Location: W Headquarters

Time: 8:38 AM, January 16th 2108

  I squeezed down on the concrete in my hand. It didn’t take long for it to be reduced into nothing more than dust.

  I still hadn’t gotten used to it.

  The thing attached to my wrist looked natural, it felt natural, it even smelt natural. I hadn’t tried, so I can’t say for sure, but I’d bet the taste was natural too.

  But all of it was completely unnatural. My left hand had been replaced with a machine.

  Cybernetics of that caliber were almost unheard-of in Velstand, so I’m not sure how W managed to recruit someone capable of giving it to me. I won’t complain though. And I won’t complain about losing my hand in the first place.

  I’m happy enough just to be alive. Being alive meant there was still a chance to make things better.

  After I was set free from those people working with Sara I quickly realized I had nowhere to go. If half of what Vier said was true, I was a dead man. I just wandered around until I found myself collapsed in an alleyway. That’s when I found her. Or when she found me.

  She was wearing dark clothes, and her hair covered the left side of her face. Under her hair I could see an eye patch and excessive scarring.

  “Plan on dying here?” Considering the gravity of her question, her tone was overly casual.

  “No. I won’t die here. I’m just taking a break, can’t you tell?” Dying in that alley would be the same as admitting he was right. That my justice was only worth that much. I wouldn’t let myself die there.

  “That’s good. People like you can change fate. You’re not bound to the ridiculous world we’re all stuck in. It would be a waste to let you die without accomplishing anything. I’ll help you for free.”

  She held out her arm. Her hand was covered by her excessively long sleeves, but I grabbed it anyway. She wasn’t strong enough to pull me up, so I humored her and stood up using my own strength.

  “Hey, ah, I don’t think we know each other.” given her appearance she wasn’t a woman you could forget. “You really shouldn’t be getting involved with me. You’re only putting yourself at risk.”

  That might seem hypocritical coming from me. Still, I knew she wasn’t like me. I could tell she wasn’t the kind of person who’d want to put themself at risk for a stranger.

  “No, I’ll get involved. I already said, I’m interested in how you’ll change fate.”

  “Whose?”

  “Your’s, mine, her’s, it doesn’t really matter. Changing one will change them all. But enough of that. Before we do anything else, I need you to answer a question for me.”

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  “A question?”

  Anyone could tell she was too suspicious. The smart thing to do was to ignore her and walk away. Even on death’s door I wasn’t naive enough to think I just so happened to run into a concerned citizen in that back alley. She was looking for me. And that meant she had some kind of motive that used me.

  Unfortunately, my condition didn’t allow for only playing safe bets. It was the same with Sara. Making a deal with her cost me my hand, but it saved my life.

  “Answering a question in exchange for saving my life? I’ll take that deal.”

  “Then, if you could, would you go back in time and redo things? Would you try to change what has already happened?”

  I didn’t need to think about my answer. I’d been having those kinds of thoughts nonstop.

  “Yes. If I could go back, then maybe I could save someone. Even if I couldn’t, I’d keep trying until I got the result I want.”

  I wasn’t just talking about what happened with Vier. Everyone. Every victim. Given the opportunity I’d do anything to save them.

  “Disappointing. I’m not surprised, but disappointed nonetheless.”

  The woman turned around and started walking away.

  “Leave this alley going back the direction I came from. You’ll find a red car parked along the street. Get in the back. The driver will take you to W’s headquarters. You were a police officer, so I’m sure you’re already familiar with W, and why they’re the only people capable of housing you.”

  I was. W was the primary terrorist organization that operated within Velstand. Their mission had always been to depose the current government.

  “In a city like this that values augmentations so highly a nullifier is a powerful asset. They gladly bought all my information on you. Even if I didn’t help with the delivery they’d have come trying to recruit you.”

  She was right, about everything. The car was there, it took me to W, and they welcomed me with open arms. They even gave me a new hand.

  Working with terrorists wasn’t part of my five year plan, but after my recent experiences involving the government I can’t say I disagreed with their motives. As long as I upheld them to the principles they wanted to see promoted in the city’s governing body it would be fine.

  To do that, I needed to be stronger, and not just physically.

  There were two stones floating in front of me.

  I reached out with my right hand and touched one of them.

  Unsurprisingly, it fell to the ground without any fanfare.

  Then I started to concentrate on a left hand I no longer had. I imagined myself reaching out with it, gently tapping on the other stone, all while keeping my arm and robotic hand at my side.

  I saw the second stone drop and start rolling across the floor.

  Good.

  I let a smile take over my face.

  “Wow! Cool! Think you can follow me around and make sure I don’t make anything go boom?” A younger girl cheerfully called out to me.

  “I’d love to, but I think my presence would make your job a little bit more difficult.”

  “That’s right! I’ve got to start the special school today! Spy Time! I’ll find new members! Quick! Did anyone pack my lunches?”

  The girl, Emily, quickly ran through the compound W was using as a base of operations. Seeing that girl, and the other members of W for that matter, really made it impossible to believe anything I’d heard about them while serving in the police force.

  At the end of the day, they were good people. Rather than support what was best for the city, they were trying to do what was best for the people of the city. That was something I could support.

  I needed to show Vier that he was wrong, and I was moving towards being able to prove it. Forget breaking my resolve, he couldn’t even change my goal. Fortunately, even at the end, this was still an epilogue on justice.