Neon Rush {M/M} ❀

Ch. 7.4 Filigree Scars

"Gray's implants are more sophisticated than anything I've seen," Zef says.

Rylan cuts him short. "I'm aware. We've been dealing with him for some time."

"I bring it up because capturing him will be, like, Saturday morning cartoon levels of ridiculous. More so. Even if I dropped a shark cage over him, his implants make him strong enough to break steel. He could hack the crane and let himself out the same way he got trapped." Zef's stalling. Hammering home how difficult the job will be in hopes he can leverage the little information he gives her to his own ends.

"Are you implying you can't do it?"

"I'm saying I'll need resources." Delivered quick, sharp, final. Like Zef has a truckload more confidence than he feels.

He must imagine that she looks the tiniest bit impressed. Not like her implants don't let anything as soft as feelings get through. "What sorts of resources?"

"The usual kind. Creds."

"For?"

A quick getaway if all this goes tits up, for a start. But he doesn't want her to know that part. He'll have to give her a piece of the picture. But just a slice. "Net blockers, for example. A lot of Gray's implants require net connectivity to interface with others. Many don't, but I'm working out the loopholes on those, too." Not about to let her know he already has a location scouted where net access is pretty bupkis anyway.

"Anything more?"

He chews his lip. "That's all I've got for now."

Her gaze gets very stabby. "That's all?"

"Any of your previous hires get this far?"

Reluctantly. "No. Most were inclined towards use of force."

"Then I got further in a weekend than the amateurs. Give me some credit. Like, actual, monetary credit."

She reaches into the pocket of her pantsuit and retrieves a copper plated credit chip the size of a business card. Her implant glows as she transfers the money.

Interesting.

Since they're both within the Faraday cage, she could have sent it electronically but opted not to. Using the credit chip keeps the transfer of funds anonymous. She doesn't want any of their interaction here traceable.

She slides him the chip, and he pockets it rather than transfer it to his bank. Might be best he doesn't have suspicious transactions either.

"Will you be needing anything further?" she says.

"Patience."

Not quite a frown, but her mouth wrinkles at the corners, two quotation marks appearing in the plastic-y skin. "I'm not known for it. The more efficient you can be, the better."

Zef says, "I'll keep that in mind," but what he really keeps? Really holds onto, white-knuckled as a toddler receiving his first hit of sucrose from a super-sized, chocolate milkshake?

He won that half of the conversation.

They leave the confines of the Faraday cage. Back into the world of surround-sound.

"One last thing," she says as they head to the elevator. "Your gender-affirming care. I wanted to say congratulations on your surgery this afternoon."

He shifts uncomfortably. She remembered. With that empathy dampener and her generally uncaring demeanour, he isn't sure what to make of it. Empty sentiment? Why pretend to care? "Thanks."

A curt nod. "I can arrange a taxi to transport you to the hospital."

"That would be...great."

Outside, on the curb, a taxi already waits. Not an armoured tank like the thing they arrived in. Her bodyguard stands next to that one. Rylan stops on the curb and turns back to Zef. "I'm attending a conference in Tokyo next week. I will check in again when I return. I hope by then you'll have made progress."