The street cameras were quick to reveal what happened next. All three of the Scavs met up outside, dragging Parzik into a dirty van. Lei slowly followed the holo footage on her bike.
A screech and the van took off down the road. It went quite fast. She trailed behind at an adequate pace. Whenever the footage would leave the camera's boundaries, she was forced to look for another nearby camera.
By the time she looked into her fifth camera, a problem appeared. Her access was blocked. Immediately after that, her display lit up. A corpo netrunner most likely watching over the camera system.
"Who the hell are you? Piss off or I'll fry your brain into bits. Get off this channel." A male voice growled. Lei quickly responded.
"Chill. I'm just following a group of Scavs. They're in that van…" She rewinded the footage for him to see. "...You see it?"
There was a moment of silence as the netrunner regarded the footage. He slowed down the footage to .25x speed to see it in slow motion. A holographic mask revealed itself to him.
"Confirmed. I won't interfere…but I'll be watching. Dig any further into the server and I'll zero you." He threatened. The drifter smiled in relief. A born and bred corporate netrunner wouldn't be a fun fight.
"Thank you. Just trying to save someone. You have no idea how much this helps." She praised. Her voice was sweet like honey. It caused the rigid man to relax slightly.
"Mnn." He grunted in response.
Lei was now able to access the cameras without any problems. The man digitally followed her traces every step of the way, but didn't stop her. The van eventually brought her to the highway…and landed her in the outskirts of Pacifica.
One more left turn around a corner and the footage stopped. There were no more cameras that could be accessed…but that was okay. The actual van could now be found parked in front of an abandoned school.
Each of the windows and doors were boarded up. Hammered down. On the verge of breaking down. It looked like it hadn't been touched in years. A perfect cover.
'First things first. I need to find where Parzik is being held.' She decided.
The drifter parked the Kusanagi in a nearby alley. It was then covered by a dirty sheet littering the ground. Didn't want it to get stolen. This was Pacifica after all. One of the most dangerous districts.
This building had three floors. No cameras. Only way to find Parzik would be to sneak around. Or burst through and risk his well being. Damn.
Lei truly wanted to rip through them like animals…but not yet. Just a little longer. Her figure accelerated and she dashed up the side of the abandoned school. It was an old and predated structure, so she had to be careful with her steps. Didn't want the Scavs to hear creaking above their heads.
Finding a broken piece of tile on the roof, she lied down and placed her ear to listen. There was no sound. Fifteen minutes passed as she calmly waited. Nothing.
The beam saber ignited. Pointing it at the tile, she carved a small opening to fit through. Lei placed the loose tile to the side before dropping down. Shelves were all around her. A storage room littered with crates and dust. Wouldn't be surprising if it was filled with cyberware.
Lei placed her ear to the door and waited. She could hear voices on the other side. They were having a conversation.
"Old man can't even finish his own sentences. Hahaha!"
"He's lucky Drak won't let us rough him up too much. Fucker has Trauma Team on speed dial."
"Why would you rough him up? He's made our work so much easier."
"Why? So he knows who's in charge, dumbass. So he doesn't get any funny ideas."
"Fuck him. What about that other bastard we brought in?"
"Dead. Could hear his screams even from the first floor. Must've had a lot of chrome chipped in. Billy did good snatching him up."
"Does that mean we get new chrome?"
"If Drak doesn't want it, then yeah. New fucking chrome. Fresh off that crying bastard."
"Haha! Alright, gonna go check on Morg. Prolly scrolling another XBD. Jon, let's go."
Two pairs of footsteps left the room. Lei internalized their conversation. Several things could be gleaned.
'One. The doctor could possibly be on this floor. Two. He's being forced to rip cyberware from victims. Three. Drak is their leader. A leader among Scavs is rare.'
'Grand ideals. Everyone has them. Only some act on it.' Johnny commented.
The drifter slightly cracked open the door and peeked through. One man sat on a chair with his back to her. A screwdriver was in his left hand. He seemed to be fiddling with his cybernetic right arm.
She tried to open the door a bit more, but it immediately creaked. No time was wasted as she entered flux speed. Time slowed down. Fully opening the door, she dashed toward the sitting figure. The beam saber pierced the back of the chair alongside his chest and heart.
Time returned to normal as she covered his mouth. His body jumped in surprise, a painful groan escaping his lips. Luckily, it was muffled. The light left his eyes. Dead.
Turning the chair and his body to hide the wound, she placed an old newspaper over his chest. It would look like he was asleep for a while. In case anyone entered.
This was definitely an old classroom. The doors had been removed, a large hole replacing them. Most likely to make traveling less tedious. Smart…but it made stealth much easier.
Lei crept around the third floor, sticking to the corners of the room. One classroom to the next. Surprisingly, there weren't too many Scavs on this floor. Another two were quietly eliminated…their bodies thrown into bathroom stalls.
Loud music could be heard on the second floor. Most likely where they hang out at. She had yet to find the doctor on this floor. Was her initial guess wrong? Couldn't be. There were still more places to check.
A few more minutes of quiet searching…and bingo. Two Scavs sat outside of a classroom while playing cards. Their guns were resting on the table. Unaware of the approaching red glow. One moment they were mid conversation and the next…they were missing their heads.
Like puppets without strings, the corpses fell to the ground. Lei stepped over the garbage and opened the door. There he was. The doctor. Old man Parzik was sitting next to a ripper table, where a dead body was beginning to rot. He stared at the ground with a grim expression.
"Parzik…" She whispered while speed walking over to him. The old man raised his head, recognition flashing across his eyes.
"LORAL-" His yell was interrupted by her hand covering his mouth.
"Shhhh. They don't know I'm here." She shushed him. Then her arms wrapped around him in a loving hug. Parzik's eyes grew watery.
"Lei…I'm beyond saving now. The things I've done. I'll…I'll never be able to sleep again. I can't live like this."
"No. Don't say that. Look at me." She took off her infovisor. He looked into her eyes.
"........................."
"You will keep living. You aren't allowed to give up on life. Not until you save mine."
"Loralei…you don't understand. Some of these people…they were still alive when I-"
"I understand. Trust me. I'm going to kill all of these bastards, okay? Then we can talk about it." She interrupted again.
"......................"
"Alright?"
"Alright."
"Stay here. I'll be right back…and take that damn jammer out of your neck."
"Ah, right." He answered with a distant mind. Lei gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading out.
As soon as she stepped outside of the classroom, malice filled her eyes. There was no longer a need to remain calm. As long as she made sure no enemies went up the third floor, she could slaughter wantonly. Numbers started to appear in her mind…but it wasn't nauseating this time. It was gentle. Comforting.
Her steps were full and strong. No longer careful and quiet. With her beam saber ignited, she stomped down to the second floor. The loud music covered the hum of her blade.