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Three days of working with Viktor flew by very quickly. We talked and went to get new equipment, and I mean brand-new. It seemed to me that he had decided to take advantage of the situation and replace his old equipment with new, and he even bought more than he had before.
I don't know where he got the money for it. Maybe he inflated the price for Maine since he got into trouble because of his own stupidity. Maybe he had some savings that he just decided to invest in the equipment, or maybe he borrowed from someone to buy exactly the new equipment…
I didn't ask…
All I know is that now I'll visit this ripper with even more pleasure, since I have complete confidence in his tech and skills.
As he promised, he synthesized a drug for me to use to tranquilize opponents. He even gave me the formula and recommended a simple med-synth that I could buy for just ten thousand, which could synthesize it for me, as well as the other medicine I needed.
And now, we were having breakfast, and I was explaining the task to the girls, including Becca and Lucy.
"Alright, so this time, our target is a lab that produces 'glitter.' "
"Wait, are you talking about that junk that's become really popular with the rich suckers? The one where you're supposed to inject glitter into yourself to feel like the lower class?"
"Yeah."
I nodded.
"And who flatlined from it?"
Lucy was a little more composed than Becca, though, no, that's not right. While Becca was yelling, she had already eaten a couple of spoonfuls of porridge with strawberry jam. And for her, that was clearly more important than the job details. I, in turn, checked Regina's email.
"Arati Kapur's son…"
Becca whistled.
"Uh-huh, I was surprised too… such a good TV host, and he raised his son so poorly. Or, I should say, he failed to raise him. But that's not important. The job isn't a one-off; it's long-term. Arati wants this trash to disappear from the streets, but Regina only found intel on one lab."
"So we go in, and then we find out everything?"
"Uh-huh. And we'll get a bonus. The dealers and producers of this trash can't have a small amount of eddies. So I'm really counting on our netrunners."
Judy and Lucy exchanged glances and, nodding at each other, turned to me.
"We'll do everything we can…"
"And I'll just be standing next to them as usual?"
"Yeah, Becca, you, as usual, will be covering the girls."
"Shit… what do you even need me for?"
"Becca, it's better to have a specialist like you and not have a need for their services than to not have a specialist like you and end up in a situation where their services are needed. So you're my investment in our lives. You know how rich corpos pay for a platinum status at Trauma Team… which means they'll be pulled out of a gang shootout. Do they need it often?"
"Well, yeah…"
Becca nodded.
"No, Becca. Just because things like that happen often in this crazy city doesn't mean the fat cats themselves need it often. Regular corpos can live their entire lives with platinum status and never once use its emergency features. The ones who use it often either have jobs that involve risk or are just idiots who like to get their adrenaline pumping."
"Are you saying I'm your platinum status at Trauma Team?"
"Well, you could say that."
I smirked.
"Alright, I'm going in as usual. The access point this time is public, so you should be able to connect. According to Regina's intel, the lab is in the basement. I don't know about any secret entrances. So I'm not only counting on money but also on you guys watching my back…"
"Yeah, we'll get it done…"
Judy waved her hand a little annoyed.
"…it'll be perfect."
I nodded.
"Listen, will you take a look at my piece after the job?"
Becca looked at me pleadingly.
"What's wrong with it?"
"Nothing, it's just that if you were able to mod a simple Unity to where it could penetrate Maine's subcutaneous armor… what you could do to my baby…"
She closed her eyes dreamily.
"Well, I'll take a look. But something tells me we won't finish this job today. A substance that's been hyped up and is hitting the black market in such quantities can't be produced in less than three or four labs. And we probably won't be able to hit all of them in one day…"
"When are we leaving?"
Panam finished her portion and was now looking at the pot, which still had a little porridge in it.
"Give me a little time… if we're going to be working remotely and we need to get data, it's better to have the ability to hack personal decks. And for that, we either need to prep some shards that will give me access to them, or we need a direct connection through David."
"In our situation, the shards are better…"
Judy sighed, got up from the table, and went into our workshop, from which she came back with a pack of blank shards and handed them to Lucy.
"Hey, what's up there?"
Becca pointed at the stairs.
"Up there we have two bedrooms and a living room. A little family corner, so to speak."
I answered her question, watching her expression change amusingly.
"Family?"
"Uh-huh, we're one big family."
I nodded my head, while Panam and Judy just blushed and nodded, confirming my words.
"Shit, I missed my chance again…"
"Well, if you try hard, maybe you can be the third…"
Judy gave Becca a playful smirk, trying to fluster her. But seeing that her words didn't have the desired effect, she decided to continue.
"Or the fourth. In my opinion, Lucy has a better chance."
"Don't drag me into this…"
"Hey! I'm not worse than Lucy!"
"Did I say you were worse?"
Judy smirked.
"You're just not as feminine…"
"Me?!"
Becca put her hands under her chest and tried to make her small breasts look bigger. She wasn't very successful. But she did have a chest, so I decided not to ignore her efforts, or she might get offended. So I paid due visual attention to her chest.
"David, look at me. Am I feminine?"
"That's what I'm talking about…"
Judy smirked.
"A real girl wouldn't be so direct. Look at Lucy. She's not dressed as revealingly as you are, but that leaves more to the imagination. Her posture, look at her. Her back is straight, her eyebrows are slightly furrowed. Even the way she reacts to my words, her lips pressed into a thin line…"
"You talk like you're into her yourself…"
Becca tried to poke fun at Judy, but she just shrugged.
"I guess if I didn't have David and Panam, I might actually try to make a move on her."
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it…"
"Uh-huh…"
I walked to the door and, opening it, I saw… the same girl who came with the liquor last time. Damn, I couldn't even remember her name, but it didn't matter.
"Judy, I think this is for you…"
I raised my voice a little so she could hear me.
"Who is it?"
"Well, if I understood your last conversation correctly, she's your ex."
"Huh?"
Judy, judging by the sound, got up from the table and came to me, since I wasn't going to step aside and let that hooker from the Clouds into the apartment.
"Judy…"
The girl smiled shyly, looking at my girl, but Judy herself seemed to freeze.
"Parker…"
"Hey, don't be so aggressive. Your words about having a boyfriend and a girlfriend shocked me a little, sure, but after thinking about it, I realized you were just joking. So I came to make up."
Judy raised an eyebrow in a purely aristocratic gesture.
"Tell your boy who scares everyone away to let me in?"
"No."
"Oh, come on, Judes…"
Judy's lips twisted a little in annoyance.
"I don't have time for you. And I wasn't joking."
"Come on, a joke repeated twice isn't a joke anymore. And time, well, you'll just miss a couple of days. You're a solo; you don't have a strict schedule."
"This is none of your business, so I'm going to ask you to leave me alone and never bother me again."
"Jude…"
But Judy just slammed the door and only after that did she let out a little of her annoyance.
"Damn it… that bitch… came here uninvited and unwanted…"
The doorbell rang again.
"I'm going to make myself a sandwich. If that's her again, just slam the door."
I nodded, opened the door, and after seeing Parker's jaw drop, I just slammed the door shut, then went back to the table. We discussed the upcoming job for a while until the doorbell rang again. I got up from my seat to open the door…
"Sit down. I'll get it myself."
Judy got up and went to the door. But I didn't just sit there. I went to the door with her, which earned me a grateful nod.
"Well?"
She opened the door and gave Parker, who was standing there with a bottle of a rather expensive wine in her hands, an extremely cold look.
"Judes, come on…"
She slightly raised the bottle and wiggled her eyebrows. Which, with her appearance and style of clothing, looked very strange.
"What part of 'No' do you not understand?"
"Oh, Judes…"
"Alright, I'll explain one more time, for the last time… If you ever come here again with offers like this, I will hack you and burn out all your implants."
The girl flinched and took a step back. From the look on Judy's face, it was clear she wasn't kidding and was perfectly capable of doing it.
"Judes, I'm just…"
"Get lost."
Judy didn't let her answer my question.
"…you're in the way."
"I… I don't know what you want with Judy, but you're in the way. You're trying to get involved in something that you no longer have a place in."
"Don't get involved…"
She shot me a very nasty look.
"Or what?"
I smirked.
"Parker, get lost…"
Judy didn't let her answer my question.
"…you're in my way."
"I… Judy, just remember that being alone, getting lost in your dreams with hired people you pay very little… I still love you and I'm ready to take you back…"
Judy snorted contemptuously.
"…even despite your behavior. I'm really ready to take you back, so just remember that, and this bottle of wine will be waiting for you."
"Don't bother… I don't drink that sour trash anymore."
"Huh? But it was…"
"Yeah, when I didn't have any eddies, it was the best I could afford, the best that the old me, the one who existed back then, could afford. But now, it's just sour trash to me, and it's disgusting to drink."
"I…"
Parker was completely lost, and Judy just slammed the door in her face for the umpteenth time this morning.
"And? Who was that?"
Becca felt that she could get a little revenge on her friend for all her teasing. But she took her first step on this thin ice very carefully.
"My ex."
"Just an ex? Is there something David and Panam don't know about?"
"Oh, believe me, they know everything about me…"
Judy smirked.
"But you, too, are not exactly an open book…"
Judy hinted at the fact that Becca loved to walk around in a long jacket with only her underwear underneath, at least it wasn't lace.
"Well, I have nothing to be ashamed of…"
"Because there's nothing there…"
"Oh, but there is!"
She sharply pushed her small breasts up with her hands.
"And my little ones go perfectly with my figure…"
I just watched all of this in silence, only smirking a little. It was nice to just sit with friends before a job…
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