“I…I can turn into a new person whenever I want.
Slowly, he turned around to look at Boiled. His eyes were bloodshot and shone abnormally bright.
“Such a little girl—why can’t you just wring her neck, then snap it off for me in the bargain? Haven’t I given you enough money? Are you trying to muscle in on my deal that I have lined up? Is that it?”
“You’re talking nonsense, Mr. Shell. Try and calm down.”
“Kill her!” Shell was screaming now, just as shrill as the girl on the bed. “Kill that bitch who dares to try and pursue me!”
His words tailed off into a shriek, and he collapsed onto a sofa, shaking his head and trying to calm himself down.
“You know what you need to do, right? It’s simple enough. Right? You need to take that gun in your pocket and pump its contents right into the girl.”
Boiled nodded, silent.
“Why should I have to…that girl…always… Why…why am scared? What am I scared
Boiled didn’t know either. The memories that held the answer to these questions had been sucked cleanly out of Shell’s mind and hidden in a secret location.
Boiled looked at the woman on the bed again.
“A woman, again…” Boiled murmured in a voice too quiet for Shell to hear. There was always a woman involved behind the scenes of all Shell’s transactions. And now, this woman that was right in front of their eyes seemed to know what Shell was running from and how far he was likely to fall as a result.
The woman continued to laugh. She was enjoying herself.
≡
Boiled left Shell’s room and headed straight for the parking lot in the hotel basement.
He headed for a blue gasoline-fueled car. The windows were tinted, stopping outsiders from seeing in. He opened the door to the driver’s seat and heard a click. The trigger of a gun being pulled back. But it was more of a courtesy action than anything else.
Not even bothering to look at the passenger seat, Boiled sat down in the driver’s seat and closed the door behind him.
“How’s it going, boss?” Medium asked in a hoarse voice as he returned the firing hammer back into place.
“Fine.” Boiled stuck his keys in the ignition as he answered. Medium’s face was covered in creases.
“How’s your condition?”
“Fine and dandy, thanks for asking, boss.”
Two red lights flickered in Medium’s eyes, visible behind his sunglasses.
His face was covered in patches of slightly different colors. His hair was neatly shaved, and his shining head also revealed the odd patch of unusual coloring. One side of his head still had stitches in and was covered with layer upon layer of translucent antibacterial tape.
“What happened to your injured fingers?”
“Here.” Medium lifted his left hand, now covered in a black glove. He balled his hand into a fist, and there was a grating noise. “Makeshift electronic parts—but they should stand up okay in battle. We don’t really have the time for me to leisurely transplant a new set, do we? So, unleash me whenever you’re ready!” Medium bared his teeth. His breathing was rough, and his knees were shaking restlessly. He was just like a dog drooling in anticipation of feeding time.
“Are you on drugs?” Boiled asked.
“Just some stimulants. The aftereffects of the electricity are so bad that I can hardly use my hands and feet when I’m sober. Don’t worry, I’m used to using them. I’m not about to go flying off the handle. Anyway, more importantly, have a look at this.” Medium took a PDA-style monitor out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Boiled.
The monitor displayed a map centered around the city, with a red line showing the wake of a boat.
“This is Flesh’s legacy. Using his hacking routes, we’ve managed to penetrate both Air Traffic Control and the Broilerhouse, just as you requested. It wasn’t strong enough to track that flying egg or tell us where it landed, though.”
“We have enough for now.” Boiled folded the monitor up and returned it to Medium.
“There’s one region where boats seem to cross paths a number of times, with overlapping wakes. The route that the Broilerhouse uses.”
“You know their whereabouts?” asked Medium.
“The outskirts of the city. It’ll be a while. Get some sleep. Staying high for too long ruins your stamina,” said Boiled.
“I’ll be okay. I’m so looking forward to meeting that little kitten again that I’ll go anywhere. Just say the word. Where do you want me to attack?”
Boiled turned the key in the ignition. “Paradise.”
The engine roared to life, and Medium whooped with joy.
≡
They entered the trunk road from the northwest of Mardock City, and Medium took some capsules, prompting Boiled to murmur, without any emotion, “Heroic Pills…”
