Rubi Rascke: Runner for Hire #7

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     Rubi and Cal drew many strange looks on the metro; two girls wearing dark clothes with bright hair, completely soaked, and smelling of diesel and harbor water is not a common site. They got off the train, leaving a grayish puddle behind them. The walked up out of the metro station and onto the street.

     “So, To the Union?” asked Cal, “Because we missed that stop.” The pair began walking down the sidewalk. Billboards flashed advertisements in several languages.

     “I figured we would dry off and and change before that,” suggested Rubi.

     “So your place then? You still got my clothes?” asked Cal.

     “Yeah,” said Rubi, biting her lip.

     “What?” said Cal, looking at her friend, slightly worried.

     “I might have borrowed your underwear at one point.”

     “What, the white ones, with the bow, and the little grey cat on the hip?” questioned Cal. Rubi cracked a grin, her lip still between her teeth. “I’ve been looking for those!” exclaimed Cal.

     “They’re so cute!” replied Rubi.

     “I KNOW! That’s why I was looking for ‘em!” shouted Cal.

     “I washed em okay!?” 

     “Alright… As long as I get them back!” growled Cal.

     “I always give them back! It’s you who has the bad habit of keeping clothes!” reminded Rubi, “You still have my fishnets.”

     “Yeah yeah. Okay, touche.” 

     Rubi’s apartment was a small studio on the top floor of the building. It had a nice view of the cityscape. The kitchenette sink was full of dirty dishes. The apartment was nearly void of any furniture, except for the dresser and computer desk and chair. Her mattress laid on the floor next to cinderblock and plywood shelving which was crammed full of software cases, and random cords and wires. A stereo system with a record player sat next to the shelves. A pair of stereo headphones laid next to the speakers and a pair of milk crates that sat nearby were full of vinyl records; Rubi enjoyed the vintage sound of the records. A chipped metal door labeled, “WC,” opened into the apartments bathroom.

     The computer desk was the most organized part of the apartment. The whole desk was clear of any sort of trash. The 42” monitor displayed a stylized screensaver depicting what could be interpreted as a electricity running through a circuit board, a headset hung off one side of the monitor. The CPU was black with red highlights that gave off a soft glow. The keyboard was black, with backlit keys, and the mouse was sleek and ergonomic. They dropped their backpacks onto the floor near the door.

     “You wanna take a shower first?” asked Rubi, “I’ll send a secure message to Madame Loxi.” 

     “Sure, Where are my clothes?” asked Cal.

     “Top drawer,” said Rubi, gesturing to the dresser. Cal stepped up to the drawer and pulled out a t-shirt, the pair of panties they had discussed earlier, a pair of socks and some jeans. As Cal headed towards the bathroom Rubi pushed her desk chair aside and stood at the computer desk. She wiggled the mouse and woke up the computer. The screen saver faded to a welcome screen. In the bottom right corner a message read, “FalkeOS v.5.1.6” A message in the middle read, “Welcome Back, RedLady”. Below was a rectangle that read in greyed out letters, “Password???” She selected it and typed in a fifteen character password. The screen flashed “Password Accepted”. It then faded to display her desktop. The background was a green hill with blue skies and white clouds, a seldom site in the world today. It was from an old operating system from 2001. She opened up console. The desktop faded from rolling hills to a black screen with white sans-serif text.

     # app/webmail/startup/config.yml

     // … starting webmail.exe

     #message = new \secure message;

     // … preparing message input

          // transport => smtp

          // encryption => ssl7

          // auth_mode => login

          // host => smtp.dwimordene.int (secure)

     // username?

     # redlady

     // password?

     # b9-uhrxWx-Ba66f8#EHM=TT

     // login secure…

     // new message…

     # message= \swift message::new instance

     #setsubject => Run Complete

     # setFrom => redlady@dwimordene.secure

     # setTo => valar@dwimordene.secure

     # setbody => run complete. Target secured. Bring in tonight.

     # webmail/cmd: send.

     // … message sent

     Rubi ran her fingers through her soaked hair. She rubbed the tips of her fingers feeling the grease that she pulled from her hair. She made a face, shivered and wiped her hand on her pants. She looked around her apartment. She pulled off her jacket and began to unlace her boots. She tossed them to the floor and pulled off her socks. Next came her shirt, she had to peel it off her body. This joined the jacket and boots on the floor. She stood in the middle of the room in her sports bra. A series of lines mimicking the design of a motherboard circuit crisscrossed her right shoulder and a line of Cyrillic characters were placed vertically on her left forearm, translated the message read, “The sin our fathers sinned was that they did not trust liberty wholly.” She pulled open the top drawer and pulled out a can of biofoam. She placed the nozzle on her wound and pushed down. The wound stung and then went numb. She jumped when the bathroom door opened and Cal came into the room, completely dry and holding a crumpled ball of her wet clothes. 

     “Shower’s all your’s” said Cal. 

     “I sent Madame Loxi a message. Can you watch it for me?” asked Rubi. Cal nodded. She walked over to the chair, plopped down and spun around. Rubi walked to the dresser and began pulling clothes out. She headed towards the bathroom. She flipped the faucet of the shower as far as it would go. She looked in the mirror above the sink and ran her hands through her hair. Her hair was a tangled mess.The mirror began to steam up from the shower. She unbuckled her belt, tucking her thumbs in the waist band she slid them down her thin but muscular legs. A swallow was tattooed on her left hip. A spiral of branches dotted with thorns, and toped with roses wrapped around her right leg and up to her hip. She pulled of the sports bra and a gush of water that had been trapped in the spandex ran down her stomach. She stepped in to the shower and closed the frosted glass door behind her. The steaming water flowed over her thin pale body. It was an extreme contrast to the cold lake water. She lathered the shampoo in her hair and then proceeded to wash her body. She had no body hair, due to the hair removal procedure she got herself for her eighteenth birthday. When she was satisfied with her shower she turned off the water and pressed a small red button on the wall with three squiggly lines above it. Jets of warm air hit her body, and caused her hair to slap her in the face. When the air had stopped she was completely dry. She steeped out of the shower and looked in the now clear mirror. The shower had caused her eye make up to run. She squirted a clear fluid into her palm from the dispenser on the wall, and splashed it on her face. She then reached for a towel and wiped her face. The fluid had completely cleared her face of make up. She ran a brush through her hair. Once she had fixed her hair she applied a thin line of eyeliner, nothing too complex. She pulled on her clothes and stepped out of the bathroom.

     “She responded. Gave us the green light,” said Cal.

     “Shiny! You ready to go?” asked Rubi, pulling on some high-top canvas sneakers.

     “Yeah. It’ll be good to be paid,” smiled Cal.

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Picture source: https://imgur.com/gallery/EOWGauJ

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