Blood and Bytes (Revna x Delryth)

[Delryth]

The former battle medic kept his eyes on the netrunner while she worked, professional concern taking over. He engaged his optical implants so they gave a constant digital feed of her vitals. It was a relatively basic preliminary diagnostic giving him her heart rate, temp and blood pressure along with a few other critical feeds. Watching her temperature continue to spike had his eyebrows knitting together. She was getting to the point where he was about to disconnect her when she finally yanked herself free. The spark was obvious and was a cause for some concern.


Instinctively Derrick pulled out a stim booster and jabbed it into her arm before she turned back to look at him and thumbed the small button on the side to activate it. Immediately it sent a flood of chemicals into her system that would help to normalise her vitals, a suppressant that was a common treatment for Netrunners and the symptoms that usually came from haphazardous running. Her temperature would drop rapidly and her heart rate would begin to slow.


“You push it close to your limits” he commented in a voice that was hard to tell if he was disapproving or appreciative of that fact. “Where is it? Can probably find some abandoned husk of a building to lay low in. Fuck, right part of town there might be a seedy bar or cafe we can use to pass the time and blend in. People will assume we’re just on a date.” he smirked at her in an expression that showed the whites of his teeth. “Unless that bothers you?"

 

[Revna]

Barely registering the sharp jab in her arm, she felt the surge of chemicals coursing through her veins like a digital tide, washing away the fatigue that clung to her. Time seemed to freeze as the rush intensified, her senses sharpening, every nerve ending igniting with clarity. She cast a sidelong glance at him, an eyebrow arched in curiosity. The thought of him stim-boosting her was perplexing, a fleeting distraction she quickly brushed aside. Focus was paramount; they couldn't afford to lose their edge now.

His voice sliced through her thoughts, yanking her back to the present. She rolled her eyes slightly, a sardonic smile creeping onto her lips. "It needed to be done," she replied matter-of-factly, finally tearing her gaze away from him."Let's find a spot first, then I can ping directions. I've got the email locked in tight; I can access it from anywhere." Rising to her feet, she surveyed him with a playful smirk. "Trust me. No one will suspect we're on a date."

As she stood, the world around her shifted imperceptibly. She took a moment to inhale deeply, steadying herself against the faint vertigo that threatened to pull her under. A split second passed—a blink that could easily go unnoticed—before she turned her attention to the computer terminal. With deft fingers, she activated the surveillance cameras, scanning their surroundings. The area appeared mostly deserted; it seemed they had dispatched all the gonks in sight. Still, she wouldn't allow herself to relax until they were well away from this building.

"Do you have any thoughts on nearby structures we could use? Or should I do a quick scan?" Despite feeling the burn from deep diving into the net, she was confident she could muster another sweep if necessary.

 

[Delryth]

Derrick nonchalantly shrugged at her words as he started towards the door. “True, they won’t. It was more polite than saying they’d think you were some joy toy I paid for for the night.” He pushed open the door just enough to get a look outside so that he could hear any footsteps that potential gangoons were making. No, it seemed they still had their peace and quiet so far, no interruptions. Good. Derrick appreciated a clean gig. It always made a nice change.

“Still ain’t told me the location of the meetup. Do that and I probably know a place or two. Previous job had me all over the city. Come on, let’s get out of here, you can tell me on the way. Don’t do another dive now, might need it later on and giving you more of that stim likely ends up detrimental. It’s not supposed to be used so that you can push further but recover.”

Without waiting to see if she agreed he set off back out of the door and managed to creep through the building once more while taking point. He was lucky that their way in was still clear and it took less than a minute for him to slip through the door they’d entered by once again. Another few seconds and they’d crossed the road to the alley where they’d first met.

“I know that place… roughly enough.” It had been a while since he’d been there but he remembered it vividly enough and he pulled up some images from the net. “Remember a shady bar there that usually has live music. Nanobyte. The kind of people that go there? We wouldn’t stand out at all.”