"Damn!" Jackie Welles spat, gripping the doorframe of the bathroom. "I've seen corpses before — hell, I've made plenty. But this… this is just sick!"
He looked down, bile rising in his throat. "Shouldn't have used an EMP back there. Should've tossed a real frag and blown those Scav bastards to pieces."
He couldn't even bring himself to step further inside. The air was cold and heavy, stinking of blood, antiseptic, and melting ice.
Neo crouched by the tub. The male corpse was pushed aside like discarded trash. Then he lifted Sandra Dorsett from the freezing water, her skin pale as porcelain.
"David," Neo said quietly, "are you afraid?"
"I… I'm not!" David blurted, though the tremor in his voice betrayed him. Still, when Neo turned to face him, eyes calm and steady, David forced his legs to move and knelt beside him. "Just tell me what to do, sir."
"I don't have a neural port. No interface cables," Neo replied. "Use your datajack. Plug into her neural spine — now."
David hesitated for half a second, then unspooled his wristline and slotted it into the port on Sandra's neck.
A voice crackled over the comm — cold and precise.
"This is Kiwi," came the reply. "Stay calm, David. Even if she survives, she won't remember any of this. Your contact with her won't matter. Just keep the link stable. We need her biometric feed steady."
The holographic readout flickered to life — lines of data pulsing in faint blue. Sandra's biometrics stabilized, and a moment later, the full infofeed projected before the team.
[Name: Sandra Dorsett]
[Age: 29]
[Blood Type: ABRHD+]
[Serial: NC570442]
[Trauma Team Membership: Platinum Tier]
The words hung in the air like a grenade about to go off.
A platinum-tier Trauma Team member.
That meant corporate money, corpo ties — the kind that made people disappear for asking questions.
Jackie whistled low. "Well, shit. Guess the Scavs bit off more than they could chew."
…
Heavy boots clanked on tile. Maine's crew had arrived — late, but not too late.
"What's the situation?" Maine asked, stopping at the doorway beside Jackie.
Jackie didn't move, eyes still fixed on the bloody tub. "See for yourself, choom. She's a Trauma Team platinum. The Scavs ripped out her kidney and dumped her in ice like a fraggin' experiment. There's another body too. Male. Older. Looks like he didn't make it."
Maine's face darkened. "Oh shit…"
Even for a man built like a tank, that sight made his stomach churn. He muttered a curse, rubbing his temple. "Dorio, Pilar — perimeter. I don't wanna see either of you in here."
Dorio was already halfway out the door. "Gladly."
Pilar pouted. "Hey, I'm not scared, I just—"
"Out. Now."
"Right, right, going…"
The air in the bathroom seemed colder after they left.
…
Kiwi's voice returned, crisp and clinical.
"A platinum membership means Trauma Team will respond to the slightest biomonitor disruption. The Scavs must've jammed her signal—maybe through firmware corruption or a neural virus."
"Less talk, more fixin'!" Jackie barked from the door. "We're standing in a room full of hooks, knives, and half-melted people, Kiwi. Let's skip the TED talk."
Ignoring him, Kiwi continued, "David, check her port. There should be a small chip embedded near the base. Pull it out. That should reset the beacon."
"Copy."
David leaned in, hands trembling slightly, and found it — a dull silver chip blinking faintly red. He yanked it free.
Instantly, a soft synthetic voice filled the room.
[Biometric Reconnect: Welcome back, Sandra. If conscious, please assume recovery position.]
[Trauma Team rapid-response dispatch initiated. ETA: 180 seconds.]
"Three minutes," David said, glancing toward Neo. "They'll be here in three minutes. What do we do?"
Everyone turned to Neo — even Jackie, even Maine.
Neo's answer was calm, decisive. "We're done here. We don't need to meet them."
He turned to each in turn.
"David, take her to the balcony."
"Jackie, call Wakako. Tell her the job's complete and to prep payment immediately."
"Maine, pull your crew out, erase every trace. No data left behind."
Orders dropped like lead, and everyone moved without question.
David carefully lifted Sandra, her weight unnaturally light, and carried her toward the balcony. Jackie was already tapping his holo-comm, cursing softly as he negotiated with their fixer. Maine was barking orders through his earpiece to Dorio and Kiwi.
"Jackie," Neo called. "Give me the injector."
Jackie tossed it without hesitation. "You got it, hermano."
Neo caught the air-hypo, stepped out to the balcony, and found David kneeling by Sandra, panic creeping back into his face. Her heart monitor was flatlining again.
"Move," Neo said.
David scrambled aside as Neo jammed the injector straight into her chest.
Hiss—
The chemical cocktail surged through her veins. A second later, Sandra's chest convulsed.
Then—
Thump. Thump.
Her heart began to beat again.
"Good girl," Neo murmured.
Above them, a dull whirr broke the silence — the sound of engines cutting through the night.
A black-and-gold Trauma Team AV hovered into view, its searchlights slicing through the smog.
"Time to go," Neo said quietly, tugging David's sleeve. "They'll be here in seconds."
The two slipped into the shadows before the aircraft touched down.
…
Later, in the underground garage
The air still smelled faintly of gunpowder and burnt chrome. Rebecca practically bounced in her seat, a manic grin on her face. "That was insane! Holy shit, that gig was perfect!"
"V, you're a damn legend," Jackie said, still half-laughing, half-winded.
David nodded fervently. "Sir… the way you handled that, the plan, the timing, it was flawless."
Neo leaned back in his seat, eyes half-lidded. "Save the praise. We're not out yet."
"Right, right," Jackie said, slamming the ignition. "Let's get the hell outta Japantown."
The engine roared. The car pulled out of the garage, tires squealing on wet asphalt.
They'd barely cleared the exit before Rebecca frowned. "Uh… anyone else notice the headlights behind us?"
Jackie glanced in the mirror. His grin vanished. "Shit."
Three cars. Blacked out windows. Corporate-grade armor.
The side windows dropped — revealing gun barrels.
"Son of a—" Jackie hissed.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
The chase began.