Post by Aegis Ragnarok on Sept 30, 2014 13:07:43 GMT -6
Aegis rubbed the back of his neck. He felt the texturally harsh, visually smooth, transition between the pale prosthetic rubber that covered his gills and his skin. His hair was cut short and neat and it was parted to his right. It was black from a knock-off name dye. He bought it in a corner store and used it in the bathroom. He had almost forgotten to use it on his eyebrows as well, but remembered before he threw the bottle away into the store’s overstuffed, under-kept trashcan. His armor was a slim-fitting suit. It was black and felt smooth and Aegis liked the way it looked on him. He doubted he would ever wear it again. His face was freshly shaved. He was leaving Shinsoo. Art needed to meet with him about something important. All he said. Something important—well shit, that could have been just about anything, couldn’t it? Aegis supposed he was important, so maybe Artie just wanted to catch up with his favorite subordinate officer. He laughed to himself and heard the sound vibrate through the abandoned apartment that he had been squatting in with the rest of his squad. The other guys would probably get a kick out of Aegis’s new look—a regular, upper-class joe. Aegis got a kick out of it too. He would have liked to leave Shinsoo with an explosive style as opposed to a well-tailored one, but he also had to leave inconspicuously. Shame, really.
Aegis placed his wallet into his left jacket pocket—complete with fake IDs, work transfers, and a one-way tram ticket to the surface. His briefcase was full of sound and fury signifying nothing. The papers and folders were lifted from a law-firm they had robbed in their fruitless hunt for the donor program. Except for the watermarks lending credibility to his identity, they had nothing of importance. Random legal jargon that he had lifted verbatim from a textbook. No cop was going to start reading it. The briefcase was black and worn gray around the edges. He grabbed the most important object: a small blue flash drive that looked like a used boxing bag. It was heavy-duty and it carried with it a cumulative copy of everything they had gathered so far in Shinsoo. Art would want to see that.
He looked at himself again in the mirror. He pulled his jacket taut and buttoned it. Looking good.
Aegis walked down from his apartment and onto the street. He followed signs and inner sense of direction until he saw the tram station. He skipped the ticket window and stood on a platform, crowded with students and businessmen. He looked at the clock on the wall of the station. The tram would be here soon. Just stay frosty. Someone bumped into him. Aegis reflexively turned around quickly to face his aggressor like he had been trained to do—but remembered that he was a lawyer. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry!” he said to the younger man. Keep it frosty. He smiled like he thought someone in his position was supposed to smile. It felt terribly fake. Just keep up the act. The waves will roll on.
Aegis placed his wallet into his left jacket pocket—complete with fake IDs, work transfers, and a one-way tram ticket to the surface. His briefcase was full of sound and fury signifying nothing. The papers and folders were lifted from a law-firm they had robbed in their fruitless hunt for the donor program. Except for the watermarks lending credibility to his identity, they had nothing of importance. Random legal jargon that he had lifted verbatim from a textbook. No cop was going to start reading it. The briefcase was black and worn gray around the edges. He grabbed the most important object: a small blue flash drive that looked like a used boxing bag. It was heavy-duty and it carried with it a cumulative copy of everything they had gathered so far in Shinsoo. Art would want to see that.
He looked at himself again in the mirror. He pulled his jacket taut and buttoned it. Looking good.
Aegis walked down from his apartment and onto the street. He followed signs and inner sense of direction until he saw the tram station. He skipped the ticket window and stood on a platform, crowded with students and businessmen. He looked at the clock on the wall of the station. The tram would be here soon. Just stay frosty. Someone bumped into him. Aegis reflexively turned around quickly to face his aggressor like he had been trained to do—but remembered that he was a lawyer. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry!” he said to the younger man. Keep it frosty. He smiled like he thought someone in his position was supposed to smile. It felt terribly fake. Just keep up the act. The waves will roll on.
