Ghost in the City: Early Chapter 219

I dropped down right onto the poor unsuspecting gonk. Knife into the eye socket, slight jerk to scramble everything and other hand grabbed tight onto his throat, squeezing to make sure not a sound could escape.

The death rattle practically squeaked out, and I held the body in the shadows as it twitched its final times.

Only once I was sure it wasn’t going to kick hard and hit something or make too much noise did I lower it to the metal grating. Taking just a second as I pulled free my blade to wipe it on his shirt, removing as much of the blood as I could. Kiroshi could track blood stains if I wasn’t careful, so it was a good idea to remove as much extra blood to keep it from dripping as I could.

500 XP Gained.

I’d been slowly picking off this group one by one. Onryo was pulling her weight, and I had to admit, while I usually like to think complete stealth is better. There is definitely something for causing so much chaos that your enemies are just as unable to deal with you as if they didn’t know you were there.

I’d circled the entire area, and was hiding in the darkness of a few pallets when I heard the cry that they found my most recent kill.

The fear that I could hear in their voices was delicious, and I couldn’t help but smile as I fucked with the one screaming.

Out of the corner of his eye Onryo would flash past, and the cry that he’d seen her was all I needed.

It gave me all the opportunity I needed to move. I leapt and slid into the open vent that ran above the hallway they’d all been coming in and out of.

I’d heard the elevator inside going up, and I’d now heard it coming back down.

I slid quickly on my belly along the metal venting until I found a spot I could peak down from.

A long hallway, and I could now see the targeting laser of an HMG turret going back and forth…

Heh.

I wormed my way forward, until I could see it, and slipped inside. 

One moment to the next I opened my ‘eyes’ but I was the turret, slowly arcing back and forth, giving me a view of the tunnel from the end, and a few Scavs that were huddling down at the end of the tunnel guns pointed and whispering to each other.

The temptation was there to just turn the HMG turret, but I held off, the elevator was coming down.

I couldn’t see as the elevator dinged open, but I heard it, with my real ears.

“Get the fuck up! The fuck are you cowering for!?” Roared a booming voice, and the steps soon followed sounded like the footfalls of an elephant.

The man that walked past the turret was huge, borged out to hell and back. So I slipped through his security, I realized I was literally laying calmly just above this idiot, practically smiling as I felt like humming, but I never would, as I breached into his system. 

Hmm. This had been an excellent test of the Onryo, but she still needed some work.

I ended up turning over onto my back relaxing as I used the turret to breach into each of the new Scavs systems, uploading Onryo and making some active adjustments. All I really needed was…

That should work, Agent vocal methods. Yeah that would do it.

Actively altering a hack as I listened too what the Scavs were up to.

“Well Where is this Runner fuck? Why isn’t he dead yet!”

“It’s like a ghost Dmitri! Nothing we do works!”

“A fucking ghost! Fuck off! Well! Runner come out so I can murder you already!”

I closed my eyes and smirked, overriding one of the Scavs that had been down here the whole time.

Time to make a show.

—---

Dmitri Agapov

“Fuck off! Well! Runner come out so I can murder you already!” He roared, his eyes scanning. Third gen Kiroshi let him find even sneaky fuckers, or so he thought, as he looked around and didn’t get anything but the scan pinging the dead bodies.

Who the fuck was this? Barghest? No, those fuckers would have crashed in with an APC and started shooting.

This stunk, and Dmitri hardened his grip on his HMG.

“What do you mean I’ve been here the whole time.” Whispered a sultry voice from behind him, and Dmitri shifted. 

One of the fuckers, he hadn’t bothered to remember the name of, had just spoke, the look of horror on the gonks face was registered. But his optics flicked to the woman that was wrapped around his throat, sharp claws clutching the man's throat.

“The fuck?”

“It’s the ghost!” Cried one of the others, and to his irritation opened fire. 

The woman cackled as the gonk fuck shot their own men.

The ghost was untouched. Not a drop of blood, or a bullet pierced her. And then as the gonk slumped having been shot up, she slipped behind him, and as he fell the fucking bitch was gone.

That was not normal. 

“Naughty.” That sultry voice echoed out and he turned, another of his men, was now clutched by the ghost, the voice coming out of his throat not his own. “But you can’t stop me. Not until I get what I want.”

The man screamed flailing around despite the grip the… Ghost? Had on his throat and she cackled as she vanished once he broke contact.

Did you have to stand still to be affected?

“Boss!”

“Stay close.” He demanded, Dmitri had seen open warfare, Sov Oil and Petrochem had been in a cold war with each other for years. It wasn’t Arasaka, and Militech, but the two companies knew who their rival was.

He’d stared down Dragoon FBC’s. He’d rode atop a Tank piloted by insane Panzer Boys, and yet… 

He’d never fought a ghost.

This was bullshit. He could feel the red rage flooding him, his biomon beeping informing him of another fit.

Yet, he didn’t see an enemy. How could he fight with a ghost that disappeared before his eyes?

His HMG shifted the barrel slowly scanning. Trying to find his target.

“What’s wrong?” Whispered in his ear, and he shifted, fingers scraping on his cheek, the sharpness so very very real.

He roared, pulling the trigger as he shot at the woman that had definitely just touched him.

The HMG chugged, throwing the rounds through her body until she vanished before his eyes.

He’d just mowed down Ivan.

“Bitch!” He roared out, blood rushing through his ears. “I’ll kill you!” He screamed.

“Oh but why? We’re becoming such good friends! Kill that one next. His ugly face annoys me.” She whispered sweetly into his ear, and pointed at… Some fucker he didn’t actually know the name of.

His eyes widened behind the Scav mask and he stepped back.

Dmitri wanted to murder him just because he acted like he was going to kill the gonk.

“Fuck off!” He roared, punching at the stupid ghost woman on his shoulder only for faint laughter to come to his ear.

His Biomon beeped.

What? He felt his heart pick up, adrenaline spike and he roared as rage washed over him.

How? What? Where was the enemy? What was- His Kiroshi shifted, the fuckers around him! All of them had their IFF change to red! Enemies!? HERE!?

“FUCKING DIE!” He screamed as he unloaded, the sound of his biomon beeping in urgency was silenced never to reach through his agent as he killed the traitors. Yes. This was their plan to kill him. A Ghost? Nonsense. These were just traitors!

—--

I was honestly a little surprised at just how effective that had been.

Hacking into the borgs agent, had given me access to some of his cyberware, and well…

His Biomon had actually already been shrieking about panic attacks of all things. Trying to keep him calm, so I’d just… flipped it around. A real big shot of adrenaline and a few other things the man kept his Bloodpump, and he’d flipped out.

I think I’d just sent the guy into a full on Cyberpsycho event…

Cool!

I still felt like humming but kept it to myself as he did all the work in murdering a few scavs. I was a bit disappointed not to get XP from the kills, but that was fine. There had only been a few left, and they did fight back. 

The borg was bloody, a few of the scavs had fired on him when he started attacking them, and well…

That was all to my benefit. He continued to pace around like a bear screaming for the traitors to come out. For them to reveal themselves…

I thought about taking him out. Burya would do it without much issue but… I had a nice situation here.

The appearance of Onryo flashed in his optics, the IFF in his optics marking it as an ally. She waved for him, and headed back inside.

This was just… Fucking sinister. I felt myself grinning like some evil villain as he followed in a rush not sure whether he was going to try and kill her or not, but he followed, all the way back inside, past my overwritten HMG turret, and into the elevator as I lured him in again.

Then… The elevator went up.

“Look at them. Traitors, they’re going to kill you. Kill them.” Onryo whispered in his ear, using his agent to speak to him, as she lured him into a bloodbath.

Unfortunately I opened my eyes and sighed. I couldn’t see what was happening through his optics, I’d  have to work on something that let me do that, so this game was over.

I slipped back out of the vent and took just a moment to activate the HMG to fire at any of the scavs that came down. Then I looked over the now dead quiet construction site. 

I took my fingers and used them to make a little square like I was filming a movie and pointed them right at my Quadra, still sitting there nice and pretty.

“Don’t steal my car.” I whispered loudly enough my BD recorder would pick it up, and then I hopped down to make sure everyone was actually dead. 

Stupid scavs.

I kept a slight bit of attention on the connection I still had to the poor gonk that I’d just sent upstairs, and the alerts on his biomon to new injuries.

Huh. That had actually worked out pretty well.

I looked at the Quadra.

I looked back up at the building behind me that I could hear gunshots hammering…

I should just leave. I had my car. I’d killed Scavs, earned some XP…

Hiromi was probably worried…

This was Dogtown, I had no idea what the politics of this place was like. I should just leave…

On the other hand?

Fuck Scavs. Fuck this place, and fuck people like them.

The Biomon confirmed my poor Cyberpsycho was dead.

That meant there were more scavs. Disrupted confused scavs. Easy to surprise and kill scavs.

I turned and headed for the elevator.

Just a few more murders wouldn’t hurt.

I headed back into the little pathway reaching the HMG turret, and the elevator, but I left the HMG where it was, as much fun as it would be to bring that up with me, she’d do a good job making sure no rats ran away.

Besides, I was on a quest.

The elevator closed behind me, and I closed my eyes to focus myself. My hand reached over and grabbed at the hilt of my Katana. 

I was close to reaching that final number. Sensei would be very surprised if I manage it before I have to head back to the dojo.

So now was my chance. I’d let Onryo play out down below, but here? Where things would be closer? I was going to be the deadly flash of a blade. 

“The perfect cut.” I whispered to myself, and the elevator opened revealing the first room. The dead bodies of scavs already lay around, my pet Cyberpscyho had done his job. But I moved forward, calm strides, as I was on a sort of walkway around a lower floor room. It might have been pretty fancy if it wasn’t half complete, and covered in scav entrails.

I stepped forward and looked down, instantly seeing a few scavs, and my poor cyberpsycho. He’d been shot to hell laying in a slump in the center of the room.

Ping went out, spreading golden lines across my vision, as I instantly started breaching into the Scavs system.

[Weapon Glitch] Uploaded into their network, and then I readied the next hack. Stepping up onto the railing I stepped over and into the air letting myself drop. 

Calm. Cool. 

The Perfect Cut.

My foot touched the ground, and I activated my Sandevistan, Instantly I shifted my momentum forward and launched at the Scavs that hadn’t even registered I was there yet.

The blade slipped from my sheath, with a whisper, flash of steel and I was through the first Scav.

500 XP Gained.

“Wha-” Their eyes went out, and a moment later my blade slipped through an open neck, sliding out, to cut through the second Scav’s arm that had been raised up to fire a Omaha, which never fired, limb and gun flipped away as I finished the final cut, and all the Scavs in the room slumped dead.

My neck burned lightly, but…

I breathed in and out. 

More. I needed a bit more to find that perfect cut. To push myself just a little bit farther. I turned towards the hallway leading out of this lower room, and followed the golden lights. 

The next Scav I found never even realized he was dead as I simply cut through him and moved into the room he had just left. Sandevistan activated, giving me the time I needed as I rushed forward. The two scavs in the room shifted up in shock, crying out rising to their feet, before I made them blind and I reached them. First the  arm to remove the gun and then a single strike through the neck, head flying, I considered it for a moment a blissful perfect moment as my Sandevistan kept everything still.

My hand reached up grabbing dirty hair and I spun sending the now decapitated head soaring through the air right into the blind face of his compatriot, I gave it a moment mostly because I wanted to see what would happen.

I watched as he stumbled back sputtering and shrieking blind to the world.

One step. Two step. Three step.

One step too many.

There was a hole in the wall, and nothing but open air. He fell back screaming for a long while.

500 XP Gained.

I turned and moved to keep killing. To keep hunting, and more importantly, to find that perfect cut I needed to improve my Blades.

I cut through scav after scav. Blind flailing, weapon failing Scavs, each of them nothing but bodies to cut down as I systematically removed their ability to harm me, and then simply removed them.

Until I was chasing the last golden light, leaping down I found a bridge just settling and a Scav rushing across a sort of draw bridge of all things.

I chased after, easily catching up foot steps utterly silent as instead of simply cutting him down I kicked him square in the back sending him smashing face first into the metal grill floor.

“Going somewhere?” I asked, Sexy Motoko voice, active and sinister.

“Fuck! Bitch!” He cursed me as he spun around and raised a Burya himself, the borg killer pointed and nothing. A noise of failure as he pulled the trigger a few times earning the same thing.

“Mines better.” I offered and drew my own Burya and fired, his shriek was music to my ears as I shot the Burya right out of his hand, the shrapnel sending his flinching back and screaming. 

So this was it? A pathetic Scav crying as he held his bloodied hand. No grand battle? I mean this would be an awesome place to have a cool sword fight or something. I realized that I was expecting too much. This guy wasn’t going to give me anything worthwhile. 

So instead of listening to his blabbering anymore, or even giving him the benefit of my own words, I just pulled the trigger.

1000 XP Gained.

Wait that meant he was the leader? That guy? Crying on the ground guy? Jeeze, what a waste.

That guy was good enough to take the entire scraper under his control, and craft it into a fortress… Of sorts anyways. 

That guy? How embarrassing.

Too bad their little fortress wasn’t good enough to even slow me down. I looked out over Dogtown from a few stories up and just watched all the people move around.

Then I blinked as I recognized something.

Huh. I blinked my eyes as I made a call, and then used that to route through a connection.

Ichi picked up the call.

Motoko! There you are! Hiromi is freaking out, but we got a location. Everything good?

“It’s fine choom.” I replied, not through the call, but as the Onryo, sitting right beside him in his van. I smirked as I watched the van jerk a bit as Ichi definitely freaked for half a second before getting control so he didn’t smash into the little side street he was heading down.

Jesus Christ Motoko! What the fuck!?

“Sorry choom, just trying out a few things. I’m fine. Head straight from where you're going and then hit a right when you can’t go anymore, there’s a drive down into an old construction lot, I’ve cleared everything so get looting.”

Loot-Alright well you sound good. You found your car?

“Yep. Killed the gonk that stole it, and the gonks that he sold it too. Anyone with you?”

Yeah I got Malcolm and Rebecca in the back. Hiromi is still at the Heavy Hearts, she demanded I come help you before we pick her up.

“That’s sweet of her. I was pretty mad so I rushed off, I’ll give her a call now. Just start grabbing stuff. They took over this entire scraper so there might be a lot of stuff up here to grab too.”

No shit? He asked, obviously sounding very interested.

“No shit. Alright I’m out.”

I hung up and instantly called Hiromi, who didn’t hesitate before picking up.

Motoko! Tell me you’re okay!?

I’m fine Hiromi, everything is cleared up here, and Ichi is pulling up too. Good timing on his part.

You sure? It’s been a while Motoko! You had me worried!

Sorry Hiromi, it just took me a while to clear this place out. Ichi is pulling up in his van right now, so we’re going to loot up. You want me to come pick you up first, or just get looting?

It’s best to just loot things. I’m fine here I guess. I’m glad you’re okay.

No problem choom, we’ll talk soon, bye!

—--

“Yo.” I called out as I stepped out of the entryway path to the elevator to see Rebecca, Malcolm, and Ichi all already looting.

“Motoko! Yo!” Malcolm greeted grinning like a loon. “Looks like you had a hell of a scrap.”

“It actually wasn’t that bad. I used a new quick hack, and basically made them go crazy. Remember my Onryo hack?” I asked him, and he blinked and just shook his head. 

“Nope.”

“Remember me now?” Whispered my voice in his ear as my claws ran up along his throat.

“Frgle! Fuck! Motoko!” Malcolm hissed, waving his arms as if trying to dispel the illusion that was already gone.

“Hehehe!” I cackled and Rebecca looked from him to me confused. 

So I winked at her, and started hacking, which she noticed and instantly crossed her arms.

“Hey! Don’t even think about it Strings, no hacking!”

“Aww.” I whined at her while smirking evilly. “It’s really funny though.”

“Nuh uh! No!” She pointed and I raised my hands in surrender. 

“Okay okay. So how’s looting coming?”

“Eh. Mostly trash so far, that guy had a Grad.” Rebecca pointed at weapon resting against Ichi’s truck as Ichi stepped off the truck grabbing a few weapons and then bringing them into the back to store away.

“Preem, there’s a ton of stuff upstairs too. We’ll need to gather everything we can.” I said loud enough for all three.

“One step ahead of you, Motoko.” Ichi called out, and came around the back of the truck pushing a loader. 

“Alright, I’ll show you both where the elevator is.” I called out to the boys and guided them back to the tunnel, making sure to disable the HMG turret. Which both boys were already eyeing.

“Go on, get that later if you want it.” I told them laughing, and went back to help Rebecca.

“Hey Strings! Come nab these will you?” She called out waving as I approached where Rebecca was squating over one of the corpses. It was one of the more borged out guys that came out with my pet Cyberpsycho.

“Oh Eddie shards?”

“Yep! You can get them right?”

“Yeah.” I confirmed, although I didn’t usually think about it. I leaned down and after a few seconds the shard port popped the shard out, which I collected, Rebecca grinned seemingly pleased at the minor eddies on shards like these, and immediately started grabbing guns.

I shrugged if it made her happy.