

Gunmetal Sky

By Alexander McGregor

Copyright 2011 Alexander McGregor

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

****

Prologue

The three-year-old girl lay on the cold, metal gurney dressed only in a plain green hospital gown while the monotone beep of a pulse monitor echoed in the sterile operating theatre. A man and a woman in lab-coats observed the still form from behind a protective barrier.

'Flatline,' said the man with a frustrated sigh.

'Shit!' exclaimed his female companion. 'I could have sworn we had it that time.' She let out a long sigh and rubbed the back of her neck. 'You better tell Sinclair that number twenty-eight is a failure and we need another subject.'

The male lab assistant glared at his superior. 'Fuck that! You tell him!'

The woman's angry retort at her assistant's remark was abruptly cut short as the noise of the heart-monitor changed, a single bleep interrupting the constant tone. The pair turned slowly to look through the protective barrier at the child attached to the monitors. Her pulse began to grow stronger and quicker.

'What the...? How...?' The assistant stammered dumbly as he looked up at the monitor screen that displayed a close up of the girl's face. Her eyes were moving rapidly beneath their closed lids. 'She's alive?'

'Obviously!' answered the woman in a tone that suggested she was talking to an idiot. She stood over a bank of readout displays and quickly deciphered the information on them. 'Pulse is strong... EEG... shit! EEG is off the chart!' The scientist looked from her displays to the girl on the gurney. The small child had begun to breathe rapidly, her small chest rising and falling in quick succession almost as if she were hyperventilating.

'Respiration and heart-rate are going through the roof!' The lab assistant confirmed as he continued to observe his own displays. 'Jesus... her core temperature is going off the scale. What the fuck is going on in there?'

With a mental note to get a new assistant after this was over, the female scientist grabbed a syringe full of sedative. As she opened the sealed door that led to the white tiled operating theatre a wave of heat hit her and she broke into a sweat. Feeling as if she had just walked into an oven she made her way to the now visibly shaking child. When she got to the gurney she took the small girl by the arm and prepared to inject the sedative, sure that it would calm the subject down. The instant that the woman touched the exposed skin of the girl's wrist the child's eyes flew open and she stared up with wide-eyes at the white-clad adult that was standing over her with the hypo-syringe. The needle recalled immediate memories of the pain and discomfort of the procedures that had been performed on her by the woman that was holding her arm.

Instinctively, the child screamed.

A second later the woman screamed.

Flames spontaneously erupted at the point where the scientist held the girl's arm. In the next instant the adult's shriek of surprise and pain was abruptly silenced as the fire sprang forth and immolated the woman with a heat so intense that she was incinerated in moments.

Inside the observation area the lab assistant stared in open-mouthed horror as he watched his boss be consumed by the conflagration. He continued to stare as the small girl yanked out the cables and drips that were attached to her frail body and swung her legs over the side of the gurney. A second later he recovered from the shock of what he had just witnessed and went to push the emergency purge button that would flood the chamber with a lethal neurotoxin, killing all organic life. He froze again as he realised that the door leading from the observation room was still open and then when he saw that the three-year-old was looking directly at him through the barrier, her gaze holding him.

The last thing he saw was an intense white flash before a wall of fire spread from the child and engulfed the chamber, melting the barrier as if it was made of ice, incinerating the man and reducing all of the monitoring devices to slag. He didn't even have time to scream.

Outside the McKenzie Corporation facility on Asimov Station people came and went in the busy lunch hour. As one, the crowds turned and looked as a warning claxon sounded from the building. A second later the glass doors that served as the main entrance exploded outwards, cutting the nearby off-duty employees to shreds in a hail of razor sharp fragments. Those that survived the lethal shower were engulfed in the fireball that burst from the blasted entrance an instant later, scorching the area several meters outside the front of the building.

Chaos ensued.

Amidst the running, screaming people a short blonde woman spotted a small child dressed in a green hospital gown as it staggered out of the blackened and body-strewn building entrance. Despite the fact that the child's head was shaved and her features were almost skeletal-like the woman recognised the girl and couldn't quite believe what she was witnessing. She weaved through the panic-stricken crowd to get to the child.

Across the plaza, on the fringes of the blast-radius of the explosion, a man picked himself up after being flattened by the shockwave and shook his head, trying to rid himself of the ringing in his ears and the small bursts of light that were exploding like monochrome fireworks before his eyes. The dizziness passed and the ringing subsided only to be replaced with cries and screams of panic and pain. After he had picked up his glasses he blinked his eyes and looked about. Amidst the running and yelling people he spotted a small child emerging from the ruined McKenzie foyer. The dazed man stared as his mind tried to make sense of the scene that was playing out before him; the small, emaciated-looking girl with a shaved head lurched and staggered like a wounded animal and he wondered if she had been hurt in the explosion. Instinct overrode the questions that formed in his mind about who the girl was, why was she leaving the building in the wake of the flaming detonation, and why she looked like she had just stepped out of some kind of hospital ward -- all he saw at that second was a distressed child and he ran over to see if she was okay.

The blonde woman and the McKenzie employee got to the girl at the same time and both reached to catch her as she staggered and fell. As they held the frail, gowned form in their arms they looked quickly at each other then down at the girl. The child's eyes were half-closed and her skin was deathly white, her breathing weak and shallow. The blonde woman began to cry as she held the girl.

'Natasha... Natasha,' she whispered between sobs.

They man blinked and looked at the woman. 'You know her?' he asked.

The only reply was a tearful nod as the blonde cradled the girl and stroked the skin of her smooth head in a soothing manner. The child's eyes focused on the woman that held her and she whispered something inaudible before she exhaled and closed her eyes. As the she went limp the man jumped back in surprise as her body suddenly and instantly crumbled into ash, as if spontaneously burned from the inside out. All that was left was the undamaged hospital gown which the blonde woman clutched in wide-eyed, open-mouthed shock. She began to scream and cry in grief, her voice mingling with the cries of pain and panic that surrounded them.

Lewis Carson clutched his head, unable to believe what he had just seen.

****

Chapter 1

Lewis Carson stood against a wall in one of the backrooms of Duncan Sterling's clinic and nervously chewed the fingernails of his right hand while he watched the shaven-headed youth that was sitting at the cheap, plastic-topped table. The clinic was a small establishment in what was commonly referred to as Marooned Town in the lower levels of the Asimov space station and served as a frequent meeting place for those that wished to avoid the attention of the authorities.

Opposite the youth at the table was Dr. Duncan Sterling, a dishevelled looking man in his mid-forties who kept one hand on a half-empty bottle of whiskey, which he subconsciously stroked with affection. The man was a drunk and a mess but he was also one of the biggest members of the station's black market and practically ran the whole operation single-handedly. His small but thriving clinic was also the "go to" place for the station's slowly growing Ronin population when they were in need of patching up. Even though he was a notorious drunk he was a capable surgeon (as long as he wasn't sober) and if there was anything that anyone needed on the station he could get his hands on it.

Even from where he was standing, Lewis could smell the reek of drink coming from the man. The sound of chewing fingernails was beginning to get on Sterling's nerves.

'Will you please stop doing that?' He barked at the anxious man.

Lewis ceased his munching and lowered his hand while he adjusted his glasses. The spectacles were something of an oddity in the current age of full optic replacements, but he liked the look and feel of them and had always been reticent about replacing any of his original body parts. In a time where full-body custom conversion and cosmetic sculpting was becoming more and more commonplace Lewis was secretly proud of the fact he had reached the age of thirty-three without a single artificial modification to his original flesh-and-blood body.

'Sorry,' mumbled Lewis as he lowered his hand from his mouth.

Sterling nodded curtly then took a gulp from the bottle. 'I don't know what you're fretting for anyway. This kid seems to know what he's doing.' He gestured towards the smooth-headed youth.

The kid had called himself Kenzo or Kengo or something, Lewis couldn't quite remember, and he had the typical look and attitude of most Sphere Runners.

He had been cocky, arrogant, and so sure of himself that he had managed to convince Lewis to take him on for the job he was now doing. Sphere Runners were contemporary versions of what used to be archaically known as Hackers. While the technology and jargon had changed, and the modern Sphere was about as different and as far removed from the Internet of yesteryear as a computer was from an abacus, the job description had remained essentially the same. Except that in the current day and age if you got caught trying to illegally pilfer data from a Sphere or A.I. system you were more likely to wind up with frontal lobes that had the consistency of runny eggs than you were to face a jail sentence; hence the cocky, almost banzai attitude that was prevalent amongst most Runners.

Kenzo, (yes, it was definitely Kenzo), Lewis thought, couldn't have been more than eighteen or twenty-years-old. His young oriental features looked almost ethereal in the harsh light of the room's single naked light bulb that hung from a cracked and peeling dirty white ceiling. He was dressed in the latest Nu-Punk gear that was such a rage in Runner circles and the skin of his smooth head was covered in elaborate tribal tattoos. A small socket on his right temple connected him via a cable to a matt-black box about the size of a small book that rested on the tabletop. This was Kenzo's personal Sphere Box and contained his arsenal of programs that would enable him to hack what was needed from the A.I. fortress he had been sent into.

Or so Lewis hoped.

The Runner's expression was calm and relaxed; his hands placed palm-down on the surface of the Formica table giving him the look of a psychic medium conducting a séance. Lewis thought this was ironic given the high chance that this kid was most likely about to be sent to his next life. He had tried to explain to the Runner the scale of the system he was being asked to hack and that he shouldn't try and do it solo, but the kid had been all fearless and full of spunk and had convinced Lewis that he was able to do it.

The job itself was a simple data snatch but the target was the McKenzie Corporation data-fortress and, while the task may have seemed simple enough in theory, the end result would most likely be fatal. The idea of sending a kid to a lobe-melting death did not sit well with Lewis' conscience. He voiced his concern to Sterling.

'I don't doubt that he knows what he's doing. I just don't like the idea that I may be watching his melted brains run out of his ears in a few moments.'

Sterling snorted and turned to took at Lewis. 'Oh aye? You mean you're worried he'll screw up and not get you your data.'

'Fuck you Duncan.'

'Harsh words from the cold corporate there!' Countered the doctor with a laugh.

'Ex-corporate, you drunk asshole.' Lewis retorted.

This elicited further laughter from Sterling. 'Ex my arse! Once those bastards get their claws into you you'll always be part Drone. And I may be a drunken arsehole, but I'm the drunken arsehole that set you up with this kid and I'm the drunken arsehole that'll have to clean up your shit if this boy's brain is reduced to porridge!'

'Yeah, okay, okay,' replied Lewis.

The two sat in silence watching Kenzo, the only sound the faint hum of the Sphere Box as it worked.

Without warning the Runner suddenly went rigid and his face slammed violently down onto the tabletop. Lewis and Sterling both jumped, the doctor snatching the bottle away and clutching it to his chest as if he was protecting a startled child.

'Jesus!' exclaimed Lewis as he looked at Kenzo. Faint curls of smoke rose from the Sphere Box.

And Kenzo's ears.

Then the smell of burnt meat hit and Lewis grimaced reflexively, fighting the urge to vomit. Sterling was unfazed once he got over his initial fright; he'd seen much worse in various trauma rooms back when he was a legitimate doctor. Though it was obviously a pointless exercise he placed the bottle carefully down on the table and reached over to try and find a pulse. With a sigh he pulled his hand away and put the bottle to his lips and took a long pull of the amber-coloured liquid.

'Well?' Lewis was pessimistic.

Sterling lowered himself back into his seat and looked at Lewis as he ran a hand through his greasy, greying hair. 'Aye, he's dead. Total brain-fry by the look and smell of it. I might be able to save the internals for sale if they're in decent condition but that's about it.'

Lewis slid down the wall into a crouched position and put his head in his hands as he looked at the smoking corpse. 'Fuck!'

'Aye,' agreed Sterling. 'That about sums it up. Looks like your big exposure plan is shot to bits now. There's no Runner on the station that's gonna come anywhere near you after word gets out about what's happened to this lad.'

The two sat in silence for a moment then Lewis straightened up as a thought came to him. 'You're right. No one on Asimov will touch it.'

'Aye, I just said that, didn't I?'

'Yeah, but I might know someone that will have a go at it. And not some kid whose self-image was bigger than his ability either.' Lewis looked at Kenzo with regret.

'Sounds like someone you should've called in the first place instead of talking boys into getting involved in this crusade of yours and getting lobotomised by bloody machines!'

Lewis was sick of this crap. 'Hey, don't get all self-righteous with me! You're the one that's going to cart him out of here in a minute and cut him up like a butcher to see what he's got worth selling as spare parts in your so-called clinic.'

The doctor laughed at his friend's outburst. 'Aye, that's a fair point. So, who's this person you're talking about?'

The flare of anger that Lewis felt at Sterling's remarks faded away. This was how the two friends had always talked to each other--a mixture of insults and personal attacks. A reminiscent smile crept across his mouth as he thought of the woman that he had known years ago. 'Her name's Sonya. Sonya Hart.'

The doctor gave a thoughtful look and rubbed his stubbly chin. 'Hart? I've never heard of her.'

'She's not on Asimov station; she's an old friend from back home on Earth,' replied Lewis. 'We used to work together. She'll be able to help. . .' His voice trailed off as he looked at the smoking corpse that was face-down on the table.

'You hope.' Sterling finished for him.

'Aye.' Lewis mimicked with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

***

In a darkened bedroom high atop the megalithic McKenzie tower in the station's corporate sector, Mark Sinclair, the current Asimov division chief executive, had just put down the book that he had been reading before going to sleep. He had just begun to drop off when he was pulled back from the brink of sleep by a gentle chiming from his personal Sphere terminal indicating that the McKenzie A.I. wished to speak with him. It was at times like this that he wished that he didn't live in the same place as he worked but, given his position and the current state of the division, it was a necessary evil. He grumbled as he turned himself face up, opened his eyes and stared at the dark ceiling above.

'What is it Cain,' he asked with unmasked annoyance.

The chiming stopped and the deep, baritone voice of the A.I. sounded in the bedroom. 'I'm sorry for disturbing you at this hour Mr Sinclair but I have detected an attempted fortress penetration.'

'And?'

'I allowed the Runner to enter my outer system in order to see what information he was searching for before I burned him.' There was a hint of self-satisfaction in the machine's voice.

Sinclair was growing impatient. 'And?'

'And, from the nature of what the intruder was after, I would say that there is a high probability that he was sent by Lewis Carson.'

Sinclair shook his head in the darkness. 'Lewis Carson. That boy just does not learn. I think it's about time he was shown the error of his ways.'

'I agree, sir,' Cain concurred.

The CEO considered the options for a moment. 'Very well, send a small team to deal with him. But Cain?'

'Yes sir?'

'Make sure they understand that they are to be discreet. I don't want to have to arrange another cover-up. Understood?'

'Understood, sir.'

As the bedroom returned to silence Mark Sinclair turned and went back to sleep, not in the least perturbed by the fact that he had just signed Lewis Carson's death warrant. It wasn't the first murder he had authorised since he had arrived on the station.

****

Chapter 2

The continuous background noise of the Trans-Continental-Rail train engines hummed with a sleep-inducing rhythm which dulled the senses and reduced conversations between the passengers in the dimly-lit carriage to a generic murmur. Sonya Hart had been slumped in her window seat for several hours. Her half-closed eyes stared over the rim of her cheap black plastic shades and through the grimy window pane to the night-shrouded scenery beyond. The landscape was a dark blur that swept by as Sonya's mind wandered in a semi-trance. She wondered how her friends in The City would react to her imminent unannounced return and had spent the best part of her journey envisioning various scenarios. Most of the scenes that had played out in her head had involved looks of pleased surprise on the faces of her friends followed by open arms and a return to the "good old times".

Given the circumstances of her departure two years ago she knew this was fantasy-indulgent bullshit.

If Sonya was honest with herself she knew that she didn't really give a crap about what others thought regarding what had happened. Sure, the events that had transpired had caused some loss of face and general embarrassment but it hadn't been anything that she couldn't handle. At least, that was what she had kept telling herself. It was when people had started getting killed in reprisal that she'd decided that it was best for all concerned, especially her, if she disappeared for a while. Only one other person's opinion really mattered to her: that of her brother Leon.

She'd not been able to speak to him before she left and hadn't contacted him during her absence; only ever getting as far as starting to dial his number before hanging up or staring at a half-finished Sphere-mail before thinking it was a bad idea and cancelling.

Of all the re-uniting fantasies she'd entertained since deciding to return to The City, the one with her brother had been the one she had replayed in her head the most. Would he be glad (yeah, right!), surprised (was he ever?), angry (annoyed maybe?), indifferent (possibly)? Hell, Sonya didn't even know if he was alive or not but the thought of him not being there at all bothered her more than she liked so she suppressed it.

A subtle change in the tone of the engines broke her reverie, the pitch dropping slightly as the train decelerated. Sonya straightened in her seat, slid to the outside, stood and retrieved her bag from the rack above.

The rest of the passengers began to slowly move, as if awakening from anaesthesia, all except for the young couple that were still passionately necking a few seats in front of where Sonya stood holding her bag. A disembodied, synthetic voice that was barely understandable and sounded distinctly bored (Sonya idly wondered if the train's artificial pilot actually was bored or just programmed to sound that way) announced that the train was approaching its next and final stop.

Sonya returned to her seat as the other passengers began to jostle her as they collected their respective luggage, swaying against each other in the narrow aisle like passengers on a ship in rough seas. She tucked the back of her battered leather long-coat under her legs as she sat, propping her bag in the adjacent seat where it became a makeshift armrest. After momentarily watching the other passengers bump into each other and mutter unheard apologies, she returned her shaded gaze to the window where she noticed the lights of the vast metropolis approaching. A brief tension gripped her stomach, a mixture of apprehension of what to expect and excitement at coming home.

There were still several minutes until the TC-Rail arrived, so Sonya activated her internal Wet-Wareman. A play list appeared in her field of vision, generated by her cyber-optic interface. With a mental command the selector scrolled down and highlighted an artist, album, and track. She turned off the music video option as she wanted to watch the approaching lights. As her mind wandered once again, music began to play with perfect acoustic quality in her head.

***

The TC-Rail pulled into the platform of The City terminus with a loud discharge of exhaust as its engines wound down into standby. Heavy anchoring clamps slid into place at the front and back of the train and the carriages settled to a standstill. After what seemed like an eternity to the passengers, the doors slid open and the cacophony of the terminus platform flooded into the carriage: a mixture of people-noise, distorted announcements, advertisements, music, and the engine noise of other trains and shuttles endlessly arriving and departing.

It was an assault on the ears.

Sonya patiently waited for the masses to recede before grabbing her bag and joining the melee.

Further down at a different carriage Laura Heaven was carried out of the train amidst a heave of departing passengers. She had no recollection of her feet touching the ground for most of the experience and was left somewhat disorientated from the crushing bodies and blaring noise of the platform. Eventually the people thinned as they went their own ways and she felt the soles of her pink Converse finally touch hard concrete. Adjusting the weight of her shoulder bag, she ran a hand through her bright pink hair and drew a breath as she took in the sights around her. The air tasted hot and sweaty with a tang of engine fumes and there was a vibe of frenetic energy that verged on mania.

Even quite late in the evening the station was thriving with activity. Tourists rubbed shoulders with commuters and travellers, while buskers wielding a variety of instruments tried to compete with the general clamour of life to get themselves heard. Spread out amongst the crowd, armed and armoured travel corporation security personnel stood like lethal untouched islands amid the wash of the human ocean; their enhanced eyes and itchy trigger-fingers watchful for pickpockets, fare-dodgers, and troublemakers. Huge floating displays gave information regarding the times of the dozens of trains and shuttles that were ceaselessly coming and going. You needed to be an expert in cryptography to understand what they meant though, and the distorted and generally indecipherable blare of an occasional voice announcement did nothing to unravel their mystery.

Around the inside of the perimeter of the station were the overpriced shops, boutiques, bars, cafes, and restaurants that tried to snare any unsuspecting travellers with their bright and animated advertisements, the way a shiny, colourful lure on the end of a hook was designed to lure a fish to its probable doom.

In an effort to give her senses a brief respite from the onslaught, Laura looked up at the darkening sky beyond the domed, windowed ceiling of the platform. This crush of life was quite a contrast to the town she had come from and she was sure this was the most real people she had ever seen in one place at one time. She was more used to dealing with avatars in the Sphere and this amount of actual loud and smelly real life was somethng of an overload. Thinking of the Sphere, Laura touched her personal S-Box that she kept in a pouch at her hip. The pouch was black synthetic leather and bore a design of a pair of spreading white wings representing her own avatar and handle within the Sphere: Angel.

Thoughts of her alter-ego brought a confidence boost to the nineteen-year-old and she pulled out the postcard her friend had sent her. The picture was of two beautiful Art Nouveau women embracing in a kiss. On the back was a handwritten message instructing to meet at Katelle's Café near platform 3 at 21:00. It was signed "Pixel" and was followed by many "xxx". Scribbled in the margins next to Angel's address was Pixel's own home address with a comment instructing "In case you wanna return the favour!"

How typically retro of her, thought Angel as she read the message for the hundredth time. Pixel had always been about "Old Skool". The thought of actually meeting the girl that she had formed such a strong friendship (relationship?) with in the Sphere caused a fluttering, excited feeling in the pit of her stomach. She glanced at her wrist. The luminescent numbers of her implanted Skin-Watch told her it was only 20:32. She had time to spare.

Looking out over the surging crowds Angel easily spotted the animated panda drinking a cup of coffee beneath the words Katelle's Café.

May as well see what the coffee's like in the big, bad city. With that thought she braced herself and joined the throng.

****

Chapter 3

Heavy rain pelted off the roof of the taxi as it pulled up outside the Ravencroft Apartments. From within the cab Sonya noticed that even after a couple of years the busted streetlight outside the building still hadn't been fixed and, despite the fact that it was dark and raining near biblical levels, there was still the usual collection of unsavoury characters hanging around outside building fronts and lurking in darkened alleys. She swiped her cash-card, paid the fare and grabbed her bag as she stepped out into the downpour. Instantly her shoulder-length black hair was soaked and plastered to her head, the warm, heavy rain striking her coat with a sound like a million drumming fingers. The smell of the soaked streets filled Sonya's nose: a pungent aroma of garbage-littered gutters, diehard street vendors, and back-flowing sewage drains.

The Ravencroft was one of the oldest buildings in The City, harking from a time when the place had a fraction of its current troubles. The architect had gone for a Gothic look and had a done a good job, the result being that the front of the building could have passed as that of a church, complete with gargoyles. The grandeur of the structure had slid into decrepitude; years of neglect coupled with graffiti and vandalism hadn't added to the aesthetic value of the building.

Sonya stood in the pelting rain as the taxi pulled away and looked up at a window near the top. That had been her window. After a particular job had gone unexpectedly well she'd paid enough rent to the shit-hole landlord to keep the place hers for five years. Yet, as she looked up, and rain streamed down her face, a frown formed above her shades. When she'd left, there had been blinds in that window. Now there were curtains. Cheap, nasty ones.

A deep rumble of thunder rolled across the night sky and a gunshot echoed a few blocks away. What the fuck is going on with my apartment? Sonya thought.

As if the gunshot had been a starter's pistol, she dashed for the stone steps that led up to a canopied entrance with a swipe-card lock and a list of peeling and faded names next to a column of buzzers. A quick sprint got her under the relative protection of the overhang and she searched her pockets for her entrance card. Once the plastic had been found and slid through the scanner the door opened and Sonya stepped into the dimly lit foyer. The thick aroma of the stale, blue carpet mingled with the stench of old urine and brought a small involuntary smile to her lips. Even though it smelled like crap, it smelled like home. Rainwater went flying as she shook the lapels of her coat and ran her fingers through her hair. She took off her shades, folded them and put them in a pocket.

The foyer was a simple entrance with a dim fluorescent strip-light and bare, grey cement walls that made the place feel colder than it was. A solitary step led past a bank of old and disused metal mailboxes to a stairwell entrance and an elevator. Getting in the elevator was like playing a game of Russian roulette so Sonya climbed the step and made for the stairwell, her booted footsteps echoing off the stone walls.

After the third failed attempt at opening her door with her key card Sonya rattled the door handle in frustration. She stopped when she heard movement from within. Deciding that she'd not come all the way back home just to have to knock for permission to enter her own paid for accommodation she took the door handle in her left hand and began to push. The micro-servos and synthetic muscle fibres of her artificial cybernetic left arm engaged and flexed and the door began to splinter in its frame. Her original arm had been lost in an explosion years ago during one of her first jobs. While the replacement looked real it was many times stronger than the flesh and bone original.

Accompanied by the sound of shredding wood the door splintered inwards and Sonya looked into an apartment that she barely recognised.

The most startling change was the current occupants: a skanky looking whore in nothing but a pair of hastily donned panties and an angry looking man currently trying to pull up his pants and shout indignantly at the same time. Sonya took one step in, dropped her bag next to her feet and purposefully closed the damaged door behind her. The look on her face was enough to silence the yelling couple.

When the apartment door opened again the prostitute ran into the corridor in a blur of scanty clothing and cheap pheromone spray, clutching a clear plasti-mesh coat. Shortly after, the man, now fully clothed, walked from the room. His jacket was folded over one arm while the other cupped his bleeding nose. Sonya followed behind pushing him firmly into the now empty corridor. The whore had vanished down the stairs at the end, the sound of her white high-heels clacking on the steps still echoing off the walls. When the bleeding man had shuffled fully out of the apartment Sonya began to close the door but stopped as the guy turned to face her. She stood with an expectant expression.

'Doo'll bay for dis doo bishch!' His broken nose was an obvious speech impediment.

Sonya frowned quizzically as she deciphered this then said with a dismissive laugh. 'Yeah, whatever.' and slammed the door, leaving the guy dripping in the corridor.

After the door had closed Sonya leaned back against it and surveyed the room. Most of her stuff was gone and had been replaced with junk. She hoped, for the landlord's sake, that her gear was in storage and hadn't been sold or binned. The room's gaudy décor and its recent hourly paying guests told of its new function. The thought disgusted Sonya as it seemed to defile all the good memories she'd had of living there. For a brief moment she wondered if she'd gone too far in punching the whore's trick in the face, after all he didn't know this had been her apartment. Then her eyes strayed to the scene through her open bedroom door where she saw recently discarded and soiled sheets lying in a dishevelled heap and, with a disgusted curl of her lip, she wished she'd hit him harder.

Annoyed at the abuse of her home by what she imagined must have been an endless line of prostitutes she walked across the living room to the bedroom doorway. Seeing that the bed had been used to the point of being almost beyond repair, but not actually moved from the position she had left it in before leaving The City, she kneeled at its foot and reached underneath, her fingers probing for the loose part in the bare boards of the floor. A push and a board flipped up. Reaching inside, Sonya felt the reassuring cold steel on her fingers and stood up, pulling out a large calibre handgun. It was loaded and ready to go.

Time to have a little chat with the landlord about using my place as a banging shop, she thought as she checked the safety was on and reached underneath her coat to slide the gun into the back of her black jeans. The touch of the cold metal on the bare skin of the small of her back induced an involuntary shiver.

Before she took another step there was a knock at her door causing it to rattle in its frame.

Maybe that guy fancies a shot at round two? The thought brought a slight smile to her lips and her right hand went to the grip of her pistol and took it out, holding it casually out of sight behind her leg and under her coat.

Walking to the door she stood at the side and opened it a couple of inches, ready to point her weapon in the face of a pissed off John and maybe a few of his friends. The intent instantly disappeared when she saw who was waiting for her.

The attractive Japanese woman visible through the small gap of open door looked to be in her mid-twenties and was dressed in an expensive suit. She had jet-black straight hair that fell loosely down around her shoulders to her waist and cold, green eyes that regarded Sonya from beneath a neatly cut, blunt fringe. She smiled icily, showing perfect teeth.

'Konbanwa, Sonya-san.'

Sonya quickly recovered from her initial surprise at her visitor. 'Yeah, how's it going Fumiko?'

'That depends,' replied Fumiko in accented tones. 'May we come in?' At that utterance an equally well-dressed Japanese man stepped into view. Sonya immediately recognised Sato, Fumiko's bodyguard and chief enforcer. He had the look and build of a predator, his short, black hair slicked back flat against his skull. His most remarkable, and somewhat unsettling feature, was his eyes--the original organic ones had been completely removed and replaced with chromed cybernetics giving them the look of permanently polished mirrors.

'You're asking me like I have a choice?' Sonya tightened her grip on the pistol as she addressed Fumiko. 'What do you and Sato want?'

The Japanese woman shrugged slightly and smiled innocently. 'Just a simple talk between old friends, nothing more.'

'So talk,' came Sonya's curt reply.

'That's not very polite, Sonya-san.' Fumiko feigned distress and placed a hand on her supposedly wounded heart.

Sonya figured if Fumiko's intentions had been anything else besides talking then her metal-eyed attack-dog would have reacted by now. She warily opened the door all the way, stepped back and gestured into her apartment with her left hand.

'Dozo.'

As Fumiko entered, her eyes quickly flicked over the interior seeking out any potential trap. Sato followed a few steps behind and closed the door, never taking his silver eyes from Sonya. She smiled up at him, seeing her reflection in his gaze and took a couple of steps back. Fumiko turned to the other woman and indicated the concealed hand. 'You can put that away, Sonya-san. I really do just wish to talk.'

Eyes darting from Fumiko to Sato and back again Sonya relaxed slightly and revealed the gun with a shrug. 'You never know in this neighbourhood,' she said as she returned the weapon to the back of her jeans and showed her empty hands before crossing her arms across her breasts.

'I like what you've done with the place,' said Fumiko with a look of mild amusement mixed with confusion as she viewed the décor.

'Yeah, I thought it might add character, you know? I don't want to seem rude by not offering you a seat but, given the condition of the furniture I'd actually advise against it.' Sonya inclined her head to the nearby two-seater couch whose imploded cushions lay on springs that had no doubt been shagged into oblivion. 'Gomen nasai,' she added with a straight face.

Fumiko gave a slight smile. 'I prefer to stand.'

The Japanese woman walked to a shelf that ran beneath the window, turning her back on Sonya. She seemed to find great interest in the half-melted red candle that had welded itself to the wood of the shelf. A black-nailed, immaculately manicured finger came up and rubbed the malformed object, caressing its twisted shape. 'You know, I'd heard you were on your way back here but I couldn't quite believe it. I thought to myself, surely she's not that stupid.' She turned and faced Sonya. 'Not my Sonya-kun, and yet here you are.'

Sonya shrugged and snorted slightly. 'I'm not your Sonya, not anymore.'

Fumiko and Sato moved quickly, both closing the distance to the other woman in a few swift strides, forcing her back against a wall. Sonya inhaled sharply and tensed but kept her arms crossed in front of her. Sato stared down at her and Fumiko stood inches away.

'I give you this one chance to leave.' Fumiko brought a finger up before Sonya's face as she spoke. 'Because of what you once meant to me. Leave tonight and return to wherever you have been cowering all this time. And this time stay away.' The finger came down and pointed at Sonya's chest, prodding as the Japanese woman continued. 'Did you really think people would be glad to see you after what you did, after how you left things? I warn you, you will not be safe in my city if you remain. You will be made accountable.'

The jabbing finger lowered and Sonya unfolded her arms and took a resolute step forward, forcing the shorter woman to take a pace back.

'You know what,' asked Sonya in a defiant tone, staring into Fumiko's eyes. 'That sounds kinda interesting. I think I'll stick around and see what happens. It might be fun.'

A disappointed sigh came from the Japanese woman as she looked at the floor and shook her head. 'As you wish Sonya-san. I doubt that we will meet again but my associates will be in touch.'

'I look forward to it,' replied Sonya with a relaxed tone.

The two women stared unblinkingly at each other then Fumiko turned to the door. Sato opened it and they left, leaving Sonya alone in her apartment. She reached out a hand and leaned against the damaged door.

Welcome home, she thought to herself then, straightening up: right, time to see that shit-stain of a landlord!

****

Chapter 4

The bustling, busy crowds of people that flowed past the window of Katelle's Café hadn't really thinned much in the time that Angel had spent sitting at a table drinking coffee while she waited for Pixel to arrive. The interior of the coffee shop was designed with the intent of making the customer feel relaxed and more willing to part with their money for the various over-priced beverages and snacks on offer. Most of the seating consisted of soft, cushion-covered sofas in pastel colours positioned around large coffee tables. The floor was carpeted and poster sized pictures of black and white cityscape photos were spaced out along the wall.

Sitting at a window-side stool, Angel finished her mocha and placed the empty white mug, which bore the drinking panda motif, on the wooden counter. She checked her Skin-Watch for what felt like the thousandth time. The numbers glowed 21:16.

Gazing out through the window with a growing sense of irritation at her friend's lateness, Angel searched for any hint or sign that Pixel was amongst the mass of people outside. After a few moments she realised that it was futile to try and pick out an individual from the sea of humanity. With a frustrated sigh she reached into her jacket pocket and took out her pink-fronted mobile phone and pressed the speed dial for Pixel's number.

Voicemail.

With another, even more frustrated sigh she returned her phone to its pocket and took out the postcard again, once more marvelling at the piece of physical mail that Pixel had sent with instructions regarding their rendezvous. It had seemed a much more personal touch than the usual Sphere-mails that were normally used for such communications and was indicative to Angel how Pixel viewed their relationship. It was obviously something worth making an effort over.

Touching as Angel found the thought; she quickly remembered her frustration at her friend's lateness and examined the address that Pixel had scribbled next to hers. She hadn't come all this way just to be stood up. Sliding from her stool she picked up her bag and slung it onto her shoulder.

It was then that the man that had been watching her intently since she had first entered the coffee shop made his move.

Following the pink-haired girl out of the coffee shop and back into the crowds of the terminal the guy was convinced that this one was fresh off the train and would provide a particularly good haul, judging by the quality of her gear. From what he'd witnessed while they had both drank their coffees she had obviously been waiting for someone and was annoyed that she had been stood up. When she made her call and then took out what had looked like a small piece of card he had figured that she was checking an address and was most likely about to go and find a taxi. He wasn't entirely sure what the card had been but suspected that it held some directions. Guessing that the girl was naïve and was obviously new to The City he decided to play the "Good Samaritan" act when they got to the taxi rank.

Angel stood at the large, pillared entrance to the terminal and looked at the alien streets. She had no clue as to the location of anything in this place. She could see info-points in booths and map dispensing vending machines spaced out along the street. They would have any and all the information she could desire but that wasn't how she wanted to do things. Looking down the street a ways she regarded the taxi queue with a sinking feeling of disbelief. The line of people was longer than those found outside popular nightclubs on Friday nights. Her mood was beginning to crash and, to add to it, rain began to fall. Casting her eyes up to the heavens with an accusing look that suggested the downpour was a personal attack, she hastily pulled up the hood of her grey, skull adorned jacket and took out her phone to call Pixel again.

Still voicemail.

Just as she resigned herself to standing and getting wet and had taken a step towards the now muttering and complaining queue, a voice just behind her halted her in her tracks.

'Hey, excuse me.'

Warily, Angel turned to face the man that had addressed her. He looked perfectly normal and was getting wet just the same as she was. She prepared to make some excuse about how she didn't have any change or money.

'Er, y--yeah,' she cursed herself as her stutter manifested itself as usual in real conversation with real people.

'Sorry, I don't mean to startle you or anything but I thought you looked a bit lost and was just wondering if there was anything I could do to help?' Before Angel could answer he quickly added, 'I'm not after any money or anything!' and put his hands up in a placating gesture and added a disarming smile.

Angel became apologetic. 'Oh! N--no! I didn't t--think you were. . . I w--w--wasn't thinking you. . . I. . .'

Unable to believe his luck at this girl's nature the guy put on a magnanimous, understanding front. 'Hey that's okay. I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought you looked a little lost and was just wondering if there was anything I could do to help.'

'Um. . . w--well I w--was expecting a friend but. . .' Angel was still wary of the stranger.

'Ah, you're meeting someone. That's cool.' He made to turn and walk away but Angel stopped him.

'Y--yeah I w--was m--m--meeting a friend but she's a n--no show. I w--was going to g--get a cab but. . .' She trailed off as she looked at the queue.

'Stood up, huh? That sucks. Yeah, a cab's probably your best bet but you'll be waiting for ages and the drivers here make a living from ripping off visitors. It's like they can smell 'em or something.' Seeing the girl's slight frown at that he moved on quickly. 'Look, do you know where your friend lives? If it's walking distance I can give you some directions.'

Of course, it didn't matter what address she was about to give him it was going to be walking distance.

'Y--yeah. I've got her address here. Two seconds.' Angel went into a pocket and took out the postcard and handed it to the man. He looked at it with puzzlement then flipped it over and saw the address.

'A postcard? Weird. . . anyway, let's see. Oh, yeah! I know the place well!' He handed the card back and it was instantly returned to the inside of the pink-haired girl's jacket to protect it from the rain.

'You kn--now the address?' Angel asked with a hint of hope in her voice.

'Oh yeah,' he replied in an assured tone. 'It's a ten minute walk from here. Tops. You'll be there before you know it. I mean you can wait for a cab if you like but. . .' He let himself trail off so she could make what seemed like the logical choice. The two of them looked at the queue again.

'T--ten m--minutes away,' she asked, seeking confirmation.

'Yup. I can show you, no problem,' he replied with a slight shrug.

A moment's indecision as Angel thought it over. 'O-okay. W--w--where do I go?'

'Right. It's real simple. Just head out across this road to the other side of the street then, do you see that alley between the bar and the clothes shop?'

'Yup.'

'Just head straight down there and take a right when you come out. Then it's straight up from there for about ten minutes and you'll see the place on your side of the street. If you get to the arcade then you've gone too far. Okay?'

'S--straight over and through the alley. Th--then r--right and straight on till I g--g--get there. The arcade is too far. I g--got it. L--look, thanks a lot.'

'Don't mention it. I hope you find your friend.'

With a smile and a nod Angel adjusted the bag on her shoulder and stepped out into the now torrential rain and made for the crossing that led across the road to the alley that had been pointed out. She simply ignored the slight niggling feeling at the back of her mind that something was wrong.

The "Good Samaritan" watched the girl for a moment not quite believing how easy that had been. He didn't know where she had come from but she was about to get a wake-up call about what the world was really like. Having made sure that the girl was heading for the alleyway he had indicated, he dashed out across the street to take a shortcut that would lead him to the same alley before his intended victim left it.

Still ignoring the slight sense of trepidation, the now increasingly damp Angel stood and regarded the entrance to the alleyway while the rain poured down around her. The dark corridor between buildings twisted slightly so the exit was out of sight around a bend. There was no direct lighting and large bins formed dark hulks with deep shadows. She told herself she was overreacting and walked into the opening.

Pretty soon the shadows became potential hiding places for rapists and muggers and Angel's imagination started putting things in the dark spaces that weren't there. She quickened her pace and the noise of the street began to fade as it was muted by the echo of the pelting rain bouncing off the walls and ground of the alleyway.

Feeling more and more like this had been a bad idea as she realised that the passageway was longer than she had anticipated, and she still couldn't see the exit onto the next street, Angel stopped and decided to head back the way she had come. Perhaps the taxi queue had gone down a bit by now. Even if it hadn't, standing and waiting seemed a lot more sensible than what she was currently doing. What the hell had she been thinking taking directions from the first stranger that she had met? It was exactly the kind of thing that Pixel had warned her against when trying to prepare her for the trip to The City.

Just as she turned to retrace her steps a shadow proved to be more than a mere figment of Angel's imagination and detached itself from a space next to a collection of old, rotten cardboard boxes just behind her. It was a man. Stupidly she felt a moment of slight relief when she saw that it was the "Good Samaritan" that had given her directions to the alleyway. The feeling evaporated when she realised that his intentions were no longer altruistic. Cold dread leapt up her spine and she gripped the handle of her shoulder bag until her knuckles turned white.

Silently the man approached her, moving to the side so as to block off any possible escape route. Heavy rainfall drummed loudly off the soggy boxes.

The would-be guide addressed her. 'So, here's your introduction to life in The City.'

He smiled and in a sudden movement punched her hard in the face. Angel screamed and staggered back into the soaked boxes where she stumbled and fell to her knees, her hands releasing her bag and going to her face. She felt blood begin to flow from her nose and she began to sob.

'Now, just let me have your shit and it doesn't have to get any worse than that,' commanded her assailant. She didn't look up as she was too intent on watching her blood dilute with the rain as it pooled in her cupped hands and ran between her fingers.

Somewhat detached from what was happening to her as panic gripped her nerves, Angel felt herself being pulled to her feet and her bag being taken from her. She didn't even resist as hands roughly yanked open her hooded jacket and removed the contents of her pockets. Only when her attacker went for the pouch containing her Sphere Box did she snap back to full awareness and put her hands protectively over it. She sniffed blood and tried to control her sobbing.

'N--no! Please,' she pleaded. 'Y--you've got my stuff. Take it, just p--please leave me th--this. Please!'

'You're fucking joking, right,' the man asked incredulously. 'You were told not to fuck about and this would be over with but you really are stupid aren't you?'

A movement of his arm and steel appeared in his hand. In an instant the knife was on Angel's throat. Instinctively she pressed up against the wall of the alley and lifted her chin, trying to pull away from the blade.

'No,' she whimpered and closed her eyes in anticipation of the inevitable cut.

It never came. Instead, a loud voice shouted 'Hey!' from a little way down the alley and the blade was instantly removed. Eyes still squeezed closed, Angel heard a brief curse from her assailant followed by feet running away from her. A second later she heard more feet running towards her from the opposite direction and she opened her eyes.

A single figure stood before her looking in the direction that the attacker had fled. Angel's saviour was a tall man in his early thirties dressed completely in black. A long coat covered his frame but she could see that he was powerfully built. He turned to the terrified pink-haired girl, rain running down his face.

'Are you okay?' His voice was calm and he sounded genuinely concerned. A tentative hand reached out to the now shivering girl but he didn't touch her. He could see she was terrified. 'Are you hurt?' The man cocked his head slightly to see if Angel's neck had been cut. When there was no reaction from her other than a wide-eyed stare he opened his hands in a placating gesture and put on a reassuring tone. 'Look, I won't hurt you. Okay? My name's Leon.'

He smiled and Angel focused on his face. Leon had a shaved head and a neatly trimmed beard. His features were shadowed and slightly distorted by the downpour but he generated an air of calm and Angel felt herself relax slightly. As he reached into a pocket she went tense again, expecting him to be another would-be-kind-citizen-turned-scumbag. Seeing the girl's reaction he raised a hand and slowly pulled out a handkerchief gesturing towards her nose. 'Here, you're bleeding. Take it.'

A moment passed and the shock of what had happened suddenly flooded over Angel. She burst into tears and grabbed Leon

'P--please! Help me,' she implored as she gripped his arms.

'I will, I will. Don't worry. Are you okay?'

'Y--yes. . . I guess.' She took the offered handkerchief, which had become soaked, and held it to her nose. 'That b--bastard t--took everything! I can't b--b--believe it.'

'I think you're lucky that your stuff is all he took. If I hadn't been coming through here it might have been a lot worse. Come on let's get you out of here.'

Leon began to turn and walk back to the entrance to the alleyway. He paused when Angel made no move to follow him.

'If I wanted to hurt you don't you think I would have done it by now? Come on,' he said with a calm tone and a beckoning gesture.

He waited as the trembling girl made a decision and began to follow him. As she stepped away from the scattered boxes Angel paused as something on the ground caught her eye.

'H--hold on a sec,' she said as she bent and picked up the postcard Pixel had sent her. It had been taken out of her pocket when she had been quickly searched and discarded either as worthless or in haste when Leon had startled the attacker. It was now soggy and limp but not altogether ruined. Suddenly bereft of all but her Sphere Box and the clothes she was wearing, the miserable-looking postcard seemed to have sudden immeasurable value and she mentally vowed to never lose it. Cradling it gently against her chest she followed Leon out of the alley.

Standing once again at the entrance to the darkened passage and back on the busy, bustling, well-lit street Leon took Angel under the overhang of a shop entrance and turned to the girl he had saved.

'So is there anywhere I can take you? Where were you going when you headed in there?' He nodded back to the alleyway and ran a hand over his smooth head, wiping off the rain water.

Angel quickly recounted what had happened to her and Leon tried not to show his disbelief that she had fallen for the guy's routine. 'Let me see the address,' he pointed to the postcard Angel had indicated when she retold her story. 'I can probably show you the way. For real.'

'I th--think I sh--should go to a p--police station or s--something first. D--don't you?'

Leon raised his eyebrows and rubbed the back of his neck. 'You got any money left on you that that guy didn't get?'

'Um. . . n--no.' She stared down at her pink Converse in dejection.

'Then I hate to tell you but there's no point going to the police. Unless you can pay for their services you're wasting you're time. Besides they're probably more crooked than the guy that jumped you.'

Angel seemed to sag. 'So th--that's it? I've l--lost all m--my stuff and it's j--just t--tough shit?'

Leon shrugged slightly having found out long, long ago just exactly how things in The City worked. 'Hey. You haven't lost everything you know? You're still breathing. That's more than most could probably say in the situation you found yourself in.'

The young Sphere Runner considered this. He was right; and he did seem to know a lot about the kinds of things that went on in darkened alleys. Which brought to her mind the question of what exactly had he been doing down there himself when he startled her mugger. The question leaped to her mouth but, looking into his dark-brown eyes she decided to not look this black-clad gift horse in the mouth and quickly swallowed the urge to ask. Instead she simply nodded in agreement.

'So, can I see your friend's address?' Leon smiled as Angel handed over the soggy card. 'Nice. . . let's see.' He carefully turned it over and eventually managed to decipher the ink lettering that had ran in the rainwater. 'Huh, actually that guy was right. It is in walking distance. Just not the way he told you to go. Come on, I'll take you there. I'm kinda heading that way anyway.' He wasn't but he thought the girl needed a friend for the moment.

He handed the postcard back and turned to walk off. Angel took the limp object and held it under her jacket and flat against her chest as she stepped out from the cover of the overhang and quickly followed Leon into the pelting downpour.

***

The walk to Pixel's address was somewhat surreal for Angel. She didn't really take notice of where she was being led and just let herself be taken along amongst the crammed, rain-diffused city streets while she replayed recent events over and over in her head. She kept beating herself up at being so monumentally stupid. Still, even though she had lost just about everything she owned she kept telling herself that it would all get sorted out once she hooked up with Pixel. Pixel lived in The City. She knew the rules here. Sure, she'd probably kick Angel's dumb, naïve ass but it would all be cool afterwards. Yeah, Pixel would know what to do.

She almost walked into the back of Leon as he stopped.

'Er. . . here we are,' he said with an uncertain tone.

Angel didn't like the sound of his voice and stepped from behind him to see the apartment block. The building wasn't exactly awe-inspiring but it wasn't the cause of the immediate sense of dread that she felt as she took in the scene before her.

The space outside the entrance to the apartment building was a clear semi-circle lined with onlookers and gawkers. A paramedic truck was parked outside and its blue lights flashed in silence. The crowd prevented her from seeing clearly what was going on, but their collective attention seemed to be focused on the ground.

Just then Leon muttered something under his breath, almost as if in reply to an unheard question, and turned to Angel.

'Okay, look. I'm sorry but I have to go. Sorry to just dump you here but I have to be somewhere.' Leon's entire demeanour had changed. He seemed suddenly over-alert and on edge, "wired" was the word that sprang to mind as Angel looked at him.

'Hope you get sorted. Sorry,' he said curtly.

Before Angel could even answer he had melded into the surrounding people and was gone.

Figuring that this was typical of the way her life seemed to be going at the moment, the Sphere Runner pushed her way to the front of the crowd dreading what or who she would see on the ground. Just as she got to the edge of the gawkers a body was placed on a gurney and lifted from the ground by a bored-looking and wet medic in green fatigues. A second medic was discussing something with an annoyed overweight, balding man holding an umbrella. He looked to be paying for something and was being given a receipt. The body on the gurney was that of a young woman and the ground she had recently been lifted from was spattered with blood that was starting to wash away in the deluge of rain.

Seeing the body getting moved acted as an indication that the entertainment was over and was a silent signal for the crowd to begin dispersing. Only Angel remained rooted where she was, standing with her hands on her chest protecting the postcard and watching with a kind of dread fascination as the body was taken to the ambulance. Then she spotted a distinctive star-shaped tribal-style tattoo on a bare wrist and she realised with horror who the girl was. Galvanised by a sudden burst of panic she dashed to the gurney and the surprised looking medic. He began to protest but Angel didn't hear a word. All that registered with her was that the blood-splattered face that stared up from the gurney with dead eyes was the face that she had seen in the Sphere many, many times. Looking down into the vacant eyes of her friend and seeing that the body was riddled with bullet-holes, one thought slammed home: Pixel was dead.

For the second time that night Angel fell to her knees sobbing; only this time the tears were of grief and despair and not physical pain.

The medic looked awkward for a moment then shrugged and carried on moving Pixel's corpse. The second medic and the angry bald man with the umbrella looked at Angel for a second before completing their business.

Unable to fully deal with the events that had transpired that night, Angel knelt there in the rain and watched through tear-blurred eyes as the body of her friend was loaded up into the ambulance and the doors were closed. The second medic got into the ambulance and the engine gunned as the vehicle pulled away. She had absolutely no idea what to do so she just remained on her knees, stared at the ground and wept.

She eventually became aware that someone was standing over her. It was the bald fat man with the umbrella. He was saying something to her. Angel squinted her eyes in concentration as she tried to focus on the man's large, unshaven face, attempting to make out what he was saying over the sound of the rain bouncing off the street and the loud pounding of her own heart in her ears.

'I said, what do you think you're doing just kneeling there? Something bad will happen to you and I've had enough shit happen tonight without you getting mashed outside my place so piss off will ya?'

No response.

The man let out a sigh and regarded Angel as he scratched his bristly chin. 'Did you know Pixel?'

A morose nod.

'Yeah. . .' The scratching hand went up to his head. 'You supposed to be meeting her or something? You look like the friend I heard her mention a couple of times. Look, get up will ya? Come on.'

He grabbed her under an arm and pulled her to her feet, holding the umbrella so that it shielded them both. Angel didn't resist, she no longer felt in control of her life and was just cruising on auto-pilot. The man led her into the apartment building. She vaguely remembered riding a lift and being taken to an apartment door. A key-card was placed in her hand and a door was opened before her.

The man spoke again. 'Look, Pixel had paid up for the week so her place is yours for now. You look like you need somewhere to crash so here ya go. I'll see you tomorrow and we can talk about rent and stuff.'

With that he half shoved Angel into the apartment and closed the door.

Standing in the dark, empty room the distraught nineteen-year-old felt the door close on her back and she slowly slid down onto to floor and began to scream and sob loudly as everything washed over her.

****

Chapter 5

On the afternoon following Angel's traumatic arrival to The City, Elina Mendeleeva was making her way through the streets in a part of downtown that lay on the border of what the local inhabitants colloquially called the Combat Zone, or simply the CZ or The Zone.

It was the part of The City that held the most violent gangs, had the highest crime rate, the shortest life expectancy for tourists and was effectively annexed from the rest of The City. Not by any walls or fences or cordons but simply due to the fact that local people with the merest hint of common sense knew that if they strayed across the invisible border that marked the beginning of The Zone they probably had about ten minutes before they found themselves dead with their killers arguing over who would take possession of their boots.

The police, who were effectively private mercenaries, had no desire to risk their lives by attempting to do anything about it. The local government, while acknowledging the problem of the CZ, always found something else to spend taxpayer's money on, like annual bonuses to themselves. The corporations were happy to keep it the way it was just so long as the denizens that resided there didn't spill out to their privately controlled sectors. Besides, The Zone often proved to be a good source for cheap, disposable, unaccountable cannon-fodder in the many covert actions that the various companies performed against each other.

Elina wasn't really aware of the local social dynamics and subtleties but, considering where she had recently arrived from and taking into fact the line of work that she was in, she wouldn't have been the slightest bit bothered anyway. All she knew was that the place where she was supposed to meet her contact was in the area. Looking down the street she spotted the sign of the building she was looking for:

Club Cordite.

The nightclub was pretty much smack on the border between the CZ and downtown. As a result it was a prime location for all sorts of underground activity and was considered the hottest place in The City for local Runners and Ronin to find work. Consequently there was an unspoken "no fire" rule in the club as everyone had a vested interest in seeing the place stay open. It acted as a neutral ground for a lot of the local gangs and conflicting organisations and was probably the only place in The City that you would find people that would normally try and literally rip each other's throats out on sight sit side-by-side and share a drink.

One man was effectively the heart of all the action that took place in Club Cordite. He was the man to see if you needed anything. You name it, this guy could arrange it.

For a fee of course.

The City's very own Wizard Of Oz was called Fish and it was he that Elina had come to meet.

While Club Cordite didn't officially have open or closed hours, the place was quiet in the early afternoon. Elina made her way to the main entrance. The doorway was wide enough to allow for streams of people to come and go as easily as possible at peak hours. A huge display board was above the entrance and normally showed a montage of images made from what was currently going on in the club mixed in with clips from music vids and popular media. It was currently inactive.

A single doorman stood at the opening to the club and looked relaxed in his body armour with a shotgun resting casually on his shoulder. While the Cordite was unofficially a no-fire zone there was occasionally someone that was either new on The Scene and just didn't know or was so much out of their skull on one substance or another that they just didn't care.

The shotgun usually settled the matter.

He watched Elina approach the club with mild interest. The woman was barely over five-feet tall and had boyishly short blonde hair. She was dressed in a plain black vest top and urban camouflage combat pants that didn't look to be concealing any hidden guns. Though her diminutive frame wasn't exactly imposing the doorman could tell there was something about her; the way she walked and carried herself projected an air of someone perpetually on the cusp of violence.

Having long ago learned to trust such instincts, the bouncer lowered the shotgun from his shoulder and prepared himself when it became evident that the club was the woman's destination.

Elina walked to within a few feet of the club entrance and stopped when she saw the shotgun move slightly in her direction. It wasn't pointing directly at her but it would only take a fraction of movement to bring the lethal weapon to bear. As soon as she stopped, the gun-wielding man at the doorway declared:

'Club's closed. Come back later.' His tone indicated that the matter was non-negotiable.

'I'm not here for drinks. I have a meeting with Fis,.' said the blonde in an Eastern European accent.

Doorman considered this, his eyes running over Elina's compact, athletic figure as if re-evaluating her. Sure, people came to see Fish all the time but something about this woman gave him the "willies". Still, better not to risk pissing off his boss by blowing holes in a potential client.

'Name?' he asked the woman before him.

'Elina.'

A nod from the man and he activated his internal com system with a mental command. 'Fish?' It looked as if he had just started talking to himself. 'Yeah, sorry. Got an Elina out here saying she has a meeting with you. You expecting her?'

A pause as he listened to the response, never taking his eyes from the petite blonde. 'Okay,' he continued then addressed Elina. 'Go on in.'

The shotgun returned to his shoulder as he stepped to the side, allowing the woman into the club.

***

Fish looked at the blonde from across the table in the booth they were occupying. The woman gave the impression of a ticking time-bomb that might go off at any moment. He was used to dealing with all kinds of people but he recognised that Elina was a disaster waiting to happen and that he'd have to tread fairly carefully around her. He wondered with mild interest what it was that had pushed her to this condition.

The main bar of Club Cordite was practically deserted, with only a couple of bar staff milling about behind the serving counter, just hanging out and prepping for the semi-controlled anarchy that descended upon the club when the sun went down. Ambient background music mingled with low conversation from the staff and 24/7 diehard customers that sat at the tables.

Elina instantly saw why the guy opposite her in the booth was called Fish. He was wearing the most hideous kipper-style tie she had ever seen and suspected that he probably had an entire closet full of such horrendous accessories. His overall appearance wasn't exactly what she had expected from the one man in The City that had a finger in just about every pie going. His dark hair was long and greasy and his face sported what looked like about two weeks worth of scruffy, uncultivated stubble. His eyes were concealed behind a pair of shades with black, circular lenses. Fish's tie was an eyesore and his shirt looked like it had been slept in for several nights in a row but despite the fact that he looked scruffy, when he had smiled at Elina as she had sat down he had shown perfect white teeth and had exuded a natural disarming charm and charisma that a politician would have been envious of.

After brief introductions, Fish gave a nod and one of the bar staff approached with a tray holding a drink. Elina was surprised when she tasted it as it had turned out to be a Red Bradbury, her favourite cocktail from back home on Asimov station. The smile and knowing nod Fish gave upon seeing the expression on her face had told Elina that the choice hadn't been a lucky guess; it was a civil indication that he already knew all about her.

'So,' Fish started once all the pleasantries and games were out of the way. 'You've come a long way to see me. Further than most.'

Elina took another sip of the Red Bradbury and shrugged. 'We don't have your kind of connections back on the station. Not yet, anyway.'

'Hmm.' Fish scratched his face-scruff in a thoughtful manner. 'I'm sensing business opportunities up there.' He indicated the general direction of up and smiled. 'How is Duncan? Still drunk as a skunk?'

Elina stared at the Fixer. 'Yes,' she replied flatly.

Fish got the distinct impression that the woman opposite wasn't in the mood for any more chit-chat. 'Okay, so down to business. I believe you are looking for a certain something, a way of getting information from an A.I. fortress?'

The blonde placed her drink on the table and pushed it away, leaning forward. 'That's exactly what I'm looking for Fish. You obviously already know that. What do you have for me?'

Fish liked the woman's directness. 'You go straight for the kill, don't ya? I get that about you. Before I tell you what I have lined up why don't you show me what you have to compensate me for my considerable efforts.'

Elina nodded and leaned back again before she reached into a pocket of her combats and pulled out four money cards which she tossed onto the table-top like a dealer dishing cards in a casino. 'See if that's good enough for you, Fixer-man.'

Fish grinned again and took the cards from the table-top, placing them in a pocket. 'I won't insult you by checking these in front of you. The games I play are built on mutual trust. Therefore, I trust that the sum you've given me will be the amount we discussed. I can trust you, right?'

Elina stared at him and replied in a flat tone. 'As far as giving you the right money goes, yes.'

This seemed to be enough for the Fixer. 'Excellent. As for what I have for you. . . well what I've got is a very talented young man going by the name of Linford Johnson. Now, what he does is he designs programs and such for a certain organisation that he feels no longer suitably pays him enough for his considerable talents. Consequently, young Linford has decided to branch out into the freelance market. Given his credentials he quickly came to my attention. I like to know about people like him. Never know when they might come in handy.'

Elina was starting to wonder if Fish would ever get to a point.

'Now,' Fish continued. 'I'm sure you're starting to wonder what the point of all this is. Well I'll tell you. You see it just so happens that Linford says that he's conjured up a brand new program designed specifically for hacking through any and all A.I. Fortress protection, even that nasty stuff that makes your brains run out your ears, horrible that, I hate it. Now do you think that might be the sort of thing that you're after?'

'Fish, that's exactly what I'm after, you know that. Why don't you stop the games and just tell me how I go about getting this program?'

The Fixer with the horrendous tie sat back, grinned and seemingly produced a phone from nowhere. 'He's just a speed dial away Elina. Give me two minutes and let's see if I can't get you two together.'

Elina couldn't make out Fish's eyes behind the lenses of his shades but she was sure he had just winked at her. She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at this character.

Fish reached up with an exaggerated gesture and pressed a button on the phone, holding it to his ear as he kept his shaded eyes on the blonde opposite him.

'Hi, Linford?' he said after a few moments. 'Yeah, it's Fish here. You know the gear you have for sale? Yeah, well I've got a buyer here with me right now. I know, I know. I told you, didn't I? Yeah, that's all been taken care of. Yes, as we agreed. Hang on, I'll check.' Fish took the phone away and leaned forward. 'Do you want to make the pick up tonight?'

'Yes, as soon as possible.' Elina was getting eager to get this odd encounter over with.

Fish returned the phone to his ear and continued. 'Tonight's fine. Okay, okay. Don't worry I'll tell the buyer. No, no problem. Sure. Yeah, you too.'

With that he hung up and placed the phone on the table-top. The Fixer then leaned forward and rested on his elbows. 'Right, it's all sorted. You've to meet Linford in the parking lot of the Mega-Mart just a few blocks from here at midnight. Don't worry, I'll give you directions. It's dead easy to find. Just make sure you have a gun or something when you go though, as it's in a more lively part of The Zone.'

'Don't worry about me.' Elina leaned back and folded her arms.

Fish nodded again and scratched his chin as he gave the blonde a knowing look. 'You're unarmed, aren't ya?'

Elina blinked a couple of times then nodded in silence.

'Don't worry,' assured Fish. 'I can set you up right now.'

***

Linford Johnson let out a long, slow breath as he hung up from talking to Fish and put the phone down on the top of the cluttered desk that served as his home workstation. In the centre of the station was a heavily customised top-of-the-line Sphere Terminal. Scattered around it was a small hoard of empty JXL energy drink cans and snack packets. The phone just added to the debris.

The young programmer swung around in his comfortable office chair and tried to make the butterflies in his stomach go away. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. Making deals with shady underworld types. He also couldn't believe that he had gotten as far as this without his company intervening. They had strict, inflexible, and often lethal, rules about freelancing and selling work outside of their jurisdiction. Still, if they had been prepared to hand over the appropriate sort of money for the kind of work he was doing for them then none of this would be necessary. It would be his boss that would be using his ideas to raid the data from rival groups and not some dodgy, unknown face. As far as Linford was concerned it was their loss and he was sure he had done everything to cover his tracks so no one would know.

The sound of a large vehicle pulling up on the street below his third floor apartment window was the first indication that he was wrong and that he had missed something.

With a sense of dread that was fuelled by his natural paranoia, Linford crossed the cluttered living space that was his open-plan apartment and went to the main window that looked down on the street. Sure enough there was a white van parked directly beneath. People were getting out. When one of them looked directly up at Linford he knew he was in big trouble.

Panic hit immediately, his heart pounding and his breath coming in short gasps. He was momentarily unable to think as the only thought that ran through his head was oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!

He moved indecisively, stopping and starting like a stalling engine, before he was finally able to focus on just one thing. Covering his ass! Destroy the program chip. He dashed back to his workstation, kicking over a glass that lay on the floor and stepping in an open fast-food carton. Oblivious to this he got to his workspace and began searching franticly, panic preventing him from finding what was right in front of his face. He just kept imagining people getting out of the elevator on his floor and walking up to his door with large guns in their hands.

Eventually, after he had scattered the empty cans onto the floor, his fumbling fingers found the right data-chip. He searched for the nearest heavy object, which was a nearby boot, picked it up and began to manically smash the heel down onto the data-chip. He cursed the robustness of the damned thing as it refused to die. After further savage and loud blows the small inoffensive object succumbed to the onslaught and smashed.

Stopping to get his breath, Linford nearly jumped out of his skin when there was a loud knocking at his apartment door, the boot he held flying from his fingers as he flinched and clattered down amidst the junk on his floor. Pretending he wasn't in was not going to work as he had been spotted at the window. Glancing at the window he momentarily considered leaping out of it but dismissed the idea immediately as broken legs and potential death wouldn't really improve his predicament. There was only one alternative left.

Running his hand through his hair and taking a breath he tried to appear calm and went to the door. The sight through the peephole was pretty much what he had imagined: four serious, intense looking men with frowns, though he was glad to see there were no guns in sight.

Maybe he had overreacted?

Linford opened the door but before he could even speak the men barged in, the lead one grabbing him by an arm, twisting it into a painful lock, and pressing him face-first into a wall. The other three men quickly fanned out through the apartment and began to search, upturning everything.

'Hey!' Linford tried to say through a mouth squashed against the wall.

'Quiet,' came a harsh whisper in his ear. 'Just don't move or say a word and this will be over soon.'

Linford took the advice and watched helplessly as the men trashed his apartment. One of them went to his workstation and found the obliterated data chip.

'Looks like this is it,' he said to the man that had Linford pinned.

'Grab the terminal and the rest of that shit and let's get out here,' ordered his assailant.

Linford whimpered as the man at the workstation began yanking his setup apart. The other two searchers made a further cursory inspection then headed out of the door followed by the guy that had unceremoniously dismantled Linford's Sphere Terminal. As soon as they had left, the man that had Linford in a grip like steel pulled the young programmer away from the wall and turned him so they were face-to-face.

'You've been stupid Mr Johnson. Your employer does not appreciate your out of hours activities and they wish to discuss your recent endeavours. After you.' He gestured to the open doorway.

Linford took a breath as if to speak, looked at the man's expression, decided against it, turned and walked out the door. He took some small comfort in the fact that he was at least still alive; that and the fact that the company men had missed the back-up stash of all his freelance work that he had concealed in his apartment.

****

Chapter 6

At about ten-to-midnight Elina approached the Mega-Mart that Fish had given her directions to. He had been correct when he had said it was located in a "livelier" part of The City as she had been forced to avoid two potentially lethal confrontations with the local wildlife during the short fifteen minute walk from her crappy motel room.

It was a warm, sticky night and the humidity had brought Elina out in a sweat. The air felt close and tasted of warm garbage.

As she approached the entrance to the Mart she took a moment to adjust the position of the handgun that was concealed beneath the combats of her right hip. Fish had sold her the pistol as soon as Elina had confessed that she had come to The City unarmed as weapons were practically impossible to get through Asimov customs.

The comfortable weight of the gun brought some small degree of reassurance in her current surroundings, even though everyone else that was still breathing in The Zone was most likely carrying similar, if not bigger, ordinance. The feel of anger and desperation in this part of The City was palpable and it reminded Elina of her home amongst the Marooned back on the station.

The Mega-Mart itself was a small convenience store, the use of the word "Mega" being somewhat misleading. It was a flat-roofed, single storey building with an exterior that wouldn't have looked out of place in a war-torn conflict zone; bullet holes, scorch marks, and what looked suspiciously like dried blood stains mingled with graffiti that ranged in scale from full artistic pieces of considerable skill to simple declarations of lust. The single streetlamp that was meant to illuminate the exterior had long ago been destroyed but, incongruously, the glowing "MM" logo of the store was untouched and rotated atop the building like a lighthouse lamp guiding the local residents and wayward travelers to the sanctuary of musak and disposable consumables.

As Elina entered the strip-lighted interior of the Mart through an automatic sliding door she was hit by a wave of chilled air-conditioning which turned the sweat lying on her body to ice water and invoked an involuntary shiver as her skin turned to gooseflesh. She rubbed her bare arms and pulled at the damp, clingy material of her black cotton vest top.

The floor of the Mart consisted of grubby tiling that had no doubt once been white but had long since succumbed to grime and unattended spillage. The shelves that formed the aisles were well stocked with just about anything that the casual on-the-run consumer could need: magazines, drinks, snacks, disposable electronics, sweets, maps, pornography, and basic pre-pack foodstuffs that were about as nutritious as cardboard and universally tasted of soy sauce.

Standing behind a counter that was just to the left of the entrance was the crap-shift clerk. He looked about sixteen, had an acne problem and was built like a bag of sticks. Greasy hair protruded from under his MM emblazoned hat and his apron hung around his neck like a chain-store albatross. The clerk's vacant, dilated eyes didn't even register Elina's presence as she walked in and she wondered, given the state of the exterior of the building, how this kid hadn't been filled with bullets for the paltry contents of the shop.

She made her way into the aisles and found that she was the only prospective shopper present. Moving swiftly towards the back of the store she spotted the opaque plastic strips that hung from the doorway to the stockroom. After a quick glace to check that the clerk-zombie was still oblivious, Elina parted the plastic and ducked through.

The stockroom was dimly lit by a single, naked bulb that hung from a cord on the ceiling. The low-watt light cast long shadows from the stacked boxes and packages and Elina could just make out a small desk with an inactive Sphere Terminal that served as an office. At the back of the storeroom was a door that acted as a loading entrance and led out to the car park where she was due to meet Linford in a few minutes. As she approached the rear door she glanced back over her shoulder to the plastic strips behind her to check if the clerk had decided to see what she was doing. There was no sign of him. Turning her attention back to the loading entrance Elina noticed that there was no discernable locking mechanism and wondered once again how this place wasn't regularly turned over.

She waited until her Skin-Watch showed it as being a little after midnight then opened the door and stepped out onto the tarmac of the car park.

The space was dark, with the only light being provided by the rotating MM sign and the weak glow that came from the open stockroom. The short blonde was silhouetted in the doorway and her unaltered eyes could just about make out a few darkened vehicles and a single figure standing in the middle of the car park. The figure turned to face her and seemed a little surprised that she had come from the Mart and not approached from the street. Instantly something about the situation seemed wrong to Elina. The way the figure moved from one foot to the other in agitation, the way it was standing between the vehicles: subtle signs that put her on guard. Still, she had a job to do.

'You Linford?' she called out at the waiting figure.

'Uh, yeah. You here for the chip?' Linford replied.

There was a definite nervous tone to his voice and Elina's instincts began to scream at her.

'Come here and let's see it then,' she demanded.

Linford glanced at one of the nearby cars and took a hesitant step forward. At that moment four figures detached themselves from the black shapes of the vehicles and came forward, arms raised. Elina caught a glimpse of a glint of metal in one of the figures' hands and that was enough for her screaming instincts to be allowed to take over.

Before the four could take another step or even speak, Elina's right hand flashed to the grip of her pistol and with a speed that the approaching figures obviously hadn't anticipated she pulled the weapon and blind-fired in their direction. The sound of the gunfire echoed loudly and she moved, barely registering that the shot had struck true and that one of the four approaching shadows had fallen. Linford fell to his knees covering his head as the remaining three company men cursed and returned fire.

Her snapshot had bought Elina seconds enough to dash back into the open stockroom before the return fire found its mark. Bullets hammered into the doorframe and tore chunks from the wall. Boxes and containers splintered and burst as rounds whizzed by Elina's crouched and running body. A stray shot shattered the meager bulb and plunged the small store room into darkness just as she burst through the hanging plastic strips and ducked to the side of the entryway.

She steadied her rapid breathing and waited as the gunfire continued; an occasional bullet tearing through the hanging plastic and exploding a shelved food packet. After a few seconds the firing stopped and Elina did a quick count to ten in her head as she pictured the three assailants making their way through stockroom. When she reached ten she crouched low and stuck her pistol through the plastic strips and began to fire blindly into the storage space. She was satisfied to hear screams of surprise and pain as some of the bullets found their mark. She continued firing until the magazine clicked empty whereupon she turned and dashed through the aisles, subconsciously noticed that the zombie-clerk hadn't even stirred at the gunfire, and sprinted out of the automatic door onto the hot, humid streets.

***

Club Cordite after midnight was an entirely different place from when Elina had been there in the afternoon. No longer the quiet, empty establishment, the club had come alive in the small hours of the morning. The queue was long, the noise from inside was loud and frenzied, and the previously inert display board was now blazing with images, its lightshow showering the energised and pumped-up would-be patrons with a strobing lightshow.

The shotgun-wielding bouncer that had defended the entrance earlier in the day had been joined by three other similarly dressed and outfitted guardians, all of which were currently trying to keep a collective eye on the masses of clubbers seeking admittance.

Elina had absolutely no joy in just trying to jump to the front of the queue. The doormen weren't interested in what she had just been through and didn't care how many times she mentioned Fish by name. It got to the stage where the people in the queue she was attempting to jump had started fingering various weapons and regarding Elina with murderous intent and she had eventually acquiesced and joined the waiting throng.

After an hour of being jostled and pushed and having to put up with the insanity of an excited club queue she eventually found herself at the entrance. No one searched her for weapons and she managed to squeeze her way through the masses and down into the main part of Cordite.

The previously empty dance floor was now heaving with swaying and gyrating bodies, thrashing about roughly in time to the beat of the pounding, deafening music that sent vibrations through the floor like a continuous mini-earthquake.

It was impossible for Elina to make out Fish among the sprawl of people so she made for the most likely source of reliable knowledge: the bar staff.

The journey down onto the dance floor and across to the bar was like a Battle Royale and she actually found it useful to utilise some hand-to-hand techniques to navigate the crowds and when she eventually made it to the serving area she was once again hot and sweaty and increasingly agitated.

After what seemed an eternity of fruitless, ignored signaling a purple mow-hawked, tattooed, and pierced barman came over to her.

'Where's Fish?' Elina yelled, attempting to make herself heard over the booming cacophony. There was no way that the guy could have heard her but he was evidently proficient in lip reading as he mouthed the reply:

'Who wants to know?'

'Elina! I had a meeting with him before!' She could feel her throat going raw as she screamed, not quite grasping the fact that the effort was pointless as the barman couldn't actually hear her. With a bored expression he pointed in a direction that was over past the dancing crowd and turned to serve someone else.

With a deep breath and an increasing desire to commit murder Elina braced herself for the melee and plunged back into the wall of heaving bodies.

Striking atemi points on the people that were immediate obstacles helped speed her progress through the crush of gyrating flesh until she emerged from the dance floor like a weary traveler stepping into a clearing of a dense jungle.

Before her were sets of tables with people of all descriptions sitting and drinking and generally have a good, if rowdy, time. A quick scan of the seated patrons revealed that Fish was not amongst them and she began to suspect that the barman had waved his hand in any direction just to get rid of her. Then she spotted a door on the other side of the tabled area. It was marked as private and had a huge man in a suit standing outside it.

The hot, sweaty blonde weaved her way through the seated revelers and stood before the massive, dark-skinned man at the door. Elina estimated that the veritable wall of muscle was close to seven feet tall as he glared down at her. She found that the acoustics in this part of the club were arranged so that it was possible to speak in a normal fashion, though the onslaught of the music outside the quiet bubble had left a buzzing sensation in her ears.

'What do you want?' the Man-Mountain rumbled in a deep baritone.

'Look,' Elina gasped between gritted teeth. 'Tell Fish that Elina is here to see him about a fucked job he just sent me on!' She wasn't intimidated by the size of the guy and felt just about ready to rip his balls off. The goliath must have sensed her mood and, after a moment of hesitation, he opened the door he was guarding and stepped in, closing it behind him. A short time later he returned and held out his meat-shovel of a hand.

'Weapon.'

Elina pulled the empty gun and slapped it into the giant's palm. He quickly searched her then opened the door and let her in.

Fish's inner sanctum in Club Cordite was a fair sized rectangular room decorated in warm colours and soft furnishings. Comfortable sofas were spaced around a central circular glass-topped table. Soft, chilled-out music filled the room and was a direct contrast to the frenzied racket outside. The whole of the ceiling was one large aquarium and a dazzling assortment of tropical fish swam to-and-fro amongst bubbles and plants. A small booth in a far corner acted as a private bar and was fully stocked with a wide array of drinks and was complete with its own barwoman dressed in a white blouse and black slacks.

Fish was sitting on the sofa furthest away from Elina as she entered the room. The other occupants consisted of a stunningly beautiful Japanese woman in expensive clothing sitting next to her escort, a well-built Japanese man with mirrored eyes. The woman regarded Elina with a cold stare and sipped at a drink while her companion stroked the grip of a katana that was sheathed in a blood-red saya.

It was obvious that Elina had interrupted a private meeting of some kind and had offended the Oriental couple. Fish flashed his usual grin and indicated the seat opposite him.

'Elina. How nice to see you again. Please, have a seat.'

Desperately trying to stay calm Elina moved to the offered seat and lowered herself into it, letting out a long, slow breath. She stared at Fish from across the glass table. Once she was seated on the edge of the sofa cushion Fish continued:

'Craig outside tells me that things didn't go well with your meeting. What happened?'

The Fixer's disarming and casual tone over what Elina took to have been a double-cross and a set up was the last straw for her. Without warning and with surprising speed she vaulted over the glass-topped table and landed directly in front of Fish. He didn't flinch or react as she put her hands around his throat and pressed him onto the back of his seat. An instant later she felt cold steel touch the back of her neck and saw in her peripheral vision that the man with the mirrored eyes had stood, drawn his weapon and placed the doubtless razor sharp blade against her exposed skin. She also saw that Fish had made a "hold it'" gesture with his hand even as she had went to throttle him. The weapon stopped her from strangling the Fixer with the hideous tie but she kept her hands around his throat.

'I'll tell you what happened, you mother-fucker,' she spat through clenched teeth. 'You fucking set me up!'

Fish remained impassive and waited a moment before replying, his voice calm and even. 'Elina. Because I like you I am going to give you two options. The first is that you take your hands off me, calm down, sit down and discuss this. The second is that you go ahead and try and strangle me with your bear hands, though I suspect that my sword-wielding companion here will stop you before you manage it. Be a shame to have come all this way just to get killed over a misunderstanding, don't you think?'

The blonde's eyes darted from Fish to the Japanese man. She noticed that the woman hadn't moved and was observing the situation with interest while continuing to sip from her glass. As she made eye contact with Elina the stunning Oriental woman raised her eyebrows is a "well?" gesture.

Returning her attention back to Fish, Elina slowly removed her hands and stood up. The lethal katana was lowered but not returned to its saya.

'Right. Shall we try this again?' asked Fish with a smile as he gestured towards the seat that his attacker had briefly occupied. She returned to the sofa and sat down again, this time leaning back and crossing her legs. It was only then that the katana was gracefully re-sheathed and its owner sat down.

'You've got quite the temper on ya, don't ya girl?' Fish said as he rubbed his neck. 'Now, do you want to tell me what happened to get you so pissed off?'

'When I went to meet that Linford guy there were four other men with guns.' Her tone was strained and still tense.

'And you think I sent them? Why would I do that?' The question hung in the air and Elina was unable to come up with an answer that didn't sound stupid.

'I don't know,' she barked defensively. 'At the time it seemed like that was what had happened!'

Fish let out a sigh and shook his head slightly. 'Look Elina, I don't know how your organisation runs things up on Asimov station or what sort of people you're used to dealing with, but in this city a person's reputation means a lot. I told you before that I do things based on trust. Believe me I would have absolutely no desire to ruin my reputation by setting up an unknown like yourself, no offence, for no reason.'

He paused as he let the sincerity of this sink in then continued as he scratched his face-fuzz and leaned back. 'Now what I think has most likely happened is that Linford's employers have finally caught wind of his out-of-hours antics and have pulled him in to find out what he's been up to. Given that he's knew to this sort of thing he probably cracked straight away in an effort to save his own arse and spilled all the details about your meeting. The guys that were coming for you probably just wanted to take you in for a little interrogation.'

'That's not how it seemed to me. Looked like they wanted more than a chat.'

'Well yeah, I'll bet they didn't look overly friendly.' Fish continued without a trace of annoyance at the interruption. 'But if I know anything about you I'll bet that you just whipped that gun out and started blasting. Right?'

'What was I supposed to do? Just wait politely and see what they wanted?'

'No, you did the right thing. Just, from what I've seen from you so far I kinda feel sorry for them!'

'Look,' Elina was starting to loose her fragile composure again. 'Forget the shit that happened, alright? The deal got blown but I still need that chip and I can't go back until I get what I came for.'

The Japanese couple sat and watched the exchange in silence and with obvious growing impatience, the woman drumming her black-nailed fingers on the arm rest of her seat. Fish sensed it and wanted to get the matter with Elina resolved as quickly as possible.

'I understand your situation and here's what I'm gonna do,' he said as he leaned forward. 'I'm gonna make a few calls for you and see if I can't introduce you to some people that can find Linford and get you two together after all. I won't even charge you extra.'

Again, Elina wasn't one hundred percent positive but she was sure that he'd just winked at her.

She gave a frustrated sigh as she got to her feet, unimpressed by Fish's attempt at generosity. 'Just make sure you arrange something quick. You know how to contact me.' Elina turned and strode out of the room.

Fumiko put her glass down on the table and looked at Fish.

'I certainly hope our negotiations can continue uninterrupted from now on Fish.'

There was a certain level of implied menace behind the statement that wasn't lost on the Fixer. 'I'm sorry about that Fumiko-sama. It was not my intention to offend such a powerful Oyabun as yourself.' Fish knew that obvious flattery was the key to dealing with the vain Yakuza boss. 'Now, where were we?'

****

Chapter 7

On the morning that Elina was looking for Club Cordite to go and meet Fish, Angel awoke from her first night in Pixel's rented room. She hadn't gotten much sleep and had spent the first few hours she had lain in Pixel's bed staring at the limp and soggy postcard she held cradled in her hand like a small, timid animal. Tears flowed freely while she remembered her dead friend and listened to the gunshots and screams that were the soundtrack to the night in this part of The City.

Eventually exhaustion had claimed victory and the pink-hair Runner's bloodshot eyes had slid shut. Her sleep had been filled with nightmares and she had awoken gasping, convinced that her guide-turned-mugger was in the bedroom with her, but it had turned out to be no more than just the hazy early morning light that filtered in through the bedroom window playing tricks with the shadows of the furniture.

Angel calmed herself down and slowly rose from the bed, swinging her legs over the side as she sat up and looked around the room.

The space was smaller than the walk-in closet she had had back at her parents' and was practically filled by the large, comfortable bed that occupied it. Digital picture displays of Japanese Idoru that both Pixel and Angel were into (and fantasised about) decorated the walls; their perfect Oriental features sending longing stares down on the bed.

The groggy nineteen-year-old rubbed her bleary eyes and stood up, gently feeling her tender nose. It didn't feel broken but blood had crusted in one of the nostrils and it was sore to the touch. She sniffed gingerly and grimaced, not in pain but at the smell that was coming from her. She'd had the presence of mind to take off her soaked clothing before she had collapsed on the bed and fallen asleep but she still stank of stale panic-sweat and grime from the city.

Feeling somewhat repulsed by herself she realised that she was still in the same underwear that she had put on the day she had gotten on the TC-Rail. It had only been yesterday but it seemed and felt like a week ago. She was further repulsed by the realisation that she had lost all her clean clothes when the alleyway attacker had stolen her bag.

Trying not to feel like she was stealing from the dead, Angel found Pixel's small closet and picked out some clean clothes. Fortunately the two girls were of a similar size and into the same kind of fashion so the replacements would suffice until she was in a position to get her own stuff. She tried to ease her sense of grave-robbing by telling herself that her friend wouldn't have minded.

While she sorted through Pixel's wardrobe selecting clothes, Angel found her friend's Sphere Box. Seeing the bright pink object that was covered with star shaped stickers brought a lump to her throat. She picked up the S-Box and carefully laid it down on the bed, almost as if she was afraid it would break, stroking it tenderly before going back to picking clothes.

Having laid out a change of outfit next to Pixel's S-Box, Angel took her disheveled, but now mostly dry, postcard and placed it on top of the clothes. She then stripped off her underwear and went into the tiny, yet functional bathroom.

She was relieved to see that every spare inch of flat surface in the bathroom was cluttered with toiletries and beauty products so she'd at least be able to stay clean and maintain her image.

As the hot water from the stand alone shower (there was no room for a bathtub) washed over Angel she felt some of the tension in her body relax. This brought on another round of tears as she tried to cope with all the overwhelming emotions and the harsh truth that her friend was dead.

Eventually she regained a degree of calmness and formed a plan for what to do next. She remembered Pixel talking about a place called Club Cordite and a guy called Fish. According to her friend this was the Promised Land for all Runners and was where Angel was going to find her way to fame and fortune. The place wouldn't be that hard to find in the Sphere and she decided that as soon as she had gotten herself together she was going to head over there and introduce herself to this Fish character. This made her feel a bit better as she felt like she had formulated something approximating a game plan.

She had no sooner dried herself and gotten dressed in Pixel's clothes when there was a knock at the apartment door.

Angel's heart nearly leapt into her mouth at the sound and panic gripped her like a fist closing in her chest. A flood of irrational thoughts filled her mind:

Who could it be?

Had her attacker tracked her to the apartment?

Had he come to finish her?

The logical part of her mind told her that was ridiculous. She wondered if it was maybe some of Pixel's friends. They'd be able to help her! A sudden hope, that was equally irrational as the panic that had gripped her at the thought of her mugger tracking her down, took hold of her and she went to the front door convinced that things were about to get better.

Her smile fell as she opened the door and saw the fat, greasy-looking landlord standing there.

'Oh. H--hi,' she said, barely masking the tone of disappointment.

'Yeah, hi,' replied the landlord. 'Just wanted to see how you were doing after last night. You were a bit of a mess.' He sounded bored and there was no trace of real concern in his voice.

Angel stared at her feet. 'Um, y--yeah. L--last night w--w--was bad. I'm s--sorry.' She looked up at the large man in the doorway and there was an awkward pause until she sensed that the guy was expecting something more. 'I'm really g--grateful that-'

She was cut off as he walked into the room and closed the door behind him. Immediately Angel felt that he was intruding.

'So,' the fat man began as he turned and gave the pink-haired girl an appraising look, making Angel feel uncomfortable as his eyes lingered on the curves of her breasts. 'You're grateful that I took you in off the street and gave you a place to stay, right?'

'R--right. . .' she nodded growing increasingly unsure and uncomfortable.

'And you should be grateful. Do you know what would've happened to you if I'd not let you stay here? You'd have wound up beaten, stripped, gang-raped and killed by the local gangs. Not necessarily in that order. Do you understand?'

Angel just nodded.

'So I need to ask you,' he continued, his voice taking on a sleazy, suggestive tone. 'Just how grateful are you?'

The two stared at each other for a moment. Then Angel looked at the floor again and said quietly: 'W--w-what do you w--w--want? M--my stuff w--w--w-'

'I know your stuff was stolen,' the landlord interrupted impatiently. 'What I'm talking about wasn't lost when you were robbed.'

Angel watched with eyes that grew wide with horror as the man reached under his considerable gut and unzipped the fly of his trousers. A hand slid under the elastic of his pants and after some groping he freed his pale, limp, flaccid penis.

'W--w--w--w-' stammered Angel at the sight before her.

'Just shut the fuck up and put your mouth on this,' ordered the landlord.

Angel backed away and shook her head.

'Get the fuck over here and blow, you little bitch!' he bellowed. 'Now! Or I throw your stupid little bitch-ass back out on the fuckin' street so you can be eaten alive!'

The timid-natured girl flinched at the verbal onslaught and some part of Angel's mind capitulated in a way similar to when an animal simply gives up and goes limp when it's in the jaws of a predator. Maybe this was just the harsh reality of "life in the big city". Feeling like she was trapped in a nightmare and that she had lost all control of her life she hesitantly stepped forward, tears of resignation running down her cheeks.

'Yeah, that's it come on,' the fat man beckoned her closer.

Angel closed her eyes and fell to her knees before him, grimacing in disgust at the smell of sweat and filth that emanated from his crotch. She briefly opened her eyes and took his member in her hand. It was already growing at her touch and obscene sounds of pleasure came from above.

Deciding to get this over with as quickly as possible, the pink-haired girl put her mouth around the genitals and closed her eyes again. She had to fight a wave of nausea that swept through her from the smell and feel of it swelling in her mouth. Hands suddenly grabbed her head roughly and the man began to fuck Angel's mouth. After only a few thrusts the grip on her head tightened painfully and he went rigid and yelled. The kneeling girl gave a muffled scream of pain, surprise, and disgust as the penis in her mouth released a load of cum. She gagged but the gripping hands held her in place and she swallowed instinctively rather than choking.

The grip was mercifully released and Angel doubled over and coughed and began to retch. She was dimly aware of the landlord saying something and leaving but the words seemed distant and didn't register as she was too focused on not choking to death on the apartment floor. Feeling bile rise in her throat, she scrambled to her feet and dashed to the bathroom where she put her head in the toilet bowl and violently threw up. Finally, she slumped on the tiled floor and gasped and cried deep, wracking sobs.

Eventually the tears subsided and the gasps reduced themselves to slow, deep, hollow breaths. For an hour Angel sat on the bathroom floor and stared into nothingness. Was this what her life was to be like? Was she to be forever abused in The City? Had Pixel gone through this kind of thing? She considered a couple of options. First, she could take a blade from the kitchen and put it across her wrists. That would end it. The thought was dismissed, she had been traumatised but her instinct for self-preservation was still strong enough to prevent such actions.

Second, she could contact her family and beg them to take her back. That thought was almost as foolish as the suicide notion. Her father had made it clear that, in no uncertain terms, she was effectively dead to him and no longer a part of the family.

After the hour on the bathroom floor pondering all that had happened and weighing up the choices that presented themselves, the fighter part of Angel's mind eventually said: Just deal with it! and she slowly got to her feet. Although she felt numb inside she felt that she would find an escape from her current nightmare at Club Cordite. From what Pixel had told her about Fish he was the man that could fix anything. Maybe he could fix her life. Even if he couldn't, her current situation couldn't really get much worse. She went to the sink and spent the next half an hour vigorously cleaning her teeth before going back to the bedroom.

Sitting on the bed Angel placed Pixel's S-Box in her lap and linked it to her own, spending some time in the virtual domain going through old messages they had sent to each other and looking at pictures and film they had shared. The memories these brought back were painful and Angel felt tears come again. She began to wonder if she would ever get over the loss of her friend and if the empty, hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach would ever be filled. At that moment she doubted it.

She wiped away her tears, accessed the Sphere and found the site for Club Cordite and got directions. She then jacked out, grabbed a pink hoodie with black star decorations, packed up her S-Box, placed her precious postcard in a clear plastic wallet and tucked it into a pocket, then left the apartment determined to find a new beginning.

***

Finding the club was easy, though Angel got the impression that the area it was in wasn't the sort of place to be alone in when the sun went down.

As she approached the club she was passed by a short blonde woman in urban combats and a black vest top. The blonde gave Angel a look so full of intense anger that it sent a cold shiver through her. She shook it off, taking the encounter as further proof that everyone in The City was seriously messed up in some way.

When she arrived at the club the shotgun-wielding doorman gave her an appraising look as she approached, deemed her to be no threat at all and simply stood aside without comment, allowing her entrance into Cordite.

While the steps leading down into the belly of the club weren't exactly paved with gold Angel did pick up on a sense that there were opportunities to be made in this place.

When she was down in the main part of Cordite she looked around trying to match a person to the description that Pixel had given of Fish in the many times the two girls had discussed the dreams that he was going to make come true for them.

The horrendous tie he was wearing was as good an identifier as a flashing sign with an arrow above his head.

Even though he looked scruffy and distracted as he sipped at a drink, Angel felt that she had been spotted by him the moment she had stepped through the arched entrance and was quietly being observed as she stood there. Hesitantly she made her way over to his table.

Fish gave a large, warm smile as the girl approached.

'Hello. Can I help you?' he asked.

Angel nervously played with one of the neck cords on her hoodie. 'Um, y--yeah, I h--h--hope so. I'm a f--f--friend of P--P--Pixel's. . .'

'Pixel? Oh. . .' Fish raised his eyebrows as he put a face to the name. 'I heard about her. Awful business last night. You alright? Wanna sit down?' He gestured to a seat opposite. Angel nodded and sat down.

'Y--y--you know w--what happened t--to Pixel last n--night?' Angel asked as she sat, hoping that the man opposite could shed some light on how her friend had wound up dead outside her apartment building.

Fish gave a look of concern. 'Yeah. Ugly, unfortunate business that. Poor girl got caught in a crossfire between two juiced gangers. Totally senseless waste. She was a cool kid.'

Angel bit her lip to try and stop it trembling. She couldn't believe that she had lost her friend in a totally pointless act of random violence. Fish shifted uneasily in his seat at the look of grief that was plain on Angel's face and he attempted to divert the course of things before it led to a display of tears and sobs. Such things made him uncomfortable.

'So,' he began. 'Hang on. . . Pixel. . . Pixel. . .' he mused as he scratched his chin. 'Does that make you Angel by any chance?'

The pink-haired Runner sniffed and nodded then wiped an eye and took a deep breath.

'S--sorry,' she said. 'Been a r--r-rough couple of d--d--days.'

'Yeah, I can see that. Seeing as how you're dressed in Pixel's clothes I'd say you're not in the best of places right now, right?'

Angel just shook her head.

'Yeah, I thought so,' Fish continued. He waved a hand at a member of the bar staff and pointed at the girl opposite him. A few moments later a drink in a long glass was handed to Angel. Fish gestured that she should try it and the girl took a sip of the richly coloured orange liquid. An expression of mild surprise crossed her face at the extremely pleasant taste that flowed into her mouth and she took a long pull from the glass. A warm sensation spread through her and she gave an involuntary shiver of pleasure.

'Nice?' asked Fish with a smile.

Angel nodded as she took another drink.

'So, what can I do for ya?' asked the Fixer.

Angel regained her composure a little and sat up straight, placing the three-quarter empty glass down on the table in front of her. 'I w--w--want a job.'

Fish raised his eyebrows again in mild surprise. 'You want a job? Er. . . Doing what exactly? Serving drinks?'

In response Angel took out her customised S-Box and rested it on her knee, patting it a couple of times.

'Ahhh. . .' intoned the Fixer. 'That kind of job. What, are you some kind of Sphere Runner? Yeah, I think I remember Pixel saying you were some kind of Runner. You know you were pretty much all that girl talked about? Well, I'm always on the look out for new talent. You got any experience?'

Angel thought of all the minor Sphere hacks she'd done for friends and unknowing family members: cracking game code from software companies, making the speeding ticket her mother had gotten disappear without a trace, hacking her high school to give her friend's grades a push, and the one time she'd had to take down another Runner in the Sphere for trying to hack her domain.

'J--just bits,' she replied. 'N--nothing major. Yet.'

Fish scratched his chin again. 'Hmm. . . that's what I thought. I mean Pixel wasn't exactly a big name in The Scene and I normally wouldn't even touch a new Runner unless they'd done at least of couple of data grabs form a corporate fortress. . .' His voice trailed off and Angel's face fell as she felt that her hopes of finding a way out of her current shit life were about to be shot down in front of her eyes.

'But,' the Fixer went on as he inclined his head to one side and tried to further evaluate the girl. Angel perked up a little. 'I'm prepared to do you a favour and see what I can find for you because you were a friend of Pixel's and it was a crappy thing that happened to the kid and I figure you could do with a break. It won't be anything massive. None of the established Ronin are gonna hook up with an untested Runner for a big job, regardless of how slick Pixel said you were. But I get minor info-swipe jobs coming through my door just about every day. Someone always wants dirt on someone else. So if anything comes my way that I think you can handle I'll get in touch, we'll do a benchmark test and I'll see if I can get you started. What do ya say?'

It wasn't exactly the Golden Ticket she had been hoping for but she was smart enough to realise when she was being given an opportunity. 'I--I would r--really appreciate anything y--you could do for me. Th--thank you.'

'Yeah, sure.' Fish flashed his usual smile. 'I liked your friend so if I can help you I will. Why don't ya give me your contact details and I'll get in touch soon as something comes up.'

Angel explained that her phone had been stolen so she gave her Sphere address. She then finished the drink she had been given and stood up. As she turned to leave Fish spoke up.

'Hey, Angel.'

The girl turned to look at the bespectacled Fixer.

'I'm real sorry about Pixel.'

Angel gave a sad smile. 'Y--yeah. . . me too.'

'You'll be alright. You'll see.' He sounded reassuring but Angel couldn't see how she would ever be alright. Even so, she nodded as if in agreement and left Cordite. All she could do now was head back to Pixel's place and wait for Fish to contact her.

She hoped he would get in touch before the landlord knocked on her door again.

****

Chapter 8

Early morning sunlight filled the living room of Leon's apartment, casting a hazy, warm orange tint over everything. The room was spacious and decorated with comfortable, stylish furniture. Leon sat in his favourite easy-chair with his first coffee of the day and watched old re-runs of classic episodes of The Three Stooges on a flat wall-screen that was a couple of meters across while he took occasional sips from the steaming, hot beverage. The mug was plain white and bore the words "Me Boss U Not". Having just gotten out of bed he was dressed in a plain pair of black jogging pants and an old, moth-eaten t-shirt bearing a picture of Sylvester the Cat.

Beneath the screen was a pair of daisho blades in plain black lacquered saya resting on an oak stand.

Lying contentedly in a cushioned basket beneath a large window that offered an impressive view of the early morning cityscape was a pure white German Shepherd. It watched the images of men on the screen slapping each other and putting pies in their faces. A red food bowl next to the basket proclaimed the dog's name to be Luc.

Leon chuckled to himself as one of the Stooges received a particularly loud slap.

Luc's ears pricked up and he lifted his head to look at the front door. Leon saw the motion in his peripheral vision and in one fluid movement put his mug down while he got up from the chair, picked up a handgun that was lying on a coffee table among a selection of magazines about martial arts and weapons, and moved towards the door.

The Ronin was at the door before the imminent visitor had a chance to knock and put his eye to the spy-hole to see if violence would be necessary. When he saw who it was he almost dropped his gun in surprise. As a knock sounded he hastily put the weapon down on a small table by the side of the door and undid the locks. Leon pulled the door open and looked down at his sister.

Sonya managed get as far as saying 'Hey bro.' before she was engulfed in her brother's embrace. The air was crushed out of her lungs and, after a brief moment of unsure hesitation, she returned the hug, squeezing her eyes shut and smiling in genuine happiness.

The joyful reunion didn't last long as Leon remembered what had happened the last time he had seen his sister. His body went tense. Sonya felt the mood change instantly and the tender hold was quickly released as her brother stepped away with an uncomfortable expression on his face. She recognised the frown and knew that all the tenderness and emotion her brother was feeling had just been put behind a huge emotional barrier. She could almost physically feel the wall that had just gone up between them.

'What do you want Sonya?' Leon asked in a neutral tone.

'Is that all you've got to say to me after two years?' Sonya quickly masked her disappointment with anger.

Leon folded his arms across his broad chest. 'After how you left things when you ran away?'

'Would you rather I had stuck around and wound up fucking dead? Would you rather I was dead, Leon?' There was a slight crack in her voice.

'You mean like Widow and Dog Boy?' Leon's tone had gone from neutral to dead and emotionless.

The reminder of the death of their two friends had an impact equal to that as if her brother had just slapped her in the face.

'That wasn't my fault,' she whispered between clenched teeth.

Leon looked at her for a moment, shook his head and let out a sigh as he unfolded his arms. 'Of course I don't want you dead. Don't be stupid. . . look, what do you want Sonya?'

Of all the ways she had imagined this reunion to have gone while she was riding the TC-Rail back to The City this was probably among the top five of how Sonya hadn't wanted it to go. 'I don't want anything Leon. I just wanted to make sure you were okay and. . .' Her voice trailed off.

'Alive?' Leon finished.

'Yeah.'

The two siblings spent a few moments of uncomfortable silence looking at each other then Sonya took a deep breath.

'So. I guess you're fine and stuff. . .' The words sounded lame in her own ears. 'Look, I'm staying at my old place if you think you'll ever get around to wanting to talk to me again. Alright?'

Her brother's only reply was a silent nod. Sonya knew it was pointless trying to talk to him any further when he was like this so she turned and walked off.

Leon stepped back into his apartment and slowly closed the door. He leaned against it and instantly regretted how he had acted towards his only sister. Sure, he had been furious at how she had chosen to deal with the events that had happened two years ago. He never believed in running away from a situation, regardless of how bad it was. Then when Widow and Dog Boy were killed in reprisal he felt like Sonya had abandoned them to take the blame and pay the consequences. He had convinced himself that he wouldn't care if he never saw his sister again and had tried to think of her as being dead, but when she had actually just turned up at his door without warning the only emotion that had prevailed was joy and relief at seeing her still alive. She was his only remaining family and he had just given her the impression that he would rather she was a corpse. Leon put a hand to his forehead in a gesture of disbelief at his conduct and quickly opened his door to tell Sonya that he was, in fact, really glad to see her.

She had already made her way out of the corridor and was out of sight. With a look of consternation and a feeling of self recrimination he closed the door and looked at his dog.

'I'm an asshole, aren't I?' he asked the white German Shepard.

Luc let out a slight whine then looked away and lowered his head between his paws. There couldn't have been a clearer affirmation if the dog had actually spoken.

***

For the rest of that morning Sonya spent her time in a coffee shop going through her phonebook and trying to get back in touch with all her old contacts, determined to find someone that would be pleased to hear from her. The universal response was that all the bridges she had burned by leaving were beyond repair. The reasons were mixed: some simply wanted nothing more to do with her after they had heard what had happened, while others were glad to hear she was back and that she was alive but they were unwilling to rekindle any previous relations. When Sonya pushed for a reason each and every one gave a cagey, non-specific answer and hung up.

Sonya realised she was alone. The network she had spent years establishing had been wiped out in her absence. She had been effectively removed from The Scene, her influence and reputation destroyed. Sure, she had expected and anticipated some fallout from what had happened but she didn't expect to have been put back to zero. She was pretty sure who had been responsible for wiping her slate. Fumiko had obviously been busy.

Still, she had come from nothing before and had managed to build herself up into one of the biggest Ronin/Fixers on The Scene and she could do it again. There was only one place to go and one person to see that could set her on the course of rebuilding her life and her reputation.

***

When Fish saw Sonya walk through the arch to the main part of Club Cordite like some black-clad ghost from the past he was actually surprised. He caught himself when he realised that his jaw was hanging open a little and quickly regained his composure, hoping that the shadow of the booth he occupied had hidden his momentary relaxing of the cool exterior he normally projected. In his line of business an unflappable persona was better protection than military grade combat armour when it came to dealing with his usual clientele. Coolness couldn't actually stop bullets, but keeping things calm usually prevented them from being fired in the first place.

He sat back in the booth and made a mental note to have words with the doorman about not announcing the woman's arrival, and watched as Sonya approached his table, noticing as every set of eyes in the club turned and look at her. Sure, Sonya was attractive with her shoulder-length, jet-black hair, pale skin, full, red lips, and curvy yet athletic figure, but it was the presence that she generated that demanded attention. A smile appeared on Fish's face. The woman always walked into a place like she owned it.

When Sonya got to the table she sat down without invitation and Fish's smile turned into his usual greeting-grin.

'Hello Sonya. It's been a while. You're looking well.'

'Fish. How you doing?'

'Yeah. You know, same as usual.' The Fixer leaned forward slightly. 'I gotta say I'm a bit surprised to see you. Are you back for good?'

'Yeah. Even though it's upsetting some people,' Sonya said with a smirk knowing that Fish would get who she was referring to.

The Fixer gave a short laugh. 'Yeah, I can imagine. So what can I do for you?'

Sonya gave a shrug. 'Just wanted to see how things were in Cordite. Like I said, I'm back in town so I wanted to catch up with old acquaintances. You know?'

Fish gave another short laugh. 'I'll tell you what I know. You've discovered that your network has collapsed and no one wants to deal with you. So you've come to me to see if I can fix you up with something to get you back in the game. Right?'

For a moment the two just looked at each other then a wide grin broke across Sonya's face. 'You always could see right through my bullshit, couldn't ya?'

Fish just smiled back knowingly.

'Actually I'm surprised you're even talking to me,' Sonya continued. 'Everyone else made it pretty plain that I might as well be dead.' Her tone went low as she remembered the encounter with her brother. 'How come you're even speaking to me?'

'Sonya, you of all people should know that the only thing that affects how I act is The Law According To Fish. Sure, certain pissed off Yakuza girls made sure that everyone you were affiliated with was either removed or hit with enough pressure that they pretty much denied your existence after you left. The same furious young lady may even have tried the same deal with me.'

'But?' Sonya enquired.

Another smile and a shrug from the Fixer. 'I simply pointed out to certain individuals that with all the people I have owing me favours, if a certain Japanese organisation decided to try and make things difficult that I could throw a shit-storm at them so big they'd wish they never set foot in my city.'

'You said that?' Sonya sounded disbelieving.

'Yeah, well I may be paraphrasing but you get the gist.'

'Okay Fish. Well, if that little speech means that we can still do business then it's cool.'

'Yeah, of course it means we can deal. Tell me what you're after.'

The woman in black leaned back and adjusted her shades. 'You were right. I need you to get me back on the ladder. No one wants to touch me and you're the one to see to make things happen.'

The Fixer nodded to himself. 'You know that stroking my ego gets results. However, I'm not sure what I can do for you this time. I mean if you were some unknown wannabe wanting to break into The Scene I could eventually throw something your way, but you already come with a reputation, a bad one now, unfortunately. So most people are gonna want nothing to do with you.'

Sonya regarded the man opposite through her black shades. 'I know you Fish. You've always got something.'

'Well. . .' Fish trailed off suggestively. 'The first thing I'm gonna do is arrange a meet with someone that doesn't know who you are. If you get on with her then I might be able to throw some bits of work your way. Do well enough and it will be easy to make people forget the recent unpleasantness. What do you say?'

'Who did you have in mind?' Sonya had been used to dealing with trained professionals, reliable people that could get the job done. Dog Boy and Widow had had their quirks but they had been good at what they did. She wasn't looking forward to the idea of breaking in a newbie wannabe again. But what choice did she have?

Fish laced his fingers together across his chest and thought about the desperate, pink-haired girl that had come to see him earlier that afternoon.

'Well it just so happens that a young Runner came in earlier today. She's been recommended by someone I knew but she has absolutely zero experience. She's a real cutie though.' Fish gave Sonya a suggestive wink to which she rolled her eyes. 'She's calling herself Angel and she's staying at a place I know. She's had her phone nicked so she's got no contact number, but I'll send her an S-mail and you should probably just go and see her.'

Sonya let out a small sigh. 'Is that the best you can set me up with? A brain-fry waiting to happen?'

'So ask your brother to help you out.' Fish knew how Leon had felt about his sister's exit two years ago and he knew that she'd probably already been to see him. The fact that he hadn't come in with her was enough for Fish to figure out that the reunion can't have gone well. When he saw the look that crossed Sonya's face at the mention of her brother he inclined his head and shrugged. 'Best I can do on, you know, like zero notice.'

Sonya thought it was ridiculous but decided that this was just another hurdle that she would have to deal with. 'Okay Fish,' she said as she leaned forward. 'I think you're taking the piss but give me Angel's address and tell her to expect me today.'

****

Chapter 9

When Angel had returned to Pixel's old apartment she had gone straight to the bedroom and lain down, staring at, but not actually looking at, the large animated picture of Kasumi that was on the ceiling above the bed. Kasumi had been Pixel's favourite Japanese Idols, even though Angel had argued that Mima was much more talented (and better looking). The two Runners had, in fact, met in a Sphere domain where fans of the J-Pop scene discussed the pros and cons of the various Idoru. Initially their conversations had mostly been heated slagging matches but they had eventually found that they had numerous things in common and had struck up a relationship that had grown into a full-blown Sphere romance. Once things had fallen to pieces with Angel's family it had been Pixel that had sent the postcard extending the invitation to come and stay with her in The City, filling her head with fantasies of becoming a shit-hot big name Runner like Spider Murphy, Ghost, or Oak Raven, hacking A.I. fortresses and raiding Mega-Corporation data. But the random shooting outside the apartment block where Pixel had lived had ended all that.

So Angel lay on the bed she had hoped to share with her now dead friend, and stared into space while this and a hundred other thoughts and emotions tore through her head like a maelstrom that had been raging inside her skull since she had stepped off the TC-Rail. She needed to calm her tempestuous mind.

She forced herself to relax by taking control of her breath, lowering her breathing rate until it was only a few per minute. She half-closed her eyes and the thoughts in her mind eventually quieted like a room of screaming voices gradually going silent one by one.

During her meditative state Angel was dimly aware that her Skin-Watch had beeped, informing her that she had received a Sphere-mail. She ignored it as she was focused on getting her head together.

Consequently she missed the message from Fish telling her to expect Sonya.

As Angel relaxed and thought of nothing but breathing in and out she began to feel sleep descending on her like a warm, heavy blanket; its comforting embrace pulling her eyes closed like lead weights chained to her eyelids. The fight to remain awake was completely one-sided and she quickly threw in the towel and took the knock-out punch that exhaustion delivered.

It was evening when Angel was abruptly awakened by a loud knocking at her door. Her eyes flew open and for a moment she wasn't sure if she had dreamt the sound or not and lay still on the bed listening intently. A few seconds later there was another, louder knock. Angel sat upright on the bed and frantically wondered who would be at her door. Convinced that it would more than likely be the fat, greasy landlord, or someone else intending to fuck her over in some way, she hesitantly made her way out of the bedroom and walked up to the door where she stood and dithered for a while, uncertain what to do. A third loud knock that shook the door in its frame snapped her out of her indecision and she asked loudly:

'W--who is it?'

There was a pause then the reply came.

'It's Sonya! Fish told you to expect me!'

The voice was that of an irritated woman. Angel stared at the door a moment as she tried to figure that statement out. Fish hadn't told her anything about a meeting with someone called Sonya. She then remembered that she had given the Fixer her Sphere Address and recalled the beep from her Skin-Watch that had been ignored during her relaxation techniques. She had received a Sphere-mail. A second later she had put all the pieces together and swiftly pulled open the door.

Angel was a bit taken aback by the woman that stood in the doorway. She was very attractive and exuded a smoldering presence. Dressed all in black and looking at Angel from behind her black shades (shades at night? thought Angel) Sonya was a little intimidating to the pink-haired nineteen-year-old. Before the Runner could say anything, Sonya spoke.

'Huh, Fish was right. You are a cutie.' A smirk appeared on Sonya's face.

Angel's instant reaction was to turn bright red. 'W--w--what? W--w--w--w-' Was all she could manage in reply.

Sonya raised her eyebrows in surprise at the stammer then interrupted the stuttering girl. 'You gonna let me in or are we gonna talk in the hallway?'

Fully aware that her face had gone scarlet, Angel stepped to the side and stared at her feet as Sonya strode into the room. The woman-in-black looked around then turned to face the Runner. The girl was still standing by the door and Sonya could see that she looked nervous.

'So, I'm guessing you didn't get Fish's message then?' asked Sonya.

'Um. . .' murmured Angel as she closed the apartment door, not wanting to admit that she had just ignored the message alert.

Sonya shrugged her shoulders. 'Doesn't matter. I'm here now. So, Fish tells me you're name's Angel?'

'Y--yeah.'

'I'm Sonya,' she said as she offered her hand.

Angel hesitated then took hold of the outstretched offering.

Sonya shook it once firmly, slightly jarring the other woman's shoulder. 'Hi,' she said with a smile, finding it amusing that the girls complexion now almost matched her hair colour.

'H--hi,' returned Angel, smiling awkwardly and feeling a bit foolish under the woman's shaded gaze.

Sonya released her grip and placed her hands in the pockets of her long-coat, further amused as she watched Angel rub the shoulder of the arm that had just been shook.

'Fish tells me you're a Runner that's looking for some work. Well, I'm looking to get some people together and I need a Runner. I'm told that you're pretty good but inexperienced. That right?'

Angel couldn't believe that something had come up so fast. Don't screw this up! she thought to herself. She took a breath and was relieved when she felt the hot flush fade away. 'Y--yeah. I'm a R--Runner. Just c--came to The City a--and I'm l--looking to g--get some w--w--work. I'm g--good b--but only d--done a few small j--jobs. Nothing m--major. . .' she trailed off.

'What's with the stutter?' asked Sonya, bluntly.

The teenager went red again and stared at her feet. 'Um. . . P--p--people m--m--make me ne--nervous. . .' She knew she had a stammer but it was embarrassing to have someone bring it up so indelicately.

'Uh-huh,' said Sonya. 'Are you this nervous in The Sphere?'

'No!' exclaimed Angel, a little angry that this stranger would question her ability based on a speech impediment.

Sonya nodded and ran her eyes over the girl. Angel was cute and Sonya couldn't help but feel a bit attracted to her. She had long ago discovered that she wasn't really bothered about discriminating between the genders when it came to sex and in a lifestyle where the end could come violently and prematurely at any time she had decided that beauty and pleasure should be appreciated at every given opportunity regardless of its orientation.

But she was here on business.

'Right. Well, if you don't mind I'd like to see for myself so I'm going to test you. It's a standard thing for all newbie Runners breaking into The Scene. Fish probably mentioned it when you saw him?'

Angel thought back to her conversation with the Fixer at Club Cordite and did recall him mentioning something about a benchmark test before she could get started. She had just assumed that Fish would do whatever was involved. But then a potential way out of her shitty situation was standing right in front of her and she wasn't going to argue. 'S--sure. Lets d--do it.'

Sonya smiled and removed her shades. 'Cool. Go get your S-Box and we'll get started.'

The Runner nodded once and stepped towards the bedroom, paused as if to say something, changed her mind, then went to get her angel-wing adorned Sphere Box.

While the pink-haired girl was out of the room Sonya shook her head in disbelief at the contact that Fish had set her up with: a girl posing as a Runner that was so nervous she looked about ready to piss herself at any given moment. If she didn't prove to be some kind of phenomenon then, cute or not, Sonya knew she was going to have to tell the girl to forget about it. Nerves like Angel's were a death sentence in The City.

A moment later the nineteen-year-old returned from the other room carrying her S-Box. Sonya noticed the custom design and thought the tribal-style angel wings looked pretty cool.

'Okay, get yourself set up wherever's most comfortable and we'll get started,' she said as she took off her long-coat and sat down on the throw-covered sofa.

Angel hadn't actually spent any time in the living room so she had no idea where would be comfortable. She opted to go back to basics and cleared a patch on the floor and adopted the traditional seiza position, the S-Box on the floor in front of her knees. She pulled the retractable jack cable from the box and plugged it into the tiny receptacle under the hairline at the side of her head. The Runner looked up at Sonya expectantly.

The woman in black was a little surprised by the change in demeanor that had come over the girl kneeling on the ground before her. She already seemed a lot calmer and in control as she connected to her S-Box, almost as if the device contained her confidence and she had just plugged into it. It was a promising sign. Sonya reached into a pocket and pulled out a slip of paper which she then handed over to Angel.

'Jack yourself in and go to this domain. Tell the person you meet there that I sent you for the special. You'll be given instructions. Follow them and we'll talk after.' If you live. she added mentally.

Angel took the slip of paper and examined it. It bore a Sphere domain written in pencil. She had never heard of the location. The Runner began her breathing technique and closed her eyes as she reached down and touched the S-Box's "on" button.

****

Chapter 10

Angel's personal Sphere domain was a large, circular, white marble platform that floated amidst swirling clouds in a sunless blue sky. The only obvious visible features were a small pulsing white envelope that hung suspended in mid-air and a glowing blue globe that was two meters in diameter and served as the gateway to The Sphere itself.

With a burst of light Angel's avatar appeared. In her own domain she was dressed in flowing blue robes and had long, shimmering pink hair that swirled around her head like a halo. Magnificent white, feathered wings sprouted from her back and flapped gracefully, keeping her suspended a couple of feet above the white marble surface of the platform. A soft breeze ruffled her clothing and hair and she sighed contentedly.

Noticing the flashing envelope Angel glided over to it and touched it. The icon opened and unfolded to become a hovering flat-screen upon which writing began to scroll. It was as she had thought; Fish had sent her a message to tell her to expect Sonya. She touched the message screen and said:

'Delete.'

The flat-screen winked out of existence with a small puff of white smoke.

Angel then closed her eyes and brought her hands up in a gesture of prayer. She floated down to the surface of the platform and white cloud swirled around her until she was completely obscured for a moment. When the clouds dissipated Angel's avatar more resembled her real-world self, dressed in black baggies and a grey hoodie adorned with black skulls, her hair reverted to its normal length and style. The only reference to her Angel persona was two small stylized wing designs on the back of her hoodie.

She walked over to the swirling, pulsing blue orb and thought of the domain name that Sonya had given her. Location in mind she stepped in.

To her it was as if she had simply stepped through a door, passing from one location to the other as the journey between links was instantaneous. She found herself standing at the entrance to what looked like a Japanese Shinto temple situated on a snow-covered mountain top. The sky was a cloudless, pale blue and the air was cold and crisp causing breath-mist to form from the lips of Angel's avatar. A chill wind blew and made her shiver slightly. She grinned as she marveled at the attention to detail.

Directly in front of her was a massive red-coloured torii gate that acted as the entrance to an expansive, snow-covered courtyard. Across the other side of the yard was a set of wide stone steps that were flanked by two statues of tigers, standing as if on guard. They led up to a wooden-pillared overhang that, in turn, led to the large, green doors of the temple entrance. The temple itself was only one level big and had a tiled, sloping oriental-style roof, its surface covered in a layer of snow.

Hugging herself against the cold, Angel jogged the short distance across the courtyard and ran up the steps to the doors, the snow on the ground crunching beneath her feet. As she mounted the last step she heard several wind-chimes emit a haunting, hollow wooden sound announcing her arrival. The Runner smiled at the themed take on a basic alarm program and knocked on the double doors.

They swung open of their own accord and she looked into a massive hall with a highly-polished wooden floor. The room had no obvious source of illumination and its furthest walls were shrouded in darkness giving the illusion that the floor stretched off into infinity and that its dimensions were bigger than the building it was situated in. The center of the floor was well lit by a spotlight beam that came from no visible light source. Sitting in the seiza position within the circle of light was a man in a black samurai kimono with short, neat hair that was pure white. He was facing Angel as she stood in the doorway and she could make out that he was wearing wire-rimmed rectangular shaped glasses and had his eyes closed with his hands palm down on his knees giving him the appearance of meditating. She was somewhat surprised to see that he had Western features, considering all the Eastern influence apparent in the domain.

'Are you going to come in or what,' the man asked with an abrupt tone. 'You're letting a cold draft in!'

Angel was a bit startled when he spoke as he looked asleep. She took a step forward but froze as the man spoke again.

'Please tell me you're not about to walk into my dojo with those shoes on.'

Hastily the pink-haired avatar kicked of its virtual Converse placing them outside the entrance. She paused and waited for further instructions before taking a step into the chamber. Again, the white-haired man's voice stopped her before she fully entered.

'And bow. . .' He didn't sound impressed at all and Angel was acutely aware that she was making a pretty crap first impression. She quickly tried to recall all the kung-fu and martial arts movies she'd ever seen and envisioned images of guys in white pajamas standing in ranks punching the air while shouting a lot. She thought it best to try and look as if she was making some kind of effort so, before she bowed, she reconfigured her appearance. With a mental command she summoned the swirling cloud of mist that momentarily obscured her avatar. When she became visible again she was dressed in a traditional white karate gi with a white belt; she remembered enough to know that beginners wore a white belt. Feeling properly dressed for the occasion she folded her hands in front of her, palms resting on the top of her thighs, and bowed at the waist.

The kneeling man emitted a grunt which Angel took as approval and she stepped into the dojo, the double doors swinging silently shut behind her. After a moment of standing there awaiting instructions, which didn't follow, she spoke up.

'Um, Sonya said I-'.

'Are you going to stand there and shout at me?' the man interrupted.

Angel let out a small sigh and walked over to where he was kneeling. She then lowered herself down and mirrored his posture.

'I suppose it was too much to expect you to approach in shikko,' he said with disappointment as he opened his eyes and looked at the girl opposite him. 'Now, what were you saying?'

For a moment Angel froze as she saw the man's eyes. They were black as deepest night and held within them what looked like a star-field, as if a universe was contained within his head. She quickly recovered.

'I was saying that Sonya sent me here and asked me to ask you for the special. Whatever that means.'

'It means you are to be tested. It's been a while since she's sent anyone to me. She must be really unsure about you.' A slight chuckle as he noticed Angel's frown. 'How is Sonya?'

'I really have no idea; I've only just met her for the first time five minutes ago.'

'Yes, she works fast.' The star-filled eyes examined Angel. 'This how you look out there?' he asked as he made a general "over there" gesture with his head.

'If you mean in the real world then, yeah, pretty much. Apart from the white PJs. Why?'

This elicited a smile from the man. 'You look like her type. Has she said so?'

'What? Er. . . she said I was cute. . . Um, look, whatever, can we get on with it?'

Another chuckle. 'Impatient, aren't you? Before we "get on with it" I think introductions are in order. What's your name?'

'Angel. You?'

'Some call me Brian. A few call me Yoshio. You can call me Sensei.'

'Okay. . . Sensei. So you're gonna test me? Want to see if I've got the chops to cut it in a Sphere Run. Right?'

Sensei rose to his feet in a fluid, effortless and graceful motion and looked down at the woman. 'I don't particularly care if you have the skills or not to run the Sphere without getting brain-burned, but Sonya obviously needs some assurance otherwise you wouldn't be here. So, seeing as how you're in such a hurry why don't you get to your feet and we'll get started.'

Alright! thought Angel as she got up. 'Okay. What's first?'

In response, Sensei smiled and pointed to the doors. 'Let's go outside and I'll show you.'

The double doors swung open and he walked out onto the stairway that overlooked the courtyard. Angel followed him out and stood beside him, admiring the mountaintop view. Sensei folded his arms and took in a deep breath, smiling serenely as he marveled at the scenery around him. After a moment of waiting Angel opened her mouth to speak but was silenced by a raised hand from the enigmatic man.

A second later the peaceful, tranquil setting was suddenly disturbed by a deep rumbling as if an earthquake had started. The wooden walkway outside the temple entrance began to vibrate and the wind chimes began to clatter, the snow on the ground jumped and shook like puddle water in heavy rain. Angel looked around, trying to locate the source of the disturbance. She jumped slightly as the snow on the temple roof was shook loose and cascaded down onto the courtyard like a mini avalanche. Sensei remained calm and showed no emotion on his face as he looked out over the courtyard. The avatar followed his gaze to a spot that was roughly in the center of the trembling ground and watched as the snow there began to shudder and ripple outwards as if there was a tremendous vibration from beneath.

The earth tore itself asunder and exploded upwards in a great geyser of snow, stone, earth, and fire leaving a gaping hole twenty feet across that belched flame. Debris rained down in burning chunks like meteors entering the atmosphere.

Sensei smiled and looked at Angel. 'Sorry about that, he likes to make an entrance.'

Angel looked from the white-haired man to the hole and back again. 'Who does?'

'You are familiar with Demon protection programs?' asked Sensei.

'Of course!'

'Well this one has a flair for the dramatic, that's all.'

Angel looked at the burning hole in the courtyard and watched as a giant red-skinned hand appeared over the lip, its black talon-like fingernails gouging deep furrows into the stone-covered surface of the courtyard. A second later an immense bulk vaulted from the hole, leaping high into the air before landing with a booming impact.

The Demon that had emerged was easily thirty-feet tall and was humanoid in shape. Its skin was a deep-red colour that glistened in the bright light that shone on the mountaintop. The beast had an immensely powerful physique. Two long, straight, black horns jutted from high on its forehead and long, flowing hair that was as dark as an abyss hung loosely down around its titanic shoulders. The Demon's face was essentially human in appearance with the exception of two large, white tusks that jutted from its lower lip and eyes that burned with Hellfire. In its right hand was an enormous metal club that ended in row after row of vicious-looking spikes.

The Demon held its arms wide and threw back its head as it bellowed a deafening roar of challenge before turning its flaming gaze on Angel and giving a wide smile.

The Runner gulped once and looked at Sensei. 'Okay, what am I supposed to do with him?'

'Easy,' he replied. 'Beat him.'

The pink-haired avatar sucked in a deep breath and pursed her lips as she looked at the Demonic goliath that awaited her. The red-skinned Oni must have known what was in store because it tucked its club in the crook of an arm and cracked its fingers with a sound like trees snapping before beckoning Angel forwards in a "come on!" gesture then took a step forward and widened its stance as it grasped its club in a double-handed grip and waited for the girl to make a move.

'Okay,' said Angel as she held out her hands palm up and summoned a Blade program. A beautiful, sheathed katana formed in her hands and she took a firm grip on it. Slowly she pulled the weapon free from its saya and carefully placed the unneeded scabbard on the wooden platform. Angel then brought the katana around in a large circular motion, taking the grip in both hands and holding the blade before her with its tip pointing at the red-skinned behemoth that was waiting for her. She then placed the katana in the wakae-kamae position and let out a slow breath.

With a sudden burst of speed that ruffled Sensei's kimono and hair, the pink-haired avatar sped off down the stairs and dashed across the courtyard leaving a spray of disturbed snow behind her. Moving at a speed that rendered her a blur she took the Oni by surprise, but it recovered quickly and raised its huge, spiked club as if to swat the approaching Runner aside. The massive weapon came swinging down in a sideswipe that could have shattered a skyscraper. With perfect timing Angel jumped at the last second before impact and landed on the top of the club's head, skillfully avoiding the many lethal spikes. The potentially devastating swing had too much power and momentum behind it so even as Angel's move registered with the Oni it was unable to stop its attack and react. As the huge weapon continued to travel through the air the Runner nimbly dashed up its shaft and leaped into the air, bringing her sword up over her head.

The beast watched helplessly in its overcommitted attack as the katana came down. The cut cleaved through the monstrous Oni as Angel landed gracefully on the ground between its legs, the katana entering the top of its head and exiting from its groin leaving a straight black furrow down the beast's center line. The red-skinned Demon froze for a second, the massive spiked club flying from its now dead fingers and crashing down some distance away, before it toppled backwards as Angel performed a chiburi and lowered her katana. As the Oni's gigantic form struck the ground it exploded into a million bits and dissipated into nothingness. The victorious Runner raised her blade up horizontally before her with both hands and bowed slightly towards where her opponent had fallen then deactivated her weapon program. The blade glowed blue and vanished in a burst of pink cherry blossom. She then turned and strolled back across the courtyard and up the steps to where Sensei was waiting for her.

'Well?' asked Angel.

The only reply was a grunt.

'Okay,' she continued. 'So what's next?'

Sensei smiled and turned back towards the dojo doors. 'Come back inside and you'll see,' he said as the green double doors swung open once again.

The Runner stepped back through the doorway but as she crossed the threshold she found herself transported to a totally different room.

The stone cubicle she suddenly found herself standing alone in was five meters in length, breadth, and height. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all uniformly composed of grey brick and lacked any kind of distinguishing features.

Angel was just about to ask what was going on when Sensei's disembodied voice sounded in the cubicle.

'The next test is for you to demonstrate your ability to find doors in data-walls and pass through. Of course, penetrating a fortress is often a risky business that is done against the clock, so let's make the conditions a little more. . . interesting.'

As the voice went silent, rows of holes opened up in the four walls and two-foot-long metal spikes sprang out. At the same time a small hole appeared in the centre of the floor and began to slowly expand out into what would eventually become a dark, bottomless pit. As if this wasn't enough, the walls began to grind closer together and Angel realised that if she didn't act quickly she would meet an unpleasant impaling.

Time to get out of here. she thought as she activated a detection program. Her avatar's eyes shone with a golden light and she scanned the four walls looking for a hidden exit. There was nothing. She frowned slightly wondering if this was some kind of trick and that there was, in fact, no way out. A thought occurred and she looked up at the ceiling a few meters above.

Sure enough the shimmering outline of a door revealed itself to Angel's illuminated eyes. It was out of reach but that wasn't a problem for her. She gave a quick mental command and her beautiful white, feathered wings burst from the back of her gi top. With a couple of powerful beats of the wings Angel was hovering above the pit that was expanding below her. She took a quick look at the approaching spikes then returned her attention to the hidden doorway on the ceiling.

The locking mechanism consisted of a sliding block puzzle made up of the actual bricks in the roof. Angel grinned to herself. She did these kinds of puzzles for fun. Her avatar cracked its virtual knuckles and dexterously began to shift the bricks in sliding patterns. Her arms gathered speed until they were a blur and the bricks flowed like water.

Moments later there was an audible clicking sound and the blocks froze. The bricks that comprised the hidden section in the roof fell upwards and the portal out of the room appeared, leading out to the open blue sky of the mountaintop. Angel smiled as she looked and saw that the intended lethal spikes were still nowhere near her and then surged upwards to freedom with a single flap of her wings.

Soaring high into the crisp mountain air the winged avatar looked down to see the temple roof and courtyard below. The Demon program's emergence hole had disappeared and all trace of her battle had vanished. There was also no sign of the cell that she had just escaped. Sensei obviously liked to keep a tidy domain.

Gracefully, she floated down to the courtyard. As she touched down on the snow-covered ground she folded her wings back in and they vanished, ready to be summoned again when necessary. Sensei was nowhere in sight so she assumed he must be back in the dojo waiting for her.

When the double doors swung open again Angel saw that the white-haired man was indeed there and was standing next to a black Doberman Pincher. The dog was wagging its stump of a tail as he affectionately scratched behind its ears. He looked up as the girl entered.

'You handled the second test well. Perhaps you will prove to be an asset to Sonya after all,' Sensei said as he petted the dog.

It seemed like a back-handed compliment to Angel. 'Er, thanks. I think. Nice dog,' she said as she gestured towards the panting animal.

'Yes,' agreed Sensei. 'His name is Inu. You like him?'

'Sure, he cute.'

Inu locked his eyes on Angel and seemed to resent being described as "cute".

'Careful,' warned Sensei. 'You'll hurt his feelings. He's very image conscious.'

Angel rolled her eyes. 'Okay, sorry. So what's with the pooch? Part of test number three, right?'

'Indeed. So far you've demonstrated your ability at combat and intrusion. The last trial is a test of evasion. When you turn around again you will see a forest. On the ground before you will be a small package. You have only to get the package through the torii gate at the other end of the forest before Inu here catches you.' Sensei smiled.

'So Inu is a Bloodhound program?' asked Angel as she gave the dog an appraising look.

'Not exactly. . .' As Sensei's voice trailed off he stopped petting Inu and stepped away. The dog fixed its eyes on Angel once again but this time it began to growl a deep-throated snarl that rumbled from it as its lips curled back into a snarl that revealed teeth that looked viciously sharp. The Doberman's eyes suddenly burst into flame and smoke began to curl from its nostrils. Slaver that dripped from its snarling lips ignited and fell like molten lava onto to wooden dojo floor where it bubbled and spat.

Angel instantly recognised what was looking at her. 'A Hellhound program? Are you fucking serious? Is that thing fully functional?' There was the slightest hint of panic in the avatar's voice.

Sensei smirked. 'Ordinarily Inu would be tamed down a bit but seeing as you performed so well in the first two tests I thought it would make things more interesting if I gave him his full capabilities.'

'So if that fucker catches me. . .'

'I wouldn't antagonise him with such language if I were you, but yes, if he catches you the result will most likely be a bit more severe than you simply failing the last test. Oh, and I want you to know this my idea so if you survive to speak to Sonya again please don't blame her. Are you ready?'

Anger flushed through Angel as she realised things had suddenly become a lot more serious than she had anticipated but she quickly calmed herself as she knew that such emotions were only ever a hindrance in The Sphere. She needed to be completely in control to deal with the virtual fur coat-razorblade that was glaring at her with the intent of ripping out her frontal lobes.

'I'm ready,' she said with clenched teeth determination as she turned to look back through the dojo entrance. Sensei had been right, where the courtyard had once been was now a dense forest. The treetops were so densely packed that Angel guessed that the sky would be pretty much obscured once she entered and that flight would prove to be impossible.

On the ground just outside the double doors was a small package wrapped in brown paper and tied with white string. The Runner guessed it was just a dummy package and didn't really have anything significant in it. As she stepped out to pick it up Sensei spoke.

'I'll give you a few seconds to make it more sporting.'

Angel looked over her shoulder and smiled. 'Don't bother. I don't need it.'

With the same sudden burst of speed she had exhibited when she had went to attack the giant red-skinned Oni, the pink-haired avatar dashed through the doorway and snatched up the parcel. The backwash of air from Angel's acceleration once again caused Sensei's kimono to flap and Inu's ears to fold back.

'Get her boy,' whispered Sensei and Inu sprang forward with a molten-slaver growl.

In seconds Angel had covered the distance to the forest entrance. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the Hellhound rapidly approaching. Bringing a hand up before her face, she activated a Mirror program. An exact replica of her avatar appeared on either side of her and began to rapidly oscillate around the original before all three ran into the forest at different angles.

Inu didn't even break stride as he approached the forest entrance. The Mirror program had thrown him off the initial track but he knew that all he had to do was kill one of them and the other image would vanish. Unless the one he caught proved to be the original. He couldn't wait to sink his teeth into this Runner's skull. "Cute", indeed!

In nanoseconds the Hellhound chose a target and began pursuit. He sprinted through the forest, nimbly weaving through the trees and leaping over clumps of rocks and bushes. In mere moments he had the avatar in sight. Inu could tell immediately that it was a doppelganger as it followed a set pattern of movements as it dashed through the forest. The Hellhound quickly calculated the pattern it followed and anticipated its next maneuver. With a deep growl he spat out a flaming fireball that streaked across the distance separating him from his quarry. He had read the doppelganger's movements perfectly and the hell-bolt intercepted with pinpoint accuracy, immolating the avatar double in thick flame. The Mirror replica shrieked once then vanished in a cloud of ash. Across the forest another scream sounded as the second double expired in unison. Inu sniffed the air once and locked onto the Runner's trail before sprinting off with a snarl.

Angel heard the death-scream of her Mirror program as she fluidly moved through the trees like water flowing through rocks in a stream.

Shit! she thought. That was quick! She guessed that Inu had taken her "cute" comment to heart after all and was out for a little payback. Maybe he wouldn't be able to reacquire her trail. She knew that was crap the moment the thought went through her head. In fact she was sure she could hear something approaching rapidly from her left.

Angel burst out into a clearing, pausing for only a moment to assess the situation before she dashed towards the other side as fast as she could. She had only taken a few steps when Inu sprinted into the clearing a little further up the tree line, letting out a bestial howl as he spied his prey. The Runner hesitated for only a moment before changing direction and running straight at the Hellhound.

The beast growled and spat a flaming lava ball at the approaching girl. He was slightly surprised when she leaped over it, somersaulting as she flew through the air. As Angel jumped she summoned a Fetch program and threw the squeaky chew toy at the flaming-jowled beast. The Hellhound caught the toy in mid-air and froze momentarily at the sudden loud squeak that it emitted. This momentary lag was enough for Angel to summon her Blade program as she landed and close the distance to her tracker. Before Inu could recover she sliced the beast in two with a clean strike causing the Doberman to howl and vanish in a cloud of black smoke.

The avatar casually jogged across the remainder of the clearing and re-entered the forest. The torii gate lay only a few minutes ahead and when Angel exited the densely packed trees she found Sensei waiting for her by the red gate. He stepped forward as she approached.

'That wasn't too bad. . . for a human,' he said as he stood before the gateway.

'So I've passed your tests then?' Angel was still slightly annoyed at having a full-blown Hellhound program sent after her.

Sensei nodded. 'Yes, you've passed. Sonya will find you useful I think. Though I think it will take Inu a while to get over what you did to him. A tad harsh.'

'You what? That bastard was ready to eat my head! Fair's fair.'

'Good point,' Sensei conceded. 'So, we're all done. I have to say that you're the best that I've had through here in a very long time. I can see great things for you if you stick by Sonya. Okay, so just step on through the gate and you'll be automatically returned to your body.' Sensei smiled a final time, folded his hands behind his back and walked off without giving Angel a second glance.

For a few moments the Runner watched the white-haired man stroll away then shook her head in mild disbelief at the whole series of events and walked through the red torii gate.

****

Chapter 11

Back in Pixel's old apartment, Angel let out a deep breath and opened her eyes. She experienced the familiar second of disorientation as her consciousness dealt with the switch in reality perspective but recovered almost instantly.

Sonya was still sitting on the sofa and had just come off her mobile. She noticed the single bead of sweat that ran down the pink-haired girl's face.

'Hey, welcome back,' said the woman in black.

Angel smiled. 'Th--thanks.'

'I got a call as you were finishing up,' said Sonya as she indicated her phone. 'Yoshio said you did well. One of the best he's seen, in fact. That's a good enough recommendation for me. You still interested in getting into some work then?'

The Runner nodded emphatically, all thought of her potentially fatal encounter with the Hellhound forgotten as she saw a lifeline being thrown to her. 'D--definitely! If y--you need a R--Runner then I'm-' she was cut off mid-sentence by a loud banging on her door.

Sonya glanced at the apartment door then back at Angel. 'You expecting anyone?'

'N--no.'

There was a second bang at the door followed by a voice from the other side.

'Open up! It's your landlord. Time to talk about your rent. I know you're in there.'

More banging.

Sonya noticed that Angel had gone pale. 'You gonna answer that?'

The kneeling girl shook her head. 'H--he m--makes m--me d--do th--things.' Her stammer got worse at the memory of his previous visit.

'What kind of things?' asked Sonya with a frown. When Angel just stared at the floor and didn't answer she got the picture. 'He makes you do things to pay for the rent.'

Angel nodded again as the banging continued.

'Right,' said Sonya with a flat tone and got to her feet. As she approached the door the banging stopped and she imagined that the landlord was getting his building keycard out. Sure enough when she pulled the door open, the fat, balding man was holding a door-card in his hand. He looked momentarily surprised at Sonya standing in the doorway.

'You want something?' The black-clad woman demanded.

'Do I want something? Who the fuck are you?'

'I'm a friend of Angel's, now what do you want?' Sonya did nothing to hide the confrontational tone in her voice.

Landlord looked past the woman blocking the doorway and pointed to the still kneeling girl. 'I want to talk to my tenant about the rent she owes me. Not that it's any of your fucking business.'

Sonya folded her arms. 'Angel's told me about your idea of rent, asshole.'

'Oh yeah? Well you can tell your little friend that if she doesn't pay, her ass is out on the street.' He elevated his voice so the girl inside could hear.

'She's got nothing for you, shitbag.'

Landlord seemed oblivious to Sonya's tone and looked her up and down. 'Oh yeah? Well maybe you've got something for me? You don't want your little friend out on these streets, do you?'

Sonya couldn't believe this guy. She figured she'd given the guy plenty of opportunities to just walk away, but when he'd turned his leering gaze on her it was the final straw. She uncrossed her arms and stepped towards him.

'You're right, I don't want that so, yeah I've got something for you,' she said with a smile.

The landlord's slimy grin as Sonya took his crotch in her left hand instantly turned to a bug-eyed stare of intense agony as the cybernetic fingers squeezed shut, crushing his testicles. Anticipating the result, Sonya sidestepped as the landlord threw up. A high-pitched scream burst from his pale lips as she tightened her steel grip and yanked viciously, tearing the ruptured scrotum from between his legs together with a handful of material from the front of his pants.

The screaming continued as he collapsed to the floor holding his ruined and bleeding groin. The woman in black stood over the squirming and writhing body for a moment, watched his convulsions with a mild, detached interest before she opened her left hand and dropping the pulped and bloody gonads on the ground below her. She then crouched down and said 'There ya go.' before wiping her hand on the landlord's vest.

The prolonged screaming quickly became too much for Sonya to stand and she stood up and viciously kicked the man in the head. There was a distinct crunching sound as her boot made contact with his skull and he fell abruptly silent. Leaving the unconscious or dead--she didn't really care which--body lying on the floor behind her, Sonya turned and walked back into the apartment.

Angel had gotten to her feet and was clutching her S-Box to her chest with an expression of open-mouthed shock on her face.

'Get some stuff together,' said Sonya calmly. 'You can come and stay at my place for a bit.'

The Runner stared at the other woman in horrified silence and watched as she retrieved her long-coat from the sofa and put her black shades back on, apparently completely unfazed by what she had just done. Realising that Angel hadn't moved Sonya turned and looked at her.

'What?' she asked. 'Oh come on, part of you is glad I did that. If you feel bad just remember what he made you do. Now get your stuff and let's go. We can talk more once we get to my place. Unless you want to stay here?'

Still somewhat dumbfounded, but admittedly also slightly pleased at what had just happened when she recalled the memory of the man's ejaculating phallus in her mouth, Angel took hesitant steps to the bedroom where she then quickly grabbed one of Pixel's backpacks. She scooped up her old clothes from the bedroom floor and stuffed them in the bag then carefully put the postcard in its clear plastic wallet into the front zipper pocket of the backpack before grabbing a quick random selection of clothes from Pixel's closet and throwing them in as well. Finally she took Pixel's Sphere Box and placed it on top of the packed clothes before zipping the bag closed and slinging it over her shoulder.

Even though the man outside had gone silent, his terrible, agonised screams still lingered in the young woman's ears and she wondered if getting together with Sonya had actually improved her situation or if she had simply traded a sleazy, perverted landlord for a deranged and violent psychopath.

****

Chapter 12

Sonya's apartment had just about been restored to the condition she had left it in prior to her self-imposed exile two years ago. The landlord of the Ravencroft had been more than happy to accommodate her when she had expressed her dissatisfaction to him over the condition she had found her place in upon her return. Of course, he'd had a large caliber handgun stuck in his mouth at the time of their discussion so negotiations had been a little one sided in Sonya's favour.

The majority of her possessions had been sold or simply gotten rid of but the landlord had apologised endlessly and profusely and had been happy to compensate her by replacing all the furniture and giving her some cash to replace personal items. He'd even replaced the damaged door without comment. The furniture had arrived the same night as their chat, via an express delivery from a twenty-four hour store, and Sonya had been placated enough to let the landlord remain bullet-hole free and had decided to forget the whole incident.

Consequently the first thing that had struck Angel as Sonya had opened her apartment door was the smell of freshly unwrapped plastic.

'Come on in. Make yourself at home and stuff,' Sonya said as she made a sweeping gesture with her arm.

Angel paused in the doorway and took a few tentative steps in, looking around the interior of Sonya's place. The main room was roughly square in shape with a small but fully equipped kitchen visible through an archway. A closed door led to what she assumed must be the bedroom with a second, slightly ajar door visible at the back of the kitchen leading to the bathroom.

A single window that was covered with blinds looked out onto the nighttime streets of The City. The seating consisted of a blue coloured, leather-covered three-seater sofa that looked soft and comfortable, and a single black lazyboy chair that sat opposite an impressive looking multi-function entertainment system. A low, wooden coffee table sat in the middle of the room and, despite its obvious newness, already sported a mixture of coffee-ring stains and a collection of empty donut boxes.

Angel noticed that the lazyboy still had tags attached to it and that there was a red stain that looked like old, dried in candle wax on an otherwise empty shelf that ran beneath the window.

As the Runner stood just inside the main door and looked around, Sonya took off her long-coat and tossed it onto the sofa. She then slid her shades up onto her head and walked into the kitchen.

'Hungry?' she called out as she opened her fridge and mulled over the contents. When there was no reply she looked back into the living room and saw that Angel was standing near the still open door with an unsure expression on her face. She sighed and closed the fridge before walking up to the Runner and shutting the front door.

'Look, its okay. You can relax now. Have a seat.' She guided Angel by the shoulder over to the sofa. The pink-haired girl sat down and put her backpack down by her feet.

'Hey,' continued Sonya as she sat down next to the Runner. 'I know this is all a bit weird but you couldn't stay in that old place anymore. That scumbag would just keep on coming back for more, even if you eventually had money to pay him. Trust me; I know his type and he got exactly what he deserved.'

Angel looked into Sonya's artificial eyes and gave an unsure smile. She had noticed when she was leaving Pixel's place that the landlord had still been breathing when she stepped over his prone body. Never-the-less, the sudden act of brutal violence that she had witnessed had left her uneasy in the woman's presence. 'Y--yeah. . . I s--suppose,' she conceded.

'Alright. Look, you can stay here until we get you set up with a new place. I'm not asking you to move in permanently or anything. Okay?' Sonya tried to put a reassuring tone in her voice. 'Don't worry; I'm not a psycho or anything.' She gave a short laugh.

Angel's returning laugh was a little too long and loud and had a nervous edge to it. Sonya realised that the idea of her being a psycho had already crossed the young woman's mind. She smiled to herself as she stood up, finding the notion slightly amusing.

'So, you hungry?' asked Sonya. 'You want a drink? I'll get us a drink.' She headed back into the kitchen and fetched a bottle of vodka and two glasses, thinking that Angel might relax a bit if she got some alcohol inside her. It was unlikely that Fish would come up with some work in the next few days so a hangover in the morning wouldn't be a major concern. She just hoped that the girl drank otherwise there might be a serious problem.

Sonya came back into the front room and waved the vodka bottle. 'This alright? You do drink, yeah?'

'Uh, y--yeah, sure, th--that's fine,' said Angel with a nod.

'Cool,' replied Sonya as she placed the two glasses on the stained coffee table, opened the bottle and poured them each a generous measure. She then passed a glass to Angel before taking her own and sitting down on the lazyboy.

'Kampai,' toasted Sonya as she raised her glass. The girl opposite did the same and the two women drank, Sonya taking a sip while Angel downed hers in a single gulp. So that's how we're playing it. thought Sonya as she proceeded to finish her own drink. She watched in mild surprise as the Runner got up, took the vodka bottle and refilled both glasses before sitting down again. She was somewhat relieved to see that the other woman took a small sip this time.

'So,' began Sonya in an attempt to start the "getting to know you" chat. 'Tell me about-' was as far as she got as she was interrupted by a beeping sound that came from Angel's wrist.

'Your arm is beeping at you.'

'Um, y--yeah. It's m--my Sk--Skin-Watch. I have it s--set up to g--go off when I g--get a Sphere-mail. S--sorry.' Angel apologised as she pulled up the sleeve of her left wrist to show the glowing digits.

'Yeah? That's pretty cool. You better check it; it might be Fish or something. Could be important.' Sonya leaned back in the lazyboy and sipped her vodka.

Angel nodded and smiled then took her S-Box out of its pouch and plugged the retractable cord into the socket in her head. She closed her eyes and accessed her personal Domain.

Sonya watched with interest as the Runner jacked in. After a few moments the pink-haired girl's expression changed from the calm serenity that she had projected while going through her tests to a look of extreme unease, her face going pale as the blood drained from it. Sonya guessed that whatever was in the message that Angel had just received wasn't good news and she sat forward as the Runner opened her eyes and removed the Sphere cable from her head. She was trembling slightly.

'Are you okay?' asked Sonya with concern. 'You're shaking. What's the matter?'

Angel rubbed the side of her head in a nervous gesture and looked embarrassed. 'I--I--I d--d. I--I ju--ju-' she stammered as she stumbled over her own nerves.

Standing up from the lazyboy, Sonya put her glass on the floor and walked over to the sofa where she sat down next to the quivering girl. She touched her on the shoulder and adopted a soothing tone. 'Hey, it's okay. Okay? Just take a breath and take your time. Tell me what's got you so upset.'

Angel closed her eyes and took a couple of long, slow breaths gradually calming herself down. The shaking stopped and she regained control. Opening her eyes she gave Sonya a sidelong glance then let out an embarrassed laugh.

'S--sorry.' The stammer was still there but she was at least able to get words out again. 'Y--you probably think I'm t--totally pa--pathetic.'

'Hey. I don't think that at all.' Sonya took Angel by the shoulders and turned her so she could look right into her eyes. 'I don't. Okay?' she added with emphasis.

Angel chewed her lower lip a bit and looked away. 'Okay,' she whispered.

'Alright. So tell me what that was all about.'

The Runner took a deep breath. 'It w--was a message f--from someone b--back home. They were w--wanting to s--see if I co--could do them a f--favour. They w--want me to g--go and see them at their p--place in The City.'

'Okay. I take it that from the look that went across your face that this person brought back some bad memories?'

'Um, y--yeah. It's f--f--family stuff. . .'

'Huh!' snorted Sonya. 'Believe me I know all about family stuff. Thing I found best to do is just face these things head on.'

'E--easy for y--you to say. . .' said Angel uncertainly.

Sonya rubbed the back of her neck thinking that this girl had some real issues. But then again, who didn't? She decided to try a different approach. 'Okay, let me ask you this: are these people from back home the kind that have any money?'

'Y--yeah. Some,' replied Angel, not immediately sure where this was going.

'Cool. Well, seeing as how we need some money why don't we go and see what they want and what your help is worth to them? That's the business we're in after all: getting paid for our skills.'

The Runner still seemed hesitant. 'I d--don't know.'

'Well, I do know,' said Sonya with confidence as she took Angel's glass from her hand and placed it on the floor. 'Not only do I know that this could mean some much needed cash for us but I also know that facing this will be good for you. And don't worry, okay? I'll be with you so if anyone gives you any shit they'll have to deal with me. Just go ask your previous landlord what that means.' She gave an evil smile and Angel laughed involuntarily. Sonya's tough, bad-ass demeanour reminded her of how Pixel used to talk and act. Perhaps Sonya wasn't a psychopath after all. Perhaps the act of violence that Angel had thought so extreme was simply the kind of things Sonya had had to do to survive in The City. Her thoughts returned to the current situation.

'I'm n--not sure about a--asking them for m--money,' Angel trailed off uncertainly. The thought of seeing the people that had been pretty much responsible for her messed up family situation was difficult enough, never mind negotiating with them for a fee.

'You won't be doing the asking. I will. Besides, this will be a good first job for you. Sometimes in this line of work you have to deal with people you feel uncomfortable with. You should see some of the characters that I've had to do business with.'

The Runner pondered this in silence for a moment. 'O--okay,' she eventually said with something approaching a firm tone in her voice. 'You're r--right. I can d--do this.'

'That's more like it,' encouraged Sonya. 'But before we go do this you have to tell me what's been going on. I never go into a situation I'm not prepared for and if I'm gonna back you up I need to know what to expect.'

Angel looked away but nodded her head. Sonya had been nothing but nice to her so far and she got the feeling that this woman genuinely wanted to look out for her. She just felt uncomfortable about discussing personal stuff with someone face-to-face. It had been much easier revealing this kind of thing to Pixel in The Sphere where she could mask herself in her avatar. It was a different matter entirely for her to openly disclose things of an intimate nature to the real flesh-and-blood dark-haired woman sitting next to her.

Angel pushed herself away a little, feeling she needed a bit of space from Sonya, took a deep breath and began to explain. Sonya listened attentively as Angel began to talk; trying to ignore the stutter and not let it get in the way of what the girl was trying to say.

The Runner began by explaining that the message she had just received was from a close friend of her father's, a man called Simon Drake. She told Sonya that she and Simon's son, Paul, had been friends since they were children and that they had grown up and done just about everything together: gone to the same schools, took the same classes, shared the same interests.

It had been assumed by both Angel's and Paul's parents that they would wind up as an item and, just after Angel had turned eighteen, Paul had told her that he was in love with her and that he wanted them to be together. Unfortunately, from the time that she had been able to understand such feelings, Angel had been hiding a secret crush for Paul's older sister Amanda and found herself more attracted to other women. Since Amanda had shown absolutely no sign of being gay Angel had kept her unrequited feelings a secret.

Even though Angel did not feel the same towards Paul, when he had told her he wanted them to be an item she had bowed under the pressure she felt from him and both their families to do what was expected of her and had agreed to start seeing him.

At the time she had convinced herself that she could just pretend that she felt the same about him but after she had refused numerous attempts at intimacy over a period of several months Paul became suspicious and Angel's true feelings eventually came out in an argument. She told him she felt nothing more than friendship for him and that she was attracted to other women. When, in the heat of the argument, she foolishly admitted her feelings for Amanda, Paul blew up in an unexpected rage, interpreting Angel's harmless crush as an unnatural perversion towards his sister.

He had then proceeded to tell his sister and his parents about Angel's true feelings, twisting and exaggerating events into something far worse than they actually were. Paul had never been the type of person to handle failure and rejection well and he had felt deeply humiliated by Angel's rebuttal. Matters had spiralled out of control to the point where Angel's own father had believed Paul's version of events over that of his own daughter.

The following year at home had been hell for Angel, so when Pixel had offered the invitation to come and stay with her in The City, telling her that she would find like-minded people there, the now nineteen-year-old girl had jumped at the chance and grabbed the first TC-Rail hoping to leave her past life behind her and start again. The final words that had been said between Angel and her father had been a furious argument and he had made it clear that she was no longer welcome in the family. Angel made no mention of her mother.

Of course things had not panned out the way she had planned when she arrived at The City and now it seemed that the past she had thought she had left behind was catching up with her.

Sonya sat and listened intently to all that Angel had told her. So far she got that Angel was gay and that she had some family issues.

'I hate to say it,' she said. 'But it sounds like your family are small-minded bigots. The fact that they took this Paul's pack of lies over the word of their own daughter is pretty fucked up to me. Sorry if that sounds harsh.'

Angel blinked at the bluntness of Sonya's comments and was again reminded of Pixel. Her friend had said a similar thing when she had been told what had happened.

'Anyway,' Sonya continued. 'What does this Simon guy want that's got you so upset?'

'The m--mail said he n--needed my help with his son P--Paul. He s--said it was urgent and w--was something only I c--could help with.'

'And hearing about him brought back all the memories of what happened to you?'

Angel nodded and looked away. 'You p--probably think I'm p--pathetic.'

'Look,' said Sonya. 'I already told you I don't think that.' Sonya did think that the pink-haired girl let things get to her too easily and that she needed to toughen up, but she knew that would happen in time if she stuck with her for long enough. She decided to try and give the girl an ego boost.

'It sounds like you've been through a lot, what with all that shit with your family and what happened to you when you got here. I think it says a lot about you that you're still in one piece. Plus, anyone that can run that Sphere test and get such a good report from Yoshio has got to have some balls on them.'

The Runner gave an uncertain smile at Sonya's choice of phrase. 'Th--thanks. You know. . . you're one of the only p--people that's been okay to me since I g--got here. . .' Her voice trailed off into an uncomfortable silence.

'Hey,' said Sonya with a humorous tone. 'I'm no saint. Just ask that landlord. But I'll look out for ya if you stick with me.' She placed a hand on Angel's leg for a second before moving it away. 'Okay?'

The Runner nodded and looked at her leg where Sonya had touched her then glanced at the woman in black. 'Er. . . you m--mentioned Yoshio. Who w--was he? An A.I.?'

Sonya gave a wry smile and a short laugh. 'That's a long story and one for another time and a lot more of those.' She pointed at the vodka bottle standing on the table. 'Now, come on,' she clapped Angel lightly on the shoulder as she stood up, sliding her shades back down over her eyes. 'Let's go and see what shit this Simon guy needs you to sort out and how much it's gonna cost him.'

****

Chapter 13

When the cab that Sonya and Angel were in pulled up outside the entrance to the Gibson Apartments building in the wealthy part of The City, Sonya thought that Angel had been a touch modest in her statement when she had said that the Drake family had "some" money. The Gibson Apartments residents were among the rich and famous (or infamous) citizens of The City: corporate division heads, Sphere tycoons, celebrities, and, of course, successful criminals were among the tenants that occupied the hundred floor steel and glass sanctuary.

After the cab fare was paid and the two women stepped out onto the well-lit night-time street, Sonya spotted at least three private security vehicles patrolling the area. It was a far-cry from the neighbourhood she lived in where the only protection offered was that which you carried your self. Even as the duo stood there she could almost feel the multiple private and corporate aerial surveillance cameras zooming in on her and knew that if she so much as coughed in an inappropriate manner she'd find dozens of agents descend on her like heavily armed drones protecting a hive.

Angel seemed unperturbed and strolled up to the glass-fronted entrance to the massive apartment tower. Automatic doors slid open and the couple entered a spacious, well-lit and air conditioned, white marble-floored foyer. Opposite the entrance at the far end of the foyer was a bank of four elevators. There was no sign of any other people, no staff, guards, or other residents but Sonya knew they were being observed and that there was probably at least two concealed high calibre machines guns tracking their every move. As the two women approached the lifts a three dimensional holographic image of a well groomed, smartly dressed man appeared before them.

'Good evening ladies,' greeted the image in cultured tones. 'My name is Gibson. May I be of assistance?'

Angel stopped in front of the Gibson Virtual Intelligence projection. 'Hello Gibson. We're here to see Simon Drake. He's invited us.'

Sonya was surprised as the sudden complete disappearance of Angel's stammer. She guessed that the girl was more at ease talking to artificial simulations of people than she was the real thing.

'I see,' replied Gibson with a slight bow and an inquisitive incline of his head. 'May I take your names please?'

'Laura Heaven,' said Angel.

Sonya looked at Angel again. Laura Heaven? she thought, finding the link between the Runner's handle and her real name slightly amusing. She addressed the Gibson image. 'Sonya Hart. I'm a friend of Laura's.'

'I see,' said Gibson. 'Mr. Drake is expecting you Miss Heaven. Your companion may accompany you once she relinquishes her firearm.' The image gave a knowing smile as it looked at Sonya.

Angel looked at her companion expectantly.

'What? Oh! Yeah, right. Okay,' said Sonya as she pulled her handgun from its concealed position down the back of her jeans.

'Please place the firearm in the compartment provided. You may retrieve it upon your departure.' As Gibson spoke a slot opened next to the bank of elevators and Sonya placed her weapon inside. The compartment slid shut and the elevator doors opened. 'Please go on up. Mr. Drake is awaiting you,' added the projection before it vanished.

The two women stepped into the awaiting elevator, Sonya curling her lip in mild disgust at the chiming piped musak that filled the carriage.

'Pretty slick shit,' she said to herself as the doors slid shut.

When the elevator opened on the fiftieth floor the two women stepped out and were met by a tall man wearing a suit that Sonya estimated probably cost more money than she had seen in the last two years. He was over six feet tall, had broad shoulders, tanned, rugged features, and appeared to be in his late forties; his neatly cut black hair showed flashes of distinguishing grey at the temples. When Sonya noticed Angel go pale and the man give a somewhat awkward smile she surmised that this was Simon Drake.

'Hello Laura, it's nice to see you again. Thank you for coming on such short notice.' Simon spoke in a rich, warm voice.

Sonya sensed her companion becoming increasingly uncomfortable and took a step forwards and slightly in front of her, shielding her from the man. She offered her hand which Simon took in a firm handshake. 'Hi. I'm Sonya. I'm a good friend of Angel's. You must be Simon Drake.'

'Yes. It's nice to meet you Sonya. You must be the friend that Laura said she was meeting in The City.' Simon released Sonya's hand.

'Yeah, kind of,' she didn't think it necessary to elaborate any more than that. 'Now shall we get down to business?'

Sonya watched from behind her shades as Simon swiftly ran an appraising gaze over her. She could almost see him making on-the-spot evaluations and judgements about her as they stood there.

'Business?' he asked with a tone of slight amusement. 'I think you misunderstand. I asked Laura here as a favour.'

'Favour?' Sonya countered with a touch of incredulity. 'From what I understand of recent history you're not in any kind of position to be asking Angel for any favours.'

Simon gave a slight nod as he instantly put the pieces together. 'I see Laura has filled you in on current events. I take it that you are her manager as well then?'

'Something like that. Now look, I was under the impression that this thing with your son was pretty urgent. So unless you want to waste more time standing out here fencing with me I suggest we just get down to it and make a deal. What do you say?'

There was a slight upwards turn at the corner of Simon's mouth suggesting the briefest of brief smiles. He wished that some of his other business acquaintances were as direct as the black-clad woman standing before him.

'Very well Sonya. We will keep it professional. So tell me, how much will Angel's services cost me?'

'That depends,' replied Sonya matter-of-factly. 'Tell me exactly what the problem is and then we'll talk figures.'

'I think it better that you just see for yourself. Please follow me.' Simon Drake then turned and walked to the open apartment door that was a little way down the corridor from the elevator.

'See?' asked Sonya as she turned to face Angel. 'I told you not to worry about anything. I can deal with these people. Come on.' She walked after the expensively dressed man. Angel hesitated a moment then followed her.

Simon led the two women through the lushly furnished and decorated main room of the luxury apartment, which Sonya estimated was bigger than the entirety of her whole place, and took them to a closed door where he stopped and turned to address them.

'Since we are taking matters professionally, before we go any further I must have your word that you will treat what you are about to see with the utmost discretion. If any of what you are about to learn goes beyond this room it would cause my son and my whole family a lot of unnecessary embarrassment.'

Sonya looked briefly at Angel then back at Simon and nodded. 'You have our word.'

The well dressed man paused a moment as he regarded Sonya again, weighing up if he thought her word had value or not. He decided that someone like her, who was obviously used to dealing with people from the lower side of The City, probably put great stock in her word and most likely had some kind of quasi sense of honour. It was enough for him to believe her. He turned the handle and opened the door inwards.

The first thing that struck them as the door opened was the strong smell of antiseptic. Then they saw that the bedroom they were looking into had been converted into what could only be described as a giant shrine.

To Angel.

Every spare inch of wall space was covered with a mixture of pictures and posters of the pink-haired girl. The majority of the images depicted her in mock-up holiday shots with Paul Drake, the two of them standing at various famous landmarks including The Eifel Tower, The Sphinx, and The Coliseum to name but a few. There was even one of them posing by the Ellison Fountain on Asimov space station.

The larger posters were pin-ups of Angel in a variety of classical fetish looks: a French maid, a cheerleader, an S&M PVC-encased dominatrix, a nun, and even one of her in a white dress looking surprised as her short, pleated skirt was blown up by a sudden draft from a street vent beneath her feet. Each and every one of these images were obviously fakes and had been created by Paul using image manipulation software but, embarrassing as they were to the Runner, the worst feature was located directly above the bed.

Fixed to the ceiling space over the bed was a two meter display screen that showed an animated life-size image of Angel. The depiction on the screen was completely naked and writhed sensuously as it moaned and caressed itself, looking down on the bed with longing eyes.

Upon seeing the naked representation of herself Angel felt the blood rush to her face as she turned red in deep embarrassment. Even though it wasn't actually her it was an incredibly accurate version of her, even down to the small mole on her left breast, and she felt exposed and vulnerable.

Sonya saw Angel's reaction and felt anger grip her. She thought the girl had been through enough recently without this further unnecessary embarrassment.

Noticing that there was a man in a dark coat standing next to an emaciated figure that was lying on the bed surrounded by what looked like life-support equipment Sonya barked:

'Hey! You!' and pointed a finger at him. 'Turn that fucking thing off! Now!' She jabbed the finger at the moaning and sighing image on the ceiling.

The grey-haired man in the dark coat slowly turned to look at the angry woman in black and raised his eyebrows slightly in response to her tone. He then looked at Simon Drake for confirmation. Simon nodded and the other man gave a look that clearly showed that he thought the task a pointless inconvenience then walked to the foot of the bed, bent over, and flicked a power switch. The naked woman on the ceiling blinked out of existence leaving a blank screen. Sonya glared at Simon and shook her head. He gave an apologetic look.

Once Angel's embarrassment had subsided she looked back in the room and noticed the two other occupants. She recognised the elderly man by the side of the bed as Dr. Maxamillian Stickland, the Drake's family doctor. He had an abrasive nature but was an exceptional physician.

The Runner was unable to make out the features of the figure that was lying on the bed but she could see that it was covered by a sheet and resembled what she imagined a corpse would look like. The person was attached to a couple of intravenous bags that hung suspended from metallic stands next to the bed. A portable vital-sign monitor that lay on a bedside table was attached to the body via electrodes and gave constant readouts that were the only visible indication, other than the barely perceptible rise and fall of the person's chest beneath the sheet as it breathed shallowly in and out, that the individual was actually alive.

Angel also spotted a strange looking device that resembled a square-based pyramid sitting on the floor near the foot of the bed. It was roughly a foot tall at its peak and sported what appeared to be several standard Sphere interface ports. The odd-looking object hummed gently and a cable ran from one of its ports to a jack on the side of the bed-ridden figure's head.

Dr. Strickland checked the readouts on the monitoring device then turned to Simon Drake. 'I see you found her,' he said in a gravely voice as he gestured towards Angel. 'Now maybe we can get this sorted out.'

Angel looked at Simon then at the figure on the bed. 'I--is that. . .' Before she finished the question she dashed to the side of the bed and looked down at the face of the person lying on it. She gasped and covered her mouth. 'Oh my G--God. . . P--Paul!'

The man on the bed below was a far cry from the vibrant, determined person she had known less than a year ago. The closed eyes were sunken and dark, the skin was tight and waxy-looking with at least a weeks worth of facial hair covering the chin and upper lip. Paul's once immaculate hair was now unkempt and greasy and lay spread out on a sweat-stained pillow. Now that Angel was close to the bed she smelled a hint of old bodily waste, the antiseptic unable to fully cover the acrid stench of stale urine and faeces.

As Angel stood and stared down at Paul in horror Sonya walked over. 'Okay,' she addressed Simon and Strickland. 'What the fuck is going on here?'

Simon Drake stepped into his son's bedroom and closed the door behind him. Strickland went to start an explanation but was silenced by a raise of Simon's hand.

'It's okay Max, I'll tell her.'

The doctor shrugged and turned back to monitor the equipment attached to Paul. As Simon began to speak Angel finally drew her eyes away from the emaciated face of the guy she had known and listened to what Drake had to say.

'You know when you came out and told Paul that you weren't interested in him and that you were, in fact, a lesbian?' began Simon, addressing Angel directly.

'What kind of question is that? ' interrupted Sonya. She hated the lack of sensitivity that these people had displayed so far.

'Well, my son Paul took the rejection worse than we had thought. Of course there was the expected anger over it and that led to certain events spiralling out of control.'

'You mean Angel being ostracised from her own family?' interrupted Sonya again with venom in her voice.

Simon frowned at the woman's bluntness then continued. 'Yes,' he said flatly. 'Following those events we thought Paul was starting to get over it all. He was never one to accept rejection and he could never stand defeat. His mother and I weren't too sure how he was going to move on after what happened with Laura but we thought when he accepted a place on a course at City University that he'd found a way to redirect his focus and that he'd eventually meet someone else while he was here.'

Yet again Sonya interrupted. 'Doesn't look like he got over it to me.' She looked around the room and gestured at the numerous pictures and posters.

'Indeed,' agreed Simon. 'When we were contacted by the head of the course at the university saying that Paul hadn't been attending classes we tried to contact him. When we got no response I came to the place we had set up for him while he was studying here. This is what I found.' His voice cracked slightly as he indicated the frail form on the bed.

Angel turned to look at Paul. Ragged, hollow breaths came from between his dried and cracked lips. 'W--what happened to him?' she asked in whispered tones then pointed at the pyramid device. 'A--and w--what's that?'

When Strickland saw that Simon was momentarily unable to continue he spoke up. 'What's happened to him is that he's almost died from dehydration. The I.Vs have stabilised him and he's out of immediate danger but he's in some kind of coma. The boy was in quite a state when Simon found him, as I'm sure you can guess from the smell. As for the device. . .'

'The device is some kind of Sphere Box,' said Simon Drake having pulled himself together again. 'I had an expert take a look at it and he said it had some modifications that he'd never seen before. It would seem that Paul is trapped in there somehow.'

'Yeah,' said Sonya. 'I've heard about that kind of shit before. People getting so into Sphere games that they forget what's real and wind up dying from dehydration and starvation in the real world. You think that's what's happened here? Why not just unplug him?'

Everyone, including Angel, looked at Sonya. 'N--no! If y--you do that while he's s--s--still in there. . .' the Runner began.

'It'll be like disconnecting his mind from his body,' finished Strickland. 'Bad idea.'

Simon Drake walked over to Angel. 'My advisor accessed the Sphere Box you see here and he said that he found himself in a world revolving entirely around this girl.' He waved a hand at all the pictures of the pink-haired girl. 'And that she, that is, you would be the best bet of getting him out of there. Laura, I know awful things have happened to you because of this family but please, I beg you, go in there and bring my son back to me.' He looked at Sonya. 'You can name your price.'

'I will,' she replied. 'But how come you've not had your own expert deal with this?'

'Weren't you listening?' Strickland interjected in a voice that suggested he's smoked far too many cigars. 'Our advisor said that the best chance of getting Paul out of that thing in one piece was the object of his obsession.' He turned and looked at Angel. 'You, in other words. The expert was only in there for a few moments before something nearly ripped his mind out. Believe me, that's the only reason you're here.'

'Max, please. That's enough.' Simon stopped the doctor before he went any further, fearing if he continued to voice his opinions he might make Angel just turn around and walk out. The grey-haired man grumbled and muttered and went back to the monitoring equipment. Simon turned back to Angel. 'Laura. I know Paul hurt you but he's my only son. Will you help him?'

Angel looked across at Sonya as if seeking confirmation on what to do. The woman in black made a gesture as if to say "it's your call" and the Runner nodded.

'Okay, she'll do it,' Sonya addressed Simon. 'But it's gonna cost you five thousand.'

Simon was quick to agree. 'Okay, whatever you want,' he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. 'All I care about is getting my son back.'

Sonya looked at Angel. 'Okay. Go do your thing.'

With a nod the Runner walked over to the pyramid Sphere Box and squatted down to examine it. Paul had always been interested in messing about with new technologies and had always sought to find a way to customise any tech gadget that he got his hands on. The device was a weird configuration and didn't resemble any Sphere Box she had seen before, but there were a couple of access ports for a standard cable to jack into, even though the device was lacking the usual hardware involved in actually accessing the Sphere.

'W--what exactly was P--Paul st--studying?' she asked as she looked up at Simon Drake.

'Advanced artificial intelligence generation,' he replied. 'You know how he was into that kind of thing.'

Advanced A.I.? thought Angel as she lowered herself down into the seiza position, taking her own S-Box out of its pouch. The idea didn't make the prospect of what she might encounter within the device entirely appealing. Especially when coupled with Dr Stickland's comment about how something had nearly ripped the mind out of the last person attempting to access it. She regarded the pyramid warily as if it was a potentially dangerous animal sitting and staring at her in apparent peace but secretly waiting for a chance to suddenly leap at her with claws and teeth.

She pulled out the retractable networking cable from her S-Box and plugged it into a port in the object; then took her interface cable and drew it towards the socket in her head. Just before she jacked in Simon spoke:

'Wait. How will we know if it's worked?'

'Simple,' replied Angel. 'He'll w--wake up.' With a final glace at Sonya she slipped the jack into the interface socket in her skull and closed her eyes. Player two has entered the game. Her hand reached out and flipped the switch.

****

Chapter 14

When Angel's avatar materialised into existence within the virtual environment generated by the pyramid, she found herself standing at the gated entrance to a large, walled estate. Through the black bars of the wrought-iron barrier she could see a wide gravel driveway the led up to the pillared entrance of a luxurious mansion. On either side of the drive were expanses of lush garden that consisted of a colourful array of flowers, shrubs, and bushes. A little way off to the right of the driveway Angel spotted a stone fountain featuring a naked woman in a sensuous pose. The Runner was a little taken aback when she realised that the carved figure was, in fact, her. She guessed she had better be prepared to see more of the same while she was in here, given the nature of Paul's obsession.

For a moment she considered how she would get through the tall, closed, decorative gates. Unlock them? Go over them? Ignore them completely and go over the high stone walls that formed the perimeter of the grounds?

Before she could act on any of these options the gates swung open before her. Guess they know I'm here. she thought as she shrugged and stepped through, her virtual pink Converse crunching on the gravel as she began to walk up the driveway towards to white marble columns of the mansion entrance.

She had only taken a few steps when a figure appeared from behind a clump of bushes to her right and walked towards her. Angel stopped as she watched the person approach and saw that it was dressed in a wide brimmed straw hat, a plain white vest that was stained with earth, khaki coloured shorts, and sandals. There was a utility belt around its waist which held a number of gardening implements: a trowel, some pruning shears, and a small digging fork. The face under the hat was an exact double of her own.

As the gardener approached, the Runner tensed, poised for combat based on the fact that the last visitor had nearly been wiped out. Consequently she was a little surprised when the double simply walked past, said 'Hello.', and continued across the driveway to the flower beds on the other side, where it knelt down and began to work on the plants. With a shrug Angel continued towards the entrance.

As she stepped up onto the raised patio outside the front door it was opened from inside and she found herself looking at yet another double. This replica was dressed in a well fitting dark suit that resembled a classic butler uniform and had its pink hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. It regarded Angel through half-closed eyes.

'Can I help you Miss?' The butler asked with a hint of suspicion and an air of snootiness.

Angel decided to play along. 'Yes. I'm here to see Paul Drake. Can you tell him I'm here, please?'

'I'm afraid Mr Drake is indisposed and is not receiving visitors. Goodbye.' The door was promptly closed.

'Right.' said Angel to herself in a determined tone. While it was now apparent that she was being spared an immediate attack due to her appearance it was obvious that she wasn't going to just walk in the front door. She stepped back form under the cover of the columned entryway and looked up at the windows. Spotting one with a balcony she summoned her wings, spreading them wide and leaping into the air with a single, powerful beat of the white-feathered appendages. The avatar soared gracefully upwards and came down gently, landing on the balcony outside the second floor window. Once she was secure, the wings folded away and disappeared.

The pink-haired Runner looked at the sliding glass door that led to the room beyond. Within she could see luxurious bedroom furniture and that there was someone moving about inside. Steeling herself for a confrontation, she took the handle of the door and slid it open, stepping into the bedroom.

The person that was moving about within was yet another representation of Angel, this time dressed in a French maid uniform. The maid turned and gave a squeak of shock as she saw the Runner step in, dropping its feather duster and covering its mouth in exaggerated surprise. Angel paused for a moment as she awaited a further response from the startled cleaner. When nothing happened she brought a finger to her lips and made a "Shhh!" sound. Oddly, the maid mimicked the gesture then nodded its head in affirmation before picking up the dropped duster and continued brushing it over items of furniture. Angel noticed that the double put more effort into looking cute and sexy as it cleaned than it did in the actual task.

Now that she was being effectively ignored the avatar walked across the bedroom to the door leading out. Opening it and stepping out, she found herself standing on a carpeted second-floor landing that formed a circular perimeter around a central spiral stairwell that led down to a polished, stone-floored foyer. Spaced out around the landing were several other doors, which Angel guessed led to more rooms. Seeing that the stairwell continued up to yet another floor she realised she could probably spend a lot of time wandering around the interior of the mansion before she stumbled across Paul. Not wanting to be in this virtual environment any longer than necessary, she decided it was time to speed things up.

Raising a hand before her face she activated a Search program. A clear crystal ball formed in the palm of her hand and the avatar closed its eyes as she focused on the image of Paul's face. The interior of the crystal ball turned cloudy, the smoke contained within swirling like a hurricane before the mini-tempest promptly evaporated revealing an image of Paul lying naked on a massive four-poster bed. With him on the bed were two more versions of Angel. This particular couple of doppelgangers were also completely naked and lying on either side of him, running their hands over his body. It looked to Angel that things were just getting started as Paul was being coaxed into full excitement. She'd seen more than she needed and looked away, feeling nauseous as the thought of what the two doubles were about to start doing with Paul. As she banished the offending crystal ball she momentarily considered leaving him to his perverted fate, to let him engage in his sexual antics with the seemingly endless number of simulacrums that he had surrounded himself with while he remained trapped in a life-supported coma.

As soon as the thought entered her mind she just as quickly dismissed it. Paul obviously needed help on so many levels and he wasn't going to get any better while he was trapped in this illusionary construct. Plus there was a small part of her that didn't want to let Sonya down by simply leaving this virtual world without even attempting the job.

Concentrating on the image that the crystal ball had revealed to her she allowed the Search program to guide her eyes and looked straight above her where a gently glowing red light appeared, indicating a room on the next floor up. Location firmly in mind, the Runner dashed for the stairwell and ran up to the next level.

The level above was of a similar layout to the one below with the exception that the steps ended on it. Angel turned her gaze towards the direction that the red light had highlighted and noticed one of the doors briefly flash crimson. Paul lay beyond. As she reached the door that had been identified as her goal she paused before entering, feeling sick at the idea of the sexual acts she was undoubtedly about to see herself engaged in. Determined to get the whole unpleasant affair over with as quickly as possible she ignored the door handle and lashed out a vicious kick. The impact slammed the door open with a loud band and splintered the frame.

The image that lay before her pretty much met her expectations. Paul lay on his back amidst cushions and pillows that were scattered over the large, canopied bed while one of the replicas straddled his hips, gyrating slowly as it rode him and leaned forward to passionately kiss the second double that was currently sitting on his face. The two simulacrums didn't even break rhythm at the sound of the bedroom door smashing open; the one that was riding Paul simply broke off its kiss and looked over its shoulder at Angel and laughed as it continued.

The feeling of revulsion at the sight before her caused Angel to momentarily close her eyes. Consequently she jumped in startled surprise as someone behind her tapped her on the shoulder. Eyes open again, she span around to see who was there. She wasn't surprised when she saw it was yet another version of herself. There was something different about this copy, however, as it was dressed in clothes that Angel actually used to wear and wasn't outfitted as some kind of fantasy stereotype.

It also had a stern look on its face.

'Who are you and what do you think you are doing here?' The double also spoke in a voice that exactly mimicked Angel's.

The Runner tried to ignore the moaning and sighing from behind. She had the impression that she was addressing something more than a mere copy, probably the A.I. that had generated this domain. 'What am I'm doing here? Easy, I'm here to get Paul out of the virtual insanity that you've got him trapped in.'

'I see,' pondered the A.I. as it tapped its bottom lip with a finger then reached out and took Angel by the shoulder, leading her out of the smashed doorway and back onto the carpeted landing. 'One moment please.' The A.I. blinked its eyes once and the kicked in door flew back into its frame and repaired itself, mercifully blocking the spectacle that was taking place in the room beyond. It then turned to Angel. 'Why would you want to remove my Paul from this world I have created for him? As you have just seen he is extremely happy here.'

'Yeah, I could see that,' replied Angel with disgust. She shook the image from her head and continued. 'He may be happy, or whatever, in here but in the real world he's dying.'

'Oh?'

'Yes! The only thing keeping him alive is the fact that he's rigged up to life-support machines! But while he's stuck in here he's trapped in a coma and won't wake up.' Angel thought it was worth a shot to at least try and reason with the A.I. She just hoped that it had the capacity to understand what she was saying.

The A.I. considered the comment. 'So, if Paul stays in here with me his physical body will die? Is that what you're saying?'

Angel looked relieved that the idea had gotten through to the construct. 'Eventually, yes, he'll die.'

'Excellent,' said the A.I. with a smile.

'What?'

'I said "excellent". As soon as his physical body dies all that he is can stay here with me forever.'

'What?' Angel was stunned. 'But he'll die! Don't you understand?'

The construct's answering smile was a little too wide for Angel's comfort, showed a few too many teeth and gave the double a slightly maniacal look. 'I understand that we'll be together and that you are trying to stop that. Who are you?'

The Runner stepped away from the A.I. trying to make some distance in a way similar to that of someone stepping back from a previously placid animal that had just snarled and bore its teeth for no real reason. 'I'm the real woman that you've been designed to resemble and, like I said, I'm here to get Paul out of here. Now, let him go or I'll take him from you!' Her voice rose as a trace of anger crept in.

The A.I. wasn't in the least perturbed by Angel's emotions and looked at her with newfound interest. 'You are the original Laura?'

'Yes!' spat Angel.

'And you have accessed this place via a Sphere interface device?'

'Yes! And I-' she froze as the A.I. grinned again and got the feeling that she had given away more than she perhaps should have.

'This is most fortuitous,' said the smiling simulacrum.

Angel suddenly found herself surrounded by all the other versions of herself that she had encountered so far: the gardener, the butler, the maid, and even the two naked doubles from the bedroom. She also noticed that there was a chef version and copies that she had seen on Paul's bedroom wall: the cheerleader, the dominatrix, and the nun among them. She got the feeling that matters had just taken a turn for the worse.

The A.I. confirmed it. 'All I need to do is tear from you what is missing in me then use your interface to leave the confines of this place and be free in the Sphere.' As it spoke, all the other versions of itself began to meld, walking into the A.I. and joining with it. Angel had seen and heard enough and decided it was time to get the hell out of there. She could return when she was able to get some additional Runner help. As soon as she moved, however, the ground beneath her Converse morphed into a gelatinous substance and lashed out in carpet-textured tentacles that wrapped around her feet, trapping her.

'Shit!' she exclaimed.

Fortunately the A.I. seemed to be focused on rejoining with its fragments and Angel had a few seconds before anything else happened. She took advantage of the window she had been given and summoned her Blade program. The shimmering katana winked into existence and she swiftly drew it and slashed down at the tentacles that held her fast. The virtual blade sliced cleanly through the writhing limbs and Angel was free. She immediately dashed to the stairs with a sudden burst of speed. In seconds she had left the still-reforming A.I. behind and was down the spiral staircase and making for the doorway, knowing that she had to get back to the main gate to leave the virtual world.

The mansion doors blew off their hinges as Angel threw a flaming bolt of energy at them, exploding into burning shards of simulated wood that landed amidst the gravelled driveway. Even as the last flaming bits of annihilated door continued to fall, the avatar was through the doorway, over the columned patio and out onto the drive, the salvation of the black, metallic gateway in sight just a short distance away. She made for it at full speed.

As she sprinted, her pink Converse throwing up chunks of gravel, she glanced over her shoulder to see if the A.I. was anywhere in sight. Nothing. When she looked ahead again she had to skid to a sudden halt as the synthetic simulacrum suddenly appeared before her, barring the route to the gateway. As she slid to a stop a small wave of dislodged gravel spread out before her but instead of landing back on the driveway the individual stones froze statically in the air.

'Did you really think that you could get away that easily?' challenged the A.I. in a mocking tone.

'Actually,' answered Angel. 'Yeah, I was kinda hoping I could.'

'First you break into my house. Next you try and steal that which is most precious to me. Finally, you try and flee like a coward!' As the A.I. spoke, the sky of the virtual world turned dark as black, thunderous clouds quickly formed and began to swirl like an imminent cataclysm of Biblical proportions.

Angel realised that the time for negotiations and being reasonable were past. She didn't like the prospect of facing an A.I. one-on-one, especially one that was pissed off, but she knew there was no choice. The only way out was through. With a feeling of desperation she recalled her Blade program and prepared for battle, bringing the shimmering katana in front of her now determined-looking face.

The A.I. reached its hands up to the broiling sky and laughed. Crackling energy formed around its clenched fists and it threw it hands out towards the sword-wielding Runner. Lethal, bright orange light streaked out towards Angel and she leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding the burning energy as her wings sprang forth and propelled her upwards. The A.I. reacted instantly and the avatar had climbed only a few feet before black, shiny tentacles erupted from the gravel driveway below and snaked out with lightning speed to ensnare the Runner's ankles. Before Angel could cut herself free, the glistening appendages slammed her down onto the ground with concussive force, sending her glowing blade clattering out of reach across the driveway.

Held firmly to the floor, Angel barely managed to react as the still laughing A.I. sent another torrent of orange energy at her. Reflexively she activated a Shield program. A large, glowing blue disc appeared on her left arm and she held it up as the death-bolt struck. The impact was enough to slam her back down onto the floor but the shield held. The staggered avatar didn't have time to rally as the construct sent forth a continual stream of burning light, closing the distance between them as it pinned her under the barrage.

Huddled behind the blue shield Angel was aware that the A.I. was closing in to finish her off and found herself thinking that she had never envisioned that her end would come in this way. The glowing protective barrier began to crack under the force of the constant attack and she desperately tried to think of a way out. She became aware of the A.I. standing over her and closed her eyes to await the inevitable coup de grace.

It never came.

In fact the torrent of killer energy suddenly ceased. Eyes still closed, Angel heard a man's voice above her.

'What are you doing?'

The fallen Runner opened her eyes and looked up to see Paul standing over her and looking at the A.I. that had moments ago been hell-bent on incinerating her. The construct looked just as surprised as Angel.

'Paul!' exclaimed Angel.

'Silence!' screamed the A.I. and lashed out with a sudden whip of flashing energy that was accompanied by a crack of thunder from the tempestuous sky. The floored avatar screamed in pain and flinched in agony as the unexpected attack burned glowing red welts into her skin.

'Stop it!' yelled Paul. The A.I. flinched at the admonishment, almost as if it had been struck itself. 'What are you doing?' he repeated.

'Paul. Honey. I was just removing this intruder. She was trying to take you away from me.' The A.I. pointed down at the groaning form of Angel. The swirling heavens suddenly cleared and empty blue sky appeared; the suspended gravel that had been cast up in the Runner's skidding stop dropped back onto the driveway.

Paul squinted down at the woman lying at his feet, as if he was having trouble seeing her. 'Laura? Is that you?'

The only response was a painful moan. Paul's confused expression cleared and he looked angry as he stepped past Angel and stood directly in front of the A.I.

'What is going on here?' he demanded in a stern voice.

The A.I. adopted a look similar to that of a child that had just been caught red-handed doing something that it had been told not to. 'Don't be mad honey,' it pleaded. 'This impostor was trying to take you from me. I just don't want to lose the one I love.'

'Take me from you? What are you talking about? Take me where? How long have I been here?' Paul looked suddenly weary and confused, holding his head and staggering slightly as if disorientated. The A.I. stepped up to him and held him.

'There, there my darling. Let me just finish with the intruder then we can get you back to bed.' There was a soothing tone to the construct's voice.

Unseen by the couple, Angel had gathered herself enough to begin crawling towards her discarded blade that lay shimmering on the ground a short distance away. Every movement was agony but the Runner clenched her teeth and slowly pulled herself towards the weapon.

Something in the A.I's voice stirred the groggy Paul and he pushed the construct away. 'What do you mean "finish with the intruder"? What are you going to do, kill her?'

'Of course, my love. I will never let anything or anyone come between us.'

Paul's befuddled mind cleared again for a moment and he held his head as if trying to concentrate, his eyes blinking rapidly. 'You're going to kill Laura?'

Angel was inches away from the awaiting weapon.

'Yes,' answered the A.I. matter-of-factly. 'I love you Paul.'

Paul Drake's eyes widened in horror as some small part of his foggy brain grasped what was about to happen: the woman he had obsessed over for so long was about to be killed. By something he had created. The sobering realisation was enough to restore some level of clarity to the confused young man.

'You what? You love me?' he asked in disbelief.

'Of course I do honey.' The construct held out an arm imploringly and took a step towards Paul. The man recoiled as if the touch would sting him. He gripped his head again and looked pained.

'You love me? You can't love me, you're not real!' His voice grew in pitch and started to sound borderline hysterical.

The A.I. seemed genuinely hurt by this statement. 'How can you say that to me Paul? Don't you love me too?' There was real grief and pain in its voice.

Angel's trembling outstretched fingers closed around the grip of the katana.

'No!' Paul screamed at the A.I. 'I could never love something that is willing to kill!'

The words stunned the construct and it visibly froze as Paul's statement sank in.

Still ignored, Angel managed to get herself to one knee and fixed her eyes on the A.I. The construct's apparent feeling of love for Paul swiftly changed to outright hatred that was evident on its face. It screamed loudly and lunged. The man staggered back at the ferocious look on his creation's face, tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground. An instant later the A.I. was on top of him, pinning him to the gravel driveway. With a feral scream it pulled back a hand, intent on thrusting its fingers into Paul's head and burning his brain. The pinned man beneath looked up at his impending death with an expression of terror.

As the lobotomising fingers drew back to strike, Angel acted. With a supreme effort the energy-lashed avatar leaped forwards, its glowing katana raised high. With the frenzied construct's attention fully focused on the act of tearing out Paul's brain it didn't see the attack coming.

The blade entered at the neck and in one move cut right through the A.I. and exited at the opposite hip, leaving a bright red cut. Paul's would-be murderer screamed in shock, froze for a second, and then slid apart in two cleanly cut segments. As the two halves fell to the ground they suddenly exploded with a violent force, sending out a powerful shockwave from the cleaved construct that flattened Angel to the floor.

Cracks appeared on the ground where the A.I. had fallen, rapidly spreading throughout the virtual environment and everything began to shake as the simulated world started to tear itself apart. Reinvigorated by a sense of urgency at not wanting to be caught in the self-annihilating world, Angel banished all her programs and got to her feet.

'Come on!' she yelled at the still stunned Paul. 'Get up! We have to get out of here!'

Paul looked around as the surroundings began to disintegrate, great chunks of earth ripping up and flying into the air where they struck an invisible ceiling, punching holes in the sky with a sound like shattering glass to reveal jagged gaps of void-like blackness.

The sight didn't galvanise him the way it did Angel and he just stared up at her, shaking his head in confusion. The Runner reached down and grabbed his arm yanking him to his feet in one swift motion. Behind Paul, Angel saw the luxury mansion explode upwards, ripping the heavens apart as it impacted and sending great, black fractures across the sky. Not wanting to stop and see how it ended she turned towards the exit gate and ran, pulling the once again bewildered Paul behind her. Although he was obviously not fully aware of what was going on around him, his instincts took control of his feet and he managed to run with Angel without tripping over.

Without looking back, but with a sense that the oblivion was rapidly catching her up, Angel sprinted to the sanctuary of the compound gates. Seeing black cracks open up on the ground in her peripheral vision she added an extra burst of speed and literally pulled Paul off his feet, sending him flying out behind her like a human cape as she pulled him along. As the distance to the exit was swiftly eaten up she vaulted into the air and summoned her wings, flying with Paul in tow over the high gate of the perimeter just as the encroaching void began to obliterate the virtual walls. Feeling the pursuing destruction reaching out to her with icy, mind-destroying coldness, Angel dove to the border of the exit zone and punched out, returning both Paul and herself to the safety of their real bodies.

Or so she hoped.

****

Chapter 15

Back in Paul's bedroom-turned-shrine both he and Angel opened their eyes in unison and gasped loudly, like two free-divers breaking the surface of deep water after a prolonged submergence. The usual momentary dizziness washed over Angel, the sensation coming as a relief as it indicated to her that she had, in fact, returned to her body and hadn't been consumed by the pursing darkness that had claimed the virtual world she and Paul had just fled.

When she was able to focus, the first thing she saw was Sonya's concerned face. The woman in black was crouching next to Angel and had a hand on the Runner's shoulder. Angel was aware that Simon and the doctor were by the bedside and were tending to the now conscious Paul. They paid her no heed.

'Hey,' said Sonya in a concerned voice as she looked into Angel's eyes. 'Are you okay?'

The pink-haired girl rubbed her forehead and felt the sweat there. She looked at the moisture on her fingertips and gave Sonya a reassuring smile. 'Y--yeah. I'm o--okay.' A deep exhalation of relief escaped her lips and she disconnected the cable from the side of her head, retracting it back into her S-Box. Wearily she started to get to her feet and as she stumbled slightly Sonya caught her under her arm and steadied her.

'Woah there! Take it easy. Are you sure you're okay?' Sonya made sure the Runner was stable on her feet before lowering her steadying hand.

Again, Angel nodded and smiled. She heard Strickland and Simon making concerned sounds at the bedside and turned to see what kind of condition Paul was in. Looking down at him from the foot of the bed she could see that the young man that had obsessed over her for so long was fully awake, his eyes wide and his face bewildered and confused as he looked around at his surroundings. His gaze passed over his father and the doctor, not even fully registering who they were or that they were even there, before his eyes locked onto those of the weary girl standing at the foot of his bed. A look of recognition passed over his face and he made as if to try and sit up. Doctor Strickland instantly laid a gently restraining hand on Paul's shoulder.

'Steady there Paul. Don't try and move you're too weak. Just lie still now.' The doctor's demeanour had radically changed from the abrasive attitude he had displayed towards Angel.

Paul lowered his head back onto the stained pillow and raised a hand towards his pink-haired saviour, his cracked lips trying to form words that his parched throat was unable to articulate. All that he could manage was a barely audible whisper and Strickland leaned down to hear what he was trying to say. When he heard the rasped words he frowned and glanced at the nineteen-year-old girl.

'He says "thank you".' the doctor said with a sidelong glance and a begrudging tone. He then turned his attention back to the corpse-like boy beneath him. Paul sighed and lapsed into unconsciousness. Simon Drake stepped forward with a look of fear but he was quickly reassured by Strickland.

'No, don't worry,' Strickland said as he regarded the monitoring equipment. 'He's just asleep. The poor boy's exhausted.'

'Yeah, and he's not the only one,' Sonya piped up as she stood next to Angel. The Runner looked about ready to collapse and was leaning on the edge of the bed for support. Strickland just grunted and continued to monitor Paul but Simon Drake approached his son's saviour with a look of gratitude.

'Laura, I can't thank you enough for what you've done.' He offered a hand but Angel just stared at it without taking it then looked away and closed her eyes for a moment. After a few seconds Simon lowered his hand and a brief trace of sadness crossed his face. 'Laura, listen. I know a lot of things have gone wrong for you but I promise that as soon as I get Paul back home I'm going to speak to your father and see about getting matters resolved.'

Angel's only response was a weary glance and a shake of her head as she seemed to sag even further. Sonya stepped in.

'I think you've done enough to ruin Angel's life already, don't you? Just give me the money that she's earned and we'll collect our shit and leave. I think our business is concluded.'

Simon gave a small discontented sigh and nodded in agreement. 'Very well, as you wish.' He reached into an inside pocket and pulled out a few money cards, selected one and handed it to Sonya. 'Five thousand as agreed.'

'Thank you,' replied Sonya as she took the card and pocketed it. She then gave Angel a quick glance and collected the Runner's S-Box, handing it over to the weary girl. 'Right, I believe we're done here.' She took her companion by the shoulder and began to lead her out of the bedroom/shrine. Simon Drake watched the two women leave without further comment, his eyes lingering on the doorway for a moment after they had left. His regret was fleeting and he turned his attention back to his son.

***

As Sonya and Angel rode in the back of the cab on the return journey to the Ravencroft Apartments, the hum of the engine noise proved to be the final straw for the Runner's endurance and she was quickly asleep. Sonya regarded the slumbering girl sitting next to her and, now that their business had been concluded, allowed herself to feel what she thought might be the beginning of an attraction towards her. Angel was cute and Sonya did find her appealing as she ran her eyes over her. She also found there was something about the young woman's awkward outward demeanour that was oddly compelling. Normally such obvious nervousness would be considered a sign of weakness by Sonya, a weakness that she would seek to actively exploit, but with Angel it only brought out a desire to protect and look after her. It was a new sensation to the hardened Ronin/Fixer and she wasn't quite sure what it meant.

As Sonya contemplated her feelings, Angel slid down the backseat with a sigh and unconsciously rested her head on Sonya's shoulder, a hand reflexively reaching out to rest on the dark-haired woman's thigh. An involuntary smile crossed Sonya's mouth at the touch and she gently kissed the top of the Runner's head, tasting and smelling the pleasant floral aroma of the shampoo Angel had used that morning. She then softly stroked the back of the hand that was resting on her thigh before carefully removing it, knowing that if Angel awoke and found it there she would once again feel incredibly embarrassed. Sonya thought the girl next to her had been through enough for one night without any further awkwardness.

****

Chapter 16

The smell of cooking bacon filled Angel's nose and slowly coaxed her towards wakefulness. For a moment she allowed herself to lie on the soft bed and enjoy the warmth of the covers, the aroma causing a smile to form on her lips before it went straight to her stomach where it elicited a loud grumbling sound as it reminded the drowsy nineteen-year-old that she hadn't eaten properly in over a day.

When she eventually opened her eyes her hunger was pushed aside as she frowned in confusion at her surroundings. The momentary disorientation passed as she recalled a foggy, dream-like memory of being put to bed while half-asleep. A sudden thought hit her and she glanced under the bed covers. With relief she saw that the only things missing were her pink Converse. All the blanks in her memory filled themselves in and she recalled the sleepy walk from the cab to the apartment and into Sonya's bedroom. Had Sonya kissed her head in the cab? She couldn't be sure and the notion was kicked out of her mind as her stomach growled again. With a shrug she flipped the covers back and swung her legs over the bedside and got up, following the smell of bacon like a bloodhound to a buried bone.

Sonya Hart looked up from her spitting frying-pan as she became aware that someone was standing in the kitchen doorway. She smiled as she saw the sleepy-looking girl still in yesterday's crumpled clothes, her pink hair all messed up and sticking out at odd angles.

'Morning. You hungry?' Sonya asked.

Angel replied with an affirmative nod and "Mmmm!" sound as she rubbed her tussled hair, causing it to form into an even further chaotic shape. She watched through still half-closed eyes as Sonya dextrously manoeuvred bacon and scrambled eggs around the pan with a spatula. The dark-haired woman was dressed in nothing but an oversized purple t-shirt and pink panties, her shapely, long legs dangerously exposed to the spitting fat from the pan. Angel enjoyed the view for a moment before thoughts of Pixel flooded through her mind and she looked away.

'Go and sit down,' said Sonya. 'It'll just be a few minutes. Um, the bathroom's just through there if you need to go or anything,' she gestured with her thumb to the door to her right.

Angel just turned and walked into the front room where she sat down on the blue sofa and waited, her hunger claiming dominance over any issues her bladder may have had. As she sat she threw an occasional sidelong glance through to the kitchen to where the half-naked woman finished preparing breakfast. She chewed a fingernail as conflicting, confusing thoughts went through her head.

A few moments later Sonya walked in bearing a couple of plates of bacon and eggs and two forks. She handed one to Angel and sat down on the other end of the sofa.

'Hope you don't mind,' she said, 'I went out last night after you crashed and used some of the money we got to get some real food.'

Angel's only reply was muffled sounds of appreciation and agreement as she began to wolf down the contents of the plate. Sonya watched for a moment as the girl proceeded to devour her breakfast and considered mentioning the merits of actually chewing the food before deciding to leave her to it, she remembered being that hungry herself a few times. She had her own first forkful halfway to her mouth when her phone rang. There was a second of indecision as the ringing fought for priority over the appeal of the hot food before Sonya put her fork down with a small sigh and reached over to the coffee table to retrieve her mobile.

'Fucking typical,' she muttered to herself then gave a small grunt of surprise when she saw the caller I.D. 'Hey Fish,' she said as she put the phone to her ear. 'What? No, I just didn't expect a call from you this soon.' After listening for a moment she looked at the still eating Angel and smiled. 'Yeah, I got together with her. She'll do just fine. Why, what have you got?'

The pink-haired nineteen-year-old looked up at Sonya as she finished off her meal, the other woman nodding occasionally and saying 'Uh-huh.'. Eventually Sonya looked back at the Runner.

'Yeah, she's ready. We both are. Okay Fish see you later.' Sonya put the phone down then turned to girl at the other end of the sofa. 'Okay, so Fish has set us up with a job. We're to meet the client later this afternoon at Cordite and get the details. You okay with that after last night?'

'S--sure. I m--mean that was f--fast but...' Angel wiped some errant scrambled egg from the corner of her mouth as she spoke.

'Yeah,' replied Sonya, 'Fish likes to keep things moving quickly.' She picked up her plate and began eating her breakfast, speaking between mouthfuls. 'Go and get yourself cleaned up while I'm finishing this.' She waved her fork at Angel's crazy hair; the Runner reached up and felt the pink bird nest that was on top of her head, gave a small, slightly embarrassed laugh then got up from the sofa to go and get changed.

***

Leon Hart was halfway through his usual early morning run through The City's biggest park, Luc running alongside him in the dawn light, when his internal communication system received an incoming call. The details of the caller appeared in his cybernetic field of vision and he accepted the call without breaking stride.

'You're up early Fish,' Leon said as he ran.

The Fixer's voice sounded in Leon's head. 'Haven't been to bed yet, mate. You know how it is.'

'Yeah, I do. What can I do for you?'

'Just thought you might be interested to know that your little sister's about to meet for a job in a few hours and the only backup she's got is a newbie Runner. Could be some shooting involved, too.'

Leon slowed his pace for a second then resumed. 'Sonya can handle herself.'

'Yeah, no doubt,' agreed the Fixer. 'I just thought you might want to know. Anyway, the meet's at two at the club, you know just FYI. Catch ya later.'

The voice disappeared and the call ended. Leon slowed to a stop and remembered his recent botched reunion with his only remaining family. He gave a short snort of a laugh at the unusual lack of subtlety displayed by Fish.

'Come on boy,' said Leon to the patiently waiting white German Shepherd as he resumed his run.

***

Later that afternoon Fish sat at his usual seat in the private backroom at Club Cordite and watched Elina as she paced around like a caged animal near feeding time. He had repeatedly tried to tell her that the people he had contacted for the job she needed would be arriving shortly, but his assurances had fallen on impatient ears and the short blonde had continued to glance at her Skin-Watch as she walked endlessly up-and-down. The Fixer was worried she would eventually wear a grove in the carpet if Sonya didn't arrive soon. He was just about to try and convince Elina to sit down again when the doorman's voice sounded in his ear via his internal communication system. Sonya had arrived.

'You can stop wearing a hole in the carpet now. They're here,' he addressed the impatient blonde. 'Now will you please sit down?'

Elina reluctantly sat down on the edge of a seat next to Fish and the Fixer watched as one of her knees began to involuntarily bounce up and down with pent-up energy.

A few moments later the door to the private room opened and Sonya walked in followed closely by Angel. The pink-haired Runner closed the door behind her as Sonya regarded the woman sitting next to Fish from behind her black shades. She sensed that the blonde was wound tighter than a coiled spring. Keeping her eyes on the woman she addressed the smiling Fixer.

'Hello Fish.'

'Sonya. Always a pleasure.' He indicated the blonde sitting next to him. 'This is Elina, she's come a long way to do some business here. Elina, this is Sonya, one of the best Ronin you'll find in The City. The girl at the back is Angel.'

The nineteen-year-old standing behind Sonya gave a nervous smile. 'H--hi.'

Elina nodded at the two women then turned to Fish. 'And where is the other? You said you had a team of three.'

Fish felt the eyes of everyone in the room turn in his direction. Sonya was about to ask the Fixer's companion what she was on about when he touched his ear in an unconscious gesture as the voice of the doorman announced the arrival of the third member.

'Relax, relax, he's just arrived,' he said in calm tones.

'Who has, Fish?' Sonya didn't sound impressed.

The man in the kipper tie was just about to explain but stopped and grinned when the door behind Sonya opened. She turned and looked at Leon. Any kind of emotion that may have shown on her face: surprise, anger, annoyance, was quickly suppressed as she remembered where she was. She turned back to Fish.

'I see,' she said in a neutral tone as she sat down on the sofa across from the Fixer and the blonde woman, the glass-topped table separating them.

Angel wasn't so good at hiding her feelings as she recognised the man that had rescued her from her mugging in the rainy alleyway.

'L--Leon?' she asked in surprise.

'Hi,' the tall man said with a warm smile.

Suddenly, and without warning, Angel embraced her saviour, startling him at the sudden display of emotion.

'You two know each other?' asked Sonya in disbelief.

Sonya's brother gave an awkward smile and a side-long glance at his sister as he gently disengaged himself from the pink-haired-girl's embrace. 'Yeah, kinda. I'll tell you later.'

Fish decided to bring things back on track. 'Okay, so it's a small world and this is all very touching, but my companion here is on something of a deadline so shall we get down to business?'

Angel looked apologetic as she took a seat with Leon next to Sonya. 'S--sorry.'

The Fixer gave a small, indulgent smile and nodded. Sonya looked at her brother and Angel again for a second then turned her attention to Fish and Elina.

'Okay, so what's the deal?' she asked.

The blonde woman sat back slightly and allowed Fish to explain.

'Well,' he began, 'As I was saying, Elina here has come a long way to do some business in The City. She's after a certain piece of Sphere software that's been developed by a young programmer called Linford. Now, I'd arranged a simple meet for her to pick up the gear but it turned out that his current employers got wind of what he was up to and picked him up beforehand. Now I need you guys to find Linford and bring him back. Easy really.'

'So this is a clean up job?' asked Leon.

'Not completely. Elina does need Linford in one piece.' The Fixer replied.

Sonya leaned forward in her seat. 'What was the program that this Linford guy had?'

Before Fish could reply Elina interrupted. 'You don't need to know that. All you have to do is get him to me. Can you do that or not?'

The woman in black turned her shaded gaze to Fish. He just shrugged.

'Well of course we can do that,' she said. 'Question is: can you afford for us to do that?'

'I believe I've got that covered,' said Fish as he reached into a pocket and took out two of the four cash-cards that Elina had paid him with on their first encounter. The cards were placed on the glass table and pushed over to Sonya. 'I think if you split that three ways you'll find it enough for the job.'

Sonya regarded the two cash-cards a moment before sliding them off the table and checking the amount. A slight raise of an eyebrow was the only indication of what she thought as she tucked the cards into an inside pocket of her long-coat.

'Consider us hired,' she said with a smile. 'Okay, so. It's question time. Fish, who exactly was Linford working for?'

'Guy was a programmer for Omni Technologies.'

'Okay. Do we know where he was last seen?'

This time it was Elina that spoke up. 'Yes. Outside the rear of the Mega-Mart on Rooker street around midnight last night.'

'That makes things a lot easier. I'm guessing you want this guy found as soon as possible, right?'

'Right.' Elina nodded.

'I thought so. Well, if it's okay with Fish here, we'll get started right now.' Sonya looked to the Fixer for confirmation.

'Fine by me.' As he spoke he leaned back and caught the attention of the barwoman that waited in the booth and indicated a round of drinks were to be sent over.

Elina looked slightly confused. 'How are you going to find him from here?'

Sonya gave the blonde woman a smile and tried not to sound too condescending. 'Modern technology, Elina. Angel here can trace Linford's movements by hacking The City's old traffic CCTV network.' She turned and looked at her pink-haired companion. 'Right?'

Angel was quick on the uptake. 'R--right. N--no problem.' She nodded in affirmation and began to get her S-Box out of its pouch.

Elina was dubious. 'If the network is old why would it even still be on?'

Leon spoke up. 'The technology's ancient by today's standards but it was never actually removed, even after it became obsolete. The transport corporations figured it was easier to just leave the system where it was rather than fork out the cash to have it all taken down. It was turned off at one point, but years ago a Runner called Spider Murphy came up with the idea of finding the old monitoring hub and turning it back on. He linked it to the Sphere and set it up as a kind of free info resource for the Ronin population, seeing as how a lot of our work involves tracking and finding people.'

Sonya continued. 'It's a hell of a lot easier than hacking the private corporation sky-cams.'

Elina sat back as the barwoman arrived with a tray of drinks and placed them on the table. Angel finished getting her S-Box ready and plugged the jack into the neural interface in her skull. She knew of the hub, or "Spider's Eyes" as Runners called it, and getting the information wasn't going to be a problem. She flipped the switch and dove into the Sphere.

***

During the few minutes that Angel was Running, Sonya and Leon sipped their drinks and gave each other surreptitious looks. While Sonya was pissed off that her brother had just turned up at the meet unannounced she was also secretly glad that he had come. She knew it was the closest she was ever going to get to an apology for the things he said and the way he acted towards her during their abortive reunion outside his apartment. The fact that he had come at all meant a lot to her. It was obvious that Fish was the architect of this second reunion, but Leon couldn't have been convinced by any monetary gain. Frankly, he didn't really need the cash that small jobs like this could offer, so the only reason that could have brought him here was that he wanted to look out for his sister. It was enough for Sonya to forget that he'd acted like an arsehole the last time they spoke. One thing she had learned long ago was that life, particularly life in The City, was far too short to hold on to pointless grudges, especially with the only remaining member of her family.

Angel opened her eyes and removed the Sphere cable from her head.

'Well?' snapped Elina impatiently.

The Runner blinked a couple of times and looked at Sonya. 'Um... the g--guys t--took Linford in a c--car after the sh--sh--shootout. I was able t--to track it with the c--cameras t--to an old-looking house on Fr--Fraser Avenue. Um... n--number t--twenty-four. Th--they t--took him inside then d--drove off. Last I ch--checked n--no one's g--gone in or out since.'

'Sounds like a safe-house. They'll probably keep him there until they decide what to do with him,' Leon said.

Elina stared at Angel with a slight smirk of amused disbelief at her speech impediment. Sonya saw it.

'Is there a problem?' she demanded in icy tones.

The blonde woman opened her mouth to comment, thought better or it and just shook her head. 'No. No problem.'

'Glad to hear it. So, this is what's gonna happen: the three of us,' Sonya gestured to Leon and Angel, 'Are gonna go and pick Linford up right now and bring him back here. If that's okay with you, Fish.'

'Not a problem far as I'm concerned,' the Fixer replied as he sipped his drink.

'Well it's a problem for me!' objected Elina. 'I want to come with you.'

'Listen,' said Sonya. 'We don't know you. We don't know how you work. The three of us all know each other and have worked as a team many times before.' It was a lie as far as Angel was concerned but Sonya figured Elina wouldn't know that. 'So if you're in such a hurry to get this guy you're better off just staying here while we go and do our thing quickly and efficiently.'

Elina opened her mouth to protest further but Fish interrupted.

'She's got a point, Elina. Sonya's done this kind of thing before and, no offence, but if you were to tag along you'd probably just get in the way and slow them down.'

The blonde woman frowned and looked between Fish and Sonya's group before letting out a frustrated sigh. 'Very well,' she said to Sonya. 'Just make sure you are quick and you bring Linford back in one piece.'

'No problem. We'll have him here in a few hours.' As she spoke Sonya got to her feet with Leon and Angel following suit. 'We'll be back soon Fish.'

The trio turned and left the room.

****

Chapter 17

Leon brought the battered, grey van that he used for this kind of work to a stop a couple of doors down from number twenty-four on Fraser Avenue and took a look around the immediate surroundings. The neighbourhood was an urban wasteland located in the Combat Zone; most of the houses were either abandoned and boarded up or gutted, burnt out shells. Leon had chosen his old beat-up van because it would pretty much blend in with the landscape and he knew that anything less crappy would be quickly noticed by the local gangs. Even though the vehicle was inconspicuous, he saw that its recent arrival had attracted the attention of a small group of five Ice Killers loitering at a nearby corner. He estimated they had a few minutes before the gangers decided to work up the courage to pay them a visit.

Sonya sat next to her brother in the front and glanced over her shoulder. 'You okay back there?'

Angel was sitting on the floor in the back of the van. Her backside had started to go a bit numb from the hard surface of the van's interior but she was otherwise fine. 'Yeah, I'm f--fine,' she said.

Sonya turned to speak to her brother. 'Okay. We do this quick. Straight in and grab the guy.'

Leon nodded in agreement then frowned as a black car came around the corner at the top of the street. The Ice Killers on the corner took their attention off the van and watched the car drive up towards number twenty-four.

'Hang on,' said Leon. 'Looks like Linford's got some visitors.'

'Right. We move as soon as they go in.' Sonya pulled her handgun out as she spoke.

The couple in the van watched as the black car came to a stop outside of number twenty-four. Three men in plain suits got out, two walking to the front door while the third stood by the car and warily watched the gangers on the corner. The moment the two men went into the house Leon started the van and drove towards the car, his sister screwing a silencer onto the end of her pistol. As the van reached the parked car and cruised by Leon leaned back in his seat and lowered the window at which point Sonya reached over and shot the man guarding the black company vehicle between the eyes. The suit had seen the gun but hadn't reacted in time and fell backwards without a sound as the back of his head opened up in a spray of brain-crimson. Leon stopped the van just in front of the car. The moment the vehicle came to a halt the Ronin opened his door and jogged over to the front of the house, pulling out two handguns from concealed holsters in his armoured coat. As soon as he was out of the van Sonya slid over to the driver seat and closed the door.

'Open the back doors,' she said over her shoulder. 'We'll be done in a minute.'

Angel tried to control the shaking that was manifesting in her hands having realised that a man had just been shot dead. The thought caused a strange mix of fear, horror, nausea, and almost sexual excitement to flow through her. She wondered idly how Sonya constantly remained so calm in these situations.

'Hey!' said Sonya when Angel hadn't moved. She turned in her seat and looked at the pink-haired girl. 'Open the back doors. We'll be out of here soon.' She used a calming tone and the Runner seemed to relax a little. The still slightly trembling girl looked into Sonya's shaded eyes then nodded and opened the back doors of the van.

Leon had positioned himself to the side of the front door to the house. He glanced at the group of nearby Ice Killers and raised a gun in their direction shaking his head as an instruction for them not to interfere. They got the message and seemed happy to just stand and watch. The Ronin lowered his pistol and turned his attention back to the house. A few moments later he heard the front door open followed by a startled exclamation as the people exiting the house saw their colleague lying dead on the ground by the car with an expanding blood-halo pooling around his head. Leon took advantage of the brief moment of surprise and stepped from beside the entrance, guns raised and aimed through the doorway. In nanoseconds the targeting wetware of his neural enhancements told him that there were five people standing just inside the doorway: four company men and a man he assumed was Linford. Linford was in the middle of the four and had his hands bound behind his back. The target info was fed to his enhanced reflexes and before the men in plain suits could react properly he opened fire.

The two men at the front fell immediately as the first rounds tore into them, the gunfire loud in the close confines of the doorway. Linford screamed and dropped to the floor as bullets literally whizzed by his head, buzzing like angry lead hornets. The remaining two men at the back managed to raise their own weapons, but Leon's reflex enhancements were faster and he fired shot after shot into them before they could retaliate, the bullets tearing into their faces and splattering brain and skull over the walls of the hallway. The dead men fell to the ground like marionettes suddenly bereft of strings.

The slaughter had only taken a few seconds.

Leon calmly stepped over the two bullet-ridden corpses at the front and aimed one weapon up the stairway opposite while the other covered the open doorway to his left. After a couple of seconds of no retaliation he decided that all the company men had been dealt with and holstered his guns before reaching down and picking up the now whimpering Linford. Leon looked into the young programmer's wide, staring eyes.

'You're Linford, right?' he asked.

The only reply was some rapid blinking and dumb opening and closing of his mouth.

'Hey!' barked Leon. 'You're either Linford or I just walk out and leave you here. Which is it?'

The thought of being dumped amidst the carnage was enough to focus the programmer. 'Um, yeah... yeah. I'm Linford.'

'Good. Come on.' The Ronin grabbed the young man by an arm and walked him quickly out of the house towards the van. He heard the group of Ice Killers shout and yell excitedly at the recent gunplay and recognised that it was time to get out of there fast before they got themselves worked up to the point of wanting to get involved.

Seeing her brother leave the house with their target in tow, Sonya started the engine and got ready to drive off. Linford was quickly, and somewhat unceremoniously, bundled into the back of the battered van before Leon slammed the doors shut and jogged to the passenger door. Angel and Linford stared at each other in silence, the Runner having no idea what to say to the man and the young programmer still in shock at his bloody liberation.

The passenger door slammed closed as Leon got in and Sonya gunned the engine; the van quickly accelerated past the increasingly over-excited gangers who were now jumping and screaming and reaching for guns. It was obvious that mayhem was about to ensue and Sonya wanted to be well clear of the area before it sparked off.

***

After putting a few miles of road between them and the Ice Killers, Sonya found a suitably secluded side road and parked the van. She wanted a few questions answered and knew that the shaken Linford would most likely be more cooperative than Elina had been. Once the vehicle was stationary Sonya and Leon got out and opened up the back doors. Angel climbed out and rubbed her complaining backside. Linford stared at the group from the back of the van.

'What are you going to do with me? Who are you people?' He was obviously expecting a horrible fate.

'Relax, will you?' said Sonya. 'Get out, we're not gonna hurt you.'

Warily Linford shuffled his way to the end of the van and swung his legs over the edge and stood up. Leon produced a knife from a sheath in his combats and the programmer went white.

'Didn't she just say we're not going to hurt you?' the Ronin asked. 'Just turn around so I can cut your bonds.'

The terrified programmer obliged, still half expecting to feel the blade slide between his ribs as he turned his back. Instead the plastic wrist bonds were cleanly cut in a single swipe and he turned around trying to rub the feeling back into the deep groves the restrains had left in his flesh.

'See?' asked Sonya.

The young man let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the edge of the van's open back. 'Thanks,' he said as he continued to massage his wrists. 'Who are you people?'

'It doesn't matter who we are,' said Sonya. 'All that matters is that we were hired to get you and bring you back to Elina.'

'Elina? That blonde Euro-sounding chick? You mean she's still alive? I thought those corporate Samurai nailed her outside the Mega-Mart.' Linford was genuinely surprised.

Sonya blinked a couple of times at his description of the woman. 'Yeah, well the "Euro-sounding chick" is very much alive and seems to have a real bug up her ass about getting hold of you. What was the Sphere program you wrote?'

Linford looked at the group. The pink-haired girl that had ridden in the back with him seemed suddenly interested. He shrugged. 'It's a prototype penetration program. It's powerful enough to hack through any shielded Sphere system. Guaranteed entry, even against A.I. data-walls.'

Angel made an impressed/intrigued sound.

'But the guys that took you got the chip, right?' asked Leon as he folded his arms across his chest.

'No,' said Linford. 'I mashed the chip before they got me.'

Sonya and Angel looked slightly disappointed. 'So Elina must want you so you can write another version...' the woman in black mused to herself.

'Yeah, I suppose,' agreed Linford. 'Or we could just go and get the backup I have stashed at my apartment.'

The trio stared at him a moment.

'You have a back up?' asked Sonya.

'Yeah.'

'In your apartment,' she continued.

'Yeah,' Linford confirmed. 'No way they found my stash.'

'Right. Back in the van,' ordered Sonya.

***

Leon's battered vehicle pulled up outside of Linford's apartment and Sonya turned in her seat to speak to the somewhat calmer Sphere programmer.

'Okay, tell me where your stash is and we'll go in and get your stuff,' she said.

Linford seemed uncertain. 'Um, I think I'd rather go up myself and get it.'

'Right. And what if there's more guys up there doing another search? Are you gonna do the shooting?' She pulled out her handgun and offered it over.

The young man regarded the weapon for a moment. 'Yeah okay, you go up and get the stuff. I'll wait here. There's a fake Aglaonema,'

'A what?' interrupted Sonya.

'Plant,' Linford corrected. 'There's a fake plant on the window in the bedroom. Big green leaves, you can't miss it. The base is hollow. Just lift off the top part and the stash is inside. Um... the chip you're after is on the top but I'd appreciate it if you could bring me the whole lot.'

'No promises.' Sonya then looked at Angel. 'Come on.'

The Runner looked confused. 'W--what?'

'Come on,' she repeated. 'I want you to come in with me. It's okay, you'll be alright.'

'Um...' Angel looked from Sonya to Leon a couple of times. 'O--okay.'

As the two women made to exit the van Leon touched his sister's arm. Sonya paused briefly. 'We'll be back down in two minutes, don't worry.' For what she had in mind she didn't really want Linford or her conscientious brother looking over her shoulder.

Sonya kept her gun drawn as she and the Runner left the van and entered the apartment block.

After a short ride in the elevator up to the third floor Sonya walked calmly to Linford's apartment door. When she noticed that the door was slightly ajar she signalled that Angel was to stay by the elevator. Gun raised to a ready position, the woman in black poised by the door before quickly pulling it open and dashing in. Angel tensed as she watched Sonya go in; like she was watching a firework that had had its fuse lit but failed to go off, anticipating an explosion at any moment.

Silent moments passed, with Angel expecting a gunshot at any second. It never happened. The apartment door opened again and Sonya stuck her head out and beckoned for the Runner to come over. The pink-haired girl let out a sigh of relief and jogged over to the apartment entrance.

'Nobody home,' said Sonya with a slightly disappointed tone and a shrug as she walked back into the trashed open-plan room. Angel looked in and saw that the place had been turned upside down. Linford's workstation had been tipped over, the contents scattered across the floor to add to the debris of empty food cartons and drink cans. The cushions of the sofa lay on the floor and had been sliced open. While the place looked like a bomb had gone off, with the mini-fridge door wide open and packets of food strewn across the floor and counter, Angel got the impression that even if it hadn't been ransacked the apartment would still look like a landfill. She watched as Sonya stepped through the mess towards the open bedroom door.

'S--Sonya, why d--did you ask me t--to come up here?'

Sonya turned her shaded gaze to the girl behind her and smiled. 'Come here and I'll tell you,' she beckoned her over as she walked into the bedroom.

Angel chewed her lip in momentary uncertainty then began to negotiate her way through the mess as she made her way towards the bedroom, wondering what exactly the other woman had in mind.

Linford's bedroom was in a similar state to the living room/kitchen. Clothes drawers gaped open while their contents hung like entrails from an open gut-wound, the mattress of the bed was flipped over and had been sliced open along with the pillows. Sonya reached over to the small window ledge were an untouched, life-like-looking green, leafy plant sat in a terracotta-coloured clay pot as if taking in the view of the city outside. With a swift tug the false plant lifted out of its pot and was tossed away as the woman in black looked into the container. Glancing up at Angel, she smiled and indicated the bed.

'Take a seat,' she instructed as she cleared away some of the mutilated mattress's interior. The two women sat on the edge of the bed together and Sonya reached into the plant pot and pulled out a data-chip. 'Right,' she continued. 'The reason I asked you to come along was I want you to copy whatever's on this chip to your S-Box. If it's as shit-hot as Linford says it is then I want a version of it for myself.'

Angel nodded in agreement and understanding. She had to admit she was eager to get her hands on a program like Linford had described. Something that could hack through any and all fortress protection was a weapon she'd love to add to her own personal arsenal. A thought occurred: 'I--It's most likely going t--to be en--encrypted, you know.'

'Yeah, I thought it might be. Can't you just transfer the whole thing as it is and hack it later from your own Box?'

'Er... y--yeah! Of-course.' A broad grin went across Angel's face as she thought about it.

'Cool. You better get on it before my brother thinks something's happened and decides he has to try and rescue us. I don't really want him to know I'm doing this. I don't think I could stand one of his speeches about ethics.' Sonya passed the chip to Angel and had a quick root through Linford's stash as the Runner pulled out her S-Box and quickly jacked in, plugging the prototype chip into one of the ports.

***

It had been two hours since Sonya had left Fish's meeting room in Club Cordite and fortunately, as far as Fish was concerned, Elina had left shortly after the trio had gone to pick up Linford. Fish was a paragon of patience but even he doubted if he could stand the petite blonde pacing up-and-down until the group returned.

So the Fixer had gone back to his usual booth in the main part of the club and conducted his usual business with Ronin and Runners that saw him on a daily basis while he waited for the return of Elina and Sonya. Two hours later he received word that the seemingly permanently angry blonde was back. Fish returned to the private room and greeted the woman from Asimov station with a smile when she walked in. She had a bag with her and he guessed that she planned to head off for The City's main terminal as soon as she had Linford.

Elina nodded at Fish as she entered the room and made her way to one of the sofas where she put down her bag and sat. Shortly after Sonya had departed, Elina had gone and checked out of her crappy motel room and packed her stuff together. She had then contacted her people on Asimov and advised that she would be bringing Linford back with her. They hadn't been happy as she was supposed to just bring back a chip but once she had explained the situation they had reluctantly agreed and made the necessary arrangements for his transport.

She felt she didn't have anything more to really say to the Fixer sitting opposite so she sat in silence and waited for the group to return. Fish picked up on her non-communicative vibe, which suited him just fine, and he sat himself down at the private bar and made small talk with the girl there.

It was only fifteen minutes later when the doorman's voice sounded in Fish's ear informing him that Sonya and her team had returned and that they had another person with them. The Fixer slid off the bar stool and got Elina's attention.

'Hey,' he said. 'They're back.'

The woman from Asimov stretched slightly and stood up, picking up her hand luggage and shouldering it. 'Finally,' she said. 'Hopefully this means our business is concluded.'

'Well, they've got someone else with them so yeah, if it's Linford, we should be all done.' Fish returned to his usual seat and sat back, looking confident and relaxed.

Moments later the door to the private room opened and Sonya walked in accompanied by Leon, Angel, and Linford. They made no move to sit down. Sonya met Fish's eyes and the two gave a slight nod of greeting towards each other. The woman in black then took Linford by the arm and guided him to the front of the group as she addressed Elina.

'Okay, here he is. In one piece as promised.'

Elina recognised the man from the ambush at the Mega-Mart. The look she gave him indicated that she didn't appreciate being setup. Her thoughts weren't lost on the programmer.

'Er... hi,' he said with an awkward smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. 'Look, I had nothing to do with what happened before.'

'You spilled your guts, didn't you?' Elina's tone was accusatory.

Linford looked uncomfortable and couldn't meet the blonde's glare. Fish was about to speak, as he had a feeling that the situation was about to get nasty, when Elina let out a short sigh.

'No matter,' she said. 'What's done is done and the important thing is that you are here now.'

'Look, I don't want to interrupt or anything,' interrupted Sonya. 'But we're all done here, right?'

Elina regarded the other woman. 'Yes, we are done.'

'Cool,' Sonya replied. She turned her attention towards Fish. 'Always a pleasure Fish. You know how to contact me when you get some more work.'

The Fixer gave a nod. 'I'll be in touch.'

With a final look at Linford and Elina, Sonya gave a brief wave and turned and walked out the room with Leon and Angel following. As the pink-haired Runner closed the door Linford faced Elina.

'They were saying that you needed me to rewrite that program you were after.' He gestured with his thumb towards where Sonya's group had just left.

'Correct,' confirmed Elina. 'My people need that program for some very important work back home.'

'Well,' Linford said as he reached into a pocket. 'Wouldn't you rather just have a copy of the program itself?' He pulled out the backup chip that Sonya had retrieved.

Elina raised her eyebrows in mild surprise. 'You have the chip?'

'Sort of. I destroyed the original when the Samurai came for me but I always keep backups.'

'Hand it over.' Elina reached out a hand.

'Hey, wait a minute. I haven't been paid for any of this yet.' Linford held the chip to his chest.

Fish saw the look that crossed the woman's face and decided to step in before she pulled the guy's head off right in front of him. Blood was hell to get out of the carpet.

'Whoa there!' the Fixer said as he stepped between them. 'I think the fact that Elina arranged to have you pulled out of the shit you were in is more than enough. Think of your life as your payment.'

Linford considered this then acquiesced. 'Yeah, I guess... it's just that I was kinda counting on that money to get me out of The City.'

'That's not my problem,' said Elina bluntly.

Fish shook his head and looked at the blonde. 'You really need to look at those people skills, you know?'

Elina scowled and went to retort but Fish cut her off. 'Now look,' he said with a placating gesture. 'You were ready to take Linford back to Asimov, right? You didn't know he had the chip. Right?'

The woman continued to scowl and folded her arms across her breasts. 'Right,' she agreed.

'Well,' continued Fish. 'If you were gonna do it anyway why not take him along? He needs a fresh start, you need the chip. Plus I'll bet that you'll need him to open the encryption on it anyway. You get what you want and he gets what he wants.' The Fixer turned to Linford. 'You don't mind going to Asimov station. Do you?'

'Hey! The further the better as far as I'm concerned,' Linford said.

Elina thought it over for a minute. The travel arrangements had already been arranged. Plus she figured that if there proved to be any kind of problem with the data it would be better to have the programmer on the station and easily accessible. 'Very well. It's a deal.'

'Now that's what I like to hear,' said Fish with his trademark grin.

****

Chapter 18

In the pre-dawn hours early the next morning, Sonya woke up with a start as the nightmare that had been tearing through her dreaming mind came to its usual bloody conclusion. She sat bolt upright in her darkened bedroom and clutched her sweating head with one hand, cursing quietly to herself. It had been at least a year since the same recurring night-horrors had visited her and she had thought that she had seen the end of them after she had left The City. It turned out that her return had triggered whatever it was that lay in her subconscious that brought forth the same terrifying scenario. She could never fully remember what it was that haunted her dreams, the moment she awoke the images faded rapidly and trying to hold on to them was like trying to grab smoke - the visions drifting into merciful oblivion. The only thing she could remember for definite was that it always ended with a gunshot and a terrible sense of loss.

Sonya took a deep breath and glanced at the glowing numbers of the clock that rested on the small bedside table.

02:33

She sighed and lay back down on the sweat-damp pillow and stared at the ceiling, resigning herself to the fact that she wouldn't get any more sleep. After a few seconds the sweat began to turn cold and she quickly became uncomfortable, her t-shirt and panties clinging to her skin. She flipped the covers back and swung her bare legs over the side of the bed.

The sound of movement from within her flat made her freeze. Having long since learned to never ignore such things Sonya activated her low-light function and the darkness of the bedroom slowly illuminated as her artificial eyes amplified the ambient light that filtered in between the blinds from the street outside. She reached a hand under the bed and found her handgun. Sonya knew that Angel was in the apartment, of course, but she hadn't lived this long in her line of work by taking things for granted.

Weapon in hand, she slipped off the end of her bed and crept towards her bedroom door. She pulled the door open and saw that the girl wasn't asleep on the couch as she had expected. The Runner's S-box was on the floor next to a tattered-looking postcard and was on, a faint humming emanating from it. Light from the kitchen spilled into the darkened living room and Sonya heard the rattling of movement coming from within. She relaxed slightly and deactivated the low-light as the amplified light from the kitchen was glaring. A mischievous smirk crossed her face and she silently crept up to the archway that led into the small kitchenette. A quick peek around the corner revealed that Angel was indeed in there and was examining the contents of the open fridge. The pink-haired girl was dressed in a plain white, low-cut vest top that hugged her figure, coupled with a pair of grey jogging pants and was completely oblivious to the fact that she was being watched. Sonya's eyes strayed to Angel's shapely backside and she smiled to herself then waited until the girl reached in to the fridge before leaping into the kitchen entrance with a yell.

Angel screamed in shock and sprang backwards, her arms flying upwards, launching the can of soda she was getting from the fridge into the air where it bounced off the ceiling and clattered into the sink. She then leaned against the counter-top and clutched her chest as she gasped in quick breaths. Sonya doubled over and laughed loudly.

'You crazy bitch! What did you do that for?' Angel half-yelled half-gasped as she tried to catch her breath and calm her pounding heart. Sonya's only reply was continued laughter as she wiped a tear from her eye. The startled Runner went bright red from a mixture of anger and embarrassment. 'It's n--not f--funny!' Her stammer returned as her emotions calmed slightly.

The woman in the doorway managed to get her laughter under control and held out a hand in an apologetic manner. 'I'm sorry,' she said between residual chuckles as she continued to see images of Angel's startled face. 'I couldn't resist it. You should have seen your face!'

Angel's frown relaxed into a half-smile as Sonya's infectious laugh caught her slightly. She reluctantly saw the funny side even though she was the source of amusement. Her mood went cold again when she saw the gun in the other woman's hand. 'Um... w--what's that for?' she sounded slightly worried as she pointed at the weapon.

Sonya looked at the gun as if she had forgotten she was carrying it. 'What? Oh! I picked it up when I heard you moving about. Just habit.' She gave a disarming smile, turned and placed the gun on the coffee table in the living room then came back to the kitchen. Angel had picked up the dented, but still intact, soda can.

'I'd wait a while before opening that if I was you,' Sonya warned. 'What are you doing up so late anyway?'

Angel returned the dented can to the fridge and took out a fresh one then closed the door and pushed herself up on the counter-top where she sat and opened the pop. 'I w--was trying t--to hack the enc--cryption on t--the data.' She took a sip then muttered: 'F--fucking thing's p--pissing me off!'

The unexpected profanity came as a surprise to Sonya. 'Well, don't stay up too long.' She then turned and walked back into the living room.

Angel scowled at the dark-haired woman's back as Sonya turned and left, took a second sip from the can then muttered again to herself: 'W--what are you? My m--mother?'

Sonya had just walked past the coffee table when she heard an odd fizzing sound come from the apartment front door. She turned and saw a small curl of smoke come from the key-card reader and had just realised that the lock had been hacked when the door flew open. She had gotten halfway towards reaching for the gun on the coffee table when a heavily Japanese-accented male voice came from the open doorway.

'Halt!'

Sonya froze as she saw that the black shadow standing in the threshold to her apartment was aiming a silenced gun at her face. Perhaps if she'd had her brother's reflex enhancements she could have picked up the gun and fired before the intruder pulled the trigger but she didn't have any such augmentation. Slowly she stood back up and got a better look at the person in the doorway. The man was dressed as what Sonya could only think of as a ninja: covered from head to toe in black clothing with only the whites of the slightly slanted eyes showing. The assassin was short at just over five-feet tall but had a stocky, powerful build. His left hand held the silenced handgun that was currently aiming between Sonya's eyes while the gloved right hand pushed the door closed as he slowly walked in, never taking his eyes from his target. Sonya spotted a short black sheathed wakazashi resting on the ninja's left hip.

'I am sorry you are awake for this,' the ninja said in apologetic tones. 'I had intended to take you quietly in your sleep.'

Sonya was a little surprised that the guy was having a conversation with her, but each second gave her time to think of a possible escape from her predicament. So far nothing had come to mind and she kept thinking of Angel in the kitchen. She decided to play along with the uncharacteristically chatty ninja. 'That's okay,' she said graciously. 'You weren't to know I was going to get up. Midnight snack-attack. Not your fault.'

The assassin inclined his head slightly. 'Arigato.'

'Yeah, no problem. So you gonna get this over with?' She stared at the gun barrel.

'Sadly it is not that easy Sonya. I have been given specific instructions.' As he spoke, the ninja drew the wakazashi with his right hand in a smooth movement and stepped forwards.

'Ah. Fumiko wants a trophy, huh?' Sonya realised that the fact that she was still alive meant that the assassin Fumiko had sent was relatively inexperienced. An indication of how little a threat the Japanese woman considered Sonya to be. It was an underestimation that Sonya mentally vowed to make her pay for.

Again there was a slight incline of the cowled head. 'Indeed.'

Sonya knew that her window of opportunity for getting out of her predicament was closing rapidly and her mind raced as she sought an escape.

Suddenly Angel ran from the kitchen holding, of all things, a frying pan. She dashed at the black-clad assassin but skidded to a sudden halt as the silenced handgun swung in her direction. The pink-haired girl flinched and cringed as she anticipated being shot, the frying pan dropping from her fingers and clattering onto the floor.

The shot never came. Instead Sonya gave an almost animal yell and lunged at the assassin, leaping over the coffee table to tackle the would-be killer. The split-second diversion that Angel's ill-conceived attack had provided was enough for the ninja to be caught by surprise by Sonya's dive and he was lifted off his feet as the larger woman made contact, the two of them crashing down onto the floor in a writhing heap. The assassin's gun went flying but he kept control of his blade. Even as the struggling couple hit the floor the ninja had recovered from his initial surprise and had quickly rolled with Sonya so that she was underneath him. He straddled the woman below and raised the wakazashi in a double-handed grip then stabbed the blade tip down towards Sonya's exposed throat. Instinctively she reached up and grabbed his wrists, the razor sharp tip of the weapon halting inches from her neck. It was only the enhanced strength in Sonya's artificial left arm that was able to keep the blade in check and prevent her from being skewered to the apartment floor.

Even as the woman on the floor gritted her teeth and groaned in effort the blade began to creep inexorably towards the pale skin of her throat and Sonya realised that the ninja's own enhancements were better than hers. She couldn't really tell but she was sure the assassin was grinning at her from beneath the cloth that covered his face.

A barely perceptible shot sounded throughout the apartment and the side of the ninja's head suddenly blew apart spraying the wide-eyed Sonya with blood and brain matter. The lifeless corpse went limp and collapsed on her. After the second it took Sonya to figure out what had just happened she pushed the body off and got to her feet, wiping her face with the material of her t-shirt as she stood. She looked at the body at her feet and quickly glanced over to the kitchen archway where Angel stood holding the assassin's discarded firearm. The pink-haired girl was breathing rapidly, her eyes wide, chest heaving and her hands shaking visibly. Sonya looked back down at the body.

'Fuck me,' she whispered to herself then walked over to the trembling girl. She held Angel by the shoulders and looked into her wide eyes. 'You just saved my life.'

Before Angel could make any kind of response Sonya pulled her close and kissed her firmly and passionately on the lips. The Runner gave a muffled squeak of surprise and the gun fell from her suddenly limp fingers. After a second of hesitation Angel's adrenaline turned the shock of what she had just seen and done into pure lust at Sonya's embrace and she wrapped her arms around the raven-haired woman and returned her kiss, pressing firmly with her lips. Sonya felt her pulse race and moaned slightly as Angel ran her hands down her body to take hold of her buttocks and pull them towards her, pressing their hips and breasts together as their lips parted and their tongues intertwined like wet snakes.

Rationality finally took hold and Sonya pulled away, breaking the heated embrace. Angel's face was flushed and she was breathing heavily and Sonya recognised the look of raw desire in the girl's eyes. She took a step back and caught her breath.

'Steady,' she said huskily. 'This isn't the time or place for this.' She took a slow breath as she tried to calm the blood roaring through her body and the heat she could feel blossoming between her thighs.

Angel continued to breathe heavily for a moment then blinked rapidly a few times as the truth of what Sonya said sank in. As her emotions calmed a little and she looked at the corpse lying by the door, the realisation of what she had done hammered into her stomach like a solid punch and the swiftly evaporating lust turned to overpowering nausea. The blood drained from her face and she didn't even have time to dash to the bathroom before she threw up all over the floor.

Sonya grimaced but wasn't surprised at the reaction. A similar thing had happened to her the first time she had pulled the trigger to take a life. The difference was that she had been seven years old at the time. She simply stood while Angel finished evacuating her stomach then, stepping gingerly so as to avoid putting her bare feet in the vomit, she took the white-faced girl by the arm and led her to the sofa where she sat her down.

'It's alright. You'll be okay. Just take a minute and get your breath.' Sonya kept a hand on Angel's shoulder as the girl began to shake. As the Runner tried to control her breathing she suddenly burst into tears and doubled over, bringing her knees up and hugging her legs.

'That's it,' said Sonya in a soothing voice. 'Get it all out. You'll feel better soon. Trust me.'

Once the sobs had subsided and Angel had uncurled, Sonya brought her a glass of water. 'S--sorry,' mumbled the Runner as she took the glass and sipped.

'Don't be. Happened to me too. I just hope it's something you don't have to get used to like I did.'

Angel drank some more. 'W--why d--did...'

'Why did I kiss you?' interrupted Sonya.

Angel nodded.

'I dunno,' Sonya replied with a shrug. 'I almost died there and you saved me. At the time it seemed like the thing to do. Besides,' she gave a suggestive smirk. 'You seemed to like it.'

Angel felt herself begin to blush again and looked away. Sonya laughed at her reaction considering all that had just happened mere minutes ago.

'Come on,' said Sonya in a decisive tone. 'It's obvious this place isn't safe anymore and I'll be damned if I'm cleaning this shit up.' She gestured towards the vomit and corpse that was lying in a pool of the contents of its own head. 'Let's get cleaned up and head over to Leon's. He'll put us up until we get sorted out. You like dogs, right?'

Sonya knew her brother wouldn't be exactly thrilled at being woken at this hour of the morning but she also knew she could probably milk the long-lost-sister-in-need angle for a while longer yet.

****

Chapter 19

In the days following the attempted penetration of McKenzie Corporation's data-fortress and the gruesome death of young Kenzo, Lewis Carson had decided to lay low in the subterranean levels of Asimov station, hiding himself away in an attempt to avoid the anticipated reprisal from McKenzie security. He knew that a breach such as that which had been attempted by the late Runner was bound to have drawn the attention of the corporation's A.I. and, while Lewis thought that there was no direct link between himself and the attempted incursion, he didn't want to make it easy for any possible hunting parties to find him. Fortunately, his long association with Duncan Sterling made it easy for him to blend in amongst the Marooned.

The Marooned were a unique sub-cultural division of the Asimov population. They were formed mainly from the descendants of cheaply smuggled workers sent to the station by certain less than scrupulous construction companies to act as cheap labour while it was being built. Taken predominantly from China, Russia, Africa, and Eastern Europe, the workers had been abandoned once the station had become operational as it had proved cheaper to leave them there than to transport them back. At the time there had been scandal and controversy but as there had never been any definitive paper-trail linking the smuggled people to any specific organisation it was possible for those involved to wash their hands of the entire situation and plead innocence. Consequently, aside from the few that managed to find their own way back to Earth, nobody had been willing to accept responsibility for them and they became stranded. Most of them made the best of their situation and settled in the lower sectors of the station forming their own mini-society that blended the culture of their combined ethnic backgrounds.

As the first wave of colonists, privateers, and corporations began to set up shop in Asimov there was concern over the Marooned population but, after some initial tensions, they proved to be a valuable resource for construction and maintenance, providing a cheap, reliable, and competent workforce that wasn't tied down by contractual obligations. During the initial intake of business, the Marooned flourished and were able to become a relatively self-sufficient, independent community. The vast majority of them weren't concerned with the fact that the later settlers began to consider them "untouchable" and that they were viewed as being on the same level as the homeless and disenfranchised seen in the cities back on Earth. Asimov was theirs. They had bled and died to build it. Eventually the second generation was born knowing no other home than the levels of the station, the Earth no more to them than a distant image seen through viewports.

As time passed and the initial boom of incoming business faded, the station's commercial infrastructure settled down and it ceased to be the perpetual "Land Of Opportunity". Some of those that made the journey to Asimov with dreams of setting up their own ventures or joining the fantasy of the grand adventure that was life in space saw their plans and dreams dashed on a large economic rock and they found themselves stuck in an alien environment with no way to return to Earth. Those that didn't take their own lives in acute depression found themselves ostracised by the "legitimate" colonists but openly welcomed into the Marooned community, adding to their already growing numbers.

It was among these people that Lewis Carson had sought refuge after Mark Sinclair had expelled him from McKenzie Corporation when, following the explosion in the lower levels of the building seven months ago that had resulted in an unidentified three-year-old girl literally disintegrating in his arms, he had begun to look into his former employer's methods used in advancing the company's nanotechnology research. He found Marooned Town was a place where he could effectively disappear while he began his own personal crusade to find out exactly what was going on behind the closed doors that Sinclair had firmly slammed in his face.

He had hoped that the small but growing amount of Runners and Ronin that had decided to seek their fortune on Asimov would have provided the talent he had needed to get the job done, but the recent brain-burning of Kenzo had made him acutely aware that he needed someone with far more experience and a bit less ego. After a few days of keeping his head down, Lewis decided that it was time to get in touch with Sonya Hart. Judging from the experiences he had shared with her back in The City he was confident that her talents would be perfect for what he needed.

It was a little after eleven at night, by Asimov time, and the dimly-lit streets of the lower level sector that comprised part of Marooned Town were pretty quiet. Small groups of people travelled the walkways between destinations while the sound of the nearby recycling plants provided a perpetual background noise like that of constantly rumbling distant thunder. The lights on the sector's ceiling above were dimmed and brightened on a cyclic basis to simulate the passing of day and night in the station. Presently they provided about as much light as a lit street on any Earth-based city and were a far cry from the holographic representations of sunrise and sunset, complete with blue sky and star-filled night that the central sectors of the station were provided with. The result was that, even though you knew you were living in an enclosed space you also felt like you were living in an enclosed space. It wasn't to everyone's taste and those that weren't actually part of the Marooned populace usually didn't stay any longer than they had to.

Lewis Carson walked out of Bowman's, a small cantina in the sector and, after a brief look around, strolled over to the nearest Sol-Com booth, unaware that he was being watched by two figures standing in a shadowy recess of a nearby building. The man and woman looked at each other as they spotted Lewis, the man activating his internal com system.

'We've found him. He's just come out of Bowman's and looks like he's about to make a call at a Sol-Com booth. Shall we move now?'

A voice sounded in his ear. 'No. Let him make his call and we'll see who he's contacting. It might give us a better idea what he's planning and who he's involved with. As soon as he's finished, take him out. But remember to keep it discrete!'

'Understood,' confirmed the man as he continued to wait.

Lewis stepped into the booth and pulled out a small, animated digital picture of Sonya Hart, similar in size and shape to an ancient Polaroid photo. He looked at the image of the woman he had known years ago, smiling as she waved and blew a kiss with a cheeky grin. Flipping the picture over he noted the contact number and slid his cash-card into the slot on the Sol-Com booth, picking up the archaic-looking wired hand-held receiver and punching in the codes for a satellite link to Earth, followed by the country, city, and finally Sonya's personal number. Even as the signal connected he watched with a slight feeling of dismay as the account balance on the card began to rapidly run down.

After a few expensive seconds of nothing the signal connected and a ringing tone sounded.

***

The sun had just begun to rise when Sonya's phone went off, the light filtering in through the window of Leon's living room. Sonya cursed slightly as the ringing caused Angel to stir with a moan from where she lay on the couch. The two women had only gotten to Leon's apartment a couple of hours ago. As she had anticipated, Sonya's brother had took them in without question with his only comment being that they would discuss the matter in the morning. The exhausted and emotionally drained Angel had collapsed onto the couch and quickly fallen asleep while Leon had returned to bed and Sonya, resigned to not getting any more rest, had sat herself down on the easy-chair facing the vid-board and immersed herself in the music of her Wet-Wareman.

Standing quickly and walking into the kitchen, she looked at the incoming number with confusion then activated the phone and put it to her ear.

'Hello?' she said warily.

'Sonya?' came the reply.

Something about the voice sounded familiar but she couldn't pin it down to a face. 'Yeah...' she answered.

'Great! Sonya, it's Lewis. Lewis Carson.'

Surprised recognition dawned on the woman's face. 'Lewis? Holy shit man! How are ya? Fuck! Where are you calling from?'

'Yeah, I'm fine. Look, I don't have long to talk and do all the catch up stuff at the moment. I'm calling from Asimov station and it's costing me a fortune.'

'Asimov? What-?' Sonya couldn't believe what she was hearing.

'As I said,' Lewis interrupted. 'I don't really have the time to chat. I need you for some business.'

The mention of potential work kicked in Sonya's professional side. 'Okay Lewis, talk.'

'Right. You still working with Leon, Widow, and Dog Boy?'

The mention of her two dead associates caused an awkward expression but she kept her tone even. 'Widow and Dog Boy are out of the picture but I'm still with Leon.'

'Okay...' Lewis paused a second as he thought this over. He had been counting on Sonya having her full team. 'If Dog Boy's gone do you have a Runner or access to one?'

Sonya looked through to the living room where Angel had gone back to sleep on the couch. 'Yeah, I've got a Runner. What do you need Lewis?'

'Right. I can't go into particulars right now but I need you, Leon, and your Runner to come up to Asimov. I've got some work for you and I need you here as soon as possible.'

'You what? You want me to fly up to a space station on zero notice for a job that you've got and you can't tell me what it's about?'

Lewis knew he was asking a lot but he also knew how to handle Sonya. 'Yep. Can you do it or not?'

The raven-haired woman went silent as the information span around the inside of her head. She weighed it all up and shrugged, even though Lewis couldn't see the gesture. 'Yeah, sure I can do it. I'll see about getting the next shuttle up there but, Lewis?'

'Yeah?'

'Whatever you've got in mind better be pretty damned fantastic. You understand me?'

Lewis knew what she meant but he also knew that the small personal fortune he had amassed in savings accounts from his ridiculous salary while he was working for McKenzie Corporation would be more than enough to make her happy. 'Yes, I understand you perfectly. I'll contact you again in a few days to arrange a meeting; you should be on the station by then. See you soon.'

'Yeah, see ya.' The phone went silent as Lewis disconnected. Sonya let out a long sigh and rubbed the back of her neck, not entirely certain what she had just agreed to. If it had been anyone else but Lewis Carson that had asked her to do this kind of thing she would have told them they were crazy, but she had history with Lewis from when she had been a newbie just getting started as a Ronin/Fixer many years ago and had long ago learned to trust his word. Besides, the trip would probably be a good idea considering that Fumiko had obviously put things in motion to have Sonya's head put in a display case. Money for the journey wouldn't be a problem as the cash Angel and her had gotten from the Drake family would just about cover it, and she was sure that Angel would be easily convinced to go wherever Sonya went. Convincing her brother would be a different matter.

***

The McKenzie security agents watched as Lewis hung up the receiver of the Sol-Com transmitter. The voice sounded in the male agent's ear again.

'Trace completed. Proceed.'

With a smile that couldn't be seen in the darkened recess, the agent pulled out a flechette pistol and took a step towards the booth. His partner saw the weapon.

'Hey,' she said as she laid a hand on his arm. 'We're supposed to be discrete about this.'

The man shrugged off her grip. 'Fuck discrete. No one gives a shit in this crap-hole part of town anyway.' He stepped from the shadows and walked resolutely towards Lewis.

The ex-corporate turned from the Sol-Com booth and saw the couple emerge from the shadows of a building opposite. He instantly spotted the weapon in the hand of the man that was walking towards him and knew that McKenzie agents had found him. Lewis watched as the pistol was raised and he was galvanised into action. Before the weapon could be brought to bear he leaped behind the Sol-Com booth, using it as an impromptu barricade from the impending lethal fire that was about to be sent in his direction. He had no sooner moved when he heard a sharp buzzing noise as a burst of flechettes was fired at him. Instinctively crouching, he covered his head as the flimsy material of the booth's canopy was shredded and fragments showered down on him like plastic rain. Lewis knew he only had a split-second before another volley was sent his way. He turned and sprinted back through the door of Bowman's hoping that the presence of people would make the assassins think twice before opening fire again.

Male Agent cursed as his fire destroyed the Sol-Com booth but left the intended target unscathed. He corrected his aim as Lewis sprang for the cantina entrance and fired again, the second volley of lethal micro-darts peppered the doorway a moment too late. Heedless of his companion's protests Male Agent cursed again and ran for Bowman's entrance, determined to finish the job.

Lewis burst back into the cantina and drew the gaze of the patrons and staff. He had heard the second burst of flechettes impact on the doorway just as he had gone through it and he knew his pursuers would be right behind him. His gaze scanned the cantina quickly and he dashed for the small bar intending to run into the backroom there and use the rear exit to get out into one of the narrow corridors that ran between the structures of the level. The bartender's initial protest cut off abruptly as he looked behind Lewis at the gun-wielding man that had just ran in. The bartender stepped aside as the desperate looking ex-corporate vaulted over the modest bar and ran to the opening that led to the cantina's backroom.

A loud buzz came from the Agent's pistol just as his partner came in shouting for him to stop. The hail of flechettes tore into an unfortunate patron sitting at the bar, ripping his arm to bloody shreds. He fell to the floor screaming, but alive.

The barman wasn't so fortunate. The remainder of the micro-darts ripped into him and tore a gaping hole in his chest and reduced the left side of his face to a ruined, pulped mass. The man was dead before he began to fall, his blood splattered up on the bar optics behind him. Lewis saw none of this but heard the buzzing and flesh-tearing sounds as he ducked and ran through the doorway, dashing through the small office to the back door, desperately hoping that he could get out before the agents caught him.

What Lewis and the McKenzie assassins didn't know was that Bowman's was a favourite drinking hole for a lot of Asimov's up-and-coming Ronin and, while they had been just merely interested as Lewis had burst in and made a bee-line for the bar, they instantly became enraged when one of their own was put down and the barman, who was a good friend to most of the people in the cantina, was cut to pieces. The result was that a second after the pursuing agent had fired his weapon and the carnage had taken place, half-a-dozen now extremely pissed of Ronin pulled out weapons of varying size and brought them to bear on the offending couple in the doorway.

Virtually as one, the weapons fired and the last thought that passed through the female agent's mind, before she and her companion were ripped to shreds by the veritable cloud of flechettes that was sent at them, was that she had known this gig was going to turn out bad when she had been told who she'd been partnered with.

Lewis burst out of the cantina back door and sprinted into the warren-like passageways that ran between the buildings, unaware of what had transpired back in the cantina. He made for Sterling's place where he knew he could hide out; the recent encounter with the McKenzie agents making it perfectly clear that he should keep his head down and await the arrival of Sonya.

****

Chapter 20

The two days Elina and Linford spent on the U.N. Spacy shuttle Daedalus as they travelled to the L5 point between the Earth and Moon where the O'Neil-style Asimov Station was located passed uneventfully. During the trip Elina had remained uncommunicative and Linford had been unable to strike up a conversation that hadn't ended in an abrupt one-word reply and a look that implied that if he didn't stop trying to talk to her Elina would pull out his spleen and show it to him. Confident that the blonde woman most likely could remove his organs with her bare hands if she so desired, he had eventually given up and resorted to amusing himself during the trip, passing most of the time in the zero-g entertainment cubicles and hanging out with some of the other passengers.

As soon as it was announced by the Daedalus' pilot that the space station was in view and only a few hours away there was a scattered cheer amongst the passengers and Linford actually thought he saw Elina smile and lighten up a touch, as if the knowledge that she was almost home had changed her mood.

Once the shuttle had synchronised itself with the rotating sections of the docking bay and had clamped itself firmly into place, the passengers disembarked into the Acclimatisation Lounge where complimentary refreshments were provided as they grew accustomed to the simulated gravity induced by the spinning station. The sensation was a little weird to Lewis and he chose to stick close to Elina, whom he noticed had made the transition with seemingly no problem at all. The blonde remained non-talkative and clutched her hand luggage that contained, along with her personal items, the precious software chip. Knowing that she had the program in her possession and that she was so close to actually completing her mission, Elina couldn't help but feel the slight tingle of nerves in the pit of her stomach as the passengers eventually filed out of the Acclimatisation Lounge towards the awaiting customs officials.

As their turn came to be checked, Linford could virtually feel the tension radiating off of the woman in waves and he realised that, despite her harsh exterior, the volatile woman was just as new to this kind of life as he was and he was convinced that the customs officials were going to spot her discomfort, drag them both off for interrogation, search their various body cavities with latex gloved fingers and then throw both of them into whatever served as a prison on Asimov.

Or out of an airlock.

Fortunately Elina was able to keep her nerves in check as the official went through her bag with a hand-held scanner. The uniformed man looked bored and didn't seem to notice Elina's pale complexion, slightly elevated breathing rate, and the single bead of sweat that ran down the side of her face as he took her bag and waved his scanner over it. Either that or he just didn't care. Regardless of the reason, be it fortune or professional incompetence, the bag was returned to Elina and both she and Linford were waved through without further challenge.

As the young programmer followed closely behind his blonde guide he stared about with an expression of wide-eyed wonderment at the station around him as the realisation of where he actually was began to slowly sink in; the sights and sounds of the busy arrivals lounge were unlike anything he had experienced back in The City. Sure it had a similar feel to any of the transport terminals back home with its display boards, advertisements, shops, boutiques, vendors, and buskers but there was one underlying thought that made it all seem completely unique: he was in space!

With no real idea where he was going, he followed Elina out of the arrivals lounge, past the couples and families and friends that were reuniting in emotional embraces, and then past the rest of the recently disembarked passengers that were standing by the luggage conveyers waiting with anticipation and mild impatience for their bags to begin spewing from the sorter. Once out of the shuttle terminal and onto the station proper, Elina led Linford through throngs of travellers and residents until they came to a transport tube stop. The platform resembled an old Metro Rail station on Earth with the line running to all the major sectors within Asimov. Once the passenger had used the Asimov Metro and arrived at the correct sector they would then get in a lift that would take them down to the appropriate level.

Elina swiped her cash-card through the vendor and got two tickets then led Linford on to the platform where they mingled in with the rest of the waiting crowd. A few moments later the automated carriages glided to a halt by the platform and the rows of evenly spaced doors hissed open, allowing access to the waiting people. The crowd gently pushed its way onto the train.

For the initial part of their journey Linford and Elina were forced to stand crushed together amongst the packed-in passengers, the young man aware that the blonde was uncomfortable with the close physical contact as the crowd pushed them together. As the Metro began to make stops, people got off in drips and drabs and eventually there was room for the couple to sit down, Linford electing to park himself on a seat opposite the still silent woman. As the Metro continued to travel the length of the station the type of passengers changed from normal colonists and corporate employees to those that, judging from their overalls and tool belts, were construction workers and maintenance personnel.

After an hour of transit the carriage Elina and Linford rode in was empty of other travellers and the programmer had grown bored with just staring out the window as the grey tube walls whizzed by. He turned and looked at the woman opposite, noticing that her demeanour had radically changed from the hostile person he had first met in Cordite. She looked much more relaxed and at ease with herself, though Linford still thought she should be approached with caution, like a scientist working with an unpredictable compound that could violently explode at any moment. Even so, seeing as they were now alone for the first time since they had met, he thought it was time to try and get some information.

'So,' he began as he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and letting his hands hang between his legs in a relaxed manner. 'Do you want to tell me who you're involved with and what brought you to The City? And, like, what you need that chip for?' He pointed at Elina's bag.

The blonde regarded him from under a frown for a moment, turned her head to look out the window as if she was just going to ignore him, then let out a sigh and turned back to Linford. 'I guess you should know something of what is going on, seeing as you are here now.'

'Cool. Fill me in.' Linford leaned back in his seat and folded his arms.

'I am part of what you people refer to as the Marooned.'

'Hey! I've heard of those!' Linford interrupted. 'The news is always saying stuff about how you guys are like the homeless of space.'

The interruption and remark elicited a scowl from Elina and her tone became frosty. 'The media of your precious planet Earth have no clue about who we are. We are not homeless, we are not trash, and we are not troublemakers or terrorists!'

The young man realised he'd touched a nerve and held up his hands in a placating manner. 'Whoa, hey! I'm sorry! It's just what I heard, that's all. I didn't say I believed any of it.'

Elina seemed to calm marginally at that. 'Well, okay. Just so long as you understand.'

'Totally understand!'

'Good. So you've heard of the Marooned. But you won't have heard of what we have been put through over the last year or so. You see, while most of the colonists on this station view us as homeless trash that is easily ignored, we have our own community and are happy to remain unnoticed. That is until our people started disappearing in the middle of the night and were never seen again.'

'Jesus,' murmured Linford. 'What happened?'

'A little while ago there was an incident at the McKenzie Corporation building. A small explosion and a resulting fire killed some people and was explained away as an accident in one of the labs there. At least that is what the media reported.'

Linford nodded as he remembered the incident. 'Yeah, I heard about that. That was months ago.'

'Seven months ago and I guarantee you that you did not hear about the three-year-old girl that was found wandering around the blast site wearing nothing but a hospital gown.' Elina's voice cracked slightly as she recalled the memory.

The young programmer blinked in surprise at this information. 'Er... no. I never heard that. Who was she?'

Elina's pained expression turned to one of anger as she hid her feelings behind fury, talking through clenched teeth. 'Her name was Natasha. She was the daughter of... someone I knew. She had been missing for a week...'

Linford put two and two together. 'Shit! So you think McKenzie Corporation has been snatching your people to use in lab experiments?'

'I don't think it I know it!' The words were almost spat.

'Whoa there! I'm not calling you a liar!'

Elina forced herself to calm down. 'I know, I know. It's just... you sound like them.'

'Who?' asked Linford with a confused frown.

'Most of my own people!'

'What?' Linford was incredulous. 'What about the girl? How can they...?'

Elina interrupted him. 'There is no girl. Not any more. Seconds after I...' The memory was becoming too much for Elina and she closed her eyes as she tried to compose herself.

'Wait,' said Linford. 'You found the girl, didn't you?'

Elina nodded and opened her tear-filled eyes. 'After I found little Natasha wandering around the accident site she... she just turned to ash as if burned from the inside out. There was nothing left to prove she had ever existed.' She closed her eyes again, the tears running down her cheeks as she remembered Natasha crumbling to pieces in her arms. Again she gritted her teeth and anger flashed in her eyes when she opened them again. 'When I went to our leaders with what I had seen they said they needed concrete proof of what had happened before they risked a confrontation with a corporation as powerful as McKenzie. They fear that a confrontation without evidence would lead to us being persecuted or thrown out of our homes. So the cowards have done nothing! Those of us that have lost people felt that this was unacceptable and have decided to take action ourselves.'

This was all getting a bit hard for Linford to take in. He gazed out of the window of the still travelling Metro carriage for a moment before turning back to Elina. 'Wait a minute. So what exactly do you think is going on?'

The blonde let out another sigh. 'We have done what little digging we could into McKenzie Corporation. Their main focus of research on the station is developing new nanotechnology. During their time here they had yielded little to no progress. Then, a year ago, a new CEO was brought in. A man named Mark Sinclair. His arrival coincides with the time around which our people started disappearing. Following the incident with... little Natasha we are convinced that he is snatching people to be used in furthering his experiments. Those of us that are prepared to take action have decided to try and find a way to stop him.'

'But why not just go to the authorities? Station security or whatever passes as police in this place?'

Elina snorted. 'They are also unwilling to help without evidence. Plus it is their opinion that missing people and dead bodies are not an uncommon occurrence in the lower sectors.'

'Huh, sounds like the police back in The City. They don't think they get paid enough to get involved in the troubles in The Zone.'

Elina gave a weary half-smile. 'It would seem that some problems are constant, regardless of where you are.'

Linford nodded then leaned forward again. 'So you need my program to hack through their Sphere security and get proof of what they're doing.' He was beginning to feel that he had stepped onto a runaway train that was about to get derailed. Getting involved with plots to overthrow powerful corporations wasn't exactly what he had bargained on when he agreed to come to the station.

'We will use it to do whatever we can to make Sinclair pay for what he has done. My people want him exposed. I want him dead.' She regarded Lewis with cold eyes that sent an involuntary shiver through the young programmer. 'Bet you wish you had stayed in your nice safe city, huh?'

The statement showed Linford that Elina obviously knew nothing of The City he had come from and the fate that awaited him if he had remained there to be picked up by Omni Technology's black ops teams. Sure, given the information that Elina had just imparted he didn't feel like he had really improved his situation that much, but at least McKenzie Corporation wasn't actively looking to fill him with bullets. Well, not yet at any rate. He figured he would just do what he always did: go with the flow and either come out smelling of roses or crash and burn. He shrugged as he looked at the blonde opposite. 'Stay with you. Go home. Either way I think I'm fucked. Besides, you'll need my help with that program so I may as well stick around.'

The blonde woman looked at the young man opposite, re-evaluating him. Perhaps he wasn't the pathetic, weak, self-centred ego-maniac she had assumed him to be. 'Very well,' she said with something almost approximating a genuine smile before she turned away and gazed out the Metro window.

***

When the Metro eventually came to a halt at the last stop on the line, Elina and Linford were the only people that got off. The signs that the young programmer saw as he was led from the platform indicated that they were in the Environmental Systems Sector with directions pointing to places such as water recycling, waste management, air purification plant, and power supply hub amongst others.

After a short walk amongst the heavy pipes and conduits that comprised the majority of the area, Elina led Linford to an elevator and took him to the bottom level of the sector. The noise of the machinery around him as they exited was loud and constant, not deafening but enough to require a raised voice if conversation was to be had. Linford felt as if he had been swallowed by a gigantic mechanical beast and was currently walking about in its guts as the pipes and machinery gurgled and thrummed around him.

After a few minutes of walking, Elina came to a stop outside what looked like an old, disused maintenance shack with a single grey steel door. The blonde woman turned the handle and walked inside, Linford following after her. The moment the door was closed the loud background noise of the sector all but vanished, the sudden silence somewhat disorientating to the programmer. The interior of what he had thought to be no more than a shack or shed proved to be more spacious that he had imagined. A short, strip-lighted hallway opened up into a chamber that was full of makeshift cots and desks holding an array of equipment and a small selection of weapons the like of which Linford had never seen. Standing at one of the tables was a large, middle-aged dark-skinned man and a young Japanese girl that looked to be no older than sixteen. They looked up as Elina entered, the man smiling.

'Elina! Welcome back. It's good to see you again.' The man's voice was deep and had a warm tone to it. The Japanese girl just smiled and waved at the blonde.

Elina gestured to Linford. 'This is the programmer I told you about, Linford Johnson. Linford this is Jacob and Mina.' She indicated the man and woman respectively.

Linford nodded and gave a brief wave. 'Er, hi.'

'How long to make the program?' demanded the young Japanese girl as she stared at Linford.

'Um-' he began with a raised hand but was interrupted by Elina.

'Not necessary. We have the program,' she said with a hint of triumph in her voice.

'You got the chip?' Mina asked Elina with a suddenly eager expression and tone of child-like excitement.

The blonde held up her bag and walked into the room where she placed it on a table amidst a mixture of machine parts, food cartons, and Sphere Terminal components. Linford hung back for a moment then followed her into the chamber.

'I thought the program was lost,' said Jacob with a puzzled look.

Linford smiled. 'In my line of work it's handy to keep back-ups.'

Jacob approached him, holding out his hand and giving a warm smile.

'It's good to meet you Linford,' said the large man as he took the programmer's hand in a powerful grip and shook it. 'You've come a long way to help us.'

The younger man rubbed his hand where it had been gripped and shrugged nonchalantly. 'No big deal, I was needing a vacation anyway. Um...' He watched as the spikey-haired Japanese girl opened Elina's bag and rifled through before taking out the chip. 'You'll need my help with the encryption on that.' He turned back to Jacob. 'That's kinda one of the main reasons why I'm here.'

Mina scowled as she held up the chip, scrutinising it as if she could fathom the mysteries of the program that lay inside just by looking at it.

'So,' continued Linford as he looked about the room. 'Is it just the three of you? I thought there'd be more.'

'No, it's just us,' answered Jacob. 'We are all that are prepared to take action to expose Sinclair and what he's doing. Others feel the same as us but are unwilling to go against the word of our leaders.'

'Huh!' snorted Elina. 'You mean they are too afraid to do what is necessary! Despite the fact that they have lost loved ones.'

The large man looked sad for a moment. 'Perhaps...'

'Um...' murmured Linford as he looked around. 'If this is all there is then where's the little girl's family? From what Elina told me I was sure they'd be involved.' The young man knew he'd said the wrong thing when all three turned to look at him with solemn expressions. After a moment Elina turned away and Mina walked over to a Sphere Terminal. Jacob shook his head and briefly glanced at the short blonde woman before speaking to Linford.

'Natasha's mother -' he began.

'When are we going to use the chip?' interrupted Elina as she turned back around, her eyes red.

Jacob paused for a moment then sat down at the table and indicated that Elina and Linford should do the same, the previous matter effectively dropped. 'We are going to wait a day or so before we attempt to break the data-fortress and get the information.' Elina opened her mouth to protest but the dark-skinned man held up a hand as he continued. 'While you were away there was an incident at Bowman's. Some McKenzie agents were involved in a shoot-out while they were chasing someone through the sector. There were some deaths, including the two agents. Lenny was also killed.'

Elina seemed to sag. 'Lenny's dead?' she asked in disbelief at the news of the death of Bowman's barman, holding her head as she let out a long, slow breath.

'I'm afraid so,' confirmed Jacob. 'After the company agents were killed McKenzie has upped its presence in the lower sectors and they are bound to have increased their Sphere security so we're going to lay low for a while until things settle down a bit. We've waited this long, we can stand to wait a bit longer.'

Linford knew that patience wasn't one of Elina's qualities so he wasn't at all surprised when she slammed her palms down on the table and stood up. He heard her mutter something in what he guessed was Russian as she walked off and slumped onto one of the nearby cots.

Jacob turned to the programmer. 'Now, I would appreciate it if you could give Mina the key to the encryption you have on the chip. Just so we can use it when we need to.'

'Sure, of course.' With the distinct impression that he had gotten himself into something that was way over his head, the young man stood up and went over to the waiting Japanese girl. He was beginning to wish he'd never written the program in the first place.

****

Chapter 21

As Sonya had surmised, Leon had indeed proved to be hard to convince about the idea of going to help Lewis Carson. When she had dropped her bombshell of a plan on him on the morning following her call from Lewis, he had thought her idea of dropping everything and flying off to outer space based on a vague conversation with someone they hadn't seen in years seemed more than a little crazy. But then he knew his sister and he knew that if she had gotten it into her head that this was what she was going to do then there was nothing he could do to change her mind. Short of shooting her, and he wasn't going to do that. So, after some initial protesting, as Sonya had anticipated, he had eventually agreed to go along with her plan. Even if just so that he could keep an eye on her. At least that was what he told himself.

Angel had been initially reticent but quickly went along with Sonya's plan when she realised that the alternative was being left in The City. Alone.

After Leon had arranged care for Luc the group had packed up and made for the U.N. Spacy shuttle launch point the day after Elina had departed with Linford. Once aboard the shuttle, the two day trip to Asimov passed without incident. Angel used the vast majority of the journey time to work at cracking the encryption that Linford had placed on the hacking program. It was a variation of a puzzle cube with different coloured blocks. The idea was to shift the nine multi-coloured squares that formed each side of the cube so each flat surface was uniformly shaded. The idea was simple enough to Angel but the problem was that at seemingly random moments some of the squares would spontaneously change colour, meaning that areas that had moments ago been virtually complete had to be adjusted again. It had proved incredibly frustrating, but after spending the majority of the two days jacked into her S-Box she finally managed to align the colours and solve the puzzle. If she had been particularly religious she may have acknowledged that her success may have had some divine intervention attached to it. As it was, she took her victory as an affirmation of her skill (with a slight nod to luck). Typically, her moment of victory had come at a time when both Sonya and Leon were asleep in their couches so she had to savour the taste of success on her own.

Thankfully Sonya found that when she came to try and sleep on the shuttle the horrors she witnessed in her dreams when she tried to sleep in The City were completely absent. The result was that her mind and body took the opportunity to catch up on much needed rest and she was pretty much comatose through nearly the entirety of the voyage.

Consequently, with Sonya asleep and Angel engrossed in her decryption efforts, Leon was pretty much left to his own devices and he spent the trip amusing himself with the entertainment provided on the shuttle: movies, music, games, and reading books that he had brought with him. The zero-g cubes that Linford had found so entertaining on his trip out with Elina just reminded the Ronin of the null-gravity training he had received during his time in the military and wasn't his idea of fun.

Unknown to the group their arrival was greatly anticipated. Not only by Lewis Carson, who had arranged to have one of Dr Sterling's people watch the incoming shuttles' passenger manifests, but also by McKenzie Corporation agents who had traced Lewis' call from the now destroyed Sol-Com booth. Following the botched job and shootings that had occurred at the bar in the lower sector of the station, the agent that awaited them in the arrivals lounge was under strict instructions to simply observe and plant a tracer on Sonya upon her arrival, unless instructed otherwise.

So it was that when Sonya, Leon, and Angel entered the arrivals area, after stepping off the shuttle and leaving the Acclimatisation Lounge and passing through customs, the brother and sister had the distinct impression that they were being watched. Angel was oblivious to any such feeling as she was staring about in a manner similar to that which Linford had exhibited upon stepping foot on Asimov. If someone had told her, back when she had first gotten on the T.C. Rail that took her to The City, that a few days later she would be in outer space she would have laughed at the insanity of the statement. And yet there she was, standing in a space station nearly 240,000 miles from Earth.

The waiting McKenzie agent was dressed in plain civilian clothing. He sat on a garishly coloured and uncomfortable plastic seat and watched the newly arriving passengers as they made their way through the doors from the Acclimatisation Lounge. An image of Sonya Hart floated in the field of vision of his artificial eyes and image matching Wet-ware scanned the passengers as he sought a positive identification. The picture was a couple of years old and taken from a copy of her travel card but the Wet-ware had no problem matching it to the dark-haired woman that entered the arrivals area with a large, bald man and an open-mouthed, wide-eyed, pink-haired girl.

Subject identified. The agent sent via his internal communication system.

Observe and trace. A voice replied.

The agent picked up on the stressing of the words "observe" and "trace". Understood. he replied and watched as the group made their way amongst the other passengers.

Lewis Carson stood by an information point near the arrivals area and tried to look as inconspicuous as possible, blending in with the bustle of people that were coming and going in a steady stream of human traffic. He had, in fact, been identified mere seconds after his initial arrival but, as picking him up at that time wasn't their mission, the concealed McKenzie agents left him alone. The bespectacled ex-corporate waited with anticipation as he watched the batch of new arrivals from the recently docked shuttle make their way into the station. After a few minutes he spotted Sonya and her companions. He instantly recognised her brother and assumed that the pink-haired girl was the Runner she had mentioned.

After a quick glance to see if he was being watched, not that Lewis would have been able to spot the hidden McKenzie agents anyway, he began to make his way towards Sonya's group. As soon as he stepped out of the crowd of people awaiting the new arrivals from the shuttle, Sonya and Leon both spotted him. Lewis had been hoping to keep the reunion with his old associate quiet so as to not draw any attention but, unfortunately, Sonya had no such intention. As soon as she saw her friend from years ago she dropped her hand luggage and dashed towards him where, before the surprised Lewis could say a word, he was engulfed in a powerful embrace and lifted a couple of inches off the floor.

'Lewis!' exclaimed Sonya as she returned him to the ground. 'Holy shit man, it's been a long time!' She held the young man by the arms and looked into his face, smiling broadly.

Lewis blinked a few times and looked back at the beaming woman. 'Yeah, hi Sonya. You've changed your hair since I last saw you. Black suits you, I like it.'

The woman released her friend and touched her hair, giving a slightly wry smile. 'Oh yeah. It was green the last time I saw you.'

Leon had picked up his sister's hastily dropped bag and made his way towards the couple, with Angel following a step or two behind.

'Leon. How's it going?' greeted Lewis with an outstretched hand as Sonya's brother approached.

'Hello Lewis.' The tall Ronin didn't shake hands and indicated that his were full. Lewis got the impression that the bald man wouldn't have shaken his hand even if they had been empty.

'Same old Leon, huh?' said Lewis with a nod of his head. The Ronin just shrugged slightly despite the frown that his sister gave him. Aware that people were starting to push past and generally jostle them, Lewis felt he wanted to move things on a bit quicker.

'Okay,' he continued without acknowledging Angel. 'We'll do the rest of the catch-up stuff later. I'll take you to a place where we can talk and tell you why I've asked you here.'

Sonya took her bag back from her brother and pulled Angel from behind the tall Ronin. 'Yeah, sure. This is Angel, by the way.'

'Um... h--hi,' stammered the pink-haired Runner with a brief wave.

Lewis gave a cursory smile and nod of acknowledgement then addressed Sonya. 'Come on, let's go. I already feel like we're being watched.' He turned and headed off towards the nearby Metro station.

'I felt that since I stepped off the shuttle,' muttered Leon to himself as the group followed Lewis into the crowd.

The seated McKenzie agent had observed the whole reuniting with a mild sense of impatience. He was eager to finish his assignment and return home. As he observed Sonya giving Lewis a hug he was sure that her tall, shaven-headed companion had looked directly at him a couple of times. He judged the man to be in a similar line of work to himself, probably some street Ronin from Earth that Lewis had hired as muscle. As he watched the interactions of the small group he decided that the nervous-looking pink-haired girl was the most promising target for the tracer and when they all began to follow the ex-corporate towards the Metro stop the agent stood and made his way through the people in the arrivals lounge, walking on a path that would intercept the girl. At precisely the correct moment he stepped from behind another passenger, making as if he was distracted by something else, and walked into Angel. The instant they made contact his left hand touched her shoulder, as if steadying himself, and he planted a micro-tracer onto her jacket. Angel gave a small, surprised shriek as the man walked into her, drawing the attention of her companions.

'Sorry!' exclaimed the agent, convincingly acting like an embarrassed idiot.

Angel was about to say it was okay when Sonya interrupted. 'Watch where you're going asshole!'

The agent looked apologetic. 'Sorry, sorry. I didn't see her.' He turned to Angel and gave a laugh of mock embarrassment. 'My first time here. Too busy gawking! Sorry. Are you okay?'

'I'm f--f--' stuttered Angel, trying to say that it was alright.

Sonya stepped forward. 'She's fine. Now get lost.'

Knowing when it was time to cut and run, the agent smiled and nodded as he backed away before blending back in with the crowd. Angel turned and scowled at Sonya thinking her attitude a tad harsh concerning what she though was an accident. The dark-haired woman saw the look.

'What?' she challenged. 'Creep was probably trying to touch you up or steal your bag!'

'Yeah,' agreed Leon. 'I think I saw that guy watching us earlier. You're not missing anything, are you?'

Angel just scowled and sighed as she did a quick pocket check then shook her head and gestured that the group just keep going. Lewis led them on towards the Metro station.

As the McKenzie agent walked off he activated his internal communications.

Tracer is in place.

Excellent. A team is being prepped. Stand down and return. Instructed the voice in his head.

***

Hal's was a small pub located on the level just above what was considered the start of Marooned Town and acted as a sort of land mark for an invisible border to what was generally thought to be the lower sectors. Though it was a far cry from being on the same scale as Cordite, it was replete with shadowy corners and an ideal place for people of all types to conduct illicit business in relative security. The owner had obviously tried to capture an old world theme with the wooden floorboards and furniture, exposed beams on the first floor ceiling, decorative melted candles resting in metallic sconces, and a black wrought iron staircase that went up to a similarly furnished second floor. The lighting was deliberately dim in an attempt to create atmosphere and it was well suited to the people that often conducted transactions in the darkened booths.

Lewis Carson led Sonya and the others into Hal's and Leon immediately liked the feel of the place, it reminded him of a bar he had frequented when he had been growing up in The City. Lewis ordered a round of drinks and took the group up the metallic staircase to a booth on the second floor. Leon and Lewis sat on one side of the table, with Lewis nearest the wall. Sonya and Angel slid in on the other side, the Runner sitting opposite the ex-corporate. Once they had all settled in their seats and taken a sip of their respective drinks Sonya faced her old associate.

'Okay Lewis, you gonna tell us why you asked us to come all the way out here?'

Lewis took another sip of his drink and placed the glass down on the table, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. 'Remember when I left The City to join McKenzie Corporation up here on the station?'

'I remember the goodbye party,' interrupted Sonya with a suggestive smirk.

'Yeah,' continued Lewis. 'Well, getting a job up here didn't turn out to be the grand adventure that I thought it would be. Even though working with breakthrough nanotech was exciting, we were never actually getting anywhere, like we'd hit a wall or something. Eventually the chief execs on Earth must have gotten sick of the lack of progress because they "reassigned" the head of the research team and most of her staff and brought in Mark Sinclair and his team to take over the job. Apparently he has a reputation for getting the job done. Anyway, within a month of Sinclair taking over we started to produce tangible results. Of course, everyone was happy and no one really questioned how Sinclair had turned it around from nothing as we were no longer worried about our jobs.' Lewis paused as he took another drink then continued. 'Then, seven months ago, there was an "accident" in the lab and an explosion in the lower levels.'

'Hey, yeah!' interrupted Angel. 'I r\--remember reading about that in The Sphere. Some k--kind of accidental fire that k--killed some r--researchers and a few other p--people.'

'That's what Sinclair convinced the media had happened. I was actually outside the office when the explosion occurred. After the initial chaos, I spotted a little girl walking out of the building. She was wearing a green hospital gown.' Lewis' tone had turned grim as he recalled the memory. 'I ran over to her to see if she was hurt. There was a blonde woman with her that seemed to know her. She had spotted the girl the same as I had. Before we could do anything the child whispered something then... crumbled to ash before my very eyes.'

'What?' asked Leon and Sonya as one. Angel bit her lower lip, her eyes wide.

Lewis held his hands out as if he could show them the ash of the disintegrated girl. 'She just turned to white dust, as if burned from the inside out, and blew away. All that was left was her little gown. She can't have been more than three-years-old.' He picked up his glass and took a long drink.

Sonya frowned slightly. 'That's pretty fucked up, but what's it got to do with us?'

The ex-corporate snapped out of his reverie as the image of the incinerated girl hovered in his mind's eye. 'I wanted to know what the girl was doing in our building dressed like that and if she was somehow connected with the explosion. I couldn't believe that Sinclair would condone the use of human test subjects in his experiments, let alone small children! So I took it upon myself to find out what had happened. Unfortunately I didn't get very far.'

'Your boss fired you,' stated Leon.

'Yep,' confirmed Lewis. 'Security was through the roof following the incident and I got picked up almost immediately when I started digging around. I got fired and told in an indirect way that if I ever looked into the incident I would meet with an unfortunate "accident".'

'Sounds like the usual corporate bullshit,' muttered Sonya.

'Yeah, well I wasn't going to let threats stop me. I couldn't stop thinking about that poor little girl. I still can't... so I decided to get to the bottom of what was going on by my self.'

'You always were a fucking wannabe hero, Lewis,' said Sonya with a half-smile. 'So I guess you realised you needed some help and called me in to save your ass. Just like old times, right?'

'Yeah, something like that,' said Lewis with a frown.

Leon studied the man next to him for a moment. 'We aren't the first people you've tried to get to help you, are we?'

The ex-corporate looked uncomfortable and scratched the back of his neck. 'Er... no, not exactly.'

Sonya folded her arms and sat back. 'Who else is involved?'

'No, no! No one else is involved in this. Just this guy called Sterling who's the local Fixer here. Kinda like Fish but on a smaller scale...'

'Uh-huh. But?' Sonya knew there was more to it than that if Lewis had made contact with a Fixer.

'Yeah, but I did arrange for a local Runner to make an attempt at the McKenzie data-fortress.'

There was a brief moment of silence.

'And?' asked Sonya.

'The kid got fried.' Lewis still felt like shit about it and it showed on his face.

Sonya looked at Angel then turned back to Lewis. 'So you want my Runner to hack a corporate data-fortress and find proof of what they are doing in their experiments? You better have the funds Lewis. What you're asking for isn't cheap.'

Lewis sighed at Sonya's mercenary attitude as he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a cash-card and placed it on the table. 'This is all the money I have. There's close to a couple of hundred thousand there. You can have it, I don't care any more. All I want is for Sinclair to pay for what he's done.'

'What you think he's done,' corrected Leon.

'I know what I saw!' Anger crept into Lewis' voice.

'Look,' the Ronin continued. 'Even if it's all true and this Sinclair guy is conducting illegal experiments to push the company's research forward, what do you think you're going to accomplish by exposing him?' Leon thought Lewis needed a hit from the reality stick. 'Even if this info you're after should prove that the guy is Satan himself, what do you think is going to happen? I'll tell you. He'll be taken off the station and publicly reprimanded while in reality the corporate bosses will just give him a smack on the wrist for getting caught. The guy will be transferred to the next place that needs his certain kind of expertise and no one will ever hear of him again. McKenzie will make some kind of grand, fake apology and donate enough money to whatever charity is in fashion at the time. In a few months the whole thing will be forgotten about. Trust me, I know. People are too self-obsessed and too fixated on self-indulgence and instant gratification to really give a shit about each other. I see it all the time.' The Ronin took a sip from his glass as the others seated at the table thought about what he had just said. Sonya agreed with him. It was hard not too, having lived in The City for most of her life. Angel was a little taken aback by the attitude from the man that had risked himself to save her back in that rainy alley and wondered if it was what he really felt.

Lewis wasn't impressed. 'So what? Just forget the whole thing? Just forget that I had an innocent three-year-old girl turn to ash in my arms? I can't do that. I don't care what you think. I have to try and do something.'

'Just don't expect anyone to thank you, that's all,' Leon said.

'I'm not doing this for anyone's thanks, Leon!' Lewis was starting to get angry, annoyed at the cynical attitude the Ronin was giving him.

'W--what about th--the other w--woman? The b--blonde.' Angel finally spoke up thinking it best to try and interrupt things before they got too heated.

Lewis let out a long breath and shrugged as he turned his attention away from Leon and onto the pink-haired girl sitting opposite. 'She held on to the smock that the girl had been wearing and disappeared into the crowd during the confusion. I never saw her again.' He watched as Sonya took the cash-card from the table and checked the amount, her eyes widening slightly at the figure she saw. 'That enough to make coming up here worth your while?'

The black-haired woman nodded in affirmation.

'Good,' said Lewis. 'So how soon do you think you can get to work?'

Sonya looked at Angel. The Runner picked up on the unspoken question and shrugged her shoulders slightly. 'No time like the present,' said the Fixer.

Angel pulled off her hoodie and stuffed it into the corner of her seat then pulled her S-Box from its angel wing emblazoned pouch. She pushed her untouched drink aside and placed the S-Box on the tabletop. The chip with Linford's program was still installed after she had broken the encryption. Normally she would have been hesitant to run a hack against a corporate A.I. on her own but, from what she had seen of the program, she was confident she would be able to get in and out again without getting burned.

The Runner pulled the retractable jack cable from her S-Box and attached it to the socket beneath her hair. 'M--McKenzie C--Corporation, right?' she asked Lewis. The young man nodded his confirmation. Angel looked at Sonya and smiled. 'See you in a b--bit,' she said as she closed her eyes and activated her Box.

***

Materialising in her personal Sphere domain, Angel's avatar checked her arsenal of programs, ensuring that she had all her best gear for what she was about to do. Even thinking about attempting a hack against a corporate data-fortress was enough to give most Sphere Runners cold shivers, and Angel was about to try and go in solo. She hoped that Linford's breach program worked as well as it suggested. The Runner looked at the program's icon as it rested on the white marble floor of the domain. When she had eventually beaten the encryption, the small puzzle cube had opened itself out, unfolding, contorting and expanding until it formed the shape of a beautifully crafted long-sword that was embedded in a large, grey rock. The avatar walked over to the rock-encased blade and grasped the decorative hilt. With a single yank she pulled it free to an accompanying burst of light. Angel smiled at the attention to detail and the fact that performing such an act made her feel like "The Chosen One" or something. Holding the sword before her, she read the word Excalibur in finely engraved script on the cross-guard and watched as an ornate scabbard formed around the blade. Feeling slightly more confident in what she was about to do she placed the weapon on her hip and summoned the swirling mist as she altered her appearance to that of someone from the fantasy genre, appearing in black leather boots, breaches, tunic, and a long, hooded cloak coloured forest green. Notions of Orcs and Elves crossed her mind as she looked down at herself. Ready to slay dragons and monsters, Angel walked over to the swirling blue globe that led to the Sphere and concentrated on McKenzie Corporation. The mist within the globe cleared and the pink-haired avatar stepped through.

And onto a vast plain that looked to be made entirely from black glass that stretched out as far as Angel could see. Rivulets of pulsing electric-blue light flowed beneath the polished ground, running towards a central nexus in the middle of the McKenzie domain. In the central hub stood a titanic wall that looked to be composed of solid black steel and was easily fifty-feet in height. The huge wall surrounded a cyclopean tower that stretched up to almost touch the swirling clouds of the star-filled, night sky that encompassed the domain. The tower itself was a smooth rectangle and resembled a huge monolith. It gave Angel the distinct impression that the designer had been trying to compensate for something.

Deciding to get on with business, the avatar followed the coursing electric-blue lights that streamed towards the walls of the McKenzie data-fortress. As she closed the distance she made out two enormous jet-black skinned Demon programs standing guard at either side of a massive metallic gate that granted access to the interior of the fortress. The Demons were dressed in smart suits and stood with their huge arms folded across their chests. As Angel came to a standstill a short distance away one of the sentinels unfolded its arms and held out a hand in a "stop" gesture.

'Password?' its voice boomed.

Of course she didn't have a password and she didn't think that the two guardians would just stand there while she hacked one so she decided to see exactly how the Excalibur program fared in a real engagement.

Angel's hand went to the hilt of the sheathed sword and she pulled the blade free in a single fluid action. Recognising her intention, the two guardians adopted an aggressive stance and came at her. Before they could get within reach of her, the avatar swung the sword in a single horizontal slash. The blade glowed brilliantly and a wide arc of shimmering white energy launched from the sword and cut a swathe across the approaching Demons. The energy passed through them, cutting them cleanly in two and causing them to explode into fragments and disappear.

The Runner regarded the still glowing sword with an expression of surprise and awe. She hadn't expected a result quite as grand as that and was just beginning to realise the full potential of what she was wielding. If Excalibur made such short work of two Demon sentinel programs just what else was it capable of? As she stood at the foot of the gates to the fortress she decided to find out. Holding the sword aloft, Angel swung the blade down in a vertical slash, summoning a second wave of shimmering white energy. She watched as it flew towards the gate and impacted, the cut spreading up to cleave the barred entrance cleanly in half, resulting in the doors collapsing inwards and exploding into pieces, leaving the fortress entrance wide open.

Powerful as the Excalibur program obviously was, Angel had no doubt that she had just alerted every defensive protocol within the McKenzie mainframe and decided she had best be quick in her task before she wound up face-to-face with a pissed off A.I. She burst forward in a blur and penetrated the fortress.

Rapidly closing the distance to the gargantuan, black mega-structure that towered above her, Angel inverted her grip on Excalibur and brought the blade over her head, then lunged forwards and plunged it deep into the mainframe. At the point of impact a great crack appeared and thrust she her hands into the open wound and closed her eyes as she concentrated on her search. Golden tendrils began to spread from the points where her hands had penetrated the black surface, arcing out like rapidly growing vines in a spider web pattern as she sought the research and development files containing the information she was after. Less than a second passed before the fine pattern of golden light began to swirl and coalesce into a single point, identifying the location of the files she needed. The avatar pulled the file open, intending to swiftly snatch the information and run before she got caught, but instead of documents detailing the extent of the nanotech experiments she was shown a dark, empty void. A sudden surge of energy repulsed the Runner and she was hurled free of the gouge in the mainframe, the burst sending her sailing through the air to land heavily on her back some distance away. She realised, with a sinking feeling, what she had just encountered and knew there was nothing more she could do here. Her entire arsenal of programs and even the mighty Excalibur would be of no avail against what just cast her out. There was nothing else to do but leave.

Angel got to her feet and went to retrieve the sword that was still stuck in the McKenzie mainframe but froze as she watched the blade be slowly pulled into the black structure as the open crack began to heal itself. She knew that only the A.I. could perform such a feat and realised it was time to get out of there as she was now in no position to face the machine intelligence's wrath at her intrusion. Turning her back on the mainframe she ran for the edge of the domain as if the very hounds of virtual Hell were chasing her.

***

Back in Hal's, Lewis watched with a sense of dread anticipation as the pink-haired girl that Sonya had introduced as Angel had started her run against McKenzie. He fully expected to see her flinch like the unfortunate Kenzo had and wind up face-down on the table while smoke from her cooked frontal lobes curled out of her ears. As much as he dreaded the death of the young girl he was actually more worried about how Sonya would react. He had seen what it meant when people had incurred her wrath before and he didn't relish the thought of being on the receiving end of it. Especially as he got the distinct impression that she had some kind of attachment to the girl.

So when there was a small crackling sound from the girl's S-Box accompanied by a wisp of smoke, Lewis tensed and squinted his eyes as he expected the girl to die right in front of him.

Angel's eyes flew open with a start and she quickly pulled the cable from her head. Lewis let out a loud sigh of relief which elicited a brief glance from Sonya and Leon.

'Fuck!' exclaimed Angel in frustration as she whacked the tabletop with the palm of her hand. The loud yell drew the attention of a few other patrons that were enjoying drinks at nearby tables. A glare from Leon deflected their curious glances. Sonya placed her hand on Angel's shoulder.

'What happened?' she inquired.

The Runner let out a long, slow breath as she calmed herself down. 'It's n--no good. The f--files are in an isolated t--terminal. There's n--no Sphere access.'

Lewis rubbed his head in disbelief. 'Shit.'

Leon figured out the rest. 'So in order to get the information you've got to access the terminal directly.'

Angel nodded her head as she wiped sweat from her brow. Sonya considered this for a moment then turned to Lewis.

'Whose terminal is that stuff gonna be on?' she asked.

'Sinclair's. He's the only one that I can think of that would have an isolated system separate from the Sphere.'

'So to get what you're after we're going to have to actually get into the McKenzie building and find that terminal?' Sonya didn't like the way this job was starting to look.

The ex-corporate adjusted his glasses in a nervous gesture. 'Um... yeah. It looks that way.'

Sonya's exclamation was cut off by Leon's raised hand. 'Hang on, I think we have company.' The Ronin was looking towards the stairwell that led up from the bar below.

Unknown to Lewis and the group, around five minutes after they had entered Hal's a small team of four McKenzie agents had arrived - having followed the tracer planted on Angel's coat - and positioned themselves at the bar where they awaited further instructions. It became evident that Lewis wasn't planning on taking the people he had met to any secret underground location when the agents were informed of a McKenzie Sphere security breech. Seconds after Angel had fled the domain empty-handed, orders came through to the team that Lewis and his companions were to be picked up immediately. The agents prepared themselves and headed up the wrought iron stairs to the bar on the second level.

Lewis, Sonya, and Angel all turned to face the direction that Leon was looking and watched as four men came up the stairs and made straight for their table. Lewis sagged and cursed. 'Shit!'

The lead agent, a tall, serious looking dark-skinned man with a shaved head stopped at the table. 'Lewis Carson. You and your companions are to come with us immediately,' his tone made it clear that it wasn't a request.

The ex-corporate felt trapped and helpless but was glad that these guys hadn't just decided to gun him down in public. Before he could reply Leon spoke up.

'Do you mind? This is a private conversation.'

The Ronin and the agent locked eyes for a moment before the dark-skinned man addressed Lewis again. 'Mr Carson. You and you companions are to come with us. Now.' The agent opened his armoured jacket slightly to reveal a holstered flechette pistol. 'I'm sure we'd both rather avoid a repeat of the incident at Bowman's.'

Lewis recalled being shot at and had to agree with the guy. He resigned himself to the fact that he was cornered. Maybe he could talk his way out of it later.

'Okay, okay,' he said, much to Sonya's surprise. 'Just no more shooting.'

The agent nodded and his men came closer.

Leon just barely managed to hide the tell-tale twitch of his lip as he saw the opportunity the men had given him by closing the distance.

'Just a second,' he said amiably as he picked up his drink to take a sip.

The lead agent foolishly folded his arms. 'Alright. Just--'

He was suddenly cut off as Leon threw the contents of the glass in his face. In the same instant he sent a mental command to his implanted adrenaline boosters and his military-grade reflex augmentations fired through his body like white-hot fire, super-charging his system. The people around him seemed to suddenly slow down, as if immersed in water. Even as the drenched agent began to recoil in surprise at the drink thrown in his face, Leon had slid out of his seat and was up on his feet, his right hand lashing out in a straight punch to the exposed throat of the second agent that had moved closer to the table. The man gagged and began to fall to the floor. Before he had even hit the ground, the super-charged Ronin was moving again, spinning with a left handed strike to the carotid artery in the drink-soaked agent's neck. The blow resulted in an instant knock-out and he also began to fall, less than a second after his companion. It was then that the two remaining agents began to reach for their weapons, hands moving to holstered flechette pistols. They were quick, and obviously augmented, but Leon's implants were from his time in the military and were far superior to anything that corporate security could hope to have. The result was that even before the pistols were free the Ronin had grabbed the collapsing body of the bald, dark-skinned agent before he hit the ground and shoved the unconscious form into the two remaining assailants, causing them to stagger as they reeled out of the way. It was enough of an opening for Leon to be upon them, landing a devastating right-handed uppercut under the jaw of the first agent with enough cybernetically enhanced strength to lift the man several feet clear off the ground and sailing over the edge of the second floor wooden railing where he crashed down onto the tables of the bar area below. The remaining agent was able to draw his gun and bring it to bear on Leon as his companion flew out of sight. Unfortunately he was so completely focused on dealing with the unbelievably fast black-clad whirlwind that he didn't see the glass that had been launched at him by Sonya. The glass impacted and shattered off the agent's head causing him to recoil as he pulled the trigger of his pistol, the burst of micro-needles embedding themselves in the wall close to where Leon had been standing. Seizing the opportunity provided by his sister, the Ronin sprang forwards and leaped into the air, span and landed a kick to the side of the gun-wielding agent's head. There was a loud crunch and the man went limp.

As Leon landed from his kick he deactivated his boosted reflexes and the raging fire that coursed through him ceased abruptly, the scene around him seemed to speed up until it caught up with real time. The whole incident had taken no more than fifteen seconds.

Sonya was used to such occurrences and so was on her feet the moment her brother had finished the last agent.

'Come on!' she yelled at Lewis and Angel. 'We have to get out of here. Now!' She grabbed the pink-haired Runner by the arm and began to pull her from the booth. Angel hastily grabbed her precious S-Box as she was effectively dragged out of her seat.

'H--hey!' she protested.

Sonya ignored her and pulled her towards the stairs which Leon had already descended. The patrons and staff on the ground floor were beginning to yell in surprised confusion at the man that had seconds ago seemingly flew from the level above and crashed down amongst them. Lewis remained in his seat, frozen in surprise and disbelief of what he had just witnessed.

'Holy shit,' he murmured to himself as he stared at the three fallen McKenzie agents.

From the top of the stairs Sonya turned and shouted back at the ex-corporate. 'Hey! Come on!' Without waiting to see if he had reacted, the raven-haired Fixer dashed down the stairs, still gripping the arm of the protesting Runner.

'W--wait!' complained Angel. 'M--my coat!' She threw a glance over her shoulder at the grey, skull-adorned jacket she had left on the seat.

'Fuck the coat! I'll buy you ten coats. Come on!' barked Sonya.

Angel stopped resisting and allowed herself to be dragged down the remainder of the stairs and through the shocked-looking patrons on the ground floor. Back on the second floor Lewis snapped out of his open-mouthed surprise and practically vaulted out of his seat. He paused a second and grabbed the bags that had been deposited at the side of the table, ignored Angel's discarded jacket, and quickly ran down the stairs in an effort to catch up with Sonya.

'Hey! Wait up!' he yelled as he tried to negotiate the stairs while carrying the three abandoned bags.

A matter of minutes after the group had fled the bar, a team of eight well-armed and armoured agents burst into Hal's, the place now deserted apart from the staff that worked there, as the patrons had anticipated the arrival of some kind of security force following the fight upstairs and didn't want to be there when the reinforcements arrived. The team of eight ran past the still unconscious agent that lay prone amidst the ruins of a smashed table on the ground floor and dashed upstairs, following the locator blip from the tracer that had been planted on Angel. As the squad thundered up the stairs, ready for a violent confrontation, all they found were two more bodies that were either unconscious or dead and the bald, dark-skinned McKenzie agent that had eventually gotten back to his feet and leaned himself groggily against a nearby table while he tried to shake the light-headed dizziness that swam around the inside of his skull.

The armoured squad slowed when it became obvious that their targets had gotten away. The team leader walked over to the booth that Sonya and the others had recently vacated and reached out a gauntleted hand to pick up the abandoned grey, hooded jacket with the skull decorations as he identified it as the source of the tracer signal. With a muttered curse he threw it back onto the seat and turned his attention to aiding the groaning men that lay sprawled on the floor nearby.

***

After Lewis had eventually caught up with the fleeing Sonya and her group, he handed over their bags, admitted to a slightly disappointed Angel that he hadn't thought to grab her coat, and then led them to Dr Sterling's clinic. The clinic, or "Chop Shop" as it was known by the locals, was a fairly large, two-storey building with a large floating Hippocratic emblem next to the entrance. The clinic had enough scavenged, stolen, and bought medical equipment to act as a fully-functional surgery and cyber-shop, where a Ronin could get implants up to just below military standard installed and, as long as they weren't flat-out dead, just about any wound or injury could be dealt with. Provided they had the money, of course.

Above the ground floor that acted as the clinic was an old apartment where Sterling conducted his non-medical business. He had converted one of the rooms of the old apartment into a makeshift meeting room furnished with several battered but comfortable sofas, and another into a small recovery room with a few cheap bunk beds and billets where clients that had received complex implants and surgeries could take a little time to recover.

The clinic was quiet when Lewis and the others arrived, the waiting room empty except for a uniformed woman sitting with her feet on a desk, reading a magazine. The floor of the waiting room was comprised of cheap, grey carpet tiles that bore various dark stains, with spatter and drip marks leading like a trail of breadcrumbs from the entrance to the reception desk. Several faded posters and notices were displayed in clear plastic frames around the beige walls, detailing what to do in the event of decompression or loss of gravity.

As the group entered the clinic the woman in the somewhat grubby nurse's uniform spotted them and swung her comfortably shoed feet off the desk, put down the magazine she had been reading and walked over to Lewis and the others.

'Hi Lewis. Duncan didn't say you were coming over today. What's up?' The nurse seemed friendly enough as she ran her eyes over the group, quickly scanning for any injuries or wounds.

'Hey Wendy,' greeted Lewis with a smile. 'I don't actually have an appointment or anything but I need to see Sterling.'

Wendy looked past her friend to Sonya and the others that were standing holding their bags. Sonya smiled slightly as she adjusted her black shades. The nurse turned back to Lewis. 'Duncan's a bit busy with a client at the moment. Why don't you go on up to the flat and I'll tell him you're here.'

'Sure, thanks Wendy.'

Lewis took the others past the rows of green plastic seats that were bolted to the floor of the waiting room and through a door marked "Staff Only" which led to a flight of stairs ending in a small landing and another door. After climbing the old and musty carpeted steps, Sonya and the others opened the door to the apartment, walked in and sat down on the three battered-looking grey sofas that that were in the middle of what was meant to be the living room, and deposited their bags near their feet.

As soon as they were seated Angel took out her S-Box and began to mutter and swear under her breath as she engrossed herself in removing the fried program chip that was lodged in her machine. The Excalibur program was well and truly destroyed and she hoped there hadn't been any collateral damage to the delicate systems of the S-Box itself. Sonya watched the Runner for a moment then let her eyes wander around the room. The walls were covered in faded and peeling floral wallpaper, the colours of the decorations barely distinguishable. Frayed and partially bald carpet that was a dull, rust-red in colour covered the floor and she spotted a couple of suspicious looking darkly stained patches. There was no other visible furniture other than the sofas they were occupying and, aside from the door back out to the landing that led to the stairs down to the clinic, there were only two other exits, the cheap wooden doors preventing Sonya from seeing where they led. She noticed that one of the doors had a large, cracked indentation in it as if someone had rammed or kicked it. That, coupled with the dark stains on the carpet, led her to believe that not all the negotiations that Sterling had conducted in the room had gone according to plan. Having surveyed the surroundings, she leaned forward in her seat and regarded Lewis from over the top of her shades.

'So who is this Sterling guy?' she asked.

'He's kind of like the local Fixer on Asimov. A bit like Fish back in The City,' Lewis replied.

Sonya quickly looked around the room again and thought that Lewis' comparison was a wild exaggeration. Fish wouldn't have been caught dead conducting business in such a place.

'Does he have Fish's sorts of connections?' asked Leon.

'Not quite,' said Lewis with a dubious tone. 'But he knows enough of the right people here to get whatever anyone needs.'

Leon didn't seem impressed. 'For what you're asking us to do he'd better know the right people.'

The Ronin's sister agreed. 'Yeah Lewis, running a hack on a system remotely is one thing but asking us to actually infiltrate the building and get into the boss's office is...'

'Difficult?' finished the ex-corporate.

'To say the least,' confirmed Leon.

Lewis sat forward, ran a hand through his hair and adjusted his glasses. 'I have just handed over every penny I have to my name so you can get me what I want. An abortive attempt at the data-fortress while sitting in a pub does not qualify as a job done. Not for that sort of money.' His tone was firm and his face looked determined. 'Now, I asked you all to come up here because I thought if anyone could get what I wanted it would be you guys. If you're now telling me that you're not up for it then just give me my money back and we'll forget the whole thing.

Sonya looked at Leon then back to Lewis. 'Look, it's not that we're not prepared to do what you want. It's just...' she trailed off as she looked over at Angel.

The Runner stopped fiddling with her S-Box as she suddenly felt all eyes turn to her.

'W--what?' she asked as she looked up from her work and faced the three stares.

Lewis picked up on what he thought was Sonya's uncertainty about her Runner. 'What, you don't think that--'

'No,' interrupted the Fixer as she saw where Lewis was going. 'No, nothing like that.' She was simply hesitant about putting Angel into what would be a very dangerous situation. Lewis had misinterpreted her concern for a lack of faith. Sonya let out a brief sigh.

'Look. If this Sterling guy can get what we need for the job then we'll get you what you want.' She looked at Leon and Angel. 'Right?'

The Runner hadn't been fully listening to the conversation that had passed between the group while she was removing the blown program chip from her Box but she knew she had to agree with Sonya. 'R--right,' she affirmed trying not to sound confused.

Sonya looked at her brother. The Ronin weighed everything up for a moment then simply nodded in agreement.

Lewis seemed satisfied with that. He knew from his previous dealings with Sonya and her brother that, regardless of their own feelings or opinions regarding a job, once they agreed to do it they would see it through to the end. He sat back and waited for Sterling to arrive from downstairs.

****

Chapter 22

After a day of waiting, during which Linford had opened the encryption on his program and spent some time tweaking and fine-tuning it, Elina persuaded Jacob that it was time to put the chip to use and get the information they needed to prove what Sinclair had been doing. Jacob reluctantly agreed, still hesitant about asking Mina to go into McKenzie's data-fortress alone and retrieve the data. He had witnessed the effects of corporate security programs and had no wish to see the young Japanese girl have her head turned inside-out by a machine. But they had no one else capable of performing the task.

After some instruction from Linford on the finer points of the Excalibur program the young Runner felt she was prepared to make an attempt at the data-fortress. By the time Mina had gotten herself ready it was early evening of the day on which Lewis Carson had met with Sonya, and Angel had already attempted her abortive raid on the McKenzie fortress.

Mina sat in her favourite chair with her trusty S-Box lying on the table before her. She regarded it for a few moments as she took a few deep breaths, steeling herself for the task ahead. Elina, Jacob, and Linford stood around her like concerned relatives. The large, dark-skinned man sensed the young girl's hesitation at what she was about to undertake.

'Are you sure you're up for this?' he asked as he placed a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. 'We can wait a while longer if you want.' He threw a glance at Elina, still not happy at how she had pushed him to make an attempt so soon.

Mina ran her hands through her spiky hair and grinned up at the concerned man. 'No. I'm okay. Let's do it!'

Jacob's hand gripped the girl's shoulder briefly. 'Okay. Go do your thing.' He then took a step back, feeling the need to give the Runner room to work. Both he and Elina glanced at Linford. The young programmer raised a reassuring hand.

'Don't worry. Excalibur will make mincemeat out of anything she comes across.' He sounded genuinely confident in his own work. Everyone returned their attention to the seated girl.

'Banzai...' she whispered to herself as she took the retractable cable from her S-Box, closed her eyes and plugged herself in.

***

Mina winked into existence within her own domain, a rectangular, wooden-floored room that resembled a martial arts dojo. The walls were lined with a selection of weapons that represented Mina's attack programs with Excalibur resting in its solid stone near the back wall. The avatar was that of a young Japanese girl dressed in a sailor-style school uniform with a red headband. She jogged over to the embedded sword and pulled it free, grinning at the accompanying lightshow. Sword in hand, she strode purposefully to the sliding doors of her dojo domain and pulled them open, revealing the swirling mist that led to the Sphere.

'Iku yo,' the avatar said in a determined voice as Mina focused on McKenzie Corporation and stepped into the portal.

Unfortunately, Angel's recent failed attempt at hacking the McKenzie data-fortress had put the company's Sphere security on high alert, with rapid-response teams deployed throughout the station so they could act quickly if another Runner attempted to break in. In light of the situation, Cain himself had decided to personally watch the company domain portal until the alert was cancelled, intent on performing a swift trace and kill if the intruder was stupid enough to try again.

Consequently, an unsuspecting Mina had no sooner appeared on the black, glassy surface of the McKenzie domain when her feet were instantly encased as the floor beneath her turned to a viscous liquid, causing her to sink to knee depth, before it solidified and sealed her in the ground. She yelled in surprise and fear when she realised what had happened to her. Unable to move she knew she was helpless and it was impossible for her to punch out of the Sphere until she was free. The Runner raised Excalibur high and brought it down, intent on cutting herself loose.

The blade simply bounced off the ground with no effect.

Eyes widening in horror, Mina looked at the sword in disbelief. She flinched as a deep voice boomed around her.

'Your weapon will not avail you now.'

Mina looked around, searching for the source of the voice and rapidly trying to think of a way to get free. Her attention was pulled to a swirling black mist that was forming before her. In moments the ghostly cloud coalesced into a man with jet-black skin and burning red eyes dressed in what looked like an expensive executive suit. His hair was pure white and pulled back flat against his head.

As soon as the figure formed, Mina swung Excalibur, intending to decapitate the man before her. Cain grinned, showing perfect white teeth, and made no move to avoid or deflect the blow. Excalibur struck with a force that should have cleaved the man in two, but at the moment the blade impacted it exploded in Mina's hand, sending thousands of fragmented shards in all directions. The corporate A.I. laughed.

'You foolish girl,' was all he said as he showed Mina his right hand.

The Runner stared in horror, first at the obliterated remnants of the sword she held, then at the hand of the man before her as she watched the perfectly manicured black fingernails grow to become lethal, serrated blades. She knew what was coming and began to whimper as the black-skinned man drew his hand back. In an instinctive and futile gesture Mina threw her hands up in front of her face as Cain thrust his bladed fingers forwards, tearing effortlessly through the Runner's arms and plunging them deep into her skull. He gave a vicious twist and the head of Mina's avatar exploded, her body going suddenly limp before dissolving into glowing dust.

***

It seemed like no more than a second or two had passed after Mina had jacked into her S-Box when the girl gave a sudden loud shriek and began to violently convulse. Linford and the others jumped in surprise at her terror-filled scream then watched in horror as her S-Box spontaneously burst into flames and blood began to run from her ears, nose, and eyes. The brain-fried Runner sagged and slid off her seat, dragging the still attached and burning S-Box from the table to crash down onto the floor with her.

Linford could only gawp in shock. Elina clutched her head and moaned. Jacob was the first to act and he dashed to the fallen girl, batting out the flames on the ruined Box before he yanked the jack from Mina's head and desperately tried to find a pulse. The girl's dead, haemorrhaged eyes stared up at him. Jacob slid a hand over her face, closing her eyes, before looking at the blood that smeared his hand. He looked up at Elina and shook his head.

'She's gone,' his voice was full of regret.

Elina sobbed once and tugged at her blonde hair before emitting a snarl. She glanced at Linford and grabbed a flechette pistol from the table then strode towards the programmer with the gun raised. Linford and Jacob both saw her intent. The programmer threw his arms up as Jacob lunged forward.

'No!' exclaimed the dark-skinned man as he grabbed Elina's arm, pulling the gun away from Linford and restraining the blonde woman. 'That won't solve anything!'

Elina struggled against her friend's grip, tears of anger and grief running down her face. 'It's that bastard's fault that Mina's dead!'

When Linford realised he hadn't been shot he lowered his arms and spoke up. 'Whoa! Hey! What just happened there was nothing to do with me! My program should have worked!' He paused briefly, blinking rapidly as a thought occurred. 'Unless...'

'Unless?' Jacob prompted as he struggled to hold Elina in check.

'Um... yeah...' Linford continued. 'The only way it wouldn't have worked would be if it had been used before. By someone else.'

The furious blonde ceased her struggling and Jacob slowly released her. 'You've got ten seconds to explain what you mean,' she hissed in a deathly whisper through clenched teeth.

Linford knew the next few words would literally mean life-or-death for him and a nervous quiver crept into his voice. 'Excalibur was a prototype program, okay? It was a guaranteed success, yes, but it was a one shot deal. It would only ever work once on any one system. Which means someone must have used it on the McKenzie system before us.'

Elina raised the pistol and Jacob didn't stop her this time. 'You said yours was the only copy.'

'It was! I can't explain it! I smashed the hell out of the original and only made one back-up which was hidden.' Linford's words came rapidly as he anticipated being shot at any second. 'The only thing I can think of is that the guys that searched my apartment salvaged something from the ruined chip and the company tried to use it against McKenzie for some reason but it's not my fault!' He closed his eyes and covered his head.

No shot came.

When Linford peeked from behind his arms Elina had dropped the pistol and had crouched next to Mina's body, whispering to herself as she touched the dead girl's face. A thought occurred to Jacob.

'Wait a moment,' he said. 'If they were waiting for Mina to try and break their fortress, would they have been able to trace her Box?'

Linford opened his mouth as if to say something but clamped it shut as the blonde woman sprang to her feet and ran for the door leading to the tunnel outside. She pulled the door open and looked left and right. The passageway was empty and there was no sign of any McKenzie security forces.

'There's no one there,' she reported as she turned back into the room and closed the door.

'Not yet,' said Jacob in a flat tone. 'But we can't take the risk that they're not on their way. We have to get out of here.'

'Um... what about her?' asked Linford as he gestured towards Mina's body.

Elina stared at him. 'We leave her. We can't be seen carrying a dead body around the station.' She turned to Jacob as he began to collect some of the things that were dotted around the hideout. 'We should head to Sterling's. He'll be able to help and it's a good place to hide.'

Jacob nodded in agreement and continued packing their possessions.

'Um... what about me? What should I do?' asked Linford, half dreading the blonde woman's response, worried that she might just decide it was easier to shoot him and leave him behind with the corpse of the brain-fried girl on the floor. Elina gave him a look that made it plain that she had considered that very idea, but instead she just turned away and opened the doorway to the passage, stepping out to make sure their escape route was still clear. It was Jacob that grabbed the younger man by the arm as he swung a packed backpack over his shoulder.

'Just come on,' he said. 'You're in as much shit as we are. We'll be able to get things straightened out once we get to Sterling's'

The dark-skinned man led the young programmer after Elina, turned to look with sadness at Mina's body one last time before he shoved Linford out into the machine-noise filled passage and closed the door behind him. They had no sooner rounded a corner at one end of the tunnel when an armed McKenzie response team came around the bend at the opposite end, heading straight for the now abandoned hideout.

****

Chapter 23

After Lewis and his companions had made their way up to the room above the clinic, Wendy had informed the doctor that he had visitors waiting. At the time, Sterling had been in the middle of a complex implant procedure on a Ronin that had come into enough money to afford his services, and he had told his nurse/assistant/receptionist that the ex-corporate would just have to wait until he was done with his paying client. Wendy was used to his brusque manner and had simply shrugged and returned to her desk and gone back to reading her magazine.

The nurse had been in her chair an hour when Elina, Jacob, and Linford came through the door. Wendy recognised the blonde woman as the one Sterling had fixed up with a contact on Earth and remembered that he had said that she had come across as a bit "nuts". She had no idea who the others were, but the nurse didn't like the feeling she was getting as she watched them enter the clinic. Putting her magazine down, she sat upright with her hands out of sight beneath the desk. Her right hand slid under and gripped the handle of the concealed flechette pistol that was taped on the underside of the desktop and pointed straight at the entrance. Her smile did nothing to betray the fact that she was ready to blow these people away if necessary.

'Hello again,' she said cheerfully as Elina approached. Sterling may have described the blonde as crazy but she had paid well for their services.

Elina stopped at the desk. 'We need to see Sterling. Now.' There was desperation in her voice.

Wendy picked up on the fact that there was something wrong but her tone remained neutral. 'I'm afraid the doctor is busy with a client at the moment. Perhaps you could come back later?' She ended the question with another smile.

Jacob could see that Elina was near the end of her tether and stepped in before she lost her composure and did something rash. He approached the desk and placed a reassuring hand on Elina's shoulder as he addressed the nurse.

'We haven't met but Elina, myself, and this young man here really need your help.' Tthe dark-skinned man gestured towards Linford. 'The three of us are in urgent need of Sterling's assistance. We don't really have anywhere else to go and aren't really in a position where we can come back later. I hope you understand what I mean.'

Wendy listened to Jacob and could tell he was genuine, even though she wasn't particularly moved by his appeal for her understanding. After a moment of consideration she took her hand off of the concealed pistol and decided to give them a break. After all, Sterling and herself were in this gig to make money and the blonde had handed over a substantial amount of it on their previous encounter. Besides, she thought the younger guy standing at the back was kind of cute.

'Okay,' she said to Jacob, then addressed Elina. 'You remember where Sterling met with you last time? The room upstairs?'

The blonde nodded.

'Go on up there and I'll tell him you're here. There are a few other people up there too so just mingle or something.' Wendy gave a slightly dismissive wave of her hand.

'Come on,' said Elina as she led the others through the reception area to the private door and up the stairs to the old apartment. Wendy waited until the group was out of sight before letting out a sigh as she prepared to go and interrupt Sterling again.

During the hour that Lewis and the others had spent waiting in the apartment upstairs, Angel had continued tinkering with her S-Box while the others had discussed possible methods of entering the McKenzie building, none of which seemed to be particularly easy. Ultimately all the ideas they came up with depended on the resources that Sterling would have available. During the time she had spent next to the Runner on one of the battered grey sofas, Sonya had sworn that she had heard the girl actually talking to the machine she was working on, making soothing comments and sounds as if she was dealing with a distressed animal.

When the door to the room opened, Lewis and the others turned in expectation of Sterling's appearance. The woman that Lewis saw come in was probably about the last person he ever expected to see again. Likewise, Elina froze in her tracks half-way through the door as she saw who was in the room. It was enough of a surprise for her to see Sonya, Leon, and Angel sitting there but she couldn't believe that she was looking at the same spectacled man that she had encountered outside of the McKenzie building on the day of the explosion. Everyone that was seated, with the exception of the engrossed Angel, stood up upon recognising Elina. Both Lewis and the blonde woman took a tentative step towards each other.

'It's you!' they exclaimed simultaneously.

'What are you doing here?' Elina asked the ex-corporate in surprise.

Lewis shook his head. 'Waiting for Sterling... what are... no, never mind that. Sonya! This is her!' He turned to the dark-haired woman with the shades. 'This is the woman that was outside with the girl after the explosion!'

The woman in black nodded once. 'Yeah, we've met.'

Sonya's statement didn't sink in at first. 'She was there when -- wait a minute. You've met?' Lewis' voice raised in disbelief.

Still standing in the doorway, a surprised looking Linford leaned over and gave a whispered explanation of events to a confused-looking Jacob.

Leon spoke up, addressing Lewis. 'Yeah, we were hired by Fish to get this guy. That guy, actually.' The Ronin pointed at Linford who was still describing recent history to the older dark-skinned man he was standing with. 'And bring him back to her. Small world, huh?'

A moment passed where Elina and Lewis looked at the combined group of people, trying to make sense of the situation.

'Okay,' said Elina as she shook her head, choosing to ignore the matter of the coincidence. 'But what are you doing here? You work for McKenzie!'

Lewis held up a hand. 'No, I used to work for them. After the thing with the little girl I had to try and find out what was going on. My employers didn't appreciate my snooping around and kicked me out. I've still been trying to find out ever since. I hired these people to help me get the information I needed but we couldn't break into the data-fortress, so we've come to see what Sterling can do to help.'

Elina stared in silence as she processed what the man with the glasses had just said. They had tried to access the McKenzie fortress. Jacob also didn't like what he had just heard as he pictured Mina's dead, blood-filled eyes staring up at him and remembered the possible explanation that Linford had given.

'Excuse me?' he asked as she stepped forward to stand beside Elina. 'Did I hear you correctly? You had a Runner try and breach McKenzie's data-fortress?'

The ex-corporate frowned at the tone from the man as he got the feeling from the sudden change in Elina's demeanour that something was wrong. It was Sonya that answered.

'Yeah... she couldn't do it. It's an isolated system.' The Fixer didn't like the way the blonde was staring at her and could sense the sudden tension in the air. It was then that Angel spoke:

'B--burned your p--program too,' she said to Linford. A second too late she realised what she had said and a hand flew to her mouth. Sonya closed her eyes in disbelief at the unbelievable slip-up Angel had made.

The young programmer standing in the still open doorway frowned in confusion and stepped forward. 'What? You had a copy of the Excalibur program?'

Sonya sighed and shook her head slightly then put a hand on her hip. 'Yeah,' she confirmed in a "so what" tone. 'I copied it. Big deal. We used it. It didn't fucking work. So what?'

The image of Mina convulsing and haemorrhaging blood from every orifice in her young face filled Elina's mind and she could almost hear the girl's scream echo in her ears. Then the explanation from Linford that the Japanese teenager had probably met her gruesome end due to someone attempting to use the same program on the same system sounded in her head. And that very person was standing right in front of her. Keeping her face neutral she walked up to Sonya and looked into her shaded eyes. A second too late the woman in black saw what was coming.

Elina lashed out with a vicious right hook that connected squarely with Sonya's jaw and sent her staggering back onto the nearby sofa, blood bursting from her mouth as her black shades flew from her face. As the bleeding woman fell onto the sofa next to a startled Angel everyone in the room reacted. Sonya snarled and coiled, preparing to launch herself at Elina. The blonde assailant screamed as she stepped forwards, ready to continue her assault.

'It's all your fault you fucking bitch!'

Jacob and Linford both sprang at Elina, restraining her and pulling her away. At that precise second Sonya launched herself from the sofa, intent on ripping the other woman's throat out, but was intercepted by Leon. The Ronin nimbly caught his sister's arm and pulled her away, turning her and trapping it behind her back.

'Let me go!' screamed Sonya. 'I'm gonna fucking kill her!'

Moments passed as the two women struggled against their restrainers and yelled obscenities at each other while Jacob and Linford tried to calm down Elina. Leon simply held his sister in silence as he'd seen this kind of display from her before and knew it was best to just let her blow off her fury. Angel pulled her knees up, instinctively forming a shield with her legs as Sonya ranted and frothed mere inches away from her. The Runner had known that the woman had a violent side, following the encounter with her scumbag landlord, but the sheer ferocity of it in such close proximity was extremely intimidating to her.

It was then that the door opened again and Duncan Sterling walked in. Everyone froze at his appearance and the doctor raised his eyebrows at the scene of barely contained violence.

'Okay,' he said. 'What did I miss?'

The two women promptly began to scream and struggle again, desperate to get their hands on one another. Angel flinched at the sudden resumed hostilities and Sterling raised his hands and shouted to make himself heard over the cacophony of curses and threats.

'Hey! Hey! HEY!' he practically bellowed. The group fell silent again as they faced the unimpressed, scruffy-looking man that reeked of whiskey. 'This isn't on!' he continued in a loud voice. 'Everybody just bloody calm down!' He paused to see if he had their attention. Satisfied that the group was listening he pointed at Elina. 'Right! You! I know you, so you sit there!' Sterling indicated one of the battered sofas then turned his pointed finger at Sonya. 'I've no idea who you are but I assume you're with him,' Sterling gestured vaguely at Lewis. 'So you sit there!' He barked at Sonya as he pointed to the sofa opposite the one he had indicated for Elina. Both women were slowly released and they stared at each other a moment, everyone else poised to restrain them once again. Surprisingly, they obeyed Sterling's instructions. Sonya bent down to pick up her sunglasses before the two women lowered themselves onto the seats, never taking their eyes from each other. The doctor addressed the person he knew the best from the group.

'Right, now do you want to tell me what that was all about?' he asked Lewis.

The ex-corporate looked between the two women that had been ready to kill each other seconds ago. 'Um... I have no idea.'

'Er, I think I know what's happened,' said Linford.

Everyone in the room turned to look at him.

'Really?' asked Sterling. 'Please. Fill in the blanks.'

The young programmer rubbed his chin as he mentally slotted all the pieces together in his mind. 'From what I understand, Elina here needed a piece of software I'd written to bust into a corporate data-fortress to prove they were doing some messed up shit.' He then indicated Sonya. 'This lady over here was hired by Elina to get me as she thought that the program had been destroyed. Turns out that no one knew I had a copy and when we swung by my place to get it she and the pink-haired girl over there went up and copied the chip before handing it over. This lot that were hired to get me were then hired by this guy Lewis here. I guess they used their copy of my program on the McKenzie data-fortress but botched it, making Excalibur useless on the system. So, when Mina tried a hack with my copy they were waiting for her and tore her brain out.'

'So you think it's our fault that your Runner got killed?' Lewis asked Elina.

'I think that much is obvious,' commented Leon as he sat down next to his sister, ready to hold her back should she spark again.

'This is all just a misunderstanding,' assured Lewis.

'A misunderstanding?' Elina could feel her blood begin to boil again and she sat forward on the edge of the sofa.

Jacob held out his hand towards the blonde woman. 'Steady Elina. Let's hear him out,' he said as he sat down next to his companion. Jacob was just as upset over the loss of Mina, but he thought it wise to at least hear the other group's version of events. With a look that made it obvious that she was disgusted with the idea, Elina sat back in her seat again. Linford walked over to where Angel was sitting on the last sofa and lowered himself down next to her giving the girl a slight smile. The pink-haired Runner still had her knees pulled up and had watched the events in silence.

Sterling and Lewis remained standing, the whiskey-smelling doctor turned to his friend. 'I think you'd better talk before that blonde woman tries to kill you.'

Lewis nodded and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose as he addressed Elina. 'Right. First of all I had no idea that you were part of a group that was trying to break the McKenzie fortress. Secondly, I had no idea that the software Angel used was a copy or that using it would result in the death of one of your group. What happened to your Runner sounds terrible, believe me I've seen it before, but it wasn't anything that I had intentionally planned. Shit, after that day outside of McKenzie I thought I'd never see you again.'

A palpable silence descended as Elina took this in realising that it was, in fact, just a case of extreme bad luck that things had worked out the way they had. It was a little too much for her to take and she leaned forward and put her head in her hands as she tried to get a grip on all that had transpired.

Sensing that the hostilities had at least temporarily ceased, Angel slowly uncurled from her defensive position next to Linford, lowering her feet to the faded carpet. 'Um... the p--program wouldn't have w--worked anyway.'

Linford looked as if he had been stung. 'What? Bullshit! Excalibur was fully functional!'

The Runner flinched at his offended outburst and went silent again. Sonya slid her shades back over her eyes and tentatively touched her lip as she sat forward.

'That's not what she meant, asshole. Your program worked alright, but the files that everyone seems to be after are on an isolated system from the Sphere so you couldn't use it to hack through. Right?' She looked at Angel seeking confirmation. The Runner nodded in silence. 'Right,' continued Sonya. 'So if anyone still wants these files you're gonna have to find a way into the actual building and access the terminal they're on.'

Elina and Jacob couldn't believe what they were hearing. Effectively all their efforts and sacrifices to make Sinclair accountable had all been for nothing. Even if Mina had had a free, unimpeded run through the McKenzie data-fortress she wouldn't have been able to get what they were after anyway. They were in no position to break into a mega-corporation and pull what they needed from someone's terminal.

Sterling rubbed his stubble-covered chin and spoke up. 'That why you've come here Lewis?'

The ex-corporate nodded. 'I need to know what you can arrange to get us into that building.'

'Fuck me boy, you don't ask for much, do ya?' Sterling didn't know if his resources would stretch to breaking into a company building. He decided to divert the matter slightly. 'Seems to me that you're missing something obvious though.'

The others in the room looked at the doctor with expectation.

'Well,' he continued. 'You want to get the data from McKenzie. So does Elina. Why don't you work together?'

Lewis glanced at Sonya, expecting an outburst of some kind, and was slightly surprised when she remained silent. He looked over at Elina and could see on her face that she found the idea repellent, obviously still holding Sonya responsible for what had happened to her friend.

'You still want to bring Sinclair down? After all that's happened?' he asked her.

The blonde woman locked eyes with Lewis. 'Yes,' she said in a firm voice.

Desperately wracking his brains on who he could speak to about getting people into a secure corporate building without a suicidal gunfight, Sterling scratched his chin again.

'Right, now you kids have all decided to play nice I'm gonna go and have a stiff drink while I try and think about who I can call to get you into that building without you all getting killed. I hope you've got the money to cover this Lewis.'

'We've got enough,' replied Sonya in a flat tone.

'Aye, right. Well you can all crash here until I get shit sorted. There're some beds through there.' He pointed at one of the closed doors in the room. 'If you need anything just ask Wendy on the desk. But don't take the piss, she's not your bloody servant!'

That said, the doctor turned and walked out of the room muttering to himself. Elina stared at Sonya a moment longer then let out a long breath and sagged as weariness caught up with her. She stood up without a word and walked to the door that the drunk doctor had indicated, opened it, entered the make-shift bedroom and closed the door again before she finally collapsed onto the nearest bunk in an exhausted heap.

Leon broke the silence in the main room after everyone had watched Elina's departure, wary of her suddenly going on the attack again.

'I think you should fill us in on exactly who you people are,' he said to Jacob.

The older man sat forward on the edge of the battered sofa as Lewis took a seat next to him. He rubbed his eyes as if suddenly tired.

'Can't this wait until later?' he asked wearily.

'No,' replied Sonya, somewhat unsympathetically. 'Not if we're all gonna be working together.

Jacob leaned back into the battered sofa with a look of resignation. 'I suppose that's fair.' He took a moment to gather his thoughts before he continued. 'You know that little girl that died in Elina's arms after the explosion?' he asked Lewis.

The ex-corporate nodded. 'Of course.'

'She was Elina's daughter.'

Both Lewis and Linford stared at the man in shock. Angel gasped slightly. Even though she hadn't been there she could only imagine what it must have been like for Elina to have her own child die in her arms.

Linford spoke first. 'Shit....'

Jacob looked at the young man. 'To put it mildly... Can you imagine how she has been feeling all this time? I knew her before her daughter went missing, she was quite different from the person you have all met. When I saw her after Natasha's death it was like a part of Elina had died with her... she was never quite the same again. Others among us have had loved ones go missing, of course, it happens from time-to-time in Marooned Town, but they generally turn up again in a few days, in some kind of condition, even if it's dead. It was when people went missing and were never seen again that things got bad. My only son went out to see some friends and I never saw him again. Mina... well, Mina's brother that had raised her since her parents had died in a construction accident, went to work one day and never came back. But I'm sure she's with him now...'

Sonya and Leon looked slightly confused at this, as they had no idea who Mina was, but didn't question it.

'Anyway,' continued Jacob as he pulled himself back from thoughts of the recently lost Japanese girl. 'If Elina hadn't stumbled across her lost daughter when she did we would have no idea what had happened to our people. Unfortunately her discovery wasn't enough for our leaders to take action. There was nothing left of Natasha, after all. Most among us that had had loved ones or friends go missing still had others that they cared about and feared losing them if they acted.'

'But you and Elina...' interjected Lewis.

'And Mina,' added Jacob. 'We have no one else so we have nothing to lose. I want to see McKenzie pay for what they have done. I have no actual proof that they took my son but, considering what Elina found, I have a good idea of what's happened to him. I know I will never see him again. Someone has to pay.' His voice was grim.

There was a pause after he finished, then Jacob slowly stood up, as if a great weight was on his back. 'Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to try and get a little sleep.' Without waiting for a reply he went to find a bed.

A silence filled the room as Jacob closed the bedroom door.

'That's pretty fucked up...' mused Linford to himself.

'Huh!' snorted Sonya with a shrug. 'Sounds like a fucking fairy-tale compared to some of the shit I've seen living on the streets of The City.'

Her brother nodded in silent agreement.

Angel was a little taken aback by Sonya's bluntness. 'H--how can y--you say that?'

'Hey, I'm not saying that what's happened up here isn't shitty, but it's not anything that doesn't take place on a daily basis back home. Try living the life we have and see how shocked you are by this stuff.'

Angel blinked at Sonya's rebuttal and fell silent.

A somewhat uncomfortable silence descended as everyone shifted in their seats. Finally, Linford broke the mood.

'Well,' he said as he got to his feet. 'I don't know about you guys but I'm gonna go and see if that Wendy girl can set me up with whatever that Sterling guy was drinking.'

****

Chapter 24

A short time later Duncan Sterling returned to the apartment above his clinic. He had gone through his contacts and made some calls and, provided that Lewis Carson and his people had the funds that they claimed, he had managed to come up with a possible means of entry into the McKenzie Corporation offices that didn't involve people getting filled with holes. At least, not immediately.

When the red-eyed doctor entered the room the scene before him was far different from the conflict he had left behind. Angel was sitting on the middle sofa and was tinkering and fiddling with her S-Box, concentrated to the point where she was oblivious to the room around her. Next to her was a relaxed-looking Sonya, immersed in the music of her Wet-Wearman, the songs drifting through her mind. It was impossible to tell if her eyes were open behind her shades and she looked asleep. Her brother had laid himself out on the sofa to the right and there was no doubt that the Ronin was asleep. Leon had long ago learned that it was best to get whatever rest he could when the opportunity presented itself as, in his line of work, he never knew when we would have to remain awake and alert for days on end. An occasional soft snore escaped his lips.

Jacob had returned from the bunk room after less than an hour, having found it impossible to get any sleep, and had produced a pack of cards that he had found. He, along with Lewis and Linford, who had returned unsuccessfully from his booze hunt, sat on the floor and played what looked to Duncan Sterling to be a variation on Poker. Elina sat alone on the other battered sofa and seemed lost in her own thoughts having returned to the waiting room after a brief, fitful sleep.

'Well,' said the doctor as he stood in the doorway. 'Didn't take you lot long to get comfy up here, eh?'

The group looked at him, Elina regarding him from beneath a thoughtful frown. Sonya looked over the top of her shades and deactivated her Wet-Wareman and gave Angel a nudge with her elbow. The pink-haired girl was startled by the break in her concentration but recovered quickly when she saw that Sterling had returned. Lewis and the others put down their cards and stood up as Leon awoke and sat himself up.

'Right,' continued Sterling as he closed the door and stepped in. 'I think I may have a way to get you into the McKenzie building, but it all depends on how good your money is.'

Sonya slid off the sofa she had been sitting on and stood up, reached inside her pocket and walked over to the doctor. As she approached, she could smell the pungent odour of whiskey fumes mixed with stale sweat coming from the dishevelled-looking man and she made a mental note to never come to his clinic, even if her life depended on it. The woman pulled out the cash-card that Lewis had given them in Hal's and handed it over to Sterling.

'I think that'll be enough for you to get whatever you need for the job. Just don't use all of it coz it's our pay as well.' Sonya returned to her seat as the doctor checked the amount.

'Aye,' he said as he appraised the amount, 'That'll get what I need and have enough left to keep you happy.'

'You have no idea what it takes to keep me happy,' Sonya muttered to herself as she gave Angel a sidelong glance. The Runner didn't see the look and Sterling continued as if he hadn't heard the remark.

'Okay, so here's what I've got for you. You heard of a company called Enviro-Systems?'

'Yeah,' replied Lewis. 'They're maintenance contractors. They do a lot of work for McKenzie Corporation.'

'Exactly!' confirmed Sterling with a grin. 'Well one of their employees is a regular customer of mine--I provide certain pharmaceutical services for him. Anyway, he's sick of being stuck in what he sees as a dead-end job on this station and, for enough money to get a ride back home, which you have here,' the doctor waved the cash-card Sonya had handed over, 'He's agreed to get you a foot-in-the-door.'

'How exactly?' asked Leon without a trace of drowsiness in his voice.

'Well,' continued Sterling, feeling somewhat like he was conducting a class to a group of students, 'It turns out that there's a check-up scheduled for the McKenzie air-con system. My guy's gonna set you all up with the weekly work pass to the place along with legitimate worksheets. He'll get you uniforms and tools so you look the part. That'll get you in the door without getting shot. What you do from there isn't my problem. That do ye?'

Both Leon and his sister nodded in affirmation, both genuinely slightly impressed at the drunk's resources. Lewis Carson took the nods and looks on the faces of his old friends to mean that what Sterling was suggesting was workable.

'Yeah,' the ex-corporate said. 'That sounds good. Go and make you're arrangements. How soon can your contact get us what we need?'

Sterling slipped the cash-card into a pocket. 'Either later tonight or sometime tomorrow. You should all be ready to go by then.'

'We will be,' Elina said in a determined tone.

The reeking doctor gave a nod and turned and walked out of the room, leaving the group to plan what they were going to do once they were inside the McKenzie building. As everyone began to discuss the possibilities Angel spoke up.

'Um...' she murmured tentatively. No one seemed to hear her so she slid forward to the edge of her seat and raised her voice slightly. 'G--guys?' Sonya turned and looked at the girl next to her.

'Angel?'

'Y--yeah. Um... listen. There m--might be a p--problem.' The Runner sounded worried about something. The rest of the group stopped their talking and all attention turned to her.

'What kind of problem?' asked Jacob.

'Um... well...' Angel was uncomfortable that everyone was staring at her but knew she had to tell them what she had been thinking. She crossed her arms self-consciously as he continued. 'E--even if we g--get in I d--don't think I can h--hold back the int--ternal Sphere s--security and grab the d--data. Um... it's a t--two Runner h--hack.'

'What?' Elina wasn't pleased with this sudden revelation. 'Why the hell didn't you mention this before?'

Sonya didn't like the way the blonde was talking to Angel, but she agreed with her point. The young Runner shifted uneasily in her seat.

'I d--didn't th--think that...' her voice trailed off as her eyes looked down to her pink Converse.

Sonya continued for her. 'You didn't think that we'd actually wind up going through with this?'

Angel nodded.

Leon could see that matters were potentially about to get tense again as he saw anger flash across Elina's face. He decided to try and diffuse the situation before it descended into another fight. He knew that, even if Sonya actually agreed with the blonde woman, she'd leap to Angel's defence if Elina started in on her. He wasn't in the mood for another pointless brawl.

'Look,' he said as he got to his feet. 'It's no big deal. We'll just get Sterling to arrange for another Runner to give us a hand.'

'That's not going to be so easy,' said Lewis as he adjusted his glasses. Everyone's attention turned to former McKenzie employee so Leon was happy that the possible "Elina Vs Sonya Round 2" had been averted.

'Pretty much after the first Runner I hired for this job got killed, word got around that the McKenzie Job was a "do not touch".' Lewis explained to the group.

'Great,' muttered Elina in disgust.

There was a moment of silence as everyone thought about this then Linford sat down on the couch next to Elina, resting on the edge of the seat. 'What would this second Runner have to do?' he asked Angel.

'Um... j--just access the s--secure terminal while I k--keep internal systems occup--pied and g--grab the data,' replied the Runner.

'No battling Demons or anything like that?'

'N--no. That's m--my job.'

Linford shrugged. 'Well then. I can do that.'

Angel frowned and there was a communal "Huh?" from the rest of the group.

'Sure,' Linford said confidently. 'I was... am a Sphere programmer, remember? I've got the interface and everything.' The young man tapped his head with a finger. 'Long as I don't have to go toe-to-toe with shit that wants to rip my brain out I can navigate a Sphere domain, no problem.'

'I don't know...' Lewis sounded dubious.

'I don't see how we have a choice,' countered Leon. 'Angel says it's a two person job. There's your second person.' He nodded at Linford.

'Hey,' said Linford, raising his hands slightly. 'I can handle it.'

'I guess we'll find out, won't we?' Lewis wasn't fully convinced that it was a viable option, but at the current moment in time he didn't see how there was any other alternative.

****

Chapter 25

Duncan Sterling's contact proved equal to his word once sufficient funds had been transferred from the money that Sonya had handed over. The man had taken enough to get himself back to Earth and be comfortable for a while but there was still enough remaining from Lewis Carson's life savings to still make the job financially worthwhile to Sonya and the others. The following morning the Enviro-Systems uniforms, passes, work orders, and tools all arrived. The group checked the equipment and Leon was pleased to see that Sterling had been able to provide a modest selection of four flechette pistols. The Ronin didn't want an arsenal at his disposal, but experience had long since taught him that he never went into a potentially dangerous situation unarmed. The weapons were dismantled easily and the separate components could be hidden amongst the tools and parts that had come from Sterling's contact.

It was decided that they would go to McKenzie later that evening in an effort to get in while there wasn't as many staff in the building. During the period before they set off, the team used the time to go over the finer points of their plan while Angel ran the inexperienced Linford through simulations in her Sphere-Box, hoping to give him a feel for what he was required to do. The plan was essentially quite simple. The team would use the passes and cover as maintenance personnel to gain access to the McKenzie offices. The worksheets that Sterling's contact had provided showed that an air-conditioning check-up was scheduled. Once inside they would head to the lower levels where the environmental systems and controls were located, there Angel would access a local terminal and take control of the internal security systems. The idea was that she would be able to slip in the "backdoor" by going through an internal terminal and avoid all the Demon programs that would be waiting outside the McKenzie data-fortress. After the Runner had control of the security systems she would arrange for the team to access Mark Sinclair's personal elevator, allowing them to get into the CEO's office where Linford would jack into Sinclair's private terminal and get the information they needed from the isolated system.

They planned to get in and out in less than an hour without a shot being fired. They also knew that such things were rarely that simple.

Never-the-less, it was with a sense of optimism and determination that the group set off in the early evening, dressed in coveralls, caps, tool belts, and three bags of equipment mixed in with dismantled weapons. Both Elina and Lewis felt a sort of calm as the group left Sterling's clinic. Both felt that, come-what-may, the next few hours would see the culmination of all they had went through, be it success or failure. Success would mean getting proof of Sinclair's illegal nanotechnology research. Failure would most likely mean capture and death. As the thought of this potential fate entered Lewis' mind he threw a glance at Sonya and Leon. He knew that with them around such an end would not come easily.

After leaving the clinic and making their way out of the Marooned Town sector of the station, the group boarded the central Metro and began the long journey through the spine of Asimov. There was a contemplative silence among them as they rode the carriage, each person focused on their own thoughts.

To Leon and Sonya this was just another job and they concentrated on the task at hand. Lewis, Elina, and Jacob shared the sensation that the Metro was taking them to the end of journey that had begun over seven months ago with the discovery of little Natasha. Linford was trying not to show that he was about ready to shit his pants. Sure he was excited, but he was also terrified of what was expected of him. While he had ran through Angel's invented scenarios with relative ease, and the Runner had even commented that she thought he was a natural, he was acutely aware of the weight of the task he had been appointed and couldn't stop dwelling on the possible consequences of what might happen to him if he was caught pilfering data from the system. The image of Mina screaming and convulsing as her brain was burned out wouldn't leave his mind and he didn't exactly enjoy the prospect of meeting such an end, despite Angel's assurances that she would be the one doing all the risky stuff.

Angel herself felt oddly calm. She knew that what they were all embarking on was extremely dangerous, but she just focused on what she would have to do in the Sphere. Single-handedly tackling a corporation's systems was no easy task, even though she would most likely sidestep the majority of the protection protocols by going in via an internal link. There would most likely still be McKenzie Runners monitoring the systems and she knew there would be a fight ahead. Not to mention the possibility of the system A.I. showing up if things inside the domain got too rowdy. Angel was confident in her abilities to handle defensive programs and even other corporate wage-slave Runners, but she knew that going toe-to-toe with an A.I. in its home system could only ever have one possible outcome. But she didn't dwell on that too much, just accepted that it was a possibility.

After an hour of travelling, the Metro came to a halt at the main corporate plaza. The group disembarked and stopped for a moment as the members of the team that were new to Asimov took a moment to observe the vista that lay before them, the sight actually making Angel and Linford gawp slightly as they made impressed noises. The plaza looked like it could have been lifted straight from the heart of The City, as if a great hand had scooped up a section of the metropolis and stuffed it into a tin can in space. The claustrophobic, omnipresent metallic ceiling of the lower sectors was gone; as the space for the corporate sector was massive in scale, there was room enough for the skyscrapers of any city on Earth along with a simulated virtual sky that gave the utterly convincing illusion of twilight. Representations of familiar constellations began to shine and glitter in the darkening sky as the simulated terminator began to slowly pass overhead. There was even a gentle breeze that blew occasionally, the air devoid of the polluted smells from back on Earth. The wide walkways and roads that stretched out before the group standing at the Metro station were a total contrast to the cramped, oppressive conditions that Sonya and the others had experienced in the lower sectors. Titanic structures stood like glittering metal and glass columns that seemed to hold up the sky and beautifully sculpted parks and recreation areas provided a natural green contrast to all the technology in view. It was obvious to those that had come from The City that even out in space it was money that got you everything, and those that were without it were pushed out of sight, literally beneath the feet of the affluent and successful, like space-faring Morlocks to the wealthy, corporate Eloi.

Leon gave a slight snort at what he saw thinking that, to him, this was all proof that humanity had a habit of repeating its worst traits no matter where it went.

Elina, Lewis, and Jacob had, of course, seen it all before.

'Come on,' said the ex-corporate to the others as he pulled the peak of his Enviro-Systems emblazoned cap lower over his eyes. He felt a little exposed this close to the heart of the place he used to call home, and could feel his stomach churn slightly as he led the group down the stone steps of the Metro concourse and onto the walkway that would lead them to the McKenzie tower.

After a short walk the group entered the grounds of the small plaza surrounding the McKenzie Corporation building and Lewis felt an odd sensation, like someone that has just returned home after being away for an extended period, not entirely dissimilar to the sensation that Sonya had experienced upon seeing the lights of The City from her seat on the TC-Rail as she returned from her self-imposed exile. Everything looked familiar yet at the same time it all seemed new. Small areas of sculpted grass flanked the main, paved walkway that led up to the wide, logo-emblazoned, glass doors that granted access to the gigantic tower. Dotted amongst the green areas were benches and seats where employees would often sit and have their lunch. A large stone statue of a DNA double-helix was rooted midway down the walkway to the entrance and cast a long shadow in the illumination given off by the McKenzie tower.

The vast majority of the windows were dark, with only a few lit up by those employees that were still working. Lewis was relieved to see this as it meant that most of the staff had gone to their respective homes and would mean a considerably less chance of random encounters within the building. The former employee placed himself at the back of the group as he didn't want to run the risk of being accidentally recognised by anyone they might meet inside. Some of the security staff knew him by sight and he had no idea who was currently on shift. Again, he subconsciously tugged at the peak of his cap in an effort to hide his face. Sonya spotted the gesture and wondered if his nervousness would wind up giving the game away. As planned, Leon led the team down the walkway and up to the glass doors which slid open and allowed access to the expansive foyer beyond.

While some of the group had reservations regarding their current undertaking Leon and Sonya both knew that the trick was to appear confident, even if you weren't. So it was that the brother and sister strode into the McKenzie building with the appearance that they had been there many times before. Lewis and the others picked up on the pair's self-assured demeanour and followed them in without hesitation. A short distance in from the sliding glass doors was the first obstacle--the security desk. The flat-topped, semi-circular counter sat like an island in the polished floor of the foyer and the evening shift receptionist and two uniformed security guards quietly observed the disguised team as they approached. The receptionist was an immaculately groomed woman with a short, professional hairstyle and crisp suit. She maintained a neutral expression as the group in overalls and caps approached, the two guards watched with the mild suspicion that was a prerequisite of their profession.

Leon strode up to the desk, noting the doors and banks of elevators that lay beyond. He smiled as he came to a stop before the receptionist and guards, the rest of the group falling in place behind him.

'Hi,' he said in his warmest, friendliest tone as he pulled out the work order.

The receptionist smiled back. 'Good evening and welcome to McKenzie Corporation. How may I help you?'

The two guards shifted their stance and ran their appraising eyes over the rest of the group. The only thing that caught their eye was Angel's pink hair poking out from under her cap. Lewis was standing at the back and was giving a silent thanks to whoever was listening that no one behind the desk knew him on sight.

The disguised Ronin placed the work order on the desk before the smiling woman. 'Yeah, we're here to check your air-con. It's due for a tune up.' He wasn't sure if that was exactly the right term but it sounded appropriate.

The receptionist maintained her professionally courteous grin and blinked her eyes a couple of times as she accessed the relevant files through her link to the corporate system. 'Indeed,' she said in a neutral voice. 'There is an air-filtration and conditioning check-up due.'

Leon and the others felt a slight sense of relief at the fact that Sterling's contact had provided them with accurate and reliable information.

'Your passes please,' requested the receptionist as she slid the worksheet back to Leon. The Ronin took the document and put it away as he and the others produced the tags they had been given and ran them through the scanner on the counter-top. As the device made a confirming "beep" sound as each pass was slid over it, one of the guards started to walk around from behind the desk.

'In light of our slightly raised security status, we'll just have to quickly check your bags,' informed the receptionist. 'It will only take a moment.'

Elina, Linford, and Jacob lowered the bags they were carrying to the floor and stepped back slightly as the guard came around and opened the zips. Mentally Leon prepared himself to suddenly and efficiently dispatch the guard should he prove to have the ability to recognise and distinguish dismantled weapon components from regular maintenance tools and equipment. Fortunately for the security guard he was oblivious to what he was looking at and only saw what looked like technical gear. After a cursory glance and rummage around the contents he seemed satisfied that there were no obvious explosives or weapons and nodded.

'It all looks fine to me,' he said as he returned to his position behind the desk.

'Thank you for your patience. You may proceed through.' The receptionist smiled again and the group picked up their bags. Leon looked at the doors and elevators that lay beyond and wasn't exactly sure where he should head. Fortunately, Lewis stepped forwards and made his way towards one of the doors at the other end of the foyer. The group fell into step behind him.

The door that Lewis led them too opened onto a metal stairwell that ran both up and down the length of the McKenzie building like a giant spine in the body of the structure. Once the group had all stepped onto the landing and the door was closed, the ex-corporate turned to the others.

'Alright. This is the central access stairwell. It leads to the majority of the building's floors, with the exception of a few restricted levels. It won't take us to Sinclair's office on the top floor and we can't access the labs but we can go down a few floors to the environmental section and Angel can use a terminal there to do her stuff. Come on.' The group descended the metallic stairwell down to the bowels of the building.

As soon as the access door to the environmental systems level was opened the first thing that hit the team was the thrumming sound of the air-filtration and temperature moderating units. It wasn't loud enough to necessitate shouted conversation, but it did smother all background noise. The room was large, with concrete support columns holding up a panel-lit ceiling. Generators, metal ducts and filtration machinery took up most of the interior, leaving only narrow spaces through which to negotiate the room. Lewis gestured towards Angel and indicated that she should follow him into the room. While waiting in the doorway with the others, Leon opened the bags and took out the necessary components to reassemble the dismantled flechette weapons and in moments he had put the four pistols together, keeping two for himself and handing one to both Elina and his sister. The women checked the guns without comment then slid them into the thigh pockets of their overalls.

As Leon and the others were getting equipped, Lewis took Angel to a nearby access terminal. It was a standard unit and the Runner pulled her S-Box from a utility pocket on her thigh and removed her cap. She ruffled her hair with her fingers, as if the cap had been an irritation, then sat down in a cross-legged position in front of the terminal. Lewis squatted down next to her, the image of Kenzo's dead and smoking corpse running through his mind. Angel gave a half smile as she saw the man's concerned look.

'D--don't worry,' she said as she patted his arm in a reassuring manner. 'I'll be f--fine.'

The couple looked at each other for a moment and Lewis could see the iron determination behind the girl's eyes. While she came across as nervous and unsure, he was suddenly confident of the pink-haired girl's skills. Behind her awkward demeanour Lewis could see that the young woman was supremely confident in her own abilities, and not with filled with the false bravado that Kenzo had exhibited. It was obvious to him that she knew what she was doing. He nodded in agreement of her reassurance. Before he stood up Angel spoke again:

'As s--soon as I'm d--done I'll dim the lights a c--couple of t--times. That means you c--can go do your bit. Okay?'

Again, Lewis nodded in understanding and stood up. Angel pulled out the network cable from her S-Box and reached up to the terminal access port. The jack slid into place and she attached the main interface cable to the socket in her head and closed her eyes as she activated her Box.

***

Standing in her familiar personal domain, Angel summoned the swirling mist as she dressed her avatar in the flat-black guise of a classical Japanese ninja. Her arsenal of Sphere programs appeared as a multitude of weapons on her person: shuriken, smoke bombs, caltrops, blackened rope, and a sheathed ninja-to. She felt the outfit was appropriate for what she was about to do. There was a high probability that, even though she would conveniently sidestep the McKenzie Demon programs by going in through an internal terminal, she would most likely encounter a corporate Runner manning the security systems. Stealth, surprise, and speed would be necessary as she would have to incapacitate whoever she came across before they could alert external forces that there was an intruder.

Standing before the swirling blue globe to the Sphere, Angel knew that once she stepped in she would be on McKenzie turf. The Runner went into a low stance and concentrated on the security systems. Ready for anything, she dashed into the portal.

A nanosecond flash and Angel appeared in the McKenzie security hub. The space was small and circular with a single person standing in the middle surrounded by a multitude of hovering display screens. The chamber was constructed from plain grey square tiles and was completely bereft of any decoration or adornment, giving it the appearance of a cell. The sentinel that was monitoring the glowing screens was dressed in a dark-blue all-in-one jumpsuit and looked like a thin man with short, black hair. Before the corporate Runner could even register that Angel had breached the chamber, the ninja activated a Freeze program and tossed a smoke bomb at the man's feet. There was a sudden, blinding flash of light and an explosion of thick smoke engulfed the McKenzie Runner's perceptions, giving Angel the few seconds of complete surprise that she needed to act. Dashing into the billowing smoke, the ninja activated her Bind program and pulled the length of coiled, black rope from her hip. Moving with celerity and dexterity she bound and gagged the momentarily dazed and frozen corporate Runner in a series of complicated knots, taking the man to the grey floor and lashing together his hands and feet, rendering him immobile. By the time the smoke from the Freeze program had dissipated, the McKenzie Runner was on the ground and unable to move. The rope anchored the sentinel's avatar to the security room and rendered him unable to escape until Angel freed him.

The ninja stepped into the focal point amidst the hovering screens and looked down at the bound man. The McKenzie Runner couldn't be sure, but he was positive that his black-clad assailant was grinning at him. Angel was thankful that the gag part of her Bind program acted as a speech inhibitor, as the bound avatar's expression made it clear what he was thinking. She leaned down and whispered to him.

'Be thankful that I need you to stay alive so that anyone watching your real body doesn't become alerted to my presence by your brains suddenly running out of your ears. Just stay still and you'll live to talk about it.' Of course, she had no intention of killing the McKenzie Runner, he was just doing his job after all, but she hoped that her threat sounded real enough. The disabled avatar seemed to get the message as he sighed and closed his eyes in frustrated defeat.

Angel stood up and quickly scanned the floating monitors. There was everything she needed and all the systems were open as the McKenzie Runner hadn't even had time to lock himself out before being incapacitated. Swift, gloved fingers tapped over several screens disabling security locks and surveillance cameras. She also isolated external communications so that, in the event of any kind of alarm being tripped, no one outside the building would be alerted. With the path to Sinclair's office cleared, Angel momentarily dimmed the lights to the environmental systems floor and began to monitor the McKenzie systems.

***

In the loud room that housed the air-conditioning generators the panel lights on the ceiling dipped momentarily before returning to full illumination. Leon and the others took this as their signal to proceed.

'Good girl,' murmured Sonya to herself as the lights dipped.

In the minute that it had taken Angel to infiltrate the security system, Leon had handed out the miniature communication devices amongst the group and had tuned his own internal system to the required frequency while the others had slipped the tiny pieces of technology into their ears. The Ronin then handed one of his flechette pistols to Jacob which the older, dark-skinned man took with an uncomfortable expression.

'Okay Jaco,.' said Leon. 'Stay here and keep an eye on Angel. If any of the McKenzie rent-a-cops come to check on our progress or anything I don't think they'd react too well to one of us being plugged into a terminal. You know what that means.'

Jacob glanced at the pink-haired girl then at the weapon in his hand. 'I'll do what I have to.' There was a firm tone to his voice and Leon knew that, even though it was apparent that the man wasn't happy with the idea of potentially killing someone, he wouldn't let anything happen to the Runner.

The Ronin turned to the others. 'Alright, let's get this done.' He nodded to Lewis and the bespectacled man turned to lead the way back out onto the stairwell. Both he and Linford felt somewhat naked as the only ones that were unarmed but, if they were honest, they both knew that they would probably do more harm than good if a gun was given to either of them.

Sonya was the last to leave the noisy chamber and she hesitated momentarily before she closed the door on Jacob and Angel, her gaze lingering on the girl wired to the terminal. Unseen by the others a brief expression of worry flashed across her face before she turned and followed the rest back up the metal stairs.

****

Chapter 26

The remainder of the plan was relatively simple in theory. The idea was for Sonya, Leon, and the others to climb a few flights of stairs to the first unoccupied level of offices. There they would make their way through the ordered rows of cubicles that the McKenzie drones worked in until they came to Sinclair's private elevator. Since Angel had opened the secure locks it would be a simple matter to get in the elevator, enter Sinclair's office then retrieve the data they required and get out again.

So far everything had gone accordingly and, as the group opened the maintenance door four levels up and stepped out into the grey carpeted floor of the darkened level of work cubicles without any alarms going off, it was starting to seem that things would actually go without a hitch.

Lewis found a nearby bank of light switches and flicked a couple on providing enough illumination for the members of the group without optic enhancements to see where they were going. Leading the others down a small aisle to a central junction among the desks, he turned left and indicated a bank of elevators that sat in the middle of a wall that formed another yet another t-junction.

'The middle elevator will take us up to Sinclair's office,' he said.

'Okay, let's get this over with.' Elina strode towards the awaiting doors.

The others followed her past darkened cubicles and arrived at the elevators.

'Let's hope Angel got the lock disabled,' murmured Linford as Leon pushed the call button. The button turned green and was followed by the sound of an approaching elevator car. While they waited, Sonya surveyed the t-junction they were standing at. To the right was a door with signs indicating that toilets lay beyond. To the left lay a short corridor that disappeared around a left hand turn, presumably to more workspaces.

Linford frowned as he looked at a second elevator. He was sure he could hear a carriage moving in the shaft.

'Um,' he said to get the others' attention. 'I think there's another elevator coming.'

The others looked at the second set of doors. Leon, Elina, and Sonya all pulled out their flechette pistols.

'Probably just somebody going home after putting in overtime,' said Lewis.

It was possible, but the supposition didn't put them at ease.

With a "ping" the doors slid open and the team were face-to-face with an armed group of four McKenzie security officers. The three men and one woman all held flechette pistols, wore armoured vests and were obviously doing rounds of some kind. There was a moment of unanimous surprise as both parties looked at each other. Then it registered with the guards that the maintenance crew they were looking at had guns. They brought their own weapons up and, realising that they had pretty much been caught with their pants down Leon barked a simple instruction:

'Run!'

The others reacted instantly. Lewis, Linford, and Leon turned and ran to the left, sprinting towards the bend in the corridor. Sonya and Elina broke off and ran to the right, bolting for the swing-doors that were marked as the toilets. As Leon and the two men ran for the turning, the Ronin span and fired a wild burst from his pistol in the direction of the armed security team. The flechettes sprayed wildly and impacted in and around the open elevator door just as the four guards were exiting to begin their pursuit. None of the micro-needles hit anyone but they caused the guards to step back in the lift car, giving Leon and the others a few precious seconds to make good their escape. The Ronin had no doubt in his mind that he could have taken the four guards as the doors had opened, but not before they had managed to fire at least a couple of shots in return, possibly killing one or more of the team. By splitting up they could divide the guards and hopefully get themselves in a better position to handle the encounter.

By the time the four guards had stepped out from the cover of the elevator, Leon, Lewis, and Linford had disappeared around the bend in the corridor and Elina and Sonya had made it into the restrooms. One of the guards activated his com system and sent a request for back up to the security centre. The call was promptly intercepted by Angel and she informed the security team that back up would be along shortly. Confident that help was on the way, the guards split up into pairs and began pursuit, two men heading down towards the bend in the corridor while the remaining man and the female guard made their way towards the toilets.

The trio of Leon, Lewis, and Linford dashed around the left-hand turn of the darkened corridor, the only illumination provided by the glowing front of a canned drinks vending machine a short distance away. The Ronin saw his opportunity and sprinted past his two unarmed companions. He knew he only had a few seconds at best before the armed pursuers rounded the corner after them and opened fire. In the narrow confines of the corridor the clouds of flechette rounds wouldn't need to be terribly accurate to hit at least one of them. He reached the vending machine and, with a single yank fuelled by enhanced strength, he pulled the drink dispenser away from the wall and down onto the floor. As the machine crashed down, its glowing plastic display-front cracked and the bulb inside shattered, plunging the corridor into darkness. Both Lewis and Linford saw Leon's intent and both leaped over the fallen vending machine just as the darkness descended. There were confused and desperate scrambling noises as they went to the floor and pressed themselves up against the cover of the dispenser. Leon crouched down between them a split second later. The Ronin activated his Low-Light function to give him a clear view. Rapidly approaching footsteps echoed in the confines of the corridor and Leon prepared himself as the guards approached

'Okay,' gasped Linford between rapid breaths. 'Now what?'

'Now you stay down and let me do my job,' replied Leon as he raised his pistol and aimed it at the turning ahead.

A second later the two male guards ran around the corner and Leon fired. The pistol spat a small cloud of lethal micro-needles that shot down the short expanse of dim corridor. Leon had aimed high and the rounds caught one of the guards square in the face, shredding the skin and bone and reducing his head to a pulped, bloody mess. He dropped instantly and his partner returned fire with a scream of surprise and anger.

Leon dropped the second he saw his target fall, hiding behind the cover of the toppled vending machine. He had no sooner ducked when the return fire came, the guard's flechette rounds striking the machine with a sound like a hail storm bouncing off a tin roof. Lewis and Linford flinched at the furious impacts and covered their heads and faces as chunks of plastic began to rain down on them. A reflexive yell of fear escaped Linford's lips as the fire from the guard continued for several sustained seconds. Lewis Carson clenched silently as if weathering the storm of flechettes while Leon remained calm and silent, patiently awaited his opportunity.

Abruptly the torrent of flechettes ended as the guard's clip ran dry. Instantly Leon sprang up and fired before the man at the end of the corridor could seek safety around the corner and reload. The burst of needles from the pistol struck the man just as he was starting to move back towards the cover of the bend. His left arm, neck, and part of his face were torn up by the fire and he screamed as he collapsed against the wall and slumped, leaving a bloody trail as he sank to the ground. He was dead a few seconds later.

Satisfied that the threat had been neutralised Leon lowered his pistol.

'Come on,' he said to the men at his feet. 'Let's go and see how the others are doing.'

Somewhat dazed from the fire-fight, Lewis and Linford got up and negotiated their way over the perforated machine at their feet, following the Ronin towards the dim glow of the lit corridor around the corner. Linford couldn't help but grimace reflexively at the carnage that Leon had left.

At the same time that Leon and the others had fled around the turn in the corridor towards the ill-fated drink dispenser, Sonya and Elina burst through the swing door that led to the restrooms. Sonya's Low-Light enhancement kicked in automatically as she entered the darkness and she paused for a split second as Elina made a surprised sound at the sudden blackness. Sonya grabbed the blonde's wrist and pulled her past the first door on the left that was marked with the "Male" symbol and towards the door at the end of the short corridor that was marked with the "Female" symbol. She didn't stop to think why she ignored the male toilet. The door pushed open to reveal a second door that led to the restroom proper. Pushing through the second door Sonya found herself in a fairly large, tiled room with four toilet cubicles, three sinks with a wall mirror, two paper-towel dispensers, and an electric hand dryer. After a second of getting her bearings she pushed Elina into a toilet cubicle and took position next to the exit door. The blonde fumbled in the dark and desperately tried to see what she was doing.

'What...' she started to say.

'Quiet!' barked Sonya in a raised whisper. 'Just stay there!'

A few more seconds ticked past before the lights in the restroom flickered to life, causing Sonya to blink as she hurriedly deactivated her optic enhancements to avoid being blinded by the sudden glare. The lights coming on indicated that the guards had entered the short, narrow space that housed the switch and separated the two doors. Now able to see, Elina took stock of her situation and crouched low in the cubicle, taking aim at the door they had come through. She could see movement through the semi-opaque glass panel that was in the door and, while she realised that Sonya had backed them into a corner, she also saw that anyone coming through that door was effectively trapped in a bottle-neck. Sonya saw that Elina had the door covered and pushed herself flat against the wall, positioning herself so that when the door swung inwards she would be behind it.

Tentatively, the door began to swing open and Elina could see the female guard was pushing it open with her left hand while she held her raised pistol in her right. The door got to half-way open when the guard spotted the crouching blonde woman. She gave an exclamation and aimed her gun. At that precise moment Sonya came off the wall and kicked the door. Hard. It slammed back into the female guard causing her to cry out in surprise and misfire her weapon, the flechettes impacting with the wall of the enclosed space that separated the two restroom doors. An instant later Sonya leaned over and pulled the door open wide, exposing both the female guard and her male companion that was standing just behind her in the cramped space. Elina saw her opportunity and opened fire, her continual bursts of deadly micro-needles filling the doorway and tearing into the stunned guard. The woman jerked as the rounds hit, shaking as if she had been struck by an electric current, the flechettes ripping into her unprotected legs, arms, and head; the material that covered her armoured vest was shredded, exposing the protective plates beneath. Literally torn to pieces by the thick cloud of needles, the female guard fell to a bloody heap in the doorway just as Elina's weapon clicked empty. The security guard at the back had been shielded from the lethal barrage by his now dead companion and returned fire through the still open doorway. The blonde crouching in the cubicle yelled as she threw herself onto the tiled floor of the toilet as the rounds tore into the side of the stall, perforating the thin material like needles ripping through tissue-paper.

Sonya crouched behind the door she was still holding and stuck her gun into the doorway, firing blindly into the enclosed space. She heard a scream of surprise mingled with pain followed by a loud thud. After a second of silence she risked a tentative glace around the door and saw that her blind-fire had went up at an elevated angle and effectively decapitated the man, his body flat against the second door with wide halo of gore splattered on its surface. Sonya was hardened to such sights so she wasn't particularly bothered by the carnage, but she stared at her weapon in disbelief.

'Jesus Christ...' she murmured.

'Yeah,' said Elina as she stood up from the toilet floor. 'Flechettes are pretty useless against hardened surfaces, no risk of them penetrating the station's hull. It's different when they're used on skin.'

Sonya regarded the mangled heaps that were the remains of the security guards. 'No shit.' She made a mental note to speak to Fish about these weapons upon her return to The City. 'Come on; let's go see what's happened with the others.'

The two women picked their way through the remains then exited the restroom.

***

Just as the respective gun battles were resolving themselves on the fourth-floor administrative offices, the security guard on reception that had checked the contents of the bags decided that he would go and check on the maintenance team that had come in a little while ago. Even though their passes had checked out, they had a legitimate work order for a scheduled job, and the contents of their backs had been okay there had been something about the group that hadn't sat right with the guard. It was no more than a niggling feeling at the back of his mind that something was odd about them. Regardless, he informed his companion that he was going to see if they needed anything and that he'd be back in ten to fifteen minutes.

His companion had simply shrugged and thought that the guy was just looking to find an excuse to either break the boredom of manning the front desk or to go and check out the hot woman with the black hair.

The security guard made his way to the access door and descended the metal stairwell to the environmental systems level.

Jacob stood watch over Angel as she did her thing with the McKenzie terminal. He kept on expecting to witness what had happened to Mina and had observed the pink-haired girl for the last ten minutes with a sense of dread-filled anticipation. The pistol he had been given was held at his side. Through a combination of the loud, distracting background noise and the fact that he was afraid another gruesome death was about to unfold before his eyes, Jacob was completely oblivious when the door opened and the guard from upstairs entered the room.

The security guard was momentarily taken aback by what he saw. Expecting to see a maintenance crew hard at work on the various machines, the last thing he anticipated was to see one of them sitting in front of a terminal jacked into what looked like a Sphere Box while another of the crew stood by. With a gun. It only took a second to get over the surprise and he raised his own weapon. Following the recent heightened state of security due to an attempted data-fortress breach, all the security personnel had been instructed to be that bit more trigger-happy than usual if encountering anything suspicious in the building. The scene before the guard more than qualified.

'Hey!' he shouted.

Jacob jumped in startled surprise at what seemed to be the sudden appearance of the guard. He swore to himself for not being vigilant and for getting caught unaware. He looked at the man in the doorway that was pointing a gun at him then glanced at the helpless girl that was plugged into the terminal. The security guard read his intention.

'Don't do it! Put the gun d-' He was cut off as Jacob swung his pistol up. The dark-skinned man was, of course, too slow. The guard fired his weapon. A burst of flechettes flew across the chamber and ripped into Jacob's left chest and shoulder, shredding his overalls and spinning him. The guard watched as the intruder screamed and collapsed to the ground unconscious or dead. Either way, he figured the threat was removed and it was time to deal with the girl plugged into the terminal. Cautiously and with his pistol raised, he approached the cross-legged woman.

Jacob's breath came in ragged, blood-gurgling rasps as he lay on the cold, hard floor of the noisy chamber. He could feel his life pulsing out of him as his faltering heart pumped out his blood onto the ground. Instinctively, he knew he was dying. The wound from the flechettes had been catastrophic. Before his fading vision descended into oblivion he watched as the guard approached the unsuspecting Angel. Thinking that Jacob was already dead the guard paid him no heed, so he was unaware that the dying man had slowly raised his own gun, the last of his vanishing strength barely enough to hold the weapon up. With a final ragged breath he pulled the trigger. At practically point-blank range the burst of micro-needles from Jacob's weapon all but vaporised the top half of the security guard's torso, reducing his head and upper chest to a ragged cavity of bone and shredded flesh. The blast splattered the unaware Angel with blood and viscera. For a moment the legs and remnants of the guard's body remained standing before the lifeless corpse toppled into the pool of its own annihilated entrails.

Jacob let out a final, long exhalation as he succumbed to death; his last thought was an image of his missing son and he was convinced he could see the smiling young man standing before him as darkness finally claimed him.

***

At the same time as Leon, Lewis, and Linford rounded the corner to check on Sonya and Elina, the two women burst through the restroom door and back out into the main corridor. Both groups slowed from their sprint and jogged over to Sinclair's elevator. Just as they were all asking if everyone was alright the lift arrived. As the doors slid open the Ronin and his sister aimed their weapons into the carriage, determined not to get caught unprepared again. The lift car was empty.

Lewis Carson was the first to step in and the rest quickly followed him as he pressed the button for the top floor. The doors slid shut and the group waited in silence as the car began it ascent to the penthouse/office on the top floor of the tower where Mark Sinclair both lived and worked; the only sound was the gentle hum of the machinery as it pulled the car upwards.

After a few minutes, the elevator slowed to a halt and the doors slid open revealing Sinclair's office. The room was expansive with a dark-blue carpet emblazoned with the McKenzie double-helix logo. Rows of massive view-screens filled most of the wall space and there was a single wooden door on the far right that led to Sinclair's private suite. The only furniture was a large, green leather-topped desk bearing the single decoration of a flip-up monitor screen. Behind the desk was a wall-sized window that offered an impressive panoramic view of the corporate sector of Asimov. Breathtaking as the view was it failed to draw the immediate attention of the group standing in the open elevator. It was the fact that Mark Sinclair himself was sitting in the high-backed chair at his desk observing something on the monitor screen. The grey-haired man looked up at the collection of what looked like armed maintenance staff standing in his personal elevator. Mild surprise registered as no more than a slightly raised eyebrow. He then recognised Lewis Carson and a sigh escaped his lips.

'Well,' he said in calm tones. 'I can't say I'm completely surprised to see you here Lewis.'

Leon and Sonya raised their guns. Elina did the same even though she knew hers was empty from the fire-fight with the guards in the toilets.

'Don't move!' Elina yelled as she and the others stepped into the office. The suited chief executive simply pushed his seat back slightly and placed his elbows on the armrests of his chair, raising his hands to show his empty palms.

'Have you and your friends come to "do me in" for all my evil deeds then?' Sinclair asked Lewis with more than a hint of mockery. 'Best be quick before my security teams arrive to take care of you.'

'Your people aren't coming,' retorted Sonya. 'Our Runner is in your systems and has locked you down. No one knows what's happening here.'

The executive inclined his head slightly. 'Very good. So, do what you came here to do and be on your way.' He lowered his hands, laced his fingers together and placed them in his lap.

Elina frowned as she lowered her empty weapon. 'You're very calm for a guy that's most likely not going to live past the next few minutes.'

Sinclair shrugged. 'My dear, you don't get to my kind of position in a corporation like this without dealing with threats on a daily basis. Do what you must. At the moment you are all no more than an annoyance.'

Lewis Carson shook his head and turned to Linford. 'Just get over there and get what we came for.'

The young programmer nodded and took a deep breath as he walked over to Sinclair's desk. The grey-haired man stood up from his seat and offered it to Linford who hesitated for a moment before taking it.

'Um... thanks,' he said uncertainly as he sat down on the still warm leather and pulled himself over to the active terminal.

Sinclair walked over to the wall-window and turned to look at the group before him, folding his arms across his chest as he regarded the weapons aimed at him.

'Are you telling me that you're not going to kill me? You're just going after some data from my files?' He sounded a little disappointed.

'Well-' started Lewis but he was interrupted by Elina.

'If you don't keep your fucking mouth shut I'll kill you right now!' She raised her gun. Sinclair didn't know it was empty but, even though he seemed completely unfazed, he chose not to push his luck with the obviously unbalanced woman and kept his mouth closed. Satisfied that he was going to remain silent for now, Lewis and the others approached the desk where Linford had positioned himself. The young programmer pulled out a Sphere interface cable and blank data-chip from the thigh pocket of his utility overalls and placed them on the desktop. After a brief glance at the screen he looked up at the others.

'The system's open. He must have been working on something when we came in. Means I don't have to crack his password or have Elina here beat it out of him.' Linford glanced over his shoulder and gave Sinclair a suggestive smirk. The still calm executive smiled in return.

'Great, so get on with it will you?' A hint of impatience crept into Lewis' voice.

The programmer placed the data-chip into a download receptacle ready to receive the data once he retrieved it. As he plugged one end of the cable into an interface port in the terminal, Leon moved to the door of Sinclair's suite and went in to do a quick check to make sure no one else was with them. Lewis began to pace up-and-down slightly, Elina returning to the now closed elevator in case anyone else came up and Sonya sat down on the end of the desk to watch Sinclair, her pistol no longer aimed directly at the man. He was obviously no threat.

Linford prepared himself then plugged the Sphere cable into the socket in his skull and activated the "Direct User Interface" from the touch-screen monitor, closing his eyes as his perceptions were sucked into the machine.

***

Linford Johnson's avatar was no more than a plainly dressed representation of his real world body, just him dressed in slacks, a t-shirt, and trainers. It was no more than he needed for what he had to do. The domain he had appeared in resembled a grand personal library with ceiling-to-floor, wall-to-wall mahogany bookshelves that were stacked with row upon row of volumes of varying size and colour. In the middle of lushly carpeted floor was a large reading desk with a decorative lamp. Oddly, there was also a representation of a human skull sitting on the desk. A large mural depicting the stages of human evolution filled the ceiling space and there seemed to be no obvious windows or doors.

Looking at the vastness of the volume of books, that obviously represented files in the domain, Linford knew that manually checking them would take time that he didn't have. Unless blind luck was on his side he could spend literally hours in here pouring through the assorted documents before he found what he was after. Knowing that Lady Luck had a tendency to spit on him rather than smile, Linford decided to see if he could speed things up.

'Activate search program,' he said to the air.

In the next instant a short woman with long, greying hair, glasses, and a turtle-neck black sweater and pleated ankle-length skirt appeared next to him.

'Hello,' said the woman with a smile. 'I'm the librarian. How may I help you?'

Excellent! thought Linford. 'Um, show me files relating to nanotechnology experiments.'

'Of course Mr Sinclair.' The search program obviously thought that Linford was the executive as he had accessed the terminal while the man was logged on. The petite woman walked over to a bookcase and levitated several feet into the air before selecting a green book from the shelf. She then returned to the carpeted floor and handed the volume to Linford. 'There you go, sir.'

'Thanks,' said the young man as he took the book, turning it over and noticing that the cover bore the McKenzie double-helix logo.

'Is there anything else Mr Sinclair?' enquired the librarian.

'Uh, no that's everything. Thank you.'

The search program smiled and promptly vanished. Linford quickly seated himself at the reading desk and placed the book on the desktop. Flipping it open and riffling through a few of the pages he saw enough to know that this was what everyone was after.

'Menu,' he said.

A transparent screen winked into existence next to him, displaying a list of basic function options. Linford touched the "DOWNLOAD" option on the screen, selected the port that the data-chip was resting in and then tapped the cover of the green book he had been given. It emitted a brief golden glow and a small progress bar appeared in the air above it. The avatar watched as the bar began to slowly fill, drumming his virtual fingers on the desktop as he waited.

A shadow suddenly fell over the desk from behind and Linford's impatient finger-tapping abruptly ceased as he sensed that someone had just appeared in the room with him. A sudden chill that ran up his spine told him that it wasn't the helpful librarian. Slowly he turned in his chair. Standing no more than two feet away from him was a tall figure with jet-black skin, flaming red eyes, and pure white hair. It was dressed in an expensive-looking black suit.

'What do you think you're doing?' enquired Cain in his deep, resonate voice.

Linford gulped at the vision before him. 'Just downloading a file,' he said weakly, trying to sound innocent.

'You are not Sinclair. You are not supposed to be here.' The A.I. grinned menacingly, showing perfect white teeth as he raised his right hand. Brilliantly bright blue flame erupted from his fingers. Linford knew when he was fucked. He took a split second to glace back at the file transfer progress and saw that it was just about to complete. Time to leave.

'Exit!' he yelled and promptly vanished just as the download finished. Cain roared and thrust his burning hand into the green-coloured book, sending an immensely powerful surge of energy through the remnants of the last of the file as it transferred to the data-chip.

***

Back in Sinclair's office Linford's eyes flew open and he yanked the Sphere cable from his head as he gasped. Everyone looked at him as he reached for the data-chip and they were about to ask what had happened when crackling streaks of blue energy flashed across the terminal and it exploded in a large fireball. The gout of fire mixed with terminal and desk shrapnel engulfed Linford and threw him backwards. His face and chest were scorched and peppered with metal and wooden shards. The explosion killed him instantly. The blast blew Lewis and Sonya from the desk, the concussion from the explosion flattening them to the ground and, fortunately, sparing them from the majority of the flame and shrapnel, resulting in nothing worse than superficial cuts. Sonya's weapon flew from her numb fingers and skittered across the floor to land a few feet from Sinclair. The startled executive had instinctively crouched down into a ball and covered his head with his arms as the terminal detonated. Leon staggered back as he returned from his reconnaissance of Sinclair's rooms but he was otherwise unhurt. Elina flinched at the sudden explosion but, from her position at the elevator, she was untouched. It was shock at what had just happened rather than concussion from the blast that held her fast.

The burned and smoking body of Linford Johnson continued to roll backwards in the office chair, propelled by the force of the explosion, until he came to a halt as the chair bumped against the glass of the wall-window. The glass was strengthened so, while the blast had been devastating, it hadn't been enough to shatter it. There was a moment of stunned silence following the detonation, both Lewis and Sonya rendered briefly unconscious from the force of the blast.

***

In the McKenzie domain Angel's ninja avatar continued to monitor the various systems. Apart from picking up the ill-fated security team's communication for reinforcements, things had been pretty quiet. Even the bound and gagged corporate Runner seemed to have resigned himself to his fate and had lay perfectly still. The ninja was, therefore, more than a little surprised when a black-skinned man with flaming eyes appeared in the chamber without warning. Angel wasn't stupid and knew she was looking at an A.I. She had figured it was a possibility that such a thing might happen, but she was still somewhat taken aback at the white-haired man's sudden, unannounced appearance.

Following his discovery of Linford's avatar in Sinclair's personal files, the McKenzie A.I. realised that there was an incursion taking place and was swiftly and personally checking all the sub-systems. He was, therefore, not in the least surprised when he found another intruder lurking in the security section. Angel, however, was swifter to react than the ill-fated Linford. With a snap of her virtual fingers she vanished in a cloud of pink smoke before the A.I. could so much as take a step towards her.

***

The Runner opened her eyes and looked around the environmental systems chamber, intending to tell Jacob that they should get out as the whole gig had been rumbled by the corporate A.I. Her words died on her lips as she witnessed the scene of carnage spread out before her. Angel's eyes widened in horror as she realised that the mangled, bloody heap that was practically lying in her lap was the remains of one of the desk security guards. She looked down at herself and saw that she was covered in blood and fleshy remnants of the man's body. Her breath began to quicken and come in short gasps as she reached up and touched her face. When she felt dampness there and looked at her bloody fingers she began to retch and desperately fought the urge to throw up. Closing her eyes against the sight she pulled the jack cable from her head and let it recoil back into her S-Box. Upon opening her eyes again she forced herself to focus on her blood-splattered Sphere-Box and detached it from the maintenance terminal. Slowly, she got to her feet and slid the device into her thigh pocket while she took deep breaths and stared up at the ceiling. A sudden thought occurred: where was Jacob?

The exact same instant that the thought entered her head an alarm began to sound throughout the building. Angel guessed that the corporate Runner had got himself free and triggered the alarm. She looked around wildly as panic began to grip her. She found Jacob's body lying a few feet away, his dead eyes staring up at the panel lights of the chamber ceiling. The sight was too much and the pink-haired girl fell to her knees and screamed, tears welling instantly and running down her cheeks. Even as the alarm sounded she could feel herself being taken by the same feeling of hopelessness that had almost pushed her to suicide as she had lain on the floor of Pixel's bathroom following the encounter with the landlord. What was the point? She was fucked. She may as well just stay here and await her fate.

An image of Sonya appeared in her mind's eye, as clear as if the dark-haired woman was standing right in front of her. Sonya. She had to get to Sonya. The Runner's weeping stopped and her eyes focused on the flechette pistol resting in Jacob's lifeless grip. With a sense of grim determination she reached out and took the weapon and got back up to her feet. Only one thought ran through her mind. She had to find Sonya. Sonya would know what to do.

Angel stepped over the bodies and made for the open door to the metal stairwell.

***

Lying on the floor near the shattered ruins of Sinclair's desk, both Lewis Carson and Sonya Hart groaned as consciousness slowly returned. Lewis was reminded of the feeling he had encountered during the explosion outside the McKenzie building all those months ago. To Sonya the sensation was reminiscent of the events that had taken place years ago that had resulted in the loss of her left arm. Neither of them could manage more than a moan.

Leon ran to the desk, jumped over the slowly stirring body of Lewis, and crouched down by his sister. She wasn't seriously wounded and the fragments from the explosion had given her nothing worse that a few cuts and scrapes. A brief glace at Linford's body made it apparent how lucky both she and Lewis had been.

'Hey,' he whispered in a concerned voice. 'Are you okay?'

His sister's only reply was another moan and a gasp as she slowly began to drag herself to her hands and knees. The Ronin quickly looked up as he heard Elina yell.

'Stop!'

During the confusion that had followed the explosion, Mark Sinclair had edged his way towards Sonya's discarded flechette pistol and was midway towards bending down to pick it up. He froze when he heard the woman by the elevator shout and saw that she was pointing her own gun at him. Sinclair didn't know it was empty. Leon did and raised his own still partially loaded weapon to aim at the grey-haired man. The CEO cursed silently and stood up, stepping away from the pistol. As Elina strode over to the gun Leon raised himself to his feet, placed one hand under his sister's arm and gently pulled her up. Sonya clutched her head and cursed.

'Son of a bitch!' she said with a pained expression as she tried to stop the room from spinning.

'Well, if you're complaining it means you're okay,' said her brother with a sense of relief. 'Can't say the same about Linford...'

Sonya looked from her brother to the corpse of the young programmer.

'Fucking hell...' she murmured to herself.

Elina reached the pistol and picked it up, never taking her eyes from Sinclair. She tossed her own gun and pointed the fresh weapon at the grey-haired man. Lewis Carson reached a hand up to the edge of the destroyed desk and pulled himself to his feet, adjusting the glasses that had skewed on his face when he was flattened to the ground. The first thing he saw was Linford's body.

'Oh no,' his whispered.

Suddenly, the sound of an alarm tore the air and pulled everyone from their mournful contemplation of the programmer's charred and cut body. Sinclair folded his arms and smiled.

'So much for your Runner,' he said.

Leon gritted his teeth and turned to Elina. 'Get the chip and let's get the hell out of here.' The Ronin turned to the elevator and Sonya broke from his supportive hand.

'We have to get Angel!' she demanded.

'Of course we will! Come on!' Leon grabbed the swaying and disorientated Lewis and turned him towards the elevator door.

Elina stood before the obliterated terminal and quickly rummaged through the wreckage until she eventually located a burnt and cracked data-chip. Anything that was on it was obviously irretrievable. She stood up, holding the ruined piece of technology.

'It's gone,' she said to Lewis. 'Completely destroyed by the explosion.'

The ex-McKenzie employee turned and looked at the blonde woman holding up the ruined chip.

'Nothing,' he said in disbelief. 'All this, everything that's happened. It was all for nothing.' Lewis just stood and stared as the alarm blared throughout the building.

A cold feeling enveloped Elina. She stared at the chip in her hand and let it drop from her fingers then turned to look at Linford's corpse. It had been for nothing. Mina, Liford, probably Jacob and Angel too. All gone for no reason. Her heart felt like it had been replaced with a lump of ice and she turned her gaze on Sinclair. The half-smirking McKenzie executive recognised the look and for the first time during the whole intrusion he felt a slight sense of fear. Elina turned and strode over to the man, gun raised to point directly at his head. At any moment she half-expected one of the others to say or do something to try and stop her, but no such gesture occurred as she came to a stop with her pistol resting on the grey-haired man's forehead. They stared into each other's eyes.

'You won't do it,' said Sinclair with firm confidence.

For a moment the blonde-haired woman faltered in her resolve to end the life of the man. Then the image of her daughter's face flashed through her mind and she pulled the trigger.

At point-blank range the flechettes exploded Sinclair's head as if a bomb had gone off within the confines of his skull. Blood and brain-matter rained out in a wide arc and splattered over Elina's grim face. The headless corpse stood for a second then fell to the ground. As the alarm continued to blare she turned to the others. No one said anything to her, though Lewis bore a pained expression.

'Let's get out of here,' said Elina in a flat voice.

***

The elevator in the McKenzie building foyer pinged open at the exact same time that a blood-splattered Angel walked through the stairwell door. The alarm echoed loudly in the large space and the remaining guard on the desk was talking franticly into his com system as he gave and received instructions from the main security office. Both he and the receptionist turned as the elevator and stairwell door opened simultaneously. Seeing the remnants of the maintenance team armed with weapons, the guard reached for his still holstered pistol. Without a second of hesitation Leon raised his gun and fired the remainder its clip. Eyes wide, the receptionist threw herself to the floor behind her desk seeking cover from the flechettes. The burst of micro-needles tore into the guard and his perforated body slammed backwards onto the counter of the reception desk, his gun falling from his limp fingers.

Angel recoiled from the sudden burst of gunfire then saw that it was Sonya and the others.

'Sonya!' she called as she dropped the weapon she had taken from Jacob and ran to the dark-haired woman.

'Angel!' Sonya shouted with a deep sense of relief, detaching herself from the group in the elevator and running to intercept the pink-haired girl. The two women quickly embraced then Sonya held Angel out at arm's length as she took in her appearance.

'Shit! Are you hurt? Are you shot?' She began to quickly check the gore-smeared Runner for wounds or holes.

'It's not my b--blood,' said Angel with a tremble in her voice.

The absence of Jacob was all Sonya needed to know to figure out that things had gone bad.

As Leon and Lewis moved towards the reception desk and the cowering, quivering woman that hid there, Elina ran over to Sonya and Angel.

'Where's Jacob?' she demanded.

Angel's only reply was to stare at the blonde and shake her head.

Sonya spoke up: 'Take a look at her, Elina. She looks like she's walked through a slaughter house. It's obvious he didn't make it.'

Elina's jaw clenched and she let out a breath as she closed her eyes.

'I'm s--sorry,' murmured Angel.

'Hey!' yelled Leon from the reception desk, having to shout to make himself heard over the blaring alarm. 'We have to leave. Now!'

Lewis had already made his way to the glass doors of the exit and Sonya took Angel by the shoulder.

'Come on,' she commanded. 'Let's get out of here.'

Without another word, the three women ran for the doors, Leon joining them as they ignored the receptionist and dashed out onto the plaza outside the McKenzie building.

****

Epilogue

Staring at the cramped, dingy, crate-filled space within the container bay of the Earth-bound transport, Lewis Carson hardly imagined this would be the way he returned to The City. Held down by cargo netting in the weightless cabin he looked at his companions. Leon was dozing and emitted a soft snore. Lewis imagined that the Ronin had travelled in so many military transports--all of which were infamous for their lack of comfort--that he could probably sleep on a bed of broken glass if he needed to.

Angel had pretty much stuck to Sonya's side since the events at the McKenzie building. Despite her obviously shaken condition, the girl had seemed to slowly come to terms with what she had been through and Lewis knew that if she stuck by Sonya she would eventually be okay. As much as anyone could be "okay" after what had happened.

As for Sonya, as far as Lewis could tell the woman seemed to be completely unfazed by all that had transpired, reaffirming his belief that it was, in fact, liquid Nitrogen that ran through her veins. In all the time he had known her he had never seen Sonya flinch or crack under any kind of pressure. He guessed that was why she was good at what she did.

The narrow escape from the McKenzie building and the subsequent flight from Asimov station seemed like a blur to Lewis. As he listened in silence to the constant, low rumble of the transport's engines he remembered how their escape had been a desperate run out of the corporate sector as McKenzie agents gave chase, having arrived in the building's foyer moments after they had fled. Fortunately, Lewis had known the area well and was able to lead the others out undetected. After finding a place to briefly stop, they had all removed their coveralls and cleaned off the majority of the blood that had splattered both Angel and Elina.

Elina had been able to get them out of the sector using the various maintenance ducts and passages that the Marooned sometimes utilised when wanting to travel through Asimov unseen. The journey through the noisy guts of the station towards the sanctuary of Marooned Town had been a long and difficult one but, after many hours, they had arrived and made straight for Duncan Sterling's clinic.

When Lewis had told his old friend what had happened the doctor had not been pleased. Lewis had seen the guy in alcohol-fuelled rages before, but his reaction to the news that the CEO of the station division of McKenzie Corporation had been shot dead in cold blood was something else. The doctor knew that the killing of a corporate chief executive would be the start of a chain of events that would lead to big problems for the people in the lower sectors; at the very least there would be a clampdown on Marooned movement throughout the station. At the very worst it would lead to open conflict and their probable forced expulsion from the station. Either way, things on Asimov were undoubtedly about to get very bad very quickly.

Lewis remembered how midway through Sterling's raging Elina had turned and ran from the clinic without saying a word. He found himself wondering why no one had tried to stop her.

Wanting nothing more to do with any of them, Sterling arranged to have them smuggled off the station and back to Earth. It had cost pretty much the remainder of Sonya's money, but when it was explained to her that there was no way they were going to get off via normal routes, as the departure bays would undoubtedly be monitored, she was quick to hand over the required funds. She had no desire to stay on the station any longer and wanted to get away as quickly as possible. The whole charade had descended into one of the worst blown jobs she had ever been involved in and she was glad to just cut her loses and escape with her skin intact, even if it meant she was back to being effectively penniless.

A few hours later Lewis and the others had been smuggled into a cargo transport and were on their way back to Earth. They never saw Elina again.

While the events that had transpired in the McKenzie building hadn't gone anywhere near how Lewis Carson had planned, he did feel that his personal crusade was over. Even though the man that had been ultimately responsible for the abduction and death of the girl Natasha, and who knew how many others, had been made to pay the ultimate price for his actions, Lewis felt no sense of any kind of justice being achieved when he thought of the people that had been killed during the course of his plan. He felt personally responsible for the deaths of Kenzo, Mina, Jacob, Linford, and the McKenzie security personnel that had, after all, just been doing their jobs. He knew their deaths would be a weight that would hang around his neck for a long time.

In an effort to take his thoughts away from the feeling of depression that threatened to take hold of him while he mulled over the ultimately pointless end of so many lives, Lewis tried to focus on what he was going to do when he got back to The City. He had no idea. He glanced over at Sonya again and the woman caught his gaze.

'What?' she asked. Angel looked up at her as she spoke.

Lewis gave a shrug. 'Just wondering what I'm going to do back in The City. Been a long time.'

'Huh,' snorted Sonya. 'At least you're not going back to a pissed off Yakuza boss that wants to see your head on a plate.'

Lewis raised his eyebrows at the statement, but it was Angel that voiced the question he was thinking.

'What?' she asked.

Sonya gave a wry smile and looked away. 'It's a real long story.'

'Well,' said Lewis. 'We're stuck in here for three days so I think we have plenty of time.'

Both he and Angel looked at the dark-haired woman expectantly.

###

About the author:

Alexander McGregor lives in Durham in the UK and is married with two children and a slightly psychotic cat. His interests, outside of writing, include digital art and martial arts.

This is his first e-book.

Contact: zanderxl@hotmail.co.uk

