Boss King and the Blade

Boss King’s residence, the Hole.

Melody woke up in a room she recognised, seeing the Anime posters on the walls and smelling the not unpleasant musk of Boss King from the bed she lay upon. A woman’s face appeared over her, laying a cool towel on her forehead.

“Nursemother Narelle?” she mumbled through dry lips. “Is that you?”

“It’s Nursemother Samantha” the woman told her softly. “Here, try and drink some water”

A bottle of chilled water was laid against her lips and Melody sipped, feeling her head gently supported as the refreshing liquid filled her mouth.

“Not too much!” Samantha warned her, taking the bottle away and placing it on the bedside chest of drawers. “You will be quite thirsty and hungry for a while after your first Manifestation. After that it will be less draining each time you bring the Shadows forth”

Melody could feel the hunger gnawing at her belly, joining forces with the terrible thirst she was experiencing. She remembered this advice from her own training sessions at the Nest, vainly trying to summon out her gift.

“I am a Shadow Blade at last aren’t I, Nursemother?” she said to Boss King’s mother. Melody met the woman’s eyes and she smiled sadly back at the girl, nodding her head in agreement.

“Yes, Melody, you are indeed a Shadow Blade” she affirmed. “Rebecca told us all about what happened and from what she described, I knew you had Manifested” The look on her face was troubled now and Melody suspected the reason why.

“Will the Hive allow me back into their Nest, now that I am truly Manifested?” she asked, trying to keep her voice level. “Surely they won’t still try and kill me, now that I have shown the gift in my blood?”

Nursemother Samantha shrugged her shoulders, as honest an answer as Melody had expected.

“Perhaps” she replied. “Few of the Blades ever managed to Manifest their gift, so that every Shadow Blade was highly treasured. I doubt that changed in the years since I left the Hive”

“No, they won’t allow me back” Melody answered her own question. “I have learned too much that was forbidden. I have seen too much of this world that conflicts with their doctrine. I won’t follow the orders of the Hive Father any longer!”

“If you want to be truly free of the Hive, we can help you” Samantha told her. “There is a place you can go, where the Hive cannot strike at you. I have some contacts that can get you there, if you wish to leave the Zone”

Melody levered herself onto her elbows, feeling better now that she had rested. She took the towel from her forehead and laid it beside the water bottle. Her gift had shown itself at last, giving her a power she had always dreamed of. Yet it was too late, because she no longer wanted to serve the Hive.

“I want to be free, Samantha” she said clearly. “I would appreciate all of your help”

“That’s great!” the woman said, clapping her hands with delight. “Now how about some supper? You must be starving!”

“Yes please!”

=====

The trip downstairs took longer than usual, with Samantha and Melody having to support each other. Melody could feel the frailty overtaking the older woman, her newly honed senses registering a glimmer of something familiar within her companion.

“Thief Girl lives after all!” declared Mighty Princess with enthusiasm when the pair entered the kitchen. The girl was seated at the kitchen table, an empty bowl and spoon abandoned before her. She was drinking warm tea from a mug, grinning like a loon at Melody. A bandage encompassed her head, covering the wound she had taken from Leon’s sword.

“Glad to see you made it too!” Melody replied and she assisted Samantha to a chair, taking the one beside her. “Where’s Boss King?” she added, realising he was nowhere to be seen.

“He had some business at the Night Markets” Princess responded. “But he left a big pot of soup ready for you. Do you want some?”

“Sure” Melody answered. She went to get up, yet Princess pushed her back into the seat and did the serving for her. A big bowl of vegetable and noodle soup was placed in front of her, with a glass of chilled water.

“Thanks, Mighty Princess” she told the younger girl, who blushed visibly despite her darker skin tone.

“Yeah, well I do owe you big time for saving me today” Princess countered. “In fact, I have a favour to ask you”

Melody had started spooning soup hungrily into her mouth, pausing barely long enough to reply.

“Hmm?” she mumbled around a mouthful of quite tasty soup. “Whassat?”

“When we are in private, like now, could you call me Rebecca?”

Melody swallowed quickly, seeing the earnest expression on the girl’s face.

“Sure, Rebecca, I would be honoured” she finally managed to say.

“Thanks, Thief Girl, that means a lot to me!”

Melody snorted with laughter, almost shooting some hot soup out of her nose before she was able to control herself. She subsided in time, choking down the warm noodles and checking nothing was sticking out of her nostrils.

“How about you call me Melody then?” she asked at last. She sensed Samantha smiling warmly at her side, pleased with the friendship that had formed.

“Nah, I don’t think so” Rebecca declared. “I don’t owe you that much!”

Samantha laughed and Melody joined in too, their happy faces eliciting a smile in the end from Rebecca.

=====

Night Markets, top floor of the Central Markets in the Hole

Boss King

It had already been a long eventful day and it was well into the night now. In normal circumstances he would be at home with his mother, either asleep or playing some games. Instead he was heading into the Central Markets, his machete bouncing at his hip, going to see someone he already owed some big favours too.

The Night Market was an event he avoided as much as he could, having only attended it a handful of times in the past. Every shady buyer and dealer in Spitfield turned up to the midnight gatherings, looking to sell their illegal wares or hire somebody for a dirty task. It was definitely not a place for a young boy, even someone as well known as Boss King.

But he had no choice. The gang of Freelancers that were sent after Melody had fled, yet there was every chance they would strike again. Boss King couldn’t rely on another timely intervention from Zeke’s drones or Jay’s mobile workshop. He needed to speak to the Freelancers Guild directly and work out some kind of deal, otherwise he knew Melody would never be safe.

He swapped greetings with the stall holders who worked the night shift, most of them relatives and friends of the ones who ran the places during the day. Selling food and drinks to the night crowd could be risky in some areas of the Hole, but here at the Markets they maintained extra security for just that reason.

“Hey, Boss King” Dami Kane greeted him as he walked in from the main entrance. “Bit late for you to be here, isn’t it?” She was wearing her armour vest tonight, a Stun Baton sheathed at her left hip and a heavy pistol on her right. Her red eye gleamed as she ran her gaze over him, pausing briefly on his machete.

“I need to speak to Zeke” he replied easily. “He’s helped me out a couple of times and I want to see how much I owe him”

“Is that so?” Dami answered carefully, keeping her voice low and neutral. “Not anything to do with those Havenite punks earlier tonight?”

“Nah” he laughed, waving them aside as if they were inconsequential. “Mighty Princess sorted them out. They won’t ever come back here, I promise you”

“I’ll hold you to that, Boss King” she said. “I don’t need trouble like that around the Markets, and you seem to have been at the centre of all the recent incidents”

“Yeah, things have been crazy for the past few days” he admitted. “That’s why I need to see Zeke, to get things squared away” He moved past her, the big woman standing aside to let him go. He was nearly at the stairs when she called out to him, her deep voice arresting him for a moment.

“If you or that girl need help, you can ask me” Dami’s voice reached him clearly over the din of the stalls. “I owe you favours of my own”

“Sure, Dami” he grinned over his shoulder. “I’ll keep that in mind!”

“And don’t call me Dami here at work!” she added grumpily.

=====

When he climbed the last steps to the third floor, he could sense the different vibe in the air. During the regular market hours, this floor was for all the expensive weapons, electronics and armour sellers. Those still opened for the Night Market too, displaying a lot more exotic items than was for sale in daylight, yet there were other stalls that only opened from midnight to early dawn.

There were special booths for illegal implants and upgrades, the sour stink of antiseptic foam and healing gel mingling with the odours of burnt plastic and hot metal. Others were selling codeware for datapads and internal processors, programs that allowed their users to hack security systems and seize control of other people’s drones and mechanicals.

Boss King shouldered his way past a gang of inexperienced Freelancers, their youngest member a girl proudly showing off her new metal arm. Chem heads wandered past, dazed and happy on their illicit purchases from the Pharmers Guild, laughing and chatting with phantoms only they could see.

A heavy-set man in a powered Frame stalked past, nodding briefly at Boss King. The guy weighed as much as a small car and had less personality, but he was part of Dami’s night crew and they gave each other due respect. He felt better knowing the Security Chief kept a close eye on the customers here, ready to intervene if anything got out of hand.

Boss King stepped past a crowd of sight-seers from Spitfield, college students from the looks of them, all wide-eyed at the wonders for sale in the legendary Night Markets. He wondered how many of them would wake up tomorrow with all their wallets and phones intact, or maybe an implant they never remembered paying for.

He shrugged to himself and kept walking. They were technically adults and should know better than to come to a place like this without a guide. There were a handful of such people who actively advertised to take interested groups on a tour of the regular and night time markets. A few even offered their services at the entrances, charging a reasonable fee for the safety they provided in Boss King’s opinion.

If people were too dumb to look out for themselves, they had better be prepared to pay for the consequences.

With a final grimace aimed at the foolish students, he stepped into Rackman and Tao, purveyors of the finest stolen tech in the Zone. There were a couple of customers there ahead of him, chatting in low whispers with Zeke at the counter. The pair were obviously Freelancers, their holstered guns and armour vests a dead give-away. Boss King let them finish and wandered around the store, admiring the equipment and upgrades for sale.

The shelves were full of gear, most of it either Enhancements that could be implanted into your flesh, or external items like military grade datapads, drones and communications equipment. There were some weapons too for sale, some that were intended for mounting into metal arms and legs but others that were cutting edge technology. Boss King was certain that nearly all of their stock was not legally acquired and the prices attested to that.

By the time he had completed a full circuit of the shop, the Freelancers had completed whatever nefarious deal they needed to make and exited with a faintly guilty air. He nodded to them affably as they left then stepped up to the counter.

“Hi Zeke, how’s business?” he asked with a cheerful smile. Zeke regarded him flatly and laid his delicate hands on the counter top, leaning forward to examine the boy closely. He was a man of middling height, with soft Asiatic features, dark brown eyes and hair dyed and shaped this week into rainbow spikes sticking out from his narrow skull.

“It’s about time you showed up here” Zeke said with a hint of anger. “What the hell have you gotten involved in this week?”

“Actually, I was hoping you could tell me” he replied, hoping that Zeke would at least smile back. He did not want to deal with an angry Ezekiel Tao at the best of times, certainly not when he owed him for two drone interventions. “I think a friend of mine has been targeted by a Freelancer team based in the Hole. Do you know anything about it?”

Zeke leaned back and sat heavily on the stool behind him. He sighed theatrically and gave the boy a ghost of a smile. Everything with Zeke tended to be dramatic, which often made Boss King wonder how his partner, J-san, put up with his younger lover.

“You know I can’t reveal details of Guild approved missions” Zeke reminded him. “However, in this case it appears one of our Freelancer teams accepted an unauthorised contract. More correctly, two teams accepted related contracts here in the Hole”

“So you can give me details of those contracts?” Boss King asked eagerly. “I think one of the teams involved is the Violent Surrender gang. Who is the other team and what were their contracts for?”

“Well, the first contract was undertaken by Chalky Hammer and his crew. Those are the ones you encountered in the People’s Park, right?” Zeke replied. “It could have gone very badly for you and the girl if my drones hadn’t arrived in time”

“Yeah, I know” Boss King admitted. “Thanks for that. I suppose the first contract was to kill or capture Melody, wasn’t it?”

“Correct” Zeke affirmed. “There will be some serious repercussions on Hammer’s team once this mess is sorted out. However I believe the Violent Surrender gang have decided to forfeit their contract and are attempting to make amends”

“Make amends? How?”

“The second team were contracted to eliminate the first team once the mission was completed. That job was taken by the Left 4 Dead crew under Savage Adam. I have recent intelligence that tells me Hammer has captured Adam’s crew alive and interrogated them”

“To find out who their employer was, right?” Boss King surmised. “Most of the time they don’t even know who is hiring them, so how can Hammer get leads from Adam’s crew?”

“Freelancers aren’t stupid, Boss King” Zeke chided him. “Even lumps of muscle like Savage Adam can obtain a lot of clues about who their mysterious Mister is. Hammer will get what knowledge he can from Adam and work out where the Mister is hiding”

“What does that mean for us?” he wondered aloud.

“It means that Violent Surrender won’t be going after the girl. She’s safe from them now. Their target will be the Mister and his people who hired Savage Adam”

“But why?” Boss King said. “There is no money to made from going after their employer”

Zeke gave a short laugh, his eyes twinkling as he regarded the young boy.

“A Freelancer hates one thing more than anything, Boss King. They hate being betrayed on a mission. It’s the biggest no-no you can commit in their eyes. So this Mister now has the Violent Surrender gang hunting him down, with the full support of the Freelancer Guild I might add”

Boss King nodded silently, contemplating what Zeke had told him. It sounded too good to be true, to have Melody safe from the Freelancers and their enemy being pursued instead.

“It’s too good to be true” he voiced aloud, his own shrewd gaze locking with Zeke’s. “Nobody in the Hole would take all these risks for no reward. What’s the catch?”

“Ah, you caught me out” Zeke confessed. “There is one little favour I need you to do for me”

“Which is what?” he demanded suspiciously.

“I have a very important contact in Spitfield who needs you to help them” Zeke said. “They have been working on a case for a couple of years and you are in a position to help them out. She needs to meet with your new friend, that girl you called Melody”

“You have someone who wants to meet Melody?” Boss King answered in confusion. “How does anyone in Spitfield even know she exists?” His eyes narrowed and he stepped up to the counter, his hand falling unconsciously to the hilt of his machete. “You told them!”

Around the store, targeting beams flared into life, all locked onto Boss King’s angry form.

“Stay calm, Taiga!” Zeke snapped. “You owe me and I owe someone else. This way we both clear our debts and no-one gets hurt”

“What about Melody?” he rasped. “Everyone wants to hurt her! I won’t allow that”

“You’ve got it wrong, I promise you. This person wants to help her”

Zeke was so earnest it soothed the anger that had flared in him. He moved back, taking his hand away from his blade. The red beams winked out, reminding him that attacking someone like Zeke on his home turf was never a good idea.

“Okay, I’m sorry I doubted you” he apologised. “Who is this person who wants to meet Melody”

“I think you’ve met her before” Zeke answered in a neutral tone. “Her name is Trixie, Trixie Smith”