If I had an internal deck, 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 only had an external deck, I was stuck with an Augmented Reality that I could only interface with through the deck. It's like I was outside the Net, trying to move it around through the small strips of code written by my deck's operating system.

With that restriction in mind, I started a long and exhaustive process of looking through my deck’s overlaid screen at Ajay Insurance's hundreds of files stored on their servers. 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, before discretely pulling a chip from my bag and slotting it into place. I downloaded the file and slid the chip back into the 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. And it wasn't a small amount. Ajay had spent far more money on setting up the Net Architecture than any small corp I had seen.

My eyes caught on a purchase order for a rather strong safe. Ajay had repurchased one before the corp started to do well for itself- rather, before Rayn started to flow in from 'corporate investments' according to the finances. Might be worth checking the boss's office for some extra Rayn.

He was in his office though. It would be kind of difficult to steal right in front of his eyes. I would need a distraction of some kind. Hmm… “Feras.”

“Chek chek, Zuku.” He replied with a monotone tone, the comms barely catching the patter of rain against the windows of the restaurant. “Everyone in the o-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 as I began to pull out to the bare minimum to sell the act.

“Really?” A bit of energy crept into his voice.

I did some quick math as I sneakily 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. I would still be getting seventy-five percent of the profit, which should be more than enough to cover the apartment and my equipment expenses. Hopefully, it would also be enough to start getting into some other stuff I was planning.

The sound of rustling clothes came across like he just sat up and a fork clattered against a plate. “That's kinda h-hurtful... ok! What do you need, boss?”

“Come pull Ajay out of his office for at least two minutes," I asked as I pushed the chip containing the virus into the server banks. I didn’t immediately activate it, instead putting a ten-minute delay before the file containing the virus would open automatically.

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, dear?”

“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. Only something about a big client came through.

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

“Am I good to go?” I asked as 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 that cool guy at that party at the marina.”

“Ah! A fellow enthusiast!” Ajay’s voice picked up, and I could hear him from the hallway.

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. “Shoring up defenses, eh?” I did the exact opposite with the virus. If anything, I was destroying their defenses.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“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 laughed once more. “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, choom. She wants anonymity until she settles on where she wants her accounts to be taken care of. You know how it is..."

Taking a deep breath and pushing their conversation to the back of my mind, I activated Blackout. There were about thirty seconds left in the battery, and I needed to make them count. I moved to the door and peeked my head out with my Perks active. No one was paying any attention to the server room, or even this hallway. Most people were busy in their own worlds or watching their boss walk around. Feras did a preem job distracting Ajay too, so even the boss wouldn’t notice.

I darted across the hall and entered 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 covered in paper. 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. I looked around a bit more before spotting 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. At least an inch thick, though it looked like there was barely any storage room inside. It definitely focused on protection over storage space.

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 you make the gate out of plywood. It was dumb.

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 with the pick.

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 took a minute taking photos of every single file in the folders to look over later.

I also snatched one of the IDs that looked somewhat like me. I had been wanting one for a while, and it would do for now until I could afford to have my own made. Then, I put everything back how it was and closed up the safe. Activating Blackout once more, I darted back to the server room into the same camera deadzone. Blackout deactivated with enough juice to power ten more seconds left in the tank.

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 so as not to arouse suspicion.”

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

Ajay laughed happily. “Thank you! Please, come to my office. I would love nothing more.”

Just as Ajay was passing back into his office, I closed the server room’s door. “Mr. Ajay! I have finished with the servers. You should be good to go.”

Ajay smiled and motioned to me. “See? Best IT Technician… might I ask, what was causing the issues?”

My gaze flickered to Feras, who was smirking like an idiot as 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 all ended well. Mr. Schel, if you please.” He opened up the door, completely dismissing me.

I took the chance and escaped the building with a nod of my head to Steffany. I made my way down and stepped out into the light rain. People passed me by, their heads held low as a Sentinel AT drove by, casting a dark aura on the streets.

My eyes shifted to the sky, rain tapping my forehead as I spotted the Raijin Raiju hovering just north of the city. It seemed they didn’t want to arouse irritation more than they had to, and the behemoth floated just outside of Aythryn City’s borders. Flyers moved to and from the ship at a constant stream, which was almost as unsettling as the Sentinel presence moving around on the streets.

I kept my head down just the same as everyone else and headed for my bike.

I settled in against the wall - I can’t wait to be paid - and brushed off the remnant water from my 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. It was maybe up there with chilling on the outskirts? Safer too... or at least it would be safer if I didn't share my apartment like a gonk.

Once I made myself as comfortable as I could, I looked through the photos I took of the files in Ajay’s safe. They looked to be logs of purchases and shipments. I read through the logs before plugging in the chips containing the company's finances. There was an odd point between the paper copies and the system copies. The system’s copies had fishy write-offs at about the same time and the same price as the ones on the paper. Then, the 'investments' would be returned almost instantly while the paper copies quoted a far higher increase in Rayn. Rayn that vanished. Probably into Ajay's pocket if I had to guess.

Was Ajay using company funds for personal benefit? If so, things were starting to make a whole lot more sense. The over-the-top parties and security systems showed he had money… What was he buying and selling though? What was so profitable he could triple his money? Maybe he wasn't buying anything at all though. He could just be laundering money for a cut of the profits.

There was definitely something fishy about the paper logs, especially considering most of them were followed by freight drop-offs from Ajay Insurance's corporate storage to a warehouse. A quick search through my deck and the specific warehouse popped onto it. It was a rather large one located on the northern side of Little Yukoto, just past Talus Tower. The corporation that owned the warehouse went under several years ago, so the place was supposedly abandoned. A gang, maybe? That would play into money laundering.

Should I go check it out? This might be my opportunity to get that extra five thousand. If I could prove something shady was going on behind the scenes, I could triple the payout. Hmm… I should probably wait for Feras. I was paying him, so I might as well milk all his efforts… wait, I’ll have to give him twenty-five percent of five thousand? Damn, that blows.

While I waited, I also listened to malwort.mp3. It played out as a recorded conversation between two people, one I recognized as Ajay. They were discussing some kind of deal, though they never explicitly said what they were making the deal over. It was weird and suggested a less-than-legal deal. 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?

To be fair, dirty deals weren’t rare amongst the corps. Every corpo wants to get their hands on a promotion or more money, and dirty deals were literally the building blocks of having Edgerunners and mercs a present force in society. 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.