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Wise blinked at the monitors, feeling the weight of his skull. His vision blurred at the edges, the lines of code on the secondary screen bleeding into the dark wallpaper like wet ink. He blinked again, harder this time. The intensity behind his eyelids didn't budge.
"Wise." Belle said.
She didn't look up from her own tablet. Her thumb flicked across the glass in the quiet back room.
"Yeah?" Wise’s voice was a dry rasp.
"You've been pulling a couple all-nighters now, I think you should take a nap."
Wise's chair groaned in protest as he reached for his cold mug. He didn't take a sip.
"Shepherd’s commission is time-sensitive. The data from the server link he provided won't stay cold forever. If we don't pull the Carrot out of the server now, the window shuts."
"And the other one?" Belle finally looked at him.
Her eyes were too bright for this hour. She had rested well. She looked like someone who hadn't spent the last fourteen hours chasing signals through an A-rank commission.
On the main terminal, a golden-bordered notification sat pinned. No alias. No Inter-Knot info, a completely freshed account. Just a set of coordinates in the upper district of Lumina Square and a request for a "preliminary consultation" regarding a private meeting.
The amount of Dennies listed at the bottom had enough zeros to make Random Play's electric bills for the next six months look like pocket change. Needless to say, it belonged to someone who held power through their financial status.
"The mysterious one," Wise muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "The upper district, rich area. Face-to-face. It’s...odd."
"It’s a golden opportunity!" Belle countered. She leaned forward, the movement bringing her into the harsh light of the monitors. "Shepherd pays in reliability. This client pays in never-worry-about-the-electric-bill-again, and we can't ignore either."
"I'll go." Wise started to push himself up from the chair.
His knees buckled half an inch before he caught himself. The room tilted five degrees to the left. He gripped the edge of the desk, his knuckles turning white.
"Sit down, Wise. You really need to catch a break." Belle said. It wasn't a suggestion.
"I'm fine. It's just the caffeine wearing off."
"You’re shaking, big bro. If you walk into a high-end penthouse looking like a sleepless stray cat, they’ll call in Public Security before you even get the chance to talk." She stood up, smoothing out her jacket with a decisive snap of the fabric. "I’ll handle the meeting. You stay here with Shepherd’s data. And while you're at it, please try not to fall face-first into the keyboard."
Wise looked at the coordinates again. Lumina Square, the upper tiers. The places where the air felt filtered and the people who were part of high social rank. A cold knot tightened in his gut, it was the kind of feeling that had nothing to do with his lack of sleep.
"No, Belle." He said, his voice firmer now.
Belle paused, her hand hovering over the car key. She tilted her head, a single eyebrow inching upward.
"No?"
"We've never been there." Wise's gaze fixed on the golden notification. "Clients who hide behind that much money and demand a physical meeting before a contract...they aren't looking for a Proxy. They’re looking for an employee."
"Or a partner."
"In that part of Janus Quarter? No one looks for a partner in an Anonymous Proxy." He looked at her, his eyes bloodshot but intense. "Something doesn't feel right, Belle."
Belle let out a short breath. She walked around the desk, her footsteps were light. She stopped just inside his personal space, peering into his face.
"You're being extra cautious today." She said with a hint of worry. "Is there some kind of bad vibe around here that I don't know about?"
"I'm serious."
"So am I. You're exhausted. You're overthinking a simple consultation because your brain is fried. I can handle a rich client, Wise. I’ll use my cute.....I meant professional voice! I won’t even mention my favorite anime."
Belle was determined. But the knot in his stomach only grew, it felt like a warning.
"If something happens to go sideways in that district..." Wise said softly. "N.E.P.S response time is under three minutes, and I'm sure they don't ask questions to people who don't belong there."
"I’ll wear my good shoes." She replied, her tone softened just a bit. Though, the edge of her stubbornness remained. "Now, let me check the route."
Wise disagreed. He blocked her path to the terminal with his chair, his posture rigid despite the fatigue screaming in his muscles.
"We decide this properly." He blinked slowly. "The usual way."
"Oh?" Belle’s eyes narrowed. A mischievous smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth. "You're in no condition for a battle of wits, big bro. You're currently losing a fight with gravity."
"You can try me."
"Fine!" Belle crossed her arms. "If we’re doing this properly, then we do it by the book. Logical superiority. If you can give me three reasons why you’re the better choice for a high-society meeting right now, without yawning or forgetting your own last name, I’ll let you go. Otherwise, you’re staying here to babysit the H.D.D."
Wise straightened his back. Without a second needed to think, he answered immediately.
"First reason, I have the 'serious' face. You have the 'I might steal your silverware if you look away' face. Rich people trust a serious face."
"That’s not a serious face." Belle countered, poking a finger at his cheek. "That’s the face of a person who’s currently seeing two of me. Which one are you talking to? Left me or Right me?"
Wise swiped her hand away, though his timing was a fraction of a second slow.
"The middle one. She’s the loudest."
"See? Brain’s cooked. Second reason?"
"I’ve read the Lumina Square upper district's etiquette. I know which fork to use if they offer us those tiny, overpriced appetizers. You’d probably use a straw."
"I use straws for efficiency, Wise. It’s called time management. Alright, your last reason. Give me a good one, or I’m calling the vote."
Wise opened his mouth as he glanced at the golden notification, the coordinates turned bright in his view. His mind searched for a profound reason, but all it found was a static hum.
"My last reason, is that I have the better outfit for that district. Your hoodie has a coffee stain on the sleeve from two days ago."
Belle looked down at her sleeve. She sighed with a long, dramatic sound.
"That’s not a stain. That’s a memory. And also, that’s the weakest argument I’ve ever heard. My turn!"
She held up a single finger.
"One, I am awake. Two, I am not shaking while standing. Three, if I go, I can actually make it back before Shepherd’s server window shuts down. If you go, you’ll probably fall asleep on the metro and end up at the edge of the Outer Ring."
"The subway doesn't even go to the Outer Ring." Wise muttered.
"That's not important and you know it! Just admit it, Wise." Belle leaned over him, her shadow falling across the keyboard. "You’re worried because we barely know anything more than a couple glimpses of that district. While Shepherd’s mission are basically our home turf, Code and Carrots are one thing. Then here we finally come across something else that might wear perfume that costs more than our monthly revenue. You handle the familiar. I’ll handle the shiny stuff."
"Wait."
"What?"
Wise stared at his hands. They were, in fact, still trembling slightly. The vibe he’d mentioned earlier hadn't left him. It still presented as a cold prickle at the base of his neck, but Belle’s logic was a blunt force he couldn't deflect.
"Let's just do it one at a time. Shepherd comes first." Wise finally decided. "We prioritize the data trace. This one is a guaranteed success."
Belle shrugged with a smile. For a final decision, it was still plausible when her big bro voiced out a one hundred percent winning probability.
"And the mysterious client?" Belle asked, her hand already hovering over the messaging interface.
"Tell them...tell them we’ll be in touch in forty-eight hours to reschedule the commission list." Wise rubbed his eyes. "If they’re as rich as the coordinates suggest, they’ll either have enough patience to wait or move on to the next Proxy in their contact to save their time."
"Ooh, playing hard to get. I like it!" Belle’s fingers danced across the screen, the soft clack-clack of her typing filling the gap in their banter. "Message sent! 'Deepest apologies, highly valued client, but Phaethon’s current workload requires a brief postponement to ensure the highest quality of service.' This is good enough, eh."
Wise let out a long sigh and slumped back into his chair, his head hitting the headrest with a soft thud.
"Let's get the H.D.D. warmed up while the server data is loading. After we’re done with Shepherd’s run, I'll get some rest."
"Sounds good, big bro. I'll pour you some tea."
[H.D.D System - Launching]
Thirty floors above the lower streets of Lumina Square, the penthouse was a cathedral of glass and polished obsidian, overlooking New Eridu.
As the silence was absolute, every surface reflected the cold moonlight. Among it, a single glow emanating from a slim device resting on a marble table.
A hand moved into the glow, nails painted in the color of a fading bruise. One of the fingertips tapped once against the glass.
Sarah Floren leaned back, the silk of her robe brushing against the chair. She read the message once, a small curve appeared at the corners of her lips. The respond looked more like a telltale sign of a ghost she was looking forward to meet.
"Reschedule." She whispered to the empty room. "How cautious."
As expected of the Number One Anonymous Proxy, Phaethon. She swiped the notification away.
"Take your time, Proxy."
She picked up a crystal glass. The water inside perfectly still, reflecting nothing but the dark.
On the wall opposite her, a massive floor-to-ceiling window offered a view of Hollows in the distant. Sarah stood, walking toward the window walls. Beyond it, the vast, dark scars on the landscape that looked like ink spilled on a masterpiece reflected across her eyes.
She didn't mind the wait. In her world, the most beautiful things were the ones that required the most patience to break. To her, the Proxy was simply a tool, the only tool sharp enough to fit the requirement of her purpose.
"Patience is its own kind of purity." She whispered. Her breath leaving a faint, vanishing mist on the window. "I’ll be waiting when the air finally grows thin enough."
/