No chap on monday because the brain is fried.
-----
Michael 'Magos' Sobronov
"Here you go boss!" The perpetually grinning fat man working the kebab stand shoved a massive steaming portion of synthmeat into my hands.
"Thanks." I muttered absently, and mentally tipped the man.
Which only made him grin wider.
Unnerved by the cheer, I quickly noped out of there and went to rejoin my mother, who was currently merrily chewing down on her pizza while sitting on the megabuilding's inward facing fence, her legs dangling as she hummed some tune I couldn't recognize.
From the moment we walked out of that sewer we said not a word about what we had done.
We simply got into the van, cleaned ourselves up, and returned to H11, though not before making five stops along the way to throw money at the most well known pizza places.
And yet even after going through so much food, I still felt like chewing on something.
Have I gone and became a stress eater without noticing?
'Well, at least I can't get fat.' I decided with a shrug, and joined her on the fence.
Neither of us said anything for a while, simply enjoying the peace despite the hubbub surrounding us.
Surprisingly, it wasn't me who broke the silence, but a prolonged sigh from my right "You have no idea just how long I've been waiting to get my hands on that fucking rat..."
"Years." I said pointlessly.
"It felt like a decade." She said.
I had little else to offer to that but a shallow nod.
"There is only one thing I regret..." She trailed off.
Giving her a sideways look, I prompted "That it had to happen in the first place?"
"Hah." She chuckled lightly "Yes and no, my brilliant boy." She shook her head, the sad smile on her face disappearing behind a flash of manic hatred "I regret we couldn't drag him with us."
I looked away "We agreed on it already. Get in, get it done, clean up every trace that could identify us, and get out. We get our revenge and move on, no more than that."
"I know Mikey." She took a calming breath "I know... But I am still so fucking furious. Especially after what the bastard said."
"He was being a spiteful little rat." I told her "Don't let him rob you of your peace from the grave."
I could hear her stop moving for a brief moment before she nodded "You are right, I'm not letting him live rent free in my head."
"Good."
"But what do I do now?" She muttered after a long pause "For years all I knew was the fight to survive and the narrow hope I'd get a chance for revenge..."
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to." I said immediately "Simply enjoy every days while I take care of everything."
She smiled widely at that but shook her head "That's sweet of you Mikey, but I can't just rot in place just because I went through something bad."
"I know, I know." I sighed "I just don't want you to push yourself."
"And if I wanted to get back into the business of my own will?" She asked pointedly.
'The business' naturally being mercenary work "Then I'd call you a gonk, and beg you to reconsider."
She laughed and irritatingly neither confirmed nor refuted the idea.
At least I could take solace in the fact that she both looked and sounded like a weight had been lifted off her, even if I would still make sure to ask Misty about her opinion when she paid us a visit next time.
"We should go back." Mom said after a while "We are starting attract gawkers."
"I'm surprised they kept their curiosity under control for this long." I huffed.
"You underestimate your reputation." She shook her head lightly.
"Probably." I agreed for the sake of it "You go on a head, I'll be there in a bit."
She told me not to stay out too long and made her way home.
And I didn't have to sit and wait long before the expected happened.
I had already told Rogue to recall the intervention squad I told her to prepare in case the whole thing was a trap, and paid out the appropriate standby fee the five of them had agreed to in advance.
The price was considerably greater if they had to do actual work, but getting paid to stand around was something only gonks refused.
Which only left one other contact in need of talking to.
And if my spyware was working as intended it should be coming right about... now.
I immediately answered the call and the scowling face of V appeared on the other end [Magos, what the fuck was that?]
[V.] I pushed a smile into my voice [Lovely hearing from you. How is your day?]
Her face turned blank [We are really doing this? Really?]
My face lit up as if to say 'Really!' but my mouth spoke something else [I'm not sure what you are talking about?]
[Werner, you fuck!] She snapped [Why did you-]
[V.] My voice turned cold the instant I encrypted the call fully [Were you really under the impression that the man was long for this world after you gave me that data?]
She pinched the bridge of her nose [That is not the point, M.]
[Then enlighten me, please.] I said flatly.
[I was expecting you to simply disappear the gonk.] She said [But you made a spectacle of it. Even the torture would have been fine but you went and cooked him alive, in front of another corporation.]
[Trauma Team doesn't politick like the rest of them.] I pointed out.
[It doesn't matter.] She shook her head [Arasaka is taking it as a challenge. The whole branch is up in arms.]
'Was she... warning me?' My minute frown turned upside down but I kept my voice flat [That is unfortunate.]
[Unfortunate?] She blanked [That is all you have to say?]
[What else do you want me to say, V?] I waved my arm, feeling a tiny flash of irritation [No matter how much they dig they won't find a trace of what happened.]
[You can't be 100% sure of that.] Her lips thinned [There is talk of sending specialists from overseas just to find the culprit.]
[I assure you that they will find nothing.] I said [I've learned from my past mistakes.]
She closed her eyes briefly before nodding [I hope you are right. You've really poked the hornets nest this time, and Jenkins has been running the department ragged.]
[Oh don't pretend you won't profit from it in some way.] I scoffed, loudly [A death of a higher up you knew would happen goes down exactly when you just happen to be too busy with dealing with the Tyger Claw situation to be a suspect or even get involved with the investigation.]
I gave her a pointed look through the call [In fact, I'm willing to bet you already give a few hints to your contacts in the corp about potential promotion openings.]
Her face remained blank throughout my tirade but I could se the increasing calculation in her eyes before it was replaced by amusement [What was it you said again? "Complaining is my God given right and I will use it as much as I like."]
[Heh.] I snorted [Fair enough.]
[Well.] She said after a moment [I should get back to being busy with the Tyger Claw problem now. Be seeing you, M.]
[Have fun, V.] I said [And thanks for the heads up.]
I saw her pause briefly at that before the call ended.
"Sometimes, V." I muttered as I got up from the fence "You seem even more confused than I am."
Way to sound like an edgy asshole, Mike.
-----
Crunch.
The popcorn kibble mix disappeared into my mouth as lay sprawled on my bed, looking up at my TV.
"Get up, Kenta!" The most non-descript Japanese animated character in existence pointed his katana at his bleeding enemy "A real warrior dies on his feet!"
Crunch.
Just as 'Kenta' went to respond I was distracted by my doors being shoved open and a blur of green bursting inside, only to pause at the sight she found.
"Seriously?" Rebecca deadpanned as she found me watching the newest episode of the Bushido anime.
"It is like watching a car crash." I shrugged, still shoving kibble down my throat "Incredibly disturbing but for some reason you just can't look away no matter how hard you try."
She snorted "That's fucking dark. But forget about that, I'm finally freee!" She exclaimed and rushed at me, jumping face first onto the bed.
As she was halfway through breaking her neck, my Mechadendrite whipped out and caught her, slowly bringing her down, much to her usual amusement.
"And what is this dread thing you have finally managed to liberate yourself from, Rebecca?" I drawled as I still watched the incredibly cliched scene.
"You spoiled me!" The finger pointed at my face finally drew my attention, and probably what remained of my sanity, away from the screen.
"You know." I smirked "People usually don't complain about that, but do go on."
"Pilar is fucking impossible!" She clutched at her hair, which had been returned to its usual green even if in a slightly deeper hue "Fucker literally just threw the trash can from his room into the kitchen and shut the door. Twice!"
"Did you try shooting him?"
"Yeah..." She sighed in defeat "But he just spends all his money on BDs, so I have to pay for the repairs."
"Damn." I laughed "You do know you can always just stay here, right?"
She smiled and looked away "I uh..." Before turning back to me and pointing at my face "Stop making sense."
"No." I deadpanned.
She crossed her arms and pouted "I'll think about it."
"You do that." I smirked and patted her head patronizingly.
She didn't react save for blowing the hair that fell in front of her eyes away with an annoyed puff.
We whiled away a few minutes like that, in comfortable silence.
"So." She spoke up as the episode ended "Are you finally going to tell me about this super secret thingy you and Lana were all hush hush about?"
"Hmmm." I pretend hummed "I don't think so."
She poked my side "Spill!"
"Its not a pretty story." I muttered.
"All the more reason to whine about it!" She declared confidently, looking up at me with expectant eyes.
And so I told her about it, the whole thing, part of me expecting scorn for Nicholas' death and the torture that followed.
More the fool I.
Instead of any of that stupid angst, I found myself on the receiving end of a comforting hug "You gave the 'saka cocksucker exactly what he deserved." She smiled up at me "He won't be able to do the shit he did to you to anyone else now."
"And what about his kid?" I asked, looking at anywhere except her "He did nothing."
"Shit happens." She shrugged.
"Shit happens?" I repeated after a moment, tasting the words "Just like that?"
"Its only as complicated as you want it to be." She poked my chin "You did your best, stop overthinking it."
"Did I?" I wondered and promptly received more pokes.
"Alright, alright." I raised my hands "I'll stop overthinking it."
And who knows, maybe there was a slim chance Trauma cared enough about their monthly ratings to revive him.
Hah.
Unaware of my internal monologue, Rebecca just nodded smugly.
"But that is enough about my family drama." I decided to change topics "You and your team start taking jobs yet?"
She immediately perked up "Yep! Maine got into contact with some Militech wannabe-" And then she proceeded to regale me of a completely mundane smash and grab job with all the enthusiasm of a caffeinated hamster.
We yapped away until well beyond midnight, inevitably starting another movie night only to both fall asleep before we got ten minutes in.
It was nice.
-
It was a day later that I found myself back in my workshop, looking at a string of data slowly compiling into what was quickly approaching what felt like the hundredth iteration of my future Cyberdeck's OS.
Every previous iteration was functional, but there was no point in changing my current hardware for anything less than perfection.
But the process had become pure tedium at this point so I let my thoughts drift.
Just as V had said it would, Arasaka got properly rattled by what mom and I did and there were both rumors and news reports speculating on what exactly was happening. Multiple raids happened all across the city, and even a skirmish broke out between Arasaka goons and Tyger Claws when one of their cyber ninjas got a bit too sure of his position.
V was probably having a hell of a time dealing with that particular fuckup.
Point is, no one was coming anywhere close to the truth, which was just the way I liked it.
Just as I began absently tinkering with a bullet, my little thought exercise was interrupted by a call.
[Ms. Jones.] I greeted as I picked up [I trust everything went as expected?]
[Magos.] The eye-patch having Fixer nodded [All sites were cleared out and their contents delivered as agreed.]
She paused briefly and I noticed the slightest glimmer of amusement in her eye [I was also told by Susie Q that while she appreciates the gesture of trust she won't be accepting any more 'help' from unknowns.]
Because of course I didn't inform the Moxes about who sent the rescued joytoys their way. Hopefully their story would be enough to satisfy the twins.
Not that the two were capable enough to actually demand any kind of satisfaction, but I still wanted to give them some kind of closure even if I couldn't exactly drag Shobo's burnt corpse to them.
[I'll be sure to take her opinion into account if there is a next time.] I lied as naturally as I breathed and finished listing through the data Regina had sent me [Always a pleasure doing biz with you, Ms. Jones.]
[Wait.] She said as I went to end the call.
[Yes?]
[I need a personal favor done.]
A personal favor? [If you are looking for my services with cyberware, you need only appear at my door.]
[That's not... exactly what I meant.] She was speaking rather cautiously.
[Ms. Jones.] I said [Forgive me for being blunt but either tell me what you want or don't. No matter what, whatever you say will not leave this call without your say so.]
She inhaled slightly and nodded [Right. I'm looking into cyberpsychosis, have been for years, for reasons that will stay personal. As you might expect, my success has been limited.]
[So that is why you wanted the psycho captured live back then.] I noted.
[Yes.] She nodded with only slight hesitation [I've managed to get my hands on a few so far but they never last long enough for actual results.]
Poor fuckers probably burn out in days...
[And what sort of results are you looking for exactly?] I prompted [A way to control the state, or a cure?]
Her sole eye blinked [A cure, of course.]
[Right.] I nodded [Of course.]
She made no comment on my skepticism and instead bulldozed on [The reputation of your work with cyberware is already making the rounds, so I am looking to make a long term agreement.]
This should be interesting [Go ahead.]
[I want you to be the one to research a cure.] She said [I will bankroll the whole thing, and provide the subjects whenever possible, but I want your genuine dedication to finding a cure, or at least a treatment.]
So its sentimental reasoning then. Probably.
[I will remind you that cyber part of cyberpsychosis is more often than not only half of the equation.] I pointed out [But I am amenable to an agreement, so long as you don't expect me to work on it like a corpo rat, and you don't expect miracles as late as tomorrow.]
[Of course.] She nodded [Any kind of progress would satisfy me at this point.]
[Let's not go that far.] I said [Not before I give it a proper try first.]
[And speaking of that.] She said [I already have a lead for a potential subject.]
[Didn't you say you would provide the subjects?] I asked a bit wryly.
[Are you complaining about getting paid twice, Magos?] She retorted.
I failed to hold back the amused huff [Give me the deets, Ms. Jones.]
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