Caustic (The Seraphim Network - Everyday Series Book 1)

by Yasmin Hawken

  “You know what, Taz, I think you have a drug problem,” Venom said with a smirk as she stated the obvious.

  “I don’t have a drug problem. I take drugs, they make life better, no problem,” he said.

  “Just be careful, alright? I don’t want to find you dead in a drain somewhere,” Venom said, expressing a genuine concern she had about him.

  “Come on, V, don’t be so melancholy. I know my limits,” he said as he stuffed the pill case back into his pocket. “And why do you think I get you to research my dealers… means I only get the decent shit.”

  “Just remember when you’re ready to slow your using…” she started before he interrupted.

  “....I’ll wake the next morning, see how shit the world is, and remember why I use. Ven, seriously, I’m good. I love you for caring, but I gotta go,” Taz said as he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before heading for the door.

  “Oh, Taz…,” she called after him, and he turned to look at her, “...thanks for everything last night.”

  “No problem, V. Call me when you want to do it again, maybe without the paranoid freakout next time. Anyway, duty calls, I’ll see you later,” Taz said before slipping out of the apartment.

  The door slammed shut and she was left alone in the apartment, the weight of her current situation came crashing down around her. She had a week to find the data that she had originally stolen from the SUN, or they were going to kill her. In the drug induced madness, she hadn’t even really had the time to look at what she had taken, so she couldn’t even look for it being used. Christ, she had really fucked up this time.

  Normally, the Network would have protected her from any indiscretions like this, but she was sure they wouldn’t protect her this time. Instead of doing the hack completely off her own back, she had used the Network's resources to get her in, and that wasn’t going to go over well. Why the hell had she used Network resources? What had made her risk everything? She tried to convince herself that it wasn’t for the ego boost, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized the truth; she hadn’t wanted to seem inferior in a room full of egocentric hackers. Now to fix this shitstorm of a situation.

  Glancing at the time, she realized that breakfast had already drained fifteen minutes of precious hacking time. She needed to get as much done as possible before she went work. The ache in her head seemed more severe, like her body had decided to remind her of the hangover she was dealing with. She needed a way to get her brain moving, needed to push back the alcohol induced haze. Before she could think twice, she was on her feet and heading for the bedroom. She opened the nightstand drawer and regarded the bag with four little pink pills. It was the only way she was going to get anything done today. Fishing one out, she swallowed it down and made her way to the Nexus Gateway. Three hours, that was it, that was all she had.

  Chapter Eight

  ‘Finally, breaktime,’ Xander thought as he stepped out of Leander’s office. None of his teams currently had any jobs. He had a meeting with other trainers in an hour and half, but until then, he was his own man. There wasn’t really enough time for him to go home and spend time with his wife, so instead, he grabbed two sandwiches from the hostess cart and headed for the TechPit. He hadn’t seen Venom since her late night pick up, and he really wanted to check in on her.

  As he stepped off the elevator at Basement Five, he shivered at the recognizable change in air temperature. How the hackers lived with it he didn’t know. A frosted glass barrier prevented entry for any without access. He pressed the button on the side of the ID scanner and an intercom buzzed.

  “TechPit, how may I help you?” came a chirpy woman’s voice.

  “Xander James, here to see Riley Sutton,” he said.

  “Please present your ID, Mr. James,” the woman requested. Xander placed his hand against the chip reader, and there was a small beep before the room fell into silence. No doubt his authorizations were being checked.

  “Welcome to the TechPit, Mr. James, your guest pass expires in thirty minutes,” the voice came again.

  Xander thanked the receptionist, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. He was a regular visitor to the floor, so he knew exactly where he was going. Approaching Venom’s desk, he found it empty. At first he thought maybe she was grabbing a drink until he noticed that everything was powered down and there was no sign of her bag. Where the hell was she?

  “Hey, Xander. Can I… can I help you?” came a weak stutter from the desk next to hers. Xander looked up to see Vara standing there. The timid little hacker looked at him with curious eyes.

  “Hey, VT, I was just bringing Venom some lunch. Do you know where she is?” he asked.

  “She didn’t come in today,” Vara answered.

  “What do you mean? Is she sick or something?” Xander asked. If she was sick, usually she would let one of them know or at least complain about it on social media.

  “I don’t know. She just didn’t turn up, no call in sick or anything. Micah was trying to call her this morning, but she simply didn’t reply,” Vara responded.

  Xander dragged his hand through his hair. Alarm bells were ringing in his head; Venom was in love with her work, almost addicted. It wasn’t like her to simply not turn up. With a thank you and a smile to Vara, he turned and headed back towards the elevator. Selecting Venom’s number, he called her three times, and each time the call simply rung out. That just made him more nervous; Venom always answered his calls.

  “Shit,” he swore to himself as he pressed the button to the ground floor. He had wanted a nice and chilled lunch break, but now it looked like he was racing across town to check on her before his meeting started. She had better be dying of a cold or something of that ilk.

  He jogged the short distance to his car before starting the drive to Venom’s. He couldn’t quite understand what was going on with her lately. When it came to work, Venom was the most reliable of his friends. He would expect Taz to play hooky from work but not her. There was something going on, there had to be.

  As he reached her building, he jumped out of his car and ran up the stoop. He had forty minutes to check on her and get back to the office in time for his meeting. Inputting the number of her apartment, he hit the buzzer and waited for an answer, but none came. Pressing his palm against the reader, it read his ID chip and opened the door. Even though he had access, he didn’t like to just walk in unexpected, but he was really starting to worry now.

  He took the stairs two at a time. He kept telling himself he would simply find her fast asleep after a night of drinking, but shirking her work was not something Venom did. Reaching the apartment door, he started to scan his ID chip but stopped. If she was home and awake, he didn’t just want to barge in on her, because she could be doing anything. He knocked heavily on the door and waited for a response. The seconds that ticked by felt like hours. He placed his ear against the door but heard no movement. When he couldn’t wait anymore, he placed his hand on the hand scanner, and a few seconds later there was a beep, and the lock clicked.

  “Venom… It’s Xander. I’m coming in,” he called ahead. He was expecting to hear her scrabbling to dress or hide whatever guy she was shacking up with, but instead, he heard nothing. There was no response.

  Xander pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing himself in. The last thing he needed was her neighbors sticking their noses in. The living room was dark, thick curtains blocking any of the early morning sunlight. That wasn’t unusual. Venom was a night dweller; they both were.

  “Hey… Ven… are you here?” Xander called out through the apartment. When he, once again, got no reply he started his search.

  The first door he reached was the bathroom. He nudged it open and found it empty. Next came the open plan living room and kitchen. A mug of coffee dregs sat on the breakfast bar, but no sign of her. The only other place was the bedroom. It was probably where he would find her since it was home to her bed, and Nexus Gateway wasn’t beside the chair in the lounge
like it usually was. He knocked on the closed door and waited. When there was, once again, no response he pushed it open. Propped up against the side of the bed was Venom. Her legs were splayed out in front of her, and her head was dipped. She was only wearing her sleepwear, and she looked extremely pale. Xander rushed to her side and dropped to one knee.

  “Venom… come on… you gotta wake up now,” Xander said desperately as he shook her shoulders. Her head rolled back, and he was greeted by the entire picture. Vomit encircled her mouth, a trickle of blood ran from her ear down over her shoulder, and she was cold to the touch. This was some Nexus related shit; it was a strong sign of Neural Feedback damage of some kind. He’d seen it once before. Her eyes flickered open, and she gave him a glassy stare.

  “Xander?” Her voice was distant and questioning as her eyes narrowed to regard him.

  “Course it’s me, now what the hell happened to you?” Xander asked as he cupped the back of her head, steadying her. If this was Neural Feedback, it was pretty damn severe.

  “I was a bit sick,” she replied, her tone still distant and haunting.

  “Look, you sit here, and I’m going to get you a glass of water,” Xander said, grabbing a pillow from the bed and propping her head up. He didn’t want to lay her down in case she was sick again.

  As he grabbed the nightstand to pull himself up, his hand fell on a small clear bag with two pink pills inside. Subtly palming them, he made his way to the kitchen. As disorientated as Venom was, she wouldn’t take well to him inspecting her stuff. As he filled a glass with water, he examined the drugs. They weren’t Sense or Xcite, because he had taken them enough to identify them. Snapping a picture, he sent it to Taz. If anyone could determine what they were, it was him. He didn’t expect an instant reply, so he went back to the bedroom and helped Venom drink from the glass. She didn’t seem to have any control over her limbs right now.

  Once he was satisfied she wasn’t going to throw up again, he cleaned up her face and helped her into bed. If it was any worse, he would have considered taking to the ER, but she would kill him for unnecessary medical expense. While she napped, he cleaned up the vomit from the carpet and called both Micah and Leander to explain that Venom was ill and she needed his care. He remembered the days when it was her looking after him, when he had drunk too much or had a few too many pills. It was weird how times had changed.

  When he found nothing else to do, he paced the apartment. Even though he was now stuck waiting around for her to wake up, he was glad he had come over. She could have been sat there for god knows how long until someone found her. The AR note scrawled across the wall from Jacques said he was on a job and would likely be gone all night. Xander took his lunch and sat at the breakfast bar, flipping through his social media and checking the news. That was when he got a message from Taz.

  ::To me that looks like Neep. I couldn’t be entirely sure, it’s not my jam, where the hell did you get it? Taz::

  Xander’s stomach dropped as he read the word that he hadn’t wanted to see. NeuroPep, she was taking NeuroPep again. He tapped a quick response to Taz saying he’d explain later, but he had no real intention to. If he could sort this out with Venom, then no one needed to know that she was taking the high risk drug. As soon as she started to stir, he got up from his stool and headed into the bedroom.

  “Well, good morning, sleepy head,” Xander said, leaning against the door. He watched as she rubbed her eyes with a little groan, confusion clouding her pale face.

  “Morning? What are you doing here?” Venom inquired suspiciously as she slowly sat up, tugging her fingers through her hair.

  “Well, I came to meet you for lunch at work and found you weren’t there, and you hadn’t called in. What the hell happened?” Xander asked. He wanted to give her the chance to explain herself.

  “I had a rather heavy night at Neon last night. I must have just slept through my alarm,” she mumbled unconvincingly.

  “So it’s nothing to do with these then?” Xander asked as he produced the small bag with the pink pills and held it out for her inspection. She gave a loud groan but didn’t reply. “Come on Venom, the truth now.”

  “I just needed help with the hack. My mind was a little sluggish with the hangover, and I thought it would help. Apparently, you don’t take Neep after a heavy night. That's a lesson learned for next time,” she said with an embarrassed chuckle.

  “A lesson learned? That lesson better be that you aren’t going to take this anymore,” Xander responded, shaking the bag.

  “Well, no. It can be a real help sometimes. I just need to figure when the best time to take it is,” she responded honestly. Did she even know what the hell she was taking?

  “Venom, you know that this shit is killing people, right? There’s something wrong with it, and it’s causing people to have full fits, heart attacks, and severe cases of brain death,” Xander said incredulously at her blasé reaction to the drug.

  “Dude, all drugs have that risk. Since when were you so dead against them?” Venom asked.

  “I’m not against all drugs. God, I love Sense like the next guy, but I just don’t want you taking this stuff. It’s death toll is through the roof. Come on, twice this week I have had to come and care for you because of this shit,” Xander said, desperately trying to make a point.

  “Alright. Alright. Chill out, I’ll stay away from the Neep, alright, will that make you happy?” Venom snapped. All he was trying to do was care for her, and she was getting aggravated with him.

  “Yes. That will make me feel a fuck ton better,” Xander said with a slight sigh of relief. Her tone was more aggressive than he would have liked, but he was chalking that up to the hangover she was obviously suffering.

  “Xander, you’ve cared for me high so many times. Why is this so different?” Venom asked, tilting her head to regard him.

  “The side effects knock you on your ass so much worse, and I researched it. The death toll is intense for such a new drug. Come on, V, you’ve had to miss work twice this week because of it, and that’s more in one week than in your entire career,” Xander explained. He caught the expression of sadness on her face before she quickly looked away from him. “I’m gonna go flush these pills, then I’ll make you a coffee.”

  She stayed silent, so he made his way from the room and went to the bathroom. Emptying the two little pills into the toilet bowl, he flushed and watched as they disappeared. He was surprised at how well she had taken the conversation. He had expected her to argue with him, but she had been surprisingly accepting. At least that was the end of that; it was something he didn’t have to worry about. Heading back to the kitchen, he tossed the bag and went about making drinks for them both.

  *****

  Venom took the coffee Xander offered and propped herself up against the headboard. He made basic conversation with her, but she knew exactly what he was doing. He didn’t want to leave her alone. At one point, she had even pretended to be asleep, but he simply just paced around the living room for half an hour. If she had hidden the damn drugs, he wouldn’t have been as worried. She didn’t need to be wrapped in cotton wool; she was suffering a hangover and minor Neural Feedback. That was something she was capable of dealing with on her own. As soon as the door opened and Jacques’ call rang out, Xander made his excuses to leave.

  Venom knew when Xander and Jacques met in the living room as she heard the clap of palms followed by a quick whispered conversation. No doubt Xander was filling her housemate in on the her misdemeanor today. She rolled her eyes. Now Jacques would be looking out for her instead. She was a grown adult for fucks sake, so why couldn’t they leave her to do what she wanted? Now she had lost an entire day of data searching, and with the Neural Feedback she’d suffered, there was no way she could get back in the Gateway today unless she was willing to risk severe brain damage. With a groan, she settled against the pillows.

  “Knock knock,” said Jacque from the doorway. Venom glanced up to see him peering through the gap.<
br />
  “Come in,” she said with a sigh. It seemed like she wasn’t going to get a moment's peace tonight.

  “You alright Green? I heard you got a nasty case of Neural Feedback,” he said, leaning against the wall and propping his foot up. Her room was flooded with the scent of Chinese from the container he held in his hand. Her stomach rumbled uncomfortably as she realized she hadn’t eaten in a day.

  “It wasn’t too bad. Just enough to knock me on my ass,” she explained. She found herself watching as he dipped the chopsticks into the container and fished out some noodles. He took a mouthful and headed over to her, holding out the container.

  “Mu Shu Pork?” he offered. He didn’t need to ask her twice. She took the container from his hand and ate a mouthful before offering it back. He shook his head and grabbed her pack of cigarettes off her nightstand.

  “You’re starving; you finish it,” he said as he grabbed out a cigarette and gripped it between his lips.

  “How did you know?” she asked as she took another mouthful of the noodles. The food invoked a happiness in her that could only be matched by good sex.

  “You were staring at me, and not in the way I like,” he said, a smirk creeping over his face. Taking the cigarette from his lips, he pointed at her with it. “You joining me for one?”

  She knew she shouldn’t, but Jacques was a terrible influence, she hadn’t smoked that much until he moved in. Quickly finishing the Chinese, she discarded the box and grabbed the cigarette from Jacques. As expected, there was a thin mist of drizzle in the air as she stepped onto the balcony. Cool metal nipped at her bare feet. Jacques was leaning against the barrier, his augmented eyes watching the flow of traffic down the street. Venom moved beside him and leaned on the barrier. He reached over and lit her cigarette before returning to his previous focus. Venom took a deep drag, enjoying the feeling of the smoke hitting the back of her throat.

  “So you want to chat about whatever is going on with you right now?” Jacques asked.