Chapter Twenty-Nine - Spider Cat ~ Spider Cat

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Spider Cat ~ Spider Cat

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Spider Cat ~ Spider Cat

The rich get richer. Thats kind of just a thing.

The super rich get higher. Not just metaphorically, but literally too.

Life on Earth is generally acknowledged to be rather awful. So why not leave?

With over twenty low-orbit installations, and an entire resort on the Moon and Mars*, Tesla-Travel Corp has you covered!

*as of 2039 all Mars expeditions are cancelled.Geett the latest novels at novelhall.com

--Ad for Moon Colony Alpha and former Mars Colony Bet, 2039.

***

New Purchase: Tree Cat Grapple System

Points Reduced to... 8003

The system was built like a backpack with some straps that went around the chest. It was fitted for me, which was handy because I couldnt imagine fitting something so tight on without it bruising my already sensitive chest.

I stared at the two hooks that stuck out from the backpack with some degree of confusion. They were bulbous things, with little glass bits and a bunch of slots on them. Okay, I said. I have no idea how these work.

Theyre multi-function hooks. Pressing them against a stud will launch a drill that will grab on. Leaving them loose will deploy some hooks from within, and the end is a sort of sponge that can fill with a powerful adhesive to cling onto a surface. Theyre meant to be usable in any situation.

Well, thats neat, but where do I hook them if I dont want to die?

Please look at the wire-map of the building, Ill highlight the location of load-bearing supports. Press the hooks against those walls and they will grab on.

Seeing as how I didnt feel like falling to my death, I followed Myalis instructions, setting up the two hooks to burrow into the walls, then I trailed out the lines, still connected to the pack, all the way over to the window.

It wasnt the sort of window meant to be opened. No one sane wanted to get a fresh breeze of smog into their air-conditioned office. So I got Whisper out, loaded one of the explosive bolts into it over the sleeping gas bolts, and blew one of the windows off.

Whats taking you so long? Gomorrah asked.

Im trying to make it so that I dont turn into so much mulch on hitting the ground, I said.

Well hurry up, Gomorrah said.

I stepped onto the window-sill, the cords from the grapple system trailing out behind me, then, with a step over the edge, I placed my foot down on the wall below and dropped out of the building.

The system gave me just enough slack that I was able to stand straight on the side of the building, my front facing the long drop below and my feet, with my awesome boots, planted on the wall.

I had to take a step as a blast of wind shoved me to the side.

Rolling over, I slid up behind a couch, then undid the clasps at the front of my backpack.

Theyre here! In the lounge!

Barricade those doors!

Did they come from above or below?

Cameras are still down.

I snorted as I left the grapple pack on the ground next to me and stood up. Theyre really panicking, huh?

It seems so.

Get the rocket launchers!

I frowned. Hmm. That didnt sound like something I could tank. Myalis, I need a gas grenade.

Certainly. Do you want the gas to be coloured?

I mean... that would be pretty cool, I admitted.

New Purchase: Knock-Out Gas Grenade: Pink

Points Reduced to: 7998

I picked up the grenade off the ground before me and primed it. Thanks. A jog over to the door later, and I leaned Whisper to the side, pulled out my Trench Maker, and punched a couple of holes into the door before flinging the grenade into the room.

You know, I dont think you deserve any title related to stealth after all.

Its proactive stealth, I said as a plume of pinkish smoke wafted out of the hole in the door. The one problem with colourful gas was that it made seeing enemy movement on their cameras a real pain.

Seeing them panic and rush away from the gas was kinda funny though, in a cathartic way.

The guys at the gun emplacements rushed back into the main corridor, then stumbled back and away from the spreading pink cloud.

The ventilation system was doing a good job of sucking it away, but a few unlucky idiots had still been caught in the smoke and were dropping here and there. I kicked the door in, then rushed into the corridor. My cybernetic eye did something that turned the world to monochrome but made it easier to see through the smoke.

The mercs had moved to two rooms. An office and a washroom of all things. The washroom had one of those doors with a vent at the bottom. A kick and it bent in, so I fired a bolt into the hole and moved on just as they opened fire on the door.

Moving fast, I rushed over to the office, rammed the door with Whispers butt, then fired a bolt into the room while the guys within panicked.

I kept moving, not wanting to stick around when they tried to shoot back.

Gomorrah, I said as I moved to the end of the corridor. There were some automated turrets here and there, but they were all conspicuously quiet. I think the floors cleared.

***