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  The footsteps grew louder as the guard got closer. He noticed a few details, like a soft scuff of the feet across the fabric of the carpet. The guard had a rapid-fire cough, and tried to clear their throat. Time seemed to slow down with each step. The first thing to come around the corner was the barrel of a rifle, followed by hands covered in armored gloves.

  The security guard came into view, the human woman staring straight ahead as she marched forward in measured steps. Her gaze didn’t shift as she continued on her route. Yu stayed in the alcove, remaining out of sight and not wanting to move until he counted out her steps and assumed she must’ve reached the next corner. Only then did he peek out, looking to the end of the hall.

  When he saw it was empty, he didn’t hesitate to leave the alcove and continue on his path toward the only door he could see. Taking time to relish his luck did nothing to help accomplish his goal. If anything, it would hinder it. And this was business.

  Yu picked up his pace, moving as fast as he dared. Years of training had him easing his weight onto each foot and rolling off the ball in a smooth motion. His knees were bent, taking long strides as he ate up the distance to the door.

  When he reached it, he saw it was locked with a maglock. Removing a maglock passkey from his jacket, he swiped it through the lock. The lock turned green, and a solid click let him know his luck continued to hold. Yu opened the door and slipped inside, easing it shut behind him to maintain his stealth.

  “Diu,” he swore.

  The room he found himself in was gigantic. It had to take up at least a quarter of the entire floor. In here were row after row of server racks, fans spinning in a pervasive hum that drowned out all other sounds. Lights flickered from the computers, creating dancing shadows throughout the cavernous space. He couldn’t be sure, but if he had to guess, the cushioned floor underneath him was some part of the cooling system. And possibly the security system.

  The dim lights did not provide an excellent view of his surroundings, but he made out a few cameras mounted up along the seam where the wall met the ceiling. They were in plain view, with no attempt made to hide them. Whoever designed the security for this room wanted to make sure any trespassers knew the trouble they would find themselves in. Some part of his brain wondered how many of the cameras were functional, and how often anyone watched the feed. Was it true security or were the obvious cameras just a plant, hiding the true threat?

 

 

  Yu shook his head, even though his companion couldn’t see the gesture.

  He’d been watching the cameras, and his statement was not simply an attempt to keep the others safe. The limited light would help him slip along the perimeter. Although he’d want to take it slow in case they had motion sensors. But that wasn’t anything he hadn’t dealt with before.

 

 

  Rude was the next one to chime in.

  Yu focused on the situation in front of him, checking on the cameras’ field of view. He inched along the wall, not wanting to go for the first couple of racks, which had a camera centered on them. It took several minutes before he stood across from a rack he felt comfortable approaching.

  Crouching low, his knees ached as he crept toward the computer hardware. The lower his profile, the better his chances of getting away unseen. He had to grip the rack frame for balance and to relieve some of the pressure on his legs. Feeling around with his fingers in the shadows, he found a port he could attach the drive to. He connected it, staying in position as he waited for the device to finish doing its electronic magic.

 

  Before he received a response, the lights on the computer in front of him blinked wildly and some hardware inside it whined in protest. His hand hovered over the drive as he debated whether to jerk it free.

  The lights in the entire room turned on, making Yu wince at the sudden flood of brightness. He snatched the drive free and leaped back to the wall, trying to stay hidden.

  He headed for the door, a bit faster than when he entered the room. Just before he reached it, he heard the maglock slide open and saw the handle turn.

  Yu jumped forward, getting behind the door as it opened. When he saw the barrel of a gun sticking out around the edge, he placed both hands on the door and slammed it on the intruder.

  The door smacked into the corpsec guard on the other side, eliciting a grunt from the woman as she got knocked into the frame of the door. Yu swung around the door and beat the barrel of the gun aside with his wrist as he stepped forward and put his foot on top of the guard’s. Having her pinned in that position, his left hand snaked out, striking the woman in the neck just below her jaw.

  She tucked her shoulder and pulled away from the blow, absorbing some of the shock and turning a debilitating blow into an uncomfortable sparring injury. To her credit, she didn’t try to bring her gun to bear in the close quarters combat. She dropped it, letting it clatter against the floor as she jerked a knife free from an arm holster. She swung the weapon at Yu, forcing him to knock it aside with his regular arm.

  The impact stung up to his shoulder and had little effect on the attack. If he hadn’t twisted to the side, he would’ve gotten stabbed. She had to be chromed up underneath her corpsec uniform. She continued her assault, her arm picking up speed and her series of quick slashes forcing Yu to retreat into the room.

  He couldn’t let the fight continue. She could notify security any second, assuming she hadn’t already. He feigned a stumble, luring the guard into trying a heavy stab. He fell faster, dropping under the strike and grabbing her wrist in his cyberarm as he approached the ground. His fingers tightened, applying more pressure than any normal limb could take. He yanked down at the same time, adding all of his strength to the weight of his falling body.

  The guard lurched forward, unable to support them both from her compromised position. Yu used that moment to swing his legs around and snap his foot into the side of her forward knee. It caved, and she crashed to the ground. Yu rolled out of the way, keeping his hand on her wrist to make sure he didn’t find the knife in his side.

  The guard cried out, the sound making Yu hiss in frustration. He reached out and grabbed her head, picking it up and slamming it into the ground to stun her. As her head rolled from one side to the other, he dragged her back into the server room by her wrist, yanking off her commlink and shortwave radio. If she had body mods, there was nothing he could do to restrain her, at least not on short notice. The best he could do was get distance on her.

  He slammed the door shut, not caring about the noise it created now, and smashed the maglock a couple of times with his fist, hoping it might at least slow her down.

 

 

  The update from Zipfile reinforced Yu’s need to get off the floor with as much speed as he could manage. He sprinted around the corners, following the path he took with unerring accuracy. If he ran into another security force, there was no way he’d get away without a fight. He found himself missing the comforting weight of his handgun. Usually he hated the weapon and saw it as a last resort, but right now he couldn’t think of any better way to describe his situation.

  Seeing the elevat
ors around the next corner made him bust into a full-blown sprint. As he reached the doors, he doubled over and took several breaths as much from exertion as from fear. As he stood there, he realized there was no elevator call button or scanner to request access. The elevator doors stood next to a flat, featureless wall.

 

  He shook his head at his own stupidity. He should’ve checked this when he’d gotten off the elevator in the first place.

 

  Rude chimed in with his standard solution.

 

  Yu took a deep breath and ran down the hall again, heading toward the stairwell as directed by Zipfile. Even if they didn’t have a blueprint of this floor, it wasn’t like stairs could magically change location for one floor alone. The question was what type of security might be on that door.

  “Freeze!” a deep voice shouted from down the hall, right before the heavy rattle of gunfire. Corpsec wasn’t waiting to see if he responded to the command.

  Yu stumbled forward and swerved to the side, skinning his elbow as he slipped rounding a corner to get out of the path of the bullets.

  Judging solely by the tone of voice, this was a new adversary. It didn’t matter if the earlier guard had sent out an alert, this one had had more than enough time to do so. It was only a matter of time before the entire security force would be coming after him. So much for a quick job and getting out before anyone noticed he was there. Now Yu needed to improvise, and do so without endangering his allies. They didn’t have enough information to come in with guns blazing. The risk would be too great. He needed to at least mitigate their risk before calling them in.

  Not to mention he’d never hear the end of it.

  At least the corpsec guard couldn’t keep up with his pace. That additional armor came at a cost, and Yu pressed his advantage as much as he could, sprinting until his lungs burned with each heavy panting breath. He ducked around every corner he came to, making sure his path kept him going in the general direction of the stairwell. He didn’t want to take too meandering of a path because seconds mattered.

  When he reached the door, luck swung once again, this time turning in his favor. The door was locked, but had an emergency release on this side. It seemed like all of those mandated safety regulations had a positive side to them as far as runners were concerned.

  He slammed his shoulder into it, bursting through and rushing to the stairs. As he put his hands on the railing and prepped to jump down to the next landing, he hesitated.

 

 

 

  Logic and fear both said to go down, which meant that would be where they expected him to go. If he couldn’t be picked up on camera, then he might blend in by going upstairs. It might be unconventional, but it also just might work.

  Yu leaped up the stairs, taking four at a time until he had climbed two stories. He stood on the landing, taking short but deep, explosive breaths to calm down. Once he could take normal breaths and didn’t feel new beads of sweat forming along the sides of his face, he opened the door and stepped into the hall beyond.

  A couple of wageslaves in the area looked up from their displays when he stepped out of the stairwell into their cramped office area. They went back to their tasks, continuing to work for their corporate overlords and attempting to keep from falling behind. Yu understood their dedication and fear, having seen it plenty of times in the past with those who worked for the Triads. If they didn’t perform, they would be let go. And if that happened, finding another corporate job would be impossible. Their previous employer would guarantee it.

  Yu kept his eyes pointed forward, putting a slight scowl on his face. Very few people wanted to interrupt a manager who looked irritated and overworked. That was a sure way to get more tasks put in your inbox, and that was the best-case scenario. The entire corporate environment was one of fear, something Yu knew how to manipulate to his advantage.

  As he walked through the floor, he soaked in as many details as he could, looking for eye twitches, nervous ticks, sudden intakes of breath. Anything that might indicate reason for alarm. But it looked like Zipfile’s assumption was correct. The news of his interference had not appeared to reach the employees on this level.

 

 

  Yu lengthened his stride, increasing his pace without looking like he rushed through the aisles. He almost bumped into a dwarf carrying a stack of papers. With a spin, he avoided impact and snarled in Cantonese. The dwarf muttered an apology, backing out of his way even after he passed. The trick was to growl and snap at people dressed worse than you were. Clothes served as a measure of status, provided one knew how to read the subtle language of fashion.

  “—Did you hear about what’s going on?” Yu caught a snippet of conversation as one wageslave leaned over a divider and talked to his neighbor. “I just heard from Shane on 21. He said corpsec’s locking down the entire floor.”

  Yu’s jaw clenched, but he forced himself to keep his steady pace on his way to the elevators. The news spread like wildfire, radiating out from the source in waves. He managed to stay ahead of it, but heard the rumors following behind him. If it had already spread to this floor, it was a safe bet that soon the entire building would hear about it. And once that happened, he imagined it wouldn’t be long before Telestrian saw no reason not to spread his face around as well.

  When he reached the elevator and pressed the button, every ounce of him wanted to fidget. But he tapped into the calm spirit he had learned standing in front of criminal syndicates as a child. It took more than this to rattle his nerves enough for others to see it. His insides may have been jumping around like crazy, but he saw no reason to give that information to any observers.

  The doors opened, and he expected to be staring down an elevator full of corpsec. Instead he saw a few scientists and business officials. Yu nodded briefly in acknowledgment, keeping the scowl on his face and stepping in before jamming the button for the ground floor, even though someone had already pressed it. It helped to maintain his image and discourage others from engaging him in conversation. Everything in life was an act.

  The elevator began dropping, and Yu couldn’t help clenching his fist as they passed the 21st floor, but didn’t slow down. He dared to hope this might work. They stopped a couple of times to let on passengers and let others off, but it wasn’t long before the doors opened onto the ground floor.

  Yu stepped out first, getting ahead of the other travelers. He passed through the security station. The guards had their attention focused outward still, not looking at the people exiting the building. Yu passed through and walked into the largest cluster of people, blending into the crowd and then working toward the exit, avoiding the large open area in the center.

  It took a few minutes, but when he stepped out of the building, his pace was easy and he didn’t feel a need to look over his shoulder. Emu’s vehicle sat next to the curb up at the end of the block. Yu walked over and climbed inside, Emu easing into traffic as soon as the door closed.

  Rude twisted around in his seat, an impressive and uncomfortable feat c
onsidering his size. “I’m impressed, elfy-pants. Thought I was gonna have to go in and save your ass.”

  “I know you find it hard to believe, but I can take care of myself, no matter what Frostburn says sometimes.” Yu smirked, then winced when a flash of pain lanced through his side.

  He reached down and probed it with his fingers, feeling a tear in his clothes along with some wetness. He didn’t need to look at it to know the moisture seeping into his clothes was blood. One of the bullets must have caught him. He assumed his adrenaline kept him from being aware of the injury.

  It was a good thing he wore a dark suit to hide it from the wageslaves. Otherwise, no amount of posturing would’ve gotten him through that floor without incident.

  “Don’t suppose you have a patch? Looks like I’ve gone and found religion.” When Rude furrowed his brow together, Yu brought his fingers around, showing the blood. “You know, because I’m so hole-y?”

  Rude growled and shook his head, the scowl on his face making it seem like he wanted to put more holes in his companion. He fished around in a pouch and grabbed a patch, hurling it at Yu before turning around and facing front.

  Yu grabbed the patch and applied it, the drugs seeping into his system about the same time he became aware of the pain. It dulled the edge of it and kept his mind sharp.

  “So you completed the job. What next?” Emu asked.

  “Next we head back to the safehouse, and I contact the Johnson and let him know the job is done and arrange for final payment.”

  He looked in the rearview mirror, making eye contact with Emu and sharing their unspoken agreement. He knew she had kept his secret about that payment. As much as he didn’t want to share the information, it was a relief to share the burden with someone he trusted.