Millie the Gunsinger

Day Two – Afternoon

It was well past the time I needed to get chasing down Hector Otaki. But I knew I could not drag an obvious Guard member along with me. Someone like Twenty drew looks because of her uniform and size.

I could not disguise her well formed but seriously Amazonian physique. So it was time to camouflage her uniform.

We took a run back up to the first level with the clothing stalls. I got Twenty that super stylish black rain poncho with the skulls and an equally trendy black cap blazoned with the logo of the Pan City Demons. That was a baseball team I followed as a kid in the orphanage. Not so keen on the baseball but it was a good excuse to wear stuff with the word Demons on it. The Sisters loved it.

Actually, that was an obvious lie. Sister Venerae found it really funny and that was all that mattered to me.

So Twenty now had her armour and a lot of her uniform covered by the poncho. Her short black hair was concealed under the cap. You are probably wondering why I didn’t make her ditch the uniform? Because it was super durable, her size and it was already on her. Plus her belt pouches contained all sorts of useful goodies.

Twenty paid the princely sum of eight Pandas for her new ensemble out of her purse. She was very careful to fold the notes and coins back into the purse under my watchful eyes.

We left the market and headed down one of the connecting roads to the west end of the Hole. This was a major road here – it had asphalt paving and pedestrian walkways at the side. I even pointed out a solitary streetlamp that had an unbroken globe. Twenty duly looked at the streetlamp as instructed. I had to grab her arm and pull her along the road as she stopped dead in her tracks to observe it. It really wasn’t that remarkable after all I had to explain to her.

My contact was Shifty Sal, short for Salamander he always claimed. I don’t know why he didn’t just call himself Salamander. A moniker like Shifty Sal could not have been good for business as a professional snitch. Each to their own I guess. Probably less pretentious than calling myself a Gunsinger so I am not one to cast stones about names.

He was usually to be found in a ramshackle construction of old corrugated iron, plastic sheets and construction grade Duct tape called the Last Hope. It was a real dingy little bar out on the west end of the Hole. We got there about 1pm standard Pan City time. Just around liquid lunch time for the locals.

“Stay outside and keep watch” I instructed Twenty. Even with her excellent disguise, I knew it would be bad idea to bring her into a meeting with Sal.

“What should I watch out for?” she asked me earnestly. Now that she had decided to follow the path I had laid before her, she was starting to use her Guard training once more.

Her eyes roamed around, observing everything. Her pistol holster was unclipped, ready for a quick draw if needed. She looked like the confident Guard officer I first met. The only difference was that her face seemed more alive. It warmed the little cockles of my heart. Whatever the cockles actually were. The Sisters never covered that kind of thing at the orphanage.

“I suppose mostly keep an eye out for Otaki” I replied. I had shown Twenty the data files I had on my phone as we walked here. She had tried to accept a download to her internal processor but with the quantum network disabled she could not sync with the phone.

“Copy that” Twenty said and took up a position across the street where she could observe the street and the bar entrance. I was beginning to like the idea of a tough Amazon sidekick.

So into the bar I went. Unlike a Western movie, nobody paid any attention as I came in from the outside. Sometimes being small and non-threatening in appearance can work in your favour.

The place was about ten meters long and five wide, with a rusty metal bar on oil drums in front of the back wall. Mismatched tables and chairs were scattered randomly around, with suitably mismatched locals sitting at them. There was one door that I knew lead to the small storeroom behind the bar, and another in the left hand wall that lead to a truly dire unisex bathroom. A battered old pod played thrash metal music from Germany over some tinny speakers.

I nodded to the bar manager and only employee, Harry something or other. He nodded uncommittedly back and continued poking at the data pad on the bar in front of him. My eyes alighted on Shifty Sal sitting in his usual spot against the right hand wall. Bingo. My snitch was in.

Sal spotted me as I stomped my boots across to his table. He was all alone but there was a spare seat in front of him so I flopped down into it. It tilted alarmingly to one side so I shot a leg out to brace myself. Sal just snorted and took a swig from the tumbler in front of him.

“Hey Millie” he drawled, “What brings you to this fine establishment”. He was dressed in his usual array of jeans, plaid shirt, cowboy boots and an old stockman’s Akubra hat. I think he fancied himself as one of those old time Australian cattle men from before the V-Bomb. They still had cattle men working in the outback but they were dressed a lot differently now. I doubted Sal had ever seen a live cow, let alone tried to muster one.

“Afternoon Shifty” I drawled back. “I got someone I am trying to find and I heard he might been down in these parts”. I hoped Sal appreciated my attempt to speak in his lingo. Di always said my accents were laughable but I did not agree. Sal was obviously siding with my friend as he laughed out loud at me.

“Ah kid, you always are good for a laugh” he snickered to himself. I don’t like being laughed at. Or hugged by strangers. Or tickled by anyone. Little monster knocked on the dungeon door to let me know it was available to kick his butt if I wanted it. I swallowed it all down and played nice.

Without trying to give too much away I asked Sal about any new faces he might have seen. Particularly anyone looking for someplace with a reliable power supply. He was the kind of guy who was quite happy to sell the same data to anyone who fronted the Pandas, so I had to be careful. I could not afford to have some other Hunter try and steal my bounty away.

We spoke a bit, traded some snippets of information that we each thought might be valuable, and I gave him fifty whole Pandas for his time. This was exactly half of my emergency cash reserve that I carried around. At least I had a solid lead on where to look now. Which would have been great if I had known beforehand that the little shit was setting me up.

=====

Twenty and I spent about two solid hours skulking about the alleys and lanes of the Hole, checking out the possible locations that Hector Otaki may be hiding. The most likely spot, an abandoned warehouse that had an old solar array on the roof, was a dud.

We scouted it, noted a few locals were living there, and observed them for about an hour. Nobody matched Hector’s description so I went in and chatted to some of the residents. A bit of my sparkling conversation and ten Pandas later I was pretty sure he was not there and never had been.

It would have been great to get a positive lead on our bounty but no such luck. Back to the grind. We trudged through the intermittent rain and subsequent muddy paths to our next location. Have I mentioned before how much I hate the rain? At least I was wearing my plastic poncho now so my upper half kept a bit drier. My boots were just a mess though. Gonna need a good scrubbing and polish once I got home.

I looked back at Twenty. She was moving along with remarkable grace, missing all the muddy puddles that I seemed to find every time. Her eyes roamed from side to side, constantly observing. Her arms hung naturally at her sides as she walked, but I noticed that her right hand was never too far from the holstered pistol at her hip. My arms just kind of waved about as I stomped along. She caught me looking back and gave me a little smile. I had to smile back. This might work out I reckon.

There was a junction of streets ahead where some stalls and an actual concrete walled store was established. One working streetlamp too. Twenty duly pointed it out to me. It did mean there was a power line that worked in the vicinity so it was a relevant observation. Unless she just liked streetlamps.

We had been on the move for some hours now so we stopped under the awning of a coffee stand. I got a latte but Twenty decided she wanted to try a cappuccino. She was entranced by the idea of having chocolate sprinkles on her coffee. Despite my protestation she paid for both drinks and some kind of flaky pastry we shared. I appreciated the gesture but that little purse of Pandas was her stake in a new life. I didn’t want her squandering it on me.

As we stood there in companionable silence, warming our hands and bellies with the coffee, we both jerked into alertness at the same moment.

“Twenty” I murmured to her, “Do you see that guy on the other side of the street?”. I nodded my head towards a figure moving towards us. His head was bowed under his long rain poncho, carrying a plastic bag of food it seemed.

“Copy that” she responded. “It appears to be a male of the right height and build. He is wearing some form of facial recognition obscuration. Makeup or just dirt maybe”

She could see that from here? I had spotted something only a resident of the Spit would notice. He was wearing muddy but patently very high quality office shoes. Everyone else around here wore cheap runners or open toed sandals. Many went barefoot. Only a desk jockey from Pan City would be wearing shoes like his.

We watched him walk past us. He did not look up at anyone as he passed, stepping aside without comment as another local pushed past. Most people in the Hole don’t have good manners unless you look tougher than them. This guy was giving off a serious “please don’t look at me” vibe.

Twenty and I dumped our cups in the recycling bin and set off after him, keeping him just in sight. I was surprised this guy had not been rolled by a local already. With his fancy shoes and unthreatening look he was just begging to have someone mug him. The Hole is where muggers learn their craft.

One day I will learn to watch what I think. The universe seems to hear me and throw spanners into my plans at every opportunity.

Some bozo stepped out into the street in front of my target, holding a knife and his face covered by a bandana. The mugger obviously couldn’t see Twenty and I lurking back about fifty meters. This was a problem. We needed Otaki to get back to his hidden lair. I was certain I needed him and his stolen tech to claim the bounty.

I glanced at Twenty, who was following from the other side of the street. “What should we do?” I mouthed to her. I guess she understood me because she made a shooting gesture with her right hand. That seemed kind of extreme to me, and I was worried that at this range neither one of us could guarantee we didn’t hit Otaki.

I let my Aeromancy rise up a little and reached out to the air near the two men. It was a long way for me to project a sonic attack but I could listen to what they were saying.

The mugger was asking what all of his breed demanded. Give me everything you have and I let you live. Otaki just told him to stand aside, he did not want any trouble. And then the phrase that really got me wondering: “I don’t want to hurt you. Please just go away”.

I was still dithering in my head when the mugger went in for the target. Otaki dodged the lunging thrust easily but the blade tore open the plastic bag. Cans and a long metal canister clattered to the ground.

He spun in place and delivered a pretty decent roundhouse kick to the side of the mugger’s head. I could hear the crunch from here and winced in sympathy as the attacker went down hard. Otaki regained his balance with practised ease and reached down to the scattered contents of his bag. Just picking up the metal cannister he left the mugger behind and rushed off.

Twenty moved off after him, trying to keep out of sight as much as she could. Otaki did not seem to be paying much attention anyway – he was just getting out of there as quick as possible.

I followed, pausing beside the mugger. Close up he looked young with dirty clothes and a malnourished body. At least he was alive. The cans that Otaki left behind were all simple foodstuffs and some drinks. I wondered what had been so special about the cannister? I left the young guy there to nurse his wounds and maybe contemplate a career change. He could have something to eat when he woke up so it probably counted as a win for the day.

I caught up with Twenty about a hundred meters further along the street. It was lined with the usual cheap and rough dwellings that was all most people here could afford. Down the side alley that Twenty was crouched next to was a more substantial structure. It was probably once a factory of some sort, knocking out cheap goods using local labour. Now it was a burnt out derelict but some of the roof still seemed to remain intact. The houses had sprung up around it like weeds, masking it from the main street. A lot of them had parts of the old factory used in their own building. We really do recycle everything here in the Spit.

We moved carefully down the narrow alley until we were against the edge of the old factory. I put my eye up to a gap in the closest wall and peered in. Light from the missing roof panels showed an empty interior. There was scattered piles of rubbish, some fallen roof supports, but nowhere I could see to hide. A couple of doorways were on either side of the building that I could see, so he had plenty of choices for exits.

Twenty was about five meters away from me and looking in through a different gap. She stiffened and looked in my direction. It seemed for a moment she was trying to send me a telepathic message I swear! Then she quietly scuttled over to me and squatted down. For a tall woman she made it look easy.

“I forgot I can’t message you directly by the quantum network” she whispered. “I thought that was broken?” I said back. “It is” she answered and just squatted there on the balls of her feet. I gave her my best “what the hell?” look directly into her eyes.

“Oh, yes, sorry” she began, “I saw Otaki over in the far north corner. He came up out of the floor and dumped a bucket of liquid to one side. Then he dropped down again”. That was out of my sight line.

I signalled her to back up and we went a few houses down. Lucky for us this was a quiet side alley or our running backwards and forwards would have drawn some notice.

“He must be down in one of the old utility tunnels” I explained to Twenty. When they built the Spit (including what became the Hole) most of the support infrastructure was laid in the ground. Kilometers of tunnels criss crossing the whole city, feeding water and power to the various buildings. Most were too small for people to move around in, but there were access pits all over that repairmen could get into. That must be where he was getting access to power, hooking into the underground power grid.

It made me wonder though. I knew the tunnels and pits were down below, but I had no idea where they were specifically. Or which ones still had access to working power. Could Otaki have known about this place before he fled here? If any locals had known, they would have already been stealing the power. There was no sign of power feeds to any of the nearby dwellings.

“We need to find a place close by we can observe for a while” I said quietly to Twenty. She nodded agreement and pointed to one of the closest shacks. A thin stream of smoke was rising up from a chimney so it was occupied. She pulled out her purse and drew two ten Panda notes out. I would have offered my own but my cash supply was getting way too low.

I knocked on the door facing the street. A window to the side had the curtain pulled back and a young boy’s face regarded me solemnly. I held up the Pandas, a universal symbol of peace and goodwill to all. The door was promptly opened and we were inside.

One thing you can guarantee in the Spit is that money always talks. The boy introduced us to his family – momma, sister and baby. Papa was out working on some unspecified job. For twenty Pandas they were happy to let us sit inside and look out through their windows. The fact that we were armoured and armed (In Twenty’s case anyway) did not seem to be all that big a concern to them. To be fair, I spent most of my days wandering the Spit in an Armour vest and no-one batted an eyelid. Just a normal outfit in this big ole city.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and into the evening taking turns looking at the street. People came and went, especially around sun-down. They all seemed to be locals. Papa returned to his happy home sometime around 8 o’clock. He was a little more concerned about us being there, but another ten Pandas smoothed over the troubled waters.

Mama invited us to share their dinner. It was a spicy soup of some kind with lentils and vegetables. Boiled eggs were added and she served us a good sized bowl each. I wanted to refuse because I knew how hard it was to feed yourself in the Spit. Most of us spent our time hungry. But she insisted and then Papa formally asked us to share their table. With the kids all looking doe-eyed at us it seemed bad manners to decline.

So we ate dinner. Twenty delighted in the spices – I don’t think she had ever eaten anything with sugar or spice in it before today. The kids got a big laugh at her enthusiasm for their food and the expressions she was making. I had to laugh along. And then Twenty laughed too. My heart skipped a beat as I watched her lapse into giggles with the kids.

Papa caught my eye. He knew full well what Twenty was. He did not make a fuss about it, but I knew that as soon as dinner was over we needed to leave.

=====

After saying our goodbyes we stepped back out into the narrow street. It was a fairly clear sky now, with the quarter moon able to shine down on us and give the street a pale glow. Water reflections were everywhere but they helped me avoid the bigger puddles.

I beckoned Twenty over to a solid wall and we crouched there with our backs to it, scanning up and down the length of the alley. I have decent night vision but I can use my Aeromancy to pick up air movements. Not as good as sonar and it only works when the air is otherwise still.

Leaning over to her ear I whispered to Twenty, “How good is your night vision? Does your cyber eye let you see in low light?”

She looked back at me from her greater height and blinked her eyes at me. I was such a dummy. I had looked into those eyes so many times today and it only registered now – they were both natural. For whatever reason she did not have the same implants the street Jacks were given.

“I am sorry Millie. For these kinds of missions I would be equipped with either goggles or a combat helmet. My role was not intended to be in combat but I can utilise such equipment if we obtain some”. Twenty seemed embarrassed at her lack of cyberware.

“How does your pistol operate then?” I asked her.”Aren’t all Guard weapons meant to be locked to authorised users only and smart-linked?” I was beginning to realise I might have overestimated how much combat ability she had. I did not want her to risk her life in something she was not prepared for.

“My left and right hands have integral sensors implanted that connect to my central processor” Twenty said in reply. “They still operate without the quantum network. Any Guard weaponry and equipment will respond to me”.

“Do you want to do this with me Twenty?” I asked. “This is looking like a bigger kind of deal than I was expecting. We can just leave and go home”. I paused for a moment. “I don’t want you to get hurt on your first day as a human”.

“I have had the best day of my life Millie. I won’t leave you” she answered. Twenty drew her pistol, checked the magazine, and gave me a thumbs up. It really is funny the kinds of changes one day in your life can make.

Together we moved closer to one of the doorways that lead inside. During the whole afternoon we had not seen anybody come or go into the building. Looking in, the interior was lit in patches by the moonlight.

I let the Aeromancy out of its’ dungeon and felt the air. There were only the gentle breezes of the night air. Nothing hard and fast like a living body would make. No sounds inside other than the creaking of the building. I let it roam out ahead of me, testing the air. The bulk of the monster I kept shuttered. It might be needed in a hurry so I had to let it breathe a little.

My Gunsinger was deadly. I was very well aware of that. It had saved my life in the past but I did not trust it one little bit. A psychologist would probably tell me it represented all my deep anger at losing my family. About losing Sister Venerae. About having such a poor desperate life here in the Spit. All true I am sure. But I was tired of losing things. I wanted to win something for once. The bounty on this Otaki guy was the first step in my life as a winner.

The air currents told me that Twenty was behind me, but I did not hear a sound out of her moving. She was certainly stealthy, more than me in my boots on the concrete floor. I used a little of my power to dull the noise of my footsteps as I crept closer to the position that Otaki had come out of the ground.

At last I caught a glimpse of light sneaking out past the edge of some metal plate on the ground. I amped up my hearing and focussed on the plate. He was talking to someone! The sound was distorted but it definitely sounded like a conversation. But there was only his voice, no one else. Not even a reply over a phone or radio. Who was down there with him but not responding?

I signalled back to Twenty that he was down there and there were two people. At least I hoped that was what I signalled. I was just copying some stuff I saw in a war movie. She nodded anyway and moved to one side to give me covering fire if needed.

Now I should point out that I had no intention of hurting this Otaki guy. I needed him alive after all. I had checked before with Twenty and her pistol was currently loaded with bullets that the Guard optimistically called Civilian Suppression Rounds. In theory they were low velocity broad headed balls of rubber intended to knock a target down but not penetrate the body. Great for work in places you did not want to send bullets zipping through thin shanty walls and killing innocent people. She had three spare magazines of those and one of standard armour piercing. As I said before she had a lot of cool stuff on her utility belt.

I was at the edge of the metal cover. A recessed handle was visible in the patchy moonlight. My hearing caught him say a name quite clearly: Emily. Then I pulled the cover aside and saw him in the light below.

He reacted fast. Even as he looked up and saw me he threw himself over a metal case next to him. I shouted a high pitched roar and let my monster fly. The sound waves were solidified and pushed down like a hammer into the inspection pit he was living in. The compression wave flattened him over the case. Empty cans and wrappers twisted and flew about as the air filled the space and came blasting back up into the open.

Daniel-san reckons this attack from me was like a stun grenade. And in an enclosed space it was very effective. Only the fact the cover had been thrown aside by me already saved Otaki’s eardrums.

As he lay stunned I dropped into the pit next to him. It was about two meters deep and a good four meters long. The light he had been using was broken now but I could see him well enough. I grabbed my cuffs and reached for him.

He recovered much quicker than I had expected. One second he was face down, the next he flipped around to face me. I swear his right arm seemed to glow cherry red and then a blast of heat and fire propelled me back out of the pit and onto the floor. My Armour Vest took the brunt of it but I was winded and scorched. Bloody hell, he was a Pyro!

I could see another flash of red light and then he was leaping up out of the pit like some ninja dude. He barely cleared the opening before I heard three sharp whip cracks and he spun in the air and sprawled to the ground near me. Twenty had nailed him with her Suppression rounds.

Otaki and I were gasping on the ground as I heard Twenty move closer.

“Careful, he is some kind of Pyromancer” I warned Twenty. I could see her pistol was steadily covering her target, but her eyes kept flicking worriedly down at me. I was trying to keep my Gunsinger in check – damned monster wanted to cut loose on everyone. I pulled it back.

“It’s OK, Twenty” I reassured her and sat up. My vest was still smoking but it had not been penetrated. I looked over at Otaki. He was struggling to stand up, and his left arm was cradling his chest. Twenty must have hit his torso and without a vest he might have busted ribs. If she got all three rounds into his centre of mass she was a damned good shot, even without a smart-link.

“Please, you need to let me go” said Otaki in a pained voice. He got into a seated position and looked at both of us. He kept his right hand on the ground and the left remained around his ribs. Twenty had adopted a firing stance about five meters to my left and I could see her weapon was now aimed at his head.

At this range, even a Suppression round to the head would cause serious damage. It could even kill. Twenty was not taking any chances with him.

“Just play nice and we can sort something out” I said and faced Otaki directly. “Let’s start with the simple stuff. You are Hector Otaki, aren’t you?”. It was more of a statement than a question but I needed confirmation. He nodded in response, watchful of us both.

“And who is Emily?” I added. “Is that her down in the case?” I pointed over to the pit. His face registered total shock and he almost stood up, but a shift in Twenty’s stance stopped him.

“Look, we know that is some kind of cryogenic storage module” I explained to him. “You needed power to keep it charged, which is why you are here. That cannister you grabbed when the mugger went for you was probably a nutrient supply of some sort. My guess is you have some woman’s head in a jar down there, am I right?”. Millie Holmes, ace detective, ended her revelation to the audience and awaited the applause.

Otaki just slumped back on his ass. “It’s not her head” he replied. “It’s a living brain. She is my sister Emily and I need to get her out of the Zone”. Well I was close I thought.

“So why are you being chased for some bogus bounty?” I wondered. “You are obviously not a low-level accountant who embezzled some Pandas from his boss. If you are being hunted why bring some cheap ass Bounty Hunters like me into the game?” I was not being deluded here – I knew I had skills but I was still a young hunter. This was sounding way out of my league. Just like J-san had been trying to tell me I realised.

“Maybe they wanted a local to flush me out. If you brought me in they could easily extract me afterwards” he responded. “But it is not me they want, it’s Emily. She is unique”. He looked over to the pit. “Can I please bring her up here? I don’t like to leave her alone in the dark”.

What can I say. With no family of my own, seeing someone care for their sister was sweet. Even if she was just a brain in a jar. That was creepy but he seemed really genuine. As far as collecting a bounty on him, that was a total bust now.

“Sure, go get her” I said. I motioned to Twenty to lower her pistol. She did it reluctantly and watched Otaki intently as he groaned to his feet and climbed down in the pit. He was in there for a few minutes and clambered out. The case was now attached to a carrying sling to leave both his arms free.

He came and squatted down in front of me. “I have an offer for you and your Guard friend” he began. “I know a little about you. You are Millicent Hargreaves, an Aeromancer from Pan City. I remember you from a file I reviewed some time ago at the lab”

“Huh?” I stammered. “What bloody lab has a file on me?”. That was not a direction I thought this was going to take. I did not want to end up in jar someplace.

“Look, I don’t have time for that right now. We need to get out of here. My contact is not going to come now” he interrupted. “Can I hire you to get me safely out of the Zone?. I have some funds I can access”.

“How many Pandas are we talking about Otaki? Twenty and I were planning on scoring five thousand for you”. I sat back and gave him a chance to consider.

“Is her name Twenty?” said a dumbfounded Otaki, looking at the afore mentioned woman. “She’s a Guard clone isn’t she? Why has she got a name and what is she doing here with you”.

“No time for that either” I countered. “She is a former Guard member and now my partner. We are a team and if you want my help you hire us both”. I crossed my arms in a determined manner to show him I was serious. I might have pouted too but that was just accidental.

“How about ten thousand to get me out, with Emily” he offered. Squee! That was more Pandas than I had ever had in my life!

“Deal!” I replied. I looked over at Twenty and gave her a big grin. “We are going to be living the high life once we pull this off” I told her happily.

“Can we buy more donuts?” she asked. I nodded agreement. “Then I accept his offer”.

=====

Otaki and I discussed our options while Twenty stood sentry near one of the exits. He basically needed to link up with a contact on the coast. He was going to board a fishing boat that would take him north to New Guinea and from there to parts unspecified. Getting clear of the Zone and the Pan Oceanic Defence Forces was his principal objective.

I had not spent much time outside of Pan City or the Spit. One time the Sisters had taken all us orphans to a holiday camp near the ocean. I remember mostly hot days getting dumped in the surf and running about on the sand. First time I ever had an icecream that was not just plain vanilla in a bowl. Good times because Sister Venerae was still there.

I pulled myself back out of my reverie and watched Otaki get his meagre gear ready. The case was on his back and he had a satchel of some food and a phone hanging at his side. I was beginning to think this could work out OK after all. Then Twenty turned towards us and started firing.

My Gunsinger surged up wildly to protect me but there was not enough sound for a decent shield. I could see Otaki turning away from me and looking back behind us.

That is when I realised Twenty was firing past us at something coming in the other side. Figures in dark clothing, four of them, streamed in the door. The first and second had already been dropped by Twenty’s accurate fire. The following pair had machine pistols and were about to fire.

I screamed a roaring challenge, my voice rising rapidly in volume and key. The Gunsinger leapt out along the path of my voice and solidified the air between us and the gunmen. Their weapons opened up with booming noise and flashing fire and I felt the multiple impacts on my barrier.

The bullets were being caught in the dense air, slowed and stopping until they were scant meters away. I was covering as broad a space in front as I dared and had to hold on. My monster was roaring its defiance back at the attackers. It wanted to hurt them so badly I could feel my shield starting to slip.

In a moment the gunfire ceased. The men seemed perplexed how we were still standing.

“My turn” I growled and let the Gunsinger go. A harsh scream, no finesse at all, and the wall of air suddenly blasted back at the men, taking the bullets along for the ride. It slammed them both hard, one against the wall and the other back out of the doorway.

“Millie!” came a pained cry from Twenty. I turned to see her struggling with another two men who had come in behind us. Her pistol was knocked aside and one of the pair crash tackled her to the floor. She went down with a heavy thud. I hoped her vest cushioned some of the impact. The other loomed up over her, ready to fire his machine pistol into her face.

A blast of flame shot across the open space, illuminating us all in a red glow. The intruder staggered back as the fire splashed over his body, igniting clothing and hair. He screamed and fell to the side, thrashing in agony. I saw Otaki, arm still outstretched towards his victim, with a look of fear on his face. Maybe his own power frightened him too sometimes.

Twenty had managed to throw her attacker off and rolled back to her feet. With a deft flick she extended a metal baton she had taken from her pouch. It locked into place with a satisfying click but it gave her opponent time to scramble clear.

For a moment we had time to look around us. We had faced six men, all dressed in an assortment of dark clothes and lightweight armour. A couple had vision googles and all wearing masks. They were too well equipped for just locals, except for the top end of the Spit. This was a professional crew and we were in deep doo-doo here.

“Let’s all take things calmly” called a voice from outside. “I am coming in so please refrain from blasting me”. I looked at Otaki and Twenty. My girl was facing off against her last opponent, who had managed to draw a fighting knife from his own belt. Stalemate there for the moment.

Otaki was standing now with Emily’s case shielded behind him. Both hands were spread forwards and I could actually see little flames dancing around his fingertips. There was a murderous look in his eyes.

Into the building near Twenty stepped a guy wearing an actual freaking business suit. He was tall and lean, and with his short slicked black hair and pale skin he looked like a vampire accountant. Behind him came two more men, muscled and armoured like Jacks in the Guard. This was the guy in charge I cunningly guessed.

“Who the hell are you?” I snarled. My little monster inside was churning now, aching to rip his smug looking face off with claws of air.

“His name is Carter. He works for Yamaguchi Labs” said Otaki. The fire in his fingertips was getting brighter, giving a red wash over all of us. It looked like we were covered in blood and I hoped that was not an omen.

The man called Carter gave a short bow to us all. When he straightened there was a coldness in him that I could feel. He was a killer, no doubt about it.

“Hector, so good to catch up with you at last” said Carter smoothly. His voice had none of the weird mix of accents we had in the Spit. He was pure American. Maybe Canadian. I was a bit fuzzy on how they differed. “You can end all this madness right now. Just give us the cannister and you can walk away”.

“She is not yours to play with Carter. Emily deserves something better than what they have” rasped Otaki. He had glanced at Twenty when he said that last bit. Was Emily a clone too?

“I am a reasonable man, Hector” continued Carter. I doubted he really was. “My men are quite happy to shoot you all down if I give the word. And Emily will be just fine” he stated. “That is the Cryo-Case from the labs, is it not? Rated to withstand a lot more firepower than you or I can manage wouldn’t you agree?”.

Taking their cue, his two big goons lifted their guns and aimed at us. The one near Twenty backed off to get out of the splash zone. Time to do my thing once more. I could really use a throat lozenge I thought.

I opened my mouth to scream and Carter just flicked his index finger in my direction. A speeding bus came out of nowhere and tossed me across the room. I heard Twenty scream my name as I hit the wall upside down and slid down onto my head. All I could think was “Ow!”.

Goddam bastard was a Telekinetic. How many Awakened can you fit in one place anyway? I was kind of hazy right now but it seemed bad luck to have three of us here. I rolled myself upright and looked back at the storm going on.

Otaki was surrounded by an arc of flame, lighting up the whole place like a bonfire. Bullets from the shooters near Carter were slamming into the wall of fire and just vanishing in a bright puff. Twenty had managed to grab her guy and held him in front of her as she grappled for his knife. Carter was calmly walking forwards around the line of gunfire, using Otaki’s own fiery shield to mask his approach.

“Hey Carter” I shouted. “You forgot to finish the job”. He looked in my direction and I saw his hand lift once more. But this time my little Gunsinger wanted his blood. I didn’t need to be accurate and I did not care how much this hurt him. I grabbed all the sound around him, the gunfire, the roaring flames, my shouts and brought them together in one sharp line of air. And slashed it down across his lifted hand. Blood gushed as the hand dropped wetly to the floor.

His scream was a music that my Gunsinger loved to hear. It was filling me up now and wanted to do some more. It took the wailing cry from Carter and channelled it into one of the gunmen. It pierced the armour and blood spurted anew as the guy staggered back.

The second gunman turned towards me. His weapon was empty so he dropped out the magazine and was slapping in a new one as I got ready to scream once more. Blood for the blood god and all that crap. My Gunsinger was so furious inside of me I felt like I must be glowing as bright as Otaki.

He was lining me up when a single shot from a pistol hit him right on the googles. His head snapped back and he crumpled. Twenty came into view, her pistol still aimed at the fallen man. My Gunsinger felt so angry at having it’s victim taken away. I snarled at Twenty and felt my power rise.

“It is OK, Millie” she said. “They are all neutralised”. Her calm face seemed so pretty in the fading fire light from Otaki. My little monster backed away from her and crawled into the dungeon all by itself.

Otaki’s fire drifted away too and he slumped. We were both utterly drained from expending so much power in a short time.

I staggered towards Twenty and she caught me easily.

“We need to get out of here” urged Otaki. He had picked up one of the guns from the fallen. He seemed to carry it easily.

“What about that Carter a-hole?” I slurred into Twenty’s shoulder.

“He has already fled the scene” answered Twenty.

“Oh, that’s good” I mumbled. I was feeling very lightheaded. I wonder if this is what concussion feels like? Then I blacked out.