This is Rom from the Packrat Sprawl making waves and coming to you live and direct from the basement of an abandoned building in The Maze on the East side of the Shizuoko ghetto. On the radio talking to Velvet Hour, the subversive hacktivist group that has been taking actions of late and stirring up the Zone Police. I am trying to get in touch with HammerSkie the liaison for the Black Holes. Rafe, the leader of Velvet Hour is dicking me around so we are playing games. You can listen in but I have a feeling I may be out of luck.
Rom leaned back in the chair as he held the mic. His eyebrows furrowed. He was having no luck at the moment. He had been trying to contact HammerSkie but his contact was dicking him around. Rom sighed and pulled out all the stops trying to rile up the guy. His pitch didn’t work. He put the mic down and changed frequencies on the radio and kicked it up a few bands listening if there was anyone on the Packrat channel.
He lowered the chair and engaged the keyboard in front of him which was wired to a hardline terminal with four monitors hooked up. Code was streaming across one of the monitors, with another listing radio traffic, a third with IP addresses tracking the satellite transmission of his current call and the fourth was a black screen and prompt with a green cursor beeping at him continuously. He laid his fingers on the keys and typed out a line of code. A laptop sat near the fourth monitor which was tagged into a message board. Messages were streaming by. Rom glanced at it waiting for the avatar for HammerSkie to respond. He had not over the last half hour. Rom ran a trace and then used a port sniffer on the box he had snagged. He kicked up a response to the IP addresses that appeared. He suddenly caught a motion out of the corner of his eye as the red flashing avatar spit out a message. He was in luck, HammerSkie had caught onto his ping. He was responding. Rom swiveled the chair over to the laptop, the wheels creeking on the concrete floor. He engaged as another message flew by.
“Go to 1452 band…” came the message.
Rom reached out and changed the dial on the radio which went from white noiz to an empty signal. Rom spoke into the mic. “You there?”
There was hesitation and finally after a long pause someone came on the line.
“Who is contacting me? You better have something good or I will fry your machine, arsehole. I am in it right now.”
“Only cause I let you,” bitched Rom.
“Right.”
Rom sensed the irritation in the voice over the radio. He grabbed the mic and brought it closer to his mouth. “I need a meet. Today. In 30 minutes. I will come to you. It is urgent.”
There was silence on the line. After a few more moments there was a response.
“Who is this?”
“Check the avatar on the boards. I responded to you, HammerSkie.”
Silence again.
“Packrat Underground. I will bite.”
“Good. I have something you want. It concerns Zeto, the leader of the Zone Police.”
“I am listening.”
“Not over the radio. There are eyes and ears. Where can we meet?”
“Harbin street, down the alley behind 4-12 convenience mart. Be there in 30. Out.”
The frequency went to static and Rom flipped the switch to turn off the radio. He got up and paced around the room for a moment engaging his handheld. He did a search for 4-12 convenience mart and the location came up immediately. He touched the screen and reviewed the alleyways near the store. He was familiar with the area.
He sent to Faid who came into the Acolyte Forward base radio room and engaged. “What you got?”
“HammerSkie took the bait. I have a meet in thirty. Need to get going but wanted to update you before I get there. Could get dicey. HammerSkie is directly connected to the Black Holes,” said Rom.
“You are playing with fire, but we need this. Jester needs to know that the Zone Police are up his arse hard,” responded Faid.
“Do you want me to hand off the data?”
“Get him wet for it. Dick him around a bit. Don’t just hand it off. Get something out of him first. I need a meet with Gryphon from the Black Holes but he is illusive. I don’t know if we can get in there at all.”
“Let me try. I better get going,” said Rom.
Faid laid a hand on Rom’s shoulder reassuring him. “You will get it done. You are not ready for a run by yourself yet. Let me have a watcher tail.”
“I don’t need that?” bitched Rom.
“Yes, you do. Don’t complain. Get going. Will be fine.”
Rom nodded and teleported out to the 4-12 convenience mart.
As he materialized in the street, he took the radiation mask out of his pocket and covered his mouth and nose so he could breath in the toxic air. Harbin street was in the Zone near where the Dionysis Effect nuclear bomb had been dropped. The wind was blowing a frigid breeze, cut like shards of ice, the radiation particles and dust from the street and nearby destroyed buildings leaving his cheeks raw and chaffed. He leaned forward in the wind and pushed through to the alleyway. He saw the sign for the 4-12 convenience mart on the corner and went down the alley. He was still a bit early. He leaned up against the wall and engaged his handheld. The radiation from the area was affecting the signal as the connection cut in and out. Moments later someone with a monocle and a radiation mask stepped into the alleyway.
Rom didn’t look up. He wanted to stay aloof. The person came to stand in front of him and put a finger under Rom’s chin.
“Packrat Underground? We meeting?”
“Maybe, Hammerskie?”
“The same. Come inside the convenience mart. The radiation is too high out here today.”
HammerSkie led Rom back out of the alley and to the convenience mart on the corner. He pushed in the door and they walked inside. The shelves in the store were mostly bare but there were a few offerings and the aisles were high enough to hide their activity. HammerSkie walked to the back and stood under the camera.
“There are cameras in here, shouldn’t we go someplace else?” asked Rom.
“In a minute. Need to get situated.” HammerSkie left for a moment and went to the front counter where there was a worker engaged. They talked for a moment and Rom could see them talking in the mirror mounted on the side of the back wall. The worker handed HammerSkie a package and he disengaged, the worked walking into the back and disappearing. HammerSkie came back over with a barcode scanner. “Hold out your arm?”
“Why?” asked Rom suspicious.
HammerSkie grabbed Rom’s right arm and pushed up his sleeve onto an elaborate cybernetic tattoo and a light scar hidden beneath. “Right, it is you. I thought so. Let me check.”
“That is private,” barked Rom and tried to pull his arm back.
HammerSkie shook his head. “You don’t cooperate. I jet.”
“Right,” droned out Rom and let HammerSkie scan his right forearm. The scanner beeped and read the cybernetics under his skin. HammerSkie showed the display to Rom.
“You sort. Come on back…” HammerSkie led him out to the back room where the worker had gone. There was an elaborate setup with computers and NEK hardline terminals.
“Is this really a convenience store?” asked Rom seeing all the technology in the back.
“Not really. Black Hole meeting place. Come we need to talk to Gryphon…”
“The leader of the Black Holes?” Rom was shocked. Gryphon never met with anyone and was hardly seen out.
HammerSkie walked Rom around the corner past the computers and to a door in the back. They went down a staircase and descended into a small basement room. There was a dark skinned man with a shaved head and piercing blue eyes that seemed unnatural. HammerSkie touched the man on the shoulder and went to sit down at a chair at the side of the room. Rom looked over at him but he directed him back. The dark skinned man started to speak.
“I am Gryphon, leader of the Black Holes. I hear the Zone Police are all up in Jester now that he tanked the stock market. What do you know, Rom?”
“How do you know who I am?”
“I would remember anyone with a high end skin job that I skinned myself. Your arm is worth more than you could know. Be careful or I will take it back and cut your arm off if you screw me.”
“I am serious. Jester needs to know. The Packrats hacked the ZonePolice, they are coming after the Black Holes and the Jester hacker guild.”
“They will never find the Black Holes. Jester on the other hand is not really my concern,” spoke Gryphon and turned his back to Rom for a moment.
Rom got nervous that Gryphon was actually talking to him. He laid it on thick to keep him interested. “The Zone Police are aware of the Black Holes interest in the stock market. They put out an arrest warrant for anyone with affiliation to the Black Holes. The Packrats intercepted the warrant and cancelled it but Jester is still on the hook. The ZP want him bad. We couldn’t not wipe that report.”
“Who on the ZP side could do that?”
“I think it is Jaiden Pierce…” spoke Rom.
“We are done!” barked Gryphon loud and then left the room. HammerSkie stood up.
“That is it. Meeting over, my friend.” HammerSkie led Rom out to the front of the store.
“But I didn’t give you the information?” Rom warned.
“Yes, you did…” HammerSkie frisked Rom and pulled the data card out of his pocket. “Already scanned and erased. Thank you. Now go…”
HammerSkie opened the door to the 4-12 convenience mart and ordered Rom out. He engaged the data card and ran it through the handheld and all the data on it was erased. Rom turned back to the convenience mart but the sign in the window now read “Closed.” The lights on the store went out a moment later.
Rom sighed and teleported back to the Packrat Sprawl. There was a watcher in the Acolyte Forward Base when Rom found Faid. The watcher in the red outfit designating his position smirked at Rom and walked away.
“You lost the data card even before you entered the convenience mart. The Black Holes totally screwed you. You, my friend, are so not ready to be a Runner,” bitched Faid.
“But, I didn’t…”
“Don’t speak. Go to Anj right now and report in. That data was paramount. Now we have to cull it again and get to Jester. You need to answer to this. You may be a Level 9 hacker but you have much to learn about being a Runner. Next time shield from scans. Have Anj tell you how. NOw get out of my sight until you learn what is required!”
Faid turned storming out irritated. Rom went to the Processing Centre and fell out in a chair depressed.
“I will never make it to be a Runner at this rate…”
“Yeah, you have a lot to learn,” said Anj the leader of the Runners. “Come, let me teach you what just happened. We will get you trained up so that won’t happen again. The Black Holes are top notch. The fact they even met with you is amazing. Don’t be depressed. Lets get the lesson started….”
“Sure,” Rom sighed and sat up as Anj started in on what he did wrong with the meet.
