Gaia

"You don't have to go. I can go instead."

Andy hovered over Mari as she stuffed her things and her new card into a small bag, glancing up just to glare at him. He shifted awkwardly, watching her.

"How could you forget to tell me that you needed more shaving cream?" Mari asked. "What do you even need it for?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "Moisture? A silky smooth finish? All that stuff they say in the advertisement."

"A silky smooth face isn't going to make you more attractive," she told him. "You're still fucking homeless."

"I have a home," he argued. "It's just on the concrete ground."

"There's people up there who've never seen concrete before," Mari said. "You know why? Because no one is interested in it."

"Look, if you're that bitter, I can go instead," Andy told her.

"No, you're too slow," she said.

"Well, yeah, I'm cautious," he shrugged. "How long will you be?"

"Ten minutes? Don't wait up for me. I'll be back eventually."

She slung the bag over her shoulder and started on her way. Andy had managed to add the elevator to her card, and thankfully, she didn't have to wait up or share it anymore. She looked at the buttons on the elevator, where you could type in the number of the level you were going to. There were so many, they didn't bother with numbers anymore. Out of curiosity, Mari scanned her card and typed in "Level 275". An error message came up.

Error: Card only scans up to Level 6

Go figure. Andy probably had to steal a card to get the codes, and anyone around them would be extremely lucky if they had a card scanning up to Level 10. She sighed and typed in her regular level, hurrying back to the convenience store. She shut down locks and security as usual, grateful to see it go faster. Nagging Andy really did work. The doors clicked open normally, and she got to work looking through the aisles for the smaller bottle of shave cream she was looking for, grabbing some more candy on her way. It was then that she heard voices approaching. She gasped and yanked her card out of the system, starting up the locks and security again, and hid in a corner, behind one of the more hidden aisles.

The voices came nearer until they were right outside the glass doors. It was too men. One sounded gruffer than the other. They manually shut down the locks and security with codes, rather than a card. Mari held her breath, listening to the two of them as they entered.

"The sooner we figure this bullshit out, the sooner I can go home," the gruff one said.

"You really hate ground level, huh?" the other asked. "Hey, it's not so bad. They have some clubs around here with 'exotic' dancing. And the dancers are human, not bots, since they can't really afford the bots. Can you imagine?"

"We're not going to a strip club together, Jeremiah," the gruff one replied.

"You sure?" the one called Jeremiah asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just get in the stupid computer and tell me who's been fucking with it."

Mari bit her lip. So, they finally figured out she was up to no good. She heard one of them typing away at the computer, and for a few agonizing minutes, that was it. She thought about making a run for it, but she was outnumbered, and her pants were just a little too tight for it.

"Someone's here."

Mari held back a gasp, staying deathly still. The typing had stopped and she could here footsteps coming towards her, stopping by each aisle. She slowly stood and tiptoed to one of the aisles they'd already checked, careful to stay low and quiet. She caught a glimpse of them at one point, when she was behind them. They were well dressed. Very well dressed. They had to have been from the upper floors. What they were doing down there? She'd never guess. A thought crossed her mind that sent a shiver down her spine. There were rumors that some of the Lords did their dirty business in the computers of the lower levels to protect their identities up high. It was just Mari's luck if she'd accidentally been stealing from a store that secretly belonged to one of them. Not that the ramen noodles mattered. It was the computer she'd been messing with for a year now.

She slowly straightened out, backing away towards the door. One of the men whipped around and hit a button on a remote, which instantly locked the doors right before Mari could get to them. She cursed and shook them, but they wouldn't budge. The one who'd caught her first must've been the gruff one, considering the look on his face. Mutations and genetically modified features were common, especially in the higher floors, and his was interesting. He had one blue eye, and one green eye. The other one, who must've been Jeremiah, turned and saw her too.

"Hey, you caught- Woah," he blinked a few times, staring at her. "Not what I was expecting."

"Yeah, me neither," the other mumbled.

Mari stayed back against the door, eyes wide.

"Hi," Jeremiah said, a sort of goofy grin on his face. "I'm Jeremiah. That's Eli. How are you?"

"Knock it off," Eli grumbled, stepping in front of him with a much scarier look on his face than Jeremiah did. "You're the rat that's been messing with my computers?"

"Look, I didn't know it was yours," Mari said. "I didn't want to do any serious damage, I just borrow some snacks sometimes."

"Give me the bag."

"All I have is candy, shaving cream, and some lipstick," Mari said.

"Hand it over."

She reluctantly gave him her bag while Jeremiah stepped up next to her, partially "guarding" her to make sure she didn't run off, and partially sneaking glances at her choice in black leather clothing. Eli didn't care much about the candy and shave cream, setting it aside on the counter for the store owner to find and put back. It was the master key card that caught his attention. He eyed the card, and then her, raising a brow.

"You made this?" he asked.

"Yeah," she lied.

In no way was she as technologically advanced as Andy, but she couldn't give him up to these guys. The best she could do was take the blame for him, and hope they weren't able to track him down through the card. He shook his head and tucked the card into his pocket, tossing the bag aside.

"Hey, I paid actual real money for that," Mari said quickly.

"What's your name?" Eli asked her.

"Nicole," she said. "Nicole Tanner."

"What's your real name?"

Mari bounced on the balls of her feet slightly biting her lip. She glanced back at Jeremiah. He was easier to talk to, that was for sure.

"Hey, you like strip clubs, right?" she remembered suddenly. "I'll strip. Right here, right now. Only up to my underwear though, no more than that. And I'm not totally sure my bra and panties match, but hey, at least you know I'm human. All you guys have to do is let me leave afterwards."

"Absolutely not," Eli said. "This is a serious security breach. It's not a laughing matter. If you cooperate, it'll be easier for you."

"I don't think she'll cooperate," Jeremiah told him. "You might have to take her to Renee for questioning-"

"No," Eli snapped. "We don't need to bring her into this."

He thought for a moment, then sighed. "Fine. I'll figure something out. Knock her out, she's coming with us."

"What?" Mari frowned. "No no no, don't take me anywhere, I'll pay you in anything but cash-"

"Sorry, kid," Jeremiah shrugged, pulling out a small spray bottle. "This'll only disorient you for a second."

Mari didn't get a chance to argue again, when he gave her a small spritz in the face. It smelled strongly of chemicals and made her cough, and like he said it disoriented her right away. Someone caught her as lifted her as she fell back, and then everything went dark.