Machete Girl Issue 8.4 Cyberpunk Short Stories

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I’ll ask again.”
Another heavy blow landed on the
door, this time it was less thump and
“I can’t say anything,” I replied.
more snap. The couch on top teetered
“My employer has a drone in this room
over the edge of the stack.
fancy desk up against the door even
listening to our every word. Even if I
augmented guards would have dif-
wanted to give him up, I wouldn’t make
Tachi turned to me again.
ficulty getting through.
it to the end of the street.”
“How strong do you think that window
“So we’d locked ourselves in,”
“If you don’t, you won’t make
is?”
Tachi said. “Now what?”
it to the end of the room.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “Tempered
Then a voice through a
I shrugged. “Don’t see that it
glass.” Then I looked at my pistol. “.45
speaker stopped us both in our tracks.
makes much difference.”
ACP, it’s worth a shot.”
“You’re different from the last one.” The
male voice said in a Baltic accent. “I
“I’m sorry you see it that way.”
Tachi and I pumped every round
wasn’t expecting a Caucasian man.”
Tachi looked at me. He looked
we had in the mag into a nice, tight,
as worried as I felt.
8-inch group in the window. The glass
“That’s not possible.” Mao
spiderwebbed around the impacts and
said.
“I’ve got a way out of this.”
turned a bright white but didn’t actually
“I want you to answer a ques-
Mao said.
crack. While I reloaded my pistol Tachi
tion for me.” The voice asked. “I have
grabbed a chair and took a running
a team of armed men in the corridor.
“I should hope so.”
slam at the grouping that broke the
If your answer pleases me I might
wheelbase clean off.
persuade them to let you live.”
Mao’s voice came back on
the line. “Give me a minute.”
The window wobbled a bit and some
“But you just shot him?”
shavings of glass came loose, but we
A loud thump sounded from
hadn’t actually succeeded in creating
“Wake up!” Tachi said. “He
the other side of the door, followed by
a hole.
said he had a hit squad next door.
the crack of fibreboard and punctuated
I locked the slide forward on
Does he?”
by a puff of sawdust.
my pistol again. “Wasn’t looking forward
to shimmying down the drainpipe
“They’re rushing over from
“We don’t have a minute
anyway.”
the other room.”
Mao.”
The sound of tearing fibre-
Another thump sounded, this
board brought out attention back to
“Who sent you?”
time the couch on top of our stack
the door and the squad of goons about
jumped an inch.
to come through it. The top couch
I didn’t say anything.
dropped down to the floor. “Mao, what
“It’s a shame.” The voice
the hell is this plan of yours?”
“Who is this bloke anyway?”
continued. “I was hoping I could return
the favour to your employers, I guess
“We’re about to switch off the
“That’s the voice of the man
another team of hitmen disappearing
lights.”
you just killed”
into the ether will have to do.”
“What do you want us to do
then...”
MACHETE GIRL ISSUE 8.4
“SAY WHAT?”
“Who... sent... you?”
I could feel a single drop of sweat make
its slow, pondering way down the side
of my face. I glanced at Tachi.
“Only with your cooperation
Tachi glanced up at the ceiling.
“Likes to talk, this one”.
I winked at Tachi. “The welldressed,
articulate ones tend to.”
Tachi gave me an unimpressed look.
“Now?” He said. “Really?”
Then the second couch got
kicked straight off the top of the desk
and we got a clear look at our adversaries
and vice versa.
Then the lights went out.
I strafed to the right, putting round
after round into the space where the
can you hope to leave this room alive.
doorway had been.