Chapter 56

"So you're out of the game for now?"

Bestia called me when I was already home, and there was worry in her voice. It wasn't that she was worried about me, but overall... if you ignore our first meeting, we had a pretty even relationship.

"Well, I'm gonna hold off on combat operations for now. But my team will continue to take technical questions and ice-making, or orders to hack some technical stuff. Let me get some sleep, because this is a tough one.

"Okay..."

You could hear the satisfaction in Bestia's voice.

"Is that why you're calling?"

"Not really, I'm calling to warn you..."

"I'm listening."

"DeShawn's got a lot of interest in you and your team, and Faraday... they've both gotten word of your temporary incapacity, and I think they might try to poach your staff."

"Well, you must realize it's not that easy to do."

"That's true, but they're not me, they can also take advantage of your weakness..."

"Who says I'm weak?"

My image arched an eyebrow questioningly.

"Dear Bestia, just because I will refrain from combat operations for my own safety and the safety of my team until the Reaper has fully restored me... doesn't mean I can't fight back against insolent upstarts who want to force themselves on me. Yes, my Reaper will grumble, but in general."

I shrugged.

"I hear you, and I didn't doubt you. But to warn one of the solos whose team I really enjoy working with."

"Thank you... it's very comfortable working with you too."

"Yeah, yeah, and you prefer that Regina to me anyway. that little girl."

I snorted.

"Bestia, don't talk down to your colleague... especially with your income, you could look twenty, and so could Regina, but it doesn't fit your image of a strict fixer-upper. But both of you feel... well, considering everything I've learned about you, you feel about twenty-five years old... And a girl is only as old as she feels.

"Flatterer..."

"You just take care of yourself."

"Hmm?"

"DeShawn is always in trouble, just look at his last case, I mean the one that failed... And now he needs a high-profile case to get his reputation back-- a very high-profile case, and he hired--

"Yeah, yeah, I know who he hired..."

"Yeah..."

My image nodded.

"...I can't say anything bad about V, her skills are at a high enough level, but her chrome is average, it's dangerous to go to the big leagues with that. At least for the really high-profile cases this fatso is known for.

"AND?"

"And he's bound to get a lot of attention... And as far as I know, he likes to do general planning in the Afterlife..."

"You're worried about me... how sweet is that?"

"Of course I'm worried, I'm not ready to take the position of King of Postmortality and work as a fixer... I still have a reputation to build up and build up for such a move."

"Asshole!"

You could hear the admiration in Bestia's voice.

"That's where we stand. Okay, ciao, I've been banned from working for a couple days, and then I'll call you and Regina and let you know that I'm ready to take technical and runner orders."

"Okay, bye."

The connection broke and I was still able to focus my attention on the girls, who were all in a small crowd and clearly about to cook. And it was unexpected and quite intriguing...

The main question I was thinking about was whether or not to let them know that my conversation was over.

I sat in the chair for another seven minutes and then I smelled something burning and got up from my seat with a sigh.

"What are you doing?"

"You're gonna burn the whole place down."

I shook my head and walked over to the kitchen corner scrutinizing what they were doing.

"Come on, go wash up, I'll finish this..."

"But..."

Even Kiwi looked a little unsure.

"Girls, I'm not lying here with no arms and legs, am I? I'm fine."

"Uh-huh. He's fine.

Judy gave me a skeptical look.

"...Left without an arm and a leg and it's fine..."

"AND? It's not a big deal these days, so go wash up..."

They tried to resent me, of course, but they gave in, and then I started cooking. It was relaxing and took my mind off the heavy thoughts.

"What's on your mind?"

Kiwi stood behind me, watching me closely. Apparently she'd decided not to fight the girls for the right to bathe first and talk to me.

"So, uh. I think it all came at a very good time..."

"In time?"

"Yeah..."

I shrugged.

"...think about it. Every mission we take, we're stomping more and more on the corporations' feet. Yeah, we're not directly targeting them, but we're cutting off their gang contacts... I mean, they've always been happy to use gangs that are conveniently black to do certain jobs. And here. we are far from even cutting out the usual Scavengers, but our style of work makes many of them tremble in fear... And it's not just Trashmen, it's other gangs too."

"Oh yeah, and we also went through the most insolent of the junior staff..."

"Exactly. Another six months to a year and we'd be under a lot more scrutiny. And I'm not sure we'd have survived if we'd faced it head-on. Mystique isn't the only Legend who might not be dead... Smasher, he was thought to be dead for a couple years after the Arasaki Tower explosion, but then he suddenly reappeared and started taking occasional orders from corporations, mostly Arasaki of course.

Kiwi nodded her head understandingly.

"And now that I've been rolled over, I can say with confidence that I'm going to get fed up myself, and I'm going to get fed up with you..."

"А?"

"We'll be upgrading our skills. Your chrome is top-notch right now. Not experimental of course, but top-end, not all elite solos have such chrome. Sure, the Legends probably have more than that... but you're not gonna get into a direct confrontation, and I have my sandi to deal with that. But here's the skills...

I looked at Kiwi.

"So your debts to me will only grow as, through Bestia and Regina, I will find you various mentors who will be willing to sell you some of their knowledge. Although, uh."

I scratched my cheek thoughtfully.

"...I guess lessons from ranchers is not a good solution, I will probably buy training chips, still your skills are quite good, we will add fundamental knowledge. Plus you'll all take my self-defense classes.

"Actually, there are none among us who can't stand up for themselves..."

"Kiwi, if we stayed at the gang level. and I wouldn't say a word, you girls are perky, but we're talking about much higher stakes here..."

I shook my head.

"Also, I think all of you will be taking sniper support courses, although Panam will probably be our main sniper, she's not involved in the mission at the moment. Judy and I will make her a drone with a good rifle, and she'll work from high ground on any enemies that might be in my way. And as extra cover for you wounders, she'll work well."

"And Becca?"

"What about Becca? She's a master of her craft, unlike the rest of us. no, she'll be good at close combat, maybe I'll train her in covert ops to use her as a backup and support in a pinch. But overall, as embarrassing as it is to admit it, she's the best trained of us all."

"So that's our immediate plans?"

"Well, uh. almost."

"Almost?"

"Yeah, first thing tomorrow morning, I'll contact Regina and have her get the customer to pay. Then I'll have to contact Saul, since our small group won't empty the cops' warehouses, and I'd like Aldecaldo to get away from Knight City, since it's stupid to work with Basilisks and Manticores in such close proximity."

"He's going to be hard to deal with... but like I said, his days as clan leader are coming to an end. He's too focused on Biotech. Even though no one in the clan wants anything like that anymore. And he's still making plans for it. Now that he's got a new technique."

Panam was completely naked while wiping her hair with a towel.

"Anyway, once the people find out what we can get, even those who doubt or just remain silent will be against it. So soon you'll be the head of the clan..."

"Fuck it..."

I shook my head.

"...I don't want that happiness."

"You don't have a choice. but people won't understand if you're a leftist, even after this kind of a fit, which has nothing to do with the clan."

"A match? We're not actually giving all this stuff to Aldecaldo for free..."

Kiwi looked at Panam carefully.

"I know it, they know it, and no one expects it for free, but tell me, what's more important to you, another zero in your account, or to have an operational base guarded not by Legends or Elite, but by solid middles. Considering what our Behemoth has become, living in the clan will be quite comfortable, albeit a bit cramped."

"It won't be crowded."

I shook my head.

"I've already thought about getting a couple of good awnings and envisioning attaching them to the sides of the Hippo. It will be a sort of tent right up against the Behemoth. This would greatly increase the overall living space. Thus in the Behemoth itself it will be possible to leave only closets and workshops, well, and a bathroom, but all the bedrooms will be taken out in the tent part."

"Hmmm... interesting solution..."

"Well, or another option could be considered..."

"The other one?"

"First of all, let's see what there is in the warehouses, maybe there will be another Behemoth, it can be re-equipped and docked with the existing one at the parking lots. Then no tents will be needed, just a small tent as a roof next to the dwelling.

"Hmmm..."

Panam looked at me thoughtfully.

"And maybe the energy issue will be resolved..."

"Hmm?"

"You must have forgotten that it's forbidden for private citizens to own Manticores. They can only be dismantled for spare parts, but they can be used to modernize the Basilisks, and to provide the camp with energy, because they have very reliable nuclear reactors, unlike other equipment. Even one of them could provide Aldecaldo's household needs for a year on a single "refueling"."

"Ahem... And you don't want to be clan leader yet?"

Judy came out of the bath in her underwear; unlike Panam, she was in no hurry to get too close to her friends. Maybe she was just afraid that her lawyerly tendencies would wake up and make her pay more attention to them than to me.

"Well..."

I shrugged.

"...I don't deny the possibility of moving into the clan. That's what my ideas for improving the clan's life are connected to. After all, having the ability to drill a well and pump water out of it, as well as the presence of a reactor will make life much easier, allowing you to place the base a little farther from the city, and therefore it will be partly safer."

"Only if the parking lot is hidden."

"And who is preventing such a thing from happening?"

I shrugged.

"Okay, I think we can end this conversation for now, now we'll get some sleep and after receiving our reward we'll go and look at the access points, quietly prepare everything, so that Saul only needs to bring people who will take out all the equipment and spare parts."

The girls nodded, and Kiwi was about to turn around and head for the bathroom, but I gestured with my hand to stop her.

"Wait, since Becca and Lucy are already with us, too..."

It was at this point that Becca and Lucy came in dressed in light robes.

"...I must warn you all, DeShawn and Faraday have taken an interest in us, and Bestia warns me that my condition has been leaked and they'll know about it soon enough. So let's be careful."

"Okay..."

The girls nodded, and Kiwi made sure that was all I had to say and went to the bathroom, while I just silently continued cooking...