EXT. CENTRAL CITY – BACK ALLEY CAFE – LATER THAT MORNING
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToGpYQnwCh
[The trio—Jason, SD-A, and SD-K—approach a small, tucked-away shop pressed between a repair garage and a wall painted with obsolete Vision Tech advertisements. The flickering neon sign reads: “CRANK’S. Coffee for Circuits.”]
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2im8QNkKP
[The storefront is modest—built from reassembled shipping crates and old vending machine panels. A few bots sit at scratched metal tables, sipping steaming mugs of oil, quietly chatting or staring blankly into the void like good, tired citizens.]
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRchDiI8AjK
JASON (quietly, to A and K)
“Alright, ground rules: No weapons, no talking about killing, no talking about being killed, and for the love of scrap, don’t compliment Crank’s mustache. It’s not real, and he’s very sensitive.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBD5RLVhE1Z
SD-K
“…Got it. Don’t lie to the unstable facial hair guy.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvoa1jYz9U
SD-A (nodding solemnly)
“Understood.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLRXjkcGDs
[Jason pushes the door open with a ding. The warm scent of burning circuits and cinnamon grease hits them immediately.]
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVVRA2s1wq
INT. CRANK’S CAFE – CONTINUOUS
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvJa1Kfqhl
[Crank—an old, rusted Labor bot with a portly chassis, apron stained with oil splashes, and a very fake magnetic chrome mustache—perks up from behind the counter.]
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGAl1zxCXB
CRANK
“Jason Gearman! Look who dragged their dusty servo in. Finally got tired of vending machine sludge?”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQg6opYRfIV
JASON
“Don’t push your luck, Crank. That sludge saved my life during a shootout.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTakbzbKc1
CRANK (pouring a mug anyway)
“Yeah, and clogged half your fuel pump doing it. Sit. I’ll make the usual.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkBwhtex6E
[Jason gestures subtly for A and K to sit at a table in the corner, out of the spotlight. They obey like suspiciously obedient tourists.]
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZi5Y945KGU
CRANK (eyeing them)
“New friends? They don’t talk much.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBqAlAACCz
JASON (shrugs)
“Tourists. Bit shy. You know how it is—first time in Central.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHeSG9AUZX6
CRANK (leans over the counter, stage-whispers)
“They from H.A.H.? One of them's got that ‘molten wasteland trauma’ posture.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAl04iiOuCa
JASON (deadpan)
“Molten wasteland posture is trending now.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkaO5dYCAj
CRANK
“Fair. You want ‘em fed or just caffeinated?”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7y2YWZi6CF
JASON
“Let’s do two passive-burner brews and a stack of those hydraulic pancakes.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HAmzKok2t
[Crank grunts and gets to work, his arms shifting like kitchen tools from some horror cooking show.]
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNXXORI0hb
[Over at the table—A is staring at a menu labeled “Fluid Fusion Combos,” while K is scanning every inch of the cafe like a suspicious raccoon in disguise.]
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYhDhnsaHX
SD-K (quietly to A)
“Every second we sit here, we risk exposure.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYQ6O3vB0pu
SD-A (softly)
“Yes, but also—look at this place. It’s... quaint. I like the lights.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbVPXXPMul
SD-K
“You like the lights. Great. When they’re dragging us out for dissection, I’ll make sure to tell them you enjoyed the ambiance.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSH8felmGk1
[Jason returns and sits down across from them. Crank soon follows, balancing a tray of sloshing mugs and synthetic cakes.]
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2cur1KANf
CRANK (dropping it all down)
“There. Fresh from the corrosion fryer. You bots enjoy now—don’t melt my chairs.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtSmUwb98a
[He walks off, muttering something about tax fraud and whipped oil.]
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2kpT3t6lt
JASON
“See? Smooth. We eat, we leave, nobody dies.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LtmbGbpby
SD-K (picking up a mug and staring at the contents like it's poison)
“What is this?”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb3Yfeu6Pen
JASON
“House blend. Oil, copper dust, and caffeine. It'll either wake you up or reboot your entire operating system.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEJ2K2Iedu
SD-A (tasting)
“…Pleasantly bitter. Like regret, in liquid form.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaz6X0V0pwN
JASON (grinning)
“Exactly. That’s how you know it’s real.”
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflo7BIz87P
[The three of them eat quietly, blending in just enough. A few customers glance over, but Jason's body language says "don’t mess with this table" in all caps. A sense of almost-normal settles over the scene. Almost.]
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88q8QeslJQ
[Outside the cafe, in the alley across the street, a faint flicker—like static electricity snapping in the air.]
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvA3D1BTnrt
[Something unseen... watching.]
ns52.15.244.228da2
