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Description

“Right here around the corner,” Mark said, pointing to a seemingly black void between two buildings glowing with cast off light from neon signs lining the street running through one of Berlin’s entertainment districts.

“What? Seriously?” Katya questioned and took another look around before she cocked her head at Mark. “When you said dress for recon in the entertainment district I thought you meant we were actually doing recon not going clubbing.”

Mark flashed her a sly grin. “Are you calling mission abort?”

She sighed dramatically. “No… We are here after all.” She smiled back at him. “It’d be a shame to get all dressed up and bug out now.”

“That’s what I thought,” Mark said with a self-assured nod as he led his partner into the darkness.

“What kind of place is this?” Katya asked as she surveyed the trash collecting in the alley. “Another sex club?” she added with a bit of accusation in her tone.

Mark chuckled knowingly and shook his head as he pointed to what seemed like blue spray painted graffiti on the wall. “Scan that in ultraviolet,” he told her.

Katya looked up from the stains along the lower segment of the concrete wall to the blue markings. In the visual spectrum they appeared like the disjointed lines of a wannabe artist trying to make nothing into something. With a blink, though, Katya activated the computer implant in her head connected to the thin and flexible universal tool wrapped around her wrist. The litany of instruments her millimeter thick device contained exceeded the usual capacity of a civilian model and included things like a sensor to detect substances reflecting ultraviolet light. The sensor analyzed the graffiti and sent its findings to Katya’s implant where it overlaid the data right onto her vision in real time. New lines connected the graffiti marks to form a word.

“Apex,” Katya said as she took a few quick steps to catch up to Mark. “That's the name of the place?”

“Yep,” Mark answered.

“So what is it?” she asked, her tone a bit more pressing.

“Easier to show you now,” he answered proudly, claiming a minor victory at having stalled her question long enough to not answer it.

As soon as the door opened, thundering music and flashing lights washed over the pair. Instantly, Katya felt her heart rate increase as adrenaline started to flow into her veins. She tried to speak, but quickly realized no amount of shouting would penetrate the noise unless she screamed directly into Mark’s ear.

“You would pick a spike rave,” she said internally, using her implant to transmit the message directly into Mark’s own implant, bypassing the need for actual speech.

“It’s a recon mission,” Mark countered innocently. “I had no idea what was going to be here.”

“Uh huh.” Katya didn’t buy it and she knew Mark didn’t expect her to. They moved through a hallway that felt more like a tunnel given the appearance of bare stone in its walls and emerged into the club proper.

Katya surveyed the room, relying on her implant to filter out some of the light so she could still pick up critical details without being dazzled by the light display. The club seemed to be one big square room. A dance floor dominated the corner opposite the entrance and the majority of the party goers thrashed about to the primal rhythms while more erotically minded participants did so with intertwined limbs keeping their bodies pressed tightly together. A bar sat adjacent to the dance floor. Enough space had been left between the two to ensure drinkers weren’t unintentionally barraged by dancers, but not so much that one couldn’t easily move between the two areas. A few small tables and chairs next to the bar offered respite for those who had managed to exhaust themselves. Katya looked up towards the corners where the walls and ceiling met trying to spot ventilation systems when she noticed enclosed rooms with large windows overlooking the dance floor.

“Observation booths?” she asked Mark, sending him a visual ping this time to direct his attention to the rooms above.

“VIP booths, probably,” he answered as he looked to where she’d indicated. He was already halfway to the bar and hadn’t slowed down to look at the booths.

“They do have stairs leading up to them roped off,” Katya said as she caught up to Mark. “Not like they’re trying to hide it.”

“It’s like you said, Kat. A spike rave. Just let the music juice you up a bit and have a good time.” After a short pause he continued, “No chems in the air, I checked. Just music, lights, and emotions.”

“Alright, alright,” she relented and took a spot at the bar beside him. They ordered drinks and turned around to watch the people around them. “This is your show, how are we playing this one?” Both of them flinched when a sharp snapping sound punctuated the music and marked the shift from deep electric bass to rapid drum beats.

“I think we should-” Mark’s transmission cut off abruptly. “Space out a bit so people don’t think we’re together.”

“Oh?” Katya asked, glancing to her side at him before following his line of sight. “Oh.” she said with a knowing nod. “Target of opportunity?”

“Target of opportunity,” Mark answered. “That is a deceptively short skirt.”
Continued in Katya and Mark Night Off 2

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It's taken a while to want to get back into writing so bear with me while I knock the dust off and skip the proofreading! Thanks!

Description

“Right here around the corner,” Mark said, pointing to a seemingly black void between two buildings glowing with cast off light from neon signs lining the street running through one of Berlin’s entertainment districts.

“What? Seriously?” Katya questioned and took another look around before she cocked her head at Mark. “When you said dress for recon in the entertainment district I thought you meant we were actually doing recon not going clubbing.”

Mark flashed her a sly grin. “Are you calling mission abort?”

She sighed dramatically. “No… We are here after all.” She smiled back at him. “It’d be a shame to get all dressed up and bug out now.”

“That’s what I thought,” Mark said with a self-assured nod as he led his partner into the darkness.

“What kind of place is this?” Katya asked as she surveyed the trash collecting in the alley. “Another sex club?” she added with a bit of accusation in her tone.

Mark chuckled knowingly and shook his head as he pointed to what seemed like blue spray painted graffiti on the wall. “Scan that in ultraviolet,” he told her.

Katya looked up from the stains along the lower segment of the concrete wall to the blue markings. In the visual spectrum they appeared like the disjointed lines of a wannabe artist trying to make nothing into something. With a blink, though, Katya activated the computer implant in her head connected to the thin and flexible universal tool wrapped around her wrist. The litany of instruments her millimeter thick device contained exceeded the usual capacity of a civilian model and included things like a sensor to detect substances reflecting ultraviolet light. The sensor analyzed the graffiti and sent its findings to Katya’s implant where it overlaid the data right onto her vision in real time. New lines connected the graffiti marks to form a word.

“Apex,” Katya said as she took a few quick steps to catch up to Mark. “That's the name of the place?”

“Yep,” Mark answered.

“So what is it?” she asked, her tone a bit more pressing.

“Easier to show you now,” he answered proudly, claiming a minor victory at having stalled her question long enough to not answer it.

As soon as the door opened, thundering music and flashing lights washed over the pair. Instantly, Katya felt her heart rate increase as adrenaline started to flow into her veins. She tried to speak, but quickly realized no amount of shouting would penetrate the noise unless she screamed directly into Mark’s ear.

“You would pick a spike rave,” she said internally, using her implant to transmit the message directly into Mark’s own implant, bypassing the need for actual speech.

“It’s a recon mission,” Mark countered innocently. “I had no idea what was going to be here.”

“Uh huh.” Katya didn’t buy it and she knew Mark didn’t expect her to. They moved through a hallway that felt more like a tunnel given the appearance of bare stone in its walls and emerged into the club proper.

Katya surveyed the room, relying on her implant to filter out some of the light so she could still pick up critical details without being dazzled by the light display. The club seemed to be one big square room. A dance floor dominated the corner opposite the entrance and the majority of the party goers thrashed about to the primal rhythms while more erotically minded participants did so with intertwined limbs keeping their bodies pressed tightly together. A bar sat adjacent to the dance floor. Enough space had been left between the two to ensure drinkers weren’t unintentionally barraged by dancers, but not so much that one couldn’t easily move between the two areas. A few small tables and chairs next to the bar offered respite for those who had managed to exhaust themselves. Katya looked up towards the corners where the walls and ceiling met trying to spot ventilation systems when she noticed enclosed rooms with large windows overlooking the dance floor.

“Observation booths?” she asked Mark, sending him a visual ping this time to direct his attention to the rooms above.

“VIP booths, probably,” he answered as he looked to where she’d indicated. He was already halfway to the bar and hadn’t slowed down to look at the booths.

“They do have stairs leading up to them roped off,” Katya said as she caught up to Mark. “Not like they’re trying to hide it.”

“It’s like you said, Kat. A spike rave. Just let the music juice you up a bit and have a good time.” After a short pause he continued, “No chems in the air, I checked. Just music, lights, and emotions.”

“Alright, alright,” she relented and took a spot at the bar beside him. They ordered drinks and turned around to watch the people around them. “This is your show, how are we playing this one?” Both of them flinched when a sharp snapping sound punctuated the music and marked the shift from deep electric bass to rapid drum beats.

“I think we should-” Mark’s transmission cut off abruptly. “Space out a bit so people don’t think we’re together.”

“Oh?” Katya asked, glancing to her side at him before following his line of sight. “Oh.” she said with a knowing nod. “Target of opportunity?”

“Target of opportunity,” Mark answered. “That is a deceptively short skirt.”
Continued in Katya and Mark Night Off 2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's taken a while to want to get back into writing so bear with me while I knock the dust off and skip the proofreading! Thanks!