Chapter 381
We carefully worked our way back through the party and out onto the balcony. Mickey and Lawrence were thankfully both still there and waiting for us. For the briefest moment, the temptation to activate Fear the Reaper and scare him off the balcony feathered through my mind. It’d be so easy to get that objective ticked off—
Where’d that thought come from? The rest of my mind caught up to Blood-thirsty Shiro and beat her back into her cage. Not that I actually felt all that blood-thirsty. It’s just one of those intrusive thoughts, I promise.
Right, this was day one of my new resolution not to kill anyone. From now on, I wouldn’t let a single drop of blood touch my hand. Even if it’d be easier, I’d take the hard path if it meant not killing someone… It was also the suggestion of my counselor, but that was besides the point. Who would’ve thought, but ending the lives of other people was apparently terrible for my mental state.
A stray breeze ruffled my hair and sent it scattering into a mess. It was easy to forget, but the penthouse was insanely high up. A chill settled across the balcony, and made me all the more thankful I had a jacket on over the dress. Not to mention the jacket had all my goodies stashed in it just in case. I had no idea how those freaks could swim around in the balcony pool.
I blew a strand out of my eyes and plastered that cheerful smile back onto my face. l lifted one of the glowing purple shots—wait, which cup was it? I froze midstep and tried to think back—
“Pass him the left one.” Mira thankfully bailed me out with a small, disappointed sigh that I promptly pretended I couldn’t hear.
”Here!” I passed him the left shot and kept the right one for myself. I didn’t like alcohol all that much, but… well, it’d be stranger if I didn’t take a shot, wouldn’t it? This was supposed to be celebrating ‘my’ accomplishment.
”Thank you.” Mickey received the shot and lifted it up for the four of us. “To Saki! May this be the start of your brilliant career.”
”To Saki!” The rest of us answered his call and likewise slammed our shots.
”Ugh—“ The shot burned the back of my throat, and my cheerful smile instantly broke into a sour grimace. It tasted like an explosion in my mouth, and not in a good sense. I thought it’d be sugary, but it was so incredibly bitter that it felt like something biting my tongue.
”Hahaha!” Saint clapped me on the back and put a hand on my shoulder. “My sis is a bit weak to alcohol… If you don’t mind, I’ll go take her to get some water.”
”Go ahead, go ahead.” Mickey waved a hand toward us and carelessly tossed the shot glass off the roof. I watched it disappear over the ledge… What if that landed on somebody? Given how busy the sidewalks usually were, that wasn’t even a small concern.
Saint dragged me away from the duo before I could say something and back into the penthouse. The pounding music made my head throb uncomfortably. “Let me go. I can walk by myself. And I’m not weak to alcohol in the slightest, slag.”
”You sure?” Saint loosened his grip on his shoulder and pulled back slightly.
“‘Course I’m sure. Why wouldn’t I be?” I flicked on Fear the Reaper at a low intensity once more and created a small bubble around us. Laughter and cheer died around us, and people shifted away without knowing why. Now we at least had some breathing space.
”Nothing, nothing…” He side-eyed me and motioned to a corner of the room where we could camp out at. It was secluded, and away from the rest of the party. “You just look a little flushed.”
“Must be from the cold.” I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed. “Luna? How are we looking?”
”Here.” She put up a bright video into my HUD, making me wince slightly. My headache intensified.
”I’ll go get us something to drink.” Saint casually slid away from me and disappeared into the mass of party goers.
I watched him go for a moment, then turned my attention back to the HUD. A Dragonfly hovered just a ways off the balcony. From its eyes, I got a perfect angle of him just talking.
Mira sighed. Her voice pulled with boredom when she spoke, “does anyone know how long until this kind of thing kicks in?”
“It should be soon.” Probably should’ve done a bit more research on the drug. I’d been distracted with the art heist, though. I couldn’t wait to get this part done, so we could move onto that. There was a sculpture worth several million rayn calling my name there.
Saint returned with two cups of water and passed one to me. “It could take a while. We’ll probably see an effect in ten or so minutes.”
“Ugh—“ I settled against the wall and downed the cup of water. We just sat there and watched a revolving door of people go talk to our guy.
Eventually, Mickey started to look a little unfocused. He politely disengaged from the person he was in the middle of a conversation with and headed for a back hall of the penthouse suite. Two Jade Fangs protected it, though they got out of the way for him. Thankfully, they weren’t the elite Kage. Just normal, run of the mill Fang Enforcers.
“Finally.” I pushed off the wall and shook my head. “Are you guys in position?”
”Just waiting for you,” Mira answered. Based on the feeling from the Packheart Rings, they were both up on a Roughrider flying just above the building. Blackout and holographic stealth modules active, ‘course.
“I got the guards. Just get ready for the window.” Saint smirked and slid into the crowd. I lost him almost instantly. Should I expand Fear the Reaper—no. Right now it was enough to be subtle. Anymore, and a runner would likely notice the oddity.
I followed after him and worked my way through the party and toward the hallway on the other side of the apartment. I caught a brief flash of Saint’s face amongst the crowd before the bright lights and dancing mass made him vanish.
“I-I’ve got cams there.” Luna helpfully stayed right with us to ensure we were off any Netrunner’s radar. “Move quick, though.”
”I will, I will.” Saint’s calm voice came across the link. “I’m just looking for the right kind of people.”
Ugh, why did they have the music so loud? I ran a hand across my forehead and tried to focus on the window Saint said he’d make. As per usual, the reporter didn’t disappoint.
Shouts broke out over the music just in front of the two Jade Fang guards. I slunk back against the wall and activated most of my Perks to blend in. Illusive pulled me into the large shadows cast by the bright lights of the party, and I mostly vanished from view.
The shouts quickly blew up into a full on fight, and a beefy man launched out of the crowd toward the enforcers. Just before hitting the ground, he popped up and charged forward with a chrome fist reared back into a brutal haymaker—only to be clocked over the side of the head by a stray bottle.
Lights flashed, and several people screamed at the sudden violence. Drinks spilled, and the unmistakable scent of alcohol became even more apparent. I groaned and rubbed a hand against my head.
The fight surged big enough that the music ground to a halt, and the DJ picked up the mic. “Yo, Mistah Mays planned us some in-party entertainment on the backside. Gather round, I’m takin’ bets. Ten grand on the big un’.”
The timely intervention of the DJ changed the fight from something to scream and flee away from into just another part of the party. The crowd split and circled the fighting group like it was an arena. The shouts quickly shifted to cheers and cries of bets as the party goers gathered around.
The two Jade Fang Enforcers glanced at each other and then pushed away from the hall to go separate the fight. Saint appeared from the crowd and slid through the gap a moment later. I followed right after, and we easily bypassed them into the back hallway of the penthouse suite.
”Which room is he in?” I whispered into the link. Dozens of doors lined the hall, and camera perched in the corner overlooked it. It flashed with a soft blue light. Luna’s touch, no doubt. She was oddly on point when it came to making cosmetic adjustments to the things she hacked into.
”Third one down from you.” Luna easily guided us. Honestly, it was kinda easy to get past everything with a full squad. Why didn’t I try this kind of thing before? Oh, right, because I had no connections… that was changing, though. Maybe I should relook at my art heist a bit more when I got the chance.
The door was locked when I tried it. I pulled out my lockpicking set from my small pures—chek, ‘course I brought it. I also had three knives stashed all over me, a gun in my jacket, and more than a few nasty surprises in case things went south. Although I may be out of my normal gear, that didn’t mean I was defenseless.
Just before I could pick the lock, the door clicked open. Mira appeared on the other side while snacking on a bag of chips. “Sup.”
”Really?” I lifted a brow and pushed past her into the room. “Where’d you even get those?”
”Off his desk.” Mira popped another into her mouth and shut the door after Saint. “Make yourselves at home.”
“I see you already have.” Luna was already getting set up around the knocked out party host. She didn’t directly jack into his neuroports, and instead used her deck as a medium. “How are we looking?”
”This guy’s loaded with ICE.” Luna didn’t even look up. She paused for the briefest of moments to pull a jack from her wrist and plug it into the deck, though continued typing right after. “J-just give me a few minutes.”
“You have all the time in the world.” I sat down behind a desk and kicked my feet up onto it. The far window onto a private balcony was open, and a freezing chill blew through the room. Just like I planned, they used a Roughrider to drop down onto the balcony, and then Luna got in by hacking the sliding door’s controls.
I pulled my legs off and leaned forward to try the drawers—locked. Nothing I couldn’t handle. I hadn’t gotten to use them on the bedroom door, but my lock picks were just as good here.
I pulled out a bundle of files and looked through them briefly. They were about as I expected from someone like Mickey. Similarly, the small baggies of white underneath the files were also something I expected from him. There was no way a party-fiend like Mickey wasn’t on at least some kind of drug.
I picked one of the white baggies and set it down on the table. “Huh…”
”What?” Mira froze mid-chip and glanced at me.
”No, nothing… It’s probably nothing.” I shook my head and leaned back in the chair with my feet kicked up once more.
“What are you digging around in there for, anyway?” Mira nodded to me. “I thought the plan was to leave everything untouched like we were never here.”
“Say that while not dropping crumbs all over the carpet.” I shot her a look and clasped my hands behind my head. “I was hoping he’d just have the deeds in here. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
”With your luck? Never in a million years.” Mira snickered and held out the chips toward me. “Want some?”
“Not really.” I grabbed a handful and nibbled at the chips. I should’ve brought Ligh around. If that guy was here, not only would I find all the deeds, I’d find the guy’s will, bank account password, and everything else I’d need to steal his identity.
I settled back into the chair and watched Luna blitz away on her deck. Not much more we could do but wait for her to work her magic.
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AN: I’m writing another book on SH called Myth//OS. It’s up to chapter 60 something if anyone’s interested. https://www.NovelFire.com/series/1690091/mythos/