The Night Mare Hotel
Micro-Tokyo, Neo-York
02:16

Two hours to the moment after she fell asleep, Mina awoke. She never could sleep well at night. The daylight hours made her drowsy and called to her to rest, but such was the sacrifice she had made upon choosing to operate as part of a team. Most vampires were lone creatures, and while ideal for sleeping and dining habits, Mina fervently believed this was the reason others of her race ultimately went mad.

Forever was an awfully long time to spend alone.

Emerging from beneath the bed, she carefully folded her velvet sheet and returned it neatly to the travel pack. If others apart from Saito and Ava-1 were to see the red sheet, they may have been quite confused as to its purpose, or perhaps found Mina's habitual need for it humorous. However, Mina could not sleep without it. In all actuality, it was no sheet, but the lining of a coffin. And as whimsical fate would have it, it was the lining from the very coffin Jonathan had purchased for her after her rather unfortunate and untimely final meeting with an eccentric Romanian associate of theirs.

She had been pronounced dead and a coffin had been made. But death had loosened its cold grip on her heart, allowing Mina a second life.

To those few afforded it, a second life was never quite like the first.

Lacing up her high-heeled black boots, Mina left the room without so much as a whispered farewell. Her comrades deserved their rest.

Centuries of practice had perfected Mina's ability to blend with the shadows, and she glided through the city's near-empty elevated streets as nothing more substantial than a fleeting black mist. Not a single late-night dweller was aware of her presence. She passed through the advanced technological district of Micro-Tokyo, into the more industrial sector of Micro-Oz, and past the enormous and looming facade of the Chartreuse Factory. All was quiet. For now.

With irksome frequency and consistency, neon holographic signs appeared on the exteriors of the countless circumambient skyscrapers. Their singular message glared down at Mina as she traveled, demanding to be read:

Big Sister is Watching You

Mina sniffed and continued on her way until she found the highest point in Neo-York. It was not difficult, for the blinding lights and lofty towers of the structure ordained as the "Red Palace" shone like the casinos of old.

"Subtle and practical, of course," Mina said with emotionless sarcasm. "Ava will enjoy this."

A twenty-foot synthetic stone wall served as a barrier between the palace grounds and the rest of Neo-York. The wrought-iron gate was tall and flanked by six armed guards. A Winged Monkey hovered overhead.

"Must keep the riffraff out," Mina muttered to herself.

Steering clear of the gate, she crept along the high outside wall, so black within the shadows that no motion detection floodlights or cameras registered a trace of her. With a strength inexplicable to regular human beings, she scaled the wall and glided along the top ledge. Her vantage point was excellent from this height, and she took in the well-manicured grounds of the palace in a quick search for signs of life. Organic or otherwise.

Posted at the main entrance was a small army of guards. Thirty, by a cursory glance. Mina retrieved Ava's camera from her pocket, adjusted the zoom on the lens, and took a few photos. The oblong gray heads and mechanical joints revealed the guards to be androids.

She continued her jaunt along the top of the barrier wall. More guards roamed the grounds, their pattern of patrol thorough but predictable. These appeared to be human.

The exterior of the palace was artificially textured, weathered, and dyed a rusty crimson to appear as ancient stone, but Mina could smell the metal of the walls and towers. It was titanium. Pounded even and reinforced. Likely impenetrable and explosive-proof. The double-plated doors were the only way to gain access to the interior.

Far below, she saw a guard closing the door of a large metal box welded into the wall. The door chirped a series of digital tones, securing a lock.

"Oh, hello," Mina whispered. "What have we here?"

She watched as the guard marched away to continue his patrol. Glancing in each direction, Mina saw no other movement. Satisfied that she was alone, at least momentarily, she shimmied down the wall and dropped to the ground below.

She tried the thumb imprint button on the side of the metal box. It would not open.

Mina chuckled to herself. "Humans and their electronics."

She touched the pad of her thumb to the sharp tip of her eye tooth, breaking the skin. A tiny dollop of blood bloomed at the puncture point. She pressed her thumb to the button again and the metal door sprung open.

With a coy smile, Mina inspected the results of her efforts. It was a digital control panel. A myriad of unlabeled phantom buttons and dials glowed within the metal confines. She took three pictures, then closed the door, stepped back ten paces, and took another picture to include the surroundings.

"This cannot be the only panel," she whispered, tapping her chin with an ebony fingernail. "There must be others."

Lost in thought, she heard the stealthy footsteps behind her a moment too late.

"Don't move!" commanded a masculine voice.

"You certainly are a quiet one, aren't you?" Mina queried, her back to the new arrival. She quickly tucked the minute camera into her pocket and held her hands out at her sides to display her empty palms. "A right church mouse."

"Turn around," the man's voice directed. She heard him draw a weapon from its hoslter. "Nice and slow."

Bemused, Mina complied. She pivoted in a slow circle, her hands still out at her sides, until she faced her captor.

"You're not supposed to be here," the man said. He was adorned in protective kevlar from his helmet to his boots, and he held a stun gun in his hand, aimed at her chest. Mina knew the design. Non-lethal, but if triggered, it would release an electrical pulse that would render her in a state of seizing shock for several seconds — more than enough time for this would-be hero to bind her intrusive hands with auto-closure restraints.

Mina inhaled a deep breath as her eyes wandered over the guard's visage. Youthful features, wide eyes, furrowed brow. ...And the distinct scent of a novice trying to prove himself.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"It's such a nice night," Mina remarked offhand. She graced the young guard with a controlled smile. "Mild. Faint breeze. I fancied a stroll. That's all."

The guard made no attempt to hide his skepticism. "You're lying," he stated. "And you're trespassing. These grounds belong to Big Sister. I'm calling for backup."

He reached for the tiny communication apparatus embedded at the junction of his jawline and ear. The addition appeared to be surgical. An implanted body modification.

Mina took a step closer to him and caught his eye with her own. "You don't want to do that, love."

The guard hesitated. "I don't?" he asked.

"No," Mina said, her voice melodic and soothing. "You don't. Because I am not a threat. Am I?"

As the guard watched, the blue of Mina's eyes grew in brilliance and intensity. Mystified, he dropped his hand away from his com and slowly lowered the stun gun. "No... No, of course you're not a threat," he said. His voice had taken on a trancelike quality. With dilated pupils, he gazed at Mina's face in reverence.

"That's right," Mina purred. She stepped closer. "In fact, we're very old friends, you and I. Aren't we, love?"

"Yes," the guard droned. "Very old friends. It's good to see you."

"Likewise, darling," Mina agreed. "You're doing such a marvelous job of safekeeping Big Sister's palace. Aren't you? Yes, superb. She will be so grateful for your vigilance."

"You think so?" the guard asked, a sleepy smile spreading across his face.

"Indeed," Mina said. "She's likely thinking of a way to properly thank you for your services as we speak. Therefore, now is not the time to dally, is it? You must continue in your rounds. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes," he replied. "Yes, I must! Big Sister is always watching."

"And so she is," Mina concurred. "Why don't you continue in that direction?" She pointed to a path along the wall that would take him to the far side of the grounds. "It's quite dark over there. You never know what kind of deviants or radicals may be lurking in the shadows. Be careful and stay on your guard."

"I will."

"Good," Mina said. She reached up and caressed the guard's cheek with the backs of her long fingers. He visibly shivered at her touch. "And do me a kindness, will you, love?" she continued. "By the time you cross paths with any other guards or wards of Big Sister, I want you to have forgotten that you ever met me. Will you do that?"

"Abso-totally," the guard affrimed. "Whatever you want."

"Abso-totally," Mina repeated in disgust. "Of course. That nonsense is 'trending' now." She composed herself and took the camera from her pocket. "Hold still for me, will you?"

"Sure."

The guard remained obediently motionless as Mina captured a close up of his com device.

"Splendid. Thank you, darling," Mina murmured. "Now, turn around...and walk away."

Without another word, the guard obeyed. He trudged to the path with jerky steps, as though he were not in control of his body. Soon he vanished into the darkness.

Mina chuckled to herself. "All too easy."

The blue glow of her eyes faded to its normal vibrancy, and Mina continued on her walk around the building. Upon finding another entrance, she shrank back. These doors were every bit as tall, imposing, and reinforced as the others. They, too, were guarded by thirty android soldiers. Another control panel was fixated in the wall beside them. Not daring to go any closer, Mina took a few more pictures of the scene. Ava's adjustments to the camera allowed the device to switch to night vision automatically so that no flash was needed.

Mina glided in the opposite direction, finding an alternate route around the building, sans guards. It was more of the same. Huge walls made of titanium, impossible to penetrate. She captured a few more images, then retreated to the barrier wall. She left the palace grounds with a whisper of black fabric.

No one, living or electronic, had seen her.

▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎