Vestigial Memories, Interlude: Locke's Apartment

Scene setup

Scene countdown check:
[D6]: [6] => Event happens
Countdown Event Table Roll:
[D12]: [6] =>Diversion - False lead, wild goose chase, drawn into a trap

Interlude: The Mirage in the Rain

I finish my drink and head back out. The air is thick with the smell of ozone and wet asphalt. I’m halfway to my Spinner when I see him again.

Kael. He’s standing in the shadow of the cooling vents, exactly where I left him ten minutes ago. My patience is gone.

Locke: "Listen, pal, this is becoming a habit..."

He doesn't answer. He doesn't give me a sad smile this time. Instead, he reaches into his coat and pulls out a telescopic combat baton. The snap of the metal extending is the only warning I get.

Combat: The Ambush

K has initiative because of surprise attack
K skill level roll:
[D8]: [4] => Competent C/C (Strength/Hand-To-Hand)

Round 1: K
Action:
Attacks with baton
Attack roll:
K [D8 + D8] vs Locke [D6 + D6]: [7 + 2] vs [3 + 4] => 1 success for K => hits for 2 damage
Move:
He runs away yelling "Release the woman!"

He lunges, swinging the weighted metal with professional precision. I try to parry, but I’m slow—too tired, too distracted. He catches me square in the side. I feel the air leave my lungs and a sharp, sickening crack in my ribs. I fall to the ground.

He searches my coat pockets. He does not seem to find what he's looking for.

K: "Where's the data?"

L: "What data?"

He hits me again on the face.

K: "You don't know what you're dealing with. Stop looking or it will not end well."

He doesn't stay to finish the job. He shoves me back and disappears into the labyrinth of the rooftop, his voice echoing off the neighboring buildings.

The Observation: Not a Shadow, a Mirror

I’m doubled over, clutching my side, gasping for breath. My ribs are definitely cracked, but the pain triggers a sudden, sharp clarity.

Something was wrong. The movement, the voice, the eyes—it looked like Kael, but the "vibe" was violent, desperate.

Observation Check:
[D10 + D10]: [1 + 5] => I push the roll: [1 + 9] => 1 success

I replay the last few seconds in my mind. As he lunged at me, the light from a neon billboard caught the side of his head. There was a mark on his right temple. A small, dark tattoo—a stylized bird of some kind.

Kael didn't have a tattoo.

A cold shiver that has nothing to do with the rain runs down my spine. This wasn't Kael. It was another one. A different sibling from the same template. How many of these "K" models are out there roaming the streets?

I pull myself into the pilot’s seat of the Spinner, gritting my teeth against the pain in my side. I need to get to the LAPD. I need to talk to Zhao, and I need to do it before the rest of the "family" decides to pay me a visit.