Bad Beat - Chapter 20 - Land (Patreon)

They spent the rest of Sunday going over the plan.

Spark-1 contributed through flickering projections and neatly formatted suggestions, while Mia did her best to ignore the fact that she was actively collaborating with an AI.

By the end of it, the goth girl seemed to have forgotten what Sparky actually was and participated in the discussion with her usual zeal.

The plan they came up with was simple.

During her research, Sparky had found a guy on the fifth floor who worked nights, but was currently out sick, and his unsecured communication with his employer made it clear he wasn’t intending to leave his bedroom – more specifically, his bathroom – for a few days. He had a car they could steal without anyone being suspicious why it was on the street that late.

Gabriel didn’t know how to jack cars – not something he had learned in school – but Mia reassured him that she had that handled.

He didn’t ask any questions.

Some things were better left unknown.

They wouldn’t delay the heist this time.

As soon as Monday night fell, they would be off.

Mia would jack the car, drive Gabriel near Voxel Lab, then leave and set up somewhere to provide overwatch through her new laptop. Spark-1 would help with communication, while also making sure they wouldn’t be detected digitally.

Gabriel would dress up in his hoodie and follow the pre-planned route to enter the warehouse, plunder it, then hightail it out of there and meet up with Mia, who would drop him off at a spot between his work and apartment.

He would then go to work as usual – having once again arranged an early morning shift – and she would clean the car and put it back where they had found it. She already had such a weird schedule that nobody in the building who kept track of her would wonder why she was out so late.

“I sometimes go for a midnight walk if the weather is nice…” she mentioned with a shrug.

“Is there a cemetery near here?” he asked with a grin.

She didn’t even look up from her laptop. “Har har.”

After returning home from work, Gabriel would rest – after notifying Mia so that she wouldn’t worry – and start working with what he gathered on his sojourn.

A simple plan, but he was still worried.

They would be straying much farther from the apartment, without any safe places to retreat. A lot of things needed to go correctly for them to be successful, and nobody would notice their actions.

He had a feeling that so far, they had been super lucky with their actions. He hoped this wouldn’t be the exact moment they would run out of luck, but he still wanted to prepare.

On Monday, he stopped by one of those stores that seemed to be selling everything and bought several packets of those little snap pops. He then created six cards – all white-bordered – by fusing them: 6 x Snap Pop (Reliable).

Then he spent a bit more than three hours after work creating 192 cards filled with light from his strongest light bulb while watching TV, surfing the net, and chatting with Mia or Sparky. Then those cards were fused into: 6 x Light (Strong).

Then those were fused with the snap pops, creating six new blue-bordered cards: 6 x Flash Pop.

Gabriel hoped it would be enough in case he was caught by somebody.

In an ideal scenario, he would have wanted to create some kind of armor and a weapon, but neither he nor Mia had that kind of money.

He woke up from a short nap and stretched.

The night sky was dark, the moon hiding behind a layer of dark clouds, only occasionally peeking out from behind them.

“Anything to report, Sparky?” he asked idly as he went through a few more stretches and gathered his tools. A few more disposable, improved earphones, and another phone they would be using to communicate. Their personal ones would stay turned off.

[Parental unit is on time.]

[Everything is green.]

[Organic unit Mia reported the same.]

[This unit infiltrated Voxel Lab systems.]

“Any changes?”

[Negative.]

[Present are two workers working on the new order.]

[Three security guards patrolling.]

“Any super action in the neighborhood?” he asked, going through the cards in his deck, making sure he had everything ready. His super hoodie, another shoe he stole from the Freshway warehouse.

They had those middle aisles filled with all sorts of things – gardening tools, clothing, decorations, and so much more. Picking up a few things from the warehouse with his cards was child’s play.

Of course, it helped that Sparky then made sure that the cameras didn’t catch him, or that the inventory wouldn’t show it missing.

“Anything else I need to know?”

[Negative.]

[Maintaining surveillance on the public information streams.]

[Does parental unit permit infiltration of government resources? Y/N]

“No!” he called out in panic. “Don’t do that.” He took a breath before continuing, a bit calmer. “Keep it to the publicly available data for now, Sparky. I don’t want you to trigger anything before we even leave the apartment.”

[Fine.]

[Angry pout.]

Gabriel smiled a little. “Come on… with the 3D printers, we’ll be able to do some awesome things, and then we can upgrade your hardware too.”

[Promise accepted.]

The arranged time came too fast for Gabriel. He dressed warmly and took his work backpack with him as he left his apartment. He locked the door and headed for the stairs.

Down in the atrium, he kept to the walls, trying to look as if he was too tired to care, and headed for the street.

 He walked away from the building toward one of the many small – and most importantly, dark – alleys littering the megacity. There he stopped in the shadows, waiting.

Five minutes later, a black car stopped next to him.

Gabriel reached for the passenger-side door, opened it, and got in.

At the wheel, he saw Mia sitting in a giant hoodie that practically swallowed her. She was wearing gloves, and the only skin he could see was on her face. Even her hair wasn’t visible. Behind him were several bags – probably filled with her tools.

He also pulled down his hood.

“Punch it!” he exclaimed softly, a bit of excitement leaking into his voice.

“I’m not speeding, idiot…” Mia grumbled and started the car.

They cruised through the streets in silence, both of them constantly watching the streets for anything suspicious.

However, because it was so late, it was mostly cars driving fast and a bunch of drunks or homeless people on the street.

Quite frankly, with the way they were wearing their hoodies – they were the most suspicious things on the street at the moment.

Half an hour later, Mia stopped in another alley and looked at Gabriel.

“This is the last chance to back out…”

Gabriel shook his head. “We’ve come so far, might as well do it…”

She looked him over, then nodded. “If you’re sure…”

“I am.”

“Then go and call when you’re ready.”

“Good luck!” he called out softly as he clambered out of the car.

“Yeah… good luck to you, too!” she replied equally softly.

The moment the door closed behind Gabriel, the car drove off, leaving him alone.

Glancing around, he sought the darkest part of the alley and began his transformation. He changed his pants and shoes before donning his Shadow Stalker Hoodie and then pulled down the face cover, completing his look.

The original clothing went into his bag, which in turn was absorbed by his deck.

The next step was taking out his earphones, putting them in, before turning on a disposable phone he had created. A minute later, he connected all the devices and input a memorized code to join an anonymous chat group with Mia and Sparky.

“This is Shadow,” he whispered as he did a last check of his equipment.

“This is Overwatch,” came Mia’s slightly distorted voice. “I’m almost set up.”

“Sparky?” he asked as he began walking toward his destination.

He could hear Mia’s grimace through the earphones.

“She is commenting.” There was a beat of silence. “No. I’m not reading that aloud for him.”

Gabriel chuckled. “Remind me to get some kind of vocal mod for her…”

He reached the Voxel Lab building in ten minutes – mostly because he kept to the back streets, always taking those that didn’t have any cameras. It was an unassuming two-story building wedged between two other similar buildings. From the back, he could only see a bunch of dumpsters, faded signs, and a lot of trash.

“Ready?” he asked, looking around the corner, eyeing the door next to the scratched and dented loading dock.

“What? Not using that stupid over thing?” Mia asked sarcastically.

“No,” he admitted awkwardly. “It was a bit too much.”

“Thank god…” she muttered before clearing her throat. “Aaanyway… we’re in the clear. Sparky reports no unusual activity, so you’re good to go.”

Gabriel nodded even though she couldn’t see it. Then he took out his All-Purpose Multi-tool from his pocket and walked up to the door. He made sure not to look up in case Sparky and Mia hadn’t managed to turn off or loop the cameras.

A simple burst, and the scuffed electronic door lock clicked open.

Gabriel didn’t move immediately.

He stood there for a heartbeat, hand still on the door, listening.

Nothing.

No footsteps. No voices. And thankfully, no alarms. Just the faint hum of electricity bleeding through the metal and concrete around him.

He pushed the door open just enough to slip through, careful to keep the movement slow, controlled. The hinges didn’t protest this time – just a faint whisper of metal shifting against metal.

Good.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him with equal care, easing it shut until the latch settled into place with a muted tick.

Darkness greeted him.

Not complete – but close.

The kind broken only by thin strips of dim emergency lighting and the occasional LED blinking somewhere deeper inside the building. It painted everything in dull shadows and hard edges through the screen of his mask.

“I’m in,” he whispered.

“Good. Wait for 10 seconds, then start.”

He exhaled slowly, forcing his breathing to steady as he leaned slightly back against the wall, eyes adjusting.

Ten seconds.

It didn’t sound like much.

It felt like forever.

Every faint noise seemed louder in the silence – the distant hum of machinery, the soft creak of the building settling, the barely perceptible buzz in his earphones.

He counted them anyway.

One.

Two.

Three.

A faint shift somewhere beyond the corridor made his shoulders tense, muscles locking before he could stop himself.

He held still.

Listened.

Nothing followed.

Probably nothing.

Still… he didn’t move until he hit ten.

“You’re good. The guard passed you.”

Gabriel pushed himself off the wall.

“Copy.”

He moved forward, keeping his steps light, deliberate, placing each foot carefully to avoid unnecessary noise. The corridor was narrow, lined with doors – offices, storage rooms, maybe maintenance closets – each one identical in the low light.

He resisted the urge to check them.

Stay on plan.

At the corner, he slowed, leaning just enough to glance ahead before committing. The night vision from his mask painted everything in muted gray-green, flattening depth but revealing shapes.

Clear.

He turned the corner.

Above him, the sound grew louder.

A constant, layered buzzing – hundreds of printers working in unison somewhere overhead. It wasn’t just noise – it was a presence, a vibration that seemed to settle into the walls, into the floor… into him.

He continued forward, keeping close to the wall, letting the ambient noise cover his movement.

Then he spotted the door he was looking for. Faded marking and safety instructions, but the label saying ‘Warehouse’ was pretty clear even through his night vision.

“Is this it?” he whispered.

A moment later, he received an answer. “Yes, go.”

Gabriel approached, slower now.

Closer meant risk.

He reached for the handle, fingers tightening slightly before he forced them to relax. No sudden movements. No noise.

He tested it gently.

Unlocked.

A flicker of relief passed through him.

He pushed the door open just a fraction, pausing again – listening.

Still nothing.

Then, carefully, he slipped inside.

He found himself in another dark room, only able to see in grayish-green hues.

The room was filled with shelves, which in turn were stuffed full of cardboard boxes.

He rubbed his hands together in anticipation of the loot.

‘Breaking into places with the aid of an AI is really not fair…’ he mused as he began walking around for the biggest boxes.

“Any idea where the big shipment is?” he asked as he tried to navigate in the darkness.

“No idea, Shadow. According to the logs, it’s still in the warehouse,” Mia replied as he could hear the clacking of her keyboard in the background.

Five minutes later, he finally found it. A giant stack of boxes on pallets. Stepping closer, he read the labels and nodded.

“Found it,” he reported, then reached out and absorbed the stack into a card. Then he frowned when he looked at the smaller boxes stuffed into the shelves.

He shuffled through his cards and selected the one with the pallet he had created, and summoned it onto the ground.

Then began the arduous process of trying to pile up as many of the printers in the boxes onto it as possible.

Half an hour later – staring at a precarious tower of packages – his earphones came alive.

“Are you done? It’s getting chilly here…” Mia asked. “Plus, my… partner is kinda annoying.”

“Having fun, huh?” he asked as he dusted his hands after absorbing the tower he had created. Thankfully, the card managed to absorb the entire thing as one.

Looking around, he spotted a few wooden pallets, so he went to use them.

He took two, laid them on the ground, and continued piling them high with the printers in the warehouse.

Another half an hour later, he went back for another pallet when he noticed something.

Behind the pallets was a tarp that got moved when he started grabbing them, revealing the corner of something that looked suspiciously like a door.

He stepped closer and pulled the tarp down. Behind it was a modern-looking door with a security pad next to it.

“Uhm, Overwatch,” he called out. “Does the warehouse have a door where I’m standing?”

“Negative, Shadow,” came the answer almost immediately. “Nothing on the blueprints.”

“Signals?”

A beat of silence.

“Dark hole, Shadow.”

Gabriel looked at the door, then back at the half-empty warehouse, and made a decision.

“I’m going to check it out.”

He expected denial, but Mia surprised him. “Either a drug den, money printing setup, or something along those lines.”

Gabriel took one last silent trip around the warehouse to make sure he didn’t miss anything, then stepped closer and pulled out his multi-tool and used his door buster attachment to unlock the electronic lock.

There was a silent click, and he opened the door.

The moment he cracked it open, light spilled into the darkness behind him – harsh compared to the dim warehouse – while indistinct voices brushed against his ears, low and muddled.

He froze.

Just for a second.

Listening.

The voices didn’t change. No sudden stop. No alarm.

Good.

Swallowing, he slipped through the opening and eased the door shut behind him, careful not to let it latch too loudly.

He found himself on a small landing, boxed in by bare concrete walls. A narrow set of stairs led down, the source of both the light and the voices hidden below.

The air felt different here.

Warmer. Stale. Touched with something faintly chemical that made the back of his throat itch even through his mask.

The voices carried upward, distorted by the angle – words blending together, tone coming through clearer than meaning.

Inwardly questioning his choices, he stepped forward before he could change his mind and began descending the stairs.

Slowly.

Carefully placing his foot on the first step.

He kept close to the wall, one hand hovering just above it, ready to steady himself if needed, but not quite touching – didn’t want to risk brushing against something loose or making noise.

Each step was deliberate.

He paused after every step, listening carefully to make sure nobody reacted to his entry.

The voices grew clearer as he descended, separating from each other, tones sharpening.

One of them was deep. Rough. Impatient.

The others were higher. Uncertain. Nervous.

“…how much longer do we have to wait?” the deeper voice asked, edged with irritation.

Gabriel stopped mid-step.

He held still, barely breathing now, letting the sound wash over him, trying to see if he could recognize the voice.

Something about it was awfully familiar to him.

“Another hour before the baking process is ready… s-sir,” the second voice replied, stuttering slightly.

Whoever they were, they were clearly afraid of the first man.

The light grew stronger with each step, bleeding up the stairwell in a dull, yellowish glow that pushed back the darkness inch by inch. Shadows stretched along the walls, shifting faintly as something moved below.

He stopped again, just a few steps from the bottom, and crouched down.

At the bottom, a simple curtain hung across the opening, its edge swaying just barely – either from airflow… or movement on the other side.

He lowered himself further, bringing his center of gravity down, minimizing his silhouette. One hand reached out slowly – carefully – until his fingers brushed the edge of the curtain.

It shifted slightly at his touch.

Slowly – inch by inch – he pulled it aside just enough to create a narrow gap.

He saw several printer setups, most of which were moving, but a few of them stood empty along one of the walls. Across from him, on the other side of the basement, was a small area filled with couches, tables, and an off-white fridge.

On one of the couches – sprawled out to cover as much space as he could, arms resting on the back of the couch – sat a giant of a man.

A man he recognized.

Claw.

The Electric Jackal enforcer.

Several men, dressed in rumpled shirts with the Voxel Lab logo on them, rushed around, picking up things from small ovens and packaging them into unlabeled cardboard boxes.

“Those morons lost the last delivery, so now I have to spend my night sitting here and babysitting you fuckwits,” Claw growled. “So, do me a favor and speed that shit up before I start tearing new holes in your bodies!”

Gabriel froze and tried to back out when a voice spoke up in his ears.

“Uh-uh…” Mia exclaimed softly. “That’s not good.”

Gabriel slowly let the curtain move back as he listened.

“What is it?” he whispered, already turning around toward the staircase.

“A bunch of cars stopped behind the shop,” came the report from Mia. “Shit. They’re the Buzzers.”

Gabriel was about to answer when he stumbled.

The explosion tore through the night like a physical force.

A deafening crack slammed into the building, followed by a violent shudder that rippled through the concrete beneath his feet. The walls groaned, dust shaking loose from the ceiling as the entire structure lurched.

For a split second, Gabriel lost his footing.

His shoulder slammed into the wall, rough concrete scraping against his hoodie as he caught himself, teeth clenching from the impact. He was already regretting not spending time on reinforced clothing.

Another, deeper rumble rolled through the building, like something massive had just been thrown – or had hit something it really shouldn’t have.

Behind him, Claw roared.

Not just angry, but furious.

The sound tore through the stairwell, echoing upward with enough force to make Gabriel’s chest tighten. It wasn’t just loud – it carried weight, the kind that made instinct scream at him to move.

Above him, muffled shouting erupted – voices overlapping, creating a chaotic and disorienting cavalcade.

Everything was moving at once.

“Shadow, get the hell out of there!” Mia snapped in his ear. “They brought supers!”

Gabriel pushed off the wall, already turning, boots hitting the steps hard as he started up the staircase.

“Fucking Claw is in the basement, Overwatch,” he shot back under his breath, forcing the words out as he climbed.

The stairwell shook again.

A sharper crack echoed somewhere above, followed by the distant sound of shattering glass.

“Oh, shit!”