Machete Girl Issue 8.4 Cyberpunk Short Stories

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another, and a door that lead to who-
“Yeah. I don’t suppose you have actual
booze here, do you? Or is that just AR
knows-where. The room smelled of
magic as well?” The man in the wolf
rust and sweat, completely betraying
mask reached under the bar and pulled
There was no going back now. The
her visual information.
out a glowing blue bottle, somewhat
Vice President of Aegis Medicine was
resembling a lava lamp, and poured a
dead. Her almond eyes narrowed,
Really gotta get those scent neutral-
shot. Ezra downed it without a second
the cool rain rolling down her cheeks,
izers.
thought. Her eyes were unfocused,
mixed with dried tears. Her black
staring past the walls as the alcohol
hoodie and jeans were damp with rain
A man sat at the bar, wearing a wolf’s
stung her chest. The biting warmth
and trash residue. She ran a hand over
mask and a stylish vest over a long
that crept down her throat and the
her face, wiping the rain and staring
sleeved button up shirt. Ezra raised an
chemical, almost medicinal taste
at the city lights through the darkened
eyebrow.
certainly confirmed it was some type
alley.
of hard liquor. Ezra once again looked
I can’t stop now.
“Really? A wolf mask?”
at the Wolf mask.
After flagging down a cab,
“To be honest, I didn’t expect you to
“So you got Peter Armistead’s address.”
she was quickly on her way to the Ada-
actually show me your face. Figured
gio District. After tipping the cab driver
you’d have some sort of overlay.”
“Yep.”
an exorbitant sum to have him keep
quiet about seeing her, she stepped
“Well, I’m a fugitive now, aren’t I?”
“The CEO of Aegis. You just happened
back into the neon jungle and strode
upon his private residence.”
toward her destination. A set of stairs
Ezra walked over to the bar and waved
led downward, cramped in between
her hand at one of the stools. It was
“Well, I didn’t just happen upon it. I did
two tall buildings. As she descended,
real, so she sat. “No need for all these
some sleuthing.”
a notification popped up on her AR
formalities. Plus, what the hell is this
display:
room? You the kind of person that goes
“Why are you helping me?” The man in
to those Hippie Fairs?”
the wolf mask began to respond, but
Would you like to sync AR?
stopped himself. He looked down, put-
“Hey, its classy.”
ting his hands on the bar.
A virtual space, Ezra thought.
Should have guessed. She allowed the
“Sure. Anyway, I’m here, and I’ve
“We’re fucked, Viper. Well, not us,
switch to take place. The gray, concrete
damn near given up. I killed Alen,” Ezra
specifically. Our society. Our culture.
and metal scene before her slowly
paused. She rested her elbows on the
People are so god damned brain-
began to meld into something new,
bar and buried her face in her hands.
washed that they’ll let scumbags like
starting from the corners of her eyes.
“Maybe that’s enough?”
Aegis run rampant. They’re so bought
Through the doorway at the end of
into this idea of ‘national security’ that
the stairs she could now see a gaudy,
“Pretty casual about taking a life.”
they’ll get a brain implant installed that
retro-styled room- if one could even
will constantly surveil everything they
call it a “room.”
“When you work in medicine for long
hear, everything they see. You could
enough -- especially the type that Aegis
probably have made Alen say what you
Wannabe bachelor pad is more like it.
performs -- you start to get real accus-
wanted to and people wouldn’t care.
She strode forward, careful but pur-
tomed to death. I’d been ordered to put
They’re asleep. I’m not.”
MACHETE GIRL ISSUE 8.4
poseful in her steps. As she stepped
onto the purple shag carpeting, the
door squeaked shut behind her. She
resisted whipping around. She didn’t
want to show any panic -- didn’t want
to show any weakness.
The space consisted of a
single room, an old-school flat with a
dozens ‘out of their misery.’ Would have
gladly done another dozen too, until --”
“Until it was yours.”
Ezra paused, looking into the wolf
mask, trying to scry its intentions. She
scoffed and looked away.
“Wait, you don’t think my plan would
have worked? Then why the hell did
you help me?”
“I figured if it worked, more power to
circular bed to one end, a bar to