The Prometheus Trap: A Gripping Cyberpunk Thriller (The New Prometheus Book 3) - PAPERBACK

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3.01

Hellion kicked open the door, breaking the lock with a splintering of fake wood. The door banged against the wall as she stepped into the corridor and looked left and right. Plush carpet lay along a well-appointed hallway with an office worker several metres away on her right, staring at her. The young man had stopped in his tracks, probably surprised from Hellion’s violent entrance, and now stared open-mouthed at her, his eyes wide with confusion and fear.
She checked the map in her HUD, noting with amusement that the office she wanted to visit would take her past the shocked man to her right.
She turned towards him and strode down the corridor, leaving behind the fading sound of idling engines on the roof. Their flyer would be safe up there, for the time being, guarded by the rest of her team. She’d only brought two of them with her. Bringing everyone would be overkill on a mission like this.
Besides, she just wanted to get it done. This was the third one of these in as many days. The Nano Liberation had caused people to grow a backbone and stand up against the corporations. Publicly, the corporations were saying how great it was that the G6 had brokered this deal with them, but Hellion knew the truth.
The corporations were pissed. All of them, including Psytech, her current employer, were dealing with the aftermath. They were trying to shore up their position and consolidate their power, often with a show of force to act as a reminder.
She approached the young man ahead, who looked her up and down, probably wondering what she was doing dressed like this in a government building.
She wore her usual stealth suit: a shiny black skin-tight affair with a high-tech smart-armour polymer that was soft and pliable until it was hit with force. It then hardened to deflect the damage and protect the wearer. It also had numerous other inbuilt systems that protected her in other ways. The fact that it looked like some kind of fetish outfit, tickled her sense of humour. She enjoyed the reactions she often got from people when they saw her in it for the first time, like this guy, who was enjoying the view while also being scared out of his wits.
She pulled her gun as she passed him and decorated the wall with his brains.
She didn’t slow down, she didn’t give the idiot a second look or thought, she just kept right on walking.
Her enhanced hearing could hear shouts. They were the sounds of scared people wondering what was going on after hearing the gunshot.
Chaos.
She always enjoyed spreading a bit of chaos whenever she had the chance.
-Keep me updated on any inbound police,- she sent through the neural link she had with her team, speaking mainly to Frak, her team's hacker who was with the flyer on the roof.
-Copy that,- Frak sent back, his voice coming through loud and clear directly into her head
She soon found what she was looking for, and walked up to a set of double doors. The plaque on them read “The Office of the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Russian Federation.” The Cyrillic text was embossed into the gold, and Hellion could read it easily, her cyber brain translating it instantly.
Getting frustrated with all the closed doors, she lifted one heeled boot off the floor and kicked it open with a loud bang.
The office beyond fell silent at the noise, the workers looked over as Hellion walked in, followed by her two team members.
She knew where she would find her target and kept on walking.
“Guarding the door,” Venal—one of her two teammates—said through their link and planted himself in the doorway.
Most of the employees stayed where they were and just watched. A few turned away, keeping themselves busy, but a couple approached, with indignant looks on their faces. The first, a young woman in a skirt suit, wearing glasses, stepped out into the aisle before her.
“Hey. Excuse me…” she said.
Raising her gun Hellion put a hole through her head.
People screamed, one man close by fainted, and everyone backed away from her.
Good, just the effect she was after, she thought as she approached the glass-fronted office up ahead. She could see her target, Anastas Utkin, standing behind his desk, frowning at the commotion outside. She smiled at him as her eyes met his. It took him a moment to realise what was happening, but he suddenly seemed to understand and started to rummage around under his desk. Hellion kicked the door to his office open and strode over just as he managed to free the gun from whatever it had been attached to. Clumsily, he tried to bring it to bear on her.
Grabbing the gun, she pointed it away and twisted it in his hands. It went off once as she pulled it from his grip, discharging harmlessly into the wall. She heard the crack of bone from his finger as she ripped it from his hands.
The Minister fell into his chair with a wail of pain. Hellion examined the pistol, turning it over in her hand and ejected the magazine before pulling the slide, letting the chambered round pop out onto the floor.
“A Zima P-11, with armour piercing rounds. Nice. This might have actually done me some damage, you know,” she said as she tossed the gun to his desk where it landed with a dull thud. She threw the magazine to her teammate, where she stood in the door, guarding the office.
Wildkat caught the magazine, glanced at the bullets it held and whistled. “You meant business with this, didn’t you?”
Hellion waited to see how he would react or what he might say.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Surely that’s obvious?” she said. “You have been opening your big mouth, telling the President that organisations like my employer no longer have any hold over you or him now that the nanobots have been liberated. I’m here to re-educate you.”
“You’re from… Psytech? Duplex?”
“Does it matter? Needless to say, we’ve not gone anywhere. Just because some terrorists have liberated the world’s nano doesn’t mean we’re suddenly powerless.”
“Okay, yeah, sure. I understand.”
“But do you?” she answered him, eyeing him with suspicion.
“Absolutely, of course, I don’t know what came over me. You can rely on me.” He forced a smile on his face.
-Hellion, we have a couple of Deputy Ministers out here,- Wildcat said through their link.
She turned to see the two men standing outside, looking scared but concerned. “Come in, gentlemen. First Deputy Minister Naoumov and Deputy Minister Petrov, you should be witness to this,” she said as they walked in. “I was just explaining to Anastas here the value of loyalty and of not forgetting who you are dealing with. Psytech doesn’t take kindly to betrayal, isn’t that right, Anastas?”
“Yes, of course,” he said, his voice shaky. “I would never…”
Hellion cocked her head slightly to one side. “Good,” she said and shot him through his forehead.
“Holy shit,” said the First Deputy Minister just beside her. She turned to him as he stared at the man she’d just killed. His eyes flicked up to her. She could see genuine fear there, and tears starting to form.
“What about you?” Hellion asked.
“You… you can trust me…” he said, terrified.
“No, I can’t.” She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, put her gun under his jaw, and fired before dropping him to the floor.
Beside her, the other Deputy Minister stood silent, doing his best to look composed and calm. He was clearly nervous and barely managed to keep his eyes fixed on some kind of middle distance, refusing to look at the carnage all around him.
Hellion smiled. “Minister Petrov,” she purred. “Psytech thanks you for your support and for alerting us to Anastas’ change of heart. You’re next in line of succession, I believe, to take over this Ministry? I trust you will do a great job.”
“Absolutely Miss…”
“My name is unimportant. Just never forget the lesson you learnt today. I’d hate to have to return.”
“You won’t,” he answered.
“Excellent.”
She walked out and back through the office. This time, no one challenged her, no one got in her way, and most people just did their best to look busy and not attract any attention. Just the way she liked it. She was soon back in the corridor with Venal and Wildkat just behind her when Frak’s voice sounded in her head again.
-I have an incoming link from Psytech. Would you like me to route it through to you?-
-Go ahead,- she said as she walked.
-You’re connected,- Frak said.
-Hellion here,- she said, guessing it would be her employer, checking up on her.
-Hellion,- the voice said. It was Marissa. -I trust the mission is going well?-
-It’s done. There should be a little less resistance from the Russian Ministry from now on.-
-Perfect. I have another job for you. Come to London, we should meet to discuss it.-
-Of course,- Hellion said, and the link ended.
Neo-London, she thought, civilisation at last. She’d been out here in the remnants of the Russian Federation for so long she’d started to wonder if she’d ever return to a modern city again.
It had been a while since she had visited the UK. This would be fun.