Chapter 6…
Laura took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Without any way to tell time, a minute felt like an hour to her. She imagined herself outside walking around in the sunshine and feeling the breeze. The more she visualized the scene, the more her mind floated back to memory.
Laura stayed on her bed watching Longbow and her father stare at each other in silence.
It was her mother that broke the silence, “We are lost. We need your help.”
Longbow tapped on his phone, “It’s become evident that you are out of your depth. There is the only way to make sure Laura gets the help and mentorship she needs, and that is to remove her from this situation.”
Both parents stood with mouths agape as Longbow put the phone to his ear and excused himself from the room. Laura reached for a stuffed bar and pulled it to her chest.
Her father’s face was contorted when his eyes looked in her direction, “We wouldn’t be in this mess if you were mundane. This is your fault.”
“It is not her fault. She did not ask for parents who do not understand how magic works, and she MOST CERTAINLY did not ask to be born magical.” Longbow was standing behind Laura’s mother.
There was another knock on the door. Longbow walked to the door and open it.
Mims stood smiling with a second person who was sporting a suit and briefcase, “I brought the social worker.”
“That was fast.”
Mims chuckled, “You told me about it before you left this morning. So, I left shortly after to find a social worker. This is Allen from the community center.”
“Why do we need a social worker?” The corner of Sarah’s eyes was filling with tears, “You’re going to take Laura from us?”
The social worker held up one hand, “It depends on how this meeting goes, ma’am. The aim here is to establish whether or not she has been abused. From there we will determine the course of action.”
“Are you ready to continue our negotiations?” Mr. White re-entered the room with a different chair. After switching the chairs, he motioned to the new one, “Won’t you please have a seat?”
Laura opened her eyes and looked at the cushioned chair. She walked over to it and sat, “You’re going through a lot of trouble for something I am not going to do on my own.”
“What would it take for you to perform the run?”
“A lobotomy.”
The troll rolled his eyes, “Your sense of humor is still intact I see. Name your price.”
“You’re serious about this. I would need a rigger and a sam at least. I am not doing this on my own at all.”
“I have looked at the floor plans and security information. I still think one person is sufficient.”
Laura raised one eyebrow, “Any chance I can look at that to see if I agree?”
“I have rarely been wrong. What makes you the authority?”
“I have had chummers give it a solo crack. They either didn’t come back or they came back needing to be put back together.”
“Fair enough. Wait here.”
It took five minutes for him to come back to the room with a folding table and the information which is laid out on the surface, “As you can see, one person is enough.”
Laura picked up the chip and slotted it into the deck on the table. She scrolled through it shaking her head, “I don’t know who gave this drek, but this isn’t even a fraction of their security protocols. They left out the dual-nat animal patrols, the anti-bullet and magic barriers they put on their security, and the two people per floor they have as security riggers. The only thing they mention is the four-man patrols with one being a blood mage. You’re setting up any runner to get geeked with this drek, and that doesn’t even cover their ‘trix security.”
She looked up in time to see the troll’s calm features contort into frustration. He stood and left the room without saying a word.
She could hear his footfalls fade to the right. Hoping beyond all hope, she tried the door to find he left it unlocked. She put one foot in the hall when she heard the screaming from Mr. White and the orc before she heard the crunching of bones and a loud thump. She put her foot back into the room and returned to the table to scrutinize the blueprints.
Mr. White marched down the hall to his office and found the orc still sitting in the chair across from the damaged desk.
He lifted him with one hand leaving the or clawing at the hand for air, “Grim,” he growled, “When I tell you to get information, you need to provide all the information and make sure it is accurate. I don’t like mistakes, Grim.”
Grim tried to reply but the lack of air prevent him from eking any words out. His eyes were as big as baseballs as he tried prying his fingers between Mr. White’s fingers and his own neck.
There was a snap and Grim went limp. Mr. White threw the orc against the wall across from his office and straightened his suit.
She could hear his footfalls fade to the right. Hoping beyond all hope, she tried the door to find he left it unlocked. She put one foot in the hall when she heard the screaming from Mr. White and the orc before she heard the crunching of bones and a loud thump. She put her foot back into the room and returned to the table to scrutinize the blueprints.
Mr. White looked at the door and then Laura, “You didn’t try to escape?”
Laura looked up from the map, “You have anti-magic protocols in the facility, and I can’t run faster than a troll. On top of that, I heard you yell and kill the orc, and I am not stupid.”
Mr. White closed his eyes, “That was a momentary loss of temper. I apologize for that. Now that I know the information is inaccurate, where would the patrols be from your experience?”
She pointed to one room on each floor, “Normally, the security office would be halfway down the hall to centralize the personnel and to make it easier to keep an eye on the riggers and hackers on each floor.”
She pointed to two places on the grounds, “They either use hellhounds or cockatrices depending on the sector laws. If this building is here, it will be hellhounds.”
“How do you know all this if you’ve never done a run against them?”
“Everyone Longbow hires gives the intel to him and anyone who wishes to look at it can if they want to be a part of it if they are just curious. He likes his chummers to be informed about everything.”
“Knowledge is power,” Mr. White smiled. Laura smiled back.
“So, I need to make arrangements for new intel and look for a samurai and a rigger?”
Laura nodded, “Ideally, you would need a hacker, too, but I won’t know for sure until you get new intel.”
“You haven’t named your price.”
Laura thought for a moment, “Due to the danger level, I would have to ask for 275k credits.”
Mr. White almost choked, “That much? How about 250?”
“Only if you’re supplying equipment, and if you think my number is high, you haven’t asked a rigger yet.”
“Fair enough.”
“I’m gonna need my phone.”
“Nice try.”
Laura smiled and shrugged, “Hey, I have to give it a shot, right?”
House of Geek 