Saya lounged in an old leather chair, staring out the window of the Montague Detective Agency. She had been in Neo New Fairfield for only a few weeks, and she had already begun to regret her decision. Saya could never understand why Isadora had set up her Agency in the lower city. NeoLow, as its residents called it, was unquestionably a slum in her eyes. The poor, the desperate, and the vile made their homes in this wet cavern city under the near utopian upper city. As simulated rain crossed the window she realized she'd seen the UV systems for the city turned on for a few hours every day. For a period of time that must be less than what is recommended. Saya hated this town.
She knew Isadora wouldn't be back anytime soon. Saya had asked Isadora often why she hadn't returned to her parent's estate, why she saw the need to toil in the grime and the muck as it were.
"Does it matter whether or not you spy on the cheating spouses of the rich or the poor?" Saya had once remarked to her cousin over a late night glass of gin. Isadora had been injured that night, her cybernetic arm had been heavily damaged. Saya had helped her detach it from her shoulder joint, and tended to Isadora's cuts and welts.
"I don't spy on cheaters Saya. A back-alley chop doc had the youngest Mulroon boy at his shop. I was hired to retrieve him for the family." The contents of Isadora's glass disappeared.
Saya hadn't known what to think about that. She hadn't seen her cousin since college. She had known her cousin to be vain and flighty. She had her eyes on being an international prize fighter before the accident that claimed Isadora's arm and legs. The augmentations were a gift, Saya knew. A gift from Isadora's former girlfriend. Saya poured herself a glass of gin, and continued to watch the rain fall outside the window.
Why had Saya come to see her, after all these years? She took a sip, and began tapping her fingers against her glass. Isadora and Saya were never close. Saya was raised on Estival, a manmade island of the coast of Brazil, while Isadora was raised in America. They saw each other at family functions, but it was hard to say they were close.
"Because she knows what she is doing with her life, and you don't." Saya said quietly. Saya finished her glass and set it down on Isadora's desk. Just then she heard a crash from beyond the front door. Saya ducked down quickly behind the desk. Several thuds resounded from the door before she heard two distinct voices, laughing. One was clearly a man's, the other a husky feminine voice. After some aggressive jingling the door flung open. Saya crawled under the desk.