The Third Path
The content of the third-path request was simple. Assassinate Viktor Kral, director of Luthien BioTech's stem cell research lab. No need to infiltrate his research headquarters. Just shoot down the hovercar he'd be riding in as he entered Southpeak en route to the second branch lab. The easiest, flashiest, and noisiest method. The only downside was having to head to the crash site to confirm his death, but Soo wasn't too worried. She knew full well that even her half-baked invisibility magic could fool most cameras and hacking tools.
Still, there was one thing nagging at her.
"Now I get what you meant by annoying..."
"You're late."
"...Viktor Kral's itinerary is too detailed."
No matter that it came from a Luthien subsidiary—he was still a Luthien executive. Information on someone of his rank was usually sealed tight. Normal people couldn't access it. Yet the request Enoch and Soo had read laid out his movements in precise detail, matching reality perfectly. To provide intel this granular, the client had to be another exec at the same level—or higher up the chain.
"Request from another corporate exec?"
"Yeah. Tail-cutting."
At the words tail-cutting, Soo's tail shivered. Enoch couldn't fathom why she'd make her own tail quake after saying it herself. Did it have a mind of its own? Sometimes it seemed that way. There were times it wouldn't stay put, forcing him to hug it tight. Or when her face stayed blank, but her tail wagged happily.
Enoch tore his gaze from Soo's tail and looked at the holographic clock tower. 19:27. Four minutes until Viktor arrived.
"Tail-cutting means another Luthien exec is gunning for him?"
"Probably?"
"Hm... So that's why he's coming to this city. The Southpeak second lab must fall under his jurisdiction."
"Viktor hired Tibolt too."
The security chief Viktor had hired turned out to be a Zailek undercover agent, leading to the server hack and Luthien taking the blame for this mess. No way Luthien would sit idle. In a three-way corp standoff, any hit to their image meant massive bleeding. They'd pin everything on Viktor. The lab explosion. The Chrome Psycho outbreaks. Drug trafficking and implant booster accidents. Even the recent disappearances. All of it would land squarely on him.
"It's starting."
Enoch nodded toward the holographic billboard, where a deadpan anchor began her report.
"Even non-state media's syncing up perfectly with Luthien."
Enoch gave a bitter tsk, donning his gas mask. He prepped the sticky bomb and checked his gear. Soo's eyes, meanwhile, stayed glued to the news. No need to watch closely. It dragged on, but boiled down to Viktor being the fall guy for Southpeak's recent chaos—including everything she and Enoch had done.
Wonder what he felt right now. Quietly prepping for death? Raging, plotting terror? Either way, no escaping the hovercar. Its diving suit, parachute, rocket pack— all sabotaged. His escort vehicles now his noose.
Time ticked by. The holographic clock hands advanced. No ticking in this analog-less world.
19:29. Two minutes until Viktor's hovercar passed below this rooftop.
And this wasn't a game—it was reality. A world where you could do what games forbade. A cool one.
Soo stood.
"Enoch."
Her lazy drawl made him sigh. Normally he'd never guess her thoughts, but now? Crystal clear.
"...You said it was a simple hit, right?"
"Yeah."
"Just need to leave proof of death."
"Right."
"Not recruiting him as an ally. So where you planning to hand him off?"
Soo's eyes widened at Enoch's reply.
"You're joining?"
"Why ask the obvious."
"For real?"
"Yeah. Truth is, the request never sat right with me. Just playing puppet for Luthien in the end."
Enoch bumped the sticky bomb timer to five seconds with a wry smile.
"Time extended. Five seconds enough?"
A smile curved Soo's lips. Her usually drowsy eyes curved seductively.
"Yeah, thanks."
Soo rarely showed emotion. Angry or happy, her face barely changed. So facing her clear feelings like this... threw him off. And spotting the rope tied to his waist? Even more so.
My back's gonna ache all day again.
Enoch sighed, eyeing Soo.
"...So, where to with Viktor?"
"First-rate mercs gotta fabricate requests too, they say."
Soo stretched languidly. Her tail, gleaming in moonlight, swayed like spring breeze.
"Heard first-rate connectors do the same."
Chiik—charrrk—
Noise enveloped Soo, scattering to cloak Enoch too.
"And lastly, every request has a third path."
"...Not bad."
"Right?"
19:30. One minute to request start.
54 seconds.
Soo drank in the neon-drenched city, billboards blazing.
38 seconds.
Stars swapped for hovercar taillights, nature's scent for skyscrapers.
29 seconds.
Empty your mind, and it's just cool. Light everywhere. Sit zoning out? Fun. People-watch? Bliss. Eden.
17 seconds.
Its denizens might hate this vista. But Soo loved it. Loved it enough to keep it intact.
3 seconds.
"Let's go, Enoch."
2 seconds.
"Yeah."
1 second.
Hod activated. Tail swished.
—Fwoooom!
Below, a Luthien-marked hovercar streaked by. Light steps headed toward it.
Another second. World slowed. Enoch slapped the sticky bomb on the engine. Shot out every camera.
Soo advanced two steps. Tail whipped.
Before the roar, her fist shot forward.
Kwa-drudduk—!
The crumpling door tore free.
2 seconds.
Soo's hands slipped in smooth. Like swimming galaxies, arms spread. Anti-tank alloy ripped like paper.
Exposed interior: a man with gun to Viktor's mouth. Familiar face—bounty hunter from their recent spree.
3 seconds.
Eyes met. Despair in Viktor's gaze hit Soo. She ignored it. Crushed the hunter's gun, snatched Viktor's nape.
Kwa-gak—
Arm swung wide, ripping the loose door clean off. Out the open frame, Soo kicked the pursuing hunter onto the hood.
Hovercar plummeting toward Southpeak's iconic Blue River. No clue why the murky stream symbolized the district, but dropping there meant no casualties.
Rope to Enoch held firm. Calmed Viktor's squirms with docility magic.
4 seconds.
Kwak—
Viktor went very docile.
Soo shook him, signaling Enoch. His Hod cut out. Her eyes hit Blue River. Good spot. White leg rose. Half-bounce magic prepped.
Enoch lobbed pre-pinned frag and incendiary grenades inside.
5 seconds.
Beep—
Bomb alarm rang as Soo leaped skyward.
*****
A massive explosion rocked the airspace near Southpeak Sector 4's Blue River around 2:13 a.m. on the 4th. The blast sent one hovercar plummeting; search efforts recovered a badly mangled corpse. DNA matching was impossible due to damage, but authorities have confirmed it as Luthien BioTech stem cell lab director Viktor Kral. High-heat melted debris and unexplained impact marks were found, but official word attributes it to a "gas pressure anomaly explosion." No links to recent incidents confirmed. Some analysts blame mismanagement and illegal acts in Viktor's stem cell research, citing prior drug trafficking and fatal side-effect scandals. Luthien BioTech calls it an "unfortunate accident from an individual's deviation," promising compensation to victims' families and stakeholders. ECPD suspects "reckless retaliation by bereaved kin or terrorism," urging citizens to avoid panic.
"...Ha."
The woman reading the breaking news pinched her brow and hit the call button.
The office door opened in under five seconds, her secretary entering.
"Herschel."
"Yes."
Her head tilted slowly. Flame-red hair—like blood—cascaded.
"Do you think Viktor Kral is dead?"
"...My apologies."
"I'm not asking for apologies."
Her voice edged lethal as she stroked the nameplate before her.
[Luthien BioTech Artificial Neural Engineering Research Division.]
[Serena Moretti, Director.]
"No witnesses, no evidence. Nearby cams only caught the aftermath. You think that makes sense?"
"...I'll look into it again."
"What do the connectors say?"
"They confirmed the kill."
"Don't relay hearsay."
Tok—
Serena's slender finger tapped amid the desk's button array.
"Herschel, you personally."
Tok—
Each tap made Herschel shudder violently. Hit the one with his name, and his brain would fry right there.
"With your own eyes and ears."
Tok—
Cold sweat trickled down his spine. Reinforced tendons and dense marrow meant nothing here. His legs shook pathetically.
"See and hear for yourself."
Tok.
"Two weeks. Bring me Viktor Kral's head."
"Y-yes, understood."
Herschel backed out of the office.
In the quiet aftermath, Serena murmured an anonymous message received recently. Simple content: Swap proof of Viktor's death for Zailek dirt. Clean and crisp. Just that, it'd be spam. But the attached Zailek internal report? No way.
The hitch: sender's ID.
"EZ-M..."
Backtrace led to dead ends. Aegis System human? Phantom Protocol ghost?
Serena scoffed, lighting a cigarette.
"Ghosts."
As if they existed. More believable if magic were real. Priority: Take Viktor's life. Fail, and she'd be next.
"Hoo..."
Amid gray smoke, she summoned another secretary.
"Heading out as connector. Prep in two minutes."
"Destination?"
"Nightfall."
*****
Since we're working with the old man, we should grab a meal. Wash up clean and come to Nightfall.
After blowing the hovercar, they'd twisted their route for six cautious hours. The rendezvous with Salvador held just this scrawled note.
The pair blinked at it.
"Didn't expect us to bring this."
"...Any normal person wouldn't. So, what now?"
"Hmm... Bury him?"
"Don't we gotta hand him alive?"
"Bury everything but the head."
Soo tilted her head, adding,
"Gag his mouth."
"For Nightfall, better buy a trunk and stuff him."
"Oh."
Not bad. Nightfall crawled with top mercs and connectors—a trunk was mundane. They'd assume weapons.
"I'll grab one quick. Stay put."
"Yeah."
"No touching blades or breaking stuff."
"Yeah."
"No killing weirdos."
"Yeah."
"No crashing cars."
"Want me to go?"
"Back soon."
Enoch dashed off, Hod humming, toward the shops.