EXT. CENTRAL CITY – BACK ALLEY CAFE – LATER THAT MORNING
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFzooQYSh7
[The trio—Jason, SD-A, and SD-K—approach a small, tucked-away shop pressed between a repair garage and a wall painted with obsolete Vision Tech advertisements. The flickering neon sign reads: “CRANK’S. Coffee for Circuits.”]
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qmR10HeHj
[The storefront is modest—built from reassembled shipping crates and old vending machine panels. A few bots sit at scratched metal tables, sipping steaming mugs of oil, quietly chatting or staring blankly into the void like good, tired citizens.]
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0kykYX674
JASON (quietly, to A and K)
“Alright, ground rules: No weapons, no talking about killing, no talking about being killed, and for the love of scrap, don’t compliment Crank’s mustache. It’s not real, and he’s very sensitive.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8js0KyDkf
SD-K
“…Got it. Don’t lie to the unstable facial hair guy.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2yia38Zcw8
SD-A (nodding solemnly)
“Understood.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qNsk59KfX
[Jason pushes the door open with a ding. The warm scent of burning circuits and cinnamon grease hits them immediately.]
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6tuzH6DS2
INT. CRANK’S CAFE – CONTINUOUS
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XF8KQcPD7
[Crank—an old, rusted Labor bot with a portly chassis, apron stained with oil splashes, and a very fake magnetic chrome mustache—perks up from behind the counter.]
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2ZNQnITny
CRANK
“Jason Gearman! Look who dragged their dusty servo in. Finally got tired of vending machine sludge?”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQCEZ05ZTm
JASON
“Don’t push your luck, Crank. That sludge saved my life during a shootout.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzgswF0wBS
CRANK (pouring a mug anyway)
“Yeah, and clogged half your fuel pump doing it. Sit. I’ll make the usual.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrH6yFifIlu
[Jason gestures subtly for A and K to sit at a table in the corner, out of the spotlight. They obey like suspiciously obedient tourists.]
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9GaG7CRwJ
CRANK (eyeing them)
“New friends? They don’t talk much.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7jtLJSIlx
JASON (shrugs)
“Tourists. Bit shy. You know how it is—first time in Central.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡog3lgkCvuA
CRANK (leans over the counter, stage-whispers)
“They from H.A.H.? One of them's got that ‘molten wasteland trauma’ posture.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxnxVVFeoBf
JASON (deadpan)
“Molten wasteland posture is trending now.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4n1bhvPIA
CRANK
“Fair. You want ‘em fed or just caffeinated?”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA11aw4o2Mk
JASON
“Let’s do two passive-burner brews and a stack of those hydraulic pancakes.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCn5hpYLb4
[Crank grunts and gets to work, his arms shifting like kitchen tools from some horror cooking show.]
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6BnPoRRsy
[Over at the table—A is staring at a menu labeled “Fluid Fusion Combos,” while K is scanning every inch of the cafe like a suspicious raccoon in disguise.]
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5kBzeDpqhX
SD-K (quietly to A)
“Every second we sit here, we risk exposure.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvMPIbY2QW
SD-A (softly)
“Yes, but also—look at this place. It’s... quaint. I like the lights.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AplMMisY8
SD-K
“You like the lights. Great. When they’re dragging us out for dissection, I’ll make sure to tell them you enjoyed the ambiance.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1GVFJidnb
[Jason returns and sits down across from them. Crank soon follows, balancing a tray of sloshing mugs and synthetic cakes.]
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35FhKpLhqR
CRANK (dropping it all down)
“There. Fresh from the corrosion fryer. You bots enjoy now—don’t melt my chairs.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXovN7Pkkt
[He walks off, muttering something about tax fraud and whipped oil.]
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDeE3BRuFW
JASON
“See? Smooth. We eat, we leave, nobody dies.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYD3765960U
SD-K (picking up a mug and staring at the contents like it's poison)
“What is this?”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CJRokX8Mv
JASON
“House blend. Oil, copper dust, and caffeine. It'll either wake you up or reboot your entire operating system.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKY3SGxKeWB
SD-A (tasting)
“…Pleasantly bitter. Like regret, in liquid form.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YcT0Pa0jp
JASON (grinning)
“Exactly. That’s how you know it’s real.”
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoXHU0zH8o
[The three of them eat quietly, blending in just enough. A few customers glance over, but Jason's body language says "don’t mess with this table" in all caps. A sense of almost-normal settles over the scene. Almost.]
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTI05JOqU1
[Outside the cafe, in the alley across the street, a faint flicker—like static electricity snapping in the air.]
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rFg745MwF
[Something unseen... watching.]
ns216.73.216.210da2
