KNOCK KNOCK
Kirov jolts awake, his arm already reaching under his pillow to find his pistol. Already cocked, he aims it at the door and waits. Slowing his breathing, ready to use his Sandevistan, 100 thoughts go through his head before the door started to crack open.
"Kirov, I'm making a protein- WOAH!" Marto jumps back and slams the door shut.
"I know you had a late night, but that's no excuse to be this cranky! We even let you sleep in." Kirov turns to see his alarm clock: 07:36. Kirov had not woken up this late since he found himself in a hospital after a brawl. He launched himself out of bed and directly into the shower as he started taking calls on the Holo. While catching up on the calls he had missed, he got out of the shower, brushed his teeth, and threw on some clothes.
"Yes, Stoyan, I know the economy is in the dumpster, it's affecting me as much as you. I'm giving you two more weeks with no interest, then it's five per cent. Ciao." Hanging up the Holo, he walked out of his suite and into the kitchen.
Around the table was Marto, who was making himself a protein shake, Vasko downing an energy drink, with an empty can already next to him, and Krisi slumped over the table with an expression that was a mix of exhaustion, hangover, and death. Marto motioned to a cup filled with his protein shake, to which Kirov paid no attention, getting his coffee cup and turning on the coffee machine. Once his coffee was ready, he sat down at the table, having his first sip,
"I have a few loose ends that I need to sort out before you guys can be on your way." Kirov takes another sip of his coffee, as if to ready himself for a monologue, "First, I'm going to go and have a chat with a higher up at Kang Tao to leverage the BD for Krisi's safety." Krisi does not react to this comment at all, not having made eye contact with Kirov since the previous night, "Marto, I see that you are pretty serious about going to the NUSA, I can arange transport from greece easily, so its lowest on the agenda for now," Marto simply nods and drinks his shake, "As for you Vasko, I have a connection to Netwatch in Serbia, that would love to get their hands on a guy with your skills. That being said, there will always be a job for you here in Sofia. I always need a good netrunner, and we can pay more than a government salary." Vasko looks down, not making eye contact, "No need to make a decision now, think about it and let me know."
The table was silent for a few moments, with neither Marto nor Vasko knowing what to say. Krisi simply got up, poured herself a glass of water and drank.
"Thank you!" Both Vasko and Marto spurted out their words of gratitude at the same time, nearly making Kirov crack a smile. He looked over to Krisi, but as if she was punishing him for the argument they had had the night before, she refused to meet his gaze.
"Well…" Kirov stood up from his chair, having finished his coffee, "With that being said, I'm going to see what's happening at Kang Tao's headquarters, Vasko, have a look at their security and cameras, I'll give you a call when I'm on the way."
"Will do, boss!" Vasko realised as he was saying it, that 'boss' was, and will always be, weird. Kirov paid it no regard and made his way out of the house.
As he drove towards Kang Tao's HQ, He called Vasko on the Holo,
"Vasko, what kind of security should I be expecting?"
"Well, from what I can see on the cameras, the security is tight for sure. Two heavies at the front door, and another four in the main lobby."
"Check a month, and two months ago," Kirov asks, starting to plan how he will make an entry.
"Well, I'm not sure why you would need to see two months ago, but it looks the same as it is now."
"That's good to hear."
"Why is that good?" Vasko asks, and Kirov is starting to get annoyed with his curious nature,
"It's good because it means that I'm not walking into a trap."
"Not sure I understand, could you-"
"Thank you, Vasko. I'll call you if I need anything else." Kirov hung up the Holo and got out of the car, having arrived at the office building.
Walking up to the entrance, Kirov was confronted by the two entrance guards.
"Do you have an appointment?" The security guards take a step, blocking the door.
"Call your supervisor, tell them that I need to speak with your site director." Kirov waits for them to call their supervisor, as they both just start laughing.
"Yeah, sure, we are going to call our supervisor and tell them that someone random needs to speak to them. Take a walk." The guards put their hands on their holsters, clearly showing that Kirov was not going to get by through words alone.
Without a second thought, time slowed down, striking the first guard, knocking him out. The second guard reaches for his pistol only to find it missing from his holster. This was followed by a swift left hook to the liver, which crumpled the guard to the floor. Kirov then walked into the main lobby. He didn't even get to the elevator before being held at gunpoint by the other guards. Putting his hands up as a sign of surrender, they start to move in.
After scanning the room, he sees a Kang Tao executive and shouts out to him,
"You can call the police, but then everyone finds out about that BD that you misplaced!"
"You're very brave, or very stupid." The Executive immediately started to pace toward Kirov, waving away the security.
"Come to my office, now." Kirov obliges as they walk over to the executive's office. They make their way to a luxury office where they sit down.
"I'll keep this brief. I have the BD that you have been looking for. I have also taken care to give a journalist a copy. The BD will never see the light of day as long as Kristina Petrova is left alone. If she gets as much as a paper cut that smells of Chinese chrome, that BD will be broadcast live to all the major news stations in the ECC." Kirov paused his monologue, waiting to see how the executive would respond,
"You seem to know enough about Corpo politics to know that my higher-ups expect results here." The executive sips his drink, and Kirov can recognise it as a mid-tier whiskey.
"That seems like a you problem. If you get fired, I will have this conversation twice, three times, or as many timmes that it takes to get the point across to Kang Tao." Feeling that he had fulfilled his purpose, Kirov stood and turned to exit, but was stopped when the executive stated,
"Ninety-nine out of a hundred times, you don't walk out of this building after a monologue like that." Kirov half turned back to him and simply responded, "And how often does one man clear your entire hit-squad?" Kirov shoots him a glare before opening the door and making his exit.
As he was in the elevator, he called Vasko on the Holo,
"Vasko, how's it looking out there? What should I expect?"
"Umm, no movement out of the ordinary, you're in the clear."
"Good, I was hoping for-" Kirov was interrupted,
"By the way, way to go with the Corpo rat, I've never seen anyone pressure a Corpo like that!" Kirov exhaled deeply,
"Did I ask you to listen in on the meeting?" Silence. "Vasko?" Kirov waited for his response only to hear radio silence on the other end,
"Ugh, Kirov, I'll see you back at the house, I hear Marto calling me-" The Holo ends. Kirov rarely got hung up on, but the smirk on his face showed that maybe he didn't mind too much.