“It’s been a while Cypher.” Rook said, “how are you?”

“Humph…I’ve had better days,” I said.

The Rook laughed, nodding accordingly and typed away at his holokeypad.

The room Mr Black commandeered from The Warden was brightly lit. All the necessary equipment Rook needed to ‘fix’ my cybernetic arm was there. The only thing though was my arm didn’t need fixing. I just needed slethe, but with Mr Black offering a vial of slethe, I knew how this would go down.

The problem though, was, Mr Black was the one who had it, which made me more skeptical than usual.

The room was small and circular with a sink and mud oven taking up the left side of the room. The make-shift work desk, that Rook sat at was on the right.

I mentally compared it to the briefing room the Warden gave us, the stark difference in size and angles. It left me frustrated because after leaving such a large room, a small room such as this definitely wouldn’t suffice.

The scent of the room was a mixture of oil, sweat and dust, which left my throat feeling scratchy with each swallow I made. Not like walking through the desert helped, but the room certainly made it worst.

As Rook sat at his work desk bench, hunched over, his face suddenly turned glum as if he saw something he didn’t want to. No doubt some Op is being run right now, I mused.

He wore fatigued overalls that were blue, with rusted boots coloured from the dust. On his desk were three lamps at the corners, whilst one of the corners had a vice grip bracket, designed for cybernetic arms to sit in.

Rook turned to me, glasses glinting from the light, making and made contact with my own. “Come on Cypher, rest your hand here, let me check your arm.” He said, ushering me to the vice-grip bracket.

“The arm’s fine Rook. I just need some slethe, but I have some Rook, and I need some answers” I asked firmly.

“Ask away, but I still have to check your arm. but why didn’t you come in for the firmware update patch?” He asked.

I turned to the kid and eyed him for five seconds. He didn’t say anything and neither did I. He put his head down and continued strapping the arm in.

“Why’d you place a tracker in the battery?” I finally asked after two minutes.

“Because I can’t have pieces of shit hunting my people.” Mr Black interjected in a sharp tone. “Boss!” Rook said, tone elated.

Rook stood up from his chair, spectacles bobbling on his nose bridge. “Sit. No need to stand.” Mr Black said, walking towards us, then headed towards the kitchen “Aren’t you gonna ask your question, Cypher?” Mr Black asked.

“Humph…why the tracker? And don’t give me that bullshit line again. If you wanted to find Akatani…you would.”

Mr Black lips curled into a smile as he turned to us. “See, Rook? I told you he was smart. I won’t answer your question, but I’ll hear your theories.”

“I don’t have time for this bullshit.”

“You do, not humour me or I walk through that door, leaving you to infiltrate whatever hellhole Rikor has set up…and we both know you need us right now more than we need you.”

Shit…the bastard’s right, I thought bitterly. I did volunteer to retrieve Elhisia, but I’m gonna need my arm for that. The credits from the hazard pay would be great. It’ll put a dent in the 400K I spent, which would then help with Hannah’s treatment and refrigeration costs.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“You placed a tracker in the battery, because you know I’d tried to get rid of it. You just want me to know you can find me anywhere…and time.” I finally said.

“Correct.”

“Did you fuck with the firmware, forcing me into this situation?” I asked him.

“I—“

“Yes.” Mr Black said, cutting off Rook from speaking. “I told him to backdate the firmware on that new arm of yours.

“Why?” I growled.

“…because that’s what I wanted.

“BASTARD! I almost died walking here, do you know how hard it is to move a cybernetic spine without slethe?”

“No, Cypher…I don’t, but you’ll see why eventually. Rook…do it.”

“Yes Sir.”

Mr Black stomped his way out of the room, leaving the both of us in the room alone. The Rook continued working his work whilst I just sat there, feeling as my body roiled from all the pain I’d suffered throughout the night. This is complete bullshit I thought, feeling flustered. Ugh.

“We did tell you to come in for the firmware patch cypher, but you received.”

“Would you come if you were me? I don’t know any of you all but y'all seem to know me.”

“It’s our job to know,” Rook said softly.

“Whatever!” I snapped.

“Mr Black isn’t that bad you know, He considers you one of us.

“…is this how he treats one of his own?”

“He rescued you from The Mangol Cypher, do you think you’d still be here if he didn’t?

“I had that under control!”

“You had SHIT under control Cypher!” Mr Black hissed, voice booming around the room as he turned from the sink “Do you even know what I traded for your cybernetic ASS?”

“I never asked you to get me out Black, don’t ever think that I did. I don’t even know who the FUCK you are, but you’re saying. I’m one of you, you’re delusional at best.”

Mr Black lips curled into a devilish smile. He grabbed a piece of cloth to his right, whipping his hands clean. Rook, who still stood, eyes were nervous as ever, which annoyed me. “You’re not one of us, eh?” Mr Black said. “That’s fine, then pay me back for the painting I traded for you.”

I watched as Rook’s adam’s apple shifted down, as he swallowed deeply. I don’t know why, but I didn’t like that gesture. It was telling me something.

“You’re One Hundred and Ninety-Eight Million Credits short of what you owe me. So decide, are you with me or you ain’t…Cypher.” Mr Black said, balling his hands into a face. His face went from wry to bitter showing a harrowing scowl. I’ve been dealt the worst cards.

“I don’t owe you shit!” I growled.

Rook dashed towards me, forcing me to roll out of my chair. I sprung to my feet, sending my knee into his stomach, sending him to the ground.

Mr Black appeared behind me, making me kick backwards, but I felt nothing but air. He shifted to his right, spinning, making his heel appear in my eye. I ducked, sweeping his foot from the ground, but the bastard spun landing on his hands then kicked me in the cybernetic shoulder bringing me to my knees.

I pushed myself up, only to feel Mr Black’s heel in my throat. The pupil-less gaze that emanated around his eyes made my heart skip a beat. Monster. The gaze diminished in an instant and a haughty smile curled from Mr Black’s lips. “Woo…that was tough.” Mr Black said sarcastically, then relieved the pressure from my throat, allowing wind to flow once more.

I huffed for wind, scraping the ground, then felt my body shift to the left from the weight of my cybernetic arm. “Fine…Cypher. You aren’t one of us. But I expect payment in full.”He said, removing his foot from my throat.

Mr Black headed towards the door, leaving both me and Rook on the ground. He began turning the knob but stopped. He turned to Rook with a smile. “Didn’t I say he was the man for the job, Rook?”

“You did sir.”

“How would you rate his reaction speed?”

“Imminent.”

“Exactly.”

Mr Black pushed the door open, leaving us to dust and grime as it wafts into the room from out. A hissing puff followed, and I begrudgingly watched as the vapour from the humidifier cleanse the air.

Rook pushed himself to his feet, then picked up his glasses, cleaning them with his undershirt, then planted himself on his chair, as if nothing had happened.

I was confused. What just happened? I asked myself, did he just plant me on my ass, then left, as if it were nothing?

“Let me get that arm of yours working Cypher. You’re gonna need it for your mission.” Rook said.

Annoyance.

That’s how I felt, hearing those words. Not because what Rook said was true, was because I’d have to take a slethe shot from Mr Black, which might I add, possibly, had some shit in it I won’t like.

I sat there on their ground, trying to weigh my options, but was I fooling? I had none. I needed to be ready and my head in the game. So I pushed myself up, nestled my dead cybernetic arm back into the bech vice bracket and watched as Rook picked up his drill, ready to unscrew the armour plating.

“You know, I don’t need a cleanup. I had one done a few hours ago.” I said.

“This isn’t a cleanup Cypher.” Rook said. “I’m installing the software patch you refused to get.”

“I don’t need it.”

“You do, when was the last time you had a slethe shot?”

“Yesterday.”

“And the one before that?”

“Three days before that.”

“…and before that.”

“Three days.”