Codename Sunfire

Neon lights flooded through the small apartment window, dancing on the concrete walls. The constant stream of flying cars vibrated the walls. The smell of steam and exhaust breezed through the open window.

To those on the outside the apartment was empty. No noise emanated from it for days, no sounds of footsteps, nothing to indicate the one room had any occupants. But there in the corner, motionless, sitting with her back against the wall, knees pulled into her chest, sat a woman. The only indication of life was the dancing lights of the datajack on her neck. A cord of streaming lights ran from the jack to the port in the wall.


Rough Notes:

She is in her apartment, the warning system goes off in her head that some one is trying to break in. She realizes she only has 1 minute before they get in. She picks up the guided revolver up from the side of her. She only has 7 bullets. She laces up her knee high boots. They latch in 3 straps and are augmented to increase her jumping and running abilities. She grabs the locket from her night stand. The locket has a rope of green neon attached to it. She puts it over her head and tucks it in her shirt. The neon glowing light shines dimmed through the fabric. Surfing the net for days like she did leaves an unimaginable pain in the back of her head. Its called the deadly 3. Any more than 3 days jacked into the net and the brain risks shutting down from impulse overload. She had been jacked in for 4 days. The pain was unbearable but she could hear the keypad being rushed on the other side. 30 seconds more and she would be in trouble. Just before she jacked out the phrase "Titan 1 released" flashed across her connection.  Followed by her name with a set of coordinates.
"Codename Sunfire  47.6062° N, 122.3321° W" She knew the implications of the message and the urgency in which she needed to get to that location. She grabbed the pillow off her bed and pressed it up against the window. With her augmented boots she kicked the window out. The pillow slightly muffled the sound of the breaking glass. She could hear the hack of the keypad intensify. They were nearly through. She jumped through the window onto the cold metal catwalk. The steam and exhaust burned her eyes. The pounding pain in the back of her head intensified with the screaming of the flying cars around her. She had two options down to the streets below, where the steam, grim and dirt would conceal her for awhile, but the data junkies and gutter runners would sell her location for a data hit.  Or up to the rooftops to race across the air filtration units, data servers, and solar relays. She would be exposed to satellite tracking, but the urgency and speed of traversing the tops was to appealing to pass up. She grabbed a hold of the ladder run and pulled herself up to the next landing. She then took 3 steps at a time running up the catwalk to the roof. She was on floor 18 of a 30 floor building. She needed to hit the roof before they could get to her. The catwalk was no place to be for when the bullets started flying. Sunfire made it to the top and just before she hopped over the ledge, she felt hot streaks of wind behind her. The men who had broken into her apartment were now on the catwalk firing up at her. The bullets barely missed as she made it onto the top of the roof. She took off running. Dodging between filtration units as she made it to the edge. The next building was 20 feet away. Not a problem. She made the jump with ease and rolled as she hit the adjacent roof top. As she was getting up hot streaks of air narrowly missed her and slammed into the data server next to her. Sparks and smoke came out of the bullet holes. Whoever these men were they were fast. No doubt they also had cybernetic enhancements. She took off through the units hoping that if she weaved enough in and out the bullets would hit the units instead of her. She made it to the next chasm. She swore at herself for not programming the route in her optical sensors before she started.  The next building was 60 feet away. She had made 40 feet jumps in the past, but 60 was outside the safe parameters of her boots. Her head pounded as she tried to see another option. The unit next to her exploded in a fury of bullets and pieces. The men chasing her and increased the firepower. She knew that if they were using this type of high caliber that they did not care to salvage her data core, they just wanted her dead. There was no choice she needed to attempt the jump. She put her feet against the unit she was using for cover and stretched out into a runners pose. She took off from the unit, sending it flying behind her. She jumped. It looked as if she was going to make it, until gravity took hold and pulled her short of the roof top. She fell 3 floors before managing to grab a hold of a window ledge. The pain in her arm was excruciating. She nearly passed out. The phrase "Titan 1 released" passed through her head again. She knew the urgency and dire situation those words implied. She needed to get out of this. The drop to the bottom was more than 20 floors, it wouldn't be possible to climb down in time to avoid the approaching gunfire. She needed some cover and some walls between her and her assailants. She used what little strength she had left in her arm to swing her towards the window below. Her boots collided with the window breaking it instantly and letting her fall into the room. The hard landing, the pain in her arm and the pounding in her head, dropped her unconscious.
The man rose from his bed in a start. The noise of the window breaking and the giant thud scared him into a straight up position. He looked around trying to ascertain what could possibly be happening. He noticed the girl lying down in a mismatch of shattered glass and blood.  She was wearing a leather coat, augmented knee high boots, her blonde spiky hair, multiple ear rings around her right ear and a data port in her neck. She was a runner no doubt. With that tech mixed with this neighborhood, he knew that she transported information for a living. Usually information that didn't want to be found on the net. information that was valuable and worth hiring skilled runners. He got off his bed. Something about the way she looked bathed in the neon lights drove him. He wanted to know more. He rolled her over gently and noticed that she was breathing. Just knocked out he thought. As he looked down at her chest he noticed the locket glowing under her shirt. He reached his hand down instinctively to take a closer look. Her hand darted out grabbing his and pulling it away. "Never on the first date." she quipped. She continued the motion of throwing him to the ground and she got up in one smooth motion. She looked down at his blue eyes and for a moment wanted to apologize and explain why she just crashed through his window. She knew the longer she stayed here the more danger she was in and well as this complete stranger.  She bolted across the room and shoulder first into the door. The kinetic energy from her boots carried her through the doors knocking it off its hinges. The hallway was dim, most of the lights had burned out years ago. She spied the staircase at the end. She needed to get to street level. Whoever was chasing her was faster and better armed. She needed the advantage of hiding. She sprinted down the hallway and made it to the stairs. This time she was taking 6 steps as she ran down. She didn't have the time she needed. The night was fading fast. She broke through the service door and the steam and exhaust hit her a like a wall. Her head pounded worst than ever. She knew that she overdid it. But her brain needed to last for another 48 hours so that she could get to the rendezvous point and put a stop to Titan 1.
She ran into the fog hoping that her pursuers didn't want to get their shoes muddy.
Meanwhile back in the apartment that man stood up from the glass pieces all around him. There was something about the woman that he couldn't shake. He needed to know more. He needed to know why she crashed into his apartment. He needed to know her secrets. He grabbed his leather trench coat and put on his blue jeans. He hung the stun rifle from his belt and grabbed his data pad and messenger bag. He grabbed a few protein packs and threw them in. He was a tracker. Mostly he tracked users over data lines on the net, but occasionally he was asked to track them down in the real world. He worked for corps that wanted their investments back, but didn't want to wait for the justice system. He needed to know more about this girl. He grabbed his sunglasses and loaded the trace program. He saw the destruction that she had left and started running along the programs predicted route. He set off down the hallway after her.

A self driving car mechanic.

Sometime later Sunfire had made her way 5 miles away from her apartment. No signs of the pursuit. They either lost her, or they pulled back, waiting for a better opportunity. She hoped for the former, but assumed the latter. She needed to get across town and into the north mountains. The coordinates that flashed titan 1s launch location were going to require some major gear to reach. Plus the message indicated that she had less than 48 hours to reach it. She needed transportation, gear and a hell lot of luck.
She powered down her running boots. The auto release of the muscle relaxers into her system to counteract the augmented stress on her calves, felt like a rush of the best street drug, but the immediate burning pain that followed reminded her why she used the boots less and less.  She hit the pavement as the muscles spazzed out of control. Her muscles knotted and unkotted like they were being strung through a meat grinder. Through the spurts of pain she tapped her datajack on her neck. The startup program launched in her consciousness. She needed a ride. The city had outlawed self driving vehicles decades ago. Now a fleet of autonomous cars filled the streets. The only way to get through the city was to purchase lyft time. She had 2500 credits left in her account. It was enough to get her close to an off the grid stash house she knew. She signaled for the nearest auto cab to pick her up. She used an old account mask, that she had been saving for years. No way this account could be flagged and tracked back to her. Minutes passed and a model j Waymo pulled up next to her. The wing doors opened up and she climbed in. As the door closed she heard a female voice from behind the passenger seat.
"Don't mind me, luv. This unit just needs some minor tweaks to her navigation array." Sunfire peered over the seat to find a woman in overalls covered in grease. Her hands wrapped in wires, lost in the open floor panels. The woman looked up at Sunfire.
"Jeez luv. You look like hell. Too many dredge cups today?" The woman looked sincere in her question, but immediately turned her attention back to working on the wires. Sunfire got the impression that it didn't matter if she answered, it would be all the same to mechanic.
Sunfire responded. "It has been a day. Should I call for another cab?"
"Don't be silly. This baby will run like she was new off the line, as long as I don't cross the laser grid with this radar." Sparks shot up past Sunfire's head.
"See!" The mechanic quipped.
The car set off down the road with a jolt.

The mechanic continued making sparks fly up toward the ceiling proceeded with a small giggle and what Sunfire started to see was satisfaction. The mechanic seemed to enjoy the explosive results of her work. The cab jerked quite violently after a large noise came from underneath the floor panels.
"Sorry luv!" The mechanic shouted. "This cab has some of the old t19 lines. You don't see these beauts very often." With that the mechanic ripped a large conduit out from underneath the board and held it high above her head. Sunfire responded with a minimal grunt and stared off towards the east. Rays of sunlight peeked between the tall buildings. Morning was here. The cover of night was soon lost. Now the visual scanning satellites could comb the city in no time and pinpoint her location. Sunfire needed to get to the stash house fast. She figured this mechanic might be a blessing in disguise, if she was willing to help and if she didn't mind bending some laws in the process.
Sunfire bent over the back of the seat with her arm outstretched holding her credit stick in the mechanics eye line.
"What do you say to a few creds and you show me how fast this baby can really go?" Sunfire rocked the credit stick between her fingers as a sly smile crossed her face.
"Ah luv, you don't have to bribe me, I have been  looking for a little action all week long!" With that the mechanic pulled her tablet from out her overalls and after a few on screen prompts and another spark shooting from the floor, the cab took off violently down the road. Sunfire fell back into her seat, trying to stay upright as the buildings sped by.