As soon as he crouchwalked inside the building, all the lights turned off. It was pitch black, and not even the ergency signs were working. But from Cypher's eyes, crouching at an elevated level, he had the perfect view. The thermal vision showed everything, and the bright purple markers showed all the Maelstrom mbers.
"Here we go."
He jumped down from the vent's platform and walked without making a sound. As soon as he had the reception box in view, he aid the Maelstrom inside and…
Bang!
Thud!
One shot and the man dropped dead.
"We're under attack!"
"Boys! Fight!"
All the Maelstrom got alerted by that. Cypher continued to crouchwalk further into the building through that reception box. He peeked outside and shot.
Bang! Bang!
Two shots and two bodies fell.
BOOM!
Another shot at a well-marked explosive cylinder killed another one.
[They're going to shoot aimlessly. Jamming their guns and fingers.]
Taking that cue, he got out of the cover and walked straight into the main hall, instead of going to Lucas. As Atlas had said, three maelstroms were behind cover and trying to fix their jamd weapons.
"Argh! Work, dammit!"
"Fucking junk!"
Cypher took aim at the ceiling.
Bang!
A pipe in the ceiling burst, and loud, hissing mist swept everywhere. It startled the three maelstrom.
Cypher aid quickly and shot three consecutive bullets. This fight was far, far easier than the one he had in that tunnel back then. But that was on him for not taking Atlas' help to the full extent.
[Five left.]
Cypher didn't need to search for them, as his vision marked everything thanks to Atlas. It even told him where to look to find the next target.
"Who the fuck are you?!"
"Was that Royce?"
[It was.]
Cypher headed towards that voice instead. It took him towards the back of the hall, where a few seats were set. He could see the heat signatures and markers, showing two people hidden behind a tal, boxy structure.
"Tell them 'I am death' in Omnissiah's voice. Use the shop's speakers."
[Understood.]
Right away, Atlas did his magic, and a deafening, loud, demonic voice echoed across the ship. Cypher heard a few leftover Maelstrom curse and ask what that was.
Got you!
Boom!
Once again, Cypher shot at an explosive. It was right behind the two hiding n.
That left only three.
[One attempted to escape. I fried his brain. Two are still hiding in the toilet, right beside the reception box you crossed.]
"Where's Royce?"
[Dead.]
"Huh? When?"
[The recent explosion ended his life. He was one of the two hiding.]
Cypher dumbly blinked while walking towards the bathroom. "This was too easy."
[Maelstrom reduced the variables. Against organics, I would have lacked the ans to secure your safety through direct manipulation of their bodies.]
"Well. Then we'd better make sure we're strong as hell by ourselves before they start sending ganics our way."
Finally, he arrived at the toilet door.
"Can you disable their shooting capabilities entirely?"
[Why else do you think they are hiding?]
"Hah!" Cypher laughed audibly and pressed the button on the door. As soon as it slid open, he shot.
Bang! Bang!
In total, he used fewer than twelve bullets to kill twelve n.
[All neutralized]
Finally, Cypher put away the guns and walked straight to the operation room. The lights turned back on before he reached the place. And as expected, the kid was lying on the bench, hands and feet restrained, and a blindfold covering his eyes. The cyberware arm and leg weren't removed yet.
"Huh? Take the chro! Take it, sir! Let go, please. I won't tell anyone."
Sensing his steps, Lucas started to squirm on the table, unable to see anything.
"Easy, Lucas. It's , Cypher," Cypher called out and removed the blindfold first. "You're good now. They're dead. Damn, they really ssed you up. Black eye, busted nose, and your head's all jacked."
For a very long ti, Lucas was silent. Eyes wide open, watery, but not a single sniffle escaped him. He just watched Cypher remove the restraints.
"Can you get up?" Cypher gave him a hand.
Lucas said nothing, took his hand, and got to his feet. After a small stumble, Lucas was steady and then…
Woosh!
"..."
"Atlas! What do I do?"
[I believe you are supposed to hug him back, Cyph.]
Never having dealt with kids, and this one not even being his, he lost himself to awkwardness at first. But then, he placed himself in the kid's shoes and said fuck it. He didn't kneel, just leaned in, put an arm behind his back, and gave a few shoulder pats.
"Th-thank you, sir... T-they wouldn't listen to ... I-I wasn't gonna give it to 'em... I tried to fight those stupid gonks..."
Cypher looked at the kid's wounded face. "The hell are you talking about?"
"My arm and leg. I wasn't going to—"
Cypher realized at that mont that the kid was scared of his chro being taken away. And now, Lucas was trying to explain what had happened, hoping the creator of those limbs wouldn't take them away.
"Fuck that. I'll hook you up with better ones, made of titanium," Cypher replied and started walking. "Let's go before more gangers co."
But as they got closer to the exit, loud noises started coming. Noise of the engine and… rockets?
"Atlas. Don't tell you—"
[I called Trauma Team for the child. That head injury needs proper attention. While they're here, you're getting a full-body checkup, too. You already have High Priority coverage, forty-five thousand a month. I have prepaid for a full year. There are situations where my reach is insufficient, and I plan accordingly. Trauma Team is costly, but entirely dependable. The child has a one-month package arranged."
Cypher whistled.
"Damn, Atlas. You're splurging."
[I keep finding more lost money on the old net. I have also given a loan of three hundred million eurodollars to Trauma Team for their expansion projects.]
"How? You don't even have a physical representative."
[In this day and age, you don't need one. Besides, the Trauma Team's board seed desperate for it. I rely took advantage of it.]
In awe of his virtual friend's abilities, Cypher finally walked out of the shop. A Traum Team's AV was approaching already.
"Cyph!"
Bam!
Judy ran over to him right then and smacked a jab in his chest. "You gonk! You total, complete madman! You planned this, didn't you? Keep busy with cams so you could run in guns blazing like so shitty wild west BD! You big dumb brain potato! And you ain't even got armor, choom! What's wrong with you?"
"Actually. This suit's bulletproof."
"Oh, really? Can it stop high-velocity rounds? Cyph—"
"It can."
"..."
"No way!"
Cypher shrugged and gave her shoulder a quick pat. "Hey, Jude, relax. I'm built for this kinda crap. I don't lose at this stuff. Guns, cars, all of it, I'm better than good. I've been in way worse sses than this busted shop. Trust . You see ? Not a damn scratch. So now you're going ho. I'm taking Lucas to the dcenter, end of story."
For a very long ti, Judy stood there, arms crossed, eyes filled with fury. But then her shoulders deflated. "Fine, I believe you. But Cyph, I ca with you to fight cause I can't lose another friend to this damn city. You an a lot to ... just don't get flatlined, yeah? Life ain't a BD."
"Hey, I've been clean from BDs for weeks now. And I know getting shot hurts." Cypher raised his hands in surrender. Just then, the AV landed, and four Trauma Team operatives jumped out, three holding guns and one opening a stretcher.
"Step away from the patient!"
"See you at ho." Cypher waved at Judy, sending her away, and focused on the Trauma Team. "Calm down, boys. Both of us are patients."
"You are not injured. Your vitals are stable."
"I did drop a dozen Maelstrom inside." Cypher jerked his thumb at the shop. "So just move, alright? Look at this kid, his nose is wrecked. We gotta fix that fast, or it's gonna stay crooked forever. Then girls won't even look at him, and boom, next thing you know, he's face-first in glitter and BD… Ah, that's my story."
Cypher ignored Lucas's inquisitive gaze from below and followed the now calm Trauma Team mbers. Truth was, he was a bit excited. This was his first ti getting inside an AV.
It was pretty spacious inside since there was no need for a stretcher. Cypher and Lucas both were strapped into their seats, and then the AV started flying up. It was a bit loud, and he felt light in the stomach. But it was fun.
"Wait! Aren't you?" One of the Trauma Team blurted from behind his white face-helt. "Aren't you the CFO of Obsidian? Damn yo—Ah, I apologise."
What the fuck's going on?
"Go on." Cypher smiled, sitting saintly in his bulletproof suit. "Damn , why?"
"Apologies, Mr. Blackwell," another mber voiced, sounding old. "Gonk's scrambled. He put a hefty sum into Biotechnica, and the stock fell after you revealed the free Moisture Vaporator."
______________________
Check out Cypher X Panam, Cypher X Gloria, Cypher X Judy NSFW ART, and advance chapters at [email protected]/MrPlotThickens Or Subscribestar.adult/mrplotthickens
Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 6 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 24-26 Webnovel chapters.
User Comments
0 comments from readers