Heist Online
by Victor Deckard
Table of contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
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Chapter One
Heist Online had finally come out on October 27, 2093. I had been waiting for this virtual reality video game to be released for six years. So it was no wonder I bought the game the moment it became available for purchase. While the game was downloading, I prepared my gaming pod for use.
I had watched all the gameplay videos and trailers for Heist Online, so I knew what the game was about. It was set in a fictional American state called Ahyoka. Also, the game took place in a historical setting, namely in 2020. Way back when, people had still lived on Earth, hadn’t colonized Moon or Mars yet, and had been driving automobiles and using cell phones. There had not even been virtual reality video games yet. Well, there had already been some VR games, but they had been way less sophisticated than the contemporary ones.
Heist Online was about heisters and cops, hence the name of the game. I was very fond of the setting and the main concept of the game, so I was very excited for this game.
Finally, the game finished downloading and installing. I wasted no time getting into my gaming pod and immersing myself in virtual reality. As my physical body went to sleep, my consciousness entered the game.
After the logos of the developer and the game disappeared, a message popped up before my eyes:
> Do you want to play the game as a cop or a heister?
Since I had watched all the trailers over the years, I had long since decided that I would play as a heister first. It seemed like more fun. Still, I wanted to try everything in this game. So after I played all the playable heister classes and reached max level of each of them, I would switch to a cop.
After I picked a side, another message emerged in front of me.
> Pick a nickname.
Out of habit, I decided to name myself Striker. I had been using this word for my nickname in every VR video game I played since I was a kid. I couldn’t even remember why I had picked this name in the first place. Not that it really mattered. I just liked the sound of the word. Moreover, like they said, old habits died hard. So I chose the name and the page before my eyes refreshed.
> The nickname Striker is available!
> (Do you want to pick this nickname: Yes/No)
The game had just come out, so it was no wonder that nobody had picked this nickname yet. After I confirmed my choice, the text vanished and I finally found myself in the game.
I looked around to get my bearings. I was in some room that looked like a basement. It contained no pieces of furniture except for a computer desk and a chair. Next to the computer monitor on the table lay a set of keys attached to a metal ring and a cell phone.
Before I could do anything, a message appeared before my eyes.
> Do you want to play the training mission? (*)
> (Initiate the training mission: Yes/No)
> (*) Note: If you play Heist Online for the first time, it is recommended that you complete the training mission.
As soon as I agreed, I found myself in the street, standing on the sidewalk. It was broad daylight. Traffic was light. Passers-by walked up and down the sidewalks. Nobody seemed to pay me any attention. Judging from their synchronized movements, all of the passers-by were NPCs, non-player characters.
On the other side of the street, there was a small convenience store. Except for this building, all the others were almost identical.
Another message emerged before my eyes.
> There is a convenience store on the other side of the street. Your mission is to rob the place. More accurately, there is a safe with $50,000 inside it somewhere in the store. You need to locate the safe and steal the money.
As soon as I read the message, it disappeared only to be replaced by another one.
> It is the training mission, so there are no players in this area except for you.
> Heists can be completed in “loud” or stealth. The latter means that you and your two companions do the robbing quietly, without alerting civilians, setting off the alarm, and having to deal with cops. If you manage to complete a heist without raising the alarm, you will get a stealth bonus, which means that you will be rewarded with 25% more money and experience points.
> If you don’t like the stealth approach, however, your team can just break into a place, reinforce it, and fight cops while trying to crack safes and vaults and carry as much money and valuables from the place as possible.
> But the training mission has to be done in stealth. If you are caught in the act of stealing, the training mission will restart and you will have to do this heist over.
> As to the main game, if a civilian notices you steal something, he or she will call the police. Note that there are no police NPCs in this game. All cops are players.
> Also, when you are on a heist, you cannot go too far away from the place you need to rob. So if you walk too far away from the convenience store, the training mission will terminate and you will have to start the mission from the beginning. The same holds true for the main game. If you move too far away from the place you need to rob in the main game, the mission will terminate.
After I read the text, the page refreshed.
> Your current task is to locate a black van inside which lay your weapons and the equipment you need in order to complete this mission. The van is a little farther down the street. If you cannot find it for some reason, use the cell phone in your pocket to locate the vehicle.
I got a load of myself. I was dressed in a pair of boots, a pair of denim pants, a white T-shirt, and a jacket. I patted the pockets of my clothes, found a cell phone in one of them, and pulled it out. I opened the map application on the smartphone and patiently waited until the street map of the area appeared on the screen. A green dot showed my location. About thirty yards from the green dot was a pulsating white-colored icon of the van.
There was also a white circle on the map, inside which were the green dot, as well as the convenience store. The white circle obviously indicated the boundaries of the playable area.
I closed the map and checked the smartphone for other apps. However, except for the map application, there were no other apps installed on the cell phone. Guessed I would be able to install some useful apps later on.
I also checked the phone’s contact list. There was only one number on the list, namely my cell phone’s number. Aside from it, the contact list was empty. Figured.
A new notification popped up.
> You can change the number of your phone if you like.
> (Do you want to change your number: Yes/No)
I wasn’t eager to bother with it, at least at the moment, so I pocketed the phone and started down the street. Soon I found what I was looking for. In the narrow mouth of an alley connecting one block with another sat a black-colored van with tinted windows. I tried to open the driver’s-side door, but it wouldn’t budge. However, when I tried the side door, it easily slid open.
Leaning inside, I saw a few things lying on the floor of the cargo section of the van. As my eyes fell on a pistol, its stats appeared in my Head-Up Display.
> Name: Sig Sauer P226 MK25 (*)
/> > Place of origin: Switzerland
> Class: Handgun
> Damage: 35
> Headshot Multiplier: 3X
> Magazine Size: 15+1
> Firing Mode(s): Semi-automatic
> (*) Note: In this game, you had better not walk around the city toting a gun because if one of the civilian NPCs notices you carrying a gun, they will call the police. As it was said before, it is the training mission. If one of the civilian NPCs calls the police, the cops won’t show up. Instead, the mission will be failed and you will have to start from the beginning. So you need to conceal your weapons.
There was also a sound suppressor next to the handgun. As I looked at it, another notification popped up before my eyes.
> When doing a heist in stealth, you should use sound suppressors so civilian NPCs cannot hear the sounds of fire.
There was also a duffel bag in the vehicle. I undid the zipper and looked in the bag. It contained a balaclava, several zip tie cuffs, and some boxy device. I looked at the pile of the cuffs and a notification emerged in front of me.
> When you point a gun at civilian NPCs and shout at them, they get scared for some time. However, they grow braver over the time and try to get away or use their cell phone to call the police. So when you do a heist, you need to shout at your hostages every now and then to keep them intimidated, as well as to put handcuffs on them to restrain them so that they cannot give you much trouble.
I flicked my gaze to the balaclava. As my eyes locked on it, a piece of information appeared in my HUD.
> When you look at a player, you can see his or her nickname and their current level above their head. However, when doing a heist, you had better wear a balaclava or a mask. When your face is concealed, your nickname and level are visible for neither other players nor NPCs. If you do not wear a mask during a heist, your nickname turns red and it becomes visible for NPCs, as well as police players, and you may acquire a so-called wanted level. If you have a wanted level, your nickname is red-colored, so NPCs can recognize you as a criminal when they see you walking around the city and call the police. Moreover, when your nickname is red, police players can also recognize you as a criminal and arrest you even when you just wander around the city. The wanted level is represented by a maximum of ten stars. The more stars of the wanted level you have the more time you spend in prison if apprehended by police players. To learn more about the wanted level, check the game FAQ.
I took the balaclava and shoved it into one of the pockets of my jacket. I then looked at the last thing in the bag I hadn’t checked yet, the boxy object. A new piece of info instantly popped up in my HUD.
> This is a drill. You need this to crack open safes and vaults.
There was nothing more of interest inside of the van. I reached out with my right hand and grabbed the Sig Sauer P226 MK25. I then eased the slide a little way back to make sure there was a round in the chamber. There was one, ready to go. I hit the release button with my thumb to drop the mag into my left hand. I checked the load. The magazine was filled with fifteen 9 mm cartridges.
I slid the magazine back into the pistol butt. After making sure that the safety was off, I shoved the Sig Saucer into my waistband and pulled my jacket over the handgun to cover it. I then pocketed the sound suppressor, rolled up the balaclava turning it into a knit hat and donned it. After zipping up the duffel bag and slinging it over my right shoulder, I slid the side door of the van closed and set off.
First of all, I decided just to stroll around the convenience store to check it out from all angles. However, only then did I realize how small the playable area was. The game didn’t even allow me to walk around the block. When I was about thirty or forty yards from the building, a message emerged before my eyes.
> You have left the playable area of the training mission. Get back immediately. You have 10 seconds to return.
The countdown kicked in at the left bottom corner of my field of vision. I whirled around and walked back. Since I couldn’t circle the building to see if there was a back door, the only way in was through the main entrance. I strode up to the door, pushed it open, and entered the convenience store.
I looked around the place. It looked like––well, like a convenience store of the twenty-first century. Food stands, magazine racks, and shelves containing a range of various everyday items lined the place.
Another message popped up in my HUD.
> A few final notes bear mentioning.
> There a few surveillance cameras around the property. If one of them spots you wearing a mask or toting a gun, the security guard in the security room will call the police. If spotted by a security camera, you will have a few seconds to get out of the surveillance camera’s range.
> You can break a surveillance camera by punching or firing at it. However, if a security guard spots a broken camera, he or she will call the police. Be advised that smashing windows, pieces of furniture, etc. can also alert civilian NPCs and cause them to call the police.
> And don’t forget to attach the sound suppressor to your pistol as the sounds of fire can also frighten civilian NPCs into calling the police.
> Also, don’t forget to tie your hostages. This way, they’ll cause you much less trouble. Moreover, when you have hostages, cops act more carefully because they are not allowed to kill them.
> That’s all. Good luck!
As soon as I read the text, it disappeared. I walked up an aisle with shelves, my gaze sweeping around the place. I noticed a security guard standing still in one corner of the room.
There was a surveillance camera mounted high above the security guard’s head. The camera was pointed toward the center of the room. The camera operator watching the feed coming from this camera had surely noticed me but did nothing. Since I wasn’t wearing a mask or toting a gun yet, there was no reason for him or her to call the police.
I walked up to a counter and came to a stop. Behind the counter was an NPC. The cashier just stood there, watching me but saying nothing. On the wall behind him was another surveillance camera trained on the counter and the cashier. There was also a door behind the cashier.
My mission was to locate a safe with $50,000 inside it, crack it, and steal the money. The safe might be somewhere in the room behind that door. However, it was impossible for me to get behind the counter and then to the door without being spotted by the second camera or the cashier.
I turned sideways and looked around the place once more. Except for the NPC behind the counter and the security guard standing in the corner, there were no more people. Also, I spotted only two surveillance cameras around this room. Perhaps, I could destroy the two surveillance cameras and then kill both the NPCs––the cashier and the security guard––before they called the police.
I gave the idea some thought but in the end, decided against it. Too risky. Moreover, there had to be another way to do it. Since there were surveillance cameras, there had to be a security room somewhere. Had to find it.
I walked around the room until I happened to spot an open door. It was between two big vending machines, which was why I hadn’t noticed it before. I walked through the door and found myself in a short corridor. At the end of the corridor was another door with a sign EXIT above it. Halfway down the corridor was a door across which was a sign that read SECURITY ROOM. I also noticed that there were no surveillance cameras in the corridor.
I decided to check the exit door first. I walked up to it and tried the knob. The door was locked and wouldn’t budge. There seemed to be no way I could open it.
Turning around, I strode along the corridor, stopped near the door to the security room, and quickly reviewed my plan of action.
Open the door and kill everyone in the security room. Get back and deal with the security guard and the cashier. Hide the bodies. Get in the room behind the counter. Take the money. Leave the store. Mission accomplished.
The plan was very simple and straightforward. Howeve
r, since it was the training mission, I didn’t think that I would hit any snags.
I looked down the corridor. From where I stood, I could see only part of the main room. The security guard was out of sight. Probably, he was still standing in the corner of the room. As to cashier, he had to be still behind the counter.
Let’s get cracking, I thought as I rolled the balaclava down over my face so it concealed all but my eyes. Reaching under my jacket, I pulled the Sig Sauer from my waistband. I then took the sound suppressor from the pocket of my jacket and quickly screwed it onto the threaded muzzle of the pistol.
Holding the pistol in my right hand, I reached out with my left to the knob of the door. A thought flashed through my mind that the door might be locked as well. Still, the door wasn’t locked. I twisted the knob slowly and when it unlatched, pushed the door open.
Leading with my pistol, I entered a small room and spotted a security guard sitting at a desk and watching the feed from the surveillance cameras on the big video screen in front of him. As soon as I got in the room, he spied the movement out of the corner of his eye. The NPC jumped to his feet and spun around. His right hand went for the pistol in a holster on his right hip.
Heist Online Page 1
