Thou Shalt Not Kill

To sin or not to sin?

A preacher man once told me 'thou shalt not kill' but in truth, we are all sinners. I wont tell you I am a good man, but I will tell you that things will get done when I say I will get them done. A man's reputation means everything, or else aint no good being anyone, really.

Some poor jackboot in OT terrritory been fileting people, mostly children. I hear things all the time over the screamsheets about who might be at fault. None these fools really know much, and the truth gets kinda grey with every passing week that go by. I click on the gridscreen and listen to OT and Neut Telecasts about who could be next? Your brother? My girl? The neighbors children? Who knows? Thats part of the fear tactic that the broadcasters sorta put on a body. They sit there behind their silk screens and digital bunkers while they tell you, that youre not safe. Are any of us really safe? But, that question dont bother me near as much as this poor idiot.

Some chuckleheads gotta get his due comeuppance for this. No one kills children and lives to laugh about it.

Some headshrinkers will tell you about 'method' and 'criminal mind' and all sortsa other terms that are better left for the educated to quandry over. This really aint the kinda thing some slackarsed investigator can really do. In order to know the mind of a killer, in some ways you gotta relate.

"Hey hunny, you coming home tonight?" Sweets to the sweet. My ladylove is always looking out for me.
"Not tonight, girly. Some poor fool made himself a cause. Don't wait up for me. This might be an all nighter."
"Youre on a job?" she responds, a little disappointed.
"You could say that. I dont spose dinner can wait, sweetheart?" I know she planned something tonight, and many a part of me hates to make her wait.
"We talked about this already!" Yeah, shes upset. I am a damn fool sometimes.
"I know hun, but this is important. I have to go take out the trash."
The voice com goes dead. She's pissed, and I know it. I could have easily explained to her the situation, but that just means if Ahava decides to come, she will be another target. I dont think I could live with that on my conscience.

I yalm out to Newland, and talk to an old buddy of mine. He and I go back to the old days, but Slim is retired now. Gotta bad limp now, and as an NT that's as good as being dead sometimes. I ask around a few questions and get an idea where to start. He tells me that I should probably look around Home, Harry's, or 2HO. Lots of places to hide there, and most of the kills were near the gridterms. That way, theres always a place to run. I decide to try his first hunch.

20 minute trip later, and I get to Home. I like Home, really. Its kinda quiet sometimes, until the electrical storms kick up wind and crag, then its just another dustbowl. Recent alien attacks destroyed a portion of the outer wall, and near the docks. I grease a few locals but few of them know anything but how to dirt farm. Not much help at all. The slimiest of them points out a tavern near the downtown court. He smells like mold, and damn near pisses his pants when I lift him off the ground, and my one good eye beams at him from under my hat. Some people just cant control themselves.

There are plenty of squatters in Broken Shores too. This is near a ripe place to be picking all sorta wayward fruit.

I go into a place called 'The Sandbox' and aint a righter name for it. Inside are situated all sortsa types. Dirty scammers, refugees, traders, fixers, facemen, and even some mercenaries near the back all take up space here and there. The joint smells like bad synthbeer and wood alcohol, almost like the still itself is under the counter. I take off my coat and grab a chair off to one side. The server saunters over in the usual way, and asks me in a canary voice, "any particular poison today?" I nod and knock on the plasteel counter. "I'll have a whiskey, and none of the well crap. I wan't something with a little fire to it."
"One whiskey, on its way." She turns on her heel, and flashes me a smile.

Poor girl, prolly the only pretty face working in this farm. Must be bad for her with all the types I see populating around me. I kinda shut it down, knowing I can't save the entire world. A pretty face is usually the first signs on snakes under the sheets too. The world we live in is fulla danger signs.

I take a gander around. All of them look like they could be a potential murderer of some merit. It's not much help. The face drops my whiskey on the table. One of her pale leg slips outta her dress, like she thinks I am some sorta rube. I drop a few creds, more than the usual tip. I am still a sucker sometimes. But still, the bank aint broken yet. She flips her hair and winks. I raise the shot and give the old girl a wink back. "Whats a tough like you doing in this town? We normally get regular folk and the like here. What's your story, partner?"
I look up sideways and put the glass shot back down onto the table. "We'll I got me a score to look up. Think you can keep a secret?" I curl my lip, throwing my own game back at her. I gesture her to get close. Her eyes widen, and she leans in, half sitting on my tabletop.
"I am looking for someone." I say, sorta blankly.
"Well, what kinda someone you looking for?" I can tell from her chest, she thinks shes got me. Too bad this young lass dont know any better.
"The kinda someone youre not supposed to be looking for. The kinda person who'll give ya a rough night, and might leave you in a bad situation the next morning." She nearly gasps, and then moves her rump from the counter to my lap. Her hair falls about my shoulders, and I remove my hat.
"Well, Hero... I get off around 2am. If you got someplace we can be. I can make sure to be there." She crinkles a smile.

Inside my head I can hear it now. Dinner getting cold, and shes prolly livid. I did say that I was gunna make it. I disappoint her sometimes though. I may be a man, but sometimes not a great husband. She knew what she was buying into.

"Well then, lets just stick to business, sweetheart."
"Oh I can be reaaaaaal business-like if you want, Hero." She straightens up in her seat, taking my hat from the table and placing it on her head. The smell of her perfume was cheap, but she was making excellent headway, if I were interested.
I get in really close and whisper into her ear. "I am looking for a rough type. Not someone good with the ladies. A mean one. Someone that aint happy about something, and is looking for revenge. Someone whos hurt people."
Her face downshifts almost instantly. Her bright smile replaced with a sort of grim demeanor.
"What I mean to say is, if there was a man who was fitting the description.. you think you could point him out to me?"
She nods, and then straightens herself back up. She twinged a bit, I can tell, but it was ever so slight. "If someone comes my way, I'll be sure to tell you, hero." She winks and then gets off my lap. Yeah......

After a few drinks, some roughnecks walk in. I am an observer type, so this kinda piques me some. They look OT on off duty time. I can only guess that they were some small detail where their types would be best fitted. Probably guarding docks or some other outta the way places.

The waitress spends an extra second with one of them, and ever so silently motions in my direction.

I finish up my whiskey and then get up to use the gamode. I usually do this, so that the bad guys can come up with a plan with me outta the room. It's a game really, being a hunter. You stir the pot, and wait to see what comes up. Its easier to track something thats looking for you, instead of you looking for it.

When I come out, surefire they aren't here. I drop a few creds onto the tenders counter and tip my hat on the way out.

I decide to take a walk. A long walk. Hopefully the backstabbing that the server girl gave me will chum the water, as it were. I get a few blocks down, and then towards the docks. There is an are with little light, and I decide thats prolly the best set up point for me. There's and old abandoned apartment complex there, and looks like it would be hard to call for help from.

I take the scenic route, not that scenic is really the operative word. I survey some of the damage, and make little mental notes where I could re-construct or repair. Little chidings about how to make up with Ahava.

I get around a fairly large chunk of rubble, when without warning.. some shot comes outta nowhere, putting a huge hole into my chest armour. My shirt and coat are blood splattered, and my head gets really fuzzy for a moment.

I am on my tuckuss when I see what looks to be a crate meld into near-human form. A trick was it?!? I chuckle and spit blood, as I roll over. A damn agent. I get to my feet groggily, and he vanishes again.

"Come on out, you lazy clod." I fast-enable my shields. I hear laughter from out in the black. My skin starts to regenerate a little, but it still stings and its hard to catch my breath.

"Just a friendly shot. I hope I didn't cause you any sorta ill gotten pains." The voice seemed small. Nothing. Nothing on my scanner shows his position. "I just wanted to let you know this wasn't gunna be as easy as you thought it was."

I creep around cover, and throw in my nightvision lens into my hud. It aint the highest peice of tech, but occaisionally its useful. I pull my punkthumpa out and throw down my leather onto the ground behind me.

I listen about. Agents can sneak really good, but sometimes they make noise. It doesnt take long, but I hear a set of footsteps. Kinda fast too. If he's on the run, he could easily outdistance me without assistance. By now, hes already falsified himelf up as a doctor. This might get ugly, very quickly. But, at least now, hell be slower at nano enabling.

"So youre the one causing all the problems?" Nothing. No talk. Just the usual hot Broken Shores air coming back to me. I hear another laugh again, somewhere off to my right, down a spell.

"If youre the one to take me in, I must admit I am sorely disappointed." His voice resonates through the area. He must have some sorta VOX attachment in his head implant of some kind. I wager hes prolly enjoying this.
"You can be disappointed all you like. I found you." I spat out on the ground, and hit the startup on my Bioshielding prpgram. My skin soldifies, and I wait for another attack. If he hits me one more time, he wont be happy about it.
"Found me?!? Oh my. I think it's more like I found you--"
I cut him off. "Shutcher hole, boy. You been bad, and now daddy coming to spank ya."

"Oh really?" He opens up on me from behind. The blast is partially absorbed, but he grunts back. I spin around in full tilt boogie, leap up from a good hunk of rubble, and then come down on him with a serious whoosh.

Whoosh? What the hell?

The image fizzles somewhat. He packing more hologram material than most do. I am getting angry now.

"Bravo!" I hear a clapping sound from somewhere else out in the darkness, followed by a nano-program cackling to life. I listen intently on the footsteps, and hear more movement off to my rear. He aint sneaking up on me this time.

I take a few steps around, crouching a bit. My sword is forward in a defensive stance. I almost wish I had brought some toys, but apparently this boy wants to make my night harder than usual. The air whips past me. I smell something familiar, yet.. concealed a way. I realize that I may be in over my head.

I speed my way out to a more close area to gather my thoughts. I get into my yalm and then fly north.

I hear a voice over my voice-com: "Oh do stop by again. I love owning Enforcers who think that they can play this game. Too bad you just didn't live up to my expectations." I laugh and realize that this particular set of taunting is really lacking.

If he wanted to play this game, its time to change the rules. I use an old trick back from the Notum Wars days. If this guy thinks he is smarter than me, let me be the first to say that youth and vigour will never defeat experience and treachery. I move into position.

Somewhere in the darkness, he de-cloaks and starts to laugh at himself. I can almost see this clearly from my vantage point. My scope is drawn in on him, and I can see what appeal being an agent can have. Too bad I was never cut out for this line of work, but not every profession can do what I do either. I undo my seat belt, and click onto my deck to activate my rage nano. I then hit my auto eject feature.... 50 meters straight up from his position.

The agentman has little time to react. He hears me fall, whistling through the air, but has no where to go. He gets up and begins to hope over the broken ground, looking for someplace to cover. He scrambles along asphalt and plascrete support beams, trying desperately to get outta sword range. He's quick, I will give him that. He runs right behind a broken wall, and would disappear behind it if I didn't hear something clatter to the gravel.

I leap over the rubble, barely catching the light above the blasted construction, when I see a small cloud of dust kicked up from a mini-explosion. I see the agent one the ground, holding his rifle in his arms... pointing it right at me. I cocoon right up, and walk menacingly toward him.

One shot. Two shots. Three shots. All of them bounce off my tier breastplate.

When I am nearly done with him, I kick him over onto a surface, placing one hugely booted foot onto his chest. I find his little toys he used to kill people with in a small bag over his shoulder. a couple of bloodied knives, and one or two curved and wicked edged tools. I find a vial of something dark bluish with white flecks into it. "I see someone has been naughty lately." I drop the tools, one at a time into the dirt. I pull out a smal mag-light off my belt and study the vial closely. It looks awfully technical, but obviously of some use. The agent, who is clearly squirming like an opifex grunts and groans under the pressure. I react with a challenger, and my size clearly has him under a serious weight advantage. His lungs try weakly to get words out, but they are obviously broken under the pressure.

"Lets see here, son. Ohhh, these here are particularly nasty." I drop a set of surgical cutters onto his face lazily. "Oh and what have we here... " I reveal a small leather case, and open it. Inside is what looks to be a small collection of vials of blood. Some, not all human. "Well, havent we been out burning the midnight oils?" I sarcastically look down at him with a most demonic stare.

"You.... cant... kill me..." He coughs into the dust. "I'll just keep coming back." He spits out the last words with blood and with a huge heave.

I nod my head. "Oh sure. I could kill you now. I could get you back for all the things you did, by ending you here and now. That would be kinda easy, dont you think?" He laughs at me.

I smile. A vicious and crude smile. "But let me fill you in on a little something, mate. What if I were to tell you, I can so much more. Hell, son. Killing you wasn't even what I had in mind." I let go off his chest, and then drop the hilt of my sword onto his nugget.

I take a seat, attempting to regenerate my wounds. Although I am a tough one, it doesnt cut away everything.

Eyes slowly awaken from the darkness. There is a small luminescence glowing nearby.

"Ah.. greetings sleepyhead." I turn over and see my friend has gotten up from his enforced naptime.

I see him lashing about a bit. Looking around, he notices his environment. The area looks to be a small lab. Inside is a tank of some sorta yellowish protein fluid. The room itself looks like its been hit a few times with small arms fire, and the front door looks a bit barred from the inside.

The agent begins to spasm a bit. Encased in the vat, he has a breath mask of some kinda tech strapped to his mouth. His arms and legs have been bound in duct tape, and has been stripped completely bare, save for the rigging hes caught up in.

I tap onto the glass, and raise a telecom to my lips. I stare at the poor thing, caught up in his own web of death. I smile and wink at him, sadistically. "Let me inform you of the situation you are in, son. You done gotten yourself under a quarter mile of rock, in a area that I used to hole up in. No one is coming for you. You cant scream. You cant call anyone. And to make it even sweeter for you..." I tap on the glass, and point over to his gear that is neatly stacked onto the floor, including his ncu and belt. "You can't even terminate. I've injected you with this." I tape a small bio-monitor, face forward so he can see it, to the tank itself. "so you can see your progress. And now, for the icing on the cake. I realize that you know, that I know, that killing you will only let you come back. And since I aint some high fancy assasin like you, I dont have the cred for death injections like the kind you use on high profile cases. You know, the ones where they dont come back? So I am left with few precious options."

He begins to flail about in his liquid prison. His arms are too short to reach anything, and he doesnt have any nifty backups to get him free. I pull out a small hold out pistol and point it at him. His eyes darken down somewhat.

I bring the comm to my mouth, and fire the pistol at the glass. The energized bullet mashes against the clear wall, but does nothing to even crack it. Left behind is a small powderburn, thats barely the size of a credchip.

"The only way to get you outta this mess, is by explosives. The only explosives that will work, will be the kind that bring the roof down on top of you. Let's face it, chucklehead.... youre screwed." I smile, and turn my head sideways. The agent begins to flurry about inside the vat, kicking it in a futile attempt.

"Have you ever heard the story of Promotheus?... I think youll enjoy it. Long story short... Promotheus was tied to some rock on a mountain and was continuously torn apart by some bird... or however it goes. Yadda yadda yadda."

I lean back, and hit a button on the barely funcitoning terminal. A small red flashing beacon lights up, little black letters show 'release' over and over.

The agent turns around inside his prison and sees what looks to be a hundred tiny spiders, like baby ones from the Adonis Abyss, exiting the apparatus.

"I will leave you folks alone to get aquainted." I stand up and give him a cheeky wave goodbye, with a big toothy grin. I grab my had, and watch a flush of bubbles come from his mouthpeice. The agent began to fight around, but the spiders closed down upon his flesh, tearing it up in tiny bits. Squirming violently, he tries in vain to resist.

I walk out of the lab, and make way for the surface.

I get home late. I take off my coat and hat, setting it on the rack just outside my bedroom. Ahava is going to be rather upset with me.

I lay down in bed, take off my boots.. and she rolls her shoulders. I know I am gunna get it. I look back and try to be the right guy for this situation. "Its ok honey. I am home. I know I missed out, but I had something I needed to do. " I close my eyes and hold my breath a minute. I know I am in deep doodoo.
"No no. I wrapped up dinner and its in the icebox." She murmured, almost still half asleep.
Wow. Didn't rightly expect that. Prolly means she aint all right with it, and gunna hurt me tomorrow or somesuch.
"And dont worrry, Hero. I know you had a bad night." She slips this out over her shoulder, and I turn around.
Shes moved up into the pillows of her jobe lux bed. Her back is to me, but something about her knowing what the barmaid called me, has me a bit unsettled.

"Listen hun... I know that probably didn't look very smart to do.. I am loyal as a dog--" I cut myself short, and raise my arms. This doesn't look good for me, and I didn't have a speech prepared.

She smiles and laughs, and rolls over.

"I know Bubba. I was keeping tabs on you the entire time. You didn't think I was gunna let you outta our plans without knowing something was up. By the way, your friend didn't trip." She winks at me, and then rolls back over to her side of the bed. "... and dont think I am ever gunna let you outta my sight when youre off doing stuff like that, you big ox."

I am clearly dumbfounded. Looks like my girl knows me better than I do.

I shake my head, and lay down for the night, curling my trox hands around her form. Arguing with her will only work against me.




Fin.