The Neo-Metropol Heist

15: Artem

"You have to do this now?" Edward said, the image of his face playing out from Cad's deep black faceplate, making him pale and ghostly.
"Affirmative," Artem said, slipping on a tight black jacket that Harry had described as 'spec-ops issue ten years ago', "we waited as long as we could, if we wait any longer we risk falling behind schedule and then we start worrying. It's only three weeks until the Neo-Met investor conference."
It had been a day since the riot in Playa Perdido had broken out, apparently caused by a trigger happy cop.
Harry, Artem and Aphelion had watched the news feeds as the 'unrest' had only gotten worse, deciding that to keep on schedule, they would have to go into the middle of it to find Theocea Tamar.
Despite Cad's suggestion that it could actually be 'tactically beneficial', Artem wasn't convinced.
Now, as they flew over the bay in a tired old jump-car that Harry piloted close to the inky-black water, heading quickly towards the plumes of fire from gunfire and uncontrolled flames, Artem felt nervous, something he thought he'd grown out of it.
This wasn't infiltrating an empty casino or bank vault at his own leisurely pace, it wasn't a technological problem that Cad could help him circumvent with some well-placed code, it was walking into a war-zone with nothing to protect him except decade-old camouflage and Cad's high-powered weaponry.
Actually, that reassured him a little bit.
"We're just following your schedule, boss," Harry said from the driver's seat.
Inside, the jump-car was quite spacious. There were two rows of seats to hold five people and an open luggage compartment for at least another four, which was where Artem was now sat, staring into both Edward Helten's and Cad's face simultaneously.
The whole cab was dark, except from the vague light of Playa Perdido in the distance and the light being broadcast from Cad.
Artem had requested something with a little more 'sex appeal', but Harry had simply ignored him and grabbed the car least likely to raise attention. The aging engine was a dull droning in the background.
"All right, if you're sure," Edward said, "just be careful, I'll keep looking into Castells. Call me the second you're out of there. Edward out."
Edward disappeared as the triple encrypted channel snapped shut, Cad's digitally rendered face reappearing.
"He knows he doesn't need to say that every time he ends a call, right?" Harry said quietly.
Artem shrugged as he slipped on a pair of lightweight goggles that apparently gave him night vision and a heads up display, but which he had a suspicion were simply there to make him look ridiculous.
"He's old," Artem said, "at least he doesn't say 'ahoy-hoy' when he answers."
There was a ping as the goggles flicked into life, giving him readings of his surroundings, his heart rate, as well as several other readings directly pulled from Cad's analyses.
"Is this how you see the world all the time?" Artem asked Cad, who shook his head.
"I construct a detailed analysis of the immediate vicinity using multifaceted data algorithms procured through many methods of detection, including visual, acoustic and olfactory. Despite your having the human physiological capacity for sensory detection, you would be unable to comprehend the algorithms created by these complex systems, as you lack the necessary synthetic processing power and facilities to do so," he said, simply staring once he had finished.
Artem blinked. He could almost hear Harry laughing to himself quietly under the humming of the engine.
"Buddy, you can just say no," he said.
"Ah," Cad said, his head tipping to the left slightly, "no."
There was silence for a moment as Artem rubbed his tired eyes, then a voice came over the audio receiver that sat on the arm of the glasses, resting in his right ear. On his heads up display, Aphelion's name popped up next to an equalizer.
"Well, that was hilarious," Aphelion said, her voice a half-chuckle, "even Pete is laughing."
"I doubt that," Artem said.
"You know, for somebody who basically expends liquid sarcasm when he talks, you really can't take a joke," she said, sounding half-interested.
"I can take jokes fine, when they're funny," Artem said coolly.
"Now, now, children," Harry said, "shut up or I'm turning this car around."
Aphelion had pulled together as many computer parts as she could find as soon as she had settled in and had managed to construct a ramshackle computer rig that even she seemed impressed with.
They had left her sat in front of it back at the apartment, providing what she called 'remote backup from the cloud'.
"Tamar took the bait," Aphelion said, her voice trickling through the earpiece, "she thinks the middle of a riot is the best time to fence stolen goods, but she wouldn't do it outside of Playa Perdido."
"Makes sense," Harry said.
"She'll be waiting inside the old shipyard on the south side, you'll need to come in from the south to avoid the patrol force guarding the north," Aphelion finished.
"Good work, kid," Harry said, as Artem rolled his eyes.
"It's what I'm here for," Aphelion said, managing to portray a wink in her voice, "I'll keep the line closed so you're running quiet, but if anything comes up I'll call."
There was a click and her name disappeared from Artem's HUD.
"Since when is she 'kid', Uncle Harry?" Artem asked, "I thought I was the kid?"
Artem caught a glance of Harry's grin in the rear view mirror.
"Jealous?" He asked.
Artem scoffed.
"No."
"Sure?" Harry asked.
"I'm sure, Cad, am I jealous?" Artem asked, immediately regretting it.
"Increased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala, as well as the increase in heart rate suggest that you are experiencing feelings indicative of jealousy, Artem," Cad said in his ever-calm and measured tone.
Artem sighed and shook his head as Harry roared with laughter.
They took a long horseshoe shaped route around the coast of metal shacks and platforms, stopping at a half-collapsed old dock with the remnants of old sea-going boats poking up from below.
Harry hovered over the rusted metal, not wanting to land in case the weight of the car caused the dock to collapse.
"Okay, the shipyard is just to the north, just follow the sat-point on your map," Harry said loudly as the rear door opened with a snap and a hiss, the smell of burning mixed with seawater wafting in making a heady mix, "Tamar should be there for the next hour - if she's not, we cut our losses and regroup, we don't want to be here long."
Artem wondered if Harry was worried more about the Beachers or the NMPF. Artem wasn't sure himself.
"Got it, come on Cad," Artem said, jumping out the back of the car and onto the dock with a clang, Cad following out after him with a soft grace.
The metal beneath Artem's feet felt like it was going to give way at any second, waiting to drop him into the oily blackness beneath. Artem had never like deep water, it kept secrets hidden that Artem could never know, and a lot of those secrets were dangerous. He shuddered and kept moving.
They reached the 'shore', stepping onto only slightly more solid ground, and took in their surroundings.
Most of the buildings here were empty, reserved for special use that mostly meant 'import and expert', legal and otherwise.
Part of Playa Perdido had existed as islands unto themselves before the beach had grown out and enveloped them, and this part showed signs of a former life, with actual, almost-sturdy looking structures built on actual earth, with slips that had once housed boats before the advent of inexpensive flight had come around.
Artem checked the map in the corner of his vision with a flick of his eyes, activating a route system that showed him exactly where to go.
"One hundred and fifty metres..." Artem said, pointing, "this way."
The directions from the glasses led him into a dark alley between two tall structures that could have once been anything, the space barely big enough for him. He turned sideways slightly and moved slowly.
Most of the rioting was in the west and the north of the beach, but it had spread to the south too, mostly due to the increase in both patrols and beachers taking part.
In the distance, echoes of gunfire could be heard amongst yells and chants. Somewhere, a patrol warning sounded but was enveloped by the noise of general rabble.
Emerging from the alleyway, Artem found himself in deserted street that was as of yet untouched. Lights came from shacks with closed doors and Artem stopped to check the map, Cad scanning the area.
As Artem brought up the map, he heard a rasping shout from behind him, he turned on his heels to see a man limping from his front door, probably Edward's age, with a wild and untamed beard and a rusted old shotgun at his waist.
The thing looked like it hadn't been fired in decades, but Artem didn't want to test the hypothesis.
He raised his arms, but then realised that he was dressed in military-grade camouflage and could probably say nothing to convince the man that he wasn't there to cause trouble.
"You get out of here," the man shouted, his face and posture erratic.
Artem turned to his left and realised that Artem had raised his gun-arm and realised that he probably had less than a second before something bad happened.
"Cad!" Artem said, leaping forward and pushing Cad's arm downwards as the man fired, the spray veering off wildly and striking the ground in front of them.
Artem pushed Cad into the nearest alleyway as the man fired off another shot, yelling and cursing angrily.
The two of them rolled into the darkness of the alleyway and ran forward. Cad had only been reacting to the situation the way Artem had programmed him to, but Artem couldn't help but run through all the ways the situation could have gone badly in his head.
They reached the end of the darkness, only to have to throw themselves down to the ground as a group of ragged beachers ran past the mouth of the alleyway, chanting, some wielding improvised weapons and one or two of them with old guns drawn.
Once they'd disappeared, Artem climbed to his feet and peered out after them.
At the end of the street, the group engaged a wall of patrol officers who pushed back with their riot shields, the beachers at the front falling to the ground as they touched the electrified material. The ones further back didn't pull away but also kept their distance, choosing to throw whatever they could find at the officers.
One of them raised his gun and fired, only for the shrapnel to hit the shield and be deflected away by some unseen force, bouncing back into the crowd, thinning it out even more.
Using the distraction, Artem ran across the street, ignoring the cries and shouts to his left, and disappeared into the gap between the buildings ahead of them.
Somewhere, Artem hoped far away, an explosion echoed through the night.
"I don't remember agreeing to this," Artem panted, knowing that he actually had, even if indirectly.
They were getting closer to the shipyard now, a huge oblong shape on his map.
Decades ago, it would have been right alongside the sea, but in the time since it had existed for its initial purpose, Playa Perdido had grown around it and it been enveloped by the mess of shacks and buildings.
They turned left, through a space littered with ancient building equipment and parts. Artem almost tripped over a mess of coiled wiring.
Eventually, they came to the end of the row of buildings, to a balcony overlooking the huge shipyard warehouse that Theocea Tamar was hopefully waiting for them in.
"Cad, can you tell if she's in there?" Artem asked.
"I can detect heat and life signs from within the warehouse, but I am unable to determine whether they belong to Miss Tamar or somebody else," Cad said.
Artem frowned, flicking his eyes in a way that told the night-vision goggles to zoom in on the front door of the warehouse, then back out again.
"All right, let's find out the old fashioned way," he said.
They walked along the walkway until they found a ladder to the level below, and descended it. As Artem dropped to the ground, his feet dropped into pooled water that had flooded the slightly sunken level.
"Oh, lovely," Artem said, feeling it flood into his boots and soak his socks.
"Kid, you there?" Harry's voice came over the earpiece, his name appearing on the HUD.
"Oh, now I'm 'kid' again?" Artem asked, starting to slog through the water towards the warehouse, "yeah, I'm there."
"Can you see Tamar?" Harry asked.
Artem gave him a noise that was intended to indicate a no, and Harry sighed.
"I've got some activity a few streets over, I don't think I'll be able to stay here much longer," he explained.
Artem bit his lip and rubbed the back of his head.
"All right, we wouldn't want you getting shot down, I'll go in and get our new friend and you get safe. Get Aphelion to find a new landing zone," Artem said.
"All right, be careful," Harry said, real sincerity in the words.
"When am I ever not careful, Harry?" Artem asked, grinning.
Harry grunted and disconnected.
Artem chuckled and turned to Cad.
"Let's try to keep this quick and painless," he said. Cad nodded, and they entered the warehouse through a huge, rusted fire door.
Inside, the warehouse was damp and dark, with no real lighting to speak of.
It was built over two levels, with the ground floor littered with old machinery and parts that gave the room an eerie feel - overhead, a series of walkways with chains and pulley systems criss-crossed in a neat square grid pattern.
"Well, this place is creepy as hell," Artem said, quietly.
A short staircase led onto the main floor, and Artem was glad to get out of the freezing water, hearing his boots squelch with every step he took into the dry.
It was a few seconds before Theocea Tamar appeared from behind a pillar, her dark hair tied back and her steps careful, her eyes were narrowed and observant.
"Theocea?" Artem said carefully.
She made it another few steps before her eyes widened as she recognised his face.
"Oh, crap," Artem said, as she burst forward and went to sweep his feet once again. He managed to dodge her, but tripped over himself as he did, hitting the floor awkwardly, rolling as Theocea bolted away.
Artem sighed as he climbed to his feet.
"I'm not doing this again," he said, "Cad?"
Cad acknowledged the request and raised his right arm. The hatch in his wrist snapped open and there was a flash as he fired a weighted rope from the launcher embedded in his arm.
The rope flew through the air towards Theocea, who was metres from the doorway, perfectly aimed. It wrapped around her legs and she fell to the ground with a heavy thud, winded.
Artem patted Cad on the shoulder and walked towards her as she rolled onto her back.
"Will you relax?" He said, standing between her and the door as a precaution.
"What do you want?" She asked, unwrapping the rope and scrambling to her feet, "who are you?"
Artem looked over the scans that Cad was broadcasting to his heads up display, looking at her raised heart rate that betrayed her attempts to look assured.
"My name is Artem Foxe, this is Cad," Artem said, his hands raised, "and if you stop with the whole tae-kwon-do street fighter thing for five minutes I'll tell you why we're here."
Theocea glanced between him and Cad for a moment before relaxing her posture and nodding.
"You got five minutes, bodho," she said, betraying her beacher heritage with her use of parlare.
"I'm putting together a team for a job," Artem said, "a big job."
Theocea shook her head, the tension still thick enough to cut. The only other sound around them the muffled explosions and gunfire around them, quieter now than the slow dripping sounds of the water in the warehouse.
"I work alone," she said, her voice firm, "iisa."
"Yeah, I don't know what that means," Artem said, Theocea scoffing as he said it, "this is a job you'll want in on - the Neo-Metropol. Castells."
Theocea's eyebrows rose as he said the words.
"So, you're as stupid as you look?" She chuckled, "and insane, nobody has ever hit the Neo-Metropol and made it out."
Artem grinned, subconsciously rubbing his hip where he'd jarred it as he'd hit the ground.
"Maybe it's time somebody did, then," Artem said, "and if there was ever a team to do it, it's this one."
Theocea didn't immediately shoot the idea down, her face showing her interest without her approval.
"Interested?" Artem smiled.
Theocea was about to give an answer when there came a beeping sound. She pulled a terminal from the pocket of her black jacket and tapped the screen, her eyes suddenly full of worry and concern.
"I've got a car waiting, we can be out of here in..."
"I'm not going anywhere," she said, her voice hard before it softened again, "look, I might be interested, but I have... family here, I can't leave them in the middle of all this."
Artem nodded.
"I understand," he said, "me and Cad can help. We'll get out of here and talk about it then."
Theocea still didn't look sure, but she didn't disagree. Artem put his finger to his ear.
"Harry, you there?"
There was a few moments of worrying silence before Harry's voice appeared over the radio.
"I'm here," he said, sounding distracted.
"I've found our VIP, but there's... something we need to take care of before we can leave. Did Aphelion find another LZ?"
"Uh, yeah, she did, but I've got a little trouble of my own," Harry said, punctuated by what sounded like a close explosion.
"Problem?" Artem asked, concerned, "what was that?"
"Nothing," Harry replied dismissively, "just a little... stray rocket-fire - the locals are a little bit trigger happy right now. Either that or the cops are. I'll be fine."
Artem was worried for a moment, but calmed when he reminded himself that if Harry was going to get shot down, it would have happened by now.
"All right," he said, "just get safe and I'll update you soon."
"All right kid, try not to get shot," Harry said, "speak soon."
The channel clicked shut and he looked at Theocea.
"That was our ride out of here," Artem said, "he's a little bit tied-up right now so my schedule just opened up. How can I help?"