Lost Rain
patreon
Outrun - Chapter 282
🕑 Added 2025-07-28 22:04:01 +0000 UTCI pulled at my Blue Crusade plate carrier uncomfortably. The silver sheen of the thing’s ballistic weave was hidden under my poncho, though that hardly mattered since my poncho was set to its BC pattern. I was about as conspicuous as could be. I shifted on the seat of my bike once more, mind lost in thought.
Red veil… I didn’t even know where to begin with this one. They weren’t the small-time gangs that I’d been running into of late. They were coordinated, and all documents pointed to them being a well equipped outfit. Finding them shouldn’t be too hard, but after that? I wasn’t so sure.
Why was a group that could’ve easily been PMCs instead in the human trafficking business, anyway? Cowards? Rayn? I wasn’t a hundred percent sure. I was sure about something though. They might have a hint about the Yellow Inc Savants. As things stood, they were my best hope for finding Mira.
If they didn’t have anything… Well, I’d have to hope that Saint pulled through. Other than that, it’d be basement and cavern searches one by one across the whole city, which would take ages.
I took a deep breath and settled back on my hover bike. After a few seconds, my leg started bouncing erraticly. All that caffeine was starting to get to me, whether I wanted it to or not… so much for growing anymore. I was definitely stunted after all of this.
“You good?” A warm voice asked me.
I shifted in my seat and glanced at an unmarked car parked in the space to my side. “Chek. Just- just nervous they won’t have what I need.”
“Then I’ll ask around and see if we have any other snitches.” The person speaking had his legs kicked out the window, dangling freely. The silver sheen of Crusader armor clung to him leaving no illusions about what organization he belonged to.
Inquisitor Shilling. Never met him before this, but he answered my call when I went to the Downtown HQ and asked around for info. We met by complete coincidence. Literally ran into each other. How lucky was that? He likewise had a vested interest in finding Red Veil.
Apparently, Inquisitor Shilling owed Hope his life, so he was all too happy to assist one of her Squires. A bit of repaying debts or something like that. I wasn’t one to complain. I needed all the help I could get, and he happened to know a guy who knew a guy.
My leg started bouncing again, generating electrical charge. I discreetly drained it into the internal batteries hidden in my Neural Link. I wouldn't want to discharge it now and let the Inquisitor know I had more going on than first appeared.
“Nice bike you got there.” Inquisitor Shilling kicked open the door to his beat up vehicle and and leaned out toward me. His silver mask perfectly caught the light. “The north HQ pay better?”
“Probably not? This was a custom job.” I patted my bike lightly. Just needed to give it a paint job, finish filling in the plating, and it’d be ready to go.
Inquisitor Shilling scratched at his hair. “It doesn’t look quite finished. A prototype? Don’t think I’ve seen anything like that.”
I scratched at some rust that was starting to form on the sides of the bike. I’d definitely need to grind it once I was ready to finish the hover bike. ”Chek. Just got out of the workshop a couple days ago.”
“Are they making more? One of the Knights I know loves bikes.” Inquisitor Shilling stepped out of his car and took a seat on the hood.
Did I want to make more of these? I took a few breaths and tried to calm down enough to think it through. Might be a good source of funds? “I could ask. They’re expensive though. I got mine through a friend, but normally it’d be at least half a million.”
If I really wanted to go into the details, maybe a bit more. Gravitic itself was costly, so that weighed in heavily. Half a million wasn’t a bad price though. Traditional flyers would cost way more.
“All custom built, I assume?”
“Chek.”
”Here.” Inquisitor Shilling offered his phone to me. It had contact information for Knight Winslow. “Have your friend message her directly. I’ll tell her about it when we’re done here.”
”Will she be able to afford it?” I saved the contact to my Crusade phone. Knights and Inquisitors were paid extremely well, but half a million was quite the sum of money.
“Probably. She’s a trust fund baby.” Inquisitor Shilling chuckled and took his phone back. “Ah- the snitch’s here.”
A rickety old hunk of a vehicle pulled up the slope of the parking garage. Its windows were deeply tinted, enough so that I couldn’t make out the driver through the darkness. It drove around the area a couple times before pulling in on the other side of me. The car abruptly shut off.
The window rolled down, revealing a young woman. Her hair flashed with vibrant colors of pinks and purples. Light Tattoos across her skin danced and twirled in what I imagine was supposed to be erotic patterns. Her clothes were quite revealing, and her mesh shirt was cut low enough to show off her cleavage.
She leaned out of the vehicle, mesh crop top pulling tight against her skin. She smacked heavily on a piece of gum. “Shilling? Who’s the chick?”
“A Squire.” Inquisitor Shilling hopped off his hood and moved between us.
I flashed an honest smile at her and put on an innocent expression. It'd been a while since I last used had to do something like this. “Completely trustworthy. I promise.”
“Hmm…” Her expression pulled into a sultry pout. “If ya’ promise. So? How much ya’ payin’ this time?”
”Depends. Got anything for me?” Shilling casually leaned against the informant's beat up car.
“Maybe… maybe not. What do ya’ want to know?” She confidently glanced between me and the Inquisitor.
“Red Veil-“
The informant immediately started up her car and moved to roll up her windows. I flicked on Fear the Reaper, targeting her specifically. She went stock still, staring at me with wide eyed terror. I think the term was ‘like a deer in headlights’? Never seen a deer myself, but it probably fit.
Inquisitor Shilling casually put a silver gauntleted hand into her window, preventing her from rolling it up. ”C’mon, Darla, are they really that bad?”
I dropped Fear the Reaper and flashed an honest smile once more. Or, at least, tried to. I definitely ended up baring my teeth just a bit too much. “The Inquisitor asked you a question. You wouldn’t want to disappoint us… right? After we came so far to see you, too?”
Darla flinched and shakily shut off the car. “Ugh- s-sorry, what?”
Inquisitor Shilling tilted his silver mask toward me for a lingering moment. “I asked about Red Veil. Are they really that bad?”
“Y-yeah… bad news. I- k-keep my name o-outta this, alright?” Darla trembled fiercely under my gaze like a soaked puppy bargaining for just a bit more food.
“Of course. I won’t even mention an informant in the report.” The Inquisitor chuckled cheerfully. Classic Crusade rule bending. I doubted if he’d even bother to write a report in the first place. “So?”
Darla eyed me for a moment longer, only proceeding once I nodded encouragingly. “I- I had a client a couple nights back. O-one of their runners, I think.”
”Go on.”
“He was super frail and nerdy. Barely managed to get a gal even after payin’ a bunch. Must’ve been the lonely sort. He talked almost all night long. About the only thing he did…” She mumbled that last bit in distaste.
They were bigger than I thought they were if they had their own runner. Might be a bit more dangerous than I expected. If I could just isolate the boss of the group though… no, I should take care of the runners first. Then maybe go see the boss? Or- hmm… I didn’t have enough info yet.
”Th-they have a bar. One on the Outskirts. Bunch of them meet up there for drinks after their ‘missions’.” Darla glanced toward the ignition of her vehicle as if she were having second thoughts.
I casually leaned forward, tapping slightly on the body of my bike to get her attention. “What’s it called?”
“Red somethin’. Truck, maybe? I dunno. It was a while ago and I didn’t exactly stick around once I realized who he was with.” She shuddered in her seat, rubbing at her arms. “Ya’ better pay me well for this one. My sister’s been sick all week.”
“Of course, of course…” Inquisitor Shilling motioned to me. “Was that all you needed, Squire?”
”For now.” I eyed the young woman for a few moments longer. She cowered underneath my gaze like she’d fall apart at any moment. “I’ll go check them out.”
”Want backup?” Inquisitor Shilling patted a revolver strapped to his waist. “I ain’t much of a shot these days, but I’ll be able to hold my own.”
“It’ll be easier to sneak in by myself.” Inquisitors weren’t exactly inconspicuous. They’d probably sniff him out from blocks away.
Shilling waved a hand to Darla. “I’ll send your pay the usual way.”
Darla didn’t wait a second before rolling up her window and peeling out of the parking spot. Maybe I scared her too much? It’d probably be fine… hopefully. Maybe I should pay her a bit more to make up for it. At least to help out with her sick sister. “Sh-should I pitch in?”
”For what- oh, was it that sister comment?” Shilling chuckled lightly and turned back to me. ”Darla’s a street rat. She doesn’t have any family.”
“Oh.” Ugh- I fell for the oldest trick in the book. So stupid… I thought I’d learn by now not to get tricked by stuff like that.
The Inquisitor’s mirth died down. ”You should get someone to watch your six. Just in case.”
“I’ll call someone in.” I didn’t really want to involve the Crusade more than I already had, though. Maybe Saint would make a good lookout? That wasn’t a bad idea.
”Keep me up to date? On Red Veil, that is. They’re making a name for themselves.” Inquisitor Shilling shifted around my bike back to his unmarked car. “Quite a few Knights back at the precinct would be all too happy to cave in their skulls.”
“After I find what I’m looking for.” It was the least I could do for all the help. I actually had a direction now. And a strong one at that. “Um- we’ll see what I find while I’m there?”
He slipped back into his seat and started the engine up. ”Then I’ll see you around, Squire. Oh! And give Inquisitor Hope my regards.”
“I will. Thanks for the help.”
“Don’t mention it.” He tipped his head to me. Then he pulled out of the parking space and left the garage.
I watched him go. Doubt I’d ever see him again, but who knew? This world was strangely small. I shook my head and pulled out the Mapp. What did she say it was called again?
Red Truck had a few hits, but there weren’t any that were a bar. I looked around a bit more, trying all sorts of combinations. Eventually, I found it. There was a little joint on the Outskirts called the Red Rocker. I flicked my bike on-
Hmm… maybe I should listen to the Inquisitor. He might’ve had a point. I hesitated for a moment before calling Saint just in case.
— — —
The Red Rocker… I stood on a building quite a bit away from the bar and looked at it through a pair of binocs. It wasn’t anything fancy, but definitely had a large group that frequented the place. The parking lot was full of cars. That’s right. Parking lot. It was so weird seeing one of those. The fringes of the city really were just built different.
Boots crunched softly behind me. I reacted instinctively, pulling my coil-pistol. Time slowed, letting me flick back-
“Just me!” Saint immediately threw his hands up in surrender.
“Sorry.” I slid the pistol back into its holster. “You just surprised me.”
The handsome reporter dropped his arms and moved up next to me. He pointed towards the place. “Is that it over there?”
I picked up my dropped binocs. ”You can see it from here?”
“Course!” He tapped at his chrome eyes. “These things didn’t come cheap.”
No kidding. Hmm… looking at his eyes made me want some of my own. It was about time I got rid of the clone-flesh for something a bit more useful. Sides, the cloned one had been starting to ache recently. After this was all over, I could look at making a new one.
“So?” The reporter motioned out toward the bar. ”What’s the plan? Go in and ask a few questions?”
I side eyed the reporter. “Do you want to get shot?”
“No? Trust me, it always works.” A bright smile lit up his handsome face. He shifted slightly, causing his hair to perfectly cover one eye. Chek, definitely a media star. The guy practically radiated charm and swagger.
I was planning on going in… but if he was volunteering to go get the information I needed just like that, then why not? I didn't have much of a plan anyway. Not like I could just sneak in and find a ledger with all of their crimes on it… or I might, actually. Criminals kept better tracks of their deals then politicians did.
“Know what? Sure. You can go in and ask questions.”
I shifted to the side slightly. Hidden Hands and Illusive covered my hands, hopefully obscuring them even further as I summoned Crow’s Celestial Compass. I pulled a dimensionally dissonant dart from the compass and casually slipped it into Siant’s pocket. Just in case.
“Really?” The cheerful reporter wiped at his forehead in mock relief. “Thought for sure that you’d shoot me down.”
I banished the compass with one hand and patted his shoulder with my other. ”I trust you. Just stay in contact the whole time, chek?”
“Course! I bet I get to see the boss within five minutes of walking in.” Saint smirked at me. Confidence leaked from his entire body.
I doubted it’d be that simple. I’d be impressed if he wasn’t stolen away as soon as he entered the premises. He was the perfect bait for a human trafficker. Not every day that a man as handsome as him walked into the place. ”You’re on. Loser buys dinner.”
“Nova.” He nodded toward my hover bike and pulled lightly at his jacket. “Can you give me a ride down, though? The elevator was out of order, and I’d rather not take the stairs again.”
”Chek.” Glad to see it wasn’t just me that had this horrible curse… unless- did I infect him? No- that was impossible. Who ever heard of an infectious curse?
Comments
V B
Congrats man! It's really a good story! It gets better and better as it progresses
Lost Rain
Thank you! I think you caught up to me while I was editing at chapter 20 back when you first started reading.
UnderwhelmingBird
Knight Winslow as a contact would be an amazing source of funds and supplies. Depending on just how into custom jobs she is, could end up being rather worth the time investment. That, and who better to use as a sounding board for potential design/armor/armament options than someone heavily in tune (oho) with the vibe of what works. Combine that with "Gravitic expensive, but can 'trade' for some if you have other aether-charged supplies!" plus getting to peep Winslow's other dream designs...hella. Very hella. Inquisitor Shilling seems like a pretty cool guy even just from this chap. Hope saved his ass, he took time out for Squire Zuku and didn't try to insert himself into her investigation when she declined further support. Saw her bike, thought of someone who might appreciate similar work but didn't abuse his authority/position to press for details, mentioned Winslow and didn't try to work as an intermediary. For the city in general...surprisingly mellow guy. Sneaking up on a twitchy Shiro is a bad, bad move ahaha. Eventually someone's gonna get hurt and it probs wont be her. As far as infectious curses go, cmon girlie did you already forget the totally-not-zombies? And Mother went a couple steps further than simple indoctrination while disrupting the Aether itself. Anyhoo, congrats on your mango-related adventures! Remember that picking a green mango releases a bit of liquid that could easily cause a skin rash. Would suck to experience that burn-out..side. Ugh, terrible. Cursed funnybone. I look forward to seeing where you take things and to the re-read I'll partake in when you wrap up pre-pub edits. If that requires waiting for the media release I suppose I better start practicing my patience :)
Bear Minimum
Congratulations!
Eammon_Wright
i mean, dont judge them your dont know,
Almost Famous
Congrats!
Gardor
Congrats to you and your sister Edit:...for different things, didnt mean to imply you're marrying your sister.
