No strict Content Warning here, but there are some dark imagery and critique involving cyborgs.

***

Val walked out of the market. He was now wearing actual pants, shoes, shirt and tie, and he had gotten a weapon, too. He now carried a katana in a dark red saya with silver detailing. He didn't know why he'd pick a sword, let alone a katana. It just felt natural to him, as if he was used to wielding such a specific weapon. The weight and the length of the curved blade didn't hinder his movement in the slightest.

The bag still had cash in it, and he didn't know what kind of weapons the Handler expected him to get so he'd spent a chunk in clothes and food rather than weapons. The Handler had also given him an address, and he told Val that he'd be living there for as long as he worked under him.

Val didn't know how to feel, he didn't even ask if there was a formal hiring process, but after a while of overthinking it he came to the conclusion that he just couldn't remember it. He still couldn't stop feeling weirded out by this. Though at least he felt safer carrying the sword. He felt confident in his odds, but he still kept to the shadows as he moved from corner to corner, avoiding the police and the cameras. The city had levels, with bridges and walkways above the ground. He followed the instructions the Handler told him to follow. They weren't too specific, mostly directions.

Then, he got called by The Handler before he could reach out for the door.

"Val, I know I told you to go home, but I need you to do something," The Handler sighed.

"What is it?" Val said, annoyed.

"I need you to go to the 12 North street, LV20,"

"Why?" Val turned around on his heels and rested his left hand on the sword's handle.

"I'll tell you once you're there," The Handler said, feeding Val's anger. He grabbed some cash from the bag before tossing the bag into the apartment with the food and closing the door.

"Tell me now or I'm not going," Val threatened. He felt a surge of adrenaline course through his body, and he immediately regretted speaking up.

"You're in no position to make questions. Go to 12 North or there'll be severe consequences," The Handler said ominously. Val sighed.

"I'm going there," He finally said. Val hated not knowing what he'd find in the address he was sent, but he had to go. He kept his hand on the handle all the way, not daring letting his guard down. The layout of the streets and bridges was a mystery to him, and every turn seemed to be a wrong choice; a trap.

***

The address was a big building that started from the bottom of the city, and he was entering through a bridge in the 20th level. The wind rushed mercilessly. Val entered the building, which was arguably cleaner inside than the street outside, it appeared to be an administrative building of some sort. Above the door stood a sign of silver letters: UAPET.

"Val, I need you to find someone by the name of John Rojas, get him to cut the power to a Lambda research lab on the 24 West, LV30. Discretion is of utmost importance," The Handler said.

"What for?" Val asked.

"You don't need to know. Proceed through any means necessary,"

Val sighed and hung up before the Handler opened his mouth again. He didn't expect an answer but it was getting annoying. He felt tempted to go back out, remove the earpiece and toss it off the railing. But he had a job to get done.

The walls were neat and cream color, the pillars at the corners rose up to the ceiling high above where several chandeliers looked down upon the shining marble floor where black and white bled into tones of grey. People with diverse wardrobes lined up to the desks, where they were attended by the receptionists. Val was surprised there was still people attending the desks after all he'd seen outside: machines acting as vendors, drivers, even cleaners. The ones that weren't machines were heavily modified, now an amalgamation of waning humanity and cold precision. The new reality Val had awoken to, with no recall of the world going down the drain like that.

The line moved slowly. Val started tapping his foot on the floor with arms crossed.

When it was his turn to pass; he got straight to the point and cut down the small talk.

"Good night sir! What can I do for you?" The girl at the desk asked. She looked the healthiest, along with the rest of the receptionists. She still looked human.

"I'm here to see John Rojas," Val said drily.

"What is your business with him?"

Val looked around and snuck his hand into his pocket.

"350 Sils. All yours if you spare me the questions and show me to Rojas," Val said, leaning forward and showing the bills.

"Very well. Right this way,"

Val followed the girl to an elevator, before the receptionist sent him up to the third floor of the level. She'd said to look for him at the offices around cubicle 203. The ride there was quiet, which unsettled Val for a reason he couldn't recall.

"You can't be seen, move fast and stick to the shadow," The Handler said over the earpiece.

"Alright," Val muttered. He stepped off the elevator. Luckily, the upper floors weren't in the pristine condition the receptions were in. The lighting was poor, the walls were cracked, and there were plenty of dark spots to hide in. Val smiled and started moving. Keeping to the shadows, hand on grip, listening for footsteps all the way. He dodged one patrolling guard; a glance at the logo on his back told him he was Snow Co personnel. He was carrying a plasma rifle and dressing light blue fatigues with a vest. Val expected a bigger security detail, but that one guard was all he found on his way to the offices.

Inside the offices was a show of doom and hopelessness, all grey and dark; only the light blue shine of the computer screens broke the dullness of metal and wire. They were numbered, and Val kept muttering the numbers the receptionist had given him to avoid forgetting.

A shudder went up his spine and he instinctively put his left hand on the saya, just below the hilt of the sword. He gulped down saliva and kept walking. A cold gust of wind rushed through him and something grabbed his scabbard from behind, shocking Val. He immediately broke the saya free and turned on his heels, popping the katana out of the saya with his thumb and reaching for it with his right hand. His eyebrows met and he bared his teeth.

"Whoa, it's just me!" Victor said.

"How did you get there?" Val snapped.

"Shadow thing, you?" Vic raised his hands slowly, to show he was unarmed. Val relaxed and pushed the katana back into the saya. His frown faded, but he kept his guard up.

"I'm looking for someone," Val said.

Vic's eyes flashed. "Can I help?"

"I got this." Val turned around and started walking. He was glad to see Vic again, but he didn't want to be distracted from his objective.

"Wait, you aren't here to kill anyone right?" Vic asked, catching up to Val.

"What? No, I just need to talk,"

"About?"

"My business,"

Vic tagged along. "Aren't you telling?"

Val wanted to talk to Vic, but he couldn't get distracted from the assignment. He didn't want to know what The Handler was truly capable of. He looked away and kept walking. Vic silently tagged along, staring at Val.

Val pretended to ignore him, scanning the number plates at eye level. But he could feel the inquisitive stare drilling into him.

"I need to cut the power to somewhere," Val finally sighed.

"Where?"

"Don't push it," Val chuckled.

Val found John's cubicle and knocked on the frame. A pale scrawny man turned slowly to meet him. Val waved and came through. He saw Vic reaching for his pistol in the corner of his eye, so he mentally practiced drawing his sword in time.

"I give you 300 if you cut the power to this address," Val said, borrowing a notepad and a pen from John's desk. He then showed the note to John, who simply nodded and stood up. He went out to the hallway and Val followed. Vic tagged along. Val wasn't sure whether he should trust him or not.

The walk was long, but they finally reached what seemed to be a generator room, and a terminal. John lazily booted up the terminal and punched in some numbers. He then raised his head and spoke in a sort of a croak.

"Done,"

Val nodded and reached into his pocket. He pulled out 500, the guy looked like he needed them. His eyes lit up and he grabbed the bundle.

"Thank you," Val said before turning away and plotting how would he get out of there.

"What's on your mind?" Vic asked, leaning forward.

"I don't know, you?"

"That you're nice,"

Val hesitated taking the next step and he looked at Vic.

"What? It's true,"

Val didn't know what to say or how to act, so he kept quiet. They went back to the elevator. He noticed a while later that he was smiling stupidly, and he reprimanded himself for it.

"Stop right there!" The Snow guard said. Val instinctively reached for his sword.

"Val don't!" Vic stepped between him and the guard. "It's alright, he's with me,"

"If you say so... sir,"

Vic let Val in first and pushed the button for the first floor. He couldn't stop echoing Vic's words in his mind. 'You're nice'. Was there another meaning to it? He felt like it was positive feedback; but when you don't know what your mother's face looks like, you tend to have trust issues.

"You got something on your mind?" Vic asked as they hopped off the elevator and walked outside.

Val didn't know what to reply, he didn't have much to talk about with his very limited knowledge. And he didn't want to burden him with the few things he did know.

"I don't know what to talk about," Val said flatly, adjusting his tie.

"Hmm... Any dreams you had?"

Val squeezed his eyes. That was one of the things he didn't want to burden Vic with.

"One nightmare,"

Vic nodded at his left and counted the bills on his wallet. "What happens there?"

"I am..." Val shook his head and started over. "There's a door, and there's knocking,"

"What happens next?"

"I open the door, and there's a shadow,"

"Could you recognize the shadow's outline?"

"No, but it scared me," Val admitted. He second-guessed himself whether it'd been a good idea to say that.

"Can I give you my interpretation of it?" Vic offered, as they both started moving down a level using stairs. The tram and the gliders moved overhead and below them, the wind but the noise – surprisingly – came mostly from advertisements and publicity rather than the vehicles.

"Sure, go ahead," Val replied. The smell of exhaust fumes and chemical waste from below made his nose burn and his eyes prick with tears.

"The shadow could be an omen,"

Val frowned, puzzled. "An omen?"

"Yeah, part of you knew what was going to happen at the hotel. Did you piss off anyone?"

"I... can't remember that far,"

Vic stopped and frowned, just as Val had. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, I only got the nightmare and the business at the hotel. Nothing else,"

"I'm so sorry to hear that, can I help in any way?"

"Don't think so. I appreciate it though," Val said, before they kept walking.

"How far do you remember?"

"Very little. I'll ask you for help if I need it, you do the same,"

They kept quiet until they reached a tram station not too far. Val thanked Vic and took the tram back to the address the Handler had said he could stay at.

He opened the door and stepped inside, flicked on the lights and took off the jacket. He searched the fridge for the food he'd left there. He didn't feel like eating so he closed the fridge and went to the couch. He carefully propped the katana against it and lied down, using his jacket as a blanket. He didn't know just how tired he was, and he surrendered to sleep almost immediately.

***

A/N: Aight what do you think was the address Val cut the power to? Also, I'd like to hear your thoughts about what's going down in these past chapters!

Again, thanks for giving this book a chance! I wish you the best of luck in everything you put your mind to