Chapter 1: Reck
On the surface it looked like a typical gang deal.
Back streets. Poor lighting. A couple of dangerous looking men. All just another beat in the city's daily pulse of crime.
Truth was always elusive in Syndicate city though and prying eyes often cost lives. Such a heavy price tag was enough to stop anyone from noticing that this lightweight deal was punching well above its weight. Why chase the gnarled and twisted root of truth if you were only going to end up buried at its tip? What good could come from knowing the exceptional nature of the black market items which were changing hands? Or how deadly the assassin was who had come to collect them? No, better for the dealers who shared the shadows to remain ignorant and just keep unloading the product... (continued...)
Chapter 2: Virtual Lifer
Ronelle felt empty.
A single question had drained the truth from his life and he knew it could never be replenished. At least not the way it used to be. Not with that same simple certainty which everybody else took for granted.
“I'm going to leave the Circuits for a while and spend some time in the real world. Do you want to come with?” Valentine's voice had bubbled with excitement but her words were crushing. From that moment on a hollow void had claimed Ronelle's thoughts and now he lay on his bed, falling ever deeper into listless contemplation.
Ronelle was a child of technology who had been hard-wired to the Circuits when he was only thirteen weeks old. To this day he remained the System's only lifer and many risks had been taken in... (continued...)
Chapter 3: Smart mouth and attitude
Valentine was still in the centre of the city when the first system tremors hit. She knew immediately that something was badly wrong and sensed an undefinable strangeness to the fault. A life spent living off instinct had sharpened her senses and, though she wasn't a lifer like Ronelle, her neural sensitivities were subtle. She also had four years of experience in the Circuit's crest and fall stability which gave her an excellent frame of reference.
Many of the newer citizens didn't even pause to question the disturbances, as each global vibration somehow fell beneath their notice. Valentine even saw people who really should have known better just continuing with their daily lives. Somehow she knew their sense of security was about... (continued...)
