Treeka waited behind a decrepit bar known as Scouts Irregulars just outside of Boston, which she had been surveilling for days. She thought about her awakening. Dr. Ash had resurrected her and her sister Meeka from an automobile accident that had ended their normal human existence. It took Treeka years to obtain total memory recall. Dr. Ash’s reconstructive experiments were legendary in the scientific community. It was difficult to differentiate her skin from a human’s, but her design had a major defect. Her entire left side was made from a flexible metal, and contained no skin. Treeka was self-conscious of how she looked and kept herself covered. She often wished for the sweet embrace of death, but so many counted on her. Her many allies in New York were growing—hell, murals and statues were constructed in her honor. She fought so hard to stop the mad doctor known as Doc Chop. But despite all her efforts, that madman was reunited with his daughter, and his cyborg army grew stronger every day. Being a cyborg herself, she didn’t require sleep in the traditional sense, but sometimes she closed her eyes and tried to remember her parents’ house in Los Angeles when her family was alive. She opened the duffle bag, where a well-preserved head belonging to her sister rested peacefully—her data core intact. If she could find another qualified doctor, then Meeka would live again.
I failed you, Sister. I won’t sleep until your killer is dead.
Doc Chop and his daughter, Anya, seemed to be more than regulars. They practically lived at Scouts. She caressed the duffle bag lovingly. It was a grim reminder of the events that changed her life forever. Another wave of painful memories flooded in. Treeka’s mind wandered to the night she was captured and sexually assaulted by the doctor. She shuddered at the memory, the rage inside her growing stronger. She had vowed to make him suffer, not only for what he did to her, but for what he did to the world.
“He will pay for what he has done to you, Sister!” Treeka said.
Footsteps on gravel brought Treeka out of the fugue state that she had entered. She tensed, gripping her katana tightly. But when the figure came into view, she was surprised to see that it wasn’t Doc Chop or his daughter. It was a man she had never seen before, tall and muscular with blonde hair. A sizable backpack sagged over his shoulders. She noticed a massive gun holstered at his hip.
His hand isn’t even close to his weapon. I might be able to take him out before he knows it.
Treeka narrowed her eyes, not trusting this stranger. But before she could make a move, the man spoke.
“Hello, I’m Nikolai,” he said, his voice smooth, foreign, and deep. “I heard about your mission for revenge against Doc Chop. I think we can help each other.”
How could he possibly know about that? Is he from one of the neighborhoods?
Treeka studied Nikolai for a moment, her hand still gripping the hilt of her katana. But something in his eyes made her feel like she could trust him, despite the fact that she had never seen him before.
“How do you know about my mission?” she asked cautiously.
Nikolai shrugged. “Word travels fast in the underworld,” he said.
Treeka hesitated for a moment, weighing her options. She knew that she couldn’t take on Doc Chop alone, but she wasn’t sure she could trust this stranger either.
“What do you want in return?” she asked.
Nikolai smiled. “Just a chance to take down Doc Chop,” he said. “I’m also a scientist and he stole something very dear to me.”
Treeka considered his offer for a moment. “I need proof that you are on the right side of justice. You could be working for Doc Chop or Anya as far as I know.”
Nikolai nodded. “I have information that only someone on the inside would be aware of,” he said, pulling out a small device from his pocket. “This is a recording of a chat I had with Doc Chop’s daughter, Anya.”
Treeka took the device cautiously and listened to the conversation.
“Hello Anya, it’s great to hear you again,” Nikolai said.
“What is it, I don’t have time for you today,” a female voice said.
“Why so cold? Didn’t last night mean anything to you?”
“It was enjoyable, but I’m not betraying my father.”
“Relax. He wants a demonstration of what I am capable of, and I think I have the perfect solution to all of our problems.”
“Fine. He uses a special chip that he designed to control the cyborgs. He can summon them through a neural net connected to his cybernetic interface. It’s so special that even that EMP couldn’t affect him like so many others.”
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“Interesting. That sounds way more sophisticated than the control tech I had. But I have some biotech I can show him.”
“What he needs is regenerative skin. The version he has is inferior and rubbery.”
“I think I have something that he would appreciate,” Nikolai said.
“Good, then I will set up the meet,” Anya said.
It was clear that the person speaking was indeed Doc Chop’s daughter, and she revealed some information about their operations that Treeka didn’t know about.
“All right,” Treeka said, handing the device back to Nikolai. “You have my attention. What do you suggest?”
Nikolai chuckled. “I have a plan,” he said. “But we’ll need to work together to pull it off. We’ll infiltrate from the inside. You provide the muscle and I will provide the brains. Sound good?”
Treeka thought about his proposal. It was risky, but if it meant finally getting revenge on Doc Chop and his daughter, it was worth it.
“All right,” she said, nodding. “But I have a condition of my own.”
“What is it?”
“I want her to suffer!”
He grinned mischievously. “I like the way you think—now come!”
Nikolai led her through a tunnel. Soon they were in the bar. Two burly men with metal embedded into their scalp stood guard. One of the guys held out a hand.
Treeka reached back and pulled out her katana from its holder. She had it buried in the first man’s neck before the second could react. The remaining goon pointed a massive handgun at Treeka. Nikolai threw something at his face. Noxious smoke rose from the affected area. He screamed, but not before he got a shot off. Treeka moved to one side, trying to dodge, but all the nerve endings in the right side of her face ignited into a rictus of agony. With the assistance of her built-in cybernetic AI, she rerouted many of her pain receptors.
“Holy shit,” Nikolai said, trying to find something to defend himself.
Treeka sliced into the man’s wrist; her blade was true, and he offered no resistance. He screamed as the bloody stump bled. She dispatched him and hoped that no one heard the ruckus.
“That was messier than I anticipated,” Nikolai said.
“Like giving birth, death is never clean or complicated. It’s inevitable.”
She searched the corpse and found a set of keys.
“Let me stop this bleeding,” he said.
She watched him as he gathered bandages, tape, and scissors. She thought about Dr. Brody as he patched her up. He tried helping Treeka and her sister and got a knife in the gut for his trouble. The doctor was one of the few, besides Nigel, who had tried helping her without asking for anything in return. She wondered what Nikolai’s intentions really were. He handed her a smartphone and put its camera into selfie mode so she could view his work. To her surprise, the man had done a decent job at patching her up. She would need to replenish fluids soon. She added that task to her growing list.
“We’ll patch you up properly later, but we need to keep moving. Doc Chop will be on the move shortly, and we don’t want to miss our chance.”
Moments later, she was following Nikolai through a maze of rooms and hallways. Eventually, they reached a doorway with a keypad. Nikolai produced a small device and began entering codes into it.
“Got it,” he whispered, and the entrance clicked open.
They stepped inside and found themselves in a laboratory filled with all sorts of human remains and cybernetic circuitry and machinery. In the middle of the room was a large table. A female cyborg was lying at its center.. A flash of memory of her sister being resurrected flashed through Treeka’s mind. Meeka’s rebirth was a violent affair that cost her more than she cared to admit. Treeka clenched her fists, but Nikolai’s hand on her shoulder gave her pause.
“She isn’t what you think,” he whispered.
Treeka blinked her eyes, confused. “What do you mean?” she asked.
Nikolai nodded toward the cyborg. “That’s my sister, Katya,” he said. “She was an accomplished robotics expert whose work was appropriated by Doc Chop.”
Treeka’s gaze intensified. “I had no idea,” she said. “Doc Chop has ruined many lives. I’m sorry.”
Nikolai nodded. “It’s okay,” he said. “I’m lucky that I found someone who is willing to assist me in exacting retribution on that monster.”
“What do you mean?” Treeka asked.
Nikolai pulled out his data pad and showed her a picture of the device that he had used to extract Katya’s information from a custom chip embedded into the base of her skull. “Doc Chop will want to see this,” he said. “He will probably want me to replace the old control chip with this one so he can control his cyborgs more effectively. Then, when the time is right, we will use this to take him down.”
Treeka gave a nod. “How do you plan on getting him to employ the chip?”
Nikolai grinned, a wicked gleam in his eye. “Leave that to me,” he said. “You just stay at my side and make sure that I don’t get killed.”
Treeka nodded. “Sounds wonderful,” she said.
Moments later, an intense wave of pain coursed through Treeka’s body. She remembered the sensation well and was aware that a certain amount of voltage would render her unconscious. And she realized she was getting dangerously close. She turned to see Nikolai holding a small device with two wires. She realized that he used the device to attempt to disable her, but her recent encounter with Enyo made her more resilient to such attacks. She reached for her katana and swung it toward Nikolai’s head. The man dodged the blow, then hit a switch. All the lights went out. She activated her night mode. Nikolai was nowhere to be found, but Anya stood in the doorway wearing low-light goggles, weapon at the ready.
“I see you,” she said.
Treeka charged Anya. She knew from experience that Anya was a capable assassin. She had, after all, worked for the Silent Assassins Society, an elite hit squad made up of humans and cyborgs. Anya was quick on her feet, dodging Treeka’s strikes effortlessly. But Treeka was not one to give up because of a few lucky dodges. She continued to attack Anya, her katana slicing through the air with deadly precision. Blood dripped across Anya’s face.
So, I didn’t miss, after all.
Anya, however, was not without her own skills. She pulled out a pair of daggers and began to defend herself with impressive agility. The two clashed in a fierce battle, their weapons sparking against each other in the darkness.
“Don’t worry, you’ll join your sister soon enough!” Anya spat.
Treeka could feel her adrenaline pumping through her veins. She hadn’t felt this pumped since the day Meeka was decapitated. The memory of her sister’s death made her even more determined to take down Anya and Doc Chop, no matter the cost. They continued to fight, each one trying to gain the upper hand. The room filled with light, blinding Treeka momentarily. When her vision cleared, Nikolai was holding a small device in his hand. There was a flash—then the familiar sensation of nothingness returned.