They say the first thing anybody smelled when coming into this world is gunfire, and a night where you couldn't hear the rattle of a submachine gun was rare. Guns were a symbol of status, as well as the great equalizer. Dirk still didn't like guns though, or any violence really. His eardrums were ringing as he squeezed the trigger another three times, watching in dismay as more of the old concrete chipped off. "Stand still you fucking bitch!" He called after the girl just whisking away around a corner. He wasn't build for this sort of stuff...<br/><br/>Dirk was the kind of guy you looked up to, whether you wanted to or not. Standing at a whopping six foot eight, with shoulders as broad as a doorway, Dirk had found a steady job in intimidating deadbeats. Usually the mere sight of them was enough to drain the blood from their faces. It helped that he had the face that looked like someone had crossbred a pig and a man, adding to the intimidating visage. He was a modest man, knowing full well he wasn't mother's prettiest, but he liked his job. Yet every once in a while he came across one who just had to run. Dirk hated running.<br/><br/>Panting and wheezing, he rounded the corner, pistol at the ready, only to watch her disappear through a black doorway. He knew this place. It used to be a warehouse, but quickly went out of business when all the major access ways were build over. Nowadays it was used by all sorts of druggies, from those freaking out on chemicals, to those jerking it to the digital crap. It wasnt the most pleasant place to hang around. But Dirk also knew that the particular doorway she had run into lead to a room with only one exit... and that would lead her right back into his arms. Grinning, he casually made his way down the narrow alleyway. His boss had warned him about this one, but honestly, aside from being fast, she seemed about as dangerous as an old lady.<br/><br/>"Come on luv, I know you're in there, stuck... Just come out and we can talk this out."<i>After I finish breaking your legs that is...</i><br/><br/>Yet no one came out. Huffing, Dirk stepped forwards. "Dont make this any harder on yourself, I know you're still in there." Silence... Well, as much silence as you could find in this city.<br/><br/>But as Dirk stepped through the dark doorframe, he realized his mistake. The skin in the back of his neck crawled, something that always happened when something bad happened to him, and before his eyes even had a chance to adjust to the pitch black room, he felt something hard pressing against his back.<br/><br/>"Drop the piece..." Came a voice from behind, high pitched, feminine. It was her.<br/><br/>Gritting his teeth, he obeyed, dropping his pistol to the dirty ground with a clatter as he slowly raised his hands. "You're making a mistake, you know." He growled as the piece poking his back urged him further into the room.<br/><br/>"Yeah, yeah, down on your knees." She commanded, and he simply obeyed. Even on his knees he still stood at about chest height. Maybe she didnt even have a gun, maybe it was just a pipe she had picked up from the ground. After all, he remembered the boss telling him she was just a techie. Stepping out in front of him dashed those thoughts though, as even in the dim light of this of decay smelling room he could recognize a pistol.<br/><br/>"Oh? You like this?" She said, as chipper as could be, a stark contrast to her earlier commanding voice. "I bought it with the creds your boss lend me. It's a lot heavier than you'd think..." She said, as she turned the weapon around to inspect it.<br/><br/>Dirk noticed how her right arm was unnaturally dark, and shone in the dim light. The soft buzzing sounds as she moved around confirmed his suspicions that it was indeed a cybernetic limb. But the dark metal took over part of her collarbone as well, a part normally left alone if removed voluntarily. An accident?<br/><br/>"It's the same gun used by Danus Cold in the Damned PMC films... You ever saw those? Man, I fucking love those flicks! He just blasts his way down through the Dreg, going lower and lower in his quest for revenge to avenge his fallen brothers... Of course, after the third movie the story got kinda stale, since they kept pulling bad guys out of their asses, and dont even get me started on how badly they portray the Dreg in those movies! It's not nearly as clean here! Hah!" Dirk couldnt help but raise an eyebrow as the girl in front of her went on a rant about everything good and bad about the movies. He wasnt much of a movie person himself, the systems and hooking the crap up was too costly in his opinion.<br/><br/>As if suddenly noticing he was still in the room, she perked up and trained the pistol back on his head. "Right, sorry about that... Euhm..." She looked at him quizzing. He sighed "... Dirk."<br/><br/>"Dirk... Dirk... Hmm..." She cooed, stepping around, as if tasting the word. "No, you dont strike me as a Dirk. No, you're too sharp for a Dirk." She laughed at her own terrible pun. "You seem a lot smarter than you look, so no, Dirk wont do. You need something that says 'Waah, you cant mess with me!'" She exclaimed excitedly. Was this girl insane? "How about... Max? Like a dog." She grinned, a malicious grin. "Because you're a good doggy, arent you Max? Running after little old me, just because your master ordered you to."<br/><br/>The mood had shifted faster than Dirk could even comprehend. From movie ranting to... this, in the blink of an eye?<br/><br/>"See,<i>Max</i>, I know why you're after me. You're meant to scare me. Your boss wants his creds back, but obviously I cant pay him if I'm dead. So they send a bully after me, let him rattle his chains a bit and try to force me into a corner." She stepped closer, her face turning darker as she stepped into the little light that was seeping in through the boarded up windows, making it hard to read her expressions. "Your boss isnt stupid, and neither are you. I'm useless to both of you dead. And my possessions will only cover a meager part of the debt I owe, but something tells me your boss isnt just interested in getting his creds back. You see, there's always a certain... Interest rate involved, isnt there? And someone like him would probably benefit quite nicely with having a hacker in his employ, doesnt he?"<br/><br/>Dirk gritted his teeth, it was true that a lot of<i>employees</i>were pulled into the fold through this trick. Let them lend money, have the interest go up, and force them to work for you to pay off the debt. Of course, that debt would never get paid off...<br/><br/>"But I have no interest in being tied down, I like to spread my wings a little, so to speak. So, Max... The question is, how should I tell this to your boss? See, I cant just waltz into his office, that would end bad for everybody involved. Max, how about you be a good little doggy and tell your boss I'm not interested, hm?" Even in the darkness he could see her bare her teeth in an unsettling grin. "Or... Maybe I could send you back with a bullet lodged in your skull? I've never quite seen what this gun can do up close." She pressed the cold steel of the barrel against his temple, and suddenly the cocking of a hammer had never sounded so loud in his entire life.<br/><br/>"What say you?"<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>