Jo cradled her bundle of medicine she'd received from the chemist, treating it like an ugly baby she wanted nobody to see.  Although it was concealed in an unassuming paper bag, anyone who saw her could infer it meant she was sick.  It wasn't meant for her, true, but what was the point of trying to explain that to anyone who moved away as she approached?  At least she didn't have to worry about people getting in her way.  The walk back to the northern district was a rather long one, as she couldn't risk the bullet train with its bag search and uncomfortable security.  In fact, it was very rare she took public transport at all.  The last time she tried, she was told to take up in the elevated section with a dangerous looking group of individuals.  They liked to keep them all together- she reckoned in the spot with the most cameras pointed at them.  Evidently, she fit the profile.<br/><br/>She took a rather bare route, a seedy little side street which stretched along the sanitation pipes.  When you were a northerner, if you were ever lost in the city, you were taught to follow the pipelines back home.  The pipes ran along the outskirts of the dome, and were routed through the north end, then under the scavenger tunnels and out into the world.  There was a murky, toxic swamp full of human waste and ungodly chemicals just outside the city, and nobody knew about it or even cared.  It was a poison which was slowly seeping into their city, and the reason everyone despised the scavengers is because they believed it was they who were spreading it.  Not that they were wrong, but Joey felt everyone responsible for it.  It was bad enough now that she wouldn't be surprised if the governor decided it was time to purge their district entirely.  She wouldn't put it past the man.<br/><br/>She knew what it meant.  The prices on the medicine wasn't going up because of demand; it was going up to keep the ill from surviving.  Everyone was paranoid that the Curse would spread, and it had already been discussed numerous times what should be done about it, but no solutions had been brought to the table yet.  So, naturally, the people have been taking it into their own hands in their own ways.  Eventually, without access to the treatments, the stricken would die off, and the Curse with it.  That was the logic, as it were.<br/><br/>Joey was nearing the gates which would let her into the slums, but she wouldn't be taking that route.  There were a dozen soldiers all standing watch at every hour, none of which with anything better to do than to search passerbys arse over teakettle for dangerous things like ball point pens or laser pointers.  No, she would be taking her VIP tunnel through Gavin's, a dancer bar frequented hilariously by the very guards they helped ne'er-do-wells such as herself avoid.  Without it, her rumpus in the market would have been quite impossible and short-lived.<br/><br/>The bar was situated conveniently over the border, and their cellar had a secret and very illegal tunnel leading into a soup kitchen down below.  Only choice individuals were allowed in on it, as not all people crossing without a pass could be trusted not to sell both of the establishments out.  A trust she feared she might be losing soon due to her situation; those facing financial hardship were watched with a keen eye, because secrets such as these would be worth a lot to the police.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, she didn't have to.<br/><br/>The moment she opened the door, she was met with the sight of ten enforcers apprehending the clubgoers.  She needed not but a second to decide to run.  The door was thrown shut behind her at the sound of an authoritative “halt!”  She hastily stuffed the bag of medicine into her backpack, and drew Jenny from the holster on her hip, glancing over her shoulder to see a cyborg officer emerge after her.  Jo swore, spurring herself into a full-on sprint.  She laced between the tight buildings, choosing neither here nor there with any sort of discrimination, as long as it got her away from that thing.<br/><br/>Cyborgs were not like androids.  Androids were fully robotic, and relied on AI to function.  They followed orders because they wanted to, and they wanted to because they were not programmed with any other desire than to follow orders.  Cyborgs were mostly human.  They had human minds, human bodies, mostly, and human hearts.  They were also quite dead.  Their brains are jacked up full of nanobots which control their minds and assist in the functioning of their other organs.  They have the most extreme of the augmentations- cannons for arms, titanium skeletons, camouflage skin.  Joey had even heard of some prototypes with wings being developed.  The worst thing about cyborgs was that they followed orders because they<span style="font-style: italic">had</span>to.  Even if they wanted to defy orders, the nanobots override the brain and take control.  They are undead weapons with no wills of their own, and if anything, she pitied them.<br/><br/>Her chase was brought to an abrupt halt as she slammed into what felt like a steel wall.  The android had stepped in front of her, leaving her no time to slow down or adjust her course.  They both crashed to the ground in a mess of tangled limbs.<br/><br/>“Get off, get<span style="font-style: italic">off!</span>” she cried at it, throwing it away from her.  Its sunglasses flew off of its face and shattered on an adjacent wall.  The android seemed a little surprised, but otherwise unharmed.  Freak.  She chanced a glance upwards, peering down the long street she just come barreling down.  She didn't see the cyborg, but somehow she knew it was still on her trail.  Cyborgs were not known for giving up easily.  She looked back down at the android, her face contorting into a violent glare.<br/><br/>“What do you think you're up to, getting into the path of a human?  Is your perimeter sensor broken or--?!” she finally recognised it.  It was “Gil”, the android belonging to the shopkeeper at Discount Tech.  Rage began to invade her senses, and she felt her blood pressure shoot up as she kicked the thing away.  He'd even had the nerve to try and disguise it, as, what, an old world journalist?<br/><br/>“What do you want with me?” She heard a disturbance behind her, and the cyborg appeared near the end of the street.  It had found her, and she could almost feel the nanobots sending the 'attack' signals in its brain as it picked up speed.  Her heart nearly leaped out her chest as it extended its arm at them.  She ducked down reflexively, then behind Gil.  The bullets grazed past him, putting some dents into his robotic exterior.  He seemed unharmed, however.<br/><br/>Unexpectedly, the android's arms coiled around her waist and actually picked her up.  Joey shouted her protests, but its unceremonious grip rendered her incapable of making much noise other than a gasp as the wind was thrown out of her.  Gil was no knight in shining armour.  She was tucked under its arm gracelessly as Gil turned and attacked the cyborg.  A laser-<span style="font-style: italic">was that a laser</span>?! - was fired at the cyborg, which effectively severed its arm and one of its legs.  The thing was brought to the ground, and Gil surged past it.  The android seemed to be looking for something as it carried her away a few blocks, and when it found it, Gil made a direct path to it.<br/><br/>She was freed when they entered a rather bare public toilet.  Joey was a little thankful for this, as the moment Gil released her, she crawled up to it and expunged a pavement pizza.  When she was finished, she turned her back to it and faced the android, who was still there, looking at her expectantly.<br/><br/>“Great job, R2-D2, you just made the midday news reel,” she swiped her hand across her jaw and spit some blood from her lip.  She'd bitten it in all the “excitement.”  She removed her backpack, inspecting the contents.  The medicine had broken open during the chase, and was soaked up with all of the money inside.  The cores blinked a healthy green at her, just as before, as if mocking her that they, of all things, remained fine.  She picked one of them up and chucked it harshly at one of the walls, accompanied by a loud and frustrated "<span style="font-style: italic">fuck!</span>"  It shattered instantly.