Cargo

Motel Esperada

As the late afternoon sun casts a golden glow over the landscape, I find myself nearing the end of the F1 motorway, Raven Mountain beckoning in the distance. However, a nagging sense of unease tugs at my thoughts. The encounter with those unknown individuals earlier still lingers in my mind, their aggression on the road leaving an unsettling impression. I can't shake the feeling that if I continue on this path, they will inevitably catch up to me, thrusting me back into the harrowing process of evasion and confrontation. With a heavy sigh, I contemplate the decision before me, weighing the allure of reaching my destination against the potential risks that lie ahead.

I decide to take a detour into the local settlements that occupy the desert. Every turn-off leads to remote villages, each interlinked with back roads. Such a route will add hours to my journey, cutting into my profit margin.

"What's the next junction?"

Avocado replies, "In two kilometres, you will arrive at the Esperada exit."

"How much time will that cost me?"

"That will add forty-eight minutes to our journey. The estimated time of arrival is a quarter past seven. You will miss your bonus."

The F1 is notorious for cargo theft, a common ground for brazen bands of thieves who hijack trucks for the freight they carry. "Any crime reports in the vicinity, truck heists in particular?"

It takes Avocado a second to respond. "There have been nine incidents in the last four weeks."

"Where?"

"All but two have occurred along the F1 Motorway, five at different rest stops, and two were conducted on the open road."

"The others?"

"The other robberies occurred in the Diamond Valley and Cerise settlements located ten kilometres back."

"When is our next recharge?"

"We have two hours left before we required a lay-by."

The choice is clear. I will need to relinquish the bonus in the interest of safety and make a stopover at some local motel. The Esperada exit arrives and I swerve into it, slowing down to meet the local speed limit.

"Pick me a motel, taking the most convoluted route possible."

"Motels and rest stops are common attack vectors for cargo pirates," suggests the truck's AI, calculating the risk on my behalf. Its master objective is to help bring in profits, protect against anything that threatens profits, and to assist in keeping my insurance premium low.

"Those guys back there were stalking us, probably had another team ahead, preparing an ambush. They rely on routine practices, and most likely hacked into Enkron's dispatch system and pull the data from our schedule. If we deviate, behave erratically, it'll throw them off."

Casting long shadows across the vast arid landscape, the sun begins its descent as we arrive at the outskirts of Esperada. The air hangs heavy with a sense of quiet isolation, broken only by the occasional motorist in their petrol-guzzling automobile. The narrow streets meander between humble homes with dilapidated portable housing scattered amidst the settlement's rugged suburbs, revealing a community steeped in resilience and resourcefulness. The warm hues of the sunset bathe the rustic homesteads, crafted from weathered timber and sun-bleached tin roofing.

"Motel Esperada, coming up," announces Avocado as darkness ultimately descends.

Upon arriving at the motel, I park the Cyberstar at the end of the lot, under an aged Jacaranda tree that has finished blooming, the ground around it covered in dry lilac flowers. The truck is still visible from the highway, but the jacaranda casts a shadow over it, blocking the light from the nearest lamppost.