It was raining softly. The many-colored neon lights of Los Angeles were shifting subtly behind the rainy curtain.
I was walking on the sidewalk, hands in the pockets of my gray trench coat. The streets were crowded, they always were during this hour, so close to downtown. It was late in the evening, but the lights kept the surroundings as bright as they were during the daytime. As I was slaloming in between the pedestrians I saw something behind a store window that attracted my attention.
On a display stand, there was a 3D holo model of the new spaceship the world was going nuts about. It had a long shape, it looked cylindrical in some sections, and more blocky in others. It had one massive thruster at its base and many small side thrusters all over its surface for maneuvering.
I approached the store window to get a better look. Only to find myself face-to-face with my reflection, I frowned. There were no issues with my appearance. The short dark hair, the darker eyes, and the stubble of a beard completed my face. My body was toned from years in the military, followed by years working as a mercenary. What I didn’t like was the person behind those eyes.
I stepped away, no longer interested. Crossing the road I reached the edge of a plaza. I walked towards a monument that depicted the first colonists of Mars, back when Mars City was just a glorified underground bunker.
This was our meeting spot.
I stopped by the monument and turned away, facing the skyscrapers on the other side of the street. Looking up, I saw the multitude of neon signs and holo screens displaying all sorts of things. My attention was caught by a holo screen showcasing a news reporter. She was sitting behind a desk, her curly raven hair framing her face. She was wearing a blue suit and shirt, the shirt had one button too many undone. The corpos would use you for all you were worth.
She was sharing what was being called the news of the century. “Scientists all over the world seem to have reached a consensus that the magnetic shield generators developed by Eva Fallow, a lead researcher of Los Angeles Tech Industries, are indeed as revolutionary as they first appeared to be for space travel. Experts are already calling this the beginning of a new era for humanity and estimates indicate that-“
“Jack!”
A woman’s voice called my name from the crowd, I turned to see my friend with electric blue hair and eyes make her way through the crowd to me.
“Hey Alex, had trouble finding parking?”
She sighed. “Finding a spot so close to downtown during the evening is an exercise in futility.”
We started making our way towards the other side of the plaza. After a moment of silence, Alex spoke up.
“Think this is about a new job, or they simply missed us and just wanted to have a few drinks together?”
I knew that if this were only about making plans for the average job there was no need to meet in person. On the other hand, if it were a more sensitive affair we wouldn’t be meeting at the usual bar. “Probably a bit of both, we haven’t had a job lined up for two weeks. Ever since they announced that news all the gangs and corpos have been eerily quiet.”
She hummed “Of course they have, it’s huge news you know! This is going to change everything. Just like the invention of the neural interface did. Except that this time, rather than being able to interact with data on another level through cyber eyes, magnetic shielding will protect people from cosmic radiation, and dealing with that was the last piece of the puzzle that we needed to launch us into the space age, we already dealt with microgravity by–“
I chuckled. “You’re such a nerd.”
“Rude, I know I told you all of this already, but can you blame me? We are getting to live the sci-fi dream.”
We stopped in front of the entrance of our destination, the big neon light sign showcasing the name of the bar. Weekend Revenge Club
Not going in, I turned and looked at her. “The only ones who will get to live that dream in our generation are either the ones with a lot of money, or the incredibly brilliant…”
I paused for a second, knowing what I would say next would be taken with a mixed reaction.
“While I don’t know of a way to make us smarter, I am planning a gig that, if everything goes well, will make us a tremendous amount of money.”
As my words registered her face paled. “Do you remember what happened last time you said something like that?”
“This won’t be like last time.” I hurriedly interjected.
“That’s what you said last time too.” She murmured.
I sighed. “Look, trust me on this one. I am on to something big. If we play our cards right we won’t be getting shot as much as last time. As soon as we are done with whatever regular jobs we’re about to get involved in I’ll share my idea with everyone, and we can then make a collective decision for following through or not.”
“Fine. It’s just that remembering you and Jun both missing an arm has me worried.”
“We both wanted upgrades anyway.” I waggled the index finger of my metallic right arm as I said that. “And we made more than enough money to afford them and then some, but I do get what you mean, so I’ll shut up and simply tell you that while it is not without danger, nothing worth doing ever is.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Since when were you so wise?”
I scoffed. “It’s not wisdom, I’m just a gambling man.”
“Alright Mr. Gambler, let’s hurry inside. We’ve made the rest of the team wait long enough as it is.” She said while moving towards the entrance.
“Wanna bet 50 credits that Revy still isn’t here?”
“Nope, I am not taking that bet.”
I tsked. “coward”
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We entered the Weekend Revenge Club, my eyes relaxed to the softer blue and purple hues of the interior lighting. The soft murmurs of conversations reflected the few patrons present, it wasn’t surprising really, it was Sunday after all. The dance floor on the right was mostly empty. The stairs to the left led to a second floor which is where we would normally sit. On the other side of the entrance, behind the bar, a big man with a gray beard and a single red cybernetic eye was looking at us, if you looked closely, you could see the hint of a small smile tugging at his lips.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite couple.” The man teased as we approached him.
“I don’t think messing with your regulars is a smart business decision, old man.” I countered.
“Who are you calling an old man? I’m at the prime of my youth.” He flexed his big arms to prove his point.
Alex smiled. “Yea, yea, flex those totally not enhanced synth muscles. We are wise to your tricks old man.” She drawled as she sat by the bar.
“Et tu Alex!” He made a long deflating sigh. “Feels like yesterday when that was all it took to impress you brats, what can I get you to drink?”
“That depends, Bob, did Revy show up?”
“Nope, the little hellion ain’t here yet.”
“Then I’ll have two mojitos.”
“Whiskey on the rocks for me.” Added Alex.
“Coming right up.” Said Bob as he served the whiskey and prepared the cocktails.
Drinks in hand we made our way to the second floor, and towards our usual table by the corner, overlooking the bar and the dance floor below. Two men were sitting at the table waiting for us. The younger one was in his twenties, his Asian features were further accentuated by his short ponytail giving him a very samurai look. The older one was in his thirties, not that one would be able to infer his age considering he was more cyborg than human. Both sported a tattoo of a Chinese dragon coiling around a katana on their right arm, designating them as members of the Sentai Clan, one of the two big gangs of LA.
I nodded at the cyborg and the samurai. “Batou, Jun.”
Batou greeted us in his deep voice. “Jack, Alex.” He then turned to Jun. “I believe you owe me 50 credits, young master.”
Jun’s eyebrow twitched. “Batou, do not start calling me that. At least wait until I am drunk so that I have an excuse for starting a fight.”
Batou smirked. “Starting a fight you cannot win does not strike me as a smart decision, Jun.”
Apparently satisfied by being called by his name Jun’s eyes glowed yellow, indicating the money transfer between them.
“Whatcha bet on?” asked Alex in between sips of her whiskey.
“Batou bet that you two would come together,” Jun said in a distant way, his eyes drifting from left to right. Probably reading something on his neural interface.
I gave Batou a look, and then shifted my attention to Jun. “We got any jobs for this week? I could use the cash.”
Jun’s eyes stopped to look at me. “Did you gamble your money away again? And yes, this week we are flooded with work. I was rereading the details, which I will share, as soon as our last member decides to grace us with her presence.”
I nodded at that and took a sip from the straw of my mojito. Or I would have if the drink did not disappear mid-motion. Suddenly on the other side of the table, a redhead teen was drinking my mojito with a mischievous grin. I calmly picked up my second drink and started sipping that.
“Why do you always steal my drink?”
“Cause you’re the only one that gets the sweet cocktails.” She replied matter of fact.
Next time I will be getting an extra sour drink just to spite her.
Jun cleared his throat to grab our attention.
“Now that Revy is here, I will share the big news of the underworld, which you upstanding citizens have not heard yet.”
You could practically feel the sarcasm when he said upstanding citizens. All of us were mercenaries that worked for all sorts of clients, and while we did have some morals, we weren’t exactly knights of justice. The difference between the two gangsters and the rest of us was that we also led legal lives outside our mercenary identities. Jun did try to recruit us back when we first formed the team, and while he did mean well since there were many benefits in joining the Sentai Clan, we ultimately turned him down. Being unaffiliated is risky business, but on the other hand, no one can order us around.
“As I am sure you know” Jun continued. “Things have been very quiet in the last two weeks amongst the gangs of LA, this is because the Sentai and the Undertakers have been negotiating an alliance. Today, that alliance was formally signed by both respective heads of the gangs.”
Alex sputtered. “You mean that the two biggest gangs in LA, who have been competing with each other for the last thirty years, have suddenly decided to join hands?”
“Yes, apparently the space race has something to do with it. Anyway, during the negotiations the leadership of the two gangs agreed on how to split the remaining minor gangs in LA between the two of them. These minor gangs will be absorbed by Sentai and the Undertakers in the upcoming week, through methods that vary between blackmail, force, and ‘friendly’ negotiations. We will be working with Sentai in securing several of these gangs. I am sending you the details of the various Ops we have been hired to do this week. Any questions?”
“Shouldn’t we be discussing these things over a jammer?” I asked.
“On the contrary, the two gangs want the others to know that they are coming for them, they are planning a shock and awe strategy, in which they blitz everyone within the week.” Jun paused for a moment “I know this is going to be a very busy week for all of us, but that also means a fat payday and some time to wind down after all is done. We can all meet up here next weekend to enjoy the spoils.”
Revy lightened up after hearing the news “Finally some excitement, these two weeks have been so boring. My highlight was when one of my professors showed up to a lecture without having taken his cyberware meds and started getting angry at everyone and everything, after shouting at the security guards for half an hour they decided to taze him.”
“Is your professor ok now?” wondered Alex.
As the two of them started chatting I was thinking how to break the news of my big gig. I needed to think of a way to convince Jun to meet at the Drunk Samurai club next week since it had secure rooms equipped with jammers. At the same time, I don’t want to alert him that I am planning something big. The man looked stressed enough as it is, him being the son of one of the minor leaders of Sentai meant that he had lots of responsibilities and expectations to meet. By the looks of it, the last two weeks must have been busy for him. The dark circles around his eyes told me as much.
Since I couldn’t come up with any good ideas, I decided to do the next best thing, delegate the problem to someone who could do a better job. I turned on my neural interface with a practiced eye motion, navigated to my contacts, and proceeded to call Batou. He answered me without diverting his eyesight from his drink.
“What is it, Jack?” He subvocalized, and while he did not emit any sound an electronic voice in my head transmitted his message.
“Convince Jun that next weekend we should meet at the Drunk Samurai club instead.” I subvocalized back.
“… should I be concerned?”
“You can decide that next week, once you’ve heard what I’ve got to say.”
“Fine, but you owe me a drink.”
“Deal.”
I cut the call focusing once more on my surroundings. Alex and Revy were deep into a talk about space stuff that went over my head. Batou was nursing his drink nonchalantly, Jun stood by the railing overlooking the first floor, while on a call with someone. In the meantime, I took a peek at the details of the Ops we were sent. I quickly realized that I had a lot of reading to do. Data retrieval, asset acquisition, hostile neutralization, and security detail were the Ops listed for tomorrow only. Jun wasn’t kidding when he said we were going to have a very busy week.
After a bit more drinking and socializing I stood up. “I’m calling it a night, we have plenty of preparing and reading to do, so I’m getting a head start.”
“Boring” booed Revy.
Batou smirked at her. “You should follow his example kid, and make sure to read the details of the Ops this time.”
“Yes, please do read them,” Jun added quickly, sounding exasperated.
“I always read them! That was just, like, one time where I forgot.”
We all gave her an unconvinced look.
“Anyway, I’ll be going” I reiterated.
“I’m coming with,” Alex added as she stood up.
While we were walking away, I heard Batou’s deep voice.
“I believe that’s another 50 credits you owe me, young master.”
I couldn’t help but smile a bit at that.