//------------------------------// // Back on the Job // Story: Cracks in the Mirror // by Ginger Pony //------------------------------// Chapter I Back on the Job “You reading me, Faith?” Faith didn’t pause in her running, leaping across two uneven ledges where the concrete of an alleyway loomed many feet below. She rolled to break her fall, before barrelling through an emergency exit on the roof, arriving in the middle of a quiet construction site. “I hear you Merc. What’s up?” Faith walked over to a window, the evening sun casting long shadows against the orange glow of the sunset. The monolith Shard dominated the skyline, visible from nearly everywhere in the city. She willed her breathing to level out, faintly rubbing as a stitch that had formed on her abdomen. “It’s gonna sound weird, but we’ve got another package.” “And explain to me why that’s weird, Merc.” She slowly jogged out of the room, following a labyrinth of corridors, following no distinct route; only trying to find another access to the roof. “Its addressed to you girl.” “Wait, what?” She came to a dead stop, as she pressed her hand to the earpiece, thinking she had misheard the voice-in-her-ear. “Me?” She asked in sceptical disbelief. “You checked it for explosives? Don’t want you nearly dying on me again.” It wasn’t the first time a package had been booby-trapped in an attempt to kill any of the runners or their recipients. And she’d almost lost Merc once; she didn’t want to lose him for good this time. “Yeah, ran it through all the test’s; it’s essentially clean as a whistle. All there seems to be is some paper.” Merc paused, and his voice turned softer, “And don’t worry; it’ll take more than a bullet or a bomb to do me in.” Faith remained quiet in contemplation, idly rubbing the circuitry tattoo on her forearm; an emblem of her first ever courier run, as she slumped down the wall and sat on the floor. Mercury seemed sure in his opinion that the bag was safe- the recent shipment of equipment he’d picked up off the black market the last few months had made living off the grid safer and easier. Tracking devices, IP scramblers, and more practical items such as solar charge gear and generators had made their way into the gutted AC vent that made her, Merc’s, and Kate’s home. She chuckled at the thought of her sister. Ever since the event on the Shard six months ago, Kate had to go underground, still wanted in connection for Pope’s murder. At first she was adamant in the idea of going back to the police, but Faith had argued that Jacknife mentioned of others working within the ranks, and would leap at the chance to get to the other runners. The safety of her younger sister won, and Kate finally agreed to leave her old life behind and begin running. “FAITH!” Faith shook her head as Mercury’s voice made it through the other side, causing a slight ringing in her ears as the earpiece crackled slightly. She chuckled, remembering that Merc still had a good set of lungs on him, and would always shout down the connection whenever the comms were silent for more than five minutes. A memory of Mercury came to the forefront of Faith’s mind- she’d turned off her earpiece for an hour to sit and relax whilst on patrol, not telling Mercury what she was doing. She’d turned it on to find the comms buzzing, half of the runners sent out to try and find Faiths position- even though she was only a few blocks away. She chuckled again at the thought; she’d always seen Mercury as a father figure ever since she ran out onto the streets, and she thought that sometimes, Merc saw her as a daughter he never had. Someone to teach and educate as a personal student, but to care for and instruct as a close friend, even an adoptive relative. “Yeah, yeah, Merc. I’m here.” She replied over the comms. “So what you gonna do about the package?” Merc asked, slightly irritated by Faith zoning out on him. A faint slurp could be heard over the connection, marking the seventh coffee of Merc’s that day. “Have you tried opening it? Surely you would’ve if you could.” It hadn’t been the first time that Mercury had gone through her possessions, and it had lead to some rather… awkward conversations during meals or silent comms. But they were bygones. Years later, Mercury never brought it up with ill intentions, and they had developed a bond where they could easily banter about it to one another; although the secretive nature had lead to some rather stiff silences and edgy questions when other runners tapped into Mercury’s signal. “I tried girl. But the case requires two pairs of hands. Kate will be back from her run soon, if you want her to give me a hand?” he asked, dismissing Faith’s bout of silence with a silent chuckle. Faith paused for a moment, glancing down each end of the abandoned corridor. Her thoughts strayed to Kate and how she’d been developing over the last few months. She’d taken up running after sitting around doing nothing in Merc’s lair, constantly playing cards for hours on end, until faith returned at night with no news on any possible leads. She had been running for around five months now, and although she wasn’t perfect, and had room to improve, she had become competent in running, training for three months and performing her first job not long after. Need to get her a tattoo... she thought. Every runner got one when they competed their first job. Faith’s circuitry tattoo proved that. She realised she’d been daydreaming again, and hastily replied to Mercury. “Its fine, have her wait there, but I’m on my way now.” She stood up, stretching her limbs that had grown stiff whilst she was sitting. She adjusted her attire; a red tank top and white running trousers, so they wouldn’t become an obstruction, before she bounced on her heels and began meandering her way out of the building, and back to her home-away-from-home.