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***
- Hey, Vic, where do you want this body?
- Anywhere, anywhere... put it in the chair... I'll have to change the equipment afterwards anyway.
- Well, don't worry, I'll even take a leave from Regina and Bestia for such an occasion and help you with installation of new equipment. You're a good man, and there's not a lot of good men in this town.
- Thanks, kid.
I put Mayne in the chair and walked away from the small table. Becca and the rest of his squad were crowding the entrance, hesitant to go in.
- So look, this is the tranquiliser I injected him with... it's an elephantine dose, but I was just afraid that the cyber-psych wouldn't take it any other way.
I put the empty injector on the table, and then I took out and put in some more.
- And this is what I injected into him to stop the bleeding, in addition to putting bandages on him.
- Mm-hmm...good for you for telling me that...or I could have taken longer.....
Vic injected a dose of the drug into his hand and checked how the reaper glove responded to his movement, then went to the table and took the injectors from it and loaded them into the analyser, which quickly showed him what was in them. Well, it's understandable, after all, I don't use any special mixtures. Standard, so to speak.
- Well, it's not a bad solution, if you want, I'll synthesise a couple of more suitable drugs for similar cases.
- I don't mind...
I shrugged. Still, when you're offered such a thing by one of Knight City's best rippers, if we don't take into account corporate moulders, though I think he won't be the last among them, he'll be among the ten best....
Well, you can't say no to something like that.
- Okay, let's check him out.
And the chair and all the instruments that were next to it came back to life.
- I'm gonna stay here, okay?
- Actually, I wish you'd get out of here.
- Vic.
I took a good look at the Reaper.
- We're dealing with a cyberpsychic and the fact that we decided to dechromise him...
I shook my head.
- ...Fuck knows if it'll help or not. You know it only works twenty per cent of the time. So I'd like a little reinforcement in the form of a guy with synthetic muscles, just in case.
- Okay... just stay out of the way, and yes, you can unwind your cable, he won't wake up for another thirty minutes, and then I'll make sure he doesn't wake up again until the end of the operation.
I nodded my head and quickly unwrapped Mayne, then put him back on the chair and stepped aside.
- What are you guys doing here?! Get out!
Vic shouted at Mayne's group, after which they quickly disappeared. The reaper started to work and first of all he fixed him in place, after that the chair turned over, the part that was adjacent to the spine, or in our case to Sandy, was removed and the operation on its disconnection and removal began....
*** Almost five hours later. ***
- Well... I'm done...
I nodded my head.
- Should I call these guys?
- No... I'll talk to him myself... and you stay here, you're the one who calmed him down... did you keep a record of his actions?
- Yeah.
- Let's show him what his chrome addiction has done to him. And all the chrome from different manufacturers... no normal reader will not want to install such a jumble....
Vic pressed a couple of buttons and I waited with him. However, we didn't have to wait long and in two minutes we heard quite intelligible words from the chair.
- I... What the fuck am I doing here?
Mayne didn't look like that big guy anymore, now he was a puny guy, since he had to install the standard civilian chrome. Vic hadn't even bothered with the synthetic leather yet. Just installed everything and plugged it in. Yeah and I advised against it, as this idiot will probably start chrome over again soon anyway.
- Hey, cyberpsychs...
- Are you confused?
He's got his eyes on me.
- Yeah, no...
I shook my head.
- You're the one who almost killed your own group. But knowing the rumours about your love for chrome, it was only a matter of time before your cuckoo went off. Now, before you start accusing me of something, I've already forwarded our fight to Vic.
- Our fight? Man, I didn't fight you.
And then Vic switched on the screen to show our fight. Naturally in slow motion, because in normal mode, you couldn't see anything without Sandy.
- Hey, is that me?
- You, you idiot piece of shit....
Victor nodded his head, and I decided to continue after him, opening Maine's eyes to what had happened.
- Well, you're VERY lucky. The first time you were lucky was when your team saw you having a seizure and didn't eliminate you or try to disarm you, because they probably wouldn't have been able to fight you. Unless one of them has a Sandi?
- N-no.
I nodded my head.
- The second time you were lucky in that I'm very good to Becca and Lucy, who work with you, and when the first one called me, despite it being my day off, and I work very hard and weekends are sacred to me, I rushed to her aid. For the third time, you're lucky the solo attack wasn't reported to Max-tac. I think for the sake of a solo with your track record of elimination they would have been the ones to get out rather than a police team.
Mayne gulped down the viscous saliva.
- Fourth time you were lucky when Vic agreed to dechromise a cyberpsychic, even though it didn't always work. And once again you were lucky in that the funds in the squad account are enough to replace Vic's equipment, because it's dangerous to connect to someone with equipment that worked with cyberpsych. That equipment is now just scrapped... am I missing something?
I glanced at Vic and he shook his head.
- Where's my chrome?
Vic threw a very disgruntled look at Mayne and I understood him perfectly. He'd just been told that even riper equipment that simply connected to the cyberpsych was to be eliminated, and here he was asking about his chrome.
Vic's eyes lit up for a second, and after a couple of minutes that passed in silence, Maine's entire team poured into the clinic.
- Why do you want your chrome?
- It cost a lot of money...I'm slowly putting it back on so I don't get off the chopping block again....
Vic shook his head.
- Since that's the case...
He nodded to me and I pulled out from a separate corner of the clinic the Maine parts already packed in sterile bags, which I stacked on a special table.
- Here's your chrome, but if you're going to install it, don't come to me, and don't count on me if you need dechroming again.
- Me neither...
I shook my head.
- ...No, he's just been told that all the equipment of the ripper, which was just connected to you when your slicing went down, will be scrapped, and he's thinking of installing the same chrome that brought him to this point.
- I might not install it...it's expensive.....
- Mm-hmm... and there will probably be more cyber-psychos in town....
I shook my head.
- Well, that's your business. Me and Vic have done our job. Now please pay Vic for his work and I'll be on my way.
- And yours...
Mayne looked at me glumly.
- 'All I did was ruin my day off...'
I shrugged.
- ...And I'm only here at Becky's request, well Lucy was probably thinking of asking me for help, but even if not, leaving those two alone with a cyberpsycho....
I shook my head.
- Anyway, I don't need anything from you.
- Look, I don't like being indebted...
- Mayne, I'm the one who called David, and I'm gonna pay him back.
- We--
Lucy stood next to her and nodded at me.
- ...it'll be enough to work with him for a week or two, I think we can settle up in that time.
- A fortnight?
Pilar whistled in surprise.
- How long are you going to work?
- Well...
I shrugged.
- I work a lot, usually two orders a day.....
They all coughed.
- Why are you looking at him like that, but he doesn't need money. And he eats organic food, not fast food or vending machine burritos. He fed Lucy and me a couple of times.
- Mm-hmm.
Lucy nodded her head at Becky's words.
- Fuck, man, you eat organic? How much money do you make?!
- None of your business...
I shook my head.
- ...And yes Becca, if it's okay with you and Lucy, I'd really like to work with you for a week or two.
- Okay, I'll take it...and also for a third of my usual share.....
- Likewise.
Becca nodded at Lucy's words, agreeing with her decision.
- What are you...
I looked at them in surprise.
- ...Am I a freak or a cheapskate? No cuts, but I'll just ask Regina to find assignments where Lucy can do her best, and where things can go wrong, so Becca will be ready.
I shook my head.
- All right, well, we'll rest today tomorrow and start work the day after that.
- We can do tomorrow too...
- You can...
I nodded my head.
- ...but what's the point if it's just a trivial job with no additional revenue?
- Well...
Becca shrugged.
- 'Boy, you watch out there, if anything happens to Becca...'
Mayne glanced at me glumly, but I ignored him. I don't care about his words or opinion from now on. To be honest, I didn't care about him before, and it wasn't him I'd come to help, it was Becca and Lucy. I don't remember how it was in canon. Who exactly defeated Mayne when he went crazy?
But I didn't want to set them up, and we have a really good relationship. So it'd be a shame not to answer the call for help.
- Pay up...
I stared at Mayne and his eyes lit up, then Vic nodded his head.
- Everything came...
- Vic, do you need help with the equipment?
He shrugged.
- Come on, if you don't have anything else to do....
- There's always something to do, but that doesn't mean I won't help a good man.
Vic grinned, and together with Mayne and his team we started to dismantle all the equipment he had in his clinic. Vic made an announcement and even called his regular customers, warning them that he would be unavailable for the next three days.
I, after some thought, also called Regina and warned her, and then contacted Becca and amended the plans by saying that we would meet about the work in three days instead of a day. It wasn't until then that we got started.
All the equipment was removed, then Vic said what exactly in it needed to be damaged, so that it would be cheaper to dispose of it than to restore it to working condition. And if anyone thought about it, it would be even cheaper for them to buy second-hand.
- Where was all this going?
Panam was strictly supervising the periodic transfer of broken equipment to Tortik, and was also responsible for placing it in the body and securing it so that nothing fell out on the way.
- I'll give you the address... and thanks for helping out, I'd still have a full day tomorrow myself.
- Don't worry...
I grinned and clapped Victor lightly on the shoulder.
- ...tomorrow we'll arrive at eight o'clock in the morning, will that suit you? Will you have time to find the equipment and make arrangements for its purchase?
- Sure...
Victor shrugged his shoulders and I got into the car, after which the Tortic pulled off smoothly....