PAPER TRAIL

----------------------------------------

Will was out of the general ward before anyone could stop him. After that, it was a mad dash out of the hospital, and he quickly blended into the milling crowd outside, dialing Remy again.

Will's head was on a swivel as he scanned the crowd. The possibility of being followed occurred to him, but the chaos of the riots would provide some cover. He made good use of the crowd as he moved away from the municipal hall.

"Hello," Remy finally answered the call. "What's going on? We—"

"No time to explain. I have important news," said Will. "Where are you?"

Will listened intently as Remy relayed his location. Spooked by Will's sudden disconnected call, Remy had already left the hospital, assuming it was a warning that the cops were after him, and had made it to one of the quieter districts away from the municipal hall.

Will breathed a sigh of relief as he quickly headed toward the district. His head was spinning—maybe it was the drugs in his system or adrenaline withdrawal, but he felt a sudden wave of fatigue. He had been in fight-or-flight mode all this time, and now his body was shutting down. Will struggled to keep his eyes open.

By the time he reached the outer districts, he was ready to keel over and found himself leaning on Remy. The brunet had spotted him about to pass out and dragged him away from the open street.

"Come on, bud, let's get you out of here."

Barely conscious, Will vaguely felt Remy's arm around his shoulder, leading him through the back alleys, away from prying eyes. The city sounds faded into a distant hum, and finally, Will surrendered to the encroaching darkness, the world around him dissolving into black.

▼.▼.▼

Will woke up bleary-eyed, his head still foggy from the drugs in his system. His vision swam as he heard a nearby television playing the news.

“…Reports of violence in the Tower as protesters crowd the lower floors. On the scene, we have…”

Will blinked, and his vision cleared enough to see the dirty couch he was lying on. The small, dark room was a cluttered mess, with monitors as the only source of light.

Remy and Becca crouched in front of the computer, watching news reports of riots breaking out in different parts of the Tower.

Burning taxi shuttles littered the streets, and the camera zoomed in on people lying prone along the boulevard, unmoving. The grim-faced news anchor finished the report with a somber death toll.

"Oh my God…" Becca's voice trembled, her hand covering her mouth as she stared at the carnage on the screen. Remy rubbed his face wearily, his eyes locked on the feed.

Will tried to get up and nearly knocked over a half-filled can of soda. Overhead, a nest of dangling wires crisscrossed the room, connecting various cobbled-together devices. The whole ensemble was held together with duct tape and a prayer, and Will finally recognized Remy’s apartment.

Will pushed himself up from the couch with a groan, alerting Remy, who immediately came to his aid. Will accepted the help gratefully and spoke in a rasp, "How long was I asleep?"

"Three hours," said Remy. "You had us worried. What the hell happened at the hospital?"

Memories of the event came in flashes—the police interrogation, the trap with the recording, and the weight of Von-Bron’s slate in his hand.

A curse escaped his lips as he recalled the files he had scrambled to save before rushing out of the hospital.

"I got my hands on something big." Will pulled out his phone from his pocket and quickly transferred the data onto the computer.

Dossier after dossier popped up on the multiple screens, and Remy got to work organizing the relevant files. Most of the personal files were filled with photos of grim-faced military men they were already familiar with.

"Aren't these the officers who were part of that accident?" muttered Becca. "The one that got Dr. Leibowitz fired."

"Yes, and they all died in the same fashion," Will jumped in. "Not just these dozens we found back at camp. There are a lot more people involved—from janitors to assistants. A lot of people related to the project are now either dead or missing."

Remy opened the post-mortem reports and checked the manner of death. The kills were quick and efficient, with one bloody exception that resulted in a shootout. In the end, the soldier’s house was burnt down, and the fight ended in close-quarters combat where he was ripped limb from limb.

Becca gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “What… what could’ve done that?”

“There’s steel… and carbon fiber splinters in the wound. So probably not a mech… trace amounts of burnt hydrazine?” Remy squinted at the report. “Best guess, this was done by a cyborg.”

“Revenant?” Becca whispered.

“Maybe," Will said hoarsely. “But, that’s not everything. Some of the soldiers show unusual activity related to their finances. They made some big purchases, out of nowhere."

“Bribes?”

Will shrugged, and Remy stirred beside him. “They’re cleaning house. After that botched mission… they’re tying up loose ends.”

Will rubbed his twitching knee. “It’s not just the soldiers. They’re going after everyone.”

Becca narrowed her eyes at Will. “You said you found something big. There’s more, isn’t there?”

Will hesitated, then had Remy open a folder labeled ‘Court Orders.’ He had to scroll down a bit to find the relevant file.

“Tower Intelligence tracked down a Revenant operative. Marcus Crowley. His arrest is scheduled for four days from now.”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Who is he?” Becca asked, frowning.

“No idea, but his name pops up in a lot of files. From what I can guess, he was heavily involved in the airship bombings.”

“So if we can get to Crowley, we could get to Bishop,” Remy speculated.

“That’s a big ‘if,’” Becca said, shaking her head. “We need to know more.”

“There were no files on Crowley in the data dump. I do, however, have a full system image.” Will turned to Remy. “Can you dig up something in the metadata? Anything hidden?”

Remy nodded, already typing furiously. “It’ll take some time, but I’ll find what I can.”

“Better work fast,” Becca said, her finger tapping the court order on the screen. “We’ve only got four days.”

Remy muttered something unintelligible, his focus on the screen. Becca took that as a cue to leave and got up from her seat.

"I’ve got to go," she said, dusting herself off. "You two going to be okay?"

Will nodded. Becca let out a tired sigh and made her way out of the apartment, avoiding the dangling wires.

"I should head out too. Mom and Ellie will be worried." Will made to stand up, but his shaky legs refused to cooperate.

Remy snapped away from his terminal and pushed him back down. "You’re not going anywhere in that condition. Rest up. I’ll call your house and let them know you’re here."

Will sighed and reluctantly sank back onto the couch. He lay there unmoving for a while, his eyelids growing heavy. As he drifted off, he grabbed his slate and opened another file—one he hadn’t shown the others. It was another court order, this time a search warrant for the underground rail network beneath the Hallucia temple.

For a brief instant, the temple tunnels flashed before his eyes, and he remembered the bikes they had left behind in the subway. Their one loose end...

Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, Will drifted off to sleep, slate still in hand.

▼.▼.▼

Will stirred, blinking awake. It took him a moment to realize where he was, and the couch creaked under him as he took stock of the empty apartment. Remy and Becca were nowhere to be seen.

Will wrung out his sore muscles as he stretched into a sitting position and checked the time. He’d been out for nearly twelve hours, which explained his stiff back. After a quick scroll through his notifications, he found a message from Remy.

Done parsing the data. Checking out a lead. Find me at Orbital when you’re awake.

Will sat up, surprised. A lead already? Remy was quick on the update. He stuffed the slate back into his pocket and headed for the door.

It was a brisk walk out of the neighborhood, and Will arrived at the station.

The morning commute had always been a claustrophobic experience, but there seemed to be fewer people out and about. The trains were also on time, and Will took the normal route up the tower.

Minutes ticked by as he nervously waited for his stop, and as soon as his station arrived, Will followed the crowd onto the platform.

“Welcome to Floor fifty,” an announcement came from the overhead speakers.

Will split away from the crowd and took a lift to the Orbital. A group of tourists shared the lift, but they lacked the usual good cheer. Together, they alighted at the top floor, and Will took out his slate. Remy answered the call, and after a quick back and forth, he got the address.

Will took a quick shortcut through the themed sections and slipped past a few anxious shoppers. Police were everywhere, gathered in groups or walking patrols, their sharp gazes sweeping over the tourists. Will kept his head down and headed for the outer ring.

Old Henry started to chime in the distance as he reached the edge of the Orbital. Observation decks lined the parapet, and the sparse crowd, few that they were, gathered to gaze at the sprawling cityscape.

Will scanned the crowd and finally spotted Remy and Becca, standing a short distance away, locked in what was clearly a quiet but intense argument. Becca’s face was flushed with frustration, while Remy was staring out into the city proper with a satisfied look on his face, unfazed by whatever was bothering her.

Will approached quietly, catching the tail end of their conversation.

“—I can already tell this is a bad idea,” Becca hissed.

Will stepped between them, looking from one to the other. “What’s going on?”

“Ask him,” Becca snapped, gesturing at Remy.

Will raised an eyebrow and turned to Remy. “Any leads on Crowley?”

“Not Crowley…” Remy smiled. “Von-Bron.”

“Von-Bron?” Will echoed, surprised.

“We’ve been watching his apartment for the past half hour,” Becca said, crossing her arms. “And this doofus refuses to tell me why.”

Remy gestured toward the card-operated binoculars. “Have a look.”

The viewfinder stood at about chest height, connected to a sturdy steel base. A credit slot was embedded on the side, and from the small mechanical ticks emanating from the machine, the timer was running.

Will bent low over the device and peered into the eyepiece. Through the lens, the city skyline stretched out in front of him, dominated by towering buildings.

“You see the Renada Tower?” asked Remy.

“Yeah.”

“To its left—the corner—you can see a pillar building.”

Will tried to swivel the binoculars but found it was fixed in place.

“Don’t bother moving it,” Remy advised. “What you’re looking at is Von-Bron’s current place of residence—The Cardinal.”

Will strained his eyes and examined the building from the corner of his eye. Like Remy had said, it was a pillar building. Tower Atlas had massive pillars running through its axis to support each floor. There were major pillars like the ones the Tower stations were built around, and then there were minor ones that supported smaller buildings.

The Cardinal wasn’t as cramped in as the other high-rises, as the multi-level highways kept clear of the pillars. The skinny apartment complex extended all the way to the top of the floor and connected with the roof.

“Notice anything interesting?” asked Remy.

“Looks pretty normal,” Will muttered as he scanned the many balconies lining the building. His eyes wandered to its base, where he found perimeter barriers and the heavily controlled access points. There were also a considerable number of security guards. “Now, that’s not normal.”

“A lot of the residents are members of the police force,” explained Remy.

“This is a cop compound?” Will asked in a whisper.

“Not exactly,” said Remy. “This is just the spillover. The police housing complex couldn’t fit all of them, so some of the junior members live here.”

Will pulled away from the viewfinder. “Why are we looking at Von-Bron? Wait, hold on—how did you even figure out his address?”

“Location data,” said Remy. “Cross-referenced it with one of his drone delivery service apps, and here we are. He stays on the 107th floor, apartment 5B.”

“That would make it at the very top of the complex.” Will frowned. “Alright, we have a cop and his house. What else?”

“This.” Remy brought out his slate and showed him the list of dead soldiers. “We were so focused on the military that we glossed over some very interesting people.”

Remy handed Will the slate, and he scrolled through the mugshots of some hard-edged men. Radiation burns covered their skin, and some had their fingers chopped off from frostbite.

Becca peered over Will’s shoulder, squinting at the files. “They don’t look like they’re from the Tower. Wait… these are…”

“Exactly,” Remy whispered. “Former Revenant members. They’re purging their own.”

Becca’s eyes widened. “Why would they do that?”

Remy shrugged. “My guess? Anyone involved in the airship raids is being… handled. They’ve all gone missing over the past month.”

Will’s mind raced. “And Crowley?”

“One of the last holdouts,” Remy speculated. “He’s now in the wind.”

“This doesn’t make sense,” Becca said, shaking her head. “Why do this? Wouldn’t it cause an internal revolt?”

Silence hung over the group as they processed the information. Will tapped his fingers against the railing, deep in thought. “We need more intel.”

“And we’ll get it,” Remy said grimly. “From Von-Bron.”

He took the slate back from Will and began going through the data. The metadata Will had extracted came into the picture as Remy began opening folders containing .mdf and .db files.

Will frowned as he recognized the file format. “What database is that from?”

Remy smiled and tapped the slate. “I can spoof the phone and access the account.”

Will frowned at the evasive response. Was Remy saying what he thought he was saying?

“Password?” Will asked.

“It was written in one of his notes,” said Remy. “All I need is access to his home network. I’m sure they’ll check the IP of every attempted login.”

“Wait, what are you…” Becca began, looking alarmed, as there was only one database that could hold the information they needed.

Will looked down at the list of files and made the connection. They would definitely get all the intel they needed from there. He gripped the railing hard as he stared at the city skyline.

“Guys…” Will began.

“Oh no…” Becca said weakly.

Will gave a grim nod. “Let’s go raid the police database.”