“You’re kidding me, surely she died in the Fall,” Xander shook his head.
“I…I don’t know. I mean, technically it would make sense, I didn’t see her, but her DNA would match Prime’s,”
“Or it makes for a damn good alibi,” Xander said, his memories of Peter resurfacing despite his friendship with Prime.
“Ally,” Quartzig said, having been moved away from the crime scene by the officers. “There is a chance that your DNA could also be a match for Prime. We are still unsure of the effects of the procedures done to you, how they might affect your biology, and what connection you have with the clones in regards to your genetic markers. Might I advise that we get away from here before any questions or samples are asked for?”
“He’s right, Ally,” Xander said, “You get out of here. I’ll talk to Mike, see what I can find out. Have any of you seen Mollie anywhere?”
“Not yet, I will search for her,” Quartzig nodded and turned to leave.
“Okay, head to my office when you find her, you too, Ally. We need to figure out what the hell is going on here and what to do next once we have more information.”
Ally nodded, and cast a look to where Julian’s body was being placed on a stretcher, took a breath, and turned to leave.
“Hey, we need them for questioning Xander,” Mike said, pointing at the others as Xander took a step in front to block him from Ally’s exit.
“They’re friends of mine. I vouch for them, and I’ll get you your statements. You have my word,” Xander looked at Mike sternly.
“Hmm, fine, but I want them by the end of the day,” the tension relaxed in Mike’s face. “How come you’re even here?”
“I was tracking the Sliders,” Xander replied honestly.
“You mean that bloodbath outside has something to do with you?”
“Partially, though I don’t think they’ll be missed, this place was used by one of the gangs, and it looks like the Prime Killer was too. Has anything made you think the Prime Killer was working with the Sliders before?”
“Nope, we always thought the Prime Killer was a solo operation, some wacko with a grudge,” Mike said, as they watched Prime being escorted out of the warehouse under guard. They walked over to the body of Julian as it was being prepared for transport.
“What’s the verdict?” Mike called out to the Medics.
“Been dead for half an hour max. Looks like the cause was trauma to the neck. It’s broken,” the medic said as though he was a mechanic describing vehicle trouble. “We’ll know more when we get him to the lab. Oh, and of course the usual markings on the chest of the Prime Killer’s M.O.”
“Okay, send me a report over as soon as you’ve got it,” Mike sighed.
“Will do,” the medics began to wheel the body out of the warehouse.
Xander tried not to look too interested in the body, fighting the knot that formed in his stomach. The last thing he needed was more questions about how he knew the victim.
“I’ll come down to the precinct with my friend's statements later. How about we share notes on this? I have a lot of background on the Sliders. Maybe we can see a connection somewhere.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. I’ll see you there,” Mike replied, then stepped to his officers and began barking orders to them.
Xander watched for a moment, nostalgic memories of his time in the force rising up, before walking out of the warehouse to find Ava.
Chapter Seventeen
Mollie
Mollie had worked her way through the building, trying to find a way out.
She had heard gunshots several minutes ago coming from outside as she found one exit and decided it was probably best to go the opposite direction. She hoped the shots weren’t anything to do with the others, unless it was Ally and Quartzig who had arrived to help. Regardless, she didn’t want to walk out into any crossfire. The corridors of the warehouse all looked the same, long concrete floors with stacks of boxes alongside. It reminded her of the Underpass and her days of breaking into storage units to scavenge, or steal, anything she and JJ could find. She missed JJ and the simplicity of their lives before Prime had come crashing into her life, but she wouldn’t change it for the world. Coming to a door with a small window in it, she peered through the glass into the area beyond. Inside was a large storage room, and a crowd of people were stood around a body lying on the floor. MPD Officers. She recognised the uniforms of the crowd. The last thing she needed was to get involved with whatever was happening in there, she thought to herself but found curiosity kept her watching for a moment longer. An officer moved, and the face of the body became visible.
“Julian!” she gasped out loud, immediately regretting it as one of the officers turned to look in her direction.
She needed to move quickly, whatever had happened, she wouldn’t be able to help, and if they found the body of the dead Slider she’d killed, she wasn’t sure the law would ask questions first. Stepping away from the door, she hurried back along the corridor, searching for an alternative route.
Then she heard the voice, it was a woman’s and was coming from behind a door ahead. Moving towards it, Mollie tried to make out the words.
“Everything has gone as expected, only the Ava situation wasn’t ideal, but Faust can work remotely,” the voice said. “Go back to Blackwater. I’ll be in touch when we’re ready for stage two. I need to be away from here now. The place is going to be swarming with MPD any second if it’s not already.”
Mollie had moved closer, almost directly in front of the door, determined to know who it was and what she meant by the Ava situation.
“Okay, we’ll be ready. The tunnel to the Underpass is open for you. I’ll leave this body as the decoy,” a male voice replied.
The door swung open, giving Mollie mere seconds to move behind a stack of boxes to hide from view.
“Oh, and Keller?” the woman’s voice was so close Mollie could hear her breathing, “make sure Prime is comfortable when he arrives.”
The woman moved away, walking in the opposite direction to Mollie’s hiding place, and disappeared into the darkness. Mollie waited a moment for the man to emerge, but when no-one came out, she peered through the hinge of the door, trying to see inside. Laying on the floor inside the room was the body of what appeared to be another Slider with a metal augmentation covering his hand. Moving into the room, she slowly stepped towards the body, scanning the room around her. There was no-one else around. The room itself seemed to be a small storage closet with no other exits other than the door she’d come in through. Preparing to defend herself, she crouched next to the body, checking its pulse.
“Dead,” she whispered. She looked around the room again. She wondered if the man she heard speak had killed him, but how could he have left the room unless this was the same man. Mollie’s mind spun, trying to understand when footsteps outside the room caught her attention. She was about to be trapped in the room with either the MPD or the woman coming back. With the Slider she killed earlier, and now this body, there would be two bodies that she could be tied to. She stepped cautiously out of the room, looking for the source of the footsteps.
“Mollie?” a familiar voice called out.
“Quartzig?!” Mollie ran and hugged him. “What the hell is going on? Where’s the others? Julian’s dead!” she blurted everything out, the relief of finally seeing someone friendly
“I know, I know,” Quartzig hugged her back, “but we need to get out of here now.” He looked behind Mollie and saw the body on the floor.
“That wasn’t me,” Mollie followed his eyes, “I…I don’t know what killed him, I think he was alive a moment ago.”
Quartzig moved towards the body, but a door opening further along the corridor snapped his attention back.
“Come on,” he said, leading Mollie away from the room and back the way he came. Stepping quickly into a conference-style room, he motioned to a large square window set a meter up the wall. Giving Mollie a lift up to it,
she pulled herself up, then Quartzig leaped up with the grace of a cat and pulled himself through.
Mollie felt the chill of the night air as she landed in the snow, which had piled up alongside the warehouse. She was grateful for the cushioning to her landing, but not the cold.
“What’s happening?” Mollie finally asked once they were far enough away from the building that they weren’t worried about being heard.
“I…I don’t know,” Quartzig said. It was the first time she’d heard the doubt in his voice, realising that he had lost his friend and creator in Julian. She wondered if, being a computer, he could mourn.
“Are the others okay?” she asked quietly, almost worried about the answer.
“Yes. Everyone is heading to Xander’s office. Hopefully, we can figure this out.”
They doubled their speed towards the Boulevard, as the snow began to fall heavier around them.
Chapter Eighteen
Prime
The MagCuffs that held Prime’s wrists were tight behind his back as he was escorted towards the armoured MPD truck outside the warehouse.
Any bright ideas?
Seven heavily armed guards were positioned in lines beside the back of the truck, their rifles drawn as Prime was pushed towards the step at the end of the vehicle. Inside it was large enough for all seven guards plus Prime to fit, though it was extremely close quarters. Two guards went in first. Then Prime was pushed forward as the rest followed, climbing inside and sat around Prime.
This is a bit cosy, isn’t it
“Shut up,” Prime hissed.
“What did you say?” One of the guards shouted, his voice sounding like static coming through the helmet that covered his whole face. Only his eyes peered out through the slightly tinted glass.
“Nothing, I’m sorry,” Prime replied.
“You will be,” the van door closed with a solid thud, followed by the sound of bolts locking into place echoing around them. The seven soldiers were all staring at Prime, unflinching in their guard as the vehicle shook and started its journey.
Come on! We can get out of here. We can’t stop Persephone from the inside of a cell!
Prime clenched his jaw, trying to keep his calm and ignore the voice.
She’s still free out there! She’s already killed Julian. You think she’s going to stop there? Don’t you care about the others? Ally? Mollie? You want them to die too? I know if I were her, I’d be heading to slaughter them now. She’s already made them doubt you. They’ve got no chance against her! Stop being weak!
“Stop it!” Prime exploded, slamming his head back on the metal wall of the truck until he saw stars. The outburst shocked the guards into action around him. The one directly opposite him immediately slammed the end of his rifle into Prime’s stomach, causing him to double over.
“You don’t get to tell us what to do! Murderer!” the other guards all cheered as Prime tried to straighten up, coughing up blood.
He took several long, deep breaths to try and stem the rising anger, the pain only adding fuel to the fire.
“…don’t…” he managed to hiss between clenched teeth.
“Don’t? Oh, I’m sorry, did that hurt?” the guard slammed the rifle again. A spray of blood splattered the guard as the force pushed the air from Prime’s lungs.
“Ah, man!” the guard said, wiping the blood from his visor with his glove causing it smear.
Prime held his eyes closed, a haze forming over his mind as he lost control.
Finally.
Prime straightend his back and sat looking forwards, blood still dripping from his mouth as he smiled, showing his red-soaked teeth.
“Finally, it’s about damn time,” Peter said, as he flung his shoulders back, slamming them into the hard metal wall of the van. The pop of bones dislocating echoed in the small room. Before the guards realised what had happened, Peter stood and swung his arms over his head, his wrists landing behind the head of the blood-soaked guard in front of him. Leaning backwards, Peter’s loose arms pulled the guard's neck forwards, which slammed into Peter’s right knee, cracking his visor. The impact broke the guard's nose as the plastic crumpled inward. Peter twisted and lunged his body sideways, slamming his right shoulder into the wall of the van, popping the shoulder joint back into place, before kicking out to his left to connect with another guard’s chest.
Suddenly the van began to fill with white vapour, a vent along the top of the ceiling emitting the gas.
“Damnit!” Peter said, looking at the vapour.
“Did you really think you could just fight your way out of here?” a guard replied, his voice already sounding distant.
Peter watched as the guards just stood around watching him. He noticed they all had grills on the front of the helmets, some kind of air filter. It was the last thing he saw as he lost his consciousness, falling to the hard metal floor.
*
When Prime awoke, his first feeling was of cold metal beneath him. Whatever fabric clothing he had on was thin, the cold seeping through it and to his skin. He blinked his eyes open, recalling the last memory; losing control in the van and Peter taking control. A feeling of dread began to flow through his body. Was he still in control?
He sat upright and could feel the room spin as his head felt the effects of whatever had happened. Prime moved his hands to his face, flexed his legs and shoulders, checking he was moving them.
Don’t panic, you’re back in the pilot seat.
The voice echoed around Prime’s head, causing nausea to turn his stomach.
“Where are we?”
A cell. I think we are inside one of the MPD buildings. I’ve been in something similar before.
Prime stood, testing his balance as his head cleared, and looked around the cell. It was only three-meter square, with a small sink and toilet combination unit in one corner. There was no obvious door, the metal panel walls around the cell had no joints, even the ceiling and floor were identical.
“What did you do?” Prime asked, the memories of the fight in the van coming back to him now.
I tried to free us, but you left it too late.
“You attack them, armed MPD guards! We’ve got no chance of getting free now.”
There was no reply to this. Peter had gone quiet.
Prime was left alone with his own thoughts. He dropped to the hard metal ground, defeated.
Chapter Nineteen
Bella
Bella opened her eyes, feeling a cool breeze wash over her skin. The smell of fresh air filled her lungs as she took a deep breath. Above her, a blue sky filled her vision for as far as she could see, the pain of the sun’s glare causing her to squint a little. A flash of a burning sensation flickered across her side. She looked down, seeing she was lying on a lounger, a small bandage was wrapped across her chest. Gently, she placed her hand on the fabric of the dressing. Red blotches began to form under her touch, soaking the cloth as the burning pain increased.
“Ah, ah, leave it!” a voice from behind her reprimanded.
“What?” was all she could manage before her memories slowly catching up with her. The last thing she could remember was the warehouse, the gunshot, seeing the death of the man who was hanging from the chains.
“The wound is fine, don’t focus on it, and it’ll go away,” the voice continued. The sound of liquid being poured caused her to move her head to the side, and she saw two wine glasses being filled up with a deep red liquid from a bottle.
“See?” a hand came into view and pointed at the wound. Bella looked back at the bandage and saw that it was pure clinical white again. She laughed in surprise as the realisation of where she was finally caught up with her. She was in a VR pod, and that could only mean that the man was Salem.
Salem stepped into her line of sight, his bald head reflecting the sunlight as he passed her a glass of wine.
“You need to tell me what the hell is going on, B’,” he said as she slowly propped herself up on her elbows before taking the
glass. She was on the balcony, Salem’s usual VR location. The building's white stone made the sunlight seem even brighter as it reflected off the ocean below.
“How did you find me?”
“Karen. After she saw you leave the reception with that shady-looking guy, she sent me a message. You were away for too long, and your tracking was all over the place, so she called me and sent me your location,” Salem said, turning to look out over the balcony.
“Thank you. It’s been a while since you came out of the VR again,” she said, taking a sip of the wine.
“It’s been a while since you got yourself in trouble,” Salem grinned back at her. “Besides, Karen said it was to do with Sam too, and I always felt there was something unfinished with what happened with Kirsty and those Sliders.”
Bella remembered when she first met Salem, helping to track down the daughter of her boss, Dramarti Silverstone, and the Sliders who’d taken her. It was Salem’s unique ability to intercept data in the airwaves that had been key to them getting Kirsty back.
“It certainly looks like it. Do you think Sam got involved with the Sliders again? The man I met was hunting Sam’s killer too, he said it was some woman called Persephone, she’s the one that shot me.”
“Sam was scared for his life after what happened with Kirsty. He wouldn’t get mixed up with the Sliders again, not once he was safe in the Silverstone Corp building,” Salem shook his head, “but that doesn’t mean the Sliders were finished with him. He set up their relay systems after all.”
“Yeah, I think they’re still using them,” Bella replied, referring to the system Sam had unwillingly installed for the Sliders, the one that allowed prisoners in Blackwater to take control of people on the mainland like some kind of cyber-puppets.
“Who was the guy you went with? The one hunting this Persphone.”
“He called himself Reilly, though Persephone called him Prime, so I’m guessing one could be an alias or codename?”
“Prime? As in the Prime Killer?” Salem asked, turning to her.
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