Chapter 77

A call from Bestia made me exhale a sigh of relief.

"David there's a rush order for you..."

"Hear you, Bestia..."

And the beast told me about an order I already knew the gist of. Actually from her tone I realized that she knew that I knew that she knew that I knew that she knew... but rules are rules and she told me about the essence of the order, heard my consent and sent me the details of the order by letter and I could breathe a sigh of relief.

"An order?"

"Yeah..."

"You got it?"

"Well..."

I shrugged.

"...I was the one who advised her. And she was willing to pay good money. although I would have done the job for less."

"Oh, good."

Becca breathed a sigh of relief.

"Exactly. Good thing she came to her senses."

With a low growl, three motorcycles pulled up beside us. And the figures of the girls sitting on those bikes made me lick my eyes greedily. And that's all mine.

My eyes fell on a tall girl in a red suit, red helmet, on a red bike... I'm ready to take her down right here, right now! And judging by the look in her eyes, Kiwi knows exactly what kind of impression she makes on me.

I shifted my gaze a little and saw a girl in a green suit on a green bike. She was also wearing a helmet and it, like her suit and bike, was green in color. And now this good fortune also belongs to me... how lucky I am!

His gaze slid to the last figure, a girl a little shorter than the first two, wearing a white motorcycle suit and the same white helmet. Sitting on a white bike... And this miracle doesn't belong to me yet...

Well, at least technically, but practically, she's already in my net. And you can see it in the way she's flaunting herself in front of me. The way she flexes.

"What are you discussing?"

Judy was in a very good mood.

"Just because we don't have to zero in on V."

Becca didn't spare the girls' feelings and blurted it all out in one sentence.

"Huh?!"

All the girls coughed in synchrony and even forgot that a second ago they were kind of trying to show themselves and their tight suits in the best light.

"No it's not a joke..."

"David, Becca's kidding, right?"

"Not at all... Vee went over the edge... she called me and offered to blow up a power plant to bring down a corporate avi. And she didn't even care that such a bombing would cause a lot of civilian deaths."

"AND?"

"And I've kind of managed to steer her onto a different path and now I have to build her a super-powered EMP cannon that allows for targeted shooting.

"I see..."

The girls looked at each other and drove towards the parking lot, where they left their motorcycles and quickly headed inside Behemoth.

"We're going to work!"

The girls hid inside and I couldn't help but shrug before continuing to work on a weapon for Vee. And at the same time feeling hopeful that she wouldn't take the easiest path she had to take in canon...

I sighed... time will tell... I may have made a mistake when I helped her after she was kicked out of Arasaki...

Yeah... only time will tell...

It was with these thoughts in mind that I fell head over heels into my work...

*** Two days later. ***

I struggled to straighten up and exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Becca..."

But Becky wasn't next to me. I looked around and realized that it was nighttime. I was working inside the Behemoth, because if I could work on the computer outside, create a model of weapons and parts, then I had to produce the parts and assemble weapons from them indoors, where the sand could not get inside.

I stretched and got up from my workplace and realized how hard this job was for me. Yes, my muscles are synthetic and don't leak, my bones and everything else are artificial, but still something in my brain makes me warm up after sitting for a long time, and it brings some inner satisfaction.

Sighing I looked at the workbench on which lay two large guns.

When I went outside, I made sure that everyone in the clan was still asleep, but I didn't want to sleep, I realized, or rather I wanted to, but I knew that I couldn't sleep. If I went to bed now, I would sleep for at least twenty-four hours and that could lead to tragic consequences. So I preferred to start preparing a very early breakfast...

Or a very late dinner?

With such philosophical questions, I prepared a snack.

Finally finished cooking, I sat down at the table and now indulged in the sin of gluttony, and afterward I shook myself up a little and walked away from the building to start my workout. Anything to stay awake. And that's exactly what my girls caught me doing when they came out of the Behemoth in the early morning.

"Are you done?"

This question was asked by Panam, but I could see that it was of interest to everyone present.

"Girls, David is not in the master's...koi..."

Becca came out a little later than the others, carrying the massive guns I'd left in the workshop on her shoulders.

"Good morning everyone..."

I waved at them and pointed to the table.

"Breakfast is on the table, it's certainly gotten a little cold..."

On the table were plates covered with special foils, under which was the breakfast for my little ones.

"It's okay. we'll have a cold one, too."

"Becca, uh, just a favor to you. can you eat faster? I just need to test the guns so I know if they need fixing or not..."

"Okay..."

Becca nodded and I continued practicing while the girls walked to the table and after a short period of time I heard some high-powered shots, a short break and again some high-powered shots and this was repeated for a couple hours.

"Everything is super!"

Becca came back and put the guns on the table.

I breathed a sigh of relief and dialed Bestia.

"Go ahead, David."

"The order for two guns is ready..."

"Okay, will you give it to the customer in person?"

I wrinkled my nose slightly.

"I could, but do I have to?"

"No, uh. it's not necessary, I can send a courier."

"Send it over."

I sighed.

"Cause I'm so exhausted, I might just pass out on the way."

"Trying so hard for your significant other?"

"Well..."

I shrugged tiredly and my avatar repeated my gesture.

"...one might think so."

"All right, I'll stay out of your hair, you'll have a courier at your place in an hour."

"Copy that. out."

"Yeah, uh. for now."

I sighed... It wouldn't be long before I could get a decent night's sleep...

The courier arrived exactly on time and I handed him the weapon, which he carefully stowed in a specially equipped for the transportation of weapons trunk. Naturally, he disappeared in the direction of the client to whom the weapon was to be handed over.

I was finally able to relax and went into the Behemoth and laid down on the bed and just passed out...

I woke up to a persistent ringing...

Looking at my watch I did not suppress the urge to swear, and only after my vocabulary had dried up did I answer the call.

"I'm listening to you, V..."

"I got the gun. I wanted to thank you."

"Uh-huh...

I yawned.

"Were you asleep?"

"Yeah. I haven't slept at all in days to get your guns in on time. So I figured I was entitled to some sleep."

"Ahem. excuse me?"

"Uh-huh...

I yawned again.

"...anything else?"

"Well, uh. no."

"Well, bye, then. I'm going to bed."

I dropped the call and went back to sleep, but the call rang again.

"Uh-huh?

There wasn't an ounce of joy in my voice and I didn't even show any fake joy.

"I was just, uh."

"Vee... I haven't slept in days. so if you have something to say, say it, and if you don't, don't keep me awake."

"I want to hire you."

"No, I don't."

"You haven't heard it yet."

"You're up to some bullshit again..."

"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with corporations..."

I sighed.

"Can't it wait?"

"Well, uh. I'd just like to make a deal right off the bat."

"AND? Don't pull the cat's butt, all the cats in town are neutered anyway and that spot even the rare backyard cats just don't have it."

"Ahem..."

I inhaled slowly, and then exhaled even more slowly afterward.

"V-- I'm gonna drop the line and just blacklist you.

"All of them! That's it! I've got one club to take."

I blinked.

"Fuck..."

"Uh, David?"

"No, V, I'm out. I have a girl who works there, and your venture with Parker, if successful, threatens them with death, because the claws will not just leave it so."

"You haven't heard the plan yet! We'll eliminate the entire top brass at once and there'll be no one left to retaliate!"

"Vee. you're a big girl, a former corporate girl, and you believe in fairy tales..."

I shook my head.

"David, are you, uh. pass again?"

"Yeah, I'm out again. And I don't understand you either, but you'll get in, let's say even successfully, although for this you'll have to turn off the EMP generator once again, and that's additional percentages of rewriting your brain. Do you realize that the Claws would be the least of your problems?"

"Corporations?"

She sighed.

"Exactly. All the big shots in the really big gangs like the Claws are tied to corporations. And a corporate jacket will come to you, and he'll just calmly ask you: "Where's our cut?" Refuse to pay? A bullet in the forehead and you won't survive this time, but I wouldn't count on your chip pulling you out of the grave a second time, and if your body does survive, it might not be you, but Silverhand."

"Are you, uh. Are you sure you're not fucking corporate?"

"Vee... I'm just thinking with my head, which you almost gave up on for some reason."

"I don't..."

"You are..."

I interrupted her.

"...and working with DeShawn is a good indicator of that. You didn't even check the info on the fixer you were gonna work with! I put it in your mouth, and you decided to take a chance."

I sighed.

"And now you're going into the tiger's mouth. By the way, it's rumored that Claws is walking under Arasaka and pulling that hull by the whiskers again..."

I shook my head.

"That's it. over and out."

I could hear the irritation in Vee's voice, but I didn't say anything or try to calm her down, I just dropped the call and finally fell face first into the pillow...

Sleep sweet sleep...

I was about to fall asleep when I heard the door creak softly, and a couple minutes later a girl's body climbed onto my bed. I didn't open my eyes, just turned around and hugged the girl, who snuggled against me.

"I'm gonna get some more sleep. sleep."