"Guys!! Enough." Riku sighed. "Let's save the rest for later. Help me with the gear."
Richard nodded. "Right, for the mission. This ain't over." He shot Anton a look.
Anton grinned. "Any time, little American." He unzipped the first bag and started handing items across the table like a showman. His English thick with a Russian accent and broken form, "Laser cutter… a battery unit. Good for twenty-thirty minutes on composites and light alloy. Don't expect miracles on armored steel, but it'll get through locks and thin glass."
"Next… personal favorite, the 6-inch dagger.. short but sharp, can cut ropes like grass. dual 9mm pistols with two spare mags. Use only if you got no choice. Two flashbangs and a smoke grenade. No explosives… client rules: no civilian or structural damage."
He checked his pocket and took out one pin grenade, placing it on the table. "But I bring one. No mission safe without this toy."
He juggled another pouch from the big bag. "Knockout grenades… potent sedative payloads. Five of them. Think crowd-control level. They can drop a room, but use them sparingly."
"Show him the kit, Rich." Anton tossed the other long bag.
Richard scoffed, "Why, got tired?"
Anton gave him a look, and Richard ignored it as he continued. "Alright, let's see what we have, big guy." He opened the long bag and pulled out a wristwatch-type device, placing it on the table. "This one is an altimeter band, meant to note the altitude. That will help you figure out the floor. The target height is 230 meters."
Then he took out the accessories one by one. "And this is the mini laptop you would need to operate. The software is on-screen, you'll understand. And two external hard drives — the captain wants a copy of the source code for ourselves also."
Riku nodded.
"Helmet, vest, knee guards, gloves." Richard set each piece on the table.
"Helmet's got the latest NV technology (night vision) and has a rudimentary gas filter. Vest's rated for small arms — I wouldn't bet my life on it, but it'll definitely buy you time. Knee pads for crawling, standard gloves… so you don't jerk out there."
Anton cleared his throat, so Richard cleared his tone and became serious.
He put two ampoules on the table. "Two injectables. One's an anti-chemical prophylactic — it's meant for resistance to common irritant gases. The other's a mild sedative to steady you under shock. Field-grade. Company-issued."
Riku's eyebrow lifted. "Must I take them? Are they clinically tested?"
Richard gave a tired shrug. "All I can say: they're stamped with the company logo and the boss signed off. You can complain after you're back."
Riku sighed, to which Anton patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, if you die I will sure come to your farewell." He made a cross sign to make peace, but Riku could only roll his eyes.
Richard continued, "The next is wireless comm buds. Put them in your ears once you're ready, the channel is preset. Captain told us we will be live at 1:00 a.m."
Riku noticed that both Richard and Anton already had the comms in their ears. They were so small they were hard to notice if you didn't pay attention. He fitted his in as well.
Richard rummaged through the two bags carefully. "Wait, I've got another thing… a handbag for carrying it all. The captain recommended it. But where the hell did it go?"
Anton stood up, and there it was—right under his ass. It hadn't been visible before because he'd been sitting on it.
Richard shot him a look. "You dumb bear's descendant. This isn't meant for the sofa."
Anton shrugged. "My job was to deliver, and so I delivered."
Riku shook his head as he began to equip all the gear. At first he got the drugs punched into his biceps. The first one felt too hot, as if his body was on fire, and the second one made him feel numb.
Anton asked seriously this time, "Bratan, you good?"
Riku nodded. He then equipped his knee guards, vest, and then the armor. He set his gun and magazines in the pockets provided. By this time Richard had helped him set all things in his handbag, ready to be used ahead. At the end he fitted his helmet. He checked himself in the reflection — like a Halo protagonist and no less. However, his teammates had other ideas.
Anton commented, "Now look good, biker playing terrorist." He gave a thumbs up.
Richard corrected, chuckling as he clicked a pic. "Or I would say — playing high-tech heist… and here it's a memory."
Anton laughed out loud, reaching for a high five. "Same… same… American."
Riku ignored and checked his hand movement. He opened the door and went to the high-rise cleaner port area where the cleaners are made to settle on gondolas before they are sent down with the crane.
In the port area there were a few more crew company members; they wore the same company jacket.
Riku smirked as he noted the captain's long-sightedness — to not feel awkward in time of operation there was the need for uniform, so everyone had the jacket of the same organization and the visibility of trust despite not knowing each other's names.
Richard checked his watch; it was still ten minutes before their comms would go live.
As the minutes clicked, the comms auto-connected to the channel and a familiar voice came in.
"Team, this is your captain Ayane. Relay positions and status, over."
Right now Ayane was sitting in the control room watching everyone on CCTV but still asking as protocol. Nearby, guards lay unconscious, telling another untold tale of her infiltration as she sipped the hot coffee not meant for her in the first place.
"Li here, 30th floor. Got the angle, perfect sightline, bag ready. Over." Li said as he positioned himself on a vantage point to the other building. He had a large bag at his side.
"Kieta reporting. Apparatus online, full access to tower controls. Over."
Kieta said while sitting in a media van outside. His glasses showed lines of code and footage. He had two laptops on his thighs, headphones on, and a smirk on his face.
"Anton here. Crane stable. Over."
Anton's massive hands tightened around the levers, eyes flicking to the dangling gondola where Riku was strapped in, one slip away from death. Four more crew members gave thumbs up as they had done their part of jobs. His eyes were set on Riku, who was at the mercy of his crane machine.
"Not dying before the promised kiss, Captain. Riku here, hanging for dear life. Over."
Riku said while trying desperately not to look down. The muffled voices and the sharp voice of the captain brought a smirk to his face. Even though he was sitting on the gondola safely, his heartbeat was racing; his senses made him aware that one slip and he would be flat like paper. After all, his altimeter reading on hand was showing 420 meters, and it was no joke.
"Richard at 64th floor entrance. Standing by. Over."
Richard said while standing near the lift. He had his cleaning apparatus with him. Even though he had the pass, he could not go into the 63rd floor with comms on — the moment he entered, all CCTV cameras would focus on him and a security guard would patrol him until he left.
"Copy all. Richard, proceed to the designated location and use the red flash. Riku, check the altimeter and be on spot. Once Riku reaches, Richard pulls out to standby location. Over and out." Ayane said, taking a sip.
"Roger that," both Riku and Richard said at the same time.
Anton expertly handled Riku as he lowered the rope with a slow and precise rhythm.
Riku kept checking his altimeter, his heart beat rising with each changing numbers.
As per the data given to them, the estimated height was 230 meters. He stopped and reported, "Riku speaking — arrived at the target location. Waiting for signal. Over."
The crane stopped. Richard, who was already on his way, was trailed by two guards. He walked leisurely, taking his time to clean the corridor as this was the designated routine. Then he reached the maintenance room and was about to close the door when a guard stopped him.
The guard asked, "Why closing the door? You can continue cleaning with it open."
Richard showed the stains on his pants he'd made earlier as backup and said with a menacing grin, "I need to change. You wanna check on my big dick, soldier?"
The soldier felt disgusted and waved his hand. "Just go away, shorty."
Richard turned and closed the door, cursing the guard under his breath, "Your whole generation, shortie bastard. You motherfucking son of a bitch… dog soldier. Hmph!"
He put on the comms and said, "Richard here, reached the location, signaling Riku. Over."
He took out his small pen-drive-like torch and flashed the red light five times. Riku, who was on the earlier floor and hanging outside, saw the signal and said on radio, "Anton, get me down one knot right. I'm one floor above."
Anton pulled the crane, but Riku was slightly placed away from the maintenance room and was more in front of an empty cabin. Still he could see Richard and knocked the glass three times.
Richard saw that and immediately signalled the stair key aside and the passage for the air-vent duct at the corner of his room. Then he changed his pants and added the comm to his ears.
He said in comm, "Task complete. Leaving the room to avoid suspicion. A trail's behind; caution is advised. Over and out."
Riku, who was about to ask Anton to move him a little right so he could have better access to the maintenance room, stopped and nodded.
As soon as Richard opened the door — before he could close it — the guard came inside and shone his rifle flashlight to check the room. Riku, hanging out, dodged the guard's sight by leaning to the other side just in time. Luckily Richard had warned him, or he might have been caught and shot on sight.
After that the guard went outside and closed the door.
Riku coordinated with Anton to move right to get a proper position for the maintenance room. He took out his laser cutter and opened the glass, carefully placing it down without shattering it and making sound. Then he went inside with his helmet's night vision mode on. He picked up his laser cutter and, with the bag in his hand, crawled into the air duct.
He took out the mini laptop and opened the preinstalled software. From there he could see the map of the whole floor and his position. The mini laptop also had more advanced software that had been made by Kieta himself.
He said into his comm, "Riku speaking — have arrived at the air duct with no issues. Moving in, over."
Then he heard the sighs of everyone involved as a big burden was relieved. The infiltration was successful, though half the mission was still to be completed.
Ayane spoke on comm, "Copy that. Crane crew leave the building now. Anton, get back to the other building location. Riku, keep us updated. We'll feed you outside intel, but you're blind on your own now. Over."
Riku replied with conviction, "Roger." He saw the mini laptop screen where it clearly showed how six layers of walls had been made before someone could enter the core chamber. He crawled through the narrow passage, avoiding all security and escaping cameras while updating his status. As he reached the last chamber he tried to peek through the gaps.
There he saw many researchers still hovering around in white coats and a few guards randomly passing by.
He said into his comm, "Riku here. At target. Entering the lion's den. Over and out."
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//A.N : generally, codes are used instead of name but didnt want to make it too complicated in chat so used names and tried to keep it casual.