"Didn't work, did it?"

"Didn't work, did it?"

His lip is swollen from impact.

"Has a man with no trousers on been through here?"

"Uhh, yeah." He looks at you sideways. "Was that your man with no trousers?"

"He's my associate. It's all normal."

"Yeah? Okay... Expected him to go into the clinic because of the no trousers thing, but he carried on north."

"I'm doing experiments. He got away."

"Shit. Okay. He, er, went that way."

The boy points north.

"Just tell me where he went."

The boy points north.

"That way."

"What are you doing out here?"

"Made the switch from intelligence to securities."

Yana's using him as a doorman.

"You're a doorman."

"Doorman's a good job. Lots of famous people started as doormen."

He said that way too quickly. Bet he can't name any.

"Name a famous doorman."

"Uhh...."

"Come on. Leave off, yeah?"

He shoves his hands ever deeper into his pockets.

"Good for you, keep it up."

"Yeah, thanks. I've got it all under control out here."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah. Big timers. Accept it."

"Meaning?"

"I'm the doorman."

"Anything to report?"

"Just pigeons, mainly. Bit of people. Nothing weird."

Alternative wording

"Man looked like he was coming to the door earlier, but he didn't. I've committed his face to memory anyway."

Alternative wording

"Someone dropped off a massive package. Couldn't tell what was in it."

Alternative wording

"People just throw their rubbish on the floor, you know? Never noticed before."

Alternative wording

"Nothing new. But I'm keeping my eyes open."

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I... think I'm gonna head home."

He thinks he's going to stay there, too.

"You're leaving Yana."

"That's not Yana. I don't know what happened but she's just... not."

Alternative wording

"That's not Yana. I thought you were crazy about the imprinting thing, but..."

Love gone.

"I don't know what I'm doing here anymore."

"You're abandoning her. Bad idea."

"I'm not abandoning her, I'm getting away from all this."

From us and Tempo? What did we do!

"So you don't like me."

"This doesn't have anything to do with you. I just don't want to be here. I'm sick of standing out here, sick of being called a cunt."

"Go and take some time. There may be a future for you and Yana yet."

"Yeah... Alright. I'll just take a break. Get my head right."

"It was nice working with you, CASCADE."

"Fine. At least say goodbye first."

"I don't think she cares."

"Good luck, CASCADE."

"She might not take you back if you leave now. You'll be alone, like me."

"I'm alone now. I just stand outside this door and get called a cunt. Haven't been to school, haven't seen my brother, haven't seen my friends. I don't want this."

"You're afraid? Bullet wounds are nothing compared to heartbreak."

"I don't feel heartbroken. I don't feel anything. I just want to go home."

"This is high betrayal, you must be under influence from outside forces."

"Betrayal?"

He shakes his head in disbelief.

"What am I betraying? All she does is boss me around and call me a cunt."

"I'm telling you -- this is night forces trying to disrupt our plan!"

"I don't care about your plan. I was here for Yana... and I lost her weeks ago."

He's made up his mind.

"Go home and think about this. It's clear the apartment corridor is full of psychic interference."

"Things are about to get serious. Leave if you can't handle it."

"About to? We've been shot at! I... You're right. I can't handle this. I'm seventeen. I don't want to be here."

"Then get lost."

"I will. Fuck you."

"Be a man and tell her you're leaving."

"No. She doesn't give a fuck what I tell her -- and knowing that doesn't make me any less of a man."

"Goodbye, CASCADE. I wish none of this had ever happened."

Wave.

"Dickhead."

"I got shot at. You ran."

Alternative wording

"I got shot. You ran."

"What was I supposed to do? I don't have a gun, I don't have anything."

"Time to find out whether you're a coward. Are you?"

"No. Fuck you. I'm not a coward for running from a bullet when I've only got a... fucking scarf."

"You'll be able to return if you leave, but you may not be able to leave if you stay."

"What do you mean? Like... if I stay now then I won't be able to leave later?"

"We are tangling with dangerous people, Marco. If you stay then you are part of it."

"I don't want part of it! I didn't want any of this. I don't care about the bazaar, I don't know why she does either."

"I only cared about Yana, and I don't recognise her."

"Are you going to say goodbye, at least?"

"Yes. But you should also know that there may be nothing to return to."

"I... yeah. I can't..."

Afraid that he won't be able to forgive himself if something happens, but aware that he isn't equipped to help either way.

"I want to go back to school. I miss my friends, my brother, my parents. I miss having anyone at all. Yana just rants and calls me a cunt."

"Stay out of this life, Marco. Good luck."

"Yeah."

"I could try talking to her for you."

"Yana doesn't talk. She used to. We used to talk about all kinds of things. Now she just rants and calls me a cunt."

"Do what you want."

"When will you be back?"

"I'm thinking I won't... be back. Yana and I aren't really..."

"Nice, go and visit your parents."

"Yeah, just... I think I'll see them and then, stay with them. If you know what I mean. Yana and I aren't really..."

"Hey Marco."

"How'd you know my name?"

He narrows his eyes, chin raised, then looks down at his sleeve.

"Oh, yeah. You're right."

Wearing a nametag? Idiocy even for a civilian.

"You should remove that. For your protection."

"Protection from... what?"

"You never know."

"Oh... okay." He tugs at his sleeve, suddenly self-conscious.

"Literate banshees."

"Is that a band? Uh, okay."

Say nothing.

"Oh.... kay then."

"Did you make it yourself?"

"Nah, it's from La Luz. It's the Saltuzuri Dream-On Neon. Personalised."

With a flick, the boy shows off the sleeve's electric-magenta trim. Black tags, dangling from the hem, chime loudly.

"Clever, the illusion of individualism attracts more buyers to the same product."

"What? They're all different. My friend's got a red one."

GROTESQUE MISUSE OF PARTY COLOURS.

"That's the sound of you succumbing to consumerism."

"Cool, right?"

He chimes the tags together again before slipping them back into his sleeve.

"Good. The state will better identify your remains in case of incident."

"Uhh... right."

"Nice to meet you." (Back.)

"Uh, yeah? Alright."

He averts his eyes from you and your attempts to converse.

"Yana sent me. About the headphones man."

The adolescent's features, ever shifting between boy and man, land firmly on 'boy' at the mention of her name.

"She did? Yeah... So you should know my cryptoname."

"It's 'cryptonym'."

"Nah, that's not it."

"SCARF."

"Seems you're legit."

He is very excited to say the word 'legit'.

"And what do they call you?"

"Who's 'they'?"

He chews his tongue, squinting at you suspiciously.

"You should already know."

"CASCADE."

"CASCADE?"

Trying to think of an insult. He doesn't like that your name is cooler than his.

"Cool."

Nice. He's got nothing.

"Way cooler than 'SCARF'."

"Yeah, well..." He pauses, struck by inspiration. "CASGAYDE."

Shit. Shouldn't have tried to rub it in, he fucked you up.

"What can I brief you on?"

"Thanks."

"Whatever. I'll get a cooler one as I move up through the ranks."

His voice lowers an octave.

"How'd you come up with yours?"

"Dunno. Yana came up with it."

"Hershel."

"That's a man's name and you're not a man. It's not a cryptoname either."

"Marco, right? Yana sent me about the headphones man."

The adolescent's features, ever shifting between boy and man, land firmly on 'boy' at the mention of her name.

"About Yana..."

Alternative wording

"About Yana again..."

"What about her?"

"How are you two doing?"

"Uhh, bad. That's what I want to talk to you about."

"Not great. I thought things might be better now I'm nearby but... they're not."

"Fine, I guess."

"Have you noticed anything different about her lately?"

"Yeah." he looks away. "Lots of stuff."

He shrugs.

You've asked an open-ended question to a teenager. Try again, laser focus.

"Like, for example, have you noticed that she's a middle-aged man?"

"What?"

"Tempo del Sur imprinted onto her with a Luzian device."

"Uh, right."

He turns his head to look sideways at you, like one might at a crackhead or a priest.

"Right on."

"Forget it."

"Cool."

"Personality changes... weird behaviour..."

"She's a high achiever. Got business to handle."

"Saying 'cunt' a lot. Smoking Ouroboros Blacks."

"Yeah, new thing she's doing. They're cool."

"She says you can see her for an hour over the weekend."

"Really? Yeah. Whatever. Sweet."

"I'm happy for you. Nobody wants to see me because of my sins."

"Yeah? Well, I have sins too. Loads."

He widens his stance, stretching his layers taut like a molting beetle.

"Been excluded from school twice. Pencil crimes, failed tests, bit of fire stuff. Done it all."

"Beware shadows until then. An incubus may want to steal your body."

"I am the shadows."

His voice breaks as he speaks.

"Careful with that apathy. There's a danger you'll start to believe it."

"Whatever."

He doesn't know what apathy means.

"How did you meet her?"

"I don't really want to talk about it."

"Meet her, well... we've been in the same school since we were small but I didn't meet her meet her until last year."

"I used to sit behind her in History, before she dropped out to run the bazaar and all this happened. She was really sweet. Shy."

'Was'.

"Told you, she's Tempo now."

"Yeah... you did."

"She isn't sweet and shy anymore?"

"She is."

Defensive.

"She's just stressed out with the bazaar and headphones man and everything. She'll be back to normal after it's all over."

"And you had the horn for her bigtime."

"Uhh... I thought she was really pretty, yeah. Still do! Have you seen her eyes? One amber, one blue."

"It's like... people aren't that beautiful, yeah? It's mad. Like she was made instead of just born."

"Who asked who out?"

"I asked her. I passed her a note. Drew a dolphin. She likes dolphins. Put a speech bubble coming out of its mouth and then I wrote..."

"I'm sea-riously into you"!

"We're two peas in a pod". Shit, no. Fuck off.

LOVE IS BOURGEOIS.

"'Be my girl, I'm FINished without you'."

"Cute."

"Haha, yeah? She thought so too. She drew me one back that said, 'I accept your porpoisal'."

"She's too important for stuff like that now, with the bazaar and everything. But I get cooler presents -- genuine name brand shit from Luz!"

He'd rather have the girl.

"Appalling."

"Yeah...." he blushes. "But she liked it."

"And she deFINitely said yes."

"Haha, yeah! You got it." He blushes slightly. "It was nice. Drew me one back that said, 'I accept your porpoisal'."

"History has ended. There is nothing to teach."

"I don't think it ends until after the exams. They're in like, two months."

"Enough about Yana." (Back.)

"Cool." He visibly relaxes.

"Let's hear your report, SCARF."

Alternative wording

"I want to check on your assignment again."

"Yes, CASCADE." he pauses. "What do you want to know?"

Alternative wording

"Yeah?"

"Tell me about headphones guy."

"He was here! I saw him! That loan ad over there? There's a mailbox slot under it. And headphones guy used it."

"He took something. Small, like a package. Hard to see, I was hiding back here." He nods toward some detritus by the wall.

"Then he strolled past the clinic, and poof, gone. It was crazy."

A high dose of adrenaline from such a small source. You were like that before the world got to you.

"What did he look like?"

"I took notes." He opens his palm and squints at some scribbles. "Tall. Smoker. Long jacket, big collar. Biggest headphones I've ever seen."

And what? We can get big headphones. Bigger ones.

He looks off in the direction of the man's disappearance.

Like a pig looking at wind, trying to contemplate the invisible force pushing against it.

"And you're sure he didn't see you?"

"Affirmative."

He's certain of his skill, as amateurs often are.

"Yeah, real crazy watching someone walk by you in a public place."

"I know!"

"Good work, SCARF." (Conclude.)

"Shouldn't I get a review or, a debrief?"

Aw, give him something.

"Alright..."

He stands a little straighter.

"You passed; I failed. I let a teenager do my work for me."

"I passed! Sick."

"You know, Yana's still the coolest -- but you're pretty cool too."

You try to picture any of your old assets saying those words -- and come up blank.

"You did well, but you should have checked him for signs of augmentoidation."

"Shit. The giant headphones! You think he might have been a computer man? I'll know for next time."

"You should've tackled him and stolen the package."

"I should? Oh. But Yana told me... Alright. Thanks. I'll remember next time."

He looks away, lip twitching slightly.

"Only you can truly assess yourself. How did it feel?"

"Great! It felt so sick! So I nailed it?"

"I'll let your controller handle that."

"Yana? Yeah. Yeah! She's going to love this. Or call me a cunt. Shit."

"Not seen anything yet. Just weather and normal people and all that shit."

"Any update about headphones guy?"