Chapter 16: Part 15
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***
Judy got into the car and nodded to Panam and me.
- We didn't break up for long, did we?
- Yeah, Regina gave us a mission to steal something, preferably quietly and without casualties from our targets.
- All right, let's go.
- How'd the Helms let you off easy?
- Where are they going to go?
- I see...
I nodded my head.
- Panam, drive us!
- Got it.
Tortika's engine roared to life and the car drove to its destination.
- By the way, Judy needs a nickname, right?
Panam looked at me with interest when I said that. She nodded thoughtfully.
- Yes, she needs a nickname....
- Well, we'll see what she does, maybe we'll call her Cybergirl.
- You reckon?
- Judy.
I decided to ignore Panam and turned to our new girl.
- ...have you looked at the mission briefing?
- I did.
She nodded her head.
- Good, now set up a connection for all of us.
- Mm-hmm.
She closed her eyes, and a few seconds later, I answered the call. And I got two images of Panam and Judy in the corner of the screen.
- Over... can you hear me?
- Yeah...
Panam and I answered at the same time and looked at each other with a smile.
- It's good to have a Rauner on the team.
- Were you guys working without comms?
- Yeah, neither of us could provide a secure channel, so we preferred to work without communications.
- Okay, I'll take care of it now.
Cakey jerked to the side.
- Watch where you're going!
Panam put her fist out of the car and shook it threatening the driver who cut us off.
- Panam, take it easy...
- If it wasn't for the assignment, I would have shown him how to drive.
- Yes, yes, Cherry must always be on Tortilla, and Tortilla must shine to show that Cherry is the best. And if some bastard shows that he's not, he deserves to be punished!
- Phee...
Judy laughed and laughed, and Panam and I smiled. It took us about fifteen minutes to get to one of the neighbourhoods where a small car repair shop and now Malstrom's base was located. And as usual Panam drove a little further.
- Hey, isn't that where we're going?
Judy nodded her head and pointed to the building we'd passed.
- It is, but it's a bit unwise to get out of the car in front of it. So we always either go a little further or we drive past it.
- I see...
Judy closed her eyes.
- 'Right, David, I'm coming with you.
- Hmm?
I looked at Judy in surprise.
- Well, I don't have any profile boosters to break through their ice from a distance. Still, I wasn't prepared for you to call me in on a mission so soon. So the only way I'm gonna be able to work this time is through a direct connection.
- What about me?
- Um, are you sure? It's just that this kind of work requires a deep channel of communication, I'll basically be observing your surroundings through your eyes....
I frowned slightly and Judy saw it and interpreted it in her own way.
- See, so...
- Is Sandi going to affect you?
- А?
- I asked you if it would affect you in any way if I had a sandi and was not shy about using it, if I needed it.
- Erm... No, it won't affect me. If I put up a defence, it'll just keep the picture out of the channel faster, sort of like a freeze frame and a change of perspective.
- Are you sure?
- Yeah.
- I've never taken a girl on a dangerous mission before.
- Hey!
Panam and Judy called out in sync. They looked at each other and looked at me again.
- I can stand up for myself!
And again synchronously, they clearly cut me off from the connection and managed with their feminine winks to agree.
- I didn't doubt your capabilities, but I still don't want to risk you... Channel?
- Five minutes, setting up a channel like this isn't as fast as activating a secure link. And I have to integrate it into a common channel...
I closed my eyes and leaned back in the passenger seat.
After a couple of minutes, I had the sensation of a presence in my head. Of course it wasn't like that, this kind of deep connection only binds but doesn't let you inside. But it still felt unusual.
- Are you done?
- Yeah.
- Good, then I'm off.
I got out of the car and ran across the road very quickly, then disappeared into the courtyards.
- To the right.
I listened to Judy and turned right, then I listened to her again and turned left, and then I turned left a few more times. After that, I ended up near the back of the Scavengers' building.
- What are you going to do next?
- Wait a minute...
I took out my harpoon and aimed it at the side of the roof, then bypassed all the windows and went upstairs.
- I see the access point.
Nodding my head, I walked over to it and plugged in the port.
- Stay like that for a few minutes...
Judy was silent, but I could literally feel my chrome heating up, unaccustomed to this kind of work. About ten minutes passed before I felt Judy was done and she immediately confirmed it with words.
- I'm done. The video cameras are out of enemy control, I can now ring them as you walk through the rooms and corridors and bring up the normal data stream again when needed.
- Good work...
I returned to the harpoon and disconnected it, then walked over to the entrance of the building, or rather the roof exit, which for me is the entrance to the inside.
- It's clear inside.
I opened the hatch and went down into one of the rooms and took a quick look around to make sure Judy hadn't missed anything. A couple of steps and I'm at the only door to the small room.
- It's clear, you've got fifteen seconds, then the Scavenger will show up.
I get out of my seat and, closing the door behind me, run quickly but quietly forward.
- Second door on the left, it's empty.
I fly into the room and closing the door behind me, I immediately run away, hiding in the wardrobe that was here.
- Wait.
I spent about five minutes in the wardrobe before I finally heard Judy's voice.
- Clear.
I climbed out of the wardrobe and back into the common corridor. Slowly and carefully I made my way down it twice more, hiding from the Malström gang.
- The server room is behind that door there are three...
Shit, I can't knock out three people.
- Judy, can you knock them out?
- No.
- You're gonna have to kill them.
- Wait.
- What?
- I can distract them, say they go into another room, we have a couple of minutes to establish a wireless connection to the server, and then I can pump it out.
- Do it.
- You're in the next room, it's clear and you can hide.
- Got it.
I hid in the indicated room, except that it was not empty, there was a rubbish man lying in some drug-induced delirium. And that was a little disturbing.
- Judy, you should be warned about this kind of thing....
- Got it. I'm sorry, I didn't realise a drugged-out junkie could be a problem.
- But neither you nor I know how long he's been in that state, so we can't predict when he'll come round.
- Hmm... didn't think of that.
- It happens.
I went over to the junkie and picked up the injector he was using and put it to his mouth. And activated it five times. The drug went into his system immediately, and a dozen seconds later, he was seizing.
- Did you have to do that?
- It was.
I wiped the injector, then carefully left a couple of dozen of Malstrom's own prints on it.
- We don't want any witnesses, even accidental ones. So it's best to be careful and eliminate a possible problem before it occurs.
It took about ten minutes before Judy gave me permission to go to the server room, where I tapped into Malstrem's systems allowing Judy to get into their network through me.
- Hmm... that's quite a mess...
And that's when she stopped talking.
A minute.
Two.
Five.
It wasn't until seven that she spoke again.
- Go away, I've set up the wireless, we can do it remotely.
- From the room or the building?
- Just indoors for now, hide somewhere nearby, while I'm working, I'll guide you, and afterwards, don't distract me.
And she led me to one of the rooms on the floor, where I hid and began to wait....
I spent the next three hours in nervous tension, waiting for someone to come in, for me to eliminate opponents, for the alarm to go off. But all went quietly enough.
- Quiet, I have a question.
- Yes?
- I have the opportunity not only to find the data I need, but also to make a little money in general, and then reset the server afterwards.
I bit my lip.
- No, not this time. Regina asked that no one find out about us, if possible, and emptied accounts are still a sign that someone got to the servers. And a cleaned-out server is a clear indication that someone's been here and got something.
- All right, let me get you out of the building.
- Okay.
Seven minutes and I was out of the building, three minutes later I was in Tortica.
- I'm transferring the data.
I nodded to Judy and got on the phone to Regina.
- Hi. I've got the data, sending it over.
- Mm-hmm. Worked quietly?
- We weren't even spotted. We had to eliminate one junkie, but I used his injector, so it's an overdose. No money was touched, no trace of our presence at all.
- Well, you have a certain reputation, so I won't check your word, but if it turns out that your being there caused a ruckus... you'll have to return the extra reward and pay compensation. You understand that, don't you?
- I do, and that's why I'm not asking you to transfer the extra bonus now. Check the data before you decide.
- Are you sure?
- Regina, money likes a score and doesn't like to be taken lightly, so yes, I'm sure. The bonus can wait.
- Alright, I'll transfer the reward, the bonus will come later... somehow I have no doubt that you did everything as quietly as possible....
The connection was cut and I immediately received a few thousand on my account, which I divided between all of us and transferred the girls their shares.
- Wow!
- Why so little?
- What?!
Judy looked surprised at Panam, who realised that the amount was not impressive at all.
- Regina offered to transfer the bonus now, but I insisted on checking. Let her first make sure that everything is indeed fulfilled according to the requirements. So within a week she'll transfer the bonus, and that'll be a really nice amount.
- Why the fuck didn't I go solo before?
- Well now you're with us... how was your first mission?
- Not bad...
Judy nodded her head.
- ...especially the money. If this keeps up, at the end of the month I'll double the amount I'm sending to Grandpa and Grandma....
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