Location: My Bedroom, Oldridge Residence

Time: 7:20 AM, December 29th 2107

I could hear footsteps approaching. The sound pressure reaching me was .822 micropascals. The frequency seemed to be 29 hertz, so my walls must have dampened the pressure by around 30 percent. 1.174 micropascals. The footsteps were roughly 35 meters away. That would make the sound pressure one meter from the source 39.9 micropascals. That translated to 6 decibels. To produce that sound level on the hallway floor one would need to weigh 59 kilograms.

The steps were .41 seconds apart. Implying a stride length of around 66 centimeters. A slight outward movement of the legs indicated higher than average rotation of the hips which is more common in the stride of women. If it was indeed a woman that stride length would translate to a 72 centimeter leg length. Making her total height 160 centimeters.

My bedroom’s double doors were pushed open.

“Good morning, Jenifer.” I didn’t bother looking to confirm the identity of my intruder; I was speaking from underneath my covers.

“You know, that party trick of yours would be more impressive if anyone other than me ever came to wake you up.” Her voice sounded as uninterested as her words implied.

“Hey, come on. What’s the point of having a maid if I don’t have her gracefully woo me out of bed.”

“Who knows? If you ever hire a maid willing to gracefully woo you to do anything let me know what it’s like. Now get up.”

“I don’t want to. Maybe I should just skip work today.”

“Do what you want, but you still need to get up. Not for work. Your uncle wants to talk.”

I didn’t try to hold back my groan as I rolled over and sat on the edge of my bed. If my uncle wanted to talk to me about something, this early, it was definitely going to be a pain.

“What was that?” I noticed Jenifer’s heart rate momentarily increased before quickly regulating.

“Nothing major. I was just excited for a second.” Jenifer looked away as she spoke.

“I realized that already. I was asking for the source.”

She didn’t say anything, but she gave clear directions with her eyes. I followed her gaze down.

“Ah, I see.” I pulled a sheet over my lap. “Getting excited over that, are we? I never knew you felt that way. The aristocrat and the maid, how many times has that story been done?”

“Don’t kid yourself. I was getting excited over the sexual harassment case I have in the works against you.”

“How cold. And here I thought we had something special.” I tried to make my voice sound as innocent as possible.

“You should be careful saying things like that. Olivia might still be around. You wouldn’t want her to misunderstand, would you?”

“Jenifer, I’m going to have to let you go. You’re fired.”

“You’re not going to fire me.”

“Then have I ever told you how much I hate you?”

“How cold. And here I was thinking we had something special.”

A pointless conversation, but I took solace in it. Every moment I spent bantering with Jenifer was another delay. I knew I’d have to see my uncle, but that doesn’t mean I was in any rush.

“Shut up. Like I’d ever feel anything for a maid that can’t even get dressed properly.”

“Huh? That’s a bold thing for the naked man to say.”

“Listen, Jenifer, do you wear a uniform?”

“No, not really. Typically I just wear jeans and a shirt.”

An insult to maids everywhere.

“Exactly. And do you know why I hired you?”

“Because you’re a man who is eternally in need of more help, incapable of even getting out of bed without having a maid hassle them.”

“Wrong. I hired you because you were the most attractive woman to apply for the job. Now why would I do that?”

“Because it’s your mission in life to convince the world you’re a hopeless pile of trash somehow given human form?”

“Nope, wrong again. It’s because I had assumed my new maid would be wearing a maid outfit. Possibly a slightly revealing French maid outfit. But my maid doesn’t wear a maid outfit, does she. Now why is that?”

“Three Reasons. The smallest being no one ever bought the maid any outfit, revealing or otherwise. And the maid isn’t paid enough to justify buying her own. The second being there is no mention of a uniform in the contract the maid and your uncle both agreed to. And the largest being that the maid has no desire to match your fetishes. Now get up, get dressed, and go see your uncle. He’s in his study.”

Jenifer turned around and left before I could get another word in; destroying the sanctuary I was building. Forcing me to face reality.

Fine. I got it.

Who am I to keep the Prime Minister waiting?

I got dressed, making sure to do something Jenifer never would and put on my uniform. Well, I say uniform, but in reality it’s nothing more than a blazer with the Mid emblem on the chest and right arm.

I wasn’t sure if whatever my uncle wanted would involve my official capacity as a member of the ARA, but even if it didn’t, wearing my Mid jacket made things easier. People tended to look the other way whenever I had it on.

I hesitantly made my way through the house and found myself standing in front of the door to my uncle’s study. I turned down the white noise that was playing through my headphones.

Nothing.

I tried lifting them off of one ear, then both.

Still nothing.

No matter how hard, or how many times I tried, I couldn’t hear inside. That man went to impossible lengths to make sure I couldn’t listen in.

I pushed the buzzer next to the door more times than necessary. A few moments passed before it opened slightly.

I pushed the buzzer a few more times before I pulled the door open the rest of the way and quickly went inside. Not wasting any time to admire the shelves lined with unread books and unearned accolades I sat in the chair opposite of my uncle’s desk.

“Neither of us want to be spending this time together, so let me make this quick. I’ve already wasted enough time waiting for you.” He didn’t bother facing me as he spoke.

“A job? Something you can’t send through Mid?” I couldn’t imagine any other reason for him to call on me.

“You could say that. Sending it through the MID would take too long. I need this done today.”

“You know Karen doesn’t like that kind of thing. She only accepts work that comes through official channels.”

“Don’t worry about Deputy Chief Kaldsen.”

He slid a photo across the desk. It was of a girl I’d never met, but I recognized her instantly.

“The daughter? I thought she was dead, or at least out of the city. Does the BAA have this information?”

“I’m not sure, nor do I know what they’d do with it.”

His heart rate remained steady as he spoke.

“You know, if you’re too good at lying you give yourself away just as easily as an amateur, but whatever. I rather not know the truth.”

“Good. My information has the girl living in the slums, around an old amusement park.”

“Alright, so, what? You want me to bring her in, or just chase her off our territory?”

“Heavens no. I want you to kill her. That’s the only way I can make sure things will go smoothly.”

“Kill her? I won’t claim to be a saint or anything, but isn’t that a bit much? She’s just a kid. I can’t imagine she’s a threat, no matter who her parents were.”

“Not on her own, but there are people in this city that would use her as a symbol. I can’t have that. I need her gone before they get a hold of her.”

“And that’s it? You know this girl is no older than your daughter, right? You’re asking me to kill her for something as abstract as that?”

“We both know I’m not asking.”

“And if I refuse anyway?”

“I’d be deeply disappointed. Especially after all the care I’ve shown to you and my lovely niece.”

Before my brain caught up with my body I was standing with one foot on my uncle’s desk and his tie in my hand.

His heart rate still hadn’t changed. That wasn’t the first time I wondered if he was even alive.

“If I even suspect that you’re planning anything against Olivia’s wellbeing, I’ll make the sound of your heartbeat so loud that it will explode your chest cavity.”

“How frightening. Of course I’ll always show your sister the best this city has to offer. I’d like to think I’ve treated her as my second daughter. But of course, I can only hope you follow through with your end of the bargain. What was it you said again? That if I took you two in you’d follow my instructions?”

He looked into my eyes for the first time since I entered the room. He wasn’t worried, or even angry. Even when threatening him, I wasn’t on his radar.

I felt my grip on his tie loosen.

“Yes, that’s right, glad you remembered.”

As he spoke my uncle picked up the photograph and slid it into the inside pocket of my blazer.

This was how it always went. He allowed me a moment of rebellion, but we both knew how it would end. I’d never jeopardize Olivia’s safety.

“I’ll deal with it today. Contact Mid and give them a reason why I won’t be showing up.”

“Of course. And that Number that guards my daughter. Take her with you.”

“Why? Worried that I can’t take care of this on my own?”

“Not that you can’t, but that you won’t.”

After he decided the conversation was over my uncle got back to the papers on his desk. He didn’t waste the time to wish good luck or say goodbyes. At least not to a person like me.

Sensing the room I left without a word. I felt sick to my stomach as I walked down the hallway, away from his office. I wanted to leave the house without seeing anyone else, but I wasn’t desperate enough to try and avoid the footsteps I heard approaching me.

I perfectly faked a perfect smile as two high school aged girls approached me. The one leading the pair was Oakley Oldridge. She was slightly tall for her age and wearing a green and white school uniform. You’d have to look hard to find any resemblance to her father. As she smiled back at me I felt a pang of guilt for my own facade. Her hands darted in front of her body as she started to sign.

‘Good morning. Are you already going to work?’

Without thinking I started to sign as the lies flowed naturally through my hands. I found myself wondering if she could tell. With enough practice anyone could hear a lie for what it was. Does the same hold true for the deaf? Were my hands showing signs of deception?

Either way, Oakley nodded her head and accepted the lie I didn’t bother to remember. The feeling in my stomach grew worse. The longer I stared at her pure smile the more my thoughts focused on a single idea.

What happens when the enemies that old man is always talking about decide to try something from his playbook? Isn’t sending an augmented to kill a girl the same age as his daughter setting a dangerous precedent?

Nothing gets past our brilliant Prime Minister, so I was sure he made his choice knowing full well what he was risking.

As Oakley continued along down the hallway my attention was drawn to the significantly shorter girl keeping a step behind her. Even though she was technically a student as well she didn’t bother wearing the uniform. Her monochrome outfit remained as unchanging as always.

No socks. That meant she already knew we had a job to do.

“Hey, short stuff, looks like we’re working together today.”

“Annoyed. Use my name. Certain. Any dangerous augmented is a threat to Mistress Oakley’s safety. I will see her eliminated.”

“Yeah, sure.”

At least it seemed like an easy enough job.