Esperanza Ortega; Wanted for Murder, Theft.

[Pryce]

[color=#FFFF00][font=Courier New]Charisma's Coffee
Somewhere on Planet Manhattan

The lifts' door slid open quietly, and as Esperanza Ortega stepped into the room, she

was nearly overwhelmed by the aroma of the establishment, quite obviously that of freshly prepared coffee, mixed with that of.... Lavender? She thought briefly. The business was located atop an office building,with a veranda outside the shop, the customers treated to views of both the city, and of the mountain ranges to the north. The veranda was decorated with a startling array of flora, the wide spectrum of colors and scents further enforcing the natural setting of the quiet refuge.



She stood outside the lift for a moment, until she belatedly realized that a growing number of the shops' patrons were staring at her. She maintained an outward calm as she slowly walked into the shop, heading towards the veranda. Right She supposed she might have made an attempt to purchase some new clothes before she came here. A woman in her late twenties, she appeared several years older, the result of a rough and unsheltered life. The window reflected her appearance as she passed; an athletic "pear" frame, prominent hips, uncommonly strong legs, with a modest bust and delicate shoulders. Ortega was short, about 162 centimeters tall,somewhat disguised by the slightly thicker soles of her boots. She wore a dull, worn flightsuit, originally a shiny black, cut perhaps a bit too tight; though she had lost some amount of weight in the last months.the back of the suit had been patched, poorly, an odd scattering of holes near her left shoulder. Her boots, apparently some dated military issue, were faintly covered in a curious bluish grey dust that seemed to persistently cling to them, as it did to her flightsuit. Her long black hair was presently in a tight and long braid that rested between her shoulders, the way it usually was when she was offplanet. There was an unbandaged cut on her cheekbone, and another on her lower lip, both quite apparent, but clearly not recent. A dark smudge of grease ran across the upper half of her forehead, trailing down along the lower left side of her face.



She noted that the reputation of the shop was apparently confirmed. Most of the patrons where dressed in professional middle class faire, but she picked out a few labcoats sitting in the crowd. Popular with the Intellectuals, labcoats, mushroom heads What was the word Altura had used? Intelligentsia The shop was arranged with a mix of secluded booths, and strudy circular tables, at which both business and pleasure were discussed, several lone individuals off reading in corners, and quiet debates over some hypothesis or other. The tables, the chairs, and most of the structure was of a rich, dark wood; or at least appeared to be.



Ortega stepped though the door out onto the veranda, free from most of the stares, though she still felt eyes on her through the window. The sun was setting, painting the mountains to the north. She paused to enjoy the view as she took a deep breath, and remembered a world without a sun.



"Miss Ortega?"



The speaker was a lithe young woman seated at the table next to the doorway. The hair was different, a dark auburn colour, but Ortega recognized her as someone whose life she'd saved once, or at least changed for the better. "Hello Allie." Ortega said. She slid into a seat at the table. The young woman stared at Ortega for a moment before quietly asking; "What happened?"



"Why don't you go first?" Esperanza replied. "Where is everyone? What happened to the Institute? I went to Wilshire* and some other firm is in the building. Wouldn't let me inside.I searched every directory I could find, and didn't find any reference to Pryce at all." Esperanza frowned, noticing the shadow that had fallen over the table. A middle aged woman, wearing a blue apron, looked at Ortega and asked; "May I get you something?"



Ortega considered and replied; "Coffee, black please." The server frowned slightly in confusion, and began to press for more details when Ortega repeated, somewhat stronger; "Coffee...Black." The server nodded, a bit curtly, and wandered off.




Allie watched the retreating figure before saying; "Haagenti Research and Development." She spoke in a low whisper, as if she had mentioned the name of a forbidden deity. "I don't know a bunch about what happened. The big ship, the N102, with Doctor Pryce and most of the senior staff on it, left one day along with Captain Wells' ship, and they didn't come back. Professor Morris took over the Institute, and then he dismissed me along with much of the remaining staff. Then he started operating under the new name. One of my friends is still there, she told me that they closed most of the departments, and opened others." She paused a moment, taking a sip from the cup resting on the table in front of her, before she continued; "They research...bad stuff, she told me.Weapons, and something about weapons in relation to genetics. They were acquiring databases of genetic mapping, organized by racial groups."




Ortega narrowed her eyes. A biological weapon?.....most likely. Targeting individual genetic markers common to certain enemies had been tried before. That sort of thing seemed a perfect killer if it worked as advertised, but in practice, usually turned out...inefficient. Design something to kill anyone from race "X", and miss the side effect of also killing everyone who shares the same bloodtype.Or the same hair color. The type of testing that led up to the release of such a weapon was also never very pretty. Clearly a lot had happened while she had been gone, and Esperanza wondered if she had the endurance for another gauntlet that this day was leading her into. People to see, promises to keep, kilometers to go before I sleep. "So why isn't the government getting all over them. I can't see that happening on Libertys' watch." Even with everything else they miss



Allie slouched in the chair slightly. "They have a government grant. The research is supposed to be completely theoretical; and it's supposed to be completely defensive in nature." She met Ortegas' gaze. "But my friend, she said that's not what's happening, that it's not like that at all."



"Can she prove it?" Ortega asked.



"That's the problem. The labs are sealed, and they can't remove anything about the project from it. They search her when she leaves, and she doesn't have access to the really bad stuff anyway."


The server returned with Ortegas coffee, setting it on the table, and retreated wordlessly. The thick liquid was about the same colour as Ortegas' flightsuit. Only when the cup was in her hands did she realize how much she had missed it. Esperanza closed her eyes and hazarded a careful sip. Fresh.Hot.Strong.Delicious. It had been awhile, and she savoured the first swallow, as she felt it's heat and flavor affect her entire body. It was almost a sexual experience. She spoke;



"Wasn't there a second location in Bretonia? Doctor...was it Cook?"



"There was. I don't know about now." Allie replied.



What the hell was going on? That Pryce, Morris , or Cook remembered she existed, she truly doubted, but it was damn strange that Rene or Denise would leave California without leaving some indication of intent. Denise especially. Esperanza had been out in the black for a good while, and at great cost, had come back with a great variety of disturbing news, with no one to tell it to.


"What's your friends' name?" Ortega asked.


"Vanessa." Allie replied. "You met her the day you met me."



Ortega asked a few additional questions, paid for her coffee, and left the shop, heading back to her ship.







*Wilshire -Medium density city located on Planet Los Angeles

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