history and information that very few have access to, yet he can’t figure it out. He bangs his head again when it suddenly hits him: history. Neil returns to the MAPS folder and selects the oldest map on file at the bottom. Soon the holographic rendering of the current city is replaced by a map many years older. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how old the rendering is, but most noticeably is the absence of the processing facility as well as the Wall, which dates this rendering at well over half a century old.
Immediately a new clue leaps from the table, as obvious as a shock baton prodding one in the neck. While it’s true some of the city’s landmarks are missing from this older map, there are also landmarks depicted here that are suspiciously missing from the current version. Neil’s eyes lock onto the old mining tunnels weaving underneath the city, converted into transfer tunnels in present day to transport volunteers directly to the processing facility. He discovers that there are a dozen more tunnels and entrances in the old 3D map, many he didn’t know existed, and his star-shaped route connecting each Black Market sighting suddenly makes sense as the five vertices of the star coincidentally align with five of the forgotten tunnels.
Neil’s eyes go wide at the revelation. Sage is potentially using long forgotten mining tunnels as her means of traveling about the city undetected. As he pulls out his PDA to snap a couple of photos, a million thoughts surge through his mind. How could she even know about these tunnels when he – an operative of the Agency – doesn’t? And furthermore, how is she never spotted when a few of these underground paths still intersect with active transfer tunnels the Agency currently uses?
Neil finishes his last picture when another terrible thought pops into his head. He always assumed Sage had a relationship with the Brigade. That’s what brought him here in the first place since he isn’t directly after her, he’s after them. But not many people could know about these tunnels nor have the access to pull them up on the Archives. The Agency grants special permission to these files and even he had to call in a favor to be able to do so. Who else has access? He struggles not to allow the next thought to come to fruition, but it does so nonetheless: could Sage be receiving help from someone within the Agency?
The suspicion sends a chill down Neil’s spine.
Neil climbs the cement stairs from the basement to the ground level floor of the library. As he veers towards the exit, his head in a fog and overwhelmed from his potential discovery, a familiar voice stops him in his tracks. It’s Inna. She leans over the front counter and converses with the librarian, while her pull wagon, fully pieced back together, is loaded down with dirt-stained books beside her. Neil stares longer than he should. He thought Inna was at the landfill. Out of all the places in the city, especially one so far from the slums, what are the chances of running into her here? Neil shakes his head to brush her out of his mind and turns again to leave, but Inna’s infectious laugh keeps his feet from moving. He watches as her head tilts back and her leg kicks up – the precious subtleties of beauty. He gives up on leaving without saying hello and moves closer.
“Back in action I see,” Neil interrupts as he tilts the wagon handle back and forth to test it. “How’s it holding up?”
“Better than your uniform,” Inna says as she reaches to adjust the 3-stripe arm badge she reattached. One of the corners is already coming loose. “What’d you do, roll around in a pile of tacks?”
Neil didn’t notice the tear until now. He supposes it must’ve been from his scuffle with Zack and the Breacher up at the Wall. No matter, it doesn’t bother him. “What are you doing here?” he asks. “This is a long way from the slums.”
“Donating some books I found.”
Neil flips through the torn,
Immediately a new clue leaps from the table, as obvious as a shock baton prodding one in the neck. While it’s true some of the city’s landmarks are missing from this older map, there are also landmarks depicted here that are suspiciously missing from the current version. Neil’s eyes lock onto the old mining tunnels weaving underneath the city, converted into transfer tunnels in present day to transport volunteers directly to the processing facility. He discovers that there are a dozen more tunnels and entrances in the old 3D map, many he didn’t know existed, and his star-shaped route connecting each Black Market sighting suddenly makes sense as the five vertices of the star coincidentally align with five of the forgotten tunnels.
Neil’s eyes go wide at the revelation. Sage is potentially using long forgotten mining tunnels as her means of traveling about the city undetected. As he pulls out his PDA to snap a couple of photos, a million thoughts surge through his mind. How could she even know about these tunnels when he – an operative of the Agency – doesn’t? And furthermore, how is she never spotted when a few of these underground paths still intersect with active transfer tunnels the Agency currently uses?
Neil finishes his last picture when another terrible thought pops into his head. He always assumed Sage had a relationship with the Brigade. That’s what brought him here in the first place since he isn’t directly after her, he’s after them. But not many people could know about these tunnels nor have the access to pull them up on the Archives. The Agency grants special permission to these files and even he had to call in a favor to be able to do so. Who else has access? He struggles not to allow the next thought to come to fruition, but it does so nonetheless: could Sage be receiving help from someone within the Agency?
The suspicion sends a chill down Neil’s spine.
Neil climbs the cement stairs from the basement to the ground level floor of the library. As he veers towards the exit, his head in a fog and overwhelmed from his potential discovery, a familiar voice stops him in his tracks. It’s Inna. She leans over the front counter and converses with the librarian, while her pull wagon, fully pieced back together, is loaded down with dirt-stained books beside her. Neil stares longer than he should. He thought Inna was at the landfill. Out of all the places in the city, especially one so far from the slums, what are the chances of running into her here? Neil shakes his head to brush her out of his mind and turns again to leave, but Inna’s infectious laugh keeps his feet from moving. He watches as her head tilts back and her leg kicks up – the precious subtleties of beauty. He gives up on leaving without saying hello and moves closer.
“Back in action I see,” Neil interrupts as he tilts the wagon handle back and forth to test it. “How’s it holding up?”
“Better than your uniform,” Inna says as she reaches to adjust the 3-stripe arm badge she reattached. One of the corners is already coming loose. “What’d you do, roll around in a pile of tacks?”
Neil didn’t notice the tear until now. He supposes it must’ve been from his scuffle with Zack and the Breacher up at the Wall. No matter, it doesn’t bother him. “What are you doing here?” he asks. “This is a long way from the slums.”
“Donating some books I found.”
Neil flips through the torn,
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