Tricks

Colin was sure that he was being tracked, he just wasn't sure how. He hadn't expected to get far and certainly not to remain free for a week. Outrunning cops and feds didn't work. Corporations, likewise. Modern communications could move faster than any person had any chance to. He had to out think any pursuit.

He wasn't an idiot. He holed up by day and moved only after dark. He had managed to find at least reasonably presentable clothing in the facility he had been a 'guest' at. Surgical scrubs were not the best of clothing, but they had been far better than his patient gown. Add to that, he had seen many people out and about in the world wearing such after coming off long shifts in medical professions, so no one had even batted an eye at them. His beard had gotten a few glances and few choice remarks before he had gotten it trimmed, but not his clothing. He had even found tennis shoes that moistly fit, but his first stop had been a Walmart to buy clothes, shoes and more importantly, socks that fit. He had been a bit worried on walking in, but he hadn't been anywhere close to he oddest dressed person there. No one had paid him any mind at all. And to that? The masks that everyone wore helped too. COVID was still a big deal for anyone with a brain. He had not been the only person to laugh when a mask denier had been escorted out of the store by the police in handcuffs after she had gotten violent with the staff for asking her to put on on or leave. Silly woman had slapped the staff person, because, of course she had! Say what you would about Walmart? They did not take such lightly when it was done in full view of half a hundred customers! Open fights drove customers away and no corporate person with any sense could allow that in the Topsy-turvy world of the pandemic.

He had ditched the weapons and the silencer of course. Getting caught with any of that would have been bad. It was odd though. He had seen lots of bodies, at least twenty of them, in the facility he had been in, so… It was a mass casualty event. Not something that could be swept under the rug easily. But when he had managed to get into a library and check online, there was no mention whatsoever of a mass shooting anywhere nearby. He was in Virginia, so he had his bearings, sort of. He was two years out of date, so a few things threw him. The lock-down was sort of being enforced and sort of not. The pandemic situation wasn't as bad as it had been in 2020, but it was still bad in places. One of the things his mom had taught him was that covering up anything was hard. Then again, moms seemed to have an inbuilt radar for scoping out their kids' attempts to deceive them. He had seen the bodies, checked more than few of them to see if they lived. None had survived and he had left quickly after finding the main doors open with dead security at their posts. It had looked to his untrained eye as if the gunman had walked in and just started shooting, herding everyone into the common room. Colin had seen the end of that horror. The docs had been a bit standoffish to him, but the nurses and orderlies had tried to be nice. They hadn't deserved that! Whatever had happened had probably been aimed at Colin, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. Yes, he had survived that attack in the warehouse, but…

A feeling of being watched came again. He ignored it, focusing on his walking. His attire did not stand out in this part of Petersburg. His skin was dark enough to pass for an African American, but he had never claimed that part of his heritage. His dad had been pure black and had made it quite clear that the world didn't care about silly things like 'equality' or 'rights'. You made your own way in the world or not. You did what you had to in order to survive, law abiding or not. His mom and dad had died in a car wreck when he had been seventeen. Just old enough to be on his own, but young enough to still have illusions. Said illusions hadn't lasted past his first year on his own. He had learned early to identify trouble and stay away from it as best he could. That was not cowardice, it was sanity. One night in jail had been more than enough for him, even if he hadn't done anything but been in the wrong place at the wrong time and too black for the cops to ignore. At least they hadn't shot him as had apparently been 'good' under the previous president. Now, with so many mass shootings happening after the man had been ousted from power, Colin found it hard to think that a coincidence. He kept his eyes on the ground to project an aura of harmlessness and to avoid eye contact. Eye contact with bullies was always a challenge to said bullies and while Colin could win any conceivably even fight unless the other guy had many friends or a gun, such would slow him down here and now or worse? Draw attention.

Keep quiet and do not draw attention. Colin muttered to himself as he crossed a main street and then waited for the light to change to cross the adjoining one. There was a public library just outside downtown and he was headed that way to check the internet again. Then he paused as a voice spoke up.

"Hey, big boy. Want a good time?" The female voice asked and Colin fought back an out of character groan. This was the last thing he needed!

He looked up and paused as he saw the speaker. The black woman who was sitting on the hood of a car nearby didn't fit. She was garbed as a hooker, but she wasn't one. Her attire was skimpy and cheap in the extreme and her posture was sort of like a prostitute, but she wasn't one! Colin wasn't sure how he knew, but he did. He immediately ran out into the road, narrowly missing getting hit by a semi, darting around it at the last second even as the woman cursed behind him. The semi's horn cut off the profanity as Colin darted into an alley and immediately took off as fast as he could run. He didn't know what she was. The look had been perfect. The clothes, the stance, everything had been fine for a streetwalker in this part of town. He had seen many. But something had not been right and every instinct had screamed at him to run. So he did. Maybe an undercover cop or fed? Whatever she was, she was no hooker. They wouldn't have been out yet- That was it! It was too early for someone like that to be trolling for a john. A trap specifically for him!

Colin pelted down the alley and then came to a sudden stop as the woman appeared at the need of the alley, her arms folded across her ample chest. She eyed him, her eyes narrow as he looked from right to left, but the alley was sheer on both sides. Wait a minute! How had she gotten to the end without passing him? She could not have run the whole length of the block and then gotten to the end of the alley before him. He wasn't the fastest runner in the world, but he was quick. She could not have run that distance! She wasn't even breathing hard! Something was very wrong here!

"I want to do this the easy way. Don't make me do it the hard way. You won't like that." The woman said with a hint of ice in her tone. "I just want to talk to you. Nothing more. I am not a Fed. Not a cop."

"Corporate then." Colin said flatly and set himself to fight. The woman stared at him, clearly nonplussed.

"What?" Either the woman was the best actress Colin had ever seen, or she wasn't faking her shock. "No! I,- DOWN!" She commanded and Colin dove for the ground even as something went 'thwip' over top of him. He stared back where he had come and two forms in tactical gear stood, rifles at the ready. Colin stared at them but his gaze was drawn back to the woman whose face was scary now. "Corporate." The woman said flatly. "I see." Wait a minute! That looked like the tranquilizer dart that Colin had nearly been drugged by back at the facility! It hung in mid-air just in front of the woman as she raised a hand and it twirled in mid-air. No, it was spinning around her hand, clearly held up and guided by something Colin could not see. "You people might want to run now."

Their answer was to open fire on her! Colin ducked harder, covering his head with his hands even as the sound of suppressed gunshots filled the alley! He didn't dare look behind him, so he saw the green glow that formed in front of the woman and he saw several small fast moving pieces of metal simply stop as soon as they hit the green glow!

"That was rude." The woman might have been discussing the weather. She made a gesture and Colin jerked as two automatics rifles flew over his head to hover in the green mass of energy. Said weapons clicked and the magazines fell out, but then they crumpled with a tortured sound of metal as she clenched her fist. Then she shook her head and the green glow intensified for a moment. Colin jerked anew as two pistols flew over his head and the same happened to them as had the rifles! When the woman spoke again, it was cold and hell itself might have quailed from the rage in her eyes. "Feel free to draw your knives. I am done being nice. If you do? I will insert them up your asses, hilt first."

Then she screamed as something bounced off a wall and then went 'bang' beside her! A reddish gas spread out from where she stood. It didn't look like any gas Colin had ever heard off, but the woman collapsed in a heap and lay still.

"Silly Tenno." Came from behind Colin. "We fight to win."

But then more quieter than normal gunshots sounded from above! Two thumps sounded behind Colin and then, there was utter silence.

"As do we." A strong male voice heralded a huge man in tactical armor jumping down from somewhere to land by the fallen woman. What accent was that? Russian? The newcomer held an AK of some kind in a professional grip and eyed Colin who shook his head and held out his hands, empty. "Smart. You carry gun?" Colin shook his head again and the man stared at him. "Why not?"

"Too many places these days, it is open season on any black looking man daring to carry a gun, openly or not." Colin said flatly and the other nodded, but manifestly against his will.

"Point. This something new." The other said after a moment. "Not just Enferon or Mag be up and shouting profanity by now." He paused as Colin slowly rose to his knees, but his aim did not waver from Colin's torso. Clearly a professional.

"I don't know you. I don't trust you, but those? That dart is like one someone tried to use on me before. I bet they have been hunting me." Colin said slowly and the other man nodded.

"They are. You good." The other replied, not quiet taking his aim off Colin. "They all over city looking for you. We have been busy, but Nyx insist we check." He heaved a sigh. "She get idea in head, you get out of way. Or she run over."

"I have known a few like that." Colin admitted. "We cannot stay here. Neither of us can trust the other, but you can't fight and carry her. You are clearly better trained and equipped. I will carry her."

"Mag not light." The other warned, but moved a bit. Colin just looked at him, bent down and picked up the unconscious woman. Indeed, she wasn't light, she weighed far more than she looked to. That said? After years of working in a warehouse, even two years of forced inactivity hadn't undone Colin's trained strength. The armed Russian stared at Colin and the chuckled. "Everyone else underestimate. I not." He warned.

"Nor I you." Colin replied. "Where to?"

"As Hayden say, 'nowhere'." The man said firmly as a window opened nearby and a small dark haired girl peered out. She gasped on seeing the group, but then her face hardened. "Nyx? We need vanish! Now!"

"Come on." The girl said and reached down to take the still woman from Colin's hands. The girl looked like a stiff wind would blow her away, but she too was far stronger than she seemed. A moment and she was back at the window, holding out a hand to Colin who stared at her. Did he know her voice? "Come on, Colin. If we wanted to hurt you, we would have!"

Colin shook his head, took a running jump and threw himself at the window. The girl caught him and yes, she was far stronger than she looked. Maybe stronger than Colin! She pulled him into the room and he let himself be tossed to the side, rolling and coming up as he had been trained, only to go utterly still as another voice he sort of knew spoke up from nearby.

"Well, this is a fine mess." The girl called Nyx pulled the Russian man in and shut the window even as Colin turned his head very slowly to see the speaker.

The black haired man wore civilian garb, but he wasn't one. Colin had known his life was in danger, but here, now? Every instinct told him to flee from the man shaped thing who stood in front of him, eyeing him right back. A pistol hung for the man's hand in a grip that looked negligent, but probably wasn't. It was the other hand that Colin focused on. It was empty, but held oddly as if gripping something that could not be seen. Colin slowly shook his head.

"The guy who came for me in the psyche ward said they wanted me to be bait." Colin's tone was flat and everyone looked at him. "For you?"

"Probably." The not-a-man in front of him said calmly even as Nyx bent down over Mag. Although what kind of parent named their kids 'Nyx' and 'Mag'? Colin discarded that thought, He had heard worse. "We have made that corporation quite angry recently."

"You did burn down their warehouse." Colin shrugged, but kept his hands still. The Russian's AK was aimed.

"Oh, that is the least of what we have done." The man with the pistol said with a dry chuckle. Then he stilled and everyone else did as murmured voices sounded from just outside. They were cut off by an irate shout.

"What the hell? Where is team six? They said he came in here and no one came out either end! The bosses do not want excuses! They want the subject! Now!"

Colin jerked as a balaclava covered face under tactical helmet appeared in the window, but Nyx raised her hand and the goon shook his head before dropping out of sight. She looked at Colin and smiled as she dropped her hand.

"Window is intact. No one in sight. He didn't go this way." Came from just outside.

"Then where the hell is he?" What had to be the person in charge demanded. "And where the hell are team six?"

'Bodies'? Colin mouthed at the man with the pistol who shook his head, grim enough that Colin dropped the inquiry. He probably didn't want to know.

"Sir!" Another shout. "Expended gas grenade! One of ours!"

Sudden silence echoed from the alley and then the leader's voice spoke again. "Tenno. I might have known. I am sure you can hear me, you murdering pieces of alien shit! We will find you and we will kill you."

Colin tapped his ear, looking at the others in turn and the man with the pistol nodded. The enemy, whoever they were, were clearly hunting him and Colin was almost certainly a danger to these people. He didn't have powers like they clearly did, and he was-

Colin stilled as Nyx sidled up to him and laid her hand on his.

It is okay, Colin. Nyx's voice sang in his head just as it had in the warehouse! We won't let them take you again. Nyx's face scrunched up in sadness and her mind turned sick. I am sorry. We wanted to help you and we couldn't. There were too many. We had to stop the outbreak and then they took you and we couldn't find you! I am sorry! She repeated.

Colin could not respond the way she did, so he shook his head, covered her hand with his and gave it a squeeze. He mouthed words silently, knowing somehow that she would hear them even with her eyes closed, trying to stem her tears. 'Not your fault'.

In a way, it is. Nyx said sadly. We so hoped they were telling the truth, but their kind never do. The idiots just want weapons, even if using said weapons is utterly insane.

'Nothing new.' Colin mouthed and Nyx nodded, still crying silently. 'What now?' He asked Nyx, but was looking at the clear leader of the group. The dark haired man made a face and nodded to Nyx who took Colin's face in her hands, gently,. so gently.

They did something to you. Something new, like what they did to Mag. Hate sang in Nyx's silent voice, but she squelched it. We need to know what they did. I can find out, but it will hurt you.

You care if I get hurt? Colin said into the depths of his mind and Nyx replied!

I know you won't believe me. You don't know me, you can't trust me. Nyx was abject now. But I saw your mind and you are a good man!

Not always. Colin said heavily and then he settled himself on the floor. Here?

Until we know what they did, we cannot take the chance of moving you. Nyx said softly as the man with the pistol and the man with the rifle both took up station by the door and window, respectively. They can track you or kill you. It is not precise, but they can. People like them have done such before. Again, she was crying.

If they can track me, then they could have taken me anytime! Colin said slowly and then hissed aloud. They want you!

It is not precise. Nyx reassured him. They know you are in the city, but they cannot narrow it down tighter than that or they would have by now. They don't want you dead. Hell, no matter what that guy said? His bosses don't want us dead. They do want us, but not dead.

Why does that not fill me with glee? Colin asked as Nyx guided his head to the floor and knelt down beside him, her hands going to his temples.

Because you know the people you worked for. Even they know that dead slaves are useless. Nyx said quietly, steeling herself. This will hurt, but I will be as fast as I can. I am here, Colin. You are not alone.

He would have replied, but a white hot spike tore into his mind and he could not even scream as the images started.