5th Column Comics: Gaia #8
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The Internet is a wonderful tool, a real boon to the scientific community, even if you have to scrape through the facade of pathetic cat videos and terrifying Wind Duster - Quoll Slash Fic. But dig deeper into 'the Undernet' and you come across the Phoenician Exchange, an online market named after the ancient trading empire.
As I click on the local tab I feel a pang of excitement about entering this digital equivalent of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market. Without even looking that hard you can find almost anything on the Exchange from drugs to weapons so I have high hopes to find what I'm after; a suitable proxy to attack my enemies. I'm close to finding one too, a local agent operating under the screen name LXH when my 'keepers' return home.
"What are you doing?!" Clive hisses as he puts down two bags of shopping. "I thought you were meant to be looking for a cure for Sarah!" He adds as he looks over at the massive silken coffin hanging from the ceiling
"I am but I need something from outside the Quarantine Zone, and to get it I need someone who can retrieve it for me." I answer as I turn the screen off to hide my true intentions. "I have a theory that by enhancing or inducing Sarah's secondary or even tertiary abilities then they will override the Zeta gene sequence. And for that I need more of the Cr Formula that Xiphos manufactured."
"I will not leave Sarah's fate in the hands of a criminal." Clive hisses, the vinegary stink of Formic Acid on his breath.
"I have no intent in bringing harm to Sarah" I answer. I'm telling the truth for once, whoever LXH is he should be as easy to manage as it was to trace his IP address to a location. Even if he idiotically rejects my offer I can at least demonstrate the benefits of an untraceable internet account.
**
The address I have tracked the IP back to is a large maisonette festooned with ivy, an elegant house containing a disturbing trade. I know that there's real danger lurking under the surface, like a rattlesnake hidden in a patch of blossoming clover. To that end I've packed some supplies to cover my ass in addition to the cargo pants I'm wearing.
My knock on the door is answered by the typical gate-keeper type, big muscles and a big gun coupled with a bad attitude.
"LXH?" I ask innocently as the man looks me up and down before shaking his head.
"Nah. No one here under that name." He grunts, his hand already moving to slam the door in my face.
"Okay I'll just take his test results elsewhere." I state in my most nonchalant voice. "And you can explain to him how he contracted an almost extinct form of Lassa Fever." I tell him. Seconds later and the door is open and the gate-keeper stood to one side, equal parts fear and worry showing in his eye. "Where can I find him?" I ask him.
"Down the hall, I'll make sure he knows that you're here." The guard snorts as I give him a nod before walking down the hall and enter what appears to be a domestic lounge. Leaning on one of the chairs I scan the room, taking in the exits and anything that I can use as cover when Mr LXH arrives.
My wait is short indeed as the man himself arrives, mocha skin rippling with muscles while eyes seemingly cut from jade glare back at me. I had been expecting a mindless thug and found a modern day Hannibal Barca, strong, smart and ambitious, traits that make a man easy to lead but hard to dominate.
"Shall we talk about my 'test results?" He asks calmly. "Or the real reason a young woman comes knocking at my door."
"I want to hire you." I state bluntly, there's a time for a silver tongue but it's not now. Men like this one need to feel like they dominate everything in the room.
"I have no time for whatever religion or pyramid scheme you're trying to suck me into." My host states in an even tone, barely masking his anger at being disturbed. "Now before you leave I want to give you a reminder. Never disturb Alexander Eisenhardt!" He snarls, as he walks over to me and clamps his hands on my arm. The pain hits seconds later, rushing like metaphorical fire up my arm. Yet despite that I stand defiant, having faced worse before.
"Interesting." Alex muses as he lets go to reveal two burning hand prints on my arm. "You didn't scream." He adds. Now he feels secure it is the time for my silver tongue to be put into action.
"I'm no stranger to pain." I state in a quiet voice. "My former employers made sure of that in their Carrier based experiments".It's a lie I know, but it has a purpose, to stir up sympathy and curiosity.
"Experiments?" Alex asks, opting for the callousness of curiosity, "What kind?
"They gave us...it was an injection that gave us carrier abilities." I tell him dropping a hint of fear into my voice. It works to as I see his eyes widen with excitement. "It worked but...but my body wasn't strong enough to keep the abilities." I sob, tears arriving on cue. "And that's when they cut me." I state, pulling up my top to reveal a self inflicted surgical scar across my abdomen. Of course Alex doesn't know that but he can sense my anger, evident by his next question.
"So what do you want me to do about it?" He asks although his tone of voice makes it sound more like a statement.
"I want them to suffer!" I snarl through gritted teeth. "To have their precious CR formula taken away from them! You can keep the formula for all I care as long as they suffer!" That's only partially true, I don't plan on the 'King Thug' keeping anything.
"How do I know this is legit?" Alex asks, a smart move and one I expected.
"I can't prove it but I know they plan to shift the product to manufacturing very soon." I tell him, my defiance returning mixed with a hint of hopelessness.
"I'll think about it." Alex tells me, even though his thinking is all but done. "How do I contact you?"
"My screen name on the Exchange is Gaia." I tell him. "Everyone else calls me Terra." I add as I back out of the room. Alex might think he's in charge may even think he's controlling me but the truth is that he's blind to my manipulations. He's made himself my creature and he doesn't even know it.
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