"I'm done waiting, Chris." Salem asked without preamble, barging into the black market weapon dealer's office. "What's the progress?"
"Hello, Mr. Vagh." Christakis Schinis replied, his smile strained. "We already have thirty ready for use. While the components aren't as high quality as Ymir used, they'll get the job done. You wanted them quick and dirty, remember?"
When Salem didn't reply, sweat trickled down the old man's forehead. His fidgeted under the gang's leader's icy, remorseless gaze. After the lesson he'd taught a rival gang, slaughtered to the man, none dared cross him. Salem enjoyed the terror his Angra Armlet caused in others.
It won't be long before they rescued their fellows in police captivity. He'd already recovered nine of his men after the police forced them to scatter. While better than expected, it was woefully short of the Niflhel's full strength.
"Always happy to serve! You pay me, and I'll get anything done." Schinis replied with some professional pride.
"Good. Load them in the truck and…" He paused as his lieutenant Haken barged into the room.
"Boss, we have a problem." The big man said. "It's the police. They've tracked us here."
"What?" The arms dealer's eyes widened in alarm, scooping up his laptop, eager for a quick escape.
"Persistent bastards. Are the Valkyries with them?".
"Hard to say. But dozens of heavily armed officers are outside." Haken replied. "At least three SWAT squads."
Selim offered a curse. He'd foolishly believed this old, abandoned office building on the outskirts of Bifrost was an excellent hiding spot. They'd been so careful to avoid being seen.
"They aren't giving us anywhere to run," Salem muttered, eyeing his Uhyre key with reverential awe as he played with it. His face extended in a manic smile. "Good, I like a challenge. I'll buy us some time. A few dozen dead cops should draw those winged rats' attention, wherever they're hiding. In the meantime, pass out the Angra Armlet. Won't the Valkyries be surprised when an army of monsters appears from nowhere to tear out their throats?"
Besides, he'd learned a few tricks the days he'd been hiding away. Those damn Valkyries would pay the cost of humiliating him. If he was lucky, the carnage would also draw Fenrir's attention. Today would be a wonderful day!
---
"Here." Paul Davidson passed Rebecca a cup of tea, who nodded in thanks. Its aroma stirred her lagging brain, already perking her up. She'd been up the entire night working on the stolen data from Ymir.
"You still can't crack what this Surtur computer is working on?" Davidson asked.
"No." Rebecca sighed deeply. "Why Ymir needs this insane amount of financial data is beyond me. To best undercut the competition? Why? They're already a top leader in the tech sector by a large margin."
"You'll figure it out." Davidson gave her an encouraging smile. "You're a bright young lady." After giving a polite nod, he retreated from the room, leaving the hacker alone. Red light seeped through the blinds of the windows, indicating it was almost daybreak.
A deep yawn escaped Rebecca's lips as she fought back her exhaustion, sipping at her drink. Thankfully, it was prepared normally, and not sugary like how the older man preferred. Her teeth still arched from that coffee's painful sweetness. "It's getting late. Should I turn in? I'd be a waste of caffeine." She was a night owl by trade, giving her strange sleeping hours. The Boss used to chastise her for her poor sleeping habits, but she couldn't help herself. It often left her alone, but Rebecca didn't mind.
No, that wasn't true. The mysterious skeleton girl also stayed up at odd hours, though not by choice. They hung out sometimes, but Rebecca usually stayed by herself. A bad habit, she supposed.
"I could change that." Rebecca knew several places they could hang without drawing too much attention to themselves. Besides, after three days stuck in one place, she needed an escape.
"Why not?" Rebecca wasn't any closer to cracking the puzzle and wasn't ready to sleep, anyway.
Before she could leave for Yareli's room, Rebecca's phone buzzed. She groaned as she read the caller ID. It was the last person she had any interest in speaking to. But her mom would give her hell if she didn't answer.
"Hello, Mom."
"Up late again?" Her mother replied. "It isn't healthy, Becca."
"Yes, Mom."
"You never call. I'm worried about you. Are your online classes going well?"
"As well as expected," Rebecca replied, meaning straight A's as usual. In between her more extra-legal activities, Rebecca was working on her Security Engineer's degree. Her mother had offered a more hands-on program through her workplace. But Rebecca rejected it, wanting to earn things through her own effort.
"That's good." Rebecca's mom paused for a moment, her voice becoming worried. "Becca, I know you enjoy living alone, but I was wondering if you would be interested in staying in my penthouse for a couple days."
"Why?"
"Bifrost is becoming more dangerous. I think you need to stay somewhere a little safer. At least for a while."
"I'm fine, Mom. I can take care of myself." Rebecca replied with some irritation.
"Okay, I'm just worried." Rebecca's mom replied. "Just be careful. Ymir will always be here to protect you if you need it."
"Ymir, sure." Did her mom know something? Probably. Jessica Lauper was the company's Chief Strategy Officer, after all. If anyone knew Ymir's dirty secrets, it was her. A nasty accusation almost spilled from her tongue, but Rebecca held it back.
After an awkward pause, her mother continued. "Just stay safe out there, okay? And get some sleep. At least eight hours, alright?"
"Okay." Rebecca rolled her eyes.
"Night, Becca." Her mom said in a quiet voice before hanging up.
"Is everything alright?" Yareli asked, entering the room. "Who were you talking to?"
Stupid Yareli and her sharp hearing. Rebecca released her held tension and sighed. Her problems were her own. Yareli didn't deserve her anger.
"It's only my mom." Rebecca gave a weak smile. "We don't always have the best relationship."
"At least you know yours," Yareli replied. "I never knew mine."
Well yeah, the amnesia. "Is that a memory? Johan told me you remembered something about your past."
"It might be," Yareli said after a hesitant pause.
"Hey, it's a start," Rebecca replied, pleased her friend had regained some of her past. "What about your father? Can you remember anything about him?"
After a moment's thought, Yareli shook her head. "No, nothing."
"Give it time." Rebecca offered her friend an encouraging smile. "That you're getting memories back is a good sign!"
"I suppose."
"Say, how about we go somewhere? We can talk more there." Johan was always a late sleeper, and Rebecca doubted he'd enjoy being pulled from bed before sunrise.
"Where? I'm not arguing against it, but Ymir is still searching for us."
"Don't worry. It isn't a place they'll easily find us." Rebecca stretched her sore legs. "Besides, I have you to protect me."
"We can check up on Samuel, too," Yareli said, nodding. Their injured Jotnar was still recovering in the back alley hospital. He'd welcome a visit from some friends.
"We'll be taking the van. No offense, but you're very noticeable."
"No argument from me, but we're loading my bike in the back, just in case. Where are we going, anyway?"
Rebecca loaded her laptop and other tools into her bag, its cute koala face smiling at her. "It's a dive called the Data Pirate's Den. A friend there might help us with the data we stole from Ymir. I'm not sure if I can solve this alone."
"Sounds like a plan."
---
"You didn't have to come along, Samuel," Rebecca said, annoyed. She'd wanted to spend some alone girl time with Yareli. "Dr. Ashens said you need rest."
"No way," Samuel replied. "I'm not letting you go into some seedy bar without backup."
"It's fine." Yareli sighed, realizing arguing was useless. "We might as well stick together."
Despite his obvious pain, Samuel appeared enthused, pleased he was free of the back alley hospital. Rebecca wasn't the only Jotnar getting stir-crazy.
"Good. After the crap we've gone through, we need a drink."
"It's eight in the morning," Rebecca said.
"It's not like I'm driving," Samuel said with a shrug.
"Fine." If Yareli had eyes, she'd be rolling them. But after getting him involved in her battle against Ymir, she owed him this small indulgence.
"When you called this place seedy, I was expecting someplace more rundown," Yareli said as they drove up to a swat rectangular building. An enormous sign displaying its name shone with colorful neon lights, the D in the second word flashing out of sync with the others. The place appeared well maintained and clean—from the outside, at least. There wasn't a single cracked window in sight.
"Because this is a classy, seedy bar," Rebecca said, exiting their van. "Us lower-class scum have a reputation to maintain!"
"Oh, hey Rebecca, Samuel," called the balding, heavy-set bouncer. He thumbed through a paperback novel as they approached. "Who's the newcomer? We're closed. Come back around sunset."
"I have some business to discuss with Alex," Rebecca replied. "And this is Yareli. She's cool."
Through his shades, the bouncer raised a skeptical eyebrow toward the strange helmeted woman in a full-body biker suit, then shrugged. "Suit yourself. She's in her office."
The inside of the Data Pirate's Den was more rundown than the outside, littered with used furniture that seemed on its last legs. An impressive collection of decades-old game machines whizzed and flashed, demanding their attention as they passed.
"We're closed," a voice yelled as they entered a back area. Behind a computer screen, a figure tapped away at their keyboard while sipping at a cola through a straw.
"Hey, Alex," Rebecca said in greeting.
"Becca! It's been ages! Are you still hanging out with that Jotnar crowd? You should totally dump them and work for me. I need someone to help run the lighting system." The person behind the screen popped up their head, revealing a wild-haired young woman with pink locks and more piercings and tattoos than Yareli had ever seen. Two differently colored eyes—purple and red—watched them enter.
Rebecca rolled her eyes. "You know my answer to that, Alex."
"What the hell happened to you, Samuel?" Alex asked, noticing how pale the usually dark-skinned man looked. "I thought you were being too quiet."
"Got my stupid self shot," Samuel replied.
"Well, shit. Tell me everything. Let me pour you a drink." Alex pulled a bottle from a desk drawer, pouring a generous serving into a cup.
"And who are you?" Alex asked after handing the grateful Samuel his drink. "What's with the helmet?"
"Yareli. I have terrible scars," she said, looking away. "It's best I keep it on."
"That's cool. Can't fault you there." Alex shrugged. "Drink?"
"No, thanks." The answer made Yareli self-conscious and awkward.
"What? As usual, your company is terrible, Becca." Alex raised an eyebrow before shrugging and pouring herself a generous portion. "More for me! Becca?"
"Love to." Rebecca allowed her friend to pour her a drink. "Unfortunately, I'm here for another reason."
"I figured as much," Alex replied. "I can tell from your business-like expression."
"Look at this data. I can't make any sense of it." Rebecca handed over a USB stick. "There's a connection I can't quite place. I thought you might help me."
"Where'd you get it from?" Alex inserted the stick, scanning her screen.
"Ymir."
The bar owner raised an eyebrow. "Really? Now that's a story I'd like to hear. Sounds like a tough hack job. Their security programs are no joke."
"I didn't," Rebecca said, smug. "We broke into one of Ymir's labs and stole it."
Alex almost dropped her glass in surprise. "Really? No!" She turned her attention to her computer, scanning the stolen data as inserting the stick. "Financial data? Is this from the stock market?"
"Ymir's data collection was massive," Rebecca said, nodding. "That's only two percent of it."
"Two percent?" Alex sat straighter. "Fascinating. Strange—they seem random. Is this every piece of financial data in existence? Like, why would Ymir care about some textile company in Arkansas?"
"Right!" Rebecca replied. "Ymir was processing this data with a computer beyond anything I've seen before. It was massive."
"It was a real monster," Samuel added, nodding. "They called it Surtur. It was using this data to create some equation. We couldn't make any sense of it."
"An equation, huh?" A piercing clattered as Alex bit her lip in thought.
The bar owner turned toward Yareli, her expression smug. "That's why Becca came to me. While she's a talented hacker, no one can beat me in coding and data."
"Thank you." Yareli gave a grateful nod.
After twirling around in her seat, Alex's fingers blurred as she played with some coding program. Yareli's head spun, unable to understand the text's meaning. In her previous life, she was confident she wasn't a programmer.
Samuel gave a contented sigh as he sipped his drink. "I needed this. These last few days have been crazy."
"Yeah, we're pretty good at this spy stuff," Rebecca said, beaming. "We've learned more about Ymir than I ever could have hoped."
"Gramps tells me his journalist friend is ready to blow the lid on them once we've gotten some solid proof." The older man had bragged that his friend had connections in several major news outlets, eager to bring the entire corporation crashing down. While Yareli doubted it'd be that easy, she admired his enthusiasm.
"Looking forward to that," Rebecca replied. "I've never trusted them. Their president is a nasty piece of work. So cold."
"You've met?" Yareli's helmet clanked against her skull as she gave Rebecca a sideways glance.
Inwardly, Yareli could tell Rebecca was cursing herself. She'd said too much. "It's the impression I got from his various press interviews."
"Rebecca has always hated Ymir since I've known her," Samuel said, shaking his head with a laugh.
While curious about the hacker girl's connection to Ymir, Yareli changed the subject. Rebecca would speak more when she was ready. Besides, she had other questions she wanted to ask. "How did you meet Rebecca, Samuel?"
"Randel found her." Samuel finished his drink and poured himself another. "We needed some tech help to recover some contraband from the police. We met at this very bar. It's an excellent place to find people with certain specialized skills."
Randel? The name suddenly clicked, dampening Yareli's mood. He was the young man she'd failed to save. Despite the obvious pain in his voice, Samuel spoke of his late friend with pride.
"Yep, she's been working with us ever since. The Boss always liked her," Samuel continued.
"I just like you guys." Rebecca broke into a smile. "Besides, we're fighting actual monsters now. I won't leave that for anything." Samuel grinned back, giving his friend a fist bump. The Jotnar pointed their fists toward Yareli. After an awkward moment, she returned the fist bump.
"I suppose I am part of their team. Never really considered it before," Yareli thought.
Alex raised her head from her workstation, giving her guests a skeptical eyebrow. "Wait, what? Real monsters? What are you talking about?"
"Haven't you seen the news?" Yareli replied, surprised.
"Who listens to that crap? It's full of bias and lies." Alex raised her head high in pride. "What are you trying to tell me? That Ymir is breeding actual monsters or something?"
"Maybe?" Yareli winced, and her voice trailed off. It was a line of speculation she hated to consider.
"Huh?" Alex blinked, confused by the biker girl's tone. "What do you mean?"
Before Yareli could offer a lame excuse to leave the awkward situation, her phone buzzed. It was Detective Anderson. "Hello?" From the other end, she heard cries and muffled noises. Something was happening in the background, but she couldn't determine what.
"Yareli, I need you at the Bifrost Police Department right now!" The voice behind the phone sounded strained. It took a moment to realize it was Detective Anderson.
"What, you work for the establishment now?" Alex said, noting the caller.
"It's complicated," Rebecca replied.
"It's the Niflhel. Oh God." The detective took a moment to collect himself before continuing. "Somehow, they got their hands on Angra Armlets! It's a massacre!" Ice stabbed Yareli's heart as she picked up bloodcurdling screams in the distance. Through the general mayhem, a strong, monstrous voice rang out:
"Let's burn Bifrost to the ground! Nothing can stop us!" Selim shouted, voice victorious. "This entire city belongs to the Niflhel!"