Mardock Scramble

The Bandersnatch Gang moved as one. Rapidly, silently, they closed in on the former morgue from three different directions.

Welldone led the way, and Medium followed swiftly behind.

Welldone checked the surroundings while Medium stuck his Lockbuster Card into the rear door.

“It’s open. It was a triple lock—we only just made it.” Medium spoke and quickly slipped inside. Welldone followed immediately after, almost back-to-back with Medium, and closed the door carefully behind them.

The corridors were dark and narrow. Medium proceeded down them with caution, and Welldone indicated to him to speak through their transplanted communication devices.

–We’ll leave the Lockbuster in and use it to carry our hack of the circuits. How long till we can take over the building’s security systems, Fleshie?

–Two minutes should be plenty, Well.

–Rare, you enter from the south the moment we’ve overridden their security. Medium, you enter from the main entrance, carrying the Boston bag full of firearms. No transmissions from more than three meters away until we’re sure their security system is completely down.

–There are your orders, guys. I’ve pinned down the location ofeverything in the building. Heat sources detected in the kitchen on the first floor and the north-facing bathroom.

–Go and investigate, Medi. See that the target doesn’t escape through a window. I’m heading to the basement.

Without looking back Medium raised his right hand to acknowledge, then glided down the corridor, footfall silent, disappearing around the right turn.

He removed his gun from its holster on his hip, and his eyes flashed red behind his sunglasses. His computer-enhanced eyes picked up all the obstacles in the dark, clearly and accurately.

–Building secured. Sending through floor plans of the whole building now.

Flesh’s voice echoed deep in his ear.

Medium’s eye flashed. A semi-transparent diagram appeared directly over his retina. There were little markers to show where he and the other members of his gang were, and the rooms where their target was likely to be were highlighted in red.

–Move in, Rare. Mincemeat, standby on alert five meters from the entrance hall. Flesh was giving the instructions now.

“Here we go!” Medium used his real voice, not the wireless. A smirk formed on his face.

He pushed on, cross-checking the data on the map in his retina with what he could see, and decided on his best route.

If he’d wanted to he could have brought up an image of the field of vision of the other gang members, but Medium stayed fixed on the floor plans as he advanced down the corridor. It was a long corridor. Some sort of special setup, thought Medium. This is massive. Why would you need a bathroom that’s more than twenty square meters in size? Must be to clean all those dead bodies. There was almost no light now, and he passed by a number of doors but barely paid them any notice. He’d already checked in his retina that the target wasn’t behind them.

And this was why he completely failed to notice the white shadow that emerged from one of the rooms and started to tail him, following in his footsteps almost casually.

Medium turned a corner in the corridor and before he knew it he appeared to be inside a small closet.

Medium froze to the spot. Darkness enveloped him and seemed to stretch out forever.

–Fleshie? What the hell is going on? Where am I?

–Calm down. Calm down. There’s a door right in front of you.

–Door? I don’t see any…

But then Medium realized that he was indeed staring at a single door right in front of him.

–Found it. A door. What’s on the other side?

–Someone’s waiting for you.

–Waiting?

–Someone’s holding a gun and waiting for you.

Medium smirked.