“The first thing I stole,” Marcy said, returning to her story. “Was a magifone. A pair of magifones, actually. As soon as I saw someone with one, I could barely resist snatching it from them. It wasn’t just the security blanket aspect of having a phone again, I knew the device could potentially be the key to everything.”

  “Would you like some water?” Marko said when she paused. “I have some bottles in the fridge.”

  “That’d be great, thanks,” Marcy said.

  Marko got up and walked toward the fridge but paused as he passed Aria. She was diligently at work disassembling one of the guns with the aid of a small kit. He picked up the kit and looked at it, ignoring the growl Aria directed his way.

  “Where did this come from?” he said.

  “Dead elf,” Aria said, not looking up.

  He shook his head and put the kit back down before fetching a bottle of water from the fridge. Marko crossed back to the living room and handed it to Marcy, who nodded in thanks. She took a long drink.

  “When I first left the apartment, I parked myself on a bench and just watched the crowds for a while,” Marcy said. “It was still a shock, especially the shiftlings, but the more I watched them the more I adjusted. When I was sure no one was going to try to eat me, I watched for my chance. I stole the first magifone from a fane waiting for the bus. She’d put the phone down and wasn’t paying attention, so I grabbed it and ran.”

  She took another drink from her water.

  “I’d never stolen anything before, but I am fast,” she said. “I was varsity track in high school and competed in college. I grabbed the phone and took off. The fane yelled and chased me but gave up much sooner than I’d expected, and no one tried to help her. Most people didn’t even seem to notice.”

  “Big NPC energy,” Aria said. She’d finally worked the stock off the gun and was starting on the barrel. “Don’t let Marko hear you call them that.”

  “I’m no sociologist, but the behavior seemed unusual,” Marcy said. “I decided to run a test. I grabbed another magifone and found a place where I could hide and watch what happened. The gobbek I stole it from gave up chasing me after two minutes. I timed it. He went back to his lunch like nothing happened. No one called the cops, no one did anything. That’s definitely not normal.”

  “We haven’t been able to explain it, either,” Marko said. “Not all of them are like goldfish, though, so you have to be careful.”

  “NPCs,” Aria mock whispered, and Marko shushed her.

  “I only needed one device, so I decided to sell the other one to make some quick cash,” Marcy said. “Not that I had any idea where I could go to do such a thing. In the end I decided to ask the doorman.”

  “Why the doorman?” I said.

  “You always hear stories about the doorman or concierge assisting with questionable activities,” she said. “I figured if they could get cocaine and hookers, asking where to sell stolen goods wouldn’t be a big deal. Even if it was, they’d probably forget I’d asked. The doorman directed me to Pop Pop’s Pawnshop, and I went for a visit, even though I had to walk all the way there.”

  “Pop’s is Marko’s favorite,” Aria said.

  “We’ve had dealings with the shop,” Marko said.

  “He’s a tough negotiator,” Marcy said. “Anyway, when I made it to the shop, he told me he didn’t buy locked phones. I asked if he had any tools, borrowed a couple, and opened it up. Saying I was surprised by what I found inside is an understatement, but I still figured out how to unlock and wipe it. Like I said, security here is laughable.”

  She set down her water and let out a breath.

  “Pops gave me 500 credits and an old keyboard in exchange for the phone,” Marcy said. “On the way back, I picked up a few more tools, a whole rotisserie chicken, and a source of caffeine. I spent the rest of the day picking at the chicken and messing with the magifone. It mostly runs on C and Java, which isn’t a surprise given the year, but it also has those damn technomantic equations sprinkled into the code. That was annoying.”

  Aria swore as the tool she was working with escaped and bounced on the floor. The barrel was off and she’d moved on to the trigger assembly.

  “Eventually, I figured out the phone’s technomancy largely deals with connectivity,” Marcy said. “It acts like wi-fi or Bluetooth.”

  “It’s Bluetusk here,” I said. “Not sure what they call wi-fi.”

  “It’s still wi-fi,” she said. “Once I figured that out, I dug into the signals. That’s when I discovered the multiple layers of connectivity. By itself, that isn’t unusual. We have satellite comms, broadcast comms, and so on even without technomancy. Discounting Bluetusk, Anera has three main layers of signals. The first is basic wi-fi, but it’s everywhere and connects everything. It’s like the entire city is a hotspot made from smart devices. The second is a carrier band. I managed to tap into that and discovered just how many hidden cameras or crystal balls or whatever this place has. It’s a lot, by the way. It makes CCTV seem quaint.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “If wi-fi is everywhere, why did they bother with Bluetusk?” Marko said.

  “No idea.”

  “Has someone been watching me shower?” Aria said. “Fuckin’ pervs.”

  “I can’t tell you if you’re being monitored,” Marcy said. “It’s possible, though. I considered going around and blocking all the cameras in my apartment, but I decided it might draw attention. Besides, people have seen me naked before.”

  She gave a slight smirk with that last bit. It was the first hint of real humor I’d seen from her. I felt like talking had helped her relax and she was starting to trust us. At least a little.

  “I haven’t made any progress with the third layer at all,” Marcy said. “I call it the mystery signal. It has incredibly tight security, to the point I wonder if it’s quantum. The wi-fi layer is really all I’ve needed. You can hack anything here. Cars, ATMs, elevators, doors, you name it. Most of it isn’t even locked down. It took me ten minutes to bypass the first ATM’s firewall, and I’ve been siphoning off credits ever since.”

  “Nice,” Aria said. She’d extracted the coil and was examining it. “This thing is covered in tech squiggles.”

  “Should you be touching that?” I said.

  “It’s fine. You think it’d be exposed if it was dangerous?”

  That was a good point. I was reminded I might be the dumbest person in the room. Intelligence 3 didn’t seem all that impressive.

  “You made the elevator fall?” I said, not really phrasing it as a question.

  “That was me,” Marcy said. “I saw those soldiers in the lobby and thought I should do something. I knew you were here.”

  “What about the robed dude?” Aria said. “That you?”

  “That was Balor, but yes, I sent him. My Archetype is called Awakener. It’s like a summoner but I call up legends. Balor is powerful, but slow and can’t fire on the move. I have a defender named Achilles and two ravens for scouting. Hugin and Munin.”

  “Don’t even start with the heel puns,” Marko said, looking at Aria.

  Aria rolled her eyes.

  “Whatever, nerd.”

  I filled Marcy in on our Archetypes and, in the process, learned none of us had the same kind of Matrix. Marko used cunning, Aria nectar, and Marcy had lore. Other than just waiting, each of us could refill our Matrix by engaging in certain activities. Marko refilled with persuasion and gambling. Aria had to party, and Marcy gained lore by reading or watching thematic movies. Blood points seemed easier to regain than any other fuel, but it did require a certain amount of savagery.

  “Why haven’t we run into you before?” Marko said.

  “I was hiding,” Marcy said. “The mini-map doesn’t show anything inside other apartments, which made it possible to avoid you. When I received the quest to go to the Black Orchid it was night, and the idea of going out in the dark terrified me. So, I ignored it. That turned out to be a bad decision. I failed the quest and got a Flaw.”

  “You were right about the quests,” I said to Marko.

  “I don’t feel particularly triumphant about it. I assume a Flaw is some kind of penalty?”

  “The Flaw is called ‘Chickenshit’ and I’m 25% less likely to resist fear effects. It also came with a warning. I’ve memorized it.” She twisted her hands in her lap. “It said, ‘Flaws are like strikes; you don’t want three of them.’”

  “Is that why you stopped hiding?” I said. “I don’t blame you, by the way. This place is beyond fucked up.”

  “Not entirely,” Marcy said. “I received a new quest later that night. Forty Acres and a Mule. I’m supposed to claim another sector. I thought the food sector might be the easiest, and I was almost right. The system message said all I needed to do to claim the control point was assign ten defense resources to the sector. I don’t have any defense resources, but I thought you might.” She looked down. “I’m afraid to fail another quest.”

  “We finished that quest,” Aria said, now beginning to reassemble to weapon. “Helping you should be easy.”

  “Let’s start with the basics,” Marko said. “You need to be in each of our contacts. Everyone shake hands.”

  We took turns shaking Marcy’s hand. Her grip was firm, even if her palm was a little sweaty.

  “Now, I suggest you join our party,” Marko said. “It’ll give you access to the safehouse, which is exactly what it sounds like, and you’ll be able to direct the defense resources. We don’t have time to introduce you to Kaius, but we’ll get you in the group chat and give you his number. Does all of that sound acceptable?”

  Marcy hesitated.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Aria said. “Do what you can do.”

  “OK,” Marcy said.

  [Marko Kontos] has invited [Marcy Liu] to join the party!

  [Marcy Liu] has joined the party.

  [Marko Kontos] has invited [Marcy Liu] to join the chat group, SausageFest!

  [Marcy Liu] has joined SausageFest!

  Marcy laughed.

  “Sausage Fest?”

  “Blame Aria,” I said.

  “You mean, thank Aria,” Aria said.

  Marko (SausageFest): Hey Kaius, this is Marcy. She’s an Agent and joined our party. Give her directions to the safehouse, please, and she’ll want ten of the Hunt to guard Dandy Boy so we can claim it.

  Kaius (SausageFest): It is a pleasure. You are most welcome. Would you prefer I took ten members from the patrols or from the safehouse?

  Marcy (SausageFest): Hi Kaius. That’s a fun name.

  Victor (SausageFest): From the safehouse. We’re still in the consolidation phase, so it shouldn’t need that much defense.

  Kaius (SausageFest): Very well. Would you like me to send the group to the Lux to rendezvous with Ms. Liu? Also, will you be investing in additional Hunt members to replenish our numbers?

  Marcy (SausageFest): How did you know my last name?

  Aria (SausageFest): Kaius is our butler. He knows everything about us.

  Kaius (SausageFest): Senechal, not butler.

  Aria (SausageFest): Whatever. He’s like Alfred.

  Marko (SausageFest): That’s a good idea, Kaius. Sure, send them here in the morning. They can drive Marcy to Dandy Boy. I’ll look into getting more Hunt members.

  Kaius (SausageFest): Sleep well.

  “Why can’t you come with me?” Marcy said.

  “We aren’t really here,” Marko said. “We’re at the Lux in the FlexTech sector. No, I don’t know how that all works. You’ll be safe with the Hunt, though. Have a look at your defense tab for Nova Sector.”

  “We’ll come back as soon we can,” I said. “We’re still working on claiming the hex.”

  “You might as well have this,” Aria said. She tossed a modded magifone to Marcy, who fumbled it onto the couch.

  “Where did you get this?” Marcy said, eyes going wide as she examined the device.

  “Headless gobbek,” Aria said. “He used it to open the door downstairs, so I thought you might like it.”

  “Thank you so much!” Marcy said. “This is amazing! Do you accept hugs? I’d like to hug you.”

  “Just this once.”