<h1><a href='https://steemit.com/sciencefiction/@gonzo/the-dark-side-of-the-blockchain-chapter-one'> Link to Chapter One </a></h1>

<img src='https://ipfs.pics/ipfs/Qmbzn6NS9m7JBVXFmuTKo4bvTtDho8htk7zVEtHkJiyxxX'/>

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<h1>Desperate screams for help were coming from the coffee shop</h1> 

on the corner of 9th and Satoshi. There was a dead woman riddled with bullet holes lying on the sidewalk and traumatized people were outside staring into the distance, while others were aimlessly running and screaming. As I got closer I noticed that the front and side windows were now in a thousand pieces scattered along the ground and the crowded little coffee shop was filled with injured and dying people. 

When the few people that were assisting the injured saw me walking toward them in my finest homeless apparel and brandishing a machine gun, they immediately began to flee and one fat man yelled “They're back!” I walked into the battered shop and yelled “Tom, are you in here?” 

But the only response that I received was the typical cries for help, that you would expect after a massacre like this. Then I noticed that one of the pleas for help was coming from a middle aged man that was reaching up at me, while lying at my feet. I grabbed the man's arm and quickly began removing his gold watch. 

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<h1>“You son of a bitch!”<h1> 

the injured man protested, so I calmly explained the situation “Subchainer look! You've got a couple of gut wounds and there is no chance that you're gonna make it. Do you really want that asshole of a coroner we have, to end up with all this? Fuck man, you should be thanking me!” Then the dieing man became furious as I checked his pockets and I wasn't too keen on his jaded description of me, so I stabbed him in the throat to shut him up. 

I quickly scanned all the other moaners that were covered in blood and gore, for valuables to continue to rob that scumbag of a coroner. But then I remembered the mission, so I ran back outside to look for Tom. I was completely exposed outside and I began to feel nervous, wondering what might have happened here to cause all this carnage, but then I saw the dead woman's purse. 

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<h1>There is no greater rush than opening an ill gotten purse,</h1>

so I yanked it off the ground and gently put it on the patio table. Then I rubbed my left elbow to satisfy my superstitious compulsion, while saying “Come on Lady Luck!” Then I slowly peaked inside and I was surprised to find a pistol amongst the usual makeup and SCM. I began to wonder who this woman was, but my thoughts were interrupted when I saw what looked like a zombie staggering toward me. 

The bottom half of his face and his jumpsuit were covered in blood and I wasn't sure if this was Tom or if I was having a flashback of that time Shock'n Johnny and I accidentally took LSD under the bridge and ended up killing what we thought were zombies all night. 

So I quickly pointed the machine gun at the zombie, while yelling “Stop!… Identify yourself!” His bloody hands were flung high above his head and he yelled “Bob, is that you?” The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it, so I yelled back “Yeah!” “Bob it's me… Elroy” he proclaimed. Relieved that I wasn't going to have to spend the next twelve hours killing zombies again, I lowered my gun and he ran over.

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<h1>“Hellroy, where's Tom?”</h1>

I asked. I could tell that he was scared to tell me what happened when he awkwardly paused to gather courage. Then he nervously said “The plan got all fucked up! Tom was late… Then he wouldn't follow the plan and got himself killed… He almost got me killed too!… I managed to free another mod that was due for repurposing, but… but…  This one has the gift.” 

I was devastated to hear that the mission was a failure, but I had a little hope that maybe this freak mod might still be worth enough to Tobias to secure my retirement, even though I hated freaks. In my line of work, I always needed to have an edge. I had to stay one step ahead of everyone just to survive, so having a freak around that knew my every thought was my worst nightmare.

I could tell that Elroy anxiously awaited my response, hoping that I wouldn't be too hard on him, since I helped to train him. But Elroy could do no wrong in my book, I always had a soft spot for him. Most of us joined the Loki Order for the good life. If we blindly followed orders for ten years and managed to survive, we would be rewarded with a new identity and a very nice income, but Elroy was different. 

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<h1>After years of molestation by Elroy's stepfather,</h1>

 Elroy was finally saved when it got recorded on the suspicious babysitter's subchain. His stepfather was immediately repurposed, but Elroy became stigmatized at the age of eleven. From that day on Elroy couldn't go anywhere without random subchainers walking up to him, just to explain how sorry they were. 

Then they would attempt to relate with him by saying that they once knew someone that went through a similar experience, but there were many others that where downright cruel. Even some overprotective parents would set their SCM's to warn them when a male victim of sexual abuse was scanned in the area. Then when they heard the warning, they would immediately get their kids as far away from Elroy as they possibly could, for fear that he might repeat the cycle.

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<h1>Elroy was a modern day leper,</h1>

that was desperate for a new subchain and he always felt like he had a lot to prove. The first assassination target that he was assigned was a railroad engineer and I was right there with him. Elroy was suppose to stab the engineer in five of the kill zones, to show that he understood the basic combat anatomy lessons that he was taught and to prove that he was capable of finding these small targets under stress. 

But when I said “Give 'em Hell Roy,” Elroy became so excited that he took off running and tackled the Engineer. Then Elroy paused for a moment, while on top of the frightened man, just staring at him. In that moment I became concerned for Elroy's safety, until I saw him quickly lean forward and then jerk his upper body back up again, with bloody parts of the Engineer's neck dribbling out of Elroy's mouth. 

While staring at this savage that was leaning forward to take another bite, I wondered if he was doing this to impress me, but later I though maybe he did it to prove something to himself. That was the day that we realized that Elroy was not cut out to be an assassin, but it was also when he was nicknamed Hellroy. 

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<h1>A week later he was kidnapped</h1>

by Loki Agents pretending to be mods and no matter how hard they pushed for information about me and the Loki Order, Elroy gave them nothing. He would just stare into the distance while repeating “If you're gonna do it… do it!” 

That is when I realized that Elroy had nothing to lose and the only thing that he ever wanted was our respect. So when he nervously awaited my response after potentially killing my dreams of early retirement, all I could say was “Don't worry about it… Where's the freak?”



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