Ro (A Cyberpunk Retelling of Romeo and Juliet)

42

RO MONTAGUE

It's remarkably easy to get onto a private hovercraft train...

...if you rip the automated machinery system right from its platform at the front of the car, then kill the private bodyguards standing beside them.

The hovercraft that Jack Paris is travelling on is the latest in tech. I can't say much for the materials he makes his bodyguards wear, however. The uniform I strip off the fallen guards fits a little awkwardly in some places. Square-cut and scratchy. Their weapons are nice, though. Gives me ample time to restock.

I step into the next car, duck my head low as guards pass me by. I pray they don't see the charred bloodstains on the suit.

"Did you see that Jules kid the boss is so fascinated by?"

"Yeah, shame what happened..."

I ignore their inane chatter, walking through the cars as quickly as I can. The hovercraft liner runs smoothly. Of course, it would. It's the most expensive that the Eye-Lens Corporation can buy. Champagne bottles on the sides, serving bots dressed in frilly aprons. A metal track, all neatly laid out. A ceiling on the sleeping car, laid out by stars.

Jack Paris isn't in the bar. Or the sleeping car. Definitely not in the guards' cabin.

Finally, I get to the last car. Simple. Just an open-air car with a single chair. Glass walls, and a ceiling that shows the sky directly. A murky violet horizon, and Jack Paris.

He sits in his black suit, dark hair tucked beneath a hat. Worn loafers, and a cocky grin on his stubbly face. He runs a hand across his chin, a light scratching noise as the wind passes us by.

He doesn't even turn.

"Hello, Ro Montague." He whispers, feeling the cold barrel of my stolen weapon against the back of his neck. "I told the guards you'd slip right by them. With a record like yours, I'm surprised you didn't get here sooner." He sighs, leans back. Closes his eyes. "Shoot."

"Where's Jules' body?" I press the barrel further. "Go on, you sickening scum. Tell me where you stashed their body."

He opens those pretty dark eyes, batting the lashes at me. "Hold a dead body in my train? Now, why would you think I'd do a thing like that?"

"Take me to them, then." I press the gun again, my voice a growl. Eyes bloodshot. So much death in so few days. Mercy. Gran Viviana. Benny, gods know what they did to him. "I want to see them all laid out. I want to..." I swallow, hard. "I want to say goodbye."

He turns, smiles. "Alright. On one condition." He gets to his feet. I step back, placing both hands on the gun, still leveling it at him evenly. "You shoot me once we get there."

"Why?" This crazy asshole wants to die?

"Because." He smiles. "Then you get to be called a vile murderer, and I get the last laugh. You'll rot behind bars for the rest of your days knowing Jules, your puppy love fantasy, is dead."

He feeds off of people's misery. How typical.

I turn the gun away, seeing just how insane he really is. The gleam. That dead look.

"Okay." I watch him, so calm despite the circumstances. Plotting. "Your move."

***

Hey, it's Ro Montague here. Don't forget to vote and comment... or else.

Your daily wisdom for the day?

Victory, feed my ambition.