Groaning, you opened your eyes and rolled over in bed as the first strands of daylight fought their way into the small apartment of yours.

It was criminally late, probably already lunchtime.

After the busted interview with Kamski, you had taken the rest of the day off and bathed in self pity. Alcohol and junk food included.

Now, a devilish headache was pounding against the back of your skull and stabbed your brain. It almost made you want to throw up. But in the end it had no use to complain about suffering that you caused yourself.

Forcing yourself to get up, you set one foot on the cold floor and instantly regretted the decision. A wave of nausea washed over you.

Quickly, you pressed a hand to your mouth and chased into the bathroom before all the foot from the night before forced its way back to daylight. Choking and coughing, you bend over the toilet and let the misery take its turn while the taste of acid and halfway digested food filled your mouth.

"Fuck!", you cursed and turned on the water to wash your face.

Your entire body was aching. Standing up straight felt like a sin.

While you halfway hung over the sink, holding on for dear life, you suddenly thought about the interview again.

It was strange how it had went down.

Usually, you were quite confident in your skills. Of course, you weren't a god, but your skills and achievements so far were decent. It was even weirder when you considered the fact that doctor Spencer had recommended you after CyberLife had specifically asked him for a suitable opinion.

Putting everything together it had seemed like a safe bet.

So how did you fuck it up?

And why was Kamski such a strange appearance?

Only thinking about his strangely lifeless eyes made you shiver.

Goosebumps grew all over your body. Out of disgust, you shook.

"Dammit!", you gasped and pulled yourself up straight. "Time to get it together."

Your eyes jumped into the mirror only for you to get the shock of a lifetime. Your face was a mess, with deep, dark circles under the eyes, messy hair and such ashy skin that you might as well could have dropped dead on the spot.

"Oh my god...", you groaned and squeezed your eyes shut. "I'm a mess..."

But there wasn't a lot of time to keep pitying yourself.

All of a sudden, the ringing doorbell filled the silence.

Confused, you looked up.

You didn't order anything, nor did you expect a visitor.

Quickly, you tapped the screen next to you and pulled up the live video footage of the security camera at the front door.

Immediately, your heart dropped to the floor.

"Kamski?!", you gasped. "Shit! Shit, shit, shit!"

As if someone was pointing a gun at you, you jumped back into your room and grabbed the first piece of proper clothing you could find.

The decision fell on an oversized hoodie, only the devil knew the last time it had seen a washing machine from the inside, and some sweatpants. As if the hangover didn't exist anymore, you threw everything on, fixed your hair and rushed to the door.

Your hand reached out.

But before opening, you took a deep breath in to calm your nerves.

With a low hiss, the door swung open. Blue light lit up to illuminate the entrance of the apartment.

A pair of shiny blue eyes met your tired (E/C) ones.

Kamski himself was standing in your doorway, accompanied by two bodyguards.

At first glance they could have passed as humans, but the blue circles shimmering at the sides of their heads made it obvious that they were machines. Androids.

Their narrowed eyes and emotionless faces did something to you. You just didn't know what to make of that feeling.
You forced a smile to your face, despite the urge to collapse.

"Mister Kamski.", you said in the nicest and most surprised way possible. "To what do I owe the honour?"

His face didn't move. Instead, his gaze wandered past you and into the apartment, small and barely filled with furniture.

You had moved a few months ago, both to save on the living costs and the way to work. As soon as Spencer had informed you about the possible job at CyberLife you had jumped and packed your stuff to move across the country.

It was kinda a bummer that you had moved for nothing, but it wasn't like programmers weren't needed in Detroit.

Kamski's eyes returned to you. He seemed bored. Or observed the surroundings.

Either way, it made you shiver.

"May I?", he asked.

Swallowing hard, you stepped aside to make space for him to enter.

Without saying another word, he entered, arms crossed behind his back. But instead of walking into the small kitchen, where the only table with chairs was located, he stopped in the middle of the room and turned to you again.

You gifted him an embarrassed smile.

"Excuse the mess.", you mumbled and quickly kicked an empty box of junk food out of his field of vision. "I didn't expect anyone to visit."

The corners of his mouth twitched. Probably an attempt to smile.

"I wanted to tell you the happy news myself.", he said and locked eyes with you.

A shiver crawled down your spine, but you smiled instead of freaking out.

"What news, if I may ask?"

He nodded as if he had to approve his own words before he said them out loud.

"I talked to the shareholders of CyberLife and we all agreed that the company would only benefit from your skills."

All of a sudden, the tension fell off your shoulders. Instead, it felt like you were about to jump.

"Pardon?", you asked, baffled.

His eyes wandered over you for a moment.

"We're hiring you.", he said without the hint of emotions. "Under certain conditions."

Still unsure if this was real or just a hangover dream, you swallowed hard.

"Which would be?"

"You will work on a different project, separated from the other programmers. You'll have to sign a confidentiality agreement and your pay will depend on your progress."

Your eyes narrowed.

"How am I supposed to understand that?"

"CyberLife will pay you over the course of your work. The company provides an apartment. Once your work is successfully finished, we'll also pay you a generous amount for the copy rights and ownership."

"Sir... I'm a programmer."

"And I'll make you a legend."