129.

  "Wait, you're serious?" I said, looking at the flickering screen. The mask tilted to one side and then nodded.

  "Like I said, I know how to hurt the Sable Systems Corporation. You can beat up as many low-level thugs as you want, but you'll never actually make a dent.”

  "I'm not a thief," I said.

  "I mean, you're just stealing data. It's not quite the same thing," Hex replied.

  "What do you need this data for?" I asked.

  "You want to find those missing people, don't you?" Hex asked. "Well, Sable Systems aren't fools. Even with my prodigious skills, I can't just hack their systems and wander around freely. However, if I can get a physical drive into their systems, I can find out everything, including where and what they're doing with these people they're smuggling in. That's what you want to know, right?”

  "There's no other way?" I asked.

  "You could try and go and ask them nicely," Hex replied sardonically.

  Man, I really wanted to put my fist through that smug mask.

  "So, what am I breaking into?" I asked, and suddenly the screen changed, showing me blueprints of one of the skyscrapers in the core.

  "Ever heard of Cobalt Holdings?" Hex asked.

  I shook my head.

  "They're an international logistics and shipping company, or at least that's what they pretend to be. As far as I can tell, they handle a lot of the Syndicate's international routes. They’re the ones who are shipping the drugs and smuggling them in. And recently, they’ve started shipping people in with the drugs. Everything about their operation is somewhere in that building.”

  I looked at the blueprint nervously and lifted my balaclava to wipe my chapped lips.

  "You do know I know what you look like, right?" Hex said, and I suddenly felt foolish for standing there the whole time in a balaclava. This person knew what I watched online; of course, they knew what I looked like. I pulled my hood down and rolled the bloody balaclava off my face, wincing as the air touched the swelling on my cheek.

  "Ooh, that looks bad," Hex said.

  I touched a finger to it and cringed.

  "Yeah, I think it feels worse than it looks.”

  "You'll survive," Hex said. "You're tough. I've seen loads of your street fights. I mean, you're not very skilled, but you are very scrappy.”

  "Thanks," I said.

  “Here,” Hex said and the drone whirred next to me and a bottle shot out of its chest.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Anaesthetic spray. It will help with the pain and the swelling,” Hex said.

  I eyed the spray bottle, picking it up and turning it around in my hands.

  “Have you never seen a medical spray?” Hex asked.

  “Not in real life,” I replied. “They’re way too expensive for me.”

  “So what have you been using?”

  “Pills and ice mainly,” I said. “A couple times I’ve superglued my head together.”

  “The Boroughs really are like a third world aren’t they?” Hex said and I didn’t respond.

  I popped the top off the can after giving up on reading the complicated instructions and held it to the swollen side of my face.

  “Close your eyes and don’t breathe in,” Hex said.

  I did as instructed and then sprayed my swollen face. The relief was almost instant. The hot throbbing on the side of my face faded and was replaced with a menthol-like cooling sensation. The pain almost completely disappeared after maybe 10 seconds,

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  “Better?” Hex asked.

  “Much,” I said, looking at the bottle in astonishment.

  "So listen, I've got this entire heist planned. I just need a cat's paw," Hex said.

  "A cat's paw?" I replied.

  "Yeah, you see, back in ancient times, when there were kings and stuff, they weren't able to make overt political maneuvers against their opponents, so they would use a proxy, also known as a cat's paw," Hex explained.

  "So, am I your lackey, your sidekick, or your cat's paw?" I asked.

  "You can be whatever you dream of being, my love," Hex replied, and I rolled my eyes.

  "Now, onto business. Pay attention because I don't want to have to say this again," Hex said. "Cobalt Holdings owns the entire building. It's 47 floors, and it operates 24/7, which makes sense considering they deal with international shipping. However, at night is when they do logistics and system upgrades. They have their own in-house IT department, but it's not uncommon for them to contract out. That's how you're going to get in.”

  "Wait, what?" I said. "You want me to go undercover?”

  "How else are you going to get in?" Hex said.

  "I don't know. I mean, I've got some skills," I said, unwilling to admit that my power came from magic in front of Hex just yet. "I could sneak my way in.”

  "Unlikely," Hex said bluntly. "They've got the full works here, kid. We're talking CCTV, infrared, heartbeat scanners, biometric scanners. Whatever fancy little tricks you've got would get caught almost immediately. No, the only way you're getting into that building is through the front door, past security. Once you're in, we can worry about being sneaky."

  The droid rolled up to me, and one of its compartments fell open. Inside was a pair of black trousers, a white shirt, and a messenger bag with an ID.

  "You just happen to have this in my size?" I said.

  "Like I said, I've planned everything," Hex replied. "Security is airtight in this building. It's more impressive than government buildings. Security is well-trained, and they have protocols. Without that key card, you're not getting in anywhere, but I've managed to duplicate one of the legitimate cards. It should give you access to every floor. However, it won't hold up to any deep scans, so if they get suspicious, you're on your own.”

  "Thanks," I said.

  "Now, there'll be CCTV and facial recognition when you walk in the lobby. That's fine because nobody knows who you are, so you won't ping on any systems," Hex said.

  "Wait, I don't like the idea of the Syndicate having pictures of me," I said. "Even if they won't recognize me now, once we do pull off this job, all they gotta do is rewind the tape, right?”

  "Oh gosh, I didn't think of the recordings," Hex said sarcastically. I'm sure if the mask could, it would have rolled its eyes. "Don't worry; I'll wipe any trace of you from every CCTV storage they have. Once I'm into the network, I'll be able to do whatever I want."

  "You sure?" I said.

  "Trust me," Hex replied.

  "Oh yeah, because you seem really trustworthy," I said, but Hex continued on as if he hadn't heard me.

  "Once you're in, you'll make your way directly up to the systems room on the fourteenth floor. You'll have an earpiece that will be directly linked to me. I just need you to be normal, don't rush, don't run, don't look nervous. Just walk like you know where you're going and you've been there a million times before.”

  "Okay," I said. "But what do I do once I'm there?"

  "Be a cat's paw," Hex replied. "I literally just need you to plug this into the system." Another compartment opened in the droid's stomach, revealing a USB that looked like it was attached to some sort of hard drive. "Plug that into any computer on the network, preferably one of the main servers for speed's sake, and I'm in. I'll be able to get what we need, and then you'll get out," Hex said.

  "And how am I gonna do that?" I replied.

  "Straight back out the front door. They won't ever know you were there if you do it correctly," Hex said.

  "Just that easy?" I replied.

  "Just that easy," Hex said, and then the mask winked at me, which was rather disconcerting. "You've just got to remain cool, gutter man," Hex said.

  "Gutter mage," I corrected.

  "Why do they call you a mage, by the way? And how do you do that thing with the knuckles? I've seen you electrocuting people, but you don't seem smart enough to have figured out a breaker and battery system.”

  "You worry about your tricks, and I'll worry about mine," I said.

  "Fine," Hex replied. "Have your little secrets, gutter man.”

  “If we pull this off," I said, " you'll find out where those people are?

  “When we pull this off we'll have all of their secrets exposed, including what they're doing with those people.” Hex said.

  “And you’ll help me track them down and save them?” I said.

  “If that’s what you want,” Hex replied. “Although, I can’t guarantee there'll be anything left to save.”

  My mind flashed back to the underground sacrifice room and I shivered.

  “We have to try,” I said.

  “We will,” Hex said. “But these people just seem to disappear once they land here. I’ve scraped through all the current missing case files in the police records as well as any cases on illegal immigrants, and unidentified corpses, there’s nothing on the people coming in by boat. Where they go, or what they do with them, I have no idea. They just vanish.”

  I swallowed and remembered the ominous words of the Codex about something being summoned into this world. What if it was a trade off? These people were being sacrificed to the thing and it was trying to take their place?

  “We’ve got to find them and stop the Syndicate,” I said to her firmly. “It’s more dangerous than you even know.”

  “Then let’s not waste anytime Gutter Mage. You ready for a little corporate espionage?”

  “Let’s do this,” I said.