บท 127: Rule Ruler
The revelation of the bounty hunters had the group somewhat wary of things, despite the 'Cruisers' ineffectiveness. The group had ambushed Ori and Rebecca while they were drunk, lacked their main weapons, and did so without Sasha nearby. By all accounts, they should have won the encounter, fortunately, the merc group turned out to be subpar in combat, even if they were rather good at tracking.
With the threat known, the trio took a trip to some local Ripperdocs to find some good Cybernetics to help them out. Sasha upgraded her RAM, enhancing her Netrunning and hacking capabilities. Rebecca, remembering her physical disadvantage against the large merc had her musculature enhanced with some synthetic muscle fibres.
This didn't make her anywhere near as strong as Ori of course, simply due to her lithe body type and the spec of the actual Cyberware. Still, she could probably beat any unenhanced human, barring those at the level of Olympic athletes.
As for Ori? Well, he wanted to get some subdermal armour, but the nanites informed him of yet another problem with that. Since they were unable to alter or modify the Cyberware, any damage taken might just cripple him, regardless of his regeneration. It was like having shards of glass in a wound, it wouldn't heal, even if it did it wouldn't remove the problem... Now imagine that but a glass layer of skin around his entire body...
To put it simply, it was strangely more effective to just let himself get shot to pieces and heal it afterwards. Which wasn't really a problem now that he couldn't die from having his head explode or something similar.
The only Cyberware he ended up getting was a cheap Biomonitor, that would instantly translate the state of his body to nanites, allowing them to heal him far more effectively.
The trio continued doing various gigs, though, they only took ones that were relatively easy to deal with, allowing them the ability to retaliate should the bounty hunters make a move. Always sticking together and carrying their best gear on them was a must, and the precautions only felt more and more important as time went on... After all, a hasty ambush like the Cruisers had failed already, who's to say the other groups would be that easy...
---------------
"Bats, why'd you call? Something happen?" Ori questions as he sits next to the Ripperdoc at the small ramen stall next to Kabuki Market. He'd left Rebecca at Sasha's place to continue browsing apartments...
They'd looked at the available joint in the H10 Megabuilding, but the state the previous owner had left it in made it a quick 'NO!' for the duo. Used needles covered the floor along with split-open rotten bags of trash, rotting low-tier wall paint, and bug-infested furniture. Seriously, it'd cost more to have someone clean it than to rent it for a year!
Bats sends him a slight smile, "Just wanted to update you on things at home."
"You could've done that over the phone..." Ori retorts suspiciously, he could be chilling with Rebecca and Sasha right now... Not that Bats was bad company, it's just that he preferred his girlfriend...
"And miss out on the chance to have a meal with my nephew? You've been ghosting me." he states matter-of-factly.
"No, I came now didn't I? I just didn't want to hear you talk about Cat and 'Fuji'." he spits, the last name. "You ask me to help pay for that cunt's Cyberware again and I'll buy a spare arm just to beat you with it." he warns.
"Noted." Bats chuckles, "Besides, I was just asking for a loan, that guy can't exactly work with one arm and no fingers... It's tough enough covering the rent without him sitting around like a deadbeat."
Ori sniffs sourly, "Just kick his ass out then."
"Cat would follow, I'm not letting her roam the street. We only just got her back..." Bats mutters.
...
"She doin' fine then?"
Bats shrugs, nodding forwards at the stall, "Ask her yourself."
Ori crook a brow and turns, finding his sister standing in front of him with an apron on, and short black hair covered by a hairnet. She looked better, slightly less gaunt and now lacking the deep black bags under her eyes. "Cat. How's working life treating you?" he demurely asks.
"Fine. Easier than cooking for you and dad, people aren't so picky." she states, "And please don't talk like that about Fuji."
"Fuji? That some kind of shit-tasting ramen? Must be something only retards would tolerate... Or, a singular retard." he stares pointedly at her.
"Ha, funny..." she deadpans, "I'd rather have crappy food than no food at all though. Doesn't matter if the ramen's bad if the soba runs away like a bitch."
"Bitch? You're the Ungrateful-" Ori glowers, but Bats interjects, throwing his hands between the siblings.
"Hold it! We don't need to talk about that guy right now, it's just family here. Can we stop going at each other's necks and relax for once!?"
...
""Fine."" they both say simultaneously.
"Jinx!""-Jinx-Shit!" Cat exclaims first, prompting a curse from Ori.
"Promise to stop being an asshole to Fuji!" Cat states, attempting to use her authority as 'Jinxer'.
"Impossible. Ask for something else." Ori sharply retorts.
"Then... Pay for F-"
"No."
"Oh come on! Where's your honour, 'Mr Bigshot Merc!?'" she complains.
"You can't win a 'Jinx' and ask a guy to give you his kidney!"
"It's not that bad!"
"Yeah it is!"
Bats just groans and slumps on his stool as he watches the siblings bicker... Still, like this, they kinda reminded him of the old days...
"As victor, I order you to get on your knees and kiss my feet!"
"Just ask for something normal! Or Jinx wars are over!"
"You can't do that! War never changes!"
"Tell that to Hiroshima!"
"Hiroshi-what!?"
"God damn! Did dad drop you or something, you dunce!"
"Fuck you!"
Bats sighs, "How'd you handle this, Eman...?"
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บท 128: Quentin Questin'
The duo argue back and forth for twenty minutes or so until the actual stall owner comes by and basically demands that Ori and Bats buy something. They do, if not because they were hungry then to let Cat keep her job.
The ramen, despite her best effort, was shit. Low-quality SCOP that was barely more appetising than kibble. Ori and Bats discussed potential Cyberware he could potentially look into when he suddenly received a call...
Quentin...?
Ori excuses himself from Bats and leans backwards, his eyes flashing as he accepts the call.
*Beep!*
"Quentin, what's up?" he asks as a screen of the Fixer pops up, showing him lounging on a luxurious couch, cigar in one hand and his other cupping the breast of some hot chick... Doing well for himself apparently.
"Ori! You doing good!?" Quentin happily asks.
"Just about, not as good as you apparently..."
The Fixer laughs, the girl at his side giggling too despite clearly having no idea what's happening... Her body gave up the development of her brain in favour of her breasts, presumably. "Yeah! Pretty good I'd say! But hey, I'm not someone to leave my buddy hanging, I've got a job for you!"
...
Ori wets his lips, "Er, tell me about it before I commit to anything. I've kinda got guys hunting my ass right now."
"Eh? Really? Would've thought everyone is too scared of you by now. You're really making a name for yourself y'know! Some acquaintances of mine occasionally ask if you're available!"
"Corpo...? You didn't tell 'em anything did you?" he questions, wondering if Quentin slipped at all. He already had Wakako on his ass, he didn't need anyone else.
"Obviously! But hey, anyway, let me give you a rundown of things, see if you want in..." he pauses and leans forwards, waving away his chick. "You heard street racing?"
"Er, no?"
"... Really? You don't watch the news of something?" Quentin shakes his head, "Whatever, basically people could together and race for a prize. You drive, you shoot each other, whoever wins get's a 'grand prize'."
"And you want me to get it... I'm not that good a driver you know." Ori mutters.
"Eh, driving doesn't matter if you kill every other racer. And no, I don't give a shit about the prize."
"Then what's in it for you?" Ori asks, slightly confused.
Quentin grins, "Bets. Some friends of mine need some cash quick, and this is about the best way to do it. They place bets on you, I pay off some of the other drivers to get you the win, you do what you do best, and everyone's happy... Except the losers, but hopefully they'll be dead by the end of it."
"What's the prize anyway? And how many people are competing... And where is this even being held?" Ori asks, still thoroughly confused about all of it.
"First place prize should be around fifty thousand Eddies, but a percentage of the bets gets added on top of it. Since my friends and I will be investing, that should boost it up to around seventy-five thousand, depending on the rates. As for how many? Not sure, there's a number of races and a shit ton of people that start, but by the time the finals come around, there's only a fraction of the racers left. For obvious reasons."
He holds up a device which displays a holographic map, "This is where the first race is being held."
"Wait, Santo Domingo...? They're having death races IN the city!?" Ori questions, completely baffled.
Quentin just shrugs, "Yeah, locals don't usually mind, and the organisers pay off the cops during. Only problem you might run into are the gangs, but they'll stay outta the way... No one wants to deal with fifty heavily armed, pissed-off racers."
...
Hm... He was going to reject Quentin's offer, but hearing how many Eddies are on the line makes it hard to pass up. With that he could buy Charlie her Cyberware as soon as he got paid, no more needing to pay to keep her alive, and no more worrying if he'd have enough to cover the hospital expenses... Fucking no insurance!
Still, he didn't think he had the car for the job. Sure, his current ride could take a beating, but compared to vehicles specifically designed for that kinda racing, he doubted it'd hold up. After all, he was sure some fucking retard would come along with a whole ass cannon strapped to his car... Or just a shit load of explosives.
"You got a car I can use? Mine's not really suited for it." he asks, wondering if he could 'permanently borrow' the car afterwards. Having two vehicles at his disposal was probably a good idea, come to think of it.
"Of course! Won't tell you what it is yet since we're still testing which'll be best for the job, but whatever gets picked should be enough." Quentin assures.
"Right... Any other rules I should know about?"
"Your team can have as many people as you want, but keeping it low is the standard. Less weight means faster wheels. You can't shoot anyone if you can't catch 'em anyway. Oh, and no outside action. You hire someone to fuck with the race and you're done, trust me, you don't wanna mess with the organisers, if they can pay off the NCPD and leave half a sub-district in rubble, they can deal with some cheaters."
"What about Netrunning? Anything about that?" he asks, thinking of Sasha. Hacking someone's Cyberware midrace and forcing them to crash into a building would probably be a good strategy.
"Planning on bringing Sasha then...? Good choice." Quentin smiles with a faint blush. "But yeah, if she's on your team she can do whatever. The race will have Netrunners of their own keeping an eye on things, so don't try to hire an external one... Actually, just don't cheat period. There'll be a lot riding on this, and if you lose, you'll piss off a loooot of people. Both of us will probably not last the next week if that happens." Quentin warns.
"Got it... I accept, by the way." Ori states.
"Haha! I knew I could count on you, Ori! I'll send you the detes later, you should probably brush up on your driving too. Anyway, my girl's sending me the eyes and I ain't missing out. Cya later!"
*Beep!*
Living his best life...
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