As the elevator climbs higher, Samael begins to mentally prepare himself for the job ahead. He takes out a cigarette from his coat pocket and pops it into his mouth. As to not set off the sprinkler system, he opts to just lightly chewing on the butt of the cigarette. Samael is deep in thought, thinking of the warning that Alastair had given him. Although he didn't show it, Samael was quite shocked at the words Alastair had said to him as he entered the elevator. In his many years working as a cleaner, no dispatcher had ever shown any concern for a cleaner. Cleaners are, after all, people who care very little for their own life while in the pursuit of wealth.
"Why is everything so annoying today?" Samael thinks to himself as he looks over the computer chip in his hand. Chips like this are a bit of a rarity around Neo Vegas. Large companies typically use these items to hold confidential information, unfit for the masses to see or hear.
Samael takes this grenade of secret information and inserts it into a small slot in the base of his skull. A familiar, stiff feeling permeates through his head and neck. He closes his eyes and enters his subconscious neural link. Many pages worth of data begins uploading straight into his hippocampus, adding new information to his memory files. Strings of addresses, names, and items of interest flash through Samael's mind as if he had experienced these memories organically. Once complete, the chip ejects itself from Samael's head and falls into his unworn hood. He quickly grabs the chip and places the electrical device onto his tongue. He leaves it on his taste buds for a few seconds, feeling little springs of electrical current run around his mouth. After one particularly jumpy shock, Samael swallows the chip whole.
Disposal of the chip now complete, Samael reviews the information he had just acquired.
"Target name, Bridgette Anderson. Task given, kidnapping. Age, 22. Height, 155 centimeters... What the hell is that in inches? Weight, 43 kilograms, whatever that means. Ginger hair, green eyes, freckles and pale skin. Student at Rhea academy for the gifted and spoiled. Daughter to George and Olivia Anderson. George and Olivia are co-owners of Stonewall Electronics. The two have been married for 26 years. After a dispute over land rights with Brimstone occurred last year, George and Olivia have been digging around for dirt to use against Brimstone. Brimstone wants their daughter kidnapped as leverage to reign in the two."
Samael finishes reviewing the information just as the elevator reaches the top floor of the building. The top floor of the Brimstone Associates building housed an expansive departure gate for the clouded city above. A city of immeasurable size that floats over the undercity below.
Samael exits the elevator and is greeted by a uniformed Brimstone employee, "Welcome Mr. Samael. We were told ahead of time that you would be flying out today. Follow me this way please."
The slender male employee guides Samael past many lines of busy people, all waiting their turn to fly to the city above. Samael is led to a small reception area, separate from the public lobby used by everyone else. Samael realizes that this area is designated for special use by specific people within Brimstone. VIPs, high ranking managers, special guests and the like probably use this area to escape the clutter of the public lobby. "Please have a seat here while we get everything ready for your flight," the employee says while motioning toward a cluster of stylish couches. Samael seats himself on an L shaped couch. The couch isn't quite as comfortable as he had anticipated, but he is content either way with his treatment so far. He lays back on the couch and looks around the room. Many people are running around wearing matching uniforms, speaking quickly to each other in hushed voices. To the far side of the lobby sits one other person, back facing Samael. Something about this person seems familiar, but Samael just can't seem to figure out why.
As if they could feel Samael staring a hole through their back, the individual in question stands up and turns around. To Samael's dismay, the person standing there is the woman he met earlier that morning in the chicken restaurant. The tall woman walks to the couch where Samael is sitting and places herself next to him. She looks at Samael and gives him a large smile. "So you are the other cleaner they're sending out. I would have never expected they employed kids at Brimstone," she says in a mocking tone. "Maybe if cleaners like you were worth a shit, Brimstone wouldn't have to hire someone like me," Samael shoots back. The woman is clearly amused by Samael's reaction as she begins to giggle a bit before saying, "You have energy, I'll give you that. My name is Amrita, how about you?" Samael thinks for a bit before responding. "The name is Samael, hopefully I won't have to work long enough with you to remember your name."
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"Fiery, I like it. Anyway, whether you like it or not, we'll be working with each other for this job," Amrita finishes while extending her hand forward. "Yeah, whatever," Samael replies, taking her hand and shaking it.
At the end of their exchange, a new employee approaches the two. "Excuse me, Mr. Samael and Ms. Amrita, your flight is ready. Please follow me to the gate." Samael stops and asks, "Wait, we are leaving right now? I thought I would get a chance to get my shit before I left. For fucks sake, my bike is still at ground level!" Samael is getting apprehensive at this point. "No need to worry sir, we were already instructed to retrieve your belongings from your home. Although, there is no reason for personal transportation such as a motorcycle in the upper city. We were advised to tell you that your vehicle has been retrieved and stored in one of our warehouses." The employee reassures Samael before walking away with Amrita in tow. Samael stands in bewilderment for a brief moment before following after them.
The employee brings the two to a long hallway with a series of white arches following along the length of the hallway. As they pass under the arches, walls of red infrared light shine out from the archways. Each individual arch scans a different aspect of the people walking through. Samael couldn't be bothered to figure out exactly what was being scanned, nor did he actually care. "I have nothing to hide," Samael thinks to himself.
The trio stop in front of a large set of glass sliding doors. The employee presses their hand into a biometric scanner next to the doors. A green light above the doors shine in confirmation. The doors slide open with a light hum allowing the trio to walk into the cabin of the hovercraft. The interior of the hovercraft's cabin is lavish. A pair of lush chairs and a posh table lay at the center of the cabin. Large windows and even potted plants line the walls. Everything is wrapped in gold and silver, from the trimming of the walls, to the seats and tables. A tray of different fruit and snacks sit on the small table as well as a bottle of sparkling water.
Samael and Amrita take their seats. Samael notices a button, flush in the arm of the chair, in which he quickly presses, because why not? The armrest opens up to reveal a champagne glass inside of a chilled compartment. He takes the glass and fills it to the brim with the sparkling water. Amrita just watches in amusement as Samael drinks merrily at his first taste of Sparkling water. She could tell that this is Samael's first taste of luxury. In Samael's case, everything about this experience is foreign to him. Aside from the trips to Alastair's office, he had never gone above ground level before.
"Now that you two have settled in, I will be taking my leave. Please enjoy your trip to the City in the Clouds." The Brimstone employee shuffles their way out of the cabin. A small hissing noise is heard as the doors close behind.
"You should be careful, Samael. People might notice something's wrong if you keep acting like that. You have to remember that we are supposed to act like we belong," Amrita says to Samael. Her tone is many times more serious than what her previous actions portrayed. Samael is taken aback by the sudden change in demeanor. "Mind your own fucking business," Samael replies, still clearly entranced by the food and drink in front of him.
"You are my fucking business. You're lucky that we're still on Brimstone property. Once we reach the upper level, even a small mistake could blow our cover."
Hearing those words, Samael stops and thinks for a moment. He knew that what Amrita had said was correct. If he didn't clean up his act, they will more than likely fail their mission. If Samael were to fail a mission, he could only think of the unspeakable things Brimstone would do to his motorcycle. The thought of seeing his precious rust bucket in some scrapyard shook Samael to the bone. "OK. You're right. Since you seem to know you're way around, why don't you teach me how to act?"
Amrita looks him up and down before saying, "First thing we should do is change you out of that garbage bag, but that will have to wait until we land. What I can do now at least is teach you how to act." Amrita looks Samael right into his eyes, " You need to act like you are better than everyone around you. Not just that, but you have to actually sound smart while doing it. Saying fuck this and shit that every sentence won't cut it. You need to actually think out proper responses to what people say to you. Also, you need to physically look down on people. That might be the hardest thing for you to do, considering you're the size of a literal child."
"Make fun of my height one more time and I'll shove my fist through your jaw," Samael snaps back, clearly irritated by the verbal bashing he has continually received from Amrita. "I'll figure this talking shit out before we land. It can't be that hard to sound like a I have a stick in my ass 24/7. Just give me enough time to reset some of my neural transmitters and you won't be able to tell the difference between me and one of those dickheads above us."
Samael immediately closes his eyes to access his neural network to begin the setup process. Amrita turns away and glances out of the window. This mission might be the literal death of her.