The security guard never understood that strange power she had. No matter what was going on, no matter how tired or frustrated or overworked or endangered he’d been in a day, she could make it all go away with a radiant smile. [color=pink]”Only a couple more hours until you can go home, my love!”[/color] Her green eyes were bright; she looked forward to another night together.

[color=lightblue]“And one more campaign with Knight Enterprises before I can afford to retire, Kamiko-tan.”[/color] Joe Blair smiled back at her. [color=lightblue]“Though I’d probably get fired if my employer thought I was hanging out with my girlfriend while I’m on the clock.”[/color]

[color=pink]”Fiancée!”[/color] Kamiko-tan corrected, hopping in place with some enthusiasm. [color=pink]”Once you’re out of work, you promised we’d get married.”[/color]

[color=lightblue]“Yeah...”[/color] The thought was enough to lighten his mood even at work, carrying his thoughts far away from the corruption and scheming around him. Warmth spread from his chest as his heart raced. Yes, soon he’d have nothing more to do than live out his life alongside this wonderful woman. She giggled at his dazed smile, leaned forward, and kissed him on the cheek.

He reluctantly stepped away from her, turning to walk another patrol around the Commons, walking slowly so Kamiko-tan could keep pace next to him. He scanned the passersby, names and ID numbers appearing as opaque blocks of information over everyone’s heads. It was a peculiar feature of his APEX [i]Hardlight[/i]-series cybereye implants. Most users preferred AR overlays to be semi-transparent, so as to not block out the sight of the real world and be visually distinguishable from reality. But the intraocular holographic projectors of this series were special, and the advanced visual signal processing of his E-Brain implant was custom-modified to suit their inputs. For Joe, reality itself could be edited in real-time. The ultimate cost of the system and the implant surgeries together had come out to more than three years’ worth of his salary. Only now, a decade later, was he approaching the last of his loan payments.

[color=pink]”Are these events always so busy, Joe?”[/color] Kamiko-tan looked around as she spoke, her wide-eyed innocent gaze distracting him from the people he should be watching over. She hurriedly stepped out of the way as some self-absorbed jerk walked past, face buried in their cell phone. [color=pink]There must be a hundred people out on the street...”[/color]

Joe smiled. She was innocent, unworldly, in a way few from the Reclaim could ever hope to be. [color=lightblue]“Busy? Everyone’s already left, more or less.”[/color] He looks around again - except for a few drunks at the bar, a few people talking, and other security guards, there were few people still around. It was getting late - the candidates had scattered, and with them went their attendants and the media. A journalist with a small crowd of drones had hurried past a few minutes ago, but the display hovering over her head had identified her as authorized, so he paid her no mind as he stepped out into the square.

[color=pink]”It’s almost time to go home. What are you thinking for dinner?”[/color] Joe turned to answer her, but was interrupted as a young woman in a teal dress slipped past through a blind-spot, muttering a hasty [color=00BB77][i]”oh, excuse me”[/i][/color] over the rim of a cocktail glass. Joe blinked as she unknowingly passed right through Kamiko-tan, her back disappearing through the front of Kamiko-tan’s elegant yukata. It was a sight his eyes reported faithfully but his brain reported as impossible, an error his E-Brain took a moment to resolve. A moment that stretched on far too long.

Joe frowned. Sure, he knew in his head Kamiko-tan wasn’t really there in person. But he didn’t appreciate the reminder that her company was only virtual. [color=pink]”What’s wrong? Is  everything alright?”[/color] Kamiko-tan looked concerned. She reached out a hand, which Joe gratefully took in his.

[color=lightblue]“Everything’s fine.”[/color] At her touch, all such worldly concerns and disconnects faded. She was right here, of course, and that was all that mattered. [color=lightblue]“I love you.”[/color]

She smiled like he had recited some great praise. Joe always liked that about her. He wasn’t the most smooth-talking charmer around. Even if he was, a thousand bards couldn’t compose poetry great enough to summarize what he felt about her. But she was always content with his words anyway, no matter how painfully insufficient. [color=pink]”I love you too, Joe.”[/color]

Joe just stood, smiling at her for a few moments before moving on. [color=lightblue]“Maybe that frozen pizza. Could you schedule the oven to preheat when my shift ends?”[/color] The FuryTech X-02A 512T [i]Wyvern[/i]-series server that powered his smarthome was vastly overkill for such a minor task as turning the oven on with a timer. But that’s where Kamiko-tan was waiting for him, and for her to be present with him in real-time without noticeable lag required more advanced hardware than a typical smarthome could manage. It, too, had taken years to pay off.

[color=pink]”Sure. I’ll be back in a minute, dear!”[/color] Kamiko-tan’s image faded as she went off to handle the kitchen. Joe took the moment to look around - might as well do his job while he was here.

Ahead of him, Joe saw a briefcase abandoned next to a bench. That was odd - who would leave a briefcase laying out, in the Reclaim of all places? That was just asking for it to be stolen. The procession of candidates had come through here just an hour ago - if it was left by someone on a campaign team, it could contain something important. Joe hurried over and sat on the bench, picking up the oddly-heavy briefcase and setting it in his lap.

By protocol, he should report a suspicious package to be inspected by a drone, just in case it contained something dangerous. But he’d already heard one of his coworkers call in an unnecessary, if by-the-book, alarm tonight. He really didn’t want to be number two. Besides, he’d spend all night filling out paperwork, instead of spending the night eating a freshly-made pizza and watching a movie with Kamiko-tan. If it belonged to a campaign staffer, he could just drop it off at that campaign’s office and not think twice about it. Or, if it contained something sensitive, he could probably get a bonus check if he gave it to Mayor Gatch’s office, instead. That would be nice, too.

[color=lightblue]“What do you think...”[/color] Joe started, trailing off when he realized Kamiko-tan wasn’t there. He was alone. He didn’t have to be, of course - he had programmed her to act in real-time, to occasionally [i]brb[/i], as though she were a physical presence. But while she could operate every electric device in his house instantly, taking her time gave her a sense of verisimilitude. It wasn’t as though he were in love with some piece of [i]software[/i], after all.

Oh well. Sometimes realism was the worst. He’d be home soon, at any rate, and what’s the worst that could happen with a simple briefcase? Joe popped open the latch. A strange noise snapped inside, like a spring released from tension-