Chapter 14: False starts

I drop my empty cup on the table at the same time as I grab my ID. Everything feels awkward, like I just woke up and I’m barely in control of my body. I feel slower, less responsive, but at the same time I am no longer exhausted and starving so… silver linings I suppose. The wall panel opens quickly this time, and my call is picked up on the spot.

 

“Please state the nature of your emergency,” an artificial voice says.

 

“My domicile is about to be attacked by an assassin,” I enunciate in my best Kei-Sah, as quickly as I can.

 

“Processing. Camera malfunction detected. Irregularity detected. Enforcers dispatched.”

 

Any second now.

 

“Hello, please state your name and citizen ID,” a woman’s voice asks.

 

“Steve Prentiss. Citizen ID is Alef Iryn Iryn Shah 874…”

 

It takes me a good eight seconds to read the number which I should really learn by heart just in case. Even though I try to hurry, I’m still cut off every time.

 

“Identity confirmed. I recommend putting your domicile in lockdown until the crisis has resolved. Do I have your approval?”

 

“You do.”

 

I feel the soul of the assassin moving along the corridor. He is cold and focused, not nervous at all. A real professional. He starts leaving as soon as the armored bobbies’ boots drum the ground on the corridor. I already ordered my clothes and the Defender by the time they knock on my door.”

 

“Do you know why they might be after you?” one of them asks, voice modulated behind their mask.

 

“No, but the person who set up the apartment for me might. I just arrived so there is no reason why someone might already be going for me,” I answer.

 

To my surprise they make a note of it. I’m so used to being at the receiving end of the law enforcement stick that I hadn’t considered that as a citizen, I’m also protected. Until they find out someone claims I’m in their debt anyway.

 

“Very well. We advise you to seek professional security and to stay indoors until you get it.”

 

“Thanks,” I say, closing the connection.

 

I imagine they’re too busy to protect me themselves. They probably have a job or something. Anyway, now that I’m almost ready, there is only one thing left to do before packing. With hesitant fingers, I type a number on my datasheet’s phone service.

 

It’s weird how I know the number so well, yet my fingers hesitate on the keys because this is my first time calling it. It rings for some time. Krane just realized he’s the Avatar of Redemption. I guess he needs to process.

 

The call picks up. The voice on the other side is deep and gravelly, and raw.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hi, you’re Krane, the Avatar of Redemption. I’m Steve, Avatar of Time. Nice to meet you again.”

 

I hear him breathe on the other side.

 

“I know it’s hard to accept but we met in an alternate timeline. You told me not to share my identity too easily, but that’s the easiest way I know to convince you besides telling you I know something happened in Tulku —”

 

He gasps, or chokes. I’m not sure which, but I don’t need to feel his soul to know he’s hurting right now.

 

“But I don’t know what. You never told me.”

 

“Stop.”

 

I do. I wait.

 

“Assuming… Assuming that I do believe you. What do you want?”

 

“I need help preventing a massive explosion that will devastate Enderlith, and eventually lead to the death of most everyone onboard by the end of the Year of Judgment.”

 

Another long pause follows. I don’t know where Krane ranks as an awakened, but I’m pretty sure he is fast enough not to make me wait.

 

“That’s… that’s impossible. Impossible. Enderlith has been conquered before, but it has never been exterminated.”

 

“I don’t think it’s ever been subjected to this much abuse.”

 

“Uh. I, uh, look, I’m under house arrest right now, but Redemption shall grant me reprieve with the city in return for my participation. I must face this first, and then I will contact you again at this number.”

 

“Wait, no, I won’t be here. I’ll call in a day or two after I’ve relocated, alright?”

 

“Leave a message if I don’t answer.”

 

He hangs up. Ah, but I miss proper conversationalists. And beer. And my Earth friends. Especially Saanvi because I haven’t made love in a year. Ah well. Better get to it. With the money chip maxed out, I consider asking Krane for help with the assassin but it would be a waste. Krane is no bodyguard. Anonymity and hiding will protect me while his skills are better used stopping the catastrophe. With one last sigh, I shoulder all my newly printed stuff (with extra stocks this time).

 

Maybe I could eat something before leaving. My mind insists I haven’t eaten anything in three days while my stomach insists I have just had a banana for dessert. Between the dissociation and my unawakened body, I feel like this body isn’t mine.

 

It’s not going to be like that every time, is it?

 

With one last grumble, I shoulder my backpack and leave, ending the lockdown. I take the elevator down but this time, something different happens. It stops on the third floor.

 

What, why? And then I realize, I’m earlier than last time. I was much faster doing, well, everything. But also, I don’t feel anyone… My hand goes to the Defender before I can really think, the leftover from last loop’s constant fears. If I don’t detect a person then… I aim just as the door opens.

 

It takes perhaps half a second for the drone’s system to positively identify me. The confirmation beep takes less time than that but it still feels like an eternity. I shoot first.

 

The drone falls to the ground with a hiss of tortured electronics. Shit. The assassin must have still been collecting his scouts… He definitely knows that I’m out of my room now. Dammit! I should have just done everything exactly the same way! I step out of the elevator into an identical, beautifully decorated hallway. Stairs. I extend my perception to the nearest one through several apartments. One person’s hungry. One person is rushing up the stairs faster than a speeding bike,

 

Fuck me. I rush to the other side’s stair, almost slipping on the carpet. Fear eats at my guts. I push down on the panic, then on the temptation to reset the loop. No. I won’t do it anytime something goes wrong even though I would only be wasting an hour here. I refuse to give up.

 

But fuck I don’t want to die again.

 

I push my way against the door just as it bangs open on the other side of the floor. Down. I need to get down. I adjust my perception while I sprint down the stairs which is much harder than it sounds. The assassin isn’t immediately coming. He’s moving very quickly around, so I guess at least he can’t sniff me out easily, but he still has drones to find me. I get down on the first floor just as he enters the stairway above me. The lobby. I’ve never been there yet. It looks super fancy, all in clean whites and ample light which lets me pick the silver sheen of the drone watching the other staircase on the opposite sude. By some miracle, a rush of fireworks hides the sound of my door opening. It doesn’t turn and put a bullet through my skull so I guess I get to live. Behind me, the assassin is falling down the staircase. No time to hesitate. I race out of the exit. Something buzzes past my head.

 

Holy shit, the drone missed? It missed! Is the killer manually controlling it? I wasn’t even moving that erratically. Outside, the remnants of the party hit me in a wave of heat and sounds. There are still revelers dancing here and there, and the universal smell of greasy food lingers over emptying stalls. There, to my right, the subway entrance.

 

I feel the assassin behind and gaining fast. I cut his line of sight, then dive under the stall feeling like an idiot. The assassin stops and hides as well.

 

Ok. Ok, I’m alive. And he’s not moving either. Why? He could just search for me and… oh, ok he probably figured out I can track him from the way I move. He still has at least one drone. Alright. Options. I withdraw my focus from the assassin, instead casting it in a wide half-sphere around me. I need a distraction, and I find it: a pair of Law Templars.

 

I can always try. With a careful touch, I nudge one of the pair’s souls. Theirs are weird, as if encased in a cage that prevents an outside observer from identifying them. It’s like a soul uniform plus facemask. It also protects them from intrusion, which I suspected.

 

The pair rushes me with a haste that makes me feel I may have made a mistake. They really are more animated statues than bobbies.

 

“Citizen, attempting to control an officer of the law is punishable by death.”

 

“I made no such attempt,” I immediately reply. “I nudged you because there is an armed and armored man three stalls back and I think he’s trying to kill me.”

 

Please don’t be an asshole please —

 

“You speak the truth,” the modulated voice says.

 

Then they disappear at high speed. There is a woosh, one of the stalls goes flying and then I hear the distant sounds of explosions. Did they get him? Will they? Holy shit I can’t believe that worked. I still search for the drone around before really leaving my hiding spot, but it’s either flown somewhere else, or the operator’s busy. I use the lull to rush towards the subway entrance. It’s much easier to navigate now, and soon I’m past the gates.

 

I spot the drone following me just as the train leaves the platform. Damn. I really need to redo the clean escape every time if I don’t want to get brained again. Ok. Now, for the Church of Mercy. I’ll hide there then take the train at dawn tomorrow.

 

Alright. Back to normal. No need to panic. I will be fine.

 

***

 

I can feel the three thugs approach from the side even though this time I spent an extra twenty fucking minutes circling the temple, going through side alleys filled with empty trash bins and the sulfury stench of old piss. There is no way. In hell. They should be able to track me down.

 

And yet. And yet, I feel the curious and greedy souls approaching my little corner at good speed along the main road. They are quiet, for now.

 

It is dark here. The lights of the main road barely reach.

 

Fuck it. I pull the Defender and aim. I’m barely five meters away so it should be no problem since they’re definitely not as agile as flesh abominations. The first thug to come is the lanky one with pink eyes and blue hair. He searches for my presence in the dim light, but I ‘ve hidden near a wall. The Defender beeps. A whomp like a loud bass later and he is flung against the Neanderthal one. The leader is startled enough that he hesitates. I can feel his survival instincts warring with his arrogance. He is a rat, but he is also the head rat.

 

The Defender dings. It’s ready to fire again but I wait. The Neanderthal disentangles himself from blue hair, which is enough to force the head thug into action. Greed wins. I snap the wand up and fire. Another whomp and the head thug is sent flying, landing awkwardly against a dumpster.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

 

“Your turn, asshole,” I spit in English.

 

With the two others gone, Neanderthal grows wary. He deflates, and I feel his soul be seized by a sort of fatalism I didn’t expect from alley ambushers. I still back up a little until a quick ding confirms that the Defender is ready to fire again.

 

“You can track those who go to the Temple,” I tell Neanderthal. “Don’t try and deny it. Tell me how you do it.”

 

He hesitates.

 

“I’m going to drag you and your sorry friends to Mercy’s Temple and check what Nya thinks about you ambushing asylum seekers. If you tell me what I want to know, I’ll only drag the two other idiots.”

 

No fear. My threat isn’t working.

 

“You’ve never been at the receiving end of Mercy’s attention, have you? She is only merciful to the deserving, and protective of them too,” I add, slowly slipping into Kei-Sah. The Patrician-favored higher language scares him more than the threat of a goddess. He raises his hands in surrender. I can feel the slow gears of his soul switch to calculation.

 

“Don’t. I know you’re thinking of a lie. Don’t waste my time. This is your last chance.”

 

And I’m serious. I can drag them one by one to Mercy’s churches if I have to.

 

“Cameras,” he eventually mumbles.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Boss can see the cameras.”

 

“You guys set up cameras?” I ask, baffled.

 

I mean, it makes perfect sense, but I just didn’t expect this level of sophistication from space chavs. Shows what I know. Maybe speaking the polite language has made me classist. Approaching the thug, I find a folded datasheet in the pocket of his dumpster chic vest. Huh. At first I can’t unlock it but there is a fingerprint option and the man lends me his thumb for the duration of the process. I can feel Neanderthal slowly stepping away while I open the most recent app.

 

Wow.

 

“You can go,” I inform him, because I don’t want him around while I process my shock.

 

Piece of shit.

 

***

 

I think Adi the guard is surprised to see me approach Mercy’s temple with my bag and a bruise-free face. It takes a lot not to scream at him because anger burns in my chest like acid, but he doesn’t stop me, so I grab the handle and push with a heart full of rage.

 

And the door doesn’t open.

 

I don’t remember there being a lock, or the gate refusing me. Is it time related? No, the Gates of Mercy are always open. I try again, but it doesn’t bulge.

 

“Looks like you’re not welcome here,” Adi says, a smile at the corner of his mouth.

 

Just you wait you bald fucker. Focusing, I send my soul perception forward. It is blocked by a presence. But… why? Is it because I’m angry? Whatever. Since I can’t get in, I guess I will use an alternate method.

 

Thank fuck for telepathy and the fact Nya’s office is near the entrance. I poke her. One second later and she’s put her cup of tea down. Another second later and the door opens.

 

“You are not welcome here,” she tells me.

 

“I only want justice,” I hiss.

 

She blinks slowly as if had said something extremely stupid.

 

“Then visit the Templars?”

 

“From your fucking temple. I was attacked by three locals just a few blocks away, and do you know what I found?”

 

“We’re not responsible for peace-keeping around here,” she interrupts.

 

“And helping gangers find desperate asylum seekers? Using your own camera system? Is that also not your fucking problem?”

 

It’s her turn to show shock, then suspicion. Adi stands at my back and I feel the terror in his soul like a sweet poison.

 

“I was surprised and wondering how the fuck they managed to track me down when I made sure to take side alleys and avoid all of the major streets. Imagine my surprise when I found messages on their phones notifying them of my coming and giving them limited access to the cameras. Cameras that, by the way, you don’t seem inclined to use to protect the people around. But fucking them over is fine?”

 

“Give it to me.”

 

I hand her the phone. She handily navigates the menus, eyes widening. A wave of grief and horror washes over me, almost enough to smother my own rage. But not quite enough.

 

“How?”

 

I snatch the phone back from her hands.

 

“Let’s see how, shall we?”

 

A few presses of the keys and in the deafening silence that follows, Adi’s pockets vibrate. The man pales even more. I knew it was him, of course, but just seeing his arrogant face twist in guilt just pushes me over the fucking edge.

 

“You fucking asshole. You irredeemable, rotten piece of —”