Ghost in the City

“Damn.” Jun whispered behind me as I turned away from the barn to see him already walking amongst the corpses. With a motion he tugged free the knife in the Raffens throat. Bringing it up to his face he looked it over. “I remember. When you were practicing that.” He said sounding a little off.

“I uh… spent some time on it. It’s a useful skill.” I lied. I really hadn’t done much knife throwing since I played with it so long ago, but the instincts, the experience, the muscle memory was all part of Ninjutsu.

I could practically feel the blade still between my fingers. The motion I had made to throw it. I hadn’t even thought about it. Just did what I knew was right.

“Well. You cleared them out alright.”

“Go ahead and look around Jun, might find something you want. I’m gonna call Scorpion.”

“Scorpion?” Jun asked but I ignored his question as I turned away from him, took a few steps away and felt my eyes turn gold again.

I felt my foot tapping away for a while as Scorpion didn’t pick up at the first ring, or the second, or the tenth.

Finally the call connected, and a grumpy voice came over the line.

*Fuckin’ hell. What!? Do you have any idea what time it is!* Scorpion cursed and grumbled on the line but I smiled.

*Hey Scorpion, you still need a car?* I asked ignoring his complaints, I was trying to do him a favor after all.

*What?*

I rolled my eyes at his question, the man must have been asleep he was really being slow to catch on.

*Wait Motoko? Why are you calling so late?*

*C’mon Scorpion keep up. Do you still need a car? Or rather any of the Aldecaldos? I have… Six? Raffen Vehicles that are now ownerless. You or your family want them?*

*What?* I snorted, at least this time it was a what of surprise, and not just pure confusion. I let the call stay silent for a minute.

*Fuck you hit another Raffen Camp?* He asked blearily, obviously struggling to think.

*More like a pit stop. I was searching for someone else, and ran into them. So you want the vehicles? I’ll give you a good deal for them.*

*Fuck. Yeah. Hold on. Give me… Give me a minute. I need to wake up.* He grumbled a bit and the line went silent, as he must be paying attention to something other than the call.

While I waited I turned towards the bodies and started looting them. Each of them men of course had a weapon, rifles or shotguns seemed to be the preference.

I looked through the growing pile of weapons with an interested eye. I certainly didn’t need much else, but it was always nice to see if there was something interesting among the chaff. I didn’t find anything I wanted to add to my growing armory, but I did find a few pieces of interest. Optics, or little mods that I quickly uninstalled on the weapons and chucked into the Quadra’s trunk. ṞãƝốᛒÊṠ

I could have some fun with some of that!

*Motoko. You there?*

*Course Scorpion, feel a bit more awake?*

*Yeah at least I’m alive. You said you had six vehicles?*

I didn’t respond right away, instead looking into the barn and taking a picture of the vehicles all parked. Then sent that.

*Yep.*

*Holy… Preem. Very Preem. Motoko, you know we don’t have the cash reserves for all of them, but I, well I’m still stuck on my bike, I wouldn’t mind an actual roof over my head.*

*That’s fine, listen if you can come pick them up, we can count it as an IOU. I don’t really want to try and hold these until other Raffen decide to come find out where their buddies are, and I don’t have the desire to try and sell them to a bunch of gonks. Pay me what you can, and maybe we can barter out some other stuff, but I know you're reliable so I gave you a call.*

The line went silent at my offer for a long while. Long enough I started to wonder if I had lost connection.

*Scorpion?*

*Yeah. Yeah I’m here. Fuck Choom. I don’t know what to say.*

*Say you’ll come take these off my hands and pay me what you can later.* I told him with a laugh which I got an almost strangled sound in turn.

*Alright. I’ll get the Aldecaldos together. We’ll come take them off your hands, won’t be difficult to get them repainted and keyed to us. Listen. Kid, I still owe you one. A big one, and this… I’ll pay you back somehow. I promise.*

*Don’t stress so much Choom. Getting these out of the hands of Raffen is already a lot. Listen I gotta run. I’ll send you the coordinates, but I’m in the middle of something. Don’t have time to hang around.*

*Yeah of course. I’ll… I’ll keep in touch. Don’t hesitate to come by if you ever need something.*

“Motoko. Are we going to be waiting around all night?” Jun asked, interrupting, and I threw him a one moment gesture at him.

*I gotta run. Stay safe Scorpion.*

*You too kid.*

I nodded, as I finally disconnected.

“Okay. Ready to go? Loot anything good?” I asked him but Jun just shook his head.

“I just klepped some Eddie shards. They didn’t have anything I wanted.”

“Preem! Follow me then I want to find that serial killer fuck before he can target anyone else.”

I jogged over to the car pointedly ignoring Juns eyebrow as he looked around at the dead bodies around him.

—--

We drove to another farm nearby only for another miss.

While I drove I was looking over my stat screen. Since there was no traffic out in the badlands it was easy enough to split my attention.

4500 XP from the Raffen. None of them were big guys, so I only got 500xp a head.

Still that leveled me up again.

*Level up achieved!*

*One Stat Point Gained.*

*One Skill Point Gained.*

Level 9.

Of course as much as I wanted to start spamming stats again. I knew the rule. So the stat point was immediately dropped into adaptation for my arms. I twitched a little as the point went through. A coolness in my chest that I realized had actually been impacting my breathing as I tried to naturally shy away from the cold, eased. I inhaled, and exhaled. Feeling.

Better.

One more step.

But what was I gonna do with all these skill points? I had four of them saved at this point, and that was a lot.

But I didn’t really need to spend it on anything. Most of my skills were getting close to the stat cap, or they were something I would grind once I had some better tools.

Looking at you Quickhack. One of these days I was gonna get an upgrade to my Netdeck and get some actual toys.

In the end I just pushed it away. I would think about it when I wasn’t mid hunt for a serial killer.

“Okay we are coming up on the next potential place. Keep your eyes open.” I told Jun, who had been yawning for a while.

Poor Jun was sleepy.

We were coming close to three in the morning after all.

Lights off I turned off my engine as we started coasting down the empty road.

I had been forced to head back into the city and go out a different exit just to get to this point. Edgewood Farm.

The name was sort of foggy-familiar. So I was really hoping this was it. As we approached I noticed the large gate surrounding the area, and while that didn’t ring any bells in my head, as we coasted past the entrance. I saw it.

Mines.

“Jun.”

“I saw it. This the place?”

“Yeah.” I muttered as I let the car keep drifting down the way a bit farther from the farm house and barn so that when I braked it was as quiet as could be.

“Alright we gotta be careful.”

“No kidding. How are you going to get around the mines?”

“Slowly.” I told him with a laugh. We both stepped out of the car and headed towards the gate. I crept up to the edge of the locked gate waving Jun back as I started scanning.

First I needed to turn off those cameras. A security camera was over the entrance to the farm house. I started breaching in through the Quickhack, but noticed the problem pretty quickly. This psycho was a netrunner. Or at least good enough that his defenses weren’t easy to break through.

I pulled back. I wasn’t breaking into the cameras defenses without setting off an alert, and that was something I didn’t want to happen.

“Motoko?” Jun whispered and I shook my head. “Defenses on his stuff is tight. Give me a minute.” I told him as I thought. I could try to get around to the camera to breach it directly, I could try to sneak into the little house, but no telling what he had set up there…

And I would be in direct view of the camera.

So what can I do?

Wait.

I don’t need to do this silent. He was one guy in the middle of nowhere…

I just needed to draw him out.

“Jun I’m going to draw him out and then just headshot this fucker. Once he is down, we can get through his defenses at our own pace.”

“Okay. I’m with you.” He said and I threw him a thumbs up as I hurried back to the car. I had left my Nekomata inside. Quickly pulling her free I rushed back to the entrance.

I might not be able to break into the camera, but I could get a mine to go off.

Once I settled back in I grabbed a rock, and with a smirk hucked it over the wall right towards a Mine I had already spotted.

The explosion was deafening in the silent night.

A moment later two turrets popped out of the ground near the barn. I wanted to whistle but kept silent as they started searching around. Automatic lights also activated lighting up the farm.

But then silence. I could feel Jun getting jittery behind me as I just waited for it. I was backed up just enough that the camera couldn’t spot me, or the barrel of the Nekomata as I kept it pointed at the front door of the little farmhouse.

He had to be here. It was so early in the morning.

Then a few minutes later the door opened.

Well I didn’t remember the guy from the game, but he was in the right place at the right time.

He stepped out onto the porch. Looking around grumpily. He was looking towards the smoking hole where the mine used to be when I took the shot.

The sharp retort of my rail gun broke the night, and the mans body flopped.

“I hope you’re right.” Jun said from behind me.

But I already knew I was.

*750 XP Gained.*

The only time I gained 750 was for people that weren’t borged out, but were still dangerous in some way. Netrunner, bosses of men.

And now Serial Killers.

I stepped out and took aim. The HMG turrets each took two shots as they buzzed around trying to locate what was shooting at them before they came apart.

“Alright stay close Jun. I’m gonna hack these mines as we go.”

I opened the gate by pulling it open… With Juns stupid gorilla strength helping out, and then the minefield. My eyes shifted as I scanned the first mine. Working on it’s ICE to try and break through.

I didn’t in fact break through.

I was glaring a few minutes later when I realized that military ICE designed for land mines probably wasn’t off the shelf ICE.

“Motoko?”

“Just… Just stand back.” I grumbled pulling out the Lexington in my back holster. While I couldn’t break through the ICE, I wasn’t worried about someone coming out to check any more. I started firing, blowing a path through the mines.

Thankfully the entrance of the barn didn’t have any mines right out front even if it was locked down. There just weren't any ways to actually get in. “Wait here.” I told Jun as I turned around and headed for the farmhouse.

He definitely had a way in from inside. I passed the dead body without a glance. I started searching, nothing on the first floor, just old trash and a living room. Upstairs though? A bedroom, with a big computer system. I accessed it without any trouble. The security ignored. The system was already unlocked and opened from being in use.

But there wasn’t an access point. Just lots of emails, both to his victims and a saved folder full of saved pictures from the news and other media about the Meat Man.

Fuckin’ sick. I guess this guy had a nickname to the media.

So I stopped looking through his personal computer. There had to be something more. With a bit of exploration I found a switch behind the computer desk.

As I pressed it, A hidden door opened. Leading to another little secure room. Including the barn access controls. A few moments later I could hear the doors rolling up outside, and I wasn’t going to stick around inside.

I rushed out, Jun nowhere to be seen as I rushed to the barn keeping an eye out for mines.

There was Jun, inside standing next to a…

Well it was a person with that creepy gas mask on. Only this mask wasn’t to keep the gas out. It was meant to pump oxygen and other chemicals to cows. Only now it was worn by some teens and it wasn’t oxygen they were inhaling.

I took a few moments checking the system before I realized I would need to shut down the entire system from the source in order to unhook the two people inside.

“Stay with them, be ready to pull that tube off when I tell you!” I called out to Jun as I rushed towards the back finding the control room, idly putting a fist into the TV that had that fucking cartoon playing.

It only took a moment to find the right switch and the whirr and noise of the air system suddenly quieted. “Do it now!”

Rushing back out onto the main barn Jun was pulling the mask off one of the people. I hit the other. A few seconds and I had the boy inside free.

He didn’t make a sound as I pulled the mask from his face, checking his pulse…

Slowly I felt it. A weak beating.

“That one alive?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay I’m going to call NCPD.” I told him, earning a hesitating nod from Jun.

I dialed the number and a few moments I was put to a recorded message, and not even a person.

That was so NCPD I couldn’t believe it.

I went through the menu needing to select three options and pay a 10 eddie bill, before the line connected.

“NCPD what is your emergency?”

“I have two young men that have been kidnapped and pumped full of some kind of drug by a psycho. This guys definitely a serial killer. These two are alive, but I doubt they are his only victims.”

“Estimated wait time for a patrol vehicle is… Fourty-five minutes to your current location. Thank yo-”

“Hold on! These kids might be dead in fourty-five minutes! Look at this!” I backed up and took a picture before sending it down the line.

“Miss, we don't accept pictures. Nor will NCPD alter our deployment speed. Another 10 Eddies will be deducted from your account for the lengthened call. Thank you fo-”

“This is the Meat Man. The Serial killer. Don’t sit there and tell me no one is interested in that!”

The line was quiet for a moment. “Please hold.”

I blinked.

Well that was easy.

A minute or so later the call was answered.

“This is Detective Stints. If this is a game, I’ll bash your skull in.”

That was… Certainly an introduction.

“It’s not. I have two people that were kidnapped and drugged, and a dead psycho serial killer that is probably your Meat man. At the least he had practically every news article mentioning him saved to his personal computer. I just need an ambulance to come get these people before they die.”

“You tried to send a picture. Send it to me now.”

I didn’t just send that. I sent that picture another about the location including the mines and the dead body.

The line was quiet for a few minutes.

“I’ll be on my way. A patrol car will be there soon. Stick around. I’ll have questions.”

“Sure. Just make sure they know about the mines. I’ll clear up as many of them I can. But this guy was crazy.”

“I’ll make sure the patrol car knows.”

The line ended.

“Chatty guy isn’t he?” I muttered but at least I got something.

“NCPD is actually showing up? I didn’t expect that.” Jun muttered as he caught up with me.

“Yeah… You ever heard of the Meat Man?”

Jun blinked and then frowned. “Yeah, a little. Urban myth?”

“I think this guy was him, at least he seemed very interested in what the news said about him.”

“I’m glad you put a bullet in him.” Jun said simply with a nod and to my surprise he reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “You did good. But we should probably get out of here before the cops show up.”

“You can if you want. But I’m staying. To make sure.”

Jun let out a sigh and nodded settling in to wait.

The next twenty minutes were mostly spent doing three things. Checking on the two people that still hadn’t woken up but at least were still breathing. Long silences.

And explosions.

I was trying to disable the damn Mines, by breaching them and wasn’t getting too far. They actually kept exploding on me, but at least as I tried I was getting rid of them, and of course I was getting the wrong XP alerts.

*100 Engineering XP Gained.*

I was doing the Quick Hack Breach, but getting Engineering XP.

Dammit system! I need a manual! Where is my Prima Official Guide!?

I shook it off and kept working, at least I was getting something, and Engineering was awesome. Then we heard it. The roar of a car coming down the road. “Jun I’ll flag them down.”

“No.” Jun said suddenly grabbing me and holding me back. “Just let them work at their own pace. NCPD don’t like people walking up to them.” He told me holding me back as he rested against the Barn wall.

“Fine.” I agreed it made sense…

I guess.

The gate was already open and the flashing lights of the car suddenly turned in, but stopped before coming close. Two officers stepped out both waving flashlights, one with a pistol in his off hand, and the other carrying a Copperhead. The assault rifle had a powerful flashlight on the end and he was waving it around, but kept an eye on Jun and I.

Both men were like startled cats, looking at every step.

I guess the warning about mines had gone through… That and the many craters that now littered the yard.

Finally both officers got close enough and lit Jun and I up, despite both of us being under a light.

“No sudden moves. Put your hands up!” One roared and I felt Jun obey begrudgingly, and I quickly followed after. The two officers approached and actually forcefully put us both on our knees and started handcuffing us both.

I could feel Jun muscles tense beside me, but I just turned and gave him a smile which had him relax.

“Evening Officers.” I mentioned despite grunting around the harsh hands handcuffing my hands behind my back. “The two-”

“Quiet!” The guy handcuffing me snapped, and I was thankful that he didn’t actually strike me like he motioned too.

Not because I was worried about him hurting me. Funnily enough I actually knew ways to break free of Handcuffs. Ninjutsu as always being the MVP.

No, I was worried Jun would have ripped the cuffs off and started beating the cops to death.

A few moments later we were both ‘secured’ by the officers and the one with the handgun went into the barn to look around.

He came out a minute later cursing and the two officers pulled away to speak in rushed whispers to each other.

Although at least in the end the grabbed their radio and started sending messages along.

“Told you we should have left.” Jun whispered side eyeing me.

“It’s fine. Just a… Okay they are idiots, but hopefully this will all go well once the detective gets here.” I said, voice filled with hope.

Things did not in fact get better when Stints did show up.

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