Del watched a series of holo panels showing the various drone and body cams that still remained active. He saw the body of Tinker and smiled. Then he saw Preature being shot down, and his smile broadened. Then he lost sight of Darius, and the smile faded.
“No! Stay on Darius. Don’t lose him!” He looked furiously from holo to holo. “Check the rooms!”
Finally, he saw Darius and CURL on one of the drone cams. He watched as CURL took a bullet and Darius shot the drone. “Damn!” He shouted. “Southeast offices, now!” But when the Infiltrators arrived, nobody was there. “They’re still here somewhere! Keep looking!”
Del’s phone began to ring, it was the NAU agent. He picked it up.
“Del. I expect you’ve made the proper progress with CellarDoor. How about we schedule a demo? How does three days from today sound?”
“I… don’t have it yet,” Del admitted hesitantly.
“Then get it. Three days, Peck,” she hung up the phone.
Del brought a thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose and walked away from the holos to look out the window once more.
He was not accustomed to failure. This had been a string of letdowns unlike any that he had seen before. At least his suspicions had been correct. He had bet that Preature wouldn’t leave his HQ. Even after the incident with the head.
The holos came alive with new activity. “SOLA-Med is here! Should we fire?”
“No, no. Keep them on our side. Get out of there. We’re done.” Del answered. “Get back out in the streets and look for Darius. The bounty has just been increased.”
Del turned the holos off.
First, he had let Darius go. His head surgeon was murdered. Then his P-Sec officers were attacked by Geracht, who then went AWOL. Then he lost Darius again. All while the North American Union had been breathing down his neck. Something had to give, and soon.
He tapped the screen of his phone. “Gene. Any word from the team searching for Geracht?”
“None, sir,” Gene responded. “They’re assumed to be missing in action, sir.”
Del hung up the call, bringing a hand to his mouth. Geracht was still rogue. He'd likely killed the team.
What a fucking mess.
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On the other side of town. CURL and Darius sat on the rooftop of a large skyscraper. Fluorescent light reflected off the trails their tears have left behind. They were silent, watching the ever-shifting lights on SOLA Tower.
“I’m going to find him,” Darius spoke softly. “I have to find Del.”
“Are you sure you still want to do this?” CURL asked.
“Dad, Leary, Tinker, Preature… They all died trying to make this happen.”
“You could die, too.”
“I could,” Darius wiped his cheek with the back of his hand.
“We could just walk away.”
“I can’t do that.”
“How can I help?”
Darius let out a small laugh, “I have no idea.”
“Alright. So, you get Del. Then what do you do about Geracht?”
“Still, no idea. Del has to go down, and it’ll be easier to deal with Geracht if Del isn’t after me any more.”
“That’s true, but then you still have to find a way to disable a cybered up monster.”
Darius looked up to the pointed top of the tower. A feeling of sobriety washed over him. “Well. Whatever happens, I’m ready. Live or die.”
CURL finally turned her head to regard him. “For what it’s worth. I hope you live.”
They both looked back up at the tower again, it’s colors faded from red and white to purple and then to blue.
“The city looks beautiful from up here. I guess that’s why rich people live high up.
“When I was little, I used to look up at the high buildings and wonder what it would be like to be up there. Never having to wonder where your next meal is coming from, being warm in winter, being cool in summer. Now, I know that the top isn’t always the best place to be.
“Darius. You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to throw your life away. You could be happy down on the ground like the rest of us. Sometimes ground level gives you everything you need. Maybe look around a little, and see what you have, and be okay with it.”
“Funny thing to say to me after losing all but one of my friends,” Darius retorted.
“I lost them, too. Look, I just don’t want to lose you as well. Don’t get sucked into some stupid idea of what life is supposed to be. Sometimes, where you are is okay.”
“Are you asking me not to do this?”
“In a way. Maybe I’m asking you not to throw your life away.”
Darius stared out over the city. “I don’t want to lose you either. You’ve been a good friend to me. I’d probably be talking to you the same way if our roles were reversed.
“But this is something I have to do. For my father. For Leary, Tinker, and Preature. For you, and for me. Because Del will never stop hunting us.”
“Alright. Well… maybe you’re right,” CURL wiped a new tear from her cheek. “Just… don’t lose yourself to revenge like Del. Don’t turn into him in your fight to bring him down.”
Darius thought on her words. She’d touched something deep inside that he hadn’t felt since before the surgery. In that moment, he felt like himself again. Warmth spread from inside, radiating through his body. He looked her in the eye, and nodded.
“I’ll do my best.”