Vista del Rey

  December 11th

  2069

  Sophie had studied the file on her first assassination target since being partnered with Sasha. The woman’s name was Estrella Mendez, a low-level enforcer for the Valentinos who had been climbing the ranks through sheer brutality and was close to being promoted to a mid-level enforcer. Fortunately, she was less of a combatant and more of a manager, though that didn’t stop her from committing incredibly violent acts alongside her goons.

  Padre’s sources had detailed kidnappings, extortion, and a disturbing tendency to make an example of anyone who disrespected her. She had a fondness for knives; plenty of her victims had been found in dumpsters with deep, intricate carvings left in their flesh, messages for anyone who thought to cross her. This was the kind of person Padre wanted gone before she got too powerful.

  The construction site in front of Sophie was the woman’s current base of operations, a half-built, multi-story structure with exposed steel beams and unfinished concrete walls. Floodlights illuminated patches of the site, creating pockets of shadow where Sophie could move unseen.

  Despite the favourable location, there were plenty of obstacles. The place was heavily patrolled by Valentinos and there were a handful of automated sentries rigged to detect movement. On the bright side, the sentries were mostly on the outer edge of the site. Of course, there were plenty of cameras that Sasha would have to disable at just the right moments.

  Sophie crouched behind a stack of steel pipes near the perimeter. Sasha’s voice echoed in her head. "I’m inside their system. I can see about half the cameras. Gimme a sec and I’ll get you a better view.”

  Sophie exhaled slowly, scanning the site. There were at least a dozen guards visible from her position, scattered in small groups while smoking or chatting near stacks of construction materials.

  She moved when the nearest guard turned his back, slipping through the gaps in the fencing and ducking into the shadows of a parked truck. The Valentinos weren’t lax, but they weren’t exactly military-trained either.

  Sasha’s voice returned. "Alright, got their full camera feed. You’re clear to move to your left. There are two guards near the concrete mixers, but they’re facing the other way."

  Sophie crept forward, pressing against a stack of rebar. She carefully avoided a patch of broken glass and closed the distance on the first guard. He barely had time to react before she wrapped an arm around his neck, silencing him with a quick chokehold. A few seconds later, she eased his body behind a pile of cement bags and moved on to the next target.

  As she reached for her knife, Sasha spoke up. "Hold up, someone’s coming."

  Sophie instantly dropped to the ground behind the mixer. Boots crunched against gravel as another guard approached. He stopped near the body she’d hidden, his brow furrowing. Sophie held her breath.

  Then, another voice called out, "Yo, we gotta check the south side. C'mon."

  The guard hesitated, but then turned away, walking toward the other end of the site. Sophie took her chance and moved, making her way toward the central scaffolding.

  As she climbed, her eyes landed on an unusual figure, especially amongst the Valentinos; a mountain of a man leaning against a stack of wooden pallets. He looked like he’d be more at home with the Animals and unlike the others, he wasn't slacking off. He stood rigid, arms crossed over a bare chest covered in tattoos. A cybernetic implant ran along the side of his jaw and his left eye glowed a deep red.

  Even from a distance, Sophie could tell he was dangerous. He carried a modified shotgun strapped to his back, but she guessed he didn’t need it to be lethal. He looked like the kind of guy who could crush someone's skull with his bare hands.

  Sasha must have noticed him too. "Uh, heads up, there’s a guy near the middle that looks like he eats chrome for breakfast. You know who this is?"

  "No idea," Sophie murmured. "He wasn’t in the info, so I’m staying clear of him."

  "Good plan."

  Sophie maneuvered through a framework of steel beams, carefully weaving past gaps in the floor. Below, more Valentinos patrolled, their conversations drifting up to her. Most of it was idle talk. Just bets on fights or complaints about food. But then she caught something useful.

  "Mendez wants us on alert tonight. Some corpos sniffing around her deals. She thinks someone might try to hit her." Sophie frowned at the news.

  So Estrella’s already wary. That’s not great. She might have tighter security than expected.

  She relayed the new information to Sasha before continuing forward, nearing the middle of the site. A drone hummed in the distance, scanning the area with a soft blue light. She waited for it to pass before slipping between two wooden barriers.

  Sasha guided her past a few more guards, shutting down cameras at just the right moments. Sophie was nearly in position to move toward Estrella’s location when Sasha suddenly cursed. "Uhhhh. I’ve got company. Another netrunner just found my tracks. They’re trying to trace me." There was panic in her voice.

  Sophie’s stomach clenched. "Can you stay hidden?"

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "I’m trying, but they’re good. I need to lock them in a loop before they pinpoint me. You’ll be on your own for now."

  Sophie scanned the area ahead. She was still undetected and despite losing Sasha’s assistance, she was used to working alone. "Do what you need to do. Just stay safe."

  "Mmm. You too."

  Then, alarms started blaring.

  "Shit! They got me! Sorry Sophie, I need to focus!" Sasha shouted. The holo-call cut out, leaving Sophie to grit her teeth. Fuck.

  Below her, Valentinos shouted orders and grabbed weapons. Floodlights were turned up, cutting through some of the darkness. Her eyes caught a large group moving in the distance. She zoomed in, quickly identifying one of the people in the center of the group as Mendez. The woman was moving straight towards a building on the edge of the site that looked secure.

  At that moment, Sophie began to move. Her current location, nearly halfway up a tower of scaffolding, would normally have been a good position. However, she needed to be on the ground in order to reach the Valentino leader.

  She pushed off the steel platform she was currently on, heading straight towards a gap in the scaffolding as fast as she could. At the last second, she dove out, catching her hands on a hook attached to some kind of pulley system.

  She plummeted instantly. Just before she hit the ground, she swung herself away from the scaffolding.

  Sophie hit the ground, rolling once before breaking into a sprint. She palmed her pistols before taking aim at a pair of Valentinos in front of her. A flurry of bullets slammed into them and they dropped to the ground. The noise she made was obscured by the loud alarms and shouts that continued to erupt around the construction site.

  Another guard in front of her barely had time to react before a round punched through his throat. He crumpled, his SMG clattering to the dirt.

  She reloaded on the run, sliding behind a stack of cement blocks as bullets slammed into them, kicking up dust. Returning one of her pistols to its holster, she drew a knife. One of the Valentinos, a burly woman with a gold-plated shotgun, shouted something before rounding the corner, coming face-to-face with Sophie. She rammed the knife up under the woman’s chin, twisting viciously before yanking it free. The corpse dropped with a thud.

  Unfortunately, some of the nearby Valentinos had located her after the loud gunfire. Two more guards were charging in from the right. Sophie ducked behind a half-built wall, her breath coming fast. She leaned out and fired a quick double tap, dropping one. The other dove for cover, but Sophie was faster. She closed the distance, yanking him forward before driving a blade through his eye.

  A voice barked orders ahead. Sophie glanced up.

  There she was.

  Estrella was standing on the steps of the main office, barking orders to her subordinates. Dressed in a deep red Valentino jacket with golden implants glinting along her arms, she looked every bit the battlefield commander. She was rallying her people, directing them to different areas of the building site.

  Holstering one of her pistols again, Sophie reached into her pouch and pulled out a handful of smoke pellets. Without hesitation, she flung them toward the gathered crowd.

  The pellets hit the ground, hissing as thick smoke exploded outward, swallowing the group in an opaque gray fog. Sophie activated her thermal optics, her vision shifting into a monochrome world of heat signatures.

  She dove into the cloud like a ghost.

  The first man barely had time to react before Sophie’s knife tore across his throat. The second turned toward the sound, only to take two rapid shots to the chest and another to his forehead.

  Sophie moved silently, her footfalls drowned out by panicked shouting and occasional gunfire from nearby. Another ‘tino swung wildly with a machete, slashing at nothing. She ducked under the blade, sliding her knife into his gut before twisting sharply. She followed it up with a pair of suppressed shots, emptying her magazine before holstering the weapon.

  Gunfire erupted blindly from one of the blinded Valentinos, rounds spraying into the smoke with no real direction. There were a few cries of pain as Sophie rolled to the ground. Her hand lashed out, yanking one of the ‘tinos to the ground. She clambered on top of him before slamming her knife through his skull.

  She got up and only a few corpses later, she reached Estrella.

  The woman saw her too late.

  Sophie didn’t hesitate. Drawing her katana, she drove the blade up under Estrella’s ribcage, feeling it slice through organs with ease. The enforcer choked, chrome-plated fingers twitching as she struggled to grasp at Sophie’s arm. Sophie yanked the blade free, then slashed again. The woman’s head fell to the ground with a wet thud, followed by her body.

  “Sophie! The netrunner’s down,” Sasha’s voice crackled in her ear, relief evident in her tone.

  Sophie exhaled sharply. “Good,” she muttered, already moving. “Target’s dead. I’m getting out.”

  She dropped a few more smoke pellets before slipping away, toward the exit path she’d planned; only to stop dead in her tracks.

  A massive figure emerged from behind a cement mixer. The giant, mountainous man she’d spotted earlier. Belatedly, she threw out a scan with her optics, quickly getting something back via the NCPD database Vik had installed just a few days ago. Need to get better at using that. I had a much better opportunity earlier.

  Diego “El Toro” Manera. The Bull. A regular, if somewhat more violent Valentino. Wanted mostly for assault.

  Well, he’s certainly got the look for it.

  “?Dónde crees que vas, chica?”

  She didn’t get a chance to reply as he drew his shotgun before aiming at her.

  The shot roared like a cannon. The round grazed her side, sending pain lancing up her ribs. She hissed, twisting behind cover as the second shot demolished a nearby support beam. What kind of gun is that!?

  She sprinted, vaulting over a stack of crates as another shot thundered behind her. Every footstep felt like a countdown to death. She ducked behind an unfinished wall, panting.

  “Sasha,” she snapped. “Get the car running. Now. I might need to delta.”

  “Got it!” Sasha yelped.

  Sophie peeked out just as Diego stomped closer.

  Another shot cracked like thunder, shattering her cover. That’s five shots now? He’s gotta be close to running out of ammo.

  She took off, weaving between structures, dodging gunfire as Diego gave chase. Six. He was fast for his size, his footfalls shaking the ground. A slug struck a metal beam inches from her head. Too close.

  Then silence. She looked back and saw the man struggling to reload the shotgun. His massive fingers were making things challenging for him. A handful of flash pellets erupted around him and he roared.

  Sophie surged forward, katana flashing. His left arm fell to the ground and he howled in pain. Blinded and enraged, Diego lashed out wildly with his right arm. The blow caught Sophie in the shoulder and she went flying.

  More pellets, this time of the smoke variety, fell to the ground. Sophie hit the ground as they erupted, engulfing the area in thick, choking clouds. She rolled to a stop and, ignoring the pain, took a knee. She pulled her Achilles off her back, aiming into the smoke. Her world turned monochrome as she locked onto her target.

  She squeezed down, charging the rifle. With a crackle, she released the trigger. Through the smoke, she saw Diego immediately stiffen up. Another two charged shots followed and the massive man tumbled to the ground. At the same time, the smoke was slowly fading.

  Cautiously, Sophie stepped closer to the body. When she was within a couple of meters, it twitched. She emptied her Achilles’s magazine, destroying the man’s head. Fucker better be dead. She winced.

  Her ears twitched and she spun around. Her rifle dropped as she drew her second pistol, the one that still had bullets.

  Just before she could eliminate the person behind her, she recognised them. They had their hands up and their face was pale.

  “Sasha? What are you doing here?”

  “Uh, well, y’know…” her voice got quieter. “I thought you might need help.” At that moment, the netrunner seemed to catch sight of Diego’s corpse. She instantly turned a shade paler, and a bit green.

  “Ug, uh…” She put a hand over her mouth before spinning away, stumbling behind a nearby barrel. Sophie looked away as the girl emptied her guts. She scanned the area, making sure there weren’t any more hostiles trying to sneak up on them.

  She glanced back at Sasha. She’s really not suited for this kind of work. Can’t even handle a bit of blood and brain.