Chapter 2: A Deal to be Made

Chat Log from anonymous forum site in the AbyssNet SubLayer, VortexEYE regarding a botched deal between notorious gangs, Los Diablos and Muramasa Dynasty.

Rayray3: Hey, this shit true? Cops held up a deal between Los Diablos and Muramasa Dynasty? Was supposed to get a drop from a contact in Diablos but now they’ve gone silent.

Urmumsuxme: Heard it from my cousin in Muramasa that the blue-pigs got wind of it from a Vulture. Turns out the scrap cracked up the data from a Frame of one of Muramasa’s offed princes. Vult’ got twenty minutes out of his money before ‘Masa strung him up the poles by his guts.

Rayray3: Fucking hell. A prince? Who the hell would kill a prince?

Urmumsuxme: Apparently noone, rolled out as a suicide but rumors are saying it’s internal strife within the Dynasty.

Rayray3: And they left his body for a Vulture? Shit man, now I’m jealous of the Vult. Man had to be a Silver at least, plenty of good shit goes to those entitled bastards.

Urmumsuxme: Wouldn’t be surprised. But hey, my cousin is in there, so I gotta tread lightly.

Rayray3: I getchu. Anyone say what the deal was about? Had to be pretty big for LD of all gangs to go radio silent.

Urmumsuxme: My cuh’ said it had to be Military Shardware. The kind used to blow up buildings and combat the MAL, ‘parently Muramasa Dynasty were planning some big assault up on a Yuzhou factory. Looks like they were trying to pull a ‘R0N1N’.

Rayray3: Shit man, ‘Masa must be in deep shit with the pigs then.

Urmumsuxme: Heard it’s all good. Pigs salivate any time some Shardyne fills their wallets, and they went oinking away with blind eyes

.

Rayray3: And bulges in their pants?

Urmumsuxme: Bet they’re going to Toxin for that. ;] Heard the gangoons there freeze anytime a cop shows up. Some bigwig’s got their nuts in a vicegrip.

Rayray3: Wouldn’t mind having that myself ;]

Urmumsuxme: :|

Rayray3: ;]

12:55 AM

Ripley

My nap had long since been torn apart with the arrival of the one and only nephew of my boss, Shaun ‘The Bloodmuncher’, a thick-skulled chunk of bones and flesh atop a brain named Hoaqin. I barely heard a word coming out of his steroid fueled body, my eyes too busy tracking Selene’s brainwaves to register a thing he tongued on about.

“Helloo hermano? You listenin’ to a word I say?” Hoaqin stood up, easily measuring at a modest 6 foot 3 inches and with more muscle mass than two of me put together. It was already cramped in here with just me and Selene.

“Sorry-sorry, I’m just focusing on Selene right now, if that’s an issue you can stick a Shard up your waste disposal chute.” I slid a holographic screen to the side, her heart rate was settling after a dose of epinephrine, that was what woke me up originally. An alarm had gone off as her blood pressure dropped, a fault of the Personality Matrix mods accustomizing itself to her brain.

“Hear that Sel? Doc’s protective of his patients.” Hoaqin chided me. “You got bark amigo, but no steel to bite with.”

“I can shoot.” Spite bit out of my words, Hoaqin wasn’t a bad person. He just underestimated me, and berated me, and annoyed me… in the kind of way an older brother would. At least to what I understood.

“You can shoot? My ass you can shoot! No literally, man was tryna aim at a can once, it hit some poor scrap’s car and ricocheted into my ass!” Hoaqin nearly pulled his pants down to prove the point, he almost did it to everyone who he told the story to.

I kicked a chair into him before he could even reach for his belt. “You’ve traumatised enough of the workers here with your tiny dick.”

Hoaqin flashed red for a second, before flicking to Selene. “I’ll have you know little richard is perfectly respectable.”

“Is that the word for it now? Well then your smarts is muchos respectable too. I ever tell you about the time this guy mistook a suit for a scrapper? Just ‘cus he was out tryna get some ‘Embrance, I practically peeled ‘Quin from starting a fight.” I embellished the tale by ripping two pieces of velcro on my chair apart, the satisfying ‘zhrriiip’ music to my ears.

Hoaqin pulled his sleeves up, flexing arms that would send me to a surgery bed of my own. “Oooh little Ripper got fired up now? Let’s see you-“

“Hahahahaha! Oh you boys never fail to get in each other’s pants like ants.” Selene was having the time of her life with our usual antics, or maybe it was the drugs. Probably the drugs. “Sure you don’t want me to leave? They say that hate is one step away from love, don’t they?”

Hoaqin looked me in the eye, and in an instant we communicated. I gripped the water bottle from my side and lobbed it to him with more purpose than I had ever had in my life. He in turn grabbed his trusty knife, catching the bottle and slashing it open right over Selene.

The rain poured down on her like a cloud-seeded storm. She couldn’t lift a leg from the operating chair before fresh SynthWater splashed over her hair and clothes.

“You assholes!” She shook her arms, finally managing to get some fine motor control of them with the right motivation. “You guys suck! Like, eachother! Urgh, Ripper, you sure you don’t mind dousing your own surgical chair like this?”

I shrugged. “Scrubs out the blood.”

“There’s blood on this!” She jumped off the chair then and there, frankly, I was shocked she even managed it until she stumbled with the next three steps and had to grab a chair for support. I helped her turn it around to sit on it, checking her lenses to see if the spike in fear had any adverse effects.

“Hmmm, you’re looking fine.” I absent-mindedly spoke.

“What?” Selene stammered, a faint blush caressing her cheeks.

Hoaqin leaned in, miming eating popcorn.

I- fuck, I felt my heart quicken. Then my comms rang, an invading beeping noise within my head alerting me to a call from Lucille.

I ignored it.

Then Selene’s holopad started ringing much more audibly than my own internalized alert, she grumbled. “What’s the bitch got to say right now? This is technically my day off!”

Then Hoaqin’s Neuroframe gave that familiar buzz. Me and Selene stared at him, our combined glare daring him to pick up the call from Lucille ‘Painstake’ Redwood.

“Sorry guys, I’m really close to getting an Implant.” He then tapped the responder on his temple, his eyes lighting up a faint blue as Lucille spoke to him.

“Uh huh, uh huh. Ripley? Think he and Selene are asleep, surgery must’ve tired them out.” Hoaqin raised a fat thumbs up at us. “Connect them? But they’re asleep… oh, oh, oh. Okay.”

Incoming call from contact: Dumbass Hoaqin

Begrudgingly, I picked up. My lens flaring up with the face of Painstake herself, what those who worked in the clubs anyway called her since she was a pain in the ass. I feigned my best yawn before speaking through the Neuralink communication, the painful piercing sending my thoughts stuttering through the pathway. “H-hey L-L-Lucille. Wanted somn’?”

Dark skin and green eyes, a recreation of Lucille’s head appeared on my feed. Her voice was just as harsh as the real one. “Sounding real awake for som-someone who’s supposed to be asleep. Never mind that, got a real beaut, a head turner who can be the next Golden Fingers for our club. You can’t mistake her. Silver eyes, silver hair, n-name’s Diana. Now I’m gonna be busy the next hour or two upstairs so y—you treat her nice and bring her on board, someone like her will attract customers from the entire district. Show how her and Selene are similar and how S-Selene is having a great time working here at the club. D-Don’t mess this up, you’ll get paid for it. Brim’s bringing her down any moment.”

“Hold on a sec’ how much?”

“A month’s ren-“

“Three months. 3k Sheds.” I said in my head. My heart nearly jumping out of my chest—before she could cut the call.

“Two.” The call cut with a beep. And I was left wondering if I was going to have to mod another Neuroframe… why? Why did none of these people ever think before joining this club? On the other hand… that would mean only 1k more, then I could buy a genuine Implant. It felt tangible for once.

“Called her a head turner.” Hoaqin mouthed. “Now I gotta see her for myself, comparing her to Golden Fingers! Think she could nab someone’s Gold Implant herself?”

“Won’t know until we see her.” It was the only thing I could say. “Said we’ll get paid for bringing her on board, Selene.”

To say Selene looked troubled was an understatement. “How much?”

“2K Sheds.”

Hoaqin let out a sharp whistle. “Each of you two? Or total?”

Shit! “I- I never specified.”

Selene sighed at me, and it cut me to the bone. “Knowing Lucille, it’ll probably be total once you confront her.”

“Shit! She cut the call on me so quickly. What’s got Lucille’s nerves so wracked up? They having a meet upstairs?” I rested myself into my chair, furiously rubbing my finger over the blunt end of a scalpel.

Hoaqin’s glare lingered a second too long, I’d hit something. “They are, aren’t they? A fucking business deal, what’s new? Your uncle shipping Implants again? Bronze?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hoaquin casually stepped closer to the door.

“The betrayal!” I feigned pain at having my trust broken under his treacherous boot. “To keep such secrets from your bestest of friends, nay, your bestest of amigos. Look man, I just want to know if we’ve got the budget or not to lock in a new Op’ Chair. An Arachne is practically necessary for most modern implants this century, there’s only so much I can do with two arms!”

Finally, Hoaqin cracked, as he always did. “Swapping a container with Yuzhou mid-levels on behalf of some fixer, heard the pay’s pretty and that the risk is low.”

“Fixer couldn’t meet them?” That’s strange, or maybe not entirely so, I’d managed to get enough information about gang life from the various Snake Fang thugs I’d chromed but anything else I’d had to get from Hoaqin. As much of a bad influence he could be, the guy really was intent on keeping me away from the ins of their operations.

“Nah. Some like staying hidden, this one’s coming from a lady called ‘Missy’. Rep’s good enough with some other gangs, but as far as I’m hearing it’s the first time whoever this is has done biz with us. Don’t worry, deal’s solid as done. They’re prolly just exchanging drinks upstairs, the formalities… Lucille’s popular among Corpos, knows their dirty little secrets like no other.”

I contemplated the information, one piece was still needed. “Your uncle mentioned the pay?”

Hoaqin’s smile gave it away. I pierced him with my gaze, flipping my scalpel over to reveal it’s sharp end. He spoke in a quick whisper. “…Just five mil.”

F-five mil? Forget Bronze Implants, that’s a quality and an unused Silver Implant right there. “We shiping Silvers?!”

“I dunno, and neither does he. No instructions on how to open the package, just the box and the info to meet up with Yuzhou Enterprise, think they’re in the Shandian branch. Look man, just drop it. When the deal’s done, your clinic won’t be looking like a scrapyard.”

“If it stays this way, you’re paying with your Implant. Probably going to be a Bronze, you lucky bitch. SIM or BUG?”

Hoaqin’s answer was quick. “SIM, like my body too much to give it up to metal.”

“Still replacing it with Mutagen.” I remarked.

He shrugged, and what couldn’t be timed more perfectly was the gentle rapping on my door. That must be new girl- what’s her name? Dino? Delilah…?

No. Diana.

Selene seemed half-asleep by the gang talk, a gentle nudge woke her up and it took a few seconds to get her on her feet. Hoaqin was already smoothing out his hair as a second series of knocking prompted him to nudge the door open.

I had never truly seen someone so flabbergasted, I had never even used that word in my life until I saw Hoaqin’s face. Whatever smooth line he’d thought off was erased in seconds.

“You the Op’?” A vividly elegant voice echoed.

Still having Selene lean most of her body on me, I responded. “That’d be me. This is Selene here on my shoulder, she’s got a nasty case of Neuroframe implantation.”

For some reason, that was only met with silence. For a moment, I stumbled forward until Hoaqin held onto Selene to balance her. Then I finally let myself see what the hype was about.

Maybe I was more like Hoaqin than I liked to admit.

Now her clothes weren’t anything special, a black tank-top layered with a translucent gray jacket styled to look like a leather one. Form fitting black pants followed her legs all the way down to highrise heels that could stab into my brain if I said the wrong thing.

Everything else, I didn’t want to admit it but whoever worked on her gene-therapy was premium compared to Selene. Naturally silver hair, not a trace of blonde left in, and sparkling silver eyes. Nose, eyes, mouth… all adjusted to break beauty standards by simply being above them and her figure neatly curved within those clothes. No wonder Lucille was so adamant.

As I traced my eyes down her arms, I paused on her wrist, was that a-

Selene loudly cawed in my ear. “Hey, you all going to stop gawking? You’re making her uncomfortable. Sorry bout’ them, they’re no better than half the guys upstairs. And I’m talking bout’ the good half. But not gonna lie… you’re hoooot. Like suuuuper hottt. I’d want you to join just so I can stare at you. Do you need a roommate? Dialana… right?”

Diana adjusted herself, chuckling at the whole ordeal. “It’s Diana. She on the meds?”

“The meds.” I confirmed. “Sorry, my name’s Ripley and I’m the Shard Operator here, anything you want to know?”

She seemed puzzled for a moment, before leaning in deeper to the room. “Whoa, you actually operate on people here? Why don’t the girls get serviced in a proper clinic?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Now I couldn’t just up and say that unfortunately most of my guests were burly men looking to get some steel in their veins rather than a pretty woman, but I’d practiced the excuse enough. “Oh, I’m just renting space from the club. I officially work here and service the workers to pay for the space, but I also draw in my own customers. And by that, I mean I lure them through a whole store of goodies in order to get to mine, Lucille likes the err… symbiosis we have.”

“Lucille the boss here?” Diana leaned in, too close, like she was slicing through my flesh to see into my soul with those silver eyes of hers.

“On paper, no. But she practically runs the place, the owner just pays for protection and reaps the profits.” I then knew I had to sweeten the deal. “But he doesn’t take from the workers, he’s an honest man in that way. Makes money on drinks and fancy parties for corpos.”

Diana could only chuckle to that as she entered the room, her eyes quizzically scanning the entirety of it. “So all this… you manage it yourself? No others working for you, modding or calibrating-“

“All done by me.” I confirmed, proudly. I wouldn’t let another person tinker at my crafts even if they paid me for it.

Okay, maybe a little.

No, I would. Coughing, I had just realized I let a civilian look at a box of clearly marked combat Shardware belonging to a criminal organization, so with a hurried thought, I held her arm and yanked her lightly out of my clinic. “Let me and Selene show you upstairs.”

“What about me?” Hoaqin raised his voice without permission.

“Your job is to be ignored.” I was serious about that, if there was one thing Hoaqin was capable of, it was warding off potential customers — or in this case, employees.

I didn’t still know I was holding Diana’s arm, not until I felt a pinprick of a spark into my metal fingers. And I- no, I wasn’t imagining it. I stood still a second, detaching my arm from hers as I surveyed the corridor.

“A man should have escorted you, Brim. Where is he?” I hoped my naturally jaded eyes would be sharp enough to instill a measure of fear, and she did seem taken aback by my sudden shift in tone.

“Told me he needed to take a bathroom break, you can go check for yourself. He’s in there.” Diana pointed at the bathroom, the very same place the club’s patrons have committed the most horrid of sins known to mankind.

I chuckled, sweat dabbing my temples. “No, I believe you…”

She smiled, one which I could only believe had to be from relief.

“But what I don’t believe…” — I saw that smile drop like an anvil, her left hand rushing down her right arm nearer to the bracelet on it — “Is that you should work here.”

I could practically see Hoaquin’s head exploding behind me.

“I don’t know what sweet words you heard from Lucille, but this place requires you to sacrifice yourself. That’s… all I’m going to say…”

But of course, she already knew that, she’d probably wanted to punch me from the beginning for one reason and one reason only. She spoke, holding back whatever emotions were running through her. “You’re the one installing Personality Matrices, I’d heard they were popular here, letting someone’s emotive state alter without memory of it.”

I felt almost ashamed, stripped-naked level of shame, as I nodded. “Look, have the opinions of me that you want… I’m not doing it because I want to, it’s… it’s complicated. Some people sell their souls to the Corps, I sold it to this place. But one day I’ll get out, and if you decide to stay in this club to that day, I can’t guarantee the next guy who comes in will ignore the backdoors I’ve installed on the Matrices.”

Diana clenched for a second. Backdoors?

Before she could ask, I answered what she wanted to know. “They can be removed, hell, that’s why it takes me so long to prepare them. A two-way neural highway without repercussions upon removal? Unheard of in this type of industry.”

I could see her expression shift from confused to angry to rage, then it softened. Frustration, something I was oh so familiar with. “I- I think I understand, thank you for your honesty, Ripley. I’ll be taking my leave now.”

On the first step she took, I pulled my wavering heart together and reached for her hand. “Just a second!”

Diana’s face was blank, I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “What?”

“Your bracelet.” I said, but her expression stood neutral like a wall of tungsten. “It- it’s beautiful, where’d you get it from?”

Then this took real courage, I moved my body closer while still firmly holding her hand so I could whisper into her ear. Remarkably, she didn’t slap me immediately and let me do so. “It’s just the type Selene likes. Her birthday is coming up.”

Diana pulled away, concealing her ‘bracelet’ behind her back. “O-oh, I don’t remember right now.”

“Don’t worry.” I replied in a hushed whisper, all but sure of my suspicions. “Just give me your com-sigil, Lucille won’t stop bugging me until I get confirmation out of you so drop me a quick message saying why you won’t join. Don’t uh- don’t say it’s because of me. Please, just come up with some bogus excuse.”

“Will do!” Diana’s Neuroframe buzzed as she passed her civilian sigil to me before quickly backstepping towards the staircase, two finger taps already confirmed on her bracelet. “Nice meeting you all!”

“See ya, or maybe not! I’m happy either way.” I waved her off with a smirk, already walking back to my station. From the side of my vision, I glanced as she entered the staircase and it wasn’t until a few steps echoed through the empty hallway that Hoaqin exploded onto me.

“What the fuck is wrong with you! Did you see her! And sneaking her number for yourself you dirty dog!-“

“Call off the meeting.” My heart slammed my breath into ragged wheezes. “She’s a narc.”

“A narc? A cop?” Selene’s eyes widened at the revelation. “H-how can you be sure?”

I sat down on the floor, my legs probably in a worse state that Selene’s right now to walk. My eyes slowly trailed the hallway, staring into the washroom. “Brim’s hung around here long enough to know what sort of shit happens in that washroom. Drugs, a quick fuck, worse. And when you think of Brim, Hoaqin, what do you think of?”

“Reserved neatfreak. That’s why he uses a sniper.” Now his eyes went wide as the probability dawned on him. “Fuck! Let me check!”

With a quick slam from Hoaqin’s shoulders, the door flew open and wouldn’t you know it… Brim was slumped over right next to the toilet. “Shit! He’s got a fried Neuroframe!”

I held my head tight, on one hand, a fried Neuroframe was quick Sheds. On the other hand, this club was compromised. If she had somehow heard of the deal while we were busy gossiping… the gossip I had encouraged, then this place would be raided within the hour.

Even if the deal went by without a problem, Diana had direct evidence of my workshop and the Shardware I was fitting. Illegal Shard Op’s could survive police intervention, but that meant chaining yourself to their demands. I laughed, maybe that was the better option? Who was I kidding, my shit was good, but I wasn’t anyone or anything special.

Silently I rang up Lucille, she had probably taken her private entrance to the office… which meant, crap, I would be interrupting whatever deal they’re having. She cut the call, so I rang up again, leaving a simple message. ‘Diana’s a narc. Might have heard about the deal.’

Her voice sprang up in mind within a second through the Neurolink Comms, sputtering with panic. “W-What do you mean? S-s-she’s undercover? My Analyze didn’t pick up any Police-Manufactured-d Shardware on her! And wait- how do you know about the deal?-? Oh, oh…! H-Hoaqin!” Those last words growled in my head, I whispered an apology to him, it looked like his Implant would be delayed.

“She had a concealed gun — a Braceshocker, read about them on the AbyssNet as one of SynTec’s latest fads. They’re engineered to look like bracelets, half-accessory and half-weapon; the police might have updated their arsenal through their new deal with-“

“Stop your rambling and get on with it!” Her voice pierced my skull like a sniper’s bullet.

“S-She used it to shoot Brim and hide him in the washroom! Tell Shaun to cancel the deal! Hide the goods, anything!”

“I ain’t taking the fall. You come up here and tell him yourself, say the girl went to you claiming that she was here about a job but I never sent her. You just fell for her charms, and got slicked. Tell Hoaqin to be silent if you know what’s good for you.”

“F-fuck no!”

“A Bronze Shard.” Her voice was desperate.

I clenched my teeth, how much longer was I going to let myself be rag-dolled around!? My voice shot through my Neuroframe like a thrown knife. “Two. That or no deal. Transfer them now-w.”

Silence struck for a moment, and I wondered if I blew my chance off from 5k Sheds. Then my vision blew up with a glorifying message.

Incoming Transfer from Contact: Lucille (the bitch). 10,000 Shardyne deposited into your account.

“Done.” Lucille’s tone sliced through me, animosity so thick I wasn’t sure if I would have this job anymore. The call ended and I wobbled my way to the elevator, every cell of my body so drenched in fear that I thought the motion of the elevator would make me puke.

“Hoaqin, Selene. Get out of the club, now. Tell someone to get a hold of Diana… I dunno, just do something.” I pleaded to them, Selene still seemed too drugged to have a proper sense of what was happening, but I imagine the fear in my face must have driven a knife of understanding through her.

Hoaqin just stared, fear keeping his eyes pried open. “Y-you sure? I can-“

“Go.” I said, my voice festering on the edge of a scream. “Keep her safe! And… don’t tell your uncle about Lucille sending Diana, not yet!”

One last shared look between me and the two of them, before Hoaqin grabbed Selene and dragged her away to the staircase. My heart ached as I heard panic and confusion burning through her screams about what was going on, but now wasn’t the time.

Alone, I felt my blood rushing so quickly that I was deaf to all other senses. My vision was black, my touch numb and all I tasted was bile. Forgetting it all, I pressed the button for the office.

———

1:12 AM

June 2nd 2497

Diana

I practically pushed the crowd aside as I made my way to one of the bathroom stalls, hoping that if my cover had been blown at least this would give me enough time to make a call. I fired up my police-sigil, instantly connecting to the private coms line.

“This is First-Rank Officer Jones. I have confirmation of a deal between Snake Fangs and Yuzhou Mid-Levels worth 5 million Shardyne, expected to be an illegal trade involving Implants. Steps on how to proceed? I have reason to believe I may have been caught. A Shard Operator under their roof seemed to have made sense of my BraceShocker.”

“Stay put.” The voice was gruff, familiar, it was the Lieutenant in charge of my precinct. Jacob Grazhe — for him to visit personally meant this was something big. “We have several STRIKE squads on standby.”

“Standby?” Why would they already be prepared to raid this place without my confirmation?

“Not your concern. But, good job Jones, expect an Implant soon.” Lieutenant Grazhe relayed in almost dismissive fashion.

My heart was caught up in the confusion of the Lieutenant’s plan and his promises. An Implant.

And I didn’t even need my father for it.

“When I come, lead me to the office. I want to see if you have what it takes during a shakedown.” The office? Okay, I recounted the previous scene, my lenses beaming blue as a screen came into view. I saw the view I had when I first entered the club, immediately in view of the main dancing floor and higher up than the balconies was an odd box-like room sticking out of the wall.

Balconies spread out from its rectangular shape and I saw a small door hidden in the corner of one of the balconies. I scrolled forward in time to when I was on the upper floor, and tracking down each door I passed there were several labeled as staff only and a few required codes to access, but I managed to see something I hadn’t managed to before when I sat down at the bar.

From the corner of my eye, a familiar face exited the door right underneath the office. Lucille Redwood stepped out, locking the door and then a few minutes later I was approached by the old man.

It wasn’t the most solid of proofs, but it was a quick access to the main club from the office. Whereas the elevator was more suited for covert entry when you wanted to hide your arrival at the club, it was entirely probable that there must be a way to go directly to the elevator from somewhere around the building.

“I found a door. Think it’ll let us get there quick enough. How long until you breach?” My comms went unanswered for a second, then I heard shouting from the outside. I readied myself, tapping my concealed firearm three times to activate it, quickly rearranging into a small pistol with a capacity for five more shots.

I’d have to get a proper weapon from my ‘partners’.

With my nerves steeled, I exited the bathroom into a swarm of chaos. The STRIKE team had engulfed the building with their presence and I saw hordes of the club’s drunk patrons enraged and fearful alike. There were too many of us, I counted around fourteen armored police shouting orders and settling ‘peace’ on the dance floor, and many others scattered around the balconies warning the Snake Fang members into submission.

A smacking sound followed by a thud pulled my focus to the side, as a man fell on his head amidst the panic of running bodies and heavy duty STRIKE Investigators crushing order into them. The officer responsible for pushing the man, a Second Investigator Tomas according to my IDscan, cleaned blood off the butt of his gun with the fallen man’s shirt. His voice, even muffled through the thick mask he wore, was demanding as he moved to the other groups of scrambling patrons. “Any of you want to end up like him?! Then be my guest! You’ll see what happens when you interfere with police business.”

Blood continued to dribble out of the man’s head, he needed serious attention. I’d made a promise, so I did the first thing I could without even thinking. Reaching into my purse I grabbed a Standard Issue MedSpray, and shuffled over to the downed man with a medical spray hastily pulled from jacket.

I leaned down and sprayed the ice-white mist on the back of the man’s head. Within seconds the bleeding stopped, and hopefully the nanomachines would be able to detect and mend any lingering wound in his skull.

I felt my body roll across the ground into a wall, pain flaring up from my ribs and stomach to leave me choking for air while my head smacked the wall hard enough my thoughts blanked out for a second. What the fuck? Did he kick me?!

Investigator Tomas moved in front of me, his layers of armor and tall physique making him an indomitable wall between me and the man. “What did I just say civilian?! No one leaves or touches a thing here, don’t know what kind of evidence you’re trying to hide! What did you just give him!”

I held my voice from barking at him through the pain, silently raising my arm and exposing an implanted chip that flashed my holo-badge. “First-Officer Diana Jones, reporting. The one who confirmed our intel on this place. I administered him a Standard medical spray.”

Tomas wavered for a moment, surprise visible in the blazing eyes behind his visor as he tried to justify his actions. “Well, I didn’t give you orders to-”

“I’m here on the Lieutenant’s orders. I’m supposed to escort him to the office.” I weakly wheezed, my lungs stretching in pain with every gasp of air. Second Investigator… he was an Adapter. I didn’t need that kick to tell me. I could barely stand up, let alone keep focus during a criminal raid.

“I- shit. I’ve got an AdStim, Iron Grade.” He said but the words didn’t register, it was like warm darkness blanketed over my thoughts. I couldn’t speak as pain and weakness suffocated my consciousness. “No, don’t you fucking-“

A sharp sting like electricity brought me back, a pulse that replaced the lack of thought with a screaming whistle that forced my eyes open. I saw that Tomas had stuck a needle into my arm, and instantly I could tell it was something far above my grade.

Iron Grade Adrenal-Stims. A stimulant of this caliber would keep a man awake even with his throat torn out; more than that, it would boost my aggression, like pouring high-octane fuel on a bonfire.

“I didn’t give you permission to faint on me, either.” His voice rebounded in my head like an echo masked in rage when in reality I had no idea what tone was behind it. The words doubled then tripled until I just heard them again and again, but I wretched my thoughts through it. My nails dug the floor, begging to claw his face off for the kick. Whether I was civilian or cop to his eyes, I wanted revenge.

“Get off me.” I didn’t know how it sounded, but I knew it came out either as a whimper or a growl. My body was being puppeteered by pure instinct that I had to reel myself in with every fiber of my mind.

He retreated away as I stood up and realized that the crawling voices in my head were the only sounds to hear. Everyone was silent, what better way to show that the police mean shit and won’t take a hint of retaliation than beating one of their own undercover agents. Shit. I kept my eyes down as I shuffled in line, hoping this day would be over already.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder and I nearly threw a hell of a haymaker at whoever did that. It was only when I saw that unmistakable scar and well kempt gray hair mid-pivot that I froze, adrenaline spiked during flight or fight. And this wasn’t a moment to fight.

“Lieutenant Grazhe.” My voice shivered in putrid anger, shit, I wasn’t angry at him. This was Tomas’ fault. Storms of fury and sputterings of calmness throbbed in my head, I begged them to decide on one or the other.

Strangely, the huge gray-haired man showed no response. He walked past me, dismissive except for a rough grip on my shoulder. His voice, a whisper, spun around my skull as though I was hearing it through my Neuroframe’s connection to my brain. “Focus.”

Instantly, my vision narrowed like a hawk’s under his infamous Mutation, all of my thoughts slimming down to slip past the whirling rage and capture it in nets of focus. Slowly, but sharply, I spoke. “First-Officer Diana Jones, reporting for duty.”

Without even looking at me, he beckoned me forward with a wave of his hand. “Take me to the Office.”

I followed, stepping ahead of him as I guided him up the stairs, the higher floors littered with various gang members scattered with raised weapons and primed Shardware. Various combat mutations also flourished in claws, porcupine needles, and the titular snake fangs. Then as soon as they saw the patched badge on the lieutenant’s arm, their alloy and flesh dropped.

I shuffled nervously past the leering, looking for the door I’d marked earlier. Their stares cut through me, some of them recognizing me. Even as I fumbled for the door handle, I couldn’t take my eyes off them, even if my thoughts had aligned with my heightened nervous system, it was difficult to contain the fight-or-flight response.

My hand itched to grip the steel of my pistol.

“They’re not going to do shit. Probably pissing their pants seeing me, I could have this place shut down in a day.” Finally, he addressed me. Surprisingly, he seemed rather informal for an old man with a long standing career. “You did well… I don’t know many officers who’d gotten to the First Rank in the span of two years.”

I nodded at the compliment. Or was there something else behind it? Regardless I was interested in a detail he mentioned. “You’re not going to shut this place down? They’re even running an illegal Shard Operating Center in the basement, rewiring the workers’ Neuroframes.”

“Personality Matrices. A miracle of SynTec.” He pushed past me, barging up the stairs without caring for a hint of subtlety. “And no. I’m not shutting this place down, as long as they behave today and give me what I want, this place will stay standing. But I’ll arrest that Shard Op’, they’ll scatter to more illegal Operators and we can track them down. Maybe one will be worth purchasing from.”

Purchasing? I’d seen my fair share of corrupt cops, and it wasn’t a surprise to realize the Lieutenant had that side as well. It was a disappointment, however. I stayed silent, eying the lieutenant as we marched up flight after flight, this office was overlooking the club from its highest point.

Finally, we reached a door, and it slid open before the Lieutenant even touched it. They had been waiting for us. A man and woman in business suits, Lucille, and a bald man with his face covered in as many scars as he did tattoos all lounged on a couch. Their faces relaxed, and the tattooed man — a Shaun ‘Bloodmuncher’ Grenson — sipped from a bottle directly as the Lieutenant strolled in like it was a meetup at a bar with coworkers.

There was only one person that seemed to be shitting his pants.

Ripley.