Raygun Heights

11.

 At the same time as Achim Horvitz had received his marching orders from the near top, Tangiers drove in silence while Karl played the role of passenger. Karl had the passenger chair tipped back with an arm laid across his chest. Karl knew when his eyes opened again, his muscles would exert a level of payback over the umbridge of sleeping in an awkward position, with his lower back bent between the bucket cushion and the upper rest. Despite that, the mind could only stay alert for only so long. Receptors in Karl's brain had begun to respond and his eyes had grown heavy. To provide shade for his eyes, Karl tipped his hat downwards and snapped.

Tigrans could store an amount of excess energy to keep them alert and quick as long as they ate enough. The fight, or rather, Tangiers' attack on Mohr had helped keep his adrenaline up. The anger that Tangiers had, thinking on those thin smarks and little remarks, those narrowed eyes that wanted to see him on the ground clutching the body of his girlfriend to his chest, or see him and Narzli on the ground, mewling in pain after a beating or being shot. That anger had fed Tangiers Rajpur. His energy was so high that it fed into a degree of paranoia, the way his eyes would flick to the rearview mirror or look down at the electronic screen attached to the console. Gauges of temperature, fuel consumption, and camera feeds looking out from the car were broadcasted in a digital format. The broadcasts displayed views from the rear and the sides of the hovercraft. Collision detection was standard, even in a civilian model that Karl had owned.

The streets were active with civilian hovercraft taking advantage of the evening drift of the suns, making it pleasant to go out into the world. There were little errands that could wait while the suns blazed and the sand swirled. The streets were active with Saurians, Tigrans, along with Humans and other xenotypes that were living on the colony. If it had been a few years earlier, things might have been different. Tigran men and women would have possibly stood with the Humans to beat back either the Imperious blue or green scaled Saurian, or at least defend their homes from the native black-and-orange Saurians. Tangiers caught the glance of several Saurians, he thought he saw the little sneers and narrowed eyes, old wounds that required time to heal if ever.

Neon lights glowed ahead and behind as more bars and eateries became open. The scent of spiced food fought against the industrial effluvium of processor smoke. South District, the home turf of the Scorpion Syndicate, was rampant with industrial stench. Ladies of the night could pump gallons of perfume into the air until Tangiers' eyes watered, but they could never hope to defeat the constant scent of metal or oils. Industrial material and cosminium ore was refined in the South District. In the near distance were the constant blue fires of fabricator units. The fires burned bright and almost white in the center of the flames, like a miniature cold star, which was the only time cold was ever brought up in regards to the fabricators. Protective clothing had to be worn at all times to keep the intense heat from causing bodily harm. The only types to appreciate the distant heat of the fabricators were the Saurians. They were never truly cold blooded, but Saurians appreciated any form of heat over the oncoming drop of temperature that affected the rest of the desert.

The constant blue glow gave the south district an otherworldly effect. You could never escape the heat, the smoke, or something stained by grit or grim in the South. For the civilians, those who worked in the mines or on the fabricators, they may have cursed it, but it was their job. For those who served there, they could comfort themselves knowing the rents were cheap. For the criminal element, they appreciated that the south district was lucrative. Miners brought home pay that was in straight slips, and there was always something moving that could be taken and sold on the gray or black market.

The obstacle for the criminal in controlling a district, even one whose amenities were tainted by the constant presence of industry were the forces on the outside looking in.