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- We have a problem...
This phrase was uttered by Panam as we were travelling from another mission. It wasn't a difficult assignment, since Vic still hadn't given me permission to work in the field, so we only had to take technical orders for the time being. Well, sometimes for hacking, if there was access through a public access point....
Not that I couldn't scatter a bunch of opponents, but Vic's always been a fan of precision and pedantry, so he keeps demanding that I show up at his clinic every other day for checkups and fine-tuning. All I can afford to do is train...
A lot of training.
Just to know exactly what my body can do now.
- Hmm?
- Two vans, black and grey, have been following us for a couple of blocks now.
I'm hooked up to Tortica's systems, and we haven't changed cars yet, although we'll be in a new one in a couple of days. It's just about to be modernised, and instead of one turret on the roof there'll be two, and they'll be hidden in the compartments where cops usually carry drones.
After looking at the vans for a while, I sighed.
- Well, that's to be expected....
- Hmm?
- We've stomped on too many people's feet. And I'm not just talking about the Biotech that was experimenting on that farm. I'm talking about Faraday and DeShawn, and the gangs we've been steadily clearing out. And we clean out the Trashmen more often than anyone else, taking their chrome.
- You think it's one of them?
Lucy had already tapped into my systems and was transmitting a picture I'd seen to everyone but Panam.
- Who knows? Could just be some fly-by-nighters.
- Plan A?
- Yeah, go somewhere less civilian... we don't want to have a firefight on a busy road...
Panam changed the route without giving any sign, but luckily our pursuers didn't get suspicious, so in thirty minutes we drove into one of the dilapidated neighbourhoods of Knight City, where there were almost no inhabitants.
Panam made a sharp turn, turning the car ninety degrees, Becca leaned out of the window with a rifle, Judy joined the machine gun, and Lucy and Kiwi prepared to hack into the enemy's systems.
I got out of the car, but I had to walk round the bonnet of the car to get towards the stopped vans.
- Who are you and why are you following us?
I spoke loud enough to be heard. And to my surprise, a man in a suit emerged from one of the vans. An obvious parody of a corporatist.
- We're from Faraday.
- What do you want?
- Faraday wants to talk.
- We don't.
- Are you sure about this?
- I'm sure.
- We can do it the hard way.
The bloke snapped his fingers and solos, lots of solos, poured out of the cars, but it was obvious he'd hired them on occasion, as there was no standard of weaponry, no organisation, nothing at all.
- Is that supposed to scare me?
- You less so...
I sighed.
- Fewer, but we're several orders of magnitude better. We'll take you down without even a scratch.
- You're taking on too much!
One of the OWLs shouted, and apparently to scare me, he pulled the trigger. The bullet flew not far from me and hit Tortik's armour...
- I didn't start this...
I shook my head.
- Wha...
We're probably being followed. Probably transmitting data from the machines, because I don't believe Faraday would hire a rabble like this for nothing. So we're using sandi at a level that allows for the usual sandi that hits the street. Thankfully, Vic and I have worked this out and I know it's enough to use my sandi at only twenty per cent...
Yeah, it's a far cry from the speed I'm used to. I'm moving fast now, but at the same time, my opponents aren't standing still. They can probably see my residual image smearing behind me, and I can see the bullets they've already started firing towards where I was and towards my girls.
They clearly haven't trained to work together... and they're scum who don't care about their mates.....
How did I know that?
I just shifted to the side and those who tried to hit me shot their negotiator in bursts... despite the unusually slow speed of movement, although it was more because of it, I could see the shock, fear and incomprehension that was slowly creeping into his face. But I had no right to stop...
Nor did I have any right to get at my opponents...
Why not?
Because Becca and Judy are having fun! If I go towards the enemy now, they'll have to cut off their fire, and so... I'm just pretending to head towards them, but they're keeping me at a distance with their bursts, while the machine gunner under Judy and Becca's control is reaping a bloody harvest.
Thirty seconds of real time...
That's how long it took my girls to dispose of all the enemies and that's when I switched off the sandi. Moans and screams of pain hit my ears, but I ignored it and calmly headed towards my opponents. Chrome still works for a couple of minutes after its user dies... so there's plenty of time to catch up... if installed correctly of course. Of course, a couple of minutes is not enough... but there are survivors among the opponents....
The negotiator is lying there moaning in pain.
He was my first target. When I approached him I put a splinter in his socket... The same procedure was applied to all the solo survivors, as well as to the on-board computers of the cars they came in. Then I waited. However, I didn't have to wait long, and soon the girls reported that they were done and the data was handed over to me. So I moved on to mopping up the loose ends.....
Pulling out all the splinters... taking test stabs to the head so that one hundred per cent brain damage was done, after which I finally got to Tortic and nodded to Panam.
- Home.
- Home to us or home to the clan?
- А...
I waved my hand.
- ...whichever you prefer. As far as I'm concerned, since we've done a little work on Hippo, we've had a pretty good standard of living both ways.
- Well, that's true...
Panam nodded her head.
- ...I honestly didn't realise that life in the clan could be so comfortable. No, OWLs, when we were on our way to Knight City, promised me that the standard of living would be WOW! But in reality...
Panam took her eyes off the car and looked at me and waved her hand.
- ...if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have known it could be like this. No one would have known... Yes, we are still a bit limited in what we can do, but already now that we have converted one Behemoth into a full-fledged sauna with showers... we can say that the standard of living has risen to an unattainable height....
- Well, I have to admit that compared to our first visit, Aldecaldo's place is really nice now...
Judy nodded her head.
- City girl...
Panam snorted, which brought a smirk to the lips of everyone present.
- And proud of it!
Judy stuck her nose up pretend-proudly.
While the girls chatted, I checked out what I'd been thrown. Well, there wasn't much data, except that Faraday really hired them. Except he didn't pay them an advance, and the solos weren't that rich. That was clear from their outfits, though.
Even so, I divided all the money I received and sent the girls their shares, of course, taking into account how much I had spent on them recently.
- There you go again...
Lucy shook her head.
- 'Lucy, don't talk, you'd better think about breaking into corporate chips. You haven't cracked a single one yet. And you were so proud of yourself. We'll do anything! You can count on us!
- The ice was a lot harder and trickier than that.
- It's all excuses... you work... Kiwi is about to pay another instalment to Faraday....
- I've got the money for that...
Kiwi hurried to intervene in the conversation.
- Kiwi, the main word in your statement: 'For now'. This month you have money to pay, I'm sure next month and the month after that you'll pay too, and then? So work hard, remember that our well-being depends on it. Cracking those chips can give us a steady income independent of orders.
- We remember that.
Judy has joined the conversation.
- All right, well... the data you found confirms that Faraday set those solos on us. Except, so far, he's in his own right.
- А?
- Well.
To the surprise of the girls, I shrugged.
- ...he probably chose the performers so that we could not separate peacefully, but it's unprovable, and the orders he gave... there's no mention of an attack.
- And we're gonna let that go unanswered?
- Becca, what can we do?
Becca belligerently ran her right thumb across her throat.
- Uh-huh... and turn all the fixers in the city against us?
Becca pouted.
- Though...
- What?
Everyone looked at me surprised and somewhat interested.
- There was one thing we could try to pull off...
I closed my eyes and called Regina.
- Is something wrong?
- Well... let's just say Faraday's made a move. Technically, we can't charge him with anything, the perpetrator attacked us against orders, but the kind of perpetrators he's picked...
- So he's acting. What do you want me to do?
- Well... let's just say... I'm willing to compromise some of my principles regarding the work I take on. And if among the customers, quite unexpectedly, there will be a reasonable person willing to pay for the big trouble... that Faraday will get...
- Trouble?
- Well, elimination also fits.
My image must be smiling quite anticipatively right now.
- Hmmm... Well, I'll see what I can do about that... Will you bother Bestia too?
- Why not?
I shrugged.
- You two have different contacts and it's possible you could get double for Faraday.
- Heather... Well, I'll see if there are people I know who are willing to pay for Faraday's problems or life.
- Thank you.
I cut the connection and immediately contacted Bestia.
- Quiet?
- Bestia... question, you don't have an order for Faraday?
- Hmm... just like that, straight up? No rounding corners?
- You know me, I know you... why beat around the bush when we're both not really into that sort of thing?
- I suppose Faraday crossed some sort of line?
- Hired a solo--
So I told Bestia about the run-in with the solos Faraday sent to 'negotiate'. Bestia just chuckled at the details.
- He's in his own style.
- Hmm?
- It's not a popular topic... and he rarely gets rejected, but it's generally his usual strategy. It's how he gathers data on those he'll be hunting soon. Be prepared for two or three more such checks, and after that it will be time for a full-fledged confrontation....
I shrugged.
- Well, I won't show him my capabilities... so I doubt he'll be able to adequately assess our capabilities. And I still hope that you have among your acquaintances those who can pay for his life.
- Well... I think I do... I'll have to talk to a few reasonable people....
- Then I'm waiting.
- Yeah.
We've been cut off.
- So?
Lucy was the first to notice I'd opened my eyes. I don't have to close my eyes when talking, and I don't do it at work, but in my normal life... I guess it's a call from my past life, where there was no such technology and I didn't have such opportunities, so I always cover my eyes, just to concentrate on the person I'm talking to.
- Threw a line to Regina and Bestia, I think we'll have an order for elimination soon....
- They got you?
- Not really...
I shook my head.
- ...I just don't like being pushed around like that. And Bestia said that Faraday's used to this kind of tactic, and we'll have to wait a few more tests before he gets serious....