I wasn’t used to such a thing, but I admired it enough to nod appreciatively. I popped the sealed bag that had my suit with a squeeze and slowly clothed myself, feeling like the warmth of my clothes warmed my skin.

The clothes I brought was simple blue jeans and combat boots. The shirt was a black turtleneck sweater which matched my boots perfectly. I swore a thin coat, which had a hidden pocket for my pistol. The magazines were sewn into my waist, making me seem as though I had a gut. “Did your man loop all the footage within the underground floor?” I asked.

“Yes. We already the footage was looped before we even started ok? You’re good to go Cypher.” Rex replied.

“Thanks, Rex.”

I picked up my bits and pieces, stuffing them into my bag. I then tossed it into the darkest corner and looked up the elevator shaft that led upstairs. I climbed a short staircase and flicked the switch, riding it upwards with a groan. It was old…but functional.

The elevator reached the basement floor, slashed open. I looked left and round, noting how bright the lights were down here on each side of the corridor.

The corridor was grey, with the tiles dark blue. Lights were spaced out every two meters on either side, with the left corner turning right, whilst the right corner turning left.

I opened my cybernetic palm, pulling the schematics up via gram then watched it disappear by my thought as I figured out the path I’d take upstairs. “You still there Rex?”

“Always.”

“You found anything on the serphandias for me?”

“Nothing… ”

“Nothing…as in doesn’t exist? or has it been scrubbed from existence?”

“Ha! Nothing is truly ever deleted from the BLACKNET.”

“Then why can’t you find anything?”

“Do you even know it exists?”

“I don’t…but Akatani needs it. The bastard spoke of it as some holy object.”

“The only thing holy in the Federation…is credits.”

“True…” I answered laughing softly.

I left the elevator, walked down the corridor, made a right, then followed the corridor to a service elevator, just as instructed. I pressed the button, sending me from Basement 3 to Ground Floor 1.

It took a few seconds to lead me to the Ground Floor. Once the door was slashed open, three men eyed me confused, as if I wasn’t supposed to be here, and I wasn’t. I painted a nervous smile on my face, slumped my shoulders and walked past them.

I didn’t look back, but I heard the murmurs with each step I made. “Who the hell was that?” one asked.

“Don’t know…don’t care. I want to store this before I get my head blown off.” A fellow said.

“Agreed…come on Ted. Stop being noisy.” another man said.

Breathing a sigh of relief was short-lived as I walked onto the ground floor. I was met with hundreds of people walking through Underwent keeping as much noise like a cricket mating.

The scent of sweat and dust was ever-present, which for the life of me, I could not forget. The memories of me running through this very market came rushing back to me as three people bumped into my shoulder before I could even make ten steps into the ground floor.

Stick the corners I told myself, hearing the spooling sound from one of the surveillance drones darting past me in the sky. I’d memorise all of the locations with service elevators. All I had to do now, was get a key-card from one of the men here.

“Rex, I’m on the ground floor, I need to get to the south side of the floor, to at least reach the locker room for staff.”

“I know, forget the south side, the drones are heavier out that side, based on their flight pattern.”

“What do you recommend.”

“Third floor, Eastern side, there’s another locker room based on the schematics. Hopefully, you can grab a key key-card from someone there.”

“What’s the likelihood we finding a master-keycard there?”

“Not sure, the schematics didn’t reveal much, just the overall design of the place.”

“However, if you could find a janitor’s quarter, that’d be good.”

“Does this place seem like it has a Janitor quarter?”

“You’re right.” Rex laughed. “It’s a complete shit town.”

“Exactly.”

I kept to the shadows, keeping my head low. Each time a drone would appear, I’d duck behind someone, using their height, or swerve into a corner. I didn’t do this by the sight of course, but by Rex’s command, as he had access to the drone’s flight pattern.

Hacking the drones would’ve exposed Rex and his team’s position according to him, the best they could do, was monitor the flight pattern of drones and my very own track.

I made it to the first floor, slowly allowing the escalator to take me up. I turned around, watching as the lights from the bottom floor blue, purple and white wave around the room, providing a tranquil ambience that matched the waterfall that poured from the top floor.

Unlike the bottom floor, the patrons and vendors complained about the blackout. Some were even downright furious. “I don’t pay rent here for blackouts!” one complained.

“Yeah!” another said.

“We were guaranteed security and obstructionist business.”

“YET, there was a shoot out a few months ago. The Mangol’s doing a piss poor job of keeping this place running!”

I chuckled to myself, hearing such words. The Mangol, doing a piss poor job? I thought ruefully, it was kinda sad because both complaints were made by me. I truly am a problem for her, but I could care less.

The savoury scent of the noodles from a vendor to my left drew my attention, but I ignored it. The sweet and sour scent of the chicken wings waft towards me from my right, and I begrudgingly ignored those too.

Making a series of turns, passing through the various vendors and stalls, whilst black garbage bags piling up at the end as if no one here worked at the Sanitation Service Authority.

Nothing had changed here, but I guess that’s was the purpose of Underwent Market, to never change, it was made solely as an avenue for The Gallows to have an economy of sorts. It wasn’t perfect, but I knew it worked.

I passed a stack of boxes, rounding a corner and saw a security team moving through swiftly in my general vicinity. “Rex…have I been discovered?”

“No, everything’s good on my end. The drones are maintaining the same flight pattern.”

“I see. I saw a patrol team moving through the second floor.”

“Possibly a standard security check.”

“The Mangol’s buffed up security.”

“After you blazed up the place…you expected the security to stay stagnant?”

“I didn’t blaze up anything. I simply cracked a window.”

“…With a bullet.”

“Tomato…tomatoe.”

“Exactly, you fool.”

“Whatever,” I grunted.

The patrolmen were heading towards me, and all the people that were in their path cleared out of their way immediately. I turned, slowly and walked as normal as I possibly could, feeling as my movement drew their eyes.

“Careful Cypher, Drone heading over from your three o’clock,” Rex said firmly. I joined a line, keeping my head low, and felt my skin prick from the gaze of everyone. I don’t I drew their attention, but with me keeping my head low, it was certainly weird enough to catch eyes.

Once the patrolmen passed and rounded a corner, I stepped out of the line and walked fifty meters passing more stalls and made left, then a short right, circling onto an escalator leading me to the third floor.

“I don’t know how you’re moving through so smoothly Cypher, but I have to admit, I’m impressed,” Rex said.

“Nothing to be impressed by. I blend in well, that’s all.”

“A miserable Gump like you? If you Blend in, that means imma chameleon!”

“Har har,” I whispered.

The escalator brought me up to the third floor, which left me dumbfounded. It was unusually scanty, and the ‘sky’ was filled with more drones than usual. I walked onto the floor, making a right by a synthetic seaweed stall.

Ten security guards ransacked a stall, tossing everything into the hallway, with one of them pressing their submachine gun into a man’s temple. “Why was this decoder?” He growled.

“I don’t know!” He pleaded.

The bastard slid his fingers down to the safety clip, switching to lethal. I zoomed in with my Cybernetic eye, trying to understand what the hell was going on.