It was always raining in the city of Rocheste.
Thick clouds of damp smog and ash blocked out all the light of the sun and cast a perpetual shadow of night onto the city no matter the time of day. Tall towers, stained black from ages of burnt oil and dust, belched carbon fumes into the already poisoned skies as the enormous holographic advertisements stretched between buildings played endless loops of faceless and grinning people projected with harsh neon lights.
Go off-world today! The flickering mouth of the giant hologram droned as nobody listened. Adventure and boundless treasure awaits!
What a load of bullshit.
Kai fixed the collar of his trenchcoat and shoved his way onto one of the stools in front of a tiny noodle store. He glared at the greasy owner until the man came over to take his order.
"Two bowls."
"Only one a customer. $5. Pay, or get out." The man challenged his glare with his own stink-eye.
"Tch." Kai dropped a crumpled bill on the counter and it disappeared into the owner's fist within a second.
A small bowl of bland ramen that was barely bigger than the palm of his hand slid over to his spot about a minute later. It was hardly steaming, but it was warm enough to temporarily counteract the freezing downpour battering the flimsy overhang.
Kai shoveled the food into his mouth as quickly as he could; he didn't want to hang around this part of town any longer than necessary.
It wasn't like the noodles were even tasty. It was simply fuel to keep him going for the rest of the day. That's how every facet of life went down in the city made of soot and ash, and that's how Kai had always known it to be.
The gleaming halls of the Cathedral – the other half of the city where the rich lived in relative comfort compared to everyone else – was nothing more than an empty legend to most, since it was practically common knowledge that anyone that could afford to leave the toxic wasteland that was Tir-Na-Nog would've done it by now.
A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, and Kai put down his chopsticks. His other hand had automatically reached for the gun in his leg-holster.
"The Captain wants to see you, Blade Runner."
Kai didn't need to turn around to put a face to go with the nasally sneer. He shrugged off the hand.
Gallagher. Ugh.
Kai picked his chopsticks back up. "I'm busy."
Gallagher said something incomprehensible underneath his breath and then muttered, "You're under arrest for the obstruction of justice."
"The hell I am." Kai finished off the last of his noodles.
Half an hour later, Kai found himself standing in the Rep-Department Captain's office with Gallagher smirking obnoxiously from his slouch at the door.
The 6-by-6 square room was just as dark and dusty as he remembered it. There were definitely more stacks of paper and the new lamp cast a muted blue light instead of the traditional fluorescent yellow, but all-in-all the office had barely changed since the last time Kai had walked in nearly half a decade ago. The off-colored venetian blinds were cracked just enough so that the occasional flash of neon from the surveillance drones floating outside would light up the room with lined shadows.
"I'm sorry, but there was no other way to get you here without having to write you up for property damage." Captain Aodhan offered Kai a cigarette during the spiel.
Kai took one and lit up. The smoke that trailed out from the end was thin and wispy – characteristic of the usual synthetic tobacco. "You know I'm done with the Reps."
"Yes. However," The older man slid a coffee-stained folder over to the other side of the desk. "We've run into a situation."
Kai quickly scanned the contents of the open folder, which contained brief profiles of four Replicants that were all nearing their deactivation dates. All had the same additional writing in the notes section:
Escaped from transport. Killed all human crewmembers. Level: Dangerous
"You don't need me. Don't you have Marrec and Ceara?" Kai shoved the folder back towards the Captain, who gave a resigned sigh.
"They were the first ones I put on the case, but…"
Kai raised an eyebrow. It wasn't every day that one saw the hardass, no-nonsense Captain of the Rep-Department hesitate during speaking.
"The skin-job we picked up – the big guy – shot both of them during interrogation and escaped the facility before we could hang 'em." Gallagher sounded pissed, which was surprising seeing as he never saw eye-to-eye to the department's two Blade Runner prodigies. In fact, he probably had been forcibly promoted up a level since they were dead.
So, the whole department was embarrassed by this incident. It must be a cold day in hell, Kai mused briefly.
"So, I'm your last resort? I would've thought Gallagher had learned something after all these years. Or is he just here to look pretty?"
Behind him, Gallagher snarled and slammed his way out the room.
Captain Aodhan sighed again. In the poor lighting, he looked as if he had aged two decades since the last time Kai had seen him all those years ago. The large patches of gray in his hair were definitely new.
"I need the best, and you're it. I'm calling in the favor. Don't make me—"
Well, shit. He couldn't get out of this even if he wanted to, then.
"…Fine. Whatever." Kai straightened and leaned over slightly to ground the end of his cigarette into the overflowing ashtray. "I'll need a car. I'll take my usual rate, with half up-front."
A pained grimace on the Captain's face appeared for a fleeting moment before it was replaced with a twitch of relief. "Of course. I'll be right back."
Captain Aodhan left the room, and Kai shuffled through the files on the desk.
Designation:
Vella
Gender:
F
Purpose:
Military, Basic Pleasure Model
Physical/Mental Level:
B/A
Last Seen:
Rocheste
Designation:
Lynn
Gender:
F
Purpose:
Combat, Basic Pleasure Model
Physical/Mental Level:
B/C
Last Seen:
Rocheste
Designation:
Karok
Gender:
M
Purpose:
Military
Physical/Mental Level:
A/C
Last Seen:
Rocheste, Rep-Department
Designation:
Fiona
Gender:
F
Purpose:
Military, Basic Pleasure Model
Physical/Mental Level:
A/B
Last Seen:
Rocheste
"There's $1000 in here, and you can take Gallagher's car."
Captain Aodhan returned with an envelope and a car key. Kai took both and then opened the envelope to count the cash inside.
All of it was there. Good.
"Also, before you go," Captain Aodhan sat down heavily in his chair and rummaged around. He tossed a plastic card-like item over to Kai. "I'll need you to take a detour over to the Morrighan Corporation. There's been rumors of some new kind of Replicant, and I want you to take a look. Just in case."
Kai glanced down at the card; it was a signed pass for entry into the upper levels of the corporation, valid only for a one-time use. He noncommittally shrugged a shoulder and left the office. Might as well see what all the fuss was about.