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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEIcbpiPYn
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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTupPHVxTz
“You’re early this time."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOp8j3ZboWd
“Wanted to beat the traffic.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBCwROnJ7r
He reached into his coat and set the rods, wrapped in a borrowed cloth napkin, on the table.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGExsXhew7h
Vex finally looked up.
“Huh. All three.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjUMkrl5R7
“That was the deal.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA518zI7IF2
Vex smiled and reached into a drawer. He dropped a bundle of bills on the table. Actual paper. A little theatrical.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgoWh1ari1K
“Your cut.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Tds3WpXrF
Cirrus weighed the cash in his hand, saying nothing at first. His head tilted. “Is that how you afford such a nice place?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJouL1WBXZz
“Yeah.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNJOdMhM8z
“We said twenty-five. That was already generous.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrow0BWmdc0
Vex shrugged. “Finder’s fees. Shifts in market confidence. Take your pick.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpRwWvAQKG
“Should have been watching the stocks.” He thrust the words out. A cortisol spike.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvTaM2Opfc
“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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fifqlVN6b
His hand drifted toward his coat.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUaZrGRlwB
Vex continued. "Here's some advice from my masseuse: No happy endings."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXa19FyxIGg
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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiO7lh6tEfb
Cirrus stood still. For a long second, his fingers hovered just over the handle of his pistol.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡziPOsPl4SM
Vex saw it.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxBOCownCa
“You wanna make a thing out of this?”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW49gHkeF7J
“No.” He tried to hide the shake in his voice. “I want a refund.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDp1iTGgxA
“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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQSC15NUOp
Cirrus stepped slowly back and then paused. "Brave. That'll get you places. I hope they're places you want to be."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeH1jUuxBz8
"Is that a threat?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNoSMKY7M5
Cirrus turned and stomped out.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37uMQDEOHv
"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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHeaVkh7oF
I nudged him down a side alley.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6Pw6jbT1G
“It would not have helped.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCOFhAht8R
“No,” he started. “But it would’ve felt like a tip.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzPDPTbpJ7
He walked a little faster.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7NqHUYWEj
"Maybe we get our refund later."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGL7mBhNqU
A speeder went quickly past, billowing Cirrus's coat around his legs.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDMsnfxlpr
"Yeah. Maybe." 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡji6DE2YyF3
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn15f5RMAwa
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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsab87ydcq
"How bad is it?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGE4LzBm4jv
He spoke more when no one could hear. 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30Noa0TcmO
"Life-threatening. I give you two hours before you die and I am sold to a more competent agent."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD55XzPSvw3
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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFHA1fKTCO
"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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTdTFfMS6k
"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.'8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4L5UzpB12l
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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQQkSJHtHo
"For what purpose?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1Ayk62HuF
He didn't answer. Just sunk deeper into his little bed, if that was even possible.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwx4eALcxM
"You should have killed him. Less trouble."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYAwH3wZ1d
He sighed and moved on. "Do you think he recognized me?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkr6WTlswT
"He certainly seemed to be headed in that direction. It is possible he recognized you less after revealing yourself."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4wAhgGJC0Q
"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."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHYYbQAz2Q
"You are still handsome."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJI9zUcrfX
He huffed. "I've seen what people look like who wander too long." The words came out with a quiver.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnI3iYvgfWk
"You are still strong."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zogIUginw
He turned over, as if to face away. He was done talking tonight. 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaI7PvD7Twx
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡei3L6MoMRF
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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJVg0JbZ4W
“Most places will not take paper,” I reminded him. “You will need a desk or a runner to exchange it.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8OxXMKrXTR
“Do you think the tooth fairy is available?”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLZHfTUXhh
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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZOCf3AAvs
"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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8fCgpVjno
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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1T2RIwgX7
"Pinged comms. Traffic on Vex's usual circuit. They are tracking a POI."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNp9dnxEm3
His breath was fog in the glow of red nightlights above. "Vex sold me out?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Wtxy03IBA
"Probably before we left the stairwell," I refrained from saying. "It could have been Tyven."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnINAfDcqDb
"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."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1j6pDx2Be
"That is not how the saying goes."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGv2Khg0ZJX
"It is today."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhP7YD0AWlF
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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uoqehyJWM
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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDILLrfGLx
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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKx0l9RAs0
“Muscles weary,” I warned him.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSShhN31RjT
“I noticed."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKzi3YJHIG
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.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEfz2xF2xH
"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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