“Mind if I join you?” Matt asked. “My mates all ditched me to dance after I’d already bought my drink.”
“Sorry, my friend and I are having a private conversation,” Jackal replied.
“Aw, come on,” a voice behind Matt said. “Our conversation’s not so important that it can’t wait for another time. Take a seat.”
Matt looked around to see a short man stood behind him, a large tattoo adorning his bicep.
“That’s Weasel,” Lily said.
I got that, Matt thought, seeing at the word ‘Weasel’ tattooed under the Nexus logo.
“Cheers mate, the name’s Matt,” Matt said, throwing himself onto the seat before Jackal could protest.
“Wesley,” Weasel said, holding out his hand. Matt took it in a firm handshake.
“And this is Jack,” Weasel said, gesturing to Jackal.
“Nice to meet you,” Matt said, offering his hand. Jackal reluctantly took it.
“I like your art. It must get you a lot of respect around here,” Matt said, gesturing to Weasel’s arm.
“Quarter off at the bar,” Weasel replied with a smile. “You recognise it then?”
“Yeah. Nexus logo, isn’t it?”
“That it is. I’ve been a proud member for five years now.”
“Good for you. It’s about time someone stood up for us.”
“Us? You’re not a Gifted.”
Lily suddenly cut in over the earpiece. “Weasel can sense Gifted’s auras. He can see you’re not a Gifted.”
“No, but I still stand by your cause,” Matt said. “It’s not right the way you guys are treated. At the end of the day we’re all humans, right?”
“Exactly. I wish more people thought the way you do. Hopefully one day we’ll be able to change that.”
“Amen to that,” Matt said, raising his glass and taking a large sip.
“So what do you do?” Weasel asked.
“Me? I’m a bit of a nomad, always moving between jobs. I used to be a soldier, till a land mine got my leg.” Matt pulled his trouser leg up to reveal his prosthesis.
“I’m sorry to hear that. Jackal also used to be in the military, until his commander found out he was a Gifted. Instead of taking advantage of his powers, he forced him to resign.”
“I’m sorry man,” Matt said. He heard Owen chuckle in his ear, “ha, man.” Ignoring him, Matt continued, “That must have been rough.”
“It was,” Jackal replied. “It’s why I signed up with Nexus.”
“We joined at roughly the same time. We been partners ever since,” Weasel said.
“So what made you join?” Matt asked, turning to Weasel.
“Similar circumstances really. I was just trying to get on with my life, but when my boss found out, he fired me. It’s not like my power even affects anyone.”
“What is your power, or would you rather not say?”
“Of course I’ll tell you. It’s mine and I’m proud of it. I can see Gifteds’ auras.”
“That’s neat. What does it look like?”
“It’s like a haze which surrounds the person’s body. The colour and shape varies. This room’s full of them at the moment, it’s like a light show.”
“That must be so cool.” Matt turned to Jackal. “So what can you do then?” Jackal didn’t reply. Instead he held out his hand. A glowing ball appeared there a second later, floating just above his palm. Matt jumped back in feigned surprise.
“I won’t touch you with it,” Jackal said. He closed his hand and it vanished.
“I wish I could do something like that,” Matt said. “What other powers do Nexus people have?”
“Loads of things; flight, telekinesis. If you can think of it, there’s probably a member who can do it,” Weasel said.
“Do your powers affect your rank then? Some must be more useful than others for what you do.”
Hopefully I can lead them onto talking about Y.
“We can’t discuss Nexus’ organisational structure,” Jackal said, giving Matt a stern look.
“Oh okay, that makes sense I guess,” Matt replied, doing his best to hide his disappointment. He decided to try another angle. “You guys must have some pretty wild stories though, if you’ve been with them for five years.”
“Nothing that we can tell you about,” Jackal replied.
“Sorry about him,” Weasel said. “He gets suspicious easily.”
Shit, he’s not going to tell me anything. Not this way anyway.
“It’s fine, no worries,” Matt said. He finished the rest of his drink and reached into his pocket for his wallet. Holding it up, he retrieved his card. “I’ll be back in a second, I’m just gonna go get another drink. Do you gents want anything?”
“I’m fine thanks,” Weasel said. Jackal held his hand up to say “no”.
“Okay,” Matt said with a shrug. Weasel slid out, allowing Matt to escape. He walked straight up to the bar, slipping the card back into his wallet before he’d even got there.
“What can I get you?” the barman asked.
“Just a water please,” Matt replied. The barman turned away.
“Lily, do you trust them?” Matt whispered.
“Sorry?” Lily replied a moment later.
“Do you trust them?”
“I… I think so. They seemed genuine before, but I can’t tell over camera.”
“Okay, that’ll have to do.”
Matt grabbed his drink and returned to the table.
“Okay, I’m going to be honest with you,” Matt said, placing both hands on the table and leaning over. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Damos and Victoria’s heads turn.
“Matt, what are you doing?” Owen said.
“I’m not here with a group of friends. I’m actually looking for information about a friend of mine, called Ethan. He was murdered a few days ago.”
“Why would we know anything about it?” Jackal asked.
“He was a Gifted, and he was murdered not far from here.”
“The name doesn’t sound familiar. What did he look like?”
“Average height, short brown hair,” Lily said.
“He was about average height, with short brown hair. Had green eyes, and wasn’t particularly muscular,” Matt repeated as Lily fed him the information.
“I’m still drawing a blank.”
“They moved him with me. He must be lying,” Lily said.
“You must have heard something?” Matt said.
“I said I don’t know anything,” Jackal replied.
Matt sighed.
“Okay, I can tell you’re not going to give me anything, so I’m going to level with you here. I believe someone in Nexus is not acting in your best interests. Someone high up.”
“What on earth are you talking about?” Jackal said angrily. Even Weasel seemed on edge now.
“I lied about my profession. I was in the military, but now I’m a contract killer. My group was hired to perform a hit three days ago, on a Gifted named Ethan. It was carried out on Pike Street, outside a Nexus Outpost, at twenty past midnight. There was one witness, a blonde woman, and I know both of you were there. At the time we considered it business as usual, but recent events suggest that may have not been the case. After looking into it, we discovered that the order came from someone within Nexus.”
“Why would Nexus order a hit on a Gifted?”
“That’s what I was hoping you could tell me. The order was signed off with a capital ‘Y’.”
Jackal sat for a moment, thinking.
“Okay, you were clearly there as well, so I can’t question your knowledge of the incident,” he said eventually. “But I still don’t want to believe that Nexus would hurt one of their own. We swore to protect Gifteds, no matter who they were.”
“I know, but we’re sure the order came from Nexus. It was sent from within the Outpost on Pike Street!”
Weasel shot Jackal a knowing look. Jackal sighed.
“Fine, I’ll take y
our word. I’ll look into it and let you know tomorrow morning. There’s an alley two blocks down from here. That should provide a discrete place to meet. Be there at half past eight.”
“Thank you,” Matt said, bowing his head to both of them. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He downed his glass of water, returned it to the bar and left. As the door swung shut he looked back to see Victoria and Damos down their drinks and follow.
“Victoria’s going to kill you,” Owen said.
“She can kill me all she wants, I got the job done. Besides, you know she has a soft spot for me.”
“Don’t say that too loudly, she might hear you,” Owen replied as Victoria pushed the door open and left the bar. She remained silent until they followed Matt into the alley with the bikes, at which point she let loose, “Matt, what the hell was that?”
Owen’s gleeful voice came through a moment later.
“Told you.”
Chapter 15 - Hostility
08:29, Outside Karma Core, East District Boundary
As Matt passed the deserted entrance to Karma Core, he looked down the street towards the alley Jackal had mentioned the night before.
It’s certainly discrete, he thought, finding it sandwiched between two run-down shops. He glanced around to see Damos and Victoria a few paces behind before heading down the alley. As soon as he turned he saw Jackal waiting for him. He was leaning against a wall, dressed in his stolen Knight gear. When he saw Matt he flicked himself up and approached.
“You were right,” Jackal said.
“So everything checked out?” Matt replied.
“Yes, I’m sad to say it did. The woman who hired you goes by the name Yakshi.”
“That’s not a mythical creature,” Matt said accusingly, remembering Owen explaining the Nexus nomenclature.
“Yes it is, it’s a female earth spirit,” Jackal replied.
“Oh okay. Sorry, clearly my mythology isn’t quite up to scratch. Can you tell me anything more about her? What’s her real name?”
“I don’t know her name, but you should be careful; she’s the leader of the Plexus City branch of Nexus.”
Before Matt could reply, he noticed a shadow move down the alley. He looked up just in time to see a man drop from the rooftops. The man landed directly behind Jackal, wrapping his arm around Jackal’s neck. Matt heard a thud behind him. A similar grip appeared around his own neck. Two more men appeared. One turned to Jackal while the other grabbed Matt’s wrists. Matt suddenly felt the grip around his neck loosen. He turned his head sideways and ducked, slipping free. A fist appeared out of nowhere, smacking the man grabbing Matt’s wrists. Matt felt the man’s grip disappear.
“Run!” Victoria yelled, following up with a kick to the man’s chest. He flew back into the pair restraining Jackal. The group fell over in a pile of flailing limbs. Matt had barely gotten to his feet before Damos grabbed his arm and pulled him away. The three turned and ran out of the alley. Matt felt his leg go rigid as he turned, Owen’s patch kicking in to prevent him damaging the joint, and he stumbled forwards. Victoria caught his arm and pulled him up. He hobbled as fast as he could. Slowly his leg began to loosen again.
A ball of energy shot past Matt’s head. It exploded on the street, leaving a black scorch mark. Matt looked around to see a woman on the rooftops behind them, another ball of energy in her hand. She thrust her palm forwards and the ball shot towards them. Damos leapt up and span, catching the energy with his gloved hand and hurling it back. The roof in front of the woman shattered. Bits of brick and tile crashed onto the street as she toppled off. Her arms scrabbled at the wall, desperately seeking something to grab, but there was nothing there. Matt noticed another shadow appear in front of him. It shot over his head towards the woman. He followed it around to see a man swoop in, catching the woman mid fall and depositing her on the ground.
“Turn,” Victoria shouted. Matt looked back to see her heading into a side alley. Being mindful of his new prosthesis, he pivoted on his good leg and followed her in, closely flanked by Damos. A few paces later Victoria stopped and dropped to the ground. Matt planted his feet to stop himself tripping over her and felt his leg lock up again.
“Quickly, in here,” Victoria said, lifting up a manhole cover. Matt carefully began to lower himself in, making sure his foot landed on one of the metal bars embedded in the concrete. Damos suddenly pushed him down. His foot slipped and he fell. Several bars flew past before he finally managed to grab one and stop his fall. He looked up in just in time to see Damos jump in after him. Matt let go and fell the remaining distance onto a platform below. Damos grabbed a bar to halt his fall, leaving just enough room for Victoria to fit above them. A second later Matt heard a metallic clang as Victoria returned the drain cover to its proper position, plunging the sewer into darkness. The trio waited in silence. A moment later footsteps began to echo from above. They clanged over the manhole cover before continuing on down the street.
Once they’d disappeared, Damos and Victoria lowered themselves down the ladder and joined Matt on the platform below. A moment later a light appeared, emitted from the palm of Damos’s glove. It shone down the cylindrical pipe of the sewer, illuminating the concrete walls and the river which flowed past the platform, stained brown with dirt and waste. The smell was atrocious, but then Matt was hardly surprised.
“We need to put some distance between us and here before surfacing again. Let’s go,” Victoria said, beginning to march down the platform. Damos and Matt followed, and the trio made their way into the darkness.
* * * *
09:12, Blu Vertex Hotel, East District
Lily opened her eyes to glowing curtains, illuminated from behind by the morning sun. She yawned and stretched before pushing the covers back and sitting up. The room was deserted. Victoria’s bed lay empty, the duvet screwed up in a pile.
“Ah, you’re awake,” came Owen’s voice. Lily looked around but couldn’t see him. “I’m in the other room. Come through, the door’s unlocked.”
Still in her pyjamas, Lily slowly got to her feet and trudged to the door.
Shoot, Lily thought when she heard the door shut behind her. She’d left her key card inside. I guess I’ll have to wait for Victoria to get back. Continuing to Owen’s room, she pushed on the handle and, as promised, the door opened. Inside she found Owen sat up on his bed, his leg still elevated on a pillow. He was intensely staring at a screen on the wall.
“Morning,” he said without looking around.
“Morning,” Lily replied, moving to get a better look at the monitor. One half of the screen was covered in lines of strange symbols. The other half was split again. Both seemed to be camera feeds. One showed the outside of the hotel. Various people walked past, going about their daily lives. The other showed a room with a pair of beds.
That’s my room, Lily realised, recognising Victoria’s scraggly covers.
“It’s for your own safety,” Owen said when he noticed her expression. “Victoria wanted to make sure we could keep you safe when she’s not there. Are you hungry?”
“Sorry?” Lily said, still trying to get over the fact that Owen had been watching her sleep.
“Are you hungry? I can order breakfast to your room.”
Lily thought for a moment.
“I am a bit. But I’ve locked myself out.”
“Yes, I can see the key card on your bedside table.” Owen typed something and Lily watched as more strange symbols appeared on the left side of the screen. “Problem solved, your room’s open.”
“How did you do that?”
“The door locks are powered by ManaNet, ergo hacking them is trivial. What would you like for breakfast?”
“What is there?” Lily asked.
“Standard stuff really. Cereals, croissants, bacon, eggs, sausages, crepes-”
“A crepe sound good. How much will it cost though? I don’t have a lot of money left.”
“I have it covered,” he replied.
<
br /> “No, I don’t want to take your money. How much?”
Owen laughed. “It’s not going to cost us anything either. The hotel order system runs through ManaNet.”
“That’s stealing,” Lily exclaimed.
“I guess you could say that, but it’s a victimless crime. Do you realise how much uneaten food places like this throw away each day just because no one ordered it?”
“There’s no such thing as a victimless crime.”
“Are you hungry or not?” Owen snapped.
I am pretty hungry.
“Fine,” Lily sighed.
“What would you like on your crepe?”
“Maple syrup, if possible.”
“‘If possible’. What self-respecting restaurant serves crepes without maple syrup? Which room?”
Which room? Lily thought, the question taking her by surprise. If I eat in my room, he’ll still be watching.
“In here,” she said, sitting on the bed besides Owen’s.
“Done,” Owen replied a moment later. “Now where are Matt, Victoria and Damos? They should have been back by now.”
Lily noticed the camera image from her room disappear, to be replaced with a rolling news feed.
‘ManaNet upgrade announced, live tomorrow at eleven central time,’ read the top headline.
“Nothing on the news, so no major trouble,” Owen said. “I don’t know why I still worry, they can take care of themselves.”
* * * *
09:19, East District Sewers, East District
“There’s light ahead,” Matt exclaimed. Despite the fact that they’d been walking for nearly an hour, they had encountered no ladders or an exit of any kind. The tunnel seemed to continue on forever, the stream gently flowing along besides them.
“Be careful. If it’s from an uncovered drain there could be workmen around,” Victoria said.
“It doesn’t look like it’s coming from above,” Matt replied. Nevertheless, the three slowed their pace and approached with caution. The light grew in both size and brightness as the tunnel curved towards it. The sound of falling water soon accompanied it, increasing in volume until Matt found himself looking out of the tunnel and into the world beyond.
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