He wants to know where we're going next and I point to a tall building a few blocks down. I don't tell him it's one of my favorite ones, where I bagged my first Cordy, and where you can get a good cup of coffee for a good price.
Anyway, we get to the place and we do a quick run-through of the umpteen staircases and check the elevators. Just the basic routine. I show him the roof and we stand up there a couple of minutes looking down on the city, one of the only cities that civilization has managed to keep the fungus out of. It's definitely been a process.
Everything is locked down now; it's a wonder anyone flies at all. At one point people complained about security, but they hadn't seen anything yet. Nowadays you have to arrive at your flight about five hours beforehand. It's an extensive process, because it's so hard to detect once you're infected. We've got better at it, though.
When this mess first started, there were the ones who went into the planes, who freaked out and caused havoc. There were more than a couple planes that went down that year. I lost an uncle in one of them. I don't fly anymore.
But that's in the past. We've mostly cleaned up the cities and set up some order. Of course, there are so many small towns and cities with so little security... we may never get this stuff fully eradicated.
Anyway, there's only half an hour left in my shift. I think it's time for that coffee. I lead my partner down to the cafe and order my normal Americano. Dave gets a latte. Rookie.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention my name. I'm Michael. Michael Benton. I tend to zone out and forget about small talk like that when I'm on the job. I have a family: wife and a kid. The wife worries all the time. That's why I'm in this city even though the cost of living is ungodly. It's one of the few places anyone feels safe, like they are protected.
And, well, maybe they are. I'm here doing my part in this city to make it what it claims to be. It's managed to keep any major incident from happening, although you do get the eventual case. We've stopped it every time, though.
We get our coffee and sit where I can see the front door. It's always good to know who's coming into a building like this. You want to watch out for the guys who come in looking around, like they don't know why they're there, or as if they've never been there before. Generally they'll end up just being lost, but you never know.
Anyway, we get to the place and we do a quick run-through of the umpteen staircases and check the elevators. Just the basic routine. I show him the roof and we stand up there a couple of minutes looking down on the city, one of the only cities that civilization has managed to keep the fungus out of. It's definitely been a process.
Everything is locked down now; it's a wonder anyone flies at all. At one point people complained about security, but they hadn't seen anything yet. Nowadays you have to arrive at your flight about five hours beforehand. It's an extensive process, because it's so hard to detect once you're infected. We've got better at it, though.
When this mess first started, there were the ones who went into the planes, who freaked out and caused havoc. There were more than a couple planes that went down that year. I lost an uncle in one of them. I don't fly anymore.
But that's in the past. We've mostly cleaned up the cities and set up some order. Of course, there are so many small towns and cities with so little security... we may never get this stuff fully eradicated.
Anyway, there's only half an hour left in my shift. I think it's time for that coffee. I lead my partner down to the cafe and order my normal Americano. Dave gets a latte. Rookie.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention my name. I'm Michael. Michael Benton. I tend to zone out and forget about small talk like that when I'm on the job. I have a family: wife and a kid. The wife worries all the time. That's why I'm in this city even though the cost of living is ungodly. It's one of the few places anyone feels safe, like they are protected.
And, well, maybe they are. I'm here doing my part in this city to make it what it claims to be. It's managed to keep any major incident from happening, although you do get the eventual case. We've stopped it every time, though.
We get our coffee and sit where I can see the front door. It's always good to know who's coming into a building like this. You want to watch out for the guys who come in looking around, like they don't know why they're there, or as if they've never been there before. Generally they'll end up just being lost, but you never know.
