Fire and Steel

by Gavin Magson

  It was a matter of a few gestures of her hands to dismiss the file and call up her encryption protocol. She had spent several weeks creating the interactive map of Seven that showed, through cross referencing the movements of mercenaries that the tablets location tracking indicated with action reports to give the best representation of what the mercenaries faced when moving into Seven. It had been painful to include the final moments of Ajax into the model, but there was no way that she could avoid doing so.

  With a couple of commands Aiko was able to create a copy of the folder that contained the program data and passed it through the encryption protocol, setting it to be accessible only by Rine. Once this was complete she forwarded it onto him and was almost instantly greeted with a short thank you message, which she knew by now to be automated.

  Aiko looked at the time on the screen and let out a sigh; it was not worth her trying to fall back asleep. She retrieved the tablet, setting it down on her bedside table, and pushed the metal arm back into its place.

  Several minutes later she was stood under a steady jet of warm water, letting the shower take away her body’s fatigue. Aiko washed all but her long hair, which was currently tied tight in a bun atop her head. She stood under the cascade for what seemed like an age, relaxing her body and dreading the moment that she had to step out into the cool bathroom.

  Aiko pressed her thumb on the inset display, which gradually decreased the showers temperature until the water was close to room temperature. Once her body was acclimatised Aiko turned off the jets and stepped out of the cylindrical cubicle.

  As Aiko stepped onto a vent in front of her shower, the cold metal causing her to wince, a series of heaters overheat blew warm air over her naked flesh, quickly drying any moisture that had not run off already. Satisfied that she was dry Aiko dressed herself in her business attire and selected one of her highest heeled shoes for the upcoming meeting with Boden Shaw.

  Once back in her bedroom Aiko collected everything she required for the meeting, stowing them in a satchel bag. There was a faint glow of light coming from the windows of her room, signalling the dawn of a fresh day. Aiko considered calling a hover to take her over to the warehouse but thought better of it; she would walk and pick up a hot meal on route, there was plenty of time before Rine would be in the office.

  When Aiko rounded the corner, she spotted one of the lookouts stationed near the warehouse, the woman’s silhouette just visible from the sunlight coming over the surrounding buildings. There should have been a second lookout; Aiko hoped for their sake they were just better concealed.

  As Aiko neared the front of the warehouse she recognised the figure as Rika, one of their newest recruits.

  “I thought you were assigned to hovers, Rika?”

  The quick change in expression from faint smile to shyness took Aiko by surprise.

  “There was an issue with my license, so I’m on lookout duty until I…get one.”

  “It’s fortunate that you’re Terrance’s niece and, in respect to your uncle, Rine was supportive of finding you a position within his business. Don’t lie about something like that again; Rine’s patience is finite.”

  “I didn’t mean to lie, it just sort of happened. I’ll do better next time, I promise.”

  “Good, that’s what I like to hear. Now, where is the other lookout? I need to congratulate them on their ability to stay out of sight.”

  “I…I don’t know. He left a little while ago and no one’s been to replace him yet.”

  Rika flinched at the sudden change in Aiko, as the blood drained from the taller woman’s face and her lips curled and twitched.

  “Stay at your post, make sure you are quick to report anything suspicious, and if your fellow lookout returns send him straight to me. You’re doing a good job, Rika, don’t let bad examples affect your integrity.”

  Aiko left Rika at her post, stepping through the double doors that brought her into the quiet slaughterhouse. The night shift was hard at work, but with the next delivery from Productions not due for another two days it was a skeleton crew that was busy preparing the slaughterhouse to receive their legal revenue sources. It was eerie how silent the warehouse could be at this hour, though she knew that would soon change once the shipment of animals arrived.

  Each of her steps across the concrete floor echoed as Aiko headed for the offices at the buildings rear. She navigated around several pallets that were being moved by a pair of workers each wearing exoskeletons designed for heavy lifting, the suits themselves near twelve feet tall and almost as wide. The workers moved slowly, crabbing sideways in unison whilst holding the tall stack of pallets at opposite ends.

  Aiko diverted from the offices and went to the small room she had setup the equipment to show her model of the city. It took her several minutes to dismantle the equipment and pack it away in the bespoke box she had commissioned to fit it within.

  Once the projection equipment was secured Aiko locked the door behind herself and walked around into the reception area for the offices.

  The ceiling lights energised, activated by her presence, illuminating the familiar sight she’d seen more times than she cared to count. Aiko walked into the first meeting room, closest to the receptions semi-circle desk; she stopped in front of a patch of carpet that was a shade or two darker than the rest.

  The cleaning bots had made quick work of removing the bloodstains left behind by Terrance, his late-night interrogation a month ago having turned violent quickly as more information came through of his betrayals. Rine had taken it personally when it was discovered that Terrance had lied about the lost deliveries, organising for his own team to be ambushed in order to sell on the raw materials to Rine’s competitors at a large personal profit.

  Aiko had been present at the start, but Rine dismissed her long before the end. She had found out later that Terrance had been injected with a lethal cocktail of the most potent drugs Rine’s business produced, prior to being left for dead outside a hospice in the sector. Rika did not yet know what happened to her uncle, but Aiko was overseeing her development until a time that Rika was fully loyal and able to face the news of her uncle’s betrayal.

  Aiko decided that this was not the ideal venue for her demonstration, and instead opted to walk through to the larger meeting room reserved for quarterly meetings of all higherups. The oblong table at the rooms centre would allow anyone present to get close enough to interact with the model from any side, and she could scale the projection to show greater detail in the larger space. She began setting up the projector and was so occupied in thought that Aiko never heard Rine walking into the room.

  “Ah, Aiko, I’m...sorry, did I startle you?” asked Rine after Aiko’s sudden scream.

  “You scared the shit out of me. Could you not have knocked!”

  Aiko clutched at her chest, feeling the high tempo beating of her heart. She took several deep breaths to quell her fright, which did little to calm her shaking hands when she went to pick up the intricate pieces of her equipment that had scattered on the floor.

  “Allow me.” said Rine, crouching to help Aiko collect what she had spilled. “I can put the rest of this together, there isn’t much left. Direct me.”

  Aiko let Rine finish off her work, under careful direction. Together they positioned the cylinders that would project the image, moving each much further apart than Aiko had originally set them up for. Finally, the blue translucent shape of Konar City was suspended about the desks surface in all its glory.

  “You’ve done fine work here, Aiko, I’m sure that Boden will put it to good use in planning his siege of Seven. He was positive about what I could show him of the model, so I’m sure the full demonstration will impress further. Are you wanting to stay when he arrives, or should I send for you once we are done with your equipment?”

  “I’ll stay, if that is alright with you. I haven’t met Mr Shaw before, and I’d like to ensure that our city will be in safe enough hands. Truth be told I just want to be her
e so that neither of you two break anything; I spent weeks perfecting this model.”

  Rine laughed at Aiko’s remarks, a rarity from such a notoriously impassive figure. She shut down the projection, not wanting Boden to see the full model before she had chance to explain the equipment’s operation.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll keep my hands away from your baby. Are you ready to meet Boden?”

  “Send him in when he arrives. I presume you’ll lead, just ask if you need me to explain how the model works and provide details on individual events, if that will help matters.”

  Rine gave Aiko a nod before leaving the room. Aiko took the respite to inspect the setup and confirm with herself that everything was as it should be for the meeting. She felt a lot of pressure to ensure the model performed for Boden and helped with what would come with the slums; Rine had made it painfully clear how much he had invested in Seven, and that his business wouldn’t survive the year if he had to maintain his bribing of officials without the revenue that the slums promised.

  Aiko turned around as the door opened behind her, her best grin put on, just the right level of charm to make those uneasy with an intelligent woman relax. Behind Rine towered Boden Shaw, shoulders as wide as the doorway, stooping to fit under without braining himself on the frame.

  Aiko’s sources, whilst rarely expressing agreement on matters involving Boden Shaw, suggested the man was approaching his forties, which she wouldn’t have assumed from first glance alone. His blond hair, practically white, did not seem thin, only his sun weathered skin gave away his age.

  He had no living family that any records showed, only that he was born on Deayt, one of the outermost planets under Konarian rule. When he extended a hand, Aiko accepted it with hers, expecting a bone crunching grip; she was relieved when her hand was returned uninjured.

  “Rine did not tell me his right-hand woman was so attractive; are all the women in his employ such beauties?” asked Boden.

  “Some, but far from all. I warn you, you’ll have far better luck in charming my colleagues than you will me.”

  “I like my women strong, and beautiful; it’s a shame you aren’t more receptive of my charm. Still, I came here to do a job and Rine informs me that you’ve pieced together a model of Seven that will aid my men and I; could you show me how it works, please?”

  Aiko couldn’t place her finger on what seemed so off about the man, but the way he seemed to speak as if from a script, his eyes not showing any change in emotion, left her ill at ease around Boden.

  Aiko stepped over to the equipment and keyed in a series of commands that brought the system back online, projecting the full model of Konar City that leisurely rotated about its centre. Boden took several paces towards it, studying the image before him with no real expression upon his face. At most he appeared mildly curious, and Aiko could not help but feel frustrated by the lack of wonder or amazement he showed.

  “A good likeness of your city, from what I remember of seeing it from high above; it is very impressive work. How do I change the view to Seven?”

  “I’ll show you, it’ll be easier if I talk you through the events within Seven and the different offensives the previous mercenaries employed. I trust that Rine has already showed you the figures we generated on the number of mercenaries that were injured, killed, or deserted because of the failed offensive?”

  “He did, it made for interesting reading. Not to be cold but that is what you get for having no cohesion amongst the men, those with no strong plan or team bond will end up dead, even against a less experienced enemy.

  “Have you modelled the offensive in Six as well? I’d be interested in seeing the contrast between the two.”

  “I did, though that model isn’t as detailed, so I would need to describe any events in more detail for you to understand them. I’ll start up Six now.”

  Aiko keyed in several commands to the equipment’s interface, using the opportunity to flicker the full model between different layers, showing a change in the landscape of Six and Seven over time. Aiko looked up at Boden, who’s face gave away nothing as to his thoughts on the model. Annoyed by his lack of wonder Aiko entered the command that would focus in on Six.

  The projection flickered once and was replaced with a circular model of Sector Six. The full model of Konar City had shown buildings as a pale blue, as it did now for the majority of Six, except that rapidly changed after another series of key pressed from Aiko. Within a matter of moments hundreds of buildings were a vivid red, with a smattering of them shown as green.

  “It should be self-explanatory, all known buildings under gang control are shown as red, whilst safe houses are green. Neutral buildings, or those we had no data about, are indicated a blue.

  “I’ll play the program at an hour per three seconds, just so that we aren’t here until next week. Speak up if you see something you’d like to either view at a slower speed or be explained.”

  Aiko watched as the sea of red rippled, more green safe-houses appearing intermittently amongst the blue of freshly cleared out buildings. There were instances when pale blue became red once more, soon to be reversed as a heavier concentration of mercenaries descended on the area to clear out several adjacent buildings.

  “Stop.” came Boden’s command.

  Aiko halted the program and rewound it to several hours previous.

  “This building here,” Aiko followed Boden’s outstretch hand, the finger pointing at a familiar skyscraper. “Is there a glitch in your program? It disappeared, rather than turning blue.”

  Aiko set the playback speed to a hundredth of the original and resumed the program.

  “There might be glitches within the program that I’ve yet to discover, but this is not one of them. Watch this segment and I’ll answer any further questions once it is over.”

  Aiko typed in a new command which focused the projection on that section of Six, magnifying the image such that only the building and its surrounding area could be seen.

  Rine stepped closer to the model, showing far more interest in it than he had so far this morning. Boden watched on, his eyes tracking the movements of three red markers as they came to a halt across the river from the building. One branched off, seeming to enter the river before manoeuvring over to the other side of the bank, and back along the bridge. Soon all three markers reunited and raced towards the skyscraper.

  Aiko felt her tablet vibrate in her jacket pocket, and quickly retrieved it. When she saw Miles’ contact information Aiko quickly exited the room, closing the door behind her.

  “Aiko, thank fuck you answered. We are in Seven West at the moment, my men and I are trying to repair some combat exo’s and we’ve come under attack. We might be able to reach the border of Six, but we’d need transport to get all five suits out of the sector. Can you help?”

  Aiko took a moment to process the information, the occasional burst of gunfire in the background was all the sound that punctuated her silence.

  “Get to the nearest gate and I’ll have a transport hover come collect you. I’ll pass the driver your contact details to arrange the pickup point. I’m blind in the sector, so you’re on your own for navigating your way out. Is anyone injured?”

  “Thank you, Aiko. We are fine, for the moment, but if you can spare a medic on the transport it’d be appreciated. Hopefully I’ll see you soon.”

  “Good luck, Miles.”

  The connection ceased, and Aiko took that as her cue to quickly call one of her drivers. The man who answered asked few questions and it wasn’t long until she put her tablet away. Aiko turned and entered the meeting room once more. When she stepped back inside the program had reached the point at which the three markers were leaving the skyscraper, evidently running from the building.

  “This is the best part.” said Rine, just as the skyscraper came crashing down.

  Aiko did not know why she had gone to the lengths she had to model the event, this skyscraper being the only building she had spent the time to s
how the damage inflicted upon it. She had even managed to get the animation to show the skyscraper toppling over, which had been a challenge for her.

  “Three men brought down that scraper? Did they call in some artillery?” asked Boden.

  “No,” said Aiko, her voice wavering slightly with emotion, “it was only one man that brought it down, though he did use a cannon; his name was Ajax Frost.”

  Chapter 23

  Aiko was glad of the peace, the effects of another sleepless night on both her mind and body had proven difficult to fight through. After her explanation of Ajax’s actions in Six Boden had watched the entire program and queried several other events, focusing more on the larger skirmishes where several mercenaries had teamed together, all the while dictating notes into his tablet. Aiko was both surprised and impressed by his professionalism, Rine’s warning of his past dealings with Boden had left her concerned that the mercenary would be nothing more than a killer; she suspected there was a brain between his ears, even if it was one honed for killing.

  A knock on her office door snapped Aiko out of her thoughts.

  “Come in.” she called.

  The door opened, and Arnold stepped inside, gratefully accepting the offered seat on the opposite side of Aiko’s desk. He placed a large hand within his suits pocket and retrieved the Snooper that he set down in front of Aiko.

  “I thought it best to hand this over to you as soon as it was returned to me. You might need to charge the device before transferring the audio files, but otherwise you are all set to comb through for whatever it is you’re looking for.”

  “Thank you for all the help and advice you’ve given me; I wouldn’t have made it this far without it. Are you wanting to stay whilst I go over the audio?”

  “If it’s alright with you I have other plans, namely a big lunch and some bigger women. Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

  “You didn’t, you just caught me off-guard.” Aiko chuckled at the vision of Arnold, a brute of a man, wooing women he’d describe as big. “Go enjoy your big women, I think that I’ve several hours’ worth of monotony ahead of me anyway. Keep your tablet to hand though, just in case I need some of your wisdom.”