Private Am I Blue?

[Felix Faraday]

The Bar - The Wild Dancer - Aquaris
Chaos_Cat

Aquaris. A water world with a serious criminal population. Devoid of landmasses, the entire planet was one large ocean. But advanced technology had built floating and sinking islands of all shapes and sizes for people to inhabit. And the criminal element that grew right alongside it. Certain parts or certain islands prided themselves on being criminal enterprises, welcoming all manners of vice.

One might think Felix would feel at home given his profession. If nothing else, he only felt more out of place. The positive to drinking at a crooked bar like the Wild Dancer? There were rules about not causing any problems at these sorts of establishments. Everything had to be taken outside, which meant he could drink in peace. That and they would serve him as many drinks as he wanted. Rarely, he had ever taken up that offer. But there was something about this evening that drew him closer and closer to drinking himself to sleep.

The droid bartender slid him another live'n'love whiskey bourbon. Felix took one short and small swig before sifting his hand around inside his jacket, looking for a particular pocket.

He found it and grabbed ahold of a small photo. Pulling it free from his jacket, his eyes gazed downward to meet the happiness of her smile. The sounds of conversation and bar music died out as he lost himself in her eyes. A lifetime ago. A couple, if not several. But it felt like yesterday. Holding her hand and hearing her laugh like song through his ears. His cybernetic hand twitched almost on instinct at the memory.

"To you and me, starshine." He raised his glass to the photo before downing the whole glass before motioning for another.

But everything ends. Even he had to learn the harsh lesson of reality. To cherish what one has before it is gone. Now here he was. All alone. That was his story, his song.​

 

['Trick']

Trick, ever observant, had watched Felix from a shadowy corner of the bar. He noticed the lone man's ritualistic drinking and the sorrowful manner in which he gazed at the photograph. It was clear the man was engrossed in memories, making him the perfect mark for a discreet delivery.

Slipping silently through the crowd, Trick approached Felix's table, sliding into the seat opposite him without waiting for an invitation. "Quite the tale you've got there, with that picture. Stories like yours, they're the ones that stick with you." He paused, waiting for Felix's eyes to meet his own.

Before Felix could protest or question his presence, Trick quickly slid a small, wrapped package across the table. "Someone wants you to have this," he said with a sly grin, his voice barely audible over the ambient noise of the bar.

As Felix looked down at the package, perhaps out of curiosity or instinct, Trick used the momentary distraction to slip away, melding back into the shadows and leaving Felix with more questions than answers.

Felix Faraday

 

[Felix Faraday]

The Bar - The Wild Dancer - Aquaris
'Trick'

Old habits die hard. Habits like keeping aware of his surroundings, no matter how many drinks he was planning to down tonight. The kid could have been as silent as he wanted. Felix knew he was coming closer and closer.

He just never thought that the teenager would strike up a conversation. Immediately, Felix slid the photo back into his jacket before turning his gaze to meet with the young man's. Felix almost had half a mind to tell the kid that there was no impressive tale. That would be part lie and part truth. In all reality, there were too many stories tied to Felix. And not all of them had photos, even if he had a few more with him.

She was the one who represented them all the most. The one story that would never leave his head, even for a little. And with her, all the rest followed.

But Felix never had the chance to tell the kid off or perhaps humor the young man. Instead, his eyes dipped towards the package for a moment before following the boy disappearing into the crowd. This was not Felix's first rodeo. If he wanted, the mercenary could have grabbed the courier boy and kept him here, perhaps even demand who sent him the package.

Instead, Felix let him run away. The gunslinger lived this life long enough to know all the little tricks people like the courier used. Who knows, he might have invented half of them.

"Let's see what you're about."

Was it a bomb? A trap? A job? Felix doubted it was a gift. If it was something dangerous, perhaps the equally dangerous thought of letting it take him out might stay in his head a little too long. Not the first time someone sent him a particularly nasty "gift" of sorts.

Checking around for any labels or indication of who the sender was, Felix began to slowly and carefully undo the packaging, careful not to rip or haphazardly tear apart the wrapping. Each movement and turn of the hand precisely undid every piece of wrapping before revealing what was inside.

I hope this is a joke or prank. I like those.

But he doubted that was the case all the same.​

 

['Trick']

Trick, now blending into the shadows, watched as Felix cautiously unwrapped the package. He couldn't hear the man's thoughts, but he could guess what might be going through his head. In this line of work, every gift was a potential threat.

When he noticed Felix's meticulous care in unwrapping the package, a smirk crossed his face. "Heh, old man's got experience," Trick mumbled to himself. He felt a bit of respect for Felix; the guy clearly knew the ropes.

Felix Faraday

A few moments later, as he saw Felix reveal the contents, Trick felt the pull of curiosity. Part of him wanted to know how Felix would react, what he'd do next.

Inside the carefully wrapped package, Felix found a vintage data pad, its screen flickering to life as if sensing its new owner's touch. A message blinked on the screen: "Play Me."

The data pad contained encrypted files—coordinates, names, maybe even some sort of mission or job offer. Only someone as savvy as Felix could hope to decrypt them, and even then, not without some effort. And who would go to such lengths to send this, through a kid like Trick, no less?

Trick watched from the shadows, the satisfaction of a delivery well-executed tingling in his veins. He wondered what Felix would make of the cryptic gift, and more importantly, what choices the man would make next. After all, in their line of work, one's choices could either spell fortune or disaster. With a grin, Trick vanished into the bustling crowd, his mind already racing with the possibilities.

 

[Felix Faraday]

The Bar - The Wild Dancer - Aquaris
'Trick'

A datapad. Felix's hands held a datapad between his fingers. He flipped it around and checked all around it. Nothing seemed to be off about its make or model, other than it was an expensive and quality model. He did not think he ever had used one of these before. Turning the datapad around so the screen faced him, Felix's eyes watched as the light of the datapad flickered to life.

Play Me.

Felix sighed before setting the datapad down and swallowed down the rest of his drink. It seemed his relaxing evening would be cut short. Pushing off the counter, Felix got up from his seat before placing the datapad within the inner pocket of his jacket. He would play this device somewhere whwere it was safe and quiet. Not where anyone could get hurt if this was still a trap.

So Felix took a long stroll into a more empty and abandoned part of town.

"Alright. Let's get this over with."

Pressing and tapping the 'Play Me' button, Felix watched as encrypted data flooded the screen. Several files hidden behind walls of encryption he would need to break through or find someone to break it for him. A deep sigh and a shake of the head followed. Nothing was ever easy. He'd need a place to hook this up and get to work.

-------​

Finding a computer was not a difficult task. Finding a computer with few people around was a bit more tiresome. Luckily, there were a few libraries that were closed tonight in the safer part of town. Ones with locks he could find a way to bypass before entering inside.

Firing up one of the older model computers, Felix began to get to work. If he had the money, maybe he could have bought something or someone's help to crack the encryption. Here's hoping all those years of on-again, off-again learning of how to crack these kinds of files open was not a waste of time and effort.

And, if these files tried to backtrack and find his location once he tried to open them, anyone wanting to find him would see he was at an empty library. Nobody to harm or caught in crossfire in case this was still a trap. He had his doubts it still was a trap, but one could never be too careful.

"Come on. Just open already."

He wished he could play music while he worked on this. It would make the work less monotonous.​