The Warren Residence, Los Angeles
October 26, 2049
5:00pm
The Net Room

[url=https://youtu.be/0KV1QXBI7Nc]Mood Music[/url]

"Well if you can't afford my information I'm afraid our business is concluded", Josephine's finger hovered over the keyboard but she had no intention of ending the call. The client was trying to haggle himself a better deal but Josephine would have none of it. As expected the voice on the other side of the line abruptly spoke up, "Wait! Wait!...I can pay your fee, if the cost hasn't increased". A smile ran across Josephine's face as she knew that the payout was as good as hers. "The cost hasn't changed and neither is how you'll pay. As I said when we first began this deal I get paid in cash only. I'm sending you the directions to one of my dead drop locations. Leave the money there and within five minutes of doing so one of my contacts will arrive to confirm the money is there. Once that's been done they will take the money and leave in its place the files. However you will wait until my contact has left the area with the money before you go to claim the files. If you try anything that compromises this transaction I will expose all of your illegal activities to the public".

The client was left in shock at the conclusion of that final statement, "What do you mean 'all my illegal activities?!'". This was always Josephine's favorite part of the transaction call. While her clients would often spend most of their time trying to find ways out of paying, she'd spend part of her time finding ways to make sure they pay. This individual in particular had a long list of dirty secrets which she'd have no problem with showing to the world. "Just know that I'm aware of all the skeletons in your closet and if you try to steal from me I will take everything from you...the directions have been sent, the transaction will take place tomorrow at 5am", with the press of a key the call was ended and Josephine exited the Net Room. Once she was back in the living room, with the pull of the nearby wall light, the false wall slid back into place leaving virtually no sign that there was a room behind it. "Now to relax and wait for the deadline", heading to the bedroom Josephine passed by a mirror on her way there. It had been twenty years since the incident and as a result she looked as if she had barely aged a few years. "Gotta love cybernetics", she thought to herself with a smile that quickly vanished soon after. The memories after her operation along with the knowledge of what she'd done beforehand still haunted her to this day. Still she had a second chance at life and while it wasn't the American dream it was the best she could do with her skill set. 

Once in her room she grabbed a small touchpad and with a few quick taps the house sound system began to shuffle through her [url=https://youtu.be/oKxuiw3iMBE]music library[/url]. If any aspects of her past life survived it was her love of music. Josephine could listen to music for hours and it was then that she'd be at peace with herself. It was as if the outside world simply fade away into the entrancing sounds she'd envelope herself in. However even as she lay on the bed trying her best to drift into the music her memories of first waking up after the blacksite still filled her mind while everything else was a blur. Despite desperately trying to push these thoughts out of her mind her attempts were to no avail. Frustrated beyond belief Josephine headed for the shower with the hope that perhaps the warm waters would ease her mind. Once in the shower, Josephine let the hot water cascade down her body as the steam began to fog the various mirrors in the rather large bathroom. "Twenty years and the only memory I remember best is that...", she thought to herself as she raised her head to let the water wash over her face. Josephine remembered that day so vividly it was as if she was still there. She could feel the searing pain as the flesh which already hung from her body was pulled with each involuntary muscle movement. She could feel the immense pressure from the endoskeleton that was attached to the remaining half of her skull. Her head felt as if it had been sawed open, filled with razors, then bolted shut and shaken. The rest of her body felt like molten steel was being poured on whatever areas could still feel anything at all. In that moment Josephine felt real pain for the first time in her life; not when she'd taken multiple bullet wounds in her previous profession, not when she was beaten to a bloody pulp, it was when she awoke after death. In that moment all she wanted was to be given what they'd just taken from her. Josephine had wanted to die. 

[url=https://youtu.be/BmEhO1OiEkY]Mood Music[/url]

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell being rung. Hurrying out of the shower she wrapped herself in her towel to see who it was. At one end of her room there was a small screen which showed whoever was at the front door. While she wasn't too surprised to see Cole at her door it was rather untimely. With some speed in her step she headed downstairs to answer the door and upon opening it revealed the Commander of the Los Angeles CIR Sentinels. Cole's eyes widened once he realized Josephine was wearing only a towel and he quickly averted his eyes to avoid the look from her which he was all too familiar with. "Oh uh sorry is this a bad time?", he asked as he looked to the side. Josephine simply turned away from the door and began to walk back into the house. "As a matter of fact yes it is, I was just in the shower as you can see", she said with an annoyed tone in her voice as she quickly glanced into the living room to check if she had sealed the Net Room. 

"Sorry about that I just wanted to stop by, maybe catch up since we haven't seen each other in a while", Cole had been here before, after the meeting with Natalie she brought him here and the trio had a short conversation mostly about Natalie's findings. Now he was back again but this time it was personal instead of for business. Josephine chuckled at Cole's remark, "'In a while' is putting it mildly", looking rather indignant as she headed back upstairs to change. Cole followed but was halted by the closing of her room door in his face. "Hold on a minute", was all Josephine said from behind the door. Cole, with no choice, headed downstairs to wait in the living room.

"Is Natalie home?", he asked as Josephine finally came downstairs dressed in a rather unusual attire for the afternoon. She was wearing an outfit similar to the one she favoured during her time as a Warden. The only difference was that it was all black with a hood and a light scarf hung from her shoulders. "You should know, she works for you after all, doesn't she?", from behind the door Josephine began to sound rather annoyed by the entire conversation. "Natalie is in R&D, actually. But that's not why I came here", that stung at Josephine as she looked away towards a picture of herself and Natalie. "Of course not, no you're here to 'catch up' right? What's there for you to catch up with? You left, I had Natalie and we lived fine without you"

"Josie-"

"No you don't get to call me that! You don't get to act like we're good friends who've just been busy for a few weeks! You abandoned me and for twenty years I had to survive on my own and at the same time raise our child who you couldn't give a single shit about could you?!"

"You think I don't care? For fuck's sake she's my daughter of course I care about her! I'd do anything to keep her safe!"

"Then why the hell did you leave?", there was a long silence that felt so intense in comparison to the yelling which echoed throughout the house mere moments ago. "...I had no choice", was Cole's only response before Josephine laughed sarcastically as she walked away into the kitchen. "You know I had no choice, Josephine! You know that so don't you dare make this sound as if I just left in the middle of the night!"

"You did have a choice! You could hve stayed, put this all behind you, and we could have lived fine, probably in this same house together, and Natalie would have had a father and a real family!", Josephine was at this point pouring herself a glass from her wine shelf. "I couldn't stay! I had a duty to my country, to our kind!", Cole had followed close behind and was separated from Josephine by the island in the kitchen which he stood at the opposite side of. "But not to your family right? Noooo, the noble Cole Harland must put the needs of others above all else!"

"Natalie wasn't even around then, how was I supposed to know I should have stayed?!"

"BECAUSE I WAS THERE!", another deafening silence filled the room before Josephine spoke again. "Because I was there. I was there with you and after all we went through you left to go play the hero again.."

"I'm sorry-"

"Sorry isn't enough. Because it's not just me you need to make it up to, you owe Natalie as well"

"I will make it up to you both, I promise you that"

"When Cole? When will that be? Because I'm not going to wait another twenty years and neither will she"

"Right now I'm dealing with a serious case but I promise you both, when it's done I will walk away"

Josephine hung her head low as she began to laugh morosely with her face veiled by her long black hair. "Just go Cole...this has been enough 'catching up' for one night", Josephine wouldn't let him see her tears. She turned away from him and leaned against the island looking out the nearby window. Cole quietly headed towards the kitchen exit but stopped just outside it. "You know I always thought about you after I left...", he said with a much more sullen voice then what he had when he first arrived. "That so?", Josephine replied, still not looking in his direction as she tried to subtly wipe the tears rolling down her face. 

"Every day I'd think back to the day I left and every time I'd playback what we said to each other", Cole said nothing more and Josephine listened to his footsteps as he approached the door. The second she heard it close she slammed the wine glass onto the kitchen floor.