âThis one wonders: how much is a life worth? It is guarded so dearly, but taken so easilyâŠâ
She had not been waiting at the designated location for more than a minute before two people showed up. Or, more accurately, a person and a dog. She wasnât sure why that was where the line was drawnâthough not as intelligent as primates, dogs and cats and the like were hardly stupid, just different. Perhaps she only thought so because she occasionally saw more similarities between herself and such creatures than herself and humans. After all, her primary prerogative was obedience, as well.
This dog was quite large, his back easily reaching her waist. Then again, Darcia wasnât any more than 62 inches tall, so by scale, many things were large. It had a well-maintained coat of white fur, mostly short but faintly curly, and his pink tongue lolled out of his mouth, though she noted that he wasnât making a mess or anything. He seemed quite content to heel at the side of the person walking him until spotting her, and she reached out without fear to pet the animal, who sniffed her warily for just a moment before deciding that she was entirely acceptable and pressing his nose into her palm. Though her left hand remained occupied with the spot behind the dogâs ear, she was not so impolite as to ignore the human. He introduced himself as Crux, which immediately brought up a linguistic note on the word and a heavily-redacted personnel file from her data storage. Apparently, much of what this man did was deeply classified. Then again, she wasnât able to see much of her own file with her level of clearance either.
Still, what she read assured her that she was not being put in the hands of an amateur by any means, and the android tilted her head slightly to the side. âThis one may be referred to with any designation of your choosing. It is, however, most often called Darcia, or Zero.â Like any android, she would answer to whatever he told her her name was for the duration of the time he held her command codes, but unlike any others, she had a preference on the matter, however slight. Speaking of the command codes⊠Darcia retrieved an envelope from the inside pocket of her coat, and held it out to him. âCommander Stein requests that this one remind you that its command codes, while temporary and expiring at the termination of this mission or its target, are nevertheless highly-sensitive data, and should therefore be destroyed upon comprehension.â It was a standard line, something she was told to give to everyone she had not worked with before.
Darcia smiled gently and nodded, allowing that it would be best to talk further once in the car, and followed him to it, passively cataloguing environmental data as she went. It was simply habit, and it extended to collecting observations about the person in front of her as well. On typical human aging patterns, she would put him in the middle of his third decade, perhaps twenty-five or six years. His hair was dark, his eyes uncommonly bright. By principles of symmetry and aesthetics, she guessed that he would count as remarkably attractive, to others of his kind. The file did not indicate any family or significant attachments to speak of, but then, this was not at all uncommon for those who make their living in the way he did. There could also be something under the redactions that she did not know about at this time. In terms of cold logic, it was irrelevant, though of course, she knew quite well that she was imperfect in this regard, and so some measure of curiosity, however slight, lingered. Was it not in the nature of humans to seek company?
Nevertheless, when she slid into the passenger seat of the vehicle, the dog happily locating himself at her feet, what she spoke of was only the business they were contracted to finish. Darcia forewent the use of a seatbelt, partially because she had no need to worry about sustaining too much injury of thrown from the vehicle. The other segment of reasoning was simply that, if she needed to move quickly or jump from it in the event of a chase, a seatbelt would only be one more thing in her way.
âIt understands that the target is a woman named Stella Iaret, currently accompanied by an unexpected other, designated Uno. Do you have a plan to apprehend?â She could offer tactical suggestions if necessary, but most government operatives knew quite well what they were doing when it came to these things, and she suspected that in this, the man named Crux was no different.
This dog was quite large, his back easily reaching her waist. Then again, Darcia wasnât any more than 62 inches tall, so by scale, many things were large. It had a well-maintained coat of white fur, mostly short but faintly curly, and his pink tongue lolled out of his mouth, though she noted that he wasnât making a mess or anything. He seemed quite content to heel at the side of the person walking him until spotting her, and she reached out without fear to pet the animal, who sniffed her warily for just a moment before deciding that she was entirely acceptable and pressing his nose into her palm. Though her left hand remained occupied with the spot behind the dogâs ear, she was not so impolite as to ignore the human. He introduced himself as Crux, which immediately brought up a linguistic note on the word and a heavily-redacted personnel file from her data storage. Apparently, much of what this man did was deeply classified. Then again, she wasnât able to see much of her own file with her level of clearance either.
Still, what she read assured her that she was not being put in the hands of an amateur by any means, and the android tilted her head slightly to the side. âThis one may be referred to with any designation of your choosing. It is, however, most often called Darcia, or Zero.â Like any android, she would answer to whatever he told her her name was for the duration of the time he held her command codes, but unlike any others, she had a preference on the matter, however slight. Speaking of the command codes⊠Darcia retrieved an envelope from the inside pocket of her coat, and held it out to him. âCommander Stein requests that this one remind you that its command codes, while temporary and expiring at the termination of this mission or its target, are nevertheless highly-sensitive data, and should therefore be destroyed upon comprehension.â It was a standard line, something she was told to give to everyone she had not worked with before.
Darcia smiled gently and nodded, allowing that it would be best to talk further once in the car, and followed him to it, passively cataloguing environmental data as she went. It was simply habit, and it extended to collecting observations about the person in front of her as well. On typical human aging patterns, she would put him in the middle of his third decade, perhaps twenty-five or six years. His hair was dark, his eyes uncommonly bright. By principles of symmetry and aesthetics, she guessed that he would count as remarkably attractive, to others of his kind. The file did not indicate any family or significant attachments to speak of, but then, this was not at all uncommon for those who make their living in the way he did. There could also be something under the redactions that she did not know about at this time. In terms of cold logic, it was irrelevant, though of course, she knew quite well that she was imperfect in this regard, and so some measure of curiosity, however slight, lingered. Was it not in the nature of humans to seek company?
Nevertheless, when she slid into the passenger seat of the vehicle, the dog happily locating himself at her feet, what she spoke of was only the business they were contracted to finish. Darcia forewent the use of a seatbelt, partially because she had no need to worry about sustaining too much injury of thrown from the vehicle. The other segment of reasoning was simply that, if she needed to move quickly or jump from it in the event of a chase, a seatbelt would only be one more thing in her way.
âIt understands that the target is a woman named Stella Iaret, currently accompanied by an unexpected other, designated Uno. Do you have a plan to apprehend?â She could offer tactical suggestions if necessary, but most government operatives knew quite well what they were doing when it came to these things, and she suspected that in this, the man named Crux was no different.
âHowâyouâdamnit...â
Meal ticket? In addition to being mildly insulting, she didnât miss the implicationâhe was a contract killer. Or apparently abductor, in this case, not that she really cared. It wasnât even all that surprising. Who else would carry weapons around like that, even though they were illegal for anyone not wielding them in the name of the government? The only people who usually dared were members of underground criminal organizations and assassins, plus maybe those rebels she occasionally heard rumors about. Well, of all those things, sheâd suppose he was either some kind of crime boss (the idea of him being someone elseâs flunky didnât seem to match his image somehow), or some kind of independent contractor. Apparently, it was the latter.
Sometimes she hated being right.
Not that there was much time to consider it. With a sudden force she had not been expecting, her back was pushed to the wall, and though she was sorely tempted to try and duck under his arms, she didnât like her chances. Her temper flaredâthis guy just took way too many liberties with someone quite used to being left aloneâand the color of her eyes started to change, even behind the false contacts muting them to a dim brown. The red light was unmistakable, though, and something in the gravity shifted, everything around them becoming just a little heavier. Stella blinkedâshe hadnât intended to do that. Perhaps it was the mention of her parentsâfor all he knew her name, he obviously hadnât done all his homework, and somehow that was vaguely reassuring. Maybe there was still a chance sheâ
Her world stopped for just a heartbeat. This, she could easily attribute to the fact that his mouth was on hers, and considering sheâd been just about to say something, neither pair of lips was closed. Something slid from his to hers, and that certainly wore away the shock. Reflexively, she swallowed, and immediately knew she shouldnât have. It was with much more sluggish motions than usual that she shoved as hard as she could at his chest.
âYou utter⊠bastard.â Her words were thick, and her tongue felt like a lead weight in her mouth, uncooperative and heavy. âIf I ever see you again, Iâm going toâŠâ The sentence never finished. Stellaâs eyes slid closed, and her body went slack, seeming almost to fold in on itself and collapse to the ground. The extra gravity lifted as she lost consciousness, but she was, for the moment, utterly dead to the world.
Sometimes she hated being right.
Not that there was much time to consider it. With a sudden force she had not been expecting, her back was pushed to the wall, and though she was sorely tempted to try and duck under his arms, she didnât like her chances. Her temper flaredâthis guy just took way too many liberties with someone quite used to being left aloneâand the color of her eyes started to change, even behind the false contacts muting them to a dim brown. The red light was unmistakable, though, and something in the gravity shifted, everything around them becoming just a little heavier. Stella blinkedâshe hadnât intended to do that. Perhaps it was the mention of her parentsâfor all he knew her name, he obviously hadnât done all his homework, and somehow that was vaguely reassuring. Maybe there was still a chance sheâ
Her world stopped for just a heartbeat. This, she could easily attribute to the fact that his mouth was on hers, and considering sheâd been just about to say something, neither pair of lips was closed. Something slid from his to hers, and that certainly wore away the shock. Reflexively, she swallowed, and immediately knew she shouldnât have. It was with much more sluggish motions than usual that she shoved as hard as she could at his chest.
âYou utter⊠bastard.â Her words were thick, and her tongue felt like a lead weight in her mouth, uncooperative and heavy. âIf I ever see you again, Iâm going toâŠâ The sentence never finished. Stellaâs eyes slid closed, and her body went slack, seeming almost to fold in on itself and collapse to the ground. The extra gravity lifted as she lost consciousness, but she was, for the moment, utterly dead to the world.