Whatever It Takes

Ignacio stood, knocking his chair over with a clang that echoed in the room. His eyes widened, breaths heaving.

“You’re telling me you did this, Ivo?” Ignacio said.

The Doc shook his head. “I don’t know. It hasn’t even been processed by the Corpo yet. Which means they found out without my help.”

Ignacio placed his hands on his head, stumbling backwards as dizziness struck. He slammed his back against the wall with a hollow bang, the metallic panel lighting up with a dim blue glow.

“Why would you send it to them,” he whispered.

“Because I was being cautious,” the Doc snarled. “If I kept it hidden and they found out, which they did anyway, I doubt they would hesitate to kill me. Or Petra.”

“What about me? Did you tell them about me?”

“No, only Celeste.”

Ignacio scrunched up his hair, sinking to his haunches. Cypher Corp had her. Cypher Corp had his little sister. One of the most powerful companies on Earth was using her… for what? As a guinea pig?

“Why are you telling me all of this, Doc?” Ignacio asked, looking up at him.

The Doc raised his eyebrows. “Because you don’t have to worry. If she’s with them, she’s not under arrest. They don’t want to hurt her, she’s simply a person of interest.”

Ignacio pushed himself to stand, stabbing a finger at the Doc. “You have no idea if that’s true or not!”

The Doc spread his arms. “Go on then, Ace. What are you going to do now, hm? Take on the whole of Cypher Corp by yourself?”

“I’ve got friends who can help,” Ignacio snapped, fists clenching.

“Oh, wonderful for you. A company whose owner has a net worth greater than some countries in the world, and you and your band of buddies are gonna take his organization on, is that right?”

“We can report this to the…” Ignacio’s words trailed off.

Why the hell would the police care? Or the government? They were probably as invested in whatever they wanted Celeste for. If he reported anything to them, they could just kill him, or Ether-abduct him as well.

He startled as the Doc placed a hand on his shoulder, his jaws clenched. “I’m sorry, Ace. I didn’t know this would happen, I swear to you.”

Ignacio swatted his hand away, lip curling in a snarl. “You knew what they’re capable of.”

He walked past the Doc, eyes fixed on Celeste as he circled around her. He crouched, placing a hand on her knee as she just stared ahead at the wall behind him. Those eyes that normally gave away every thought and feeling suddenly empty, her mind stolen from her body in the name of progress.

He rested his forehead on her knee, sighing. “I’m coming for you, Celeste,” he whispered. “Just hold on for me.”

He traced his hand along the chain around his neck, pulling it off himself. It glittered in the fluorescent light as he raised it over her head, draping it around her hair and neck. The pendant—a golden moon and three silver stars—gleamed as it swayed from around her neck. Ignacio caught a glimpse of himself in the moon’s reflection, his eyes bloodshot and puffy.

“Keep her safe for me.”

He stood up, walking past the doc as he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket.

“Where are you going?” the Doc asked.

“To call a friend,” Ignacio said, pausing at the door as they slid open. “Can you take care of her for me?”

The Doc paused. “I’ll take care of her, Ace. Listen to me.”

He walked up to Ignacio, facing him with tears welling in his eyes. “You’re the closest thing I got to a son, boy. You come back to work whenever you need to. I’ll keep paying you on sick leave.”

Ignacio nodded, jaws clenching.

The Doc held out his hand. “You call me if you need anything, you hear me?”

Ignacio stared at his bony fingers, hesitating. He sighed, and shook the Doc’s hand. “I will.”

The Doc nodded. “Do what you must, Ace. We’ll be here when you need us.”

Ignacio walked out the doors, the lights in the ceiling flickering on.

“Ace,” the Doc called, his face visible between the doors as they closed. “Don’t get yourself killed.”

The doors slid together with a dull clunk, leaving Ignacio alone in the corridor.

Whatever it takes.

He made his way toward the exit, the lights flickering on above him as he stormed out.

Ignacio walked to the doors, pressing in the number code. They slid open, and Thiago stepped in. The inside of his high collar and visors were bright orange, hexagonal patterns filling them.

He pulled the visors up to his hair as he stepped in, placing a hand on Ignacio’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Ace,” he said, his gravbike gloves padded with orange polymer.

Ignacio nodded, gesturing for him to walk through. They went to the lounge and Thiago sat down with a huff, reaching into his orange-inlaid jacket.

“Spill it,” he said, pulling out a cyberette. “What the hell is going on?”

Ignacio folded his arms, leaning his back against the wall beside the couch. “So, she was Ether-abducted, that much I know. But it’s not for the reason you think.”

Thiago clicked the cyberette on, its tip glowing red. He placed the narrower end to his lips, taking a breath and blowing out a plume of red smoke.

“I know your lil’ sis didn’t commit a crime,” Thiago said, stretching his arm across the top of the couch. “So I’m assuming you had a run in with-”

“She was taken by Cypher Corp,” Ignacio blurted.

Thiago’s jaw slacked. “You gotta be kidding me.”

Ignacio pushed off the wall, walking around to stand in front of him. “You got connections because of your dad, right?”

“With who?”

“With… I don’t know, Psyonic crews?”

Thiago chuckled, taking another draw on his cyberette, blowing out a cone of red smoke to the side. “Ace, I love you man. But you don’t have enough money to hire a Psyonic crew for an hour, let alone a terrorist operation.”

“So you can put me in contact with them?”

“I could, doesn’t mean I should. You’re going to get yourself killed, Ace. Those guys don’t mess around.”

“Neither do I.”

Thiago leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. “How much money do you have?”

“I have about four thousand crypts in my main account.”

“Four thousand crypt is how much those guys charge to show up at your kid’s birthday for ten minutes, Ace.”

Ignacio sighed, rubbing his eyebrow. “What about a lesser crew?”

Thiago glanced down at him, and lowered his head. “You want to try taking on Cypher Corp with a lesser crew?”

“Better than trying on my own.”

“How were you planning to try alone? Four thousand crypts isn’t enough to buy an arm for a Cypher Prime, let alone the higher tiers.”

Ignacio stepped forward, leaning his hands on his knees. “Thiago, please just introduce me to one of them. That’s all I’m asking.”

Thiago sighed, massaging his eyes with his finger tips. “Fine. I’ll ask around and see if any are willing to hear you out.”

Ignacio sighed, straightening up. “Thank you.”

Thiago nodded, standing as he took another drag on his cyberette. “If I don’t hear from any in twenty-four hours, I’m calling it off. My dad cannot find out about this.”

Ignacio nodded. “Twenty four hours. Thank you, Tee.”