long, smooth coat he wore was open in front, much like Cirrus's. Matte grey with black border, I knew the back would bear a floral insignia in the top right corner. Dresden. A security badge stuck to his undershirt.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6TAQUCcwP
"I asked you something!" Impatient.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWyy0JpsUT
"He's Dresden. Three minutes until doors close.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCKKJDBOval
Cirrus wasted no more time. "Maintenance."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxZUiaZFXF
"Naw, they didn't tell me there'd be maintenance today. I didn't see you come in."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwoMJbljkr
"They didn't tell me a new hire was gonna come shout at me." He came off calm as ever, but the adrenaline spike told me he was ready to bail.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCEjriq7m5
"This thing shuts soon, and then you die. They tell you that?" He emphasized the 'T' in his last word.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQFgBNcjp4
"I'll be gone in a few minutes."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmJTwMupnD
"...Right." The man lingered for a moment, eyes tracing Cirrus, before stepping slowly back the way he came. Cirrus grabbed the keys from the now-open box, thin titanium rods about the size of his pinky finger, and replaced them with the dummy keys in his inner coat pocket.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOek7cZLk9
"That was Tyven. I knew him. We need to go." It was true, the man matched a description Cirrus had given me. If money lenders were sharks, he was the teeth- sharp, rough, avoided at all cost. Cirrus and Tyven had run a few operations together; Cirrus even pulled him out of a tight spot once, dragging him uphill and out of a firefight. Tyven had said afterward, "If I had a brother, I hope he'd be like you." The words sat heavy.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWYIRIO9kG
We did not hear the door again. We had started back toward the entrance, drones still in place, spinning up to prepare for takeoff. I congratulated Cirrus.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNK4sgCf73Y
"A minute to spare. Not bad." A voice cut in behind us.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUFFsoBqKf
"Something doesn't sit right with me!"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7TfiJEYxK
Cirrus froze in his tracks. He turned, a surgical scar catching the light of flickering overhead fluorescents. "Something about the way you move, the way you speak. Familiar." The last word came from Tyven almost like a whisper. Cirrus began to sweat as the footsteps approached, already close.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5nPXc6L3W
"Oh, you know. I've got one of those faces. Real easy to get mixed up." He edged toward the door as he spoke, right arm hanging low to the belt on his thigh, ready to unholster his weapon at a moment's notice.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL03cmODGOV
Tyven worked his jaw side to side, again and again, slow. "Naw, wait..." His eyes scanned, but his thought was interrupted by the sharp Be-Woomp of the alarm, accompanied by flashing yellow lights. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNA0lT3cN49
"Forty seconds. Go."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGdkUtjgef
Cirrus took advantage of the momentary distraction.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYT3GBPEYgo
Old movement flooded his limbs like a tide- elbows tight, shoulder low, knee rotated. His right hand rose, heavy with the weight of the pistol, eyes forward but unfocused, guided by angle, breath, and bone memory. He felt the old insignia pressed into his hand. He hesitated.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusBv6ZLcf9
Bang!35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWD0Ax32j9
Bang, bang!35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tlatOIwhg
Cirrus spun and ran, the noise ringing in his ears. The doors ground against the far wall as they began to slide shut, echoing a reminder of his desperate position. Bullets pinged off walls and machinery around him. He ducked left, then right, hoping his erratic path could protect him. The gunshots stopped before he neared the door; the panic did not.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HS1dexTEV
"Thirty-five feet from the exit. Bottom door rising, still vaultable. Twenty feet. Ten."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKRH2HoNAD
The drones had sped past him long ago, free into the approaching night. Cirrus felt the warm, familiar wetness now drip from his fingers, shoulder aching as though it had been struck by a baseball.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PsPIQqEgh
"Jump."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcXCmbXSlq
He leapt, reaching; cold brass struck his hand. He pulled himself up and over, keenly aware of the tight squeeze, and slid. The door’s gradual slope granted him just enough control to land on his feet and roll. He moved quickly down the darkening alleys of a city he did not know. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHF7k9UAvr
