Phoenix Phire

[Yulime Garrote Mission Brief, Two Parts.]

Part I Geneva: H & F Bank.

The back door in Armageddon will slam shut in a few hours. Then, as it's counting down, Quicksilver will maneuver into a position where she can directly access our target's account. This onsight hack will give us a trailess entry, where she will proceed to lighten Yuli's 730 million euro fortune. Dextron will assist on this project with up-to-date tactical support and virtual interference. Once the mission is complete, a private jet is waiting to return Quicksilver to the hive. Dextron will join Thumper, Mongoose, Gadget, and Stiletto in the T-6 for the second stage.

Part II Abu Dhabi: Yuli Compound.

The second stage of this mission will be a two-pronged attack. First, Thumper and Stiletto will neutralize the dragon and spider drone threat. While they are doing this, Syntax will activate Groundhog and assume control of the jumper pods used by Yuli and her virtual support team. Mongoose will run virtual defense against any unknown security measures while Gadget uses real-time tactical support with our onsight strike leader.

The Secret Service strike team, comprised of nine personnel, will land on the compound's central courtyard. If possible, they will remove the jumper pod containing Yuli and extract her with their airlift. If extraction becomes impossible, they will eliminate the target and retreat. Detailed maps and real-time analysis will be available to the Bottom Feeders and the strike team leader.

Dex reviewed the brief while logging into v-World via the T-6 jumper. Syntax appeared the moment he stepped onto the navigation platform.

[Welcome, Dextron. It is 2300 in Geneva and 0200 in Abu Dhabi.]

Syntax wore a single-piece black jumpsuit that matched the one Dex was wearing. Her silver hair hung loosely down her back; the scrolling code that usually scrolled beneath her skin was absent. In its place were several different stationary symbols, carefully written in black.

"The new look is interesting; I don't recognize the symbols." Dex studied her for a moment; although her hair was very bright, her skin pigment seemed to be darkening each time he saw her. Did she feel drawn to a specific look?

"It's a Southern Semitic script called Safaitic. This the symbol for daughter, and this one means scholar or 'learned one.'" Syntax traced the symbol on her jawline.

Dex studied the markings; on anyone else, he would have called them tattoos. Her sense of individualism was expanding rapidly. "No doubt, it's cool ink."

"It suits me... Recently I've been studying art, music, and dance." Syntax's serene face was without any tangible expression; perhaps she hadn't developed that ability; however, her tone displayed an interest in the topic.

"We have an hour until our mission starts. So let's get into position." Dex keyed the nav-controls, bringing the platform to the southwest corner of the Heltier and Fianti building.

[All satellites are online, and encrypted data feedback has been looped in. Overload is being rerouted to create a real-time stream. This connection is secure.]

Dex scanned the immediate area; a dark blue sedan was one of three cars parked in the overnight metered area. He couldn't see into the vehicle, but he knew that Quicksilver would be sitting in the driver's seat waiting for the mission to start.

The mirrored, pyramid-shaped building reflected light from both the moon and the streetlights. As a result, shrubs planted near the sidewalk's edge would have to be enough to mask Quicksilver's approach to the access point.

"Testing... How do you read?" Quicksilver's voice sounded calm in his ears. The audio feed was routed directly into his hud.

"Loud and clear." With a few strokes of his virtual keyboard, Dex accessed the utility grid for the southwest part of the block and turned off the lights in that area until the corner of the building was shrouded in darkness.

Quicksilver strolled down the darkened walkway, her flexible, skintight outfit hidden by a long brown coat. In the cold, wet air of the port, she looked like any other tourist. Then, passing by the shrubs near the southwest corner of the building, she knelt as if to pick something off the sidewalk and abruptly vanished.

Dex immediately moved into the area; his partner was already removing the access panel. "You sure you can fit through that?"

"Plenty of room." Quicksilver carefully propped up the panel against the foundation of the building and pushed her head inside. The LED lights on her hat immediately lit up the vent. "It's larger than your bathroom window."

Dex whistled softly; there was no way he'd fit through that space. Apparently, Darsi had no fear of enclosed spaces. "Bringing up the building schematic, I'll be watching just to the right of you."

Quicksilver wiggled through twenty meters of venting before arriving at the floor space. "Shit... That's a tight fit."

Dex frowned at the gap between the floor and the foundations. The floor joists had been modified when the building switched to in-floor heating. The space between the floor and the foundation should have been more than 30 cm (About one foot). Lowering himself through the floor, he watched as she fearlessly squeezed into the space. "If you get stuck in there, I'm going to tear this building apart."

Quicksilver nodded in agreement. "Glad I skipped breakfast and lunch today."

Virtual Dex frowned slightly, squeezed between the foundation and the floor; the constant pressure on his partner forced her to breath light, shallow breaths. After several seconds of sliding forward, Quicksilver was starting to struggle. "Need a break?"

"Yes... but I can't risk it. I'm getting lightheaded; either the constant squeeze or lack of air is starting to affect me." As she spoke, a light sheen of sweat appeared on her face.

Dex had his hud up and effortlessly entered Armageddon. "Let's make this fast. I'll monitor the doorway and keep an eye out for tripped alarms. The junction box is five meters in front of you."

Quicksilver managed the last five meters; working in close-quarters, she reeled in her tool bag attached to her waist by a two-meter strap. She removed a small hand drill, along with several bits and a small metallic canister. "What's in the canister?"

"Oxegen..." Quicksilver pressed the button on the discharger and inhaled directly; within a few seconds, her pallor improved noticeably.

"Damn, you're smart." Dex lowered his head into the junction point and waited for her to start drilling.

"Thanks... I passed out once while doing a similar job, so this was learned by experience." She tested the drill with a quick squeeze, instantly rewarded by a barely perceptible whirling noise.

"Sounds dangerous. Did you wake up in jail?"

"Nope... Handcuffed in a whorehouse." Quicksilver started drilled through the junction's outer casing. "Good times. Keep an eye on my depth."

Dex submerged into the casing, watching the tip of the carbon bit as it effortlessly pushed through. "Slow down, almost there. Just a bit... stop!"

Quicksilver redrew the bit and slid on a matched set of v-gloves and goggles. "Thanks for the new toys, Dex."

"No worries. Gotta take care of my partner."

Darsi nodded in agreement and activated her goggles before spotting Dex. "There you are! What's my timeline?"

"Twelve minutes. The window is stable. Make us all rich."

She fed the small tube that housed their optic relay into the freshly drilled hole. "Interfacing with the junction... We're in! It looks like she's made a few deposits since we checked last. "Transferring a bit over eight hundred million euro."

"An alarmed tripped! Time to go." Dex watched as Armageddon automatically sent its ICE into the system. "I can't control it; the door will slam shut!"

Quicksilver withdrew the fiberoptic tube and quickly stowed her gear away before turning back in the direction she entered. "It's okay. Maybe the withdrawal amount activated the system failsafe."

Dex kept tabs on the incoming ICE; Armageddon closed down all virtual and physical access points, but it was too late. Unless they physically investigated the crawlspace, nothing will point back to them. "Doesn't look like it. Someone just entered the system."

Darsi's labored breath was loud in the narrow space; she was moving as fast as she could, no longer concerned with being stealthy. "Is it H & F?"

"Unknown." Dex watched as Yuli's account was frozen; a moment later, all of Heltier and Fianti followed. "Someone just locked down H & F."

Darsi was already at the exit point; she reattached the cover panel with her hands shaking from fatigue. "Doesn't matter. I'm out!"

Dex effortlessly exited the building; the cameras and lights in the southwest portion of the block were still under his control. Quicksilver donned her long coat and resumed the stroll she had started earlier.

Syntax hovered in the air near her position. "Tracing the intrusion now. It's from the cyber division of Interpol."

Darsi crossed the street and headed back toward her vehicle. "Looks like our friends at the Secret Service did some off-the-books coordinating."

Dex waited until Darsi arrived at the vehicle before turning on the lights and cameras. The video feeds were looped by the software he was running, so Quicksilver wouldn't appear on them. "Impressive, but the timing is troubling."

Darsi started the vehicle and headed toward the airport. "Our little friend must have been coordinating with them. I'm going to have a chat with her when I get back."

Dex returned to the navigation platform without commenting. Nova was probably trying to help the mission. "Agreed. No punching this time."

Darsi's laughter carried smoothly into his audio feed.. "No promises."

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