"No money? No problem. I'll take payment in anything. Genetics, Cybernetics, Drugs. You name it, I'll take it in payment. But you won't be getting any other deals like this on RED chummer. I am the best there is."
His voice made Kiko want to pull out his baton and beat the glittering look out of the punks blue eyes. "Yeah, right. 5k. Repaided plus intrest in your two weeks. Fine. Whatever."
The tall man smiled and reached into a pocket, fishing out a money clip style wallet. Kiko was stunned to see any chummer walking the streets of RED with that kind of hard currency on him. A few flicks of lighting fast fingers told Kiko why. It looked like the man was jacked tight. Real tight. He reached out and placed five thousand chyen in Kiko's waiting hands, then gave a curt nod.
"Two weeks. Seeya then 'Agent'…"
A quick turn of the heels and a few steps down the quiet alley, and the loan shark began fade into the mix, the melody of his laughter grating Kiko's nerves like a hot knife. Nobody should seem as genuinely happy as that man. Especially on RED.
Kiko waited the standard five minutes before sauntering out onto the street, dodging a thrown bottle from some faceless ganger on the corner. Looked like it was going to be an okay day after all...
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A slick acidic shower fell down from above, staining the world in wet grey and rust, falling into her eyes when ever she looked up to the windows of the appartments surrounding her. People pressed in from all sides, jostling and shoving her along with them, occasionally grabbing a feel of some part of her anatomy.
"Fuck I hate this place," she muttered under her breath, "Where the hell is he..."
It had been Sarah's third trip around the block. Her contact was late, as usual. Why she still worked with Edmond was beyond her, he was always late, every run they did together was a disaster, and they usually barely broke even. Tentatively she reached out and flipped the public network on.
Instantly a million thoughts cascaded across her mind, dancing feather light untill they resolved into actual bits of conversations. Talk of sex, of Judges, and worst of all, encrypted keys. Each message a static wall of thought making her skin crawl with worry. Carefully she reached out, looking for Edmond's alias.
Amidst the thousands of fake names and mindless thoughts she found him...
Where the fuck are you E?
Almost there babe, just rounding the block now. Head on into the building.
Why the fuck do I stay in business with you? You are a total fuck up.
Waiting for an answer she rounded a corner and dodged across traffic towards an old run down appartment complex, long since abaondoned after fire and toxic sewage leeks drove even the most desperate of the homeless away. Carefully she loped up the steps and headed towards the door, eyes scanning for trouble.
Must be the sex.
She smiled slightly and crossed the threshold, and the chaos of the public channels crashed to silence, the sudden absense knifing through her mind, leaving her wanting. As her brain re-adjusted to being alone in its thoughts, her eyes adjusted to the dark interior of the entry room. Years of dust stired up by the occasional footstep lead further back into the building, a popular place to get a quick romp or do a bit of business. Sarah had different plans tonight.
She walked through the rotting building, covered in the char of fire damage, the smell long since faded to a bare memory of the smoke that initially destroyed the place. A rat scurried in the shadows, a small one, only about the size of a rabbit.
"Fucking rats…"
The sound of her soft voice echoed down the forgotten hallways, bouncing back to her haunted and lost, but still containing that tight edge of nervousness that she always wore when she was starting a new job. This one would be it though. The big pay off, that final gig that would get her and Edmond up to Gold, maybe Green if they played their cards right.
A sudden scuffing of feet sounded behind her, and she rolled to one side, coming up with her Seburo 6mm pointed in the direction fo the noise. Standing there, smirking was Edmond, a big grin on his face.
"What the fuck is your problem?" She hissed in a low tone at him.
A sudden noise behind her made her flick her head to one side just in time to see three suits walking down the collapsing stairs.
Edmond walked up to them and nodded, then walked back to Sarah, still smiling. With a lighting fast movement he kicked out and sent her Seburo, and her hopes for topside, skittering across the dusty floor.
"Sorry babe, nothing personal, it's just chyen," said Edmond as his fist crashed down into Sarah's face, knocking her to the floor.
The last thing she thought as the world blacked out was how stupid it was of her to fuck that bastard...
* � �* � �* � �* � �*
