The two easily recovered the target after his former capturers were confirmed dead and found that he was soundly unconscious. Luckily, that saved them time knocking him out– and him more brain damage. With spoils of war in hand, they slipped out from the construction area to escape the wail of sirens blaring around the corner.

Erica’s eyes flashed blue. A few beats later, an unmanned car flew down the street and screeched to a halt in front of the two. Nell’s eyes widened in surprise. She was used to professional drivers and limos or hibernating in her apartment, so a beat-up truck sailed by AI was quite outside the status quo.

Erica didn’t leave any time for questions. She tossed the man in the truck bed and they loaded into the cabin. Their new destination “The Basement.” Which, once they arrived . . . she wasn’t that far off of a name.

They drove down a beaten path alongside an abandoned building on the outskirts of Shockoe Bottom. It was one of many relics of a lost time that managed to avoid demolition in gentrification’s march. Nonetheless, nothing was done to maintain its history; it was a shell of what it might’ve been decades ago. The poor paint was dripping off the brick, the windows were non-existent and whoever might still inhabit it had a very likely chance of being squatters. The truck slowed down to a tornado shelter clinging on the back of the building with ivy weaving between its cracks. Nell inwardly winced at the condition.

Erica and Nell slipped out from the car and Erica easily hauled the target over her shoulders. Fortunately for them all, he was still out cold. With the man secured they approached the doors. The only thing that was modern in this time capsule was the typical retinal padlock most everybody had to lock their things. With a directed stream of stark white light, Erica’s identity was confirmed and the doors swung open. Somehow, the rotten wood didn’t fly off the hinges.

Nell curiously peered over Erica’s shoulder and saw steps leading downwards into a hallway ominously luminated by red. It was an ominous contrast to the rest of the dilapidated condition hobbling above it. Beyond the bottom of the steps, she couldn’t possibly decipher what might be down there. At this point, there was no turning back. So, as Erica made her way down, Nell took a deep breath and dutifully followed after her.

“So . . . Who are we meeting again?” Nell asked as casually as she could muster.

“Arkie,” she replied. “The guy who sorta runs the gang.”

“Thought you said you weren’t in a gang.”

“ . . . Fuck off.”

Nell resisted the urge to laugh as they reached the bottom of the steps. Once again, they were met with another door, except this one was much more fortified. It was made of tough, black steel– similar to the ones on Erica’s knuckles– with a camera installed right in the middle. The head was dipped down like a security guard falling asleep at his post. Erica tapped the side of the camera. “Hey buddy, it’s me.”

The camera pricked alive with a start. With a strange sense of sentience, it glanced around to wipe the sleep from its eye before focusing up on Erica. It gave a pleasant squeak in greeting. The lens then displayed writing in a crude, blocky blue font.

“Do you have the target?”

“Of course I do, can’t you see?” Erica shook the man on her shoulder. The camera gave another squeak of embarrassment, then fell limp again. With a click and screeching bolts, the heavy vault opened up.

“What the hell is that thing?” Nell whispered in disbelief.

“Well, first, his name is Cameron. Respect it. And second, he’s just a bit of fancy AI stuffed into a camera. All coded by our local techie, Talia.”

Why’d she put AI into a camera? Can’t you just buy your own security detail?”

“Better question is: why not? And besides, saves us the time to stand up and answer the door ourselves.”

Nell couldn’t help but agree. Once again, human laziness has made wide advances in technology. The two then passed through the final gate.

It opened up to a wide room, illuminated by similar red lights like the hallway and blasting heavy metal music. Nell winced from the abrupt screams and thundering base. In the middle of the room was a coffee table, surrounded by two folding chairs, a couch, a beanbag, and a bar stool. They all faced the eastern wall, which had a massive screen installed right in the concrete. Wires of all kinds hung off its frame. The coffee table was stacked with maps, files, and cans upon cans of beer. Right behind the chairs was a pool table that was abandoned in the middle of a game; stripes was resoundingly winning. Tucked against the western wall with whatever room that was left was a massive tech set up– Monitors, a workbench, scraps of loose mechanics, and more that just barely edged on hoarding. Hunched in a chair was a short woman welding away at something with tool blasting clouds of sparks.

Before Nell could comment on it all, she was greeted with a booming laugh.

“Well, well, well! Erica decides to grace us with her presence!” it announced, carrying a distinct tone of some foreign accent. The two spun around. Nell’s jaw went slack.

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It was a man– a hulking one at that! Almost seven feet tall, no doubt supplemented by some kind of cosmetic cyberware. His broad figure, only expanded by the thick bulletproof vest tightly hugging him, was cloaked under a large dark trench coat. It was made of fine faux leather lined on the lapels with fluffy red faux fur. His face was hard and broad, boasting a thick nose and brow that’s been battered from many years on the streets. But, his entire lower jaw was smooth and shined in the low light; upon closer inspection, it was cybernetic. His eyes were, too, as his pupils were a supernatural orange glow surrounded by pitch black sclera. His hair was a close-cropped buzz hidden under a baseball cap advertising some old sports team that no longer existed.

Nell was taken aback by such a bizarre looking man. Erica, on the other hand, grinned. “I leave you for five minutes, I would’ve expected to see you in a ditch.”

Arkie barked a laugh. “HA! Good one!” The two clapped hands into a tight one-armed hug.

“Though, see you brought in not one, but two strays, yes?”

The lens of his cybernetic eyes contracted to examine Nell more thoroughly. Nell, steeling herself from flinching from his bellow of a voice, held her hand out.

“Nell Miller. I’m assuming you’re the . . . er, boss?”

“That’d be me! I must be famous, yes?” he said with a broad beam. He bared rows of golden teeth. “And put the hand away! Lemme greet you properly.”

“See you in the next life,” Erica commented with a snicker.

“What do you mea–”

Nell was interrupted by the breath from her lungs getting squeezed out by Arkie’s tight hug. A string of wheezes escaped her, much to Erica’s cruel delight. When she was released, Nell was gasping for air.

“That was first test, and you passed! You managed to survive! ha ha!” Arkie declared proudly. Erica gave her a pat on the back.

“Good job! Not everyone can claim that title.”

“Heh . . . y-yeah . . .”

“Now, onto actual work. You haves the guy?” Arkie asked. He nodded towards the body on Erica’s shoulder.

“Yep, just as ordered.” She unceremoniously threw him onto the ground. “Free to do as you please.”

“Good, gooood! And in record time, too. Client was antsy. I’m assuming you brought Nell here for the ride?”

“Yep. Fresh meat. Did pretty well, too.”

“There is trouble?”

“There always is. Nell handled it like a pro. Didn’t get shot, or nothin’.” Erica flashed her a bright look of pride.

Nell mustered up her best smile. Arkie matched it with his own. But really, it was just the perpetual smile on his face getting wider.

“Well, well, well! Good to hear! Here.” He reached into the depths of his coat and produced two tightly wound rolls of Mints. He offered one to each of them. “Your reward for job well done.”

Nell’s eyes widened and gingerly accepted it in her hands. This had to be enough to pay off her rent for three months, or more! How were they not living it up on yachts if this was a regular pull?! Better yet, why the fuck did she spend years as a corpo when she could’ve been doing this?!

“I see Nell likes it, huh?” Erica teased. Nell snapped back to reality.

“Of course! Why do you guys live like . . . this? This is an fuck ton! And for just one job?” she said incredulously. “It’s incredible!”

“Well, being a Fire Fighter means you pay insane taxes, for one. And for two, you gotta buy ammo, arms, bribes, gear–” Erica counted on her fingers after pocketing her money. “It all adds up. And that's after you buy the licenses.”

That . . . made much more sense. Nell visibly deflated. Erica comforted her on the shoulder. “Don’t sweat it, I’m mostly messing with you.” Nell pocketed the roll of Mints into her jacket with reluctance.

“Now,” Arkie said with a clap of his hands. “I’m assuming Erica took you for test drive to see if you wanna join, yes? That is why you are here?”

“Yeah. Looking for work and . . .” she hesitated.

No, now isn’t the time. “And I was wondering if this thing is a good fit.”

“Well, here at Arkie Enterprises,” he began, sauntering to the couch and throwing himself into the cushion. “Everyone is welcome! Equal paydays, steady jobs, errr . . .” He scrambled for his next point, looking around The Basement. He landed on the woman still working in the corner. “You get neon shit from Talia! That’s her over there. Say hi, Talia!”

Nell glanced over her shoulder to see the woman at the desk lift a hand into a weak wave. She was fully engrossed in her work.

“But I can’t just let anybody in, y’know? It is not good business.”

Nell whipped her head abruptly back around. What did he just say?

“Wait, I can’t join you guys?” she cried, bewildered. She tried to meet Erica’s gaze. She told her she could join up! She had all this hope, she was finally ready to get back on top, and now this fuck is telling her she can’t?

“No! No, no, relax!” he dismissed, seeing the mixture of emotions begin to cloud Nell’s face.

Nell sighed out in relief.

“You’ll just have trial period. Need to make sure you really want it before all of the legalities, no? Before you join, you can shadow Erica. Sound good with the both of yous?”

Erica flashed Nell a grin. “Neon.”

“I think I can say the same.” Arkie gave another clap of victory.

“Prevoskhodno! Excellent! You get your first bout of work tomorrow. But tonight, go have some fun! Celebrate! Not everyone can say they survived a Fire Fight.”

The two exchanged knowing looks. Somehow, they both had the same idea. Nell could feel the stack of Mints press tightly against her ribs.

“I got a couple o’ ideas,” Erica declared.