Wind screamed through the subway tunnel as the train tore through the darkness.
Kai barely kept his footing on the roof.
Water and sparks blasted past him in flashing streaks of light. The narrow tunnel walls rushed by on both sides, close enough that one wrong step would turn him into a smear against the concrete.
Across the train roof, Dante stood perfectly balanced.
Of course he did.
Corporate assassins probably practiced this sort of thing.
Kai wiped rainwater from his eyes.
"You know," he shouted over the noise, "most people would call this an excessive response to a stolen file!"
Dante said nothing.
His glowing red eyes remained fixed on Kai like targeting lasers.
Kai sighed.
"Silent type. Got it."
Then Dante moved.
The assassin's speed was terrifying.
One second he stood ten meters away.
The next he was already swinging.
Kai barely ducked in time.
Metal claws sliced through the air where his head had been.
Kai dropped flat on the train roof as the blades scraped across the metal behind him, throwing a spray of sparks.
He rolled sideways and kicked out, trying to knock Dante off balance.
It was like kicking a steel statue.
Dante didn't budge.
Kai scrambled back to his feet.
"ORION!" he shouted in his mind.
"Yes."
"I could really use some help right now!"
"I am analyzing available systems."
Kai glanced around.
The subway tunnel was packed with electrical cables and maintenance conduits running along the walls.
A thought sparked in his mind.
"Can you control the rail system?"
"Partially."
"Partially sounds promising."
Dante attacked again.
Kai jumped backward just as the assassin's claws punched straight through the metal roof of the train.
The steel crumpled like paper.
Kai's eyes widened.
"Okay, those are definitely dangerous."
Dante ripped his hand free.
The train burst out of the tunnel and onto an elevated track.
Suddenly they were racing through the open air again.
Neon skyscrapers surrounded them on all sides.
Traffic drones whizzed through the sky above.
Below them, the city stretched endlessly.
Kai grabbed the edge of the train roof to steady himself.
The wind was even stronger up here.
"ORION," he said quickly, "new idea."
"Yes?"
"Remember those rail systems you mentioned?"
"I do."
"Crash the train."
ORION paused.
"That will significantly reduce your survival probability."
Kai glanced at Dante, who was already stepping toward him again.
"Pretty sure my survival probability is already terrible."
Another swipe.
Kai dodged again, nearly slipping on the rain-slick metal.
"Do it!"
"Understood."
Far ahead of them, the railway control signals flickered.
Switching.
Changing.
Kai saw the upcoming intersection where multiple tracks crossed.
The train thundered toward it.
Dante continued advancing slowly.
"You are delaying the inevitable," the assassin said calmly.
Kai shrugged.
"Yeah, I get that a lot."
The train screamed toward the junction.
Kai counted silently.
Three seconds.
Two.
One—
The rail switch snapped.
The train jerked violently as it shifted tracks.
Passengers inside screamed.
The entire train tilted dangerously.
Kai grabbed a roof cable to avoid being thrown off.
Dante staggered slightly for the first time.
Kai grinned.
"Hey! Progress!"
The train careened down the wrong rail line, sparks exploding beneath the wheels.
Emergency brakes screamed.
The train shuddered to a halt halfway between two stations.
The sudden stop nearly threw Kai forward.
Dante, however, barely moved.
Of course.
Kai sighed.
"Well, it was worth a try."
Below them, the subway station platform was only a few meters away.
Kai didn't hesitate.
He jumped.
The landing jarred his legs, but he kept moving.
Crowds of confused passengers poured out of the train doors.
Perfect chaos.
Kai sprinted through them.
Behind him, Dante landed silently on the platform.
People screamed and scattered.
Kai darted toward a maintenance hallway at the far end of the station.
A metal door hung slightly open.
He slipped through it and slammed it shut behind him.
Darkness swallowed the corridor.
Emergency lights flickered dimly along the walls.
Kai leaned against the door and caught his breath.
"Okay," he whispered.
"New rule."
"Yes?" ORION asked.
"Next time I steal something from a megacorporation… remind me to leave the planet."
"That is a reasonable strategy."
Footsteps echoed from the platform outside.
Heavy footsteps.
Kai looked down the hallway.
Long.
Dark.
Industrial pipes lined the ceiling.
"This leads somewhere," he muttered.
"Correct," ORION said.
Kai raised an eyebrow.
"You know where we are?"
"I am accessing the city's infrastructure network."
"Of course you are."
A map flickered faintly in Kai's vision.
A glowing pathway leading through tunnels and maintenance corridors.
Kai smiled.
"Oh, that's cool."
"This route leads to a region known as the Neon District."
Kai pushed off the wall and started jogging down the hallway.
"Sounds friendly."
"It is statistically the most criminally active region in Nova City."
"Even better."
Behind him—
The metal door exploded inward.
Kai didn't look back.
He ran.
The corridor twisted downward, deeper into the underground levels of the city.
The air smelled like oil and rust.
Somewhere above them the subway system roared back to life.
"ORION," Kai said while running, "just out of curiosity."
"Yes?"
"How determined is this guy to kill me?"
"Helix Dynamics has classified you as a Priority Retrieval Target."
Kai winced.
"That sounds expensive."
"It is."
Another corridor split off to the right.
Kai followed the glowing path in his vision.
Pipes burst overhead, spraying steam.
The tunnels became more chaotic the deeper he went.
Graffiti covered the walls.
Old cables dangled everywhere.
The city's forgotten infrastructure.
Kai finally burst through a rusted metal gate and stumbled out into a wide underground chamber.
Music blasted from hidden speakers.
Neon lights flickered across dozens of stalls selling cybernetic parts, weapons, and illegal tech.
People everywhere.
Hackers.
Mercenaries.
Black-market dealers.
Kai blinked.
"…Well."
He looked around the massive underground marketplace.
"That's new."
ORION spoke.
"This appears to be an underground cybernetic market."
Kai laughed.
"I think I found my people."
Behind him, the tunnel entrance echoed with footsteps.
Dante had arrived.
Kai groaned.
"Of course he did."
He pulled his hood up and stepped into the crowded market.
"If I'm going to survive tonight…"
Kai muttered.
"I'm going to need help."
Somewhere in the neon chaos of the underground market…
His next ally was waiting.