I ran towards the glass, rocking my hand back. I buried my fist into the glass. A loud dong echoed throughout the room as my cybernetic hand bounced off the glass as if it were paper. “What the hell?” I growled, agitated from my failed attempt to break it.

I caressed my fingertips against it, feeling the sand particles as I did so. It was smoothly coarse but translucent in make-up. Absorption Virtrum, I thought, how the fuck did he acquire this?

“You thought I’d come unprepared Cypher? That’s disappointing.” Akatani said with a chuckle. I turned to my left, seeing as the bastard came strolling into a door, dragging a chair behind him.

The urge to send my hand through the Virtrum was there, despite knowing how futile it was. I decided against it and watched as Akatani set up a chair, in front of Shin-Lee then took a seat.

“Have a seat, there’s plenty for us to discuss?” He said, hand gesturing towards the chair. I grit my teeth in frustration, then eyed Shin-Lee’s left hand, confirming her finger was severed.

I bit my tongue, feeling the metallic taste of the blood swarm within my mouth as fury boiled within me like a furnace. Then, closed my eyes and fell into the chair, burying my anger externally, but not internally.

“That’s better,” Akatani said licking his lips whilst lapping his legs. He turned in the chair, then looked up at Shin-Lee. “She’s beautiful,” He said. “…too beautiful, but that’s the case with Latrinians, yes?”

I didn’t answer.

“You don’t have to answer Cypher, but we will talk, after all, I have all the Aces within my disposal.”

“Disposal?”

“He speaks!”

“Let my wife and daughter go,” I said calmly.

“I can consider that, but we have to set things right first.”

“Set things right? You tried to have me killed because I got those kids of yours arrested,” I growled.

“What would you have me do? I promised those kids I’d take care of me, and you robbed me of that chance.”

“I didn’t rob you of shit!”

“Oh really? Then tell me why did they have to die?”

“Die? What bullshit are you talking about, they’re in Juvie.”

“Ahh…you believe in the system.”

“It’s not about the system. It’s about them being minors.”

“…the system could give two shits if they were embryos Cypher…”

“What’s your point?”

“MY POINT IS YOU GOT THOSE KIDS KILLED WHEN YOU ARRESTED THEM!” He growled, jumping from his chair.

“I was doing my job. I followed a lead.”

“…a lead that led to their deaths!”

“I don’t know how that relates to anything. You claim it’s my fault they died, but wasn’t it you sent them on a vandalism spree? Wasn’t it THAT, which led to their arrest? Sounds like it was your fault more than it was my own.”

Akatani yanked his knife from his waist and darted towards Shin-Lee. He pressed it against his neck, turning to me as he did so with a maniacal expression laced across his face. He slowly dragged the knife across her body. The message he sent, was loud and clear ‘say something’.

I let my fury run its course, failing at every turn, but eventually, the bastard took the knife from her neck and walked towards her, sheathing his knife in the process. “It was you Cypher, that got them killed. They were FUCKING kids for christ-sake!” He growled, pounding against the glass.

“I told you, I was just doing my job. How would I know they would’ve died in Juvie.”

“Not. The. Point.”

I can’t get through to him…he’s fucking crazy.

“Fine…then what’s the point of all of this?”

“The point of all of this is that I need something and you’re the only man I know that can get it for me.”

“If I get it, will you let my wife and daughter go?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“How this conversation goes…”

I bit my tongue, holding in my sigh, and ground my teeth to dust, to ensure I didn’t piss this bastard off any further. His eyes had gone from dazed to maniacal, which meant he could kill Shin-Lee if agitated any further.

“You’ve gone quiet, alright…that’s good, it means you know your place!” He scoffed.

“Why did you kill the Shedrick?”

“Who the fuck is that?”

“My courier.”

“Oh…” He said, eyes elated, “Because I fucking wanted to! You needed to know how I felt when I lost my kids!”

I didn’t respond, but took in his answer, feeling as goosebumps washed over my body as I clenched my fist in frustration.

“I guess you know how I felt when your kids as well!”

“No one likes it when kids die,” I said.

“You say that, but I don’t get it, with your skills you could’ve easily infiltrated my camp and killed me in retaliation, yet, you chose to assault my operation. You’ve set me back YEARS! I can’t MAKE Haze because no one will front me the money because of what you did!”

Does he know about my skillset? How? I thought bitterly, this man’s no mere gangsta upstart…he has connections.

“You killed Shedrick, and for no good reason,” I growled

“…wait, you destroyed EVERYTHING I BUILT AND FOR SOME FUCKING COURIER?”

Don’t answer that Cypher. Don’t push him over the edge.

I didn’t answer.

“No…” I said firmly. “That was business.”

“Business my ass, you’re a merc, IF someone wanted me dead you would’ve opted done me in on my own, not my operation. You wanted my operation to crumble before my eyes.” He spat. “I remembered those bullets whistling past me like thunder!…that’s it, you were close with the courier you fucking BASTARD!”

“It was business,” I answered coldly. The personal business you fucktard I swear, I’ll kill you.

“Business on account for a kid I killed? Sounds familiar?”

I didn’t respond, nor did I have to. He made his point…in essence, but not unilaterally. This bastard was taking kids off the streets and cyberising them in his attempt to rival the Silent-Dragons and the Yardies for distribution of Haze and Acidslip throughout Bridge City.

Either he was insane or insane. You don’t fight organisations’ heads on unless you had a trump card and Akatani had none of those. Unless…what he wanted me to get could change everything for him, I mused for a moment.

“Why can’t get you to get it yourself?” I asked.

“Come on Cypher, you’re not an EXiCON anymore, don’t ask questions.”

“What do you need from me?”

“I need you to get something from Underwent Market.”

What? Underwent? Why there? WHY THERE? I hissed to myself. The chipset in my mind raced with many thoughts as I hope to figure out something, but none came. Think Cypher…think. Then it hit me. This bastard was able to track me whilst I was in Underwent.

“You hacked The Mangol security systems didn’t you, that’s why you were able to track me in Underwent.”

A knowing smile flashed across Akatani’s face, then he nodded. “You’re not bad Cypher, it seems you use that brain of yours. Yes. I did hack into Mangol’s system when needed. The manoeuvre you pulled, tricking my men on the 16th floor was sleek, too sleek. But thanks to you, I gained insight into The Mangol’s operation and now I need something of it.”

Does the Mangol have something he needs? I asked myself. “Does this thing you want me to take belong to the Mangol?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t get it. The Mangol has my face plastered across the entirety of Underwent. If I go anywhere near there, The Mangol will kill me.”

Akatani scoffed a laughed, sneering at me. His black chin beaming, just like the leather outfit he wore, which was skin tight for god knows whatever reason. I tried ignoring his bleached eyes, but for some reason, I couldn’t stand to look at them for too long. This bastard thought he was the smartest man in the room, when he was a stone in a river, lying amongst others.

“I don’t care if the fucking federation has you blacklisted. You need to get me what I want or I’ll gut your wife and daughter in front of you.”

I was powerless in this situation and Akatani knew that. The bastard knew he had all the fucking cards in the deck to play me along to ANYTHING he wanted!

“What’s the object?” I asked, looking at Shin-Lee dangling in the background, not moving. My chest and heart ached the moment I said those words.

“The Serphandias.”

“Serphandias?” I asked confused.

“Yes.”

“…Kaiden.” Shin-Lee Whispered.

“SHIN-LEE!” I shouted, springing up from my chair and darting towards the glass. “ARE YOU OK?” I pleaded. She nodded lethargically, hair covering her face. “IS HANNAH OK?” I then shouted. Another nod. I was in pain and I knew the cost of it.

Akatani walked in front of me, blocking her view and smiled grimly at me. “As she’s come to, I think our discussion ends here. Listen well Cypher, I will be the one contacting you from now on. If I’m not satisfied, you’ll receive more fingers, you understand?”

“My little girl?” I squealed.

“I’m not an animal,” Akatani growled. “…don’t make me become one.”

I nodded, strafing left trying to catch sight of Shin-Lee, but the moment I stepped. The Glass went completely black, blocking everything in my sight. I began pounding the glass in hopes of breaking it, but after five minutes of the Absorption Virtrum absorbing my fist, I knew It was futile.

My knees gave way and I fell to the ground, wallowing in a bout of melancholy and self-pity. I tried forcing myself to get up but my body just wouldn’t allow it. I truly didn’t know what to do. You need to get up Cypher…you got work to do. GET UP!

I pushed myself up, looking around the room dazed, dirty and decrepit. I stalked my way to the door, on the door on the left. One I hadn’t noticed on my entry. It led to the fire escape, which had seen better days, but I couldn’t care enough as I went down the rusted thing without issue.

The fall from the fire escape was short and left my knees crying for mercy. Thoughts of the past forty-eight hours pulsed through my mind as I gathered myself up against the wall.

People passed me by whispering under their breath. “This bastard better now show up at Festival looking like that.” A woman said before a loud firecracker went off in the sky.

The firecracker broke the void bleakness of the sky. Two men appeared in the sky in the form of confetti and fought in the sky. Once the flames died down, the characters disappeared, only for another firecracker to sound off in the distance, starting a new show in the sky.

I truly couldn’t give a fuck right now, but I needed to get up, despite my body not allowing me to.

Incoming Call…

“Cypher.”

“We have a problem,” Naedon said.

“What do you mean, we have a problem…Elhisia doesn’t want to pay us?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then what!?” I growled, startling a little girl who passed me.

“Elhisia has been kidnapped,” Naedon said firmly.

“You’ve got to be kidding me Naedon, what the FUCK!”