Phthalo Blues: The Viper Read online

  "Unfortunately, I haven't seen anyone other than your lovely self. Accompany me to the docks and I'm sure we'll find him."

  As much as he was starting to annoy her, she really didn’t want to continue searching for Taz alone. She reluctantly joined him, as they walked down the misty cold streets towards the seafront.

  Flashback: Leaving Kunsthof

  Kunsthof, Middle Continent

  Day 30 Month 4 Year 2035

  (2 Years Ago)

  Kunstof was the third largest city in Middle Continent, located on the western side of the continent. Geographically it was the closest major city to Valley Village. Due to the surrounding mountains and vegetation, the city was full of lush bushy trees and healthy greenery. The city was centuries old and the architecture showed its long romantic history in its slightly eroded stone buildings. No two buildings looked the same. These were artisan houses with unique artistic features. It could almost be said that it was the exact opposite to Tech City in terms of style.

  At the 'Kunsthof Central Bus Station', a nineteen-year-old Nakita stood, waiting with a single bag of clothes. A young male teenager stood by her side holding her hand.

  "I can't believe you're really going. Promise you won’t forget me when you become a famous singer," he said.

  "Don't be silly. I'm not trying to become famous. There's just nothing left for me in Kunsthof. I need a fresh start." Nakita looked into his eyes as she spoke. She knew he was in love with her, but she didn't feel the same way.

  "I got you this gift." He handed her a leather-bound journal. "I even had your name put on there. I thought you could use it to write down your songs, like a songbook."

  "Tim, that’s so beautiful, thank you." She held the book, looking at it in an affectionate way. "I couldn't have got through these last few months without your support. It really means a lot to me. I'll let you know as soon as I get there. Anyway, it's really not that far. We'll see each other again soon, I'm sure of it." She kissed him on the cheek and then boarded the bus. As it pulled away, Nakita waved at Tim through the bus window and said goodbye to Kunsthof. The bus was headed for Tech City.

  ~

  Nakita and Dante arrived at the docks, and sure enough, what seemed like the entire town's population was gathered to witness the destruction first hand. A handful of Middle Alliance enforcement officers and local Berlin police stood between the crowd and the carnage. Fishermen were surveying the wreckage to see if their boats had survived the impact. Despite everyone focusing on the damage to their beautiful seaside town, it was impossible not to acknowledge the gigantic steel behemoth which overshadowed the port. The tanker ship dwarfed the other boats at the dock and stood as a monolith high above the townsfolk. The local mayor was trying to assure everyone that the situation would be dealt with promptly.

  “Calm down people! I assure you the situation is under control!" The mayor was in deep over his head. The mayor stood on a small, make shift platform directly in front of the crashed vessel. "The central government of the Middle Alliance has been informed and a special emergency team is on their way as we speak. It’s vital that everyone returns to their homes and we will soon have everything back to normal.”

  "What about the damage to our property?!? Who's going to pay for that?" One of the villagers yelled out. Followed by a chorus of boos which echoed from the crowd. The town, which relied heavily on the economy of their port, was understandably concerned about the effect this incident would have on their way of life.

  “That’s the local mayor.” Dante quietly explained to Nakita. “He’s a nice guy but also a complete idiot. If he’s in charge this will take a very long time to get fixed. Can you see your friend anywhere amongst the crowd?”

  Before Nakita could answer, a loud scream echoed from within the ship. The mayor nervously looked over his shoulder and stepped down from his platform. He moved away from the howling screams, which came from within the steel tomb, and hid amongst the crowd.

  “What’s going on in there?!” Another villager from the crowd yelled at the enforcement officers who stood between them and the screams. The officers looked at each other in confusion. They were used to handling small domestic incidents, like when there was a flood or a fire. They were called upon in situations which were considered too much for local law enforcement to handle. They weren't even technically police officers. They had the authority to arrest citizens only in special circumstances and none of them ever used this authority. For most of them, their pitiful wage didn’t give much motivation to do anything above the bare minimum of what was required. One of the younger officers nervously stepped towards the boat, while an overweight veteran put his arm out blocking the way.

  "What do you think you're doing kid? We were ordered not to step foot on the ship. It's not worth it. You'll get us all in trouble with the central command." The senior officer's name badge read 'Oswald'. His overweight body squeezed tightly into his uniform and his belly hung far over his belt. He wore light armor pads on his shoulders and a shock helmet which squished his round head at the cheeks. Oswald had the most experience in the team of enforcement officers and he knew it was in their best interests not to do anything except what they were ordered to. These officers were not from Berlin, they were part of an emergency first response team dispatched by the Middle Alliance central government. Their job was to secure the area and wait for reinforcements. They had no idea what they would encounter when they were dispatched to Berlin. Their job wasn't to investigate, just to secure the location.

  "But Oswald, what about the screams? There are people onboard! What if they need help? We can’t just stand here and do nothing." The young officer pleaded as Oswald again had to bring him back to reality.

  "That's exactly what we're gonna do. That's an MAW Corp military ship. You know what that means? It's from Capitol City! We have no business stepping foot on there. It's probably full of classified secret equipment and god knows what else. We gotta follow orders. I don’t wanna get a pay cut because you wanna play hero. I don’t get paid enough for this shit."

  The young impatient officer nodded his head in agreement. He knew Oswald was right. Oswald was an experienced officer. Oswald left his young partner in charge of the crowd and sneaked off to the side to smoke a cigarette. Unfortunately for him, Nakita was standing right there, waiting to speak to someone in charge.

  "Excuse me officer, can you tell me what's going on here?" Nakita spoke to Oswald as he took a puff from his cigarette. He looked down at Nakita and let out a long deliberate exhale of smoke before answering.

  "Honestly, I don't know. We were just told to guard the ship until reinforcements arrive. No one is allowed to step foot on board."

  "What's so important about it?" Nakita looked up at the vessel, 'MAW Corp – Sector 13 – Vessel D' was printed on the side. "What's Sector 13?" She asked.

  "How the hell should I know? They don't tell us anything." Oswald let out another cloud of smoke. "The ship belongs to MAW who run the Capitol City military. I mean, they are the military. That means that legally we aren’t allowed on board. Only someone from MAW Corp or Capitol City's government can give permission. It's their property."

  "How is that possible? This is Middle Continent, surely they can't enforce those rules here?" Nakita looked up at the ship. She had a natural dislike for authoritarian rules which didn’t make sense to her.

  "Yeah, well let me tell you something," Oswald paused as he stamped the heel of his boot into his cigarette butt which he dropped on the ground. "The Middle Alliance is nothing more than Capitol City's bitch at this point. We do whatever they tell us. It sucks. All we can do is stand in front of this boat and wonder what's inside. My guess is it's transporting some classified military equipment. What gets me is how did it crash all the way out here in Berlin? The captain must have fell asleep at the wheel or something. I bet he's gonna be in deep shit when the team from MAW arrive. Hahaha!" His large belly bounced as he laughed at the thought of someone else getting tr
ouble.

  "MAW is sending a team here?" Nakita didn’t really understand the politics of how each regions military worked. She also didn’t really care. She just wanted to know what was going on, so she could plan what would happen next, after she found Taz.

  "That's right, they insisted that the Middle Alliance allow their own specialist team come to recover the vessel. It's too bad the Middle Alliance leaders have no balls to stand up to 'em. I would have told MAW and Capitol City to shove it." Oswald lit up another cigarette. He took great pleasure in doing so. Before he could savor the moment, his young partner approached and whispered quietly into his ear. "Speak up boy! I can’t hear you!" The young officer looked at Nakita. "Don’t worry about her, just spit it out!" Oswald was becoming irritated.

  "Alright, the MAW team has just arrived. They're making their way through the town and should be here shortly. It's very strange. Apparently, they said no one is allowed to leave the town until MAW gives the all clear. Something about a full lockdown." The young officer spoke as if reporting to a senior official, even though technically he and Oswald were equals.

  "What the hell kinda bullshit is that?" Oswald stomped his second cigarette into the ground and shook his head. "Alright, guess we gotta get back to work, nice talking to ya lady."

  "Wait, I need to ask you something." Oswald turned back to face Nakita with an impatient grimace on his face. "Have you seen a young boy with a dog? He ran off this morning about an hour ago and I can’t find him."

  "Sorry lady I haven't seen him, but the entire town is now under lockdown, so I don’t think he'll get far before someone picks him up. Just hang tight."

  Nakita looked down at her shoes feeling uncertain about what she should do next. She didn’t like the idea of just waiting for someone else to find Taz, but also didn’t know what else she could do.

  Flashback: The Night She Met Hunter

  Tech City, Middle Continent

  Day 8 Month 3 Year 2037

  (1 Month Ago)

  "Who the hell was that guy?!?" Alex, the leader of the Tech City Piano Bar gang, yelled at his subordinate, Simon.

  "I don’t know boss, that was the first time I ever saw him." Simon squirmed as Alex interrogated him. Alex was a tall man with curly long hair and wore an expensive suit. Simon on the other hand was extremely overweight, short, with greasy hair, and wore a cheap black sports jacket over a stretched, white, t-shirt.

  "Boss, my arm is really bad, I think I really need to see a doctor." Another one of Alex's henchman, Jake, sat in an arm chair clutching his arm and writhing in agony. Jake had just encountered Hunter outside of the Tech City Piano Bar.

  "Don't be a pussy!" Alex was unbelievably pissed off at Jake for allowing Hunter to get the better of him. "How the hell did he manage to mess you up? I thought you were a tough guy?!"

  "Boss, I'm telling you, that guy's not normal. I stuck him good, right in the stomach. He was down on the floor bleeding. Then he jumps up as if nothing happened and grabs my arm with this super strength. I bet he's got some cybernetic modifications or something. It wasn't my fault!"

  Alex frantically turned his attention to Nakita, who sheepishly stood in the background trying not to be noticed. He aggressively walked towards her and got right in her face. "I saw you talking to him, tell me what he said?!" Alex looked directly into her eyes with a deathly gaze.

  "Um, nothing really, he was just asking about my songs. He didn’t say anything, honest." She knew she would incur his wrath no matter how she answered.

  "Fucking hell, you're all useless! No one disrespects the Overlords like this and gets away with it!" He slammed his fist into the wall behind Nakita. "Go upstairs and wait for me in the apartment." He didn't look at her when he spoke.

  Nakita obediently left the back office of the Tech City Piano Bar and entered the gold mirrored elevator. As she ascended to the penthouse suite, she couldn't bear to look at her own reflection.

  Inside the sophisticated modern apartment, paid for by gang money, Nakita sat at a white grand piano and rested her hands on the keys. She didn't play any notes. She just sat there out of habit, waiting for Alex. As soon as he had dealt with the situation down at the bar, he would come up to deal with her. She was trapped in his grip like a junky unable to escape addiction. Laying on top of the piano was a leather journal, something she hadn't touched for a long time, but that night, she felt the impulse to reach for it. A conversation with a stranger had sparked a long-lost desire to write songs again. How did she end up like this? How was this now her life?

  A lot had happened in the two years she had lived in Tech City. She flicked through the mostly empty pages, until she stopped on the inside cover at a hand written note. A single tear ran down her cheek.

  Nakita,

  Follow your dreams,

  I'll be waiting for you, always,

  Tim

  ~

  Taz hastily walked through the streets of Berlin towards the northern edge of the town. This is where anyone who wanted to leave Berlin by land would have to go. In the other direction there was only the ocean. Taz didn’t have a plan other than to try and catch up to Hunter. When he reached the area where they had parked the black sports car, Taz looked around and realized there would be no chance of catching him. The car was missing.

  "He took the car…"

  Taz paused for a moment while he thought of what to do next. Moja sat patiently by his side and looked north towards the horizon. Taz was too preoccupied to notice Moja had become transfixed on the landscape ahead of her. She panted slowly as she poised her hind legs. A soft wind blew through her fur as she gazed north towards Tech City. She no longer could acknowledge Taz's presence. As loyal a pet as she had become, there was a stronger, primal instinct pulling her away. She could no longer act like a tamed animal. Moja was a wild dog, a wolf, and she was a slave to her animal desires.

  Taz was too focused on how to reach Hunter and didn't think to keep a firm grip on Moja's leash. She had spent the last three months by his side and Taz trusted her implicitly. Moja did not consciously want to betray him, but she had a higher calling. She had her own mission. Moja leaped forward and violently shook her neck with as much force as she could gather. The collar around her neck pulled the leash from Taz's grip, and before he even realized, she had broken free.

  "Moja!" Taz screamed as she ran ahead. He tried to run after her but his short legs were no match for a wild animal sprinting through the empty streets. Before he could even begin to run, an arm wrapped around his waist and held him in his place. Taz looked up to see a tall man wearing a trench coat towering above him. He was flanked by four military soldiers dressed head to toe in body armor.

  "Let me go! I need catch my dog, she's getting away!" Taz yelled.

  "Sorry kid, no one is allowed to leave this place. It's under lockdown." The man had just arrived in Berlin under special orders from MAW Corp. "Seriously, stop squirming!" He tightened his grip. Taz couldn’t speak. He watched helplessly as Moja vanished out of sight. Taz slumped into the arms of the man. There was no more fight left within him. He had lost his two best friends.

  "Moja, why?"

  "Good, now can you please tell me how to get to the docks? I'm looking for the ship that crashed here this morning." The man loosened his grip as a show of good faith. Taz had no response, he just looked at the ground and started to cry.

  "Just like when I lost my parents in Tiberia, now I'm all alone again."

  The man gripped Taz by the shoulder and marched him through Berlin towards the docks. He ordered the MAW Corp soldiers to guard the town's entrance and setup a barricade. As he proceeded through the town, he tried to show Taz he wasn't such a bad guy.

  "You know, your parents will thank me when I tell them that you could have been arrested by MAW Corp for trying to escape during a military lockdown. I don't want you to get in trouble. That's why I'm personally escorting you away from the town border."

  "Just arrest me, I don’t care anymore…" T
az spoke with none of the enthusiasm or spirit he once had.