Thief in the Twilight

The Buildup

My entry into Inferno's data security realm resembled a heat haze slowly resolving above the grasslands under the unrelenting sun. A startling blue sky stretched above until it met the hills to the north and the horizon in every other direction. A wind ruffled the silk of the kimono I found myself wearing, rushing past and into the stalks of grass. Instead of the healthy green I was expecting, their colour was closer to that of straw as they baked under her highness in the sky. Creatures roamed the savannah, some obvious to the eye, others skulking and hiding in the tall vegetation. I shaded my eyes, looking up to see vultures circling my position and swore loudly.

"Damn it, Justin, I'm Chinese, not bloody Japanese. Get that filthy mind of yours out from the manga, will you! Stop clothing me like a damn Geisha every time you drop me into one of your glorified ego trips!" Of course, I got no response. I didn't expect any. The second any of my clients dropped me into their systems, they were contractually obligated to cut all monitoring and let me do the job. Their job was to try and stop me from doing my job. Well, technically that was the job of their systems, and they should be hands-off. That rarely happened, but that just made my job more fun. Not to mention the pleasure I got when I broke their toys at the end was all the more satisfying.

By dropping me in, they technically could also control how I started and with what. Fat load of good that did. I wasn't considered one of the top security consultants in the business for nothing. Well, to be honest, I wasn't, not officially. My company, Chicken Little Securities, was considered the best in the business among certain types of companies. Those who specialized in security that went beyond the physical and electronic. The sort that delved deep into the mystical and supernatural realms. Those that combined all of it into a mess of trouble that any would-be thief would crap their pants just considering having to deal with. I loved my job so much.

The dweeb had outdone himself this time. He had gone for the look of a /maiko/, what most westerners seemed to feel a geisha should look like. The kimono had the long-ass sleeves that were utterly impractical unless you trained to use them, and a wide /obi/ bound into a bow at the back. How the hell did he expect me to move, let alone fight, in this getup? Oh, right, he didn't. I could have injured someone with the /okobo/, the traditional wooden sandals. Those could be useful. But, no, they just wouldn't work in this environment. Gah, I can't believe I thought for a second of complimenting one of his choices. He had even gone so far as to put my hair up and, I swear, I would have broken every bone in his precious fingers if I had had to see my made-up face right now. This was a travesty to my heritage and would all have to go.

I flexed my will, taking control of the energies and resonance of my surroundings and myself, letting my wants and needs shape it into the image I had placed in my mind's eye. Moments passed as I let the power settle through me and smiled as I felt the wind touch my exposed skin. When I focused back into the realm, I looked ready to head out on safari. Well, as a hunter and not a debutante anyway.

Heavy hiking boots folded around my slim feet and my legs were now happily unconfined and free to the air. Khaki shorts and a military-style, button-down shirt in the same colour now constituted the rest of my outerwear, along with a silk scarf, my one concession to impracticality. I justified it as in case the realm sported sand storms. Tempted as I was to go for the Aussie look and put corks on the sunhat that helped shade my eyes, I decided against it. Fair enough, I had gone more 'Lara Croft' than fully functional, but I felt whimsical today.

Happy with the effort, I muttered a few words in a dialect of Pictish my father had taught me, waved my hands in the air like I just didn't care, otherwise known as mystical casting, and opened up my realm cache. I had been accused of cheating in the past, but honestly, this barely qualified. The contract permitted me to bring any reasonable equipment I would have if I was trying to infiltrate the system and that's what this was. If Justin expected me to work with the handicap he stuck me with; he should stop sniffing glue and grow up.