Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Two - Private Number

  I got up, felt a bit better, if still a little annoyed and crampy, then went to work.

  Work was boring and long. The best thing that happened was a quick conversation with Dharti where she praised me for the speed I was learning at, but otherwise the entire team was busy with small tasks. Mostly early-month accounting stuff. The only upside was that it was payday, and I got to watch a nice lump sum pop into existence in my bank account.

  The hourly pay was alright. The danger pay was glorious.

  As an E-ranker for Luna Corp, I was earning a bit more than the average unioned security guard. As a D-ranker, I was earning a cool six figures, and that was before danger pay was taken into account.

  Good money, that. It was nice. And it was burning a hole in my pocket. My expenses were relatively low, all things considered. I was living in the kind of apartment that someone doing gig work could (just barely) afford. Gas was a recurring expense, so was food, but otherwise I wasn't spending too much. Living well below my means was nice for saving up cash, but I didn't want to save up cash.

  I wanted to spend it all on cool shit.

  I really had to get in touch with Fran about getting some of that Orchid Lux stuff, so I sent her a little text about it.

  Private Number: Hello, Fran. I was wondering if that offer for assistance with procuring Orchid Lux cyberware was still on the table?

  Wait...

  A frisson of fear crawled down my spine. Had... had Fran and I talked about that in the current timeline, or had that been in one of my loops? Shit, I couldn't remember at all. I remembered the conversation, but where had it taken place?

  Wait, no, it was at that cafe. And that was after we'd succeeded with the raptor portal, right? Yeah, it was then.

  F.Ojou: Hello, DL.

  F.Ojou: Yes, I recall. I'm certain I can assist you. Would you like me to forward your contact information to an Orchid rep? They'll take good care of you.

  I sighed. That confirmed it.

  Private Number: that would be nice. It really depends on the cost of the ware, though.

  F.Ojou: On that note, I think I can assist. There has been some positive news with regards to the footage you took this weekend.

  F.Ojou: Do you recall the location of our last drop? Would you like to arrange for another exchange at the same location?

  Private Number: That seems doable. I look forward to seeing what you have there.

  Private Number: btw, you're attending a ball this week, yes?

  F.Ojou: I was informed about it late last night, from my father, in a private conversation.

  Private Number: I was just confirming. The event might be interrupted.

  I jumped in my office seat as my phone rang. I was 100% not supposed to be texting on a burner while at work, and I was most definitely not supposed to be taking calls. If I was an E-ranker and my squad leader found out, or god-forbid, HR, I'd have my hide tanned for it.

  "Hello," I said as I picked up.

  Fran's voice came in from the other side. "Explain yourself, please. This line is secured from my end."

  "Probably not from mine," I admitted. "Long and short of it is that some street gang might try to break into the... event. Minor gang. I don't expect them to accomplish much."

  "Somehow, Dead... somehow, you do not cease to amaze me with the things you know. You are a very curious woman," Fran said with just the faintest stumble over my false name. She probably didn't want to leave any hints over the line. "What can you tell me about this gang?"

  "Right now? Nothing. But if you want to know more, I can arrange that. Is it worth the effort to find out?"

  Fran was quiet for a while, then she hummed. "I wish I had more time to discuss this. I'm in the middle of something. But yes. At least knowing the who and perhaps the why before the event could well be valuable."

  "Sure," I replied. "I feel like this might not have much to do with the main... goal of all of this, but I can spare some time to look into it. It might be a little costly, however. And unlike quick portal runs, I won't be gaining too much from this one."

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  "I see. How bad do you expect this attack to be?" she asked.

  "How many C-rankers are going to be at the event?" I asked in return. "A small-fry gang might only have D-rankers, maybe one or two C-rankers at best."

  "I see. I don't think there are any B-rankers in any of the gangs in Fortress ENE. That wouldn't be tolerable. Though there are some independents."

  There were? That was news to me.

  "But I see what you're getting at. Even unprepared, it would be... hard to make a splash, so to speak. I'll be making slightly different wardrobe choices. Thank you for letting me know."

  I shrugged my shoulders. "I'll see what I can find and send you what I learn by tonight. I don't know if it'll be enough for you to capitalize on anything, but it might help."

  "I also don't know how or even if I can use that kind of knowledge, but there's potential there. Thank you. I'll be contacting my rep at Orchid as soon as I have time tonight. Expect a call relatively soon."

  "Sure," I replied.

  We said goodbye right after, all business-like. I found myself staring at my phone for a moment before I tucked it away. Fran was... not as fun over the phone. Or maybe it was that she was easier to flirt with in person? Or flirt at. I wasn't sure if Fran had ever actually flirted back with me. At least, not the way Jane did.

  Well, whatever. I had a new task ahead of me.

  It was a little... not clever, but I set a new Save then and there, then got up and just left work. No one stopped me, probably because I was walking with the kind of determination that showed that I was going somewhere.

  Unfortunately, I didn't quite know where I was going.

  How to track down a gang before they did something stupid... hmm. I really didn't know enough about the criminal side of Fortress ENE to really have a good idea of where to start. But I did have some friends who might know.

  I called Jane.

  Jane told me that she could find out, but that it would take her a while. She spent ten minutes of the twenty minute call gushing about how some random client had asked her about the kind of cool poncho we'd worn to take out that portal and how we were actively starting a new trend, then five more minutes telling me, in great detail, of what she would do to me if I was standing in front of her in nothing but that poncho.

  I had to Reload to set my mind back straight. Well... straight-ish. Dammit, Jane.

  Since I was back in the office (a slight miscalculation, that) I decided to look up the local gangs. There were some forums that kept track of that kind of thing, but the internet was so bot-poisoned that I wasn't sure I could trust even a tenth of what I read.

  The claims that Fortress ENE had no gangs were obvious bullshit. I'd met with the River Rats already, hadn't I?

  Actually...

  That might not be a terrible idea. Becky had been fun to work with, and there was no reason that I couldn't reach out to her again.

  I had gotten her number at some point, mostly because I needed her contact information to pay her back for her help in that one goblin portal.

  Becky might be a dumbass, but she was also kind of clever in her own way, and I had no doubts that she'd know a lot more about the gangs in the city than I did.

  I had her email address, so I sent her something, a little 'hello' and a request to meet this evening. It was from the email address that Luna Corp gave me, so it would be hella traced, but I really didn't give much of a shit.

  Surprisingly, she replied three seconds later.

  From:

  Subject: Potential meet up?

  yooooo

  sup deadline. Nice to chatto!

  You wanna meet? Okay! But you're paying for the food!

  :3

  Where do you wanna meet?

  I blinked as I read through the message, then I did a quick search. If this was a meeting with Fran, I'd find someplace nice. But this was Becky. There was a restaurant chain just a few blocks over from where I'd first met her. A McMouses. There was a child's play area, and they sold overpriced toys with their meals.

  It was exactly the kind of place that I figured someone like Becky would love.

  Now... to go in-costume, or not?

  There were advantages to one... well, I supposed that it would only take a few to get changed, and the costume presented a nicer image, overall.

  ***