Chapter Eighteen

Party Pug!

The Police Control Center tried to raise the security barricades on the streets. But these were only a little more than a meter long. Since they were only for cases in which heavy vehicles needed to be stopped and, since almost all light cars had flight systems, they were obsolete for a chase. Magnetic pulse systems, to stop out-of-control vehicles, had also proved useless. The shots had no effect on the animal, on the contrary, they had once again destroyed the devices hidden in the streets that fired them.

To stop the cheerful dog, there remained the option proposed by Oxy.

"We're going to get tickets for invisible... and irresponsible driving," Philip said, and snorted, looking at his partner.

The scene was much more ridiculous from their point of view. Through the glass of the armotruck they could both see what was going on, even though the few people on the streets could not.

After activating the car optical camouflage, Thor took off his jacket, rolled up the cuffs of his shirt, and left Oxy in command of the vehicle. Even though she was thousands of miles away physically, she was trying her best to drive the vehicle through her Neurowire as if it were a game. Thor climbed out the window and was striking a pose as if at any moment he was going to try to jump out of the speeding vehicle.

"Come closer!" Thor shouted at her.

[This thing won't give you any more than that,] Oxy replied reluctantly. [You're going to have to jump using vector drive from your boots!!!]

"I'll be fucked if I have to do that!!! Last time I almost ended up as a red blob against a wall!"

[You have no choice!]

"That thing is going to run me through with its mirrors!" Thor gritted his teeth. "What a night I chose to stay!"

[You just have to stop his run for a second! Once you reach its body, hit it somewhere and it should give us enough time to activate the security dome with the drones!]

Much easier said than done, he thought biting his lower lip. "Go into the menu and disable the speed allowed commands, that should give us enough time to catch up."

[You have speed lock?]

"Of course I have a speed lock. You can't have your car on the streets of a big city without one. Why do you think Philip can't catch up with us?"

"Thanks for reminding me of that," Philip said.

Zi tried to enter the armortruck's menu to unlock the speed allowed, but SIGN vehicles had a different protocol and needed the password to unlock it.

Still, they had to at least try. The plan boiled down to launching the drones and weaving a safety net, with an artificial force field around the animal, in order to contain it. As long as the same accident that happened in the building didn't happen. To do this, the team in the truck had unlocked the Fractium cores of the drones, so that they could make a dome strong enough so that the animal would not jump out of the place.

But first Thor would have to try to slow it down. Since the shots seemed to have no effect, and the skin reflected each attack, they would try with the invisibility provided by the car. Thor was wearing his badge that could provide him with his own camouflage.

Above them they could see how the swarm of drones had already reached the animal and were flashing their red lights.

The dwarf almost slipped from the vehicle, when Oxy finally unlocked the speed commands and the vehicle shot off like a projectile behind the animal. Driving was much more difficult in that mode, causing her to almost lose control and send Thor under the wheels of the car.

The dog looked sideways, but didn't see anything. For his part Thor looked apprehensively at the animal's sharp skin. This is going to hurt, he thought and clenched his fists. They were already in the new part of the city, with its huge skyscrapers advertising neon and holograms fluttering among the buildings.

***

What was going on? wondered the dog, as he looked back.

He thought he heard some kind of buzzing and voices on his left side, but he couldn't see anything. He swore that until a minute ago a metal egg was stuck to his backside like a limp fly. Why did it look like there were vehicles chasing him to begin with and those little things over his head that were flashing a dull brownish hue?

Whatever it was, he was having more fun than he had ever had in his whole life behind the mirror. The place was certainly fun with all those maze-like pathways that stretched as far as the eye could see. He could see huge pillars of little lights shining and flashing in various places. Not to mention that he could see humans running here and there. The only thing that had caused him some fear so far were some large flying figures that walked among some of the buildings of the city. But they seemed to be quite harmless, what kind of birds were they? He had never seen anything like it.

But the truth is that he had never seen almost any of the things he now had in front of him. The stress he felt, when all the humans filled the young girl's room disappeared, to give way to a euphoria driven mad by emotions.

Freedom, air, movement. But now he was awakening something he had long forgotten. Hunger. Where could I find food in this place?

He remembered that the family with whom he had lived with his siblings always provided him with food. But now? Where could he find something to satisfy his appetite?

That's what he was thinking, when suddenly he felt something on his left side that made him lose his balance, and almost lifted him off the ground. The dog fell on his right side and slipped on the wet asphalt. He quickly got up and shook himself off. What was that? There was nothing to bump into, but he had clearly felt a bump.

Then he saw those flying things coming down on him.

The drones had formed a dome-shaped net at least ten meters in diameter by another five meters high.

The dog looked with apprehension at the objects descending on him. They reminded him of that decorative bird, that the old antique dealer had once placed next to him in the window, enclosed in a kind of hemisphere with thin bars. The animal thought it was a real animal, but the truth was that it was simply a robot imitating a bird. A decoration. But even so, the confinement of the animal reminded him of his own.

He would not be imprisoned again. Mirror or cage, he didn't want to be locked up anymore.

He ran again as the drone prison was descending on him, and that's when something he didn't expect happened.

He was feeling a little lighter. Not only that, he was seeing how the street was widening and growing in size. The same was happening with the buildings and cars. Everything was getting huge. Or wasn't it?

***

After the blow, Thor somersaulted rolling on the asphalt and, with his fist still covered by a kind of biomechanical armor, he got up almost instantly while Oxy braked the car.

The drone net was coming down fast and Thor and Oxy smiled.

[We've got him!!!] Oxy shouted.

Philip and Zi, and the other pair of police cars, arrived in the nick of time and slowed their vehicles down, hoping at last that the chase was finally over, while the other SIGN vehicle covered another exit.

"What?"

Before the astonished eyes of all of them, they saw how the mass of mirrors was getting smaller and, before the drone dome touched the ground, a ball of barely a foot or so, with its skin gleaming with mirrors had just escaped and was taking a nearby street, heading north, at all the speed its short legs would allow.

"What the fuck just happened?!"

[He got small.]

"I told you it was a small dog," Zi said.

Philip looked at his companion. "That I just saw! Raise the dome, we have to catch it now before it has any idea of getting bigger again!" He ordered through the Neurowire to the truck team approaching in the distance.

***

That was lucky, thought the dog, as he ran past dodging human and robot legs in the streets. He didn't know what had happened to his size. He had the notion that everything was smaller than he was, but the truth was that he liked the idea of his large size. But at least for now he had been able to escape his pursuers. He would have to see later if there wasn't a way to get bigger again. At least now he felt lighter and, despite his size, he still had a steady speed.

Hunger. Right. He had to look for food.

The dog stopped and looked around and detected a scent that could be food. He walked slowly for a few meters until he came to where two figures were wrapped in some kind of black armor. They reminded him a bit of the armor he had seen in his childhood home, although these were more square edged and with some fluorescent lights. The smell of food seemed to be coming from behind them, in a sort of wide doorway leading downwards. The dog walked carefully and slipped in behind the two figures, who were moving slowly and talking to each other.

The policemen guarding that subway entrance had been alerted not to allow a large ball of mirrors to go down into the city. Looking straight ahead, vigilant, none of them detected the small dog that crept up behind them. The one that did detect it was a tracking drone that immediately sent the signal with the coordinates.

But it was too late, and the dog had unlocked a new stealth mode that night.

As he walked down the long stairs of the place, dodging some people, he sensed that the smell of food was getting stronger. But for a moment the lights of the subway city captivated his attention even more. The place must be at least three hundred meters deep.

There were all kinds of places down there. All with their neon lights that although he couldn't quite make out with his dichromatic vision, the hues were more than enough to give him a view that the place was certainly much more lively than the surface. And cars, down there was also a swarm of cars, much larger than the surface. He could not calculate how big it could be in its width, his sight was lost with all the details around it.

He finished walking down the stairs, as he passed a group of young people in neon clothing and holographic makeup, that almost made them look as if one could see through their skin. Further down the stairs a tattoo stand had a hologram of a snake, who was moving and showing its teeth as it tried to attract the attention of potential customers. The hustle and bustle was really annoying. Too many people, but that didn't bother the animal. About thirty meters away from the tattoo stand he finally found one of the sources of the scent that had attracted him to the place. It was a huge restaurant with people who seemed to be enjoying the food and music.

The animal slipped through the door and, while it was ignored at first, it was not when it jumped on top of a table, to the scream of the two diners at the table, who turned away as a sort of crystalline ball interrupted the night.

The dog smelled the first dish and didn't quite know what it was, but he was pretty sure it must not taste good. So he jumped three feet to the next table where another couple was eating. A commotion ensued and everyone watched as the animal grabbed a half-eaten chicken leg and ran off, with it into the restaurant. It dodged shoes and hands that tried to grab it, but everyone recoiled when they saw that the dog's skin was sharp as knives. What the heck was that thing?

With its first prey, after a long time, the dog ran into the kitchen where a robot with many arms was busy preparing a salad, while seasoning something on the stove. He dodged the employees and cooks and reached the back door, escaping down an alley where the cats scurried away at the sight of him.

As he listened to the commotion inside the place, he ate his precious loot. It was very good. His sense of taste was returning with every bite and nibble. Then he drank water from a puddle of water in the alley. The water still tasted like metal to him but he didn't mind at all.

"It's here!!!"

The shout of a girl looking and running towards him, forced him to swallow quickly. The dog sharpened his eyes. It was the girl who had been with him inside the mirror box. What did she want this time?

Almost instantly the bald man, he had seen moments before in the building appeared. It did not bode well for him and he ran the other way down the alley. With his hunger satiated, he had more energy to run down the district and reached the area of pubs and nightclubs.

There was one of them with a large sign at the entrance that reminded him of his brothers. It read "Party Pug" on the red neon sign with a pug that was dancing around nonsensically, wiggling back and forth. The drone following him was several meters above him, but he didn't detect it and, without queuing up to enter, the animal slipped behind the security robot who at that moment was pulling a drunkard out by the lapel of his jacket.

***

"Seriously now I can understand why they went extinct two centuries ago. Who wants such an irritating dog?" Philip complained, running alongside Zi.

[In fact, the reason for the extinction of the species was because they have health problems. By the beginning of the twentieth century of the last era, the species was almost extinct,] Oxy explained.

"Well, here we have one alive and kicking," Thor said and through his Neurowire he received an image of the animal entering a nightclub. "It's down the street," he said to his companions as he broke into a run.

Take care of him. The words of the strange shadow people assassin, kept echoing in Zi's head.

***

Tobacco, sweat, alcohol and Golden Shock particles, a synthetic drug, hit the animal's nose as it entered the place. What was all that?

Lights flashed in a horrible rhythm before his eyes and music was blaring from all sides. Accompanied by dancing figures moving unevenly with jumps and shouts. It was not like the dance he had seen Sil Moore do.

The human girl who had bought the mirror. What had happened to her? Had she recovered her head by now? Maybe she had already woken up after the other humans put her in that kind of bag and took her out of her apartment. The dog felt pity at that moment. As happy as he was about his new freedom, he had forgotten the young girl. Where was she and the golden-haired little girl he remembered?

A boot with a fluorescent heel almost crushed his head and the dog recoiled in fright. Then he felt something touch his side and a cry of human pain. Someone had not seen him and, in an oversight, had touched his body only to be thrown a couple of meters away, taking with him several of the people who were dancing around. Another melee was breaking out and the insults and fisticuffs began.

These people get angry very easily, thought the dog. Without even realizing that he was the main cause of the brawl.

***

Philip tried to enter the place, but the security robot stopped him immediately, putting a hand on his chest. He gritted his teeth and indicated his badge. Almost instantly the robot scanned the fractal pattern and code on the surface of the badge and stepped aside, making way for him and his companions.

They were almost about to enter, when a red alert appeared on their Neurowires.

"Masks people!" Philip said, raising his voice, to make himself heard above the din of the music.

"Golden shock?" asked Thor.

"Yeah I think someone must be waiting for their nose to fall off from snorting that crap."

Philip and Thor activated some of the portable tactical equipment they had loaded on the dog tags and instantly a black mask, more akin to a type of nanocarbon chinstrap, formed and covered their noses and mouths.

Zi alerted the police that there were dangerous substances in the air. "I'm going to go around the back," she said and took off her black jacket.

"Be careful," Philip said and with Thor entered the place.

The dwarf moved people out of the way and activated his spectrometric vision to see if it could help him identify where the dog might be. His stature helped him to discern several meters away, despite the lights and the smoke of the place.

Philip in turn tried to search through the crowd that was moving around with its strange dance movements.

"Hey watch out baldy," someone insulted, as he pushed his way through some people.

He paid no attention and continued on his way when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Did you miss something around here copper?"

Philip stepped back in the nick of time when he saw a fist coming straight for his face. He dodged it by inches and in a quick spin caught the arm, twisting it a bit, and brought him to his knees. "I'm not a cop."

He didn't have time to react when he felt a hard punch on his cheek and saw a big guy with metal hands and knuckles.

Surely, when he had shown his ID at the entrance, the robot had sent the information to security. The security robot may have had protocols for responding to law enforcement officers, but once inside it was a different matter. It must have been a hideout for some other type of activity.

Whatever the reason, Philip didn't have time for that. He grabbed his new opponent by the shirt and headbutted him hard on the nose. Almost instantly he felt the sound of the septum breaking and the guy doubled over as he brought his hands to his face while bleeding profusely from the nose.

"RAID!!! The coppers are here!!!" A voice rose above the others and people started running.

"Ah great, that's what we needed," Thor mumbled, watching as a troop of legs started running in all directions.

He caught sight of Philip, fighting two others, and was about to rush to his aid, when he felt someone lift him by the shirt. He saw a face with a moving tattoo of a dragon. Thor felt like he was getting cirrhosis just from smelling the guy's breath. "Where are you going you, little man?"

"This is a high-class place," said another with a metal enhancement in his jaw.

"Oh yeah, dwarf jokes," Thor said and clenched his fist. "I know all of them."

There was an electric burst from his fists and the dwarf whirled around like a flash, so fast that the thug who had grabbed him didn't know what happened. Thor grabbed him by the clothes and punched him, which caused several electric shocks around his arms and sent the drunk across the room.

Before they could react they were surrounded by guys who looked like they wanted to be anything but friends.

***

When the melee broke out, the dog was running along one of the sides of the place trying to avoid the legs of the crowd of people who were running out of the place in panic. What a mess with these creatures.

He was half disoriented by all the circus of lights in the place, but he had to find a way out. Surely those who were chasing him must have been far away by then. Although, he was already wondering what to do next. After all the running, visiting the tree, more running, escaping and finally his first lunch he felt he was getting a little tired.

Tiredness had never been too much for him. His periods of hibernation in the dark had simply been a form of rest he had adopted, due to the boredom of floating in the middle of nowhere every time the mirror was covered. But now, for the first time, he was feeling something akin to exhaustion. A much more real sensation than anything he had felt in a long time.

He walked slowly, sticking to the wall, until he came to a door that was moving slowly, although there was no one leaving the place. He sniffed a little and curiously entered. It was a long red corridor with a dim light and some moving pictures on the walls. He continued until he found several corridors with different doors. The place was almost a labyrinth, but at that moment there was no one in that part.

"Damn cops, how did they find out we were here?"

"How the fuck should I know, hurry up and put everything in the bag."

The dog peeked through a half-open door, and there he saw a group of six people in a hurry who seemed to be bagging some yellow packages at full speed. He didn't think it was conspicuous, so he continued his stroll around the place. Then, as he rounded a bend in the road, he saw a new corridor, which had two doors at the end and a faintly blinking green sign above it.

He recognized the pattern of the sign. The old antique dealer had the same one above the door at the back of his store. He had only seen it a few times when the mirror had been moved over the years, but he had no doubt of its meaning.

He walked wagging his tail and tried to push one of the doors with his front paws. It didn't take much effort. His mirrored body went through the metal of the door and, with a simple push, one of the door flies opened.

Freedom again, he thought, looking up at the sky above the alley. Up there an image of the starry night sky was being projected. Strange, since he remembered that on the surface the sky was drizzling.

The puppy then did something that surprised even him. A reflex action. He yawned and licked his lips. His lungs, modified by his stay behind the glass, filled with air. A sensation he had also forgotten.

And then, darkness.

His vision blurred and everything went black as he felt himself being enveloped by something, and lifted off the ground.

"I've got you!" Said a female voice.

The dog peeked its head out from between the jacket and saw Zi's face. Oh no... The dog kicked a little, but he was held tightly by the girl. Tired and snorting, he gave up after some seconds of fight. Exhaustion was taking over every part of his body.

Zi looked at him snouting and now that he had regained his size he seemed adorable, even if that shredded skin made him look like some kind of miniature glass monster.

She had been lucky. She remembered what Oxy had said about the darkness, and she remembered that inside the mirror box she hadn't felt or seen the animal have that crystal skin. It was possible that the darkness was something important in the animal's change.

She caressed it over her jacket and had expected to feel shards of glass, but instead she could feel nothing of the sort. It felt soft to the touch through the fabric. Zi curiously tried to look at it without letting go too much and, despite the darkness of the alley, noticed how the crystal skin diminished as it received less light and a black fur peeked out in its place.

"What exactly are you?" She asked, smiling weakly at him.

It was just a puppy that had been trapped too long.

The dog yawned again as he felt the warmth of the hug and began to close his eyes.

A clang of metal made Zi raise her head, and she saw an electric blue glow and someone crashing into the opposite wall in the alley.

Thor stepped out of the door, with his hands reddened and on them a series of patterns emitting an electric blue light could be made out. He had none of the elegance with which he had begun the evening. His hair was disheveled and he was bleeding from his lip. Philip then came out, also looking tired and with bruised knuckles

The masks they were both wearing disappeared from their faces and returned to their compartments.

They both looked at her in disbelief. "How did you do it?" Philip asked.

She smiled and shrugged. "It needs darkness, it's just like Oxy said. With nothing to reflect it has nothing to attack."

"Damn critter, he made it pretty for us," Thor complained.

The pup closed his eyes and was now sleeping peacefully in Zi's arms.

The long night was over for him.