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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcSSBL2nxe
“Late.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHge6IqHlV
“Yeah,” Cirrus's voice was jagged from smoke and silence. “I walked.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrgwFh4XQu
Vex did not look up from his plate. “Huh. Thought I’d be meeting someone... taller.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrY4aZsJAnG
“You are.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9uQ3NA88M
Now he looked. Cirrus stood over the seated man, brushed the shaggy brown mess of hair away from his eyes. Vex’s smirk faltered.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6xpMLf6nl
“…Grey. Huh, didn't know that could happen to Augments."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmchtjickSb
“Does it matter?"12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3IUtHvPta
"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.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOPvCjHH6g
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡesTPSXzaD5
"They'll be passing through the Eastern side, residential, on some carrier pigeons. Not literal pigeons, you know, carrier drones."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5GTBJNfMr
Cirrus was familiar with them- somewhat bigger than the surveillance models, and squarish. "Got it."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5J2wRm9Rut
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.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXfKkFs2e0
“Plenty,” Cirrus said.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0GtX8sNffU
"Complex. He may be more intelligent than he lets on." Cirrus did not answer.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgG377xUbi
“I like you,” Vex replied. “You’re quiet. You prob-ly got your obituary all written up, huh?”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrM4b0oLsH
I noted the raise in Cirrus's blood pressure after Vex left his comment dangling.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFK1AQXgMO
"Perhaps not."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrELPQBteGs
Cirrus broke the silence.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLANu6S4AIK
"This is easier than just wiring transfers digitally?" He would not usually question an opportunity, but physically transporting crypto keys was outdated beyond reason.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSD2Q0kV5OC
"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."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVMqooZz0K
"Familiar with the details.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAfalmb0k0
"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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxeaVmQrEg
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?"12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDfoNEyQbV
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVj0mHXVE6k
He walks blind beneath the broken sky. Long coat sun-bleached, eyes clouded, he moves the only direction he can feel sure of.
Forward.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4lPx9VZHx
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnIe4jlVaIY
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfrJfT3qOU
Perhaps for the better.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyE06aVKlCk
"Sixteen feet. Alley ends. Cut right, open street."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tlKK53Wna
"Crowded?" He was quiet when speaking outdoors.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzAsgStX05s
"No. But busy." The puff of air from his nose told me enough. "Construction zone. Straight ahead. Fenced."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrnnK1KnkL
"I'll watch my step."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6NwrDTAbx
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXAhcG1fGP
"One step left. Nod. Stop, then turn right. Twenty feet to the door, clear."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvlyKT0b4s
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ896tedz9Nr
He was not always like this. But he still has vision. He has me.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrvBv67EFZ
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxqBfU9rO9
"You're sure they pass by here? We only get one shot."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AOM4I8xgq
"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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNeUrraQM2
"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...12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ueSKcRjuc
"Now."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvKnOWYrIBJ
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOL4EHGd7h
"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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQ1xFmJMCY
"Niobium-nickel alloy. Magnetic. You lucked out."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPtes7Vjdi
"I feel lucky."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aawjklJxd
"I would laugh if I could. Distribution center in three minutes. Appears fully automated. No cameras."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopLHpERpts
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRcJxJB5nX
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:12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAxMjdhsKe
"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."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTb8kz9Ug7g
His lack of response told me enough. He was focused.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgX68VOy3V
"Your six minutes start now."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUZ35nwrl3
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFDmTLy8a8
"The keys are serialized. Those. Designated box, thirty degrees, nine feet.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3l7mofHTdk
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡym96Wj4TXm
"Movement. Human. Outside the patrol pattern." 12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsKq02AVVH
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8iylGwb3j
"Control panel by your right knee. Hit it."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCyv9y5zDuo
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZ4ZZbIeXV
"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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WqhhKEHP3
"I asked you something!" Impatient.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kcDq1fknI
"He's Dresden. Three minutes until doors close.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBK3wzJRBEV
Cirrus wasted no more time. "Maintenance."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOsy5Rxu67
"Naw, they didn't tell me there'd be maintenance today. I didn't see you come in."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSeqfxQXDp
"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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnchRGJN5JW
"This thing shuts soon, and then you die. They tell you that?" He emphasized the 'T' in his last word.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckCWv6eOKd
"I'll be gone in a few minutes."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKsP1gNklD
"...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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQktys1na7I
"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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wxvHYY29p
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ12oVfXGtT
"A minute to spare. Not bad." A voice cut in behind us.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYIBrWqXBer
"Something doesn't sit right with me!"12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MGkQgwOue
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXIdRn67zX
"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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzu0y9Tkep
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. 12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNeb8obh1KT
"Forty seconds. Go."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7D9TSMUhHv
Cirrus took advantage of the momentary distraction.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3D7HcMR3es
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqp33zrNkn
Bang!12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtt4X4x3zxB
Bang, bang!12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgVlSkOYK2
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Xnwdt1zef
"Thirty-five feet from the exit. Bottom door rising, still vaultable. Twenty feet. Ten."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrR7Zv5TRbP
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVt93vWvC4
"Jump."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9a2zCwSTc
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. 12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0YL8QGdfdO
