"Awe, shit. Man this is too much for one night" Dave sighed.
Five hours on the net after a full day's work at the office was enough
for a 24 hour day. He slouched back into his recliner and turned on the
built in massage, pulled the plugs from his system and blankly stared at
the ceiling.
"Too bad you still got a few hours before it's over." He loosened
his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his white shirt. A midnight
snack should be good he thought to himself. He sleepily stood up
between rolls of computer paper and electronic cables snaking through
the small den of his apartment in Philly. 'Thank god the lights are off or
I'd really have a headache.' Dave walked out of the room, still thinking
over the latest ideas from work involving the net connections between
North America and Europe. 'Goddamn bureaucrats think they know
everything. Hell, they probably couldn't even tell if I changed their
comm links from DC to LA.' The walk to the refrigerator was short. The
light from inside blinded him shortly since it was the only light on in
the house. 'I wonder what Cryon is up to tonight. They haven't been
going out as much lately as they used to.' A thought that sounded like
something was getting ready to go down, but with no background. They
haven't done anything lately that would hint to it. He didn't like that.
He pulled an open jar of pickles out of the frig and a container of
mustard, opened the bread drawer and got a loaf of old bread that was on
the brink of molding. Some meat and a bag of chips followed. He sat
down at the small round table next the to kitchen entrance and began
making a sandwich. He took a bite. 'Damn thing is getting stale. I
wonder how Nick is doing? The last time I talked with him must've been
2 weeks ago.' He swiveled around in his chair to a wall panel and entered
the code for a direct telecom interconnect.
The video jumped up and Nick's tired face showed up on the
screen.
"Nick, how you doin' man?" squawked Dave getting ready to take
another bite out of his sandwich.
"Dave...Do you know what time it is?"
"Yeah, but I couldn't sleep. What's up. I haven't.."
Blink. Blink. A monitor light went on. Someone's at the door,
thought Dave. 'Who the hell would come at a time like this?'
"Hang on, someone's at the door."
"At this time of night?" It was too late. Dave was already up and
heading for the door. Opening up another panel, the lights went on and
Dave spoke through the intercom mic.
"Who's there?"
The monitor light blinked again.
"I said who's there!?" 'No answer. No answer.' Something's up.
He began walking away from the door.
"Get out Nick. Somethin's up!" yelled Dave from across the room.
"What's going on over there Dave!?"
THUD..THUD. CRACK! Dave's door popped partly open as the
bottom hinge cracked out of the door frame. THUD..THUD..SMASH! The
top hinge nearly exploded open with force as the door toppled to one
side, rendering the computer and physical locking mechanisms
completely ineffective. Dave scurried backward as a large man slowly
walked into the apartment, stepping on the discarded door. Dark short
hair and a dark skinned face sat on top of a set of shoulders and a huge
frame as he pulled something out of his dark, tattered overcoat. Dave
turned to run towards his den when a silent shot was fired into his left
leg.
"Aaauuuuu!" screamed Dave as he fell into the table where he had
just begun his midnight snack. The telecom monitor flicked off as Dave
moved to face his attacker. He side slouched into his chair, holding his
leg. A needle stuck out of it by about an inch, leaving a small circular
blood stain forming on his dress pants.
The man walked up to Dave shooting another two silent shots into
his leg, making him scream in pain. A large hand wrapped itself around
Dave's throat and began picking him up. His face reddened and his eyes
began to bulge as he was suspended in mid air by his attacker's
suffocating grip. His grip was hard, almost too hard as Dave reached up
with both hands to grasp it.
"Who the hell are you!" Dave spit out having more difficulty
breathing. The light from the room was in his eyes so he couldn't see his
enemy's face. He didn't remember running into him before, he was sure
of that. A shot was fired at the control panel on the wall, but not by his
attacker who had put his gun down on the dining table. Another shot
and the panel exploded in an array of sparks and flames. A final shot
was fired at the lights which exploded out, darkening the apartment
once more. Dave flinched from the spraying glass. He was lifted a little
higher as his assailant's other fist flew into Dave's lower ribs, making a
noticeable cracking sound as it shattered a few, knocking the wind out of
Dave. He was then turned around and thrown into the opposite wall of
his den a few feet away. His attacker turned around to pick up his gun,
which gave Dave a little time to move out of the way by crawling into his
den amongst the electronics and wires. Two more shots were fired
directly into his leg as he was almost fully in, leaving him immobile
from the pain with only the sounds of heavy footsteps echoing toward
the den's entrance.
The split, mangy tails of a cheap grayish-black overcoat dangled
at the ankles of Dave's pursuer. Combat boots and a dark cat burglar's
baggy suit shown underneath the opened coat, as a Sinclair K2 was being
placed back in it's shoulder harness, then covered by the thick fiber-
metal mesh coat. He couldn't see a face or even a head from his
encumbered position on the carpeted floor. Dave just stared at his large
enemy, unable to move from the pain in his cracked ribs, and the 5 inch
needles sticking out of his left leg. The only taste from his interrupted
midnight snack away from the net was of blood.
"Next time, don't fuck with Nestroth, Dave" came a quiet but stern
female voice from the doorway; the type that could be sweet if it didn't
send a shiver down your spine, but would scare the hell out of you if
caught in a dark alley on Halloween.
Dave tried looking past his pursuer. He knew that voice, he knew
it from somewhere. Nestroth gave him a hint, but there was no match.
Not with that female voice. It just sounded so familiar, but then again it
didn't. He just couldn't place it. He had run into Nestroth a few times
trying to break a few systems, but he'd never tangled with them, at least
not to his knowledge. Every time he had run into them, they either
kicked him out or he got out himself. He knew Nestroth was not one to be
messed with, anywhere. Anyone who did normally either was found
dead or never found. That didn't help Dave's thinking as he stared at his
victor with only the thought of death running around in his head. 'If
only I could think of what got me into this in the first place' Dave
thought to himself, hoping for a chance to get out of it one way or the
other.
A hand slapped against the left shoulder of the overcoat. Slowly
and with enough coolness to chill ice, he moved to one side of the
doorway without losing sight of his prey. Blue and red streaks of light
shined in from the neon streetlights through the opposing windows,
leaving less to be hidden in the not-so-well kept apartment. A few
computer screens flickered and with the outside light, showed the
mounds of electronics and scrap papers lying all over the small room.
An athletically slender female figure covered only with a skintight body
suit and a pair of stainless steel spiked heels, entered the room with the
finesse and grace of a cat, and noticeably the cunning of one as well.
Her slender body left little to the imagination as she snaked towards
Dave. Shiny metallic nail polish glistened on her fingertips in the
sporadic changing lights. Her footsteps made no noise as her spiked
heels sank into the thick carpet and almost pierced through the material
underneath. Her bodysuit was mostly black with the exception of a dark
red artistic line running across the main body of it, creating fading
curls of color along an arm and the opposite leg. Her hair matched the
entire outfit; dark and slightly long, but not touching her shoulders.
"Stand up shithead" she hissed walking to within inches of his
pale face.
"I..I...I can't. My leg.." he whimpered.
"Just do it or I'll have Nemesis stand you up whether you like it or
not!"
Remembering his encounter a few moments ago with 'Nemesis',
he painfully began to bring himself up to a hunched over position, still
holding his leg in pain. He looked near her fearing the consequences of
eye contact. Blood trickled from his left leg and stained his business
pants as he favored the other leg; the polymetal needles still sticking out
of his leg.
"Last night will be the last time you go after Cryon, Dave. Do we
understand each other?"
"I didn't go against Cryon last night, honest I didn't" he sputtered
back. Sweat beads were forming on his head as her hot breath touched
his face, while she pushed her face within an inch of his.
"Don't bullshit me Dave. Nestroth ran into you last night while
going against Cryon and you fucked us up! Don't make me..".
"I haven't run into Nestroth in weeks and that was only an
accident, really. I don't want any trouble with Nestroth. Come on,
they're too big for me" he shakingly replied. "Hell, I don't even know
you guys. That's how long it's been since I....".
Backing away from his face, she retracted a set of 4 inch claws
that lay at her waistside which had gone unnoticed until now. Her
eyebrows still in a devilish frown. Her breathing still calm. Her lips
tight with fury, contrary to Dave's sweating, pale face. A dark red stain
was forming on his white shirt where Nemesis had punched him earlier.
Raising her hand, "You may call me Slash" was her only reply as
her claws extended to a solid 7 inches, and left his head lying next to his
crumpled body as the blue light shined off the blood dripping from her
otherwise spotless weapon of choice. The only sound was a distant
humming from the changing neon lights, and a grinning Nemesis.
