“I can’t believe this shit…” President Myers lamented as we climbed up the burning rubble, “Nine people dead. All of ‘em – because of me.”

  Strange. I never expected the CEO of Militech to be so… remorseful. “What were their names?”

  “What?”

  “Their names– mmh…” I climbed up the final ledge, lending a hand by pulling her up, “What were they?”

  “Sheridan, Bliss, Hines, Craig, Clark, Kenney, Wainwright, Hodges, and Collins.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” I respectfully bowed my head to her before continuing on, coming up to a shuttered passageway. Could be our way through…

  “Songbird said you were a soldier as well? Guessin’ Arasaka?” Myers asked, likely trying to make conversation.

  “In a past life. I was a captain for Arasaka Security Services. Expeditionary recon branch.”

  “Captain… Heh,” she chuckled a little under her breath, “Never thought I’d be so glad to see someone from your neck of the woods.”

  “Yeah, I get that a lot,” I mumbled back at her, grabbing at the bottom of the shutter, “Help me lift this?”

  “I can imagine – nnh…” her artificial muscles easily lifted the door, “How long did you serve, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  Myers unsheathed her weapon as we walked down a long, dark corridor lined with utility piping, lit only by moonlight and the errant spotlights dancing around outside. “2064 to 2075. Four tours’ worth,” I told her.

  “Mm… I see…” she replied pensively. Couldn’t say I blamed her. We had an open bounty on her head for years. It must feel strange for her to be saved by the very forces she invaded. “I wish this was routine. Give anything for it to be.”

  “It never is, you of all people should know that.”

  “Mm,” she nodded slightly, “Though generally it’s a little less unpredictable than this… Space Force One was hacked. That means they had help. From Washington,” she pointed behind her with a menacing stare, her voice tinged with fury and annoyance. “The NUS government is aware of the crash, no doubt. They’ll have sat-mapped it, seen us hit the ground. Unless…”

  “The hacker disrupted the food chain entirely,” I finished her thought, “Someone with the capability to bring down SF One would surely expect such a move.”

  “And the plot goes deeper…” she continued, walking down the pathway alongside me, “Hansen’s spreading his agitprop lies as we speak, I’m sure of it. Our people will have an even harder time crossing the border. What about your contacts?”

  “My people would face the same dilemmas as yours, I suspect,” I replied frankly, unwilling to share anything more than that, “Dogtown isn’t known for rolling out the red carpet for Devolutionists.”

  “Mm, or NUS government, for that matter.” Myers pulled ahead of me, taking out her weapon again and inspecting outside for a few moments. “Still clear…”

  I drew my sword in-kind, sensing that something was watching us. But not shooting at us. That’s a start. “Look alive regardless,” I reminded her, “Remember where we are.”

  “How could I forget…” she grumbled, setting her rifle down on the side of an old railing, “Fuck… It’s just – I can’t trust a soul…”

  “If you’re looking for sympathy, you’ll have to wait until we’re safe,” I said bluntly, taking off my scarf for a second, “I know a thing or two about misplaced trust as well. But do you know what’s a powerful motivator? The mutual struggle to survive.”

  “Heh, never thought I’d get lectured about trust from an Arasaka suit…” she replied with a light-hearted scoff.

  “Soldier,” I corrected her, putting my nodachi away, “The same as you, Miss CEO. But none of that will matter if neither of us live to see another day.”

  Myers ruminated on my words for a bit before looking over at me. “Good to see old grudges’re still alive and well.” That’s the understatement of the century… Politicians…

  “I don’t follow those grudges. Otherwise your head would’ve been rolling on the floor of that safe room,” I sneered at her, “All I demand is respect.”

  “Mmh…” she hummed, “You mentioned you were, what, expeditionary recon?”

  “I was,” I nodded.

  “Interesting way of labeling your special forces…” Myers said softly, “I remember when it was just JGSDF, nothin’ else–” her voice cut out…

  Fuck… drone…

  “Shit…” she suddenly snapped, grabbing at her neck and frantically pacing around.

  “What, what is it?”

  “If Hansen’s got someone inside Washington, it means I’m traceable. Wherever, whenever…” she hissed, hammering her heels around the room, “I have a subdermal tracker. In my neck. It has to come out. How good are you with that sword of yours?”

  “Point at a falling raindrop and I will cut it in half, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Good… It’s near an artery that’s best not nicked,” she instructed, leaning against the railing, “I’ll need your help.”

  I again drew Izanami from its holster, running some more electric current through it to sterilize the blade as best as I could. “This is really going to hurt, you know. Pain editor or not.”

  “Fuck it. Not like we have a choice.” Okay…

  I sighed and approached her, holding my sword up high for a more precise grip. “They afraid you’ll be kidnapped, I’m guessing?”

  “Nah, they put the tracker in me as a safety precaution. In case I decide to leave the White House all of a sudden, go on an all night bender.”

  “Heh, that’d be the day…” I laughed a bit, “Stay perfectly still…”

  I hiked the razor-sharp blade up in my hands, careful not to accidentally cut myself as the cutting edge passed through my unfeeling fingers. Resting Izanami’s body against my shoulder and neck helped stabilize it just enough to allow me to make a tiny incision in the right side of her neck, as simply as drawing with a pen. She didn’t so much as flinch, the weapon sharp enough to cut right through the meat with next to no resistance, likely her body barely even noticed the injury. I flicked an errant drop of blood from the tip and re-sheathed it, peeling open my work to expose Myers’ inner anatomy. “Where’d you get that sword, anyway? Never seen anything like it.”

  “Got it last year for Christmas,” I snickered dryly, “Now for the fun part.”

  “G-UUhh…” she bellowed as I reached two fingers inside her neck, finding a pair of wires almost immediately. Bingo…

  I gave them a good tug, revealing the glowing pill-shaped casing. “You know, scarification like this is a common ritual in clans. Almost feel like giving you your cut and colors now.”

  “Nn… You were in a clan?”

  “Bakkers. Two years,” I nodded, running my fingers down each wire and checking all the connections, “Think of your enemies. It’s what they used to tell us.”

  “My enemies… heh… That’s a long list…” she rolled her eyes before suddenly grabbing my hand, “Wait… drone! Finish up, quick!”

  Fuck it… I yanked the whole bloody mess from her neck in a single shot, Myers not even blinking as her wound oozed blood and clotting agent while I tossed the tracker over the side of the balcony. We both scrambled over to cover just as a massive drone approached, tossing debris and dust everywhere with its exhaust.

  Don’t notice us. Don’t notice us.

  The searchlight passed without incident… Okay. Breathe, V. Just do your job and get the hell out of here. You can worry about your own shit later. “That was close…” Myers panted, tucking her weapon close to her chest and standing back up.

  We could’ve easily taken the drone, but not fast enough that it wouldn’t have alerted everyone to our presence. Still, we had to assume they would be through here in a matter of moments. “V, there you are!” a distorted voice returned… Songbird?

  “You left? What happened?”

  “Connection’s intermittent at best. I’ll only be around for a few more seconds – You need to get to the top of the building. Talk later–” and she’s gone… Strange. Did something happen to the Relic?

  “You okay, V?” Myers asked me, bringing my attention back in front of me.

  “Songbird. She says we need to get to the top of the building,” I reiterated.

  “Lead the way. It’s your city, after all,” Myers conceded, falling back in line. I pulled out my Kimber in anticipation of anything else that might be flying through the air, drones I wouldn’t be able to touch with my sword if they went for Myers. “That a 1911? Into the classics, huh?”

  “I’m into what works,” I replied bluntly, “Single-stack fits my hand better. And it’s more durable than a lot of the polymer shit out today.”

  “Heh, ain’t that the truth,” she chuckled a bit, “By the way, if we ever get separated, my call sign is Intrepid.”

  “Intrepid… Presidential code name?”

  “Nah. That’s Sparrow,” she corrected me, “Intrepid was from my MARSOC days.”

  I looked back at her and produced a slight smile through the scarf donned over my face, “In that case, you can call me Corsac.”

  “Corsac…” she repeated quietly, “The extinct fox breed?”

  “We’re not all extinct yet,” I quipped as I pressed through the building, coming out into what looked like a casino or a bar, some sort of restaurant next to it. “We have to assume that Songbird won’t be able to help us anymore. First thing’s first – we need cover.”

  “What we need is a working elevator…” Myers groaned, approaching the dual elevator shaft… Looks like one is still there, at least. “Think our guardian angel can help us out?”

  “What do you say, Songbird?” I asked – a shot in the dark.

  “Sorry, what?” Songbird chimed back in, “I didn’t catch any of that.”

  “Elevator in the building we’re in. Can you power it up?”

  “Hm… Let’s see…” she paused for a few seconds, “Nope, can’t work my magic there… it’s an internal system.” Grr…

  Oh great, my phone… And it’s Judy. Of course it is…

  “Gotta answer that?” Myers asked me incredulously as the phone vibrated away.

  Fine… “Hey,” I picked it up, “Everything okay?”

  “V! Fucking hell, I saw the news!” she fired back, her voice trembling, “Are you okay?!”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Yeah, I’m alright,” I told her calmly, “I’ll call you back when we’re done here.”

  “We? Who’s we?”

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you…” I smirked, looking over at the NUSA President, “I’ll talk to you soon, I promise.”

  “Be safe, calabacita.”

  “You too,” I smiled and hung up, looking back over at Myers, “Sorry. Just a concerned friend.”

  “Mm, friends are good,” Myers replied lightly, “Can use more of them during times like this.”

  “Tell me about it…” I peeled open the grating blocking the elevator entrance, “Looks like a bundle of wires… Could just be a blown circuit. Let me check it out.”

  Sure enough, passing through the arcade on the left-hand side revealed a power junction with the circuits tripped. I fired them up and the whole place whirred back into life… Crap, they’ll be hunting here now… “It’s running,” Myers shouted from the other room, beckoning me back in, “Good work, Corsac.”

  “Just part of the job, Intrepid,” I returned, seeing the lights flicker on and off, “Guess there’s only one way to find out if this elevator works or not.”

  The elevator lurched upwards as soon as I hit the button for the top floor – a skylight restaurant, by what it said on the label. “What’re the odds a random passerby notices a lone elevator moving in an abandoned building?” Myers said with a bit of contempt in her voice.

  I glanced out the window, noticing more drones crowding around the building with spotlights blazing away. “It’s dark and the lights are shining downwards. I doubt people’s night vision would allow them to see much beyond that.”

  “Heh, keep dreaming…” she laughed slightly, “Those little fuckers are fidgety. And sharp sensors, too. If they haven’t spotted us yet, they likely will now.”

  I knew that language. It was what somebody says when they’re anxious and hiding it. “This what you do with all your friends? Take them out at night, see a nice show, stop in to the restaurant for a quick bite?”

  “Mm, shame the entertainment’s shit.” The door opened, revealing an enclosed glass canopy… Fucking fantastic. There is absolutely no cover in this place… What the fuck is Songbird thinking sending us up here?! This is borderline suicidal. “Oh well. Least you got the makeup for it.”

  “Yeah, that’s what happens when you’re out with someone and get contacted by Songbird. You drop what you’re doing and go.”

  “Indeed… By the way, aim for the VTOL joints. They’re not reinforced too well.”

  “Oh? Militech’s CEO getting her hands dirty on the drone production floor?” I remarked with a raised eyebrow.

  “One picks up a thing or two in the Marines, in spite of oneself…” she muttered under her breath.

  I glanced over the side of the glass dome, eyeballing the many drones scattered about. There looked to be no fewer than a baker’s dozen all searching for us, the low humming of their engines a perennial reminder that we are completely surrounded and outmatched. I had no doubt that thing would go for Myers first. It’s after her, not me. Protecting her is a crap-shoot with nothing but handguns and a sword. No… We had no choice but to press on and pray they don’t notice.

  “Alright, found a way through…” Songbird suddenly interjected, “Go through the restaurant in front of you, should come out to a lobby. I’m gettin’ reports of a squad that’s been dispatched here – they might have a vehicle.”

  “Good enough for me,” I muttered back to her, turning to Myers and giving her an overhead spiraling hand signal – ‘follow me.’ She patted my left shoulder twice to confirm and stayed tight on my six, heading through the door immediately after me.

  I sharply threw up my hand and pushed her back to the corner – drone. The both of us ducked down as the massive beast came sweeping in, hovering just in front of the hallway. “Can you do anything?” I asked Songbird through the Relic, “We have drone coverage on us.”

  “No, I mess with them, they’ll know exactly where you are,” Songbird countered, “Gonna have to find some way around ‘em.”

  “Mmh…” I grumbled out-loud. Judy was able to do that at the Parade… Why not Songbird? Whatever, fine, let’s just get it done…

  “Wait, there’s a subnet access point in the kitchen,” Songbird continued, “If you can link to that, I can send it false readings, make it go on a wild goose chase.”

  “That’s not going to work…” I muttered, peering into the restaurant’s promenade. The drone sat directly outside, and I had to assume it was using thermal sights. A problem when I wasn’t wearing my stealth suit… Alright, going to have to find another way around.

  Think, V… Think outside the box. It’s what you’re good at.

  Pop quiz. You’re in the middle of Old Dubai, surrounded by the enemy in a bunker. How do you get out? What do all these buildings have that you’re not noticing?

  Mm… No, nothing here… Come on, one of these walls has to have some sort of service panel…

  Ah. Here we go… Just above the kitchen. HVAC ducts.

  You get out through the ventilation system.

  “Oh, wow,” Songbird remarked as I sawed the grate off its hinges with Izanami, “That passageway didn’t show up on the building’s plans… Good find.”

  “My father once told me that creativity is born from places of restriction…” I replied as I climbed up into the duct, checking for drones… Nothing.

  “Yeah, well just make sure you know your way back in case you get lost. Who knows where that goes,” she reminded me as I took Myers’ weapon, freeing her hands so she could pull herself up and follow.

  “Wherever it is, a drone cannot see me, that’s what matters,” I said frankly, using the sensations I felt in Izanami to keep the sword from smacking into the top of the duct as I carefully moved through the maze of ducts.

  Let’s see… The restaurant ran around the right-hand side, so I should go forward and left to link up with the lobby… Forward and left… forward and left…

  Got it. Loose grate up ahead.

  “Good! Now all you need is to get downstairs. Looks like they got a car parked in the lobby. Your chariot awaits.”

  “Not exactly subtle…” I muttered dismissively, dropping down into blood red smoke emanating off a signal flare. Figures that they’d try and disrupt cybereyes again… Seems to be a regular trick of theirs.

  “Best option you have. You’ll see.” Her tactical prowess doesn’t exactly instill confidence in me…

  Fine. We do it my way, then.

  –

  V motioned for Myers to remain behind and cover her while she moved up to engage the enemy as quietly as possible. The samurai cautiously thumbed the hammer back on her 1911, tucking it into the small of her back in case the drone got any bright ideas, unsheathing Izanami and walking as if she was stepping on leaves. The carpeted floor threatened to creak beneath her, the deteriorating foundations protesting under the unexpected shuffling of new weight.

  Two BARGHEST scouts stood immediately out front, the first victims of the ambush by V as she handily sliced through both of their heads at once. Their bodies fell with a loud thud, alerting three more downstairs. A quick glance over the side revealed flashlights flickering as they ran for the stairs to V’s left, heading up to her level. Myers audibly sighed behind her, apparently frustrated at this operator’s audacity.

  They rounded the corner to find their fellow companions missing half of their heads, blood pooling on the carpet in a black, tar-like mess. Though they were on maximum alert, they failed to anticipate V’s sudden onslaught as she ran out from behind a pillar, weapon extended and impaling the heaviest-armored machine gunner through the throat before he had time to raise his weapon.

  The two others flung themselves backwards, avoiding V’s follow-up strike as she came around, presenting her weapon to them. With barely a thought in her head, her left hand suddenly shot out a flurry of sparks and electrical arcs, traveling along the length of the railing and shooting into each soldiers’ body.

  The near-instantaneous discharge of so much energy caused V’s body to wildly convulse, the captain struggling to maintain awareness from the incredible pain it caused her. The batteries in her left arm discharged within less than a second, driving over two hundred amps from her hand and impacting both bodies in a complete circuit. The sudden and terrifyingly massive shock flash-boiled their blood, popping the tops of their heads clean off like champagne corks. Gunshots echoed through the building as the magazines on their bodies all discharged at once, producing a shower of sparks and shell casings flying around the room.

  –

  Wh– What the fuck just happened…

  I glanced down at the smouldering corpses laid before me, their bodies leaking boiling black fluid that more closely resembled motor oil than blood…

  God… What have I done…

  My arm… My arm felt like it was on fire…

  Mom…?

  Help…

  I can’t… I can’t feel my arm…

  I’m scared…

  Mom? Dad…?

  Rita? J-Judy…?

  Jackie…? Please…

  “Come on, Corsac!”

  …What…? What just… What happened…

  “Corsac, we gotta go!”

  Shit…

  I blinked a few times and scrambled back into gear, glancing around before finally landing on a tasty-looking ute. "Two seats, four wheels, good enough for us," Myers said in a hurry, “What in the almighty fuck was that?”

  “A gift from Songbird,” I muttered back, my voice parched and cracked. I guess I had to try it once… Never again. Never.

  “Fuck, didn’t realize I hired Santa Claus,” she said with a touch of laughter, “Come on.”

  Hm… Might be a bad idea. What’s more conspicuous than a vehicle… Right, we go on foot. “No, no cars. We’ll be sitting ducks if they catch us. Follow me.”

  “Mmh…” the President groaned, “I hope they taught you well.”

  “Myers?” Songbird suddenly belted out from my phone, prompting me to scramble and take it out before the speaker gave away our position.

  “Hear you loud and clear, So Mi,” Myers retorted with frustration in her voice as we headed down a rocky embankment on the side of the road, “Would you care to tell me what the fuck is going on?”

  “We have a plan we need to stick to – Elizabeth Kress Street. That’s where you’ll need to go. Streets’re too hot, so you’ll have to go underground.”

  Hm… Scaffolding. I can use that to get us out of here… Okay. Let’s get back down to street level… “Underground… as in the subway?” I asked Songbird, ushering Myers to follow.

  “Yes. You’ll take the metro tunnels. Nearest station’s beneath an abandoned expo hall. Some guys outside it, so be careful.”

  I peered around the corner of a pedestrian overpass, the late-night blanketed with fog. Good news for us; limited visibility will help. Cars shuffled beneath our feet, none the wiser that their ticket to glory was within a few meters of their positions. But I had no idea what building Songbird was referring to. “Could you be a little more specific…?”

  “I’ll send you the coords,” she replied, my phone chirping with a notification… Hm. Founding Our Future Expo Center… Some future they planned. Alright, it’s just a couple blocks over. We head through the mall under construction where she crashed, down a few stories, and in through the parking garage… I can do that.

  “Stick to me like glue, Intrepid,” I instructed her, pulling out Izanami and keeping it charged in case we had any surprises.

  “I copy, Corsac.”

  “Corsac?” Songbird asked over the phone.

  “Military call sign,” I replied to her, “Operational secrecy seems like a good idea about now, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “Mm. Good call.” At least she got the hint this time…

  We carefully traversed the roadways, thankfully only inhabited by the crazies and junkies. People who paid us no mind. The fog felt unsettling, the ambient moisture making my hands tingle…

  It feels strange, the only sensations in my hands being caused by apparently random electrical misfires… Just breathe, V. You will make it through the night. You’ve been through worse…

  –

  “Okay, no, it’s my turn to tell the story,” Yoko cheered over the burning rubber smouldering within the hundred-liter drum. Her eyes appeared to flicker and dance in the light, her face wide and beaming as we all gathered around to listen.

  “Well go on, then!” shouted Katsuyuki, arms crossed like he owned the place, the boastful gonk… “Let’s hear whatcha got!”

  “Okay, okay!” Yoko grinned, “We headed east again… Towards the Bridge.”

  Everyone suddenly fell silent upon hearing that word, myself included.

  “And that’s when Katsu and I saw one of ‘em… a real-life Bridge Person.”

  “Nah, no way,” a kid named Takuya blurted out, the chubbiest of all of us – well, as chubby as anyone can ever be living in the Concrete River, “Bridge People never leave. ‘S how it’s been for decades, we all know this.”

  “Right, which is why this is such a big deal!” she exclaimed, “Somehow he got past the Spiders. And the mines, and everything else… He tried to run. And that’s when I saw it…”

  “Saw what?” someone asked as we all leaned in, riveted by the tale, some ten of us total.

  “A Spider. A real Spider.”

  “Oh, now you’re bullshitting,” Takuya lashed out again, “Katsu, she’s bullshitting, right?”

  “No, she’s not,” he said forebodingly, silencing the crowd once again, “Imagine… Imagine a ball. With a single, forward-facing, red eye. And it has these spiked tendrils all coming out at odd angles, like some sort of mutated sea creature. It scampers around incredibly quickly… Like, unnaturally quickly… It’s about the size of a big man, but it is fast. And it’s all black… But not painted black. It almost looks like it was a hole in the air… Something missing. Something removed from reality. It left behind this… this eerie red glow wherever it went…”

  “Katsu and I were looking right at it,” Yoko continued on after Katsuyama started shuddering, “It was… it was like a demon or something. And it reared up and launched itself at the running Bridge Person… And it consumed him. Not killed him… consumed him. In this… this sort of veil of black, like pulling a curtain over him… And he was just… gone…”

  “Fuck…” someone else whispered. We could all see it in Yoko’s expression. She looked terrified…

  “The Bridge’s getting bolder… Meaner…”

  I didn’t even know it was possible for Bridge People to run away… I thought they were all slaves of the Bridge. I guess AI has its own goals… Maybe it was testing a new weapon or something… Who knows what goes on inside the bowels of that control tower anymore…

  “Then it just… vanished. Back into the Crossway tunnel…” her head shook and she sat down, visibly disturbed by what she’d witnessed… “I mean, I’d heard of these things… But I’d never believed they were… were…”

  –

  Parking garage… Finally. “Down here,” I guided Myers, “Now.” Luckily we were able to sidestep that outpost by heading through the open sewer pipe… Would’ve turned ugly otherwise. Why the outpost here, though? Stronghold, perhaps? No, Songbird wouldn’t do that unless she wanted to commit career suicide. She’s questionable, but not an idiot.

  “No more soldiers… Thank God…” she replied, huffing to catch her breath, “Synthetic lungs haven’t taken yet… Sorry.”

  “Yeah, the cliff was a bit much,” I admitted, “You did well to keep up in heels.”

  “A woman’s prerogative,” she grinned in return, walking alongside me to the far side of the garage, housing an elevator with power for a change, “What’d you do to this place, anyway? Dogtown – take a nuke to it or something?”

  Ouch… I paused and looked back at her with a scowl on my face.

  “Touchy subject?” she raised an eyebrow.

  I took off my mask and looked her dead in the eye. “No… We didn’t nuke it. In fact I believe that I’m looking at the sole person to blame for this mess.”

  “Oh? Do elaborate.”

  “Last time I checked, it was under your watch that Militech commissioned the development of the Wall, and it was you who ordered some renegade, young colonel in his mid-30s to take it over when the War broke out. And now you’re reaping what you’re sowing.”

  “Ah, so you’re one of those types who thinks she’s got it all figured out, huh?” she fired a glare back at me, “I’m sure you’re fun at parties… No, Corsac. I didn’t commission the Wall myself. Militech R&D did after I left my position for politics. And last time I checked, and believe me, it’s been a thorn in my side ever since, Hansen was successful.”

  “Really? Then why don’t we go up to Hansen’s office right now and ask for some permits? I’m sure he’ll be happy to oblige. Why is he even trying to kill you, anyway?”

  “You don’t get to my position without making some enemies along the way, that’s why,” she said bluntly, heading into the elevator with me, “Look, Corsac. I see you as a professional. But I understand where you’re comin’ from, so here’s the deal. We can argue ‘till the sun comes up, or we can do our jobs. What’s it gonna be?”

  I punched the button for the first floor and turned back to face her. “Intrepid, the War ended seven years ago. Politics aside, I’ve spent a quarter of my life processing it all. Are we friends? No. But we’re not enemies, either.”

  “Heh, you have a nasty habit of being honest,” she grinned, “You’d make a terrible politician, you know that?”

  “I take that as a compliment from you.”

  “Oh, it was. There’s an old saying in my unit – Candidness is a sign of experience. When you no longer give enough of a fuck about what people think of you, so you tell it like it is. I wish I had that luxury… Unfortunately, the NUSA is still a democratic nation.”

  The NUSA has a funny way of expressing democracy when Elizabeth Kress was the President for eight consecutive terms… Not to mention the legendary warmongering Myers has done, herself. But she’s right – now’s not the time to dig up old skeletons. Not when we’re in the heart of darkness. Still, I couldn't help but keep my distance. I wanted nothing more than to be off this fucking elevator. Off this fucking assignment.