Only Bots | A flash fiction story
27 of 💯
“What the hell was that?” Agh’s voice burst through their comm channel.
“I’m sorry I can’t hack humans,” Zik said, desperately typing commands into a prompt.
“Why there were humans in the first place?” Agh’s voice pierced through the comm like arrows into Zik’s ears. “Only bots, you said. I asked you three times! I was very clear about it: no humans!”
“Hey, lower your tone, mister. Do you know how hard it is to plan a bullet factory heist? I thought there would only be bots.” Zik typed furiously into the poor keyboard, unlocking doors for Agh.
“Don’t give me that crap! You always brag about your intel. You knew there would be humans.”
“I did not! Give me a break!”
Zik could hear Agh’s frantic steps echoing through the comm. They opened a window with the surveillance feed on one of the screens, a service truck outside the large building.
“Your driver better be there, Zik.”
“She’s there with the truck,” Zik said. “By the way, we have a truck. Did you stop to wonder how I got us that truck — in this city? Maybe let’s talk about what I got right for once.”
Agh didn’t answer, only his heavy breathing coming through. Zik went silent for a moment, their fingers stopped and gave the keyboard a rest.
“Agh,” Zik said. “Are you there?”
No answer.
“Remember when you said if we pulled it off you’d have that drink with me? Does this change anything?”
“I’m almost at the dock,” Agh said, panting. “I’ll load the truck and get the hell out of here.”
Zik’s eyes darted from side to side as they heard Agh’s voice. “Is that a yes or a no? Are we good?”
Agh disconnected. Zik stared at the blinking cursor on the black background, a lonely citizen in an overpopulated city of turquoise and magenta characters.
They nodded to themselves. “I think we’re good.”
< Fuel | Only bots | Artificial >
