“Yeah no sorry we don’t do magic stuff that ether goes to one of the three facilities’ in the upper city or is shipped off to a specialist in another city. We deal primarily with tech media and just about anything else though they might have forward it through us. In that case it might be in an unmarked crate in shipping I guess we could go check the manifesto for all forwarding’s but beyond that I got no clue sorry.” Cross said looking at the picture of something that made him think of a fancy clock.
“Who would know?” The gunman asked Cross.
“Um the Director someone in the shipping company or the head of the shipping department but they’d wouldn’t know where it was supposed to be forwarded unless the sender had listed it on the container or if was listed on the shipments paper work. However, I can think of at least half a dozen ways around that so no guarantee they would know.” Cross explained trying to think of anything useful.
“Take me to the head of shipping then.” The Gunman demanded.
“I can’t he’s not hear he works nights and mornings but never during open hours for security rezones. Incase stuff like this happens but if its shipping info you want I can get you into the computer manifest to try and find out what you need but that the best I can offer sorry.” Cross said standing up
“Fine but hurry up and lead the way.” The gunman ordered Cross.
“Alright it is this way.” Cross said before leading him through several doors and long hallways into the labyrinth of crates boxes and packages that is shipping.
“Be careful there’s a reason we only employ magic born in hear it’s not safe in hear and a good chunk of this stuff hasn’t been cleansed yet and is still hazardous. But don’t worry we have over half a dozen scrubbers installed in hear just to make sure the airs safe to breeth but don’t touch anything.” Cross said casually as if he was leading one of his tours through the center above.
The gunman who was inspecting a crate now looked at the crate as if the crate was a fearsome beast and said. “What the heck are you lot thinking do you know how dangers and toxic. Taint is if that stuff got out it could poison the entire city.”
“Don’t be daft this rooms sealed, and the scrubbers keep the air clean as well all materials mined from the ruins come here to be cleansed and restored. So, we know what where doing hear plus we don’t keep anything above a level two contamination hear. Anything higher must be cleansed off sight first. The worst that any of these could do is probably make you very sick.” Cross said explaining it like it was a question on one of his tours.
Taint or magic flux remnants was created in very tiny amounts when mana is burned by a spell. Mana is created when aether that was absorbed into the body from the air is then mixed with life energy to form mana, but it was possible to brew and refine aether into liquid mana that could be drunk like a potion, but it was much more efficient to inject it. This has obvious advantages of allowing the user to continue to cast spells removing fatigue and a few other things, but it also has some very dangerous disadvantages. Use to much mana to quickly and the taint would set in and warp the user’s body this could be miner such as a change in eye or hair color. But it could lead to much worse ones like a complete loss of control over the user’s magic. Or worst of all the user’s complete corruption and transform into a monster. Now I should note this was a risk with any who used magic but none where more at risk then sins as they lived off mana it was what held there altered bodies together without mana a sin would literally fall apart. Sins bodies while still human sins had many different mutations that weren’t compatible with normal human physiology without mana to sustain the mutations the body would rapidly reject the mutations and in less than a day kill itself. This maid sins particularly dangerous as their body burned mana it produced taint even though it was in very faint amounts. It also didn’t help that dark taint the most dangerous of the classes was produced by casting dark magic and as that’s the type of magic that sins where born with. Their bodies would naturally produce the same type of taint.
“That’s easy for you to say you could handle bathing in the stuff if you once lived in the outer ring.” The gunman said referring to the relative safe zone that surrounded the city.
The outer most ring of the city was just outside the city’s protection it had a level four toxicity level and five was standard toxicity level outside the city the inhabitable zones but ten was the max humans in gear and sins could withstand twenty was the highest ever recorded. That wasn’t just toxic it was a living ocean of corruption and death nothing could survive out there but the living taint that tried to devour any life that got near it.
“Hah that was anything but easy but ah her we go this is the terminal just let me log you in and there you go do you want to look through it or should I give you my best guess.” cross offered.
“You do it you will probably understand this shit better than I do anyways.” The gunman said sounding nervous.
“Ok um did they give you any info how to find it as we have five outgoings in hear three of them are on dock. Seven where sent out this morning and twelve coming in tonight.” Cross said trying to find any more information on these packages.
“Um they said look for 5iia3-47.” The gunman said reading the code off of the back photo he had shown me.
“Ok that’s something I can work with it’s a crate number so if I search it in the system it should tell me where welp that’s not good.” Cross said double checking the numbers.
“What’s not good what the hell did you do.” The gunman said pressing the gun to the back of cross’s head.
“Nothing the number you gave me was set to ship out today so unless it’s one of the three down on the loading dock its already been shipped off sight.” Cross said looking up its destination.
“Oh, shit you got to be kidding me hay what are you doing.” The gunman said pushing Cross aside.
“I was looking up its destination for you before leading you to the dock to see if it was one of the three not that it helps you. As its destination is in center garden only commandments and specialist personnel gets in there.” Cross said with a sigh this was not going well and he knew the worse this mess got the more likely something bad would happen.
“Crap crap crap crap urg where’s the loading dock!?!” The gunman asked clearly furies!
“Right this way um grab that crowbar we might need it.” Cross said pointing it out for the gunman before Cross led the gunman to the loading dock.
Where a pile of crates was set off to one side both of them looked it over before the gunman started to open the boxes as Cross checked the labels.
“It’s not here I can’t find the code and you have opened half of them already.” Cross said sitting down on a partially open crate with a sigh. “Look I don’t know what to do now sorry.” Cross said with another sigh.
“You aren’t screwing with me are you you aren’t hiding it, somewhere are you?!” The gunman said sounding scared.
“Look you still have guns on a room full of civilians and more over kids even if that pea shooter can’t take me down it still hurts and could still do a lot of damage to them. So, following that line of logic my best bet is to get you out of here and leave you and the artifact for the cops and make it safe for those kids. So, leading you on a wild goose chase doesn’t help with any of that. Look I have done everything I can do to help you at this point, and I know good and well you have no rezone to believe me but it’s simply not here I don’t know what else to do” Cross said resignedly.
“I do lead me back to the main room.” the gunman said sounding desperate that was definitely not a good thing and things where definitely getting out of hand fast. I walked back the way we came not the fastest root but probably the safest if he was starting to get desperate and paranoid a recognizable route was definitely better then a new one.
“Where fucked where going to have to play the hostage card to get what we want round them up and one of you do a sweep take this one he’s useful.” The gunman said shoving Cross towards one of his goon friends who hand cuffed Cross hands. Before gesturing me to go with the gun. Cross led him from room to room rounding up the few of Cross’s colleagues that hadn’t known or been found yet but at least five that he knew was there earlier weren’t found. Cross just hoped they had ether gotten out or where safe he really hoped they were safe.
“No not there!” Cross shouted stopping the goon from entering a room. The goon turned to Cross and fired a warning shot.
“Hay watch it I just saved your life that’s decontamination and its active you walk in there without protection and you won’t last a minute.” Cross said pointing to the signs that had a hazard logo for corruption even if the goon was illiterate the goon should recognize that. The goon just gestured for Cross to follow and walked off to check the next room which was empty soon they weren’t any rooms left to check.
“Yesh I forgot how big this place was well that’s everywhere I have access to excluding the evacuation tunnels which have alarms on them.” Cross said as they finished up the goon just gestured for Cross to keep walking as he tried to find his way to the lobby. Cross eventually ended up leading the goon back to the lobby as the goon had no idea where he was going and led them in circles. Once Cross had led the goon back the lobby the he was surprised by what the other two had done they had tied up peoples in groups of six and police lights flashed outside the center.
‘Oh no this is really getting bad really really bad.’ Cross thought as he looked around as one of the goons put Cross in a group, he noticed they had raised the buildings shield. Cross new that all public evacuation shelters had shield generators in them to protect its inhabitants in times of emergency the history center is a public government facility it would operate as a shelter in a state of emergency but now that shield was being used to keep the authorities out and the hostages in.
“This won’t end well for anyone.” Cross said allowed to no one in particular.
“It was our only option now.” The gunman said as he walked over to cross.
“We will trade the hostages for the artifact and transport out of the building and city.” The gunman said as Cross noticed the bomb in his hand.
“This won’t end well, and you will never be able to show your face in the city again you know that right.” Cross said hoping that this wasn’t going where he knew it was going.
“I know now I need to make a phone call.” He said before walking over to the reception desk to use the classic phone there and dialed.
“Ok this is the guy holding the people in the history center hostage I want to speak to whoever is in charge.” He ordered before there was a long pause the gunman then said. “Hears the terms this place is rigged to blow try to enter and I’ll blow the hole building. Now we will send one hostage out with a food order and a picture of the item we want you will send the food in with a un armed droid or drone oh and feds you have twenty four hours to find the item and arrange transit out of the city or we kill a group of six hostages and it won’t be a quick and clean death. Now get to work clock starts the second I send the hostage out.”
It wasn’t five minutes before the gunman sent out a four year old boy who was crying with a bruise on his face hands flexy cuffed behind his back and a picture and note tape to his forehead.
“When I suggested sending out a kid I meant as a show of faith I didn’t think you would do that to him.” cross said with a faint hint of a growl and fighting to not just straight out growl at the gunman.
“I did to it’s the stupid kids fault he wouldn’t let go of his cunt drone mother.” The gunman said lifting his mask to put some kind of cigarette in his mouth and used a blue flame from one of his fingers to lite it.
‘Grate he’s a user and fire magic fire magic is powerful dangers and hard to contain and control well this just got worse. At least fire though painful is not very effective against me at least if push came to shove, I should be able to take him on with little effort, so I won’t have to use my powers. I just hope we don’t end up wrecking the place its already going to be a pain in the but to fix the existing damage.’ Cross thought watching the gunman as he walked past him.
Cross base powers where sonic manipulation and mass. Sonic manipulation allowed for the manipulation of sounds and sound waves and ability to create concussive blast of sound and mass is one of the class markers for a glutton class sin and the second most powerful. It allowed the user to consume matter brake it down into mana or use it to raise their density making them tougher and stronger and it also made them a lot heavier and slower. But when you’re as tough as an armor car or tank you could usually deal with tanking just about any hit unfortunately. Cross hadn’t been eating much other than real food at best he could raise his density by five percent to seven percent if he was lucky so not much use there.
“Hay mind letting me loose there’s still a lot of scared kids hear, and they haven’t had a bathroom break in over two hours they need a break. Look I run tours from time to time and have dealt with the kids before, so I can take care of it all you got to do is free my hands?” Cross asked after the gunman’s third cigarette had calmed him down.
The gunman sighed out a puff of smoke then said. “Damn it you got to be kidding me.”
“No, I’m not kids have bladders smaller then a can of soda and aren’t good at controlling it. Look I’ll take care of it just don’t go scaring them.” I said trying to get up with out using my hands or snapping the flexy cuffs I mean there are reasons why they use solid steel cuffs on sins as a standard plastic not only melts but can be snapped with relative ease
“Fine but make it quick.” The gunman said before cutting the cuffs off and Cross started to help the kids up and to the bathroom. By the time he had finished the food had arrived it was pizza and it was a lot of it.
‘Well at least its a food that the kids wouldn’t complain about.’ Cross thought as the small robot that had brought the pizzas in started to hand out the food Cross tried to keep his hands hidden as he was sure the robot was transmitting to whoever it was outside. He didn’t want his hands shown free just the fact he was in the same building with the robber’s maid him suspect number one.
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