Universal Avenue
âIf you attempt to do anything to damage the image of Kane Corporation in the eyes of the public then we are at liberty to shut down your prosthesis to prevent further harm. If you attempt to leave the boundaries of New Athens without approval, your prosthesis will be shut down to prevent theft of property. If you choose to continue to act unaccordingly your employment may be terminated and your prosthesis will be confiscated. Do you understand?â Yeah, the setup was simple enough. Maria plays the Girl Scout for Mister Kane and keeps the ability to locomote as a reward; whoopie. She didnât need the rulebook read out to her by this bitch- or Violetta as Darius called her, the woman that was to be Marionetteâs âhandlerâ. Hell, if so much wasnât at stake sheâd already have leapt across the limousine and had her metal digits wrapped around Violettaâs pretty little throat. She was delicate, it would be easy. However, it wasnât worth it. Not yet anyway. âYeah, I got it.â
âGood, we shouldnât have any problems then.â From her side the woman pulled a pistol, small, plain, looked to be a nine millimeter, and the way she held it you could tell sheâd never shot the thing. It interestingly wasnât intended for her use as it were, Violetta handed the firearm to Marionette who couldn't help but have a grin on her face as she thought of all the different things she could do with it. âYou know I couldâŚâ Her opposite just snickered to herself at the implication. Not that she found it funny, but more absurd than anything. âWhat, shoot me Miss Legrand? Yes, Iâm sure you could, but then youâd have A.E.B.L after you for murder of a fellow employee; we wouldnât want that would we?â
A.E.B.L? That rumor that Darius was creating a security force out of a private military firm armed with the most advanced technology and weaponry money could buy? There was no way what Violetta suggested could be true. âA.E.B.L doesnât exist. Thereâs no way Kane could have pulled that disaster together.â The car stopped with the two locked in each other's vision, only breaking once the driver had opened the rear door and motioned for Marionette to exit. âThe advanced electronic battle legion is real miss Legrand. And we will be watching.â
Reaching back to her side, Violetta yet again pulled out an object, this time, a smartphone. âWeâll use this to contact you whenever we have a job prepared. Inside youâll find the address to the apartment Kane Corporation is providing you to stay in. Also, Mister Kane expects you to come into our labs for a monthly evaluation; youâll also find the scheduled dates for those in that phone.â Marionette tensed up at the thought of âevaluationâ. She wasnât in the best condition the last time Kane Corp. ran tests; she hoped these would be different. âOtherwise, youâre free to do what you please here in New Athens.â
Finally, freedom. The girl didnât take her time getting out of the car, and she never wanted to see it or the woman inside again. However, before she could make it to the sidewalk Violetta made Maria glance back around; not through force, but by what she said. âMarionette, Mister Kane can make life under his employ very lucrative for you. Trust me; he can get you things you wouldnât believe. Money, power, maybe even information? At least think about it before you destroy that cell phone and try running away, hm?â Marionetteâs eyes narrowed, how could she have known that she was planning on doing that?
They didn't wait for a reply and the car pulled away leaving Marionette dumbfounded. She stared at the phone for a moment in contemplation and then stuffed it in her pocket. This next week was going to be rough, she could tell. "Yeah, we'll see."