"Her name is Song So Mi, called Songbird. Netrunner.", Kurt's voice scratched the back of your head as your forehead pressed against the cool glass of the window front.

Deep down, in the hall where money flowed like water, made of gold and black, stood a young woman. Her neon pink hair fell in sleek strands to her chin.

Your eyes lit up red. She was Korean, in her early thirties. Her file passed before your eyes. But suddenly the lines stopped.

"Top secret?", you asked over your shoulder without looking at Kurt.

Your attention was on her. A hum made his chest quiver. He let out a deep breath. He approached you with his hands clasped behind his back. His footsteps made the back of your neck tingle.

"She works for Myers.", he breathed into your ear.

Although there was no one in the room but the two of you, he remained vigilant. No one should know about this plan.

No one but you.

Your fingers clawed at the glass, leaving long scratches.

"She has the finest militech equipment. Acting like a self-dependent netrunning station.", your breath fogged up the glass. "You can't just get your hands on elite tech like that. So her soul belongs to Myers."

"She's an FIA agent, lived through the war.", his hand wrapped around your waist. "Myers uses her as her personal netrunner. And now she wants to fly free."

"She's dying.", it was easy to see that her body was turning more and more against her.

You had once thought your cyberware was massive but So Mi, Songbird, had a back full of chrome and wires. Probably the face she looked up at you with was just as artificial.

"But she can be of use to us.", Kurt lifted his chin and took a step back from the window, pulling you with him. "She knows how to get the AI relic from Cynosure."

"And you believe that?"

"No. But it costs nothing to let her try."

Lips pressed into a thin line, you frowned. All options left were extremely limited, there was no up or down, no forwards or backwards. You had to work with what you had.

"You trust her?", you finally asked.

"No.", he looked out of the window again at the woman with the magenta-coloured hair. "But it's enough to use her."

"How can we use her if we don't even know if she's really that good?", you asked through clenched teeth. "Kurt, I have no time to fuck around!"

A smirk appeared on his lips. Carefully, he took your clawed hand and kissed the back.

"Then you'll be pleased to hear that she wants to hand Myers over to us.", he said. "As proof of her credibility."

A stifled laugh escaped you.

"Why the fuck would she do that?", you withdrew from his touch.

Nervousness grew in you again, irritating you and numbing your senses. You didn't want to argue with him, didn't want to get angry even though everything he did was for your own good.

"Myers used her to dive into the Blackwall whenever.", crossing his arms behind his back again, knowing that one more unwanted physical contact could cost him a finger or two. "It destroyed her body. That's why she looks like this. That's why she's dying."

Ha! Was it really that easy?

Could it be that everything fell into place like a puzzle?

All it had taken was one more person Myers had treated so badly that nothing but resentment was left. And now her desperation played into your cards.

"She'll want the relic for herself.", it was just a thought that popped into your head but within seconds you'd said it.

He hummed in agreement.

"It could also save her life.", he confirmed.

"Is it reusable?"

He hesitated briefly.

"I don't think so."

The beat of your heart hammered against your chest. Again the hand slipped down your neck, gripping tightly so that the warmth of blood ran over your (S/C) skin.

Your eyes darkened. Fear was taken over by greed and desperation. You would have shared it. But if there was only one shot, you would walk over dead bodies to get what you wanted.

A life without an expiration date.

"She'll try to fuck us over!", you hissed.

Your eyes jumped back to So Mi.

Then, suddenly, you noticed it. It was just a tiny flicker, a mistake in the picture. She wasn't there at all. What was moving down there in the Black Sapphire arcade was just a hologram, an image of the woman.

"She's not even here...", you whispered.

Kurt closed his eyes, thinking.

"She's sitting with Myers in a spaceplane over California. I had her info checked, the flight is legit and Myers is really on it.", his fingers twitched and he allowed himself to gently caress your cheek. "We'll get the plane from the sky, kill Myers and then get Songbird to open the relic for you. And then you're free."

Your hands clenched into fists. Red replaced the (E/C) of your eyes. The hologram of So Mi disappeared.

"How do you know all this?", you couldn't help but feel betrayed.

All this had happened under your nose without you realising it. And now he laid it out like he had a solution for everything. It felt wrong, too good, too clean to be real.

He moved away from you again. He wasn't afraid. But better safe than sorry.

"I had seven years to find a solution.", he admitted.

Your heart leapt.

"Seven years to look for all this?", you almost had to laugh. "Militech bunker? Cynosure? Her?"

"She was... a lucky coincidence."

"She's here because she smells blood! A way out for herself."

"And we'll give it to her.", he came at you with a dark face, grabbed your shoulders. "And as soon as she's done her job, we'll get rid of her. I've planned everything, you'll get everything you want."

A stifled laugh escaped you. Your eyes darkened.

"So I get everything on a silver platter...", you purred, leaning your head to one side. "A relic AI to cut my leash, a dead president and a long life. But what will you get in return, Kurt?"

"You.", he didn't hesitate with the answer.

You laughed.

"Didn't I tell you? Everything is replaceable. You'd better find yourself a new toy before you throw yourself headfirst into such a mess. A fucking... civil war."

The seriousness on his face remained.

"Everything is replaceable.", he confirmed. "But not my Lady Sapphire."