Evicted

As he arrived as his apartment, he noticed his lights were off - not a good sign. He cautiously made his way inside, and was immediately tackled from behind.

"What the-" he exclaimed, before he felt a sharp pain in his neck. His vision started to blur and he felt himself losing consciousness. The last thing he saw was the man who had knocked him out, standing over him with a needle in his hand.

When Hugo awoke, he was in a dimly lit room, strapped to a chair. In front of him was a table, and sitting at the table was Mac.

"Ah, you're finally awake. Sorry about the rough treatment, but I couldn't risk you running off and alerting the authorities."

"What do you want from me?" Hugo asked, his voice trembling.

"I need you to help me with my plan, you've done well with my test, and the weapon you've built was exactly what we needed - but it's not going to help us take over the Structure. It's never going to get us near the Supreme Council."

"Why? What have they done to you?"

"They took my family, my home, my life. They deserve to pay."

"And you think I'm just going to help you destroy the only thing keeping us alive?"

"Keeping us alive? Have you seen the state we're in? We're not going to make it much longer, not the way things are going. The only way out is to take down the Structure, and rebuild it the way it should be - with us in charge."

"That's never going to happen, you're just one man. There's no way you're going to take down the whole Structure."

"I'm not alone, I have allies, and we're going to take the Structure down - with or without your help. But it would be a lot easier with your help."

"Why me? I'm just a black market weapons dealer, I'm not a terrorist."

"You're the best in the business, and I need the best if I'm going to take down the Structure. Will you help me?"

"Do I get a choice? I mean you seemed to have no problem abducting me out of nowhere and holding me against my will."

"You always have a choice, but I hope you'll make the right one."

"And what if I don't?"

"Well, there's no going back to your workshop either way - it's gone. I can drop you at one of the outermost sectors with a new identity if you want, but starting over will be tough."

Gone. His workshop was gone... Mac had to be bluffing, there was no way his life's work was gone in so short a time. This guy was psycho, way too dangerous to be trusted if he'd blow up a stranger's livelihood.

"Show me."

"What?"

"Show me my workshop is gone."

Mac looked at him for a moment, then nodded. He pulled out a remote and pressed a button. A holographic display appeared in the center of the room, and it showed an aerial view of a smoldering ruin.

"That was your workshop?"

Hugo nodded, his throat constricting. All his work, all his life's savings - gone.

"Why?" Hugo croaked, his face filling with tears.

"Jesus, kid, it wasn't me. I've barely known you."

Hugo looked confused now, and he was likely distraught because he wasn't understanding - if not Mac, then who?

"It was the Council." Mac said after a long pause. "They found out about your little business, and they decided to send a message. They made sure to make it look like some sort of leak so your neighbors don't get too rowdy."

"But... why?"

"Christ you're denser than I thought, because you sold and installed illegal implants - and the Council likes to have total control over who gets body mods. You must have done something stupid along the way to trigger a spy node, and once I got word, I knocked you out, and left enough of a fake to convince them you were dead. I saved your ass."

"So I'm a fugitive now?"

"Well no, technically you're dead. But if they found out you're alive, you'd be a fugitive."

Hugo felt sick - he was being blackmailed into becoming a terrorist, or if Mac was to be believed, he was already considered a terrorist. But what other choice did he have? He was all alone now, with nothing to his name. He had no home, no workshop, no life. He had done some questionable things in the past, but he hadn't considered that any of them would get him killed, he was a mechanic, not an arms dealer. Hugo considered his options - he could either try to make a run for it, and hope he could make it to safety before Mac or his allies caught up to him, or the Supreme council did. Or he could stay and build for Mac and his group. Either way, his life was effectively over. But was he really going to join a man that had attacked and kidnapped him (and maybe blew up his house, jury was still out on whether Hugo believed him)? Guess so.

"I'll do it."