Outrun - Cyberpunk LitRPG

Three days had passed since then, and I hadn’t been passive. I went out and finally bought myself some techwear. It was expensive, nearly 130 Rayn for just a jacket and pants, but I had so many pockets now. Seriously, it felt like my pockets had pockets. My jacket had one on either arm, four on my chest, and one on my back. That's seven pockets! The pants had even more. I doubt I’ll ever use most of them, nor will I actually use the variety of straps and buckles, but it was still insanely nice to have. Best part? It was rainproof and tear-resistant.

And I couldn’t have picked a better time. Techwear blended in with most environments in the city, and I needed the added advantage. That, and I would have more than enough pockets to stuff with loot. I also took the time to get a high end backpack with more room. It wouldn’t do to lose my stuff thanks to a cheap backpack. I lost nearly 230 Rayn on clothes alone, which was kind of depressing.

Unfortunately, I was the only one without a CAS or comm link, so I had to go out and buy an earbud. It was a 100 Rayn just by itself. I felt tears at the time of purchasing it, but I couldn’t deny its usefulness in a crew setting. So yeah, my bank account was back to 364 BP.

About thirty minutes from zero hour, Shinobu pulled me to the side into a small room right near the ambush point. He even took out a scrambler and activated it before he spoke, which set me on edge. “Shiro, the plan changed.”

“What do you mean?” My muscles tensed up. This wasn’t good. Plans don’t change thirty minutes before they are supposed to be enacted. I subtly prepared to bolt to my bike at the slightest hint of something foul.

He put out a placating hand. “Nothing serious, I just need you to do something extra.” He pulled out a cracked phone and handed it over to me. “I need you to drop this while you are in the truck. Without anyone else knowing.”

I instinctively grabbed the offered item. “Why?”

He hesitated, looking as though he was fighting an internal battle with himself. The silence stretched on, causing my tension to turn up at a rapid rate. “Okay, okay.” Shinobu sighed. “Look, the fixer offered to drop her from the pool in return for ‘accidentally’ dropping the phone in the transport.”

Then we were setting up a fall guy for this. The fixer must’ve been offered money to make someone fall and decided this was the perfect opportunity. Since she was already getting paid, she offered up her sixth of the cut as payment. “Then that would mean-”

“Yeah… I was originally going to take the extra sixth, but… well, you are the one doing this for me… I’ll split her cut, whatever it may be, with you.” He shrugged. “We both walk away with one and a half, as long as no one ever knows, and that phone is deposited.”

I felt my tenseness fade quite a bit. He almost, almost conned us. But, at the end of the day, he cut me in. I still think he’s a pretty nice guy. Heavily biased opinion, but which one isn’t? He didn’t fully turn his back on me, so I wouldn’t betray his trust. And we were all crooks anyway. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

I could've argued for more of a cut, but at the end of the day, I was only getting a cut thanks to him. He brought me in, and he shared another half a cut so it would be best to not get greedy. Greed was the fall of many.

Shinobu smiled his bear-like grin as he turned off the scrambler. “Nova. Let's head back before the others get suspicious.”

It was time. The gangs were fighting, which almost entirely cleared off the streets. It was just us around under the light rain of Aythryn City. The roads reflected neon as I stared down at them, wondering about how someplace so broken could still look so beautiful. I've realized it in the past, of course, but the streets of crime and mayhem still look so pretty once all the people cleared off. It was weird.

I stood in an alley, my back against the wall. The others were already in their posts, and Bo had cut the feeds of every nearby camera to make us ghosts. I forced myself to take low, deep breaths, and yet I could already feel myself start to shake as I did before every major klep. It was just so exhilarating.

My earpiece rang to life as Kat’s voice came through. “Soo… what were y'all talking about?”

Shinobu replied. “I know you're bored, but now really isn’t the time.”

“Aw c’mon! While we wait? You might as well tell us.”

“I am also curious, and we have a minute before they roll up,” Bo said, his voice sounding cold and mechanical. A voice modulator?

There was a stretch of silence, probably Shinobu failing to come up with a plausible excuse. I hate lying, but, well, I had to save him or we’d both get pulled under. “If you must know, I’ve never worked with a crew before. I’m usually a lone wolf. He was giving me some advice.”

“Lame. I was hoping it would be something more exciting.” Kat said.

“Well, you’re about to get all the excitement you need. Target just turned onto our street. Your diversion method worked.” I could barely hear the rapid clicking of a deck. “Twenty seconds out. Fuck! There are two of them coming in.”

“Shit! He didn’t say anything about there being two. They both ATs?” Shinobu asked.

“No. Looks like an escort truck in front, and the AT at the back. Lots of com chatter in the AO though. I can’t crack in without leaving a trace.” Bo said.

“Okay okay.” There was a brief pause. “Okay. Keep going just like we planned. You think you can get by, Shiro?”

I could practically hear the anxiety in my voice. “I-if you guys distract well enough when I need to escape, it shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll have to dodge potentially four sets of eyes instead of two.”

“Right. Kat, don’t hold back. We’re going to get into a fistfight in the last ten seconds. The more violent the better.”

“Damn. Okay, boss.”

A car rolled by my alley, sprouting a damn turret on top of it. On the side of it was a sliver of a moon, the symbol for Yue Security. It was a beast of a car, but not nearly as big of a beast as the AT. The thing practically took up the entire lane with its bulk. If it was built according to the blueprint, it had half-inch-thick walls that were fully bullet-resistant. Its armored windows were tinted and barred, although the passenger had his window slightly cracked.

I didn’t wait and moved out of the alley onto the street as soon as I activated Blackout. I moved like I was just a normal civilian. Right as I began to cross, a crash came from the front. Kat and Shinobu had made their move, causing the two vehicles to stop.

I stopped behind the AT and quickly found the socket I was looking for. Pulling the pick, which was apparently just a one-time use quick connection device, my hand shoved the small black box into the socket.

“It’s in,” I whispered as I kept my ears peeled. I heard shouts and curses from the front as my lungs froze with nerves. The cold rain was helping to keep me calm as I practically vibrated on the spot with excitement.

“Right.” A second passed. Two. Three. Bo replied on the fifth. “I’m in.”

I heard a light, near silent, click from the door. I didn’t open it all the way, just enough to slip in before I shut it just enough to look closed. I could feel my left eye heating up, growing uncomfortable from the use of Blackout.

“Forty seconds.” Our overwatch said.

The inside of the truck was basically a giant box lined with boxes. Briefcases sat on almost every single surface, and there were even loose bags of chips tossed in haphazardly. Two cameras sat above either side of the door, but Blackout took care of those.

I locked in, my nervousness subsiding as I regained total control of my body. This is what I was good at, B&E. I moved rapidly, my training from Fox’s Paw kicking in as I avoided the scattered goods and slid up against the wall to avoid eyesight. Stalk played an unseen part as the guard didn’t notice me crawling in from his peripherals.

The guards at the front didn’t seem to care as they casually chatted. I couldn’t tell what they were saying since it was in another language, but they didn’t seem panicked at all. In fact, they were both laughing without a care in the world.

I glanced around, spotting the briefcases with red tape wrapped around them. There were two on opposite sides of the van. I peered at the grated door before quickly snatching one of them and pushing it into my bag. I thought about the blueprint then grabbed the extra pick, slotting it into the port on the side of one of the security boxes. While I waited, I carefully took out the phone and lightly placed it into a dead zone of the camera. I also took the time to grab as many loose chips as I could, pocketing them.

I managed to get four bags before Bo spoke again. “Open. Twenty seconds.”

As carefully as possible, I cracked open the box just enough to reach in. My hand wrapped around something, and I pulled it out. It was another briefcase, but nearly black in color. I didn’t hesitate to plop it into my bag.

The last briefcase sat on the other side of the truck, but I was hesitant to grab it. If the guard looked back at the moment I moved, I would definitely be spotted. After a mere moment’s hesitation, I decided to leave it till I was leaving. Until then, I grabbed another briefcase. It was a random one, but that didn’t stop me from klepping it.

“Fifteen.” He said as my eye was practically on fire. It was hurting so bad, I was almost shocked my head hadn’t caught fire. I sat dazed on the side of the truck as the heat only amped up. “Now Shiro! They started fighting!”

That jogged me out of my stupor as I practically lept to the back of the truck, grabbing the briefcase and pick as I went. I nearly stumbled out the door as my brain started to hurt from the heat in my eye. I closed the door as silently as possible and half stumbled from behind the truck and to the alley. A minute had passed, and Blackout ran out of energy, leaving me in the alley with my face all but being on fire.

I collapsed into the alley, my face held up to the cool rain as I mentally checked out. The world was starting to swim, and I could feel my entire body sweating even though the weather was cool. A hand touched my shoulder, and Shinobu’s face almost seemed to jitter in my eyes. “Y-you okay, Shiro?”

I nearly laughed as his face warped and twisted like a clown on a carousel. “Yesh yesh, ne’er better. Soh ot.”

Shinobu’s face crinkled with the force of his frown. “You uh, you sure?”

“Jusht- jusht tired.” I blinkered. Or tried to. Stupid eyelid, not closing when I tell you to! Close, damn you! Why won’t it- oh… is it melted? A flashback of the lightning came back to me. “Pfft! Strick struck.”

What was happening to me? “Mira thould ‘e stho mad if I thied.” Seriously, what would she do if I died without saying goodbye? “Sthurely ‘e would thig ‘e up to kill ‘e hersthelf.” I laughed, realizing I had been talking aloud without meaning to. “Sthupid Shiro.”

The next couple of hours were a delirious blur, not even worth mentioning. The world warped and shifted with every movement of my pounding head. I felt like I was hungover, and yet the confusion of being high at the same time. It was an awful combination. At some point, my disjointed vision faded as a familiar voice called my name.