The buzz of the Blue Hole's neon lights hummed throughout the quiet corners of the bar as their pale, sickly glow hung over the muted countertops of the establishment. Beneath them, a crowd of some of the most notorious mercenaries in all of space mingled across the dance floor. The clinking of beer mugs, low murmurs of conversation, and distant strains of music filtered through the air. All while drowning out the usually oppressive silence that always settled around Lynx whenever she came to meet her employer for a job.
As soon as the raven-haired woman walked in, she spotted Milo sitting at his usual booth. A lone figure among a sea of flashing lights and deafening noise. His bald head gleamed faintly in the light in such a way that made it hard to miss. And although she would never admit it out loud, Lynx genuinely wondered how the man was able to keep his head so perfectly shiny at all times.
Milo was the kind of man who commanded attention wherever he went. His sharp suit, an immaculate black ensemble, starkly contrasted with the manufactured shabbiness of the Blue Hole. A detail that was certainly intentional if Lynx had to make an educated guess. However, his outfit wasn't what stood out most about him. The main feature that typically caught the most attention was his eyes, the same ones that were always calculating, always watching, but never revealing too much.
Here in Utopia, Milo was a valuable asset to any and every one with a bit of spare change in their pockets. He was a fixer, a broker, a middleman for the desperate and the powerful alike. His reputation in Utopia had earned him a respect that, for whatever reason, made people uncomfortable. But not so uncomfortable that anyone would dare to do something to the man.
Without a single word, Lynx slid into the booth across from the man as the leather seat creaked beneath her weight. She felt the familiar tug of her withdrawal symptoms biting at her stomach, but the woman pushed it to the side for now. She couldn't afford to let it show. Not here. Not with Milo. Even if he did know about her current condition, he didn't tolerate people displaying that kind of weakness in front of him. Doing so would be bad for business, according to him.
The man didn't even bother to look at Lynx when she sat down. Apparently, he was too focused on the tablet in front of him to even try. He didn't see the need to greet her either, but Lynx was used to that. The less he said, the more important it was when he did speak. The problem was, even when Milo did talk, he was never straightforward with what he said. A quirk of his that always aggravated Lynx to some extent.
"Need anything to drink?" The man then asked, his voice a gravelly murmur.
Lynx shook her head. "I'm good."
"Right." He finally looked up at her, his expression unreadable. "You're here about the job, I assume? I highly doubt that you'd come all the way out here for a simple social visit."
Lynx nodded, though she could already feel the dull throb in her temples growing worse with each passing second. "Of course I am. I appreciate you sending me blueprints for the mansion, but I'm going to need some more info before I make any moves. Since I'm doing this solo, I need every edge that I can get."
Milo set his drink down on the table before looking directly at Lynx. "You're sure you don't want to back out while you still have the chance? It's not going to be an easy one."
"I'm sure." The woman replied, her voice was steady despite the nausea creeping up her throat. "I need the money."
The man sighed, then waved a hand dismissively as if he was tired of the formalities. "It's definitely one hell of a payout. The kind of money that's usually reserved for team jobs with a lot of risk. Five million credits*. Enough to leave Utopia behind, I'd imagine." Milo's lips then curled into something close to a smile. "There are plenty of places you can go with that kind of money. Hell, you could even get yourself a first-class ticket to Mars for a fraction of that."
Lynx's fingers twitched involuntarily, but she fought the urge to scratch at the sweat that was slowly developing on her brow. She really needed to get this problem under control, it was getting worse with each passing day. And the last thing she wanted was to make herself look bad in front of her employer right now. She needed that money. No other available job would give her what this one promised.
"You didn't tell me much about the documents." Lynx replied while leaning forward and trying to mask the slight tremor in her hands. "What exactly am I stealing?"
Milo was silent for a moment as he quickly scanned the immediate area in front of the booth. His gaze then flickered toward the far corner of the bar where a couple was talking, their voices a low hum in the background. Followed by a lone woman propping herself up on a nearby wall with a drink in her hand.
Even if he did own the place, Milo wasn't foolish enough to think that some of the other brokers in the colony wouldn't have planted some of their people here to scalp whatever juicy information they could get. Fortunately for him, his private booth came with a few security measures to keep away the parasites. Mainly a bit of soundproofing to keep his conversations private.
"Based on some of the dirt that I was able to dig up, the documents..." The man started slowly while maintaining a hushed tone. "...aren't just any regular files. They're... sensitive. Potentially explosive, if what my mole tells me is accurate. We're talking about information that could shift the balance of power here in the colony. The kind that could unravel the elites. And tear apart the cozy little world they've built for themselves."
Milo then paused as he let the weight of his words hang in the air. Lynx leaned back slightly, her brow furrowing as she absorbed this new information. This wasn't just a simple heist. If the documents could really destabilize the power structure of Utopia, it meant more than just a good payout. It meant danger, and not the usual kind that she was accustomed to when it came to her line of work. The kind that might have people try and find her if she messed it up.
"But you don't know what's in them, do you?" Lynx then asked, almost out of instinct. The question somehow slipped out before she could stop it.
To his credit, Milo didn't deny it. Instead, he shrugged, his fingers tapping lightly against the edge of his glass of whiskey. "No. And that's the risk you're taking. You and I both know that a job like this, the ones wrapped up in mystery, usually means big things. Could be something that shakes Utopia's power base. Could be nothing. But it's worth the risk for the payout."
"The payout." Lynx swallowed before continuing. "And I get the full sum after it's done?"
"You'll get your credits when you bring me the files. And not a minute sooner." Milo confirmed. "No games either. I know you, Lynx. And I know that you have what it takes to pull this off without a hitch. You'll do what it takes to finish the job, and you'll get paid handsomely for it."
She nodded. She could do this. She had to.
The woman began drumming her fingers on the table, each movement making her more acutely aware of her body's betrayal. The nausea. The shaking hands. The whirling pit in her stomach. But she focused on the task at hand. She'd been in worse spots before, this was nothing.
"And the bonus?" Lynx asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "What if I succeed in getting everything without making any noise?"
Once again, Milo's lips curled into something close to a grin. "The bonus is substantial. Another three hundred thousand credits, if you manage to pull it off perfectly. I trust you'll make sure nothing goes wrong. The guy you're stealing from... he won't take kindly to trespassers." He then leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a murmur. "They'll come for you if you screw up. But we both know that won't happen. That's why you're the best, Lynx."
"Yeah, yeah...." Lynx muttered, pushing the growing sense of panic aside. "I'll get everything handled without so much as a whisper."
Milo studied her for a long moment, his eyes calculating as he assessed the woman in front of him. He could tell she was struggling, but he had no sympathy to spare at the moment. In his world, there was no room for weakness. The job came first, and Lynx was good at getting things done.
"Good!" Milo then said before sliding the aforementioned tablet over to her. "Here's some extra photos of the mansion that one of my guys was able to give me. Most of it's from bird's eye, though. On top of that, Korrin's schedule for the rest of the week is on there. The rest you'll have to figure out on your own."
Lynx stared at the screen and immediately began studying its contents. As her eyes traced the over new information presented to her, the woman's mind already began planning. This place was bigger than she had originally thought.
Milo got up without a word, and Lynx quickly followed suit. After a quick handshake, the woman slid her old letterman jacket back on and swiftly moved toward the back exit. Her mind was already racing with the details of the job.
She had one shot. And she couldn't afford to screw this up.
-(o)-
Endnotes:
*1 Federation Credit ≈ 1 Japanese Yen