Chapter 14 - Escape

"BAM!!!"

The boulder immediately shattered into powder as the Enforcer's body flung sideways, legs digging heavily at the tiled ground, rupturing them until he collided with the wall, creating a human shaped dent in it.

Everything happened so fast that not even three seconds had passed. It was at this point the other enforcer, Perty was able to react.

"Leader!"

The dust from the shattered rock clouded everything within sight. Perty's pupils lit up as he activated his augmented thermal vision.

Before he could do anything though, the dust swirled like a whirlpool as a fist wrapped around by heavy chains tore through the fog, slamming against his chest.

Instantly, Perty's intermediate-level military defensive program activated. The ordinary enforcer crossed his two hands in an X-shape manner.

"Bam!"

The fist collided against the crossed arm, there was only a momentary pause as the standard grade gorilla arms implant tried to resist. But 2 points of strength can't hold 2.6 points of force.

The fist pushed the crossed arms backwards, slamming it against his chest before blasting the enforcer, forcefully away to the wall!

While cyber-enhancements are great, they could also act as a beacon and a weakness the enemy could easily exploit!

"Bang!"

The enforcer was felt like a grasshopper trying to stop a moving train. He was hammered backwards like a baseball with a baseball bat.

Heavy reverberations shot through to his entire muscles and internal organs as his back collided with the wall nearby.

Blood spilling from the corners of his lips. Perry couldn't help but be stunned and then he chuckled bitterly.

He wasn't even able to last a single move against a street punk even after the standard grade cyberware and bio-shards installed in his cyber deck.

Within the dust-ridden atmosphere of the interrogation room, two red glowing pupils tore through duty fog, illuminating the entire room.

The ground seem to groan and the walls shook as a figure slowly walked out. A whirling mechanical sound echoed from this figure as he took a step forward.

Instantly, the surrounding dust ands debris seem to have received some sort of order, they instantly dropped down as though the gravity within that room had decreased considerably!

The figure was finally revealed. It was the captain!

Currently, his face was covered with a black sleek helmet, accurately fitted against his face.

His skin suddenly buzzed with a humming sound. The patterned lines accurately splitting his skin from his neck down to his muscular thighs lit up with micro-led as electricity cackled within the atmosphere and power surged within him.

"He-he." A cold smirk tattooed against his lips and in the next second, the surrounding air contorted and warped, coalescing against a single person.

"Boom!"

They instantly exploded as though shot back by an air cannon! The NCED captain instantly turned to blur of shadow.

Michael's heart pounded rapidly as he blasted through his fourth door, destroying it by its hinges. The metallic door was only one shy away from being knocked away.

As the metal door opened, numerous eyes instantly focused in the direction of the door and their rowdy voices of discussions died down like a wilted flower.

Silence invaded the atmosphere. Seeing more than 20 Enforcers staring at him, Michael felt his heart skip at least 2 beats! He couldn't help but skid to a halt!

Goosebumps rippled through his skin and his scalp tingled. His eyes suddenly flashed and he let out a relaxed smile at the Enforcers.

He gently began walking towards the exit, nodding his head sometimes at the officers looking at him with stunned expressions while not daring to pass through their midst, he followed the longer route, around them.

"Isn't that the guy captain personally brought in?"

Just as he was 5 meters away from the door, a voice spoke with uncertainty.

"It could be that the captain let him out, right?" Another officer with a cup of Techtonic in his hands relayed his speculation.

"Not likely, street punks never leave here that intact , unless they are trying to escape."

Michael's face darkened when he heard this. He didn't think the words on the streets about the Enforcers zeroing(1) people like him were actually true.

Once caught, they might as well forget about living. The things done here to people like him here are incredibly cruel.

He was right, they actually didn't plan to let him go. The rules doesn't apply for a SINless(1) (2) streetpunks like him. If he doesn't escape now, he should forget about escaping ever again.

"All stations, stop what you're doing and stop that rat!" Deputy captain Perty holo image lit up at the center of the office and his voice echoed through out the entire hall!

With a low growl, Michael burst into a full powered sprint. Leaving the range of the interrogation room equipped with Electro-dampener, his Neuro-interface immediately came back online.

Without hesitation, he immediately activated its 3d Map Sensory Interface. A real-time rudimentary map filled with faint red dots, grey-colored lines as well intense blur around the map seemly descended from above, surrounding him.

With him as the center, countless red dots crowded the map like ants, giving one the feeling of being locked in a cage together with a park of wolves!

"Don't let him escape!"

"Catch him!"

"He-he! Kids' got guts. He actually dared to escape the Precinct."

At that moment, the various Enforcers pounced at Michael. Some even unequipped their standard issued weapons, pointing it at the fleeing street rat.

Fingers on the trigger, they fired!

1) SIN:Single (or System) Identification Number. An ID number unique to each citizen. Many streetpunks (Netrunners, derelicts) are said to be "SINless".

SIN Card: A registered citizens universal ID card. It functions as a combination ID card, driver's license, medical data, organ donor, residence, and ATM card, all in one. Losing this card can have serious side effects for the owner.

SINless: someone without a SIN. See Blank. This makes them unknown (non-existent) to the system. It allows them to move about in society more freely than a "recorded" citizen, but also allows the enforcers of society (police and corp. security) to punish/abuse them without due process since, technically, they "do not exist."

SINner: An honest citizen, ie. one who has a SIN. A corporate employee.

2) Zeroing: Killing!