Juliet had known the location for Vicky’s operation ever since the day she and Hines had questioned Ernie and “Bullethead,” the big creep who’d slapped Bennet around and threatened Aya with a gun. As she parked her bike, a half mile from the blinking dot on her mini-map, she had Angel call Hines. He was quick to pick up, though his eyes looked a little bleary, and his surroundings were dark. Stifling a yawn, he asked, “Lucky? Something happen?”

“Not yet, but I wanted to ask if there’s any chance I could get a contract to pick up Vicky and her cronies. I know it’s kind of spur of the moment, but . . .”

“Yeah, sure. Done. When I showed up to work this afternoon, I was promoted to acting lieutenant. Not a big deal, considering I was one of two sergeants still in the precinct who hadn’t ‘disappeared,’ and I had eight years of seniority on the other one. Anyway, I have authorization to offer bounty contracts, and there ain’t anybody around here to stop me.” He yawned again, blinking his eyes and peering at something. “Eleven? Shit, I’ve only been sleeping an hour! I was hoping it was morning. Give me twenty minutes to send over the contract, and then I’ll call the watch sergeant to let her know you might be calling.”

“Um, sure, I’ll wait for the contract. What kind of help can I expect from LCS?”

“Not a lot on short notice. I was going to put together a task force to start cleaning up operations like Vicky’s now that some of the dirt got scooped out of the department. If you want to wait, I can get some uniforms over your way. Hold on.” He cleared his throat and peered closely into the camera. “You aren’t tackling Vicky on your own, are you? She’s got a damn sizeable crew.”

“At midnight on a Monday? How many do you figure will be in the warehouse?”

“Oh, I’ve no damn idea! For all I know, she could have twenty guys working on a batch of stolen cars.”

Juliet snorted, shrugging. “So, send me the contract, and I’ll call LCS when I have things in hand.”

“Ah, dammit, you couldn’t wait ‘til morning? I’m never gonna get to sleep now.” Hines grunted as he shifted to the side of his bed. A light came on, and Juliet saw he was wearing a stained, frayed, white tank top. He yawned, scratched at his stubbly chin, and said, “I’ll do the contract. Only hitch is getting the judge to sign off. Shouldn’t be a problem; I know one who lets his PAI handle this stuff late at night. When I’m done, I’ll get ahold of the department and make sure some help is ready to come in when you call.” He grunted, grumbling, “Then I’m going back to sleep.”

“Thanks, Hines.” Juliet smiled sweetly, hamming it up for him. “I knew I could count on you.” When he returned her smile, albeit more sour than sweet, she closed the call window and got off her bike, removing her helmet. After stowing it on its cradle, she dug around in her seat compartment, pulling out a fistful of shrink-cords and stuffing them into her back pocket.

Stretching her neck, inhaling the cool but chemically-tinged air, Juliet started strolling down the dark, deserted street, keeping to the shadows of the big, boxy warehouse buildings. Most of them had security fences blocking off their front parking lots. Most also had cameras and floodlights, so it was only really dark between the regularly spaced access gates. Still, Juliet found it easy to keep to the shadows by meandering to either side of the street as she walked, avoiding the gates and their cameras.

It wasn’t that she thought she could be invisible; it was more that she didn’t want to catch anyone’s eye by being conspicuous. She’d tied her hair back in a ponytail, keeping it out of her eyes, and, with her fingers brushing the grip of her revolver, she carefully scanned ahead with her high-end optics. According to her mini-map, she had to turn at the four-way stop sign ahead, and then Vicky’s warehouse would be about a hundred meters to the right.

The warehouse on the corner had a fenced yard, so Juliet walked along that barrier up to the intersection and peered around to the right. There weren’t many lights on outside Vicky’s warehouse, but there was one amber floodlight on a post beside the open gateway. She could see headlights in the yard, moving as a van drove to the far end of the building and then turned right, leaving her line of sight. Low conversation and movement drew her eyes back to the gate, where she saw three figures lingering, leaning against the fence, chatting in the glow of the floodlight.

All three wore typical banger attire—synthetic leather and polymer jackets, bulky, metallic prosthetics, gear and implants with too many LEDs, and, of course, oversized, intimidating weapons. She was about to inspect their gear and try to hear their conversation when Angel said, “Your contract just came through.” A blinking icon appeared on her AUI, and Juliet stepped back around the corner to look at it:

Posting #

L2942c

Requested Role:

Investigative, Apprehension

Rep Level:

D-S+

Job Description:

LCS Official Contract: The LCS department requests the investigation of illegal, stolen goods dismantling and distribution activities at 17 Commercial Row in Luna City Industrial Dome I5B. This contract serves as a warrant for investigating the above-listed property, approved by LC Corporate Magistrate Roger Voight, #82555. Any resistance is grounds for arrest, and standard rules of force escalation are approved.

Compensation:

,000 Sol-bits, payable on completion, with a bonus comprised of outstanding bounties.

Scavenge Rights:

Yes

Location:

Luna City

Date:

August 6, 2108