Interlude 7: Crisis is over, part 2

  Robin Rice was… oddly charming, even with how shaken Laser Jack felt. The man still seemed to dislike him, causing some underlying tension, but not that much. They talked about the Family’s troops present, what kind of equipment they had. The man directed their conversation as if seeking advice on how to arm the militia. He probably did, at that.

  After a description of primary weapon choices for different duties that his mind couldn’t actually focus on even while saying it himself, Jack had to ask. “Look, I’m sorry, but why are you talking to me? I mean, your husband seemed… rather opposed.”

  The guy looked at him for a second before shrugging. “I’m his partner, not his house-wife, I can do what I want. As to your question, I’ve had… not very consensual sex with worse pieces of shit. I can have a conversation. I prefer to not fully burn bridges if I can help it.” Yeah, the wording clearly implied what he thought of him.

  “I’m… I didn’t mean to… I’m not a monster…” God, Jack sounded childish even to himself!

  Robin seemed to take his answer seriously however. “You know, for a while, I slept with a real piece of shit. One of my regulars. Liked my face, especially while choking me. In short, a massive cunt. The kind of sorry excuse for a human I’m glad my husband murdered in cold blood.”

  “Why were you with him?” He asked without thinking.

  “Sex slave, honey, keep up. Anyway, you want to know the weird thing? The dude never saw himself as a ‘bad guy’. With all the shit that guy did, he never considered himself a bad man, just someone who fucked up a lot. Choke me almost to death? Didn’t apologize, really, since I was property, but he chastised himself. ‘Got caught up in the moment, it’s fine!’ that kind of shit. Treating me like garbage? I’m property, it’s fine. Cheating his boss and betraying people? ‘That’s just the way things are, I need to do this or that to make something of bla bla bla’ whatever, he talked a lot. Too much really! However, you get the point. That asshole was raised and conditioned to be a monster but he never saw himself as one.” Robin looked at him implicatively. Yeah, that hit close to home. It also made him feel worse.

  “I think it’s partially that people don’t want to feel bad, so they excuse the shit they do, it’s a defense mechanism. Helps create horrendous garbage in the shape of people. It’s also part of corpo-corruption in my opinion.” Another implicative look.

  “If you have to do horrible shit, you create a reason why it’s ok, which means next time you won’t mind nearly as much.” Nice timing, right in the weak spot! The man might be good in his line of work, fuck! It also made the pain worse… Again…

  “My husband stays a good man through objectivity. He has priorities and values. If he does something horrible, it will make him feel horrible. He doesn’t excuse it or brush it away. To him, murdering kids is one of the worst fucking things you can do, so people who murder kids die. Simple. Someone who’s a threat to people at the moment? My love doesn’t give a shit about the consequences. That beautiful man does the right thing, always, because it’s the right thing. Finding what that is may not be easy sometimes, but it’s worth it. In your case…” The street psychologist looked at him critically. There was quite a lot of intelligence in those eyes, scanning and assessing.

  “Laser Jack, right now, you’re a monster. You’re genuinely aiding and abetting the mass murder of kids as well as innocent civilians in general. It doesn’t get much worse than that. You don’t want to be a monster? Don’t act like one. Stay objective, stay true to your values, no matter what. I mean, I imagine killing kids is counter to your values, doubt any samurai would be alright with that! Hey, I know what you’re thinking, but you’re a fucking samurai! Who’s going to stop you?” Laser Jack had been thinking it wasn’t that easy, but… yeah, fair point.

  “The love of my life did it without any bullshit alien tech, just a Benelli M4, some arm augments and a fucking stolen fireman’s axe against an army of gangers. That suicidal moron was ready to die doing the right thing, in part because living while not doing so wasn’t worth it. I think you’ll be fine with… I’m guessing lasers?” The normie gave him a questioning eyebrow and even in his daze, Jack nodded, resulting in the same in return.

  “That doesn’t mean you always have to go on a fucking rampage, I doubt your world is as disgusting as ours used to be! What he did took a lot of balls and strength of character, but you don’t even need those. I honestly doubt you have those at the moment.” Few normies would have the courage to shit-talk a samurai that bad! Especially with that much contempt in their eyes.

  It was kind of impressive.

  “What it means, at the very fucking least, is not participating in horrible things. Also, since you have a lot of power, working counter to those horrible things is the least you could do. That is, if you don’t want to be a monster.” The smart ex-prostitute looked at him to make sure he was getting the point hammered in right.

  “As for what you did? It can be a lesson on shit to avoid, you can make amends if you want, you can make things better, but only to a certain extent. Being a monster and making amends is easier when you’re a corpo, you can unload responsibility, but people are dead because of you. You can’t bring back the dead, buddy. Just… Please stop being a monster? Allow yourself to feel the pain of fucking up, or you’re always going to be a monster.”

  Laser Jack couldn’t really talk in his stunned state. After a few one sided pleasantries, the man got up. However, before he left, Robin stopped and turned around, adding a small tidbit. “I just want to make sure you know, my husband doesn’t lie. He’s for sure going to send some hypersonic esoteric projectiles your way if you show up. Anyway, bye!”

  ***

  Laser Jack was… in shock. Still. Even after an hour back in his office, the samurai didn’t make calls or organize shit. The relationship with Peach-Trees? Kind of fucked at this point. They wouldn’t let their troops render any aid.

  What the hell could he do? Actually… He could do that but… The mess! The consequences…

  ‘I’m not a monster, am I?’

  -

  He didn’t know who else to speak to. He just felt too much… guilt? Shame?

  That would very much depend on your definition of the word. From their point of view and by their definition, nothing they said was inaccurate. However, from the point of view of the company, you did well. In legal terms, yes, you would be convicted if evidence of your involvement came to the surface.

  It cannot be ignored that your actions were more focused on protecting the company rather than protecting the lives of civilians. An argument could be made that protecting the company will save more people in the long run.

  Fuck, even his AI wasn’t really on his side. He wanted to make the ‘protecting the company’ argument. It would be easy!

  Too easy… Laser Jack was a samurai! Wasn’t it his job to save humanity? Didn’t that include from bastards like Lacroix?

  He wanted to unload responsibility, to say that it was all for the greater good! Robin’s speech stayed stuck in his head though. Mad Panda’s face as well… His voice as he called him ‘samurai’... like a slur… He’d… Fuck…

  ‘Show me those files.’

  Jack decided to look at them before he lost the nerve to do so or tried to put the experience in the background. He engaged his multi-mind module and mental speed enhancers. The files were labeled precisely, clearly the work of vanguard AIs. He started with the ones he could… no, should have saved. He should have saved them. Some of them… fuck they were young…

  Some were labeled as enforcers. They usually died in heroic last stands, next to piles of civilians. Dead civilians, often. Each file had a small bio attached. It included names, civilians saved and a tiny bit of history. Not that many since this only involved the last two hours.

  He moved on to the full children’s list and almost started puking. Some weren’t dead from the antithesis. Better a bullet than a xeno chewing off bits of you? There were at least a hundred… fucking hell… A few tears escaped his eyes.

  Next were all the dead enforcers they could find. The hive had only taken some of them. It wasn’t hungry for biomass after all. Again, almost all heroic last stands. Laser Jack could understand Mad Panda’s decision to equip them with all the tech they wanted. They were all very close to being samurai material, but also all criminals with long records. He memorized the names.

  As he moved on, Laser Jack found a file with a note attached. It had clearly been written by the man’s AI. ‘Laser Jack, this is what was referenced when vanguard Mad Panda talked of twenty people being tortured for longer. He left the question of its inclusion ambiguous. You may not have to watch the videos to fulfill my vanguard’s requirements.’

  Ok, that looked intriguing. Still, if they’d suffered more due to his actions… Some of the time stamps indicated they were taken after he received the alert. Hence, they might not have gone through whatever those videos would show if not for him.

  A few minutes later, Jack vomited in a private bathroom in his office.

  Well, that did it. Robin was right, if avoiding or excusing away his behavior might lead to… that happening to someone else… No, Laser Jack had to take responsibility, had to make sure he wouldn’t cause that ever again. His eyes stung, tears rolling down his face, partially from puking but also from guilt.

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  He sobbed quietly for a little bit of time. “I… I didn’t mean to… I’m… God, I fucked up…” What he felt was necessary, or so he tried to remind himself. His brain tried to flee, but Laser Jack wouldn’t let it. This pain would save lives, prevent this shit from happening again.

  Still hurt like hell though.

  ‘Can you query the servers and get me the names of all past enforcers? History, how they died, all that stuff?’

  I believe so. Some will be difficult to research as they place a high value on privacy, but I can find them all in my estimation.

  ‘Alright. Where’s Lacroix right now?’

  In the apartment The Family offered him when he took the position. It is within the tower. This is the first time he’s used it according to my records.

  Alright, that was simple.

  ‘Do you think you can find the people involved in this mess within the family? I imagine there are a lot of them in order to trick so many systems…’

  Yes. I will conduct quick interviews over the net, which should allow me to estimate their level of involvement with the social warfare software. I may need an upgrade to be certain…

  ‘Buy it, I don’t care’

  He was usually frugal with his points but… that guy was right. Why the heck didn’t he stick to his guns and do the right thing? Easy enough to find in this damn context! Who’d stop him, really?

  He… didn’t want to be a monster. Could he convince himself he wasn’t? Maybe? That would be hard though, and it would leave dead civilians in the future, unacceptable. He was a god damn samurai for christ’s sake!

  It took him a few hours to get through the whole file, but he did. He also memorized the names.

  He’d have a bloody delivery to make soon, and the names would keep him alive long enough to make it.

  ***

  Sensei had a pretty good life. Not only that, things had gone smoothly since his takeover! The last guy had been strong, but also a damn idiot. He didn’t understand the importance of the keys to power. Sensei, also known as Rodrick Caster, was making the Cobra-Kais profitable! He eliminated the need for a key to power by handling the money himself!

  Sensei always asked questions. It was good to know how and why things happened. There were a few underlings in the room, mostly lounging. He didn’t want them to hate their job, that would create discontent. However, sometimes… “Patrick, what’s that income?” He said while sending a file to everyone. Something looked… off in the numbers.

  Patrick, the political officer, being a critically useful assistant with a good memory for everything going on, answered quickly. “That’s from the Peach Trees deal, boss.”

  Rodrick froze. “What deal?” He asked, concerned. “Wait, is this one of those things the previous guy started?” He inquired with apprehension.

  The man had made some stupid fucking deals. Rodrick had to honor them because reputation was extremely fucking important, which lead to a fuckload of problems! What the fuck had that idiot done? One of the underlings answered however.

  “Nah, it’s a new one. The local leaders and some of the higher ups here made it. It’s local. Nothing too intensive and the place isn’t earning that much…” Suddenly, with growing horror, he remembered something.

  “Wasn’t there a micro-incursion there last night?” The idiot kept on watching vids on his fucking augs!

  “Yeah, some deal to empty the building using a hive down there. We got advanced warning, first pick of the survivors sheltering. As long as no one living owned anything below, we’d get a bonus. Didn’t get the bonus though.” Rodrick snapped.

  “Fabian!” He shouted at the fucker who FINALLY got off of his fucking vids! “Are you telling me, we lost that building because of this deal? That fucking building is owned by a samurai now! Fuck! What’s the name of that guy? The one that kicked us out of the lower floors?”

  Patrick was on the ball at least, as always. “Louis Larose, they call him Panda, boss.” His face suddenly drained of color.

  “What’s the name of the samurai that owns the building now?” He asked, terrified.

  “... Mad Panda, boss.” Patrick said after checking online and with a few contacts. Fabian didn’t know what was good for him.

  “It’s alright boss, the first payment was huge. We just had to install some viruses and plant some devices, nothing too bad.”

  His head snapped to him. “What about The fucking Family!? You do realize that spreading aliens in the god damn city is going to get us fucking hunted right!?” Fabian scooted back on his couch.

  “We… uh I mean the client had contacts there!”

  “Oh, so now that they failed, we just have to contend with a massively pissed off, very powerful samurai, the one who survived the shitstorm we threw at his friends and family!? That’s IF the samurai members of The Family don’t come after us!”

  At least Patrick was helpful, as always. Calmer too. The guy always kept his cool and knew pretty much everything about anything. He had a talent for information gathering, hence his presence. The man was invaluable. “Actually, they have a samurai sheriff as well in the building. He was spotted hunting some execs. I’d guess they were the organizers.”

  He rubbed his face. “God damn it! Why the fuck did no one tell me anything about this fucking deal!?” One of his lieutenant, probably one of the ones who’s fucking job it was to watch over fucking Peach Trees, decided to speak the fuck up!

  “Hum… boss it was a minor deal, I mean it paid well but it’s…”

  Boom!

  Rodrick’s revolver roared in the tight confines. It made him feel better as Steve’s head essentially exploded. Patrick was still calm. That idiot Fabian trembled. Good boy.

  “Now, if I understand the situation correctly, we helped spread aliens in the city, pissing off all the samurais and maybe a massive corp. We also failed to kill those Bear-Yakuzas which I told you dumbasses not to move on! In doing so, we created a new samurai that definitely hated us already, then gave him a thousand more reasons to go on a murder spree? You know, like the one he already fucking went on!? He also made a samurai buddy to help him out on that task! Am I fucking missing anything!?” Rodrick asked with extreme agitation.

  Patrick, helpful as always, supplied a good answer. “We also lost Peach Trees and it seems he has a militia and some specialized troops equipped with samurai-grade equipment, boss. Also, he went on another murder spree, all the mercs surrounding the building, but he only killed the guilty ones according to what I can find.”

  “Thank you Patrick…” He said with conviction. It was horrible news, but he always liked having all the information.

  “Boss, it’s fine, we can take on a couple samurais, that corpo bullshit about them being…”

  Boom!

  Another one bit the dust. He was glad to lose the dead weight right now. Everyone, aside from Patrick the ever useful, got real quiet and tense. “Patrick, my friend, could you get me a list of people involved? It appears we need to make amends and prevent annihilation. I’m also going to need a machete...”

  Rodrick was surrounded by suicidal morons. Fucking all of them… Except Patrick.

  ***

  Jackal would find that son of a fucking nun whore and castrate him, right fucking now!

  The Family headquarters looked tense but she didn’t give a single fucking shit! Over fifteen hundred fucking dead god damn civilians! She could have gone to them!

  Even if Jackal didn’t have the power to take on the hive alone, she sure as fuck could’ve taken on some pussy mercs shooting FUCKING KIDS!

  She had dying kids above her head and that little cunt of a corpo piece of shit didn’t say anything!

  The fact that she didn’t think to ask if the civilians were safe above would be on her conscience forever, but that little cunt wouldn’t be after she cut his dick off!

  After turning a corner, Jackal saw her target, a bag in his hand and a haggard look on his face. Didn’t god damn matter! Little shit tried to fucking talk his way out of it like fucking usual but she wouldn’t let him, the cunty little piece of garbage!

  “Jackal, wait! I know what…” Her monofilament whip didn’t let him finish. She expected the teleport, of course. That’s why she turned with her blade launcher at the ready. “... You’re going to…”

  The kickback felt satisfying, but not anywhere near fucking enough! The hallway they were in got shredded! “...Say but I’m…” The knife she threw forced another teleport. “... Really sorry…” Another throw. This time, she chose to answer.

  “I had fucking dying kids above me and you didn’t say shit!? You told me they were in shelter! You told me they were safe! You told me I didn’t have to fucking worry!” Really, Laser Jack had fucking told her that shit before they knew about that fucking horrific god damn plan but still!

  “...Fuck’s sake, Jackal I…” Jackal had more knives than fingers and they pierced through everything as they fucking missed the slippery cunt! “... need your fucking help!”

  “Oh, you want my fucking help you fucking cunt? Sure, right after I cut off your dick and make you eat it before performing improvised vaginoplasty on your mangled genitals then fuck your fucking brains out in your brand new pussy with my fucking bat!” Said bat came out of its sheath, electrical arcs jumping from sharp spike to sharp spike every so often. With her other hand, she got out her hyper-heated machete, glowing white hot and already raising the temperature of the hall.

  She threw herself after the next teleport, slicing through some sort of force field with her blade burning at thousands of degrees celsius. Another teleport! Fuck! She’d exhaust it soon! After that she could…

  “... to fucking help them Jackal!” That stopped her for a moment.

  “What the fuck are you on about you little shit!?” She asked, a snarl on her face and every muscle ready to leap. Putting her bat through the hallway’s walls as she missed him might feel a bit satisfying. How many fucking teleports could this soon-to-be-dickless piece of shit have!?

  Seeing his opportunity, the Family guy started explaining as fast as fucking possible before she got back to breaking this entire fucking building to the ground! “You’re right! You’re one-hundred percent right! Mad Panda showed me what a fucking asshole I’ve been and sent me a big document full of all the horrible things my actions caused. I cried, puked, screamed and I’m on a mission to help them right now. I… I need to make amends.” The fucker actually sounded desperate. Still a fucking piece of shit!

  “I fucked up so much I don’t know how I could… I can’t, not really, but fuck’s sake Jackal, they refused Family help! They’re going to need fucking help or they’ll have hives all over the fucking building!”

  Jackal stared him down. Her weapons started ever-so-slowly dropping. “I actually will do exactly what I said if you fuck me on this, you cunt…” She said, her eyes still burning with fury and menace. “The fuck do you want asshole…”.

  Laser Jack started breathing a little easier, but stayed on guard. “I don’t have the points to buy the equipment they need, or the thing I actually want to get them as an… apology? Not strong enough a word but whatever. Also could use a hand with part one of the plan too…” He finished off by looking at the bag.

  Jackal examined it, analyzing the contents for the first time. Her eyebrows rose. “Huh, alright, I’m starting to not profoundly fucking hate your plan.”