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***
I went to a very cheap motel and after paying for a room for a couple of hours, I went to take a shower and immediately dialled Regina, so she wouldn't know I was calling her from the shower.
- Quiet.
- I'll send you a picture from my optic... I just want you to know to be careful on Knight Road.....
- А?
But I immediately sent her a photo from the optic that keeps recording during missions.
- How's that? She should've been dead a long time ago.
- I understand she's Borg now. Do you want me to download the techs who discussed her?
- Go ahead.
I downloaded the conversation, and she nodded.
- Thank you... that information is... very important... and how are you doing with Peter Pan?
- Well, the cops were probably bribed to stay out of the way, so we broke down Knight Road to trace the route of the car the bastard was driving. The girls are working on the data now, it's about three hours' work.
- Right. What about River?
- I don't know.
I shrugged, rubbing myself with a loofah and pouring another shower gel on myself.
- ...Before we went to the Knight Road building we sent him to the kidnapped nephew's mum, she needs support right now.
- Right... what's next for you?
- Well...we were kind of lucky...the girls said that the data from the right cameras was just on this server, but to say for sure about the plans....
I shook my head.
- ...but tentatively...that's possible. If the data is still on the server and we can trace the route without hacking anything anymore, then we'll go to his hideout and rescue the kids. If the data isn't all there, then we'll have to break into another branch of Knight Road... and so on until we locate his base. Because Peter Pan's brain ...
I shook my head again.
- ...Clever Girl said there was too little chance of doing anything... so we had to take roundabout routes.
- I see... listen, you keep me informed... because personalities like Mystique, they don't just show up... she, like Smasher, have been in such a league for a long time that mere mortals can't deal with them. Only the top of corporations like Arasaka, or Militech... well, or comparable ones.
I sighed and poured another dose of shower gel on myself.
- I'll keep at it...
The conversation with Regina was interrupted, and I washed myself off for another twenty minutes before leaving the bathroom. During that time I had new clothes delivered, and the old ones I'd sent with the courier to a specialist cleaner who promised to remove any odours and stains. I also doused myself with cologne, and only then I left the motel and took a taxi home.
I entered the flat and the first thing I saw was Becky's scowling face.
- Oh, hi.
- Hi, hi, hi...
She nodded her head, scrutinising me from head to toe and even sniffing me a little.
- You didn't spare any cologne.
- Well, I washed up, but I decided to be a little reassured and doused myself in it from head to toe.
- I see. And the clothes?
- Cleaned.
- Always saving money on stuff like this... you could have thrown it away, I bought this one anyway.....
Becca's tone was... disapproving, but that's what she didn't like....
- Becca, did I offend you?
- No... it's just... you're in constant motion, so you met Mystique, and I...
- And you're more important because you have to protect the Runners. I'll stand up for myself, but our wounders, they're helpless against a serious opponent.
I sigh.
- By the way, how are they?
- They're working.
- Right, well, I'm going to go out for a bit... tinker with my weapons.
- Yeah... can you check out my babies?
I grinned.
- Come on... guns like care, and I'm obviously better at it than you are.
Becca snorted and handed me her pistols, the automatic on her lap.
- Should I go to bed now?
- No, until our rangers say the splinters are destroyed, it's better if you're on guard. Yeah, me too, I'll keep one eye on the surroundings.
- Mm-hmm... you better clean my weapons and I'll keep an eye out. If anything, you'll all know we've got intruders.
I spent the rest of the morning in the workshop.
And luckily everything was quiet until morning.
- We finished...
Lucy went into the workshop and leaned tiredly against the wall.
- Any results?
I turned round to her and, seeing how tired she was, got up from my chair, then walked over to her and gently put my arm round her shoulders.
- Are you okay?
- Tired...
She smiled sadly, settling into my arms.
- ...It's good that they made an upgrade, because with the previous decks and without extensions we would have just ice for a week. If we didn't have baths, but with the systems that Vic installed... even the body doesn't suffer so much, because the heat dissipation is very efficient and the body isn't subjected to unnecessary thermal stress.
I stroked her back.
- Judy and Kiwi?
- Asleep... I proved to have the most stamina and thought I'd tell you the results.
- Thanks... and how's the news?
I lifted her up and, returning to the chair, placed her on my lap. Lucy nestled her nose into my neck with great pleasure.
- We've tracked him down... he's somewhere around Edgewood Lane, Rocky Ridge, which is in the Eastern Badlands. We need to find out exactly where he is.
- We do that, I'll do my work, you go back to sleep.
- I can do that.
- You and the girls have done a pretty good job already... now just let me do the work.
I kissed the top of her head.
- Mm-hmm...
She rubbed her nose against my neck and visibly passed out, while I covered my eyes and called Regina over.
- Is something wrong?
Regina's voice was sleepy.
- If you still want to help your friend, I need your help now, because my ranners are so exhausted that they just passed out.
- You need rangers?
- Not really...
So I texted her a message saying that Peter Pan's real name was Anthony Harris, and I also texted her the search area, namely that the beginning of his route was somewhere in Edgewood Lane, Rocky Ridge, in the Eastern Badlands.
- That's...
- We'll probably have to run his childhood and cross-reference the data. Either there's a place from his childhood or a similar place. And we need it fast.
- Half an hour, half an hour. I'll pull up the connections.
- Yeah, you do that, and I'll make breakfast to feed the rangers. When they've had some sleep. Oh, and don't call your friend.
- I know... he'll get too emotional... so you finish the job... or I can use someone else....
- I'll finish it if I start it.
- Okay, I'll call you as soon as I get my facts straight.
I nodded and switched off then ran my fingers over Lucy's cheek and she opened her eyes with a slight wince.
- Yeah?
- Slivers? Did you run the data wipe?
- Yes, I followed it...
Lucy yawned sweetly.
- ...the connection to the Knight Road servers was lost when the data on the last splinter was destroyed.
I nodded my head.
- Good, now go to sleep.
I stood up, lifting her in my arms like a princess, and walked quietly out of the workshop. As I did so, I cast a glance at Becca.
- Go get some sleep.
She looked up at me sleepily and nodded and went to the first floor to sleep on the much more comfortable couch. I took Lucy there too, and put her on the bed next to Kiwi, covering both girls with a thin blanket. I also checked on Judy and Panam, but Panam had already taken care of her friend, and cuddled her and gave her sweet dreams.
It was only after that that I went down to the kitchen where I started making breakfast quietly.....
Did I want to sleep?
Definitely...
And realising that I would soon be yawning more often than breathing, I took out some stimulants from the medicine cabinet, which would allow me to survive another day adequately. And after taking them I was back in the resource in a couple of minutes.
While preparing breakfast I did not forget that the girls had also spent the night without sleep, and I realised that an hour's sleep, which they would have, though it would help, would not solve anything, so I added some of the same stimulant to the drinks. Just to keep them in resource as well.
About forty minutes later I got a call from Regina saying that Edgewood Farm was in the neighbourhood and that it was most likely Peter Pan's base. She also texted me the exact coordinates, and when she disconnected I quietly went upstairs. Becca was the first one to get in my way.
- Wake up...
I leaned over her and kissed her softly on the nose. She opened her eyes and looked at me sleepily, then wiggled her nose from side to side and sighed sadly.
- You could have kissed her on the lips.....
- There's breakfast downstairs, and coffee and stimulant.
She nodded and stood up and walked towards the stairs. Next I went into Panam and Judy's room.
- Girls wake up...
Panam was the first to open her eyes and I gave her a gentle kiss and after that I gave the same kiss to Judy who looked at me with a very sleepy and tired look.
- М?
- Regina got the location from your tip. There's breakfast and stimulant coffee downstairs.
- Mm-hmm...
Judy wiped her eyes very sweetly, but I turned away abruptly to avoid staying here any longer and left the room to go into the next one.
- Good morning...
I mussed Kiwi's hair and kissed the top of Lucy's head, my actions woke both girls up.
- Is it time to get up already?
Lucy pulled out of her friend's embrace with great regret and looked at me with a slightly confused look.
- 'Yeah... the location's worked out, so let's have breakfast and move out.
- Stimulants?
- Already put them in my coffee. Yeah, and I'm on it, otherwise it'd be dangerous to go on a mission. I don't know what he's done on his farm.
- Farm?
- Yeah.
And just as I said that, memories of the game flashed before my eyes... I didn't want to believe them, but something told me that it would be just like it was in the game. Namely, a bunch of guys who are fixed on beds and who are just being fed chemo.
I sighed.
- Let's go... I'll dump all the data, so we'll have breakfast at a waltz pace.
And when we got downstairs and started eating breakfast, I got a phone call.
- Quiet's here.
- It's River Ward. I was wondering if there's any new data.
- Not yet, the server's incomplete, so we're on our way to hack the next one.
- Roger that... keep me posted, okay?
- Of course.
The connection's broken.
- Who?
- That cop... so we need to work faster or he'll be calling and it'll be distracting.
- OK, then give me the address, I'll give you the route...
I gave Panam the coordinates and she nodded her head, after which we fell into a brief silence where we worked with spoons, eating our breakfast. And only after we sat and drank coffee, and the girls were getting livelier and livelier with each sip.
- So, is everyone in the resource?
- Yeah...
- Then let's go, and on the way, you can tell me what else you got out of hacking cops and Knight Road yesterday.
- Well, you can tell me.
We piled into the Tortilla and the car set off, Judy went on to recount the cases of corrupt coppers, bribe takers, serious criminals who got away with it. And it was all pulled out of Police Headquarters. Knight Road, on the other hand, was relatively quiet... no crime or anything. At least on this server and the hacked computer there was nothing like that. Unless, of course, you take what they're responsible for. As I suspected it's cheaper to bribe the cops than the corporation, so in many cases the cops just didn't go to them.
- Okay, well, we'll have to process the data later and try to sell it to Regina... it's not our business to deal with crime. We're solo... although if Regina finds it profitable and decides to do something about it by hiring us...
- All right.
- Pull over!