An analog clock buzzed, forcing Scott to lurch upwards. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, noticing the few extra blankets atop him. He turned, finding Ferra sitting at his desk, smiling at him.

“Glad to see you didn’t run away in the night.” He pushed the blankets off and stood up, revealing he was still wearing the same clothes from last night. He shuddered, staring at the small stove. “What, you trying to freeze me to death?” He turned it back on, walking towards one of the many file cabinets.

She huffed. “Well, it’d be even more of a mess if you knocked that over in your sleep. Just because I don’t live here doesn’t mean I’m totally oblivious to how that works.”

He pulled a new change of clothes out of one of the cabinets. “It’s electric, and there’s nothing really flammable around. Not sure if you can feel it, but it gets pretty damn cold in here overnight. Now do me a favor and turn away.”

She turned towards the computer monitor for a few minutes.

“All right, you can look back now. Anyways, did you find anything last night?” He walked over to the fridge, opening it up and grabbing a carton of milk.

She looked back, finding him in a new change of similar looking clothes. “Oh yeah, plenty.” She turned back to the computer, sat down, and boot it up. She brought up a large list of jobs. “Apparently lots of people need help. Like here from the Hajji Caves-”

“Are you defective? You really think I’m going to head down there?”

She scrunched her face in confusion. “Well, mind explaining?”

“Did you even do research on what these places are?”

“I only looked for jobs, like what you said.”

He groaned. “Out of the way, lemme see what you found…”

She moved out of the way as he leaned over the desk, scrolling through the large list of jobs. “Half of these would probably get us killed on the way there… Sheesh, how did you even pick these?”

She shrugged. “Based on how well I could handle them. I mean, I didn’t take your skills into account, so maybe only you would die on the way there?”

He glared at her. “I’d take that as a threat if you didn’t have the perfect opportunity to kill me last night.” He turned back to the screen, continuing to scroll through the list.

“Ah, here we are. See, just need some night watchmen out in… The Fractured Cities, perfect.”

“What makes that so much easier?”

“Well since you’re too dense to do any research, the Fractured Cities are close, and the only real threats out there are drug-addled maniacs who can’t aim for the life of them.”

She crossed her arms. “Think you can give me a better explanation?”

“You’ll understand what I mean when we get there. Anyways, can you navigate out here?”

“It shouldn’t be too hard, why?”

“Get memorizing and planning. It’s going to be one hell of a trip out there.”

A ding reverberated through the room as he hurried to the other side, pouring himself a cup of coffee. While sipping from the cup, he opened up a different cabinet, revealing a small arsenal of guns and ammo.

“Take as much ammo as you need, and store it… Inside of you or whatever, just out of sight. I’m going to pack my other necessities.”

After packing a duffelbag full of clothes, his stove, and a few easy-heat meals, the duo finally left the office. Ferra dashed ahead with a longer bag slung over her shoulder. Before leaving the building, Scott tacked a short message about how he’s “Out on vacation” to the front desk. Ferra bounded out of the door over to Scott’s transport and stood near the passenger’s door.

“Do you remember what I said about that? It’s government owned. If I start using it for freelance work, they’re going to find and fine me.”

She paused. “Wait, how are we going to get to the job? If we move by foot, it’ll take almost a day!”

“We’re going to walk, take the subway to the edge of the city, and buy a cheap jeep or something. You still have lots of cash, right?”

She flinched, bearing shock on her face. “First, won’t anyone recognize I’m an android or something? Second, what’s a subway? Third, what does my money have to do with anything?”

“You look decently human enough in the face, so it’ll do. Not like people would want to risk reporting what could be an armored human and get sued in response.” He chuckled. “And for the money, we just need to buy a jeep. I’m rather broke, so hopefully you don’t mind footing the bill.”

“This was never a part of the deal…” She pouted.

“Well not like you have a use for that money, right?”

She stared, trying to think of a response.

“I can get more mileage out of it anyways. Now just stick close to me so you don’t get swept up in any crowds.”