Cool water splashed his face, and Maine took a good look at his mug in the mirror. He straightened up, projecting everything he was at himself. Cool, collected and focused, but not intense. There were certain thresholds you had to keep under, otherwise you'd scare off anybody willing to do biz with you.
And as much of a prick Faraday could be, the corpo Fixer's work was as rewarding as it was demanding, so long as he stuck to his guns with regard to what his crew were worth. Though sometimes, negotiating with him was like groping around in the dark. It was one thing to be resistant to being underpaid, and it was another to be difficult to work with, and Faraday just loved hiding the line between the two.
An aggravated grimace bubbled up, and Maine's fists clenched as he resisted the urge to put them through the mirror. Of course major league Fixers were trouble, one didn't get into Faraday's position without screwing over everybody he could. It was just another balancing act that Maine had to deal with, part and parcel of negotiating for his crew.
Nothing he couldn't handle.
The crew was shaping up well, growing more experienced and versatile with every job they did. Kiwi had a mind like a steel trap and a sixth sense for opportunity, while Lucy had a talent for hacking that no other Netrunner he'd ever known could match. Falco was a reliable set of wheels with nerves of steel, while even David's lack of experience was made up for by his compatibility with the Sandevistan, which had to be seen to be believed.
The part of him that would wonder whether or not taking the Sandevistan for himself would have been a better call grew quieter by the day. The choice he had made bringing the kid into his crew as one based a great deal on sentiment, but it felt good to see it pay off anyways.
A faint, metallic rattle reached his ears, and his grimace turned uglier as he looked down at his hands, now unclenched and slightly quaking. He went digging into his jacket, and forcibly closed his hands around an airhypo.
Lately he'd been having rare… episodes. Issues with his arms. Shakes that he had trouble controlling. As far as he knew, it was just the 'ganic parts of his arms getting a little desynchronised with his cyberware. Nothing too major, but it was irritating to deal with, and worse, it wasn't a good look on a Runner.
He knew the power of appearances, especially in negotiations. Shakes and rattling cyberware didn't say 'competent and experienced', it screamed 'nervous and unstable', and nobody in this business looked like that, unless they were on the way out.
And like hell was he throwing in the towel, not now.
He put the airhypo up to his arm and pulled the trigger, the device hissing as cool immunosuppressants flowed through his system. He flexed his hand, pleased at the lack of issues. He'd have to order a few extra doses during his next appointment with Doc, he was running low a little too quickly for his liking.
He gave himself one last once-over in the mirror, before he gave himself a smirk as he slid his sunglasses back on. Then, he exited the washroom.
He made his way to one of the booths, and took a seat. Dorio was already there, sitting next to him and ready to act as back up. He waited as the minutes ticked by, and after a few moments longer, a man with four eyes approached their booth, sliding into the seat and leaning forwards as he folded his hands together.
There were no pleasantries, and there was no small talk either. The meeting began with a simple announcement. "As the two of you may know by now, Tanaka is dead." Faraday calmly stated. "The circumstances of his death do not matter, though I will note that certain delays caused by your recent recruitment efforts may have contributed to the operation's difficulties."
Maine quashed down his bile. Bringing David in for the Tanaka job for his first gig was a risk that hadn't paid off, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He'd taken chances on recruits before, and Kiwi, Falco and Lucy had all pulled their weight, though they all had their issues at first. David would shape up as well eventually, he just knew it. "We've talked about that before. Nothing I haven't heard. Judging by our little get-together, I'm assuming you didn't manage to pull whatever you're looking for off of his body."
Faraday's eyes narrowed, and the two stared each other down. Maine studied his expression. As far as he could tell, Faraday was annoyed at the question, as the Fixer always was whenever he asked for more information than strictly necessary, but his question was a valid one, considering its relevance to the job at hand, and Faraday knew that as well as he did. Nothing but a verbal jab, just like the one the Fixer had thrown.
Meanwhile, Faraday was studying him right back, cybereyes refocusing as his expression remained stony. Whatever the Fixer saw seemed to satisfy him, and he straightened up slightly. "Arasaka counterintelligence swooped in before I could gain access to Tanaka's cyberware. As far as the operation is concerned, Tanaka himself is no longer an avenue of investigation." He admitted. "However, there are still leads to examine." He placed a shard on the table, which Maine took and slotted in.
A building's schematics spread out before his eyes, and folders of data spread out to the side, detailing technical specifications of weapons, drones, robots and turrets, as well as their locations throughout the top floor. "I'm assuming this is Tanaka's penthouse suite?" Maine probed.
"It is. I need you to make your way to his home and to retrieve any and all data storage you can find. Leave no stone unturned. I want absolutely everything." His voice carried a certainty, as if there was no conceivable reality where Maine would disagree. "In this instance, you are permitted to go about your business in your usual obvious manner, so long as you bring to me every last scrap. Though…" His gaze seemed to sharpen, "It should be clear that undue damage to the object of your mission will mark this errand as a failure."
There was a lot Maine wanted to say. A little about stating the obvious when it clearly wasn't necessary. A little about the unsubtle scorn with which Faraday described 'their usual obvious manner'. These were quibbles, though. Points of friction that there was no point in addressing, given that there was no way he'd get the Fixer to budge on his stance. Instead, he focused on another part of his statement. "You're calling this an errand, but I'm not seeing a milk run, here."
There was a lot to look at. All sorts of automated security systems dotted the buildings, supplemented by a small force of guards, though he already saw a point of vulnerability in the lone guard station. There was also the fact that the building's owners had a security contract with Arasaka, so any alarms pulled would result in a backup being sent their way in a matter of minutes.
That being said, it was still doable. With Lucy and Kiwi on the team, all of those net-based security systems were as good as scrap, while Pilar could break through any mechanical locks or obstacles they found. He and Dorio could work on carrying out the larger databanks, while Rebecca and David could help escort them out of the building to Falco and his ride while they had their hands full.
Everybody had a place in the plan. Problem was, that meant everyone needed a cut.
"Are you saying that you can't do the job?" Faraday asked, flatly. An unspoken question seemed to echo. 'Are you wasting my time?'
"I said no such thing." His own voice was firm and controlled. "What I'm really putting down is this. This job is an all-hands on deck situation. We'll need a wide range of expertise for an op like this." Mained leaned back, folding his arms. "Netrunners, Solos, a getaway driver and all sorts of other shit. And it's not like I can pay people with valuable skills like these ennies, proper compensation means proper scratch."
Faraday laid his hands on the table. "You'll have to forgive my doubts with regard to your choice in personnel, considering past setbacks. I'll require a detailed plan of action, including the edgerunners involved, equipment used, and your proposed exit."
Something in Maine rankled at the idea of letting the Fixer lay even a finger on the crew's process. "You saying whatever we put together needs your approval?" He demanded.
"Precisely. I was lenient before, and I allowed you to complete your tasks using your best judgment. However, the lack of results has become… unacceptable. I want to know what you are doing, when you are doing it, why and how. I do not see why you would have issues with this arrangement." Faraday narrowed his eyes. "Unless you have any doubts about my vested interest in this operation's success."
Maine gritted his teeth. "That is not the issue here."
"Then what problem can you possibly have?" Faraday spread his hands out. "We can negotiate payment when I see exactly where my money would be going." He stood up from his seat. "You know how to contact me." He said with finality, before turning his back on the two of them and walking away.
Maine's fists clenched, and he made to stand up, but a grip on his shoulder kept him in his seat. He turned to look at Dorio, who shook her head at him.
He settled back into his seat with an aggravated grunt. "Shoulda' let me go after him." He grumbled.
"He was trying to get you riled up. Better to not play his game on his terms." Dorio muttered, watching Faraday closely as he left the Afterlife.
Maine took a breath and thought back. The corpo Fixer had seemed more caustic than usual. "Fuck's he playing at?"
"No clue. Better question is, what are we going to do about the job? Are we actually going to do what that creep says?" She said with a frown.
Maine's face twisted at the thought. "I don't need a suit deciding whether or not our plans pass muster." He spat. That bastard had expressed an interest in being a part of their decision making process before, and Maine had shut him down hard. Now though, he was sure Faraday wasn't going to take no for an answer.
Dorio gave a nod of acceptance. "So we're dropping the job, then?"
Maine felt something inside him clench. "We'll talk this through with the rest of the crew. Hear what they have to say before we make a decision." He decided.
----------------------------------------
"Screw the job. We should drop it." Lucy carefully maintained a tone of casual dismissal as she placed the shard back on the table and folded her arms.
She had little interest in being linked in any way to whatever mess Faraday was pushing them into. She had things to do, footage to edit, dead man's switches to set up, and a dozen contingencies to prepare. Getting involved in the job seemed like it'd put them into the middle of a clash between corporations that she simply didn't have the time for. Whatever Faraday was looking for, as far as she was concerned, wasn't worth the trouble it would bring.
Maine's face tightened slightly, and he looked to the rest of the crew. They all sat around a table at the Afterlife, having arrived to discuss their course of action. "We've got one vote against. How about everyone else?" He asked.
Pilar was spread out on the side of a couch, tapping his gold-plated fingers against the back, while Rebecca was sitting next to him, kicking her legs. David sat next to Rebecca, leaning in with a serious expression on his face as he looked at Maine, who was across from him with Dorio by his side.
Lucy sat between them along with Falco and Kiwi. The former Nomad was nursing a drink with a look of consideration on his face while the Netrunner looked on with an impassive stare, sitting with her legs crossed as her cigarette let a thin trail of smoke rise through the air.
A long moment of silence ensued, and Lucy let her eyes sweep over the rest of the crew, wondering who out of them was the most likely to go for it.
Maine went without saying. He'd been looking to break his way back into the major leagues for a while now, and he knew he had the crew for it. He'd been focused on this job as their crew's rep builder, but so far it had been an exercise in frustration, with more time spent on standby twiddling their thumbs than anything else. She got the impression that he'd consider their months of work a 'waste' if they dropped the job now.
As much as Faraday's butting in obviously annoyed Maine, he was in too deep to quit. However, if the rest of the crew disagreed, then he wouldn't be stubborn enough to keep holding on. What she needed to do was to keep the rest of them from jumping on board with Maine's plan.
"C'mon, let me have a look." Pilar muttered, snatching the shard off the table and slotting it in. His monovisor flickered as he read the data within. "Mhm. Mhm. Hm?" He sat up straight, "Goddamn, look at them beauties! Militech Wyverns, Arasaka Mk. 2s… Hell, there's even a few Aegis X2s built into the walls!" He whistled a little. "Nasty stuff."
"Exactly, it's just not worth it." Lucy tilted her head towards Pilar.
"Now hold on a sec, I didn't say that." He raised a finger, his monovisor still flickering as his grin grew. "All this security… some of it's gotta be worth a pretty penny, you know? Let's say we manage to abscond with some of it. We can outfit ourselves and make a little extra on the side! Becca, you said you wanted a HMG, right? Well, here's your chance!"
Lucy prepared to say something, but stopped as Rebecca's face scrunched up. Good, her distaste for corporations was coming in handy. "Except then we'd have to deal with that nosy old geezer butting in where he doesn't belong. Faraday can go to hell, I didn't sign up to be a merc so that I could do homework."
Lucy glanced at the rest of the crew. Rebecca and Pilar were out, so who else would be interested? She analyzed Falco's expression, looking for any signs of his intent. He noticed her gaze and shrugged with a relaxed look on his face. "Don't look at me, I'm just the wheels. It sounds like I'm barely even involved in this op. I'm abstaining. If you guys want in, I'll be there, and if you don't, I won't." He took a sip of his drink.
Lucy's eyes flickered to Maine, who's expression was still tight. Thus far, four of their eight man crew had spoken, and the odds were looking good that they were going to drop this trainwreck of a job. David didn't look like he had anything to say, while Dorio seemed less than happy with Faraday. Maine wouldn't give his opinion until he'd heard everyone else's, and as for Kiwi…
"Did Faraday mention what we're looking for?" Kiwi broached, watching as Pilar placed the shard back on the table with a sulk.
Maine snorted. "Mentioned all of jack and shit. We're just supposed to just grab every last bit of data we can find and delta."
"Mm." Kiwi took ahold of the shard and slotted it in, eyes glittering with light as she analyzed the data. "Just one security station? And there's not exactly many guards, either." She observed. "If we take out the guards and get into the station, Lucy and I would be pretty much running the place."
Lucy swallowed. Of them all, Kiwi was the most sensitive to hidden motives. She'd have to be careful with her words and actions. "Seems like a lot of risk for not a lot of reward. What did Faraday say about pay, again?" She said, glancing at Maine.
His frown deepened. "He said that he'd discuss it when we submitted our 'plan of action'."
Lucy shook her head. "Sounds like he's trying to get us to put in work when we haven't even seen a hint of pay. Who's to say he's not just using us to find a way in? Besides, we don't have any ways to sneak past the guards. Nobody here is trained in stealth. If they notice anything wrong, then we'll have a security team bearing down on us in minutes."
"Actually-" David stopped as heads all around the table turned towards him. Lucy gave him a quiet stare that had him faltering. "I… I think I might be able to sneak someone in." He hesitantly admitted. "Remember that trick I pulled back when we first went into the Afterlife?"
Rebecca perked up. "Oh yeah! Back when all the Afterlife mercs were staring me down, guns drawn!"
David snapped his fingers at her and nodded, before he briefly paused. "Wait, did I just-" He stared at his hand for a moment before he shook his head. "Nevermind. Anyways, I managed to pull Becca out of there without any of them realizing, right? Why can't I do the same here?
"Picking Rebecca up versus lifting me or Kiwi are completely different. Are you sure you can pull it off?" She narrowed her eyes. "Enough to bet our lives on it?"
The pressure seemed to firm his resolve rather than get him to second guess himself. "I'm sure." He said, staring right back at her with a defiant look on his face.
She took a breath and leaned back. "Alright." Just because it was theoretically possible didn't mean that they had to do the job, however. There was still the question of risk versus reward, not to mention Faraday's insistence on being a part of the plan.
"So we got a way in, at least." Pilar muttered as he rubbed his chin. "David here sneaks past the guards, probably with Lucy in tow. Kiwi, I'm assuming you'll be doing your Netrunner thing outside in the car?"
"Seems like it." Kiwi gave a sideways glance towards Lucy. "What do you think?"
"I still don't like this plan." Lucy stated.
Kiwi shrugged. "David's really more of an emergency measure than anything. I can see if I can get my hands on some stealth hacks before the op, keep anybody from noticing when you sneak your way in."
Lucy suppressed a grimace, keeping her face neutral as she looked away. The job itself wasn't going to be hard, at least as far as she could tell by the floor plan, it was the background that stank of trouble. "So that's it, then? We give Faraday the inch, and wait for him to take the whole mile?"
"Screw Faraday! You know what I say? I say we just do this thing-" Rebecca's shout turned intelligible as Pilar clapped his hand over her mouth.
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"Okay, take it easy. No need to fucking yell for everyone to hear." Pilar hissed. Rebecca let out a grunt, before teeth suddenly flashed. "Jesus Christ, you fucken' animal!" Pilar yelped as tried pulling his fingers from between Rebecca's molars.
Dorio leaned in. "Not a good idea, Rebecca. Not even remotely." She murmured.
David looked back and forth, shocked. He leaned in and whispered. "Hey, why are we being quiet all of a sudden?"
"Cuz' Rebecca just brought up the idea of screwing our Fixer." Falco muttered, glancing around to see if anyone else was in earshot. "If we do that and anyone finds out, we're toxic. No Fixer's going to want to even come near us. Our credibility would be shot. No Fixers means no jobs, no jobs means no eddies. Hell, even talking about this is risky."
"And not necessarily the choice we have to make. We have the floor plan. What's stopping us from just doing the job without his approval and selling him what he wants afterwards?" Kiwi suggested. "Not like we'd be screwing him then. Screwing with him maybe, but so is he. Especially considering this stunt he's pulling."
Her idea caused a good deal of the crew to stop short. "We'd be doing a job without any negotiated pay beforehand." Dorio pointed out with a firm look on her face.
"But we'd be in a better position to negotiate if we had the data on us." Kiwi noted. "Faraday's been refusing to tell us anything at all about what we're looking for. All we know is that it's some kind of data, but that could mean anything. Software, blueprints... hell, maybe it's a deed to a nickel mine out in the middle of nowhere." She plucked the cigarette from her cybernetic jaw. "Point is, we don't know. Which means we don't know what it's actually worth. And judging by how cagey Faraday is with that info, I'd bet that it's worth a whole lot more than he's letting on."
Lucy took a deep breath. Risk after risk just had kept piling on, didn't it? "We don't even know if the data we're looking for is there." Her tone was flat, but still hushed.
"Maybe it's not, but where else would it be? Besides, I've been digging into Tanaka for ages now. I know all sorts of things, including the fact that nobody's home. His son is his only family, and the kids not due to be released from the hospital for another week. If we don't get caught, then there's nobody to notice anything missing for a while. In the meantime, I'm not seeing a reason we can't dig into it ourselves. See if it's worth more than he'd be willing to pay." Kiwi casually outlined her plan as she raised her palm, as if presenting it for the rest to see.
"And even if the data he's looking for isn't there, Faraday wouldn't know that if we approached him and presented the data storage as a fait accompli. If we don't want him to be a part of the planning, then we can sell him the results. And if he tries to screw us, we sell to someone else." She took a drag on her cigarette. "A win-win, so long as we manage to pull it off."
"Except we have no idea who we'd even sell to, other than Faraday." Dorio growled. "You said it yourself, you have no idea what it's worth, so how are we going to find a buyer for this?"
"Whatever it is, it's something that Faraday can afford, and if Faraday can afford it, then other top Fixers can." Kiwi raised an eyebrow at Maine. "Faraday's hard to work with. Compared to him, wouldn't you rather be on Rogue's payroll instead?"
Maine was hooked, she could see it in the way that he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Assuming we don't get caught, of course." Lucy frowned as she spoke up, looking at Kiwi from the side of her eye.
Kiwi dismissively waved her hand. "Let's be honest with ourselves, if we get caught, then we'll be too busy dodging Arasaka to worry about our rep anyways. I'm for the job, with adjustments in mind."
"I'm against it." Dorio immediately stated as she folded her arms and glared at Kiwi. "The risk just isn't worth it, with there being so many unknowns."
Their collective gazes turned to the other end of the table, where Pilar, Rebecca and David sat. Pilar raised an eyebrow at Falco. "Think we can fit some extra cargo on your wheels?"
Falco frowned thoroughly as he looked at his empty drink. "I'm already a little worried whether or not we can bring whatever we find with us, considering all the people I'll be driving, but so long as you keep it to a few drones, then it should be fine."
Rebecca leaned in eagerly. "And a HMG?"
Falco winced. "I'll leave it to Maine's judgment on the field. He knows how much my wheels can carry." He deferred.
"Preem." Rebecca grinned. "I'm in."
"Eh… I'd have to bring my tools… See if I can pull some apart, take all the good parts out before we delta…" Pilar mumbled, before glancing at his glinting fingers. "Screw it, I'm in. But if Becca's getting her gun, then I'd better get my own drone."
"Falco? David?" Lucy looked between the two of them, hoping against hope that they'd see the risk involved.
"I'm still abstaining." Falco answered as he set his empty cup down. "Like I said, you're the ones risking your skins here."
David frowned. "I'm… not sure." He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away.
"Then feel free to abstain." Falco advised. "You're new. You don't know the risks. Honestly, though? If I were you, I'd stay out of this job entirely. Sounds like too much of a risk, and what's more, it seems like this lot have it handled." He gestured to the rest of the crew.
David shook his head. "No, I'm working off a debt here. I still owe Maine for the Sandy. Wouldn't get anywhere if I backed down at any hint of danger." He looked Maine in the eye. "I'm in."
"That's four ayes." Kiwi glanced over to Maine. "What do you think?"
Dorio gave him a quiet shake of the head, but after a long moment, Maine nodded. "I think Kiwi's right. We've been doing all the legwork, sniffing around Tanaka for months on Faraday's orders, and we've got nothing to show for it except him riding our asses and giving us nothing. So fuck it. We can do this our way." He flashed a grin. "Let Faraday come crawling back to us, and maybe we'll give him what he asks for… If he can pay the price."
Dorio gave a sigh of disappointment, but she wouldn't argue, and Lucy knew then that the fight was lost. As sounds of approval and excitement filled the air around her, she took a deep breath. It was possible that the Tanaka job wasn't connected to whatever Razzle was doing, but she doubted it.
Chances were, if they found what Faraday was looking for, then he'd be after them. If they didn't, then it was possible that he'd come after them anyways to tie up loose ends. It didn't matter if she wasn't part of the job, if everybody else was, then it was possible that she'd be silenced as a matter of course.
Lucy closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose as she thought. What all of that meant was that she had to be on the job, and she had to make absolutely sure that they went undetected. She needed time, time to figure out who his backer was. It had to be a corp of some kind, that she was sure of. Nothing else fit his hidden cyberware, or his equipment, but which one he worked for was harder to pin down.
Militech and Kang Tao had strong presences in Night City, which meant that meddling with him could result in a bullet through her brain, followed by the rest of the crew. There were other corps all over the world with less reach, though. SovOil, Zetatech and Biotechnica had less weight to throw around, which meant that he was isolated, and thus vulnerable.
There were fringe theories, of course. One was that Arasaka was having internal conflicts that had resulted in a hit from a rival. That, or internal cliques or factions were clashing away from the public eye. But it didn't seem to fit. Tanaka was a high-ranking executive of the Arasaka Academy board, not an active climber of the corporate ladder.
And rarely, on late, sleepless nights, she'd wonder in the back of her mind whether or not the malignant rogue intelligences beyond the blackwall had evolved enough to discover the usefulness of human operatives.
An idea occurred to her, and her eyes snapped open. If the data Faraday was looking for was there, then maybe, just maybe, it'd be the missing piece she needed. With the knowledge of what he was after, she'd finally be able to piece together exactly what he was after, and from that figure out who had employed him in the first place.
And who knew? Maybe his backers would be willing to pay extra. Enough for her to turn her back on this prison of a city.
Ruthlessly, Lucy crushed that idle thought. It was better to face reality. If it really was worth that much, they'd be far more likely to kill her and lift the data off her corpse. A bullet was worth far less than a ticket to the moon, after all.
----------------------------------------
Motel Kabuki wasn't exactly the best place Rebecca had ever seen, but it was a long shot from being the worst. The place was old and poorly lit, but there was nothing wrong about the place. Sure, there was graffiti all over the walls, but there were no gang signs or anything, just scribbles and signatures from the local streetkids. Trash was neatly sorted to piles on the ground or bagged, and there were even candles and a little tree in a pot to spruce the corridors up.
The lights sparked a little and everything was a little dusty, but that just meant the place had personality and history that places that were too damn clean and smooth didn't. At least, that was as far as she was concerned. Raz could have definitely picked a worse place to stay.
Rebecca checked the number on the side of the door, before she gave it a few hard knocks. Then, she stepped back with a grin.
"Who is it?" She heard Raz call out from behind the door.
"It's me! C'mon, open up!" She shouted back.
The door opened up within moments, and behind it Raz leaned against a wall, grinning down at her. "Been a hot minute, hasn't it? Come on in." He gave the invitation with a flick of his head.
Rebecca whistled as she did so. "Pretty roomy digs you've found yourself." She commented, looking around the room.
Razzle had really made himself at home. There were signs of age that were impossible to cover up and faint traces of stains on the floor, but the place was remarkably clean otherwise, and personal effects filled the room. There was a small stack of magazines on the table in the kitchen area, too nicely stacked to be leftovers from the last guest, and there was a neatly disassembled Nova laid out next to it.
There was also an arsenal laid out on a nearby counter. Each gun seemed to be unique, and she recognized a good number of them. Most were on the cheap and shitty end, the sort that gang initiates would use. In fact, judging by the scratches and flaking paint, a number of them had probably been owned by low-level thugs and muscle before ending up laid out here.
There were a few other more decent weapons, Rebecca's grin widened as she saw a Carnage laid out next to a number of other shotguns. So he'd taken her advice after all! Still, she wondered if he was able to handle the recoil yet.
Then there was the occasional oddity which seemed more quirky than deadly. "Now what's this supposed to be?" She asked, dropping the dense package she was carrying onto the table and picking up a strange pistol with an entirely cylindrical barrel.
"A Kang Tao A-22B Chao." He rattled off, looking over it with a slight frown. "Comes with a built-in smartgun link, and has the weirdest goddamn reloading mechanism I've ever seen. The whole barrel comes off, and then you're supposed to shove in another barrel. Grip's just that. A grip. No magazine or anything." He shook his head. "And you won't believe what they charge for a reload."
"Well, no duh. It's a smartgun." She scoffed, taking care to lay it back with the rest of the weapons just as she'd found it. "It's meant for corpos with too much money and not enough skill."
He made a face. "Then how did I end up snagging it from some random Tyger Claw?"
"Well, it's Kang Tao, right? Chinese corp. Asian gang. You do the math." She shrugged. "And if all they have is smartguns, then they'll arm 'em with smartguns. Not like they're actually worth what they charge, anyways." She said with a roll of her eyes.
"Huh." Razzle muttered with a thoughtful look. Rebecca was already moving on, though, looking over the rest of the room. A vaguely familiar bottle was set up on a side cabinet, while leaning on it was…
Rebecca let her face go blank as she folded her arms. "Raz?"
"Yeah?" He said, raising an eyebrow.
"What's that?" She said, gesturing to what looked like a katana on a stick with Maelstrom designs screwed on.
There was a long pause as he stared at it. "Okay, now before you start." He began, before stopping. She waited patiently as he looked at what she was now realizing was a scythe. Eventually, he spoke again, haltingly and deliberately. "I thought… it would make… a good bit of decoration."
Rebecca inhaled, put her hands together in a steeple, and pointed them at him. "Raz."
He snapped his fingers and pointed at her with a casual grin. "Yes, that is me."
"That is the most gonk thing in this room by a long shot." She informed him.
He shrugged, putting his hands up as if saying 'what can you do?' "Unfortunate." Was all he said, putting his hands on his hips.
Rebecca opened her mouth, but she couldn't think of anything to say, except… "Why?" She hissed, waving at the argument against logic and reason leaning on the cabinet.
"It is cool." He simply declared, as he fought down a smirk.
She just stared at him, aghast. She didn't even know what that word meant and she still knew it wasn't true! She had to say something, but all she could manage was a strangled, "No."
His grin was growing wider. "Yes."
She threw her hands up. "Whatever!" She groaned. Her tone was not defeated, thank you very much. She was just picking her fights carefully, that was all!
She knew that he was just loving the fact that he was getting a rise out of her, but there was nothing she could do about it except get him back later. "You gonna grab your shit or what?" She muttered, folding her arms and jerking her head at the package on the table.
"Ah, right. The shit. The shit I asked you to get. The shit that's in this bundle right here." He shook it a little as he grinned at her. "This shit."
Rebecca snorted, her hand itched to pull iron on him, but… she was planning to have a nice night. She quashed the urge with some difficulty. "If you don't want it, I can take it back to the store." She replied, testily.
"No, no. I do want it, it's just… well. You're goddamn-" He stopped, but she still what he was going to say. 'Adorable', a word she hated normally, but the way he looked at her when he said it- A nuclear blush covered her face as embarrassment knotted with annoyance, and in an instant, she lashed out with a kick that slammed into his stomach, drawing a wheeze and a cackle out of him. She felt like she was kicking a dumpster, with all the effect that she was having, but at least it made her feel better about her mixed feelings.
Eventually, the two of them settled down. She sat opposite to him, watching as he peeled open the packaging slowly and carefully. There was a small smile on his face as the layers came off, until finally the contents were exposed.
He turned the Burya over in his hands. "Now this is nova." He murmured. Rebecca was honestly a bit taken aback by how he seemed to fawn over the weapon. She could appreciate it to some extent herself, any gun that was effective as a Burya was alright in her book, but it had issues, too. A four round chamber meant that each and every shot counted, and you pretty much needed to be a techie to properly service the damn thing. And the recoil was something you had to behold to believe.
Pilar had tried to use one, back when he was obsessed with rail weapons. Firing it had broken his arm and gotten him to swear off on the gun for the rest of his days. As far as she could tell, the thing had nearly as much recoil as a Carnage. But while the Burya was dense, kind of like carrying a brick around, it didn't have the mass to mitigate the recoil like the Carnage did.
She couldn't help but be worried, watching him loading the gun as he read the manual. "Hey Raz, you sure about that one?" She prodded.
He turned to her with a smirk, preparing to say something before he paused. Something on her face seemed to make him reconsider his words as he looked at the gun. "Pretty sure. I need something that can blow right through any amount of armor. And I mean any amount of armor. Or at least, any you'd expect to find on a person." He amended after a moment of thought.
"I get that, but… there's armor, and then there's armor, y'know?" Rebecca leaned in. "At this point, why not get a Satara, or something?"
He grimaced as he thought for a moment. "I can't hide a whole-ass double-barreled shotgun. If I walk around with one, then questions are gonna get asked. Compared to that, a Burya is still bulky, but it's concealable." He answered.
"Sure, but there are other guns if you want to penetrate armor. Less demanding ones." She could list a few off the top of her head, including the Omaha tucked away in her jacket. It was about as large as any other pistol she owned, and though it was not even slightly as satisfying to shoot, the Militech rail pistol got results.
"Yeah, but most of them have to be charged up before they fire, and it just doesn't seem like a good idea to have to wait a second for your gun to shoot in the middle of a firefight. Especially when the nastiest of the people you're up against rely on seeing you aim at them to dodge." He reasoned, and Rebecca could see where he was getting at, though that only lead to more questions.
"Is that what you're worried about? Cyberpsychoes?" With the level of armor and the cyberware Raz was talking about, that or something like Maxtac was the only thing he could be talking about, and the difference between them was slim. "Wait…" She leaned in with a hiss as worry surged through her. "You're hiding from Maxtac now?"
Raz looked surprised for a moment, before shaking his head with a chuckle and pushing her back into her seat. "No, no. Nothing like that. I just… ran headfirst into some trouble a while back, and found out that armor penetrating bullets just weren't enough. Not at the higher end. I just don't plan on getting caught with my pants down, that's all."
…Well, he was alive, so all's well ends well, but still! "Raz, this thing's gonna break your arm if you're not careful. Maybe even rip it clean off." She cautioned. And didn't that feel weird. Rebecca, voice of reason.
"Better a broken arm than dead." He said dismissively. "So long as the guy on the other end is down and out, there's nothing to worry about. Besides, with a little training, I should be able to use this thing just fine."
Rebecca frowned, leaning in and looking him in the eye. "Raz, I'm being serious. If you wanna use that sort of thing, you're gonna need some sorta muscle weave. Or bone lace. Something. Anything."
Raz seemed taken back by her intensity. His eyes flickered to the side as he awkwardly winced, before he took a breath and looked at her directly. "Look, I'll make sure not to use this thing unless I absolutely have to, alright? At least until I can handle the recoil." He said, sincerity bleeding through.
She let out a sigh and sat back. She hadn't seen him break a promise yet, though it wasn't like he'd made many of them in the time they'd known each other. He probably wasn't going to screw up his elbow or anything while playing with his new gun, and that was good enough for her. Still, she couldn't help but feel a degree of concern about his choice in weaponry. He was right, though. Better a broken arm than dead to some psycho.
"Feels like yesterday we were talking about not needing cyberware to be a Solo." He muttered with amusement as he picked up the Burya and walked over to the counter, setting it down with a solid thunk.
"Well, you don't have to chip in to be a merc." Rebecca said, "But you kinda have to if you want to use that piece of iron properly."
"Mm." He said, studying the gun with a somber expression. "Just feels like something's changed, that's all. Not sure what."
Okay, the mood was getting way too down for her liking. "That's cuz you're moving up in the world, aren't you?" She said with cheer, "Just a few weeks ago you were smashing through hideouts for recognition. Now you got jobs rolling in like- bang! Bang! BANG!" She punched the air to punctuate her point.
He stared at her for a moment, before he cracked a smile that had her grinning. "Guess that must be it."
"Course it is! Now…" She leaned in and leered at him. "You gonna give me a tip for running your errands?"
He smiled a little wider as he rubbed his chin. "You know, I got just the thing the other day. Hold on a sec." Rebecca blinked as he walked over to the fridge and reached in, and there was a clink as he pulled out a bottle. "Ta-dah!"
…Okay, not exactly what she wanted, but baby steps. "Sake?" She muttered, studying the label.
His smile drooped. "I probably should have checked if you drank it, first." He muttered.
She shrugged, "I'm really more of a beer person, but I can have some if you want?"
"Nah, it's alright." He reached into the fridge again, pulling out a few cans. "Picked up some of your usual, just in case." He tossed her a can, and she raised an eyebrow as she looked it over. 21st Stout. A bit of a surprise, but a welcome one.
She popped the tab with a hiss as he unscrewed the cap on his bottle. She raised an eyebrow as they clinked their drinks together, and raised it even further as Raz took a chug from the bottle while she took her own sip. "Planning to go through the whole thing?" She was hoping for some action, which was going to be difficult if he was blackout drunk.
"Pretty much. Not got any reason to keep it around, now do I?" He shrugged. Well, not like she was going to judge.
Whelp, if he was going to get sloshed, so was she! She quickly gulped hers down, before crumpling the can in her hand. "Seconds!" She cheered, tossing it over to the bin and nailing the shot.
Raz looked bemused but complied nonetheless, passing her another cold drink.
...
Unfairness was the only constant in the universe, as far as Rebecca was concerned. Her jacket had been shucked off a while ago but she still felt hot, and a little dizzy, too. She was lying on the bed, and had wrapped herself up with the covers like a burrito as she rode out the consequences of her actions.
Meanwhile, Raz was still up and about. And what was more, he didn't even seem drunk! Or tipsy! No blush, no staggering, he was just… standing here, perfectly fine! Was this the secret power that being tall gave you? It just wasn't fair!
"You gotta get something with some water in you." Raz called out to her, digging into the fridge. "I got some sweet tea that should have plenty of water in it. Or some packet soup, if you want."
Rebecca let out a groan, leaning up for a moment. "Just get something and come over here already." She called back, before letting herself fall to the mattress again.
"Yeah, yeah. Just a sec." He came over with a plastic bottle. "Alright, c'mon. Drink up, or you'll have a hell of a hangover tomorrow."
She grumbled, but tilted her head back all the same as iced tea poured down her throat. "There. Done. Happy, now?" She grouched.
"Better, yeah." He flicked his wrist, tossing the empty bottle into the bin across the room. "Feeling tired?"
"Just a little." She murmured.
"Well, you gotta give me some of the covers too, you know. Can't just sleep in my clothes." He told her with a raised eyebrow.
"Mm. Fine." She reluctantly let herself be unwrapped from her cocoon of bedsheets.
Raz walked over to the other side of the room and hit the lights before joining her under the covers, putting an arm over her shoulder and hugging her close. "Night. Sweet dreams." He muttered quietly.
She snuggled closer and quietly wondered to herself, as she always did, if there was anything more than she wanted. If there was anything that she'd otherwise regret not going for. The talking and dancing wasn't any more intimate than what she'd wanted, but she wasn't unhappy with it either. It was… it's own thing, something that she wouldn't turn down any day of the week.
Yes, there was nothing that she'd regret about this day, not that she ever regretted any day. Life was too short for that sort of gonk shit. Still, her situation could be improved just a little… She smiled as she began to pull Raz's shirt up. With a huff he complied, helping her pull it all the way over his head. She tossed it to the floor and pressed her bare body into his, feeling their bodily warmth mixing together under the sheets.
There. Now it was perfect.