(Untitled)

[girl_upgraded]

Out of creds, out of luck. Had a contact, but he's been M.I.A. for a while. The girl looks around, squinting even in the dark. The lights flash and the music is loud and it hurts, but she's gotta. Gotta find work. Gotta find something. Gotta get out, away from the jackers that took space in the squat, eating up bandwidth and staying in long enough

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[nobler_things]

Business... Not the normal, everyday crap she put him up to, but the stuff that actually kept him with a supply of blood and smokes, was crawling. So bloody slow, Spike was startin' to worry he'd end up sucked dry and hollowed out, like some desert husk of a corpse, half alive but not quite dead, 'cause that's what happens to blokes like him when they don't feed.

He sees her in the dark. Seen her before, but he can't remember her name. Pretty little slip of a thing. Pretty in Spike's eyes. Like something broken, once beautiful but long discarded and left decaying in the gutter.

He slips up to the table, leaning down and murmuring low in her ear, "Hear any whispers in the dark lately, luv?"

[girl_upgraded]

She turns fast, facing him and taking in the light and dark of his features. He's close, but he's quiet. Quiet in the roar of the crowd, all bright and cool.

"No whispers," she rasps, turning away so he can't look into her. "Not today. Not for days."

[nobler_things]

"Whole bloody planet's gone quiet," he mutters, dragging over a nearby chair and sitting astride it, taking a deep pull from the half empty bottle of beer dangling from his hand.

[girl_upgraded]

"If they're loud, they think they'll die," Rave says, looking at his shoulder, mostly. Her eyes dart up tohis face when he doesn't look at her. "Killers on the loose, y'know. Killers not like the rest."

[god_is_talking]

She watches, and then she watches a little more, taking her time as she wanders over to the girl with a sympathetic look. Lost little lamb, that's what the girl is. Poor starving lamb.

Holding a glass of wine, the operator sits down opposite the girl, pausing in silence for a long moment, before letting her face flicker to life. It's almost robotic the way her eyes lite up and the smile spreads across her lips. Superficial and practiced.

"Do you hunger?" she asks. "You look as though you hunger. Perhaps for food... maybe for meaning. A little of both even."

[girl_upgraded]

She looks up at the face, kind and inquisitive and talking to her in the noise, through the bright lights and thrummig music. The girl has almost been able to tune it out, but the network in her head won't let her do it entirely.

"Hungry," she nodded. "You need a job done?" Work, eat. That's how it went. No sense in pretending she was here for anything else.

Rave wasn't much good at retending anymore.

[god_is_talking]

"Consider this me doing my job," She said simply, waving a server over. "God would not wish for me to allow one of his children to suffer unduly. Order whatever you'd like."

[girl_upgraded]

There had to be a catch, but she's learned to never ever turn down food. She asks the server for a sandwich, something with real meat and cheese and vegetables on decent bread. Something good. Something she can eat part of and take with her.

"Thank you," she said quietly, eyes darting to the woman. God had been a big part of the orphanage, but that was a long time ago. Once she got into the Network, she'd left all that behind.