“.... Please!”

  In a dark and wet alley, a man was crawling backwards slowly. The alley was a dead end, so whatever he was trying to do, it was ultimately futile.

  “For fuck’s sake, mister, I did warn you, not once, not twice, but thrice.”

  A tall and toned man who was wearing a black jacket and equally black pants was closing on him. The only light source was a colorful spectrum of light from neon signs from outside of the alley, which drew ominous pitch black shadows that eclipsed the two men. There were occasional people walking past, but no one seemed to care whatever was happening in the alley.

  “I, I couldn’t help it! Give me another chance!”

  The man continued to crawl backwards, but soon enough his back was against a wet wall. He glanced back fanatically, realizing that he was nowhere to go.

  “Any last words? Sorry, but I’ve been ordered to bring your head, just your head.”

  “I, I CAN PAY!”

  “Really? Why didn’t you try to pay earlier? Pay up, three million credits in full.”

  “P, perhaps in installments?”

  The tall and toned man sighed with his hands on his waist. “Dude, I’ve given you plenty of chances for a payment plan. All you did was run away. Time’s up. You die here today.”

  “N, No, WAIT!” He pulled out a small handheld device which was mostly its screen. It was the size of a credit card. “200k right now!”

  “Two hundred thousand? Hand it over. You do have my account number, don’t you? After all, I sent you the info tens of times.”

  “O, Of course!”

  The tall and toned man could see a tiny screen working its magic in the man’s iris. Everyone had implants in this era, which was A.D. 9791. An eye implant connected to one’s brain for simple computing was extremely common. Soon enough, he heard a ding within his head. He also pulled up his own screen within his left eye and saw the sweet deposit of 200k. A tip of his lips curved into a crooked smile - or he felt so. His face remained stoic, however, in reality. What he did next was -

  “WHAT -”

  An energy discharge was heard which was nothing more than “pop” along with a flash of green light. The man had a burnt hole on his forehead and was sliding down slowly sideways to the wet ground. He had shot him in his head.

  “Dude, you had chances to live. You blew it.”

  Then he pulled out a small pick hammer and promptly smashed the dead man’s head sideways, cracking his skull. His brain matter spilled which he took a sample with a small vial. Then he turned around and walked out of the alley.

  “Cass, the job’s done,” he said after touching a spot behind his left ear. A female’s voice responded in his head almost instantly.

  “Good job. Got his brain sample?”

  “I have. Tell the client that I’ve also managed to squeeze out 200k from him.”

  The woman whistled joyfully. “Nicely done, you get 10% of that per the contract. Send a copy of the transaction please. We will need that to avoid any suspicions from the client.”

  “Of course.”

  He needed the brain matter to prove that the target was indeed dead. A brain and its associated memories were the only things that could not be restored in the current medical technology. An intact, but oxygen deprived, brain could still be restored if found within half an hour. Therefore, destroying a brain and taking its sample was the most sure way to prove that the job was complete. Did he feel any sadness or guilt for killing a man? He did not. The man was a trash in his mind.

  “Sent.”

  “Got it. Looks legit. You really did it, you fucker. Nicely done, Nicholas.”

  “Cass, I expect 20k, plus my pay in 24 hours. Clear?”

  “You need to drop off the brain sample.”

  “I will drop it at the usual spot in 15 minutes.”

  “Roger that. I will pick it up in 16 minutes.”

  Once the communication was over, the tall and toned man massaged his neck with a long sigh.

  “Job done.” His eyes lazily glanced around, looking at a desolate place he called home. Soon, he blended into the crowd on the street.

  Cold Haven was a name of a small sector within the Freedom colony. This space colony was located one light year away from the Solar system and provided much needed shelter from the atrocities of the United Sol, short for the United Solar System Federation. Therefore, the original inhabitants of the station were mostly criminals escaping from the federation. How this colony was established initially was a question mark due to poor documentation. Either way, United Sol never officially acknowledged the existence of the station, meaning there were no official ferry routes from the Solar system. People arrived here just fine still via other routes, however, although it would take them 9 months to reach. In contrast, the Podlezl republic had every reason to acknowledge the station and even placed a subspace portal near the station, allowing ease of access. Regardless, the colony didn’t need either nations. It was self-sufficient and was doing fine. With a population of approximately five million people, yes, they had no problem being by themselves. They had their own fleets and had their own economy. The colony was also one of few places with 1.0 gravity. The artificial gravity was generated by centripetal force, hence its spherical shape. Centripetal force had its flaws, however. Only those in outer sectors enjoyed full gravity. The closer one approached the center, the weaker gravity it became. Still, even the most inner sectors had at least 0.5 gravity. Powering a colony of this size was not a problem at all with radiation engines as well, which harnessed the most abundant energy interstellar space had: radiation. Politically, there was no election in the Freedom colony. The founder of the colony, who called himself as Aedy_Freedom, had been in power ever since its creation. Whether he was actually alive in this era was questionable. Given the fact that he would be over a thousand years old if he was alive, probably not. Either way, everything about him was shrouded in mystery, but nobody really cared as long as their businesses and daily lives were uninterrupted. The whatever entity that governed the colony was located in a sector called the heart, and it was the only sector they had absolutely full control of. All other sectors were rented out. The famous or infamous class S esper, Sae the little Witch, worked for the colony administration, ensuring a certain level of fear to whoever may have had some ideas of overtaking the sector.

  A man was standing by a window overlooking a night city scenery. His black short hair was gelled backwards, and his face was cleanly shaven. He wore a black utility jacket with black pants. With a height of 187 cm and being a very fit guy, his overall figure was impressive. His name was Nicholas, a 72 years old male. He was also a class B esper. There were two types of espers. The first type was an esper capable of harassing magic-like powers, like fire and electricity. The second type of esper was physically enhanced people who lacked the ability to create fireworks but had seemingly impossible physical speed and power. There was a third type, but it was exceedingly rare. They were referred to as passive espers who were not special in any notable way, but their powers were like passive aura. Nicholas was a physical esper with enough raw strength to rip a person apart with bare hands. His reflex was surreally fast as well, surpassing an ordinary human being by at least five fold. In spite of his physical strength, he preferred guns however. Still, he was more than a formidable opponent in melee.

  He was in his quarters which was just a one room apartment. It was small but tidy. There was a bed, a desk, cabinet, and that was it. The room was dim-lit, thus the outside view was in its full strength. It wasn’t a busy street outside but there were people. Women were looking for customers, and most men were either shooing them away or ignoring them completely.

  At one point, one of the women noticed him behind the window and waved briefly with a wide grin. He did not respond to the woman’s wave and continued to gaze into the scenery. At one point, he noticed that he was being contacted. His communication implant in his ear was subtly beeping.

  “Nicholas here,” he responded quietly by tapping the back of his ear gently twice.

  A female voice responded. “Nick, you free?”

  He sighed weakly. “Cass, you did see the away sign, no?”

  “Yeah, but you always put away the sign on.”

  Shrugging, he replied, “Point taken.”

  “So, are you free?”

  “Depends.”

  “Look, you are the only one right now. You have to take it.”

  “Oh, you are ordering me around?”

  There was a short pause after he said so.

  “Look, I am sorry if I sounded bossy. Please take it.”

  He sighed with exasperation. He belonged to an agency called “The faceless”. It was basically a mercenary organization. Their primary income was from taking odd jobs from civilians. He had been a part of the agency for 19 years. Things … had not exactly been good for the agency for the past few years. Their boss, Miguel, had some issues in his personal life that he hadn’t been tending to his company as frequently as he should have. And, because the Faceless was a private company, he was the sole decision maker which meant that the company as whole had been neglected for some time. Thankfully, the company did not require its CEO explicitly. Operators, like Cass, could process payments without him. But accepting new members required the company owner. Having a company owner going AWOL wasn’t good for the company image also. As a direct result, almost all members resigned from the agency, leaving them shorthanded. In fact, only four members remained with two of them being Nicholas and Cass. The company was as good as dead. The only reason he remained was due to the fact that he was still getting jobs and payments were going through. There was no need for him to apply for a new agency and start over from the bottom. This also meant that he had far more seniority than Cass who joined only five years ago.

  “Fine, fine, I will take it. Don’t you fret, Cass. Send the info and I will look into it.”

  Sounding very much relieved, she responded, “Thanks. Sending it over.”

  Job detail was being sent directly into his eye nerves from his communication implant. A man reported his daughter lost. She was last seen approximately 72 hours ago.

  “This task belongs to the police,” He muttered.

  His statement was correct. However, the sector they were in was called “Cold Haven” and was a designated lawless zone. There was no police.

  The place Nicholas and the agency were on was Freedom colony deck 126 sector 1200 section 452. It was one of the poorest places within the colony.

  With a population of about 1,500 inhabitants, everyone struggled to make a decent living in this small sector with limited economy. Strangely though, everyone was free to leave the zone if they wanted. All they had to do was take a sector elevator and just go to another sector. But those who chose this sector as home chose not to leave because the place had its own charms. It was also their home. It was also why he was still in the sector. He had certificates to do far better in another sector, but why leave when you feel home?

  Just as he stepped out of his apartment which was a colony-owned unit, which meant the rent was cheap and had bare minimum living standards, a woman with a brown pony tail in shorts and a dark red sleeveless shirt approached him. It was the same woman who waved at him earlier.

  “Hey, Nick,” She softly called him out as she approached.

  “Hey, Muffin,” he responded just as softly with a broad smile on his face.

  The woman was a street prostitute, Marie. Many women in Cold Haven were prostitutes in fact. He had previously purchased her services and always paid her well which wasn’t a common practice in the sector. Therefore, she was extra kind to him.

  She seized up her boobs while winking at him. “Interested?”

  “Nah, on a job.”

  “Later then?”

  “Perhaps.”

  “You are such a tease.” Beaming a big grin at him, she slowly and charmingly walked away to confront another man nearby who happened to be in mood and placed his arm around her shoulder. They merrily walked away into the distance. She was an accountant if what she told him was true. She claimed that the pay was acceptable, but she was constantly sexually harassed by bosses even when she changed jobs. She told him that she eventually found her true calling in prostitution. An awkward turn certainly, but it was her choice. At least it was better than being forced to sell sexual services.

  “Good for her,” He said to himself as he took a deep breath and looked at his surroundings.

  Cold Haven was basically a giant metal box with some buildings scattered across the sector floor, and the floor was like stairs except that there were only three levels. Such buildings were owned by either individuals or companies. Rest of space was used by the colony to provide the basic needs, such as housing, hospitals, sewage system, and such. It was easy to distinguish what was owned by third parties because such were buildings. Colony owned facilities were built into the sector walls and those had no design inspirations. They were dull-looking in other words. The whole colony was home to more than five million people. This sector, home to mere 1,500 people, was a very small part of it.

  “Always dark and gloomy…,” He said to himself weakly as he looked around. There was no day-night system in this sector. The only light sources were either neon ads or from lit windows. It was always dark and always gloomy. There weren't even street lamps due to the lack of any central authorities. Despite the sector being completely lawless, there were still laws upheld by few agencies that called Cold haven home. The colony authorities had absolutely no role and involvement. In other words, if something needed to be done in the sector, it was down to its inhabitants, not the colony. This was one of the charms that drew people into the sector.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “Let’s see….”

  He was looking at the details of his mission. The sector was fairly small but it didn’t mean it was easy to find a lost person. Because the sector had floors as well as complex interior structures, the actual real world footprint was much larger. Where he stood was the top floor of what was essentially a giant stair. There were two other floors below, accessible by an elevator, or some could simply jump down. An esper like him could easily do so. The top floor was essentially downtown with nicer and cleaner buildings and such.

  “A lost girl…, where would you be …,” He whispered to himself. “What a place to get lost, though. She must have had a death wish.”

  He knew from experience that it was not a simple “find a lost girl” job. In fact, he never trusted descriptions of any odd jobs he received. There was always, without an exception, something more. This was Cold Haven after all. Murder and rape were rampant although the top floor was pretty secure. Otherwise, someone like Marie wouldn’t be able to work. Either way, he still had to pursue the job as if he was trying to find a lost girl, and the first place he visited was Pink Spades, a brothel located right in front of his apartment. A runaway girl whoring herself for some credits wasn’t an uncommon event.

  As he casually walked toward a three story square building where it was boldly advertising sex for money, a bald man was standing by its entrance. The man was more than bald. He didn’t even feature eyebrows. He looked very ragged but rather slender. He did look menacing with numerous scars on his face. If you didn’t know him, you’d be scared to even approach him because he looked like he was about to snap at any moment and kill you. He noticed Nicholas approaching and casually told him.

  “Yo, Nick.”

  “Sup, Toby.”

  Toby pointed his thumb backwards, pointing at the entrance.

  “You are always welcome in Pink Spades.”

  “I am looking for a girl, a newcomer.”

  “Oh? On a job then.”

  “Aye.”

  “Sounds like a lost girl.”

  To which Nick gave him a nod.

  “No new girl as of late.”

  “No need to go in then. See you later, Toby.”

  “Good luck in your search. You are always welcome to Pink Spades.”

  Toby was the bouncer of the brothel. Rumored to have been a former assassin, the guy looked after every girl in the brothel. If anyone treated a girl badly, he’d go after him, beating the crap out of him. He even looked after those who weren’t employed by Pink Spades. Therefore, he was treated extremely well by prostitutes in the sector. If he wanted a blowjob, he’d get it, for free even. And he did not shy away from receiving free gifts from time to time. In his own words, he was a man with desires. Nicholas liked that about him. He wasn’t playing hypocrisy. Anyway, with the brothel out of the pot, he had to think of other possibilities. Just to be sure, he decided to take a walk around just in case the lady luck would smile at him and find the girl but to no avail.

  “Never easy, this,” He said to himself as he looked up to see the pitch black ceiling. It wasn’t his first time looking for a lost person. So far, at least in his experience, all ended badly. He had yet to find any lost person alive in the end. Finding an intact body was generally considered a good ending in these cases. Cold Haven was a lawless zone, meaning murder within the sector could not be prosecuted legally even if he was caught outside of the sector. Essentially, that fact made the sector a dark ritual ground for potential psychopaths and whatnot. Therefore, agencies worked hard to keep public order but only the top floor, section C, was only really secure. Below decks, like section A and B were far worse with section A being the worst. He had a hunch that he’d find this “lost girl” on section A, probably raped and mutilated. He had seen aplenty.

  “Hey, Nick.”

  “Hey, Nicholas.”

  People of Cold Haven greeted him casually as he made his way to the elevator. A lot of people on the top floor knew him because he helped him out from time to time. He found it interesting that females preferred calling him “Nick” while males called him by his full name. Either way, he nodded along with their greetings and made his way to the elevator.

  “Have you seen the news? It looks like Podlezl republic might invade United Sol,” a man said to his friend while waiting for the elevator to arrive.

  “How the tables have turned,” the friend snickered. “They deserve it.”

  The United Solar System Federation was on its last legs. Everyone in this colony knew this, including Nicholas. But he couldn’t care less since it was really none of his business. But he did find it indeed ironic. The United Sol was the one who funded the colonization. How could they lose to colonists unless they were so badly managed? Well, the truth of the matter was that Venus and Mars declared unilateral independence. Those two planets were the powerhouses of the Solar system. Venus was led by the Asperger, and Mars was led by Prime minister Masui. Anyway, with both planets out of the Federation, it no longer had the budget to do anything other than fanatically trying to keep the status quo. That wasn’t going to work of course since over 50% of their total income vanished. The most ironic part was that their savor “The Asperger” revolted. Yes, the Asperger, the most powerful esper known in the clusters. He was in line to become the next president of the United Sol. What made him revolt when he was about to be given the world? He really had no idea. In his own thoughts, he got onto the elevator to reach section A, skipping section B because he was fairly confident that exploring section B was going to be a total waste of time.

  “The very definition of shithole…,” he mumbled as he stepped out of the elevator onto section A. He was alone in that elevator because everyone got off at section B. The street was almost devoid of any light. Even light from windows from buildings were almost non-existent. He stood there for a moment for his eyes to adjust for the lack of light while checking his pistol to make sure that it was functional. At the same time, he turned his combat drone on and ordered it to come near him. It was stationed on the roof of his apartment building and it didn’t take long for it to arrive, taking aerial pictures of his immediate vicinity with night vision, sending it directly into his brain.

  “... Looks clear for now at least.”

  The last time he explored section A, he was ambushed by a group of thugs. If it wasn’t for his drone warning their approach, he might have not made it. Since then, he made a mental note of bringing his drone whenever he chose to explore section A. The drone was basically a floating bean that was the size of a toddler, with a gun on its tip and armor plates strapped on it. It had a dumb A.I., meaning it had no voice feature. Instead, it communicated directly with him via a secure communication link to his brain. It had only one signal which was “Watch out” if it detected anything approaching from behind. If he wouldn’t respond within a few seconds, the drone would act on its own and engage in combat.

  It didn’t take long for the “Watch out” warning to sound in his head. It was right after he explored several dark and creepy alleys.

  ‘I am aware. Keep your eyes on,’ he thought, which the drone received. It descended down and floated in rear, keeping its gun pointing toward the blind spot as he continued to investigate alleys. He knew it was only a matter of time before they attacked. The presence of the drone was perhaps delaying the inevitable by several minutes.

  “Fucking hell, this is too dark,” he grumbled. But using a flashlight source was out of the question. It would reveal his precise position. He wasn’t about to blow one of the few advantages he had. Even if his enemies had night vision goggles, darkness still helped.

  “Fucking hell, what a shithole,” he grumbled once again as he continued to investigate. It was full of what appeared to be garbage bags. Unfortunately, he had to investigate the bags since it was quite possible that the woman was chopped up and shoved into a bag. He could barely make out what was in bags with his eyes. In fact, it was his drone that was doing the job by scanning.

  “... Found something. Scan it.”

  It was a bag full of decomposing flesh. It was simply too dark to tell what they were exactly.

  ‘Artificial meat pieces,’ the drone answered within several seconds.

  “Bummer.”

  Hours later, he was still searching during which the drone shot out numerous warnings. He knew that he was on section A long enough to draw considerable attention. It was probably time to get the hell out. He felt like he was pushing his luck too far already. He did search nearly half of the section, however.

  “Just one more alley … One more exploration will do it in the worst case,” he whispered. However, he would need to wait a considerable amount of time before venturing onto section A once more. Therefore, it was rather crucial that he finished his investigation in one attempt.

  ‘WARNING. WARNING. TARGETS EXCEEDED.’

  It was a warning that a large group was gathering. It was time to go. Regardless, he proceeded into yet another dark alley and indeed he could actually sense eyes on him. At this point, he knew that he was in for a firework. It was already too late to get out. Therefore, he took his time investigating the alley. fully aware of the fact that he’d be ambushed at the exit. His safety was very much guaranteed as long as he was within the alley. At the end of an alley, he felt he saw something, a boot perhaps among a small mountain of garbage bags. That itself wasn’t a big deal. However, the boot looked to be a woman’s which piqued his curiosity. When he attempted to pull it out, he felt a heavy weight. He was positive that it was a body at this point. He surveyed the area just to make sure that there were no signs of an ambush or anything. Only when he felt was safe enough, he devoted his energy to pull out whatever was attached to the boot.

  “Fucking hell,” He muttered as he saw a body being pulled out of bags of garbage. It was the wet body of a young female. He had to turn on a flashlight to fully inspect the body in spite of danger.

  “Red hair …, a tank top, shorts, boots, it matches, this is the girl,” He whispered as he inspected the body of the female. The next step was to check whether she was alive. He very much doubted that she was alive, but this still needed to be checked and confirmed. He placed his index and middle fingers under her chin. He sensed no pulse. He then placed his palm on her slightly open mouth. Again, there didn’t seem to be any movement of air. Additionally, the body was cold, reinforcing that she was dead. However, in spite of all evidence stacking against, he still wasn’t 100% sure because espers could survive this. Therefore, there was one more testing to do, it was to check the eyes for iris reactions. When he pointed his flashlight light into one of her eyes, he saw something. Not a movement but he noticed that her iris wasn’t normal. It was really well crafted to a point that he wouldn’t have noticed it unless he was looking for it. It was an android iris which was a solid color. It did have a color pattern to conceal it but, since he was inspecting the eye with a flashlight, he was able to distinguish.

  “The fuck…. Can't it be true? The job was to find an android?”

  He was livid. He was risking his life here. He was told to find a lost girl. But here he was in front of a seemingly deactivated android. He wanted to call Cass right away but the place was just too dangerous for an idle chat. Besides, the moment he attempted to call someone, whoever was waiting for him would ambush probably. Pulling an arm of the android, he placed her on his back and dashed out of the alley as fast as he could. When he was about to be out of the alley, he suddenly found himself under a spotlight. There are numerous drones aimed right at him and there were figures with seemingly guns pointed at him.

  “Fuck!” Uttering, he took a sudden break in his run and dashed back into the alley. Just as he was out of their sight, bullets began to pour. His drone fired back in response. Dropping the android, he leaned his back against a wall and swiftly touched a spot below his left ear.

  “CASS!”

  Unaware of the situation, she casually inquired, “Nick? Any update on the case?”

  “I AM UNDER HEAVY FIRE!”

  “Oh, my fucking God!” She uttered.

  “I need a backup!”

  “There is no one online from the agency!”

  “Then hire someone! Hire a merc! Come on!”

  She was unresponsive.

  “Listen, Cass, I won’t be able to make it out of here alive if you don’t send a backup. Hire the best! I will split the cost!”

  “I have someone on the way.”

  “Good!”

  “I think I can hear the gun fight from my location also. Must be pretty intense.”

  “If it wasn’t for my drone, I wouldn’t be calling you right now.”

  His drone was the only thing that was holding them from rushing into the alley and overwhelming him.

  “Gotta go, Cass. Need to assist my drone.”

  “I want you back alive, Nick. You are the only active one left for the agency.”

  He laughed weakly and ended the communication. Pulling out his pistol right afterwards, he slowly walked toward the alley exit while leaning closely to a wall. When he saw a figure dashing in, he made an accurate shot in his chest. The figure went down at once. He looked like a regular thug. His act of defiance halted anyone else from rushing in for the time being because nobody wanted to die like a dog. He patiently waited, gluing his back onto a wall of the alley while gunshots rained down upon the exit.

  At one point, his drone was shot and it exploded in a frantic manner. With the drone gone, it was only a matter of time he’d be overwhelmed. The situation looked bleak overall but he wasn’t overly concerned. If he died here, so be it was his line of thoughts. He also wondered who might mourn for him. Cass would be in a tough spot and she’d need to leave the company. She wouldn’t be practically sad, though. They barely knew each other. In fact, they met each other only once because she was an extreme introvert who rarely left her apartment. Marie might be the only one who actually mourned for him. His parents? He hadn’t contacted them for over 40 years. They might be notified but he wasn’t sure.

  “Is this merc coming or not?” he wondered aloud while tightening his grip on his pistol, getting ready for his last stand. His gun was a plasma pistol which was powered by a battery. It shot out a high temperature plasma toward a target. The plasma shot was the size of a bullet and its temperature generally exceeded 5,000 Celsius. With its kinetic speed and such high temperature, it would penetrate most materials with ease. The gun was displaying that 92 shots were remaining which was more than enough. In fact, if they overwhelmed him, he wouldn’t even use 10 shots before going down anyway. Taking a deep breath, he slowly took steps toward the corner where the exit was. He was going to make several shots to take down as many as possible in order to increase his odds of survival. It was at this point that there was a disturbance. There was shouting and fanatic gunshots. It sounded like there was a melee fight going on. In fact, within seconds, the gun fight died off. Eerie silence dominated the scene as Nicholas was confused. Since it could be a trick to lure him out, he stayed still, holding tightly to his pistol. He was ready to shoot whoever was going to walk into the alley. And, when a figure did enter the alley, he fired a shot which was swiftly deflected by a blade. He had to raise his eyebrows after seeing his bullet deflected. It was such a skillful move. Additionally, being able to deflect a plasma shot at such a short distance meant that he or she was at least class A esper.

  “Nicolas?”

  Well, it was a woman, a strikingly charming woman at that.

  It was hard to tell with the lack of light, but she was definitely a charming woman.

  “Are you the assistant?”

  “Yes, come with me.”

  She had a brown bob haircut with brown eyes. She was wearing an interesting outfit, a short jacket that barely covered anything with a hoodie underneath a low rise shirt with vivid red linings. She was also wearing tight latex shorts with thigh boots. Finally, with pale skin and a red scarf around her neck, she was interestingly sexy. In fact, he thought she was an android at first because no sane woman would dress up like that unless she was trying to attract men. If anyone walked around like that in Cold Haven section A and B, she would have been assaulted and subsequently raped. That’s why the brothel and someone like Toby existed, to provide protection for women.

  “Who are you?” he demanded. “Tell me who hired you.” He wanted to make sure that he wasn’t falling into a trap.

  “A woman named Cass hired me in a rush,” She replied stoically.

  “What happened to the assailants?”

  “All dead obviously.”

  ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ He thought. There were a lot of drones and a bunch of thugs.

  Noticing his skepticism, she turned around and casually walked out. “See for yourself if you doubt,” she added. He carefully followed her and made sure that he was behind her so that, in the worst case, he could use her body as a meat shield. To his mild surprise though, she was speaking the truth. All drones were cut in half, and the thugs were either dead or bleeding to death from sliced limbs. He recalled how many seconds it took for the gunshots to die down. It was less than twenty seconds, probably. It took this woman less than half a minute to neutralize over ten thugs and drones. This was a work of a hardened professional in spite of her slutty appearance.

  “Who are you? Using a sword? You don’t see that around here.”

  Upon hearing him, she turned her blade off and stuck it into the back of her jacket. A plasma sword was basically a blunt stick when turned off. Therefore, it was completely safe for her to have done so. Then she casually started to walk away.

  “My job is done, so bye,” She said stoically as she vanished into darkness. Her high heels were making sounds as she walked away.

  “Her name is Ariel_Spear and she isn’t exactly a mercenary,” Cass explained when Nicholas brought the android as well as his destroyed drone to her apartment. Using an underscore between two words was a creative way to add a fake last name. Nobody had a last name since it was demolished in 3022 via the True Equality Act of 3022.

  “She works for an agency called ‘Space Gentlemen,” She added. “She was just exploring the sector when I contacted her.”

  She brought a cold can of beer and handed it over to him who popped it and drank it down in one go.

  “Phew, fucking hell. I thought I was a goner,” He muttered and added, “She must have made herself available as a merc. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been listed, yeah?”

  She nodded, and he pointed at her sofa. “Could I sit? Mind you that I am covered with shit.”

  “Go ahead. I never use it anyway.” Then she went ahead and inspected the android on the floor. “A really well crafted android, this is,” She said.

  Cass was a gothic girl. She was wearing a knee-length black dress with black lipstick. She also had short hair which made her look tomboyish. He never saw her with anyone, ever. He grunted hard as he sat down on the sofa then let out a long relieved sigh. He rested his head and shut his eyes.

  “I risked my life for that android. Have you contacted the client?”

  “I have not. I want to investigate first.”

  “A good call. Have you contacted Miguel though.”

  Miguel was the boss.

  “I left a message.”

  “That dude…, he needs to get his shit together ….”

  He fell asleep shortly afterwards, snoring.