A Friendly face

Across the bustling atrium, you spot a familiar face, your old drinking buddy Mike. You and Mike go way back and it's heartening to see he's gone to the effort of dragging himself out of his favourite bar to welcome you back to the land of the living.

"Mike! Hey buddy how's it going?" You call to him forgetting how different you look for a moment.

He stares at you first in blank incomprehension then with curiosity shifting into admiration until finally, you see understanding dawn on his face.

"Jed!?!" He asks incredulous "Buddy? Is that really you in there?"

"Don't be dense. How many guys do you know getting resleeved today?" you laugh landing a playful punch on his shoulder with your tiny fist "Of course it's me."

"Well, shit!" He shakes his head "In my defence, you ain't exactly a guy right now... Unless you are?"

Mike's eyes track back and forth between your chest and your crotch.

"Hey!" You protest attempting to cover yourself with your hands "This shit is weird enough without my best friend perving on my sleeve."

"Sorry, sorry" Mike looks away, embarrassed "It's, you... you're... fucking government man!"

You can only nod agreeing with the sentiment while the awkward moment passes.

"Hey, where are you staying?" Mike asks clearly trying to steer the conversation back to less dangerous territory.

"According to this," you say holding up your wrist to show him the comm "They've set me up in some kind of halfway house. Doesn't look too bad, at least..."

"Nope, nuh-uh, no way." Mike says "No friend of mine is staying in one of those places. Especially not looking like that. You'll be sleeve-jacked before morning. You can crash at my place until you get back on your feet."

You consider his offer, Mike's been a good friend in the past and if you were still a guy you'd jump at the chance but there's something about the way he's looking at you makes you wonder if you should trust him...