Thirty minutes later, Cash, Vomero, Dick and I gathered in Ryuuk’s room.
“You said the bird man’s missing?” Cash muttered groggily.
Most of us were still recovering from last night’s shenanigans. As soon as we had realized it was Ryuuk’s room that was ransacked, Vomero and I had woken the other two to get their perspective before informing the others.
“How could he have gotten into trouble already? We just got here,” Cash said.
“Actually, he and Matthew were here way ahead of us,” I pointed out, turning to Dick. “Did it seem like they’d had an issue with anyone when you found them?”
“No, they were exploring the entertainment district like a couple of idiots who didn’t get out to the big city much,” Dick said. “You know, typical.”
“Do we even know for sure if he was taken?” Vomero asked, looking around the room. “Maybe he’s just messy?”
“No, there’s definitely signs of a struggle here,” Cash said, staring intently around. He was using his bionic eye to scan the room. After a moment, he bent down next to the bed and pointed to a spot on the floor. “There’s traces of blood here.”
“Can you sample it?” I asked.
Cash gave me a horrified look.
“Do you think I just go around sucking up people’s fluids into my body for analysis?” he asked incredulously. “Being part cybernetic doesn’t protect me from getting some nasty ass disease.”
“I would think that’s exactly what it does,” I countered.
“No, that would be if I was fully cybernetic. Until that day, we’ll be analyzing any suspicious blood the old fashioned way.”
He stood up and walked out of the door, headed in the direction of his room.
“Obviously someone’s feeling a little inadequate about being only half cybernetic,” Dick commented, with a impish look in Cash’s direction. “I knew all that bionic stuff was compensating for something.”
“A dick joke? Now?” I asked sarcastically. “Really?”
“It’s literally in my name,” he quipped.
Glancing around in irritation, my eyes caught the sheen of something against the far left wall. It was a glass vial filled with a clear amber liquid. Someone had flung it against a wall, shattering it and spilling its contents on the floor.
“I think this is what I heard breaking,” I said. “It’s probably what woke me up.”
Cash returned a moment later, carrying a small, hard-shell container. He opened it to reveal some type of collection kit, which he used to meticulously take samples of first the blood spots and then the vial I had found.
“I can sample these things but they’ll be useless without something to match them to,” Cash said. “We need access to the network.”
Most technologically advanced cities in the galaxy operated using a data network of some sort. The bigger the city, the more likely it was that their network was connected to larger portions of what some termed the intergalactic data grid.
“I think I might know a way we can access New Horizon’s network,” Vomero said.
A while later, we had gathered the remaining members of our group down in the bar to discuss Ryuuk’s disappearance. Since it was early in the morning, most of the patrons had cleared out and we had the area almost completely to ourselves minus a few who were too inebriated to care about what we were discussing.
As expected, the old man was in a tizzy, demanding we run out and start shaking people down for information immediately. Although we tried to tell him it was pointless, he wouldn’t be deterred.
Matthew sighed as the old man stormed out of the bar. “Don’t worry, I’ll go keep an eye on him. I won’t be much help figuring out where Ryuuk went, but I'll let you know if we do manage to dig anything up.”
After they left, Vomero got up and walked to the bar. As he approached, AL appeared and greeted him.
“You’re up early,” AL said. “I figured you and your friends would all be sleeping off last night’s revelries.”
“That was the plan,” Vomero said. “Unfortunately, it looks like one of our friends was taken from his room last night.”
“Hmmmm...” AL said, staring blankly into the distance. It was clear he was searching some memory bank. “Was your friend an Avian with white feathers?”
“That’s him,” Vomero answered.
“Earlier this morning, two men carried an Avian man out of the bar. He looked unconscious, so I imagined he had too much to drink. It looked like they were carrying their drunken friend home. He looked a little bit like a lightweight, if you know what I mean.”
“That was definitely him then,” I said, approaching the bar. “Can you tell us what the two people with him looked like?”
“I can do much better than that,” AL said. “I recognized the two men. Their names are Zayn and Tonno. They aren’t our typical patrons, but they've been in here before making trouble.”
“Are they affiliated with anyone in particular?” I asked. “I can’t imagine why two random people would just waltz in and target Ryuuk.”
“You’re thinking someone sent them after him?” Dick asked, sidling up to the bar next to us. He introduced himself to AL briefly before proceeding. “Are you thinking Owen and his crew? That would be acting fast, even for them.”
“They do seem to move quickly,” I pointed out, “and anticipate every move we make before we make it.”
“But why take just him?” Vomero asked. “In fact, I would imagine he’d be the last one they targeted. Any one of us would be more likely.”
“Tonno and Zayn aren’t affiliated with any crime organizations that I’m aware of,” AL said, “though my information on that subject is incomplete at best. They’re what I’d consider opportunists of the lower variety.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Dick asked.
“It means their con artists and crooks,” I said. “They’re the type to do anything if it makes them some money.”
“Exactly the type,” AL said. “Most of the trouble surrounding them that I mentioned earlier involves them trying to run some type of scam on our customers. It’s bad for business and doesn’t look good for our reputation, so I usually ask them to leave. Since they already seemed to be leaving, I didn’t bother saying anything to them tonight.”
“What kind of money could they be thinking of making off of Ryuuk?” Dick commented.
“He definitely seems more valuable as an easy mark than a hostage,” I agreed.
“AL,” Vomero said. “Your system is connected to the greater network here in New Horizon City, correct?”
“Indeed,” AL answered. “Most people in the city pay for access to the network through various service providers. As an AI, my account is more of a hard link than the third-party interface most normal users pay for.”
“So, you’ve got direct access rather than having to rely on the provider portal?” Vomero inquired.
“Yes,” AL said. “I suppose you are asking because you’d like to connect to my link to try and locate your friend?”
“I know it might seem invasive,” Vomero said, “but it would really be the easiest and quickest way to find him.”
“I appreciate your consideration,” AL said. “But I am more than willing to provide any assistance I can with your search. In fact, I’ve already been running a scan in the background while we talked. You might find it easiest to access my network connection through the bar.”
He waived a hand toward the counter in front of him. As he did, a holographic display of an interface window materialized in the air above the table. Touching the table with his fingers, Vomero was able to navigate through a series of windows as he searched the network on his own. Another display on the table flashed with different search results from the scan AL was already running.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
It was interesting to watch Vomero’s skills as a technomancer on full display. Windows and search items were appearing in the air in front of him faster than my eyes could keep up. All the while, his fingers remained stationary on the bar’s surface, so I knew he must be navigating the system mentally, using his touch merely as an interface point.
As Vomero and AL worked on the search, Cash joined us down in the bar. Dick had retrieved Ryuuk’s bag from his room and was rifling through it looking for more clues as to why someone would attack him.
“I finished the analysis on the blood,” Cash said to Vomero, handing him a data disk. “If you can match it against something it might help.”
“AL identified the two guys who took Ryuuk,” I said. “Looks like a couple of local scam artists. We’re not sure why they took him, though.”
Just then the old man came storming back into the bar with Matthew following behind him.
“We know who took him!” the old man said. “Some guys named—”
“Zayn and Tonno,” I finished. “We know.”
He looked visibly deflated.
“Well damn...so what are we waiting around here for?”
“You didn’t happen to find out where they took him did you?” I asked.
“No...”
“That’s what we’re waiting around here for,” I responded. “And before you go stomping off again, we’re already working on it.”
“You need to calm down, Gramps, before you give yourself a stroke,” Cash said.
“He’s right,” I agreed. “You probably know Ryuuk better than any of us here. If you’d calm down and help us go through this stuff, you might notice something we don’t.”
He seemed to calm down slightly.
“What do you make of this?” Dick said, holding up the tablet containing Jack Trader’s book which he had pulled from Ryuuk’s bag. “He was reading some heavy stuff.”
He handed me the tablet, and I scanned the contents on the open screen.
“It’s a section about demons,” I said, hitting the search history. “He was looking up information on how to counteract mental manipulation.”
“Well that’s not freaky at all,” Cash muttered. “That guy is one weird dude.”
“I would say that’s odd, but Ryuuk reads this book all the time. He could have just been on this page,” I said. “From what we’ve learned, we think the guys who took him might be running some kind of con. What would demon lore and mind manipulation have to do with that?”
“That reminds me,” Cash said. “That broken vial we found. The compound I profiled from the liquid inside is a mixture of random chemicals derived from hallucinogens. Maybe he was tripping out on drugs.”
“That vial,” Matthew said. “He got it while we were exploring the city.”
“From who?” I asked.
“Some potions vendor, “ Matthew continued. “Ryuuk asked the lady who runs it if there was anything she had that would make him immune to mind control. She sold him a couple of those vials for a ton of credits.”
“Of course she did,” Cash said. “Ryuuk really is an easy mark. The chemical mix in that vial is more likely to make you trip out of your mind, not retain control of it. She was probably hoping to get him hooked as a repeat customer.”
“I don’t think it’s coincidence,” Gramps said. “Ryuuk is very vague about his past. When he does mention anything about it, he always makes a reference about knowing his own mind or being able to separate fact from fiction. Maybe his past was somehow catching up to him.”
“We’re half the galaxy away from the Pact Worlds,” Dick pointed out. “I agree it makes sense that this was something personal, but how did anything manage to catch up with him out here so fast?”
“It may take people weeks or months to make it across the galaxy,” Vomero said from the bar. “And that’s even with a ship capable of using a star drive. But information travels much faster.
He swiped his hand from the surface of the counter into the air in front of him. As he did, a holographic image seemed to transfer from the bar top into a holographic projection in the air.
“When I ran the DNA profile from the blood it came back registered to a Ryuuk Swiftfoot. So, I put that name into the database, and this popped up on a dark net scan. A lot of people use it to broadcast information or meetings they don’t want the authorities necessarily knowing about,” Vomero said. “Check it out.”
It looked like an attraction poster at some western theme park. It was one of those authentic re-enactment type places where you could immerse yourself in an alternate reality. The most startling aspect of the poster, however, was an image of Ryuuk plastered across it, proclaiming him “The Surest Shot in Avaria.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Cash said. “This poster makes him look like the hero in some action holovid.”
“I think the poster is just being used for identification purposes,” I pointed out, motioning to the caption under the post.
Missing. 1 million credit reward for the safe return of this person. Last seen near Johtin. No reward if found dead.
“Well...at least we know they don’t plan to harm him,” I said. “A million credits is a big motivator to keep someone alive.”
“It’s also a huge incentive to kidnap someone in the first place,” Dick said.
“What the hell is this guy? And why is someone willing to pay that much money to get him back?” Cash said in shocked confusion. “Hell, at times I’d pay that much just to make him go away! Ow!”
Gramps had kicked Cash straight in his kneecap.
“Watch your mouth, boy! Ryuuk would fight every man in this city if you were in trouble. Whatever he’s into, we’re not going to let someone take him against his will and sell him off like a sack of meat,” the old man nearly shouted.
“Ok, ok, calm down, Gramps,” Cash said. “I never said we weren’t going to go save his stupid ass. But afterwards I’m definitely making him call me Saved My Ass Cash.”
“Vomero,” I said. “We need a location they might have taken him.”
“That’s what AL was already working on,” he said. “We’ve got a long list of possible locations, though—addresses for both Zayn and Tonno as well as any close known associates. Plus, there’s a few frequent hangouts. All in all, it’s about 17 locations.”
“There has to be a way to narrow it down,” I said.
“If I might offer a suggestion,” AL said, “New Horizon City is quite dedicated to public safety. There is an extensive surveillance system integrated into the city’s infrastructure.”
“Mass surveillance?” Dick said. “That sounds very autocratic for a free-state society.”
“I am merely a bartender,” AL said. “I don’t determine the way our city-state is run.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “Thanks AL. Vomero, can you tap into those cameras and track which way they took Ryuuk? That would help us narrow it down considerably.”
“I can, but I’ve already tested the security of the city’s infrastructure,” he said. “If I were to hack into the database, there’d be no way to avoid someone noticing...Why are you all looking at me like that?”
Each of us wore various expressions of bemusement and exasperation.
“You’ve already tested the city’s security?” Matthew asked.
“The moment we arrived,” Vomero confirmed. “What’s so bad about that?”
“As in you already tried to hack into a brand new city’s security system?” Cash asked.
“I already said yes. Are the words I’m saying not making sense to any of you?”
“Some might say that’s a little...” Dick hesitated, looking for the right word.
“What?” Vomero challenged, sensing where this was going.
“Illegal,” I finished.
Vomero crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at us. Then one by one he pointed at each of us as he spoke.
“Total disregard for the rules,” he said pointing to me.
“Kills people for money,” this toward Cash.
“Worships the literal Void,” he hurled at Matthew.
“And don’t even get me started on you,” he ended his tirade, pointing at Dick who just shrugged unapologetically.
“Now, if we’re all done pointing fingers at other people’s vices, can we get back to the point?”
I just shook my head amusedly and continued.
“Anyway, so you’re saying we can’t just hack the security camera network without someone coming to take us to jail.”
“Not remotely, no,” Vomero explained. “However, it’s likely that I can tap each camera’s internal memory manually without anyone being the wiser.”
“What would that involve?” Cash asked.
“I would have to utilize an electromagnetic pulse to directly interface with each camera’s data storage drive and scan the files to determine if Ryuuk and his captors passed by,” Vomero said. “From there, we would access the next and the next until the results returned negative.”
“Does anyone speak geek?” Dick asked.
“Basically, we’re going on a field trip,” I said, motioning Vomero toward the door. “Lead the way.”
***
The process of accessing each camera was tedious but worth it in the long run.
The hardest part was figuring out where all the cameras were hidden. AL said New Horizon City was dedicated to public safety, but they also seemed equally dedicated to keeping the public from noticing how much they were being surveilled at every moment.
Once we could locate them, all Vomero had to do was touch part of the device to access its memory card. It was a delicate task to only tap into the internal memory without breaching the network feed. Or so he kept telling us each time we reminded him to hurry.
“This isn’t like slapping a piece of metal on the side of the ship and calling it a breach patch,” Vomero grumbled. “It has to be done right or there’s no point in doing it this way at all.”
Cash mumbled something about how he could have let Vomero get sucked out of the breach hole before patching it. Vomero was silent for a moment as he concentrated.
“I’m afraid we’ve hit a dead end,” he said. “There’s no trace of them on this camera, and that’s the last one we could have accessed on this route.”
“That’s a good thing, right?” Dick asked. “It means we’re close. They must have taken him somewhere around here to hold.”
“Are there any addresses on the list that are nearby this area?” I asked, scanning the list we had loaded onto a digital order pad from the bar.
There were four in the vicinity, with the closest one being half a block away.
“Seems like a good start,” Dick said. “We’ll hit this place and if nobody is there, we’ll check the other ones. Four is better than seventeen.”
The closest one seemed like a dud. It was an associate of Zayn’s home address, and there seemed to be nobody home. Matthew teleported inside to check around and make sure it was empty before we moved on to the next closest address.
On the third try, we hit a bullseye. It was a warehouse that Tonno’s family owned. They often used it for a hangout. There was no need for covert investigations to determine if Ryuuk was being held inside. We could hear him talking even out in the alleyway.
“That’s impossible!” Ryuuk shouted. “They can’t get away with this!”
Next, we heard shots ring out inside the warehouse along with the sound of glass shattering and screams of pain.
Gramps wasted no time rushing into the warehouse, brandishing Ryuuk’s rifle in his hands. Realizing we didn’t have time to plan a proper extraction, the rest of us followed him in, blasters drawn. What we found stopped us dead in our tracks.
Ryuuk and two men we recognized as Zayn and Tonno sat on a couch in the middle of the warehouse in shock. A giant holoscreen took up half the wall they were facing and a movie was playing on it. Ryuuk had dropped his movie snacks on the ground, startled by our intrusion.
“What the hell?” one of the two men muttered.
“Oh, hey guys!” Ryuuk said, smiling. He had a bandage around his head and looked a little sickly.
“Ryuuk,” I said in surprised confusion. “What the hell are you doing? We’ve been searching all morning for the guys who kidnapped you.”
“Kidnapped?” he said, now sounding confused himself. “Who was kidnapped? Oh, guys, these are my new friends, Zayn and Tonto.”
“Tonno,” one of the men corrected.
“Exactly,” Ryuuk said.
I let out a frustrated sigh, wanting to strangle the man we had spent all morning trying to save. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one. I looked over at Cash, who was burying his head in his hand.
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” he said.