Glitch in the God Complex (AmpCore #1)

04 - In the Dark Heart of the World

The car slid through Hadrian's streets with startling quietness. The engine purred; she didn't feel so much as a bump as the slums rolled by. All the seats were sheathed in sleek, ink-dark leather, and she could smell some kind of pine-scented freshener wafting through the interior. This thing was probably worth more than her house ten times over. 

     Travelling in corporate luxury might have been nice if it had actually been her idea.

     Piper sat sullenly in the back seat, arms folded as she watched the city fly by through the tinted windows. In the driver's seat, Toran directed the vehicle with deft, effortless movements, while Odiye lounged on the passenger side. 

     She thought all kinds of nasty thoughts, about ramming a boot into the back of Toran's smug head; about slashing throats with the flick-blade she'd managed to hold onto through the whole mess. They hadn't searched her before bundling her into the car; the smug bastards didn't think she was a threat.

     "Piper," Odiye said quietly as the car rose up a shallow incline. "I know you are confused right now but please, do not do anything foolish."

     "Like what?"

     "I know you still have your knife."

     She blinked in surprise. "What about it?" she managed after a moment.

     He craned his neck leaning around to look at her with an attempt at a reassuring smile. "We are not your enemies here, and I do not wish to see you hurt."

     "Yeah, what a shame that would be," Toran muttered. "Just keep your little sticker to yourself and we'll get along fine."

     Piper bristled, but in the end she relented, sliding the flick-blade from her pocket and placing it down on the seat beside her. She gave Odiye a pointed look.

     "Happy?"

     "Happier."

     She pulled a face at that, and Odiye turned back around. Piper folded her arms again and shifted in her seat, still seething. Her mind snapped back to Arden and her mother getting carted off to god-only-knew where by these spivs. Could she really trust these corporate bludgeons to protect them if the codewraiths came back? 

     Then, like a thunderbolt, someone else exploded into her mind and she jerked upright in shock. With everything that had happened he'd slipped out of her mind

     "Oh, shit!" The guilt hit her like a punch in the face. "We've got to go back!"

     "We're not going back," Toran grunted, accenting the point by lazily swinging the car to the right around the next bend.

     "No, you don't understand, when the wraith came after me I wasn't on my own!" The words came out in a torrent. "Please, my boyfriend, he wasn't at the house. One of those things smashed him clean through a wall. He needs help – a doctor! God, I don't even know if he's alive!"

     "Piper, slow down-,"

     "We can't go back." Toran shot Odiye a frustrated glance. 

     Odiye waved a dismissive hand at his comrade, keeping his eyes on Piper. "What is his name?"

     "Kirk! Kirk Balfour." 

     "And where is he?"

     She raked her hands through her hair, trying to think. "I... we were on our way back up on the docks. We were at... err... Cannington Rig Way, then the first one of those things jumped us."

     Odiye bit his lip; glanced at Toran. The other operative gave an exasperated shrug.

     "We can't go back for him," Odiye told her, his voice tight. "We have to take you to AmpCore."