“That girl,” I muttered to myself after receiving the latest reports from my drones.

“[Her injuries are not life-threatening. She will recover quickly.]”

“Yeah, but she could have gotten herself killed!” I exclaimed mentally, pacing around the small room.

“[Reinforcements have been dispatched to sorts her safely back.]”

The three gangsters glanced nervously in my direction, sensing my frustration. They had come to a few hours ago, and their first reaction was to try to escape their bonds. The Enforcers quickly put a stop to their plans, and forcefully held them down while the M.A.D. provided medical care.

“Why are they so scared of me? I literally treated the injuries that they got from trying to rob a kid! For free!”

“[You have them restrained in a dark and unknown basement.]”

“Oh. Yeah. Good point.”

Sighing, I walked over to them and crouched down, ignoring their fearful gazes. “Look,” I explained, “I’m not going to kill you, ‘kay? But I can’t let you go and have you bringing your buddies back to find me. Once I’m done in the city, I’ll let you go, got it?”

“Y-y-you swear?” the one that had used the brass knuckles asked apprehensively.

“I swear. So for now, just hang tight.”

All of a sudden, the kid jumped up from his bed of hay in the corner. Scrambling around, he snatched a concealed knife from underneath his pillow and brandished it wildly.

“Weapon detected. Neutralizing threat,” the Enforcers uttered emotionlessly.

“Nonono, wait!” I blurted out. The Enforcers paused mid-movement before relaxing and returning to their previous positions.

“Hey there,” I said reassuringly, holding my hands out to show I was unarmed. “How are you feeling?”

The boy’s eyes looked around the basement frantically before landing on me. His throat bobbed as he swallowed some saliva. “Water,” he croaked, and I only just noticed that his lips were dry and cracked from thirst.

“Yeah, sure, gimme a second.”

Looking around, I spotted a full water bladder sitting on a shelf. Reaching up, I grabbed it and gently tossed it to the boy before backing off. He desperately untied the top and took several gulps.

“Gah!” he gasped after finishing most of the water. Wiping his mouth clean with his arm, the boy finally took stock of his situation.

“Who are you?” he demanded rudely.

“Woah,” I frowned. “Maybe learn some manners?”

The boy snorted derisively. “I’m not an idiot, y’know. My momma used to say that ain’t nobody helping anyone else unless they want somethin’.”

“You’re mom’s not wrong,” I sighed, sitting down. “But what could I want from a scrawny little brat like you?”

“Trust me, there’s a lotta weirdos that might want a piece of me,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Well, I’m not that kind of person, so relax.”

“Why’d you help me then?”

“Honestly? Because I know what it's like to be in your situation. I know what it’s like to never feel full, to fix your clothes with whatever you got because it's all you have, and having to trudge through every day because, well, what other choice do you have? Sound familiar?”

“S’pose so,” he muttered. “I appreciate the generosity, but you’ve just brought more trouble for me.”

“What?” I asked confusedly.

“Those big lumbering idiots,” he said, jerking his chin at the three gangsters, “are part of the Carvers.”

“The Carvers?”

“Not from around here, huh? They’re the resident gang of the city. They got their name because they Carve their symbol onto people as an initiation rite for new members and as a punishment for their enemies.”

Looking closer, I noticed that all three of them had scars in the shape of a skull and two carving knives on their forearms.

“And you brought them into my safehouse,” the kid fumed.

“...oh…” I cringed.

“Yeah, so well done, jackass,” he mocked.

“I fucked up…what should I do?”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“[An apology would be a good start.]”

“Look, I’m really sorry…” my voice trailed off as I realized I still didn’t know the boy’s name.

“Onyx.”

“I’m really sorry Onyx, I didn’t mean to.”

“Doesn’t matter if you meant to or not. Fact is, you did. Now I gotta find a new place to stay.”

I was about to reply when Eve interrupted my train of thought. “[Hayek has been located.]”

“What? That fast? I thought you said it’ll take a couple of days?”

“[That estimate took into account the assumption that Hayek would remain hidden indoors. He is currently moving through the Merchant Ring on the west side.]”

“Good job. Don’t let him out of your sight. Order all available units to converge on his location.”

Turning around, I spoke to Onyx. “I have business to take care of. You, you, you, and you,” I ordered, pointing at three enforcers and the M.A.D., “Stay here and watch over him.”

“Sir,” the M.A.D. raised her hand, “the provisions here will not be enough to support 4 people for more than a day.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll send someone over to resupply you guys.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Hey! What’s going on? Where are you going?!?”

Ignoring his question, I shouted, “Cya!” and ran out of the basement. In the back of my mind, I could sense the other Enforcers running behind me, as well as the Lyco Arachnid Robots stealthily climbing on the surrounding walls and rooftops.

Quickly making my way to the entrance to the merchant ring, I was forced to stop at the gates. Knowing time was of the essence, I used Venari’s medallion to get myself and my robots into the Merchant Ring. Luckily, the Arachnid Robots were able to clamber onto the Enforcers and hide underneath their cloaks. As soon as we were through, we split up, the robots taking the long route around in order to completely surround our target. After sprinting for a solid while, I finally made it to a busy plaza filled with stores and shoppers.

“Where is he?”

“[To the left, approximately 300 meters. He is wearing dark brown pants and a vest, along with a leather cap.]”

Looking around, I spotted Hayek leaning against a brick wall between two stores. He appeared to be anxious, constantly tapping his foot against the ground and looking around like a scared deer.

“How far away are my reinforcements?”

“[Calculating…estimated ETA: 4 minutes, 53 seconds.]”

“[While we’re waiting, take the drones and keep track of the guard patrols. I don’t want any unexpected interruptions. Oh, make sure to leave two drones available, I need them for something.]”

“[Understood.]”

Once all my units were in position, I casually strolled over to Hayek. Simultaneously, I had the two spare drones fly over the plaza emitting a high pitched beeping sound. The people in the plaza looked up in confusion, pointing and shouting.

“Hey there,” I waved nonchalantly once Hayek had noticed me.

“What do you want?” he sneered. Suddenly, his eyes widened in recognition. “You!”

“Me,” I nodded and smiled.

To his credit, Hayek reacted quickly. He threw his vest at me as a momentary distraction while he took off in the opposite direction. I had a sense of deja vu when the Arachnid Robots descended from the rooftops and pounced on my fleeing quarry.

“Get o-hmpf!” Hayek tried shouting in a panic, only managing to get out a couple of words before his mouth was covered. As he tried to escape their grasp, the Arachnid robots used the sharp ends of their legs to puncture his skin. His cries for help quickly ceased as the paralytic agent that had been injected into him took effect. Just as I had predicted, the loud drones in the sky managed to distract the shoppers for long enough for me to execute my plan.

“Get him out of here.” I ordered. Tossing a large blanket over him, the Enforcers quickly carried him off, with no one the wiser. With one last look at the mesmerized crowd, I drew the hood of my cloak over my head and disappeared into the alleyway.

My robots and I made a hasty retreat, making sure to keep to the smaller streets and alleyways. We took a roundabout route to throw off any possible pursuers. Once I was sure nobody was following us, I made my way to the nearest entrance to the Noble Ring. I had briefly considered finding a deserted area of the wall to climb over, but looking through the drones, I saw that the walls around the Noble Ring were too heavily guarded.

“One of these days, I should find a way to make my own secret entrance to each of the districts. It’d be so much easier and faster than going to the gates all the time.”

“[An underground tunnel is a viable option]”

“Ooh! That’s not a bad idea!”

“Next…” the gate guard’s bored voice interrupted my train of thought. I approached the guard, my Enforcers close behind.

“Business?” he asked, taking a quick look at the bundle of fabric the cloaked robots were carrying.

“I’m bringing some furniture that Lady Stratis requested,” I shrugged.

“Uh-huh,” he grunted, marking something down on the clipboard in his hands. “Tori! Has the Stratis household told us to expect anything soon?”

The guard behind the gate started ruffling through a pile of papers. “Let me look!”

“Ughhhhh…” came a muffled groan from inside the thick fabric.

The guard’s head snapped towards the sound. “What was that?”

“[It appears the dosage of the paralytic agent was too low to paralyze his vocal cords.]”

“YOU THINK?!?!”

“Uuhhhh…maybe it was the wind?” I smiled nervously.

The guard placed his hand on the pommel of his sword. “I’m going to give you one chance to show me what’s in there.”

Seeing no other choice, I slowly pulled Venari’s medallion. “Like I said, my cargo was specifically requested by Lady Stratis…”

“They’re all clear, Hadro!” the guard behind the gate announced. “The guy matches the description, and even the creepy cloaked guys behind him are to be let in!”

Hadro’s eyes latched onto the medallion, a flash of recognition going through his eyes. He lowered his hand from his sword and relaxed slightly. “Very well, sir. Everything checks out. You may proceed.”

I was stunned for a moment before nodding gratefully and ordering my robots through the gate.

“Eve?”

“[Yes?]”

“Forget about the tunnel idea. I just need to forge a perfect copy of this medallion.”

“[Noted.]”