Jay paced up and down Ram's office, eagerly awaiting the answer to the question that had been plaguing his mind since he spoke to Ebony; why didn't he know about any of these so-called holding facilities.
" Look Jay," Ram said as he polished the giant sparkly "T" plastered on the wall behind his desk, " I didn't tell you about the prisons because law enforcement is Ved's department, not yours."
" So what exactly am I good for then? Invasions?"
Ram squirmed at the word and turned around, forcing himself to smile at his general.
" Let's not call them 'Invasions' shall we. I much prefer the word… Liberation."
Jay rolled his eyes. Ram was another person who absolutely disgusted him. Sitting there in his leather throne, wearing a white robe that looked like something out of ancient Greece. Ram designed the techno uniforms himself- white lycra overshirts with golden stripes down both arms, complete with matching white trousers and leather boots. Jay hated it- so much that he had his personalized to suit his own color preferences- replacing the white with black and the gold with red. Ram didn't mind; he was a pushover, Jay knew that.
" Anyway, I was thinking of sending Java and Siva over to make a truce with Amber." Ram suggested, "She might listen to reason if it's coming from a woman." Ram was referring to Amber's feminist personality- it was well known that she despised male leaders.
" It's ok, I'll go instead." Jay offered eagerly, having always wanted to meet the woman so feared throughout the city.
" But she'll hate you; you're a man." Ram said, perplexed.
" She didn't hate Bray." Jay replied, " They had a kid together."
" Spawn of the devil." Ram squirmed, " If you ask me; Bray's lucky we liberated the city, otherwise he'd still be stuck with her."
" If you ask me" Jay said, standing up from his chair, " You're lucky we caught Bray when we liberated the city. Otherwise you would probably already be dead, or need I remind you of how they dealt with the guardian and his lot?"
Ram gulped.
" Fine." he said, " You can go. Just be careful; you may wear black but you're still a techno."
Jay had already left the room. Ram had a worried expression on his face.
Jay marched confidently into the ruins of what was once a mall of high standards- at least until the mallrats moved in anyway. The guardrails were half hanging off the hinges, and graffiti covered every single wall. Jay stopped short of the stairs and took in his surroundings.
Woosh! Jay spun around to see an arrow wedged into the pole next to him. It had just missed his heart.
" You missed." A female voice echoed through the foyer.
A young woman, whom he recognized as Amber's best friend- Trudy, made her way down the stairs. Her short hair was dark purple, and she had heavy black eye shadow forming deep shadows under her eyes. She pursed her lips as she took a look at him; they too, were a dark shade of black. She wore a dark purple singlet, with black fishnet sleeves cutting off at the elbow, and her skirt, also black, cut off just above the knee.
" What do you want?" She asked impatiently.
" I've come to see Amber."