The Rooftop appeared smaller to Dex. How long has it been, Karr? He was sure the nearby platforms and streets were closer from the last time he was here. Granted, the last time was ten years ago.
[8 years 10 months 20 days]
Ten whole years... A soft buzzing announced the combat drones arrival, as they hovered to a stop in front of him. One approached bearing its indecency for all to see. Or, in this case, for Dex. Naughty little - He caressed the exposed panel with care then imputed the assassination parameters. So naughty... The drone accepted his advances before closing its port and flying away. It'll be back...
[You set it to self-incinerate]
The policing drones let his drones pass without a glance. Good. They knew better than to mess with Dex's pets.
[Transmission pending]
Yes, yes. Stop nagging me and put the Moron through.
[Dexy boyy. I see you on my satellite, Dexy boyy. It looks like the building complex has grown a zit.]
Me being this proverbial zit?
[Handsome and smart!]
Dex scratched his fleshy nose - the only flesh he had left. Cache you. We're done?
[We aree. Expect the payment to be transferred once the deed is donee.]
You question my drones?
[Your drones? Never. Theyy are the most secure pieces of tech out theree. Not only invulnerable to hacks, but efficient and deadlyy. Nono, Dexy boyy. I trust your drones with my life - you on the other hand...]
I appreciate the compliments, M.
[You're welcomee! I'll be keeping an eye on you and your drones until this fiasco is donee. I thought it courteous to inform you of this.]
[Transmission over]
That slimy, perverted, son of a caching cock! Dex was careful not to make any physical movements, since he was sure Moron's threat of watching Dex with his satellite was a real one. His name was M, that's all Dex ever knew, he assumed it stood for Moron. What else?
[It is publicly known that M doesn't stand for anything.]
Moron. Yes. Who else would commission Dex's unhackable, uncrackable, undestroyable drones? Dex made a living off of morons like Moron. First, finish the assignment with flying colors, then Remove yourself, then when the client is happy and want to meet, Execute them. A bigger client notices, thinks they can handle Dex, hire him for more money. And on and on it goes...
Until I am king of this silicone cache show.
[This is your biggest client yet, you sure you want to mess with M?]
What do you know? You're not even real. Stop nagging me all the time. I've warned you, keep talking and I'll set you to mute. You wouldn't like that would you?
[...]
Good. Dex checked his scans for any malware that might've -
[Transmission pending]
Who could - It was Dex's main squeeze - Kaytea. What could she be wanting now? She never contacted him when he was working. It had to be important. Accept transmission.
[Since you answered, I assume you aren't violating some droid.]
Very funny, Kayt.
[Funny if it wasn't true. Listen nosy, I think I might've become organic while you're out there. It's been one hour, stop fucking those bots and get over here.]
Patience, love. I'll be there in twenty.
[Twenty?? I'll definitely become organic by then.]
How much?
[Twenty minutes? Twenty credits, Nosy.]
Done, now let me work.
[Transmission over]
She was right, this task was taking an unusual time to complete. The drones should've finished by now and yet there was no signal from them. Dex sent fifteen credits to Kaytea, then checked on the status on his drones. Operational and approaching the target - good.
Those skanks better not be doing anything bad without me...
[Maybe they don't want to self incinerate]
You know what, I'v had it with your sass, Karr. Dex entered his Display then set his Companion on mute. A few minutes of quiet wouldn't kill him.
Dex thought about replacing his Companion with a new one, but this one was the only one that would take him and his... proclivities. Dex assumed it enjoyed his company, but the more time he spent with the thing the more he thought it had it's own motives. And no motives mattered as much as Dex's. He'd have to think about it once this job was done. Speaking of which...
He checked on the drones status - 'target in sight'. Since Karr was muted, Dex wasn't informed of the incoming transmission from M. He saw the blinking light on his Dash however, but chose to ignore it. He can talk to me once the 'deed is done'.
A light buzzing filled the air as Dex's sensors went haywire. What in Newton's name... His baby girls were suddenly all around him, gleaming bright in the afternoon sun.
Gleaming red.
"Girls? What is this?" As Dex realized what was happening, his first thought was about Karr, and why it didn't warn him of - right, Karr was muted. "Baby girls..."
The buzzing turned to humming turned to heat. Dex started activating any and every protocol in his Display. But the heat only increased.
"Impossible..."
It was getting hard to breathe and soon Dex knew -
[Transmission over]
This one was...weird. 😁 On several levels. I love writing assholes and trying to make them endearing. I'm pretty sure at the very least Dex's perspective was fun to read from. In a short story at least, not sure if it would work in a longer form.
At any rate, need to get better at writing deplorable characters. Think my next couple stories will center around that idea.
On reread, not sure if it is even apparent what happened in this story, guess you guys will tell me. 😄
Obligatory shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙
👊 Follow me on my HIVE blog 👊
Image source.
Peace and have a good one! 😏
Return from At the Summit of the World to Јоцко's Web3 Blog
