Page 16 of The SongBird's Love

Eden was so shocked that she remained speechless for a while before suddenly standing up; the pups jumped off her lap.

“Fuck you, Loir! You never said I’d have to pay for that!”

“...I know.”

His smile was annoying her to no end, but she should have known better. Loir was too calculating. It had felt strange that he’d simply handed her that mask without asking for something in return. How much had she breathed? It didn’t look like he had checked, but he was asking for a favor.

“You wanted to ask me something from the start, didn’t you?” she hissed, her fists clenched.

“Yes. However, I knew you’d refuse if I’d simply asked. Don’t worry, it’s nothing you can’t do.”

“I bet.”

Loir knew her abilities very well. Having someone like Eden was exactly what he needed. Although he was a hacker too, Loir was more of a watcher. He doesn’t dive himself; he’d send people in his stead and watch from afar. Eden didn’t know why, but she knew it probably had to do with his SIN. Like most hackers, he was wearing a very corrupted one, so no one could get to him. At least half of the Zodiacs wanted Loir or another one of his names. Even the government and some military organizations had bounties on his head, probably much higher than Eden’s, but she had no idea.

“...What do you want?” she asked.

“Information.”

Of course. It was always about money or information. Loir didn’t lack the first one, despite his strange way of living. The fact that he had an oxygen converter mask and so much high-tech equipment was enough to assume that, despite his looks, he was probably the richest man a few blocks around...

“Do you know where it is?”

“Of course! I’d never send my best friend on a mission without some preparation!”

Eden grimaced. She wasn’t his best friend, more likely his only one... She looked down at the puppies, who had begun playing with each other.

“...I’ll do it,” she said, “under one condition.”

“Yes?”

“You help me get what I need to take care of the puppies. Everything. Food, toys, whatever.”

“Oh, of course! I’ll order them a lot of carrots!”

“Ca–...? They don’t eat carrots...” she sighed.

Either way, she could always make him pay later. Loir was a weird guy, but at least he never went back on his word once he had promised her something. This wasn’t because they made a deal, and it wasn’t the first time he sent Eden to dive and retrieve something for him either. She slowly took off her shoes and pants, revealing her legs.

The circles were located right below her butt, and from there down, it was nothing but metal and circuits. It was good technology, but she hadn’t been able to properly take care of her bionic legs. The dark gray metal was perfectly lustrated, but it still had marks of use, a few scratches here and there. Now only wearing her bodysuit, Eden resolutely walked toward Loir, and he smiled.

“Loir, the bounty...”

“Don’t worry. I’ll give you a long enough window. You’ll have time to get in and out before anyone notices Eden has disappeared. I already have all the coordinates ready. A piece of cake!”

“It’s never a piece of cake...”

“Well, there might be a few Russians on the playground with you.”

“What? Russians? Fuck you, Loir! You never said–”

“Have fun!”

Loir moved quickly, extending a long cable and connecting it to the little device on her neck.

Eden went blind.

She woke up after what felt like half a second. By reflex, she jumped onto her feet and looked down.