Sweetie glanced back and forth between them, then dropped her gaze. "Are we sure this is safe?"

"As safe as any of our gigs," Renee admitted with a sigh. "You'll be the safest out of any of us, staying far away." She slid to her hooves. "Almost jealous."

Neon got to her hooves as well. "Alright, you two. Go get your things. We're going to do this now. Gotta strike while the iron's hot." She winked at Sweetie. "You head to where you're safest, and have the best Net connection."

Sweetie leaned against Neon briefly, then broke away. "I'll set up outside the building. Don't get hurt!" She raced from the bar before Neon could offer a parting remark.

Neon turned her attention to Renee. "You have the plan. Enough words. The less we talk, the better." The two shared a nod, and headed out into the densely filled streets of Neo-Canterlot. They made their way towards their target location. Even in the light of day, it was a foreboding structure. It looked as if it had been hastily constructed, and wasn't all that tall, but it stuck out of the skyline like a sore thumb.

Whoever had purchased it was clearly going for cheap more than aesthetics. It was out of the way of amenities, and didn't look like it had many built into it. It was just barely enough to get the job done, with a simple internal design, made easier by the fact that most of it was either temporary or on hold until later. That meant it was an ideal target.

As they got closer, Renee glanced around for Sweetie. She didn't see her, and that was a comfort in a way. Sweetie was safe. "Heading in." She strode for the front gate, forcing a welcoming smile as she closed the distance. The guards took one look at her, and didn't even have a chance to process what she was doing before she was right there. "Package for the boss?" She chirped.

The guard went upright. "Package? Bring it around to the back." He pointed a hoof around the building. "Have your ID ready. The ponies back there will take it."

"Yup, just gotta get to the back," Renee purred, blowing the guard a kiss. "Hope you have a good day!" She trotted around the corner, then saw a camera perched over the entrance. Everything she was doing was being recorded. It was hard to do much in that time without being on a camera, if not a dozen.

Being a runner wasn't a position to take up if one was famous. Not if one wanted to survive. Renee circled the building, confident that she wouldn't be questioned until she got to the back at least. That gave her time to examine it, looking for vulnerabilities. She was not disappointed, spotting one window that was wide open.

Her mind drifted to Sweetie. She knew Neon was sneaking around the front as she distracted them, and hoped she'd had the sense to keep hidden. There wasn't time to worry about that newbie. Renee launched herself up at the window with a powerful leap that carried her farther than any un-augmented pony could have reached, landing on the edge daintily. She swung through the window into an empty room.

"What the hell?" She was greeted by several surprised guards. She turned towards them with a grin, winking. "Surprise, I'm your package!" She had hoped nopony would notice her entry, but the second best outcome was to take them out, swiftly. She slammed one guard in the throat, sending them collapsing to the ground, choking for air.

A second guard didn't hesitate and lunged at Renee. She could tell from how their balance shifted that they were about to throw a punch. It was almost boringly predictable. She slid to the side and they stumbled past her. She lashed out a leg, brutally kicking them into a wall to finish their clumsy charge. That left one last guard in the room. He screamed into his radio for backup. "Code red! We have intruders!"

Renee rushed him, tackling him out of the doorway as he tried to leave. "You're gonna wish you hadn't done that."

"What's going on?" hissed Neon over a radio in Renee's ear. "Place just lit up. I thought you were being covert!"

Renee had landed on the guard, her teeth sunk deep into his shoulder. He was still writhing under her. "They saw me coming in," she whispered back. "What are you, jealous?"

"Hardly. Mission just got harder. Sweets? Droids down?" Neon paused for an answer. "Sweets, are the droids down?"

There was only static over the channel.

Renee wanted to reply, but her mouth was full of blood and flesh. She tore it free of the stunned guard and sat on them just for good measure. "Your cute newbie's being quiet. She's in trouble, or she bailed on us. Figures."

Neon bit back an answer. "I'm in. Gotta take the boss down. I'll be your backup if you need it." She let out a string of curses as she came into contact with an armed guard.

Renee scurried into the next hallway, darting from intersection to intersection. She had a map of the place overlayed over her vision and updating as she moved. She knew where the target should be, so she pressed towards it. A heavy metallic thump brought her to a sudden stop. One of those droids they'd been worried about was just ahead of her. It raised its weapon. "Security breach. Halt or I will fire."

"Punk," Renee snarled. The last thing she wanted was to fight a droid. They were heavily armed and armored, enough to make a battle an arduous affair that could ruin everything. Not to mention it might just tear her apart. She wasn't in the mood to test that. She dived into the first door beside her instead even as bullets rained just behind her tail. "Dammit!"

She slammed the door shut behind her, hearing it being riddled with bullets. A pony shouted from within. "What the hell is going on?" She turned to face the voice and came nose to gun with a guard. "Put your hooves up," barked the guard. "And sit down. You are under—"

She kicked out his legs. His gun fired wildly, peppering the walls, but missing her. The door behind her blew inward. She shoved past the guard she had kicked, making a dive for the next door. It was already unlocked, so she was able to burst through. She didn't hesitate as she scrambled into the next room over.

The map said her target was getting nice and close. "Hope it's working for you, Neon. Almost there!" Renee jumped on top of a desk and barreled through the door. This time, she leapt right on top of her target before he could say a word. Her hooves connected with his body in a swift kick that sent him crashing back into the wall. That one was just some scientist. She almost felt bad for battering him. Almost. He was just another pony in the way.

She reached out a wing and yanked a cabinet drawer open, revealing a dense collection of data drives. One of them was the target. Each had a little number printed on their side. She smirked, shoving as many as she could into her pocket. There was no time to be picky. "This better be the right one!" She sprinted back the way she came, hoping the guards weren't smart enough to track her through the offices. "I have some data drives, pray it's the right one!" she barked across the radio. "Sweets, you in there? You back?"

Renee wasn't greeted by Neon's voice. Instead, it was Neon's gunshots. That was far from a good sign. She could hear multiple sets of hooves rushing after her, including the heavy stomping of the droid.

The stomping paused. "New instructions received. Compiling." Renee perked an ear at that, confused. "Compiled." New gunshots fired over the radio, but the pained howls that called out weren't Neon. The droid was attacking the guards. It had gotten new orders to do so.

"Where are you?" Neon snapped, sounding a little stressed.

Renee tossed a glance over her shoulder as she rounded a corner, rushing deeper into the building. "Heading towards the back exit. Got some data drives. Did you hear me?"

"This is a mess. Sweets, we can't hear you, but thank you for the timely assist." The radio went still.

Renee focused on her escape. She heard the stomping of the guards behind her, trying to keep up with her, but it wasn't working. Their lungs just couldn't match hers, and she could run faster than any normal pony. The map had their positions tracked, and she could see Neon closing in on her position as well.

She jumped, diving into a chute and turning in the air to slide down it. In what felt like an instant, she was spat out of the building's chute into a garbage bin that lay directly beneath it. "Neon, I'm out! Tell me you got your package!" She ran for the back fence, knowing the gate wouldn't open for her.

"I got mine. Just evac. Nothing else matters right now." A bang was heard, a hoof against something metal. "Locked door, bloody hells!" A beep? "It unlocked? Sweets, if that's you, I owe you a kiss." She grunted, taking a hard fall. "On my way out. Stay on the line, I need to know where to go."

Renee jumped and clung to the top of the fence. "I'm there." She swung over the top and dropped heavily. She was on the street. There were ponies pushing past. Rather than try to push through them, she melded into the crowd and let its flow carry her away from the building. "Okay, Neon, we got out."

Neon hissed, stumbling from the back exit of the building. "Thanks, Sweetie. Think we're good." She wiped blood from her lips. "Messy job." She spotted a bike and dashed over to it. "One last favor, get this running for me." A nearby light flickered off, as if having never been on at all. The bike hummed to life. "Thank you, Sweets. You're a sweetie." She mounted the bike and rode it away from the building with a hum of its electric engine whirring her away powerfully. "I'll meet you both in the usual place."

With both infiltrators away from the hot zone, they made their way through the city. Neon abandoned her bike along the way, fearing it'd be eventually tracked. She made her way back to Smolder's place by any route she could, and eventually wound up back at the dingy bar. Renee was already there, flirting with the bartender as Neon came in. Neon spotted Sweetie also at the bar, looking nervous. "Sweets!" She charged ahead. "There you are."

Sweetie had clearly been crying, her eyes red. "You're back! Are you okay? I heard a lot of bad things over the radio." She wrung her hooves. "I wanted to go back for you, but I was afraid."

Neon wrapped Sweetie in her arms, squeezing her gently. "Hey, hey, it's okay." She rubbed Sweetie's back in long strokes. "You were there every time we really needed you. I couldn't ask too much more from a runner at my back."

Renee finally slid over to them. "Her online like that, watching your backs? Can't ask for more than that. You do well for us, we'll do well for you." She grinned. "Which starts with splitting the pay!" She pulled out all the drives she had found, making a small pile of them. "Here's what I found. Tell me one's the right one."

Sweetie glanced at the pile. "If they're numbered, the second one should be it."

Neon and Renee blinked at Sweetie. Neon was the first to reply. "Second one?" She ran her hoof from the top down to that second one, reading the number quietly, then checking her notes. "Damn, yeah. You memorized it?!"

Sweetie laughed nervously. "I'm good with numbers." She tried not to make eye contact as she tugged on her mane. "It's why I don't need an ear chip for tech work." She shifted her weight from hoof to hoof.

Neon nudged Sweetie. "You are a treasure and I plan to keep you." She slid the drive aside. "Here's the—"

She didn't get to finish, Smolder casually snatching the drive. "Thank you." She plugged the drive into a terminal beside her. "I'll upload that to the client, and we all get paid for the trouble, hm?"

Neon tapped a hoof on the counter. "Don't you know better than to interrupt your customers? If I wanted you involved in this, I'd ask. Do the job you were paid to do."

Smolder hiked a brow. "I am. You got the task from me. I'm the middle-dragon between you and those sweet bits." Her terminal chimed. "Upload complete. Now if they accept it." Her eyes went to the screen, waiting.

Renee bit her lip. "How long is that going to take?" She waved at the bartender for another drink. "Could really use one right about now."

A new sound, like coins being stacked, played. "Ah, that's approval." Smolder leaned in with a grin. "Bits are in the right place. Now, I hope you have your bank apps up, because I'm about to split this pay." Her hand hit the table as she divided the reward into three parts.

Neon, Renee, and Sweetie all looked at their screens. "Oh, wow, yeah. That's nice." Sweetie clapped her hooves. "Wow, I'm a runner now?"

"Well," Neon huffed softly, "that wasn't how it was supposed to go. We could have used some more careful entry and exit. Instead, it was guns blazing from start to finish." She glared at Renee.

Renee shrank under the stare. "It was an honest mistake! Anyway, yes. You are a runner." She reached to ruffle Sweetie's mane with a hoof. "And still adorable. See you around." She slipped away, disappearing into the dark depths of the bar.

Sweetie swooned gently as she looked after Renee. "Okay, I'm definitely doing that again." Her eyes darted to Neon. "But, um, first, about singing?"

Neon rolled her eyes. "I have to sleep at some point, but fine, I can make time." She motioned for Sweetie to follow. "We'll get you signed up at the bar, schedule you in to sing for the crowd. I already told you, pretty sure they'll eat it up. Just don't let them get their hooves on you unless they paid you enough that you want them to."

Sweetie scrambled after Neon, beaming brightly. "I won't! Thanks so much for helping me." She rushed ahead, spinning and prancing in place as she waited for Neon to lead the way.

Author's Note

That job could have gone better. Part of me is like, this could be a fine end to this short story. Should we press further? Lemme know.

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