I entered the boss' office a little moody at having been dragged away from my day off. I tried my best to hide it. The boss, it seems, saw through my facade with ease.

'I'm sorry to have to call you here on your day off, Xayne,' he said. He was sat at his desk, Halo-Core turned down beside him. He had a thick cigar smoking away in an ashtray nearby. His tie was demon black.

'Not a problem, sir,' I said. 'I'd just taken a small wander through one of the art galleries nearby.'

His eyes lit up at the suggestion. 'You have decided to take an interest then, in some of the finer things in life?'

I shrugged. 'Whether it is fine or not is irrelevant. It's something to do, and it can be thought provoking sometimes, to look at how others see the world.'

The boss smiled at me. 'Yes, they often see the world so differently, don't they? It tends to be, however, that those paintings that hang in the Backlight gallery are painted by people who don't make paintings of much monetary value, or come to Dirty Work themselves. Therefore, of course, I have no interest in them at the present moment.'

I started to ask him how he knew exactly which gallery I had been to, wondering if the boss had sent people to watch me in case of treason of some kind, and then remembered the barcode electronically printed onto my hand. I put my hands together before me, the other hand covering the barcode.

He smiled a little wider. 'Well, we all have to start somewhere with our hobbies, I guess. How else are you spending your free time?'

'I haven't, really,' I said. 'I tend to watch the screens quite a bit, to tell the truth, or go for walks. Nothing too interesting, although I'm starting to take a bigger interest in the HyperGP, I must say.'

The boss nodded. 'Well, I'm sure something will tickle your fancy. Hopefully not the underwear of one of our girls, of course.'

I smiled politely, unsure on how to continue from that. I pushed the mental image of Hidra's chest from my mind.

The boss got up from his seat and went to the back of the room, towards one of his paintings. Running a finger along the edge, he pulled it back on hinges, taking a pair of keys from the small hole behind it.

'I need you to do me a favour tomorrow. I would ask Markro or Ashrore, or even the new guy, Scars, but I'm afraid they're all off somewhere else. So you're the only one free for me.

'I've received word that an old acquaintance of mine is coming in from off-world tomorrow at 5pm. Central Port, of course. I'd like you to pick her up for me and bring her here, promptly.' He tossed the keys to me. 'I'm letting you borrow my kar.'

I looked at the keys, a little bit in awe, it must be said. The boss' kar was a RoyalLock, model 5, not the best but flashy enough to be noticed when it went down the street. Crimson, four seats, luxury on a budget for those with enough to be able to indulge once in a while. I had used to eye it up every time I came in through the back for the first few weeks, but paid it no mind now except for when it rained, when it really did look like a undiscovered beauty in the rough.

'Where shall I wait, sir?' I said, trying to disguise the glee in my voice at being asked to drive his personal kar. From the look I saw in his eye, again I didn't do very well at displaying my emotions.

'I'll let you know as-and-when. You'll probably need to leave at around 6am tomorrow to avoid any traffic. The highways around 15 are quite often a nightmare around rush hour, more so than usual, so try and clear there with plenty of time.'

I nodded my understanding. 'Is there anything else I should know of?'

He shook his head. 'That's all, thank you. Go enjoy the rest of the day off.'

I bowed slightly, tucking the keys into the inside of my coat. I turned and left to muse about tomorrow's job in my own time, in my own thoughts.

'Oh, and Xayne,' called the boss again.

'Yes, sir?' I asked.

'There shouldn't be any reason, but take a good gun. You know, just on the off-chance that our friends decide to take you out for any reason. Mr Vayn hasn't been found yet, you know.'

I nodded and, for the second time, went to leave the office. This time I was successful.