The elevator stopped on the 50th floor and let out a ding before the doors slid open. Valerie exited the shaft and turned right, her long heels clicking with every cheerful step. The clicks echoed through the empty hallway as she made her way to the very end where the metal door had been left open just a little.
She pushed her way inside and found Zero sitting behind his desk at the center of the room, his hands balled into tight fists atop the counter. His eyes, which were normally pitch black and lifeless, now radiated with a white purer than snow, yet there was still no hint of life within.
“They did it, didn’t they?” Valerie said as she sat atop the desk directly beside the Inkeye’s strained fists.
“Yes.” Zero responded.
“Very impressive. You sure are good at what you do.” She teased a light finger sensually across Zero’s chest, but a cold hand quickly slapped it away.
“Shut up,” Zero said, his voice straining as the words came out.
Valerie smiled then got up and made her way to the great windows at the back of the room. She admired the full moon in the sky, and began tracing its outline on the glass with her finger. “They say a full moon is the mark of a new beginning. I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of one much better than this. Using their own tool against them… I have to say, I didn’t think you were capable of such poetry, Master Zero.”
“Shut. Up.” This time his voice was even more strained, and she could hear how hard his jaw was clenched.
“If only you were capable of half as much politeness. It’s good for business you know.” Valerie turned around and saw Zero’s trembling hand reach for a drawer on the side of his desk. “Here, let me get that for you.” She opened the drawer and pulled out the rectangular cell inside.
In a flash, Zero’s hand swiped it from her, and she pulled back her palm which quickly began to sting. Despite the pain, she kept a pleasant expression on her face, amused with seeing this side of the Inkeye. His motions were usually so calm and controlled, but tonight was different.
She massaged her hand and watched as a part of Zero’s skull opened from the back of his head, and a similar rectangular cell popped out, falling to the floor. With a shaking hand, the Inkeye barely managed to place the new cell in its spot, and the piece of skull returned to its closed position automatically.
Zero shut his eyes for a moment, and when they opened again, they’d returned to their familiar dark emptiness. His breathing steadied soon after, and he got up and walked to the back of the room as if nothing had happened. He cupped his hands behind his back as he surveyed the city below. “That girl is something special.”
“You’re referring to XO?” Valerie said. “I mean Lana. Did she find out?” By the looks of it, the prodigious hacker had done a number on Zero.
“No. I was careful.”
“Should I get rid of her?”
“That won’t be necessary. I can still make use of her.”
Valerie moved to stand beside Zero, joining him to look down at the city. “And what about the boy? Damien?”
For a moment, she swore she saw a smile try to form on Zero’s lips. “TrillTech have done us a great favor. He is a fantastic tool, and he will be the key to it all. I have great plans for him.”
“Of course you do,” Valerie said with a smile, turning her gaze up at the symbol of a new beginning, and choosing not to say the remainder of her thoughts. But you’re not the only one with big plans...
* * *
“Well done, team. The final phase is officially complete,” Lana said as the three pirates exited the underground parking lot. “That concludes the mission. We had some hiccups there but we managed to pull through in the end. Good work, everyone. It’ll take me a few days to decrypt the Archangel files, so get some rest until then. And Damien, don’t forget about our date!”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
With that announcement, the hacker disbanded the communication line, leaving the trio on their own. Damien turned to check on Kat once again, who had recovered over the course of their getaway. They’d driven 10 minutes to dump the TrillTech van and swap into their own vehicles, and she managed to pull through during that time, seemingly with no side effects. Lana seemed convinced that it was just a standard attempt at a brain burn, and that it had ultimately failed, meaning that there would be no change to Kat’s health, and that she would be fine.
Looking at her now, he could see that she appeared to back to normal, as if nothing had happened. Despite being in the scariest situation out of the three of them, she ended up leaving the least scathed. He was grateful that she turned out to be okay in the end, but his gaze must've lingered a little too long at her, and she raised an eyebrow at him.
“You alright, Damien?” she asked. “Seems like you had it pretty rough.”
“Poor guy ran into another ex-military,” Marcus said, shaking his head and taking out a cigarette. “As far as I’m concerned, he was the MVP of this mission.”
Those words caused a feeling of pride to swell up within Damien. This was the first time he’d felt like an equal among his crew mates, but he wasn’t sure if he deserved such an honor. “Lana managed to manually get the files after Kat went out,” he said, “so I think she deserves the most praise.”
“But you managed to take out the ex-military bastard,” Marcus said. “There aren’t many people that could do that.”
“Well, when you put it like that, I guess I am the MVP,” Damien said jokingly. “But really, I had no choice. He was headed for the control room, so I had to stop him.”
This time, he caught Kat staring at him a little too long, and she quickly broke it off when he looked at her. “Yeah…” she said, “thanks for saving my ass back there.”
Damien smiled cheekily, remembering a comment he had made on their first mission together. “As a great man once said: that’s an ass worth saving.”
Without missing a beat, Kat’s elbow quickly jabbed him in side where his armor had been ripped. The pain sent Damien hunched over, groaning.
“Sorry,” Kat said, genuinely apologetic. “Is it that bad?”
He managed to squeak out a reply. “Yes.”
“Now that you mention it, seeing you hunched over in that armor reminds me of something a great woman once said: Hell of an ass you got there.”
Damien straightened up as he squeaked out another reply. “Thank you.”
The comment brought a shared chuckle from his crew mates. With the stress of the mission now behind them, they were able to relax and let loose once again. That was when a flash of blue light crossed their eyes, signaling that they’d received a message. Damien also received a message of his own, and when he opened it, he saw that it was from one of Zero’s assistants.
Master Zero has received the Archangel Files from XO.
The payment is being sent as per the amount agreed upon.
Thank you for your work.
Quest Complete!
You have completed the quest: Secure the Archangel Files
Fund Transfer Received: +130,000 Funds
The message nearly floored Damien. He’d never seen anywhere near that amount of money, and he made sure to check his balance to confirm that it had all come through.
Marcus let out an impressed whistle. “You guys also just got paid, right?”
Kat nodded. “I guess Zero really does have deep pockets. I have to admit, I was somewhat skeptical that we’d get paid at all.”
Damien stared at his funds once again, just to make sure they were still there. He had one or two debts to pay off, but he would still have plenty leftover to afford some of things he’d set his sights on, particularly the shuriken and the motorcycle he desperately wanted. He struggled to contain his excitement at the thought of finally obtaining those items.
“The funds are great and all, but don’t forget what we’re doing this for,” Kat said, sobering Damien up a little. “There were some kind of human trials going on in that research facility, that much is clear. Our business with TrillTech isn’t done yet.”
“Shame we couldn’t stay longer and get to the bottom of it all,” Marcus said as he blew a puff of smoke.
“Well we have those Archangel files, now,” Damien said. “We should be able to find some kind of clue.”
“That’s right,” Kat said, relaxing a little. “Nothing left to do but spend these funds and wait for Lana to decrypt the data. Anyone want a drink? I’m buying.”
Marcus blinked, his eyes about to pop out of their sockets. “You’re offering to go for a drink? And you’re offering to pay? That’s a first. Are you sure you didn’t get brain burnt?”
Kat shot him a dirty look then started walking off. “Don’t make me burn your brain. I’m going regardless. You guys coming or not?”
“Hell yeah,” Marcus said, tossing the cigarette to the ground and stomping it out. “You coming, Dame?”
Damien nodded and followed along with his two friends as they searched for the nearest bar. In that moment, the lights of Neopolis seemed to shine particularly bright, and he took a second to let it all sink in.
He’d experienced so much in such a short period of time in the city, and he felt strangely grateful for everything that had happened.
Though they’d completed their mission, they’d only scratched the surface of what TrillTech were up to, and he had a feeling there was a lot more to be discovered.
For now, however, it was time to drink and relax. To celebrate a mission completed, and to revel in the fact that he’d just taken the first major step in learning about his past.