“It’s the end of the sewer,” he said, seeing the sewer water flow out of the pipe and into a river.
That must be the river that flows through the city, Matt thought. It’s far too big to be anything else.
The platform in the sewer pipe connected to a set of iron stairs which led to the river bank. After descending, the trio found themselves looking at rows of run-down houses. They were built from little more than scrap. Broken timbers held up rusty pieces of corrugated metal. Cracked tiles spread across patches of roof, sheet plastic and more corrugated iron filling in the gaps.
“Where are we?” Damos asked.
“In the slum outside the city wall,” Victoria replied.
I’ve heard of this place. It’s full of Gifteds who tried to leave the city but couldn’t make it to the Colonies.
Matt slowly made his way up the riverbank towards the rundown shacks. He could feel his feet sinking into the ground slightly with each step. The chatter of people met his ears, interlaced with children playing and the occasional bark of a dog. As he got closer he noticed a man walking out from behind one the buildings. He was dressed in a mixture of clothes and rags and carried a large sack over his shoulder. Behind him followed a gaggle of children, running around him like flies. They squealed with delight, playing some kind of game, the rules of which eluded Matt.
One of the children noticed him. Their screeching died down as they all stopped to look at the strange people who were approaching. A second later the man realised something was wrong and also looked around. Unable to think of anything better to do, Matt waved. The children rushed behind the man, the closest grabbing onto his leg while the others crouched behind.
“What do you want?” the man called, depositing his sack on the ground.
“Just passing through,” Matt replied.
“No one just passes through here, especially not folks such as yourselves.”
“Honestly, we mean you no harm. We found ourselves here by accident. I don’t suppose you could point us in the direction of the city.”
“Of course that’s where you’d be headed. It’s that way,” the man said, pointing. “Just hurry up and get yourselves out of here. You’ll make everyone nervous walking around looking like that.”
He picked up his sack and carried on walking, the children following in silence behind.
“Let’s go,” Victoria said, overtaking Matt and marching up the bank.
They clearly don’t like outsiders here. I guess you can’t blame them; Gifteds get so much trouble in the city. Even in conditions like this, it’s one place they can live without fear of persecution.
Matt increased his pace, catching up with Victoria and Damos as they entered the slums properly. Rag-tag houses surrounded them on all sides, filled with adults and children alike. The path between the shacks was muddy and uneven. A channel had been dug out down the middle with a stream of water flowing through it to the river. A bubble of silence followed them through the haphazard footpaths, along with a multitude of stares.
“I don’t like this,” Matt whispered to Victoria.
“The east district must be close. Just keep walking,” Victoria replied. She adjusted her hood, pulling it down to cover more of her face.
Matt felt something brush against his leg. He leapt back, looking down to see a dog. Its big eyes stared up at him. It held a stick in its mouth, and its tail wagged rapidly back and forth. Matt bent down to take the stick, noticing the dog’s ribs showing through its ragged fur.
“No,” Victoria snapped, grabbing Matt’s arm and pulling him back. The dog looked up at Matt sadly as he stood up and turned away.
After a while more walking, the shacks became less frequent, replaced with falling-down buildings made from brick or concrete. Empty windows led to darkness inside, but Matt was sure they were inhabited. Damp clothes hung from several windowsills, and rubbish still littered the streets.
Matt suddenly became aware of a dull aching in his leg around the graft’s join.
Too much walking. At least we seem to be heading in the right direction.
“How much further now, do you reckon?” he asked.
“My guess is we’re just inside the east district. Shouldn’t be more than an hour to the hotel,” Victoria said.
True to Victoria’s word, close to an hour later the trio found themselves well within the metropolis, and Matt felt slightly more at ease. The ache had only gotten worse in his leg, however.
“We must be close now,” Matt said as he began to recognise some of the buildings.
“Two more blocks,” Damos replied.
Fuelled on by this news, Matt picked up his pace and the trio soon made it back to the Hotel.
Finally. Making a beeline for the elevator, Matt turned and leant against the back, looking out as the door closed. A man suddenly grabbed his attention.
Wait, was that…? he thought, before the doors closed and the elevator began to rise. No, you’re just imagining things.
The elevator dinged as they reached their floor. Matt reached into his wallet and retrieved his key, heading straight for the room. His leg was crying out in pain, and the sooner he could lie down the better.
“Took your time,” Owen said as Matt pushed open the door.
“Yeah, sorry, things didn’t go quite as planned,” Matt replied. He staggered into the room and made straight for his bed only to find Lily sat on it.
“Sorry,” she said, standing up as soon as she realised his intent. Matt collapsed, letting the duvet and mattress cushion his fall. The pain in his leg died down as soon as it lay flat. Matt let out a sign of relief.
“What happened?” Owen asked, closing the applications on his screen and looking around.
“Matt and Jackal were attacked while talking,” Victoria said as she closed the door and followed Damos into the room.
“By who?”
“Is Jackal okay?” Lily asked.
“Gifteds, presumably Nexus,” Victoria replied.
Lily looked up at her expectantly.
“We don’t know,” Victoria added.
Before any of them could say more, there was a knock at the door. Looking around at the other four, Matt turned to Damos. “You’d better get it.”
Damos turned and disappeared behind the bathroom as he made for the door. A second later there was a click as it opened.
“Thank goodness I found you. I need your help,” said a voice.
It was him, Matt thought, remembering the man from the lobby. It’s Weasel.
Chapter 16 - Shock
10:49, Blu Vertex Hotel, East District
Weasel? Lily thought, recognising the voice.
“Excuse me?” Damos asked.
“Let him in,” Matt called before Weasel could reply.
“Thank you,” Weasel said, hurrying into the room.
“How did you find us?” Victoria snapped.
“Does anyone else know we’re here?” Owen added.
“I noticed the Blu Vertex room card in Matt’s wallet last night. I followed you up-”
Weasel stuttered as his gaze fell upon Lily.
“You-you’re alive,” he exclaimed.
“No thanks to you,” Lily snapped back.
Wow, that was cold, she instantly thought.
“My deepest apologies,” Weasel replied. “Yakshi sent Jackal and me out to check on a tip-off she’d received after you fell asleep. She promised she’d watch over you while we were out. I had no idea she was the one who ordered the hit on you.”
Lily didn’t need her powers to tell he was being sincere; she could see it in his eyes and hear it in the waiver of his voice.
“It’s okay, you thought you could trust her,” Lily replied. “Where’s Jackal?”
“That’s why I came here. I didn’t know where else to come. I’ve been waiting in the lobby for an hour hoping to see Matt walk in. I don’t know who else to turn to.”
“What’s happened?” Matt asked, looking around
from his position sprawled on the bed.
“Yakshi’s men have taken Jackal and are holding him prisoner. She’s accusing him of betraying Nexus. Someone must have noticed him sneaking around last night.”
“What do you want us for?” Damos asked.
“I want to help him, but I can’t rely on any of the other Nexus members. I need an outside group.”
“How much?”
“I don’t have a lot, but I’m sure I can find enough.”
“Don’t bother, this one’s on us,” Victoria replied. Damos glared at her. “Don’t go there,” Victoria snapped. “It’s our fault this has happened, and it’ll bring us closer to Yakshi. Where’s he being held?”
“In a Nexus outpost, not far from Karma Core,” Weasel replied.
“We need an exact address.”
“Eleven Claymore Road.”
“We’ll go at once. Damos, get the earpieces and follow me. Owen, get into their security. I want to know everything by the time we get there.”
“Already on it,” Owen replied.
“Thank you so much,” Weasel said.
“You can thank us later. Now move,” Victoria said. Weasel jumped, turning and making straight for the door. Damos tossed Victoria an ear piece as the pair left the room.
“Check, one, two,” came Victoria’s voice from a speaker in the screen.
“Copy,” Owen replied.
“Check, one, two,” mimicked Damos.
“Copy. You’re good to go.”
* * * *
11:07 Claymore Road, East District
Victoria leapt off the bike, leading Damos and Weasel out of the alley.
“Remember, the primary objective is to retrieve Jackal,” she said, shooting Damos a knowing look. “Keep casualties to a minimum.”
“Understood,” Damos growled.
“Weasel, points of entry?”
“The outpost is a derelict skyrail station. The main point of entry is through a front elevator, which is how they screen people entering. There’s also a staircase at the back, but the door’s always locked from the inside. Old fashion style lock, so it can’t be hacked.”
“Will it arouse suspicion if you’re seen?”
“No, it shouldn’t do.”
“Good, you enter through the elevator entrance. Once inside, head to the back door and let us in via the staircase. That’ll be our exit also. Once inside, we’ll head straight to where Jackal’s being held. Owen, any idea where that might be?”
“Security shows he’s being held in one of the rooms surrounding the platform.”
“Do they know they’re being spied on?”
“Tch, after all this time, you still doubt me?”
Victoria let out a sigh of annoyance. She looked up to see the skyrail station poking out from behind a tower block. Suspended thirty meters above street level, the outpost looked like a floating train station, its walls arching in after two stories to form a domed glass ceiling. A network of metal supports criss-crossed its entire exterior. They joined up with a pair of post at the corners. As Victoria and Damos approached, another pair of posts supporting the middle section appeared. A long tube rose up the side of one, an elevator waiting inside at the top. At the base of the pillar the tube led to a small cabin which neighboured the road running underneath the entire structure.
Whoever designed the skyrail must have been insane, Victoria thought, stopping at the corner of the final tower block before it and peering out. On the other side of the road from the elevator a staircase spiralled up, coiling around a support pillar and up to the station.
“Owen, can you loop any cameras on the staircase?”
“I can, but it won’t take them long to notice when they see the same traffic passing by every thirty seconds.”
“We’ll have to time it well and minimise the number of loops. Damos, give Weasel your earpiece.”
“No, they’ll get suspicious if they see me with it,” Weasel replied. “There’s a scanner in the elevator which will detect it no matter where I hide it.”
“Okay, scratch that. How long will it take you to reach the staircase door from the elevator?”
“A minute maximum.”
“Owen, start looping thirty seconds from after Weasel enters. We’ll ascend then, and meet you at the top. That should only require one loop.”
“Got it,” Owen replied.
“Ready?” Victoria asked, looking down at Weasel. He nodded.
“Go then. We’ll head to the stairs when we see you get to the top of the elevator.”
Weasel nodded again before walking out into street towards the elevator. Victoria leant against the building and pretended to be chatting to Damos. Using her hood for cover, she watched as Weasel entered the cabin. A moment later the elevator began to drop. A few seconds later and it was rising again, presumably with Weasel inside; she couldn’t tell for sure as the walls were blacked out.
“Come on,” she said, turning and walking into the street. Damos appeared level with her. They waited for a lull in the traffic below the station before crossing.
Ten seconds, Victoria thought, leaning against the corner post of the building. They passed agonisingly slowly.
“The cameras are looping, you have thirty seconds,” Owen said.
“Go,” Victoria said, dashing out from behind the post and over to the staircase. It had clearly originally only been designed to be used in emergencies, and since the station had become derelict it appeared to have had little maintenance from Nexus.
This doesn’t look very stable. Best keep close to the pillar, Victoria thought as her footfalls clanged against the steps.
“There’s a problem,” Owen said.
“What?” Victoria snapped.
“Weasel’s been caught up crossing the main station hall. Some thug seemed to ask him something and now they’re talking.”
“Damn it.”
“From the look of it he’s trying to get away. He keeps stepping backwards as they talk.”
“How long?”
“Ten seconds. He’s not going to make it.”
Victoria turned a corner and the door at the top of the staircase appeared.
“We’ll have to loop again. Do the people watching the security footage look suspicious?” she asked.
“In typical amateur style, Nexus seem to have forgotten to set up a camera in the security booth itself.”
“It doesn’t seem amateur at the moment,” Damos said.
“Alright smart arse.”
“Shut it, both of you. Where’s Weasel now?”
“Still in the central hall. Twenty seconds until the third loop.”
Come on! Victoria thought, looking up at the door. She felt the wind rustle her hood and suddenly became aware of the cold. It bit at her arm, being particularly painful where her flesh met her silver implants.
“He’s moving again, heading out of the central hall. Fifteen seconds.”
Victoria began tapping her foot. After six taps, she heard a click. The door swung open. She barged through before Weasel could even speak. He leapt back, flattening himself against the wall. Damos followed and threw the door shut again, slowing only at the last second so as to avoid making it slam.
“Two seconds. That was close,” Owen said.
“Can you see us?” Victoria whispered.
“I can, but security can’t. The interior cameras are easier to loop.”
“Good, lead us to Jackal then.”
“Head out the room and turn left in the corridor.”
Victoria pointed to the door and signalled left. Weasel nodded, and the trio began to move. The corridor extended quite a way down the station, running parallel to the main hall where the skyrails would have loaded and unloaded.
“Left now, get inside,” Owen shouted.
Victoria didn’t hesitate, grabbing Damos and Weasel and pulling them into the closest room. They waited in silence. A few seconds later a shadow passed by the window.
&
nbsp; “Wait,” Owen said. The group remained silent.
“Okay, clear.”
Victoria tentatively pushed the door open and they continued down the corridor.
“Jackal’s being held in the third door on your left. There’s a guard with him, but there’s not much we can do about that. You’ll have to take him out.”
Victoria looked round at Damos, who pulled his glove tight.
“Non-lethally,” she said sternly. Damos nodded.
Victoria stopped outside the door and held her hand out with three fingers up.
Three, two, one, she counted, before she charged inside. At the back sat Jackal, his hands chained to a pipe behind him. Leaning against one wall was the guard. Other than the pair of them and a chair, the room was bare.
Victoria made straight for the guard, grabbing his collar before he’d even realised they’d entered. She yanked him away from the wall and threw him towards the door. He staggered back, straight into Damos’s outstretched hand. His body shook for a moment before going limp, a surge of mana from Damos’s glove knocking him unconscious.
“Jackal,” Weasel exclaimed, rushing over while Damos closed the door.
“Weasel, what are you doing?” Jackal replied.
“We’ve come to get you out. You can hide until we discover what’s going on and it’s safe for you to return.”
“Move,” Victoria said, placing her hand on Weasel’s shoulder and nudging him aside. She brought her foot down on the pipe. It snapped with a loud crack. Jackal jerked down with it, managing to slide his hands loose as he fell.
“Come on,” Victoria said, dragging Jackal to his feet and marching for the door.
“You have a problem,” Owen said. “A pair of Nexus men have stopped in the corridor between you and the exit.”
“Is there another way out?”
“Across the main hall, but there are people everywhere.”
“We’ll have to take the men in the corridor out. Where are they exactly?”
“Two doors down.”
“Okay, we’ll-”
Before Victoria could finish, a siren began wailing throughout the building.
“It’s the alarm,” Weasel shouted over the noise.
“Behind you, the guard!” Victoria heard Owen yell. She whirled around to see the guard holding a gun towards her head. She ducked as he fired. The bullet shot past above her head and embedded itself in the ceiling. Before she could react, Damos appeared and plunged a holographic knife into the man’s jugular.
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