Rain fell like the sky was weeping. Jack "Wire" Crawford, a washed-up detective, nursed his fifth whiskey in a dingy bar. Jack had been one of the best—until his wife left him, driven away by his drinking and the other women. He sought solace in the bottle, drowning in cheap whiskey while the city decayed around him. Tonight was no different, or so he thought.

A woman walked into the bar. She moved with a grace that spoke of old money; she sat down on a stool beside Jack, her synthetic musky perfume mingling with booze and despair.

"Jack Crawford?" she said.

"Who’s asking?" Jack’s words slurred.

"My name’s Evelyn Wu. I need your help." She placed a data chip on the counter. "My brother’s missing."

Jack glanced at the chip, then back at her. "And you think I can find him?"

"You're my last hope. The Skinners have taken him."

The name sent a shiver down Jack's spine. The Skinners were a ruthless gang known for trafficking in cybernetic parts. They stripped people of their enhancements and left them to die in the alleyways, sometimes they killed the victims first and ripped the cyberware from their corpses.

Jack took the chip and slid it into his wrist-port. Information flooded his vision: a dossier on Evelyn’s brother, Marcus. The last known location pinged on Jack’s head-up display map—a sector of the city even he tried to avoid.

"Why come to me? You could’ve hired a squad of mercs with your money."

Stolen story; please report.

"Because you were the best. I know you still are."

Jack sighed and drained the last of his whiskey, "I’ll help you." Jack knew that if he didn’t take this case, he’d drown in that bar, a ghost of his former self. "Why would the Skinners want your brother?"

Evelyn hesitated, then leaned in closer. "Marcus was working on something big. A new type of neural interface that could revolutionize AI-human interaction. If the Skinners got their hands on it..."

"They already own most of the underground trade in cyberware. With this tech, they would control everything—and everyone."

Evelyn nodded. "Exactly. I'll pay good money for your help."

"How much?"

"50K up front, 50 later." She brushed her hand against his to start the wireless money transaction. The transfer from her account to his was almost instant, Jack smiled when the money appeared on his HUD.

Jack stood up, steadying himself on the bar. "Let’s get out of here," he said. Evelyn followed him outside.

The rain had intensified. Jack pulled his coat tighter, the chill seeping into his bones. "I'll keep in touch," he said. He walked off in the rain.

# # #

Jack reached the edge of Skinner territory, a derelict district where the streetlights flickered, and the shadows seemed to move. Gang tags cluttered the buildings.

He moved through the streets, the sound of his footsteps swallowed by the rain. Jack could feel the danger in the air, the promise of violence.

He approached an old warehouse, the last known location of Evelyn's brother. He took out a small plastic case from his pocket, inside the case, protected by a foam insert, were four micro drones. He grabbed the drones in his hand and threw them into the air. The drones zipped away, like bees. Jack's cybernetic implants were linked with the drones, they scanned the area and sent the information back to his internal HUD. There were multiple life signs inside, that showed up like blips on his HUD map. He took a deep breath and pulled out his gun, it was an old-school semi-automatic 1911 pistol. For the first time in years, he felt a spark of purpose.