Chapter 6: The Bank Job
The black Cadillac calmly pulled up to the front of the First National Bank of São Paulo and took a parking space directly across from the main doors. It was morning in the tourist region of the city so the streets were starting to fill with various tour groups finding their buses headed for the beaches. From the car emerged Munikc carrying a large black gym bag, Port to his left and Splice slightly behind and to his right. They crossed the street and entered the bank to upon an incredibly ornate lobby. They stopped for a moment to stare up at the 40 ft ceiling with several hanging glass chandelier fixtures. The two back walls, that weren't covered floor to ceiling with windows, were covered in reproduction of famous paintings that hung in some of the greatest museums in the world. The teller windows where gold plated and had moderate lines of tourists cashing all types of checks. Towards the back of the bank stood a party of four heavily armed guards behind a row of metal detectors that separated the private meeting rooms and security boxes from the general banking patrons. Several security cameras also scanned the bank floor from above and were no doubt connected directly to a top of the line security firm, moments away, ready to react to the smallest glimpse of trouble.
"Why do they always hide these damn nodes in such nice places?" pondered Port aloud, as he followed the two others towards the security guards in the back of the room.
"Banks tend to have the best security around, so it's less likely they would be found by the unsuspecting world." Splice replied as they neared the security checkpoint.
"Well here we go." Munikc said to his partners and as followed Splice as he passed through the metal detector.
weeeeee went the alarm as the meter spiked all the way to the red limit at the detection of metal. A fifth unarmed guard approached Splice, as the other four shifted their attention lazily in his direction, and asked "Please remove any metallic objects you may be carrying and place them in this basket."
"Why does that sound familiar" Munikc whispered to Port. Splice lifted his arms to show single metal rod coming from up his left sleeve and then strapped to his wrist with a gun grip handle. As the guard took a step back at the strange sight before him, Splice let his hand drop.
"What is that..." said the guard as he was interrupted by a whirling sound and then a loud clank and as from Splice's sleeve came a single miniaturized Vulcan cannon on a pre-fire warm-up. The guard could only form an 'O' with his mouth as the gun began to speak. The sound was deafening as the Gatling gun ripped apart the guard and then moved towards his friends. None had a chance to react, and after only a few seconds all the guards were dead and the spinning barrels fell silent.
"My god splice, did you have to kill all of them so quickly? I wanted some of the action." spouted Port who had drawn his blade and pistol from their hidden holster.
"Sometimes surprise is of the utmost importance Port." retorted Splice back at his partner.
"Come on boys we need to get up stairs to that node and destroy it." Munikc shouted over the arguing.
By this time the entire bank was empty as everyone who had a brain had jumped through the front windows and escaped. The silent alarm had been tripped and down the street at the security firm protecting the building, four heavily armed teams of men left the compound for the bank. The three of them standing beyond the metal detectors, reloaded and proceeded to the main business elevator. A gentle melody of classical music accompanied them one the elevator ride up the four floors to the target. After the elevator doors opened they found a floor deserted of the employees that normally would fill the cubicle hell in front of them. Making their way to the server room on the floor, they found the false wall in the back of the room, they found the node.
A matrix node is a representation in the matrix of essentially a debug console. A single node could control an area in the matrix the size of several blocks or upwards of several hundred acres if they were clustered. Destroying a node made it easier for the resistance to unplug persons of interest because it prevented the matrix from making changes to that area of the matrix until the node was repaired. Also people in the matrix were more likely to become aware of it because glitches were more prevalent in areas without direct node control.
As they set up the bomb, Port said "You know it's a shame to destroy this very nice bank just to get this node."
"True but it had to be done. Taking just the node out means the machines will just get another one up and running in a day or so. Dropping a building on top of where it was will take longer." replied Munikc "Why the machine just don't move the node to another location is beyond me, but its always right back in the same place."
"There I got what I want now lets get out of here before she blows us all up." Splice replied as he replaced a small device back into his pocket and double checked the bomb. The three of them then again returned to the elevator and pressed the button for the main floor, but when they exited the elevator at the lobby, they were met with a daunting task. In the lobby now stood 10 agents all with guns drawn and pointed towards them, with the rest of the security forces starting to fortify themselves outside.
"Freeze!" shouted the agent in front. With a glance from one another, Munikc started to grin. His hand went down to his belt where his blade lay sheathed as Port did the same. The agents saw him go for his weapon and instantly had the order to fire. In the split second that the agents pulled the trigger both Munikc and Port drew their blades and splice cranked his gun. Time slowed as Munikc and Port blocked most of the shots fired into the surrounding walls and door of the elevator with the whirling of their blades. Meanwhile Splice had pumped several of the agents' bodies with over 500 armor piercing rounds before his gun fell silent. Detaching the empty gun from his back he drew a pair of pistols and finished off the agent approaching him. As the dust settled only one agent managed to still be standing, albeit kneeing from gunshot wounds. That one was immediately beheaded by Munikc as he ran across the lobby towards the front doors.
"Phew that was close only about 30 seconds until she goes." sighed Splice as they ran out the doors of the bank, down the stairs and across the street into the waiting Cadillac. The security forces that were outside were eliminated by the three in a hail of gun fire from their drawn pistols. Splice punched the accelerator and the car lurched down the road into unsuspecting traffic. Even after traveling two blocks away they could still feel the blast as the bomb detonated. The fourth floor of the building instantly disintegrated and the 15 floors above it came crashing down as the support structure failed gloriously. The lower floors could not hold back the rush of falling rubble and were crushing down to ground level. In the span of only 30 seconds the once magnificent building was reduced to a pile of smoldering rubble.
Before the team could cheer, a spray of bullets ripped the back window of the Cadillac apart. The rear of the car was soon shot apart by the following onslaught of fire, as the taillights were unceremoniously shot out and the trunk buckled and flew off the back of the car. Munikc reloading his drawn pistol from his cloak returned fire on the approaching four large SUV's that each held three agents in hot pursuit. The trip back home would be no piece of cake.