Saw it off...

[Ori, I've found some leads on our Netrunner.] - Sasha

Ori blinks himself awake at the message, unintentionally kicking Rebecca out of bed due to how close she is to the edge.

"Hey!"

"Sorry! Just got a text, Sasha says she found something."

[Gimme wat u got] - Ori

[Haven't found their identity, but they just rented a room in the Sunset Hotel over at the Red Peaks, East of Charter Hill. We move now and we might catch them while they're sleeping.] - Sasha

[Shit, that's all I needed to hear!!!] - Ori

Ori grabs Rebecca under his arm and marches into the shower as she tries to squirm her way outta his grip, "Come on, we got someone to kill and a time limit to hit!"

---------------------

Ori flies down the highway with Rebecca and Sasha in his Ogre 420 Magistrate, kicking up a long line of dust as they hightail it towards the sunrise.

"You really think the guy'll be there?" Rebecca queries, glancing at Sasha in the back from the passenger seat.

She shrugs, "Maybe? All I know is they bought a room last night and haven't checked out yet. Room eleven, apparently."

"We won't have to wait long. We're already there." Ori states, nodding his head at the hotel approaching from the distance.

Despite its isolated location, there were more people than expected. Dozens of cars lined up on the roadsides nearby it, stalls set up selling both food, clothes, and arms, and even at this time the bar looked half-full.

He twists around the street and stops the truck in a free parking space. After that, he grabs Bore and Six's revolvers and steps out, followed by his companions. They don't enter the bar, instead, they head to room eleven which was placed on the second floor at the very end of the walkway.

*Knock-Knock.*

Ori taps the barrel of Bore against the door, prepared to blow whoever opens it apart if they show any hostility.

...

After some minutes of waiting however, no one comes to answer. Sasha reported that no one had snuck out of the other entrances like the windows for example, and they hadn't checked out either... Meaning they were still inside.

"Well, looks like it's the hard way then." he remarks, taking some steps back as Rebecca and Sasha get some distance.

*CRAASH!*

He goes straight through the door, pushing through the dust with Bore raised, looking around the room... Strangely, there wasn't anyone inside... The couch of the room seemed to have been dragged directly in front of the television, which was buzzing with static...

*Bzzt!*

"Hello." a person on the T.V says as a picture of a shadowed figure appears.

"If you say 'Do you wanna play a game' I'm gonna lose my shit." Rebecca states as she walks inside, Sasha having confirmed that there were no hidden explosives.

"A fan of the classics... But no, I'm not a complete hack." the stranger chuckles, "I have something of yours that you might want..."

Ori rests Bore on his shoulder, "And what would that be?"

The picture buzzes and switches to some dull room, three people were tied to chairs in the middle with black bags over their heads. Ori instantly freezes as he notices an inconspicuous bump on the stomach of the only female... The lack of one arm and most fingers on the man next to her only confirmed his suspicions.

Still, Ori kept his expression firm, "Hostages, I thought you said you weren't a hack?" he drawls while shooting Sasha a text.

[Find out where this fucker is, that's my family he's got!] - Ori

[Already working on it.] - Sasha

"No, I only said I'm not a complete one. Cliches are only so because they are iconic, being last to the party doesn't make you any less valuable." the hooded person walks into the shot with an axe in hand.

"Tell that to copyright laws." Sasha adds, folding her arms.

"Pfft, like that shit matters! Back when the world wasn't shit China repurposed technology from the USA with no repercussions. Everyone steals, whether or not you have the power to take it back is another matter." the person rests a hand on one of the hostage's shoulders.

Ori clenches his jaw, "I don't know, there's nothing worse than a loser who can't learn. You failed to kill me once, now you've resorted to this? If you wanna go off TV culture, you're a Z-list villain by your own standards."

"Heh, yeah, you're the Elmer Fudd of mercs." Rebecca snickers.

"No."

"Yeah you are."

"No I'm not."

"Whatever you say Mr Fudd."

"I AM NOT ELMER FUDD!..." the kidnapper shakes his head, "Enough! I didn't set this up to small talk." he pulls the hoods off of the hostages, revealing Bats, Cat, and Fujino, all sitting there with wide-eyed and gagged.

Ori grips Bore tightly, "And what DO you want?"

"I wanna finish my job, what else? I'm a petty person though, if I can't manage that I'll settle for the next best thing." they point the axe as the hostages, "How about it? Their heads worth yours?"

"Fat chance." Rebecca growls.

"You touch any of them, you won't escape." Sasha promises with brows furrowed.

"Hopefully it won't come to that. You just gotta play my game-"

"I knew it was a fucking Saw!" Rebecca exclaims with an accusatory finger, "You hack!" (AN: I'm sure by the time 2077 rolls around Saw released a hundred more movies)

"Shut the fuck up!" the kidnapper angrily shouts, taking a breath, "Now. You either do as I say or..." they heft the axe, "I start cutting bits off. Oh, and mind your manners miss-"

*BZZTCH!*

Sasha yelps as the back of her head crackles slightly with sparks, a quick hack to her Interface forcing her to cease whatever operations she was running.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice you running around, searching for me? You're not as smart as you think you are, Kitten."