Cathay
Solaris City
Solaris VII
18 April 3061
Lin Ming woke to the smell of coffee. Which was strange, as she didn't have a coffeemaker in her apartment. She was alone in the bed, so she quickly jumped up and donned her favorite robe before venturing out into the main room.
When she got there, Detective Nicky Vale was already dressed and had a cup of coffee in her hand. She gestured toward the countertop where another cup rested. "I didn't know how you liked your coffee, so I got it extra sweet and extra light. Can't go wrong with that, right?"
"How long have you been up?" Lin Ming asked.
"Only an hour or so. I ran out and grabbed coffee and donuts, didn't want to leave without a little something."
"Yeah, that's amazing. I don't have any routine really, but that's great."
Nicky shot her an inquisitive look. "Everything ok? We good?"
Lin smiled. "Yeah, we're good. When do you have to leave?"
Nicky frowned. "Soon, unfortunately. I've got lots of paperwork back at the office to deal with, and you've given me a few things to think about regarding this case as well, so I really should get an early start. You going to be ok, got any plans?"
Lin shook her head. "Nope. I figure I'll check in with Red Dragon to see how they liked last night's performance, but I'm not on any fixed schedule or anything. The life of a MechJock."
Nicky laughed. "Don't get used to it. If you keep this up, you're going to be famous, and you'll have way too much to do and way too little time."
"I hardly think there's any danger of that. But a girl can dream."
Nicky finished a bite of her donut. "Listen, everything I said before still goes. You keep a low profile, keep your head down, and be careful. We still have a killer out there, and a whole mess of mystery. Keep yourself grounded, ok?"
"I promise, detective."
"I told you, call me Nicky. But yeah, I'll hold you to that."
With a few more pleasantries, Nicky departed for the day, leaving Lin Ming alone with her thoughts. She hadn't planned on sleeping with the detective, but the combination of win and post fight let-down had been just right to make her take a chance, and she was glad that she did. She felt safe around Nicky, felt a connection. It was the first time for her on Solaris and she didn't regret it.
She showered and dressed, and was about ready to head out to Red Dragon's offices, when she noticed something slipped under her door. It was a scrap of paper, with an address and time. Nothing else. The address was in the Black Hills, and the time was seven that evening. She thought about texting Nicky about it, but put it out of her mind. She didn't want to go running to the detective with her every problem. She would see what was going on and then go from there.
She debriefed with the Red Dragon staff early in the afternoon. They were beyond pleased with the outcome of the fight, and she even earned herself a bonus for her handling of the situation. There was nothing suspicious about the debrief at all. Everything was smooth.
Seven o'clock came and she found herself at a diner in the Black Hills, the address listed on the scrap of paper that had been slipped under her door. She wasn't sure what to make of it, so she sat down and ordered a burger for dinner from the spartan menu of the diner.
Halfway through her meal, a man came up and sat in the seat opposite her. He was average height and build, with dirty blonde hair and a non-descript suit. "You are Lin Ming?"
She pushed her food aside. "Depends on who's asking. You seem to be looking for me here. I don't know what's going on, I'm just playing nice to find out."
"My name is Drake. There's nothing sketchy going on, I just have a proposal for you. If you're interested."
She shook her head. "Why should I be interested? I don't know you, so I can't really trust you."
"Fair enough. But you should be interested because I can make it worth your while. I'm talking cash, prestige, whatever it is you want here on the Gaming World, I can make it happen."
"Why should I trust anything you're saying. I don't even know what this is about."
"Stealth Armor is what it's about."
Her blood went cold. She shook her head. "I don't know anything about that."
Drake ordered himself an iced tea before continuing. "But I think you do. I saw your fight last night, and we know that Red Dragon is working on something for Ceres Arms. Everything says some kind of null-signature system knock-off."
"Who is we?"
He shook his head. "My associates and I. That's all you need to know. We can make it worth your while for whatever it is that you know about this project. Your employer doesn't even need to know. We can do things quietly."
"Look, I have no reason to trust you."
"You have every reason to find out. Trust is earned. We can get there. We just need to know if you're willing to play ball or not.
She bit her lip. This was all too much. Who were these people and what did they want from her? More to the point, what did they have to offer? But were they perhaps connected to the murder of her predecessor. The cloak and dagger stuff certainly fit the bill. She didn't trust the man, but she also didn't want to let things go without learning more. This could possibly crack the case for Nicky. She had to play it cool.
"I'm not saying yes. But I'm not saying no. I'm up to hear more. But I won't commit to anything."
Drake smiled wryly. "You won't have to. We'll take care of everything. I'll be in touch."
With that, he left, leaving his iced tea half full and a few D-bills to cover the tab. Lin Ming couldn't wait to tell Nicky about this development.
No comments:
Post a Comment