Donning A Mask

Every City has a damn legend. Mercenaries who have enough rep to make others think thrice before acting on them. Most of these 'legends' are dead and although they believed that Morgan, the one who held a rechargeable nine-shooter.

Morgan himself is dead. The thing is that no one knows if he was alive or not. He was a lone wolf. A man who could not be bothered to partner up. But I knew Morgan well enough. And in this world he left no trace and the last act he did was save this damn city. If anything I was probably the only one who knew.

His age. His face. No one knew what it was. And because of that I had to make sure that I owned his face. I knew the secret location of Morgan's gear. His duster coat. His armor and suit.

I managed to find them easily. Even his face mask that was modified to outline his skull. In the game I remembered that his suit and armor were collectible. His boots in particular had jump boosters that could support a long jump. His duster coat had the technology to blend in with any material. The best thing about him was that his modified gauntlets that could produce enough voltage to disable a person or machine.

It took me a while to steal them. Other than Morgan's gear. The rest were not to my interest since they were either locked up in a higher facility or needed money. If anything it was already cheating that I have this kind of knowledge. Well, this is the last thing that I could come up with. And Morgan's gear was the best. Not to mention that he fits well with what I want.

His N9 was my partner. And although there was some lingering guilt of using someone's identity. I still preferred Morgan's lethal and nonlethal attitude. Dealing with folks who you can subdue without killing was certainly the best.

With my fully equipped. I dare to look for the Main building of Goro's Tower. Morgan's gear is fine. It can help me when I'm in danger. But it was nothing compared to the anti-personnel module.

Morgan's gear was nothing more than an extra. Goro's Tower was said to be like a fortress. It was a high-tech fortress that no one could enter unless one had the key or the proper access codes.

But there was one thing that they didn't think of.

That someone would know the right code. I entered under the cloak of darkness. I used my hook-bracer to scale the side of the building. Once I reached a certain part of the fortress. I tore the panel. Entered the code and entered. My duster coat blended in with the metal. I followed the ventilation path.

Reaching the end of the ventilation path. I spotted a guard drinking his coffee. It was impossible to go past without alerting the guard so I switched my N9 to non-lethal and fired a bolt that struck him the moment he placed his coffee down.

With the guard down I didn't dare to waste my time. I hurried out of the corridor and followed the path I knew. They were not easily fooled, the people who were guarding, but with my muffled steps, and swift movement. I was able to get past them without them knowing.

Goro's Tower was full of Augmented and heavily armed personnel. I could probably gather enough information and data here so I plugged in a flash drive to one of their computers and infected them with a spyware of my own.

After infecting their computers I narrowed down the location. My hook-bracer's processor was far too complex. I had to make sure to follow the guided direction before finding the path that I could remember. Hooking myself to the ceiling. Dodging the eyesight of the guards and the staff of the tower.

The thing about Goro's Tower is that it was a tower with many systems and subsystems. What they didn't imagine was that someone would know the weakness. If I was less-equipped than I am right now. I would have been detected by the sensors. In the cameras I was probably blended into the background.

As I approached the center of the tower. I gaped at the large cylinder formation that was embedded in the center of the tower. Pulling myself up. I tethered on the wall and looked at the entrance. Up above this entrance was the passageway that was going to take me to the center where they kept the anti-personnel module.

I didn't waste time. I skulked to their entrance. Picked the lock and entered the master code of the tower. It was an R & D facility that specializes in creating high-tier equipment for mercenaries and military.

They pride themselves in being the number one supplier. Most folks here were innocent. Didn't think of harming them. Just sneaked past them. Entered the chamber where the anti-personnel module was and found it in a protective casing. It was a slightly forgotten relic.

A relic that could help me if I was stunned or poisoned. It was also a self-reviving device that would inject a nanite that would resuscitate my heart. I installed it on my hook-bracer and allowed the hook-bracer to integrate it with my bracer.

Of course. I know that ripping the protective casing and installing it into another module means that the fuckers here would notice. And like a beehive disturbed. The walls. The floors and even the alarms started to go wild.

I stood in the middle of it all as twenty heavily armed men pointed their guns at me. Ten on the front and ten on the back. I looked around them. It was then with a well-groomed goatee and slick middle parted hair looked down on me.

I remained standing while activating the spyware in my bracer. The man observed me and then placed both his hands on the railing where he stood.

"I have wondered who is brazen enough to infiltrate my tower. Who has so much confidence in himself that he would alert the tower? I didn't think that the day would come, Morgan."

It was the man himself. Goro Takemura. He was not so bad. A businessman, but he kept to himself and honestly he was a good friend of the mercs who would pay them. The thing is that he doesn't like it when someone does this to him.

"Goro Takemura," I said. The mask that I wore simulated the voice of Morgan. It was his digital voice. "I have invited myself in. I was in need of one of your devices."

"Morgan, Morgan, you know that you could have bought it for me. I would even give it to you for free if you would do me a favor. I didn't think that you'd be back after years or perhaps the one speaking to me is nothing more than a fake?"

I felt my bullet-time activate. The sense of danger that I felt was far better when I'm in third-person. I marked the assault drones and fired nine times before they could fire. I switched to grape shot and then fired at the last four left.

My N9 steamed as it exhausted the heat. The clock ticking in my head stopped to a halt as my vision returned to normal.

The only thing left was the drones falling down on the floor. Goro looked at the drones before smiling up to his lips.

"That infamous nine-shooter and grape shot of yours. It seems like I'm speaking to the real thing. Why appear now, Morgan?"

"Needed a module."

"I mean why now? I thought you were dead. No, I was sure that was the last time anyone noticed you. You were trying to do something big that should have ended in you dead."

"I was trying to stop a reactor from blowing High-Garden and Coleman. That's all. You should at least know that, Goro."

"So you were the one who did that, eh?"

Goro folded his arms His eyes observing the N9 that I was holding. Thing about Morgan is that he doesn't usually kill. And Goro knew it himself or at least thought that it was someone else. If he's here then that means he was close to his shareholders.

"Twelve of them are still waiting for you, Goro."

"Hmm, I know how to be peaceful. That look. That stance. And that confidence can't be replicated and if I'm wrong then you're a convincing one. But Morgan ain't the type to give his gun to just anyone. That iron of his… what a beauty. Stand Down. All of you. Unless you want to be shot dead by Mr. Morgan here, then go ahead. I'll pay you if you could, but if they do then it's none of my business. Is that okay, Mr. Morgan?"

"Enough. Tell your technician to change the Master code. And there is a panel on the side of the building that I was able to get in. I appreciate this, Goro. I was being impolite here. So how about we call it even? You will owe me for what I did for you. Lobo would have put you down."

This time Goro was sure that I was Morgan. No one knew of anything that happened other than him and Morgan. Those who knew were buried six-foot under. Goro tapped the railing and then spoke to his comms.

"Tell the systems to stand down. We have an associate here. Nothing more than a false alarm," he slid the comms back to his vest. "So are you back to working? Seeing you up here walking in my tower."

"Not active. Would like it that way. Been fine the way I've been living lately. Just that some folks seem to have forgotten my name."

"I'd spread rumors for you. If anything I am thankful for you breaking in my tower. Do not mind the drones in front of you, Morgan. They are useless if they fail so badly."

"Guess so," I holstered my N9. The security details escorted Goro to Morgan. He looked at his men and motioned them to go.

"It's nice that you aren't dead, Morgan."

"If you think that I'd die easily, then you must really have so little confidence in, Goro."

"Forgive me, you haven't been active for a year or two now. If anything I'd say that you turned straight and gave up on being a mercenary."

"I did give up. Thing is that some idiot pulled a gun on me. I need to pay some bills and now I'm here for reasons of my own."

"I'd be. Morgan himself is paying bills now. I could hire you, Morgan. I'd make you rich."

"That ain't the life I want. If you hire me as a muscle, forget it. Besides, I think I find this kind of boring life very exciting."

"You've gone soft. To think that the steely man who crushed a lot of mercs two years ago and became such a softy."

"Soft doesn't mean I'm weak. I could teach your boys a lesson if you want to. Maybe you'd like to spar, Goro?"

"Bah, I know what I am. I am a reasonable business man more than a fighter. That's why you are walking out of here after those shots."

Goro escorted me personally to his rooftop. He looked down on the side and traced his eyes to the panel that I was talking about. "I've some remodeling to do. And Mr. Morgan, if you have any business with my tower. Please come to the door normally. I'd welcome you. You saved my life once and I apologize for the test. It's loathsome for folks to steal another man's name."

"The debts settled. We are even, Goro."

"For one module? I'd take that bargain, Morgan. Don't know if it's a coincidence or not. But you yourself appear as this storm is raging. Guess things really are about to damn change for this city."

"Good luck with that new policy," I said what was on my mind as I threw myself off the building, activated my jump boosters halfway through and then swung away with my hook-bracer.

I thought to myself that this was the last time that I would make this kind of move. With my bracer fully upgraded, and my cards played. I say that I have nothing more to add. Then again, this city, as I said, have fucking things up.