Japantown

  December 16th

  2069

  The engine of Sophie’s Kusanagi rumbled as she rode along the border between Japantown and Charter Hill. She kept her speed low, weaving between cars and scanning the sidewalks. She had to be very careful about who she targeted, considering her current issues with the Tygers.

  However, she figured attacking someone isolated in a quieter part of the district would be fine.

  She spent the next hour searching, taking quiet turns through side streets, pulling into alleys and stopping at the occasional street corner to watch. She found it odd how alive the streets felt, considering the gang war between the Tygers and Maelstrom continued to rage. There were people running between clubs, corpos rushing home and even early in the evening, drunkards were stumbling home from bars.

  The Tygers, though, were actively on high alert. They moved in small groups, never fewer than four members. It made her job much harder than she would have liked.

  Time passed. The sky deepened into shades of violet and crimson as the sun dipped behind the skyline, letting the artificial glow of the city’s nightlife take over. Sophie was just about to shift her search for a target to a different part of the district when she caught sight of a lone Tyger.

  He was a tall man, lean and wiry, with cybernetic arms that glinted under the neon lights. His jacket bore the familiar tiger-stripe patterns of his gang, the sleeves torn off to better display his chrome. He was speaking with a local shopkeeper. No, not speaking. Shouting.

  Sophie cut her engine and rolled her bike into a nearby alley, out of sight.

  From her position, she watched as the conversation escalated. The shopkeeper, an older man in an apron, raised his hands, pleading. The Tyger responded by grabbing the man’s collar and shoving him against the glass door of his shop.

  Sophie found herself wondering if she should intervene.

  The shopkeeper fumbled for something; a roll of slightly crumpled eddies. The Tyger laughed and snatched it from him before delivering a vicious punch to the man’s stomach. The older man dropped to the ground, coughing harshly. His assaulter spat, then turned and strutted off, slipping the stolen cash into his pocket.

  Sophie gave a sigh of relief that it hadn’t escalated further. The old man was still alive, and she’d found herself a target. Don’t worry, old man. I’ll get revenge for you.

  She stayed on the cocky man, trailing from a distance as he moved down the street.

  A few blocks later, he stopped outside a convenience store and leaned against the wall, pulling a cigarette from his pocket. His fingers twitched slightly as he brought it to his lips. He smoked in silence for a few minutes before his eyes changed colour.

  He took a call, his voice gradually becoming more aggressive. Sophie couldn’t make out the words, but his frustration was clear. A few times, he gestured sharply, his cybernetic fingers flexing like claws before finally cutting the call. He punched the wall next to him, face twisted into a snarl before storming off.

  The next stop was a small street dealer, some kid barely in his twenties. Sophie mentally made a note to investigate the boy and his connections later. There was a brief, angry exchange. Money passed. An injector, filled with something dark, traded hands. The Tyger wasted no time, rolling up his sleeve and jamming the needle into his arm.

  His pace slowed after that. His movements became sluggish and his head tilted slightly as he walked. The drugs were hitting.

  He made one final stop at a liquor stand, buying a handful of cheap cans before cracking one open on the spot. Sophie followed as he drank his way through two of them, then three, his steps growing heavier with each swig.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Eventually, he wandered down a narrow alley, weaving slightly, his boots dragging against the pavement. The moment he unzipped his pants, Sophie knew she had her chance.

  She slipped into a side street and quietly scrambled up a nearby wall. Moving across the rooftop, she looked down into the alley.

  It was dimly lit, the buzz of a dying neon sign casting flickering shadows against the walls. The Tyger was oblivious, one hand braced against the brick as he relieved himself.

  Sophie crouched, taking a slow breath. She visualised what she was about to do.

  Then she dropped.

  Gravity did half the work for her. She landed hard on his back, driving him to the ground where the wall met pavement. Before he could react, she flicked her wrist-shhkt-and her right hidden blade shot out.

  The steel plunged deep into his neck.

  A wet gurgle escaped his throat, his body stiffening as blood sprayed against the wall in thick, dark streaks. His hands twitched, grasping at nothing.

  Sophie held the blade in for a moment longer, twisting slightly as she felt his body shudder beneath her before finally going limp. She exhaled, retracting the blade as she stepped back.

  She stared at his lifeless eyes, gazing at the mouth of the alley. A dark pool silently spread beneath him.

  Sophie flexed her fingers, rolling her wrist.

  The hidden blade had worked beautifully.

  She smiled, a deep satisfaction settling in her chest.

  Sophie crouched beside the dead Tyger, her eyes scanning over his body as she reached into his pockets. She was quick with it. Looting had long become second nature. The first pocket held nothing but a crumpled pack of cigarettes and a few loose eddies. The second was more promising. Her fingers brushed against something solid. She pulled it out, revealing a datashard.

  She turned it between her fingers. No markings, no labels. It could be something valuable. Or it could be junk. Either way, she wasn’t going to waste time checking it here. She slipped it into her inventory.

  Just as she was about to stand, a loud, angry shout echoed down the alley.

  "You gonk-ass little rat!"

  Sophie’s head snapped up.

  Standing at the mouth of the alley was a Tyger, face twisted in fury. He was taller than the first, bulkier too, with short, dark hair shaved into sharp patterns along the sides. His right arm was chrome from the shoulder down, sleek and reinforced.

  His eyes flicked between Sophie and the corpse at her feet.

  "You whore! Did you kill him? You think you can just do my boy like that and walk away?" he snarled, stepping forward. "Nah. You’re dead."

  Sophie rose slowly, rolling her shoulders. Where the fuck did this idiot come from? I swear there was nobody nearby. Did this fucker just spawn in?

  Despite not intending to trial them in real combat, it was a good opportunity to test her hidden blades in a face-to-face confrontation. Especially because the man held a katana.

  The Tyger didn’t hesitate. He lunged forward, blade slicing through the air in a fast arc. Sophie sidestepped, letting the blade whistle past her shoulder. As she moved, she flicked her right wrist out at him and her hidden blade shot out.

  The sudden appearance of the weapon threw him off. His eyes widened for half a second and he stumbled back. However, he recovered fast, quickly pivoting into another slash.

  Sophie darted in low, using her smaller frame to slip past the attack. She struck out with her right blade, aiming for his side, but he twisted, her attack grazing off his reinforced jacket.

  He grinned. "Hah! That all you got? Fucking rat bitch!"

  Sophie responded by flicking her left wrist. Her second hidden blade snapped out just as she stepped forward again but this time she aimed high.

  He barely managed to block, steel crashing against steel as he intercepted her strike with his katana. Sparks flew.

  Sophie frowned at the clash. The weight difference was obvious. The katana had more reach and more power. The hidden blades were fast, but they weren’t built for direct clashes. Speed is the better option. If I can overwhelm him and land a solid blow, I’ll win.

  Sophie shifted tactics. She weaved around his strikes, slipping in close whenever she saw an opening and using her hidden blades to attack at angles he wasn’t expecting. She tested the moves she’d practiced just hours earlier.

  A few landed. Small cuts opened along his arms, one near his ribs. He growled in frustration, adjusting his grip on the katana.

  "You fight like a coward," he spat, attacking with an overhead slash.

  Sophie ducked, twisting her left blade to parry.

  A loud crack rang out.

  Her eyes widened as the force of the katana’s strike shattered her left blade. The metal structure broke apart, pieces scattering to the ground.

  Sophie’s irritation spiked.

  The Tyger saw his advantage and pressed forward, slashing wildly. Sophie dodged twice before deciding she’d had enough. Her prototypes had done enough but she needed to spend some time refining them.

  With a swift motion, she dropped back a step and yanked her pistol from its holster.

  There was a soft sound as the bullet fired before punched into his thigh, sending him stumbling to one knee with a strangled yell.

  "Cheater!" he gasped, clutching his leg. “That’s not fair!”

  Sophie ignored the idiot. She rushed in, retracting her broken blade while keeping her right one extended. She grabbed his jacket for leverage and drove the remaining hidden blade straight into his throat.

  A wet gurgle escaped his lips as his body spasmed. She yanked the blade free, and he collapsed, blood pooling beneath him.

  She breathed slowly, looking at the corpse before scanning her surroundings. There was no movement yet, but more Tygers could show up any second.

  She turned, running as quickly as possible until she reached a busy main street. From there, it was easy to blend into the crowd before slipping away to find her bike and ride into the sewers.