Data Tapping

Story

"Get your filthy hands of my butt"... THUD! Marcus grabs his hurting noble parts and goes sit down in the back with the others.

Fifty hours in a sub is a darn long time. And if the hot bitch in the front can't even appreciate the attention a sensitive guy like me has for her, well, the world is going to smithereens...
A floating city in the gulf of Mexico. That's our target they said. Arrive with a sub, close with underwater jetski's, access the dataline running from the city to the mainland, tap in, evade the net security systems and tap off every useful information. Insert a "Thank-U, Come-Again"-bug and get the hell out. That's all, they said. But I had to pay a fortune to upgrade my cyberdeck. If it's that easy, why don't they go in themselves...
Oh yeah, I know. I did this to myself. Signing up in an freaking underwater operations team. Together with nerds and psychos. Take this guy named Ted. Obsessive to the bone. The mere mention of new technology can keep him running for days. Or Jerry, he's a bomb of hatred waiting to explode. In your face man. He's psycho, but cool enough to keep it under control. Oh yeah, a few hours ago he threatened Melita, that our subjock, Melita Sanchez, a hot Latino babe, very enjoyable company, as long as you don't try to hit on her, 'cuz if you try, she'll hit back, in a much more painful way. But where was I? Oh yeah, Psych 'O Brian threatened her for a lousy can of shark repellent. Can you believe it? Trevor, that's our lucky team leader, tried to steal one just moments before, I don't know what they all want to do with that. I thought sharks were long an extinguished species. But hell, what's gonna surprise you these days, huh?

So there we were, riding these jetski's, 30 m deep, at infernal speeds. I thought I was gonna lose my scuba gear there. But finally we arrived at the floating city. The advisor team and Leigh Ralson Jacobs, our beloved Boss-bitch, had chosen the best existing weather to throw us in. It was a freaking storm. And they said it was good! That it would help us! And everyone else in the team seemed to agree so, what can you do? Anyway, arriving at the city, Trevor decided to anchor the jetski's below the city bottom and enter the man-made city coral reef, and proceed to the data line in the much more tranquil waters. Was this guy suicidal or what? But everyone seemed to agree once more. I was shitting my pants the whole time, when Psych 'O Brian crossed the reef. Fucking gigantic waves crashing on a razor-sharp coral barrier. And everyone would have to go that way. I don't know what it was. Sheer luck? Or divine intervention? But everyone made it alive. Jacob got messed up a bit, but his scuba gear was intact. And I thought the hard part would be the data tap.

Since everyone was safely inside the reef barrier, we proceeded to the data line. Ted stripped the cable, and I tapped in.
The Net security was nearly inexistent. Some obvious net detection programs and tracking devices. Easily evaded by my superior skills. Yeah, I'm good. Tapping their freaking data and inserting the bug just took me a couple minutes and when I came out, everything was still as I left it. Me covered up with sand, everyone else lying on the lagoon floor, weapons ready to fire. "OK", I said, "Lets go now". And off we were.

But the way back was a lot harder than the way in. We had to swim against the waves this time and if the way in was suicidal, this was certain death! But I think I'm gonna turn believer. I made it alive. Like Trevor Jacob and Psych 'O Brian. Ted and Joe had a little less luck, just a little. But enough. Joe jumped from the reef a the wrong time and got hurt badly, sinking to the abyssal depths, unconscious. But Psych' got him in time, and brought him back to the reassuring 30m line. Then Ted, nervous big time, slipped on a squid or something and got hurt big time. He was thrown on the reef several times and landed back in the lagoon as a shredded piece of what once was a human body. Trevor could do nothing to help except give him some Trauma II drugs to calm the pain. First they would have to get out, both of them. Miraculously, they made it. I think we fight for a greater good and not only for OTEC. Otherwise this can't be possible.

Anyway, on our way back to the pickup spot, Psych' tried to steal my deck. The fucking bastard. Does he even know how much it cost me? He tried to take it by force, and if it hadn't be that we were underwater, he would surely have killed me. Until Trevor stopped him.
Then we got attacked by sharks. Later, Melita told me the freaking things could have been lured by my screams or the blood trail from Ted. Anyway, the freaking shark came out of nowhere and just snapped a part from my arm you know. Just like that! I saw him get away with my own flesh in his mouth when Psych' blasted him to hell.
A few minutes later we arrived at the pickup spot, but no more submarine. Were did it go? Referring Trevor's GPS, we were right on the spot. Then we had radio contact with Melita. Something about evading cruiser sonar and diving under thermocline layer or so. She would be up in a couple minutes.

That's when they came down on us. Like they had been waiting for this moment. Psych' spotted them first and we had plenty of time to aim and fire those u-s-e-l-e-s-s sprearguns. Yes, the majority of our shots missed and those which hit home didn't even seem to harm those sharks. They were on us in like 5 seconds or something. One attacked Joe, and had a bite at his backpack, thus saving Joe's life. Another one attacked Ted, biting his head off, for it wasn't the presence of the hardcase helmet, which saved Ted's life. I think those lucky fuckers can pray the techno god for having invented resistant scuba gear.
The freaking sharks were rapidly terminated old-fashionably with point-blank shots in the head and machete slices to the belly. Yeah, they all cut up the monsters to retrieve any cyberware installed. And Psych' kept the jaws to make a helmet trophy.

Well, it's the long way home for us now, and I'm looking forward to my first paycheck. But 50 hours is a darn long time...

Marcus lights another cigarette and returns in front to see how Melita is doing. ... THUD!