Case Files: Cassie: Forsaken Mercenary

By Jonathan Yanez

Get busy living or get busy dying. 

Cassie Ravenheart has worked at a dead-end job at a diner on the edge of the moon longer than she cares to remember. 

Events unfold offering her a choice to be something more than she ever thought possible. 

The Order is recruiting a new class of Cyber Hunter. If she can make it through selection, she has a chance to change her life forever. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jonathan Yanez
• Release date: Oct 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223434528

Book preview

ONE

The Half Moon was slowly becoming more bar than diner. Mornings and afternoons weren’t so bad; the usual customers still came in for their favorite meals of quick eggs and micro-grown ham that wasn’t really grown at all, but rather created by 3D food printers in the back kitchen.

They should have called it micro printed ham, but the flavors were right and the customers didn’t seem to care.

Serving was a job. Not much of a job running food from table to table, but it was enough to get by, and that was all Cassie Ravenheart really needed. That was what she was used to.

Working mornings and the lunchtime rush, she managed to stay away from the tougher drinkers that came in at night. It wasn’t her first choice in jobs, but her loyal customer base could have been worse. Maybe one day, she might even open a diner of her own, a clean place where people could come to forget about their worries over a good meal.

Amidst the regular morning few, Cassie had opened her doors that morning to a pair of rough-looking men, red-eyed from a long night of drinking. No doubt they hadn’t even slept and opted to go grab some food instead of the rest their bodies needed.

This wasn’t totally out of the norm. Cassie was used to dealing with all kinds of people. The owner of the Half Moon had recently cut down on his diner staff to increase money funneling into the bar he operated in the same building from 8PM to 3AM. When Cassie opened the diner at 6AM, the place was cleaned down and ready for her.

The two men stank of alcohol. They eyed her up and down with hungry smiles.

Table for two? Cassie asked, ignoring their searching eyes. You can sit anywhere you like. Holo menus are on the table.

Are you on that menu? one of the men asked, eliciting a snicker from his friend.

Cassie ignored the question with a quick smile and moved on to fill another order.

She steeled herself for the conversation she would have to have with the men when they ordered their food.

Just get it over with, Cassie told herself in her head. You’ve got to do it, there’s no other option now. You’re the only one here besides Paul, and he’s not doing a thing to help. You know that much is true.

Paul was the owner’s son. When the Half Moon decided to turn its efforts toward the bar business and cut down on the diner staff, the owner had put his son Paul in charge of the diner, overseeing Cassie.

Needless to say, Paul didn’t do a thing to help. He spent most days sleeping in the back office or playing the latest holo game on his smart pad, leaving Cassie to seat, serve, and clean tables.

Right now,