More shots rang out and the orc charging toward me disappeared in a cloud of mana vapor. Agent Smith pulled herself to her feet only to have more of the crazy attackers pour out of the restaurant door and begin stabbing at her. The other agents tried to help, but they were also being overwhelmed.

I didn’t want to be taken by either side and needed to get out of here fast. Taking a quick glance around, I could see that we were near the end of the alley where a wall separated it from the next alleyway. To exit normally, I’d have to maneuver past the battling agents and cultists, which was a no-go.

There was a dumpster near the wall between the alleys, and if I used that, I was reasonably sure that I could climb the rest of the way over. I was going to need some time to get away, though. Running toward the dumpster, I could see at least one agent and a half dozen cultists moving to intercept me. It was time to pull out all the stops, and I willed mana into the summoning figurine.

I wasn’t sure what would happen when I did that, but it proved easy enough. Mana vapor flowed from my chest and formed into a humanoid figure beside me. The blue-green, scaly skin and fish-like features of a merfolk appeared, waiting for my instruction. For the first time, I was the one in charge.

“Stop anyone from following me,” I ordered as I jumped up onto the dumpster. The hard plastic top of the dumpster was covered in grime, and I almost slid right off, but falling to my knees and pulling with my hands, I made it to the wall and stood up. The top of the wall was just within reach, and I slowly pulled myself up, glad for all the workouts I’d been getting in while home.

Just before I made my way over, a hand grabbed onto my leg. Looking down, one of the cultists was trying to pull me toward him, while three others fought with my merfolk summon. My merfolk was holding his own, not due to any particular skill, but more due to the fact the cultists seemed a bit freaked out by the mythical creature confronting them.

I pulled on my mana, casting a Psionic Jolt at the man holding onto me. He screamed briefly before his eyes rolled back in his head and he dropped to the asphalt. From the way his scream cut off, I think I might have killed him with the blast. With no time to waste, I heaved myself over the wall, and dropped down.

Bending my knees, I absorbed part of the impact with my legs, then rolled like I had learned in martial arts class. There was no soft mat under me, but my technique allowed me to escape with nothing more than a bruise or two. Wasting no time, I got to my feet and ran down the new alleyway, heading toward the street where I expected a swarm of cultist or corporate goons to appear at any moment.

Leaving the end of the alley, I hit the sidewalk and slowed down to a brisk walk. Running was a sure way to attract attention, and if there was one thing I didn’t want right now, it was attention. Looking for a store or somewhere to hide, I noticed a city bus pass by. There, at the end of the block, was a bus stop. If I could make it to the bus without any of my pursuers seeing me, I might get away clean.

I ignored my rule of no running to sprint down the block and caught the bus right before the driver closed the doors. Luckily, I had my bus pass in my wallet, so there was no hassle paying for my ride. I jumped in the first empty seat, wanting that driver to close the doors as quickly as possible. When the doors hissed shut and the bus started rolling, I moved down the aisle toward the back.

There were only three other people on the bus, an elderly woman with what looked like her granddaughter, and a man in work clothes with the patch of a local oil change place on the sleeve. I sat near the back and tried to catch my breath. My body was shaking from all the adrenaline coursing through it, as what I had just faced finally hit me.

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I had almost died, either from being a corporate lab rat, or from being sacrificed by some cult. There was also the fact that I might have just killed a man with my Psionic Jolt. My mind was running a thousand miles a minute and I had no idea what I should do next. Going home wasn’t an option, both groups probably knew who I was now, and would have people watching the apartment.

Sirens sounded out as police cars sped past the bus, heading toward the sounds of gunshots from the battle I had just left. Maybe the police would round them all up and remove the problem for me. No, it was unlikely that all the cultists were in the alley, and the corporate goons were only the foot soldiers. Whoever was running the show would be safely ensconced in some plush office, legally insulated from whatever his minions were doing.

Okay, I needed to settle down, but it was hard to do when I kept shaking. How long did it take for adrenaline to wear off? Well, I couldn’t stay here, I needed to move somewhere else. Where should I go? I had to think this through before I ran off without a plan and got myself killed. There was no respawning back to Rico’s Place if I was killed here.

What did I know? Well, first off, how did they find me? Minerva had said something about using magic was like firing off a beacon. Could both groups have tracked me that way? Since one of the cultists must have summoned the orc, it made sense that they also had some way of tracking magic.

The corporate goons had cornered me in the pawn shop. Did they also track me by some mana-detecting machine or was it though the coins I had been selling to the shop? If I wanted to protect myself, I needed to find a new way to sell the coins. Maybe I could melt them down and sell them that way. It would draw a lot less attention, but I had no idea how to melt down silver into those little bars.

Well, the internet was my friend, so I started looking for videos on the subject. A quick check showed it wasn’t all that hard, and for the most basic set of equipment, it would cost a few hundred bucks. It would be a big hit to my bank account, but one I’d have to make if I wanted to stay safe.

A quick check proved what I suspected, the online vendors were the cheapest, but there were a few places in town that sold jewelry supplies and had crucibles for sale. It’d cost me more to buy local, but I could pay cash and walk away with no trail of my purchase. First off, I’d need to find a new place to live.

Preferably, I would move somewhere far from LA, but to do that, I’d need a plane or bus ticket, which would be another way for the corporate guys to find me. I had to assume that every time I purchased something with my credit or debit card, it could be tracked. I’d also have to close my bank account and ditch my phone. This was getting more and more complicated the longer I thought about it.

I needed a place to stay for the night and a chance to figure things out. Looking at the bus I was on, I could see that one of its stops was near a branch of my bank. I would cash out my account and then find a hotel nearby, one of those gross places that took cash and didn’t require a credit card. Every bus trip from here on out was going to have to be paid for in cash. I had to assume they could tap into the data for my bus pass.

Taking a deep breath, I figured out my plan. First off, I would stop at the nearest branch of my bank, withdrawing all but the minimum needed to keep the account open. I wouldn’t be visiting the bank anytime in the near future, but keeping the account open may give me other opportunities down the road, like luring my pursuers when the time was right.

After the bank, I’d find a motel for the night. I was sure that somewhere near the hotel would have a place to buy some clothes and toiletries to hold me over for a few days. After that, a bus trip to buy a crucible, and a new, disposable phone. After that, I’d hole up in my shabby motel and plan my next moves.

Before I could finalize my plans, a system prompt appeared along with an unbearable headache.

Summoner link has been activated. Prepare for immediate summoning.

Your summoning parameters are as follows:

1. You are being summoned by the mage Fitzfazzle.

2. Summoning tier, 0.

3. Summoning rank, 6.

4. Rewards level, modest.

5. This summons is support related. Prepare accordingly.

6. Forced compliance is active. Full autonomy is active.

7. Your Tier 0 armory loadout has been activated.