Glitch in the God Complex (AmpCore #1) | 2024 WATTYS WINNER

26 - How Not to Make Friends

This side of the river.

Kirk felt a little sick. The revelations Selbray provided ensured the trip wasn't a wasted one, but he couldn't bring himself to feel happy about it. The corps were at it again, building fresh machines to stamp their authority down just a little bit harder on Hadrian's downtrodden citizens.

Selbray's anger had been abundantly clear, the wraith's corpse giving flashbacks to a time he would rather have forgotten about. They'd left him cursing and swearing at the dead machine, even as he dragged a cutting torch into place to start carving it to pieces.

But Kirk still had a lot of questions. The first wraith he saw had been drenched – it had come out of the water of the river somewhere, even if it hadn't swum the full gulf. And what in the hell did any of this have to do with Piper? He hated the corps as much as the next guy, but neither he nor Piper had ever done anything to warrant getting a personal assassination attempt.

That he knew of, at least.

For the first time since the whole hellish episode had started, Kirk began to wonder if Piper had been keeping something from him.

He pictured her face in his mind. It felt like a lifetime since he'd seen her. Could there be something? Something he'd missed or just ignored? Why would codewraiths come after her like this? Kirk couldn't think of a single reason that made any sense.

"You okay?" Delgado asked as they walked back through the entrance tunnel of Selbray's workshop.

"Just thinking," he answered.

"Yeah, me too." She smiled ruefully. "I knew the corps were greedy bastards but this... even for them this is pretty stupid."

"Why would they do this?"

Delgado shrugged. "There are still people who think the ban on AI and augs should be lifted. All you'd need is someone who thinks like that, in the right place."

"It's weird though," Kirk continued, thinking out loud as he walked. "These things don't act like they're being controlled by anybody, not the ones I've seen at least. That one you killed, it killed a bunch of people near the heart. Why would a corp let that happen? It just draws attention."

"Depends how much intelligence they've stuffed into these new models, I guess." She shoved the front door open, letting the noise of the market crash in on them. "But there's nothing we can do about it right now. Let's get back. Arden's probably going stir crazy right now."

"She can't stay there forever," Kirk said as they walked out into the market again.

"I know that, kid, but one problem at a time, alright?"

Kirk opened his mouth to press the matter, but a gruff voice cut him off before he could say anything.

"Oi, Balfour!"

He stopped dead. Delgado stopped with him, twisting towards the speaker. A man with thin, steely grey hair and craggy features was striding towards them, his overcoat flickering slightly in the wind. Another man and a woman flanked him to either side, clad in similar rugged coats, their clothing a mixture of motley browns, greys and blacks.

Kirk immediately had a bad feeling. He recognised the man in the lead – a nasty, gravel-voiced piece of work. People parted before them as they approached, scurrying away from the enforcers of the Jennings' clan.

"You know these guys?" Delgado asked quietly.

"The leader at least," Kirk whispered back. "His name's Ingol. Works for Cutter Jennings."