“So we’re meeting Zero here?” Damien asked as he stepped out of the truck, closing the door behind him. They’d arrived at a market, and a trashy one at that. Cheap fences enclosed the area and a dull archway held a block of letters spelling the word ‘MRKET’, the ‘A’ presumably having fallen off or outright stolen. Everything here looked dull and lifeless compared to the brimming downtown core that they’d passed earlier. Even the signs were lacking the distinct splash of color he’d gotten used to, giving the area an almost archaic feeling.

That general change in atmosphere was something that Damien had noted as they drove further south. Everything seemed to be much more run down and lacking in spirit, even though they were still in the city center. If things had gotten this bad while still in the city’s core, how much worse could the south side—the slums of the city— really be?

Marcus gave an exaggerated stretch of his back, his damaged arm still hanging in an unnatural position. “Nah, the meeting isn’t for a few more hours. I figured we’d kill two birds with one stone before we go see her.”

Damien couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed at the news; he’d hoped to meet Zero as soon as possible. Having received a new quest after her call, he’d been filled with an eager anticipation about the possibilities. What did she have for him?

“Come check this out,” Marcus said as he waved him over to a two-piece terminal that they’d parked beside. One half of it was a large tube with a glowing red entrance, and the other was a panel with a wide interface. “Seen one of these before?”

Damien nodded. He’d spotted one near the eatery earlier in the day, and a few throughout the city during their ride to the club on the previous night.

“These are U.T.S. terminals. It stands for Underground Transportation System. Think of it like a massive network of conveyors interconnected throughout the entire city. You can use is to transfer items to specific locations, and it can also be used to sell loot and gear directly to vendors, provided that they’re legit. But there are ways to clean dirty goods to get around those restrictions.”

“Sounds useful,” Damien said as he studied the terminal. “Then what’s the point of carrying things around? Kat stole a briefcase during our first raid yesterday, couldn’t she have used one of these to transfer it to Roger?”

“Yeah, she could have, but why risk it? These things can be hacked. The government spends a lot of energy trying to keep the system secure, but hackers break through every now and then. Its a constant cycle. Hackers break their systems, the government updates them, only for hackers to break through again.”

Damien raised an eyebrow in skepticism. “Then why use it in the first place?”

“Because it’s generally secure, but there’s always a chance things could go missing. Most people only use it for small items out of convenience. The problem is when you operate outside the law like we do, you can’t exactly ask for help when your shit goes missing; too risky with all the bureaucratic bullshit.”

“I see… Do you use it?”

Marcus shrugged. “Sometimes. But only with items I don’t mind losing. There are countless channels within the system that items travel through, each with their own level of security. Naturally, the system's convenience means that some gangs are willing to use it despite the increased risk. I guess the heightened chances of getting caught or losing their loot is worth it to them, but it's the wrong way to go about it in my opinion. Illegal logistics are super important, after all, and they run deep with varying levels of sophistication.” He paused for a moment. “Damn, I'm starting to sound like Kat with all these big words.”

Damien made note of that last remark. It was interesting to see the dynamic between the two pirates. “I get how this is all super useful, but why’d we come all the way out here if they’re interconnected all over the city?”

“That’s simple,” Marcus said with a mischievous smirk as he pulled out a wire from the inside of his jacket. “I needed this one specifically, because I’m gonna hack into it.”

“You’re gonna hack into it?” Damien tried his best to keep his disbelief from coming through his voice. “No offense, but you don’t seem like the hacker type.”

Marcus let out a chuckle. “You’re right, I’m not. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Damien blinked, unsure if he’d heard that correctly.

“Just kidding… sort of. I don’t know a thing about all the technical mumbo jumbo, but I’ve done this a few times before. This wire is connected to a little gadget that will grant me access to a select few channels within the system. I picked this one up because I have a specific target in mind.”

“Who might that be?”

“Royals. There’s a few channels that only they use. All I’ll be doing is redirecting some of those items to a different location. The kicker is, I always leave my calling card for them to see that it was me who did it. ‘BDM’. That’s my signature.”

“BDM?”

“Big Dick Marcus. They know its me.”

The abrupt way in which he said it got a snicker out of Damien. “So you’re gonna steal from them after they tried to kill you. I guess that’s one way to respond.”

“Like I said, we got beef so I take great pleasure in being a thorn in their side. These gadgets come at a high price, and its rarely worth it for the kind of loot you can get. That’s why they’re drying up and running out of popularity. The Royals are pieces of shit, but they’re not dumb; they wouldn’t use the U.T.S. for valuable goods, so we won’t get anything amazing.” He paused for a moment and a smile crept across his face. “I have plenty of other ways I fuck with them, but I like to do this because it has a certain level of pettiness that I enjoy. I’m sure you can understand.”

Damien gave an affirmative head nod. If their beef was serious enough for a midday ambush, stealing a bit of loot didn’t seemed like a mild response.

Marcus scanned the area then stepped toward the panel. “Alright, let’s do this. Stand guard and don’t let anyone come towards this thing. And don’t look suspicious, either.”

Damien nodded again and took a position just ahead of Marcus, his back turned toward the U.T.S. terminal. “Uhh, how do I stand guard without looking suspicious?”

“Come on, that’s pirate 101. You never stood guard before?”

“I… don’t know if I have…”

“Oh, right…,” Marcus said after a brief pause, “my bad…”

Damien put his hands in his pockets, doing his best to look casual while his partner in crime interacted with the interface behind him. There weren’t many people here at the market entrance, and most of the locals were street punks, according to Marcus. These street punks also lived outside the law, but they had an aggressive swagger and outward demeanor that made them look like trouble. They weren’t necessarily intimidating, but their presence made this the kind of place Damien would prefer not to stay in. By comparison, Kat and Marcus almost looked like members of high society, despite sharing a similar outlaw lifestyle.

Marcus as a member of high society... Damien thought to himself in amusement. Imagine that...

A few minutes passed without any concern, until Damien spotted a NPD truck drive by. The truck’s windows weren’t tinted, and he could see a masked face turn towards him as the vehicle passed. The truck continued on ahead for a few meters before slowly coming to a full stop. It then made a wide U-turn, and came back towards them, triggering a feeling of suspicion within Damien. Had they been discovered, or was it just a coincidence?

The truck pulled up slowly then stopped on the other side of the road directly ahead of them. The drivers side door opened and a dark-blue, armored body came out. A second later, the back doors opened and two more stepped out, these ones were smaller and sporting silver armor. The sight of these silver figures reminded Damien of the night before. Their armor was the same as the ones he’d seen beating on the man who had not been resisting.

Damien nudged Marcus as the three cops approached them, but the big guy didn’t seem to feel it, instead he responding with some whimsical words. “Just gotta add ‘From BDM’… aaaand done.”

The front of the dark blue figure’s helmet retracted back into itself as he crossed the road, revealing a human face underneath. Damien gave another nudge, this one much harder. “Yo. Cops.” He muttered in a hushed tone.

Marcus swerved around and let out an audible groan when he spotted the armored figures. “Aww, fuckin’ aye… Not this fucker…”