Ravensdagger_Kittypunk_Cyberpunk_Kitrpg

Chapter Sixteen — Never Late

Chapter Sixteen — Never Late We made it out of the alleys in time to see a rush of BPD troop transports and armoured personnel carriers rush by, followed by several criminal-tank vans and then a line of fire engines. People were moving out of the way, though the sidewalks were congested as drivers rode up onto them not to be in the cop's way."Where do we go now?" Sharp asked."Uh..." Derek began. He squinted ahead, then blinked a few times. "Two blocks... that way." He nodded across the road.I had been keeping both eyes open for any more of those freaks, but so far we hadn't run into any. There had been a couple of them getting their teeth kicked in on one side road, but they were being handled so we just went around."What was all that?" Sharp asked. "The weird people, I mean.""No fucking clue," Derek said. "New gang trying to push for turf? Kinda wild that they'd go after the Riveters. They've been established for a decade or more.""Yeah," Sharp said. She reached up and scratched me under the chin, and I figured that she wanted me to answer the same question."I don't know enough to speculate. But if I were to guess... I don't think that was gang related. That group felt more like a religious one than anything else."Sharp nodded. "I got a level in Combat, and another In Anima."Anima? That struck me as very odd. "How did you get your previous levels in Anima?"She shrugged. "Just be keep on keeping on, I guess.""What was that?" Derek asked. He slurred his words a little, and I noticed that there were some dribbles of blood staining the sides of his pants. He was still actively bleeding. The longer it took before a paramedic saw to him, the worse it would be, I figured.Sharp caught on too. We made it to an intersection, then jogged across when there was a pause in the number of police cars moving by. I noticed a large number of people in Riveter colours and clothes moving with the pedestrians. They were usually the ones heading north. Whatever weird cult had started this had really kicked the hornet's nest.We had some walking to do, still, so I took the time to observe our surroundings, but also to think on Sharp's growth. Anima again. It was by far her highest levelled skill. Combat I could see growing in that encounter, of course. She was... not a good fighter, but she'd put some effort into it, and it was a novel experience, the growth from nothing to one felt earned.But Anima... "Sharp, did you do anything strange before that fight?"Sharp swallowed. "I almost didn't fight. I... I wanted to run away.""That's normal, kid, it's called being smart," Derek said. "Happy you didn't, though... fuck, I should have helped.""You were shot," Sharp said. "But, uh, yeah, I froze, but I decided that I had to do something when that man kicked yo-kicked Queen Violence Von Ragamuffin.""I'm not sure about that second part of the name," I said.So, Anima had risen when she took action. Was Anima linked to willpower in some way? Why not have the stat just be called Willpower, then? Was it more complex than that? There was definitely some sort of supernatural element tied to it.We really needed a phone charger because I had several hours of research to do.On arriving at a quieter street a couple of blocks down. Derek raised the arm not pressed to his side and waved a hand over his head. There was a small traumacart ahead of us. A van painted in highlighter yellow with scrolling neon ads on the side. Two men jumped out of the rear, both in bulletproof vests covered in medical cools."Are you Mister Derek Slade of Malcom and Weiss?" one of the paramilitary medics asked."Yup, that's me. ID is here..." Derek carefully reached into a pocket and retrieved a card. The medic pulled out a card scanner, checked it, then nodded."Patient ID confirmed. Image match," he snapped.The other moved up to Derek's side and immediately started looking him over even as they moved towards the ambulance. "Patient is presenting with signs of obvious discomfort and light bleeding. Patient's skin is paler than ID'd skin tone suggesting anaemia.""He's been shot," Sharp said.Stolen story; please report."Patient's companion suggests medical diagnosis of involuntary punctuation. Location?" the medic asked.Sharp blinked, then touched her side where Derek was shot. "Here. There's no exit wound.""Yup, got myself involuntarily penetrated," Derek said. "Yay." The last was delivered in a monotone as he was helped into the ambulance and pushed onto a gurney. A moment later his coat was removed and dropped to the floor. There was a third paramilitary medic in the ambulance, in the driver's seat."Is this young lady a next of kin, direct family member, or coworker?""Uh, no, sorry," Derek said. "Kid, can you make it back to the bikes and get them to the office?""I can, I think," Sharp said.Derek fumbled in his pockets even as the nearest medic assaulted his shirt with some scissors and exposed his wound. He tossed a small key fob to Sharp who caught it. "Lock things up for me, yeah?"The ambulance door shut with a thump, its sirens went off, and soon it was peeling down the road."Uh..." Sharp said intelligently. "Wow... that was something.""Enjoying your new job?""I didn't expect it to be this dangerous," Sharp said. "I think... otherwise it's not too bad. But I know my legs are going to be killing me tomorrow, and uh, I'm not sure if we're going to make it back to the Bat in time.""Good point. Let's get moving, then. There's a big difference between being a little late and being very late. And I believe that Paris is the kind of person to notice that difference quite keenly."Sharp jumped to it, jogging across the street, then taking off westward and back towards Fenway. I snuck down into one of the larger pockets on her jacket. It was a little tight, but it was also warm."Do you think Derek will be okay?" she asked."Likely. They'll fish out the bullet. He might have a minor operation on his colon if it was perforated. That will be unpleasant. But all in all, I give him good odds of making it. He doesn't seem averse to cybernetics, so it's possible he'll just replace a few parts and be out of the clinic by the end of the week.""Oh, okay, good," Sharp said. "If that was us...""Then, to put it kindly, we'd be screwed," I said. "But let's fix that tomorrow.""Tomorrow?" she asked.I nodded, then blinked as I felt myself falling asleep. I was covered in a layer of blood that was matting my fur, and now that there was nothing else to focus on, I could feel the bruises forming. I'd been thrown around a little, and while I was light and... well, a cat, that didn't save me from bruises and longer term pain."Tomorrow we're going to put this red jacket of yours to good use. And maybe we'll hit the gym too.""Huh?" Sharp asked, but I was growing too tired to answer.I reawoke when we got to the bike racks. Sharp managed to free both of them, then it was an awkward ride across the city, mostly relying on the bicycle's electric motors to push us while Sharp leaned over and held onto the second bike. I think the amount of awkwardness on display actually helped, because no one gave us a second glance as we made it to Brookline and back to the courier's office.Mark was waiting for us outside, arms crossed and brow knit. "Good, you made it," he said. "I've been following your progress. We should talk.""Oh oh," Sharp said."Don't worry about it," I said. "If anything, I expect this to finally be a bit of good news."As it turned out, I was right. Mark had Sharp go over every detail she remembered on arriving in South Boston. He took a few notes on a tablet while she spoke. Then he had her go over the events with that gang of psychopaths a few times.In the end, he reached into a drawer on his desk and removed a small wad of cash. "Here. Three hundred. Consider the extra a tip for a job well done and for keeping Derek safe. Come back tomorrow and I'll have more work for you.""Ask for work around Cambridge," I said.Sharp did, and while one of Mark's eyebrows rose at the request, he didn't refuse the idea.And so we left the office with a pocketful of loose cash and a bit of a spring in Sharp's step. That was, until she saw the time. "Holy shoot! I'm late for work!"

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Chapter Seventeen — Hunter on the Prowl

Chapter Seventeen — Hunter on the Prowl While Sharp worked, I napped.I didn't want to admit, even to myself, that I was only doing it because I was so damned tired, but that did play a large role in it.When we arrived, Paris looked ready to rip Sharp a new one until she saw all the blood, then she brought Sharp to her office and asked some pointed questions.The woman didn't seem happy with the news, and I could understand. Fenway wasn't far from South Boston. There was Central between the two, but only a sliver in some places, and violence had a tendency to slip past borders.Paris frowned the entire time, then ordered both of us to get cleaned up. I enjoyed a warm bath of sorts in the sink while Sharp took a shower. Unfortunately, I ended up going to bed wet and tangled up. I was really living up to the gremlin appearance.Sharp returned from work that night, woke me up for a few minutes as she settled into bed, then fell right asleep.I slept through most of the night, except for a spot in the middle where I woke up and just couldn't sleep.So I wandered.Sharp hadn't closed the door entirely, and by my estimates it was something like three or four in the morning. I would have spent time on the phone, but I just didn't feel it at the moment.I stepped out of our room and then walked along the length of the corridor just beyond. There was a stitch in my side, and I could tell that I probably had bruises all over under my fur. Honestly, resting was probably for the best, but stretching out a bruise-as painful as it might be-was sometimes a great way to help them heal.I was also a little peckish... Paris wouldn't mind if I found some leftovers, would she?The door to the kitchen was one of those handleless doors made for waiters to bump into to open. It was easy enough to push against it enough to open a slice large enough to slip in. It was dark within, but there were a number of machines with LEDs that had been left on, and the fire exit sign above provided a thin red ambiance to the entire room that let me see well enough.I started to move across the kitchen, nose sniffing the air and picking out more scents more distinctly than I would have been able to with my human nose.And that's when I heard a squeak ahead of me and froze.Where had that... there!A pair of eyes glimmering in the dark. Barely visible behind the leg of a stainless steel table. But I could make out a thin tail.Well well well. When the cat came out to play, so did the mice.I continued to walk, not missing a beat. The one thing that would always give an assassin away was a hyperfocus on their target. It was incredible how close to someone you could come just by casually walking their way and pretending they weren't there.The mouse didn't move at all, not until I was only a foot away. Then its whiskers twitched. The post was between us. It couldn't see me right now.Which was why I bolted right towards it.The mouse squeaked as I came around the corner, claws deployed and paw swinging.I landed a single good smack on the mouse before it took off scampering away. Then the chase was on.Usually, the mouse would have an advantage of size, being small enough to slip under things, but I was a kitten, and that was gone.But damn was it ever slippery.We raced across the kitchen, my paws padding silently as I gave chase, the mouse squeaking like mad. It had a few cuts on its side already, but those weren't slowing it down.And then it made the fatal mistake of trying to slip under an oven. The crack was just wide enough for its head, but its rear legs needed to scratch at the ground to pull it under.I gripped its flank with both paws, claws digging into flesh, then I went to bite down on its spine... only to reconsider.This was a mouse. A rodent. I was not putting that in my mouth.The mouse squeaked some more, got free, and disappeared under the oven."Tsk. I'll get you next time," I warned.Now my claws were all dirty again!Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!Combat Has Levelled Up!Combat 1 2Cat Has Levelled Up!Cat 1 2Hmm. That was certainly worth more than a midnight snack!"Enjoy your freedom, rodent, because you've just become my training toy," I said before turning around and starting to walk off.I blinked as I got a third notification.Cool Has Levelled Up!Cool 0 1Hmph.I returned to our room after cleaning my paws off as best I could with a piece of tissue. I wasn't going to track bacteria into Sharp's bed if I could avoid it. Then I snuggled up atop the sleeping girl. She was resting on her front, face pressed into her pillow, and drool pooling out of her mouth.Yeah, she had a lot of work ahead of her to level up Cool. But we'd work on it.I fell right back asleep and only woke up when Sharp rolled over and I slid off her back. "Ah, good morning," she said past a yawn."Good morning," I replied as I blinked awake. "Time to head out?""Yeah."We had a lot on our plate today, but it would start with getting to Brookline and seeing what Mark had for us in terms of work. Sharp took another quick shower, and I insisted that she help me brush down my fur to unmat it a little after my morning bath.Once we had cash, I was definitely taking her shopping for some basic hygienic supplies. There were shampoos for cats out there, and I wanted some.Once our ablutions were complete and Sharp grabbed some toast and leftovers from the kitchen, we were off.Sharp was getting used to making her way across the city, and it showed in how quickly we made it to the Courier's office. Though she complained a few times along the way that her legs were sore.That was just the normal consequence of exercise, however. If anything, it was a good sign. It meant that next time Sharp and I got into any sort of trouble, she'd be that much more ready to run.Now I just needed to find a way for her to work out her upper body and I was set.Mark greeted us with a nod, though he did seem pleased to see Sharp, especially when she asked how Derek was doing.The other courier was out of his operation already and was recovering just fine. The company had insurance for any real employee... something which Sharp wouldn't get unless she worked here for a full year.Derek would be back on his robotic feet within the week, but in the meantime that left a gap in the company lineup that Sharp would do her part to fill.As promised, we had a few things to deliver. One package needed to be picked up. The other two were at the office already and just had to be delivered.The pickup was in Brookline, to be delivered in Cambridge. The two other packages went to Brookline and Cambridge as well, so we'd be spending all morning in that area of the city, which suited me just fine.Sharp grabbed a bike-fully recharged overnight-settled the packages in, then took off through the district at a fairly leisurely pace. One part because we weren't in a big hurry and the area was mostly safe, and one part because she made whimpering noises anytime she had to sit back down on the bike's saddle."So, where are we going, again?" Sharp asked.I sat with the wind in my face atop the bike's sidecar. "Northern end of Cambridge. There's a gym there called the Groovy Galaxy. And yes, it's disco themed.""What's a disco?""Nevermind. You'll see for yourself soon enough. There's a dead drop there. And as couriers, we have every right to pick it up as long as you have the right passcodes, which I do.""Neat! Uh. What's a dead drop?""It's a way of trading things between two parties without either party being present and without the goods being lost. You leave the parcel in a safe location, then you leave and signal the other part who come and take it. In this case there's about seventy-five thousand dollars in a duffel for us to gra-"Sharp and I came to a hard stop as she spun around in her seat to stare at me, and inadvertently turned the handles enough to run the bike into a telephone pole. "There's how much?" she squeaked.

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