Warhawk's Amnesty - Ch. 16 - The Heliotrope Hacker - Beta

As Seb looked down at the woman half his size, the edge of her skin turned fuzzy and everything turned into a tint of orange. He rubbed his fists into his eyes, blinking rapidly as he looked around the room. Everything was moving as if the world around him was on fast forward. The laser lights produced floating holograms, the dancers grew double the limbs, and bartenders sprinted between their customers.

“Hello?” the short-haired woman said, waving her hand in front of his face. “You still with me? I said I need to talk to you.”

The night’s drinks were already settled in. Seb had a hard time feeling anything except the hilarity of his new found situation. All of his worries, concerns, and stresses were gone. He wanted to live. He was a free man now.

“I’m sorry, darlin’, what did you say your name is?” Seb asked.

“I didn’t say my name. I said I wanted to talk. Can we go somewhere private?”

“I’m fine right where I’m at. I’ve got good booze, good music, and from the looks of it… good company.”

The large-eared pracovi woman rolled her eyes before jumping on the stool next to him. “Look, I overheard an earlier conversation. I can help you, but we need to discuss this somewhere secure.”

“I love how bright your eyes are,” Seb said, leaning toward her. “It’s like staring into two sparkling gems.”

A smirk formed on the edge of the woman’s mouth before disappearing to her pointed brows. “You’re drunk, aren’t you?”

“Maybe a little. But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re one of the most beautiful women in here.”

“Okay, now I know you’re drunk.”

“What?” Seb said, laughing. “It’s your edge. You’ve got this I’ma kick your ass look to you. I think it’s the short jacket, exposed abs, and piercings. It’s hot.”

The woman smiled and shook her head before calling out to the bartender. “Varrak, how much booze did you give him?”

“Not much,” the bartender said. “Two hellfire shots is all.”

“Two? He’s human Varrak. You can’t give a human two hellfire shots. He probably is halfway between planes right now.”

“Hey! I don’t tell you how to do your job. If a customer buys a drink, I make the drink.”

“Give him a cleanser before he falls over.”

“I’m not going to… whoa—” Seb grabbed the bar’s railing, feeling himself begin to fall. Everything in the room was now moving in slow motion, and started morphing into various connected blobs. He slid against the front of the bar, slumping his head between his legs as he sat on the floor. His eyes clamped shut, trying to allow himself to regain his balance. He didn’t open them until he felt a four-fingered, clawed hand grip him on the shoulder.

“Here, drink this,” the woman said, pushing a glowing, fizzing beverage in front of his face.

“What is it?” Seb asked, with one eye open.

“Just drink it. It will make you feel better.”

Seb downed the drink in a few quick gulps. It was refreshing and tasted like blue-raspberry. He closed his eyes until his hearing sharpened, and it didn’t feel like the room was spinning. With newfound courage, he opened his eyes. The orange tint on his vision was gone, and he could see everyone on the dancefloor clearly. He looked up and smiled at his rescuer.

“Thanks, that helped.”

“Are you good to stand?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“You up for some food? A greasy meal after a long night always helps.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

Seb pushed himself up to his feet and tipped the bartender on his way out. He followed the mysterious woman outside the club to the nearby streets. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but the line was even longer than it was before. They walked several blocks down the street before entering a two-story diner. Seb assumed she was a regular by how the staff greeted her as ‘Eni’. She led him to the furthest corner of the dining room, and the two sat in an open booth.

A bipedal robot dressed in a dirty kitchen apron approached them once they were settled. It greeted them before hitting a button on the side of the table which lit up a hologram of the menu. Since this was the first time Seb had been here, he looked toward his guide to make a suggestion.

“What’s good here?” Seb asked.

“Everything,” Eni said, smiling. “But if I was going to suggest something. I would say… the raptor egg omelet or the moonfruit crepes.”

“I’ll have both then,” Seb said, looking up at the robot.

“I’ll just have the crepes.”

The blank faced robot projected a hologram image of a winking smiley face before returning to the kitchen. Seb watched as Eni pressed a button on her wrist, bringing up her WICI. She furiously typed a message into a chat before turning it back off.

“Eni? Is that your name?

“Enigma Black, but my friends call me Eni.”

“That’s a pretty cool name.”

As if remembering something, Eni’s eyes went wide, and she fumbled with something under the table. When finished, she set Seb’s Lawbringer on the surface with a loud thud.

“I figure you’d want this back,” Eni said, nodding at the weapon. “The bots always forget to give the things they confiscate back.”

“Thank you,” Seb said, holstering the weapon. “I’m not going to lie, I totally forgot about it.”

“I figured. You seemed rather distraught after Vlad didn’t take your offer.”

“Wait… you were the one in that virtual helmet, weren’t you?”

“Yup.”

“Did you hear the whole thing?”

“Not initially. Once I was done with my run, I replayed the scene that I recorded and got all the details afterwards.”

Seb leaned over the table in a whispered voice. “Is this a good place to talk?”

“Oh yeah, no one will bother us here,” Eni said, smiling.

“Okay, then what did you want to discuss? It seems like you already know everything and said you could help.”

Eni squinted her eyes and tapped her cheek. “Before we go any further, I want to know why you’re looking to sell the info.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Call it… professional curiosity.”

“Well… I have a friend who is in an indentured contract and I am looking to get her out. Unfortunately, the previous owner was arrested, so she’s in impound until they can auction her contract off. My hope was to sell the information off and put a crew together.”

“Interesting… so we’re on a time crunch. Do you know when the auction is?”

“I asked, and they said it’d be in a few weeks. But I don’t know the hard date.”

Eni pulled up her interface and tapped away on her invisible keyboard. “Looks like we have two weeks. And it looks like your friend is going to be expensive. Dual degrees in medicine and she’s drop dead gorgeous. Are you sure she’s just a friend?”

Seb laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t want to speak for her, but there’s nothing official. We’re just kind of seeing how things go. So, yeah, right now I’d say we’re just friends.”

“How long have you known each other?”

“Not long, a little over a week now.”

Eni spit out the water she was sipping on. “A little over a week?! You’re doing all of this for someone you just met?”

“Yeah well, I don’t know how much you know about me, but I’ve been locked up for the last ten years. Seeing her being stuck in that environment reminded me of my own imprisonment. She’s a fantastic person and doesn’t deserve to be taken advantage of by another owner.”

“I’m not going to get involved in the politics of this, however, it sounds like you’re thinking with the wrong head.”

“That could be part of the problem, too,” Seb chuckled. “Like I said, it’s been ten years.”

“Then go get your balls drained and move on? Seems like a lot for someone you just met.”

“That’s not who I am. I gave her my word that I would help get her out of there. Besides, didn’t you say you could help me? All I am hearing is you trying to talk me out of doing the job.”

“Oh, I’m not trying to talk you out of the job. Far from it. I’m just trying to help you come away from it with a couple more chips in your pocket.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be fine.”

Eni shrugged, and the two sat in silence until the server brought their food over. The smell of the raptor omelet made Seb’s mouth water. But before he could begin, he was stunned at the speed of his dinner mate. Eni tore apart the food and moonfruit with her bare hands, filling her wide mouth with food. The compote painted her hands and mouth a dark purple. She finished with a satisfying belch before downing the rest of the juice she ordered.

“Damn, I thought I ate fast,” Seb said, laughing.

“I love food.”

“Not enough to enjoy it though it seems.”

“I just like to eat and go. I’m too impatient to swaddle, especially when there’s work to be done.”

“Well then, while I am finishing my food. Why don’t you tell me your plan then?”

Eni wiped the fruit from her hands and mouth before getting started. “Are you familiar with the ACR?”

“Oh yeah,” Seb said, scooping a bit of food into his mouth. “The anti-corporate revolutionaries. When I was at university, they were always on campus trying to recruit there. Nothing public, of course, given their anarchic nature, but you’d always know one when you’d see them. They had this pretentious aura about them. They’d always be wearing weird clothes that were all natural that they made themselves. Wait… are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

“Probably. I think they’d be willing to buy the info from you, given the WCC. The information contained would absolutely destroy the company. This is the kind of thing ARC has always wanted, to deliver an immense blow to a corp so they can legitimize their cause. I’d imagine they’ll be willing to pay big money for this.”

“Nope, not interested.”

“What? Why?”

“ACR are a bunch of crazy fanatics. I don’t want to be involved with them.”

“I thought you were willing to do whatever it takes to get your friend back?”

“I am, but there’s got to be another buyer. What about another corp? Like a competitor to WCC?”

“You’d rather get into bed with a corp than ACR? They’re going to do whatever is most profitable for them. If WCC were to offer more than a ton of credits for the information, they’d likely just sell it to them.”

“Why would they do that when they could take one down?”

“I don’t think you realize the kind of world we’re living in. The corps maintain control of everything. If I am putting together a drop, they would most likely use it as a guise to have us all arrested. At least with the ARC, we have a much higher chance of getting paid.”

“What about another broker?”

“Vlad is the only one on this station with enough pull to get the job done. Since he’s out, I’m your second-best option. You could go out to another planet but in doing so, you’re going to miss your window of saving your friend. The time crunch that we’re under complicates things.”

“Shit… you’re right,” Seb said, leaning his back against the booth. “But I also realize I don’t even know you. Before I make a decision, I need to know who I’m working with.”

“What do you want to know?” Eni asked, pulling up her legs and crossing them under her.

“Tell me about yourself. Like… your relationship with Vlad and how you plan on pulling this off. I don’t know, sell me on why I need you.”

Eni rolled her eyes and sighed. “Like I said, my name is Enigma Black. I work with Vlad when he needs a holonet, electronics, or explosives expert. Sometimes that involves me breaking into hard to reach systems, reprogramming his security bots, or building him an explosive that’s undetectable by most security systems. Whatever his clients need that I can provide, he throws my way and I help him the same. And why you need me is because I can make this transaction happen.”

“Isn’t Vlad going to be pissed at you for helping me, since he wouldn’t? If he knew you could do this transaction, why wouldn’t he have you facilitate it.”

“He’s already considered this option and has deemed it to be too big of a risk, most likely. If he had a problem with me taking it on myself, he would have said something. My guess is he just doesn’t want the potential exposure. He’s got too many fingers in too many pies and plays an overly cautious game, whereas I don’t mind when things get messy.”

“That last comment isn’t very reassuring.”

“Stop being such a pansy. I’m not going to get us killed or anything. It’s a simple job.”

“Again, if it’s so simple, then Vlad would have taken it.”

Eni’s lip curled as she leaned over the table. “Do you want to do this or not! I’m trying to help you and your friend out.”

“Don’t try to spin this on me like you’re doing this out of the kindness of your heart,” Seb spat back. “You plan to gain just as much as I do.”

“Exactly! This only works if we succeed, and I want to get paid. I’ll broker the deal, and we split everything fifty-fifty.”

“Seems like a lot when I’m the one with the information.”

“Yeah, but I’ll be the one doing all the work.”

Seb took a drink of water as he thought about the situation more. Wait a minute. Something doesn’t make sense. If she’s an awesome security expert. Why doesn’t she just hack the datapad and pull the information for herself, cutting me out?

“Hold on, why aren’t you just taking the data for yourself?” Seb asked. “If you’re as good as you say you are, you probably already have a copy of the data, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Eni said directly. “Speaking of… you really should change your password.”

“Then why aren’t you just cutting me out?”

Eni bit the bottom of her lip as she looked about the room, contemplating how to respond. “Let’s just say I have my own moral code I abide by.”

“Which is?”

“I try not to intentionally harm good people.”

“You think I’m a good person?”

“Maybe!” Eni shouted. “I appreciate what you’re doing for your friend. And while I try to not let my moral compass come between me and the job, those contracts piss me off.”

“Me too,” Seb said, smiling. The two shared a smile and relaxed while Seb finished the rest of his meal. When he finished, he wiped the mouth with a cloth. He considered all the options again. And while he wasn’t sure this was the best option, he appreciated having the help of an expert like Eni. “All right, let’s hypothetically say I agree to your terms. What’s the plan?”

Eni’s smile grew wide as she shifted toward Seb. “It’s pretty straightforward. I’ll work on putting out some feelers to the ACR. Once I’ve got a contact, I’ll broker the deal. Once both parties agree on a price, we’ll schedule the meeting. We do the exchange and everyone walks home happy. They get their data and we get their credits.”

“Why does this feel like an easier said than done situation?”

“You worry too much.”

“What do I do while you’re setting everything up?”

Eni smirked. “Buy some better clothes, for starters. It looks like you pull those out of a junkyard.”

“That’s because I did.”

“I hope you washed them at least,” Eni said, laughing.

“Not initially.”

“That’s so gross,” she said, laughing. “But seriously, I’ll keep in contact if I need anything. Speaking of… give me your comm id and I’ll give you mine.”

Seb tapped on in his WICI and the two swapped their contact information. Before he could do anything, Eni slipped a cred chip into the slot on the table and paid for their bill.

“Whoa, what are you doing?” Seb asked.

“You look like you could use a hand. I’ve got food this time.”

“I’m not completely broke. I’ve got chips on me.”

“Do you even have a bank account set up?”

“No, but I don’t need one right now. It’s not like I have a job or anything that needs it.”

“True… if things get hairy, we may need to change names, anyway.”

“Wait, what?”

“Don’t worry,” Eni said, jumping out from the booth. “We’ll be fine.”

Seb stood and followed her out of the door. They both stopped on the sidewalk after they exited.

“Well, I appreciate the hand. I’ll get my stuff squared away and get you next time.”

“Funny you’ll think there will be a next time.”

“Won’t there be? I guess I thought since we’ll be working together, we’d be spending a lot of late nights in each other’s company.”

“Are you trying to imply something there?”

Seb placed his hand over his chest. “I would never. I’m an upstanding gentleman.”

“Upstanding is a lie given your last ten years, but I’ll give you credit that you’re not a total ass.”

“Hey, you leave my ass out of this.”

“Well, have a good night,” Eni said, smiling and waving.

“You too.” Seb said.

He watched her walk down the next block before turning and leaning against the side of the diner’s building. Sighing, he rummaged through his pocket and pulled out all the credit chips he had on hand. While nodding his head back and forth, he performed the quick math of credit chips displayed totals. He had less than a thousand credits split between them. It was a decent amount, but with the need for a hotel, toiletries, and new clothes, he didn’t feel comfortable about the situation he was in.

After pocketing the chips, Seb heard the sound of a heavy sigh. When he looked up, Eni was standing there with her arms crossing her chest. He couldn’t help but smile at her furrowed brow and puffed cheeks.

“You don’t have a place to stay, do you?” Eni asked.

“Not really,” Seb said, shaking his head. “The ship I came in on was impounded too. But don’t worry about me. I’ll just go grab a hotel or, if worse comes to worse, pay to ride the monorail again and catch a few hours of sleep.”

“Ugh, you can’t sleep on the monorail like a bum. You… you can crash at my place. Temporarily!

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

“You’re not a creep, are you? Because if you are, I told you I’m an explosive expert, and I can tell you what a half pound of compound will do to your body.”

“I promise I’m not a creep,” Seb chuckled. “I would never want to do something that makes you feel uncomfortable.”

“Good. Because if you do anything weird…” Eni made an explosion motion with her hands.

“I promise to be on my best behavior and work for my stay. Need me to take out the garbage or clean up around the house? I can do that, no problem.”

A smug smile appeared on Eni’s face. “If you insist, then follow me. We’re about a ten-minute walk this way.”

“Lead the way. Oh, and speaking of new clothes, I can just borrow some of yours, right?”

Eni punched Seb in the side of his thigh. The two laughed while walking to Eni’s home. They entered the front of a double door condo after Eni scanned her WICI near the door. Seb followed her into the nearby elevator. The interior didn’t have any buttons, only a pad for Eni to scan. When she moved her arm in front of the electronic device, the elevator rose until it stopped on the tenth floor.

When the doors opened, both of them stepped into Eni’s condo. It was an open concept design with hardwood floors and steel exterior walls. On the inside, however, there were no physical walls, only sheets of semi-translucent hard plastic barriers to segment off the bedrooms and bathrooms. The kitchen, dining room, and living room all shared the same space, with large front windows that allowed for pink light from a nearby neon hologram.

Once they made it further into the home, Seb was regretting his earlier offer. On the floor were piles of clothes that he had a hard time telling if they were clean or not. In the sink were stacks of unwashed dishes. Empty food containers and bottles littered the tops of every surface. He was just thankful there wasn’t a smell or bugs.

“You can take the couch,” Eni said, pointing to the red futon near the wall. “I’ll grab you a pillow and a blanket.”

“Thank you,” Seb said, unshouldering his bag. He took everything off except for his skinsleeve. After he finished, Eni returned to the room with the promised pillow and blanket. While she was away, she had changed into her nightwear. She was wearing a large graphic t-shirt that fit her like a dress. Seb couldn’t see her bottoms, but he didn’t want to make any assumptions.

“Here you go,” Eni said, handing him the pillow and blanket. “Bathroom is that room in the corner. Feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate your hospitality and kindness.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I remember what you said earlier. You’ve got your work cut out for you.”

“I can see that. I’m surprised you don’t have a clean-bot or something. You obviously could afford one.”

“I keep meaning to, but I either forget or it gets pushed to the next day. But at least I don’t have to worry about that for now. I’ve got Seb-bot 5000 to help.”

“You can count on me.”

“Good night, Seb. Sleep well.”

“You too, Eni, and thanks again.”

Eni nodded and smiled before turning around. The back of her shirt caught on her underwear, giving Seb a complete view of her thick bottom before she disappeared behind the plastic wall. Seb set his pillow near the end of the futon and covered himself with the blanket. The bed was firm which he found comfortable and familiar. It was easy for him to fall asleep with a smile on his face.