"You still sure about this. We can—" Nat asked for what felt like the 50th time.
Reaching up, I covered her mouth, rolling my eyes as I felt her lick it. But she wouldn’t out ich me, I was a boy. "Yes I'm fine. Let's do this."
We were at the car park, setting up. We'd arrived a day early but with no water at home it really wasn’t any more comfortable there than it was here.
Or so I tried to convince myself. It was a lie. It was much worse in the car park. Even the coffee shop across the way, where we spend much of the day in, wasn’t great. Although it had toilets so that was a big plus. Even the hot chocolate couldn’t help.
The first night was the worst. Every noise woke us, each of us reaching for our guns. Even with one of us was awake at all times, gun ready. It was cold as well. The girls' hands were the worst. Which they seemed to think my back or neck was a perfect place to warm them up.
Bullies.
I had my revenge when I farted. It still brought a smile to my face remembering their faces. The chems I was on did not agree with me so it truly was a foul fart. I was so proud.
Daryl had done us a solid and agreed to drive the containers for us and drove 2 flatbeds over and parked up on the second floor of the 4-level multi-storey. Each truck had enough room to carry the 4 containers. He even did us a favour and gave us and our supplies a lift over. Something I hadn't been looking forward to.
We were kitted for war, with everything we could think of, from the trackers and scanners to guns and explosives. We would be all set. Thankfully, Kate had a thought for where we would be waiting and we brought a load of old clothes and bedding. Enough to camp out for the night.
With Daryl's help we set up a tarp over the lorry to hide us. We tried to get a small turret but that went out the window. I shook my head in disgust, a fucking rip-off was what it was. It made me glad we were klepping the rest.
We covered ourselves so we wouldn’t get moved on by badges or cylons, like we saw happen to a group of homeless people. Not the druggy kind judging by their clothes, I actually thought they had work. Or at least they bribed the badges when they pulled up in their police car.
Thomas arrived precisely on time in their lorry. It was similar to the flatbeds, but twice as long, with a heavily armoured cabin.
Stupid borgs. I stared jealously at them as they hopped out in t-shirts, seemingly completely immune to the cold. By Jess growl next to me, I wasn’t the only one.
"See you are all set up." He said, walking up to us, his team spreading out behind him.
"Glad you made it. This here is Jess and Nat." I said, moving over to shake their hands. I could feel the hard, unforgiving metal of his cyberware through my gloves.
He nodded at them and pointed over his shoulder. "Nico our driver, the best in the business, and Reece, our heavy."
Best in the biz? Please, from our research they were mid-tier at best. Competent but not top tier, that’s for sure. That went for the entire crew; we wouldn’t be able to afford them if they weren't.
At least the heavy looked the part, carrying the very heavy machine gun like it was a toy. I could almost feel the desire in Nat. She might not be as vocal as Jess, but she wanted to chrome up just as much. Although she wanted cyberarms to use heavy weapons unlike Jess who wanted mantis blades.
"Ready to wait a few days?" I asked.
"Yep, we've got our supplies. You fully prepped?"
"We are all ready to go, just waiting for the signal."
"Your scouts in place?"
"Yeah we have a yogang watching them."
"Yogang?"
"Yeah, they are trustworthy."
He grunted but nodded. "The tolls paid?"
"Yep, the Firm have been paid off." They weren't the only ones. Kate had managed to book safe passage through the entire Labyrinth, right up to our home. We didn’t have enough originally, but selling Pete's had given us just enough of an injection to get us there.
We kept an eye on them through a small gap in the tarps as they got out their tents and set them up on the back of their lorry. Apart from some hot drinks, you would not have known by looking at them there was a thick frost on the ground and in the shade would stay there all day.
Lucky bastards.
Just a few more years and then I could lower my restrictions for chrome. Maybe even sooner if we were doing well for eddies. I would still make sure they were careful and not chip in too fast. I couldn’t risk losing them like that.
---
I suppressed a shiver and burrowed deeper into the blankets around me when my agent beeped. Sighing, very tempted to ignore it, but I knew how important it was so got up anyway. Much to the grumbling of the others. I hurried over to my bag and grabbed the suppressant, taking a quick puff.
I only had a couple more days of the treatment left. Thank god. But it was never a question of completing the full prescription. I had seen the results of those who didn’t take them; the results were rarely good.
Bruuurr.
Frigid wind cut through me, blowing in through the gaps in the lorry canvas, and sent me into a full shiver. With a short run up, I dived back into the pile.
The first warm bit of flesh was used to warm my hands. It was Nats. "Cold hands. Cold hands. Aden!"
"Sorry." I said, completely repellent.
I shifted a few limbs to get comfortable and once more was in the tangle of limbs that were my sisters, each of them as well wrapped as me.
How was it even this cold?
I’d never been this cold; it was like sharp needles stabbing into any bare skin. The tunnels were so much nicer. I dreamed of our new home with is complete wind proof walls. Even by midafternoon, there was still a thick freezing fog hovering over the city.
A few minutes back in the warmth of the snuggle puddle, I stopped shivering and could relax. I wanted to hide back in the coffee shop, but Nat had rightly pointed out that if they tracked us down, they might connect us to those in the cameras.
"Movement." Kate hissed, her eyes glowing gold.
The others and I sat up, staring at her intently. Waiting.
"We have large-scale movement from the Los No Muertos. They are moving out in force."
"Enough for this to be the real thing?"
"I think so. Give me a mo."
I hoped so. I would be gutted if it was a false alarm. I was very done with sitting in the freezing cold. At least the basements now done. We even had a bathroom. I thought it looked a bit tatty, but it was what we could klep easily.
"Yes this is it. They are moving north on the main road to the port."
"Yay!" Jess shouted, springing up and dancing, only to shiver and dive back under the covers.
I hissed as her hands found the back of my neck. Bitch, she did that on purpose. Before I could get revenge, Nat stood. "So we prepare?"
"Yeah. Kate let Daryl know and get him here. Everyone else get dressed and ready. Is there an ETA?"
"Several hours at least."
"So it will be dark by then. Good." I stood and poked my head out of the flap and waved at Thomas. "It's on." I called.
There was instant movement as the four of them hopped to action, throwing their tents to the side and strapping on gear.
"ETA?" Thomas said.
"Hours. But we move out nearer when we are ready."
"Got it."
Nodding to him, I ducked back inside and threw on my gear. It was the same dark clothes, but not pitch black, as I noticed Thomas and his crew wore. I wondered if they knew it actually stood out more?
Ours were closer to dark greys or browns. With several layers on, I strapped my kevlar chest plate on. The clothes already had some light armour, but I felt more secure when we all had the proper armour on. It would be able to stop even rifle fire.
I was sorely missing a helmet here, but we slotted on a breathing mask and balaclava with glasses. I was sure we looked silly but it would protect our identities, which was all that mattered for now.
Over this I pulled on my harnesses for gadgets and guns, before shrugging on my backpack. By the time I was done, the others were mostly ready as well, with Jess just helping Kate with her last few items.
"Ready?" I asked?
""Ready""
"You bet ya."
"Okay Nat, Jess throw our stuff into the van cabin and then we can hit the road."
With the vans locked up, we hopped up onto the back of the lorry with Thomas, Rowan and Reece. They had some canvas to cover us and it was just as well. Even with no police in the area, we would have raised some eyebrows with our kit. Something people might remember, rather than one of dozens of lorries passing through.
The freezing wind whipped past us as the lorry drove up the main road, passing the quay and then turning off and reversing into a small alley.
I kept expecting to hear a crunch as he hit the wall but he got us tucked away. He might have been average, but he could drive. I would definitely have needed the walls to guide me in.
We were a few 100 metres from our entry point with a good view of it. So it was just waiting.
I suppressed another shiver. Fuck its cold. And now I was wet and cold.
The freezing fog had covered us in a thin layer of water and I was not a fan. Unable to take it, I hopped up and started to pace along the black of the lorry to warm up. The others soon joined me. Once more I looked enviously at the chromed-up gonks sitting there without a care in the world.
Bastards.
I checked my agent. 7:41. 'Aden: Kate?'
'No idea.' She messaged back, looking stressed. 'The yogang broke off after a few blocks. They should pass the next group any second.' Her eyes flashed. "In fact… yes! They are 10 minutes out." She said.
"South? And is Daryl in position?"
"Yep for both." She said, the golden glow from her eyes vanishing.
"Okay, let's move. Nat…" I squeezed her shoulder as I walked past. This was her show; she was the best of us at this.
"Thomas, they are 10 minutes out. We are starting and will signal you."
"Got it. Lock and load everyone!" He shouted, climbing to his feet, grabbing the Igram Mac 14. A heavy sub that had seen better days. I wouldn’t want to be in his line of fire; it was already an inaccurate weapon even without the dings and damage to it.
But it was loud and flashy.
I hated it.
But nothing I could do about it, it was just another mark against them. Ones that had been piling up.
We hopped off the truck and jogged down the thankfully empty street to the fences. My cybereyes automatically adjusting to the lower light levels. When we were near, I dropped into the ditch running in front of the fences. I ignored the icy cold water seeping into my clothes and boots, and with Kate's help, connected to my deck.
Diving into the net, rezing my ICE as I ran for the fortress.
Nothing had changed and I slipped into the fortress with ease. Thank fuck the internals hadn't moved, so I knew where to go. Some fortresses could do that, so each time you left, you would need to find your way once more.
I paused only long enough for [Smokescreen] to fill the nearby corridors and set off for the cameras, quickly taking control and looping them near our target.
"Cameras under control. Jess go." I said. With my main target sorted, I moved on to my secondary ones, like taking control over cameras and sensors inside the dock. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do much for the gate cameras but I poked my head in to make sure.
And sure enough, fuck that.
Same with the gate controls. I had been tempted to try to open them for the ganger to cause more chaos but that was out. I did take control of the searchlight, switching them off in both gates. Hopefully distracting them slightly.
With nothing else possible in the net, I turned my attention to the cameras and moved towards Nat and Jess. Both were already cutting through the electrified fence. Cutting it would have set off dozens of alarms already if I hadn't disabled them.
It was still electrified, the buzzing making my skin crawl.
They both wore heavy gloves while they worked, snipping a large hole in both fences.
It wouldn’t let the lorry pass completely through, but Thomas's team only needed to cut the top if they got trapped. They assured me they wouldn’t, but it was a worry.
I reached them just as they were through.
"Jess, the bag." Nat said, holding out her hand.
"Here." Jess said, jogging over to the wall and turning to allow Nat to access it.
I should be searching for other things, but I couldn’t help myself watch Nat carefully pull the thermite charges from the bag and stick them to the wall. It was 4 in total.
Complete overkill apparently.
Nat assured me it would take one or at most 2 to get through and she would know, she made the fucking things. Or at least constructed it.
"Set. Aden, Kate, boost us over."
"Any sign of them yet?"
"No, but any minute." Kate said, although she was starting to doubt herself. She kept glancing south as if hoping for any sign of them.
Kate and I linked hands and boosted Jess and Nat up high enough for them to scramble over one after the other. Jess more elegantly than Nat, not that I would ever say that. Now they were on the other side there was no going back and so Kate and I moved far away from the explosives. I wanted no accidents with them.
I watched through the cameras as the girls set the second charges and then backed up.
'Nat: In position.' Nat reported once they were bunkered down.
My heart hammered away. Where were they? The anticipation was killing me. I finally understood what Avery and Daniel meant.
How long could it take to walk the last few metres?
"Kate?" Jess asked
"Any—" A screech cut her off as a rocket broke the night's silence. With the night sky illuminated by a fireball.
Holy fuck. They have fucking rockets? That is far more heat than I expected.
I twisted the cameras I had control of and could see the smoking wreckage of the gate.
Gunfire erupted through the night as the turrets and security opened fire on the Los No Muertos. It was like kicking an ant hill with security pouring out towards the gate and most importantly, away from us.
I could just make out shouting and whooping, then the gangers poured through the still-burning gate. The turrets had opened up, cutting through the charging gangers, but they didn’t care, shrugging off their fellows' gangoons dying.
Another screech and explosion, with one of the fortified towers containing a turret lit up, destroyed. I would need to find out why they were hitting so hard. I mean, it was good for us; it should distract all attention from us, even investigations.
"Go." Nat said.
"Signal sent to Thomas." Kate said.
Her slim body trembling with anticipation as I pulled her close to shield her from the blast.
"3, 2, 1." Nat said, her normally calm voice tinted with excitement.
The little pyromaniac.
From the alley, the truck roared to life as the charges went off.
I remembered just at the last minute to keep my mouth open as the shock wave passed us. My ears were ringing, but fuck was that ace. Successful, too. Through the cameras, I saw the smoking holes in the 2 walls. I just hoped it was enough for the lorry.
"You okay?" I asked Kate, who gave me a grin and a thumbs-up. I said over radio.
I said as we jogged to the hole.
"Nice." I paused to admire our handywork. The blasts had done their job, blasting a clear hole in each of the walls. Twisted rebar stuck from the walls and rubble littered the floor.
The arriving lorry hurtled through the outer fences and passed over the walls. It was bumpy, but it cleared the first wall. The second however, was not so clean. The lorry shuddered to a halt before it, clearly not fitting.
I lifted Kate onto the back and joined her, my question on how they were going to get through dying on my tongue. Rowan and Reece leapt up, tearing huge chunks of concrete from the wall, widening it. In minutes the gap was wide enough and the lorry pulled forward once more.
"Steady." I said, catching Kate as she wobbled.
Nat jumped and heaved herself up to join us, as the lorry trundled past the second wall.
"I would say the distraction is working." Nat said, smirking.
"You could say that." Kate said, laughing with her as the fighting intensified. We could see the glow of the fires on the far side of the port now.
That was an understatement. Through the cameras I watched the gangers still pouring through. Far more than I had been expecting. There must have been hundreds as part of the attack.
As the truck hit the tarmacked road, it accelerated, engine roaring as it did. We shot past warehouses, empty containers and several bodies of water until we turned off the main road into a sea of containers. Ahead, we more dark warehouses loomed, a stream separating them from us. Private warehouses and even now, with all the commotion, I could see the private security for them still there.
The container shipyard was a maze with the containers stacked high above us and a narrow dirt road between.
We reached our crates, Jess having already marked two and we jumped down as the truck slid to a stop.
Another screech of a rocket came from the gate.
"Reece, to your position. Rowan, help me. Nico, keep the engine running." Thomas said in a tight voice.
Nat was already moving to her overwatch point high up in the containers, where it gave her a clear line of sight of everything. "Aden stay on the cameras. Kate, cover him." Nat said.
"Copy." I said, as I ducked into a corner out of the way and focused on the cameras. I could feel Kate a few paces away, her sub drawn.
Pulling up all the cameras I had available, I searched for any threats. One was kept pointed at the chaos of the gate. There was still intense fighting, with the private security having been forced back and regrouped with reinforcements, but were still not able to hold the Los No Muertos.
I could just make out better geared and chipped ganger stomping through the gate. The firm elites were there.
They were no more disciplined but they were far better equipped and they cut through the resistance. Pushing the security back once more, but not without casualties.
Dozens of gangers and a handful of elites gave their lives for the ground.
How there were still new gangoons arriving was a mystery. How long had they been planning this attack? And more importantly, what in the ever living fuck were their objectives? They had to know the corpos would retaliate… brutally. It wouldn’t be just them caught in the crossfire.
There was nothing on the other cameras. Just Thomas and Rowan wrestling the containers into place. Two were already secure and the third was dropped into place. Their cyberware must be intense. They moved the containers with just the 2 of them. Not just moved them, but handled them, levering them onto the lorry with relative ease.
Reece was at another vantage point providing overwatch, holding a gun I was pretty sure would break my hands to fire. Might be worth it; it was an ace weapon.
One day I promised myself.
I wasn’t the only one. Nat had given it many looks, so we would need to get one for her at least. She needed the chrome first. Just a few more years.
A shadow moved and I focused on it until I realised it was Jess. She had already finished marking, tracking and scanning our containers and was moving to her sentry point.
The 4th crate was lowered with a thump and tied off when I saw movement.
I whispered into the radios.
We agreed ahead of time our entry point would be 6 o'clock for ease. I would have preferred a better way to mark them as it wasn’t good enough to my liking, just giving them a general area and that was only with help from their agents.
Future problems.
Reece said in a surprisingly weedy voice.
The 3 security, all in heavy armour and with assault rifles, moved confidently between the containers. They were on alert, but then how could they not be with the fighting south of us? They cleaned each alley as they moved, steadily getting closer.
From the angle Nat would have a clear line of fire on them first, with Jess in the wrong place to have an angle. But Nat could wait a bit for them to reach Reece's range as well, although not much longer, otherwise they would sight the truck.
Reece's heavy machine gun erupted, cutting down the security just as they stepped out. Nat a few seconds behind him. She fired a control burst, killing her target instantly, while Reece could be generously called spray and pray, saturating the area with 50.cal rounds.
He had also fired early. Which I was sure Nat was exceedingly happy about… not. If he was one of us or we planned to go on another gig with them, I was sure she would chew him out in the debriefing.
Nat said, her voice cool and calm. None of the irritation I was sure she was feeling showed.
Jess bounced down from her perch and sculked to the downed men. Nearing them, she slowed and approached carefully in case they were alive, unlikely with the number of holes in them. But still…
I made sure to keep an eye on the surroundings, but spotted no one else, while Jess stripped the bodies of valuables.
Thomas called. <30 seconds.>
We all replied
No one else was on the cameras, so I carefully disconnected from the net, turning the cameras off entirely and scrubbing my presence from it as much as possible. Then I followed Kate to the truck, arriving first although Jess wasn’t far behind and we hopped up onto the back of the lorry, just behind the cabin.
Cigarette smoke wafted out from the driver as he flicked another cigarette but onto the floor by his door, to join the dozens already there.
Sloppy. To leave a trail like that. But nothing to do with me. If Jess or any of the others had done that…
Well, if I caught them smoking at all, let alone drugs, I would have chewed them out. Jess would know and had never done it again. Nor had the dealer ever sold again.
Once we went our separate ways the crew would have no connections to us, unless they went through the fixer and if the corpos got the fixer, they would have far bigger fish to fry.
Nat came in at a light jog, dropping off the containers into a roll and climbed up next to us as the last crate was secured. The canvas that hid us on the way was thrown over the containers and strapped down. Reece lumbered over, dropping onto the top crate, the lorry rocking as he did.
"Okay, crate secured. Nico, get us out of here."
"Got it boss." He said, slamming the lorry into reverse and hurried to the wall. Or at least as hurried as a lorry with 5 heavy containers could anyway.
---
We blew past the wall and hit the outside roads heading for the main road back to the carparks. I didn’t allow myself to relax yet. We needed to drive past the docks along the main road. Hopefully to throw off anyone trying to track us.
The fighting was still ongoing, with fires burning across the south of the docks. Another explosion blooming in the distance, but then we were past it and the port was behind us.
It was only as the port faded away into the distance did I remember how fucking cold I was.
Fuck I was soaked to my boxers. I hated getting wet boxers.
I shook my head. We weren't home free yet. One last hurdle, the exchange and then we were done.
---
My heart thundered in my chest as we pulled into the car park. I exchanged a look with the others and they shifted, preparing.
As the car park came into view, my agent pinged as Kate messaged on our group chat. 'Kate: Daryl is there and waiting with a few of his men. There is no one else waiting for us and they are ready to back us up if they need to.'
'Good.’ Nat replied, still in gig mode.
I unclenched slightly, knowing that. Jess didn’t think they would double-cross us and I trusted her judgment. She could read gonks better than me. They also didn’t know what was in the other containers, reducing temptation.
The lorry's brakes squeaked as it pulled to a stop in front of our flatbeds and we hopped out.
"Daryl. Glad you could make it. Let's get the container offloaded." I called out. I could see the tension in Thomas and his team, as well as in Daryl.
We worked quickly and quietly, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife as the first, then second and third containers were moved. With the final container ratcheted down into our flatbeds, a sheet thrown over the top, the room relaxed.
We all backed up from Thomas's lorry.
"Thank you. Gigs over." Kate said to Thomas.
He nodded, his jaw tight. "That was a hell of a distraction?"
"A bit more than I planned for, but they will be looking at them for our theft. Just stay clear of the area for a bit, especially New Cross and you will be fine."
He grunted, almost said something else before shrugging. "Thanks for the container. Call us if you ever need movers again." He said as he turned and hopped back into the lorry which quickly drove out into the night, heading further east.
"He's gone." Jess said, having watched them leave from the window.
I released a small sigh of relief.
Thank fuck nothing went down.
"Okay, let's move." Nat said.
"You have the routes?" Kate asked Daryl.
"Yeah, Ben and I know the way." Daryl said already climbing into the driver's seat for the lead truck.
Each of us hopped into a truck. I ended up next to Daryl. Sitting down in the padded seat, I nodded to him. "Thanks for the help." I said, sighing as the heating came on. I desperately tried to warm my hands on them; they looked blue and I was no expert but was pretty sure that wasn’t good.
"No skin of my back, you're paying us." He grunted, focused on the road.
They deserved every penny of it and the bonus I was planning to give them. Well that combined with hush money. I wanted no one to know about our place and the fortress we had turned it into.
Beside me, Kate's eyes flashed gold. She saw me looking at her questioningly. "Just sent a positive review back to the fixer. I will send a more comprehensive one later.
"Good. On that…" Conscious of where I was, I switched over to agent. 'Aden: Actually, what was up with the Los No Muertos? That was serious heat?'
'Jess: Yeah, that was hella intense.'
'Kate: I don’t know.' Kate messaged, chewing her lips. 'I sent a few feelers out but I won't hear back for a few days.'
The convoy of two trucks trundled down the multi-story and instead of following Thomas and his team out into the night, kept going, pulling up to a heavy metal shutter.
When we reached it, Kate sent our credentials and it slowly started to open in fits and bursts of jerky motion. Several gangers poked their heads out, all of them heavily armed and alert. Elite gang members rather than the gonks we normally dealt with. They looked us over and checked their systems. The leader's single cybereye flashed blue. I fingered my pistol just in case.
They didn’t know what we were shipping so we should be okay.
But…
It was unneeded. We were waved through and the shutters closed behind us. The two trucks gently drove down the ramp to the IM far below the city of London.
---