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<span style="font-size: 12px">"Make it Personal"</span>​</div><br/>Inhale poison. Exhale a little less. In this day and age, no one cared whether or not you damaged your sleeve. It was a<i>sleeve </i>after all, something to be replaced with but a whim or a thought. It was something that had propelled the collective nihilism to new depths until everyone was drowning in it. True, some had learned to swim the deeps, glorifying in the decadence and depravity like sharks at the smell of blood. You could tell which ones those were. When they smiled, they were all teeth.<br/><br/><i>Not me. </i>He thought as he took another long puff of the cigarette, exhaling out of his nose and watching the smoke spatter against the glass that looked out and over the massive metropolis of Bay City. He would never be comfortable with this civilian life of hunting those who had attempted to skip out on debts or mercenary work outside the edge of the Settled Worlds. It was all too damn easy to forget that the sleeve you were dragging back to whatever fate awaited them was an actual<i>person </i>and not just some fucking payment to be cashed in.<br/><br/>He was sick and tired of the job but knew he would take the next one, and the next. It was pathetically easy work for someone with as much experience as Leonardo 'Leo' Orvik had accumulated. First as a member of C-TAC where no one questioned whose stack you were blowing out and then as a freelance mercenary fighting in the many conflicts and skirmishes that plagued the edges of Protectorate space. The fact that he had sometimes been on the opposite side, fighting his former colleagues in C-TAC was a delicious irony; he knew they wouldn't begrudge him a payday measured by their blood spilled. Maybe they did... fuck them.<br/><br/>Mercenary work led to bounty work and he found himself spiraling down, down, down to the original shithole, Earth. There was an ancient saying that resonated with Leo; all roads lead to Rome. Well, in this age, all roads led to Earth and by God was it a cesspool of human filth.<br/><br/><div class="bbm_float fleft" style="float:left;margin:0 10px 5px 0">
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</div><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#00ffff">"Here's your first half of the payment Mr. Orvik. The other half will be provided once the target has been brought back - alive - within forty eight hours. Failure to meet the deadline and you forfeit the second half."</span>Leo slowly turned around and faced the hologram being jacked in to the center of his penthouse apartment near the top of Sentinel Tower; maybe not a 'Meth tower but one of the tallest 'normal' skyscrapers making up Bay City. A number being projected to the corner of Leo's eyesight shot up six million more digits as the credits were loaded and Leo let out a whistle.<br/><br/>Good, hefty payday for no work done yet.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">"You'll have your prize."</span>Leo's voice was deep, almost gravelly and the hologram of The Company's head of security, a short bald, Asian man in suit and glasses, nodded slowly as Leo took another drag of his cigarette and blew it at the hologram.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#00ffff">"Proceed than." </span>It winked off and Leo flew a bird in the direction of where Mr. Lee had been projecting to. In his earlier years, Mr. Lee might have asked for twenty four hour updates or rules of engagement or other pain-in-the-ass rules and procedures but they knew how Leo operated now and trusted him to be as effective and ruthless as he always had been. They would allow him free reign and, under UN law, he was free to operate as an independent corporate contractor without impediment from local authorities, provided he didn't engage in sleeve death or, even worse, real death.<br/><br/>It was child play really; as soon as the company stooge disappeared, Leo opened his ONI and then, with a few hacker installations built in and the Company information being steadily uploaded, he was able to pull all of the information up about Sasha LASTNAME that he could absorb at once. As he did, he took a seat on the couch, leaning back and tapping his knee while he sifted through it all.<br/><br/>Contrary to what the holovids would show a kid, bounty and mercenary work consisted of intelligence gathering and psychoanalytical assessment of the target/s. That meant he would have to learn everything he possibly could about her. Sometimes, that meant he had only minutes to learn about what he could. This time, as in only the lucky ones, he had several hours to glean what he needed from the massive amount of data and plan and prepare for the acquisition.<br/><br/>He perused the file quickly; stuff that he had read a thousand times before with a thousand different names and faces and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She had found something shiny and wanted it for herself, deciding to flee with Company property that the clever bitch smuggled out by ingesting it. No doubt she had a good reason to try and make some money and run with Company property, but it was stupid. Something jarred with what thought; he had been able to read up on about her education. Judging by her formal education and relative success in her field, she didn't strike him as a dumb person but here she was, making an idiotic decision.<br/><br/>After a moment's consideration, he visibly shrugged his shoulders.<i>It just goes to show you</i>, he thought,<i>never judge a person by their achievements alone.</i><br/><br/>Having read up on the target as much as he needed for the job, he closed that file and waved his hand to bring the data up from the ONI to float it in the air in front of him. It revealed itself as a small synopsis of who Sasha LASTNAME was. Born and raised on Xantrix, a beautiful green dot in the sea of darkness. The fact that it served as location for an important Company installation meant that Sasha LASTNAME had been quickly hired due to her credentials and the fact that she was a native of Xantrix.<br/><br/>As he read the data he learned that Sasha had never been resleeved. If that was the actual case, it was never smart to trust<i>every </i>piece of data, she would choose to needlecast to escape Xantrix. That meant she was limited purely to hyperspace travel. Eyeing the time, he smirked. She had escaped Xantrix nearly thirty hours ago. That meant she would be arriving at Earth within another fourteen hours.<br/><br/>He decided he needed to hit his armory. As a relatively rich man, the penthouse he owned contained multiple features pursuant to what he needed most; security, surveillance systems, and a state-of-the-art armory with all sorts of goodies. He quickly made his way down the stairs after dismissing the data feed in front of him with another wave of his hand. The penthouse was two floors. The bottom floor was his work space and adjacent to that was the armory.<div class="bbm_float fright" style="float:right;margin:0 0 5px 10px">
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</div>Since he couldn't just kill the target and drag her corpse back to the Company, as had been an option on other jobs, he would need to incapacitate and then take the target. He selected two tebbit knives laced with enough Reaper to render the victim unconscious but not enough to kill. Next he selected a couple of firearms, neither of them energy directed. He preferred old-style kinetic weaponry for his work; cheaper and just as effective.<br/><br/>With that done, he retreated to his work space and sat in the comfortable chair set in the corner and returned to perusing the files on Sasha LASTNAME with his ONI. If she was hyperspace traveling that meant there were several cities that could handle a hyperspace barge on Earth. The list would be impossible for one man to keep an eye on.<br/><br/>Fortunately, with access to most of the Company's internal video data streams, he was capable of compiling a massive video archive of Sasha as she worked. It took about two minutes with the programs he used to render the collective data into a hologram around a foot tall of Sasha that projected itself on to his work desk.<br/><br/>He then used his ONI to connect with the compiled data and send it into dozens of personally made eye-bot programs to video feeds that observed hyperspace ports in three major cities. He had deduced that, from her language skills and training, she would flee to the most culturally familiar of the ports possible. Luckily, this limited the choice to the North American continent which meant the UN protocol procedures hardwired into his digital programs would be able to bypass any firewalls that would have obstructed a normal hacker attempting to access the grade 3 level encryption platforms that the video streams operated on.<br/><br/>As soon as Sasha stepped forth from anyone of the ports, the eye-bot would send an alarm to Leo's ONI. Hopefully, it would be in Bay City where he currently sat. If not, he had a shuttle plan recorded to his vehicle that would take him to East City or even New Houston.<br/><br/>With assessment/preparation/planning done, weapons laid out, it all came down to waiting. It was one of the hardest things about the job, but one that Leo had grown accustomed to. He had his own ways of dealing. Dismissing the hologram of the beautiful woman, he opened a drawer of his desk and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and sent a message to the concierge of Sentinel Tower to have a quiet woman brought up to the penthouse.<br/><br/>If Leo knew anything, it was how to make time fly.<br/><hr class="bbc-hr"/><div style="text-align: center"><b><i><span style="font-family:Quintessential"><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000">TWO DAYS LATER</span></span></i></b>​</div><br/>Leo woke with a bad hangover and not alone, the droning of an alarm blaring away in his ear.<br/><br/>Groaning, he tapped his ONI with his free hand touching his wristband to disable the alarm. Slowly, agonizingly he sat up from the bed and slowly swung his legs over the side, forcing the move in an attempt to get to work and actually get away from the occupant - occupants?! - of his bed. He moved his head, weighing like an anvil, back to take at a glance of the nude forms of the two women in his bed and cursed.<br/><br/>Who were they and how in the fuck was he still moving? He had done enough drugs and drank enough alcohol to kill a soccer team and here he was breathing, two women in his bed he sincerely hoped he would someday remember the no doubt fond memories he had made with them.<br/><br/>He decided he needed to actually move. Gritting his teeth he shoved himself to his feet and pulled the blanket away from the sleeping women. As he did, he roared,<b><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">"GET OUT!"</span></b>The chill air colliding with their naked flesh and his deafening roar was more than enough to wake the two girls and have them scrambling up and out the bed in a mad rush to collect their scattered clothing. He followed them, moving with all of the grace of Frankenstein's monster as he stomped after them, almost finding it humorous as they tripped and fell a few times while running and dressing themselves as they did. They reached the door to the penthouse moments before he did and he slammed it after them, wincing at the noise but grateful to have gotten ridden of them and focus on what he truly loved.<br/><br/>With them gone, he went back to his bedroom and entered the walk in closet. Sometime in the last forty eight hours, he had brought his weapons for the acquisition of Sasha LASTNAME into his walk-in closet. Judging by the scent of oil and lubricant, he had taken them apart and cleaned them before assembling them again and placing them on a mid-level shelf within easy reach.<br/><br/>Even when he was blitzed out of his mind, he worked.<br/><br/>He dressed quickly and then got his weapons placed on him. As he did, he watched video feed that flashed across his retina as Sasha stepped out of the hyperspace port in Bay City and began to trudge through the streets.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">"Activate Drone 3."</span>He snapped and was relieved to hear a confirmation tone sound off in his ear.<br/><br/>The Drone, the size of an actual eyeball, would detach itself from a compartment in the hood of his vehicle and speed off to keep constant video contact with Sasha as she made her way through the city.<br/><br/>Dressed and armed, he exited the penthouse quickly now, shrugging off the effects of the alcohol and drugs only with a titanic effort of will. The longer he made it from the door of his penthouse and down the hallway to the waiting elevator, more surly and angry he became in contrast to the drunken and fugue state he had been upon waking. All the while, the feed kept him up to date as Sasha made her way through the protesters and other dregs of society.<br/><br/>As he rode the elevator up, it soon became evident where she was heading; the House of Sin.<br/><br/>Owned and operated by a man called Dax, it was one of the premier houses of pleasure that dominated Bay City. Dax was also rumored to do more business than horizontal girls, drugs and smuggling being primarily what was whispered. If those rumors were true that meant the woman had no other reason to go to the House of Sin.<br/><br/><div class="bbm_float fright" style="float:right;margin:0 0 5px 10px">
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</div>With that information in tow, he felt the elevator stop on the roof pad above his penthouse and stepped out. The hovercraft was a few years older than most but worked like a charm as well as having been modified steadily by Leo. He slid in to the seat and sent his ONI data on Sasha to the console in the vehicle. With that inputted, he followed the tone and had the vehicle moving off the roof and toward the target.<br/><br/>He flew through the city as quickly as he could without drawing too much attention to himself, driving through the pelting rain and traffic with a growing snarl.<br/><br/>As he approached the roof pad, his radio came to life as the House of Sin contacted him.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffff00">"Now's not a good time, mate."</span>The smooth, English voice of Dax responded. No doubt the surveilance systems around the House of Sin had identified Leo's vehicle and Dax himself had chosen to hold off the mercenary, as if he couldn't deduce why Leo was heading towards him.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">"Listen Dax. I know the girl is on the way there. I know she, or people helping her get out, are paying you. Here's the deal. I'll give you a million credits to hand her over to me. If you don't, I'm going to kill you and take her. Your call."</span>He flicked off his responder before Dax could reply and landed heavily on the roof pad set in the House of Sin.<br/><br/>As he exited the vehicle, Dax and two of his bodyguards exited the elevator, both of the bodyguards armed with sub-machine guns. Dax was a tall, severely thin black man with sunken eyes and the pallor of a dead man, but he was a rich and dangerous man in the underworld of Bay City. Fortunately for Leo, he was more dangerous.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffff00">"The only reason I'm not having Borg and Vulcan here kill you is because I love money, Mr. Orvik."</span>He growled out and Leo smiled in response.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffff00">"Follow me."</span>Without another word, Dax turned around and led Leo to the elevator. The bodyguards fell in behind Leo and they entered the elevator<br/><br/>As soon as the doors closed, Dax spoke.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffff00">"Pay me."</span>Leo smirked at that. Greedy fucker.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">"Not until I have the girl."</span>With that utterance the ride down to the floor came to an end and they entered a dark hallway. Quickly, they walked down it's length until they came to a nondescript door. Opening it, Leo was ushered into what turned out to be a bare office with but a desk and naked wooden floors being the only features of note. Dax sat on the edge of the desk while the bodyguards took up position outside the door. Leo chose to stand near the desk, arms folded as he turned to face the door.<br/><br/>They didn't have long to wait as soon Dax spoke up again.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffff00">"She's on the floor, approaching the door now." </span>The sounds of footsteps came to a halt outside the door before one set suddenly peeled away and went further down the hall. Leo frowned as he realized the target had just walked away from him and he glanced over at Dax, who looked back at Leo before looking at the floor. Dax swallowed and spoke again,<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffff00">"What's the problem Isis?"</span><br/><br/>The door opened and a woman that was not even human opened the door and hissed,<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff00ff">"She's gone to the bathroom."</span><br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">"Like Hell."</span>Leo muttered and began to move towards the door but the sound of a clicking reached his ears and he slowly turned around to see Dax holding a gun on him.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffff00">"Go get her. Now." </span>Dax said to Isis. Isis nodded and trailed away. As she left, the two bodyguards aimed their weapons at Leo. Leo rose his hands slowly and angled his head to the side as he stared at Dax, fury rising as he should have seen this coming.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffff00">"Sorry, mate. I was hoping to get you to pay me before I slagged you, but Ms. LASTNAME has taken that choice away from you."</span><br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">"I don't have time for this."</span>Leo growled and shot forward. Rounds punched in to the desk from the bodyguards as Leo dove towards Dax. Dax fired a round but it went sailing harmlessly by Leo's head as Leo reached out and grabbed the arm of Dax, pulling him forward and in front of him as the rounds from the bodyguards followed him, to begin punching holes all in Dax.<br/><br/>Shoving Dax's twitching corpse towards the bodyguards, Leo knelt to one knee and pulled out one of his firearms and fired two shots, the first taking the bodyguard on the left in the eye and the second punching a hole in the throat of the bodyguard on the right.<br/><br/>As they fell, Leo was surging to his feet and out the door. Now, all he had to do was stop a combat synth from taking Sasha and then he could grab the target. Then, all he had to do was make his way to the roof and exit with the prize. Simple.<br/><br/>Unknown to him, another hovercraft had landed on the roof, this one considerably bigger. From it's boxy depths, a full squad of mercenaries pelted out and headed for the elevator.