She made her way into the perfume department. Walking silently, perusing the merchandise, she was assaulted by numerous advertisements. Though there were no sales-people in this sort of establishment, the sales tactics were more flagrant than usual. These were transmitted to her via the trilateral satellite service and GPS tracking.
Though anyone who was anyone found this sort of advert tedious, forcing it to become white noise. No matter what you were watching through your OpPlant device when you entered the mall, it was overridden and interlaced by the store-front adverts in the vicinity. Holographic women and men and animals would talk to you from their GPS placement in their respective stores.
"The perfect fragrance for Her. The cheapest fragrance for His pocket: Practical Magic. Available for five credits..."
"Smell as pure as the new moon, and sense it transform into a warm fire's hearth: as YOUR libido wakes up, it'll be time for you two to lay it down..."
"Never again become overwhelmed by a scent, use MelloSmello for anything from bathrooms to over-musked co-worker--"
With a small adjustment to the remote on her hip-pack, she was left alone once more. The small bit of plastic-encased hardware 'cracked' the unit in her left eye and ceased the white noise.
In the mean time, she was able to take a gander at the nearby rack of pineapple-husk hats.
--------
It wasn't long before he was on the trail toward greatness. He called Jonathan:
"No, you see. Geo4 doesn't just post anyone's shit. I'm not on a wild goose-chase either, I'm right the fuck there. It's here, I mean."
Jonathan spoke on the other end of the line, and Robert responded.
"Well okay, sure, there's a chance that someone else will go for it, but GC's are so passe these days, do you really think anyone would be as adamant as me? I'll get to the first. You'll envy me tonight. Remember to bring the girls. End Call"
He turned at the second light from the patisserie and spotted the hovering-holo-display overtop a nearby abandoned building. How vintage, he thought.
"This should be good. Camera on- focus manual- submit to Trak.photo- filetype .amp."
His eyes scanned the area for any other people. This time of day would be a bit congested on the nearby highway, but hell, that wasn't exactly the means of travel for the kinds of people who were into THIS kind of thing.
--------
As she headed home, channel surfing with a few blinks, she checked the local GC news, caches popping up less and less.
"I don't get it.. Found, free, one of a kind. Why wouldn't it be more popular..." She talked to herself, fiddling with the kitschy hat on her head, checking herself in the reflective edges of her sidewalk stroller bubble. Her legs crossed as the bubble strolled along.
"Only an hour ago there has been a new addition to St. Jezebel's gallery off of FrankStreet. Still unclaimed, our trilats indicate several people intent on interception. Be the first to get to it and have it for yourself! The piece's topic: Giraffes."
If there were but one word that could freeze her in her stylish tracks, it was the word 'giraffe'. As if a unicorn, T-rex, or house-cat of old, this was a creature she had always allowed to roam her imagination. Some supposed that these were out of the artist Dali's imagination. She always speculated.
"Pod-stop, re-route to FrankStreet via... Trial Plaza. Take bike routes."
From her vantage point on the east side of the building, it looked abandoned. It looked as though the doors, walls, and windows were from an era long ago. Though this was a rather busy area, she took note that she had never taken notice of this building before.
"Maybe the artist cloaked it from channel viewing..."
"Yea, maybe."
The male voice took her by surprise. Even Robert was surprised that he had responded out loud. With a squint, he took in her visage. He appropriated it as a threat.
She, on the other hand, thought him quaint-- saw the moped a few yards away, some hulking loaf of bread sticking out of the green helmet. As she wasted time assessing the style of this stranger, he was already taking strides away from her and toward the entrance of the dilapidated building.
"Hey! Wait!." She ran after. "What are you doing around here...? Not exactly safe." She finally began to suspect that he was motivated toward what was rightfully her's.
"Doing business, and you're right, not safe. You should skedaddle." He brushed her off, his long legs beating her up the stairs-- which required that he take two at a time, considering that every other step was caved in.
"No, really. I've got something I need to find. Do you live here?" Her rather innocent supposition rubbed him the wrong way. He walked harder, hoping that her footing would fail at his heels, stairs crashing inward into oblivion. The race was on.
"Excuse me? Do you really think I would LIVE here? Honestly, child, it's a dump." He scoffed, making it to the second to last level of the squat building.
"Hey, no offense meant, I think this place is lovely. I wouldn't imagine it to be MY summer villa... But yours? Oh, I don't see why not..." She gained on him, the creaking and crumbling structure causing her Flight mode to send her closer to his side.
"Look," he turned to face her, now arriving at the roof-top door where they had both seen the tip-top of the hover-holo-display. "I'm not exactly in the mood the flirt, and... Well, you're not exactly MY type, but stick around in one of these hovels-- I'm sure Mister Right will pop up."
Certain of his intentions, she shoved past him and the door, taking a few running steps before starting to walk boldly again. Now, she closed the space between her and the nearby cache.
"Ohhh no you don't, Missy."
For an instant, they were both racing toward the display, their left arms outstretched, both hoping to claim digital buyer's rights first.
After that instant, they were both stopped in their tracks-- hands both lay on the small prism emitting the large, abstracted image of a giraffe. They marveled. Spots and speckles and long legs and nubby, fuzzy horns all stared down upon them.
"Wow." A far-off voice echoed.
"Yea... Fuckin' huge." Another bounced back.
It took a moment for the situation to dawn upon the both of them. As their vision adjusted to the new light, they realized that the only source of light was that giraffe. The city was darkness now, no moon either. For fear of disrupting the magic in the moment, neither moved. Soon, though, they realized that this was not on their own accord.
"I can't move," she whispered in the giraffe-lit night.
"Me neither..." a worried response came from his direction-- his face illuminated by the legs of the beastly display.
For a long while, neither of them removed their eyes from this light-source-- the only light to be found. As if moths paralyzed, drawn to this flame, they stared. They held idle conversation.
"I don't think I agree with that." She would reply.
"Well, you don't have to." He would snap.
Something like hours or years passed before they noticed that there was no magic left in the moment. After a time, they could only realize that this moment was all that they had left.
"It's brilliant, St. Jezebel. BRILLIANT! Tell us about this new piece!"
"My intent, aesthetically, was to hold a captive audience, to capture a moment, and to breathe new meaning into modern life. You won't be able to take your eyes off of my work."
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