Chapter 27 - Risk and Reward

  As far as Darius was concerned, nobody ever needed to know about how long it took him to fumble his way through the darkened office. In hindsight, even bringing a torch might have been too risky anyway – especially with a patrol sitting just up the street. The slightest hint of light shining through the window would be enough to garner attention, followed swiftly by suspicion and investigation.

  At least, that’s what he would tell people if anyone asked.

  Fortunately, after a couple of minutes, his eyes had somewhat adapted, and the faint glow spilling through the front windows from the streetlights outside was enough that he could cautiously navigate the rooms.

  Lena hadn’t been able to give him an exact location of where the data they needed would be stored, but Darius figured it was hard to go wrong with heading straight for the biggest office, located up the stairs at the back of the building.

  As he crept towards his destination, moving slowly to avoid more stubbed toes, he couldn’t help but take in the silhouettes of the computer terminals around him.

  “Is it just me, or is this some really fancy stuff?” he whispered.

  {Indeed, this company must be more successful than most to be able to afford these systems. It is not completely surprising, however – any company selected to work on Imperial projects would no doubt have higher profit margins than usual.}

  “Right,” Darius muttered, barely paying attention. There was a small but growing part of him that wanted to see about cracking open one of those terminals and snagging some choice parts for himself. While most of the parts wouldn’t be directly useful to him – beyond some processing chips he could use for Echo’s frame – parts like those were fairly easy to sell second-hand.

  The small markets that popped up everywhere didn’t tend to ask many questions about where their goods came from, and he could use the extra spending money.

  Darius tore his covetous gaze away with a grimace. No. He was better than that. Sure, he may technically be a criminal, and he was happy to steal from the Empire, but that was the Empire. In the long run, they likely wouldn’t even notice anything he could take, and even if they did, no one was actually getting hurt by his actions.

  Taking from civilians was different, though – even for a larger company like this, if he started stealing parts from their computer terminals, he couldn’t guarantee that the employees wouldn’t be affected – or, worst case scenario, even blamed.

  Suddenly not wanting to linger, he picked up the pace, slipping more confidently through the empty offices as his vision continued to adjust to the darkness.

  Actually… Wasn’t his vision adapting a little too much?

  “Hey Echo, are you doing anything to make me see better?” he asked a little nervously.

  {Not directly, no. However, your new optics are better at adjusting to low-light conditions, although the process is slow and somewhat limited.}

  “Oh, cool,” Darius said, relieved. Sure, if Echo had been messing with his eyes it would have been helpful, but that didn’t mean he wanted the AI to have any more control over his augs than he had already shown.

  He reached the stairs at the back of the building and ascended cautiously, his boots making barely a whisper on the steps. The second floor opened into a modest hallway with a handful of doors, the largest of which stood at the end. Its frosted glass bore the company’s logo in peeling paint, and a faint shadow of light bled through from the windows inside.

  “Bingo,” Darius murmured, nudging the door open.

  The main office was about what he’d expected—a modest attempt at corporate sophistication. A heavy desk dominated the room, flanked by a pair of comfortable-looking chairs and a filing cabinet stuffed to bursting. Shelves of meticulously arranged binders lined one wall, while a large window on the opposite side overlooked the street below. A faint glow from the streetlights outside spilled through the blinds, casting long, striped shadows across the room. The terminal sat on the desk, sleek and unassuming, its muted standby light blinking faintly.

  “Fancy digs for a contractor,” Darius muttered, fishing the bypass kit out of his jacket. He approached the desk, eyeing the terminal as if it might grow teeth. “Let’s see if your smooth-talking skills work on this thing, Echo.”

  {This will be straightforward,} Echo assured him.

  Darius snorted as he plugged in the bypass kit, watching the small screen on the device flicker to life. It chirped as Echo worked his magic, lines of code cascading across the display. A moment later, the terminal’s screen lit up, its security bypassed without so much as a hiccup.

  “Impressive,” Darius admitted, sliding into the chair behind the desk. “Now, where’s my prize?”

  {The floorplans are located in the secure files, as expected. Accessing now… Complete. I will transfer the data to your internal storage.}

  Darius relaxed, a small grin tugging at his lips. “That easy, huh? We’re on a roll.” He stood, reaching for the bypass kit and already mentally preparing himself for the dash back to the tunnels when Echo spoke up again.

  {There is something else. While perusing the files, I believe I have come across information that indicates this company is cutting corners by using sub-par materials for construction projects. The data indicates that some of these materials have failed safety standards, increasing the risk of structural collapse.}

  Darius grimaced, letting himself fall back into the chair. “Figures. Is it dangerous enough to kill people?”

  {Potentially, yes. Several incidents involving minor collapses or equipment failures have been recorded, though the company has suppressed them through legal and financial means.}

  “Of course they have,” Darius muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Honestly, I’m not even surprised. Most companies pull this kind of crap wherever they can get away with it.”

  {Should I attempt to subtly alert the authorities?} Echo asked.

  Darius scoffed. “Yeah, good luck with that. You know what’ll happen – they’ll grease the right palms, pay off the right inspectors, and the whole thing will get swept under the rug. That’s how it works.”

  He sighed, running a hand down his face. “As much as I hate it, there’s really nothing we can do about it.” He sat in silence for a moment, drumming his fingers on the desk. The faint hum of the terminal filled the room as his eyes roamed the shadows. “Although…”

  {Although?}

  “Well, I wasn’t going to steal anything from those fancy terminals we saw earlier. Figured it’d be crossing a line, you know? Now, though… well, I might help myself to a few choice parts from these terminals after all,” he said with a dry smile. “If they were innocent, I’d leave them be, but these bastards have made themselves fair game.”

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  {…That is a morally ambiguous stance at best. Two wrongs do not make a right.}

  Darius snorted. “Don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, buddy, but we’re already breaking and entering with the intention of gathering information to launch an attack on an Imperial Garrison. Drawing the line at stealing from corrupt companies is just splitting hairs at this point.”

  Echo didn’t have a response for that.

  Decision made, Darius rose from the chair and stretched. “Alright, time to see what these overpriced toys are packing,” he muttered, ducking underneath the desk to where the bulk of the terminal sat.

  Advancement in technology generally meant things got smaller and more compact as they got more expensive – up to a point. In theory, a slim dataslate could have the same processing power as a static terminal, but in reality, that simply wasn’t cost-effective. Why go to all the effort of making things smaller if they didn’t need to be?

  The panel popped free with a soft click, revealing an array of neatly arranged components. His gaze immediately zeroed in on the processor, a state-of-the-art unit that was far beyond anything he could afford. Next to it, the storage drive gleamed like treasure in the dim light, its casing etched with the logo of a high-end manufacturer.

  “Well, aren’t you a beauty,” Darius said with a grin, carefully detaching the processor and drive. They came free without much fuss, and he tucked them into his jacket pockets, vaguely wishing he’d thought to bring a backpack or something with him. Clearly, there were a bunch of things he should be bringing with him if he was going to be doing this kind of thing more often. A dataslate to stave off boredom while waiting, a torch, for obvious reasons, and a bag to store his goodies.

  Darius grinned to himself, moving out of the large office and heading back down the stairs to the main area where some more terminals sat temptingly. After tonight, he’d be able to afford to splurge on some tools. At a rough guess, each terminal he stripped for parts was probably worth… a couple of hundred credits?

  The processor was technically the more expensive part, but in this particular case, it was less valuable to Darius than the storage drive. Mostly because storage drives were easier to sell. He was vaguely aware that most criminals sold things to something called a ‘fence’, essentially a go-between who could pass the goods on to be sold legitimately for a marked-up price.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t know any ‘fences’. Something to look into, maybe, but for the moment his best bet was to simply sell them at one of the larger markets. He’d get barely a fraction of the value, sure, but all it had cost to get these things was a little time, so he could hardly complain.

  The second terminal yielded another high-end processor and a larger storage drive. Darius was just starting to wonder how he’d carry everything when he spotted a duffle bag sticking out from under one of the desks. He dragged it out and unzipped it to find what looked like a change of workout clothes inside. He tossed the contents onto the floor without hesitation.

  “Perfect,” he said, patting the bag. “I swear, sometimes I almost feel lucky.”

  {I would not describe your circumstances as fortuitous,} Echo said, but Darius ignored him, already moving to the next terminal. This time, he didn’t bother grabbing the processors; he just went straight for the storage drives. Every component he left behind was missed profits, but every minute he stayed here also meant a greater chance of detection. Considering he didn’t even have a fence to go through… it just wasn’t worth it.

  Components gathered, Darius adjusted the duffle bag over his shoulder, its weight pulling slightly as he glanced around a final time. “Guess that’s all I’m getting from here,” he muttered. As he turned to leave, his eyes landed on a small panel beside the fire exit, blinking a faint red light. He tilted his head. “You know,” he murmured, consideringly, “We might not have to go out the front after all.”

  Echo was not slow on the uptake. {You believe you can bypass the alarm?}

  “In theory, yeah.”

  {That does not inspire confidence.}

  “Oh, relax, ye of little faith. It’s a door; there’s no way it’s more complicated than the ship systems I’ve worked on.”

  {Weren’t you unable to open the doors on the Imperial ship?}

  Darius paused. “That’s… different. I didn’t want to open them in case someone got mad at me.”

  Echo hummed dubiously but didn’t say anything. Darius crouched down in front of the panel, wincing as he used his fingernails to pull the casing off and mentally adding a tool kit to his shopping list. After a few moments of effort the cover came off with a soft click, revealing a mess of wiring that had him pausing.

  {Is there a problem?} Echo asked innocently.

  “No,” Darius bit out. “This is no big deal. It’s a little different than I thought, but I can do it.”

  Probably.

  Hopefully.

  He frowned at the nest of wires, squinting in the faint light. They were packed tightly together, neatly colour-coded but layered in a way that made finding the right connection more difficult than he’d hoped. The fact that he usually had a bunch of diagnostic tools to help him figure this stuff out was only just occurring to him, but the thought of Echo’s dry sarcasm if he gave up was enough for him to double down.

  Tracing the wires carefully with his fingers, he finally pinpointed the one he probably needed. “Gotcha,” he muttered under his breath, carefully twisting the thin insulated wire until it snapped, leaving the copper internals exposed. Selecting the adjacent wire, he repeated the process, twining the two exposed ends together to form a circuit.

  The panel flickered slightly, the faint red light dimming for a moment before stabilising.

  He grinned to himself as he snapped the casing back into place. The panel didn’t beep angrily, and the red light didn’t flash. That was a good sign. Rising to his feet, Darius grabbed the door’s release handle and braced himself. “Moment of truth,” he murmured, pulling it open.

  The fire door slid aside with a low hiss, revealing the alleyway beyond. The cool, stale air of the station’s industrial district swept in, brushing against his face. A triumphant grin spread across his features as he stepped forward, the duffle bag thumping lightly against his side.

  Then the alarm went off.

  A piercing wail shattered the quiet, the emergency lights along the walls flaring red in synchronised, rhythmic flashes. Darius froze for half a heartbeat, his eyes snapping toward the panel. It was blinking furiously, practically mocking him.

  “Damn it,” he hissed, instinctively ducking as though that might make him invisible to whatever security response was surely inbound.

  The alarm continued unabated, its shrill screech echoing across the empty streets. Darius didn’t stick around to admire his handiwork. He bolted, boots slapping against the metal grating of the fire escape. He all but threw himself down the stairs and through the gate, and sprinted into the night. The duffle bag thudded with each step, its weight throwing off his balance, but he didn’t dare slow down.

  The one mitigating factor was that the patrol would be approaching the building from the front. With a little luck, they would take a few minutes to check the building before finding the back door, and he would be far enough away to escape.

  He darted down a side street, slipping past a row of abandoned vehicles parked haphazardly along the curb. His chest burned, his breath coming in sharp gasps, but he pressed on, feet pounding against the pavement.

  Ahead, he spotted the intersection he’d crossed earlier. His heart stuttered as he remembered the patrol stationed nearby. He skidded to a stop just shy of the corner, chest heaving as he pressed himself against the wall and peeked around.

  The enforcers were no longer by their vehicles. The alarm had drawn their attention, and they were clustered near the far end of the street, backs turned to him as they scanned for the source of the disturbance. Darius grinned despite himself, the flickering lights of the patrol vehicles casting long shadows across the street.

  He slipped across the intersection, moving quickly but carefully, keeping to the edge of the road. The patrol didn’t notice him, their focus locked on the distant sound of the alarm. For once, luck seemed to be on his side.

  As he ducked into another alley, putting more distance between himself and the enforcers, Darius allowed himself to breathe a little easier. The tunnel entrance wasn’t far now—just a few more blocks. He picked up the pace, his body protesting every step as fatigue set in.

  By the time he reached the maintenance door leading back into the tunnels, his legs felt like jelly. He pressed his palm to the release panel, and the hatch slid open with a soft hiss. He practically threw himself inside, letting the door close behind him with a reassuring thunk.

  Leaning against the wall, Darius doubled over, hands on his knees as he caught his breath. His heart was pounding, sweat slicking his brow despite the station’s cool temperature.

  Maybe he should start doing some cardio.

  {I assume that went exactly as you planned,} Echo said dryly, the sarcasm practically dripping from his tone.

  Darius barked out a laugh, straightening up and adjusting the duffle bag over his shoulder. “Absolutely,” he said, his voice still breathless. “All part of the plan.”

  {Of course. A masterful distraction to ensure your escape. Truly, you are an unparalleled strategist.}

  “Glad you’re finally catching on,” Darius muttered, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

  Despite the exhaustion weighing on him, he couldn’t help but smile as he started back down the tunnel. Maybe he’d been a little reckless. Maybe the whole alarm-shortening thing hadn’t gone strictly as intended. But he was still standing, still breathing, and his bag was full of valuable tech.

  All in all, it wasn’t a bad night.