Vex’s office was a rented top floor above a novelty shop, shielded by mirrored windows and an out-of-order elevator. Cirrus stumbled over the first step before acquainting himself with the stairs, boots quiet on the laminate wood. Thirty-seven steps. I wondered if he also counted.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqFT2qgbyN
Vex was waiting in a ratty armchair, flicking through bank statements on a screen. He didn’t look up when Cirrus turned the door handle.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFw32kUAl7
“You’re early this time."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEXx6QiFP1n
“Wanted to beat the traffic.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPIJn5kWSE
He reached into his coat and set the rods, wrapped in a borrowed cloth napkin, on the table.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQkJrZdtto
Vex finally looked up.
“Huh. All three.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOj7IEc1gBX
“That was the deal.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3IK5CT1uq
Vex smiled and reached into a drawer. He dropped a bundle of bills on the table. Actual paper. A little theatrical.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNAJwr7Dzf
“Your cut.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMYJzPuxHf
Cirrus weighed the cash in his hand, saying nothing at first. His head tilted. “Is that how you afford such a nice place?"28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBU3cgwymax
“Yeah.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoGCT4pJcV
“We said twenty-five. That was already generous.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hC1YI8Q6S
Vex shrugged. “Finder’s fees. Shifts in market confidence. Take your pick.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtUSYtarXb
“Should have been watching the stocks.” He thrust the words out. A cortisol spike.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkpnx2VyYB
“You’re the one who said you didn’t wanna do this kind of work anymore. Call it retirement pay.” Vex did not look at Cirrus as he spoke, not that it would have made a difference.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPiGzKZ4ey
His hand drifted toward his coat.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6P6PzTYc4n
Vex continued. "Here's some advice from my masseuse: No happy endings."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VHc3sfMEo
I needed to deescalate the situation. “Four uniforms outside,” I whispered to him. “No chatter yet, but they have clocked the building.” It was not true, but it would not matter if he had a bounty on his head. They would be after him either way.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSUf4gXXkV
Cirrus stood still. For a long second, his fingers hovered just over the handle of his pistol.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcAAOZfnoE
Vex saw it.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqX7vp9Olai
“You wanna make a thing out of this?”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSETHGpFPDb
“No.” He tried to hide the shake in his voice. “I want a refund.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8FpmsdGDXW
“Huh." Vex's tongue pressed against his bottom lip. "Don't forget, I'm supposed to be here. You're the loan shark harassing a hard-working businessman.” He waved his hands flamboyantly as he said so; I did not mention it.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSXJcfT9Fu
Cirrus stepped slowly back and then paused. "Brave. That'll get you places. I hope they're places you want to be."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jlZTrGe3V
"Is that a threat?"28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5tzigioip
Cirrus turned and stomped out.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VQcDLBKiJ
"Let me know if you need help finding the door!" Vex's final shout came a moment too late as Cirrus stepped into the hall.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡayJPzbN6Hy
I nudged him down a side alley.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPI3kt2VGD5
“It would not have helped.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5xdvIivMm
“No,” he started. “But it would’ve felt like a tip.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgB4CrCkVQ
He walked a little faster.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd65sAd8ffl
"Maybe we get our refund later."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocFoxEzKIZ
A speeder went quickly past, billowing Cirrus's coat around his legs.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfFdylH4IW
"Yeah. Maybe." 28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQcUCoPieG
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYufOYKTNOH
We found a dim capsule motel wedged between two clinics. One of the old TokyoStack models, stagnant coffins of steel and foam bedding. Cirrus fit inside the room like a folded knife.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cudezzqbF
"How bad is it?"28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcI98aaHCr
He spoke more when no one could hear. 28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡri5BP3OLNG
"Life-threatening. I give you two hours before you die and I am sold to a more competent agent."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEM8Oj9WEyi
Cirrus laughed. It was the first time in a while that he had, one of those drawn-out chuckles that people claim to feel deep in their chest.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNjCLsc9o0
"It's called tactical bleeding. Besides, what's a competent agent want with some scrap metal anyway?" He smiled as if he had gotten away with lying. "What happened in there? You kinda skipped straight to the escape plan. I usually get some feedback." He shook out his boots, went to sniff one and then decided against it.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnIJuhGqVL
"You aimed center mass. He looked down from the lights and was caught off guard. Panic-fired and grazed your shoulder. Nothing bad. You fired twice, missed both." Emphasis on 'missed.'28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxIiHLxmjv
He thumbed the ridges of a flowery emblem as he removed his gun, lingering for a moment. It clattered as he set it aside. "Yeah… That's what I thought." Melancholy in his voice.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGfOpLocfo
"For what purpose?"28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4gx2rC6Fj
He didn't answer. Just sunk deeper into his little bed, if that was even possible.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypzhRPYn93
"You should have killed him. Less trouble."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCuY6wAkcZ
He sighed and moved on. "Do you think he recognized me?"28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNGoyIsALF
"He certainly seemed to be headed in that direction. It is possible he recognized you less after revealing yourself."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCTDWHb5Rt
"Hm." It was a short, sharp sound. There was pause, as he rested, that lasted quite awhile, but then, "I used to be handsome. She used to say that. And that she trusted me because I was strong."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTqhUBHUtB
"You are still handsome."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRiUXPzyQC
He huffed. "I've seen what people look like who wander too long." The words came out with a quiver.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWFHF4d1fg1
"You are still strong."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChHOl4rGIg
He turned over, as if to face away. He was done talking tonight. 28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fhxYXx8gb
28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVAEbwHVSq
The bills felt thicker than they were. Cirrus laid them out across the plain aluminum table in his room, thumbing through the band with the slow, quiet reverence of someone counting time instead of money.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK3GFySnqwc
“Most places will not take paper,” I reminded him. “You will need a desk or a runner to exchange it.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuIUJBJjX9
“Do you think the tooth fairy is available?”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeRCSvPZnD
He sat on the edge of the mattress, boots donned, shoulder aching slightly. The room was clean in the way abandoned things are: no mess, no story. A damp towel hung from the back of his brushed-metal chair. He had not slept. Not for lack of trying.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2yyVT88a9
"We should go. We won't get any closer sitting here." He had enough to buy a few days' rations, some info, and an EZ-Cot if the exchange rate for cash was still good.
“Warm as Hell and half the price!” He mumbled the slogan, a remnant of easier times. The bills tucked into the satchel tied tight at his hip.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGUtNm9tQi
Stepping outside, he expected the usual quiet that came from a cheap sleeper complex at four in the morning. Instead, police cruisers whizzed by as he opened the door. We took to the alleys, but remained wary of the lazy sweeps being conducted by small surveillance drones, bluish blots against the dark sky. Then I picked up the signal.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQZ8lev9dH
"Pinged comms. Traffic on Vex's usual circuit. They are tracking a POI."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVxQ8cqls6
His breath was fog in the glow of red nightlights above. "Vex sold me out?"28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkd0cRszuF
"Probably before we left the stairwell," I refrained from saying. "It could have been Tyven."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLthEH8Zo5V
"A mercenary won't rat on himself for not finishing the job. If he did recognize me, he wouldn't report me to local authorities. There are much bigger fish who would like me to fry."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrCflYQoCz
"That is not how the saying goes."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoljxshbJ6r
"It is today."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1h5mxAH30
He turned down an alley and picked up the pace. First checkpoint showed up near Grinley Station. Two uniforms, leaning casual but eyes sharp. One had a scanner out, pretending to vape.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMiRbvSWzD
Cirrus ducked behind a maintenance post and ran parallel to the tracks, breathing in short gasps. The outskirts of town were not organized into neat districts like the more bustling areas. You worked where you lived or vice versa. When the ground sloped down to an underpass, he took it.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlQQF6QQJX
Boots thudded against the concrete loudly, echoing, but covered by the growl of a cargo tram. He vaulted over a rusted fence, foot catching the edge of the twisted wire, and landed stumbling.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcS1erDAsd
“Muscles weary,” I warned him.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HWvAhJBnc
“I noticed."28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UULgZPByr
Two blocks later, more drones. Larger infrared trackers, but still nothing heavy-duty- the search was focused on preventing escape. That would mean more patrols the further we got from the inner city.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcW29SkRf0
"I have a feeling that we will not make it far on foot."
He leaned against a wall, concealed, and sucked air. "Get out of my head.”
I knew what he meant, even if the phrase seemed directed. He grinned. "There is one person who'll help."
ns216.73.216.12da2
