by Wyatt Kane
Fortunately, Darth didn’t seem interested in heading anywhere. He looked up and down the alley as if seeking inspiration, then sniffed, offered a grimace and an indecipherable mumble, then hunkered down against the wall with his hands jammed in his pockets.
Vixen grinned. “See?” she repeated. “He’s not going anywhere.”
Ty had to agree.
He looked around. “I guess, if he can’t see or hear us, we just wait here,” he said.
The dark elf nodded. “Yep. No need to find somewhere to hide. Might as well get comfortable. We can sit down right in front of him, and he’ll never know we’re there.”
It sounded good to Ty. They both sat against the opposite wall from the dealer, with Vixen still holding onto Ty’s arm.
Ty understood without being told that it was this contact that enabled Vixen to share her power with him. If she let go, likely he would reappear in front of Darth’s nose. As appealing as that might be as far as pure entertainment might go, it would likely mean all their efforts so far would be for naught.
At the same time, the ongoing contact felt more proprietary than Ty was comfortable with. Somehow, Vixen managed to convey a sense of ownership through her touch.
And not just through her touch, either. The way she’d ridden on the back of Dinah’s bike pressed against him. Her closeness during the scuffle with Darth. The dealer had even commented on it, referring to her as his girlfriend.
Ty couldn’t help but think that this was what Dinah had been trying to warn him about.
Vixen caught his expression of distrust as he followed these thoughts through to their conclusion. With a knowing grin that echoed Dinah’s own, but which lacked much of the warmth, she decided to challenge him.
“Something the matter?” she asked, at the same time as she shifted her weight to sit more closely to him than before.
Ty knew she was baiting him and refused to rise to it. “Nothing,” he said, but even that proved to be the wrong option.
Vixen snuggled even closer, resting her head on his shoulder. “Good,” she said. “I didn’t think so.”
Ty simmered for a moment, then decided to change the subject.
“You seem to understand this part of the world well,” he said.
Vixen nodded. “I used to be a cop before joining the Architect’s program. You know the old cliché. Tough kid, grew up on streets much like these. So, yeah. I reached a point where if I continue on the path I was on, I might not be here any more. So I joined the police.” She gave a small shrug. “Maybe if the force hadn’t been so filled with corruption, I might still be there now.”
Ty didn’t know what to say to that. Her background was very different from his own. Yet the dark elf didn’t seem to need a reply. She took his silence as an opportunity to sit back upright, giving herself space to look him up and down. Her gaze lingered here and there, as if she was measuring him against some unknown ideal.
Apparently, he measured up well enough. “Where did Dinah find you, anyway? I have to say, her taste hasn’t exactly suffered since…” She trailed off, grinning at some private thought. When she continued, it was like she’d changed her mind about what to say. “And that pink-haired creature, Lilith. I’ve never seen anything like her. She’s a work of art, isn’t she?”
Ty wasn’t entirely sure he liked the direction the conversation was taking. But with the dealer apparently settled in for a significant wait, he didn’t want to have to spend the time in silence. So he answered her in a way he thought might be safe.
Or tried to, anyway.
“We told you already,” he said. “Zach passed his device to me when he died. And Lilith–” he started, but Vixen shook her head.
“That isn’t what I meant,” she said. Then, for a moment, she grew sad. “Poor Zach,” she said. “I really liked him. Made Liberace look like a Mormon, but that was just part of his charm.” Then she shook herself away from her reminiscence. “I just mean that all of us, everyone the Architect gave a device to, we’re all pretty hot. But you two … wow. How long did Dinah take to get you into her bed?”
It wasn’t a question Ty wanted to answer, and Vixen seemed to sense it. She grinned broadly.
“You’re not a big believer in kissing and telling, huh?” she asked. She gave a small laugh. “If only you knew the things we all used to get up to before we went our separate ways.”
A younger version of Ty might have gaped at the dark elf and blurted out something like, “What things?” before he could help himself. But as well as enjoying the power and confidence granted him by the device on his wrist, for the past few weeks, Ty had enjoyed the bedtime company of the three most spectacular women alive.
His interest in what others got up to had largely diminished.
Yet there was something he wanted to ask.
“How long ago were you all together?”
Vixen looked at him with a curious expression. He thought she might choose not to answer, just to get back at him for not satisfying her own curiosity. But in the end, she did.
“We didn’t all leave at once. In fact, I don’t think there was a time when we were all in the mansion together. The Architect did things slowly. He handed out the devices one at a time. I was just lucky that when I was ready to leave, so was Delve. And she was the one, out of everyone, who I rubbed the wrong way the least.” She said with a touch of sadness, and Ty understood she was aware of the reaction she produced in others.
“Good thing, too, given how my power works,” Vixen added.
She lapsed into silence, but the silence was filled with expectation. Ty understood that she was waiting for him to ask a question, and so he obliged.
“How does your power work?” he asked.
The dark elf favored him with one of her genuine grins.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she said. Ty actually did want to know, but didn’t like the way the woman had effectively set a trap, and didn’t seem to want to offer him the answer. To Ty, it was a frustrating and somewhat discordant way to hold a conversation. He was starting to revisit his intention to talk, and wondered how offended she might be if he sat there and ignored her.
Fortunately, he didn’t have to risk it either way. It was sooner than he had expected, but they were no longer alone in the alley with Darth. A group of men had entered, and the dealer was struggling to his feet.
“Showtime,” said Vixen.
25: Boss Man
Darth wasn’t the only one to scramble to his feet. Ty and Vixen did as well, a little awkwardly as the dark elf still gripped Ty’s arm. A single glance at the newcomers was all it took for Ty to know they were the ones he and Vixen had been waiting for.
There were four of them. Three large, solid looking men built like Badger from the Concubine Club. The body modification craze that had taken New Lincoln by storm gave people the opportunity to sculpt whatever physique they desired. It wasn’t uncommon for men in particular to have their genetics altered so they could more easily put on muscle. But they still had to put in the work for it to really show.
The three bodyguards were no more than insects compared with Bain. But they’d had the modifications, and they’d done the work. Each of them would have filled a doorway with ease, and if it weren’t for his shield, Ty would have found them intimidating.
The fourth newcomer was smaller, far less intimidating, and obviously in charge. This man was slim, dark skinned, and sported a mohawk as well as a series of spikes grafted into his cheekbones. The man’s ears were subtly pointed, and Ty wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that he also possessed a devil’s tail hidden in his pants.
This was the dealer’s supplier. His area manager, perhaps. And he’d come with an entourage. Ty didn’t know if it was usual for the man to travel like that, but from Darth’s uncertain expression, he thought it unlikely.
The boss man sauntered into the alley as if he owned the place and stopped far enough away from the dealer to imply he didn’t want to get t
hat close to him. He eyed Darth up and down with an expression that said he despised him completely. The dealer started to say something, but the boss man cut him off.
“Did I ask you to speak?” the boss man demanded.
All at once, Ty understood that this wouldn’t be an enjoyable meeting for the dealer. Darth seemed to figure that out for himself at the same time. He shrank down in his trench coat as if he could somehow get away and shook his head.
“No, sir,” he stammered.
The boss man said nothing for a moment. He just stared at the dealer, who grew noticeably more uncomfortable under his glare.
“This is the guy we were waiting for,” Ty said to Vixen. It felt strange to talk so openly from so close to the man, while at the same time knowing they couldn’t be seen. It was surreal, as if they were watching something via hologram or on a screen. In a way, Ty understood that it could be addictive. “Should we drop back into the real world and say hi?” he asked.
But Vixen shook her head. “I want to see what happens.”
Ty wasn’t convinced that was necessary, but didn’t argue. He said nothing, and the boss man finished his inspection.
“Where is it?” he demanded.
There was no doubt that the man was talking about the dealer’s stash. “I don’t know, man. They took it!”
The boss man made a subtle movement as if he was about to step forward, and the dealer flinched as if he’d been struck.
“Well, what do you know? You stand before me with no stash and no cash to speak of. You say everything you had has been stolen. Your greatest fear is probably whether or not I believe you. But here’s the thing. I don’t care. From my point of view, you owe me for the Upgrade you were handling. Is it my problem if you don’t have the cash?”
The dealer had looked panicked and frightened when Ty and Vixen had threatened him. Now he looked terrified, as if he knew his very life hung in the balance.
He looked away, not meeting the boss man’s eyes. “I don’t got it,” he muttered, just loud enough for Ty to hear.
“What was that?” the boss man responded, his voice like the crack of a whip.
“I don’t got it,” the man repeated, looking and sounding miserable. “I’m sorry, man, but I don’t got it. They took it.” He looked like he was about to burst into tears. “I’m sorry. Tell me what I need to do to make it up to you.”
Again, the boss man said nothing for a moment, just let the dealer stew in his own fear.
“Look, I’ll do anything! Tell me what I gotta do to make this right!”
Ty couldn’t help but wonder what the dealer was afraid of. What tortures did the boss man regularly dish out to those who displeased him?
Finally, the boss man broke into a broad grin, showing teeth capped with gold and sharpened to points.
“Look at you,” he said. “It’s like you’ll piss yourself if you don’t watch it. Pathetic. If we didn’t need so many warm bodies out on the street, I’d take the value of the Upgrade we supplied from your flesh, selling your mods to those who can’t afford to go through a legitimate provider.”
As far as threats went, it was a doozy. Ty had heard of a black market for modified genetics, and knew that the victims weren’t expected to survive the treatment. The dealer had obviously heard the same rumors. He shook his head in denial.
“No. Please, I’m begging you.”
The boss man continued as if the dealer hadn’t spoken. “But as we do need so many warm bodies, you are in luck. Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to replace the Upgrade you lost, and give you the opportunity to prove yourself. If you can sell it for twice the credit of the last batch, we’ll call it even. How does that sound?”
All at once, the dealer stopped his whimpering. He stared at the boss man with something akin to surprise mixed with relief. It was as if he couldn’t believe his luck. But the boss man hadn’t finished. He was still grinning, looking like an alligator with his sights set on his favorite prey.
“But I’m going to leave you with something to remember this by. Something to remind you not to let your supply ever be ‘stolen’ again. Something for you to think about, and remember that it could have been far, far worse.”
The dealer’s expression of panic returned. Before the boss man said another word, he shook his head in denial.
The boss man’s expression became one of pure relish. “Do you know what I’m going to do?” he asked, his tone almost gentle.
Just like that, the dealer’s whimpering returned. He started to back away, but the boss man signaled his guards. As one, the two of them reached for the dealer and grabbed him by the arms.
The boss man’s expression became ravenous. “I’m going to take two of your fingers from your right hand.”
“No!” the dealer said. “No! Please, don’t do this!”
The boss man held out his hand to the third bodyguard, but said nothing. As if this was something they’d done many times in the past, that third bodyguard at the boss’s side reached into his jacket and pulled out a pair of shears. The boss man clicked the shears open and closed a couple of times, then approached the dealer, who was starting to wail as he struggled against the impossible strength of the bodyguards who held him.
Ty turned to Vixen. “Have you seen enough?” he asked.
The dark elf favored him with a sardonic expression. “Are you going to spoil the fun?” she said, and Ty couldn’t figure out if she was joking or not.
Instead of answering directly, he stepped forward, away from her grip, and activated his shield at the same time.
Everything happened at once. The dealer and one of the guards saw Ty immediately. The guard cursed out loud at Ty’s surprising appearance, but the dealer recognized him right away.
“It’s him!” he said. “He’s the one who stole my stash!”
Ty could have used the blaster they had taken from the dealer. Close up, they could be lethal, but when used at a distance there was a good chance the target would survive. Especially if they wore body armor, as these bodyguards very likely did. But he’d given that weapon to Vixen, preferring to use the canons built into his shield.
At full strength, he could obliterate a normal person completely. He could punch a hole through solid rock, or melt steel into a ball of bubbling liquid. But at a lower setting, his efforts would be much like a blaster from a distance. Painful, likely to cause a concussion or broken bone or two, but not really fatal.
Ty had never been fond of needless killing. Even with his soul still tormented by what had happened with Tempest, he still lacked that level of brutality. So he dialed his power down and let loose, aiming for the dealer and the two guards holding him still.
They had no time to react. From their point of view, one moment, they were alone in the alley, doing whatever they wished to the dealer, and the next Ty appeared from nowhere and let loose.
The force of the blast was enough to punch them into the wall. They each made voluntary noises of pain mixed with surprise, and all three of them collapsed to the ground.
The boss man’s one remaining guard was quick to react. He stepped in front of the boss man at the same time as he reached for his weapon.
But he was already too late.
Vixen had also emerged from where she and Ty had hidden, and she wasn’t afraid to use the blaster Ty had given her. A single shot, and the third guard was down, groaning on the alley floor as the familiar tang of ozone filled the air.
As soon as the guard fell, Vixen swung her weapon around to the boss man, who had dropped the shears and was fumbling about under his jacket.
“Don’t try it,” Vixen said, her normally grating voice filled with threats.
The boss man’s face lost its crocodilian grin. He glared at Ty and Vixen with an expression of hate. Yet he wasn’t scared, and didn’t for an instant seem the type to grovel.
Instead, he set his jaw, took his hands out from under his jacket.
“Who are you and wh
at do you want?” he said with a snarl.
26: Threats And Lies Round Two
Ty was ready to let loose with the power of his shield at the first sign of trouble. He knew instinctively that the boss man was a much tougher target than the dealer had been. At the same time, he was determined to get the answers he sought.
“Ideally, I’d like you to tell us who the Master is and where we might find him. But I’m guessing you’re not high enough in the hierarchy to know that sort of thing. Instead, how about you tell us where we can find your immediate boss?”
The ghost of the boss man’s crocodile grin returned. “I don’t know who my boss is. I never see him—”
“We’ve heard that line of garbage before,” Vixen said, nodding toward the dealer slumped on the ground. “We didn’t believe a word of it then, either.”
The boss man glared at Vixen, his eyes hard and narrow, like slivers of obsidian set into his skull. For a moment, he just stared at her, then he seemed to relax. It was as if he had accepted his fate and was fine with it.
“Maybe you have,” he snarled. “And maybe you counted on your mark being dumb enough to contact me. Well, guess what? I’m not that dumb. I ain’t gonna tell you shit.” So saying, the boss man folded his arms across his chest and stood as if daring Vixen and Ty to respond. “What are you going to do about it?” he added.
Ty feared the man might be right. If he was determined, how would they get the answers they needed? They hadn’t even managed to get the dealer to talk.
All at once, Ty found he was angry. More than angry. He was furious. After everything that had happened, he wasn’t going to be put off by a minor bad guy who thought he was too tough to talk.
Moving as fast as his shield would allow, Ty launched himself at the man and hurled him into the wall near where he and Vixen had been hiding. But Ty didn’t let the man go. Instead, he jammed his elbow in the man’s throat and snarled at him from mere inches away.