Sparrow’s Magic Touch

The rain was bucketing down on the streets of Bondieu. The derelict district’s run-down buildings paled in comparison to the ominous skyscrapers and flickering lights of Cyber City’s nightscape. Raymond Kingston carefully navigated the waterfilled potholes as he made his way past the hordes of junkies that littered the streets. Nobody messed with the Fireman.

Raymond arrived at the precipice of a large hole, a decades-old urban abyss known locally as the Chasm, the leftover scar of previous gangland warfare. He peered over into the darkness. His cybernetic eyes scanned the hollow but couldn’t detect any form of life or machinery.

Raymond removed a tarantula from his dreadlocks and set it down beside his foot. He waited patiently as the spider scuttered off into the darkness. Moments later a voice screamed out in shock from below.

“Sparrow? Yuh down der, bredda?” The voice of the Hoodoo henchman echoed out into the void. “Bless up Sparrow. Yuh der, mon?”

“Who’s asking?”

“It be I, Fireman. Queen tell mi to collect yuh, bredda.”

“Collect me? I ain’t for collecting. What do you guys want?”

“Get yuhself up here, bredda. Queen needs yuh help. Let wi get out dis rain an inside waam. Dis a no weatha fi a yardie like mi.”

“OK, give me a minute. Walk away from the Chasm first, then I’ll come out.”

“Irie, bredda. Mi see yuh round di block.”

Raymond’s tarantula scurried back up his leg and nested back into his dreadlocks as the tall Hoodoo turned his back on the hole and made his way towards the desolate streets of Bondieu.

Moments later, Sparrow emerged from a concealed entrance. The chasm dweller checked his surroundings, then went to meet with Raymond. The two men studied each other cautiously.

“Bless up, Birdman.”

“Spill the beans, Fireman. What is it this time?”

“Dat be for da Queen to ‘splain, bredda. Nuh worry ‘bout nuttin’, bredda. Dem Hoodoos ‘ave yuh back.”

The men made their way back down the streets amongst the dopamine fiends of Bondieu. All conscious eyes gazed at Sparrow, an untouchable target escorted by the Queen’s royal guard. A few minutes later and they arrived at the infamous Hoodoo hangout where a mysterious hooded man stood guard, enveloped by a thick cloud of smoke.

“Wah gwaan, Doc?”

“Bless up Fireman. Dis be da wizzkid?”

Raymond nodded.

“Send im up, bredda. Queen be waitin’.”

***

Sparrow soon found himself alone in a small study with a large desk. A peculiar mix of anthropological studies of ancient Caribbean tribes alongside cutting-edge scientific and medical journals populated the bookshelves behind the empty table.

The door to the study creaked open. Sparrow stood to greet the Queen.

“Thank you for coming here tonight, Sparrow.” Queen Marielle motioned for the invitee to take a seat.

“No problem at all, Ma’am.”

“How is the Chasm?”

“To be honest, it’s quite dangerous.”

“I see. I hear you’re an indie. I also know that you’re one of the best. But Cyber City’s getting meaner by the day, Sparrow. Most indies are factioning up or running for their lives.

“I have a proposal. I need someone for a hack job. I think you fit the bill. You can stay here as long as you like, bring your gear, set yourself up. Our men will protect you. If you don’t mind the snakes, of course. They won’t mind you, once they know you’re one of us.”

“What’s the job?”

“Well that’s a long story. But we have trouble with the Tyger Fangz. If you’re as good as they say you are, then I’m sure you can help.”

“I’m listening.”

“The short version is that we need to get inside their system. Oroku’s after our tech, and I want to see what he’s got on us. I want a full report of the Tyger intel. Bonus points for you if you can sabotage their system.”

“Child’s play, Ma’am.”

“Really? From what I heard, data channels are extremely volatile these days. Encryption models are cracked. Can you really get in and out undetected?”

“That’s what I do, Ma’am.”

“Right then. Take some men, move your gear over here. I’ll grant you a private space. Anything you need, just ask Fireman. We’ll keep you warm and safe. You’re a Hoodoo now, Sparrow.”

“Thank you Ma’am. It’s an honor.”

***

Within a day, Sparrow’s battle station had been relocated to a cordoned off section in the Hoodoo HQ’s attic. The familiar sound of raindrops above his head soothed Sparrow as he set up his system, only now he felt safe knowing he wasn’t inches away from a deadly fall.

The setup was complete, it was time to log in. But where to start? He looked around his newly arranged desk. There beside him was a small gray box. He pressed the red button and a hologram of Oroku Shuriken emerged, replaying the threatening ultimatum previously recorded for Queen Marielle.

“Gotcha!”

Sparrow opened a desk drawer and took out a small screwdriver. He removed the box’s casing, exposing the intricate circuitry of the small device. He cut two wires, twisted their conduits and inserted them into two small sockets located within the inner bend of his elbow. Next, he lifted back two fingernails on his opposite arm’s hand, revealing cybernetic connectivity interfaces. Sparrow plugged into the desk’s console.

A barrage of code instantly streamed down the console’s display. With nothing more than a thought and a glare, Sparrow directed more code through the screen. On and on and on he went, until finally, a breakthrough.

He was in.

At this point Sparrow closed his eyes and froze. While his body sat motionless, an infinite torrent of information stacked on the screen. Photos, videos, text documents, schematics. The data dump was endless.

Eventually, the source dried up. Sparrow’s eyes reopened. He unplugged himself from both the console and the gray message box, carefully reconnected the wiring, making sure to hide any evidence of his procedure.

He fixed his fingernails, pulled his sleeve back up over his elbow and called for Marielle.

“How’s the quest going?”

“Good Ma’am. I managed to get inside their database. Undetected of course.”

“How on Earth?”

“Let’s just call it my Magic Touch.”

“I see. What did you find?”

“I’ve compiled a full report of their intel. It’s here for review.” He pointed to a series of data folder icons on his console’s display.

“Excellent work, Sparrow.”

“It gets better, Ma’am. You mentioned sabotage. Well, I found a back door into their proprietary AR equipment schematics.

“I cross-referenced device-specific identifiers and noticed a large database of reports from one of their members, Satoshi Yoshimoto. He seems to be using one such device to archive his interactions with the Japan Town locals. There’s a giant library of content; interviews, arguments, deals, pleas. He’s the finger on the pulse of their entire community.”

Queen Marielle’s eyebrows raised, her eyes glistened. Sparrow continued.

“It’s just an idea, but with a bit of work, I could infiltrate the incoming data stream and manipulate the recordings. From what I gather, the archives are used for hierarchical surveillance. We could overwrite the recordings and tamper with the evidence. This would likely cause some rifts in their hierarchy and dissent in the people. Oroku would be far too busy restoring the peace than to worry about any Hoodoo plans. That’s when we strike!”

“Brilliant Sparrow. You’ve outdone yourself. Take some rest and think it over. We’ll talk tomorrow.” With that Queen Marielle left his work area and made her way back downstairs to her study.

Feeling the toll of his interpersonal hack, Sparrow lay down on his bed. He tried to sleep, but dark images of bottomless pits and queasy sensations of falling kept his troubled mind awake. Sleep would come later. For now, he attempted to relax and listened instead to the rain rattling on the roof of the old Hoodoo house.