Bad Manners

Pacifica. Back to this dump of a district. Lei held no love for this place. There were constant updates on the radio about roadblocks created by gangs. As soon as you slowed to a stop, the members would ambush you, rob you, and kill you on a whim.

It was quite impossible for any normal civilian to survive here in the long term. All it took was a bad day for your door to get kicked in. Any crime could happen to you. People considered this place a lawless territory. 

The NCPD were out in full force. They fought a never ending war against the chaos. A never ending crusade to return order. Make the place habitable for people again. 

This district had originally been a playground for tourists, celebrities, and wealthy businessmen. A money-making vacation resort. Unfortunately, the investors pulled out and the money dried up…leaving Pacifica a shell of itself. Now run by gangs. 

Anyone that lived here was either under the protection of the Voodoo Boys - which were a large number - families of cops, or temporary residents. Matter of fact, the majority of people found in this district didn't live there. 

Lei had returned home after the surgery. She was quick to modify her breather to function as a pseudo infovisor. A short rest after, she was headed toward the Serenity Bible Church.

The sound of her Kusanagi snatched everyone's attention who were loitering at the church entrance. Some looked like mercs, others resembled gangsters of some kind. But they were all calm. At church. 

Everyone of these people were of Haitian descent. Crackheads and other drug addicts sat in the corners of the lot. Heads down. Minding their own business. 

Drifter parked right in the space closest to the door. Ignoring the gazes of those around, she walked through them and into the building. The first thing that greeted her was the lighting. It was quite dim here, the ceiling's deep blue glow being the only source of illumination.

Next was the crowd filling up the room. There were no seats, which were quite weird for a church. Everyone stood in silence. Only the pastor was talking, speaking in his own language. Creole.

At first she didn't understand the words, but her cyberdeck got to work immediately. Everything was translated in real time. The English subtitles appeared on her display. 

'Ok…guess I'll just wait here.' She thought. 

The empty-eyed girl leaned against the back wall. While the surroundings were quite populated, that didn't mean she failed to notice things. Body language. People around were slightly shifting due to her presence. A bit more guarded. More tense.

It took a while, but someone eventually approached. A bald Haitian man covered in robes. A hood covering his head. He placed a hand on her shoulder. 

"You must be Drifter." He said. Lei removed his hand from her shoulder. 

"Are you my contact? Where is Jamani?"

"Don't worry about Jamani." 

Rude.

"Alright. Who are you?"

"I am just a middle man." 

Very helpful.

"Sure…the gig?"

"You will know soon."

Another abstract answer from these Voodoo Boys. Jamani says soon. Now this fucker says soon. Both of them treated her like dirt. 

"WHEN. IS. SOON." Lei's voice was flat. Added with the breather's mechanical distortion, a bit intimidating. The man raised an eyebrow. Realized that he would have to move things along. No more threat assessment.

"Go to the market center down the street. Right on the intersection. Look for the butcher shop. Placide will tell you more."

"..................."

She immediately stepped away from the man. Before she could open the doors, the hooded man spoke up once more. His tone was dark. 

"We do not know you. You are NOT one of us. Act with grace or it will be taught to you."

"Likewise." She countered. The doors shut behind her. 

'I hate these bastards already. I hope they aren't all like that.'

'Who gives a damn. Get to Alt, worry about them after.' Johnny said.

'What if they try to fuck me over? I do give a damn.'

'Then fuck them over worse. After we get to Alt.'

Lei casually walked down the sidewalk while looking around. The intersection was directly ahead, which meant the shopping center was nearby. A few more steps and the buzz of voices washed over her. 

It was white noise. So many people talking at once. About different things. The volume level had increased drastically. Following the sound, she went through a narrow underpass. 

Then the area opened up. A whole market was in front of her. Vendors everywhere, selling clothes, toys, food, gadgets, and more. Lei even noticed a vendor selling prepackaged quickhacks. Preem.

She decided to sightsee. Take in the view. Understand the culture. Almost everyone was speaking in creole, but her translator did the heavy lifting. It seemed to be a close knit community…as everyone knew each other. Each buyer. Each seller.

Lei approached one of the vendors. A frown immediately appeared on the man's face. She could feel the hostility on arrival. 

"Looking for Placide. Butcher shop."

"Yon lòt ranyon mouye pou Placide? Laba." He pointed in a specific direction.

Lei raised an eyebrow at the man's words and demeanor. The translator did its work…making her eyes narrow. So that's how it is.

'Another wet rag for Placide? Over there.' The subtitles said. 

The man had called her a wet rag to her face. Not expecting her to understand the language. So that's how these people were. Alright. Noted. Another wet rag? Disposable? Is that what he meant? How many 'wet rags' has there been?

She headed in the pointed direction with a newfound understanding. A much better idea of how this was expected to go. They might not help her. Maybe they'll betray her before anything happens.

It didn't take much longer to find the butcher shop. An old woman stood behind the counter in boredom. An old man sat in a chair nearby, smoking a cigarette. 

"Placide?" She questioned. 

"Placide…look here first." The old woman pointed to a mounted camera in the corner. 

Lei turned to the camera. Blue sensors scanned the masked girl, verifying her identity. After a few more seconds, it returned to its standby mode. The old man on the chair spoke up. 

"So it is you. Go."

They lazily pointed to a tarp cover that acted as a door. Moving past the flaps, she came face to face with another man leaning against the wall. There was an assault rifle in his hands. 

"You must be Placide." She said. The man shook his head. Then he pointed further down the room. 

A muscular Haitian man could be seen behind a skinned chicken. His dreads were pulled back in a ponytail. There was a massive knife in his hand. The blade slammed onto the chopping board, cutting through the dead animal's bones. 

"I want to go past the Blackwall." Lei spoke up. Didn't seem like greetings mattered here anyways. Placide raised an eyebrow at her. 

"That is what you want?"

"Yes."

"Then you are looking for Brigitte."

"...Sure."

"But they bring you to me."

"...I guess. So what's the job? I help you, you help me right?"

There was a moment of silence as the big man cleaned his knife. Once he finished, he walked out of the room. Not a word was said. Lei waited for a moment. Was he coming back? Picking up something? 

She quickly pinged the nearby electronics, which expanded across the market. An incredibly vast amount of nodes appeared everywhere. Like a grid. Then she found him. Placide was almost out of the market. Walking fast. He'd left her.

"Okay. Another asshole." 

The masked girl couldn't help but roll her eyes. A sigh of frustration followed. Only then did she speed walk out of the building and chase after the man. As she grew closer, she noticed him passing out food to some of the vendors. He was polite and casual with his people. 

"You pinged the market." He commented once she reached his side. 

"You left without a word." Lei countered. 

"Do not try to netrun here. It will not work out for you."

"Not like I wanted to."

They walked a bit further. Their steps brought them around the backside of the market and into an open plaza. A few men could be seen laughing with beers and rifles in their hands. 

"Nou kouri Pacifica!" He exclaimed before shooting into the air. 

"Welcome to Pacifica." Placide commented as they walked past. 

"Don't really feel welcome."

"That is because you are an outsider." His accent was heavy.

"That's fine. We help each other, then go our separate ways. Don't gotta make things harder than it needs to be."

"Agreed. I want someone dead. You will do it."

"Who?"

"You will know soon."

"Great…"

The two eventually found a pair of stairs guarded by more armed men. They only said one thing as the two passed. It was a question.

"Ranyon etaj?" The man asked. 

"Ranyon." Placide nodded in agreement. Lei's eyes narrowed. They'd both just called her a floor rag.

Once upstairs, the surroundings grew more quiet. Another set of doors and they were in front of a desk. A lab could be found in the next room. People were working frantically there. Something was up. 

Placide sat down at the desk before opening the computer. He then plugged a cable into a splitter. After that, he took the other plug and grabbed Lei's hand. The girl ripped his hand away. 

"Don't touch me." She snarled. No way was she letting him plug into her port. Did he think she was an idiot? The Haitian man frowned. 

"If you want access to Rezo Agwe, you will give your hand."

"Rezo Agwe…and that is?"

"Our subnet."

"Why would I want access to your subnet?"

"You wish to breach the Blackwall. You need our subnet. Give me your hand."

"No. You won't be getting access to my systems and chrome. Once I finish the job, then we can talk about that."

"If you want our trust-"

"Fuck your trust. Don't want it. It's business now. I do my part, you do yours." She interrupted. 

Placide sat back in his chair with an annoyed face. He stared at her for a while in silence. Lei's empty eyes stared back. Only the sound of mechanical breathing filled the silence. 

"I must know you are capable." He growled.

"I am."

"That means nothing." 

"Your word means nothing." She countered.

They were at a standstill. Her left hand rested on the grip of her Burya. Ready to blow his head open. Placide's gaze went to her gun then back to her face.

"Fine. Different way. I invite you to subnet through your contacts. No wires. No jacking in."

"Fine."

Deets were sent over. Much safer. Less chance of hidden viruses and such. Lei would make sure she wasn't able to be taken advantage of. An invitation appeared in her display. 

[You've been invited to Rezo Agwe. Join subnet?] 

Lei accepted the invite. Immediately, Placid's digital avatar appeared in her display. As he spoke, so did the figure. 

"Pay attention." He said. 

An album of pictures covered her display. A woman with blue hair, sometimes red, sometimes grey. She was a doll. A doll from…Clouds? Lei read the biography with a frown. 

[Evelyn Parker]

"You want me to kill a joytoy?"

"We make deal with her. Deal went bad. She know too much, so we fry her cyberware. Somehow she survived. Kill her. Job done."

"Where is she?"

"We track her. Here is location."

"Couldn't you have just sent your own men?" She questioned. Placide shook his head. 

"That is not how we work. We outsource. Never leave our home."

"Except Jamani?"

"Except Jamani." He answered with a frown. He didn't like that Lei knew another member of the Voodoo Boys.

"Alright. I'll get that done."

"Be quick. We will speak over comms."

".................." Lei silently made her exit.