Chapter 81

The next couple of days went by quickly enough. Nothing strange or unpleasant happened. We still left the camp, smashed one or two Stiletto bases, and then returned to the camp. Dakota was paying for the camps we'd destroyed, and Kiwi and Judy were taking turns hacking into the bandits' systems and getting more money, as well as finding out where they might be.

"David..."

One of the Aldecaldo members approached me.

"Uh-huh?

"There's some broad here to see you."

I blinked in surprise.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah. She claims she's got business with you, but she looks like a Chpok Street skank."

I stood up with a sigh from my chair where I was resting from work, because despite the destruction of the Stilettos camps, the work of modernizing and customizing weapons was not canceled.

"Let's go."

I looked at the man who had brought me the news and followed him to the place where the bitch was.

"Ahem..."

I didn't know what to say, because the girl didn't look like a Chpok Street skank at all. She was tall, pretty enough, with pink hair in a ponytail. She was dressed in a black, tight dress with a deep neckline and a big cutout with a leg, a red jacket with a white fur collar on her shoulders, and a red purse in her hand.

"So?"

I looked at the girl, not understanding what she could possibly want from me. She wasn't a Chpok Street whore, but she was dressed rather provocatively, giving the impression of an elite, corporate, courtesan. And what would a chick like that want from me?

"Right here?"

The girl raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"What's wrong with this place?"

"My employer was hoping for a more private conversation..."

A teasing smirk appeared on the girl's lips.

"If you're so much afraid of a fragile girl, I can be inspected... you can feel all over me and put your fingers in every orifice..."

"Shorter."

I interrupted her rather abruptly, though my escort as well as the clan sentinel were clearly floored by the girl's tone.

"We either talk here or we don't talk at all."

"Eh..."

Sandi was already working, albeit at a minimum, since I couldn't figure out what was even going on. And for that simple reason, I preferred to reassure myself. So even though it was hard for me to follow a conversation with an already active chrome, I preferred the slight discomfort to stupid bravery and self-assurance.

The girl's eyes glistened, telling me she was talking to someone... Her body jerked slightly, as if someone had cut the strings of control, but it didn't fall, just a little head hung down, and then her head came up, showing me that her eyes were still glistening.

"Greetings, David Martinez ..."

The girl's tone changed, as did her demeanor. If earlier she had been trying to show off her virtues, now she examined herself with a slightly disdainful frown and pulled her jacket down so that it covered her bare shoulders better. The girl's every gesture now showed a haughty superiority.

"I'm listening to you..."

Lowering the sandi's work to a minimum, looking closely at the girl across from me.

"Uh huh... the girl looked around."

"...I was hoping for a more... comfortable place to talk."

I shrugged.

"Letting a strange girl who came from who knows where on your property? How stupid do you have to be to do that?"

"Okay... my name is Hanako Arasaka..."

The girl looked at me expectantly, and I gestured to the clansmen to get out of the fog. The girl looked at me expectantly, and I gestured with my hand to the clansmen to get away from the fog.

"Well, you know me."

"Yes, uh. I'm interested in your skills and capabilities. Especially since you were previously associated with Arasaki Academy, you must realize that working for a corporation is more profitable than working for yourself."

"Are you serious?"

I raised an eyebrow in surprise, and the girl froze. A surprised expression appeared on her face.

"I don't understand..."

"Apparently you've been grossly misinformed. Your Academy is a hotbed of intolerance for anyone who is not originally part of the corporation. Children are spoiled and from the very early childhood name advanced chrome treat those who do not belong to their social circle as garbage that can and should be wiped off their feet. Adults, who are supposed to be responsible for teaching and promoting talents, only turn a blind eye to the amusements of these majors, and also put the successes of anyone smart enough in such a light that the majors begin to think that they just have to make fun of the too smart beggar."

I grinned.

"That's, uh. not what I was told."

"I suggest you hire a roner to hack into the academy and check its data. I think you'll either find a lot of interesting stuff, or you'll find that a lot of interesting stuff has been deleted from the storage servers. Both of these options will confirm what I am saying."

"I... I realized when Takamura came back that you didn't feel good about the Arasaka Corporation, but I thought a reminder of the Academy might soften our conversation a bit..."

The girl's lips folded into a thin thread, showing her displeasure.

Huh, she was probably preparing for this conversation and the data she was given wouldn't allow her to have the conversation she wanted. Looks like heads are going to roll at the Academy...

We were quiet for a while.

"Still, I hope I can convince you that working for me is profitable enough."

At Hanako's words, I shook my head.

"No, you can't do that. I'm not going to get involved in a corporate or intra-corporate fight. A move like that would make me a pawn.

"Oh, you grossly underestimate yourself, you won't be a pawn, perhaps you'll become a bishop, or a queen..."

"Uh-huh...

I nodded.

"...and when the time comes, I'll be swept off the board. I may not have been in your corporate kitchen, but I realize that the pieces never win. They always get swept off the board, only the players get something."

"You think you're a player?"

A slightly wry smile appeared on the lips of Proxy, through whom Hanako continued to communicate with me.

"Well..."

I shrugged.

"...of course I'm a player. Another thing is that I distinguish between playing poker at the VIP table for especially rich clients and playing a little above the normal level. At both tables there are players, but their level and opportunities differ dramatically."

"I see. but you're still not gonna be able to ignore my offer."

"Uh-huh? And why is that?

"My brother will track down this Proxy, find out where she went, and realize I was gonna hire you. And he'll decide to preemptively eliminate you."

A smile of superiority appeared on her lips.

"Well, I'll deal with that somehow..."

I shrug my shoulders confidently, though I don't feel such confidence at all, and I'm starting to think about where exactly to move the clan's parking lot, or maybe even tell Saul to prepare the clan for an urgent withdrawal from the place?

Fuck. we haven't had all the cars we got from the police depot cleaned up yet! Just the Basilisks and the hippos. And the manticore reactors have been removed, providing the clan with electricity and water.

"You're very confident."

"I just know what I'm capable of..."

"My brother's got a major league solo. I don't think you can handle Smasher."

"So I don't need to take your side, because if I do, I'm almost guaranteed to meet him."

She pressed her lips into a thin string again.

"Still, consider working for me. it would be a very significant step forward. Not only can we pay you well, but we can get you experimental chrome. For example, we can replace your sandi, trust me, regular sandi is no match for military or experimental... Optics. Muscles."

"Simply put, you want to make a Borg out of me by getting me hooked on your drugs, without which I will quickly slip into cyberpsychosis. But I don't want that kind of "happiness" for nothing."

"Huh, I'm gonna open up a little bit. but it's probably for the best."

Hanako was silent for a moment, the pause adding to the atmosphere. But I didn't care, so I just raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"The thing is, the Academy took tests and based on them, if you do it right, you won't become a cyberpsychic, you can become a Borg just like a laughing stock and you won't need a drop of drugs to be stable."

"Uh-huh...

I nodded as if to confirm that I believed her, except that I wasn't trying to keep a straight face, so Hanako could see my real attitude to what she was saying.

"...except I'm not interested in becoming a Borg either."

"But you do realize that only the Borg are in the big leagues-- the others don't last.

I could hear the surprise in the voice of my interlocutor.

"I'm not going to go to the big leagues. I'm happy with where I am in society right now."

"Is that okay? When you could be ranked much higher?"

"Yeah, I'm fine with everything. living well, supporting myself."

I shrugged.

"Why would I try to take a bite out of a pie that I'm pretty sure I can't swallow, I'd have trouble chewing?"

"Tz... and yet you think about it. and I've got to go."

I remained silent, and a couple seconds later Proxy swayed and barely managed to shift a little and catch her balance.

"I hate it so much..."

The girl slowly rubbed the bridge of her nose, covering her eyes.

"Do you have to do this kind of thing often?"

"It's my job..."

She sighed and shook her head.

"Every day there is someone who can't or doesn't want to appear in one place or another and needs Proxy services to appear in that place without appearing."

"I see. Water?"

"No..."

She turned around and without saying goodbye walked to the door of her car, where she got in and calmly turned around and drove away.

"Fucking..."

I shook my head. I definitely shouldn't have gotten into this whole thing in the first place. After all, somehow in canon Vee had gotten her first chromium... But I had gotten involved, and I just couldn't leave her, feeling responsible for her...

Inhale... exhale.

I summoned the watchers, after which I turned around, heading towards my abode.

"David, is something wrong?"

"Another attempt to draw us into a corporate showdown... we can't let go of the Arasaka story."

"What is it this time?"

"A proxy controlled by Ms. Hanako Arasaka herself..."

"What the fuck?!"

Becca stared at me in surprise, however, and the rest of the girls stared at me in surprise.

"Yes, you heard right... I had a visit from Proxy, who was on a mission from Hanako Arasaki."

"And what did she want?"

"Offered to work for her personally."

"And how's that?"

"Well, uh. I said no. It's only natural, given my reluctance to get involved in corporate squabbles, both between corporations and within corporations."

"But?"

Judy seemed to sense the reticence and hurried to clarify.

"But I was threatened that her brother would find out that she tried to talk to me and I could be a target for elimination. So, uh."

I shrugged.

"Now I'm wondering what exactly I should do. whether to take you, the clan, and get the hell out of Knight City, or whether we stay and try to defend our place in the sun..."

"Aren't there options?"

Becca looked at me in surprise.

"And really, David you make it sound like we have a choice..."

Judy and the rest of the girls nodded at Panam's words.

"We're staying."

Lucy drew a line under their decision and there was nothing left for me to do but accept that decision for what it was.