Street lights behind Mikey started turning off as if darkness itself was approaching him. A low grumble of a V8 came with the darkness. All the security cameras in the area sparked and died. A pitch-black GR GT darted through the empty city streets. The headlights’ white LED strip made the car look dangerous, like a predator– not just a machine. The GR GT was closely followed by a Red Mica RX-8.

  Both cars rolled to a stop beside Mikey. The windows slid down.

  From inside the GR GT, Vance glanced toward the RX-8.

  “Let the kid drive,” she ordered Cipher.

  “Are you insane? You are letting a random kid drive!?”

  “You are slowing our operation down, Cipher, focus on hacking.”

  Vance glared at Mikey.

  “Kiddo. In the red car. Now.”

  Vance looked back at Cipher.

  “Pass the kid his keys.”

  Cipher begrudgingly threw Mikey the keys. Mikey caught it but stood there frozen.

  “What are you doing, kid? DRIVE!”

  Mikey hurried to the RX-8’s driver’s seat. Cipher scooched his way over to the passenger’s seat.

  “Buddy, do you even know how to drive? Put the clutch in fir–”

  Mikey put the shifter into first and dumped the clutch. The car launched, leaving a trail of smoke and the smell of burnt rubber behind.

  Vance commented on the intercom snarkily,

  “Yea– he got it!”

  Cipher held on for dear life.

  “NO, HE DID NOT ‘GET IT’!”

  Vance’s GR GT sped past the RX-8.

  “Just follow me, kiddo”

  Mikey glanced at Cipher, who was typing on his laptop.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To the teleportation pad.”

  “No, I don’t have an ID! We can't use the teleport hub!”

  “We don’t either, genius, I’m making it so that we can.”

  Cipher typed furiously on his laptop as they entered a tunnel.

  “Cipher, are you done yet?” Vance asked on the intercom.

  “On it, Vance, it’ll be ready by the time we make it to the gate!”

  “Kid, we are entering the financial district, there’s a lot of cameras here, so I’m deploying EMPs. We won’t be talking for a bit– drive straight through the gate, okay? It will open in time– very small window. Do NOT hesitat–”

  Vance’s intercom cut off and the tunnel lights around them burned out instantly.

  They burst out of the tunnel into open night. The sky stretched wide above them, uninterrupted by towering concrete buildings of the residential district– replaced by luxurious glass towers. Streetlights stood farther apart here, their glow softer, less suffocating.

  Mikey eased his grip on the wheel. For the first time, the city didn’t feel like it was closing in on him.

  “You guys are underground smugglers, aren’t you?” Mikey asked Cipher.

  “Something like that.”

  “What are we smuggling?”

  Cipher gestured around the car.

  “This. You are driving it. The car. These old cars are highly illegal because the police can’t override them like those high-tech AI shitboxes. These early 2000s cars used to fetch a fortune but buyers are so hard to find nowadays.”

  They approached the gate to the teleportation hub.

  “Alright– here we go. Drive straight in.”

  “But the gates are not open yet!”

  “It will be, I’m not done yet.”

  “WHAT– YOU ARE NOT DONE YET?”

  “Relax buddy, It’ll be done right before we reach the gate… just foot to the floor.”

  The GR GT and RX-8 flew toward the gate at full speed.

  Mikey braced for impact and he approached dangerously close to the closed gate. Still, he kept his foot glued to the floor.

  The gate quickly opened right before the cars hit it then quickly closed back up after the two cars made it past–

  In one of the glass towers was Jett Cooper’s hospital room. Jett was still on the bed as Nexi entered the room.

  “The teleporter is right next to the hospital, couldn’t you have visited me earlier?” Jett teased.

  “Well, I was busy running your errands, Jett”

  “So, did you find them– the kids?”

  “The vague descriptions you gave didn’t help me much.”

  Nexi handed Jett the bouquet of flowers.

  “I wouldn’t want the flowers to go to waste.”

  “Thanks, Joanna.”

  “I did see a kid though, he reminded me of you when we were kids.”

  “Not exactly the same right? He didn’t insult you, did he?”

  “Believe it or not, but he did. I got lectured.”

  They giggled.

  “Anyways, if you find them, please tell me, I want to go and apologize myself.”

  Nexi smiled and turned toward the door, waving as a sign that she had noted Jett's request.

  “And– Joanna! See you again next race! I will beat you this time!”

  “Just keep on resting like your dad told you!”

  A Neo-gen engineer is showing Jackson Cooper the data of Jett’s crashed race car on a transparent glass screen. The engineer adjusted his glasses with a trembling hand.

  “Sir, take a look at this, Neo-gen shut down right before Mr. Jett Cooper entered the 278th corner.”

  “Is there any footage of the crash itself?”

  “There is, sir, but it was recorded from a drone, there were no stationary cameras in that section of the track, sir.”

  “All we have to go on is this data log? How does this prove anything?”

  “Sir, the thing is… there were two consecutive Neo-gen’s shutdowns, sir”

  Jackson paused.

  “How could Neo-gen have shut down twice?”

  “The thing is– the first shutdown was due to lost communication to the control system, but then it automatically reboots and then it shuts down again, sir. I believe that the second shutdown was self-inflicted by Neo-gen, sir…”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “How could you design a system that kills itself?” Jackson snapped.

  “I– I do not know why Neo-gen decided to shut itself down at that moment, sir– but I can assure you that Neo-gen’s decision making process will always align with Forefront’s interest, sir…”

  “Forget it– who is in charge of designing the car’s safety system and the chassis?”

  “That would be– Dr. King’s team, sir.”

  “Listen up everyone, Dr. King and his team will all get a raise for designing the car that saved my son’s life! That’s what Forefront needs to focus on! Forefront of safety!” Jackson announced.

  “You.”

  Jackson pointed at the engineer.

  “Stop all Neo-gen developments and get to the bottom of this.”

  Vance stood in front of a massive pad with light strips lining up the edges like a runway. Mikey avoided looking at the pad. He kept himself at a distance from it. Cipher was typing on his laptop.

  The pad lit up.

  “Anddd it’s online– yes!”

  “Alright, let’s finally deliver the damn car,” Vance said.

  Cipher rolled the RX-8 onto the teleportation pad. Vance joined him.

  Mikey's body trembled as he watched the two step on the pad.

  “What’s wrong, kiddo, you don’t wanna come?” Vance asked.

  “We don’t need the kid with us, Vance, it's just delivering the car after this point.”

  “Yea– you are right, Cipher.”

  Vance stepped out the pad.

  “Wh– What are you doing, Vance?” Cipher stammered.

  “I might as well stay here to keep watch.”

  “Right… Okay.”

  Cipher and the RX-8 disappeared on the pad.

  Vance walked toward the frightened Mikey.

  “I could’ve kept watch.” Mikey suggested.

  “Or you could’ve run.”

  “I wouldn’t do that.”

  “I wouldn’t leave it to chance– ‘cause if you did run, I would be forced to hunt you down and kill you…”

  Mikey looked up from the floor to see Vance smirking.

  “Ay– I’m just kidding…”

  Mikey spotted the pad behind Vance, then turned away.

  “Why didn’t you go on the teleport pad… uh–”

  “Mikey.”

  “Right, Mikey… Have you been on a teleport pad before, Mikey?”

  “Yes… I have… to get to this City-zone.”

  “With your sister?”

  Mikey froze. He looked up at Vance, but didn't question it.

  “Yeah… and with my parents.”

  Mikey quickly changed the subject.

  “Anyways– how much does the RX-8 fetch for?”

  “Oh– that? Six mill ‘gits.”

  “Six Forefront Autoliners’ worth of money?”

  “Yea– that’s the demand for these old cars. We got lucky with this buyer too though, they didn’t negotiate the price down to the ground. Truthfully, we would’ve still sold it for two mill ‘gits.”

  Vance noticed that Mikey kept glancing at the pad. His whole body trembled.

  “Let’s climb up there to get a better view of the city”

  Vance and Mikey made their way up to the teleportation hub’s rooftop. There, they could see the widespanning futuristic pristine quiet city clearly. They sat hanging their legs over the edge of the building.

  “What’s that?” Mikey pointed at the tallest glass tower with purple flood lights illuminating it.

  “That’s the Forefront tower, the heart of the city. Forefront. They basically own the financial district.”

  “What about that?” Mikey pointed at a white tower with no windows. Its height threatened that of the Forefront tower.

  “That’s Pillar One. Only the rich and powerful live there. We ain’t got a chance.”

  Mikey smiled after learning about a different world.

  “Not everyday you get to see the financial district’s skylines.” Vance said.

  “Mhmm… yeah– be nice if sis could see this too. Hailey loves filming and exploring new places. This would be perfect for her.”

  Vance glanced to see Mikey’s expression. Mikey faced toward the skylines, city lights were reflected on his pupils.

  “You really love your sister don’cha?”

  “She’s cool, and she’s the only family I have left.”

  “What happened to your parents?”

  “They came with us…they said it’s better here. Dad got a job here in the financial district working for Nexon.”

  “No way. Nexon? Nexon Corps? The corporation that the world champ, Nexi, is working with?”

  “Yeah, but a decade ago though, before Nexon became a megacorporation. It was just an AI firm.”

  “Your dad has gotta be pretty smart.”

  “Haha, yeah he was. Dad said he liked Nexon, because they hire pioneers not aristocrats.”

  Vance hesitated to ask.

  “So… What exactly happened to them…?”

  Mikey kept his face looking forward with a neutral expression, but his eyes watered.

  “It was a teleporter pad malfunction, we got off the pad in time but they didn’t, so they got erased– mom, dad, they disappeared… forever.”

  Vance sat there with him silent for some while.

  “Nobody can walk away from that experience clean, Mikey.”

  Vance reassured Mikey.

  “I understand your fear. No kid should– no– no one should’ve lived through an incident like that.”

  Vance patted Mikey on the shoulder.

  “You don’t have to go through that tech bullcrap if you don't wanna, Mikey, driving fits you better anyway.”

  Cipher and the RX-8 reappeared on the pad.

  “SHIT GUYS, IT’S A SET UP. THE BLACKLINES ARE COMING!” Cipher shouted.

  In a press conference with Jackson.

  “Are you finally ready to explain what caused the crash, Mr. Cooper?” The reporter asked.

  “Yes, it turns out the AI system of our car has failed.”

  The crowd gasped.

  “–Because it has been sabotaged.” Jackson continued

  The crowd gasped louder and the shutter sounds ramped up.

  “Who could’ve sabotaged Mr. Jett Cooper’s car?”

  “A competitor to Forefront, perhaps… someone who doesn’t want my son to get first place on the podium. From the analysis we determined that an EMP blast went off right before Jett Cooper was about to overtake Joanna Nexi.”

  Nexi in the crowd frowned. She crossed her arms and stared directly at Jackson. She locked eyes with him and he smirked before turning back to the camera.

  Jackson’s personal guard approached him.

  “Sir, they fell for the bait. They are at the teleportation hub.” The guard whispered.

  Jackson smiled.

  “And when we see any foul play in this fair sport, we will educate the bad actors about what true justice looks like!” Jackson announced.

  Back at the teleportation hub–

  Cipher struggled to open the gate using the control panels. Mikey and Vance were still on the rooftop confused.

  “It’s no use, it seems like they turned off the power to the gate completely, they wanted to lock us in. Vance, do you see the Blacklines coming?”

  Vance checked the perimeters. All the streets were still quiet and all the streetlights seemed to still be turned off.

  “Nope, don’t see them, how do you know they are coming anyways?”

  “Vance, the buyer was not real, it was the Forefront’s men with the Blacklines. I jammed the receiving terminal, so they are unable to follow me through the teleporter, but they can still drive here– we are trapped!”

  Multiple lights exited the tunnel, a massive convoy of formidable armour vehicles was heading straight to them.

  “They are here!” Mikey shouted.

  Vance tapped a finger against her chin.

  “The gate doesn’t have power, we can’t get out.. but they couldn’t get in either. They will have to turn back on the power.”

  “Why does that matter? There’s nothing preventing them from turning on the power. Don’t tell me we are going to slip through when they open the gate?”

  “No. I’m sure that they will form a blockade before they open the gate. Let’s go down to Cipher to figure something out.”

  Mikey and Vance descended down the rooftop. When their feet touched the floor, they felt the ground rumble– like an earthquake. The Blacklines were coming closer. Pebbles shook in their presence.

  “What if we negotiated with them? They are not the police– they can’t arrest us.” Mikey asked Cipher.

  “You are right on one part, they are not the police– But you are wrong to assume that we can negotiate with these mofos. When they send the Blacklines they want to eliminate you.”

  “Cipher, unjam the other teleporter– we are going through.” Vance ordered.

  “What are you insane? They probably surrounded the other teleporter already!”

  “Wait–” Mikey interrupted.

  Everyone looked at Mikey.

  “We can teleport to a different pad completely.”

  “What? No, that’s not possible.”

  “Teleportation for migration! These pads are not tied to a single destination– That’s how my family got to the financial district. I’m sure there’s code somewhere in the system allowing it to still be possible!”

  Cipher hesitantly searched for the code on his laptop that is connected to the teleporter’s control panel.

  “Holy shit, kid, you are right.”

  The gate and the teleporter simultaneously lit up.

  “It’s back online, get on! get on!”

  Vance looked at Mikey.

  “You might just be as smart as your dad, kid.” Vance remarked.

  Vance drove the GR GT up the teleportation pad and exited her car. Mikey was still not on the pad yet.

  “Hurry up, kid! We have no time to waste!” Cipher shouted.

  Vance faced the trembling Mikey.

  “Don’t worry, Mikey, we will never disappear– ever.”

  Vance smiled and lent him her hand.

  The gate opened–

  The Blacklines entered the hub–

  Mikey nodded and lent Vance his hand.

  Vance grabbed Mikey’s hand and pulled him into the pad.

  They vanished from the teleporter pad. The Blacklines were unable to catch them in time…