“I’m sorry... I know... Xander… I’m scared… I need you to come and get me,” Venom said, her voice breaking a little through small sobs. Xander sat bolt upright. It wasn’t often he heard her upset, Venom was a tough girl, and it took a lot to break her down.
“Ok, V, calm down, where are you?” Xander asked as he jumped out of bed.
“I’m… I’m sitting outside OwnPlace,” Venom responded, sniffing heavily, her confident tone replaced with that of a child.
“Alright. I’m on my way. Stay put and don’t move,” Xander instructed. When she agreed, they exchanged goodbyes and cancelled the call.
Xander pulled himself out of bed and went for the dresser. Fishing out a clean set of clothes, he started to pull them on as he headed downstairs. When he reached the living room, he saw his beautiful wife sitting in the chair with their baby daughter in her arms. He stopped in his tracks as a smile came to his face. Caitlyn’s long dark hair was messy, and her dark eyes appeared groggy with sleep, but no matter what, she was beautiful to him.
“Are you off somewhere?” Caitlyn asked with a slight yawn.
“Venom called me, and she needs a pick up. I shouldn’t be long,” he responded, pulling a shirt on.
“Is she alright?” Caitlyn asked.
“I have no idea. That’s why I’m going to get her. It’s not often she calls for help,” Xander said as he sat on the bottom step and grabbed his boots.
Caitlyn nodded and went quiet. Having a newborn was really taking it out of her, and he had tried to be there as much as he could, but he had been putting in a lot of hours at work. Babies were expensive. He wondered how people with standard civilian jobs managed to survive. The Network was one of the only places beside corporations that actually paid a livable wage, and he was still working all the hours he could to provide for his little family. Xander got to his feet and shrugged his jacket on. He placed a kiss on Caitlyn’s head and then Keira’s before heading out of the small two bedroom house and towards his car.
Using the car's onboard computer, he input his destination. It had been a long time since he had been to the hacker bar, and in his tired state, he couldn’t really remember where it was. Following the smooth feminine voice, he moved from the Eastern sector through to Tacoma. The place seemed more and more rundown every time he visited. It made him uncomfortable that one of his best friends lived in the area. There had been a time when he and Venom had shared a nice little two bed flat in Seattle Central. Things had been good, but when his relationship with Caitlyn had progressed, Venom decided to move out and let them have their own space. They had tried convincing her to move into a three bed with them, but Venom had declined. A year later, and he never had asked her why.
As Xander arrived at his location, the car’s headlights illuminated a green haired figure curled into a ball against the bar’s outside wall. Panic was bubbling up inside him. He slammed on the brakes before throwing the car door open and dashing to her side. ‘Don’t be dead, don’t be dead, don’t be dead,’ he thought to himself as he placed a hand on her arm and shook her gently.
“Venom… V…,” Xander said. As he waited for some kind of response, he found himself running through all the possible things that could have happened to her.
“Xander?” Venom questioned as she slowly planted her hands on the floor and pushed herself lazily into a sitting position.
“Yeah it’s me… what happened to you?” Xander asked as he pushed her hair out of her face. Her skin was clammy and pale, her hair bedraggled, and her eyes appeared glassy and unfocused. He instantly guessed what had happened. “What drugs have you taken?”
“It’s called Neep,” she explained with a chuckle and a goofy smile. Xander shook his head as he cupped her cheek. Just like the rest of the world, he had no problem with a little recreational drug use: uppers, downers, tranquilizers. When life sucked, you needed a little something to take the edge off. What worried him was that Venom had never called him due to drug use.
“What the fuck is Neep?” Xander asked as he took her hands. She was damp and freezing; he needed to get her somewhere warm. What she had taken didn’t matter in this moment, he just needed to make sure she didn’t get hypothermia. “Come on, you trouble maker, let’s get you home.”
Xander wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her off the ground. Venom was a rather slender girl, which really helped in this moment. Her fingers weakly grabbed hold of him. There was a tremor running through her, and he couldn’t figure out if she was cold or it was something more sinister. He settled her in the passenger seat, secured a belt around her, and closed her in. He shot a message to Taz, a friend of his, because if anyone could help him out with this it was him.
::Hey Taz. Look I know it’s late but I need some information on a drug called Neep. I’m mainly looking for after effects and any way to combat it. Thanks dude::
As Xander slid into the driver's seat, he found himself analyzing every one of Venom’s movements. Overdose was something he was worried about. Normally she was really good with her drug use. As far as he was aware, she had never OD'd, but there was always the risk of a first time. He was satisfied that she was conscious and alert, but she was so out of it that he wondered if she knew where the fuck she was at the moment.
Xander was torn. He didn’t know whether to take her home or to the ER. If he took her there and she wasn’t ODing, then he would have gotten her a nasty bill for a simple comedown, but if he took her home, she could die. This was a decision he really didn’t want to make for her. Thank God that Taz replied.
::Neep? It’s a really fucking new drug on the market, usually enjoyed by the immersed. Side effects are usually physical weakness followed by serious absence when the drug runs its course. Usually it doesn’t matter cause the hacker is laid out in the gateway. Not a good drug for you though. I thought you weren’t taking drugs cause of Keira. Tz::
Xander read the message twice before glancing at Venom. Currently, she ran her finger over the inside of the glass, causing swirls to appear in the condensation. Absent was definitely the way to describe her right now. That made up his mind for now; he would take her home.
::Not me. Our CausticBitch is currently under the influence, and I needed to be sure she hadn’t popped one too many::
Xander replied to the message before starting the engine and heading back to her apartment. Part of him really wanted to take her back to his so he could keep an eye on her, but he wasn’t sure how ill this was going to make her in the morning. Last thing he needed was Venom to blow chunks all over the house. He still remembered the last time. It had taken hours to clean up all the mess.
“I don’t feel well,” she said in an childlike tone. It was almost as if she had been reading his mind.
“We’ll be home soon, darlin’,” he replied with a weak smile as he reached out and ran his hand through her hair. God, he wished he had a bag or anything she could throw up in. He really couldn’t afford to have the car detailed this month. The scent of vomit was certainly something he didn’t want to drive around with.
As he made the short drive back to her place, he found himself constantly checking on her. If she ended up being sick, so be it, but at the end of the day, he just wanted to be sure that his friend was alright. Pulling up outside her apartment, the relief started to rise. Not far to go now.
He got out of the car and went to the passenger side. Instead of trying to lead her up the five flights of stairs, he reached in and lifted her into his arms. God, she was light. Was she normally this light? Had she been eating properly? When they had lived together, he had known her to go long periods of time without eating because she was too busy hacking. As he reached her front door, he realized that he had to use his ident chip to unlock it. He tried to move Venom into a position to free his hand, but it wasn’t working. Wait a minute. Jacques. Xander readjusted Venom in his arms and kicked the door a few times, praying the guy was in. He almost gave up hope when he saw the door handle turn.<
br />
“Blue?” Jacques questioned, using the moniker Xander had been assigned when they had met. Jacques’ augmented eyes drifted down to see Venom in his arms, and he quickly moved out of the doorway. “What’s up with her? You guys been drinking without me?”
“Someone is a little hopped up on fucking pills right now,” Xander explained as he stepped through the doorway.
“Xander… I feel sick,” Venom murmured before retching ever so slightly.
“Fuck!” Xander swore as he ran for the bathroom. He made it just in time for Venom to stick her head over the toilet and empty the contents of her stomach. Even after having a child, the scent was still enough to unnerve him. Stepping back to the doorway adjoining the living room, he was met with Jacques.
“Gross. Is she alright?” Jacques asked, genuinely sounding concerned for Venom.
“I’m sure she will be when she throws the shit up and then sleeps for a couple of ice ages,” Xander said, pushing his hair out of his face and yawning slightly.
“I can, you know, keep an eye on her if you want,” Jacques offered as if noticing Xander’s tired state.
“I’ll hang around for a bit and help you get her to bed. Then I’ll go,” Xander replied glancing back to the woman with her head well and truly in the toilet.
Jacques seemed like a good guy. They had met when Jacques had joined the Network a couple months back. Xander had been the one assigned to his team to monitor their skills and get them through the hurdles of their first few jobs. Jacques and his team had only met Venom when their original hacker had ended up getting herself arrested. When Jacques had lost his apartment, he’d ended up crashing on Venom’s couch. She was too nice for her own good sometimes.
“Shit,” Venom swore quietly. Xander’s head snapped round to see her analyzing her shirt in detail, a shirt that was now covered in vomit. Xander dragged his hand down his face.
“Go fish out something for her to wear to bed, would you?” Xander asked. He had a strong feeling that her current roommate would have some idea where all her clothes would be.
With Jacques out of the way for a few minutes, Xander assisted a very squirmy Venom out of her clothes and wrapped her in a towel. Even though he had a strong feeling the guy had already seen her naked, he didn’t want to enhance anything between them. Once she was covered, he lifted her back into his arms and carried her to her room.
“Had to sift through all the leather, latex, and frilly shit to find something appropriate,” said Jacques with a smirk as he handed the clothes over. Xander helped Venom dress before laying her down in the bed. The speed at which she fell asleep was akin to turning off a light switch. Xander still really didn’t want to leave her, but he needed rest. He had work in the morning.
“You better take good care of her, buddy boy. Remember who gave you all those good reports,” Xander said, making sure it sounded light and playful. But in all seriousness, if something happened to her, then he might kill Jacques.
“Yes, boss,” Jacques responded with a mock salute and a grin, which quickly faded as he glanced at her sleeping form with a somber expression. “I’ve done this before; she’s in good hands.”
Xander tarried for a moment, watching in the dim light as Venom’s chest rose and fell calmly. It took everything for him to turn away from her and leave her apartment. After so many years as friends, he cared for her a lot, and leaving her in the hands of another was a huge step for him. Especially when it was someone he didn’t know too well. He just had to hope that he could get back to sleep when he got home.
*****
Flicking through the tabs on his AR, Fenric opened his bank account and checked the balance. He couldn’t help but smile. Two thousand goddamn bucks he’d made from betting on Venom. He wanted to kiss her. She had reacted as beautifully and cleverly as he had expected her to. It had been worth shelling out for that NeuroPep, so expensive for a tiny little pill, but it had got the job done. He knew DataKing, and the asshole ate neural acuity drugs like they were candy.
He had planned to get Venom and him a drink to celebrate but had gotten sidetracked talking to the cute blonde at the bar. When he went outside to check on her, she had been missing. He assumed she had just gotten a cab and headed home, so he dropped her a message before calling his own cab. There was other business to attend to tonight even though he wished he could go straight home and climb into his warm bed. Unfortunately, tonight he faced the devil.
The cab drove him to one of the most rundown parts of Tacoma docks, a place that he had seen more than he would like. Stepping from the cab, he dipped his head against the onslaught of rain. Even in this weather the smog from the factories surrounding the docs gathered in the back of this throat. He hadn’t smoked for years, but every time he came here, he found himself craving another. Anything to get through these meetings.
Making his way down what felt like a hundred different fenced off warehouses, he finally reached his destination. It would have gotten him in trouble if he had been dropped off on the doorstep, because there was always someone watching out. It was days like today when he really missed having his car. He’d had to trade it off a couple months back because he needed the money. Not that anyone knew. As a third level operative, most would think him financially stable. He probably would be if it weren’t for the issues he had.
Ignoring the front gate of the warehouse, he slipped in between the huge looming buildings. The darkness formed in the alley, swallowing any light coming from the street lamps. It always put him on edge. Slipping his hand into his duster pocket, he palmed the knife he kept there and held it tight. Only sixty steps and he would be through the darkness and onto the other side. He always planned to get low light upgrades on his lenses, but that cost money, something he didn’t have a lot of.
54… 55… 56… 57… 58… 59… 60,’ he counted in his head. As soon as he hit the final number, he reached the edge of the wall, and light bled around the corner from a back entrance. He took a deep breath, seeing the usual sight. The rear of the warehouse backed onto a factory protecting their activities from anyone who may oversee. The light came from a single bulb over a warehouse door that was flanked by two well-built guys in armored vests.
“Fenric… didn’t think you’d make it,” one of the guys said. He had yellowed teeth, a broken nose, and a voice that sounded like gravel. Tommy was not one of the prettiest guys he’d ever seen.
“Well, I did. Fancy moving your ass out of the way. I have many more things that I would rather be doing,” Fenric said, crossing his arms over his chest. Unlike the others he worked with, he didn’t have what people referred to as the ‘hacker look’. Slender guy, pale skin, and no muscle definition. If anything, he was the opposite: athletic build from multiple gym trips and sports games, tanned skin from the time he spent outside. He was the furthest from the stereotype.
“Alright, Mister impatient,” Tommy scoffed as he moved out of the way and indicated the door.
Without another word to the guards, he headed through. There was a creak from the rickety door as he stepped from the poorly lit alley into the equally poorly lit building. The concrete floor and graffitied metal walls gave no protection from the quickly cooling weather. How these guys resided in this place was beyond him. His footsteps echoed down the long, empty corridor. He ignored all of the doors that led off it, and instead, focused on the one at the end. He stopped and took a deep breath before knocking loudly.
“Vincent, get that,” came a loud and snappy voice from beyond the door.
Moments later, it was yanked open, revealing another goon. Dressed in a similar armored vest with the same rather decrepit look, Vincent looked like he belonged with Tommy and the others here.
“Fenric, my friend… I was worried you weren’t going to show,” said a big guy who sat behind a small desk at the end of the room. His large, muscular frame seemed too big for the space he occupied. Rudy Max, head of a small syndicate operation and all round evil mother fucker.
&
nbsp; “I don’t think friend is the right term,” Fenric whispered under his breath as he started across the room. The warehouse was mainly this one large room, two stories high, built of concrete and sheet metal. One side was stacked with a series of large crates. Fenric dreaded to think what could be inside them.
Stopping before Rudy, he folded his arms over his chest looking unimpressed. The square-headed man with the short black hair and weather-beaten tanned skin looked up at him with a grin. The missing front tooth made the entire image rather sinister. The first few times Fenric had visited, he had been nervous, but as time had gone on he’d become used to the man's presence, which he detested. Rudy Max waved away the men that hovered around him like watchdogs.
“Evening, Rudy,” Fenric said with a small sigh. He wanted to get this over as quickly as possible.
“I’m glad to see you. I was almost worried that you weren’t going to show,” Rudy replied. Fenric rolled his eyes; an hour behind schedule, and these fuckers wouldn’t let you live it down. Rudy grabbed a tumbler and poured out two measures of whiskey, sliding one to Fenric. Fenric had learned quickly that Rudy took a lot of offense to those who turned down his drinks. He took the glass and sipped the amber liquid before settling in the chair opposite the boss.
“I wouldn’t dare miss our meetings,” Fenric said. The back and forth grated on him. All he wanted was to pay his dues and get the hell out of here.
“I’m glad to hear. How’s Calder?” Rudy asked. At the mention of his younger brother, Fenric felt all the hairs on the back of his head stand on end. It was the little idiot’s fault that these meetings occurred in the first place. Calder was lucky he had an older brother who loved him.
“Calder is fine, thank you,” Fenric responded, tight lipped, before taking the glass and downing the whiskey. “If you don’t mind, can we get the transaction over and done with? I have things to be doing in the morning.”
“You always get so tense when I mention your brother. Is it wrong for me to check on my protégé from time to time?” Rudy teased with his sinister grin coming out to play again.
Caustic (The Seraphim Network - Everyday Series Book 1) Page 4
