This is a Cyberpunk-themed story. In this universe, the global community is devastated by a global stock market collapse in 1994. Poverty, homelessness, and unemployment spike across the world. A series of mega-corporations grows increasingly dominant in geopolitics, takes territory around the world and employs soldiers or mercenaries to fight wars for them. The U.S. political system was taken over by the intelligence services, known as the "Gang of Four". The American junta proceeds to launch two catastrophic wars in Central America, which weakens the standing of the U.S. in the global community. Martial law is declared at home as a result, several states in the west secede from the union, forming a Free State alliance. The chaotic breakup of the Soviet Empire introduces nuclear weapons into the black market. And a series of corporate wars erupt, and human civilization is brought to it's knees.

In the present day, humanity continues to survive in a world dominated by the giant private empires of the MegaCorps. The New United States, reformed in the wake of the "gang of four" being toppled, seeks to restore the Free States to their former status under federal rule. That includes the Republic of Texas, which exercises full autonomy within the NUSA. Technology is far more advanced, but economic inequality is out of control, with the wealthy enjoying longer and more prosperous lives. All the while, the masses of people struggle to survive when upward mobility is nonexistent and violence haunts the landscape.

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Present Date: May, 2095

Location: City of Houston, Republic of Texas

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The Greater Houston metropolitan area, in its heyday, was the center of leading technological and industrial activity before "the Collapse" of the US. The outskirts of the Republic's largest city are currently home to an endless cornucopia of sketchy BD shops, food trucks, small drug peddlers, ripperdocs, corpos, joytoys and mercs. The glittering skyline of the city features the offices of mega-corporations that have come to dominate geopolitics in the 21st and Texas was no exception. The skies were dotted with the sight and sound of various autonomous aircraft and drones crisscrossing over the corporate plaza near the center of town. The leading families of Houston are the corporate heads of the large Petrochem operations, Agribusiness conglomerates or Texas arms dealers. Unless you are a proud member of the lucky sperm club, you would be amongst the vast sea of the working poor, trying to make ends meet. Or you are among the homeless, drug addicted and dangerous cyberpyschos too numerous to mention.

Over the decades, the city had become safe haven for migrant workers, mostly from the Caribbean, fleeing environmental disaster on the islands. After the 2040s, Texas experienced sustained economic growth for the first time in decades. With the modest oil wealth, the Republic managed to sustain itself and emerge mostly unscathed relative to the rest of the old USA. Naturally, people from as far south as Brazil and as far east as the Neo Soviet Union, characters of all stripes of people made their way (by hook or by crook) to the Republic in search of greener pastures.

Unfortunately, that also meant a fair number of the criminal element wormed their way into our humble community. This is where my story begins. The Texas Bureau of Investigation (TBI for short) had acquired intel from multiple informants that members of a Mexican cartel were smuggling unknown contents through Texas. The destination of the package was a mystery. It was our job to tail the smugglers and wait for further instructions. Cartels use decoy packages of drugs, outdated hacking equipment and sometimes even joytoys to keep us chasing our tails. Whatever they were transporting must have been very important to them. The two smugglers were using an All Foods refrigerated truck to transport the package. We were several cars back from them, on the highway tailing the vehicle in a beat-up old Thorton at noon.

"Belle, check in. Any updates?" My senior partner, Terrence Williams, was requesting an update from our netrunner back at College Station. At 6 foot 3 and 250 lbs Terrence was a red-blooded Anglo-Texan from McAllen near the border. Despite being thick around the middle, Terrence sported impressive muscle mass everywhere else, along with a head of cropped blonde hair. We had been working together for about four years now, ever since the Rattler war broke out. He hauled my ass out of a live firefight when shotgun shells lodged themselves in my chest despite the armor I was wearing (cheap piece of shit). He came to visit me in the hospital often during my recovery, we've been chooms watching ever other's backs ever since.

"No update yet, the scans of the vehicle show nothing of interest, but we have it on good authority, the cargo is on the truck." Sarah McGowan a.k.a "Belle" was our team netrunner operating the camouflaged drone near the target vehicle on the highway. TBI recruited her out of a small settlement in the NUSA Florida panhandle after she infiltrated a TBI data fort looking for information on pirate activity in the Caribbean, bypassing some of the toughest cyber-security protocols in North America. It was also a plus that she was a stone cold knock out with deep blue eyes, raven black hair, sun kissed white skin and a 32 DD rack that could short circuit any man's optical implants.

"I'm picking up audio from the conversation in the car. It could be worth a listen."

"Max, you're up. Let me know if those gonks say anything useful." Terrence said.

I inserted an earpiece with software that would allow me to listen in through the drone, clear as day. In case you are wondering, I am not chipped. I don't have any implants. For my service in the famed Texas Rangers, I was outfitted with bioware enhancements that boost muscle growth, immunity and cognitive ability. It is part of an initiative launched by headquarters that I participated in after my recovery, more on that later. For the first 20 minutes, tweedle dee and tweedle dumb were basically bitching about women, sports and other useless drivel. We were still tailing the vehicle on the outskirts of the city limits near what used to be the airport.

Over the next hour, I listened to those two dipshits saying absolutely nothing in particular. At this point, we were heading into the industrial area of an abandoned town on the outskirts. The traffic thinned out as we drove. Derelict train yards and workshops came into view. Nomads often set up camp in places like these. Suddenly, Terrence slowed the car and made a right on the intersection, the target vehicle drove out of view.

"Terrence?" I didn't bother to finish the sentence.

"They would have spotted us." He replied in his usual deep voice. "I'll contact Lucky. He'll meet up with us when the time is right."

I understood his meaning, "You know where the hand off is, don't you?"

"They're using an industrial warehouse as a hideout. I know this part of the county."

Belle chimed in, "Umm, guys. What's the play here?" She asked, clearly puzzled.

"Belle, keep tailing them as long as you can. Once they drive into the facility, perform a sweep of the area, let us know what we are up against." Terrence replied, "Contact HQ, let them know we are going to need back-up."

"No can do, our remaining forces are already deployed. Ranger team 12 ran into a firefight tracking 5 smugglers in Sherman."

"Fuck!" Terrence was frustrated.

"Sorry guys, you'll have to deal with this yourselves. We can pull back and wait for a better opportunity?"

"That's not happening, we got this. What are our instructions?" I asked. Terrence looked at me, amused.

"Your orders are to collect intel and secure the cargo, neutralize anyone who appears hostile."

"Understood, Team 9 out." Terrence ended the call and looked at me, "Spoiling for a fight, aren't ya?"

"Fuck yes, time to see what they're hiding." After months in the hospital and physical therapy, I was more than ready for some action.

The industrial warehouse in the middle of what used to be the town of Lufkin, was an ideal place for hiding important contraband. The warehouse entrance was gated with posts on the front and back of the building. It was fortunate enough that Terrence knew of the connecting drainage system that ran between the warehouse and a smaller repair shop. We made our way through the sewers into the basement. After clearing the room, we walked quietly up the stairs to the main floor. Our drone sweep of the area revealed eleven personnel, all of them armed. Realistically, we could expect more inside. Cameras were spotted around the building. Our major advantage was the element of surprise and stealth. That meant combat knives and silenced pistols.

Terrence opened the door. The hallway was poorly lit, which was good news for us. No cameras were spotted yet. Most of the rooms were empty or filled with junk. Making our way toward the main area when a door to the right opened up. I could hear a voice speaking Spanish. I turned the man walked toward us, thinking we were one of his buddies.

"Oye, espera, ¿qué demoni-" As he reached for his gun, I had leveled mine at his temple and deposited two bullets in his brain. Moving quickly, I made my way into the room. It was empty with no one else around.

"Clear," I whispered to Terrence, who was close by, as I hid the body in a nearby closet.

"Let's keep moving." He replied. The two of us moved forward. There was a larger reception area nearby with 4 hostiles lounging around. A camera was monitoring the room. We took up positions near a concealed area for 15 minutes, waiting for an opening. When someone (I assumed to be the boss) called for more hands on the shop floor. Two left the area. That was our opportunity. Using his neural implants, Terrence hacked the cameras and turned them off. I signaled a countdown to him with my fingers; 3..2.. With that, we emerged from our hiding spot and dropped both guards with impeccable aim. After hiding the corpses, we pushed on to another office, which was retrofitted into a surveillance hub. Inside, one hostile was sitting near the desk. Terrence put him in a headlock and knocked him out while I manned the cameras manually.

The truck was in the warehouse along with the cargo in a locked case. Another truck was driving into the warehouse past the gates. Switching through multiple cameras, I spotted the outlines of active mounted turrets in the ceilings in several critical areas. I managed to power down the turrets through the terminal.

"Alright, you should be good to go," I said. Terrence was looking over my shoulder.

"Max, you keep tabs on them. I'll make my way up."

"By yourself, you sure?" I turned to look at him.

"Yes, I'm heading upstairs when I give the word, you make your way to the shop floor. The two smugglers come with us. The rest can eat lead. Got it?" I nodded. He left the room.

Cameras were situated in the main area near the gate, in the back and a small office at the end of the catwalk. The same guards were loading the cargo onto the second truck, with the couriers. Terrence climbed up the stairs. I alerted him to a guard heading his way. The hostile was armed with an assault rifle. As soon as the guard opened the door, Terrence, using the rifle, yanked him into the stairway and pushed him up against the wall and put two bullets in the gonk's skull and chest. There was no time to hide the body. We had to act fast. While my partner was moving to the other end of the scaffold, I was listening in, on the ground floor. The two dipshits who were driving the truck were arguing about the job not paying well, when one of the gonks actually says something interesting.

"Look hermano, if you wanted better work, you should have taken up guard duty in New Galveston." The gonk was talking to the younger smuggler in English.

"Cuidar a la princesa en un crucero gay no es mi definición de trabajo decente." The smuggler replied in Spanish.

"Oh, of course. We'll all pretend like you wouldn't love it on your knees." The gonk just walked away laughing while the smuggler steamed at the insult.

"Who the fuck is 'the princess'?" I thought to myself.

"Max, I am clear up here. You're up." My attention was brought back to the matter at hand. I neared the entrance to the main area. There were 6 hostiles in the warehouse. I tagged the guards, noting their locations.

"Terrence, I am at the door. Ready when you are." I said.

"Remember, we need the smugglers alive. Flash-bang grenades out in 3..2"

When the grenades detonated, there was the usual confusion amongst the enemy. Terrence took out one guard close to the door near me. I opened the door and dropped the other one. The four others reached for their guns and fired off rounds in my direction. I dove behind machinery for cover while my partner picked another guard. Once they realized there were two of us, one guard aimed for Terrence and the other one tried to keep me suppressed. I tossed one of my flash grenades toward their position. The detonation would only confuse them for a few seconds. I took that time to move from cover and killed one guard, firing a submachine gun. Terrence shot one smuggler in the legs, while I zeroed the last guard. The shout-out had lasted close to a minute. And just like that, it was over.

Terrence dropped down from the second level. There was no time to waste. The smuggler was on the ground, bleeding and cursing us out in Spanish. Before he was able to reach out for his gun, I knocked him out with the butt of my pistol. Terrence caught the fat one hiding behind one of the trucks. We got tweedle dee and tweedle dumb tucked away in the van along with cargo (which was heavy as shit). I took shotgun, Terrence grabbed the wheel.

"Fuck, the gate--" It was closed before I could finish a sentence. Three more guards popped in from the back of the building and fired bullets in our direction. The front window glass shattered. I fired a submachine gun back in their direction.

"Fuck it." Terrence kicked the car into high gear and rammed through the warehouse gate onto the street while in reverse. The guard at the post next to us went for his weapon and fired off some shots, shattering the driver-side window.

"Get back!" I leaned over Terrence and shot the enemy twice in the chest before we sped off. The plan was to drive off to our safe house. Looking into the rear-view mirror, I took notice that we were being tailed. Those fuckers from the warehouse were chasing us down.

"Terrence?" I looked in his direction. Shots were being fired at our position. One of the bullets hit the side mirror. I grabbed a scoped assault rifle in the back and fired several shots in their direction.

"I see em! Lucky you are up." He said, talking over the line. When I noticed those fuckers getting closer. All of a sudden, when their car was passing an intersection, a rocket emerged out of nowhere and hit the enemy vehicle, ripping it to shreds in the explosion. The gonks got an express ticket straight to hell.

"Got em." Larry responded through the holo.

"Fuck yeah!"

"Good shot, let's split off and meet up at base." Terrence ended the call.

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Lily pads were secure facilities set up in multiple locations for TBI to hold assets. Once we pulled into the location, our orders were to wait for the TBI "interrogation team" to arrive and do their worst. The cargo locked in the container wasn't opened until we made our way back to HQ in College Station. The tech team had the honor of popping the lock on the container. What did they find inside: weapons-grade nuclear material. When we heard the news, Lucky almost fell out of his chair during the briefing. The interrogation yielded some results. It didn't take long for the two gonks to fess up, given they were looking at spending time in the Sherman Disposal Center (a dystopian megaprison).

From what we could ascertain, the fissile material was delivered by cargo ship to the port of Mazatlan and was transported by truck to the Texas border heading for an unknown location. The cartel was moving this merchandise for an unknown third party. The fissile material was currently being analyzed by the eggheads to figure out where it came from. We had very little to go on for the time being, but there was another card I had up my sleeve.

Some hours after the briefing, I took a stroll to see my favorite netrunner. Belle was in the lab along with Trevor and a woman named Amelia. She was talking to Trevor when I stepped into the room. Lab was pristine and well lit, with monitors displaying endless reels of data fixed in position above a short row of netrunner chairs and skull jacks. Sarah was still in her net runner suit, which suited her hourglass figure and jet black hair done up in a ponytail.

"There she is, my favorite netrunner in the whole wide world!" I said boldly.

"Not now, Max. I got enough shit to deal with already without you piling on." She wasn't in the mood for my bullshit, so I decided to play dumb.

"This guy over here. Is he causing problems for you?" I asked, which earned me a middle finger from the gentleman in question.

"Fuck off, Max." Trevor smiled. The man was 6'2, dark-skinned, handsome and very charming. At 5'11 with 230 lbs of pure muscle and chocolate brown skin, I wasn't chopped liver myself, but the competition for her affections was fierce.

She sighed, "What do you want, Max?" She looked at me with those deep blue eyes, button nose and full ruby red lips.

"I'm looking for a princess. The two smugglers talked about guard duty for a VIP or 'princess' on a cruise ship before we nabbed their asses."

"Why didn't you go to the interrogation unit with this? Have them find out what they know."

"Cruise lines almost exclusively dock in New Galveston these days, it's a 'Free Port' remember. We're not allowed to be there... 'officially'." I gave her a wink. She caught pretty quickly.

"Oh, so you want me to help you break the law." She gave a stern look. Damn, those lips were so kissable, wait I can't get distracted. But damn those tits... No, no, stay focused.

"Whoa, hold on, no one said anything about breaking the law. I just need to know if you see anything suspicious. Just check the manifest and documentation. Do you think you can help me?"

"Mmhmm," She looked at Trevor, who was listening in. They were both enjoying this, "Fine, I'll let you know if anything seems off."

"Preem, I owe you one. Actually, come to think of it, I know this fancy restaurant in Corpus Christi. I can get us reservations--"

"Max, leave right now before you piss me off and I change my mind." I didn't want to press my luck at that point, so I left right after blowing her a kiss.

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New Galveston, Texas Republic

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New Galveston in decades past was constructed as a floating city above the location of the old Galveston, which was destroyed by increased flooding. The finished project with its concrete dome architecture looked as weird & unappealing as anything I ever saw. Tourism was out of the question. Instead, the city became a major hub for smuggling goods through the coastal plains, which caused a huge headache for law enforcement. Afterwards, Texas leaders courted the firm Brown and Associates (B&A) along with MetaCorp to reconstruct the island. The "new" New Galveston (I guess) was really something to behold. The entire city was kept afloat using a synthetic material designed to be sturdy and buoyant. Sand from the Mexican coast was used to construct beaches along the periphery with sand dunes and the usual vegetation, buttressing the boardwalk. The solid foundations allowed for hotels, casinos, bars, as well as commercial offices and port infrastructure to be constructed with ease. All in all, it was an impressive feat of architecture and engineering.

At 11 am, I took in the sights at the Tiki bar close to the beach while drinking and chatting up the cute redhead bartender. Doing my best to blend in. The massive cruise ship was docked farther up, being refurbished from the air by drones seen above. The wealthy passengers of the ship had taken up spots on the beach and filled up the local bars & restaurants. The young, rich and oblivious were waited on in some of the finest establishments in the Southwest. Officially, I was off-duty, enjoying a hard-earned vacation, a reward for a job well done. And unofficially.....

"Max, I combed through the manifest as well as the personal documentation of the passengers," Belle said. The audio from my discreet ear pierce came through just fine.

"Did you find anything?" I asked.

"Six females had sketchy passport documentation registered. However, I don't believe any of them have connections to any cartels."

"Why is that?" I took a sip of my liquor. While looking at the news feed on the holographic screen above. The self-proclaimed "Republic of Sonora" had gained ground in the battle against paramilitary forces (backed by the mega corp, Pemex) in the Gulf of California. Mexico City had been too wracked with corruption and political infighting to put down the secessionists with any real force. It was a consequence of past U.S. interventions in Latin America during the early 21st century. The new republic was not recognized by Mexico, let alone the rest of the global community. Fighting on the western border was almost constant at this point, which is why rangers like me were being loaned out to law enforcement. An unstable political situation, coupled with fighting in border towns, meant smuggling was rampant.

"None of them fit the profile. Most are from NUSA, and their records are squeaky clean. No indications of criminal affiliation."

"Okay, well..." I was trying to buy time to think. I could sense that something was missing. The cruise couldn't have been the wrong one. The schedules matched up for the guard duty. According to the manifest, the specific class of cruise ship was armed to the teeth. You name it, anti-air batteries, autonomous underwater escort drones and netrunners working in shifts to protect from hackers. All of which was hidden from outside view. There were some wealthy patrons on board with deep connections, which would be convenient for slipping some captives right under the nose of the authority. Whatever you wanna say about it, the cruise ship looked as far from gay as you can imagine... Holy shit.

"Belle, did you only do a deep dive on just the female passengers?" I whispered. The bartender was busy serving some customers on the other side of the bar.

"Um, yes. Why? Do you think the VIP is a male? You said you were looking for a princess."

" 'Princess' may have been a derogatory term, the guards talked about guarding 'la princessa on a gay cruise-'. Look for a male passenger."

"On it. Fyi, Lucky just got word from his sources that there are several men scoping out the casino, hotel, and the beach. I think we found our VIP's guards. I am sending their profiles to you now."

"Thanks, Belle." I took another sip of my liquor and watched a volleyball match between a group of busty bikini-clad women on the beach, "speaking of scoping out a hotel, I was thinking maybe after this, you and me can--".

Before I could finish my lame ass pickup line on Belle, some dick head hopped on the stool next to me, requesting that the bartender serve him up a drink in a loud and obnoxious manner. He almost knocked me over. He must have been sauced.

"Oye chica. Rum and coke, please!"

The bartender, Marquessa, gave him a not-too-friendly look.

"Hey dickhead, do you wanna slow down!" I ended the call using my earpiece.

"Fuck off, cabron!"

"Excuse me?!" I turned to look at the little shit. He was young, in his mid twenties, with caramel skin and longish jet black hair with brown streaks. He was a pretty boy with honey brown eyes, high cheekbones and almost no facial hair. The kid was probably accustomed to female affection. His body was lean with a decent bit of muscle on him. He was wearing a black waterproof shortsleeve shirt and trunks.. The most striking feature was his eyes an almost blue-greenish and full of youthful intensity. A close second was his thick and toned legs. Overall, he was a good-looking kid.

"What you want, huh?" he said in a South American accent. I figured he must have been a tourist. Given the fact that I was officially not supposed to be there at all, I decided to let it slide and meet up with Lucky in the casino.

I drained my glass and payed the bill. "Never mind, kid." I left the bar.

"Ha, good choice, Abuelo!" He snickered, the little shit.

The San Juan casino, spa and hotel was the very definition of opulence. The casino sported marble columns, gold sculptures and wall decorations. The ceiling itself was painted like the Sistine Chapel. Patrons from around the Western Hemisphere came here to gamble away their money in this fine establishment. I had been told Lucky was near the slot machines. I made my way to him. The staff all sported platinum chrome faces instead of gold, as was the style these days. The New Galveston Police Department had not caught on to who I was or what my actual motives were. Nor had the casino guards, who were too busy ogling the women in bikinis. There was a busty older blonde wearing a sarong wrap around her waist, playing the slots on the other side of the room. So far so good, I found Lucky near a slot machine close to a few dealers' tables and sat down next to him.

Lawrence Wilkes, a.k.a. Lucky, was our team sniper. At 6'1, he was a light-skinned Tejano from the Rio Grande Valley. He had short-cropped brown hair and dark piercing eyes. Lucky had come from a well-connected family in the upper circles of Texas society. His father was one of the partners at B&A when the firm was coming into prominence. He joined the armed services to chart his own path to success. No matter what challenges he encountered, he took them head-on. Quitting wasn't in his vocabulary. It was like he had something to prove to himself or his family.

"How are the slots treating you?" I asked, being discreet.

"The piece of junk is rigged. A couple of lifeguards spotted some gangoons watching the crowd. It seemed suspicious." Lucky replied. His eyes lit up as he digitally transferred some Eddies (Eurodollars) into the slot machine through his neural implants and proceeded to pull the lever. I used my card to play the slots, since I was lacking neural implants of my own.

"House always wins, man.... Do we know the VIP? Who are they protecting?"

"Not yet, but I managed to talk to some of the employees. Almost all of the guards are set up in hotel rooms on the ninth floor. Go to the ninth floor, talk to Isabella, she's working that floor right now. With any luck, she will point you in the right direction. Oh, fuck me." Lucky's slot machine came up two leprechauns and a pair of cherries. Lucky made his way to the bar, frustrated by his lack of good fortune. After several more minutes of losing money to the stupid thing, I walked toward the hotel section of the building.

Isabella, a lovely stern faced lady with jet black hair done up in a bun, was an intelligence asset for TBI. She owed the bureau a favor from a previous engagement. The details weren't available. It was on a need-to-know basis. Cameras were installed at several points on the ninth floor but they shouldn't be a problem. Isabella was on her shift, making the rounds. When I arrived, she was leaving room 922.

"Ma'am, do you know when the staff will return the dry cleaning?" I asked. Lucky informed her about who I was.

"Tomorrow at noon, do you have your ticket?"

"I do," I presented her with a blank TBI keycard copier instead of a dry cleaning ticket. The tech allowed for transferring the keycard passcode that unlocks private rooms. The plan was to present this to her so, she can transfer the access code onto it. She took the card.

"Excellent." Her eyes glowed as she transferred the data. When that was done, she handed the key card back to me. She whispered, "The camera system is compromised. You will only have 15 minutes before it resets."

"It won't take that long, I'll be out in a flash. Which room is the target's? Any guards nearby?"

"No, everyone's on the beach. You will want room 915, tell Lucky we are even." With that, she moved on with her shift.

Room 915 was close by, I tapped my key card and moved in. The hotel room was luxurious with a balcony and ocean view. Clothes were all over the place, and the TV was playing in the background, muted. I spotted two suitcases near the bed and started searching for any electronics. I came across a laptop in one of them, and I inserted the infected shard that Belle gave me into the port. Hopefully, this works properly.

"Belle, the shard is in place," I said while I prepped and planted a listening device in a convenient spot.

"Copy, I am scanning now. The ice on this device is going to take a few minutes. Leave the laptop where you found it. Once you're done, retrieve the shard and exit the room."

The device was a miniature spider-like drone that captures audio, visual, as well as some thermal sensor readings of the room. I placed the device on the back of the bed frame and activated it. The drone came alive and moved into position when Belle chimed in.

"Baez, I need you to remove the shard, debug the room and return to Lucky," Belle said.

Something about her tone set off my spidey senses. Belle called me by my last name; she hasn't done that since our first assignment.

"Belle, please confirm your last?"

"Baez, remove the shard and get out of there now!" She said in a tone that suggested things had gone sideways back at HQ.

Before I could find the laptop and remove it, I heard the approach of footsteps and dove under the bed. The door opened, and someone entered the room. He was talking to someone on a call in rapid Spanish. The live connection I had was severed. I tried to raise Belle again, but got no response. Whoever he was, he must have come from the beach, as he was still wearing sandals. On his right foot, I saw a small tattoo of the Oaxaca Cartel. This was definitely the guy. A couple of minutes later, he ended the call and walked to the bathroom. I could hear shower water running, so I crawled out from under the bed and called Lucky.

"Lucky, something's off. Belle ordered me to abandon the mission. Has she contacted you?" I asked as softly as I could.

"No, College Station has been quiet."

"Try raising her on the holo. Tell Terrence to bring the truck around just in case." I whispered, checking the door to make sure it was still closed. I only had five minutes left at most before the cameras rebooted.

"No response from HQ. Max, take the shard, leave the bug, and we'll meet up at the rendezvous point." He said.

"Understood." Moving quickly, I rifled through the suitcase and found the laptop. I removed the shard and began to make my exit. I glanced back at the bathroom door, still hearing the shower running, but the door was cracked open. The target spotted me. I could see his eye through the crack in the door. Time slowed as we looked at each other, wondering who was going to make the first move. The door swung open as the target made a beeline for his backpack. I lunged forward to tackle him until I spotted the glint of his blade. I slowed and backed out of the path of the blade, missing my throat by mere centimeters. The target swung again and again. I ducked and dodged each thrust. The kid must have had some training in the past. I nearly had my throat slit. He tried to stab in the gut, but I managed to lock up his knife hand. When he threw a punch my way, I caught his fist and twisted his hand before delivering a headbutt to his temple. Then I threw him up against the wall using my upper body strength, knocking him unconscious with that move.

"Fucking hell!" I said, panting hard, the twink from the Tiki bar that nearly knocked me off my chair, he was the fucking target. I stood there trying to catch my breath, but there was no time. The hotel alarm system came alive with flashing red lights and a God-awful noise.

"Shit!" I scrambled and grabbed for the backpack. I stuff the laptop and the knife inside.

"Max, what the fuck happened? Casino guards are rushing your position as we speak." He whispered. I could hear the frantic movement in the background.

"Lucky, tell Terrence to bring the truck around. I am heading his way with the VIP." I lifted the kid into a fireman's carry position and exited the room, making my way down the hallway to the terrace.

"The VIP?! Max, you weren't supposed to--"

"Lucky, shut your yap and make sure Terrence is in position with the truck!" I said as I maneuvered past guests who had wandered into the hallway. The alarm was blaring on the entire seventh floor.

"HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

I turned back to see a group of pissed off and chromed up casino guards racing toward me with pistols drawn. I ran as fast as I could, turning left and through the double doors onto the open terrace. Guests sunbathing by the hotel pool and drinking near the bar were startled by the commotion. I positioned myself near the metal guardrail on the ledge. A group of casino guards took position and leveled their guns at me.

"SIR, PUT HIM DOWN AND SURRENDER!" The lead officer commanded. Shit, I need more time.

"WHAT'S YOUR OFFER?" I asked.

"OFFER?!", He was confused, "PUT HIM THE FUCK DOWN AND MAYBE YOU DON'T GET SENT UP TO SHERMAN WITH THE CANNIBALS! HOW ABOUT THAT?"

"Wait for my signal." Lucky spoke into my earpiece.

"YOU GOT TO THE COUNT OF THREE TO DROP HIM AND SURRENDER!" The guards stood firm and aimed center mass, "THREE!"

"TWO!" He yelled as he moved forward an inch or two.

"Now, Max!" Lucky said.

I leaped over the barrier and down the building. I could hear the guards panicking as we descended. Below, there were hotel patrol cars a few feet apart set up to prevent guests from leaving until the situation was handled. The company that collected the garbage, especially during peak hotel season, was contracted not by the city but by the hotel association. This is important. I will explain why later on. Needless to say that when the mammoth garbage truck raced at high speed around the bend and toward the patrol cars, the guards leaped out of the way. The drop was perfectly timed so that we would descend into the pile of garbage in the back. The patrol cars were flattened under the massive vehicle, without slowing down a bit.

"Terrence cough, we're in. Let's delta!" The hotel receded into the distance as we made our escape.

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Unknown Facility somewhere in New Galveston,

Republic of Texas.

****************************************************************

On the outskirts of town, we settled into our base, a derelict-looking massage parlor which had been quietly refurbished into a safe house. The decrepit look of the building helped us blend into the background of this hard-scrabbled neighborhood. The parlor was just high enough to catch glimpses of the bustling nightclubs and high rises that lit up the night sky. Within the shadow cast by the port authority zone, the local business district hosted ramen stands, small pachinko shops, and other niceties. Joytoys dolled up in tight, revealing outfits walked the streets offering potential clients happy endings.

By the time the police had been notified and the search conducted, we were long gone and had thoroughly covered our tracks. Lucky and Terrence had tried contacting HQ with no response. It was highly unusual for Belle to go quiet for this long. That little stunt we pulled sure hadn't helped things. To be clear, HQ knew about our operation as they were informed ahead of time. Command couldn't approve of covert actions like this, but they could give us the "nod", so to speak. They had to maintain plausible deniability, so if things went to shit, you were basically on your own. Our "special" guest was in the other room, facing stiff questioning from Lucky. We weren't expert interrogators, but we would have to make due with what we had. I was currently busy, trying my best to crack the password on this kid's tech while Terrence chewed me out for fucking up the op.

"Can't you follow simple fucking instructions!" Terrence barked at me. I like the man, but he could be a prick sometimes.

"I told you what happened! It's not my fault, HQ bailed on us. They're chicken shit." I replied. It was a good thing the room was soundproof. It shouldn't have taken this long to get a response from HQ. I was just hoping and praying that we could find something on the laptop that could save our bacon. Lucky exited the makeshift interrogation room (an expanded janitor's closet) looking pissed.

"No dice?" I asked.

"That brat could use a fucking beating." He sat down on a chair, frustrated.

"Did he call you an old bitch, too?" I laughed. The laptop was high-end tech. The infected shard wasn't sufficient. Instead, I was using more sophisticated software for this job. The monitors above cast a soft blue glow over the darkened room.

"Terrence, what's the plan?" I turned to look at him. He was staring out the window. Heavy rain had begun to pour down outside.

"I have some friends in the NGPD. They may be willing to help. We stay here for the night and try to contact HQ in the morning. If there's no response, I'll talk to my people about arranging safe passage out of the city." He said.

"Can you trust them?" I asked. Before he could reply, the monitors flashed. The program was successful in unlocking the laptop. Lucky sat up straight in his chair as I began a detailed search of the device.

"Terrence, look at this. There are documents here going back a decade at least. I see various different schematics for improvised weapons." I was combing through a fraction of the information we had on this kid's tech.

One of the schematics looked familiar. I enlarged the image. It was a detailed technical document of the nukes we found in Lufkin. It was safe to say we were on the right track.

"Shit," Terrence said softly.

"I think we have enough here for HQ to let us walk," Lucky said, smiling ear to ear.

"Alright, Max, copy the data. We'll settle in for the night." Terrence ordered. I sat down and got to work.

************************************

Once all was done, I went to the interrogation room. It was my job to escort the prisoner to his cell for the night. I entered the room. He was in the chair snoozing with his hands cuffed. I racked my knuckles on the desk, startling him awake. He was still wearing his swimwear from early.

"Get up, I'll take you to your room." I took him by the arm, even though he tried to resist.

"I can walk, pendejo!"

"I'm sure. Behave yourself and maybe we won't ship you up to Sherman. The prisoners there would tear your fat ass apart."

"Fuck you!"

We walk to his temporary cell, a makeshift bedroom, with a bathroom and some light provisions. Far less luxurious than the swanky San Juan hotel, but cozy enough. Once we were inside, I removed his constraints. Any combat implants he had were disabled. He was no threat.

"You guys are fucked, once my Dad hears about this!" He wined.

"Let me guess, you're Dad top dog in the Oaxaca cartel?" I asked. He went silent.

"We'll find out soon enough. You have everything you need. Sleep tight, princess." I laughed and opened the door to leave.

"Don't you fucking call me that, I am not a f-g unlike you gringos!" He barked.

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at him. Whatever he saw in my face made him step back. I could see fear in his eyes for the first time.

"What did you say?" My voice oozed venom. I could feel him tense up, fearful on one hand but defiant on the other. I closed the door. The magnetic lock sealed us in. I took a few more toward him. He instinctively fell back onto the bed.

"Espera, no wait! I didn't mean it!" he cried. I got on top of him, pinning him on the bed, and looked in his eyes.

"No, you meant it," I said. "You think just because your papa is swimming in eddies, you can treat people how you want?" I asked. He shook his head. He was at my mercy. Whatever pride he had left was gone.

"Please, I'll behave. Just don't hurt me!" he pleaded.

I was fully in control. I sat up, unbuttoned my tropical leaf shirt and tossed it to the floor. He looked up at me, confused as to what was happening. His eyes pour over my muscled bare chest and six-pack abs. I climbed off the bed. He sat up as I unzipped my cargo shorts, letting them drop to the floor along with my underwear. The look on that kid's face was priceless, his eyes widened in shock at the ten inch python between my legs. The bioware enhancements had unintended side effects on the subjects involved in the program. From my perspective, it was a welcome surprise.

"Oh my God." He was shocked.

"That's right, kid," I said. I grabbed him by his legs and brought him to the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing?!" he asked.

I leaned in to face him. "What's it look like I am doing?" I grabbed his chin and planted a kiss on his full lips. He was paralyzed with fear and lust before pulling back, as if trying to deny something from himself.

"I, I'm not like that!" he said, shaken from the experience.

"Are you sure about that?" I pointed to his groin. The kid was pitching a decent-sized tent.

"It's not, uh I'm not, SHIT!" He blushed profusely, avoiding my gaze. I took the opportunity to remove his shirt. His willowy chest and stomach were smooth. I brought him off the bed and onto his knees. He was eye level with my cock standing at attention, almost brushing up against his cheek.

"Come on, Princess. You know what you have to do." I said, he looked up at me. A mix of shame and arousal was playing itself out in his mind. He reached out to stroke my cock. I placed a hand on the back of his head, guiding him. Slowly, he put his lip on the tip and stuck out his tongue, drawing a line down my shaft, then back to the head. He swirled his tongue around the tip and tentatively took more of my cock in his mouth simultaneously.

"That's it," I said, as I grabbed a fistful of his hair to keep it out of his eyes. I applied more pressure at the base of his neck, guiding him to take more of my dick in his mouth. He gagged a bit, saliva pooling along the length of my dick as he started working it furiously, trying to get it over with. I gently yanked his head back and guided him toward my balls. He caught on and took one nut at a time in his mouth, lathering each one with his tongue. With him bent over slightly, I caught a good view of his bubble butt. The kid had a plump peach on him for sure. His swim trunks were wedging up his crack, revealing the bottoms of his soft ass cheeks. Once he was done polishing the family jewels, I released his hair a bit, letting him catch his breath.

"Not bad." I grabbed his chin and rubbed my cock on his cheek before shoving my cock down his throat. He winced in discomfort, but he took it well before releasing my cock. He coughed and slowly recovered his balance.

"You bastard!" He was outraged. I gave him a hand up onto his feet. "Okay, you got what you wanted, WAIT--".

He was taken by surprise when I yanked his swim trunks down to his knees and grabbed his ass. He put his hands out to stop me, but it was in vain. I dug my fingers into his glutes and rubbed a finger against his needy hole. I managed to slide a digit into his rectum. He moaned before catching himself.

"Oh, we aren't done yet, Princess." I gave him a mischievous smile.

"You can't, you'll rip me in half," he said..

"Exactly." I lifted him up by the waist and tossed him on the bed. I rolled him over onto his stomach, spread his honey brown basketball cheeks apart and proceeded to devour his ass. He moaned and writhed like a bitch in heat as I made a meal out of his fat butt, lubing him up for stiff dicking intended. I massaged his soft cheeks, feeling the muscle beneath. After a few minutes, I sat up and gave his ass one last hard smack before lining my cock up against his back door.

"Wait, just go sloOOOHHH!" He cried as I inserted the first few inches up his tush.

My stiff rod was thick, so it wasn't easy going in. I held his hips firm, lifting his ass in the air and continued to bury my cock deeper into his bowels. Pumping my cock in and out, with each thrust, I work my way up inside of him.

"Ahh!" He grabbed the bed sheets with all his might, with half of my rod in his guts. He cursed and groaned until I bottomed out inside of him with all ten inches deep inside of him. Beads of sweat formed on his face, and his breathing was erratic. His insides were so warm, smooth and silky, it felt incredible. The sight of the sexy twink being put in his place

"Balls deep!" I laughed, swatting his plump ass some more.

"Oh God, Oh God, I feel it in my stomach!" He was struggling to acclimate to my size. With that, I pulled out almost to the tip and plunged back in, causing him to grunt. I started fucking him with long, deep strokes. It took him a few minutes to adjust. He stopped tensing and started to relax. I picked up the pace, fucking him harder and deeper than. He started cursing in colorful Spanish, it only made me more aggressive in breaking his back out. His caramel bubble butt jiggled wildly with each thrust. I was mesmerized by the sight of his cheeks rippling from the force. We spent a pleasurable ten minutes fucking doggy style when I grabbed his hair and gently pulled him closer to me. The scent of his perspiration mixed with salt water from the gulf was so intoxicating. I pulled him into a hug by his armz, my angle of assault curved upward. His breathing grew more erratic, and his body started to shake uncontrollably.

"Hnnngh, FUUUCK!" His finger nails dug into my forearm, as his insides pulsed around my cock as his dick exploded, spraying cum all over the bedsheets. I continued fucking him until he was spent. His words were intelligible; his body dripping at that point.

"Ha ha ha, it feels really good to be a f-g huh. You love getting your fat ass fucked by a real man, princess?" I said, mocking him. He said nothing, embarrassed by my teasing.

"My turn," I withdrew from him, flipped him onto his back and pulled him into a missionary position. He gasped when I filled him back up. His hair was a mess, his eyes were runny, and his voice hoarse from the physical exertion. I continued to pound his tush as hard as I could, as guttural grunts escaped his lips. Several minutes in, my balls were boiling. I shoved my cock as deep as I could inside of him as volley after volley of cum burst forth, painting his guts white with my sperm.

"Fuck yeah!" I yelled as my own orgasm plateaued and then subsided. I looked down at my prey, "Next time I'll buy you dinner first."

He was too exhausted to respond. I withdrew myself from him, his hole gaped, and started to leak. I took a moment to catch my breath and then lifted him off the bed and brought him into the bathroom.

He looked at me, startled by my actions. "Relax, princess," I started the shower, let him down and proceeded to wash his back, "We'll clean up and tomorrow we'll get this sorted out."

His legs were jelly, so I had to help him up.

"Look, it would help if you would just cooperate. We're not gonna hurt you, kid."

He turned to look at me. "I can't; you don't understand. I was just supposed to wait and stay put." He said.

"Wait for whom?" I asked. He was silent. "At least tell me your name."

"Ali," he said, it seems like I was getting somewhere.

"Well, Ali, I'm Max. You're going to cooperate, come hell or high water."

To Be Continued.....