บท 271: Lake Metal
[Judy, fucking black-alert, liquidate everything, recover Christy from whatever the fuck op she's currently on. Hanako played her hand and we're looking at a grade B to A FUCKED sitch right about now] - Ori
[Ori!? Where the hell are you!? The others think you got scrapped by Smasher!] - Judy
[I'm at the bottom of the canal right now, heavy-ass chrome and water don't mix! Don't send an evac, it'll be spotted a mile off by the search crews looking for my corpse... While I'm marching my ass to Zombie HQ you get everything of worth out, get our runners on double-time, I wouldn't put it past Arasaka to shoot that fucking soul-killer thing at us!!!!] - Ori
[Yorinobu's assassination is all over the net, are you sure it was even Arasaka? For all we know Smasher could've swapped creds?] - Judy
[Don't waste time with jank-fuck questions, even if it ain't Hanako we got about two hours before the whole city is on our ass, not mentioning the two AVs full of MaxTac we zeroed. Just dump everything and anything related to Sekaiheiwa and delta! Get a virtu-scrub while you're at it, people might not know your face but they'll look for you anyway! Now ciao, I got half a mile til I get to shore.] - Ori
*Beep!*
Bubbles expel from his mouth and nose as he grunts in annoyance, while he'd been expecting things to fall apart he hadn't thought it was gonna go like this. A controlled demolition is what he wanted, not Yorinobu suicide bombing at his doorstep. Fucking Hanako, should've flatlined the bitch when he had the chance, Yorinobu's love for his sister or not.
He swats away a plastic bag and continues wading through the seabed, the nanites had given him makeshift gills to survive this, but breathing water made it feel like he was perpetually drowning... If he could scream right now he would, but he needed to stay on task and in focus, shit had hit the fan and it was only just getting started.
----------------------
The HQ of Sekaiheiwa was in an absolute state, while officially everything was still above board the staff knew better than that. While most of them didn't give a shit about the state of affairs around the higher-ups, the fact that more than half of Sekaiheiwa's stock had been dropped within an hour had spread like wildfire. Most considered it rumours or whatever, but those in the know were preparing their own get-out plans. The smart ones were already gone, even.
Ori's crew had ducked into the 'Zombie HQ' and were licking their wounds after the shitshow that was the parade. Most weren't strangers to fucked up gigs, but that didn't mean everyone was okay with it...
Leo sat rocking in the corner of the room with his face buried in his hands, an unusual look for a hardened prisoner, former or not. It didn't escape him how quickly he'd fallen in the shit with this crew, when he joined he assumed he'd be doing the usual Edgerunner work, klepping for scavs or acting as a bodyguard for those who couldn't afford the security corps.
Now he'd been helping remove higherup Arasaka members, and was even 'involved' in the murder of the god-damned CEO...
Ignoring that though, he was more concerned about the secret he'd been forced to keep, after all, what were the chances that David had ended up in the same cell as his old friend? He should've just told those Arasaka grunts to fuck off, but now he was between a rock and a hard place.
He knew the boss, Ori, didn't like him, but Arasaka had his sitch and was asking, or better yet demanding answers. He'd been played, if he didn't kick something back to them they'd spill the beans to Zombie and he'd get flatlined. If he played ball and Zombie found out he'd be worse than flatlined, shit, he hadn't seen much yet but the rumours of the guy actually eating people didn't seem all that farfetched...
Word got back that he'd survived Smasher and was headed back, which only lent credence to his skill. No regular chrome-fiend could survive a fight with the Oni and escape, especially with an army at his back.
Damn...
"Leo! You alright? You've been lookin' outta it since we got back?" David questions, concerned.
Leo shrugs and makes a show of rubbing the freshly stitched bullet wound at his shoulder, "Just in my own head, you know how it is Davey... Thought you'd been schmoozing it up with your runner-friend by now?"
David's expression didn't shift, not even a blush as he crooks a brow, "Yeah, and?"
"Just saying... You think this is all gonna work out ok? I was under the impression we were betting on that Yorinobu-fuck to keep things moving..."
"We made do in Vegas, we'll lose a shitload of Eds ditching Sekaiheiwa, but it's better than going down with the ship."
Leo frowns, "You say that like that's not what we're doin'..."
"Whachu mean?" David replies, brow furrowed.
"I mean, where do you see this ending? Our guy, the one chance at burning Arasaka is dead, we'll be framed for his murder soon enough... Do you really think there'll be a place we can run and hide? Arasaka ain't so easy to escape..."
"I know... We know." he corrects himself, "But there ain't any better options right now, we could turn to Militech, but they worked with Faraday to fuck with us last time. Every Corp is a shit-shovelling tire fire, can't trust 'em as far as you can throw them. You saw the same shit I did when we were younger, you know as well as me that this world is fucked because of them. We keep moving forward, that's the only path we got left."
...
Leo looks up at his friend with a subdued look, "You sure that's the only choice we got? Or are you letting your biases get the better of ya'?" he asks, lips firmed.
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บท 272: Exodus
"-are you letting your biases get the better of ya'?"
"The hell's that 'spose to mean?" David growls.
Leo shrugs, "Just askin', sounds to me like you've put all your eggs in Zombie, but can that guy be trusted? You sure he won't throw you and your gal to the flames if it helps him?"
"He would never do that." David growls.
"You sure? Not even for amnesty from Arasaka? They want Lucy right? What if he tossed you and her at them as scapegoats? What do you really know about him, 'side that he's fucking that white-shorty?"
David leans forwards and rests a hand on Leo's shoulder, gripping it tight enough for the man to wince. "Rebecca, her name's Rebecca. Use it." he releases him, "You're new to the crew so you don't know, there's one thing he values more than Eddies, cred, chrome, or any of that shit. It's loyalty. Stop being a fucking pansy and man up," he 'lightly' palms Leo across the face, causing the man to stare at him in disbelief, "You signed up for this, he pulled your ass outta jail so keep your fuckin' end of it. I vouched for you, don't make me regret it... ¿Entender?"
...
"Sí, Solo asegurándome..." (Yes, just making sure) Leo replies, allowing David to let out a breath of relief and return to Lucy.
---------------------------
Ori finally makes his way out of the canal and climbs up the ladder leading to the river-side street, toxic water pooling off of him and onto the floor prompting pedestrians to make way. He tries to wring his Sekaiheiwa jacket out before giving up and discarding it, leaving him in only a tank top.
[Resources at 22%, requesting alleviation before further combat: Flesh Administrator]
"Yeah, yeah. I'm not fighting Smasher again without a meal..." he glances around and spots a few food stalls lined up. "Oi! I'm buying all the food you got, give it here!" he demands while snatching a burrito out of a patron's hand and eating it in one go.
"The fuck!?-" the man trails off as the barrel of Ori's revolver digs into his forehead.
"Gotta problem...?"
"N-no man... We're good."
Ori nods as the man runs off, shooting a thousand eddies at each of the stall owners as he drops onto a stool. "Well? I ain't got all day. Be quick and a tip's waiting for you."
"As long as you're okay with Takoyaki..."
*Beep!*
[Bro! What the fuck!!? Did you not think it'd be a good idea to tell me you were planning to off the Emperor's son!?] - Quentin
[It wasn't planned, Smasher framed us.] - Ori
[Like it matters! Almost a quarter of my contracts are mixed up with Sekaiheiwa, all of which started dropping like flies once you started dumping stocks! Don't tell me you didn't have time to bring me in on it!] - Quentin
[Quentin, I've spent more than thirty minutes under the canal, I got thrown out of the AV Adam Fucking Smasher was holding me in. Do you really think I have time to think about contracts right now!?] - Ori
[You think I care!? I've had to pack all my shit up and wire as much cash as I can to an offshore bank. NC is a no-go for me now, because we are, or were friends, I'll tell you I'm going to Seattle to set up shop again and hope Arasaka doesn't find my ass. Good luck with whatever the fuck scheme you're in.] - Quentin
[Yeah, good luck to you too, asshole.] - Ori
*Beep!*
*Beep!*
*Beep!*
*Beep!*
*Beep!*
[So.] - Rogue
[For fuck sake! Do you have many people are pinging me right now!?] - Ori
[... So I heard you fought Smasher. How was it?] - Rogue
He sighs and continues shovelling food into his mouth. Maybe if he played along with her she'd have a way to help him out, it was a long shot but he didn't really have much to go off of right now...
[Like nailing my balls to a moving AV and jumping off.] - Ori
[I'm being serious, this intel is important.] - Rogue
[Yeah? So am I. The guy's got every implant you can name aside from a functioning Cyberdeck, he used a sandy on and off with no strain, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had a berserk module activated at all times. I-... I'll just send you the recording of the fight, make up your mind from there... If you can afford it.] - Ori
[Afford it? How about I pay by not sending Arasaka your detes?] - Rogue
[Stop playing and help me out, you hate 'Saka and Smasher more than anyone.] - Ori
...
[If you must know, the Corp's gathering to raid Sekaiheiwa HQ, NCPD is giving them free rein. Media are already stamping the 'Zombie' name on Yorinobu's assassination, so you got about a day before every man, woman, and child in NC are gunning for you, somehow more than before...] - Rogue
[The sitch on Hanako Arasaka?] - Ori
[A grieving sister who is hellbent on getting revenge for her brother and father. Since 'someone' killed off most of the board members she's already begun looking to fill it with her own people. Give it a month and her people from Japan will get here and you'll have no chance.] - Rogue
[Shit... Don't suppose you go any plans of your own...? Y'know to help bring down a corp?] - Ori
[I did, but you kicked the wasp-nest. Any plans I had are dead or redundant. You're on your own here, and I'd appreciate it if you kept the Afterlife outta this shitstorm.] - Rogue
...
He rubs his face and shoots her the recordings of his fight with Smasher, along with whatever intel he'd figured out outside of it. Her hunting Smasher only benefitted him right now, and he could use any distraction he could get.
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