As his eyes stuttered to open, Kammuel winced at the immediate acknowledgment of throbbing pains. His body had been stressed in its efforts to recover, the injuries ranging from burns to broken bones. As he adjusted to the new environment, an unexpected realization swept over. He was not on the walkways below Suidine’s central complex. He wasn’t outside at all. Panic quickly ensued, he had been stripped of his possessions and clothing. He felt a distinctly sharp discomfort turned agony, as the hooked harness tugged and pulled at his skin with each attempted movement. His arms were bound and kept outstretched above his head by thick cables aiding in his state of suspension. A mix of ceramic and metal tiles formed the bulk of the floor coating that barely graced the tips of his levitated toes. A small crude drain was centred beneath which branched out with various channels, all of it stained red with the markedly dark hues of recently spilt blood.

Kammuel turned his gaze to be presented with another captive, bound, and stripped in all too similar a manner. She was still and steady, seemingly dead and crusted in dried crimson patches. Her carved body exhibited wounds of fatal ham-fisted surgical probing. The leg was severed crudely above the knee socket; the lacerations and tears scattered yet created with a purpose. She had been violently relieved of all her extensive augmentation. He strengthened his face to subdue the horror and turned to examine the other side. There was a third, an older man. Barely alive, his body swayed gently from its anchors. Apparent shock had brought on uncontrollable shivers. Light whimpers escaped his semi-conscious mouth riding on faint breaths. The fresh gashes on his thigh and back bled angrily leaving him insipid in body and spirit. That very fact that he was still alive was fleeting.

A large plastic sheet hung on exposed rebar, doubling as both a modesty curtain and splatter guard. A shadowed figure formed behind the sheet and took a casual stride to one side, grasping at an accessible edge. It was pulled, drawing the entire screen in one smooth motion to reveal a ghastly sight of a man, Maddz. Riddled with cybernetic enhancement and modified to the teeth, this man had only a single limb which remained unaltered. His face exhibited visible subdermal implants, including cranial plates supporting his augmented eye. Even his potbelly was wired to an external blood thrust, holstered where one would expect his waist to be; one could question what was hidden inside his rotund physique that would require such an integral device to be so freely unprotected.

A grim dank excuse for an apartment was beyond the curtain. Concrete and brick constituted the main bulk of the foundations, with reinforcing metal plates scatted strategically for quick patchwork. The walls were busy with visible cables, gangland graffiti, and the occasional ill-angled exposed rebar. Blacked out windows stifled the curiosity of unwanted viewers and a heavy bar locked door, complete with an improvised door camera, prevented unwanted visitors.

Three others occupied the dwelling. Seemingly strung out and enjoying their chemically induced high, a couple, scarcely presentable, lazed comfortably on the worn, faux leather settee. Cybernetic track lines entwined with intricate tattooed artistry plagued their skins. The third, Kelis, was moseying about manoeuvring crates of collected electrical devices and scavenged augmentations with little to no urgency. The overall relaxed mood was counterpoise with the backing sounds of underground techno bands, blared by outmoded vid screens.

“Ah you’re still with us. Getting worried you were ready for Bio-pits.” Maddz laughed eerily, an electronic resonance accompanied his voice. A clear sign his voice box was also augmented. “Wouldn’t want you to clock off before I ‘ad my fill, ‘ey. I’ve still got a couple treasures to extract yet.” His words were delivered flippantly.

He slid a chrome stool into position on the victim’s side. He checked over his augmented arm, clicking nodes into place and twisting dials to adjust settings. The Aug whirred as it woke up, sparking the tip of its micro cutter. His eye buzzed faintly as it attuned his vision to better help during the exploratory surgery. Wasting no time, the micro cutter sliced a deep wound in the elderly captive’s external oblique. Screams of agony cried out as his body attempted to recoil from the intensity of the pain, yet the restraints held firm enough to keep him in place. Blood gushed and spurted as the blade hacked deep into the tissue and deeper still into the muscle.

“Come on now, hold still. Hold still. I’m almost there...” The cyborg leant hard on his final words, digging deep to reach his treasure.

The captive’s screams rang out in a final flurry before his silence ensued. Whatever strength was keeping him going until now had just been depleted. His head slumped and movement halted as the body gave up. Maddz rescinded the micro cutter and promptly thrust his metal digits into the open wound, using his off hand to brace the surface area.

“Ah, there’s me little trophy.” Maddz stated as he fixed his metal grasp around the Aug buried deep inside.

He tugged once, jolting the corpse in the process, but to no avail. The Aug was still firmly embedded in the muscle. He adjusted his grip then braced before wrenching with decisive force tearing it from place. Cybernetic circuitry ruptured the surface of the skin as it moved in tow, leaving only fractured gullies behind. Maddz sighed from the brief exertion. He pushed off with one foot and rode the stool to a nearby workstation. Kelis, the non-dosed of the occupants had entered just prior. He had begun to sort through the new assortment of augments, completely un-phased by the butchering that just occurred behind him. Scanning them with a machine, he had been separating them into containers based on the results. Maddz handed the newest device to Kelis, who took the Aug and dumped it carelessly on the machines scan pad.

“Careful with that you 8-bit drone, it’s worthless if it’s busted.” Maddz yapped.

Kammuel had watched on in revulsion from his bound position, turning intermittently at the rawer moments. The cyborg had showed no mercy, relishing his role in the scenario. He turned his crosshairs on Kammuel and stared with a cruel excitement. Kammuel locked in with his gaze but only temporarily, averting his eyes in case of offence.

“You’re an interesting one…” Maddz started, holding his stare. “When you were first dragged in by this dim-witted drone ‘ere…” -he gestured towards Kelis- “I thought we’d found just another dosed up chrome kid, on the last slither of his life.” Maddz leaned towards Kammuel, refocusing his eye and narrowing his view. “But you’re something of much more value. A real gold gen aint ya?”

Kammuel remained silent, focusing on the ground below, staring intently at the blood that slowly drained away.

“Most would expect someone with your wounds to be punching his ticket before fog fall, but not you ey? Nah, you got something special in ya. I can tell by the scars ya see. Nanites like to leave these beautiful little complex patterns in the tissue.”

Maddz paced around, gathering up a small dampening node off a nearby shelf. He twisted it on whilst stepping behind Kammuel.

“Most wouldn’t notice, but I guess I’ve got a real eye for this.” He looked to Kelis for recognition of his mediocre pun.

Kammuel took the small pause as an opportunity to interject, in hope he could somehow talk the crazed cyborg down.

“Listen, whatever you think you’re going get for my augments, I can offer so much more…”

“You can’t offer me scrap!” He abruptly shot the appeal down, before tilting his head and bringing his lips close to Kammuel’s ear. “You listen to me, mate. This is worth a small fortune on the Black Net, but a gold gen like you won’t know the true value of liberating this tech for the less fortunate. This aint just about earning some quick Standard. I’m just doing my part in taking back the ‘exploited gains of the elite’. Think of it like charity work. You rich types love that sort of scrap.”

He drove the point home as he violently shunted the dampening node into Kammuel’s spine. A sharp stifled gasp broke through gritted teeth and accompanied the pain.

“Stop acting like you’re a saviour down here. You’re nothing but gutless vultures, picking the ill-fated clean of anything with value. One day J.A.N.E will cleanse these gutters of dross like you.” Kammuel spat in anger.

“Keep dreamin’ gold gen, I’m gonna enjoy ripping the Augs from you. I don’t get many conscious patients so do me a favour and scream a little will ya?”

Maddz pulled up his stall, striking up the cybernetic arm ready for another round of amateur surgery. The micro cutter edged towards its victim as restricted struggling ensued. Any of Kammuel’s audible objections fell on deaf ears. The blade sliced the skin, penetrating deep into the lower abdomen. Pain shot through his nerves as blood frantically raced to escape, splattering to the tiles below. A single long buzz chimed into the room, interrupting the procedure mid flow. With a protest he dropped the micro cutter to his lap and sighed impatiently.

“Now who in the Nine is that?”

Kelis approached the screen attached to the door cam and casually adjusted it to eye line.

“What d’ya want?” He queried with a hint of paranoia.

“Collection.” A stern female voice confidently replied, altered through the speakers with a poor tin like quality.

“Said she’s a collector.”

Maddz refused to give up his seat as he retorted over his shoulder.

“We’ve already ‘ad a collector this week, ‘av a word with Henley.”

“We’ve already had a collector this week, go talk to Henley.” Kelis reiterated much akin to a mindless drone.

“The guild has other business to discuss.”

“She said…”

“I ‘eard what she said junk rat, just scan the IPC already.” Maddz reluctantly rose from his seat deactivating the micro cutter in the process. He leant towards Kammuel with a few parting words. “Stay warm for me goose, this won’t take long.” Winking the good eye as he turned towards the door.

An accepting series of beeps emanated from the screen, indicating her IPC to have passed the check. Kelis cranked the heavy door wide open with little to no effort, revealing the collector behind. Her figure was cloaked, enveloped in thick black garments aiding in the mysterious shroud bred by the cryptic visit. A heavy hood swathed itself around her head, forming into a scarf upon her shoulders. Only her eyes, her intensely piercing blue eyes could be seen past the hood. She paced through the entrance. Solid boot heels clacked stridently through even the brash racket of the surrounding music. Maddz adjusted his encumbered belt as he headed to address the collector.

“Someone ‘ad better be dying, other than my guests that is.” Maddz again looked for approval of his drôle joke.

“Well, what is it, what’s so urgent that you feel the need to stop my work? Honestly, I’ve never ‘ad a landlord greedier than this damn guild.”

With blatant belligerence she took a slow stride around the apartment, assessing and inspecting the contents and inhabitants. A singular gloved hand interfered with various items through curiosity. The lingered silence and lack of response began to set an apprehensive disposition amongst the vultures.

“Of course, you’re ‘ere about the terms. Gonna try and muscle more Standard out of us. Well you listen ‘ere darling’; you can’t intimidate me into renegotiating you ‘ear. I paid what was agreed. You’ve got all the scavved tech ya wanted. “

She continued to snub his comments during her inspection. She halted her movements at the wet room, taking a delayed picture of the strung-up victims. Hers and Kammuel’s gaze had become locked in place. Something could be felt, hidden deep behind her stern glare. This was not business as usual. Maybe his story was not concluded just yet.

“You take any more from me and I aint making dues to the Mandate, and nobody ignores a debt to the Mandate… Will you bloody look at me when I’m talking to ya!?”

His frustrations were showing. The annoyance had been quickly brought to the surface without the utterance of a single word. She dragged her hand over her head, sliding the hood from place and unleashing her short silver hair.

“’The Mandate’ are the least of your problems.”

Her cold words delivered a chill to the spines of each vulture as they realized, she had more murderous intentions. The hidden arm appeared from her cloaked silhouette, brandishing a sleek lightweight polymer pistol. Two shots in quick succession punctured Maddz’s centre bulk. Blood and sparks burst from his gluttonous form. As if instantaneous, she had overwhelmed Kelis. An unsheathed combat blade, suddenly held in her off hand slashed violently at his face, painting the floor in the process. A quick twist of her body allowed for a hasty puncher of his temple. Continued grip of the handle propped his body in its place. The dosed-up couple looked on in confused horror as Maddz fell first to his knees and then face first to the ground. Her intense blue eyes now scowled from behind the lifeless imitation of Kelis. They scrambled to grab weapons amidst the various scattered firearms to hand. Leaving the knife behind, she emerged from the discarded human shield, gun braced with both hands. A hail of shots besieged in the direction of the settee. Bloodied padding erupted skyward with each impact and she stepped forth with each shot. A sudden chink locked the pistol’s slide back. The gun was empty.

She stood, overlooking the fallout of her actions. Padding chaotically descended through the air. The music still pounded away in the background, unaffected by the fatal altercation that had just occurred. The bodies of the couple again lazed on the settee, riddled with puncture wounds. The muffled groans of Maddz sounded out as he attempted to haul his mound of flesh and machinery across the soiled tiles.

“What… What did I do? I paid on time… I paid on…” His words interrupted by the build-up of bloody mouthfuls.

She took a breath, letting the atmosphere sink in as she recomposed. She stepped over Maddz to get to Kelis’s body. Crouched, she grasped the knife’s handle and with a sharp jerk, ripped the blade free from his skull, wiping away the excess blood on his clothes. Relieving the corpse of its sidearm, she bounced back to her feet and marched to the fading Maddz.

“Why… Why would the guild… do this to me?”

She dug a heeled boot firmly into his back and extended the sidearm to his crown.

“I’m not from the guild you stupid sack of shit.”

Her sentence was punctuated with a single blast. Maddz’s head caved from the trauma, spattering human matter outward in a star like display. A second blast followed; this time directed at the music player. A clear overreaction revealing the heightened tension she had harnessed from the brief gunfight. Removing her boot, she again surveyed the room, composing herself in the process. Casually, she gathered any and all back packs, satchels and carry cases to hand.

Kammuel considered his limited options, still tethered and slowly bleeding out. She clearly was not a collector and certainly was not aligned with the vultures. She had skills and ability, exactly the kind that he needed to get justice for the atrocities of the Katari and maybe even further absolution for himself.

“Hey, Hey!” He shouted, in a hope to pull her attention from sacking the apartment.

“You’re looking to get paid right? I can help with that. I’ve got a lot of credit. All you’ve got to do is get me down, yeah? Get me down and I’ll pay you.”

She surrendered only an irritated glance in his direction, not allowing his bargaining to hinder her progress.

“Come on, how much do you want? five hundred, no, one k solid. Hear that? I’ll pay you one thousand in Suidine Premium. That’s a large sum.”

She stifled a small mocking scoff whilst in the middle of stuffing multiple scavenged Augs into a satchel.

“Suidine Premium? It’s tanked, practically worthless now, that’s barely two hundred in Katari standard.”

The dismissive tone in her response was ignorant to its painful veracity. He was Suidine and had watched what remained of his family brutally shot down over a soured business deal. The wounds were fresh and despite the nanite’s efforts, evidence of the conflict scared his bare body. Retribution was his only path forward; this was no time to immerse in the emotional pain.

“It’s tanked… Of course, you’re right. I can do better though. Other lines of credit. What do you want; Entho Standard or I can do Rubi Certs?”

The bags were sealed and flung about her person. The obstinate behaviour became increasingly apparent as she proceeded towards the exit with no distinguishable reception to his offers. Desperation took over his expression.

“Blue Platinum!” He yelled in a final attempt to pique her interest, holding his breath expectantly.

She stopped in her tracks, taking a moment to process the statement. He sighed in relief.

“Yeah, you heard right. Katari mined Blue Platinum. Get me down from here and there’s 2 bars for you as payment. That should be plenty.”

She turned her head back, taking in a long drawn out look at his hanging form.

“Really? Katari Platinum, and you just expect me to take your word for it? Do you have them here?”

“Well no, not here. It’s not something I’d exactly carry around as spare trade. They’re safely stowed away.”

“Of course. Let me get right on setting you free off an empty promise. Please. You must think I was grown yesterday.” She scoffed in disbelief before preparing to walk again.

“Wait, I can prove it. My gear, find my gear and you’ll see my PDA.”

With a critical and disapproving look on her face she dumped the bags and started about finding his discarded gear. Conveniently, his pockets had been emptied on the nearby workstation. All his effects lay there, assumingly waiting to be processed in whichever way would have rewarded the vultures with the most value. She scattered about the fobs and miscellaneous gadgets grabbing hold of the PDA. She flicked it on and tapped away at the screen before glancing over again with an exasperated expression.

“It’s locked.”

“Of course it’s locked. It’s just biometrics. I can unlock it. Get me down.”

“No. Not until I have proof of the platinum. Hold your head up.”

Holding the PDA to his face it beeped once.

“Talk.”

He glared for a moment and then sighed again in capitulation.

“Kammuel Suidine.” He stated clearly.

A second series of beeps signalled the unlocking of the device. Her eyes lingered after his last words. He was a Suidine name sake, a core member of the currently in tatters corporation. An afterthought highlighted the effects the dire state of affairs may have on him. She began to swipe through the PDA’s navigation menu.

“Where am I looking.”

“Check the net correspondence. You’ll see proof of purchase.”

She scrolled for a few seconds. Her piercing eyes fluttering as she reads his personal correspondence. A slight smirk graced her face.

“Ignoring the interesting mailing lists you appear to be on, it’s here. Only, you said two bars. You got authenticity receipts for five…”

“You can’t be serious. Two is more than adequate.” His annoyance reared with the understanding of impending extortion.

“’More than adequate for saving your life? You shouldn’t be so self-deprecating, your life’s worth more than that. Kammuel Suidine” The tone was sarcastic over the clear shakedown. She held all of the cards and both were fully aware.

“This is ridiculous. How many lives have you taken for less!?” An unwavering expression met his allusion to the recent deaths in the room. Painstaking consideration of his obvious lack of choice was clearly visible in his restricted movement.

“Fine.” He conceded “You win. I’ll pay what you want. Just get this node off me and get me down. I’m bleeding out here.”

Her stern face let a satisfied smile break through.

“And how do I know you aren’t just going to bolt first chance you get? I can’t just take your word for it.”

“I’m a Suidine, we don’t break agreements.” He words weary with recent events.

“That’s still not much of a guarantee is it. Your word isn’t worth scrap to me and I aint going to leave it up to chance.”

She reached into a solid pouch at her waist and took out a Micro Implanter. The device hummed with a small charge as she approached him. Swiftly but forcefully, the Implanter was jammed into his neck muscles and left for just a few moments whilst the mechanism imbedded something deep within the tissue.

“Argh, what in the Nine is your problem? What did you just do?”

She yanked the implanter out and quickly proceeded to also tear off the disabling node Maddz had attached. Whilst beginning to loosen some of the restraints she rattled off a description of the implanted device.

“It’s a Sub-dermal EMP. Upon detonation it will cause a small explosion and lethally disable all Augs and Mods in its immediate vicinity. In this case, all of yours. It is linked directly to my internal observation systems and locked to a hundred- and fifty-meter radius. If you try to run, a kill code will trigger, and you will die. If my vitals go dark, a kill code will trigger, and you will die. If you try to back out of the deal, deceive me or just plain piss me off, in any way, I will generate a kill code and you will die. Do we have an understanding?

The end of her proclamation coincided with her standing at a final catch on the wall. The catch that would free him of the bonds. Processing the information his face had donned a shocked state. Moments passed as he endeavoured to come to terms with the loaded offer.

“I said is that clear?” she reiterated.

“Yeah, crystal. Now get me down.”

A small smirk graced the corner of her lips again and she proceeded to free Kammuel from his bonds. He thumped to the floor on his knees. The releases allowed for a deep breath followed by the immediate removal of any remnants of the restraints. Climbing to his feet his first few steps are hindered by the pain. Pushing through he hobbled to his effects and began arming himself with what little he had, leaving himself topless for the moment.

“So where do we pick up these bars?” she inquired.

“I logged them inside a Suidine storage facility.”

“Suidine? So, you’re saying they are under lock and pin in a Katari storage facility? That’s great. Didn’t fancy mentioning that a bit sooner?”

“I didn’t think it would be a problem for you.”

“It isn’t, but it’s fairly important information to omit.”

“The real problem is that everything in storage will get sold off once I’m declared dead…” He said, continuing over to the body of Maddz.

“… and you died recently.”

Taking a knee by the body, he grabbed a hold of the Micro Cutter and started to tamper with it.

“Yeah, I did.” Wrenching a few tiny connections and a little realignment caused the arm to fire back to life. “I will have been presumed dead during the Suidine central complex hostilities.”

He adjusted the settings a tad more, then used the tool to cauterize the wound it had made earlier.

“Depending on how efficient the Katari administration are, we won’t have a lot of time before I am declared as deceased. “

He punctuated his statement with the heavy discarding of the cyborg’s arm and finally putting his tight top on.

“Once that happens, there isn’t a lot we can do to recover the assets.”

“Speak for yourself.” She remarked whilst gathering her own gear.

“I’ll be getting those bars one way or another, even if I have to decommission a few Katari PM’s along the way. Just get me to the facility. I can do the rest”

Her response warmed him. The thought of killing some Katari was a greatly desired one after the recent events, though his first goal was to find which ones did the deed.

“That’s reassuring. Well, you know who I am. What do I call you?”

“I don’t care. Now get a move on, I’d rather not draw this out.”

She strode through the exit, leaving him partly stunned at the unexpected response. Taking another deep breath, he placed his hands on his hips and looked at the carnage that had enveloped the flat. Suddenly, he twigged, slapping his fingers to his neck. He rushed through the exit in chase. A hundred and fifty meters was a fair distance but best not to risk it.