Two months hurtled by and the weather had gone from cold to butt-numbing freezing. No one ventured outside willingly, not even the Night Walker who preferred spending his days cooped up in an office.
Throwing the pen down with a noisy clatter, I threw my hands up and let it flop to my side without a care. The chair groaned under my weight as if knowing the burden I carried. It was a mind-numbing problem, really. Despite becoming a force to reckon with in the market, Luna Services still hasn't managed to buy the trust of the people in the Slums. Red Rumble continued to elude Nash as they held their regular customers steadily. There was simply too much work to be done in the office and I wanted out.
"I'm thinking of retiring," I sighed.
Ignacio paused his work and looked up from the tall stack of folders on his desk. "I'm sorry, could you say that again?"
I raised an eyebrow at the utter confusion on I
"…and we will bring in a new business partner from the Slums. Nash Skinner is a very capable man with great influence on the people there. He will work alongside Ignacio who will be taking over the position of Chief Executive Officer of Luna Services."Gasps and murmurs broke out after I ended my announcement. It was a rather sudden thing so objections are expected. I could see that Felix frowned in disapproval but opted to remain silent about it until the meeting was adjourned.One by one, the board directors and major shareholder representatives left after they were unable to convince me to change my mind. I tidied the table with the help of Ignacio after they had left. Only Felix remained as we had anticipated."Why?" he asked. "Luna Services is doing so well, why now?"I smiled and exchanged looks with Ignacio. The brunet nodded and took the cue to give us some privacy. The moment the door
By the time I woke up, the stars were greeting me in place of Pyros. What a nostalgic feeling. This only happened while I was still in the Academy. Mrs Peterman and Alastair often chided me for having unhealthy sleeping habits and now it felt a little too quiet without their nagging. Trying to go back to sleep would be futile as I tossed about in bed. Finally relenting, I got up and set to work."Lilith Malfoy…" a glance over at Cain 2.0. The gears in my head started turning as the sleep induced fog in my brain cleared.Thanks to Luna Services, I knew what kind of internal system the Inner City used. The Night Walker might be an expert at hacking devices and systems but hacking the Inner City's mainframe would be on a whole new level. No one had attempted to alter the mainframe for as long as it existed and that's saying something. All devices and programs were dependant on it since nobody remembered the man who made the mainframe sys
"You've been really quiet for a while.""It is for good reasons. I trust that you are doing well under Ignacio's leadership?"Nash sighed and sank into his new fluffy couch. "Not really. There are still shareholders who disapprove of someone from the Slums and someone who had been a Special Pass worker running the company. The Parliament is also giving us pressure and some monoliths formed alliances to cut off trades with us. However, the kid dealt with everything easily. He's asking the Slums for trades and expanded the logistics department, giving employment to the people in the Slums and the ones struggling in the Inner City. Many rich folks saw it as a golden opportunity and share prices are still rising."Chuckling to myself, I have to say Ignacio wasn't a genius in merely title. Luna Services will be in good hands."I'm more curious as to what you're planning," Nash grunted as he shot me a half
“... more incentives.”A pair of beady eyes bored into my forehead when silence ensued. I flashed the famous hundred watt smile after noticing none of the words registered in my head. “Naturally. Everything can be arranged. However, I hope that you understand this is a trade.”Juma West was an ugly, fat and bald thing whose grubby fingers only worshipped the credits in his account. Although this man had nothing on him according to my information, he was one of the targets on that list. Twelve targets, twelve purposes. Juma was the first because he was the least important.Tiny eyes narrowed. “What are you asking for in return?”I smiled charmingly but it did nothing to soothe the man’s wariness.
“Oh Pyros… is it really you? Am I really seeing the Night Walker in person?”The childish excitement on Rush’s face had been unexpected. The man was as bad as Ignacio was when it came to things they adored. For some reason, those violet eyes sparkled unnaturally with a goofy grin on his much-chiselled jaws. It was ludicrous!“No, this is the Day Crawler. Of course, it’s the Night Walker! Put some snow down your shirt and chill. I’m as normal as you are.”“No way, you’re cooler than the stories! I’ve heard how you’ve thrown Spencer off your tail countless times. You also know how to break in those super high-security areas as if they were your house, not to mention you’re the personification of Justice!”
“And pray tell. How did I end up becoming the babysitter of three fully grown men?”“It’s a long story.”Nash shot me a look that promised a long talk afterwards. I ignored it in favour of sticking my tongue out at Khronos who was now at Nash’s mercy. The old bag of bones received no less than twenty bruises from me. Rush’s eyes were still watering from the effects of Baby Blue. It had been tough carrying Khronos back and trying to keep a half-blind Rush from going astray but we made it safely to Nash’s place.“Quit acting like a baby!”“Then you should be gentler! I’m a scientist, not an athlete!”“Rush is not an athlete either and I don&rsqu
It was dark and everything felt heavy.My eyelids wouldn’t open but I could hear footsteps of someone pacing the room.“Sit down! Walking around won’t help him regain consciousness any faster.”I heard a grunt followed by a voice that grated on my ears. “Don’t tell me what to do! Besides, you said any moment now he’ll be awake.”“Well,” a weary voice explained, “I’m a scientist and not a doctor. Truthfully, he should be in the medical unit. But if I let Ignacio do that, his identity as the Night Walker would be compromised.”I heard another grunt from the same old man but the pacing stopped. The bed dipped and I felt a warm hand on my forehead.
Contrary to Khronos’ prediction, it didn’t even take two weeks. The simulation room was a lot easier to handle as compared to Nash’s unconventional training methods. After the second day of my rehabilitation, the devil himself decided to join the fray of simulated chaos. Khronos was the devil’s advocate with the improved simulation system. He made new training gears that simulated the actual pain of getting hit by homing lasers.Between dodging the devil’s close combat and deflecting homing lasers with Khronos’ new prototype defence mechanism, I had no choice but to transcend and evolve past physical limitations. Although I was nowhere close to the inhuman physical capabilities or composition of either man, I could at least dodge and deflect homing lasers with ease.Neither of my trainers allowed me to leave the premises unti
“Hurry up! Haute Couture won’t carry themselves!”Scowling at the shrill scream from the office, I hollered back twice as loud. “I have only one pair of arms you fussy old hag! Why don’t you help me out instead of braiding measuring tapes!”The bespectacled tiny woman hopped off the desk and strode over to smack me with a ruler. Hands posed on hips with a menacing glare, Lisa poked me in the chest with a bony finger.“This is your fashion show! You take pride in delivering these clothes. I don’t care who you were, you’re now my one and only disciple. The great Lisa Lishan’s legacy depends on you. Don’t you start getting cold feet now! Show them what you can do, Titus.”Confidence radiated from the sm
It wasn’t as chaotic as it was noisy. The plan devised by Khronos had been simple and Io was more than willing to help. The reporter was now outside of my door, talking over the loud crowd.Spencer was at the front line, restraining the mob that demanded my release from the official arrest. The door to my apartment remained the only barrier between the Night Walker and the rest of Luna.“... as you can see, the situation is tense. The Night Walker has yet to make his appearance but we are certain he will surrender soon. The head of Patrol Guards, Spencer Creed, is ready to arrest Titus Crowley – the Night Walker and former CEO of Luna Services. Mr Creed, what do you have to say about the situation?”Spencer barely glanced at Io or the camera, focused on ensuring his orders were being carried
Soft. The ground was too soft and it was warm too!As the sleepy haze cleared and my senses sharpened, I became more aware of my surroundings. There was movement in the room and the lights were too bright. Stabbing pain reminded me why I should have pretended to be asleep. Surely that groan has alerted the guards on duty.“Titus, are you awake?” the gentle yet familiar whisper shocked me into opening my eyes again.I cursed once at the pain but never stopped trying to verify if it was really him.My voice was hoarse from both emotions. Those forest green eyes were too real to be a mere dream. The same smell of snow and steel greeted me and I knew it hadn’t been a dream.“Nash!”
I know it sounded dramatic to complain about waking up to a dull throb at the back of my skull and a sharp pain in the back of my neck but I really couldn’t care about my image. The current predicament didn’t permit it.Used to waking up to the white walls, staring at a grey one had been a shocker. I might have jolted a little but nobody is complaining. It’s not a surprise to see how my arms were locked together in a very cold and heavy metal chain. I twisted a little to test the strength of my confines and groaned mentally. My heart sank after accessing my situation and running through my available options. The captors certainly knew who they were dealing with. The hidden knife I had was useless against metal restraints.Lying on the uncomfortable ground in a dimly lit room, I stared at the laser bars. Running through them would be suicidal a
Upon reaching my destination, the sight of Alastair greeted me. With air sprawled around his head like a halo, body curled up on a nearby couch with a slight rise and fall of his chest and a relaxed expression on his face, it made me slightly envious of his oblivion to the chaos outside.“The next two corridors are clear for you to proceed. Once you get there, place that device on top of the electronic locks and give them the charged orbs I handed you.”I heard Nash’s reply from the cramped sitting area and glanced over to Khronos’ workstation. The scientist trained his eyes on the screen, observing an insane amount of cameras. Seeing Khronos working gave off a vastly different experience from hearing him while on the job. The man’s brows were knotted in deep focus at the screens and rapidly firing away at the keyboard while occasi
Faster! Move faster!“There he is! Shoot him!”I cursed as a shot grazed my upper arm. They weren’t keeping their chill anymore. Rion wanted me dead, no doubt about it. Nash would have my head for not telling him there were people out for my blood. That was all the motivation I needed to run quicker.“Titus! What do you think you’re doing? Get back to base now!”Wincing at the sheer volume, I reached for the mute button.Just as I rounded a corner, a new group of men decked in Luna Security uniforms appeared. They didn’t have much time to react when Baby Blue covered the area. I needed a diversion…Up ahead was an alley, perfect for
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”I sighed silently as Nash’s concerned voice crackled from the communicator. Before I could answer, Khronos beat me to it.“Yes, he is sure. Goodness! Have some faith in your protégé! It’s just a simple break and enter mission, elimination if something goes wrong. If he can’t manage it, you can step in.”Nash grunted but settled down once more. It had been two hours since I started the stakeout, waiting for Kalifa to appear. Khronos was positive that she would make her trip to the secret lab today and I was to follow her out from her hidden apartment.Rion certainly spared no expenses in ensuring the safety of his lover. As Kalifa was escorted into a wheeler fr
“I didn’t expect to see you so soon again,” I told Nash frankly as he threw something to Khronos. It was a large bag and I couldn’t help but be a little curious about the content. The scientist rummaged through the items and smiled when he found what he was looking for.“These are the remaining supplement pills from the last batch. Cass will inform us when a new batch arrives. Meanwhile, you can analyse those. The rest of them are gifts that Sable hasn’t thrown away. You might want to work on them at once. I’m not sure how long DNA can last on these things.”Khronos smirked. “Thanks for the hard work. You, on the other hand, need to get checked and then rest. No more running errands for the both of you, doctor’s orders.”Annoyed at the scientist, I wa
It wasn’t difficult to set the bone in place but Cass’ sour expression made things a lot harder than it should be. Maybe treating him like a child was a bad idea. Sable tried to make light of the situation by sharing some of her funny backstage moments with the production crew but it worked as well as a wet sponge drying the ocean.The anecdotes dwindled and eventually died with Cass looking no more pleased than a man signing his death warrant. The idol appeared exhausted with her futile attempts and I didn’t blame her. Clearing my throat in an attempt to ease myself into a conversation starter, I tried to break the ice.“I’ll start with the introduction. Titus Crowley. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”The grim features only scrunched up more, morphing the sour expression to so