Branch
The sounds of plates clattering call to mind the first time you met Eszti. She's waiting for you in the corner of a restaurant occupying the ruined shell of the former Essilk workers' cafeteria.
Blue coat, black shoes. Just as you'd been told. She pokes a plastic fork into a salad, deep in thought.
A hangover massages your skull. The sound of a blender makes your eyes itch.
"ESTOC." (Sit down.)
"CASCADE."
"I'm your new lead."
"I am aware. That's why we're meeting."
"This is a new restaurant. Juices, healthy options. Part of a citywide effort to clean up the place."
"This is new? Fuck, looks like shit." (Point to the roof.)
"These are the ruins of Essilk, the old dye factory. It does not "look like shit", it burned down."
"Watch your tone. You don't have to like me, you just have to listen to me."
"Let's see."
Voice was strong. Good. Ignore the twisting in your stomach.
You excused yourself without ordering anything.
Branch
End of this branch
"Cool. Nice place to work. Hope they treat you well."
"I do not work here. I am a civil servant with the Portofiran government, ostensibly an EMTERR liason. You didn't read the dossier."
Not now. (Dispel memory.)
The taste of a five-year-old tequila soda lingers in your mouth.