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She walks into the bar from the cold night outside. Her usual booth is taken, but a quick glance at the occupants and they decide to leave. She sits, and the red, syrupy liquid she usually drinks is delivered.
As she sits, she looks out at the people in the bar and reflects upon the number of trendies and low-lives there are. The bar is definitely going to the dogs.
A ganger peels himself from the crowd and moves over to where she is.
"Can I join you?"
"That depends on you and me."
"I can make it worth your while."
She gestures for him to sit and then reaches up to close the curtains on the booth so that they are out of sight.
She leans back into the padded bench.
"Well, let's see you then."
He reaches up to his head and then passes his hands behind his ears. It is hard to see what he does but, as he brings his hands back down, in them are his face and hair. The face revealed by this unmasking is in its late 40s, with short, cropped grey hair and pale blue eyes. She had seen this face many times before, in several countries. Although he had never told her his name, careful checking had placed him as Peter Archibald. This man, head of Bold Industries, was becoming a very powerful man. In the last year Bold had taken over Rann Corps and was rapidly becoming a significance in cities around the world.
He reaches down and pulls out a data chip.
"This is your next target; you have two weeks."
Picking up the chip, she nods and places it about her person. He stands, pulling back on the very different features with which he entered the building. He gestures goodbye and steps out into the club.
He moves quickly toward the door, but is soon stopped by a large tattooed man. The scars on his shaven head count seven cheap chip implants, and the patches on his neck are probably illegal. She watches as the large man shouts and pushes the much smaller man backwards and thinks about intervening. It would probably be a bad idea, so she leaves her employer to handle himself. It isn't long before the smaller man opens up with a single open-handed blow to the larger man's rib cage. The large man doesn't seem to notice and draws his meaty fist back to slug her employer.
Then it happens: the large man's eyes grow wider and he looks terrified. He slowly falls to the ground and starts to fit uncontrollably, foam spraying from his mouth. In the confusion, the smaller man makes his exit and she decides it's time to leave also.
Paul Taylor, 27/10/00
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