The crack of ice

[girl_upgraded]

It was getting colder, the girl knew what cold could do to the meat if it stayed on the street at night. Burns from ice, slow death from sleep, bad skin. Skin breaking to show the body beneath. And then there was sickness. Cold settled in lungs. Cold breeding in the wet places. Cold closing your eyes. These, the girl knew. She saw

Comments

[newtokyo_legal]

Strippers. Blue, green, purple, and pink... Oh so many colours each with their own flavour, their own style. Alan Shore was all for alien=human relations, and there was no better place on Miranda to indulge in such... multicultural handshaking than The Chapterhouse.

Of course, it was hard to think about strippers and scotch when one found oneself face to face with a young woman with one of those jacks in her skull.

He'd done the research, taken the cases of heartbroken families who'd lost children to the flawed technology. Yet none of that exposure had ever made it easier to see the various victims that were scattered along the streets of Siam. Each one more twitchy than the last. ...Usually at least.

This girl seemed slightly more pulled together, though the layers of miss-matched clothing did cause him to take a moment to pause and study her.

"I think you'll find it's much warmer inside," he said, tilting his head slightly as he waited to hear how well she'd respond. If she even managed to respond at all.

[girl_upgraded]

The girl tilted her head up toward the voice and her lips twitched into something like a smile. An expression of muscle memory, mimicking what normal people do.

"Thanks, mister. No work inside, though. Not tonight. Need work fast, not broken...broker...brokered. Just need a job so she can eat. You need a runner, mister? Best in the system."

[newtokyo_legal]

Alan didn't need a runner. In fact, his current case didn't require much more than some luck and a jury that didn't object to the random and mindless slaughter of rabbits.

Still, for whatever reason, Alan nodded.

"Actually... I do. Come inside, we'll talk business over scotch and strippers. Maybe even onion rings."

[girl_upgraded]

That was all she needed to hear. The girl leapt to her feet, her clothes bulky and layered but clearly very warm. She jammed her hands into her pockets and ducked her head as she stepped closer.

"Best in the system, mister. I can get you anything you need."