2096 SFS V ELEVATION

It wasn’t that he was afraid of heights, but he respected them. Giving that fact the palms of his hands grew slightly sweaty as he looked down at the city below. They were heading up to level four fourteen. Even at that level they were only a third of the way up the structure. It was a staggering height and an amazing scene. Kellen had never seen the city like this, and it was an amazing scene.

The early morning sun was just making an appearance over the horizon and he could see the entire city of Virginus laid out before him. There were levels upon levels of levitation traffic darting between the tall buildings below. As his eyes moved outwards the cities great sprawl abruptly ended, giving way to the great wasteland beyond. Kilometers and kilometers of endless sand. It was a land he never visited. What could there be in the world beyond that Virginus didn’t offer?

At these heights levitation traffic thinned dramatically. Hi-altitude lev vehicles were even more expensive than low-level ones and only owned by the elite and mega corps. Most of the upper levels also had restricted access where trespassers faced swift execution. A fact that troubled him as the lift just entered one of those zones.

He looked over at Alicia who shifted uneasily. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one nervous about this job. She was an excellent hacker and an even more excellent partner. She was after all the one who got them this job. She was holding a data vault and fidgeting with it. A sure sign she was definitely nervous.

“I hope that’s worth what we paid for it.” Kellen said.

“It will be. Besides if we pull this off we’ll have more than enough to get it back.” She replied. She was right. More than enough.

The doors finally opened to reveal a long dimly lit corridor. The floors and walls were all a black polished material. The corridor was at least twenty meters in length. The air was cool and fresh. Unlike the outside which was stiflingly hot.

He looked over at Alicia and nodded. She shut her eyes and he could make out a flashing light behind her eyelids. She was connecting to the buildings mainframe and installing a virus that would hopefully disable its security system. At least for the area that they were entering. The building itself had many different zones and control points. Higher security areas such as the one they were entering were hard to access. Hard to get into. But the program that they bought was created by one of the best in the city. Alicia wasn’t wrong. It cost an arm and a leg but would be worth it if it worked.

A moment later the lights in the corridor flickered. Alicia opened her eyes and smiled.

“Good?”

“Well, I didn’t get fried so…”

“Right… But you don’t know for sure?” He replied. Alicia smiled nervously. Kellen took a deep breath and stepped into the corridor waiting for something to happen. A moment went by and nothing happened.

“Didn’t think it would work did ya?” Alicia said laughing. She stepped past him and started to walk confidently down the corridor. Her footsteps echoed as she went still laughing.

“It could have been bad.” You know that. He said regaining his composure. He was actually more upset that she was laughing at him then at himself. You could never be too careful especially with a place as secure as this.

There footsteps continued to echo down the corridor as they neared the other end. A very large set of double doors stood in front of them. They were shut. Sealed tightly. Alicia went over to the side and waved her hand across the door pad. A moment later the doors heavy maglocks disengaged, and the doors slowly opened.

“See. No problem.” She said walking into the next room. He scratched his head and followed behind. Gripping the pistol on his thigh just in case. He nearly bumped into Alicia who had stopped in the door way and was looking up at something quite tall. His heart jumped as he focused on what she was looking at. Standing above them in the center of the room on a large platform was a bull. A very large one at that. It was entirely metal. Its lines surprisingly organic. Its stance was commanding. It had no facial expressions yet commanded respect. Its four legs were firmly planted on the platform in front of them and its head was held high above them. Its chest proudly on display before them.

“How the fuck are we going to get that out of here?” Alicia suddenly blurted out. They had come for a bull. They just didn’t realize that it was going to be so massive.

“That can’t be it. He said it could fit in a small case.” Kellen stated.

“Yeah… well.” Was her reply. They looked around the room which was as bare as the corridor. Its walls and floor the same highly polished surface. There were slits of white light that ran along the rooms circumference but the gave off only a little bit of light. Even though it was quite dark, there was more than enough to see. The only other thing in the room was a long sleek desk on the far side of it.

“Let’s check there.” Kellen said. Alicia nodded and headed towards the other side of the large room.

He started to follow behind her when he suddenly saw something move. He quickly pulled his pistol from his holster and swung around only to find nothing there. He looked over at Alicia who was looking at him worried. A moment later he shrugged and lowered his weapon.

“Thought I saw something.”

“Your jumpy today… The rooms offline in case you forgot.” She said mockingly. She laughed and turned back towards the desk.

Kellen turned back towards the desk when this time he heard a noise. It was quiet but he could just make out the creaking of something metallic behind him. He quickly turned and trained his pistol only to still find nothing there. He couldn’t be loosing it. He wasn’t jumpy like Alicia had said. He saw and heard something. But what? Perhaps there was something in the corridor? No. It couldn’t be. The door was shut tight. There was literally nothing else in the room. Perhaps he was losing it.

It was then he noticed something. Something out of place. Something different. It was hard to make out. It was a subtle difference. But he finally realized what it was.

“Alicia…” He said getting no reply. “Alicia!” He said louder getting her attention.

“What?”

“What did the bull look like when we entered? Didn’t it have all of its feet on the ground?”

“I believe so.”

“I believe so isn’t good enough. I would really like you to think about it…. Also wasn’t its head straight up?” He asked. Alicia thought for a moment before she responded.

“It was. I just played it back.” Alicia had an internal com suite in addition to all of her hacking augmentations. She played back what she had seen when they entered.

“You’re sure?”

“I am.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” He looked at his pistol and sighed as the bull suddenly jumped to life. It snorted and turned towards him. Its eyes were now fierce slits of blue light. Its metal body moved as an animal would. He was just able to summersault out of the way as the bull jumped off of its large platform towards him. Its large feet hit the floor with resounding thuds. “I thought the room was off line!”

“It is! It must be on an independent system!” Alicia yelled ducking behind the desk. “I cant find a remote link, so I can’t hack it!” The bull stomped both of its front feet on the floor and jumped towards Kellen, just missing him as he dodged out of the way.

“This isn’t good!” He yelled as he jumped to his feet and fired at the bull. His round hitting it and ricocheting into the ceiling. The bull lunged towards him and its long horns just missed him. The bull slid and slammed headlong into the wall with a thud. Its massive horns sinking into the buildings heavy structure. The sheer weight of the impact damaged the wall and pieces crumbled and fell to the ground.

Kellen fired at it again. The round ricocheting off of its metal epidermis like the last one. The bull pulled its horns out of the wall and turned back towards Kellen. It snorted and slammed its front feet onto the floor. It bellowed a thick cloud of white smoke which turned and iridescent blue. For a moment Kellen forgot his life was in danger, but he quickly snapped out of it as the bull charged him. Kellen turned and jumped behind the only cover that there was in the room. The bulls platform. He looked up and saw the bulls belly as it lunged over him. The bull landed and slid towards the wall. It turned itself so the full weight of its body slammed against the wall.

The wall cracked and more pieces fell onto the floor. He looked over at Alicia who was behind the desk. It was then he had an idea. He saw his chance and ran towards her. Her expression changed as he ran straight towards her.

“Not over here! What are you doing?” She cried and held up her hands. From behind him he heard the bulls feet clang on the floor as it charged.

“Get down!” Kellen yelled at a very surprised Alicia. Her eyes widened as he aimed his pistol towards her and fired. She jumped as the shots flew past her and hit the wall behind. He slid under the desk and knocked her over just as the bull jumped through the air. She fell on top of him and looked over as the bull hit the wall. This one however was not like the rest. The bull hit the wall and it shattered. It was glass. The room filled with blinding sun light as the glass broke into pieces. The bull quickly turned and tried to get traction but to no avail. The floor was too slippery and its momentum to great. It slipped over the side and fell to the depths below letting out a fierce cry as it did.

“You ok?” He asked Alicia who was on top of him clenching tightly.

“I am. Yes.” She replied and stood back up. He walked over to the edge of the building and peered down. There was a large amount of lev traffic, and the height was staggering. His hands grew sweaty and he stepped back looking over at Alicia. She had a sad look on her face.

“What wrong? Were alive.”

“Yes. But there goes our payday.” She said. He thought for a moment and looked at the large base that the bull was on. He walked over and slid his hand over the top of it.

“Maybe not.”

It only took her a moment to access the bases control panel. The top opened up and a smaller case appeared. The case was only a fraction of the size of the base. There in the middle was another metal bull. It was also metal like the guardian. But unlike the guardian which was a sleek black this one was inlaid with intricate gold detailing. It was not large by any account. Measuring only ten centimeters in size. That was the bull they were looking for.