Sasha wandered off, searching for an access point into the surveillance systems. Sophie, on the other hand, began scanning the area using her optics.

Unfortunately, there was a massive amount of additional tracks, making it much harder for the younger merc to actually find anything. However, even though it was hard, she was able to discover a few things.

The very first thing she was able to find was the exact same bullet casings as the ones at the apartment. Someone or multiple people were using an Ajax here. All with the same Militech branded shells too. Obviously, she also found a number of other random bullet casings. Revolver cylinders, shotgun shells and…more rifle casings. Are these from the mercs? 6th Street? Older, maybe.

“The Ajax use here might just be a coincidence,” she muttered. Sophie turned her attention to footprints, hoping she might find something odd. To her surprise, she did. Six different footprint sizes, but all with the same patterns. Two women, four men, unless some of the men have identical feet sizes. Maybe more than six then. All found around the area with the Ajax casings too…Well, it’s certainly a clue, but it doesn’t really help me all that much.

“Even the footprints might not be accurate. They’re pretty scuffed after all. If the mercs have been kidnapped, there must have been a getaway vehicle. I’ll look for tire tracks then.”

She began scanning the nearby roads with her optics, looking for tracks that would belong to a large, heavy vehicle. Something like a Behemoth would make sense. Heavily armoured and large enough to transport multiple unconscious mercs. However, her search came up with nothing. Sophie continued to examine the area, hoping she would spot something that’d give her a clue. As she searched, her interface lit up.

“Sasha? What’s up? Have you found something?”

“Not sure. The cameras all around here were blinded when the mercs went missing. Oddly though, the audio is still available. I’m sending you through something now, dated for the time our missing mercs were completing their job.” The data came through and the younger girl listened carefully.

There was a large amount of gunfire. Once it died down however, there was an odd whooshing noise. It stopped and more gunfire erupted. Sounds like an bunch of Ajax’s. It stopped and then a minute or two later, the whooshing sound reappeared.

“So they were ambushed after the battle with 6th Street. But what was with that sound? Any thoughts?”

“Well, it definitely wasn’t a vehicle. It did sound familiar though. Outside of that? No idea.”

While Sophie stood in thought, an AV flew overhead. Normally that wouldn’t have mattered, it was a fairly normal thing in Night City. What drew the girl’s attention, however, was the sound.

“It was an AV! The kidnappers arrived in an AV and left the same way, taking the mercs with them. It would explain the lack of tire tracks as well.” She paused. “Motherfucker! How are we meant to track an AV!?”

“I think the bigger issue is who. A group that uses an AV for their missions has to have some pretty powerful backers. It’s either a megacorp or a group backed by one.”

“You’re right. Still, we have to find them at least. You know of any way to track an AV?” Sasha thought about it for a moment.

“I can think of a couple of ways, but they’re all extremely time consuming. I think it’d be better to contact Rogue. I’m sure she’d have a better idea.”

Sophie did exactly that, quickly ringing the fixer.

“You have something for me?” The woman said impatiently.

“Not yet. We need to know how to track an AV.”

“All AV’s, at least the legal ones, have to be tracked. All of the flight data is stored at NC Aerial Control. Sending you the location now,” a pause. “Do you suspect an AV was involved?”

“Yeah, it’s the biggest clue we have right now.”

“I see. Report back when you have more info.”

“Thanks Rogue. Speak soon.” The call cut off, leaving Sophie to check the location of the Aerial Control facility. She made her way over to her Raven. Sasha joined her and the pair headed towards the City Centre.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

-----------------------

The Night City Aerial Control (NCAC) facility remained lit, even in the early hours of the morning. However, the lights from inside, spilling out onto the surroundings, created a rather sinister and shadowy feel. The place was important which meant there was a heavy guard presence. Most important corpo reps travel by AV. Night Corp simply couldn’t leave much to chance when it came to air traffic control.

Sophie crouched on a rooftop across the street, her optics observing the facility's entrances and guard patrols. Sasha was beside her, also examining the building.

“Security is tight,” Sophie muttered. “Guards everywhere, overlapping cameras... It’s gonna be difficult to get in. You stay out here, get into the network and guide me where I need to go. Sound good?”

“Not possible this time. If we want that data, I need to get it myself. You don’t have the skills to extract the data silently yet.” Sophie sighed.

“Alright, but make sure you follow my lead.”

Sasha smirked, “let’s move.”

The pair descended to street level, darting across the road and into the shadows of the facility. They reached the electric fence that surrounded the building and made their way to a specific spot. Sophie had found a perfect section of the fence, an area where the patrols didn’t overlap perfectly and there were no cameras.

Sasha got to work, finding a control panel for the electric current running through the fence. Unfortunately, it was some distance away and impossible to reach. Sophie looked around, her gaze eventually settling on an overhead streetlight. With a small running start, the girl leapt upwards, her reinforced ankles allowing her to jump significantly higher than normal. Her limbs wrapped themselves around the pole and she shimmied up.

Once she had pulled herself on top of the streetlight, Sophie sprung over the electrical fence, rolling twice to dissipate the momentum. She was inside.

The merc made her way over to the control panel, taking great care to avoid any possible patrols. She opened it, then put her engineering knowledge to use. Rewiring the panel cut the electrical current to the fence and she made her way back to Sasha.

Sophie lifted the section of the fence just enough for her partner to slip through.

“Nice job,” Sasha whispered.

The pair moved quickly across the open ground, sticking close to the shadows cast by massive cargo containers and smaller structures.

Reaching the facility’s wall, Sophie found a maintenance panel and pried it open.

“Half a minute,” Sasha said, slipping into the system.

Sophie nodded, turning her attention to a nearby patrol. A guard passed within twenty feet of them, his flashlight sweeping lazily over the area. Sophie held her breath, prepared to take him out. Fortunately, the guard moved on without noticing anything amiss.

“Got it,” Sasha whispered as the maintenance hatch clicked open. They slipped inside, closing it behind them.

The interior of the facility was cold, its corridors lit with a faint white glow. Sasha stopped at a data port near a security panel, jacking in with her Personal Link. She closed her eyes, locating the building schematics.

“Server room is on the third floor,” she whispered. “Lot’s of cameras but they’re blind for the next three minutes.”

Sophie nodded. “Display the path for me.” A map of the building appeared in the younger girl’s vision, showing her where she needed to go.

They climbed a set of stairs, footsteps muffled by their Lynx Paws. On the second floor, they encountered an issue. A pair of guards were chatting as they came down the next stairwell.

Sophie held up a hand to stop Sasha and pointed to a small alcove nearby. They slipped into it, pressing themselves against the wall.

The guards’ conversation drifted closer.

“…heard something about another AV going missing,” one of them said.

“Again? The brass needs to get their act together,” the other replied.

The two eventually moved on, their voices fading down the corridor.

Sophie let out a slow breath. “Let’s keep moving.”

On the third floor, they reached the server room. The heavy, reinforced door had a biometric scanner and keypad lock.

“Think you can handle it?” Sophie asked.

“Please, who do you think I am?” Sasha said, jacking into the device.

While the netrunner worked on bypassing the security, Sophie kept watch. The floor was quiet, but every now and then, she caught the faint sound of footsteps or distant voices. Still, she remained on guard.

“Got it,” Sasha said as the door slid open with a hiss.

They stepped inside. The room was lined with servers, their LED indicators blinking in the dim light. Sasha went to work immediately, jacking into the main terminal.

Sophie stood by the door, her ears straining for any sign of trouble. Even if this was one of the less vulnerable parts of the job, the girl refused to take any risks.

“How’s it going?” she asked softly.

“Almost there,” Sasha replied. “This system’s ICE is harder to crack than expected but I’ve got it handled.”

A few moments later, a faint beep sounded, and Sasha grinned. “Got it. Flight data is downloading now. Give me thirty seconds.”

As the data transfer began, Sophie’s ears caught a faint sound; footsteps. She tapped Sasha on the shoulder.

“We’ve got company,” she whispered.

Sasha didn’t respond, her focus entirely on the download. Sophie positioned herself next to the door, tensed for action. The footsteps grew louder, then stopped just outside.

Sophie’s pulse quickened. If the guard came in, their successful infiltration would be blown. Night Corp would know someone had broken in if a body was found after all.

The guard mumbled something unintelligible for a moment, then continued down the hall. Both girls let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Done,” Sasha said, joining her partner at the door.

“Let’s get out of here.”

They retraced their steps, moving quickly. Sasha reactivated the camera loops as they passed through each floor, ensuring their movements remained undetected.

As they neared the maintenance hatch, another close call nearly derailed their escape. A drone hovered into view, its sensors scanning the area.

Sophie grabbed Sasha’s arm, pulling her into a nearby storage closet. They watched through the small gap in the door as the drone paused, its scanners sweeping over the area.

After what felt like an eternity, the drone moved on.

“Too close,” Sasha muttered.

“Let’s go,” Sophie replied.

They slipped out through the maintenance hatch and back across the open ground. The fence was still disabled, and they crawled through without incident. Once outside, they rushed to Sophie’s car.

Sasha slumped into the passenger seat, letting out a deep breath. “That was intense. I don’t know how you do that stuff so easily.”

“Lot’s of practice,” Sophie replied, starting the engine. “But we got what we came for.”

Sasha grinned, holding up a small data shard. “Flight data, courtesy of Night Corp. Let’s see where our mysterious kidnappers went.”

Sophie chuckled, pulling the car onto the road. “We’ll go home now. While you check the data, I’m gonna get some sleep. When you’re done, leave the data on a shard and join me. I’ll check it when I wake up.”

“Sounds good. I hate working at these hours.”