As soon as Corso had his whits about him, and was out of bed, he and Sonny started preparing for the next stage. Corso remembered the metal shavings that had been removed from Sonnys chest. If a knife blade was enough to infect him with nano technology laden bugs, there was a chance this was the case with Sonny too. Corso made sure that Sonny scanned with with the pirates health scanner, set to detect any such abnormalities. And it didnt take long before his suspicion was confirmed. They had removed the metal rather quickly, so the count of bugs in Sonnys system was considerably lower than Corsos. But just the same. Sonny agreed to undergo a cleanse session to magnetically charge the bugs to draw them out. Corso made sure Sonny stayed alone while the process was conducted. After the eight hours, Corso went in to check on him. Sonny too had a hint of redness to his skin, and jokingly compared the process to a shiloh sunburn. It was a rarity, but it happened to all pirates that decided to work during the hot hours of the day, close to the sun. Even Sonny and Corso had been rookies once, and they knew what that kind of sting felt like, so the comparison was a fair game with a second sweep was conducted, Sonny was deemed good to go. Corso applied a cooling cream to his upper body, just to kill the worst stinging, and then, Sonny got dressed for the day.

Now, they focused on the doctor, whom was responsible for these attacks. Sonny was curious to whatever plan he and Bleylock had for several of his own collegues, and even for him. To him, it sounded like Bleylock was dealing in a market that would not do good seeing the light of day. And human trafficking was was a theme that made Sonny Blackbones blood boil. He, and all those friends he had lost, either due to his own choice or because someone else had a finger in play, he suspected many did not leave by their own free will. If this was trafficking, there would be a money trail, linking them all, and proving the dirty deed. And Sonny was determined, if that trail excisted, he would find it and expose it.

Corso on the other hand, was more focused on the doctor and his ways. He knew his tactics in the military of his homeplanet. The doctor had used different variations of herbs, some outright poisonous to the ones he used to test it on, to further develop it into gasses, and other means that the military would use to subdue enemies. When the war was in effect, all planets did this, Chissia did not stand out in any way in that regards. It was only when their own brave men, men with mior injuries that simple implants should have helped, people like himself, started to have issues, implants that didnt work as it should, or implants that somehow could be remotely hacked, causing their own to be flipped on them without their knowing, that the trouble started. The Doctor had been furious when he was found out and kicked out, dishonorably. He swore revenge for what he called a false current technology he used was unknown to most the galaxy, it was probobly stolen, or he took the credit for someone elses work. That had happened before,and it was bound to happen again, unless someone put a stop to it. And if no one else took the job, that someone was going to be him and the pirates. The basic knowledge he had about the man would aide their current investigation into his affairs. Sonny suspected Bleylock had recruited him, since this had been one of the many things the former General did within the company, but so far, he was still seeking the direct link to conclusively prove it. Corso looked over at Sonny, whom seemed to have come across a document of particular interest. Sonny highlighted several paragraphs, that he then sent to a special server for safe keeping. Corso could tell from his jawline, Sonny was intensely focused on what he was doing. There would be no one hiding anything about this from him if he decided to really look into matters. Part of Sonnys reputation among his own was, if he got into it, he was like a dog with a bone, he would fight till he found the answers he sought. Corso smiled when he looked at his best friend. He felt sorry for those that got on the wrong end of Sonnys wrath.

He and Sonny both had been subjected to an unknown technology, and it was only due to Sonnys unwillingness to play the doctors game, that they now had ridden themselves of this, and was able to breathe comfortably. This technology had a potential to do great harm, and Sonny had decided he needed to get up to speed on it, as much as he could. How his brain could process things the way he did, was an abillity worth admiring. Sonny seemed to sift through what was important,and leave the other stuff out. And thus working like that, Sonny made the same progress in a matter of days that students in school would spend the better part of a two year cycle to finish.

Sonny had checked in with Callie, and her report too. It was detailed, and Sonny had put in several video clips, where he presented his evidence of foul play and names of victims he knew. These were names that would either be searched for, or Duke Maddox would have a hard time explaining the disappearance of. Sonny made it clear, the pirates were prepared to pick up if Technoid decided not to do their job, and they would be effective in finding the answers. And families lacking answers, would be notified as soon as the pirates could verify their finds.

As time started to run out of the time Sonny had bought himself time, with cutting the deal that he had with Doctor Crawen. Now Corso and Sonny focused on how to go about things for that day. Sonny had found a plausible excuse to present to the doctor,and a video had been rolled on the damaged cybernetic eye, showing that Sonny was aware the microphone was broken, Corso was knocked out cold and all he could do was to write notes, with the message suggestion for places to meet for his supposed surrender. Sonny created a false email for the doctor to communicate with him.

Once a location for the surrender was agreed upon, The pirates obtained maps of all possible entrances and exits. It was a technoid office building on the outskirts of sector 8, a storage area of Technoids. Though, for a storage area, it had a high level of activity, suggesting the building was far from empty. Sonny did some further research, and found a place he had almost forgot excisted, the laboratories. Bleylock had them installed for his young students that struggled to pay attention. And Sonny recalled having had such a time himself, just before...no, he didnt want to remember all that. It was certain parts of his past that was best of forgotten or better yet, tucked away in the far back of his mind. Hearing Corso speak his name was a most welcome interruption.

"He chose a difficult spot to access. There is technoid surveillance here Sonny, and a lot of it. We will need time to get in and set this up. I hope you have a plan ready for how to exit" Corso said, studying the layout.

Sonny gave him a nod. He was caught in his own memories from back in the day. Several collegues of his, working for Technoid had mysteriously disappeared from this location. The message was always the same when they vanished. They had been hired elsewhere, without prior notice to technoid. They had just left to pursue new avenues and new possibilities. Even he had found that to be odd, given some of these scientists were close friends, and none of them had expressed any wish to leave. It wasnt till one of his close friends fell victim to this scheme, Sonny had really started paying attention. And that was when several red flags had been raised. Maybe the good doctor had some answers to this?

Sonny was pulled from his thoughts, when Corso showed him the layout.

He gave a nod. It was time to go head to head with the doctor.

This was it. The meeting place they had decided upon for his surrender. And it seemed Blackbones was running late. Fine, that gave him a chance to do a final check over on his small traps. Surely Blackbones would avoid most of them, he was too smart not to. But at least one of them, depending on wheter he got that far into the grid, was not obvious. If he couldnt pull off capturing him, he had to make sure to end the pirate. He kneww too much, he was simply too dangerous to be allowed let loose. Of course Doctor Crawen was using a hologram for this meeting. He was no fool, and he was dealing with pirates. Today, he would know if Pirates really kept their promises. The pirates was known to use holograms too, especially if they didnt trust you. Chances was, Blackbones would keep distance at first, until he could locate him. The doctor was moving from his office space, towards the spot, using his hologram.

That was when he heard a voice from the far left corner.

"Good night Doctor" it said. He turned, to see a tall man, dressed in a black cloak and protective goggles, standing at a distance. Not knowing wheter it was really him or an hologram, he decided to spring his first trap, an eletric cage.

"Ah, Sonny Blackbones in person. I am so glad you came, this should make this day..a very lucrative one for me" he said.

Sonny smirked under the hood, but he didnt move. Good thing. Without a word, the doctor leaped to get the planned surprise trap loaded.

The doctor triggered the first trap. An electrified cage. It fell over the pirate, trapping him.

"I figured you would make this meeting interesting Doctor, so I decided to use holograms until I know I can trust you" Sonny said, now coming from another location. The projector for the cage had grown dark, they had cut the power to it. Doctor Crawen started to get the feeling Blackbones had not come alone. There was this feeling that more people, pirates, hid in the shadows, and they had a plan of their own with this meeting.

"You would be the right person to talk about tricks Blackbones, you are not playing fair. I thought we agreed to your surrender, to save your friend, Corso" The doctor pouted.

Sonnys hologram laughed.

"This should hardly come as a surprise. Doctor. My friend Corso is safe and sound. He has been for a few days. Well, as fine as he could be, considering he is a bit cross with you over the way you grazed his abdomen. It will make an impressive scar. And I am not like the many others you and Bleylock kidnapped and sold of to who knows where. You two must have cashed in big, as these were ace scientist, top of their fields. Too bad some of us caught on to your scheme. I suspect you dont know whom we were either. But the evidence is in our hands. Anyone that turned on Technoid, I guess I should have realised early on where all the fresh tissue samples we had came from. By the time our meeting comes to an end, you will tell me where the remains were burried. I suspect a hidden mass grave. And if Bleylock didnt tell you. I have this strange allergy to injustice, and what you did to them, well, that is a gross injustice. I wonder what I should do about that" he said.

The doctors hologram now sent two robots towards him. And with the same result. The droids were grabbing into thin air. Sonny himself was being remarkably distant, if he didnt know better, he would say Blackbones was a ghost.

The doctor gritted teeth. Blackbones was not here to play games, he was here to apprehend him. And Blackbones knew how to use hologram projectors. But that had a weakness, it could only connect to a certain amount of projectors before it would reveal where he really was. He had to be close by.

"Just you wait Blackbones. I will find you, and when I do, I am going to make sure you cant escape me. I will have to makes sure you cant tell on us. Maybe a round of brain wash will help. Maybe I have to go about this another way, but you will not tell Maddox or the galaxy about this" he yelled.

Sonny smirked at that.

"Oh, you can take my word for it Doc, the galaxy and Maddox will know all about yours and Bleylocks dirty deeds. Even if you manage to deal with me, what makes you think there arent others, ablebodied men, behind me, ready to carry on this mission? The pirates isnt just me alone, I am just the one that happens to catch the biggest bounty, the one that is most wanted. Behind me, there are plenty of others, ready to step up if something was to happen to me. So rather than make this hard on yourself, how about we talk some more about yours and Bleylocks lucrative sidebusiness" Sonny taunted.

Corso checked the grid as he closed down yet another hologram. Sonny was only a few yards away from him, and he was pissing the doctor off with his taunts. Well, with what he had tried to pull on them, that served him just right as far as he was considered. Corso looked for Sonny to signal the next projector to be turned on. Off course, the pirates were well aware of the short comings of hologram projectors, so, they had their own creative solutions. Clearly, Sonny had touched on a few things that made the doctor sweat. Corso knew Sonny couldnt prove that the doc and Bleylock was guilty yet, but he had bluffed his way through. And the bluff was very convincing from the look of the docs nervous movements. And the fun thing about it was, Sonny was just throwing punches in the air right now, he threw out a few well placed suspicions, but it hit home. Corso had used a small camera he had placed, to zoom in on the doc. They could both see the tiny drops of sweat, revealing the doctor was far from calm.

"Want to turn up the heat Sonny? You rattled him with the last one" Corso stated. For some reasons, he felt this to be quite entertaining, considering his past. as long as they kept their distance, and the doc could not harm Sonny, they could keep going.

Sonny nodded. Corso turned on the next hologram.

This was just about to get interesting.

The doctor had lost track of time. He had figured Blackbones had no more than seven projectors connected to the grid, before he would reveal himself. That was a grave miscalculation on his end. Seemed the pirates had their own way to circumvent this flaw in the projectors, that, or they retrieved the used projectors and placed them elsewhere. But now, a pattern started to emerge. The holograms seemed to lead somewhere. Doctor Crawen tried to project the direction. It seemed like...the laboratories.

Well, he could play the hologram game too. And he absolutely had to win this battle. Blackbones already knew too much about his and Bleylocks projects as of now. If he talked to Maddox about this, he would loose his position here. There was no choice. He had to capture the evasive most wanted man in the galaxy, and get rid of him.

Sonny had made sure to place himself in a comfortable last spot on the line. It felt fitting to lure the doctor in here, this was where many had been seen for the last time. Bleylocks office had been empty for some time. It collected dust, since no one used it. Last time he himself had been here, was when they had freed Clamp from his captivity. The start of his enterprise with Bleylock, and the end of the line for his wheeling and dealing would take place here. It made Sonny cringe to think of how he had been Bleylocks loyal protege, his pet in some sense in his younger years. How could he possibly have been so absorbed in his research that he completely had failed to see what was going on right before his eyes? Well, that was going to come to an end.

Sonny rose from the chair, and signalled for Corso to initiate the last part of the hologram grid.

The laboratories... The delivery station as he called it. This was a place where young scientists, men and women, had gotten a nice rest, packed in special containers with oxygen, to be shipped off to a destination unknown, and never heard from again. How Bleylock had managed to keep Maddox from finding out, he didnt know. But the old fool was too trusting of his board, and his operatives to care. That was, until Blackbones and the others started to deliver anonymous messages of foul play. Bleylock had told him not to worry about his protege, he would deal with the young man.

Well, now, years later, Blackbones was becoming a problem again, but this time, Bleylock wasnt here to distract him. He was alone, against a former scientist, one that seemed to have found a way to back track his work and also, come up with ways to block them. He didnt buy that the microphone to Corsos eye was faulty. Nor did he buy the data that Corso was still in bed at an undisclosed location. If Blackbones knew all this, Corso was part of it. Blackbones had admitted to this earlier, but where was he hiding now? as the doctor moved deeper into the building, he found himself outside General Bleylocks old office. He entered the room. And the office chair turned around. Finally, he was face to face with the real Sonny Blackbones. Sonny held a stack of papers in his hand, not paying much attention to him, It dawned on the doctor, Blackbones knew of a few other more personal things for him too. Sonny locked his hazels in his icy blue.

"Lets talk about your many patents Doctor. You take credit for the work of others, and this I can prove. I would like to know, whom really is behind the nano technology you have used on Corso and me. It is a good piece of work, but for some reason, I dont buy that its your work" Sonny said.

The doctor sputtered in utter fury. How dared he make such insulting comments to an genius like him!

"Its my work alright Blackbones, I invented it from scratch. If you think you can do better, be my guest" he said.

"Tsk,tsk,tsk Doctor, we both know that isnt the fact. You see,I have this habit of checking things if I find something to be worth while studying up on. The invention was made here, in this very lab. By a professor Eric Munn. What is interesting is this, after Professor Munns abrupt departure from Technoid, all of a sudden, all his patents switched to your name. I doubt a mere doctor would hold such persuasive gifts that he would give up his patents to you. That was not at all his way of doing things" Sonny said.

The doctor realised too late, this was Blackbones trap for him, and he had just walked straight into it.

"You are dead wrong Blackbones, I am the inventor of the class four nano bugs. Munn was merely an assistant" he yelled.

And found a strong hand grab hold of his neck. As he looked to the side, he noticed a familiar face. A very angry face from his past.

"We meet again Doc, and this time, You are going to answer some questions, one way or the other" Corso snarled.

Sonny felt drained as soon as his men had dealt with the doctor and made him ready for transport back to the Black Manta. Bleylocks handy transportation crates served their need just perfectly.

But before they could leave, Sonny decided to make a sweep of his old mentors office. Maybe there was something in here, something that could give a clue to the fates of the missing scientists? The ones openly oposing Technoid back in the day, those fates he already knew, all too well. He hoped this was not the case for the scientists as well. Corso guarded his back while Sonny searched the computer system. As soon as he had access, Sonny inserted a special disc, to copy all he could find that was relevant to their investigation. As he was about to end the session, he noticed something in the drawer he had picked up the list of patents the doctor had stolen from. A small disc, with his old name. It looked like it had been there for some time. Sonny picked it up, not thinking to put his protective gloves on. This could be a clue to what had been planned for him. Sonny decided to look into it later, and put it in his pocket. In this war, information was the name of the game, and the more he had, the better equipped he was to face his enemy down the line. Corso signalled, they had to leave, the next round off watchmen was about to make their rounds, they better be out of there before then. Sonny nodded, and they excited the place as silently as they had arrived.

Back at Callies house, Sonny felt completely exhausted, he could possibly have misjudged his ability to preform somewhat. But no matter, they had what they came for. Sonny felt like he was close to dozing off. Maybe doing this had been a bit much. Also, he had an itch to his right hand. And his head felt strangely wolly. Corso looked at him.

"You should get some shut eye Sonny, you look exhausted. Im worried you are going to pass out any moment" he said.

Callie also looked worried at him.

"He is right Sonny, You look horrible, are you feeling ok?" she asked.

Sonny nodded.

"Im fine, I just need rest, thats all" he said.

Sonny had taken the disc out of his pocket, to prepare it for the work.

For some reason, Corso came to pick it up. And he realised,as he did, it was a good thing he wore gloves. The disc was infested, with nano bugs. In regular light settings you could not see it. But Corsos cybernetics allowed him to use a filter to see the truth.

"Sonny, please tell me you wore gloves when you picked this up.." Corso said.

Then, he heard a thud, behind him, like someone had fallen. As he turned around, he saw Sonny on the floor. He looked awfully pale. Corso was feeling gripped by a feeling of panic.

"Sonny!"

Corso crouched down next to him.

"Wake up Sonny, you are better off in a warm bed...oh no" the last words was one Corso uttered in share panic. Out of habit, he had checked Sonnys pulse,and found something seriously wrong.

"Whats the matter Corso?" Bennett asked, noticing his friends sudden onset of panic.

Corso was positively pale, and panicking.

"Someone start CPR. Sonnys heart just stopped beating".

Holy shit right. Now what. Keep reading, and you will know.