When a person reaches the end of the road, it starts to feel like the entire world is against them.
That thought kept circling in Carter's mind, refusing to fade. Even after all these years working at Arasaka, he still could not escape being pushed to the edge of danger.
The noise of the punks behind him, the company's black hand closing in from the rear, and the spine he had never once managed to straighten in his entire life.
He gripped the steering wheel so hard his fingers hurt, trying with everything he had to suppress the violent agitation inside him, telling himself over and over that if he just endured a little longer, things would get better.
At some point, Carter's eyes began to twitch in a strange, unsettling way. His pupils went flat and dead, like the eyes of a fish.
It was as if he had suddenly plunged into a river running dry, transformed into a salmon desperately trying to find its way back to the sea, only to have no idea where to swim.
Anxiety, panic, and helplessness were about to drown him whole.
Then, faintly, he seemed to hear his mother calling to him.
From the other end of the line came Mary's gentle, concerned voice.
"Sweetheart, what happened? Aren't you still at work?"
Carter snapped awake from the dazed nightmare and raised his head slightly. In the rearview mirror, he saw that his forehead was drenched in sweat.
Then, as if he had finally made up his mind, the shock in his eyes gradually turned into resolve.
He had no time to explain what was happening. He only told Mary to lock the door and wait for him at home, and not to open it for anyone, no matter what.
After hanging up, Carter slammed on the brakes without hesitation.
The tires shrieked and smoked, leaving two long black streaks across the road.
The car behind him couldn't react in time and smashed into Carter's rear bumper, flipping violently onto its side.
The punks' car rolled over once, then skidded roof-first in a spray of sparks before slamming to a stop at the roadside.
The surrounding vehicles swerved away, and the traffic behind them screeched to a halt. The lane had already been clogged, and now it was sealed shut.
Carter twisted the wheel and brought his car to a hard stop in the middle of the road.
He had decided tonight to say goodbye to the weak, submissive version of himself.
He got out of the car and strode coldly toward the overturned vehicle.
Every piece of chrome in his body came online at once, red lines of light flashing across him.
The cars stacked up behind him had been blaring horns nonstop moments ago, but once they saw an Arasaka employee step out, the noise abruptly died.
Only the headlights remained, casting white beams across the scene.
Carter was nothing like Kai, one of Arasaka's senior executives, but he was still solidly mid-level management.
Aside from the standard issue chrome provided by Arasaka, he had spent plenty of his own money on premium combat implants and a high-performance operating system.
He had simply never shown them off in front of anyone.
They were his hidden trump card, something he would never reveal unless forced to.
But tonight...
He had truly let go.
He did not care anymore.
Unable to keep enduring it, Carter decided to start with the punks stupid enough to provoke him and kill them first.
He slowly drew an Arasaka-developed thermal katana.
The nanowire edge activated, glowing a scorching crimson.
He walked up to the overturned car step by step.
Then he brought the blade down.
The car door was cut clean through along the seam and fell to the ground with a heavy clang.
The thug inside saw Carter standing there like a demon and yanked out a handgun, firing at him in a frenzy.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets hit Carter's subdermal armor and threw off sparks, but did no real damage.
Without hesitation, Carter drove the thermal blade straight into the man's head.
The heat instantly cooked his brain into smoke and molten pulp.
After killing the driver, three more punks crawled and stumbled out of the wreck.
Seeing Carter butcher their friend, one of them popped out mantis blades, while the others drew pistols and charged him while screaming.
Carter triggered his operating system, dipped his knees slightly, and engaged his cybernetic actuators. In a single forward burst, a streak of red light flashed, and all three of their heads were taken clean off.
The heads hit the pavement and rolled across the roadside.
The headless bodies stood for a heartbeat longer before collapsing silently, their necks burned black and cauterized by the thermal edge.
The bystanders watching from nearby cars and sidewalks screamed when they saw an Arasaka employee killing people in the open. Some activated optics, others pulled out phones and started recording.
But before Carter could even sheathe the blade, several drones descended overhead and issued a warning.
"Arasaka employee G4. Counterintel deputy team lead. Carter Smith."
"Drop your weapon immediately and return to Arasaka Tower for debriefing."
Carter turned and saw them.
There were five full tactical squads, coming from every direction, boxing him in with no path left to run.
He already knew there was no escaping death, and he laughed bitterly.
"I always knew I'd die at the company's hands. I just didn't think it would come this soon."
As he laughed that broken laugh, the yellow rings in his optics spun rapidly as he made one final desperate effort.
He sent Susan a message, begging her to spare his mother Mary.
Then he dialed Mary again.
"Carter! There are people knocking on the door outside!"
"You told me to wait for you, so I didn't open it!"
"They said they're your friends!"
The moment he heard his mother's plea, Carter's eyes went bloodshot. He finally snapped.
So they had gone after Mary after all.
He gripped the thermal katana in both hands, trembling from head to toe, his eyes beginning to twitch again in that same unnatural way.
"Mom... I'm sorry..."
"It's my fault..."
"There's a pistol in my room. Please..."
No matter how hard he tried, he could not say the rest.
But if the company got its hands on her, the end would be even worse.
After a moment, Mary answered softly.
"Carter... I understand."
A second later—
Bang!
A gunshot echoed through the call.
Carter broke completely.
He threw back his head and screamed.
"Aaaahhh!!!"
Tears ran helplessly down his face.
With a final, ragged cry, he raised the blade and charged at the tactical squads in a daze.
"Carter Smith is attempting to attack Arasaka tactical personnel. Suspected onset of cyberpsychosis. Terminate immediately."
In an instant, Carter's whole body locked up.
Every implant in his body began blaring warnings as they were forcibly seized.
The blade he had raised refused to come down.
Bang!
One shot.
While Carter stood frozen in place, a bloody hole appeared in the middle of his forehead.
Then he collapsed.
His eyes stayed open, wide with resentment and guilt.
The Arasaka tactical squads quickly surrounded the corpse and reported in.
"Target neutralized. Carter Smith violated company regulations, suffered total cybernetic instability, and was terminated."
Very soon, Carter's employee file inside the company was completely locked down.
All benefits and company support tied to his name were cut off.
He lay there bleeding, and the biosignal monitor in his neck automatically issued a notification.
"Your Trauma Team coverage has been revoked by your employer, Arasaka Corporation. If you require our assistance, please—"
Not long after that—
Splash.
The calm surface of the bay rippled.
A body tied up like a bundle had been thrown into the black depths below.
(End of Chapter)
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