As she made a path around the Vida Escondida Autonomous Authority HQ, Tasìa drove from a North to South bound interstate then onto an overpass that lead onto a East to West bound double lane highway. She repeated the circling pattern several times as she began to form a picture in her head of the complex.

All the while, Tasìa was careful not to get close to parameter security territory.

If she didn't enjoy testing new vehicles as much as she did the drive would have proven to be a tedious means to collect the one essential data point for which she hunted.

As Tasìa suspected would be the case, guests' vehicles were parked in a separate level of the garage from employee vehicles. Once she identified the five story carport, it took several more attempts from different vantage points before she could also identify the carport level that each class of vehicle was allowed in.

From lowest to the highest story of the carport - security personnel, executives, service and systems administrative personnel, office workers, and, finally, visitors.

Visitor parking had the lightest security, merely a sentry post at the entrance, and a short tunnel right after where a vehicular scan was conducted.

However, the visitor access to the building was the most limited of the six classifications.

When she first realized the visitor cars were sent all the way up the fifth floor, Tasìa had grinned wide. That arrangement made it less tricky to access the lower floors.

Although she was a spider monkey, a downward jump was still, on her personal average, three times more quickly accomplished than an upward vertical climb.

Satisfied she had gathered all the intel she needed to make a well informed breach, Tasìa headed the Lux Bavaria in the opposite direction to avoid an oncoming security vehicle.

Given she was going in the opposite direction from the VEAA HQ she assumed it would not follow her but the F-150 crossed mediums to turn and catch up with her.

Her in-cabin intercom rang with the sound of a gravely voice.

"Are you lost," he asked.

She giggled with a feigned airy disposition. The security driver now looked right at her as his vehicle lined up with the BMW Lux Bavaria. He gave it a quick inspection, and nodded to his satisfaction.

Not a bad looking sort, she assessed in turn.

Tasìa threw him a smile, and pushed her hair away from the side of her face.

"Just killing time until I meet up with a friend."

"Well, alright then. If you sure you are okay, my shift just ended, I am going to split."

The driver nodded to her before speeding off ahead of her, and leaving her far behind.

Tasìa drove the BMW another seven kilometers west, away from the EVAA HQ. A small strip mall where all the business closed at that late hour came in view on her right. She found a little hideaway in the form of an abandoned food truck on the lot, and out of sight of the main highway. Tasìa backed up the BMW and she parked it.

Inside an inner fold in her jacket, Tasìa kept a niche of fake IDs. She brought them out, shuffled through them, and found the one that bore the name Tereza Nygale Esperanza. That middle name always caught her eye as being too showy. You never wanted to draw attention when in need of a generic cover ID.

The origins of the name were baffling as well.

Cathar. Not of a Spanish branch of the creed but of a South of France origin instead.

She had several more ID legends on hand but Esperanza was the cleanest one of them. There wasn't even a hint of a warrant associated with it.

Even more importantly, through padded memberships in various organizations, she made Tereza a complete member of Vida Escondida society. Tasìa also set up active contracts with VEAA attached to that name.

Using the on-board deck, Tasìa scanned the mail for Tereza. Luck broached in her favor; the VEAA sent a message four months previously that asked if she wished to have a smart glass solar panel installed to replace the dumb glass in current use for the atrium in her condo apartment.

The offer was still valid, and it was actually a good idea. She had only used the rental space in the past to stash things that were none of her crew's business and to do research at a work station and lab set-up independent of their knowledge.

Tasìa validated the return email in the affirmative. Immediately, a guest pass returned authorized. She registered the BMW Lux Bavaria as the pass vehicle.

Giddily, Tasia cackled. She did not have to worry about the security vehicles monitoring the highways now. When they scanned her, everything would show up copacetic.

She pulled the Lux Bavaria up to the ground station sentry post exclusively used for visitor inspection.

A tall woman in custom tailored ChitinTech armor rotated out of the shack, swinging as she gripped the jamb set a few centimeters above her head. The armored guard leaned above Tasìa, hovering over the driver-side door.

Stolen story; please report.

Tasìa let the window down.

"Please state your business," the guard's voice echoed in electronic feedback from the helmet she wore.

"I would like to see a sales representative in your Home Improvement department."

The guard scanned her ID. Tasìa watched the green color of the readout reflected in the guard's helmet visor. It never changed to red.

The woman smiled as she took a moment to physically inspect the BMW. The Lux Bavaria was on the higher end of the German car manufacturer.

Their flagship model where they invested a fortune in year to year upgrade improvements often a decade before they became standardized features in other vehicles of the BMW fleet.

If Tasìa had been forced to blend in with the nightshift workers it would have drawn scrutiny to have driven such a luxury vehicle onto the lot. She would have traded it in for a 7 Series if that turned out to be the operative plan.

Finally, the woman gave a polite nod.

"You can go on through."

The guard backed up into the shack and the gate opened.

Green arrow instructions lit up on the road pavement in front of her into the scanner tunnel and it also showed her where she was allowed to travel - up to the fifth floor. Before she pressed forward, Tasìa glanced over to the exit ramp.

There was no guard station, just a tunnel back to the surface. It would suit her plans to egress the Lux Bavaria just fine.

The sales pitch lasted a mere half an hour with an eager young attendant dressed in an earth tone brown and green sweater, and plaid skirt. The ensemble signified 2060s late shift chic.

Tasìa treated the sales rep like she was an old acquaintance. In an operation like this one, it was important to form internal alliances who were not predisposed to view one suspiciously.

To that effect, Tasìa accepted every item and warranty coverage the sales rep suggested to maximize the young woman's commission.

As there was another customer waiting in the sales rep's office foyer Tasìa politely cut it short with an invitation for the rep to come out and produce an advertisement virtual tour once the work was complete.

Grinning to herself as she walked away, Tasìa knew no matter what went down on this venture she had an ally that would vouch for her.

Tasìa made her way back down the hall to the elevator that led back to the carport. They were the only two options that the panel gave - up to the fifth floor carport deck or down to the visitor's floor.

She rode up to the fifth floor, and retraced where she had parked the Lux Bavaria.

Entering the vehicle after making sure no one was around, Tasìa tinted the windows, set the car's autopilot to return to the Quick Mart.

Before she exited it, Tasìa reluctantly removed her Katy Lieds and tucked them into the mid-seat storage. She had used them extensively on her recognizance but they would not pass scrutiny inside employee zones.

The Lux Bavaria drove off without her.

Tasìa casually strolled adjacent to the fifth floor outer walkway loop. The rail stood only waist high to her.

The setup of not eyeballing those who left the premises from a second guard station at the exit was a security flaw.

And Tasìa was about to exploit another.

Though she spotted cameras on the entrance way and the ramp up, there were no cameras along the outer loop that would catch her next move. Tasìa hung her legs over the wall, twisted her body around, and clawed at the wall surface as she let herself gently down to the fourth story of the carport.

She played the odds, of course, that no car happened to be driving by as she dropped landed on the embankment. Nothing Tasìa could do about that if one did.

But it only took her a split second to land, somersault and flip up on the other side of the guard rail, and casually stride forth to become a fourth floor pedestrian.

The fourth floor was a duplicate of the fifth floor except for a separate set of elevator placements, and the addition of a glass tunnel used to scan personnel before they reached either the elevator or hub node service desk.

The tunnel presented a problem.

Tasìa surveyed up and down the parking lanes. Among the many commuters bustling about, she just needed to find a short, brunette female as the target came in for a shift.

Not exactly a difficult task in Paraguay but the first several commuters frustrated her efforts. Dye jobs were very popular in 2067.

Tasìa decided she might have to settle on a dirty blonde or scarlet redhead and take her chances that no one would notice the difference but then she spotted a candidate who was preparing to park her car.

The lady had her hair up in a bun as well as matching in the style and class of clothes that Tasìa wore.

Most excellent except for the oddly worried look on her face.

What was up?

Tasìa had to time her actions just right. If she and this lady who just drove up were the only ones around the next step would be easy peasy but there were four other workers nearby who she would need to distract.

Tasìa reached into her chic little purse. As the target parked her vehicle, Tasìa placed a flashbang in the lower T carriage of a Mercedes SUV she casually passed by. She made a beeline over to her target employee as the woman bent over in a kneeling position to grab a pair of large bags from her car.

Tasìa removed a tranq dart she had previously lifted from the salvage yard from her inner right boot and poked it into the ladies left butt cheek.

The lady gave a high pitched whooping noise just as the flash bang exploded. All heads jerked to the Mercedes SUV as smoke begin to rise from it.

Tasìa gently tackled the employee forward to force her into the vehicle as the lady succumbed to the tranquilizer.

When Tasìa heard keys jangling from a coat pocket, she grabbed them and used the relay device to tint the windows to a complete dark before she risked turning the interior lights on.

Frowning as she peered downward, Tasìa gave the employee's bottom a good squeeze. It was quite the heartbreaker, and that had the potential to be a problem. That voluptuous assembly of muscle and ham was definitely some guard's favorite sight of the evening when - Tasìa took the ID badge from where it was clipped on the employee's jacket - Leeza Donada sauntered in for her shift.

Tasìa had a muscle butt that did not reveal its finer glories except in the altogether or a bikini bottom.

Her hypothetical guard would definitely not mistake Liz's, she gave it an envious slap, bum for her own. Well Tasìa decided, what choice did she have but to take a chance.

A small crowd gathered by the Mercedes. Two guys amongst them managed to pop the vehicle's hood. They would have to remove and search under the spark plug cables to find where Tasìa hid the exploded flashbang.

Likely, it would still be hard to spot. It may prove a vulnerability in her plans later on if she lingered around too long.

Tasìa borrowed Liz's jacket and pulled it over her own to cover up her butt. She walked around the crowd and back onto the walkway medium.

The customer service area on the first floor was cut off from the upper floors by the separate elevators for them but she gathered enough intel while engaged with the sales personnel to know that the security department was on the third floor just below her current one.

The service ducts if consistent in design with the one she spotted on the first floor would lead her into the server farm where she could extract what she needed and egress off the premises in Leeza's vehicle.

Tasìa strolled purposively into the tunnel. All she needed to do was get passed any strut watcher's scrutiny and everything else she planned for should fall into place if she stayed alert and ready to improvise her actions as the situation changed.

She made it to the elevator, Tasìa let out a lung full of air, relieved.

Then the elevator intercom blared in a snappy male voice.

"Leeza Donada, please report to security station 2HH before you sign in."

Tasìa winced with an unbelieving sneer.

"Well, shit on me."