Pequod was one of many places of pleasure in the city. It was a hotbed for back-alley deals and meetings between mercs and their clientele. It was a place to get your feet wet.

  Took me a few years to get this place up and running." I could barely hear him over the chest pounding music. We stepped into the private room area and the music was still deafening.

  A dancer walked down the hallway and flashed a smile at Clara. I turned to see that Clara face was flush red.

  "Hey baby, could I interest you another dance this evening? The dancer asked

  "Aha, no thank you." She could barely fight the words through her stammering.

  "What a shame doll, just call for me if you need me." She continued down the hallway, her neon purple hair swaying as she did.

  "Frequent flyer, are we?" I remarked.

  I winced as a sharp pain erupted where she punched me. "I was here for... professional reasons." She shouted.

  "We will talk back here in room ten." Ahab nodded at the guard to open the door. "Would you like a cigar, Mark?" Ahab paid me a side glance.

  "Well I'll take one—" I started

  "If they're organic right?" He smiled. "I know a man with good taste when I see one. That synthetic tobacco shit won't cut it." He turns to the door guard and holds out his hand. The man cuts the end off and hands it to Ahab, and then he offers another one to me.

  "Appreciated." I pulled out my antique lighter and lit them both. "Let's go inside, shall we?"

  The room was well furnished with leather couches surrounding a dancing pole. The door closed, which helped with the loud music. My head was still pounding.

  Ahab sat on the far end of the couch and motioned us to take a seat. "So, here is your money." He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen a few times.

<3000 credits applied>

  My jaw dropped to the floor.

  "A little bit extra for your good work, and trust in our upcoming endeavors." He smirked and stared at me intently.

  "Alright, here is our end of the deal." I pulled a small sealed container from my jacket. This container was special, it was designed to destroy the chip if anyone who we didn't want touching the chip, tried to tap the box.

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  "You guys love your Servtech equipment. Did you rob a shipment recently?" His question made me uneasy.

  "I'm not sure what you are getting at." I tried my best to play it cool, while also trying to get him to slip up.

  "Oh, no worries! Your ability to rob a Megacorp caravan will be a huge asset for me." His eyes locked onto the box again. "If you remove that chip I can show you why."

  I used an interface plug from my metal arm to open the box.

  *Click*

  I handed the chip to Ahab and watched as he popped it into the side of his phone. A hologram appeared. "This is Dr. Jericho, well thats his codename at least." A file appeared.

Lead on the Phoenix project

Head researcher of AI development at Servtech laboratories

Security clearance: TOP SECRET

Risk factors: Kidnap risk

Asset protection protocol: Defend with lethal force, and is not to make contact with any un approved parties. If Dr. Jericho is compromised please terminate his employment and eliminate evidence.

  "This is your first target, should you choose to accept my offer."

  "What if we don't accept your offer, then what?" I asked

  "We will have to wipe your memory of our meeting, and you'd miss out on the biggest payout of your career." He smiled slyly.

  "Spill it then." Clara spoke up. "Why the smoke and mirrors, does it have to do with us carrying top secret info that could have got us killed?" She stood up. "You knew they would have high security."

  I realized what she was getting at. "Was it some sort of sick test or something? If so, that could have lost you your intel and our lives."

  "You succeeded and you were paid handsomely for it. That's all that matters now isn't it."

  His dismissive attitude irritated me to my core. I hated people like him, people who played around with peoples lives on the line. "Well I think me and Clara should seek other clients—"

  "Two million credits each, one mission, and my full hands on planning. No games this time." That number knocked the wind out of me.

  "Two million?" I asked.

  "If the mission is successful." He waited for our response.

  I glanced to Clara whose face was as white as a ghost. "Could we get the room for a second?" I asked

  "Of course." Ahab stood up and smirked as he walked past. "To strike it so big at a young age. An offer you can't refuse." The door slid shut behind him.

  "Clara listen—" I started

  "I'll do it." She interrupted. "He's right, I can't refuse. With that money I could help my family Mark." She locked eyes with me now, her expression dead serious. "This will be the biggest opportunity of our lives."

  "I don't know if this is a good idea, he's clearly stringing us along with info. Whos to say he wont just kill us in the end?" The mission was obviously high risk.

  "We will prepare for it Mark. We always do. Besides, he's risking his neck as much as we are now. If we get away before he could double cross us, Servtech will pay big money for his head." She made great points. We could always get leverage on the client.

  "Alright, but we need to devise an exit plan. For now we will accept the deal."

  Her expression softened. "Don't worry I already cleared the room for bugs as soon as I got access to their network."

  "This is why you're my chair gal." I smirked. "Ow!" She punched my arm.

  "Shut up, that's a stupid name for it." She tried to hide her smile.

  "Lets go let him know." I tapped the switch to open the door.