Joe leaned on the balcony wishing he had a cigarette. Wishing he could smoke. Break time was almost over, after all. A gentle breeze blew past, but nothing moved in this damned city of steel. Few people remembered when trees were a thing inside the city.
It was well over a hundred years ago. Joe remembered. He had been scrapped about seventy five years back for the same undesirable traits that had ensured his recommissioning, this time as a 'good guy.'
Joe had always thought it odd, that before any free thinking automaton would never be given a weapon; now, only robots with their own will could pull the trigger. A voice crackled over his radio set.
"Grey-1, are you in position? The target may head your way any moment." All reploids had their own voice, and Joe liked Lily's most. It was cool, calm and soft. It was astounding how similar to humans reploids were.
Joe's own voice emerged heavily modulated, metallic. "Control, this is Grey. In position." He took a step back and braced his rifle against the banister. His eyes remained panned out. Joe would need to see every inch of the perimeter, in case the construction mech altered it's course.
"15 seconds." Joe didn't respond. He just waited, listening to the lumbering of the mech as it entered auditory range. Then he saw it's legs, followed by a heavily armored head. Spider model. A large glowing node on the underside of the abdomen.
"Control, Grey. Visual on power module. Request concurrence to eliminate target." Joe's eyes clicked twice. The red box magnified just enough to keep the entirety of the chassis in view.
"Grey-1, eliminate target."
"Acknowledged."
Joe felt his senses sharpen as his processors dedicated resources to only functions he required, fine motor functions, rapid fire calculations. Time seemed to slow as the overclocking started, and he lined his light rifle to that vital area. 3.
2. The rifle began to glow and whine.
1. The legs parted, revealing the opportunity he'd waited for.
There was no kick and a cessation of noise as a bright blue beam arced, a split second in time searing the power module. Sparks retreated to the interior of the mech's frame before a concussive boom erupted from the underside of the spider's abdomen. It collapsed in a heap.
Joe staggered as the rest of the world flooded back to him, a sense of drunkeness and heat flooding his head.
"Target eliminated. Request further instruction."
"None! Morning shift has already geared up, and the city's quiet. You're off after you've reported back to HQ. How do you do that, Lucky?" Joe could have said that reploids are too human, that they have too much going on upstairs to just turn all of it off. That he was more machine.
"Guess I'm just Lucky, Lily. How did Blue team do? Any casualties?"
"Two injuries, no dead. Not bad, considering half of them were tied up in that mess at the power plant. And even that's under control." Joe thought it was damn good. Night shift's Blue team pulled out the stops tonight.
"Great. See you at Headquarters." He turned back towards the apartment doors. They slid open silently.
"See you then!" The radio crackled.
As he entered the room, the lights clicked on, revealing a tall woman in a nightgown and a female reploid.
"All done. Appreciate the use of your balcony." They were both calmer now, but his entrance had shaken them up a bit. He had been polite, but the voice and mask hadn't helped matters. In a world where everything was relateable and familiar, Joe was anything but. Even his friends had taken a while to get used to him.
The human replied. "No problem. Everyone all right?" Joe hesitated as he reached for the door.
"Two hurt, none dead."
The human gave a smile. "Thank you! Good luck!" The reploid continued to watch him silently. Joe grabbed the doorknob, slowly opening it. As he left, Joe raised his hand in a thumbs up.
"Enjoy your evening, ladies."