Alright. This is where that darkness rears its ugly head. This is likely the last time you will hear from me until I've got everything I've got proofread and ready to go up on the site. Until then!
CHAPTER 2: OUR CITY
Mallory popped a knot in her neck as she set the beer back on the bar and bit into another synth-chicken wing. The bone was cleaned off in a moment and the bone was dropped onto a pile of trash.
"Another plate?"
Mallory licked the sauce off her fingers and smiled with reddened teeth at Crystal.
"Nah, I'm good. Anymore and I'm gonna get fat."
Crystal shook her head.
"You won't get fat no matter how much you eat you freak of nature."
Mallory patted her stomach.
"It's my biotic belly. I'm just so hungry all the time."
Crystal sighed at Mallory.
"Mal, you just about ate me out of house and home once you became a superhuman."
Mallory frowned at the "superhuman" comment.
"Hey, I'm just like any other rather gorgeous twenty-something biotic amnesiac."
Crystal shook her head at the young woman. She was now in her late thirties, but she felt 300 whenever Mallory was in the room acting like a fool. The brown haired biotic still wore that ratty red beanie that Chris had given her a decade ago. The night she had been jumped into the Reds. Crystal shook off the memory and turned back to Mallory who was working on her third beer.
"Where's Jared? I thought you were going somewhere tonight?"
Mallory shrugged.
"Dunno, but I'm going to keep working on this sweet fake chicken until he gets here."
A hand clapped Mallory on the shoulder as Jared sat down next to her.
"Hey, Boss." Mallory smiled at Jared. Jared shook Mallory's shoulder.
"Hey Mascot."
Mallory finished her beer and two more. She set the second one in front of Jared.
"What's up, Boss?"
Jared took a swig of the beer and set it down.
"I need you for a meet tonight. The Bombers want a meet on neutral ground."
Mallory took a swig of her beer to mull over what Jared had just told her. A throbbing told her that a migraine was coming on. Mallory cut her eyes to Jared who was eyeing her side long.
"Jay…you got some?" Mallory rubbed her temple while looking at Jared through one eye. Jared nodded and set a baggie on the table. Mallory snorted it and a shiver ran through her body as the Red Sand hit her system. She punched the table and grinned at the Reds Boss.
"Where's this meeting at?"
Jared smiled.
"Section 41, over on by the old Florida-Georgia Border. Neutral ground."
Mallory nodded and shivered as another wave hit her system. She made her way towards the pool tables but stopped when Jared grabbed her wrist. Mallory whirled and her nostrils flared before she calmed looking at Jared's face.
"Bring a piece. The Bombers are finished."
Mallory grinned with a mouth full of Red Sand reddened teeth.
"Got it, Boss."
Mallory walked away towards the pool table, shoving a patron out of the way to get to table a number of other Reds were standing around. The patron scowled but turned away from Mallory as his friend shook his head and nodded towards their game.
Jared watched his favored enforcer walk away and lightly chuckled at her abusing the hang arounds.
"I told you to stop giving her that shit."
Jared turned to see Chris sitting next to him. The Red's lone left eye stared at Jared, the other covered by a white bandage. Jared shrugged and held his hands up.
"What the hell do you want me to do Chris? She's addicted."
Chris' lip curled as Crystal put down a glass and looked at Jared.
"She's hooked on your shit!"
Jared drained his beer and looked Chris in the eye.
"She's hooked because you fucked up and she had to save your ass."
Jared stood and turned away as Chris moved to stand before Crystal put a hand on his arm.
"Come on, baby. Have a drink. We'll worry about Mallory when we can help her."
Chris sagged in his chair as Crystal put two glasses of whiskey in front of him. He picked up one as Crystal clinked the other against his.
"To kids and the fucked up things they do to us." Crystal smiled coquettishly at Chris.
Chris shivered as the whiskey burned his throat down to this stomach. Crystal wasn't the twenty-five year old waitress in a short skirt anymore, but damn did she still have him wrapped up.
"She's gonna die, Crystal."
"I know, baby. We help her when we can."
Chris looked at Crystal and placed a chaste kiss on her lips before placing his forehead against hers.
"When we can then."
Mallory opened her closet and removed the Glock 45 handgun from the small safe inside. Next she removed a small MPX submachine gun.
These weapons were out of style when Mallory's great grandparents, whoever they were, still walked the Earth. They were positively ancient. They were also entirely combustion driven and had absolutely no need for Element Zero. They were easily 3D printed and assembled by VI controlled systems that were downloaded from the Extranet.
Mallory collapsed the stock on the MPX and slung it across her back underneath the brown leather jacket. Two extra magazines went into holders behind her back. The Glock 45 was placed into a shoulder holster also underneath the jacket. Mallory reached for several packets of Red Sand in the safe and put them in the inside pocket her jacket.
With that, she was ready.
Mallory walked over to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She didn't much like what she saw. Her teeth were stained red as if she'd gargled blood every morning and night for the last few years. Her blue eyes were sunken in and her skin was pale. Even her short brown hair seemed to be dull. Fucking Red Sand was going to kill her…
A horn sounded outside. Mallory looked out the window and found an aircar outside waiting. The Reds had certainly upgraded from ground cars and teenaged drug mules, that was for sure. She quickly walked downstairs and outside, shutting off all the lights as she went.
Mallory entered the air car to find several other Reds inside. Jared was in the backseat.
"Is this it?" She turned and looked over the seat at Jared.
"Nah, we got more on the way. We'll wait not far from the meet and go in together."
"Gotcha, boss." Mallory sat in the seat and relaxed as she watched Atlanta-Miami fly by below. The ever-present rain pounded the windshield and the driver leaned forward to see past the wipers and Mallory sighed as she leaned her against the window as she stared down at the passing lights.
The Bombers and Reds had been at war for years. The Bombers, until recently, had been the predominant force in Atlanta-Miami. Their monopoly on the drug trade in Atlanta-Miami had been empowering for over a decade. Add in the money they made in human-trafficking and the Bombers had the money in Atlanta-Miami. Money bought guns and hands to hold them.
Around the time Mallory was fourteen or fifteen Jared had made contact with some dude with connections vacuum side. It had brought Red Sand into the hands of the Tenth Street Reds. The stimulant brought in a whole new crowd of junkies looking for a new high.
The Alliance Security Forces that acted as the police in the Metroplex's lower slums didn't seem to care so long as hordes hallucinating pseudo-biotics flooded the ground level of Atlanta-Miami. The Boomers and Reds went to war with renewed vigor as the credits flooding into Red bank accounts put them on a level playing with the Boomers.
The last few years had been bloody as the Reds slowly but surely pushed the Boomers towards their home neighborhoods on the Atlantic Ocean. The Reds suddenly controlled hundreds of square miles of sprawling cityscape and were an Army unto themselves. With the Reds well-armed and supplied with fresh weapons and recruits, the Boomers must have realized it was time to sue for peace.
The Reds' achievements were due in no part to Mallory herself. After her episode of overdosing on Red Sand, it quickly became clear that Mallory was a biotic. Probably had been her whole life. When the Red Sand hit her system it seemed to act like a set of jumper cables.
Mallory suddenly found herself with a humongous appetite and crippling migraines. As much money as they had, Jared hadn't bought Mallory biotic amps to focus her ability. The Reds already had something Mallory could use to focus her abilities and assuage her migraines. Speaking of…
Mallory opened one of her packets of Red Sand and breathed deep through her nose. Mallory shivered as her vision momentarily turned red before she exhaled and rode the high.
The aircar settled down on the roof of a ground car parking structure. Around a dozen other Reds were standing near ground cars holding weapons of their own. Mallory jumped out and looked around before nodding to Jared. Jared exited the air car and adjusted his pistol holster on his waist while he was walking over to the group of Reds.
Mallory yawned as she followed Jared over and winked at a Red who she noted eyeing her distastefully. Biotics were never popular apparently. Even when they were on your side.
The Reds became quiet and looked over at Jared as he crossed his arms. The floor ceded, Jared stepped forward.
"You all know why you're here. The Bombers have had enough. So here is the deal. We give them a chance to see sense. If they don't, then we'll take care of this the way I know you're all capable of. I'm sure you all noticed I only brought our best tonight." Jared smiled and waved his hand over the assembled group.
Chuckles met his magnanimous gesture.
"Alright, the meet is a couple blocks away. Let's go. Mascot, you're with me." Jared walked away towards a vehicle. A Red held a door open for Jared and Mallory. When the door was shut behind them, the Red came around and got in the driver seat while the Reds filled the other assorted vehicles.
"Hey, Boss?"
Jared raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement as he texted something on his omni-tool.
"Why are we negotiating at all?"
Jared smiled a bemused smile.
"Because we've won and we're good sports."
Mallory laughed aloud as she checked that both her weapons had a round chambered. She subtly patted the pocket where she kept the Red Sand. Still there.
"Mal."
Mallory turned to look at Jared.
"I'm depending on you here. These other guys don't have the same…they don't have it. You get me?"
Mallory beamed at Jared, who smiled back.
"If it comes down to it, I'll take care of it."
Jared nodded and closed his omni-tool.
"We're here."
Mallory opened the door and was the first Red outside. A large warehouse loomed in front of her. Lights were on inside and Jared's chosen Reds waited in a line for their leader to make a move towards the door.
Jared clapped Mallory on the shoulder.
"Let's not keep our hosts waiting."
Victor had been a Bomber for a long time. Longer than most of the younger Bombers had been alive. It hurt him to see them fall to this. Asking for a meet to all but beg for mercy from the Tenth Street Reds. Little more than a decade ago, the Reds had been a half-starved stray dog of a gang of street punks. Now they were the largest organization in Atlanta-Miami. Fucking Red Sand trade.
Victor looked to his brother, Vince. Vince had been the leader of the Bombers since the death of the last leader of the Bombers at the hands of the Reds a few years back. Fucking cowards had planted a bomb on his air car. Couldn't even do it man to man.
A loud knock resounded through the empty warehouse. It sounded mocking somehow.
A deafening buzzer sounded and the doors opened with a squeal of unlubricated metal. The Reds casually strolled inside. At their head was Jared, the leader of the Reds. To his right was a willowy brunette that showed all the telltale signs of Red Sand abuse. That would be Mallory. Victor scowled at Jared's attack dog. That bitch had killed one of Victor's friends. Had helped Jared set up his Red Sand empire. It was no exaggeration to say she was one of the most responsible for the Bombers falling apart.
Jared spread his arms wide.
"Vince! Glad to see you!"
Vince gestured to Jared to sit down in an offered chair. Vince was already sitting.
"Take a seat Jared."
Jared's smile grew sly as he stood on the other side of the table, towering over Vince.
"I'll stand thanks. This shouldn't take long."
Several of the Bombers guards present tensed.
Victor watched Mallory reach inside her jacket. Victor thumbed the safety off of his weapon, but Mallory didn't pull out a weapon. As a matter of fact it appeared as though she held nothing at all. Weird.
Vince leaned forward.
"Alright Jared. You know why we're here. What are your terms?"
Jared grinned smugly.
"You turn over all your distributors to me. I'll allow you to operate in your home neighborhoods given that you turn over 80% of all profit to me. If your guys are caught in Reds territory, we'll make an example and start again until you understand."
Vince tensed and his lip curled.
"That's not a deal. It's an unconditional surrender."
Jared laughed mockingly as his Reds smiled at the Bombers opposite them. Mallory rubbed her nose and shivered. What the fuck was wrong with her?
"I don't see that you're in a position to argue!"
Vince stood and made to grab Jared's jacket. Jared stepped back from the table and Vince reached further in an effort to grab him. In a flash, Mallory had wrapped his wrist in an iron grip and pulled Vince over the table and onto the ground. The bombers made for their weapons but found themselves staring down the barrels of Red guns.
Victor flexed his fingers as he contemplated going for his weapon. Mallory stepped on Vince's face while she pulled a pistol with her other hand.
Jared looked around.
"Ladies and gentlemen, that is a decisive loss on your part. Drop the guns and we'll keep this nice and cordial."
Dozens of eyes turned to Victor. Red and Bomber alike. Victor locked eyes with a smirking Jared. Victor looked at his men and shook his head.
"Drop'em."
Bombers relaxed as tension and fight left them. Guns clattered to the floor and were collected by the Reds. Mallory pulled Vince to his feet and Vince glared at Victor. Victor shrugged at his brother.
Jared smiled to himself.
"Vince did you bring all your leaders here tonight?"
Vince narrowed his eyes.
"We were supposed to talk."
Jared laughed hysterically.
"How in the hell did you own the city for decades? Your predecessors were a hell of a lot smarter than you my man." The Red's voice was cold at the end.
"Mal?"
Mallory's head turned to her leader. Victor suddenly had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Kill'em."
Mallory's weapon hand snapped out and before Victor could shout a warning or denial, a crack sounded that sent his brother falling to the ground with blood spilling from a large wound on the side of his head.
Victor screamed in rage and charged his brother's murderer before she snapped the boxy pistol towards him. Victor put on a burst of useless speed. Some part of him perceived her squeezing the trigger before the world went instantly black.
Several screams and begs for mercy were cut off as the Reds cut down the leadership of the Browning Street Bombers. Jared didn't bother raising his weapon as he watched his people massacre the last of his rivals. Mallory shot Vince's brother in the face and he fell to the ground as dead weight. His name escaped Jared.
Jared looked down at the pool of blood spreading from Vince's shattered skull. A Red shouted and Jared looked up to see a Bomber pull a weapon from his waistband. Jared didn't move as Mallory raised a hand glowing with biotic power and picked the man up. The man flailed weightlessly before Mallory slammed him into the ground with a gut wrenching smack.
Jared snorted as her looked at the tall brunette who had just crushed a grown man like a grape. She really was amazing. Jared could hardly believe that the sniveling street urchin that Chris had brought into the Red Room had turned into his most dependable enforcer. Jared thought at the time, and he still did honestly, that Mallory was just some abandoned street rat. Didn't really believe the amnesiac routine.
To bad about that she was damned junkie now. She couldn't go a full hour without shoving Red Sand into her face. He'd even seen her dropping flakes of it into her eyes. He wondered if she noticed the red flecks being introduced into her iris because of it.
The things that shit did to people was messed up. Mallory could have been nice to look at if it weren't for the Red Sand making her look like a starving animal.
Didn't matter. She killed whoever he pointed at. That was what mattered. He walked up to Mallory and clapped her on the shoulder.
"Good job Mal."
Mal grinned with her stained teeth.
"He almost got you, boss."
Well maybe you should have dropped him faster. Jared smiled.
"Not with you here Mal."
Mallory smiled at her boss and looked up to see the Red who was walking over to the wall with a can of paint. He painted a large red 10 before putting a R inside of the middle of the 0.
Jared nodded and held his arms out.
"This is our fucking city!"
The Reds cheered as they left the grisly scene behind them. Dozens of shell casings rolled across the ground and the corpses were still. A short gust of wind blew through the warehouse and as the Reds entered their vehicles and drove away, the motion sensor lights in the warehouse went out, leaving the slaughtered gangsters in darkness.