บท 24: Watch Out For That Drive-By

I got roused out of my stupor by Amber poking me on the arm.

"Wha… What?" I asked.

"Nothing. You just look like you got mindwiped so I wanted to make sure you were still there."

What the heck is she even talking about…

She grinned at me, "So… You have a place to stay? If not, I can recommend a rather good inn to stay at. Unless you're feeling a little fancy then there's a good hotel I know as well."

I scratched my cheek, "Err… I thought that I would just sleep in my own ship."

Her head swivelled to me and her eyes widened, "N… No way… You have a bed on your ship?! Wait, what Class is your ship?!"

"Err… It's a B Class Heavy Fighter. What's wrong?"

"A Copper rank Level two Merc with a B Class Heavy Fighter… Do you realise how many Mercs would kill to be in your position?"

I shrugged, "I'm pretty sure there are others out there who joined with bigger ships than me, right?"

"Yeah, the former merchants and maybe ex-soldiers or even children of noble families. Are you one of them?"

"No?"

"Then you're already really fortunate, you know?"

I shrugged again.

She sighed, "Damn… Alright, let's do this then. I'm going to be straight with you, Tera. I'm looking for a partner and I want you."

I raised an eyebrow, "You want me, a Copper ranked Merc that you've barely known for a day with an unclear background and probably messed up memories, to be your partner?"

"Hey, I worked with more crazy people before. Even had one guy who was basically a machine with how much he had replaced his body parts with mods and he even short circuited on me and offed himself mid-hustle. Trust me when I say you're not the worst I've met."

"Yeah, but you're asking for a partnership aren't you?"

"What's wrong with that? You clearly have the skill and the resources to be a good Merc. You literally stormed into a pirate base solo and defeated an entire pirate group by yourself. I'm quite confident that you're the only Copper rank capable of doing that right now. The only reason you're even Copper rank is because you just joined. Besides…"

She then suddenly leaned in, her face mere inches away from mine and her lips curling up into a smile.

"If you're up for some fun… I don't mind playing too."

And as if to make sure I didn't get the wrong idea, she leaned back and blew me a kiss before winking.

"Riiiiight… Seriously, what are you after?" I asked.

"Fine, fine~ I have a hustle that I need to complete but I realise I need a partner to finish it, so I'm looking for someone to help me with it right now."

I raised an eyebrow, "Can't you just find another Merc then? No friends?"

"I'm a solo, remember? I have a few acquaintances but no one that I can just call up on to do a job like this. It's fine if you don't want to help but the pay is pretty good even if it's split two ways."

"Hmm… What's the job?"

"Well, I don't think the middle of the street is a good place to discuss this so how about we go back to my place? It's not that far from here. I'll even let you stay for the night too and I'm pretty sure there's more space there as compared to your ship's bedroom."

"Fair enough, lead the way."

She grinned and gestured for me to follow her, walking back in the direction of the Guild. Instead of going in this time, we went straight past it and reached the junction again.

Just as we were about to cross however, the sound of gunshots came from the corner and while some of the people around us ducked, others simply turned to look in the direction of the shots.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Amber's hand shoot towards her waist, though she did not pull out whatever she had been reaching for.

A car then came speeding around the corner, its tires screeching against the road as the driver tried to make a high speed turn into the junction.

The passengers sitting at the back were leaning out of the car and shooting behind them at another vehicle that was clearly pursuing them.

The leading car tried to drive through the junction but the light was red for them, resulting in a truck ramming into their right side when they reached the centre of the junction.

I winced when I saw the passenger at the back of the car get squashed in between the truck and the frame of the car, his body literally flattening against the vehicle in a bloody mess.

The other passenger at the back got sent flying out the window to roll on the ground, the man barely pushing himself up on an elbow before a car rammed into him, sending him flying through the air again.

The car itself spun out of control and the driver tried to hold on to the wheel, only to have the car slam itself into the side of a building and stalling.

As for the pursuing car, it managed to get through the junction safely before coming to a stop beside the curb near the first car, its occupants jumping out the moment the car stopped.

"Tch… Fucking gangs. Doubt these guys even have a bounty worth getting involved," Amber muttered beside me, though her hand never left her side.

I realised that the two cars and their occupants had a uniform colour with the crashed car being red while the pursuing car being blue.

So I guess this was a matter of red vs blue then?

Incidentally, most of the people around us had either ran away or sought cover while a few remained where they were and watched the scene unfold like it was an everyday occurrence.

The final two red gang members left in the crashed car managed to climb out of the wreck and one of them started opening fire on the blue group.

One of the blue guys got peppered with blaster fire with three rounds hitting his chest and another one striking through his head, leaving holes in his body burnt by the heated plasma.

The other blue gang members realised that walking out into the open probably wasn't the best idea and rushed to find cover.

"Do things like this happen often?" I asked the blonde haired Merc beside me.

"Hmm? I guess so. This place is still kind of at the fringes of civilised space so rejects, outlaws and the scum of society have found refuge here."

"I'm surprised they would let you bring guns into the city then."

"They're already selling guns here and frankly, the people at the top don't really care who lives and dies below them as long as the Credits keep flowing. This kind of thing is just business to them, really. For us Mercs, these gang members could also be a quick buck for us if they have a bounty too so we're not complaining either. Especially not the land-bound Mercs."

The blue and red guys were now stuck in a stalemate as both sides took cover behind their vehicles taking pot shots at each other but hitting no one.

One side would peek out and start shooting until they ran out of bullets and duck back down, giving the other side the chance to start shooting back until they too needed to reload.

I thought that might go on for a while until someone ran towards them and leapt into the space between them.

Both the red and blue gang members looked up at the newcomer right before his arms transformed to reveal hidden guns in them.

Bullets flew out of the gun barrels in his arms and he easily gunned down the remaining gang members in a single leap before landing back down on the ground with a flourish, transforming his arms back to normal.

He then stood up and moved to the side, leaning against the wall near one of the corpses before taking out a cigarette and lighting it casually using a small flame spewed out from his index finger.

I pointed at him, "That guy's a Merc?"

Amber nodded, "Yeah. Probably under contract with the local security or something. Otherwise no Merc would jump out like that and risk their neck in a gang fight. You got a gun on you?"

"Yes."

"Good, don't walk around this place without one, you never know when you might need it. Come on, let's get out of here before the security forces show up and lock down this area for cleanup."

I followed behind her and she walked past the scene without even giving it a second glance.

For such things to happen and the people to treat it so casually… I wonder just what kind of city this is?