Appetite for Success

[Max Griffiths]

*When we get to the basement I walk over to the closest car. It's regulation white, like nearly all the others. We get in and I swipe my card to unlock the gate as we exit the underground parking and drive out into the city and towards the tunnel. I glance over at Red* Ever been into the Zones?

[redhavoc]

*I stare out at the city and the people walking by. There's a group of uniform clad toddlers being led to a park and three businessmen talking in a circle. Then a family, a group of shoppers, a huge electronics store... there's so much I almost miss Max's question.

*I shake my head 'No', fighting the urge to just stare out the window again. Everyone knows about the zones, of course, but no one I knew ever went out there. I met a kid from a boarder town once, but his community had gates that surrounded the entire complex. No, I wasn't ever sure how many designated 'zones' there were*

[bunny killightly]

*With everyone else gone, I finish up my paperwork and proceed to the scarecrow wing. I walk through the door where the white halls are littered with wanted and exterminated posters. At the top of the hall the Better Living Logo overlooks everything. the hidden cameras in the eyes peirce your soul. I walk down the hallway and into a room with hundreds of screens. In one corner there are feeds from the tower,a total of 190 cameras. Beside them the Battery city feeds, all 500 of them. On the opposite side of the room I scowl when I see only 17 feeds from the zones operating* This isn't good enough. I want eyes out there in EVERY corner of those zones. *one of the guards blabs on about the price of replacing camera but I interrupt* We aren't going to replace the cameras, this is going to be something new *A scheme comes into my mind that makes me laugh* Those silly little rebels won't know what hit them. *I stand over the guards in the room and watch some of the feeds with a satisfied look on my face, certain that my plan will work*

[Max Griffiths]

*I see her staring around at the city* Well don't get used to what you see now. The Zones aren't anything like this. That mask will help shield some of the radiation but it's still hotter than an oven and it gets worse the farther out you go.
*I drive into the tunnel and stop at the checkpoint to show the guards my ID, then we're moving again. Suddenly we're in blinding sunlight, and I pick up speed on the highway* Welcome to the Zones.

[redhavoc]

Suddenly the cityscape is gone and all I see is blue sky and barren desert. I point out to the sagebrush and dirt, wondering if this is all there really is and how any killjoy could survive. I'm glad we have AC, at least for the moment.

[Max Griffiths]

*I nod* Dirt and rocks and some dry bushes and trees. There are hills in some areas, and in one or two places there's actually something like a forest, because of a couple polluted streams that are still running. *I watch the road for a few minutes* In case you're wondering, we're starting with the girl's hometown. We'll ask around, see if anyone knows her uncle.

[redhavoc]

*I was wondering, but I didn't know how to ask. I suddenly realized I hadn't been worrying about it that much because I already felt more comfortable around him than anyone else in the Tower, which wasn't saying much, but it was something. I think of something and take out one of my prepared note cards, the ones I made a week ago to stop all the questions and had transferred from my school uniform to my jacket. This one is the most heavily used and has a crease down the middle.

It says: 'One tap = NO Two taps = yes"

I hand the card to Max.*

[Max Griffiths]

*I take the card and scan it* Works for me. Don't know why that's any easier than nodding, but okay.
*After about half an hour I take an exit and start heading north, towards a city a few miles away*

[redhavoc]

*I take out card number 2:

"For over the radio or wierd situations"

And hand it to him.

[bunny killightly]

*I watch everyone in custody for a short time before I'm summoned back out of the room*

Its done.

Good *I walk back through the department and out to the elevator. I emerge on the 29th floor "Technology and Science". I know exactly where to go, having worked for a time here. I enter a room where a small brutish man is surprized to see me* I need everything you've got. Everything around the city and anything waiting to be deployed...

Have you got Authorization?

Does it matter? *He stares me down. I start to get angry* Its only a matter of time. There is a meeting arranged for this afternoon

Come back with Authorization and I'll have them ready for you

What? No. I want them ready in an hour

Protocall must be obeyed young lady, even by you

*I storm out of the room* THEY BETTER BE READY THE SECOND I GET OUT OF MY MEETING! *The elevator opens once again*

[Max Griffiths]

*I read the second card* You use these a lot, do you? More considerate than I was. If someone was too slow to guess what I wanted them to know, I just shot them. *I laugh*

[redhavoc]

*I nod, wondering if Ms.Faith's orders to look after me actually overrode his shoot first policy or not. They practically rebuilt my body to stand up to almost anything, but I didn't really want to test it. Max goes queit as we near the town, signs starting to pop up on the side of the road. My watch beeps and I take out my pills, counting them to make sure they're all there*

[Max Griffiths]

*I don't comment on her pills, paying attention as we start passing the outlying buildings of the town. I watch the street signs, and after a few turns we pull up outside the burned-down remains of a small house. I get out, drawing my gun*

[redhavoc]

*I put on my mask, which smells slightly of mint and is surprisingly cool on my face. As I get out of the car and see Max draw his gun, I realize I never got one of my own. I follow Max's lead, staying two steps behind him and looking around.

The house itself looks pitiful with its burned out roof and broken windows. The grass is dead, as are the flowers in the pots out front, one of which is overturned. It looks to me as if no one is home*

[bunny killightly]

*I'm my office after being put on hold from the tech dept. The clock is almost at the hour so I gather everything I need into my folder for the review and slip something small into my pocket. I walk to the elevator, slightly nervous*

You better be ready for this. The partners wont accept anything if they think you havent got it planned out

*I step into the elevator, he follows. I push the button for the top floor* Of course its planned out. Every detail is planned out, Korse. Even the unexpected is planned for. Why are you even here. Shouldnt you be... resting?

I'm still your superior. Lets not forget that. Your putting in a submission for my unit to focus on, I'm going to be present.

I had expected as much *We dont speak again until the elevator stops. I sit down outside a conference room and wait.*