Morning June 7, 2053, Mal pov

A 21-year-old Mal sat in their car reading the note they had retrieved from the dead drop. Unfolding the slip of paper, Mal read the contents

Hey stikbug, upstairs wants you to give the building on 2nd and 4th a new paint job. They want it done manually, so no spray cans, make sure to bring a brush.

This of course wasn’t really actually a “paint job” because who in the right mind would leave the instructions for a painter in a dead drop? Mal double-checked the note. The note said no “spray cans” which could translate to no guns, and bringing a “brush” meant that Mal should use a knife. Upon confirming the location, Mal pocketed the note, and set off to do their job.

Midday June 7, 2053, Mal pov

Arriving across the street from the listed location, Mal exited their car and crept towards the alley entrance of the building. And with a click on first, false on second, yada yada yada, Mal picked open the lock and entered the building.

The odd part was that the building seemed empty, which Mal found suspicious, but crept on anyway. Upon entering the third empty room, Mal began to suspect that this was a setup. At the fourth room being empty, Mal decided to head back for now and turned around, only to be greeted by the blinding light and tetanus-inducing boom of a flashbang.

Mal didn't even have time to regain their senses as an officer in body armor tackled them to the ground and began to cuff them. While on the ground, Mal spotted multiple other armored officers around them, Mal was surrounded.

The officer on top of Mal began speaking in an authoritative voice “Malcolm Shellings, you are under arrest for attempted murder in the first degree, breaking and entering, and the possible first-degree murders of Tony Helixs, Martha Krempshau, Penny Steeps, and Bartholomew Hest, you the right to remain silent, and that anything you say will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney to be present during questioning. If you cannot afford one, an attorney will be provided at no cost. Do you understand?”

Mal responded by kicking the officer in the balls, then tried to scramble away, but was stopped by the dreadful Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle, or Taser for short, and yes that really is what Taser stands for, look it up. Anyway, Mal was promptly tased to the ground again and dragged to the back of a police cruiser.

As the Unwilling and Unhappy Mal was shoved into the back of the car, an officer could be overheard commenting “Why can't they go peacefully for once” As the door shut behind them, Mal could hear a cop talkinto his radio “The informant was right, we got the guy, they are feisty bugger though”

As the police cruiser rode to the station, the officer in the passenger seat turned to Mal and said “You do realize that we have to add resisting arrest and assaulting an officer to your charges now”

Mal didn't respond, they just sighed.