Falling Forward
We stormed into the room with guns drawn. The floor, bare and exposing its pale metallic sheen, vibrated beneath our boots. Inside, the bodyguards we'd blasted moments earlier lay scattered across the floor. They were all neutralized—no need to worry about them. But beyond them, through the open window, came that distinctive humming sound. A hovercraft hovered in the air outside.
A half-naked middle-aged man was being helped aboard by bodyguards in full protective gear. "Where do you think you're going!" Eileen shouted, opening fire immediately. One of the guards supporting the target threw himself in the way, blocking the shots. Then he drew his rifle, preparing to return fire.
I didn't waste time thinking. I fired a grenade first. "Ah—" But it must have been improperly mounted on the battle rifle. The grenade auto-ejected before it could launch and clattered uselessly to the floor. The guard across from us was already squeezing his trigger, muzzle flashing.
I grabbed Eileen's arm, yanked her behind me, and leveled the battle rifle at them. Then I fired. The explosion roared. The high-explosive rounds slammed into the bodyguards supporting the target, dropping them one by one. The target slipped from their grasp and fell back into the room. The bullets meant for him struck the hovercraft behind instead.
The high-explosive shells, fired at half-second intervals, finally found their mark on the hovercraft suspended in the air outside the window. The vehicle—easily the size of an armored personnel carrier—erupted into a fireball and plummeted to the ground. I approached the target, who had been thrown clear by the blast and now lay near the window, his back and arms lightly scorched.
He trembled violently as he stared at us. The moment I pressed the muzzle to his head, he started babbling in terror. "W-what do you want? I'm the director of Ransel. I can give you anything. Why are you doing this?"
Eileen answered for me. "Blame your luck."
The gunshot cracked. His head exploded, the man who had been pissing himself moments before now nothing but a corpse. Soon after, the wreckage of the hovercraft slammed into the ground far below, the impact echoing up with a heavy boom.
Eileen removed her gas mask and let out a long sigh. "Good. Job's done." She blinked rapidly, capturing images of the scene. From the way her eyes moved, she seemed to be in communication with someone. A moment later, a message appeared before my eyes.
"You?" I asked.
"Yeah. Got the balance. That money's your cut."
I stared blankly at the floating window, then swiped it away. "Not interested in money."
"Figures. It's not what you need anyway."
We were just finishing up and preparing to leave when we heard the faint chime of an elevator arriving somewhere down the corridor.
"Looks like security's here," Eileen said.
"Do we punch through?"
"That'll get messy. More enemies than we need."
Then what did she expect me to do? I stood there watching as she pretended to think it over. But her expression didn't look like genuine concern. She rested her chin on her hand in an exaggerated pose of contemplation, sneaking glances at me. Her eyes were clearly asking what I wanted to do.
"Just smashing straight through would be..."
"Whatever you want."
She wasn't handing me full control. It seemed like she knew the options but wanted me to come up with my own answer. The feeling of being tested left me with a strange sensation.
Think for yourself, huh.
The words made me flinch. I turned toward Eileen. She tilted her head at me. "Yeah?"
"Get on my back."
"Wait, aren't you the smaller one? Won't we fall?"
"Just do it."
Eileen gave me a sly smile at that, but she didn't argue. Without another word, she climbed onto my back. Her legs were tucked up, making the whole thing look ridiculous, but at least she was secure.
"Ugh."
"See? I told you I'm heavy."
"It's fine."
I quickly adjusted my center of gravity and moved to the window ledge. The skyscraper opposite rose like a cliff, turning the vast space between buildings into a canyon. Fog flowed through it like water at the bottom, so deep the ground wasn't even visible.
If we fall from here, we'll be smashed to pieces.
So I needed a landing point. After scanning the area, I spotted the skybridge connecting the two buildings. It was so massive it looked more like an entire building laid on its side. The height was just right, too. The impact would hurt like hell, but it shouldn't be enough to completely shatter bones or kill us.
As I prepared to jump, I heard security shouting from the corridor behind us. The usual lines—freeze, surrender, that sort of thing.
"T-that's—!" One of them realized what I was about to do and cried out in horror. They raised their weapons, but I was faster.
"Hah!" I pushed off as hard as I could, aiming for distance while bracing for impact. I gripped Eileen tightly—not just with my legs but with my whole body—so she wouldn't slip.
But amid the thunderous roar of wind rushing past, Eileen shifted her position in midair. As I wobbled unsteadily through the fall, she wrapped her arms around me instead. Suddenly the one being held, I stared at her with a dazed expression.
She looked into my eyes and sent her voice through the comm link.
The moment she finished speaking, blue flames appeared somewhere below us. I looked toward the source and saw her legs split open, revealing four or five thruster nozzles. But our speed wasn't slowing.
"Ugh—"
We fell for what felt like forever before crashing onto the skybridge. The roaring wind cut off, replaced by an enormous impact that shook the air like thunder. The outer wall crumpled where Eileen's feet landed, sending shards of debris flying. The deafening noise gradually faded.
I opened my eyes, which I'd squeezed shut, and looked around.
"Were you scared?" Eileen asked. She was still holding me, watching me like I was some kind of animal.
I frowned deeply and pulled myself from her arms. Once I had my feet on the skybridge, I brushed the dust off my clothes and checked myself over. Didn't seem like anything was broken. Though the makeshift top I'd tied on was dangling awkwardly from the impact.
Eileen hung her bird-beak gas mask from her belt and said, "So? How do you feel? Any better?"
I didn't understand her sudden question. "What?"
"I mean, did this job help you feel a bit relieved? Our sensitive little fire moth tends to try to burn itself if you touch it the wrong way."
I turned my head away for a moment, stayed silent, then answered. "Somewhat."
"So your mood improved without taking the meds. That's good news."
The fog that blanketed the city flowed across the skybridge like a river. I stood at the edge, looking down into the abyss. Faint lights from streetlamps and vehicles glowed weakly from the depths.
Eileen spoke to me as I stared downward from the bridge's edge. "Ready to work with us now? It's a lot better than living like a beast drowning in drugs. You can reflect on the past while still living in the present."
"Reflect on the past?"
"Don't play dumb. I've seen plenty of people like you. You're the classic reclusive loner type—can't find meaning in the present, so you bury yourself in the past."
I kept staring down without answering. The fog flowed between the skyscrapers like clouds. Eileen stayed quiet, simply watching me.
How long did we stand there? Eventually I couldn't take her gaze anymore and muttered reluctantly, "I'll consider it."
"Not consider. Decide."
I rolled my eyes. If I gave a half-assed answer, she should at least pretend to accept it. "Fine. I'll work with you. But I'll move based on my own judgment first and foremost. Don't expect things like camaraderie."
"I know. No one expects that anyway."
Everyone's too busy looking out for themselves. I unconsciously agreed with the thought. The ally of yesterday becomes today's enemy, and today's enemy becomes tomorrow's ally. It's dizzying, but it's a truth you can't help but learn if you live long enough.
"Shall we head down?" Eileen said.
"How?" I asked.
"Good question."
She really was consistent. In the end I sighed again, walked to the edge of the skybridge, and hung from it.
"Follow if you can."
"So easy to handle," she said.
"Hmph."
Beyond the thick fog, a murky sun was beginning to rise.