Chapter 7
Bar Talk
Riding on the bus and watching the people getting on and off, I couldn’t help but feel amazed at the sheer variety of looks and fashions. From salarymen going home from work to young people going out for the night. Out of them a handful were elves while most people I saw were humans, dwarves and the occasional orc or troll. What was also surprising was seeing people wearing obvious cybernetics. Eyes with weird designs, cyber arms and legs and even parts of the skull replaced with cybernetics. While for some it was a issue of need, for others it was nothing more than a matter of convenience or fashion.
After riding on the bus for a while, I got off on my stop and started walking towards Paradise bar. Being close to the docks, there was the feeling of humidity hanging in the air as well the smell of a salty breeze and faint whiff of diesel.
It didn’t take long for me to reach the bar. Besides a huge pink neon sign displaying the word Paradise, it looked like any bar with windows letting you see on the inside. Next to the door was a lanky troll in streetwear who wore a gun holstered in plain view on his belt. Despite his intimidating frame, I had the sense that he was friendly and good-natured person. Once I neared the door, he looked at me and gave me a smile, showing off his tusks.
“Oh, hey Jackie!” he said jovially, mumbling a bit as if his tusks got in the way of enunciating properly. “Haven’t seen you in a while man! You meeting up with Justin?”
“Yeah, is he in?” I replied nonchalantly, trying not to give away the fact that I had no idea who he was.
“Yup, he got a while ago,” the troll said pointing at the door with his thumb. “Go ahead in and don’t forget to have one for me!”
“Sure thing,” I said smiling and proceeded to enter the bar.
On the inside, the place was a far cry from its name. A dive bar through and through, dimly lit, grimy and full of cigarette smoke. The place was half full with most people sitting at the bar, some at the tables in on the floor and even a few engaged in a game of pool. There was light music playing in the background that was unidentifiable through the noise of a football match playing on a trideo projector and the cheering of the patrons.
Looked like the Seahawks were playing the 49ers on what must be one of the early games of the season. The Seahawks were up by 6 points and judging by the mood in the bar, they were the favorite. I chuckled as it was nice seeing some things haven’t changed.
I looked around a bit and saw Orion sitting at a corner booth, waving at me. I briskly walked over to him and sat down. While the synthleather on the seats was cracked and the table didn’t look that clean, something about it felt kinda cozy.
“Wow, look at you man!” he said. “You look like a whole new person.”
“You like my new digs?” I replied. “Apparently they’re even armored.”
“Nice! I assume you got back home fine?” Orion asked me.
“Yeah, No one gave me much trouble.”
“Cool, so what are you drinking? It’s my treat,” he offered smiling.
I thought about it for a second. I wasn’t big on alcohol in general but I didn’t wanna seem like a prude. “Any beer will do,” I replied thinking it would be a safe choice.
“Coming right up!” he said and got up from his seat.
He went over to the bar and spoke a few quick words to the bar woman. Not even a minute later he was back with the drinks.
For himself he had a short glass with some unknown clear spirit and for me he had a beer bottle. He handed it over and I took a look at the label. The was a logo of a spiky half sun rising above the word HORIZON in a purple gradient. Under the logo, in gold letters, was the name of the beer Bottled Sunshine. If I were also to believe the branding this was a microbrew made with real hops.
“Cheers!” I said clinking my beer to his glass.
“Cheers”, he said back.
I took a big swig and almost choked. This had to be one of the most bitter beers I’ve had in my life and flavorless to boot.
“Um, quick question,” I said almost coughing at the taste of the beer. “Who was the guy at the door?”
“Oh, you mean Craig? I almost forgot you don’t remember anything,” he said laughing out loud.
“Well yeah, I was kinda hoping you’d give me some info on who I was, who you are or anything you think might be relevant,” I said feeling a bit embarrassed.
“There’s not much to say chum. We both grew up in Emerald Smiles Orphanage right here in Seattle. It was rough going for many years. No one gave a shit for us, you know?”
Orion’s expression went rigid, the knuckles of his hand gripping his drink turning white. I stayed quiet, letting him carry on.
“They were supposed to help us, provide for us. But for them all we were was drones prepped for megacorps. Business as usual. At least we had eachother’s back,” he said with a sad smile. “At 17 we found out we were being sold to Aztechnology as laborers and we ran away, simple as that.”
“From what I can understand, we barely got an education. What was so wrong with having work?” I asked innocently.
“You don’t understand omae. A life under the corps boot is no life at all. You are no longer a free citizen. They literally own you and are free to do with you whatever they want. They don’t even pay you real money. You get corporate scrip valid only for their stores! Is this what you want?”
Orion was getting visibly upset, his voice climbing a few decibels.
“Relax Justin I literally had no idea,” I said, trying to appease him.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Heh! You’re, right. How could you?” he replied looking thoughtful. “You’re like a newborn babe chum. To the megacorps you are just a resource to use up. And hey, if something happens to you along the way no one would care.”
Someone scored a touchdown and the bar patrons cheered wildly, giving me a moment to digest the info.
“Ok, I understand, don’t fall in with corps. But how did we make it so far?” I asked.
“Well for folks like us, you either do menial work for small corps and family businesses or you work the night.”
“So which one is for us?” I said almost sure of the answer.
“Now that’s a bit more complicated,” he said sighing. “Me, I do occasional work for the O’Malley family and I do security and inventory for this place.”
“Okay… but what about me?” I shot back anxious to hear the answer.
“As I said, a bit more complicated. For me, I never knew any other life before the orphanage. But for you, you had a family before and were just old enough to know what had happened. You never talked about it depth, so all I know is you saw your parents get shot by the mob. You somehow went unscathed and ended up at the orphanage. From that point on, needless to say, you weren’t that keen to work for the families.”
“So, what did I end up doing?”
“Umhh, no offense chummer but you were kind of a shit before. I’ve lost count of how many times I had to bail you out from trouble. Any job you got you couldn’t hold for more than a week chummer. Most creds you made, you got from pickpocketing. If it’s any consolation, you’re much more chill now,” he replied, giving me a sheepish grin.
“None taken,” I said, waving my hand dismissively. I took another swig of the beer, the taste starting to grow on me. “It feels kinda weird you know? It’s such a sad story but it feels like happened to someone else.”
“Weird doesn’t cut it chum. It’s gonna take a while to get used to this. So, what now?”
“Justin, I want you to know that I’m really thankful that your taking me seriously man. I said it before but you’re kinda the only person I can talk to.”
“No problem omae. We’re chums, if I can help with anything you let me know and I’ll do my best.” He took a drink and gave me a reassuring smile.
“Well, thanks to the Matrix I can find out loads on my own so I’m not completely helpless. However, between the rent and the clothes, I’m kinda broke. So, if you can help me find any work, I’d really appreciate it.”
“That’s gonna be hard chum. You haven’t built up the best rep you know.”
“Look man. I know that’s it’s gonna be hard for most to believe me, but I’m not that person. I’ll take anything, cleaning, moving stuff and even though I’d rather not get into unsavory work, I’d even do security,” I said and open up my jacket to reveal the Beretta.
Orion whistled in appreciation. “If I wasn’t sure before, I’m sure now,” he said rubbing his chin in thought. “I believe you when you say you’re different. The Jack I knew wouldn’t even touch a gun, let alone carry.”
“So you’ll help?” I asked full of hope.
“I’ll help chum. I can’t promise anything yet for regular work but if you’re serious, I have a job tonight that you might be able to help with.”
“Sure, anything!” I said eagerly. “What’s it about?”
“Should be a milk run. I got the call right before you came in. We’re hitting a Yakuza storage unit.”
“Damn, what can I do? Is it gonna be dangerous?” I said, biting my lower lip/
“Not at all man. Word is the place is gonna be empty after midnight. Boss wants something for the storage unit so he’s gonna send over a specialist to get it. I’ll be doing security and you can be a lookout. In the unlikely case something happens, you let us know and we bail. Easy as.”
“Ok, sounds simple enough. How’s the pay?”
“Beggars can’t be choosers chum. Boss said anything extra is ours to loot. So I’ll be willing to part with a portion of my cut. Let’s say 20%,” he said smugly.
“I get it, could be a bit, could be nothing. I trust you,” I said with a serious expression. “Besides, I want to build up some good will.”
“That’s the spirit! You do well tonight and it’d be a good first step to earning some cred. You have to swear that you’re not gonna waste any more money on beetles or the deal’s off the table.”
“Beetles? Why would I pay for bugs?” I asked looking befuddled.
Orion broke into a raucous laughter, slamming his fist on the table. After a bit, he was gasping for air and wiping tears from his eyes. “That was a good one omae. Bugs he says. Who are you, my grandpa? Beetles are BTLs. Short for better than life chips. Simulated highs for slot junkies.”
“Yikes, doesn’t sound like something I’d be into,” I retorted scrunching up my nose.
“That’s good chum. I enjoy a simchip as much as the next guy but BTLs are for suckers and you were a big one.”
“The more I hear, the less I like. Doesn’t sound like I was the best person to be around.”
“Eh, you had your moments.”
“So, what do we do now?”
“We have a couple of drinks, enjoy the match and wait to get picked up,” he said and raised his glass in cheers.
“Cheers man!” I said clinking my beer to his glass.
We spent a few hours enjoying a few more drinks and shooting the shit. Orion seemed like a really fun guy the more I got to know him. A bit crass for sure but still pretty chill.
Orion had a couple more glasses of the same drink which apparently was called Synthahol, a lab made liquor, flavored to match your poison of choice. He seemed to be holding his liquor pretty well. I on the other hand tried a few more types of beers and ended up settling with a Soyweiser which was the most palatable out of all of them.
After a while we got the munches and ended up sharing some onion rings and fries which were deliciously greasy. We even played a few games of pool. To much consternation on my part and mirth on Orion’s, I got my ass handed to me. My solace was that as a nice bonus, I ended up getting 100 XP for Agility and 50 XP for Logic.
All the beers finally reached my bladder and I had to relieve myself. I moved over to the bathroom in a hurry leaving Orion to his drink.
The men’s bathroom was even dingier than main room. Dirty white tile plastered with graffiti, leaky faucets and stalls out of commission all revealed in stark relief by the unflattering fluorescent lighting. Does this place even have a janitor? I did the deed and sighed in relief as the soap dispenser was full and the hand dryer was operational.
Once I went back out, I noticed that Orion was back at the booth and talking to a woman who was standing next to him. She appeared to be in her mid-30s and was surrounded by an intimidating aura of competence. She had brown hair in a pixie cut framing a round face. She was wearing black cargo pants, sneakers and a purple bomber jacket. The sleeves of her jacket were rolled up, revealing a pair of slender cyberarms with a lightweight carbon fiber shell that revealed the inner workings in a few spots. Clipped on her belt was a device featuring a plethora of slots and buttons as well as a tiny screen that was off. The device was about twice the size of my commlink, apparently too bulky to fit in a pocket.
The conversation seemed to be a tiny bit heated and as I approached the booth, she turned around to face me.
“This the guy you’re vouching for?” she said to Orion in a dismissive manner with her thumb pointing in my direction.
“Yeah, this is Jack Garland,” he replied. “He’s can keep a lookout just in case and provide backup if needed.”
“He looks like a stiff breeze would blow him over.”
“Hey, I’m right here you know,” I said in mock exasperation.
“Look at that he speaks,” the woman said turning to me. “You good for it Jack Garland?”
“I am,” I replied curtly.
“Well, if he fucks up it’s on your head Beaumont,” she said to Orion.
All the while Orion had a smiling expression as if this was nothing more than a friendly conversation.
She turned back to me with a bored expression on her face. “Name’s Lucy,” she said and an alert to exchange details popped up.
“Nice to meet you,” I said and accepted the prompt.
“Now that we’re done with the pleasantries, shall we go or do I have to wait for you two princesses?”
“Yup!” Orion said and got up.
Lucy led the way out and Orion and I followed suite. She led us out of the bar and around the block where her car, its icon labeling it as a Ford Americar, was parked. The car was one of the most non-descript four-door sedans I had ever seen. It black with silver trims and had the aesthetic of what they though a futuristic car would look like in the 90s. At least it should have plenty of trunk space, I mused.
“Don’t just stand there gawking,” she said impatiently. “Get in. The sooner we’re done, the sooner I can get back home.”
Me and Orion shared a look and promptly boarded the car. With me in the back seat and Orion riding shotgun, we were off to our destination.