“A chatgroup? Ok… now you’ve lost me.”

  “You can’t do this alone. We should find other budding Ghostslayers to exchange intel with – anonymously of course. Ghostslayers and megacorporations are so possessive over their intelligence that delves into the dark web for tidbits aren’t worth the risk. Besides.”

  Noelle expression flickered, but Evantra watched as the girl fought to steel her expression.

  “If you’re going to become a Ghostslayer, I suppose you’re intending to join the Guild in Elsecaller city, seeing as they organise the real raids into the lost territories. And occasionally… Mythic Veilsurges, if you get to a high enough rank.”

  Evantra nodded.

  “Then we should make a head start on building our network. I’ll worry about that for the moment, but the best approach is exchanging some rudimentary information and testing others’ claims.”

  Noelle put her hand under her chin.

  “Not to mention… you’re looking for a buyer for Carmen’s house.”

  Evantra looked at her in surprise.

  “How did you—”

  “I found the listing. You won’t find any luck on the mainstream websites. You’ll have to look for connoisseurs. You wouldn’t know this, but there are lichdicks out there with fetishes for places ‘close to the Veil’. Really rich people with more money than they know what to do with, that will snap up houses in which Veilsurges have opened. Leave that one to me as well.”

  “Alright...”

  “Now all we have to do is earn enough money so that I can quit my day job. Although I suppose I could save on rent and have more to pool towards your equipment if…”

  Evantra sighed.

  “Fine. You can stay with me. It’s not like I’m doing much with the spare rooms.”

  Noelle slowly released the tightly clenched fist at her side.

  ---

  “Back so soon? Most couples take longer.”

  Noelle’s face turned a deep red at Cypha’s words. The techrat pointed towards a small, autonomous robot that was crawling nimbly close to them. It had four legs which dextrously navigated the junkyard.

  “You see these little buggers? They’re Crawlers. They scour the yard and scan for components. We get hits, and we head out to retrieve them.”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t been automated out of a job, those things look pretty handy,” Evantra smiled sweetly at Cypha.

  In reply, the girl spat in her general direction.

  “Want me to chuck you off the side of a heap? Probably the only decent thing that Juno’s done for us of late. If they encounter any dangerous tech, some of them are equipped with an EMP module to knock them out as a precautionary measure. So don’t shit on them, preacher. Anywho, use this—” Cypha handed Evantra what looked like a grappling hook with a magnet attached to it. Evantra stared incredulously at the implement in her hand.

  “Some of the hits are buried way too deep – we usually wait for the cranes to have a pass over those areas before we go at them.”

  How the hell are they extracting anything with these pieces of crap. Juno really has to step up his game.

  Evantra looked out over the mountains of steel around them.

  “So.”

  Cypha idly fiddled with what looked to be a defunct Liberty Corporation assault rifle that had found its way into the scrap – or at least – the skeleton of one. Cypha was casting Evantra furtive glances, glancing back to the weapon in her hands whenever she would meet her gaze.

  “How did you two meet?”

  “You’ve been reading too many of those romance novels, Cypha. I’ve seen you in the library.”

  “Books!? You’re delirious. I’d rather be caught dead.”

  “Only readers use big words like ‘delirious’.”

  “Are you patronising me? Ghoulshit I mean—”

  Cypha seemed to realise the trap she had fallen into, and Evantra glimpsed beads of sweat erupt across the techrat’s forehead, previously unmarred despite the heat and rigour of her scavenging. Noelle was panting; her previously lush red hair was now sticking slick to her sweaty cheek. She turned to the techrat.

  “How did you end up in this job, anyway?”

  “Pa is a techrat. Mum’s a shopkeep. Not like there are many options out here in the slums. Struck a deal with Juno to give him a portion of our profits, so it makes sense to help them make a margin on things.”

  “What’s been your best find?”

  Cypha paused as she lifted up a clunky drone, expertly dissecting it to get at its internal components.

  “Hard to say… I’ve found everything from an old, beaten up hypercar chassis, Nezha stringless drone – practically an antique, an ancient Hephaestus corp mech that was reduced to parts. My best find…”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  The girl cast a tentative gaze over her shoulder, but there were no other techrats in the vicinity.

  “Shadeshift rounds. Found them in an old beaten-up mag of a Wraithkiller SWS, Santa Muerte’s flagship sniper line. Each round went for a thousand ectocredits a pop. Must have been the weapon of a corpo killer.”

  Evantra let out a low whistle. Shadeshift rounds when paired with the appropriate optics, were capable of momentarily phasing through solid material to get at their targets. A favourite amongst corporate assassins.

  “The real good stuff though? You only get them when fresh shipments come in. The Nezha dropships come at night, and the seniors get first pickings.” Cypha scowled as she reflected on her misfortune.

  “The only way around it is if you stay out after dark. Juno encourages it, but he’d encourage us to jump to our deaths if there’s money to be made. If you want to stay alive…”

  Noelle paused in her search, glancing back at the techrat.

  “What’s so scary about scavenging out at night?”

  Cypha gave Noelle a long stare. Evantra pat the techrat’s shoulder placatingly.

  “She’s from out of town.”

  “No ghoulshit.”

  “Noelle, we’re on the very border of the Lost Territories. Veil creatures slip through the military boundary all the time and they end up roaming around the junkyard. It’s a lot of ground to patrol and cover… and those giant turrets are for the bigger threats.”

  “That seems like an easy enough problem to solve,” Noelle let out a hum, as she tapped a finger on her chin. “Why doesn’t Juno install some sentry systems? That would allow you to work around the clock—”

  “That’s because techrats are desperate enough to dive without them. For every dead techrat, there’s one itching to take their place. There’s no incentive for Juno to do so. We’re contractors. No employment rights, as if there were any to begin with. The expense to cover the entire junkyard?” Cypha scoffed.

  Evantra watched Noelle pale as the girl struggled to reconcile her vision of Juno to the one that Cypha was describing. After a moment, the girl shook her head and rounded on Cypha.

  “I’ve got a proposal for you, in that case. What if you had support. Some muscle by your side to help you ward off the beasties while you got at the fresh picks. Who knows—” Noelle’s eyes glinted as she exchanged a glance with Evantra.

  “We may even be able to find some equipment that we need. Two birds with one stone.”

  “Thinking of becoming a Ghostslayer, preacher? You’re 100% organic, that’s more than Demeteria can guarantee with any of their produce.” The girl muttered under her breath as she regarded Evantra like she would a ghoul. “You’re shitting me Evantra. They told me you entered a Veilsurge but…”

  Evantra smiled at Cypha, allowing her to draw her own conclusions. The girl certainly had an active imagination.

  I have to give it to Noelle… she does see good opportunities as they arise.

  Perhaps there are benefits to having a fresh set of eyes around.

  Besides…

  Her eyes alighted on the Caliburn mining barge hovering over the junkyard.

  Maybe we’ll even be able to learn a bit about why Caliburn is so interested in the junkyard.

  ---

  After exchanging contact details with Cypha and promising to link up for a night dive, they returned to Juno’s offices. They’d been gone for about an hour or two before Carmen called them back. Evantra noticed her casting anxious glances in Lucas’ direction.

  She frowned.

  Did something happen when I was gone?

  “I hear that you’ve taken an interest in becoming a techrat.”

  Juno’s eyes gleamed, even as they dimmed a degree, seeing how much dirt they were tracking into his office.

  “Here’s an entry chit. Try not to get killed, or I’ll have to call Insurance. I hate calling insurance.”

  Carmen gave her a deathstare, and Evantra raised her hands placatingly, wordlessly communicating that she would fill her in later.

  “What are Caliburn—”

  “None of your ghouldamned business. I’ve got to meet with some clients, so you’ll have to take over with Lucas.”

  As soon as the door shut, Carmen rose from her desk and came to a halt before them.

  “Chasing your death so soon?”

  “Steady, abuela. We’re going to help Cypha do some night dives. Any of the serious beasties that invade from beyond the border are usually picked up on and taken care of by the military. Honestly… this is about as safe as it gets – if anything too dangerous gets through, I don’t doubt Caliburn will send their Ghostslayers after them. There’s no better way to remove a problem than if it inconveniences a corp,” Evantra laid a placating hand on the woman’s shoulder.

  “Besides, we’re going down to the range for Officer Foster to show us the ropes. We’ll be fine, ok? If we don’t take any calculated risks, we’re never going to learn and improve.”

  “Calculated risks my ass. You’re going to be the death of me,” the woman muttered under her breath as she returned to her seat. Noelle cleared her throat as she strode up to Carmen.

  “Carmen I’m curious… does Juno usually babysit Lucas like this? I find it a bit strange… for your boss to be so willing to have us just… hanging around in his office.”

  The frustration on Carmen’s face melted away as she turned to regard them. Her eyes flicked to Lucas, and she lowered her voice such that only the girls in her proximity could hear her.

  “Juno… lost his family a couple of years ago. He had two little ones, around Lucas’ age. Some elementals slipped through the boundary. He likes spending time with Lucas, and if the price to pay is putting up with this one—” Carmen gestured to Evantra like she would a pile of dung on the sidewalk – “he turns a blind eye.”

  “A-ah I see.”

  “Noelle… I know you’ve only been here for what, one or two weeks?”

  The girl nodded.

  “Let me give you a word of advice. So far, you’ve been lucky to run into the nice ones. Juno, for all of his greed and flaws, is a good man for the most part – that’s why I’ve stayed here for as long as I have. Even this pain in the ass—” Carmen gestured to Evantra again to the girl’s mild chagrin – “is a saint compared to the worst you get out here. Be careful, alright?

  The woman’s voice fell.

  “You haven’t seen the worst of the slums, and I hope you never do.”

  The rest of Noelle and Carmen’s exchange fell into the background when Evantra’s eyes fell on Lucas.

  He was sitting silently in a corner, a book on his lap.

  Lucas seemed to be staring into space, his eyes blank and empty, the book in his hands forgotten.

  Evantra frowned.

  ---

  Wisptown’s singular police station was located close to the City Hall. A spattering of police hovervans that had seen better days were lined up outside in the parking lot. A single operational streetlight lit the car park, flickering occasionally, casting it intermittently into darkness.

  Officer Foster stared at the two dusty girls before him, before letting out a long sigh.

  He massaged his temples.

  “You two really are pieces of work, you know that?”

  Noelle spoke up with a small grin.

  “More like pieces of art. So, you’re saying that they’ll just let you waltz in with two civilians to use your shooting range?”

  When did they get so familiar with one another?

  Still, there was an edge of artificial cheer to Noelle’s words, which Trevor seemed to notice. His eyes darting between Noelle and Evantra for a moment, he eventually turned to gesture towards the empty, underfunded and dilapidated station behind him.

  “None of us get paid enough to care. Besides, if it stops the youngsters from shooting at one another, we generally turn a blind eye,” Officer Foster eyed Evantra. “Especially if said youngster plans to help cull the local Veilcreature population because they’ve got a deathwish. I’d rather you grab me and come over here than go hunting some wild teethlings in the sewers for target practice.”

  He opened the door to the station and gestured inside, turning to Evantra.

  “C’mon. Time to teach you about gun safety. Wouldn’t want to kill yourself before the Veilcreatures get a chance. Especially with how Noelle was telling me that you stuck that revolver down your trouse—”

  “Oh, shut up.”

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