Jumpers: Code Zero

CHAPTER ONE

Muo City

Ominous thunder sounded in the distance, past the mountains, in the darkening twilight. A shiver ran down my back. A storm was brewing, but at least I was safe and warm inside my home. I didn’t need to worry, as Muo City had had many storms in the past and been none the worse off.

‘Nana?’ I asked.

‘Yes, my darling?’ Nana replied gently, pausing in stirring dinner.

The quietness of the house contrasted greatly with the storm outside. I sensed something wasn’t right. A feeling of impending disaster. I got up and headed to the kitchen counter, climbed up onto a stool to figure out what was for supper.

Nana had lots of grey in her hair of dark maroon, tied up in a bun. Her face wrinkled up even more as she smiled her warm and comforting smile.

‘When are Mama and Papa coming home?’

I closed my eyes to let the aromas of the stew invade my senses as I breathed in a deep sniff. Delicious. The smell of food cooking, with Nana nearby, in our small home, gave me a feeling of safety.

‘Mum and Dad will be home soon. They are just finishing up at the mines,’ she answered, eyes slightly unfocused.

‘Did they message?’

‘Yes, dearest. I just read it.’ Her eyes defocused again, as if she wasn’t seeing the real world. ‘I just got their location ping. They’re still at work.’

I couldn’t help the slight frown on my face. I was too young, apparently, to understand the dynamics of augmented reality using DCUs. Wasn’t it just texting?

‘When will I be able to do that?’ I asked, even though I knew what the response would be.

Nana whacked my hand away from the stew pot as I tried to steal a potato. My stomach didn’t agree with that.

‘You’ll burn your fingers!’ she chided. Then she tested it herself with a pained smile. ‘Hot!’ She pretended to blow on a burnt finger.

We smiled at each other. I loved it when Nana acted silly.

‘You’ll get your own DCU when you’re older. Have some patience,’ she finished.

I knew that, because it wasn’t the first time I had asked. A DC would let me learn so much more than our family’s limited collection of books. My papa had said we needed a bit more money for a new home terminal.

I jerked as another thunderclap sounded. It was much closer than before. Nana obviously saw the worried look on my face, because she reassured me with a gnarled hand on my shoulder and pulled me close. Her touch was soothing.

‘It’s gonna be fine, love. It’s just a passing storm.’

The windows flashed white, soon accompanied by another rumble of thunder. It was even closer.

‘Oh,’ Nana announced.

‘What? What is it?’

‘Nothing to worry about. Your parents just messaged to say that they will be running late. They’ve got held up a bit at work.’

I couldn’t not worry. I had an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. I felt that something bad was going to happen if my parents didn’t come home soon.

‘Why do they have to work late?’ I whined.

I knew I was being selfish, but my friend Krendral’s father had been in an accident the last time a storm was passing. The mines were a dangerous place to work, but in this Outer Zone town, the mines were the main source of work.

‘No!’ Nana whispered in despair.

‘Nana?’

A siren started sounding in the distance, and then another and another. Throughout the town, speakers were mounted on every street corner. These were for announcements to all citizens, as children did not have access to a DCU. And the system was only ever used in times of emergency.

‘WARNING. CHAOS STORM WARNING. ALL PERSONNEL IN MINING SECTION TO BE EVACUATED. REPEAT, CHAOS STORM WARNING. ALL …’

I couldn’t breathe. My chest had seized up in horror. One second I was standing on the stool, leaning against Nana, and the next thing I knew, I was blinking the darkness or light out of my eyes, hardly able to see, crouched on the floor.

‘Luther, sweetheart! Luther …’

‘Luther! Luther!’ a new voice called. A deep voice accompanied by a strong grasp. A grip that was firm on my shoulder and jostled me out of my nightmare. ‘Wake up, Hunter!’

‘Wah?’ I jerked awake, knocking over my now cold brew. My jump was disguised by the shaking of the carriage.

‘All right there, sleepyhead?’ Kevin asked, with what I could only imagine was a smug grin.

‘Confine it all!’ I cursed. My sweet herbal tea had started pooling around the bottom of my journal.

Besides the fact that paper was beyond expensive in this day and age, my therapist would kill me if my notes didn’t make it to the next session. Physically writing things down, rather than just dictating to my DCU, was meant to be calming and reaffirming of my attachment to the world.

Ignoring Kevin and his childish mischief for a moment, I scanned my hopefully-not-ruined journal.

This assignment is my first as a field operative. I am a Hunter. I don’t dress up in camouflage, go out into the wilderness with a replica rifle and sit for days on end, stalking my prey until the optimal time to pull the trigger. No, deer and elk are not the prey I hunt.

I’m now part of a special unit that tracks and captures certain individuals that our organisation has deemed to be Code Zero. The current government, known as the Unified Council, has a code system set out for its citizens. An identification standard for everyone. This system came into being when, in the past, a supposed Code Zero released a mutated computer virus that completely eradicated all known forms of digital data.

People were left for weeks to fend for themselves as the world governments tried to formulate a plan of action to keep human civilisation from utter collapse. Many people died during this period of crisis that we nowadays refer to as ‘the Blackout’. Nukes were launched on countries’ own citizens. The human population suffered a significant drop, losing over 7.5 billion people.

The survivors agreed to become unified under a single banner, a single people’s government, that stopped groups from rampaging and pillaging what little resources had managed to weather this fallout. On the bright side, after years of recovery, the Continent now has an abundance of natural resources and land for everyone. The economy has been reset. A new digital currency was created. Old country borders are a thing of the past, but a certain level of access was needed, to enter different zones around the Continent. Somehow English became the new official language for the Continent, with most others falling out of use, but there are many zones where German, Chinese and a combination of Slavic languages integrated into a Continental creole. Normal citizens are designated with the system category of Code One, with deviations depending on a person’s successes in life.

I am a Hunter, with the special category code of …

‘Your diary all right?’ Kevin asked.

‘It’s not a diary,’ I replied, but I nodded in response anyway.

I looked around our makeshift meeting room. The entire carriage had been cleared of public seating, and a couch sat along the windows at the rear, with two chairs and a table opposite. In the middle ran a long narrow glass table that was actually a holo interface.

The train wobbled again, but this time I was ready, with hands on both cup and notebook.

‘Ha! We’re on the newest model of the Cross-Zone Monorail, and it’s still not smooth riding,’ Kevin said.

He slammed his empty drink down on the bar towards the front of the carriage and walked back over to me. Why we even needed a bar was beyond me. The cost of that smooth mahogany wood would have been just outrageous. I knew this was a regulation Hunter carriage, but still, it was only our temporary location while we travelled to our destination.

‘You should think about using your DC if you want to continue with your silly novel writing. What are you writing this time? Something saucy? A romance?’ He peered over my shoulder at my journal, eyes squinting.

‘It is neither silly nor a romance. It’s a real-life account of my time as a Hunter,’ I said, hiding my writing like an embarrassed child.

Kevin snorted as he turned to go get another drink from the bar. Obviously, the urge to drink was greater than his curiosity to decipher my script.

I shook my head at the strange thought that this entire transaction and the set-up made me think of a scene right out of a cowboy film from the old world. I tightened my hold on my journal.

I am here. This is real, I reminded myself.

But that was the vibe Kevin gave off. He was almost noir. A seasoned Hunter with a unique attitude to life. He likened himself to disgruntled detectives of the past. I had never seen him in anything other than the standard Hunter attire, but even then, he wore it how he wanted. Shirt partly unbuttoned under the overcoat, with some sort of medallion barely visible, as if he was about to get off from a hard, dirty, sweat-filled day of work.

‘Another exercise from the therapist?’ He shook as he took a swig of his beer.

‘A form of practice to help organise my thoughts.’ My defensive reply probably wasn’t as convincing as I had hoped.

‘Remind me how someone with a tentative grasp on reality was even allowed into Analytics?’

‘I like writing. It helps me to relax.’

He scoffed but seemed to believe my conviction.

‘It’s also a lot more tangible like this. While a DC is all great and fast to use, I feel that I have less control over what I store on there.’

Calmly and slowly I opened my journal, hoping no other pages had been ruined. My eyes landed on some writing from the weeks prior, something I had randomly jotted down when I had received my updated DC ID code.

A Data Controller, otherwise known as a DC unit, is a piece of technology that is mandatory for all humans who have reached the age of sixteen. At this age, a child is considered to have matured enough to become a fully registered citizen.

Upon installation into the forearm, the citizen’s DC code is activated, and a DC identification is created. My code got upgraded when I became a Hunter, but it’s a very painful process if not done via the proper authorities, and illegal to boot.

Speaking of which … ‘So how long until we arrive at the rendezvous point?’ I asked, turning to face Kevin. ‘Are we solo or meeting up with another team?’

Hunter teams worked in groups of two. Five teams under a supervisor made up a squad. So eleven of us in total, in a single department in each zone.

Seven to ten squads would usually be active at a time. I wasn’t sure why it had been structured this way, nor what the end purpose of it was, but it certainly made for closer bonds on remote missions.

‘Solo for this mission. We can’t have external influences on your first field operation, can we?’

Kevin and I were not close to bonding at all, but we seemed to be gaining ground with each other. The two of us could be compared to those high school tropes of a nerdy bookworm and an unintelligent athlete, except, of course, I was not a small, fragile child, and neither was Kevin dumb in any sense of the word.

His keen intellect and wit was a bit beyond scary. We had been paired together not long after my initial acceptance into the Hunter programme. He had lost his previous partner and had been forced to take a newbie.

Kevin shifted his glance from outside the window of the fast-passing scenery towards me and then to the glass table in the middle of the cart.

‘Activate mission location parameters: Capture,’ he intoned in a dry voice. While we were partners, Kevin, as the senior agent, was the team lead. ‘ETA to target zone.’ He looked towards his DC unit, on his left wrist, taking another sip of his drink while awaiting the relevant data.

A holographic profile of some random person appeared. It hovered just above both his DC and mine, and a hologram projected from the glass table. It also displayed a three-dimensional version of the city we were about to arrive in and the location of said person as a red marker.

A nifty feature that our faithful DCs had, and with the right authority, someone could track just about anyone they wanted. A part of me wanted to scream at the breach of data privacy this all signified. Which was another weird thought to have in a world where privacy ended at the age of sixteen.

A name flashed into existence next to the rotating profile, a Mr Aaron Reid. A service technician of automated interfaces. Thirty-seven years of age. Widowed with two children. A catalogue of other relevant and irrelevant information appeared. Included was his current location from within the last two minutes and up to ten places frequented in the last forty-eight hours.

Everything we could possibly need to know for our mission. It seemed there were only twelve minutes left until we arrived at the station. The target’s current location was within a ten-minute walk of that.

‘Pack up your toys and diary, Crows! I would like to get a head start on this guy before the night is over. I’ve heard Muo has a very attractive nightlife, and I am loath to miss out on my fair share of time off, if you know what I mean.’ A familiar disgustingly happy wink was shot at me as he said this.

I opened my notebook once more. Unlike Kevin, I was already fully geared up to roll out, if just a bit haphazard from my rough nap. Ten minutes was more than enough time for me to ease my nerves a bit more. Field operations were an entirely different ball game from desk work.

We are Hunters within an organisation that has a few different branches for different specialisations. There are the Analytics Department, Processing Department, R&D Department and so forth. Our Hunter teams are part of Special Operations and unoriginally called the Hunter Department.

A Hunter’s top priority is to hunt down Code Zeros. But they are such a rarity, if not just a rumour, that we have other duties to perform that take up most of our time.

Since the Blackout, new technologies have been popping up here and there. Most of it is government sponsored and sanctioned. But there are people that seem to be altering these or even creating illegal off-market tech. Most are just little upgrades that, while not legal, are harmless to the everyday user, but others could be and are highly dangerous.

It wasn’t even two years ago now that one of these modified technologies was used to make half a small city implode on itself. Whether by accident or intent, it was never disclosed, but over three thousand lives were lost that day.

I paused briefly here. This had been a significant day and had taken me a painful while to get through. A picture of my surrogate parents appeared and floated in my peripheral vision. My DCU was somehow unique in being able to analyse my thoughts like that.

I continued reading.

These people are the ones that we track and bring in. Do they have any ties to the so-called Code Zeros? We can never be too certain. I have heard a murmur that the Code Zeros are actually the source of all these new technologies and ideas, but I have yet to ever meet one, and the people I know in R&D are tight-lipped when it comes to this stuff.

I probably didn’t need to write all this stuff down, but it was calming to write certain facts, and if I didn’t, my thoughts would continue to overflow and overwhelm. It was the reason I had originally been in the Analytics Department: constant work and no distractions to keep my mind busy and focused.

I looked over the information in the data packet. Aaron Reid was suspected either to have been involved in a major alteration job or to be an off-market seller himself. There was a hint that he could somehow be connected to a larger group of Alterers, but this wasn’t concrete.

‘All passengers, please be aware that the next stop is our final destination. Remember to take all your belongings with you.’

The monorail’s intercom sounded in all our ears. Being passengers automatically connected us to the Monorail DC Network. So it looked like I had five minutes to write some more.

My name is Luther Crows, and I am once again exasperated by the professionalism of my partner, Kevin Woodlock, as we make our way towards Muo City, located in one of the Outer Zones. We haven’t even finished the initial phase of our assignment, and he can’t think of anything other than getting low-barrel drunk and wetting his nether regions with the pleasures of Outer Zone money grabbers.

‘Well, would you look at that! Looks like you are writing something that could potentially turn into a romance!’ Kevin exclaimed with a grunted laugh over my shoulder.

I closed my journal with abandon. So much for private things.

‘Are we going in heavy-handed or only lightly armed?’ I enquired while dropping my notebook into one of the many pockets of my heavy overcoat.

‘Let’s go with light and see where we arrive at the end of the night.’ Another goofy wink from him.

I took out my Umbra firearm and gave it a once-over to make sure everything was in order.

‘The R&D guys really outdid themselves with this iteration,’ I said in wonder.

The Umbra from our R&D was for Hunters and Hunters only. If someone did not have a Hunter category code inscribed onto their DC, they would never be able to operate this gun. An Umbra condensed the particles in the air around the user into small pockets of highly painful air, or concussive bursts.

The advantage of this technology was that its ammunition was infinite. A Hunter never needed to reload a cartridge or magazine. They only needed to have it charged up.

‘Well, let’s hope you don’t have to make use of it just yet,’ Kevin said with a sombre look.

He brought his hand to his right shoulder. His fingers turned white as he tightened his grasp. I knew he wasn’t injured, so it had to be some sort of phantom pain.

‘Is that what happened to you?’ I made a hesitant guess.

‘Nice smarts, Analytics.’ He seemed to be out of his momentary slump. ‘Let’s just say that you should always be aware of your surroundings. Your opponent of tomorrow could be right in front of you today.’

Okay, that was a bit weird. But I had heard from the Hunters at HQ that Kevin Woodlock tended to be an old sage, as it were, giving out weird advice to rookies.

We finished preparing our equipment and checking over our assignment details one last time, in silence, as the monorail slowed its approach to the platform. We both nodded as we heard the quiet announcement of the arrival of our train over the comms of all the DC units within the station.

When we stepped off the train, our carriage sealed itself up automatically. Without a Hunter code, it wouldn’t open again. The Hunter Department jealously guarded its information. A person would have to be suicidal to attempt to break into even this small Hunter facility.

We made our way from the platform, through the hanging crowds who waited to board and into the throng of people who departed for their destinations in Muo City. I got a sense that we were being spied upon, but I waved that off as just the standard security cameras adorning the ceilings. A mild flight of fancy, thinking that something underhanded was afoot.

We hailed a taxi with a mental nudge, to take us to our rendezvous point.

Twilight started to paint the cityscape with some glorious colours as the sun slowly settled down behind the mountains on the city perimeter.

We didn’t intentionally try to keep Hunter business out of the public eye, but some things were just best left alone. Sometimes situations could just turn nasty, and so we wouldn’t want any innocent bystanders caught in potential cross-fire.

The early evening was the best time to interact with or apprehend our assignments. It was the end of working hours for most, and so they weren’t as focused, nor was it too late into the night that they would suspect something was not right. An opportune time when the prey would be lulled into a false sense of security.

‘That will be five-oh-five credits please,’ the driver, fully separated from us, where there was no need for interaction between him and the customer, sent through to our DCs. We would have automatically paid the fare when he stopped the vehicle at our destination.

We could see his driver ID and code on our DCs, and he could see ours the same way, if we weren’t in incognito mode. Some chose to interact back and forth, but most drivers kept to themselves. In these Outer Zonal cities, it was better that way, even if Muo City was considered one of the safer ones for public services.

Kevin acted up. ‘I’m getting bled dry here.’

We both knew he would be reimbursed for all expenses from personal funds used on an active assignment, but it was still better to keep others ignorant of the fact that we were Hunter agents. News on the DataVerse travelled too fast to stop most times.

Our Hunter DC IDs hidden, Kevin held his DC over the digital screen in the back seat as we got out of the taxi. We walked a casual pace up the street from where we were dropped off, and around the corner into our target’s work address.

The air in Muo City had a heavy feel to it, probably from the tall mountains and the deep lake that connected to the ocean. It reminded me a bit of my childhood town, with dust and dirt, covered over with metal and concrete. The humidity of the evening clung to our clothes. The harsh conditions of an Outer Zonal city, rendering down its natural beauty. I was sure there were other parts to it, but this wasn’t a tourist trip.

Reid’s profile displayed that he usually worked a little later before heading off either to the bar or shopping at the local market and then home. A very solid routine to track and follow.

Kevin, belying his giant frame, gently knocked on the door of Reid’s office. He was a service technician who worked on the maintenance and uplink of devices that interconnected with DC units, so it was a surprise his entry was not electronic.

Our branch office had got an anonymous message that linked Reid to several devices that had been behaving oddly over the last couple of weeks. Things that shouldn’t or normally couldn’t happen. A suspicion of illegal tampering had been raised, and the appropriate order for assignment had then been passed over to our department.

Why one of the closer Hunter branches couldn’t have taken on this assignment was not clear to me, but it sure was uncomfortable to have to travel so far for my first investigation.

Reid answered the door with a strained and tired smile. He was a burly fellow, broad shoulders and a stout stature. A heavy set of engineering spectacles sat upon his head. He was wearing some casual clothes with a loosened tie, as if the heat was just a bit too much in the close confines of his workshop.

‘Hiya, fellas. What can I be doing for ya this late in the day? I have to let ya know now, but I won’t be getting on anything until the morrow, of course.’ A thick accent that was common in the eastern region.

I raised my eyebrow at his accent, though, because his profile certainly didn’t make him out to have eastern heritage. As I was in front, I lifted my arm to allow my investigation badge, which we used in the public forum, to light up on display above my wrist. Reid gave the holographic icon a squinted look before freezing up briefly and then awkwardly waving for us to come in.

I eyed Kevin out of the corner of my vision. He nodded that he had seen the freeze-up too. As we entered, I casually looked around the workshop while I loosened my shoulders and readied my Umbra, just in case.

Most people froze when they saw an investigation badge. Most of the time, it was because they had never seen one in person before and were truly frightened. Usually when Hunters visited, it was not for a cup of tea.

Reid’s reaction was not due to never seeing an identification badge before or being scared. We were trained to focus on facial features and body movements, and it looked as if he had acted his role of bystander perfectly. A few people put on the act of being scared, and these ones were generally not the innocent type.

Reid was tapping his DC unit, which glinted weirdly in the light, as he walked to his chair and asked us whether we would like anything to drink.

‘Just checking in with tha kids. None too sure how long this will take, and wouldn’ wan’ them to be worrying if I get home a little late tanight,’ he said, gesturing to the seat and sofa for us to sit. ‘Now then, fellas, wha’ can I be doing for ya?’

I sat down on the seat across from Reid, Kevin taking a relaxed position on the sofa. Seriously, he sometimes acted like he was on a constant sabbatical rather than working. I swore it had something to do with those old detective films he had managed to get his hands on. He fancied himself a future version of Harry Dresdan, only he didn’t have magic.

I shook my head slightly, used to these strange thoughts of mine, but I needed to focus on the task before me.

‘There have been a few reports of equipment that has been acting up in odd ways,’ I started.

A list and images appeared in the space between us. Our DCs had linked up to the holo interface. Reid looked confused.

‘The investigations into these malfunctions have indicated the possibility of some altering work. These malfunctions have caused victims to be admitted to hospital for multiple reasons.’

I paused here to see if I could read any hint of recognition of these events on Reid’s face. I got nothing. Either he had an extremely good poker face, or he just didn’t know.

‘What these investigations all have in common is that most of this equipment has at some point had some maintenance work done by yourself,’ I continued.

‘You do all your work from here?’ Kevin suddenly interjected.

I almost gave myself whiplash as I turned to face Kevin at his unexpected interference. He had explained to me that I was to lead the questioning of Reid for my evaluation, and while I had got used to some of his mannerisms over the weeks, with his hands-on training, he still caught me off guard. It hadn’t been an easy transition from Analytics to Special Operations for me.

Reid was looking a little sweaty. It was warm for the evening, and his air-con unit seemed to be on the fritz. Loose tie, grease and oil stains on his coat. As I looked at him a little closer, it seemed like his clothes had been worn for a few days.

‘Well, I be working on a lot of equipmen’ all tha time. Can I have a gander at tha list? I can’t be helping ya without knowing, eh?’ He leaned forward to see the information. An unneeded action, but I was not about to begrudge an old man his ways. ‘No’ ringing any bells. I’ve had helpers, ya know, over tha years, ta help with all tha work.’

He said this as his eyes drifted to the clock behind my head every so often. A very old clock that slowly ticked away. I had noticed it on the way in, because I hadn’t seen a cuckoo clock since I was a child and because the time it showed was off. They were considered antiques and useless by most, but they were still liked by many as ornaments for households.

I swiped my fingers across my DC unit. The list of items that had malfunctioned, along with the dates of repairs or maintenance work done next to each. I didn’t need to make any physical movement to send the info from my DC unit to Reid. Kevin knew I was able to do that with a mental command, so it was more of a silent signal that I suspected something was up here.

Kevin’s posture betrayed no movements or alertness, but I saw the slight narrowing of his eyes as he glanced at the air-con unit and back at Reid. Why would he be looking at a broken air-con unit? I sat and thought for a few seconds before it clicked.

Reid scrolled through the list of items, marked off those he had worked on and those that a hired hand had been assigned. I looked closer at Reid. Perspiration, not from the heat due to a broken air con – air con that any service engineer would have fixed almost right away – but from something else. He also looked like he had not showered in a few days.

Now that I had noticed this, I realised the smell in the air wasn’t the oils of machinery or the lack of air circulation here, but a strong hint of body odour. The windows were small and dusted up. The light wasn’t all that great, so it was hard to see the tired look and unkemptness of Reid. I had dismissed a lot of these observations, as a rookie, as the features of a service engineer’s profession, but this spoke of something amiss.

I looked back at my DC unit, at the information provided on Reid. Specifically the locations he had visited within the last forty-eight hours. It stated he had been home for about eight to ten hours each night. More than enough time to eat, shower and sleep. Reid looked like he hadn’t done any of those for the last week.

‘Mr Reid, how are things with your home life?’ I asked. ‘Being a single father with two kids and a full-time job that demands a lot of overtime. Are you finding yourself coping well enough?’

I had some suspicion that this assignment might just turn out to be more than it seemed.

His face changed to panic. He looked around a little too frantically, trying to wave off any concern. He then clasped his hands together. His knuckles turned white and almost blue from the pressure. He hesitated to answer but indicated he was desperate to say something.

‘I … uh … it wasn’ my intention to harm anyone …’ he got out before he suddenly stopped and choked on his own saliva. He seemed to have problems breathing as he started to look down towards his DC unit, which blinked ominously.

Kevin and I bolted to our feet, Umbras out, and scanned the area for any potential threats. We detected no change in our immediate surroundings, so I rushed around the desk to Reid’s side. I’d had some very basic medical training shoved into my head back at the Academy, but that was all useless for the state I saw Reid in.

His DC unit melted away right before my eyes, and the skin of his arm turned a sickly purple and black. His throat bulged as if he had swallowed a whole apple. He ignored his now completely ruined arm and frantically clawed for something hidden underneath his desk.

Before completing any further movements, he collapsed forward onto his face, hand stretched out. His right arm had now become fully dislodged from his bicep area, as if melted off with acid. The whites of his eyes were filled with a dark blood that also seeped out of his ears, nose and mouth. His face was contorted into an expression of intense pain.

Reid had clearly just been murdered right in front of our eyes, and there was nothing we could have done to stop it.

‘What’s the status over there with the target, Luther?’ Kevin asked as he peered through the window into the street, with his body pressed up against the frame and wall.

I would have thrown up everything in my stomach if I had actually eaten anything earlier in the day. Instead, I dry-heaved as I tried to stand back up and look towards Kevin.

‘De … deceased.’

My mouth was dry. I’d seen a lot of horrid things and different causes of death before in reports, but this method was new, utterly grotesque and in my face.

‘There was some movement outside, but whoever it was is now gone. No chance of catching up to them right now.’

I was immobile. My mind tried to cope with what I had just experienced. I was a rookie in the field. The Academy had not prepared me for this. I had acted like I knew it all with my questions, when I had probably just been a kid in Reid’s crazed eyes.

Kevin looked back at me and peered around the room. His gaze stopped at the now dead Reid and me. ‘System command. Track DC IDs within the current perimeter for the last hour, and make a log of the IDs from the past week. Update assignment Capture: Aaron Reid now deceased. Cause unknown, possible assassination.’

I heard his command, and my DCU lit up in response as well, but it was all a blur. I could not tell how long I stayed slumped on the floor as the pool of blood crept towards me, but then Kevin grabbed me and pulled me to my feet.

He checked if I had anything to add. I didn’t. This was meant to be a simple first field assignment to the Outer Zones to confirm whether the target was an Alterer. This mission had just risen an octave higher in danger level. If someone could be murdered right in front of a Hunter team and get away with it, then the public was in grave danger.

‘The forensics and clean-up teams will be here within the hour. Let’s secure the area and gather as much information as we can about the victim’s behaviour and actions.’

I nodded at this. Standard protocol.

Kevin inspected Reid’s corpse. ‘What was he trying to do before he died?’

I also looked down and then at the desk. I lowered myself as much as I could without touching, disturbing or puking on the body. It looked like he had been trying to reach something under the desk. His finger was pointed at something further beneath it, almost hidden from view.

‘Do you have a torch?’ I enquired.

I couldn’t quite make out anything with the current level of light in the room. It was now dark outside, and there weren’t many street lamps outside in this seemingly abandoned street. Kevin didn’t have a torch but had a lighter instead and held it over in my direction.

Going even further underneath the desk, I was leaning in the blood. Upon closer inspection, I could see a wedge in the woodwork. It seemed that a filament was sticking out. Unique hardware similar to a datadisk. Able to store incredible amounts of information.

Maybe Reid was trying to get back at his killers by literally pointing us in the right direction. We would find out when we got back to HQ, in Centraal.

I put the filament into my pocket that contained my notebook, and stood back up to meet Kevin’s eyes.

He sighed. ‘This mess just turned into a shitshow.’

He took his lighter back, then dramatically walked to the door to light up a splinter. MuoLite, a brand manufactured here. A splinter was about twice the size of a toothpick but packed a heavy punch. It was an addictive piece of consumer material that had been getting more popular back in the Inner Zones as of late.

‘At least I didn’t have to use my Umbra.’ I tried to calm my nerves with a taste of Kevin’s humour. I heard his laughter from outside.

I looked back at Reid’s body, lying in a pool of his own blood, and then at the picture of him and his two children sitting on his desk.

What did you do, Reid, to die so painfully?

I shook my head, turned back to the door and followed Kevin into the quiet night. The door closed behind me with a jarring quietness, leaving the workshop in which Reid had just died in darkness and silence.