In cyberspace, Lucy faces the Arasaka system ICE. Her eyes lose focus for a moment. Even after deciding to take the job, standing before Arasaka ICE again makes hesitation rise. If she fails and they notice, what comes next?
"Lucy?"
Rocky's voice in her ear pulls her back.
"I—"
"Lucy, you can do it. Do it boldly. I'll back you the whole way."
The steady warmth in his tone stuns her for a beat. She grits her teeth and nods to herself.
Yes. I can do it. Lucy, you can do it.
"Thank you, L."
She dives on the ICE.
Besides Rocky, Jackie lifts an eyebrow. He can tell this is not simple, but says nothing. He has known Rocky long enough to see the difference. Rocky never coddles netrunners on jobs. Now he is encouraging one, and the voice even sounds gentle.
Jackie pats Rocky's shoulder, grins, and gives a thumbs-up. Rocky rolls his eyes.
Breaking Arasaka ICE is not easy. They do not need the entire Konpeki Plaza network, though—only the target suite. Rocky's room sits on the same subnet as the target. Lucy only needs to skirt a few small ICE nodes to reach it. With her talent and knowledge of Arasaka systems, she lands the access she wants in under half an hour.
"Linked to the target network. I'll mirror the room's probe feed to your optics."
The visual pops into Rocky's and Jackie's artificial eyes.
"Good. Thanks, Lucy. Two targets in the room, no additional security."
Trusting Konpeki Plaza's safety, the marks did not bring escorts. Rocky commits the layout and positions.
"On you, Jackie."
He lifts two suppressed pistols from his left palm storage, hands one over, and signals the start.
"Wait," Lucy says over comms. "I'll open the target door and then blind the probe. If nothing goes wrong, I can buy you ten seconds. If the probe drops for more than ten, the system auto-alarms and pings the main-net hacker. I must remove the blind within ten. After that, it's luck. Finish fast and evacuate. I can't control the whole Konpeki network. This is my limit without a military-grade kit."
"Lucy, you said 'if nothing goes wrong.' What if it does?" Jackie asks while he racks the slide and holsters.
"In the Konpeki network control room, a hacker monitors the grid. Normally, a momentary probe drop won't draw his attention. If something unusual happens, or he happens to be patrolling that room, you'll be evacuating under alarm. The odds are very low, so don't stress."
"In that case, no accidents. Let's go, L. Give them a big one," Jackie says, smiling. Risk like this is everyday work.
Rocky still frowns. Bad feeling. Jackie claps his shoulder: time to move. Rocky leaves the worry unspoken. They are here; hesitation is pointless. If the alarm trips, they push through.
They step to the target door, hands hovering near hidden guns.
"We're ready. Go, Lucy."
"Remember. Ten seconds," Lucy says again.
"Two seconds is enough. We're professionals," Rocky answers.
The instant Lucy's countdown ends, the door unlocks.
Rocky and Jackie burst in and closed the door behind them to block the hall view. One second gone. They split lanes and fire. Two rounds, two skulls, two bodies drop before either mark registers the change. Second second gone. Just as promised.
They turn to leave.
The door panel flips to forced lock, its status light flashing red. The room alarm howls.
An accident, anyway.
Or not an accident at all. Maybe the hacker was already watching this room.
They are trapped. Konpeki security will be here soon.
"Lucy!" Rocky snaps.
"I lost control of the room network. An Arasaka hacker spotted us and took it over," Lucy says, tight with urgency.
"Damn it." Rocky drives a fist into the door. It does not budge.
"L, what now?" Jackie asks, calm but focused.
"First, we find a way out. Lucy, you're in danger. Exit cyberspace now and cut our link."
He cannot help her in net combat from here. He needs her safe.
"But you two—" She wants to pull out, but leaving them without hacker support in Konpeki feels wrong.
"Don't worry about us. We can get out."
A fourth voice slides into their channel.
"Trying to escape?"
The Konpeki Plaza hacker has entered their comms.