“Boss, what do we do?” the henchman who was waiting downstairs and anxiously looking out the window asked.

  When the enemy pulled up, the two were outnumbered so they didn’t hesitate to run indoors. Despite the weapons I had given them, the two men still looked extremely nervous. Caleb, who had followed us downstairs, also looked unnerved, his eyes darting to me as if he was waiting for orders.

  I gnced out the window in the direction he was looking to see three parked cars. They were all nondescript cars. Other than the license ptes being removed, I wouldn’t be able to tell them from any other car on the street. Whether it was their color, make, or model, there was no pattern. The men standing next to them though were more distinguished. They were all wearing green colors, and they each had a coat to hide their waistbands and a hat that covered their heads.

  “We know you’re in there. No one gets one over on us! Come out, or you’ll pay the consequences.” A shout came from outside.

  “Are you the one that brought them here?” A voice came from behind me.

  I looked up to see the girl Mei Xing standing on the stairway as she stared down at me with accusing eyes.

  “Whether I was here or not, they’d eventually come knocking.” I decred. “Go upstairs and be with your grandfather. We’ll take care of this.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath. “ I appreciate what you’ve done for grandfather, but I won’t stand it if you only cause us more trouble. They outnumber us three to one! It’s best if you don’t cause trouble. This is my grandfather’s home, so if you care at all you’ll leave.”

  “Mei Xing!” A voice spoke quietly but confidently behind her, causing Mei Xing to spin around.

  Her grandpa had followed us all, but he was standing at the top of the stairway with his hand on the wall, looking like he might colpse at any second.

  “Grandfather! You shouldn’t be up!” She stomped up the steps, catching him before he did fall.

  “The men, outside… bad men,” her Grandfather said, and then he looked at me. “You… get rid of them?”

  “That’s the pn,” I responded.

  The pair of us exchange a look and then he gave a sharp nod. “You get rid of it, then we talk.”

  The girl looked down at me, a strangely worried expression on her face. She wanted to say more, but her grandfather tugged on her arm and spoke in Chinese, something Cecelia transted to her telling Mei Xing to attend to him in his room. As the pair disappeared, I turned back to the three men.

  “We’re going to do this?” Caleb asked, licking his lips.

  “It’s not so bad. There are only a dozen of them.” I shrugged. “The point isn’t to kill them but to intimidate them.

  “How do you intend to do that?” One of the henchmen asked.

  “Overwhelming firepower.” I decred, lifting my Perco. “Cecelia?”

  “Yeah, I’ve hacked into the grid. I’ll be able to knock out the power on the block at your command. I’ve also managed to wirelessly take over their cars. They won’t be able to open the doors or start their cars. As for the cellphones in their pockets, I can cause them to overheat and explode at a moment’s notice.”

  “You’re a very dangerous person, Cecelia.”

  “I’m an AI, and you’re only now realizing it?”

  “This is your st chance!” I heard another yell.

  I slid open the window a crack and yelled back. “This is your st chance. You don’t know me, but I am not someone you can afford to mess with. Step down, and maybe I can use you. Cause me trouble, and there will only be a pain in your future.”

  “Is this guy nuts?” I heard a hushed whisper before the yell came back. “Caleb! I know you’re in there, who is this clown?”

  I gnced at Caleb and nodded, and leaned to the window. “I told you I got a new boss. He’s offering you a job position. I suggest you take it.”

  The response was ughter among the men. A few minutes ter, the one who was talking again.

  “Look, kid, we got you surrounded. Caleb is a dumb guy, easily impressed, but don’t let that get to your head. This is the real world. You may be able to boss people around in whatever uppity pce you came from, but we don’t take shit down here. This is the docks. In this world, it is do or die!”

  The three henchmen around me took a step back as I smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  In some ways, this was more comfortable to me than the rich mansion. Trying to force my way through bodyguards while trying to keep from harming people or being seen on camera was frustrating. I had spent too much time in the apocalypse now, and the apocalypse was a world where you shot first or died.

  “Now, what is your answer!” The guy still seemed hesitant to shoot.

  “We’re going.” I kicked open the door. “Cut the lights.”

  The street lights that had been illuminating the cars blinked out and the entire house went dark. I put on a pair of shades that immediately took over. They were as powerful as night vision goggles, but they were merely the size of gsses, one of those leftover technologies from the mall. I pulled up my Laster Shot and then aimed it at the first guy who was still looking around in confusion in the dark. A bright light fshed and the man exploded into a fountain of blood. The sound was quiet, like that of a light whistle. Any hard surface the ser struck became gouged.

  The light flooded the darkness like a fsh, blinding the other guys even further. I cocked my gun and shot again, this time aiming between the two men. I didn’t want to make as much of a mess this time, plus I wasn’t sure when I’d been getting ammo for such a high-tech gun again. It struck between two of the men, taking chunks out of their flesh. Since they weren’t instantly turned to mush, the two men were able to let out our horrified screams as their flesh burned.

  They weren’t the only thing making noise. Since they were standing in front of one of the cars, the car got the majority of the hit. The heat of the ser didn’t just cut holes through the metal, but it ignited the gasoline as well. A fire blew forth as the gss shattered.

  “The phones.” I decred and then looked back at the three men still standing in the doorway while stepping to the side. “You might want to start moving.”

  At this point, the men realized they were under attack and started shooting. They had aimed for the st pce they could see, which is where I had been standing. The three henchmen cried out, running to the sides as bullets started coming close to the front door. They weren’t aiming at the front door, but teen feet in front of it where I had been, so the bullets thankfully missed.

  The henchmen put on their gsses too and started firing. Gunshots rang out, although their aim wasn’t as good as mine. I cocked my gun again and aimed low this time. It ripped out the legs of a man who was holding his gun. I was finding there was no way to shoot this gun without creating a bloody mess. Another guy was holding his cell phone, trying to use it as a light to find us in our curtains of darkness, but he suddenly let out a scream as his cell phone began to melt in his hand.

  Two other men also started screaming as they felt in their pockets, jumping out of cover as they filed around. One of them was struck by Caleb’s bullet and colpsed as the other managed to get the burning phone out of his pocket before leaping behind a car.

  “Retreat!” The one who had been shouting the orders called out to the other men, seeing that already half of them had been cut down by a series of circumstances he couldn’t have predicted.

  Those who were able to move jumped into the two cars that were still working. As soon as the doors closed, the lock turned on, locking them inside. Both of the drivers tried turning the key frantically, but the cars showed no signs of turning on. Most new cars were set up with a switch where they could be turned off automatically should the proper kill signal be sent. Who was Cecelia if she couldn’t figure out and deliver that kill signal whenever she wanted?

  I reached the side of the car, pressing my ser shot against the window and knocking twice. Although he didn’t move to open the window, it was automated and the window opened anyway. It had been the leader who had been yelling before. He sat there in disbelief. Although the three other men in the car had their guns trained on me, with my gun on him, and one of the exploded remains of one of the people on the hood of his car, he didn’t dare give the order.

  Finally, he looked my way. “Just who the hell are you?”

  I spit out a bullet I had in my mouth. I had left it there in case someone shot me. It seemed silly, but my Perco had a single bullet hit of protection and had I been hit, I could have spit the bullet out and it almost seem like I caught it in my teeth. It was one of the ways I had wanted to intimate them. Although no one had even come near to shooting me, spitting out the bullet seemed to have taken away their will to fight. The men all dropped their guns while the other car was surrounded by my three henchmen.

  “My company is called Ascension. We’re on the rise up. Perhaps you’d like to discuss a new agreement?” I asked with a smile.

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