illphated
### *Neon Rodeo*
Ezra “Red” Calloway stood on the edge of the Martian sprawl, the glow of neon skyscrapers casting long, shifting shadows on the red dust. He adjusted his green cowboy hat, letting the brim tilt just enough to shade his cybernetic eye from the endless flicker of advertisements towering above the city.
The boombox on his shoulder hummed with power, an old-world relic he had modified to do a whole lot more than just blast tunes. But right now, that’s exactly what it was doing—pumping out the deep, warbling synth of a forgotten Earth melody, one that reminded him of long highways and lost nights. He pressed the box closer to his ear, feeling the bass vibrate against his skull.
Lark, the AI housed in his spacesuit, cut in through his earpiece. **“I assume you have a plan?”**
Red grinned. “Plan’s simple, darlin’. I walk in, I get my money, I walk out.”
**“Correction: You ‘walk in,’ you antagonize someone, and then I have to reroute power to your life support while you get shot at.”**
He chuckled, adjusting the boombox again. The device wasn’t just for show—it was wired into his suit, capable of jamming comms, scanning for heat signatures, and, if things got messy, unleashing a sonic pulse that could knock a squad on their backs. A little something he picked up from a black-market tech dealer who owed him a favor.
Tonight, though, Red wasn’t looking for trouble. Just a payout. A long ride across the Martian badlands had earned him a haul of rare components, and he had a buyer waiting in the underbelly of the city. Of course, that didn’t mean things would go smooth. Nothing ever did on Mars.
As he took his first step toward the glowing labyrinth of steel and holograms, the radio crackled.
**“Ezra Calloway,”** a gruff voice drawled through the static. **“You got somethin’ that belongs to me.”**
Red smirked, turning the volume knob up on his boombox. The synth grew louder, drowning out the city noise.
“Yeah?” he said, tilting his head just enough for the mic in his collar to catch his voice. “Guess you’ll have to come and take it, partner.”
And with that, he walked into the neon jungle, music blazing, ready for whatever came next.