The Rhydin Assignment

[Jayce Davos]

New Detroit, Earth 437, 6 months ago...

Jayce turned up the collar of his jacket as the drizzle started back up again. He glanced skyward and could almost make out the terraformers high above New Detroit. Manufactured rain, combating the drought season that was wracking the country in late August. But down here on street level, Jayce could swear it only made the city more gray, more miserable feeling. The neon light of a holo-ad, casting a 30 foot model trying to entice him to buy enhancement stims cast a reflected glow from the slick surfaces around him. He gave right of way to a couple of autonomous taxis and then crossed the street, ducking out of the rain and down the steps of Maddox's.

Rock music pumped out as he opened the door and it settled into the background as he stepped into the bar. Dim, dank, no one wanted to talk here. It was Jayce's haven. A quick scan, the implant lenses flashing silver...no Tak yet. Not surprising, dude was never on time for anything. Jayce saddled up at the bar, pulling up his sleeve to hold his left wrist up, facing the bar. The red laser light swiped over, catching his Steele Corporation implant, tethering his purchases to his account. "Kentucky bourbon." A glance to the door, still no Tak.

"Load Feed." Another flash of those implants and the all encompassing content app, Feed, came online. Planar incursions, the dollar down on the global market, a tribal magic blast leveled a block in Austin, fighting upticks in Bolivia...that one caused his hand to lift, fingers briefly toying with the scar along his neck.

"My Man!!" A heavy hand slapped on his back and Jayce's arm almost knocked over the bourbon that had just been set in front of him.

"The fu-, Tak.." Jayce made a quick motion to the bartender for a second. "You're late..."

"Dude, you need to relax. Live life like I do." Tak's large form settled into the bar seat next to Jayce, his round face always with that smile. He was probably cruising on stims at the moment. Tak was rarely ever sober. In many ways they were opposites but Jayce didn't have many friends and Tak just steamrolled into his life.

The second bourbon was set down and Tak lifted it. "To your upcoming assignment." They clinked glasses, sipped down the golden liquid and Jayce felt the burn chase away the sogginess that was outside the bar. "When are you leaving?"

"I'm heading out of the Michigan Portal in 48." Jayce replied, setting his glass down.

"Well, what's the gig? Where do our overlords have you headed? C'mon man, it's like pulling teeth with you." Tak gave Jayce a light punch on the arm.

"It's called operational integrity. You should try it sometime. I keep waiting for you to get censured." Jayce eyed his friend.

"Dude, that's why they only give me low level stuff. I'm okay with that. Spill...what's the job."

"Fucking Rhydin. That backwater plane. Half the creatures there are knuckle draggers. The Corp wants me to tail some girl." Tak stared at his friend, as if to say 'Aaaand.' Jayce rolled his eyes and mumbled, 'Fine.' He double tapped his temple and then his finger pointed to Tak. The operational file popped up in Tak's implants.

"Duuude, she's cute!"

Jayce held out his hands nonchalantly. "Really, man? She's a job. You know and they could be using me for so much more."

"Not a lot in the brief," Tak murmured. "Strange.."

"What is there to say. It's a straight ID and shadow," Jayce grumbled, crossing his arms. "Whatever, I'll do the assignment and be home in a few months. It's just a fucking waste of my time."

"It's paying decent and maybe you'll get to see her in her delicates once or twice," Tak grinned wide.

"Jesus man, something is really wrong with you." But Jayce couldn't help but have that smile tease his lips as he looked at the excitement in his big friend's eyes. "Perv..."

The two of them spent the next couple of hours drinking and catching up. Finally Tak wished Jayce well on his mission and Jayce made his way home and flopped down on the narrow bed in his corporate apartment. Staring up at the changing lights on his ceiling from a nearby holo-ad down the block, he now couldn't help but hear Tak's words in his head. Why was the brief so light. This girl seemed unremarkable. Why did the Corp care about her. But Jayce's past had taught him not to pull threads...you might not like where they lead. He double tapped his temple again, blinking to close out the op file marked 'Kat Cohen/Rhydin' and rolled over, letting the bourbon buzz draw him to sleep.

[Jayce Davos]

Rhydin City, 6 months into assignment

Wake, eat, watch, eat, watch, eat, watch, sleep. Repeat. The routine was basic and 'eat' was debatable. There were plenty of days into the assignment when Jayce relied on a stim. As much as he disliked what Steele Corporation had tasked him with, he was ever the consummate field agent. Shadow meant eyes on and if it weren't his own, then it was the deployed nano drones that he'd used to set up a network along routes of the city and within the target's residence. Jayce would watch every minute of the feed, recorded or real time. He preferred to get into the environment and the corp had made him masterful in being ever the gray man.

The ID entry point of the assignment had been easy. She wasn't exactly hard to miss. That hair was basically a beacon, even in a crowd stifled with the menagerie that pulsed through Rhydin's streets. It wasn't in the brief, but if he felt an incident merited it, those enhanced ocular implants caught snippets of interaction on record. The first several months had been quiet, boring. A junior agent could do this. Tak could do this. There were a lot of runs taken during this time to manage the edge of stress he felt constantly building. Comms back to his case officer were usually met with a one word reply, 'maintain.'

But as of late, Kat Cohen seemed to be making some interesting acquaintances. Jayce knew the swagger when he saw it. These agents weren't from his reality but he acknowledged their elite mannerisms. The drones picked up the conversations and this inconsequential girl was suddenly playing with fire. Jayce had immediately reported it through comms. Silence came back. Strange but not wholly uncommon. The corp worked on its own agenda at a level high above his pay grade. He could navigate silence. He was adept at being alone. One night, silver eyes flashing watching real time, as he sat cross-legged on his threadbare bed, he shook his head incredulous as Kat climbed into her bed in the Dragon. "How are you not fucking dead already..." He closed the feed and stood, walking to the window to gaze across rooftops toward the inn.

Well, he got his answer the next day when he noted two more shadows about her. Three's a crowd. And that wasn't even counting the principals on either side of the factions she had found herself between. This good samaritan, she really felt she was helping.

The next morning, shit hit the fan at the Dragon. It had drawn quite the crowd and he noted the bodies, bullet holes and incendiaries used. He caught glimpses of his pixie-haired mark. Not a scratch on her. Back on the comms in his safe room, immediately details given and the missive ended with 'What the fuck is going on? Requiring immediate guidance."

Staring toward the inn, magnified scopes and recording in process when a response came back. His case officer was live; that was new. "New orders. Engage. There's a lot at play here, don't tip your hand. We need briefs to assess this developing situation. You have situational authority." A pause. "This is the big leagues, boy-o. Don't fuck this up." The feed winked out and a chime in his ear signaled a new operational file. He glanced toward the inn. Hmm, who are you now, Kat.