Born of Silicon Book 5 Chapter 27

When we drove up to the wall, the captain of the guard was already waiting for us.

“You’re late!” A call ca down from atop the wall.

Mara fished around in her pocket for just a mont and pulled out a single chip. She held it up towards him, with her middle finger extended.

Large doors built into the wall slid open, and we drove inside.

The place was busy and heavily ard. They’d offer protection to anyone who pays, and we could certainly pay.

They had an exposed lift tacked onto the inside of the wall that the guy who ran the place rode down. We’d done so work for him in the past, we knew who each other were. He was also in on our plan, or at least knew we were raising trouble and needed a place to lie low for a cycle.

He walked up, and Mara flicked him the chip.

“No no, I’m not taking sothing this hot.” He flicked it back to us.

Mara nodded, and I grabbed a small handful of gold jewelry from the loot bag. I passed it to him, and he spent a mont carefully inspecting it.

“Please, rest easy.” He stepped back and waved us on.

Even their parking garage was armored. They prided themselves on not letting anyone within their walls co to harm. A woman t us there, and led us to our room. The steel walls turned to natural rock, carved out with rough machinery.

Our room certainly wasn’t comfortable, but it was a veritable safehouse. Hundreds of feet of rock on every side of us and the only way in or out was through dozens of heavily entrenched guards.

It probably won’t co as a surprise when I say that I felt trapped.

Mara tossed her bag onto one of the nurous beds lined against one of the walls. Our armor stayed on though. She rummaged through it for just a second before sitting at the table, kicking back her feet, and placing three beers on the table.

“So,” She stared down Silver. “You gonna share your story?”

“Not going to ask if I’m boring as shit?” Silver sat down across from her and popped open the lid. It was at that mont that it hit . Silver didn’t just know of us, they knew us, knew the questions we were likely to ask. They had to have talked to people we knew, picked out the truth from the stories. They’d done their howork, knew what they were getting into.

“I’ve heard enough to know that’s not true.”

“You’ve heard wrong then. I’m boring as shit.” Silver tipped back their drink. “Vegas would have never let retire, so here I am. I’m going to make a couple hundred million and live like royalty for the rest of my life. That’s all you’ll get.”

“They actually stuck to that promise, even to this day.” Vince interrupts his story to add. “I still have no idea what they did before then, at least nothing beyond stories from other people.”

“Really?” I ask.

“Yep. You can try to get more out of them if you want, but good luck.”

I take up his offer and drop a ssage onto Silver’s desktop.

“Vince is retelling his story, and just got to the point where you join. Do you want to tell your side of the story?”

Silver’s reply cos instantly.

“I’m boring as shit.”

“They replied exactly how you think they would.” I tell Vince and the rest of the group. That pulls a laugh out of everyone, thankfully lighting up the mood a little before resuming his story.

Surprisingly enough, Mara didn’t try to pull more out of them, or at least, not that I rember.

With my exhaustion fought off? Sleep was hard to co by. We’d killed innocents before, but they were always collateral, the cost of doing business is how I rationalized it. If we didn’t, soone else would and all that. I’d never shot soone just living their life entirely separate from , running to escape what we had wrought because I didn’t have ti to check my targets. All because of our own greed. If we didn’t go through with that plan, nobody would have taken our place.

I put a dent into our booze supply and chased it down with sothing or other, trying to bury that coyote so deep that he’d never cross my mind again. Mara didn’t care, and I wanted so badly to be like her. That ant sothing had to be wrong with , and that was my solution.

Of course it didn’t work. All it did was change from feeling miserable when trying to sleep and in my quiet monts, to feeling miserable when I woke up with my head pounding and body aching. At least it kept my thoughts on the pain, not my guilt.

What made it worse was the way Mara looked at . There was no pity, no desire for to get better, to get a grip. No. She was happy. It ant she won. It just reinforced that she was stronger than , superior in every way. And as long as I was still useful when she needed , and all I consud ca out of my share? What did she care what state I was in?

The storm ca, and the guards' rifles turned inwards, making sure everyone kept the peace.

I barely left our room. Mara on the other hand? Always social, always having fun for her own sake.

Silver actually ca to . When the sun was going down and I was beginning my routine. They stepped forward and ripped the bottle out of my hand.

“What do you think you’re doing?” They asked.

“Sleeping.” I answered. “And I’d like to get back to it.”

“And tomorrow?”

“I’ll sleep again. Now if you don’t mind.” I held out my hand.

Silver took a step towards what they pretended was a small kitchen. A hot plate, a spout, and a drain on the ground.

“Don’t you fucking dare.” I growled.

They held the beer over the drain and stared down, daring to move.

“And the day after tomorrow?” They asked.

“I’ll sleep.”

They saw my fingers twitch, and settled their hand on their pistol. That was enough to convince to not explode too badly.

“And when you run out?” They ask. “And when we need you in the field?”

“The field is easy.” I pushed myself out of my chair and slowly approached. “In the field I do my job. In the field I’m focused.” I held out my hand once again. “Just let get there. I won’t be a burden when you need .”

Silver tipped the beer, and I lunged. They were prepared. Thankfully they dropped the bottle instead of slamming it into , even if I probably deserved it.

I hit them, and they hip threw straight to the ground.

“Look at yourself!”

I scrambled back to my feet. Fighting was easier than thinking. I caught a knee to my gut just a mont later.

“Look back a decade.” They said. “Look back two. Is this what you wanted? Is this what you hoped for your life? Would you be proud of yourself?”

I would have rather they hit with the bottle. I reached for my gun and looked up, only to find Silver’s pistol already in my face. I looked away first.

“How many people have you killed?” They asked.

I didn’t respond, but I certainly knew the number.

I pushed myself back onto my feet and shoved my pistol back into its holster. I returned to my chair and grabbed another bottle from my bag.

“If you want things to get better, you have to do sothing about it.”

“I am.” I popped open the top and took a drink.

Silver shook their head, their disappointnt almost physical.

“Tell when you get your head out of your ass and want to do sothing about it.” They turned away and left to my misery.

Needless to say, while their words made feel worse, it didn’t make do anything about it. I wanted to be miserable, just on the off chance it made things easier.

It was a few days before the storm passed and we left once again. That helped. I stayed sober while I had a job to do. It let focus, forget my sha. And I did my job.

The canyon was busy. We passed group after group in silence. Mara never asked how I was feeling, what I was going through. She didn’t care. Not in the slightest. And I didn’t offer my emotions to her. That’d just give her ammo, make look weak.

It was a quiet drive, and it only got quieter when we made it through and got into the desert itself. People spread out, us included. We saw the occasional roof over a distant dune, and mirages of course, but that’s it. It didn’t take long to get to Albuquerque.

That place was always a disaster. The slavers that took us were far from the only ones in those mountains. I ended up selling my services to help with security. Not for the money or anything, just to have a job to do.

Silver didn’t try to talk to again. Or at least, I don’t think they did. I was kind of trying to avoid them.

Another storm passed, and we were off.

The southern pass was always a mix between tension and excitent that’s hard to describe. We weren’t going to get captured again, not ever. But the idea of soone trying? Of being able to redo that interaction how it should have turned out the first ti? I can’t say the idea wasn’t appealing.

We made it through though. Pretty sure around that ti the Rangers were trying to hold the pass. It was a safe ti, all things considered.

We made one last leg of the journey, reaching the glowing blue jewel of the desert.