Part 83

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***

The car came to a smooth stop not far from my destination and I quietly exited. After that, I headed towards the nearest alleyway, where I simply activated the cloaking system and under its cover I reached the Claws dojo.

The building was three stories high...

One of the open windows was on the first floor. I evaluated the height and activated the sandi, then I accelerated and after running about a dozen metres I jumped sharply. A couple of subjective seconds of flight and I literally flew into the window, good to calculate the trajectory was not difficult. Touching the wall, I corrected my flight and rolled over to extinguish all speed.

Looking around, I switched off the sandi.

- I'm in.

Letting the girls know I'm already inside the dojo so they know they'll have work to do soon.

- That was fast.

Becca was very surprised, but my runners didn't say anything, remaining silent.

- The window on the first floor was open.

- I see... Where do you want to start?

Judy intervened this time.

- I'll go up to the third floor and start putting splinters in everything I can reach.

- That's a good plan. Tiger's?

- Well... Regina asked for no deaths this time, so we'll try not to die. Although I don't really understand why she's worried about these bandits.

- Right... get back to work, we'll keep you busy.

Kiwi answered me this time, and then there was silence on the communication channel again, after which I switch on the sandi again and move forward along the corridor. This time I didn't care which way I went, since I didn't have a plan of the building. And the girls had found out on the way that there was no way to connect to the building's systems from the outside.

Along the way I looked into the rooms I came across, and if there were laptops or computers in them, I put chips in them.

As I opened another room I noticed a member of the Tiger Claws sitting there, who was clearly dressed in very expensive clothes. So I stunned him carefully, and besides the splinter that went to his personal port, as well as to his laptop, I thoroughly searched the office....

And it wasn't for nothing, I found a couple of chips on which they keep the earnings that don't go through the till. I also found a dozen rolls of cash. It was interesting, but at the same time I did not forget about the main purpose of my work and soon I continued my way.

About half an hour of subjective time, which turned out to be about five minutes of real time and here the first floor was fully explored by me. The stairs to the third floor had been found and the girls were already monitoring the building's security system, so if anyone climbed to the first floor I would know.

Calmly going up to the third floor I quickly searched it and only after that went down to the first floor, which, as I already knew, was a large training hall. And here it would have been considerably more difficult to get through it if it weren't for Sandi. As it was, I just doubled my caution.

It didn't take me long to search the few offices on the ground floor, but it wasn't in my interest to knock out all the claws in training, because there were too many of them and someone would definitely notice me.

Not that I cared....

Though of course I do, since it's my reputation, and if I'm spotted it'll be a bit shaken and I definitely don't want that. So I made the decision to just avoid all the athletes in training. And that's how I got to the basement entrance.

Switching off the sandi I once again froze in the shadows invisible to the others due not only to my location but also to the cloaking systems.

- What is it?

The girls were silent for a couple of seconds, realising what I was asking them, and then Lucy answered me.

- Just a couple of sentients... but they all have a sandi... well, or something else made of chrome that attaches to their backs in the spine area.

- I see...

I sighed.

- How's work going?

- Take your time.

- I'm not rushing you, I'm just clarifying. I realise that you can't work as fast as I can simply because the Sandi Raners never work at Sandi speed, but I need to know what you've been able to do....

- What-what...

Kiwi was clearly grumbling.

- The boss got hacked. He's got a couple of interesting accounts, as well as correspondence that suggests he's being paid by some pretty serious people to fight fake fights. Not corporate, but top gangs.

- They don't give a shit. Accounts zeroed out.

- Copy that. Also started working on those claws you knocked out, and Snowflake's working on the building system, hoping to get something interesting out of it.

- Got it... working on it.

Saying that I activated the sandi again, this time turning the acceleration to a much higher power and only after that I opened the entrance to the basement and went inside... the air became much more viscous, if at the last speed I was plus or minus pleasant to work, but now I really felt the resistance of the surrounding world to my actions.

It felt like I was moving in some viscous substance ...

The suit began to slowly heat up.

I had designed it for high temperatures, but I had underestimated what it would have to endure. I guess I'll have to rework it.

My first opponent didn't notice anything, I just knocked him out by inserting a splinter and immediately moved on.

Step by step I moved along the corridor, but in general none of the new opponents, even though they possessed sandi, obviously not ordinary, judging by the massiveness of at least old military models, could not oppose me. Simply because they still had to activate it, and mine was already active and they did not have time to notice me.

The next door behind which there was a fighter I had to rescue was locked and I had to switch off the sandi.

- Ladies.

- Just a second... yeah... got it... I'll get it... I'll get it now....

Lucy quickly answered my question and after another couple of seconds the door opened with a quiet hiss.

- And who are you?

The voice of the imprisoned guy was tired, but still cheerful.

- Quiet... sent by the fixer to get you out of here.

- Hmm? And who was so generous as to hire the most talked-about rookie solo?

Being called a rookie didn't surprise me, as I'm really considered a rookie since I only started a couple of years ago....

Fuck...

I blinked in surprise.

I've been a mercenary for a couple of years already!

Shaking my head, I pushed those thoughts away and focused on my goal.

- How the hell should I know? The order came through Regina, but it was sort of given to her by one of the other fixers. So...

I shrugged.

- And you're not interested?

The guy cautiously stepped out of the room and looked around respectfully, humming when he saw the monkeys and sandi cut down.

- No...

I shook my head.

- Less you know, less you get in trouble. I'm just a simple solo who gets the job done. Nothing more and nothing less.

- Mm-hmm... and no offence to the newcomer....

- What's the point of taking offence? I really haven't been in this business that long...''

I shrugged.

- Though it depends on how you look at it, not all solos last half a year... so in a way I'm already an old man.

- Yeah...

The guy grinned, but in the meantime we had already reached the stairs that would take us to the ground floor.

- Wait!

There was tension in Lucy Judy's voice, and I made a gesture for the guy to stop, and he obeyed me and stood still.

- What's going on?

- Rauner's checking the building's systems on some kind of closed circuit remote. It's quiet so far, but we're better able to counter him when you're not moving.

- What's happening?

- An enemy Rauner is checking the system.

- И? What do we do?

- Wait...

The guy gave me a hard look, but still shrugged his shoulders and stayed put.

- Scribe, how are the girls doing?

- Tense and working together... apparently someone really experienced is in there with them... So we wait.....

- I'm just worried and I don't want to bother them with questions. So I'm bothering you, you're busy, but you're not in danger now.

- Yeah... but I'm still hoping for a couple more combat missions that I'll be doing.

- I'll ask the fixers about something like that....

Becca snorted in agreement and that was the end of our conversation.

About fifteen minutes of waiting and finally Kiwi's slightly tired voice came through.

- It's okay, you can move out....

- How's it going in there?

- Let's go later... we're all tired as.....

- Roger that, I'm taking the target out of the basement....

And we slowly left the basement, and then I carefully led him through the ground floor, occasionally literally carrying him from place to place using sandi, so that the Claws could not notice him. It was only when we got to the first floor that I breathed a sigh of relief.

- Yeah...

The guy rubbed his slightly flushed skin, as the high speeds had taken their toll on him, even though I was trying to protect him with my body by moving backwards. It was a stupid way of doing it, but I couldn't think of anything better, since injuring the target I had to save was stupid in my opinion.

- This way.

I nodded at the window and picked the guy up and jumped out of the window. I didn't activate the sandi this time, and the guy realised exactly what was happening and swore quietly.

- Fuck, I should have warned you...

- What the fuck for?

I landed softly enough on the ground and immediately put the guy on the ground, then dialled Regina.

- Hello, my all-time favourite fixer...

- Huh?!

- What are you so surprised about, my wallet's delight?

- Ah. Huh.

I could tell from Regina's chuckle that she wasn't offended and even appreciated my humour.

- ...in that respect. Well, I agree, but if you pay too much attention to me, your girlfriends might take offence....

- Huh, don't worry, we'll welcome you into the family.

- Well no... I'm somehow more of a traditional family values with one woman and one man.

I shrugged.

- Well, it's up to you, you just tell me where to take this fighter....

- Did you save him yet?

- Yeah.

- Hmm... I'm sending a car, get the coordinates...

I quickly checked the coordinates and nodded with a grin.

- Thanks, I got it, I'm on my way to my destination.

The connection was broken and I caught the guy by the shoulder as he was about to leave.

- I'm sorry, it's not gonna work.

- So I'm a prisoner? Again?

He looked at me with irritation.

- No... but I have an order to fulfil, and it will only count if I get you to the waiting car.

I was met with an annoyed look in which I could see that he was assessing his chances against me and he was realising with every passing second that he was no match for me. Well, he doesn't hold his own against someone who was able to steal him from the basement of the Claws dojo....

- All right, let's go.

- Don't worry about it...

I shook my head.

- My fixers appreciate me and know that I don't do kidnappings and nullifications. Although a couple of times I had to kidnap people, but they gave me a detailed dossier, which made it clear that people are shit. And nullifications... same story, but even so my fixers don't abuse their knowledge of how to convince me to do that kind of work.

- Calming...

The guy's voice was caustic.

- Yeah I wasn't really trying... I just wanted to say that if they wanted to put you in another basement, they wouldn't have sent me. So...

I shrugged again and we walked out to the road we were walking along, since I didn't want to put him in the car with my girls. No, I didn't doubt them, but the guy could have provoked them with some compliment they might have taken too hard.

In about fifteen minutes we reached the point, and in another ten the car arrived, in which the fighter I had rescued got in....

Just then, a confirmation came from Regina that the order had been completed...