After parting ways with Trevor and marking his location on the map Trix had sent me I stepped back out into the subway tunnels. He had been good conversation and all things considered a wonderful host. I glanced back at the crack in the wall before sprinting towards my next destination. It was a few minutes of running until I reached the exit that would lead to Jing-sheng’s place. Catching my breath I wiped the sweat from my brow and looked up the ladder that led topside. I took a moment to check exactly where this was going to let me out, it was an alleyway a short walk from my destination. 

I climbed up and pushed the manhole aside before pulling myself out of the subway entirely. I was incredibly lucky that no one was there to see me, what with the blood, dried as it was, on my clothes. I heard a door open nearby and tensed up.

“Hold it right there, Burnout,” said a voice with a faint touch of a Mandarin accent.

I instantly relaxed, I knew that voice. I turned to look at him as I straightened up. The man, Jing-sheng, was somewhere in his forties, with a receding hairline and eyes that seemed to dance like miniature flames. He was currently, however, in his ridiculous work robes leaning out into a dirty alley while waving for someone covered in blood to come inside of a building. 

He motioned more hurriedly. “Get in here, Burnout. I can’t have anyone calling the Star again.”

“On the way, Jing.” I scurried over and ducked inside behind him as he shut the door. “So how did you know I was coming?”

He looked at me and rubbed his chin. “I sensed you coming on the astral plane, you make a lot of waves, you know.”

I drew my lips into a line and glared at him. “No, really.”

He rolled his eyes. “Dust called ahead and told me that you got in some trouble, happy? Killjoy. I did see you on the outdoor cameras, though.” Jing-sheng put a basin filled with water in front of me.“You should toss your shirt in here, get some of the blood out. Be right back, I'm going to close early.” 

I took my jacket and top off and placed the shirt in the basin to wash as Jing-sheng walked out a door to the front of his shop. It took some time to get a decent amount of blood out since it had partially dried on it. I wrung it out as best I could and put it back on. The still damp fabric was uncomfortable and still held a stain, at least I didn’t reek of blood anymore. 

Jing-sheng came back into the room holding a small jar. “Dust said you were here to pick up some of her usual tea.” He placed it on the table next to the basin.

I walked over and tapped on the lid. “So why exactly does she need to buy it from a talismonger like you? Something special in it?”

His eyes seemed to light up when I asked. “Yes actually, there’s quite a lot that goes into our friend’s tea. The assam leaves that make up the body of the tea come primarily from Tir Tairngire from the south of here and a small bit of powdered awakened Irish false deathcap.”

“False deathcap?” I asked

“It’s like the real thing, but notably less toxic and adds a slight nutty flavor when brewed.” He smiled. “Want a cup?” 

The corner of my mouth twitched and I waved a hand. “No, I’m okay. Say, what’s got you closing up early? Not my fault, is it?”

Jing-sheng laughed. “No, I’ve got some contract work to get done.” His gaze focused on the basin. “What type of blood is that; ork, elf, human?”

I held a hand up. “Wait, why does that matter? Aren’t you just going to dump it?”

“I need some for a new spell I’m working on. So, what type of blood is it?” He tapped his foot.

“Isn’t that like, extremely illegal? This isn’t Aztlan.” 

“Yes and so is what you do. Now. What. Type. Of. Blood?” He pointed repeatedly at the basin.

I sighed. “It’s human, from a Lone Star officer with ties to Humanis.”

“Ah, a clear conscience for me and it’ll fuel the spell nicely.” He picked up the basin. “Unless you need something else, Burnout. You may go, I’ll be getting to work otherwise.”

I shook my head and Jing-sheng retreated up the nearby flight of stairs while carrying the basin full of bloody water. I had places to be so I stepped out into the alleyway and began walking towards Jesse's place. There were more people out now that it was closer to noon and while I got some strange looks, no one pulled me aside to ask about my oddly stained shirt. It was surprisingly easy to maneuver my way through the early part of the lunch rush and make it to the apartment block that Jesse lived in. 

The place was relatively nice considering it bordered a significantly rougher part of town. I stepped through a pair of glass doors and into a marble floored space with stairs and two wings of elevators that branched off to the either side. In the center was a wide desk for reception with a rather bored looking dwarf. 

She looked up from her tablet. “You again? You look different.”

“Y-yea, I’m here to see B-407.” I shifted and grabbed my wrist behind my back.

She squinted. “I’ll let the tenant know you’re coming.” She pressed a button then pulled her tablet back up. 

I nodded and took an elevator down to the fourth basement level. I got off the lift and scanned the hallway, it was poorly lit and had dull brown carpeting. Jesse’s door was at the end of one hall. 

I knocked on the door. “Hey Jesse, it’s Bur-” the door opened and he stuck his face out. “-nout.”

He grabbed me by the collar of my jacket and pulled me inside. “You’re late. Take a seat, I’ve got to make sure something is still in prime condition.”

Jesse stalked off towards the back of his apartment, leaving me in the living room/kitchen combo. The walls of the place had tracks and runners for his rats all over, but the rats were nowhere to be seen; not even the pair that stared at me every time I came here. He’d also managed to keep the place remarkably clean given all the rodents, they were smart, very smart. It all made sense though, given that they were his totem. I heard a door slam.

Jesse came back into the room and grinned, his intricately carved tusks adding a bit of extra menace and mystique. “They’re still good to go. Come on, I’ve got something to show you.” 

He led me through to the back of his apartment to a door, I could hear squeaking from the other side.

Jesse turned and leaned against the door facing me. “Remind me, Burnout, you ever see my handiwork?”

I scratched the back of my head. “I’ve seen your carvings, but nothing else aside from your work as a fixer.” 

“Well you’re about to, come on in.” He opened the door and pushed into the room.

The room was entirely pitch black. I walked in behind Jesse, I knew him well enough to trust him on this. My eyes tried to adjust to the lowlight. In the darkness I could see dozens of eyes reflecting the light from under a thin crack under the door. They spanned the floor, some were up at higher elevations and a single pair of emerald ones were right in front of me. A light clicked on revealing what I had suspected; all of his rats and a man tied to a steel chair. 

Jesse let go on the string attached to the single light bulb in the room. “This waste of meat and metal is a member of the Night Howlers, remember them?” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the bound man.

I scowled as memories flooded back. The Night Howlers were the ones that supplied the dealers I got most of my BTLs from back then. They’re one of the pair of notable anti-metahuman gangs in Seattle, the other being the Troll Killers. I knew them alright. 

My eyes narrowed. “Yea, I know the Howlers. What’s he doing down here?” 

Jesse took off his brown canvas jacket and hung it on a hook near the door. “I caught him sneaking around a friend’s place last night, I figured I’d have a little chat.” He walked over a small fridge and pulled out an autoinjector. “A little shot of adrenaline, he’s been out for a while. Let’s wake him up.”

I nodded. He walked over to the Howler, I followed. The guy looked to be in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, had a completely shaved head and plenty of gang ink on him. I noted the very obvious augments on his forearms. They were likely an older model in the line I had, though some of the internals were pulled out, probably by the rats. 

“Time to wake up.” Jesse pulled the Howler’s head to one side and jammed the shot, presumably adrenaline, into his neck. 

A short time later the Howler came to. “Where the fuck am I?!” He struggled against his bonds, eyes darting around until they settled on Jesse. “What type of shit is this, tusker?!”

Jesse’s upper lip twitched. “I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?”

The Howler’s face contorted in fury and I heard a mechanical whirring as he tried to deploy his blades. His left arm did nothing aside from click pathetically, but his right deployed the blade far too quickly and the entire augment shattered, ripping out some of the mounting with it. His stump bled profusely onto the floor as he cursed and threw slurs at Jesse.

Jesse laughed. “Shoddy piece of chrome you got there.” He looked over the Howler to me. “Hey, grab a cord. I don’t want him to bleed out.”

I turned to go find a cord, rope or just anything to make a tourniquet. The rats moved from my path save a few that squeaked indicating a specific drawer. I opened it up to see plenty of tools and a few nylon belts with buckles already in place. 

The Howler's incoherent shouting ceased. “What the fuck did you do to me, you damned trog?!” 

Jesse ignored him and looked up to me as I returned with the belt. “Mind doing the honors?”

I shook my head, I did not mind at all. I walked over to him and he stared directly at me. He clearly hadn't had a chance to look me over as I saw his eyes go wide with shock then narrow as he realized I was a human working with an ork. 

“This trog your boyfriend, bitch?” He spat at me, it landed on the floor. 

I grabbed the remnants of his augment's mounting. “Nah, not my type. He is a good friend though.” I pulled out the rest of the mounting making him scream. “Now you'll stay still while I put this on you or I'll rip out the bone next.”

He nodded weakly, his skin pale and covered in sweat. I cinched up the tourniquet tighter until the bleeding stopped. 

Jesse bent down in front of the Howler. “You ready to talk about what you were doing last night?”

He nodded.

Jesse put a hand on the Howler's shoulder. “There we go, now talk.”

“I was checking the place out to rob it.” His gaze drifted to the floor.

Jesse clicked his tongue. “Wrong answer. You see, I was nearby and heard something very different.” He leaned over and wrenched the blade that had been part of the Howler's arm out of the floor. “Something about marking down targets for some fun.” He lifted the blade up and slid it across the Howler's face drawing blood. “Want to try telling me what you were doing again?”

He was shaking. “The, the guys wanted me to find places that were poorly secured so we could-”

Jesse drove the blade into the Howler's thigh. “I know exactly what you pieces of trash were going to do.” He pulled out a commlink from his pocket. “It's on your fucking commlink!” He twisted the blade and left it there. “Here, Burnout, look at what this, this thing was planning.” He handed the commlink to me.

I looked through the memos and data on it. It was disgusting, abhorrent. The Howlers were planning on assaulting a series of meta humans throughout the downtown area in a weeks time. There were pictures too. One of the photos was of the elf lady I helped escape Lone Star earlier. 

I exhaled and glanced at Jesse. “Is it okay that he knows my name?”

Jesse leaned in and whispered into my ear. “He's not leaving here in any state to tell anyone. You saw what he and his friends are planning.”

I nodded and handed the commlink back. “Yea.”

“What are you two saying?!” He was even paler than before, his breathing was shallow too.

Jesse spread his arms wide. “Oh, just where to drop you off after we knock you out. Any last statements? Wanna call me a trog again?”

Hope flickered across his face. “You're gonna let me go?”

Jesse smiled as he twisted the blade, pulling it out then stabbing it into the Howler's other thigh. “No.” He removed the blade, twisting it as he did then tossed it to the floor, the rats swarmed over it then looked to Jesse. “Lunch time, everyone.” He turned to me. “You don't have to watch this, feel free to take a seat in the living room.”

I shook my head and stared as the rats washed over the Howler while he screamed and begged. They bit and tore at his flesh. Blood fell to the floor as they continued to feast. Eventually he went silent and there was only the sound of rats gnawing and squeaking. 

“Anyhow, Burnout, the job I wanted to talk to you about is having you and the others run security for their targets, maybe see if Trix can narrow down who and where the other Howlers in this plan are then get to them first. I'll be paying out of pocket for this one.”

I tore my eyes from the writhing pile of rats to look at Jesse. “I can do that, yea. You don't have to pay me though.”

“Bullshit, you folks have to eat too.” He clapped me on the back. “Hey, let's get back to the apartment, don't need to watch them while they have their meal.” He walked past me and slung his jacket over his shoulder. 

We left the rats to their devices and went back to the rest of the apartment. He gave me a handkerchief for the blood. I began to clean it off as we sat down; him in a chair and me on his couch. 

Jesse furrowed his brow as he looked at me. “Sorry to change topics, but you look really different, Burnout, sound a little different too. What’s up?” 

I looked at my hands then up to him. “Uh, I’m not sure. I have been feeling rather strange since this morning.” I looked down at the floor causing a lock of dark hair to fall in front of my eyes. 

“You feeling okay?”

“Yea, honestly better than I have in a long time.” I finished cleaning my hands and rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Sorry, Jesse. I’m gonna head back for the day. Mind sending the rest of the info to Trix and Dust?”

He waved a hand. “Yea, for sure. I’ll talk to you later, Burnout.”

I stood up and left the apartment.