Four Aces

Prologue

X X X

At the end of an arduous day's work, the stairs to his fifth-floor apartment always felt infinitely longer than they actually were. It was tedious to haul himself up all those steps; but the out of order sign on the elevator said it was necessary. Even in his tired state the male moved quietly, a habit learnt as a child and drilled into him during a soldier's career later in life. The same training ensured that whilst he moved he had a sharp brown eye on any possible direction for attack – he'd seen a lot of ugly in the years and did his best to avoid conflict.

When the sleek number of apartment 512 appeared at the top of the stairs, he breathed a grateful sigh and fished for his keys. The hall that greeted him on the other side was only tiny, quickly feeding into an apartment that could only ever be suited to one person. Shutting the door behind him, the young man slid off his trench coat and undid the collar buttons of his uniform. A light toss sent his keys into the dish he kept near the door; they landed neatly with the 'chink' of metal on ceramic. Turning into the kitchenette, a lazy hand flicked the lightswitch to illuminate the dark room.

Quite suddenly, it wasn't so lazy anymore. The hand was rigid along with the rest of his body; he stood frozen in the doorway with wide eyes staring at the person sitting at his table.

It was a lithe male, his skin pale but mostly covered in a white uniform. Red cuffs and a red collar were decorated in a diamond pattern – it matched the tattoo he had under one eye.

"Hallo there," the intruder grinned, staying calmly at the table. "I've been waiting for you."

He knew in his bones he was looking at a Cyborg.

Across the apartment, the phone had begun to ring. It was ignored by both men as they stared at each other in silence – one smug, the other far from it. The automated answering service kicked in, the electronic record the only sound in the house.

Hi, this is Joe. I can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave a message then I can call you back. Okay, thanks!

It timed out with that annoying beep, giving way to a frantic, much more real voice. "009! You're in danger! If you're home, you need to pick up the phone right now! We don't have much time left – they're going after all of us and they're starting with you!"

The message echoed around an empty apartment. The door was left wide open as the two Cyborgs battled their way down the corridor outside.

The hunt had begun.

X X X

To be continued.