The pale glow of the man's flashlight, which he handled as if it were the Colt of a Western hero, shed light on Dawn, who had become suspicious in the intervening time.
"I couldn't see a thermo-signature, how come?"
"The walls are thicker at HMD," the man said before turning back to the boxes.
" I wonder who you are first of all."
"I have many names. The provider, the shadow merchant, the suppl…"
"Just call him Rabbit," Zero promptly intervened.
Thereupon the man came closer to Zero. He was wearing a half torn cape with several pockets sewn in. He had pulled the hood of his dark grey cape deep into his face, revealing only the lower half of his face, which was also covered by a shimmering mask, that was bulging out from his long incisors.
"You know very well I hate to be called that."
"Nevertheless, that's what everyone calls you," Zero said in an unabashed and pert tone.
"Arggh, get to the point, why are you here?"
"The shipment is already here, isn't it, Rabbit?"
"I don't remember any delivery for you."
"Don't act dumber than you are. For Jo, of course. "
"How do you know about that?"
"You probably haven't realized that the eyes and ears of the city are right here in front of you."
***This kid probably just brought me along because he needed a bodyguard.***
Rabbit puffed with rage, "Can I count on you to keep your little mouth shut? I don't want to have to relocate again."
"I know much more serious secrets to worry about. If I had to take care of every crook in this town..." Zero stalled him.
"A crook? Is that what you think I am?" Rabbit was quick-tempered and adjusted his mask.
Dawn quickly stepped between Zero and Rabbit to calm him down.
"I don't think he meant it that way."
"Yeah, what did he mean though?"
***Oh, damn, that can get nasty. They'd be wanting to know what we've been doing in here and it doesn't look very legal.***
"An honorable tradesman," Dawn said, trying to make it sound as authentic as possible.
"Well, looks like you at least understand what I'm doing here. There are no laws in Haven, which means there are no criminals either."
"Maybe not in Haven, but in the Arc, there are rules" Zero clarified his position.
"Why couldn't you just let Jo come here herself?" Rabbit was annoyed.
"I wanted to do her a little favor."
"Did Baker notice anything? You know he hates nothing more than this stuff."
"With me, he wouldn't get skeptical. I just don't want any more stress."
"I'm sure Baker's got a lot on his plate right now anyway, with the contest coming up and the council meeting tomorrow. "Here's the package, that's 152 Blanks."
Zero wiped around in front of his face.
Rabbit sighed "Hard cash only."
Zero then rummaged inside his fabric vest for a semi-transparent coin with a sky blue shining B-shaped watermark in the middle.
Rabbit greedily grabbed the coin and put a small paper-wrapped bundle in a metal box that had a biometric sensor. He then handed it to Zero, who took it and said goodbye. Rabbit did the same with the words, "Honour me again soon."
After they left the secret cavern again through the way they entered it, they went on through the huge hall. From the ceiling hung large fabric banners, which presented different coats of arms.
"What is this place?" Dawn asked.
"This is where the weekly deployment of the entire HMD forces takes place. The individual commandos then line up under their respective banners and receive instructions from General McManus."
"Where do we stand?"
Zero pointed to a midnight-black banner that was gently swayed by a breeze blowing through the hall.
It depicted a golden triangle symbol /-\ and three letters "ATC".
"This is our spot. Erik doesn't usually stand with us, but across the hall next to General McManus" Zero explained. "The other Commandos have a hell of respect for him."
"I'm sure they do. Speaking of which, how come he doesn't have a higher rank but is only a sergeant?"
"If he wanted a higher rank, he could get it. But he'd rather leave the bureaucracy to the General."
They passed many small market stalls, most of which were empty. Dawn inspected most of them thoroughly before Zero told him, "You can watch it all later, right now you're just throwing off my schedule."
"Are we turning back?"
"My calculations will not solve themselves."
They walked the steamy night alleys of the Arc until they heard a bloodcurdling whoop from a well-attended bar called Lucky Baldwin. "Full house, motherfuckers."
At the exact same second, Zero and Dawn looked in the direction that the sound came from. Closely packed around a poker table were several spectators watching five people gamble. One of them immediately Dawn recognized by the mechanical hands she was nervously clinking with. "Jo is here?" he shouted incredulously and she immediately turned around and looked, but did not find him in the crowd.
"Shh" reprimanded him Zero "We're observing them off the grid."
Following Jo, a bald man with a raised Gladstone collar laid his virtual cards on the table, which was also a touch display, by pressing the showdown button.
"Straight Flush" shone in golden letters in the middle of the table and the animated chips flowed spirally to the man. Jo threw herself onto the table and grabbed the man by his neck with " Push! Cheater!"
Zero grabbed Dawn by the arm "Erik should know about this or she'll bet house and home. Again!" He looked amused and terrified at the same time.
They got back to the sluice to their housing complex through the tubular aboveground passageways and went upstairs to Erik's study.
Along the way, the palatable scent of cooked meat caught Dawn's interest and he wondered if he could ever eat anything like it again. Thus they found JP having dinner with a man who seemed to be even bigger and stronger than himself, which was almost impossible. When he slowly stood up he exuded a menacing aura into the atmosphere. However, he politely introduced himself as Parzival. His beardy face was shaped masculine and he wore a trench coat that could pass for a tent without him wearing it. After Dawn asked him about his task in the Arc he didn't want to tell him anything specifically.
***Mysterious persona this Parzival. ***
"What are you eating?" Dawn pointed to a rosemary marinated piece of beef.
JP raved "Sous Vide Entrecote. A treat for the taste buds" and rubbed contentedly over his stomach.
Arriving at Erik's office, Dawn and Zero knocked on the slightly leaning door until Erik stood in front of them without his prosthetic arm and looked at them intently.
Dawn stood in front of him with his mouth open and without saying anything.
"Well, what's up?" Erik asked.
"The usual. Jo gambles away our money while she is completely wasted " Zero described. "Get your arm dressed, what's the new guy supposed to think?"
"I can't. For the moment it's with Shen, upgrading. She had just collected it and brings it back tomorrow morning."
"Will you walk Jo home?" Zero requested.
"Should I?" Erik exhaled deeply.
"Cass was with her, too."
"Well, see you. Good night" Erik closed his door again.
***Should I sleep? Can I sleep at all? ***
Dawn knocked on Erik's door again and the sign with the inscription " Sgt. Erik William Baker" almost fell off.
"Anything else?"
"How does a Cyborg sleep, Erik?" Dawn asked unequivocally.
"A cyborg needs no sleep," Zero objected.
"Perhaps not physically, but you must allow your mind to rest," Erik said. "There are more ways to unplug the head."
"Anything in particular in mind?" Dawn got curious.
"One word: meditation."
"And how does that work?"
Erik then went to Dawn's room, which followed him. "Get yourself settled, turn off the lights and ignore your sensors as best you can. You can start with a simple meditation.
Dawn entered the small cabin and sat down on his chaise longue cross-legged.
Erik explained the meditation to him "First you will concentrate on a point on your forehead between your eyes and close your eyes. Then you slowly bring your finger up to your forehead and concentrate only on that one point. This is the third eye. If you do it correctly, you will soon forget everything around you and see more than your two eyes could ever perceive."
***This guy sounds crazy, but maybe it's gonna work. Let's see... ***
"I wouldn't have thought you were so spiritual, Erik."
"You'd be amazed to see his preparation for his traditional martial arts" Zero joked.
"You've seen a lot that's new to you and it's late. Let's leave you alone for now, Dawn." Behind him, Erik gently dropped the door into the lock.
***That's true. It was a long day.***