When Charlie came to Light City, his trench coat and boots were too big.

He hung out with assholes who got him hooked on pills with stupid street names. Charlie couldn’t follow their talk of ‘net hackers and corporate cops. He was the only one who didn’t own a deck.

He bought a shiny gun that fit in his pocket.

He found work in a video store selling porn without subtitles, and when his landlord said he hadn’t paid the rent, he paid it again.

One day, Charlie heard a woman sobbing in an alley. When he tried to find her, three men came out of the shadows. Then he saw their guns.

Charlie didn’t even realize he had his hand on his gun in his pocket until it went off and the first man fell to his knees. Charlie fired again. The hole in the man’s cheek was so small, and it only bled a little, but he didn’t get back up.

A week later, Charlie heard that the mob had a hit out on his boss at the video store, and thought, what the hell.

First, he bought a coat and boots that fit.