A cool breeze blew past my new poncho's hood, bringing with it a freezing cold rain. Thankfully, the poncho protected me from head to knee from the rain. ”I appreciate you doing this for me.”
”Don’t mention it.” Shinobu blew a puff of smoke from a cigarette as he stood next to me.
We stood in one of the Jade Fang’s flyer bays high up in Bukicho, staring down at the street of pleasure as the storm raged on. Lightning flashed, striking Raijin’s tower as electricity jolted down the sides. I had to wait a few days for a proper storm to roll in, but now it was time to get a roll on things.
”Was it too much of an issue?” I asked as I glanced back at the sleek black flyer behind us. Neon green highlights thrummed around it, giving the design a techie look. It looked almost exactly like one of those old-time cars from pictures I’d seen of the nineteen thirties, though the tires were replaced with thrusters and it looked way more techie.
It was one of the cars from the automated flyer taxi company the Jade Fangs operated. Usually, it was used by the high and mighty who were too good to drive on the streets of us mere mortals on their way to the den of pleasures that was Bukicho. The service fares typically started at a hundred Rayn if that said anything. Thankfully, I’d gotten it free.
Today, though, I had way different plans for it than just a posh ride. It was integral to my plans, even. Especially considering how the security of Cold Moon Solutions was set up.
Shinobue didn’t reply for a moment, tagging a long drag from his cigarette before flicking the burning butt off the building. It disappeared amongst the falling rain. “Not too bad. Tyrone, the mechanic, was a bit annoyed with the request, but a bottle of whiskey helped him come around. Just don’t forget the override code.”
I’d called in a favor with Shinobu to get the flyer with its safety restrictions removed and its black box temporarily disabled. “That’s good… how’s business been?”
”Perfect, actually. The Neo-Jokers have dropped out of almost all of their business deals.” Shinobu dragged his metal hand down his face.
”That’s… odd.” Gangs don’t just fall off the face of the planet. It was good for me though. Especially considering Cold Moon Solutions sat just inside their territory- their former territory?
Shinobu nodded. “Chek chek… it's left a massive gap we’ve exploited. ‘Course, we’ve also been overworked since hundreds of gonks are popping out of the brickworks with each passing day.
That was… not so good. I could see Bricktown having a rough couple months ahead of it. Hopefully, I won’t have to go back there anytime soon after this gig. “How’s- uh,” what was her name again? “Valentina?”
The tired look faded as a bright smile lit up his face. “Nova! The clinic was a massive success. She has been working to get several more of them set up around the city. Truly an angel. She even has the beauty to match.”
I had a feeling he could keep talking about her until the sun exploded. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. One of the two guards that came up with us coughed lightly. They’d just been following us in the background the entire time without saying anything, but that changed. “Boss, the managers’ meeting is coming up.”
“Chek.” Shinobu’s face fell slightly as he nodded his head to me. “Nice chattin’, Shiro. Hope whatever you’re doing works out.”
”You too. I owe you one. Seriously.”
The Jade Fang Enforcer—if that was still his role, though it looked like he’d been promoted at some point with the two bodyguards following—waved a hand as he walked off with the guards. “C’mon, what are friends for?”
I flicked the rain off my poncho and tapped on the screen at my wrist. I’d had to modify it slightly to make it waterproof since the armor no longer blocked it out, but other than that I also had to set up the program for the poncho. Basically, by adjusting micro electric pulses, I can change out the color scheme of the poncho at any time. I currently had it set to the smooth grays and dark blues of my urban scheme.
I pulled the poncho and my Drop Chute backpack off, tossing them into the back of the flyer. As I took a seat, a hologram of a classy gentleman flickered to life in the front seat. “Where to, Madam?”
I checked my mental map a few more times, pairing it with the flight routes as I came up with a destination near Bricktown’s Outskirts on the opposite side of the city. I told the hologram where to go. “Is that fine?”
”Of course, Madam. Sit back and enjoy the ride. Beware, some slight turbulence may be expected with the storm raging tonight.” The hologram flicked its head to me and then started to press buttons on the control console.
I turned away as I felt the flyer lurch upward and did a final run-through of my gear. I’d packed light this time around. No rifle, no shotgun. Just my pistol, my ballistic vest, and the jade dragon knife that could paralyze people. Oh, and the electric bola, but I had other uses for it than as a weapon. And of course, I was loaded up with tools and various bits of useful equipment.
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I checked my Drop Chute pack one more time, carefully checking all the ports and wires. It was a nerve-driven inspection more than anything. I’d already tested the pack several times out in the Outskirts over the few days I’d been preparing.
I forced myself to calm down as I tossed my poncho into my pack and put the Drop Chute pack on again. I connected it up to the wrist pad and turned everything on. A low buzz of electricity briefly sounded in the flyer’s cabin before fading back to the peaceful thunks of rain on metal and the fairly frequent lightning.
Now I just had to wait. At least it wasn’t boring though. I’d only been in a flyer a couple of times, and the last time—when I was with Sean and Tristen back at the Sentinel school—I hadn’t been able to enjoy it since I was squeezed into the middle seat.
Now though? Now I have a splendid view of the city. The rain did its job making it a bit hard to see since it was coming down so hard and the flyer moved at a good pace, but there was still enough light to see, especially when we crossed under overhangs and the rain abruptly stopped.
I’d noticed this every time I’ve been up high somewhere, but Aythryn City really was beautiful once you stopped and looked around. Well, stopped far away, at least. Up close I could see the filth and smell the corruption, but from afar? Truly something else.
There was some fairly high traffic right around Bukicho as the wealthy came and went from the hotspot subdistrict, though that quickly faded once we started toward Bricktown. Flyers weren’t exactly new, but they were still transportation for the rich and powerful and not for the plebeians. That meant overall the traffic was almost nonexistent compared to the city streets and foot traffic.
The towering structures on either side of the flyer lane the Jade Fang taxi took quickly dropped in height as we left the subdistrict, plummeting as we got closer and closer to the relatively short Bricktown. Soon, I felt as if I were the towering one as I looked out the window at the far drop back to street level.
I checked the straps on my backpack. After testing it out in the desert, I’d added quite a bit to it, making it easy to turn the straps into a full-on harness within moments. As I pulled everything tight, I spoke up to the holographic driver. “Don’t wait for me. As soon as you land, return to the Jade Taxi service for repairs.”
“Madam? What are you-“
I checked my phone. ”Override Code: AO80089229TY-JFO.”
The gentlemanly voice of the vehicle faded to a digitized robot as the hologram abruptly disappeared. “Confirmed. Return for repairs.” The hologram returned as if nothing happened.
I waited a few more minutes, carefully keeping track of our location on a mental map as I ran dozens of calculations. I really only had one shot at this, at least at the moment, so I couldn’t mess it up. I ran my calculations again and again as I decided on the opportune timing. While running the calculations, I checked my straps one last time and made sure I was locked in. Be stupid to die here by such a thing.
The time came. I popped open the door to the flyer, instantly getting a blast of freezing rain to the face. I didn’t even hesitate as I crawled out and on top of the rain-slick flyer. I closed the door with my foot and got into position as the rain pounded me. I nearly slipped off thanks to the strong momentum the flyer had as it uncaringly zipped through the sky. The rain didn’t make holding on any easier.
My heart pounded as I stared down at the drop below. Even though I knew I was safe with the Drop Chutes, I couldn’t help but feel a primal sense of fear as I saw the ground so far below.
I flicked on Cold-Blooded, feeling the rain turn bone-chilling as the cold emanated from within my jacket. Cold and wet was typically a bad combo, but in this situation, I needed the boost to my focus as I watched the buildings pass by.
Now!
I threw myself off the side of the flyer. For a brief moment as the Drop Chute flickered to life, the rain didn’t hit me. Then I started to hit it as my fall speed surpassed the rain, causing it to buffet my face in a stomach-turning sense of vertigo as I felt the world flip. A jolt of lightning struck somewhere, making the vertigo worse as I watched the electricity arc up from the ground. I closed my eyes, reorienting myself belly down.
My descent was far more controlled than the fall from Whitechapel Center back during the Franz heist. I’d practiced a lot, especially more in the past few days as I came up with this harebrained plan.
The small thrusters on the Drop Chute, although not super powerful, were strong enough to shift my direction and make precision landings from afar. I used them to my advantage, angling my body just right to take advantage of the forward momentum to aim for my target.
Then I flipped over onto my back as my jacket flapped in the rain, angling myself the Drop Chute’s coward to slow my fall. My momentum slowed more and more as I fell into familiar terrain, dropping to near-nothing moments before I landed on a building.
The weak thrusters, combined with the gravity-distorting effects of the Drop Chute, created an air of cushion below me as I literally turned lighter than air just before hitting the ground.
I aimed perfectly, dropping directly onto the enclosed stairway that jutted up out of the building. It was also the best blind spot for the cameras up here, or at least that's what I gathered by using the nearby points as vantages over the past few days. As for why I wanted to go through the roof? It was complicated. There were too many reasons.
I lightly dropped onto my feet, immediately withdrawing the poncho and throwing it back over myself, covering my entire upper body. Bag included. I was worried it would mess with the Drop Chutes as I plummeted, so I hadn’t worn it on the way down. Now though? Now I was very much appreciative of it as I flicked off Cold Blooded and my whole body turned into a chattering mess.
I connected the poncho up to my wrist pad. It was originally designed to connect to a phone, but it had been relatively easy to make it connect to the pad. I tapped around, adjusting a few settings as I felt the poncho kick on. Immediately, blessed heat wrapped around my whole body like a warm blanket fresh from the dryer as the environment control kicked on.
I pulled the hood up and over my head, blocking out the majority of the rain. The rest of it I blocked as I put on my mask. The new one was simple. I’d painted it a deep dark gray, close to black though not so dark it wouldn’t be able to blend into anything like the armor had been. Of course, I’d also done some eyes shaped as crescents with the adjustable chroma paint. For now, it was turned off, though I could flick it on at a moment’s notice.
The mask purified the air, turning it entirely clean as the slightly toxic scent of polluted ozone burning from the lightning faded away. I blinked a few times, shifting from my mental map of the city to my mental map of the building, and psyched myself up. I was so ready for this.