Wanted: Zade Wilde

6 - The Apartment Dweller

At the age of 29 in the year 2142, Zade Wilde was in his bedroom asleep on the bed when Tofu, Kimiko's fluffy white cat jumped onto the bed, waking him up. He groaned and shoved her off, but she responded by immediately jumping up again, mewing for his attention. He's never been fond of animals, but he's got a soft spot for Tofu. Noravon-Helmer 5 wasn't known for its wildlife, being a planet that's mostly city, but every once in a while, you'll spot a bird flying by. Not many people had pets these days, but Kimiko's always believed in the Japanese superstition that cats are said to bring good luck and protection to your house, so she got in contact with someone selling kittens a few years back, and had Zade take a seven hour trip to the planet of Abovas to pick Tofu up. He didn't mind, of course. Kimiko had always loved white cats, and Zade could see the excitement on her face when he brought Tofu home to her. He swore he saw a tear in her eye when she held the white furred, blue-eyed kitten for the first time, but whenever he brings it up, she denies it every time.

After petting Tofu for a second, he said "alright, let me get up, cat" and sat up, checking his ViroBand for any messages. Seeing that there were none, he sighed with relief as Tofu made biscuits on his leg. Over the past few years, he had made a name for himself in the Runner community, being trained by the best of the best, so every once in a while, he'll get a message from someone wanting him to do various jobs for them. They usually involved stealing something for them and delivering it, and they always offered a fair amount of units in return, so he had no problem helping out. He's struggled to get by pretty much his whole life, so he knows how hard it is to live like that. That's why he's pretty much always willing to take Runner jobs; he's sympathetic, and he also wants the money.

Zade got out of bed and put on an old shirt and some sweatpants before going downstairs. The sun was threatening to rise due to the navy blue color of the sky, so that meant it was nearly time to open the shop. When he came out of his room, Kimiko was at the stove, making eggs and bacon, filling their apartment with the lovely aroma of breakfast. He walked to the fridge and smiled at her as he opened it to get a bottle of orange juice. "Morning, Ko."

She turned and glanced at him, returning the smile. "Oh, hey. Did Tofu wake you up like I asked her to?"

"Yep. She scared the hell outta me, too. Thought I was being attacked by a vicious monster." He kicked a small mouse-shaped toy out of his way as he went to sit at the counter.

Kimiko chuckled. "You WERE attacked by a vicious monster. She's a killing machine." She walked over with a plate of food and set it down in front of Zade, pointing to it. "Let me know if the bacon's any good. The ion coil for the stove is acting up again, so I'll have that to mess around with later."

With a mouth full of scrambled eggs with cheese, he rolled his eyes. "Again? It just died what, two months ago, didn't it?"

"If it was that soon. I thought when I fixed it that it would be the last time, but it's bested me once more." She walked back over to the stove to begin making herself some food. "What's on the agenda today?"

Zade took a sip of juice and said "well, we got in a particle fluctuator yesterday, and those usually sell for quite a bit, so I'll be excited to see if we have any takers for that."

Kimiko's head snapped around quickly, her eyes wide open. "What model? Do you remember?"

"Umm," he said, looking up at the ceiling in thought. "I wanna say it's a D-series, but don't quote me on that."

"Watch those eggs for me, I'll be right back!" She quickly opened the door to the apartment and went down the stairs that leads to her workshop behind the store. After a few seconds, she came back holding the particle fluctuator with a wide smile. "I've been after one of those for a while, and nobody I talk to had one for sale, so now we don't either."