The word android is used to describe a robot with a human appearance. Never in a million years have humans ever thought they’d get close to that definition. Beginning in 2036, the world’s first cybernetic implants were successfully bonded to the human brain. A paraplegic man could walk again but that wasn’t the only thing he got. He could sprint up to seventy miles an hour, jump higher than your favorite basketball star, and crush your rib cage with one kick. This set off a chain of events and decades later, every single human being has cybernetic parts. It got to the point where as soon as you’re born, they put a microchip in your brain. Everything looks different now. Neo-Tokyo used to be a thing in anime, now it’s real life.
There’s a bit of irony in it all. The closer we made ourselves to gods, the shorter our lives became. Life expectancy was thought to go up once we had all these upgrades. Before cybernetics existed, human life expectancy was at its peak at eighty-four years old. Now, sixty-three years later, it’s dropped to sixty-five. Numerous reasons why. The crime rate shot sky-high across the board. Corporations took control of anything and everything. The class difference got even bigger, separating into just two, rich or poor. The haves and the have-nots hate each other with disgust that could never be satiated. The other reason? A disease known as Bio-lead.
It’s 2099 and the turn of the century is upon us. There’s only one place you want to be during this time, and it isn’t Times Square. Welcome to Queen City.
The nightclub scene is as hot as the summer Isles. Every night, chums go in seeking a high because their lives are so low. Prostitution isn’t illegal anymore so rooms can be reserved in the back if that’s the fix you’re looking for. If you’re looking to sit above the clouds, inhalants are used freely. The police don’t go snooping around where they’re not called. Too much shit to clean up elsewhere. One of the hottest nightclubs in all of Queen City is Club Hyperdrive. The owner is Marlon Rockwell. A brown-skinned former badass. He used to be a boxer before settling down and wanting to start a family. Too bad that family never came to be. His wife passed away from Bio-lead. Ever since, Marlon has made sure to never break away from his daily routine, the one thing keeping him on the same end. Once the clock hits ten, Marlon goes out back and smokes to prepare for the onslaught of drunken morons getting ready to take over Hyperdrive.
“Belle, did you get the books balanced”, he says as he draws on the cigarette.
Belle, a beauty from Mexico, works as a bartender and current girlfriend of Marlon. She inhales a stimulant, causing her pupils to immediately dilate. “Yeah, took care of it this morning. We’re ahead of our target for the year”. She puts the inhalant back in her purse.
Marlon flicks the cigarette away. “Great, thank you. Where would this place be without you?”
Belle watches the sky even though you can’t see stars past all the neon lights. “Probably in some backwater town being run as a saloon.”
Marlon grips Belle’s hand. She is much more than some girl who works for him, he cares for her deeply. While Marlon’s routine may keep him from going completely mental. It’s Belle who catches him when he slips. Marlon’s wife has been gone a year today. It took him six long months to get back on his feet. Most of that was thanks to Belle. She picked up the slack without even so much as asking a question. She never railed him for leaving the nightclub in shambles while he dealt with his mental health. That effort caused an unbreakable bond to form. Their bond may be even stronger than the one he has with his wife. If one thing is for certain, anytime a person you love dies, they’d want you to move on. Her name was Lily and seeing Marlon in grief for as long as he was couldn’t have allowed her to rest easy.
The club is at its peak time hours. Belle has her hands full at the bar with the dirtbags and high rollers demanding more drinks than they can handle. The air is filled with inhalant smoke and shitty perfumes to cover up the stench. These kinds of people never fraternize, except when they’re drunk off their asses trying to get laid. Street punks trying to get in the pants of a high roller hoping for a bit of cash. The reverse just so the high roller can get his rocks off with ease. It’s like a cocktail, a perfect blend of flavors to excite the tongue. Belle delivers a round of Mediterranean whiskey to a high roller's table. One, in particular, is celebrating a promotion. His name is Takeda and he’s a real son of a bitch. The bastard would trade in his mother if it meant he’d reach a new height of glory and power. He chugs his shot and smacks Belle on the ass. Belle may be used to this kind of behavior but she’s no pushover. She returns a smack right across his face.
His pride is injured in front of his boys; he stands up knocking over his seat. His hands grip Belle’s long locks. “Who the fuck do you think you are, slum scum whore.” He draws his fist back for a haymaker.
Belle closes her eyes. She braces for impact but only hears two hits. When her eyes open, Marlon is standing over top of Takeda’s body laid out on the floor. The rest of the high rollers stand as if they’re ready to defend their buddy, but their faces tell a different story. They’re afraid. Takeda rolls on the ground holding his jaw, groaning like an old man with a wired-shut mouth.
Marlon’s death stare could pierce the strongest of souls. “Hands off the girls. It’s a simple rule, so I suggest you follow it, or you will be escorted out.” Marlon’s security team is the easiest gig in all of Queen City. He typically handles the rowdy ones by himself. Sometimes he puts his former boxing training to good use and blacks a few eyes. Takeda is one of those lucky chums.
Everything and everyone in Queen City has an angle. No one out here does anything out of the goodness of their heart. The world would be too good if that happened. Belle wouldn’t just slap a high roller if she didn’t know what consequences could follow. As a matter of fact, she’s counting on them. She and Marlon could be a modern Bonnie & Clyde. Hell, they’d be ten times better than those two could ever dream of.
Marlon’s office is hidden behind the bar. He walks back there on the premise he’s going to get more bottles and calls Belle for help. That office could easily be owned by a conspiracy theorist type. There’s a real Sherlock Holmes investigation happening on his wall. He’s got pictures of anyone involved with a corporation called K5. If you ever wanted to know who runs Queen City, it damn sure as hell isn’t the Governor or any political entity. It’s the goddamn K5 corporation.
Belle holds out her hand, palms up. “Hope it was hard enough, I sure as hell felt the sting.”
Marlon picks up a cell identifier and scans her hand. This little device is powerful enough to know, everyone, you’ve shaken hands with, as long as some skin cells are left. With the smack heard across the club, there’s little doubt of Takeda’s skin cells being left on her hand. “Do you remember what to do once he catches you? What to get him to say?”
Sometimes Marlon gets a little too protective over Belle. He broke character when he defended her against Takeda. That wasn’t part of the plan, and it could’ve cost them. Belle pulls her hand away, “I understand my role completely but you, you’re risking this entire stint being overprotective. You put this plan together Mars and if you don’t let me work, you’ll also be the one to ruin it.”
Mars. A nickname he received for his love of the color red. “So, you wanted me to let him punch you in the face?”
“Yes”, Belle says with her voice raised.
They have to hurry up before customers start to get antsy. There are two things people don’t like to wait on, food and alcohol. He types on his monitor furiously. A 3D printer activates. They’re a lot faster these days. He opens the door for him and Belle to leave. She’s a bit agitated but this mission comes first, and she’ll do anything for him.
They grab some bottles from a box outside the door and go around to the front of the bar. The crowd cheers as they can finally get back to being on cloud 86. As Belle attends to the crowd, Marlon doesn’t take his eyes off Takeda. This is their one shot and a long-awaited one. You see, Marlon was always a Plan B type of guy. That means he always has a well-thought-out backup plan in case his plan A fails. This goes against what most people believe. Most would say not to put any effort into plan B because it distracts from plan A. While that’s never been his style, Marlon didn’t have time for a plan B this time. Because all his plan b’s end in death. If Plan A doesn’t work, then nothing will.
The night flies by and the hours feel like minutes. It hits four in the morning, time to close the club. Street rats and broke millionaires slog out to their cars and Ubers. They have to return to their boring realities now, so hopefully, the drinks haven’t worn off just yet. Of course, Takeda is the last to leave the club. First one in, the last one out type of asshole. There’s a surprise waiting on the back of his car. Belle, in a nice skimpy little outfit. Takeda’s brain is solely in his pants at this point.
“You know that’s a million-dollar car”, Takeda says brashly. His ego is bigger than the monument to Jesus in Brazil.
Belle slides off the car and touches his arm gently, caressing even. “I know. It’s why I wanted to apologize before. It’s been a rough couple of weeks, and I took it out on you. Will you accept my apology?”
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Puffing his chest out and standing firm, Takeda responds “Depends on if you mean it.”
Belle leans into his ear, sweet-like. “Let me show you”, she whispers. Her fingers glide down his chest as she circles him. Gripping him from behind, she slides her hand on his pants and undoes his belt, taking it completely off. His pants drop to the ground and Belle’s eyes get a nice twinkle from the neon lights. She wraps the belt around his throat. He tries to move but trips. Belle tightens the belt by placing her foot on the back of his head. This feels like more than just a kill for the mission, there’s passion behind this. Takeda’s breath grows shallower and shallower as his struggle eases. His death is sweet.
“Corp bastard”, Belle utters as she takes the belt off his neck and rolls him over. His eyes are glossed, and there’s no soul left to find. As footsteps approach, she fixes herself up, it’s time for the grit and grind.
A voice that sounds just like Takeda calls out, “So how do I look?” Belle turns to look and sees Takeda. At least someone who looks like Takeda.
“It’s scary how easy that was to do.” Her skin kind of crawls looking at it.
“Wasn’t easy at all, there’s still one problem.” He waves his hand an inch from his face and its glitches to reveal Marlon. There’s a device around his neck projecting this hologram and changing his voice. “If a fly lands on my head, we’re done for. We’ll have no room for error with this one.”
“I guess we better stay ready then.” Belle stops Marlon’s approach to the car. Her hand softly on his chest. “I know how much this means to you. Finding the truth to give you closure.”
Marlon grips her hand and kisses her. Her soft lips leave a smidge of gloss on his that she wipes away. “It’s not just closure. The people of this city need to know what K5 has been hiding. Hell, the whole world should know. The fact that something like this even exists, how could they just sit on it? How many more people must die before they do something?” Marlon may not give Captain America-level speeches but the passion in his voice is all that’s needed.
K5 headquarters stands at fifteen hundred feet. The tallest building in the whole damn world yet alone Queen City. To get inside means to make it past the gate, the security team wandering the outside like it’s the president’s palace, and the scanner on the inside. Marlon and Belle arrive at the first checkpoint. There’s a hardwire laser gate that’ll burn your skin clean off if it touches you. If they tried to force their way in, it’d slice that car into pieces. One of the guards approaches the window. Marlon passes Takeda’s badge and it’s scanned. That comes up clearly, but the guard doesn’t move.
“Where have you been? Boss has been looking for you. Is this how you start your new role.” The guard has a smart mouth on him. He comes off a bit jealous.
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business. In fact, if you don’t move out of my way right now, I’ll send you crawling back where you came from. Do you think guarding this little gate makes you one of us? You’re just another street rat living off the crumbs that we leave you. Now give me my goddamn badge and move out of my way!” It feels like Marlon has been practicing that one he’s so good. He even has Takeda’s mannerisms down.
The guard passes the badge back and gives the all-clear signal. Checkpoint one is a success. Belle looks very pleased with the situation. “You’re a bit too good at that. I guess ego is something you both have in common.” Marlon gives her the finger and a smirk.
There’s a valet guy at the entrance. Marlon tosses him the keys and guides Belle out of the car like a gentleman. “Not a scratch on her. Either of them.” Marlon is playing Belle as some trophy wife. She winks at the young valet, and they enter the building. The perimeter guards take notice but hold off.
Inside they go to the front desk and Marlon shows off the badge again. “Hey there, miss”, he looks at her name nametag, “Priscilla, can you remind me which floor I’m on? New promotion means need digs, right?”
Priscilla clicks on her monitor. “Doesn’t look like any changes yet, you’re still on the hundredth and first floor.”
Marlon acts surprised. “I can’t fucking believe it. Do you mean to tell me they didn’t put me on the top floor? Are they stupid? Don’t answer that because they absolutely are. Fuck it, I’ll deal with it later. Tonight, we celebrate.”
Marlon picks up Belle and takes her to the elevator. Everyone in the lobby is a bit repulsed by their affection but none would ever say a thing about it. In the elevator, Marlon takes a breath. He may be good at this role but it’s taking a lot out of him to continue.
“I can’t wait until this is over.” He murmurs as he cracks his neck.
“We’re almost there. Have you decided what to do after we find it? Where do we go from here?” Belle has concerns for their future. Not so much whether they’ll live or die but what happens to their relationship.
“We’ll get it to Ryuzo. That team he’s got can hack anything. They upload this to everyone’s biochip and soon everyone in Queen City knows these Corp bastards’ top secret. Then we go west.” Marlon’s resolve is as firm as ever.
“West? What’s out there?”
“Something new. For both of us. Not to mention those oceans. The one thing these corporations haven’t been able to soil.”
“California does sound nice.”
“Nah think further. Hawaii. Those islands are untouched by Corps. Too expensive upkeep.”
The elevator reaches its floor. Marlon gives Belle a look. The time for chit-chat is over. He picks her back up and walks the hall. It’s mainly empty except for the automated janitorial staff. Damn, bots wouldn’t know a human from a nightstand. About ten doors down they find Takeda’s office. This is where it gets tricky. The door is accessed by eye scan only. The hologram won’t be enough. That is unless you’re janitorial. Marlon grips the robot and lifts it straight up. It kicks its little legs back in forth unaware it’s even in the air.
He sits it down right in front of the door. It stands there like a two-piece tin of junk. They need it to want to clean the office. Belle hears the elevator go down. “Someone is coming, we need it to hurry.”
Marlon searches for something, anything, to make the bot want to clean the office. A potted plant sits in a cubicle. Marlon rushes over and digs his hand in to grab a handful of dirt. He scatters some at the bottom of the door and smears some directly in front of the bot’s view. The bot takes some time to scan. The elevator is coming back up.
“Mars, we got to move. Mars!”
“Give it a second.”
“We don’t have a second.”
“Accessing office 1198. Override code 4413.” The door opens and they rush in with the bot.
Inside they take a breath. It was almost all over for them. Takeda’s office is barren. K5 must not allow a lot of personal taste to be added. A lone picture sits on the wall, a samurai striking down a demon.
“I can’t believe an ego-maniac lives in this minimalistic office.” Belle jokingly suggests.
Marlon sits at the computer. He brings up the screen and Takeda’s background is some low-brow porn star showing her feet to the camera. “Foot kink,” Marlon says.
Belle doesn’t have much reaction. “Honestly I expected way worse.”
Marlon looks at her with determination. “You ready?”
“Damn right”, she proclaims.
“Link me in.” Marlon is ready for whatever comes next. Belle pulls a jack out of her purse. It’s similar to our dual 3mm ones. She plugs one end into the monitor, the other into the back of Marlon’s neck. The screen goes code mode, matrix style, just numbers. Marlon’s eyes flicker with a blue hue, a sign he’s connected to the network. Belle watches over him carefully, making sure nothing seems out of sorts.
As she watches him, a tear bubbles up in his eye. “Mars is everything all right?” she asks him with concern.
His eyes stop the flicker. “It’s true, it’s been here all along. For over a decade, they’ve had it. They’ve had the cure.” This revelation dispatches Marlon from his current predicament. He loses his carefulness in this brief moment.
A light shines through the window. Belle freezes like a deer in lights. “Mars?”
Before Marlon can react, it’s too late. They’ve been had. He snaps out of it. “Oh no.”
Gunfire bursts through the window. A fully automated police cruiser rips the office to shreds with its two Gatlin guns. Marlon jumps on top of Belle and flips the desk hoping to block some of the bullets. It’s not quite enough as some bullets hit his arms and legs.
It finally comes to a halt. What was just twenty seconds of gunfire felt like twenty minutes. He raises his head and sees the cruiser still waiting. As he looks down at Belle, he can already see the blood. She was hit in the abdomen twice. She’s bleeding a lot.
“You need to go Mars.” She says quietly as she coughs up blood. “Get out of here, tell the world the truth. It’s the only way you can stop what happened to Lilly.”
Marlon caresses her cheek. He then applies pressure to her wounds. She cries out in pain. “You’re not dying today.” Marlon rips off his sleeve and places it on her wounds. “Hold it here, and don’t move. No matter what happens, promise you’ll get this to Ryuzo.”
She uses the last of her strength to grab Marlon by the collar and pull him close. “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing Mars?”
Marlon removes her hand gently. “Not letting anyone else go. That’s what I’m doing.”
Marlon stands up and walks to the window. Belle reaches out to him. “Mars, don’t you fucking dare. Mars!” She doesn’t have enough strength to move and can barely speak.
Marlon walks to the edge of the window and raises his hands. The cruiser turns around and extends a bridge to the window. It wasn’t so automated after all. An armored man walks toward him. His suit is all black with a yellow badge. He’s a member of the Foxhounds. An elite group of individuals under K5’s employ. He gets face-to-face with Marlon.
Marlon puts his hands down. He gives a small laugh and pulls out a cigarette. “Mind if I have one?”
The foxhound nods. Both of them know this moment will be his last so one final courtesy is offered. Marlon takes a draw and does a slow exhale as he looks at the sky. The foxhound pulls out his handgun and aims at Marlon’s head. Marlon keeps his sights on the skies. His eyes flicker as he says, “Thank you, Belle.”
One shot rings out. Marlon’s body falls out of the office, all the way down to the street. The foxhound gets back in the cruiser and leaves. Belle, covering her mouth with her hand, cries out in agony. She didn’t need to see what happened, to know she’ll never see Marlon again. His burden unfortunately now passed on to her.