Runner

Part 1: Swift as a Shadow

Overhead, many hovercars flew by. Rarely do people actually walk on the streets like I was doing.

I was planning on meeting with Ace and Nix. They were Runners like me. They were also brother and sister. We would occasionally work together to get something from the INS, but I liked to work alone. There was less chance of being spotted that way.

I walked up to the deserted alleyway where we usually meet and said the keyword, "Apples" 

Instantly, they appeared. Ace hopped out from a pile of garbage that he was hiding in, and Nix jumped out of a dumpster.

"Jeez," I said, "I know hiding is important, but was it necessary to hide in the garbage. You both reek."

"Sorry," said Nix, always eager to please, "But we though that we were followed."

"You should always assume that you've been followed," I said seriously. I was the only one who taught them how to be a Runner. Though I was often tough on them, I was always proud of them.

"So what are we doing tonight?" asked Ace.

"Well," I said, "I figured I could give you two a 'crash' course on shadow speeders."

They couldn't believe it. This was going to be their first time on a shadow speeder.

"So do you two want to ride on one speeder, or learn how to fly your own?"

"Our own speeder," they said simultaneously. Though they would never admit it, I knew that both of them wanted me to think of them as cool.

"I knew you would say that," I said as I pulled three speeders out from behind a corner where I had hidden them. "Hop on," I said casually.

Awkwardly, they sat down. Technically, Nix shouldn't be driving anything until she was a year older, but since when did she care about rules? Ace, on the other hand, had been able to pilot hovercrafts for about a year now.

"Okay," I said to them both, "This is how you turn it on," I said as I flipped a key. My shadow speeder was specially equipped, so when it activated, it turned on a red underglow.

"Whoa," said a speechless Nix.

I threw them their keys. "Now you try it."

They turned on their speeders and were a little disappointed to find that theirs had no underglow. Still, they were happy that they were about to ride their first hoverbike.

"Now buckle up," I said as they then attached their seatbelt and electromagnetic harness.

"And this, this is how you get to flying." I said as I showed them how to push the handlebars together. Underneath me, the wheels folded up on the underside of the chassis. I then tilted the nose upward and gunned the throttle. That's the reason most of us Runners love having our own shadow speeder, they aren't a VTOL. This allows better steering.

I flipped the bike upside down in midair and let the gyroscopic locking mechanism do its work. So there I was, hovering upside-down to see how Ace and Nix were doing.

Ace was struggling to get it in the air, then realized he needed to pull further back on the handlebars. Nix was doing loops and tricks through the air around me, having the time of her life. Ace, not wanting to be shown up by his younger sister, decided to join her. I was proud of how quickly they had learned to pilot these things.

"THIS IS AMAZING!" screamed Nix as she was flying through the air and doing loops around me. I joined her, and we were then all doing loops and tricks in the air.

Suddenly, a large VTOL shined a spotlight down on us.

"Michael Krii," boomed a speaker on the VTOL, "This is the INS. We have you surrounded." around me, dozens of lights turned on, undoubtedly more INS forces.

I cursed under my breath.

"Land the speeder or we will be forced to use lethal force."

Quietly, I told Ace and Nix to gun it as soon as I did. I told Ace to go east, and Nix to go west. I then brought my speeder low to the ground, as if I was going to land it.

And then I gunned it.