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New day new assignment...
This time it was Bestia who sent me the order. And not just an order, only after hearing about it I realised that it was an important order for her. Important because it was necessary to steal one thing that previously belonged to Kerry Eurodin. But that wasn't what was important about the item, what was important was the gift inscription... the gift inscription from Silverhand.
And that was what mattered most to Bestia.
So now I'm on my way to the very respectable hotel of the French diplomat who paid for the theft of this guitar. This idiot didn't even bother to hide this guitar from the people holding receptions in his room, which was a huge space on one of the upper floors.
As Bestia explained to me, she wouldn't have learnt about all this, but she was approached by Kerry himself, who was present at one of these receptions as a guest star. And the politician himself had a cheeky look on his face when he told the fake story of how he got the guitar a couple of years ago.
- Ladies?
- The hotel has good ice, we're not suckers, but there's not much we can do without a chip in the security server. All we have so far is a map of the ground floors. There's a security room, if the chip ends up there, in one of the comps, it'll be easier for us...
I hummed understandingly. The hotel wasn't owned by any corporation, which was rare, just a very successful businessman whose great-grandfather had managed to work his way to the top of the business. And, what was even more amazing than the fact that someone had managed to work their way to the top, was that the hotel still hadn't fallen under any corporation.
The girls have been given direct orders from me not to rob the owners of the hotel, but the diplomat himself needs to be cleaned out more... and that's not so much our wish as Bestia's request.
I dodged a couple of passers-by, as I was now wearing my work suit, some of the outer armour of which I had reworked to be more resistant to friction heat, and the suit had an active cloaking system. And all because there are no places near the hotel where I could activate it covertly, so I have to walk with the system switched on through the flow of people, deftly manoeuvring between people.
- So I'm at the staff entrance.
- Just a second, checking the situation... you can go in.
When I heard the authorisation I grinned, because I had to pick the lock, and it was up to the girls to do it. So I inserted the splinter into a small technical slot in the lock, and waited for them to break the lock.
It wasn't a difficult task for my girls, though, and after a minute the lock beeped quietly, signalling that the door was open.
I stepped inside the building and after activating the sandi I walked towards the security room. The room itself was close enough so that soon I carefully opened the door and stepped inside. There were a couple of guards there, but they didn't even notice how I appeared, I left a couple of whispers and left them.
Leaving the splinters I moved to the most important office on the ground floor, namely the staff toilet, where I took one of the cubicles switched off the sandi and waited....
- Work ladies, I'll wait a while...
- What would you do without us?
Kiwi decided to keep quiet for a while.
- Honestly?
- Come on...
Lucy joined the conversation. Apparently she was really interested in what exactly I'd be doing if I didn't have such great runners.
- Most likely I'd just break in, make my way to the stairs, which I'd use to go upstairs... if I was lucky, 'break in' would consist of quietly getting in without any accidents, if I wasn't lucky, then with dead bodies....
- I see... a rude bastard who can't do anything without us....
Judy said it with a sneer, but the other girls only confirmed this characterisation of my abilities. I was lying a little bit, though. I wouldn't have done this job without them.
- That's right, my beautiful Clever Girl. Though I must say that without you I wouldn't have taken such orders....
I decided to give the girls my thoughts.
- My ceiling would still be cleaning the city of Scavengers. Maybe I'd add Animals and Malström to the cleanup list....
I shrugged.
- I wouldn't be poor, but I wouldn't have to think about my current income.
- Um... Girls this idiot seems to be quite serious....
Becca was obviously a little shocked by what I said.
- Well... in his defence, he's probably telling the truth. I've known him longer than all of you... well except for Smarty, but I've definitely worked with him longer than you have. He really wasn't planning on doing anything bigger before we had Raner on the team. He was just working... However, if we evaluate his actions now, we are just working. We do not aspire to the big league, although we face it and just fulfil orders. A lot of orders.
- Well.
- So he'd probably just be killing bandits without going anywhere else. But he'd be no worse off than he is now, except he'd belong to me.
- Hey, hey! I'm not a Ranner either!
Becca decided to try to squeeze into the family that Panam hypothetically cut.
- Yes, but you and I met because the Raners needed protection, without it your services would not be needed. So...
There was a sneer in Panam's voice.
- Well... to my regret I have to agree with Cherry... But that doesn't mean I'll forgive her for cutting me out of the family....
Judy has decided to speak her mind on the matter.
- ...So at the first opportunity I will take vicious revenge.....
So over a light conversation the girls did break into the hotel security system, though not all of it, but a much larger part of it, which is enough to steal the guitar and leave undetected. So I quietly left the toilet and activated the sandi and got to the stairs and went upstairs.
Thirty-fifth floor...
It's not that much when you have synthetic muscles, rather mentally exhausting. But I did get to that floor. The stairs weren't very popular. Everyone preferred the lifts, leaving the stairs as emergency escape routes. I opened the door to the floor with the help of the girls and found myself in a rather large foyer....
So, number thirty-five two.
I quickly looked around and came to the door of the room, the lock of which was already open, I just had to push it open, which I did and found myself inside one of the most luxurious rooms of this hotel. And here I had to be careful, because the owner of the room was here and I needed to knock him out carefully to teach him a lesson for taking what was dear to Bestia.
Not that Bestia was going to appropriate the guitar, not at all, but she wasn't going to put up with it not being in the hands of the person it was meant for.
Slow.
Slowly for me, but I still had the sandi on, so I walked round the room and finally found the owner of the room. He was sitting in the bathroom, pensively looking at a page on his tablet of elite escorts who were no strangers to providing intimate services.
Light, almost weightless for any, even quite weak solo blow and the politician switches off, and his tablet is about to fall directly into the bathtub, but I slightly correct its route by shifting the hand of this man. And now the tablet falls on the floor, and there is a big crack on its screen. However, it's not broken yet, so a chip was immediately inserted into it, as well as into the politician's personal port.
After disconnecting Sandy, I went round the room inserting splinters into everything I could reach. The girls were working hard and I didn't want to distract them. I'd already found the main target of my visit, Kerry Eurodine's guitar. But it was necessary to confirm that it was it. Otherwise, they could have left a fake in a prominent place....
- Quiet?
- Get the tape in high quality. Send it to the customer, have him look at it and tell him if it's the right guitar.
- Roger that, I'm accepting the file... wait for it.....
The call was disconnected and I went through the room again, noting its excessive, as it seems to me, rich decoration. It seemed that the room was created especially for those who have no taste and who likes to show everyone that he has a lot of money.
While walking through the room, I noticed a briefcase, and when I opened it, I found out that it was just full of money. Having quickly checked all the money with the help of optics I made sure that there were no tracking devices either in it or in the case itself, so I decided to take it with me.
And that's when Bestia's call came in.
- Go ahead.
- Yeah, the customer confirmed that's the purpose of the order.
- Good, then I'll take it and go.
- Will you deliver the guitar to the customer?
I shrugged.
- I can, if he doesn't mind autographing it for my partners, some of them are his fans. Personally, I liked his style better in Samurai.
- I don't think he'd mind. I'm texting you the address.
The connection was interrupted and immediately I got the address where the guitar was to be delivered, which I calmly, without any piety, took in my hands. Then, having heard from the girls that they had broken in, which happened about fifteen minutes later, I collected the chips and went down the stairs to the ground floor, where I took the chips from the security room and left the hotel after that.
- So ladies...
I looked at the girls after I got in the car.
- What's up?
- Tonight is your chance to get Kerry Eurodine's autograph.
- А?!
The girls stared at me in shock.
- The customer wanted us to deliver the guitar personally and Bestia said he might not mind a couple of autographs, and I plan to get a little cheeky and ask him to play a song on the guitar....
- We have to stop by a musical instrument shop...
Panam said it in such a way that it was immediately clear that such a decision was non-negotiable.
- What?
I looked at her in surprise.
- We clans won't understand if we didn't get an autograph from Eurodin on the guitar! He's one of the few artists who can pluck the strings himself! \
- Well...
I shrugged.
- ...I don't mind, at the same time we can buy a couple of his discs on which you'll ask for autographs.
The girls nodded their heads, and our next destination was the music shop where we bought a guitar. Here I had to ask the counsellor for help. I said that my friend can and very much likes to play the guitar, as well as understands them, and I would like to make him a present....
And I was immediately led to a special department, where I bought a good, but unpretentious guitar, which life in the wastelands and low maintenance will not harm much. The girls chose Kerry's discs, and only after buying them we went to Eurodin's mansion.
It took us about an hour to get to our destination, which was outside of the city, mostly because we had to drive part of the way through city traffic.
- Fuck...
- I don't tend to express my emotions so vulgarly, but I have to agree with Becca here.
Kiwi commented on the mansion we pulled up to. It was really huge, though it didn't look like it was too fancy, but the size of it....
When the car stopped in front of the gate, I calmly got out of the car being in which, even before visiting the music shop, I managed to take off my helmet and cover myself with a cloak, which hid my armour.
- Who's there?
The doorbell was answered a dozen minutes after I pressed the button.
- The quiet one from Bestia. Brought the order.
- Hmm... drive through, but no tricks, I've got the security system set to paranoid mode after that guitar was stolen from me.
- Got it.
I nodded and got back into the car, and when the gate opened we drove into the courtyard and along the path we reached the main entrance to the mansion in front of which a famous musician and singer was waiting for us.
- Good afternoon, this seems to be your ...
I came straight to the point and handed Kerry his guitar, which he examined, almost sniffed, took a couple of chords and slightly wrinkled.
- Bastards... they don't know how to play, and they upset the instrument....
- I apologise...
- Yes?
Kerry looked up at me.
- The thing is, when Bestia told us who we should give the guitar to, we were a bit prepared... could you leave autographs for me and my team?
- Sure...
Kerry grinned good-naturedly and quickly signed the girls' discs, leaving some rather nice inscriptions of wishes, and then it was time for the guitar I'd bought.
- Hmmm...
- Is something wrong?
- No... just brings back memories... A good workhorse with a good sound. Unpretentious.
He tapped the guitar with the palm of his hand and even strummed a few chords before signing it.
- When I started in Samurai we had all the instruments like this, now we have to buy normal guitars and turn them into a painted something that will be considered stylish... because if you buy it right away it's either too expensive or it's rubbish... However, you probably haven't heard of Samurai....
I got my guitar back.
- Do you own an instrument?
- No.
I didn't hide the fact that I don't own a guitar.
- But I live in a clan, and I think there are a lot of good guitar players who would be very careful with an instrument that has been in the hands of Kerry Eurodin himself. And you're wrong, we've heard of Samurai. Judy's a fan favourite and she writes them herself....
We all introduced ourselves when Kerry signed autographs, so I didn't see the point in calling the girls by their call signs.
- And she's got a whole collection of Samurai concert brans in very high quality!
- Really?
- Yeah...
Judy smiled embarrassedly.
- ...it wasn't easy to find the videos, but I'm proud to say that I have all of Samurai's concert brans, although it took a lot of work to restore them and improve their quality....
- Can you send it to me?
Kerry looked at Judy with interest.
- Sure.
- Good.
- Excuse me, but can you play something from Samurai?
- Hmm.
We were given a thoughtful look, then Kerry nodded and grabbed his guitar and quickly started playing... and it was marvellous. A pro who doesn't just play, who puts his soul into the game... You don't see such a thing nowadays....
- Fascinating.
Lucy voiced our thoughts aloud when Kerry finished playing.
- Well... I should really get going....
Kerry glanced round at his mansion.
- 'I apologise for the distraction... and by the way...'
- Yes?
I got a look of annoyance in my eyes.
- I heard that you're having a creative crisis... I don't know how true that is, as well as the fact that you tried to end your life... But if that's true, have you thought about getting the Samurai back together? Naturally with a slightly updated line-up, and not for good, just for a couple of gigs... just to play a couple of gigs in a couple of godforsaken clubs, remembering what it was like in your youth...
Kerry was already looking at me thoughtfully from head to toe.
- You know, that's definitely something to think about.
And that was the end of our conversation...