Inside, Nox dragged Adobe along.
Zee lived with her mother alone, although she was rarely at home. A few family pictures were
hanging off the wall, some with her dad… some without. A pink carpet lay in the hallway
leading to Zee's room.
As they passed the living room, Nox spotted a bunch of wine glasses and bottles, as well as
loads of paperwork scattered across like it was some sort of archive.
When they entered Zee's room, the air was hot, like her PC had been running on overtime for
way too long now. The room was dimly lit in purple, as always. A small night table, just
enough space for a broken Adobe, stood beneath a banner on the wall that read:
"Error 404: Motivation Not Found"
Nox scooped away a few papers and other junk on the floor and quickly placed Adobe on the
table. The bot whirred weakly. His plier-like arms helped him sit upright on the small surface
as he eyed the poster above him.
"Error 404… Motivation not detected.
Recommending... you go to a repair center as well…
Searching for mammal repair center in your area…
Error…!"
Nox gave Adobe a small playful nudge that almost sent him flying off the table.
"See, Zee, he's learning."
ogether, they tried to repair Adobe as best as they could. Nebular told them where to
screw and where to tarp. At one point, Nox spotted a stack of old snack wrappers as he
bent over Adobe. Without hesitation, he helped himself to one.
Zee crouched down, searching for a loose screw that had rolled under her desk, now
buried beneath a dozen tangled wires.
After some time, Nox clapped his hands in joy.
"That should do for now. I definitely gotta bring you to Millio later. However, for now, you
can consider yourself partially fixed."
Adobe cracked small snippets of joyful sounds through his speakers, as his eyes, now both,
illuminated to life more steadily this time.
System integrity... 52%.
Functionality... questionable.
Status...
ALIVE
Entering energy-saving mode.
Nox grinned, patting the bot's metal head.
"That's the spirit, buddy. Go rest a little. You're only halfway broken now."
"Just like the rest of us," Zee sighed, wiping her now oil-covered paws on a rag. She leaned
against the edge of her cluttered desk, knocking over a half-empty energy drink can.
"I gotta say, Nox, sometimes your ways are mysterious but… cute," she muffled.
"Agh, anyway, just make sure he doesn't start leaking again, or I'm evicting both of you."
Nox's ear perked up as he laughed it off with a shrug.
Nebular snickered, her glow pulsing.
"You hear that, Adobe? Your continued existence is conditional. Welcome to the club."
Nox stood up, stretching his back.
"Alright, Zee. What did you figure out about this Syndicate group?"
Zee tossed the rag aside, adjusting her glasses as she turned to her desk. A bobblehead of
some old cartoon hacker wobbled when she nudged her keyboard.
"Right, back to actual business."
A holographic display lit up, lines of data flickering across the screen.
"I traced the deal's location."
"How?" Nox asked.
"It was pretty simple…" Zee paused, adjusting her glasses with a smirk.
"I just had to figure out who was stupid enough to leave traces in their transaction logs."
She tapped a few keys here and there, and the holographic display expanded, showing a map
of the city with a blinking marker.
"Turns out your mystery group, or however they call themselves, isn't as careful as they
think."
"I backtracked some encrypted pings from a dummy account they used. Lazy work, really."
Nox leaned in, scanning the map.
"This looks like the Old Industrial Valley?"
Zee snapped her fingers.
"Exactly. At first they weren't sure about the location, so they settled with something deep
below, without many civilians this time."
Zee zoomed in on the map, her expression turning more serious.
"They weren't exactly broadcasting their coordinates, but based on the patterns, they're
setting up somewhere around this area."
She pointed at a certain spot in an old factory.
Nebular flickered blue as her voice analyzed.
"It seems like the Syndicate is trying to get away from prying eyes by choosing an abandoned
location. This may be a smart move for illegal undercover activities. However, this sets out a
whole bunch of new problems they have to face. For most of them, they are probably
unprepared."
Nox crossed his arms, eyes narrowing.
"So, Undercity? Why would they even take the risk in the first place to deal up in Crossway?"
Nebular flickered again, processing the data.
"Good question. While operating in a crowd might seem light-headed at first sight, the
science says something completely different…"
She paused, her tone shifting into lecture mode.
"In densely populated environments, statistical anonymity increases exponentially. That
means the more people around, the harder it is to isolate individual behavior patterns. Facial
tracking, motion recognition, heat mapping—most surveillance systems start to fail when the
entropy crosses a certain threshold. It's like trying to find a single spark in a firework show."
Nox raised a brow.
"So you're saying... crowds make you invisible?"
"Invisible? No," Nebular replied, smug.
"But statistically indistinct? Absolutely. Add enough noise, and even the sharpest signal gets
lost."
She flickered in a darker blue for dramatic effect.
"Besides, if someone did spot something, the brain's more likely to rationalize it as a
coincidence in a chaotic setting. A simple mammalian pattern. Recognition collapses under
overload."
Then, with a dry hum.
"In short? Crowds are the perfect camouflage. Organized chaos at its finest.
On the other side, a remote area suits the risk profile in a different manner. Less security, more
control over the environment. The possibility for bugs or traps to secure the area is immense.
However, I can set us up for a blind spot on these with ease. But it also has a higher chance of
things going horribly in, or not in, our favor."
Zee sighed, leaning back into her squeaky chair.
"Yeah, I can send you the location and the time of the deal right away."
She started hastily typing on her keyboard.
"Sounds good?"
Nox nodded, pulling out his phone as the location pinged onto his screen.
"Wait, that's in five days?"
Nebular flickered.
"Yes, they mentioned something of a weekly routine."
Zee tapped her chin, her eyes still glued to the screen.
"Maybe ask Chet to come around. He could be a huge help when dealing with these guys."
Nox tilted his head, considering it for a moment.
"Chet, huh? You really think he's cut out for sneaking around?"
Zee shrugged, adjusting her glasses again.
"Maybe not. But honestly, you don't really have a choice. Neb, what do you say?"
Vibrating in Nox's pocket, she responded,
"I'd say Zee has a point. It looks like the location isn't in their core operating zones, which
means fewer enforcers, but also fewer places to hide if things go wrong. A personal
bodyguard will ensure safe travels."
Nox crossed his arms.
"So, it's empty, but that doesn't mean it's safe."
Nebular hummed in agreement.
"Exactly. Considering your track record, going wrong is just a matter of time."
Nox nodded in approval.
"Calling Chet in comes in handy. I gotta make my way to Millio anyway so we can fully fix
Adobe. I can explain to him in detail what the plan is while we travel to Millio. So it's just a
quick trip. Fixing a bot, maybe grabbing a snack on the way."
Totally normal day.
Nox tapped on his phone, texting Chet:
"Hey bud, are you free for a small adventure tomorrow?"
Chet's reply came almost instantly:
"Define 'small adventure.' Because last time you said 'small,' and you ended up hanging
off a moving tram."
Nox chuckled, shaking his head as he typed back:
"Just visiting Millio. Got a few new surprises coming in, but totally harmless."
He added:
"Are you in?"
Chet's typing bubble appeared. Then disappeared. Then appeared again.
Finally, his response popped up:
"Doesn't sound that bad. We can hook up tomorrow morning after a small breakfast in
the city maybe?"
Nox grinned, texting back:
"Great. Deal."
He looked up from his phone, locking it and stretching.
"Alright, Zee. Chet's in, and I'm out. We stay in touch tomorrow."
He took a few steps toward the window before Zee grabbed his sleeve from behind.
"Hold up, Mister Fox. Don't forget your little souvenir on the table."
"Oh, I thought now that we're part-time parents of two AIs, you could take care of one for a
day?"
Nebular's voice flared up as she illuminated red in his pocket.
"If someone gets parented here, then it's definitely you, Nox."
Zee shook her head in disbelief.
"No shot I keep this rusted tin can on my table the whole night. Be so nice and take him with
you, okay? Please."
Nox twisted 180 degrees to grab the now sleeping Adobe. Charging required was written on
his back in a small interface.
"Okay, here we go."
Zee gave Nox a hug from behind, clenching tight at him.
"Thanks, and… be careful tomorrow, okay?"
Nox stood there motionless for a second, his tail was dancing next to Zees gradually touching.
"I'll try my best."
After a moment Zee loosened her grip and He stepped through the window. The sheet roof
bent and cracked heavily below his feet. With the added weight of Adobe, the roof seemed to
reach its limit.
The wind howled with a cold breeze, shaking Nox's hat lightly and blowing Zee's ears to
wave like the shadow of a flying feather. She waved at him, closed the window after what
must have felt like an eternity.
Nox who's Gaze was still glued at the now closed window watched Zee disappear behind the
curtains as he whispered,
"Good night, whiskers…"