Watson

  October 31st

  2069

  A few minutes into their walk, Sophie received a reply from Rita.

  Rita: Lizzie’s is safe, Soph. But why are you even here? I thought you were gonna stay away from Watson until the war died down?

  Sophie grimaced before replying, explaining it wasn’t by choice and that she was currently working protection for someone who refused to listen to her advice.

  They exchanged a few more messages while Lily looked around at the burnt cars and bloodstains. She looked a bit queasy at the sight and Sophie could tell she was starting to regret her desire to explore Watson.

  Maybe I can convince her to leave? We’re not too far into the district and it wouldn’t be an issue to get her out quickly. Unfortunately, as she opened her mouth to pose her question, she watched Lily’s face settle into a mask of determination. She was still obviously nervous, but she was doing her best to look tough. She sighed, realising it would be an exercise in futility to convince her to leave.

  Instead, she settled into a more prepared gait, on guard for any potential encounters.

  They were a few streets away from Lizzie’s when they heard an odd noise. The pair of girls walked past a burnt and ransacked two story building, approaching a corner. The noise became clearer and Sophie realised with growing horror it was a group of voices.

  Alarmed, she tried to grab Lily’s arm, pulling her backwards but she was slightly too late. The angelic girl, oblivious to the possible danger, turned the corner. Her face was lit up with a cheery smile, clearly expecting an opportunity to speak with a group of locals despite the state of the streets around them.

  “He-” Her greeting was interrupted immediately.

  “Oh? What have we got here? A little girly, out to play? You don’t look like you’re from here, huh. How ‘bout you let us show you a good time?”

  Sophie heard the sleazy voice and accompanying words, tinged with a Japanese accent. She poked her head around the corner, confirming her fears.

  A group of five Tygers, crouched around a pile of corpses, entered her vision. Some of the bodies clearly belonged to Maelstrom while the others all appeared to be civilians. Without hesitation, Sophie grabbed the back of Lily’s shirt and yanked her backwards.

  “Run, Lily!” The girl was frozen from the sudden chaos and Sophie could clearly hear the group of Claws approaching the corner. She shoved the corpo girl forwards, prompting her to finally begin moving. Thank god she’s wearing proper shoes at least, she thought, her head beginning to swivel as she checked their surroundings.

  With a grimace, she reached up to her chest rig, coming away with a frag grenade. She armed it, then dumped it at the corner. There were shouts, followed by an explosion but she was already running at that point. Shit! I thought today was gonna be fairly peaceful! Do I need to pull my rifle out? But if Ophelia has a guard around, I’d expose my inventory…Last resort then.

  Following behind Lily, Sophie felt a chill run down her spine. Trusting her instincts, which had never failed her, she swiped her chrome hand backwards. For a moment, she thought it was a mistake but the sudden screech of metal-on-metal proved it was the right decision. One of the Tygers had appeared behind her without warning, swinging a razor-sharp katana.

  Her impromptu block had managed to deflect the incoming blade and knock the man off balance. Clearly, he wasn’t happy about it.

  “There’s another bitch here!” He shouted. “Get them!” The words felt like they came from a bad movie but Sophie had no time to think about it. She pumped her legs as quickly as possible, running after Lily. At the same time, she heard the distinct sound of multiple footsteps following close behind, some of which were gaining on the pair of girls. Fuck, that grenade didn’t slow them down at all!

  Sophie’s eyes flitted around, trying to find a path to escape or gain an advantage. Quickly, her gaze locked on the ransacked building they’d passed just moments before.

  “Lily!” She yelled, “the building! Into the building!” It wasn’t her preferred option but she hoped there would be another exit, deeper inside. It was a better choice compared to being on the open street at least. At the same time, she drew her pistols and shifted her body slightly so that she could shoot at her pursuers. There was a cry of pain, though a brief glance suggested none of her shots had been lethal.

  Lily reached the building entrance, pausing for some reason. Sophie reached her quickly and shoved her further through the doorway. “Go! Run as far and fast as you can! If there’s another exit, take it. Get to Lizzie’s! The Mox will help you!” She hissed quickly, turning her head just in time to see a large figure approaching rapidly. Another shove pushed the blonde girl inside and Sophie made to follow. “G-”

  The air was knocked from her lungs as the massive figure, clearly identifiable as a Tyger, slammed into her. The last thing she saw of Lily was her blonde hair disappearing into the building before she turned back to her current situation.

  She found herself being carried over her attacker’s shoulder as he continued his charge, building up momentum. She tried to shift herself around, to find a better position but a sudden, jerky movement put a stop to that. For a moment, she floated in the air before crashing right back down. Distantly, she heard shouting from the other Claws but her current predicament didn’t allow her any leeway to pay attention.

  Her back hit the ground and the impact, paired with the substantial weight of the Tyger attacking her, seemed to reverberate through her skeleton. The man above her didn’t relent however, bringing a fist up and punching across her jaw.

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  She saw stars for a moment, only snapping out of it when the same fist pulled back for another blow. Struggling, Sophie managed to get her left arm up, holding the attack away. The stalemate didn’t last long as his arm seemed to twist like a snake, wrapping around her arm and twisting hard. At the same time, his entire body shifted.

  Within just a few seconds, he had her in a full armbar, wrenching on her left arm with his legs across her chest. For a moment, they stayed like that, the Tyger putting more and more pressure on her elbow. Sophie didn’t miss the opportunity as he grew confused, clearly not expecting the range of her body’s flexibility. Her chrome arm slid down to her thigh, gripping the handle of her knife.

  With a growl, she swung it up along her body bringing it into the side of the man’s knee. He cried out in pain and the grip he had on her arm faltered. Sophie didn’t let the chance go to waste, ripping the blade out before plunging it into the inner thigh of his other leg. Blood spurted out as the blade dug into the femoral artery.

  He yowled in pain, loosening his grip on her body entirely. With a surge of strength, Sophie flipped herself over, onto her attacker who was desperately fumbling around his leg. She grabbed his hair, forcibly tilting his head upwards. She looked into his eyes, previously filled with arrogance, now filled with fear. Her bloodied blade punched straight through his throat and up into his head.

  The light in his eyes dimmed as he went limp. Sophie clambered to her feet, immediately coming face to face with another Tyger who looked scared out of his mind. She looked around for a moment before realising it was only the two of them left. Fuck! Lily!

  Her eyes turned cold as she dropped her knife, instead drawing both pistols. The man, still staring at her with undisguised fear, barely had time to react before he was turned into a sieve. He tumbled to the ground, bleeding out across the pavement. A bullet punched through his skull as she stalked past, towards the building entrance.

  As she entered, her hands quickly reloaded both guns. The action proved to be a good choice as she almost immediately stumbled upon a Tyger, alone in a room and obviously searching for someone. Good. She must have found a hiding spot at least.

  Her guns came up and she opened fire. The Tyger, clearly unprepared for the sudden attack, almost fell to the initial onslaught. However, he clearly possessed decent quality subdermal armour that prevented him from dying immediately.

  Unfortunately, the attack had done enough damage to incapacitate him as he lay there in a puddle of blood. Before Sophie could execute him though, she heard a high-pitched female scream.

  “Shit!” There was no hesitation in her movements as she sprinted towards the noise. Her boots pounded against the stairs as she raced to the second floor of the building. Another scream, this time much closer, sounded out and Sophie quickly burst into the room it originated from.

  There, in the back corner, was Lily. She looked frazzled, her originally perfect blonde hair now poking out all over the place and tears in her eyes. In her hands, she held a jagged stick, waving it back and forth to keep her attacker at bay.

  Sophie’s eyes locked onto the man. It was the guy with a sandevistan who had launched the first attack and he was obviously enjoying Lily’s distress, toying with his food.

  Without a word, Sophie opened fire once more. However, she clearly underestimated the man’s skills. As soon as the first bullet hit him, he blurred. It was clearly his sandevistan at work, but even with that knowledge, it was difficult to deal with the sudden appearance of a katana slashing down at her.

  Mind flashing back to the encounter she had months ago with Suko Rei, Sophie twisted her body awkwardly, permitted only by the flexibility she had trained into her body. The attacking blade sailed past her harmlessly and she responded by shooting again. Unfortunately, only a single shot fired, impacting the Tyger but doing no significant damage.

  Instead, she received a lightning fast counter as the man’s katana sliced through the side of her netrunner suit, biting deep. She winced before quickly putting some distance between them. Dropping her guns, Sophie drew her katana instead.

  The man, standing across from her, smirked. “Oh, look at you,” his voice was dripping with mockery. “You really think that little toy is going to help?” As his words fell, he blurred again, reappearing in front of her with another downwards chop.

  Her own katana came up to meet it, forming a cross shape. Just before the blades met, she ignited the thermal edge. She watched with smug satisfaction as the Tyger’s sword was sheared through by the super-heated weapon.

  With a cry, the gobsmacked Tyger was pierced through the sternum. He staggered backwards before reengaging his sandy. Suddenly, his figure appeared on the other side of the room, collapsing to the floor. Sophie didn’t let up, crossing the distance quickly before removing his head with a clean cut.

  With the immediate threat neutralised, Sophie turned her attention to Lily. The girl was hunkered down in the corner of the room, face pale as she looked at the headless corpse and Sophie’s bloodstained appearance.

  She briefly checked her own wounds and after ensuring there was nothing life threatening sheathed her katana and scooped up her guns. She holstered them before moving to Lily’s side.

  “Lily? Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” Even as she asked the questions, she was checking the blonde over. She sighed in relief when she didn’t find anything wrong.

  “Mhm…I’m…I’m fine. Just scared, that’s all.”

  “Alright. That’s good. We need to get out of he-” Her words were interrupted by nearby gunfire and shouting. However, it died down as quickly as it started before they both heard a voice call out.

  “Sophie!? You here!?” It was Rita’s voice. Lily shot her a scared, questioning look.

  Standing quietly, Sophie stepped over to the door to confirm whether it was actually the Mox bouncer or if it was some weird piece of tech replicating her voice. She moved to the doorway opposite the direction the sound came from and immediately spotted Rita just outside. The Mox woman saw her too and jumped back slightly before recognising her.

  “Aha! I knew it!” Rita said. “You’re a tough girl. Couple of Tygers wouldn’t be enough to take you down.”

  “Thanks?” Sophie wasn’t sure how else to respond to the comment. Rita either didn’t notice or didn’t care about her confusion.

  “Come on, let’s delta! Grab your friend too! Maelstrom or Tygers will be here soon.” Sophie agreed and quickly grabbed Lily’s arm, not listening to her small squeaks of protest. They left the building and jumped into the back of a Mox van before speeding off.

  Rita leaned across from the other side, hand gripping a bloodied knife. “I think this is one of yours?”

  “It is, thanks.” The older woman nodded and a comfortable silence fell over the small group. Sophie looked beside her, to Lily. The girl was uncharacteristically quiet, at least from her limited experience. Her brow was furrowed, clearly thinking about something intently. It remained that way, even as the van pulled into the carpark of Lizzie’s.

  The trio of girls all filed into the bar that now acted as a shelter for those affected by the gang war, alongside the small group of Mox combatants Rita had brought along. Sophie was quickly sat down as the bouncer called over a medic after noticing the young merc’s injuries.

  While having her side bandaged, the pair chatted quietly so that they didn’t disturb the refugees. Lily sat beside her bodyguard, still quiet. Only once Rita left, having other work to attend to, did she open her mouth.

  “Sophie…Um, I wanted to say…I wanted to say sorry. You got hurt. Because of me. Well, because I didn’t listen to you.” Sophie blinked at her owlishly before sighing softly. She put a still-bloody hand on the girl’s shoulder.

  “I’m not sure what things are like in the capital but until you get used to NC, maybe listen to someone who knows the place better. Y’know, me. Just be a bit more sensible, at least.” The blonde cracked a smile at the comment before nodding vigorously.

  Sophie’s interface lit up, a message from Rita saying there was a car waiting outside for Lily. A second message quickly arrived, this time from Ophelia and confirming the car was one of theirs. She stood slowly, careful not to stretch herself too much.

  “Looks like there’s a car outside, for you. Let’s get you home.”

  The pair walked out of the bar in silence, quickly reaching the car. Beside it was a man in full military armour. He opened the door and Lily quickly climbed in.

  “I was instructed to pass on a message,” he said. “‘Your performance today was admirable, if a bit sloppy. Still, you protected my daughter. I’m glad her other guard didn’t need to step in. You may return home now. We will be in contact, for my daughter's sake and the sake of our deal.’” With his message finished, the man opened up the driver's side door and stepped in. Quickly, the car shot off, hurtling away from Watson.

  Sophie’s mind however, was stuck on one part of the message. I know Ophelia said there’d be someone following us but there really was? I thought I’d be able to spot them if they were there. She suppressed a shiver, realising once again how frightening Ophelia truly was. Then again, it doesn’t really matter, does it? If I’m too weak to detect someone, I sure as hell won’t be able to fight them. God, I really need to get some better gear.

  She sent a command to her bike, calling it to her location. Right now though, all I want is my bed. Today was fucking exhausting. I can worry about my training later.