A patchwork labyrinth of shacks, makeshift shelters and tents filled every conceivable space in the reclamation slums, a shadow city built from layer upon layer of salvaged materials. Streams of dim rainbow lights blurred across walls of cardboard, corrugated steel and plastic as Domino sprinted along the narrow alleys and tunnels feeding down through the slums to her destination.
As her footsteps began to splash, she knew she was close. At the edges of the shanty, the reclaimed land eroded into rough canals and the shacks and cardboard houses gave way to a confusion of boats and floating platforms. The pungent smell of stale water, mono-carbons and myriad unhealthy but tasty foods being cooked washed over her as she skidded to a stop alongside the sampan she sought.
The old woman on deck looked up from her sewing and smiled at Domino as she hopped aboard the houseboat. She gestured with gnarled hands to where a chugging generator was powering a makeshift hob. Something both mysterious and wonderful churned away within the blackened wok Domino saw there.
“Welcome back, my sweet girl. You've been beyond my sight for too long. Have some noodles, the meat is good. And I have kimchi!”
The kindly old Korean woman greeted her using street slang, as was her custom when Domino visited; she had once said it would make her cool, like 'you young kids'. The sounds of the mishmash language always made Domino smile because of that memory.
“I'm sorry NaiNai, I can't. No time. I have to -”
“Pfft! No time, no time! Too thin, you are! Must eat more!”
“Later, NaiNai. I Promise.”
“Later, always later with you. Your friend Angel, she eats now, inside. Wearing very cool sweater I made her too. Such a nice girl..”
Domino felt a warm swell of genuine affection for the woman she had nicknamed 'NaiNai' as she lit a cigarette and moved to push aside the drape covering the entrance to the sampan's main structure. As her optics adjusted to the dim blue light and mountains of clutter inside, she made out Angel sat at NaiNai's kotatsu. She was hunched over, eagerly slurping down her noodles and bobbing her head in time to whatever music was blasting through the large antique headphones she always affected.
A smile played across Domino's lips as she watched this friend whom she trusted so much, her slender frame dwarfed by the loose knit pullover NaiNai had given her. Oblivious to Domino's presence, Angel blurted out a few lines of the Canto-pop song she was listening to, each note ever-so-slightly out of tune.
Angel Yuen was a netrunner, a hacker, a tech expert: someone Domino was very glad to have watching over her. She knew Angel would have been monitoring all the sensory feedback from her neural interface during the past hour or so, would have seen what Domino saw, heard what she heard. To see her now, she was every bit the typical shut-in, 'hikikomori' teenager, sat in her underwear, loose socks and ill-fitting sweater, warming her legs under the low, heated table. She was however, the most capable netrunner Domino had encountered, her skills eclipsing even those of the fabled 'Enclave' Koralev had name-checked in their meeting.
Domino pulled off her boots and padded over to Angel's side. Noticing her friend's eyes were closed, she playfully slid her legs under the kotatsu's blanket so that her toes brushed Angel's. It had the desired effect as Angel squealed, her legs flinching so her knees banged the table.
“Shit! What're you doing!? I didn't even notice you come in... I wish I'd left your damn feed running now. Ayaaah, my poor knees...”
“Don't overreact, they're fine.”
Angel pouted.
“You shouldn't be fooling around. You're already late.”
Domino realised she was right: it was already too late to prep the area surrounding the meeting point. She would have to go in blind. She also found herself not worrying about that as much as she should. Something about being around Angel always made her forget herself, made all the tension leave her body. Something which could one day prove dangerous.
“There's enough time for me to get to the meeting ahead of Koralev -”
“But not enough for you to prep your exit routes,” Angel interjected.
“I ran the schematics for the buildings in the area around the massage parlour on my way here. I picked my insertion point. The rest will follow. I don't plan on running into too much trouble. Koralev's the easy part.”
“Don't count on it, Yukiko. I monitored Koralev's chatter after his doorman called in and he's called in extra muscle for the meeting. The Piranha Twins. He already thinks you're not what you seem. I pulled what I could on them...”
Several images appeared on Domino's heads-up, showing near identical monstrosities. The two men were squat, muscular denizens of nightmare: both had surgically enhanced masks of horror. Their noses had been sliced off so only a deformed, porcine snout remained, this set below heavily recessed orbs of unfettered malice. Each had filed their teeth to needle points, their mouths stretched into a permanent grimace, the resulting maw no doubt informing their choice of alias.
“Charming.”
“No, Yuki-chan. They're not. I don't like it.”
“They're thugs. Look nasty, act tough, but no brains. Plus, they fight for money, so they fight weak. Don't worry.”
She knew Angel would worry irrespective of what she said but a little reassurance might help allay her fears. Privately, Domino was less than pleased with the news. It made the task of getting what she wanted from Koralev all the harder now.
Angel remained unconvinced, her brow furrowed as she gestured to the rear of the shack.
“Look, you'd better get ready. You've only got forty minutes before the meeting. Your kit's where you left it.”
It was Domino's turn to pout.
“You mean you haven't pulled it up for me?”
Angel smiled in mock innocence and tugged at her sweater.
“Hey, NaiNai insisted I try this on. Between that and the noodles, I've been busy...”
Domino pulled her legs from the warmth of the kotatsu and walked over to the back door of NaiNai's home. Sheets of card and old movie posters concealed the door from prying eyes. As she pulled them to one side, she cast a glance back at Angel, who was sat contentedly scratching her stomach.
“You suck,” she offered as she stepped out onto the aft deck.
Domino felt herself beaming as she searched for the tell-tale rope she had left marking her cache. She knew she ought not to feel so at peace but accepted the feeling with relief. The past week had been a catalogue of fatigue, stress and danger so if being here with Angel and NaiNai helped her wind down, all well and good. It might even help her deal with what was yet to come.
A glance around the many neighbouring boats showed no-one paying her particular attention as her hands found the rope in the gloom. Not that it mattered much; the box containing her cache was of a type many residents of the floating city used for storage overboard when their houseboats became too cluttered. She heaved the container aboard and dragged it back inside NaiNai's cabin. Angel was stood waiting for her with a fresh bowl of noodles.
“Now that you've written off the prep stage, you might as well eat something before you go.”
Domino nodded as she stripped out of the hacker outfit. The broth was giving off a very appetising aroma.
“I will. Just let me take inventory.”
“I can do that. Just tell me what you want while you eat.”
Domino brushed her fingertips across Angel's pockmarked cheek, pushing a shock of hair from her face.
“Look, I can't eat right now. If I do, I'll throw up as soon as I start running.”
“Okay fine,” Angel frowned, “but I'm still helping you get ready.”
“I know,” Domino smiled at her. “Get me the black shadowsuit, the kunai belt and a wakizashi. Oh... grab a couple of doppler grenades. Just in case.”
“No gun?”
“No gun. I need to send a message, demonstrate what I am capable of. Koralev and his bodyguards will fire their weapons and hit only shadows. Then the shadows will hit back.”
Angel tried her best to suppress the shiver she felt as she watched her friend prepare herself for the battle ahead. Suddenly she felt very, very sorry for Koralev and his crew.
Copyright © A. Flood 2010
Copyright © A. Flood 2010
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