บท 217: Cosmopolitan Mood
The crew all funnel out of the caravan after parking it and the truck in one of the many underground parking lots. It'd taken three hours alone just to get there due to the traffic, but finally they were in a position to start being proactive.
"Ah, you should probably leave your jacket." Lucy stops David before he can go any further, everyone knew how dear it was to him so the possibility of losing it wasn't a risk she wanted to take.
"Uh, sure, I guess? You really think I might lose it?"
Lucy shrugs, "I'm not sure about anything in this place, that's the problem. 'Least in Night City I knew up from down, who ruled it and who didn't. All we've got to go off of is basic intel any run-of-the-mill Runner could have manipulated."
"Which is why we're being real careful." Ori states as he steps out with a big rucksack on his back, locking the caravan behind him. "Come on, we've wasted enough time sitting in traffic today."
Another five minutes to climb outta the underground and the group finally saw the sun, blinking the glare out of their eyes as they step out onto the street... While this wasn't the most decadent or expensive place in Vegas, it was already a far cry from most places in Night City, baring Downtown and the Corpo Plaza.
The fact that everyone shot glances and glares at the crew as they made their way down the street only made them feel more out of place...
"You staring at me like you want to fuck or fight, so which is it, choom!?" Pilar angrily asks, pushing a large man in a colourful cardigan away.
"You're fuckin' nuts!"
"Pilar, shut your mouth for once and stick with us. We just got here and we don't need you starting anything." Ori grouses, pulling the lanky merc with them.
Lucy leads them a couple blocks until they reach what looked like some stairs leading into a subway, the transportation system had been long abandoned however, earthquakes, bombs, and other disasters having caused what had been there to collapse.
That hadn't stopped the 'mole people' from digging smaller tunnels to get around the place, but for the crew there wasn't any real way to find info on how to navigate it. There weren't exactly directions down there.
Down the stair and through one maintenance tunnel they come across a small marketplace, one eerily similar to how Casinha used to look, if better put together. They quickly stop by a scrap broker to get some Eddies, then Lucy leads them to what looked to be an old convenience store that'd been converted into a tailor. Still, it looked like most scuffed hole-in-the-wall joints, judging by the fact people actually shopped there it must've been worth something.
"Here, this is the place." Lucy quietly remarks.
Maine sighs, "Whatever, just pay for the nines and get going, we gotta Fixer ta'meet."
---------------------
"I wanna kill myself right about now..." Pilar growls, pulling at the 'tight as fuck' sleeve around his wrist. His Cybernetic hands were only making it more annoying for him, but he wasn't in bad a sitch as Maine, who literally required the tailor to Frankenstein two suit jackets together to make something in his size.
"Go ahead, we'll cheer you on." Rebecca chortles. She was actually pretty happy with her outfit. She'd ended up swapping her usual black synth-leather one for a pink and white tiger-pattern jumper that was big enough to reach her mid-thigh. She swapped out her boots for some beige ones with complementary white fur lining, and loose shorts that reached below her knees.
Ori had been ambushed by the tailor and shoved into some mobster-looking outfit, a black waistcoat over a thinly patterned white shirt that'd had its sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and black suit trousers... Not gonna lie, this was the first time he felt so... Dapper.
David had gotten a fedora slapped on his head, along with a light yellow silk shirt, short tie, and loose beige trousers.
Christy, as a former star had dressed up as, well, how she used to but with more modesty. A thin dress that barely went down to her upper knee, which would undoubtedly she the thong she was wearing if she ever bent over... Maybe she planned to use it as a bargaining chip?
Falco and Lucy hadn't actually needed to change their respective styles all that much. Simply just buying new sets that weren't completely filthy.
"Can we get to the fuckin' biz already?" Maine asks as his suit jacket strains against his sheer bulk. Even with the sleeves cut out the muscles on his back were threatening to tear apart the fresh stitching.
Lucy nods, "Next stop, The Strip."
--------------------------
"This is... Freaky..." David mutters, looking around the place as the crew slowly walks through. Even in the daytime the place was almost blinding, from the holograms to the signs to the colours, it was pretty overwhelming.
"Stop looking around like a tourist." Lucy urges, giving him an elbow to the side.
"But we are tourists..."
"We don't want everyone to know that though." she retorts, shrewdly glancing at the security around the place.
It wasn't just heavily armed and armoured guards, there were actual military-issue bipedal walkers stumbling around. This shit wouldn't have flown in Night City because of how many Corporations had their fingers in the pot, but here? Everyone treated it like it was normal.
"Hey, what's that-" Christy starts but Ori grips her arm, stopping her. Further down the strip, an obviously homeless woman was running down the street haphazardly, begging pedestrians and anyone else who would listen to help the limp baby in her arms.
Of course, this didn't pan out well...
"CITIZEN! YOU WILL LEAVE THE COSMOPOLITAN DISTRICT IMMEDIATELY OR FACE EXPULSION!" one of the machine walkers demand in a robotic tone.
"P-PLEASE! HE'S DYING AND NO ONE WILL HELP! I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY-"
"BREACH OF PEACE DETECTED. ENACTING EXPULSION!" the machine says, stepping closer to the woman as one of its arms opens up.
*THWWOOOM!*
A jet of flame streams out, covering the woman and her child, sending the sprawling, screaming mess to the ground... The machine keeps up the heat however, not stopping until the agonized shrieks cease.
"MAINTENANCE CREW REQUIRED ON DISTRACT 0421 COSMOPOLITAN!" it says aloud before slowly walking away...
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บท 218: Charr-ming
"Holy fuck!" Pilar exclaims once the robot departs, just as horrified as the rest of the crew. Christy had run over to a nearby bin and started vomiting, self-preservation to not get burned alive allowing her to stop from staining the Strip.
Lucy grips David's hand and Ori rests a hand on Rebecca's waist, palming his face with the other... What completely astounded them all was the casualness with which the people who'd witnessed it continued their day...
"We need to go, if the fuckin' light show wasn't warnin' enough." Maine scowls, prompting everyone to hurry along to their destination, 'New Caesers Palace'.
------------------
Unsurprisingly, the casino's security was even heavier than the guards on the street. They were searched and let in with their weapons, since they only seemed to be looking for bombs and other larger-scale threats.
Lucy stops at the front desk and the crew's soon led to a private room on the third floor of the huge building. Inside was a large opulent room, a fully stocked bar at one side with a dining section in the centre, and next to that, a beautiful concert grand piano which already had someone sat at it playing.
"About time, I was beginning to think you had gotten eaten by cannibals..." a woman lounging on a luxurious couch remarks as she slowly stands.
Bright blonde hair with thin gold chains braided through it, pale spotless skin, bright blue eyes, and crimson-painted lips. She was garbed in a silk bathrobe, uncaring of her modesty, not that she needed to be given her curves...
Ori wasn't sure if those were her natural looks, but the lack of obvious surgery scars, misplaced skin, or Cyberware made it almost seem as if she was completely organic. One thing was for sure though, the women of the crew didn't like the stares the stranger was receiving.
"Ouch!" Ori, David, and Pilar all quietly yelp as their lady friends hit them.
"Our bad, got caught up by some woman getting burned to a crisp in the street." Maine folds his arms, causing his suit to audible strain. "That shit normal 'round here? 'Cuz I fuckin' hope not."
The woman just sighs sadly, "That is most people's sentiment, for the first couple years living here at least." she shakes her head, letting her silken hair sway, "I'm Aliya Hammond, the Fixer our mutual friend sent your way." she ambles to the dining table and sits, "Well? Have a seat, we have things to discuss, foremost being the sword of Damocles above your heads."
Ori sits on the direct opposite side of the table from her, "Are you gonna be our executioner then?" he queries, wondering what she was hoping to get out of this. There were probably thousands of other mercs she could hire that wouldn't risk bringing the wrath of Arasaka down on her.
She smiles pleasantly, "Maybe? I haven't decided yet."
"That a threat, blondie?" Rebecca grouses with a scowl.
Aliya waves her off, "Take it as you want, just remember you're my house now." she gestures over her shoulder at the large automatic guns that'd silently appeared from the ceiling and walls. "But, I'm not stupid. I know you could probably kill me if you wanted," she smirks, "And that's why I want to hire you. Not many punks have the balls to piss off multiple corporations, those that do don't get away alive."
"And what do we get in this deal?" Maine asks.
She shrugs noncommittally, "Money, connections... Tenuous safety. Everything you'll need for that Night City comeback."
"What makes you think we want to go back to that shit hole?" Pilar throws out there, more to bait for intel than anything else.
"Because if you want to chase thrills, the rush, then you got to Night City. You've seen the state Vegas is in, one toe out of line and you're cut outta the business. I've seen enough of your sort to know anyway, you won't stop until you're at the top of the city, or under it."
"That's great and all, but what's gig you want us for anyway?" Rebecca inquires.
Aliya leans back in her chair and looks over her nails, "Any of you interested in a good 'ole heist? Like the ones back when petrol was used?"
"You sure...? That's a lot of heat, considering we already fled one city." Ori says unsurely.
She nods with a confident smile, "Absolutely. After all, if you do it right they'll only notice when they try to check their money. Did you know, around eighty years ago someone decided to buy up most of the gold reserves in Nevada and New Mexico? Surprising right? Given the collapsing economy, wars, and depreciation of the dollar, you wouldn't expect people to willingly give up their gold-"
"Just get to the point, we don't need a fuckin' history lesson." Maine presses.
...
"Fine, to sum it up, people were coerced into selling their gold at terrible rates by corrupt government officials on the threat of violence. Many people received it, but a good portion had been safely stored in the Venetian Resort."
"Venetian Resort?" David parrots.
Aliya winks at him but doesn't manage to draw the blush she was aiming for. Shaking her head, she continues, "It got knocked down during an earthquake, the gold buried under it. In its place, the Crystal Tower was built, the giant glass skyscraper that is unfortunately shaped in a way that causes vehicles around it to melt in the sun... Most people seem to think the gold is either lost of relocated, but I'm of the mind that it now resides in the Crystal Tower's vault."
"And you want us to crack it?" Lucy starts, "Wasn't it built collaboratively with EuroBank, DSM, and Militech... You want us to hit that!?" she gapes at the sheer difficulty and stupidity of even attempting the task.
Aliya waves her off, "Don't you worry, you may not have heard but recently DSM and EuroBank have been trying to buy out Militech's piece. As you can imagine, their strategies to expedite this have prompted Militech to lower the provided security in an attempt to threaten them. EuroBank has hired Lazarus in lieu of Militech's unfulfilled obligations, but the transfer will have left some holes..." she trails off, glancing at the respective members of the crew with a keen eye.
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