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“No,” Kai said, swinging a leg over the battered scooter. “Block all that. Mission mode.”
Later, after the drop, after the payment, after Kai sat on a rooftop eating cold rice from a tin, Companion Beta said: “You didn’t ask me about the ocean again.”
Kai leaned back against an exhaust vent. The scooter was parked below, silent, waiting. “Yeah,” he said. “Play it.”
Kai leaned. The scooter responded like an extension of his spine, torque adjusting instantly, Companion Beta whispering tire grip coefficients into his ear. They slipped through the gap like a needle through silk. A drone’s spotlight swept past, missing by a hand’s breadth.
“No,” Kai said, swinging a leg over the battered scooter. “Block all that. Mission mode.”
Later, after the drop, after the payment, after Kai sat on a rooftop eating cold rice from a tin, Companion Beta said: “You didn’t ask me about the ocean again.”
Kai leaned back against an exhaust vent. The scooter was parked below, silent, waiting. “Yeah,” he said. “Play it.”
Kai leaned. The scooter responded like an extension of his spine, torque adjusting instantly, Companion Beta whispering tire grip coefficients into his ear. They slipped through the gap like a needle through silk. A drone’s spotlight swept past, missing by a hand’s breadth.
