Chapter Forty-Eight - Pocket Test

The next day, or at least the next day's morning, was spent rigorously testing Sharp's new perk.

It was... potent. But it was also not impossibly strong. I suspect that we had traded strength for utility with Sharp's choice, and that was totally fine.

First, we looked up some ground rules for her ability.

She couldn't reach into her pocket and pull out anything. No, instead, it seemed as though she had to either know which tool she wanted before reaching in, or have a clear idea of what task needed doing.

For example, I had her fetch a set of old locks from a shoe-box tucked away in a corner. They were for lock-picking practice, but mostly they were just old padlocks to fiddle with.

Sharp reached into her pocket and pulled out exactly the right kind of pick for each one of the padlocks, from rakes to ball picks. She confirmed to me that she had no idea what each tool was, or how it worked, exactly, but... well, the power seemed to supply what was needed.

Later on, I confirmed it when I had her undo a digital clock. The screwdrivers she pulled out were always the right size, shape, and length.

If I told her to pull out lockpicks for locks that she couldn't see, she'd usually pull out a set of them, with several different sorts. Likewise, she could pull out a multitool for other jobs with several different nibs on it.

So the power wasn't prescient about what tool was needed. It would provide the correct one if Sharp could observe which tool was needed.

When I pointed out that the manual screwdriver she was using had an electric version out there, she managed to pull out a small electrical screwdriver next.

Looking at online catalogues of tools proved useful as well. Sharp went from pulling out simple, if usable tools, to some that looked like the higher-end, top-quality tools in the catalogues, with rubberized grips and small electric motors.

The power was limited, therefore, to Sharp's imagination.

Moreover, the tools summoned seemed real. They didn't just disappear. We had seventy-nine screwdrivers on the kitchen table at one point. They'd disappear only when Sharp shoved them back into her pocket.

She could summon electric drills, kitchenware, lockpicks, crowbars, remote detonators... the list went on.

However, there was a big barrier to her ability. Sharp couldn't just summon anything willy-nilly. She had to need that thing. Or she had to think she needed it.

We only managed to summon that detonator after setting up a remote decoy 'bomb' out in the living room.

Given a task that could use a tool, she'd be able to pull just about anything related from her pocket, but planning on doing a task wasn't enough.

Weapons also seemed to be out of her reach, or maybe that was more of a mental block? She could summon up a kitchen knife to chop up veggies, but couldn't reach into her pocket for a combat knife.

Well, that was fine. She could still summon up some related tools. An ammo-loader was within her range, as were sight-adjusters, even a rangefinder.

The things she could summon weren't limited to the non-electronic. She could pull out a geiger counter as easily as a hammer. That could have some use. I didn't know if her tools were appropriately calibrated, but I think it was safe to assume that they were.

One last, interesting detail was that her tools were never on-brand. A hammer with an identical grip as a popular tool brand would have its inset logo replaced by a similar one that just read Sharp.

That could be a giveaway, in the right circumstances, but it still felt safe enough to use.

"I feel like I should... you know, do something with this," Sharp said as she tossed a pair of scissors up and down. We were making pants.

Well, making was... a broad generalization. There was a laptop open on the coffee table and we had cloth out, as well as some sewing materials. Sharp was providing the needs and scissors and other smaller tools, even including a tiny handheld sewing machine that we'd seen a version of online.

The goal wasn't a nice pair of pants, but one with massive pockets.

It irked me to no end that even so far into the future, women's pants still lacked appropriate pockets.

It was a clear oversight when Sharp picked her new perk, because it needed pockets to work.

But what if the pocket was huge? She couldn't pull out a crowbar from a small one, but she could from the thigh-pocket of some old cargo pants. Would bigger pockets mean bigger tools?

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It had to be tested.

"What kind of thing?" I asked. "We spend the morning testing things already."

"No, I spent the morning testing," Sharp said. "You've been cuddling on the couch all day."

"Hmpf. I'm grinding my Cat skill," I shot back. Sure, I was sitting between Mercury and Cyanide, the both of whom were quietly purring, but that was just my way of grinding up my skills. Also, it was warm and soft. Having a kitty on your lap was heavenly. Having two kitties smothering you while purring? God only wished they could have comforted this grandly.

Sharp leaned back. "Fine, fine," she muttered. "But I meant more like... a job?"

"Another?" I asked.

The pay for our last job had only just come in. After fees, material costs and expenses, it came down to a hefty six thousand or so dollars. That might have been a lot when I was much younger, but right now? That was about as much as what some lower-middle class sorts made in a month.

Still a good amount, of course, but not enough to keep us going for long.

"I suppose a second job couldn't hurt. What kind of work would you want?"

Sharp perked up. "What kind of gigs are available?"

"I have no idea," I admitted. "What's available changes nearly constantly, and it's rare that you'll find a repeatable gig. Though... sometimes, when a gang war is sparked, one side or the other will hire out. It's risky, however, but it does mean lots of work. Usually, repeatable jobs aren't considered gigs."

"Then what are they considered?" Sharp asked.

"Jobs."

"Oh," she said. "Wait!" She squinted at nothing for a moment, then nodded. "I need to bring up my lower-levelled skills. Cool is still at level zero! That's... kind of painful, actually. But Body and Reflex could both use a bit of a boost."

"Hmm," I hummed. That wasn't a bad way to look at things, actually. "Give me a bit, I'll try to line something more physical up. Maybe some transportation work? Though... at that point, you might as well continue to work as a courier. I'm sure Malcom would hire you for more courier work. It's not great pay, but it means lots of moving around and some amount of physical labour."

Sharp worked her jaw, then nodded. "Okay. I feel like I get a lot of experience and levels for doing a proper gig though. Like that last one? That was a lot of levels all of a sudden."

That wasn't wrong. I'd gotten a decent boost at the end of that last gig. "Fair point. Let's lock you in for two days of courier work a week? I think that would be acceptable, and it'll give you lots of time to learn the city."

"Learn the city," Sharp repeated. She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Anyway! My other skill that's low is Magic. It's sitting at one. One! I could have... like, spells and stuff! I bet I could count a wand as a tool."

"Interesting point. Fine. Get the laptop over here. I believe that there are some open courses for young adults to learn the basics of magic. We'll sign you up for self-defence classes too."

I had Sharp open up a calendar app, my old one, in fact, and then a second browser tab that we used to look for a few things.

"Monday and Friday can be your combat training days. We'll use Monday at the range, since it's usually a quiet day. Friday evening courses are pretty common for martial arts classes, especially lower-levelled ones."

"Okay, okay," Sharp said.

"Tuesdays... hmm, courier work? We can lock in Tuesdays and Wednesdays for that. Two days a week of work shouldn't hurt. Which leaves Thursdays and Fridays for gig work."

"Two days for gigs?" Sharp asked.

"They can take time to plan and prep," I said.

"Okay! That's fair. And the magic classes?"

I considered it, then looked at the calendar. "We'll look for something on the weekends. Preferably on Saturdays."

Sharp nodded and typed in the last options.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Combat Training (Range day!) Courier Work Courier Work Gig Day! Gig Day 2!

Evening: Martial art butt-kicking training! Magic training! <3

"And... Sunday?" Sharp asked."

"You'll need at least one day to relax... and clean the house."

***