It was a horrific affront to everything the Kittens used to stand for, seeing the Zerx logo painted all over their headquarters. The horrible, neon green Z done up in 'fancy' font made me want to retch.

Even worse, actual Zerx members were hanging around the building, doing all sorts of unsavory stuff. My guess that they were openly dealing was only confirmed when I saw a few people approach, talk to some particularly self-important gangers, and then walk away with baggies filled with sparkly drugs.

I actually didn't recognize what they were getting. Some new trash that had made its way to the slums, probably. But that didn't make me feel any better about the situation.

Were the Kittens perfect? Fuck no. They, I mean we, were still a gang. Gangs didn't step into power and stay there without getting involved in at least some shady stuff.

But were they — we — freely letting poison swamp the local community? At the risk of repeating myself, fuck no!

What really struck me, however, was how disorganized this group was. They all wore the Zerx symbol somewhere on their person, mostly on their jackets, but this clearly wasn't a proper unified gang. This was a bunch of lowlifes held together by pure greed, along with the desire to have some backing whenever they felt like terrorizing the other slum locals.

I could spot the divides easily. Groups of all sizes stuck together, obviously much closer with each other than they were with the rest of the idiots. I was reasonably certain that the Zerx had swallowed most of the smaller gangs, if only because their members still hung out in clumps and eyed the other Zerx wearily.

Honestly? If I could get an outfit that fit in a little better, I probably could have just walked past them all and into the former Cattery, unopposed.

I wasn't in a hurry to discard my nice clothes, though.

Besides, I used to be one of the Kittens. I knew the HQ much better than the majority of these idiots ever would. So, turning away, I meandered towards one of the more subtle entrances into the building.

Less than a minute later, I was eyeing up a guard that looked more alert and aware than a typical Zerx. He also happened to be standing watch in front of a door I knew led to an underground entrance to the Cattery.

"I'm going to be focusing up now, love. Sorry if I go quiet on you," I muttered to Amelia in a hurry, suddenly realizing I had already been silent for a while.

"I get it. Don't worry about me. Go get 'em, hon!" Amelia cheered.

A smile twitched onto my lips as I called on Stealth.

My form blurred and faded into the shadows of the alley, my claws coming free of my fingers as well. I flexed my fingers, enjoying the way they obeyed me perfectly, and angled my approach so I would creep up on the guard from the corner of his vision.

Even with Stealth, my passage did leave some small traces. They were mostly just subtle shimmers in the air, and they wholly fooled cameras and all technological scanners, but a naked eye could still catch them if the owner was observant enough.

Thankfully, this guard was not particularly observant.

Another step forward, an Essence-infused flash of my claws, and the Zerx slumped over, desperately grabbing his own throat. Just to be safe, I sheared my claws through the back of his neck as well, feeling the exact moment they passed through his spine. Then I shoved him aside like so much useless meat.

Taking a moment to make sure my Stealth was still fully up and running, I pushed the door open.

"Oi! James, you fuck, why'd ya open the door?" shouted one of the four Zerx on the inside.

Three of them were seated at a grimy plastic table, playing a card game. The one who had shouted stood up and squinted at what appeared to be an empty doorway, but the outside guard was nowhere to be seen. Since the door opened outward, 'James' was concealed pretty well for the moment.

I moved stealthily forward while the guard cursed and started heading for the open door. Just as he was about to pass me, my hand shot out. The startled rasp of breath leaving him through the newly opened gouges in his throat was kind of eerie, to be honest.

"The fuck?!"

"Something's here!"

Two of the previously disinterested guards squawked and jumped to their feet. My body had briefly flickered into static vision. From the grimaces on their faces, that vision had hit them with the beginnings of a nasty headache, which I was thankful for. It kept them distracted, making them slow to react as they raised their guns and started scanning the room.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

This gave me just enough time to slip further into the shadows of the dimly lit and unkempt space. Really, my biggest challenge was sneaking through all the trash, mostly unhealthy vendor food wrappers, without giving away my position.

The fourth guard, meanwhile, was struggling to rise from the heap of trash he'd been half passed out in, his eyes blurry and unfocused. He was clearly in the throes of one drug or another. Maybe even a mix of them.

I went straight for him. Without hesitation, I used one hand's claws to swipe through his neck and the other, with extra Essence infused into it, to mutilate his face. I had no idea why, but the sight of his eyes glistening with his addiction was sickening to me.

I regretted my decision instantly when my claws got coated in the disgusting mix of blood, viscera, and whatever other liquids are contained in human eyes. The gurgling of their fellow also alerted the two remaining guards to where exactly I was. They spun around and recklessly opened fire at the sight of their dying compatriot.

Had I not decided to call on Clairvoyance just moments prior, that could have been bad.

As it was, I'd moved ahead of their shots, letting them riddle the poor druggie with bullets that hastened his demise. The sadistic desire to play around with them, which I'd almost missed while just letting it lead me around, vanished at the sight of one guard fumbling to take a small scroll out of his jacket pocket.

I surged forward, leaning heavily on my much improved physical stats, and lashed out. I relished the way my claws sliced right through the metal, plastic, flesh and bone, ruining both the scroll and the guard's hand. My next slice rid him of his other hand. Then I launched myself at the final idiot, who was now desperately trying to sight a shot that would get me while sparing his friend.

He failed to find the right angle before I ended up on top of him. Then he had the distinct displeasure of drowning in his own blood once I opened up his throat.

When all was said and done, I was more than happy with how the encounter had gone. Doubly so since the idiot whose hands I'd rendered useless was busy whimpering and ugly sobbing while trying to crawl away from me, rather than screaming for help.

"Nah uh uh, none of that," I drawled.

I dropped Stealth, letting myself fade into view while pressing my boot into the small of his back and pinning him in place.

"We need to have a quick chat, you and me. No screaming, no lying, and maybe I'll let you go when we're done." I lied, you know, like a liar. "It's not like I care whether you live or die, and you're not that likely to bleed out with just those injuries."

When I eventually left the fading man behind to try and stumble to his feet before somehow forcing the door open, none of which he could possibly achieve, I no longer had a smile on my face.

According to him, the Zerx had thoroughly infested the slums.

They'd taken over the territories previously owned by the Kittens, the Reapers, and another three major gangs, all while aggressively recruiting from the ranks of the downtrodden and the desperate. Apparently, having a rage boner for drugs, violence, and the torment of anyone weaker than you made you prime recruit material in the eyes of the Zerx.

I was hardly shocked, but having confirmation didn't make me particularly happy.

The gang's expansion had stopped abruptly, but by that point, they owned a quarter of the slums. Doesn't sound impressive? Well… Zanos was a massive city. It had to be, to house so many people and all its various discriminatory districts. That meant the slums were massive, too.

Honestly? With how far they'd spread already, the Zerx could roll over the rest of the slum gangs with impunity. There was no way all the other idiots were going to stop feuding over stupid shit, even if the Zerx threat was obvious. And without banding together, they stood no chance.

"That's… not good, right? The stuff that guy just told you?"

"Yeah." I sighed, forcing myself to focus on the ladder I was currently descending. "It's not good at all. There's something else, too."

"Oh?"

"The drugs."

"I thought gangs are all about drugs?"

"Well, the Kittens weren't, but you're not exactly wrong. The fact that they're leaning so heavily into narcotics isn't really what's bothering me, though."

"Then what is it?"

"It's just… where are they getting this much stock, Amelia? The slums aren't rich, in anything. Sure, gangs like to produce their own stuff if they can, and they're happy to distribute, but that's just it: they're producers and distributors. That idiot made it sound like the Zerx go through tons of the shit themselves, and they have enough left to sell? With how many members they've got now, that just…"

She was silent for a long, tense moment. "You think someone's helping them."

"I just… The last time this many drugs flooded the slums, it was… well…"

"It was my father funding Mak in order to completely send the slums into chaos."

"Well… yeah."

Neither of us said anything for a little while. I focused fully on my Stealth and dropped down into the tunnel that would lead directly into the former Kittens HQ. The tunnel, at least, had been kept relatively clean. I'd half expected the guards to have dropped the majority of their trash down into it, but they must have been under orders not to be that stupid.

The gloomy tunnel was lit just enough to provide visibility for regular people with no cybernetics. Me? I had clear sight all the way to the end, where another two guards lurked in front of the door that would admit me into this regional Zerx HQ.

Even just thinking the words made me shudder.

"They were angry to be left out of the slave trade," Amelia said quietly. "You think they reached out to potential backers to fix that? Like… my father, maybe?"

"It's certainly possible. I mean, he's still not answering Patch's calls and messages, is he?"

There was genuine trepidation in Amelia's voice now. "No, he's not. But, if he's supporting the Zerx, then…"

"Then they might be more dangerous than this rabble would suggest," I hissed, narrowing my eyes at the guards.

They hadn't noticed me yet, which gave me more than enough time to really take them in. Their outfits were nothing to write home about, all slum-shabby and worn. Their guns, though… I hadn't paid attention before, but those looked rather new. New and fancy. Far newer and fancier than slum dwellers, even gangers, should have been able to get.

Suddenly, I thought way back, to the first Zerx attack I'd weathered with the Kittens. I remembered the heavy duty equipment they'd brought, complete with a trained netrunner. I cursed.

Even back then, the Zerx had more support than any of us realized.

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