“You won’t get away with this. Someone will be here…” Gema sneered.

  Lux raised an eyebrow. “You called someone?”

  “They’ll be here soon,” Gema growled.

  “And we’ll be long gone,” Emiko replied.

  “What do you want?” Layla asked.

  Lux grinned.

  INVESTIGATION

  -Sir!- Frankie sent over the link.

  -Go ahead,- agent Forrester replied.

  -I’ve had a call from a friend in the Undercity. She’s in trouble.-

  -What kind of trouble?-

  -I don’t know. She was at an Exile camp when she called and said they were being attacked.-

  -A camp?-

  -She’s a cyber doc and likes to help out. Look, I need to get to her…-

  -Have you finished up there?-

  -I’ve pulled some info from this guys cyber brain. Looks like this place was attacked by an unknown and technologically advanced force which stole a lot of their cyber gear. People died, it was a mess.-

  -Is there more to find? Veronica?-

  -Maybe,- Veronica answered.

  -Okay then. Veronica, you stay there and see what you can uncover. Frankie, go help your friend. Rendezvous with the flyer. He’ll take you where you need to go.-

  -Brilliant, thanks.-

  -Keep me updated on your movements,- Forrester said.

  -Will do.-

  -Good luck.-

  Frankie turned to Veronica. “You good here?”

  “I’m fine, go.”

  Frankie nodded, and strode from the office. In the rooms and spaces of the building, people continued rushing about, moving boxes and sealing the place against any police raid they might face.

  Feeling secure, Frankie placed an encrypted call to the flyer, and arranged to meet it a short distance from the building.

  On her way out, no one confronted her, and she slipped away with ease, navigating the alleyways outside with ease.

  -I’m on station, where do you want picking up?- the flyer pilot asked.

  -I don’t care, it just needs to be quick,- Frankie replied.

  -Quick? Okay, gotcha. Stay where you are. Coming in hot.-

  Frankie slowed as she reached a nearby cross roads, as the vibrating sound of a flyer approached. Looking up, the tilt wing dropship banked around and made for the junction, ignoring the trickle of traffic and forcing the cars to stop or get crushed.

  The ramp was already mostly lowered as the aircraft bounced to the asphalt, and settled.

  -Let’s go,- the pilot barked.

  Frankie rushed onto the rear of the flyer. -I’m on,- she announced, and instantly the whine of the engines pitched up as the flyer lifted off just as quickly.

  Amanda pinged the location of Gema to the pilot. -That’s where we need to go,- she announced.

  -Got it,- the man confirmed, as the pilot pulled on the yoke, putting the flyer into a steep turn before it levelled out and powered across the undercity.

  As the city blurred by beneath them, Frankie tried calling Gema a few more times, but her link requests were rejected each time.

  -We’re on final approach,- the pilot announced as Frankie grumbled to herself.

  -Great, thanks. Just get close to the ground, I’ll jump out, no need to land.-

  -Eeerm, okay,- the pilot replied. -If you say so.-

  Walking to the back of the flyer, Frankie hit the open button for the rear ramp and gripped some nearby webbing to steady herself as the flyer angled in. Frankie could see the nearby camp, but there were no police or other emergency vehicles here. No one had reported anything in, it seemed.

  The surrounding buildings were dingy, old and uncared for, with boarded up windows, while discarded rubbish bags sat uncollected on the street.

  The flyer came in low, sending papers and dust flying about in the powerful downdraft.

  They were still several stories up, but Frankie didn’t need the flyer to go any lower.

  -Okay, I’m good,- Frankie announced, letting go of the webbing. She walked to the edge of the ramp, checked the ground was clear for her landing, and stepped off into the air.

  She dropped to the ground, landing easily.

  -Down and clear,- she announced. -Thank you.-

  -Copy that. I’ll be close, if you need me.-

  -Cheers,- she replied as the flyer pulled up and away, leaving several onlookers with bemused expressions on their faces as they peered at the new arrival.

  Frankie ignored them and let her eyes scan over her surroundings. She’d landed in the middle of a street, but there weren’t many cars around, and to one side of the road, a sprawling urban camp, that looked like a shanty town made from wooden pallets, sheets of metal and dirty tarps, held together with tape, rope, straps and rough concreted areas. These exile camps were all over the undercity, and housed the desperate and the downtrodden. Broken and bankrupted people who owed the corporations and couldn’t pay. Stripped of their assets, the lucky ones end up homeless and poor with aging cybernetics in need of repair while relying on the aid of strangers who wanted to help.

  But if you were really unlucky, the corps would disable your cybernetics, or take them from you, or even shut down your nano, leaving you vulnerable to diseases that had long ago become immune to antibiotics.

  Turning towards the camp, Frankie made for one of the gaps between shacks, heading towards the last known location of her friend.

  The lack of police wasn’t especially unusual. No one cared about the Exiles, including the authorities, who were chronically under-funded and stretched thin in this overcrowded city.

  Grumbling at the state of the society she lived in, Frankie stepped into the camp, keeping her eyes peeled for hidden dangers. Instead, she found herself greeting by the staring, defeated eyes of the exiles. These forgotten people languished in the camp, peering at the newcomer. Frankie, in her clean fresh clothing and skin, stood out amongst these dirty and dishevelled people.

  She wished she could do more for them. She’d spent years visiting camps like this one, bringing food and medicine, helping with day to day tasks or getting people medical or cybernetic aid if they needed it.

  But she wasn’t here for them, not today. She needed to find her friend.

  Luckily, she didn’t need to walk far before she found evidence of an attack.

  She spotted a couple of nearby bodies. Elsewhere, a man was tending to a woman’s beaten face.

  “What happened?” Frankie asked, approaching.

  “What do you think happened?” the man replied.

  “You were attacked,” Frankie stated. “Do you know who it was?”

  “What does that matter?”

  “Of course. You don’t deserve to be hurt or killed. I want to help.”

  “I have no idea who it was, and there’s not much you can do. So, piss off.”

  She was getting nowhere and suspected they didn’t have the answers she wanted. Deciding to move on, she pressed deeper into the camp. A little further in, she found a collection of bodies piled up at a junction towards the centre of the camp. People were milling about and talking close by. Frankie walked over. “Hey. I heard about the attack. Can you tell me what happened?”

  The small group turned and gave her an appraising look. They obviously knew she wasn’t one of their own.

  One of the group stepped closer, scowling at her.

  “What biz is it of yours?”

  “Hey, calm down,” another man said.

  “Why should I? She won’t help us,” spat the first, his emotions riding high.

  “You don’t know that,” the second man rebutted the first, before turning to Frankie. He narrowed his eyes and weighed her up before answering. “The camp was attacked. We don’t know who they were, but someone said they referred to themselves as Reavers. They hurt and killed a bunch of us and kidnapped the docs.”

  “The Cyber docs?” Frankie frowned at the revelation. “They took them?”

  “Yeah. They’re gone. God knows where to.”

  Frankie screwed up her lips in concern as she looked around. Why would they take the doctors, and where were they now?

  TACTICAL MERGING

  Ahead, Matt could see people either sitting around their ramshackle hovels or walking by, and all of them seemed to be in a similar state to the man they’d passed in the alley. In every case, their clothes were old, torn, faded and dirty, and most of them had obvious futuristic body augmentations, from cybernetic limbs to artificial eyes and synthetic skin, and none of it seemed in good working order. He could also make out the obvious signs of illness or infection in several of the men and women around him.

  It was a strange juxtaposition of expensive-looking cybernetics and abject poverty.

  What kind of hellhole had they come to? It was like some kind of shanty town in the middle of a dark and dirty, neon-lit city, and even more bizarrely, the Reavers had come here. But why?

  “The Reavers are in there?” Howie asked. “Are you sure?”

  “It’s what Amanda said,” Matt replied. “This is the location.”

  “Weird….”

  “What’s weird?” said a female voice with an Irish accent.

  Matt turned to see Amanda approaching, wearing a brand-new outfit. “Hey… Oh, wow. You look great. Trying to fit in, are we?”

  Amanda smiled. She wore futuristic shiny leggings with sneakers and a jacket. She gave Matt a little twist left and right to show it off. “This old thing? Aaah, I just grabbed it from the black-market operation I was just in.”

  “Black Market?”

  “Looks like the Reavers were after some high-tech cybernetics, and they weren’t bothered who they killed to get it.”

  “Cybernetics…” Matt frowned and turned to the nearby camp. “So, what were they doing in there?” He pointed to the shacks.

  “No clue. Let’s check it out.”

  Matt nodded before they crossed the street and walked through a gap between huts, carefully stepping over rocks, bricks and bits of metal.

  ~Hmm,~ Amanda sent over the link. ~I’m getting whispers of something that happened recently from their surface thoughts. Some kind of attack, I think?~

  ~That sounds familiar,~ Matt replied, but wrinkled his nose in confusion. ~But, why here? I don’t see much of value that would interest the Reavers.~

  “Hmm,” Amanda grunted as they walked deeper into the camp under the watchful and suspicious gaze of the people who lived here.

  ~Who are these people?~ Howie asked.

  ~I can answer that,~ Jinx replied. ~I’ve been doing a little more digging online, and it seems they’re a result of the society they live in. Citizens can pay for augmentations on subscription, paying for upkeep and upgrades. The technology of this universe is impressive. They can replace limbs or even whole bodies with cybernetic augmentations, and enhance their brains in the same way, giving them access to the net through their cyber brains. But when they run into money troubles, the corporations that own their limbs or neural nets shut them down and force them into bankruptcy, taking everything. These unlucky, homeless souls are then forced into the dangerous undercity to survive, where they congregate in camps like this one. They’ve become known as exiles~

  ~Sounds delightful,~ Matt stated. ~But why would the Reavers come here? I’m sure there are better resources elsewhere?~

  ~Agreed,~ Amanda said. ~We need answers.~

  Matt sniffed. ~Any idea where we get those answers?~

  ~How about her?~ Howie suggested.

  Matt turned to where Howie was standing at a cut-through between two shacks. There seemed to be an open area on the far side, and Matt could make out someone who stood out from the exiles. She wore some kind of shiny black fitted bodysuit with a bright, canary yellow puffer jacket and sneakers, and there was a gun strapped to her leg.

  ~Hmm. Well, she doesn’t belong in here,~ Matt said, and gave Howie a look as he stepped closer. ~Trust you to spot her.~

  Howie shrugged and smiled.

  ~Let’s have a chat with her, shall we?~ Amanda suggested, and ushered matt forward. ~Take the lead.~

  ~Okay, sure.~ Matt nodded. He led them between the shacks and into a wide junction of pathways through the camp. The dark-haired woman in the yellow jacked was talking to some exiles, and there were several injured people dotted around close by. Matt spotted bullet holes in some of the nearby shacks. This was the best evidence of an attack they’d found.

  Yellow Jacket turned as Matt drew close. Her cybernetic eyes flicked over him and his companions as she regarded them with an element of suspicion.

  “Can I help you?” she asked, her voice carrying a light London accent.

  “Actually, that’s exactly what we were wondering. We’re…” Matt glanced back at Amanda, Howie and Jinx as he considered his story. “We believe there’s been an attack here, and we’re trying to track down those responsible.”

  “I see…” the woman frowned. Matt could make out what seemed to be seams in her skin. These angular lines over her cheeks and neck gave the impression she’d been assembled in a factory or lab. They had a certain cyberpunk aesthetic quality that Matt admired. She was certainly a striking woman.

  “Who are you?” she asked, suspiciously. “Are you with law enforcement?”

  “Sort of,” Matt answered, improvising. “We’re more like bounty-hunters?”

  “Right. And you’re after the group that attacked this camp?”

  “The Reavers, yes,” Matt replied, offering her the name of the group responsible. “They’re little more than violent thieves, and we’re wondering why they’d come to an exile camp.”

  “Reavers,” Yellow Jacket repeated, nodding in approval. “These people were just telling me they’d heard the gang using that term. So, you know them?”

  “We do,” Matt confirmed, pleased they were in the right place. “Do you know what they were doing here?”

  The dark-haired woman regarded him and then glanced at Amanda beside him. A frown flickered over the woman’s features, as if she recognised Amanda from somewhere. “Possibly…” she answered, drawing the word out.

  Matt noticed the sudden suspicion that coloured the woman’s face as she took a second look at them.

  ~Feck, she recognises me,~ Amanda remarked over their link. ~I’ve just read her surface thoughts. She saw me at the warehouse I was just at. She must have been there. Hold on…~

  ~What? Why?~ Matt replied.

  “These Reavers,” Amanda said, taking a step closer to the woman. “They stole from the black market hub you were just at. You saw me there, right?”

  The woman nodded. “You interrogated the man in the office, right?”

  “In a manner of speaking,” Amanda agreed, and smiled.

  ~Remember, she and anyone else we interact with, needs to think we’re from this universe. So we don’t use magic, we use high-tech gear, okay?~

  ~Of course,~ Matt replied.

  ~Gotcha,~ Howie added.

  “Alright,” the woman said. “Then, to answer your question, they kidnapped several cyber doc’s who were helping these people. And given they have already stolen cybernetics, I can only guess that they wanted people with the relevant skills?” Frankie grunted. “I’d assumed these Reavers worked for a corporation.”

  “No, they’re independent,” Matt clarified.

  “Damn it!”

  Matt could hear the emotion in her voice. This wasn’t just a job to her.

  “Can you find them?” she asked. “One of the people they kidnapped is a friend.”

  “Aaah.” Matt suddenly understood her position. He glanced back at Amanda. ~I think she might be useful.~

  Amanda’s emerald eyes flicked over to him. ~I agree.~

  Matt turned back to the woman. “Yeah, we can help. In fact, you might be able to help us too. We’re not local, so…”

  She smiled and offered her hand. “Brilliant. Sounds good to me. I’m Frankie.”

  Matt took her slender hand in his and shook it, surprised at the firmness of her grip and the strength she displayed. “I’m Matt. This is Howie, Jinx and Amanda.”

  “Hello,” Jinx said, waving.

  “A pleasure.” Howie shook her hand.

  “Nice to meet you, Frankie,” Amanda added, and turned to the group. “Actually, I just remembered I have a lead from the warehouse that I need to follow up.”

  “Oh, okay,” Matt muttered. ~So, what should I do. There’s nothing here, and no leads.~

  ~I noticed on my return trip via the gantries above that there are more Essentia flares around now. There’s one quite close, actually. So, just use your aetheric sight and follow the Essentia.~ With a thought, Amanda sent him the mental image of the city with the overlaid Essentia flares Amanda had seen from above.

  ~Got it,~ Matt replied before speaking again. “You do that then, and I’ll follow the trail from here.”

  “Perfect, call me if you need me.”

  “I will,” Matt agreed.

  Amanda winked at him. ~I’ll be back,~ she added over their link as she turned and walked away. ~I’ll be watching too.~

  Matt watched her go before turning back to Frankie.

  “Was it something I said?” Frankie asked, sounding confused.

  “She’ll be back,” Matt replied.

  ~I will,~ Amanda added in his head.

  “Okay,” Frankie muttered. “Right then, you’re the expert. Do you have any idea where we can find these Reavers?”

  Matt wasn’t a magus, but being the husband of Amanda did come with certain advantages that most husbands did not get. Amanda had used her magic to enbue him with certain powers, including the ability to see Essentia when he wanted. So Matt concentrated for a moment, focusing on his desire to see the exotic energy. It took a second or two longer than usual in this universe, but in short order he brought the local Essentia into view, and quickly spotted several tell-tale signs of magic use, and a trail of Essentia leading away from the camp.

  Already aware of people’s ability to access the net through their brains in this universe, Matt used this information to his benefit. “I’m getting some intel from base,” he said, and tapped a finger against the side of his head by way of explanation. “We have a lead.”

 

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