They found a diner on the edge of the Industrial District. It was a hole in the wall called "Mama's Slop." The neon sign was missing the "M," so it just read "ama's Slop."
Zeph poked his spoon into a bowl of grey, gelatinous noodles.
"This," Zeph said, lifting a dripping noodle, "is a crime against humanity."
"Analysis," the AI droned in his ear. "Nutritional content: 12%. Toxic additives: 4%. Probability of diarrhea: 88%."
"Thanks for the update," Zeph muttered. He took a bite anyway. He was starving. The AI burned calories like a furnace.
Across the sticky table, Kaelen wasn't eating. He was staring out the rain-streaked window, watching the hover-cars zoom by. His bowl was untouched.
"You gonna eat that?" Zeph asked, pointing at Kaelen's food. "Or are you just gonna glare at it until it apologizes?"
Kaelen didn't look at him. "I'm not hungry."
"You haven't eaten in two days, Kae. You're human. Humans need fuel."
Kaelen turned slowly. His eyes were tired, dark circles underneath them. "I don't feel… empty. I feel full. The shadows… they feed me."
Zeph dropped his spoon. It clattered loudly in the quiet diner. "Okay, that is the creepiest thing you have ever said. And you once told a girl you collected teeth."
"It was for a project!" Kaelen snapped, a flash of the old Kaelen returning. Then, just as quickly, it vanished. He leaned forward. "We have ten thousand credits, Zeph. What's the plan?"
"Plan is simple," Zeph said, counting on his fingers. "One: We get a motel room with a shower. Two: We buy new clothes that don't smell like sewer. Three: We lay low until the heat dies down."
"Lay low," Kaelen repeated, shaking his head. "That's a loser's plan."
"It's a survival plan!"
"Surviving isn't living," Kaelen hissed. He placed his hand on the table. The plastic surface began to darken, cracking under his palm as if aged by a hundred years in a second. "The bounty isn't going away. Five million credits? People will hunt us forever. Unless…"
"Unless what?" Zeph asked, eyeing the cracking table nervously.
"Unless we become the hunters," Kaelen said. "We don't hide. We take over."
Zeph laughed. A nervous, high-pitched laugh. "Take over? Take over what? The diner? The block?"
"The sector," Kaelen said. His voice was dead serious. " The Red Vipers run this district. They have weapons, safehouses, resources. We take them out. We take their stuff."
"Calculations initiated," the AI interrupted. "The Red Vipers: 40 members. Heavy weaponry. Probability of success for two subjects: 14%."
"My brain-friend says we have a 14% chance of not dying," Zeph said. "I vote 'no'."
"Your computer doesn't factor in this," Kaelen whispered.
He held up a metal spoon. He concentrated.
The air around the spoon rippled. The spoon didn't bend. It vanished.
It didn't just turn invisible. It ceased to exist. A tiny, swirling vortex of black energy spun on Kaelen's fingertip. It was the size of a marble, but Zeph felt it pulling at his clothes. It was a micro-black hole.
The lights in the diner dimmed. The other patrons stopped chewing. The air grew heavy and cold.
"Kae, stop," Zeph whispered, terrified. "You're drawing attention."
Kaelen closed his hand. The vortex disappeared. The spoon fell out of his sleeve, twisted into a pretzel shape.
"We take the Vipers tonight," Kaelen said, standing up. He threw a credit chip on the table. "I'm done running, Zeph. Are you with me, or are you in my way?"
Zeph looked at the twisted spoon. He looked at the AI's blue text scrolling across his vision:
"Re-evaluating Subject Kaelen. Threat Level: High. Potential Asset: Extreme."
"I'm with you," Zeph sighed, standing up. "But if we die, I'm going to kill you."
Kaelen smirked. It was a cold, sharp smile. "Fair enough."
They walked out of the diner into the rain.
Zeph zipped up his jacket. "So, we're really doing this? Two guys against a whole gang?"
"Not two guys," Kaelen said, his shadow stretching out long and jagged across the wet street. "A machine and a monster."
Zeph shivered. He didn't like the sound of that. But he followed anyway. Because that's what best friends do. They follow each other into hell