Corpo Age

Chapter 119: Sewer Rats

“Is it possible to have that cyborg bodyguard of yours lead the initial infiltration?”

I gazed over at the speaker, Joey. We stared at each other for only a second, but felt like minutes before he continued.

“He’ll be a vital asset in the initial infiltration into High Grain Corp’s underground base. None of our other agents have access to stealth tech as developed as your company’s.”

“So you want me to send a full team along with him as well?”

He nodded. “Correct.”

“Hmm… believe a small squad of three will be sufficient. More people would only increase the chances of being detected.”

Joey took on a thinking pose for a moment before nodding.

“I will defer to your judgment.”

I closed my eyes as I weighed the risks. As a small G-Class corporation, letting Thorne and my other employees take the lead in infiltrating a C-Class corporation’s fortified base may seem like a fool’s errand on paper, but I was confident my stealth tech was more than up to par for the task. Agreeing to it would also mean we would have the leverage to avoid sending troops to the frontal battles where casualties were almost guaranteed.

“Yes, your company can take a bigger share of the spoils if your men play a critical role. You also do not need to send any further troops to the other battlefields.”

“Then very well, I can send him along with a small team to open up the way for follow-up troops.”

Joey smiled and nodded appreciatively toward me before he continued discussing the other facets of his plan with the others in the alliance. Nothing else they discussed needed my attention, so I worked on all the paperwork I would have to do in the next few days while the meeting went on all the way until it ended.

It was too bad not all my work could be done ahead of time, but I still appreciated completing the majority of my future tasks. It allowed me to spend more time in my workshop for the next while. With software engineering reaching plus ten, there was so much waiting for me to test and implement.

I exited the meeting room and found Thorne and Claire waiting for me. I quickly briefed them about what went on during the meeting.

“It’s settled. I told them you’ll be infiltrating that underground base. I’ll send you what info we have right now.”

“That’s fine. As long as you promise to stay put in the base, I could use the exercise.” Thorne said, as he shrugged.

I placed my hand on his shoulder and nodded.

“Yes, and if you’re staying here, you better be doing your own paperwork.” Claire said, “Don’t think I don’t know you’re planning to hole up in your workshop again.”

“...Yes, of course.”

I then felt Thorne’s hard, metallic hands firmly pat me on my other shoulder.

Good thing I got a head start on it during the meeting already.

Thorne - Halls Corporation

“I leave guarding Rollo to you.” The cyborg nodded toward the security guard wearing the uniform of the Halls Corporation.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine without you. We won’t be going into unfamiliar territory this time and will be staying at headquarters. Go on now.”

Thorne gave one last look at the other guards behind Andrew before entering the gates of the airport.

As his plane took flight, he found the trip excruciatingly long. Either Rollo or Claire always accompanied him on his trips, but they weren’t here this time. Instead, he traveled with a team he hadn’t spoken to much before.

All he knew were their names, and that they were one of the latest batch of elites who would prove to be useful during their infiltration mission.

Seeing how there wasn’t anything else to do on the flight en route to the NNA continent, Thorne took the initiative and spoke to the newcomers beside him, who were all silently sitting still.

“You’re Aiden, and you’re Polrath, right?” Thorne said, as he glanced over at the two young men frozen stiff in their seats.

The one to his left, whom he had spoken to first, nodded with the glow still apparent in his eyes while the one on the right abruptly bowed ninety degrees towards Thorne.

“That’s right, sir! I am Polrath Dalem. I’m good with explosives and I’m at your service!”

Thorne swiftly gestured for him to quiet down as he was creating a scene. The plane they took only had corpos aboard, and that made it worse as they cared about appearances. Still, he kind of liked the passionate young man as opposed to the one who gave him a cold shoulder.

These cy-specialist geeks are always so bad with people! I just hope Leo hasn’t wasted his time training him and he can get the job done.

The Halls corporation had been expanded quickly, which included training new personnel. Not all positions could be directly hired, with many sensitive roles needing to be trained in-house. Cy-sec specialists usually fall into this sensitive category, especially the ones who were also trained to be field operatives.

“So, tell me about yourselves…quietly,” Thorne asked once the other passengers no longer paid them any attention.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

In response, he received a data packet from Aiden, while Polrath leaned in and ‘whispered’ at a volume that was more akin to a normal speaking voice.

Am I really taking someone who doesn’t know what whispering means on an infiltration mission…?

Passing the time over a conversation, the trio soon arrived at their destination.

Thorne - Halls Corporation

“Remember to configure your communication devices. Otherwise, High Grain Corp will quickly notice your transmissions and sniff you out.” The old man warned.

He wore a splendid military uniform with many badges on it, and the emblem on his chest betrayed his affiliation to a corporation instead of the military. He was one of the commanding officers the West Coast Agroindustry Alliance had put in charge of the attack on the High Grain Corporation.

“We remember already. Can we start yet?” Thorne asked, slightly irritated as he had to listen to the old man, who kept repeating himself.

“Patience, child. The other two strike groups are still getting into position. It takes time to move so many troops, unlike us, with barely a hundred men. Anyway, are you sure you have all devices properly configured yet? It’d be your head on the line if the enemy detects a signal from you.”

“...Yes!”

After what felt like the hundredth time the old commanding officer had repeated himself, Thorne finally got the go-ahead to begin the infiltration mission.

He quickly jumped out of the car and made his way toward the sewer entrance. His two assistants followed close behind, each carrying a large backpack.

“Set your equipment to phase one. We’re going to enter their detection range soon,” Thorne commanded as soon as they caught up.

“It really stinks down here!” Polrath complained.

“It is just a smell. Simply ignore it. You’ll soon adapt to it. It is what humans are good at, after all,” Aiden quipped.

The underground base their target was in was located under a section of the city’s sewers. The narrow underground network of passages made it difficult to attack and also acted as a buffer from all the signal pollution in the city.

This allowed High Grains Corp to implement their expensive detection equipment that tracked the sources and receivers of every transmission within the range of their secret base. This meant Thorne and his team had to ensure they didn’t give off a signal of any kind once they entered the sewers or risk detection.

“Polrath, do you want me to carry the stuff Authentic Corp sent?”

“No thank you, sir! I am more than fit enough to do so myself!”

Thorne shrugged as he continued to lead the way through the maze-like sewers. He proceeded cautiously, mindful of any potential guards that patrolled the area.

“Schematics show this should be point A001,” Aiden muttered as they turned the corner.

Thorne nodded as he compared the hallway to the maps himself and gestured for Polrath to get to work. The earnest man quickly sprang into action, pulling out several items from his bag and affixing them to the sections of the wall that Aiden pointed out.

The trio then continued moving deeper in, stopping every few hundred meters where Polrath would repeat his task.

After doing the same thing for twenty minutes, the end was finally in sight.

“This is the last one. I hope that stuff they gave us works.” Thorne muttered.

“I have gone over its manual and there shouldn’t be any issues as long as Polrath configures it properly.” Aiden emotionlessly replied.

“Leave it to me, Aiden.”

Thorne watched as his team members went through the familiar motions of placing the contents of their bags onto the walls. However, this time, they fished out additional devices that looked like several small teacups.

They quickly attached themselves when pushed against the wall, and the team spread them out in a fashion that drew a wide rectangle. Once they were done, the two members glanced over at their superior, who was focused on the timer displayed in his optics.

Thorne waited patiently as the timer ticked, and when the digits representing the hour finally changed, he gave the signal for his men to proceed.

Aiden immediately took out his handheld terminal and activated a program on it. The three men then quickly retreated from the area, hiding behind the curvature of the sewers.

Several seconds passed by in silence before a bright light flashed out from where they just were. Seeing the flash of bright light, the team returned to the spot where they planted the devices and found holes all over the wall.

The charges they had planted worked as intended, drilling past the thick concrete walls. The most important part was the circular devices the alliance had given them that jammed and contained all the sounds, vibrations, and any heat generated.

The devices were still attached to the wall, preventing the defender’s security system from‌ detecting the breach in their base.

“Clear! Hold on to me. We’re turning on active camouflage from this point forward.” Thorne said to his two subordinates.

They quickly nodded and did as commanded, activating their Shades once they placed a hand on Thorne’s shoulder.

They had disabled their company program that highlighted each other’s position in fear of the signals being picked up.

Thorne then gripped the wall by the holes they created, and pulled down the entire wall, gently placing it down. They immediately spotted an empty corridor with a dull metallic color, decorated with small lights on the ground every few feet to light the way.

Thorne picked the path that went further into the base and cautiously preceded. They hadn’t found the schematics of this place, so they didn’t have a detailed map or anything to go by, so he had to carry out the search himself. They were looking for any kind of strategic assets to sabotage before their main force attacked.

The trio continued down the dreary hallway for several more minutes until Thorne suddenly signaled for them to come to a stop. He relayed his findings to his teammates by tapping on their shoulders using the signal they had developed. It didn’t take long for him to inform them that his auditory implant picked up several footsteps coming toward them.

A few moments later, the door at the end of the corridor slid open and two armed guards came striding toward them. They walked straight past Thorne and his team without noticing anything and turned the corner.

The three men continued their infiltration mission, but even after ten minutes of searching around, they hadn’t found anything critical to the base. The entire place was just too large and was like a maze, filled with useless rooms and empty corridors.

The elevators aren’t an option as they likely have weight sensors…

Another patrol passed by Thorne, as he was deep in thought when one of the patrolmen yawned. Thorne suddenly signaled to his two teammates to follow after the patrol and began moving without explaining his plan.

They didn’t follow the patrol for long before they led them to one of the breakrooms within the base. Thorne could make out the armory right next door and spotted a dozen security personnel in the vicinity. He went inside the breakroom and soon found a terminal at one end of the room that highlighted the patrol paths for this floor.

Perfect! Just let me take a photo and... saved.

The trio then quickly placed some charges at inconspicuous places before exiting the room. They found an empty corridor nearby where they could rest their Shades and discuss their plans.

“Polrath, do you think you can cave in the armory door?”

“Hmm… I should have enough for one doorway, yeah.”

“In that case, let’s go requisition ourselves some more explosives.”

“...Sir, I hope you don’t plan on detonating too much while we’re still here. I don’t have enough information to know how much force this place can withstand before it all comes crumbling down.”

“It’ll be fine. This place is a bunker. It’s designed to withstand a few explosions. It’s not so easy to demolish this place or else we could’ve just shelled this place and be done with it.”

“If you say so, sir…”