Keep Quiet

[Joe:]
I've seen your face in the shadows.
I've seen your face in the places I wasn't meant to be.
I've heard them whisper about you.
I've heard the men in the bars
And I've seen the women lock their doors at night
They say your eyes are on fire.
They say you'd kill a man for walking the wrong side of the line
But men, they say a lot of foolish things
And n the end the only words I can find to believe in are mine.

They say

[Human Choir:]
This city, she's been dead for years now... for years now.
So death is not something that scares me... that scares me.
There's worse things than death here.

[Joe:]
They told me...

[Human Choir:]
Keep quiet.

I will not be told where to stand!
I will not be told what to say.
Not by man or machine,
Not by you,
Not by anyone tonight!
You're gonna have to do better than fear.
You're gonna have to step out of the shadows and fight.
And when they see your face again,
They will know what it means
To have fear dragged out into the light.
Drag it out!

Human Choir:
This city, she's been dead for years now... for years now.
So death is not something that scares me... that scares me.
There's worse things than death here.

[Joe:]
So come on!
Come on!
Step into the light!

The red-eyed assassin stepped from the shadows. He'd been keeping pace with a motorcycle racing at top speed for an hour, yet he showed no sign of fatigue. The gray-haired man watched from the alley tensing visibly as the machine revealed itself. Joe slowly backed away from the bike, deliberately withdrawing towards the gray-haired man in the alley. He stopped as his foot brushed against something solid.

The sniper robot's hand never ocne went for the gun at its side. It leaned in, a large blade clenched in its left fist, waiting for the proper moment.

[Human Choir:]
This city, she's been dead for years now... for years now.
So death is not something that scares me... that scares me.

[Joe:]
There's worse things
Than death here
There's loss and there's silence and sadness.

Joe's hands were shaking.

So come on,
Come on,
Just open your mouths and revive it.

Joe leaned forward and charged towards the machine. If he was going to die, he would go down swinging. He plunged his shoulder into the chest of the automaton. With every bit of strength he could summon, Joe thrust upward, and both man and machine left the ground in an arc. By the time they slammed back into the asphalt, the machine was on top, its cold hands tightening around Joe'e neck. The impact sent the pipe bounding far from Joe's reach. Joe's fingers clawed at the smooth metal covering the machine, searching for a chink in its armor. His hand found the gun instead.

The light of the blast was painful, even through Joe's closed eyes. He opened them slowly. Carefully. He found the machine lying several feet away, immobilized, with a smoking hole in its chest. Its red eye fading and flickering. Joe rose. He approached the machine. He pointed the gun at the robot's head and slid his finger over the trigger, steeling himself for the blast. The gray-haired man stopped him. The man knelt down - his face inches from the machine's - and spoke, his voice gruff and trembling.

"I built this. It's mine to destroy."

With surprising speed, his right hand shot to Joe's boot and withdrew the knife. With his left hand he grabbed the machine by the jugular-shaped electrical conduit at its throat and sliced. A single swift blow. The eye went dark. The machine was dead.

The two faced each other in the middle of the street. Joe's labored breaths drowning out the telescreen in the distance.

"My name is Thomas Light..."

Returning to the lifeless machine at his feet, Light motioned for the speechless Joe to assist him. Together, they dragged the remains of the murderer out of the light and into the protection of the alley. Light sheathed the knife into Joe's boot holster and turned back to the machine. He examined the assassin for a few seconds and nodded. With a few deft motions, he detached the dark green helmet from the body of the robot, tossing it to Joe.

"Here... try this on."