“One hour,” Kazimir articulated, his voice a low hum against the frantic pinging of Pav’s message. “And she’s moving it herself.” He was already on his feet, the jaded lethargy replaced by a sharp, predatory focus. He tapped Pav's projected grid, pinpointing an amber beacon. “Server T-7, Sub-Level Delta 9. That’s in the deep storage vaults beneath the city. The bio-incinerator, the Praesidium’s primary waste disposal unit, is ten klicks north-east, beyond the Crystalline Spires.”
Zofia was already checking the charge on her wrist-mounted data-spike, her movements fluid and economical. “Means a ground transport. Armored. Heavily guarded.”
“Standard protocol for high-value data purges,” Kazimir agreed, his fingers flying across a salvaged data-pad. “They’ll use an armored column—probably a reinforced carrier and two escort skimmers. Route will balance velocity against visibility. Which means,” he paused, a thin smile touching his lips, “they cross the high viaduct.”
Pav, still connected remotely, piped up through the comm panel. “The Old Vertigo Span? That’s a straight shot, but it’s a tight choke point, Kazimir! And under Morozova’s supervision? She’ll have the Aegis Guard on full alert!”
“Precisely,” Kazimir replied, ignoring Pav’s alarm. “A choke point narrows the variables. Zofia, can you disable an assault carrier's relays and drive train from range?”
Zofia glanced at her data-spike. “If I can get close enough to establish a neural-link with its core systems, yes. But the plating is thick. And the Guard will have dedicated anti-hack countermeasures.”
“I’ll get you close,” Kazimir promised, already accessing the hacker den’s limited armory. He pulled out a sleek, compact stun-rifle, checking its power cell. “Pav, pull up the schematics for the Vertigo Span. Find me access points, support pillar weaknesses, anything that could cause… a momentary disruption.”
“Sabotage against elite security?” Pav’s digital avatar threw up its hands. “Kazimir, you’re asking for a full-scale riot!”
“Good,” Kazimir said, his eyes glinting with a dangerous amusement. “Riots create excellent cover. Zofia, can you drive a hover-bike?”
She looked at him, one eyebrow raised. “I can pilot anything with an engine. What’s the plan, Kazimir?”
“The plan,” he stated, adjusting the stun-rifle’s grip, “is to intercept the haul before it burns.”
Minutes later, they were streaking through the neon-drenched downpour of Stalgrad, Zofia expertly maneuvering a battered hover-bike through the low-altitude traffic lanes. Kazimir sat behind her, the stun-rifle slung across his back, watching the azure ribbon of the Vertigo Span cut through the smog. Rain lashed against their visors, blurring the city into a vibrant smear of light and shadow.
“Pav says the escort just crossed the Vesper Divide,” Zofia reported over the comms. “They’ll be on the Span in five minutes.”
“Perfect,” Kazimir responded. “Head for support pillar Gamma-7. Pav indicated a maintenance hatch there. Get us inside the Span’s internal structure.”
Zofia cut off a freight drone, banking hard into a drainage conduit beneath the massive overpass. The air grew heavy with the scent of ozone and damp concrete. They dismounted, Kazimir quickly locating the reinforced hatch Pav had marked. A quick burst from his stun-rifle fried the electro-lock, and they slipped inside, the hum of high-voltage junctions vibrating in the steel.
“The transports will pass right overhead,” Kazimir murmured, pointing to a bundle of cabling along the ceiling. “Can you trigger a directed surge from these mains? Scramble their transmitters and stall the drive, without dropping the asphalt?”
She nodded, already opening a service panel, her nimble fingers working with practiced ease amidst a tangle of live wires. Sparks flew, a sharp crackle filling the confined space. Above them, the rhythmic thrum of heavy vehicles began, growing louder, closer.
“Now!” Kazimir barked as heavy treads ground across the iron deck overhead. Zofia threw the shunt. White arc-flash severed the conduit cluster, showering copper slag across the catwalk as screeching brakes tore through metal above. The deck plates groaned.
Up on the roadway, the heavy carrier skidded sideways, tail lamps dying under a belch of oily exhaust. The two accompanying skimmers, their comms now dead, crashed into the APC’s side, creating a tangled mess of twisted chrome and sparks. Aegis Guard operatives, their armor gleaming dully in the rain, spilled out, weapons raised, scanning for threats.
“Go!” Kazimir kicked open an iron grate opening onto the wet asphalt. He emerged first, firing a volley of non-lethal stun-rounds into the chaos. The Aegis Guard, disoriented by the EMP and the unexpected assault, struggled to regain formation. Zofia was a blur beside him, her movements precise and deadly. She stripped the sidearms from two guards in fluid sweeps, jamming her stylus into seam couplings to trip their sub-dermal servos. One guard collapsed, twitching.
Kazimir laid down suppressing bursts while Zofia darted toward the stalled carrier. Its rear hatch was heavily armored. She slammed her data-spike against it, initiating a rapid override sequence, the screen on her wrist glowing with a flurry of code. A heavy Aegis sergeant, synthetic pupil flaring crimson, lunged with a crackling baton.
Kazimir sidestepped, letting the baton whistle past his ear, then jammed the muzzle of his stun-rifle into the captain’s chest. A surge of high-voltage current coursed through the man, sending him crashing to the ground, unconscious. More guards were converging.
Pneumatics wheezed as the transport's rear bulkhead dropped. Zofia disappeared inside. Kazimir continued to hold the line, his shots precise, targeting limbs and weapons, buying her precious seconds. The fight was brutal, the rain making the chrome-slick surface treacherous. A stray particle slug singed his sleeve, blistering the flesh beneath, but he kept squeezing the trigger.
Zofia reappeared, struggling with a heavy, shielded server core. It was bulky, designed to resist any tampering. “Got it!” she grunted, her face streaked with rain and grime, a fresh cut bleeding near her temple. “Let’s move!”
They didn’t get far. The remaining Aegis Guard, reinforced by a fresh wave of operatives from the skimmers, formed a tight cordon, cutting off their retreat. Above them, the unmistakable thrum of a heavily armed Praesidium skiff grew louder. Twin halogen floods cut through the storm, pinning them against the cracked roadway.
The skiff descended, its weapon turrets locking onto them. The rear hatch hissed open, revealing Commissioner Ivana Morozova. Her eyes, cold and hard, fixed on Zofia, then on the server core she clutched. A heavy mag-rifle rested level in her synthetic grip.
“The truth dies with you, Umbra.”