Warden

out of this neighborhood,” Will said.
Will led her and Horatio away from Rosco’s. Rhea decided not to mention the comment about Khrusos. Clearly the guy had her confused for someone else.
Will and Horatio surveyed the graffiti covered buildings around them as if expecting an ambush at any moment. Rhea did the same. Meanwhile, Gizmo scouted a block ahead, flitting above different alleyways and side streets in search of potential attackers. The drone sometimes doubled back, flying to the streets behind and adjacent to the current neighborhood, to confirm that no one was following the party from the rear or the flanks.
It was so quiet here… it felt like being in the Outlands all over again. Not entirely trusting Gizmo’s sensors, Rhea peered into the alleyways between the cargo containers that served as homes but saw no one. Some of the lean-tos had windows, but the curtains were invariably drawn. One time she spotted a little girl peering from a partially shuttered window, but the kid quickly ducked from view when Rhea met her eye.
A drone flew past overhead. It wasn’t Gizmo.
“Whose drone is that?” Rhea asked when she realized it was mirroring Gizmo’s course, following along about ten meters behind Will’s machine.
“Either the settlement’s security forces, or a local kingpin’s,” Will said.
“I’m not able to get an ID on it,” Horatio commented.
“That rules out security forces,” Rhea said.
“Not necessarily,” Will told her. “Sometimes settlement drones mask their IDs.” He glanced over his shoulder at her and explained: “The residents of certain neighborhoods like to shoot them down. And you see, while Rust Town security might not have many boots on the ground patrolling the streets, they do like to keep tabs from the air. Covertly.”
“So you’re saying, if we were attacked, Rust Town sentries would come?” she asked.
Will nodded. “They would. But about ten minutes too late.”
The trio continued along those vaguely sinister streets, but no ambushers waylaid them.
Soon Rhea found herself in a cleaner neighborhood. There was hardly any garbage along the sides of the road, and only a few of the lean-tos and cargo containers were marked with graffiti. The drone traffic picked up. She immediately felt safer, though it might have been an illusion.
Overhead, the trailing drone lost interest and flew away.
“Must have been the security forces after all,” Horatio commented, gazing after the fleeting drone.
“Maybe we should have Gizmo follow it,” Rhea suggested.
Will shook his head. “And risk having it shot down? No thanks.”
“It’s also possible a smaller, more covert drone has taken its place…” Horatio suggested.
Rhea glanced upward, but as far as she could tell, none of the insect-sized drones were following them. She was keenly aware that she was exposing her face to the small drones, however, and soon bowed her head, pulling the hood lower.
Will led her through another area that was packed with street vendors—human and robot alike—and turned onto a less crowded side street lined with lean-tos that looked freshly painted. There were no vendors openly hawking their wares here, and graffiti had a minimal presence—a good sign. Then again, perhaps the residents had only recently painted over it.
Will halted before an unremarkable metal lean-to that was airbrushed a bright red. It had no graffiti.
He spoke. “Master Bardain. I’m here for my appointment. Or rather, your new student is.”
The door opened and a man, presumably Bardain, appeared. He was tall, lithe, and dressed in a long gray cloak. A zipper kept the left and right sides of the cloak sealed down the middle so that the sleeveless fabric cocooned his body.
His face was clean-shaven, wrinkled, and gaunt, and he wore thick, visor-like AR goggles, these fitted with a peculiar prescription lens that gave him a bug-eyed look. His hair was shaved almost to the scalp around the crown, but on top he had a long growth of red, spiked strands, giving his head the appearance of a lit match. He was tall already, but that spiked style only made him seem all the taller.
Bardain looked down on Will and smiled fondly. “Well met, old friend. Always grand to see a former student of mine shine.”
“Oh, I’ve been shining all right.” Will glanced at Rhea and told her: “I was a student of his, too. But only for a week. Surprised he remembers me.”
“I remember all who pass within these hallowed halls,” Bardain said.
Will chuckled and gazed at the red lean-to dubiously. “Hallowed halls indeed.”
“Oh, it might not look like much in the real world.” Bardain tapped his AR goggles. “But in the virtual, the halls span the streets of Rust Town.”
Will smiled. “And so they do. You received my deposit?”
Bardain inclined his head in confirmation.
“Good.” Will glanced at Rhea. “Well, I’m going to leave you with Master Bardain for the evening. When you’re finished, send me a voice message—I’ll have Horatio fetch you.” He returned his attention to Bardain. “I want her to wear the hood at all times. I know this is a good neighborhood, but even good people can do bad things, especially when something so tempting happens to walk into their world.”
Bardain was peering beneath her hood and nodded. “A face like that is rarely seen outside Aradne or other capital cities without a string of bodyguards in attendance.” To Rhea, he said: “Why did you have to choose such obviously synthetic eyes for your cyborg? And that mouth…. you do know that for the average resident, your parts are the ticket out of the slums? Tempting indeed.”
Rhea didn’t answer him. Instead, she looked to Will, and asked: “What do I do if something happens? Someone attacks me?”
“You’re in good hands with Master Bardain,” Will said. “He’s worth a dozen bodyguards, at least.”
Bardain chuckled. “You’re too kind. More like two, maybe.”
“You’ll be fine,” Will told her reassuringly, and then departed with Horatio.
Rhea noted that Gizmo remained twenty meters overhead, hovering silently. She wasn’t sure whether to feel reassured or offended. Did Will think she couldn’t be trusted to stay here for her training? It wasn’t like he wouldn’t