Collateral

Rose looked at herself in the mirror. She checks if the scars around her cybernetic eyes are healing nicely.

“They look a bit inflamed”, she mutters. She makes a mental note to pick up more immunosuppressants from the pharmacy. If she doesn’t take enough of them, her cyber eye might crash. Would be annoying.

She sighs, wouldn’t be too bad tho. At least she didn’t have a cybernetic lung or heart, then a too-low dosage of immunosuppressants could kill you. Imagine your own immune system shutting your heart down.

Next, she turns around and exits the bathroom. She walks past her silver white van, The car is ancient and looked banged up, but many repairs over the years made the vehicle a weapon to be reckoned with. A fully operational plasma cannon was hidden in the roof, and the glass and the chassis were bulletproof.

Rose walks to the other room and sits down on the couch. Even tho it is a glorified garage box without windows. Rose likes her makeshift apartment. It is located in the good part of town, beneath one of the most expensive apartment blocks. Ellie can walk to school on foot and is close enough to her peers to maintain social contact. The young girl is growing up alongside the wealthiest social class in the city and will one day be part of it herself.

Rose loses track of thought when her fifteen-year-old daughter opens her bedroom door and walks to the living room. She is wearing a beautiful dress, and her wavy black hair falls over her shoulders.

“Bye, Mom. I am going out with some friends.”

“Okay, Honey. Don’t be out too late.”

“I won’t.”

“Remember, little angel, if you are ever in trouble, call, and I will pick you up. No questions asked.”

Ellie smiles. “I know, Mom. Will you be here when I come back?”

“I am afraid I have to work tonight.”

“Okay, good luck, Mom. I will miss you. Will you miss me too?”

“Of course, Honey, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Rose arrives at the diner and walks past the dining area, which is bustling with people right now. She meets Mr Johnson in the back office. To Rose’s surprise, his now seventeen-year-old daughter is sitting next to him. She is staring at her phone, as always. Rose wonders why she still hasn’t implanted it.

“Hi, Rose”, Mr Johnson exclaims. “You remember Sophia, right?”

Sophia looks up from her phone. “Hi, Ellie’s Mom.”

Rose laughs. “Hi, Sophia,”

Mr Johnson interrupts them. “I have a job for you two.”

“For us two?” Rose asks. “You know I prefer to do jobs alone.”

“Well, I am asking you to do it together with Sophia. If that is a problem, I will find someone else.”

“Fine,” Rose says. Sophia doesn’t even react, she keeps staring at her phone.

Mr Johnson throws Rose a data stick.

“The target’s name is Johnny Sterling; I need you to steal his phone without his knowledge. Time is of the essence. He is currently receding at the Wayward Motel. Room 315. Steal the phone. I don’t care how. But nobody can know it is gone.”

“Consider it done. I’ll drive there right now.”

Rose waves her hands in front of Sophia’s face. “Are you coming?”

Sophia looks up. “Ye, just give me a minute.”

Rose walks out, and Sophia walks a couple of steps behind her.

“Wait, before we go,” Sophia says. “I need to prepare some stuff. I am right back.”

Rose sighs. “Fine, but don’t take too long.”

“I won’t.” Sophia runs up the stairs.

The waitress walks up to Rose. “Hi, Rose, can I get you anything while you wait? A coffee? Some bacon and eggs?”

“No, I will get going the moment Sophia is back. I really don’t have time. But thank you, Jess.”

Jess shakes her head. “Are you really gonna take Sophia on a runner job? She is just a kid.”

“Yes. Her dad insisted. I don’t think it is safe. Luckily it is a simple job. What kind of dad would push their daughter to be a mercenary tho? I tried my whole life to keep Ellie away from this stuff.”

“Maybe he wants her to be trained and ready to handle the world. This job is dangerous, as you said. He just wants to make sure that Sophia can take care of herself, even if he will be gone soon.”

“I guess that is fair, thanks, Jess.”

Rose opens her car and Sophia puts her giant suitcase into the back of the van.

“What is in the suitcase?”

“Supplies we might need,” Sophia says proudly. “I spend the whole day gathering and designing supplies, I am prepared for everything.”

Rose nods. “Seems like you are prepared. Think fast.”

Rose grabs a phone from the shelve in her van and throws it at Sophia. It hits her right in the face.

“Prepared for anything huh? Let me tell you, Sophia, most problems runners face, don’t give you the time to find the right gadget in your bag.”

Sophia looks down. “You are right, I promise I will do better.”