Cyberknight: One Path (original novel)

Mike wandered through the streets of the area outside of Rome under a hood. He wanted to remain as discreet as possible by avoiding entering into contact with anyone. The streets remained busy as usual as the missiles that exploded over Rome did not detonate using a small nuclear bomb but with other non-radioactive means instead. Without the presence of radioactive fallout, most civilians remained around the city which was less affected by the blast. 

Although Mike was sure no one knew of his secret investigation, he couldn't shake off the feeling of being followed. After reaching a relatively silent neighbourhood, Mike chose a random house and knocked on the door. As he waited for a response, he took a look at one of the statues which was staring right at him. Although Mike knew it was nothing but stone, the stare almost felt alive and the mouth of the statue seemed to show an evil smile. The door suddenly opened with an old lady hiding behind it. 

[old woman] - "Yes? Who is this? "

[Mike] - "I need to talk to you, lady. I'm with the police. "

[old woman] - "I have already paid my protection fee this month. Please, I don't have anything to give anymore. "

[Mike] - "What? No, what is with this bloody protection fee thing? I thought gang activities were dissolved in Italy under imperial rules. "

Said Mike with a mixture of confusion and frustration.

[old woman] - "The imperial soldiers were the ones asking for it. They threatened me with violence if I didn't comply. "

[Mike] - "Well, I'm not with them. Please, let me have a word with you. Lo giuro su Dio, non farò alcun male. " (*I swear on god, I will do no harm)

Said Mike as he drew the sign of a cross on his chest.

Seeing how Mike didn't seem like a bad person, the old lady reluctantly allowed him inside her home. After taking a seat on the sofa, Mike took off his hood and showed the lady his true face. 

[Mike] - "Please, I need to know a few things and I want you to tell me the truth. "

Upon seeing Mike's face and hearing his voice, the lady immediately connected the dots together and recognized Mike as the hero who helped save the survivors that night. 

[old woman] - "It's you, young man. The people of Rome thank you for your heroic actions that night. Oh, if it wasn't for you, my sons would not have survived. "

Said the old lady as she shook Mike's hands with gratitude. 

[Mike] - "It's nothing. It's common sense to help others in times of need. "

Said Mike dismissively. 

[old woman] - "Would you like some coffee or anything? I'm honoured to have you in my home, young man. "

[Mike] - "I appreciate your offer but I'm kind of in a hurry. I need to know if you or anyone around you has a connection with any of the members of the Italian Liberation Front. "

Said Mike as he leaned over toward the old lady. 

The smile on the lady's face immediately vanished.

[old woman] - "Are you here to capture and execute them? "

[Mike] - "No, I'm not. I simply have a few questions for them. I promise I'm not affiliated with anyone or any side. "

The old lady sighed heavily before showing a look of sadness on her face.

[old woman] - "Oh, you should've seen how the imperial soldiers brutally shot all the family members of anyone associated with the ILF. Screaming children were dragged to the city centre and shot. They didn't care what you are. As long as you have affiliation with the ILF, you will be shot. "

Said the lady with an anguished voice.

Mike pressed his head in his hands in grief and frustration.

[Mike] - "Jesus Christ... what the fuck are these wankers doing... "

Whispered Mike while looking at the ground. 

[old woman] - "Personally, I don't know anyone associated with the ILF but I know there is a lady in town who said she knew you and wants to see you. She told all of us in the village to pass the word around if we ever saw you again. "

[Mike] - "Me? Where is she? "

Said Mike as he abruptly stood up. 

Just as the old woman was about to speak, Mike felt movement under his feet. Acting quickly, Mike refrained the old lady from speaking before putting his ear toward her mouth. After getting all the relevant information, Mike thanked the old woman and promptly left the house. Once outside, he noticed how the statue's eyes were not looking in his direction like before. Most importantly, the smile on the statue's face disappeared. 

Without losing another second, Mike began to quickly move through the streets toward the location of the mystery lady. Something was definitively wrong and Mike could feel it. Someone is following him and that person could also be a cyberknight considering the unnatural things that occurred. 

Upon arriving at the given address, Mike didn't even knock before kicking the door down. Once inside, a middle-aged woman rushed out of the kitchen with a cutting knife. After taking a good look at Mike, the woman dropped her weapon and hugged Mike as if he was her long-lost son. 

[Mike] - "Hey, stop this! Who are you? "

[woman] - "I knew it was you the moment I saw your hair that night. Oh, mi boy, I'm glad you are safe! "

[Mike] - "Woah! Lady, I don't even bloody know who you are! "

Said Mike in a frustrated voice as he pushed her away. 

[woman] - "There isn't much time. "

The woman rushed to her room and pulled a small disk out of her closet. Without saying a word, she arrived in front of Mike and handed him the disk. 

[woman] - "All you have to know is that my name is Vittoria. I was your caretaker when you were young and my twin sister Aurora was murdered in the purge when they mistook her for me. This disk contains everything you need to know. "

The woman was stressed as if something bad was about to happen. 

[Mike] - "I don't understand a thing you are saying, lady! "

Said Mike with a baffled expression.

[woman] - "Take the disk, boy, I have prepared 16 years for this and this is my last hope at getting the truth out! Avenge- "

Before she could finish, her neck was suddenly broken by an invisible force. Immediately after, the disk began to slip out of Mike's hand before he grabbed it with his ability. The disk was a millisecond away from being absorbed into the wall before Mike pulled it back into his hand. At the same time, Mike heard a crashing sound outside before a gush of wind blasted through the windows. It was clear now that a cyberknight was following him. 

His investigation is now exposed and if this was a plot, then Agent Patrick, the most prominent suspect in this case, will be informed of the investigation. If the water is disturbed, then it won't be long until the fishes disperse. Mike needs to throw the net now to catch as many fish as possible before they flee. 

[Mike] - "Kadyn! Pay our friend agent Patrick a little visit and keep an eye on him! "

Screamed Mike over his earpiece as he rushed outside of the house. 

The last piece of evidence for Mike is the ILF's hideout and there is a chance that he can still find some remaining evidence there. Thinking fast, Mike remembered the direction from where the missiles came from. With a single jump, he flew toward the wooded area while searching for any sign of a camp underneath. 

He soon noticed a large military-style camp deep in the woods before quickly landing on its grounds. As soon as he arrived on the scene, he noticed how everything was already reduced to small pieces of dust as if they were put through a grinder. There is no doubt that is the work of a Cyberknight but Mike noticed the remains of a truck inside a cave. Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that it was impossible to learn anything from a bunch of sand-sized pieces. 

[Mike] - "Ethan, any idea how can we know the origin of these missiles? "

Said Mike over his earpiece. 

[Ethan] - "I'm looking for it... not on any registry. Looks like our suspect deleted everything. "

[Mike] - "Mother fucker must have people working in the intel section of the IEEB. "

Whispered Mike in frustration. 

Mike walked out of the cave and suddenly noticed tire tracks on the ground leading to the shredded truck inside. An idea suddenly popped up inside Mike's mind. 

[Mike] - "Ethan, pull out the satellite imagery and track the tire tracks to their original location. "

[Ethan] - "Brilliant plan, boy. "

Said Ethan as the screen in front of him began to access live footage from the satellite above. 

Meanwhile, the boogeyman appeared in front of the small military depot which housed the missiles. The soldiers gave him a few curious looks but were creeped out by the unnatural smile on his face. The red crystals on the cyberknight's arm began to glow with a blood-red shine while he stood still like a statue.

[boogeyman] - "Existential Judgement: Silence of Eternal Damnation! "

Soon, the ground began to tremble before screams filled the air when the sky turned dark around everyone at the base. As soil filled the sky and tree roots spouted all around the place, the screams of terror were quickly silenced underneath the earth. 

The boogeyman was just about to leave when Mike appeared from the sky and attacked him. With a single punch, Mike sent a piece of the boogeyman's armour flying before he vanished into the soil. Mike was about to dig the whole mountain using his ability but refrained himself from doing so since the suspect probably got away. 

After finding the tire tracks, Mike noticed that it ended in the middle of nowhere. The tire tracks appeared from a densely wooded area without even a hint of any civilization. Mike breathed a heavy sigh before picking up the piece from the suspect's armour. 

[Mike] - "Ethan, see anything on your screen? "

[Ethan] - "Sadly, no. "

[Mike] - "Ethan, pull the satellite recording from a few nights ago and- "

[Ethan] - "Oh, hold on, Mike. I'm being denied access to everything. Darn it! The fucker shut my access to everything. I'm being quarantined from the system. "

[Mike] - "Shit... I hope Kadyn has everything handled. "

Earlier, while Mike was still amidst his investigation, Kadyn quickly began to move after receiving Mike's message. Luckily for her, the IEEB is situated just below the imperial base in Mount Everest where she currently is. Upon arriving at the security checks, they stopped her and asked for her identification. Although Kadyn wasn't allowed to access these areas, when the guards checked their system, they somehow found clearance for Kadyn's passage. 

Unfortunately, at the last checkpoint, an order was issued that denied all entry or exit from the facility. As Kadyn tried to walk forward, the guards pointed their guns right at her face. 

[Guard] - "Freeze! We have strict orders to not let anyyooonnnneeeee ppppppaaaaaaa... " 

Said the guard as his voice became extremely slow in Kadyn's perspective.

Everything around Kadyn began to appear slow except for her. Kadyn cracked her fingers before gently pushing the gun away from her face. Lime-coloured light emanated from her back as she walked past the checkpoint with a relaxed expression on her face. When she made it far enough, she disengaged her acceleration and everything returned to normal from her perspective. 

In the hallway, a bearded agent walked out of his office before he was surprised by a wrist knife pointed at his chin. 

[Kadyn] - "Bad news, you have to work overtime. "

Without saying a word, the agent compliantly backed into his office with Kadyn's blade still hanging dangerously close to his throat. 

[Kadyn] - "Identification papers. "

Jackson slowly reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a set of documents. In a swift set of motions, Kadyn took the identity document, placed it on the table and punched it in the middle so it stayed open. 

[Jackson] - "You are committing a big mistake there, missy. The bureau won't like what ya did. "

[Kadyn] - "The blade tends to slip when you don't shut up. "

Said Kadyn as she scanned the document with her glasses. 

[Jackson] - "I like though girls like ya. Whatcha say if we go grab a drink after you done confirming my identity? "

Before Jackson could notice it, Kadyn punched him in the abdomen with her fist. He immediately gasped for air while the pain caused him to lean against the wall. 

[Kadyn] - "Think with your head, not your dick. "

Said Kadyn in a monotone voice. 

After years of assassination and infiltration, Kadyn was well acquainted with the secrets hidden behind certain documents. As Kadyn scanned the document, everything was in order except for a small detail. For this one, she noticed how the protective plastic felt thicker than the usual imperial identity document. Without leaving Jackson out of her sight, Kadyn grabbed a cup of water from the desk and poured its content onto the document's pages. 

[Jackson] - "Hey, what the hell ya think ya doin'? "

Kadyn didn't respond while her irises turned grey-blue for the thermal vision setting. In an instant, under her thermal vision, Kadyn saw the heat signature of small letters and images appearing on the wet pages. Soon, a second, heat-emitting layer appeared which revealed a second type of identity which is only visible under powerful thermal vision cameras. 

[Kadyn] - "Ah, a classic Allied spy trick. You are under arrest, Agent McCree Westwood of the Allied Intelligence Corps. "

[McCree] - "You are a smart one, missy, I'll give you that but I'm more of the resisting arrest type of guy. "

In an instant, Kadyn lost sight of McCree who reappeared beside her with a pistol aimed at her head. As the bullets travelled, Kadyn simply stared as they slowly flew toward her. She quickly extended her wrist knife before slowly moving out of their way toward McCree. Just as Kadyn's blade was about to slash through McCree's head, he suddenly moved out of the way. 

[Kadyn] - "Huh? "

[McCree] - "Surprised? "

While McCree thought he was on equal ground with Kadyn, the truth could not be further from his assumption. Suddenly, Kadyn's irises turned crimson red.

[McCree] - "Oh, fuck... "

Kadyn slashed her blade a few more times in McCree's direction but none of them seemed to hit him as he swiftly jumped around the room. Soon, both of their accelerations reached their limit as time perception around them returned to normal. As Kadyn chased after McCree, he swiftly slipped out of the door and slammed it in Kadyn's face. 

McCree began to run thinking he had a lot of time on his hands but Kadyn dismembered the door handle with a single stab through the centre. 

[McCree] - "What kind of dog luck is this? I thought I was well hidden but suddenly I got a whole ass terminator chasin' behind me. "

Whispered McCree in fright as he ran toward the checkpoint. 

[McCree] - "Guards! GUARDS! That assassin unit has gone rogue, it's tryna to kill me! "

Yelled McCree before he suddenly felt a sharp pain all around his body. 

The pain became so intense that it almost felt like his flesh was falling off him. He quickly collapsed to the ground and noticed how massive bleeding wounds were on all of his limbs. Just as things were already pretty bad, McCree heard cracks inside his chest before his ribs began to break and move around. It was then he noticed the thin layer of his blood that coated Kadyn's blades. 

[McCree] - "Fuck... looks like my luck ran out. "

Guards quickly came to McCree's aid while others jumped on Kadyn and restrained her to the ground.

[Kadyn] - "Hey! That guy is an Allied Agent! "

[Guard] - "Shut up, you deranged bitch! "

Said the guard as he smashed Kadyn's forehead against the ground. 

[Guard] - "You have quite the gut to come in here like this. Me and the boys are going to enjoy such a fine piece of meat like you. "

The guard intentionally gave a tap on Kadyn's breast before a shadow covered his face. When he looked up, he saw Mike standing in front of him with his arms crossed while looking quite pissed. 

Later, while a nurse bandaged Kadyn's forehead, both of them could hear loud shouts coming from not far away. It was unmistakenly Mike's voice and it sounded quite angry. Both Kadyn and the nurse exchanged awkward stares as they pretended to not hear the heavy profanities that escaped Mike's mouth. The shouting ended with an extremely loud slap followed by the agonizing cry of a man, which turned female as his voice broke. The nurse covered her mouth in shock while Kadyn let out a slight smirk. 

[Mike] - "How's the injuries? Feeling alright? "

Said Mike as he kissed Kadyn on the cheek while pretending that nothing happened. 

[Mike] - "You should probably get him checked. "

Said Mike to the nurse. 

[Guard] - "My teeth! Oh my lord, my teeth! "

The nurse covered her mouth and began to move toward the anguished cries.

[Kadyn] - "Mike! You know dental care is expensive these days. "

Said Kadyn with a tone of sarcasm. 

[Mike] - "How unfortunate. Almost everything's gone except all four wisdom teeth. "

[Kadyn] - "Haha, now that's just evil of you. "

Mike lowered himself and presented his back to Kadyn.

[Mike] - "Come on, when life gives you lemon, you gotta carry her to the destination. "

[Kadyn] - "Mike, I can still walk you know. My legs still work. "

Said Kadyn in an amused tone. 

[Mike] - "If you want to walk, that's fine too. "

Before Mike could do anything, Kadyn abruptly leaped onto his back.

[Kadyn] - "But how could I refuse such an offer? "

As Mike carried Kadyn through the hallway, she leaned her head on his shoulder.

[Kadyn] - "Did your little investigation hit any jackpot? "

[Mike] - "Well, Ethan is analyzing some sample I brought him. Let's go see his progress. "

To be continued...