’... what?’ Dante’s eyes narrowed, but he quickly adjusted his expression, closing his eyes and chugging from his bottle. ’And you’re telling me now?’
[Your arrival has attracted some attention, but most of it faded over time.] Volcan said. [This one, however, has been monitoring you this entire time.]
It hadn’t been that long since he entered the night club so it wouldn’t have been strange if some people noticed him and got curious, but to monitor him this entire time didn’t bode anything good.
[Yes.] The yellow screen covering Flash Malcom disappeared as a different target had been selected. [She is sitting at the bar.]
A really bad feeling rose from the depths of Dante’s heart, but it was too late. His eyes had already moved, and by the time he understood what kind of situation he was in, eye contact was established.
Sitting at one end of the bar was a woman with shoulder-length hair, her figure illuminated by its overhead lights. The moment their eyes met, she tilted her head slightly and smiled at him, raising her cup slightly as if to say hi.
Dante’s first instinct was to look away, but that would have painted him as an easy prey. His opponent seemed to be an experienced hunter as well, although of a different kind.
She didn’t appear to be the kind who overdid it with the cosmetic enhancements, which is why he was able to tell right away that she had stepped past the twenties line. That wasn’t to say she hadn’t left her thirties behind as well.
Some strands of her long and wavy hair cascaded over the right side of her face. She was leaning with her elbows on the counter, her stacked chest resting on her left forearm, the low-cut shirt she wore revealing a very deep cleavage.
After holding her gaze for several seconds, Dante frowned a little and looked away
’Keep an eye on her location.’
Saying that, he returned his focus to his original target. Having made his disinterest clear, he hoped to be left alone. The last thing he needed right now was a perverted woman hitting on him. Unfortunately for him, it seems the message didn’t make it across.
[Dante, she is on the move.] Volcan said.
Pretending not to hear that report, Dante raised his bottle and chugged some more of the cold drink, feeling his mood drop even lower than it was a while ago. From the looks of it, he might be forced to abandon the hunt for now just so he wouldn’t alert the target.
[She is heading in your direction. Ten seconds until contact.]
He could already see her in the periphery of his vision, the yellow screen of Volcan’s filter still overlayed over her form. Dreading what was about to happen, Dante wished he had bought a stronger drink. Then again, impairing his judgment wasn’t the wisest of ideas, seeing that it could lead to him repeating one of the mistakes he regretted the most
"Hey handsome. Haven’t seen you around before." A sweet, sultry voice spoke to him from the side. "Are you new in town?"
The same old question. Even the delivery is the same. Having heard it hundreds of times before, Dante felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Raising his bottle to wash it away, he gave the woman a simple reply, the bluntness of his tone leaving no room for interpretation.
Clearly, he hadn’t been blunt enough.
"Really now, why would you say something like that?"
"Because I’m not interested."
"Not interested in what? I only asked if you’re new in town."
Feeling his face twitch, Dante finished the rest of his drink and placed the bottle on a nearby table. In the end, there was no getting out of this situation without literally getting out.
He said nothing and was about to walk away, but then he felt a slender hand touch his chest, and the next second, he was pushed back toward the wall.
With her hand still on his chest, the stubborn woman moved in front of him. She pushed her right leg between his and brought her body an inch from his, not only blocking his path but also limiting his range of movements.
"You came in here not that long ago, right?" She said. "Don’t be in such a rush."
For a moment there, Dante was stunned still. It wasn’t that he had guard down; on the contrary, he knew all too well to brace himself in case someone approached him. Despite that, the persistent woman still pushed him with ease, and though he hadn’t tried to move again just yet, the pressure placed on his chest told him he wouldn’t be able to.
[Threat Evaluation: Level 2 Intermediate Cyborg.] Said the AI. [Changing designation to Hostile Entity.]
’Couldn’t you figure it out sooner?’
The grayscale filter disappeared and color returned to the world. With her practically sticking to him, Dante was unable to get a better look at the rest of the woman’s body -two massive mountains stood in his way- but he noticed that her hair was light purple, and going by the jacket she was wearing, she seemed to be into bikes.
[The enhancements are a little difficult to detect.] Volcan said, sounding just a little bit distressed. [Most of it is a weave of nano-fiber infused into her skin and muscles.]
"What’s wrong?" The purple woman leaned in a little more, bringing her face closer to his. "You look so pale. Did I scare you, perhaps?"
If he had to be honest, yes. Silk Suits weren’t something the average cougar could get her hands on. Not only was the material itself expensive as hell, but the process of implanting it costs as much, if not more.
Almost every alternative is many times cheaper, and for the same price one can get far better enhancements. There are only two reasons why someone would choose it over everything else: either they have some reservations about casting off their flesh, or they need the extra boost in stealth. In this case, Dante put his money on the latter.