Thaqib wasn’t the only one to notice the shots fired. “Yo! You see that?” Malik yelled.

Jazib looked to where Malik pointed. “Looks like a battle or something. Someone trying to get past the wall?”

“Who’d be dumb enough to do that?” Malik said. “Ghostgate’s the only thing on the other side, and who’d want to go in there?”

“Someone who wanted to die?” Samir suggested.

“There’s easier ways to deal with that, fool!” Malik replied.

“Thaqib says Babylon’s lyin’ to us about what’s in there. That Shayateen don’t even exist, the Babs just want to keep us out of there.”

Malik frowned, “I don’t believe in conspiracies. Why would they go to so much effort to make up such a big lie. Doesn’t make sense. But I’m not surprised Thaqib believes that, he’s got a crazy explanation for damned near everything!”

Thaqib up above heard the conversation below and shook his head, not having the energy to be bothered with another argument with Malik’s hard head. The flashing near the wall seemed to be over. Maybe they were just testing their guns, he thought. Suddenly something in the streets below caught his eye, a dark shape moving fish-like through the air—a red light glowing in front of it. “Mako,” he said, moving with new urgency to finish his throw-up.

Malik also noticed the object moving ever closer to where they were perched. “We got company!” he said, crouching down and peering over the railing. Jazib and Samir joined him. “Looks like it’s time to roll.”

Jazib leaned back “Thaqib’s almost finished, just hold on.”

“He wants to get himself in deep, that’s on him, we ain’t stickin’ around to get caught. Right Samir?”

Samir stared down at the street, oblivious to the conversation. Malik gave him a jab in the side. “Oh yeah, right!” he replied.

“Let’s go,” Malik said getting up, gathering his pack and strapping it across his back. Samir did the same.

“Are you serious?” Jazib whispered. “You gonna run out on us? Thought we were in this together.”

Malik looked down over his shoulder. “That was before Thaqib decided to save the Zionese.” Malik looked up to Thaqib, “Yo, we’re out! Mako are comin’!”

“I’m almost done! Hold up,” Thaqib replied.

“Nah, we’re goin’!” Malik said. “What about you Jazib?”

“I’m staying with Thaqib,” Jazib replied.

“Suit yourself,” Malik said. “If you get caught, you better not rat on us.”

Malik and Samir quickly made their way across the scaffolding and down to the rooftop.

Jazib watched them go, then returned his attention back to the Mako below. “They’re getting closer Thaqib!” he said starting to feel a touch of fear—now realizing he was alone. Thaqib couldn’t hear him, he was rushing to put the final touches on the throw-up. “Come on Thaqib! This is cutting it too tight!” Jazib yelled.

Thaqib focused on the last of the work. No way he was going to leave an unfinished piece up. Jazib watched the Mako getting closer and he was getting antsy. “Come on man!” he yelled.

“Almost!” Thaqib replied. He heard the wail of the Mako as he made the final stroke. “That’s it!” he said, flipping the latch on his carabiner and launching into a descent.

As he dropped, he sprayed a large cross over the energy capsule and crossed out the “I,” and the “M,” leaving only the words “Mortality with Vril.” He slid down the wall and landed on the catwalk next to Jazib. “Alright—where are the others?” He asked realizing Malik and Samir were nowhere to be seen.

“What? You didn’t hear? They left.”

“Huh?” Thaqib replied, shocked. “Damn! Who do they think they are?”

Suddenly, the Mako arrived, a sleek metallic drone shaped like a shark drifted toward them, searching with a single glowing red eye.

Thaqib ducked down. “Lets move.” Before he left, he took a final glance at his throw-up and smiled. “Finally hit that damn thing.”

“We got no time to celebrate,” Jazib replied.

They made their move along the catwalk and down the side of the scaffolding. In the distance, running along a rooftop, Thaqib saw Malik and Samir. They descended down the far side and out of view. He frowned and swung down to the lower level, Jazib following close behind.

It didn’t take them long to catch up with the others, but as they did—two Mako appeared, rising up over the rooftop, beam-lights sweeping across it. Suddenly Jazib slipped. Thaqib turned to see him hanging onto the ledge by his finger tips. “Yo! Jazib’s in trouble!” he yelled out to Malik and Samir.

“That’s your fault for cutting it so close!” Malik replied, continuing on.

“We gotta help him!” Thaqib yelled. They ran off. Thaqib looked up and saw the Mako getting closer, they were already examining the billboard. “Damn,” he said running back to Jazib, sliding on the wet concrete to get to him. Jazib was holding on to a piece of metal, struggling. As Thaqib went to grab him, a light swept over them. He grabbed Jazib and pulled him up. Jazib was frozen as three Mako flew toward them.

“Get out of here!” Thaqib yelled to Jazib.

“What about you?”

“Don’t worry, I got this!” he yelled, reaching behind him and pulling out a short black rod from a strap across his back. He flipped a switch and it extended into a long staff. On each end, electrified charges flickered. Jazib quickly made his way across the rooftop, descending just in time as the Mako surrounded Thaqib. Thaqib pulled up a black face mask, a wide, mocking grin scrawled upon it in stark white.

The Mako swept in front of him, a robotized voice booming, “Halt!”

Thaqib readied himself, tapping the staff on the ground. “Or what?”

“Resistance detected,” stated the Mako. A taser charged up and zapped at him, Thaqib dodged in time and when the Mako came toward him, flipped the staff through the air with trained skill and brought it down upon its hull. On impact an E.M.P. charge was disseminated into the drone, knocking it out and sending it plunging into the darkness below.

A second Mako suddenly let out a wail and beamed a pulsing red light into the sky.

Thaqib scanned the surrounding area for any reinforcements. He saw something, the silhouetted shape of a person leaped through the air from rooftop to rooftop, toward him.

“A Boomer!?” he said, suddenly panicking. He collapsed his staff and made a run for it, dashing across the rooftop. The remaining Mako were hot on his heels, sending taser bolts past him. He managed to dodge the bolts, but suddenly felt rushing wind. He tripped and fell against the concrete, he rolled over and saw the shape of a figure falling toward him.

CRACK

The figure landed onto the concrete. Thaqib was met with a terrifying sight—an artificial humanoid known as a Boomer, encased in gunmetal-blue steel, red eyes inset into a skull shaped helm, it stared down at him, soulless.

Thaqib was in trouble and he knew it. Boomers were ruthless, they didn’t take human fragility into consideration, they were usually deployed to combat the Triads, why was this one bothering with him? He’d really blown it this time, he’d gone too far. Not only had he put his friend in danger, he might not even walk out of this. The Boomer charged up it’s tasers.

“You are under arrest, the charge: Attacking property of the Babylon City Police Department,” it said, making its way toward him.

Thaqib reached into his bag and produced a small spherical object. He threw it into the face of the Boomer and covered his eyes as the object exploded in a flash of light and sparks.

“Not today,” he said, getting up and scrambling across the rooftop. Suddenly the Boomer leapt into the air and landed right in front of him. His way was blocked. He heard the Boomer’s cannon charging. “Threat level hostile.”

“Uh oh,” he said as the Boomer thrust out a metal arm, grabbing him around the neck. Thaqib choked, he was lifted off the ground. He stared into the cold eyes of the Boomer. “Come on, I was just playin’, I swear!” he said, struggling to get loose. The Boomer met him with indifference. He heard the whine of a stunner, if he got hit with that, there’d be no escape.

He tried to get loose again but to no avail. He saw the stunner coming toward him, a long metal prod, static crackling.

Suddenly there was a flash, for a second he thought he’d been struck, but when he realized he was still conscious, he knew something else was up. The Boomer released him and stumbled over. He fell to the ground.

A strange shape of whirling cloth blurred before him. A figure landed on the rooftop, cloaked in purple and beige robes, attacking the Boomer viciously, beating it back with incredible martial skill. Thaqib watched in awe, not believing what he was seeing. Suddenly the figure delivered a blow into the Boomer’s core, disabling it, sending it crumpling to the ground and rolling off the edge of the building. The figure turned to look at Thaqib.

“You shouldn’t play where you can’t handle the heat,” the person said in a deep male voice. Whoever this was, he was big. His face was masked behind wrapped cloth. He noticed a strange symbol on the man’s shoulder. It looked like a coiling serpent.

Thaqib stood, “I could have handled it,” he said.

The man stood in silence.

“Who are you?” Thaqib demanded. The man turned and with the rustling of loose cloth, dropped from the roof. Thaqib caught sight of coiled locks of blond hair. “Hey, wait!” he said, running to the ledge. When he looked down, whoever it was had disappeared. All he saw below him was the dark streets shrouded in haze.

He stood for a moment, catching his breath, trying to process what had just happened. He checked his watch. “Damn! How did it get so late? Rast is not gonna be happy if I’m late for practice again!”

Suddenly he looked up and heard something, the sound of an approaching helicopter. “Time to go,” he said, looking down over the ledge. “What a night.” He jumped into the dark.

He made it quickly down to the canal at the bottom of the building. Jazib was waiting for him, sitting upon Thaqib’s single seater shredder, a small boat built from scrap metal for two things only, speed and drift. Another shredder sat beside it, that one was Jazib’s. “Enjoying my ride?” Thaqib said playfully, Jazib had always been envious of his heavily customized shredder.

“Yo! You alright? What happened up there?” Jazib asked jumping off Thaqib’s shredder.

“Man, I’ll tell you later,” Thaqib replied, noticing the sound of the chopper getting closer. “We gotta disappear,” he said kicking the shredder into gear, sending water spraying in his wake. Jazib nodded and did the same. The loud wail of their engines bounced off the cement walls of the canal. Thaqib revved the engine and let it loose sending him skidding off across the water. Jazib followed and the two youths disappeared into the night.