"Your vehicle's fucked, kyo." the mobile engineer replied, "It'll take a full replacement to get those thrusters sorted. Whatever hit you had a scrambler on board, how'd you land and whose girlfriend you bang?"
Locke glanced in the direction that piece of shit carrier went in, "A delivery driver for a corporation."
"Stop talkin. Everyone and their future grandkids knows not to fuck with the delivery mafioso."
"My mother's foreign."
"She better be, you sound like it." he popped the bonnet open and had a look inside. "Serviceable, we can give you a decent cut for all the decent parts that can be used to refurb a workhorse vehicle or pubber," he said, "You wanna trade in?"
Arn was out cold under Brillian's Resonance Field. Brill said she could keep her warm; it seemed to be working. "Yeah... I'll take it."
He took apart the dashboard and fetched out the black sphere they called a black box when a bullet tore through his arm. Locke grabbed the engineer and brought him to the ground. Put pressure on the poor bastard's wound to find his arm was entirely prosthetic, a minor chip on the metal. "BRILLIAN!"
The girl was already up and raced toward the staircase. A high-pitched hiss made him wince, the black box sparked, and he grabbed it with his jacket in hopes he could kill the charge, but it was already too late.
The engineer spat, "I get hazard pay for emergency calls. That'll cost you extra on top of insurance."
"I'm a fed."
"Then my manager needs to get fired," he said once he bloody sat up. "Can you fix that?"
"No," he scratched his head.
The sound of an absurdly overclocked engine came from the right. He looked to see Big Moby airdrift his AV carrier to the side. Yama opened the passenger door.
Locke put his hands under Arn and took her up between his arms and brought her over to rest her head on Yama's lap.
"Should've brought ya a parachute," she said.
"Take her home."
Yama's expression hardened, "What happened, who's the target--"
"Details, later. Go. Now, he shut the door and gave it a slap.
Moby sped off. Locke ran to the lift and hit ground floor. It came fast, with cops with their guns up. He flashed his badge and went in as they went out. He tapped his foot impatiently as the descent started, he almost wished it would've fallen halfway to speed up the process. Twenty seconds lost, he was on the ground floor of the hotel. Luck. Paced across the golden flooring, showed his badge to the guards who let him pass and went to the street. Looked for signs of the kid before he took out his phone and remembered they couldn't place a collar or tracker on her because of her mutations. He noticed a couple who argued on the street, further up, a few people who looked somewhat distraught, on the other side of the street was Higami shopping centre. He crossed over when he felt a strange tug on his consciousness in that direction. As he made his way to the big building, he noticed the guards outside were fewer in number than they should be. Crowds flowed out of the doors, shepherded by corporate guards and not TPSB.
He sprinted inside and flashed his badge, "TPSB, GET OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY!" he bellowed.
"Hey, asshole, we've got this. Leave it to us," one of the guards said.
"Got what? The shooter or *my* Reignpainter?"
"Shooter?"
"For fucks sake." he barged past them, "CALL IT OFF!"
Through the door, he ran with his gun drawn, fired into the air twice despite protocol to disperse the crowd ahead of him. "TPSB, OUT OF THE WAY. MOVE. GET OUT OF MY WAY!" He picked up his pace when the flow of people had cleared up for him. Far off, he could see Brillian step on Reignpainted squares at a breakneck pace. He hoped all the way up to Omoikane that she had some mental dampeners or precision to avoid collaterals and accidents when she attacked in this situation. He wouldn't be able to close the distance because of her abilities. She glided down somehow into an Ashefield Rock collection store, where everything was branded after their cigarettes and drugs. A man shouted.
"HELP LOOSE REIGNPAINTER, WILD REIGNPAINTER! SHE'S GONNA KILL ME!"
Locke kept his dead run up, "TPSB, SHE IS TPSB-"
The high-pitched hiss made his stomach drop, and he slowed to a stop and shut his eyes. The glare from the cluster of Phos from the grenade made no sound until after they were gone. He opened his eyes, still with the shadow of glares in his eyes, and he saw Brillian passed out on the floor.
"GET AWAY FROM MY REIGNPAINTER YOU SHITHEADS!" He raced over and shoved the guards out of the way. Ducked under a fist and clocked him with the back of his gun. Showed his badge to the rest, who backed off. "Thanks to you fucking monkeys, we have an escaped shooter who likely works with Rebirthers. Give me your fucking IDs."
"Listen-"
"Give me your ID dog-meat," he snapped.
"Military?"
"Africa."
"Dog."
Locke spat in his face.
Ruruen materialised between the two of them and kicked the guard in the balls before the fight continued.
"Easy boss, she's alive," he said, "I was in the location, Irine sent me to check on you after the reports got filed."
"You're fast." Locke hoisted Brillian over his shoulder.
"I'm a Reignwarden." He said, "You guards should leave your IDs with me. The overseer of Cedarbrand is asking."
They begrudgingly handed their IDs over for Ruruen to scan with his phone. "Thank you for your cooperation." Locke heard him say as he walked out toward the front of the Ashefield store.
"Locke..." Brillian muttered, "I can still smell him... he's here in the shop..."
"Can you walk?"
"Y-yes, I think I can," she coughed, "I wounded him."
He set her down slow and easy, she kicked her boots against the floor and leaned on him for support. She pointed to a blood trail on the floor he was too pissed to notice before.
"He's there, changing rooms." Brillian rasped.
He slung her arm over his shoulder, walked them both over to the changing room, where two men looked at them with surprise in their eyes. Locke aimed point at them.
"Wankers." he growled. "Give it up, or she'll make you give up the ghost."
"Fuck you."
Brillian Reignpainted a mallet and tapped his leg with it.
"Shit-"
"H-hey, I dunno what he's done but my bro here's a good guy!" The other kid raised his hands, "Look, I'm just tryna patch him up."
Locke set Brillian down on a nearby bench where people tried on shoes.
"I ain't in the mood for excuses, kid."
"H-he needs a doctor." Locke pushed the kid aside.
He slapped the bearded bald fuck who Brillian put a hole in the leg of, "Who do you work for?"
"Nobody!" the dickhead sprayed more than he said.
Locke stomped on his leg. "Talk."
"No!" the kid drew a gun.
Locke kissed his teeth, "Alright. Don't hurt him too much."
The boy screamed. Locke glanced back to see he was missing a fingertip. And the gun had been severed from the handle up.
Locke turned back to the criminal. "Well, what's your name?"
"W-what?"
"What's your name?"
"Seth!"
"Alright, Seth," Locke looked around, "Brillian, pass me that hoodie."
She picked it up with a Reignpainted crane hand and tossed it to him.
"You're gonna tell me everything I need to know about your employer and why you just disabled a twelve-year-old girl I saved today. Or I'm taking you to some cannibals who like live meat."
"Listen motherfucker-"
Locke squatted down, "I'm listening, dickshit."
He whispered, "Fuck you."
Locke punched him in the gut twice. Stomped on the wound. He grunted, yelped. He wrapped his head in the hoodie and tied it off. "You know they have vending machines with water in this place, and the staff keep large water bottles in the back."
"O-o-okay, okay! Look! I got called by some guy who said he works for the Cedarbrand police!"
Locke punched the floor next to him.
"I swear!"
"Give me a name or you drown in piss."
"He didn't have no fuckin' name! He's smart!
Locke grabbed him by the throat and pushed his head against the floor.
"I can't fuckin' tell you no more!"
"What did they say to do?"
"To shoot the engineer, said it'll just scare you both off!"
Locke punched him in the face until he bled. "Don't fuck with my partner." he stood up, "Let's go, Brill."
She nodded, "That was cruel."
"Shut your gob, killer." he lowered himself so she could swing her arm over his shoulder.
She flexed her fingers. "I think I've gotten stronger."
"Surprised the Phos didn't kill you, glad you're alright."
She smiled back at him with those eyes, "I'd like some orange juice."
"Right, right. Of course."
"There's something I need to tell you," she said as they went out front. Locke hit the cab app to get a driver to take them, but closed it when he remembered the truck that hit them. He'd have to get someone he knew wouldn't be on the enemy take.
"Four years ago there was an incident at TPSB HQ in Suhou with a suicide Vent attack by Rebirthers." Brillian cleared her throat.
He remembered the bright flash, the blasts of air that nearly suffocated him, "Yeah, what about it?"
"I stopped it. I think that's why they're targeting me. Unlike who we can't name, I'm a new type... Chelaise told me that I can manipulate people, and if I'm doing it to you, and you don't want to deal with it. I understand. But there's a man in London, much easier to get to than Fukuroudani or the other Reignpainters in big organisations or syndicates."
"Nah," he said, "I've got a pretty good idea who you're talking about, and he's a lunatic roadman."
"Well... how are we gonna travel?"
"Ruruen wouldn't leave us dry." Locke spotted a familiar TPSB AV on its way down toward them. He shielded his eyes when it kicked up dust as it landed.
The door slid to the side to reveal Phoeankh Butterdil who should've been in Oriphi.
"You get promoted?" he said loudly over the engine.
"Yeah, and pulled out of Oriphi. Talk on the way, let's get you home!" he waved for them to get inside.
Locke settled in the back of the AV more tired than he should be as Irine's face showed up on the holo.
"Stop smoking," she crowed.
"Piss off, Irine." he growled, "Who hit us?"
"We don't know. The call came from Cedarbrand Station; they used a scrambler and have multiple people inside. We're holding off and playing it slow, a lot of transfers have happened without Turq's approval, so we run it indie and keep you on Niji's mission."
He rolled his eyes and dialled the lanky nonce. "Gonna tell him what he needs to know."
Niji's camera turned on to a ceiling, it rolled over, and a woman's face came into focus. "Locke," Niji said and grabbed the phone off the woman, "Sorry about that. What's going on, you good, kyo?"
"Just got hit by some thugs, crossed a delivery mafioso."
He chuckled with no surprise on his face, "Your missions are important, but 'member this ain't London. What you got on Greenthorne?"
"He fucked a few girls in Vantara. Heading back there later, need to get myself checked at my private doc."
"Sounds good, brez, anything else?"
"Looking for a *kid* on a corner, that was his taste. I'll deal with it myself, he went by the codename Jo Johns, don't wanna draw attention."
He nodded, "Well, I got business."
"Yeah, enjoy." Locke hung up and looked at Irine's face on the screen. "Take us back to my place."
"I have a meeting. Phoeankh Butterdil." She ended the video call.
"Hello." Phoeankh said from the driver's seat, "Oriphi's doing transfers, above Big Turq's head. He pulled me out and reassigned me to field duty under some potentials op."
"That's what it is then."
"You weren't told?"
"The only real hierarchy is need to know, and somehow you're more valuable than me when it comes to that, most of the time." he coughed, "You alright, Brill?"
She was fast asleep.
"What's up with her? heard she was meant to be you know, strong. Maybe strong enough to shift gravity of power."
"She got hit by her first Phos grenade; it was a cluster, too."
"Eyes of Horus on her soul." Phoeankh adjusted the instruments and gave a thumbs up.
His phone buzzed, he looked to see it was Pnayy with a demand to meet Chelaise. Next came a picture of Yama inside with Arn.
"Take us to Abigails, Wiretown."
Pnayy's guest room was spacious and cosy, themed with a cross between UKG and K-pop dub washed out in the background by the automated mood systems. Sofa bed to the leftmost wall in front of a holo projector in a corner shielded by wardrobes and a bookshelf, a folding mattress on the right, a movie projector with zebra-themed colours. She had a gaming computer hooked up to a sensory chair. He wondered what else these girls did outside of movies, streaming and gaming in their limited personal time. A picture with Pnayy and some Viking guy next to her with a nose tipped with Wayne snow left on a dining table. Beside the picture were a set of flashbangs, three tomahawks and a short-barrel shotgun. On her dresser were fragrances he didn't recognise because that's women's business, pens, pencils, paper, notebooks and a whiteboard with markers, then a bottle of gin.
Yama stumbled out of the bathroom with her dressing gown on, and Arn with a detached expression on her face as she grasped for an arm that was no longer there.
"Hey," Yama said, "get out while the girls do girl's business."
"There be no time for that." Pnayy stepped through the door with Chelaise behind her.
Brillian squeezed his hand and shifted in her boots. "Relax," he said to her.
"No fighting." Chelaise commanded, "You're in my house. Sit. Have a drink."
Arn looked around uncomfortably.
"Can you talk?" Chelaise said to Arn.
She shook her head.
"From birth?" she approached the girl slowly.
Arn hid behind Yama.
Yama, smart girl, brought Arn forward.
Chelaise cupped her throat.
Locke walked over to the table and sat down with Brillian.
"Poor girl, I see," she lowered her voice and spoke to the girl.
Brillian winced.
"So that does work on you," she turned a knowing smile on Brillian before she returned her eyes to Locke, "Greenthorne had her vocal cords removed while she was drugged. Then he had ways with her body."
"Let me handle this." Locke said, "If I find him alive, I'll ask him some *questions* about what he was doing before I let him suffer to death."
"See that it's done." Chelaise said, "This girl's a witch, and I'm taking her in." Her eyes glazed over briefly.
"Boss?" Pnayy popped the cork off the Gin and poured herself a glass, pointed everyone to a stack of water bottles.
Greenthorne spoke briefly about investigations into girls that went missing. He also mentioned Rebirthers that were more organised than they should be." She waved Pnayy over, she gave Chelaise the glass of Gin. The pale witch gulped it down and had another poured. "He complained about Fuscian Niji being a slavedriver. He said he was going to Shurin and never came back."
"Rebirthers in the same area where kidnappings occurred." Locke said, "Yama?"
"I need to get to my computer to handle the search," she said, drying her hair with a towel. "Are we good now, Chel?"
"Yes." The witch wrapped Arn up in her arms, and shadows on the floor toward them, they vanished seconds later.
Locke took out a cigarette that Brillian snatched, "Go to sleep, old man."
He chuckled and rested his head on the sofa.