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"Fuck, I'm gonna buy a ton of chrome!"
Pilar was overjoyed like a little girl who was given a new makeup kit in a pink box with a pink ribbon for the New Year. And everyone saw it. Even Kiwi, who had a very positive attitude toward him, moved a little to the side. It seemed she was finally starting to realize that a choom like that wasn't exactly right for her. However, the other members of the crew were only a little less excited.
And Maine was the happiest of all, although he was a lot more reserved. But even a look of anticipation was on the face of the guy who, for now, wasn't a muscle-bound goon.
"Did we make a mistake?"
Kiwi was looking at all of this and just couldn't hold back her question, which was probably on the minds of everyone who used to be on Maine's crew.
"Time will tell…"
I shrugged, because even though I had an idea of what was going to happen next, I wasn't entirely sure that Maine would go running off to install chrome from different manufacturers with the same ripper who had served him before. Maybe he was smart enough to stop for a couple of days, analyze the situation, and at least approach chroming himself in a much more reserved and thought-out way?
"Kiwi, Lucy, Becca, are you coming back to the crew?"
Maine said that in a very confident tone, and to be honest, after that question, I really wanted to put a bullet between his eyes. No, I had, of course, taken advantage of the situation and lured them all to me, but to be so brazen about it…
"Sorry, Big Guy, but I'm happier with David…"
Becca was the first to answer, with almost no hesitation.
"But he doesn't let you have any fun…"
"Well…"
Becca gave me a thoughtful look, then nodded uncertainly.
"…yeah, there aren't many opportunities for fun with him, but I've already found a way to change that… And honestly, when it comes to choosing between working for pennies as a meathead and working a quietly frustrating job with great bonuses, I'll take the second one. And his goal in life… you know, becoming a legend, like you want to, is an exciting goal, but I, personally, prefer a long and relatively peaceful life."
"Man…"
Maine shook his head.
"…out of all people, I never expected to hear those words from you… Lucy? Kiwi?"
"I'm out…"
Kiwi shook her head.
"…you know my situation, and with David, I can pay off my debt early. So, as far as I'm concerned, the choice is obvious."
"I'm staying with David too… he's a good cook."
That comment took everyone by surprise. I could have expected a response like that from Becca, but not from Lucy. But I decided to take it as a given and just sat there, not reacting to Maine's attempts to leave me without a crew.
Could I have been angry?
I definitely could have, especially after three days of working together, where we raided a large number of Wraith hideouts and made a pretty decent amount of eddies, which I generously shared with him, Dorio, and Pilar. At the very least, he could have waited until I had walked away…
"So, no?"
"No, Big Guy…"
Kiwi shook her head, and this time, she spoke for all the girls.
"Judy, what about you and Panam?"
"Nah, nah, nah, you can't count on us. We've been with David almost since the beginning of his career… well, I joined a little later, but I've known him since the first day he became a solo. And what I know about him… in short, I wouldn't trade working in his crew for working with anyone else for any amount of money."
"Hmm… so I need to find a netrunner and some firepower…"
"I can give you some advice…"
Ahem?
"Well, I've been monitoring the situation with new players, and there's a girl who just showed up. Her call sign is Orangina because of a tattoo on her shoulder. Her name is Nami. As far as I know, she's working with Padre, Sebastian Ibarra, but I don't think he would be against you inviting her to your crew. But that's only if you don't start chroming yourself up again…"
"That's none of your business!"
I shrugged.
"You're right, it isn't… anyway, Nami is a good netrunner, even if she is a rookie. And as for a crew of meatheads…"
I shook my head.
"…I could recommend V and Jackie, but DeShawn has them wrapped around his finger right now, and I doubt they'll take on a job with you until they're done with the one they have with him. I can also think of a few other rookies… if you're interested, I can send you a list of promising ones."
"Hmm… I'll do that…"
He sighed and got up from the table.
"…well, thanks for the work and the pay… I didn't expect such generosity…"
I just shrugged at his words.
"Later…"
The girls said goodbye to Maine and his crew, and he calmly left the nomad camp. We, on the other hand, stayed sitting at the table.
"So…"
"I have… a favor to ask…"
Kiwi's voice was a little hesitant. And that was strange, but I wasn't against at least hearing her out.
"Yeah?"
"Faraday contacted me…"
I frowned slightly.
"…he warned me that he's VERY interested in working with you. He asked me to pressure you to accept a job from him…"
"And?"
"Don't look at me like that…"
She looked away.
"…I'm not an idiot. I'm not going to ruin the crew and our relationship just for a partial debt write-off, when I've already started to pay it off anyway. In short, I gave Faraday a very strong hint that if he wants you to even not hang up on him the moment he calls, I'll need some time… and considering how busy you are right now… in short, he won't be calling until next week at the earliest. So could you pretend that I nagged you so much with my conversations and hints that you decided to actually talk to him just to make me stop?"
I smirked.
"I can do that without a problem, but I'm not taking a job from him… I have a hard time imagining what he could say to make me accept a job from him…"
"He's pretty… slippery…"
"It's easier to just flatline slippery chooms like that."
"Well…"
Kiwi shrugged.
"…I wouldn't be against a turn of events like that. I assume that if he flatlines, my debt would be considered null and void…"
She smirked.
"Alright, alright, we've talked about that. Now, let's talk about our future plans…"
"And what do you want to talk about?"
"Upgrades…"
Panam stiffened up.
"…yeah, Panam, exactly. Upgrades for all of us. The time has come when even just standing still with our current level of chrome is dangerous. We haven't exactly crossed the big corporations yet, but we have stepped on a lot of small ones' toes. And they could very well team up and hire someone… strong enough to take us out. Of course, that would cost them a lot of eddies. The big players won't even bother with small fries… but I think in six months, a year at most, they'll be forced to get serious about this."
"And what do you suggest?"
Judy was looking at me intently.
"For starters, all of us need subcutaneous armor. And when I say all, I mean everyone, even you, Panam. And knowing your aversion to chrome, I've already sent a list to Vik. He'll find the best stuff on the market, even if it's on the black market, so that the installation of such armor doesn't affect our daily lives at all."
"And that's not all?"
"Definitely not all…"
I nodded, confirming that I was about to say a lot more that she wouldn't like. But we both knew that I had to say it.
"I think I'll need optical camouflage at the very least… I'm also thinking about replacing my skeleton, but I don't want to install a titanium one. It would make me a lot heavier, so I asked Vik to find something experimental that wouldn't make me too heavy. And I guess that's all the pure chrome I want to install on myself. Though I did send him a request for some bio-implants…"
"As far as I know, they're not as effective as chrome…"
Judy joined the conversation.
"You're right, but as I said before, I don't want to end up like a borg. Alright, Vik will have to spend a lot of time synchronizing the chrome, since some types of it just aren't made by the same corporations. And while installing the bio-implants won't be easy, at least it won't require a long synchronization. Besides, a person with implants like that isn't considered a borg, and that's a big plus for me."
"Got it… and what about us?"
Kiwi was looking at me intently. She was probably calculating what she could do with my suggestions and how much she would have to spend.
"A deck, and it has to be an extra-class one…"
If this were a game, I would have said a legendary one, but that term just doesn't exist here. But there is an extra class, which includes the Arasaka deck version four, or the NetWatch deck version five.
"I was also thinking about memory extenders and memory recharge accelerators… but I just asked Vik to find something that was just as good.
"That's…"
Kiwi was in shock. It seemed she was starting to realize that all of this was going to cost her a lot.
"Bio-implants, the same ones I'm getting… for poisoning, to strengthen your organs and make them last longer. In short, a very versatile set."
"Um…"
"Becca, in general, doesn't need anything extra. Although I would replace her set of chrome with an extra-class one. And for Panam, I would add something that professional racers get."
"Ahem… I don't think… I have enough money for extra-class…"
Kiwi finally got ahold of herself and was the first to speak.
"Oh, don't worry… I have a solution, and the eddies… and I'm offering you the same thing I once offered Judy…"
"And what was that?"
Kiwi looked at me with suspicion.
"I'll pay for everything… thankfully, I have enough eddies, and I have a pretty decent stash for a rainy day, even though I do spend a little here and there. So I have enough for our upgrades. As for you guys, if you agree, you'll get a stable share of the reward from the mission, but only ten percent of the share you would get from the bonus. And you'll do that until your debt to me is paid off."
"And what's the catch?"
Kiwi was looking me right in the eyes, searching for a smirk or something else that she expected to see there.
"There is no catch…"
Judy shrugged.
"…he just wants to work more efficiently, get more money, and live without having to worry about every noise, and for that, he needs to be sure of his backup. So he's offering us all a course of action… and I, personally, agree."
"We didn't even have to ask you…"
Becca was thoughtfully tapping her fingers on the table.
"…just like Panam, even though she's not a fan of chrome, she probably won't turn down the upgrade David suggested."
"I won't…"
Panam nodded her head.
"…I'll use my own eddies to upgrade the Thorton… I should have completely rebuilt it a long time ago, but I've only done some light tuning… or maybe I'll just sell the Thorton to the clan and buy something with more space… like the Chevaleron Imperator 620 Ragnar. I've been looking at it for a while now…"
"Well, I think if you mod that one well enough, it would give the Thorton a run for its money."
"Uh-huh…"
"So?"
I looked at the girls again.
"Well, I can partially pay for the chrome myself… but so I don't get left with nothing, I'll take your offer. You pay for everything, and I'll work and give you almost all of my bonus. I think with our style of work, that's a little more than two months of work…"
I nodded my head at Becca's words.
"I'm not against it…"
Lucy shrugged.
"…if I can work more efficiently, then we'll pay off the debt faster."
"Good…"
Kiwi closed her eyes.
"Only…"
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you to add something else to the list of bio-implants?"
"And what is it?"
"My lower jaw, and everything else that should be there… I'll go to Vik's. He can give me a check-up and make a list. I'm not going to get rid of my mask, of course, but I'd like to finally be able to take it off and not look like some Maelstromer…"
"And this girl is into my brother…"
Becca shook her head, and I finally relaxed. They all agreed… Good…
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