Caid

Caid crouched on her perch on a cold brick wall in the long arm of a building’s shadow in a dark Philadelphia alley. Shifting her weight to balance, she raised an arm to adjust the aviator goggles in her perpetually messy maroon hair. The goggles were a staple of her outfit in the matrix, not only as her innocuous link to the command center in the real world, but also to conceal her watery blue eyes, the only weak-looking part of her otherwise rough and intimidating appearance.

Her body, sleek and muscular, outfitted with ripped and worn camouflaged army pants, black leather combat boots, and a tight black t shirt. Her hands perpetually clenched. Her eyes, though soft and feminine, focused. Her mouth set. Trained in the martial arts, she was stealthy but well-prepared for combat, a perfect soldier to be released into the matrix. She had been prepared as a lethal weapon in government facilities from early childhood, but she broke out during the great civil war of 2050. Now, she worked for Argus, a faceless head of the rebel group designed to enact vigilante justice, unwarranted watchmen of the cyber world.

Pulling the goggles down over her eyes, she zoomed in on each person as a small group passed by on the dirty urban street. The lenses in her goggles whirred as they zoomed in on each person and quietly indicated that that group was safe… at least for that night. Caid lit a cigarette, more to pass time than to satisfy a nicotine craving. Litter blew across the street like tumbleweeds as she waited, never losing focus on her main goal. Though this job was certainly never a position she saw herself doing and one she still wasn’t sure she wanted, she was good at it, and for now that was more than enough. There was security within Argus’ group. It was as close to a family as she had ever experienced.

Minutes later, footsteps echoed in the alley, as someone approached from the left on the sidewalk. Caid leaned forward slightly, enough to focus her lenses on the shady looking man passing by. A green check appeared momentarily in her left lens, and she knew she’d  found her guy. She replaced the goggles to the top of her head, dropped her cigarrette to the ground, and with a quiet leap, left the brick ledge and landed on it, smothering the flame beneath the toe of her boot.

“Here I come,” she said with a devilish grin, and was off.