534 Ending The Weekend

I thought about stopping in at City Hall again to do some more work on the servers, then decided it was much too late. If I used my exploit when the source of it wasn't at work, then I could be potentially found out. I went home and parked in my spot and went inside the apartment building.

The overnight guy was there and looked both annoyed and happy, so I guessed that he had gotten an official notice of being switched over to the day shift. I signed in digitally as I passed the desk and he nodded at me. I pinged the elevator and it didn't open.

“I'm sorry, sir. The elevator is out of order until tomorrow.” The security guy said. “The landlord even offered double their overtime pay for a rush job and no one wanted to come in.”

I sighed and walked over to the door to the stairs. If I had thought of it, I would have registered a repair service and could have handled it myself. I thought about flying up to my floor and remembered the security cameras.

Spoofing them was an option, if I didn't know the new guy was looking specifically for anything suspicious. If he didn't see me going up the stairs, he would either ask a lot of questions or would report me and the authorities would be doing the asking. So, walking up them at double-speed was all I could reasonably do, skipping every second step to cut the time in half.

My legs pumped, almost mechanically, as I made my way up the many stairs to the floor I lived on. Surprisingly, I passed about 20 people and the guys looked annoyed that I was showing off and the women looked impressed. I ignored them all and entered my floor and the apartment door opened for me when I approached it and pinged it.

“CHOOM!” Gloria yelled when I entered and she waved at me from where she reclined on the couch. Her face was flushed and she looked happier than usual. The bottle of preem smash was on the coffee table, as were several cans of NiCola.

“You're in a good mood.” I commented and took off the suit coat.

Gloria licked her lips when she saw I wore the armless shirt. The thing was too comfortable to not wear all the time and it really was a lot less restrictive than a normal shirt. “I went after David and found out what he's been doing.” She said and took a sip of the drink she had made. “Spent the night and most of the day in jail beside him.”

I raised my eyebrows at her and she made a snort sound and laughed, then she sat up and waved for me to sit beside her. I did so and she handed me a drink. I took a sip and it wasn't bad. It wasn't that good, either. The off-brand soda made it taste weird when compared to what it should taste like. The alcohol was as close to synthehol as possible, except it had extra alcohol added to make up for the fakeness.

“I met his friend Jackie and his mother, Mamma Welles.” Gloria said and laid back against me, so I put my arm around her and she sighed and closed her eyes. “She's like me, just older, as is her son.” She said and then went into everything she and Mama Welles had talked about, how they had a lot in common, and how the both of them had worked their asses off for their sons.

I listened and sipped my drink, she sipped hers, and I pulled out my bag of endless potato chips. Gloria let out a growl sound and grabbed a handful, then moaned as she munched on them. They were plain, since the drink's weird taste didn't really go with any good flavors. The salt sure helped, though. She even licked and sucked on her fingers.

We stayed like that for several hours, her getting a little drunker and telling me everything she wanted to get off her chest. The major thing was how she really enjoyed our forbidden time together and how she couldn't let herself feel that good all the time.

It seemed artificial to her, as if I had slipped her special dorphs or something, and she didn't want her life to degrade to only wanting that and nothing else. Real life wasn't just happiness and sex, she explained. There had to be something else to a relationship to make it worth keeping and she didn't have those kinds of feelings for me.

That was a blow to my ego, to be sure. I had hoped there was some progress, or that she would let herself start to feel something if I took things slow. It just wasn't meant to be, apparently. I kissed her cheek and eased her off of me, stood, and eased her back against the couch.

Gloria looked hurt that I did that and I held in my laugh. She wanted the comfort and wouldn't commit, which reminded me of Sarah Connor in the last world. I didn't want a repeat of that, so I thanked her for considering a relationship with me and that I respected her decision to not have one. She looked panicked when I said that and I reassured her that I would still need her for another few nights until Victor Vektor declared me fully healed. Gloria relaxed and nodded, took another sip of her drink, and ate a few more chips.

I dumped more into a bowl for her, then put the bag away and went to my bathroom. I put the suit in the cleaner with the rest of my clothes and hopped in the shower. The door wasn't locked, because Gloria had mentally refused to even peek at me. Her resolve was so strong that she turned on the television and started watching Syn's favorite program.

“What the DREK?!?” Gloria gasped a few minutes later.

I stepped out and dried off and laughed briefly at Gloria being surprised by the uncensored version of the television show. I put my clothes in the presser for a minute and then carried them into my bedroom. I hung them up and put on a pair of boxer shorts, then went to bed. I had some sleep to catch up on and a full day of school to look forward to tomorrow.

Just as I settled in the bed, I received a priority call. I checked who it was from and it was Hanako Arasaka. I dove into virtual reality and recreated my bedroom around me, dressed in my best corpo suit, and answered.

A popup window appeared two feet in front of me and I noticed that she was in her private quarters as well. She sat in front of her dressing table, that had a well lit mirror, and she wore an elegant night covering that was pure white and hugged her body like a second skin.

“Good evening, Lady Arasaka.” I said in perfect Japanese and bowed to her.

Hanako looked surprised and then smiled. “Mr. Veder.” She said and bowed her head. “You may sit.”

I formed a chair underneath myself and let it rise up as I sat down. Her eyes widened at the move, then she looked around me, as if looking for the telltale digital edges of the construct. Her eyes narrowed again and I felt a few testing pokes from her ICE programs.

Instead of commenting on how rude that was, I grabbed onto them, copied them, and sent the copies right back to her. She gasped and tried to disengage her own, trying to also break contact, only she couldn't. I had a hold of her and her own programs browsed through her implants as if they didn't have any protections, since it technically didn't. I was using her own installed programs, after all.

“Please stop.” Hanako ordered.

“I didn't alter the commands you gave your own software, Lady Arasaka.” I informed her and started copying everything.

Hanako's face firmed up as she tried to launch several counter-programs, only they didn't detect anything wrong. After a few minutes, she sighed in defeat and sat back on her chair. The programs were done and sent us both everything she had installed, recorded, and archived. I had a full copy of everything, too.

“What do you want?” Hanako asked.

“You called me, Lady Arasaka.” I reminded her.

She frowned for a moment. “I delayed the official security team and had a cut-out arrange for the woman that attacked you to be rescued by her friends.”

That was a surprise. “You're protecting her?”

“As you had guessed, she is a source of weakness for my brother. I needed to know just how far into his life she managed to embed herself.” Hanako answered.

It was my turn to frown. “How would you...” I stopped talking when I remembered what just happened. “Is she as deep as you hoped or feared?”

Hanako sighed. “Feared. Despite being nearly besotted with the toy, he will not give her what she wants.”

I wasn't going to ask, since that was what she wanted me to do. I'd find out for myself when I tracked her down. I had her digital signature, so a quick ping on the GPS program I wrote and I'd know exactly where she was.

“Are you not curious?” Hanako asked, her face showing curiosity.

“No.” I said and her face blanked. “Is that all, Lady Arasaka?”

“No.” Hanako answered. “She attacked you for the secret of the banana you carried. If she delivered it to any reasonably placed corpo in almost any company, especially Biotechnica, it could set her up for life.”

I laughed and she looked surprised and slightly offended, so I had to head that off before she officially took offense. “Lady Arasaka, you cannot grow a banana plant from a banana, even if it wasn't sterile. It doesn't contain any seeds or any manner to propagate in any way. You can't even clone the thing, unless you had the base plant it spawns from.”

Hanako looked at me like I was speaking another language, even though I was still talking in perfect Japanese.

“That's why I told Miss Vogul their research was a waste of time when I left. They're doing it wrong.” I told her.

“That was why I wanted to see you in person before I was distracted by your programming prowess.” Hanako said, almost in praise. “You showed off your fruit at the academy and I wanted to know how you produced such perfect specimens.” Hanako asked.

“I did it the right way, of course.” I said and didn't explain. I also didn't mention the machine I had build recently to print as much food as I wanted.

Hanako gave me a bit of a glare when I wouldn't tell her. “Mr. Veder...”

“You personally transferred me from R&D to the counter-intelligence department.” I reminded her. “Are you transferring me back and assigning me to research in a lab?”

“No.” Hanako said and she looked a little frustrated.

“I have school in the morning and then work afterwards. Should I change my focus from what you told me to do in secret for you?”

“No.” Hanako answered and definitely looked frustrated now. “You cannot divulge what you found in my cyberware.”

I didn't tell her that I had copied everything and had all the secrets she held, including her father preparing to copy his mind into the digital fortress in the basement of Arasaka Tower. He was getting really old and his body was breaking down more and more, since cybernetics could only take people so far and it couldn't prevent biological death... unless they succeeded in the Relic Project. They were a couple of years from perfecting it, though.

“As far as I'm concerned, you hired me and I report to you. Who else would I tell? Your brother?” I asked.

Hanako looked relieved. “Then I won't keep you any longer. Goodnight, Veder.”

I didn't respond and just sat there. After a moment, her face gained an awkward look as she tried, and failed, to end the call. I let a small smile grow on my face as she kept trying and failing for almost ten full seconds and nothing happened.

Hanako clamped her lips together into a thin line. She sat there and stared at me as several emotions played across her face. I was tempted to read her thoughts, only I didn't want to ruin the surprise and wanted to see what she would do without spoiling it for myself. In a world as harsh as this, I had to get my amusement from somewhere.

To my surprise, she reached up to her neck and undid the little bow. Her formfitting covering dropped down to reveal her modest chest and it was as perfectly sculpted as I knew it was. Her dark nipples weren't hard, though.

“There! You've seen them, just like you wanted.” Hanako said, a little angrily. “Now let me go.”

I raised my eyebrows at her. “Lady Arasaka, I was patiently waiting for you to apologize. You attacked me for no reason, after all.”

Hanako's face went red from embarrassment and she quickly pulled her white covering back up and held it in place. It took her a few moments to compose herself. “I... am... sorry.” She said, as if she was in pain, or like someone was pulling a tooth out as she spoke each word. It wasn't sincere at all; but, she did say the words and that was what I asked for.

“Goodnight, Lady Arasaka.” I said and let her programs go.

Hanako physically jerked and then immediately cut the call. I almost felt a barrier form between myself and her cyberware, which was probably another Black ICE thing she either had installed or just activated to isolate her from the net. The problem with that was I had her digital signature and could piggyback off of any cyberdeck in the city, including her own, if I wanted to contact her.

I left her alone, just so she would think what she had was working. Why give away that I could still get to her? I wanted her to respect me and not treat me like she intended to, a smart kid that she could manipulate at her leisure. That last thing, showing off her breasts as a distraction, was the proof she had thought it was that easy.

I logged out of the digital world and went right to sleep. Whatever tomorrow would bring, I would be ready for it. At least, I hoped I would.

*

Michiko Arasaka was woken from her slumber when she received a priority call. She slipped out of bed with her husband and quickly made her way to her private and encrypted cyberdeck. She sat and connected through it and relaxed when her ICE didn't detect any foreign software.

“Good evening, Aunt Hanako.” Michiko said and bowed her head politely.

“Good evening. I apologize for calling so late.” Hanako responded and bowed her head politely as well.

“It is no bother. You are family, after all.” Michiko told her.

“That is why I am calling, Niece.” Hanako said. “After you informed me of your interesting talk with a former associate, I did not take your warning about a new netrunner seriously.”

Michiko didn't need any other clues to deduce the facts. She was a prolific investigator after all. “You've met him.”

“Met him?” Hanako asked with an indignant look. “I may have inadvertently hired his real life identity and put him into our counter-intelligence department, potentially setting a dragon loose among the tigers in their den.”

Michiko nodded very slowly. “I need you to tell me everything, to the last detail.”

Hanako did even better than that. She sent her a braindance of the entire encounter. Michiko watched it through once, then watched it again at half speed, then a third time but only certain and quite important parts.

“You are right to be worried.” Michiko informed her. “Not only will he soon become a problem that none of us can handle, he will quickly take over the entire counter-intelligence department and we will lose all influence within it as he takes them all under his proverbial wing.”

Hanako nodded, because that was what she suspected. “What do I do with him? I already told him I refused to let him transfer back to R&D.”

Michiko smiled. “Do not worry, Aunt Hanako. Leave this with me. I will handle it.”

Hanako raised a single eyebrow at her in question.

“I believe a certain ambitious executive that has been lobbying hard the last few months to earn his long deserved promotion, will gain a new member under his direct supervision. After the intern graduates and is hired full time, then Arthur Jenkins will suddenly lose his chance to become the Special Operations Director to his soon to become bitter rival.” Michiko explained.

Hanako sucked in a sharp breath. “You're going with Abernathy over Jenkins?”

Michiko nodded. “Jenkins is ambitious, yes. He just isn't Director material. This move will give me the tool to take him out of the game without looking like either of us has had a hand in it.”

Hanako nodded. “He will be solely focused on taking Susan down that he'll ignore any other major dealings the department has.”

“Yes, he'll concentrate Veder's skills on finding out everything he can about her, instead of doing what he thinks is his job.” Michiko responded and smiled. “Fear not, Aunt Hanako. I will ensure that Susan knows how to handle this properly.”

Hanako smiled back. “That is such a relief to hear, Niece. Thank you.”

“You are welcome, Auntie. Goodnight.” Michiko said.

“Goodnight.” Hanako said back and ended the call.