章 49: Punishment...?

"What in the FUCK were you thinking!?"

"Chill out Q, nothin' bad happened!" Rebecca casually offers, and in response Susie throws the chibi's beer across the room, hitting an unfortunate guy getting his rocks off with a BD.

"How's that for chill!?" she seethes while jabbing a finger at Rebecca's face, "Tell me what happened right now and I might be more lenient... Why did you have a small army of Maelstrom shits chasing you!?"

Rebecca shrugs after ordering another drink, "I was on a job with Ori here to rescue their buddy, we hit a scav workshop, they called for more guys and we got chased over here. See? Nothin' to worry about."

A vein on Susie's forehead visibly throbs, "I was gonna be lenient if this shit WASN'T your fault. If they attacked you outta nowhere or something... But it looks like you guys are to blame after all!" she looks over at Ori, "Is this it kid? Your revenge for me not helping your sorry ass when you came beggin' for it!?" she questions but Ori just shrugs and sighs at in her general direction.

"Your brain misfirin'!? Speak up! Why shouldn't I have my guys beat you up and throw you into a dumpster like trash!?"

"You really think you're important enough to me to give a shit about?" he quietly responds while rolling his glass around on its sides, "The scavs tore apart my father, and did the same to a friend after capturing him. That's a me problem, fine. But what I don't get is how fucking weak you are."

Susie sends a scathing glare at him as she slowly walks over, looming over him, "Say that again you daddy-issues gonk-punk!"

Ori returns the glare, "You like to act like big shit, but all we did was give you courtesy of a heads up. You, the Mox, should have been prepared to fight off Maelstrom when they entered your territory anyway. Since you're making a big deal of this, sounds to me like you're scared of them..."

The gang leader grips the back of Ori's neck and turns his head to face her, "You lookin' for a fight? You can be pissy because of your dead buddy but keep talking like that and I'll take you up on it." she lets go of him, almost causing him to topple off of his chair.

"He ain't wrong though, even when I was in the Mox you guys stepped around Maelstrom like they were fresh shit on the road..." Rebecca wonders aloud.

"Don't be stupid. The Mox protect, only attack when attacked. You lot bringing them to our turf just worsens shit! We're already struggling with the fuckin' Claws, we don't need another enemy while we're at it!"

"From what I've heard, you haven't been protecting all that much either..." Ori adds with a drawl, downing his shot.

"Yeah, because you've been listening to 'Bleeding-Heart Judy'. She don't know as much as she thinks she does, and that guilt trip she's been riding for years now is only making her worse. Should just open up a damn orphanage or something and get it over with." she grouses before falling onto a chair next to Rebecca and ordering a drink of her own.

...

"What's the deal then? You gonna spank us for being bad boys and girls?" Rebecca questions, resting her weight on the bar and looking at her.

"I'd kick you out of the gang if I could..." Susie mutters before shaking her head, "Lucky for you, none of our guys died, so I ain't callin' for blood... From what I saw you did some good work though. Not many folks can handle that amount of shit and come out of it still kickin'." she pauses in thought, idly sipping her drink.

"I'll have you work off the debt. No shortage of work around here, and you've shown you can handle yourselves... 'Specially you kid, you've honestly surprised me..." she admits.

"Not to be ungrateful but doing unpaid labour after most of my favourite guns got fried? Yeah-no, you can roll that offer up and shove it in your cooch for all I care." Rebecca remarks.

"Who said unpaid? You'll get the same as the other solos we work with do."

"... Huh... Doesn't sound like much of a punishment then..." Rebecca hums.

Susie shrugs, "Ain't like I don't appreciate the chance to knock some Maelstrom skulls together, no one died and we got a chance to show why Kabuki is our turf. What I hate is how suddenly it happened and the lack of choice, note that shit down and we'll be able to work together just fine..." she stands from her chair, "You guys are still on a short leash though. Try this shit again and I'll send you on a one-way ticket to the river with concrete boots."

With that warning given she departs, leaving the trio sitting there quietly as the BD club's music goes on.

Six finishes his drink and stands, shooting Ori a text as he leaves.

[I will send you the location of Max's burial tomorrow morning.] - Six

...

[I'll be there.] - Ori

Ori spends another ten minutes silently sitting there, four more shots sending him into a comfortable if tipsy mood. His head rolls around atop his shoulder as if his neck had turned to jello as he stands, "I'm gone too, bye, Rebecca." he quietly offers, but pauses when he feels his sleeve get grabbed.

"He-ey, I amm sorry y'know, about Marv..." she admits, slurring her words, "Getting your kills stolen is annoying for rando' dudes, it's probably much worse for someone like that asshole... Ri-ght?"

"Yeah-... Maybe..." he replies, "I'm still mad, but I'll get over it..." he says while pulling his arm away, only for her to grip him with both hands, almost causing her to fall out of her chair as he steps away.

"Yo-u're realllly gonna leave a cute drunk girl here all alone in this scummy bar...? What if I get taken advantage of...? Keep me company...?"

He shakes his head, "Then let the guys who try rest in pieces. I still got stuff to do anyway. Goodbye, 'Becca." he states, finally managing to leave. He needed to get the Cyberware he stole from Marv's crew put on ice. He wasn't sure if any of it was temperature sensitive or not, but he wasn't going to risk it...