Uff… I took a deep breath and activated my Sandevistan, stepping into the room. The first knife flew instantly at the closest target, the second at the one a little further away, and while it was still in the air, I was already at the first guy, my knife already in the back of his head. I yanked the knife out and threw it again at the third.
Three corpses, and the first thing I did was retrieve my knives and approach the only door out of the room. It was quiet behind it, so I simply dragged the Scav bodies aside, searching them as I went. I didn't find anything useful. A single revolver and two baseball bats—that's just not serious. With a sigh, I took one of their jackets, piled all the weapons into it, then went out to the balcony and carried the other weapons back, adding them to the jacket, which I then tied in a knot.
Well… at least now I have something like a bag…
Peeking through the door, I saw a ripper, who was just hunched over a table, thoughtfully examining the body he was about to dismantle.
Vicious…
He was the only one in the room, which was good, but the fact that he was standing sideways to me wasn't great. Still… The knife in my hand quickly left it, and through the slightly ajar door, it went straight into the ripper's temple. I felt no pity for this scumbag at all, so I just walked up to him and quickly searched him, realizing he had nothing important on him, just an interesting glove that connected to sockets on the arm.
I carefully removed it, wrapped it in a piece of tarpaulin I found, and put it in the jacket with the other goodies.
Hmm… the guy lying on the ripper's table looked familiar…
The very guy who bullied David the most.
I frowned slightly. I don't remember this happening in the canon, but there, David beat him up after getting the Sandevistan. But that probably didn't happen on the first day after the install; it was supposed to happen today, and as a result, he wouldn't have gotten into this mess.
I touched the guy's neck, and my eyebrows shot up in surprise. Without a second thought, I called Regina.
"Are you done already?"
"In the process, and like you asked, I'm trying to work quietly. But there's a chance for us to get some side eddies from this job."
"Side eddies?"
"Yeah, on the ripper's table—who I've already taken care of—is a kid. He's a corpo. His dad, from what I know, is on the Arasaka academy's board of directors. And he's still alive… a little taken apart, sure, but alive. So we could try to make some money off this…"
"And how do you propose we do that?"
"Do I have to teach you? No, I could come up with a few interesting schemes, but you've been in this business a long time and you surely know how to do it so no one comes looking for us."
"Alright… you've got brains… will he last until Trauma Team gets here?"
I looked at the body, felt for his pulse again…
"Well, his pulse seems stable."
"Then you'll wait for Trauma Team, but don't forget your main job is to clear out the Scav den. The kid is just a bonus."
"Got it…"
"By the way, think of a nickname. If this all works out, we can tentatively assign it to you."
"Ghost."
"Huh?"
"I want to be Ghost. I like doing my job quietly, just like now. So, 'Ghost' will be perfect."
"Alright, you're not Ghost yet… I'm calling Trauma. Their response time is usually five minutes, no more, so hurry up, or the hive will be stirred up…"
"Understood."
Hanging up, I quickly looked around and, after checking the kid's pulse one more time, headed to the next room. I needed to hurry…
From then on, I didn't hold back or hesitate to use the Sandevistan, so five minutes was all I needed to clear the Scav base. Trauma Team took seven minutes to arrive, though. But the kid was stable, so I just stood guard beside him, and when the team arrived, I dutifully raised my hands as a sign of peaceful intent and took a couple of steps back, allowing them to do their job.
"Hey…"
One of the Trauma Team members turned, pointing his gun at me.
"Don't move…"
"I wasn't going to. Just, there's a door next to the balcony that leads to the bathroom. There are a couple of bodies in there. I'm not a pro, so I could have been wrong about declaring them dead. Who knows, maybe one of them is a client of yours?"
The medic nodded, and they quickly checked the room, then left in their AV, not taking anyone from the bathroom with them. So, their clients weren't there.
Finished with all that, I gathered my goodies and called Regina again.
"Job done. Trauma Team took the kid, and they took another living body with them."
"Good work… Got a personal account?"
I smirked.
"Yeah, but if you help me set up a fake one for Ghost, I'd be grateful."
"Alright… consider it a bonus from me, for not only doing the job quietly but also keeping your eyes open."
"Uh-huh… and I have a question."
"I'm listening?"
"I took an interesting little glove off the ripper, a clearly specialized one, and I collected some weapons. Any junk dealers you recommend?"
"Well, in Little China, in Watson, there's Megabuilding H10. There's a little shop on the seventh floor called 'The Second Amendment.' Tell him Regina sent you, and he'll buy the ripper's glove, too. He won't give you the full price for it, but he won't screw you over either."
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it, Ghost… when are you gonna take your next job?"
At that moment, I got a notification for a new message. It contained the details for the Ghost account. I quickly linked it to myself and, after checking the balance, whistled.
"Thanks for such a generous payment…"
"That's just chump change, choom…"
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Chump change? This five thousand was enough for me to extend my apartment lease and buy some food. And if I made at least a thousand from the guns, I could live a little more peacefully.
"Well, for some it's chump change… For others, it's a pretty decent amount of cash…"
I shook my head.
"Alright, I'll take a job tomorrow. Today, I need to dump the weapons, pay the rent, and just process everything that happened today."
"Fair enough… call me tomorrow."
"What time?"
"Huh?"
"Well, I know you need to sleep and you don't live on holy spirit… what time should I call so I don't bother you?"
"I get up at seven… And food doesn't affect my work. Besides, if a job is at night, I don't mind calls from my solos."
I nodded my head in understanding, which was probably reflected in my video feed she was seeing.
"Alright, got it. I'll call you at seven-thirty tomorrow."
"That early?"
"The sooner I start, the sooner I finish. After all, there's so much in the world that needs to be done."
I smirked.
"I haven't even had a girlfriend yet! This… studying… took up all my time."
I swallowed a curse, as I was planning to be extremely polite with my fixer. And not just with her. While I was taking out the Scavs, I realized that having the reputation of a suave and quiet solo who always gets the job done is a very attractive goal. At least this way, I'll definitely live a long time.
Well, I want to believe that.
I got to Watson and Megabuilding H10 on another metro train. The train stop was conveniently close to my destination.
I got there without any trouble, and with the same ease, I made it to the seventh floor of the megabuilding and found the shop I needed.
"Hello."
"Hey to you, too, if you ain't shitting me… What do you need?"
"Regina sent me. She said I could sell some weapons here… and a ripper's glove. I found it all fair and square, and I doubt the true owners will be coming to look for their stuff."
"Well…"
The guy shrugged.
"If Regina sent you to me…"
He gestured with his hand and, stepping away from the door, opened the way into his shop, where he led me to the back room.
"Show me what you got…"
I calmly untied the jacket and laid all the found guns and bats on the table, as well as the rifle ammo. And, of course, the ripper's glove.
"Hmm… the condition is, I'll be honest, shit…"
"I can see that myself…"
I shrugged.
"By my estimate, the top price for all this junk, with the exception of the glove, is a grand and a half. Well, if you were to sell it, but since I'm essentially just dropping it off…"
I shrugged again.
"Ha! You've got a good eye. I wouldn't have given a grand and a half, though… My name is Robert Wilson, by the way. My friends call me Robert, and I feel like you'll be in that category fast. Now, let me show you why a grand and a half is too much for this crap…"
And the owner of the gun shop began to very quickly point out barely visible scuffs, which were signs of some kind of wear and tear, possible internal mechanism problems, and other defects.
"So?"
"You could get about a grand, but that would take time, which means I'd only get about seven hundred eurobucks.
"Ha! Good man! Usually, that would be the case, and you wouldn't get seven hundred, but five hundred, but since you're from Regina and this is your first time here, I'll give you eight hundred. Five hundred in cash and another three hundred on store credit."
He smirked.
"Sound good?"
"Yeah… and what about the glove?"
"What about it? I don't know anything about this stuff… I can give you two hundred eddies in cash right now, or I can take it on consignment. You'll probably get more that way, but who knows when that'll be? I don't have that many ripper connections; I'd have to put it on the black market… it'll be a whole lot of hassle, and you won't see any results for at least a couple of months."
I rubbed my cheek.
It was clear he wasn't screwing me over. No, I could doubt him, of course, but in this world, you have to trust someone at least a little. And based on the game—though it's foolish to base my opinion on it—Regina was my favorite fixer. Then there was Dakota, and the rest… the rest annoyed me. So it was better to trust her than to trust no one and live in constant fear.
"And how much could I get in a couple of months?"
"How the hell would I know?"
"Well, roughly…"
"Tch… well, you'll definitely get six hundred. That's if it's not in the best condition. If it's good, you could get over a thousand. All of this, of course, is with my commission factored in, so the actual price for a good-condition one is around twelve hundred…"
"Three hundred cash now, and another three hundred on store credit."
"You're fucking insane! Two hundred fifty cash now and a hundred on credit!"
"Damn, you're cutting me with a dull knife! Two hundred ninety cash and two hundred on credit."
"But I'm just going to spend it all here anyway…"
I shook my head.
"Two hundred eighty cash and two hundred on credit."
"Two hundred seventy cash and, alright, two hundred on credit…"
He held out his hand, and I happily shook it, pleased with the good deal.
"Alright, choom, come on, let's go to the front, I'll get you paid there."
I nodded, and I was ushered out of the back room. Now Robert was behind the counter, and I was on the other side.
"Alright, here's your cash… you'd better count it. We're all human, and we can make mistakes, and I don't accept complaints after you walk out the door."
Nodding in understanding, I counted the cash and gave him a thumbs-up.
"All good. Now, let's see what you've got…"
He slid a terminal toward me, and I immediately delved into the price list.
"Ooh, small tech set…"
I looked at him in surprise.
"Is there a medium one? I definitely can't afford a large one, especially since you can barely find them used, but a used medium should be about five hundred…"
"Well, I do have my old one…"
He looked me up and down.
"…Militech. Comes in a standard case. All the tools are in one piece. But I won't give it to you for five hundred. A thousand, no less, and that's only because the set is twenty years old."
I nodded in understanding.
An old set like that isn't good, but on the other hand, for working with the shit street gangs use… you don't need anything more modern.
"Hey, theoretically, how much would a large, also outdated one cost? Not necessarily Militech, but from someone like Techtronika?"
"Well, if it's outdated… you could probably find one for ten thousand. But that's if it's from Techtronika. Militech or even Kang Tao would cost a hell of a lot more, even outdated. Although, if we're talking about something like Nokota…"
"Nah, nah, nah…"
I shook my head dismissively.
"I'm not getting involved with that junk."
"And rightly so…"
I counted out a thousand from the cash I had, though I had to add a little from what I found at the Scav base. But that was even better.
"Okay, I also need a scope and a really good suppressor for the Unity. So that the shot is almost silent. Just so you know, I'm planning on modding it a bit, so it's gonna be more powerful…"
"Uh-huh, I'll see what I have…"