The AutoCar quietly decelerates. The whine of the electric motor is barely audible as it neatly pulls up to the kerb. The mirrored windows become partially transparent, letting the sickly glow of faded neon wash over the passenger's face. Jake peers outside. Apart from a few scraps of rubbish and dust kicked up by a breeze, nothing moves. It’s nearly 2 am and Jake has arrived at the Hard Rock Inn.
In years gone by, the Hard Rock used to be THE place to drink, meet people and experience live rock music at its finest. Pounding beats, electrifying riffs and soaring vocals. But the way of delivering music to the masses changed. First came holographic concerts; you could experience the same concert simultaneously in 50 places around the world. Then, with MindConnect you could experience it directly inside your head, just by "jacking in" and closing your eyes. These days the Hard Rock sat in a condemned part of the city, surrounded by the carcasses of empty shops that went bust when online retail and 3D printing took over. This joint was pretty much off the grid, which suited certain types of people just fine.
"Sy, I'm going inside. Keep the car close by, but don't park anywhere." Jake says. He doesn’t like this area.
Jake steps onto the sidewalk, and the AutoCar pulls away. He enters the bar, walks inside and down some steps. The paint is peeling off the walls in long strips. The place hasn't seen a lot of love recently. It’s darker than on the street, so it takes a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the gloom. At the bottom he rounds a corner, where it opens up into a large room with a long sweeping bar, which is being propped up by a few people that look a bit worse for wear. The only illumination is some UV black strip lights running behind the rows of bottles. A few people are huddled together in booths around the edges of the room, talking in low voices. Jake walks to the corner. An orange ember flares in the dark. It’s Krank.
"Jay-sai, thanks... thanks for comin' man." says Krank. He looks worried and confused. There were 5 empty shots glasses on the table, and 7 more lined up. "Wanna shot?" he says.
"What's going on K? You in trouble?" Jake asks. Krank downs two more shots in quick succession.
"Maybe... Not sure... It's kinda hard to explain." Krank says.
"Just start at the beginning." says Jack.
"Ok... Do you remember how I hacked the systems of that military robotics supplier a year back? Well I've been selling their plans on the black market. Easy money. So far, so good. Then yesterday, I was jacked-in, deep inside their Advanced R & D systems, and... something saw me, some kind of security program or something. It felt like it was in my head, reading my thoughts. I backed the hell out of there, but it chased my data stream until got back to the main Cloud Bus. Then it disappeared. Scared the bejeezuz out of me. Haven't gone online since." Krank says.
His hands are shaking. He moves to down another shot but spills it instead.
"Whoa. Do you think someone's coming after you? Maybe you should stay offline for a while?" Jake says. This was exactly the sort of reason why he'd quit the hacking business. Eventually, no matter how good you are, one day you get caught.
"I've gotta get back in there, but I need your help. One last trawl, cover my tracks, and never go back. Split the profits 50-50. Hopefully their little guard dog will be asleep next time!" Krank says.
Jack sits back and considers this for a minute. "I… I don't like the sound of this. I'm not going in there with you but I've got a Shield Program you can use. It might buy you some time. Then I suggest you retire to somewhere warm." Jake says. He’s heard enough, and stands up to leave.
"Deal. Wait a sec." Krank says. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a piece of paper and slips it into Jake's hand. "You're gonna need this."
Find the cache. Record the clue...