Neon Dawn on Angelopolis, by PeteUplink
The first sliver of crimson sliced through the smog, painting the towering chrome skyscrapers of Angelopolis a bruised purple. Sirens wailed in the distance, a lullaby of the dying night. On a rooftop overlooking the cityscape, Anya squinted through the haze. Her cybernetic arm, a sleek mesh of metal and glowing wires, hummed as she finished calibrating her sniper rifle.
Below, the neon signs of pleasure palaces and corporate headquarters flickered and died, surrendering to the weak light of dawn. Angelopolis never truly slept, but this pre-dawn hour held a strange serenity. A shiver danced down Anya's spine, a stark contrast to the warmth radiating from the mug of synth-coffee in her other hand.
Across the city, on a rooftop far too close for comfort, a figure emerged from the shadows. A rival assassin, Anya recognized him by the glint of his sniper scope – a mirrored predator in the dying neon. Their dance had been playing out for weeks, a silent game of cat and mouse amidst the city's chaos. Today, Anya was determined to checkmate him.
Taking a deep breath, Anya settled into her position, the city sprawling out before her like a metallic labyrinth. The world sharpened through her magnified scope, the rhythmic hum of her enhanced vision locking onto the rival assassin. His finger hovered over the trigger, his target – a high-rise office building across from Anya's position.
Anya knew the building. It housed a biotech firm notorious for its unethical experiments. The assassin's target wasn't some corporate stooge; it was a whistleblower, a scientist about to expose their secrets. Anya had a choice – eliminate the assassin as per her contract, or let him kill the scientist and probably get a bigger payout from the corp.
As the crimson bled into a bruised orange, casting an ethereal glow over the cityscape, Anya made her decision. A single, precise shot rang out, echoing through the awakening city. The rival assassin crumpled, his mirrored scope glinting accusingly at the dawn. Anya watched, imagining her own reflection staring back from the lifeless glass eyes, a ghost in the machine contemplating the weight of a sunrise.
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