“Rex, did you find anything on this serphandias?” I asked. The video feed of Rex was fuzzy, but his gold teeth flashed like a light in the void along with his puffy cheeks.

“Nothing,” Rex said.

“Fuck!”

“What are you gonna do?”

“Like what? I don’t have much choice. I have to go in blind…and try to figure out what this serphandias is.”

“That’s foolhardy at best Cypher. You know it and I know it. You need to know the guard’s shift and where the god damn serphandias’ gonna be!”

“That’s why I’m talking to you aren’t I? Can’t you get you to find you’re way into their system?”

“What bullshit are you asking me OF COURSE I can get myself into their system. The problem is, Underwent will probably have their counter-Cyberweave team.”

“Get help.”

“WHOA WHOA WHOA, whaddayoumean…GET HELP?”

“I’m not playing Rex. If you need help, to getting through their systems. Get it.”

“Let’s not be hasty about help here.

“REX. MY FAMILY LIVES ARE HANGING IN THE BALANCE I CAN’T AFFORD TO DEAL WITH YOUR PRIDE!”

“Whoa there Cypher. That’s not what I mean. The problem with working with other Weavers is. If we are not coordinated we could be discovered. I’m not particularly known for working with other Weavers.”

“Is that why you needed my help exfiltrating you from the riots?”

“Yes. We had a D-SAS hardline which was patched before we could spell Z E R O. We wasted months sending various spyware and malware packets to employees’ phones to help us get into the network. It was a complete buss BECAUSE some fool launched an E-Tat attack before the time. 9 o’Clock.”

“I see, you’re making me think for a second. You know that friend of yours, that said his code was used to re-write the firmware. Is there a possibility that could be used as well to listen in on devices?”

“Not likely, but that’s a good theory. What are you getting at?” Rex asked me.

“A few months back when Akatani followed me in Underwent, he back-traced my comm and gained access to drones within Underwent.”

“Wow, that son of a bitch is ballsy.”

“Quite. He mentioned, that this serphandias… was vague, and made it seem as though the Mangol has it. My thing is, how would he know about it?”

“He either got a piece of spyware or malware into their systems…or he’s working with someone on the inside,” Rex said nodding as if he approved.

“You approve?”

“Quite.”

“Getting into Underwent’s system is hard, but not impossible. The mere fact that he was able to evade The Mangol’s swiper team, is astounding. I will admit. He might not be a B-Class Cyberweaver.”

“What’s a Swiper team?” I asked.

“Yes. It’s a team of analysts who purges their systems for bugs, spyware and any malware.”

“Living spyware of malware?”

“Come on cypher, that shit doesn’t exist!…… Unless.”

“Unless what?”

“Someone on the inside leaves that spyware or malware, undeleted.”

“Holy shit…that makes fucking sense!”

“Exactly.”

“Can you find out bout the Mangol’s Swiper Team?”

“Working on it right now. Don’t worry, it won’t be too hard. Hackers are quite flashy when they make a certain amount of credits.”

“Just like you?”

“Like me? I’m a recluse Cypher, I’m never flashy.”

“Says the man with a golden light sprinkling from his mouth.”

“Hey! I lost my tooth as a kid, I could as well make my mouth shiny.”

“Fool.”

“A fool for Gold! Ha!”

I chuckled a dry laugh for a moment and felt a little reprieve from the stress I just dealt with. It was good, but I had to put it away and get my shit together because with only three days left. I didn’t have much to work with to get these serphandias.

“Rex. You’re a good friend.” I admitted finally. I and I never met eye to eye on some things, but it’s one thing he always came through, unlike that piece of shit Gonzada. Who just happens to be next on my list.

“Me? Friend? Such high praise from the enigmatic Cypher. Are you drunk?”

“Yeah…” I laughed. Drunk on my tears.

“Whatever man!” Rex grunted. “Imma find out what I can, and hit you up.”

“Sure thing…and Rex.”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Aye aye.

◆◆◆

As I stood in the distance a couple of blocks away from Underwent Market. I could taste the Gallow’s acidic taste on my lips.

The stars in the sky flickered between passing clouds, showing a perfectly painted canvas. If they were aliens out there, they must be laughing at how pathetic we were down here.

I know I would.

Mist enshrouded the streets, blocking lights and stealing sight from various directions. Even though I flicked between Night Vision and Heat Sight, none could penetrate the mist.

It simply was too thick.

Down below, rows of people gathered in lines, entering Underwent as per usual whilst the sheen of the building’s glass glimmered above, providing some form of luminescence down below.

In the sky above, drones scowered the sky like bees looking for a new nest, a stark contrast to my last visit. I guess going through the front door is not an option for me.

I knelt, watching as everything in the distance turned green as I switched to Night Vision once more. I zoomed in, trying to hunt for a lapse in their security. They were many, but the lights beaming as brightly as they were, meant I’d have to cause a blackout within The Gallows, just to get past the security, which meant that this was a dud. “This is not what I expected,” I said. “Drones outside? That’s a bit much”

No doubt this was a repercussion from the brawl the Hannya Boys and I caused. I didn’t expect it to be this strict, but If I had to admit, I was rather influential.

So this is why he needed me to get in here. He couldn’t find a way in, I thought.

I spent the next six hours, recording, making notes and memorising the shift in guards, which was few and quite incremental. Which meant I truly didn’t have much to work with.

The shattered aesthetic of the roof made it difficult for me to see through despite having an X-Ray Sight. The next problem was, that the buildings that encircled the area just weren’t at high as Underwent’s own.

This was getting frustrating as hell. I previewed the schematics, finding a perfect entry point through a ventilation shaft, that was located on the bottom floor.

The problem though, the ventilation shaft might not be able to hold my weight, so maybe trying there, might not be the best. Still, I just needed to get inside and see if it was feasible.

The building itself was old in design, but the renovation that The Mangol did, was quite sophisticated. They were two sets of servers. The first set was on the bottom floor, whilst the second set was on the top floor. I wondered if it was a backup set-up, or if they were doing so much business that they needed two different sets of servers.

Making my way down from the rooftops and Browsing the streets wasn’t much help either. I kept track of the guards at their various stations, and I had to admit, they were meticulous with their schedules, which made it quite hard for me to get in.

The buzzing sound the drone propellers made drew my attention but also forced me to head in a different direction. I couldn’t afford my face to be seen, or this task would go straight to hell and fast.

This is not working I thought bitterly, after twelve hours of surveillance.

After letting frustration get the better of me. I finally decided to take a break and walked down an alley, heading to the eastern side of The Gallows.

The eastern section of The Gallows was the most peaceful of the four different sections. The food market was busy as expected. The streets were mobbed with people with no vehicles coming and going. Which was a godsend.

The market was light with lights that were strung together as if they were clotheslines. The lights were in varying colours, which gave the impression of Christmas colours, but without the blinking feature.

The lights though did provide a peaceful ambience to the food market, which wasn’t what patrons of the Gallows were used to.

The people around me smiled and laughed, cursed and fought…with words. But, overall I could tell this was their everyday life.

A little boy bumped into my side and fell to the ground, wailing as he did so. I helped him up trying to stop him from crying and for a moment I swore I saw Hannah. That moment died quickly as the father scooped his son and apologised meticulously, which made me laugh.

I shooed him off because there was no reason for the apology. The boy was running around having fun, he’d bump into someone eventually.

Roaming The food market was a trip down memory lane for me, I’d never set foot in this since I got carried off to Juvy after I’d stolen food at least a hundred times.

Down the street was Sarly’s Bakery. It had a red sign with a white outline around the words. It was closed no one buys bread around this time, but I remember Hacio Sarly, the old owner giving me burnt bread to eat.

One of the few people that fed the kids that roamed around here.

As usual, Wingtastic drew a crowd. The line for the chicken wings was literally around the corner, leading into an alley. Possibly safe…possibly not. Wingtastic claimed to have the best-spiced wings in the entirety of Bridge City, a claim I always questions, but never truly bothered to answer.

I knew one thing for sure, the owner, Oli was a cheapskate piece of shit, that’ll sell his daughter for a profit. Luckily he has no daughters…the bastard.