Thunder

Chapter Seven - 1

Region 22's Varstrom Area was a crowd of people, a positive throng of pushing bodies, all jostling and jockeying for place and space. Keeping track of the woman would have been difficult were it not for the threat of instant detonation from a device that Z9 had forced her to drink should she get too far away from her. Z9, of course, didn't tell the woman that it was lies of the highest order, and that the drink she had given her had consisted of nothing but good old fashioned Black Mariner, though unfortunately for Z9 it had been good quality and she hated to see it wasted on a terror suspect.

Z9 hadn't tried to contact Gina One since her acquisition for fear that the communication could be traced somehow. The last thing she needed was the partner of a member of a large terror organisation that she had just killed feeding back names and locations to people she had just shot. She didn't like the concept at all.

The woman was taking Z9 away from the glitz and glamour, or as near to it as this particular area of the region could get, and into the main suburbs, the nests of the area's population. The buildings began to lose any style they might have had, and though they still towered high, the nicely shaped corners at the top began to become more angular, the neon less tasteful and the windows simply there for function. They were walking through true Celestria, a place of functionality and nothing more.

In the alleyways KCrows pecked at scraps of food thrown out into the streets, their black plumage almost invisible save for the highlights of blue thrown onto them from the advertising banners and signposts. As they walked, another crowd spilled out of the Magna-Train station, and a few seconds later its familiar lights began to glide along its tracks, ascending up and beginning its slalom through the Region.

The woman ducked off the main street and Z9 followed not far behind, thumbing off the safety on her gun.

Up ahead a sign of purple neon spilled light into its own small courtyard, where three women were propped up against the side of the building. Their argument was apparently over someone inside the club, due to one of them frequently pointing back to the door. As they approached, a fight began to break out, with two of them lunging for each other's throats. At one point Z9 would have instinctively tried to split the fight up, using her position and abilities to settle the dispute simply and quickly. After several years working for C.A.T she had begun to sense a great deal of apathy develop for petty disputes such as the one she was witnessing, and after a good many years, had completely lost interest.

The woman turned to Z9 and pointed inside. 'Here it is,' she said.

'You're going to lead me to him and make sure he doesn't start anything,' Z9 whispered to her. 'Otherwise, boom.'

The woman nodded and looked apprehensively into the nightclub. Loud electronic music was spilling out of Chorus, and the doorframe was rimmed with purple. She pushed open the door, ducking inside. Z9 followed after her into the nightclub.