“Well, I can’t say I expected our next encounter to be you calling on me. What do you want?” Kadan said as soon as Matt closed the door.
“Information, what else?” Matt replied.
“Go on.”
“An attack was recently made on our location. Professional job, trained mercenaries. I need to know who gave the order.”
Although the man’s face kept its stern look, Lily felt something shift behind the expression. His confident demeanour slipped slightly, giving way to a sliver of self-doubt and worry.
“No information on recent mercenary attacks, sorry,” Kadan said.
“No need for that, I can pay,” Matt replied.
The sliver grew, the worry taking hold, yet still his face remained unchanged.
“Seriously, no information. I’m sorry.”
“Can you at least point me in a direction? Who else might know?”
“Any of the usual suspects. Just not me, okay?”
“Got it. Sorry to trouble you,” Matt said.
Lily felt the sliver wither and die, replaced with the, presumably usual, self-confidence.
As Matt turned to leave, Kadan called after him.
“Who’s your friend?” he asked, only now noticing Lily.
“No one who concerns you,” Matt replied, clearly annoyed.
“Well, no one who concerns me, if you ever get bored of running with this guy, you’re welcome to a job here. We could always use another pretty face behind the bar.”
Lily ignored him and left, pulling the door shut before the guard could close it for them. They were escorted back through the club and up to the surface again. Once they were back outside and their escort had left, Matt turned to Lily.
“Did he seem overly defensive to you?” he asked.
“He was lying,” Lily replied. “He knew something but didn’t want to tell you.”
A smile spread across Matt’s face. He bumped Lily on the arm with his fist.
“I knew bringing you along would be a good idea. Nice job.”
Before Matt could say more, music began playing from his pocket. He reached round and pulled out his phone.
“Hello?”
There was a pause. Lily was suddenly overwhelmed with happiness.
“That’s excellent,” Matt exclaimed. “We’ll be back right away. Tell her I hope she’s okay.”
Matt hung up the phone.
“Izzy’s returned,” he explained.
Lily smiled, not really knowing what to say.
“Come on, we need to get back to the safe house.”
* * * *
12:04, Unknown Location
Owen placed the tray down and kicked it away. It scraped along the floor before stopping with a clunk as hit the door. Spinning around to face the screen, he continued with his work.
This isn’t right. I can’t do this, he thought after only a few keystrokes. He picked up the communicator which hung from the side of his chair.
“Hey,” he called into it. No response.
“I know someone’s listening. I want to speak to him.”
There was silence for several seconds before the communicator crackled to life.
“Yes?”
“I can’t do this without some way to test my progress. For all I know, this code could kill the subject by mistake.”
“Don’t worry, it’s being arranged.”
Like that excuse was going to work, Owen thought, chastising himself.
“Scratch that. I can’t do this, period. It’s not right. I don’t care who you threaten, I won’t do it.”
“Are you sure this is what you want? One way or another, you will finish this project.”
“I can’t think of anything you could do right now which would change my mind.”
The arcane symbols on the display in front of Owen vanished, to be replaced with a camera feed. Owen watched in horror as Damos walked past and took a seat next to Izzy in the safe house.
“Watch me,” the voice said.
* * * *
12:15, Safe House, North District
Matt brought the bike to a gentle stop, parking it on the street outside the safe house beside an identical one.
Good to see Damos retrieved the other bike while we were out, Matt thought as he clambered off. Lily followed, staggering slightly as she pulled her leg over the bike’s frame.
“You alright there?” Matt asked.
“I’m fine,” Lily replied.
Matt nodded and headed up the house. He tried the door as he reached it and found it locked.
Unsurprising, he thought, reaching for his key. Victoria preferred to keep the house locked even when they were inside it.
“Hello?” Matt called as he pushed the door open. “We’re back.”
“In here,” he heard Izzy call from front room. He dashed round and found himself being hugged before he had even entered.
“Matt, it’s so good to see you again.”
“You too,” Matt said through a happy chuckle. “How are you? Did they hurt you?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“And you checked yourself for bugs?”
“Yes, and found none. And I checked for a tail the whole way here, but no one seemed to be following.”
“That’s my girl,” Matt said, ruffling her hair. Izzy returned to the couch as Matt stepped into the room, Lily tentatively following.
“Jen?” Matt heard Lily exclaim as he took a seat. He looked up to see Lily staring at Izzy. Izzy’s face immediately went bright red.
“What’s she doing here?” Izzy stammered.
“She’s with us now,” Matt said quickly before anyone else could answer. “It turns out Damos is more stupid than he looks, but she’s become a great asset to the team.”
“Okay,” Izzy said. Looking up at Lily, she added “Sorry about before, my name’s not actually Jen. It’s Izzy, short for Isabelle. Nice to meet you properly.”
Izzy extended her hand, which Lily tentatively took. After a brief handshake, they each took a seat, Izzy next to Damos and Lily as far from the rest of them as possible.
“What happened then?” Matt asked.
“I’m not sure really. I remember Owen and I running into a second team at the bottom of the stairs, then the next thing I knew, I woke up inside a cell. After spending an hour alone, someone came to get me. They took me blindfolded to a van and drove me back to the city. I remembered you telling me about the safe house, so I found my way here. They took my phone, otherwise I’d have called you as soon as I was free.”
“So you have no idea where you were held or who took you?” Victoria asked.
“Nope.”
“And the bruise?”
“Bruise? What bruise?” Matt said.
“Oh, I think one of the guards must have knocked me. I’d show you but… well, it’s in a bit of an awkward place.”
“Victoria should have a look.”
“It’s nothing, I’m certain of it.”
“I’m sure it is, but still, just to be sure.”
“Okay then,” Izzy sighed, heaving herself up off the couch.
“Come with me to the kitchen,” Victoria said, leading Izzy through and shutting the door behind them.
“I’m so glad she’s okay. If they’d hurt one-”
The kitchen wall exploded, shooting debris in all directions. A barrage of noise assaulted Matt’s ears, deafening him. Something struck him in the head and he fell back, crashing to the floor. He had just enough time to see the roof fall before he was knocked unconscious.
Chapter 10 - Suffering
12:17, Safe house, North District
Damos threw himself to the floor as soon as he heard the bang. Brick and mortar rained down all around him.
Shield! he thought, holding his glove over his chest. A small blue disc appeared above him. His glove couldn’t draw enough mana to cover his entire body, but by curling up Damos could make it cover most of him. After a couple of seconds the on
slaught ended and Damos dissipated the shield. Digging his way through the rubble, he stood up to inspect the situation. The house was a ruin, little more than two walls which met at a corner. The neighbour’s houses weren’t much better, large chunks of them missing. All around people were running and screaming.
Not far away lay Matt, blood running from his head, his leg crushed under rubble. Further away, where the kitchen had once been, lay Victoria. She was unconscious, but her grafts had activated, keeping her alive despite the proximity of the blast. As for Izzy, there was no trace she had even been there.
“Move out,” Damos heard someone yell. He ducked back into the crater, watching as men in full combat gear stormed into the wreckage. They made straight for Victoria, lifting her onto a stretcher and fastening her down with numerous straps.
There are too many of them for me to take at once, Damos thought in frustration, counting nearly twenty soldiers. He waited in silence as they picked Victoria up and carried her away. Damos heard the sound of jet engines firing up, and soon he saw a pair of jet planes fly past and into the distance.
Damos heard a clatter behind him. He looked back to see Lily, half buried in rubble, pushing bits of debris away. He returned his attention to Matt. Blood still trickled from the wound in his head. Clambering over bits of broken flooring and smashed furniture, Damos knelt beside him and felt for a pulse.
Good, still alive.
Using part of his coat, he wiped away the blood to inspect the wound. A long gash ran across Matt’s forehead and down past his eye. It appeared to widen as more blood forced its way out.
That’s not going to stop bleeding any time soon.
Standing, Damos scrabbled to the wrecked kitchen. The smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils. Crumpled amongst a pile of rubble was what remained of their refrigerator. Tearing the door open, Damos reached inside and grabbed what he was looking for, a can of cider he’d placed in there not half an hour before. Returning to Matt, he opened the can and poured some of the golden liquid over Matt’s cut, wiping it clean again afterwards. Reaching out with a single gloved finger, Damos thought heat. The end of his finger lit up as it rapidly rose in temperature. Wiping the blood away once more, Damos reached down and pressed his finger sequentially along the cut, burning it shut.
As he finished, he heard another clatter. A couple of moments later Lily staggered over behind him and looked down at Matt.
“Is he?” she trembled.
“He’s alive. Help me move him,” Damos replied. He stood and, having returned his glove to normal, inspected the rubble pinning Matt’s leg. Even with what little was showing, Damos could see it had done some serious damage.
“I’ll lift the ceiling crushing Matt’s leg. You pull him back,” Damos said.
Lily nodded and grabbed Matt’s arms, ready to pull.
Damos bent down and, holding both hands under the piece of ceiling, lifted. He roared as he hefted its weight, his arms shaking under the strain. Looking down, he saw Matt’s leg slide beneath him. It was beyond broken. A piece of bone stuck out of his shin and his foot was twisted by a quarter turn.
That’s going to need replacing.
Once Matt was completely free, Damos dropped the ceiling back down again.
“Come on,” he said, picking Matt up and throwing him over his shoulder.
“Where?” Lily asked.
“A hospital.”
“Shouldn’t we call an ambulance?” Lily asked.
“No, Knights’ll have arrived by then. We need to go now,” Damos replied. He carefully climbed over the debris to the front of the house, using one hand for support while holding Matt steady with the other. Lily didn’t protest and simply followed. Upon reaching the jetbikes, Damos swung his leg over and started the engine. Lily tentatively did the same.
“Uh,” she began.
“You were fine when you stole it. Make sure you keep up,” Damos said.
Without waiting for a reply, he took off into the sky, steering with a single hand while keeping hold of his fallen comrade with the other.
* * * *
12:17, Unknown Location
“You… you monster!” Owen yelled. All he got back was a muffled laugh before the communicator went dead. Owen hurled the device to the floor. It clattered against the wall but didn’t break. Owen curled up on the chair, drawing his knees to his chest, and began to cry. The tears gushed down his cheeks and dripped onto his shirt. There he remained for quite some time, consumed by the memories of what he had lost and could never reclaim.
* * * *
12:44, South District General Hospital, South District
Matt awoke to raised voices. He expected pain, yet felt none. As his eyes fluttered open, he found himself starting at a white ceiling.
Izzy…
He felt his eyes well up. The explosion played back in his mind. There was no way she could have survived.
“Matt’s awake,” he heard a female voice say, drawing him out of his sorrow and into the real world. Tipping his head up, he found three people staring down at him: Lily, Damos and someone he presumed was a doctor. Their expressions said it all.
“Matt, talk some sense into this man and tell him you consent to the operation,” Damos said.
“Op-” Matt croaked. “Operation?”
Lily glanced down at the foot of the bed before looking away nervously. Matt slowly looked down.
My… my leg.
Instinctively he tried to bend his knee. He felt it move, yet nothing happened; his leg was missing from mid-thigh down.
“The rubble crushed your leg,” Damos explained. “It wasn’t salvageable. Now tell this man you want a new one before it’s too late to affix.”
It was all too much for Matt to process. It had all happened so fast.
“I’m terribly sorry Mathew, but we can’t operate without the patient’s consent,” the Doctor said. “All I need is to hear you say yes.”
“What? Yes. Yes, of course I want a replacement leg. I want… I want… Izzy…”
Matt collapsed back onto the pillow and burst into tears. What followed he could not say. At some point someone must have drugged him as he fell unconscious ready for the operation. In truth, he didn’t care about the leg. A leg could be replaced. His friend, his family, that was something he could never get back.
* * * *
20:56, South District General Hospital, South District
Lily sat in silence in Matt’s hospital room, Damos in the other corner. Visiting hours had ended some time ago; however, the staff had made an exception for them given the severity of Matt’s injuries. Upon their arrival Damos had spun an intricate lie about how the injuries had occurred, detailing a construction project Matt had been working on in the western district where a support had collapsed, burying him in rubble. Lily had been supervising the project while Damos was visiting her during her lunch break. Having seen the incident, he and Lily had rushed to the scene. Damos, claiming to be ex-military, had cauterised Matt’s head wound immediately using an iron rod heated with a blow torch, before driving him here himself so that they didn’t need to wait for an ambulance. The nurse had believed every part, Lily detecting not even a hint of suspicion.
The operation had gone as smoothly as could be hoped. Matt now lay asleep, still under the effects of a general anaesthetic, and supported on a pillow lay a shiny new metal leg, fused with his thigh.
Lily and Damos had spent most of the day outside Matt’s room, each keeping to themselves while the operation had been been carried out. At some point Lily had popped out to retrieve her things from the hostel, making sure to hide her face under a hood. She was getting the hang of the jet bikes now, and was reassured to learn they had a built-in safety feature which made them practically impossible to crash.
Once again she had thought about fleeing, but even with Matt unconscious, she still felt safer with Damos than on her own.
How has it come to this? She thought. You feel safer with a known m
urderer than out on your own.
“How did your trip go earlier?” Damos said, breaking the silence. Lily looked at him in shock.
Is he trying to make small talk?
“Fine, I guess,” Lily replied.
“Did you find out who hired the mercs?”
Ah, that makes more sense, Lily thought.
“No,” she replied. Lily could feel Damos glare at her despite the fact she was avoiding his gaze.
“Who did you talk to?”
“A club owner in the city centre. ‘Lynx lounge’ I think.”
“Kadan. And he didn’t tell you anything?”
“Not that he said.”
“You think he lied?”
“I know he did.”
“How?”
“He was worried, like something bad would happen if he told us anything.”
“Right,” Damos said, standing up. When Lily didn’t follow suit, Damos turned back to her.
“Come on,” he said.
“Where are you going?”
“We’re going back to Kadan.”
“You’re not going to hurt him, are you?”
Damos said nothing.
“I’m not coming with you,” Lily said.
“Yes, you are. I need to know when he’s lying.”
“I won’t do it.”
“Yes, you will. My friends have been injured, kidnapped and killed, and Kadan won’t talk. I will get answers, no matter what it takes.”
“You’re a monster.”
“I’m a monster? The monster is the person who murdered Izzy. You’re with us now, you could be next. Now come.”
Izzy tricked me and lied to me. But then, she did also look out for me on the way back to my hostel. That can’t have been fake or I’d have known. And Matt clearly cared about her a huge amount. If only for him, I should go.
Lily sighed, grabbing her jacket out of her bag. If I don’t go voluntarily he’ll just force me to come anyway.
Damos left Matt’s room, Lily pulling on the coat as she followed. The pair made their way out of the hospital and to the street where their bikes were parked. Lily thought about taking her own, but decided it would be easier just to ride with Damos.
ManaNet Page 8