The Capitol of Redford was a marvel of Reform engineering. The walls were high, and made from the toughest material, and the tower that stood over everything was a magnificent sight in itself. It was surrounded by random ramshackle homes and stores, all somehow aligned to make streets and alleys. As the nighttime wore off of the surrounding land, a light shone through the window of a certain two-story building. It crept its way along the old wood floor, over a pair of black, worn boots, and up onto the bed on which Jason was sleeping.
Jason woke as soon as the brightness hit his eyes. His arm ached, but not as much as the night before. He had not taken the time to remove the bullet, which could be a mistake if he did not remove it soon. Jason reached for the knife under his cold pillow, and found it missing. Jason became worried. Next he looked at his arm, and expected to see bleeding, but instead he found it perfectly dressed and protected. He felt the area, causing pain to course through him, but he did not feel any hard metal. The bullet had been removed in his deep slumber. How had he not been more alert?
"Good morning, brother!" The cheery voice soon made him realize what had happened.
"Come here, will you?" Jason urged himself out of bed, and saw his blade sitting on the table nearby.
"What is it?" She stood in the doorway, looking the same as when he had left her. She was fifteen, just a few years younger than Jason, at nineteen. Her brown hair descended just past her shoulders, and she kept it in a ponytail to keep it organized. She was quite attractive, which was why Jason tried to protect her at all costs. Yet she still tried sometimes, and she was beginning to learn. His sister was an expert in first aid.
"Melody, please let me know when you are going to perform any operations, okay? And you moved my equipment again." She seemed embarrassed.
"It's not my fault you came home with a bullet in your arm!" She exclaimed, somewhat jokingly, "And you lost so much blood it's amazing you didn't suffer anything other than memory loss."
"Well then thank you. Now, did you touch the camera too?"
"No, you said that was mission-critical. I'm smarter than that. Now," she smiled a bit, "What do you want for your meal?"
"Just give me some food, bread will do. I need to get back to work." Jason slowly walked to the table that held his items. Everything seemed to be here, so he began organizing the materials.
"Never hungry are you? That will change one day, you know." She walked back downstairs.
Jason was too busy checking his equipment, however, to notice. The items he usually carried were as follows: The knife, six inches long, which was stored on his belt on the left; His nine millimeter handgun, single action, which was carried in a holster on the inside of the coat he wore, or the right side of his belt; his coat and belt themselves, which he wore off the job; and the box, which held...
My headset. Jason put this on first. He loved the device, even if it didn't work. He did hear a ringing sometimes, but it only happened when he was in danger. He wasn't in danger now, was he?
No ringing. Next Jason put on his coat and belt, then strapped his knife and gun holsters into place. Next the knife, and the gun... It felt light. Jason ejected the magazine, and it was empty. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten to buy more ammunition. He returned the magazine to its place, and strapped the gun in anyways. It could prove useful.
Jason walked downstairs, and Melody was already in the 'kitchen'. Nothing more than a name, since it was part of the main room. "Hey, can you make sure to stop by Dragger's and pick up some ammunition? I'll leave the Debts on the table." He tossed some small rectangular-shaped onto the table next to her. These were Debts, small pieces made of a rare metal supposedly acquired after the Events. It was rumored that they were originally used by... Jason couldn't remember. But they were now used as currency, so that's what he used. "Just do what I told you. You'll be ok."
"Alright. Here's your food. Now get going, before you miss your meeting."
------
The sun had risen for less than an hour, and already the streets were live with activity. Jason strode through a market filled with vendors, some selling baubles and toys, others with all kinds of instruments, and pieces of tech. Jason decided he may come back here to have his earpiece examined. But that would have to be another time.
Even though the streets were lively, they were also foreboding, dangerous. The living conditions were not the best, especially if you lived near the city edge, or too close to the main building. Jason often wondered if he had made the correct decision by bringing himself and Melody here. There were plenty of other cities in Reform control that he could have chosen. This was the capitol, however, and it bolstered Jason to be close to those he needed to be wary of. He liked the Reform's government, but his job was against the rules, technically. So it was important to make sure they had not discovered him.
And there was some lawfulness here, as opposed to anywhere else, because of the strong presence Security kept. There were ample enough men to keep order on the streets, which was imperative for him. That also meant that Jason would not be taking any jobs here, or any risk inside they city whatsoever.
Can anyone say... suicide? He chuckled before readjusting his expression to a more stern-faced look. It was crucial to keep yourself powerful and emotionless, or at the very least to look that way, lest some try to take advantage of the opportunity. And it became Jason's job not to allow such an event to happen.
The meeting location was a bit odd, considering the status of his current employer. Either the man was cheap, or fancied this brand of... entertainment. Jason read off the sign quickly before entering. The Dusted Drake. He didn't even know what a drake was. Anyways, it looked like another of the poorly run clubs that he was mandated to endure. Another rowdy crowd, another drunk in the doorway, another...
"Hey! Whadya think you're doing?" Jason pushed his way past a taller looking man, who was not happy with the breach of personal space. "You better back or--" Jason dropped three Debts in the Mr.Offended's outstretched fist.
"Go." A potential conflict disassembled with a single word. The man left the bar without saying more, probably wondering what was going to take place here. But that was unimportant now.
It was deeply lit when he ventured farther in, and Jason's vision took a moment to adjust. He looked over at a stage to see a group of men sitting, silently, and watching the skinny, almost malnourished woman dancing on the stage before them. Jason sighed. She looked a year or two younger than he was, and it made him sad to see such a sight here. She didn't seem to enjoy doing what she was either. Jason passed her a sympathetic look.
Those sick bastards.
The only other space was the tables opposite the wood platform. And that is where he saw his contact. The man was seated in a corner booth, looking like what his father may have described as 'a salty sailor'. That was always a strange saying to him. But the man appeared to be the same as the first time they met, and everything registered: the scraggly beard, the wrinkles, which would be hard to get rid of, or counterfeit. Salty was being served by another girl, about Jason's age this time, but still scantily clad, but better fed; Jason waved her away.
"Wonderful service, eh?" The old man shoved a drink in his direction. Jason pushed it away.
"Information is on the way. First deposit?"
"Only when I see what we got, my boy..." Salty made a 'clicking' gesture; He obviously wanted to see the device. Jason put the camera on the table, but kept his guard up. Such a simple item, worth so much.
"I asked."
"Right here, and a second delivery once we confirm the photos. Now, hand over the camera..." Salty reached for it. Jason grabbed the Debts at the same time.
"Have a good day." Jason stood, and walked for the exit. He turned, and spoke again: "I didn't expect a prominent man like yourself to inhabit a place like this," he watched the lady on the stage once more, "And I expected you could do better."
Jason left the old sailor to mumble to himself.
------
It had turned out to be a short meeting, Jason realized. The streets looked no different than when he entered the joint earlier. It wasn't like that was a bad thing, since Jason had other jobs to attend to. He could go home now, and then head to Dragger's instead of Melody. Hey, he could even try to acquire a new job before the day was out.
Then Jason remembered his task from previously; He decided that he would pursue it instead. Jason had planned to get his headset checked out. Now seemed like the perfect time to do so.
Returning the way he came, the street was bustling again with people from all over the city. One man was even selling water. There was some doubt in Jason's mind as to whether this water was fresh, or even safe. But his thirst got ahead of his caution, and he headed over to purchase some refreshment. Jason reached over to the table, and grabbed a cup. He dropped a couple Debts on the table, and held out the container for the vendor.
"Finest water out there. Won't find anything better anywhere else, I guarantee ya!" The salesman filled the glass, and Jason took a few sips, looking for any atypical flavors. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he swallowed the liquid. It tasted more metallic than what he usually bought from Standard Rations. Standard Rations were cheaper, and they were owned by the Reform, which took the time to filtrate as much as they could out of the impure substance. But there was no substitute for water right now, no matter where it came from. This man probably filtered the solution himself.
"Quite good, I must say. Here, save to upgrade your filters. This is pretty close the Standard." Jason put a few more Debts in the empty cup. The vendor looked up, a satisfactory look on his bright face.
"Don't forget to recommend me to your friends!" Jason walked off as another customer came to take his place.
That was when he realized it. He was being followed, the simple feeling he had turned over in his head as the water flowed down his throat. There was a person following him, a man to be exact, dark skin, black hair, with a moustache. The brown, muddied overcoat did nothing to hide the bulge that Jason assumed was a weapon, most likely a handgun or submachine gun. An assault weapon if he was unlucky. He was looking at a fruit stand, for a bit too long, as if he were indecisive. And he would look over his shoulder occasionally, in the direction of his quarry, which happened to be Jason.
Swiftly, Jason ducked under crowd level, to make sure his hunch was correct. Sure enough, the mustachioed man turned to look again, and became worried. He turned away from his position at the stand, looking in all directions.
Gotcha. Now, how do I-- The question was answered before he could ask it. There was an alley up ahead, and Jason knew just what to do with alleys. He moved his way there, then stood, waiting long enough to be seen by his darker-skinned friend. Once he was spotted, Jason turned down the alley, away from his opponent.
The parallel street was less crowded than the one prior. Jason looked around briskly to find cover before his friend recovered his trail. There were a couple barrels up ahead. He turned towards them; they were just close enough to be able to--
The sound came from nowhere, yet everywhere at once. Jason instinctively dove back into the alley he had just come from, as holes appeared in the ground where he had been standing. He drew his pistol...
Which is empty. Jason swore. Replacing the handgun in its holster, Jason drew his knife instead. Not like he could do anything with it at this distance, but if he could get closer, there was a slight chance that he could figure out who was attacking him. And quickly, before Security arrived to handle this.
He waited for the gunfire to stop, and then peeked out the alley onto the now desolate street. There was nothing, except... the glint off what Jason believed to be a scope, the shining that came from two buildings away. That was his new goal.
First stop, angry sniper's nest. Jason chuckled for a second, then dove for the barrels he had seen earlier. Two more holes appeared. The barrels did not appear to be adequate cover. A third gunshot rang out, this time the hole appeared to go through the barrel. Jason hastily broke for the doorway a few feet ahead, on the other side of the street. One shot grazed his leg, and Jason fell into the open room. Luckily there was no one inside, and Jason did not have time for impromptu introductions. He checked the wounded leg, disregarded the wound as nonexistent, and made his way up the stairs to the roof.
Once there, Jason gauged the distance between buildings. It seemed like he would be able to make the jump. Meanwhile, a mental clock ran in his head, reminding him that his trigger-happy aggressor would not wait around forever. So he ran for the edge, jumped with his good leg, and landed on the adjacent building. Jason did not stop running, and made his way across the space to the next building as well. His friend should be below.
Jason snuck down the stairs, clutching his knife in his nimble hands, and kicked open the door... to find the room completely empty. There were a few bullet shells on the floor, which he immediately recognized as 7.62 ammunition, a strange caliber. The detective filed these away in one of his many pockets for later examination. There was nothing else; the room was completely devoid of any other information.
This worried Jason. He hoped that his sister was okay.