Leo couldn't spare any attention for Rebecca's protests; once he slipped into mission mode, his focus narrowed to a single objective.
"Stay close behind me. Hug the wall."
He had noticed earlier that the base of the wall, right at the corner, happened to be a blind spot for enemy sentries. Unfortunately, a phone rang at precisely the wrong moment.
In 2077, besides regular cellphones, people also used built-in communicators or AR glasses—or, in Leo's case, tactical goggles. The ringing was private, audible only to the wearer. Still, this wasn't the best time to take a call.
"Hold on," he whispered. "Let me answer this."
Behind him, Lucy jabbed a finger into his side and murmured, "I know. It's me calling."
Leo paused. "…"
He shot Lucy an exasperated glare, but she only responded with a bright, courteous smile. After a brief hesitation, he decided not to hang up. The holo-call worked just like a team voice channel—he could speak without making a sound.
"You realize we're in the middle of sneaking in, right?"
"Of course. That's why I'm using the call instead of talking to you out loud."
"Then why not just speak on the team comms?"
"Because I don't want Rebecca to hear us."
Leo felt a giant question mark forming in his mind. "When I'm confused, it's not because I have a problem; it's because I think you do."
Lucy gave a soft laugh, then continued on as if he hadn't spoken. "You wouldn't let Rebecca come along— not because you're worried her hotheadedness would ruin our infiltration, but because you're afraid that if the mission fails, she could get hurt. Right? She has fewer cybernetic upgrades than we do. Even her kinetic shotgun has to be an M2038 Tactician, which is lighter, with less recoil. Plus, she's not wearing our custom bulletproof combat suits.
"You could have told her that plainly, but you chose some roundabout approach. Why? Did you guess that if you voiced your concern directly, she'd refuse to accept it and blow a fuse? Or was it just coincidence?"
She let out a string of silvery laughter. "Has anyone ever told you that your personality can be kinda cute?"
Leo kept his face blank. "Has anyone ever told you beauty lies in the eye of the beholder?"
Though they kept talking, their steps never slowed. Pressing to the wall for cover, they reached the rear of the sprawling compound. About thirty meters beyond stood a collapsed ruin—likely an abandoned building that had toppled ages ago. Using his tactical goggles, Leo watched carefully for the sentrie's blind spot during shift change, then waved Lucy forward. They sprinted that open stretch and dove into the rubble.
Leo finally let out a breath of relief. With the crumbling walls for cover, they no longer needed to worry about eagle-eyed guards. Now came the tricky part: finding their way into the Eden Gang's base.
He studied the area. It looked like just another set of ruins that nobody cared to clear away. But according to the map El Capitán had given them, the hidden tunnel leading into Eden's stronghold lay here somewhere. The entrance itself was concealed and required hacking to open.
"All right, time to quit chatting. Can you get that secret tunnel open?"
"Give me a minute."
Lucy's playful expression fell away. She touched two fingers to her temple, lips drawing tight. Her gemlike eyes glowed with a dangerous red light.
"Done."
No sooner had she spoken than the ground at their feet slid aside, revealing a hole barely big enough for one person at a time.
"After you," Lucy offered.
Leo made sure there was no immediate threat, then jumped down first. The passage was narrow enough that a person had to stoop to walk. There were no cameras or traps; presumably, Eden believed nobody would ever find that hidden exit.
Leo beckoned for Lucy to follow, and together they hurried deeper into the tunnel.
…
Several guards were gathered around a table playing blackjack in a dimly lit basement. Suddenly, the wall beside them exploded, sending dust and fragments flying. A flashing streak of steel cut through the haze, leaving them no time to react. Sword arcs glinted in quick succession, and blood sprayed from each guard's neck as they collapsed with terrified eyes.
Only one survived: the man sitting on the far end. He snatched for his gun—only to have a bullet drill into his forehead a split second later. His skull burst, painting the wall in gruesome reds and whites.
"Move," Leo said curtly, beckoning Lucy onward.
They didn't bother hiding the bodies. Even if they concealed the corpses, they couldn't wipe away the gore. Instead, Leo simply locked the basement door behind them to buy some time—delaying the moment the bodies would be found.
Stepping upstairs brought them into the main building inside the compound. From previous scans, Leo knew that Eden's netrunner—their real target—was holed up in a surveillance room on the third floor.
…
With Leo's tactical goggles and the advantage of environmental cover, he and Lucy slipped past Eden members scattered through the building. Every security camera on the walls was hacked by Lucy and re-tagged as friendly, letting them sneak by. They got closer and closer to their destination, until they reached the stairwell from the second to the third floor—and there were two guards standing right there, leaning against the wall and grumbling over their miserable lot. Neither seemed inclined to move.
Leo sighed. So far, everything had gone smoothly, but they risked being discovered at any moment—especially if someone noticed the carnage in the basement. Plus, their client, trapped within Eden's firewall, might be caught at any second by the gang's netrunner. Every second counted.
Leo's eyes grew cold. They had to eliminate these guards.
He gestured quickly. "Left is yours; I'll take right."
Lucy raised a hand. "No need. I'll just short-circuit them."
"You can handle them both in one shot?"
"Of course. Don't underestimate the Four-Phase Electric Ripple 4.0."
With that, she focused. Two faint sparks of electricity flickered at the guard's feet. They toppled like sacks of wet sand, unconscious before they even realized what hit them.