EXT. CENTRAL CITY – BACK ALLEY CAFE – LATER THAT MORNING
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvWfK4CJaX
[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.”]
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84QypZcF0R
[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.]
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMzHnH2klA
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.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbC5nmNuSX
SD-K
“…Got it. Don’t lie to the unstable facial hair guy.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxa5YKxwxy3
SD-A (nodding solemnly)
“Understood.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡei3ffdVLql
[Jason pushes the door open with a ding. The warm scent of burning circuits and cinnamon grease hits them immediately.]
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyAw9OX6uDm
INT. CRANK’S CAFE – CONTINUOUS
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrIQkHNOpL
[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.]
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhZjSpLSI6
CRANK
“Jason Gearman! Look who dragged their dusty servo in. Finally got tired of vending machine sludge?”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTvhvVde6BX
JASON
“Don’t push your luck, Crank. That sludge saved my life during a shootout.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqscW3B2Eu
CRANK (pouring a mug anyway)
“Yeah, and clogged half your fuel pump doing it. Sit. I’ll make the usual.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKgDojXFlSU
[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.]
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqq1Ca0KNi
CRANK (eyeing them)
“New friends? They don’t talk much.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSG6WH7fef
JASON (shrugs)
“Tourists. Bit shy. You know how it is—first time in Central.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRqxUHi9roz
CRANK (leans over the counter, stage-whispers)
“They from H.A.H.? One of them's got that ‘molten wasteland trauma’ posture.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnu9Mlapp1g
JASON (deadpan)
“Molten wasteland posture is trending now.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLoIyJfiVjE
CRANK
“Fair. You want ‘em fed or just caffeinated?”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeW1EhoDuSu
JASON
“Let’s do two passive-burner brews and a stack of those hydraulic pancakes.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWfxsMavnB
[Crank grunts and gets to work, his arms shifting like kitchen tools from some horror cooking show.]
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fYrY2VAbw
[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.]
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXcrx1PmTx
SD-K (quietly to A)
“Every second we sit here, we risk exposure.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPdrwjxJHo
SD-A (softly)
“Yes, but also—look at this place. It’s... quaint. I like the lights.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNebzFbuuHM
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.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphAyH45ATn
[Jason returns and sits down across from them. Crank soon follows, balancing a tray of sloshing mugs and synthetic cakes.]
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjGAqze4wT
CRANK (dropping it all down)
“There. Fresh from the corrosion fryer. You bots enjoy now—don’t melt my chairs.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebEaJs1gNX
[He walks off, muttering something about tax fraud and whipped oil.]
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Hbt8in9uV
JASON
“See? Smooth. We eat, we leave, nobody dies.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEEA0AODN7
SD-K (picking up a mug and staring at the contents like it's poison)
“What is this?”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRLj9x4cU9
JASON
“House blend. Oil, copper dust, and caffeine. It'll either wake you up or reboot your entire operating system.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCBvaC6edc
SD-A (tasting)
“…Pleasantly bitter. Like regret, in liquid form.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFZaA2Z3BW
JASON (grinning)
“Exactly. That’s how you know it’s real.”
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Z4OVQOYq6
[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.]
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZRnLKfY4f
[Outside the cafe, in the alley across the street, a faint flicker—like static electricity snapping in the air.]
22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpFGyt3iEw
[Something unseen... watching.]
ns160.79.111.194da2
