บท 26: Negotiating in Practice
With that traumatic situation dealt with, Ori found himself in the back of Max's car as he drove with Six in shotgun. Max had apparently already planned everything out and was just waiting on Ori to make the final decision... For some reason...
Next to Ori was the damp plastic bag which held Spek's head, the proof they'd need to convince Quentin Fabrosi to work with them. If revenge wasn't a good enough motivator for the young man, then fear that they'd do the same to him would probably tip him over the proverbial edge.
"Kid," Max asks, holding an open pack of cig over his shoulder as he drives, "Relax."
Ori reaches for one of them, only then realising that his hands were trembling... "Y-yeah... Thanks..."
He lights the cig up and looks out the window, his eyes turning upwards to the skyscrapers that were steadily approaching... Was it strange that this was the first time he'd been anywhere near the centre of Night City?
It looked incredible, but he knew that was only to accommodate the greedy suits that lived and worked there. Why else would the rest of Night City basically be giant slums?
Max drives around the outskirts of downtown until they reach an underground carpark, he shows the security guard some sort of identification and they drive in, parking an isolated corner at the second to last floor of the carpark that overlooked some streets on the outskirts of Wellspring.
"What now?" Ori questions as Max and Six begin making themselves comfortable.
"We wait, see if this Quentin' kid want to show or not. Said he'll be here but anythin' can happen."
...
"Alright..." Ori mutters, his eye twitching when he remembered that he was sitting next to a severed head in a bag...
*Beep-Beep*
[Yo, Ori, I know ur probs busy and all but I need to ask u sumthing.] - Judy
[What is it?] - Ori
[VIDEO RECEIVED]
...
Ori opens the file and blanks out momentarily, it was a recording of his fight with that Chromejock yesterday, the one he'd almost gotten zeroed in. It was placed outside of Darren's apartment and showed everything from that perspective... The man's men getting gunned down from inside, him stepping in, then Ori's battle with the guy afterwards.
It showed him getting slammed into the ceiling, then his awkward moments when the Nanites took over, firing pinpoint accurate shots from the pistol to bring the Jock down, finally finishing him off with a shotgun to the face.
He was incredibly thankful that the cam hadn't been able to get a clear shot of his face, his jacket's hood had gotten caught on the sparking Scav holomask, keeping it up even after all the damage he'd taken.
...
It felt incredibly odd looking at it like this, an almost surreal experience...
[Was this u?] - Judy
...
[What do u think?] - Ori
[Dumb. I know its u.] - Judy
[ur mistaking me for someone else.] - Ori
[:P:P ur wearing the same old shoes and pants u wore when u met me. Plus, u r exactly the same height as the guy in the vid] - Judy
[And, what if I was? That a problem?] - Ori
[Ha! No way! U flatlined Ta'xin! Leader of the Safe K Crew... U flatlined almost the entire gang! that's a big fukin deal11!!]
[Ta'xin?] - Ori
[A rising merc who took control of a district in Watson. Big ass hole, huge in fact, liked to take advantage of the fams that lived there. still forced to pay protection money as well. I told Q about him but she said it was outta their hands... ur lucky to be alive tbh, that guy was almost fully borged with albeit crap-tier Cyberware. There was a reason he didn't just run and stomp ur face yknow.]
Huh, well thank fuck he ran into the 'snail merc' then. Hang, couldn't he have just run away then...?
...
*Beep-Beep*
[Besides, this was sent to me by someone we know... U got Rebeccas attention now, shes still texting me about how 'Fucking Nova' that was.] - Judy
That wasn't good... If Rebecca could recognise him, then who else could?
[Who else knows?] - Ori
[Just me and Rebecca, she only recognised u because of your "wimpy lampost figure", or whatever. I managed to scrub the other cameras that caught ur face but this vid is already making it around the net] - Judy
[So I should expect a call from Rebecca then...?] - Ori
[xdxd, no, between u and me, she "doesn't want to look desperate and needy", so she'll probs hit u up in a week or two, probs with a gig to go with it. Don't tell her we talked about this, shes annoying enough with the ammo.] - Judy
[Right...] - Ori
[Oh, before I forget. As thanks for dealin' with the shit the Mox should've been in the first place] - Judy
[+3000§]
[Ain't much but that's from my personal stash <3<3] - Judy
[Thanks... Lemme know if u need anything else... Lets leave out the borg-guys tho, I need a break from that shit] - Ori
He finishes and shoves the holophone into his pocket, then quickly spots a lone man in a Corpo suit slowly and stiffly walking towards them. "Yo, is that him?"
Max and Six look over, both nodding, "Yeah, should be. Six stay in the car, kid bring the bag... And keep your mouth shut."
"Don't need to tell me twice, this is your plan." Ori shrugs and steps out, the suit stopping a couple meters away from the car.
He had light tan skin with short cut black hair that left his fringe long enough to hang, he had visible Cyberware around his head and temple, but nothing indicating any real combat modification. Ori was hopeful he wouldn't need to fight anyone like Ta'xin anytime soon.
"You Max?" the man, probably in his early twenties asks.
Max nods, "Yeah, Quentin?"
"Mhm... Got your message, any of that true?"
"Have you heard back from any of your buddies? Should answer your question." Max calmly retorts, keeping his hands where the guy could see them.
...
"None are responding... I've got calls from their families..." he solemnly utters, "I saw the messages, between the Fixer and my father... Got proof?"
Max smiles grimly and nods at Ori, who empties the bag onto the ground, allowing Spek's severed head to fall with a wet thud. He gives it a slight kick, pushing it towards the quickly paling Quentin.
"That enough proof for ya'? Allen Pretcher, 'Speks', guy who your father called to assassinate your buddies."
Quentin takes a while to recover his composure, obviously used to handling the gorier aspects of society. "You want something from me, then..." he asks questioningly, his brows tightly knit it burgeoning anger towards his father.
"We want Eddies, you want revenge. I'm sure we can come to a deal." Max states, folding his arms.
. . .
Quentin stands there silently for a minute or two, before eventually coming to a decision. "Fine. I'm in. Talk to me."
ความคิดของผู้สร้าง 
Niggross
Niggross Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to : https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
Faruk Ereng
VidDav FerDeL
บท 27: Downtown Joyride
The group's initial meeting with Quentin went rather well, he was totally on board as soon as they laid out exactly what his father had done, while also keeping away the fact that they'd been the ones to carry most of it out.
It honestly felt incredibly sinister for Ori, like attending the funeral of a man you personally killed... Still, he knew better than to air his thoughts. Quentin may just be a young Corpo, but once his father was dead he'd inherit quite a lot from everything they'd heard.
Cleveland Fabrosi was one of the head scientists that worked in Biotechnica, someone important in his field with many connections both within and outside of Biotechnica itself. It was because of this that the man was so difficult to reach...
Any other merc would have been hard-pressed to find any information pertaining to him, his schedule, accommodations, workplace, etc. Not to mention the security Biotechnica have assigned to him...
Thankfully, Quentin was their key through all of that. The Corpo probably never expected his son to start conspiring against him, which is how the group found themselves where they are now... Sitting in their car outside the 'hidden' back exit of the Biotechnica hotel.
It was essentially just a bit of flat land in an alleyway, which when activated allowed the floor to open up and raise a car out of the underground parking lot of the hotel. Quentin was there, leaning against one of the dark, grimy walls with his arms folding, waiting for his father to arrive.
Ori and Max were posted a good distance away, looking through a link connecting them to Six's eyes, the merc sitting camouflaged not far from Quentin's position.
"Think this'll work? It looks suspect even to me, let alone a fully specc'd out security team..." Ori mutters to Max.
"Kid, we're Downtown, in the centre of Corpo-Cunt-Topia, no one other than Cybepsychos has the balls to go anywhere near this place, let alone try to kidnap a bigwig. If Quentin was being held hostage or forced to do this, they'd have known almost instantly... But him workin' with us willingly? They'll overlook it." the vet states.
...
"There..." Max utters as the alleyway begins shifting, the floor opening up to reveal a hidden elevator lifting a car into view.
A CHEVILLON THRAX 388 JEFFERSON comes into view, Cleveland Fabrosi sitting comfortably in the back with his chauffeur at the wheel. They drive forward to allow the elevator to return and Cleveland rolls the window down as the car stops near Quentin.
"Get closer so we can hear 'em." Max orders Six, who does so, invisibly stepping beside Quentin.
"What's this all about, son? You call me out of the blue and ask me to have a chat in private? Is the hotel not a good enough venue for you? Or is there something else on your mind?" the heavy-set, balding man asks his son.
Quentin pushes himself off of the wall and scowls at him, "This is something better left unheard to outsiders... A family matter..." he glances at the chauffeur, "Something about my friends."
Cleveland's eyes widen minutely at that and he nods, "Ah... Then, let's speak about this somewhere private then-"
"Sir, I shall have your security prepared. Night City is no place to go without protection." the chauffeur offers.
Cleveland pauses in thought, causing Ori to panic slightly, a full Corpo security would basically ruin their plan. If Ta'xin was hard for him now, fighting a security team all better equipped than him would basically be a death sentence, even with Max and Six with him.
"I told you, this is a family matter." Quentin growls, accidentally letting his hostility bubble over, causing Cleveland's face to turn suspicious.
"This is going cock-up... Six..." Max whispers.
Quentin opens the door of the car, but before he enters, Six sits himself inside, next to Cleveland, his invisible body unseen by the chauffeur, but for Cleveland?
*Click*
The sound of a hammer cocking next to his ear caused his entire body to freeze up, "Listen to your boy, or I'm recording your car." Six rasps a whisper, pressing the barrel of his revolver against the man's cheek slightly.
His skin rapidly pales, the cool feeling of metal causing him to blink rapidly. Quentin sits down and shuts the door, ignoring his leg brushing against Six. "Let's get this over with, shall we, 'Dad'." he offers subduedly.
"Sir?" the chauffeur questions, noticing his boss's strange reaction.
"Y-yes, let's go shall we? M-my son clearly has something important to discuss..." he stutters out, only managing to move his mouth, fearing that the invisible weapon in his face would fire abruptly...
...
"As you wish..."
Max shuts the laptop and starts up the car as their target begins driving, "Buckle up kid, if we get stopped now for you not wearin' your seatbelt I'll drive over your head myself." he grouses.
"How long does Six's camouflage have left?" Ori questions, not knowing the extent of the Cyberware.
"Don't know, he's probably overclockin' his shit to keep it runnin'. He'll need a rest and shitload of immuno-blockers once this is finished if I had to guess..."
-------------------
The target's car drives through the city centre and only stops when it reaches an isolated underground parking lot near one of the markets. Max drives in after them of course, the chauffeur immediately notices this since no one else should be arriving there.
That didn't matter however, as Six's body appears and blows a hole into the back of the man's head, covering the front windscreen in blood and grey matter. Cleveland immediately begins panicking, but Six just throws him out of the car as Quentin follows.
"S-son! What is this!? Why are you doing this?!" Cleveland asks he stumbles away, clutching a pillar and resting his weight against it as Six circles him luck a shark who caught the scent of blood. Max stops the car nearby, allowing him and Ori to get out and provide 'emotional support' for the distraught man.
ความคิดของผู้สร้าง
Niggross
Niggross
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
Faruk Ereng
VidDav FerDeL
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
200+ การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
0 หินพลัง 
ความคิดเห็นย่อย