Pink, Rising

{[CHAPTER 4]}

When we entered the building I gasped. This place was bigger than my entire apartment complex! The front room was a reception area, the desk currently empty. Beyond the desk was a staircase branching off into two directions. 

"Off to the left of the staircase is our rooms. The right is the analytics room. We call it the Base, though" Boxer explained as he led me off to the left. "I'll show you to your room. Your stuff should already have arrived."

Alvis went right, off to the Base.  Boxer looked his way and shook his head. "Alvis...He's such a stick in the mud." Then he took me to my room. 

"Yours is the last one on the left." He smiled. "Go check it out. I'll be in the Base when you're ready to start." Then he left. 

I opened the door to my new room and entered. What I saw made my eyes widen. 

The room was big, much bigger than my small apartment had been. It had a full kitchen, bedroom, a sitting room, and a window with a balcony overlooking Argon City. The city was all lit up. Walking out to the balcony I remembered my balcony in my old apartment. I closed my eyes and it almost seemed like I was back there, lost somewhere in the maze - like city below, back in my apartment, feeling the wind in my hair. 

I smiled and opened my eyes. Seeing the city from this height... It was almost surreal.

I headed back inside after a moment. My light cycle and my datapad were sitting on the bed. After putting my light cycle away, I grabbed my datapad and headed off to the Base. 

When I got there Alvis and Boxer were bent over a display. Boxer looked up and smiled when I entered. "You ready?" I nodded in confirmation. 

Boxer moved over a little so I could see the screens. They were charts, graphs, lists of numbers rapidly changing, program profiles...it was a little overwhelming at first but my programming mentally sorted them out rather quickly. 

"First, we have to get you registered into the system." He held up a datapad, with a glowing handprint on it. "Just place your hand here."

I did and the screen blinked for a second before turning pink. 

"Now you're registered into the system. You can access all of the information on our databases and you have special government clearance." 

I nodded then turned to the other digital charts. "What's all this?" 

"Well...we've been running scenarios, trying to predict where the Renegade will turn up next..." Boxer shook his head. "It hasn't been successful. The algorithm isn't exactly wrong but... even when we hit it right the guards are never enough to stop the Renegade." 

"Have you tried expanding the data range? If you only put in areas the Renegade was already seen at then that limits the data greatly."

"Yes, but then the computer gives inaccurate data! Make the data range too great and the data becomes more incorrect!" Alvis snapped. 

"O - oh...Sorry." I lowered my head. "I just thought..."

"No, it's alright. You're doing your best." Boxer assured me, then turned to glare at Alvis. "Stop harping on the new girl!"

"She needs to learn that in this line of work mistakes and failures are not tolerated!" Alvis retorted. 

"Shut up!" Boxer drew himself up to his full height. "I will not have you bullying your colleagues. I don't really care that you were the first one on this project - I will report you to Commander Paige and tell her that you are making it next to impossible for anyone to get any work done around here due to your nasty attitude!"

Alvis glared, a nasty gleam in his eyes. "Do you forget that you are talking to your team leader?"

"Oh? And who exactly made you team leader?"

"Well, since I was the first on the team - "

"You're so uppity!"

"You're too lackluster!"

"Conceited!"

"Vapid!"

Finally I couldn't take it any longer. "GUYS! Stop! Please! I don't like arguments!" I got between them. "Listen, this isn't working. We're wasting time arguing when we should be trying to find the Renegade. Why don't we all agree to just work together now and vent later?"

Boxer, without taking his eyes off Alvis, slowly nodded. "Yeah. Alright. Fine." 

Alvis did the same, though he said nothing. I slowly backed out. They were still glaring at one another, but they eventually looked away. 

"Good. Now..." I looked at the graphs again. "Where does the algorithm predict he'll strike next?"

"It says..." Boxer looked at the display. "It predicts that the Renegade will show up next in Argon Square, next cycle."

"Alright. So..." I closed my eyes and ran scenarios in my head with every weapon technology I knew we had. "My programming tells me that If we station normal guards here, here, here, and here..." I pointed to the four major entrances to the square on the map, "But we station the specialty guards behind the billboards and in the alleyways here and here..." I pointed to some more places on the map, "We can cover every entrance and exit possible. And, because likely the Renegade will not come in through the main entrances, we can assume he will sneak in through the back ways."

"Hmmm...We've never tried putting guards in out - of - the - way - places before..." Boxer looked at the display. "It might work."

"Yes, but if it doesn't work we'll be wasting resources." Alvis cut in, leaning over to look at the diagram. "And that never makes Tesler happy."

"It's worth a shot, in any case. There's going to be a rally that day, and I don't want any interruptions." Paige's voice rang out across the room. We all looked over. She was leaning in the doorway, watching us. 

"R - really?" I sounded surprised. 

"Yes. If it's a strategy that we've never tried before, then it might have a high chance of succeeding." Paige walked over and studied the diagram. Then she stuck a USB drive into the computer port and downloaded the diagram. "I'll be sure to tell Tesler about this plan - hopefully it'll succeed." She patted me on the back. "Good job. Not bad for the newbie." Then she walked out. 

I stared at the door frame in awe. "Did...that just happen?"

Boxer took my hand and smiled. "Yes it did, Rose. If your plan works, heck, you'd be famous across the Grid!"

"Grid famous..." I sighed. "Well....that's a term I've never even dreamed of until now..." I laughed a little. "I - I -" Then I remembered my friend's plea: "The question is, will you join me?" 

I turned away, suddenly feeling a little sick. "Grid famous... yeah..."

"You'd be known as the program who helped take down the Renegade!" Boxer smiled. "You're really good. You know that?"

"the Renegade..." I looked out, of the window in the base. Over the city. 

"Hey. Rose...You ok?" Boxer's voice broke through my thoughts. 

"Oh! Yeah, I'm fine." I turned and smiled. "Just great." 

"Well, I think it's pretty safe to say we can all go back to our rooms...Rose solved our problems pretty fast!" Boxer patted me on the back.  "Good going!'

Alvis sighed. "I must admit...Arrosa is a valuable asset to the team..." He looked away after he said that.

Boxer rolled his eyes and took my hand. "Come on. Let's go celebrate!" 

I smiled. "Yeah...let's go!" 

As we walked out of the building, however, I couldn't help but feel a lurch of...sadness? reluctance? I didn't know. 

Whatever it was, it didn't feel good.