He watched her carefully, making sure to remain in the shadows. It was always busy at this time of day, Omni-workers taking their break, the tannoys blurting out pro-omni messages every few minutes, the hustle and bustle around the Bronto bars. She shouldn't see him, she must not see him, complications, too many complications, the time was not right, it would never be right.
He checked the commlink, the message was already written, the red 'send' button flashed, an eary red glow, barley lighting up the dark features on his face. He was tired, so tired but sleep would not come, he wondered if it would ever come again, possibly soon, maybe, just maybe after this last assignment.
His gaze returned to her once more, she was still stood close to the terminal, oblivious to the hustle and bustle around her. People passed her by, some turning their heads, admiring the armour, wondering at her reasons, jealousy, bewilderment, anger, who knew, maybe a combination of all those feelings, Omni or not, the citizens were wary, some might even say scared. Times were changing, Rubi-Ka was changing and now after Ross's declaration that the accord no longer held as far as he or Omni-Tek were concerned, the people were changing.
She turned her head slightly towards him, forcing him back to reality. His breath caught, as it had the first time he had seen her, so long ago now, so much had happened. She looked different, still beautiful but different. It was taking it's toll on her, he knew it was hard, it was always hard, it had to be, there was no time now for a break in the programme, it had to be seen through, at all cost, any cost's, even if it meant....
A strand of hair had brushed across her cheek, her pure-black gloved hand moved effortlessly to brush it aside. He remembered how his own hand had once touched that soft skin, so long ago, so much had passed, pain, pain was all that remained now, for them both.
He sighed, almost silently his eyes returning to the comm-link. A simple press of a button is all it would take, such an easy task, everything was easy now, there was no effort needed, they were pampered, spoilt, treated like children by an over bearing parent who loved too much. Oh, they were loved, of course they were, they were valuable to them, commodities, each one an investment but the Corporation expected a return on their investments and what the Corporation expected, the Corporation got, if not, then files could be altered, records changed even disapearing. Eveyone was someone as long as they wanted it that way, when your worth was over, when the Corporation felt it had it's return or when you was deemed a faulty product, the hack of a terminal, the deletion of a file, you were no more, a simple accident, an internal enquiry, a fault to blame, another 'child' born in your place.
What was wrong with him? This was not him, he ws loyal, he always had and always would be, wouldn't he? For a moment, a fleeting moment, fear washed over his face, doubts, that's all it is, just doubt's he thought. But why, why now, why today? He knew why, he should never have come to Entertainment, he shoud not have been stood here now, a shadow, nothing more than a shadow, watching, observing but for all the wrong reasons.
What had happened between them was in the past, consigned to history, a memory for them both to remember one day, maybe to remember, maybe one of them would, perhaps it would actually mean something, that they had meant something. He hesitated again, knowing he had to press the button, knowing he would press the button but not right now, not just yet, soon, very soon, just a moment longer ..
He wanted to remember her now, as she was today, not as she had been the last time, not that way. He had hurt her, hurt her deeply, it had hurt him also but he had to be strong, he was strong, strong for them both. One day maybe he could explain himself, try to make her understand, try to bring some reason to the madness they found themselves in, that Rubi-Ka was in, Omni-Tek, Clans, ICC, they were all caught up in the madness, Notum was madness, did anyone understand, could they understand, did even he understand?
He would take a break, this would be the last assignment. He deserved a break, they owed him that. Time away, perhaps off planet, away from Rubi-ka, away from all of this chaos that he had surrounded himself with for what seemed now to be an eternity. She would get a break also, with her controller off-planet, it would mean time to herslef, a chance to rest, perhaps to remember, memories......
The faint, red, flashing glow was captivating, almost mesmerisic. The arrow hovered over the button, pixels, everything was pixels now, he looked at her once more, the only thing he knew that was real.....
The arrow disapeared, the flashing stopped, replaced with text 'Message Sent...'