Edit 19

Chapter 19

The massive Gates closed with a sound like thunder rolling off into the distance. There was a finality to the sound that told me there was no escape should things go wrong.

"Are you coming or not?"

The words were spoken by a female over the Comm Channel. Her voice was one that only someone who had smoked a pack a day for their entire life could have.

"Yes, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Just get your ass moving."

She was definitely the no bullshit type. I saw no reason to get on her bad side and followed her. Once again, just as before, all of the other armor fell in behind me in cautious observance.

We proceeded down the tunnel and I could see that there were more gates recessed into the ceiling every few meters. They were not closed now but I knew should the city come under attack they would close quickly.

When we got to the end of the tunnel, the gate there was already half opened. My escort did not wait for the gates to fully open before she slipped right through the doors. I followed and we stepped out and into a walled yard.

The walls were only about 6 meters high but each wall had two sets of fierce-looking machine guns mounted on them which were aimed directly at me.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up upon seeing them. I really did not enjoy people pointing weapons at me. The thought that all it would take is one man with a twitchy trigger finger to start a very horrible sequence of events, did not sit right with me.

My leading escort went directly to the door on the right. She gave the okay sign to a mounted camera over the door and it opened.

When we got to the other side we paused. There were two armors positioned on that side of the door. There was also half a dozen large and long buildings that look like warehouses.

My escort must have been speaking over private communications with the guards because after a second one of the guards pointed in a direction and my lead escort began to walk in that direction.

"You're in hangar 6. You're lucky, hangar 6 is meant for spill off when the main hangers are full. There will be fewer people sniffing around your armor in there. You will get a little privacy."

I wasn't even sure what was happening, so I couldn't tell if I was really lucky or not. I kept my mouth shut and stayed close to my escort.

We passed some of the bigger hangers and came to a smaller one. The word smaller was relative though. It was still a very big building.

While passing in between the buildings, I noticed the incredible amount of cameras. There were also armor station here and there holding weapons and keeping a close eye on the surrounding area.

There was a group of armors coming out of one of the larger hangers. I could only see what looked to be half the group and that already accounted for 10 armor. I experienced a flashback of the merc knights when I saw them as they were mostly outfitted in Goliath armors.

There were also groups of unarmored people walking in and out of some of the different hangers. Most of the people I saw were of the rough-and-tumble sort. I seemed to draw a lot of attention in my old world armor, but I spotted another old world armor in the distance entering another hanger and knew that while old world armor was rare they are not unseen here.

While my heart was not totally set at ease, I did feel a sense of comfort from my surroundings. It didn't appear like I was walking into a trap.

My escort brought me into the small hanger. Inside along each wall were small closed off sections, some of which were closed shut by thick gates. Inside of the closed areas was statue-like armor of assorted types.

"Store your armor in this here and dismount."

She pointed to an empty area with the number 16 painted on the back wall as she said it.

I did a she told me, but before I powered down the Calipso and dismounted, I told Toby to monitor the situation around the Calipso. I gave him orders to not allow anyone inside the cockpit besides me and should it seem that anyone is trying to damage the armor or move it he was to stop them.

I also pulled two data chips out of slots in the computer system of the Calipso. It contained the map file I intended to trade off and the mock up map file.

In all other cases, he was to remain completely still and give no indication of his existence. The realization that I had an artificial intelligence installed inside my armor may draw undue attention to me. I wanted to make the least amount of waves here as possible even if that wasn't entirely possible while being an old world armor pilot.

Setting the old world armor I had been carrying over the Calipso's shoulder to one side, I powered down the Calipso and opened the hatch.

When I stepped out of the Calipso, I immediately felt small and weak. My escort and two other armors towered above me. It wouldn't take much for them to squash me like a bug.

My sense of unease ramped up as the massive armors all stood still watching me. When the armor the raspy-voiced woman suddenly tilted forward and took a knee, I nearly dove for cover.

There was a hiss of escaping gas and the hatch to the woman's armor opened. Two feet followed by a sturdy body swung out of the cockpit and planted themselves on the ground in a show of athletics.

The woman who I had heard over the com channel now stood before me. She was a thick-bodied and tall woman. Bigger than many males I had seen. Two parallel scars ran across her lips and she had a hard look about her. She looked like someone you didn't want to piss off. I thought she looked to be in her mid-thirties.

She could see my tension and barked a laugh before talking.

"First time?"

I nodded my head and didn't relax my body at all.

"Relax, no one is going to jump you here. They would get their shit pushed in within a half a minute if they did and the security forces won't mess with you unless you mess with them or you break a rule."

She walked past me and to the edge of the area assigned to me. With a wave of one hand, she signaled for me to approach.

When I got close to her she pointed at a recessed part of the wall separating my area from the next. A small screen and number pad revealed themselves with a push of a button.

"This is how you access your billet. In a moment I will have you input a passcode of your choice into the system. Only you will have access to your billet. Well, you and anyone with the proper rank among the cities security forces... like me."

She gave a small smile and a wink as she spoke the last words. After pressing a string of numbers into the number pad she stepped back and waved me forward.

"Put your code in. I suggest you don't use 123456 or anything else just as stupid."

While making sure to use my body to block the number pad, I input my code. I used my mother's birthday as the code. A number I would never forget.

As I finished and took a step back to watch the large gate close, I felt a hand fall on my shoulder from behind.

The woman stepped up close to me and spoke into my ear which she easily reached with her large stature. She was every bit as tall as I was.

"You're pretty handsome. You're also the pilot of an old world armor. Truly an all in one package. Though, you could use a shower."

I was at a complete loss for words. I had never experienced such blatant flirting from a woman. It felt like I was a maiden being accosted by a drunk ruffian. It was completely new territory for me and I was out of my depths.

"We should get to know each other. I can assure you that you will come to enjoy my company very much."

She had a very dirty look in her eyes as she said the words. She gave me the impression of a wild beast preying on a lamb.

"Ah... I'm flattered. Really, I am... But..."

Words failed me completely. What does one say in this situation?

"Come on. You're such a handsome little devil. So tall and cute. You're a little young and skinny for my taste, but we can make it work. Don't worry I don't bite."

My mouth sagged open and I probably looked like a completely innocent fool. Before I could say anything else though there was a burst of sound from one of the armor standing over us watching the exchange.

"Hahaha. Rose leave the boy alone. Can't you see you're not his type? Don't you already have too many toys already?"

The speaker had a deep voice and was obviously male.

"Shut your damn trap Tom or the next session of PT I will make you run nonstop! Would you like that?"

The male's voice cut off immediately with a startled grunt.

"Don't listen to him. I don't have any toys. Just friends. You can be my new friend. Let's get to know each other. My name is Rose, but you already heard it from the dumbass. What's your name cutie?"

"Um... Caleb." I stammered my name out and tried to shrink back out of her grasp. her grip on my shoulder, however, held me firm.

"Ooohhh. What a sweet sounding name. Rose and Caleb. Don't you think those names fit together perfectly?"

Once again I simply stood in total stupid shock.

"Hehe. Don't be shy. Follow me. We need to get you an ID."

As she said it she gave me a light pat on the ass which made me flinch and nearly jump with surprise. I made a mental note to never hit on a woman like this and followed her as she started walking.

We walked out of the building and down the rows of hangers before we came to a human-sized door. Two unarmored men stood outside the door and opened it when we approached.

Rose wrapped her arm around my shoulder again as we walked in and I caught the smirk of one of the door guards before entering.

I did not enjoy being seen as Rose's conquest but there wasn't much I could do about it. Obviously Rose had a reputation among the guards. I would let Rose ply her methods for now and flee the first chance I got.

Being rude to her didn't even cross my mind. Pissing off a guard with rank was the last thing I wanted to do while still so new to my surroundings. She could probably make my life a living hell a million different ways if I pissed her off.

Rose brought me down a hallway and into a plain cement room. There was a table with two chairs on either side of it inside the room. She motioned for me to take one chair and I sat.

Just when I thought I would receive a reprieve from her hands on nature, she grabbed the opposite chair, dragged it over to my side of the table and sat down in it. She was entirely too close.

She produced a small computer tablet from her jacket and set it on the table before she began to ask me questions. She asked me about my purpose for coming to Anarchy city and what I intended to do in the city.

Rose obviously lacked enthusiasm for asking the questions but still showed great interest in sexually harassing me. She made sure to keep on the pressure as she ran her fingers over the hand I had laid on the table and even lightly gripped my thigh at one point. When I showed discomfort she would smirk and giggle.

I answered all questions honestly and was happy when she didn't ask where I got the two old world armor. I also gained a new sense of appreciation for the women I had seen in similar situations to my own in the past.

I felt like a trapped animal. I couldn't escape the situation at all and Rose knew it. If she wasn't in a position of power I would have already made it clear I didn't appreciate her advances. Other than squirming, however, I couldn't do anything. She didn't truly overstep any bounds, so I let it slide.

While it didn't take long to give her the information she asked, it felt like it took much longer than it actually did. Eventually, Rose stopped asking questions and typing information into her tablet. We left the room and she walked me down the hallway.

When we got to the end of the hallway, she nodded to the two heavily armed guards wearing body armor watching a door from behind a desk. They handed something to her and hit a button that caused the door inside the room to slide open. We stepped out and onto a busy street moments later.

Rose pointed to the building we had just exited.

"This is the only access point for civies to the area where we stored your armor earlier. If you want to get to your equipment, you have to pass through security here. Hit the button next to the door, state your name and the doors will open. When you go to leave with your armor you will have to pay for storage fees. It's 1 gold a day for a single billet. Make sure you have it or you don't get to leave with your armor. When you leave you get your weapons back."

I nodded and felt relief at the prospect of parting from this very sexually aggressive woman.

"Do you know where you're going to stay while in the city? Some places are a complete ripoff."

"No... I haven't been here before."

"I recommend the Lonely Crow. It's nothing fancy but it's clean, cheap, they serve good food, and they don't water down the alcohol. Just go to seventh street and ask around. It's not hard to find. Talk to Nicholas. He owns the inn. He's a good man. If you need a little help he will give you some direction. Don't get on his bad side though."

"Thanks. I should get going."

I wanted to bolt into to the passing pedestrians and flee from this woman but just as I turned to leave she reached out and grabbed my arm. She pulled me close and wrapped an arm around my waist.

"You're forgetting something."

She brought her face close to mine and I could feel her warm breath on my face. I leaned my upper body and head back as much as I could and stared at her.

"Um... I..." I tried to sputter out some words and failed. A phenomenon I was finding happened all too often around this odd woman.

Just as I thought she was about to force a kiss on me she brought her free hand up and waved a small card in my face.

"Your ID silly. You're going to need it."

She giggled at my relieved expression. I reached up and accepted the card.

"What did you think I was going to do, kiss you? Silly fellow. You have such a perverted mind. We can save that for later."

She was absolutely shameless and nearly I choked on my tongue.

"Don't be a stranger Caleb. I get off my shift in a little over an hour. Why don't you wait for me and I can show you the city? There are all kinds of fun places to visit."

I declined her offer and quickly extracted myself from her grasp before disappearing into the traffic of the street like the fleeing rat I was. I could hear Rose laughing from behind me as she watched me scurry away. I have never felt so embarrassed in my entire life as I did at that moment.

For a while, I just followed the flow of traffic and observed the city. I figured I was in the outer circle of the city. It was both similar and different to grey rock city.

Some of the streets looked much the same as my home streets. Some of them looked much cleaner and had larger more impressive buildings lining them. It was a weird hodgepodge of clashing prosperity.

Some of the people walking the streets looked to be very poor and unhealthy while others looked well fed and well dressed.

One thing I noticed was nearly everyone was openly armed. Some had knives strapped to their waists while others wore hand handguns. It was a sight I was unused to seeing. People didn't openly carry weapons back home. It was against the law. Sure, plenty of people strapped knives or even small pistols under their clothes, but it was nothing like this.

I walked the streets for about an hour before I got my fill of the sights. I asked a man where seventh street was and he vaguely waved in a direction before rudely turning around and walking away. After repeating the process half a dozen times, I found the Lonely Crow.

It was a three-story building that looked old but well kept. It was clean and in good repair. I wanted to see if they still had a room open.

I didn't actually have any money, but Rose's appraisal of the owner made me think I might get a little help from the man. I intended to ask him where I could offload the map data and get the best price. I needed money and quick. Maybe the man would let me book a room and pay later. I doubted it but it was worth a try.

The inside of the inn was as clean and well kept as the outside. There were a few customers sat at a long bar and some of the dozen clean tables scattered around the room.

Behind the bar, was a giant of a man. He was about 5 inches taller than me, which was saying something as I was already a pretty tall man. I wasn't sure but I thought I had grown a few inches since the upgrades had been applied to my body. My physique had also filled out and I no longer looked like a cancer patient. Even then the man dwarfed me.

Just as I walked up and was about to talk to him the man looked me up and down and spoke.

"Caleb right?"

I was shocked that the man knew my name and my guard instantly went up. A look of suspicion came across my face and I stared at the man. He laughed with a friendly grin.

"Don't worry. I'm not a spy or mind reader. Rose called ahead and told me you might be stopping by."

My tension drained a bit. Rose was looking out for me. I wasn't sure what to feel exactly but I was at least a little grateful.

"How did you know it was me?"

He gave me a look that told me he questioned my intelligence before eyeing me up and down meaningfully.

"You stand out quite a lot kid. Just look at yourself."

Doing as he said, I looked myself over. I felt I really was stupid. My clothes were dirty and stiff with accumulated grime and dirt. My skin had splotches of dried blood and other unknown substances on it. My smell must be overwhelming right now.

Yeah, I definitely stood out alright. I wondered how Rose could stomach being so close to me before. I had gotten used to my own condition so I had completely forgotten, but she must have smelled me while being so close. I decided to not wonder about it anymore. Rose was an odd woman and it was a waste of my time to try to understand her eccentricities.

I nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I can see that now."

Pausing and looking the man in the eyes I continued.

"I don't mean to be a bother but can I maybe book a room before paying and get a little information from you? I need to find a way to sell some map data so I can get the money to pay you. I'm willing to pay more later if it's too troublesome."

He smiled before giving me a chuckle.

"Polite, just like she said. We'll get along just fine. You don't have to worry about the cost of the first day. Rose already took care of it for you. About the map data... I know a friend who can help you with that. I'll give him a call. If the data is any good he will put you in contact with a buyer. He will want a cut, but he is fair and you will get the best price this way."

A feeling of gratitude for Rose came over me. As odd and aggressive as she was, she seemed to be a good person. A rarity these days.

Nicholas waved his hand in a motion meant to tell me to follow him and he brought me to the second floor of the inn. He opened the door to a small but comfy room and gestured me in.

He went to a small closet and pulled out a blanket and a sheet as well as a pillow which he laid on the small bed in the room.

"Don't get my bedding dirty. There is a shower down the hall. It's marked with the picture of a drop of water. The bathroom is besides that room. Go clean up." He paused and looked me over again. "Do you need any clothes?"

Feeling embarrassed for a moment I awkwardly nodded. The clothes I wore were completely soiled and I didn't have any backups.

"Haha. It's fine. I'll let you borrow an old set of my clothes until you can wash yours. They might be a little baggy on you but it's better than nothing."

I rubbed the back of my neck with one hand and thanked him. He left the room for a minute before bringing me the clothes he promised and led me to the bathing room.

"Don't take too long if you take a shower. I don't like people wasting water. I'll go make that call. My friend should be pretty interested in that map data. I hope it's good data. He can be cranky when people waste his time."

I hurriedly nodded and Nicholas left to go downstairs. Just before he got to the stairs he turned and spoke again.

"The water will be cold. We only turn the water heater on for 2 hours in the morning and at night. 6 to 8 am and 6 to 8 pm."

The bathing room was small and had nothing but a mirror, a small tub, and showerhead. I decided that I would take a shower as a cold bath didn't seem appealing.

The cold water felt heavenly and seemed to wash away what seemed to be years worth of grime. There wasn't any soap or a washcloth and I wouldn't have used them if there was, but I made due.

When I finished showering and stepped in front of the mirror I looked into the reflection and saw a new man. The words new man were more apt than I would have thought actually.

My height had definitely grown a few inches and my musculature was more pronounced. I didn't want to admit it but I looked like a tall boy before. Now I looked like a tall young and fit man.

I turned this way and that while appreciating my reflection. The beard that was once the scraggly and patchy beard of a boy was now thicker and evenly grown. It wasn't long yet and I decided I liked it. It gave me a mature and somewhat dashing appearance. I needed a bit of a trim but it would do for now.

In time I stopped my narcissistic gazing and found I had a problem. I didn't have a towel to dry off with. Just as I was about to put the new clothes on anyways I heard a knock on the door. Nicholas's voice came from the other side.

"I nearly forgot about your towel. I have a freshly washed one for you right here."

I thanked him and felt some relief at the man's kind actions. He really was a good man.

Just as I was about to open the door a crack to receive the towel, the door swung wide revealing Nicholas standing in the door frame.

My hands shot up to cover my privates and I felt extremely shy. I said thank you awkwardly and reached out for the towel. He handed it over without any seeming shame or embarrassment.

After quickly wrapping the towel around my waist and staring at the man awkwardly, I voiced a thought that bubbled to the surface of my head.

"How do you know Rose again?"

Nicholas smiled and raised a hand. On his ring finger sat a gold band.

"She's my wife."