章 162: Gig, Gigs, and Gigger

"In today's news, a bombing occurred mere hours ago in the middle of Wellsprings. The small family-owned restaurant U-No-Beau appeared to be the target, and the casualties are in the high twenties.

Among the dead are the famous singer's Sheila Curves and Fae Yono from Unsomberely, who were having brunch just before the attack. Christy D'Clert was also caught in the blast, but appears to have evaded the worst of the explosion, the good men and women at Watson's Med Center.

NCPD Investigators have assured us that those responsible will be brought to justice, as has Mayor Lucius Rhyne has vowed to personally preside over the case. He has also expressed his sincere condolences in a latest interview. 'The loss of such young, ambitious, and talented minds is a difficult thing to grasp. Night City will mourn their passing, as will I. As such, I have decided to start the construction of a monument to stand where the attack occurred, and I hope that once Miss D'Clert has had time to rest and recover, she will be present to honour it.'

In other news, are testicle implants causing impotence in men? And has Arasala's own Yorinobu Arasaka finally taken a spouse? Find out later after a word from our sponsors-"

*Bzztch!*

"Even after a disaster like that, they find time to sneak their buzzwords in there." Ori snorts, turning the TV off.

"Ori, you can't say much when we're the ones who caused it..." Sasha idly remarks.

He shrugs, "I'm just saying it's the principle of the matter. Besides, no one else other than our targets has died yet."

"Yet." Sasha retorts, "I understand we did what we could to limit casualties, but many innocents were still caught in the blast..."

"And now they're city-wide heroes who'll probably get paid big bucks to speak about their 'ordeal'. Trust me, getting blown up is the best thing to happen to some of these people. The mayor's probably already paying for the hospital fees, along with any Cyberware they need."

"Not the point I'm making but... Let's try and find an alternative route next time...?"

He shrugs, "It's not like I wanted to hurt those people."

"But it was the easiest way to go about it. I understand, I contributed after all. But-"

*Click!*

"Whaddup D-Bags!" Rebecca greets as she wanders in, tossing a large coffee and a bag of pastries at Ori, "Picked it up at a place we haven't blown up yet."

"Too soon..." Ori quietly chuckles at Sasha frown.

"So, what're you plannin' to do with those dudes you got in the basement?" Rebecca questions.

He shrugs, "Interrogate then dump 'em in the river. I'll do it later though... You two got any plans for the Eddies we earned? Twenty K each is a big payday."

"Shouldn't you go without pay this time?" Rebecca asks as she drops next to him, "We did let you make off with the winnings from those Death Races... I don't know about you but I couldn't care less about that girl in the Med Center."

"Eh... I was considering it a last debt for Six and Max's work. Not like I gained anything outta it either, you think I'm interested in parenting?"

"I think it's good you're not completely heartless." Sasha adds, sipping her coffee.

Ori smirks, "I doubt you'll say the same after I show you this..." he opens a holoscreen and shows her the contents.

...

Sasha reads through it, pages of evidence that Sheila Curves and Fae Yono were conspiring to have Christy D'Clert assassinated... "Why? And who'd you send this to...?"

"Sent it anonymously to Regina, she'll bounce it off of her contacts in the media. This time tomorrow there'll be a scandal like no other!" Ori replies.

"You still haven't explained why..."

"It's payback for Christy's part in killing my dad. Sheila and Fae will be regarded as terrorists almost on the level as Silverhand, and Christy will be a suspect for causing the explosion. They might not have anything to pin on her but it'll be enough to ruin her career." he smiles to himself.

"Heh, nice." Rebecca snickers.

"And now the Mayor won't be able to cover it up..." Sasha concludes, "Do you really hate her that much...?"

"No, otherwise she'd be dead. Besides, as far as she's concerned we kept our mouths shut. And can you really argue about morals for someone who hired us to kill people?" he adds.

"Check mate!" Rebecca laughs.

Sasha just sighs in response and decides to change the subject, "I've decided on a Memory Booster, with the way things are progressing we will probably need it..."

"Aren't those things stupid expensive to buy and install?" Rebecca asks.

Sasha nods, "I'll be spending sixteen thousand, so yes..."

"Oof... I'm upping both my Reflex Tuner and Aiming Software and it's still only twelve. You sure you're not getting ripped off?"

"I'm not stupid... What about you, Ori?"

"Me? Well, I'm not certain but I think I wanna get a Monowire when I can." he states. It was one of the least invasive Cyberware's available and wouldn't disrupt too much of his body. He'd made fantastic use of the grapple hook, so the Monowire was bound to be better.

"One of those, eh? Doesn't Lucy have one?" Rebecca wonders aloud.

"I'd be careful, Ori. I saw a vid of one short-circuiting inside someone's arm, it burst into flames then exploded sometime after. It's like having a live lightning bolt stored inside you..." Sasha warns.

"That's not talkin' about how hard it is to use... You move your hand wrong and 'Buzz!', your leg's gone!" Rebecca adds.

"I know all that already. I've actually run some sims on it and they are kinda busted, sure half the time I cut myself apart but the other half? I'm sure if they cost a lot less most Mercs in the city would have it."

"They'd have a lot less limbs too..." Sasha remarks in a dull voice.