Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen - After-Party

  "That went well," I said.

  "Went well? For a moment I was more stressed than I was at my first sit-down meeting," Fran said.

  I laughed, even if I wasn't entirely sure what that meant. The amount of stress I'd just shrugged off was making me kind of giddy.

  Fran and I had left the food court, crossed the street, then wandered through a few alleys until we made a stop at a little mom and pop corner store. We left out the back, then used the dead-end alley there to change real quick before entering another store from their backdoor and exiting on an entirely different street, dressed entirely differently.

  Now we were sitting at a nice little coffee shop. Nothing really upscale, but it was on a street mostly filled with office buildings, so it wasn't super cheap either. We were waiting for Fran's ride to come pick her up, and then I'd probably call a cab to bring me back to where my bike was parked.

  I couldn't wait to get home and just... slump into bed.

  Though I was also feeling very hyper at the moment. Closing that portal had unleashed a lot of magical energy, and split between just the two of us, that added up to a lot. I could tell that it was even more juice than that orc portal. Not so much because the raptor one had been harder or bigger, but just because we were splitting it only two ways.

  Damn, I really needed to get my hands on a magical energy reading device. I was sure that I'd gained a good number of... whatever the points meant.

  "What are your plans now?" Fran asked.

  "Well... hmm," I said as I considered. "A few days of relaxation couldn't hurt. A bit of normalcy."

  "You don't strike me as someone who just relaxes," Fran said. "We had a nice meeting on Friday, then you... stayed the night."

  The little bit of colour on Fran's cheeks made me grin. Was she still sore, or had the magic cured that up? I was kinda hoping that she was. "That was a nice evening, yes," I said. "Very... productive."

  "Oh, stop," Fran said, but there was no heat to it. "Are you like this with every woman you meet?"

  "Only the beautiful ones?" I tried.

  Fran sniffed. "Flatterer."

  "I try," I replied. "But yeah, Saturday was a busy day. That portal in Podunky was a bit of a challenge."

  "Yes, that one. I still have the footage from it. I've sent copies to some of Redline's... dirty tricks division, and I shorted Synthcorp with my own assets. I haven't looked to see the results of that, yet."

  "Mhm. That's good. I'll be honest, I don't know how the stock market works, and I'm afraid that I'd mess it all up if I poked at it. Having you gain something from the entire excursions is more than good enough." I wasn't so sure I was happy with Redline gaining something out of it, but it was a little too late to do anything about that.

  "I'll make sure you're properly compensated," Fran said.

  I nodded along, some of my attention going out of the window. The day was winding down. Offices were closing up and there was this mood across the city, like the weekend was over. One last hoorah, I supposed.

  "Any plans I should know of?" Fran asked. "If we're going to be partners in this business... non-business venture of yours, then I'd like to know ahead of time if you plan on tackling two portals in two days."

  "Nothing like that," I said. "Not for the rest of the week, at least. I think you're supposed to wait between large magic gains to consolidate the power you've earned. I'm not sure how true that is, but it feels logical enough. As for plans... hmm, I acquired some decent second-hand cyberware. I need to find a way to install it."

  I think the magical energy was helping me get better, curing some ills and the like, but it wasn't entirely enough to stop my ears from ringing a little. I really needed to watch out for tinnitus.

  "I can get you a reference at Orchid Lux," Fran said.

  "Do you need one?" I asked.

  She blinked. "Yes. The fact that you didn't know says a lot. Orchid Lux has two levels of customer service. The open plans and the private ones. If you want the best, you need to go private."

  "And how does that work?" I asked.

  "Via reference. Once you put in an order they contact you and arrange things, then you have your wares installed. They can be quite luxurious, or very private."

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  "I'd rather be private, yeah," I said. "How good is it?"

  "A lot of celebrities and people of importance need to have cyberware and they need to be certain that the public doesn't know," Fran said. "Partly because some of the better Orchid Lux cyberware can be... cheat-y, and partly because people not knowing means that they can't exploit any vulnerabilities. In any case, the entire corporation's reputation amongst its richer clientele depends on their ability to remain discreet."

  I worked my jaw. "I've been considering a few things. New optics, cochlear implants, sub-dermal, then extras, like a good bio-monitor and maybe some nerve threading."

  "That's a lot of cyberware," Fran said. "You'll go full borg?"

  "Nah. It's a vain wishlist. I'd be happy with new eyes, new ears, and the sub-dermal could save my life one of these days."

  She nodded. "I'll call my contact at Orchid."

  "I don't know if I can afford their services," I said. "Their cyberware hits six figures."

  "It's an investment, certainly," she said with a shrug, and I think she didn't quite realize that until recently my bank account usually sat around the three figure mark on a good day. I couldn't casually drop hundreds of thousands on something that would only slightly improve my life. "We'll see what your actions in Podunky lead to? I'll be certain to give you a fair share, you've earned it, after all."

  "Thanks," I said.

  "And today's portal... well, that one will be less impactful in terms of earnings, at least monetary. I do appreciate the growth, however." She raised a hand, staring at it for a moment before closing it. "This feels like a lot more power than what I'd gain simply eating three high-magic meals a day."

  Simply eating multiple hundred-dollar meals a day, huh? "I'm sure there's some corps that have programs that escort people through a dungeon for the exit benefits," I said.

  "Yes, but those are time consuming, expensive, and... frankly, rather dull. Besides, they always go in with a large group, so the benefits are questionable. More magical energy is gained from one such trip than from a week of eating well, certainly, but the cost is nearly the same, and that's without factoring in the lost day."

  "Mhm," I said with a nod. "I'd appreciate that. And thanks for the help today. I'm impressed. You handled that portal better than I handled my first."

  "It was my first time entering a portal of my own volition. But yes, that went well."

  I grinned, giving her a bit of bedroom eyes. "I hope that all of our first times together go just as well," I said before picking up my mug and taking a long, languid sip of my coffee.

  Fran sniffed, but there was no disguising that bit of red clinging to her cheeks. "Yes, well... anyway, that friend of yours was interesting. Miss Jane, was it?"

  "Oh, Jane's a sweetheart... or something like that. She's a wild one. Don't let her flirting disturb you too much, she's just very, uh, horny. But she will teach you a thing or two if you ever let her have her way."

  "Something you know about personally?"

  "I don't kiss and tell," I replied.

  "Hmm, perhaps for the best. In any case, today was fun. Thank you. I see some potential in this kind of outing in the future. If we're to grow powerful enough to rival some of the foes we must tackle, then taking on portals and building a reputation this way can only help."

  "That's what I was thinking too," I replied. "It might be a little difficult, with just the two of us."

  "I might have a solution to that, but I'll need more time before I can make anything of it. Ah, on that note, I believe that's my ride."

  I glanced out of the nearest window, and yeah, her limo was parked out front.

  "Did you want anything from the portal?" I asked.

  "No. Keep it, or sell it, or find a better use for it if you can. The experience was valuable enough for me."

  "Alright then. Goodbye, Fran."

  "Yes... goodbye, Deadline."

  She stood up, paused, then left. I followed her with my gaze. Damn... I'd hit that?

  But then she was gone, and it was just me, the smell of roasted coffee, the sweet taste of some pastry on my lips, and the slow cooling of the stress on my back.

  Right, I needed a few days of normal, some time to recalibrate, and then I'd see.

  ***