“This would’ve been easier had you done what you were being paid for Cypher,” Colvolt said. “I did as asked. I rescued your daughter and brought you the lineagecube.” I snarled, annoyed by the acquisition. “I asked you to return the lineagecube. I never asked you to rescue my daughter. As far as I’m concerned. She’s dead, killed by her kidnappers after the rescue operation by Valeon Epin goes badly.”

“You bastard! You sent him to kill them.”

“You’re one to talk of being a bastard. You may be my first child, but you’re a bastard nonetheless…girl.”

“Fuck you!” Elhisia hissed.

“You’ve done that already with this pissant tantrum spectacle you’ve made. Orchestrating your kidnapping and stealing what is mine.”

Elhisia went quiet, tears forming in her eyes. She was angry, I could tell. The desert was cold, but the heat that flared from her was uncanny. I’m sure, what cold that enshrouded around her, was steamed away in an instant.

“Nothing to add?” Colvolt asked. “Good… let’s get this over with. Colvolt turned to Zanton and said something my cybernetic ear couldn’t pick up. Elhisia’s lover answered but he began a trek towards her. “NO!” Elhisia said after he made the first step he made. “DON’T COME!”

Zanton didn’t answer, but he spoke with his feet, steps striking the sand like a hammer but the swishing sound they made, were as if he was stepping on dead leaves.

The purple and orange clouds trailed above us, slowly. The sun hadn’t fully peaked out from this side of the desert, but I felt the warmth finally returning to the world.

The atmosphere around us was heavy. I could breathe, but making an untrained step would be foolish. To the left of Colvolt, Rynord and Stelig knelt, assault rifles trained on us, whilst Naedon and Tryzer were to his right, rifles, also trained on us.

My best guess was, they’d been paid off.

“Don’t come any closer,” Elhisia whispered. “It’s a pleasure to see you again Liz…” Zanton said, in a calm tone. His voice was warm and charming. Welcoming. I could see why she was into the man. And now that I thought about it, these were the first words I ever heard the man speak. “The time we spent together, I’ll cherish it forever.”

A sombre explosion sang the air between Elhisia and me, followed by a loud thud. Brain matter, sinew and gore sprayed across the sand covering Elhisia in Zanton’s gore.

She screamed. Harder than the ten sirens roiling at once. I watched as the girl crawled to Zanton’s body, then cuddled his maimed smoking head within her arms.

“If you did as required. He’d be fine. Now I have to pay two billion to Charalton’s family with the scandal that’s about to hit the city because of you. Heiress’ paramour orchestrated kidnapping, killed in action.”

Elhisia didn’t acknowledge her father’s words. Her face was buried in Zanton’s chest. She didn’t move, but neither could I hear her sobs anymore. It was as if she was dead.

I can’t watch this anymore. I thought, shying my gaze from the heiress. Colvolt Weitson stomped his way down from the apex of the dune, feet seeping into the sand. He had his pistol in his right hand and his cold brown eyes were fixed upon his daughter.

“How did you find us?” I asked. Colvolt’s lips curled into a knowing smile. He fished into a pocket and pulled a spherical data chip and twirled it in his hands, showing the little red button. “You thought I only had one of those?” he asked. “The lineagecube is EVERYTHING. I couldn’t trust it with that fool. So I opted to have someone Mr Black recommended.”

“You know Mr Black.”

“I know of him.” He said firmly. “But I have to question the man he considers his own, weren’t you supposed to return the lineagecube to me?”

“I did what was required of me. I found your daughter and brought you your lineagecube! There was no need for you to kill the man” I growled.

“Humph…” Colvolt grunted. “Is that so.”

The magnate pressed a button on his tracker and ruffling static noise began to hiss. “Three Hundred Million Dollars.” I heard. Shit…that’s me.

“What?!” Elhisia answered.

“Three Hundred Million Credits, and I’ll make you the Chairman or whatever it is you want.”

The device recorded everything…fuck. He knows everything I said!

“OK…if you can get me my father’s DNA, I’ll gladly give you three million dollars, can you repeat that? I want to record it.”

“If you can acquire the DNA sequence of my father,” Elhisia said firmly.

“I will pay you Three Hundred Million Credits”

The magnate’s eyes went dead cold as he turned to me. His eyes said one thing ‘I’m your better. Know your place.’ I’ve been had…damn it

Colvolt then turned and stood above Elhisia, staring at her with trepidation in his eyes. It made me question what it meant to be human. Did I ask that question many times, was it the heart? That made you human, or flesh? Those were the questions I readily asked. I was half cybernetic but felt alien compared to my true self ever since I lost half my body, but Colvolt made me feel normal compared to who he was.

“Is this how you were planning to take what is mine? Look at you!” He snarled. “You’re crying over a lump of flesh! You think you know a loving girl, but you don’t. This. Is. Love.” He added bitterly, raising his pistol towards his daughter’s head. No!

I shot my cybernetic wrist, hitting the bastard wrist. He dropped his pistol and sprung up, entering my knife into his side. The groan the magnate made was a mere murmur.

Usually, I would’ve been bothered by this. Hell, some of the deaths I caused during my time at Dawn Light still bothered me., but this? Colvolt Weitson…one of my The Antillean Federations richest men and biggest pieces of shit? I was fine to watch that bastard die beneath my knife.

I yanked the knife from his side, then kicked the pistol out of his arm's reach. “You don’t know what you’ve done” he whispered. “I do.” I said wryly “…just gained three hundred million credits. Easily.” I said kneeling over the bastard.

“GOD DAMN IT CYPHER” Naedon roared. A stampede of footsteps fluttered towards me, then I felt a hard punch lash across my face, sending me to the ground. “…for fuck sakes Cypher!” Tryzer spat, shaking off his punch. “you just killed our payday!”

“Don’t worry about it!” I grunted, “she’ll pay whatever that bastard offered.”

I pushed myself from the ground, feeling as the tempered gazes of the Cobra Squadron eyed me. I let their anger pass through me like an X-Ray, not caring enough. I had my problems. Paying off the debt I owed to Mr Black and buying the nanites Hannah-Lee needed.

The three hundred million would cover that…easily.

I walked on over to Elhisia, whose head was still buried in Zanton’s chest. I gripped her shoulder and tried to shake her loose. “We have to go!”

“Go?” Colvolt said with a cough. “The only place left for you is death. Do you think killing me won’t have you marked? You’re all marked!”

Stelig raised his rifle and was about to end him, but Elhisia wasn’t going to allow that. “STOP!” She screamed. The girl gently released Zanton from her grasp, then placed him on the ground. Her father who was on the ground, chest first was crawling away…trying to get away from her.

Elhisia snatched up her father’s pistol and burrowed her knee into his back. She placed the pistol at the back of his head. “WAIT! IF YOU LET ME GO I’LL TELL YOU WHERE YOUR MOTHER IS.”

Hesitation crept up, taking the form of slumped shoulders. He knows her weaknesses. I thought. “I know you’ve been looking for her…let me live and I’ll tell you where she is!” I groaned.

Elhisia released a trying sigh and contemplated the option for two seconds only. “Knowing you…you probably killed her,” Elhisia said bitterly.

The heiress fired two shots, point-blank range into her father’s skull. She screamed out, not in pain compared to when she watched Zanton’s head explode, but with anger.

She pushed herself up, eyeing each one of us with disgust as if we were the ones that killed Zanton. Humph…in a sense we did I mused to myself, but life has consequences…if you want power, and the only means to grasp was to steal, especially when you wanted the power that could move a city…the price was heavy.