Duelist by John Triptych

Author:John Triptych [Triptych, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: duel, aliens, mutants, robot, armor, corporation
Publisher: J Triptych Publishing
Published: 2020-06-15T16:00:00+00:00

36

EOA LOM’S CAPITAL WAS now in a state of siege. All available Regulator and gendarme units had set up various checkpoints in most of the major public areas. Businesses and homes had been shuttered, yet the city remained calm as an almost eerie hush fell over its desolate streets.

Endless closed-door meetings were being held by the various factions to restore normalcy. The serf population seethed, but no riots had occurred. Everyone knew that the daimons would react with overwhelming force at the slightest provocation, and any attempts to spark violence were immediately put down by both sides. The tenseness in the air was so thick one could almost see it with their own eyes.

Alix hurried down the street, her soft boots making slight squelching noises on the wet cobblestones. She carried a letter of authorization signed by Verloch, but she doubted it would be enough to get through the checkpoints. He had tasked her with retrieving something in one of the warehouses he owned, and his bargain was too good to turn down.

She hadn’t expected this kind of opportunity to come about until at least another year, but it seemed that luck was with her. The danger was acute, but she felt that her courage and abilities would be more than enough to mitigate any risk.

Turning a corner, she continued on down the alleyway. The first roadblock at the wealthier districts had been easy to bypass. The cops at that checkpoint knew the Grenwald family, and she was allowed to pass through without any difficulty.

But as she headed into the city center, Alix was quite aware that the task would surely get harder. The police leadership were in disarray over the arrest of their own commissioner, and new commanders had been hastily assigned by popular demand, with many of them openly hostile to the city’s upper classes.

Alix couldn’t help but remain confident. If I can figure out where their sympathies lie then I can get myself through this mess without a hitch, she thought. For those loyal to the city government, she had Verloch’s letter. To the ones more sympathetic to the plight of the serfs, she had been given various passwords by her Narchist contacts to hopefully get her through them.

Heading up towards the end of the street, Alix hesitated slightly when the roadblock up ahead became visible. Two gendarme vehicles had been parked to block off the thoroughfare, and it seemed like a Regulator was present too.

Clenching her jaw, Alix walked down the lane. One of the uniformed cops saw her and waved her away, yet she continued on and got to within five meters before they all turned in her direction, weapons at the ready.

Pulling out the letter from beneath her cloak, Alix put on her best smile while striding up to the nearest constable. “Good morning, officer. I’m here on behalf of my master.”

This particular human gendarme looked young, and his fingers fidgeted on his pulse carbine. “You need to go back home. Don’t you know the city’s on lockdown?”

Alix kept grinning.

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