The Thunder pulled up in front of the Lizzies Bar.
We’d arrived during off hours.
Not to party, but to work.
Once again, the Mox, or rather Judy, had sent Regina a request for server maintenance in the basement.
“Hey, Rita.”
I greeted the main bouncer, who was standing at the entrance as usual.
“Hey, David.
Did Judy drag you here again?”
“Come on, don’t say it like that.”
I shrugged and hugged the woman like a good friend.
“Hey!
Keep your hands to yourself.
He’s taken!”
Panam couldn’t hold back when Rita’s hands wandered down my back and grabbed my ass.
Not that I minded.
It was a nice ego boost.
Rita was definitely attractive, and the attention was flattering.
“Tch.”
Rita let me go and shook her head.
“So she’s got you on a leash, huh, Tikhon?”
“More like I’ve got her.”
I shook my head and smirked.
“I’ve been feeding her since almost day one.
And not just burritos, either.
I’m talking gourmet, real-food dishes.”
Rita whistled, then stepped aside to let us in.
“You know the way.
Judy’s been dying to see you since early morning.”
“What happened?”
“Well…”
She looked away.
“Spit it out.”
“Trouble at the bar.
One of the Arasaka corpo reps got fired.”
“So?
Happens all the time.”
“Yeah, but this time, the goons took the recordings with them.
She was no ordinary girl, David.
And of course, they trashed our equipment in the process.
You’ve got a lot of work ahead.”
“At least they didn’t get away without consequences?”
“Of course not.
She’ll be working as a bouncer for a few months, paying off your services and the parts you’ll need.
She starts today.
I’ll introduce you when you leave.”
“Why isn’t she here now?”
“They zeroed her implants.”
“Wait, they turned off her chrome?!”
“Yeah.
Why?”
“Where did they take her?”
“To a ripperdoc.
Her friend took her to Vik.
Why do you care?”
“Because she wasn’t just some pleasure girl or accountant.
She’s a combat operative!
When they decommission someone like that, they need immediate medical attention, or they’ll die.
I’m sorting it out now.”
I stepped into the bar and called Vik.
“Hey, kid.
How are things?”
“Hey, Vik.
I heard you had an interesting patient today.”
“Why ‘had’?
She’s still here.
I don’t know what to do with this idiot girl.”
“That bad?”
“Yeah.
You know me.
If there’s a recommendation or a regular client, I’ll work out a payment plan.
But this?
She needs a complete overhaul.
They turned off everything.
Corporate bastards.”
I sighed.
“Is she conscious?”
“I can wake her up.
But she won’t last long.”
“And her friend?”
“Jackie?
What about that meathead?”
“Wait, Jackie?
Misty’s guy?”
“The one and only.
And Mama Welles’ son from El Coyote Cojo in Glen.”
I’d met him.
Misty’s boyfriend.
“Give him my number.
Tell him to call me if he’s serious about helping his friend.”
As I said this, I walked into the bar, passed the security post, and entered the main hall.
“Got it.
He’ll call you soon.”
I moved through the bar, and sure enough, a call came through.
“Choom, Vik said you wanted to talk?”
You know your friend’s in bad shape, right?”
“Well…”
The guy’s voice was gruff.
His image was pretty intimidating.
“Anyway, I’ve got a solution.
I’ll cover her treatment and the chrome replacement.
Don’t expect Arasaka-quality gear, but it’ll be a full set.”
“What do you need from me?”
“I’ll send you a loan agreement.
Don’t worry, the interest isn’t predatory.
Ten percent annual.
If not for Misty, I’d probably charge forty, but I know your girlfriend.
She’d guilt-trip me into an early grave if I did that.”
“Ten percent a year, with payments starting only if your friend refuses the contract after Vik’s work.”
“I agree.”
“Lucky girl.
She’s got a good choom.”
I drafted the contract and sent it to Jackie.
“The amount’s blank.”
“Vik will fill it in.
Talk to him.
I don’t screw people over.
I’m a solo, not a con artist.”
“Hold on.”
A few seconds of silence, then he spoke again.
“Signed.
Vik’s got it.”
“Vik?”
David’s memory stirred, surfacing a vague image of a red-haired woman.
She’d occasionally taught counterintelligence courses at the Academy.
I pushed the thought aside.
She was high-ranking in Arasaka’s counterintel.
“Yeah.
That’s my friend’s name.”
I nodded.
Vik was fast.
The amount for the fix was already there.
It wasn’t huge.
I could cover it without going broke.
I transferred the funds.
“Money sent.
Adios.”
I ended the call.
It wasn’t just about not wanting to talk.
Panam and I had reached the basement where Judy was.
She was in a daze.
“Oh.
You’re here.
I expected you later.”
“We got up early.
And this job might take a while.
We figured we’d get started sooner rather than later.
And I can see it was a good call.”
I looked at the servers.
They were savagely destroyed.
“You know repairs aren’t an option here.”
I shook my head.
“We’re cannibalizing these for parts.”
“Understood.
I’ll have new ones in about an hour.”
“And what happened to you?”
“They broke my braindance rig.
I built it myself.
Every single screw.
It was custom.
And now…”
“And why are you so down?”
I walked over to Judy and put an arm around her shoulder.
Panam moved to her other side.
“You didn’t build that yesterday, right?”
“No.”
“The day before?”
“No.
A few years ago.”
“And you’ve been idle since?
Learning new things?
And you’ve got a friend who knows tech, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then we’ll make it better.
The BD hardware, you’ll have to customize yourself.
But everything else, I can help with.”
“But where do I get the money?”
“I’ll loan it.”
I shrugged as if it were obvious.
“Interest-free, no deadlines.
We can work out a repayment plan.”
“You’re serious?”
“Completely.
And I agree.”
Panam nodded.
“You’re our friend.
We haven’t known each other long, but we care about you.
I’ve told you before, I’m into boys.
And keep your hand off my ass.
That belongs to David now.”
“Tch.”
“Hey, you could always try to seduce me, and through me, get into Panam’s bed.”
I smirked and put my hand on Judy’s butt.
“Hey!”
Panam was annoyed, but less than she would have been in my past life.
Morals in this era were…
different.
“Hand off my ass.”
I looked at Judy and raised an eyebrow.
“I’m serious.
Either make a deal with Panam, or don’t touch.”
“Are you that desperate to squeeze her ass?”
“I’m comparing.”
I moved my hand to Panam’s hip.
“Which one’s better?”
“Yours.
No contest.”
I replied without hesitation.
“Hey!”
Judy pulled back and glared at me.
I just grinned, wrapped my arm around Panam, and rested my other hand on her butt, squeezing it.
“What?
This is the one I can touch whenever I want.
So between two amazing backsides, the choice is obvious.
Mine wins.”
“Hmph.”
“Let’s figure out how much you need.”
Judy looked around.
“A powerful computer.
At least ten grand.”
I nodded.
She was aiming low.
I wanted her to feel more obligated to me, even with the debt.
I activated my deck and started searching.
“What about a Militech O.T.G.
Mk.
2?”
Judy flinched.
“That’s…
expensive.”
Forty grand.
A lot of money.
But I worked a lot.
Even ten times that wouldn’t bankrupt me.
I’d lose my savings, but I’d still have enough to live on.
“And?”
Judy bit her lip and looked away.
“I’d love one.
It’s one of the best available to civilians.
No tweaking needed.
It’ll last years.”
“Good.
I’ll order it.”
“What?!
Are you insane?!
That’s almost thirty-seven grand!”
“Forty.
But I’m hoping it’s not a waste.
You’ll use it to create high-quality BDs, and we’ll both profit.”
“I…”
Judy swallowed, walked over, and took my hands, placing them on her butt.
“Pfft.
That won’t buy you out.
But it’s nice.”
I nodded, not at all embarrassed to be squeezing her ass in front of Panam.
Panam even stepped behind Judy and put her hands on top of mine.
“What else?”
“BD viewing gear.”
Judy listed the equipment.
I bought it all from Militech.
It’s always better to stick to one brand.
“So…
how much do I owe you?”
“Eighty-three grand.”
Judy sighed.
“I’ll have to become a doll to pay this off.
I won’t make that much in years.”
“Well…”
I stepped back and gave her an appraising look.
She flinched.
“David, don’t scare her!”
Panam shot me a look.
I smirked.
“Alright.
Judy, how are your netrunning skills?”
“What?”
“Can you act as a squad netrunner?
Work from the Thunder, help with hacks?”
“Well, I can…”
She nodded hesitantly, and I smiled.