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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTFHqMz4Qu
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4DwG35ZmlJ
“You’re early this time."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqLSb9KBD7
“Wanted to beat the traffic.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIazeMxmoV
He reached into his coat and set the rods, wrapped in a borrowed cloth napkin, on the table.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfCJeB6YXt
Vex finally looked up.
“Huh. All three.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbDOFJaQQh
“That was the deal.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGbqxiozJx
Vex smiled and reached into a drawer. He dropped a bundle of bills on the table. Actual paper. A little theatrical.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9CjIvG8sO
“Your cut.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAZ4kmBlIt
Cirrus weighed the cash in his hand, saying nothing at first. His head tilted. “Is that how you afford such a nice place?"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9HHWWzH3Sq
“Yeah.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBbqCIOXBM
“We said twenty-five. That was already generous.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhDSaR8XbH
Vex shrugged. “Finder’s fees. Shifts in market confidence. Take your pick.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxaYs9X4YDg
“Should have been watching the stocks.” He thrust the words out. A cortisol spike.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh04E75sSiO
“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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIHQoWWo4H
His hand drifted toward his coat.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzMHwI2Syp
Vex continued. "Here's some advice from my masseuse: No happy endings."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZ6aSx2Xpz
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFWdLlig0Yn
Cirrus stood still. For a long second, his fingers hovered just over the handle of his pistol.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0x9gaBALv
Vex saw it.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWYXpeOZIF
“You wanna make a thing out of this?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DEiRgiuOc
“No.” He tried to hide the shake in his voice. “I want a refund.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEzrWaJmHN
“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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZrO6xiA9P
Cirrus stepped slowly back and then paused. "Brave. That'll get you places. I hope they're places you want to be."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAA31FHQ28n
"Is that a threat?"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rK9Yz8mok
Cirrus turned and stomped out.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxLSMaKFSK
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qOw4N6oq8
I nudged him down a side alley.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Dx2ST4Lbq
“It would not have helped.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe39w3PRCBD
“No,” he started. “But it would’ve felt like a tip.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFtDFzUmfc
He walked a little faster.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyljNT98o1
"Maybe we get our refund later."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡooF15vSJhy
A speeder went quickly past, billowing Cirrus's coat around his legs.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4J9gobnMx
"Yeah. Maybe." 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyrqzMDoAN
27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxI77Kc7jKL
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9EaUeSUufx
"How bad is it?"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NebAvp3V6
He spoke more when no one could hear. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIlNUvL5sHO
"Life-threatening. I give you two hours before you die and I am sold to a more competent agent."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4Ifpa0ZPT
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaw2rKaRm8
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwr373FVzjs
"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.'27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1y1MVcszY
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FBpZfAuUN
"For what purpose?"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXN5LmfPqo
He didn't answer. Just sunk deeper into his little bed, if that was even possible.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWF8CL3AUp
"You should have killed him. Less trouble."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YI0Gjqaiz
He sighed and moved on. "Do you think he recognized me?"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tP1jA7aU3
"He certainly seemed to be headed in that direction. It is possible he recognized you less after revealing yourself."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NXnm8pxXN
"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."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GKFCsC6Mk
"You are still handsome."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Vw9Lnthxr
He huffed. "I've seen what people look like who wander too long." The words came out with a quiver.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKevnFcvVEC
"You are still strong."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvviWXjEzA
He turned over, as if to face away. He was done talking tonight. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcURZOyWlba
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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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFMCL8aQt6
“Most places will not take paper,” I reminded him. “You will need a desk or a runner to exchange it.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYXgc1JokR
“Do you think the tooth fairy is available?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1w3nRdJxhL
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3djjzmTVU6
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7JO4JN7ZU
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkopmYVCXM3
"Pinged comms. Traffic on Vex's usual circuit. They are tracking a POI."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSLcfZkf7U
His breath was fog in the glow of red nightlights above. "Vex sold me out?"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRG9k8xBU3S
"Probably before we left the stairwell," I refrained from saying. "It could have been Tyven."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGgUkwW4j6
"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."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0uoaQWMmH
"That is not how the saying goes."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sCzaJC2As
"It is today."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7Sw6JfxF5
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0YxeB4DPd
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKJMhiuagM
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡviK4D4OrMj
“Muscles weary,” I warned him.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EdJARIpQG
“I noticed."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmk94U2a5f
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaLaC3ftTx
"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."
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