NaNoWriMo 2K14 - Chapter 1

"Hell and tarnation!" Davin Hexler cried out as he sat at his terminal connecting him to InterZone.

"If you think for one parsec I'm allowing root access on this term' to some would-be chrystal jockey from the bowels of East Asia then you've got another thing comin' boyo!"

He flipped around in his grav-cushion while the other patrons of the New Little Tokyo district's premier InterCafe shot uncertain glances in his direction.

Davin flipped open his mobile phone.

"Packard Renard!" He shouted into the mouthpiece.

A few clicks and a moment's delay later and another voice came through on the other end of the line.

"Renard here." It said.

"Packie! Davin here, I need a secure line for subvocals. I'm at a Cafe in NLT and I'm getting swamped by some script kid's bot swarm. What can you give me right this second?"

"Let's see, Mr. Hexler," Packard started. "It is incredibly short notice..."

"You know I'm good for it." Davin cut in.

"Okay, I can secure you a line at the Manhatter branch of the New York Metropolitan Library. How far away are you?" Packard asked.

"I'm in Newark," Davin explained. "But I can be there in ten minutes."

Davin Hexler walked outside of the InterCafe onto the streets of Newark's New Little Tokyo district and was met with a chilly wind carrying little moisture. The sky above was overcast, like usual, with only a few rays of sunlight creeping through.

He made his way through the bustling street crowd and into one of Newark's newly installed public transfer booths. After punching in the coordinates for his destination he took a moment to ready himself and then hit the launch key.

Several moments later Davin Hexler lurched out of a transfer booth in Manhattan and made a beeline towards the nearest trash can. He stood hunched over the can for a few minutes, retching, before finally regaining his composure.

Manhattan was even more overcast than Newark and with a constant drizzle of rain. Davin stood in the open by the trash can and let the water soak his head a little.

Walking by, a man stopped and asked him, "Your first teleportation?" with a grin.

Davin shook his head no, "I've just not adjusted to it yet." he said as he dialed up a cab on his phone. The man nodded knowingly and continued on his way.

Half a minute later a cab pulled up alongside him from out of the swarm of traffic.

"Public Library." Davin instucted as he climbed in. The vehicle took off immediately and merged seamlessly back into traffic.

Once at the library Davin plugged into a terminal and brought up his subvocalizer. From there he dialed in the number he wanted to reach and sat back in his seat while waiting for the person on the other end to respond.

"Yes?" came a familiar voice into Davin's inner ear.

"Miles?" He said. "I'm glad I got a hold of you. It's Davin. I'm at the public library in Manhattan and I've got the dirt on the story of the decade!"

"Davin, how nice to hear from you. I was sure you had been captured by pirates or terrorists. What was your last assignment, again, Beruit?" Miles asked.

"No time for that now, Miles," Davin explained. "I don't have much time before my credit with Packie's security runs out and this line gets traced. We need to meet face to face. Tonight."

"Oh Davin, you always had a penchant for the dramatic. Is it really that serious?" Miles asked.

"When is it not, with me?" Davin replied. "Look, I know it's been a while, too long, and I'll fill you in when I know I'm safe and not being actively monitored by every intelligence agency and hacker group from here to Timbuktu, but if you want to get in on this story before it becomes front page news you need to meet with me, and soon."

There was silence for a moment. Davin noticed he was holding his breath.

"Okay," Miles said. "I'll be at the usual spot, say 9:00. I assume you'll be coming alone?"

"You know I always work alone, Miles." Davin said and then cut off the connection.

Unplugging from the terminal Davin Hexler felt something he had not felt for the first time in weeks since he began covering this story: Relief. He was close to blowing the whole thing wide open, he just needed to make it to his meeting with Miles.

He got up from his terminal and was halfway to the door when he noticed something else. He was being followed.

Two goons in non-descript cheap business suits. Their features were placid and largely hidden behind obsolete virtua-goggles. Davin knew the type and knew it could only mean one thing: Someone from the Underworld was keeping tabs on him. He kept walking and pretended not to notice them.

Heading out into the Manhattan drizzle he thought drearily to himself, "Great, I've got four and a half hours to lose these guys before meeting up with Miles."

How long had they been following him? Davin tried to retrace his steps mentally, then it dawned on him. They must have picked up his DNA signature from the transfer booth. "That's how they honed in on me. They must have shown up right after I arrived in Manhattan. Damn it! Rookie mistake, Davin." He scolded himself.

He hailed another cab and instructed it to go to the Asian district. He got out just on the edges of the district and waited. Further down the street he saw another cab pull up and the two men in the cheap suits get out. Then he headed for the bustling open air markets.

"Maybe I can lose them and grab a cup of noodles while I'm at it." Davin thought hopefully. He made his way through the crowds and towards the sounds of booming music coming from the basement nightclubs that operated night and day in the Asian district.