Chapter Text
The industrial sized lift lowered, the open space around her closed off as Ghost entered what she suspected was an elevator shaft, the ride transitioning from the openness of the building to the more a confined area.
It seemed a long way down, but Ghost couldn’t tell, in the total darkness, everything was more difficult to gauge. A clattering and harsh grind of metal gears signaled the slowed decent as lights flicked on around her. Ghost could make out the cinder black and metal that made up the shaft the lift traveled down.
When the ride came to a stop, Ghost noted the arrow on the controls that pointed down was no longer faintly lit, leaving only the up arrow shinning in the fluorescent lighting.
Must be the bottom…
Doors opened in front of her as she stepped towards them, activating by some sort of motion sensor.
Ahead lay a long corridor, just as wide as the lift and nearly as tall. As Ghost stepped off the lifts metal floor and into the corridor, lights over head illuminated.
Nervously, she scanned with each step, looking for cameras and soldiers. Ghost had forgone the flashlight and drew the Shigure, holding it out as she moved on nearly silent steps towards whatever lay ahead. The darkness concealed much of the area, lights only shining where she was directly standing, switching off as she passed by.
It all had an ominous feeling made her heart race, her eyes darting about, up and down the corridor, looking for signs of anything hiding under the cover of darkness.
When she’d gone far enough from the lift, Ghost saw that there was a security camera positioned just a few meters ahead, and thigh she couldn’t see it yet because of the darkness, she could at least apply a quick hack to it.
Ghost at least knew how to do that. Initially, she wanted to switch the damn thing off, but thought a reset would be best. Turning the camera off and leaving it that way could raise more suspicions than just having it glitch and reset.
A reset would allow a solid 5-7 seconds to get clear of the camera’s field of view. Applying the hack was simple and straightforward. Ghost watched as the security device turned and shut down, the lenses going dormant as it switched offline.
Ghost dashed forward, the lights coming on as she moved. The door opened just as the camera chimed back on and Ghost slid through the opening, hand pressing the button to close the heavy double doors behind her.
Inside the space, Ghost noted it was some sort of atrium. Like being inside an office building far beneath the ground. Ahead was another set of double doors, a large sign painted over the entry that read: Cynosure.
The paint had faded but the name was clearly legible.
Ghost had no idea what the f*ck it meant, nor did she care at the moment. Another ping of the area revealed multiple working security cameras that had Ghosts full attention.
The atrium itself seemed to be some sort of gathering area, a place for people to meet and greet before entering the facility that must lay beyond the doors ahead.
The doors themselves were wide, similar in size to the lifts width, not doubt to move equipment to and from the upper to sub levels.
Building this monstrosity underground must have been quite the undertaking and Ghost wondered how long it had been down here.
It was strange to think something like this existed beneath the feet of the people of Pacifica without anyone even knowing.
A window for a security checkpoint lay just ahead. Ghost ducked behind a sofa that sat to the side of where she’d entered. Cafe tables and chairs were strewn about and the entire left side of the atrium appeared dark, charred, like a fire had ripped through at one point before the sprinkler system in the ceiling must have doused the flames.
Ghost did a quick hack of the camera at the front of the check point. It was the closest and the most pressing threat. Her same strategy applied, resetting the camera, buying a few seconds to rush forward before it came back online.
The security checkpoint’s window had been broken out so entry was as simple as avoiding broken glass and making too much noise. Once inside the small room, Ghost could see the controls for the various doors and cameras that were currently online.
The terminal read ‘Site A’ and there were levels Alpha though Echo listed near several monitors. Only level ‘Alpha’ seemed to be online, everything else was black or static.
Ghost could see even the Alpha level had areas that were completely in ruin, the cameras revealing some of it had extensive structural damage while other parts appeared burned out or flooded.
Whatever had happened here, much of the building underground seemed completely derelict. Save for the lab just down the corridor. Ghost could see every bit of what the working cameras revealed.
Six soldiers, two inside one room that appeared to be a mess hall, casually eating. Two others leaned against opposite sides of the wide hall, conversing. The remaining two were working on clearing a section of rubble that blocked off another long corridor beyond the large double doors where the set of soldiers were loitering about.
Several other rooms, sleeping quarters with bunks, a lavatory, and a large lab were also in working order, the cameras actively monitoring what was inside. The lab was what Ghost focused on, her fingers hastily pressing the monitors touch interface to cycle between camera views.
The laboratory looked like a mix of medical facilities and cybernetic engineering. Operating tables were cluttered with cyberware, some Ghost recognized, others she did not.
Beyond the operating table lay a large cyrotank, lit up like a Christmas tree, lights and sensors flashing colors and bio monitoring screens recording the wave patterns of brain activity and heartbeat of who ever was securely asleep inside.
Marcus…
Ghosts own heartbeat hammered in her head as she tried not to turn and charge down the hall.
Has to be him. There’s no way it’s not…
Why else would Mower be down here, armed and skulking about in an abandoned underground medical facility. Though there could easily be a dozen other reasons, Ghost didn’t want to think of them. She’d come this far to find Marcus and she was convinced he was down here, just down past the doors and down the long, wide and guarded hallway.
Turning back to the other camera feeds, Ghost assessed the layout of the facility as well as the guards load out.
Each one was carrying a pistol on their hip and some kind of rifle on their back. Their clothing was a mix of old and new Militech uniforms, much of which would be armored.
Chrome wise, each had nothing remarkable or over the top, standard military fare Ghost assumed as she tried to make out the small details in their hands and faces. There wasn’t much she could tell from the images, and Ghost decided it best to assume they were packing similar stuff to Mower.
Even if they weren’t, better safe than sorry.
The two in the mess hall were closest to the security checkpoint Ghost currently sat inside. She’d been lucky no one was alerted to her position yet. It was fair to assume they were not expecting company as they were hidden beneath Pacifica in an ultra secret lab that no one f*cking knew about.
That was about to work in her favor.
Whatever Cynosure was, its secrets were hidden along with the rest of entire facility. Lost to time or, more likely, buried under layers and layers of political and corporate red tape.
Ghost changed cameras to the two outside the lab door. They were still going about their conversation. She flicked the screen over to the two working in the far hall. They’d began to pack up their gear and were headed toward the lab.
As they came near the guards loitering in the hall, they exchanged nods before moving toward the dormitory. There was only a single camera in the residence quarters and it focused on just the entry. What lay beyond was complete speculation.
Ghost could safely assume there was only a single way on or out. So she hoped. Inside, no doubt lay beds, washrooms and whatever else a subterranean living space might afford its occupants.
Relinquishing the relative cover and secrecy of the checkpoint, Ghost carefully slid the door open and entered the hall. The lab was just around the corner up ahead, the cafeteria door, far right of the dormitory entrance.
From her last glimpse into the mess hall, the soldiers inside, a woman and a man, were still slowly eating their meal, conversing casually, though she could not hear what it was they were saying. She hoped it gave her some time to deal with the men in the dorms.
Ghost pressed the panel to open the door and stepped backward. If anyone was in the threshold, she wanted to know before stepping inside. She listened carefully, hearing the faint sounds of water running.
Showers…she thought and she risked stepping inside, her Lexington out and poised to fire. The silencer would suppress the sounds, but Ghost preferred to take them down with a knife if possible.
The entry of the dormitory was well lit and opened into a living space. The television screen appeared in working order and a video Ghost didn’t recognize was playing across the large screen. Stepping quietly past the living space, Ghost swung the muzzle of the pistol into the kitchen as she crossed into the next section of the living quarters.
The kitchen was empty and looked relatively unused and covered in a thick layer of dust and grime. Ghost pivoted and began moving toward the next section. Just beyond the kitchen was an open section, no door and a half dozen bunks, some with mattresses, others empty.
Ghost spied the two soldiers personal spaces with the sleeping areas. Guns were discarded across two separate lower bunks, a pile of clothes dropped onto the floor.
Risking a little more time, Ghost dug through the pants of one of soldiers, looking for anything of use. She pulled a keycard from one of the men’s garments and did the same for the second. Both keycards looked identical.
Based on the clothing, both men were definitely Militech. At one time, Ghost may have felt a pang of guilt for killing two men may not be guilty for what happened to Marcus, or to her.
Life had changed her, for better or for worse, she was not going to weep for men and women that took something that belonged to her, took a part of who she was away.
Perhaps she’d burn in some hell later. That was something to worry about when she had Marcus back, preferably alive.
Ghost studied the keycard for a moment longer and deep down, hoped it was a security bypass for locked doors. Quickly, she shoved both into her pocket and moved on.
The showers grew louder as she exited the sleeping section and moved toward the end of the dorm where the washroom had to make up the back end of the section.
She heard indistinct conversation as she neared the entrance. There wasn’t a door that would open or close and Ghost could make out two figures in the steaming room of the shared showers.
Pausing, Ghost contemplated her options. She could just shoot them both, the sound of the showers would drown out any noise from the semi silenced pistol. She could also wait and pick them off one at a time, slit their throats as they exited the showers.
As she stood for a moment just beyond the threshold, the men’s voices drew her attention.
“Still nothing on Lt?”
“Nah…radio f*ckin silence. Sent Jones and Reese up to the surface to see if they could figure out what the f*ck is going on.”
“Think the Big Dogs gonna start sniffin around now that the bitch might of snapped?”
“Don’t know. f*ck man you think?”
“He’s got every reason to.”
“No I mean…the Lt.?”
“f*ck yeah I think the bitch pissed away her last ounce of sanity on that upgrade. Told her not to, but she insisted. Even told her to plug it into the f*cking Grim Reaper but the birch said he needs more time on ice after the last install. f*ck him….last time he came to he nearly broke my neck…couldn’t see straight for a week. I’ll unplug the f*cker myself if Lt.’s gone cyberpsycho.”
“sh*t. What are we still doing down here then? Hansen I’ll pick us up. He’ll want something in return….but we got plenty to buy in with…’sides…it’ll beat the f*ck outa living underground.”
Ghost lifted the Lexington and moved in. She’d heard enough. Her heart was hammering so loud she swore she could hear it over the sound of the raging water from the showers.
The room was filled with steam from the heat of the shower, but Ghost’s optics allowed for her eyes to see past the fog and to the two men still moving about in the cascade of water.
She breathed in, slowly and pulled the trigger once, then twice, striking each man with a single round to the back of their skulls.
Both bodies crumpled to the ground, revealing the splatter of crimson and flecks of grey that painted the tile wall where they’d once faced. Ghosts moved over each body, firing two more rounds into each man’s chest.
It was more than necessary, both died with the first bullet to the brain, but she was taking no chances with a sudden revival.
Ghost stood in the water for a moment, eyeing the men for any sign of a secondary pulse of life brought on by internal cyberware.
She flicked the magazine from her gun, not bothering with the rounds that remained, and reloaded. She had enough ammo to see this fight through. Getting caught needing to reload was not wise.
When both men stilled, bodies no longer twitching with the last vestiges of life, Ghost turned off the water and headed out of the washroom and back toward the living area.
It had been a solid five minutes since she entered the dormitory. Lingering longer meant more of a chance that the other soldiers could have moved positions.
The men she’d just zeroed had mentioned two went to the surface. When, Ghost didn’t know. That meant instead of four more hostile to worry about, she had six, two being wildcards given their location and proximity was unknown.
Slowly, she exited the dorm and moved up the hallway toward the cafeteria she’d seen on camera.
This entry would be far more tricky to pull off. In the security camera, one of the soldiers had been facing the door. If Ghost just barged inside, there was a huge chance it would cause a gunfight to ensure and would surely alert the rest of the guard to her location.
Ghost pressed her body as close to the wall as possible. The lab was just a short distance around the far corner and the fact that someone could come waltzing her way made this part increasingly difficult. Noise was still not ideal. Ghost looked to the door and then the keypad beside it. The door itself hadn’t opened despite her proximity.
Ghost pulled one of the keycards and touched the sensor as she leaned away from the opening. As expected, the door whooshed open. Leaning back, Ghost slid the pistol into the waistband at the small of her back and drew the long dagger.
Fighting the urge to hold her breath, Ghost waited. The door closed. Ghost swiped the keycard again and listened.
The man and woman inside the cafeteria ceased their conversation. Anticipation was building as Ghost gripped the knife. If she were lucky, only one would come to investigate.
“Jones?” A feminine voice called out.
The door closed again. Ghost hurried to tap the keycard. Not wanting to waste more time than necessary.
Come on….
Again, the woman’s voice called out.
“What the f*ck.”
“Just a f*cking glitch. Or that asshole. Told you he wants one of us. Probably both.”
“f*ck it…Gonna hit that f*cker right in his ugly f*cking mouth.”
Ghost heard the distinct sound of a chair being pushed, legs scraping across a solid, smooth floor.
Footsteps. Closer and closer the came. The door closed and this time Ghost waited, body poised and ready for when it opened again.
A soft click and then the small gust of air thy came from the opening door. As soon as the woman’s face came out of the threshold Ghost leaned forward, still using the wall to block her body as she slammed the knife into the woman’s throat, opening it wide as she sliced upwards, cutting through muscle, veins and the artery that pumped blood to the woman’s brain.
There was no sound, her larynx severed instantly. Ghost held her dying gaze, the woman’s eyes wide and fading. Grabbing her body Ghost moved forward into the mess hall, using the woman’s corpse as a shield.
As soon as the man looked up from his food, he froze, obviously confused by what he was seeing. Ghost drew the pistol from her back and fired, bullet boring into his skull through his left eye.
Tossing the dead woman to the floor, Ghost moved hastily towards the man and fired two more rounds into his chest before he’d had a chance to draw his gun.
Just making sure.
She did the same for the woman before checking both their pockets for items that could be useful.
All they had were the same keycards, but Ghost pocketed them anyway. The next part of this task would be the most difficult and dangerous. As soon as she turned the corner, she’d be seen, clear as f*cking day.
Ghost pulled the pack from her back and rifled through the contents. At the bottom, she wrapped her fingers around the smooth, cylindrical shaped object she knew was at the bottom.
When Ghost had rummaged through the AV before dispatching the bot, she’d collected a few extra magazines for her Lexington as well as a couple of X-22 flash bang grenades.
The flash should last long enough to fire, a matter of seconds, but it would give enough time to make a few, well placed shots.
Ghost flicked the mag release on the Lexington, again, opting for a fully loaded pistol rather than worry about round counts. This was hopefully the last hurdle before she got inside the lab and access to what she f*cking hoped was a cryotank that contained Reaper.
Palming the device, she gathered her nerve. Slipping the Lexington back in waistband, Ghost wiped the bloody knife off on her pant leg. She was covered in the woman’s blood, the tang of the bright red fluid made her stomach twist so badly she gagged if she focused too long on the smell.
The option to take off her coat was available, but it would mean losing a bit of extra protection from gunfire should one of the soldiers get off a few rounds before Ghost could incapacitate them.
No…suck it up….
It also didn’t help that the smell of blood this close, this thick, reminded her of the fight with Reaper. He’d been soaked in gore, her own adding to his body, painting in like a filthy canvas of horror.
The machine…not Reaper…
Ghost knew the difference. Of course, she wasn’t sure which one she’d find beyond the lab door. For all she knew, the machine could be all that was left.
She swallowed hard, biting back tears.
Now’s not the time…
Ghost pulled the SMG from her back, checked the weapon and took a deep breath. In her off hand, she held the flash bang. Carefully, she moved to the cafeteria door. It opened immediately and Ghost dared a quick glance up and down the hall.
The security checkpoint door seemed to far away now, the door to the dormitory halfway between where she was now and the way she’d come in.
Stepping forward, Ghost left the mess hall, the cooling bodies of the soldiers lying in pools of their blood. Just like the two she’d left in the showers in the living quarters.
Slow steps brought her to the corner where, going forward meant going in blind. Ghost flicked the switch in the grenade and in a moment of pure adrenaline, threw it down the hall as far as her cybernetic arm would allow, while hoping it would not fly so far, the blast would be in effective.
She waited for the bright flash before she rounded the corner. The groans of shock and confusion told her she’d hit the mark before she zeroed in on both men standing a good distance ahead.
One was wiping at his eyes, the other drawing his own rifle. Ghost took aim and fired, the Shigure hitting the man with the rifle, but failing to bring him down.
Bullets flew round bursts as the cut through the air, the sound echoing off the steel walls and floors, deafening in its volume.
The second man drew his own weapon, eyes squinting to see as Ghost ran closer, desperate to close the distance before both returned her fire.
The man she’d hit first fired his weapon before Ghost could close the gap, rounds wizzing by her head.
Ghost ducked and rolled to the opposite side, returning fire when she got to her feet again. The soldier shrugged off her shots like they were a mere annoyance.
f*ck…
Turning, she lifted her weapon, pointing toward the second man a moment too late as his well aimed, well placed shots tore through her upper thigh, caliber far too powerful at this range for her lightly armored pants to prevent the round from sinking into her flesh.
Ghost fell to the floor, one round lodged in her thigh, the other passed through the muscle and exited, ricocheting off the wall further down the hall behind her.
There was no time to linger as Ghost aimed and pulled the trigger from the floor, the awkward angle working slightly in her favor as her shots shredded through his knees and thighs.
This time the man went to the ground, grasping at his legs as blood spurted from the deep bullet wounds.
Through gritted teeth Ghost pulled herself to her feet, shouldered the Shigure and fired at the downed man simultaneously as she was thrown backward down the hall, the soldier whom she first shot recovered and came in close for a direct assault.
The SMG lay several feet away, the metal gun sliding cleanly across the smooth floor. A trail of blood marked how far Ghost had gone, the impact leaving a splatter pattern beneath her leg as she struggled to stand.
Fingers locked around the Lexington as Ghost drew it from her waistband, aimed and fired at the larger of the two soldiers. Up close, she could see his extensive cyberware and she realized her pistol would have little effect at neutralizing him.
She emptied the clip anyway, aiming at his face and chest. His form glitched forward at inhuman speeds, avoiding all but one of the rounds. The one that stuck barely phased him.
f*cking chrome….
Ghost used the effects of the kerenzikov to counter the man’s movements, spinning behind him, avoiding the edge of the blade as he swung the knife downward, aiming for her skull.
He was fast, similar to Mower, but much larger. Ghost drew her own blade and moved, feet engaged in a deadly dance of steel and skill. Ghost managed to slice the flesh of his arm and thigh before the pissed off and weakened solider used his brute force to his advantage, ignoring the blade as Ghost sank it into his armored chest, his hand fisting her shirt and vest, her body slamming into the wall.
Ghost kicked wildly, aiming for where she saw a bullet wound, digging the toe of her shoe into the reddened material and flesh beneath.
“Bitch!” He howled as he slammed his head into Ghosts, the force making her vision blur as blood spilled from where her skin had split against his hardened, cyberware enhanced skull.
Ghosts pulled the knife from his chest and swung her arm downward. He caught her forearm, slamming it back into the wall, but Ghosts used the distraction to smash her knee into his groin.
The soldier crumpled to the ground, Ghost falling with him. She dove for the knife that had fallen loose, but he recovered quickly, mounting her from behind and locking her neck in a chokehold.
Ghost knew better than to panic. She’d practiced this hundreds of times. He was deadly strong as Ghost felt her throat being constricted, air and blood cut off from her brain, threatening to render her unconscious.
Ten seconds…Ghost thought as the man plied more pressure. His form was sub par, Ghost used her cybernetic arm, reaching backward and griping his face between her fingers, thumb finding his eye socket.
Ghost jammed the finger into his eye. He squirmed trying to free his face but the pain forced him to instinctually relent some of his focus from the chokehold to removing Ghosts fingers from his face.
It was just enough as Ghost lurched free of his grasp and dove for the knife. The handle found home in her grip and she rounded on the man. Blood poured from his eye socket, the optics on that eye clearly damaged as Ghost lunged forward.
He came at her with equal fury, their bodies colliding. His weight worked to her advantage as the knife sank into his chest, the force of the collision causing the shaft of the blade to punch through armor and flesh.
He screamed this time, rolling off Ghost to clutch at the knife. Ghost jumped up and used the adrenaline still coursing through her veins to grab the SMG.
Shaking fingers pulled the trigger, bullets connecting with soldiers body, striking his flesh in a spray of red.
Ghost didn’t stop until she heard the click of the empty gun. She stood for a long moment, watching, waiting. Both men were still, the smell of gore nauseating.
Taking a deep breath, she slumped down against the wall, sparing a brief moment to collect herself. The surge of drugs had begun to dissipate, her body shaking.
Bruised and cut with minor injuries, the worst was the bullet wound that nagged at her thigh. Slipping the pack off, Ghost pulled a MaxDoc and inhaled, savoring the sweet embrace of the medication as it worked its way through her body, healing what it could, leaving what it could not.
The bullet would have to be removed. Her rib still needed a reset, and now that she wasn’t so high on the suite of combat stims, her chest once again reminded her of the older, untreated injury.
Ghost took a deep breath and stood before moving to the bodies of the men. The last she’d dispatched was the most hideous to look at, all torn flesh and broken cyberware. The socket where she’d pushed in his eye was dripping in longs red streams down his cheek.
Not wanting to look too long, Ghost turned her head away and pulled the keycard from his belt. This one, was unlike the others she’d taken. The card in her hand now had a higher clearance listed on the ID. Ghost moved to the other dead man.
In her desperation to put him down, the wild spray of bullets had stuck home, his face and chest riddled with entrance wounds, frayed flesh rimming each finger size crater.
Had the man had more armor, more chrome, he may have been able to withstand such shots, but as it was, he was not nearly as outfitted as his comrade. Ghost wondered if the larger man had been Mower’s direct subordinate, the one who’d sent the email.
He was dead now, taking those secrets to the grave with him.
With the adrenaline completely gone from her system, every step burned as Ghost moved away from t he bodies. She’d collected all their keycards and hoped the one from the near cyborg would open the lab door.
As she approached she felt her stomach twist. Swiping the higher clearance card, the door chimed a high pitched sound, a hum of gears and the door slid open abruptly.
There was only one place Ghost focused all her attention on, the cryotank.
Ignoring all else, Ghost shuffled closer, her heart racing as she closed in on the coffin shaped medical tank. She could see a heart rate monitor beating, the rate impossibly low.
Hibernation state…
There was a top window, small but would allow her to see inside. As she neared it, her whole body shook, her hand reaching out to touch the shiny metal of the chamber.
Peering down into the small cut of dark glass Ghost felt her body wrack with deep, long suffering sob, one of pain and relief as she saw the face of the man she’d been holding on to hope for.
Marcus, Reaper, or whoever he was now, lay dormant in the cryotank, body in a state of deep sleep, a drug induced coma, healing from whatever had happened to him over the past three months.
Ghost sobbed ugly tears as she lay over the top of the tank, cheek resting against the small window. She knew he couldn’t hear her, had no idea she was there, but the months of grief, the mourning, the relentless fear of not knowing what had happened to him came spilling out all at ounce.
Peering down again, she could see the scar above his eye, the one he’d received on the warehouse when he’d saved her from Vega.
Long strands of black hair cascaded around his face. He looked so peaceful lying there and Ghost hoped that his dreams in cryostasis were more pleasant than the ones he’d had in the past.
She couldn’t remember dreaming when she’d been in cryo. Perhaps you didn’t dream. The deep hibernation state you entered might inhibit all but the basic necessities for maintaining life, after all, healing occurred at accelerated rates while in the cryotank.
Ghost pressed her lips to the glass.
“Found you.” She whispered.
A sad smile fell over her as she wiped away the tears that had slicked her cheek and run down her chin before dripping onto the small window.
Stepping away, she moved about the lab, realization setting in that she hadn’t the skill or knowledge to open the tank, to get him out. If she tired, if she f*cked it up, he could die, and that was a risk she would not take.
A computer monitor was currently displaying Marcus’s vitals across the screen. Based on the data chart, he’d entered a few weeks ago, though multiple instances of entering and exiting cryostatsis had been recorded in the last three months.
This is where Mower had taken him, after Pacifica. Somehow, she’d escaped Night City airspace and entered Dogtown, effectively going off grid, just as Stout had indicated when she’d given Ghost the shard.
No wonder Stout couldn’t find her.
Even if Stout knew exactly where Mower was, there was no way Hansen, based on what Ghost knew, was going to let a corpo like her, enter Dogtown. Not without some major bribe, and even then, it was risky. Hansen controlled this place with what seemed like an iron fist.
So why let Mower in?
Ghost could dwell, but at this point, any reason was moot. Mower was gone. The only thing standing in her way with getting Marcus out, was the tank and getting as far away from Dogtown as possible.
A datapad beside the computer workstation caught Ghost’s eye. The screen was unlocked and Ghost’s eyes widened when she flicked through the files. Everything they’d put in and taken out of Marcus was listed, dates going all the way back to the end of the war, when his convoy had been hit.
All his medical records, cyberware catalog, cyberpsychosis symptoms were listed, like he was a f*cking lab experiment.
Isn’t that what he was? At least to Mower. Ghost slid the data pad in her backpack and contented to pace back and forth, occasionally stopping to look back into the tank and the control panel. She needed a Medtech or a ripperdoc to open it. There was no other way.
…Farida…she’d helped once…maybe…
The thought of leaving Marcus down here, when two other soldiers were out and could return at anytime, made Ghost hesitant to leave. She’d come all this way, found him and now, the prospect of leaving without him seemed like a cruel joke.
Frustrated was nearly a strong enough word to describe the hopeless fury that was forming in Ghost’s chest.
“f*ck!” She yelled, kicking a chair away as she returned to the cryotank. She touched the glass, her palm resting against the cool surface.
What choice do I have?
Leave him here, find Farida, beg for help or try to unplug him myself and maybe it works, maybe he dies. When she thought of like that, the choice became less complex though it was not simple or easy.
Ghost pulled all the keycards from her pocket. The one that opened the door to the lab had been on the borged guard, the rest all had different cards. Theoretically, no one else would be able to open the door if they didn’t have the keycard or some override.
If Mower and her team were the only ones who knew about this place, then it was possible that as of now, Ghost was the only one with access, the only one who could get to Marcus.
False sense of security maybe, but it was all she had.
Ghost pressed her lips again to the glass. “I’m coming back for you.” Tears streamed down her face again, her resolve wavering as she looked at his face. When her eyes flicked to the monitor, she knew she had to go.
Farida was the only person she knew in Dogtown that could get him out and that actually might.
Ghost forced herself from the cryotank and out the lab door. The bodies of the last two soldiers she left on the floor, her own body lacking the strength to drag them to another part of the facility. Her leg was on the verge of going numb and each breath was shallower then the least the faster she moved.
She pressed one of the other keycards to the terminal. A red light beeped. For good measure, she tapped the higher clearance card to the door. The light flashed green and the door opened, just as before. Even if the other five didn’t work, she kept them anyway in hopes to prevent anyone else from accessing the facility as she had.
As Ghost neared the security checkpoint she could see lights ahead as the large doors that opened up from the lift hall to the atrium opened wide, two figures stepping out, guns raised and pointing toward her.
Ghost threw herself to the floor in the hopes they hadn’t seen her. Gunfire erupted from beyond the security door, striking the glass and metal panels.
f*ck me..
Ghost pulled her SMG over her shoulder. She’d already reloaded and took a deep, pained breath.
Has to be the last two…the ones who went to the surface…must have seen the bot…
There was no way around it. Ghost had to kill them. They could have access to Marcus and they were blocking her way out. Ghost crawled along the floor and slipped into the security room.
Both soldiers would have to come through the window she did or enter thorough the large, double doors that divided the atrium from the facilities halls. Another few rounds came her way, this time at different angles.
Ghost assumed they were trying to come at her from different directions, draw her attention toward one so the other could have a clear shot.
Ghost waited.
Unless they had endless supplies of ammo, she had a slight advantage behind the doors that appeared to be bulletproof. A metal object drew her away from her thoughts and shattered any idea she had of maintaining a more advantages position.
The frag grenade ticked down and Ghost had only a fraction of a second to throw herself out the window of the security room and into the atrium. The grenade went off, shrapnel slicing through her leg as she fell to the floor just outside the small room and into direct fire of the two Militech soldiers.
Ghost found one directly ahead and focused her assault in his direction. The man behind her fired, hitting her back. Thankfully, her armor underneath deflected and absorbed much of the gunfire as Ghost took position behind a counter of a small bar.
The small barrier would only provide a very short window of cover. Ghost knew she’d have to move, soon.
The closest man made the error of coming at her from the other side. Maybe he thought she wasn’t paying attention.
Either way, Ghost grabbed his arm, pulling him down to the ground and drove the entire blade of her knife into his neck, twisting then handle and opening his throat in a flood of blood and gurgling gasps for air.
She pulled the blade and plunged it through his eye, ending the fight, his life quickly spilling out onto the floor around his twitching corpse.
Ghost crawled over to the other side of the counter, listening. The other man hadn’t moved, no footsteps. Scanning for the man, Ghost found him crouched down behind another similar countertop on the opposite side of the atrium.
As she waited, she felt her cyberware dump more stims and pain killers in her veins, the rush of adrenaline making her previous injuries nothing more than a dull ache.
Ghost fired in the direction of the solider, using the assault as an opportunity to move, the sound of the bullets drowning out her footsteps.
She knew he could scan for her, but hoped maybe he lacked the tech or was too busy ducking under his covered position.
An overturned table provided a small bit of cover as Ghost moved along the man’s left, seeking to flank his position before he realized she was moving closer.
A small burst of gunfire came screaming past Ghost’s body, shots missing by a good margin as they sailed overhead.
Ghost got down on her hands and knees, crawling closer, ducking behind a piece of concrete that had dislodged from one of the heavy walls long ago. Scanning, Ghost realized he hadn’t moved, his body still tucked behind the far bar counter.
She didn’t expect him to stay long, not when she hadn’t returned fire. Waiting, for a moment longer, Ghost crouched down, crawling from her place of hiding and coming around to where she could take a better shot.
The Militech soldier made a grave error, his head coming into view as he peered over the countertop.
Ghost wasted no time, the Shigure hitting its mark in an explode of gore and panicked screams.
Eight…that was the last of the small crew, at least that she knew of.
Slipping the pack from her back, Ghost inhaled the last of her MaxDocs. Her leg was numb now, the bullet resting against something that had her nerves on fire. Hobbling, she collected the last of the key cards from the bodies, before checking for any meds.
Both men only had a few Bounce Backs between them, but Ghost took them all the same.
The long all to the lift seemed like miles as every step sent waves of numbness and pain through her leg, her lung burned with the effort to keep pace with her legs.
Once she got on the lift, Ghost sat down, cradling her side as she contemplated what to say to Farida, how she was going to sway the skittish woman to come down to a secret underground lab and unlock Marcus from cryostasis.
If she said no….
Ghost prayed to whatever god there was that the ripperdoc would say yes.
The lift reached the platform where Ghost had dispatched the bot. From here, she had to decide between crawling back up through three plus subsurface levels to reach the Kress apartments or taking the lift up to the surface where what lay above was unknown.
For all she knew, Barghest could be sitting, waiting, though she doubted it.
Mower and her small crew were operating in secret and Ghost didn’t think the two soldiers who’d gone to the surface had gone up or down through Kress.
It was a risk, but she hoped it would pay off as she pressed the lift controls to rise to the upper floor. As the machine moved upward, Ghost slung the SMG back over her shoulder, slipping her jacket over top the gun to conceal it from anyone who might be above. Her pistol would have to do if it came to that.
She pulled a bottle of water from her bag and used the entire thing to wash the blood from her face, rubbing the fabric of her clothing in an attempt to draw less attention.
Walking around covered in blood was a quick way to get noticed in Night City and Ghost assumed it would be the same in Dogtown.
The lift rose higher then she expected, stopping eventually in an empty warehouse filled with metal and wooden crates. From the sounds outside, Ghost realized she was topside.
Her hand went to the grip of the pistol tucked under her shirt, ready to draw should someone come out from the shadows. She scanned for security cameras and saw none currently online. The floor was devoid of anything that posed a threat.
Far ahead, Ghost could see an exit, a large garage style roll up door that could easily accommodate an AV or vehicles even larger. Beside the metal door was another, smaller exit, this one meant for foot traffic rather than machinery or vehicles.
A terminal on the door flashed red. No out or in without proper identification. Ghost pulled one of the keycards she’d lifted from down below and swiped it over the sensor. The light flashed green as the door slid open.
The streets of Dogtown greeted her as she stepped out, the door slammed shut behind her, lock engaged as the outer terminal flashed red.
At least there would be no in or out, not without the keycards in Ghost’s possession. Again, she hoped she’d taken care of Mower’s entire team. If there were others, well, then she might have just f*cked up everything.
Shaking the thought, Ghost moved in the direction of Farida’s clinic.
She’d completely lost track of how much time had passed since she went underground. Had to be hours, as it was still night when she emerged onto the street above.
Ghost was glad she’d wiped much of the blood away from her face and chest, the jacket was dark colored, the crimson gore blending into the fabric.
A small group of the Barghest patrolled the street just across from where Ghost walked. Keeping her hood up and head down, Ghost watched out of the corner of her eye as she passed by.
One paid her a passing glance, eyes lingering a bit too long. Ghost’s strides became more harried as she tried to increase the distance between her and them, breathing a sigh of relief when they continued moving in the opposite direction.
A thick lump formed in her throat as Ghost approached the door to the clinic. When it didn’t open, she grew more and more afraid she’d made a mistake.
But what choice did she really have?
Her limited resources and contacts made her desperate.
Ghost pressed the buzzer beside the door. A harsh static followed by loud tone sounded from somewhere within.
“We’re closed.” Came the ripperdoc’s voice.
Despite the obvious closed door in front of her face, Ghost felt some bit of relief to know the woman answered.
“I need your help.”
Silence, though Ghost swore she heard a sigh.
This time, Ghost spoke in Farsi.
“Please. I found…I found him.”
The door hummed and clicked before sliding open. Without another thought, Ghost stepped inside. Farida sat near her computer, eyes scanning over what looked like a patient’s chart.
The woman spin in her chair, her face hard, arms immediately folding across her chest.
“Get to the point.”
Ghost wanted to sit down, to beg for medical attention to remove the bullet, but most of all, she wanted the woman to agree to helping her.
“He’s in cryo.”
Ghost slid the pack from her back and pulled out the data pad she’d taken from the lab. She handed the tablet to Farida who surprisingly, flicked through it without objection.
“f*ck Marcus….” The ripperdoc whispered.
“I don’t know what they’ve done…but we…we have to get him out.”
“Cyberpsychosis….”
“Yes…but…if some of it can be removed…”
Farida looked up to Ghost and shook her head. It was not an encouraging sign, but Ghost was not about to give up. The woman had let her in, was looking at his charts, and maybe, she could be swayed.
“He didn’t ask for this. Mower…she…there has to be a way….but that’s not why I’m here…I’m not asking for a cure, I just need you to unlock the cryotank….I can take it from there.”
“And what, you think you’ll just drive on out of here through the front gate.”
Farida gave a sad chuckle that Ghost wondered if she herself, was trapped inside Dogtown.
“Kurt won’t let you. If he knew…he might already…”
Knew what exactly? That she was Arasaka or that Marcus was here. The vague statement made Ghost wonder who she was referring to.
“I have to try.”
Farida set down the tablet and rubbed at her face in exasperation. The woman looked tired, burned out. But she was still talking and that was all Ghost could hold on to.
“I remember the day he left for the badlands and the day he came back with a hole in his chest. He went looking for you…went AWOL for you. Kurt was…”
She sighed, “It doesn’t matter…”
Marcus had told her his convoy was hit, not that he’d left his post. The truth, if that’s what Farida was telling her now, made her abandonment of him far worse.
“Please…I can’t just leave him…not like that…”
Farida stood from the chair and walked quickly over to Ghost, handing her t he data pad. Ghost heart sank, she feared she’d lost her chance, the only one she knew she had.
“I will drive. But you must keep your head down.”
The ride over to Kress was not a long one. Ghost did all she was asked, covering her head and face, lying across the backseat so that she would be hidden from eyes that might relay information back to Hansen.
Farida seemed more afraid of him than anything else and though Ghost wanted to pry, she left the subject alone.
When they came close to the warehouse receiving doors, Ghost crept from the car and back inside the building, using the keycard to unlock the door. The large metal doors opened the same way and Farida cautiously drove her car inside.
Farida stepped out of the driver door and turned to Ghost in confusion.
“It’s below…there’s another way in. Follow me.”
Ghost pulled the Lexington with the flashlight and led the ripperdoc over to the lift near the center of the building. To her relief, the lift was still raised. Hopefully that meant no one else had accessed it in the time it took to convince Farida to help.
Engaging the lift, the heavy metal platform began to descend into the darkness below.
“How did you know Mower was down here?”
Ghost asked as they rode the elevator down. She kept the light on, illuminating the area so it wasn’t in total darkness.
“I wasn’t sure. She became more and more incoherent in the last month before she disappeared. Started taking about a secret lab. But…Kurt also believes there’s something underground. I…I did not…not until now.”
The mechanism stopped at the next level. Ghost punched in Mowers code and the floor opened. Farida looked down in amazement.
“How far down?”
“Not sure. It’s so dark…hard to tell.”
As they closed the final distance, Ghosts heart began to race. She wasn’t sure how she pulled this off, how she’d managed to find him and after this next hurdle, bring him home.
Farida was quiet as the reached the bottom and entered the hall that led to the atrium.
“You’ve injured yourself further, since the last time we spoke. I take it clearing this place was not so easy.”
Ghost noted the body of the one men was visible as they crossed the open area. Ghost didn’t know what to say. The doc was ex Militech. Maybe she’d know them, maybe not. It mattered little now.
Taking lives was not something Ghost ever reveled in, but what needed to be done had been done. There wasn’t another way, at least not that she could see.
The large metal doors that led to the lab opened with the high clearance keycard. Farida’s eyes widened as she looked about, no doubt astounded at being somewhere so immense and yet, so hidden.
“I cannot believe this is here…and functional…”
The bodies of the two men beside the lab door still lay, exactly as Ghost left them. Farida looked them over as Ghost swiped the terminal to open the lab.
Once inside, the ripperdoc headed straight for the cryotank. Ghost watched as she checked the monitors and peered inside the small window.
“Hello Marcus…long time no see…”
With a resigned smile, Farida moved to the computer and began opening several folders and programs.
“We will need a gurney. Coming out from cryo affects everyone a little differently. He will most likely remain unconscious for some time after.”
Ghost nodded and set to work dragging a gurney out from the lab closet, positioning it close to the tank. She lowered it to where they could drag him straight from the tank to the top of the gurney without having to lift him.
Farida made a hum that drew Ghost’s attention.
“It seems Kara had much of his previous cyberware removed, implanting new prototypes in their place…perhaps to stave off the psychosis or to make it worse…I cannot tell…”
Ghost peered at the screen, looking closely at Marcus’s charts. Extensive augmentation had been done on his neck and chest, panels of grey and black cyberware visible, interlaced between synthetic skin.
“He experienced extensive trauma. Chest, back, neck…lungs….all damaged…new implants replacing much of the organic parts.”
The upper portion of Marcus’s spine flashed into view. Vertebrate made of chrome protruded from the flesh that sounded it, traveling from mid back all the way to the nape of his neck.
Tears welled as Ghost watched the doc review all the new implants, remarking on what they’d replaced.
“I am going to begin the process now. It will take some time….and…based on his charts, he may not remember….”
“Remember what?”
“Much…he’s been in and out of this tank more than several times in the past few months. This much chrome…that much tampering with his body…just don’t be surprised if he wakes up and doesn’t recognize you…or worse…slips into cyberpsychosis….are you prepared for that?”
“I am.”
Ghost wasn’t prepared for him not knowing her, but if that was what it took to free him, then so be it. If he came out of cryo as a cyberpsycho, well, she really didn’t want to imagine it.
“But…uh..you remember the way out of he snaps….” Ghost muttered, her throat tightened around the words that she didn’t want to hear.
Farida nodded. “Beginning the thaw.”
Ghost stepped over beside the tank and waited, her hand resting atop the window as the monitors flashed green to yellow, to red, Marcus’s heart rate slowly increasing.
It took a little over thirty minutes to complete the process. Farida constantly checked his vitals and adjusted the amount of medication as well as oxygen intake.
Ghost was grateful she hadn’t tried to do it herself, the amount of finesse and skill the process seemed to take to be successful was beyond what she’d imagined.
The tank door slid over and Ghost had to fight the urge not to jump in and hug him. He looked very much the same despite the new chrome, the only noticeable differences were the thin panels of gunmetal and black plating over his chest, joining the long pieces that covered the sides of his neck.
His left leg, from the knee down to his ankle, was chrome, the black a contrast to the fair skin of his thigh and foot.
Lying in the tank, near naked, Marcus somehow looked larger than he had before. Extra chrome could do that, though Ghost suspected it was the fact that she’d not seen him in months that made it more difficult to judge.
“Should find him something to wear…he’s not going to be easy to hide and will not fit in the trunk.”
Ghost moved about the lab, looking for anything to pull over him. She remembered the dormitory and raced out of the door while Farida continued to monitor Marcus’s vitals.
The look on the docs face told Ghost she was nervous about being left alone, but still, she did protest as Ghost headed for the hall.
The dorm was filled with the soldiers belongings. Ghost felt strange rummaging through the storage lockers, but shoved away the feeling. She found a pair of fatigues and a shirt she hoped would fit him and ran back to the lab.
Farida sat beside the tank, arms folded.
“He wake up?”
“No…still asleep. They drugged him with far more than they should. Marcus always had a high tolerance for…pain…drugs …but they gave him enough sedatives prior to cryo to kill a bull…must have fought…that’s my only explanation to why they drugged him so much….that being said, he’ll be out for awhile…”
“Found some pants and a shirt.”
Together, they lifted Marcus enough to slide the pants onto his legs, shimmying them up his waist until they buttoned. Then legs were too short, as was expected, but at least he wouldn’t be in his boxer-briefs when they got to the surface.
Slipping his shirt on was a bit more precarious, his arms were immensely heavy when limp. When Ghost smoothed the fabric over his spine, it felt strange to under her fingers. The chrome vertebrate were hard and cold, so machine like it was frightening.
Marcus was going to hate it.
“Why’d they do this?” Ghost said, as she finished pulling her side of his shirt over his torso.
“Based on the notes in his file, his spine was badly damaged in what ever happened in Pacifica. Partial paralysis…It seems…Mower used that as an opportunity to increase his back and shoulder strength. It’s why he’s so heavy up top. My guess it’s a combat endoskeletal augmentation design she’d been working on…one that hadn’t passed trials yet…”
Ghost wanted to beat Mower senseless all over again, and this time, put a bullet though her skull.
After Marcus was dressed, both Ghost and Farida heaved him over onto the gurney. He still hadn’t woken. It made Ghost nervous, but Farida assured her he would, though again, she cautioned that he might not be the same.
From the lab they pushed the gurney down the hall and back towards the lift. Ghost kept her Shigure raised as they moved, not knowing if any more surprises were in store. She’d not really anticipated any more of Mower’s crew, but it was better to be safe that caught in a gunfight unawares.
Luck seemed to smile on her because they made it back to the warehouse without incident. Farida had been correct, Marcus would certainly not fit in the trunk.
Instead, they lay him across the entire backseat, rather awkwardly shoving his legs upward so they rested against his chest in a fetal position. Ghost found an old blanket that had been draped over an empty crate and used it to cover as much of his body as she could.
Both Ghost and Farida looked at the man in the back seat. It looked exactly as they’d suspected, like they were smuggling a body in the back seat.
“Let’s just pray no one decides to make us go through a checkpoint. I can, maybe, get you to the gate and maybe even further. But pray, they don’t want to look back there.” Farida gestured to the back seat. Ghost knew exactly what she meant. Now way someone with two eyes wouldn’t be able to see a large body laying over the seat, crammed in like a sardine.
Ghost took a deep inhale.
Really pushing my luck today. First Mower, then Rogue, the facility…now this…
At some point, she knew she’d run out. She just hoped it wasn’t when Marcus woke up and it turned out the machine was still in there and it tried to kill her a second time.
“Keep your hood up and eyes down.”
Ghost understood and slipped into the passenger seat. Farida started the car and took a deep inhale.
“This is not going to be easy. I’m not authorized to leave. We will try the west gate. It’s closest and usually at this time of night, guarded by less than adept and competent security.”
“Understood.”
As they drove Ghost had to force herself to not look back at Marcus who was still dead to the world. He’s not so much as groaned or moved since they’d taken him from the cryotank though his pulse was strong. Despite the deep sleep, he was very much alive.
“Farida….” Ghost whispered, a question burning in her mind since the clinic.
“Hm?”
“Who gave Marcus the intel on my location? How’d he know to go to the badlands to look for me?”
The woman shifted uncomfortably in her seat, exhaling hard through her nose.
“Since it appears she is dead…I have no further loyalty…I had suspected it was Kara, though I have no proof or conclusive evidence, merely observation. Kara had gone the corpo route at the start of the war, taking a different path then the rest of us. But…one day, she shows up here, drags Marcus into her AV…then…the next day, he was gone.”
“So you think she was the one who ordered the hit on the convoy?”
Farida co*cked he head to the side and sighed.
“Like I said, I have suspected as much. She’d been trying for years to get him into one of her projects. He’d always refused. After the accident..she was more than happy to assist with his recovery…from cyberware to financing, Kara footed the bill with a smug smile on her face.”
“You said he went AWOL?”
“He did. In Kurt’s eyes. Though, I honestly believe it was more of a bluff on Kurt’s part to keep Kara from taking Marcus away from him. He wanted to keep Marcus on site for a trial…but…she used her corpo pull to extract him while he was still in cryo.”
Ghost seethed. This confirmed the suspicions that her handler at Arasaka had sold her out to Mower, and Mower, orchestrated the attack on Marcus in order to get him to sign on to be a test subject.
“How could someone be so cruel?”
Ghost hadn’t meant for it to pass her lips, but it did.
“Kara was obsessed with power, with him.”
“How’d you know he went AWOL for me?”
“He’d been looking for you since the war started. He trusted me with some…more personal information. Marcus wasn’t ever one to break the rules…at least not back then. I knew he’d never go against Kurt’s orders…not unless it involved finding you.”
Ghost felt that familiar twist in her stomach. She’d been so foolish. He’d put so much on the line for her and she’d just thrown it away. The gate came within view, the tall scaffolding hand high rises lit up so bright, it could have been daytime.
“Something is wrong…” Farida whispered. “Keep your head low. Make sure he’s covered.”
As they pulled up to the checkpoint, Farida rolled the window down as a Barghest solider sauntered over.
“Gate’s closed tonight.” The man spoke with a causal tone, but the way he gripped the gun, made Ghost uncomfortable. She turned her head away, looking down toward her lap, not wanting to make eye contact.
“I have a priority transport. You’ll excuse me, but I have clearance.”
“Sorry Dr. Nazeri, orders come down from the top. Can’t open the gate for anyone.”
“You’ll excuse me, but I have a patient that needs medical treatment outside this gate. I will not be held up by some little pup who still sh*ts on the carpet. Open the f*cking gate or do I need to call Hansen myself?”
Ghost was surprised by Farida’s tenacity, her vicious tone was not one she’d expected and quite frankly, it made her want to comply all the same.
“No need doc. I’m right here.”
The voice came from behind the car. When Ghost glanced up, the entire gate entry was being flooded by Barghest, all armed, all pointing weapons down toward the car as they circled like a pack of hungry hounds.
The voice was that of Kurt Hansen, Ghost could recognize that vocal timbre from anywhere.
“Farida, why don’t you and your friend step on out for me.”
f*ck…
Farida didn’t bother arguing. She turned to Ghost and nodded, motioning for her to get out.
“Keep your hands empty and high and we’ll all have a good time tonight.”
Ghost opened the passenger door, keeping her hands upward, palms facing out. An arm shot forward and roughly pulled her form the car. The numbness in her leg made her fall to the ground.
Pain shot through her as she tried to stand to the snickers of several Barghest that had closed in around her. Roughly she was pulled to her feet before Ghost felt hands searching her body, yanking the pistol from her waistband and the knife from its sheath across the small of her back.
Someone behind her wrenched the sleeves of her coat away. Ghost was glad she’d stowed the Shigure and her backpack in the trunk. She didn’t want anyone going through her things, not with the cynosure keycards still in her possession. Ghost had a feeling Hansen would want them.
“This is unnecessary Kurt. She is my patient.”
“Now doc, I’ve known you a long time. Either you’re slipping or you’re lying. ‘Cause she looks in piss poor shape if I’m being honest.”
Hansen motioned to the man beside Ghost. The Barghest solider immediately gripped her arm and pulling her forward, around the rear of the car and face to face with Kurt Hansen.
The man looked more imposing up close, but Ghost wasn’t about to shrink away. Farida moved up but a raised hand by Hansen froze her mid step.
“Well well…not every day I find a lost little ‘Saka stray roaming my streets. Either really brave or really f*cking stupid. Which is it girl?”
Ghost felt herself lose some balance as she tried to shift her weight from one leg to the over, the vice grip on her bicep making her fingers tingle.
“Probably a little of both.”
Hansen smiled down at her, the action would have been disarming had Ghost not noted the massive revolver slung into the holster at his side.
Hansen wasn’t as tall as she’d expected but made up for it through the terrifying look in his eyes, the cyberware on both arms giving him a far more ominous appearance than if they had been organic.
Hansen leaned forward, taking Ghosts face in his hand, fingers digging into her cheek.
“Tell me…what did you find sniffing around down there and how’d you convince my doc here to help you? Give me the truth. If there’s one thing I can’t abide, it’s liars.”
He gave her cheek a pat before releasing her face. Hansen crossed his arms over his chest and stared into Ghost’s face, waiting.
“Colonel…” Farida interrupted.
“Doc…one more word and we’ll have to have a real serious discussion about your place here.”
Ghost stood as tall as she could. She regretted bringing the doc into this, wishing now she would have ditched the Farida after getting Marcus to the surface. It might not have mattered, as Ghost began to wonder if she’d been followed from the start.
“Mower….was looking for her. Have an axe to grind.”
Hansen nodded.
“Partial truths don’t count. That rabid bitch is dead. Good riddance if you ask me. What were you really looking for?”
Hansen pulled the knife from the sheath across his chest, using the tip of the blade to clean under one of his fingernails before twisting it around in a display of deft skill.
So Hansen knew already. But, if he knew Ghost had been the one to do the deed, he didn’t indicate if he cared either way.
Ghost opened her mouth to speak but was cut off as someone behind her shouted.
“Sir we have movement.”
Ghost craned her head backward to see what was happening, hoping it was not what she feared.
All the Barghest around her had turned their weapons on Farida’s car, the small vehicle lurched to the side slightly as a massive shape in the back seat came into view.
Oh f*ck….
Please….
Please….no…
The back passenger door of the car flew open with such force, Ghost heard the metal hinges strain and crack, the door itself hanging ajar awkwardly as it swung back and forth.
Marcus….
Ghost watched as he stepped from the car, staggered but remained upright. The sight of him reminded her of a documentary she’d watched about bears when they woke from hibernation.
Marcus looked very much the disoriented behemoth of a bear, legs not use to bearing the weight of his frame after so long in cryo, senses overwhelmed with the external stimuli of the world around him.
His eyes were dark, not black, but dark, more like the natural brown he’d once had. They flashed red as he scanned the soldiers that surrounded him.
To say that he looked absolutely feral would be an understatement and Ghost feared what was about to happen should one of the Barghest preemptively let loose a round.
“Sir!” One of the men yelled, all the weapons raised up, aiming a little higher. Ghost watched as they all took a wary step backward as Marcus stood fully upright, head moving side to side as he stretched his body out from the cramped state he’d arrived in.
Joints in his back and neck popped ominously as he flexed his fingers.
“Stand down.” Hansen’s words came out clearly, but his tone wavered, like he’d seen a ghost.
Ghost watched as Marcus turned, Hansen’s voice pulling his attention away from what ever chaotic thoughts must have been spinning in his mind.
He looked confused, lost, much like Ghost had when she’d come out of cryo, but perhaps more so.
At least she’d woken up in a hospital bed, Marcus had found himself stuffed in the backseat of a car and surrounded by hostiles.
Marcus’s gaze passed right through Ghost, like she wasn’t even there, all his attention on Kurt Hansen.
He doesn’t see me…or doesn’t recognize me… Ghost thought as Marcus stepped forward, slow strides moving past her without even a glance.
She wanted to cry, to yell at him, to hold him, to pull him back to her, but instead, she stood, and waited, consumed with sorrow and uncertainty of what was about to happen.
The man behind her only tightened his grip, pulling Ghost slightly further from the two men who now stood face to face.
“Colonel.” Marcus voice came out low, gravelly, and still in the same dual, raspy tone as Reaper’s had been.
The sound made Ghost’s heart skip a beat. f*ck, how she’d missed hearing him.
“The Black Wolf…”
Marcus stood in front of Hansen, his body shielding Ghost from seeing the colonel clearly or, perhaps to prevent him being able to see her. Hansen paced back and forth, eyes studying Marcus, then back to Ghost.
“Look at what living amongst the sheep and the vipers has done to you.” Hansen made a ‘tsk’ and shook his head as he eyed Marcus, visibly dissatisfied with what he saw.
Ghost could see Marcus’s body shake, like he was having difficulty remaining upright, his hands trembled slightly as he held them at his sides.
His breathing was heavy, but labored, like he wasn’t getting enough air and Ghost wondered if it was some after effect of the drugs that had been pumping through him while in the tank.
When Marcus didn’t respond, Hansen continued.
“Have you come to rejoin the pack?”
Ghost saw Marcus shift slightly, his balance wavering. His bare feet looked strange against the dark grey pavement as he widened his stance.
“Can’t do that Colonel.”
“Can’t or won’t?” Hansen stared stone faced before glancing toward Ghost. Ghost could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standup, a chill crept down her spine. This was some sort of stand off, one between men who’d once been comrades, shed blood together, but now, had taken separate paths in opposing directions.
“Both.”
Hansen chucked darkly, still holding the knife, twirling it between his fingers like it were a toy. He pointed the tip of the blade toward Ghost and she swallowed hard.
“This the one…the one you betrayed your duty, your country, your colonel for?” The way Hansen enunciated ‘colonel’ meant this was far more personal than Ghost had assumed.
Hansen stepped to the side, coming full into Ghost’s view, but Marcus followed suit, blocking Hansen’s apparent path.
Hansen seemed to take note and offense as he spoke, his voice remained calm but contained a razor edge that was impossible to miss.
“You’re out gunned here Master Sargent. You sure you wanna try your luck? Don’t look like you’re in any condition to put up much of a fight.”
Ghost watched as Marcus stepped a ever closer to Hansen, closing the distance that would have already been considered borderline uncomfortable. They now stood inches from each, the sound of guns being raised made Ghost’s already panicked heart beat ever faster.
“I could peel your face from your f*cking skull before any of them even pulled the trigger.”
Ghost could hear the cold threat in Marcus’s voice, the way his body moved, despite the haze, he could still be deadly fast.
What ever game the men were playing, Ghost wondered what outcome could possibly come from threatening each other. Maybe it was a pissing match, maybe they were serious, either way, she wanted to yell for them to stop.
When Ghost moved to open her mouth, she froze as she heard Hansen’s laugh. Maybe it was out of nervousness but Ghost felt it was something else, like the colonel had been testing Marcus, to see how far, how much he was willing to wager in this f*cked up stand off.
“Haven’t changed a bit...though, I wish you’d chose to come home…” Hansen said, placing us hand to Marcus’s shoulder.
Marcus said nothing, stoic as ever, hands at his side, body still shifting slightly on his feet, trying to right his balance.
Hansen pulled away and sighed, looked to Marcus again.
Ghost could see the colonel was conflicted, torn with indecision. Eventually he took another step away, putting a more comfortable distance between himself and the statue of the man he’d called the Black Wolf.
“We’re even now…remember that.“ Hansen’s voice was resigned, but firm as he extended his hand and Ghost watched Marcus take it in a solemn gesture of an agreement, a pact that Ghost did not understand.
What had become ‘even’? What did Hansen owe to Marcus that in this moment, they’d now been squared up, neither owing each other anything else in the future.
Marcus nodded before releasing Hansen’s hand. He didn’t move, just stood, back still to Ghost, staring down at Hansen.
Hansen gave a charming smile before he waved his arm, and instantly, the guns that were trained on Marcus lowered. Ghost felt the grip on her body relent as the man behind her released his hold and stepped away, rejoining the rest of the group as they turned away from the scene.
In an instant, the gatehouse had been cleared, everything appearing to go back to normal, save for the sounds of vehicles pulling away and Marcus’s heavy breathing. Ghost moved to him, afraid at what might happen, but she’d missed him so much, how could she not want to touch him?
But Marcus turned away and staggered back to the car, leaving Ghost alone beside Farida’s car. Hansen was still standing, though he’d moved a bit further away. Ghost took a long look at him.
The colonel merely smiled and nodded to her, his eyes though, those bright blue optics bored into her own as if to say ‘move before I change my mind’.
Ghost turned to look back at the car, tears in her eyes. What the f*ck was happening? Did he not remember her? It was better that he was alive, but still, Ghost had hoped that he’d recognize her, say something to her, at least give some indication that they were not now total strangers.
Farida came over to Ghost, her face tired and concerned.
“Take my car. I will call for it tomorrow.”
“Farida…I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have…”
“I will be fine. I’ve known the colonel for a long time.”
Ghost smiled weakly, she didn’t believe that everything was going to be fine. The Hansen seemed more than capable and willing to inflict fear and violence. She hoped Farida was right, though, at least for the doc’s sake.
Looking back to the car, Ghost could see that Marcus had slid into the passenger seat. Beyond the car, the street was now empty and the only sound was the metal gears turning as the gate began to open in front of the car.
Hansen had already disappeared into the long line of vehicles that had turned and headed away. Ghost was still locked in a loop, processing what had happened, how it happened and how the hell she was still breathing.
“Thank you. I hope one day to repay you.”
“Don’t come back here. That is how you can repay me. Don’t let him come back here. It will not be safe for either of you.”
Her words were a whisper, and Ghost knew she was risking a lot just speaking them aloud.
Ghost hugged the doc before stepping away leaving her to her fate. She hoped Farida was right, that Hansen would not retaliate for helping her find Marcus.
Marcus…
Ghost quickly headed back to the car. When she slid into the drivers seat, she looked over to find Marcus had fallen back to sleep, his head resting against the window.
Selfishly, Ghost wanted to wake him, to talk, to hear him talk, but knew he needed to rest. That fact that he’d even woken was a miracle enough. If he hadn’t, Ghost wondered what might have happened.
Passing through the gate and entering Pacifica felt almost like a rebirth, a second chance in life to make things right. As she drove the highway back to Japantown, the sun was looming on the horizon, morning just an hour or so away.
Tentatively, Ghost reached over to touch Marcus’s hand, his fingers, to feel them slide between hers even if he wasn’t awake to reciprocate, or even if he didn’t know her anymore. She remembered the nightmare in Pacifica and how she’d reached for him, but he was beyond her grasp. This small touch, this feeling, was overwhelming.
Now he was here. His hand felt warm and beneath her palm, hot synth skin and chrome, the contrast she’d missed holding in her own hands. She gave his fingers, his hand, a gentle squeeze, the small bit of intimate contact making the tears that she’d held back fall in silent rivers down her cheeks.
Slowly she pulled her hand away, bringing it back to the steering wheel. Exhaustion filled her, her body hurt but all that mattered so very little as she couldn’t help but look over to Marcus again, hardly believing he was here, that he was alive.
The feelings inside her were so intense, Ghost could no longer hold back the choked sob that left her lips, her body finding some relief in the knowledge that it was finally over, that she’d not failed him after all.
No matter what, she’d succeeded in setting him free and what ever came next, at least he had another chance, just liked he’d given to her.
As the tears fell, Ghost felt a sudden heavy warmth close around her hand. She nearly jumped at the action of her arm being pulled away from the wheel as Marcus moved to interlock his fingers between hers, squeezing them in the same manner she had before pulling her hand to rest on his lap, covered by his own much larger hand.
Ghost turned to look over at him, his body was still slumped against the window, the deep rise and fall of his chest indicating that perhaps he’d faded back into unconsciousness, or maybe he hadn’t the strength to do much more than grip her hand tightly, thumb slowly rubbing over the top of her hand.
More tears fell down Ghost’s face, but this time, the were born from her joy rather than the sorrow that once been.
They were finally going home.
