“Hold on now. I don’t do risky jobs Mrs. Marchand, you know me. I work alone on small scale jobs. I don’t mind a long time scale for the work but I don’t want to end up rotting at the bottom a septic well because of a couple of aura.” I said trying to get across my caution without annoying her.
“Oh come now Mal, I never put my grandchildren at risk deliberately. If I give them a dangerous task it’s because I feel they can rise above the challenge without putting themselves truly at risk.” She said while waving the cig around for emphasis. “Besides I think this job a good fit for you as well as highly lucrative. Your dear grandmother has found herself needing to make better use of her more reliable grandchildren lately and you’re amongst those that I think can make the most of this job.”
“You’ve found yourself short-staffed lately then? Has something happened? Is it to do with Kitsuban corp or something else?” I asked suspiciously.
Marchand ignored my questions and just slowly blew out a stream of smoke into the air around us.
“I know you don’t like stepping into the dark too much Malcolm. I know you’ve been let down before. I can only make you a better offer for the same work I suppose. Sweeten the pot. My grandchildren do have such sweet tooths.” She finally said, still ignoring my questions. “I’ll see what I can do for you feeling safe in your home again. I’ll find you and your mother a place here on the street. As well as the already quite substantial payment for the job.”
I hesitated immediately. I tried not to show it but it was exactly the right hook at the right time. If I could get mom into Marchand’s street it would basically make her as safe as I could make her, especially after this whole corp event.
Marchand must really want me on the job, and she must be spread thin to use a kid like me for something with actual peril to it.
“What’s the contract and how much is the payout? I’m not agreeing just yet but I’ll listen to the pitch because it’s you Mrs. Marchand.” I said with a grim smile on my face. She knew she had the right bait, she’d known my weaknesses for a while but had never really shown me enough particular attention to be worth exploiting them. Now she’d struck and I was likely going to end up on this sketchy job.
“It’s nothing too bad Mal. I’d hardly send my darling grandchildren to raid a night market now, would I? I just need you to head down to the pipe ways over in maintenance sector twelve and find a dead drop there which I have the details of here for you, then you need to deliver it to a second drop site in the water treatment facility in sector ten without attracting attention too close to the second site. The only issue being that the first drop off point has recently been inhabited by a very rude gang of scratch users, likely to pose a threat to those who approach. The second issue is the time window is closing and the job needs to be handled within three days.” She rattled off the details with uncharacteristic clarity.
“That mostly sounds horrific and unpredictable. What’s the payment look like for this rush job?” I asked while scowling a little.
“Well, you’d be looking at two thousand aura due to the known inherent risks and the short time frame. In addition to earning you and your mother an apartment on the street at the standard rental rates.” She said with a warm smile, like she wasn’t discussing sending me into the deepest parts of the city to tangle with some of the most desperate drug using gang members and get a hidden package to a different location without drawing attention.
My expression hadn’t changed despite the mention of quite a high payout. The risk of the job wasn’t just in facing some crazed scratch users but also in moving a dead drop to a second drop spot.
That meant more separation from the source for the eventual fallout the item involved was tangled with but I would be stepping into the situation and the trouble it brought. If someone needed that much distance then the expected trouble must be extreme.
A small silence passed as she seemed to sense the thoughts running through my mind but then she sighed out a breath full of cig smoke and spoke further.
“I’m well aware this kind of task is not in your usual line with me Mal. But I also need you on this one. My other more careful agents are tied up or out of the city and this doesn’t have the leisure of time. I’ve already tried to convince you with getting your mother safe and I know you’re interested but that’s still treating you like a child and not like an operator, I suppose.” She said, a lot of her old lady act dropping away as she sat up and turned her head and looked at me for the first time.
“I don’t want to be a trouble to you Mrs. Marchand, and I don’t want to die on a job that anyone with sense could have seen coming from the outset unless I have to.” I said, laying down my feelings on the job squarely.
She took a moment to look at me with those gray-blue eyes that shouldn’t be able to see anything. There wasn’t a single synthskin seam anywhere on her that I could see. You’d think she’d never been chipped in her whole life.
Sitting there looking at each other for a moment in silence, I thought I was going to break first as my nerve started to fail me. But then she smiled a little and leaned back into her chair.
“At least you’re acting more like an operator than when you first shuffled nervously through my door like a lost lamb. I’ve sent quite a few children to their death for money and glory Mal. But never once have I felt it likely to happen before hand and at the very least I always made the risk worth it afterwards if they made it back successfully.” She said as she started to smoke again. “So given the reality of this job I’ll make you a deal, you walk out this door after you’ve accepted and tell you’re mother she’s living across the hall for the next ten years at least because I might be robbing her of her ten year old boy. I hope I’m not going to do that but this city isn’t kind to anyone. Next, if you get the job done properly and make it back I’ll chip you in to some netrunning gear I happen to own, older but reliable. And put you in line to work support on larger jobs from the back line. How does that sound to you? My other grandkids seek far more glory than you, I think you’d make a good runner with your cautious attitude.”
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With her old lady act dropped entirely it was like talking to a different woman. Even her glossy eyes were locked on mine as she leaned on the arm of her chair with confidence, the barely there old woman gone from the picture.
I wondered what it meant. What did her talking to me properly mean, really? And her relying on her operators instead of the other way around didn’t sit well with me, was the city’s oldest fixer in more trouble than she’d let on?
But the hook couldn’t get more full than what she’d laid out there at the end. Basically any of the kids I’d grown up around would have leaped into a fire for such an offer. But a lot of those kids were also already dead so that showed what thinking like that led to.
But I really couldn’t throw away this opportunity. Sanctum was still an edge nobody accounted for so I wasn’t completely without plays to make.
“Sure Mrs. Marchand, you’ve got me. I’ll take the job and get started right away and be back to you before the three day deadline. The package will be delivered safely.” I said with confidence.
Hopefully the confidence would eventually become true.
I had a ping from my interface asking for an IR connection, I accepted a then a file transfer request which I also accepted, the download finishing nearly instantly. The files seeming to be a few details and instructions along with a bunch of maps of different types from industrial to electrical to pathway maps.
“Wonderful Mal. I’ll let you go now then, you’re certain to have other things to do today.” She said as she returned the cig to it’s stand and started to relax into her chair again.
“Goodbye Mrs. Marchand.” I said as I turned and left the same way I came in. A short walk through her home and out the same front door. Then out of the corridor through the already unlocked gate I stepped onto the balcony.
I must be going crazy. I’m ten years old. I shouldn’t be taking double dead drop jobs, that’s a lot of possible heat. And it’s got scratch burnt gangers down in the tunnels. I can’t even fight an adult without getting put down in a single punch let along a gun blowing me apart from the dark.
Sighing, I leaned over the balcony for a second to let my head cool off. I tried to think about my options but I didn’t have contacts for this kind of job. Ears is useless here, for all he can hear he can’t seem to hear himself, he has all the stealth of a pipe bomb. A few other kids I’ve known aren’t much better. There’s a couple of other operators I could reach out to but none I’d trust with this, down there in the dark with a good payday for the one coming out.
Could try getting some iron for this, sell it after. Don’t need to pack heat generally but this job could go bad in so many ways that a gun could solve pretty quickly but I can’t shoot well and I’ve only got a vague idea on how to load most guns.
[If the User has access to a gun range they might achieve minimum compatibility with some of the firearm skills allowing the User to operate the firearm acceptably for the scale of the mission.]
Damn Sanctum. It’s obvious isn’t it, if I can’t do it right away I can rely on Sanctum to cover the gaps until I get good enough. Maybe not enough to stand up to a seasoned operator or corpo security but enough to put down a crazed scratch user if need be.
Okay, I need to get to a supplier and test out a pistol. Likely can’t afford anything better with what I have left with me and still get an all-purpose gun.
I turned and looked across to where Noe was leaning before but she’d gone back indoors since I’d been inside with Marchand. I could visit her before I left for the job, might be my last conversation with a friend.
Making my way over to the lift I took it down to the quiet street floor and crossed to the other side. There I stepped onto the lift going up and rode it to Noe’s floor. Walking along the balcony walkway I wondered if her mom would be home, hadn’t seen her in a long time either.
I got to her gate and pressed the buzzer and waited, not getting a response from anyone inside. I pressed again and made sure the camera on the gate was lit up, it seemed fine. Finally the gate unlocked and I pushed in to the corridor to see Noe standing by her apartment door.
“Hey Noe. I was visiting Marchand and saw you were in. Thought I’d come say hello before I get to the job.” I said trying to not be awkward. Not seeing friends for a long time is weird.
“Hey Mal. Yeah I figured you were here for Marchand. Do you want to come in and hang out for a bit?” She asked, taking a step into her apartment and gesturing.
“Yeah sure that’d be cool. Is your mom home?” I asked stepping into the place behind Noe.
The apartment was similar to the one me and mom lived in but a bit deeper and there was another room with it’s door closed. Maybe a three bedroom design? It was furnished lightly but there was signs of use like scratches and marks around. Noe had apparently been working on something mechanical on a nearby table against the wall in the living room.
I moved to sit on the sofa in the middle of the room but my gaze did move back to the mechanical device on the table over in the corner, it was a table mounted clamp with something metallic in it.
“You want a drink or anything? We’ve got a few juices here or I can run over to the vending machine if you want.” She asked holding some purple cartons.
“Nah I’ll take that grape stuff, thanks.” I said catching the thrown juice box.
“Cool, mom’s been away for about a week now. She said she’d be gone for a little while so I’m not worried yet. Shes doing a longer job on the border of the city that has something to do with a corpo drone manufacturing facility. I don’t know much more.” She said dropping into the other end of the sofa.
“Ah, preem. Yeah she’ll be fine, she’s always got an escape plan and she’s never around for the results of her work anyway. She’s one of the reasons I don’t take dumb risks, because I know you can do well even avoiding danger like she has.” I said while taking a sip of juice, it was prune flavor and not grape. This was a disaster. I put it down on the coffee table nearby.
“Shes done longer jobs before and come back fine. I’m more interested on your job, did Marchand give you something interesting?” Noe asked while taking a long drag from her prune juice. Gross.
“Actually something more dangerous than interesting. Dead drop move with some gangers involved. Deep in the pipe ways down in the dark.” I said, my gloominess leaking into my speech.
“Mal you never take jobs like that, has Marchand forced you into this? Do you owe her or something?” Noe asked with a concerned expression.
Noe was mostly Japanese but had big and bushy brown curly hair from somewhere in her tree. She was ten like me but a bit taller which was unfair, all she ate was staries and juice. Where did she even get the energy to grow from?
She was wearing cargo clothing with lots of pockets like always, I’m pretty sure she carried everything she owned on her at all times. She also loved to smoke all kinds of flavors of cig and had done since we were six when she got hooked on them from an older girl named Dove who had since either moved on from the district or gone missing.
Now her little pale face was screwed up in worry, even she knew me enough that, even after all this time, I wouldn’t be normally doing a job like this.