CHAPTER 8
The markets of the damned
…..
Jon woke to darkness.
His first thought was simple.
'Move.'
His second was a little more complicated.
'Something is wrong.'
His wrists were restrained.
His ankles too.
Something cold pressed against the side of his neck.
Jon opened his eyes.
There was nothing.
Only darkness.
He pulled against the restraints.
CLINK.
Metal.
He tried again.
Harder.
The restraints held.
"Okay…" His breathing quickened.
"Think."
He remembered the underground room.
Vale.
The strange conversation.
The lights going out.
Then—
Nothing.
Everything after that was blurry.
He pulled again. Testing the strength of the restraints.
The metal creaked.
He stopped.
That shouldn't have happened.
He stared at his wrists. "What the hell…am I ?"
Creak.
A door opened somewhere nearby.
Light spilled into the darkness.
Jon squinted.
Footsteps approached.
Two men entered.
One carried a compact weapon.
The other wore a dark coat with a small metallic insignia on the collar.
Jon's instincts immediately screamed.
Danger.
The armed man looked down at him.
"He's awake."
The other checked a device.
"Good."
Jon swallowed.
"Where am I?"
Neither answered.
"Who are you?"
Still nothing.
Jon's jaw tightened.
"Where's Vale?"
The man smiled.
"That's what you're going to find out."
Jon quietly made up his mind. He moved.
The first guard barely had time to reach for him.
Jon kicked.
CRACK.
The man's weapon madly flew from his hand.
Jon twisted his restrained body, caught the man's wrist and drove his elbow into his ribs.
BAM!
The second man raised his weapon aiming at him.
Jon moved fast.
Too fast.
The shot struck the wall.
Jon quickly slammed his shoulder into the second man's chest.
WHAM!
He stood and Snap!
The restraints on his wrists snapped.
For half a second—He could feel it.
Freedom.
He ran.
Burst through the doorway and into a maze of corridors.
Alarms began screaming.
"STOP HIM!"
Jon didn't.
He just ran harder.
A door opened ahead.
Three men appeared.
Jon changed direction.
Another corridor.
Dead end.
He looked up.
A maintenance ladder.
He coiled and jumped hard.
His fingers caught unto the lowest rung. And he pulled himself upward.
Gunfire erupted beneath him.
BANG! BANG!
"Dammit!"
Jon didn't hesitate and climbed higher into the raft.
Then_ something struck his back.
His body flew forward from the momentum. Then the world spun.
Bang! He hit the floor.
Hard.
Boots slowly surrounded him.
Jon tried to stand. But his legs refused to keep up with him.
A weapon pressed against his head.
"Enough!"
Jon's vision blurred. And the last thing he saw was the ceiling disappearing above him.
….
THE UNDERGROUND: BLACK MARKET.
Several levels beneath the polished streets of Meridian, the city had another face.
A darker one than the polish above.
The Black Market was not one place.
It was an ecosystem of networks around every corner of darkness.
Illegal clinics occupied converted maintenance stations.
Weapons changed hands beneath the underground restaurant's.
Counterfeit identities were sold beside stolen cybernetic components.
People disappeared into tunnels and emerged with new names and identities.
Sometimes they didn't emerge at all.
Vale stood inside one of the market's more respectable establishments.
A place called The Hollow.
Despite its name, the building looked almost luxurious.
Polished floors.
Private rooms.
Holographic advertisements.
Security scanners.
Artificial lighting designed to imitate daylight.
The Hollow was one of the few underground facilities built to resemble the world above. A certain few were allowed inside but the place was never empty.
Vale sat at a private table.
Across from him sat three members of his crew.
One was counting currency.
Another was watching the entrance.
The third kept nervously checking his weapon.
Vale looked at the clock.
"They're late."
The nervous man swallowed.
"They'll come."
"They better."
A tone sounded.
Everyone stopped.
The entrance scanner activated.
A voice announced:
"Private reservation approaching."
Vale leaned back.
A group entered.
Six armed escorts surrounded a single man.
The man wore an immaculate black coat.
No visible weapons.
He didn't need them.
Two artificial eyes glowed faintly beneath his hood.
Vale smiled.
"Welcome."
The man sat.
"Let's see the merchandise."
Vale's smile disappeared.
"Straight to business?"
"I dislike wasting time."
"Then you'll hate negotiating with me."
The buyer stared.
Vale slid a holographic file across the table.
"Male. Unknown identity. Exceptional physical condition. No registered implants. No identity record."
The buyer studied the data.
"Price?"
Vale named a number. 5000 meridian credits.
The buyer laughed.
"That's absurd."
Vale shrugged.
"You wanted exceptional."
"I wanted useful."
"You haven't seen him yet."
"I don't need to."
The buyer tapped the table.
"Half."
Vale leaned forward.
"Three quarters. "
"Half."
"Two thirds."
"Half."
Vale sighed.
"You people are really exhausting. But let's be clear am the one selling, my terms."
The negotiation continued.
Back and forth.
Until finally—
The buyer slammed his hand onto the table.
"Fine. We will proceed with that!"
Vale smiled.
"Pleasure doing business."
…..
….
THE UNDERGROUND: WAREHOUSE 342.
The hidden warehouse was enormous.
Rows of containers filled the chamber.
Some were marked with warning symbols.
Others had no markings at all.
Vale's men brought Jon in unconscious.
The buyer's expression changed.
"This is him?"
Vale nodded.
"That's your asset."
The buyer approached.
A scanner passed over Jon.
"Biological condition?"
"Stable."
"Augmentations?"
"None detected."
"Identity?"
"Unknown."
The buyer frowned.
"Interesting."
He turned toward his guards.
"Bring the payment."
Two men opened a reinforced container.
Inside were weapons.
Compact energy rifles.
Experimental sidearms.
A collection of advanced gadgets.
Several sealed containers of enhancement serums.
Drugs.
Medical equipment.
Devices whose purpose Jon could not possibly have understood.
The buyer gestured toward them.
"Pulse rifles."
He pointed.
"Neural suppressants."
Another container.
"Regeneration enhancers."
Another.
"Black-market interface modules."
He looked at Vale.
"And the rest?"
"Yours."
Vale nodded toward Jon.
"Then he's yours."
The buyer looked down at Jon.
Something about the unconscious man's face bothered him.
Not because he recognized him.
Because he didn't.
"Take him."
The guards lifted Jon.
The buyer turned.
"Move."
The group disappeared through the doors.
Vale waited.
Silence.
Then—
One of his men laughed.
Another opened the payment container.
Their expressions changed.
They had just made a fortune.
Vale smiled.
"Drinks on me."
One man raised his weapon.
"Already? Do you really want to do that?"
Vale stared at him hard.
"Put that down before you shoot somebody."
The man slowly lowered it.
A different crew member began arguing over who deserved the largest share.
Within seconds, the celebration became an argument.
Vale watched them.
He sighed.
"Idiots."
…
…
ELSEWHERE
Hope stood before a holographic display.
The image showed Jon.
His face.
His medical scans.
His movements.
His escape from the Banker.
…//File name: CASE X\\..
Stellar stood beside her.
Devis appeared through a communication projection.
Another figure sat quietly in the background, quietly performing her tasks.
Hope crossed her arms.
"He's telling the truth." Devis said.
Stellar looked at her.
"You're certain?" Stellar asked him.
"No."
A pause.
"But I don't think he's lying."
Devis adjusted his glasses.
"His neurological patterns support genuine memory disruption."
Hope looked at the screen.
"Then what is he?"
Nobody answered.
Stellar finally spoke.
"Something we don't understand and can't classify yet."
A warning appeared.
…./// LEVEL 3 INCIDENT \\\.
../// SECTORS 6 / 8 / 9 \\\..
Hope's eyes narrowed.
"What's that?"
Devis opened the file.
A recording appeared.
Jon.
Running.
Dodging.
Jumping.
Fighting.
Escaping.
Hope stared.
Stellar stared.
Devis went silent.
Jon's movements replayed.
Again.
And again.
Stellar whispered:
"How did he manage to get into Meridian?"
Hope's expression hardened.
"That's the question."
Devis looked at the data.
"And find out why did the city's systems flag him?"
The answer appeared shortly.
../// NO IDENTITY FOUND. /
Then:
/ BIOLOGICAL DATABASE: NO MATCH. /
Then:
/ CIVIL REGISTRY: NO MATCH./
And:
/ HISTORICAL DATABASE: NO MATCH. \\\...
Devis stopped smiling.
"That's impossible."
Hope turned toward his projection.
"Explain."
"Everyone leaves a trace. Everything has one in the Quantum Omnitrax module. That's how everything about an individual is catalogued and kept track of."
He enlarged the screen.
"Birth records. Medical records. Genetic records. Educational records. Government systems."
There was simply Nothing.
"Case X has nothing. A Quantum Ghost. Which is theoretically impossible. Uh. I can't go deeply into the topic right now."
Stellar looked at Hope.
"Then we must first find him."
Hope nodded. "I'm going."
Stellar immediately stood.
"So am I."
Hope looked at her.
"You're staying here."
"No."
"Stellar."
"He saved me once."
Hope's expression softened.
Stellar continued.
"And if he's wandering around Meridian with no idea what he's doing, he's going to get himself killed."
Devis sighed.
"I hate when you two do this. Let's all just go out together."
Hope grabbed her equipment.
"Then stay behind."
Devis looked offended.
"I said I hate it. I didn't say I wouldn't support it."
….
…
LOCATION: THE *##?##* FACILITY
A highly modified tactical vehicle descended a rocky slope.
Jon was unconscious in the back.
Through the tinted window, faint lights passed overhead.
Then the vehicle stopped.
A massive metallic gate opened.
Beyond it—
A fortress.
Not a normal laboratory.
A complex.
Towering walls.
Watchtowers. Sentinels.
Drones.
Armed soldiers.
Robotic security units.
Cybernetic attack dogs.
The vehicle passed through multiple checkpoints.
Each one scanned it.
Each one verified the personnel inside.
Jon remained unconscious throughout.
The vehicle continued deeper.
Something screamed.
Jon's eyes twitched.
A distant explosion shook the walls.
BOOM.
Another.
BOOM.
Something metallic roared.
The scientists didn't react.
They were used to it.
A massive reinforced door opened.
Inside were laboratories.
Testing chambers.
Weapon ranges.
Containment rooms.
Observation decks.
Humans strapped into machines.
Others covered in armor.
Some were barely recognizable as human.
A scientist wrote something on a tablet.
"Subject stable."
Another responded:
"Move him to intake."
Jon was wheeled through another corridor.
A security door opened.
He was placed inside a cell.
The door closed.
CLANG.
Silence.
Jon woke slowly.
His head hurt.
He sat up.
Concrete walls.
A small bed.
A light.
A camera.
Nothing else.
He touched his chest.
No wound.
No crystal visible.
Yet something felt different.
He couldn't explain it.
A speaker crackled.
"Subject classification X-"
Static.
"Correction."
A voice continued.
"New Unregistered subject."
Jon looked up.
"Where am I?"
No answer.
The door opened.
A guard entered.
"Meal."
Jon stared at him.
"That's it?"
The guard pointed.
"Move."
The dining hall was enormous.
Hundreds of prisoners sat at long tables.
Jon entered.
Conversation stopped.
Everyone looked at him.
Some stared.
Some looked away.
Some looked vicious and imposing.
Others looked completely emptyand lifeless.
Jon collected his meal.
He found an empty seat.
Nobody joined him.
He ate quietly.
And watched observing every detail.
He noticed patterns.
Food arrived at fixed intervals.
Guards rotated every few minutes.
Certain corridors remained heavily guarded.
Some prisoners were taken away.
They didn't return.
Others came back shaking.
Some couldn't walk properly.
Some were carried.
Jon watched carefully.
There were different groups.
Ordinary prisoners.
Enhanced subjects.
Weaponized humans.
Biological experiments.
Violent subjects kept separately.
Others were isolated behind reinforced glass.
Some looked physically altered.
Others looked mentally broken.
One prisoner suddenly began shaking.
His neighbor moved away immediately.
A guard arrived.
Injected something into his neck.
The prisoner stopped moving.
Jon's appetite disappeared. He wasn't even sure what was in the food.
He continued watching.
'This isn't a prison.'
He looked toward the heavily secured corridors.
'It's a factory.'
Later, a scientist arrived.
"Subject x."
Jon looked up.
He froze.
Nobody had called him that since—
He couldn't remember.
The scientist didn't explain himself.
"Subject." Jon felt the weird wording and immediately new things were not good.
Two guards entered and approached him.
Jon stood.
"Where are we going?"
"Testing."
Jon's eyes narrowed.
He quickly remembered the layout.
The dining hall.
The cameras.
The doors.
The guards.
The corridors.
He had been studying them all day since the vehicle arrived at the metallic gates.
His mind began assembling a map.
Left corridor.
Security door.
Two guards.
Maintenance access.
Ventilation.
Maybe.
He could escape.
Maybe.
He was about to test the theory—
WEE-OOO!
The facility erupted in alarms.
The walls shook.
BOOOOOOM!
Everyone stopped.
Jon looked toward the ceiling.
Dust fell.
Another impact.
The entire corridor trembled.
Guards raised their weapons.
The scientist looked terrified.
"What was that?"
Jon smiled faintly.
For the first time since waking up in this world—
Something had happened that wasn't his fault.
…..
…
LOCATION: MERIDIAN CITY. ON A ROOFTOP.
Hope tightened the final piece of her suit.
Stellar checked her weapons.
Miniature drones hovered around them.
Devis appeared on a holographic display.
"Black-market, location confirmed."
Hope looked toward the city.
"And case x?"
"No visual."
"Then we search."
Stellar pulled her helmet down.
"Where do we start?"
Devis brought up a map.
"His trail ends here."
A location appeared.
The underground.
Hope looked at Stellar.
Stellar smiled.
"Let's go."
They jumped.
The city below swallowed them.
…
…..
The Rebels entered the underground quietly.
No explosions.
No dramatic entrance.
Just footsteps.
One Underground operative approached.
"Red Queen!?"
Hope looked at him.
"We're looking for a man."
She displayed Jon's image.
"Name unknown."
The man's expression immediately changed but masked it quickly.
"We don't know him."
Hope continued.
"His captor is Vale."
Silence.
Everyone knew that name.
Hope placed a bounty on the table.
"Tell us where he is."
Nobody moved.
Then someone laughed.
"You think you can walk into our territory and—"
Hope looked at him.
"I'm not asking twice."
The laughter stopped.
The manager quickly stepped forward.
"You're the Rebels?"
Stellar smiled beneath her mask.
"Guess."
"We don't cooperate with terrorists."
Hope's expression remained calm.
"Then_ you will cooperate with the people who are about to die."
The manager still refused.
"The underground are not your servants or dogs."
"Get out. "
Hope looked around.
"Last chance. Take it."
Nobody answered.
She nodded.
"Fine."
The lights went out.
The underground erupted into blazes.
Not the chaos of rookie fights but the precision of veterans.
The Rebels moved like machines disarming and neutralizing everything they touched.
One dropped two or three underground operatives before they could raise their own weapons.
Stellar appeared behind another.
Hope crossed the room In one bound blood following her like a coat.
Three attackers surrounded her.
They were confident they had been in this for years one Rebel won't pose a threat.
Until she moved.
The confidence quickly disappeared the same way it came.
The fear gripped and carved itself into their bones immediately.
The fight was short.
Brutal.
Controlled.
No wasted movement, just one swing all over them were bleeding torrents of blood.
Not dead.
Incapacitated and unable to move. Like sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
When it ended, the underground was silent. No personnel left standing but alive.
One survivor slowly raised his hands his trembling hands.
"I'll talk. Jus..Just don..don't kill me!"
Hope looked at him.
"Where?"
He pointed toward the lower tunnels.
"Vale's people. Use that tunnel."
Hope looked at Stellar.
Stellar nodded.
"Move."
They disappeared into the darkness.
…..
And somewhere far away from the city—
Jon opened his eyes as another explosion shook the facility.
BOOM.
His restraints rattled.
He looked toward the corridor.
Something was coming.
And for the first time—
The people holding him looked afraid.