I followed the blacked-out car to the very edges of the Mulberry Estate. I didn't know the Syndicate operated on this side of the estate. It was a disused area that had been some sort of industrial estate at one point. As the Mulberry Estate grew and lurched further out of its bounds, it sort of brushed up against this area. I didn't even know the name of the place, let alone ever been here, and it was a damn fortress. There weren't many buildings for me to hide on top of, so I was forced down to ground level. I slunk into a dark alley and watched the car approach the gate. There were two men standing outside and, while they weren't visibly armed, I could tell from the way they moved that they were both armed and trained.

  I saw the car approach and then stop at the gate. They spoke to the driver briefly and then looked up and down the street, forcing me to duck back into the darkness of the alley. I heard the heavy iron gate roll back and the engine of the car start again. I peeked around the corner and watched the car disappear into the industrial estate, the gate slammed shut behind it and the men resumed their positions.

  Swearing under my breath, I looked around. The building to my right was one of those old corrugated metal monstrosities, some sort of warehouse from a time before drones could deliver packages in minutes when people had to store things in these cavernous warehouses. Fortunately, that made them quite easy to climb for someone with the powers of magnetism in their palm. I scaled the building without too much fuss, crested the roof, and then trotted across it, hating how heavy my footsteps sounded and how the rusty metal flapped and squawked underneath me. Thankfully, it was a windy night, and the guards didn’t hear much from all the way up here.

  I peered over the edge and saw the car winding through the industrial estate and then enter an old warehouse that was again guarded. Not only that, but I saw security drones buzzing around in circles and static security cameras facing the doors. The only entrance to the warehouse seemed to be a large rolling metal door. The car paused outside and was checked again by security, before being allowed to enter. As it disappeared, I saw six more men come out of the warehouse, all taking up guard positions outside. The place was impenetrable. I didn't know if the Syndicate had beefed up security or if this was just their normal operation, but this was going to take way more than a few Bang Rocks to get into.

  I sucked my teeth as I looked around at the fortifications. Heavy iron railings surrounded the industrial estate, topped with barbed wire, and while I could probably scale them without too much issue, I knew it would be getting into that warehouse that would be the real challenge. As I silently mapped out a path towards it, I saw the dogs. There were four of them on patrol, snuffling and growling deep in their throats. Calling these dogs was an understatement; they looked closer to wolves or small bears. They were black and shaggy with blunted snouts and cut-off tails, and their paws were the size of my face. Even from here, I could see the sheer power and monstrous force of the animals.

  So, I had armed men, drone cameras, static cameras, locked gates, barbed wire fences, and now giant hellhounds to deal with. There was no chance that I was getting into that warehouse, at least not tonight. I saw one of the security drones fly into the air and begin to do a 360 of the surrounding area, that was my cue to leave. I had no way of knowing if that was just a standard security drone, if it had infrared technology, or even anything else that I didn't know existed. Drone surveillance technology had gotten wild in the last few years, and I imagined the Syndicate could afford the best of the best.

  I quickly ducked back across the roof and made my way back down, which was actually a lot harder than going up. I landed heavily in an overgrown bush at the back of the warehouse and then quickly made my escape back to the Mulberry Estate, my mind whirring. I had to get in there if I was going to hit the Syndicate where it hurt. But there was no chance of me being able to break into such a heavily fortified place, not by myself, not with my current skill set and powers. Again, I felt that itch at the base of my neck, the desire to open the Codex and uncover its secrets. But along with it came a nauseous feeling. Fear and trepidation bubbled in my guts at the thought of opening the book again.

  By the time I arrived near home, the sun was beginning to crest, a thin yellow sliver of light breaking over the horizon and dispelling the night. I yawned deeply, dragging my weary body across the familiar rooftops, my mind on autopilot as I tried to figure out what my next steps were. As I got closer to home, I heard voices floating up from the alley. I looked over the side and down into the alleyway and saw three goons walking home, looking as exhausted as I was. They yawned and chatted quietly, hefting a bag on their shoulder. There were three of them. I looked at the bag and recognised it as the same type I'd seen with the goons in the playground and I'd bet a 100 pack of ramen noodles that it was either full of drugs or Syndicate cash.

  Without thinking, I slowly began to stalk the men from the rooftop. Even if I couldn't complete my original mission of breaking into their main stash, I could definitely bloody the Syndicate's nose just for the sake of it. Why let the night go to waste? The men walked down into another alley, and that's when I saw my chance. I snapped out my Grapple Cord, wound it around a lamppost, jumped off the building, and used the Magnet Rune in my right hand to catch my weight. I slithered down the pole behind them, landing on the ground with a light thump. One of the men turned around, and his eyes went wide as he saw me. I touched my knuckles together, and they crackled with energy as the Shock Runes ignited.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "Oh shit, it's him!" he cried out to his friends, and then they surprised me.

  They didn't turn to fight; they took off running. I snapped my Grapple Cord at the one in the middle with the backpack, caught him around the ankle, and his momentum threw him off his feet. He hit the ground hard, and his two friends kept running. He struggled and tried to crawl and kick his way out of my vine-like grasp as I slowly stalked towards him. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes bugging in fear.

  "Hey man, listen, I'm just… I'm a nobody, okay?" he babbled. "Please, man, don't hurt me, please! I've got kids!”

  I stopped and looked down at him. He was genuinely frightened. He held his hands up to protect himself and looked like he was about to scream.

  "What's in the bag?" I asked, trying to drop my voice to make it sound gravelly.

  "No-nothing," he stuttered.

  "What's in the bag?" I growled again.

  "Come on, man, you know what's in the bag," he said, his eyes flicking left and right.

  "Give it to me," I said.

  "Oh, come on, man, you don't know what they'll do to me if I lose this bag," he pleaded.

  I crouched down and grabbed hold of the loose strap on the bag, making eye contact with him.

  "You don't know what I'll do to you if you don't.”

  I saw his eyes widen again, and he nodded, letting the strap slip through his nerveless hands. I unzipped the bag and saw it was about half full of small wraps, with a wad of cash in a rubber band. I looked down at him and then back at the bag.

  "Is that everything?" I asked.

  "I swear it is! I swear!" he said quickly, nodding his head.

  I untethered the Grapple Cord , stood up, and slung the bag over my shoulder before turning around without a word and walking away from him. I heard his feet scrabbling on the concrete, and then his heavy footsteps as he sprinted away, whimpering with fear.

  That felt good.

  There's a reason why people become bullies, a reason why bullies become tyrants and oppressors. There's nothing good about feeling weak. I'd spent my whole life feeling weak, helpless, useless, like a nobody. And now, just my presence could make my former tormentors quiver in fear. Yeah, that felt good.

  I climbed back up the fire escape and finished my journey across the rooftops. As I arrived at my building, still grinning under my balaclava at the way the men had run, I saw that damn cat again. Was it the same cat? I mean, all cats look pretty similar, right? This could just be somebody's pet, for all I knew. It was sitting with its back to me, giving me a fleeting glance over its shoulder, looking almost disapprovingly at me before stalking away and disappearing again. I shook my head.

  "Alex, you're becoming paranoid," I muttered to myself. "It's just a damn cat. It might not even be the same cat that you’ve been seeing," I chastised myself.

  I climbed down my fire escape, opened the seal to my window, dropped in, and unslung the rucksack from my shoulder. I did a quick count of the cash. There was over ￡1,000 in there, and I had no idea about the value of the drugs, but it was a blow to the Syndicate nonetheless. For now, if I couldn't get to the main stash, I could at least keep taking this crap off the street. I threw the backpack into my wardrobe with the other pilfered backpacks, and then sighed and sat down.

  I began to mentally map out the industrial estate again, pulling out one of my journals and quickly scribbling down as much as I could remember of the layout and the security measures. I then pulled up an aerial view from the internet of the industrial warehouse, but the images were years out of date and didn't show any of the new features the Syndicate had added. At least it gave me a map that I could use to create a route to the specific warehouse where I'd seen the car drive into. I printed the map off and glued it into my journal, making notes and drawing arrows and symbols all over it to identify where I'd seen the different security measures. I noted down how many men I'd seen and the fact that I knew they were armed. Sitting back, I took it all in and frowned deeply.

  "You'll never get in there as you are.”

  I paused and looked around. I hadn't said that or thought that. It sounded like a whisper from somewhere else. I shook my exhausted head and rubbed my eyes. I could feel it, the Codex underneath me pulsing with energy, lusting to be opened again. I would deal with it later. Later would be better. Now I was too tired. I just needed to rest… I stripped off my gear, and laid down on the floor, staring up at the ceiling until sleep took me.

  I dreamt of blood-red candles flickering, tumbling pages, whispering voices, and eyeless faces smiling at me from the darkness.