As it turns out…the video that Mr Black had sent me was indeed not stitched. Shedrick was killed in Old City and I didn’t even know. That hurt me…it really did. It pained me so much that I didn’t even have the courage to call up Shedrick myself.

To confirm his death, I made a delivery request to Shed, ordering a mundane item. Admittedly, I wasn’t proud of this method of verifying if he was dead.

I waited three days until finally admitting to myself that, yes, he truly was killed. I liked Shedrick, the kid reminded me of myself from when I was a kid. He, too, also grew up in The Gallows, but unlike me, he joined the Kourier Alliance, whilst I joined the Antillean Federation Army.

His death was unwarranted and Akatani needed to pay for that…in blood.

I considered taking his disappearance to BLED, but hundreds of people disappear within The Federation. It didn’t help that he was an orphan as well. His disappearance would be chalked up to something ‘minuscule’ for the department.

The frustrating thing is, I still investigated the scene where he was killed, based on the video I got. I found traces of blood, but the samples were tampered with, making it difficult for me to verify whose it was.

As I was already in ‘hiding’ I mentally prepared myself for the wrath that I was about to unleash onto these Hannya Boys.

Fury has no name, but it has a path.

It took me three weeks to gather enough information regarding Akatani’s operation. It hurt me to see how well organised he was. I had planned a hit and run, but based on the layout of his base of operations, it was like a mini fortress combined with a production plant.

It was clear after the first week, the bastard was slowly making moves within The Gallows, eating up as much ‘real estate' as he could get.

Apparently, the vending machine scam was just enough for him to fund this operation. His primary goal was to be that of a supplier of all three drugs, Haze, Hyp’d and Harlows, through the city.

The Holy Triumvirate of Hallucinogens. Fitting name.

The Silent Dragons were the biggest Gang within The Gallows. Anything illegal that took place within The Gallows, be assured the Silent Dragons had a hand in it.

They were doing this for the better part of 40 years.

One would think that after cementing your place within The Gallows you’d have a hold, but based on the scale of Akatani’s micro-organisation, it was surely sending waves throughout.

Waves that wouldn’t sit well with the Silent Dragons, but enough for me to cause a problem, going unnoticed.

“Rex, you in position?” I asked.

“Been here for hours, Cypher, you better pay me for this job,” Rex said, making me purse my lips in annoyance. “I’m serious, Cypher.”

“Or…What?” I snapped, biting each word. “I saved your ass from being shot during those bullshit Riots in Welkeys District.”

Rex went silent instantly. I may not have heard anything, but I knew he kissed his lips behind his comms.

“It’s time,” He finally said, after fifteen minutes. “Three trailers just arrived.”

“Right on schedule…” Jixafon said over the line.

I peeped out from the window on the opposite side of the straight, tapping the digital display of my cybernetic arm, watching as the hologram of the abandoned Cinema that was now Akatani’s operation came alive. “…are you sure the package is in the trucks?” I asked.

“They are, Cypher.”

“All three?” I asked.

“All three.”

“Humph…count down?”

“9 minutes and 21 seconds,” Rex answered.

“Perfect…double back, but stay within comms distance, watch from above, and guard our backs. Nova…synchronize with the clock”

“Synchronization Complete,” Nova said.

“I won’t be able to do that inside.”

“That’s fine…we just need aerial support whilst we clear out the yard,” Jix said.

“Gotcha.”

The feedback from Rex’s comms went dead, leaving me and Jix to our own machinations.

As I continually peered through the abandoned building I commandeered. I watched as the abandoned cinema came alive. It was old, decrepit and void of any form of life.

That, of course, was intentional…make your operation dull enough to bypass anyone’s attention, plus…they didn’t have the money for The Silent Dragons to run a full-scale operation.

It was good enough, of course. Good enough for me to dismantle in one swoop.

There were two guard huts at the front gate. Six men patrolled the concrete walls that surrounded the cinema. The height of the wall was at least 18 feet by my estimation, making my entry through the front gate the best option I had.

The cinema was four stories tall, based on the interior design from the old schematics I commandeered from the Central Archive of Bridge City.

At the top of the building sat a sign spelling out the letters VST…well, what was left of the sign anyway. VISTA was the original name of the cinema, The sign wasn’t lit, but still held its original colours of red and white. I closed my eyes for a second, letting my imagination run, allowing me to see the VISTA sign fully illuminated. It wasn’t bad, nor was it perfect…it was minimalist at best.

I opened my cybernetic palm and stimulated my SMB, pulsing a Digital 3D outlay of the building. The interior had the four stories outlined but after decades of illegal construction. I knew full well that inside would’ve changed.

That didn’t matter, but my insecurity didn’t allow me to ignore it. I hate going in blind, but I had no choice at this point…all I could hope for was that Akatani wasn’t as organised as I hoped him to be.

The layout for the bottom floor was a lobby, concession stands on the left, ticket booths on the right, the pathway to the three theatres straight ahead, simple design, but functional. That’s what the design was in its originality, but now I could only surmise how fortified it was.

The second floor was strictly for the staff, lounging area and living quarters with bathrooms and bed. That made me assume that the VISTA was one of the few 24-hour cinemas available at the time.

The third and fourth floors were as simple as they got. Third Balcony floor for cinema patrons. Whilst the fourth four was where the projector was. Simple. As. Ever. But functional.

“Ready?” I asked, checking my gear.

“Affirmative,” Jix said over the com.

I had reservations about bringing Jix along with me, but with the fortified aspect of this cinema, I had no choice. I couldn’t take down everyone no matter how much body armour I wore.

I triple checked the padding of the body armour I wore, ensuring the steel fibres were actively engaged. This would be a poor time for them to fail.

I dug a circle into the abdominal section of the body armour, feeling as the fibres clenched around my index finger when I tried to penetrate it. Perfect, I thought.

The room I hid in was completely dark, but thanks to my night vision I spied a rusted piece of metal across the floor. I made my way toward it and stabbed myself with it, committing seppuku.

I felt the steel fibres rumble, pinching the foreskin of my stomach as if the microfibers of armour were forcibly keeping the metal rod from penetrating the suit. Alright…I’m satisfied. “Now, Rex!”

“Now, Rex!” I said, through the comms.

I watched as the three balls of fire sparked from the centre of the yard, spooling together into one ball and exploded in a cloud of smoke and fire. The explosion and the sound wave that followed rocked the surrounding area, shifting the building from right to left.

My cybernetic eye spotted shards of metals, specks of concrete, and splinters of wood floating hundreds of meters across the area.

It was glorious, leaving a smile on my face. It’d been a while since I blew up a building and it felt damn good to do so, in such a spectacle.

“Nova, send the credits to Rex,” I told my AA.

“Done,” The AA said.

The yard of the Cinema was virtually empty, only leaving the guards and drivers dazed from the explosion. The explosion wasn’t big enough to swallow the entire cinema, that’s not what I wanted.

Hannya Boys began flooding through the front doors, fully geared up with assault rifles, submachine guns and pistols brandished but not a spot of armour. Well prepared I mused. I didn’t expect this…but no armour? Perfection.

“I count Twenty-five,” Jixafon said, positioned in another building parallel to mine. He was on the roof, watching for movement within the old cinema yard.

“Twenty-five?”

“Sorry...thirty-one, six more crept up from the side of the building,” He responded.

“Side of the building?”

“Yeah…three came from either side of the building.”

“Noted…watchdogs on the wall?”

“They’re groggy but not dead.”

“Which side?”

“Right.”

“I’ll make my entrance there.”

“Then, I’ll shift to my right some more, better angle to ensure you’re not spotted.

“Rex, you ready?” I asked.

“Not yet, drone synchronization is delayed.”

“Hurry it up, I have a message for Akatani.”

“Akatani spotted, Cypher.”

“Where?!” I hissed.

“Coming through the entrance.

I turned my head out the window and zoomed in on the fireball of a yard and finally caught a glimpse of Akatani, strolling down the ramp…pissed. Good.

Akatani stormed through the yard with a black jacket, blue fatigue jeans and a pair of combat boots. I could hear the expletives floating across the road. He snapped at any and everyone that moved and I just smiled. Maybe I should end him now…no. He has to suffer.

“Drone on sight,” Rex said.

“…you sure you don’t want me to take him out now?” Jix asked. “He’s literally a sitting duck out there.”

I heard the PSR Cartridge from Jix’s sniper rifle click into place and could feel the anticipation swell within him. “No,” I said firmly, “…he has to see his operation crumble before him…”

Jix bellowed a loose sigh and kissed his teeth, “…fine,” He said, “have it your way.”

I sauntered to my right, picking up the Slider-RX M2.8 LAW and slung it across my shoulder. The rocket launcher was heavy, but not bad enough for me to complain. I took aim at the front gate right between the two guard huts and squeezed the trigger. “Fire in the Hole!”