Animus Boxed Set 1 (Books 1-4): Initiate, Co-Op, Death Match, Advance

by Joshua Anderle

  “Easy now,” Magellan warned and placed a hand on his chest to steady him. “Between the injury, physical exhaustion, drugs, and surgery, you’re not up to snuff. Make smaller movements for now.”

  Kaiden’s coughing softened and finally stopped and he nodded quickly before he took another small sip. “Where am I?” he asked.

  “A fixer station in the Los Angeles gig port,” Chief explained. He appeared on Kaiden’s right, his light dim, and his eye examined him. “We were heading straight back to Seattle, but considering your condition, it was best to land here and fix the damage right away.”

  “How long?” he inquired and looked the bounty hunter and his EI in turn. “How long was I under?”

  “Two days,” Magellan replied.

  He bit his lip. “I was supposed to be back at the Academy yesterday.”

  The bounty hunter’s chuckle was low and almost muted. “That’s what you’re worried about after all this?” he asked and moved his hand to Kaiden’s shoulder. “You’re a tough bastard. After a stab like that, you should be dead. I was able to stabilize you and your EI got your armor’s wrappings in place. The pilot gave you a little TLC but considering that was a strike meant to kill, you can at least count this as something of victory.”

  “I’m not saying I ain’t used to taking a few hits for a win…” He trailed off for a moment, placed the flask against his leg, and tried to sit with help from Magellan. “But this doesn’t feel like one.”

  The bounty hunter retrieved something from the ground. He showed Kaiden the cylinder containing the device they had been sent to retrieve. “You take what you can get sometimes and hope that the next one is more clear-cut.” He placed it back on the ground and leaned back in his chair. “You’re alive, finished the job, and you’ll get paid once I turn this in. Take that for now.”

  “I’ll spend most of my earnings paying for the painkillers and band-aids,” he muttered. “It deflates the warm, fuzzy feeling a little.”

  “I’ll foot the medical bills. Don’t worry about that,” Magellan assured the young man. “You need to rest for now. The rejuv should kick in soon, but it’s diluted and on a slow release. They don’t wanna flood your system considering everything else that went into you.”

  “I could probably choke a vampire,” Kaiden muttered and rubbed his neck once more. “I’ve had my fill of mutants for a while.”

  “True enough.”

  “Did Lazar take off already?” he asked and the smile on Magellan’s face vanished. Kaiden lowered his hand, immediately understanding Magellan’s grim visage. “He’s gone too?”

  His companion nodded slowly, removed his hat, and ran a hand through his hair. “He stayed behind so that I could leave and take you to get help. I intended to go back for him, but he died before we even landed.”

  “Was it Gin?” Kaiden asked, and anger crept into his voice. His heart speeded up and the pain in his chest throbbed. “The knife in my chest—that’s the last thing I remember. Did he get Lazar after me?”

  “I can’t say for sure,” the bounty hunter admitted. “He escaped after attacking you, led us into a trap, and attracted a group of mutants to us. I was only able to monitor Lazar using a basic vitals tracker the pilot had. I thought he’d made it, but after he had calmed down, his heart rate spiked again—like he’d got into another battle or was running from something. Then it slowed before it stopped altogether.”

  Kaiden leaned back with a deep sigh, “Dammit… Dammit!” he cursed and gripped his bed sheets. The movement jarred the flask against his leg and knocked it over. “What’s the point of training for this kind of shit if I can’t do something when it counts!?”

  “Calm down, partner,” Chief requested and floated almost in his face. “You can’t stress out like this.”

  “You did more than almost anyone else could be asked to at your age,” Magellan said calmly and tried to quiet him.

  “I’m training to be an ace,” Kaiden huffed. “Not everything was easy in the Animus, but I beat it all despite that. I’m better than every other soldier in my division or in my year—hell, I’ve broken records from past years.” The sharp pain surged again, and he ran his fingers over the bandages around his chest. “And when it gets real, I flake like this? I was a fucking Dead-Eye. I’ve dealt with people who tried to kill me and it wasn’t a problem.”

  “There’s a difference between dealing with someone who knows how to kill and dealing with a killer,” Magellan pointed out. Kaiden turning his head to stare at him. “You might be the best in your class, and this mission should have been easy for you—for all of us. The old saying tells us to be prepared for anything,”

  “Don’t lecture me,” he snapped, and the anger was immediately replaced with regret when Magellan simply stared at him. “Sorry.”

  “No worries.” The bounty hunter shrugged. “I wasn’t trying to lecture you, but I suppose it might come across that way. I intended to say that that old motto, while accurate, isn’t something everyone can conceivably live up to. Running into a guy like Gin—that’s a one in billions coincidence.”

  “Do you think that’s all it was?” Kaiden asked. He released the bed sheets and picked up the flask.

  Magellan’s gaze darted away briefly before he looked at him. “Honestly, I can’t say for sure. I don’t have any reason or theories why he would be after anyone but me, and even then, he’s never actively pursued me except for our second meeting. He wanted to finish me off, and I blew a chunk of his hand off.” He shook his head. “I always looked down on him, but he talked a big game and had the skills to back it up. He got away from me, but he always ran and never finished me off. I dealt more damage to him than he did me. For all that cockiness I looked down on, I was becoming just like him in my own way. I took his arm, a leg, and gallons of blood. But I could never finish it. More people died, and I simply focused on the kill.”

  There was silence for a moment. Chief hovered and looked from one to the other to see who would speak first. The bounty hunter sighed and Kaiden looked at the ceiling. “I should call the Academy and tell them I’ll be back soon.”

  “I already did,” Magellan related.

  “Did you have to pretend to be my guardian or something?” Kaiden asked. He lifted his arms and rested them on his legs.

  “You’re a twenty-one-year-old man. I don’t need a consent form. I merely explained the situation. They said that you have grace days, but if you miss too many compulsory activities you’ll be expelled. Although, since you are in a fixer station, get a report from the staff and they’ll potentially not dock you anything.”

  “Maybe not the administration,” Kaiden mumbled, “but a couple of my teachers might.” Kaiden looked at the hospital smock he wore. “That reminds me, were you able to get my gear?”

  “What remains is in a locker. When you’re discharged, you’ll get it back. Your pistol is fine, your armor and underlay… Well, you can salvage some of it, but the underlay was shredded and the chest plate is shattered, along with a number of the other pieces. I would recommend salvaging the mods and getting a new suit altogether.”

  “Along with a new machine gun,” he muttered. “This lifestyle gets pretty pricey, huh?”

  “Why do you think I haven’t retired yet?” Magellan responded, and the moment of levity gave them both a sense of calm for a minute. The bounty hunter retrieved a scroll-stick and opened it into a tablet. “I’ll be leaving in a minute,” he declared. Kaiden, at a loss for words, simply looked at him as he stood. “I’ll turn the device in and make sure you get paid. Then I’ll collect the others’ tags and get them to any friends in their hometown.”

  The ace nodded glumly and sighed as he fell back onto the pillows. “Thank you, Magellan.” The bounty hunter glanced at him in surprise. “I know I would be dead now if it wasn’t for you. If it helps at all, you’re not the only one who let themselves get too cocky.”

  The man closed his eyes as he turned away. “You’re a good soldie
r, Kaiden, don’t doubt yourself there. But you’re a student. Maybe you are one of the best or even the best, but you are still a student. You have more to learn.” He walked to the sliding door, opened it, and looked back one more time. “Don’t let him win, Kaiden. There is a more metaphorical reason guys like him are called revenants. Even if you kill them, they can haunt you and stop you from making your own choices. They can make you constantly doubt and question yourself. When they walk among us, they are horrible, but even in death, they can cost you your life. Don’t let him do that.”

  Kaiden, although he didn’t really understand what Magellan meant, nodded. The bounty hunter replaced his hat and tipped it to him before he stepped out and closed the door and left Kaiden to himself.

  Julio Alvarez, the proprietor and bartender of the Emerald Lounge in Seattle, was in good spirits. There were plenty of patrons but not enough that it was a hassle. The rain outside tapped against the windows and roof and he always found it soothing—which was a good thing since it happened so often. The real stuff too, not the biosphere synthesized stuff. Most people said it sounded and felt the same, but he knew the rattle of real rain.

  “Another round, Commander?” he asked his patron. Sasha nodded and slid his glass over. Julio filled it with the commander’s preferred lager, Peacemaker Amber. “It’s nice to catch up now and again. Kaiden barely writes or calls. I saw him a few times during the break, though.”

  “That was actually one of the things I wanted to discuss,” Sasha explained. “He parlayed some of his early free time and left town. The statement on his form said it was personal, but I was told by one of my comrades that he was scheduled on a job.”

  “Kaiden’s done gigs from time to time for extra credits and even worked as my doorman for a couple weeks.” He passed the commander his drink. “It’s kind of full circle in a way, don’t you think?”

  Sasha nodded and enjoyed a small sip of the lager before he set it back down. “The thing is, he hasn’t returned. His classes started today, and he was supposed to return yesterday.”

  Julio cocked an eyebrow. “That’s odd. Kaiden’s a little lackadaisical, but he’s not usually one to skip out on commitments. You’d think a gig like that wouldn’t take him long.”

  “So you know about it, then?”

  Julio gave him a look of ire. “You don’t gotta do the coy interrogation thing with me, Commander. It wasn’t some under the table thing.” Julio leaned against the bar. “It’s not side-gig or anything, but I am still set up as a gig agent. I get the occasional job request from time to time and deal them out to those I think would fit. It was a retrieval mission in the Amazon on a chain team. It didn’t look like much and might have threatened a youngblood or runner, but it seemed like something Kaiden could do even without having gone to Nexus for a year and change.”

  “You seem to have a rather high opinion of him despite not knowing him very long,” Sasha commented and sipped his drink.

  “I could say the same. I may not see him much, but the fight on the day you took him in still sticks out. Plus, he had to deal with the occasional idiot who got too hotheaded or drunk for their own good while he worked with me along with a few successful missions he applied for and accomplished himself. I could tell he was looking for something a little bigger.”

  “Did he tell you why he’s doing these gigs?”

  Julio leaned back with a hand under his chin. “I don’t think he ever said. I would assume spending money. He might want to hit things on occasion—you know, real things.”

  “The whole point of the Animus is to create experiences that the mind and body cannot differentiate from reality. If it is not enough for some of our students, perhaps I should take it up with the designer.”

  “I may have never used one myself, but you still know you’re going in, right?” the bartender questioned. “For a guy like that, it’s a feeling, right? No matter how much it ‘feels like’ the real thing, that edge is missing. You spent fifteen years in the military. Tell me you didn’t feel that way during the real action.”

  “I was too preoccupied with my duties to take the time to consider such philosophy,” Sasha retorted.

  Julio smiled and snickered and a device in his ear began to glow. “Hold up a second,” he asked and pressed the button to receive the call. “Hello? Well, speak of the devil—how are you, Kaiden?” Julio’s smile widened, and he winked at the commander and leaned one hand on the bar. “You sound a little hoarse. Did you spend a night celebrating too hard?”

  His smile faded and his lips pursed. He breathed sharp breaths through his nose. “Oh, Kaiden, man…I’m sorry.” He nodded and was silent for another minute. “I see, that’s…I can’t believe it. I promise I would have never…I feel terrible. What? If I see… He’s here, actually. You’ll do it in person? I’ll pass it along then. Get better, man. You’ve got a bottle or two waiting the next time you drop by. I’ll be sure to screen the gigs more before…I guess you’re right. I still feel like it’s my fault, though. Okay, no, no, I get it. Thanks for letting me know. Get well, man.” Julio clicked the button again and ended the call.

  “That was Kaiden. You won’t believe—”

  “I heard,” Sasha stated and pointed to the device around his head.

  “Gin Sonny? He ran into a rev on his first out-of-state mission? And he almost died.” Julio placed one hand on the bar and ran the other through his hair. “What are the chances?”

  Sasha looked at the last of his lager and his fingers tapped the bar. “Almost too much.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  As the hyperloop emerged from the water, the glass was greeted by more water as rain poured down from above. Kaiden leaned against the window and let the coolness calm him as he folded his arms across his chest, careful not to press too hard. The staff at the fixer station explained that they didn’t have the tech to properly repair the wound and adapt the skin. The area was scarred and fragile but as he was in Los Angeles, there were plenty of options for further recovery.

  He skipped out. The scar would remain. It was his reminder, now.

  The pain wasn’t as intense as it had been, and his body had recovered rather quickly thanks to the ultra-grade rejuv, but he still felt a dull throb now and then. He did wonder if he should have had it looked at by another surgeon but decided he would have Dr. Soni take a look if anything flared up again. He would visit her anyway to see if that blue stuff was back in stock.

  The hyperloop finally arrived at the station. Kaiden grabbed his case and prepared to disembark and look for a driver to take him to the Academy entrance. Instead, when he stepped into the line to leave and looked out the window, he saw Commander Sasha and Professor Laurie, both dressed in long black jackets. Sasha wore a white shirt and black slacks while Laurie had chosen a black silk shirt and slacks. They stood in the middle of the station and stared directly at him through the windows of the train.

  He wondered if he should take in the sights of the next town.

  Kaiden sighed, exited, and approached the men. Sasha remained his typical stoic self, his eyes hidden behind his oculars, but Laurie unnerved him. He had grown accustomed to the professor’s jubilant demeanor and eccentric persona, but the look on his face was now as calm as Sasha’s, although more dour and almost deadpan. A little paranoia surfaced, and he wondered if these were actually Doppel bots or something in disguise.

  “Hey, Chief. Scan them and make sure they are real,” he whispered.

  “You got stabbed in the chest, Kaiden, not the head,” he replied.

  “Does Laurie look off to you?”

  “Well, his prize science fair project almost died. I guess he’s a little peeved.”

  He slid a hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a card. “I have a note.” He offered it weakly and hoped it would suffice.

  Laurie approached first. Kaiden hadn’t noticed before, but the man was rather tall—almost the same height as he was, which meant probably six feet three inches, and so
me change. He studied Kaiden silently for a moment. The ace wondered if he was angry and felt a slight chill. Was he angry enough to take Chief and his EI device away?

  To his astonishment, Laurie hugged him and pulled him close. “It’s good to see you standing, Kaiden,” he said and released him almost as quickly as he had grabbed him, although a hand lingered on his shoulder. “You gave us quite a fright.”

  “Well, uh, Halloween is coming up and everything.” He tried to jest but earned an annoyed look from the professor. “Sorry. I didn’t think it would go down like that. I also didn’t think you would bother or know that I left at all.”

  “A rather foolish assumption,” Sasha said as he joined them. “Laurie gives you your autonomy, but if he has to, he can find your device, just as he can every student and faculty member of the Academy. And target acquisition was a specialty of mine.”

  “You should share more stories,” Kaiden said in an effort to add a little humor to the situation. They didn’t bite.

  “Would you like a ride, Kaiden?” Sasha asked. He felt unnerved because it seemed like an uncomfortable ride. They obviously weren’t there to be chauffeurs.

  “It’s all right. I can find a driver. I’m sure you guys have to—”

  “Let’s go to the car, Kaiden.” Laurie walked away with Kaiden’s case in his hand.

  “Hey that’s my—” Sasha stopped him, made a beckoning motion with his hand, and followed the professor. Kaiden sighed. Hopefully, this would be a quick drive.

  God, it was agony. The ace shifted in the back seat of the car. Sasha and Laurie sat in front and faced away, even though it wasn’t necessary as the front window was closed and the car was on autoride. The drive from the station to the academy usually only took around thirty-five minutes, but time had either slowed to a crawl or they decided to take the scenic route and said nothing the entire time. Was he in trouble? Granted, he hadn’t read the agreement thoroughly when he’d joined the Academy, but if there was something against taking gigs, he was sure Chief would have said something. Speaking of Chief, he was oddly silent. He actually wished his EI would yammer on as usual and break the tension, but either he decided to keep to himself, or Laurie had remotely cut off his audio and visuals.