The underground chamber buzzed with life.
Neon signs flickered across the massive cavern, casting shifting colors across rows of metal stalls and makeshift shops. Wires hung from the ceiling like tangled vines, feeding power into hundreds of glowing displays.
Cybernetic arms.
Neural chips.
Illegal weapon implants.
Everything a person could buy if they were willing to ignore the law.
Kai stepped deeper into the crowd, pulling his hood lower over his face.
Music blasted from hidden speakers while generators hummed beneath the floor. The smell of oil and ozone filled the air.
He glanced around, trying not to look like someone being hunted by a corporate assassin.
"Okay," he muttered quietly.
"Where exactly did we end up?"
ORION responded immediately.
"This location appears to be an unregistered underground commerce hub."
Kai snorted.
"Translation: black market."
"Correct."
People moved past him constantly.
Mercenaries with chrome arms.
Hackers with glowing neural ports embedded in their temples.
Street medics selling illegal implants.
Kai's eyes widened as he passed a stall displaying a fully mechanical spine.
"Wow."
He slowed to examine a glowing cybernetic eye displayed in a glass case.
"You could build an entire person down here."
"That is technically accurate," ORION said.
Kai leaned closer to the display.
The vendor behind the table eyed him suspiciously.
"Buying or staring?" the man asked.
Kai straightened.
"Just browsing."
He stepped away quickly.
"Alright," Kai whispered, "new objective."
"Yes?"
"We find someone who can help us disappear."
ORION paused briefly.
"That may be difficult."
"Why?"
"Helix Dynamics likely controls most surveillance systems in the city."
Kai rubbed his temples.
"So they can track me anywhere."
"Most locations, yes."
Kai glanced around the crowded market again.
"Well hopefully not here."
A sudden ripple moved through the crowd.
People began stepping aside.
Whispers spread between vendors.
Kai noticed immediately.
"That doesn't look good."
At the entrance to the chamber, Dante stepped into view.
The assassin scanned the marketplace with cold mechanical precision.
His red cybernetic eyes glowed brighter.
Several people in the market quickly packed up their stalls and disappeared into side tunnels.
Nobody wanted trouble with corporate hunters.
Kai pulled his hood down further.
"ORION."
"Yes."
"Please tell me he can't track me through a crowd this big."
"Unfortunately, his sensors are designed for exactly this scenario."
Kai sighed.
"Fantastic."
Dante began walking through the market slowly.
People scattered from his path.
The assassin's gaze swept across every face.
Kai turned away and moved deeper into the stalls.
He needed somewhere to hide.
Fast.
He passed a weapons dealer arguing with a customer.
Then a table full of illegal drones.
Then—
A small workshop tucked between two metal pillars.
Tools covered the walls.
Half-finished cybernetic limbs lay scattered across a workbench.
Behind the bench stood a woman tightening screws on a robotic arm.
Short dark hair.
Grease-stained jacket.
Focused expression.
Kai approached cautiously.
"You do repairs?" he asked.
Without looking up, the woman replied.
"Depends."
"On?"
"Whether you're bringing trouble with you."
Kai glanced over his shoulder.
Dante was getting closer.
Definitely trouble.
Kai turned back.
"I might need some help."
The woman finally looked up.
Her eyes scanned him quickly.
Then narrowed.
"You look like someone being hunted."
Kai forced a smile.
"Perceptive."
She wiped her hands on a cloth.
"What did you do?"
"Define 'do.'"
"What did you steal?"
Kai blinked.
"How did you know I stole something?"
She pointed behind him.
Kai turned.
Dante had stopped twenty meters away.
Scanning the crowd.
Then the woman spoke again.
"Because corporate assassins don't show up for small crimes."
Kai looked back at her.
"Fair point."
The woman folded her arms.
"So what did you take?"
Kai hesitated.
Then he pulled the data chip from his pocket.
The woman's eyes widened slightly.
"Is that—"
ORION suddenly spoke inside Kai's mind.
"Warning: revealing my existence may increase risk."
Kai quickly closed his hand around the chip again.
"Let's just say it's valuable."
The woman studied him for a moment.
Then sighed.
"Of course it is."
She jerked her head toward a curtain behind her workshop.
"Inside."
Kai blinked.
"Seriously?"
"Unless you want that guy carving you into spare parts."
Kai didn't argue.
He slipped behind the curtain into a small storage room filled with cybernetic components.
The woman followed and pulled the curtain shut.
"Stay quiet," she whispered.
Footsteps approached the stall outside.
Heavy footsteps.
Dante.
Kai held his breath.
Through a gap in the curtain he saw the assassin stop at the workbench.
Dante spoke.
"Have you seen this man?"
He projected a holographic image.
Kai's face.
The woman glanced at it briefly.
Then shrugged.
"Looks like half the idiots in this city."
Dante studied her.
"You are lying."
She leaned casually against the table.
"Prove it."
Silence stretched between them.
The market noise continued around them.
Finally Dante stepped back.
"Report him if you see him."
The woman shrugged again.
"Sure."
Dante turned and walked away.
Kai didn't move for several seconds.
Then he finally exhaled.
"That was close."
The woman pulled the curtain aside.
"You can come out now."
Kai stepped back into the workshop.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Thanks."
She leaned against the workbench again.
"Don't thank me yet."
Kai raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
She nodded toward the chip in his hand.
"You're going to tell me what that thing is."
Kai hesitated.
Then ORION spoke quietly in his mind.
"She may become a useful ally."
Kai sighed.
"Fine."
He held up the chip.
"It's an AI."
The woman froze.
"A what?"
"Artificial intelligence."
Her eyes widened.
"You stole an AI from a megacorp?"
Kai nodded.
"Yep."
She stared at him for a long moment.
Then she laughed.
"Wow."
Kai blinked.
"That's your reaction?"
She shook her head.
"Most people would get themselves killed stealing something like that."
Kai shrugged.
"Working on it."
She extended a hand.
"Mira."
Kai shook it.
"Kai."
Mira glanced toward the market entrance.
"Your assassin friend will be back."
Kai nodded.
"Yeah."
She picked up a small tool and began tightening bolts on a cybernetic arm.
"So what's the plan, genius?"
Kai looked at the chip.
Then at the crowded underground market.
Then back at Mira.
"Honestly?"
"Yes."
"I was hoping you might have one."
Mira smirked.
"Well…"
She turned toward the wall of tools.
"If you're going to survive the night…"
She grabbed a glowing neural implant.
"You're going to need an upgrade."
Kai stared at it.
"…That looks painful."
Mira grinned.
"Oh, it is."
Outside the workshop, somewhere in the underground market, Dante's glowing eyes scanned the crowd once again.
The hunt was far from over.