Codename: Ghost

Party Favors (7)

Guards pounded down the hallway outside. I hid behind the door. "Search every room!" someone shouted. Thinking fast I slunk near the door. It had high ceilings but a narrow width. I climbed up, twisting to place my hands against one wall and my feet against the opposite to hold myself above the doorway like a human plank. A minute later the guards entered, passing below me with their rifles out. "Eyes sharp." I waited for them to pass out of the entrance room before dropping silently into a crouch. Activating my All1's color change took only a moment. My sneaking suit turned green as I slunk out into the green hallway. This wasn't great camouflage but it would hopefully fool the cameras. I sprinted to the closed elevator. Precious seconds ticked by while prying it open. I leapt inside the dark elevator shaft as guards rounded the corner. It shut behind me with a clang. Falling. My hands caught on metal scaffolding. I grabbed it, swinging wildly for a dizzying moment before kicking off the wall to soar down and catch an elevator cable. Both hands gripped tight. Once secure, I slid down quickly. My sneaking suit prevented friction damage. I counted each floor as it blurred past. My goal was not to escape just yet. I always collected my security bonus, no exceptions. But the elevator began rising below me. I dropped down onto it's roof when it got close, then pressed into a side wall crevice and suspended myself until the elevator passed above me. Cleared for descent again, I twisted and did an awkward push-hop back out to grab another cable, sliding quickly down to my chosen "bonus" floor. Instead of opening the closed elevator doors I found a nearby vent and climbed inside.

Tight. Cramped. Warm.

I wriggled through it, stopping by a grill to listen. Silence. This would have to do. I found enough room to get my arm around to press my finger magnet against a screw, twisting them all out. The grill soon popped open. I keyed my All1 to change color again and rolled out into the white hallway like a white wraith. I sprinted to the locked security door, using Bautista's keycard to gain entry. A pair of guards manned the multi-screen security console, watching videofeeds of the entire mansion. Their response was too slow. I darted forward, leapt and kicked one's head. He spun about to fall on the floor, out cold. "Hey!" His partner shouted. His gun rose, but I reached out and sprayed him in the face with a chemical mist from my sneaking suit's fingertips. It struck in an instant. He slumped onto the floor, unconscious.

Ok. Time to erase my digital existence.

Activating my display circle, I pressed a button to ping mission ops. "Exfiltration is hot. They've got an advanced security set-up. Sending you pics now. Walk me through file deletion."

"Copy that," mission ops silky male voice whispered through my earbud.

The system was still unlocked. My fingers flew across the keys. Mission ops walked me through it all. Deletion. App install. Trojans. I finally activated the countdown sequence for my final escape and darted outside. The security room hardlocked behind me.

Electronic security was down. This left only physical security.

Guards shouted from a distance. I raced off, entering a stairwell to circle down, down, down. "Where are they? Does anyone have visual on the intruder?" someone shouted in my earbud. I had keyed into their security coms. This helped me stay a step ahead. I fled from the stairwell when they cut me off below and above, racing down an empty hallway blessedly silent. The next stairway saw me heading down, down, down again. Guards entered the stairwell above me. I redoubled my pace, panting hard. Before I could reach the basement they came out from a sub-basement level. That was my primary escape route for Plan B. "Shit!"

Options. It all came down to options. My original escape plan was predicated on being undetected. Even with their electronic security system down things would not be easy. Memorizing the compound's architectural plans had shown me preferred routes that could be reached from the basement exits. I could change and blend into the crowd there, finding my way to an outbuilding to make my escape over or under the walls to eventually reach my primary extraction point. But that seemed impossible now.

Guards shouted above me, drawing near. Guards shouted below, drawing near. There was no time for me to change back out of my sneaking suit. I listened by the ground floor doorway for a hot second. Distant shouting could be heard. No option but to take a chance. I opened the door and darted out. Turning left, I began to- 

A powerful kick struck my side. I went tumbling backwards, coming up with my hand against my bruised side. My eyes rose to identify the attacker, then widened behind the All1 facemask.

The BBB moved into a practiced martial arts guard position, one muscular leg placed forward through a slit in her glittering red dress. She gave me that same devilish smile. "Lucky me. I found myself a good time."