Heywood, The Glen
Rocky walks into El Coyote Cojo. Night packs the place full. Some drink to forget, some negotiate jobs, fixers and mercs ride the bar's hum.
He crosses the floor and stops at the counter. Pepe, the bearded bartender, glances up.
"Hey, L. Long time. What are you having?"
"The usual. I'm here to see Jackie."
"Head up. I'll send your drink."
"Thanks."
Rocky takes the stairs to the private room he booked with Jackie. He pushes the door open. Jackie sits with boots on the table, nursing a glass. Black leather jacket over a broad frame. Short dark hair, a small knot tied back. Gold chains and earrings catch the light and say Valentinos before he opens his mouth.
"Jackie."
"L, you're here. Sit." Jackie hands him a shard. "Commission info. Take a look."
Rocky slots it. The data opens.
"Vista del Rey. Small Scav den?"
"Yeah. Valentinos ran into 6th Street. Bodies on both sides. One of ours had high-value cyberware. Scavs lifted the corpse and the chrome with it." Jackie's voice hardens. "We get the cyberware back."
The shard pegs the Scav crew at four or five tops. Risk reads low.
"Just the two of us?"
"No. Padre linked a netrunner. Temporary, name's Helaus. New, but sometimes a netrunner makes it easy."
"When do we move?"
"Finish this drink and we roll."
A server drops the glasses on cue. Rocky takes one and clinks with Jackie. They leave the bar and ride for Vista del Rey.
Downstairs at an apartment block.
They park the bikes. The remote netrunner links into their subnet extension.
"Their nest is Unit 607 on the sixth floor. I marked it on your map." A young voice comes through comms.
"Copy."
Rocky checks the marker, pulls a pistol from the waistband, and gets to work.
They take the elevator up, step to the Scav door, and hold.
"Give me a second. I'm hacking their network."
Through their subnet bridge, Helaus can provide remote intrusion.
"No cameras inside, so no eyes. I'm in through their router instead. Total headcount is four. When you enter, you'll face an operating room. It's active. Three Scavs inside.
"The last Scav is in a room farther in. I marked positions on your map. Get ready to breach."
A moment later, Helaus finishes and confirms.
Rocky watches the structural overlay and the highlighted targets. Jackie grins. "Good work, hermano. With you on the wire, this is a cakewalk."
Helaus sounds a little shy. "Basics, really. I'm still rough."
"I can tell," Rocky says, flat.
"L, cut the kid some slack. It's fine, Helaus. We all started somewhere. You made this run smoother. We'll watch your back, right L?" Jackie nudges Rocky for the answer.
Rocky nods once. He points. Jackie nods back. They post up left and right of the door.
"Go."
Seconds later, Helaus pushes the crack to the door controller. The lock drops. The door slides open.
Two Scavs stand over a table, cutting a body. On the sofa, a third Scav sleeps.
The two working Scavs jolt for their guns. Too slow. Their weapons sit a meter away. The guard is still dreaming.
Small den, sloppy crew. The end wrote itself when the door opened.
Left and right, Rocky and Jackie pour rounds into two skulls. Impact punches through bone. Both drop where they stand.
The sleeper startles awake at the shots and sits into a fist. Cold metal swells in his view. Rocky puts him down with one punch.
Rocky raises his pistol to finish the job.
The inner door swings open from the far room.
A heavy Scav shoulders a machine gun and rips a stream across the entrance.
The air fills with metal. Rocky and Jackie dive for cover. Bullets chew the room.
Rocky had stayed wary. He makes it behind cover before most of the burst hits, but a round grazes his right shoulder. It burns and spikes his temper.
"Motherloving Scavs brought a big toy. L, you good?" Jackie yells from behind a counter.
The fire does not let up. The barrage pins them down.
"I'm good."
"Helaus, lock him down," Jackie orders.
"Uploading ocular reboot Quickhack. Almost ready."
Helaus gets to it and starts intruding on the Scav's link.