A brunette head was smashed into a brick wall and her body disappeared in a bag. All because she wore my jacket. Terrible choice of friends on her part. I, on the other hand, did well. Picked her precisely because she looked a little like me – and it has borne fruit. Decoy took the blow meant for me – and right on time, too. I was seconds away from joining her.
Suspiciously brawny students picked a perfect blind spot. Meaning, I wasn't aware there was one here.
Whole campus was packed with surveillance and cameras were pointing both ways in that passage. This could have been bad. Really bad. It could have been me there. Nearly was.
Nothing went right today. Troubles started since early morning, when a lecturer called me out. I loathed public speaking. To top things off – I had come in unprepared. That has thrown me off-kilter for the entire day. Oddest thing to get in a tizzy about. I wasn't here to learn to begin with. I mean I was, but not the curriculum. This institute was a place for the next generation of the most affluent to start forging alliances – and I needed to know all about that.
Looking stupid in front of crème de la crème was nothing out of ordinary, yet that episode affected me so tediously. I wasn't even meant to stand out with staggering amounts of brilliance. I was in hiding. Perhaps that was it – having the spotlight shone my way.
I needed to stop thinking about it. There were far bigger, scrappier problems reaching for me. Just who could have taken offence, and what for exactly?
I could hope the attack was due to my offending low-class presence, but it wouldn't amount to murder. Not here. A lot was overlooked, but that was one thing universally frowned upon. After all, nobody wanted to lose a fully grown heir. And thus, this taboo was far too risqué even for the most powerful to bridle. A beatdown would be far more entertaining in first place.
Which meant there was a serious reason for the grief I've almost suffered. I have uncovered something important.
They had no insignias. I instinctively scanned them up and down before fleeing. Those physiques could belong to bodyguards of any private security, as well as the thugs from underbelly.
I rushed back to see if anything had been recorded that warranted such a decisive response. Blackmail never solved anything, but leverage was a leverage. And a direction would be worthwhile.
Upon entering, I found my room ransacked. Stupefied, I slunk sideways deeper down the narrow crevice. It wasn't even my official lodging. Nobody knew I was squatting here. This wasn't even a room! Here was a lovechild of storage closet and maintenance shaft, a god-awful nook that suited the needs of nobody. And luckily, that was me.
Who could have even found this? Somebody with their eyes on me, that's who. The timing was worrisome. Feeling the ants on my back, I squeezed through the noisy pipes and dared to wade further into the possible ambush.
However, the nook was completely devoid of life. How… anticlimactic. And illogical. Whoever was hounding me could have just waited here, and I'd have perished without any pesky cameras to witness it. Most peculiar.
Right. The cameras. I was here for a reason.
I shuffled through broken brackets and leftover construction debris. Picked and pulled on the various wires. There was nothing behind the panels. Nor under the junk. Not there either. Anywhere. The dread began setting in.
It wasn't here! My computer was gone. I kept looking, desperately, even though I knew it wouldn't miraculously resurface.
The data didn't even matter! Nor all the effort gathering dirt on these snobby brats! The blackmail material could potentially prolong my life, but my continued existence was worthless without the precious device anyway.
My most prized possession. My only possession of any real value. Something most people don't even get to see anymore. I was utterly crippled without it. Even if I managed to land my grubby fingers on another one, it wouldn't have all those specific capabilities. The software cost bigger favours than the instrument itself. It would take me years to recover from this. I didn't even have my previous contacts anymore! Some hunted me.
This was the end.
Calm down. Think. Think.
I swallowed the panic and forced the violent beating in my throat to slow down.
Whoever took it wasn't the same party that resorted to murder. Not yet, in any case, or they would have been here. So now I had two extermination parties on my back. That's a perfect reason to count my losses and get the hell out, but I needed my lifeline. Without the device and information within it, I was as good as dead anyway.
Breaking my passwords would take time, and finding relevant data to get incensed about even longer. It was encrypted, too. I could still put that fire out. The previous one? Might solve itself afterwards too. Not all was lost.
Decided on an action plan, I changed my clothes and strode out like I've had all the time in the world. Hiding in plain sight worked wonders, especially for people of average build and nondescript short hair.
I put an advert on the bulletin board about buying the high-end tech. Whole, and in parts. The price of that thing was really only affordable to the top echelon, so a common thief would be disinclined to come forward. And who knew, perhaps they'd even put it back – if it seemed that someone with infinite funds was being messed with.
Defence Systems Research Laboratory up next. Security measures were stringent; the building was made of valuable assets. An unlikely place to find my missing device, but the tech-savvy brought in their own matrixes to work on, too. The less fortunate were determined to forge a path out of the gutter. At any price.
Sadly, I didn't see any familiar parts, nor heard any chatter about new acquisitions.
Moved onto the campus' watering hole next. That's the place for loose lips to do some bragging. After all, to everybody but the wealthiest, that device was a hoard of a lifetime. Somebody had to slip up and reveal the truth.
It would help to change into a tight-fitting dress, but I didn't have a useful fool to run errands for me anymore. The audacity, to just up and die like that! Who even surrenders so easily? Well, whatever. The girl did what I wanted of her adequately. I'll miss her at times like these, though.
Mingling with a drunken crowd has been a complete bust, as well. The thief was being too careful. Or indifferent, which would be a whole other problem.
As the long day gave way to the first light of morning, I slunk towards the cafeteria in defeat. Despite slight tipsiness and a sleepless exhaustion, all my senses were on high alert. A deserted environment was ideal for a hit. Countless glass eyes called for peace, but witnesses might not be an issue. My pursuers were determined. And resourceful. They knew where to sneak up on me. Moreover, the surveillance was seamlessly obstructed – I could tell from the lack of a manhunt.
I entered the cafeteria unmolested. The hall was as desolate as it appeared from outside. No tell-tale knuckleheads lurked, although they had to keep an eye on the sole food dispensary. The windows offered me many routes of escape, if it came to that.
As I sifted through the automated dispensary for the most basic food items, a sect of completely hairless attendants spilled out from the kitchens with a selection of covered trays. A feast, and it wasn't even breakfast! Their master was probably bursting at the seams.
Easy enough to imagine, but much harder to actually believe. Positions of the military leaders had become somewhat hereditary, but constant skirmishes ensured that only the most fitting actually filled them. The offspring either performed, or died.
It wasn't all that unlikely for no-names to rise in ranks, either. This establishment was meant to train all people of promise, regardless of background. It's why I was here, too. To hold hand on the pulse of current affairs, and acquire the dirt for decades to come. I was just trying to think ahead! With very limited success.
Perhaps I'd have had a better time vying for a spot at some promising officer's feet, too. Alas, whilst people with no past got this opportunity, it was just the opposite for individuals with too much past. Reprobates on the run didn't get to be publicly acclaimed persons.
Chatter shook me out of my tired pondering.
"That's her, isn't it?"
The attendants were being really quiet. However, my augmented ears were made just for this.
"We should warn her."
"Mind your own well-being," an older voice scolded. "You know what mistakes cost."
That extinguished the busybody's good intentions. Had to love people of integrity and immovable values! The conflicted girl looked back at me before stepping through the door, and I hurriedly drew a laptop-sized rectangle with my hands. Her eyes widened, she nodded vigorously and darted out.
Well. My eavesdropping finally got me a lead, but this was not something I'd ever want to follow up on. What was I supposed to do with this information? I was just warned about being caught by the top echelon. Even the servants knew enough to pity me.
I should just go. No packing, just leave as I stand now – tumour jerky in my hand and all. This failed endeavour will leave me so deep in the red, I'll never see the light of day again – but at least I'll be alive.
But again – if my life was over either way, I could at least try getting it back on track. Get the device back, then run. Simple. I can do it. I really could. Probably. I was literally made for this. So what if the foe was some all-important lordling this time? How different could it really be? That was but a title. Very heavy title, but nevertheless. It wasn't yet his. This was but a brat for now.