Aurablade

07

I crash at home when I return from the underworld. The heat always ignites a headache in my skull, and though I fight through the pain, I always find myself succumbing to sleep in the end.

When my eyes finally crack open, darkness closes around my room, aside from the blue light emanating from the devices inside my flat. I sit upright on my couch, blinking the bleariness from my eyes. I check the time, my watch telling me it's midnight, then head for the kitchen to snag some ElixirEnergy from my fridge. It cools my tongue and parched throat as I take greedy gulps, finishing the whole can in several swigs. Tossing it aside, I return to my couch.

Chromeface. He's responsible for abducting Raena. I need to find out who he's worked for in the past. The question is how? High level jobs like that are difficult to track. I suspect it'd be easier to uncover where Chromeface lives than who he's worked for.

Then start there.

I pull on my boots. The screen on my wrist flashes with a message as I do so, and I tap on the latest update from Talc.

Found major developments. Meet you at sunrise, same as before?

I say okay, blinking the fatigue from my eyes. Then, I leave the flat. The best place to start looking for Chromeface is back at the Market Tavern.

Few people populate the main streets, but once I slink into the alley, shadows shift and figures dart by. These are the hours when the Elyminai are most alive, earning their livelihood while the rest of the working class rests their eyes. I've learned to avoid them, how to traverse rooftops and jump fences. It's never a good idea to cross another Elyminai on mission.

As I return to the familiar, trash-ridden and sewage filled alleys by the Tavern, I spot a familiar hulking figure blocking the passage's entrance. Boro speaks with two others, the Elyminai mark boldly inked across their bare chests. Their deep voices rumble off the decrepit brick buildings nearby. I press my back to the wall. If Boro sees me here, he's liable to put me on another job. And I won't be able to decline it without a darn good reason.

No more jobs. No more lives. I have to find Chromeface.

I mull over my options for diverting their attention. A single bolt will do the trick, except I need it to come from the opposite direction, otherwise they'll head this way and find me.

My eyes latch onto the discarded objects strewn about the dark, concrete ground. There's a rusty metal frame, perhaps once part of a hovercraft, sitting just past the alleyway. If I hit it, the electric bullet may ricochet back, giving the indication that someone fired from the opposite direction. Crouching behind a degraded, black trash bag, I aim over the splitting top and fire a single bullet. It hits true, blue sparking on the metal before rebounding back toward Boro and his men.

A grunt sounds behind the wall. Boro lumbers into the open, looking both ways. I duck down so he doesn't spot me.

"It came from there," one man says. Feet squish in the opposite direction.

I peek over the trash bag, watching them trudge off. Quietly, I slip from my hiding spot, avoiding puddles and anything that would make an obvious sound under my boots. My heart beats a little quicker with the familiar rush of adrenaline flooding my veins. All it takes is once glance over their shoulders, one eye straying to the side, and Boro will spot me. I step on my tip-toes around items, leap over full trash bags, landing on the edge of my boot so it doesn't make a noise. Once past the alley's entrance, I hear one say,

"There's no one here, Boro."

"Probably some kid's idea of a prank. Wanting to be like the big guys."

Boro grunts in response. I hurry through the alley, breaking into a run and ducking behind a crate. From over the top, I see the three men amble back. A relieved breath releases from my lungs, and I continue to the tavern, keeping low until the men are out of sight.

The smell of booze and unpleasant substances fills my nostrils when I enter the Market Tavern. Noise drowns my eardrums as I push my way through the crowd, to the front where the bar stretches from wall to wall. I slide onto one of the empty stools, peering at the men and women working behind it. Several unfamiliar faces stare back at me.

My brow furrows. Cue usually works every evening. It isn't like her to be missing.

A boy, probably only a year or two younger than me, sprays the counter with a solution and wipes it down with vigorous circles.

"Hey," I say. "Do you know where Cue is?"

The boy shakes his head, not looking up. "She didn't show for work today."

"Did she call or give any indication why?"

A smirk crosses his lips. "Everyone needs to escape this hole every now and again." He moves down the line away from me, continuing to scrub.

There goes my info on Chromeface. If anyone's heard about where he is or what jobs he's been doing, it'd be Cue. I spin around in my chair, scanning the Market Tavern for anything, or anyone, who has even remotely useful information — and would be willing to share it.

My gaze lands on another popular Link, Rivya. She sits at a table alone, sipping a dark, amber liquid from a shot glass. She was Chromeface's main Link before he went rogue, with people approaching him directly for assignments about a year ago. If I play my cards right, she might just talk.

I slide off the ripped bar stool and head over to her table. Her dark brown eyes glance up from the table, and a sly smile crosses her matte, dark-gray lips.

"Well, well, well. Come to find a new Link?"

"I'm looking for someone who can pull a job for me." I take the seat across from her. Rivya's medium-brown hands tap her empty glass on the table thoughtfully.

"Drink?" she asks. I shake my head, and she nods approvingly. "Smart. What's the job?"

"The details are only for the Elyminai. But I need to know where I can find him first."

Rivya leans back, draping a limp arm over the back of her chair. "You have someone in mind?"

"Chromeface."

Rivya laughs. "I haven't set up assignments for him in over a year. He manages his own backlog now."

"Where do I find him?"

"How should I know? He doesn't come 'round here any more."

"If you were to direct someone his way, where would you send them?" Rivya scoffs, her eyes turning to the side as she shakes her head slightly. "Come now, surely people have come looking for him in the past year. Correct? And you've pointed them his way?"

Rivya's smile slowly dissipates. "What are you getting at?"

"Chromeface hasn't dropped off the face of the city. Someone must know where to reach him. As his former Link, you must know the places he used to frequent."

Rivya leans forward, a menacing glint in her eyes. "I don't have to do anything, Miss Aurablade. And if you dare threaten me, I'll tell Boro you sought me out."

"See if I care." A beat of silence hangs in the air. "I'm willing to pay for it."

Rivya pauses. "How much?"

"Name your price."

"All the gold in the Market Tavern's vault."

Oh, that is low. Breaking into here is a death sentence with so many Elyminai around.

So be it.

"Done. Now where can I find him?"

"Last I heard, he was staying in a flat in the South side of the underground sector. You can find him under the alias 'Tier Wilson.'"

"Thanks." I stand from my seat.

"Gold in three days from now. Meet me back right here, at —" Rivya glances at her watch. "— at 3 in the morning."

"Done." I push my way out of the Tavern. The scent of bodies and booze suffocates me until I'm out in the air once more.

Three in the morning. That gives me four hours before my meeting with Talc, just enough time to check out the underground sector.