Glitch in the God Complex (AmpCore #1)

47 - Rebel Bones

Kirk staggered out into the dim light of morning and made it maybe half a block before the shock of everything that had just happened hit him like an avalanche. In a dingy back alley between two warehouses, he sank down into a sitting position against the wall and let the emotions come tearing out of him.

He sat there, head in his hands, fingers digging into his skull as he cried, his anguished sobs echoing through the empty street. The memories were visceral and he couldn't turn them off – the freakish manipulation of the natural world Piper's brutal murder of Cutter Jennings that replayed over and over again.

And it was murder. Kirk had no love for the crime boss, but killing for self-preservation and out-and-out sadism were two very different things. Watching Piper brutalise another human being using the unnatural powers AmpCore had spliced into her was more than he could bear.

Because that was what Hadrian's corporations did. They ground you down into another cog in the machine, sanding off every vestige of right and wrong until you were exactly what they wanted you to be. Piper had known that once, and now she was too caught up in it to realise just what had been done to her.

It's not her fault, he reminded himself. This had been done to her. He didn't believe for a second that she was born with implants, because that wasn't possible. It made for a convenient lie for the corps to rope her in – that was all.

And it had worked too.

Kirk let out a strangled, snarl of frustration, smacking a clenched fist against the wall with enough force to send lightning bolts of pain shooting up his arm. He gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut and sucking in deep breaths. He couldn't just sit here. He had to get Piper back, no matter what that might take.

The click of a pistol's firing bolt wrenched him violently back to reality he scrambled to his feet, dragging a sleeve across his eyes to focus. The first thing he managed to discern was the barrel of the gun that he was staring down.

And when he saw who was holding it, he felt a grim certainty that he was going to die.

Nevay stood in front of him, red hair dishevelled, the right side of her face caked with blood and with her right arm tucked gingerly against her side. Her armoured coat was scorched and shredded, and he could see dozens of smaller cuts and scrapes all over her body. She looked like she'd been hurled through a hurricane full of razorblades.

She also looked very, very angry. Her bloodshot eye glared daggers as she edged forward, the cybernetic whirring murderously as it focused on him, corners of her mouth twitching. He saw her finger tighten on the trigger and for a moment thought she was just going to shoot him there and then.

"Well, look who got their fuckin' eyes opened today, eh?" Nevay hissed. "How does it feel, Kirk? Your little girlfriend's gone over to the dark side."

Kirk swallowed down the lump in his throat. "I saw it."

"AmpCore freaks." Nevay cocked her head to one side, still glaring at him. "They're going to pay for what they did today."

"You gonna shoot me?" he asked, slowly spreading his hands to show he was unarmed. "That's not going to change what happened."

"Don't patronise me, you little shit." Nevay lowered her gun with a snort of disgust. "You're not worth the bullet in the chamber. Go home and cry yourself to sleep."

She turned away and started limping off down the alley, but a desperate thought barged its way into Kirk's mind.

He blurted out, "Wait!"

Nevay stopped; turned with a weary groan. "What?"

"I... what are you going to do?"

"You really want to know?" She trudged back over to him, stopping just inches from his face and speaking in a low growl. "I'm gonna lie low for a couple of days. Then I'm going to get a big fucking gun, and hunt down every single one of the people responsible for killing my uncle and all of my friends. And that includes your girlfriend, so if you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of my way."