Chapter 1
Gunfire
Clang! Oh yes… the sweet smell of fresh air. I think to myself as I push the metal sewer cap back into place. Crawling through the sewers would not be my mission of choice, but it was assigned to me. A few people are giving me looks of disgust; they try to distance themselves. It's been a long time sense I've been on this side of the city. Ever sense Praxis quarantined my sector, sector five. I haven't had the chance to leave the slums. I make my way down streets full of people, advertisements, and small shops. I'm not used to this environment. Usually there's dirt on the ground and tents - everywhere. Sector four is almost too much for me to swallow. Here there are huge stone walls surrounding me. No tents are to be seen here. I need to find somewhere discreet so I can contact with Dallas. This place looks the same around every turn, a huge wall on my left with stores and apartments and a huge wall on my right with the same. And of course Krimson Guard patrols around every corner. This hub should suffice for now, I mumble to myself. I make my way to the entrance of the bar. Pull the door open and shut it gently behind me. The bar has a satisfying feel to it. The walls are wooden inside and stuffed Metal Head trophies hang from the walls. There are a few people sipping ale together at a round table. They all look like close friends. I turn my attention to the bar. There are two people there, one male and one female. I take a seat at the bar.
"Is there anything I can get for you sir?" the bartender asks me.
"Yea, just get me a small glass of blue eco please," I tell him as I fiddle with the communication device in my jacket pocket.
"Here you are sir," the bartender says, sliding a glass full of Blue Eco in front of me. "I can't help but ask," he says. "That is an odd tattoo on your hand. What's it for?" Ah, that question comes up a lot with people that don't know me. The tattoo I have on my right hand is the symbol of the underground. Every member has it tattooed in the same spot when they join our ranks. I need some time to think about how I should respond… I take a sip of the Eco. The taste is strong, but pleasant, and I swallow. I can already feel much of the strength I lost climbing around in the sewers returning to me.
"The tattoo is an old precursor symbol for light." I tell him. Which really isn't a lie; it is the precursor symbol for light. But if he knew the truth behind it, my identity may come into question.
"Oh how interesting… I haven't seen you around here are you from one of the other sectors?" This guy needs to mind his own business. Do I really stick out that much?
"Yea, I just moved here a few days ago." I told him. "My family… we had to move here from sector three." I thought of the quickest excuse I could, although my outfit probably did not play the part. People from sector three were wealthier then people in sector four. In turn, people from sector one were the wealthiest people in the city. I could not imagine what it would be like in sector one. All I know is that the most influential people live there. For example, the Barons advisers and his generals, along with the captain of the guard and many more people that the baron favors. Sector one pretty much consists of our cities government officials, their families, and friends. They are all corrupt. Seeing as they are at the far west side of the city, that puts them furthest away from the Metal Head nest to the east of the city. They don't understand how big of a threat the Metal Heads actually pose.
"Oh, I see," the bar tender responded. "Well, I welcome you to sector four, feel free to stop bye here whenever you need food or drink." He said with a smile. Idiot can't even tell I'm a fake. I deserve to be caught for that stupid slip of the tongue. Oh well.
"I will keep you in mind," I told him. He turned his attention to the blonde sitting several seats down the bar to my left. I leaned back in the bar stool to stretch my arms before taking another sip of the Eco, which was always exhilarating. For a few seconds I took in the warm feeling, starting in my stomach and reaching out to the tips of my fingers and toes before fading away. I heard the chime of the bell above the door ring and two raggedy looking men walk inside. They both had a bigger build then I. The bartender started walking their way. I took a quick glance around, everyone seemed preoccupied. I pull out the device previously concealed in my jacket pocket and place it on the table. It was rather small. Not more than two inches in diameter. After double checking no one was paying attention, I pressed down on the small red button.
"Dallas, its Roy, the operation is successful so far," I speak aloud. I wait a few seconds. Then Dallas's face emerges as a small hologram above the device. Shoulders back and looking confident, as always.
"Nice work Roy, I knew I could count on you. Have you seen anything that could help me identify your location?"
"I'm in a pub, it's called the Gleaming Ivory," I speak as softly as I can. And take another sip of the Blue Eco. Warmth floods my heart and beats slowly through my veins. Dallas's eyes are looking down. Likely at the blueprints he has back at our HQ. After a brief period of silence, he spoke again.
"There are so many small outlets in sector four. I can't find you. It would be easier if you could find the statue of Praxis. Or another monument, or perhaps find the waterfront?" He said looking back at me. I sense a disturbance in atmosphere.
"I've had enough of your threats in my own shop. I don't owe you any money!" I turned my head to observe, calmly, for now.
"Roy, what's going on?" I hear Dallas's voice from the device. The two men were still near the entrance, towering over the owner.
"Let's not make this any harder than it has to be, you owe us, don't make things difficult for yourself eh?" One of the shady men says, while grinning at his partner.
"Let's cut the crap? Alright?" the other thug grumbled. "Give us the agreed upon sum of money and we will leave. No trouble." He spoke in a lower tone as to attract less attention.
"Hello? Roy? Are you still there?" Dallas voiced his confusion over the device again. The male sitting not too far from me gave me a glare. I released the red button and slipped the devise back into my pocket.
"Get out now, before I call the Guard!" The owner almost seemed like he was on his tippy toes trying to look intimidating as possible.
It was at that moment that I realize, unfortunately, I was at the wrong place – at the wrong time.
"Guards!" someone near one of the wide open windows shouted out towards the street. Things began to escalate quickly, I prepared to defend myself.
"You fool!" one of the thugs yell at the man who had shouted.
Four Members of the Krimson Guard barge through the front door, a regular platoon size. The two thugs waste no time with discretion any longer. One of them grabs a chair from the nearest table and lobs it into the platoon of Guards. Without hesitation, they both pull out weapons and start firing on the guards. Before I know it, I'm in the middle of a firefight. People are screaming, and shots are being fired in all directions. Shattering glass and tables being overturned for cover. I swing my body over the bar and crouch down on the other side. The male and female sitting at the bar follow my lead. I peak my head out just enough to swipe my glass of Eco from the counter, and consume it immediately. More shots are fire and I can hear all the people in the bar screaming and stumbling for cover. There is the gang, there is the guard, and there is the underground; and the underground has to walk out of this bar alive. I leap the bar. Mid-way through my jump, time begins to slow, my vision starts to narrow. The blasts of their weapons seem to deafen and my heart feels like its pumping fire in my veins. I can see individual bullets flying through the air, almost as if they were moving in slow motion. The Blue Eco running through my veins gives me a lot of extra time to think. Two of the guards are taking cover behind a table similar to mine, one has obvious wounds. The other, he must be dead. Innocent people lie on the ground in pools of blood, and overturned furniture provides cover for the second party of enemies. All of this, I know before gravity pulls me in contact with the floor. I grab the legs of an overturned table and run. Once I'm just a few feet from the thuggish barricade, I jump and collide with one of my prey with full force. The Eco numbs excruciating pain in my leg as I tumble to the ground with the thug. I spend absolutely no time disoriented from the impact with the thug. I pin the thug down – my dominate hand reels back and balls into a fist. In this split second in time, the fuel of blue eco is spent. It drains into my shoulder, and down through my arm, into my fist.The thugs jaw becomes unhinged. The prey has fallen, and I am catapulted back into reality. The deafened blasts and screams from people in the bar seem blaringly loud now. The second thug's soul is released by the hand of lead, and his blood greets the floor as well. And I know – Most of the energy I gained from the Eco was lost in that punch. The pain in my leg is now impossible to put off. But a sharp mind has strong will, and a sharp mind is mine. I quickly pull my body behind another overturned table. I was undoubtedly shot by one of the Guards in the back of my leg. My vision is lazy, my senses are dull, and body numb. There are still two guards left. I am injured, and unarmed. Or am I unarmed? A weapon lies on the floor, concealed from the guard by the overturned table; thus I am weaponized after ammunition presence is confirmed.
"I want everyone's hands in the air right now!" one of the Guard members booming voice shutters throughout the room. Everyone that's still alive stands up and puts their hands in the air. Unfortunately the two people at the bar, the male, and the female, are the only two people alive. They had been hiding behind the bar the whole time. The Krimson Guard would not protect innocents. "I want to see your hands hero," I hear the footsteps of the guard nearing the table I am laying behind. His blood paints the wall. A solid hole in his head does the trick. His lifeless body falls to the ground. The arm I had punched the thug with feels like I had just finished the work out of my life. My bleeding leg is stiff and I feel uneasy. The gun falls from my hand to the floor. My senses fail. The battle in my mind is lost before the real battle can be won.