The lobby inside was modest compared to the one in Zero’s building, housing little more than a small reception counter with a few plants on top. A young woman sat on the other side of the counter, and she gave a pleasant smile when she noticed Damien.

“Welcome to Valerie’s Elite Personnel Services,” the young woman said in a cheerful tone. “I’m sorry, but we are not accepting new clients at this time.”

“Oh, I’m not interested in becoming a client,” Damien said. “I’m just here to meet someone.”

The woman scanned him from head to toe, then gave a judgmental and unimpressed look. “Did one of our clients send you?”

Damien wasn’t sure if Zero was technically a client, so he pulled out the small, silver disk from his pocket and placed it on the counter-top. The woman’s face lit up when she saw it and she immediately slid it across the counter and into her hand. “My apologies. I did not know that you were a platinum recruit.” She signaled to the door beside her. “Ms. Valerie will see you right away.”

Damien nodded then entered through the door to find an office room on the other side. A single black, metallic desk at the far end of the room held a three dimensional hologram projection on top of it, and a red-haired woman sat on the other side, her eyes flashing blue as she spoke out loud to herself. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her sharp eyebrows framed her already harsh-looking face with an unyielding expression.

The woman pointed to the chair across from her, then returned to making hand gestures across the metallic table, the motions apparently manipulating the 3D projection.

Damien took a seat and waited patiently as the woman continued to talk out loud, while periodically waving her hand around the hologram. He made note of the blunt and combative manner of her speech. She appeared to be a businesswoman through and through, her entire demeanor making it clear that she wouldn’t take crap from anyone.

After a minute passed, the red-haired woman ended the conversation, and her eyes returned to a more natural hazel color. She brushed down her business suit, corrected her posture, and cleared her throat. “Apologies for the wait. You must be Damien. I’m Valerie. Zero told me about you.”

“Oh, really? What did he say?” It was a long shot, but Damien hoped that he could get some information about the mysterious man.

“Not a lot,” Valerie said, ”but enough to pique my interest in you. And the fact that you’re here right now tells me that you’re interested in what I have to offer. I’ll make it clear from the outset. This could be a lucrative opportunity for the both of us, but there’s just one issue: you’re still unproven.” She crossed her arms. “I’ve got many exclusive clients who’d be willing to employ you as a Private Hire, but I can’t send someone who hasn’t proven themselves competent. My reputation is on the line, after all.”

“Well how can I prove myself?” Damien asked. “And why would you invite me here if you don’t have something for me?”

A thin smile grew on Valerie’s face. “Funny that you mention that. Earlier this morning, a few of my packages went missing mid-transit through the U.T.S.. For reasons you don’t need to know, I’d like to use an outsider to help me retrieve them. Consider this to be something of a test; an opportunity to prove yourself so that I can pass you on to my clients. Think you can handle something like that?”

“I’m sure I can get them back for you,” Damien said, trying his best to sound confident. “Do you know where they are?”

“I believe so. I’ve traced them to an inventory warehouse on Werman Street on the southern end of the city center.” She waved her hand over the projection between them, and the hologram changed into a top-down view of a long city street. “It appears that the thieves are a fledgling gang who call themselves the Rascals. They’re mostly a group of brutish thugs, but they’ve started to get involved in more cyber-related crimes. My guess is that they used some hacking tools they’d stolen off the streets to indiscriminately redirect a bunch of packages back to their stash.”

“So you want me to go there and take your stuff back by force?”

“Not exactly,” Valerie said, as she pointed to one particular building on the projection. “There’s a U.T.S. terminal in this public parking compound. These thieves are still amateurs when it comes to cyber security, so it shouldn’t be difficult to hack into their inventory directly through the local network. All you need to do is get to the terminal and redirect my stuff back to the address I give you. I’ll walk you through it once you get there.”

“I see,” Damien said. “It sounds pretty straight forward.”

“It is straight forward, but it won’t be easy. All the blocks surrounding Werman Street are under control of the Rascals, and they’ve become fiercely territorial. While they still allow outsiders to walk through their turf, any car that stops or lingers for too long will draw suspicion. They don’t have a lot of members compared to most street gangs, but they’re all concentrated over those few blocks. If you’re caught messing with them, you could easily get swarmed and overwhelmed by their reinforcements.”

Damien took a moment to think about what she was saying. “I guess I’ll have to get in and out quickly.”

“I’d say that’s your best bet,” Valerie said. “It’s for that reason that I recommend having a getaway vehicle prepared. If you park nearby they’ll keep an eye on you the moment you step out. You’ll want someone else to swoop in and drive you off once you’re done. Can you have something like that arranged within the next few hours?“

Damien nodded, hoping his bluff wouldn’t get called out. He wasn’t sure if he could make that arrangement, but he wasn’t going to risk losing out on the opportunity by being modest. “I’ll make it out fine, don’t worry. But before I accept, I need to know what the payment will be.”

“2,000 funds.” Valerie said bluntly. “This is just a test, after all.”

It’s not an impressive number, Damien thought to himself. But at this point, any amount of funds will do.

“Alright,” He said, “I’ll get your stuff back.”

Quest Updated! Retrieve Valerie's Packages