Chapter 20: Carrasco

Carrasco caught a glimpse of himself within the park’s enormous wine fountain.

He regarded his moist head plastering brunette hair to his scalp, his tanned skin that had once been pale white if not for the cruelty of the surface sun.

‘But I still look good.’

He couldn’t help but smirk at himself, stroke his double chin lovingly.

Carrasco paused, focused on the ringing in his ears.

‘It’s almost time,’ he thought and mentally switched off the alarm.

He pulled out a few inconspicuous coins, carelessly flipped them into the fountain, one at a time. They smacked the wine, created tiny ripples and sunk down to the bottom.

He’d never been the superstitious type but if he had to make a wish.

‘I hope the forged identity is worth all the damned money I’m paying.’

Damn it was expensive.

Carrasco swirled, strode toward a nearby bench. He moved with a rhythm to his step, draped in a slim fitting black suit and white sneakers.

‘But I’ll make up for it when I sell the astra.’

More than make it up. He’d stolen an astra, a greater relic, a weapon from the Oracle’s own personal collection.

The League of Five would go crazy over it. Their hunger for the old technologies was a bad kept secret.

Carrasco planted himself on the bench, pulled out a foldable tablet from his jacket’s breast pocket and placed it on his lap.

His lips curled at the thought of the huge payday.

‘I should auction it. Maximize the profits.’

But inability to work the greater relic might make some buyers hesitant. The weapon operated on ancient technology long lost.

However there wasn’t a shortage of corporations collecting and studying these empire relics.

‘There is also the option to sell it back to the federation once I’m safe and out of their clutches.’

He chuckled at his own genius.

He was sure the federation would want it back. They’d made great strides in understanding the greater relics. Rumour had it the federation branch in Cape City had gotten one of their astra’s to work once.

‘A shield of some sort if I’m not mistaken.’

And the various federation branches spread across the free cities worked intimately together. So they would’ve shared their findings.

‘But first, focus on evading my former employers.’

And to accomplish that he needed to escape the city limits.

‘Plenty of hideouts in the Scorchedlands.’

Carrasco spread his arm across the bench and stared into the skies.

“13 years,” he mused.

13 years of sucking up to the federation for peanuts that couldn’t even buy him a lapdance from the Rouge Lounge. 13 years undercover doing the master’s dirty work for a little praise he couldn’t tangibly quantify.

‘No more—’ He paused. ‘Shit, back so soon.’

Carrasco unfolded the tablet and hoisted it to his face as one of the park drones made its rounds. It performed a rudimentary scan, unable to scan his face and moved on. Despite the unsuccessful scan the drone wouldn’t linger on any individual too long. Rhyno Park was too busy and they didn’t expect people to pose for scans. So the drone would absorb what it could get and shift positions.

‘But it will arouse suspicion if it fails to get my scan again. 11:58 but it’s almost time.’

He peeked over his tablet. Watched the drone soar toward the playground, where a group of union demonstrators were gathering, handing out pamphlets and taking names trying to rally people into their cause.

‘To what end?’

That’s what most people thought. Despite the federation’s corruption and the league’s corporate greed, to stand against them was to be cast out into the wilderness with the No-chips and lawless barbarians. And a free life in the Scorchedlands was a hard life, too hard for the majority of Gau City’s population.

‘But everyone has to have damned cause these days.’

He’d been roped into one as well. They’d played on his pursuit of freedom to manipulate him into a cause even more grand and delusional than the union could ever fathom.

But he’d spent enough time on the surface to know where true freedom lies.

‘Money, lots of money—’

Carrasco squinted and his muscles tensed.

‘Here he comes.’

He scrutinized a figure striding toward his bench with purpose, draped in a cheap ensemble: a brand less blue hoodie and grey sweatpants.

It was another hot day but he was covered up. Most likely someone trying to hide from surveillance drones.

‘Say someone like The Forger.’

Or a nobody who likes hoodies and coincidentally happened to be walking his way.

His disguise wasn’t as discreet as his tablet blocker but not everyone had his genius.

Time seemed to slow as he watched the hooded figure approach.

‘This is it,’ he thought. ‘Just a simple exchange and I can hide in plain sight and wait out the lockdown.’

Carrasco shivered as a tingling wave of incomprehensible static phased through his mind.

‘An attack? No.’

He quickly rubbished the thought.

He was caught off guard again as another gentle wave of gibberish pulsed through his mind.

After he stopped overreacting it dawned on him.

‘Wave controls.’

He couldn’t make sense of it because he was tuning out all subliminal waves mainly to block out the overload of ads broadcast by the league across the city. But this was different from the random corporation broadcasts spread omnidirectionally to brainwash the masses. This was more focused, more targeted towards him.

‘A salesmage trying to con me?’

Probably but those con artists wouldn’t work at a park, they targeted high profile clients who couldn’t protect their minds.

Another wave of incomprehensible static buzzed in the back of his mind.

‘Persistent.’

Surely whoever it was must’ve realized how futile their efforts were. Even if he took his defences down a cybermage’s mind wasn’t easy to manipulate.

His eyes widened as it dawned on him. If another mage wanted to discreetly communicate with him what kind of means would they employ?

‘But who?’

His first thought was the hooded figure aka The Forger but he quickly realized it wasn’t. Sure he couldn’t properly isolate the source but he could tell it was coming from behind him.

His heart thumped hard against his ribcage.

‘Run? Unwise.’

Whoever was trying to subliminally wave him had the jump on him. Moving recklessly might be fatal.

When the following wave came, he opened his mind.

‘You took too long to answer. They noticed.’

The thought unpacked itself as a familiar voice, ringing in the back of his mind.

The mind perceived subliminal thoughts differently but the fact that he recognized the voice meant he’d subliminally communicated with this person before. And it didn’t take long to realize who, there were only so many people he’d let so close into his mind.

‘To think the master came himself.’

His green eyes lost their entire cool.

‘It’s over.’

There was no talking his way out. He’d failed to check in for days, was blocking all com-links and was meeting with a forger. They’d drag him back to the mine and Oath Keeper would see through any lies he conjured. He’d die an excruciating death in the furnace.

‘No wait, something’s afoot.’

The master had the jump on him but didn’t take him down immediately.

‘Who noticed?’ Carrasco sent back a probing response.

‘Behind you. Dodge. Now,’ the master transmitted

His frown deepened, unable to adjust to his current predicament. Fear encouraged him to bolt but his rational urged caution.

‘Get a grasp of the situation first.’

Carrasco swung his head around. Not to dodge but to glance behind, out of curiosity more than anything.

Tiny air currents fluttered against his cheek as a flicker of light whizzed past his face. His eyes bulged and refused to blink.

There was a scream and a thump behind him jolting him out of his stupor. The pungent smell of burnt flesh permeated throughout his vicinity. He reckoned an unassuming pedestrian struck by the stun beam that missed him.

‘A stun beam that was meant for me.’

He picked out the shooter from a cluster of pedestrians, who were sent into a panic at the sight of the stun gun.

The shooter whipped off her sunglasses in a quick motion as if they’d obscured her vision. She blinked yet it didn’t change the fact that she’d missed.

“Cybermage?”

More screams, the civilian’s around the stunned victim also panicked. Driving the park crowd into hysteria.

“No, cybermages,” Carrasco mumbled.

With the scattering crowd moving away from the scene he noticed some individuals break the pattern, moving against the flow of the fleeing crowd, advancing on his location.

They were in various disguises but from their coordination he assumed they were Special Forces.

‘That’s why the master warned me.’

He swept his head round. The cybermages had him surrounded on all sides. The master couldn’t move freely lest he get directly entangled with the cybercrime. This is why he needed his cooperation.

Carrasco sneered.

‘Wants my cooperation so he can catch me.’

Moreover he’d messed up his deal. The hooded figure – The Forger – had disappeared, probably merged back into the fleeing crowd.

‘Follow my instructions and we’ll help you out the encirclement,’ the master transmitted.

Carrasco didn’t reply.

The federation, the AoF, he’d betrayed both. There was no happy ending with either organization.

‘No profits too.’

‘Quickly were running out of time,’ the master transmitted a hint of desperation in his hurried broadcasts.

The cybermage encirclement shrunk in, moving against the crowd.

More drones flocked to the park, locking onto his position from numerous angles.

He couldn’t pick out the master but he was here somewhere.

‘No doubt accompanied by a troupe of agents.’

Despite this, Carrasco was more relaxed now.

He slipped his hands into his pockets, sat unmoving and chuckled at his own genius. Both his suitors were working against each other. Without the other he would’ve been caught unawares.

‘Carrasco you’d rather get taken by the cops,’ the master transmitted.

Carrasco didn’t reply. He fished through his pocket, past his blade hilt and credit chips. His fingers curled around a detonator, his thumb positioned over the trigger.

‘They’ll torture you!’ The master transmitted.

‘And you’ll give me a quick death. After you’ve gotten what you want.’ Carrasco sneered. ‘You always did underestimate my genius.’

The master’s reply was cut off by a series of muffled explosions as water erupted from the fountain, followed by the lightshow from the simultaneous detonations of multiple flashnukes. The blinding radiance grew with an insatiable appetite. Spread from the fountain, to Carrasco and continued shine outward, engulfed the whole park in brilliant light.