Part 11

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***

- Panam, stop saying such strange words....

- Weird?

- Well yes, Panam who is loaded with such questions is quite a strange sight. I am already used to a slightly reckless but executive girl who can be relied upon. Now I'm seeing my girlfriend as well. But such strange and serious questions.....

I shook my head.

- Am I the one you think can't be serious?

I shrugged my shoulders.

- Should I take offence?

- It's better to just say what you want, straightforwardly and without any games.

- Eh...

She shook her head.

- ...You see right through me....

- Well, I'm your boyfriend.

I grinned at Panam's words as she swerved the steering wheel to dodge a daredevil who had decided to race around the city in some wreck.

- Yes...

- Panam?

- Eh... Sooner or later, the Aldecaldos will leave Knight City....

- И?

I gave Panam's thigh a little squeeze and she gave me a worried look.

- ...I realise I'm in a bit of a hurry, but would you like to join the clan? Come with us when we decide to leave this place?

- You don't seem to get along with Saul.

- OWLs, yeah, but this is my clan, my family, I grew up with them and just because Saul's been pissing me off a bit lately doesn't mean I'm going to leave them.

She turned her head in my direction and I could see the excitement in her eyes. She really cared about my answer to the question. So I decided not to play with words or dodge the answer.

- Keep your eyes on the road...

She turned away from me, and flinched slightly when my hand moved a little higher up her thigh. But this time she didn't stop me, just tensed slightly.

- Panam, you're right, you asked that question a little early, but if you want to know the answer to it now....

She nodded slightly jerkily.

- ...I'll tell you the truth. There's nothing keeping me in this town, but I'm not going to run away from it either. However, if you and I do become a couple...

- I think we already are!

- Panam, you and I started dating... or rather you agreed to give me a chance and became my girlfriend, just today. In fact, we're just starting to get to know each other. Let's say since you fell asleep first, I know you have a funny way of smacking your lips in your sleep.....

Panam blushed with embarrassment.

- ...But all this is still not enough. However, when the time comes for Aldecaldo to leave Knight City and if we are still together by then, it will mean that we are good for each other and then I will follow you even if I am not invited to join the clan.

- You... I mean...

She sighed and her fingers gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.

- Panam, you are my girlfriend and we will be together as long as it suits us. You know me, even if I have to stop being solo I won't be lost. And you won't be lost with me either. We'll be together, Tihonja and Cherry.

- Cherry?

Panam looked at me very surprised.

- Well, you named your car Tortik, and you are Cherry on Tortik.

She grinned.

- It's funny... Cherry... I like it....

The car went sharply into the right lane and turned into a small street, where it stopped. The engine, as always, was not switched off and I again ran my hand a little higher up my Cherry's thigh.

- Okay, I'm off...

She nodded and I lifted slightly from my seat and kissed her on the lips. Slowly and showing my feelings for her. And she responded to that kiss. That kiss had everything in it and even a little fear that it might be broken.

Breaking the kiss I pulled away from Panam and looked into her eyes.

- Go already come on...

She grinned and waved at me and I got out of the car, slamming the door behind me. I looked around quickly and realised where I needed to go and headed towards the exit of the alley.

When I got to the main street I quickly walked past two houses, exactly to the Tiger Claws bar, and before I reached it I turned into the alley. When I reached the cul-de-sac I quickly pulled out a harpoon and shot it up onto the roof, then walked across the house.

Once on the other side of the roof I crouched down and looked down at the alleyway that ran right up to the Tiger Claws bar, which now held the optics I needed to get.

The fact that there was only one guard at the back door didn't bother me; they were pretty sure that no one knew about this place, and there was probably a cop covering the bar. So we have to be very careful.

Activating my optics I examine the bar in all modes available to me and realise that inside the back room there is one more intelligent, another dozen are sitting in the bar itself, plus one bartender and two guards at the main entrance.

Sighing I took a quick look around and realised that this time I couldn't do without killing. So I applied the script I'd bought to one of the shields in the alley and it glowed.

- Huh? What the fuck?

While Claw got up from his seat and went to the shield, I cranked the sandi to maximum and quickly jumped off the roof, pushing off the walls of the alley at the limit of my strength. One jump, two pushes from the walls, and after the second one I literally collapsed on Claw, driving the knife into his temple.

Minus one...

Checking the bar with my optics, I realised the alarm hadn't gone off. That's a good thing. After a quick look at the body I pocketed the gun and a couple of notes, then threw it into the rubbish bin nearby.

One more script on the door, and it opens with a quiet hiss.

- Huh? Sam, you need a piss?

A woman's voice came from the back room, but I don't care about that, I've had to kill girls in the time I've been working solo. It's not a good thing, more like a bad thing, but in this world and in this city... it's either you or you, so I reactivated the sandi and took a step to the side and threw the knife, which went right into the girl's eye socket.

Before she could realise anything I was already standing next to her and picking up her settling body, which I also dragged outside and threw into the container.

Quickly looking around I noticed a few comps, but I didn't have time to hack into them, so I went to the door that led to the warehouse and activating the hacking script I grinned when the door opened quietly.

I'd spent a lot of money on those scripts, it was much harder to work without them.

- Fuck! I made a fortune today!

I couldn't resist saying it out loud. Because in addition to the optics, which was lying in a prominent place, I also saw a few more implants, as well as tight rolls of quid. And there was a lot more of it than I'd seen in the flat I'd snuck into the other day. And best of all, there were no bugs in those bundles at all. I mean, a secure place, a base with a bunch of claws pretending to be visitors, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, it could...

I grinned and started putting away what I liked. Naturally, I put the optics in the bag first and only then a couple of other chrome accessories, as well as tight rolls of money.

Five minutes.

That's how long it took me to put everything in my little bag. And for the first time I regretted that my bag was so small, I didn't take even half of the quid that were lying on the shelves there.

However, greed is a fool, and I'm not a fool, so I calmly turned around and left the warehouse and closed the door with the help of the script, and then left the back room, which I also closed with the script.

Taking out the harpoon I dialled Panam's number, who answered very quickly.

- Cherry, I'll be right there.

- Roger that, the engine's warm as always....

Firing the harpoon into the roof, I quickly climbed up to the roof and then walked across the building and used the harpoon to get down. And shot it off and walked over to the car.

- How long have you been waiting?

- I've been waiting.

Panam grinned and I got in quietly.

- It's just a day of goodies, but first to the post office, I have to send Regina some optics and a couple of other implants.

- Your words...

The car started up, but Panam looked in my direction with a lot of interest.

- ...Did you find something there?

- Just more quid that just overflowed into my bag. You know, for the first time, I wish I'd bought myself some kind of military rucksack with a lot more money in it.

- Greed is a bad thing.

- I know and I'm not going to change my bag, just because if I'd stayed there longer I might have got caught. As it is, we've got the money, we've done the job and we don't have to work any more today.

- Yeah.

- I just need to get the cash through Regina to the accounts. It's a lot of money to keep around.

I shook my head.

- Yeah, well, this isn't a bank. They can break into our flat...

Panam gave me a sly look.

- Well, I was thinking that since I am not alone now and we need the place, we could look for a bigger flat.

- Why?

Panam looked at me in surprise.

- We have enough space. It's not lavish, but it's cosy and more than adequate. And if we move, we'll have to pay more rent.

- Are you sure?

- Yeah, in the clan I live in a tent...

I looked at Panam thoughtfully.

- We should look into buying a second-hand motorhome....

- Huh? Why else?

- Well, if I ever leave Knight City with you.....

- That's not a good idea.

The car came to a smooth stop and Panam nodded to me outside.

- There's the post office, we'll talk after you report to Regina.

I nodded and got out of the car to go to the post office where I put everything I had to send to Regina. And then I dialled her.

- Hello, Tihonja.

- I've sent the optics, a couple of other implants, and some of Tiger's documents...

- Isn't it too much?

I shrugged.

- I made it look like a successful robbery, less chance that they'd get to your friend, and through him to you and me. I took some quid too, you know, the ones that weren't lying around, will you put them on the account?

- Send it, you know the percentage.

- Yeah.

By the time we got there, I had already put the cash into opaque bags, which I sent to Regina through the post office.

When I got to the car, I sat in my seat and looked at Panam.

- So why is this a bad idea?

- What do you even know about nomadic life?

- You travel from town to town, the time you spend in new places can vary from a couple of months to a couple of years... that's about it.

- That's pretty much right...

Panam nodded her head.

- ...but very superficial. Well, let's go a little further back, you've been to the clan several times, you're not your own yet, but you're already familiar with the people. Have you seen the motorhomes there?

- Erm... no?

- Why so unsure?

I shrugged.

- Okay, you gave the right answer, you didn't see them and you couldn't have seen them, simply because they aren't there. No self-respecting nomad would buy one.

- I see.

- Why don't you tell me why?

- Too slow?

- Exactly... too slow, too clumsy, not very practical when you can't sleep in prepared campsites. In general there are a lot of disadvantages, it's much easier to throw a big tent, a cot, or a sleeping bag in the boot....

Panam shrugged.

- And why do you need a car? If you join the clan, you'll be travelling with me.

- And what would I need then?

- Well...

Panam tugged at her earlobe.

- A tent, a bigger one, perhaps a cot...'

I nodded my head.

- I see, I'll have to take care of it, because you can leave the place at any moment and then there may be no time for shopping.

- So you're serious about this?

- Why wouldn't I be?

- Right...