The pub was in the basement of an older brick building. The floor was a bit sticky, and there was some music playing on a jukebox. It was an old rock song about the moon mysteries. We grabbed some beers and snagged a table.
“Well, we made it through”, I exclaimed, raising my bottle in a toast. “Cheers”
“Prost!”
“Cheers!”
“To health!”
We clinked our glasses, and each took a drink. I'm certain the doctors who worked on us would be horrified to see 4 patients fresh from surgery drinking, but then again, they weren't here.
“Our second chance, as it were. Still can't believe I got the job”, said James.
“Yeah, why's that, chief?”, asked Alex, paying more attention to tearing off the label from the bottle of beer, than what James had to say.
“Yeah, this job isn't exactly one known to reject people”, added Max.
“Corporate espionage and sabotage. I... I helped another corporation sabotage a new jet prototype from the Icarus Aeronautics Group. They were working on a new prototype for a military acquisition program. I destroyed the prototype, allowing Octantis Engineering to get the bid”, James continued.
We were all shocked at Jame's answer, which even got Alexander to look up, causing him to rip the label he was peeling. The silence lingered for a moment.
“Wild shit”, I said, trying to move the conversation along.
The night grew on, and we got to know each other better. Alexander and Maxwell both told us to just shorten their names. After a few beers the stories started rolling in.
“So, my wife took the house and the dog, but I got enough money to get a used white van. It was being sold by some electrical contractor, and I got it real cheap. I threw a mattress in the back and spent the next few years putzing around the Midwest. Ann Arbor lost a bit of charm after the war and all that”, Max said, growing a bit more solemn as he spoke. “Omaha was pretty nice during the summer, though. Slept in a lot of parking lots in industrial areas.”
“You spent the last ten years like a beach bum in corn land? That sounds miserable, man”, replied James.
“Before I dropped out of college, my parents took me back to Slovenia. We hiked a few trails near the Julian Alps. Beautiful fucking place, man. Beautiful lakes and some gorgeous sites. Spent a week exploring... I miss it, ya know. At least the Rockies are comparable”, raved Alex.
He wouldn't shut up about the mountains, man seemed like an unusually large dwarf.
“I never really left Illinois”, I chimed in. “Grew up a few hours south of here, moved to Naperville in middle school, and here I will be for at least a minute. Maybe I should have taken time to explore after high school, but my mom told me if I didn't start college up, I might miss my chance.”
“Well, now that we're all sad and liquored up, how about a round of pool?”, offered James, wanting to lighten the mood.
We all agreed and took ourselves toward the back of the bar where they had a couple of older pool tables. None of us were particularly good, with Max hitting the cue off the table more than once. During our game, I had noticed a couple of guys looking our way. Just the occasional glance while talking among themselves.
After our game finished up, the two men came over, and offered a game against our two best, trying to put money on the game. Since the four of us were in agreement that we all sucked, we told them we weren't interested, but they didn't like that answer. They tried taunting us, calling us cowards and other middle school shit like that.
“Look, man, we're just trying to play a friendly game. We know you'll win. You know you'll win. Why not just play each other if you're so frisky for a game?”
They simply rolled their eyes and walked away to the end of the bar. After this bit of commotion, we finished out game, chatted for a little bit longer, and had one more celebratory drink.
As the others finished, they said their goodbyes and left, until I was the last one at the bar. I was thinking about my friends who passed years ago, getting sad, until I remembered what was waiting for me at my parents' house, my cat. I quickly drank the last of my beer, cleared the tab, then left to catch an L back home. On the way, I realized I could take advantage of that computer they installed, and listen to some music. A tantalizing idea, allowing me to blast music without destroying my eardrums.
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While half walking, half dancing toward the train station, I heard a familiar voice say, “Now miss, we wanted to play pool, but you had to make it hard. Lets take a walk to an ATM.”
I felt a hand grab my shoulder, and a knife to my throat. Before I could react, a notification popped onto my HUD.
One of the false memories I was given today flowed to the front of my mind. Inside a kill house, I found myself in a similar situation, knife to my throat. I put my cybernetic arm to the knife hand, and twisted, unrestricted by the joint in its wrist, allowing it to turn completely. Just as quick as the memory came, it left, finding myself gripping the attackers wrist. I began twisting below the wrist joint. The torque of the servo motors seeming to increase exponentially the blink of an eye. I then heard a snap, and felt a spray onto my face.
“JESUS FUCK, MAN SHE BROKE MY ARM.” the knife weilding man screamed out.
“Fuck this dude... I'm fucking out.” Said the second, abandoning his friend.
I managed to turn before the second started running. My HUD flashed his name.
I grabbed the second man by the scruff of his shirt with my right arm as I pulled back my second. Before I was able to get the notification closed, I pulled the man in and threw the punch. Another loud snap came from the mans head, as a molar flew from his mouth, clacking onto the ground. The man fell onto the ground, jaw significantly more... off kilter than before. I think I broke it.
The music was blaring in my mind, “Oh mothers, tell your children, not to do what I have done.”
I got the notification closed and the music off, as soon as I realized the situation was over. I could feel my heart pounding through my chest, and saw the pulse thumping my hoodie out a little with every beat. Before the adrenaline could even run its course, a new notification popped up.
I sat down onto the curb, and put my head into my hands to calm down. My right hand felt wet. I pulled my hand away, and saw blood on my hand. I shuddered, then started wiping it off of my hand and face with the sleeve of my hoodie, nearly in tears.
Soon I heard the sirens of the squad car. It pulled up, with two officers stepping out.
The one stepping out of the passenger side door said, “Good job, Officer Sanford”, before she realized I was in a bit of an emotional state. “First time with this stuff?”
“Yeah. I joined today”, I said, looking up.
The officer reached for my hand and instructed me on how to transfer the report. Simply touch wrists, and dispatch will do the next. The officer offered her hand and helped me up. The two officers got me a driver-less cab to ride home. The entire time the situation kept replaying in front of me.
After about 45 minutes, I finally got to my parents' house and got to the door. I opened it up and crept inside. My mom heard the door, and turned as I entered.
“Valencia! Oh my goodness you're home! Do you want anything?”
I heard a meow and saw my cat, Miss Seuse, running toward me.
“No, mom, just some sleep.”
“How..... how was your first.... 2 or 3 months at work?”, she asked, trying to joke.
“Fine... I guess... I'm going to bed”, I said, resigned.
I began to trudge up the stairs, my cat doing circles around my legs and I walked.
“Mrow.”, she exlaimed.
I got to my bedroom, and fell face first onto my mattress. My cat jumped up and started kneading my back.
“Yes, Miss Seuse, right there”, I said as the cat poked and prodded at my back, now filled with extra bits and bobs she'd never seen before.
Once satisfied with her work, Miss Seusse did a victory loop and laid on the small of my back. With the sound of purring echoing in my ears, I soon fell asleep.