my virtual reality mask is stuck

   It wasn’t often that she went to places alone; this was pretty much the third time. Besides, most days were spent in the attic and helping out in the cafe. It was nice. Sometimes a bit overwhelming, but nice. Which was why she decided to take some big strides and go grocery shopping alone, to surprise the family she was living with. 

Audrey made it to the store, no problem. It wasn’t difficult to find the things she wanted to buy. She’d flinched when she heard a loud crash of cans– nothing to worry about, she reminded herself– and purchased the items. The grocery trip in a whole was a success.

Until she shouldered someone halfway home. They toppled over to the ground. It was jostle to her that didn’t knock her back, but it was enough to startle her out of empty daydreaming. One of the bags slipped out of her grip as she leaned forward and held out a hand. “You alright?”

He ran a quick diagnostics to make sure nothing got knocked out of place. Roddy quickly discovered his model was made to get knocked around or hit. A singing model just performed and that was it. 

Roddy pushed himself up once his checks came out okay. Glancing over at the woman who bumped into him, he frowned until he could tell she seemed actually concerned. She was even offering a hand to help him up. That hand wouldn’t be there if she knew he was an android. That’s what he assumed anyways. 

Yet despite his thoughts, Roddy took the offered hand and pulled himself up. He really didn’t know what to think about this, but he was starting to feel bad for getting rude when he fell. “Thanks.”

Dany had the chuckle, charming he was. In his own way. Indeed, he seemed more than impatient to get on with it, unfortunately Dany could not easily give him what he wanted, just like that. What she had in mind, would not just be offered to any hired man you would pick up on the street, only there to do the dirty work. Yes, it would be an offer. Money was just a secondary, but what she really offered was her friendship and her families friendship as well. It would have been considered highly distatestful to let an unknown stranger deal with… this matter. She took a deep inhale of her cigarette, her arm resting on her elbow at the table’s edge. As she exhaled, all at once, the deep smoke whirled and danced in the dimly lit room before her face.

“I understand, that you would rather get to business without any further discussion. You seem like a rather impatient fellow, who does not like to waste time. I like that. I’m afraid you will have to bring some patience, for this is no ordinary job, you could get at any corner of these dirty streets.”, her face showed hints of disgust. How cheap would someone sell his own dignity, merely for some dollars? For all she knew, discretion was what had made her family so powerful after everything. Without friendships and favours, you had no solid ground to built any power on. It was self explaining to her.

She let the ashes of her halfway burnt cigarette fall onto the ground with a single, small tap of her thumb. For a few seconds she leaned back in her chair, looking at the man in front of her.

“The offer I will make you, you cannot refuse. Do you understand why, Mister Pryce?”, her body slightly rose in it’s petite frame as she came closer to the table, closing the distance which had been there before. “Because I offer you more than any other men would give or trust you to do for them. Money has no importance for me. However, what is of importance is, that I offer you my friendship.” As she put out the cigarette, she fetched another one, now dangling from her red lips. She gave him a playful smile, no matter how serious the matter, she never lost her other side of humour and playfulness. 

“One day…”, she slowly began in a voice as if she saw the distant future already before her, “you will ask a favour of me in return. And I will answer your call. Whatever you ask me for, it will be nothing outside of my powers. How or why does not matter, when it comes to the favour I would owe a friend.”

She dearly hoped not to catch their dear man off-guard. But he seemed to already know roughly, what this would be about. Her family traditions forbid her to throw something like this at a man, without explanation, without any ties to her or her family. Dany would understand, if he would refuse. However, she did not think that he would dare to refuse what she had asked. It seemed most unlikely in her eyes.

“Are you married?”, she suddenly asked. What bad it could it do, to ask a man about his life? She would eventually get to know him better, so why not begin while they were already sitting in a room? It was no unusual question to be asked to a man in his age, however you could not tell if it was out of her personal interest or merely to be polite. She was well aware that he wanted to get on with things, but she would not most likely not let him. Not yet.

A favor? The cigarette nearly fell from his mouth when she started suggesting his payment. This was ridiculous and he almost started to get mad about it until she started speaking again. He was sure his face showed the anger and confusion. Despite he had it under control most of the time, he could feel his skin starting to heat up. From his chest and up to his face, it was probably turning a slight red. 

The last question threw him completely off his thought process. “Uh...there’s a woman I fancy, but it’s nothing past that. We can’t be together.” With the laws, they’d both be killed if they tried to even get together. If Roddy was man enough to say how beautiful he thought she was that is. 

But back to the situation at hand. This whole ‘no money’ business didn’t make him very happy. He was  getting paid barely nothing on the job he had now and the tips and pay at these clubs weren’t the best either. He knew who this was and that there was a ‘family’ involved so they were just wanting to offer friendship???? Were they that cheap to pay someone to do their dirty work? 

“You realize I do this so I can try to live. I understand the offer you’re givin’ me is a lot, but I really do need to eat and pay for a room so I can sleep on a bed.” He’d admit, it was a shitty life he had, but it was a life at least.  Roddy was starting to calm down a bit, smoking his cigarette a little too fast at an attempt to calm his nerves. 

This was an absolute joke, but he had a feeling if he didn’t accept this deal, they’d have him killed. Fuck, this was just a bad situation. 

Roddy leaned back in his chair after setting the lighter down in the middle of the table. He wasn’t about to light her cigarette again. He didn’t know what he’d do. “Okay,” he pulled the cigarette from his lips, “let’s say I take it. How far can I push the favor. You’ll do anything for me right? If I’m in trouble you’ll stick your neck out for me right?”

Hiro yanked the receipt off the register and passed it over to the young man. “Sure you’re welcome to wait if you want,” he said. “When I say a couple of hours, I’m probably not gonna be off until 14:30 today. If you’re okay with that, you’re welcome to wait.” He took the copy of the ticket with the young man’s order and stuck it under the espresso machine with the other orders. 

He looked past the young man and informed everyone he’d be with them shortly. 

“I need to make these next few drinks, then I’ll be with you in a bit. Thank you for your patience – it’s just me manning the place today,” he said with a polite nod of his head. 

He moved to the espresso machine and began making the appropriate drinks for the 4 tickets he wrote out. 

Roddy took the receipt and smiled at Hiro. He’d wait all day if he had to. This was a perfect opportunity to take some notes on the younger man. Anything helped him get closer to his actual target. 

He took a comfortable corner seat, but still made sure he could see Hiro from where he sat. Everything he did when it came down to his jobs were down to the fine detail. Sure, even if the chair he found seemed to be in direct eyesight of Hiro, the younger male had a direct sight of him as well. 

This was strange, he’d admit it, but Hiro didn’t seem to mind a stranger just wanted to get to know him. Especially with him being so frequent in the shop. If he was back over in the states or up in his home country, they’d think he was a total creep....well maybe. He knew he was handsome.

        ❝ jus’ a minute, sweet pea - ! ❞

     oh gosh, a customer caught her in a bad moment, just as she had almost lost her balance from carrying some hefty fabrics from her work bench to the vault. onika had gone out to lunch, leaving penny all by her lonesome, but lord knows she wasn’t expecting anybody to pop in. ( it wasn’t like anyone was coming into the store, anyways. it was midday tuesday, after all. )    there was an audible metal SLAM as she closed the vault that rang mildly throughout the tailor shop, more metal clanking ensuing followed by BEEPS as she spun the dials to secure the locks. she lets out a heavy sigh once the confirmation BEEP occurred.

( goodness, she hated having the vault. too damn LOUD for its own good. ) 

   the head tailor tosses a yellow & red measuring tape around her neck as she passes her desk, two inch red kitten heels clicking across the dark wood of the shop’s floors. she straightens out pieces on her workspace & checks her short, wavy bob in the mirror along with a quick swipe of red lipstick.    leaving the back door into the main parlor, she peers at the customer (who has their back to her) & attempts to discern them from clothing alone, with no such luck. ( a new person! what luck; maybe she didn’t have to get the bulletproof fabrics out again! )

      ❝ afternoon, sir! my sincerest apologies for the loud sounds - ❞

      ❝ we’ve got some expensive fabrics here. can’t let ‘em get stolen!  ❞

   she gives a cordial smile, straightening her white blouse & red a-line skirt, making sure the tape measure wasn’t askew around her neck. despite not seeing his front, she liked his style.

     ❝ how may i assist you? ❞

The loud noise did cause him to glance over to the open door. He was a bit confused and concerned about it since this was just a tailor shop. Roddy was about to ask if they needed any help when the beeping started. Ah, nothing to be alarmed about. His body released and he was able to relax again. 

That voice though....It had to belong to the woman he had seen from the windows the times he didn’t have the courage to walk into the place. He didn’t know if he even had the courage to actually talk to the woman now.  She was too pretty and even had a pretty voice. 

Roddy slowly turned around, uncrossing his arms and froze up when he saw her. This was it. He was going to just die of embarrassment right here in a tailor shop. He swallowed roughly and tried smiling, but it turned out to look a bit more in pain than anything. 

“Uh. I was wantin’ a suit. You know....the special kind that you offer.” Roddy cleared his throat a bit and went back to his smiling. His cool guy facade was quickly falling apart just because the lady tailor was the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. 

His eye shot down at the measuring tape draped around her neck. Oh hell, he completely forgot about the measuring for the suit! This wasn’t going to be good at all.

ask meme >>> accepting 

   the bag came out of no where,  but her arm swung up to protect her face.  her balance falls back against the alleys wall.  she knew how it felt to be trapped in a situation like his own.  carter came back to her senses and looked to the ground.  the android was trying to get away.  he must have felt threatened.  carter almost felt bad for following her curiosity.  but maybe she could save him from shutdown.  

   she doesn’t hesitate to drop and look through the bag.  general belongings,  and stuffed into a deeper part of the bag was blood.  exactly what he needed.  carter yanks it from the bag,  gun still in hand.  her eyes dart over the possible life saver and from there she doesn’t hesitate.  –  carter rushed over to the man,  remaining calm and collected.       “   you need help.  i can help.   ”      she kneels beside him,  stuffing her gun back into her waistline and settling a hand on his shoulder.  maybe her subtle touch would be enough to get him to relax. 

    “  you’ll shut down if you don’t let me help  –  please.   ”    she can sense the hostility and stress  –  she can see it.  it flashes in her vision like her own life was at stake.  his was off the chart,  she had to approach this better. 

   his attempt at kicking her away was angering.  but she remained patient.  but the moment he continued to try and get away was the moment carter went farther with her persuasion.  the truth was always a step in the right direction.  maybe the confession would stop him.  his deviance was obvious,  hers was not. 

   “  look  –  i promise i’m not going to hurt you.   ”    her hands go up as if to surrender,  but it was to show she was not there to harm him.   “ im deviant too.  im a deviant.   –    let me help you.   ”   

Everything about this was wrong. The hand on him set him off even more, causing him to kick at her. His struggling turned more into pathetic wiggles across the ground, not getting the android much of anywhere. This was it for him. That’s what he thought until the confession was said out loud.

He quickly stopped struggling. His kicking stopped, the attempt at trying to get away, and everything else in his brain went to a standstill. She was a deviant like him and was willing to help. The last person who was willing to help erased him though. Anger flared up quickly until the errors started flashing again. He had to trust her just enough until the hardware damage was fixed. Just let her help you Roddy.

Roddy slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position even though his whole system was throwing up red flags, telling him to stop moving and call for assistance. This was the only help he was going to get and he was going to have to live with it. 

That was until he got a really good look at her. Weren’t these police models? A police model wouldn’t openly admit they were a deviant though would they? Roddy had to stop questioning every thing at this moment and leave those questions for later. Despite not needing to, he inhaled shakily, finally looking up at her as he held onto his leg. “Please. It’s been like this for days. I don’t know what to do.” Roddy’s voice was quiet and soft spoken. 

She was only trying to help, but this all made him nervous. “Please I don’t want to shut down.” His fingers started pulling the hem of the jeans out of the boots, pulling the fabric up over the soaked bandage. Without the bandage, it would show the deep slash in the plastic that made up his body. It was irreparable, it had to be. A new leg was the only thing that would help him. 

Truth be told, Dany had been nervous. She knew everything would go just as she wanted it to be, the men by her side would ensure that. Still, every time she went on with business, she felt like her fingers trembled and her mind was full of thoughts, like a chess field; planning ahead, taking the right step at a time. On some days, she enjoyed playing god. On other days, the duty grew as heavy as having to carry the world on her own shoulders. It was a dangerous game they played, thoughts of past nights lingered in her mind. The news of the death of her dear late father and brothers keeping her awake at night, it demanded an answer. It demanded blood revenge. Nothing could make Dany stop what she was about to start. 

As several cars pulled up on the driveway to a venue, she took deep breaths in, carefully observing the scene. It had been a quiet night. One of her family members opened the car door for her, as she made her way to the back door, accompanied by five of her most trusted and loyal friends of her family. Her heels clacked over the pavement, as with a fluent move she arranged her hair with a fluent sweep through it. Making their way into the building, two of her man walked in front of her, stopping at the door where she was supposed to meet him. Everything she had discussed, planned and talked over flew through her head. Did they arrange for the right man? Was this the right way to go? To take more than revenge but set a statement. You do not turn your back to the firey Targariello’s. 

She heard the door open, a silent voice answering. She was impatient, but keeping it cool, staring at the light, which shined through the lightly opened door. Muffled words were exchanged before the door opened completely and her men walked in before she did, then the door was closed. They were all armed, some less visible than others. As she saw him, she lightly smiled. A polite, business smile. Her jacket was taken off, before she pulled off her gloves. 

“Mister Pryce.”, she said, a foreign accent shimmering through, “please, may we sit?” She gestured towards the table with a open hand. It was less a question. One of her men already pulled one of the chair’s at the table back for her to sit down. Politeness and respect was the creed she would always be going by, no matter what she was here to discuss. Someone who did not bring the necessary amount of respect towards a member, would be regarded highly rude and a direct insult to her family. Although Dany was unusually calm than ever, it felt as if tension filled up the room, two of her men guarding the door from outside and three inside standing next to her, but keeping enough distance. Everyone in this city knew who she was, silent whispers people exchanged, nobody dared to anger a high ranked family member as she was. All people could do, was read about the violence, assassinations and conflicts in the newspaper, wondering when it all may end. 

Dany pulled two cigarettes out of her purse, offering one to her hopefully soon hired man, before putting the other one to the edge of her lips. She needed to take a good look at him, before deciding anything. A task like this– could not easily be offered for money.  “Do you smoke?”, she asked him with a warm smile.

Annoyance quickly formed into dread when he realized who exactly was knocking on his door. He had been in touch with someone about a job when he came to town, but he just never knew when he’d actually talk to them. The big guys and suddenly the small woman following behind them gave him the big clue on who it was.

A job like this meant he couldn’t just fail and then bail to another state. This was life or death and he was playing with fire.

He wasn’t going to say no to a cigarette even if he just finished one. This whole situation was making his skin crawl and he just wanted to do whatever they asked of him. Being a freelance hit man was always difficult because he didn’t know who sides to pick. Roddy nodded and took one of the offered cigarettes.

Before he even thought about lighting his own cigarette, he offered his lighter, open and already lit for the woman in front of him. It was only out of respect for who she was. She was someone he dreading, but also hoping for. Someone like her wouldn’t come to him unless he was going to be getting a big pay day for it. 

After that was done, his was lit and he made himself comfortable in his chair, left arm rest on the back of it as he relaxed too much. “Thank you.” Was spoken softly despite how he was presenting himself to be. It helped calm his own nerves to put on a little front for these people. They were expecting a cocky hit man, it’s what they were going to get. 

   she had just left a case a few blocks away.  another deviant case,  another human dead.  it was becoming far too normal,  but it was giving her the information she needed.  –  the plan was to take a new path to jericho,  and hand over the new information she had gathered to markus.  the night made it easier to safely travel.  thankfully she was good at keeping to the shadows,  not that it would matter much for a police android.  it came in handy for these moments. 

    its a noise that catches her attention,  something crashing had echoed through the block she was on.  it was just loud enough to hear,  but not loud enough to warrant panic.  carter couldn’t help but follow the urge to see what had happened.  –  her route changes,  and she moves in the direction of the sounds origin.  caution floods her,  she could be walking into a multitude of things.  and as she got closer,  carter couldn’t help but arm herself.  –  parker had always required her to carry a firearm on her,  no matter what.  carter could manage on her own,  but she agreed. 

   shes shrouded in darkness,  the only proof of her being there was her reflection in a rippling puddle below her.  she grips the handgun,  barrel pointed down.  carter didn’t move,  she stayed at the end of the alley,  scanning carefully. 

    “  hello ?     is anyone there?   ”     one step forward,  through the puddle and just barley into the alley.  her gun raises slightly,  with a hint of hesitation.  her eyes glance down,  just barley catching a glisten of blue blood lit up by the moon.  almost like it was suppose to be there.  she kneels,  unable to tell if it was fresh or not.  the rain they had made everything look wet.  –  her eyes raise and she takes a long look at the things she could see the most.  

    the trashcans.  carter gets back to her feet and moves slowly towards the knocked over cans.  the barrel raises again,  and for a moment her finger lingers on the trigger.  she moves passed the obstacles  –  and for once she isn’t paying attention to her surroundings.  

Just hearing the woman’s voice caused him to freeze up. The tears were still coming, but he was being less of a noisy baby about his fear and anguish. Oh no, it was probably a cop. Shit. Roddy started panicking the moment he heard the foot steps getting closer. This wasn’t good. He rather have just shut down by himself in the cold weather than being shot by a cop. 

His backpack still had his gun in it. See, he had plans if things went sour, but going sour wasn’t suppose to be sitting in a nasty alley in the trash while crying. He slowly pulled the bag off of himself, trying to not make as much noise as possible. Maybe they’d go away if they didn’t think anyone was back here and he wouldn’t have to go to any extremes. The memories of what he did with Zlatko was enough to turn him from violence completely. 

The foot steps were getting closer and he still hadn’t even opened the bag yet. He was struggling with the zipper that he had forgotten that broke a few weeks ago. This was it. He was crippled and had no way to defend himself. What a way to die. 

Roddy brought his sleeve up to his face to wipe away the tears that had stained his face. The foot steps stopped? He looked down at his leg and quickly remembered that the blue blood must be tracked to where he was. He was getting errors coming up telling him about the leak. This wasn’t good at all.

His blood was leading whoever it was out there to his hiding spot among the trash cans. He had two choices; stay as quiet as possible or throw the bag at them and try to drag himself away as fast as possible. 

When the moment finally came, Roddy threw the backpack at whoever came around the opening of where he was. He didn’t wait to see if it even hit the person as he threw himself on the ground, trying to crawl away as fast as he could. The damn leg of his was dead weight and not responding. The errors were coming more frequent, warning him about damages to his system now.