Chapter Thirty Seven

Socket tapped her foot irritably. Yobi's look of concentration as he worked on some hidden computer on the other side of the holoscreen made her blood boil.

"Well?!" she snapped.

He jerked his head around to look at her and scratched behind his right ear. "It's gonna take a little more time, Madam Mayor."

"If we want to stop that pesky mawile from interfering," she said slowly, "then we need to shut down Download Database!"

"I know, I'm working on it!" Yobi's eyes widened at Socket's purse-lipped leer and he quickly backtracked. "I mean... these things don't happen overnight, Madam Mayor. I could work faster, but... you're making me sleep, and-"

"Are you implying this is my fault?"

"No!" He waved his paws frantically. "No, not at all. It's just... okay. I'll have it out before tomorrow morning. I'll pull one all-nighter, get this virus sent through Zero Day to Download Database and then I'll sleep until lunch. If... if that's okay with you?"

"That's perfectly fine by me provided you actually get it finished!"

The sparksurfer raichu's long ears flopped back and forth as he nodded. "I will get it finished. I promise you that."

"Good. Be sure that you do."

Socket flicked off the holoscreen before Yobi could even bid her farewell. She didn't need farewells.

"That was rather rude," said Tweak.

Socket turned her head to look at the chingling. He was bouncing and jingling around on his desk, stamping through Socket's reams of paper work. A pile she thought was much too large and overdue for an efficient assistant.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I said it was rather rude," said Tweak. "Didn't even say goodbye or nothin'."

"That slacker doesn't need to be shown manners." She stomped over to the window, keeping one eye on the busy chingling. "And watch your mouth, Tweak. Otherwise I'll be looking for another assistant, as well as another scientist."

Tweak dropped the stamp he was holding and looked up with a start. "You're looking to replace Yobi?"

"Not yet. But if he fails to get this virus out before lunch time tomorrow, I shall be. His experiments have let me down too much already."

"In all fairness," said Tweak as he gathered up his stamp, "part of that failure was your own fleet."

"Well, they've been decimated by that creature BackDoor dragged through, haven't they? So I have to look for new ones anyway."

"Oh yeh, what's become of that creature? Ultra beast, he called it, right?"

"Last I heard, it's now making its way towards Pulse City."

"Pretty dangerous thing since it's already destroyed Favicon City," said Tweak. "Aren't you going to stop it?"

Socket's lip curled into a half smile and she chuckled. "Why would I stop it? It's not exactly threatening one of my cities right now, is it?"

The swanna landed outside Cyan City's hospital and lowered herself to the ground to allow Macro to disembark. Jumper hopped off first and offered a paw to the mawile. Macro took it hesitantly and carefully clambered down. He winced as he landed too heavily on his wounded leg and staggered into Jumper.

"Careful." Jumper steadied him on his feet and placed an arm around his waist. He then turned to address the swanna. "Thank you, Hover."

Hover nodded and took off back into the sky with one graceful flap of her wings. Macro watched her go and let out a sigh, which only made him choke into his paw.

"Oh to be able to fly," he croaked.

"Come on." Jumper encouraged him towards the hospital doors. "Let's get that leg looked at. I'm also rather concerned you might have inhaled too much smoke."

Macro hopped along beside the frogadier. "How do I tell her, Gov?"

"Hmm?" Jumper looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Lossy," Macro went on. "How do you tell a mother her kids have been killed?"

"We don't know that for certain," said Jumper. "All we have is the word of a deranged criminal."

"And he ain't in any state to talk now, is he?" Macro sighed again. "What sort of nutter kills themselves when they're cornered?"

"The kind that don't want to talk." Jumper pushed the doors open and led Macro into the lobby.

He caught the eye of an azumaril behind the desk, who let out a squeak of surprise when she saw Macro.

"I need to get this 'mon emergency treatment," said Jumper. "Smoke inhalation and a possible broken leg."

"It ain't broken, I can walk on it," said Macro. "It just hurts. A lot."

"That doesn't mean it's not broken."

"No, it does not," said the azumarill. She pressed a button on her head set and spoke quickly yet clearly into it. "I need a stretcher at A&E stat. I have a pokemon with a possible broken leg."

Macro let out a long sigh followed by another irritated cough. He waved Jumper off and slumped into the nearest seat.

"Look, Gov," he groaned. "Just let me get back to my ship."

"I can't do that," said Jumper. "You've helped us out a lot, and I'm not going to send a wounded 'mon away. You can consider this part of your payment."

Macro raised an eyebrow. "Payment? You're gonna pay for all this? I do have health insurance, you know. Pirate health insurance, but it still works."

Jumper laughed and fell into the seat beside him. "Insurance or not, I'm not letting you pay a single credit. So stop complaining and let the doctors do their work."

Macro grinned and shook his head. "I can't decide if you're being overly generous or just plain foolish."

"Maybe a bit of both?" A loud ringing came from Jumper's belt and he scooped out his pocket computer. A swift push of a button revealed a disheveled empoleon. "What is it, Sergent? You're on video phone."

"How many listeners?" HeatSink asked.

"Just myself, Hunter and the receptionist."

"All right. Well, the battle has died down in the square now, Governor," said HeatSink. "But... we've lost several lives. We're just dragging out the survivors now. Two grass types have been apprehended. A bayleaf and snivy. Both of them are unconscious, but we can't guarantee they aren't gonna blow themselves up once they come around."

"Rush them to the hospital and we'll have their explosives removed," said Jumper. "Is there anything else? You look anxious."

"Yes. There is." HeatSink scratched his head and glanced to the side. "That talonflame... I'm not sure if I want to say this out loud since anyone who overhears might get a bit of a shock."

Macro leant over Jumper's shoulder so he was in the camera. "What's happened to him? He didn't get killed, did he? And what about Anchor?"

"No, they're both fine. They're rather wounded, however," the empoleon explained. "But... how much do you know about this Switch, Hunter?"

Macro frowned. "Quite a lot. He's a client. I'm tryin' to help him out."

"So you know he's not... exactly... a talonflame?"

"What are you talking about, Sergent?" Jumper snapped. "Make your point!"

The doors into the hallway swung open and two croconaw waddled into the lobby dragging a large stretcher. The front one raised an eyebrow when he saw Macro, then looked over at Jumper as if prompting an explanation.

"I'm sorry, Sergent," said Jumper. "I have to go. The doctors are here with a stretcher."

HeatSink let out a flustered sigh. "All right. I'll call you back."

"Give it fifteen minutes," said Jumper.

"Well, we might see you there, actually," said HeatSink. "We're bringing all casualties over. Pokemon or otherwise. Got a few soldiers here who fainted from shock."

Jumper pocketed his computer and fixed Macro with wide eyes. He shook his head slowly and sighed.

"How much have you not told me?" he asked.

Macro shrugged. "Some cases are confidential. Besides. You heard. Some soldiers 'fainted from shock'. Wanna be counted in that number, Gov?"

He pushed himself from the chair and as soon as his feet struck the floor he crumpled under his own weight. The doctors rushed to his side to lift him up before he could even blink.

Jumper followed the doctors into the corridor as they wheeled Macro away on the stretcher. The mawile peered past the croconaw's shoulder to catch the governor's attention.

"I can tell you everything if you promise me you won't faint," said Macro.

Jumper shrugged and clasped his paws behind his back. "Going off what I know so far, I can assume this friend of yours is not a pokemon. Knowing that, I'm still standing, aren't I?"

"Yeh... I'm wondering if that's really a good thing."

"Well, Hunter..."

"Macro."

Jumper raised an eyebrow and stared down at him.

"Call me Macro. Hunter's just an..." Macro waved a paw. "An alias."

"Really? Well... Macro." Jumper smiled. "If I was an easy fainter, I wouldn't exactly be cut out for this job. And given the recent events - empty bugs, sudden space pirate invasions, and a raid from a psychotic grass army - I think I'm all ready for alien creatures disguising themselves as pokemon." He pulled his computer back out of his pocket and waved it at Macro. "Given three of your crew, including yourself, are going to be held in this hospital for a little while, it makes sense to alert the rest of your crew. Don't you think?"

Macro flinched as the stretcher was thrust through another set of double doors. "I would, but I kinda lost my computer in that blaze."

"I can always contact them, or you could use my computer. It's up to you."

Macro tucked his paws behind his head and yawned, evoking another coughing fit. He wanted to wrench his scarf from around his neck and throw it.

"I'm afraid I can't help you," he said. "I don't know my ship's number. I always had it on speed dial."

"What about your crew?"

"Same again. Speed dial."

Jumper pursed his lips together and stared down at his computer. "Well, I suppose Anchor will be arriving here soon enough. Other than that, we could try to hack your ship's computer? It seems only right to let everyone know their Captain and two of their friends are safe, but stranded for a while."

Macro stared at him, then flinched again as he was thrust into a large and rather white ward.

"I suppose it might actually sway you into giving me that chip if you met DL," he said. "So go ahead. Hack away."

Jumper chuckled and tucked his phone back into his pouch. "You're rather optimistic. I'll leave you in their capable paws and be back shortly."

The croconaw doctors watched him leave then turned back to Macro.

"Broken leg, huh?" The larger one leafed through a clip board. "Shame it ain't a broken spine."

Macro's heart hit his stomach. Why he'd expected everyone to suddenly be as welcoming as Jumper was a mystery. He glanced to the door, gauging the distance and trying to work out if he could actually run for it. But before he could push himself up, the large croconaw snapped his claws.

"Grab the x-ray machine," he told his colleague. "Let's see what we're working with."

...

Annie threw the back door open and let out a loud yawn.

"Wow! Got so much done today." She flopped into a chair at the kitchen table and stared across at the glass bowl.

Zip didn't look up at her. He floated with his tongue poking between his lips, scrutinizing the contents of a sheet of lined paper.

"What have you got there, little fish?" she asked.

Zip looked up with a start then beamed. "I'm working on our rebellion action plan!"

Web waddled into the kitchen clutching a towel in her paws. "Oh, he's been working on that all afternoon! Waveform has been helping him with it."

"Huh." Annie scratched her head and looked up at the door. "Where is the big old bird?"

"Having a nap." Zip looked back down at his 'action plan'.

"Mind if I have a look at that?" Annie reached across and took the sheet. The writing it contained was completely illegible to her. "What language is this? Sanskrit?"

"It's our language, dear," said Web. "Can't you read it?"

"No. I wasn't taught... whatever this is."

"But you speak it well."

"Yeh, I really don't understand how that happened." Annie turned the page left and right. "How do I read this?"

"I can read it to you." Zip splashed in his bowl. "Put it back down, okay?"

Annie placed the sheet back onto the table.

"Wrong way." Zip laughed. "Turn it one-eighty."

She twisted it round then sat back in her seat. She waved a hand at him then steepled her fingers together, much like an executive starting a meeting.

"Right, so, the first thing is we build the ship!" Zip raised a mechanical leg to tap the paper. The motion sent him toppling backwards and he let out a surprised 'whoa!'

Web gasped and dropped her tea towel, rushing to help him. But Trojan rounded the door and caught the bowl before it could shatter on the kitchen floor. Zip was pushed back to his mechanical feet with much grumbling from Trojan.

"Good grief, kid!" the scrafty scoffed. "Watch what you're doin' on them legs! 'Cos I ain't buildin' you another mech."

"Sorry." Zip sank in his bowl. "I'm useless, aren't I? That's why you all eat us water dwellers."

"I don't eat meat," said Annie. "I prefer my fruit and veg. Better for the bowels."

"I eat whatever I can get my paws on," said Trojan. "But I ain't gonna eat Zip. Ain't got enough meat on his bones anyway, since he hardly ever eats anything."

A small smile played at the goldeen's lips. "You're funny."

"I'm bein' serious."

"He's right, Zip," said Web. "None of us are going to eat you, and if I had it my way, none of us would ever eat meat. But beggars can't be choosers in this world, dear. Besides, you don't eat much. It worries me. If you don't eat your berries, those wounds are just going to get more and more angry."

Annie's eyes went to the stitches on Zip's side. They did look rather red. She reached over her shoulder for Web and nodded to the goldeen.

"Shall I force feed him?" she asked.

Web laughed and shook her head. "I'll liquefy them into his water if I have to."

"I'll eat!" said Zip. "But I'm just busy. This is important. So... we finish the ship. Then, once we've got it flying, the first thing we should do is get weapons. I suggest Pulse City for that, since weapons are banned everywhere else. Right?"

"Not everywhere," said Trojan. "Waveform gets his arrows from somewhere."

"He's the one who suggested Pulse City," said Zip. "Well, after that, we start recruiting more pokemon for the rebellion. Adverts, marches, city talks-"

Annie opened one eye and fixed it on him. "Recruiting?"

"Of course!" said Zip. "It only makes sense. How can you start a rebellion with such a small number?"

"The ship is small," said Annie. "Too small for more than..." She counted on her fingers.

"Five, dear," said Web. "May I chime in?"

"Of course!" said Zip with a smile.

"I think going around promoting a rebellion would be much too risky." She pointed a claw at the goldeen. "And you, sir, are not just too young for all this. But you're also wounded. You should be focusing on recovering."

"No!" Zip splashed in his bowl. "I'm helping out with this rebellion! It's important to me. If we can stop pokemon eating water dwellers-"

"I know, dear, but-"

"Let me finish!" He paused and wiped a fin over his eye. "My family were killed! I want to stop more families being torn apart like mine for the sake of meat! I'm being a part of this and you're not going to stop me!"

The kitchen fell into silence, save for the bubbles wildly flowing from Zip's gills. A smile spread across Annie's face and she pointed at the goldeen.

"This fish got fire!" she said. "I like your plan, little fish. But can I suggest a few tweaks?"

"Of course!" said Zip.

"Okay. First, you take your berries. I don't want a sick member on my team, okay?"

"Okay!"

"And you need rest. You look like you haven't slept. Even rebels need to sleep." Annie paused and scratched her head. "Also, put fund raising on there. Ship might need maintenance."

"I'd suggest odd jobs," said Trojan. "Not sure how many pokemon are gonna fund a rebellion."

"Add that too," said Annie.

Zip stared at the paper then looked up at Trojan. "Please could you write it for me?"

Trojan sighed and grabbed the pen and paper.

"Now sleep," said Annie. "Chop chop. Move them legs."

Zip chuckled and skittered from the room with a cry of, "Aye aye, Captain!"

"Well done," said Web. "I've been trying to get him to rest all day. Those wounds are starting to look pretty angry. I had to change his water earlier and it's not easy to find clean water around here."

Annie turned in her chair to address the skuntank. "Which berries are best to fight infections?"

Web scratched behind her ear and dropped her voice to a whisper. "I'm gonna be honest with you, Annie. All we've got are sitrus and none are good for infections. He needs medicine."

Annie responded with a rather dramatic whisper, "Where we gonna get that then? Doctors? Hospital?"

"We can't really afford it." Web shrugged. "All we can do is try our best and hope his body is strong enough to fight it off."

Annie grunted and grabbed the sheet from Trojan. Not that she could understand the contents.

"Well, we've got a rebellion to focus on," she said. "Hopefully the little fish will make our point. Meat is bad. The mayor is bad. The whole world is bad and needs a reboot."

...

White light blinded Macro when he opened his eyes. For a brief moment, the sun-shaped dazzle spot spread across his vision and he let out a small groan. With his right paw he rubbed at his eyes, pushing himself up with his left.

No pain.

He looked down at his injured leg, hidden beneath a bed sheet. How long had it been since the croconaw doctors had put him under? He'd remembered having to breathe in loads of oxygen to clear his lungs before they could even do it. The oxygen tank still stood next to his bed, patiently waiting for its next patient. His leg, however, no longer hurt.

"Rich city medicine, eh?" He chuckled and whipped the duvet away.

"Yeek!"

He jerked his head around and fixed wide, frantic eyes on the small shape picking herself up off his bed. DL sat up in a plastic chair and rubbed her paws over her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" he gasped.

"Sorry." She yawned and stretched languidly. "We got a call and... I'm not sure how long I've been here, they don't have clocks in this place."

"Yeh." Macro scratched his head, realising with anguish that his goggles were missing. "They mustn't want patients complaining about the time dragging."

He reached for his belt, realising that was also missing. His eyes flew around the room then landed on DL. The pachirisu held out his belt and goggles while wearing a small smile.

He took them gratefully and fastened his goggles back around his head.

"The frogadier also asked me to give you this." DL held out a pocket computer in both paws.

Macro eyed it suspiciously. It was smaller than his previous one, and looked more modern as well. Not a space pirate issue at all. He took it and turned it around in his paws.

"Is there something wrong?" DL asked.

"Just worried he might have had a tracking chip installed, is all," Macro answered.

"I can't see why he'd do that. You helped out his city." DL paused and scratched behind her ear. "Besides. Matrix already checked it over. There's nothing suspicious about it at all. It's just a new computer to replace your broken one."

"Oh. Well in that case." Macro fired it up, going straight to the settings. It connected to his visor with ease. Every ounce of information backed up onto his visor synced to the little computer. A small smile spread across his lips. "Back in action."

He brought the time up on his optical display and chuckled. It worked like a charm. It was already almost supper time. That meant he'd been out for about three hours. He tucked it into his pouch and kicked his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Leaving," he said.

"You can't just leave!" she gasped. "You need to be discharged!"

He shrugged. "Don't care. I can't hang around here. I've still got to retrieve your memory disk."

"About that."

He looked up at her, but she was staring at her paws.

"I don't think I want it," she said. "I appreciate all your help, but... I really don't want to remember why I have this database in my head. If I find out I actually offered, or that I even worked for a pokemon wicked enough to even do something like this-"

"DL."

She looked up and met his gaze, momentarily freezing his breath in his throat. He looked away and coughed into his paw.

"I'm getting it back regardless," he said. "You have every right to have your memories. They're who you are. Besides, you might be an innocent victim in all this. If you are, that could cost Socket her position as Mayor! Anyone who does something like that to another pokemon against their wishes-"

"But what if she had my permission? That makes me as guilty as her!"

"Who in their right mind would offer themselves up like that? Voluntarily become some mindless computer?"

"Exactly," said DL. "Someone who was insane? A psychopath? A convict offered an alternative to death?"

Macro frowned and looked down at his paws. "You seem far too innocent for that."

"Of course I do," she said. "I only possess a sense of self and my likes and dislikes."

"You also have a personality." He kicked himself off the bed and landed on his feet, flinching as a shock of pain radiated up his left leg. "Drat. I guess rich city medicine isn't perfect, huh?"

"I told you they need to discharge you first," said DL. "You haven't had a final examination yet."

Macro waved her off and marched over to the door. He paused with one paw on the handle and looked back at her.

"Switch is still here, isn't he?" he asked.

"Yes. I visited both him and Anchor before I went to find you. They're on the same ward."

"Which one?"

"Ward Eight." She slipped from the chair and joined him at the door. "I'll lead you, but you must promise to have a final examination before you leave."

"I ain't promisin' anything." He barged through the door. "If I can get that disk easily I'm gonna do it."

"Even though I just told you I don't want you to?"

"Yes." He faced her and folded his arms, meeting her frown with his own. "Look, sweetheart. If, say, in two weeks time you decide you do want all your memories back, you're gonna regret not taking an easy opportunity like this."

She sighed and glanced away from him, raising a paw to brush at her ear. The action reminded him of Matrix and he raised an eyebrow.

"Fine," she said. "Go get the wretched disk. But I don't want it."

"That's my girl," he said with sarcasm. "Now which way do we go?"

She tapped his elbow and turned right out of his room. He followed behind her, casting his eyes over the various posters and diagrams of bone fractures and physio exercises. Before long, she'd stopped at an elevator.

"It's just up on the next floor," she explained. "I doubt Switch will be ready to leave any time soon, but Anchor might be. His wounds were less serious."

"What kind of wounds?" Macro asked.

"Third degree burns," said DL. "Both of them. Although... Switch has taken some heavy damage from his fight. He could barely speak when I saw him."

Macro's spine stiffened and he blinked a few times as he processed the first part of her sentence. He'd barely even heard the final part.

"Are you kidding me?" he gasped. "Switch is a fire type!"

"Well... yeh..." DL rubbed at her arm as she watched the numbers change above the elevator. "But his human form isn't."

Macro's jaw went slack. Of course. He hadn't considered that. What had happened in that battle exactly? Why had the foolish human decided to reveal his true form?

The elevator's oddly cheerful chime dragged him out of his thoughts and he followed DL inside the glass chamber. He found himself staring out of the window behind them at Cyan City's streets as the elevator carried them up to the next floor.

The door hissed open and DL placed a paw on his shoulder. He looked back and met her eyes, filled with concern. She said nothing as she led him out into the corridor. He was immediately assaulted by the sharp smell of disinfectant. It made his nose almost retreat into his face.

"Wow." He clasped a paw over his muzzle. "I don't think they need to worry about germs surviving in the air here, never mind the floor!"

"What you're smelling is the creams they use on the burn patients." DL pushed open the nearest door. "We're here."

Macro strolled into the room, catching Matrix's bright eyes. He waved a slender arm then returned to whatever game he was playing on his pocket computer. Macro looked over at the occupied beds. Anchor and Switch lay opposite each other, while the only other patient was a vaporeon Macro recognized as Floppy. The granbull looked up and waved, flinching slightly. A huge patch of his pink fur had been burned away to reveal angry, red flesh. The damage spread from his elbow to his collar bone.

"Good to see you standing," he said. "Jumper told us you'd broken your leg."

"It healed." Macro stopped beside Switch's bed. "What on earth happened to you?"

Switch lay in his human form under a light sheet. His skin looked dry, cracked and angry in blotchy patches and part of his floppy brown fur had been burned off the side of his head. The human was asleep, his mouth and nose covered by an oxygen mask. The canister pumped away beside him noisily.

"He won't say anything," said Matrix. "He's been out cold for hours."

"Aye, he's lucky to be alive." Anchor pushed himself up and flailed for his pillow.

DL rushed to help him, placing the fluffy pillow against the wall so the granbull could lean back against it.

"Thanks, DL." He grinned widely then turned back to Macro, his grin melting into a frown. "That Spider. He had us all under the influence of sweet scent. I tell ya now, Cap'n, it's a dangerous tool in the wrong paws. It doesn't just make targets easier to hit by luring them in. Whatever he were doin'... it were sendin' us mad, Cap'n. We were attacking each other, ourselves... I don't know if that's what it usually does or if it's been genetically enhanced. But Switch figured it out and managed to snap me out of it. But it weren't the only tool that tropius were using. He also had an amplifier for solar beam. Half the city is lyin' in ruins."

"That's an overstatement," said Matrix. "I calculate the damage to be about fifteen to twenty percent."

The other three pokemon fixed the ribombee with identical frowns. He looked up and wound his antennae around in his paw.

"What?" he asked. "It is."

Anchor sighed and turned back to Macro. "Anyway. The battle escalated into a blaze. We needed to shut down Spider's sweet scent attack at its source, so while I did that Switch tried to get rid of the rest of the army. But once Spider went down, he fell. Landed right on top of Switch and took down more buildings with his amplifier. The impact struck Switch's watch and morphed him into his human form, right before rubble bounced off his ribs. If he were still in his talonflame form, he'd be dead, Cap'n. That accidental blunder saved his life. Just cost him a few broken ribs, fractured arm and a punctured lung."

"And a few burns," added Matrix.

Macro looked back down at Switch. An innocent human, trapped in another time-line and almost died. Macro had heard of the butterfly effect. One small change to history could have a huge impact on the present. He had no idea what would happen if Switch wasn't sent back to his own time. Would losing his life change history, and as a result alter the present? One of the biggest events in their history - one Macro had believed to be only fiction - had already been rectified before Switch came through the time pocket, and he'd played a huge part in it. Allegedly, so had Macro's ancestors. But what other events had Switch been involved in? If he really was close friends with Macro's 'great times fifty grandparents', how much of an impact would accidentally changing history have on his life? His heart lurched into his throat and he launched his gaze towards the window.

"You all right, Cap'n?"

Macro looked over at Anchor. The granbull scratched his mohawk as he cast his eyes over him curiously. Macro became aware he was breathing heavily.

"Yeh." He sat down in a chair beside Switch's bed. "Yeh, I'm fine. Just... having a little wake-up slap."

"Really?" Matrix raised an eyebrow. "What about?"

"Just... we really need to get Switch back to his own time-line," Macro explained. "Soon. With little to no margin for error."

"Is that even gonna be possible?" Anchor asked. "I mean... we don't even know how Socket is opening these gateways. Do we?"

"No. So we need to find out." Macro folded his arms and leant back in his seat. "I suggest we do some more snooping around."

"None of us know how to hack," said Anchor.

"I have the most computer skills out of all of us," said Matrix, "and even I don't know."

"And DL's access to the BackDoor project has been blocked." Macro looked over at her and sighed. "Guess we either hire a hacker or pay Socket a visit."

"I ain't 'visiting' the Mayor," said Anchor. "I'm with hiring a hacker. Who did you hire the last time?"

Macro scratched beneath his goggles and stared blankly at the wall as he weighed his options. Memories of those weird 'dates' were still fresh in his mind. Somehow he really didn't want to ask Surge to perform another hacking job...