The Heist
Long after the decline of the glorious era of decadence, New London, lied in ruins of what it once was: abandoned offices, malls and cultural buildings were mixed up with new, shiny steel mansions of the rich elites who drove in their bulletproof cars with a wall of bodyguards around them. Those were built different… They didn’t run to the hills, in nature’s pristine environment to enjoy with the rest; those were thick skinned bastards who enjoyed all the nasty darkness of humanity. The best job in that world was to be a mercenary or a hooker…mercenary turned out to be less messy, and if you wanted to play a good guy, you decided to go with a job of a thief. Most of the time thieves had to take on jobs that would kick them out of the “good guy” bucket, but hey… you gotta earn that living…
Loud stomping sounds were coming closer towards the door. Dexx could see a yellow uniform jumping up and down thru the half-shut blinds. A thick cloud of smoke was hovering around her head. “Where do you even find these nowadays?” Lynx waved her arm in a futile attempt to clear the air. The doors slammed open and a bunch of papers came flying towards Dexx’s face. She stoically embraced it with a grin.
“What is this?!” usually pale white but now crimson red cheeks were burning with fiery rage.
“It’s a contract” Dexx calmly answered.
“Signed by a murderer!”
“Now… we all have our past. It’s the best money we ever were offered. I’d sell my ass for that but then again… we don’t wanna go that route. My girl… if you’ve seen the things I’ve seen…” Dexx reasoned with all amusing logic available.
“I will not be a part of this. Since when we are working for criminals?” Kae was still upset. “We were supposed to be modern day Robin Hoods, weren’t we?!”
Lynx bursted out laughing “Robin Hoods!? We are all filthy criminals out here! Rob the poor give to the rich. Or other way around. No one cares. That’s how you survive. If you don’t like it go to nunnery in the Hills or something-!”
“Maybe they’ll give you a horse, bow and arrow so you can go around saving peasants in your brave lil’ nun uniform” Dexx joined in.
“Both of you are good for nothing rouges. I don’t even know why I’m still working with you!” Kae stormed out of the room just the way she stormed in.
“Coz you aint got no money! Dexx jelled after her. “Eh… younglings…” she nostalgically puffed a perfectly shaped fluffy circle of smoke. “Do you remember our honour code when we started?” she asked staring at the hazy space in front of her.
“I guess you always start with high ideals…” Lynx’s voice was resonating thru the back of the room “… then you realize you live in a real world, not in a fairy tale or an action movie. There are no heroes. You are just saving your sorry ass at this point… she will learn soon enough.”
Dexx stood up and fixed her crumply coat… “Well then, I believe It’s two of us on this mission my ole scruffy fox…” she almost sang.
“Oh, shut up… lynx is not a fox.” Freshly opened can of beer flew towards the smoke clad grey figure behind the desk. A quick arm movement sent the can spitting the white foam in the other direction.
“You should stop drinking anyways” a rough laughter was coming from the mist. “Come on, time to do some planning. We might get ourselves killed if we are not careful with this job.” Dexx rubbed her palms.
“Ma’am! I was ready to die since I was born” Lynx stood straight, kicked her heels and jokingly saluted. “Viva la Muerte!”
Outside, Kae was listening to their jokes still fuming. They think they know better just because they became like everyone else in this god forsaken city. Lose all morals and think nobody can hurt you… she pouted. She will never become like them. Somebody needs to keep the balance in this world. She would too… if she didn’t have dues to pay…
Lynx Skinner
“Run, he’s right behind you! Dexx’s voice was screaming in her brain.
“Jump!” She raised her knees forcefully and felt a thick surge of hot
laser wave burning her feet. There was no time to think. You do what
you’re told.
“Portal, 2 o’clock, NOW!” Her body got pulled in as Dexx’s voice still
resonated in her head. The force started grinding her bones and flesh
into a pulp. It was never a comfortable experience.
After a short blackout, she found herself in a steel room, gasping for
that cold air of nowhere-land. Her body was transpiring. “I’ll get you
back in a minute, hold on.” Dexx’s voice was getting absorbed by her
every cell, giving her solace.
… Bones… why was he there? And how could have she escaped him? There was
no way. Him and Cell were the deadliest duo in their world. Nobody ever
escaped. Something was fishy. Failing in this job, meant certain death,
Griffith would never let them live after that. Why would he let her go?
It was a perfect opportunity for revenge. After what she did to him…
the betrayal, so deep, like those scars on his body. “I’m sorry, Bones…”
a couple of hot tears rolled down her frozen cheeks. Her Core was
vibrating with remorse. It was business… just business… business that
required taking lives and crushing souls. She would turn back the time
if she could. He was the sincerest person she ever knew. She’d never
betray anyone like that anymore. She will stick with Dexx till the end.
No matter what… no matter what the business required. She will get her
redemption.
Link Wescoff "Bones"
Cell was standing in front of the mirror trying to cross the wires in her neck.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Bones glanced at her quickly not to get distracted from repairing his gun.
“Yeah, it’s just a minor thing…” Cell was reluctant… “So… it’s Lynx and Dexx. Was THAT a good idea?”
She was pretending to be busy with the wires while focusing her eyes on him.
He was staring at the messy grey room, silent. Minutes passed.
“Don’t kill ‘em” his voice unexpectedly cracked.
“What?!” She turned her head, almost pulling out the left wire. “We are done if they survive! Griffith will not simply kill us and you know it!”
He was motionless, his lips one thin line.
“Bones!”
“They are not Wired, Cell. And… I cannot let her die. You know what would Alec want. And I promised him too…”
“But what about us!? And what she did to you?” The upper part of her face frowned in concern… that visible human that was left of her. “Even if we, by some miracle, escape, what about the liquid force? How am I going to survive with those Unwired mechanical parts… Bones..”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered. I told him I’d protect you even at the cost of my life, and I will.” His face was still but the rivers of sorrow were flooding the comforting stability of his essence.
She paused and looked back into the mirror. That sorrow was something they shared. The wires cracked and fused together. “Well… you don’t have to be such a cheese” She chuckled and met his eyes with a gentle glance of recognition. After all… they were on a mission. Both of them, for Alec.
Cell
“Myuu… Myuu… Can you hear me?” A familiar voice reverberated in her ears. She couldn’t feel her body nor open her mouth.
“Talk to me through your mind.” Now the sound was coming as a pure mental information.
“Bones? What happened?”
A gush of relief coming from above hit her Core: “You’re awake! Welcome back” Bones’s lips stretched into a smile. “We put you back together using mechanics. Now you look like a real Wired one…but don’t worry, you’re not.” he laughed. “We got into an ambush. The soldiers severed your torso. Rosenkrantz’s hounds attacked your upper body…” he paused…”…Alec…”
All of a sudden, a ball of dense emotion formed in her throat. Her insides started churning with panic, sorrow, love and loss… all together… at the same time. “Alec…”
“He managed to save your body. I couldn’t do anything for him… I’m sorry Myuu…”
The roaring avalanche of pain engulfed her consciousness. And everything was soft, gentle and light. There was no pain, hurt or death.
“Myuu…” the voice pulled her back into the tangible and her eyes detected a rugged face of a man… scarred, worn out, with deep lines of some past grief carved into, what appeared as, once handsome, youthful face. A mechanical eye was letting out tender, deep compassion. “Don’t go. He wouldn’t want you to… Please, let’s make his death meaningful.”
Kae Ono
“You traitor! Letting us do it by ourselves! We could have gotten killed!” Lynx was hissing at her, still immersed in her sense of barely escaping death. “I never said I was your ride-or-die! We have a contract! You know what it said!” Kae was screaming back at her.
How could she feel so shook? She doesn’t even have the connection to The Core anymore. Her insides felt as if they’d burst with anguish, hurt and guilt. What should she do now? She cannot turn them over to The Authorities… to Griffith. But then, what about her family?… It’s a cursed existence to go thru… all because of him gambling his family away. Thinking that he could play against Griffith. Now they are all slaves… Wired, unconscious, led by fear and manipulation through The Web. All but her… because she was her father’s favorite. Or was she? He gave her freedom to go about the world but whatever she did was determined by bounds of the Contract. If she’d break it, her family would stay slaves forever. If she was a good girl, maybe he’d set them free. But what’s freedom if your connection with The Core is destroyed. Rage started to boil in her every cell… hot lava in her gut. The burden of responsibility she never asked for… she looked at Lynx… if she’d only knew why. If they both only knew she really wanted to be their ride-or-die. She wanted to be wrapped in the soft, comforting blanket of friendship and comradery. It was lonely… how could she feel so lonely? She wondered if the Wiring worked at all…
…but she’s broken anyways… she doesn’t and cannot belong to either of the worlds. Her life was worth nothing… the life of her family was worth nothing…
She would not obey anymore. That will be her way of being their ride-or-die. She will die so they could ride.
Dexx Inoue
The pungent smell of a cigarette was filling up her nostrils. It smelled like crap… and it was burning too fast… What was up with those two letting them live? The mission was straight up suicide. She could see they let them escape on purpose. Now she had to deliver the information to Rosenkrantz. The guy was pure scum, but that would start a war between him and Griffith. Let them kill each other. In that chaos they will have the chance to flee. Certainly, she will recognize the Unwired ones… such as herself and Lynx. They appeared as Wired but their nerves and consciousness weren’t plugged into The Web. They were human. Uncontrollable, sovereign, free… connected.
Lynx and Kae were still having their argument. She tuned out. There was something approaching… she could feel it in her Core… what only Unwired ones had the connection to. She gripped her laser gun. Unsettling feeling in her whole body said it was near. Lynx stopped yelling and turned towards the door… and the doors shattered in pieces, and the time turned into a gelatinous, slow-motion pudding. Her hand was trying to bring the gun up but the thickness was making it ten times slower.
Cell and Bones appeared behind the door. Bones looked straight into her eyes. She felt him “saying”: “We are not Wired”. Their Cores connected in remembrance of their shared humanity and the time started flowing again. Bones looked at them reassuringly: “I have a plan.”
