A/n
Wahoo! (been like, 5 years o__o Okay, maybe not.) Onto the thanks!
proud shipper: REALLY? O_O WOW! I suppose the ME fan-base isn't the biggest. So, that would make sense that we might bump into each other sometime XD Haha! And thank you =)
Still Bullet: I'm glad ya like it 8D And I'm sorry about being such a typo-whore .__. I really need to re-read some of the stuff I write XD Hopefully, this chap is a bit cleaner!
1914000: I think I owe the most thanks to you XD If you didn't review, I don't think I would have even remember to upload chap 3 XD Thanks!
Reflecting Reality Chapter Three
The soaring skyscrapers blanketed the city with their shadows; the sun was setting, the people progressing and the existence dying. The citizens had accepted the changes, acknowledged the ruler and his iron fist, the iron swathe, the iron curtain, all knowing that life was no longer a life self-lived. Things were heard and things were ignored. Things were found and things were lost. Things were sold and things were spent. All things were watched with an iron eye. Even the thoughts parading through the mind were kept safe from the public psyche, things never passed the Iron eyes and his men without chastisement.
A runner chose a different life. Nothing was monitored, nothing was controlled. They were freer than birds in paradise, in a utopia of lush greens and blues. Or reds and whites. They sink into the flow of the city, fast and skillful, almost angelic; holding control and not being obtained by it. When they run they are taken to another place. The scenery wraps around them like a tight world pool of new life and new adventure. They had to find the flow of the city, the center movement, and keep to the highest waves always staying right out of reach.
The sound of the city's weep was recoiling off every wall of the buildings, much like Faith was as she jumped from one scaffold to the next; this time her ear was unequipped, listening to a different rhythm. Without Merc buzzing into her ear, things seemed different. Now that her mind wasn't concentrating on the mindless blue-chatter Merc was feeding her, she could listen to the talking and the bustling of those below her.
A stout man, roughly the same age as Faith and a tad shorter, was shuffling through a newspaper under her self-made rooftop pathways. He grumbled to himself while he filtered through the adds and editorials, searching for something not known to Faith. When he spotted his specific article, he grumbled again and sieved though the words; meanwhile Faith had began concocting different introductions and aquentances she could provide as backup props. She glanced down to the man, he had found a cozy spot on a bench across the Financial District. It was just a hop-skip across the parkway, and then the simple confrontation, accusations, and then a hasty get-away.
The man's name was Alec. He had a thing for newspapers, they were the written books of the city's performances. Have you ever wanted to know the best monitoring system out to date? Check the newspaper. How bout the most nutritious breakfast-fast-food? The newspaper knows. Everything from clothes to money, hair products to cameras, the newspaper can tell you; and just like any other man-made gadget, it was not friends with the few runners left circling the city. Right next to the stock exchange, smack under the Teris adds, Runner specifics ran down the page so quickly, that even a Runner herself would trip over her own feet reading them. It listed protections, defenses, trapping mechanisms and even ways to keep your children far from the evils of Running. The funny thing however, is that there are only four runners in this city. Four against thousands, if not millions of civilians. What was the big deal?
Alec continued to study his newspaper as Faith hopped down to the pavement below her. She shuffled though the street quickly, not bothering to find a crosswalk, and made her way in front of the man. Alec looked up as he noticed something blocking his white sunlight, saw who it was, then shifted his eyesight back down to the paper.
"I need to talk to you," Faith proclaimed. She shifted her weight across her waist to her other foot. "About White." Alec didn't look up, his eyes stared blankly at the newspaper before him. "Look, I know your upset, but we need to talk."
"I'm not upset." He shot back at her, eyes still glued to the paper. "Get the hell away from me."
Faith swayed gingerly on her feet. She looked down to the watch clung to his wrist, then looked back up to his face. "Everybody knew he was a good guy, Alec. He was doing the right thing."
"The right thing?" This caught his attention. Alec swung the paper from his hands and shot himself up into the air. He glared up to her, noticed the height difference, then turned his head to spit on the ground. "My father was not doing the right thing. If he knew better he wouldn't have even tried."
Faith stepped back, and gazed up into the white light. The sky stretched further in this district, possibly further than West Arlington and New Eden combined. The sun had barely reached over the horizon which told her the time of day. "White...and Pope, both, had good intentions. If anything, you should feel--"
"Don't tell me how to feel," Alec cut her off. He looked down to his wristwatch, then back to her. The hot morning sun was pushing bullets of sweat from his forehead. His light, colored hair was paling from the brightness enveloping the city; his eyes on the other hand, stayed dark and deranged much like his mood. He glared down at his wristwatch again. "I don't have time for this."
"Merc told them you wouldn't be there. The meeting's canceled." She looked again at his watch, "Did Marie give that to you?"
"What is it with you damn Runners? Snooping through everyones own business and expecting us to give you answers?" He snatched his paper from the bench then turned to look at the accused Runner. "Why the hell does it matter to you? Go bug someone else." Alec snapped a dirty look at Faith, turned east towards the sun then disappeared around a corner. Faith sighed as she kicked a small pebble on the sidewalk. It would seem that talking to Alec White would be a bit harder than she or Merc had anticipated.
Off in the distance, a siren screeched through the dry air. Faith stole a hasty glance to the noise, then scuffled off towards any path that would lead her closer to the sky. Blue heat was not something she wanted to fiddle in today, especially with out Merc's eyes by her side. She sought out for a nearby ladder that lead to the roof tops, leaving no trail as she went.
Alec had his own buisness to attend to and whether Faith decided to crash his party and retort upon Merc's orders, was definitely not up to Merc. She perched herself over the edge of a renovated strip mall, trailing a couple of blues with her eyes, and weighed her options. Without her ear piece and trusty vision of the blues, the journey could be a very difficult one; however, if she wanted to get to the bottom of this Vasilis deal, she had to tail him quickly. Merc on the other hand, could easily disown her (for lack of a better word), from the frequent mis-doings and rebellious behaviors. But White is dead, plain as pudding, and the tip off Jacknife gave her was all she had to cling to. She realized how much of a mistake it was having told Merc the details, she would kill for a little privacy in her future endeavors.
Just then, the same stout man, roughly the same age as Faith and a tad shorter, came into Faith's view. His facial expression was violently contorted into a whirlwind of frustration and his eyes blazed onto Faith's face. A newspaper was crinkling under his white knuckles. To Faith's fortunate surprise, Alec had decided to accept the interview with opened-arms...well, an opened mind at least.
"Don't expect me to crawl all the way up there!" He snarled at Faith, who merrily bounced down to the sidewalk.
"Glad to have you with us," Faith smiled, swaying her weight onto the balls of her feet.
"Glad to serve the adversary." Alec did not return the smile.
The large painting of Alec and his connections to family members slowly began to coloring itself in. After his long explanation of his father's intentions as mayor (adding in a few sighs of defeat in his Blue-sided-cause), he told the group about his father's connection to Teris as well.
"Teris wasn't always seen as a totalitarian corporation," Alec said. "It was a company based on unity and trust. Teris made cameras for home videos or your kid's baseball games; maybe for your mom's remarriage too." Faith stole a glance at Jacknife, who looked rather uninterested. "Once Callaghan became mayor, he turned the corp. into what it is today." Alec paused, waiting for any of them to say something. They didn't dare loose the vital moment of such constant speech from Alec, he was known not to talk much. "Teris isn't the only one, which I'm sure you know, my work has converted to its ways as well."
"I would think you would be happy for that," Jacknife interjected, obviously finding more interest in the topic.
Alec froze to silence, his eyes darkened. "Y-your the one...who..."
"Killed yer dad, yadda, yadda." Jack mumbled, flinging his hand through the thick air.
"What?!" Came a screechy response from Faith.
"Faithy, this guy has had it in for me since the get-go," Jack explained. "Don't be surprised if he targets you next." He finished with a glance towards Merc, who had been keeping quiet for the majority of the conversation.
"Continue?" Merc's suggestion was the most civil response of them all.
Alec's appearance had changed from nervous to furious. His sudden realization of Jacknife being in he same room as him had triggered his hatred. Alec's resentment towards the Runners started a while back. Jacknife has been known to be very irresponsible and a trouble-maker when it came to women. One clear summer day, Jack had so-irresponsibly snatched Marie from the streets while she was with Alec--due to a dare by a fellow Runner--and scared Alec half to death. Marie, on the other hand, ignored her boyfriend's vivid anger towards her new liking for the Runners.
Wow, did you see how he took me to the rooftops, Alec? The view was amazing!
He could have dropped you! Marie, you would have been killed by him!
And from that point forward, Jacknife had been marked on Alec's radar of mistrust. Not to mention Marie's radar of affection. Jack has always ignored Marie, telling her he was interested in someone else. Figures.
Merc broke the long silence with another prompt for Alec to continue. This time, the stout man cleared his throat and went forward with his explanation. "As I was saying," He began, taking a quick tempered look at Jacknife's smug expression. "Many companies have converted their ways to Callaghan's rule. Only a few companies have stayed the old way they were. One of them being Vasillis' starter company: Ganner Tech."
Faith snuck a glance at Jacknife, remembering what he had told her a few days ago.
"Vasilis was a rich man," Faith included, hoping to gain some brownie points. "He lost his money from the stocks." She caught Jack throwing a complacent smile towards her.
Alec nodded then turned his sight to Merc, who graciously continued the conversation. "Yes, Faith. When Vasilis had his fair share of money, he created Ganner Tech. It is a company dedicated to enhancing our technology one step at a time," Merc said sarcastically, shifting in his seat. He swiveled his chair around to the computers behind him and did a quick search to locate the company. "It is in the Aquarian District, east of here. A very thick-blue zone; a lot of the non-conformists like to plot revenge down there," he smiled at the rest of them then turned back to his keyboard. "Like you said, Faith, Vasilis got deep in debt once the stocks rolled by. He had to sell the company...and to a very good friend I might add."
"Roald White," Jack perked in.
A silence rolled over the group. They all looked over to Jacknife who looked like he was starting to regret his sudden participation in the discussion. He pushed his hand through his dark, short hair and told Alec to go on; however, Alec only glared coldly at Jack. Faith took this opportunity to ask the question that no one wanted to ask, "But now that White is...gone...what happens to the company?" No response. The tension was pressing against them so much that it was getting hard to breath in the small hideout.
Jacknife cleared his throat, "Well, I'm out." He looked over to Faith, asking her to come with him with his eyes. She looked around to the rest of the group then back at Jack, nodding. She would do anything to get out of this mess. They hopped up through the vent on the ceiling, leaving Merc and Alec to wallow in the hot tension themselves.
The daylight was stunning, shinning lustrously on every glass pane of the buildings. Faith felt the heat of the sun wave over her, breathing through her hair. She looked down at her hands, then up into the blinding light. Jacknife leaned against a scaffold and peered up into the skylight as well. Their bodies relaxed and they felt at ease. Memories of Faith and her sister came flowing from her long blocked memories. Kate was smiling a toothless smile; around them was chaos everywhere but when they looked at just one another, they felt calm and happy. The sun peeked through the grey clouds, Kate's face was drawn to the sudden light and her smile grew bigger. She looked down to her sister and as quickly as it came, the light disappeared behind the veil of darkness.
Faith looked away from the sky while Jack mirrored her movement and smiled at her. She smiled back though not consciously, her mind was elsewhere. She walked over to the edge of the rooftop, staring out into the buildings and the sky that backdropped the whole city. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder. "Funny, something so clean can be so cruddy," he was whispering. Faith took note of his hand, then drifted back into her memories. Another hand took its place, much larger, much heavier.
Take care of your sister.
Faith whipped around to see a surprised Jack, tipping back on the heels of his feet. "Whoa, Faithy, a little warning next time?" He sputtered, putting his hand back on her shoulder for support. Faith felt her face turn hot and turned back around towards the city. "What is going on? A little tipsy from the sun?" Jack joked, taking his hand away.
"My Father, he...," she trailed off. Jacknife scooted around her so he could see her face, he waited. Faith fell silent for a few seconds then looked over to Jack. "You have something...right there," she pointed to her own cheek. Jack flung his hand up to his face, flustered and confused. He attempted to smudge off the black mark but failed. "Here, just a second." Faith ventured her hand through the air towards his face, Jack recoiled back from her hand.
"Are you crazy or something? The sun must really mess with yer head." He pointed to his own head and laughed. Faith huffed, then stuck her hand quickly onto his cheek.
"Leave a man to not know when to listen." She dabbed the spot with her thumb and wiped it clean. "Much better."
Jacknife looked violated, "leave a woman to not know when she is turning postal." Faith stuck her tongue out playfully, then propped her hands on her hips. The sun was starting to dip low into the sky. Thick colors of orange and pink whirled through the clouds and glowed like sugar-flavored puffs of cotton candy. The warm wind was dying down and the sound of the city was slowing and quieting. The two runners looked out into the large expanse of towering superstructures. Not a thing in the world could touch them now, a sense of happiness and peace wrapped around their chatter and jokes, creating a shield against all harm. Jack told stories, unfolding a tale of a short man who coincidently looked a lot like Alec White. Then painted a picture of the beautiful maiden, who also seemed to refer a certain someone. Faith chuckled from Jacknife's explanation on Alec and Marie's love tale. "Must have met in the Hamptons or something," he joked, laughing along with Faith. "They definitely have one thing in common."
"Hm?"
"Hatred for the third-class," he smiled. "And don't get me started on their sex life." Jacknife stole a glance at Faith's contorting face of laughter and nearly fell over from his own laughter as well.
A/N
Now, I just have to try and remember the plot for this fanfic o_o I think I have the plot sketch somewhere...but I just added too many ppl for even me to keep up with XD Hopefully the next part will be up sonner than this part was! Thanks for reading
Remember, flames are always welcomed ;)
