The Yellow Keycard- A Cyberpunk Adventure

Today started just like any other for Anna Pakwit. A makeshift cigarette dangled precariously from her seventh lip ring, a half cup of Joe mixed with stale Absinthe swung loosely in her left hand, and a copy of Today's Events - the only Government sponsored news mag around these parts - stayed neatly tucked under the heavy appendage she now used as her right arm.

"Now this is interesting." she murmured softly, taking a slow, careful sip of the bitter licorice flavored beverage. The Japanese minister of Commerce had been found decapitated along with his driver, two prostitutes, and several aides. Heads had rolled.

They were searching for leads. The government's news dog had made this quite obvious. It was, in fact, ridiculously, aggressively, clear. Anna chuckled. Anyone who did not come forward with information, despite being in the know, would be arrested and submitted to the immersion tank.

Immersion. One shivered to think.

"Damn Government Fucktards."

Giving it the once over, she tossed the news rag casually among the trash that lined the filthy brick walls of the alley that lead to her first floor office.

Source: Pixabay.com

Knowing how to read Today's Events meant staying ahead of the Cerberus armored police unit. Staying ahead meant staying alive.

Anna was a Torah Saree. A stealth adviser.

Everyone around these parts had something to hide; the smart ones could actually keep it hidden.

As soon as she opened the bulging grey office door, Anna knew something was wrong. It wasn't the overwhelming darkness, nor was it the long circling trails of dingy smoke that spiraled upward through unwashed air vents. No. It was the stench.

Grease and dirty diapers.

Pinching her nose with one white buttoned sleeve, one name came to mind. Antwerp.

Not much was known about the secret organization. They steal memories, rendering their victims into mindless husks. The only detail on record was that notoriously fetid smell. This particular combination of scents was thought to prevent Cerberus from creating mind links. It was their olfactory Ace in the Hole.

She didn't bother to walk all the way in, choosing instead to sit down in one of the rickety wooden chairs usually reserved for clients. Reaching in the breast pocket of her overcoat, she pulled out a pre-rolled smoke stick, lighting it with a Red - E - Match. She loved the feel of hard wood catching fire.

"I didn't kill him. I never even met the guy."

Voices in the darkness are always fun.

It seemed to come from all around her. Inhaling deeply and letting out a torrent of grey vapor, Anna formulated her response to be as neutral and inoffensive as possible. Antwerp was not a group that you wanted to make an enemy of.

"I believe you, friend. But what does any of that have to do with me?"

The voice was calm, but filled the room with an uncertain dread.

"Torah Saree, I need you to hide me."

---

Two long purple lights buzzed loudly on the conference room ceiling. They hung too low for stylistic purposes, as though hastily attached.

The dim glow was just enough to illuminate the surface of the whiteboard revealing a plethora of jots, dashes, and squiggly narrow lines.

Anna stood staring at the map she had just finished drawing, as her unwelcome visitor sat sulking in a nearby plastic beach chair. She'd forbidden him from sitting on any of her good furniture given the man's uniquely odorous quality.

He rarely spoke, though brief occasions seemed to call for a short riddle.

He was a hulking pile of filthy brown rags covering layers upon layers of drab black cloth. His entire bodice dripped puddles of disgusting oil, or whatever it was that Antwerp used as their stinky concealment agent. His face was completely hidden. The raspy voice revealed no obvious gender.

A wide assortment of different colored lights flashed here and there from beneath the bundle of clothing. Anna had taken to calling him "Chip" given the amount of circuitry that was clearly embedded in his flesh.

Chip hadn't really wanted to hide. He just needed to get out of South Bedlam. Anna didn't know if he'd killed the man or not. It didn't matter. She was locked in this, for better or worse. With her extensive knowledge of streets and sewer ways, she was certain she could get Chip to safety.

"The Red Train yard waits for the Yellow Key to open it's gate." Chip breathed almost inaudibly.

"I don't doubt that." Anna replied hastily. "You can look for that Train yard yourself though. I can only promise to get you out of Dodge."

"Yessss." he hissed, not unlike a viper, pleased to see it's prey squirming helplessly.

The plan was a simple one. It was 20 feet from the sewer hole's opening in the alley behind her shop to it's dank concrete floor. Anna had thrown down a variety of cushions in order to ensure a safe drop.

Chip landed harder than she had expected. "This guy must weigh 500 pounds on a good day." she thought. Running towards the abandoned subway juncture, Anna was surprised to hear an emotional crack coming from her unusual companion.

"Antwerp is no one's enemy, save those who are evil. Antwerp is the hope of mankind."

20 yards to go, they just had to cross the emerald river. Droplets of something better not thought about rained down lightly from somewhere on high.

"The Yellow Key Card has the information. It is the Beginning and The End."

Just a little further. A left turn, now a right.

"No matter what happens.....you must get the Yellow Key Card to the Red Train Yard."

They were almost at the station's entrance now. A hop, skip and a jump. Chip could walk the abandoned rails all the way to Reddington. Then he'd be out of her hair. After a thorough disinfectant job, her office would be as good as new.

She stopped slack-jawed at the bottom of the cracked, narrow staircase. Standing halfway down the steps were three Cerberus agents. Two metal heads and a boss.

The plan was a failure.

Anna wondered briefly if this was the day she would die.

---

Minutes felt like years as they stared up the rickety subway stairs at the imposing police force.

Two 6-ft tall Cerberus MK4 units stood on either side of the single human male. Each division is made of three parts. Two metal heads and one boss. A boss is a human with a computer wired brain. They rarely talk. It's thought that the link to the metal heads takes up so much space in their head that it renders them virtually inhuman. Insane. And in control of any situation.

Like this one.

The two metal dogs stared unflinchingly through dark glass eyes. Above each shoulder was a Gatling turret capable of tearing through human flesh like a dull knife through butter.

A brief whisper in the distance resulted in a whirring that parting the metal sea; the boss walked lazily down the steps with the swagger of a champion boxer entering a ring undefeated.

"I see you managed to pull an innocent into your scheming, Antwerp." his voice was low and deep.

"Was it not enough to get seven, or was it eight people killed yesterday?"

Anna's companion shuddered, making a forward movement.

"You did that. The ambassador was nothing more than a courier." Chip chirped with an odd rhythm. "He did not deserve to die."

"Everyone dies. Even you, I'm afraid."

A quick hand motion, a glint of silver from above.... shit was about to hit the fan.

Anna pressed the IMAGE button on the metal appendage that used to be her right arm, causing a small distortion field to appear before her. She could see out but no one could see in. It wasn't a force field or an actual shield, but it might be enough to fool the metal morons.

She was just in time to see the turrets flash.

"I couldn't save him." she thought. Hole after hole appeared in Chip's brown cloak, black underclothing, and white skin graft. After a minute the high pitched squealing stopped, revealing a cloud of dust where her friend had been.

In an instant she was on her knees, a single tear falling on the slime covered stone.

The cloud cleared, but Chip was no longer there. Someone else was though. Another Cerberus unit? This one was taller, stockier, instead of black orbs his eyes glowed red. His white and silver body gleamed brilliantly. And there, on the side of his left arm was the marking MK5.

Suddenly, loudly, Chip's voice boomed as if coming from the heavens themselves.

"Cerberus is not a police force! The Red Train Yard will free the MK units from your brainwashing!"

The guns fired again, briefly, then Chip turned and fired back. Two tiny missiles flared golden against twin chrome bodies. A brilliant flash. Planets exploding like supernovas.

"I am sorry brothers. But fear not.... the MK5 are incorruptible." Chip turned towards his partner and extended a metal appendage. Thumbs up.

The boss laughed sarcastically.

"You've won then?"

In that instant the device went off. No one had seen him plant it, but of course they had arrived first. Plenty of time.

Chip's body shattered in a thousand pieces like an ice sculpture struck by a thousand bowling balls.

Anna reached for her mechanical arm, making a quick change on the black keypad.

IMAGE -> FIRE - 1

The appendage was heavy but handy. It only held one bullet, a .50 caliber. It had never failed.

It was loud but anticlimactic. With a single bang, the boss was down, never to stand again.

The metal heads were gone.

Chip was a pile of shards.

Absent-mindedly Anna scratched at her chest, pulling back a blood soaked cuff. She'd been hit. It was bad.

Chip's disfigured head laid haphazardly on a pile of tiny metal bits... the only part still somewhat intact.

"An..a. Key... card."

His head turned in a epileptic frenzy, faster and faster.... then suddenly, with a pop, it stopped. A small compartment slid out from behind his thick metal skull containing what Anna knew had to be there. A Yellow Keycard. There was also a small map with instructions on how to get to the Train yard.

She cradled Chip's head to her tiny bosom, rocking back and forth like a mother holding her baby. "I barely knew the guy, and besides.... he was a machine head so what do I care?" she whispered softly.

Clutching her bleeding chest, she began to climb the broken steps towards the subway entrance.

"I keep my promises." she said, turning back one time. "I don't know if I'll make it to the Train Yard. If I die before I arrive, my Antwerp friend, know this:"

"I was on my way."

---

This is an original story created specifically for Neoxian's Wonderful and Gritty Cyberpunk Writing Contest. It is my own work. To all other entrants, I wish you good luck.