Alittle Kindness

After cleaning up, she pickedback up the sealed container with the leftovers & walked into her room. She opened the door to the built in cabinet setup that served as a type of closet that was just inside her room. Inside on the door were a few hooks with different belts & straps with different contraptions on them. She took 1 such belt out and thread it through the synthetic jean shorts she had on. She made sure the sheath that was on it hun on her right hip so her right hand could rest on the hilt of the fixed blade held within it. The blade wasn't simple it was a full tang, sharp on one edge with a few serations near the hilt, the blade was also coated in an alloy impervious to bodily fluids, & most contaminates. The blade was her weapon of choice for simple protection around the apartment building, she knew better than to leave her apartment without it.

Once the belt was fastened, she proceeded to the front door. Next to the door were a couple of pairs of shoes, & a couple of slippers, in two different sizes. She slipped on a pair of simple low cut white tennis shoes. "Henry, how does the path to Jason's apartment look?" She knew Jason's family was much worse off than her own, the parents were rarely ever home, & when they were they didn't seem to have time for him.. Because of this Rose tried to help him whenever she could. Henry paused for a second as he ran through his programs & the internal acessible feeds from the apartment complex. He finally spoke up "Well Mum, it looks like several of the hallway sensors are down still, those that aren't appear to be clear".

Rose smiled alittle & shook her head, how can an A.I. who acted so mothering to her keep calling her the English word for Mom? I mean true she & Jason did create him, but still but him calling her mom was totally contradictory to his attitude towards her, this showed just how dynamic & unique his personality matrix was. " Well, that doesn't bode well. I wish they'd hurry up & fix those sensors, don't they realize leaving them like this could cost someone their life?" She said this more to herself than anything else, frusterated at the lack of concern for the tenants well being.

Everyone knew how dangerous these inclosed hallways were in most apartment buidlings. It was common for roving gangs to harass people they wanted to in the hallways. With no police inside the buildings it meant hours before any help would arrive, also the sernsors being doiwn meant no one would be alerted if something did happen, which meant no help would be coming at all & no evidence of a crime.

Rose took a deep breath, at the same time her comm ie. Henry, unlocked the large sliding bolts on the front door and the door opened just long enough for her to step into the hallway. As her door shut & locked behind her, she looked both ways in the hallway observing the surroundings carefully before making her way towards Jason's apartment. From an outside view this small, seemingly timid and quiet girl would appear to be a perfect target. Most brutes would over look the cautious precision of her eyes, the fact she walked well balanced, & kept her dominant hand rested on the pummel of the dagger she had sheathed on her hip, her long top obscuring most of her hand & the blade from view, unless one was very perceptive.

In her left arm she clutched the food container like one carries a football, tucked between her arm & her side, her hand with a firm grip on it. Tenants in these type of buildings were always hard up for quality food as most couldn't afford it. The only food substance provided to those of low-income was a type of edible alge, its provided necessary nutrition but was very difficult to stomach for prolonged periods of consumption. Needless to say this created many problems in these neighborhoods.

She continued carefully down the hallways "Henry, notify Jason of my eta". Henry piped up chiperly "At once, Mum, he calculated the approximate time it would take her and sent a simple voice message to Jason's comm. Everything was going smoothly, those few groups that were in the hallway had been non-aggressive so far, she was just about to relax as she got close to Jason's apartment, when warning bells went off in her head. At the edge of her senses she felt a rush of movement toward her from a crossing hallway, She abruptly stoped short & took a defensive stance as three rough looking men, 2 of them young adults, while the center one presummably their leader was an adult. They quickly positioned themselves next to one another to block the hallway, sneering & chuckling to themselves at the girl before them.

The leader was the first to speak up in a gruff voice full of vicious intent "Little girl, don't you know these halls are dangerous, specially at night? Maybe I should teach you all about it. For your safety, of course.." The Second from last sentence he said as his eyes fell to her bust & hips, his eyes danced with lust at the prospect of "teaching" her. Then men next to him chuckled & licked their lips in agreement, they thought to themselves not only could they profit from the food, but they could have a bit of fun with the girl, boss had indeed picked well.

She remained silent while staring at them, carefully observing their styles & behavior. She quickly deduced their attitudes & a few minor weaknesses that she might be able to exploit, while her hand which was on the pummel of her dagger tightened into a steady hold around the hilt preparing for the worst. The men took this as a sign that she was afraid & shocked into silence, they began to walk forwards towards her. The two lackies at the leaders left & right side were infront of the leader by the length of a stride. They moved forward, obviously wanting to position themselves to hold each of the girls arms, to prevent her escape, & to allow the leader access to start the "fun".