บท 10: Paths
So, even the Mox refused to help... A group literally founded on helping the weak and destitute.
Ori stares into his untouched drink and lets out a helpless chuckle, he had no idea where to go now. What to do. There was the idea of joining one of the three gangs undercover but, if Cat wasn't being held by them then he'd be back at square one, only then he'd have an entire gang wanting his head.
And it was all his fault... Maybe he should just sell his body to scavs and have Bats take it from there.
He jolts and almost falls out of his chair when someone drops in the seat next to him, the same woman from earlier who'd been arguing with Susie.
"Judy Alvarez, overheard your conversation with Suse'." she states, leaning on her elbow while eyeing him.
"And? She said no, unless you can use convince her to help me out instead?"
Judy shakes her head, "No, I don't have that kinda pull. I can help you out myself though, if you want."
Ori crooks a brow at her, "Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't look like the sort of person I need help from." he nods his head at the corner to where the heavily armed Mox were using their BD's. "They're the sort I was hoping for."
"I might not be a fighter, but I'm one of the only Mox who knows her way 'round tech." she gestures haphazardly behind her, "I'm the one who fixed up all these BD's, made them worth the price and without the risk of scrambling your brain if your specs don't line up right. Punks with guns ain't gonna be the ones to find your sis."
...
"What's the catch then?" Ori asks, knowing well that nothing comes free.
"I scratch your back, you scratch mine kinda deal. We handle your stuff first, then I can get your help for mine. Sound good?" she offers.
He nods "Too good to be true, to be honest." he admits, despite that though that wasn't really any reason to refuse. At worst she'd stab him in the back, but that'd only come after he'd rescued Cat, which would be an acceptable trade all things considered. "Ideas on the way forward then? I've got nothin', to be frank."
"Before we can get started on anything, I need to know your schtick. Got any skills worth mentioning?"
"Why?"
"Because, even if we find your sis we'll still need to rescue her. If you're not a fighter then we'll need to hire someone to do it, which means lotsa' Eddies." she explains.
...
Ori threads his hand through his hair, "Nah, I know a bit about everythin' but I'm a pro at nothin'. Think scavenging for parts in the junk yard'll be enough?" he sardonically asks.
She snorts, "Not if you wanna get moving in your lifetime... Or your sis' lifetime." she corrects herself with a serious expression.
"What's the best way to make cash quick then?"
"Safely or...?"
"Don't matter."
She shrugs her shoulders, "Merc work's the quickest way, but, I doubt you'd last long. Plus, getting anyone good to hire you would be almost impossible."
...
Merc work, eh?
That was something Ori had never really considered. His dad had always spoken poorly about them, Cyberpunks, Edgerunners, Mercs, different names for the same occupation. Said they were either Chromed outta their minds and on the verge of going Psycho, or so in over their heads that they'd not be able to tell if they were driving towards a cliff or candy shop.
Not that what his dad thought mattered anymore, he was dead, his advice useless. Besides, Ori had an advantage others didn't. These Nanites of his, if they could come to an agreement that didn't involve completely taking over his body, they could become a powerful asset.
They'd clearly displayed how effective they are at healing his body, the wound in his heart should've killed him, and his broken ribs had healed ridiculously quickly. Their potential was crazy, while their programming must've inhibited a lot of their behaviour, them becoming sentient would've altered much of it.
The only problem then was to contact them, and try to come to some sort of compromise. He'd be perfectly willing to give up his body completely if his sis was safe, if that's what it took.
*Slam!*
"'Becca! Are you serious!?" one of the Mox in the corner of the room exclaims as they throw their BD headset to the ground. The doll-like woman sends a scathing glare at the younger-looking girl opposite her, strange white-modified skin covered in pink Mox tattoos that stuck out starkly from the darker colours of the club.
"What? I did as you asked, not my problem if you couldn't keep up!" she carelessly responds as she sorts out her messy green hair.
"Did you not read the fuckin' mission brief!? Res-cue mission! Save the hos-tage!"
"Relax, it was just a game!"
"A game that'd decide whether you stay Mox or not! How're we gonna take you anywhere if you can't even handle a simple training exercise!? I mean REALLY! Throwing a whole belt of grenades at the building WHERE THE HOSTAGE IS!?"
"I was having fun alright!? Don't bite my head off for that, choom!"
"WE AIN'T CHOOMS YOU LITTLE-"
Ori shakes his head at the racket and finally answers Judy, "I'll think about it, the merc work I mean. Just gotta sort some things out before I go all in on it." he admits.
She nods, "Aight, I'll work on finding some Fixers who'd take on a newbie. Just... Know that you're not getting preem of the crop here."
"Thanks..." he offers sincerely, really, she was helping him big time for basically no immediate payoff.
She chuckles and pats him on the back, "Mateo, drinks here." she asks and the barman slides three shots over, one for everyone. "To not dying for nothin'" she states, clinking glasses with the barman and a reluctant Ori.
Unfortunately... The Nanites weren't a fan of smoking or drinking apparently, so as soon as he raises the thing to his mouth his hand forcefully hurls it across the entire bar, somehow not spilling anythinh and stopping in front of the green-haired short stack, who immediately turns her gaze at him.
Judy laughs at his misfortune, "Very smooth!"
Ori claps a palm to his face, closing his eyes momentarily to wish himself out of existence. Only, when he opened them again he was face to face with curious red and green eyes.
"'Sup choom..."
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บท 11: First Contact
"'Sup choom..."
Ori wets his lips as he looks between the strange short-stack and the increasingly amused-looking Judy, who'd spun her chair around and leaned against the bar to get a good view of all of this. "Good on you for buying her that drink Judy, didn't think you swung that way." he states after a moment, throwing her the live grenade.
Strangely, Judy's cheeks actually redden at that, "What? Lost your nerve after going through all that trouble, Ori? Come on Rebecca, you know he's full of shit."
"I don't know," she leans forwards with a mischievous grin, "I've seen you lookin' my way, shame we don't bat for the same teams."
"Hmph, whatever." Judy grumbles, "Since you're here, I assume you're trying to come back?" she quickly changes the subject.
Rebecca shakes her head and downs the drink Ori had unintentionally passed her way, "Pfft, not anytime soon, just went through a test but 'apparently' killing the hostage ain't allowed! It's a game god damn it! Why not use the big ass rocket they give you!?"
"An exercise to test you, y'know, after the shit you pulled last time?" Judy retorts.
"Hey, that wasn't my fault! That guy ran right in front of my gun!" she argues, taking a seat next to Ori and kicking her feet up onto the bar.
"You blew the head off of a Suit's kid, a Suit that spent more Eddies on the Mox than anyone else. I don't agree with Susie, but do you really think you're worth more than thirty thousand Eddies a month?"
"Uh duh, obviously there ain't anybody like me!" Rebecca childishly responds with folded arms.
Judy rubs her forehead, "Yeah, and we all have to suffer for it."
The girl leans closer to Ori and begins inspecting his face closely with a grin, "So who's the boytoy? Looks too young and wimpy to be in the gang, not pretty enough for BD's."
"I'm right here you know." Ori protests, wondering if he should just leave and save himself the headache.
"He came looking for help from Susie but she refused. I'm helping him in the meantime, says he might start Merc work..."
"Name's Ori." he offers lightly.
"Hm? Rebecca." she dismissively replies before continuing, "Ori? Sounds like a girly name... You one of those dyke lesbo's I heard about?"
He frowns at her, "Don't know, you one of those trans-dudes who overcompensate with the dumb-ditsy attitude?" he questions, causing a vein to visibly throb on the girl's forehead.
Judy pauses in thought, "Maybe you could help him out since it looks as if you're gonna stay solo."
She snorts at that and turns to him, "No offence, that stunt you pulled with the drink was funny but I ain't going anywhere with you. That's just asking to get shot in the face."
Ori crooks a brow at her not offended in the slightest, just curious. "Oh yeah?"
She begins pointing at him, "You're wearing rags, got the shittiest gun I can think of, and look like you haven't eaten in a week. I'd probably be better off picking up a junkie off the street."
"Ouch." Judy quietly remarks.
"What? Think I'm wrong?" Rebecca questions the BD Techie.
"No." Ori states, "You're probably right, but it's not like I've got other options." he relents, knowing well his chances of survival weren't great.
"Are you deaf? I just said this job don't suit you. Unless you're actually lookin' to die, then be my guest." Rebecca irritably huffs.
"Gettin' lectured by some pipsqueak ain't gonna change my mind."
"What pipsqueak!? You tryin'a say somethin' about my height, ya' bum!? And for your information, I'm sixteen! I've still got room to grow!" she angrily exclaims, drawing her pink pistol and pushing it against his temple as if to emphasize her point, causing Ori's breath to hitch.
"Not likely with your body mods... And put the damn gun down, you're in enough trouble even without this." Judy adds with a sigh.
"Psch!" she reluctantly holsters it at her hip, "How old are you then 'Ori', bet you're like a thirty-year-old dwarf or somethin'!"
He shrugs, "Almost sixteen... And I've actually got room to grow." he stands and towers over her, almost a full foot taller. "If anyone's a dwarf around here, it's you."
She growls at him, "Whatever! I'd rather be this size forever than a skinny-ass lampost-looking hobo!" she shakes her head and starts to leave, "See you later Judes, lemme know if the newbie lasts more than a week. We'll throw a party for luckiest asshole in Night City!"
"Yeah, yeah." Judy waves her off before turning to him, "Looks like you've made your first contact, congrats."
"What, her?" he questions, was she crazy? That girl was definitely more trouble than she was worth.
Judy nods, "Don't let her looks fool you, she's actually one of the better Mercs around here-, most of the time at least. I'll send you her detes in a week, see if she's still interested then... Might need to complete some jobs before she'll work with you though."
"Maybe I should forget being a Merc after all, if only to avoid her." he mutters while standing, "I'll call you when I've sorted my biz out." he says, headed for the door.
"Don't take too long, there's only one person riding on this, and it ain't either of us."
"Yeah, I know... Thanks Judy..."
---------------------------------
*Click!*
Ori enters the apartment and spots Bats on the couch with his head depressingly in his hands, "Did you get what we need?"
...
"It wasn't enough... The Eddies, we don't even have enough to rent the damn things..." the man solemnly admits.
...
Ori lets out a sigh and drops onto the couch next to him, just as clueless about what to do next as Bats was... "Mox refused to do anything, but a techie offered to help. Looks like I'm becoming a merc...."
...
"Sorry." Bats offers, unable to say anything else.
"How much are we missing?"
"Around three thousand, give or take..."
That's not a cheap sum, Ori sincerely doubted he'd get lucky at the junkyard again either. Plus the fact Judy was waiting for him to decide, he felt incredibly tied for time. He turns in the TV on and starts idly flipping through channels, wondering when was the last time he actually watched something... Or even relaxed for that matter.
"Today, Mayor Lucius Rhyne announced that under him Night City's crime rate has fallen by a whole ten percent! Stay tuned for News 54's very own interview with our illustrious may-*Bzzt!*"
"Having problems getting up in the morning, always feeling like nothing you do matters? Then buy our special organic facial cream to find the brighter side of li-*Bzzt!*"
"Rumours of Christy D'Clert's-" Ori perks up at the mention of his celebrity friend, he hadn't seen her since before everything went to hell...
"-split from UnSomberly appear to be greatly exaggerated, as the star appeared with her bandmates at the Nourriture chère restaurant! We've even received word that they're preparing to release a new single called Killa' or not, I don't know about you guys, but I'm on the edge of my-*Bzzt!*"
Ori shuts off the TV and stands, how could he have been so stupid and forgotten Christy? Surely she would help them out with some extra Eddies, it's not like she's lacking cash anyway!
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