Chapter 34: Dont Fear the Reaper
Faraday stepped out of the sleek black car, a high-end vehicle known for its discrete nature. That meeting was a mess luckily he already had Lucy watching the target.
Entering the warehouse, the space was vast and cavernous, filled with rows of crates and boxes shrouded in shadows. Dim overhead lights cast a low light glow, highlighting the metallic scaffoldings that seemed to be an intricate part ot the disguse. As far as anyone could tell it was an ordinary warehouse.
"Set mode to home." Faraday speaks outloud softly
Suddenly, as if responding to his words, the entire floor shifted and changed. Hidden panels slid away, revealing a concealed underground chamber beneath the innocuous surface. The transformation was swift and silent.
Sitting down at the central command table, Faraday initiated a search through the petabytes of data he had stored on the various happenings in Night City. The information he'd gathered over the years was vast, cataloging everything from cyber-enhancements to covert dealings within the city.
However, as the holographic interface flickered to life, Faraday was met with an unexpected and troubling discovery.
"What? Why is she not showing up in my system? I could've sworn her file was nearly 500 gigs," he muttered, growing increasingly uneasy.
Faraday's nimble fingers danced over the holographic controls, trying to locate the missing data. As he delved deeper into the system, his panic began to rise.
"Where is it!?" he asked himself aloud, frustration mounting. He had encountered plenty of netrunners in his line of work, but this intrusion felt more personal.
Just as he started to feel overwhelmed, a voice, laced with an eerie calmness, echoed from the shadows behind him.
"Well, you most certainly won't find it," the voice said, sending a chill down Faraday's spine.
He shuddered involintartly before whiping around to try and find the intruder.
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Helen, concealed atop the lighting fixture, had a maniacal grin on her face as Faraday shivered to the sound of her voice. The room's ambient lighting cast an eerie glow, yet it managed to hide her perfectly. The fact that the fixture supported her weight was a mystery in itself, but Helen wasn't concerned with that now; this was an opportunity she couldn't resist. Faraday had left himself exposed, and she intended to make the most of it.
"You really had to go and mess with stuff you didn understand huh Faraday, or should I say Mr Fring?" Helen asks aloud.
"What!" Faraday shouts taken off guard.
"Come on Chicken man, you heard me." Helen says from hiding while the Corprate fixer below was looking around in a blind panic, trying to find the voice.
"How?" Faraday ask his voice quiet yet full of fear.
Helen seized the opportunity to make a dramatic entrance. So, she dropped from the shadows above like a vengeful angel descending from the heavens.
Her descent was swift and silent, her black attire and cybernetic enhancements reflecting what little light there was. She landed firmly on her feet, her presence imposing and undeniable. The ground beneath her barely registered her arrival, but the shock and terror in Faraday's eyes were impossible to miss.
"Hello Faraday, I think you were getting into a game that you personally for health reasons want to stay out of." Helen says with a smirk
"How did you get into this building?" Faraday ask stumbling over backwards towards his console
"How did I get in here? Faraday, I am the Reaper." Helen announces tirumphantly.
With trembling hands, Faraday finally located the panic button and pressed it in a desperate bid for security.
The alarm system activated with a deafening, blaring wail that cut through the silence of the warehouse like a blade. The sound was a chaotic symphony of sirens, klaxons, and high-pitched tones, echoing off the metallic walls and crates. Each blare seemed to punctuate the growing tension in the room.
The flashing red lights overhead cast eerie, pulsating shadows across the warehouse's vast interior The pulsating red light played tricks with the shadows, casting eerie and shifting patterns across Helen's face. Her grin, framed by the chaotic, crimson-lit atmosphere, took on an even more sinister and demonic quality.
"Help isn't coming, Faraday," Helen taunted, her voice cutting through the blaring alarm. Her words were laced with a chilling certainty, and she moved with deliberate purpose towards her prey.
The blaring alarm continued its relentless wail as Faraday, once a confident and cunning Fixer, now found himself on his knees. The realization of his own powerlessness settled in, and he couldn't help but voice his shock and despair.
"You killed my security!" Faraday's voice cracked as he shouted, a mix of disbelief and acceptance in his tone.
Helen's steely determination left no room for hesitation. With a cold, calculated precision, she raised her custom M&A 9mm pistol and aimed it directly at Faraday's head. There was no escape for the fixer, and he knew it. Fear welled up in him, leading to a confession extracted by the threat of death.
"It was Militech!" Faraday's voice broke as he immediately revealed his employers, the words tumbling from his lips like a damning secret.
Helen, unfazed by the revelation, offered a simple "Thanks." Her smile was chilling, a stark contrast to the panic that had engulfed Faraday. Without mercy or remorse, she pulled the trigger, and a single shot echoed through the warehouse.
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The alarm continued its relentless blaring as Helen swiftly made her escape from the warehouse. With a swift, practiced motion, she kicked open the side door and let the chaos and commotion fade into the distance. Her heart was still pounding with the adrenaline of the confrontation with Faraday.
She didn't want to kill him, but he knew too much to live.
Helen threw the gun into a near by dumpster. After all 45 ACP was the superior caliber anyway's before climbing into the car with Nyx.
"How did it go?" Nyx asks
Helen throws the car into reverse and floors it out of the alleyway.
"Rather well I think. It was Militech." Helen states
"Hmm makes sense, so them next?" Nyx asks
"It would seem so." Helen says driving away from the warehouse.
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Faraday lay on the cold warehouse floor, groaning in pain. Blood trickled down from a wound on his forehead, staining his face and marring his otherwise pristine appearance. Amidst his suffering, his Trauma Team subscription activated.