Cyberpunk: I'm Not a Scavenger - Chapter 23: Infiltration and Discovery (Patreon)

From the outside, Redwood Street Psychiatric Hospital looked much like any other hospital. Only the words "psychiatric hospital" lent it an ominous air.

It was two in the morning, when most people were at their sleepiest. The parking lot's security guard, for instance, was sleeping like a baby.

"All done. He won't wake up before eight."

Jackie climbed back into the car and immediately sealed the drug-soaked rag he'd been holding inside a bag.

"Check yourselves for anything that might make noise," Pantheon reminded them. "We're supposed to be professionals. Let's not act like those idiots in the movies."

He grumbled about the ridiculous contrivances in films, and Jackie nodded vigorously in agreement.

"It's called creating dramatic tension," Lucy retorted. Without all those tense, exciting moments, what would be left to watch?

Pantheon pretended not to hear. He turned toward Jackie.

"Come on, Jackie. In and out."

They exchanged grins and bumped fists.

"Let's go!"

The hospital's security was deceptive. Surveillance was relatively light outside, but much tighter within the main building.

Following Lucy's directions, they slipped into a camera blind spot. Pantheon climbed onto Jackie's back and used cutters to make an opening in the fence, then squeezed through onto the second floor.

A wire fence enclosed the third-floor landing. They cut another opening and climbed onto the third floor the same way.

Only one obstacle remained between them and the main building, a massive iron door with an entirely mechanical lock.

Luckily, Pantheon had identified the lock model during their reconnaissance and bought an identical one on the black market. He'd practiced opening it so many times over the past two days that he could have done it with his eyes shut.

Click.

The tiny sound from the lock was swallowed by the footsteps of a guard patrolling the second floor.

They waited patiently to make sure nobody had noticed, then eased the door open. Going down the staircase to the second floor brought them into the heart of the hospital.

Individual rooms lined both sides of the corridor. Each contained a small bed and virtually nothing else. The patients lay quietly, neither screaming nor staring at the intruders.

The hospital's sedatives were clearly effective.

Once they were inside, the operation became much simpler thanks to the access privileges provided by Shinya Suzuki. Suzuki-kun was such an outstanding citizen.

"Lucy-chan, we're counting on you."

"You're disgusting."

Lucy sounded merciless, though the corners of her mouth curved upward.

"I'll need to use your neural link as a bridge into the hospital's network."

"Got it. I'll open up access."

Pantheon agreed without realizing what was coming. For some reason, a sense of impending disaster prickled at the back of his mind.

He blinked, finally understood, and went pale.

"Don't look at..."

Too late. Lucy's furious voice came through before he could finish.

"Pervert! Scumbag! Cockroach! You absolute piece of trash with a head full of garbage!"

Fortunately, Lucy hadn't forgotten they were on a job. Furious as she was, she still completed the network intrusion.

"I've replaced the live camera feeds with recordings on a loop. Don't worry about being spotted. You're invisible to their system now."

In the security office, the monitors flickered once and returned to normal. The guard on duty was too busy enjoying a braindance through his wreath to notice anything.

"Just wait until we get home. We'll settle this then!"

The threat made Pantheon's scalp tingle. He chuckled awkwardly and tried to brush it off.

It really wasn't anything serious. There were just a few rather revealing private photos in his chat with Lisa.

What else were you imagining?

Jackie shook his head and gave Pantheon a look of heartfelt sympathy. He was on his own with this one.

Even with the system on their side, the two men didn't get careless. If anything, they moved more cautiously than before.

They made their way down the fire stairs into the basement, where the light was even dimmer. The hallways were much narrower than upstairs, and the walls had an oppressive gray-white color.

"Kid Willow is in Room 306. Turn left down the corridor, then take the third room."

They kept close to the wall as they approached. They hardly saw a security guard along the way, or even many cameras.

Judging by the precautions down here, the doll wasn't nearly as important as they'd expected.

At Room 306, Pantheon chambered a round in his pistol and nodded to Jackie.

Beep!

The sliding door made even less noise than the card reader.

Inside was a cramped room, with a lonely single bed pushed against the back wall. Their target wasn't on it. He was curled into a ball in the corner.

Jackie went over to check him. Kid Willow was unconscious, but at least he was still breathing.

"This is one of Clouds' top dolls?" Jackie removed the tracking bracelet from his wrist and lifted him onto his shoulder. "Feels lighter than Misty."

"Jackie, how much do you think it costs to make someone look like that?"

With the rescue going so smoothly, the two men finally relaxed enough to joke.

Jackie rubbed his chin and examined Kid Willow's unnaturally beautiful face, struggling to put a figure on it.

"More than either of us could imagine. But I think Misty likes me just the way I am."

He flexed an arm to demonstrate his powerful muscles.

"Sure. Maybe you could become Clouds' top doll yourself," Pantheon teased.

"Get outta here." Jackie laughed.

"Two hundred thousand eddies secured. Time to move."

They retraced their route. As they passed another door, Pantheon suddenly caught a familiar smell.

Wait. Could it be?

"Lucy, open this door!" His breathing quickened as he urged her on.

Lucy had no idea what he was up to, but she complied.

Before the door had fully opened, wisps of white vapor spilled out, making both men shiver.

Just as he'd suspected, it was the hospital morgue. Three corpses lay in the middle of the room.

Pantheon rushed over and reached out to touch one with his fingertip.

[Detected trait: [Genius Netrunner] (Blue)]

At the system's notification, his entire body trembled. He looked at the wall of refrigerated drawers filled with corpses, so moved that he practically drooled.

You poor people. What terribly, terribly tragic deaths!

While he was lost in blissful fantasies, Lucy suddenly gasped.

"Phoenix Wright! What's he doing here?"

Pantheon snapped out of it and looked at Jackie, who merely shrugged.

"I think I've seen him on TV somewhere."

"Phoenix Wright is a famous Night City attorney with a ninety-one percent success rate!"

Lucy was clearly shocked. Even through the headset, Pantheon could hear a cooling fan spinning furiously on her end.

"I found it. Two months ago, he took a case involving a corporation. Then, right before the trial, he suddenly developed a mental illness and was committed to a psychiatric hospital. The story even made the local headlines!"

Pantheon frowned. Why hadn't he heard anything about it?

Oh, right. Two months ago, he'd only just arrived in this world. Finding enough to eat was a struggle, never mind keeping up with the news.

What kind of trait would a lawyer drop?