Page 15 of Stars At Dusk

Kage slid into the passenger seat, still in complete control. He slugged a palm over the man’s mouth, effectively cutting off his grunts.

The man at Kage’s mercy thrashed. Somehow he sneaked a handgun into the fray and fired into the Rider’s side. The bullets bounced off the Edenite’s armoured suit; any dents immediately counteracted by the metanoids embedded into the plates.

‘Relax,kinai, you’re not winning this battle,’ Kage growled through his helmet speakers.

The man, blonde-haired and wild-eyed, finally sagged back, his mouth still trapped under the Edenite’s grasp.

Kage leaned into the man’s face. ‘Who or what are you after?’

His victim’s eyes narrowed with panic, then glazed over. Something frothed against Kage’s palm. He lifted it to see bubbles pouring from the stranger’s lips. The remains of a capsule slid out, chasing the foam.

‘We could have just talked about it,’ he grunted as the man seized uncontrollably before his vitals faded.

Kage let him go, pushing him back into his driver’s seat.

He swiftly went through the man’s pockets.

His clothes were Iccythrian—the latest in grey man gear.

He found a Rhesian ID: a fake one, but a perfect one.

The gun was a Ccyth 867, a cold hammer forged model. High price tag. Untraceable. Which was why you paid the high price.

The poison, though, was unusual. Kage’s metanoids had absorbed some of the liquid and analysed it. The results flickered on his HUD.

VX1. A lethal nerve agent. With massive collateral damage.Thank Eden for his suit.

He released the craft’s air brake, fiddled with a few controls and leapt from the still-floating flyer. Then he worked his way to its rear, wrapped his huge powerful suited hands around the base and shoved it off the street into a deserted tunnel-like alley. He paced the vacant space to ensure no one else was about.

Confirming no other lurkers were about, he pulled a fire stick from his suit. Turning it on, he flicked it into the flyer. Instantly searing white hot flames began to devour everything in their path.

He followed with an anonymous emergency call. The blaze was licking the walls of the alleyway when he activated the suit’s thrusters and inbuilt force amplification. He leapt into the skies to wing his way back to Harlow’s balcony.

While he did, he used his neural node to comm Kainan, his leader andkhosi, who was, at this very moment, fighting the crats on the streets of New Malindi.

Kainan patched in immediately.

Brother, we’ve got a serious problem in Axuma,Kage said aphonically, with no preamble. There was rarely any need between the Riders.

Talk to me.

Picked up a burn bag outside her apartment. Rhesian ID, Ccyth gun, Ccyth gear and a VX1 capsule.

He tried that on you?

Nada. He ingested it. Dead in seconds.

We have a problem.

Tis what I said. Can confirm someone paid top schills for a kuaji contract on Harlow.

Send everything to Mirage. We need to get onto this and make sure if this is Massimo or some other outfit. I’d also take caution tonight, maybe hang tight and leave in the morning. Comm me when she’s safe at Zulu One.

Copy. Later.

He ended the link.

He landed on Harlow’s balcony. As his anti-grav boots touched the terrace tiles, he felt a wave of weariness slam into him. His metanoids were crying out for a recharge. He stumbled slightly and righted himself with a wince.

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