#holohues

[darth-does-stuff]

The Visionary's Nightmare

Summary: Logan Sanders was not a rich man. He lived in the poverty sector of the city of Archaeus, where crates were remodeled into barely-livable huts, food and water were scarce, and crime was abundant. He himself was no stranger to illegality, stealing often just to get by. But when he meets Virgil Callaghan, a wealthy scientist who works at Syneuron, his whole world starts to turn upside down as secrets from the past are beginning to become uncovered.

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Chapter 7: Meet Up

a deal is struck.

⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼

Logan stared at his HoloHue (or, as he liked to call it, his messenger, as ‘HoloHue’ sounded fake and marketable, because it was), the holographic display casting a faint blue light over his face as the message from Janus remained there, glaring up at him. 

Wanted to organize a meet up. Roof of old Codall building? - S

There was really only one person that could have sent the message, considering he only gave his messenger information to Janus and no one else (not even Remus, considering he didn’t want to be spammed every hour or so, Janus, at least, only messaged when necessary). 

He considered the proposition for a bit. The Codall building was essentially Syneuron before Syneuron existed and the megacorp was established, a tech company that was bought out and absorbed into the monopoly. Its main headquarters were in the poverty section of Archaeus before the walls were in place and there were sectors at all. Now, the building has long since been abandoned and run-down, and it was a place that Logan and the pair used to meet up before they discovered better spots. He found himself wondering why Janus would pick this spot out of all places. 

Sure. - C

A response came back almost immediately. 

Glad to see you didn’t take too long to answer this, Corvid. I know you’re quite forgetful. Tomorrow, 11 p.m., don’t be late. - S

Logan rolled his eyes at Janus’ usual snark and typed out.

Copy. - C

He set the messenger down and got to preparing dinner, some fruit and jerky, washed down with some stale water that he had left from last night. 

Honestly? One of his better meals. 

Logan looked down at his sleeping roll on the ground and a grimace formed on his face. He had a little too much energy to go to sleep and he was feeling restless, which led to him running and jumping from building to building until he arrived at the pond. A little area of nature in a sector full of desolation. 

He sat there, watching the water ripple gently until the sun rose and washed the city in a warm light. 

⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼

Logan climbed a ladder to the top of the abandoned building, the chill of the night washing over him despite wearing a hoodie, the cold metal of the ladder freezing against his human hand. 

“Fuck you, Janus. Why couldn’t you have picked a better spot?” he huffed out, scowling. He reached for the last rung on the ladder, heaving himself up to the top. He adjusted his fingerless gloves as he stood, glancing at the figure on the other side of the building.

“Okay, Janus, spit it out, why are we here?” Logan yelled, sighing as he shoved his hands into his pockets. 

In the distance, Logan could see him turning to look at him once he shouted that out. He walked towards him, his cybernetic eye casting a faint blue glow on the ground.

As that light washed over the person in front of him, Logan looked up only to realize that this was not Janus.

Moving on autopilot, he grabbed the other person’s arm and twisted it behind their back, kicking his legs out from under them and putting them in a chokehold, knife in hand near the other’s neck.

“Who the fuck are you?” Logan hissed out. 

“Came…to talk,” the other choked out, his free arm flailing about. Then, he grabbed Logan’s hair and yanked it hard, making Logan loosen his grip as he instinctively recoiled in pain. They shoved their elbow up under Logan’s jaw and stomped on his foot, getting away from Logan’s hold as they tried to desperately breathe air back into their empty lungs.

“Wanted to…” he took a deep breath, “make a deal. Jan said he’d organize this meeting,” he let out a cough before he got his breathing somewhat under control. 

Logan stared at him, knife in his hand and every muscle in his body tense and ready to lunge. “…What’s your name?” he asked in a flat tone.

The other hesitated for a moment. “Call me Vee.”

“Well, Vee. You can take that deal you wanted to make and shove it up your ass. I don’t trade with outsiders. Sorry, not sorry, goodbye,” Logan turned to move away, but Vee’s hand shot out to grab his arm and tug him back, forcing Logan to face them. In the closer proximity, Logan got a clearer view of the other. 

Messy black hair that flopped onto his forehead, paler skin tone (not a pallor, more like he just didn’t go outside that much) and a bit of acne on his face. Purple and green eyes stared right at him, a hint of nervousness, but also determination alight in them. He was tall, taller than Logan by about 5 inches, and piercings decorated his right ear with only one on the left. His clothes were obviously well-made, and he didn’t have the haunted and bedraggled look of someone who grew up in the poorer sectors of Archaeus, all signs pointing to being rich.

Logan hated him already. 

They wore a small necklace of a crescent moon around their neck and there were slight bags under their eyes (Logan could relate). Struck by a realization, Logan suddenly realized this was the jackass from the night when he tried to get that robot. 

Continuing his inspection, he caught sight of something and narrowed his eyes, leaning forward and snatching something from around their neck that was hiding under their shirt. 

A Syneuron ID that read:

VIRGIL CALLAGHAN - HEAD OF SCIENTIFIC DEPARTMENT - TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS  (HE/THEY)

Logan stared up at Vee-no, at Virgil and glared at him. 

“You work at Syneuron?” he asked, his voice no more than a whisper.

Virgil snatched the ID and shoved it back under their shirt. “Shut the fuck up, jackass, don’t yell it out. I’m not even supposed to be here, alright?”

“What do you want?” Logan asked flatly, the glare never leaving his face.

“Like I said, a deal. I want that piece of tech and my phone that you stole back in my possession. I’ll give you money for it.”

Logan scoffed at him, “Yeah sure, I’ll totally give it back for some fucking credits. No, tell me what’s on that blueprint exactly and what it’s about.”

Virgil stared at him in horror. “You got onto the blueprint?” he asked hoarsely. “I mean, god, fuck , it’s…it’s nothing of importance. I just need it back, alright? And my phone. I’ll pay, I swear.”

“Tell me what’s on it.”

“No!” 

Logan looked at Virgil for a bit, contemplating his next choice. “Well, if it’s nothing of importance, then I suppose you won’t mind if I break it into a million pieces?”

“No! God fucking damn it, I’ll tell you, alright? Just…don’t break it.”

Logan raised an eyebrow and waved his hand, gesturing for him to continue on.

“It’s…” Virgil took a deep breath, “It’s regarding the crime rate and how to cut down on it, hence the upgraded security measures. That’s it, really.”

Logan looked at them for a bit, seeing a bead of sweat trickle down their face and their hands fidgeting, eyes shifting and looking everywhere but at him. He scoffed.

“If you think I’m believing that bullshit, then you must think I’m a fucking idiot. Tell me the truth or it’s going to be destroyed.” 

Logan knew all the signs of lying, and Virgil had marked off every box as if it were a checklist.

Virgil pinched the bride of his nose, “Just—fuck, okay, can you bring it here and then we’ll make a trade off. I give the information, you give the tech back. Okay?”

Logan considered him for a moment, gauging the other’s thoughts. Fortunately, Virgil’s face was an open book, and it was one that read of pure desperation.

He would be willing to give almost anything to get it back, which meant it was important, which meant that perhaps it was worth holding onto it, even if it was just for a little while, enough to explore it fully. He couldn’t just give Virgil nothing though Naturally, he would make a copy. 

Logan quickly calculated how fast he could make a copy of the project, and estimated that it would take about 2 days. 

“Give me 2 days' time, and I’ll bring it back. Same spot, same time,” he said after a long moment.

“Why 2 days? Do you not have it...wherever you live?” Virgil asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously. 

Ah, so he wasn’t a complete idiot then.

“I have to remove any traces of my fingerprints and decrease the likelihood of this,” Logan waved his hand back and forth at the two of them, “being traced back to me, which takes time. So, yes, 2 days. Is there a problem with that?” Logan came up with a lie quickly, almost automatically. Practice makes perfect, he supposed. 

Logan watched Virgil work their jaw back and forth before they sighed. 

“Fine. 2 days. But if you’re lying to me…” he let the threat hang in the air. 

Logan was only all too aware that despite having the upper hand currently, Virgil was far more influential, connected, and, well, rich. He bit back a scowl and a grimace, only nodding. 

“2 days.”

a/n: if you couldnt already tell, i love enemies to lovers analogical <3

taglist (ask to be added!): @star-crossed-shipper, @wasinotwantedatthisexactsecond, @boredartistry

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