The Dark Edge Chronicles - Hardwire

On the Trail

"So, what do you think, Waif?" Ravage asked softly as the nervous-seeming wirehead bent low over the sidewalk. It was 3 pm local and they were just across the street from Preacher's former headquarters. A bright, late August sun shone down on them from a cloudless sky and the streets were filled with people going about their business in Calgary's core, an unseeing and ignorant herd surging from one point to another, seemingly without purpose.

But the ESET team leader and the others with him ignored the thronging Normals spilling around them as they examined the location the renegade's faint signature had been found outside of Preacher's office building. The team had split in two to make the hunting easier and Scorpion had accompanied Ravage and Waif to take a look outside the building while the others looked inside.

"A signature match," Waif replied with a nod, almost to reassure himself, his soft voice touched with the English pronunciations of a German native. He looked up at Ravage with watery blue eyes. "He was definitely here. But, . . ."

"But?" Ravage's eyebrow raised slightly. "You've found something else?"

"Ja, a second signature."

The ESET team leader's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Confirmation of Duchesne's account that he had faced two of them in Preacher's office before the actual attack," he said thoughtfully, the other nodding in agreement. "According to Preacher's statement, Duchesne claimed to have killed the both of them approximately five minutes before the final assault on Preacher's network began."

"Duchesne obviously failed to kill the more powerful of the pair," Scorpion bit out, glaring up at the building, its damage clearly visible from where they stood. "A difficult thing, considering Duchesne was considered one of the best the Inner Council had to utilize." Her intense gaze swung over onto the frowning Ravage. "He taught you, didn't he, Ravage?"

Ravage glanced over at the dark skinned woman and jerked a quick nod.

"He was an instructor at the Brotherhood's Geneva complex before they started using him as a silver arrow." He turned his gaze to the building's blasted top floors, now draped in heavy sheets of concealing plastic and rope. "Definitely one of the best, known for his excellence in execution of his objectives. He very rarely made mistakes."

Scorpion snorted at that.

"I'd say this was a pretty big mistake, letting the renegade hardwire escape to come back and obliterate Preacher and his people," she commented dryly, a British accent giving class to her words, a holdout from the times when the Empire ruled her small central African country.

"And it cost him his life." Ravage chewed on the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. "Either this hardwire had more skills than we're aware of hardwires having, or he's much more powerful than even Preacher's report indicates." He looked down at the still kneeling Waif. "Besides the two signatures, anything else worthy of note, Waif?"

"Nein. Only that the hardwire's signature is much stronger than the other's, like he was doing something."

"Yeah, but what is the question!" Scorpion growled, glaring back up at the building with its new cap of plastic. "Certainly not admiring the rather dubious view."

"Setting watchers, most likely," Ravage answered, still chewing on the inside of his cheek in thought as Waif came to his feet without bothering to dust himself off. The skinny man glanced around nervously.

"Do ya think he left watchers to monitor this spot, Ravage?" he asked in a hoarse whisper, nervous eyes darting into the shadows.

"Not likely, Waif," the team leader replied, peering over at Scorpion. "Unless you get the sense that he's a bit on the paranoid side, Scorpion."