Nora looked around and shook her head slightly. "Doing anything to them will set off alarm bells for whoever hired you. You need to act like you saw nothing. That way, they might hire you again, and we can get to the bottom of this."
We. Cubes, was this… teamwork? She certainly hoped not.
Speaking of cubes…
"Do you have another data cube with you?" she asked. "You could copy the code over to it, and we could analyse it further."
Cor was equally surprised by the prospect of working together but he had to admit that, tonight alone, she was already coming up with some good points. “I always carry one spare.” he nodded, taking out his own cube and copied the data before quickly reinstalling the original encryption for his… client. “Wish we could at least put this place on lockdown so this shipment doesn't go anywhere… But if they hired me, they might have a way to get around that.” he sighed, thinking out loud.
"They'd find a tracker, too," Nora said, glancing over the containers, noting that the serial numbers were missing from each one. "The code will have to do for now."
Cor let out another soft, yet irritated, sigh as he noticed the same thing about the serial numbers. “I don't know if I'm actually impressed with how careful and thorough these guys are or concerned by it.” he admitted as he stored their copy of the data and took off his gloves. “You know, if you're serious about doing this… we’ll need a way to stay in touch.” he pointed out, a faint smirk on his lips.
"Two nights from now," she said brusquely. "Near the end of the cycle. Meet me in the alley between the Mercury and Silver buildings." The Silver Building was where End of Line was housed.
Cor chuckled a little at her attitude but nodded. “It’s a date, sweet cubes.” he smirked, feeling much more comfortable with that interaction. “Now… unfortunately, I have to go and give this data to a very disturbed program.” he said regretfully.
Nora nodded and turned around. "Bit!"
Bit came whizzing toward them. Yes.
"Let's go home," she told it, pulling her lightcycle baton off of her hip. Over her shoulder, she added, "Don't be late."
Cor laughed and gave a small half-wave/salute. “Don’t worry about that. I'll be there.” he assured her as he grabbed his own baton.
"Good." She nodded, and then took a running leap onto her lightcycle and zoomed off, Bit floating on the tails of her cape.
Cor chuckled softly and rezzed in his lightcycle, driving off to finish this part of the job. Considering what he and Aroura had uncovered, he wasn't going to call this job done until they found the one behind this and come up with a way to handle those unfortunate programs that had been repurposed.
Nora got home and derezzed her Aurora suit, relaxing with an energy and watching the city. Bit turned on the TV in the background, watching a net drama, and Nora barely paid any attention.
Lazily, her thoughts turned to Cor. She wondered when he'd be back at End of Line.
"Bit," she said aloud, "we'd better go to bed."
Bit, absorbed in the show, didn't answer, and Nora found that she didn't care. Cor still drifting across her mind, she headed off to bed.
Cor drove up to the same alley where he got this job and derezzed his lightcycle before walking into it, searching for the other program.
"You're back already," said a voice from the shadows, slightly surprised.
“It was an easy job.” Cor answered in a bored tone, showing the data cube. “Maybe the next one will have a little more excitement to it.”
"That can be arranged," the program said stiffly, extending a gloved hand.
Cor smirked faintly and tossed the cube in the air once before handing it over. “Don’t forget the rest of my payment.” he said, almost a little flirty. “You know how to find me if something comes up.”
"I won't forget," the program promised before melting into the shadows and away.
Cor let out a quiet breath and turned away from where the program had stood and drove off, planning to go back to his apartment. Probably too late for a drink… Too bad, I could really use one right now. he grumbled, as he caught a glimpse of the End of Line club and thinking of Nora and her Bit. He actually kind of missed them.
Nora was in bed, but Bit wasn't. Floating to the window, it bobbed up and down a few times as though watching the city, a small white speck in a vast black building. It was only visible from the ground if you knew what you were looking for.
Being a creature that needed no sleep, Bit was awake - if you could call it being awake - all cycle, every cycle, and when Nora slept, Bit either watched net dramas or had… its own little adventures. It knew every single air vent in the Silver Building thanks to its nighttime excursions. Tonight, however, was not a night for exploring.
Bit slipped through the air vents up to End of Line and into Nora's office, watching programs from above. It almost seemed to be deciding whether or not to join the throng.
Cor had switched back to his regular outfit a short while ago when he was sure no one would see it, and was nearly home by now… But he stopped for a moment and just looked at the club. He didn't know if Nora was there or not, though he did want to see her and her Bit again. Her bluntness was admirable to him, unlike Aroura’s which almost came off as rude, and he enjoyed Bit’s mischievous nature, as long as it wasn't anything too extreme.
Bit bobbed up and down uncertainly in Nora's office. It could see no one it knew and decided joining the programs down below was therefore not worth it.
Cor let out a soft sigh, got back on his lightcycle and headed back to his apartment. It had been a long couple of cycles and he was tired. Especially since the shocking revelation on the job with Aroura.
The following evening, Nora was back at End of Line, sitting in her office and sipping a drink, watching the programs down below. Astra and Skye were on shift tonight, and both of them had found new boy toys; Nora was trying her best to avoid looking at them.
Cor smiled softly as he walked into the club. He didn't have anything better to do at the moment and he needed a good distraction from the thoughts about the remains of Clu’s actual army just sitting in a warehouse waiting for someone to activate them. Shaking off the brief shudder that it would be his fault, he headed over to the bar and casually looked around for Nora.
Nora was in her office, watching Bit zoom around the programs below. She wasn't in much of a mood to socialise, but Bit, as always, certainly was. She just needed to make sure it didn't get near any energy; fortunately, the crowd tonight seemed more intent on dancing than on drinking.
Bit, spotting Cor, whizzed excitedly toward him, circling his head. Yes, yes, yes.