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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG68HZ30LfF
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWeIJQUeQ9
“You’re early this time."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxc9NLZdAi
“Wanted to beat the traffic.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0DKwH9BN0
He reached into his coat and set the rods, wrapped in a borrowed cloth napkin, on the table.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82aWWQtgIA
Vex finally looked up.
“Huh. All three.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyVxNjvafK
“That was the deal.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCffIPTms13
Vex smiled and reached into a drawer. He dropped a bundle of bills on the table. Actual paper. A little theatrical.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygPubBvHLq
“Your cut.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WMDF6Imrh
Cirrus weighed the cash in his hand, saying nothing at first. His head tilted. “Is that how you afford such a nice place?"11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qAetuqXc0
“Yeah.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrz0pnENFA
“We said twenty-five. That was already generous.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YOOOi7xN4
Vex shrugged. “Finder’s fees. Shifts in market confidence. Take your pick.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqbLe4OGDG
“Should have been watching the stocks.” He thrust the words out. A cortisol spike.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQn7Xxr4TP
“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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9iCeV85vux
His hand drifted toward his coat.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmEIftGUGf
Vex continued. "Here's some advice from my masseuse: No happy endings."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmHggpzP1i
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNKBukIhaz
Cirrus stood still. For a long second, his fingers hovered just over the handle of his pistol.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5XhOCinhQ
Vex saw it.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVjRx0Jv6H
“You wanna make a thing out of this?”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7esQ1wGxK
“No.” He tried to hide the shake in his voice. “I want a refund.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM56Ik5oW5P
“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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyj7w9l8vWw
Cirrus stepped slowly back and then paused. "Brave. That'll get you places. I hope they're places you want to be."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lOacYGkF2
"Is that a threat?"11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1vedMUkjM
Cirrus turned and stomped out.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcwutjGcO0A
"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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJpOiiZ4Eu
I nudged him down a side alley.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3r1WHnlnhw
“It would not have helped.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgaqBDo5DyD
“No,” he started. “But it would’ve felt like a tip.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkOkL4NuQG
He walked a little faster.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvGeUtDLxZ
"Maybe we get our refund later."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifP6By0siK
A speeder went quickly past, billowing Cirrus's coat around his legs.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPaXUvks6V
"Yeah. Maybe." 11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwIlkY7hjgL
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPx99vcb8e
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5g6Yx8lIQP
"How bad is it?"11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lud6LHEgx
He spoke more when no one could hear. 11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqUBcr6adK
"Life-threatening. I give you two hours before you die and I am sold to a more competent agent."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7ZPjCidsN
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡregVXqBune
"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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIX0vTcXbwZ
"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.'11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KE1dZSWwc
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5J1sgxBi2
"For what purpose?"11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2zBeot37k
He didn't answer. Just sunk deeper into his little bed, if that was even possible.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkK2CoHazKC
"You should have killed him. Less trouble."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIiYswyAfl
He sighed and moved on. "Do you think he recognized me?"11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhoIbMfG4lM
"He certainly seemed to be headed in that direction. It is possible he recognized you less after revealing yourself."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOzxqaaOVJ
"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."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXVGSITGj5
"You are still handsome."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWueDyeYkg
He huffed. "I've seen what people look like who wander too long." The words came out with a quiver.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4xAjo1Whz
"You are still strong."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeVahUS77M
He turned over, as if to face away. He was done talking tonight. 11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFM0dzvRMZh
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkan8GeQe88
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0e7BoRcrB5
“Most places will not take paper,” I reminded him. “You will need a desk or a runner to exchange it.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdC0WN7PFYC
“Do you think the tooth fairy is available?”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6U0VKNpL9
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfdI7ob1JU
"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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PakASgFSI
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zLmU37yDc
"Pinged comms. Traffic on Vex's usual circuit. They are tracking a POI."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUeOzvmAx0
His breath was fog in the glow of red nightlights above. "Vex sold me out?"11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWWQT8tXkGF
"Probably before we left the stairwell," I refrained from saying. "It could have been Tyven."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdKNZJiZc6
"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."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPHlxIDR83
"That is not how the saying goes."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnQjqFoesP
"It is today."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCjB1IVYa3
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6m2rCFXpP8
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtQWd8suUs
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQVqE1ryXJ
“Muscles weary,” I warned him.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkyTRKr9f4
“I noticed."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wPdmLZ9wR
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTv0yDWDjcF
"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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