The chiming sound of digital mail woke me with the annoying sound effect. One I’d assigned. Good thing only I could hear I thought bitterly, forcing my eyes open. The chime went off again, making my head ring.

I rolled to left, feeling Shin-Lee’s thigh. It felt smooth through the silk, but mostly tempting to embrace. I forced my mind from such thoughts, and let my hand glide across her leg once more, watching her move in the bed.

Then, the god damn bell rang again. Motherfucker! I forced the chime off, stimulating my SMB to do so.

At times like this, it showed me how much I relied on Nova to relieve me from some of these technological caveats, which made me miss her even more as my head felt empty…as if a voice was missing.

Not my voice, of course, I wasn’t crazy…but the voice that provided me with mental support all through my times of loneliness when Shin-Lee was still living in Castrons with Hannah.

I finally pushed myself up, sliding my back against the bed head as cautiously possible as I could. The window panel was still active on the right, leaving the room dark. I stimulated my SMB to activate my digital mailing system and it pulsed into existence covering my entire Cybernetic eye.

The HUD for my eye was white, with multiple lines, separating everything from mail, voice mail and job offers. That was for odd security jobs, but rarely any came through…not like that mattered anyway.

The pay was complete shit for those jobs, which by the way were short stint gigs. Hell, some of them were just bodyguard duty outside of a nightclub. I was trained to kill…I wouldn’t DARE disrespect myself enough to take up such work. But maybe I should I thought, we need the credits. Hannah needs more nanite shots!

I tapped My Digital Mail, and the lines of mail went down like a flood. I caught glimpses of spam within the folder. I tapped the red bell at the bottom right corner of the digital mail screen. A ding chimed off, and I saw a credit of hundred credits pulsed into existence with a negative sign in front of it.

After browsing through my digital mail for a few minutes. I finally found the registered mail that chimed me awake. The mail came from CSS, with no topic or attachment and had but one sentence “Report to the Head Office.”

Two buttons sat below that sentence, one green, the other red. I selected the green because I finally got a job after waiting a whole two months.

“Good Morning Mr Kaiden Cypher.” A female voice said, through my ear. “This message is automated, so you don’t need to respond. My name is Relis Again and I’m the Task Manager for Celaron Security Services, as you’ve just accepted a job offer from our automated services, I must advise you that the job offer is VVIP. Your acceptance of the job will not be accepted unless you walk through the doors of the CSS Headquarters by noon. Thank You.”

The digital mail blanked out and erased itself from my inbox. Standard protocol. It wasn’t as clandestine as people might think, but it made it seem official. Clandestine operations are usually delivered by word, nothing digital, as that could easily be hacked.

In a case like this, the message did state that I accepted the offer for the job, but in reality, it was just a test to see if I would be interested in taking it.

You see, not everyone wants to take a VIP or VVIP job. Those security details are EXTREMELY dangerous with a high risk of death, mixed in with subterfuge and multiple forms of cacophony. Shit Detail, some would say…but those details paid quite hefty, starting price being 150 to 180K…starters.

Cypher…life is about choices…what are you gonna do? I asked myself. Shin-Lee laid it out all for me, making my decision easy. The price of the nanites was about to increase soon. We need the capital to ensure we can guarantee the remaining doses.

I tapped Shin-Lee inside, feeling as his skin shifted beneath my thumb. After five taps, she eventually rolled over, eyes bloodshot red and smacking her lips as she slowly pushed herself up.

“Vhath doth you vanth?” She asked with a big yawn. “Just gotta gig,” I said with a smirk. “WHAT?” She said eyes widened with surprise. “Already?”

“Yeap and…I’m taking it.”

“That’s GREAT!” She celebrated, jumping into my arms for a few seconds. Shin-Lee withdrew eyes red and began biting her lips, she squinted then asked. “With whom?”

“CSS”

“No.” She snapped, slapping her hand against the bed.

Shit. I flashed my best smile and slid my hand across Shin-Lee’s shoulder, her soft skin, felt as smooth as ever…for a moment. Shin-Lee shrugged my hand away, turning her face sour. “Don’t touch me.” She said angrily.

“Fine…but at least hear me out.”

“There’s nothing to discuss, you decided without conferring with me, tell me…if I just went and bought the nanites without discussing it with you, how would you feel?”

Like complete shit “I wouldn’t like it.” I admitted.

“But here we are, doing what you want without a single thought of how I would feel about it.”

“That’s not it,” I whispered.

“Then what is it Kaiden? Do you need more space? If not ten…maybe twelve months worth this time?”

“I told you…the Federation cut ties with me once I came back with you, They won’t shield me if Calisum’s men were to find me!”

“You believe that Calisum would send men for you after you killed his father?”

“That’s what they told me.”

“They also told you to leave me in Latrina…did they not?”

“Not the point.”

“Then what is.”

“It’s a VVIP detail. I can get between 150 to 180K…easily.”

“Kaiden…” Shin-Lee said huffing the steam from her lips as her tone went cold. “This has never been about credits. Do you not see how HANNAH clings to you whenever she sees you?”

OF COURSE, I SEE I thought, forcing the tears back, “Look…you asked how am I to recoup the 400K I spent, this detail could cut that in half.”

“That detail…could also be your last, plus the 35% Tax on that 100K doesn’t matter, we’re back to square one, aren’t we?”

I didn’t want to answer, but with the angered glare Shin-Lee gave me. I had no choice. I understood what she said, and meant. She was tired of me not being there, especially when I undertook such details. It wasn’t what she signed up for, but it was what she got. I’m a damn mercenary for christ's sake.

“…I’ll head down CSS, see what type of job it is. If it’s buss, I’ll let them know I can’t do it, OK?”

Shin-Lee sat in the bed opposite me, bloodshot eyes turning white, indicating she was wide awake. Her arms were folded and her legs lapped. “Fine…” She finally said after two minutes of silence.

“Good…”

◆◆◆

Thousands, if not hundreds of white headlights and red tail lights soared to my left and right, I stood on the rooftop of my apartment complex. The lights seem like dragonflies fluttering through the morning mist, hunting for mosquitoes within the misty skies of Bridge City.

The neighbouring skyscrapers were barely visible, leaving the city to feel gloomy, in the far distance. The mist was so thick, not even my cybernetic eye could pierce it.

I let my mind wander back to Shin-Lee as she stood next to me, trying to keep warm. She had tossed the silk gown over a chair but forgot to wear her coat on her up with me. Not like it mattered to me.

My arm was tightly gripped around her waist. No matter how much I tugged and hugged her, she feigned ignorance, but I could feel the ice dissipate from her cheek whenever I kissed her.

“I’ll be back soon,” I said firmly, cracking a smile. Shin-Lee still didn’t budge. She pushed herself off, keeping herself ten paces off from me and keeping her arms folded, whilst staring into the mist.

I walked over to her, blocking her view of the sky. I could feel her eyes peering through me as she continued her gaze. I wrapped my arms around her, hugged her tightly and finally felt her arms smother me. “I’m tired Kaiden,” She said, burying her face into my chest. “I’m tired of not being around you.”

“I know, but it’s as I said, I’ll be back quickly. The detail doesn’t start till noon. If I show up now, it means they’ll have enough time to find someone else.” I said, trying my best to comfort her.

“…then be back home before noon.”

“Got it.”

The cab finally arrived after five minutes. I gave Shin-Lee a gent smile, and a steamy kiss, one, in which she finally let her anger dissipate.

Once I got in the cab, I plunked myself into my seat, feeling the warmth from the AC vent, fighting the cold into the away.

“Where to sir?” The cabbie asked.

“CSS Headquarters,” I answered. The cabbie released a low howling whistle, showing his concern “Skylane or Tarmac?” he asked.

“Whatever gets me there the fastest” I answered.

“Skylane it is…buckle up.”

◆◆◆

Celaron Security Systems is located within the Southern District of Bridge City. Unlike the Medical District, Finance or the Industrial District, the southern side didn’t have any specificity to it. It was simply a conundrum of varying businesses running at the same time, like a bubbling pot of meat.

Augmented Reality Arcades, Horror Houses, Microfinance Loans…Private Investigators…anything is seen as ‘different’ were located within the Southern District of Bridge City. It was like a cast-off district from all the ‘classy’ sides of Bridge City.

The cab descended from the Skylane and I saw CSS Headquarters appear to my left. The cab landed with a groan, and the door slashed open, wind pouring into the car with anger.

I stepped out of the cab, mist wafting around my feet. The mist tried to trickle into the cab, but didn’t, because after I swiped my creditstrip against his machine. The door slashed shut, leaving the mist to mourn its loss of a new home.

As I stood before CSS Headquarters, I took in my surroundings, feeling jaded, annoyed and flustered. The asphalt road behind me was broken, leaving potholes and water seeping from beneath the asphalt as if Bridge City was some type of third world country.

Buildings on the opposing side were shorter than CSS’s mammoth of a building. Light reflected from the street lights and onto the shards of glass that were smeared in the streets, as if the daily sweeper had quit his job midway, leaving the CSS side clean, whilst the other patrons' own dirty.

A row of rusted steel doors lined the streets with windows half-opened sitting above on the second floor. I noted how The buildings within the Southern District were reminiscent of those within Old City, decrepit but no decay. “Still looking the same,” I said aloud.