Neon Rain

Chapter 2

Poncho man enters a building with armed guards. The guards at the entrance watch him as he walks into the doorway and stops.   A blue holographic light appears and scans his body. In his hand is a milky white hard box with a keypad. The holographic scanner stops and the light turns red as it touches the box. The guards step in.

One of the guards walks forward, at a distance she asks "what's in the box?" With a suprisingly soft voice.

The man answers, "Bounty, from the red light district. You wanna check?".

The guard glances at the box sitting at his waist and notices dried bloodstains at the opening of the box. She waits a moment.

"Your good." She gets on a terminal at the entrance, turning off the scanner, letting him through.

The man enters a milky white room, a vivid contrast from the outside. An attractive brunette woman with short hair and a form fitting white business dress approaches him.

"Hello there..."

He stares at her, he notices the silver lines, and pieces of metal in her face, he debates in his head, wether she is a human with cybernetic modifications or a synth.

"Can I help you?"

She notices the blood stained box at his waist and makes a concerned stare. A stare he knew was too sympathetic for a synth, at least one built to prance around in business dress playing assistant all day.

"I'm here to collect." He says, with his hood still covering the upper half of his face.

"I see, follow me." She says. And walks, in here heels she is taller than the man, slightly. She leads him to a room in the centre of the building. The door slides open. Inside is a large man eating at his desk. He wipes away holograms of documents to greet the pair.

"A new client, come take a seat friend" he says in an annoyingly jovial attitude. Sasha leaves the room. Poncho man walks forward and puts the box on the table.

"I'm not a new client, your my client. Well your company is, they said I can "drop this off and collect my bounty at any branch." Poncho man says in a cold, dead tone.

"Oh your a bounty hunter I see, I can process it here, that's not a problem, what was this guy wanted for?" The man at the table asks.

He types in a code on the keypad and the box opens revealing the haunting sight of the severed head of the man he just shot and killed.

"JESUS CHRIST" the man at the table says, startled by the sight of it.

"I haven't heard the jesus thing in a while." He says watching him in his chair regain his composure.

Poncho man discreetly smiles at his reaction. "Don't you need to scan his face or index his DNA, make sure it's the right guy?"

"Yes, yes yes, I.. I'll do it now" the man says, stumbling over his words looking for a device in his draws.

He finds it. "A face scan should suffice.". He scans the dead man's face and as he is scanning the mouth opens. He drops the device on the severed head and screams.

"IT MOVED!" He shouts.

Sasha runs to the door with two of the armed guards, one of them the woman who let him in.

Poncho man looks at Sasha and the guards, they stare back.

"For fuck sake." Poncho man grabs it, scans the head and a green light on the scanner flashes. He drops both on the table. And leans forward to the man.

"Can't I get my fucking credits now".

The man gives him a usb type device. He plugs it into a device on his wrist, instantly the credits are added, 5,000. He gives him back the device.

"Credits were successfully deposited it shows, into the wallet of... Avellon. Nice name, you from Earth? A colony?"

Avellon, turns to look back at him, but says nothing and leaves. Leaving the head and box behind on the glass table. Walking past Sasha and the female guard.

Sasha watches him in awe, the guard smiles as he leaves the building.