ABC - Penance

Central District Hospital, Spitfield City

January 14th V27 (2047AD)

“You look like you fell into a grinder” Ghost observed from his position near the window. My eyes flickered open, taking a while to focus on my partner. He was a big, dark shadow against the bright light streaming in from outside, making my eyes water.

I flung my right arm over my eyes, my left currently ensnared in an IV drip and a monitoring cuff. Machines beeped and murmured around me, reassuring the world I was still alive even if I wasn’t so sure myself.

“I feel like it too” I muttered in reply. I heard him shift and stand next to the hospital bed, followed by a large hand, surprisingly smooth skinned, touching my arm briefly.

“Glad you made it back” he added, so I lowered my arm to regard his concerned face. He met my gaze, something he rarely did, making me wonder how badly injured I was.

“Tell me straight, Ghost, am I gonna die?”

His eyes crinkled a little and I swear I saw his lips curl up ever so slightly.

“Yes” he admitted. “But not from these injuries. The doctors say you’ll be up and punching heads in a week, maybe less”

“That’s great” I agreed and gave him a weak smile. “But I’ve got heads I need to punch right now” I put my right arm down to brace myself and started to lever my body into a sitting position. Pain flared from my left hip, still covered by a broad swathe of bandages. My arms were covered in dozens of small bandages too, hiding the bites and cuts the rodent swarm had inflicted.

“You aren’t going anywhere, Alvarez” spoke up a female voice, deep and strong, reminding me of my beloved Bingo. Entering the room was a female Guard clone, dressed in the grey uniform of the Central Brigade. Before she pulled the door shut I saw two more Jacks in grey armour, carrying Machine Pistols as they stood on sentry duty.

Or maybe Prisoner duty, depending on how much trouble I was in.

“Trixie?” I wondered aloud. “Are you my warden now?”

“No, I’m just here to check on your condition and send a report to the Boss” she replied easily. She sashayed over to the Visitor’s chair and dropped into it, crossing her legs and running her eyes over Ghost and I.

I kind of liked Trixie, even though the ex-Guard Sniper could be intimidating when she wanted to be. On duty, she dressed and acted like the Guard she had been before being Retired. Off duty, she dressed outlandishly and wore brightly coloured wigs to hide her buzz cut dark hair.

In the company of “insiders” like Ghost and I, she allowed her humanity to show. She was the unofficial right hand of Jericho-Three and if there was anyone who had his trust it was her. I suspected Trixie had a huge crush on her Boss, yet I wasn’t sure how the Avatar felt about her in return.

One thing I knew for certain, talking to Trixie was pretty much the same as dealing directly with Jericho-Three.

“I can’t stay here, Trixie” I said earnestly from the bed, slowly swinging my legs out from under the sheets and placing my bare feet on the floor. “There is an Unregistered Jacker working in the Hole”

That got her attention damn fast.

“The fuck you say?” she demanded. “You ran into a Jacker?”

Now some of you may be unaware of a couple of things that make the authorities of the Zone sit up and take notice. The first is Awakened who are Unregistered. There are a lot of them, usually locals who self-Awakened but also those who arrived here without declaring their Abilities.

The Board of Governors welcome Awakened yet they insist on knowing the Grade and type of Ability. This is enshrined in the laws of the Zone and enforceable by the Guard and Police Auxiliary. Having people with unknown powers wandering around your cities is not ideal and the situation has gotten more intense in the past year.

Of the many known and catalogued Abilities, there are some that send the authorities into sheer panic. One of those that is considered the most dangerous are Jackers.

In a nutshell, a Jacker can literally hijack the conscious mind and body of anyone and make them do their bidding. A Jacker can make you reveal your deepest secrets, or make you hurt and kill other people. They could even have you kill yourself.

They are considered some of the scariest fuckers on the planet. When the NOMAs around the world denounce the evils of the Awakened, it is Abilities like Jackers they are referring to.

There are only two saving graces when dealing with a Jacker. Firstly, lower Grades can only ‘jack’ another person by touch. The higher Grades, Three and above, can do it at a distance.

The second is that a Jacker can only control a limited number of victims at any one time. In theory, a Grade Three can control two people and a Four can run three or four victims simultaneously.

I suppose there is a third save regarding a Jacker. They can only jack you for a short time, generally under a minute. I have no idea how long a Grade Four could control a single person as no government lets a known Jacker get to that Grade before killing them.

Registered Jackers are kept on a tight leash and only work for governments. I wondered who Victor worked for or if he was truly a lone wolf.

Either way, he was a dead man walking.

Trixie uncrossed her legs and came to the end of my bed.

“That puts him on an immediate Arrest and Secure warrant” she declared. “Since he has already used that Ability on an officer of the Police Auxiliary, that upgrades to a Kill on Sight”

Like I said, the authorities don’t mess about when dealing with Jackers.

“I know” I told her. “That’s why I need to get out there and find the son of a bitch!”

“You are in no condition to hunt down anyone” Ghost reminded me. “They shot you full of Fast Heal serum and I don’t know how many anti-Rabies and antibiotics doses. You need to let your body recover!”

I stood on my feet, feeling my balance falter for a moment then I stabilised myself. With a gentle tug I drew the IV line from my arm and unstrapped the medical cuff.

“I’m the only one who knows what he looks like” I told them in no uncertain terms. “You’ll never find him without me”

Trixie gave me a sour look, then nodded her head in agreement.

“Okay, I’ll contact the Police Headquarters. You’ll need a team of Officers and Guards to bring him down” She paused in thought for a moment. “Sentinels too. The Jacker won’t be able to control them”

Ghost circled the bed and planted his solid frame in front of me.

“This is not our mission, Alvarez” he insisted. “We are chasing Jacob Tan, not this Jacker”

I met his determined gaze with my own. He had the height on me but I had all the bad attitude that a life of fighting in the Arenas could give me.

“I owe him a bullet” I told my partner, my voice cold and ruthless.

“What about the girl?” he responded.

I thought of Minke and the knife she had thrust into my flesh. Of her face afterwards and the tears in her eyes. I knew desperation and fear when I saw it. It had been on so many people I had faced in the Arena.

It had been on my face as well, I’ll admit that.

“I owe her too”

=====

“Hey Papa” I said when he answered my call.

“Luisa? Where are you calling from?” he demanded, straight to the point as always.

“I am using a friend’s phone” I replied. It was one of Trixie’s since Ghost refused flat out to let me touch his phone, never mind make a call from it.

“And where are you and this friend?” he continued. “I reported you missing on Sunday morning, when I found your bike still parked outside the gym”

“I’m at the Police Auxiliary Head Quarters” I lied to my Papa. “Minke and I got caught up with some street thugs and it has taken some time to sort it out”

Papa was silent, only his breathing audible over the phone line.

“We’re Okay, Papa” I assured him. “Just a few loose ends to tie up then we’ll come and visit you. We’ll go and see Rosa together”

“You promise me?” he asked.

“I promise”

“Okay. Stay safe, Luisa” Papa responded. “Look after that girl Minke too. She has been through some bad times, I can tell. She needs a decent family to watch over her”

“Sure, Papa” I agreed. “I’ll take care of her”

I hung up the phone and handed it back to Trixie. She pocketed the phone in her uniform without comment and headed for the door.

“Do you need a ride to the HQ?” she asked, standing in the doorway with her two Guards watching us without emotion.

“Yeah, thanks” I replied. “Any chance of a spare uniform too? I seem to have lost all of my clothes”

Trixie gave me a smile.

“I’ll check with the Nurse’s office. Maybe some kids left a set of spare clothes behind”

She waltzed off, taking her Guards with her. I spluttered a little until Ghost laid a massive hand on my shoulder.

“You are short, Alvarez” he said matter of factly in case I was unaware of it.

“I am normal height for a woman of my age” I insisted. Being surrounded by Jacks and Jills all the time, each of them over six foot tall, it was hard not to be sensitive about my stature.

“Anyway, it’s not about the size, it’s all about the quality” I told him smugly.

Some days you have to believe in your lies, even if no-one else will.