Dire Warnings

"Look, there aren't any other files on Azure, the only log is the one you entered into the police system. Other than me, I can't see a record of any intrusions... Are you even listening?" Lux asks, visibly confused by the display in front of her.

Azure has wrapped both her arms and legs around me like a scantily clad koala, her **** glare trained on Lux. "Master's been through a traumatic experience, I'm comforting her. Jealous much?" Azure responds before sticking her tongue out, her eyes going a bright green.

"I'm okay, Azure, I could use a little space?" I groan, her face grimacing as she finally lets go of me and settles for leaning on my shoulder. It's an improvement, I suppose. "So you're saying the files could only have been accessed by someone in the precinct?"

Lux nods with a smug grin. "And it's not a small list of officers. Pretty much all anyone is talking about is you bringing in a blue-haired hottie wearing nothing but a jacket." She adds. "As far as I can tell, that led that squad here. This place isn't safe." She adds, gesturing around at all the possible entrances.

I scoff at her observation. "If they've got military-grade equipment and people in the police, then nowhere's safe." I point out. "They've failed once, I'll get some more security installed. It should be enough to deter them long enough to sort this case and get us both in the clear." I decide. I've been meaning to beef up the defence of this place anyway. You put away enough psychopaths, and it becomes worth the trouble to have more protection than a locked door.

"All the same, I'll stick around tonight, I'm gonna be up anyway, so you get some rest." Lux offers. I don't exactly relish her inviting herself to stay in my home, but I won't lie, having a spare pair of eyes sounds good right now.

"You're not coming into our bed!" Azure snarls. Wait, when did she decide it was our bed? "And no interrupting our cuddling time!" She adds. Again with the fucking cuddle talk.

Lux barks with laughter at the demanding AI. "Oh, sugar, let me assure you, when I get into Tera's bed, it'll be because she begs me to join her in it." She brags. Never gonna happen either. "And then she'll beg me never to stop." She adds snidely. Azure's eyes turn yellow, and I swear she's about to pounce on Lux. "Maybe I'll even make you watch."

I grab Azure's shoulders as her eyes turn the colour of a roaring fire. "Don't react, it's what she wants. She's just an attention seeker." I advise her, unsure if she can even hear me right now. Finally, her eyes start turning back into their normal deep blue.

"Of course, Master, I would never disrupt our sleep time over something so minor as a homeless skank." She replies with a tone far more chipper than her phrasing would imply. "Come on, you can be the big spoon." She offers.

Fuck it, it's better than breaking up a brawl.

*

I didn't enjoy it... I didn't.

I exit the shower and pull on whatever clean clothes I'd grabbed off the shelf of my closet. Black t-shirt and black jeans. Some might call it unimaginiative, I prefer to think of it as consistent. Lux was gone when we woke up from the... Definitely not enjoyable night of cuddling and sleeping. Leaving a note and, oddly, some clothes for Azure. 'I had these delivered, priority one shipping. Don't say I never give you anything. -xoxo, Lux'.

"Look, Master, they barely even wiggle in this thing!" Azure shouts in amazement, now clad in loose-fitting jeans and her new bra. I don't even want to know what kind of magic Lux used to figure out her exact size. Even if it is another reminder of how well-endowed Azure is compared to me.

"Put your top on, we've got to go." I order, snapping my fingers to summon my AV. Azure follows my command, slipping the long-sleeved crop top over her head. She won't be mistaken for a professional any time soon, but better this than naked.

We get into the AV, and I punch in our first stop. I can't risk leaving Azure alone, so she's got to come with me. "Where to first, pardna!" She asks with a heavy accent, causing me to realise that she's taken a pair of my sunglasses out of the glove compartment and is twirling her fingers around like she's gesturing with an invisible cigarette.

"Don't call me that, put those away, and never do whatever that is again." I demand. "Our only two leads at the moment are you... Who isn't much help." I continue as Azure knocks on her own head as if it's hollow... Which it might be, I don't entirely know how synthetic bodies work. "And this knife, it looks custom, there's only about a dozen places that might have been able to make something this intricate. And if one thug had one, I'm guessing the others did too and didn't get a chance to use them."

The thought of a small army of those jackboots doesn't fill me with joy, but it'd mean they'd be impossible to hide. I'm hoping for a manageable midpoint. What occurs on our various visits can be encapsulated with the following responses:

"No."

"Not a chance."

"You sure it's a knife?"

"No way in hell."

"Way outta my skill level."

"That's not a knife, THIS is a knife."

"Never seen anything like that."

"Get out."

I'm beginning to think we're at a loss until we reach the final stop of the morning. Horace's.

The older man examines the knife closely, and I watch his expressions just as intently. I can tell he's struggling less with the weapon and more with what he should say.

"You should drop this one, sweetheart." Horace decides. He was close with my foster parents and knew me since I was a kid, so he gets a pass on the terms of endearment.

As he puts the blade down on the counter, I put my hand on his. "I don't have a choice, they came after me in my home." I inform him, keeping eye contact. His eyes show a tempest of fear and concern. This is why he's always my last option. He worries too much.

"Yeah, I've seen it before. This design." Horace sighs. "It's a ritual dagger, used by a group calling themselves the Purifiers. Cultists, really. They worship the 'divine mortality'. Which basically translates to hating anything that doesn't fit their definition of human... I've heard of them a few times, and... Honey, these fuckers are hardcore. I've heard of them killing indiscriminately, even children, to fulfil their goals. They're not criminals, Tera, they're demons. I'm begging you, stay away and hope they forget you."

Purifiers. Finally, I've got a name. So they only tried to use the knife on Azure at first because she's not human. Guess I lost my privileges when I tried to stop them.

"What about their PEDs? The cunts I encountered were enhanced, but I didn't see any signs of augments. Got any idea who's supplying them?" I ask, casting a look over my shoulder at Azure who's flipping through various books. She's been doing that at every weapon dealer we've stopped at, who knows what she's mastered by this point?

Horace shakes his head with a sigh. "You know I don't touch that shit... But Marco's in the know about them, and he's got no qualms with chems." He replies. "No chance you're just gonna flee the city, then?"

"Sorry, Horace." I offer, patting his hand again before taking the knife. "Azure, come on, we're leaving." I yell back to her. The bot snaps her most recent book shut and waves at Horace as we make for the door.

"It's nice to see you've settled down!" Horace shouts as we leave, a smirk plastering his face. I roll my eyes. There are way too many misunderstandings in that statement to bother correcting. We hop back in my AV, and I begin typing in our next stop.

Azure joins me, apparently enjoying all the time we're spending together. "This has been the best date of my life." She announces. I don't even try to point out that it's not a date and that her entire life currently consists of less than a day. "Where are we going next? We gonna talk to that Marco dude?"

I shake my head. "Marco's a slippery little fucker, we need to wait for him to surface." I explain. "We've got more pressing concerns, like the fact I'm fucking hungry. We're going to lunch." Azure squeals in excitement at the news, her eagerness to continue our 'date' even makes me hold back a smile.

Settle down? Yeah, right...