Mayor Wheeler scurried through the dark hallways of the compound. Dense mists of cool vapor made it difficult for the lanky man to navigate the dark, labyrinthine hallways. He almost bumped into one but his escort dragged him back at the last second.

The lean, yellow skinned being gave him a glare before walking off. He paused for a bit but the guard behind nudged him forward with a push. After a few minutes, they appeared before a door, guarded by two Crocs.

With dark hides and three digits instead of two, it was evident that they belong to the warrior caste. Their broad, seven feet frames and armored torsos further buttressed the fact. After a brief exchange with the guards, the door opened and the mayor was ushered in.

The chamber was almost completely dark, a single lamp from above, shone dim light upon the table that almost ran the length of the room. The Mayor thought the room was deserted, till he noticed a pair of red eyes glowing from darkness beyond.

“Gree-greetings Sir “, he muttered before giving a faint smile.

A Meissner ball translated the words to the Croc tongue. The eyes remained calm and fixated upon the mayor, before attending to a bowl of food below. A tense silence ensued as the being took his time with a morsel from the bowl.

Then he spoke and his words were translated to Terran English.

“I believe you came with news regarding some stolen goods “, the AI translated in a deep male voice.

“Ye...yes Sir “, he gulped, “I’ve already an announcement and sent the girl’s info to Dark water and Orange corp. They’ll get the girl within a day or two. It’s just a few human boys after all. I’ve already announced a lockdown “

The vertical pupils in the narrowed upon him,

“That’s too bad, I thought you had already found the girl and came here to offer apologies in person “

“I uh…” the Mayor began to sweat profusely beneath his versa-mask, “But Sir, I…I just did things as usual. I put some Dark Water men before the compound, no one has ever dared an attack on them before “

“So you put a handful of guards and two turrets to guard a premium product? One bound for the council itself? “, he spoke before taking a bite from the bowl.

The Mayor’s eyes erupted. “The council? “

“Your incompetence is proving to be most taxing. Perhaps I should torch a few human housing blocks to prepare for your re-election campaign? “, the eyes narrowed.

“Sir, that won’t be necessary, I give you my word, I’ll bring the girl before you within a day. A burning like that could drive businesses away and hurt the GDP “

“Or should I pay a visit to your daughter’s school? “, he raised a digit in contemplation, “Taiwan memorial is it not? “, he raised a morsel from the bowl.

The Mayor collapsed to his knees, “Please, Colonel Urk, have Mercy! “

A wicked grin emerged in the darkness as two rows of shark like teeth glittered in the dim light.

“Normally I’d give you time but you see…” he leaned forward into the light and the food in his hand became visible: it was a human finger, uncooked, with red polish still visible on the long nail.

“Me and the boys haven’t had a good hunt in ages, and cold meat just doesn’t taste well “, he threw the finger into his mouth as the Mayor reeled back screaming.

#

The man in the black mask now stood at the edge of one of the City housing sections. There were twelve of them positioned around the edge of the colony, all coming together to envelop the four industrial and corporate sectors in a great ellipse.

The sections themselves were split into multiple blocks, all formed into a circle surrounding a storage facility in the middle. The edges of the black, cube-like structure was visible to the man miles away, imposing largely over the forest of grey, rectangular residence buildings.

Countless consumer supply lines emerged from the cube, connecting to delivery modules in every building of the section. The black, zigzagging lines in conjunction with the train lines further above blot out the artificial sun and draped the man with a checkered shadow as he entered the block.

The streets were lightly populated, he saw a few Neckers sitting gloom on the street and a Croc or two loitering around aimlessly. He also passed by a few humans, most lying motionless on the street with Nurozyne injections on in their hands. He moved to speak with one but an explosion went off in the distance.

The denizens on the streets remained unfazed but he turned west to see a plume of smoke rising into the sky. His metal hand vibrated in alarm and he activated his synthetic assistant.

A male voice spoke via his cochlear implant, “A Fleug-Croc gang war is raging on the next block, orange Corp combat drones and dark water security is not present nearby. I recommend great caution in this sec…”

He sprinted in the direction before the AI could finish. He weaved quickly through the twisted alleyways running across the building, the dark alleys appearing and vanishing from his eyesight in moments.

He was about to turn a corner but he stopped at the last second as a thin, titanium wire straightened just an inch before his throat. He clenched his fists as three figures emerged from the shadows before him.

He found himself surrounded by three Fleugs. The hunched, bipedal creatures moved around him, their yellow carapace jutting out amidst the darkness. They made a guttural sound with their maws as two moved in front of him while flanked him on the right.

A Meissner ball translated for them. “You seem lost human boy and mmm do you have some nice implants on you “, the one in front spoke. It did a scan and said,

“He’s got S-class implants on him, they’ll fetch a fortune “, it trembled in excitement as it brought out a knife.

“We’ll cut you quick boy, just don’t hassle or it will get messy “, the one on the right spoke.

The man remained calm.

“Who would you sell these parts to? It has to be a high level trader “

“No, we’ll sell them to your wife’s boyfriend “, the three started laughing, spitting saliva in the process.

The man slowly raised his right hand before the Fleug on his right, with a slight flick of the wrist he hit him with his knuckle. The creature smashed into the wall, its head turned into mush on impact. Before they could blink, he punched right through the chest of another Fleug, killing him instantly.

The last one fell back in horror and fired a gun at him but the pistol exploded and blew his arm off. As it reeled back in pain, the man moved towards him slowly.

“Every City has a black market and only a high level dealer could do anything with S-rank implants. Where do I find him? “

The creature raised a two digit hand in fear, its body trembling but then its breathing started to get heavy as pressure built up on its throat. The man wiped the blood off his hand on the wall.

“Where is he? “, the man loomed over it as the creature’s eyes started to turn white with fluid, “if you lie, I’ll know “

“I-I’ll say “, he croaked. He sprouted out a name and a location. Glyph spoke in his ears,

“It’s in the recreation zone of his sector, five miles west of here “

“Good “, he replied and set the route on his GPS. The Fleug nervously spoke,

“Will you le-let me go?

“Yes…” the man grasped its left leg with both hands, “to the next life “

He swung the being around and smashed its head into the wall.