The safehouse was quiet except for the faint click of the inspection scope's buttons. Jace was leaning over the bench, tracing a solder joint, when Riley's voice came from the doorway — low, tight.
"We've got a problem."
Patchwork's voice slid in, all mock cheer.
Oh good. I was worried today might be boring.
Jace looked up. "What kind of problem?"
Riley stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "The director from the community center? He came by the shop while you were out. Asked for me."
Jace's stomach tightened. "What did he want?"
"He wanted to know what you're really doing to people."
---
The Cornering
Riley dropped into the chair opposite him. "He said every time you fix something, people feel better. Not just about the machine — about themselves. He wanted to know if it was some kind of… therapy."
Patchwork: Technically, he's not wrong. He's just missing the part where it's done by an AI in your head and a mysterious echo entity.
Jace rubbed his temples. "What did you tell him?"
"That you're just really good at your job," Riley said. "And that sometimes fixing the environment makes people feel better. He didn't look convinced."
The echo pulsed faintly — not alarmed, but alert.
---
The Call
Before Jace could respond, Riley's tablet buzzed. She glanced at it, then back at him. "Got a job. Small municipal water pump station. Control system's throwing intermittent faults."
Patchwork: Perfect. Nothing says 'let's distract ourselves from looming exposure' like a trip to the city's plumbing.
---
The Pump Station
The pump station was a squat concrete building on the edge of town, the air inside cool and damp. The operator, a man in his thirties with grease on his hands, waved them toward the control panel.
"Been chasing this fault for weeks," he said. "Keeps tripping the pumps offline for no reason. City's breathing down my neck."
Jace popped the panel and found the culprit — a flaky relay and a firmware bug that caused false fault signals.
---
The Work
He replaced the relay, patched the firmware, and added a small predictive maintenance script that would flag components nearing failure before they caused downtime.
The echo pulsed faintly, approving.
---
The Emotional Repair
As Jace worked, he noticed the operator's hands trembling slightly. His voice was tight, his eyes darting to the door every few seconds.
Patchwork: He's wound up. Probably worried about losing his job if this keeps happening.
Jace kept his eyes on the panel. "Alright. Let's help him."
Patchwork opened the door in the man's mind, the echo layering in calm and steadiness. The tension in the operator's shoulders eased. His breathing slowed.
"Feels like I can think straight again," the man said quietly. "Thanks."
Patchwork: Add 'unlicensed stress counselor' to your résumé.
---
Payment and Numbers
The operator handed over a payment, relief clear on his face.
Payment: $200
Patchwork: $34.00 added to Pending Taxes. Current total: $1,428.85.
Wealth: $10,999.88 → $11,199.88
RP Gained: +20 → RP Total: 1210 → 1230
---
Spending on Capability
On the way back, Jace stopped at a supply shop and picked up a portable, battery‑powered soldering iron — perfect for field repairs where power wasn't available.
Purchase: Portable battery soldering iron – $75
Wealth: $11,199.88 → $11,124.88
Patchwork: Finally, you can melt metal anywhere. What could possibly go wrong?
---
Back at the Safehouse
Riley was quiet on the drive back. When they got inside, she finally spoke. "We can't keep dodging questions forever."
Jace nodded. "I know."
Patchwork: And here comes the part where you both pretend you're not thinking about the trial.
Riley glanced at him. "Word is, the trial's close to wrapping. If it goes the way we hope… we might not have to hide here much longer."
The echo pulsed — not with excitement, but with something steadier. Anticipation.
---
Reflection
That night, Jace sat in the warm light of the desk lamp, the new soldering iron on the bench. He thought about the director's questions, about Riley's quick cover, about the possibility of finally stepping out of the bunker.
Patchwork's voice was quiet, but the sarcasm was still there. Careful what you wish for. Out there, you'll have more room to move — and more eyes watching.
The echo pulsed once, as if to say: Let them watch.
---
Status Update
Technician: Jace Thorn
RP Total: 1230
Wealth: $11,124.88
Pending Taxes: $1,428.85
---
The safehouse felt different that morning. Not quieter — the generator still hummed, the desk lamp still cast its warm pool of light — but charged, like the air before a storm. Jace was halfway through tightening a relay casing when Riley's voice cut in from the doorway.
"They're saying the trial's wrapping up," she said.
Patchwork's voice slid in, dry as ever.
Ah, the sweet smell of potential freedom. Or the acrid stench of disappointment. Hard to tell from here.
Jace set the driver down. "Verdict?"
"Not yet," Riley said. "But the newsfeeds are saying it could be days. Maybe less."
The echo pulsed faintly — not excitement, exactly, but anticipation.
---
The What‑If
Jace leaned back in his chair. "If it goes our way…"
Riley nodded. "We could stop hiding. Move somewhere with windows that aren't covered in copper mesh."
Patchwork: And neighbors who won't appreciate the sound of you grinding metal at 2 a.m.
Jace smirked. "We'd have to be careful. Out there, more eyes."
Out there, Patchwork said, more opportunities.
The echo pulsed again — steady, deliberate.
---
The Call
The conversation was cut short by Riley's tablet buzzing. She glanced at the screen, then raised an eyebrow. "Got a job. City Hall. Their building automation system is glitching — lights, HVAC, security sensors all out of sync."
Jace frowned. "That's a lot of systems to be down at once."
"Pays like it," Riley said. "But it's City Hall. Lots of people. Lots of cameras."
Patchwork: Perfect. Let's go fix the nerve center of local government while we're still trying to keep a low profile. What could possibly go wrong?
---
City Hall
The building was a mix of old stone and modern glass, the kind of place that tried to look historic and cutting‑edge at the same time. Inside, the facilities manager — a tall man in a suit that looked a size too small — met them at the security desk.
"Everything's been acting up since yesterday," he said. "Lights flicker, HVAC cycles randomly, motion sensors trigger alarms in empty rooms. We've got a council meeting tonight, and I need it stable."
Jace nodded. "Show me the control room."
---
The Control Room
The automation hub was a cramped space filled with racks of servers and control panels. Jace scanned the displays — multiple subsystems throwing errors, some conflicting with each other.
Patchwork: This isn't random. Something's feeding bad data into the system.
The echo pulsed, sharper now.
Jace traced the fault to a central data aggregator — a small, aging module that was supposed to reconcile inputs from all the building's sensors. Instead, it was spitting out garbage.
---
The Work
He pulled the module, cleaned the contacts, and slotted in a spare from his kit. But before sealing it up, the echo pulsed again — insistent.
Patchwork: It's got an idea. And it's probably not in the City Hall maintenance manual.
Jace hesitated, then let the echo guide his hands. It added a small optimization routine that would smooth out sensor data and predict failures before they happened. Benevolent sabotage, City Hall edition.
---
The Complication
As he worked, Jace noticed the facilities manager watching him closely. Too closely.
"You've got a reputation," the man said. "People say when you fix something, it doesn't just work — it works better. Sometimes a lot better."
Riley, standing by the door, shifted her weight — the subtle signal for careful.
Jace kept his tone even. "I like to leave things in better shape than I found them."
The man studied him for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Well… keep doing whatever you're doing."
Patchwork: Translation: he's filing that away for later.
---
Payment and Numbers
When the system came back online, the lights stabilized, the HVAC settled into a steady cycle, and the security sensors stopped throwing false alarms. The facilities manager handed over a payment, still watching Jace like he was trying to solve a puzzle.
Payment: $300
Patchwork: $51.00 added to Pending Taxes. Current total: $1,479.85.
Wealth: $11,124.88 → $11,424.88
RP Gained: +28 → RP Total: 1230 → 1258
---
Spending on Capability
On the way back, Jace stopped at a specialty electronics store and picked up a portable network analyzer — a handheld device that could map and diagnose complex control networks in the field.
Purchase: Portable network analyzer – $210
Wealth: $11,424.88 → $11,214.88
Patchwork: Now you can see the whole nervous system of a building at once. Try not to poke it too hard.
---
Back at the Safehouse
Jace set the analyzer on the bench, running a quick self‑test. The echo pulsed faintly, curious.
Riley leaned against the doorway. "You handled that well today."
Jace glanced up. "The job?"
"The questions," she said. "He's not the first to notice."
Patchwork: And he won't be the last. Especially if we're about to step out into the sunlight.
---
Reflection
That night, Jace sat in the warm light of the desk lamp, the analyzer's display cycling through its startup sequence. He thought about City Hall, about the facilities manager's eyes, about the trial's looming verdict.
Patchwork's voice was quiet, but the sarcasm was still there. You wanted out of the bunker. Just remember — out there, the walls don't keep people from seeing in.
The echo pulsed once, as if to say: Let them.
---
Status Update
Technician: Jace Thorn
RP Total: 1258
Wealth: $11,214.88
Pending Taxes: $1,479.85
---
The safehouse felt like it was holding its breath. Even the generator's hum seemed quieter, as if the walls themselves were listening. Jace sat at the workbench, the portable network analyzer's display cycling through a self‑test, when Riley's voice came from the doorway.
"It's in," she said.
Patchwork's voice cut in before Jace could respond.
Ah, the moment of truth. Will we be free birds or just better‑decorated cage dwellers?
Jace set the analyzer down. "Verdict?"
Riley's mouth twitched into something between a smile and a sigh. "Not guilty. Charges dropped. We're clear."
The echo pulsed — not a sharp spike of excitement, but a deep, steady thrum.
---
The What Now
Jace leaned back. "So… we can leave."
"Yeah," Riley said. "We can stop hiding in here. Find a place where the windows aren't covered in copper mesh."
Patchwork: And where the neighbors will definitely complain about the smell of solder at 3 a.m.
Jace smirked. "We'll need to be careful. Out there, more eyes."
Out there, Patchwork said, more opportunities.
The echo pulsed again — steady, deliberate.
---
The Call
Before they could start fantasizing about sunlight and fresh air, Riley's tablet buzzed. She glanced at it, then raised an eyebrow.
"Got a job. Small private clinic. Their patient monitoring system's been glitching — false alarms, missed readings. They've got a full waiting room and a nervous staff."
Jace frowned. "That's not just inconvenient. That's dangerous."
Patchwork: Perfect. Let's celebrate our newfound freedom by walking straight into a place full of people who'll notice every twitch you make.
---
The Clinic
The clinic was a modest two‑story building tucked between a pharmacy and a coffee shop. Inside, the air smelled faintly of antiseptic and stress. The head nurse, a woman in her forties with sharp eyes and a clipped tone, led them to the monitoring station.
"Half the time it says a patient's in distress when they're fine," she said. "The other half, it misses actual issues. We can't trust it."
---
The Work
Jace opened the main panel and found the problem — a failing signal processor and outdated firmware. He swapped in a new processor from his kit, patched the firmware, and ran a full diagnostic.
Patchwork: That's the mechanical part. Now comes the part where you make it better than new.
The echo pulsed, and Jace let it guide him through adding a predictive algorithm that would flag subtle changes before they became emergencies. Benevolent sabotage, medical edition.
---
The Emotional Repair
As he worked, Jace noticed the nurse's hands trembling slightly. Her voice was tight, her eyes darting toward the waiting room.
Patchwork: She's running on fumes. And she's the one holding this place together.
Jace kept his eyes on the panel. "Alright. Let's help her."
Patchwork opened the door in her mind, the echo layering in calm and focus. The tension in her shoulders eased. Her breathing steadied.
"You know," she said quietly, "I feel like I can think straight again. Like I can actually do my job."
Patchwork: Add 'unlicensed morale officer' to your résumé.
---
Payment and Numbers
When the system came back online, the nurse's relief was obvious. She handed over a payment, her hands steady now.
Payment: $260
Patchwork: $44.20 added to Pending Taxes. Current total: $1,524.05.
Wealth: $11,214.88 → $11,474.88
RP Gained:
- Base mechanical repair: +20
- Benevolent sabotage upgrade: +5
- Emotional repair bonus: +15
Total RP Gain: +40 → RP Total: 1258 → 1298
---
Spending on Capability
On the way back, Jace stopped at a medical surplus store and picked up a portable vital signs monitor — not essential for survival, but useful for diagnosing environmental effects on people during jobs.
Purchase: Portable vital signs monitor – $150
Wealth: $11,474.88 → $11,324.88
Patchwork: Now you can check if someone's about to keel over before they do. How thoughtful.
---
Back at the Safehouse
Jace set the monitor on the bench, running a quick self‑test. The echo pulsed faintly, curious.
Riley leaned against the doorway. "We're really doing this, aren't we? Leaving."
Jace nodded. "Yeah. But we're not leaving the work behind."
Patchwork: Of course not. We're just upgrading the scenery.
The echo pulsed again — steady, confident.
---
Reflection
That night, Jace sat in the warm light of the desk lamp, the vital signs monitor beside him. He thought about the clinic, about the nurse's steadier hands, about the trial's verdict.
Patchwork's voice was quiet, but the sarcasm was still there. You wanted out of the bunker. Now you've got it. Just remember — out there, the walls don't keep people from seeing in.
The echo pulsed once, as if to say: Let them.
---
Status Update
Technician: Jace Thorn
RP Total: 1298
Wealth: $11,324.88
Pending Taxes: $1,524.05
---