Following Baun’s directions, I quickly caught the faint scent of chemicals in the air. I followed the scent through alleyways and streets, often backtracking when the scent got too weak. I eventually stumbled into a marketplace full of stalls, and people perused the items, gawking at street performers as if they were dumb sheep. It then occurred to me that these people were a bunch of dumb sheep.

As I realized this, a small smile curled my lips, and I sniffed the air again. The scent mixed with that of spices and herbs. I felt half tempted to buy some food to cook but decided against it. Stealing the food would be much cheaper and a lot more fun.

Forgetting why I came here in the first place, I meandered over to a stall with an assortment of herbs. Taking a quick whiff of the herbs, I found that several of the herbs had been artificially made, judging from the smell of food coloring, and only a few sprigs had been grown naturally. I picked a few naturally grown herbs: thyme, rosemary, and oregano.

While the man working the stall looked away for a split second, I slid the sprigs up my right sleeve and moved on to a different booth. As I casually strolled over to the next stall with raw food on it, I casually swiped a bag from a busy stall selling souvenirs and dropped the herbs in the bag. This is getting fun. I approached a stall selling an assortment of synthetic meats.

The stall had thick, chilled glass that allowed people to see the meats but not touch them. I examined the butcher’s stall and thought about it for a moment. I just might have to buy the damn food. But that would be no fun! No! There’s got to be a way to get the meat without paying.

I walked a short distance away and hid behind a corner to watch the stall from a short distance away. Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself and waited patiently. It wasn’t long before I noticed one of the workers step off and disappear into an alleyway.

A smile cracked my lips, and I wandered over to the alley. The woman leaning against a dumpster wore all-black clothes similar to mine, plus an apron, and her blond hair tied in a ponytail. I gently set my bag down, removed my leather jacket, and tied my hair back to match the other girls.

Creeping up behind the girl as she released a large puff of smoke, I struck. Putting the unsuspecting girl in a headlock and pulling her against the wall behind the dumpster to minimize the chances of being spotted. The girl struggled and fought to escape but couldn’t escape my iron grasp around her neck. After twenty seconds of struggling, she went limp in my arms.

I gently laid the woman on the ground and removed her apron … then an intrusive thought occurred to me. I knelt and squeezed the woman’s breasts a couple of times and said, “Beeker beeker,” then threw on the apron and gathered my belongings.

I casually approached the meat stall, and before I could swipe any meat, a customer said, “Three ribeyes.”

Looking up at the customer. I saw a man who looked at his comm tablet intently, generally ignoring me. I then looked at the woman’s co-worker, who kept himself busy with another customer. Then I looked back to the customer before me and said, “Sure! Would you like them wrapped?”

“Yes,” the man said rudely.

I smiled as I fought the urge to rip out the man’s spleen and said, “Of course, sir. It will just be a moment,” I grabbed four ribeyes, found a small thing of saranwrap, and wrapped up the four ribeyes. I slipped them into my stolen bag and left. Removed the apron and tossed it aside in favor of my leather jacket.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

I quickly melted into the crowd and got away from the meat vendors. As I walked through the crowds of people, I walked through a patch of steam and smelled the familiar scent of sulfur. I stopped and looked down at the steam vent. He’s underground. A rye smile curled my lips. Clever boy.

Looking around, I reached a nearby alley and found a maintenance hole. I pulled it up and jumped into the darkness without hesitation, ignoring the ladder within the hole. The stench of the sewage pipes hit me like a punch to the face, making me stagger a few steps as I landed, but I remained standing and plugged my nose. Without a clear direction, I walked toward where the market should be relative to me.

After a few seconds of walking, opera music began echoing down the pipes and slowly grew louder as I walked. Soon enough, a small, makeshift building appeared around a corner. The walls are made of transparent plastic and had been put up around a collection of stainless steel tables covered in test tubes, vials, beakers of mysterious boiling liquids, and other machines. A man worked tirelessly in the center of the test tubes and devices.

Or rather, half a man. The person’s lower half had been replaced with eight mechanical arms that mixed other concoctions and moved the man around the room. In contrast, the man wore a simple lab coat and goggles around his bold head as he read a recipe for some chemical concoction.

I smiled and walked around the plastic until I saw the man’s slightly burned face. Then I smacked the plastic with the palm of my free hand, hard enough for the bang to be heard over the music. Surprised, The man jumped, and one of the mechanical arms spilled some chemicals.

Looking up from his recipe, the man saw me, and a broad smile spread across his lips as he flicked his wrist, and the music stopped playing. “Well, well, well. Why, Isn’t it Violet V. Vermillion. The fifth reaper herself. And in the flesh too. To what do I owe the honor?” The man’s voice sounded pleasant and calming.

“Hello, my old friend. I want to ask for the assistance of an old Jin such as yourself,” I answered, playing with my words.

Jin’s old wrinkled smile spread across his lips as his many mechanical arms moved him to a zipped-up exit, “Oh, it’s good to see you, Fives. Let me freshen up and get some tea going for us. Then I’ll listen to what you have to say,” Jin said as he exited the enclosure and opened a hidden door next to me, “Please make yourself comfortable, and I’ll be right with you.”

Entering the stainless-steel room, I removed my hand covering my nose and noted the furniture and possible escape routes. The furniture had a contemporary feel, with foe leather coverings and a single coffee table in the center of the room. Against one of the walls, a full liquor bar had been built and stocked with all known liquors. “Still practicing your mixology?” I asked.

“Oh, no,” Jin said, chuckling, “I’ve had to give that up recently. But I can still mix drinks like no other.”

“I don’t doubt it,” I said, smiling, as I sat on a couch and noticed three false bookshelves. You are still making redundant escape routes, you paranoid old fart. Jin came over with a couple of cups of tea and a bottle of Irish whisky. To my delight, he poured the whiskey into my cup for me.

“Even I remember how you like your tea. Kill anybody yet today?” Jin said, smiling.

“Yes, I have. Five thugs were beating up one of your messenger mole people children things.”

“Ha! That thought got away from you, didn’t it?”

“Yeah, a little bit,” I admitted and sipped my cup of tea, the whiskey sending chills through my body, “Oh, that’s good tea.”

“Why, thank you,” Jin said with a smile, “Now cut the shit and tell me why you’re here.”

“What? I can’t stop by and see an old friend?”

“You don’t just stop by Fives unless you want something. Now, why are you here?”

I took another sip of tea and set the cup on the coffee table, “All right, all right. I need you for a job.”

Jin raised a non-existent eyebrow and asked, “Oh? What kind of job?”

“A job to start a war.”