Epilogue.Run, run, as fast as you can...
***
He sat in the abandoned office complex on the edge of Steel Canyon, one of the few bolt holes he had left. He had lost the Lotus Machine, his goons, his facilities...he had lost almost everything!
Then, his eyes drifted to the suitcase next to him. A slow smirk began to creep across his face. He had lost everything, bar several hard drives that contained terabyte upon terabyte of info about Praetoria and Project Blades. Within a few months, he could name his price on the Black Market, he would claw his way back and this time-
His train of thought was interrupted by the sounds of someone at the door. Did he attract the attention of some rent-a-cop when he entered? Not impossible, but something about the footsteps were off.
Before he could ponder it any more, he heard voices from the other side of the door.
“Scans show one human.”
“Target acquired.”
The door burst in as two armoured women entered. One in simple black and white, carrying some sort of riffle. Her helmet’s only feature was a single orange optic, which locked on to him. The other one, however...
He felt his blood run cold.
The second figure was shorter. Her armour dull grey with deep crimson, her helmet lacking any real features. Strapped to her back was some sort of oversized blade. He knew who she was, he had heard about her before losing his job.
Cutter's Blade. One of Crey's cleaners, tasked with making sure certain messes that would reflect badly on the company and the Countess, would just simply disappear.
The white one unhooked something from an equipment pouch, before placing it on the floor. With a flicker of light the device came to life, projecting a Hologram of Dib Membrain, the director of Project Blades.
The hologram tuned to face him, his eyes peering over the top of his glasses. “Ahhh, thank you Cutter, Aperture. It appears we have finally found him.”
The women nodded and took up positions by the door, cutting off his escape. Dib continued to speak, his image giving the impression he was pacing. “Imagine my surprise when a week ago, the recovery beacons for one of my blades was activated. After checking the active roster, it was an even bigger surprise to find that it was a rogue blade.”
He tried to speak, but his tongue felt thick in his mouth. Sweat beaded on his brow as Dib continued speaking. “Now out of the three rogue blades, you were stupid enough to go after Nephilim. Oh you might have had your reasons, but by doing so you brought her family down on your operations. Your security was compromised by one of the AI's I gifted her and you fled, leaving countless minions willing to sell your secrets for a reduced sentence.”
The director stumbled back to his chair, only vaguely aware that Dib was still speaking. “The end result of your momentous failure, is that the Countess is having to spend god knows how much on bribes to keep people quiet. And then there is you. Apparently getting fired and labelled as a rogue element wasn't good enough and because it was one of my Blades you captured, I have been tasked with cleaning this fiasco up.”
Reaching under his desk, he felt his fingers tighten around the grip of a small pistol, glaring daggers of hate at the hologram of Dib. “And now, I believe that I shall leave your disposal to the capable hands of Cutter Blade.”
Rising to his feet, he pointed the gun at Cutter and pulled the trigger. The small weapon barked repeatedly, the sound echoing around the room as he unloaded the full clip at the armoured women. As the smoke cleared, he stared in horror as the crimson and grey one stood in front of his desk. There was the faintest of clinks as the bullets he fired fell to the ground, having barely scratched her armour.
She looked down at the flattened disks of lead, then back to him. A crackle came from her suits speakers. “My turn.” Her hand blurred, and briefly he saw the massive blade swing towards him. There was a meaty thud followed by a spray of crimson as the massive blade punched effortlessly through his chest.
He could only stare helplessly down at his chest as his blood flowed freely along the length of the sword. His vision started to swim as he heard the one called Aperture talking to Dib. “Sir, who exactly is this guy?”
His vision dimmed as he tried to focus on Dib and saw the holograms face twist into a smirk. “No one important, just a little fish that bit off more than he could chew.”
Letting out a slight gurgle, he tried to argue, tried to protest, but his mouth could no longer speak. He could no longer hear Dib’s words.
And at last, he saw no more.
* * *
***
He sat in the abandoned office complex on the edge of Steel Canyon, one of the few bolt holes he had left. He had lost the Lotus Machine, his goons, his facilities...he had lost almost everything!
Then, his eyes drifted to the suitcase next to him. A slow smirk began to creep across his face. He had lost everything, bar several hard drives that contained terabyte upon terabyte of info about Praetoria and Project Blades. Within a few months, he could name his price on the Black Market, he would claw his way back and this time-
His train of thought was interrupted by the sounds of someone at the door. Did he attract the attention of some rent-a-cop when he entered? Not impossible, but something about the footsteps were off.
Before he could ponder it any more, he heard voices from the other side of the door.
“Scans show one human.”
“Target acquired.”
The door burst in as two armoured women entered. One in simple black and white, carrying some sort of riffle. Her helmet’s only feature was a single orange optic, which locked on to him. The other one, however...
He felt his blood run cold.
The second figure was shorter. Her armour dull grey with deep crimson, her helmet lacking any real features. Strapped to her back was some sort of oversized blade. He knew who she was, he had heard about her before losing his job.
Cutter's Blade. One of Crey's cleaners, tasked with making sure certain messes that would reflect badly on the company and the Countess, would just simply disappear.
The white one unhooked something from an equipment pouch, before placing it on the floor. With a flicker of light the device came to life, projecting a Hologram of Dib Membrain, the director of Project Blades.
The hologram tuned to face him, his eyes peering over the top of his glasses. “Ahhh, thank you Cutter, Aperture. It appears we have finally found him.”
The women nodded and took up positions by the door, cutting off his escape. Dib continued to speak, his image giving the impression he was pacing. “Imagine my surprise when a week ago, the recovery beacons for one of my blades was activated. After checking the active roster, it was an even bigger surprise to find that it was a rogue blade.”
He tried to speak, but his tongue felt thick in his mouth. Sweat beaded on his brow as Dib continued speaking. “Now out of the three rogue blades, you were stupid enough to go after Nephilim. Oh you might have had your reasons, but by doing so you brought her family down on your operations. Your security was compromised by one of the AI's I gifted her and you fled, leaving countless minions willing to sell your secrets for a reduced sentence.”
The director stumbled back to his chair, only vaguely aware that Dib was still speaking. “The end result of your momentous failure, is that the Countess is having to spend god knows how much on bribes to keep people quiet. And then there is you. Apparently getting fired and labelled as a rogue element wasn't good enough and because it was one of my Blades you captured, I have been tasked with cleaning this fiasco up.”
Reaching under his desk, he felt his fingers tighten around the grip of a small pistol, glaring daggers of hate at the hologram of Dib. “And now, I believe that I shall leave your disposal to the capable hands of Cutter Blade.”
Rising to his feet, he pointed the gun at Cutter and pulled the trigger. The small weapon barked repeatedly, the sound echoing around the room as he unloaded the full clip at the armoured women. As the smoke cleared, he stared in horror as the crimson and grey one stood in front of his desk. There was the faintest of clinks as the bullets he fired fell to the ground, having barely scratched her armour.
She looked down at the flattened disks of lead, then back to him. A crackle came from her suits speakers. “My turn.” Her hand blurred, and briefly he saw the massive blade swing towards him. There was a meaty thud followed by a spray of crimson as the massive blade punched effortlessly through his chest.
He could only stare helplessly down at his chest as his blood flowed freely along the length of the sword. His vision started to swim as he heard the one called Aperture talking to Dib. “Sir, who exactly is this guy?”
His vision dimmed as he tried to focus on Dib and saw the holograms face twist into a smirk. “No one important, just a little fish that bit off more than he could chew.”
Letting out a slight gurgle, he tried to argue, tried to protest, but his mouth could no longer speak. He could no longer hear Dib’s words.
And at last, he saw no more.
* * *