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***
The drive to the garage where the customer's car was to be located was quiet, in comfortable silence. Well, almost silence, as there was a Knight City radio playing the news in the car. Well, what can I say, someone was having fun in the city again, as Max-tac had been flown to different parts of the city five times in twenty-four hours to solve super complicated problems.
Something came into my field of vision and I jerked my hand sharply to the handbrake, pulling it upwards, causing the car to skid, but I didn't care much, unlike Panam.
- You!
She turned to me with a fierce look, but immediately stopped talking when the car passed a little further away took on its roof a member of the Max-tac....
Naturally, the car could not withstand such joy and crumpled, but the fighter of the special police squad calmly got off the car and stretched out his hand in our direction and the direction of the others who had managed to stop.
- That's as far as we go. Max-tac works.
- That's...
- Yes... it seems my habit of working with Sandi has allowed me to recognise and react to danger. Too bad I can't figure out what I saw. Maybe a shadow of some kind.
- Maybe.
The girls looked dumbfounded by this development, and I turned to Panam.
- So what were you going to say?
- Erm... sort of... thank you?
I grinned with the corner of my lips.
- I'll take that as a yes.
Panam frowned.
- Okay... I was going to be outraged that you pulled the handbrake and tell you what I thought about it. But as it turned out, you were right in this situation, and I can shove my outrage up my arse, because if you hadn't pulled the handbrake, our car could have been just as bad as that one...
- I don't give a shit about the car.
I shrugged.
- The problem is, we probably wouldn't survive a collision like that. And the car will probably survive in part... it's just that it'll mean that a Max-tac fighter will attack us and shoot us for violating the cordoned-off area.
- Yeah...
Judy shook her head as Panam, from my uttering the horrifying truth that I don't care about the car, went numb and could only open and close her mouth.
- This is Knight City, a city where the police first do and then beat a confession out of the victims... whether they're guilty or not. And nobody can do anything about it... Not even I could, until you told me that fighting the system is useless, you have to fight the specific cogs that can be replaced in the system and therefore won't defend it so fiercely.
- David! Quickly apologise to Tortic2!
I looked at Panam in surprise.
- Panam, I really like our car, I really like what you have turned it into, because from an ordinary, not very comfortable car it has become very comfortable for such a big company as ours....
Panam nodded her head contentedly.
- But choosing between your lives and Tortik2, I will choose your lives, because we can create Tortik3 and Tortik5, in general any number of cars! And no one can replace you...
- You know, Panam, you're overreacting...
Kiwi has decided to join the conversation.
- ...we all like Cake2, but choosing between him and us.....
- You! All of you!
- Panam, stop messing around....
I sighed and she shook her head.
- Well... you can't make jokes, anyway, we'll be standing here for forty minutes, because we can't pass forward, and we won't be able to pass backwards, and we have to do something....
- Well.
Becca grinned.
- I, being the smallest, can fit in front of David at his feet and suck on a lollipop....
- Becca...
I sighed.
- ...I'd love to let you have a lollipop, but knowing you, you've got a lollipop on a stick in your pocket and when you're nestled at my feet, you'll probably start licking it.
- Who do you think I am? Hey! What are you doing?!
Lucy and Judy reached into Becca's pockets and soon pulled out a couple of regular lollies and one on a stick.
- Here we go...
She pouted, but I could see she didn't mean it.
- Well, we can spend some time learning... it's not like we've learnt all the learning slivers yet....
- Well...
I shrugged.
- You can...' I nodded at the girls in the back of the car, 'but me and Panam can't. Who knows how long it will take these 'fighters for justice' to take apart another cyberpsychic for parts....
- Yeah... they can do it in five minutes, or they can take two or three hours and call in reinforcements one after another.....
Panam nodded, confirming my words and expressing her thoughts on the matter.
- Hmmm... okay...
Eventually Judy, Kiwi, Lucy and Becca went off to study the wood chips, while Panam and I had a leisurely conversation on an off topic. We made small bets on how long we'd be here, and on how many representatives of Max-so would die.
An hour or so passed until a Max-tac police avi flew up and picked up an operative who wouldn't let anyone go any further.
The car quietly blasted the engine moved on, and I looked sideways to see the ambulance, which had obviously got here on the opposite side of the road, loading the body of the psycho into a bulky van. And that's how Gloria used to work, too... yeah....
It's only been a few years, but it feels like it's been ten years since I've been in this world.....
I closed my eyes and sank into memories... memories of how I started and how I met Judy and Panam....
- Why are you grinning?
- No reason...
I shrugged.
- Working as an EMT brought back so many memories....
I shook my head.
- ...including the first time I met each of you.
- And how was that?
- Well... I only had positive feelings for you and Judy, but Kiwi, Lucy and Becca... well, they ranged from suspicion to annoyance... I quickly changed my mind about those girls, though.
- Right...
The car got to the point and I had to bring the girls to their senses, after which I left to fulfil the order and the girls waited for access to the garage systems. More precisely several garages, because we were in some garage area and I had to inspect it completely to find where exactly they kept the customer's car and to understand whether they found Samurai's disc or not....
I jumped on the roof of the nearest garage and calmly using the optics examined the nearest garage premises. The car I needed was not there, and neither were any reasonable people, so I continued to walk along the roofs.
Ten minutes and here I am already standing next to five garages, which are next to each other and connected to each other. And there is not only the customer's car, but also two more cars, as well as about two dozen intelligent. Some of them are fiddling with the cars, some of them are standing in front of the garages, and some of them are guarding the cars already inside....
Having switched on the sandi I quickly jumped off the roof and knocked out the first opponents who were outside the garages, inserting them chips, and then calmly approached the small door that led inside the garage and opened it and went inside....
Ten minutes of subjective time and I had put all the members of the Sixth Street gang to bed. Except the disc wasn't here, unlike the car.
- David... the disc had already been purchased.....
- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah... and you won't believe who bought it.
- Well... if you're asking like that, I can only assume it was Hanako Arasaka.
- No...
Kiwi laughed openly at my assumption, denying its validity. However, I didn't expect to guess on the first try who exactly bought the rare recording.
- Saburo?
- Stop joking...
Lucy joined the conversation.
- I'm not kidding... it's just that if the question is about the person who could have bought the disc and I find it hard to believe....
I shrugged, even though the girls couldn't see it, and opened one of the garage doors, which was exactly opposite the car of the young gambling moron. The car was obviously very expensive.
- Girls, look at this beauty....
Panam couldn't stand it any longer and connected to my optics with the help of ranners and whistled when she saw the Rayfield Caliburn, the car that I would have to return to its owner.
- Quiet, you're going to let me...
- Cherry, won't your Tortie2 be jealous of you?
- Well, me and Torky2 will make a deal. Will we?
- Of course I'll let you.
I sighed.
- ...to be honest, I'm a bit apprehensive about driving a car like this myself. No, I can do it, but it won't be as spectacular as you driving it.
- That's good.
I got in the car and started it up.
- It rumbles like a kitten.
- Hey!
- Cherry, I'll still take the car out of this garage maze, but you'll drive it on the motorway and city streets.
- And where to?
The car quietly rustled tyres out of the garage and stopped.
- Ladies?
- We're done, there's no need for more splinters.
Having received this information, I immediately took out all the chips and then sat behind the wheel again smoothly driving out of the garage array on such an expensive car.
Panam was waiting for me at the exit.
- Get out!
I grinningly left the car and Panam immediately got behind the wheel and opened the passenger door for me.
- Erm...
- Scribes can drive the car.
I nodded understandingly and sat in the passenger seat.
- So, what, you're giving up?
- Well... out of improbable options... Bestia?
- Then why did she send us to steal the tape?
- Well, that I can't know...
I shrugged and the car door closed, and then with a jerk it started up, and I was literally pressed into the back of the seat and frantically fumbled for my seatbelt, which I struggled to snap.
- Yoo-hoo!
- Are we out of options?
- Nancy? I mean our customer's mum.
- No...but it's getting closer.....
- Closer? Then how about Carrie?
- Bingo!
Judy happily proved me right and I sighed sorrowfully.
- Panam, let's go to Postmortem.
- Hmm?
- Let Bestia hand over the car herself, and with the tape... I doubt she'd be happy if we broke into Kerry's place and stole it from him. So I'll talk to her first.
- Go on, then.
I paused the girl talk and called up Bestia.
- Quiet?
- We're having a little difficulty.
- Difficulties? You?
- Uh-huh... we'll get the car to Postmortem, but the disc....
- What about the disc?
- It's already been sold.
- What's the problem? I take it the problem is the buyer? Because the idea of just stealing the tape from the buyer is the kind of move that just begs to be made.
- Mm-hmm... the buyer is Eurodin.
- Ha...
Bestia exhaled heavily.
- ...Yeah... problem... stealing from him I wouldn't want to, okay, I'll contact him and talk to him. I think he'll give me the right to buy back the disc and return it to its owner. I'll hand the car over to Death, I'll give it to the moron myself, along with the disc.