《Cyberhawk》 A Simple Contract ¡°The city looks beautiful tonight,¡± a tall slender woman said, barely trying to hide the contempt in her voice. ¡°The keyword here is looks,¡± she continued, revealing that she knew far better than to trust appearances. ¡°You¡¯re never off guard, are you?¡± A large overweight man replied as he approached her on the balcony. He kept his hands stuffed in his pockets while he relaxed his posture, and watched her lean against the balcony railing. As he waited for her reply, he fished a lighter out of his pocket and sparked it, the flame providing a dim glow against the woman¡¯s silhouette from the city lights. He puffed on the cigarette and offered the lighter to her, while his cybernetic eyes whirred as he changed his focus. She brushed his hand aside, feeling the cold steel of his arm. ¡°And just why aren¡¯t you? We lost. Cal, we didn¡¯t just lose. We were slaughtered, and now we have to expect a hit squad at any moment. One false step and they¡¯ll whisk us away to one of those holes in the ground and no one will ever hear from us again.¡± She went back to leaning against the railing as she sighed and sunk down, relaxing for a moment. Her shoulder dropped, and she brushed her hair back behind her ear. ¡°I suppose we should count ourselves lucky just to be alive.¡± Cal joined her at the railing and exhaled a cloud of smoke. ¡°Look,¡± he sighed, ¡°It¡¯s been five years, and you know why they haven¡¯t had us killed yet, right? It¡¯s because they don¡¯t think we¡¯re a threat. They¡¯ve already won.¡± He smirked, changing the subject. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we have to be law-abiding citizens, though.¡± He reached into his jacket and retrieved a thin parcel. He passed her the envelope, and confirmed she remembered the protocol: ¡°The details are inside. You know how this works right? Follow the instructions if you want the assignment, leave the evidence in the locker. The contractor will take care of the rest.¡± He then went to leave and took a look over his shoulder at her. ¡°Look, Annah, so what? We lost. That means we have to go back to taking the jobs we can and make a bunch of money.¡± When Annah didn¡¯t reply, he gave an irritated frown and turned back to face her. ¡°It was always a longshot, but everyone wanted to take it.¡± She spun and barked, ¡°I don¡¯t like losing soldiers!¡± But Cal was already gone. He was right, of course. Just like he¡¯d been for the past five years. If it hadn¡¯t been for her, those comrades would have died under the banner of some other rebellion. They were too outraged by the injustices of the world and too strongly outmatched to have ever tasted victory. She opened up the envelope and dumped the contents onto her table. A key, some papers, and a semi-automatic with an attached silencer. It was even her favorite model. She picked up the pistol, feeling the perfect balance as it rested against her palm. Annah hated the idea of losing the gun in her hands. Perhaps she could get away with keeping it, but that was always risky since it made the cover-up harder for the employer. She began to reminisce, looking over at her dresser drawer where she kept her illegal goods. A pistol and a forged passport, along with the other things she had managed to collect during her misdeeds. She dragged a finger across a button on the drawer, and it slid open in response to her touch. She reached inside, and removed a deceptively simple knife along with the belt that it was attached to. The main apparatus of the disguised ballistic knife was still sheathed in the belt with the spare blades, but there was one blade missing. It seemed fitting that she¡¯d used the weapon of a contract killer to start her own career as an assassin, even though at first she¡¯d lacked the heart for it. The first time she had used the ballistic knife, her hands had shaken so badly that she missed her target, breaking the blade on the wall next to him, revealing her presence in an instant. Looking back, Annah often wondered what would happen if he¡¯d pleaded for his life, if she would have had the strength to take the life of a defenseless man. To the contrary, however, he¡¯d taken one look at her dark clothes, mask, and knife, and fled down the hallway, shouting for security at the top of his lungs. In her panic, she¡¯d lunged after him and taken him down. It was only after the blood already stained her hands that Annah realized what she¡¯d done. With a shake of her head, she hung the belt on her chair and sat down on her bed. She laid back and began reading the documents in the light of the city. She preferred the weak, diluted light of a thousand distant lives to the fluorescent ones of her room. She hated the constant pulsing sensation that they caused, but they were the government standard now, so there wasn¡¯t an alternative option. For that same reason, she never had any desire to get cybernetics to enhance her body. After neurotech became prevalent, the government started urging everyone to cyberize in order to ¡°gain a higher standard of life.¡± The corrupt government she wanted to replace told her she should implant technology into her body, so she wanted nothing to do with it. It was as simple as that. Finding her way back to the present, she began to read the job offer in earnest. For the most part, it looked routine: Go to point A, collect the assets, find and neutralize the target, and then disappear. Then the offer started getting interesting. She sat up, trailing her leg off the bed, and letting her foot graze the floor. She skimmed over the rest of the contract, pausing as she read the last line before the financial details. The statement was simple; Do this job well. You want to make a proper impression on your employers. ¡°Huh, who am I trying to make an impression on?¡± The job paid obscenely well, and since she was currently pressed for cash, she couldn¡¯t afford to turn the job down even if it seemed too good to be true. Sure, she could find some other job offer, but in all likelihood, no one else would pay that well. She sighed as she rolled off the bed to her feet and strapped her weapons across her body. Annah drew the knife, and trailed a finger across the trigger mechanism to affirm her familiarity with the device. She spun the handle once around her palm before sliding it back into its sheath. Pulling her jacket on over her mini arsenal, Annah flicked the hood up to obscure her face from any aerial cameras as she left the apartment. The contract didn¡¯t specify a time-sensitive nature of the job, but she saw no reason to hesitate carrying out the task. ¡°Twenty-seven floors up, and people wonder why I never take the stairs anymore¡± She sighed as she came to the elevator, and hit the button for the lobby with her elbow. She kept her breathing measured as the capsule descended; she needed to be calm throughout the entirety of the job if she wanted it to go off without a hitch. It was easy to keep calm while she was planning out the job, the tension wouldn¡¯t come until things didn¡¯t go according to plan. She had killed before, so it wouldn¡¯t be anything new to carry out a simple assassination, but going over the plan in her head would make it second nature. She was forced to pause briefly when the elevator reached the ground floor, and the doors shuddered open. Now that she was on the ground and moving, a sick excitement came over her- an excitement that only came when she was getting ready to do something fun. She stepped outside and noticed that the lights above her street flickered or failed entirely, and several neon kiosks were still on, despite the late hour. The owners were clearly desperate for some cash to make the next payments in their lives. She began walking towards the outskirts of her residential district, spinning her new key causing it to glint in the evening light. The state of decay around her increased as she walked toward the drop point, an abandoned skyrail station indicated by the rusted sign that swung side to side by a single screw. ¡°Nice thing about this area is the lack of security cameras,¡± she muttered under her breath. The government didn¡¯t even bother putting them up. The people were so poor that the prison time for the theft was well worth the money they would make by selling the parts from the camera. The only trick was the money had to be spent before they were caught, otherwise the arresting officer would confiscate it to add to their own funds Before long she came to the stairs leading down into the subway. A glimpse of red caught her eye as she descended. She turned to see her face reflected back at her. Black bangs contrasted by the violent red streaks trailing throughout her hair. Ahead of her a light sparked a few times before the glass tube cracked and began dripping sparks onto the ground. She moved to the side to avoid the cascade of fire, and continued down the staircase. When Annah reached the bottom of the stairs she pulled a key out of her pocket and turned to a service door. As she placed the key into the lock, the door fell off it¡¯s decrepit hinges to reveal the locker room dead drop. ¡°Guess they locked it for show?¡± Annah thought to herself If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Following the instructions left for her in the packet, she went to locker number thirty-seven and entered a new account number that her payment would be deposited into. As she entered the last digit, a green light ignited and the door unlocked, revealing a long rifle with several tubes leading from the barrel back into the shoulder stock. She hefted the heavy rifle, inspecting it. There were several dials on the side, with what seemed to be power readouts. There was an ammo count, and one with a percentage, which she assumed was power output. There was another that was obviously a range indicator, but the others took some effort to figure out. She gathered that one was the decibel of the shot, a measure of how loud firing the gun would be with the current settings. And the final dial was a silencer, that could be adjusted to reduce the noise at the cost of some power. She slung the strap over her shoulder and closed the locker, watching the light flash red as it sealed shut. She stepped over the door and headed back up the stairs, sending the keyword ¡°Prey¡± to an unknown contact as she had been instructed. She leaned back against the wall, and waited. Her patience wasn¡¯t long tested before an alert went off on her phone with a message, ¡°Contract confirmed. Proceed when ready.¡± As she exited the station, she guessed that it was nearing four in the morning. She didn¡¯t have much time before the sun would be up, and there might be witnesses starting to appear on the streets. Annah resumed her original trajectory down the street until she found the building housing the target. He was supposed to be on the tenth floor in the corner room, so she began looking around for the proper vantage point. It wasn¡¯t long before she found a parking structure close by with an appropriate height advantage, and a good line of sight on the window in question. ¡°I appreciate an employer that does their research,¡± she said aloud as she opened the door to the building and began climbing the stairs, ¡°It really makes things a lot simpler on my end.¡± She walked quickly, wanting to ensure that the mission was completed before the window of opportunity had passed. As she climbed to the eighth floor, she heard a car engine start, and plastered herself to the wall, halting her breathing. She assumed this building would be abandoned, especially since no one who lived in this district could even afford a car. She drew her pistol with her left hand and unsheathed her knife with the other, and slowly moved up onto the landing from the stairs and looked around for the car. Before long, she had located the car, in part because of the sound, as well as the faint glow coming from the cigarette the man inside was smoking. Using the shadows provided by the moon, she quickly moved towards the car to determine if it posed any threat to her. Before too long, she noticed that while the car was civilian, the driver was not. It seemed that this operation might have been some sort of sting designed to directly implicate her in an assassination attempt. She clicked a button on the side of her pistol, and a metal tube extended from the end of the barrel to silence her coming shot. The man in the car wore a police uniform, and had his peripheral vision blocked by a pair of binoculars trained on her target¡¯s room. She slunk right up to the car, placed the barrel against the window, and fired a single shot- ending the briefest of investigations into her target¡¯s wellbeing. Blood sprayed against the opposite window as his head snapped to the side, leaving the binoculars he carried to slam against his still chest. His lifeless body slouched down, finally coming to rest against the steering wheel, as the last bits of shattered glass hit the pavement. As all this was happening, Annah had resumed her march towards the top of the parking structure. She cleared the top floor and drew the rifle, extending the shoulder stock and beginning to slow her breathing. Breathe, breathe, breathe. Her heart rate slowed with each breath she took, and she could feel it in her finger as she lay it across the trigger. In and out she breathed slowly, with her heart rate nearing thirty beats per minute. She lined up the target in her sights, took a breath and held it. She waited; counting the pulses throughout her body, and after she knew her pulse, she counted. One. Two. Three. Pulse. Fire. The sound from the rifle was devastating as loud as a thunderstorm in a metal room. The effect of the shot was just as deafening. The shot had torn straight through the window causing it to shatter. Then the bullet hit her target with such force that the frame of the bed he slept on warped and twisted. With such force, Annah feared that she had accidentally pierced through the floor and into another apartment. She kept her eye pressed to the scope looking for any sign that was the case. However as she looked around the man¡¯s room, she couldn¡¯t see any damage that wasn¡¯t caused by the sheer force of the bullet. It was as if the bullet had simply stopped after she hit her target. And just who could possibly need a rifle like that? Then it hit her: there was no collateral damage. The bullet was supposed to stop after it hit its target. The rifle was clearly a prototype designed for exactly what she had just demonstrated. With technology like that, there would be nearly no need to worry about a civilian casualty. Hit the target and not pay any mind to what¡¯s behind it ¡°Useful espionage tool,¡± she mused aloud, trying to deduce just who had designed the rifle. She walked back to the base of the building and looked around, seeing that there was no response to the noise the rifle had created, and no evidence that she had even been there, save for the dead man that she had left to rot at the top of the structure. Annah stuffed her hands back into the pockets of her hoodie, and began her return path to the locker. The smallest hint of the imminent sunrise began to creep over the skyrise, darkening the street further with the shadows that would save it from the sweltering heat of the midday sun. It was the stillest time of the day, the calm right before the storm. At dawn, everyone would wake and go about their normal lives. Going to their jobs, to school, making implants, weapons, harvesting the rapid-grow crops that would have finished growing overnight. Everyday life and complacency: the two were synonymous to her now. No one was happy in the outer ring of the city, but they were too addicted to the safety this life provided them to change anything. The slums might as well have consisted of the entire outer ring- from the edge of the commercial district to the port zone everyone was poor. Then from the offices to the central government tower, everyone was rich to some degree, rich of course being defined as the ability to sustain a comfortable life. The central tower was visible from every point on the island city. It rose immensely over the city, with several smaller spires arcing towards the main tower that was rumored to be so tall that it left the atmosphere. Annah had always dismissed that notion as a myth, but after waging war against the government she could see how their symbol could seem larger than life. As a teen Annah had viewed herself as an anarchist, thinking that the people would be the best govern themselves. However, as she grew older in mind and body, she came to understand that a true anarchy would only lead to either an aristocracy, or an oligarchy, depending on who rose to power; the warlords or the wealthy. So instead she came to wish for a reform of the government, not a dissolution of it. If it was possible to remove the corruption and install a method to check up on the politicians, then perhaps the future of her world might not be so bleak. Of course, her first attempt to change things had failed. Her rebellious coup had been crushed and cast aside like a small bug having annoyed the owner of its venue. She reached the subway station before long and quickly walked down the stairs, heading straight for the door that was still collapsed. That reassured her that she truly hadn¡¯t been followed. She vaulted over the broken door and returned to the locker, keying in the same code she had before. Once again, the green light flared to life followed by a loud clunk signaling the door was open. She pulled on the handle and placed the rifle inside, wondering what the implications of such a device could mean. In the world of espionage, it could be game-changing. Half the difficulty of an assassination was finding an angle for the shot that couldn¡¯t possibly cause an unwanted casualty. A sloppy shot could create the wrong result, and completely negate the original intent of the assassination, that kind of rifle would make the whole process simpler. She turned back to leave the room and was faced with a figure wearing a hat that obscured his face. She drew her gun and aimed it at the center of his chest. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± The man said in a gravelly tone. ¡°I assumed you would just shoot me on sight. I guess it isn¡¯t impossible for an assassin to have morals.¡± He stepped towards her, revealing a face that seemed as though it would have been quite handsome in youth, but it was hard to tell through the badly shaven stubble distorting it. ¡°Who I am is irrelevant; who I represent is something entirely different. You see your rebellion as a failure, they see it as a spark.¡± ¡°And what exactly does that mean?¡± Annah was clearly annoyed, but didn¡¯t budge an inch with her gun. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly in that business anymore, so who cares about what I did in that war?¡± ¡°They do.¡± He spoke plainly. ¡°They¡¯re sick of the state of things, and they have a way to change it.¡± ¡°Things can¡¯t change, there aren¡¯t enough people willing to do the work required to change anything,¡± she spat back, trying to move past him. He stepped into her way, and said, ¡°Sparks light flames, Ms. Krie, and flames in the right situation can be quite explosive.¡± Annah looked at him wide-eyed for half a moment, and then pushed past him and jogged up the stairs. Explosions were never good for a rebellion. There was no faster way to be branded as a terrorist, and the population hated terrorists more than they could ever hate the state of the world they knew. Terrorism led to higher tension, which led to the people being willing to sacrifice even more of their freedom just so they could feel safe. She would have to do some research to find out more about this group. The man had purposely not said the name that the group went by, but she was sure that she would be able to find them in the recesses of the net. As she reached the street level it was finally dawn, but the morning was still quite cold. She zipped up her hoodie, and put her hands into her pockets as she began the quick walk home. If Youre Gonna Stop a Terrorist You Need To Do Your Research Annah¡¯s sheer blinds were pulled shut, creating a heavily-shadowed room, lit only by the harsh light from a computer screen and the pale green lights emitting from the case. She was aggressively typing and intently reading the information that appeared on the screen in response to her commands. On one screen she had a chat room open, and on the other, she had a forum up looking through the different topics. She was scanning for any chatter about a new group looking to change the world. As she had expected, there was nothing she could find on the standard web. She thanked her contact for their time, and then switched the cable that was plugged into her ethernet port. Any information that she was looking for wouldn¡¯t be found on the standard net. She would have to delve deep into the darknet to find the channels the group that had hired her was using to communicate. She was instantly concerned as she logged into the darknet, because there was no chatter whatsoever- every single site she found was dead. No activity. There were only two instances where this would be reasonable: in a power outage, and during server maintenance. Server maintenance was only ever done during the dead of night, when the standard internet did its daily restart. The power was on, and it was not the time for a server reboot, so where was everyone? She entered the queue onto the one domain that was emitting any pings, and found that it was merely a read-only forum. She opened the active topic, and a video file began to play. ¡°Greetings my fellow citizens of the Force for Island Liberation! Today is the day that I reveal our plan, your missions, and your targets,¡± an enthusiastic voice rang out as it began to detail the schemes of the group. At first, Annah was excited, and listened eagerly, thinking this might be another good opportunity to attempt a change in the government. After an hour or so of listening to the monologue, she began to space out, as it lost her interest. She was getting ready to close out of the forum, writing it off as just another dream-big- talk-bigger-do-nothing revolution. ¡°And we will send our colony into the ocean to float on their own wings!¡± She immediately began to inspect the details of the screen. Five years ago, she had seen the exact same set of plans, spread out on a table before her, a smoking gun in her hand and a dead body sprawled out on the floor before her. One of her most trusted lieutenants had demanded they go through with a plan to blow half of the city off the mainland and make it into a free island. Free of corruption, free of law, but above all else, free of peace and justice. She had refused the plan, and he had responded violently. She was reminiscing about the kill when the video file said in an angry voice, ¡°You won¡¯t stop us so easily this time, General Krie.¡± The video cut out, and suddenly the darknet was back to life with all of its chatter. She sat back in her chair, shocked. No one called her by that name anymore. General Krie had died with her revolution. As she had expected, the speaker¡¯s voice had been distorted, and there was no picture of their face. Someone was mirroring the way she had handled giving out orders when she had rallied her army. Originally, she thought it was one of the supporters of her revolution, but she cast that thought aside when she remembered the plan. That plan had not left the table of the officers¡¯ room. That meant that she had started her revolution alongside whoever was now planning to destroy the island. Of the few people to survive the war, she was only able to confirm the lives of three of her council members: Cal, Heron, and Artemis. She trusted Cal more than the other two, but Cal was the one who brought her the mission that put her on this trail in the first place. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but with a scheme that large she wouldn¡¯t make any exceptions. He would also be the easiest of the three to track down. She wanted to leave immediately, but she was already tired from her contract and sleepless night. Instead, she lazily tugged on her sleeves, trying to get her dark grey hoodie off as she fell face-first onto her bed. She let her feet hang off the bed for a moment as she smashed her face into the soft pillow that was her safe haven against the realm of the awake. She managed to get a single arm out of the jacket before sleep overcame her, and she was carried off into the weightless world of dreams. She slept well, for a time, with senseless dreams that wouldn¡¯t be remembered for even a moment after they ended. Had she been conscious, she could have felt the healing changes that were occurring. The rings under her eyes were disappearing, her muscles were relaxing, undoing the knots of tension that she had been building up over the week, and she was even smiling. Sleep was the safest adventure anyone could take, and it was always free to anyone who dared accept it. Her adventure was cut short by an ominous click that she would have recognized anywhere. Her eyes instantly fired open and she instinctively rolled off her bed as a loud shot from a revolver broke the silence of the night. As she rolled, she hit her chair, causing her utility belts to fall to the ground, pulling her knife with them. The metal of her knife scraped and rang as she drew the blade, springing to her feet ready to defend herself. Before her stood a man in a mask, who was adjusting his aim back towards her head with his pistol. She lunged forward, batting the gun to the side as a second deafening shot rang out. She could hear the screams of the other residents in her building as they heard the gunfire. She drove her open palms towards his chest, forcing him to leap backward in response, using her force to gain extra distance across her room. As he landed, he leveled his gun at her once more, aiming to end the conflict in an instant. Reacting quickly, Annah triggered her ballistic knife and managed to hit the side of the gun with the blade, forcing his aim to go wide and his grip to loosen. The pistol roared once more, and flew from his hand out the window where he stood, and began its long fall to the street below. She stretched her muscles for a moment, and calmed her spastic heart. The rush of adrenaline had saved her from the initial onslaught, but now she would need her nerves to be calm in order to survive the coming fight. With the adrenaline still flowing through her veins and her controlled breathing, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Her opponent led with a right-armed wide punch, revealing more about his fighting style than she needed to overpower him. He was aggressive, relying more on his strength than form. He was tolerant of pain, revealed by his open stance. He preferred to have even reach from all of his limbs. Above all else, he was careless- he began to attack before assessing her own stance, which allowed her to easily step her left foot forward and deflect his blow with a counter-clockwise sweep of her forward arm. She exploited the weakness he had revealed by throwing a closed fist into his right side. As the man reeled back from her blow, he brought both of his hands up to attempt smashing her over the head. She jerked her head back, and his closed hands swung harmlessly past her face. She took a quick step towards him and drove her elbow into his neck. In response, he brought his hands up to guard his face, and she kicked into his kneecap, forcing it to hyperextend. She heard an audible crack, and the man leaned forward from the force. She clapped her hands together, and spun over her left shoulder, driving her clasped hands into the pressure point in his neck. Her blow was true, and he crumpled to the floor at her feet, folded in half from his extensions. She lived in the poor residence, and no report of the incident would ever be made because the sound of gunfire was a daily occurrence. The citizens would be more inclined to submit a report if they hadn¡¯t heard gunfire in a while, as that would be more suspicious. She went to the collapsed man and began to search him. First, she pulled the mask off, revealing a young man with short black hair and a clean-shaven face. He had a circular scar that looked as though it had been carved into his cheek multiple times. When she searched his pockets, she found a set of keys, a notepad with her face drawn onto it with the caption ¡°Public Enemy No. 1¡±. She flipped the paper over, and saw the initials FIL. She thought back to the speech, and remembered the intro, Force for Island Liberation. The extremist group that was using a scheme she had denied was now targeting her life. She resumed her search, not finding much else, not even an identification to tell a thing about the man. Perhaps his superiors had expected him to die in the attempt. Perhaps the man didn¡¯t have an ID to begin with. She sighed and said aloud, ¡°Why¡¯d you have to get stuck in my apartment?¡± She kicked him in slight frustration as she walked by, and began to stuff a backpack full of her necessary gear. Her favorite pistol, her ballistic knife, with the blade she had fired returned, her laptop, and her tech goggles. She then threw her jacket on again, and slung the bag over one shoulder and headed out the door, ¡°Looks like I¡¯m going mobile for a while.¡± She turned to the left, and moved towards the elevator, but before taking a second step noticed that the elevator was already coming up. Not wanting to take the risk of a second encounter, she turned completely around and walked quickly towards the stairs. She heard the cart shudder to a halt, and with a light ring, the doors began to open as she slid through the one to the stairs. She heard muffled voices and chose to walk up the stairs instead of down, in case they decided to come looking for her. She heard the muffled voices turn to angry shouts of, ¡°WHERE IS SHE?!¡± and accusations of having sent the rookie in alone. The shouts came closer, and she heard the thunder of a door being kicked in, and the sounds of metallic grinds followed by several snaps. She counted six snaps and cursed under her breath- six rifles all hunting for her. No matter how she approached the group a headlong confrontation would be suicide. She would have to lure them into spreading out somehow, if she couldn¡¯t just sneak past them. She waited patiently on the landing between floors, trying to determine where the squad¡¯s next move would take them. After only a moment, she heard the door to the stairwell slam open, and she counted three pairs of footsteps. She cocked her head to the side, intrigued. Three on one was a much better set of odds than six on one. Coming up with a plan, Annah lazily dropped a single bullet casing over the side railing, causing a barely audible clicking down the stairwell. One of the men announced, ¡°I¡¯ll check it out,¡± and strode quickly down the stairs. When she heard him clear the first landing, she moved. She sprang up from her sitting position, and lept down the first set of stairs, kicking off of the railing. Her motion propelled her down the remaining stairs, right into view of the remaining two men. The closer man saw her first, and tightened his grip upon his rifle with the dark maple-colored stock. She kicked her legs out in front of her, slamming her feet into his chest, driving him back into the wall. His back bent against the railing, forcing his head into the wall. The light drained from his eyes, and as he fell unconscious to the floor, Annah bent her knees giving her a gentler landing on the concrete. The next man began to fire in a panic before even gripping his rifle, causing a spray of cement dust. The recoil from the gun made it fly upward, and a single bullet grazed the strap of her backpack as she turned to the side. Annah heard the fateful click as the roaring gun fell silent, and she pounced from her crouching position. She placed a hand on the barrel of the empty rifle and pulled, forcing the hitman off balance right into her extending fist. She felt a satisfying force as she connected with his eye socket, causing him to reel backward toward the descending stairs. She saw the man who had fallen for her distraction returning up the stairs, running as he heard the gunfire. Annah ducked as he leveled his own rifle, and spun, kicking the legs out from under the man in front of her, sending him down the stairs at his ally. A single shot rang out from the standing man, running straight through his partner¡¯s abdomen, causing him to cry out in pain. The shooter, dropped his rifle in horror as he realized he had killed his friend. Seeing her next opening, Annah dashed down the stairs at the remaining man in the stairwell, knowing that she didn¡¯t have much time before the next three men arrived to kill her off. She placed one hand on the stairs behind her and pointed her toes as she extended her leg before relaxing her muscles, causing her leg to whip into his side with a satisfying thud. She then transferred her momentum into her other leg to push her slightly into the air, where she regained her vertical orientation before headbutting the man down the stairs. She heard other footsteps closing in, and grabbed onto the railing, swinging herself over to hang off the stairwell out of sight. ¡°Where did she go?¡± A worried voice asked from close by. ¡°She had to have been here just a moment ago.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. A heavier voice replied, ¡°She¡¯s probably hiding upstairs or running down. The boss¡¯ll have our heads if we don¡¯t catch her though, so we had better split up. You two go up, I¡¯ll go down.¡± Two men departed the landing, and as soon as their footsteps faded out, the heavy voice said, ¡°Come on out Annah, I¡¯ve been wanting to test myself against someone of your skill for a while.¡± Knowing that she was discovered, she climbed up onto the landing, and looked the heavyset man in the eyes, a stern look crossing her face. ¡°So you¡¯ve been feeling suicidal for a while?¡± She asked arrogantly, striking up her defensive pose. He mirrored her stance, and waited for her to move, but he had left a small gap in his guard. Annah noticed this instantly and swiftly swung a wide hook towards his side, only to find her arm swatted easily aside, and then countered with a sturdy punch into her gut. She reeled forward from the pain, and on his arm, she could see a tell-tale sign around his elbow, that she was fighting a man with a fully cybernetic body. She took a moment and stepped back composing herself, ¡°What¡¯s it tuned to? The legal speed only goes to seven.¡± He laughed loudly, ¡°You catch on quick. It¡¯s tuned to twelve. You can¡¯t react to my speed.¡± She chuckled heartily, ¡°Maybe I don¡¯t have to react then.¡± She opened her stance slightly as if she was offering him a free shot. He launched a fist forward, so quickly that she wasn¡¯t able to move out of the way. However, with her anticipation proving true, she moved backward in synchronization with the collision. She could tell from the speed that the blow had a severe weight behind it, but due to her movement, it felt as if it had been a sparring punch. Her gambit had worked, and the cybernetic man before her was left off balance. She quickly moved on the opening, and swung a left hook into his side. He didn¡¯t even flinch from her blow, ¡°Let me guess¡± she scowled in frustration, ¡°You had the pain sensors turned off?¡± He replied only with a nod and swung at her again. This one connected with her jaw, and stars filled her vision. She backed up holding the side of her head with one hand, and reaching into her backpack with the other. She could not win this fight unarmed, so she clutched her ballistic knife and pulled it from the pouch. As she did this, her adversary was closing the distance between them, and readying another strike. She traced his eyes, and saw he was watching her arm, expecting her to swing blindly at him again. Instead, she raised the blade of her knife up, forcing his fist to meet the point of it. She heard the blade strike his knuckles, and then slide in between his middle and ring fingers. She pulled the blade downward, tearing the tendons and synthetic flesh from the bottom side of his hand rendering two of his fingers immobile. She recognized the black fluid dripping from the torn tubes as the lubricating oil that kept a cyborg operational without every joint in their body grinding. Annah knew that the oil was highly conductive, and that if she could apply a charge to it, then maybe she could short out a few motors in the menace before her. He threw another punch and she tried to slide out of the way, but only managed to move enough so that his fist struck her arm. She heard a loud sickening crunch as the bone in her left arm snapped in two, and she screamed in pain. Adrenaline took over, and her mind began to fade as her body made the choice to fight for her. She leaped towards the man, causing him to lean back as her knife slid past his face. She then fired the blade straight into his foot before stomping upon it, pinning the foot to the floor. The man reached down to pull the knife from his foot, and she moved towards the lights on the stairs. She reached down and smashed the glass covering the light with her broken arm, not feeling the pain of the cuts due to the adrenaline coursing through her. She grabbed the light and pulled on it, breaking it free of its housing with the wires still attached. The man roared in rage as he spun to attack her wildly with his damaged hand. His attack came, but due to her adrenaline enhanced senses, she was able to place the light along the trajectory of his fist. The light shattered, and his muscles seized as the electricity coursed through his body. He fell backward, and she returned to what she was doing before. She ripped the wires from the base of the light, exposing the uninsulated tips. The man was just starting to recover from his initial shock, when she made her next move. When he was in reach of her, she jammed both wires into his bleeding hand, sending a current straight through his body. He clutched his hand to his chest, and then fell to the ground twitching. Before he even hit the ground, Annah had already started running down the stairs. She felt a numbness spreading through her body, and in some ways, it was welcome, as it meant she wouldn¡¯t feel the pain in her arm. She began to stumble down the stairs, bracing herself against the railing and crashing against the walls to make the turn on each landing. After only a minute of this, she reached the street level, and looked side to side for the nearest medical station. Spotting one, she sprinted over to it, dropping her bag against the wall as she opened the door. Crawling inside, she watched the robotic attendant inspect her seconds before she passed out. Intermittent bouts of consciousness flooded into her, and she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She heard a strange whirring of machines moving and clicking of metal on metal. The cold, lifeless voice of a terminal said, ¡°Select a speed. The legal limit is seven.¡± Annah¡¯s eyes shot open and she looked around, finding that her head couldn¡¯t turn much, she was strapped to a table, and her arm was missing. She strained against the cold metal pressing her to the table, but couldn¡¯t budge an inch. The voice continued on urging her to make a choice, ¡°The decision is not permanent, the tuning can be adjusted at any medical station. A non-response will default the tuning to seven.¡± Annah reflexively tried to pull against the restraints, but they were too tight, and without her left arm she didn¡¯t even have her full strength available to her. The mechanical voice said with a tone of finality, ¡°Seven speed tuned. Installing arm now.¡± A high-pitched whine rang in her ears and she saw a machine lower with a mechanical arm dangling from it. The various servos and motors moved, testing the functionality of the arm. It moved silently and smoothly, giving no indication that it was any different from a human arm- other than the fact that it had no skin and consisted mainly of metal. She grimaced as the mechanical replacement neared her shoulder. She could tell that there were no sedatives in her system, and due to that, she would feel every agonizing moment as her nerves were sewn onto the foreign object. A shiver ran through her as the cold metal touched her skin, and she braced herself for the pain that was to come. First, an assembly unit descended with an intimidatingly long needle, and extended it into her shoulder. She cried out in pain and clenched her teeth, trying to ignore the feeling as her nerves were stretched and pulled from her shoulder onto her new arm. Then she felt a pinch as the first nerve was melded with the arm. The pinching feeling continued around her arm, and Annah couldn¡¯t help but whimper and cry with every stitch. After an eternity of agony, the tugging and pinching of her nerves receded, only to be replaced by a slight itching on her shoulder where the skin met metal. She recognized this motion as the stitching of her skin onto the arm, and dreaded what was to follow. She clenched her teeth, and felt an increasing pressure against her shoulder. Tears began to fill her eyes as her shoulder flexed and bent, and finally, the metal joint slid into the socket in her shoulder with a resolute pop and she could feel her entire arm once again. Suddenly the restraints recoiled, and she was free to move again. She sat up and looked both eagerly and fearfully at her new arm. It was a dark metal color, and it moved as freely and naturally as her own arm. She stood and headed for the door, expecting to have to pay an obscene amount for the procedure that she hadn¡¯t requested. To her surprise, she found that the payment screen showed that she didn¡¯t owe anything. She looked closer at the screen, making sure that she was actually seeing what her eyes were telling her. After a moment, the door to the street clinic opened and the mechanical voice said, ¡°Consider this a peace offering, Miss Krie.¡± She scoffed and walked out the door, a slight bit of anger welling up inside her. Of course, they had replaced her arm for no cost, she was working towards something that would help the government. She wasn¡¯t the only one capable of tracking down the leader of this new resistance, but she was probably the only one who had even started yet. She would have preferred to get false skin attached to her whole arm, but time was not on her side, and that procedure was quite time-consuming. She scooped up her backpack that was thankfully still leaning against the building, and began to walk down the street. It was only then that she noticed that her hoodie was missing its sleeves. She imagined that it was the robots at the clinic who tore them off, to remove her arm and measure the other for her new arm. She shrugged, figuring that only one arm would get cold now anyway, and broke out into a light jog down the sidewalk. She wanted to find Cal before the sunset, so that she wouldn¡¯t have another moonlit meeting for him to sneak away from. The first difference that she noticed as she walked north was the street lights ceasing to flicker as they turned on. Unlike in the slums, the lights provided enough visibility to traverse the beaten-down road with relative ease. The evening began to set in, as the road regained the appearance of its earlier glory. Instead of constant potholes and cracks, there was an immense helping of tar that had been poured to repair every bit of damage to the street. The road turned, and her destination was in plain sight. Cal always frequented the same bar when he wasn¡¯t off delivering envelopes with contracts and job offers. She glared at the ground and mumbled to herself, ¡°Or plotting terrorist attacks.¡± She kicked at a can on the ground and realized that she had already closed the distance to Cal¡¯s favorite bar, The Brink of Infinity. It wasn¡¯t a spectacular bar, but she understood why he chose that one. The screen over the entrance portrayed the picture of a man standing on the edge of a hole in the earth that held no bottom. She walked through the sliding doors confidently, and was quickly greeted by the robotic barkeep she knew as Barten. His actual designation was B4R-10, but it was too tedious for most customers to say, so he simply went with what his name looked like. He ran over to her, and looked her up and down before noticing her new arm, ¡°So! You finally decided to join our kind, huh?¡± He laughed heartily, while Annah simply frowned. She paused for a moment, ¡°The only issue is that I wasn¡¯t the one who did the deciding. I¡¯ll tell you all about it next time I¡¯m here for fun instead of business. Is Cal here?¡± B4R-10¡¯s friendly tone vanished instantly, ¡°We don¡¯t talk about him around here. He¡¯s banned for life.¡± Realizing that Annah didn¡¯t know, he continued, ¡°If you buy a drink I¡¯ll tell you why.¡± ¡°Fine fine, I¡¯ll have the usual.¡± She groaned, pulling up a chair at the bar. After a moment of shaking and mixing, B4R-10 turned back to her, and she said, ¡°Still doing it the old-fashioned way, just how I like it.¡± ¡°Only for you, actually,¡± he said, shrugging. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who can tell the difference. Or the only one who cares.¡± He placed a cup in front of her with a dark liquid, and three large ice cubes. She lifted the glass an inch off the bar, and swirled it slightly causing the ice cubes to gently hit the glass, causing a small high pitched noise, ¡°So what¡¯s the deal?¡± ¡°With Cal? We all loved him, but he started changing recently.¡± B4R-10 said morosely, ¡°He used to just drink here to pass the time, but lately, I noticed that he was becoming more and more vocal during his visits, spouting dissent, and making wild threats.¡± He sighed and then continued, ¡°I asked him what was going on with him, and he got violent, pulled a gun on me, and started to warn everyone that I had been lacing his drinks with something. I disarmed him, and called the police, they took him in for a psychiatric evaluation.¡± ¡°When was this?¡± Annah asked shocked, ¡°I just saw Cal last night!¡± ¡°Funny story that.¡± The barman replied, ¡°He told me last night when I was carrying him to the back, while we waited for the police, that he had seen you again. He also said in his drunken stupor that you still hadn¡¯t upgraded any body parts.¡± He looked at her, and she could swear if he had them that he would have been raising an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you all about it Barten. Just not right now. I¡¯ve got work to do.¡± She then stood, and downed the rest of her drink, typed in a number on the keypad at the bar to pay, and turned to leave. ¡°See you later Ms. Krie.¡± He called after her, ¡°Come back soon!¡± and she was out the door. If Cal had been arrested, that exonerated him from starting the darknet feed where she had discovered the destructive plans. She made a mental check mark, and said, ¡°One down, two to go.¡± Tracking Down An Old Friend and a New Lead ¡°The government is meant to be for its people! For too long we have languished under a government that does not care for its people. The politicians that the people elected due to their fear and hatred have used the fear of the people to create a system where they hold absolute power. Power over your bodies, over your money, and even over your choices. We proved that fate exists when we created it in the form of a government more powerful than it¡¯s people.¡± Annah heard her own voice playing like a record in her mind. It was the day she had lost the rebellion, the day she had watched as all of her comrades fell around her when they attempted to storm the government tower. The resistance she had been leading fell that day, and even though the leaders of the rebellion survived, the ideas motivating them did not. Every council member lost something when they were forced to surrender. She had lost her wingsuit, Cal had lost his data spike. She didn¡¯t know what her other two members had lost since they had gone into hiding in the aftermath, but she was sure it was something just as vital to their skill sets. Aside from their belongings that were taken from them, the survivors also lost their will to continue fighting. They were powerless against the government, so instead of trying to change it, they went into hiding, staging personal rebellions against the law to assure themselves that they were still free. Annah pulled herself from her thoughts about the past and started to focus her energies on what she needed to do next. She had two more suspects that she needed to track down before they could have a chance to cause some major damage to the city. Annah had never known Heron as well as the other two suspects, which caused Annah¡¯s intuition to blame Heron for the imminent attack. Of course, she couldn¡¯t leave any stone unturned, and it would be a lot easier for her to actually find Artemis, so she decided she would go after Heron last. The next step would be to find some transportation- if she wanted to conduct a proper search for Artemis, she would have to leave the residential zone at some point. She wasn¡¯t hopeful that she¡¯d be able to find a car of her own, since she was in possibly one of the poorest residential districts in the whole city. The city was organized into large square zones orbiting the government tower, and the closer to it the buildings were, the better they were. It was obvious that any amount of money the government had went to showing off their wealth, and ensuring that they could live in comfort. There were several zones separating the residential slums from the wealthier areas, there was an industrial zone, where the only work for people living in the slums could be found. Then beyond that was a commercial zone, where there were stores aimed at catering to all audiences, a neutral zone between poverty and the most wealthy. Of course none of the truly wealthy would ever dare show their faces in that zone. They would rely on their servants and even robotic aids to purchase anything they needed. Next, there were the business and the second residential zone. These sections of the city were nearly as pristine as the tower they surrounded, and housed the wealthiest members of society. Of all the zones, Annah knew that Artemis would not set up her gig in the commercial zone. Instead, she would be most likely to do whatever she was up to in the industrial district. Artemis was an infamous club owner before the war, but she had a habit of setting her clubs up in the strangest locations. She claimed that it brought in the right crowd for her tastes, but Annah always thought it was just another way for her to avoid conforming. So where everyone else went for hard grueling work, Artemis would go to play. Annah gave up on her search for any kind of vehicle she could drive, as she suspected there weren¡¯t any cars in the area. Instead, she headed for the nearest transport hub. When she arrived at the terminal, she entered the farthest industrial district from her as her destination. The train system ran above the city, so Annah would be able to look out the window and spot any districts that had high activity for this time of night. The next train arrived moments later, and as she boarded she casually glanced at the clock until she heard the hiss of the doors sliding closed behind her. The train had more passengers than she had anticipated, but it was still empty enough that she could move around unaccosted. Taking a seat near the end of the car, she leaned against the wall and peered out the window while she waited for the train to depart. With a shudder of the cabin, the vessel began to pull out of the station, and Annah was pressed back into her seat by the rapid acceleration of the train. ¡°Looks like someone else in this district called for a ride,¡± she mused aloud as she noticed the train bypass the ramp that lead to the skyway. When they reached the next station, the rest of the passengers in the cabin stood up as the train came to a gentle stop. When the doors opened to the night air, they stepped out into the limited freedoms of their lives. A brief moment between their jobs and their homes where the government held no influence on their lives. After all the passengers had exited the train, a group of four men dressed in uniform black outfits and carrying silver cases boarded the train. They quickly spotted Annah sitting in her seat and began to whisper amongst themselves as they found their own. She managed to pick out a phrase, ¡°She¡¯s not supposed to be here.¡± There was a palpable air of tension surrounding the group as they looked the train car over with a textbook military precision, ensuring that they wouldn¡¯t be caught off guard. The train pulled out of the station and ascended the ramp onto the skyway, quickly reaching its top speed, and Annah began her search for any section of the city that seemed unusually busy. Her search was suddenly interrupted as she heard her name, ¡°Annah Krie.¡± One of the men spoke, introducing himself as the leader with his initiative, ¡°Do you have any last words?¡± ¡°Go away,¡± Annah answered nonchalantly, pretending to ignore the man, ¡°Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m trying to enjoy the view?¡± She kept her eyes glued to the window but paid careful attention to the reflections, watching for any moves from the group while she continued her search. The man, taken aback by Annah¡¯s reaction, didn¡¯t respond for a second, which allowed Annah to spot the sector she was looking for. There was an industrial sector which had an unusual stream of lights heading towards it. Government ordinance mandated that every factory needed to be shut down by eight PM. Seeing as it was nearly two AM it was obvious that the lights weren¡¯t people heading in for work. Annah then flipped around in her seat to address the man who had spoken to her first, ¡°Sorry, now that I¡¯m not so distracted,¡± she spoke while signaling the train which stop she wanted to disembark at, ¡°Was there something I could do for you?¡± ¡°I guess they weren¡¯t wrong when they said you were a bit crazy,¡± the man said, popping his knuckles. He had an extremely scrawny build, making it clear that he was joining the new resistance because he didn¡¯t even have enough to feed himself. The other members of his team didn¡¯t look much better. Two of the others looked sickly and had greying hairs, showing heavy signs of age. The fourth member was by far the youngest, the boy looked to be no older than sixteen, and certainly had no business carrying around the bombs that Annah suspected was in the cases. ¡°Why are you even here?¡± Annah asked slowly. ¡°It¡¯s pretty obvious you weren''t sent to kill me. No offense. And bombs are usually used for taking out big targets.¡± ¡°Well, there you have it. We need to see how effective the new compound is. So we¡¯re gonna blow up the train to make sure not a single drop is wasted.¡± ¡°Hit a strategic target while you¡¯re testing something new. Not a terrible strategy when you¡¯re limited on resources. Whoever is running the new resistance is pretty scrappy. Makes me think I trained them.¡± Annah pried, hoping for a hint. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t know. Never met him in person.¡± ¡°Go figure. Well, you know that I¡¯m no fan of this regime we live under, but blowing up this train won¡¯t accomplish anything. Save your test for another target.¡± ¡°Those aren¡¯t our orders,¡± the youngest chimed in. ¡°We have to blow up the train. That¡¯s our mission.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t hurt the government. Only the people who live in the city. And even then, that pain will only be temporary. And you¡¯ll be branded as terrorists for the rest of your lives. Please. Don¡¯t do this.¡± ¡°If we win, we¡¯ll go down in history as the heroes who sparked the revolution,¡± one of the sickly men retorted. ¡°I¡¯ll take that over dying old and alone any day.¡± He opened a case, revealing a timer that began to count down starting from two minutes. ¡°If you want to get off this train, I would do it quickly.¡± ¡°Two minutes isn¡¯t enough time to make it to the next stop!¡± Annah said urgently. ¡°You¡¯ll all be killed in the blast!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the idea. We don¡¯t got much to live for anyway, General,¡± the leader spoke, ¡°But our families might get to lead better lives for our sacrifice. Can you say you wouldn¡¯t make the same choice?¡± The rest of the cases snapped open, each with a timer in synch with the first bomb; one minute and forty seconds. Annah racked her brain, trying to discover the best course of action, and she had to do it quickly. Every second she spent thinking was one less she would have to put her plan into action. It was obvious she didn¡¯t have time to fight the bombers and stop the bombs, but she couldn¡¯t do one without the other. The bombs were going to detonate, and she had already wasted fifteen seconds trying to think of a way to defuse them. As Annah decided on her course of action, she sprung up causing the rebels to leap away from her thinking that she was on the offensive. Instead, she kicked open the door that separated the cabin from the outside world. The noise from the wind was nearly deafening, but it didn¡¯t stop Annah from diving straight through the door onto the next car. Drawing her pistol, Annah aimed at the coupling holding the train cars together and emptied the clip. The train came uncoupled and the cars at the back began to decelerate, creating a widening gap between them. Annah didn¡¯t have long to savor her escape, before she saw the leader leap across the gap carrying his bomb. He barely made the jump, and tumbled to the floor near Annah¡¯s feet. ¡°Have to finish the mission,¡± he wheezed. ¡°It¡¯s not just about the tracks, is it?¡± Annah said moving to grab the case. She needed to get it off the train, and fast. ¡°There¡¯s something on the train that needs to be destroyed, isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Research. They¡¯re transporting wreckage,¡± the man said jumping back to his feet and drawing a knife, ¡°And that means you¡¯ve got one minute left to get the hell off this train before you disappear with its contents.¡± Annah unsheathed her own knife not ready to give up without a fight. ¡°There¡¯s only one thing getting off this train.¡± Annah gestured to the bomb, and then rushed towards the terrorist. His reactions were slow and easy to predict, so it only took a quick feint with her knife followed by a forward sweep of her legs to put him back on the floor. She then rushed past him and scooped the bomb up and flung it out of the car. It landed on the tracks with the timer reading fifteen seconds remaining.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Annah could hear the anger in the bombers breathing as he stood back to his feet, ¡°If I don¡¯t succeed in destroying that wreckage then my family gets nothing! Do you hear me?! Nothing!¡± Annah didn¡¯t respond to him, she just watched him out of the corner of her eye as she waited for the bomb to go off. Flames erupted as the timer on the devices reached zero, shooting heat and shrapnel from the train high into the sky. The track itself was rended in two from the explosion, leaving a chasm between the ends of the tracks. Fortunately for the city below, there wasn¡¯t a single chunk of the train left intact to demolish any buildings as it fell. Instead, a rain of metal shards fell to the earth below skewering and impaling the ground. ¡°You think you¡¯d at least get a participation award.¡± Annah shrugged at the man who had slumped into a seat holding his head in his hands. Annah turned away from the open door of the compartment and moved to a seat. The train descended the ramp coming level with the streets before pulling into the transport hub in the industrial district. She gave a glance over her shoulder at the man who was still holding his head and had begun rocking back in forth in disbelief. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Annah left the train and ventured on to the streets. It was easy enough to spot her destination even from the street level since the glow of Artemis¡¯s club was illuminating the sky. Following the artificial sunrise, Annah soon made her way to the club, wondering just how many people her former ally had managed to coax out of the shadows to come to her venue. As Annah rounded the next corner she saw a short line leading into one of the uniform factories. Annah joined the queue and waited patiently to enter the building as it rumbled with the bass from the music playing for the guests as they danced. Every time the doorman opened the door the lights of the dance floor spilled out onto the streets and the sounds of the cheering crowd roared, demanding to be heard. Before long the queue had advanced enough, and Annah was the next guest in line to enter the club. She waited for the bouncer to open the door, but he simply stared at her stone-faced until she spoke, ¡°All full in there or something?¡± ¡°There¡¯s enough room. You¡¯re just not a regular so the owner is gonna have to interview you, to make sure you aren¡¯t trying to steal company secrets or anything.¡± The man spoke in a flat tone. ¡°Well, when can I meet her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s just finishing up a separate meeting. I¡¯m waiting for my partner to come out so he can escort you to the meeting room. Wouldn¡¯t want you getting lost or anything.¡± The bouncer replied snidely. The door then opened from the inside and a scrawny man motioned for Annah to follow him. ¡°She¡¯ll see you now.¡± He said as Annah left the line, and entered the building. The interior of the building was fairly plain allowing the most room for dancing, but there was a set of veiled booths at the back, and along the walls, there were coils and coils of wire that fired arcs of electricity across the ceiling providing a strobe light effect to the club. Her escort ushered her towards one of the veiled booths, before pulling aside the curtain so that she could comfortably step into the seat. When she had taken her seat she found a familiar face sitting across from her as the bodyguard closed the curtain. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Annah.¡± Artemis¡¯s silvery voice rang out from behind her crimson painted lips. ¡°Too long if you ask me.¡± Annah smiled coyly, ¡°Especially if you¡¯re starting up another resistance without me.¡± ¡°Oh come on Annah you know I¡¯m not the leader type. I¡¯ll join just about any rebellion, but I¡¯m not great at starting any kind of trouble.¡± Artemis chuckled. ¡°Well, in that case, did you join any rebellions lately? More specifically one that just reeks of terrorism?¡± Annah continued pressing ¡°What is this? An interrogation?¡± Artemis broke out into full-on laughter, ¡°I mean seriously, you haven¡¯t even asked how business has been.¡± Her eyes then narrowed as she focused on Annah¡¯s robotic arm, ¡°And that is definitely new.¡± Annah opened her mouth to speak but Artemis cut her off still beaming, ¡°I know I know, it¡¯s gonna be a long story. But you¡¯re not gonna get another answer out of me until I get to see it in action. And that¡¯ll put some of my suspicions to rest if you show your peak form¡± ¡°Cage match or brawl?¡± Annah said knowing how much Artemis loved to watch exhibition fights. ¡°Something big must really be at stake in your mind.¡± Artemis teased gently, ¡°You hate showing off.¡± ¡°Which is why you always make me do it if I need a favor.¡± Annah sighed, ¡°Come on, I am on a bit of a clock here.¡± ¡°Alright, you got it. Since I¡¯m feeling generous, it¡¯ll just be you versus one of my prizefighters. One on one. Should be a cinch.¡± Annah started to roll her muscles out limbering up so that she wouldn¡¯t be tense during the fight. ¡°Center stage I hope? If I¡¯m showing off I wanna go all out.¡± ¡°I knew it. You¡¯d never half-ass anything for me!¡± Artemis beamed brightly and pressed a button on a remote installed in her arm. There was a slight shudder, and a circular arena rose from the center of the room. There was a completely human girl standing on the ring as it rose, ¡°Do you have any idea how hard it¡¯s been trying to find a replacement for you? She¡¯s close¡± Artemis gestured to the girl in the ring. ¡°Strong, but not quite as smart as you.¡± ¡°Trying to soften me up so I get knocked on my ass?¡± Annah chuckled feeling a lightness that she hadn¡¯t recognized since her rebellion had reached full momentum. ¡°It¡¯s worth a shot.¡± Artemis conceded, ¡°Maybe I just wanna see something new.¡± ¡°Not if I can help it!¡± Annah called over to the booth as she jumped up into the ring. She started to size up her opponent, and it was obvious she really was one of Artemis¡¯s prizefighters. As far as Annah could tell, the girl was completely muscle. Perfectly toned for speed, and agility. This girl probably spent the majority of her daily life training to fight and Artemis would definitely pay her well if she put up a good fight against Annah. ¡°She¡¯d probably try to marry the girl if she beats me.¡± A murmur escaped Annah¡¯s lips, as she rolled her mechanical arm, as if to make sure it hadn¡¯t fallen off. ¡°We have a special treat for you tonight ladies and gentlemen! Center stage an impromptu fight between two of the best fighters I¡¯ve ever known!¡± Artemis¡¯s announcement rang out, and the cheering club went silent to look at the ring. ¡°You all know our reigning champ. The unstoppable amazon I like to call Princess.¡± Artemis paused for a second to watch as the fighter glared towards the speaker, ¡°It riles her up.¡± She cleared her throat before continuing her introductions, ¡°And new to our humble ring this evening, is a woman that some of you may recognize. If the Cyberhawk¡¯s reputation doesn¡¯t precede her then she¡¯ll surely win your hearts tonight! No pressure, love!¡± She sang as a holographic number five appeared between the two fighters It quickly counted down to zero, and a loud bell rang out as Artemis shouted, ¡°FIGHT!¡± And as if on command the pair in the ring leaped towards each other, closing the distance in a single bound. Annah struck first, leading with an obvious feint which was swatted aside as her opponent reversed the aggression and fired a basic cross across Annah¡¯s shoulder. The blow grazed her as she tried to move out of the way and it was obvious from the force the ¡°Princess¡± wasn¡¯t holding anything back. Annah spun away from the haymaker following the cross and drove the back of her knuckles into Princess¡¯s side. It was a defensive maneuver without Annah¡¯s full force behind the attack. It did, however, push her opponent away from her giving both women room to breathe. Annah intended to take a moment and analyze her opponent¡¯s motions, and see if there was an obvious habit that she could exploit. However, she didn¡¯t have a chance to think before the Princess had resumed the offensive with a leaping longfisted strike. Annah deflected the blow across her mechanical arm, and countered with a quick jab to the shoulder. Annah swept her leg forward, and caught her foe¡¯s ankle dropping her onto her back, but Artemis¡¯s prizefighter simply used her momentum from the fall to roll back to her feet driving a forceful uppercut into Annah¡¯s jaw, the blow staggering her. As she was reeling from the strike she could hear the Princess launch her next attack. Instinctively Annah shot her arm up to shield her face and felt her rival¡¯s boot smash into her knocking her backward onto the ground. ¡°Think!¡± Annah whispered angrily to herself, chiding herself for trying to put her brawn before her brains. She slowed her breathing down, calming her nerves as she watched the amazonian girl readying to strike at her again. As her heart rate slowed and she allowed her mind to overpower her instinct, she saw it. Her advantage was in her opponent¡¯s strength. If Annah couldn¡¯t overcome Princess with direct force, she would simply need to use the amazon¡¯s strength against her. By the time Annah had finished this thought she barely had time to react to the full force punch that was flying her way. Annah twisted her torso and leaned away from the punch, allowing it to fly past her. Using an open-handed strike, Annah struck at the other woman¡¯s elbow forcing it to extend fully into a straight arm. Then Annah added to Princess¡¯s momentum by shoving her along her back. The motion caused the amazon to lose her balance and fall forward over the arm that Annah was still grasping onto. As Annah let go of her opponent¡¯s arm, the fighter fell face first onto the ring. Annah relentlessly chased the Princess¡¯s fall with a swift punch to the jaw, the metal fist easily knocking her out. ¡°The Cyberhawk wins!¡± Artemis shouted over the intercom, ¡°I gotta admit, I was really hoping she¡¯d get slapped around a little more.¡± The girl¡¯s sing-song voice teased. ¡°I suppose you¡¯ll want your reward now, hmm?¡± Annah hopped down from the ring, her adrenaline still flowing at full force. The crowd immediately began to swarm around her, all yearning to get a closer look at Annah and her mechanical arm. Annah gently pushed her way through the crowd back to Artemis¡¯s booth and climbed up inside. ¡°You know with a little training she¡¯d be pretty unstoppable in there.¡± ¡°But where¡¯s the show in that?¡± Artemis cooed, ¡°After all it is for entertainment purposes, where¡¯s the fun in her just clobbering anyone who steps in the ring with her.¡± A rarely seen serious look crossed Artemis¡¯s face, ¡°Looks like you weren¡¯t joking about that terrorist cell. Anything you wanna tell me about a certain train exploding?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I was coming here to ask you about. I have to stop them.¡± Annah said deliberately, ¡°They have the plans for separation. They want to fracture their island to escape the government.¡± ¡°Yeah, you scrapped that idea for a pretty good reason if I remember correctly. Who would want to share a broken island with the people who had ruined their way of life? Do you think they¡¯re capable of actually pulling it off?¡± ¡°Hard to say for sure. If I had to guess though it¡¯s only a matter of time before they try it. The train was just a test anyway. Figuring out how powerful their new compound is. If that¡¯s only their first public step, then I-¡± ¡°We¡± Artemis interrupted, ¡°No way I¡¯m letting you go chasing after a terrorist organization without getting my own slice of the action.¡± ¡°Fine, in that case, we¡± Annah emphasized, ¡°Need to find more information about this group. They¡¯re really good at hiding their tracks it seems.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean that they¡¯re perfect. And as you might have suspected, they did try to recruit me. Thing is, they approached me at a public bar, and got themselves arrested. Up for a little prison break?¡± ¡°You¡¯re joking, right? Breaking into a government prison isn¡¯t exactly the best way to stay off anyone¡¯s radar.¡± ¡°Exactly! We want to get on the right radars. Break this guy out, and we¡¯ll have a guaranteed in with the group. Besides, you know it would be fun!¡± Artemis was pleading with Annah at this point. ¡°You¡¯ve been cooped up in your club too long, huh? You sound like you¡¯ve got cabin fever or something. Besides, there¡¯s no way to know which prison he was shipped off to. Why don¡¯t we try some of our old channels and see if we can find some sort of group or meeting? It¡¯s not like it¡¯ll be hard for us to prove we don¡¯t like the government.¡± ¡°Boring!¡± Artemis exclaimed, ¡°But probably the best option we¡¯ve got at the moment. See what I mean about me being a terrible leader?¡± ¡°Look, we can cover more ground if we split up to find this recruiting center or whatever it¡¯s called. How about we meet back here in an hour or so and discuss what we¡¯ve found.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine but here.¡± Artemis said passing over an earpiece to Annah, ¡°We should have some way to get in touch if we find something sooner. Alright.¡± She then continued, hopping out of her booth and whispering something to one of her guards who climbed up into the seat she had left vacant. Annah slid out of the booth behind her, and the pair exited the club and parted ways for the time being searching for any signs of the terrorist group. Gang Initiation As the allotted hour came to a close, Annah was increasingly frustrated. Not only had she been unable to find any tangible leads, but she hadn¡¯t heard anything from Artemis either which meant that she wasn¡¯t alone in her failure. Alternatively, it could have meant that Artemis really was in the group and had used the idea of infiltrating the organization as a means to slip away from Annah¡¯s inquiry. Her train of thought was interrupted by a chirping in her ear, signaling that Artemis was calling her. She tapped a finger to her ear activating the comm line, ¡°Did you find something?¡± The voice on the other end was heavily distorted, and metallic sounding, ¡°I¡¯ve got an in. They¡¯re holding a recruitment operation tonight. I¡¯ll get you the details when we meet back up.¡± The line gave a brief click as Artemis cut off the call, leaving Annah on her own once again as she began the trek back towards Artemis¡¯s club. When she arrived outside the building Artemis was already waiting for her, ¡°So, now that we¡¯ve got a little time to kill, you wanna tell me about it?¡± She gestured to Annah¡¯s arm. ¡°Fine, but we should head to the location while we wait. I wanna scope out the place to make sure we aren¡¯t walking into a trap.¡± ¡°The meeting is out on the docks, so that¡¯s probably a good idea. If we¡¯re lucky the trains are still running out that direction so we won¡¯t have to walk the whole way.¡± ¡°Smart place for a meetup like this if you ask me, the docks haven¡¯t been used since the creation of synthesized crops. They grow so fast there isn¡¯t really a need to import anything anymore.¡± ¡°And even if they did have the intention of importing anything they¡¯d just use the landing strip on top of the tower.¡± ¡°The promise of becoming the first self-sufficient nation, where wealth wasn¡¯t a factor in our way of life. Safe to say that little experiment failed.¡± Annah scoffed, as they returned to the train station where the surviving half of the train still rested. When the island had first been built, the trains crossed the oceans leaving a connection with the outside world, and leaving a pathway for more immigrants should they agree to join the social experiment. Annah¡¯s grandparents had been in the first group to arrive on the island, and at first, it seemed that the idea was successful. Reports showed that nearly ninety percent of the citizens on the island were content with their life and felt that they were being governed fairly. And most importantly the rate of poverty was reported at less than a tenth of a percent. By the time Annah¡¯s parent''s generation had taken the mantle the rate of poverty had risen to an alarming ten percent, in part that was due to an inexplicable inflation in the price of simple groceries, and other necessities for survival. But that was nothing compared to the spike in poverty that occurred over the next twenty years. Through the use of thorough data mining, the government, which ran every business, service, and housing sector, initiated a program clearly designed to line their own pockets. They were able to manipulate the market so effectively, that they knew exactly who was going to buy a product, and exactly when they would do so. The result of this manipulation was the exponential increase in the price of any and all products in demand, which in turn led to an alarming poverty rate of fifty-two percent, and the eventual creation of the slums. Annah¡¯s mother had been among those moved to the slums when she couldn¡¯t afford to pay the rent that had come with the comfortable apartment Annah had spent her first years in. Annah had been raised in the slums, so she was no stranger to that section of society. ¡°Hey, Annah.¡± Artemis spoke gently, ¡°Are we fools? For trying to rebel?¡± Annah took a moment to answer as they climbed aboard the train noting the alert of the scheduled demolition of a broken down section of the track, ¡°Foolish maybe. But anyone who questions their government in times of chaos and strife is not foolish¡± ¡°Ha, who am I kidding.¡± Artemis laughed, ¡°If anyone in this world is a fool it¡¯s the one who tries to stand in your way when you¡¯ve set your mind to something.¡± The train was already hurtling towards the docks, ¡°No more delays.¡± She then said in a demanding tone while staring at Annah¡¯s arm, ¡°Story now.¡± ¡°Nothing really that special.¡± Annah started, ¡°Got in a fight, broke my arm, then they chopped it off.¡± She said making an angry gesture towards the train car. ¡°And? Come on I need details!¡± Artemis said shaking Annah lightly, causing the woman to groan and recount the events of her past nights. ¡°Satisfied?¡± Annah said rolling her eyes, causing Artemis to nod with a little giggle. ¡°You can be such a pest.¡± ¡°Let me get this straight, you managed to evade a hit squad of these guys, including a full-blown cyborg and you managed to escape with only a broken arm?¡± Artemis asked incredulously, ¡°If that¡¯s the caliber of people this group really has working for them, should we really be that worried?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the quality I¡¯m particularly worried about in this instance.¡± Annah countered as the train began to pull into the run-down station at the docks. It¡¯s the sheer number of people that could be influenced by them. Remember what we pulled off with our little ensemble? Our revolution was founded on the backs of civilians devoted to a cause. They were willing to die for that cause, and I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what we¡¯ll face.¡± ¡°Strap your little invention on anyone that devoted and you¡¯ve got a pretty good army,¡± Artemis said tracing a scar on the back of her neck. ¡°To be honest I kind of miss that feeling, I wish you hadn¡¯t destroyed the schematics for it¡± Annah had designed a chemical synthesizer that would work in tandem with a brain scan to provide a soldier with everything they needed to survive in battle. If fear was to overtake one of her men, then Annah¡¯s device would provide dopamine forcing the subject to enjoy the thrill of battle. Paired with a mild adrenaline drip, and her soldiers had managed to become an elite force in the short time they had to prepare for war., ¡°And I¡¯m glad I did. I don¡¯t want to think what would happen if the government slaps one of those on every citizen. Flood anyone with enough dopamine, and they¡¯ll be happy enough to live off the dirt in the slums.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being paranoid. They already have complete control, why would they want to waste the money to make the dirt on their boots feel happy about it?¡± Annah didn¡¯t have time to respond before she heard the chatter of a group of people growing louder as they approached the dock. ¡°Looks like we found the place,¡± Annah whispered taking the lead as the pair walked into the makeshift fort built from ruined shipping crates. She took a look at the group that had gathered in the room, and nodded acknowledging anyone who welcomed her and Artemis. The pair found themselves an open spot against a wall where they could easily observe the room. It was a simple area with worn benches, and even a shoddy stage with a jerry-rigged podium. Annah made a note of the pair of exits on either side of the room as a speaker came to the stage, ¡°Welcome my new brothers and sisters.¡± The young man spoke as though he were leading a mass in prayer, ¡°Your devotion to the idea of freedom is obvious, otherwise you would not have made the journey to this forsaken place. But your devotion to our family must still be tested. No one will judge you if you do not follow through with the task I am about to set you. But freedom has a price, and we must be willing to pay the toll.¡± He paused for a moment allowing a chatter to build up in the small crowd, ¡°Should you truly wish to fight alongside us, then I ask that you ensure this man,¡± A picture of an old wealthy looking man was displayed before the crowd, ¡°Does not survive his trip to the poor residence.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Makes sense for an initiation,¡± Annah whispered hoarsely to her companion. ¡°If they can¡¯t kill someone who they¡¯re going to wage war against then they¡¯re useless as soldiers.¡± Artemis turned to reply, an obvious look of disgust on her face, but she was interrupted as the speaker continued. ¡°The one who actually carries out the kill will be granted a higher position within the organization. To make the trial a little more interesting.¡± He said finishing with a flourish of his hands signaling that the group was dismissed. As the company departed the man who had given the assignment addressed Annah directly, ¡°I do hope that your conviction holds, Cyberhawk. I would hate to see your reputation shatter and find out that you¡¯d given up on your dream just to live a few more years in slavery.¡± It was an obvious jab at how she had gone into hiding after the revolution had been quashed, but Annah gave no reaction to it other than to spin on her heel and follow after the group that was quickly beginning its march towards the poor residence, murmurs of dissent already hissing through the ranks. ¡°I didn¡¯t sign on to kill innocents.¡± ¡°He¡¯s got money. Do you really need any other proof?¡± The banter continued as the hopeful rebels debated the worth of their target, ¡°Why would he come to the poor residence if he didn¡¯t want to help the people?¡± ¡°Two words: Publicity. Stunt. He just wants to make it look like the government cares so that the approval rating doesn¡¯t drop any farther.¡± Annah interjected to put an end to the debate, ¡°If you¡¯re already questioning the orders of your superiors you¡¯ll never survive in an army. It¡¯s simple, you kill the man you¡¯re in. They don¡¯t care if you think he deserves it or not. They care what you do.¡± ¡°They want to make a difference, they¡¯re fighting for the people.¡± Someone fired back ¡°And to fight any war you need disciplined soldiers, not opinionated individuals. Believe in their cause or not, they just want you to follow orders.¡± There was no response from anyone in the group other than for Artemis to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and soon they left the docks finding themselves in the slums. Annah and Artemis hung a ways back from the group so that they could talk in at least some imitation of privacy. When they had separated themselves enough from the group, Artemis, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, whispered, ¡°This is starting to sound like a trap to me. You told me you were their number one public enemy. And they recognized you. Keep your guard up.¡± ¡°You should know by now, my guard is never down.¡± Annah smirked, ¡°I¡¯m honestly hoping it is a trap, because that will give me a chance to pry some information out of the people laying the trap. That¡¯ll be so much faster than working our way up the ranks¡± ¡°Faster and more dangerous.¡± Artemis worried aloud ¡°What¡¯s with you?¡± Annah asked furrowing her brow, ¡°You¡¯re usually the consequences be damned type.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just worried that if they¡¯re using some of your tactics, that they¡¯ll be planning for you to take this approach,¡± Artemis confessed. ¡°The thought had crossed my mind, but I need answers, and that means I don¡¯t have another option.¡± Annah admitted clearly frustrated, ¡°I can¡¯t just sit by and let some careless idiots kill the people they¡¯re so determined to liberate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what you do. You¡¯ve always been a woman of action, even when the only action you could possibly take was one that had no chance of success.¡± Artemis faltered off and the pair walked in silence for a time. The way the city was sectioned, it took about an hour to walk between the different districts, That meant that as the entourage finally reached the poor residence the sun was already rising. Which meant that time was racing against them, as the wealthy man¡¯s visit would be underway soon, and Annah would have to make a choice. Assist in assassinating this man, and possibly prevent a benefit program from being founded, or find the members of the organization who would be supervising the operation and beat them to a living pulp. ¡°Annah. I¡¯ve got an idea.¡± Artemis chimed in, disrupting the silence, ¡°If I go with the group, I can stall out the assassination while you find the guys supervising the operation, that way we can make sure we don¡¯t have to kill this guy until it¡¯s our only option left.¡± Annah nodded in reply, ¡°Don¡¯t put it off too long if you¡¯re in danger because of it. I¡¯ll try to find these guys quickly.¡± She then broke away from the group, and began to take the quickest path she knew of to the street where the meeting would take place. If the hit was meant to incite anger, then it would happen publicly. Firstly, there would be anger from the people with wealth that one of their own had been killed and if the organization was lucky even a retaliation which would only serve to escalate tensions while the wealthy thought they were showing their own strength. Annah, fortunately, arrived at the crossing early enough that the crowd was thinking enough to allow an easy passage into the buildings where the best vantage could be found. Looking around Annah saw nothing but sheer glass on the buildings giving no indication where the watchmen would be staked out. The longer it took her to find them the less time this politician had, and the crowd was already swelling around her in anticipation of this meeting. Annah spun round and round looking for any clue until she was knocked to the ground by someone running into her back. She rolled onto her back prepared to defend herself but was greeted with the sight of a young woman holding her hand out to help her up, ¡°Even if this meeting is conceived from pure intentions it can only lead to us having even less control over our lives. It must be stopped.¡± Once Annah had regained her footing she tried to figure out where the girl had run off to, but she had already disappeared into the crowd. The Phantom was right, Annah despised his origins and she couldn''t help but feel that this meeting was purely an attempt to gain more control. If the man lived the people would surrender their freedom for the promise of a better life, and if the assassination was successful their freedom would be wrested from them. A situation without a viable outcome to her liking so how could she possibly choose between two choices that led to the same end. Violence or submission. The choice was no longer within her control she realized as she heard the sound of a car as it turned onto the street. The target¡¯s speech would begin soon and once he was out in the open her window of opportunity would shut rapidly. A hush fell over the crowd as well car door shut and Annah caught a glimpse of the speaker. He was well dressed and sported a watch that glistened in even the faintest of lights, as though it was made from stardust to provide its own sparkle. Even the light gait he carried as he approached the podium gave away his wealth. He walked carefully as though even touching the ground in this district would drain him of his money. As he began to speak he revealed the single part of his being that refused to be dainty, his voice. ¡°Citizens. Your living conditions are unpleasant to even know of. It brings me great shame that this great city does not provide a better standard of living for you. It has fallen far from the wonderful lives that were granted to your ancestors not even two generations ago.¡± his voice carried such a forceful weight that it seemed obvious he spoke the truth. ¡°It is my belief that with cooperation between the capital and these outer districts we can certainly reclaim that higher standard we know is possible.¡± his words sent a ripple of discussion through the crowd as they mulled over his words. The discussion quickly turned to outrage before he could speak again, ¡°It was the capital that tore our parents¡¯ lives away! How could we ever trust you to give it back?¡± The crowd was roaring now and Annah knew she was out of time. The rising volume of the crowd would make it easy for any assassin to carry out their mission and then slink away undetected. ¡°It is true that the greed of the wealthy is the cause of our current predicament.¡± He paused for a moment to allow the crowd to process what he was saying but instead the pause only accentuated the crackling hiss of a rifle as it launched a vessel of death towards the speaker cutting short both his speech and his life. Annah cursed under her breath as she witnessed the ambassador fall to the floor clutching his throat. Her eyes then traced towards the origin of the sound, trying to locate the shooter, but her only clue was a glimpse of a barrel withdrawing within a closing window, waiting just long enough to confirm the kill. Annah was sure now that it had been Artemis who had pulled the trigger, most shooters would pull the rifle back after their first shot for fear of being found, but an experienced sniper would expect that their location had already been discovered by the first shot so they wanted to ensure that they finished the job. Of course, an expert sniper might look like an amateur but an expert sniper would know that their shot would hit before firing and that¡¯s why they would pull away before confirming the kill. Catch and Release The crowd was screaming, and the security of the dead speaker had drawn their own guns the instant the shot rang out, looking around as Annah had done trying to locate the source of the shooter. Fearing more shots, however, they also ducked behind cover. Annah quickly pushed her way through the crowd towards the building Artemis had fired the shot from. After wading through the panicked crowd, Annah flew into the five-story building running towards the stairs. As she entered the stairwell, she could hear muffled voices as they echoed down to her from the upper floors. She vaulted over the railing rushing up the stairs towards the sounds from above. As she rounded the landing onto the fourth floor, the voices fell instantly silent, and Annah froze. They hadn''t moved in the slightest during Annah ¡¯s reckless charge. Had she sprinted headlong into such an obvious trap? She turned around to leave but found herself face to face with two rebels restraining Artemis who was supporting a cut across her brow, and a piece of tape across her mouth. Annah¡¯s friend was fervently kicking against the man and woman holding her prompting her female captor to strike her across the face with the butt of a rifle. ¡°Stop your squirming traitor. We need to talk to your friend here.¡± She then gestured to Annah¡¯s who remained silent as a few more rebels entered the room circling her. ¡°You¡¯re coming with us Cyberhawk. If our revolution is to succeed then we will need to free your mind.¡± They spoke prompting a glare from Annah. ¡°My mind is my own and I won''t enslave myself to your lethal ideals just to prove that I am free.¡± Annah¡¯s scowl deepened, ¡°There was a reason I was against your plan the first time I saw it.¡± ¡°Then you should have buried it along with the man who developed it.¡± the woman holding Artemis spoke up, ¡°That is your greatest sin. You swore you would fight to free the people, but you unilaterally removed the one chance of freedom that they had. Freedom but only on your terms. You¡¯re no worse than the tyrants you claim to hate.¡± Before Annah could respond, Artemis stood up abruptly ramming the top of her head into the angry woman¡¯s chin, and Annah could clearly see a fire in her eyes. As laid back as Artemis was, she could be extremely quick to anger when anyone attacked someone she called a friend. Everyone turned to face Artemis, and her other captor moved to subdue her, but Annah was already in motion. She flew forward striking the man in the face before he could touch Artemis. With the two nearest to them, knocked down, Annah thought that perhaps they could escape the trap she had so carelessly wandered into, but her hopes were dashed as she heard the sound of several rifles being pointed directly towards her. Annah slowly raised her hands over her head understanding that she was cornered. During the scuffle, Artemis had managed to pull the tape off of her mouth just to say, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± before the rebels surrounded and bound the pair of women. ¡°Good to see you¡¯ve still got some fight in you Cyberhawk.¡± the man Annah had punched mocked her, ¡°You¡¯ll need that if you want to break free.¡± Annah remained silent understanding that she could not reason with this group. Instead, she was already trying to figure out how she was going to escape. Annah and Artemis were pulled up to their feet and the rebels directed them to the stairs ordering them to walk. As they neared the ground floor Annah could hear the commotion outside as the police were searching each building for the source of the shot. ¡°So where''s your escape route?¡± Annah said curiously, ¡°Because I am not going back to that jail just because your little band of terrorists doesn''t have enough brainpower to formulate a complete plan!¡± ¡°You underestimate us. And it''s obvious you do because of your current situation that you don''t really appreciate the weight of what you accomplished.¡± The woman snarled as though Annah¡¯s very existence offended her, ¡°You by no measure were the first rebel, but your approach was unique. Every plan, every operation meticulously plotted every outcome considered. That attention to detail is your legacy and that''s why we will succeed. We all think like you did.¡± She then ushered Annah towards the elevator, ¡°In.¡± She uttered a simple command and Annah curiously stepped in with Artemis close behind. A few more rebels crowded into the elevator and then the doors closed leaving the group in a tentative silence. Artemis was the first to breach the treaty, ¡°So, now what? The police can check elevator cars too you know?¡± She was met with silence and the sight of the other rebels tensing up. Artemis tapped her foot impatiently her demeanor demanding an explanation. Annah grabbed her shoulder and started to say, ¡°I think we¡¯re about to find,¡± her voice was suddenly empowered by adrenaline as she felt the floor fall out from beneath her, and she finalized her sentence ¡°Out!¡± It was a short fall and instinctively Annah rolled upon landing to negate the impact upon her joints. In the dimly lit underground, Annah could see that they were standing in the sewer system. The rebels who had been prepared for the drop were already standing and composed before the next group dropped down after them. Artemis, however, took a bit longer to collect herself having been unprepared for the fall. ¡°What kind of escape route is this!¡± She exclaimed as she finally clamored to her feet atop the metal walkway. ¡°A convenient one.¡± The male leader spoke as he dropped into the hallway. We''ve been building this network for some time now, and I''m sure you''ll appreciate it when you see the scope of the project we have started.¡± ¡°Only one question,¡± Annah quizzed her captors, ¡°What do you do about any maintenance workers who end up in your tunnel¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°It¡¯s simple really. When the oppressed see our way of life, they can¡¯t help but join our cause.¡± ¡°Then show the world! If you have such a glorious way of life, then show the world what you¡¯re capable of.¡± She heard no reply, but instead, she was ushered down the tunnel, and began to walk her way along the narrow path. It was clear that the renovations of the tunnels were progressing smoothly from the sound of the work machines that she could hear all the way down the tunnel. Fifteen minutes later, the party approached what appeared to be a dead end in the tunnels, but as they came closer they were able to see instead that there was an opening just beneath the railing. Annah leaned down to look through it and saw a massive chamber. of sorts crowded with people. They all looked ragged and worn out, but at the same time, not one person carried a frown upon their face. ¡°Can you see it Cyberhawk?¡± The woman who had restrained her spoke, ¡°True happiness is achievable contrary to what you believe. You just have to be willing to sacrifice enough to take it.¡± ¡°If this is possible then show it to everyone!¡± Annah demanded, ¡°You won¡¯t need to rebel if you can actually support this way of life for all of the people you claim you¡¯re trying to liberate.¡± Annah hesitated to see if any of her captors would respond before continuing on, ¡°What you have won¡¯t work for the full population will it? If you only save five percent of the population, no matter how happy they are, you have failed.¡± ¡°You would know all about failure wouldn¡¯t you.¡± The same bitter woman taunted Annah, ¡°You needn¡¯t worry about what our plan is, you¡¯ll be locked up until after it¡¯s finished. If you survive the separation then you can join our new civilization when it is born.¡± The woman then directed a grizzled soldier to take Annah and Artemis away, ¡°Lock them up securely. They have a general idea where our city is, so we can¡¯t let them leave.¡± The soldier saluted to her and then ushered the duo down a hallway opposite them. Every step down the tunnel gave a slight metal ring as the grates beneath them shifted to accommodate their weight. After they rounded a corner the soldier spoke, ¡°General. I thought you were dead.¡± Annah paused and spun to take a closer look at the man ¡°You were a part of my rebellion!¡± She said recognizing his face, as one of the soldiers she had seen cut down in the heat of battle, ¡°How are you here? I saw you die.¡± ¡°Keep walking and we can talk more.¡± He said directing them to take a left turn, ¡°Apparently I was lucky. The bullet that hit me missed my heart by about a centimeter. Any further in either direction and I wouldn¡¯t be standing here. Ms. Krie, I want you to know I have no desire to actually blow the city apart, but I do want to keep this city as a refuge from those who need to escape the city above.¡± ¡°Have you tried discussing that with the people running this show?¡± Artemis chimed in, ¡°Maybe they can see that there¡¯s another option than just fighting to the last breath.¡± ¡°That sort of conversation might be seen as dissent, and anyone who dissents from the grand council¡¯s methodology has to prove they deserve a spot in the new world.¡± The soldier frowned. ¡°If you ask me the government that¡¯s forming here is just as authoritarian as the one up there. The difference is that they are trying to provide for everyone here instead of just lining their own pockets.¡± ¡°Do you remember what I used to say about corrupt governments?¡± Annah laughed cynically, ¡°If you overthrow a corrupt government with an iron fist, it¡¯s only a matter of time until that same corruption regrows within the new government.¡± ¡°Repair don¡¯t start over.¡± The soldier nodded, ¡°That idea works if a system is built on a good set of ideals. Tell me, if you had actually finished your rebellion would you have taken a seat in the tower?¡± ¡°That was never my life. I couldn¡¯t do something like that, it¡¯s not in my blood¡± Annah shrugged, ¡°I always just thought of myself as a sort of custodian who wanted to clean up the trash in their system.¡± ¡°Just through this door.¡± The soldier said gesturing to a hatch. He spun the wheel on the door and opened it up revealing an open sky above, and an open channel where the storm drains could feed out into the ocean. ¡°What is this?¡± Annah asked looking around, ¡°This is outside. Not a prison cell.¡± She turned back to face the soldier who had lowered his gun ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right, now punch me in the face for good measure. It¡¯s their fault for only sending one guard to escort two trained assassins. I have a dream where both cities can live in unison. And that can only happen if we aren¡¯t labeled as terrorists. Please find a way to stop the rift.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Annah said with a smile, ¡°Although, you probably wanna empty your clip into the door after you get back up. It¡¯s less suspicious if you actually fire some rounds at us.¡± ¡°Thanks for the advice general.¡± He said relaxing. ¡°I¡¯m ready when you are.¡± Annah threw a fast jab into the man¡¯s face breaking his nose. She then kicked him back into the hallway and slammed the door shut behind him. A second later she heard his rifle roar to life and a hail of bullets flatten themselves against the hatch. ¡°Come on Annah. Let¡¯s get going.¡± Artemis urged pulling on her arm, ¡°We need to get as far away from here as possible and figure out our next move.¡± ¡°I think I know what our next move is,¡± Annah said starting to run up the channel towards a ladder that led back to the street level. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that was a little too convenient? They send one soldier with a pair of two highly trained assassins, who aren¡¯t bound very securely?¡± Annah demonstrated by using her mechanical arm to break out of the bindings, ¡°And that soldier just happens to be someone who fought in the last war?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not impossible, but I can see why you would be suspicious.¡± Artemis offered, ¡°He seemed like he genuinely had a hope for a peaceful future.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the other thing. I don¡¯t remember much about him from before, but I do remember one thing, he thought that the best way to win the war was to commit a genocide against the wealthy. He harbored such a hatred for the people living in the center, that there is no way he would be content living alongside them. I think this whole plot I so conveniently stumbled upon is a ruse to keep me chasing my tail until their real objective is completed.¡± Annah undid Artemis¡¯ restraints and they ascended the ladder, back to the street. ¡°What made you suspicious of the plan?¡± Artemis asked as she climbed up to the landing, ¡°I had no suspicions until you brought it up.¡± ¡°This group was inspired by my actions five years ago. They use some of the same tactics, but they put their most important plans out in the exact same way I would. That makes it obvious that I would find out about it. And yet they sit here saying that they can¡¯t let me discover what they¡¯re up to. Sometimes if all the pieces fit too easily it¡¯s because someone¡¯s been machining them to fit their schemes instead.¡± ¡°So what are they actually going after then? And what¡¯s our next step?¡± Artemis asked narrowing her eyes. ¡°Well, they are developing a new way to blow stuff up, so they do have a target. And it might have to do with some wreckage that was being transported on a train. And that cargo was headed straight towards the tower.¡± ¡°Annah, no way! We can¡¯t go there!¡± Artemis interjected, ¡°There is no way we¡¯re getting into the tower.¡± ¡°I need more information, and that¡¯s where I¡¯m gonna find it. I need to figure out what the government is working on, so I can figure out where the terrorists are going to attack. Oh and another thing. The Force for Island Liberation? No one would name their group that. Literally no one.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. I mean cyberangels had a nice ring to it, but it didn¡¯t exactly relate to what we were trying to do.¡± Artemis laughed, ¡°But don¡¯t distract me! Do you have a plan to get into the tower?¡± ¡°Would you be okay if I had a plan to figure out a plan to get into the tower?¡± Annah said slyly, causing Artemis to groan, ¡°I need to go talk to Barten again. He¡¯ll be able to point me in the right direction if we use the correct phrasing.¡± ¡°Sometimes, I hate your method of making plans,¡± Artemis said as they started to walk to the nearest transport hub. ¡°This is not gonna go well, I can feel it.¡± ¡°Believe me, if we had another choice I would go with that first. I have no desire to go anywhere near the tower. Five years ago sure I wanted to storm the place, but now I would try anything else first. Dead ends will drive a person to extremes.¡± As they boarded the first train into the station, Artemis fell silent, admitting that she agreed with the course of action they were taking. Annah then pulled up a directory and set their destination as the Edge of Infinity where Barten worked, and soon the train was speeding back towards the start of Annah¡¯s investigation.