Cephalic Courier 3

Cephalic Courier

An ongoing story serially posted at the forum for Trese Brother's Games
Set in the world of Cyber Knights RPG
Written by shards

Trese Brothers Forums

"I don't like it."
"That's fine, Clive. I don't pay you to like it."
Scorpion solemnly cleaned his rifle.
We were camped out at Kate's in the shadow of the I-93 in the one place the corps couldn't touch: The anarchic and iconic Free Streets of the NBZ. Amidst the turbulence and oppression of gang violence and corp wars, one stretch of New Boston had managed to carve out a little segment of autonomy and free rule; but not without bullets, and not without blood.


"It stinks. It stinks worse than the river on a Wednesday."
"Ain't worse than any other day of the week." I squint with my good eye and study a hologram of the first floor of Cyberdyne. I can probably take the bandage off the other one today. My mind tries to recreate what I remember from my visit and match it to the schematic in front of me. Metal detectors, security cameras. Armed guards. The place was locked down so tight you could hear a nano drop.
"Shar-"
"Don't. Are you stupid? This place could be bugged."
"Okay, okay, boss. It's just a really big risk. It doesn't seem like you."
That grated on me. An arguably-convenient imposition from day one, my interest in Clive was curt and professional at most. But despite my best efforts to shake off his advances, Clive was starting to look at me through rose-coloured lenses.
"Rule 1 about being a Cyber Knight: Do not get invested. Do not get involved. You don't know me. You're not going to know me. I give the orders, you follow them. That okay with you, runner?"
Scorpion chuckled in a rare display of audacity.
"Loud and clear, boss. Loud and clear. I'm just sayin', it'd be a particular shame to see a face like yours get twisted up, y'know what I mean?"
I divert my already-fractional attention away from the job I am planning and stare down the liability. "Maybe you should go, Clive. Get some rest."
"What?" Hands flew up in protest. "Hey now, boss, let's not get hasty. We're a team, right?"
"Go. That's an order. Now. I will find you next time I need a bodyguard."
Clive stares at me with shocked disbelief. "How you gonna find me? You don't even know where I-"
"I will find you." I stress. "Scorpion, you too. This is some next level slag. Until I figure out who's behind this, I've got to handle this one on my own."
He nods and begins reassembling his rifle. Clive grabs his maul and dips, slamming the door behind him. Scorpion leaves quietly with a nod.

I turn my attention back to the schematics in front of me. The back of my eye itches, some place that I can't scratch. Or maybe that's just my enthusiasm to try out my new implants. One thing's for sure, though. This was going to be a solo job.