Ghosts

Chapter 1: Tried in the Fire Drow dropped off the edge of the walkway, landing with a jolt that knocked the breath out of his body. A blaster shot zinged past his head and he didn't waste time on catching his breath, staggering to his feet and running to where the arches sloped down to a lower level. He heard more shots around him but the Seccies were falling behind. A street kid wasn't worth the trouble of an extended chase and he was heading into the depths of the ganglands now.The lighting on the next level was damaged, flickering erratically and creating odd shadows against the skyscraper sections emblazoned with gang colors. This was Spider territory: not far from home, but Drow kept to the shadows anyway. The Spiders wouldn't cause him hassle as long as he didn't mess with them; it was their style. Their territory was the rec complexes that surrounded Drow now: vice-joints, dream palaces and gaming 'cades. They catered to the low-wagers who couldn't afford to move up to the heights of the city but could spare the creds for a cheap thrill. The locals paid protection money to the Spiders and the gang patrolled the streets but, while they would get tough if they needed to, they didn't waste their time shaking down anyone wearing the wrong colors.Drow weaved his way through Spider town, checking back over his shoulder casually every once in a while. As far as he could tell, the Seccies had cut their losses and decided not to follow him into the ganglands. But that didn't mean he was safe. They had holocams on their flitter and a record of him running away. If they picked him up later they'd be able to ID him as the kid who'd stolen a case of data discs from the Fractured Image. For now though he was as chill as you could be on the streets. Heading down through the levels of Spider territory he mapped out the route ahead in his mind. He had two choices and neither gave him much of a buzz. The way back home to his own gang's sector lay through Katana space. The knife gang wouldn't like his colors and if they caught him short-cutting through their turf he might not only lose the discs he'd lifted but wake up dead tomorrow. The alternative would take longer, circling Katana territory through the Ghost area. However, the Katanas were a menace Drow understood: no one knew anything about the Ghosts.Catching sight of his own reflection in the grimy windows of a black-market tech store, Drow made up his mind. The fragments of shining circuitry braided into his black hair and the silvery mirror lenses in his eyes marked him as a Chrome, and a lone ganger was a target on the streets. The Katanas were expanding their area and any stranger would be fair game to enhance their rep. The Ghosts were known to be hard as ice and no one gave them trouble but they were a secretive gang and didn't need to prove themselves all the time. They controlled levels and enclaves all over the skyrises and starscrapers of London but never displayed their colors or openly hung out on the street. Ghost territory was a no-go area and gangs who tangled with them suffered runs of bad luck that made them suspicious of the Ghosts and wary of trouble. Standing in line for a public grav-tube to the levels lower down, Drow tried not to remember the other stories he had heard about the Ghosts. It was rumored they stole children to increase their numbers and that they were anarchists trying to bring down the city through terrorist action. It had been reported on the holovid that the Ghosts were linked to Anglecynn: a terrorist faction that engineered net crashes and gang attacks on European Federation agencies. But whenever the Seccies made a move on Ghost enclaves they arrived to find everything abandoned, not even trash left behind. Meanwhile, the Ghosts started up in some other wasted section of the city ganglands and the local gang steered clear.The other people waiting for the grav-tube gave Drow sidelong looks. Two kids wearLassiter, Rhiannon is the author of 'Ghosts' with ISBN 9780743422130 and ISBN 0743422139.