Roads Less or More

Version Charlie Ten.7

Simon tugged his knee-length charcoal coat tight around him; the wind was chill today. He pressed the cell to his ear; there was lots of noisy traffic on the busy downtown street.

"They want to offer me the position," he said. "Should I take it?"
Simon reflexively scanned the faces of the crowd, glancing in car windows at the drivers, through shop windows at the clerks, always looking for someone he recognized. Trying to find the others. Except his memories of them were so staticky, he couldn't hold their faces or names, too much like a dream. And the man on the line was rarely any help. 

"I can't tell you that," the Professor said. "You know it doesn't work that way. At least for now." 

Simon sighed with frustration. "I'm just not sure if it's the right thing to do. Now, with everything being so different." He stopped briefly, thought he saw a woman across the street, red hair, something about her familiar... And was bumped into from behind, a careless teenager, no apology, strutting past with his crew. 

"I'll have to call you back," Simon said to the Professor. "I have to go check myself for bugs." 

"Now that's something I can help you with, Agent Light. You're clean." 

Simon gave the street another scan, this time taking his look upward, to the tops of the buildings, and to the sky above. He had gotten used to thinking of the Professor as being in a satellite, although he knew that wasn't quite the case. Or sometimes he imagined it like the Operators in the Matrix, but that wasn't quite it either. And a lot of the time, Simon had the dread suspicion that the Professor was only a voice in his head.

"Let me know what you decide about their offer. It may be significant, it may not be."

"It'll be a big deal to me either way," Simon said with a slight edge.

"Yes, of course Agent Light. I'm sorry."