Guardian Angel

Staring at the door in front of him he looks at the door seal, checking for some kind of sensors or maybe a camera in plain sight but to no avail.  She has gone this long without being caught and it was not because she was careless.  If she was home then she would already know that he was there.  Knocking on the door Edward takes a deep breath and runs his hands through his hair.  The pop of the latch receding into the door precedes the door swinging open, the hinges moving without a sound.  The sound of a stove and cookware clattering signals that someone was home and cooking.

"Come on.  Get in here.  Your letting the cold air out," a small voice calls out to Edward as he steps into the front of the condo, the hallway spotless with several paintings lining the walls.  Thousands of dollars worth no doubt with her profession.  He was in the den of the lion now.

"Martina," Edward continues until he rounds the hallway into a large room off the side of the kitchen. He could smell the aroma of food growing stronger as he walked toward the kitchen. The sound sizzling of the food on the stove making him sweat, knowing that he had to face her sooner or later. He stopped in the entrance of the kitchen, trying to think of how to start the conversation. "Are you just going to stand there, or are you gonna come in and tell me what the hell you are doing at my house?" she said with a snap. Standing there beside a hot stove stood a 5'6" woman with caramel colored skin. Her dark brown, curly hair tied tightly in a bun on top of her head. Wearing a black pair of what only looked like one million thread count silk pajamas she gestures at him with a pistol, the hammer locked back and most likely loaded. She was one of the most attractive black females Edward had met in a while. However, his mind was focused more on the task at hand.

"Sit down.  I'm almost done with breakfast," Edward moves slowly over to a table and pulls his own pistol out of its holster by the grip, letting it dangle before he sets it on the ground and kicks it away.  "Hey now! That's ash!  I am not going to redo my floor because you are too oblivious to be polite."

"Sorry, just trying to be open," Making what could only be described as a face of pure dissatisfaction.  "So what are you doing here?"  Setting the pistol aside she turns back to the stove top and continues with her cooking, the sound and aroma of the food wafting through the air making him realize how hungry he was.  Making a pair of plates she sets one in front of Edward and another on the other side of the table.

"I need your help," Edward pulls his plate closer and cuts into his fried egg and waffles, taking one massive satisfying bite.  She was a good cook, the meal simple but at the same time delicious.

"And what makes you think I am going to do that?  If you forget the last time that you and I saw each other you shot me," raising her shirt slightly to show her side where a bullet had glanced her, leaving a small but unsightly scar. "Do you have any idea how long this is going to take to heal and not scar?"

"Shot you?  You were robbing me.  What was I supposed to do?  You were the third one in a month and I woke up with you literally in my room.  You are lucky that I wasn't trying to hurt you otherwise I would have left that bullet in your butt.  Your lucky that those plans weren't important to me anymore,"  Martina takes another bite and sets the pistol down.

"And what makes you think that I will help you?  I don't owe you anything.  Personally if I put a bullet in your head right now I would not lose an ounce of sleep,"  Edward looked up at her, finishing the last of his egg.

"Yes but you would have to clean all that blood off your nice white walls and I imagine that you would hate to have to repaint.  Besides, this is not a social request.  It pays,"

"Pays?," setting down her fork she leans back in her chair and mulls it over. "And why should I take this job? There are tens of other skill thieves in town for you to find and bribe, why should I take this job?"  There she was right, she was one of many that had turned to less than honorable means to make money but what makes her different from him?  He simply worked on a larger scale, getting paid per job to use his own Zoid as a means to steal, beat and or rob others.  

"Well first off you are the only one in town that I know of.  Second I don't imagine that they have the same level of skill in electronic entry as you, the job being as much digital as it is skill.  Last is that this will pay 20k up front and another 40k after the job is done.  Per person involved.  Its a flat rate, there is nothing else we can do to barter the job.  All I can say is that we need one more person with the fingers to get through the system and all of this has to be decided on by tonight for the meeting."  Now the ball was in her court.  If she took the job then he only needed to find a computer whiz to assist but on the off chance that they didn't they would have to drop out all together.

"Fine, if your telling the truth then I can definitely get in on a job like that," Picking up her plate and his she carries them back to the kitchen, setting them into the sink.  "I have someone in mind as far as our computer guy goes so unless you have someone in mind I am going to give him a call."  

"No, I have no one planned.  Is he good enough?  This is a big job and it might lead to something better.  Are you sure that he can handle it?"  With that she comes back, picking up his pistol and tosses it to him.

"Get out.  I need to get ready," shrugging Edward stands and heads to the door, holstering his pistol.  Stepping out side he stops and looks back.  "Hey who hired you to steal the blue print for the old base?  Those things were next to worthless."  With that however she slammed the door in his face.  Friendly, at least this might be over, in and out.

Pulling his car to a stop, by no means a flashy car it was rather zippy.  Painted a midnight black he sticker bombed the bumper and installed a dual straight pipe exhaust.  It was a small car, a hatchback that while lacking in Horse Power made up for it with its light weight and small size being able to outrun most cars in traffic that average cars would not be able to do.

Getting out he stands under a single yellow humming light, the alley being the only entrance to the bar.  Walking up to the door he knocks three times before a sliding hatch opens, the steel on the door ringing showing that it was in fact bullet proof.  "Steward," a single phrase that he was instructed to say to get into the club.  Passing the message on to Martina he expects that she would also tell who ever she was bringing.  He has been in some sketchy clubs before but this was by far the most underground bar that he has ever been in.

The swings open for him letting him into the dimly lit room, the walls all covered in dust and pin ups of photos for customers that felt that they wanted proof that they were in this dive bar.  Tables line the walls, the uncomfortable metal chairs pushed in with only three tables being used by patrons.  Heading to the bar Edward sets his card down,"Ill have a single."  The bearded man behind the bar looks at him while cutting some lemons.

"Mhmm," Is all he gets out before he starts fixing a sloppy shot of whiskey into a glass with some soda.  "You here to see someone?"  Skidding it to Edward he raises his brow, the unkempt bushes shadowing his large green eyes.

"Yeah, I'm here for a Mr. Four," Taking the drink and sliding his card back into his pocket.  The man gestures over his shoulder to a small side hallway leading to the back of the bar.  Over head the lights in the hallway hum softly, two voices carrying down the hall to him.  Laughter knifes through the air as he rounds the corner to find Martina sitting at a table with a tanned skinned male, some form of Asian, possibly Filipino.  Looking over to see who had entered she stands up from the only table in the room.

"Dear God I thought you weren't coming.  Hurry the fuck up.  We have a lot to go over."  Gesturing to the male she continues. "This is Lunar.  He is my go to Tech Man.  Anything you need done on the web he can do and if he can't then no one can."  Nodding Lunar stands up.  Long hair kept back in a pony tail he seemed to be about the same height as Edward but slightly thinner.  Leaner like he was a swimmer.

"Nice to meet ya.  I hear you got yourself some work that needs a keyboard.  You know what it is yet?" Reaching out for a shake Edward is interrupted before he is able to respond by a man just entering the room.

"No he wouldn't.  But if you are ready to sit down and dicuss the terms of our deal then we can begin."  Mr. Four, dressed up for the occasion once again walks over and takes a seat at the table, setting a briefcase on the table.

Taking the seat to his right Lunar speaks first,"So what are we looking at? What kinda work do we have? And I swear to god if this shit is lame I am out of here." Smacking him on the arm Martina interrupts him,"No, that's not how business works. Numbers first. What kind of pay are we looking at?" Mr. Four looks over at Edward, one eye brow raising as if to wordlessly question what kind persons he had brought to the meet. Shrugging he gestures to the duo, if this was going to work he was going to have to play middle man.

"I already told you. 20 up front and 40 after the jobs done for each," but he cuts himself short when she raises a hand.

"No, its not smart business to take pay as word of mouth. I want to hear it from him," Mr. Four looks back at Edward, not sure what to make of the attitude.

"Yes, he is right. You will all be getting paid twenty thousand up front and another forty once the job is done and if you have not been detected you will get another twenty," Immediately, Martina frowns her attitude somehow souring even more.

"That's why I had to ask. Another twenty just not to get caught? That's a big chunk of change just to let go," She shoots a dirty look to Edward, unhappy with the small change in the deal. If it were a flat 60 then perhaps she would be more satisfied with the deal but knowing that she was only going to get 33% if someone fucks up just makes the situation a bit too tentative.

"Alright, so then we get the point. Go in, get the information and get out without getting caught. Simple enough, so what is the actual job?" Edward looks back to the patron of the group.

"Well if you are all sure that you are going to be involved in this mission then I suppose introductions are due. My name is Even Donovan. I work as an independent contractor to get jobs completed that are not necessarily legal in nature. This job is going to be a data steal. Anyone familiar with high end Zoid Components have heard of the ‘Guardian System’. This system uses a organic AI that adapts to current battle conditions to assist in battle self defense and offense. There are two main companies involved in this. First is Global Armaments, building and arming the system but the main benefactor is the Fairhaven Incorporated. They manufacture and run the AI system that powers the entirety of the system. By keeping the two main companies separated in the ownership of the Guardian System neither is able to claim 100% monopoly over the product. However it appears that Fairhaven has been developing a prototype Guardian. No official tests have been run yet but if the rumors are correct then this system will completely leave Global Armaments out of the running.” Mr. Donovan pulls out a pair of tubs from his briefcase and pops them open, unrolling their contents onto the table and holding them smooth for a moment before continuing.

”You are now working for Global Armaments, out to collect all information on this new ‘Guardian’ system. This is the Research and Development building where the AI and blueprints for the new system is kept. Now GA would normally just hire a single Hat tech to breach the system and pull the information remotely but it seems that all the information is stored in a remote server free of the internet here,” Pointing to a large room where several Air Conditioning ducts seem to converge he continues. Once you are in the system you would then have to find the actual files themselves which are no doubt hidden but we did get a bit of a lead. The system runs on a Renraku Server and a Tech had to go in not too long ago to do some system updates. While he was there we had…convinced him to take a mapping image of the layout of the system. With that we were able to get a decently accurate guess of where the file will be located,” with that he slides the second tube to Lunar, the computer junky instantly diving into the pages and checking on what he saw.

“Wow, this is some interesting stuff. You have three…no, four main stream firewalls and two breelow locks on the server. This is going to take more than a couple of minutes to get into. We are going to need nearly half an hour if not a little less to get into and find this program. I’m ready. This looks like its going to be a blast,” Edward looks at Lunar with surprise. It seemed that the man was more interested in seeing some rather complex computer systems than he was interested in actually getting the job done.

[color:6e3e=#oo66ff]“Yes well, we have been keeping an eye on the place for nearly three weeks now with various sources and we have found four methods of getting in and getting the job done. You could always forgo the silent method and break in but the reason we are leaning away from such a method is that we also have another job running simultaneously in another portion of the country so if an alarm is set off here then we could be looking at jeopardizing the mission over there too. The Quiet way is if you chose to sneak in. 100% quiet and attempt to stay under the radar, unless you absolutely have to. There is also a shipment of bio hazard waste being brought in for storage in the basement. You could go intercept and sneak you way around base to the storage room. Finally is the more…flashy way. You go in and you lie your way through the building until you figure out some way to download that entire program and delete everything that is left over.

Nodding as he thinks Edward already begins to puzzle together a plan. “Alright we’ll take it.”

Edward loosens the collar on his uniform, the large outfit being made from blue stiff fabric. Rolling his neck he tries to get the fabric to relax a bit so that it would stop rubbing his collar so much, eventually going to leave a red rub mark. He could feel his stomach getting a bit unsettled, the nerves of the job starting to roll over him. It was only last night that the three of them were sitting with Donovan, talking over the details of the plan, needing to figure out what they were going to do to get the Waste Convoy to stop. Martina and Lunar were both over thinking it, going with super complex plans of hacking or sneaking onto moving vehicles to overtake the truck without the drivers knowing that they were on board until the last moment.

Out of there freakin’ minds. Jump onto a moving truck while someone was jamming comms. Come on guys. Edward though had found a much more simple plan. Simply mount a signal jammer on his own mech, intercept the truck and take it by force. Not that it would take much force. He was in a massive mobile weapon that was capable to toppling bases, much more intimidating than your occasional tanker truck hauling less than valuable radioactive material.

“Alright, Lunar. Cresting the ridge line now. If your jammer works then we will message you in five minutes. If it doesn’t work you will be hearing from me the instant I find out.” The sound of an undignified snort is all that is audible over the radio.

“That radio jammer has enough power to make a space station see spots while its running. My only advice to you is that you get in and finish your job quickly because while it’s on it’s going to make you nauseous.” Edward makes a face. He was not fond of that thought.

“Really? Like how bad?”

“Nothing to worry about but I would refrain from having kids for at least a few months,” Rubbing the bridge of his nose Edward makes a mental note to never ask about side effects when it was too late to turn them down. Flipping a switch hard wired to the console he can head a loud humming suddenly drown out all radio talk, his own channels spewing nothing but static. Then the nausea sets in. His own mouth watering and salivating more than usual signaling that he was wanting to get sick.

“Oh that’s fuckin’ horrible,” Setting forward his mech starts down the hillside, his eyes quickly moving in and out of focus as he walks. Turning on his speakers he watches as the truck ahead of him rolls to a stop, the air brakes hissing and releasing a cloud of dust into the air with a poof. Turning on his speakers over the outside of the Shadow Fox he calls out. “Alright! If you can feel that pain in the middle of your eyes that is the Comm’s Jammer that is keeping you from putting out a distress signal! Get out of the truck in ten seconds or I blow the whole cab away! I don’t want the truck just your trailer so if you die then I am not going to cry too long! Ten! Nine!” Of course it was a bluff. Edward was not going to kill off anyone for this job, he was at least still somewhat who he was. Back when he was a member of the High Guard, serving the people more than his pocket book.

By the time he reached three the doors to the cab popped open, two men popping out, one fatter and falling to one knee as he hits the ground, emptying his stomach onto the dirt while the other one raises his hands above his head. “Well that was easy.”

Flipping off the jammer he could instantly feel the pressure in the back of his eyes release, his mouth still watering and his eyes struggling to focus. “Damn it! Lunar! Get the fuck over here and take care of these guys while I throw up!” Laughter exploded over the radio as the sound of a jeep revving to life signals his approach. “We are never going to use that thing again. Dear god…”

“Oh come on now, its not that bad if you have your cockpit shielded. You can’t even tell its on. Hell if you think that you had it bad with you sitting behind all that armor how do you think those guys out there felt sitting in the relative safety of the cab of a truck. They feel much worse right now than you do so calm down. At least you didn’t accidentally set that damn thing off while you were nose to nose with it during the installation. That shit sucks.” Edward couldn’t help but feel a bit better knowing that Lunar had accidentally turned the damn thing on while he was eye to eye with it.

The Fairhaven Incorporated central hub was much, much larger than Edward expected.  In total the building had to have at least sixty floors but that was not the impressive part.  The building had to encompass at least four square blocks, the entrance that he was rolling by being two story tall garage doors lining the wall for at least half a block.  “Hey, Lunar…What does Fairhaven actually make?”  Behind him sitting in the center seat slightly higher than both Edward who was driving and Martina who was sitting passenger seat.

“Fairhaven Industries?  You don’t know?  They don’t actually make much.  The majority of their work is in the development of digital programs and the occasional energy based gear.  The energy Shield that the Shield Liger has and the Blades that the CAS Shnyder uses were both developed by them,” Opening a bag at his feet he pulls out a laptop just as they are pulling into a gate, the security Guard waving them to a stop. “Shit, put that away! They are going to take it!”

“Sorry sir, we are going to have to give the cab a once over,”  Edward groans quietly to himself as he realizes it’s too late, they are going to find the laptop and Lunar was going to have to go in without it. “Sure,” Shooting Lunar a dirty look he opens the door and steps out, quickly followed by Lunar, computer in hand.  Instantly the Guard noticed it, climbing up into the cab for a quick scan before hopping out.  “It’s fine in there but you are going to have to leave your computer here at the gate.   On your way out you can pick it up but you can’t bring it in.”

It would figure…Lunar hands the laptop over without a single complaint, only a quick joke.  “Yeah, figured as much but I needed something to watch movies on while we were on our way here.”  The Guard takes the laptop without a worry, any doubts on the situation being dismissed as he notices Martina, her suit unbuttoned a great deal exposing an impressive amount of cleavage.  Clearing his throat he nods to her,” You are all free to go.”  Grinning sheepishly to the guard she smiles, Edward realizing once again that she was in fact rather attractive and was more than mildly aware of it.  She stood there, drawing the attention of the Guard as Lunar climbs back into the cab of the truck while casually using his heal to kick the corner of a laptop sticking out the bottom of his seat back into cover.

Well it was a cover.  If they found his laptop they wouldn’t expect him to bring a second laptop.  Nodding his approval Edward climbs back into the cab and closes the door behind him, hitting the ignition on the truck the engine rumbling to life shooting exhaust into the sky.  “Smooth, could have told me something about that though that way I wouldn’t have been freaking out this entire time.”

“That’s not how this works.  I don’t know how well you act and without some kind of laptop I have zero chances of getting into the system within a respectable time.  Couldn’t have you accidentally letting out that I had snuck a second one in on the off chance that they don’t let us through the gate,” With that he sits back and pulls out a bag of chips from his sack, chowing down as Martina pulls herself back into the truck.

“What about you?  What was that about?” Without even looking up she tosses a red security card onto Edward’s lap, obviously lifted off the guard.

”We are going to need to get around the building somehow.”  Edward did his best to now show any emotion but hot damn, they were good at their trades.  She had stolen that card and even he had not noticed even though he was damn near high alert.  Shit, these guys are better than I am.  Maybe next time I should just pay them to do the job for me.  Right now I’m just the driver.  With that they were off, heading through a garage door leading to a loading and unloading bay, two workers there standing by to assist in taking the waste off the truck and send it down stairs.

Edward and Martina already knew their roles.  Before they had even gotten in the truck Lunar had given them both an ear piece and wireless ports so that whatever they happened to plug  into would be wirelessly connected to the laptop that he had brought with him.  Martina was to go and find the security office, two doors down second hallway on the right with a six pin digital code to get in.  Earlier she had said that it would take her a couple of minutes to get in but now that she has a card she can get into the office in a snap.

Edward was to start heading up to the third floor, an executive office that would be connected to a remote server where the Guardian Program would be saved.  The worst part of all this was that it was the middle of the day so one, the guards were all out and two, the executive would all be in the office.  The significance of that being that both he and Martina would have to sneak in and hook up these wireless nodes while no own was watching in the middle of a busy work day.

Leaving them to their devices Edward heads out, going through a pair of warehouse double doors and dips to the right, standing in an empty hallway.  Stripping the uniform off he is now wearing a security officer outfit, a custom badge that Donovan had printed out for him hanging from his chest pocket.  Taking a deep breath he ditches all the extra clothes into a small duffle and jumps up, stuffing it up and above a pipe suspended in the ceiling for how water.  It was time for his game face.  With a fake grin on he strode forward, walking into a massive maze of a building.

3873 words

Continuing Edward swipes the keycard at an airlock separating the complex from the Bio Hazard dock, the red light on the lock flashing green admitting him. On his earpiece Lunar begins giving him directions, simultaneously guiding Martina so that everything is coordinated to a ‘T’. “Straight ahead, first elevator on your right is going to need your key card. Second floor then hook right, the third office on your left is where you are going to find a computer that can link into the executive server.”

“Right,” standing in front of the doors Edward watches the numbers count down as the lift gets closer. The ding of the elevator doors opening resounds up and down the barren hallway, the doors sliding open quietly. Hitting the button for the second floor he checks himself for the router again. A bell sounds signaling his arrival at the second floor opening to a massive room, filled wall to wall with cubicles, the sides lined with various sized offices and break rooms. Stepping out into the masses of works running paperwork around to each other he takes a deep breath.

Taking a right he smiles at a mildly unhappy looking mailman pushing a cart of parcels from cubicle to cubicle. Third office on my right. Looking to his right he passes the first office, a man sifting through papers while talking into a phone pinned to ear with his shoulder. Continuing he glances into the second office, a young man sitting in front of what was apparently his supervisor getting absolutely yelled at over some late R/D reports and how he was being acceptionally unreliable. Sucks to be him. Glad I’m out here. He must be having a shitty day.

Moving on Edward stops at the third office, glancing around himself before opening the door and stepping in to the unlit room. Closing the door behind him he moves to the computer, instructions coming from Lunar. “Alright, so all you have to do is boot up the computer, get to the login screen and plug in the router. Then get out.” Tapping the earpiece he silences Lunar and taps on the keyboard. The hum of the computer whirring to life rumbles like a helicopter engine to Edward’s hyper sensitive hearing, the situation having his heart running a mile a minute.

The screen of the computer flashes black for a moment before loading up a login screen. Edward fishes out the router from his pocket now searching for an available USB port to link into, hooking the computer to the wireless network that Lunar was setting up. Just as he was about to plug in the click of the door catches his attention, his nerves nearly jumping from his body forcing him to stand up with panic on his face. He didn’t mean to but he was so surprised that he didn’t even think to hide his fear.

Staring in the door at him was the young man, no longer getting yelled at by his boss but just as surprised as Edward to find someone in this office. “What are you doing in here?” Stepping into the room he closes the door behind himself and steps forward cautiously before he spots the wireless router in Edwards hand instantly recognizing that wireless technology was not allowed on this floor at all. They lock eyes for a moment as Edward slowly reaches for the taser on his belt. “Your stealing from them aren’t you…” Reaching out and taking a file from the desk he back up slowly not taking his eyes off the intruder. “I hate this place. If you are breaking into the computer do me a favor…Delete Mathew Jameson’s retirement fund and employment history.”

With that the man was gone leaving Edward in a mixture of awe and confusion. “Hey, Lunar did you get that?”
The stifled laughter of Lunar finally breaks enough for him to get a few words out. “Hell yes I got that. I am already halfway through deleting it and that guys most recent write up.” Edward grins, getting back to work, hooking up the router into the back of the computer so that it would not be found immediately then starts heading for the door. “Its plugged in, are you getting anything?”

“Yeah, signals kinda weak but there’s enough to work with. Get down here and we can get on the move. Martina is done on her end so we are free to leave as soon as you get out of there,” The entire trip back is filled with anxiety as he traces his way back to the main floor and takes the elevator down to the garage where they had unloaded their stolen Bio Hazard waste. He was almost in the free and clear, all he had to do was get through the locked door. Swiping his card he catches his breath as the screen flashes red, signaling that the card failed. “Oh, damn it.” Swiping it again he bites his lip with the same reaction from the lock. “Lunar, the card is not working.”

“What? Okay give me a second.” Edward stands there anxiously moving from foot to foot, glancing at the camera above his head. Yeah, sure. I will just chill here waiting for you. No hurry here. The ding of the elevator door opening behind him down at the end of the hall makes the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. “Hey Lunar…Someone is coming. Maybe you could hurry up a bit. That would be nice.” Walking at him in a brisk pace two guards move with a purpose, obviously looking to catch up to him. “SIR! WAIT!” The click of the door is all Edward needed. He was through it and closing it behind him before the guards were within twenty feet of him. “Lunar, disable this door! And shut down that Elevator. Don’t let these two guards out!” A moment of silence greets him over the intercom before Lunar speaks again. “Done. They aren’t going anywhere. Lets get out of here before there are anymore hiccups.”

Walking with a brisk pace Edward heads towards the truck, the sound of a door opening on the platform by the loading dock. Striding out with what appeared to be as much purpose as him she strides to the other side of the truck and both of them climb in. Driving away as soon as the engine settles the three of them are on their way out, slowing at the gate where the guard waves them to a stop. "What does he want?" Slowing the truck with a hiss of the air brakes he pulls over, Lunar taking the laptop and stashing it under the seat again. Rolling down Martina's window she leans out her smile obviously lighting up the guards face.

Edward felt the pressure on his chest lighten as the guard produced the laptop that he had confiscated. Oh dear god. Shooting another look of annoyance at Lunar he pay attention to the truck trying to casually fill out what looked like a millage book, scribbling into what was actually the trucks manual.

and judged

50 RP credits for the writing, 5 cause it was late, 6 cause I feel like it.
61 RP credits in total to be updated.