Elara Ahn tightened the clasp of her gravity-adaptive coat—an iridescent, translucent garment that shimmered in the artificial lights of New Seoul Colony-7. The coat clung to the movements of her lithe frame, shifting between a deep obsidian hue and a faint silver glow depending on her surroundings. Another remarkable achievement of the 30th century: clothing that responded to the emotional resonance and biochemistry of its wearer. But even the breathtaking technology she wore couldn’t erase the coiling dread in her chest. Not tonight. Not after Brian Thompson had been found dead.
The heart of the colony, a dense urban sprawl layered with transparent orbital highways and neon-bathed skyscrapers, pulsed beneath Elara. She stood on an observation skybridge, her gaze locked on the spiraling Core Tower that housed the investigative AI known as "Athena." Built as humanity's greatest tool for solving crimes in an era where digital anonymity flourished, Athena had been a cornerstone of law enforcement for decades. Tonight, though, it would face a unique challenge—a challenge that few knew was tied to Elara herself.
The death of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was national news even in the interstellar colonies. Known for leveraging his wealth and influence to dictate planetary health policies, his assassination sent ripples through the fragile sociopolitical fabric. But Elara wasn’t just interested in protocol or justice. She had her motives—ones wrapped in secrets that stalked her like shadows.
A Dangerous Alliance
Elara’s solemn reflection was interrupted by a soft ping from her wrist communicator. She tapped it, and a holographic interface bloomed above her forearm. A voice followed—deep, distorted, and unmistakably synthetic.
"Agent Ahn," it said. "We have what you requested. The suspect you wanted to track—coordinates uploaded." A digital avatar of a crow perched on her wrist display for a split second, a signature of the enigmatic underground group she had bargained with: The Wavelength Syndicate.
"Are you sure about this?" their operative continued. Static crackled between their words, a sign of deliberate interference to block Athena from listening. "Messing with Athena and the NYPD? You’re playing with fire."
Elara clenched her jaw, her sharp features thrown into relief by the pale light. Her almond-shaped eyes, storm-gray from an anterior genetic modification, flashed with determination. Her auburn hair, styled tightly into a utility braid, reflected a subtle shimmer from the luminous fibers woven naturally into her scalp—a military engineering enhancement common among field agents of her rank.
"I’m not messing with Athena," she said coldly. "I’m working around it. Thompson didn’t die by chance; this was calculated. And I want the killer."
"For justice or for closure?" The voice was amused.
"For both."
The coordinates displayed as a vivid red dot on her map. Somewhere in the outskirts of the colony—an area called The Overlap, a forgotten zone where AI drones patrolled only in intervals and failing energy grids kept most security cameras offline. If the Syndicate's intel was right, she’d find answers there.
A Maze of Shadows
Elara descended into The Overlap under the pale glow of bioluminescent street moss—a relic of 28th-century terraforming experiments. The air was heavier here, rich with the tang of scavenger tech and damp, rusted machinery. Her boots made no sound, thanks to vibration-dampening soles that allowed her to pass through unnoticed.
She adjusted her coat's mood dampener, dimming its sheen to pure onyx, and slipped into an alley crowded with the bones of abandoned service bots and obsolete tech. Beyond the decay lay a bunker, its steel doors flecked with phosphorescent graffiti. Unlike the rest of the Overlap, this area buzzed faintly with energy—a sign of something alive.
Just as she approached, the sound of a low drone filled the air. Elara twisted, her eyes darting upward. A surveillance micro-drone hovered in the high corner of the alley. Reflexively, she reached for the magnetic pulse disruptor strapped to her hip. A single shot, invisible to the naked eye, reduced the drone’s rotor to an audible splutter. It crashed quietly into the mound of trash below.
"You’ve grown careless, Agent Ahn," came a smooth, accented voice from the shadows. A man stepped into the hazy light spilling from a broken lantern pod, his chameleon-cloak rippling briefly before he turned it off. He was tall, with dark skin etched by faint subdermal circuitry visible only when he moved. His left eye was entirely artificial, a glowing green iris spiraling like a constant feed of encrypted code.
"Lazio," Elara acknowledged, straightening. She hadn’t seen him since her last mission in New Terraformatic Seoul—before everything fell apart. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving you from yourself," he replied briskly. "And cleaning up the mess you’re about to make."
The Decision
Inside the bunker, Elara found what she came for—a decrypted fragment pointing to a biological imprint that didn’t match any known species in the colony. It was linked directly to Thompson's murder weapon. But Lazio wasn't as inclined to let her leave with it.
"You take that to Athena, and you’ll lead them straight to your father," he said pointedly. "You know what Thompson’s death was really about, don’t you? Not just corporate ethics. Someone was tying up loose ends."
The name weighed heavy in the silence between them—her father—something almost everyone thought was buried in New Seoul's history for good. A rogue AI researcher involved in illegal genomic experiments. Dead for decades, or so she thought. Yet Lazio's presence here and the secrets concealed in Thompson’s assassination suggested otherwise.
"This doesn’t leave this building," Lazio pushed. "Turn away before you dig a grave you won’t crawl out of."
But Elara shook her head, her voice firm. "The truth isn’t something you bury. Not this time."
As she stepped out into the neon-lit streets again, clutching evidence that could tear her world apart, Elara knew there was no going back. The line between her humanity and the ever-watching eyes of Athena blurred, much like the shimmering glow of her coat fading into the distance.
All that was left now was the chase.
Genre: Sci-fi/Action Thriller
The Source...check out the article that inspired this amazing short story: How NYPD is using Advanced AI, Drones, and DNA in Manhunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's Assassin
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