–Trinity Church of the Holy Virgin, 10:20 AM–
The small church had the ability to hold about fifty people on a good day, but today it only held about twenty-five, not including a large coffin made of black wood. Just outside of the modest-looking building several policemen had gathered, including the chief and his most senior detectives. As the grizzled police veterans talked amongst themselves, Enrique, looking around for anything out of the ordinary, noticed a striking young woman wearing a knee-length black dress and a designer jacket, also black, walking down the sidewalk towards the church.
Normally, that wouldn’t have aroused suspicion in the hulking detective, but the woman was wearing sunglasses, had extremely long, pale hair, and seemed to be trying to keep someone or something fairly small away from the centre of attention. Curious, Enrique excused himself from his colleagues and walked over towards the woman, who seemed to be watching him as he walked towards her. When he had gotten about ten feet away, Enrique noticed what the woman was trying to shield, as the young child peeked out from behind the older person’s skirt.
Enrique paused when he saw that, as well as the smile of total affection the woman showed when she knelt down to straighten out the child’s dress and jacket. He was actually close enough to hear some snatches of the conversation, but discreetly decided to ignore it in order to preserve the aura of privacy around the two.
After several minutes of murmured conversation and fussing with clothes, the two continued on their walk towards the church, only to be bothered by some catcalls from some officers who were in uniform. The woman turned her head to glance at the two cops who were making lewd gestures, but they stopped when she lowered the sunglasses slightly. Obviously unnerved, the two continued on their beat, seeming to be slightly paler than before.
Enrique paused again, watching as the two people walked into the church. Waiting for a few more minutes, he heard the single, mournful ‘bong’ that told everyone that it was halfway through the hour, then entered the church. Inside, most of the light came through the stained glass windows on each side of the main hall, revealing that someone had placed a single white rose on the coffin, acting as a complete counterpoint to the heavy black wood. Also near the coffin was the entire team that had worked under Wilson, but most of the team were clustered around the two newcomers to the slightly dim interior of the building.
Walking over, he heard some snatches of conversation, but he was suddenly stopped by a cool hand resting on his forearm. "Don’t. This is a rough time for most of them, and you’re too unfamiliar. Also, most of them are armed, and they’re quite protective of the people in their midst."
Enrique looked at the person who had stopped him, and he almost instantly recognised the second-in-command of the team, most of whom were clustered around someone near the coffin. "Well, I just saw two people enter the church, and I am wondering who they are." The woman sitting beside him shuffled to her right a few inches, then gestured for Enrique to sit down. After he did so, she spoke again, looking at the small group clustered together.
"The older one is the commanding officer of all the teams in the world. When she shows up, most everyone gets worried. We’ve been wondering about her sanity for years, but only in the last several months has she been really irrational. She’s also the type of person that is capable of going against a communist army unit and cutting it to pieces in less time than it takes for her to have a shower." Enrique whistled slowly, and he quickly noticed that it was an extremely bad thing to do. Most everyone in the church turned to look at him, but the faint swish of hair moving towards him, followed quickly by the appearance of the mysterious woman, told him exactly how much trouble he was in.
The woman walked over to where he was sitting, looked at the other woman, and smiled slightly. "Jenny, could you go look after Sebena while I... talk to him?" Jenny nodded, stood up, and hopped over Enrique’s long legs as she went over to the cluster of people who were talking amongst themselves. Enrique leaned back in the pew, feeling the old hardwood digging into his back, and looked at the woman who seemed to loom over him like one of the stone gargoyles on the roof of the church.
"Hi, we haven’t been introduced yet, but I’m Detective Enrique of the Meridiana Police Department, Twelfth Precinct." Enrique smiled, trying to release some of the tension that was building, and failing miserably as the woman gestured for him to shove over. Moving over far enough so that he wouldn’t crowd her, Enrique watched as she moved fluidly to sit beside him before she leaned back and blew an errant strand of hair into the air above her forehead.
"Well, if you’re a detective, that means you’re up to date on all the shit that’s been going on in this crater of a city. Care to fill me in?" She smiled slightly, then grabbed the errant strand as it settled along the bridge of her nose and pulled the long hair out of her scalp. She then wound the long hair around her pinky finger as Enrique tried to arrange his thoughts, distracting the huge cop.
"Um, well, you’ve heard of the new boys in town right?" Even though her eyes were obscured by the sunglasses, the look she gave him was akin to asking if he was always so stupid. "Um, right. Well, there’s been several areas of high 4G activity ever since two days ago, but we’ve managed to keep the cork on the normal crimes going about. Approximately ninety-some percent of all the crime in the city is being instigated by the heavily armed goon packs, and the force just can’t keep up with it."
The woman sighed and took off her sunglasses, closing her eyes as she rubbed at her forehead. Keeping her eyes closed, she started muttering under her breath, then opened her left eye. Glancing at Enrique carefully, she waved her hand in front of his face for a few seconds, then opened her right eye as well, revealing the black iris and cornea, not to mention the blazing red pupil. "Well, we’re being left with a mess from hell, so I’m just going to call in a few favours and carpet-bomb the home base of those freaks."
Enrique looked up, staring at her face as he digested the information he had just been given. "Wait a second. You can do that? With what?"
She chuckled and looked at the coffin, instantly sobering herself up. "Yeah, if only to get some payback for Wilson. Now, If you’ll excuse me, I have to talk to Father Trillio before the funeral starts." She stood up, replacing the sunglasses on her face before walking over to a door inset in the back wall.
–In Front of the Police HQ, 11:03 AM–
The police officers that had been outside the church had dispersed, heading off on their beats or some other reasons, but three people stood outside the church, listening as the centuries-old bell finished tolling. The small group was rather eclectic, consisting of two men and a woman, all of whom were dressed for the unseasonably cool weather of the day. Despite the news that the commander of the special team had been killed, CyberSix’s enthusiasm about finding out she was going to have a child was hardly dampened.
Beside her was Lucas, looking decidedly uncomfortable without his ever-present trenchcoat, which had been switched out for a dark jacket. On her other side was Dr. Zack, looking infinitely more distinguished than Lucas ever could, even though he was in a slightly rumpled sweater and baggy pants. He wasn’t paying much attention to Six’s minor berating of Lucas for wearing clothes that looked like they were family heirlooms from the middle of the last century, as he was watching the stragglers enter the church for the funeral.
"Now, this ceremony is rather interesting. No bells, with the exception of the hourly ringing, and it’ll probably be short and to the point." Lucas looked almost self-satisfied for a few seconds, then winced as Six elbowed him just below the ribs.
"Lucas, if you don’t get that smirk of your face, I’ll help Tony wipe it off your face with some duct tape." Six frowned at Lucas, then leaned against the cornerstone of the old police station nearest the front of the church. "Now, Tony, could you tell us why we’re here in the first place?"
Dr. Zack nodded as he pulled a small pipe from his coat pocket, which was subsequently filled with some tobacco from a leather pouch. "Well, I’m waiting for someone who’s currently in that church, but I’m too kind and decent to gate-crash. Also, I had a call from a Mr. Valentine who wanted me to meet up with a woman there."
Six’s eyes lit up for a second, and she smiled slightly. "Someone’s trying to hook you up with one of their friends, huh?"
Dr. Zack frowned around the pipe sticking out of his mouth, and he glared at his old friend. "Or an enemy. I heard of an old criminal called Valentine. He’s currently in a max. security prison, but there were rumours of a child or spouse that became a professional thief or assassin."
Lucas glanced at Dr. Zack, scribbling madly in a notepad as he got the information down on paper. "Well, there’s a lot of Valentines in the world, and maybe one of the ones not in jail called you."
Dr. Zack smiled, but shook his head. "I thought that as well, but I traced the call to one of the nastier penitentiaries in the US. As a result, I have a few ‘surprises’ stashed around the place, but they probably won’t be used." Lucas shook his head at the display of Dr. Zack’s paranoia, and continued writing notes.
Dr. Zack leaned close to Six’s shoulder, and whispered quietly. "So, he know yet?"
Six smiled slightly as she watched the large man continue to take notes. "No, and I won’t tell him until tomorrow. Why are you so antsy?"
Dr. Zack lightly squeezed her shoulder, smiling mysteriously. "Not telling. Now, if you focus on the church, the ceremony should be over in about two more minutes, and Lucas will probably want to get some interviews with at least two people. Let’s get over there."
All three of them started walking towards the church, arriving just after the double doors opened to allow the pallbearers to leave the old building with the coffin. Following the bearers were two women and a child, shadowed by Enrique and the other members of the team that Wilson had lived with for the last three years.
After the coffin had been placed in the hearse, and the creaky vehicle pulled away, Lucas walked over to the woman who wasn’t tending to the weeping child and started to politely ask a few questions for his job as a newspaper reporter. Dr. Zack waited until he could get a clear view of the person who Lucas was talking to, but shook his head as his eyes scanned the group.
Eventually the person who was tending to the little girl stood up, adjusting her sunglasses as she looked up at the grey skies. Dr. Zack looked at the woman, mentally reviewed the list of distinctive features that had been given to him by his mysterious caller, and found a match when he noticed the jagged line of pale tissue running down the side of the woman’s neck. Tapping Six on the shoulder, he pointed at the woman as she swept some hair away from her face, making the Cyber frown as she remembered someone else who had done the same thing.
"Reminds me of Elaine. That person’s dangerous at any speed, but I have to wonder why she’s wearing mirrorshades."
Dr. Zack noticed he had burnt all the tobacco in his pipe, so he tapped out the ashes and placed the pipe in one of his coat pockets while focussing on the woman. "Hmm. Well, she’s not genetically altered as far as I know. However, her blood is quite unique."
Six looked at Dr. Zack, the hints of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Tony! I never knew you were such a cad!"
Dr. Zack ‘hmmphed’ in irritation, and Six grinned at being able to get his goat so easily. "For your information, I only looked at her forearm. You know that my heart is set on one person only, and she’s not it."
Six giggled slightly, then looked at the woman. "Do you think that child is hers? The resemblance is almost uncanny."
"It’s possible Cyb. However, I wouldn’t rule out cloning. Mentally age the child to about twenty-five, add on a scar to the side of the neck, and you’ll have the woman there. It’s almost uncanny."
Dr. Zack frowned slightly, then walked over to the woman. "Good day miss, uh..."
"Del Naryen. Call me Sel." The woman dropped her gaze back to eye level, and dropped one of her hands down far enough for the child to latch onto the thin appendage.
"Ah. Well, um, Sel, I’m Dr. Anthony Zacharias. A day ago, I got a call from someone named Valentine, and he told me I could find you here today."
She turned her head to look at him, then slowly removed her sunglasses, revealing another scar running just under her right eyebrow. She kept her eye closed, but looked at him with a solid gaze that reminded him of a wolf sizing up a jackrabbit. "Knew him, should’ve killed him. Where is he now?"
Dr. Zack looked closely at her, seeing the dim pink strands that were intermixed with the more prominent dusty white shade of her hair. "In a New York pen. Probably to hide from you, or just because he got arrested for grand larceny two years ago."
She chewed on her lower lip, looking down at the child as she did so. "Well, I did say that it’d bite him on the ass someday. Looks like he got what he deserved. So, why in hell did he call you? To try and say he’s sorry?"
Dr. Zack chuckled for a second, shaking his head. "No. Actually, he only told me that you’d be here. This entire meeting is my choice."
She smiled slightly, then rubbed at her right eye. "Well, I’d recommend you scoot before something happens." Grimacing slightly, she seemed to shrink into herself, but stopped any motion towards her by opening her right eye. Dr. Zack was frozen in place as the black orb scanned him from head to toe with a thin red beam. "By the way, next time we meet, leave the peashooter at home. Also, forget about the knife hidden in your shirtsleeve." She then turned, and started to walk away from Dr. Zack.
After the rest of the team had disengaged itself from idle conversations, Dr. Zack stood and stared at the retreating form of the woman. "That went well."
–Jose’s Mansion, 4:30 PM–
Jose was somewhat pleased, but he was already up to his waist in damaged machine parts as he began the repairs on the surviving AFIs. All three of the survivors had suffered critical damage to their torsos and right arms, with varying degrees of damage done to the rest of their bodies. The first thing he did was replace the vital pieces that had suffered serious damage, restoring basic functions to the most heavily damaged parts. After he had stabilized the AFIs internal functions, he replaced the damaged internal plating, taking him a good five hours per Idea.
After he was finished, Jose ordered some technos to keep a medical watch on the three, as well as a few normal FIs to keep watch on the medium-sized room. After making sure everything was up to date, Jose walked to a room with two landline uplinks to the subsidiary bases that Jess and Helmut were setting up. He put in calls to each base, and got responses almost instantly. Jess, when she popped up on the video screen hooked up to the line, looked like she had been working underneath a truck, as her face and arms were smeared with thick grease and dirt.
Helmut popped up a few seconds later, looking just as haggard, but less dirty. Both of them instantly started sniping at each other. "Well, if it isn’t little miss greaseball. You look like you dropped out of the sphinx’s nose."
Jess snorted, then flipped the bird at the screen. "Well, I’d still look better than you ever could, and right now you look like someone dragged you through a knothole with a pair of tongs glued to your balls."
Jose grinned, then spoke up. "Well, now that the greetings are over, let’s get to business. You two are going to get one of my AFIs each."
Jess spoke up quickly. "AFIs? What in hell are those?"
Jose sighed, then rolled his eyes up at the ceiling. "Augmented Fixed Ideas. The bigger, tougher, smarter, and meaner brother to those brainless hulks we call grunt work. Be warned, as they’re tough enough to be hit by almost five minutes of that gauss shit you told me about."
Jess whistled, but was distracted by an echoing boom from behind her. "Sorry boss, something’s up. Talk to you later." Her image flickered out, leaving Jose and Helmut alone for a while.
"Last time I trust a techno to do the job right." Jose grumped for a few seconds, then asked Helmut how his base was doing.
"Almost up to full capacity. We’ll be ready in just under forty hours." Helmut was also distracted by something, and was forced to disconnect to deal with it, leaving Jose with his thoughts, and a videotape of Mikae struggling to free herself from her bonds back when he had captured her. Chuckling in anticipation, he plopped the tape into the VCR and was enjoying the show Mikae was putting on, when the tape suddenly blanked out.
"What the hell? Rrrrgggh! At the best time too! Well, good thing I had a backup installed that morning. Now, where did I put it?" Jose rummaged through the security tapes and eventually found what he was looking for. Placing it in the VCR, he chuckled as the screen popped up, revealing a great shot of Mikae’s rear. "Well, the angle’s sub-par, but she does have a nicer butt than Jess."
He watched through the entire thing, but when he saw how Mikae’s escape was effected, he flew into a paroxysm of rage, smashing the TV. After he calmed down, he realized that he hadn’t seen the number that was usually tattooed into the Idea’s huge biceps. "Well, either I have a traitor to my cause, or that Idea is monumentally stupid. No matter what however, that Idea’s gonna die."