Click Click Click.

Kat’s e-stylus pattered on the glass table, tapping out a quick steady beat.

“That’s not going to speed anything up,” Whippoorwill remarked. “We will hear back when we hear back.”

Kat sighed, setting the pen down. She foled her hands in her lap, making a conscious effort to stop her foot from tapping.

“Our informants are on almost every street corner in Racine,” Heather said soothingly. “Unless the Phantoms are literally phantoms, we’ll find them. Even if they’re hiding under a rock, they have to draw power and order pizzas from somewhere.”

“But will Jasper be alive when we find them?” Kat asked. “And even if we find him, will it actually be Jasper? We aren’t dealing with an ordinary street gang here, if the Silver Phantoms are associated with Millennium this won’t even be about the money. They might kill him just to force a succession dispute amongst the Haupts and to weaken our alliance.”

The table lapsed into relative silence, the only sound Baker quietly puffing away on their vape pen. Kat’s eyes flicked to the holographic projector, willing the incoming communication light to turn on.

It stared back at her, inert.

“The information from Shareholder Daniels helped,” Heather replied, breaking the silence. “He didn’t know exactly where their headquarters was located, but his security attache was able to get us within a couple of city blocks. Now its just a matter of mapping personnel movements and power usage.”

“He sure was eager to get on your good side,” Whippoorwill said with a snort. “Seriously, I don’t think i’ve seen someone without a gun barrel in their face scramble that fast to provide information.”

Kat opened her mouth to respond, but a quiet beep and a flash of red light from the projector cut her off. Without asking, Whip inclined her head slightly and Belle’s face popped into existance atop the table.

“Miss Debs,” Belle said smoothly, the faintest hint of tightness in her jaw.

“Shareholder Donnst,” Kat replied. “I’m assuming you’ve heard something?”

“Of course.” Belle wasn’t smiling. A strange thing to notice, but the older woman almost seemed naked without a coldly polite and vaguely threatening smile. “I have one or more agents in almost every gang in the Racine area. Strangely enough, I had none in the Silver Phantoms themselves, something that should have been a warning sign in and of itself.”

“So you have Jasper’s location?” Kat questioned, learning forward slightly in her chair. “It’s been almost 48 hours and God knows what has happened to him.”

“Indeed,” Bell replied. “He’s a sensitive child. It would be a shame if something were to happen to him. I’ve almost come to like him.”

“If that’s the case,” Kat said, struggling to keep her fingers from tapping rapidly on the table as she vented nervious energy. “We should probably get Davis Stoller on the line. I know he’s a bit of a wreck right now, and he’ll want to be part of any mission to extract Jasper.”

She nodded toward Whippoorwill. Whip half-closed her eyes, their lids fluttering for a second. On the bottom of the projector, another light blinked once before Belle’s image slid to the side, making room for Davis’ worried face.

He looked like hell. His normally neatly combed and brushed hair sticking out in practically every direction, and his clothes disheveled. Davis’ eyes were bloodshot and had deep bags under them that spoke to long nights without sleep.

“Kat,” he rasped, nodding slightly. His mouth twisted slightly, as if he had just tasted something sour. “Belle. I trust that there is some sort of update.”

“I believe that I have found the Silver Phantoms,” Belle replied. “Unfortunately I don’t have any information about the disposition of their forces, the interior of their headquarters, or whether they still have Jasper there, but given how much time, effort, and money they’ve invested in keeping themselves hidden, I doubt that they would have him transferred somewhere else, especially given the short notice.”

“Give me coordinates and I can have six fire teams in the air within the hour,” Davis said urgently. “As long as they are in Renovated Racine I can get infantry there by nightfall and light armor before eleven p.m. I don’t care how much chrome they have, we will pound their little fort flat and drive them into the lake.”

Kat flinched. Davis was practically frothing at the mouth, and it was beyond hard to watch.

“I think you missed the part where I said that I wasn’t sure about the disposition of the Phantom’s forces and defenses,” Belle responded. “I don’t doubt that you will be able to kill them all.”

She pursed her lips before she continued.

“I also don’t doubt your commitment to striking quickly and in force, regardless of casualties or consequences. I would urge you to consider whether Jasper would survive such an attack. If we don’t know his location, heavy weapons could easily lead to a friendly fire incident even if the Silver Phantoms don’t simply kill Mister Haupt out of spite.”

Davis growled, a deep bestial sound. From off camera, Kat heard the sound of wood crunching as the older man destroyed the conference table he was standing in front of.

“A formal rapid response team will be need,” Belle admitted, trying to soothe the man’s barely controlled rage. “It would just be wise to approach this problem from an obilque angle. My agents could create a distraction that would draw off some of the Phantoms defenses while a smaller team slipped inside and secured Jasper.”

“Absolutely not Kat,” Heather blurted out before anyone could say anything. “You are a shareholder not some kind of cyber ninja.”

Baker shifted at their end of the table. At some point their vape pen had disappeared into the sleeves of their cloak.

“She’s also a cyber ninja,” they remarked dryly. “This appears to be a crisis. All of us have access to talented covert agents, but none of them can hold a candle to Kat. If we are willing to risk using the second best, we can pull together a team and insert it. Of course, if this Jasper dies during the battle, I suspect that there will be a lot of second guessing going around the room.”

Kat nodded, drawing a frown from Heather. Baker was right. She’d watched the 3445 train, and they had at least a couple of operatives that were comparable to a mid-level samurai. Under ordinary circumstances, given their advanced equipment, that would be more than enough to handle an independent mission.

That said, what Belle was describing was perfect for her. Breaking in and securing a target long enough was absolutely her forte. Her skillset had always trended a bit toward ‘killing everyone’ than sheer stealth, and there was almost no way that any stealth team would be able to pull someone untrained like Jasper out of a fortress without being noticed, especially if he was drugged or otherwise hobbled.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“I’ll do it,” she replied. “We will need a rapid response team to mount a frontal assault as soon as we have Jasper, and I’ll need some support to sneak in with me so that we can hold out until the response team can meet up with us, but Jasper is my friend. I’m not willing to put his life in anyone else’s hands.”

Davis closed his eyes, jaw trembling, and incined his head slightly.

“Thank you Kat,” he said quietly. “I will drag Hestia out of whatever wine bar she’s terrorizing and hand pick a pair of operatives for you. I wish I could lead the extraction myself, but we both know that my place is in the response team.”

“I can have three geists ready to go,” Baker chimed in. “Unfortunately, three of the next generation infiltration suits are still in the shop for upgrades, but Ander, William, and Jasmine should be ready to go if you give me a couple of hours to get them prepped.”

Belle coughed, perfectly manicured fingers curved in front of her mouth.

“As much as I would like to ask what geists are and how Miss Debs managed to develop ‘next generation infiltration suits’ without any of us finding out about them, it seems that there is a bit of a misunderstanding,” she said pleasantly. “It will take us at least twenty four hours to set up an attack. The Silver Phantoms are holed up in an abandoned power plant. From what I have been able to see, the walls have been reinforced and a number of gun emplacements have been added to the structure.”

“The Phantoms are very protective of their privacy,” she continued. “If we want this plan to work, we will need to draw them off. I have contacts in a number of the local street gangs, some of whom I have been developing for years. Many of them have rivalries with the Phantoms, vying for limited resources in the Racine wasteland with them.”

“At signifcant personal cost,” Belle said, slightly apologetically, “I could burn those contacts by hinting that an underground chrome surgery centery controlled by the Silver Phantoms is currently undefended. This isn’t true, and my allies would be walking into a fatal trap, but it is the sort of trap that would spark an immediate reprisal as the armed forces of three to four gangs struggled against the Phantoms for access to the high end cyberware.”

“But,” she drew the word out, ignoring a glower from Davis. “I would need something from Mister Haupt. Nothing of monetary value. It would be unseemly to exchange something so crass as credits between allies.”

“What is it,” Davis growled, looming forward into his projector.

“Forgiveness,” Belle replied. “It is truly unfortunate that my family may or may not have been involved in the plot that claimed Jasper’s father’s life. If I had known that young Mister Haupt was going to be such a useful ally, I would have made sure that nothing untoward, however unintended by myself, happened.”

“But,” she continued blithely, “a life for a ilfe. Without my aid, I doubt you would be able to find Mister Haupt in time, and even if you did find him, I suspect that it would be impossible to infiltrate the Silver Phantoms’ headquarters. I only ask that all hatchets be buried so that we could start afresh in the spirit of lasting friendship.”

Kat swore she could hear Davis’ teeth grinding together. Veins bulged in his neck, blueish snakes that popped out of his incresingly red flesh.

“A frog does not befriend a scorpion.” Davis’ voice was dark, ugly. “You ask me to tell the boy to lay down in a bed of snakes. Even if they are docile for now, we both know how quick they would be to strike the minute he shows weakness.”

“I wish for Mister Haupt to live,” Belle said, a frosty smile etched into her face. “That may change in the months or years to come, and my actions will change accordingly, but for now I do no bear any ill will toward him. I would prefer that he not throw away such a beneificial relationship in a fit of poorly advised sentiment.”

“Sentiment.” Davis practically spat the word out. “That’s what we’re calling avenging his bood? Emotion and sentiment?”

“Precisely,” she replied. “After all, I am happily working with the woman responsible for the death of my daughter. It’s hardly logical for him to bear such a grudge, especially because his father’s death and his relationship with Miss Debs have elevated his station so greatly. Honestly, I don’t even understand him being upset over his father’s passing. It is unfortunate, but Mister Haupt is a shareholder now, a responsibility greater than any petty feuds.”

Kat shifted in her seat. She hadn’t exactly expected the conversation to stray into such a touchy subject, but honestly it made sense. Davis was in a weak spot, dependent on Belle’s aid. Of course she would seek to leverage her momentary advantage into a long term gain. It would be contrary to her very nature if she didn’t.

“Christopher Haupt saved my life,” Davis growled. “When the Othkin job went wrong, I was left in an alleyway bleeding. Haupt guards took me in, and when it would be easier to turn me in to Oth Corp security officers, he kept me hidden. When time came to settle matters, he paid the credits to clear my debts in arbitration, and he provided the opportunity for me to kill the informant that sold me out to Oth. I spent years defending the man and his son because I owe them more than I can repay in one life. You are not just asking Jasper to bury the past. You are asking a samurai to put aside an honor debt.”

“For the sake of your honor debt,” Belle quipped. “It’s a novel question really. You are left with no honorable choice. Either you take my deal and slight the debt you feel that you owe to the elder Haupt or you abandon my deal for the sake of your anger and forsake the debt you owe to your young charge. Do you accept dishonor and Jasper’s life, or do you throw everything away and have dishonor foised upon you anyway?”

There was a crack from the projector. Davis lifted up his right fist, revealing a handful of wood, splinters sticking into his palm and drawing blood. Without comment he squeezed, crushing the wood and letting blood ooze from his clenched fist.

“This situation would be easier if you weren’t enjoying it so much.” His voice was low and dangerous. Kat felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end at the threat implicit in the statement.

“I’m sure it would be,” Belle replied. “What is your decision?”

“Fine,” Davis spat the word out, his face clenched in visible distaste. “For the sake of Jasper’s life and the alliance between the three of you, I will settle the blood debt between us. I’m sure the boy will be upset, both that I haven’t been entirely truthful with him about his father’s death, and because I made this agreement without his presence, but ulimately he will understand. I don’t think he will be happy, but he will understand.”

“Okay then,” Kat jumped in nerviously. “Before the two of you change your mind and try to rip the other one apart, I think we should talk logistics. We need to know how long it will take for Belle’s agents to get into position as well as the composition of the two teams.”

“Baker?” She asked, the name a question in and of itself as she turned her attention to the shrouded mercenary.

They shifted in their seat at the end of the table, rustle of their sweatshirt the only sign that they had heard Kat’s words. Finally, after almost ten seconds of silence they spoke up.

“On short notice, I have the helicopters to deliver three hovertanks and the fireteams to go with them. I don’t know exactly what the Silver Phantoms have by way of defenses, but there aren’t many nuts that they couldn’t crack.”

“I can provide another four teams along with a pair of light armored vehicles and some man portable artillery,” Davis said. “So long as we know where Kat and Jasper are, I trust my teams to hit other areas of the power plant. If we are going in blind, I would prefer more firepower than less, and a volley from a heavy mortar team goes a long way toward equalizing any disadvantage we might be at.”

“Mr. Stoller,” Heather said respectfully. “If you could send your infiltrators to our complex, it will take a bit to run them through our security. I’ll begin working on the particulars for their insertion. We’ll be in touch regarding the specifics for signalling the response teams. Obviously, if the shareholder herself is going to be leading the insertion team, we’re going to want to ensure that they are ready to deploy on a moment’s notice.”

“Naturally,” Davis replied gruffly. “I want to be the first set of boots on the ground. Even waiting a day will feel like pulling teeth for me. The sooner I can get the foolish boy out of this mess, the better.”

“Splendid.” Belle drew the word out, inciting another clenched jaw in Davis. “Now that we have a course of action locked in, I will start putting the gears in motion. My people will be in touch with both of you keeping you updated on the status of the disturbance they will be starting. Good luck to both of you, and a happy collaboration to all.”

Davis’ eyes practically bugged out of his head, and the veins on his neck bugged out dangerously. Hurriedly, Kat waved a hand, signalling Whip to cut the feed before their conference room could be subjected to the inevitable torrent of cursing and slurs.

Silence reigned for a second, broken only by the gentle hiss of Baker taking another draw from their vape. They blew out a cloud of apple scented moisture, letting it hang in the air for a moment.

“Well,” they drawled. “That was pleasant. I’m sure they will be braiding each others hair and gossiping about cute boys by the end of the week.”