526 Play Corpo Games

It was a surprise to learn that Patricia Vogel had grown up as an 'EDF brat', a European Defense Force kid that benefited from training in both military policies and corporate operations. Her family had been involved with the EEC, or the European Economic Community, for generations.

The only reason she was here in the United States was because of an exchange program established with the Arasaka Corporation to promote cooperation and possible unity in the future. Unfortunately, most of the corpos at Arasaka didn't really believe in it, thinking the EEC was only out for themselves, just as Arasaka was.

They humored the EEC by creating a division to put Patricia in and not a full department, which was why she only had a small staff, even after reaching the top spot years ago and proved her worth. She was smart, and driven, and would do almost anything to achieve her goals. That let her fit in with the other corpos without much strife, despite having much different goals to achieve with their cooperation.

The oddest part about all of that? Her husband had been an arranged marriage to get her an in with the company, just in case she hadn't been accepted on her own merits. With the little man's help smoothing things over, she had quickly established herself and worked her ass off for years to make the division mean something.

The meal seemed to pass by quickly, as if both Patricia and her husband had things to do. No one questioned their haste, not even Carrie and myself. For Carrie, her thoughts told me that most meals at the house were conducted more like a military meeting than an actual casual meal. As for me, I was fascinated that people actually acted like that for family meals.

When it ended, one of the guards left with the husband and the other stayed with Patricia. Carrie and I were dismissed until new contracts could be made and we were permitted access to the living room, backyard, and Carrie's room, the last under strict video surveillance.

Carrie gave me a knowing look, since she knew I could bypass them and spoof them, then she led me through the house, up the stairs, and into her room. She locked it and then slid a heavy dresser in front of the door.

“I do that to annoy them.” Carrie admitted and waved at her bed. “They might be able to see me most of the time; but, if they want to get in here and stop me from doing something, it'll take them a while.”

I barked a laugh at that and carefully climbed onto the bed to lay down. “Are you really going to let me be physically here with you and also inside your digital sleepover space?”

Carrie gave me a teasing smile and went to her closet. She pulled out a real copy of her digital pyjamas and I laughed. My laughter died off as she intentionally stripped off her school uniform with as much sexiness as she could, showing off her skimpy panties and her half-cup bra that showed off her modest chest, then she put on her pyjamas and seemed to relax.

I wasn't sure why until she climbed onto the bed with me and her hand grazed across my hardness. Oh, she was reassured that I liked watching her and she wasn't wasting her time.

Carrie laid down beside me and put on her VR set. I put mine on, just for show, and she smiled warmly at me and dove into cyberspace. Before I joined her, I checked for the same things her mother had found on her business cyberdeck. I disabled them and copied them for her mother, to show her that I was keeping Carrie safe, and dove into the virtual world.

The second successful sleepover party was a huge success. Near the end, Carrie mentioned what had happened earlier that evening and told them the information about the infiltration we had discovered in her mother's business equipment, then she gave me a very pointed look.

“You could ask me to share instead of glaring.” I said and her face went red from embarrassment.

“V-Veder, could you...” Carrie started to ask.

I brought up the same search program and set it in the middle of the huddle circle of pillows we were all propped up on and walked the girls through how to use it to find anything hidden on their own personal cyberdecks.

They all made surprised sounds at nearly the same time, mostly gasps, and then they thanked us profusely before they logged out to deal with the things they found that shouldn't have been there.

Carrie gave me an apologetic look. “I'm sorry about putting it on you like that. I only wanted...”

“...to keep the girls safe.” I interrupted her and she nodded. “So, who's going to compensate the newest Reclamation Division's employee for sharing his proprietary coding program that can scour any attached hardware for hidden files?”

Carrie's mouth dropped open and her avatar froze, then she dissolved as she logged out. I felt like making her sweat a little, so I stayed in for an extra minute or two to examine the room's programming. I was thinking that this would give her a taste of what making the tough decisions was like and showed her that there were consequences you might not expect when doing so.

When I left the virtual world, I discovered that I was alone on the bed. I put the VR set into my pocket and then climbed off of the bed. Since the layout of the home was fairly simple, I made my way back downstairs to the living room and wasn't surprised to find Patricia was there waiting for me and Chris was her guard.

“I have the new company contract ready for you to sign.” Patricia said and pointed to several papers on the coffee table. “It includes the caveat that any programming you contribute to the company will receive the appropriate fees and compensation for their use while you are under our employ.”

I knew what that meant. My contributions tonight weren't covered under it, because I wasn't employed at the time, despite it helping the company immensely and her specifically. It also meant what I shared with her and her daughter was not going to be included, or probably mentioned existing until after I signed.

I sat down and gave her my best blank face and started reading the contract. By the look on her own face, she knew I understood what she implied and that she was covering for her daughter. I read it through, then read it through again, and picked up the pen.

I intentionally fumbled it, just as I had when trying to eat with a utensil, and spent a few minutes using just my fingertips to gain a half-decent grip on the pen and then signed the contract with Veder and nothing else.

Patricia picked it up and looked it over, nodded, and folded it and tucked it under her arm. “Before you say anything about earlier tonight...”

Namely, her and Carrie screwing me out of a good chunk of money that I was never going to see, because the exchange happened before I was an employee.

“...I've made note of your generous contribution to the company to buy your way into the position you've just attained by providing proprietary software that has become an essential company asset.” Patricia stated with finality.

Well, fuck.I thought and kept my face blank. She had just turned what could have been a huge and embarrassing mistake into a reasonable expectation that everyone at Arasaka was going to accept without question.

“As potential future employees, any student at Arasaka Academy has an automatic limited fair use license for said asset and the paperwork has already been filed.” Patricia added.

I held in my sigh at her already covering her own and her daughter's asses. I had intended to give Carrie a lesson on unexpected consequences and her mother decided to teach her how to twist things to her advantage instead of facing the problems it caused.

“Do you have any questions?” Patricia asked.

“Yes, Mrs. Vogel.” I said and saw her brace herself for what she thought was going to be several difficult questions for her to answer. “Where are the division's main offices located? Do I show up there or do I go directly to the basic lab where I'll be working? Also, what time does my weekend shift start?”

Patricia looked surprised for a moment and then answered. I was to go to the office first, obtain my schedule and lab and office rotation, and then my shift would start at 9 A.M. I memorized the information and thanked her.

“Will there be anything else?” Patricia asked and braced herself again.

“Just one thing.” I said and stepped close to her, which made the guard flinch and reach for his gun. “Well played.”

Patricia didn't let her expression change, even though she was shocked at me knowing how she had manipulated me. “Have a good evening, Mr. Veder.”

“It started out that way. Mrs. Vogel.” I commented and saw her flinch as I walked by her and I made it over to the front door. I stopped walking and wiggled my fingers at the door handle that was the same as the one on the academy's front door. “I don't want a repeat of what happened at school yesterday. Could someone open this up for me?”

As I waited for the maid to come and open the door for me to leave, I sent a message to Delamain to meet me at the far end of The Glen. I felt like taking a walk and there was no rush to get home, since Gloria's shift wouldn't start for another half hour and Victor wouldn't show up until well after 10 P.M., since he was usually quite busy at night.

As I left the expensive home, I could feel several sets of eyes on me as I hobbled down the couple of steps and then down the driveway. I didn't bother using telepathy, since I was sure I knew what they were thinking.

Regret from Carrie, because she couldn't face me herself and let her mother handle things. Respect from her mother for not making a scene, and relief from the guards for the same reason, because they didn't want to manhandle someone wearing casts. How bad would that made the Vogels look if their guards tossed me out of the house and into the street?

I held in my laugh and hobbled down the long street as I took in the scenery. It really was a much different aesthetic around here than it was in the city proper. There was less obvious technology everywhere, more greenery, and things weren't as crowded. It looked nice, and that was it. It looked nice. It wasn't actually nice at all and was just a facade built on top of the rot and filth that Night City was full of.

Delamain was waiting right where I asked him to and I waved to the luxurious taxi. It honked the horn and the back door opened. I climbed in and sighed as I sank slightly into the plush seats.

“Nice night for a walk.” Delamain said as he closed the door and pulled away into traffic.

“Only there, my friend.” I said and looked back at the Glen. “Only there.”

The rest of the ride back to my apartment was quiet.

*

Gloria knew something was wrong when she entered the apartment of the young man she was hired to take care of. She wasn't sure what it was, just that Veder was a little less enthusiastic about things. He ate absently, didn't ask to be cut out of his uniform, or said anything about being hired or about meeting with his new boss.

She didn't try to ask him what was wrong, because she was sure that he didn't know himself. Whatever it was, had him in a contemplative mood until Victor Vektor showed up. She helped him remove the casts and they did several scans, only to find nothing wrong. All the shattered bones were perfectly healed, all the muscles and tendons were firmly attached and not malformed, and his circulatory system was robust and working perfectly.

“Well, you're as healthy as I've ever seen you, choom.” Victor said and patted Veder's shoulder. Even his broken vertebrae didn't have any hairline fractures and the nerve endings were all firing properly and reacted when the skin was poked and prodded. By all rights, he should have been crippled and he was walking around even better than he was before installing cyberware.

“Thanks, choom.” Veder said and wiggled his toes, then he stood up and made his hands into fists for the first time in weeks. “It feels great tofinallybe free from the things holding me back.”

Gloria almost gasped at hearing that. She knew he meant something more than just losing the casts, only she wasn't sure what it could be.

“It'll be nice having you pop by the shop again.” Victor said and started packing up.

“Oh? Do you have any interesting cases for me to poke at?” Veder asked.

Victor chuckled. “Naw, choom. Just the usual drek. You know how it is.”

Veder nodded. “I'll send you my work schedule tomorrow after I grab it from work. It's only light hours, since I'm only an intern.”

Victor gave him a knowing look. “You tried to go full time and they shut you down?”

“He did.” Gloria said and told him about the short negotiation, which made Victor laugh.

“Wait until after school lets out before you push yourself, V.” Victor said and hung his tool bag over his shoulder. “You'll have plenty of time to work yourself to the bone after you graduate.”

“But, I have plenty of time now.” Veder argued.

“No, you don't.” Gloria said and pointed. “You have a date with a much needed shower that's been a long time in coming.”

“Shower? Are you crazy?” Veder asked with a laugh. “I'm gonna be soaking in the bathtub for the next hour or two!”

Victor laughed as well and patted him on the shoulder. “Then go enjoy it for as long as you can. I'm heading back before anyone shows up looking for me.”

“Thanks, choom.” Veder said and pulled his clicker out of his pocket and clicked it a few times.

Victor gasped and stared at him. “V, what the fuck?”

“You're the best ripperdoc on this side of the city, Vic. You came all this way and made a house call for something Gloria probably could have done if she borrowed a power tool or two.” Veder said. “You did good by me after my accident and earned that money.”

“V, no... it... it's too much. Take some of it back.” Victor pleaded.

Veder chuckled. “Naw, choom. I'm gonna be rolling in eddies soon and I don't mind spreading it around.”

“V, you're crazy.” Victor said, stunned.

Veder put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. “If it makes you feel better about it, I'm claiming it as a charity donation. Put it towards buying equipment and things you need and make sure it's not wasted.”

Victor sighed. “It's still too much.”

“Well, you're stuck with it until you spend it.” Veder said and let his shoulder go. “Thanks for everything. Now get out so I can strip off this monkey suit and enjoy a hot bath and pink bubbles up to the ceiling.”

Victor couldn't help but laugh at that image. “All right, Veder. I'll stay in contact with Gloria to make sure you're not overextending yourself for the next few days. I'll give you another exam then and we'll discuss ending your convalescence.”

“I appreciate it, choom.” Veder said and turned around and pulled off the uniform suit coat. “At least I didn't sweat too much and this thing isn't too trashed.”

Gloria and Victor watched as Veder walked down the hallway and shed clothes the entire way. He entered the bathroom just as the boxer shorts were discarded and both of them turned away before they saw his naked butt.

“I'll call in the morning to see how his first night without the casts went.” Victor said to Gloria and walked over to the apartment's door. “Later, choom.”

“Later.” Gloria said and the apartment was quiet for a moment, then the sound of water gushing came out from the still open bathroom door.

She stood there for several minutes as she debated with herself about the merits and the downside of going down the hall to shut the door. It would keep moisture away from all the delicate electronics spread around the apartment, it would let her see him fully naked again, she wouldn't have to listen to him bathing, she would be sorely tempted to join him in the bath... it was quite a lengthy debate.

Gloria jerked slightly when the bathroom door suddenly shut and the choice of what to do was taken from her. She felt relief and disappointment in equal measure and regretted the lost opportunity.