The Bill Is Due

The alarm beeps 6:30 and my mind jolts in confusion. It's my bedroom, the grey-walled white-furnished room. I hit snooze, wouldn't you? And I rolled over to snuggle by my girlfriend. She's warm, asleep, smells of flowers, and for a minute I forget where I am, maybe a cheap heaven.

The alarm beeps 6:40. The bliss is over. I roll outta bed, every fiber in my body protesting. My girlfriend sleepily protests. I have to get ready for work, our bill is almost due, I reply with a cheek kiss.

7:00 AM

I left the apartment, feeling choked for lying to her, as always. I don't do constructions anymore, it's been months since the CP53O incident, months with the business going under. And who would keep us, a couple of humans and a fleet of faulty robots? Nobody, My boss just fired us and sold the bots.

7:30 AM

I received a blacktask while having coffee. A data-packet delivery, requirements: low surveillance score. Good.

7:55 AM

I arrived at the place, an underground club, a meat and bolts orgy of a club where you can't tell who's human and who's not, but who am I to judge. I'm just here to pick up a package.

I ruffled across the half-wasted dancing crowd to a table at the far end. As I sat, the client was notified and signaled her arrival.

"Nice doing business with you" said a tall blonde chick in a velvety green dress.

"packet?" I asked.

"Pragmatic, I like him," she spoke to her suited guards studying my every detail, "I am the packet," a symbol glowed in her wrist.

My jaw tightened. The task was labeled data-packet delivery, not bot escorting. The risk is folds higher. But If I don't pay our bill, Jane's servers would shut down in ten days. My girlfriend, Jane, would factory reset. I should…

"You're awfully quiet mister…" blondie asked

I nodded, accepting the deal. A simple delivery. I hope.

8:10 AM

We moved to a quieter place upstairs, the guards debriefed me. And gave me a gun. And an autolift override key.

8:30 AM

Blondie and I headed for the roof where a double-seated black autolift awaits with spinning blades. All I have to do is accompany the bot downtown. We got inside.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, her gray eyes matching the sky, "it's probably money." She answered herself, "but why?"

I kept staring at the cityscape floating below, a view only the wealthy get. Suddenly my phone ringed a familiar note. "Jane's power status: full." A familiar message.

"Oh, that's why," She smiled, "you like us girls" she teased. "You know, downtown is 15mins away," she touched her lips.

"Shut up" I replied, my jaw clenched.

"Uptight. What's the point?" She protested.

I stared in silence at my phone. Jane's familiar dashboard, Jane's everything; thoughts, dreams, and the server rent's monthly price increase notice.