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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyqxc0pLml
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodY5udClXE
“You’re early this time."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8dmJefEqr
“Wanted to beat the traffic.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVd6fjdtNvl
He reached into his coat and set the rods, wrapped in a borrowed cloth napkin, on the table.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMJAvip858
Vex finally looked up.
“Huh. All three.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtj0vHG4PE0
“That was the deal.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWdMm7wnQX
Vex smiled and reached into a drawer. He dropped a bundle of bills on the table. Actual paper. A little theatrical.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEoUGI7rp9r
“Your cut.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyLe3l1EiJ
Cirrus weighed the cash in his hand, saying nothing at first. His head tilted. “Is that how you afford such a nice place?"10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7Zkiaba00
“Yeah.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡda3fUMr0RF
“We said twenty-five. That was already generous.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSWOBCQ45B
Vex shrugged. “Finder’s fees. Shifts in market confidence. Take your pick.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSchU5WJ9n
“Should have been watching the stocks.” He thrust the words out. A cortisol spike.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Cm2VbTrBq
“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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGkcpxeQWD
His hand drifted toward his coat.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpti5D9sXP
Vex continued. "Here's some advice from my masseuse: No happy endings."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpL6bmkrqZc
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0PW5VlOVZ
Cirrus stood still. For a long second, his fingers hovered just over the handle of his pistol.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyawuYlNjs
Vex saw it.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡec4VtQpomZ
“You wanna make a thing out of this?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡME7Afm2kbN
“No.” He tried to hide the shake in his voice. “I want a refund.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupWrslResE
“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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yxGciRHnm
Cirrus stepped slowly back and then paused. "Brave. That'll get you places. I hope they're places you want to be."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc52VICuL9B
"Is that a threat?"10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCyqrnZft6
Cirrus turned and stomped out.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuivbWobn0
"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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgq7Ivz68B
I nudged him down a side alley.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5xusPNXQS
“It would not have helped.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSP0NfDn1i
“No,” he started. “But it would’ve felt like a tip.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFYVy5KEN1
He walked a little faster.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyas1UKVGJb
"Maybe we get our refund later."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUrG1nBmnX
A speeder went quickly past, billowing Cirrus's coat around his legs.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93RAo9tF0f
"Yeah. Maybe." 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcB5DletqF
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHiY9gyATx
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LFzRzfrdn
"How bad is it?"10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJOEF5fJ41
He spoke more when no one could hear. 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAEZfSlMvc
"Life-threatening. I give you two hours before you die and I am sold to a more competent agent."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpWlxOzZ9so
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8Jb6pebuA
"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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PfKIhUz1Z
"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.'10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjGfKIdLlF
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82mL9ggMXB
"For what purpose?"10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9bP47MEiO
He didn't answer. Just sunk deeper into his little bed, if that was even possible.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcny5Ft1aAH
"You should have killed him. Less trouble."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IMUxG8U5r
He sighed and moved on. "Do you think he recognized me?"10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9Ep13QsB7
"He certainly seemed to be headed in that direction. It is possible he recognized you less after revealing yourself."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEeZ2RtIsl1
"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."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTA1qtnjA3C
"You are still handsome."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6mKnakCVY
He huffed. "I've seen what people look like who wander too long." The words came out with a quiver.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Dyx9X56Ei
"You are still strong."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGImDpC7p1
He turned over, as if to face away. He was done talking tonight. 10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ae4ke3wPy
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5guIBpqb9b
“Most places will not take paper,” I reminded him. “You will need a desk or a runner to exchange it.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RyfAquPoP
“Do you think the tooth fairy is available?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6owjYVTRkU
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKHhoSgQw4
"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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvPHnpwkgK
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOg1K9T7jL
"Pinged comms. Traffic on Vex's usual circuit. They are tracking a POI."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXe0cyR3gk
His breath was fog in the glow of red nightlights above. "Vex sold me out?"10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUt5MjWJOYS
"Probably before we left the stairwell," I refrained from saying. "It could have been Tyven."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMilnu7mfhi
"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."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtdyMaSDMN
"That is not how the saying goes."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfzRExeKjy
"It is today."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlH3bKAmWot
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOr4vbxqjk
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0nlYWaPuB
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rSqj6L4R0
“Muscles weary,” I warned him.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5PbCDuK4J
“I noticed."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYgJnVBZZs
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ycj5MXgK0
"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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