*Click!*
The last case clicked open, and it seemed... at least to them, like it was louder than all others, drowning out their sounds of their breathings and heartbeats, as Nick raised open the case.
Thorne particularly, had to resist the impulsive urge to pull it open himself, as he felt Nick was teasing his curiosity with his pace.
He felt his heart drum fiercely as Nick exposed the content out to them.
There in the soft but thick pads of foam used to insulate the contents from the external environment of the briefcase, was a shimmering cylinder.
It's curved surface was made of glass, and an unknown, grey material made up it's bases, designed with symbols and illustrations none of them could decipher.
It almost seemed like an entirely different language, than they were used to, and maybe it indeed was.
The cylinder held a light blue liquid that seemed to produce its own light, drowning the surrounding in a soft blue glow. Although it was sealed firmly behind the glass, it seemed to overwhelm the place with a dense mass of energy.
Just being in its presence, they felt like they were drunk on sugar, without the sugary sweetness to follow. It was somehow both sickening and comforting in a way they couldn't understand.
And then, suspended in the middle of the blue liquid, was a small mechanical core that looked so unassuming... At least, that was how it appeared to them, but not Thorne, and not Nick either.
The tech guru Nick could tell that it was a fusion energy core, only that it was so high leveled, he couldn't even begin to comprehend its basic abilities, asides what fusion cores were known for.
As for Thorne, his heart seemed to pound erratically in excitement, as he laid eyes on it. His head couldn't help but wonder.
If there had been such a strong reaction between him and the strange relic upon contact with the briefcase, which was even further stuffed with insulators, then what would happen if he just...
He knew damn well that upon touching that, there was no going back, but there were so many problems with this strange cyber-artifact, that he reined in his desire.
First of all, what did it do? Taking away the fact that it reacted to him, was it good or bad? For all he knew, that could be a biotech destructive weapon, or even a very dangerous toxin, though the core in the cylinder said otherwise.
Even if in the slightest chance, it happens to be something good, how good was it? Maybe it could give him power, but how much? Although he knew at most the limits of what the outer sector could achieve, just from the look of the artifact, he knew it was far above the pay grade of the inner sector.
Maybe even Elysium.
At the very least, it would be the peak of what Elysium could achieve. As much as it looked just like any high-end cyber ware, the strange symbols on both its bases was something he was sure was not ordinary, and was the main reason for his reluctance.
Maybe it could grant him strength, but would that strength be enough to protect him from the owners when they came for it? He really doubted that.
As alluring as it was, it was far too dangerous.
The burning desire in his eyes immediately cooled, smoothening into appreciation.
"Damn, these inner sector fuckers are filthy rich," Miguel broke the ice, feeling incredulous.
Due to his limited scope on the limits of their technology, and just how high he held Elysium in esteem, he couldn't just fathom something from Elysium, finding its way to the slums.
"Indeed," Jasper nodded in satisfaction. Even he felt satisfied from seeing it, and he made sure to purge his greed before it could take root.
"Wonder how much it would fetch," Thorne chipped in, blending smoothly.
"You'd die before you could even walk two blocks away with it," Marianne shook her head, her voice sounding fatigued from shock.
It truly was beyond her expectation.
"We better be putting this thing away, before something goes south," Hanzo voiced his opinion, his gruff voice weary and uneasy.
Nick nodded and closed the case.
Just as he was about to begin reworking his steps, putting back every safety mechanism and erasing his trace...
*BOOOOM!!!!*
A sound like the explosion from a falling meteorite, rocked the entire place, the shockwave blasting all of them away.
Thorne's head impacted the wall, and blood bloomed like a flower, leaving a sleek trail as he slid down to the ground.
His eyes were clouded and his consciousness flickered in and out, from his dizziness he could faintly hear groans of pain and sharp gasps and whimpers too.
His blurry gaze could make out three faint figures that seemed to drop from the sky, moving like they were swimming, or so he perceived them.
"Secure the core, and leave just one of these peasants alive for information. As for the rest... kill them all."
"Roger!"
Thorne's heart skipped hearing that, he didn't know which if them said it, and they were still quite some distance away from him, but it felt like the masculine voice had spoken directly into his ear.
As his breath slowly faded away, he couldn't help but wish he had actually touched the strange cyber-artifact, which the intruders seemed to call core.
Even if it hadn't been able to do anything for him, at least he would have sated his curiosity. But it was too late for regret.
He took in a pained breath, and he pushed his body up somewhat, his chest tightening as he coughed a mouthful of blood, which trickled down from his lips.
Even against the pain, he cleaned his mouth, straining his eyes to see clearly those who came to kill him.
Slowly their shapes made sense in his eyes, one of them even approaching him with what looked like a plasma incinerator.
His dad had one of those too.
'I wonder what he must be doing now,' he mused, his lips curling up into a smile. A real smile, one different from what he had been showing so far, even as death came close.
"Ahhhhh!" He heard Marianne's deafening screech, as her body was vaporized.
"I'm sorry Dad," he managed to breathe out, as his hand collapsed back to his side, falling on something round and smooth, which he had failed to notice, as death stared down on him.
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By now, most of you must already have a guess as to who Thorne is. But well, are you absolutely sure about that? 😏
Why don't we find out?