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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKDvWTzZyK
“Late.”13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49e4M1b5js
“Yeah,” Cirrus's voice was jagged from smoke and silence. “I walked.”13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtWpxiEdc1
Vex did not look up from his plate. “Huh. Thought I’d be meeting someone... taller.”13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hdpx38pSX
“You are.”13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpAXr2wC2p
Now he looked. Cirrus stood over the seated man, brushed the shaggy brown mess of hair away from his eyes. Vex’s smirk faltered.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhC1WzzG0L
“…Grey. Huh, didn't know that could happen to Augments."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xLWJSwb6k
“Does it matter?"13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyP7UCc57gD
"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.”13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQj6KEjHplJ
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDCoo6Cj1f
"They'll be passing through the Eastern side, residential, on some carrier pigeons. Not literal pigeons, you know, carrier drones."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClCijPa9Ta
Cirrus was familiar with them- somewhat bigger than the surveillance models, and squarish. "Got it."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWF4PxlcY5B
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.”13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuox7GkIjNe
“Plenty,” Cirrus said.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbBsjUX5Cd
"Complex. He may be more intelligent than he lets on." Cirrus did not answer.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1UWhIqXAA
“I like you,” Vex replied. “You’re quiet. You prob-ly got your obituary all written up, huh?”13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwr6YeN9lhU
I noted the raise in Cirrus's blood pressure after Vex left his comment dangling.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8h3o4dCQjx
"Perhaps not."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeapGI9BWxE
Cirrus broke the silence.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHCoIHjfSY
"This is easier than just wiring transfers digitally?" He would not usually question an opportunity, but physically transporting crypto keys was outdated beyond reason.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUVBpQhlWq
"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."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1m6KoxiIp
"Familiar with the details.”13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxl1BXjEu2
"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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0COoOpLjnd
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?"13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEw31XEUWD
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZCw2mRz9b
He walks blind beneath the broken sky. Long coat sun-bleached, eyes clouded, he moves the only direction he can feel sure of.
Forward.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dutEIVwdZ
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeG1nnYMF6T
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjHPvNvtHk
Perhaps for the better.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl02U3mvuDJ
"Sixteen feet. Alley ends. Cut right, open street."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3I65Qx1HD6
"Crowded?" He was quiet when speaking outdoors.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJj9Cr0qhn
"No. But busy." The puff of air from his nose told me enough. "Construction zone. Straight ahead. Fenced."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQp5ycRRuaD
"I'll watch my step."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlicenRVdnH
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbq4d1Q6Hvu
"One step left. Nod. Stop, then turn right. Twenty feet to the door, clear."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UDULzxP7Q
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbs1qcLSr3
He was not always like this. But he still has vision. He has me.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgq2JeId7e
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8fB19Z2GZ
"You're sure they pass by here? We only get one shot."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡne86YKQiEc
"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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMEYAcBZRP
"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...13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlqriREtn2g
"Now."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6rrDTZXel
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtQrbKvkDJ
"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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJ3ocPbUg0
"Niobium-nickel alloy. Magnetic. You lucked out."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOavJrWMilp
"I feel lucky."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVD6WcMUCj6
"I would laugh if I could. Distribution center in three minutes. Appears fully automated. No cameras."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52CyhYqoIb
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrXASQUIXG
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:13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLDYIKA0GD
"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."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnKufWAjlP
His lack of response told me enough. He was focused.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nuHHfkgcE
"Your six minutes start now."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3orpVcPs4
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MYSSM17Ld
"The keys are serialized. Those. Designated box, thirty degrees, nine feet.”13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCqfuBIh8l
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPkYqNr6ut
"Movement. Human. Outside the patrol pattern." 13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJOQSteeSE
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1wzcFGFMa
"Control panel by your right knee. Hit it."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4l978EYSI
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9Un6h8vDA
"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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONBokp66nq
"I asked you something!" Impatient.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9b5rUxcXxk
"He's Dresden. Three minutes until doors close.”13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qQSkhJJcj
Cirrus wasted no more time. "Maintenance."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oUjWQ1f0N
"Naw, they didn't tell me there'd be maintenance today. I didn't see you come in."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Ys9h9ONi4
"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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpXKeOhafF
"This thing shuts soon, and then you die. They tell you that?" He emphasized the 'T' in his last word.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGd3SbyS9O
"I'll be gone in a few minutes."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmxl8dhjcQ
"...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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnQff7gZQl
"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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQfq3KYens
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkojO7ZxfC
"A minute to spare. Not bad." A voice cut in behind us.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYTr4Sv7rc
"Something doesn't sit right with me!"13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHRLqBolOp
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDaOsR4zNM
"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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR158Npad1T
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. 13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnIpoRgMQDg
"Forty seconds. Go."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjlWzUOUXU
Cirrus took advantage of the momentary distraction.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8MYYHEpT3
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MGsRJTSTm
Bang!13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEW9vkBzSCE
Bang, bang!13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlK67wHxs6h
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFb7Xv3YLa
"Thirty-five feet from the exit. Bottom door rising, still vaultable. Twenty feet. Ten."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiP9hNi3H3D
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8QE0opxbE
"Jump."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlLbaG2JT5
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. 13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyt7zCPuUe
