Chapter 2 - damn machine

"Damn machine!"

A 30 years old woman is sitting on a sofa in a dark apartment, a small light is flickering behind her right earlobe. Tears are running down her face while she stands up.

"Damn machine! Stupid girl!" she says with anger.

She heads to the bathroom without turning the lights on and leans on a sink facing a mirror. The mirror suddenly glows as she looks at herself, her silver-grey eyes drenched in tears. She grabs a small bottle with pills inside and quickly swallows two. She washes her face and goes back to sit on the sofa.

"screen on!" she says.

An image appears in the air, flickering lights and statics on it.

"News Channel!" she says.

The image settles on a news anchor talking about the increase of criminality in New Paris. At the bottom of the image, some information about different corporations' stock market values. Meditech is losing values for the last couple of years, with no innovations to fight against competitors.

The light behind her ear starts flashing faster in a different color. A call.

"Angelica? What are you doing? We are waiting for you!" Says a male voice coming from behind her ear.

"Pablo, I'm sorry, I fell asleep and your call just woke me." She replies.

"You work too much! Come out to play with us." Pablo says.

"Yeah, maybe you are right. Are you guys still hanging at Pandemonium?" She asks.

"Of course, my usual VIP room, you know I'm a star here, just come join us." He says.

"All right, Mr. superstar, I will see you soon."

After she closes the call, she heads upstairs in what seems to be a big bedroom. A big circular bed takes most of the space, she heads towards the wall that suddenly opens into a big closet full of clothes. She selects her outfit composed of a silver-blue skirt with an assorted jacket over a tight white shirt. She grabs some high heels and heads back downstairs towards what seems to be an elevator door. The doors automatically open as she walks close to them, she enters the elevator.

"ground floor." She says.

A voice confirms her choice and the elevator takes her to the ground floor, there's a long reception desk with several receptionists. A tall receptionist wearing a black suit nods to her as she approaches.

"good evening, Miss Spencer, is there anything I can do for you?" He asks.

"Good evening Hector, I need a car to get me to pandemonium." She replies.

"of course Miss, the automated vehicles are at your disposition, call me directly if you meet any problems. Enjoy your evening, Miss." Hector says.

"will do, thanks, Hector." She says as she heads outside.

She goes toward a line of cars queued in front of the building, then enters the first one. A synthetic voice welcomes her and tells her the usual security protocols, before asking her the destination.

"pandemonium." She says.

The automated car starts driving and very soft music starts. Angelica looks through the window, it's dark but the city is illuminated by holographic screens and neon lights. The streets are clean, Corporate districts look like sophisticated machines just out of the assembly chain. The car passes through a guarded gate, several armed guards and an automated sentry gun are in charge of the security at each gate. The background starts changing, the streets get noisier and dirtier. The commons area feels like an abandoned piece of tech in a junkyard, but Angelica loves it.

"The most interesting things can be found in a junkyard." Her dad's voice echoes in her mind.

The car stops in front of a large building, armed guards are keeping the security tight. Angelica gets out of the car and heads toward the double front doors. She is welcomed by a huge bald guy who stands in front of the doors.

"Hey, Angelica, it's been a while since we saw you around here." He says.

She approaches him smiling, he bends down so his face is on the same height as her and taps on his cheek. Angelica gives him a soft kiss on the cheek.

"I missed you too, Bruce." She says.

"Get in! Pablo is waiting for you in his VIP room." He says, smiling at her and keeping the door open for her.

Loud techno music can be heard from outside but once inside it's even louder. Pandemonium is one of the most popular clubs in town, the clientele is composed of the highest ranks of society but mixes with some "special" people too. The club is separated into several sections, the ground floor for the commons, a huge dance floor with a long bar following the back wall.

Stairs lead to the first floor, the ground is transparent and gives a perfect view of the dance floor. Several sofas and booths for the higher clients, this is also the floor where lots of "trades" take place. The third floor is a corridor that runs along the walls with private booths, Pablo's VIP area is up there.

Angelica is going through the crowd, few regulars wave at her, she nods and keeps going until she finally reaches Pablo's VIP area.

"Angelica! Finally! Sit down with us." He says.

"Sorry for making you wait, Pablo." She says while passing through the door.

"Don't say sorry, sis. I missed you." He gets up and hugs her.

"You already know Neural and Pax." He says while pointing at them.

"Hey, guys." She waves at them and they nod back with smiles.

"And this is Trent and Pixie." He says pointing at them.

Trent is a big guy wearing a leather jacket and sunglasses, Pixie is smaller, she has pink hair and she is wearing a sexy outfit. They both wave at Angelica, she smiles back. She finally sits on the sofa, Pablo refills empty glasses and gives a full one to Angelica.

"I was telling them how you saved my hands." He says while shaking his metallic fingers. "This girl is a genius!" He continues, pointing at Angelica.

"Come on Pablo, I'm sure they are bored to death, Neural probably heard that story a million times," Angelica says sarcastically.

"A million and ten!" Neural says. "but most of the times he says it, I'm connected to the net and I can't even hear him." She says and winks at Angelica.

They all laugh, drink a round and an another.

Angelica starts to feel more relaxed, she needed it, Pablo knows her well.

She remembers that day, Pablo was playing his famous Dj set, the crowd in trance with his music. A rival Dj hacked the booth Pablo was playing on, the spinners took his fingers away in a flash, and blood splattered everywhere. That day Angelica was at the bar with the plan to drink herself into oblivion, one of those difficult days. Her plan was canceled when she heard the screams and saw the chaos following, people running outside of the club and armed guards filling the place. Pax was dragging Pablo, when Angelica saw them she followed into a room. He cleared a table and placed Pablo on it, Angelica tore pieces of her dress and started to cover the wounds.

"He is losing too much blood!" Pax said. "I must take him to my shop." He continued. They took him to Pax's shop where they stabilized him, but all his fingers were gone. Angelica had brought a prototype to work at home earlier that month, a set of hands from Meditech R&D department.

It took her half an hour to go retrieve them and come back. Pax installed them with her help. She spent the next few months tinkering them for Pablo and their relationship grew stronger.

She lied to Meditech about the hands and got herself under investigation. After Meditech finally found out, they demoted her to avoid drama around her name, in memory of her parents.

Another round of drinks go, laughter, the sounds start to echo in her head.

"Angelica? Are you ok?" Pablo asks.

"I... Fine..." She says then collapses on the sofa.

Darkness, muttered voices, echoes, and nothing.