“Finally, everyone's here...”
Spotting Arthur’s car from a distance, Jackie shouted the announcent.
But... the lobby was still full of noise, especially with Rebecca—the restless little stump—making a scene.
“Hey! Hey! It’s that brat’s fault for being too scared! V, damn it, how’s this my problem?”
She yanked at her pink-and-green hair in frustration, yelling across the room at V. “It’s obviously that damn netrunner’s fault! Hell, she even admitted it herself!”
“But... if you hadn’t been fiddling with your busted gun, we might’ve found sothing!” V shot back. Still, she wasn’t truly angry... Clearly, even with so hiccups, things were going well.
...
When Arthur walked into the lobby, he saw Rebecca puffed up with anger. Nothing unusual—she was like that most of the ti.
“Hey! Ladies, let’s talk business.”
Arthur’s words finally shut Rebecca up, and V dropped her smirk. At the far end of the hall, Jessica had also joined them at the base.
After all... the most important equipnt here had been prepared for her.
Finding a seat, Arthur asked, “Got in touch with Deshawn? Since everything’s ready, what’s that fat guy say?”
“He wants us at Afterlife tonight to talk things over... Sa as always—sooner’s better.” With that, Jackie shifted his gaze to the others.
Before anyone else spoke, V started explaining: “I checked the Braindance... that BD doll recorded everything.
Konpeki Plaza’s high-rise hotel... the stash is hidden under the balcony floor.”
It seed... everything was ready.
“Ah... what a perfect plan... so perfect I almost want to bail.” Arthur’s raspy voice carried as he sat down, listening to how smoothly things had co together.
“Hey! Vamos, co on, this is it—after this, our way’s wide open!”
Jackie clapped his hands, still as upbeat as ever. “With the rep we’ll build from this, we can do whatever we want.”
“Everyone just hopes it goes smoothly.”
On the side, V’s expression grew serious. She never hid her emotions, and her voice carried real weight: “Right...”
She seed to recall sothing important and turned to Jessica, who sat quietly. “That fat guy makes it sound easy... but Konpeki Plaza’s NetWatch agents aren’t just anyone. They’re Arasaka’s elite—maniacs who can run wild outside the Wall.
This is dangerous. Jessica, you shouldn’t get involved.”
V’s tone was almost like a warning from an older sister. In this crew, Jessica wasn’t the smallest, but everyone instinctively tried to protect the girl. The other roughnecks didn’t understand the risks of netrunning, but V, as a pro, knew better.
Arasaka wasn’t like the half-baked freelancers in the rc world—
Independent netrunners only toyed with pre-packaged Daemons...
But corporate netrunners? They had massive computing power backing them, their data throughput on another scale entirely. If they caught your signal, it wasn’t just a few days of headaches.
If things really went bad, netrunners had it worse than rcs. Like Jackie said, at least rcs knew who was aiming a gun at them.
Jessica’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected V to suggest she sit out at such a crucial mont.
The girl was about to protest, but V shut her down with a glare. Jessica dropped her head, tugging at her fingers.
“This ti is different...
And you’re not off the hook. You’ve got a critical role.”
V blinked, then continued, “If sothing goes wrong... or if the netrunner Deshawn sends fails, you’ll have to back us up.
Our lives will be in your hands. From now on, you’re our safety line. Don’t screw it up.”
Watching V treat her like a child, Jessica wrinkled her nose. She cast a resentful glance at Arthur—the only one who could really argue with V.
Too bad... he ignored her.
“Alright!”
Arthur stood, acting as if he hadn’t noticed anything, though his hand brushed against the stubble on his chin.
“Since everything’s arranged, we’re heading out... ti to et our client at Afterlife.
As for our little girl... she’ll stay here and be our backup.”
“Seriously...” Jessica muttered softly as the others walked out, her small face scrunching in frustration.
...
With just the four of them, V’s car was enough. This wasn’t a vacation—the smaller the target, the better.
“Where’s your damn motorcycle?” V asked as she slid into the driver’s seat, glancing at Jackie.
“The transmission gears are impossible to find. I might just give up...” Jackie replied, moving to the rear door.
“Also... maybe I should buy a car... Nah, forget it. I’ll just ride with you guys. From now on, if it’s real business, I’m sticking to cars unless I have no choice.”
Clearly, last ti’s brush with artillery had finally knocked so sense into him. Jackie was stubborn, but not stupid.
As they talked, Jackie patted the passenger seat, where Arthur sat. He teased, “By the way... think we could score another ride like last ti?
You know, the kind of armored beast that takes a shell head-on and keeps rolling...
Seems like you and that Militech exec get along pretty well.”
Arthur just shook his head, not bothering with Jackie’s antics... though he had to admit, that kind of ride did sound nice.
No need to rush. With idle chatter filling the car, the four of them finally pulled up to the Afterlife Bar.
Luckily, they had so reputation now, so Rebecca wasn’t stopped by the bouncers at the door.
“Let’s grab a spot and a drink... Deshawn’s people aren’t here yet.”
Jackie, who’d been keeping contact, said.
Reviews
All reviews (0)