I looked around the car to see if any of Karim’s henchmen had taken anything or changed anything with the car. I started the engine and floored it. I headed for Afterlife, and I was in the mood to do some gigs.
Once I arrived at Afterlife, I walked down the stairs, passed by Emmerick, and made my way to the bar. The bartender saw me sit down at the bar and walked over.
“The usual Max?” The bartender asked.
“No, just get me a soda.”
The bartender returned with a can of cherry soda.
“Any gigs available?” I asked after taking a sip.
“That depends. What are you in the mood for? There’s a search and grab that you can do, or if you're feeling adventurous, some investigation work needs doing.”
“Tell me more,” I asked.
“The search and grab is nothing special; some guy was playing cards and lost something he shouldn't have, and if he doesn’t get it back, he’s a dead man. There is investigation work that needs doing is something that the NCPD put up.”
“That’s a new low even by the badge standard,” I said before letting the bartender continue.
“What the NCPD needs to be done is someone to look into a drug-related issue. Both gigs will pay well.”
I thought about what one I would rather do, as both did sound interesting; I was mainly thinking about what one could do without having to kill anyone.
“Max.”
I looked to my right and saw Reese, who was now sitting next to me. “If you’re looking for a gig, I can hook you up with one.”
I wasn't in the mood for whatever Reese wanted me to do; the best chance it would involve me having to kill someone.
“No offense, Reese, but I would like to go one day without having to kill someone, so why don't you get someone else to do your dirty work? Better yet, why don't you go do it yourself?”
I sat up from the bar and asked the bartender to send me more details about the search-and-grab gig before leaving Afterlife.
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Once in my car, I received a text that contained more information about the gig and the item I would be retrieving.
“The item you will be retrieving is a tooth that the gonk needed to keep safe for someone but decided to use it as a bet in a card game, and now the person that needed the tooth wants our client dead. What you need to do is grab the tooth and deliver it to a deposit box; once in the box, we’ll handle the rest. As for your payment, you will receive four thousand eddies.”
The rest of the text contained the location of where the client lost the tooth. I started the car and headed for the location; the location itself was a butcher's shop in Pacifica. Walking to the shop, it could easily be seen by the way people were looking at me that I wasn't welcome here.
Entering the shop, there was raw meat dangling on a hook and cooked meat wrapped up in paper and placed in a bag with people's names on the bag, ready for collection.
“What do you want?” one of the workers asked.
“I’ve just got a question to ask,” I replied.
“Then ask your question.”
“You have a tooth in the back?”
The worker slammed down the butcher knife, “Where did you find out about the tooth?”
“The gonk put up a contact for someone to get the tooth back.”
“If you want the tooth, it will cost you.”
“Name your price.”
The worker asked me to follow him into the back room. We walked into the back room, and the workers walked to the fridge, pulled out a bottle, and asked if I wanted some. I declined the offer and asked if we could get back on track.
“The tooth will cost. If you can get us a piece of cyberware, we’ll give you the tooth.”
Intrigued, I asked more about the cyberware they needed.
“It’s nothing serious." The worker went to grab a piece of paper and said, “Here. This is where you find the cyberware.”
I took the note from the butcher and exited the shop, feeling a mix of anticipation and curiosity. As I stepped outside, I carefully unfolded the note and my eyes fell on a phone number. Calling the number on the note I was met with a cryptic message on the other line, “GM Mall. Five minutes. Be there." The call abruptly ended, leaving me to digest the enigmatic request.
Realizing that the GM mall wasn't too far, I quickened my pace and soon found myself sprinting towards the designated meeting place. Upon arriving at the mall, I scanned the surroundings, trying to spot the individual who had issued the cryptic directive.
Wandering through the bustling mall, I suddenly collided with someone who hastily passed me a small case. Before disappearing into the crowd, they uttered a warning: “Remember, you never saw me, and this interaction never happened.”
Intrigued, I cautiously opened the case and discovered the cyberware that the butcher had tasked me with retrieving. Leaving the mall, I retraced my steps back to the butcher's shop.
He looked inside and smiled. He walked into the freezer and came back with a glass jar with the tooth inside and handed it over.
Taking the glass jar, I thanked the butcher, left the butcher's shop, made my way to a nearby deposit box, and handed over the glass jar. Once the glass jar went in the deposit box, I texted Afterlife and let them know that the item the client wanted was in the deposit box in Pacifica and ready for collection.