Cyber Dreams 4.25 - Random Encounter

Good morning, everyone. Enjoy the chapter :)

As always, I really appreciate your feedback.

-Plum

“Uh, you wanna tell me what that was all about?” Nick watched Larry and his two bodyguards disappear into the crowds lining the sidewalk, and Juliet pulled out her deck, activating the jamming field.

She waited for Nick to look at her directly, then said, “There’s a lot I need to tell you.”

“I’m all ears.” He held up a pointer finger. “Actually, let’s order some food first. I’m starved.”

“Sure.” Juliet had already studied the menu and knew what she wanted. “Angel, order me a ‘farmer’s burger’ with a side of fried tomatoes and a vanilla shake.”

“Damn! That sounds good.” Nick stared into space for a minute, then said, “I’m gonna get a deep-dish personal pizza. Three kinds of cheese? Yes, please!”

“It’s not real cheese . . .”

“Uh, yeah, I’m not keen on other animals’ lactations.”

“Your loss, I guess.” Nick started to argue, but Juliet held up a hand in surrender; she didn’t want to get into a debate. “Listen, we have more important things to talk about. Sorry, I was kind of out of it during your talk with Larry, but I had a lot of feelers out and some data mining protocols that delivered some information while he was here. I think I know who his client is, and we’re both in danger just having met with Larry. This guy makes it a habit to put spy protocols in the PAIs of people he meets, meaning Larry’s been recording everyone he talks to and, maybe without his knowledge, sending the information back to the client.”

“Well, that’s not cool, but it’s not really something earth-shattering. I mean, anyone could record us, right?”

“Sure, but you wouldn’t expect a fixer to send information like that to a client. More, it’s not the fact that it’s done that we should be worried about. We should be worried about the type of client this is. We’re talking about a billionaire here, and he doesn’t like people knowing his personal business.”

“Like a daughter running off with pirates . . .”

“Right. Look, there’s a chance we could have walked away, not learning anything more about the client, and he would’ve left you and me alone. Ray’s in deep trouble with that guy, though, and so is Larry if he can’t get this job done.”

“Won’t we all be in trouble if we actually rescue this girl and learn who she is? I mean, assuming he doesn’t know that you already figured out who he is.”

“Well, yes, but what I was about to say is you were going to do the job anyway, right? Be honest.”

“Yeah, I guess. I can’t leave Ray hanging with his ass exposed, you know?”

Juliet nodded and sat back, folding her arms over her chest. “That’s why I agreed. The only way I’m going to get close to this guy is if I deliver his daughter.”

“Huh? Get close?”

“Someone needs to convince him to leave us all alone.” Juliet shrugged.

Nick looked at her for a long moment, and though his face didn’t betray emotion, Juliet could see he was troubled. “You don’t wanna tell me his name?”

“I . . . I think it’s best if I don’t, Nick. I can’t see it helping you in any way, and if you never learn it, assuming something happens to me, there’s still a chance he’ll leave you alone.” Juliet saw the curly-haired waiter approaching with a tray of food, so she tried to relax a little, spreading her napkin onto her lap and growing quiet for a minute while he set it down. Her sandwich looked delicious: lots of local, vat-grown, seasoned meat—Callisto didn’t allow livestock for commercial use—and grilled veggies, all slathered with a tangy sauce.

Nick stuffed a fried onion ring into his mouth, chewed it halfway, and then asked, “What exactly are you going to do to this guy, assuming you ‘get close’ to him with his daughter.”

“Not sure yet.” Juliet took a big bite of her sandwich; she hadn’t quite realized how hungry she was. While Nick stewed on her reply, she and he both ate a good portion of their meals in silence.

“Shit, I was hungry.” Nick chuckled, polishing off the beer he’d been nursing. “So, we’re in, huh? You think there’s much chance we walk away with the money and won’t have to watch over our shoulders the rest of our lives?”

“That’s my goal, Nick. I mean, the second part. If we can get the money, too, that’s a bonus as far as I’m concerned.”

He nodded, leaning back in his chair. “Well? What do I do next?”

“Nothing. Take a little time to yourself and wait for Larry to call. When he contacts you about the ship and the plan for getting noticed by the pirates, let me know, and we’ll go from there. I’ve got some shopping to do in the meantime.”

“Shopping?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t able to bring all my gear on the cruise liner. I need to get a few things.”

“Don’t forget you’ll have a cover identity, just like me. You can’t walk into that pirate base looking like a corpo-sec shock trooper.”

Juliet snorted a quick laugh at the image and nodded. “Good point, Nick. I’ll shop for some used gear, something a pirate would be proud to wear.”

“Well, that cannon on your hip is a good start. Can’t imagine a corpocrat wearing something like that.” Nick fished around in his breast pocket for his vape and then held it to his lips. He saw Juliet’s look and offered her a wink. “Hey, I made it most of the dinner without this thing! My nerves are shot.”

Juliet set her napkin down and looked at him, taking in his earnest expression. “Did you do that for me? ‘Cause I’m always giving you a hard time?”

“Well, I didn’t do it for Larry!” Nick chuckled, exhaling his cloud of vapor toward the floor.

“Thanks, Nick. That’s . . . nice of you.”

“No worries. Anyway, I wanna say something before I let the moment pass too far. I, uh, I know you didn’t need to jump into this mess with me. Even learning what you did, you could have walked away and said you weren’t interested in your part of the contract. I wouldn’t have held it against you, and your hands would have been clean. Larry’s client wouldn’t have any reason to mess with you. So, well, thanks. I guess that’s it; I just wanted to say thanks.”

“It’s cool, Nick. This is kind of what I do—I’m notorious for sticking my neck out for friends. We’re friends, right?”

“Yeah. For sure.” His expression was hard to read, and he broke eye contact, looking around the restaurant and then standing up abruptly. “Hey, I sent payment for your tab; the least I could do. I’m gonna head back to my place ‘cause I’m beat as hell. Talk tomorrow?”

“All right, Nick. Thanks. Yeah, that’s cool; we’ll talk tomorrow. Let me know as soon as you hear something from Larry.”

“You got it.” He stood kind of awkwardly, hands in pockets, then nodded and hurried out of the restaurant.

“What an interesting night!” Angel said.

“Were you entertained?” Juliet chuckled, dipping one of her fried tomatoes into the house sauce and plopping it into her mouth. It was tangy and rich, and the breading on the tomatoes wasn’t too greasy. She really liked them.

“Are you feeling better? Has the . . . confusion passed?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I was so deep, Angel. There’s no way I could let Larry go without helping him, without helping his daughter.”

“Who is he? The client.”

“Oh, someone named Sir Rodric. Sir Rodric . . .”

“Berrington,” Angel finished for her. “It wasn’t hard to find him on the net; he’s the head of several interplanetary organizations. He has holdings here, on Luna, Mars, and Earth. Juliet, I don’t think you should try to take him out . . .”

“No! No, Angel, that’s not the plan. I need to get close enough for you to help me infiltrate his network. Maybe even his PAI. We need to erase any trace of Larry, Nick, me, and, I guess, Ray. When Sir Rodric decides to clean up the loose ends, I want him and everyone in his organization to draw a blank when it comes to who actually did the work for him. Do you think that’s possible?”

“It’s possible to remove traces of data, but if he or any of his people know who Larry is, they should be able to find him.”

“That’s why our cleanup will need a part two—new IDs for Larry and Cleo and maybe a ride off-moon.”

“He’ll go along with that?”

Juliet thought about the question, and for a second, as she recalled her time in Larry’s mind, she felt that strange, disorienting déjà vu mixed with a profound nostalgia that made her strain to remember she was Juliet. “Larry is very proud of what he’s built here on Callisto, but if we give him fair warning, he should be able to liquidate most of his assets, and I think he might look at setting up shop somewhere else, maybe even back on Earth, as a step up, another achievement, especially if it leads to a better life for Cleo.”

“You’ve mentioned Cleo twice. Is that his daughter?”

“Yeah.” Juliet stood up and pushed her chair in, then made her way out of the restaurant. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, but step one is making sure we survive this op. Can you look up an arms-dealer-type establishment?”

“When you mentioned the need for supplies to Nick, I began searching. I think I found a good shop. It’s called Mankowitz’s Military Surplus, Buy and Sell.”

“Yeah, I guess the ‘buy and sell’ part kind of gives the right vibe. We need stuff that looks well used, not something a corpo-sec goon would wear. At odds with her earlier concerns, Juliet suddenly began to wonder if her combat helmet was too pristine despite the scars from several bullet strikes. “You think my black helmet with the tinted visor is too corpo-sec looking?”

“Hmm. Perhaps some custom paint or decals wouldn’t go amiss.”

“Wouldn’t go amiss?”

“What? I have an extensive vocabulary, Juliet!”

As she shook her head and chuckled, Juliet studied the map Angel had provided. The shop was on the other end of the port district, so she walked over to one of the tram lines and waited with a good-sized crowd for the next train to arrive. She’d been standing around, arms folded, daydreaming about the kind of gear she’d like to buy for a few minutes when a gruff voice behind her asked, “You know how to use that thing?”

Juliet turned slowly, trying to maintain an even expression as she immediately began to wonder what sort of question that was. What was this man referring to? Was he even speaking to her? If so, the only thing that she thought he could be referencing was her pistol, prominently displayed on her hip. “He’s pinged you for an ID three times, even though I provided a false response immediately.”

When she saw the man, short, stocky, wearing a very expensive black suit with the latest style of reflective paisleys, she knew he was corpo, knew he felt superior to her and probably everyone else on the sidewalk. He had short, neatly combed blond hair, jewel-like glittering blue eyes beneath pale, rose-colored specs that probably cost more than the average factory rat made in a year, and skin so smooth it almost looked artificial. Was it? “Are you talking to me?”

“That’s right. You know how to use that pistol?”

“Piss off, corpo-rat.” Juliet wasn’t sure where her vehemence came from. Perhaps it was a reaction that had been a long time building up. She was constantly watching her words, worrying about tipping someone off about her identity or blowing an operation or opportunity. Now, this smooth, pretty, little corpo boy was hassling her about her gun, asking if she could use it. Where did he get off? He wouldn't have asked if he thought she could use it, not if he thought she was the kind of operator who was dangerous with a pistol like that. That meant he was insinuating that she couldn’t, that she was someone posing as something she wasn’t.

“Excuse me, rat?” He pulled back his raincoat and rested a hand on the butt of a heavy plastic and plasteel sidearm, something close to shotgun sized but equipped with a pistol grip. “Might be I saw you threatening that store owner over there. Might be I tried to stop you, but you threatened me with your antique chrome paperweight there.”

Juliet studied the man, noticing how the pedestrians waiting for the train had mostly found other places they needed to be. His gray jacket was cut almost like a cape, clearly tailored to fit. Beneath it, on the lapel of his fancy suit, was a silver pin depicting a stylized capital A. His black shoes and belt were well-polished and clean. Everything about him screamed high maintenance, the kind of guy who spent more time getting ready every morning than she did in a month. “You think I don’t have you on vid? You think I haven’t uploaded this conversation to a dozen corporate nets? You don’t know me, corpo-rat, and I suggest you back off before you learn about me the hard way.”

“Um, did you want me to do that?” Angel asked. “By the way, he is wearing an Ark Industries emblem; they’re a startup focused on ‘building the next generation of exploration vessels to ensure the propagation of the human species.’ His name is Gallant Fenn, and he’s been an employee of the corporation for seven months.”

“Gallant, huh? Not exactly living up to the name your mother gave you.”

“Well, Janice, I don’t have a mother; I have four.”

Juliet narrowed her eyes at him, trying to figure out how she’d gotten into such a surreal confrontation, trying to unpack the reason he thought his response was a defense to her accusation. “Janice is the ID I sent in response to his ping,” Angel clarified.

“I figured,” Juliet said, causing Gallant to squint in confusion. Juliet decided she’d let this escalate enough. Soon, they’d have drones zooming in on them to see what the fuss was about, why the crowds were splitting, giving them a wide berth. She concentrated on his fancy specs for a second and then, with a soft exhalation, flicked them off his nose with her telekinesis. They flipped into the air, over his head, and he slapped at his face in an attempt to catch them. When he missed, he whirled to track their progress through the air, a look of stunned surprise widening his eyes. Juliet didn’t wait. She turned and, letting her long legs do what they did best, disappeared into the crowd.

“Why me?” she asked, as she continued to put distance between herself and the corpo-sec agent.

“Well, you didn’t have to respond to him so rudely.”

“Well, he should mind his own business.” Juliet turned and continued to follow Angel’s map to the store. As she made progress, putting more space between herself and the annoying corpo-sec agent, she started to relax and slowly began to feel glad that she’d been forced into walking. She needed to let off some steam. “That wasn’t like me, was it?”

“Insulting a corpo-sec agent out of the blue?”

“Well, first of all, it wasn’t out of the blue, but yeah. Jeeze, Angel, you don’t think I’m taking on personality traits of the people whose brains I’ve snooped around in, do you? I could see Tono or, hell, even Larry reacting that way to a corpo-sec officer. Well, no, not really Larry. Shit. Do you think I’m more like Tono now?”

“I think you’re under a lot of stress, and you lashed out at someone who was bothering you. You’ve never liked corpo-sec officers.”

“Okay. I hope you’re right.” She looked at her map, saw she was about halfway there, and changed the subject, “What do you think of that subdermal armor Frida has?”

“It’s not really armor. She underwent a procedure in which specialized nanites extruded and fused a ceramic polymer with her bones or at least some of them. It’s a rather painful and invasive process; before the nanites can fuse the polymer to the bone, it has to be treated with a laser system that removes a thin layer of bone to provide a bonding surface. It takes time and requires some bedrest for the process to complete.”

“Depending on how much you have done, I’m guessing.”

“Yes, I suppose. A single bone or maybe a limb, while painful, might be something a person could function with as it heals.”

“Well, anyway, I’m kind of interested in that. Remind me to ask Ladia about it when we get back to Luna, would you?”

“Yes, I’ll make a note about it. On another topic, I noticed you used your psionics lattice to distract that corpo-sec officer. Do you want to talk about that?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’ve never used your telekinesis offensively before. Was it a reflex? Did you think about it much?”

“I . . . well, I wanted him to look away so I could slip into the crowd. I didn’t think about it much; I just thought those specs looked expensive and figured he valued them quite a lot. He seemed really hung up on his looks. I thought something like, what if I knocked those off his nose? Then the idea hit me, and I just did it. They were just as easy to move as my vibroblade.”

“Imagine if you were having a pistol duel with a bad guy on Main Street, and you distracted him before drawing!”

Juliet laughed, picking up the pace as it began to drizzle. “Angel, first of all, I’m not going to be dueling anyone at high noon. I don’t think. Second of all, that would be cheating. Everyone knows the good guy can’t cheat; he—she—just has to be faster . . .”

“You’re certainly pretty fast, at least with your good arm.”

“Excuse me? My good arm?”

“Well, the expensive one. You got the other one for free, so . . .”

“You mean I was born with it!” Juliet laughed again, not sure if Angel was trying to be funny or if she just thought about things from a totally different perspective. She glanced at her map, saw the shop was just at the next corner, and said, “All right, Angel. Let’s go in here and deck me out like a pirate. A scary, dangerous, don’t mess with me kind of pirate.”