A Stolen Bike and Twisted Wires

Rei continued climbing through the vent, keeping her head down, trying not to groan as pain spiked through her shoulder. She had already hit her head several times on the low ceiling, and winced as an echoing thud ran through the shaft.

How much longer was there…

After turning a couple of corners and pushing against some of the vent covers, she managed to find one that was rather loose, so she pried it open, and, after looking about, slid out.

It was a red carpeted room, the lighting dim, a wooden piano in the corner. She was tempted to stop and inspect the furniture, all the smooth wood and the polished mirrors and what seemed to be candlesticks…

As she headed for the door, however, she noticed an array of weapons lying on the table. Her and Calix’s weapons, as well as her helmet. Boston must’ve left them there at some point. She found a bag hanging on a coat hanger and quickly put them inside, then pushed the door open and headed out, finding herself in the entrance hall, and after looking around the lobby for any signs of life, headed out the front door.

The night air was cool and almost cold, a refreshing breath seeping through her lungs, and Rei pulled her jacket closer to herself, shivering. It felt good to be free again, but there was a strange vibe throughout the air, and as she looked she saw the haunting absence of the lights in the distance, only a black void.

If only she had some sort of transportation…

She headed around the corner, and found the entrance to a garage, so she headed down, her footsteps echoing through the concrete chamber. Any bikes…?

Yes, there was a whole line of them, right up against the wall on the far side, and she tried to look for her own, but to no avail. Ah, no time anyways. She found a bike at the end of the line, a particularly newer model, one that she had admired and had been saving up for in her dreams. To activate it…

She passed her metal hand over the handlebars, and found the activation switch. Identity confirmed? No, she twitched her fingers over the hologram and it disappeared, and she revved the engine. Full tank of gas, and the rest of the night before her. She put on her helmet and tapped the side, activating it, and then accelerated up the ramp out of the garage, the wind whipping the ends of her hair and her clothes around.

Through her semi-broken helmet she tried to find a route mapping out a way to the nearest power box. Even though many of the lights were out, at least her helmet could still show her the way.

Left, right… She hadn’t noticed the outlines of the buildings in the dark before, how many times she was nearly crashed. The feel of the vehicle was certainly different, but not a bad different. There was so much more power surging through its wheels, and the way it carried her throughout the streets of R’veno…

The power box her helmet directed to was located at a dead-end, right underneath a chain link fence that stretched up high, much too high to hump. She could see nothing as she approached, braking and slowing down, putting her foot down and turning the engine off. Was this it? Or only one of the locations where the power was broken?

She took off her helmet and set it on the bike, and peered at the box, inspecting it. Someone had broken it open earlier, and the metal door swung open without too much effort. Inside sparks flew, startling her, and she stared at the wires, all cut and strangled like nobody’s business.

“How in the world am I supposed to fix this?” she muttered to herself.

“One track mind, eh?”

She jumped and looked up to see Aries leaning against the gate, staring at her. “The heck? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, you know…” He nudged her aside and took a look inside the box. “Sheesh. What’s going on here?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

He slammed the box shut impatiently. “Where’s that bartender boy? Did you leave him to die?”

“What? No! Geez, what are you trying to do?”

“Well, someone hired me, so I have a job to do,” Aries replied. “Same as you.”

“You didn’t take the bounty.”

“Someone else hired me, yeah.” Aries rolled his eyes.

“Whatever for? Just for you to specifically hinder us?”

“You could say that. But, no, who in the world would care specifically about hindering you? No, I’ve been asked to keep an eye on the lights. That and something more.”

“Oh, you’re going to break them too? Just like Boston?”

“Don’t lump me in with that gangster. You could never possibly understand the mission that was given to me. You only know the bounty that was put up.”

“I don’t even know who put up the bounty! Why are you picking a fight with me anyways, if no one could possibly care about us?”

Aries stared at her, his dark brown eyes ghostly beneath his hood. “Because, oddly enough, someone does care about you and your movements. Oddly enough, someone does have this convoluted plan for something or the other which none of us could understand. Heck, I don’t even understand what I’m doing here, or what my purpose is. But, y’know, I listen to my boss, whoever that may be at the time. And so I should take care of you.”

“Fat chance.” Rei pulled out her gun. “Do you have any dang idea how to fix these awful lights?”

And Aries could only look at her with what could be called a trace of glee around his lips. “No,” he replied. “No freaking clue.”

Perhaps that was a lie, but Rei was in no mood to listen. Aries had pulled out a small pistol from under his cloak, pointing it at her abdomen, his eyes daring her to shoot him. And she grit her teeth, finger remaining on the trigger.

Of course, what were the chances that the aforementioned gangster should arrive?