The cult graciously welcomes Dembed as the newest addition to its most venerable ranks. You are permitted a thirty second prayer break for this glorious event.
On less enthusiastic but equally glorious news: This shall be the only chapter this week as I've started playing around with something else last friday, and will continue to do so this friday as well. You may or may not get a glimpse in the not so distant future :P
(or ya know just go to the forbidden no no site and look at the tag xD)
---
The Corpo
"V." Her direct superior didn't bother looking up from his computer as she walked into his office "Has the Petrochem situation been dealt with?"
"The op went smoothly." She reported, and not getting any immediate response she elaborated "Ivankovich's security was as terrible as the contact told us, and I got him alone easily enough before he boarded the Orbital Air AV. He won't detect the daemon before its too late."
"You don't sound satisfied." Jenkins said as he finally looked up at her.
"It felt... too easy." She admitted.
"You think they'll use him to feed us false information?"
She nodded "Can't discount the chance."
Jenkins scowled "An unaware mole would have been better but getting any kind of in is still going to be useful. Assign your assistant to monitor the info, see if he can't parse through any of the shit they try to feed us."
She was all too happy to heap more work on Smith's spineless back, but she also took note of the fact Jenkins had specified only him.
"Am I being reassigned then?"
"Yes." Jenkins nodded "A grand charity gala is going to be held at Zurich, and representatives of anyone who matters will be attending. Abernathy tried to weasel her way into sending one of her own as an escort but I beat her to it. You will be going."
'Oh great, just what I needed! A massive fuck off bullseye on my ass!' She kept her face placid and remained silent long enough for Jenkins to take it as agreement.
"Your job will primarily be to guard your assigned VIP but your close secondary priority is to get contacts and favors from anyone useful, I'll trust your discretion. Clear?"
'Wheel and deal like the best of them, pretty simple so far.' "Yes sir."
"You will apply for upgrades in the Cybernetics Division." Her CO went on "I've given you access to grade 4 implants, make good use of it V. This isn't something we can afford to fuck up."
She could hear the implied 'you owe me for this' in his tone, but managed to bite down on the impulsive response and simply asked "Who is the VIP?"
"Yorinobu Arasaka."
'So much for fucking simple.'
"Isn't there an European branch that would be better?" She asked almost desperately.
"Don't play stupid V." Jenkin's gave her a dark look "The only 'branch' of Arasaka in Europe is our attaché in Brussels. The EEC doesn't let anyone into their fortress. You will do the job."
She grit her teeth and nodded "Yes, sir."
"Good. Dismissed."
-
She walked out of the office with her head held high but only so far as to keep her growing panic attack hidden from the rest of the vultures.
The instant the doors of her cubicle shut behind her she simply plopped into her chair and groaned "Fuuuuck you Jenkins."
For a moment she was almost tempted to flip to Abernathy and just avoid the whole shitstorm, but that was a great way to commit protracted suicide and she wasn't a fucking coward.
At least she'd have support from Yorinobu Arasaka's usual guard detail, even if she knew they'd probably use her as a meat shield the at the first sign of true danger.
She had no illusions about what was going on. Jenkins was sending her as a way to curry favor for the NC branch, not because she was somehow the most skilled person for the job but because he could extract the most value that way.
She wasn't looking forward to getting a bunch of new implants practically shoved into her on his orders either.
The sudden and expected wave of despair at the lack of agency over her very body came and went as it always did, leaving her slumped in her seat and with her eyes completely dead.
A call rang on her agent, and she would have simply ignored it if not for accidentally catching the caller's ID.
[Hey M.] She said as she clicked the thing on.
[V.] The Cyborg greeted [Is this a bad time?]
'So much for self control, Price.' She thought cynically.
[Just ignore it. Usual rat problems.] She didn't even register how self deprecating her tone had become.
[Well that certainly did no favors for my concern.] The borg drawled [But sure, I won't press.]
[Thanks.] She said, explaining the situation was liable to get her turned into an example faster than she could blink [Did you need something, or are you and Welles having another party?]
She could really use one of those right now.
[Sorry to disappoint but its biz.]
[Go ahead then.] She didn't sigh, barely.
[Heard about any grand galas in Switzerland recently?]
The sea of apathy and fatigue she had been feeling moments before disappeared in an instant, replaced by near inhuman levels of frustration.
Instead of answering, she pinched the bridge of her nose, and tried not to scream.
This was going to be a long week.
Michael 'Magos' Sobronov
The way V's face scrunched up as she heard me would have been comical if not for the veins visibly bulging under her skin [Tell me honestly, Magos.] She half growled the words out [Did you hack me again?]
[No.] I answered bluntly.
But her reaction might as well be an open book to my slowed perception.
[I presume you also got involved in the situation?]
At first my denial made her shoulders slump in relief but then she tensed again as she realized just how much she let slip.
Her mouth clamped shut.
'Logos.'
[Acknowledged.]
The connection buzzed for a microsecond.
[The call has been secured. Thoroughly.] I informed.
She stared into my videofeed for a good minute like it owed her money before ultimately sighing and slumping low in her seat [How did you hear about that, M?]
[I've got a rather high profile escort gig. What do they have you doing all the way there?]
[Can't talk about it.] She immediately shook her head.
[Don't worry, V. No one is getting into this call without me noticing.]
[And I'm supposed to just start telling you everything I know now?] She scowled [I can't just spill whenever you ask, Mike. That's not how this works.]
[Then it is a good thing I didn't call you for your critical Arasaka intel, now isn't it?] I tried reassuring her [I'm looking to learn about all the participants, and any potential dangers. Never hurts to be overprepared, especially in unfamiliar territory like this.]
[That's...] She paused [Much more doable.]
[Excellent.]
[Still won't share anything over a call, even if you say it is encrypted to hell and back.] She preempted [Can't risk it.]
[Very well. We can sit down for some drinks. I'll even have Jugo play the gonk so you get paid for the time.]
[How thoughtful.] She almost laughed even as her eyes took on a more calculating glint [But not so fast, M. What's in it for me?]
[You mean aside from getting you a few hours away from your chosen hellhole?]
[Aside from that, yes.] She said dryly [You can probably find out a lot on your own, but you called me which means you want insider info, or as close to it as possible.]
[That was the idea.] I pipe in.
[So you are going to have to do a bit better than getting me a break.]
It was pretty obvious she already had something in mind [Alright. What do you need?]
Her ensuing explanation was almost impressively paranoid.
-----
"Interesting." I muttered, after making sure to thoroughly shred whatever I had in my mouth before I spoke of course.
One motherly whack was more than enough for the week I'd say.
"What's up?" 'Becca perked up from her meal, and I quickly realized the rest of the table was also paying attention now.
"Just reading up on how Europe is doing." I answered with a light shrug "For all the propaganda they like to throw our way they've got just as many problems as North America."
"Like what?"
"Well, Britain is still a complete mess, Yugoslavia has like three open rebellions going on that we know of, South Italy is pretty much ruled by the New Cosanostra-"
"The what in the what now?" Rebecca blurted.
"Italian mafia." I explained "Apparently they didn't like it when the government sold a bunch of the land to the corpos and kicked them all out, violently."
"Serves the rats well." She huffed.
"And the mafia is somehow the better option?" Mom interjected skeptically.
"Hell no. People may have liked them when they fought the corps but that was decades ago." I huffed "They are just as brutal as the corps, just without the veneer of civility."
"Those poor people." Gloria Martinez shook her head.
"Well, they've had more than enough time to do something about it." I shrug "The rest is doing fine, if you don't count a third of the Benelux sinking under the sea. The EEC still has a tight grip on most of the continent, their capital just has a neat sea view now."
"More of the same corpo bullshit." 'Becca grumbled.
"Well at least they pretend to be civilized, unlike our own brand of rat." I chuckled "But yeah, it is just a corporate union ruling over a bunch of puppet governments, and I hear the wealth disparity is somehow even worse there."
"Damn." She whistled.
Mom gave me a long look and asked "Why the sudden interest in Europe, Mikey?"
"Because it seems I'll be going for a bit of a tour." I smirked "A big event in Switzerland specifically." Before she could comment I looked over at Gloria "I hope you don't mind having a bit of an early vacation? This is rather important."
She quickly shook her head "I don't mind."
'Yes, having paid vacation will do that to you.' I chuckled inwardly "Good, I'll take the whole week off so cancel any appointments and forward the necessary apologies. Whoever gets moved will get the usual discount."
She nodded.
Satisfied, I looked back to a curious 'Becca and a frowning mom "I've been trying to speed my business plans along, but red tape is clogging it down. This should solve most of it."
"And you didn't think to tell us?" Mom used the voice.
"Agreed to it just a few hours back." I raised my hands placatingly "I'm not dumb enough to try keeping something this big a secret."
Her frown lessened but did not go away fully "And how dangerous will your 'tour' be?"
"Could be days of standing around doing absolutely nothing." I shrug "Could also be an open battle. I have no way to know for sure."
"And you absolutely have to go?" She pressed.
"Already agreed to it."
She looks like she wants to press but thinks better of it "Just make sure you come back safe, Mikey."
"I'll make all of the preparations, don't worry."
"Fine." She says, both of us knowing that was never happening "Now eat your rolls, they are getting cold."
"Yes ma'am." I saluted, and did as I was told.
A few minutes later, 'Becca and I left the two women to their usual gossiping.
"So." I said as we sat down, myself with a bottle of beer and she with a sleepy lizard "Wanna come with?"
Her eyes were practically glowing with excitement but for some reason she didn't instantly agree, and instead asked "Who is the gig for?"
'Ah.' "Rogue."
She immediately pouted "Awww."
"What, scared of an old lady?" I teased.
"Nah." She huffed a light laugh, patting the awakening Gorlock the Destroyer back to sleep "Just want my first gig for the big scary Queen to be my own, you know?"
"You sure?" I ask "Not often we get a chance to travel."
"You'll make us a chance, I know it." She teases.
Looking away for no real reason I clear my throat "Well, you aren't wrong."
"What are you going to be doing anyway?" She asks after a few moments.
Holding down the impending smirk, I direct her with my most condescending of side-eyes "Oh you know, nothing special. Just keeping some dude by the name of Eurodyne company for a while, keeping his insides from becoming outsides, that sort of thing."
One second passed as she parsed through the word salad I just threw at her but then her eyes widened and she almost threw poor Gorlock the Destroyer as she jumped up from her seat and began bombarding me with questions.
Stubborn gremlin still refused to come with though.
---
Three days later, I found myself walking down one of the less crowded streets of Downtown's seaside, just in time to see a rocket launch from the Orbital Air Center in the near distance, no doubt sending more gonks with more money than brains for an overpriced bit of lunar tourism.
Sure the tech was probably amazing, and worth a look on its own, but what was the point of visiting a dead grey rock?
[The novelty of it?] The ever curious AI proposed.
"I suppose." I muttered "Maybe I'm just being a bit jealous."
[You could always make use of your open promise to Ms. Carmine to go up there and see for yourself.]
"Now that is a good idea, Logos." I chuckle, she'd probably love it.
"Talking to yourself, M?" A familiar rasp greeted me as I passed a small cafe and reached a jutting portion of the seawall.
"Was on a call." I redirected as I observed my sort-of-choom.
She had definitely had some work done in the last few days. A fresh pair of optics accompanied by an overall improvement in quality to most of her previous kit, with the notable addition of a high grade Sandevistan of the less surgically intensive variety.
Also of the less reliable variety, but I kept that comment to myself.
But most notable of all was the slight but overall increase in bulk that was usually indicative of a full body stimulant bio-treatment.
All in all, her state easily confirmed my earlier suspicions, and I hoped that was going to be a good thing.
She shrugged at my response, resuming her lackadaisical dangling off the ledge, sipping a lemonade as she did "Did you finish it?"
"Who do you think you are talking to?" I played at being offended "I got everything done and tested within the day." I reached for one of my inner coat pockets and pulled out a bulky, almost armored, chip shell.
She reached to grab it but I pulled it back.
"And your end of the deal?" I prompted, ignoring her annoyed look.
"Yeah, yeah, I got your list." She waved me down, pulling out a more standard shard of her own "Got all of the participants, and some of their guard details too."
"Even the great and terrible Arasakas'?" I hummed.
"Fuck no." She snorted "You'll find out when you find out."
Promptly ignoring the petty temptation to do so on the spot, I nodded "Fair enough." And proffered the chip "This should cancel any and all surveillance or remote control functions from affecting your cyberware, inbuilt or otherwise. Should last for five to seven days depending on intensity but after that it is liable to get fried, and ejecting it at any point will begin a deactivation sequence."
She took the chip with an odd look in her eyes "First one's free, huh?"
"You know me too well." I drawled and scanned her shard, finding nothing inside I placed it into one of my Neuroports and was greeted with a downright unreasonable list of names and profiles "Checks out." I said and promptly shoved the work of sorting through them to Logos.
Something he was more than happy to do.
"And my neck is freed from the Sword of Damocles." She drawled back "Joy."
"Yes, yes, I am a terror to all who know me." I huffed and pulled up the bag I had been carrying "Beer?"
My Kerenzikov autoflicked just in time to see her practically rip a bottle out of the poor innocent bag, and start chugging.
"Alright then..." I muttered, and sat down a couple of feet away from her just in case.
We chatted away for a couple of hours, me mostly talking about some of my more interesting customers and her complaining about the newest batch of nepo hires she was sure won't last the month, before she got called back to the tower, and I moved on to my next meeting for the day.
Time to finally see what was hidden behind the silhouette.
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