Chapter 11 (Part 2)
An hour after the abduction:
"Damn, just a little short," I muttered in frustration, eyeing the half-assembled breastplate missing several crucial sections. I was crafting a prototype armor, but due to a few mistakes, I ran out of parts. I had to visit Sue...
"Will you be gone long?" Inga glanced up from her book, barely interrupting her reading.
"Not really, but if anything comes up, I'll send you a message," I replied, pausing briefly at the apartment door.
Inga didn't hold me up any longer, returning to her book. The brothers weren't home; they usually showed up around six, spending the rest of their time on the streets. Han and Shiro tried to maintain a warm relationship with us, but I could tell we were just temporary companions to them. It was unpleasant, but you can't force affection, so it's better to leave things as they are.
The familiar, old hallway was, as usual, littered with various trash and people loitering in the corners. Some gathered in groups, cooking on makeshift electric stoves, while others played cards.
The homeless greeted me with a wave, quickly refocusing on their activities. Poverty in Night City is catastrophically high. Mega-corporations, in their profit chase, grind down small businesses, with only a few managing to stay afloat, often under a gang's protection. Hence the widespread destitution. Curse this post-capitalism...
Approaching the shop, I started feeling an inexplicable sense of anxiety. Something was clearly off, and my brain was sending signals that my consciousness couldn't fully interpret. Quickening my pace, I covered the last few meters to my mentor's workshop, only to freeze on the spot. It was empty, the door wide open.
Rushing inside, I began searching for any signs of a robbery. Everything seemed untouched, but I needed to be sure. First, I checked the computer's camera. Unfortunately, it had been turned off over an hour and a half ago. The last recorded footage showed Susan dozing off in her chair after finishing her coffee. This troubled me; my older sister never slept at work. She was always wide awake.
Turning on my bracelet, I immediately launched the biological analyzer. After two long minutes, it indicated traces of synthetic compounds in the air, not typical for the atmosphere – a drug, which caused the woman's drowsiness. It must have been sprayed through the ventilation, then they waited for her to fall asleep. Sue had an antidote implant, a civilian model she had modified to resist weak synthetic compounds. But this drug was top-tier, so the implant failed. My analysis suggested that Susan was the bandits' ultimate target.
Rushing back to the computer, I connected to the hacked cameras around the area. Reviewing their recorded footage yielded nothing. The cameras were looped, showing the same unchanging scene. I needed to look for clues elsewhere, and I almost missed that a debugging tab was open on the computer. Opening it, I saw a timer for a simulation that had been running for over an hour. When first launched, droids record everything happening around them, allowing for later calibration of their systems with maximum efficiency.
Seizing this thought, I hastily stopped the calibration simulation and connected to the robot's memory, rewinding to the start of the boot-up. The recording began with a check of all sensors and sound signal debugging. For a minute, the droid calibrated its internal equalizer according to the settings archived. Then, finally, its optics activated. This was where things got interesting. The robot was securely fixed on a special stand in the middle of the workshop, allowing its visor to cover the entire room. As soon as the focus process was complete, I started rewinding the footage.
"Damn it..." I switched off the recording, leaning back in my chair heavily, trying to formulate a plan. The most ruthless gang in all of Night City had kidnapped my mentor, executing the operation quickly and neatly, as much as they were capable of. The man called Jimmy by his accomplice was clearly a skilled runner, but the droid's built-in system managed to fool his old analyzer, allowing me to capture their faces and, most importantly, the number and appearance of the car they used to take my named older sister. Knowing the car's number, I could try to track this duo using the city's surveillance system and then find the approximate location of where they might be holding her.
Hacking into the city's security system wouldn't be easy, despite its outdated defenses, but with my mentor's cyberdeck, I could try. At worst, I'd end up with a migraine and broken glasses, damaged by the security system's counterattack. Nodding to myself, I pulled open the right-hand drawer of the desk and took out the precious deck. Without wasting a second, I connected the device to my glasses, going through the initial synchronization process.
"Alright, let's do this." I slapped my cheeks, giving myself a motivational jolt, and entered the city's system.
A phantom pain shot through my head, piercing even through my utmost concentration. My brain was working at its absolute limit; I could feel my head getting hotter with every subjective second. Breaking through the ice was excruciatingly hard, as it was far more powerful than anything I'd encountered before, but gradually, I managed to penetrate the defenses.
"Damn, how many of these damn tables are there!" I internally screamed towards the end...
Access to the system opened
"Ha-ha did it…"
I had no energy left to celebrate. The hack had taken a heavy toll on me, and if it weren't for my sister's equipment, I might have been fried in that chair. After a few moments of catching my breath, I finally managed to gather my thoughts and start a thorough search. The internal control system allowed me to set the necessary search parameters, which quickly brought up the car I was looking for, displaying a wealth of data about it.
"Torton Galena G240 - license plate 'California 5PPP064'," I noted. The car had been reported stolen to the Night City Police Department about a month ago. Its tracking beacon was found in a dumpster in Kabuki, where the signal for the break-in was given. The fools didn't think to remove the plate, earning my sarcastic gratitude.
The car's path led through the entirety of East Japantown, straight to the port warehouses. Sue was probably being held in one of them. I saw no reason for them to kill her; if they had wanted her dead, they would have done it on the spot, hiding her body in a nearby ditch or dumpster. In Night City, such things are common and no longer surprise anyone, even children.
"Sister Sue, have you seen Alex?" Han and Shiro entered the workshop, looking around for the girl who was currently absent.
"Why were you looking for me?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the screen.
"Inga was worried. You've been gone for over two hours, and she asked us to find you. We thought to check here first, and as you can see, we weren't wrong," Shiro replied. The brothers usually spoke in unison, but to my surprise, only Shiro answered my questions.
"I see, well, you found me. Now what?" My irritation finally surfaced, manifesting as aggression towards the two children unrelated to the current events.
"Is something wrong with you?" Han immediately sensed that something had happened, asking another probing question.
"I'm fine. Go home, I won't be back until late, don't wait up for dinner." I turned off all the electronics and, picking up the keys from the table, headed for the exit.
"Alex, did something happen to Sue's sister?" Han, always perceptive, quickly guessed that my bad mood was due to her absence from the workshop.
"Guys, you're too young for this..." I looked seriously at the frowning children, who were deep in thought. "I don't want to risk any of you, so it's better if you go home and calm Kivi down."
"Denied!" the brothers replied in unison, blocking my way. "We want to help our sister too," they declared firmly, causing me a slight headache with their communication style. The aftereffects of the hacking were still taking their toll.
"I'm heading into a Maelstrom gang den. It's no place for kids." I walked past the children blocking my way, waiting for them to leave the premises.
"You're just a kid yourself," Han grumbled discontentedly. "You won't manage alone, we can help, Alex."
"The brother's right. We owe you a lot," Shiro nodded solemnly.
"Fine, damn it, you won't leave me be anyway..." I sighed heavily and gestured with my thumb towards the exit. "The girl is somewhere in the docks area, likely being held in one of the warehouses. The territory is completely under the gang's control, but the cover of the night might work in our favor. Grab your bracelets from home; I'll sync them to a common frequency. Without communication, we're 100% going to get caught, and Susan definitely won't be happy if we get used as leverage against her. Right now, she can only rely on herself, and if coerced, she might feign breaking down to buy some time. Knowing my mentor, she'll pull some trick in her style." I paused. "I'll wait for you near the workshop."
"We'll be quick!" The brothers dashed off in the required direction, leaving me alone. Well, I have a few minutes to come up with at least a rough plan of action...