Chapter 4
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust."
-T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)
ParaTeck Research Center
Ft. Lewis, Seattle
March 11, 2059
9:25 pm
Lenny glanced at his watch and saw that Tart still had five minutes left. She had asked for ten before she jacked into the Matrix. Apparently she needed the time to make her way through the Seattle grid, rerouting her signal through a dozen hosts, before finally tapping into ParaTeck's security feed to override the cameras. Lenny had every confidence in her that she could do it. However, those ten minutes were turning out to be the longest any of the group had to sit through before.
They were parked in an empty lot across from the research center behind a set of dumpsters. The parking lot went all the way up to the back fence of the site. That made it easier to sneak in. Lenny was a little surprised when he got his first look at the center. The Center didn't turn out to be at all large. There was a single main building that stood two stories high. There were only two ways into the building. One on the north side was directly in line with a heavily guarded gate. This was the main entrance. A small back door on the south of the building was less guarded, therefore easier to get past. The outside of the building was glass, reflecting all the lights of the sprawl. Large floodlights lite up the area surrounding it. A twelve foot high security fence topped with monowire was the first obstacle they had to get over. Lenny had already planned that out. Patrols periodically wondered around the grounds. Each patrol consisted of two guards and a dog. The dogs worried a few, but the timing was as such that the patrol would be well out of the way. There was also a small parking lot just beyond the main gate on the north side. A few cars were scattered about, possibly belonging to the security guards.
Lenny's watched beeped. He looked down and saw the time: 20:30:02...20:30:03...
"It's time, team one, move in." Lenny said.
Gideon nodded and opened the side door of the van. Nightsky was a little slower to uncoil himself, but he eventually followed the big ork.
"I got a bad feeling about all of this." He said as he stepped out into the crisp night air.
"Don't go soft now." Gideon warned. "Let's haul."
The two of them crossed the distance between the van and the perimeter fence in less than ten seconds. Gideon had point with his assault rifle held low to his body, keeping it from reflecting any light. Nightsky kept his weapons holstered. When the two of them reached the fence, they both instinctively ducked as a spotlight flashed by them.
"Time to go over, 'Sky." Gideon instructed as he folded his fingers together with his back facing the fence. Nightsky snaked his foot into the big orks hands and used his hands against Gid's shoulders to balance himself. "Ready?"
Nightsky shook his head. "Do it."
The ork grunted heavily as modified muscles and his chrome arm were pushed into action, vaulting the physical adept up over the fence. In midair Nightsky performed a back flip, narrowly missing the monowire that topped the fence. In fact, the tail of his long coat caught on the wire and was neatly severed.
Nightsky landed on the other side with almost no sound. He was crouched low with his hand braced on the wet pavement.
"Ten minutes." Lenny warned through his commlink.
Michael only nodded his head in response. His eyes shifted across the open ground. A guard patrol was nearly two hundred meters away. A fair distance for them to be. That made them no current threat. Even from where he was, Michael could tell they had a dog with them. He moved carefully, snaking his way across the vulnerable open ground to the relative safety of the back door. His steps didn't make a sound against the pavement, yet his heart was pounding in his ears. He was so full of nervous energy that he felt like a rabbit being watched by a fox.
When he reached the door, he allowed a brief sigh of relief before he broke out a small electronics kit. The tools in the kit were limited to just what was needed to break down a maglock. That was the plan, to get the door open. Michael kept repeating the thought in his head as he broke the lock's casing that allowed him access to the internal wiring. His first attempted at cracking the lock met with failure. A wasted minute, he thought. A red light blinked on the pad. Most of the locks were configured to allow three screw-ups. This prevented any false alarms. The only thing to do was to try again. When his second try to defeat the lock resulted in a second red light blinking, Michael became discouraged. He didn't want to go on because he knew that the odds of him getting it right were slim. Still, the door had to be opened or the run wasn't going anywhere. He took a deep breath and tried for one last time. He effort was rewarded with a green light starting to blink. The door clicked open. He sighed heavily, having narrowly managed to avoid a major screw-up. He glanced through the cracked door before he moved inside the compound.
"I'm in." He keyed his commlink as his hands went to the janitor's closet he'd seen on the blueprints. "And I've found the closet."
The handle on the closet door was locked, giving the physical adept a sinking feeling. He quickly popped the casing off and removed a probe from his kit. Hopefully, this lock wouldn't be as hard as the one on the outside. With only cleaning supplies to guard, it shouldn't be. The lock popped open after less than twenty seconds of work. Michael got inside and closed the door behind him.
The closet was very small and pitch black inside. He couldn't see a thing until he pulled the thermographic goggles over his eyes and adjusted them. With the goggles, he found the vent he was suppose to get into was over three meters over his head.
"Damn." He muttered.
"Five minutes." Lenny called over his commlink.
"I know, I know." He said, though Michael didn't key in the response.
He took a mop from a bucket and used it to move the vent's cover out of the way. Then he replaced the mop in the exact way we found it and stared at the opening he had made. Nearly three meters up. Nightsky was beginning to doubt he could make the jump. This was no time to second guess himself. He crouched down low and sprung up as high as he could. He grabbed the edge of the opening with his hand, barely reaching it.
"I'm too short for this." He cursed and strained to pull himself up, clawing his way inside the vent. He replaced the cover once he was inside.
Mentally he tried to recall the path he had to take. Within moments he was sliding down venting that was almost too small for him. Twice he caught his coat on sharp edges in the vent. He moved as quietly as he could to free himself, not wanting to attract any attention. From the map, he knew that he had a little less than two-hundred and eighty meters to cover. If he hurried, he could just make his deadline.
"Two minutes." Lenny warned.
Damn, Nightsky thought, I'm running late.
Finally he found himself peering down a vent cover at an overweight man sitting at a booth. Monitors and displays showing different camera views were built into the booth. There were controls, one clearly labeled for the outside fence, across the part of the booth facing the front doors. From the blueprints, Nightsky knew that the front doors were about sixteen to twenty meters off. The last thing he wanted was for someone to look in and see him. He would have to pull this off quickly.
He slid the covering off as silently as he could managed, trying his best not to alert the man below. The guard didn't seem to notice. He still sat, drinking a cup of coffee and staring at the camera screens. He snorted every once in a while.
Nightsky eased his Nacrojet from it's holster, leveling the odd-shaped pistol at the back of the guard's neck. He took a moment to adjust his aim for he wouldn't be getting a second chance. Satisfied, he squeezed the trigger. A small fluff of compressed air signaled the darts released. It slapped itself against the back of the guard's neck who immediately reached back to see what hit him. The guard got his hand halfway back before he lost consciousness. His head landed with a dull thud on top of the booth.
Nightsky smiled. He was good at what he did and he knew it. With a smooth swing, he landed on the lip of the booth and slide down to where the guard had been knocked out. The cup of coffee he was drinking had spilled on the floor. He eased the guard up to where it appeared like he was still awake and sitting at his desk, yanking the dart out of his neck and tossing it on the floor. Then his hands ran over the controls until he found the one for the electricity to the fence and switched it off.
"Fence is clear." Nightsky said through his commlink.
"It took you long enough." Smiley spat over the link.
"Next time you can do it yourself." Nightsky retorted as he lowered himself beneath the booth, but kept himself high enough to view the cameras.
"Cameras are coming back online." Lenny said as the camera screens blinked, showing a live feed again. "Team two is going in."
Nightsky looked over the screens. "I got an internal patrol on the second floor. First floor looks clean for the moment."
"Copy."
Nightsky settled down, knowing that from the camera views he could see any movement around him. Even someone coming in through the front door. He made use of he free moment by removing the guard's handcuffs. He used the handcuffs to cuff the guard's hand behind the chair. Nightksy went a step further to remove the guard's pistol and remove his credstick. He also unhooked the guard's stun baton from his belt, knowing that it might prove useful before the run was out. As for the pistol, he unloaded the Max-Power and left it under the booth.
Outside Gideon had just finished clipping through the fence. He made a hole large enough to fit himself through. Lenny went through first, then Gideon with Tart hanging on to him. Lenny knew that Tart wasn't going to be much help if things made a turn for the worse. So he had to make sure she was protected or they wouldn't be getting the run completed. Smiley was bringing up the rear. The four runners crossed the open pavement to the back door in far less time than it took Michael. They had timed it when the outside patrol had moved away. Since the camera's were no longer a threat, they could afford to move much faster.
"What's the first floor look like?" Lenny said.
"Clear." Came the reply from Nightsky.
"Okay, let's go people." He said and pushed the south door open.
Tart was in awe at how quickly they were moving. It seemed like an eternity until Nightsky reached the guard booth. She still had to remind herself that they had been parked at the scene for a little less than half an hour. Now, it seemed like they hadn't been around for no more than a minute.
Lenny lead them straight to the laboratory door. He pulled out Nightsky's maglock passkey and passed it by the door. The lock seemed to hesitate for a second, then a green light blinked, unlocking the door.
"We're in the lab." Lenny reported and held watch at the door as Gideon moved Tart inside followed by Smiley. Lenny closed the door behind him, making sure they didn't lock themselves in.
"Smiley, watch the door."
"Yes, fearless leader." Smiley grinned sinisterly, an effect augmented by his face paint. The samurai checked his heavy Franchi shotgun and took up a sentry position.
"Here's the terminal." Tart exclaimed as she sit down at a desk that had a large vidscreen and a keyboard. She pulled her Cyberdeck out of her bag and ran a datacord to a jack on the screen.
"Gid, watch her. Anything looks bad, pull her out." Lenny instructed. He knew that sometimes corporations used some lethal intrusion countermeasures to stop deckers from hacking into their systems. The last thing that Lenny wanted was to end up with a dead decker.
"I can handle it." Tart replied and slipped the cord into the jack by her ear. With those words, she faded away, roaming off into the virtual world where the rest of the run would take place. The screen on the desk lite up with a maze of coding.
"Let's go by the numbers." Lenny said, keying his commlink. "Backup in place?"
"Ready." Shard replied.
"All set to kick some hoop here, boss." Riggs replied from the safety of the Bison.
"I got a internal patrol on the screen." Nightsky reported. "They're in the elevator, on their way to the first level. Looks like they're on their rounds."
"Let us know if they come too close."
"Got it."
"Hey, fearless leader." Smiley said. "What happens if the girl can't find the file?"
"We'll worry about that when it happens, Smiley."
Tense seconds clicked off. Lenny positioned himself behind a table that was close to the door while Smiley, standing opposite the door, started to hum to himself. It wasn't loud, but it was enough so that he could hear himself. Tart looked catatonic, her mind someplace else while her body slumped in the chair in front of the terminal. Gideon stood protectively over her with his rifle clutched in his hands.
"Patrol coming down the main hall." Nightsky reported.
"Keep an eye on them." Lenny took in breath and held it. He checked the time and found that they were over exposing themselves. 20:48:43.......20:48:44......20:48:45.....
"Lenny, their checking the labs. Their two down from you." Nightsky continued.
Lenny nodded at Smiley who returned the motion. "Quietly." Lenny whispered.
Back in the guard booth, Nightsky had a sudden feeling that he wasn't alone. As an afterthought, he glanced to the screens that showed the front door. Two guards were coming through. They were passing through the outer door and were about to step into the lobby less than twenty meters away. This was tight.
"I got problems." Nightsky reported. "Patrol coming in the lobby. Going silent."
With that, Lenny knew better than to contact him. Going silent meant that Nightsky wasn't going to move or respond because he was close to being caught. The physical adept dropped lower behind the booth, but he still kept eye level with the screens. The two guards had stopped just inside the Lobby and appeared to be talking about something. On the other screen two guards in the hallway walked slowly towards the door of Laboratory No. 2.
Back in the Lab, Tart pulled the datacord from her jack and sat upright in her chair. "I got it!" She exclaimed, just before Gideon wrapped his arm around the girls throat and held her mouth shut. Tart started to struggle, but she stopped when she realized who it was.
"Quiet, we in a tight spot. Get your drek together." He said calmly.
Tart nodded her head. She unhooked her deck and slid it back into her bag. She pulled out her own pistol and chambered the small round before crouching behind the ork. Next to the door, Lenny was giving Smiley hand singles. The painted-faced sammy nodded every once in a while, then stood motionless by the door.
Outside in the booth Nightsky coiled himself as the two guards in the lobby walked towards the booth. He could hear their voices in the distance. On a screen, the two guards in the hallway were at the lab door. One was about to turn the knob.
The second the knob turned a surprised look came over the guards face. Obviously he expected the door to be locked. When he pushed it open, Smiley flew into action. His wires gave him the speed he needed to fling the door open and grab the first guard by the coat collar and sling him in Lenny's direction. Lenny vaulted off the floor and nabbed the guard just before he struck the ground. He drove the guard's face into the steel table, causing a considerable thunk as he hit. Lenny followed up his hit with a stab from his stun baton. The guard took the vicious jolt, frying his nerves. He passed out from the intense pain.
Smiley reached out for the second guard, his fist leveled at his face. Spurs snapped out and reached for their victim. All the time Smiley's demonic face paint grinned widely at him. To the guard's credit, he moved his head aside just as Smiley's razors came through. The result would be a deep clip on the guard's left ear.
"What the frag are you doing here!?" The guard blurted as he pulled out his handgun and leveled it at Smiley. The desperate scream locked behind his voice could be heard down the hallway.
"Son of a wizworm!" Smiley cursed after his lunge failed. His wires kicked his body into overdrive as a hallow rage cried out inside him. "I'm going to turn you into a puddle!" He roared and used the butt of his combat shotgun and connected with the guard's chin.
The force of the blow snapped the guard's head back, dazing him as his handgun sailed out of his grip. Yet Smiley wasn't done yet. He grabbed the guard by his collar and slammed him up against the wall, knocking the breath out of him. Smiley's spurs popped out of their housing again, bearing a direct line for the guard's throat. The guard tried to move, but the thin blades shredded his collar bone and shoulder, twisting him to the floor.
Smiley cursed again that his final blow had been an embarrassing folly because the stupid man kept trying to resist. He snapped his spurs in and out, ready to finish what he started.
"Smiley, get a grip." Lenny warned. "He's out of it and you've made to much noise. Get the with program."
"Stupid fucker keeps messing me up!" Smiley blurted.
Lenny shook his head. "Gid, get Tart, we're getting out of here."
Back at the front booth, the guards reacted quickly to the screams coming from the hallway. They immediately started calling out a name at the unconscious booth guard that Nightsky had sit up in the chair to make it look like he was still awake.
"Ernie, you hear that?" One voice said. "That came from the labs, sound the alert. Ernie!"
Nightsky coiled himself up behind the booth. He could hear footsteps coming closer by the second. The voices were becoming louder. Willpower alone forced him to stay down an unseen until the last moment. The moment where he would have the advantage.
"Ernie, pay attention to me!" The voice screamed as the guard rounded the edge of the booth. He barely had a moment to look down and notice a black form crouched beneath the booth before that form sprung into action.
Nightsky caught the guard's arm and twisted it as violently as he could. Then he stabbed the stun baton into the exposed armpit, letting the man's arm go at the last second. A flash of light flared from the end of the baton as it buried itself in the guard's pit. The force of the charge jolted the man to the ground where he lay shivering.
"We've got a security breech!" The second lobby guard screamed into his radio as he made a jab at Nightsky with his stun baton.
Nightsky brought the stun baton that he had picked up earlier around and parried the guard's stab. At the same time he jumped in the air, spinning his body around, gathering force for the baton before landing on top of the booth and smashing the end of the baton into the guard's temple, using the end of the baton as a club.
Blood splattered from the guard's temple as the end of the baton hit just above the eye. He stumbled back. The force on the baton was so great that it nearly splintered the delicate end where it discharged. The guard made a harsh, shocked sound as he was nearly spun around. Still, he held onto his baton.
Nightsky knew the stunned guard was still a force to be dealt with. He leaped off the top of the booth and buried the baton deep into the man's gut. All while triggering the baton's charge. The man screamed out loud as the smell of burning flesh filled the air and he lost consciousness. His body violently shaking from the shock it had received.
"Front cleared." He said into his commlink.
"Nightsky, we're pulling out." Lenny's voice came over the link. "Retrace and return."
Nightsky dropped the baton and bolted down the long hallway. Something had gone wrong. As far as he could guess, Michael figured that the two patrolling guards had run upon the group in the lab. He had no idea wether or not Tart had managed to download the file before they were caught. Halfway down the hall he met up with the rest of the group as they came in off a branch that lead to the labs. Lenny was leading the way with a surprisingly calm expression on his face. Behind him Gideon was protecting Tart with his massive bulk. Smiley was bring up the rear. The samurai was splattered with blood and still had an insane smile on his face. Fresh crimson red dripped from his extended spurs.
"Newsflash!" Riggs called over the commlink. "Somebody tripped the silent alarm, people. I've got a Lone Star response in route. ETA is less than four mintues."
Lenny cupped his hand over his micro-transceiver. "This is Lenny, we've got the package and we're all coming out."
"I'm picking up a call from the guard shack. They're starting a lock down procedure." Riggs reported. "Move your hoops if you don't want to get left there."
Lenny's glance flashed at the south door which was visible at the end of the hall. As the group of runners raced for it a heavy steel barricade slid down from the ceiling. It locked itself securely into position.
"Our exit's blocked." Lenny said into the commlink.
"We'll, we're fragged now, eh?" Smiley smiled.
"Guys, I got visual. The front lobby is sealed. All emergency escapes have been closed off." Riggs spat into the link. "Guards from the gatehouse are moving for the lobby and Lone Star is three minutes and closing."
"Take cover away from the door." Lenny ordered as everybody crouched up against the inside of nearby doorframes. "We're going to have company."
"I was hoping to avoid this part." Nightsky cursed as he pulled his H&K.
Gideon moved Tart behind him, keeping the decker safe. He knew that if Tart got killed, they'd never get the file from her deck.
"Riggs, I need that drone on the front gate now." Lenny ordered.
"Boss? You said west--"
"Don't argue with me just drop the load there."
"You got it."
"Shard? You picking up?" He asked.
"I'm here, Lenny." Shard replied. "I can see a group of guards, about six or so, making for the front of the building. I'll see what I can do to slow them down."
Lenny shook his head. "Forget the guards, we need the south door cleared pronto."
"Cleared?"
"We got lock down. Come here and knock this door out."
There was a burst of static, then Shard replied. "Stand clear of the door." The mage could see the south door from where the Bison was parked.
"Copy that." Lenny said as he took cover away from the door. "Everybody get clear of the door." He ordered.
There was a low rumbling as Riggs's Microskimmer drone dropped it's small payload of concussion and flash grenades on the front gate. It served as a distraction, making the guard's think that there was a frontal attack. At the same time the guards started coughing and vomiting in response to a noxious smell that had filled the air. Shard's elemental was slowing them down.
"Lenny, I'm going to hit the door." Shard said, her voice faint in the commlink.
"Brace yourself." Lenny warned.
A blast of heat washed over the door as Shard's spell struck it with all the force of a rampaging bull. The metal bent and squealed under the pressure and a loud crack like thunder filled the hall. The sound died away, but the door still stood.
"Lone Star's got an HTR en route." Riggs warned. "ETA is two minutes."
"No good." Shard's voice came over the link, sounding a little drained. "I'm going to try again."
Lenny glanced back at the door and noticed that it was scarred and torched in a few places. Then the spell hit again, this time with more thunderous sound than before. Lenny felt the inside of his ears ring just before the heat hit him. He felt like he'd just stepped into an oven. Flames seemed to wrap around the corners of the door. Red lines of heat outlined the door as it suddenly split down the center and blasted chunks of it all over the hallway.
Gideon lifted Tart up and pointed toward the newly opened door. "We're clear."
Lenny fought to his feet. "Good job, Shard."
There was no response.
"Shard?" Lenny questioned as he made sure everyone was out and running across the open pavement.
"Lenny?" It was Riggs's voice.
"Riggs, where's Shard?" Lenny demanded.
"I think that last blast took too much out of her. She's out cold." Riggs explained. "I'm coming out to pick you guys up. That Lone Star response team is bearing in on us in a Citymaster. We're going to be in drek real deep in a few seconds."
"Is she okay?"
"I don't fragging know, Lenny, I'm not a doctor." Riggs roared the engine of the Bison to life and pulled out from behind the dumpster, pouring on the power as it plowed toward the fence surrounding the site. "Here I come!"
"Take cover." Gideon instructed as he covered Tart.
The Bison smashed over the fence and buried it beneath it's runflat tires. The force of the impact against the armored bumper of the Bison caused a large section of the fence to collapse. Riggs was smart enough not to drive over the monowire that might cause serious damage to his tires.
"The fence is down, chummers." Riggs said as he commanded the side door to slide open. "Watch the monowire."
"Let's go." Lenny instructed as the group made for the getaway.
"I got the Citymaster, two blocks and closing." Riggs reported as Gideon carried Tart inside. Nightsky was next, jumping in and pulling himself into a corner where he would be out of the way. Riggs felt them both climb inside. "Bearing down from the north."
Lenny could see headlights in the distance beyond the front gate. Cybereyes made it easier to see. They were about to be in plenty of trouble. He pushed his way in behind Smiley who giggled as he entered. "Riggs, get us out of here." He ordered.
The Bison's door slammed shut and accelerated with tremendous force down the parking lot. Riggs angled the massive machine towards the street on the other side of the abandoned plant the lot was on. The Citymaster continued to close at a great speed. Riggs had driven those vehicles before and he knew that it could outpace him.
"Those guys aren't giving up. They got a bead on us and I'm expecting them to open fire any second." Riggs said as the Bison bumped violently over the curb and onto the street. "My scanner says that there's a patrol directly in front of us too."
Lenny saw that Shard was laying unconscious on the floor in the middle of the Bison. He had made some effort to protect her while Riggs slammed the Bison out of the parking lot. He was busy trying to buckle her into a seat.
"I say we give them a ticket." Smiley warned as he went for his duffel bag in the back of the van.
"Riggs, I don't care how you do it, but keep that Citymaster off our ass. Lone Star puts a lot of nuyen into those guys. I wouldn't be surprised it they've got an autocannon mounted on it." Lenny said.
"I've got that taken care of." Riggs said, switching his drone command to his rotodrone that had been keeping an eye on things from a high orbit.
The drone he referred to as Big Bertha was one of the best he owned. He'd mounted a nasty LMG on its underbelly as well as a missile system in case they ever needed it. With the armor of the Citymaster and the threat it posed, Riggs couldn't think of a better time to use it. He keyed in the lock sequence with the drone's sensors.
"I've got lock!" He exclaimed as a beeping started in the back of his mind. "Merry Christmas!"
The missile rack on the side of the drone flared to life as it's payload was unleashed. Immediately the missile tracked its lock on the Citymaster and beared down on it. The driver of the Citymaster must not have been a rigger because the reaction to the missile was so slow. No doubt a loud warning siren was blaring as the missile closed in. The vehicle exploded in a massive fireball that spread the wreckage all over the parking lot. The officers inside never knew what hit them as they were burned alive by the intense heat and cut to ribbons by flying shrapnel.
"We have a hit." Riggs said. "And I got a Lone Star cruiser dead ahead."
Lenny pushed his way through the van so that he could see out the front windshield. He pulled himself into the passenger seat just as the cruiser turned sideways to block the street. "Shortcut." He said without hesitation.
"Right-o" Riggs replied and took the Bison upon the sidewalk. Pedestrians scattered as the large van tore through newspaper stands and ran over benches. The Lone Star officer in the cruiser threw his car in reverse in an attempt to close off the escape.
"This is going to be close!" Nightsky exclaimed as he stole a glance out the windshield.
Riggs face was tightened into a hard expression has he edged every bit of performance out of his vehicle. The cruiser closed in and it looked like the two vehicles would smash right into each other. At the last moment the Bison flew by the cruiser which continued to accelerate and smash into an all night Laundromat.
"Yeah, I knew we could make it." The rigger's voice said confidently as the Bison hopped off the sidewalk and slowed a little as the drones were recovered onto their respective racks. "Where too chummers?"
"How about a one way trip to hell?" Smiley asked.
Riggs chuckled. "Sorry, Smiles, we just left."
"What we're going to do is turn over the file so we can get our final paycheck." Lenny said. "Tart, you got the file didn't you?"
Gideon grunted. "I hope so for all the drek we had to go through to get it."
"Yes, I've got it, but it's encrypted."
"Transfer it to blank chip." Lenny instructed. "Don't worry about decoding it. We were paid to get it out."
Tart nodded.
"Riggs?"
"Yeah, boss?"
"Take us to Tacoma." Lenny said. "We need to get off the road as soon as we can. Then we'll give Mrs. Johnson the call and see how bad she want's this file."
"We're on the way."
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