Proxy

Author's Note

Hi Guys so this is an attempt at a mystery thriller set on a Cyberpunk Mars with a little bit of action thrown in. It?s Cyberpunk because I really need to get the cyberpunk thing out of my system and for some reason I have poor luck with Cyberpunk RPs.

Anyway read and hopefully enjoy.

EDIT: It's pretty sweary and there will be some situations that are a bit dark. Now I'm not suggesting I'm a good enough writer to genuinely offend sensibilities but if you don't like curse words, violence and "dark situations" (I hate describing things as dark but it beats gritty) this one probably isn't for you.

Proxy

?Chris? You gotta wake up pal, we don?t exactly have all day here.?

Chris Mueller stirred in his sleep before finally opening his eyes.

He had expected to be in bed so was surprised to find himself laying on a sandy beach.

?Where in the hell??

?Chris good to see you. How you feeling??

The man was standing with his back to the sun so he was difficult to identify.

?Who?s that?? Chris asked.

?Oh sorry.? The man said as he stepped out of the sun letting Chris get a good look at him. It was Chris' partner Detective David Kojima.

?Dave. What?re we doing here??

?It was your idea.? Kojima responded, he was wearing a suit and didn?t look ready for a day at the beach. Then Chris realised he too was wearing a suit.

?I don?t remember...? Chris said.

?Look Chris I gotta level with you here because we don?t have a lot of time. I need to know who you were meeting in Schumacher Tenements, earlier today. Do you remember??

?The tenements... in the city??

?Yeah. Who was it? I need the name of your informant.?

?The Tenements... yeah sure of course.? Chris got to his feet and started feeling a little less dopey. ?I was meeting with my CI Ringo. It was about Earth First they got something planned, big terrorist action.?

?Ringo.? Kojima repeated. ?That?s good, what did he tell you??

?Uh... Shit how long ago was this? I?m uh... ha, I?m having trouble remembering.?

?It?s ok Chris, just try to remember what he told you.?

?We met in a room... 17A. It was old. Ringo was already there, he looked like he was tripping on Stims.?

?He was.? Kojima interjected.

?He told me... He told they were bringing in a team, from Earth to do a big job. It?s a massive attack, we?re taking huge casualties.? Chris said as an apparition of himself and Ringo appeared on the sand beside them.

?What?s the target?? Kojima asked as he watched the phantom meeting between Ringo and Chris.

?I asked him that but it was too late.?
Phantom Ringo suddenly collapsed and vanished. Leaving the spectre Chris standing there.

?Aw fuck. I got tagged.? Chris said suddenly realising where he was.

?Yeah man.?

?How bad?? Muller asked.

?This is probably the last time I?ll be seeing you.? Kojima answered honestly.

?Oh Christ. Where?s Karen? The girls??

?They?re on the way. Look Chris I need as much detail as possible... you?re not exactly rich with time here.?

?Goddamn it. Ok.?

The beach melted away and soon Muller and Kojima were standing in Muller?s memory of Room 17A in the Schumacher Tenement. In the middle of the room Phantom Ringo and Muller were standing like statues.

?Ok so I met with Ringo and he told me.?

?They got a team coming over... Heavy hitters outta earth some Illegal Augs too. Say it?s gonna be big.?

?What is the Target?? Phantom Chris asked.

Ringo didn?t even get the words out before he collapsed although this time a body remained while Phantom Chris threw himself against the wall under the window.

?Sniper from the across the street took Ringo out and kept me pinned down. I was about to call for back up when...?
The door to room 17A exploded open in a shower of plastic and what had once been a lock. Standing in the doorway was a very tall man wearing trench coat and holding a shotgun. Phantom Chris turned around but it was too late. A shotgun blast turned his left arm into a red mist. The trench coat fired again but this time the memory stopped just as the Shotgun barrel was flaring. The result was heavily distorted image of the man firing the weapon.

?Guess that was the kill shot. That?s all I can remember, I?m not such good shape out there am I??

?Probably best you don?t remember the next part. You did well to hang in for so long.? Kojima said. ?Let me get a look at this prick.?

?Sure.? Chris said as he recalled the memory of the man who killed him. Kojima knew it wouldn?t be a perfect likeness, Chris hadn?t seen him well enough so what Kojima was actually looking was part memory and part Chris? mind filling in the gaps. For example the man was a foot taller than Kojima which probably wasn?t accurate but given the stress levels Mueller was under when during the creation of the memory it was understandable.

Kojima took a long look at the man?s eyes. Apparently it was the first thing people look at when seeing a face so he assumed the eyes were the most likely feature to be accurate. They were an unnatural shade of blue which suggested the killer had augmented eyes, possibly even replaced.

?So how long I got??

?Don?t know. The Doc?s only let me in to strap the VR rig on you so we could debrief.?

?Right. Just make sure Karen makes it here, alright??

?Of course the Medics got you stabilised, they?ll keep you ticking over. You in any pain??

?Little depersonalised. I guess that?s VR plus Phantom limb, looks like old lefty?s gone.? Chris said as he looked at his simulated left hand.

?Chris I promise you I?ll find this asshole.?

?I know Dave.?

?You want us to load a programme for you??

?Naw Karen will be ere soon and I want to get set up.?

Room 17A faded away and was replaced by the beach again except this time they were standing on a large veranda overlooking the porch. Chris was no longer in his work suit but a Dress Kilt.

?You know I think this was the day I was the happiest I?ve ever been.?

?Chris?? It was a woman?s voice that made both men turn around.

Karen Mueller was standing in her wedding dress exactly how Chris Mueller remembered her.

?Karen.? Chris said as a large smile spread across his face. He turned his head but kept his eyes on his wife. ?Dave if the debrief is over...?

?It?s over Chris.? Kojima?s words didn?t matter though Chris was already walking towards his wife.

?See you partner.? Kojima said as he watched the couple have their first and last dance for a few seconds before pulling himself out of the simulation.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and waited for the vertigo to pass. He always got it after VR. Now he was back in the real world sitting on a crappy chair beside the bedside of a mortally wounded Chris Mueller. Whoever had killed him had delivered had delivered quite a beating after they shot him twice. Mueller?s body was a broken mess or missing limbs and medical tubes.

?Fucking cowards.? Kojima muttered. On the other side of the bed Karen Mueller was connected to a VR rig and holding her husband?s hand. In their shared dream though they were dancing on the sand. Wonders of modern Technology.

Kojima left the room and gave the couple some privacy.

(To Be Continued.)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/0ap7J3tTWgk/viewtopic.php

transcendental meditation obama care miss universe canada don draper gallagher madmen james cameron