The electronics-based aquarium encircled a large section of the district, which was replete with a myriad of transparent globes. These spheres were filled with a solvent of gel and water allowing for the survival of sensitive technology as well as aquatic life. Tavon passed the leader of a group of tourists who delivered a speech on their living habits and the history of the aquarium itself. He claimed that human intervention had guided certain oceanic life forms to evolve and live longer than anyone ever anticipated they would.
As he continued walking, Tavon passed what had once been an octopus now revived into a partly mechanical organism. Its tentacles had been removed and replaced with metallic coils which resonated with vibrantly hued electrical currents. He stopped to watch as a woman in scuba gear carried a fogged glass jar filled with small crabs to the tank where she released several of them into the water. The crustaceans were immediately electrocuted within moments upon entering and all but cooked by the intensity of the creature's ability of conduction.
“Holy shit!” Gasped one of the onlooking tourists. “Thing's pretty ravenous for a bot…”
The modified octopus aggressively devoured its midday meal in a matter of seconds, briefly reminding Tavon of how quickly he could eat when his schedule was getting tight, but this creature mostly disgusted him. He moved by yet another series of globes labeled “Zoraster Eggs”; their inner lighting highlighted gigantic, pallid orbs—some cracked while others appeared perfectly fine, almost as if they were ready to hatch at any moment.
Tavon overheard the announcement regarding them:
“All right, folks, listen up:
“About ten years ago, Zone D funded an archaeology group who used the money to make an expedition into the World Below as part of an executive order to try to piece together Earth's aquatic history. It's said that we lost landmass—that the World Below is mostly just ocean…” He paused before continuing to speak, “Unfortunately, these eggs never hatched in their own time.”
“Why not?” Inquired a younger member of the audience.
The tour guide shrugged in response: “Could be a lot of different reasons. My guess is that the pH sucked for the environment they were born into. Biologists here are working on reconstructing what a real zoraster would actually look like! –And studies show them to be a species that only lived for a few decades, but they were known to act quite hostile and quickly became a hunted animal after these beasts already incurred dramatic loss of life.”
I’ve seen one before. Don’t want to again.
Tavon had journeyed outside of the Citadel once before settling in as an everyday citizen. The hungry zoraster he’d encountered had almost killed him.
He strolled by a stuffed animal vendor and then, arbitrarily placed, a machine which distributed an assortment of pipes and rolling papers. He stopped to grab one of the variously-branded wraps and hoped that he’d be coming to the end of the outdoor exhibit…
—But he didn't, and instead the globe collection transitioned to steel frames surrounding clear glass containing more bio-synthetic fish. In some, he noticed that the engineered life forms had become distressed and broken through their confines. Perhaps this was a regular occurrence, as some of the aquarium’s creations now suffocated on the ground below without any proper attendance. This was a known problem inherent in “enhancing” anything other than humans.
Tavon carefully stepped over what appeared to be a malfunctioning sea bass and was baffled as his next step brought him to a bionic piranha snapping around furiously on the stone path as it leaked a substance resembling blood. In an act of what Tavon believed was mercy, he discretely stomped on the suffering creature, and that's when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye:
A leather cap with the letter “D” emblazoned on its front.
Tavon snapped into a more alert state and proceeded past another tank and onto a connecting road in pursuit! He watched as the individual increased his distance from the exhibit and rapidly began to fade in the distance. The assassin sped up his pace—convinced this could be his best shot—and nearly broke into a run while trying to make out any further details. He made it to an archway decorated in golden aquatic animals, leading out and down a flight of stairs to see—
A woman step in front of him with her hands firmly resting on her hips as she tapped her foot on the ground impatiently.
“Boy… where the hell have you been?” She was soft-spoken and calm but stern in her manner of speech.
Aaliyah…
She shoved him gently and smirked. “So, you just ghost on people like that—without a word, huh?”
Tavon sheepishly smiled. “I just thought you were busy, you know?”
“Don't play games with me,” she scolded him before bearing a much colder demeanor. “I know you got my text this morning, so why are you suddenly so afraid of me?”
“Aww, babe—I-I mean, Aaliy-”
“Don't you 'babe' me until you sit down and tell me what this is supposed to be.” She stared at him seriously. “I don’t appreciate having my time wasted.”
So blunt. Reaching out to me again wasn’t the smartest idea by any means.
Tavon scratched his head, searching for a good reply, and said, “Yeah, but do we gotta have this conversation here—like in front of all these people! I mean damn, you got the tour guide's attention—look,” he drew attention to the group of tourists staring off in their direction.
They quickly began looking around awkwardly, and the tour guide stuttered before continuing whatever monologue he was about to give.
“Okay then,” Tavon breathed in, “Aaliyah, we should g-”
“Hell no. We're not going anywhere!” her tone increased in intensity. “You're gonna man up and deal with this; I don't give a damn about who's watching!”
“Language, they got kids here.”
“You— … oh.” she bit her tongue and looked at him darkly. “So now you want to act like you're responsible all of the sudden…”
Aaliyah was someone who absolutely refused to take what she believed was nonsense from anybody—including Tavon, who’d become a master of excuses lately. She was regarded as beautiful but carried a personality strong enough that she appeared intimidating and closed off to most people despite being generally liked. Aaliyah had grown her curled, dark hair into a well-kept crown haloing out around her features. She was garbed in a sleeveless denim jacket over a white undershirt as well as a pair of black yoga pants complete with a stripe down each leg that was half white, half navy. She wore running shoes which were toned in a strong shade of sepia. Aaliyah sported scarlet lipstick that morning, cut her nails short, and wore a pair of earrings resembling the “Scales of Justice”—a symbol having survived the ravages of time. Emblazoned on her right leg was a tattoo of a baby elephant gazing into a pond at a reflection of its future, older self. As a person overall, Aaliyah was known for her collected demeanor and was admired by many. Tavon couldn't help but feel turned on when looking her over, but this only irritated her further.
When Aaliyah was pushed…
One of the managers of the exhibit walked over displaying a fake smile. “Hello!” he spoke nervously. “Sorry to ask, but do you guys think you could maybe be a little quieter or move this—”
Aaliyah glanced at him, her eyes becoming daggers, “This is none of your business unless you're trying to make it your business—is that what you want right now?” she spoke in a lower pitch, “I'll happily slap the hell out of you.”
“Okay, Aaliyah, that's enough.” Tavon quickly reached behind her knees with his right arm and around her shoulders with his left as he hurriedly picked her up and relocated their reunion down a flight of stone steps.
“Put me down, stupid ass! I didn’t say you could carry me—he has no right speaking to us like that…” She started in on a series of purposefully weak slaps to his face. “You're just going to ignore my text this morning and act like everything's all good then? That’s how you do people?”
“Yeah.”
Tavon's text from her had read: “Hey, I just got a new case yesterday that I could use your help with. Do you think we can meet up? I need someone to discuss this with.”
Aaliyah was, for all intents and purposes, one of the biggest bad asses he’d ever met in his life. In comparison to the drug lords he’d done jobs for in the past, she was still scarier simply because she worked harder than anyone else and didn't understand what giving up meant; it was a mindset similar to Tavon's own. Aaliyah was once a cop who’d quickly climbed rank before becoming a Dawn Bureau Agent. Tavon had only known her for a brief time, but there was some kind of connection between the two of them that they didn't understand yet.
“Geesh… you didn't need to do all that.” Tavon said meekly after setting her back on her feet.
Aaliyah replied nonchalantly, “It wasn't any of their business; I hate nosy creeps.”
“Your whole job is about being nosy…”
“Pssh,” She shook her head and continued, her voice tinged with irritation, “Whatever; I'm still mad at you for never responding.” She gave him an inquisitive look. “What? We finish a case together… we get together…” Aaliyah rolled her eyes. “And you’re out just like that? Didn't even take me to dinner or nothing.”
Tavon touched her elbow: “Look, Aaliyah… I’m… I'm sorry, but I don’t exactly think we have the same type of career… path—”
“What is it that you even do?! You haven’t told me anything, but you're all questions about my job. My girls would've done told me to start thinking you were working with the enemy by now!”
“And I'm not. Furthest thing from it, to be honest.” He offered her an unconvincing smile. “I don't really like to talk about my work; I doubt you'd want to mess with me anymore if you knew.”
“Don't give me that 'I don't want to lose you' shit! What is it, dude?” Aaliyah crossed her arms and sneered. “You hang out on street corners dropping off ‘packages’ or flippin' some stuff you got no business flippin'? It's okay, Tavon, you can tell me about yourself—I’m not a beat cop anymore… besides, I figured you was just a thug anyways.” A playful smile spread across her features.
Something about him made her happy, but she couldn’t place it.
And something about her made him feel… human.
Tavon shrugged, “I'm not about to tell you all about it right now. I'm… in the middle of something.”
“Oh,” her eyebrows raised as she became slightly annoyed, “you working? That's why you're strolling around an aquarium like some bum, right?”
“No.” Tavon huffs while shoving his hands in his pockets. “I'm on the clock right now, I’m serious! Let's just say I'm an independent contractor, and I'm planning on moving up real soon if I keep getting good. You understand?”
“Uh huh.” She remained skeptical as she continued to stare at him. “Well, you must be doing something to get by and still look so fresh…”
Tavon laughed. She had a kind spirit which she rarely displayed. “Thanks. Aaliyah, trust me, what I do is legit but it's not something I can just talk about in the open. In fact, I'll have to prove it to you if you really want to stick around.”
“And how are you going to prove it to me?” Aaliyah seemed unimpressed.
For whatever reason, he decided to take a leap of faith: “I'll buy you dinner, and you can't just say ‘no’ since you decided to stalk me here this morning—you should've just assumed I was busy anyways!”
“Ha.” She scoffed. “I ain't stalkin' nobody. I really wanted to check out this place again…” Aaliyah looked away for a moment. “My mom used to take us to aquariums when me and my sister were kids. She would tell us that we'd get whipped the fuck up if we kept tapping on the fish tanks like we did… We were some ignorant kids, that's for sure.”
“Well, look, I've been thinking about taking you to Deaux Tut's, but—”
“No way!” Her eyes shone with excitement. “I love—”
“Shh,” Tavon put his hands up defensively. “Just let me talk for a few seconds. I'm going to get a table reserved for tonight at eight. I'll pay since I didn't message you back, and I promise I'm going to explain everything… it's just that you might not like what you hear when it comes time.”
“Why don’t you tell me now!?”
“I can't, Aaliyah. Relax. Now's a bad time—I'm not joking with you, and you should leave Zone D altogether.”
“Why?!” Aaliyah stomped and clenched her fists. “Tell me what's going on!”
“Just get ready for Deaux Tut tonight,” his face expressed a weak half smile, “I promise I'll be on my best behavior.”
“—And you better be! I'm about to hold you to that, Tavon.”
“I expect you to…”
She groaned, “I've got to head back to the Bureau to do a bunch of paperwork anyways. I've been putting off setting up witness interviews because these fools want me to get the closing statements on our last case from the forensic geeks.”
“That sounds… shitty.”
She smirked. “It's stupid, because I'm about to interview someone who's only going to give us more of the same info we already got to confirm a foster home fraud, and the next people we have to interview are kids…”
“I give you props for the effort at least.”
She shoved Tavon again: “Shit. You act just like the government sometimes. You're lucky I'm a patient person.”
“That's how you view yourself?”
“Tavon, are you trying to see my fists, too? I can get them ready if you wanna act childish.”
Tavon chuckled for a second before offering Aaliyah a hug which she was initially reluctant to take. “I kinda missed you.”
“What did you just—”
“I meant… I can't wait for tonight.” Tavon replied.
She pushed him away. “Well, it looks like you're going to have to since you're 'working.' Later, Tavon; I'll message you.”
Aaliyah looked disappointed as she walked up the steps, and Tavon replied: “I'll respond as soon as I get it this time, okay?”
“Yeah. Whatever.”
He watched her leave and had to keep himself from thinking about the last night they were together… almost a week ago. Tavon couldn't help but recall feeling her smooth, thick legs wrapped tightly around his waist when he’d picked her up and caressed the back of her neck while brushing his lips across hers…
He then noticed that he'd completely lost the stranger he’d suspected of being his target and became frustrated at himself.
Fuck. I spent too much time chitchatting. I need to get my focus back. A kill, and then… dinner?
Tavon accessed his Kom Cell and utilized a specific program in an attempt to contact an available driver, as the B-Cruiser was merely a public bus confined to a very limited route. Further travel was left up to the individual and made available via a program connected to a system of local cruiser drivers within the area. Tavon set up a meeting point with a private operator and made his way to the nearest rest stop before the hyper rail on the intersection of Denmark Street and Blutt-Teit Avenue.
-
Not long afterward, the driver arrived in a dark vessel equipped with miniature jets of burning energy, energy radiating out from five points around the vehicle and encircled by metallic exhaust pipes that directed the emissions toward the ground. The cruiser administrator rolled his window away to the side and inquired: “Where to?”
“Yorkton Boulevard (a street only a few blocks away from his destination). Next to Gam's Cantina, if you don't mind?”
The driver offered a cheeky smile. “No problem at all, friend! Have a craving for salsa or just spicy food?”
“Both.”
Tavon offered the man cash he'd withdrawn in order to avoid leaving a heavier paper trail than intended. He took a spot in the cruiser to relax in plush, leather seating and was confronted with a digital console offering its own menu of snacks and drinks—a console he completely ign
ored and once again utilized his Kom Cell. He looked up “Deaux Tut” and felt he had to check out their offerings considering the last time he'd gone was to interview for his current position as a Core-Man.
The interviewer had asked him on the spot to identify a target in the elegant diner who was related to an ongoing current contract and imposed on him a time limit to take out that individual. He’d finished a second before the expiration of the timer and made it in time for his food to arrive so as not to be a “Rude Guest,” as described by his interviewer. Deaux Tut then descended into a state of panic after discovering a dead waiter seemingly killed by a cruiser on the outside streets. Tavon's new employer courteously covered the full cost of the meal as well as the tip… the interviewer considered himself a gentleman, after all.
Tavon reminisced on his first official job and felt pride due to the fact that it was the only contract where no one other than the target had been hurt. The issue with Angelos was that the majority of contracts centered around those who frequently happened to exist deep within the criminal underworld, and so many extraneous casualties were often sustained due to the nature and location of the work. Additionally, it didn't help that Tavon was one of the most reckless fighters known to man—Brock coming in at a close second.
The taxi raced toward their destination, making sharp turns at upwards of ninety miles an hour without losing any noticeable traction. Modern vehicles were recognized for their ease of control as well as being able to fly at mileage ranging from five—at the lowest—to just over two hundred. However, any powered flight higher than two hundred was considered lethal to anyone surrounding the outside of the vehicle. This was due to heavy production of thermal energy as well as toxic fumes formed from the chemicals emitted from airborne vessels.
Angelos Odyssey Page 8
