"You can count me out."

"What? Why? Come on, it's only one little job. The last one we'll ever need."

I looked at him warily. "I don't even want to know. Just let me go back home. I'd really rather not get involved in this."

"You're the best hacker we know."

"EX-hacker," I growled through gritted teeth. "I'm done with all of this."

"You're not done. Your heart is racing. You remember the thrill of a job."

I couldn't very well say no to that point, at least. My heart was pounding in my chest. I could feel the blood coursing through my body, the hair on my arms rising, the jitters that were starting already.

"It's muscle memory or something. But just because something gets my adrenaline pumping doesn't mean I'm going to do it. I don't fly by my heart's whim. I'm done with this, and I mean it. I'm done with you."

Maybe I shouldn't have added that last bit, but as I turned around and started walking out, it felt good to have said that.

This is where things get fuzzy. I heard some vague sounds behind me, followed by a glint of light reflecting off of the door in front of me. Something hit me and I staggered, almost flew forward. Something warm was oozing, trickling, flowing, gushing down my back, down my leg, down, down, down to the ground. Red drops turned into puddles turned into a pool that I flew into, my mind going into a haze as I lay there.

I guess I was done, after all.