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The Thorton…
We all fit inside, and it was pretty easy because even though it was a pickup truck, nomads like my Panam can't stand uncomfortable cars. So the Thorton has a quirky combination of angular shapes, an unpretentious exterior, and comfort for everyone, including those sitting in the back. Even with three people crammed in the back.
Although, in reality, the point was that there weren't three muscle-bound guys in the back, but three fragile girls who wouldn't be too cramped even in half the space.
"My ride is still better…"
Becca pouted at us for making her ride with us. She wanted to show off her driving skills, and I wouldn't have minded if it was a normal trip, but for a mission, it's better to travel as one group. Less chance of getting separated and running into trouble.
"Don't be ridiculous. You have a subcompact that, while convenient for the city because you can park it anywhere, isn't something you take on a combat mission, is it?! It's completely unarmored!"
Bleh-bleh-bleh…
Becca stuck out her tongue, and I, smirking, turned away from her.
Judy and Lucy had been silent for a while, clearly communicating with each other through a comms channel, and I was curious about what they had agreed on.
"Lucy, Judy?"
Lucy glanced at Judy, who nodded.
"We've decided. Lucy is a much better netrunner, so I'll be guiding you, and she'll be hacking everything she can reach on her own or with your help. She can do it faster and quieter."
I nodded my head.
It was nice to know that I hadn't been wrong, and I wasn't talking about Lucy, but about Judy, who was able to admit her shortcomings and voice them. She was able to admit that she was worse at something than others and didn't hide it.
Pff! "There's no one better than our Lucy! Not even Kiwi can compete with her!"
"Shorter, don't be so sarcastic… I recognize your Lucy's talent and skills, but even though I work as a netrunner with David, it's not really my specialty. I create braindances. That's my field. I can give a head start to any pro in the major leagues there."
"Um… why did you join up, then?"
Lucy looked at Judy in surprise.
"At first… I just wanted to pay off a debt."
"A debt?"
"Uh-huh. I work at Lizzie's, and after one incident, some Arasaka bitches trashed all the gear."
"Judy, watch your language…"
Pfe!
With a single snort, she showed her attitude toward my request not to swear. However, I knew her, and I was sure she would try to hold back.
"The thing is, it wasn't just the servers with the programs and the database from the security cameras. I also stupidly kept my personal gear there…"
"Why?"
Lucy was genuinely curious.
"Well… I spent most of my days and nights there anyway, processing braindances with the girls, so I figured it would be easier with my own customized gear. It was, but…"
"And?"
"Well, Susie hired David through Regina. We had already been working together for a while on computer and server repair and maintenance. And he, of course, fixed the servers, but the gear… Susie refused to pay for my personal stuff, and I didn't have the money for it, so David helped me out."
"And? Was it that expensive?"
"Very… I mean, he ordered new hardware out of his own whim, not used, and it was very powerful. You know, I'm just getting used to not having to do a song and dance, chanting, and wailing just to work. I used to have to do that all the time."
"So you're with him because of debts?"
"At first, yeah… he offered me a contract. I work with him and Panam for a certain amount of time, and in exchange, my debt is completely forgiven…"
Judy shrugged.
"But now I don't really want to leave the crew anymore. In one week, I make two months' worth of what I used to make at Lizzie's. Plus, I'm still writing braindances, just in smaller quantities… And I'm actually thinking of leaving the Mox… I'm tired of it…"
"By the way, Judy, do they sell apartments in your building?"
"Huh?"
Judy looked at me in surprise.
"Well, I just figured that one room in a megabuilding is a little too small for me and Panam. We'd like to have at least two rooms, or better yet, three and a kitchen. And apartments like that in a megabuilding are, first of all, hard to find, and second, they would cost as much as Kerry Eurodyne's cottage. Except he paid once and that was it, but we'd have to pay that amount every month."
"You're exaggerating…"
Becca smirked at my words.
"Maybe, but not by much."
I shrugged.
"Even in the medium term, it's easier to buy an apartment like that in one of the buildings like Judy's. It's no longer considered elite housing. And for an apartment like that, I'd pay as much as I would for a year of rent for my studio apartment."
"But they often cut the power in my building…"
Judy shook her head.
"…and the hot water."
"That's not a problem…"
I smirked, looking at her.
"Or do you think I'm overpaying for electricity in the megabuilding? I've already put together a couple of highly efficient converters that charge batteries when I run on the treadmill. Given that Panam and I don't neglect our workouts…"
I shook my head.
"…and I even have an idea of how to switch to my own power generation, but for that, I have to live somewhere else, not in a megabuilding. They might come in for an inspection if they get suspicious…"
"Well, in general, there's a three-room apartment above me. But it has two rooms, a bathroom, and the third one is combined with the kitchen. Well, basically like my apartment. You've been there, you know how it's laid out…"
"I know…"
I nodded my head.
"And in general, the dining area could be rebuilt a little to make another small office…"
I looked at the road thoughtfully.
"I'll have to talk to…"
"I can talk to the owners."
"I'd appreciate it."
Judy nodded.
Meanwhile, the Thorton had arrived at the destination. This time, we could stop right next to the spot, which Panam did. The girls would be working here anyway, and I would have to walk a little through the courtyards.
"Setting up comms…"
Judy said that, and I immediately received a call that I answered. The entire left side of my vision was taken up by the girls' icons, so I messed with the settings a bit and removed their display altogether. Their appearance wasn't that important right now. It was more important for me to see everything that was ahead of me.
"Comms check… one, two, three…"
I smirked.
"I can hear you loud and clear. I'm going in…"
I slipped out of the car.
"But what about 'bang-bang' after all?"
"You don't need money?"
I turned back in surprise at Becca, who was looking down at the ground.
"I do… but this is so booooring…"
I looked at her closely and shook my head.
"If we work well, I have a plan for you to have fun and for all of us to make some money."
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah."
I turned away from her and walked down the street, so we continued to talk not in person, but over the comms.
"And what's the plan?"
"Nope, nope, nope…"
I'm sure my image for the girls, if they hadn't turned off their avatars like I had, was shaking its head.
"No secrets revealed… So it's in your best interest to do a good job."
I turned into an alley.
"We're on the roof…"
To connect to the access point, the girls had to climb up the fire escape, and they had apparently already done so.
"Connecting."
Meanwhile, after passing a couple of buildings, I was right next to the house where the underground fights were held. To be precise, everything happened in an underground arena, but the only way to get in was through this house. At least, that's what Regina had found out.
"Downloading the plans for the building and the basement…"
A couple of seconds later, the girls sent me a message with the building map. Hiding in the shadows, in a narrow spot where it would be hard to find me even if you were looking for me, I quickly studied the message, and I displayed the map as a small image for myself. Of course, the girls would guide me, but even so, I had to know what was going on.
"Okay, I've looked at the plan, I can move out. Where's the target?"
"Judging by the conversations I'm picking up, he's on the lower level, in a well-protected room."
I closed my eyes.
"Access to the room?"
"I can only help with a direct connection to the access terminal."
"Through me?"
"I'll try…"
Lucy was completely focused.
"Alright, for now, hack their system and look for accounts you can empty without my help."
"Got it…"
I activated the Sandevistan and came out of my hiding spot. My limit was five minutes of continuous acceleration. My body just couldn't handle any more. My acceleration was very high. The world basically stood still for me since it wasn't just a military model of the Sandevistan but an experimental one. In short, using the implant, I easily walked through the alley, turned onto another, and reached the entrance.
The front door was open, but there were two massive bodyguards in front of it. I walked past them while still in acceleration. All of this didn't even take two minutes of subjective time, and in reality, not even three seconds had passed, so if the guards noticed anything, it was a slight blur.
Inside the building, I immediately went into a storage room where I deactivated the Sandevistan.
"They didn't notice you…"
Judy informed me that everything was fine.
"I cleaned up the cameras. You aren't there and never were."
"Copy that…"
"Dav… Ghost, there's a security room next to you. You should put one of the shards I gave you back at your apartment in there. It'll give us more options."
"I'll do it. What's in the room?"
"They're not looking. You can go out. I've looped the cameras."
I nodded and calmly walked out of the back room where they piled up various junk. Then I walked to the room at a normal pace.
"No killing… according to the data, someone comes to check on them every half hour. Corpses or the lack of guards will be noticed, and they'll raise the alarm."
"Got it… bring up the plan of the room for me, and highlight where I need to put the shard."
An image immediately appeared in front of my eyes, showing where the right jack was. To be precise, there were three of them, and they were marked as green, yellow, and red.
"Lucy?"
"You have to insert the red one, the yellow one if possible, and the green one is desirable, but not at all necessary."
"Got it…"
I activated the Sandevistan and entered the room. All the guards were focused on the security camera monitors. The door had just started to open, and I had already walked up to the jack that was marked red and inserted the shard into it. The yellow one came next, and the green one at the end, after which I slipped back into the hallway and deactivated the Sandevistan.
"Done…"
I calmly walked down the hallway.
"Hide. The door opening caused some questions for the guards. I've passed it off as a small system glitch, but still…"
Judy warned me about the small problems, and I smirked. At the same time, I activated the Sandevistan and moved further down the hallway, hiding around a corner.
"Uh-huh… good job. You need to go further. There will be an elevator… but there will be a guard post downstairs."
"Is there no stairs?"
"There is, but there will be a guard post there too."
I shrugged.
"The stairs are better. Otherwise, you'll have to fake an elevator malfunction. And this way, I'll just go down a little slower…"
"Whatever you say…"
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