Once again, Lynx found herself sitting at the rickety metal table in her small apartment.
Above her, a single dim light cast shadows across the nearby walls as the woman's pale-blue eyes darted across the blueprints and photos of Isaac Korrin's mansion. The woman was doing her best to make sure that each line and symbol that appeared on the paper was burned into her mind. Now that she had a pretty good idea as to what kind of chaos she was about to walk into, Lynx was becoming more and more confident that she would be able to pull this job off without a hitch.
The mansion was truly a lavish and eye-catching structure. One that was equipped with solar-powered electric fences, motion sensors, automated drones, and a small army of armed guards who ensured that only the colonial elite could enter without any trouble. These kinds of defensive measures were to be expected, though. Korrin had money, and money meant security. In simple terms, his estate was just short of a certified fortress.
How the man even managed to get approval for such a place inside an orbital colony with limited space was beyond her. But those were the kind of things one could expect from those with tons of money and influence at their disposal. Either way, it really wasn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.
Lynx had broken into worse places, much worse.
The woman then took a moment to trace the routes on the map with her finger as she looked for any potential flaws or openings. All while taking notes of any blind spots or weak points that she could exploit for her benefit. From what she could tell, the rear garden was a weak spot in the security system. Primarily due to the numerous hedges and trees that dotted the area. And on top of that, the front entrance had a camera blind spot near the main door, which made both spots an easy place for quiet infiltration. However, the most annoying detail that Lynx couldn't help but focus on was the laser grid that covered the entire hallway leading up to Korrin's office. The place where the files she was after were currently locked away in a secure drawer.
Lynx's eyes narrowed as she tried to map out the easiest way to bypass the system, but the effort was becoming harder with every passing second. Her vision was starting to blur, and she found herself blinking furiously in an attempt to clear the haze from her eyes.
Suddenly, the woman's mouth became dry, and a familiar, gnawing feeling began to well up inside of her. The shakes were starting to take hold once again. The withdrawal symptoms always came in waves, unpredictable and brutal. And just like always, the cravings were an insistent, demanding, and constant reminder of the demons she was currently trying to fight off.
Lynx closed her eyes, exhaling slowly while trying to regain her focus. The job came first. It had to. She couldn't let the cravings take over. Not now. Not when she had a job to do.
A sharp knock at the door jolted her back to reality.
"Just a minute!" The woman shouted, her voice hoarse.
Lynx then used her left hand to reach for a small metal box under the table before pulling out the sleek datachip she had prepared a couple of days ago. It was the key to bypassing Korrin's security. A custom-made device, courtesy of a contact she'd met through her mercenary work.
She quickly rechecked the datachip, ensuring it was intact and free of any faults. This was her ticket into the mansion; without it, she might as well go ahead and cancel the job. An outcome that was unacceptable as far as she was concerned. The woman couldn't afford to mess this up, not after everything she'd been through.
Lynx then placed the datachip back into its box before stepping away from the table and shuffling over to the door, her movements slow but deliberate.
The door then opened to reveal a tall figure in a dark coat, one with the outline of a gun visible beneath it. The man standing before Lynx was another mercenary, a man by the name of Cato, who agreed to help her out with the day's activities. Albeit for a small fee for his services. The man was one of the best drivers one could afford on a budget. And he was exactly what Lynx needed for a quick reconnaissance mission to Korrin's mansion.
"Ready to go?" The man's voice was gruff and portrayed his no-nonsense personality.
Lynx simply nodded, too tired to speak. The man then handed her a small, black bag. Inside it were some extra tools she would need to get inside the mansion: a set of lockpicks, a few tranquilizer darts, and some ceramic bullets that she really hoped she wouldn't have to use. The woman quickly grabbed the bag and held it close to her body, but paused for a moment as her head began to spin.
The memories came crashing back in a rush.
Faint images of Utopia's dark and grimy underbelly came flooding in. Along with images of her father, ones from when the man had been reduced to nothing more than a strung-out mess who was barely able to hold himself together. Then came the memories of her time running with the local street gangs, the ones who had become her second family before she decided to put those days behind her. Lynx had been running, hiding, and stealing since she was thirteen. And Utopia, for all its decadence and luxury, hadn't been kind to a kid like her.
Her fingers trembled as she turned around and reached for the small bottle of water on the nearby shelf, but the memories wouldn't fade. They never did. The faces, the voices, the times when she thought she would never get out were still plaguing her, even to this day. The woman then shook her head as she tried to push the thoughts aside. However, the weight of it all was starting to press down harder.
She had to focus. Just a little longer.
Lynx tightened her grip on the bag before placing it on the shelf. She then forced herself to step out of the apartment after letting out a deep sigh.
The cool air of the colony hit her face as soon as she walked out into the open, the shimmering lights of Utopia's middle-tier red-light district surrounding her. All around her, people were laughing and strolling down the streets in their pristine evening clothes, blissfully unaware of the darker, more dangerous side of the colony. Lynx had learned long ago to ignore them. They were part of the system that had abandoned people like her. They were the kind of people she never bothered to think about or remember.
The kind of people she would forget about the moment she was officially out of this god-forsaken tube in the middle of space.
-(o)-
Korrin's mansion was about seven miles away from where Lynx lived, safely nestled among the other estates of the colony's rich elites. As expected, not so much as a stray leaf could be seen anywhere in sight. And the near-constant presence of Colonial Police patrol vehicles could not be understated. It was a far cry from what the woman was accustomed to in the colony's middle area.
'I guess the street cleaners actually stick to a schedule around these parts.' Lynx thought to herself as she looked through her battery-powered binoculars that doubled as a hand-held camera.
Although she wasn't from the area, Lynx knew these streets pretty well. She had done more than her fair share of jobs in this region of the colony, and she knew exactly how things tended to operate. And that past experience proved to be valuable as she scoped out the mansion from a cozy spot atop a nearby hill. One that was far away enough to avoid any prying eyes, while still being close enough to give her a good view of her intended target.
After an hour of diligent scouting, Lynx had written down and memorized the patterns of the guards, the timing of the patrols, and the general flow of traffic. She was somehow able to accomplish this all while the woman's body screamed for both rest and the sweet relief of just one more dose of glitter. However, Lynx had no time for that. She was too close to the goal to slip up right now.
Eventually, the woman got what she needed and swiftly made her exit. The mansion was certainly well-guarded, but it was by no means impenetrable. In her time as a mercenary and thief, Lynx had gotten through much worse. And something like this wasn't going to stop her from completing her objective.
-(o)-
The following night, Lynx was back in her home. The woman now had all the information that she needed in order to make her move. Everything from here on out was on all her. And with that knowledge, Lynx knew that this wasn't the kind of job where she would be able to take a chance. She was going to need to be precise in everything that she did.
Her entire future depended on how well she performed here. There wouldn't be a second chance. Jobs like this were a rarity, even for elite mercenary teams. And who knows when or if she'll ever have an opportunity like this again? Or if she'll even live to get another chance.
'Well...let's get this show on the road.' The woman told herself as she grabbed her supplies and headed out the door. It was now or never. Her fate would be determined by the end of the night.