"Great. It's raining again."
Jersey glanced up from her seat next to Gizmo, pulling a piece of short, yellow and brown hair out of her face. "Sari, this is Seattle. What did you expect?" She looked back at the boy sitting in the driver's seat, who was too busy watching the fluorescent blue dials and monitors embedded in the dashboard to notice her interest. Jersey got the sense of being in an airplane cockpit every time she sat there.
"How the hell do you drive this thing? It's got more buttons than a stealth bomber."
"It's not that souped up." Gizmo shifted gears, egging the armored trid news station van into going a little faster.
"Right. We can get from the Barrens to the Yoshimori arcology in fifteen minutes, and they're at least twenty-three miles apart. If I tried to drive like that, I'd kill someone."
"Jersey," Sari looked up from her gun cleaning to look at her friend, "you'd kill someone if you tried to drive anything."
"Would not!"
"Would so. Aren't I right, Neko-chan?"
A Japanese woman in the back of the van was busy putting various electronics equipment into a backpack. "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, I guess." She put her arm out for balance as Gizmo made a hard right turn. "Hey, a little warning next time, okay? We're going what, 100 miles per hour?"
He shot a look over his shoulder distractedly. "115, actually. I've got a new record."
Jersey looked at him incredulously. "115! No fragging way! How does this thing work?"
"Sorry, can't explain right now. Gotta focus on traffic, or else I'll crash, and Kyle'll kill me if that happens."
A thick oak forest and three miles or more of electrical fences surrounded the Yoshimori Research Arcology. The fences were in disrepair in many places, and in others the trees grew close enough and tall enough for a brave soul to climb up them and jump to the other side. The four occupants of the van stepped out, their black outfits blending in with the gloom. Jersey was amazed at how short Neko looked without her usual two- inch heels. Kyle stood up, completely undetectable except for his light blonde hair.
"You guys are on time."
Sari looked over at him. "Well, duh. You didn't think we'd leave you hanging, didja?"
"Well, no, I didn't, but I've got a funny feeling about this run. Something just isn't quite right."
"Kyle, we went through this already. The Johnson is perfectly legit- you said so yourself. This isn't any more dangerous than any other run we've been on, and you know and I both know that we've never walked away from a run before, so-"
"What the hell is wrong with you? A few weeks ago, you'd-"
Neko stepped between the two, holding up her hands to separate them and call for silence. "We are professionals," she said slowly. "We will do our job quickly and quietly. If there are any problems, we notify the others and come back here. If you are unable to return, leave by any means necessary and lay low for a week or so." Her voice grew cold and commanding. "And if anyone tries to frag with me on this, they will find the favor returned in kind. Understood?" Everyone nodded in unison, wide- eyed and unblinking.
Sari cleared her throat. "All right. I'll stay here with the rig. And remember-we really need the nuyen from this run, so no screw ups!"
Neko started climbing the tree closest to the fence. "Let's go."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jersey paced back and forth outside a row of cubicles on the fourth floor. "Hey," she whispered. "Hey, have you got the data yet?"
"Yeah."
"So you can explain decking to me now?"
Neko nodded, waving her into the cramped cubicle. "Here, you see this little jack right here?" She pointed at a metal ring at her temple, and Jersey nodded. "Okay, I plug this cord into my datajack, and it lets my brain interact with the Matrix."
"That's like the Internet, right?"
"I wouldn't put it exactly like that. Yeah, it's kind of like the Internet, except the Internet couldn't give information directly to your brain. You had to take in information through your eyes and ears first. This way, I can take a walk around the Republic of Berlin and actually smell the flowers, shake hands with people, and taste the food in the restaurants."
"So does it work the same way for Gizmo?"
"What, rigging? No, see, when a decker's jacked in, their mind-" she waved her hand in the air as she searched for the right words. "It leaves their body. Riggers extend their consciousness to include the machine. Get it?"
She thought for a moment, twirling a piece of her hair and trying to grasp the concept. "No. I guess it doesn't matter anyw-"
Jersey and Neko dropped to their knees under the desk as the building began to shudder and quake. The lights flickered and shook and ceiling panels fell to the floor, revealing cables and cords, writhing and twisting together like adders. Slowly, the tremor receded; leaving in its wake a silence that belied the wreckage it had just caused. Jersey groped in the half-light for her wristphone, and after an eternity Neko put her hand out to stop her.
"I just tried. No one's answering." She turned on a small flashlight. "I can't even get through to Sari's phone, or the one in the van."
"Think that earthquake had something to do with it?"
"Maybe."
"You hurt at all?"
Neko looked up. "No. This is just great. What do we do now?"
"We get our hoops out of here." Kyle's voice made the two women jump back, knocking their heads against the bottom of the desk.
"Damn it, Kyle! Don't sneak up on us like that!"
"Sorry. We weren't very far from you guys, luckily. Our phones aren't working." The sprinklers came on suddenly, and a female voice came on over the loudspeakers.
"There has been a terrorist bombing in Research and Development sector twelve. This is not a drill." Everyone looked at the speakers, startled. "All civilian employees please evacuate R & D sectors ten through fourteen, and Chemsynth labs one through five. All security and Lone Star personnel please report to your stations. I repeat."
"Oh, drek." Jersey looked over at Kyle. "What sector are we in?"
"We're in fourteen, I think."
Neko shook her head. "Yeah, but where was the van parked?" Everyone looked at Gizmo, who was quickly turning paper-white. "Gizmo, where was the delivery entrance we parked outside of?"
He looked at her, shaking. "Section twelve."
Jersey glanced up from her seat next to Gizmo, pulling a piece of short, yellow and brown hair out of her face. "Sari, this is Seattle. What did you expect?" She looked back at the boy sitting in the driver's seat, who was too busy watching the fluorescent blue dials and monitors embedded in the dashboard to notice her interest. Jersey got the sense of being in an airplane cockpit every time she sat there.
"How the hell do you drive this thing? It's got more buttons than a stealth bomber."
"It's not that souped up." Gizmo shifted gears, egging the armored trid news station van into going a little faster.
"Right. We can get from the Barrens to the Yoshimori arcology in fifteen minutes, and they're at least twenty-three miles apart. If I tried to drive like that, I'd kill someone."
"Jersey," Sari looked up from her gun cleaning to look at her friend, "you'd kill someone if you tried to drive anything."
"Would not!"
"Would so. Aren't I right, Neko-chan?"
A Japanese woman in the back of the van was busy putting various electronics equipment into a backpack. "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, I guess." She put her arm out for balance as Gizmo made a hard right turn. "Hey, a little warning next time, okay? We're going what, 100 miles per hour?"
He shot a look over his shoulder distractedly. "115, actually. I've got a new record."
Jersey looked at him incredulously. "115! No fragging way! How does this thing work?"
"Sorry, can't explain right now. Gotta focus on traffic, or else I'll crash, and Kyle'll kill me if that happens."
A thick oak forest and three miles or more of electrical fences surrounded the Yoshimori Research Arcology. The fences were in disrepair in many places, and in others the trees grew close enough and tall enough for a brave soul to climb up them and jump to the other side. The four occupants of the van stepped out, their black outfits blending in with the gloom. Jersey was amazed at how short Neko looked without her usual two- inch heels. Kyle stood up, completely undetectable except for his light blonde hair.
"You guys are on time."
Sari looked over at him. "Well, duh. You didn't think we'd leave you hanging, didja?"
"Well, no, I didn't, but I've got a funny feeling about this run. Something just isn't quite right."
"Kyle, we went through this already. The Johnson is perfectly legit- you said so yourself. This isn't any more dangerous than any other run we've been on, and you know and I both know that we've never walked away from a run before, so-"
"What the hell is wrong with you? A few weeks ago, you'd-"
Neko stepped between the two, holding up her hands to separate them and call for silence. "We are professionals," she said slowly. "We will do our job quickly and quietly. If there are any problems, we notify the others and come back here. If you are unable to return, leave by any means necessary and lay low for a week or so." Her voice grew cold and commanding. "And if anyone tries to frag with me on this, they will find the favor returned in kind. Understood?" Everyone nodded in unison, wide- eyed and unblinking.
Sari cleared her throat. "All right. I'll stay here with the rig. And remember-we really need the nuyen from this run, so no screw ups!"
Neko started climbing the tree closest to the fence. "Let's go."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jersey paced back and forth outside a row of cubicles on the fourth floor. "Hey," she whispered. "Hey, have you got the data yet?"
"Yeah."
"So you can explain decking to me now?"
Neko nodded, waving her into the cramped cubicle. "Here, you see this little jack right here?" She pointed at a metal ring at her temple, and Jersey nodded. "Okay, I plug this cord into my datajack, and it lets my brain interact with the Matrix."
"That's like the Internet, right?"
"I wouldn't put it exactly like that. Yeah, it's kind of like the Internet, except the Internet couldn't give information directly to your brain. You had to take in information through your eyes and ears first. This way, I can take a walk around the Republic of Berlin and actually smell the flowers, shake hands with people, and taste the food in the restaurants."
"So does it work the same way for Gizmo?"
"What, rigging? No, see, when a decker's jacked in, their mind-" she waved her hand in the air as she searched for the right words. "It leaves their body. Riggers extend their consciousness to include the machine. Get it?"
She thought for a moment, twirling a piece of her hair and trying to grasp the concept. "No. I guess it doesn't matter anyw-"
Jersey and Neko dropped to their knees under the desk as the building began to shudder and quake. The lights flickered and shook and ceiling panels fell to the floor, revealing cables and cords, writhing and twisting together like adders. Slowly, the tremor receded; leaving in its wake a silence that belied the wreckage it had just caused. Jersey groped in the half-light for her wristphone, and after an eternity Neko put her hand out to stop her.
"I just tried. No one's answering." She turned on a small flashlight. "I can't even get through to Sari's phone, or the one in the van."
"Think that earthquake had something to do with it?"
"Maybe."
"You hurt at all?"
Neko looked up. "No. This is just great. What do we do now?"
"We get our hoops out of here." Kyle's voice made the two women jump back, knocking their heads against the bottom of the desk.
"Damn it, Kyle! Don't sneak up on us like that!"
"Sorry. We weren't very far from you guys, luckily. Our phones aren't working." The sprinklers came on suddenly, and a female voice came on over the loudspeakers.
"There has been a terrorist bombing in Research and Development sector twelve. This is not a drill." Everyone looked at the speakers, startled. "All civilian employees please evacuate R & D sectors ten through fourteen, and Chemsynth labs one through five. All security and Lone Star personnel please report to your stations. I repeat."
"Oh, drek." Jersey looked over at Kyle. "What sector are we in?"
"We're in fourteen, I think."
Neko shook her head. "Yeah, but where was the van parked?" Everyone looked at Gizmo, who was quickly turning paper-white. "Gizmo, where was the delivery entrance we parked outside of?"
He looked at her, shaking. "Section twelve."