If I had an internal deck and the full suite of runner gear, I could walk around and pluck the various 'books' from the shelves. This entire AR scene and Net Architecture would've been a Virtual Reality that I could've interacted with to the full extent.

Instead, since I didn't have any of that fancy chrome, I was stuck with an Augmented Reality that I could only interface with through the deck. It was like I was outside the Net, trying to move it around through the small programs and systems in the main terminal.

With that restriction in mind, I started a long and exhaustive process of looking through Ajay Insurance's hundreds of files. The search bar had been disabled entirely for some reason, and I couldn't just enable it with my current skills. So, I spent nearly an hour looking through the boring files of the insurance company. To better sell the story, I also changed the tapper's taps so they would be further apart like I was doing my 'job'.

After an hour, I found the malwort.mp3 file behind several hidden folders. I cast a superstitious look around, eyeing the server room's lone camera. I shifted, blocking the terminal's ports and slid a chip into place. I downloaded the file and slid the chip back into my bag. Part one of the gig complete.

I also took the time to copy over every important-looking file onto separate chips. I was limited on space, so only the ones regarding contracts, financial accounts, and data on their clients made it in. I might be able to find something to smear the corporation's name for the other contract. I'd be a fool to turn down a free five thousand Rayn. If not, surely the information was worth something to somebody.

I glanced through the rest of the files, including a bunch regarding the corp's finances. Oddly enough, the security upgrades throughout the years were all paid for with alternative money streams. The Rayn just appeared in the corp's accounts as if a storm blew by, only to be spent on fleshing out the security.

I looked through the years worth of money. It wasn't a small amount. Ajay practically dumped a small bank into setting up this place's security and maintaining it. The contract with Artoras alone was enough to make my eyes widen.

One purchase caught my eye. It was an order for a rather strong safe. Ajay purchased one just before the corp started to do well- rather, before Rayn started to flood in from 'corporate investments', according the finances.

It might be worth checking the office for? There was definitely something shady. If I could get the details, I could maybe go for that other contract. Five thousand Rayn was more than enough to entice me.

Hmm… Ajay was in his office though. It'd be difficult to rob him right in front of his eyes. I'd need a distraction of some kind. Good thing I had just the guy. "Feras."

"Yo?" He replied with a monotone tone. The comms barely caught the patter of rain in the background. "Everyone in the office looks just as bored as the one before them."

"No, not that… how would you like to be cut in?" I glanced through the servers, making sure I got everything. I pulled most of my stuff out, getting to the bare minimum to keep up appearances.

"Really?" A bit of energy crept into his voice.

I did some quick math. Oh! Right. I pulled the virus chip from my bag and plugged it into the server bank. "Twenty percent."

"Hmm… I don't know… We're going up against a corp, and pay needs to match the danger, right? Fifty percent." He asked.

"Twenty-five percent. You're living in my apartment, leech." It was still within an acceptable range. It'd be more than enough to cover my apartment and equipment expenses.

A fork clattered against a plate. His voice dripped back down into that innocent, pitiful boy act. "B-boss. Th-that hurts."

"Whatever. Come pull Ajay out of his office for a couple minutes." I adjusted the virus chip, setting it for a ten-minute delay before the file would open automatically and start it up.

By the time I set everything up to fulfill the gig, I heard him speak again in his confident, gentlemanly voice. "Steffany! How are you, darling?"

"Oh! Mr. Schel. Y-you came back?" The receptionist's voice came across faintly. Her voice was far more emotional than the bored tone she used with me. Favoritism much?

He chuckled lightly. "Of course! My client has taken a keen interest in this place. She uh… requested I speak to Mr. Ajay personally. She wants to move a storm if you catch my drift."

"That shouldn't be a problem! J-just give me a second." She must've backed away from Feras because her voice cut out.

"They're on their way back." Feras muttered.

A few moments later, Ajay's door opened up from across the hall. I acted like I was hard at work, not even noticing his glance. He left, and a while later his voice came across the comms channel. "You must be Mr. Schel!"

"Am I good to go?" I glanced up at the camera in the corner of the room. I casually moved to a server bank outside of the camera's view and started 'working' on it in preparation.

"Wait just a moment, don't I recognize you?" Feras's gentlemanly act dipped a little bit into a more frat-boy approach. "Yeah, you were at the marina. You party animal!"

"Ah! A fellow enthusiast!" Ajay's voice perked up. Noticeably. Crazy how good Feras was at adjusting his approach to fit the target.

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The tapper smacked again, causing the entire server room to flicker as the connection took a hit. Feras's voice shifted again, taking on a hint of concern. "What was that?"

Ajay laughed lightly. "Don't worry about it; our IT technician is just working on the servers. Shoring up defenses and all that."

A suppressed chuckle escaped me. If anything, I was breaking them with the virus. "That guy's full of it."

"Might I see a bit of the process around here? My client wants me to get a full scope on the scene before coming to a decision." Feras asked.

Ajay's voice turned a bit more subdued and professional, though there was still good cheer. "Of course! Let me show you around."

"Nova! Now is a good time?" The grifter said, hinting towards me.

"Say, this client of yours... might I ask who they are?"

"Sorry, chum. She wants anonymity until she settles on where she wants her accounts to be taken care of. You know how it is..."

I tuned out the conversation and took a deep breath. Before I could second guess myself, I activated Blackout. I had about thirty seconds left in the battery to get this done. I moved to the door and peeked out. I kept low and on the edge of people's vision, taking full advantage of Stalk.

No one was paying attention back here. Most were in their little own worlds or watching the boss walk around with nervous expressions. Feras was doing a nova job at running distraction too, speaking with wide motions and throwing in comments about party this and party that.

I darted across the hall into Ajay's office. He had left it unlocked- he was coming right back, so why lock it? The office had a grand RealWood™ desk overlooking a view of the streets. Several grand bookcases, significantly lacking in aesthetic appeal compared to the AR ones in the server room, covered the walls. Small paintings and sculptures broke up the monotony of books across the shelves.

Thankfully, there weren't any cameras in here, so I disabled Blackout before it could even warm up. Ah- there's the safe. I was half expecting it to be behind a painting or something, but nope! It was just sitting there in the corner. And what a safe it was. Extremely thick, with barely any storage room inside.

I slid over to the safe and looked it over. It was a simple key lock, which was really a waste considering how beefy the safe was. It was like walling in a ferocious monster with reinforced concrete walls, but then making the gate out of plywood.

I pulled my kit out of my bag and grabbed the tension wrench and pick. From there, it was as easy as putting tension on the lock with the wrench while messing with the lock's tumblers until I figured out what worked.

After about ten seconds, the lock popped open. I heaved the door open, revealing several folders, a dusty old war pistol with obvious corrosion, a dozen IDs for what looked to be clients, and a handful of pills I didn't recognize. Ignoring the pills and pistol, I pulled out the files.

Too much to read right now. I pulled my phone out and snapped pictures of all of them, saving them until I could read through it all later. I likewise did the same with the IDs. The temptation to grab an ID was high, but I didn't want to risk him figuring out something happened.

I put everything back how it was and closed up the safe. Then with Blackout active once more, I darted back into the server room and resumed my spot in the same camera dead zone. The cybereye deactivated slightly warm with enough juice in the tank for ten more seconds should I need it.

I 'finished' my work, headed back into the camera's view, and started to pack my deck back up. "I'm all done. Keep talking to the guy for an hour or so."

"I've got to say, Mr. Ajay, your operation is quite impressive. Might we speak more of the… specifics?" Feras asked.

Ajay laughed happily, passing in front of the server room. "Thank you! Please, come to my office. I would love nothing more."

I stepped out into the hall and shot Feras a look. "Mr. Ajay! Servers all finished up. It should be good to go."

Ajay turned back, waving to me as if I was a display piece. "See? Best IT in the business… might I ask, what was causing the issues?"

My gaze flicked back to Feras, who was smirking like an idiot. I shifted the weight of my backpack. "Somebody made several shady downloads. Bloated up the connection and strangled it. Should all be good now."

Ajay's face immediately shifted. He turned… apprehensive? "Ah… good… well, then I'm glad it's all fixed. Mr. Schel, if you'd please."

I took the chance and escaped the building. Mission accomplished just as soon as Feras got out of there. I made my way down and stepped out into the light rain. I dipped my head, keeping low as Sentinel ATV prowled down the street. I casually slunk back into the crowd, merging with the masses of people walking down rainy streets.

I looked up, spotting the Raijin Raiju just to the north of the city. It seemed Raijin didn't want to arouse more irritation than they already had. The behemoth stayed just outside of the city's borders. The flyers constantly going to and fro from it, however, couldn't have the same said about them. It was almost as unsettling as the Sentinel presence on the streets.

I kept my head even lower and headed for my bike.

— — —

I settled in against the wall and brushed off the remnant water from my long hair. Since Feras was out, I took the opportunity to enjoy a nice, hot shower. The water flowing through my scalp had rapidly turned into one of my favorite ways to relax now that I didn't have to stress in a communal one.

Once I made myself as comfortable as I could without furniture, I looked through the photos I took of the Ajay's files. They looked to be logs of purchases and shipments. I glanced though them, but I had no idea what they detailed.

I plugged one of the chips with the company's finances into my deck. They were fishy. Dates lined up between the shipments, and money matched 'investments' into the insurance company.

It answered where Ajay got his money, at least. Most of the Rayn for the shipments just vanished between the logs. Probably shoved deep into Ajay's grubby little hands so he could throw parties and whatnot. The over-the-top parties on his socials and his strong security systems practically proved such.

What was he buying and selling though? What was so profitable he could triple his money? Maybe he wasn't buying anything at all. He could just be laundering money for a cut of the profits. All sorts of gangs around here would need clean money… but the logs didn't match up with money laundering.

I looked up the delivery location on the paper logs. It was a warehouse on the north side of Little Yukoto, just past Talus Tower. The place should've been abandoned, though. The corp that owned it went under several years ago. A gang outpost, maybe? Was it really just money laundering?

Should I go check it out? This might be my opportunity to get that extra five thousand. Hmm… I should probably wait for Feras. I was paying him, so I might as well get as much labor as I could out of the guy.

While I waited, I also listened to malwort.mp3. It played out as a recorded conversation between two people, one of which was Ajay. They were discussing some kind of deal, though they never explicitly said what they were making the deal over.

Maybe it was the deal between Ajay and whoever was using him to launder money? But who would know about the audio file and want to steal it? The group he was laundering money for, probably… were they about to backstab Ajay?

Or was this a third party that just happened to know about it. Dirty deals weren't rare among corps, to be fair. Hell, dirty deals were practically the foundation of PMCs and mercs being so present outside of external dangers. It wouldn't be too shocking for an interested third party to catch wind of Ajay's deal and hire a merc to go and steal proof.

Regardless, I'd figure it out once I actually went up to the warehouses.

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