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"Alright, let's get to work… down the hall, there's another one. He seems to be listening to music right now, with his back to you."
"Got it…"
And I immediately activated my Sandevistan to cross the corridor that Judy told me about and knocked out another thug. Of course, a shard took its place in his port. After that, I looked around and, making sure there was nothing else here, continued moving.
Judy was silent, which meant there were no enemies for now.
"Stop…"
"I'm stopped…"
"There are two people there. Both seem to be involved in production… be careful. There are also three laptops you can work with."
"You know the rules. I don't take out complex tech. Chrome is fine. It's hard to put a bug in it without violating the design, and a signal from it can be easily caught when it's disconnected from the system and therefore not working. And after that, the chrome will be checked, and even if there was a bug that was supposed to turn on later, it would just be extracted and destroyed. But a laptop…"
I shook my head.
"Only a shard. And you'll have to work at a waltz tempo."
"Fine, but we'll still need about ten minutes."
"Luc…"
"Mentor, here I'm Snowflake…"
Grrr… "In short, why do you let her talk to you like that? If she needs more time, she'll have to wait…"
"Mentor, you don't understand something. You guys are only at risk if your skills are not enough and you get caught. And even then, as far as I understand, you have a way to disconnect, unless the Voodoo Boys or the NetWatch get involved…"
"Shut up!"
Kiwi seemed to be scared of something. At least her slightly hysterical voice suggested that.
"Ghost, in the netrunner world, mentioning them during a job is bad luck…"
Lucy decided to be a little calmer, but even in her voice, there was anxiety and fear.
"I'll remember that."
I nodded, entering the room.
"I'm physically at the enemy's base, and they can send reinforcements of unknown numbers, training, and cyberware, which significantly increases the chance of failure. So you'll work for as long as I told you to."
Tch… "He thinks a lot of himself…"
I activated my Sandevistan and quickly jumped over the railing of a small staircase that led down. After that, I knocked out the last two thugs and inserted shards into them and all the tech that was there. Only then did I turn off my Sandevistan.
"You have ten minutes… if you don't make it, I'll start the cleanup anyway, and then I'll blow everything to hell. The clock is ticking."
Tch… "And how do you work with him? How do you all work with him?"
"If you do the job instead of just talking, everything's fine…"
Judy was a little annoyed. However, that was all she said, as the girls got to work. I think Judy had now transferred camera control to Panam, as she usually did when the three of us worked together, and she had connected to the hack herself.
Silence…
The silence was tense and spooky. If I were in a movie from my past world, there would definitely be quiet, very tense music playing right now. The floorboards would creak under my feet, and on one of the laptops, the face of the main "glitter" producer would appear, telling me how stupid I was for getting involved in his business.
Oh, yeah…
And I would also have a daughter or a niece whom they would kidnap and threaten to kill… And to complete the collection of clichés, I'd be here without my crew, crushing hordes of enemies alone, carrying a heavy rifle in my hands and firing it from the hip without aiming at all, but all my enemies would twitch dramatically and fall to the ground. Oh!
I remember!
There would also have to be a final fight with the main bad guy! With combat knives, of course!
"Eight minutes."
"Damn it, we're not going to make it!"
"Do what you can…"
I shrugged at Kiwi's shout and continued my mental countdown. I really didn't plan on giving them a single second of extra time. Although, in reality, they would have that extra time, as I had to destroy everything with a guarantee.
"Alright, ten minutes have passed…"
I estimated the time.
"You still have about seven to ten minutes to work on the laptops while I clear out the bodies and move them and the tech into the room with the chemicals. But no more than that. And yes, Mentor, I know I could have done this right away, but then you wouldn't have had extra time. And again, yes, I'm risking myself, but I REALLY hope I'm not doing it for nothing."
With a sigh, I walked up to one of the thugs and took his rifle, then made the first shot, ending the life of a scumbag who made drugs. Naturally, both bodies were dragged closer to the reagents, and I also pulled the shards out of them. After that, I very quickly walked through all the rooms…
"Alright, that's it. I'm pulling the shards out of the laptops now…"
When everything was ready, I pulled the shards out of the laptops and then walked very quickly toward the exit.
"Be careful, a car with four Animals just pulled up to the entrance."
I received this message as I was already going up the stairs and was about to enter the garage where the car they were supposedly fixing was.
"Thanks, Smarty-Pants…"
I activated my Sandevistan and calmly went upstairs, then walked past them without paying any attention. I didn't need any extra bodies. Regina wouldn't approve of them, and they might flatline if they went down, but that's not my problem anymore.
After turning the corner, I turned off my Sandevistan and pressed the detonator button, after which a rather loud explosion sounded. All the windows in the building where the lab was located were blown out, and a crack also appeared in it. But overall, it remained intact. There shouldn't have been any chemical poisoning, either. After all, I'm not an idiot, and I checked the network to see how best to conduct the explosion so that the reagents would be destroyed and not react and poison the lives of ordinary people. However, with the power of the explosion… yeah, I miscalculated there.
But that's nothing unusual for Night City. Solos here usually don't take into account what happens to ordinary people…
"Alright…"
I connected to the account where our netrunners were transferring the money and whistled.
"…you ladies did a good job…"
And saying that, I divided all the funds and sent them to those who were entitled to them. And that's when I heard a surprised whistle from Kiwi.
"Kid, I'm not gonna say no, but…"
"It's all correct…"
Kiwi was interrupted by her apprentice.
"…he always pays exactly like this. And here, his share is almost on par with ours because he was risking his neck. If there were big problems, his share would be bigger, but since everything went quietly… Cherry and Bookworm, on the other hand, got smaller shares because one was the driver and the other was the cover who wasn't even needed."
"Are you saying this isn't a one-time thing that he pays so much?!"
"No… when there's a good side hustle, he always pays good bonuses. It's a different matter that the main amount of the order will be divided differently. Here, he'll get a larger share, we'll get a little less, and Cherry and Bookworm will get the smallest ones again."
"And they agree to that?"
"Mentor, considering the side profit, they'll probably get a total of at least fifty thousand… just for showing up and standing around, well, and driving…"
"Yeah, especially since Ghost and I are a family…"
Panam smirked, and the Thorton stopped in front of me so I could get in and we could delta from the first location together. At the same time, I quickly glanced at the data the girls had dug up and immediately sent it to Regina along with a report. And I also sent a request for a dossier. After all, I needed to know more about Kiwi. She seemed like a decent girl, at least a pro… judging by the fact that Judy didn't complain about her, and she wouldn't hesitate to tell me about a newbie's incompetence.
"Alright… that's it… we can use names now…"
"Can I disconnect?"
Kiwi's voice was shocked.
"Well, if you're not interested in earning more…"
I shrugged. My avatar probably repeated that gesture, but I don't know if Kiwi could see it, or if she, like me, just turned off the avatars when a large number of people were in a conversation.
"This isn't all?"
"I'm waiting for Regina's decision… she has the data. But in general, she hinted that this wouldn't be the only location we'd destroy. So as soon as she gives the go-ahead and points us to the next place, we'll head there."
"Hmm… I can come over… working remotely isn't as convenient as having a direct connection."
"Go ahead…"
I nodded.
No matter what happened and what was in the dossier on this lady, it was more profitable to finish this job with her. So I gave her the address where she could come, and Panam quickly changed the direction of travel.
About two hours passed…
Our whole crew had gathered in a café, and we were all eating now. After all, we would definitely need our strength to continue working. And it was at that moment that the dossier on Kiwi arrived…
And as soon as it arrived, I frowned…
Just a little…
"Is something wrong?"
Panam looked at me questioningly, and I sighed… it looked like I would have to change my plans a little.
"Kiwi…"
"What?"
"What is your relationship with Faraday?"
She flinched.
"I don't know what you're talking about…"
I sighed again.
"You know, originally, I planned to go through with this operation with you until the end, and only then make a decision. But… Faraday…"
I shook my head.
"You're here now because Lucy vouched for you."
Lucy looked at me with distrust and dissatisfaction that I had started talking to her mentor, but she still nodded, confirming my words about vouching for her.
"And I still plan to complete this job with you until the end…"
"But?"
"But I just don't want to create any misunderstandings or false hopes. Faraday is not a person I would want to have anything to do with. So I'll ask you again, what connects you to him? You work for him too often, even on not-so-profitable jobs that hurt your reputation."
"And what if I don't want to answer?"
"Then I won't force you. But this job will be the first and last one I bring you in on. Even a recommendation from Lucy, or even if she and Becca both vouched for you…"
I shook my head.
"…even in that case, I wouldn't bring you in on a job."
"Kiwi… please…"
Lucy looked at her. I saw a request in her eyes, even a plea. She was asking her to trust us, but the older netrunner's gaze remained cold and unapproachable. Not for long, though. Lucy's eyes sparkled for a couple of seconds, just like Kiwi's, and she wavered.
"I… I owe him…"
"You owe him what?"
"Money… a lot of money…"
I sighed and closed my eyes. That was both simpler and more complicated at the same time.
"I'm not going to pry into the reasons. You can tell me if you want to. I'll only ask, what kind of deal is between you two?"
"I… I have to make a monthly payment on the debt and the interest. If I don't have the right amount, he can bring me in on any five jobs."
I closed my eyes.
"This month?"
"I just transferred the payment… I didn't expect such a large share, but after I got it, I immediately paid off this month's debt."
"And how long do you have to keep paying?"
"Seven years."
I whistled.
"Do you have any money left for food and a place to live?"
"Yeah… a little…"
She nodded.
"Alright, in any case, we're going to hit at least one more 'glitter' production location today, so you'll get some more bucks. And yeah, I really do want to trust you, but… I'll still double-check the info…"
"I understand…"
"Uh-huh…"
"David?"
"I'm not against it…"
With a sigh, I nodded my head. Answering the question Lucy had asked me.
"…I'm not against bringing your mentor in on a job."
"Why are you sighing?"
"Because I'll have to contact Regina again to find a job where a crew of professional netrunners is needed, as well as quiet infiltration… but on second thought. This is even better… oh…"
I reacted to an email from Regina and rubbed my hands together.
"We have a new target. Let's go…"
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