Chương 21: Clowned

Ori helps himself to the area, stealing Shards, Ammunition, Drugs, and whatever else the targets had on them. He'd even klepped a sturdy, if bloody, Synth-leather jacket that was only marred with a couple bullet holes.

After everything's cleaned up, Ori turns his attention to Max who was having a cig off at the side, "Hey, what do we do with that?" he points at the remaining workable vehicle, one that hadn't taken all that much damage despite everything.

Max shrugs, "Usually we just leave 'em, not worth the hassle..." he continues upon spotting Ori's confused face, "Anythin' those guys did in that car, you'll have done if you're seen drivin' it around. Somethin' like that bucket of scrap ain't worth the risk... Why? You thinkin' of takin' it as your own?"

Ori nods, "Yeah... Need something other than the NCARTs to get around, I won't always get partners willing to drive me around on jobs."

"'That so...?" Max idly questions, flicking the cig away as he walks over to the car. "A Thorton G240, I think... Hard to tell under all this paint." he stomps down on the rear licence plate, breaking it off, "I've got some spray paints in the back of my ride, paint this gang-shit over and remove any identification and it'll do... Just don't drive it ouside'a Watson 'n Kabuki, NCPD might actually give a shit if you do."

Ori stops rubbing his now thoroughly itching arm and grins, "You sure? Thanks."

The vat sniffs and goes for another cig, "Don't mention it... I mean it, if the cops ask I was never here. Smoke?" he offers.

...

"Yeah..." Ori relents, been a while since he had one thanks to the bots, and he was sure they'd not try to mess with him now that they'd had a chat.

Max lights their cigs up and click a button on his keys, causing his car to drive into the lot on its own. "Aight, Six should be finished takin' pics of these guys' faces. Let's get this finished, you should get that arm looked at too.

------------------------

Ori brings the G240 to a shuddering halt outside his and Bats' apartment before sheepishly getting out... He may have overestimated his driving abilities somewhat. Driving around a lot with his dad in the passenger seat was very different to playing chicken with the road-raging assholes and crazy gang members around Kabuki.

He'd almost driven into people on the sidewalk multiple times, and he wasn't helped by one of his car's tires being shredded by grenade shrapnel, only making the thing more unwieldy. He'd only noticed this problem after he'd spray-painted the car completely black to cover up the gang symbols.

"Whatever, wheels are wheels, no matter how fucked up they are.

He unwraps the bloody bandages around his arm as he steps into the apartment, picking out the flattened lead bullets now protruding from his new healthy, if somewhat pale, skin. Hm, the bots were getting more efficient... Must be their new knowledge of the human anatomy... Speaking of which...

He tosses his new weapon and bag of goodies to the side and drops into the couch, "Collective, what changes have you made to my brain?"

[No Permanent Modification have yet been made, Alteration required for Suggested Modification to Host: Flesh Administrator]

Hm...

"How much of my body does the 'Collective' have access to?"

[Host Integration is at 95%, Placements in Cerebral Cortex, Occipital Lobe, Amygdala, and Thalamus require utmost precision]

"Strange, I don't remember including such in-depth infor-oh, duh... Mind control bots..." he mutters to himself, of course they'd have a categoric understanding and comprehension of that aspect of human physiology. They were literally designed for it. "I forbid any permanent changes from being made to my brain. Anything at all needs my express permission first." he quickly states.

Modifying his body was one thing, but allowing them to mess with what made him, him, was a terrifying prospect. From what he knew, one slight deviation from something seemingly inconsequential could drastically alter his personality. If he was in his right mind during the firefight, he wouldn't have allowed the bots to manipulate his emotions so easily...

[Permission Request, Ability to Alter Brain Structure Essential for most Modifications: Flesh Administaror]

"Too bad, just focus on the body." he sharply responds but pauses at the sound of a beep, a message appearing at the corner of his vision.

[Heya buddy, er, some problems... Got a moment?] - Spekchroom

"Change ID to Speks." he mentally commands.

[Problems?] - Ori

[XDXD you are not going to believe this but u 3 actually missed a guy...] - Speks

[That ain't fucking funny. Where's my cash.] - Ori quickly texts back.

[... Weell, the client refuses to pay unless u finish the job. BUT GOOD NEWS! The guy should be is Kabuki market RIGHT NOW! So... If u could? Pls? Pretty pls?] - Speks

[What about the others?] - Ori

[Ah. Well... XD you no how they are, didnt want to bother them with sumthing like this.] - Speks

[You mean you're too shit-scared of them to break the bad news?] - Ori

[XDXD you are too funny my choom! But rly, could u pls? Ill pay u 5% extra from my part... Pls?] - Speks

...

Ori rubs his face in thought, the job earlier had been stupidly easy thanks to Max and Six. Without them he was cautious of stepping out of line, he didn't know if they'd take it as an insult if he finished the job without them... Not to mention if he could even do it in the first place... At least he had an actual weapon now though, right?

[Tell me where the guy is and I'll think about it.] - Ori

[He's sharing drinks at the stall next BJ's Meat and Burger, should be able to just cruise by, gun him down, and delta away with no problem!] - Speks

He actually knew where that was... Not far at all from his apartment actually. But he wasn't willing to waste his new vehicle on it, especially with how close it was. His car was pretty conspicuous and would get noticed pretty quick by whoever wanted to retaliate.

[10%] - Ori

...

[Done! Just kill that guy and we gud! Go, getem before he leaves!!!! tytytyty] - Speks

"Douchebag." Ori palms his face.