Chapter 3

-1-

He was doing a shitty job of playing dead. His body was shaking uncontrollably giving him away

I laid the  M17 on the table, it was still burning hot.

 “The next one won’t be a warning shot,” I informed him kneeling down to pick up the bullet that had hit his office wall. It was inches from ricocheting off the wall and hitting him in the face—which would have been extremely unfortunate for the both of us but mostly for him.

“W-w-w-ill a wire transfer work ?,” he asked as he pathetically stumbled off the ground and over to his desk knocking his son’s graduation photo over in the process.

 “It’d be better cold,” I said

“Cold ?,” he asked

“Cash. Physical money. It doesn’t matter  just make the transfer so I don’t  have to kill you,”

The man was on the heavier side and I could only imagine the job getting rid of his body would be.  I just wanted to go home, I was sick of pathetic marks like this.

“I’ll have cash next time,” he said as he began to type in the computer.

Next time ? Really ?  You'd go through this again. Some people are idiots

 The newly rejuvenated Republican government hired some ace hackers—some of them former convicts--- to watch for anything tied to  illegal activity.  They were trying to put an end to the cartel and the wars between the Yakuza and Mjollner. The black market  was beginning to circumvent the government by  dealing large sums in physical money. I watched him make the transfer and turned around to leave without a word.

I had no sympathy because, it makes no since to buy drugs you can’t afford.

I headed out of the uptown office building and  prepared for my 15 minute walk home. I was glad to have a car but, I kept it in a garage because I was sure it would get rolled if I left a car that nice on the street in the LOLA. There were enough dangerous chemicals in the engine to get off any drug addict.

When I was in my neighborhood , I headed for my building, quickly went up the stairs and into the loft where to my relief Jean was gone. I was sure he was going to go back into his depression after the blow up with his family yesterday but I guess he hadn’t.

I walked to my corner of the room and opening the black trunk and placed the gun back in with  the other ones. I always carried a weapon with me but, this particular one caused more of a distraction than I wanted.

I headed  for the door when something about the pink curtain stopped me. I  was feeling lucky so I knocked on the wall near the curtain.

“Allison,” I said

I heard her shuffling around, I imagined she was fixing her hair or something.

“Yes ?,” her voice said

“I’m going to Luxor do you want to come ?,” I asked

She pushed the curtain aside and stood in front of me.

If I knew someone who could hack her proximity blocks I would have had sex with her by now.

“You drink now ?,” she asked

“Not, really.” I lied,” Allison I hate seeing you like this. You can’t live like this--,”

“I know ,” she said, “but, when the war is over---“

“Allison, the war may never be over,” I said, losing my patience,” You have to move on. You can’t be upset forever,”

“I can be upset,” she said, “ I should be shopping for winter formal, enjoying senior year, getting ready to go to college. That’s all I want and you took that from me--,”

“Would you prefer not having a life ?,” I asked,” I was only trying to save you. Listen Allison when you are ready to make this your home—no matter how temporary—Jean and I are waiting.”

With that I turned and walked out of the door.

I headed down the stairs and to the Luxor. On the side of the building I saw Jean—his  arms were wrapped around a man's neck. The man’s hands were placed around Jeans hips and Jean was whispering something coyly into the his ear. Jean and I exchanged glances and then I went inside and sat at the bar.

Yep, he was back.

I ordered a cup of coffee and  a few minutes later Jean walked up behind me,  kissed the side of my face and taking the stool next to me took a sip out of my drink.

“Like you can’t afford your own,” I said

“Excellent point,” he smiled taking another long drink,” But, I lost that one.”

“Really ?,”

“Fucking cops,” he sighed

“Isn’t that your specialty ?,”

“Fuck off,” he smiled

One of the presidential candidates was a police captain or something.

Now, all of the cops in the LOLA were suddenly giving a damn.

I let Jean have the coffee because I was just happy to see him out.  I held out a few more bills signaling El to bring me another cup for myself.

“Taking bets ?,” a voice behind me asked.

I turned to see Ryder standing behind me. I don’t know his first name. He was a DJ at The 10th Circle, a few blocks from here. He worked nights and I had no idea what he did during the day.

“What ?,”

“The game,” Ryder said

I  turned my attention to the football game projected over our heads---Patriots vs Cardinals.

The Cardinals were down by 24 but, the quarterback of the Patriots was  on his 3^rd fumble.

“God, they suck” I said

“Of course,” Jean sighed,” All the good ones got drafted,”

“Speak of the devils, “ Ryder said as the newest election commercials with the police captain  Sydney  Romer declaring his pro-humanity stance and promises to end the war now.

“End War Now !” A group of people shouted as the commercial ended.

“Pro-humanity is such bullshit,” Jean said,” That means if you aren’t with him you are anti-humanity,”

“Maybe I’m anti-human then,” Ryder said,” I’d rather spend all day with some hot machines then half you lifeless motherfuckers,”

“If we let machines take over they will take over humans place at the top of the evolutionary chain, “Jean said," Next thing you know they will be treating us like we treat apes and monkeys. Apes created us and all we do is put them in cages. I refuse to live in a cage."

“Oh come on that’s ridiculous,” Ryder replied,"Why are we always afraid of something new ?,"

I was thinking of a way to change the subject when I felt eyes on me.

For me everything is always intensified.  The sky is brighter, music is louder and everything feels amazing. I also knew when someone was watching me-- I could feel eyes on me.

 I turned around slowly to see Cleo staring into me. He redirected his eyes when he saw me looking at him. I turned to Jean and signaled to him that I would be back in a second and slid into Cleo’s booth.

Instead of looking away Cleo looked me up and down---I couldn’t figure out what his problem was. 

“Cleo, right ?” I said

“ Yeah,” he said. His eyes pausing at my chest and then moving up to my arms.

“I wasn’t trying to mess with your girl the other night,” he said

“She’s not my girl. And I’m pretty sure if you had tried to fight her she would have sliced you in two.”

He lips were moving by no sound came out. He was just staring at me.

“I think you have a staring problem,” I said, “ I feel like you want to say something to me. Say it,”

“Your iced out and decked,” he observed,  “I need to be too. I hear this part of the city is crawling with doctors who do that kind of stuff and I’m just . . . ,”

“You don’t want this,” I told him

I set my arm hard on the table---black lines run across from my bicep and to my shoulders. The black lines were the polarized steel keeping my veins from exploding. The metal viens were a last ditch effort for a surgery that went wrong.

 “You couldn’t afford it,anyway” I told him

“ I can,” he said

He places his hand on the bag he was carrying. I noticed the faded outline of a triangle on the front.

“ You don’t want this,” I repeated, “ Your better of taking drugs,”

A single life saving cybernetic enhancement.

That is how it started for me. It was a necessity then but the more I worked for Rayne the more extra enhancements I felt I needed.

 My vision had been shit after my first op so I had that corrected with cybernetic eyes. Then I needed more adrenaline and focus to get through the jobs Rayne requested of me so I had engineered blood introduced into my veins—it gave me a feeling like I was constantly on speed but it had to be replaced every month. I had my brain jacked to need little sleep so I could get more done   and it all just snowballed over.

 I had 15 other operations in the last 6 months, most of them minor. There was nothing overly obvious that I had all this work done, just a few tale tell signs.  

“C’mon,” Cleo begged “ I didn’t come this far just to hit a dead end,”

“This far ?,” I questioned, “You’re went AWOL didn’t you ? You’re a runner from the Liberation Army ?,”

“No.” he said,” I'm on leave. Instead of seeing my girl or my family I came here to find a surgeon.,”

“So, it is true ?," I said "Soldiers  are fucking morons. You know black ops are part of the black market for a reason. You really thought you could just come here and ask ?,”

“I’ve been a sniper in training for months. I should be out in the field but they say I’m not good enough. I was drafted but even us drafted guys want to make our father’s proud,” he said.

“Dear God,” I laughed standing up to leave.

“ I’ve been watching you,” he said and I paused, “ You live down the street. You look out the window to the girl who lives across the street, you leave every morning come here every night looking like you got in a fight. Sometime you hang out at the arcade---,”

I held my hands in fist. I don’t know why the idea of him watching me pissed me off so much.

“Having trouble are we ?,” Jean said coming over.  He sat next to Cleo.

“No Jean,” I said.

Jean was still looking for someone to protect and even though he was older than me I was sure I was more equipped to take care  of myself than Jean was.

“This is the guy I was telling you about,--the one who pissed of Belle.” I explained to Jean and he smirked,” I guess he wants to find a surgeon ,”

“So, you are a soldier ?,” Jean asked,” Can’t say we get to many around here. Why did you leave ?,”

“I told your friend, I can’t spend my military years shuffling paper. That is not why they drafted me,”

 “Draft ?, I hate that thing,” Jean said, “I’ve been of the grid for years and I have never been more thankful. War is so barbaric,”

“We have to protect our country--,”

“Country ?,” Jean scoffed, “ They don’t even give us the dignity of being called a country—just a republic. What the hell is that ?,”

“Exactly," Cleo smiled "All of the best tech is made here on our land by our people but  most of us are barely holding on. We’ve been raped by the Eastern State more than enough now we have to fight for it--,”

“Fight ? All the Liberation Army is doing  is guerilla attacks--,”

“Enough,” I said. I was sick of everyone trying to talk politics these days. There didn’t appear to be a right answer.

“I’ll take you, Cleo” Jean said,” Come on lets go see the doc. Alan will be our chauffer,”

“Really ?,” I said, “Why ?,”

“I like this guy,” said Jean as a smile spread across his face, “And of course the brokers fee.”

Jean turned to Cleo.

“Of course.” Cleo consented

The only part of the LOLA more depressing than where I lived was where Blackbird lived. The buildings were all abandoned and rotting, dead animals littered the streets. It was the sticks of the sprawl and literally no one came out here.

Blackbird was the ripper I had been going to these last few months—he was in fact a genius.  He had worked at the top facilities in the world before having a nervous breakdown and retiring here, at least that was the story. I didn’t know if Blackbird was a last name or nickname but I never felt inclined to ask. He usually hated drop ins but he loved money more.

“So, how long is recovery, Alan ?,” Cleo asked from the back seat.

“Couple days,” I guessed.

I always went into a operation so high I forgot where I was. Then afterwards I  pulled myself home and crashed in my bed only to be woken a couple days or so later in pain that I could tolerate.

“So, where are you from Cleo ?,” Jean asked

“A couple miles west of the sprawl,” he said, “ I was going to be a teacher when I was drafted,”

“How unfortunate,” Jean said

“I am happy to be in the military,” Cleo said,” I mean it’s not easy but, I get to really see this country and learn so much.”

I pulled off the road and in front of  a pair of rusted garage doors.

I watched as Jean and Cleo got out of the car.

“Coming ?,” Jean asked

“No,” I said

“C’mon Alan,” Jean said,” Where else are you going to go in this neighborhood,”

I sighed and followed them to the doors. How did I get sucked into this little adventure ?

Blackbird could have been a more intriguing person but he wasn’t. He lived alone in the sticks in an decrepit mansion with more money than the entire city. In his basement  his lab was equipped with the most up to date items. He spent most of his money hiring people to steal equipment for him.  

That was how we first met.

Blackbird heard the car from outside and stood waiting in the front of the door. He was in his late 40’s with a disheveled appearance and that just-crazy -enough-to-be-trustworthy look to him.  Jean greeted him with an arm around the shoulder and I gave him a nod of acknowledgement.

“This is our friend, Cleo.” Jean said,” Are you busy ?,”

 

“What are we talking?,”Blackbird asked leading us into the house and down to the basement,”And expect a fee for coming unannounced.”

“Thank you sir,” Cleo said, “I’m a soldier and—

“Whoa now, I don’t care who you are,” Blackbird said,” Something tells me I’m better off not knowing. All I need to know is what you want”

We stopped outside of the doors that led to his lab and Blackbird turned to Cleo.

“ I need to be invincible,” Cleo said, ”I need to be accurate, alert and a good shot,”

Blackbird crossed his arms and opened the doors to the lab and began muttering to himself.

“An adrenaline kick that will keep you alert. Maybe cut off the pain and rational receptors in your brain—make them dull—a tweak, optical implants . . . let’s  say 100k.”

“Okay,” Cleo agreed.

He swung the bag off his shoulder and opened it-- the bag was filled to the top with cold cash.

“This should be fun,” Blackbird snorted,” It’s been a while since I’ve done something non-cosmetic,”

He motioned for Cleo to come to the table and fixed him into head gear with a light sedative.

“I guess we should go,” I said

“Nonsense,” Blackbird said,”My assistant is not here and  I need help,”

“I can’t help you with brain surgery,” I said

“You have to , I know Jean is to peculiar to be any bit useful--,”

“Always a good friend for remembering,” Jean smiled as he took a seat in the far corner.

Blackbird chuckled and motioned me over to where he was. He handed me a pair of gloves to wear and that was the extent of the sanitary precaution.

 I watched as he carefully shaved a section of Cleo’s hair and drew a perfect square.  He placed goggles on as he took a drill and carefully traced the square-- revealing a piece of  brain.

He handed me an empty syringe and instructed me to keep the blood from covering up the area.

“ Mr.Gray,” Blackbird smiled,”This is the center of all conscious life. It’s interesting, isn’t it ? Watch this,”

 He placed a gloved finger over a piece of the brain and Cleo made a gagging sound.

“The gag reflex,” Blackbird smiled

“Something I am sure Jean could go without,” I quipped

“Oh, Alan” Jean said with a smile and his middle finger.

When the blood finally cleared I saw something unnatural against the pink flesh. A big black shiny box stuck to his head.

“The hell is that ?,”

“The bridge—the implant connecting us to our syndicates. I imagine people not in the profession have never actually seen one, have they ?,”

The implant  seemed to be fused with his brain. I thought about how we all had one—except maybe Jean who had his ripped out years ago.

 Maybe that explained a few things.

Blackbird headed over to one of his file cabinets and after punching in an access key took out a few containers. He gave the containers to me and began picking at something in Cleo’s brain.

“Hand me the clear pouch in the white box—it’s the adrenaline kick,” he said

I did as he asked and he inserted the pouch into Cleo’s head. He then took a pair of tweezers and going over to his safe pulled out a small mechanical device with eight legs—a spider.

A spider is a device anyone can buy or make on the black market but, few can put in. They overwrite any normal brain activities to do whatever the spider has been programmed to do. I had one in myself and I had stolen many but, I had never seen one put in.

Blackbird carefully picked at each leg and inserted it into the brain. When each leg was connected to a nerve ending he pushed the center turning it on. It would block any notions of rationality and pain in the head. When he was finished inserting it, he coated the opening with a lacquer that was supposed to heal skin quicker and wrapped Cleo’s head in gauze.

He then scurried to the front of Cleo and slid 2 large glass lenses into his eyes and drilled them tight.

“Now we wait,” Blackbird said looking over at Cleo who appeared to be sleeping.

***

“The Cardinals have tied up but it has been sloppy play all day,”

“I am glad this one is over, we have more coverage after this break,”

I was forced to sit through the rest of the abysmal  game with Blackbird and Jean while we waited for Cleo to wake up. We had all been sitting in silence watching the game. The only sound was Blackbird occasionally scrapping at the container he was eating lunch out of--not that he offered us any.I had a feeling Blackbird liked the company and Jean never cared where he was. I just wanted  Cleo to wake up so we could just leave.

“A tie, how amlicable,” Blackbird scoffed

“Look who it is,” Jean said looking at the screen.

“Lets turn the channel,” I suggested as  Capt. Sydney Romer came up on the screen.

 This time he was sitting in a white space with his ridiculous grin and his perfect family sitting around him.

“Human,” he said

“Human,” his wife said

“Human,” his adorable doe-eyed children said

The screen shifted to other people saying the same mantra.

“Vote for Police Captain Romer. I will keep life pro-human,” Romer said as the commercial faded to white.

 “What do you think of him ? ,”Blackbird asked licking his fork.

“Not bad looking,”  Jean said, “Clearly isn’t corrupt because I remember every cop I fuck. Of course he is totally going to put his foot down on the Artificial Intelligence movement which you must hate, Blackbird.”

“I am not the same as that A.I bullshit,” Blackbird said,” I put artificial things in intelligent beings. When they start putting intelligence into artificial things you can count me out.”

“I heard in The East they have A.I beings,” Jean pointed out, “They  have them for the military so the wont have to activate the draft. I  wonder what they look like. What do you think Alan ?,”

“ I think I am sick of these pointless discussions on humanity and A.I,” I said

I was saved from anymore conversation by Cleo coming to.

“What the hell ?,” he mumbled

“WHAT THE HELL !,” He shouted

 He began to paw at the back of his head, undoing the bandages.

Blackbird was still.

“GET IT OUT !, “ Cleo screamed followed by an agonizing scream of pain.

“What did you do ?,” I asked

Blackbird kept still

“Some have a bad reaction," he finally said "It is an unnatural procedure after all. I will get a stronger sedative from upstairs—just hold him down,”

A Blackbird went for the stairs Jean and I made our way slowly to Cleo. I reached for his arms but he was quick and determined. He pulled the last bandage off his head and quickly ripped one of the spiders legs out. It seemed to momentarily ease his pain but he continued taking them out until a small stream of blood spurted out of his head.

His body stiffened and he continued to scream about something inside of him as Blackbird made his way back down. As soon as Blackbird made his way to the operating table Cleo was still.

Dead.

“What happened ? ,” I asked

“You feel the spider in you, right ? Some feel it more,” Blackbird shrugged.

Blackbird set down the syringe and walked over to Cleo’s bag and carefully took his money out.

”It happens every so often,” He continued  “Why do you think surgery like this is so illegal ?”

“Could that have happened to me ?,” I asked in disgust.

“Yes,” Blackbird answered,"Multiple times."

He counted the bills

“ If you could, get rid of the body,” he said taking his money and still leaving the bag still full of bills

At least he was an honest man

***

Jean and I worked together to carry the soldier to the car. I had Cleo’s bag of money strapped around my chest. I considered the ways to get rid of this body—it would be easier since no one knew he was here. Maybe just leave it by one of these old houses or something.

“Open the trunk,” I told Jean as I dragged the body the rest of the way

 “What is this ?,” Jean asked his hand on the open trunk

“What ?,” I asked

“This,” Jean said motioning me to something inside the trunk.

My mind wandered as I walked over to where he was.

 Etched on the bottom of the trunk was a message in near perfect handwriting it could have been typed. It read :

“HELP ME. ITS TRAPPED INSIDE”