The cult gives praise to Macario Lazaro for their most worthy ascension through the ranks, you may take one free minute to offer praise.
On a completely unrelated note, extra rations today!
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The Mystic
The patient smile remained on her face even as the old woman shut the doors to her Esoterica a bit harder than was polite, yelling and cursing how she was never coming back to her scam of a business...
For the fourth time this month.
Misty let out an exasperated sigh and began rearranging her cards and candles, carefully snuffing the latter out for reuse.
Not even a minute passed before she found her smile returning and turned to the rear entrance just as a much lighter feeling Michael walked inside.
"Looks like I was right then." She said just a touch teasingly.
"Right about what?" The boy who looked like anything but asked "We barely even said hello before you shooed me away."
"You were scaring poor old Miranda." Misty said coyly "And whatever was weighing you down, only Vik could help you out of it."
He remained silent for a brief while, before shrugging his shoulders and sighing "Haah... You know Misty, you don't sound nearly as mysterious as you think you do."
She just kept smiling at him.
"But you are right." He admitted "The old man set me straight, and I know what I need to do now."
"Seems like you don't really need my help then." She said cheerfully.
"Sorry." He chuckled, leaning against the nearby counter while making sure not to crack it with his weight "I'll try to keep the life defining decisions to a schedule from now on."
"No need." She shared his amusement "But since you are already here, can I interest you in a reading?"
She knew his refusal before he even voiced it.
Like clockwork, he firmly shook his head "I do appreciate it Misty, but symbolisms and vagaries aren't what decides who I am. Only I can do that."
"Oh very well, go and ruin all my fun then." She pretend pouted, slowly shuffling back the three cards she had drawn while waiting, the chariot, the magician, and a final one she would not look at without permission.
"Still weirds me out how easily you can read someone as expressionless as I am by the way." Mike said after a brief lull in the conversation, pointing an accusatory finger at her "Almost makes me think there is something to your whacky guru speak."
"Maybe there is something to it after all then?" She said teasingly, knowing he wasn't actually trying to insult her passion "But I can't make a believer out of someone who refuses to open their mind."
"Well I am sure you we can debate how right either of us is for hours, but I have a better idea of how to spend our time." Mike said with a shake of his head before his posture turned serious "How is my mom doing? You've talked to her a few times by now."
Ah, Svetlana... The firmest spine this side of the states, and the most unyielding. Her demeanor was almost as impressive as it was frustrating.
Misty was just happy her friend survived, everything else was a bonus.
"She is doing surprisingly good." Misty replied honestly and after only a small moment of hesitation "I thought taking revenge would ruin her but it looks like it gave her a new lease on life instead."
"That good." Mike nodded to himself a few times before directing her with a questioning look "...right?"
"Probably."
"...Probably?"
"She is moving forward instead of letting the past weigh her down." Misty assured "It's just usually not this... simple."
"Tends to blow up in people's faces, doesn't it?" He voiced.
To which Misty silently nodded.
He stared off to the side for a moment before exhaling "So long as she is feeling better I'm not going to worry about what 'should' have happened to those weaker than she is."
Noticing her tiny frown he immediately added "Not that I'm saying they deserve to suffer, just that I'm not going to drive myself insane to spite our luck."
"That's usually a healthy way to look at things." Misty smiled, momentarily relieved "Besides, she has more to live for than just getting her revenge, so you just make sure to keep yourself safe and she will be perfectly fine."
"Of course." He nodded "Even if I get scrapped I'm not making her aware of that fact."
She gave him an exasperated look "Not my point, Mike..."
And his serious expression disappeared behind a slight smirk, his golden optics shining with mirth, practically saying 'got you' on their own.
Before they could go on, the many bells and chimes on the door rang out and Misty felt a familiar warmth as she turned to see a grinning Jackie Welles.
Michael 'Magos' Sobronov
I ignored the brief flicker of something odd in Misty's eyes as Jackie approached her and swooped in for a big hug, looking away to give them some privacy as the two got properly reacquainted with each other.
Not that they took too long.
"Oi, Mike!" Jackie called over only a few seconds later, approaching me and swinging widely for a hard handshake "Don't tell me you turned shy while I wasn't looking."
I caught his hand and ignored his wince as he was nearly tossed back by the sheer weight of my chrome "So you don't want to be given privacy then, Jack? I'll make sure to remember that for the most inconvenient moment possible." I teased.
He chuckled, failing to hide a wince as he rubbed his hand "Yeah well not too many people give a fuck about that stuff. Still, appreciate it." He waved it off "But forget about that, I haven't heard from you in a bit. How you been doing you big death machine?"
"A week isn't that long." I huffed "But I'm... Well I've been all over the place for a while, but I'm pretty sure I'm alright now. No sudden and inconvenient 'accidents' chasing me wherever I go at least, so I haven't stepped on too many toes... Yet."
He made a wary chuckle "You joke about scariest shit, ese."
"Joke?" I asked, momentarily confused.
He gave me a look and shook his head "I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear a thing then."
Misty laughed to herself.
"Don't worry Jack." I patted his shoulder "If I ever start getting chased you are the first I'm calling over to catch bullets for me."
"Obviously." He said without a hint of irony.
Well damn, I can't even fuck with him after that.
"You two want anything from the vending machine?" I asked.
"I'm good, thanks." Misty said, simply tossing a fresh teabag into the steaming cup of water she had been preparing while we talked.
"Get me a Trailerbrew." Jackie decided just as quickly "Got damn addicted to the stuff recently."
"I'll have to give it a shot too then." I chuckled "And probably check if it isn't actually addictive."
Instead of getting annoyed or worried, Jackie just shrugged "What isn't?"
Which, fair enough.
It didn't take me long before I for once actually paid for the drinks as the machine belonged to a local business instead of a megacorp, and returned to find the two of them whispering to each other, pointedly making sure to ignore it as they began discussing Ms. Welles' downright foul reaction to finding out she was dating Jackie.
How anyone could hate on Misty like that, especially someone I've come to consider a sweet and caring old woman in Guadalupe Welles, I could never understand but apparently the woman got it into her head that Misty was no good for him and was refusing to budge.
Definitely explained where Jackie got some of his truly gonk moments from though, that was for sure.
I made sure to clink a bottle against the doorframe to make my approach heard, and the duo quickly separated, even if some tension remained on their faces.
"Here you go." I tossed him the bottle and we quickly raised a silent toast to each other, Misty following along with a mock salute of her cup.
"So, Big Mike." Jackie said.
"Big Mike?" I said incredulously.
"Met a guy in Watson, goes by Tiny Mike." Jackie grinned "Lil' guy helped me out with the lay of the land, so now you're Big Mike."
"Riiight..." I felt a tiny part of myself die then and there before suddenly remembering something "Wait, you wouldn't happen to be talking about the Afterlife merc working for Regina, that Tiny Mike?"
"Ha! He told me you knew him." Jackie pointed at me.
"Oh you could go as far as to say I know him intimately." I deadpanned "Real deep."
"Ayo?" It was Jackie's turn to be incredulous.
"I did sew his guts back inside of him after all." I finished.
Jackie choked before staring up at me with pretend annoyance, grumbling in Spanish as he did.
"Speaking of your work in Watson." I took the chance to follow up "How is your 'runner doing?"
He moved on easily "Bug is great. No bullshit with her, just biz and eddies. Managed to flatline a couple of 'strommers that got the drop on me. The smell was fucking awful."
"She does that consistently?" I asked.
But Jackie shook his head "Nah, she had to push herself to fry them. Really knocked her over too."
So pretty solid so far but not an elite...
"Factory resetting select 'ware is usually better to outright frying them if she is lacking capacity." I said after some brief thinking "She might want to switch to those if she lacks a high end Cyberdeck."
"What like turning their limbs off?" He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.
"More like temporarily glitching them but essentially." I nodded, waving my hand about "Much quicker and lets you kill them with guns without wasting RAM that can be used on other stuff, less heat on the brain too."
"You probably know what you're talking about there so I'm just going to trust you." Jackie chuckled "But how the hell am I supposed to tell her that? Oh my other netrunner choom told you how to do your job."
He scoffed "Like that's going to go over well."
"Just tell her you heard it from Magos." I said bluntly "That ought to convince her."
Jackie looked at me like I said something incredibly stupid.
But Misty patted his shoulder "Just trust him, Jack."
"I do trust him." Jackie grumbled and looked back up to me "Still doesn't explain shit."
"I'm pretty famous on the net." I shrugged "It is a simple as that."
"Riight..." He trailed off before shrugging "Well whatever, either you are right or imma look like a gonk for a few minutes."
"That's the spirit!" I clapped my hands.
He narrowed his eyes "You just thought I looked like a gonk no matter what, right?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about." I smirked "Though plating your guns with gold is usually an indicator."
"Oi! You take that back right now!" The ex Valentino stood up with fake outrage and we began a mighty debate on his taste.
Or the complete and utter lack thereof.
Inevitably, I was the winner. No matter what Misty said.
But just as inevitably, the two of them left for their date, and I for home, not before I finished my drink though.
And would you look at that, Jackie was right. Trailerbrew really was addictive.
---
As was custom by now whenever I had free time and wanted to think, I was sat atop my balcony, staring off into the hubbub of floor 16, pondering my next move.
And no matter how much I detested the idea, I came to a simple yet unavoidable conclusion.
If I really wanted to make it big in the future, I would have to abandon this place.
It simply wasn't large or secure enough to be useful as the base of a corporation, and no matter how one twisted it, staying as a permanent tenant of Night Corp would make me look weak and invite vultures to annoy me into insanity.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, but it wasn't like I was going to be moving tomorrow, or even soon, so I'll just enjoy the familiarity while it lasts. And having a reserve base of operations never hurt anyone.
Before I could keep lamenting the inevitable, a familiar tune began ringing through my Agent.
And after the caller's display of idiocy it could only ever be set to the Bushido main theme.
[Jugo.] I said, already feeling my proverbial blood pressure spiking as I saw the grin on the scarred man's face and immediately knew this was going to be irritating [What is it this time?]
[So cold, my street samurai!] He 'bemoaned' [And here I thought to invite you to a party.]
[Uh huh.] I nodded blandly [And what kind of party are we talking about here?]
[Oh you know.] He shrugged [A meeting of family and friends, there will be drinks, music, and fights to the death!]
[It isn't really a party, is it?] I deadpanned.
[Weeeell...] He trailed off [No. It is a Tyger Claw meetup between all the Captains and the Head. I'm trying to scrounge up some reinforcements because the Maelstrom is giving as hard as they get.]
[Would you look at that.] I drawled [Your oh so bold strategy is backfiring already.]
My sarcasm slid off him like so much air as he shrugged [Never hurts to have more soldiers.] And like he was talking about the weather he added [Also my dear Okaasan has been asking about you, and is expecting to see you.]
Totally not ominous.
[Wakako should take greater care of her expectations then.] I huffed after hesitating only briefly [Tell her if she wants to conduct biz she can always just reach me directly or through the other Fixers. Neither Regina nor Rogue are particularly skittish about sharing merc info so I'm not sure why she is using you as the messenger here.]
There was no missing the amused gleam that entered his eyes as I spoke.
[Also I'm already in too deep with the TC.] I continued [If I appear on your 'party' I might as well just stamp your symbol on my ass because everyone will consider me joined to the gang anyway.]
[That is true!] Jugo nodded without even a hint of deception.
...What?
[So what... was the point of all this?]
The man shrugged [Okaasan wanted me to call you over, and so I did that.]
[So wait-] I narrowed my eyes gesticulating with my hand even if I knew he couldn't see it [You want to tell me you tried to set me up just because you didn't want to say no to your mother?]
[Correct.] Jugo's grin only widened.
I sighed [Yeah you know what, that's completely valid.]
The man smirked and was just about to throw his head back in laughter.
But then I added [Didn't your wife tell you to stop trying to drag me into this shit anyway? Do I need to call her again?]
His laughter died in his throat as his eyes snapped back down [Oi! Don't wish that kind of evil on me. I barely survived last time.]
[And I'm sure that had nothing to do with the shredded back.] I deadpanned [Enjoy your party Jugo.]
He smirked but I ended the call and huffed "Like dealing with a fucking child."
Still, even if he was being his usual insane self, it was good to establish a proper boundary with the Tyger Claws. I wouldn't want him or anyone under him to start presuming my membership, because if they did I'd have to start disappearing them just to make a point.
And that was just plain old tedious. Not to mention bad for my profits.
"Hm." I voiced dumbly as I realized I was still pretty damn annoyed at the madman.
"Tell you what then." I smacked my knees and stood up "I'll show you street samurai, you fucking weeb."
Time to get me a proper weapon.
-------
Stone too is a weapon, and I'm hungry for a whack!
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