Chương 72: Book 2 - Chapter 1 - Undercity Investigations

When I came back to the kitchen the kids were already finished with their meals, and Jane was pecking at hers. The kids looked up at me, or more specifically the two boxes still in my hands, licking their lips. With a sigh I opened the two packages, split them between the three of them, and while they were occupied, grabbed Jane and pulled her to the side. The lanky brunette shot me a dirty look, but managed to snatch her meal off the table before she followed.

"What the hell, Teddy? If you needed something you could have asked me at the table."

"No, I couldn't." I replied, pulling out the pamphlet.

"Have you seen this?" Jane eyed me up suspiciously, stuck her fork into her mouth, and opened up the paper. A moment later the fork fell to the floor.

"This is a joke, right? Tell me this is a joke?"

"I got it from Alan. Based upon your reaction I'd guess you haven't seen it before."

"Of course not, I would have been ranting to you the instant you walked through the door." She leaned against the wall, "You think it's real?"

"I fucking hope not." I pulled the paper out of her hands again and tucked it away.

"But we can't take any chances. I'll go out and ask around about this 'Guiding Light' tomorrow. I need you to talk to Alan and find out where he got this." She nodded, before leaning down to pick up her fork.

"What are you going to do?"

"Tonight, I'll play with the kiddos, and relax. Tomorrow? I'll probably head to the Terminal. I think, out of everyone in the district, the Brokers probably have the best information network. They don't really owe me anything, but they have a lot to lose if this threat is real."

"Makes sense." Jane wiped her fork on her shirt, then stuck it back into her meal.

"I really hope this is a joke."

"Me too." — Although the kids were happy to have me around, they obviously could sense something was wrong. They were smart enough not to ask, and I didn't volunteer any information, so we ended up having a relatively stress free night of rough-housing, story-telling, and plush animals. The next morning I woke early, snuck out to the garage, and prepared to go out.

While I was unhooking the trailer I sent orders to my bears: they were to patrol the premises, double the protection on my family, and detain anyone passing out 'Guiding Light' paraphernalia. I honestly didn't think they'd be stupid enough to be just walking around the street in gang territory, but I wasn't going to miss my chance if they were stupid. Once that was set up, I piled into my truck with my squad and headed off.

Since the undercity existed in perpetual twilight, the Terminal was always open, and always busy. Since working vehicles, especially hover vehicles, were so rare in the undercity my truck attracted a lot of attention. Mostly gawkers, but I knew from experience more than one person was eyeing my ride up for parts. Since I didn't have the time, or patience, to deal with unnecessary delays today I had Dusty and Deadbeat wait by the truck, weapons on display.

Hopefully that would be enough to keep people away; most people around here were desperate, not stupid. As I strode towards the entrance, the crowd parted. I wasn't sure if it was because I had a reputation around here now, or it was because I had a terrifying, eight foot tall killer bear following me around. Either way my path was unobstructed right until I entered the main doors to the market, when a well-dressed man approached me and bowed.

"Welcome, Miss Samurai, how can the Brokers help you today?" I looked him up and down, probably someone low on the totem pole around here, but hopefully he'd be able to get me where I wanted to go.

"I'd like to talk to Mr. Jessup. It's rather urgent." If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Of course, follow me." The man quickly led me through the promenade, which, unlike last time I was here, was absolutely packed. People were bartering for everything from low quality fabrics, to electronic scrap, typical undercity fare. After a minute of passing through the crowd, my guide ended up leading me to a well-guarded staircase on the east side. Although the well-dressed guards turned most people away, they didn't even look our way as we passed them.

As soon as I stepped out onto the second floor I was amazed at how quiet it was compared to the level below. It appeared the Brokers did some renovations since the last time I was here, as all the higher class stores had been rebuilt on this second level. All the patrons on this level were well-dressed and had Broker escorts. None of them looked like the typical undercity citizen, I wasn't sure if they were people from the upper city looking for a thrill, or if the upper crust of the undercity all shopped here.

Since there were no crowds on this upper level, we made our way swiftly to the end of the upper balcony, where there was a heavy metal door set into the wall. My guide knocked, waited for a reply, then opened the door and gestured for me to enter. Inside the room was a well-furnished office, a massive desk sat in the middle of the room, and the back wall was full of security monitors. At the desk sat a man I was familiar with, Mr Jessup, head of security for the Brokers. The large man looked up, and nodded at me.

"Tiny Teddy, good to see you again." He closed the computer that he was working on and sat straight, giving me his full attention.

"I'm guessing this isn't a social call."

"Not exactly," I said with a smirk as I pulled the flyer out of my pocket. As soon as he saw it he frowned.

"Of course, it would be those jokers. I'm glad we're not the only ones taking them seriously. With your help we may eventually figure out who's behind this."

"So you already know about them?" I asked, collapsing into one of the chairs on the other side of his desk. The big man snorted, "The sneaky fucks were right outside, in the stacks, passing out leaflets right on our doorstep, and we didn't even find out about it until the less fortunates out there got uppity and attacked some patrons. Started looking into them right after that." He pulled a folder from under his desk and passed it over to me. While I looked it over he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Our complete findings, but I can summarize." He took a quick drag, "As soon as we found those pamphlets, the boss asked me to track down whoever was responsible. It doesn't matter if it's really the Guiding Light or not, these nutjobs could cause some real damage if they manage to get enough support. So we hired the Ravens to keep an eye out." I raised an eyebrow at that. The Ravens were a gang in the loosest sense of the word. They were more net junkies that abandoned the upper-city and found a place down below.

I'd never worked with them, why would I? They had enough skill to do dirty jobs for corps for big bucks, and pay for people to guard their territory. Hiring them couldn't have been cheap.

"They got back to me within twenty-four hours, gave me a location, and I assigned a team to catch a few of the lunatics." He took another puff of his cigarette, "What a shitshow that was. When we arrived there was a group in robes, very religious or cult looking, and as soon as they saw us they piled into an ancient looking car and started driving off. My boys opened up on the car, tried to disable it before they got away, but failed."

"I have a feeling it was more than bad luck," I said.

"Bullet proof car. No fucking idea where they found something like that, but it was enough to allow them to escape despite our heavy weapons."

"Fuck…"

"Yeah. We tried to chase them, but quickly lost the car. You want to know the worst part? After we got back, and prepped for another attempt I got a call from the Ravens, they told me someone broke into their base and completely wrecked their setup. Contract cancelled." He put out his cigarette in an ashtray on the desk and looked me straight in the eyes.

"I don't know who's behind this, but they're not just trying to stir up trouble. They have some sort of backing and skill. Unfortunately, without someone to track these guys down, our investigation is at a standstill, but maybe we could make some progress with your help." I nodded, "Maybe. Let me think about it." I stood up and held out the folder to him. He just held up a hand, "Keep it, I have extras."

"Thanks. I'll be in touch if I find anything." I left the office a little more informed, and a lot more confused than when I went in. If Jessup's information was correct, the Guiding Light had a backer, but who would want to cause that much chaos down here? If the Brokers had hit a standstill in their investigation already, then I'd have to do a lot more footwork. Guess it was time to head home and figure out my next steps.