It took a while for people to navigate the streets due to the shoulder to shoulder traffic; it was an agoraphobe’s nightmare and a pickpocket’s dream turf. It wasn’t unusual for first time visitors to experience a sensory overload. There was simply too much going on, but that made it a prime hotbed for illegal activity. It wasn’t Caiden’s first rodeo; he strode into the rundown bar called ‘Lotus’ to look for the owner, Pierce. When he walked in, he saw a bunch Hybrids and Purebreds hanging out. The mood was mellow, listless even.
He approached the barmaid. “Lookin’ for Pierce. Is he around?” Caiden asked.
“That depends, who’s askin’?” the barmaid replied. She looked to be in her early thirties, short, curvaceous, and extremely cute. Her facial expression was stern while she awaited Caiden’s answer. As he leaned over the bar, she pulled back a little.
“Tell him I was sent by Athena,” he said.
The barmaid continued to look him down, maintaining stern countenance. Her facial expression soon changed completely. “Nice eyes. You get those enhanced so you can take every girl to bed with you?” she asked. She was openly flirting with him. He stuck with an expressionless face and no answer. “Ooh okay. I see you’re pretty determined. If it’s Athena who sent you I’ll let Pierce know. You wait right there” she said.
He waited as she walked to the back door behind the bar. Meanwhile, Caiden subtly checked out the bar’s patrons. Most were keeping to themselves and drinking, whereas others were glued to the monitors overhead, money in hand, watching the Graavboard competition. Caiden felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end; someone was watching him. He kept his hand on the gun beneath his coat. His heart sped up, and a single bead of sweat formed on his forehead. His target was across the bar, three degrees to the left. He knew this because of his powers of perception and deduction, afforded to him by his amazing genetic makeup. He was ready to confront whoever it was when he heard the barmaid called out to him.
“Pretty eyes! Back here.”
Caiden took a quick look over his shoulder to his left. Whoever had been watching him had slipped out the door. Caiden relaxed, but remained vigilant as he got up and headed toward the back room to converse with Pierce. He walked into the dimly lit office. The desk was littered with paper. Alcohol had spilled on the floor and left behind a sticky residue, leaving behind a stale stench. Pierce sat behind the desk. He was a wiry man in his late thirties with a fauxhawk hairstyle and a salt and pepper beard.
“I heard you were looking for me, Mr—”
“Caiden, Caiden Nyx,” he replied.
“Caiden. Okay, Caiden, why in the name of this cursed city did you decide to come and see me? It’s for something a little more unconventional, I presume?” Pierce asked as he squinted at Caiden skeptically.
“I saw Athena. She told me to give you this,” Caiden said as he presented Pierce with the box.
Pierce examined the box, grunted humorously, and proceeded to unwrap it. He opened the box and found a hot pink thong with a note attached to it that read, ‘Thanks for the other night’. Pierce’s chuckling soon exploded into laughter.
“Kid, you had no idea, did you?” Pierce asked as he saw Caiden’s bewildered expression. Caiden merely shook his head, unfazed by the little gag.
“So, what do you want?” Pierce asked.
“The Sentience strongholds. Where are they? I heard you might know where they are,” Caiden said.
“Whoa, whoa, there slick! You the feds? Or are you some sort of contract merc or hitman?” he asked.
“They kidnapped my friend. I need to know where they’re located!” Caiden exclaimed.
“Hmm, no good. No good at all,” Pierce mumbled, stroking his beard. “Been hearin’ a lot of shit bout those guys for a while. It’s been really bad; kidnapping, ransom, even assault. They’ve been fucking up business for people like me, too!” he exclaimed.
“Tell me where they are!” Caiden pressed.
“Whoa! Now I understand that they might have your friend, but you do understand what you’re asking for, right? I’m putting my life on the line by talking to you about this shit!” Pierce rebuked. Caiden gave him a stern look. “Okay kid, look. I can help but it’s gonna cost you,” Pierce said.
“How much?” Caiden asked.
Pierce thought about it for a minute before deciding. “Five thousand Creds,” he said, not really expecting him to have the money on deck.
“Done,” Caiden said.
Caiden synced his holo-watch to a blank codec he pulled from his pocket, and uploaded five thousand Creds to the codec from his account and handed it to a surprised Peirce. He didn’t think he’d pony up the money like that. Peirce was tempted to ask for more, but Caiden’s intense behavior convinced him otherwise.
“Okay,” Peirce said as he leaned in with one hand on his knee. “Now, most importantly, these androids love hanging out in select spots all over Andromeda District. Rumor has it, that a data terminal at one of their hangout spots was hacked with some unknown program. The androids who used that terminal are rumored to be infected and have been actin’ out of character. Since then, they’ve been increasing in activity. My usual android connection that helps with my, well, you know, side ventures, started flakin’ which is totally unlike him. When I tried to contact him, and figured out what was wrong, I was met with some serious hostility. It was weird, it was like they all operated with one single mind, man. They no longer had their own individual personalities like before. But, either way, they started moving around more often too. They have a series of abandoned warehouses out in West Andromeda near seven forty-six President’s Avenue. They don’t like sittin’ still or waitin’ for nobody. I dunno where they are now, but you have a decent chance of
