December 2, 2075
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Teo stood in the back of the range, the Aegis arm locked into a firing stance that felt less like bone and muscle and more like a heavy duty tripod.
He emptied the mag, watching as the armor-piercing rounds from Bon Bon punched through the reinforced dummy, turning the high density polymer into a storm of gray confetti.
'Fucker, what are these gigs Vane gave us? I need the breakdown,' Teo thought, thumbing a fresh mag into the hand cannon. He slid the hot barrel against the bare skin of his waistband, a hiss of steam rising as it bit into his hip.
Aye! Definitely need better cooling, he noted, winced at the sting.
'Job one is the heavy lift, choom,' Fucker's voice chirped, a holographic file shimmering across Teo's retinas. 'Militech is moving a series of "Ceres" power cores. Seven prototypes total, one transport a day.
The next one hits the pavement at 1:00 PM today. Weirdly enough, the intel says the escort is light.'
Teo zoomed in on the schematics of the Militech transport truck. 'Light? That means they're cocky. Probably relying on a high tier Netrunner or some experimental security software.' He tapped the thick rear doors of the truck on the display.
'Thick metal, reinforced glass. Good thing I've got a literal can opener for an arm now.'
Teo lit a cigarette, the smoke curling around his emerald optics as he paid the range clerk and strode out toward Lizzie's Bar. His bike sat in the lot, the chrome reflecting the harsh noon sun.
12:30 PM. Thirty minutes to intercept.
'Pistons for the engine, brute force for the doors, and you on the ICE,' Teo summarized, swinging his leg over the bike.
The Mox guards out front, dressed in their signature clashing neons and reinforced leather eyeballed him. To most, he looked like a Valentino prince in a white beater, but the gold and green arm gleaming in the sunlight made them hesitate.
The Mox were the queens of Kabuki and Watson, fierce protectors of sex workers who had carved out a small real estate empire. They peddled the Serpents' drugs from Heywood, but there was a bitter rivalry with the Burners over the "distribution fees."
Teo puffed his cig, glancing at the "Moxie" gatekeepers. 'So, what's the route?'
'Kennedy Ave,' Fucker replied. 'Leaves the warehouse in ten minutes. It'll pass right by you. Talk about convenience.'
"The waiting game then," Teo muttered.
He lounged on his bike, the indie rock on his playlist thrumming in his ears. He was halfway through a second cigarette when the scent of lavender and ozone cut through the smog.
He leaned his head back to find a Mox guard looming over him. She was tall, built like a brick house, with hot pink hair shaved at the sides into twin buns.
Her eyes were cold, framed by heavy eyeliner and subtle chrome tracer lines at her temples. She held a baseball bat like it was a natural extension of her anatomy.
"Yes?" Teo asked, turning the music down.
"Loitering really pisses me off," she said, her voice a low growl. Her hands tightened around the bat. "Especially when it's a Valentino in my lot."
Teo sat up slowly, exhaling a plume of smoke. "So we're profiling now? That's cold, sister. I'm not a Valentino."
"Right... you're just Latino, covered in gold, and dripping with Heywood attitude." Her eyes flicked to the Aegis arm.
Teo quirked an eyebrow. "And you're Japanese bitch. By your logic, I should be calling you a Tyger Claw. See how retarded that sounds?" He blinked, his optics flaring as he initiated a Breach Protocol on her internal subnet. "Well, Rita Wheeler. You run the floor here? A Capo, no less."
Rita's tough girl mask cracked. Her grip on the bat faltered for a split second as she realized he'd just bypassed her personal ICE with a stare. "What. Are you doing. Here?" she snarled, the bat coming off her shoulder.
"Waiting for my ride," Teo said.
'Heads up, choom,' Fucker interjected. 'Transport inbound. 400 feet and closing fast.'
"I'd love to stay and swap stories, Rita, but I've got a job to do." Teo kicked the bike to life, roaring out into the middle of the road. He came to a halt right by a guard rail, blocking the lane.
"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Rita screamed from the lot.
Teo didn't look back.
He watched the massive Militech transport barrel down Kennedy Ave. He tapped his temple, and the traffic light at the intersection turned a sharp, defiant red. The truck groaned, its air brakes hissing as it came to a halt just feet from Teo's front tire.
The driver leaned out the window, sweat beading on his forehead. "Hey! You! Move the bike or I'll flatten you!"
Teo didn't move. He stepped off the bike, walking toward the front of the truck with a terrifying, calm gait. As he reached the grill, the Aegis arm began to whine. The gold plates shifted forward, the emerald circuitry pulsing with a blinding light.
SHIFFFT-WHIRRR-BOOM!
Teo drove his fist into the engine block.
The hydraulic pistons exuded a sharp hiss of steam as the force of the punch sent a shockwave through the ten ton vehicle. The front end of the truck lifted three feet off the ground, the engine disintegrating into a heap of twisted scrap and fire. The driver's head slammed into the steering wheel, his skull meeting the glass with a sickening crack that left him slumped and silent.
"Holy shit!" Teo grinned, the adrenaline hitting him like a lightning bolt. He walked to a maintenance panel near the front wheel and pressed his palm against it.
His monowire tips snaked out, jacking directly into the truck's security brain.
'Fucker, kill the alarm. Total blackout.'
Fucker let out a digital war cry, and the truck's lights died instantly.
________________________________________________
Militech Tower, Corpo Plaza-
A small section of the security hub erupted. The monitors, usually displaying crisp diagnostic feeds, were suddenly swamped by laughing green ghosts.
"Agent! Respond!" a technician yelled, his fingers flying across the keys. "Sir, we've been completely shut out of the convoy! The encryption is... it's laughing at us!"
The man in charge, a suit with neon green hair and optics that cost more than a trauma-team subscription sighed, watching the ghosts dance on the screen. "I don't get paid enough for this shit."
_____________________________________________________
Teo strode to the back of the truck. He gripped the handle of the reinforced doors, the Aegis arm venting heat through the slits in its plating.
PSSSSHH-RRRRRIP!
With a roar of metal, he tore the heavy doors clean off their hinges and hurled them across the street, where they flattened a fire hydrant.
POW-POW-POW!
A hail of automatic fire erupted from the darkness of the trailer. Two Militech guards, hunkered down behind tactical covers, were hosing the exit with lead. Teo dived to the left, the bullets shredding the pavement where he'd just been standing.
'Fucker! A little warning?!' Teo screamed inwardly.
'What? I can't do everything for you, buddy!' Fucker cackled.
Teo leaned back, pulling Bon Bon from his waist. He kissed the heated barrel. "For you, my sweet!"
He blind fired around the corner, letting the Aegis handle the massive, bone shattering recoil of the rail pistol.
VROOM-POW! VROOM-POW!
The shots weren't just loud, they were explosive. The first round caught the lead guard in the head. The shot vaporized his skull, painting the back wall of the truck in a spray of gray brain matter and jagged bone shards.
The second guard screamed as the round hit his shoulder, obliterating the joint and sending his arm spinning into the darkness. Teo pivoted around the corner, firing a third shot that hit the man in the gut.
The high velocity round tore a hole the size of a dinner plate through his torso, pinning his mangled remains to the far wall.
The screaming stopped. The only sound was the dripping of blood and the whine of Teo's arm.
"Holy shit... I think I just trick shotted the first guy," Teo muttered, hopping into the blood slicked interior.
In the center of the bay, mounted on a magnetic podium, was the Ceres Core. It was a metallic orb the size of a grapefruit, glowing with a malevolent, pulsating red light. Teo grabbed it, feeling the strange, heavy hum of the power inside, and tucked it into his hip satchel.
He hopped out of the truck, the gold on his arm now flecked with Militech blood. He walked back toward the lot, where Rita Wheeler stood frozen, her baseball bat forgotten at her side. Her eyes were wide, taking in the wreckage of the truck and the two dead men.
Teo walked past her, pausing just long enough to give her a wink and a light puff of smoke. He swung his leg over the bike and roared off into the city, leaving a trail of rubber and the Architect's message behind.