Judy climbed into the car and nodded to me and Panam.
“Didn’t take us long to split up, did it?”
“Rogue gave us a job.
We need to steal some data.
Quietly, if possible.
No casualties on their side.”
“Got it.
Let’s roll.”
“How’d the Mox let you go so easily?”
“Where else would they go?”
“Right…”
I nodded.
“Panam, get us there.”
“On it.”
The engine roared to life and the car took off.
“Hey, Judy needs a call sign, right?”
Panam glanced at me with a mischievous look.
I nodded thoughtfully.
“Yeah, she does.”
“Let’s see how she works out.
Maybe we’ll call her Cyberpunk Girl.”
“You think?”
“Judy…”
I ignored Panam and turned to our newest member.
“…you study the job details?”
“Yeah.”
She nodded.
“Good.
Set up the connection between all of us.”
“On it.”
She closed her eyes for a moment.
A few seconds later, I accepted the incoming call.
Two small icons appeared in the corner of my display: Panam and Judy.
“Testing.
Can you hear me?”
“Yeah…”
Panam and I answered at the same time.
We exchanged a smile.
“It’s nice having a netrunner on the team.”
“Wait, you’ve been working without comms?”
“Yeah.
Neither of us could set up a secure channel, so we just worked in silence.”
“Not anymore.
I’ll handle it from now on.”
The car swerved hard.
“Watch the road!”
Panam shook her fist out the window at the driver who’d cut us off.
“Panam, relax.”
“If it weren’t for the job, I’d show him how to drive.”
“Yeah, yeah.
Sweetheart always has to be on the Thunder.
And the Thunder has to shine, proving Sweetheart is the best.
And if some jerk shows otherwise, he deserves punishment.”
“Pfft…”
Judy couldn’t help herself and laughed.
Even Panam and I cracked a smile.
We drove for about fifteen minutes until we reached what used to be an auto repair shop.
Now it was a Maelstrom base.
Panam drove past it like always.
“Hey, isn’t our target back there?”
Judy pointed at the building we’d just passed.
“Yeah.
But getting out right in front of it is stupid.
We always park a little short or go past.”
“Got it.”
Judy closed her eyes again.
“Okay, David.
I’m coming with you.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Look, I don’t have any fancy gear for long-range deck breaches.
I wasn’t ready for you to drag me into a job this fast.
So I’ll have to work via a direct connection.”
“Through me?”
“Are you sure?
I’d need a deep data stream.
I’d basically be seeing through your eyes.”
I frowned.
Judy caught it and misinterpreted.
“See?
So…”
“Will it affect your Sandevistan?”
“Come again?”
“I asked if my Sandevistan will mess with you.
I use it pretty freely.”
“No.
If I put up a filter, the image just slows down.
It would be like freeze-frames and changing angles.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then set it up.
I don’t take my girls into danger unprepared.”
“Hey!”
They exchanged a look, then stared at me.
“I can handle myself!”
Again, perfectly synchronized.
They’d clearly coordinated somehow.
“I don’t doubt your skills.
But I still don’t want to risk you.
Channel?”
“Five minutes.
A deep connection like this isn’t as simple as a basic secure link.
I’ve got to integrate it into the main comms network.”
I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes.
A few minutes later, I felt a strange presence in my head.
It wasn’t literal, of course.
A deep link like this only connects, it doesn’t let anyone inside.
But the sensation was still odd.
“Ready?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.
I’m moving.”
I got out of the car, quickly crossed the street, and disappeared into the back alleys.
“Turn right.”
I listened to Judy and turned right.
Then left.
Then right again.
A few more turns, and I was standing behind the Scav base.
“What now?”
“Hold on.”
I pulled out my grappling gun, aimed at the roof edge, and fired.
I climbed up, bypassing all the windows along the way.
“I see an access point.”
I nodded, reached it, and connected through the port.
“Stay still for a few minutes.”
Judy went quiet.
I could feel my chrome heating up, it wasn’t used to this kind of workload.
Ten minutes passed before she finally spoke.
“I’m done.
Cameras are under our control.
I can loop footage as you move through rooms and corridors, then restore the normal feed when you’re done.”
“Nice work.”
I disconnected from the access point, walked over to the roof hatch, and opened it.
“Inside is clear.”
I dropped down into a small room, quickly scanned it, and confirmed Judy hadn’t missed anything.
A few steps later, I was at the only door.
“Clear.
You’ve got fifteen seconds before a Scav shows up.”
I moved.
Quick.
Quiet.
I slipped through the door, kept low, and ran.
“Second door on the left.
Empty.”
I ducked inside and pressed myself into a closet.
“Wait.”
Five minutes passed before Judy’s voice returned.
“Clear.”
I stepped out, slipped back into the hallway, and continued moving.
Twice more, I had to hide from Maelstrom gang members.
“Server room.
Behind that door.
Three of them.”
Damn it.
Taking out three people quietly wasn’t an option.
“Judy, can you disable them?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll have to kill them.”
“Wait.”
“What?”
“I can distract them.
Send them to another room.
That’ll buy us a few minutes to set up a wireless connection to the server.
I’ll pull the data from there.”
“Do it.”
“Head to the next room.
It’s empty.
You can hide there.”
“Got it.”
I slipped into the room she’d indicated.
But it wasn’t empty.
A Maelstrom gang member lay there, clearly high out of his mind.
That was inconvenient.
“Judy, you should’ve warned me about this.”
“Sorry.
I didn’t think a junkie in a stupor would be a problem.”
“Generally, he’s not.
But neither of us knows how long he’s been like this.
Can’t predict when he’ll wake up.”
“Fair point.”
I approached the junkie, picked up the injector he’d been using, and pressed it to his lips.
I triggered it five times.
The drug flooded his system.
Within seconds, he started convulsing.
“Was that necessary?” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“Yes.”
I wiped the injector clean, then carefully planted a few of the Maelstromer’s own prints on it.
“We don’t need witnesses.
Even accidental ones.
Better to eliminate the problem before it becomes one.”
Ten minutes passed.
Judy finally gave me the green light to enter the server room.
I connected to the Maelstrom network, letting Judy breach it through me.
“Damn.
They’ve got a mess in here…”
She went quiet.
One minute.
Two.
Five.
Seven minutes later, she spoke again.
“I’m done.
Get out.
I’ve set up a wireless link.
I can work remotely now.”
“From the room or the building?”
“Just the room for now.
Hide somewhere nearby.
I’ll guide you.
And don’t interrupt me.”
She led me to another room on the same floor.
I took cover and waited.
Three hours passed.
Every second was tense.
Would someone walk in?
Would I have to fight?
Would the alarm go off?
But it stayed quiet.
“Hey, David?”
“What’s up?”
“I can grab more than just the target data.
I could siphon some cash on the side, then wipe the server.”
I bit my lip.
“No.
Not this time.
Regina wants us to stay invisible.
Empty accounts leave traces.
A wiped server screams that someone was here.”
“Fine.
I’ll guide you out.”
“Thanks.”
Seven minutes later, I was outside.
Three minutes after that, I was back in the car.
“Sending the data now.”
I nodded at Judy and called Regina.
“Hey.
Data’s ready.
Sending it over.”
“Got it.
You stayed quiet?”
“Didn’t even know we were there.
Had to take out one junkie, but I used his own injector.
Looks like an overdose.
We touched nothing else, left no traces.”
“Good.
You’ve built a reputation, so I won’t double-check.
But if it turns out you caused a stir, you’ll have to return the bonus and pay compensation.
You understand?”
“Yeah.
That’s why I’m not asking for the bonus yet.
Verify the data first.”
“You sure?”
“Regina, money likes to be counted.
So yes.
The bonus can wait.”
“Alright.
Sending the payment now.
Bonus will come later.
I don’t know why, but I have a feeling you really did stay as quiet as humanly possible.”
The call ended.
A few thousand eddies hit my account.
I split it between the three of us immediately.
“Whoa!”
“What’s with the small cut?”
“Excuse me?”
Judy stared at Panam, confused.
“Regina offered the bonus now.
I asked her to verify first.
Once she confirms the job was done right, she’ll send the rest.
That’s where the real money is.”
“Shit.
Why didn’t I become a solo sooner?”
“Now you’re with us.
How’d you like your first job?”
“Not bad.”
Judy nodded.
“Especially the pay.
At this rate, I’ll double what I send my grandparents by the end of the month.”