Incoming Call…

“Cypher”

“Cypher, it’s Eclain….Gonzada’s gone to ground.”

“Fuck!” I growled.

“Yeah…I went back to HQ. The bastard took leave.”

“Damn it! that’s not good. I can’t even find Akatani!”

“I’ve checked into that as well.”

“You looked into Akatani as well?”

“Yeah, I spoke with the Commissioner. She’s given me clearance to talk about everything related to the bullshit Gonzada been up to, something about doing ‘good work’.”

I groaned in my head the moment I heard the words ‘doing good work’. All that meant was, she found a way to keep her job as Commissioner for an extended period. whatever, Hexan. What-the-fuck-ever. I said to myself.

“Right.”

“Gonzada found a way to delete someone from BLED’s Central Database.”

“That shouldn’t matter, isn’t that information backed up separately?”

“It is, but whatever it was that Gonzada dead, also found its way to the backup repository.”

“What did she find?”

“She found that they printed profiles for individuals whilst there’s no digital recollection of them in the database. When she did some digging she realised that some of them were related to Gonzada.”

“That’s why he was suspended.”

“Yes and no.”

“Yes and no?”

“Yeah, you know the EXiCONs he worked with that died suspiciously?”

“I’m not familiar with the details of their death, but yeah, I remembered he put those on you.”

“Right. The Commissioner saw some similarities, missing information, that didn’t match the original case file sent to her.”

“The Commissioner has paper files?”

“Yes, everything that’s done within BLED’s system is printed and looked over by the Commissioner. It’s to help keep the department clean.”

“I see.”

“Right, anyways. He was suspended because of the murders, but that’s just it. There wasn’t much to go on, so he was brought back to dispatch.”

“To a lay trap for him to get caught?”

“Yeah…”

“Did she find out how he deleted the profiles?”

“She hasn’t”

“It’s probably related to Akatani. The bastard used to work for Deslin Arkon. He was his Cyberweaver.”

“Deslin Arkon? The fucking psychopath that blew the fucking National Insurance Scheme building? Why the hell is this bastard not locked up?”

“I don’t know, but I found it weird how there’s little information regarding him…anywhere.”

“I see…”

“You have any leads on where Gonzada could be?” I asked, not wanting to think too much about Akatani.

“None. The best I can do is hope he slips up and Frequents a favourite spot of his.”

“That’s wishful thinking” I added.

“It is…but it’s the best I can do right now. Monitoring known associates aren’t enough. If he’s a man of habit, he will slip eventually.”

“That makes sense, but it’s not enough.”

“I know. I’ll find something Cypher, once I do…I’ll reach back out.”

“Thanks Eclain, I appreciate it.”

“No problem. I appreciate the credits as well.”

“Was it enough?”

“More than that, I can finally get a decent place to rent, hire 24-hour care for my daughter so she could leave that piece of the shit hospital.”

“She’s been staying at the hospital?”

“Yeah, part of the benefits of working at BLED.”

“Why don’t you stay at BLED Housing, they have thousands of Apartments.”

“It’s cheaper to rent out. All my credits are going into taking care of Violis.”

“I see…happy to hear, that’s not enough. How long have you been looking for a matching donor?”

“Too long.”

“I see…I’ll look into something for you Eclain. I don’t wanna say I think it might work, but I’ll look into something and see if it’s possible for you.”

“What’s that?”

“I don’t wanna say and get your hopes up, so focus on Akatani and I’ll see what I can do for Violis, is that fair?”

“If you can find a way to help Violis…I’d drag Gonzada through the pissed WASTE to bring him in front of me.”

I chuckled a laugh and nodded. “I believe you Eclain…thanks again.”

“Don’t mention it Cypher, and thanks for the creds, my daughter truly appreciates it.”

“God speed” I answered.

The line went dead and so did my eyes, for a few seconds. I shouldered my backpack, pushing the door open of the rented chattel house.

The aromatic scent of fried eggs and corn beef twirled in the air, making my mouth water. I swear…this old lady is trying to get me fat I mused.

I turned the knob of the door, and the pepper and onions hit my nose instantly, watering my mouth. I took two steps, turned left and watched as the wrinkles in her face turned to a smile. “You’re up early,” I said.

“Barely.” She answered smacking her lips. I walked on over to her. She wore a yellow apron with a floral design and wore red slippers. On the table behind her, were two plates. One with eggs, corn beef with two evenly sliced tomatoes placed on the toast, whilst the other plate, just had toast with butter on it.

“You have a guest?”

“Come now Mr Cypher, you know better than that. Have a seat. I know you won’t stay long, but at least have something to eat and drink before you go, today is your last day after all.”

“About that, can I get an extension?”

“Extension? That’s not a problem, for how long?”

“Three days max.”

“Three days? I have someone coming in two. Can’t you make it in two instead?”

“I can, but if I do that I’ll have to suffer through an empty stomach for a day.”

The old lady laugh as I watched her wrinkles waft around her face like leaves rustling. “You’ve gotta sweet mouth on you! I like that.” She said, which made me smile and nod, feeling good.

It’d been a while since I felt this way and it was far better than burying myself in a bottle of self-pity. My head needed to be in the game, as I was about to play on its highest difficulty.

I finished my breakfast, hugging the old lady, and made my way through the door and on my way back to The Gallows.

◆◆◆

The smog that floated around was grey by design, with a hint of red. It smelt of fire and burnt like acid whenever it wafts in my eyes, but hey, this was the life of the Gallows on occasion.

Smog and shit to smell!

The streets were surprisingly uncrowded but as usual. Underwent Market had a line that was stretched down to five blocs.

The Mangol was a genius and despite that, she still wasn’t one of the richest people within The Antillean Federation. Yes, she may have knocked shoulders with them, but her true power, like most, was in information, not credits like what people think.

Mr Black was a man of information, I could smell it a mile away. The mere fact that he and the Mangol knew each other was evident of that, which made me a question, who the hell was Mr Black.

Rex couldn’t find anything on him I thought, yet he has his arsenal and people. Government? Couldn’t be, liaising with Colvolt Weitson felt like a chore to him, unless he had a more powerful backer.

I walked down the alleyway, which led to the only manhole that I could open without issue. The red-bricked walls had a rusted aura about them. They weren’t as bright as they were last night, but I guess that was due to the humidity of the night.

The graffiti art I hadn’t noticed, now beamed like a signal, drawing my attention. The only thing, the art was atrocious stick men art mixed with a little caricature of men fighting.

The hobos of last night weren’t here, making me guess they left to find food…or rum, either way. This was a blessing.

I turned the corner and watched as steam flowed from the holes of the manhole. The skip was emptied thank god, which meant the air was a little cleaner.

I nestled through my bag, and attached the filtration mask around my face, guarding both my eyes, mouth and nose from the shit storm that was about to attack them.

Placing my legs on the opposite end of the manhole, then placed my fingers between the small opening to leverage the manhole open.

Once I felt comfortable, I slowly began to lift the manhole. Steam poured out from the manhole like a river, non-stop and ever-flowing.

My eye watered despite having the filtration mask cover my entire face. I could taste the stench of the sewer, which could only be described as…indescribable. I held my breath, snapped open the manhole and switched to Night Vision.

The sewer system was exactly what I’d expected. An array of pipes and drains attached and snaked through the system. The urban design of it all left a distinct impression on me. Gloomy, grimy, and sordid. The walls were smeared with graffiti which was fading away.

The constant sound of dripping water, made it feel dank as if someone was following me, despite me not even taking one step yet.

The arches of the subway were at least twenty feet tall and a few meters wide, giving me more than room to walk, but with the shit and faecal matter bubbling around us. I was far from motivated to move forward. At least it didn’t have any bones at the bottom I thought bitterly, reminded of Xiaohan.

I outstretched my left arm and stimulated my SMB. A map of the sewer system pulsed into existence, forming a small sphere, with a network of lines, intricately designed. It was the latest copy of the sewer system, but it was dated two years ago.

A line shot across my brain, in the fashion of a tingle. It felt different to usual SMB stimulation pain, it was sharp, yet subtle. No time to stop I thought.

Taking a deep breath in this muck was hard, but the relief it provided me, was much needed as I mentally prepared to take the first stride to get my family back.

The design of the sewer system was stale and uniform, making it easy for me to gauge its flow whilst I made a series of turns. The rusted passing ladders and staircases as I headed into the general direction of Underwent Market using an old map system.

I made the final turn, leading to the home stretch, only to come across a wall of concrete that left me confused. “I guess it was never meant to be easy eh?” I said aloud. I switched my vision to X-Ray Sight, and instead of relief, I was met with anguish.

Beyond the wall, I got a list of how paranoid The Mangol truly was. Eight rows of electrical conductors sat before in a space about twelve feet wide. just to make sure I’d counted correctly, it was indeed, sixteen conductors on either side.

It didn’t take a Rocket science to know what shit the Mangol had conjured up here, but to have an electrical trap, set up, to ensure no one could get in...was pure genius. Anyone, who dared, would pay dearly...with their life, which meant I truly had one option left to get in.

Cut the fucking power.

My only problem was, how the fuck would I get that. done?