THE MOMENT
"I'll be honest," Aurelio lied. At this point, he was already ahead. No matter how it turned out, he'd get something in his pockets. The young man was discussing business with a wizard in his garage. The doors were open, letting in fresh air and sunlight, while the two came to an agreement. Aurelio didn't live in a neighborhood, and the garage wasn't attached to a house. It was an almost warehouse-sized space on a vast empty plain. Instead of suburbia, emptiness extended outside the garage. "That option is just there for suckers. The Magical Consortium judging your thesis won't accept the results, and I don't offer any refunds. But, there's always some idiot who thinks he's smart enough to make it work. If you want to not only successfully defend your thesis, but, keep the immortality after, you want the premium option."
"I don't see how they'd be able to tell the difference...," the wizard shook his head. "The goal is to become immortal. What does the method matter? Asking 10 times the price is quite a markup."
"Consider it paying for a guarantee. Do you want to graduate for sure, or pay a smaller amount, which includes the risk of getting thrown out of Magicademia altogether? Are you a sucker or not?"
"AURY, I NEED A HUGE FAVOR!" Both negotiators were startled at the sudden outburst. There wasn't anyone around for miles, until there was. Jenny, a Japanese young woman with short, black spiky hair wandered into the garage with her eyes on the chubby young man.
"Jen, I'm working...," he tilted his head at the wizard, and the wizened man gave her a half-hearted wave.
"Uhhhhhh..," Jenny studied the wizard's blue robes up and down, then she glanced around the garage and landed her gaze on the price board posted on a wall. She was able to piece it all together and nodded to herself.
"Here," she turned suddenly and gave the wizard a clear glass card. "Spend some time with this, and you'll learn how to become immortal. It's free if you take it and leave right now."
"Hey, wait...," Aurelio tried to interrupt, but Jenny gave him a stern look. This was something more important. "... never mind. Take it and go," he gave the wizard a dismissive gesture, and the robed man did just that. He accepted the card from Jenny, then vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Okay, what is it?" he asked.
"Privacy, please," she said. She could have done it herself, but it was technically his space. He nodded and made another gesture toward the open doors. They closed as white surface spread out across every wall, the floor, and ceiling.
"If you help me, I'll explain how I made this," Jenny smiled as she produced another card. This one wasn't a clear node like the one she gave the wizard. It was translucent purple with a golden sun etched in the center. Aurelio had never seen it before, but there was only one thing that would interest him enough to hear the favor she wanted. She'd been hinting she was close, and there was a friendly competition to see who would get there first.
"How the hell...," he reached for it, and she yanked it back before he could grasp it.
"IF YOU HELP ME, I'll tell you how," she repeated the deal.
"Alright, what do you need?" he asked.
"I'm going away," she said. "I don't know how long I'll be gone, at least a couple of months, maybe longer. But, it's not that I'm going away, it's where I'm going," she said. "Melody asked for my help... on Mars."
"What?" Aurelio was almost flabbergasted. "Why not me!?" he asked. That was where most of his annoyance was concentrated, but there were other concerns. "And, why are you going at all? You HATED Dana Sharp."
"Well, she's been dead, so that's not a reason to say no, is it?" Jenny giggled and shook her head. "And I'm going for the exact same reason you're mad that you're not," she patted his shoulder with gentle encouragement. "It's MARS! Sharp Development's most secret projects! Whatever they want me to peek at is worth the trip."
"So.. what's the actual favor?" he asked.
"I can't take this with me," she said as she offered him the purple and gold card. "That place has the tightest security anywhere, and they'll be scanning everything the second I get there. There's nowhere I'd be able to hide it, and I can't leave it unattended because who knows what might happen?" she shrugged. "I'm trusting you to keep it safe and undisturbed, and when I get back, I'll tell you all about how I made it. Along with anything else I learned on Mars. That I can share, you know they work."
"Can I-," he began to ask a question as he accepted the card, but Jenny shook her head.
"Absolutely not," she said. "It's still not a perfect solution, which is why I'm willing to share it with you when I get back. But, it's very delicate at the moment, and it can still fail. I just can't miss this opportunity to go to Mars," she added.
"Do you think Melody would ask me if you said no?" Aurelio asked. Jenny didn't answer, and instead glared at him with cold brown eyes.
"Okay, you got a deal then," he nodded finally and extended his hand.
"Not good enough," Jenny said. "I need you to promise. No diagnostics, scans, sampling, imaging, NOTHING like that," she said. "Put it in your most secure box and lock it away until I'm back; that's literally all I need."
"Okay, it's a deal," he wiggled the fingers on his outstretched hand. "I'll lock it away until you come back. And, you give me a full infodump once you're back."
"Do you promise?" Jenny asked as she shook on it. Aurelio reassured her with a smile.
"Of course," Aurelio lied.