Ring of Steel Nightfall. People said Babylon never slept. Here, it came closest to slumber. As the sun set, the district wound down operations. Lights extinguished by the scores. Cars and buses flowed out of the neighborhood, southwards to the suburbs, north to the town of North Valley. People abandoned the streets. By midnight, only […]
Hunters of the Void Chapter 4
Division of Labor A hybrid biocomputer was one of the most sophisticated pieces of technology in all existence. Putting one together required equally sophisticated tech. An industrial-grade 3D bioprinter capable of ultra-high precision. Bioink. A multi-material 3D printer. Feedstock. Uninterruptible power supply. Most importantly, a cleanroom. Securing everything was no small feat for the private […]
Hunters of the Void Chapter 3
The Weakest Link Precision. Control. Calmness. The watchwords that kept Kayla grounded in the field. She was not in the field any more. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!” She punctuated every word with a step, burning a circle into the living room carpet. Seated at his workstation, Zen folded his hands over his belly, his […]
Hunters of the Void Chapter 2
To the End For a corporation linked to the New Gods, Zenith Biotech was remarkably transparent about its operations. Its corporate website betrayed critical information about the company. Address, contact form, areas of specialty, mug shots of executives and critical staff. More photographs showed the interior of the labs, the conference rooms, the reception area. […]
Hunters of the Void Chapter 1
By the Waters of Babylon Babylon was beautiful tonight. Crowns and necklaces of light adorned the skyscrapers flanking the Babylon River, edifices of concrete and steel wreathed in multicolored flame. Soft red and yellows illuminated the waterfront, the sturdy towers and swooping cables of Founders Bridge, the ferries and lesser boats that plied the waters. […]
River of Blood Chapter 11
Alone Cleaning up was easy. He’d handled his gear and built his bombs with clean clothes and gloves on. The railguns wouldn’t leave behind forensics evidence worth a damn. Every player who knew he was in Riveria, and could prove it, was dead. Detective Nelson was the exception, but there were lines even he wouldn’t […]
River of Blood Chapter 10
Boomer Connor had company. Two black gravtrucks sat at the far end of the parking lot. Dark figures gathered around them forming security positions. No sirens, no antennae, no warning, not police vehicles. The Pantheon would have opened fire the second they saw him. The Shadow Court had no business with him here. That left […]
River of Blood Chapter 9
Execution Intelligence was the lifeblood of war. Learn everything you could about the enemy, while denying him from doing the same. The essential formula for victory. Connor, Kayla and Zen swung into action, following the formula. Taylor locked himself down. The second he got home, he chucked it in a corner, plugged it into a […]
River of Blood Chapter 8
End in Fire Even in Riveria, there were still oases of privacy, unobserved by the growing population of surveillance cameras. Among them was Hatfield Park. Running along the banks of the Minato River, it was once a historic battlefield, in the pre-Cataclysm days when the peoples of the region made war on each other before […]
River of Blood Chapter 7
To The Mattresses They hadn’t managed to grab Fernando. His burner phone was a decent consolation prize. They’d escaped and evaded for an hour, winding through Riveria. In an underground parking lot, Connor stripped off his clothes, wiped himself down, changed into a new set. Kayla peeled away the license plate stickers and affixed a […]