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Kittypunk [Cyberpunk KitRPG]
Annotation
She was the world’s greatest assassin. A silent threat, an unknown knife, the cause of a hundred mysterious deaths, all to feed her cats and pay her rent.
And then she died.
The last thing she expected was to be reborn... as a harmless kitten in the hands of a very strange girl. Now tasked with mentoring the girl in the arts of assassination, Caroline Daniels (Now known as the fearsome Queen Violence Von Ragamuffin) has to figure out how to mother an idiot while weighing as much as half a loaf of soggy bread.
What to Expect:
— Cat shenanigans
— Some found family stuff
— Cute things
— A cyberpunk dystopia that you wouldn’t want to live in
— Levels going up? But it’s a super soft system
— Magic?
— Pushing things off of high places
— Naps
Inspired by Ghost in the City by my bestest friend Seras, Outrun by my bestest friend Lost Rain, and like 20 other cyberpunk fics that I’m stealing ideas from!
Cover by Synji -Typography by RavensDagger
Posting Schedule: Whenever I feel like it~
Kittypunk [Cyberpunk KitRPG]
Character Art
Prologue
Chapter One — Assess Adapt Ove-My-God I’m a Cat?!
Chapter Two — The Bloody Bat
Chapter Three — The Alleys of Boston Two
Chapter Four — Cat +1
Chapter Five — Nothing Good
Chapter Six — Getting in the Business
Chapter Seven — Numbers Go Up
Chapter Eight — Getting Paid
Chapter Nine — I Moths Ask You a Question
Chapter Ten — Gloryless
Chapter Eleven — Brooklin Woes
Chapter Twelve — The Couriers
Chapter Thirteen — Philosopher's Cat
Chapter Fourteen — The City Knows Not of Fear
Chapter Fifteen — Downrange
Chapter Sixteen — Never Late
Chapter Seventeen — Hunter on the Prowl
Chapter Eighteen — Big Money
Chapter Nineteen — Under the Bed
Chapter Twenty — Magic
Chapter Twenty-One — The Job
Chapter Twenty-Two — Standing Out
Chapter Twenty-Three — Muted Questions
Kittypunk Halloween Special
Chapter Twenty-Four — Gym Ra— Gym Cat
Chapter Twenty-Five — Beggars and Choosers
Chapter Twenty-Six — No Plotting or Planning
Chapter Twenty-Seven — Unnoticed
Chapter Twenty-Eight — Wick, Candle Wick
Chapter Twenty-Nine — Warlocks Unlocks
Chapter Thirty — Chosen of the Eidolons at Play
Chapter Thirty-One — Running to a Home
Chapter Thirty-Two — The Solonet
Chapter Thirty-Three — SharpRunner1902
Chapter Thirty-Four — Last Night, First Prey
Chapter Thirty-Five — Curiosity Chose the Cat
Chapter Thirty-Six — Picking Perks
Chapter Thirty-Seven — Nine Lives
Chapter Thirty-Eight — Pet House
Interlude One
Chapter Thirty-Nine — Getting Sweaty
Chapter Forty — The Plan
Chapter Forty-One — In Matters of Taste
Chapter Forty-Two — Shot Grouping
Chapter Forty-Three — Gun Expert
Kittypunk Christmas Special
Chapter Forty-Four — Stake Out
Chapter Forty-Five — Dangerous
Chapter Forty-Six — Techie
Chapter Forty-Seven — Pick
Chapter Forty-Eight — Pocket Test
Chapter Forty-Nine — Mondays
Chapter Fifty — Talking them Up
Chapter Fifty-One — Belladonna
Chapter Fifty-Two — The Real World
Chapter Fifty-Three — Stinky
Chapter Fifty-Four — A Lil Chit-C(h)at
Chapter Fifty-Five — Grumbles
Chapter Fifty-Six — Picking Skills
Chapter Fifty-Seven — Next Day
Chapter Fifty-Eight — Growing Pains
Chapter Fifty-Nine — Urban Spelunking
Chapter Sixty — Gun Out
Chapter Sixty-One — Warded
Chapter Sixty-Two — Drone Warfare
Chapter Sixty-Three — Level Ups!
Chapter Sixty-Four — The Next Bunch
Epilogue
Afterword!
Kittypunk [Cyberpunk KitRPG]
Character Art
Cover, by SynjiTypography by RavensDagger
Characters
Fasmine Sharp
Alyssa Fitzgerald
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Jenkins “Jenny” Farway
Caroline / Queen Violence
Derek
Mark
Art by Synjii — https://www.instagram.com/synji_arts
Some minor spoilers here, but nothing too extreme! Commissions on the way for... literally every character that we come across that's even mildly important!
Prologue
Prologue
Caroline Daniels was the world's best assassin.She didn't know it, and nor did the rest of the world.It was an unfortunate reality of her line of work that being famous tended to be a rather large sign of incompetence.She had begun her career at the tender age of seventeen. Caroline found herself orphaned one fine day, with little more than a stipend to her name and an apartment whose rent was due in a few month's time.School was pushed to the side to make room for a part-time job, but she was still too young for real work, and that meant a rapidly-dwindling supply of cash. She would have made it, though.She had always been a clever sort of girl. Quick to smile, quicker to make friends. She understood people, what made them tick, and she had always been a hard and dedicated worker.Were things slightly different, she would have risen to be something moderately special. Maybe not a genius in her field, but certainly a respectable veterinarian, or maybe a paediatrician? She did consider becoming a housewife as well, if she could find the right person, but those sorts of thoughts always felt distant.Instead, a terrible thing happened, as they most often do, a the worse possible moment.Her only remaining companion in life, the only one she could trust, fell quite ill.His name was Sir Ragamuffin, and he was her mother's cat and a member of her family from before she was even born. Sir Ragamuffin was brought to the vet. His illness was curable, but medication for it was unaffordable.Caroline, still seventeen, with new calluses on her hands and a heart filled with equal parts despair and a fragile grief, knew that she didn't have the means to save Sir Ragamuffin. Unless she gained a surprise windfall...She found the contract on the internet. A seedy site, the kind of place only the desperate would peruse. There were offers to sell her body, but she found those abhorrent. Peddling drugs felt needlessly reckless. But killing a man... well, a little research revealed that the man in question was not a productive member of society, and the contract did offer to pay handsomely.She took a temp job delivering groceries on top of her normal work. The next evening, she rocked up to the not-so-very-good-man's door and accidentally delivered her order to the wrong address.He choked on the medication she'd mixed into the food he'd definitely not paid for.There was an electronic transfer in her account the next morning, and Sir Ragamuffin recovered to good health.That set Caroline up for a life that she would never have expected for herself. Time flowed on, she aged, the world changed in little ways, then in massive, irredeemable ones. Sir Raggamuffin passed away at the venerable age of twenty-one, ancient by the measure of house cats. Her handlers sent her letters of condolence, but otherwise his death wasn't celebrated except for in her mourning. He was replaced by several more cats whom Caroline felt deserved a warm home as well.Her only regrets in the next three decades and a half was her lack of true human companionship, but that was fine, she had many a furry friend, and her work was very fulfilling.It started with petty contracts, then grew sharply more complex. She didn't leave a calling card, because that was stupid. She didn't let people know that she was anything more than a humble gig worker living off of a limited family trust that afforded her only the basic necessities.Caroline was a moderately happy, lonely woman who left a trail of the dead behind her.When magic came to Earth she took note of it, researched it as she did everything else, and used it as the tool it was. Life went on... well, most people's lives went on, the people she was contracted to take care of very much didn't keep on keeping on, but that was just work.Her current contract was going to be her last. She could feel it in her bones. Her doctor agreed and had told her to spend some time with friends and family. But all she had were cats.So here she was, taking another contract. On paper, it was the kind of impossible job that the average assassin would baulk at. Even the more professional ones, from three-letter agencies across the world, would think it impossible.Caroline found it mildly challenging.The target was a Professor Daniels (No relation, she checked) who had been a lead researcher at Nimblecorp International for several years. A professor of Etherical technologies, something of a new field of study that had appeared in the last few years. He'd been poached by the USMRC, a North American corporation dedicated to researching magical technologies for the express purpose of creating patents.The corporation ran a tight ship. It had all of the cutting edge technology one might expect from a modern fortress planted some fifty miles west of the New York Exclusion Zone and right on the edge of a newer mega city.Cameras, walking patrols of guards and mechanised walkers, there were rumours that they had mages scrying the exterior at all times and rogues with newfangled skills letting them know about anyone with suspicious system-given abilities snooping around.It had taken her three days to be hired as a janitor and given a free rein of the place.Caroline was getting to be a little... mature. A bit of make-up to improve that, a slight stoop, and the proper uniform and credentials and no one batted an eye as she pushed a long broom across the floor.That was enough to get past the first layer of security. And the next.The third was all up to timing, waiting for a guard to go on break then holding up his replacement with some chit-chat.The fourth layer of security didn't matter, because Caroline wasn't here to steal secrets, she was here to kill a man, which was significantly easier.This, too, was a matter of timing. She wandered the halls, actually putting some effort into doing her cleaning work appropriately. Professor Daniels crossed her path twice in the next few hours, but always with someone.The third time he was with someone, but the man split off and slipped into a lab with an exceptionally suspicious glance over his shoulder.Caroline rolled her eyes and followed him into the lab. It was a spotless room, all stainless steel and small desks with terminals sitting atop them. The professor was in the centre of the room, looking at the contents of a small lacquered box with something shiny within.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.He jumped when he noticed her coming in. "Who... oh, you're cleaning, um, sorry, give me just a moment?""Certainly," she said with a kindly smile. She was by the only exit, time wasn't a concern, and if she missed this chance, another would come.The professor fussed with his box. He was sweating profusely. Caroline glanced within the case, her attention drawn to... a small metallic necklace carved like a sleeping cat.She shrugged, then flicked a needle forwards.The professor reached towards his neck.Then his face slammed down onto the box, spilling blood from his broken nose all over. Not that he felt it, he was very much dead already.She moved up and took the needle back. She'd toss it into a bucket of soapy water later, then down a drain.So far, everything was going well, which was why Caroline was surprised when she died.It happened quite suddenly. A lurch in her chest, a tightening around her throat. For a moment she worried that she may have poisoned herself, but she knew the effects of her own tools, and this wasn't it.Her vision swam, and she stumbled back until she bumped into one of the lab's tables. She clutched at her chest. A heart attack? She almost couldn't believe it, but her doctor had warned her not to strain herself.Caroline tried to breath through a neck that felt no larger than a straw. Her vision swam. It felt like someone had stuck a pick into her chest and was wiggling it around.She tossed the needle down a drain. She was going to be discovered, she couldn't have evidence on her.Someone walked into the room, screamed the professor's name. Polite concern had her moved out of the room, but it was too late.The ground rushed up to meet her and she was no more.Except...Maybe not.For while no living being was ever aware that Caroline was the greatest assassin that has ever lived, that did not mean that others failed to notice.
* * *
I awoke in a grand hall. A lofty, enormous room that stretched out to the sides so far that I couldn't see the distant walls of it.Immediately, I was on edge, but long years of training and a fair few dicey situations meant that I didn't freeze. Instead, I observed and remained calm, because freezing is admitting guilt, and that's the last thing you ever want to do.The room was occupied, but not by people.I moved back slightly as a pair of teenaged cats scampered after each other. Further out was a large rock protruding from the ground, with a beam of warm sunlight illuminating the top of it. Several cats were piled atop each other in that warm light. One had their tail over the edge, and a kitten was on their back, batting at it.Trees grew out of the ground here and there, and I noticed plenty of slanted eyes gazing down from the branches above. The air smelled of cat. Not a stink, but a warm, welcome odour that permeated the room. There were meows and a distant but constant pur.This was a safe, warm, hospitable place. It was home. Not to me, but... maybe?I shifted forwards as I sensed something looking at me.It was The Cat.The Cat sat upon a throne covered in soft cushions. The Cat was resting there. The Cat was a Cat. They were The Cat.I winced, forcing myself to refocus. There, off to the side, was a calico, and over there, a handsome maine coon with a luxurious grey coat. I could make out their details with ease.The Cat was a Cat. It was just The Cat. It was as real-more real-than all the rest."You must be wondering why you're here," The Cat said.I tried to speak, but nothing came out. I had no mouth, I realized.The Cat moved closer. They were graceful as a stalking panther and as clumsy as a newborn kitten. "Once in a while there's a soul so pure, so tasty, so kind and so filled with potential that every eidolon in the world finds themselves chasing after it, like seeing a wounded mouse scamper by."I shifted and tried to look at my hands, but I was without those too. Looking down made me twist around, facing the floor then back around to look ahead. I should, by all means, have been dizzy from the twist, but there was no inner ear to feel vertigo with."I want you to make sure she survives," The Cat said. It tilted its head curiously. "Well, at least you'll be cute. Good luck. Enjoy my blessing. Consider it repayment for being a good servant to my lessers all these years."The world went dark again, and I could almost feel the details of what had just happened whisking away, like waking up after a particularly detailed dream. I clutched to the memories though, replaying it all quickly the same way I'd rewind through a brief to remember details about a job.And then the darkness shifted.I was being held.This time, I definitely had a body, but it was all wrong. I blinked, then moved my arms, only they weren't shaped correctly.Squinting, I looked at a large furry paw held before me."Oh. My. God," someone gasped.I looked up... then up and up.There was a girl kneeling before me. Dimpled cheeks, dirty blonde hair, eyes that sparkled behind a pair of glasses holding on with some tape. She gasped and leaned down, and her entire frame filled my vision.There was a lot going wrong at the moment. For one, my frame of reference was all off. This looked like a normal girl. Well, normal for the kind of young woman I might find prowling an alley, maybe. She was dressed in rags and looked like she could use a shower. And yet, while her proportions were fine, she was still massive.It was like having a bus lean down towards me. "You're so cute!" she whispered.Her hand approached my face, and it was larger than my head.I... would like to think that I was not a stupid person. I could put two and two together. Sure, there was a great deal of confusion going around, but I didn't get as far as I had by ignoring objective reality when it was right in front of me.I had died. I was now... very small, and furry. I had met The Cat, if only fleetingly."Ohhh, who's a precious little kitten? You are! Yes you are!" the girl confirmed.Well… fudge.
* * *
Chapter One — Assess Adapt Ove-My-God I’m a Cat?!
Chapter One — Assess Adapt Ove-My-God I’m a Cat?! First, assess. Second, adapt. Third, execute.It was a nice and simple three-step method I had memorised for getting out of a pickle. Sometimes that pickle was a target leaving their location early. Sometimes it was a client deciding to betray me at the last minute before paying up. In any case, it was always a good time to think things through before acting, and best of all, it prevented unneeded panic.Assess.The first thing to assess, contrary to the body's own instincts, is the environment. What is going on, who is around, what the location is like. Assessing your body will be done by your body. You'll hurt where you're hurt, so don't bother checking yourself until you're safe.I was in an alleyway. Probably in a mega city? The building nearby was... six floors tall? The other five and a bit? I couldn't see out of the alley in one direction because of a dumpster, and the other was a T-junction at another tall building.The space was dirty. Trash piled in the corners, but old trash, so old it had turned into unidentifiable mush. It stank, but not the stink of an alley behind an eatery. So there was that, at least. The buildings looked residential too. Not factories but either offices or apartments. There were lots of air-con units sticking out of the sides of the walls and dripping water down into the alley in a slow trickle.Looking closer, I had... a few dumpsters. Two of them were moved close enough together to effectively block the alley on one side except for a narrow passage between. There were several boxes around, and a pair of shopping carts on their backs, the handles broken and the sides cut apart to make a sort of makeshift lean-to with several tarps acting as walls.This was a hobo-home. And a decently built one, as far as that kind of thing went. There were a few cans in a small plastic bin, the sort I might have gotten from a dollar-or-less store, and a few heaped blankets deep in the little home acting as a nest.And so close it was literally touching me was... the girl.I eyed her more carefully, ignoring the babble of babytalk.She was in her late teens, maybe? It was hard to tell with how thin she was. Blonde hair, lots of pimples and scars from acne across her cheeks and chin. She was relatively tall, but gangly. Her clothing helped. A thick coat of the sort that I hated-it made noise whenever she moved-and joggings covered in a few stains.She was somehow not too dirty, despite the raggedy clothes. It looked like she might have showered, or at least washed her face, recently enough.Adapt.I was now a cat. A kitten.I... none of my training prepared me for adapting to this, but the first step would be to not panic. How would I do my job? Raising up a paw, I extended my new, natural weapons. Five itty-bitty claws.Now, I'd played with kittens before. I'd had a few use me as a tree. I knew that these things could hurt like hell, but... there was no way that these could kill, not unless some idiot left their wound untreated for weeks.My teeth were little better, and being a kitten, I could forget about any sort of acrobatics. Sneaking around would be both easier and harder, I supposed.How would I even get a new contract? How would I pay my rent?! Taxes... actually, fuck taxes, that was the one upside at the moment. Cats didn't pay taxes. Though my cats did have health insurance, but I'd been the one paying into it.Ah... crap, my cats!No, no, I couldn't panic. Assuming that now wasn't too far away from the time where I died, then they'd be fine. I had a trusted friend looking into them every day, and my cleaning lady would change their water and clean out the litter. I paid extra for the service and she was paid straight from my account. For that matter, so was my rent.My home would be safe for a long while. At least long enough to figure out how to get back into a more human body.Third was Execute, but... well, I didn't fancy killing this child and I didn't really know where to begin just yet."Kitty kitty kitty," the girl hummed. She shifted over to sit on the ground, then I was unceremoniously pulled up and towards her lap."Let go of me!" I snarled."Oh, sorry," she said as she put me back down.The girl and I blinked at one another."You heard that?" I asked. What came out was the most pitiful mewling I'd ever heard.The girl leaned forwards again and blinked at me. "Can you speak again?" she asked. "Come on, try really hard. Like this!" She closed her mouth and hummed, her face going entirely red from cheek to ears. It looked like she was constipated."You'll pop a blood vessel," I snapped."I heard that!" she gasped.Interestingly enough, I hadn't. It took me a moment to realise what was happening. "Test, test," I meowed, clearly not saying anything. I shut my mouth and focused. "Test, test," I said, this time without the mewling.Telepathy? It wasn't entirely unheard of. Some warlocks could do it, of course, and a few magical adepts as well, but it remained firmly in the realm of magic-users and their ilk. There were technologies to replicate it, but I'd never invested that deeply into cybernetics. I kept what I needed for a job and tried to stay plain and organic otherwise."Okay," I said. "I can speak. And you can hear me, yes? I see you nodding, good. Now, if you would be so kind as to explain.""Sure!" she said with a guileless smile. "My Anima skill hit level five, which is a capstone level, I think? I'm not sure. But I got a perk! One of the perks on the list was Spirit Companion, and I got to pick from a loooong list of them. One was Kitty Cat Mentor, and that sounded a lot like the kind of magical companions you see in mahou shoujo shows, so I picked that, and now you're here. I dub thee... Prince Kittybottom.""No," I said, denying the name. "I'm a woman, first of all."I paused as a realisation hit me... was I? Wait, no, I was definitely still a woman, regardless of the biology of this cat body. Though I did desperately hope that it matched. I wasn't about to check, not in the middle of a conversation. Naked I might be, that didn't mean I was without manners."That.. leaves a lot more questions. But I appreciate you answering the question I asked. That was kind of you."She smiled warmly. "You're welcome... Princess Snufflebutt?""Still no. Do you mind if I ask more questions?" I'd long, long ago learned that one can be impolite and get what they need-sometimes more effectively than if they're polite-but once you've burned the politeness card, it's impossible to unburn. Always start as gentle and nice. The meanness can come out later."Sure! What do you want to know?" she asked. "I have all day.""A few things come to mind," I said. "Foremost of these... what happened to me? But also, where are we, what's your name, and what's this perk thing you're talking about?""Oh boy, that's a lot. Uh, I have no idea what you mean by what happened to you? I used a perk, and poof! You! As for my name." She made finger guns 'firing' them with each syllable. "I'm Fee-Fi-Fo-Fasmine!""Fasmine," I repeated."Ah, yeah, just Fasmine. Fasmine Sharp. Everyone just calls me Sharp, and they often remind me that I'm not." She shrugged. "Oh, and we're in Boston Two. Like the old Boston, but worse.""Ah," I said.So I wasn't too far from home, actually. A single mag-lev ride away, in fact. My apartment was in one of the smaller cities. It was quieter there, and I didn't mind travelling for work if it meant that home was peaceful."I see. Well, Miss Sharp, it was nice meeting you, but I'd like to go home now."Sharp blinked. "But... we are home?" She gestured to the cardboard kingdom around us."You live here?" I asked.Another shrug. "Ever since I left the orphanage, yeah. It's not so bad? I know where to get a shower for cheap, and I'm still getting UBI payments! So I can afford food. In six months I'll have enough to afford the rent downpayment for a place of my own. But in the meantime, this is our place!"Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation."I see...""And the perks thing, that's my system! Maybe you have it too? I just need to think real hard and it... uh... you know." She made squiggly gestures ahead of her. "Wa-wa-wa! And then there's all the skills I have, the levels they have, and I guess if I get one to level five, poof, a perk! So far I only managed that with Anima, though."Oh.Oh no.
* * *
There were plenty of weirdos out there, and I didn't mean permanently-online people who echo-chambered themselves into bizarreness.I meant people that were simply abnormal. Sometimes they were the results of corporate black projects. Melding tech and humanity in ways that were fundamentally wrong. Cyborgs and machines that had some tiny speck of humanity left.Sometimes it was more esoteric. Warlocks, people who worshipped the Eidolons, were a thing. Magic-users came in a dozen flavours as well. They were uncommon and not always impressive, but they had their tricks.Then there were the truly wildly strange. Beings from beyond the cosmos inhabiting some poor fool's body. Wild scientific experiments that went wrong. Living magical things that defied explanation.I'd been hired to get rid of a few of those over the years. It was always interesting work, because half the time the normal approach wouldn't work, and the other half died just as easily as anyone else, though they were often very overconfident the whole time.What Fasmine here was describing...I reached out to touch my chin, only to discover that it was harder to adopt a thinking pose when you had four legs and no arms."You have a gifted system," I said."Uh, I don't know if I'd call myself any sort of gifted," she said with a shrug.That's not what I meant, but it wasn't wrong. That kind of system, that kind of magic, was rare beyond measure. It might even make sense that it could... basically kill me and turn me into a cat. Dammit.The kinds of people who had access to this, the one in a billion, tended to either keep their heads low for a long time and then pop out and become too huge to fail, or they'd burn gloriously for a few short moments, changing the world with them.And this little street rat had that at her disposal.Actually, that kinda matched. The sort of person who gained this gift was never the sort of person who had a happy life. "What are your... skills? Stats? How does this system of yours work?""Oh, I have no idea," she said."Mrow?" I said. Then I hissed a little and tried again. "You don't?"I started to pace, which led me to discovering the unfortunate truth that I was now exceptionally clumsy. Maybe that would get better once I figured out how to coordinate moving four limbs at once, but for now, if I wanted to pace, I had to stomp one paw down, then raise the other, then stomp it down too.I probably looked like a cat wearing booties for the first time. At least it was amusing Fasmine who giggled at my pacing.No matter, she did answer my question, and I would be improving."Well, let's see, I have a buncha stats."I nodded. She wasn't going to tell me. She'd probably figured that keeping it to herself was the wiser course of action, which it very much was. I couldn't be trusted just yet and she'd already given away too mu-"My stats are Anima, which I have at level five! Body, Combat, Cool, Magic, Protagonist, Reflex, and Tech! Uh, most of those are at level zero or one." She scratched the end of her nose, almost as if she was ashamed.I ran through the list while making a mental note to insist that she not just tell people this in the future.Anima was definitely a spiritual thing. Druidic magic? Warlock magic? I wasn't sure, but it was definitely a broader stat.Body was likely something that encompassed her physical skill and health. That was simple enough. Combat was combat. Did it encompass gun use? Martial arts? Did it factor in combat senses and tactics?Cool... what even was Cool? This child definitely wasn't, she looked like a dork.Magic was another big mystery. What would that kind of thing entail, exactly? I only knew enough about magic to take out a few high-profile targets, so I wasn't sure what to expect.And then Protagonist?I eyed Fasmine again, and on noticing me staring she tried a smile. She was missing a tooth, I noticed, and the rest she had were slightly crooked. Did that stat imply that this was a protagonist? A protagonist of what? A Dickens novel?Reflex and Tech, at least, were a little simpler to understand, they were far less esoteric. "Have you tried improving your stats here?" I asked."No? I'm not sure how I even got Anima to get stronger. It just did. I gained a point every couple of days, and then poof, level five and that first perk! Do you have a thing like this too?" she asked the last while making a vague gesture in the air. "All you gotta do is think about it real hard.""No, of course I-"Name: Caroline DanielsAliases:Sarah BlackMia QuinnSam KnightSwitchLucas KingEcho FourChristieJacline CarterGhostwirePrincess SnufflebuttStatsAnima — 0Body — 0Cat — 0Combat — 0Cool — 0Magic — 0Reflex — 0Tech — 0Oh.Wait, why the hell did I not have Protagonist? What was the meaning of that? And what kind of stat is Cat?I shook my head and refocused. This could be big. More than that, it could be a path towards regaining a proper body. Yes, this had potential, but I felt like all that potential was unfortunately locked with the child before me.A child clearly living on the street. "This won't do," I said."It won't?" she asked."No, Sharp, it won't. Is this where you live?""Yeah? I mean, for now. Like I said, I plan on saving up for the next half year until I can get an apartment! It can't be that hard, right? Winter will be tricky, I guess, but there's shelters for that. Oh... did you mean the lack of litter box? I, uh, can hold you on top of the toilet? There's a corner store in one of the buildings nearby that has a washroom. You need a key to enter, but the lock on the second stall has been broken forever."I felt myself twitch. No, there was no way... no. I wasn't going to think about bodily functions, not for as long as I could avoid the topic.This wasn't the worst situation... actually, no, this was about as bad as it could be. No home to speak of, no money, no job, probably a heap of illnesses just hiding around the corner. "You don't happen to have enemies, do you?" I asked."No?"Well, at least there was that.I sat down, which felt very strange. What was I supposed to do with my tail? For now I let to fall down, but the ground was dirty and it was going to get into my fur."So... what's your goal here?" I asked. She looked more confused than anything, so I decided to elaborate a little. "I mean, you summoned me here with a perk, right? I imagine that you have a goal beyond that?""Like I said, I'll wait and get an apartment! But, uh, if you mean my long-term goals? I'd like... a nice place to stay. With a bathtub. And a fridge. I'd like to learn stuff. Not go to school though, that sounds lame. And I want to be the world's greatest edgerunner. I want to be someone that people remember centuries from now. Like... like a legend!""Oh, is that it?""Yup!"I waved my head left and right and tried to throw my arms up, only to forget that I didn't have any. "That's not something easy to achieve!"Fasmine giggled. "Oh, you're so cute!""I'm not cute. Take me seriously, please! If... if you want to achieve your dream, we're going to have to work very, very hard."And if I wanted to get a body back, then I'd have to convince this bumbling child to get her act together. She needed to be a lot more powerful, get much better connections, and I needed to convince her that she needed me through all of that.This wasn't going to be easy.
* * *
Chapter Two — The Bloody Bat
Chapter Two — The Bloody Bat "You want me to go where?" Fasmine asked.I huffed, which I instantly realized didn't help me look any more intimidating or serious. All it did was make me puff out, which, if anything, made me more furry-looking.I wasn't sure what kind of cat this body was, but it was definitely one of the more... hairy sorts. This was going to make everything harder, I could just feel it. But complaining about my current condition wasn't going to improve it. "Sharp, you're living in an alley.""It's homey?" she tried."It's unsanitary."The girl winced. "I'm sure I can find things for you? Uh, people throw away cat towers all the time, right? And we can make a little box with sand? I think? Maybe gravel?""That's not the issue," I said. Though I was adding it to the list of issues even now. "Look at your stats growth. Several levels in Anima, but nothing in the rest, correct?""Not nothing," she complained."Then very little. That means you've been holding back. We're going to change that. First, you need a job. Stable income will do wonders for you.""Ah, I'm too young," she said. "And I don't have papers. The orphanage only releases your papers if you go to work for one of the companies sponsoring them. Otherwise you can pay a certain percentage of your wages for a few years and they'll release your information back to you. It's fair because they use that money to pay back your debt."What in the capitalist shitscape was that? I shook my head. A problem for later. "There are places you can work where papers don't matter as much. Which part of Boston Two are we in?""Uh, we're in the eastern bit of Southie," she said. "Not too far from the marina, I guess. This is Rivet territory."I racked my brain trying to remember what I could about Boston Two. I'd been in the city a few times, for work and otherwise, but I'd never truly immersed myself in the culture here. South Boston was near the waterfront from what I could recall. It was one of the larger districts in the city. Half residential, half industrial, with plenty of smaller gangs and-if I recalled correctly-two larger ones.The Rivets was one of those. The other... I think it was the Iron something. In the grand scheme of things, they were still pretty small.Now, South Boston was right up against Central, which was one of the more... rambunctious parts of the city. Busy and noisy, but that wasn't all bad because it bordered Fenway, and in Fenway...I nodded my head. That could work."Did you come up with an itty-bitty kitty plan?" Sharp asked.I glared, then smoothed my features. Polite. I had to be polite. "Yes. How would you like a job?""I just said, I can't," she replied."It'll be under the table. No paperwork or anything like that. You'll have to be on your best behaviour and work hard, but you'll earn some money and maybe an in towards getting a place to sleep in that isn't an alleyway."She only considered it for a few moment before nodding. "Okay," she said. "Yes, that does sound nice. What kind of job, though?""You'll see when you get there," I said instead of admitting that I had no idea. This plan was... half-baked at best, but it might work, and that's all that mattered for now. If it failed, we'd likely be no worse off than we had been before. "First, I need you to get to Fenway.""That's super far!" she gasped.Right. She definitely didn't have bus access, and the metro was right out.I could forget about getting a ride from any sort of app too."We're going to have to walk," I said."You mean I'm going to," she said.I looked down at my little paws. Yeah. Crossing a city on these little things wasn't gonna happen. I could measure my stride in milimetres, which wasn't a good start when it came to long-distance travel."Don't worry, you're light!" She scooped me up and I resisted the urge to swing and claw at her as she deposited me on her shoulder. "So... uh, let me pick up my stuff? Do you know where in Fenway we have to go?""It's a bar called the Bloody Bat," I said. That would be our best starting location. I had a few contacts there. Of course, Sharp couldn't just set me on their table the way I was. I'd have to play things by ear, which I never enjoyed.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation."Is it a club for vampires?""There's, as far as I'm aware, no such thing as a vampire."Sharp frowned in the act of awkwardly squatting-perhaps not to lean too far forwards so that I'd fall off her shoulder-and tapped her chin. "What about magic that uses blood?""That's magic. Not vampirism. The Bloody Bat is a baseball-themed bar.""Oh." She nodded."It's also a meeting spot for Edgerunners."Her breath caught. "Really? Wait, really-really? I get to go there? I'm not ready!""We'll talk about readiness on the way over," I said. "Don't think you'll be getting anything impressive as a job there. Not for now, at least. You don't seem experienced, capable in a fight, equipped, or knowledgeable enough to do any work as an edgerunner. Not that being one is a good idea to start with."They tended to die... usually soon after they started. Protagonist powers or no, this girl wouldn't last a day. "What kind of work would I get, then?""If you're lucky, washing dishes.""That's not nearly as exciting," she whined. Then she raised an arm and flexed, or tried to flex, her bicep. "But I'll give it my all!""Good. Good. So... did you have a conversation with the Cat Eidolon before I was summoned here?""Huh? No? I mean, the perk activated, and I had to pick what kind of animal companion, there was a long list!""What did that list have?""Crows, dogs, cats obviously, snakes, bears! I almost picked bear because that sounds cool, but what would I do with a baby bear? Uh, rats and foxes... I think a few more?"So, all the common eidolons were on the list. I wasn't sure what to do with that information, but it might well be important. Did picking cat mean that Sharp was favoured by the Eidolon of the Cat? That was something to keep in mind. Could an Eidolon remake a human body?"I almost picked bunny. They look so cute and fuzzy!"I shivered. That... no, that would have been a disaster. Small mercies, but it was better to lose my body and be turned into a harmless kitten than to live within a hundred miles of someone empowered by that Eidolon."The perk said that the companion would be my mentor and teach me!" she said. "You must know a bunch, then, yeah?""Hmm? Oh, yes, I know a thing or two. But that can wait until we have a place to stay."A mentor role, huh? That would be... doable. I'd considered taking on an apprentice a few times, but my line of work wasn't the sort where that kind of easy trust was easy. I wasn't sure if Sharp here had what it took, though, but I'd only known her for an hour or two, maybe she had more of a backbone than I thought."Are you done packing?"She nodded and hefted a backpack up and over. It was a ratty old thing that she'd stuffed a heap of clothes into as well as a couple of cans and a blanket. It really wasn't much to look at, but I supposed it was the bare necessity to survive. The girl grabbed a small folding knife and clipped it to her pockets next, which was good to see. She wasn't averse to carrying a weapon, even if it was the bare minimum."Okay! Fenway... that's like, a two hour walk from here.""It'll be a good opportunity to see if any of your stats increase naturally with light use," I said.The stats thing was bothering me still, at least in the back of my mind.They had to represent something. But in my face... well, I had a passing knowledge of technology, and yet my Tech level was at zero. I had been something of a casual athlete as well, and yet Body was also as low as it could go. So Stats likely didn't represent knowledge.Did they, therefore, reflect the person's current state? If I was injured, would my Body stat decrease? If I was impaired, would my Reflex lower?Or were stats a representation of experience gained from the moment the status system was unlocked? That seemed like the most likely possibility if the system was capable of pushing people towards becoming legends of some sort or another.That would be one of the first things I'd have to figure out. And then, a training regimen. The goal: to hit level five in as many stats as possible to get those perks Sharp was talking about. But before that... I had a two hour walk to figure out how to convince an old contact to give an unknown girl a chance.
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Chapter Three — The Alleys of Boston Two
Chapter Three — The Alleys of Boston Two The alleys weren't interminable, but it almost felt like they were. Mega buildings were squeezed in close to each other with barely any room between them. Some of the alleys were so narrow that the only way through would be to siddle in sideways... which is what Sharp did.It was the kind of thing that might have made the common person feel claustrophobic, but Sharp didn't seem to mind the narrow gap at all. "If we continue this way, we'll reach Fourth. Then it's pretty much a straight line to Central. I'm not sure which part of Fenway that Bloody Bat bar is in, though?""I will admit that I'm not certain either. I vaguely recall the building it's in, but I always took an auto-taxi there. The address must be online.""I guess, yeah. I'll have to ask once we get closer."I nodded along, then perked up as I heard something out ahead. We reached a T-junction in the alleys, and there was the sound of cars and traffic off to the left. There was also, unfortunately, the sound of two men talking that way.I fully expected Sharp to turn right. Instead, she went left and walked towards the men. Did she know them? Was this area safer than it seemed? I wasn't from around here, so I really didn't have room to judge.The two men were talking in the middle of a wider alley, one of those just wide enough for a truck to drive down, with a few dumpsters along the sides. The road was visible past them, a few people ambling down next to a road with congested traffic that wasn't moving an inch.There was a third man nearby, sitting on the step leading to an emergency exit door while refilling a vape. All three were armed. Small handguns at their hips, in little sheathes pressed up against their denim pants. More, two of them had knives, one at the small of his back, another in his boot.Riveters? They all had plaid shirts with dozens of rivets punched into them along the collars and next to their buttons. One of them looked like his shirt was that inflexible cut-proof material that more self-conscious gangsters loved. It was relatively cheap protection, able to turn a knife or stop a low-calibre round from penetrating too hard.The two that were arguing stopped as Sharp came closer. One smacked the other lightly on the chest, then puffed himself up and came to block the alley. "'Ey, girly, what you doing on our turf?""Hi?" Sharp asked. "Um. I'm moving through?"I blinked. Wait, did she not have a plan? At all?"Uh-huh, for free? There's a fee, you know?" the guy asked while I reeled in horror. Did she really not have a plan? She didn't even seem ready to bolt. I was sure someone younger and more fit could outrun this bunch."A fee?" Sharp repeated. "Ah, but I don't have any money."The guy blinked, then narrowed his eyes and took her in. "Yeah, maybe you can pay some other way, huh?""Dude," his friend said."What? No, not like that, you pervert," idiot the first said as he flushed. "I meant like, give us your stuff.""I really don't have much though," Sharp said. "Just spare clothes and some blankets.""She's a street rat," idiot-but-at-least-semi-decent second said.Sharp, who definitely fit in as some sort of idiot as well, shook her head. "I'm not a street rat! I was raised in an orphanage. That's not the streets. Even if, uh, I live here now. I have some pride!""What about the cat?" Idiot the first asked.It took my brain a nanosecond to realise he was talking about me."What would we even do with a cat?" Idiot two asked."Sell it in Central to one of those kiosks? The fried meat ones."I felt my hackles rising. What? No no no, I was not going to end my life on the end of some street vendor's mystery meat kebab skewer.I was tempted to start screaming, but restrained myself. Panic did no one any good. Sharp grabbed me from her shoulder and hugged me to her chest. "No," she whimpered. "Don't take Duchess Fuzzywhiskers from me!""That is not my name," I said to her."Dude," idiot two said. "You're gonna kill a kitten? Man, when I was saying that your ideas are bad for our image, this is exactly what I was talking about. The Rivet's are supposed to be united, we're supposed to stand together. No one's gonna wanna work with us if all we do is harass girls and steal kittens."This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there."I'm just trying to help," Idiot one said."I know, bro, but this ain't it.""Can I go?" Sharp asked, and when idiot two nodded, she scampered off past them and out of the alley. "Sorry about that," she whispered. "I never know what to do in that kind of situation."I could see that. "You wanted to be an edgerunner, right?""Yeah, that's my dream!" she said."Then we'll have a lot of work ahead of us. Including conflict resolution. That entire situation could have been a small disaster.""Sorry," she said, and she actually did sound upset.I fidgeted in her grasp for a moment. "It's not so bad." It was actually terrible. "You have potential." She really didn't. "And I'm sure I can help you." I had no idea if that was true. I'd never trained anyone, but I'd also never been a cat before, so this was all very new."Thanks, Baroness Von Cuddles," she said before nuzzling me with her nose."Still no," I said.She giggled. "So, when do we start?"I considered it. Ideally I'd want a stable environment to study how her stats could be improved. Access to a gym would be nice, and to the internet, and maybe a small workshop. But baring all of those things. "Check your stats, let me know the moment one of them increases," I said."Okay," she said. "Uh... I've got them memorised. And there's a ding that happens when one levels up.""Good to know," I said. "See that alley up ahead? Go into it."The street here had nearly as much pedestrian traffic as it had cars. Lots of people in plain work clothes, a few joytoys, some teens in spike-covered gear. There were a lot of men and women loitering around wearing plaid, with a lot of steel studs and rivets punched into their clothes, but while they were common, they were far from the majority.Sharp dipped into the alley, like I asked. A stinking place next to a fast food joint that was deserted."Okay, now what?" she asked."How many people did you cross on the way here?""Huh? I don't know.""You passed a large man to the right. What kind of weapon did he have?"Sharp blinked. "I was supposed to be paying attention to that?"I wished I could rub at my face, but I wasn't sure I should, not before I figured out how claws worked. "Yes, Sharp, you're supposed to pay attention to everything. Let's start with that. Observational skills will keep you alive.""They will?" she asked. "I mean... okay, so I'm not stupid I can see how being observant could help, but I feel like you mean... taking it to another level.""Do you think the edgerunners you want to become like are people who remain average?" I asked."I guess not." She nodded. "Okay. Teach me, tiniest sensei!"I wanted to grumble, but I'd save it for when my weight was measured with more than a single digit. "Very well. Let's keep moving. I don't expect you to master anything in one walk, but I can at least give you a few tips. There are some things we notice that don't matter, and if you learn to ignore those, you can start to focus on what does.""Alright!" Sharp said.Well, at least the girl was enthusiastic, which was a fantastic start. "Let's start with things that are dangerous. As we walk, I want you to tap my head every time you notice a gun, a weapon, or a gangster. We'll stop at the next alley and see how many you missed."This would slow us down, but there was a lot of value in making sure that my meal ticket didn't get herself killed, so it was probably worth it in the end.Now that we were out of the alleys, I could make out the sun enough to tell that we were smack in the middle of the morning. Plenty of time to make it to the Bloody Bat and figure out where to go from there. At least, I hoped.I had long ago learned not to expect things to go well on a mission, and this felt little different.But damn, it also felt like the world owed me a little victory at the moment too.
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Chapter Four — Cat +1
Chapter Four — Cat +1 It took us a while to get to Central. Part of that was Sharp's fault. The girl was... not in ideal shape. She frequently had us stop to sit on one of those flipper-benches (those benches that flipped up and over and had an auto-clean feature built into them so that they were never dirty. They also had a timer preventing anyone from sitting on them for more than a couple of hours without paying in the app.) because her heart rate grew too elevated from walking and talking.Or maybe that was the excitement? I was under the impression that this girl had been poised, at least mentally, for something to happen for a long time. She lacked her own initiative to do anything, and would wallow in her own self-pity and fail to do anything to improve her situation, but now that she had a path, she was all for it.The other thing slowing us down was me."Uh, I saw... five this time?" she tried."Wrong again," I said. "But closer. Which five did you see?""Big guy in the tacticool outfit had a few guns on him. There were three Rivetters. I didn't see their guns, but like, they're the sort to be packing. And there was a man that looked like a bodyguard next to a woman with a stroller? I saw a gun under his coat!"She was quite proud of herself, and she had every right to be. "Very well done," I praised, and Sharp's dimply, pimple-covered cheeks, flushed. "You missed that the baby in the stroller was a Mitsubang M12 autoshotgun. The lady with the stroller was also a bodyguard.""She was?""For the person walking two steps ahead. They had two more plainsclothes guards. It's why I told you to step to the side.""I didn't notice. So I missed, like, four people?""People that didn't want to be noticed, but yes." There were more. Just because she was improving didn't mean she was anywhere near good. That would take some time, still. But improving was improving, so I wasn't going to discourage her.I wasn't sure what approach to use with Sharp yet, but gentle encouragement seemed to work for now, and it was easy enough. That was fortunate, because some people needed tough encouragement and that would be hard to pull off as a kitten.We eventually made it to Central Boston Two. The streets here widened considerably and the buildings only grew taller. More mega buildings with enough housing for tens of thousands, more skyscrapers with all the conveniences one might expect.Central was a true mixing pot district. Partly because it was in the very middle of Boston Two, and partly because it had somehow become the de-facto space for immigrants into the city. Most ethnic groups that didn't want to merge into the wider Boston community tended to form small enclaves, taking over a mega building, or a few blocks in the suburbs, but that required that they reach a certain critical mass.Central was where they started to gain that mass.Hawkers lined the streets. A Uyghur was selling noodles next to a Georgian woman in a mix of techware and traditional dress manning a fryer selling Khinkali. A few pop-up stands were selling things as well. Balochi jewellery next to a Māori street tattooist imprinting some glow-ink into the back of a teen while his friends watched and jeered."Urgh, this street makes me so hungry," Sharp complained.I felt that too. I hadn't realized it, or rather, I'd been ignoring it, but my stomach was definitely rumbling. I'd raised a few kittens before. I knew they could eat their weight in soft foods if no one stopped them.Crap, was I going to be stunting my growth? "Do you have any money for street food?" I asked."No?""Then there's no point in lingering."Sharp nodded, and we made decent time across Central. The roads of central were all raised off the ground and suspended above, with off-ramps usually leading directly into underground parking spaces. That left the ground level shrouded in constant shadow that was beaten back by a thousand neon ads and spotlights.Leaving Central for Fenway proved a little tricky. Fenway was far more walkable, with all of its parking on the outer edges of the district, but that created a sort of barrier where the only ways in were via car, and those access points were all blocked by toll-booths.Fenway was one of the few districts run by a single gang. The Jocks. They were part street gang, part union, and part private security force. Generally only armed with bats and maybe a hockey stick and some padded armour, they didn't really stand out from the jersey-wearing locals much. Still, we had to travel a quarter the way around the district before finding a walkway in, and even then we were eyed the entire time.I think if Sharp didn't look so inoffensive we might have been pointed away, but she managed to squeak by."Okay! Now where?" she asked."Find someone who knows where the Bloody Bat is. I think it'll be in the southern end of the district."Nodding, Sharp did just that, boldly walking up to some Jocks and asking them for directions. Being that she wasn't here to cause trouble, they pointed us more or less in the right direction, and we took off in search of the bar.It was another hour before we found it.The Bloody Bat was a block and a half away from one of the Punch-a-Domes dedicated to bloodsports. It wasn't a standalone bar, but instead occupied a good chunk of a floor on a nearby megabuilding.The entrance was only accessible from the inside, from a sort of concourse with a few elevators and a useless fountain. Two men stood by the entrance, flanking it while the constant thrum of hazy vaporwave pour out of the door between them. They carried bats, the ends painted blood red."Okay," Sharp said as she lingered close to the fountain. "Now what?"That was a good question. "Go up to the door. If you can't get in, tell them you're here to deliver something to Mister King Kortez. Once inside, you'll want to head straight to the bar at the back and towards a door to the right of it. There's a kitchen there. Go past the door, and knock on the office to the right."Sharp swallowed, then moved up to the guards. I could feel her trembling a little, especially as the bigger of the two eyed her suspiciously. His eyes were both replaced by a pair of dark, puck-like cybernetics."Hi!" she squeaked. "Can I go in?"I would have palmed my face if I could."No," puck-face said."I... uh, I need to see a Mister... Kortez King?""King Kortez.""King Kortez. I have a package!"The guard continued to stare... maybe. It was hard to tell. Then he nodded her in. "Make it quick," he said gruffly. Then he stopped her. "Lemme search you first."Sharp cringed back, but didn't fight as he carefully pushed her towards a wall that had pads on it for her to rest her hands against. He was professional about the pat-down. Sharp lost her pocket knife, the thing tossed into a box for later retrieval. He checked her bag, but there was nothing in there. For that matter, there was no package for King Kortez either, but that didn't faze him.He did eye me for a moment as I clung to her shoulder, but he didn't try anything."Go on in," he said.Sharp ducked in after shouldering her backpack again.The bar was empty. Or nearly empty. The main floor was shaped like a large U, with the centre taken up by a bar. There were pool tables, then booths on the outside and a small dance space. Only a few of the booths were filled, and mostly by quieter customers at the moment.A second bar lined the very back of the room, next to a stairwell leading up to the second floor where a balcony ringed the main space allowing those above to see below.The entrance to the kitchens doubled as access to the washrooms, so it wasn't too strange for Sharp to push her way in. It was a lot stranger for her to stop by the door into the office. Licking her lips, she raised a hand to knock."Who are you?"Sharp froze, then turned to the woman walking out of the kitchens while wiping her hands with a towel. "Uh," she said eloquently."That's Paris Batter," I said. "The name's fake. The woman isn't. Tell her you need a job.""Hi! I need a job.""Go look elsewhere," the woman said, though it wasn't entirely unkind."Oh, okay, thanks for your time!" Sharp said."No. Tell her you're here for a job, and you need a job.""That doesn't make sense," Sharp hissed.I deployed my tiny claws of encouragement into her shoulder, and she squeaked. "Ah! No, I'm here for a job for a job," she said.Paris was staring at her now. "Uh-huh?"This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon."Good, now tell her that Echo Four will owe her a favour.""E-echo Four will owe you a favour?"Now that got Paris to stand up taller. "How do you know that name?""Say this: 'I work for Christie, she needs me here for a bit. I'll work for room and board and tips.'"I could hear Sharp swallowing. "I, uh, work for Christie? S-she needs me here for a bit. I'll work for room and board and tips?""Huh," Paris said. "Well, alright then. I'm sure we can figure something out. You ever work as a waitress before? What's your sizes? You'll need to fit into one of the spare uniforms. And as for room and board, you'd be better off at a rent-a-night, but if you insist on staying here, we've got some spare rooms. It'll be the drunk tank rooms, but there's a shower at least. You'll have to deal with leftovers for food though.""Really?" Sharp asked. "I got a job!"
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"Put this on, I think the size is about right," Paris said as she shoved some clothes at Sharp.Sharp juggled them for a moment, then raised a shirt up in both hands while holding the rest in the crook of her arm. It was a beige hyper-vintage-style baseball shirt, with fine red lines running across it and the Bloody Bat's logo in a shield over one breast. "Cute!" Sharp decided."Follow," Paris said next and she led us out of her office and to the very back, past a security door and into a long corridor lined with doors. "That door there, with the five, is your room. This one with the shower logo on it is the showers. They're open showers, so behave.""Uh, okay," Sharp replied. "Should I... take one now?""You should. I don't care what kind of job you're on, or what kind of favour I'll be owed. I won't have someone being dirty in my bar," Paris said. "Put your stuff in your room, take a shower, then meet me in my office in twenty minutes."And with that, she walked back off, leaving Sharp frozen there for a whole couple of seconds. "Well, get moving!" I said."Oh, right!" Sharp jumped. She ran into the shower room. It was an all-tiled room with a toilet to one side, a sink on the other, and a tiny shower at the back. "Uh." She spun around and back out, then hurried to the room with the five on the door.It wasn't much to show for. Paris had called it a drunk tank, and I believed her. There was a cheap self-assembled cabinet to one side and a narrow bed shoved at the back of the room. A light hung from the ceiling, casting harsh white neon across old sheets that were just barely clean and a thin mess of a pillow."Whoa! All this for me?" Sharp asked.It was worse than some prisons, and yet she was happy about it."Looks like it. Now, set me down on the bed, I need to give you some instructions.""OKay," she said, and then grabbed me off of her shoulder to set me on the mattress. "What's up?""Paris believes that you're here as part of a job for me. This is only true in the loosest of definitions. Follow her instructions, be a diligent worker. Do not steal. Don't insult anyone. Don't flirt. Just keep your head down.""Wow, okay, yeah, I can do all of that. Heck, I don't even know how to flirt.""Let's keep it that way," I said. That was a route that could only lead to trouble. "Oh, and I have a second job for you.""I'm all ears.""That's right. You should listen while you work. People have loose tongues after a few drinks. The Bloody Bat is a place where mercenaries come to relax since Fenway is relatively safe. There will be people from various gangs here talking to each other and their peers. Don't make it obvious, but keep an ear open when they're talking."Ideally I'd discover that the system we both had would allow for improvements via simple training. Being here would give me the opportunity to bully Sharp into training. There was a lot in common between working as a waitress and being an assassin.If the system didn't work that way, then... that would be trouble of another sort, but I'd still rather sleep indoors, and Sharp could earn some money for future projects.If we were lucky, Sharp would pick up some rumours about some things we could work on. As long as there were two people on this Earth, there would be someone willing to pay to have someone else killed. We'd have to pick easy jobs, and that meant low-pay, but it would be something.I had to start somewhere too, Sharp could do the same."Okay, okay, I need to shower. I'll come back in a bit!"Sharp tossed her bag to the corner, then ran out, leaving me alone.I looked around the room. There really wasn't much to do. I'd had to do nothing for hours at a time before, but...Well, I could sleep. I'd been a kitten for what had to be six hours and I hadn't slept a wink. Kittens sleep for more than half the day, and I was exhausted.But no, I couldn't allow myself to sleep just yet. All of my stats being at zero bothered me, and there was at least one I could train.I ran over to one end of the bed, stumbling and tripping over the blanket the entire time. This arena was small, but so was I. It was also soft, which made it a perfect place to practice moving my new limbs.I walked from one end to the other of the bed, only tripping a few times as I mistimed my steps. Then I tried running back, and found myself eating dirt as I crashed and rolled.Shaking my head, I tried to clear it, only to hear some giggling coming from the side. I glanced that way, and discovered Sharp with a hand pressed over her mouth to hold back laughter. "What?" I asked."You did a flip!" she said."I did no such thing.""Half a flip? I guess it doesn't count if you land on your face. I thought cats had to land on their feet?""I thought you'd be working," I said to avoid addressing my bruised pride. I looked Sharp up and down. The Bloody Bat uniform was composed of the aforementioned baseball shirt, along with some running shorts. Those couldn't possibly have pockets. There were very tall socks as well, with red trim and the bar's logo on their sides."Do I look good?" she asked as she did a spin.She looked like the kind of thin that only came from not eating nearly enough, and I could pick out areas where she lacked musculature. Some of it was because she was a gangly teenager, but I imagined malnutrition was a factor too. "You look fine," I said. "Now, go listen to what Paris says."She nodded, then darted back out of the room.I got back to work running across the bed. It was only a few dozen trips around the circumference of the bed, but by the end I was panting and tired, but I'd also tripped far less. I was getting a hang of it.Taking a few minutes to rest gave me back some of that energy I'd spent.I had to say, being young again was nice. I hadn't noticed it because of the lack of pain, but my joints felt fantastic.I set my attention on the cabinet next to the bed. It was all of a foot away. That was a gap only a bit longer than I was... maybe twice as long as I was from nose tip to tail? I could jump that, right?Cats were good at jumping, that was one of the most basic things about them.I wasn't just going to try it blind, though. That would be stupid. Instead I practised leaping across the bed. I guestimated the distance between the bed and the cabinet, then hopped across it.Jumping was no running or walking. It required a very different set of motions. Humans leapt with one foot pushing back and the other bending forward to land with. Cats did more of a... spring?Once I had it down, I moved to the edge of the bed and eyed the distance. It felt surprisingly intimidating from there. I shook my rear, made sure I had a good grip on the bed's surface, then leapt.My face rammed into the side of the cabinet with a dull thwack.I crashed to the floor, dragging some of the blankets down with me. There was none of that reflexive twisting to land on my feet either, I just smashed into the ground."Ow."Cat Has Levelled Up!Cat 0 1I blinked as I processed that. How had missing a jump levelled a stat up? And why Cat and not Body? Or Reflex? Those were the skills I wanted to improve, not Cat. Cat felt like an entirely useless stat to increase.Grumbling to myself, I stood up, shook off the pain from the fall, then eyed the side of the bed.Dammit, how was I supposed to get up there now? Unless... how good were kittens at climbing? I vividly recalled having a few use my legs as ladders with their sharp little claws.It took a few minutes, but after much swearing-in meows-I made it up and onto the bed. And then I collapsed onto Sharp's pillow.More exercise could wait, I was exhausted.
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Chapter Five — Nothing Good
Chapter Five — Nothing Good "Wakey-wakey..."I was awake instantly, but I didn't let that show just yet. One part because I'd trained to keep still and silent after waking up so that I could assess my situation, another part... well, it was warm and soft, and I was very, very comfortable at the moment.Ah, right... the cat situation."Come on, Marchioness Muffinmuncher, I can't get out of bed if you're sleeping on my chest."I blinked my eyes open and took in the room. It was dark, and I could tell it was dark with the only light coming in from a crack under the door, and yet I could make out everything in the room with ease. No colours popped out, but shapes did. It wasn't as good as some of the better night vision I'd used, but it was pretty close. A small advantage to being a cat, maybe.Standing up, I felt a large hand move down along my back even as the blankets around me shifted. I'd fallen asleep in the crook of Sharp's arm. "Good morning," I said. "What time is it?""I have no idea, but it feels like morning."I nodded. It did feel like morning. Our first in this little room. "You didn't tell me how the job went yesterday.""Oh, it was fine," Sharp said as she sat on the edge of the bed. She had to lift me up and put me back down for that, but it was fine. "Paris is nice... under all that gruff. She showed me what to do, and how to work the till, and then had me take orders from a few tables near the front. There are other waitresses that work here, you know? And there's an auto-server bot too.""I see. They've all been kind?""So far, yeah! I did what you asked and listened real hard. Uh, there really wasn't too much gossip. Or like, I got snatches of conversation here and there, but it's never enough to put it all together into a whole story, you know?""There's a certain art to it," I said. "Keep listening, and eventually you'll get somewhere." Worse case she never heard anything useful, but it would still be good training for her observational skills. "Did any of your skills improve?""Nope, sorry."That was fine too. "Try to befriend the other workers if you can, but also keep your distances. Just a friendly workplace relationship is more than good enough.""Okay. I think Paris hinted to them that I was a poor street urchin that she felt pity for. Which has the benefit of being mostly true.""Good," I said. "When's your next shift?"Sharp shrugged. "She said that the bar was closed in the morning for cleaning, and it only opens at three. I'm taking the two to nine shift. She doesn't want me for night one."That also made some sense. Night was when the most rambunctious customers would be out. Her shift starting an hour before opening was probably for cleaning up before the bar opened properly."That leaves about a quarter of the day free," I said. "She hasn't paid you yet, correct?""Nope! But she did show me where the lost and found is. There's like, a treasure chest in there. Jackets, some shoes, I think a few knives. She said I can take whatever I want. They empty it every month. Oh! And look at this!" Sharp dove down and picked up her work shorts, then rooted around in the pockets. She came out with a small wad of cash. "I made thirty five dollars! This is my share of the tips for the shift I did!""That might be a good first stop," I muttered. Then I winced as my stomach grumbled. "But first, the washroom, and finding something to eat."The washroom was... somewhat traumatising. Suffice to say that I had Sharp leave me on the sink and then I thanked the uncaring Eidolons that the sink handles were the long, bar-type ones that I could push around with my weight instead of motion sensors. It was degrading, but better than using a litter box.Sharp took a shower. She was excited about having access to one and took in some of her old clothes. She squeezed them dry then set them on the floor of our room to air dry while we were off. It wouldn't leave them properly clean, but it was better than nothing.There was a service for cleaning work uniforms at the bar, so her uniform was going to be taken care of every few days. Paris mentioned offhand that she'd deduct Sharp's first pay to get her a second set, and that was... fair.Paris was being generous, and I didn't doubt that she'd continue to be for a little while. Her entire business model, outside of the bar, depended on her being a fair arbiter and on having a good rep.She wasn't a fixer or anything like that. Instead she made the Bloody Bat a sort of neutral ground for mid-level gangsters and travelling fixers to meet in. There were plenty of normal clientele as well, of course. Having nothing but edgerunners as clients was a quick way to lose your business place.Once we'd finished our morning ablutions, Sharp and I snuck into the kitchen and made off with some toast.I wasn't sure if I should be eating solids yet, but it didn't feel like I was a kitten at the milk-only stage, so I judged it to be safe enough."Okay, the lost and found is here," Sharp said as she carried me into the main bar room. It was strange, seeing it entirely empty of workers and patrons. Half the lights were off, and the music was shut down.Sharp went behind the further bar and opened a cabinet to pull out a large plastic bin. It was filled with junk."You can take anything?" I asked."They said they throw it all away. I guess maybe one of the others will sift through first, for anything valuable. Uh, wallets and phones and keys go in that cabinet over there. People usually come back for those, apparently."Too bad. A wallet would mean a free ID and maybe the opportunity for a little bit of harmless credit card fraud.Sharp moved some stuff around. It was mostly clothes. A few scarves, some jackets. Nothing too interesting. The coats were far too large, or the kind of fast-fashion trash that wouldn't last very long. Sharp set a baseball cap to the ground next to her, then some sunglasses that looked halfway decent."Keep the makeup," I said as she was about to drop a compact back in. "I'll teach you how to use that later.""Okay!""And grab any knives you find. Oh, and those earbuds too. The vape pen.""You want me to pick up smoking?" she asked.I swatted her ear with a paw. "Don't be silly. We're going to sell all of this junk to a pawn shop. It won't earn us much, but a few dozen dollars right now might mean a lot."Ideally, we'd be able to buy a phone. If I could use one as a cat, then I might, maybe, be able to access some of my bank accounts. Then I'd have a small fortune to fall back on.The issue was that I used a good bank. The sort that wouldn't just let anyone access a customer's account, and at the moment I had no way of proving my identity if the bank demanded more than just passcodes and such.I had other sources of cash squirrelled away here and there, and I could text some contacts as well. I just needed that first step, a way to get onto the net, and then I'd be fine.Sharp found a frankly hideous purse at the bottom of the bin, and we used that to pack all of the stuff away. I did point out one of the knives that was better than the dinky fold-out she had. It was a quality little folding pocket knife from a reputable brand. The kind of thing that was a few hundred dollars new. We'd only get a few bucks at a pawn shop for it, so she might as well keep it. The blade looked clean still."Let's make checking this bin a frequent thing," I decided. It might be a good resource assuming we didn't make it rich soon."Sounds good to me!" she said. "Man, spending that perk on you was a super smart move! One day and I have a job, a room, and disposable cash!"Nothing I'd done so far was impressive, but if she wanted to think it was, then that was fine. "Sure. Let's see how impressed you are once we finish this morning's run.""R-run?""What's your Body skill at again?""Uh, one?""For now. Let's see if that changes. The first step will be working your muscles a little." If we made any real money at the pawn shop, then we'd spend some on food with meat in it. The girl needed some protein in her diet. Maybe we could save up for some small weights? We had a shower now, might as well work her hard enough that she'd have a good reason to use it.Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
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"I don't... like... working my... ugh... muscles," Sharp complained.I was on her shoulder again, and to be entirely honest, I could sympathise a little. We'd left the Bloody Bat an hour or two ago-wow did I miss having access to the time all day round-and Sharp had asked one of the bouncers for the location of a semi-reputable pawn shop in the area.There was one that did come highly rated. They were definitely not a fence. And it was definitely not a place that unscrupulous people used. Still, the pawn shop was called the Fence Pawnst, which I think was meant to be a pun but it came out so stupid sounding that it wrapped around to being a valid name.It was halfway across the district, which meant walking all the way across Fenway.That was actually pretty easy. Fenway was very walkable. There was even a relatively inexpensive trolley service and buses carting people around. The district made a lot of its money via tourism, and tourists were most efficiently divested of their cash when they arrived promptly and without complications.A lone girl running across the districts with a cat by her side? That was a little strange, but not that bad. Though, to be fair, I could only sprint for a few dozen metres before tiring out, and Sharp's 'running' had quickly devolved into a sloppy, tired jog.We had a lot of work ahead of us if we wanted to condition her into someone able to take on any sort of proper job.I... had not been in perfect condition with my first few jobs either, but I didn't want to take the same level of risk with Sharp. This was a different time than when I was first starting out. Security was higher on average and people were a lot more guarded and suspicious now than when I was younger.Walking up to a target and emptying a short-barreled twelve-gauge into their face would still work, but nowadays there were ways to track you after the fact.Basically, if Sharp was going to go on the same career path as I did, we'd need her to be a little more talented than I was at the start.Fortunately, she had me.We made it to the Fence Pawnst an hour before noon. The shop was buried in a smaller skyscraper off of a wide boulevard. There was no signage on the outside, but once we stepped into the building there were dozens of neon signs pointing us to the place.Its front was made up of two barred windows. The thick sort that could take an anti-tank round with barely a blemish. Behind one was a mix of electronic equipment. Speakers, TVs, laptops, a few power tools. The other had weapons. Used SMGs, an entire rack of pistols, a small collection of knives, and hanging above it all, a large SMART rifle chambered in .325 Super Savage.I felt my whiskers twitching, but turned my attention away from the big gun. The door was the usual sort of armoured thing that only opened when Sharp pressed her thumb against a buzzer.A camera tilted above, then the door opened on its own, letting us into the pawn shop.It was crowded in there. Not by people so much as mountains of stuff. There were shelves, of course, but they couldn't fit everything, so lots of gear ended up on the floor.An anti-theft turret hung from the ceiling, and I was sure that there was more security around that wasn't as obvious. A counter ran the length of the room at the rear where a few customers were dealing with one of the employees.We had the choice between a human and a robot. Everyone else was lined up by the human, so Sharp naturally fit in behind the cue. The guy ahead of us smelled so strongly of weed that my eyes watered, but I supposed that was to be expected.The line was a good space for Sharp to get her breathing in order after the jog over since it moved so slowly. But, as with all lines, it eventually became our turn. "Hi! I'd like to sell these?" Sharp placed the knives and other gizmos we'd picked up onto the counter.The man behind it checked them all in a hurry. "Twenty.""Twenty dollars?" Sharp asked."Yeah.""That's... not a lot," she said."Offer a hundred.""M-maybe a hundred?"He stared, then sighed. "Don't know what kind of blow you're selling this crap for, but it ain't worth a hundred. I'll give you forty.""Fifty?""Kay," he said before swiping it all into a bin. "Here's your receipt. There's a counter over there if you want to get paid.""Thanks," Sharp said as she took the torn off piece of paper. "Aww, man, there's a five dollar convenience fee they take off the top?""Typical."We moved to the counter at the far end of the room. It was a section with far more glass counters, many of which held books. Some modern paperbacks, others far older. The kind of tomes that the average person might have tossed away if they didn't also catch the eye and almost force your attention to linger on them."Magic," Sharp whispered."We'll see about that later. Once we can afford to. For now, let's get this over with. We can grab a snack on the way back."That perked her up.The payment counter was busy at the moment, however. Two young women were standing there, arguing with the man behind the counter. One of them was so short she had to reach up to stab a finger into the book before her. "Seven hundred? Have you lost your mind, bub?""That's the price on the ticket," the man said."It's worth half that, at best. And where's our discount?" she snapped."Discount?" he asked.The girl slammed an open palm on the counter, then gestured to five more books next to them. "I'm buying your shit here, aren't I? Don't be a skeev, gimme that valuable customer discount or I'll go look for it elsewhere."The man squinted his eyes, then sighed. "Five off the top.""That better be five percent," the girl said. "And you forgot the twenty before.""I'm not giving you a quarter off," he said.She slapped the counter again. "Fine. Twenty."They continued to argue back and forth, and I was ready to tune them out, except... "She's so pretty."I turned towards Sharp, then followed her gaze. She wasn't eyeing the gremlin slapping the counter as if it owed her money, but rather the other young woman.She was tall enough, maybe six feet with her hair worked up the way it was. Blonde, but her roots were black, with purple eyes that were obviously cybernetic. I could kind of see what Sharp saw. The woman was rail thin and exuded a sort of quiet confidence.Then her eyes turned and she swept her gaze over the two of us. She tensed a little. "Jen. Threat."The other girl stiffened and turned. I caught a glint of steel under her bright yellow jacket. She was packing a gun under there. "What you lookin' at, kid?" she asked Sharp."Uh? Me?""Yeah, you and your... is that a fucking cat?" She squinted. "Fuck, that is the mangiest thing I've seen in my life. I wouldn't let that thing ride me, no suh."I growled. I wasn't mangey!The girl turned to the counter, grumbled something to the guy behind it, then swiped a finger over a card reader. The total on the registry rang up to three thousand, for one small bag's worth of books."Come on, A," the girl said as she walked by. She very carefully made sure she was between Sharp and her taller friend.Sharp shied back and away, then once they were past, she eyed the back of them for a moment until they were around a rack."R-right," she muttered. "Let's get our money and go, yeah?""Yes, let's," I agreed. That taller girl was trouble. The short one was too, but that kind of loud, brash attitude usually came with easy solutions. The other... I had a strong suspicion she was a magic user of some ilk, and that could mean anything.We left the pawn shop a few minutes later and a few dollars richer. There was no sign of either girl around."Let's head back?""Sure," Sharp said. "But uh... my Protagonist stat just levelled up, and I don't know what that means."I closed my eyes. "It means nothing good," I said.
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Chapter Six — Getting in the Business
Chapter Six — Getting in the Business We had no idea what had actually triggered the level up, but I had my suspicions. Unfortunately, they were just that, suspicions. I didn't have anything tangible to work on, and I felt like the sensible thing to do at that moment was head on back to the bar.We did pick up some food for the trip, which gave me some processed mystery meat hot dog to munch on as I thought. Had the Protagonist stat increased because Sharp had gone out and done something?She said that the last time it had levelled was the first morning she woke up on the street, which really didn't help much.Was it avoiding a threat? Or doing something like a protagonist in a story would? What did that even mean?For that matter, I still wasn't sure what stats did overall. Did my level one in Cat make me a better cat, or did it just exemplify that I'd acted in a cat-like way?Well, whatever. It wasn't something I could do more than ponder for now, and eating a full half of a hot dog (which was about a quarter of my entire mass) left me unbelievably sleepy.I woke up to Sharp placing me on her pillow and smoothing out my fur. "Take a nap," she said. "My shift starts in an hour, and I wanna be early."I nodded, then quickly fell back asleep.I'd forgotten what it was like to sleep well. At some point I hit thirty, and I could vividly recall sleeping slightly crooked one night and enduring a pulled muscle from it for a week. Hitting forty was worse in every way that was predictable.When I awoke next, it was probably hours later, because I wasn't tired anymore, though what woke me up was Sharp shaking me. "Hey, hey, Tsarina Kittina, wake up, please."I blinked some gunk out of my eyes, then looked around. The door was closed, the room secured. Sharp's face was a painting of helpless distress at the moment, as though she was on the verge of panic. "What is it?" I asked as I stood."The girls are back!" she hissed."Girls?" I asked. Then my mind slid back to what had happened that afternoon. "You mean those we met at the pawn shop?""Yeah, the gremlin and the pretty one," she said. "They're here.""Did they ask for you? Are they searching now?""What? No, they have a booth on the second floor, where all the mercenary-sorts gather. My shift is about to end in like, an hour or so? I told Paris I needed to use the washroom. What do I do?"I considered it for a moment. A coincidence? Actually... that was possible. It would be a wild one, however. Boston Two was a massive city. Running into the same people twice in one day wasn't a statistical impossibility, but it stretched plausibility.Then again, I'd had similar coincidences throughout my life. Once I was driving to a city to take out a target, and I happened to stop by a roadside fast food place only to find them there, in the midst of fleeing the city and ready to change their identity. The kind of target that would have been an absolute nightmare to track if they had failed to run into me by sheer accident.That was a situation that was far less plausible, and yet it had happened. What of this one?"Let's assume it's nothing," I sent Sharp. "But, just in case... I'm going to check in on them.""You will?""Yes. Try to avoid being in the same end of the bar as they are. Act normally. Don't look at them if you can avoid it. You're dressed differently. Stand tall... that's right. Now, how was your hair this afternoon? Right, now tie it into a ponytail. Maybe pick up one of the bar's branded hats and slip it on, it'll change the profile of your face."It really didn't take much to pass as someone else if the person you were dealing with had only gotten a fleeting glance.Most of the time, people couldn't remember anyone they encountered unless the encounter went on for long enough."Are you going to be okay?" she asked."I'll be fine. Just... leave the door open a crack?"She bobbed her head in a nod, stood, smacked her shirt clean of crumbs and adjusted her socks, then she slipped out of the room. I paused at the edge of the bed, then hopped down. It wasn't a long fall, but it felt eternal.I crashed into the ground, stumbled, but managed to stick the landing. Four legs was quite the advantage, and these cat legs had a lot of spring to them.I padded out of the room, still trying to come to grips with walking. Cats were supposed to be gracious and stealthy, but I felt like I had four left paws. Big left paws, as if I still had a lot of growing to do.Which begged the question... what sort of cat was I?There was no way to tell so easily, and we weren't going to spend money on a pet DNA test.Sharp paused by the door into the main area of the Bloody Bat, music thumped out of there and into the corridor we were in and lights strobed across the floor. I shot by her legs and ran left, behind the barman and into the shadows of the counter.She'd mentioned that the girls were on the second floor, but not where... that was a little annoying, but whatever. I could deal with it.I peaked around the corner of the bar and spied across the room. It wasn't well lit except for a few areas, notably around the bar itself and the second bar in the centre of the floor. The dance area and the booths on the sides were dimly lit and the dancefloor only had strobing flashes to illuminate it.I shot over to one of the stairs, timing it so that I was behind a trio of men moving up the stairs. I kept to the side, up near the railing and in the men's shadows. Each step was a small hop, and by the time I reached the top I was already tired.No matter. I was able to slip to the side of the room near the booths. I darted under an unoccupied table and stared out across the floor, looking for my prey. That was, my targets. It was a little weird to think of them as prey.I could dwell on that when I wasn't actively sneaking, though.Most of the time, I liked being inconspicuous. Just another person in the crowd. Being a cat would allow that in some places, but not in a bar.The girls weren't in the section across from where I was, which was great, I wouldn't have to circle around.I slipped from one booth to the next. The booth seats didn't actually reach all the way to the floor. There was a six-inch or so slot below them that hadn't been cleaned in ages. Perfect for me to slip into though.It took a few tries, but I found the right booth. Two pairs of legs, one in black pumps, the other in what looked like combat boots with a modified heel to make them much taller. The mage and the gremlin.I stationed myself as far from the mage as I could be. There was no telling what kind of surveillance magic she might have that could trigger if I came close, or if I was a threat. There were ways around both, but that required knowledge and preparation time."You sure you don't want anything?" the mage asked."Yeah, I'm watching my calories. Did you know there's like, a million calories in beer? It's bullshit," the shorter girl said. She stomped her foot, and I noticed when her pants rode up that she had a knife tucked into one of her lifted boots."Your loss. Just don't steal my fries.""Bitch, I might."The mage laughed. "I think I'll have the double rack of ribs," she said."You suck."The mage's feet shifted. "I need it, for casting. You know it might come up."The Gremlin moved to press the tips of her toes down. She was just short enough that it seemed like she couldn't sit in the booth normally. "Still not fair. Do you really think you'll have to cast? This is neutral ground.""Neutral isn't safe. I'll set up a privacy ward when they... they're here."I glanced to the side in time to see two more pairs of feet coming up to the table. One in sneakers, the other in boots covered in little metal spikes. Spikey boots slid into the booth across from the girls. "Hey ladies," he said. "Good to see that you're here already.""Don't be flirty," the gremlin said. "We're here to talk, that's all.""Hey hey, mamacita, no need to be rough with me. Come, I'll pay for your lunch, yeah?"You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.Ah, so this was one of those kinds of meetings. Interesting.
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The two men were gangsters. I couldn't quite tell which gang, but I had some suspicions. All of the spikes on the one guy's pants and boots suggested that he might be a Breaker, from Allston. The other guy I wasn't so sure. He was wearing some pretty utilitarian pants. Cargos with big pockets slipped into a pair of plain running shoes. That didn't tell me much."Stop with the flirtin' bub," the gremlin said. "Though if you'll pay for our meals, I won't say no.""This is a business meeting," the mage said. "Let's keep some airs of professionalism. Mister Brown Note.""DJ Brown Note," the spikey booted guy said. "And don't ya forget it.""I wouldn't dare," the mage said. "And this is Mister Robinson, from Grower Lab Forty-Two?""That's correct," Mister Robinson said. "The two of you have a good reputation as up and comers in the area, we were hoping to contract you for a small job.""Of course," the mage said. "One moment. I hope you don't mind if I cast something, for privacy?"The two men tensed, and I couldn't blame them. Magic wasn't like cybernetics or tech. It was esoteric and bizarre and oftentimes dangerous. Even people that studied it for a lifetime couldn't predict all it could do.There was a strange feeling that passed over me, as if I could faintly hear a TV turned to a dead channel some ways away, but then it faded into the background. "We should be secure," the mage said. "But let's not be uncautious beyond that.""Right," DJ Brown Note said. "So, mamacitas, here's the sitch, we just bought a heap of goods from our friends down south but we can't move them across Brookline, going around is a pain in the ass, and getting our boys to do the deliveries is a risk.""How many deliveries, can we know what's in the packages, and what's the total mass of each?" the gremlin asked. She was surprisingly business-minded when she wasn't being a gremlin.The DJ shifted in his seat. "Twenty-Nine deliveries. About a quarter of them are higher risk. We'll pay you a flat eighty per delivery.""That's way too low," the gremlin said."It's an easy job, my cute little lady," he said.I winced as her foot shot out to kick him.She was too short and only met air. Then she went on as if she hadn't tried to break his kneecap. "I don't want to drive all over the city for a few bucks an hour. I'll burn more than that in gas. If I wanted a driving gig, I'd get one off an app and not risk getting shot up nearly as much.""That's a valid concern," Mister Robinson said. "We're willing to increase the price to one hundred dollars per delivery."Or two thousand nine hundred for the full job. Not a great pay, but if it was a quick and easy job, then it was maybe worth it."What about Jenny's other questions?" the mage asked. Ah, so the gremlin was Jenny, huh? Good to know."The packages are small." I saw the DJ's shoulders moving, so I imagined he was miming their size above the table. "Don't weight more than half a pound each. As for what's in 'em, it's the good zaza. If you're wanting a sample, lemme know, but it ain't nothing worth stealing for the likes of you."That was fair. Each package was worth... well, I didn't know how much half a pound of marihuana was worth, but it likely wasn't enough to risk one's life for. I'd never been in that kind of business, but my work was... legally adjacent at times. I'd guess a half pound to be worth at most a thousand dollars. So they were moving nearly thirty thousand worth of drugs across the city. Altogether, enough to tempt someone, but definitely not enough to earn the ire of two of the city's gangs, and maybe a third of their clients were affiliated."Understood. Obviously not something we want the BPD to know about, but that's nothing new. I can cast something to make the packages unnoteworthy. And we can handle your high-risk deliveries. I'll want one fifty for each of those.""You're cutting into our margins," the DJ said."Then find someone else.""Tsk tsk. One twenty, love."The girl moved, and I had the impression they were looking at each other. "One twenty," the mage agreed. "And you don't forget to pay for our lunch.""Hah! You got a deal, sweet thing!"There was some handshaking, then the DJ pulled out his wallet for a moment before returning it to his pocket. I think it was to pay for the meal, not the entire contract. The men stood, then headed out."Sharp. I don't know if you can hear me, but it seems like the deal that went down here is over."No telepathic reply, but I wasn't expecting one either."Ah, shit, Aly," Jenny said. "A couple thou for like, two days of running around?""It's an easy enough job," Aly said. "Plus it gets us in with both the Breakers and the Growers. They're both worth having contacts with.""I know, but it's boring work. And they want that stuff delivered fast, right?""Yes? And?""Look, just got the text with the addresses. This is all over South Boston and Central. I don't think this is a two day thing, Aly."The mage hummed. "I see. The high risk ones can be done first. I'll take care of those.""And I can do all the rest? On my own? Half of these will have to be delivered on foot, and I don't know South Boston well.""Then we hire a local, it's not a big deal."The gremlin snorted. "Can you trust a local? It's a dumb move."I blinked. Well, that was an idea. "Sharp, if you can hear me, I need you to come over to their table, bow slightly, and then say 'I'll take the job.' Don't ask too many questions, I'll fill you in later."Was this a stupid move? Maybe. But I was gambling on Sharp's Protagonist powers coming in clutch, and this kind of opportunity could be a big game changer.The girls talked for a while, then paused as someone came closer. It was Sharp, I recognized her terrible shoes. She set down a trey on the table, then stepped back and bowed. "I-I would like to take the job, please.""What?" the gremlin asked."Just repeat after me. 'I know South Boston well, and I can get around there easily. I'll take the job. Twenty dollars per delivery.'""Uh... I know South Boston wall, and I can get around there easily, I guess. I'll take the job for twenty dollars a delivery."The gremlin's hand shot under the table and she gripped a gun. "How'd you hear us?""My ward is still up," the mage said."Don't panic. If you can't meet their eyes, then focus on the table. Tell them that you just want to help for a small price.""I, uh, just want to help? It's a small price? I'm trustworthy, I swear!""I hadn't asked for that addition, but it wasn't a bad move. Sharp was, for a lack of a better term, pretty sharp."You're not actually considering this, are you, Aly?" the gremlin asked. "Wait... you're that sus girl from the pawn shop! With the weird-ass cat!"I felt my hackles rise. I wasn't weird!"Are you spying on us?""She works here," Aly said. "She passed another waitress on the way and they didn't see her as suspicious. Which makes this all the more suspicious.""I'm not suspicious, I really do work here. But I could use a bit more money.""And how did you see through my ward?" the mage asked."Your what?"I held back an inappropriate snicker. That would piss off any mage, and Sharp's innocence only made it worse. "Tell her that she can hire you, or find someone else for the job. It's up to them.""You can hire me, or find someone else. It's up to you.""... Okay," Aly said."Seriously?" Jenny asked. "We're trusting this weirdo?""To some degree," Aly said. "If you can take ten of our lower risk deliveries, then we'll pay you two hundred dollars. After they're delivered and we get our cut. If you fail, I'll personally hunt you down and sacrifice you to the Veilwing Sovereign She Who Whispers in the Dark.""Uh, o-okay?" Sharp said. And from the tone in her voice, I could tell that she really wanted some answers."Good. We'll deliver the goods here, tomorrow morning," Aly said. "Along with a list of addresses. Don't fail us. Or do. My mistress always enjoys a good sacrifice."
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Chapter Seven — Numbers Go Up
Chapter Seven — Numbers Go Up "I don't know if I want to get out of bed," Sharp said.I looked up to her. She was laying on her side, one arm over the edge where she was holding out a long piece of string. There was a piece of folded-up tape on the end of that string, and every so often she'd give it a quick tug.She yanked the string to the side, and I leapt forwards, landing with both forepaws on the bit of tape. I was keeping my claws sheathed for now, but it would be easy to have them come out.Sharp, the deceptive little pain in the butt, flicked her wrist and sent the tape flying out from under me. I spun, trying to catch it, and landed on my side. So I rolled around then ran after the tape.This was, of course, not a game. It was serious training."If you don't get out of bed," I said. "Then you'll be late for your job.""I have a job already," Sharp said. "I don't mind waitressing, it's not so bad.""Oh? Well, if that's what you want for yourself, then I won't stop you. It's a longshot from being the edgerunner you said you wanted to be. You're not aiming very high, but that's acceptable too.""Urgh, I do wanna be an edgerunner. I wanna be famous and rich and all the rest," Sharp said. "But do I have to get out of bed for it?"I sniffed as I caught the tape again, only for it to slip out of my grasp. "Don't be lazy.""You slept most of the day yesterday," Sharp pointed out."And yet here I am, doing physical work to improve myself," I pointed out. "If you're looking for a good example of someone lazy, then I'm not the one you should be looking at. I worked myself to an early grave.""Yeah, yeah," Sharp said. "Okay, fine. I'll go shower."I was just about to nod when Sharp went crazy with the string, flicking it this way and that faster than I could react. I almost went dizzy as I tried to follow it with my gaze... then I pounced, catching it in mid-air with a perfect swipe.Reflex Has Levelled Up!Reflex 0 1I grinned and told Sharp about the level up. She was happy for me. It had taken a couple of days of work, but I'd proven that training was capable of levelling up a stat! While she handled her morning ablutions, I took some time running the length of the room. My body was still clumsy, but maybe it was a little less so?Was that Reflex levelling up, or was that me growing more used to this new form? It was hard to tell. In any case, running was good Body training.Sharp came back with a small plate covered in recently-microwaved food. She sat cross legged on her bed, and I leapt up to join her, claws digging into the side of the mattress until she scooped me up.We had a breakfast of leftovers. Sausage and rice and a few bits of pseudo-chicken. It was good enough. The Bloody Bat had a pretty good cook and even microwaved the next morning, it tasted fine."So this job," Sharp started. "This will make me a mercenary? Or an edgerunner?""Oh, nowhere near that," I said as I ate. A surprising side-benefit of telepathy. "This is barely dipping a toe into the well that is that particular world. But it will help.""How's that?" she asked."First, by making contacts. The two young women you met twice so far, for one. We'll see if we can't meet people on the route as well. You'd be surprised how much of the mercenary world revolves around knowing the right people.""I guess I can kind of get that," she said. "You know Miss Paris, and that got me this job. There's no way I'd have gotten all of this without that one contact." She gestured to our tiny room. It was smaller than some solitary prison cells, with no windows and barely any furniture, but I supposed that to Sharp this was a lot."Indeed. Contacts, and money. I definitely want to get a phone sooner rather than later. For a multitude of reasons, but chief amongst them is to start your Magic and Tech training.""Magic?" Sharp asked."Don't get excited just yet," I warned.Breakfast over with, Sharp returned the plate to the kitchen and returned a few minutes later to get changed into her normal clothes. She looked like she was one step away from being a bum again, but that was fine. If anything, it would serve as good camouflage.With me riding on her shoulder-the food and exercise really knocked me out-we headed into the main area of the bar. It was quiet, being closed and all, but there was a familiar face there to meet us all the same.The gremlin. Or Jenny. I preferred my nickname in the privacy of my own mind.She was leaning against the central bar, awkwardly handling a glass filled with something carbonated while Paris cleaned nearby and very clearly kept an eye on her. She stood out here. Her bright yellow jacket made sure of that, but beneath she was in shorts with fur-lining and a plain black tank-top. The guns hidden by her ribs were obvious."Oh, you're here," Jenny said. "'Bout time.""Hello," Sharp replied.Jenny glanced at Paris, then back at Sharp. "You're dressed like a hobo.""I'm not far from one," Sharp admitted."Heh. Well, at least you're quick," the gremlin said with a mean grin. She kicked a bag next to her. "Stuff's in here. Each package has the address on it. You got a phone? Augs?""Nope, nothing like that," Sharp said.Jenny's eyes flashed and she shook her head before reaching into her offensively yellow coat. She fished around it for a moment before removing a small brick of a phone. Her eyes lit up again, and the phone's screen flashed before she handed it over. "Burner. You know how you use this?""I can coach you.""I can handle it," Sharp said."Good," Jenny replied with a nod. "Aly and I will be meeting up back here tonight. You can come to us for your pay then, yeah?""Okay, that sounds reasonable," Sharp said. She grabbed the bag from the ground. It was a simple duffle, the kind of thing that someone going to a gym may have with them. Not as inconspicuous as I would have liked, but not too bad either."Sure. Don't fuck up," Jenny said. She nodded towards Paris, shoved her hands in her coat pockets, then headed out.Sharp shifted the duffle around. It had a strap that she slipped over her head. I had to move a bit to give it room. The bag was clearly filled with something unshapely and soft. Sharp opened it, revealing a number of brown packages covered in tape."Will you be back in time for your shift?" Paris asked."I should be, yeah!" Sharp said. She grinned. "See you soon! Promise!""I'll keep you to that," Paris said.Sharp didn't waste any time before heading out as well. She fiddled with the phone as she walked, so I gave her instructions on unlocking it. There was a prepaid plan, internet by the minute. We had three hours of access paid for and there was some preloaded map software with the addresses entered already."Do you know how to read a map?" I asked."Yup, that's one of the things we learned at the orphanage.""Seems like a strange skill to teach," I said.She shrugged. "There were... classes about a bunch of things. It was mostly training so that you could leave and join a corp right away. If you had really good grades, you'd get recruited right there. You still get your wages garnished until the orphanage repays itself, but it's not so bad. I, uh, was never the top of any class, but I wasn't the bottom either.""That can't have been an ideal place to grow up in," I said."It's what I knew," she said with a smile. "Once I got my system thing, I kinda, ah, ran away? If you score too low, you kind of disappear? I saw it happen a few times, and I decided not to chance it.""I... see," I said. That would bear some investigating. But we could hardly afford to do that now. First this one, simple mission, then we'd see about improving our lot in life.Sharp knew South Boston relatively well, and she was able to tell where most of the packages needed to be delivered to. A few were in mega buildings, but most were in the more common apartments scattered around the city.We'd have to walk all the way over, and then all the way back, and I was worried that even with our early departure, we wouldn't be making it back in time for Sharp's shift, but maybe we'd be lucky and things would work out?The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.I didn't expect it to, however.
* * *
The first delivery went well. I was a little concerned about time, as it had taken us nearly an hour to reach South Boston, but once there it was easy to find the first location for the delivery.In hindsight, we maybe should have ridden over to this part of the city with the gremlin. It would have saved us some walking. But we didn't know her very well, and she might have asked questions, such as 'why are you taking your cat with you?'Besides, the walk was good. Whenever we were in a safe enough area, I'd ask Sharp to set me down and I'd run along with her and encourage her to jog a little. I didn't want her tired out, but keeping her cardio up would help in the long run.That proved true after our third delivery. It was in a mega building, one of the oldest in Boston Two according to a decrepit plaque by the front entrance. Being so old apparently meant that the elevators were down, and the location for that delivery was on the ninth floor.Sharp seemed certain that she was going to die before reaching the top, but I kept encouraging her, sometimes by running and jumping ahead to wait for her, other times by giving her an earful while riding her shoulders.The moment she stepped foot on the ninth floor, Sharp gasped and straightened up a little. "My Body went up," she said."Congratulations!" I replied while eyeing her up and down. There was no obvious or immediate changes that I could tell, though she did seem to have a sudden boost in energy. "What's the stat's level now?""Two!" she said with a crooked smile.That... wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. Her Anima stat had flown ahead of the rest, so I felt like it was safe to call it an outlier. The rest... well, she'd had her powers for two weeks. A single point per week wasn't all that bad, all things considered. And that was a whole week without me around pushing her forwards, so it was likely that she was now gaining experience a little faster than before."That's good progress," I said with a nod. Ideally the level five perk thing would happen for every stat, and the ones for her other skills would improve her situation a little.I just had to find a way to get her to progress with her other stats. I thought about it as I rode her shoulder down the same nine floors. By the midway point I jumped off because her legs were getting dangerously wobbly. "Think of the numbers, Sharp. Think about how they're going up!"Motivating people was so easy sometimes.Now, training Sharp's-and my own-Body and Reflex seemed like the easiest stats to improve. Combat and Tech were the next two. As soon as we started to make enough, I wanted to find a local gym to train at. That might be relatively simple in Fenway, since the district was filled with sports-loving jocks.I could coach her through a few kata, some self-defence techniques, and then maybe we could find someone to do some light sparring. It wouldn't be much, but it would work on Combat as well as her other stats.Tech... well, we had a burner now. Getting it fully jail-broken would take some effort, and that was good. Then it would be a question of getting her used to simple hacks and maybe teaching her some tricks with regards to locks.Magic and Anima I had no clue about. I wasn't even sure how she'd managed to raise Anima up so quickly thus far, though she hadn't mentioned any other level ups so maybe it was slowing down?As for Cool...I glanced to the side where Sharp was currently enraptured by a massive neon advertisement of a woman dancing and promoting... condiments? I wasn't sure, but what I did know was that this slack-jawed dork wasn't going to level that stat up any time soon."Come on, there's seven more deliveries to go," I said.The next few went well enough, though I really was starting to worry about time. We were six deliveries down by the time noon rolled around and we paused for a break in one of the more pedestrian-accessible open spaces. A couple of hot dogs from a cart ate up all of Sharp's tip money from the night before, but needs must, and we were going to make it back once this job was complete."Okay, the next few are all in two mega buildings. Well, three are in one, and then there's another at a second," Sharp said.I leaned forwards to eye the map she had up on the phone. "Should we tackle that lone one first, then?" I asked."Hmm, I don't think so? It's closer to the way back, so we'd be walking more to get to it, and it's kind of in the worse end of South," she said before taking another bite. A bit of ketchup fell down her front, adding another stain to her coat. "I don't like that area.""Best to only go there with one delivery left, then. If we have to cut and run, the losses will be much smaller."Sharp nodded. "That's the idea," she said before stuffing the rest of her hot dog down her gullet. "Let's go?" she asked past a mouthful."Don't speak with your mouth open," I chastised. "But yes, we should head out."The next three were a little hairy. The mega building we approached was a relatively newer housing unit, and there was security around. It took some circling before we found an entrance that was guarded by Riveters instead of corporate security guards. They eyed Sharp but didn't stop her from going in. I supposed she looked local enough.Once inside, the deliveries were easy. The place even had functional elevators.We dropped off what we had to, then ran back out. There was an awkward moment where one of the addresses had a guy sitting out front on a milkcrate smoking a joint, but the package was for him. He offered a pull of his joint to Sharp, who declined with a stutter before running off.And then we were off to the last delivery.I wasn't a superstitious sort of woman. I knew that it was fairly normal for people in my line of work to expect things to go poorly if certain rituals weren't carried out, but I tended to chalk bad things up to coincidence just as much as the good. It kept the world as unfair as it ought to be for all involved. Still, I was feeling an itch as we walked into a rougher part of South Boston.There was music booming out in the street from a homeless man slumped next to a boombox. And that was about the only lively thing around. The people here were walking fast and keeping their heads low. Cameras hung everywhere, but there wasn't a single sign that this place had seen a cop in ages.The building we headed towards was old, and looked older from the lack of maintenance.From the moment we entered, I felt my fur standing on end. I couldn't point to any one thing, not the homeless crowded by the entrance, or the walls covered in graffiti, but something felt wrong in here."I don't like this place," Sharp said."Likewise," I agreed.As we made it to the elevator, I realized that someone had suborned its PA system, not to blast ghetto beats, but instead it was playing something that sounded almost like an old school radio broadcast. "He is Him. It's about time that the people of this city realise it. He was dead, but the grave was too shallow. The sinner thought it would hold him, but he pulled it away like a rotten tooth!"I started to notice that a lot of the paint on the walls were symbols. Strange runes that caught the light in odd ways. Were they glowing?The elevator stopped on the right floor. More graffiti, and now I was sure that some of the runes on the walls were glowing. Worse, the people here were just... standing there, listening to the PA drone on."Breathe. Go ahead. Fill your lungs with this old air, the dust of civilization. You think you're safe? You are in His embrace. The night doesn't end! The sun is a lie! He IS the night, and you're just wandering through it."Sharp jogged up to the last door, dropped the package, then bolted back to the elevator.We were out of the building in a sprint, and no one even so much as glanced at us.I shivered, feeling a cold wash pass over me as we stepped back into the sunlight.Anima Has Levelled Up!Anima 0 1
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Chapter Eight — Getting Paid
Chapter Eight — Getting Paid We arrived back in Fenway without much fuss, and just a few minutes before our shift was supposed to start. There was already a line out the front of the bar, people waiting to get in the moment the doors opened.The bouncer let us through, though he told Sharp to use the back entrance next time, since letting us pass pissed off some of those in the line.Paris raised an eyebrow on seeing us, but she didn't complain, maybe because Sharp sprinted by towards the back and practically flung me onto the bed. "I need to get changed!" she said before grabbing her work clothes and then practically throwing off what she'd been wearing to get ready.She was out of the room a moment later.And that left me alone once more.Honestly, I was ready for a nap, though I had caught a few winks on the way over. This new body of mine was primed to fall asleep at a moment's notice, but I didn't want to do that just yet. First, I wanted to play with that burner phone.Sharp had left it in her pants, which were now crumpled on the ground. A careful hop down-this time without crashing-and I got to wrestle with her pants for a few minutes to try and dislodge the burner from the pocket it was stuffed into.It was the kind of thing that would have been easy as a human, barely an inconvenience, but now the phone weighed a quarter as much as I did.I did manage to get it out. Ideally I would have brought it up onto the bed, but I didn't expect to be able to manage that.Sighing, I moved the phone around as best I could on the floor. It had come out screen-side-down, so I had to flip the damned thing. That was a chore and a half. Once it was upright, I leaned over the screen and caught sight of my reflection in it. A... hmm, I didn't want to admit it, but that gremlin girl might have been a little right. I was definitely on the mangey side of things.Kittens, by their nature, were cute, but I was definitely on the ugly-cute side of that spectrum.In any case, I now have a phone. I pressed a paw to the screen, then tapped it until it unlocked. There was no password, which was nice. A swipe revealed that we still had internet for another two or so hours.I wanted to log into my banking accounts, or check on things, but the gremlin had seemed tech-literate enough that I didn't dare use an unsecured device like this to log into anything.That didn't stop me from opening a news app and perusing things. First local news once I figured out how to close the constant ads and demands that I join their subscriptions. There were millions of people living in Boston Two, so news was always booming. There wasn't anything, at a cursory glance, about Fenway except a few mentions of various sporting seasons about to start or nearing their end.Good enough for now.I checked the gang-related news for anything interesting. There were plenty of small-scale wars going on, pushes for turf, disputes and fights, but it seemed like the city overall was in a low simmer.I did a roundabout search that eventually led me to the obituary of one Professor Daniels. The corp he was working for released a statement, saying that he unfortunately passed away of cardiac-related issues just two days ago. Nothing about a cleaning lady dying, but that was to be expected.Another roundabout search and I was able to confirm that my home was safe.That was a weight off my shoulders.Now... did I want to head back there?At the moment it was wishful thinking. Sharp didn't have that kind of money, and walking the distance was out of the question. Did she know how to drive? If so we might be able to steal a car and make the trip....How would my cats react to a new person in the house? For that matter, how would they react to a kitten?Well, whatever. My last job was meant to be a long-term one. Housekeeping would keep my place clean for months, the vet service had at-home pickup set up with the Trauma Group Pets Premium setup I'd shelled out for, and the apartment that I was paying for was owned by a small company that I was a majority shareholder in. It wasn't like they would kick me out so easily.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.Did I want Sharp up in my house?It wouldn't be all that bad. She was a nice-enough girl.Would it be good for her?Now that was a bigger question. I didn't have any way to confirm it, but I had a sneaking suspicion that Sharp and I would improve a lot more if faced with challenges. A comfortable home was... not that.I wanted to do more with the phone, but two things stopped me. First, a ping from whatever system we had going on.Tech Has Levelled Up!Tech 0 1That was a good jump there, from nothing to something. I blinked as I felt a slight... tickle through my mind, but I wasn't sure if that was my imagination or not. In any case, that had been an easy level to earn. Was it past experience coming into play?The second thing was a wave of tiredness. I was more than due for a cat nap.Yawning, I went over to the bed and used the edge of a blanket hanging off the side to climb up and onto the mattress, then I navigated over to the pillow and flopped down onto it. It wasn't long before I was asleep.Today had been a pretty good day, so far.I was awakened by Sharp's insistent shaking what felt like only minutes later. "Hey, kitty, wake up, please.""What is it?" I asked."Uh, they're back. And this time Jenny wants to talk to me. What do I do?" she asked.I blinked the crud out of my eyes, then stifled a yawn. "Is she here to pay you?""Oh... I hadn't thought of that."I gave the girl the flattest stare I could manage, then stood up and stretched. It felt wonderful. There was something about being a cat that made the act of stretching really nice. "I'll come with you. Honestly, she should have just passed you an envelope with the cash. Or else made an electronic transfer of some sort.""I know, but she told me to meet her below, in the parking lot under the bar."That had my ears perking up. The parking lot? That... could be entirely innocent. But then, why not just pay Sharp here? The bar was neutral ground, and the kind of money owed to Sharp wasn't anywhere near large enough to sound alarm bells or catch anyone's attention. "We're letting the bouncers know," I said."We are?""Well, you are. If this is a trap, we'll make sure it's one that'll cost them their neutrality. Is the grem-Jenny still around?""Yeah, she's waiting by the bar," Sharp said. She adjusted the hem of her baseball shirt, tugging it down as though it were a dress. It was almost big enough for that, actually.I nodded, then allowed her to grab me and hide me under the shirt. I clung onto the inside with my claws, which was... not as bad as it might have sounded. I weighed nothing and my claws were perfectly grippy. I imagined that the small lump in her shirt would be obvious, but people tended to default to not asking questions."Let's go," I said.Sharp giggled, then patted the area of the shirt I was hiding in before she took off. I could just about see through the material, especially when we entered the main floor of the bar and the brighter neon lights lit the shirt up from the outside.She moved over and talked to one of the bouncers, telling him that she'd be talking to someone in the parking lot and should be back soon. He asked if she wanted him to accompany her, and Sharp froze for a moment before saying yes.I hadn't expected an escort, but I wasn't about to say no to a bit of help. He said it would have to be fast, since Paris wouldn't want them gone, and Sharp agreed.And then we were off. The parking garage was three floors down, accessible through one of the elevators in the concourse just outside the bar. The doors opened to a low-ceilinged space filled with cars and choking with hydrocarbons.Jenny and the mage were there, standing way out near the back next to a small minivan with an opened side. I noticed a shift in the shadows nearby a moment before that mage turned and looked our way.It was time to see what this was all about. I had a feeling it wasn't as simple as us getting paid.
* * *
Chapter Nine — I Moths Ask You a Question
Chapter Nine — I Moths Ask You a Question "I don't like it," Jenny the gremlin said. She was shrugging deeper into her oversized coat, and from what I could see of her, she was regretting wearing so little.Look, I was young once, with nice legs and all, but I'd gotten past the 'show off myself' phase real quick when it started to be too inconvenient. One could only pull off Famme Fatale for so long, after all. Now I was firmly in the old-person camp of looking down on anyone young and stupid who wore too little. Like these two brats here.The mage, Aly, was at least wearing pants, but her entire midriff was exposed. Was she not aware of how many organs were there? And that pale skin would stand out in the dark. She was asking to get shot.The girls whispered something to each other, the sound swallowed by the hum of the ventilation system hanging near the ceiling."Here goes," Sharp muttered."You've got this," I said. She might need a little encouragement, after all. No harm in giving her a little push.Sharp adjusted her shoulders, then walked on over to the girls. I noticed that there was a third person with them, a middle-aged guy sitting in the van with a pair of headphones on. A driver? He didn't seem exactly interested in being here. It was worth noting though.I wished I was free, then I'd have a better view of the area... actually... why not? These two had seen me before, and playing it as though I was hiding would stand out as non-catlike-behaviour.I clawed my way up Sharp's side from inside her shirt, and she wriggled a bit as I exited out by her collar and settled onto her shoulder. "What are you doing?" Sharp asked."Acting natural. Which you should too. Yup, that's the right level of nervousness. Remember, deflect, distract, and distrust.""Huh?"Ah, right, I hadn't taught her all of my mnemonics yet. I had to get around to that, but the last few days had been rather busy. I really did have to draw up a proper lesson plan at some point. But I could worry about that latter."Hey," Jenny said. "You're almost late. You know we're on a schedule here?""Sorry!" Sharp said. "But I'm here now. Hi!""Hello," Aly said with a nod. "Give me a moment." She reached to her back, and I tensed. A weapon? I could probably make the leap from here to her face. A mage she might be, but she needed her eyes as much as anyone else.Instead, she removed a small gauntlet from a pouch by her back and settled it onto her hand. It was golden, with a few grey bands around the forearm and what looked like a set of gems by the knuckles. The girl closed her now-armoured fist, and the air suddenly buzzed with a strange, static-y feel.I shifted, trying to stop my fur from standing on end.She snapped her fingers, and the shadows in her palm unfolded into a small cascade of moths that flitted out and started to fly in lazy circles around us. The sound of the air con was suddenly muffled."There," she said as she lowered her arm. She was trying very hard to look casual, but I caught that bit of sweat beading on her forehead. This had cost her something to cast.I eyed the mage up and down, making note of a few things that I might have missed previously. She had a small silver clip in her hair in the shape of a moth, and her belt buckle had the same outline.Not a mage then, a warlock. Similar, but entirely different. It wasn't a hard guess to determine that she worked with or for the Eidolon of the Moth. What would that mean? Moth warlocks weren't super common, but they weren't unheard of. She'd be practised with a lot of magic that helped her remain stealthy and unnoticed. Some magic having to do with light and darkness, and obviously some with sound. But nothing too strong, offensively.I glanced back. The bouncer was staring off into space, his eyes glowing a bit. Definitely not paying as much attention as he could be.Right, the moth mage... what else did I know about them? There was a strong assassin on the east coast that was a moth warlock for some time, but he'd died recently. The Death Moth. He grew famous, which was a death knell for any assassin worth their salt.Stolen story; please report.Still, that didn't bode well for us."Hi!" Sharp squeaked. "I mean, hello. I did the job.""Yeah," Jenny said. "You sure did." She reached into a pocket of her coat, then pulled out a small envelope that she tossed over. Sharp fumbled it out of the air, and it smacked into the ground with a dull thwap. I had to cling on for dear life as she bent down to scoop it off the floor.She opened it, revealing a tiny, emaciated stack of bills."That's your pay," Jenny said. "You did okay. Not that it was exactly complicated.""Thank you!" Sharp said. "Uh... well, that's all, right? Have a nice day?""Nuh-uh," Jenny said, though she didn't make any moves to stop Sharp from actually leaving. "We gotta chat a lil' more.""We do?" Sharp asked."I'd appreciate it," Aly said. She raked a hand through her hair, then let out a long sigh."Okay then!" Sharp said.I... really had my work cut out for me with this goofball, didn't I?"Are you a magic user?" Aly asked."Gosh, I wish," Sharp said wistfully. She shook her head. "Nope. Sorry. My magic stat is at a big fat zero." She made a small circle with her free hand. I'd have batted her ear for dropping that kind of hint if it wouldn't be out of character for a kitten.Then again, why would anyone jump to the conclusion that she was being literal?"I see," Aly said. She tilted her head a little, her bangs shifting enough to reveal a small tech tattoo marked on her forehead. "Well, I suppose that's that, then. We appreciate the help. It was kind of you.""I appreciate the money!" Sharp said. "If you ever have anything else like that, I'd love to help more.""We can handle ourselves," Jenny snapped."We can," Aly agreed. "But that doesn't mean we should be so quick to dismiss help when it's offered so freely."Sharp agreed. "Yeah! Never say no to help! I sure never do."I eyed her for a moment. For some reason that made me feel just a little guilty that I wasn't helping her more. But I couldn't just trust her so easily, could I? What if she was trying to trick me?But if she was, then she probably deserved to get away with it on account of being such a good actress. Damn. I'd have to help her more, wouldn't I? It was that, or someone like these would help and her allegiance to me would crumble."We'll keep in touch," Aly said. "You're good for more delivery work?""Uh, yeah," Sharp said. "And anything else you might need help with! I'm flexible!""I'm sure," Aly replied."So... what are you guys up to?" Sharp asked.Jenny snorted. "Cute. We won't be spilling nothing so easily," she said. "Come on, we're late already. No, not you," she said when Sharp took a small step forwards. "You stay here.""Oh, right, I should get back to work. Um. It was nice seeing you again. Thanks for the money?"Aly gestured, and the moths flying around us faded to nothing. "See you," she said simply before turning and climbing into the van.Jenny stared at Sharp with narrowed eyes. "Keep that burner I gave you around. We'll call you if anything comes up.""Oh, okay, bye!" Sharp said.She stepped back as Jenny closed the van's side door and it took off, leaving a haze of unfiltered hydrocarbons in its wake that left us both coughing."That was... something," Sharp said."At least we got our pay. If we're lucky, we'll never have to see either of them again.""I don't think I'd call that luck," Sharp said. She sighed again. "She's very pretty.""Snap out of it," I suggested. "You're still on the clock, you know.""Oh! Paris is going to be miffed! Back to work, quick quick!"It wasn't before I was back in our rooms and Sharp was back to work. The envelope was sitting on her bedside table, more cash than Sharp had seen in her life, and yet barely enough for a decent meal at a good upper-end restaurant.I sighed. Right. No matter what, I probably owed it to Sharp to invite her back to my place for real.
* * *
Chapter Ten — Gloryless
Chapter Ten — Gloryless I found myself in a... predicament.All my years of personal training, facing challenges, testing myself, and succeeding where others had failed... it all amounted to nothing.This was it.This was how I died for the second, and maybe the last time.Without glory. Without dignity."Baroness Biscuitblanket?" Sharp asked as she entered our shared bedroom.I wasn't even sure I wanted to call out to her, but needs must. "I'm here," I grudgingly admitted.There was a shift as she climbed onto the bed, then I saw her above me. She stared, then started to smile."Don't laugh."She failed to listen, which really brought to question her abilities as a pupil if she couldn't even follow such simple instructions. "You're stuck!" she said past some giggles. "How did you even get squished in there?"Sharp reached down and grabbed me. Somehow, while sleeping again, I'd ended up rolling a little and then fell down between the bed and the wall. There was nothing to grab onto once there, just a slippery wall and the bed's mattress, so I was stuck with nothing to do but wait."I suppose I move in my sleep now," I grumbled. "What time is it? Is your shift over?""Yup. Just finished. I should get changed, huh?" She placed me down, then tugged on the front of her shirt. "Do we have plans for today?""We should always have plans," I said. The more time Sharp spent training, the stronger she would become. "We don't quite have enough for some of the ideas I've cooked up. We might want to do another lost and found run. The walk across the city would make for good observation practice and cardio.""Oh!" Sharp said as she seemed to suddenly remember something. She leaned way to the side and tugged something out of her sock. It was a small phone. "I found this in the lost and found today. Look, it's got no lock, and it had internet. I think it's a burner, like the one Jenny gave us."She set the phone down and I padded over to it. She was right. It was a pre-bought burner phone. Nothing too special, the kind of thing that could be picked up at any number of kiosks across the city and preloaded with a few hours or days worth of service. This one had a quarter battery charge left and a weak internet connection."Good find," I said.Sharp smiled. "Thank you!""Do you know how to use this kind of thing? It could be a way to level up your Tech stat.""I do. I never had a phone of my own, but the orphanage had a weekly secretarial studies class. It was all about net safety, using word processors, emails... how to turn a computer on and off. That kind of thing."That seemed... like a pretty decent set of basic skills to have, actually. It was like teaching someone to drive a car. Not the depth they'd need if the car was ever broken or if they needed to drive in a precarious situation, but good enough to get from A to B. "Another initiative to turn you into good workers?""Yup!" she said.I nodded, then tapped the screen with a paw. I managed to open a web browser, then cursed and mumbled my way into entering the name of a site in the search engine."What are you looking for?" Sharp asked."It's an old forum client," I said. "For tech support for modems that came out about twenty years back. They're quite common, and get a lot of issues, so the forum is very active.""Oh," Sharp said. "Does this have anything to do with us?"I glanced up to her. "So, you know how I wasn't always a cat.""Uh-huh," she said."Well, I had a job before all of this." I hadn't yet gone into all of the details about what that work entailed. I think Sharp suspected I was some sort of edgerunner, which was fine. "My last job ended in my... demise, but I was still successful, which means I should have been paid."And I found it, right on the page it was meant to be on.Thread Title:[Help Needed] Modem keeps resetting randomly — Model: LinkSurge 500Original Post:Posted by: TechTurtle123 | Posted on: 2111-09-23 14:32:09Hey everyone,I've been having an issue with my old LinkSurge 500 modem. It keeps resetting randomly every couple of hours. It's been fine for years, but now it's really getting annoying. Sometimes it works fine for a day, then out of nowhere it'll start resetting again every 15-20 minutes.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.I've tried the following so far:Power-cycling the modem.Factory reset.Checked for any firmware updates (none available).Nothing seems to be helping. Could this be a hardware issue? Any advice would be appreciated!TechTurtle123Reply #1:Posted by: ModemMaster98 | Posted on: 2111-09-23 15:04:37Hey TechTurtle123,The LinkSurge 500 has a known issue with overheating over time. Check if the modem is getting too hot to touch. If that's the case, you might want to open it up and clean out any dust that's accumulated inside. Sometimes the thermal paste on the chip dries out, and that can cause random resets.ModemMaster98I scrolled down, which proved to be a pain to do with paws which didn't have anywhere near the same dexterity as a human thumb.Reply #17:Posted by: RhymingVerse4578 | Posted on: 2124-03-03 15:04:37The modem is confirmed down.Good work.I'm going to hit the gym until it's ready to work again.And there it was! A little more conspicuous than was ideal, but the message was clear. The cash was at one of my dead drop locations. "We have something to do tonight," I said."We do?" Sharp asked. "Uh, does it have to do with modems?""No, not at all. It has to do with picking up the earnings of my last job. And perhaps hitting the gym. How much money do you have now?""Uh, just a little over two hundred dollars!" Sharp said. She sounded proud of that.I tsked. The gym was in the northern end of Cambridge, close to the edge of the city. Mostly it was there because I could drive into the city, pick the dead drop up, and be off to my home in just a couple of hours. Less if I scheduled things just right with the train or a hover car service.Not that I was stupid enough to pick up my own dead drops. That was an easy way to get nailed. I usually hired a respectable courier service to do that for me, they'd move it to a bank who'd take care of things for me. The more steps the better, really, and I wasn't usually in a hurry to get paid.Each dead drop location was different, but there was a code to it that was easy enough to follow. In this case, the numbers in the username pointed to the district, and the hint about a gym filled in the rest.Right... two hundred might get us to that end of the city and back. It wouldn't pay for a subscription to the gym though. And what would Sharp even do with a duffle full of cash? Get mugged, probably."Damn, we are not ready for this," I said."Ready for what?" Sharp asked."To cross the entire city for a moderately-risky task. I think we're going to need to raise more money.""Aww," she said.I tilted my head to the side a little, then glanced down at the phone. This thing would let me communicate to others. Which... might mean calling in a few more favours. I owed a minor one to Paris already, but as soon as I had access to my accounts again I could wire her a few thousand and it would all be well. Who else would be willing to help if I asked?"Sharp, did you like that delivery job?" I asked."It was okay, for the most part," she said. "My legs still hurt a little."Grinning-or the closest kitty approximation to it I could manage-I hopped onto the phone and started to navigate the web again, this time to an entirely different forum. Soon, I was creating a temporary account in one tab while working through the other siteSharp kept watch as I mistyped the same things over and over. Eventually she started to help by typing for me. "So, we're sending a message to a delivery company?" she asked."A courier company," I said. "It's different. And we're passing ourselves off as me.""Uh...""Don't think about it too hard," I advised. If we got a reply quickly, then Sharp would have a second job, one that was guaranteed to pay significantly better than being a waitress. And if that job was a little bit more dangerous, then that would just mean more opportunities to grow some stats, wouldn't it?The phone buzzed as we received a reply, and I got to practice my cat smiles again. "I guess that means we're heading out again."
* * *
Chapter Eleven — Brooklin Woes
Chapter Eleven — Brooklin Woes We were in luck. The office I wanted to visit was in Brookline, which was just to the west of Fenway. Sure, we were in the eastern end of Fenway, but the office was equally in the eastern end of Brookline, so all we had to do was cross the district and walk for twenty minutes.Brookline was the primest, most proper part of Boston Two. The buildings here were old, turn-of-the-previous century. Often restored and kept in their original state.There were the usual mega buildings and skyscrapers interspersed around these, of course, but a lot of Brookline was built into the Brookline Skyway, a complex set of bridges and connecting buildings above the old suburbs.We were on the street level, though, and entirely out of place.Brookline was clean. Almost unnaturally so. Street sweeping machines were humming by almost constantly, often followed by BPD armoured cruisers there to keep law and order. The people of Brookline, the natives, were well-dressed men and women in suits and with fedoras or with summer dresses and wide-brimmed hats.We crossed more than one digital poster screaming about the virtues of the HOA, the local gang that ruled over this part of the city and which likely wanted to rule over the rest."This place always makes me feel dirty," Sharp said."That's not too unusual, I think. Keep in mind that the cleanliness here is mostly surface-deep. You won't find more people willing to kill their neighbours anywhere else in this city."I'd gotten my share of contracts from this area. Not to say that it was dangerous. To the common person who kept their head down and made some effort to fit in, this was probably one of the safest places in all of Boston Two, which was saying something when this city was otherwise so dangerous.Still, if you failed to conform, that illusion of safety was quick to disappear.Fortunately, we were tourists here, just passing through in a hurry with a clear destination in mind. As long as we didn't cause trouble or loiter, we should be fine."Hey!" A man in Hugo Boss-esque uniform with a truncheon and a badge on his lapel that read HOA called out. He was pointing that stick of his right at Sharp... no, right at me. "Do you have a permit for that cat?""Run."We gave him the slip three alleys and a detour later by entering a parking garage and coming out on the other side. I had Sharp turn into another alley and discard her old jacket. It was a ratty thing, and we could pick up better in the lost and found at the bar. The coat had changed her silhouette and was more noticeable than the rest of her. We just had to hope that the incident didn't merit the HOA looking into their electronic surveillance for us.Eventually we made it to the office we'd come all this way to get to.It shared a building with a few others, one of those ground-level red brick buildings in the middle of a street so old that it wasn't able to handle street-side parking. A few signs hung next to the door, for the various offices within, but it was one in particular that caught my eye. Malcolm and Weiss — Intracity Couriers.Sharp pressed a buzzer next to the door, and I could faintly make out a ringing inside. A small shutter, with a faux-wood cover, moved aside and a camera stared down at us for a moment before the shutter closed.The door clicked and unlocked."I guess this is it," Sharp said. She tugged her blouse straighter, then worried at a stain on the front of it for a moment before giving up. "How's my hair?""Still blonde," I said.We'd have to do something about that. It was too obvious. Dye? It was a cheap option. Tech hair would be better in some ways, though it was also subtly worse in others. Oh well.The inner office was little more than a corridor with several doors leading into the various spaces rented within. The office we were looking for was up a flight of stairs and around a corner. The door was all glass, with the company's logo, a motorcycle with a large package on the back, all done up in bright blues and pinks.Sharp knocked.There was movement behind the frosted glass, then a man opened the door and eyed her up and down. I noticed that half of him was out of sight and reaching for something off to the side. "Carter sent you?" he asked.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it."Uh," Sharp replied smartly."Tell him that yes, Jacline sent you," I said."Yup! Jacline sent me," she said as she perked up.He eyed her for a moment, then stepped back. "Come on in. I'm Mark."Mark was a tall enough man, broad shoulders in a plain unmarked T-shirt. He moved deeper into the office, then pulled out a seat behind a desk. I checked to the side, where a large plastic plant was indeed hiding a shotgun on a hook next to the door."Sit," Mark said as he indicated the chair across from him.Sharp rushed over and sat, then she fidgeted in her seat.Mark rubbed at his chin, where he had a short, well-trimmed beard. Mark had always striked me as a consummate professional, but he looked a little worse for wear at the moment. Dark bags under his eyes, a five-o'-clock shadow... it added up to the look of someone not at their prime. "So, the mysterious lady herself let me know that she needed a favour. I don't have time for this kind of thing, and yet I find myself disinclined to refuse something like that.""Ah, okay?" Sharp tried."You ever done courier work before?" he asked."A little," Sharp said. "I've done deliveries in South Boson. Ten of them in all." She very carefully didn't mention that they'd all been on the same day and for the same client."Have a car?"Sharp shook her head."Bike? Any transport? No... damn. Cyberware to move across the city quickly? Magic of any sort? No, well, that's fine. No parkour experience, right?""Uh, no," Sharp said instead of shaking her head yet again.Mark eyed me for a moment, then returned his gaze onto her. "Good. I lost too many new couriers to that shit. Kids think they're hot shit because they can jump a rail or do a flip, and next thing you know I need to retrieve their lost package from the alley where they splattered themselves. It's a liability.""I'll try not to learn that, then!" Sharp said.Mark chuckled. "Fair enough. Look, I'll lay it straight here, kid. You're not an appealing prospect. You look... underfed. I'm sure that'll let you get by in South Boston without raising a fuss, but we deliver across the city here.""Oh," Sharp said, sounding suddenly quite depressed. Then she sat up. "Let me prove myself," she said. "I can be sneaky, and fast. Challenges only make me stronger, I promise."Mark leaned onto one elbow, his head resting on a closed fist as he eyed Sharp. "Alright. One job. I'll pay you the full rate, but it'll be your hide if you lose the package.""Okay," Sharp said. "What's the... ah?"Mark was shaking his head already. "We never ask that. Details about the weight and size are fine. Never the contents. Just where to pick it up, and where to deliver it. You'll have to wear one of our surplus coats... what time are you free?""Right now?" Sharp said. "And I guess every evening? I have a job at the Bloody Bat during the afternoon.""Do you now," he said and I cursed Sharp's flapping tongue. "Well, well. I'll keep that in mind. Come back here tomorrow, as soon as you can manage it. I'll have something lined up for you."Sharp grinned, wide and innocent and definitely stupid. "Thank you!" she said.Mark nodded, then waved us off. So Sharp stood and scampered out of the otherwise empty office.She regrouped herself right out of the door, then made a little dance that involved a lot of hopping around and almost throwing me off. That ended when I deployed my claws. Purely to hold on, of course. "Ow ow ow ow!" She hissed as she tried to free me from her arm."If you don't want the claws, stop bouncing around like a maniac. You know he probably has cams in this corridor, right?""Oh, oops," Sharp said. "But we got the job!""We might have gotten the job. We'll see tomorrow. But if we did, this is a big step up. Courier work pays well in this city. It's a hard gig to get too. You're lucky to have me.""Yes I am. Uh-huh, yes I am!" she said... in baby-talk while rubbing at my chin.I smacked her hand back... even if it did feel a little nice.
* * *
Chapter Twelve — The Couriers
Chapter Twelve — The Couriers The rest of the day passed interminably slowly.Sharp and I made it back to the bar when it was at its busiest, and spent the rest of the evening training. I ran around until I approached exhaustion, and Sharp was... gently encouraged to do some exercises until she was left a shaking, sweaty mess on the floor.We both hit the showers after that, and while I now had a better understanding of why cats disliked water (it made my fur mat in a terribly uncomfortable way) it was still nice to soak in some warmth and feel clean for once.We actually both gained something out of it. Sharp's Body skill climbed from two to three, making it her second highest stat next to Protagonist which sat at the same level.My own jumped up as well.Body Has Levelled Up!Body 0 1I felt pretty smug as we went to bed early. Mark had said he wanted us to be there as early as possible, which I translated to 'before Sharp's shift.' Most courier work happened during the morning anyway. It was only sensible.Criminals didn't have a stellar track record for being up at the crack of dawn, and mid-day was too hot for most sensible people to want to start trouble. Early evening and night were the best times to cause trouble. So, conversely, couriers avoided those times of day if at all possible.Basically, we had good reason to show up early.Unfortunately, I awoke in the middle of the night, completely wired. I felt like someone who'd just taken a double expresso with a snort of cocaine.There was no way I'd be able to sleep. If Sharp and I didn't share a room, I might consider doing more exercise, but that would definitely wake her up, so I tried to settle down... to no avail.In the end, I found the phone we had nabbed, set it up on the end table, and tapped it on with a paw. Then I was off navigating the web. Mostly I looked into what prior couriers had to say about their jobs. There were a lot of horror stories, but those could serve as invaluable lessons.Things like, don't walk around unarmed, don't walk around armed in the wrong neighbourhood, always have a clear sign that you were a courier visible, hide any signs that you were a courier at all costs...It was rather vague and mostly contradictory stuff, but I could parse enough of it to know that every bit of advice was contextual.I was an hour into a deep dive of an old Wroteit comment thread when the phone's battery died on me. I hissed faintly at it, then gave the phone a smack for the impertinence.Tech Has Levelled Up!Tech 1 2... That had to be a coincidence.By then, my eyes were a little tired, and that incredible wired feeling had drained away, so I hopped back onto the bed and settled down near Sharp's feet. She'd showered, so there was no stink, and sleeping next to her upper body was a risk. She was... grabby.Before I fell asleep, I checked my stats, mostly as a reminder of my current progress.Name: Caroline DanielsAliases:Sarah BlackMia QuinnSam KnightSwitchLucas KingEcho FourChristieJacline CarterGhostwirePrincess SnufflebuttDuchess FuzzywhiskersMarchioness MuffinmuncherTsarina KittinaBaroness BiscuitblanketAnima 1Body 1Cat 1Combat 0Cool 0Magic 0Reflex 1Tech 2What was up with all of those names? My other aliases were all some that I'd kept and worked with, some for years. Sharp's nicknames were one-off jokes. Unfunny, rude jokes. I huffed, but paid more attention to the rest of the stats.Still nothing in Combat, Cool, or Magic, but I supposed those were more circumstantial. Tech was ahead of the rest, though not by much. Was this good progress? At this rate, it would be another month before I started to see those perks Sharp had mentioned.Perhaps the progress would be aided if it was progress towards something as opposed to random and slight stat growth from everyday occurrences?I fell asleep thinking of numbers going up, and awoke to Sharp scratching my head. "C'mon," she said. "It's... almost seven. If we head out now we'll be able to impress mister Mark."The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.I yawned, but didn't protest as I stood up. "You're right. Let's head out, then?""Well, I need to get dressed first. Just because you're heading out naked doesn't mean that I can do the same," Sharp said.I sniffed, but she wasn't entirely wrong. Not that I was naked. Fur definitely counted as appropriate covering. Still, maybe I could look into some cat clothes? My own cats had very vocally and violently refused to wear anything, no matter how cute, but I wasn't a normal cat. Why would I refuse to wear a teeny tiny coat?Sharp dressed in her finest-a ratty pair of cargo pants cinched with a belt that was too big for her and a t-shirt with a few old stains-then I climbed up onto her shoulder and we headed out. We did take a quick stop to scrounge into the lost and found, and Sharp pulled out an overly large men's jacket. It was fast fashion slop, but it would keep the chill at bay and gave me a place to hide while we went out.Now that we'd been to the office once, the route back was a little faster. Being that it was so early, the HOA security was a little more lax and we made it to Malcolm and Weiss — Intracity Couriers without a fuss.We rang the door, were buzzed in, and Sharp climbed up to Mark's office where the man was sitting behind his desk. The office space had a few lockers against one wall, and a number of crates in another. I noticed harnesses and folded up backpacks, even a few fold-up electric scooters charging in a stack off to one side. All equipment that I'd expect a courier to have on hand.Mark wasn't alone, however. There was another man there. Mid-thirties, at a guess. Poorly shaven and looking like the energy drink he was clutching in one hand was the only thing keeping him going."Sharp," Mark said. "This is Derek Slade, he's been a courier here for five years. That practically makes him ancient in terms of couriers."Derek chuckled darkly. "If you listened to me some more, we'd have a few more veterans.""Ah, do people not stay in this line of work for long?" Sharp asked.Derek shrugged. "It's a good-paying job, but the hours aren't fixed, and it's more dangerous than some other work. You're trading health for cash with this one, kid.""Oh," Sharp said."Derek makes it sound worse than it is," Mark said. "Turnover time is usually three months. Most people don't find that the work suits them. It's hard work and people are lazy. Most don't want to invest in making themselves better for the job. And those that do often end up working directly for a favourite client."Derek hummed, then nodded. "Not wrong," he said before shifting to the side. I glanced down and noticed for the first time that his shoes weren't shoes, but complex articulated feet. Cybernetic feet? It was hard to tell with his baggy pants, but I suspected that Derek here had fully cyberized legs. Not a cheap thing to get."Right, let's get you set up. Derek, do you mind taking on a few simple jobs today?""I don't," Derek said. "I've got to leave off around noon though.""Oh, me too," Sharp said. "I still have work at the Bloody Bat.""Huh, with Paris?" Derek asked."You know her?" Sharp asked.He shrugged. "It's a small world. Anyway, I'll be showing you the ropes... is that cat real?""Yup! This is Archduchess Applepaws. She's my emotional support kitten, and I can't go anywhere without her.""...Hmm, but no."Mark shifted a few pages on his desk. Old school paper print-outs of all things. He grabbed a few, stacked them up, then handed the pile to Derek. "One in Brookline, two deliveries in Fenway, one in South Boston. Nothing high risk.""Anything heavy?" Derek asked as he took the pages and leafed through them."Nothing too bad. Plus you have an extra pair of hands," Mark said. He grunted as he stood up, then moved over to the lockers. Opening them, he rifled through a few things then came out with a coat which he tossed over to Sharp. She caught it, then held it out in front of herself. It was the same as what Mark and Derek were wearing. A red faux-leather jacket with black trim. There was a hovering tag over the arm, the company logo spinning slowly."Get that on, then head out. Derek, don't let her die.""Yeah yeah, I'll manage," Derek said.I'd never felt so confident.
* * *
Chapter Thirteen — Philosopher's Cat
Chapter Thirteen — Philosopher's Cat Derek led Sharp and I out back. I was on the floor again, Sharp having let me down so that she could switch to that red jacket the others were wearing. Hers didn't quite fit her right. It was mostly the right size, except that the arms were a little short and the coat didn't cover her entire torso. Still, it fit well enough not to stand out.The back of the office was a small alley, one wide enough to hold a few sheds pressed up against the back walls. A tall, barbed-wire covered fence blocked the end of the alley, and at a glance I figured that it was one of those that could be opened remotely."Do you know how to ride a bike?" Derek asked."Uh, yeah, I've ridden one before," Sharp said. "I'm not the best at it, but I can manage."It might be a good way to get her to level up Body or even Reflex. With the level of danger posed to cyclists on the roads around here... yeah, it was a good training method."Cool," Derek said. He set a large plastic container down. It had the packages we'd be delivering. He unlocked one of the sheds, then pulled out two bikes. They had little sidecars fixed next to them, designed so that they could fold up and lock into place on a saddle rack behind the seat. Otherwise, the bikes looked rather ordinary, with a battery pack under the seat and a small engine near the pedals."Cute!" Sharp asked as she took the handles of the bike Derek pushed her way. The bike was the same red as their jackets, with the company's logo slapped on here and there."Yeah, they're alright. We have a van for bigger deliveries, but these are good enough for getting around the cleaner districts. We might park them in Fenway and then grab them again on the way back out of South Boston.""Because they'd get stolen?" Sharp asked."Because they'd get stolen," he said with a nod. "Can't have shit in Bostwon."Sharp shrugged, not disagreeing. They worked together to unfold the sidecars, then Derek split the load of packages to deliver between them. The sidecars would probably keep them safe. I hopped up onto the one on Sharp's bike, then sat back down. The view was pretty low to the ground, but it would be more comfortable than gripping her shoulder while riding around."Alright, so, the job's usually pretty easy, especially the lower level bits. Just get to the delivery point, drop shit off. Be nice, be obvious about who you are, and you won't have problems. We'll start with the package in Bookline.""Alrighty! I'm ready," Sharp said. She put a foot on the pedal and stood up, clearly ready to just head out.Derek eyed for a moment, then shrugged. "Cool. Follow me."The gate opened with a grinding screech of metal on metal, then we were out and onto the side streets of Brookline. The HOA gang had some very clear ideas about how traffic should work, which included keeping it slow and steady. It was probably one of the nicest districts in Boston Two for cyclists.Still, Derek wasn't slowing himself down on Sharp's behalf, and he had longer limbs and probably a few years of fitness training giving him a significant boost. By the time we reached the second intersection Sharp was breathing harder already."Have you figured out the electric motor yet?""Yeah," she muttered. "But I'm worried it'll run out of battery later if I use it too much now."Derek overhead and looked our way. "What was that?""Uh, how good are the batteries on this thing?""They're so-so," he said with a little wave of his hand. "You can recharge them here and there at bike rental spots. If you're real desperate, you can steal one of those electric rental scooter batteries, but I'd be careful about it, they sometimes have anti-tampering shit. I've heard horror stories.""Oh, that would suck," Sharp said."You too weak to pedal?" he asked.Sharp shook her head quickly. "Nope! It's hard, but I won't let a little pain stop me!""You're a real bundle of positivity, aren't you?" he asked.Sharp was quiet for a while, then as we were crossing an intersection, she nodded. "Yeah, I think I am. There was a course on philosophy at the orphanage. It was more about being happy to be a working stiff kind of thing, but the person teaching it left some books behind, and I ended up reading a few. And... yeah. I've decided that I'm going to be happy."Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!"I don't think that's something you can just decide," Derek said with a laugh."Why not? Everything I was supposed to learn was about how life is meaningless unless I work hard to give it meaning, and the best way to work hard is to work for something bigger than myself.""Yeah, I guess," Derek said. "I'm more of a free-spirited kinda guy, I take things as they come.""That's okay too, but it means that you'd never be a good corporate employee. The problem is that... I don't think life has any particular meaning. You just... do what you have to. And I think that makes a lot of people sad, because it means you're gonna keep getting up, keep working, keep eating and sleeping, and in the end you'll die, and that's all there is to it.""You're really cramping my style here, Sharp," Derek said.I, for one, was... somewhat impressed that Sharp had thought things through this much. For one thing, I hadn't thought her capable of basic philosophical thought. And I didn't expect her to have reached any deeper conclusions about anything. "And how does this play into your philosophy about being happy?"Sharp smiled. "It's not that bad," she said, to both me and Derek, I think. "If things are meaningless, then so is sadness, isn't it? If life is just lived to die, then why would you want to live that life and not be happy? So I woke up and chose optimism.""You're a weird one. You might fit right in with some of the other couriers."Sharp giggled. "Thanks!"It didn't take long to arrive at the first delivery location. A small, turn-of-last century duplex. All redbrick with a yard so small that Sharp could reach from one end to the other if she laid down flat across it.Probably the kind of place that cost tens of millions though, being that it was so close to downtown Brookline and was nonetheless a single-family home.Derek pointed to a locked box on the side of the house. "You'll be getting one of these. It's a phone with an app on it. It unlocks those boxes. Put the package in and then lock it up again. Don't forget to lock it.""Okay!" Sharp said. She ran over, did as Derek asked, then was back on her bike a minute later. "That was easy. Why... why don't they just use normal delivery services though?""Our services lose something like one out of every thousand packages. We're insured, generally deliver things a day earlier, and in fancy neighbourhoods like this one, we stand out a lot. If you're big into appearances, then that's a pretty big bonus.""I guess," Sharp said. "Feels like it might be a bit much for me, but I'm not the usual customer either.""Same here. This is way outside of what I could afford," Derek said. "Oh, and I forgot. We have... deals with the BPD across the city, and a lot of the gangs. Not all, mind you, but most of them. Some areas we're the only ones who'll deliver. Well, us and the other couriers.""There's others?""Yeah," he said with a nod. "And if you see them, prepare for a fight."Sharp laughed, then her laughter petered off. "Wait, are you serious?""You'll find out. Come on, two deliveries in Fenway, and I'm ten minutes behind my usual time already. Chop chop, kid."I hung on to the sidecar as we took off as quickly as Sharp could pedal towards Fenway. Derek pulled ahead, but he was kind enough to wait at every intersection. "Hey, uh... I better get a... level out of this," Sharp said to me as we were catching up."Is something wrong?""This seat is hurting my butt and my legs are on fire," Sharp said. She wiped some sweat from her eyes. "Ah, it'll all be worth it, right?""And here I thought you just said you were an optimist.""I am! Which is why I haven't given up yet!"I snorted, then spun around and laid down atop the box. The wind was nice, and the sun was out for once. If I had nothing better to do, then I might as well work on levelling up my Cat stat by taking a quick nap.
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Chapter Fourteen — The City Knows Not of Fear
Chapter Fourteen — The City Knows Not of Fear From here on out, we're on foot," Derek said as he lifted himself off of his bike. He slid it forwards, locking the front wheel in place in one of those pay-by-the-hour bike locking stations."O-oh-hokay," Sharp said. She wobbled off the side of her bike, then gripped the handles to stay standing. Her legs shook like leaves on a windy day with the effort needed to keep her standing. With the amount of sweat drenching her shirt and plastering her hair to her face, she looked rather pathetic."Are you alright?" I asked."I'm fine," she said before reaching into the sidecar. There was only one package left to deliver in there. And myself, of course. I hopped up and managed to grip onto her shoulders as she stood with the last box we had to deliver.The Fenway deliveries went well enough. The area had some alright roads for pedestrians and we got away with slipping through those on our bikes. There was one moment where a guard yelled at us, but we didn't get into any real sort of trouble. The two delivered were dropped off where they were meant to go, and we then rode all the way back to the eastern end of the district.It was probably a solid twenty miles of biking with very few pauses. Not so much that a fit person would be out of sorts from it, but enough that..."You don't look so good," Derek said.I almost fell off of Sharp as she leaned forwards and rested her elbows on the bike's handles to catch her breath. "I'll be fine," she said. "No, really. Just... maybe I need a drink.""Alcohol?" he asked.She shook her head. "Water.""Good, because Mark isn't fond of any of us drinking on the job. After is fine, but don't show up to work drunk or high."Sharp gave him a thumb's up. "Okay," she said before making a supreme effort and pushing her bike into the same locking mechanism that Derek had just used. She had to lean over to fold the sidecar back up as well.Then Sharp stumbled over to a row of vending machines nearby. They were the usual. Convenience machine, drinks, guns, ammo, and gacha machine with various bits of merch. She fumbled a few dollars out of her pocket and soon enough we had a fresh, moderately chill bottle of water in hand.Sharp gulped it down, a few drops running down the side of her chin. "Ahhh!" she said as she lowered the bottle. "Here, want some?"I leaned forwards and when she tipped the bottle back, I licked a few drops out of the air. It was weird, but my cat tongue could kind of... cling to the water? It made drinking by licking much easier than it would have been as a human.Still hated getting water all over myself, but staying hydrated was important."That is one weird little cat you've got there," Derek said. "It's well-trained. Is it like one of those corpo-made pets?""Huh? Oh no, I met Countess Cotton-Cream in an alleyway a few days ago," Sharp said. "You could say that she changed my life for the better!""Huh," he said. "Well, whatever. A corp-made pet wouldn't be so ugly."I turned my head his way and glared. I wasn't ugly... well... dammit, kittens were always cute, even the ugly ones, no?"Don't mind him, I think that you're beautiful on the inside," Sharp said as she rubbed my head.I gave her hand a smack, though I chose to keep my claws to myself, this time.With Sharp no longer looking quite so drained, we started off towards South Boston. The area was rough enough that Derek didn't want to risk taking company bikes into it. Instead, we moved down into the Boston underground and grabbed a ride in the metro. The jacket's fancy floating logos on the shoulders actually charged the company directly when it came to metro tickets as long as we walked through the right kind of turn-stall.Armed guards stood waiting nearby, under a sign that read 'Ticket Skippers Will Be Shot.'I'd never had the misfortune of riding in the metro before. It was as bad as I imagined. Cars covered in graffiti except for the VIP ones at the very front. As 'business' people we got to ride in one of the central cars nearer the front of the train, which meant that it was only exceptionally tight within. The civilian cars had robots shoving people in so that the doors would close.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.Fortunately, we weren't going far. Fenway was three stops from South Boston including one line transfer from the Greygun Grey line to the CokaCola Red line which dropped us off in the north end of South Boston.Once we were back out in the open air, Derek stared at the sky for a moment, likely reading something off of an internal hud, then he pointed us in the right direction.From there, it was just a long walk across the city, moving further and further from the busier centre of the district and into the areas where I wouldn't want to be caught out in during the night.Surprisingly, the area felt... familiar."Hey, I was just around here a couple of days ago," Sharp said. She looked up and towards a familiar megabuilding. The same one we'd run out of after hearing... strange things over the building's PA."It's not a great spot, but it's not usually problematic during the day," Derek said. "Anyway, that's our drop-off." He pointed to a smaller mega building across the street. This one covered in the red and brown banners of the riveters.A few gangsters eyed us at the entrance, but we were let in without any fuss. The drop off was at a reception area on the first floor."And we're done," Derek said. "Now's the ride back to fetch our bikes. You've got time?""Uh, yeah, I should," Sharp said after glancing at a wall-mounted clock. "I need to be back in Fenway in about an hour.""A little tight, but we should make it, no problem," Derek said.Sharp seemed ready to agree when all three of us turned towards the entrance. One of the riveters, a man in his late thirties or so in a leather jacket covered in small rivets, flagged Derek down. "You the couriers?" he asked."Yeah," Derek said. "Can I help?""You should get out of here," the man said.I glanced around, noticing that there were more and more rivetters around. Men and women, often with guns or pipes or machetes. The elevator opened and a half-dozen more filed into the lobby."What's going on?" Sharp asked."None of our business," Derek said. "Thanks man, we're heading out. Can we leave out back?"The riveter shook his head. "You don't wanna go out that way. Trust me, pal. Out the front, then make a run south. That's your best bet."Derek nodded, then turned to touch Sharp on the shoulder. "Let's make a move, then."The riveter wasn't messing around. Something big was happening. The streets outside were clearing out. People were getting into their cars and driving off, traffic was speeding up faster than the usual crawl, and it looked like everyone with a lick of common sense was making themselves scarce.Sharp had to push her way through a growing crowd of riveters. We popped out near the exit and found Derek already outside."What do you think is happening?" Sharp asked."I don't know. My work rarely involved street-level gang work. At a guess, someone's started something and the riveters are about to respond. We should head back to Fenway, if it's a gangwar it won't spill out all the way-"It all happened at once. Sharp stepped outside into the street even as an alarm went off somewhere down the road. A man pushed his street vendor cart past us, even as automatic shutters started to come down across the shops lining the road.A car alarm started to honk, soon joined by another.And there was a crack.Sharp didn't recognize it, but I sure did. That was a gun going off. Not unheard of in this city, but still cause for some alarm.And then Derek stumbled to the side, his eyes going wide before he reached down towards his lower abdomen. His hand came back bloody."Sharp, run!" I shouted.She gasped, finally catching on that shit was hitting the fan.Down the street, I could see a small crowd gushing out onto the road. They were coming from the same direction as that cursed mega building. People in tattered, dirty clothes, with smudges on their faces who walked like they were drunk and carried guns like they were ready to start a revolution.Then a voice, the same one we'd heard over the PA, started to blare out of a dozen loudspeakers."This city doesn't know pain. Not real pain. They don't know the pain of serving under him, and his eternal, everlasting glory. We will show them the error of their ways!"
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Chapter Fifteen — Downrange
Chapter Fifteen — Downrange "Are you okay?" Sharp asked as she ran over to Derek's side."We should move. We're downrange of something nasty, Sharp."She nodded, but reached an arm around Derek's shoulder anyway. "Hey, can you hear me? Are you okay?""I wasn't shot in the ears, I was shot in the gut. Fuck. Ah." Derek had an arm wrapped around his torso, almost as though he was trying to hold the blood in. There was quite a bit of it, but not nearly enough to kill him just yet.At a guess-an educated one-he had a while before blood loss took him out. More than long enough to get that wound packed. That was, as long as he didn't get shot a second time. "Sharp, I'm not joking, we need to get out of here."Sharp tsked, but she started to pull Derek to the side. Another hiss sounded as a round shot past. Not a snap though. They weren't aiming at us. Still, I found myself crouching against Sharp's shoulder, ears folded back as she guided Derek back towards the building we'd just left.Only now a group of Riveters were leaving, armed to the teeth and looking pissed. "Dang it," Sharp cursed before pulling Derek along towards the alley next to the building. It wasn't much quieter there. People were running out of the street by any means they could, and that meant the alleys.Sharp didn't go far. We paused only a few yards in and Derek leaned his back against the wall. "Ah, fuck fuck," he said as he looked at his hand."Sharp, if we're going to keep him alive, I need you to look at his wound.""Ew," she said."Do it," I snapped.Sharp swallowed, then crouched before Derek and pulled his jacket away from his side. The interior was clinging to his shirt. "What am I looking for?" she asked in a low whisper."An exit wound on the other side. See that hole? It's small, that's where the round went in. Something small by the looks of it. Handgun round, I'd guess."Derek tried to push Sharp away, but she batted his hands aside. "I'm trying to help," she said. Gingerly, she ran a hand on his other side, tapping and pressing along his torso. "I'm not finding anything.""Then the bullet's still in him," I said as I leaned forward to see better. The shot had slipped into his jacket. It looked like the inside of the coat was lined with small metal plates and the bullet had slipped in between two of them. That hit was about two inches below his short ribs, more or less going level. The fact that it hadn't come out the other side suggested that it wasn't all that potent of a round, or the coat had absorbed some of its energy. "He'll live," I decided.Probably. He had cybernetic legs, which was an issue that few people considered. Robotic legs meant less room for blood. Derek didn't need to bleed nearly as much as someone with biological legs would need to in order to die."We need to stop that bleeding. He needs a good first aid kit, and soon.""Okay, okay," Sharp said. She looked to her hands which were covered in blood. She wiped them on her pants. "Let's keep moving, okay? South, right? Is there a hospital or something that way?""Clinic, yeah," he said. "Mark pays out for okay emergency insurance. Fuck, I need to call him.""Okay," Sharp said."Call while moving, this is a danger zone," I said. "Once the BPD gets here, they'll cordon the area off and lock it down. He'll bleed out long before a paramedic sees him."Derek grunted, then ground his teeth while his eyes flashed. "M-Mark? Hey man. Bad news... yeah no, package got there safe. But I got shot... yeah, I'm with the kid. Uh-huh. By South Boston, northern end. Maybe twenty minutes from the metro? Uh... yeah. Okay? Right, yeah, I can make it there. I've got the kid, she's helping. Okay, okay. Cool." His eyes flashed again, and he leaned forwards a little. "We need to move. Mark's got someone that'll come pick me up." He rattled off an address and Sharp nodded."We can get there," she said. "Let's start walking, okay. Uh, keep pressure on the hole? Here?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of napkins.Derek eyed them, then gingerly pressed them over the hole in his shirt. "Fuck, why couldn't they hit my leg?""I guess that would have been luckier," Sharp said."Eh.. maybe not. Legs are more expensive to fix than my insides, but at least it wouldn't hurt this bad." Sharp laughed, then got onto Derek's side and tried to get his arm over her shoulder, but he waved her off. "I've got robo-legs. The rest of me will fall apart before they give out, so don't worry about helping me walk.""Oh, okay," Sharp said.She looked down both ways of the alley, and so did I. It had cleared out almost entirely, with only a few people peeking out the near end onto the street where gunshots and shouts were becoming more common. Someone was blasting music over the ranting and raving of that... probably-a-cult. High BPM cowboy techno really messed with the mood.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it."Let's move," I said."Right," Sharp said. She moved a bit ahead of Derek, but constantly looked back to see if he was okay. He was walking just fine, but his eyes were closed and it looked like he might shatter his teeth from grinding them so hard.The alley had a T-junction right in the middle, and it was only common sense that we'd turn right at the middle and head southwards from here. That's the direction Sharp was cutting towards, and I felt like we had a decent chance to get out of this situation in good shape if we just kept moving.Mark would owe us one for helping save Derek, even if it wasn't that much effort to do so. This was a trial by fire, of sorts. More trouble than the average courier was ever expected to encounter.Then things went from awful to worse as two people rounded the corner in the middle of the alley, just a dozen feet ahead of Sharp. Two men, both looking like they were in their mid thirties or so, but they might have been younger. They were pale, sickly, with raggedy clothes and eyes that looked shellshocked. And they were carrying bats."Oh no," Sharp said.There was no dialogue, the man in the lead just raised his bat and ran without even a scream.I leapt.I don't think he was expecting half a pound of angry kitten to land on his face, because he screamed for real this time and bent his head back.I, in the meantime, got to work with my natural weapons. This fuck wanted to hurt Sharp? Well, she was my meal ticket, so he'd have to get through me first.I tried to scream, but it came out as a yowling hiss. All of my martial arts training amounted to very little as I clawed and scratched at his face, digging under his skin and drawing blood.He reached for me, so I let myself drop, then clung onto his shirt. He had a nipple ring. It... was admittedly a strange thing to notice, but it was right there and so I took the opportunity to bite it. When he grabbed me and tried to throw me off, I just bit harder.There was a rip, and the man's scream turned desperate.I'd barely touched the ground that I leapt back up and assaulted the back of his legs. Clawing swipes, and a hard bite at his exposed ankle, but he wore thick jeans.I bounced away when the moron with only one nipple ring's friend tried to kick me. "Queen Violence!" Sharp shouted before she rammed into the man with no form. It was such a badly made blow that I worried she might have broken her neck with that tackle, but instead she ended up on the alley ground.The morons were stepping back a little. I couldn't let them regroup, because if they did, they'd win. Two men, even drugged up morons, against a kitten and a scrawny teen? Yeah, I didn't like our odds.So I sprinted towards the one massaging his chest, ran up his entire body, and bit his nose. Then, while I was gripped onto him, I pressed both forepaws-claws out-into his eyes.Most animals didn't dig into eyelids. They'd just swipe and scratch. I knew better.He grabbed me and flung me off, and it was only the fact that I weighed nothing that saved me as I hit the ground hard and bounced.He'd gotten the worse of that exchange as he screamed and pressed his hands onto his bleeding face."His bat!" I shouted.Sharp lunged forwards while Blindy-McOneNipple's pal checked up on him. She grabbed his bat, then swung it with all of her weight and all of her enthusiasm right at the back of idiot two's head.It clunked. The bat flew out of her hands and clattered to the ground, but idiot two had definitely felt that.I ran over to him and bit into the back of his calf. This idiot was wearing shorts, and I wasn't about to let him forget that mistake as I used him like a living scratchpost.Sharp hissed, shook her hands from the shock, then picked up the bat again. This time she went for an overhead blow. He blocked it with an upraised arm, but there was still a bone jarring crunch when it hit."Fuck, run!" Derek snapped.That was... a good idea, actually.I let go of idiot two's leg, hopefully having done enough damage to make running more difficult, then I was picked up by Sharp. Derek was already halfway down the alley, which fortunately only had a few corpses in it, and no one to slow us down.Good, because I was quite exhausted.Reflex Has Levelled Up!Reflex 1 2Combat Has Levelled Up!Combat 0 1Well, that was something.
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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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Chapter Eighteen — Big Money
Chapter Eighteen — Big Money I never expected to have to explain to Sharp that my previous work paid well. It was one of those things that hadn't occurred to me."So, you are aware that my previous career involved me... killing people, yes?""I was trying not to think too hard about it, to be honest," Sharp said. She was checking the front fender of the bike. There was a small chip in the paint, but it wasn't so bad. "It's... well, I don't want to say it's evil. There are some bad people in the world, and maybe you worked with, uh, on them?""Sure," I said. If that's what she wanted to believe, then so be it. I'd never been one to hesitate too hard when it came to doing my job, but I understood that others had to be eased into it.Of course, there were plenty of stories about killers who took one life and then lost their minds over the fact.I always felt a little sorry for those who suffered from PTSD just for carrying out their job, but on the flip side of that same token, I found them a little... pitiful. I, for one, never had any issues sleeping.And I wasn't a psychopath or a sociopath. I'd had expensive therapists confirm it for me. "In any case. The average low-level assassination job pays anywhere from twenty to forty thousand.""That's... so much.""Not really. There are a limited number of professional killers in any given city. It's not like it's a job that allows for over-saturation of the market, and the risks are pretty high. Getting caught once is often the end for a contractor.""Uh, okay. You're not... going to encourage me to kill people, right? I don't want to be that kind of edgerunner," She asked the last while kneeling before the front of the bike.I met her eyes, then blinked slowly. "No. To be honest, you don't have the temperament." Yet."Okay," Sharp said. "I guess... I don't know. I don't think I've ever had to decide where killing people fits on my moral code."She had a code? That seemed like a foolish thing to hold dear. It sounded like the kind of thing that would do more to imprison and render one inflexible than anything else. "If that's what you want, then so be it," I said. "In any case, this last job was relatively difficult. This dead drop is the second half of my payment."Sharp choked. "It was a hundred and fifty thousand?" she asked."A bit more than that," I said. "There's middleman fees, transference fees. Expenses... Now, the one true advantage is that I don't pay taxes, so even all those small inconveniences come up to significantly less than what I'd have to pay if I were a proper tax-paying citizen. Not that I don't donate and such. I do my part to keep my community clean and healthy."Sharp gave me a rather dubious look. "With the money you made killing people."I shrugged. "How much is one person's life really worth? I'll have you know that I paid for the construction of two animal shelters and a dog park. I don't even like dogs."Sharp shook her head as she got back onto the bike. "You'd think a person's life would be worth more than a dog park... well, maybe not, I guess land is kind of expensive.""Now you're getting it."Sharp got back onto the bike, then kicked off and we were on our way again. There were other deliveries to take care of before we went to the gym and grabbed my dead drop. It was best not to carry that kind of cash around for any longer than necessary.Then again, we'd probably be stashing it in Sharp's room at the Bloody Bat.Right, I'd need to open a secure account for her. A younger woman, not yet a legal adult, no job or work history... opening an account at a respectable bank would be difficult. Depositing seventy-plus thousand would raise more alarms than if Sharp walked into the bank with a ski mask and a sawed off shotgun.Keeping the money as cash was an option, of course. It would let her buy what she needed to get to my place, at the very least.Oh well. No rush. It would get us some basic equipment in the area, maybe access to good transportation, and we could start building a more realistic identity for Sharp. Something that would stand up to some scrutiny and explain why she had some of the money she had.Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.Not the sums I had access to, of course, but lesser amounts? That was doable. Edgerunners have existed for a while, and young fools taking big risks and somehow surviving them... well, it had happened before.Sharp was rather quiet as we went about doing our last delivery in the area, then we had to pause for a moment before entering Cambridge.There was a bridge across the river in Fenway, and it was the easiest way across. It even allowed bikes to pass, though for a small toll. The issue would be getting across Cambridge itself.Not because of gangs, but because of extremely high levels of corpo-sec. The region was dominated by a few large schools and universities, but also hundreds of labs and research centres. It was also home to the Three Towers. A set of three all-black pillars, brutalist architecture at its finest, and Boston Two's centre for all things magical.We'd be avoiding those. Both the security and the mages, wizards, acolytes, and any warlocks serving whichever Eidolon was popular at the moment.Our delivery in Cambridge was, luckily, not near the towers and also not too terribly far from Groovy Galaxy."Just over there," I said after we dropped off the last package. The gym was in a small mall, next to a pharmacy and a grocery store, as well as a sub shop. The entire front was all glass, letting those on the streetside see fit young people sweating it out on various machines.I'd never been one for these kinds of places. The less my face got caught in the periphery of some gym nut's Instabook stream the better.Sharp parked the courier bike next to a few others on a rack outside, then locked it in place. This was a nicer neighbourhood, mostly because surveillance drones hummed ominous overhead every few minutes and corpo-sec was only a shout away at all times.Petty bike thieves wouldn't make a good career here, so we didn't have to worry too much.Sharp tucked me into her coat, and we walked into the gym only to be immediately assaulted by faint disco lighting and not-so-faint disco music.Groovy beats were thumping out of bass-boosted speakers and there was an entire dance-ercise group in the rear in colourful spandex working through a routine.Sharp moved up to the counter, presented herself as a courier, and the overworked teen behind the desk quickly shoved her off to a manager. From there it was one passphrase before we were allowed into the non-binary locker rooms."Twenty-Six... .twenty-six... here it is," Sharp said. She reached the right locker, and I fed her the seven-digit code.The locker opened to reveal a plain black duffel bag. Sharp grabbed it, hitched it over her shoulder, and a minute later we were back on the bike, though we didn't go far. Sharp turned into an alley soon after."What is it?" I asked."I want to see," she said.That was... probably unwise. Though checking for trackers was never a bad idea. Most couriers would bring it to their office where a manager like Mark would transfer the loose cash into another bag for the return trip... for a small nominal fee. It was hard to trust couriers sometimes, but those who cheated their clients often found themselves dead, so the survivors who'd been around for a while were generally trustworthy."Very well."I moved off the bag and watched as Sharp unzipped it and tugged it open.As promised, the interior was filled with small bundles of cash, each bill freshly pressed with a nice one hundred on the top. There were eight little stacks in the bag, next to some loose towels to pad it all out."It looks like so little," she breathed."Well, yes. Did you expect nothing but ones? That wouldn't be convenient, now would it?""I, uh, guess," she said before zipping the bag closed. Her hands were shaking.I reached over and pressed a paw over them. "It'll be fine," I said. "Just exercise your ability not to think about things, and soon you won't even be bothered by it.""I don't know. This is... this is huge. But yeah, you're right, let's get back home. We can decide what colour the mansion walls can be once we're back in our room."Mansion? Oh, this sweet child. A mansion, in this economy, with only five figures? She was going to learn the painful way that big bundles of cash moved fast in this world.
* * *
Chapter Nineteen — Under the Bed
Chapter Nineteen — Under the Bed Sharp and I returned to the Bloody Bat in short order, and when we went in, she was quick to rush to her room and stuff the bag under her bed."Not the best hiding place, but I suppose it'll do for now," I said."Yeah," she said as she wiped her hands. "Wow... I.. I feel like I can't spend any of that money though.""Why not?" I asked."It's stolen, isn't it?""From... me?" I asked. "Sharp, I hereby give you permission to spend that money... in a reasonable and responsible way, as long as you're aware that it's very much a finite amount.""Right, uh, I guess that makes sense," Sharp said. She laughed, but it sounded nervous. I think the presence of so much money was making her anxious.I hopped up onto the bed and turned around to face her. "Ask Paris for a more reasonable schedule moving forwards. A few days off a week for training would be useful. Or... we could move to my place, but it's just outside of the city and I'm not entirely sure I can just have you show up.""Huh? Uh, yeah, I'll ask Paris for some time off. What's that about your place?""I have a nice apartment," I said. "But you lingering around it would be suspicious. However, you could rent the place next door. As long as I can access certain accounts then I can make it a sure-thing that you'll be allowed in. And I'll even keep the rent reasonable."I smiled, catlike and smug. If Sharp thought me being an assassin made me evil, then she wasn't prepared to learn that I was also a landlord.Of course, I'd only charge her a reasonable rate. Something competitive and fair. Maybe I'd put a portion of that rent money in an account she could access later?The other portion would go into maintenance, of course. I wouldn't trust a teenager to understand how much it costs to fix a roof and have the grass replaced every three years with new Arti-Turf."Go shower before work starts. If you're going to be begging Paris for time off, you might as well do it looking clean.""Okay, right!" Sharp said. She ran out of the room, leaving me with not much to do.I sighed. I'd forgotten to tell Sharp to buy a charging cable for the burner or the other that we'd gotten from the lost and found. Oh well.I didn't feel like exercising too much at the moment, and I did need my sleep. So I hopped onto the bed, spun around a few times, and laid down to rest.Sharp returning to get changed awoke me a little, but she just got dressed then ran off with not much more than a pat on my head.Back to napping.No, no, not napping. This was a proper sleep that I needed. I was in the body of what was at best a juvenile. Preventing myself from getting sleep was only going to worsen things for me in the long run.So I slept... until Sharp slid back into the room, waking me up."Hey, Queen Regine Quirky Rufflewhiskers," Sharp said."I do like the Queen part of that. I'm very much not sure about all the rest," I said as I yawned. "Is your shift done?"She nodded, but didn't move to be too much deeper in the room. "I uh... so, this is a little awkward.""Then rip it off like a bandaid," I suggested while my mind raced.Sharp tapped the pads of her fingers together, then took a deep breath. "Alyssa and Jenny are here. At the bar, I mean. They came in near the end of my shift, and I said hi, since... you know, I did work for them. And they told me to join them once they were done. What do I do? I said I would see, but I don't think they know I live here.""Ah," I said. So the moth mage and the gremlin were here? It was very possible that they didn't have ulterior motives. They'd come here before for a meeting, and they seemed to know the Bloody Bat well enough. We'd met them in a local pawn shop as well, so there was a high likelihood that they were locals.That, and sharp hadn't done anything too weird around them, other than talk to her cat a few times, maybe.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.Joining them might not be a terrible idea.Sharp needed friends around her own age. And while those two wouldn't be good influences, I was going to be around as a moderating presence.I barely had any friends, and I ended up killing people for a living. I could see why a lack of friendships might be a poor choice at day's end."Well then, let's go say hello.""You're coming?" she asked."Do you not want me to? Is it because I'm a cat?""What? No, that's not why," she said. Then she noticed her mistake and slapped a hand over her mouth."Then why do you not want me there?""Uh, I mean, yeah, it's because you're a cat and it would be weird, no? To bring a cat out with you to a meeting?"I stared at her.She stared back.Her cheeks reddened. "I, uh... got a level in Reflex from that."I let out a sigh. "Of course you did. Let's just go, Sharp."I didn't have the time, inclination, or will, to dig into Sharp's psyche to figure out what exactly she meant by... all of that. Though I had the impression that she was starting to think of me as the parental figure she'd never had.It was nice, in a way, but also rather distressing that this girl thought of a kitten as a mother figure and didn't want to show up with said mother figure in front of her friend.That, or I was entirely wrong and she just thought I was uncool, which was the height of irony considering our current circumstances vis-a-vis the Cool stat.Sharp changed into a plain shirt from the lost and found that fit her more or less, then shucked on a large hoodie a few sizes bigger than what fit. I was unceremoniously slid down the neck of the hoodie to hang with my head under her chin like some sort of living pendant.We exited out into the main area of the Bloody Bat. Music was thumping over the dance floor and lights flashed, but Sharp seemed all too used to it as she navigated along the edge of the room and then up to the floor above.It was quieter there. Some trick of the architecture kept most of the bass-boosted noise at bay, and while it was still relatively dark, the lighting was enough to see by.The Mage and the Gremlin were in a small booth off to one side. Sharp slid in, sitting next to Jenny and across from Alyssa. "Hi," she said."Hey," Jenny replied. She had half a meal left before her. Some synthetic-meat spaghetti next to a frothy beer."Welcome back," Alyssa said. Her own meal was a salad, but there was an empty plate pushed to the side. "Did you want to order anything?""Ah, um. I suppose I should," Sharp said. "Maybe just some fries or something.""Yeah, gotta watch your intake," Jenny agreed. "I really shouldn't be eating this many carbs, but I am a bitch of little resistance."Alyssa shrugged. "To each their own. Did you... have a good shift?""Oh, yeah! It was fine," Sharp said. "Uh, did you guys have a nice... whatever you do?"Jenny snorted, then took a sip of her beer. The mug looked ridiculously large in her tiny hands. "Yeah. We had a great whatever today.""That's good," Sharp said. "Would it be rude to ask what it is you do?""I don't know, how about you tell me your biggest secret and we'll see," Jenny said."Oh... well, I guess mine is that there's a heap of cash under my bed."Jenny blinked, then laughed. "Saving up all that odd-job money the old fashioned way, huh? Nah, we're mostly working to try and build up our rep. Alyssa here wants to be a proper spell-flinger, and that takes contacts, cash, and... shit, Alyssa, think of something else that starts with C."Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Courage?""That works!" Jenny said."A spell-flinger?" Sharp asked. "I saw you do a bit of magic the other day. It was awesome." She leaned forwards, almost squishing me against the table. "Can you teach me any? Please?"Alyssa stared at her, only glimpsing down at me for a moment. "You know what, sure. Order your fries, and I'll give you magic 101 while they show up."Hmm, so the girl thought she could teach, then? Well, I wouldn't mind listening in.
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Chapter Twenty — Magic
Chapter Twenty — Magic Magic.If Samuel Colt made man equal, than magic made man even.In theory, anyone could practice the arcane arts. There were several disciplines, and while a number of them required some items and resources to work, an even greater number only required knowledge and perhaps a promise or two made to extremely powerful, otherworldly beings.In practice, magic was rarely used by the common man or woman. That knowledge was esoteric, the tools needed to practice it were bizarre.Why spend three hundred hours learning a single spell able to light a candle when you could climb into perpetual debt and come out of it with a bionic finger that had a built-in lighter? There was certainly a certain level of commodification with magic, but a lot of it simply required hard work on the caster's part, and hard work wasn't something a proper capitalist society could sell.Alyssa looked like she was in her mid-twenties. I couldn't imagine someone like her knowing all that much about magic at her age, but maybe that was just my own older age speaking. There were a few schools in Cambridge which taught some forms of magic to their students from a young age, and she was just old enough to be a college graduate."Magic is as beautiful as it is dangerous. It isn't something for people to just pick up on a whim," she said. She was really leaning hard into the whole edgy spellcaster stereotype. "If you mess it up, it can cost you your life, your soul, or worse. Understand?"Sharp nodded quickly. I wasn't sure, but I suspected that she was primed to agree to anything that Alyssa said to her. "I promise I won't use what you teach me for great evil."Jenny next to us snorted, then choked on her spaghetti."Don't worry, I won't be teaching you any spellwork," Alyssa said."You won't?" Sharp asked."I hardly have the time for that. Let's just cover the basics. Do you know how many kinds of magic there are?""I don't," Sharp admitted. "But I think I know a few? There's stuff with Eidolons, then summoning, casting spells, and... I think there's a kind where you need to move to cast?" She wiggled her arms a little in a mock dance.Alyssa nodded slowly. "That covers five broad types of magic. In all, there are eighty-four categories for what counts as magic.""Eighty-four," Sharp repeated. "I don't know if I could memorise that many.""If you can't memorise things, then most magics aren't going to be for you. Regardless, most magics use some shared principles." The young mage raised a hand, then started counting down on her fingers. "The mage, the body, the mind, the soul, the spirit, and the cant.""Can't?" Sharp asked."Cant, one word," Alyssa corrected. "It means a mantra, saying, incantation, or some other way of binding a spell to the world and activating it. Some cants use motions, others supplications, and there are some kinds of magic that don't seem to use a cant at all, but in reality the cant is just hidden somewhere else.""I think I got it," Sharp said.Alyssa eyed her for a moment, and the doubt in her eyes was painfully obvious. "Sure," she settled on. "Most different types of magic are more about taking different approaches to using magic itself to accomplish something.""What do you mean?" Sharp asked.Alyssa frowned, then reached over and grabbed a napkin from the centre of the table and placed it between herself and Sharp. She crushed it into a little ball, then set it down. "I want this to move from here." She pointed to where the napkin was. "To here." She pointed to the edge of the table. "I can move it physically, obviously."Sharp nodded as Alyssa plucked the napkin and placed it back down on the edge. She brought it back a moment later."No magic. But I could do the same with magic. As a warlock of the Veilwing Sovereign She Who Whispers in the Dark, I could beg my patreon to move this napkin for me."Nothing happened."But I won't, because testing an Eidolon like that is foolhardy. Instead, I could link this to something similar." She grabbed and crushed another napkin, then set it down. The two were next to each other for a moment while the girl muttered something under her breath and focused hard on both. Then she moved her arm to the right, and the second napkin, without anything touching it, shuffled along the top of the table.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there."Whoa," Sharp said.It wasn't exactly an impressive sight, but it was still interesting."That's synesthetic magic. The linking of two similar items," Alyssa said. "Fewer cants, simpler mental images, but a decently high price to pay in body.""I don't know what that means," Sharp admitted.Alyssa shrugged. "It doesn't matter. The point is that this is one way to move an object. Another could be..." She grabbed the original napkin and replaced it. Then she reached over to the end of the table where a small candle sat. "Jenny, have a light?"Janny shifted to her side and tugged a small lighter out of her shorts. She took the candle and lit it.Alyssa thanked her with a nod, then carefully fed the second napkin into the flames. It burned rather brightly.Then she muttered something else, and the first, original napkin rolled over to the edge of the table."There are a few types of magic that can do what I just did," Alyssa said. "Voodooism, sacrificial magic, a few others. The point is, I sacrificed something of equal value to affect a peer item. Same result.""But it was different," Sharp said. "You burned that napkin, is it gone now?""Yes. And if I want to move that one back, I'd need another. Sacrificial magic is generally very unpopular for that reason."She was right. And the matter of cost could be complex to calculate. There were some assassins that had used that kind of magic before, but killing three or four people to maybe kill their target was a lot of bloody work, and it wasn't exactly subtle as far as magical things went. At least, as far as I understood it."Is there any magic I could do?" Sharp asked."You'd need to be smart for that," Jenny said.Alyssa gave Jenny the stink eye. "You can't cast any spells either, Jenny," she said, her voice entirely flat.Rather than be insulted, the smaller woman just laughed. "Okay, fair. You got me.""As for your question... Sharp, was it?""Yup, that's my name," Sharp said as she sat up. "But you can call me Fasmine too. That's my first name. Most people call me Sharp though.""Can't imagine why," Jenny said."Well, Sharp," Alyssa said. "There are some spells that even a newcomer to magic could learn. Some are even pretty useful. Here let me send you something. Do you have an email address?" Sharp nodded, and then grinned as Alyssa sent her something from her phone. "That's the Create Water spell. It's a mage spell, so there's a long incantation with prescribed movements and you need several reagents, but none are complex. Chances are you'll do nothing but wave your arms around and mumble for a few hours and get nothing for it, but hey, if it works, then it works.""What do I need for it to work?" Sharp asked."Reagents wise? Salt, mostly. It won't even be used up by the end. In terms of other things, you'll need to feel that out for yourself."Sharp's order arrived just then, putting an end to our little Magic 101 course, but not before we were both rewarded for paying attention. Sharp tightened up, and gasped. Fortunately it was in time with the fries arriving, so it could be played off.I stared at my own prompt in the meantime.Magic Has Levelled Up!Magic 0 1That was interesting. Not just the raise in the skill, which I wouldn't say no to, but the fact that we both got a stat increase at the same time and presumably from the same experience.Did this mean that having someone teach either of us might be a way to grow faster? Not much of what Alyssa said there was beyond common knowledge, though the demonstrations had been novel.If the value of a trainer was that high... I knew exactly what Sharp and I would be doing the next time we had a day off. Sharp had actually fallen behind me in terms of sheer number of stats, and I felt like that wasn't entirely right.A few days of concentrated training might help."So, Sharp, you busy tomorrow?" Jenny asked. "Because if you're not, I think we could make use of you. Ya know, if you still wanna make some cash."Or we could lose those training days and end up tugged along into some trouble instead.
* * *
Chapter Twenty-One — The Job
Chapter Twenty-One — The Job "You have a job for me?" Sharp asked.This was dangerous. The first job came in and we needed it. It was a bit of desperation but came at a relatively low level of risk. This next job? We didn't know the level of danger, but from what I knew of these two girls, it wouldn't be entirely safe.And Sharp didn't need the work.We had a nest egg right now that could theoretically last us a couple of years if Sharp was very careful about her spending, and two simple jobs that, while they didn't pay super well, did bring in enough income to keep us going for a long time.I didn't have too much more time to debate with myself as Jenny leaned to the side and hummed while twisting her pint. "So, the job isn't anything too complicated. We need someone to check out the area around South Boston. Specifically, Back Bay."Back Bay was its own sort of district, sandwiched between South Boston and Central. Though both of those had expanded so much into it that the area's unique identity had been erased. It was still geographically relevant, but not culturally."Check out how?" Sharp asked. "I've been picking up work as a courier lately, and maybe that'll have me going around that area.""A courier, huh?" Jenny asked. "That's alright work. But yeah, you heard about that big cult blowout a couple of days ago?""Yeah," Sharp said. She wisely didn't mention that we were right next to the epicentre of that whole mess. "I heard about it. A bunch of weird people chanting about Him attacked the Riveters, right?"Jenny nodded. "That's the gist of it. So, turns out the cult really pissed off the Riveters something fierce, and now they're being put down, hard. They called in favours from the Iron Workers to chill things out between them.""Oh, that's big," Sharp said. I glanced up to her, and she caught the moment and explained. "The Iron Workers are the second biggest gang in South Boston, right? They're a union, I think?""Yeah," Jenny said. "And the Riveters aren't union at all. They get paid to scab all the time, and generally they don't get along too well. You're either in one camp or the other, and it can get pretty ugly. Plus the Iron Workers have a stick up their asses.""Jenny," Alyssa warned."What? It's true," Jenny said. She reached over and stole one of Sharp's fries. The girl gasped at the theft, but Jenny ignored her. "Anyway. We don't see the two getting along all that often, but sometimes they agree about some shit long enough to put their differences aside. This is one of those times."Sharp nodded while she subtly pulled her plate of fries away. "Yeah, I can see that," she said. "Anyway, neither want anything to do with the weirdos.""I'll be honest I don't want anything to do with them either," Sharp said."Nah, that's fair," Jenny replied. She waved the stolen fry around in a little circle. "The thing is, the cult's right on the edge of Back Bay, right? That's also where the Mutes are.""The Mutes?" Sharp asked.That was one I knew about, if only by rumour. The Mutes were a smaller gang out near Central Boston. They had a community of mutated humanoids, supposedly escapees from some labs in Cambridge, but also people affected by experimental drugs or mutated by drinking water from the river running through the centre of the city.The gang was noteworthy for two things. Their mutations, which made them... somewhat less than desirable to look upon and very rarely had positive benefits, and their natural affinity with magic.It wasn't a secret that more than one Eidolon had picked a mutated person to be a warlock, and with their general physical dysfunctions keeping them out of the public eye, the Mutes had developed their own magical prowess.They also spoke mostly in sign, or on occasion telepathically. Not that they were all actually mute. It was just another way the gang kept themselves separate from the rest of the city."They're a bunch of weirdos that live out under Central," Jenny said. "Honestly? Not the worst folk around? Bit weird lookin' but a damn sight more polite than some others you'll meet.""Okay," Sharp said. "So what's the job then?"The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.Jenny gestured vaguely. "We wanna know what's going on. Taking out cultists is always great work. Decent pay, you get to keep most of what you find, and no one is too pissed if one of them gets their head shot in.""I don't think..." Sharp began."Not asking for you to fight 'em. Asking for you to check in on the Mutes and ask them what's going on.""Why don't you do it?" Sharp asked."Bitch, I'm busy," Jenny said."And we're a known factor," Alyssa said. "Jenny and I have both done merc work, our faces and records are on the Mercnet, and the Mutes are fairly security-conscious. Also, as a courier, you'll be able to go places where others cannot, just because your job allows you a certain level of casual access without raising suspicions."I frowned as best I could. They hadn't known about Sharp's job before we sat down. That entire thing was a post-hoc addition."I suppose," Sharp said."Look, we'll give you a hundred bucks to snoop around and listen to rumours for a few hours. Use it to buy yourself some local snacks and talk about the weather with some strangers. It ain't a big deal," Jenny said."Tell them, that you're not going to be exclusively selling them the information. Then demand five times as much.""F-five times as much?" Sharp asked."Five bigs ones?" Jenny asked. "Girl, you nuts? I'm a little busy, but if I'm gonna lose five hundred I'll find the time to do it myself. Merc rep or no. We're doing you a favour here.""Five hundred is a little excessive," Alyssa agreed. "But maybe I can sweeten the deal.""Y-you can?" Sharp asked. She tensed up as the girl across from us leaned forwards, then she pulled back and revealed a small phone.Alyssa nodded. "I have some old standardised magic texts. They're from one of the universities in Cambridge. These are crash-courses on the basics of spellwork. Pirated, of course. But the principles are sound enough and with a... lot of practice you might be able to summon a flame or create a small gust of wind. You could buy the textbooks outright, but they're extremely expensive, and the pirated versions usually have magically-enforced DRM that I'm certain a novice would never be able to break.""And you have them broken?" Sharp asked."I do," Alyssa said. "Does that tempt you more?""Ah, you are very tempting," Sharp agreed. She looked down at me, questioningly.I considered it. On the one hand... paw? On the one paw, it was putting us at a bit of a risk. On the other, we might well have to deliver in that area regardless. A slight detour for a few more dollars while also getting some questions asked? That was maybe worthwhile.Being a courier wasn't something Sharp could do long-term. Information brokering? That was a much better job in the longer run. And the texts were admittedly very tempting.We could now afford to buy them outright, but legal channels sometimes raised suspicions."I can't promise anything," Sharp said at least. "But I guess if I have deliveries in the area I can stop and ask around a little. I'm a bit curious about that cult too. Do you, uh, know anything about it?"Jenny shook her head, but Alyssa scowled and nodded. "A little. There was a maelstrom in the magic of the city. Boston Two often feels like... a shore with many rocky outcroppings and treacherous waves, but there's a pattern and a flow that you can grow used to. Over the last couple of weeks, there has been a shift. As though a tide is receding before a great swell. I thought nothing of it, but I suspect that this shift is centred around the northern end of South Boston, which...""Is where the cult is," Sharp finished. She shivered. "That's creepy. Weird murder cults are bad, but magical ones feel like they'd be way worse.""You got that right," Jenny said. "The only kind of cult that's acceptable is a cult of personality, and then only when I'm in the middle of it."Sharp giggled, and soon the conversation turned to lighter things. Talks of shows and celebrities and local gossip that I only followed with one ear.This could be a big mess we were skirting around, but it might also be a great opportunity. I just hoped that chasing this wouldn't take time away from growing in other ways.
* * *
Chapter Twenty-Two — Standing Out
Chapter Twenty-Two — Standing Out "Do you know what truly makes a person stand out above all else?" I asked Sharp. It was the next morning, and the day had started simply enough. We were falling into something of a routine already. Sharp would awaken, rush to the showers, steal some leftovers from the kitchen for the both of us, and then we'd be off to the courier's office to start our morning's work.Mark had only nodded when Sharp asked if there was any work available near the Back Bay area before giving us three packages due for Central and another near Fenway. At least one of those was right on the border where Back Bay started, so it was close enough."Being pretty?" Sharp guessed as she peddled.I scoffed from my position of honour sitting atop our last few packages in the bike's sidecar. "Don't be ridiculous. Prettiness is far too subjective. I'm certain that in this wide world there are even a few people that would find you pretty."Sharp laughed, then adjusted her fat-framed glasses. "Rude," she said, but it was not without humour. "So, it's not being pretty that makes you stand out. Is it power, then?""What sort of power? There's a hundred kinds. And I'm certain that viewed from the right lens, many of those would certainly help you stand out from the crowd. Though what I'm talking about is more something that lets you attain that power to begin with." I closed my eyes as we reached a hill and started to ride down it. The wind ruffled my fur in a most satisfactory way."Okay, so it's not power, it's not being pretty. Uh." Sharp narrowed her eyes and actually gave it some thought. "I don't know what answer you're looking for," she said after a while.I shook my head. It wasn't so much that I was fishing for a specific answer than... well, yes actually, that's what I was doing, but I was mostly trying to educate her via the old open rhetoric method."The answer I was looking for is initiative," I said."Initiative? Like moving first in a fight?" Sharp asked."That's also initiative, but I meant more the definition that includes having the power and opportunity to act before others. Look at your position now. You reached out to Paris for work, and it helped you find work. You reached out to Mark for more, and here you are, earning a pittance but actively moving across the city.""I kinda see what you mean, but not really how that applies to making someone stand out. I mean, I guess you stand out by asking people for work?""It's more complex than that. Initiative applies to more than just looking for work. People with initiative will push themselves to the limit and then beyond in searching for something better. There are some who have something similar to initiative, where they're chasing the high of seeing numbers increase. But that's a trap. More money in your bank account, more friends on your socials, more followers. It's playing into a complex algorithm and those people only stand out because they exemplify that system. What really makes someone special is the ability to see things that they want changed, and then taking the time to change them."Sharp was quiet for a while, and she seemed pretty deep in thought. "I think I can see it," she said. "That's what Edgerunners are, right? People that see something they want to change, or who see an offer out there, and instead of just working a normal job doing normal things, they take the initiative and do... uh, Edgerunner stuff?""Essentially, yes," I agreed. Sharp was a decent student, all things said.We arrived in Central and had to push through a throng of people crowding the sidewalks and edges of the roads. This part of the city had its own smell, not that I could pinpoint what that smell was, exactly. Fifteen different ethnic spices, the fumes from some old hydrocarbon cars, the sizzling oil from small food stands; it all mixed together into something that should have been foul but instead it reminded me that breakfast was several hours ago.Our deliveries in Central were all in backroads and alleys behind larger apartment blocks. The first was handed over to a group of men that didn't speak a lick of English and the second was dropped off in a bin with six obvious cameras pointed right at it, the last was simply brought to the front counter of a small pharmacy in the lower districts where the clerk signed for it and then told Sharp to scamper.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it"And that's the last of them," Sharp said before stretching her back out until it popped. "So... since we're right here, we might as well take that initiative and see about those cultists, right?""I feel like bringing that up might have been a mistake," I admitted.Sharp grinned, then picked me up and settled me on her shoulder. We found a bike locking station nearby, one with decent-enough security that charged by the hour, and locked the courier bike up. That would eat up half of our day's profit in one go, but money wasn't that much of an issue anymore.I still needed to find the time to get Sharp set up with proper banking, but that was the sort of thing we could take care of on a slower day.Finding the Mutes was easy enough. The gang was supposed to be somewhat hidden, but it was also an open secret that they lived along the edge of the Charles River. As we got closer to the river's edge, the area grew more dilapidated. The homes were older, with less care given to maintaining them, the few businesses around were all cheaper franchises and these seemed to still have human workers behind their counters instead of the more modern stores that were fully automated.Then there was the graffiti. Plenty of it covered the rest of Boston, of course, but it was particularly bad around here. Neon paints caught the light and made the narrow alleys we passed glow with a mix of tags old and new.The closer to the river's edge we got, the more tags had the word Mute on them.Sharp, taking the initiative once more, walked up to a cigarette salesman operating a cart off of an intersection. "Sorry sir, but would you happen to know where I can find the Mutes?""If you're not here to buy, then fuck off," he said with traditional Bostonian cordiality.Sharp pursed her lips, then fumbled in her pockets. She pulled out a pair of ten dollar bills. "Sorry sir, but would you happen to know where I can find the Mutes?"The salesman eyed the cash. It really wasn't much, but I couldn't imagine that business was booming out here for him either.He swiped the money out of her hands, then nodded his head back the way we came. "Return that way a block, then take a right onto Dartmouth. Look for that old red building.""Thanks!" Sharp chirped before we took off jogging in that general direction. His directions weren't all that great, in part because there were no street signs left around here and because half of the buildings were made of red brick.Still, we found the place. An older building with a pair of open garage doors on its ground level. The inside was filled with movement and the sound of older rock music. Sharp and I walked by, spying on the place from across the street. There was a lot of activity here, but it seemed more or less friendly.The Mutes, as far as I could recall, didn't have gang colours or any real sort of uniform. They stood out by flashing quick hand-signs at each other and speaking in what was almost a whispery accent that was hard to pick up on, even with sharp cat ears."Seems like the place," Sharp muttered.The people going in and out were probably not all gang members, and it looked like there might be some stalls selling things within. It was probably safe to enter, though Sharp's courier jacket might make her stand out."Seems like it," I agreed. "Come on, before the day gets old."We entered. Sharp might not have noticed all of the eyes staring at her, but I certainly didn't miss them.It only took a few minutes for someone to come over. A big man, with two cybernetic arms folded over his chest. He had two more arms, these thin and emaciated beneath. His face was pock-marked and rough but his eyes seemed gentle enough. He raised his flesh arms and worked through a few signs, slow enough that someone new to signing might have time to understand them. When it was clear that Sharp didn't understand, he shrugged, then cleared his throat. His voice came out scratchy, as if he rarely spoke. "Hello, child. What are you doing here?""Ah, hi!" Sharp said. "I have some questions? I think? Maybe you can help me out?"
* * *
Chapter Twenty-Three — Muted Questions
Chapter Twenty-Three — Muted Questions Our new four-armed friend eyed Sharp up and down, then nodded. "You look like the sort," he said."What sort?" Sharp asked.He grinned. "The sort that someone else would send to ask the questions they want to ask."Well, that was suspiciously close to the truth. I shifted a little on Sharp's shoulder. If I had to launch myself at this man, then I wanted to be ready. But then he chuckled and gestured deeper into the room, past a small bar and a row of store mannequins with extra limbs taped on all wearing garish clothes and traffic cones. "Go see the Cunt," he said. Sharp choked. "The what?" His smile only grew wider. "Just down there, behind the beaded curtains. There's a little old lady. She'll tell you what you want to know. But don't mess around with her. She's earned her title.""Um, thanks," Sharp said."Let's keep an eye on the exit," I said. "We don't want to be caught off guard and hemmed in. And please, remind me to get you a gun at some point. Being unarmed like this might lower these sorts of people's guards, but it's making me feel rather naked.""You are naked," Sharp hissed.I smacked her ear for her cheek and to encourage her to refocus on the task at hand.We crossed the room, the bassy old school rock only getting louder as we walked by a pair of tall speakers where some younger Mutes were hanging out. They were laughing, but not saying anything. At least, not out loud. Their hands were gesturing rapidly and sloppily, almost as if they had a bit of a laissez-faire accent with their signing alone.The beaded curtains were right where the greeter had said they would be, a small wall of them hanging in the way into a nook. We pushed past them with a tinkle of wood on wood, and immediately there was an electric tingle that ran along my fur. The sound of the music behind us cut off. Not completely, but definitely far more than a simple beaded curtain would warrant.The room was rather small, the floorspace taken up by several large circular couches and ratty old cushions covered by quilts. A woman lounged on one of those sofas, smoking a cigarette. She tapped the cinders on the end into a yellowed glass bowl, then eyed the two of us. I didn't like the way her look lingered on me.A second woman, much younger, wearing roughed up leather and old jeans and looking like the picture of a teen at the end of her rope, sat on the very edge of a second couch. "What're you here for?" the teen asked."Um," Sharp began. She glanced to the side and gave me a look."I'm guessing that this kind lady would appreciate forthrightness. Look at her in the eyes and ask her to tell you what she knows about the cult." Being honest was also being quick, and I felt like this place was crawling with unfamiliar magics."Hello, ma'am," Sharp began. She bowed very slightly. "My name is Fasmine Sharp. I'm a courier, mostly. And I was sent here to find out what the Mutes know about the, ah, cult messing around in South Boston."The old lady took a pull from her cigarette, then let it out as a column of smoke above her. Then she spoke, only it was through tight, almost sporadic gestures of her gnarled, smoke-stained fingers. The cigarette left trails in the wake of her signs.The teen translated, though I had the impression she was adding her own snark to it. "They're trouble, she says. She also says that you're an idiot if you're trying to get involved. Cults are always a bad deal, and magical ones moreso.""So there is magic?" Sharp asked. "I think I felt it, when I was close. It was a weird buzzy feeling."The woman frowned, then nodded and signed some more for her translator. "Yeah, there's magic involved. She wants to know why you're poking your nose into that, and why you're bothering us about it."The woman shifted on the sofa, and I realized that her legs were far too short for the rest of her body."I'm not planning on getting involved, but they did shoot a courier. He lived, and he'll be better, but the cult or whatever they are... they're dangerous. I just want to learn what I can. And if there's stuff you want others to know about them, then I can spread that around for you, at least a little."Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.The woman stared at Sharp, then snuffed out her cigarette. She pulled out another from the pack with practised ease, lit it with a match, then took a pull, leaving it on the end of her lips as she signed some more. "She says that that's not a terrible reason for a jumped-up street urchin who doesn't know better," the teenager said. She grinned. "She also called you a dumbass. Anyway, she says that the cult follows a man called... the Grandfather?" The woman nodded after having signed what looked like a series of letters instead of plain words. "The Grandfather?" Sharp asked. "I remember listening to them a bit. It didn't sound like they were talking about an old man."The woman signed faster."She says that if you were listening, then you're an even bigger idiot than what you look like. You're lucky you didn't get taken in by his words. The man though is the Father, who isn't the Grandfather... obviously.""Right," Sharp said. "And they're magic?""They have magic," the teen corrected. "She says that the cult is a step away from the divine? From God? Something like that. And she says that... hey, old lady, if you want me to translate for you, then stop talking shit."Sharp leaned back as the two argued back and forth for a moment. The teen grumbled, but continued a moment later."The cult has some sort of ritual magic stuff going on. It might not work if you're not already susceptible to their message. If you are, then they'll sound really reasonable, and the more you listen, the weaker you'll be to their pull. It's some fucky ritual magic. The kinda shit they used to use in ads before it became illegal.""Can we do anything about it?" Sharp asked.The teen snorted. "Poke your ears out?"That wasn't exactly a viable solution, but I'd keep it in mind. "Oh, there's more," the teen said as the old woman signed again. "Ah, yeah, that makes sense. She says that they use gang magic. The kinda shit that a lot of corps and gangs use? It ties all of the members together so that they recognize each other, even when they're zooted outta their minds. It's how orders and stuff are relayed from the bosses down the chain.""That's terrifying," Sharp said."Happens all the time," the teen replied with a shrug. "Anything else you wanna know? I figure you've got half a cig before her patience runs out.""One last thing," Sharp said. "Are the Mutes enemies of the cult?"The teen snorted. "We're no one's enemy, unless they try to mess with us.""I see, um, well, thank you. It was nice meeting you both," Sharp said with another bow. We were almost out of the room when the teen called out to us."Wait!"We turned to find the old lady signing again."She says... watch where you go, both of you. You're not strong enough to tackle this kind of thing yet. Old lady, are you talking about the cat?"Sharp nodded once, then darted out of the room. The moment the beads were behind her, we were hit by a wave of sound. There were more people around, chatting and minding their own. Sharp and I still stood out, but we didn't intend to stay.She moved for the exit and soon enough we were back in the cooler air outside and Sharp started to retrace her steps back. "Back to work," she said."Indeed. We have both much and very little to report to the girls.""Do you believe the cult stuff? That it's mind control of some sort?" she asked."It wouldn't surprise me, and it fits with what we've seen so far, which gives me even fewer reasons to doubt it. Whatever is powering that cult, it won't be just human. There's more to it than that.""An Eidolon?" Sharp asked.I considered it. "Let's hope so."If we were lucky, someone else would step in and take care of things. If we were less lucky, then the cult's influence would spread and we might have to move on earlier than I wanted to. A good assassin never tried to take on more than they could.
* * *
Kittypunk Halloween Special
Kittypunk Halloween Special "This is a silly idea," I said. No, I didn't just say it, as a grown woman—stuck in the body of a babe as I may be—I was fully capable of admitting that I was whinging. Not without good reason, however. Sharp had had an idea. I really ought to congratulate her on the fact, except it was a stupid idea."It's cute," she said, as if that justified anything."It's hideous," I replied.And yet I had no real choice. At the moment, I was being cathandled by Sharp who was holding me up before a high-tech mirror-screen. On it was a reflection of myself and Sharp. It was a perfectly ordinary display, except for one glaring feature.The me in the mirror-screen was wearing a princess costume. It was pink, frilly, and overall quite the eyesore. "I don't want to be seen wearing that," I finally admitted."Oh? That's okay. I think the princess look is kind of weird too," Sharp said. "I don't know how we'd go about wearing matching outfits anyway? Unless we called you a queen and I can be your princess?"I scoffed. That brought up far too many implications vis-à-vis parental responsibilities. Besides, how would one even convey that the kitten was the queen and the girl a mere princess?"You're right, that's not a good one," Sharp said. "What would you like?""To go back home," I said."Let's try this one," Sharp continued as if she hadn't heard me at all.We were currently in one of the larger shopping mega-buildings in Fenway. The floor was a wide space, dominated by a central shaft that let people look down and up towards the dozens of other floors filled with shops. The air here was filled with a cacophony of music and jingles and just plain advertising, as well as the occasional warning from the mall itself over the loudspeakers, warning would-be thieves of the consequences of their actions.At the moment, the jingles and songs definitely had a... spooky sort of aura that they were aiming for. Lots of chilling laughter and cackling witches and whatever else some underpaid marketer discovered that screamed 'Halloween' to them.This store in particular on one of the middling floors, the space reserved for shops that were either hyper-specialized, more seasonal, or were just struggling to make enough sales to afford the no doubt insane rent prices in this mall."There!" Sharp said as she gripped me with both hands again after toying with a pop-up menu on the display. "Firefighter!"The me on the screen was wearing a firefighter's outfit. It was black and yellow, with a few numbers on the back. A large plastic helmet—all bright yellow—sat atop my head, held in place by a set of complicated straps that ran under my chin. "No," I said."Aww, okay... what about... sexy dental hygienist?" Sharp asked as she returned to scrolling through the options."Who in their right mind would want to disguise their cat as a sexy anything. And why specifically dental hygienist?"You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.Sharp shrugged. "I don't know? Maybe it's to complete a matching costume set?""Would the other half be a sexy dentist?" I asked."Did you want to try it out?" she asked, her enthusiasm mounting."No," I grumbled. "I absolutely do not.""Oh, okay. Well, what about police? No? Uh, ninja? See, there's a kunoichi option! Cyborg cop, lawyer, sexy lawyer, judge, flower pot, lamp, oh there's a fan option!" She clicked on that latter, then giggled as fan blades appeared around my neck.She then discovered the 'other animals' section, and my image switched to that of a lion, then a gazelle, then a Pomeranian before it turned into a platypus."Sharp, why are we doing this?" I asked."Because it's Halloween," Sharp said simply. "And... and this year I can afford a costume.""You couldn't previously?" I asked. Shifting a little in her grip, I managed to turn enough to spy upon her face. Sharp was looking rather seriously at nothing in particular."No," she said. "Every year, at the orphanage, we'd made some stuff out of whatever was laying around, then we'd sneak out. It wasn't really sneaking, the caretakers generally turned a blind eye. Anyway, we'd head out onto the streets and try to grab as many sweet as we could. I remember spending a lot of that time looking at people's costumes. Not ours. Ours were all cobbled together and looked kind of... stupid."I swallowed back anything rude I might have had to say. "You were looking at the costumes of the... other children?""The normal ones," Sharp said. "The ones with families. The princesses and doctors and superheroes, the pretend edgerunners and celebrities. I guess it was just jealousy? Envy, maybe. I wanted what they had, you know?""I see," I said. Sharp continued to flick through options, not really saying anything even as I gained a witch's hat, then a nurse's cap, and then a full-faced racing helmet. "I liked that ninja one," I said. "From earlier."Sharp blinked, then her eyes met mine in the display's reflection. "You did?""Ninja in fiction are horribly misrepresented and their actions exaggerated, but I did always enjoy their actual history. They understood the basics of subterfuge and assassination. Of course, the very fact that we know of them means that they were hardly all that good.""We could wear matching costumes!" Sharp said with a gasp."I suppose," I said. "Is there a wise-old-master kind of costume? You could be my ninja apprentice?""I bet we can find something to combine. There's no rules against that, right?" she asked.I nodded, and then endured her growing enthusiasm as she flicked through more and more options to search for something in particular. Two costumes for me was just a bigger waste but... it was a few dozen dollars that would make Sharp happy.I could look past the expense when it left Sharp looking this pleased with herself.
Chapter Twenty-Four — Gym Ra— Gym Cat
Chapter Twenty-Four — Gym Ra— Gym Cat We had a lot to think about on the way back to the Bloody Bat, but I still insisted that we take a small detour. The girls wouldn't be showing up at the bar tonight, which meant that Sharp had a few hours after her shift with nothing on her figurative plate.It would be a shame to waste those hours, so before returning to the Bat, we rose up three floors above the bar and stopped at a relatively large member's-only gym. Sharp stuttered her way through asking for a membership with the rather fit young woman behind the counter, and then we paid in cash.We were now the proud owners of a gym membership, and while Sharp wasn't terribly enthused about it, I was.I'd finally be able to put her through her paces... later. Sharp's highest-ranked skill was still Anima, but she had Body and Protagonist tied for second. I still didn't know how to raise Protagonist, so Body would have to be our focus for the moment.The nice thing about it was that exercise in a gym might help her rank up Body, Reflex and maybe even Combat. I'd noticed some flyers for weekend self-defence courses for women, as well as some for jiu-jitsu and karate. It would be a pain to work those into Sharp's already loaded schedule, but if we could, then the rewards might well be worth it.In any case, we made it back to the bar a little early, and Sharp was quick to get changed and run back out.In the meantime... I napped. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get away with being in the gym, but if I couldn't, then I'd still want to get as much exercise in as I could later. For the moment, however, I could feel a deep weariness in my bones. I laid down on our shared bed, made myself comfortable by pressing my paws into it, then circled around a few times before laying down for a snooze. I was out almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.I awoke to a nice little gift some hours later.Cat Has Levelled Up!Cat 2 3From the nap? Well, I wouldn't say no to that. Sharp was in our room, getting changed out of her uniform and into some old shorts and a loose t-shirt. "We need to buy you some clothes," I said.She jumped a little, then looked my way with a rather sheepish expression on. "You're awake? When I came in you were sleeping really hard. It was kind of cute. Did you know that you snore?""I do not," I assured her. Sharp grinned. "Sure you don't! What was that about clothes?""Clothes and I suppose gear. We have the money to buy some, and it wouldn't be a wasteful expense. We could start with better gym clothes to begin with. Then better casual wear. Your clothes still scream 'vagabond' to anyone who looks your way.""We could get you some clothes too," Sharp said.I considered it for a moment before nodding. "Certainly.""Wait, really? I thought most cats hate wearing clothes.""I'm hardly most cats. I'll have you know that I didn't go around naked as a human. Not wearing clothes is stranger than the opposite to me.""Huh, I guess that's fair." Sharp smiled and plucked me off the bed. "We're hitting the gym then the shower?""That's the plan. How tired are you?" She'd just worked through a whole day across two jobs, and while being a waitress wasn't the most tiring of work, it was still a lot of moving around."I'm strong enough to take anything on!" Sharp said. She raised her other arm and flexed, showing off... nothing. There was no big muscle to show off.We'd be working on that.Sharp left the Bloody Bat from a service corridor at the rear, and then we made our way up to the gym. She insisted on taking the stairs, and by the time we reached the gym, she was already sweating. Not that I was in a much better condition as I'd decided to walk alongside her up the stairs as well. One or two hops was easy. A few dozen in a row? That was pushing it.The gym was predictably empty at this hour, which made the lively music blasting through the place feel off putting more than anything. There was a woman half-asleep behind the counter, mostly staring at her phone, and an old grey-haired man by the dumbbells adjusting the weights.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement."Where do we start?" Sharp asked."Since we just did stairs, let's see if you can't learn how to box a little? There are some bags at the back over there. And... turn on one of those treadmills for me, would you? I'll give you instructions while I run."As it turned out, Sharp didn't know how to throw a punch. She almost broke her thumb on the first strike before I corrected her on how to make a fist. Her swings were still wild, and more like random flailing than proper boxing, but a few more instructions had her punching... more or less straight.I, in the meantime, ran along atop the treadmill at a decent pace. It was good that I didn't need to breathe to talk, because I was soon panting. I'd almost forgotten what hard exercise felt like. The burning in my muscles, the painful stitches, the way my heartbeat drowned out almost everything else.Exercise sucked.Sharp switched to an elliptical machine, and I discovered a laser-jump rope machine nearby. It had holographic lights that shifted from right to left that someone using the machine was meant to jump over. It was great practice for springing up and over something. Eventually Sharp bought some overpriced water by the entrance and she shared some with me. "Any gains?" I asked."Nothing yet," Sharp said. She rubbed at her face with a small towel. "But... I think I can feel it coming. Another day like this and I'm sure to hit Body four!""Good!" I said. I wasn't sure if I could feel progress the same way, but it was due to arrive eventually. Our rate of growth was a little slow for my tastes, but in the grand scheme of things, it was probably very reasonable."Hey, is that a cat?" another gym goer asked."Uh," Sharp said. "It's an emotional support animal?"We scampered out of there a few minutes later, before anyone could raise a fuss. By the time we made it back to the Bloody Bat, Sharp was yawning and looked ready to crash into bed. Which was why it was quite irritating to discover Paris waiting around for us in the back. "Ah, you're back." she said."I am," Sharp said. "Is something wrong? I was just about to hit the shower."Paris eyed her. Sharp's clothes were clinging to her, and she looked a little bedraggled. She didn't smell all that great either, and that came from someone currently riding on her shoulder, within sniffing distance of her armpits. "There's a person here to see you.""Me?" Sharp asked. "Wait, is it someone I know?"Paris shrugged. "That young lady who was here a few days ago for you. Short, yellow jacket?""Jenny?" Sharped asked. That was the only person it could be, probably. No one else I knew fit that description. "She wasn't supposed to be here today.""Well, she is. You might want to go see her, because she looks quite distraught. And I have a bar to run, so go on," Paris made a shooing gesture. Sharp glanced at me, and I gave her the best kitty shrug I could manage. I didn't have any more ideas than she did. There would only be one way to tell what was going on.We found Jenny by the lower floor bar, sitting on a stool with her legs bouncing nervously. She looked like a mess. Her brown hair was all tangled up and she looked ready to chew anyone that looked at her too much like a rabid dog tearing into a small critter."Jenny?" Sharp asked."Oh thank fuck, it's about time you show up.""What is it?" Sharp asked."We don't have time. I can explain on the way," Jenny said as she hopped down from the stool."On the way to where? I'm not ready to go anywhere right now, it's an hour shy of midnight.""Who cares?" Jenny asked with a frown. "Look, it doesn't matter what time it is. Alyssa needs us.""She does?" Sharp asked. "What happened?"Jenny swallowed. "We were spying on the cult with some of her magic when it all went wrong. She just... walked right into their building, and nothing I did could stop her. They took her in, and basically threw me out. We need to save her."
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Chapter Twenty-Five — Beggars and Choosers
Chapter Twenty-Five — Beggars and Choosers "This really doesn't sound like something we should get involved in," I said.Sharp reached up and casually scritched me under the chin. She couldn't exactly talk to me when we were out in public but I felt like she was trying to tell me to calm down. Jenny was quite distraught still. Now that I was looking for it, it was easy to tell that she was anxious. Her hair was a mess and her coat was covered in stains as if she'd been rolling in the dirt for a while."Alright," Sharp said. "When did this happen?""Just... like, a few hours ago. I didn't come here first," Jenny said. She ran her hand through her hair, as though trying to straighten it out; it didn't help any. "I went to our base. We have friends there, but they're all a bunch of filthy cowards. They didn't lift a finger when I told them, just told me to wait, that the police would be taking care of that cult of fuckfaces. Or the gangs. It doesn't matter, it all comes down to them saying they won't fucking help. No one will."Sharp moved closer and was soon rubbing circles on Jenny's back. "Hey, it's okay," she said."She sounds like she's a step away from losing it," I said. "And not to belittle the point, but her... friends were probably right. Mounting a rescue into a well-guarded compound is a terrible idea.""Okay," Sharp said calmly. "I need more information though. We can't just run in there and expect them to hand Alyssa over without any fuss."Jenny scoffed. "So you're the same as all the rest? Dammit, I should have figured.""Hey now," Sharp said. She continued to massage Jenny's back. "It'll be okay? I do want to help, but I can't if you don't tell me more. Which building was she taken to? Why were you around there in the first place? Do you, ah, have a plan to save her?"Jenny tugged at her hair, grit her teeth, then kicked the stool she'd just jumped off of. It rattled from side to side, and Paris gave her the stink-eye from behind the bar."No, I... fuck. Okay, so, there was a contract out for information. That's what we sent you out for. But we didn't think you'd get anything too spicy, just like, rumours and a general vibe-check on how the Mutes think about the cult.""Okay, I'm with you so far," Sharp said. She carefully pulled Jenny back to the bar, but further in. The end where the lighting wasn't as strong and where no one was sitting at the moment, then she encouraged Jenny to sit. "So, what did you and Alyssa do?"Jenny worked her jaw. "We scouted around the area. Took the bus, then drove around too. Got some pics of some locals, some cult guards. I sent those to a friend that's good at info-gathering, and they drew up a profile of them. It gave us something to work with, but not much.""And that's when they grabbed Alyssa?" Sharp asked.Jenny winced. "No. No, she had an idea. A ritual, using her moth shit. We set up in one of the smaller buildings across the street. Aly covered the floor in magic crap and burned through a bunch of incense and chanted some crap. Then she started screaming.""Ask her what the ritual was supposed to do, exactly," I said."That ritual," Sharp began. "What was it supposed to do?" She reached over and laid a hand on Jenny's.The girl frowned. "I didn't get all the details. Magic's not my thing. I'm a lead and fists kind of girl. But uh, it was meant to let Aly insert herself into the building, somehow? Like, some sort of astral projection shit though a moth avatar thing. I saw it moving around at the start of the ritual, then it flew out, right through a window and towards the cult fucks.""And then Aly started screaming?" Sharp asked softly."Yeah. Then she started screaming. I pulled her out, smacked her face a few times and tried to snap her out of it, but nothing worked. Usually it's pretty easy to pull her out of a trance or whatever, but this time it just didn't work. I was about to start making calls when the doors smashed in and some cult freaks showed up."This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere."They took her?""Not before I shot a few of them up. It was weird. There were just more of them. They grabbed her, shoved me off, then ran. I ran out of bullets before they ran out of glassy-eye freaks.""Oh," Sharp said. She shifted on her stool. "Okay, that is bad. Do you know where they brought her?""Yeah, more or less," Jenny said. She wiped at her face with a sleeve then took a deep breath through her nose. "Aly's got a tracker on her. So that I know where she is. She gets lost a lot. Don't let her know it, but... yeah. I can pinpoint the floor she's on, at least.""That's something," Sharp said. "Actually, that's really good. I don't know how we'll be able to save her even knowing that, though.""I just need someone to grab a second gun and fuck them up with me," Jenny said. "I'll... I'll find enough ammo somewhere, I swear.""You're going to attack the entire building?" Sharp asked. "That's... a lot of cultists."Yeah? So what? You think I can't take them on? I'll show then LMG-chan and they'll regret ever laying a finger on Alyssa," Jenny said. Her voice was getting a little elevated, though not so much that it carried far over the music filling the bar and its surroundings.Sharp leaned back some, her hand slipping off of Jenny's. I took the opportunity to hop over to sit on the bar itself, my tail wagging slightly behind me. "She's being emotional, which is a great way to turn a bad situation into an outright disaster. How attached are you to Jenny and the mage? Because any help we render will cost us a lot."Sharp swallowed. "A... little?""A little, hmm. Were it a lot, I'd say that we could spend that money you have on mercenaries. There's a good number of them in this bar alone that would love to jump in for a quick hour or two long battle. A few thousand each and they'll gladly gun down the cultists they can reach. But given that we mostly want to help a little...""I can do more than take them on just a little," Jenny said. "They're just a bunch of grunts. I'll mow the fuckers down, I swear.""A little help..." I walked a small circle before them while I thought. A small amount of help was... acceptable. If it didn't put Sharp in any great amount of risk, then it would mostly be fine. We didn't owe either of these girls anything, so life-risking efforts were too much. Still, helping them now would secure a favour, at the very least. And Sharp seemed to be seeing them as friends, as misguided as that might be. "Offer to help Jenny scout the location. I think I can walk into the location without arousing too much suspicion and without being seen. If we can buy just a bit of equipment to help, then we'll be able to keep in touch as well.""That's... okay," Sharp said. "Jenny, I'll help."Jenny sat up straighter. "You will? I mean, yeah, good! You know how to use a rifle?""Not that way," Sharp said. "And no, I don't know how to use a gun. Well, besides point and pull on the trigger."Jenny and I both winced at the vague 'pew-pew' gestures Sharp was making. "So, how can you help, then? Wanna drive the getaway car?""I was thinking more... spying?" Sharp asked. "Uh, I'm going to need to buy a few things real quick, but if you just give me a few hours, I can get Queen Violence von Kittybutt right next to Alyssa. She can bring her something small, maybe? And let us know what's going on.""Your cat," Jenny said. She turned to look at me with a critical eye. "That mangy-ass thing." She reached a hand out to poke at me. "This thing couldn't fight its way out of a paper ba—ouch!" She snapped her hand back and into her mouth. Her finger had accidentally found its way into my claws.Sharp swallowed, then locked eyes with Jenny. "You're just... going to have to trust me. Trust us. We can definitely help, I'm sure of it.""Fuck," Jenny said. "This is some real beggars and choosers shit, you know? But fine, I'll take whatever help I can."
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Chapter Twenty-Six — No Plotting or Planning
Chapter Twenty-Six — No Plotting or Planning Ideally, we would have had a few solid hours to plot and plan, then a day or two to purchase all of the equipment I wanted to have access to. Ideally rarely happened, in my experience. More often than not, the best you could hope for was to have enough time to prepare as best you could. That was often still not enough to guarantee success. If we wanted to save Alyssa tonight (and I was still very much on the fence about that) then we had to act quickly."This is such a waste of time," Jenny cursed as she drove us through Fenway at a speed that bordered on the reckless. Sharp was hugging me close to her chest, so I could only barely see the traffic ahead of us as Jenny swerved in and out of lanes and punched her horn to get people to shove out of her way.The console in the middle of the old van's dashboard chimed for the thirtieth time that evening. "You have violated... one traffic law. A fresh penalty has been added to your record. A sum of... one hundred and... forty two dollars had been deducted from your Safe Driver account. The B2PD thanks you for your contri-" Jenny turned us up and onto the sidewalk, cutting ahead of traffic. "You have violated... one traffic-"I tuned the car's warnings out. Traffic violations were all fine-based in most major cities. Driving over the limit was an automatic fine, unless someone bought a fine-pass permit or had a special subscription. It basically meant that driving was best done by someone on the richer side of things.I suspected that Jenny wasn't that. She just didn't give a crap at the moment."Alright, here we are," she said as she slammed on the breaks and brought us to a stop. Right next to a fire hydrant. "You have violated-" The girl punched the dash, shutting the car up with a squeal."Get what you need, then get back here," Jenny said. "Here." she leaned all the way to the side and tugged out her wallet. The next thing I knew, Sharp was fumbling a credit card out of the air. "Don't spend more than you have to. I'll be checking.""T-thanks!" Sharp said before we exited the van in a hurry.We were next to one of the busier commercial mega buildings in Fenway. It was an enclosed mall, with several hundred small shops within. Fortunately, the place had a large interactive map right at the entrance that Sharp ran up to."What are we looking for?" Sharp asked."A pet clothing store, and a netrunner's electronics store," I said.Sharp glanced down at me, then nodded. A few taps later, and she took off running into the building. It was late, of course, but this kind of place was open 24/7 and most of the shops had self-checkout and automated defences to take care of anyone that tried to shoplift. These kinds of places were some of the safest in the city. No store wanted to get robbed, so the security was tight. As long as people behaved and spent cash, they were more than welcome to linger around. Which was why Sharp had to move around a group of homeless people by the entrance before making it to one of the elevators.A $2 ride up later and we were at a petshop. "We're looking for cat clothes?" Sharp asked."Anything that'll fit. Preferably closer to my fur colour than not. It'll make me stand out, but hopefully not too much."There was a whole wall of stuff to pick from. Sharp glanced over everything, then held me up next to a blue jacket-like thing. It had a zipper down the front, and longer sleeves. I knew from experience that trying to get a cat into that would result in claw marks and bites. "Like this?" she asked."It'll do," I said. Why was a coat that small fifty bucks? It wasn't even doubled!I noticed a display screen advertising pet-based augs by the entrance. The sort of thing used to keep track of a pet, or to have the pet imagine they were seeing things, like training videos and projected toys. Some came in the form of wearable glasses-like devices...Later. Definitely something to look at later.Next up was a netrunner's place. Seven more floors up, then a quick dash to a store that was nothing more than an ATM-like machine with several cameras pointing at the user. Sharp ran through the selections on the machine until we found what we were looking for.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.A subtle, long-ranged bluetooth-enabled camera, microphone and speaker system. The kind of thing that might be installed next to someone's door, or in a spy plushie, or in a small drone. It was over the counter, so I didn't expect it to be in any way secure, but it would do for now. "Buy a charger for it too. They never sell these things fully charged. Oh, and a palm computer. Yes, I can see how expensive they are. We'll need it to interact with the cameras. Ah, maybe an antenna wire as well?"We left a thousand dollars poorer... well, Jenny did. Passing us her card wasn't a wise move.Jenny was clearly at her wit's end by the time we made it to her van. "Fucking finally," she said."Sorry," Sharp replied. She was panting a little, having run the last bit over. "It was bigger than I thought in there. We have everything, though. Don't move, Queenie." I allowed her to man... cathandle me into position while she put that coat on. It was rather... floaty on me. If we kept it around I was sure I'd grow into it, but for now it was clearly a size too large. It had been the smallest size available, but I supposed that it was for adult cats, not kittens."How do I look?""You look kind of silly," Sharp said with a soft smile. "Now, let's get you mic'd up!" The camera sat at my neck along with the microphone and speaker. We turned the latter way down, until I could just barely make out what Sharp said from it. That ought to be low enough not to be overhead. Then the camera's antenna was wrapped around my waist. It caught in my fur uncomfortably, but I'd live with it.Sharp connected the palm computer up with some difficulty, though I tried to help, and in the end she did get it connected to the spy gear I was wearing. A fur-covered image appeared on the tiny screen of the palm-deck, then a lower-rez visual of what was before me. "Huh, that'll do," Jenny said as she looked away from the road and at us. She juked around a stopped car, then pressed on the gas some more. "You sure you'll be able to get that cat anywhere?""Yup!" Sharp said. She booped my nose, then escaped a vindictive swipe. "Tech up by one!" Oh... well, that was good. And not too surprising. This was a novel experience for her. Jenny continued to drive with the same enthusiasm across the city, weaving in and out of traffic and at one memorable moment, scraping the side of her van along the rear panel of a little roadster. The driver of that one screamed himself hoarse while we shot ahead.Finally, we made it to South Boston. It hadn't taken all that long, really. Disregarding every traffic and safety law made for quick traversal in the city.Jenny pulled us into a parking garage, and already I could feel something making my fur stand on end. "We're right next door to the fuckers," she said. "It's the building that way." She pointed through the garage. We'd come in from the far side, it seemed but I could still make out the mega building the cult occupied across the street."Better let your cat out here now. Then we can find a place to set up," Jenny grumbled."Right, okay," Sharp said. She turned me towards her, and met my eyes. "Please, please don't get hurt, okay?""My job is to hurt others, not myself. You have nothing to worry about," I lied.Sharp gave my head a smooch that I only allowed out of sympathy, then she opened the door and set me down. "Alright! Find Alyssa, then... we'll see what we can do from there, alright?"I nodded, then took off with a bounce across the garage. This was a stupid plan. At best I'd find the girl alive and be able to give her the gear I was carrying, but that would hardly free her. I was never so optimistic as to expect to find things so easy.Ideal situations were for optimistic morons to hope for and for pessimists to expect. This was going to be a rough one, and I could feel it in my bones.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven — Unnoticed
Chapter Twenty-Seven — Unnoticed Not being noticed was the first and greatest way to complete an assassination. How to avoid notice came in a few varieties. There was plain stealth, then there was deception. My first ever kill had come in that latter form. I'd taken a job delivering groceries, and delivered a lethal dose of something I picked up over the counter to the man I was being paid to kill.No one suspected me because I was just another nobody doing their job. Though I still cringed when I looked back at how poorly I'd planned my first job.Stealth and deception were the bread and butter of a good assassin, but on some occasions neither were options.In those rare moments it was sometimes preferable to go loud.People often over-prepared for the thing they feared most. The paranoid would have layers of systems in place to make stealth difficult and to make deception impossible. Those same people rarely expected it when you walked right into their home or hideout with weapons blazing.Of course, I was never the one to walk in like that, because doing so was asking to get shot. That kind of thing could be hired out.Assassination was a deep and complex art, the likes of which could take a lifetime to master. Even now, in my second chance at life, I was learning new things.For example, being a small animal drew plenty of attention, but it was also a very easy way to be dismissed."Kitty," a lady by the entrance to the mega building the cult inhabited said. She smiled guilelessly and bent down to scratch my head.I dodged out of the way, then walked up to the door she was standing next to and meowed."Oh, you want in, kitty?" she asked. "Here here." She shifted her assault rifle to the side so that it hung by its strap and opened the door for me.And just like that, I'd sauntered past the nineteen armed guards stationed around the base of the building and was let right in without a fuss. It helped that this was a residential building. Pets were likely banned, and that banning was likely ignored by a sizable percentage of the inhabitants.Sharp and I had been in this building before, but only for a few minutes. We'd moved quickly, because the place creeped us both out. That feeling was still here. It was an oppressive weight pushing me down. I wanted to hunch down, and my fur was standing on end.I noticed that the people around the ground floor all had a sort of... listlessness to them. They shuffled whenever they moved about and their eyes seemed unfocused. That wasn't to say that they were entirely unintelligent. I saw people smacking vending machines, others gathered in small groups listening to music. A few were passing a joint around next to an escalator, and the ground-floor shops were all mostly open.These people were either used to the feeling, or were learning to cope with it. In either case, it was definitely affecting people, just perhaps not as much as I feared. There was no voice over the building-wide intercom either. Maybe that was a factor as well?"-Queen? Can you hear me?""I can hear you. Can you hear me?" I asked in return. This entire operation was predicated on my ability to talk to Sharp not being lost with range. We really should have tested it, but this was the first time that I was more than two rooms away from the girl since we'd met."Mhm!" she said. "Okay, so it looks like you're on the ground floor. Jenny says that Aly is higher up.""Can you be any more precise?" I asked. This was a mega building. It had fifty floors above ground and likely a quarter as many below. Several thousand people lived here. I had no idea how many were involved with the cult, but I imagined it was likely a majority. Though it was very possible that it wasn't something they wanted for themselves.Subversive mind control magic like this was going to get noticed, if it wasn't already. The government and corps might have been slow to act at the best of times, but they would move eventually. Brain-dead zombies didn't make for good consumers and they didn't pay taxes."Hmm, okay, sorry for the delay. We're moving up the parking garage to be on the same level." Sharp huffed a little, and I imagined that she was walking up stairs at that very moment. "Uh, I think we're three floors up already?"If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.I nodded. "Heading up, then," I said. There was nothing for it. I bounced over to an escalator and made sure not to let my tail get caught on anything as I rode it up. Once at the top, I slipped between someone's legs and into an elevator.It was a bit of a gamble, but it paid off when someone tapped the fourth floor button."I'm on the fourth floor," I said."How?!""I rode the elevator.""That's cheating!" Sharp said. She was definitely out of breath.I grinned as I walked out of the elevator. "Think of all the Body experience."Sharp grumbled some more while I found a quiet place to hide. That turned out to be next to an overfilled garbage can by the entrance to a washroom. The whole floor was residential, but clearly whomever was supposed to keep it clean was off-duty and had been for a while. Trash was piling up and some of the lights above were flickering. I noticed some apartments had their doors left open, and the interiors looked abandoned.Graffiti covered just about everything too. More so than a poorer mega building would normally have. A lot of scrawled messages about Him, done by unsteady, inexpert hands."S-seventh," Sharp said. "We're on the... seventh... floor. Oh god, Jenny, why aren't you tired?"I missed whatever the shorter woman said."That's... not... fair... either. Queen, urgh, we think Aly's on this floor.""Understood," I said. So I had to climb up a few floors, then? Not too hard. There were several stairwells, and I needed some Body experience too. By the time I was up on the fifth, I was starting to feel a lot more sympathetic for Sharp. I was not in any shape to be running up stairs like this either.The sixth floor stairwell was blocked. Trash and rubble were stacked up, along with a few lengths of barbed wire just thrown onto the heap. The barricade was far from professional, but it was exactly the kind of thing that would stymie an unprepared advance. If the only way up to the seventh floor was the elevators, then that meant that defences could be concentrated there.Unfortunately for whomever jury-rigged the barricade, they'd done so to stop human-sized opponents. I squeezed myself under an upturned couch, then hopped over an ottoman and between some office chairs, then I was free on the other side.The door into the main corridor was left opened, and I noticed that there were no barricades to the eighth floor. Interesting, but not something I could do anything about at the moment."I'm on the seventh floor," I said as I carefully poked my head around the entrance.The carpets here had been ripped off, leaving the floor semi-bare except for glue marks and some tarp left on the ground. Doors were missing from every apartment, and some walls had been knocked down, turning what should have been tiny habitation units into much larger, more open spaces.I didn't know what was going on around here, but I was definitely getting bad vibes from it all. Fortunately, the lighting was poor, so even though I could see plenty of people wandering about in that same shuffling gait, I moved slowly and silently along the edge of the wall and kept to the darker patches and out of the way."We're watching," Sharp said. 'Uh, Jenny's complaining that there's fur in the way, but it's fine. Looks creepy in there.""It feels creepy," I agreed. The air here felt thin and cold when I breathed it in, but at the same time I couldn't help but feel like it was thick and cloying. The dichotomy didn't make sense, and yet it was what it was.Basically, some magic shenanigans were afoot, and I didn't like it.I liked it even less when I carefully rounded a corner and noticed that some apartments had been turned into large cages. There were people in those. No Alyssa, from what I could tell as I scampered past.Then I did find her. In one of the more central parts of the floor, in an area cordoned off by opaque sheets of plastic tarp. There were several cages laid down on the ground, barely tall enough for a short person to stand in, and surrounded by lines of salt and burning candles.Within one of those cages sat Alyssa, the girl's face pressed against the bars and her eyes glassy and unseeing.
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Chapter Twenty-Eight — Wick, Candle Wick
Chapter Twenty-Eight — Wick, Candle Wick "Alyssa!" Jenny screamed over the mic.I winced, then lowered myself deeper into the shadows. No one had noticed, fortunately. The speaker around my neck was still set to a low volume, so even her screaming wasn't terribly loud, but that didn't mean that I could afford to have her shouting at the top of her lungs. "Sharp, keep her quiet," I hissed."Sorry! Jenny? Jen, come on, let's back up. She's okay, I'm sure she's fine.""Fine? She looks dead!" Jenny snapped."She's not," I said. I knew dead when I saw it. Alyssa wasn't in anything close to good shape, but the young woman wasn't dead.I carefully shifted to look both ways down the corridor, then waited until someone was trudging by. The moment they were past me, I darted out and slipped into their shadow where I stalked forwards until they were by the entrance to the room Alyssa was in. Then I shifted into that room as well.There were six cages, which really turned what had been a few apartments into a very cramped space. The inner walls were mostly semi-transparent tarps, some of which were covered in grime and filth. There was an office desk to one side, and next to that, in the next apartment over, a small operating suite. The sort of thing I'd expect to see in a back-alley doctor's office.There were no guards, but there was a man in the surgery room walking about and cleaning things. His back was turned, but even so I could tell he was moving with more alacrity and ease than the people just outside.I snuck up to Alyssa's cage, being sure to stay outside of the circle created by the candles on the floor."See, she's breathing," Sharp said. "She's alive.""Oh," Jenny said. There was a whole book's worth of relief in that one syllable.The mage was breathing, but it wasn't great. Short, stiff breathes, like someone who had just choked and was trying to catch some air. A trickle of blood had run down her nose and down her chin, and from the bruise forming on the side of her face, she'd either been slapped or punched pretty hard.I carefully shifted left and right, eying the extent of her injuries. It wasn't too bad. No broken limbs that I could tell. Her clothes seemed mostly intact, though I imagined that she'd been frisked. Her jewellery was all gone, and from the looks of it they hadn't been gentle with the removal.That was fair. Jewellery was often a magical catalyst of some sort or another. Leaving a mage with something like that was unwise if you intended to capture them."Sharp, I need you to look up this candle and salt thing," I said. I leaned way down and sniffed at the ring of white powder on the ground. Some caught on my whiskers, and a whiff of it confirmed that it tasted like plain kitchen salt."O-okay," Sharp said. "What am I looking for?""Ways to restrict a magic user. Especially one tied to an eidolon." I turned and eyed the others in their cages. Mostly men, one other woman. They mostly looked normal, but one of them had a coat covered in a feathery fringe, and another had a large bear printed on the back of his shirt as well as running shoes with a bear logo on the side.More warlocks, then? I couldn't imagine that they all belonged to the same two or three eidolons. This felt like more of a... spread, than anything focused.I moved back to the shadows, keeping low and slow. One of them woke up with a groan and looked at me with barely open eyes, but he didn't make any real noise to alert their captors.I heard arguing over the line, and it took a solid ten minutes before Sharp came back to me with something usable. "Okay, okay. I've convinced Jenny not to run in. Uh. So, we found something. Jenny had access to Alyssa's stuff, and she had a bunch of files on magic things and it wasn't too hard to find something about salt and candles. Well, a lot of things. But I think we found the right one.""Go on," I said."So, there's two possibilities. Are there lines between all of the cages?"I stood up a little, then nodded. "There are, yes.""Okay... well, that was the worst option," Sharp said. "It says here that it might be a way to, uh, suck the magic out of people? Like a living battery kind of thing. You're meant to use it on like, creatures you capture from enemy eidolons until they're drained."The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.That was horrifically ominous. "And yet these are human practitioners," I pointed out."Yeah, nothing about that here. But there are lots of warnings about not disrupting the salt circles and making sure that all the candles stay lit. There's a whole process to go through to replace them once they're about to run out, so I think that the whole thing falls apart if you just turn one candle off?"I hummed. "I'll test it," I said."Yeah, it's probably best to test it first," Sharp said. "Not on Alyssa though!" she added.I huffed. That was obvious. I sauntered over to the man with the bear-print stuff. He slowly blinked, then tried to push himself upwards, but barely moved before slumping back down. The man had cuffs on, and judging by his musculature and the blood on his knuckles, he hadn't been taken easily. Our eyes met for a moment, then I casually reached over and tipped a candle to the side.It clicked slightly on hitting the ground, but the sound wasn't all that bad. I half-turned, then delicately ran my tail across the salty line.The man stood up a little straighter, and I could see that colour was returning to his cheeks almost right away.I tilted my head deeper in, and he followed my gaze to the surgery room and the man within. He nodded, and I hoped that he understood that I wanted him to keep quiet for the moment."That worked. But it feels like it'll take some time before our friends here are in any shape to fight. And they're still in cages."I glanced up. The cages were... frankly, kind of crap. They were made of corner tubing, welded together with more enthusiasm than skill. I was pretty sure a few swift kicks would break someone out. The front was locked in place by a large commercial padlock. Were I still human and in possession of a bobby-pin, I could unlock one of those faster than if I had the damned key.I nodded to the bear-warlock again, then slipped across the room once more. I snuffed out candles as I went. One per cage, including the one holding Alyssa. No obvious alarms went off, but two things worried me. One, there was that man in the next room over, and two, there was a camera in the corner ceiling. I had no idea if it was functional or not, and all the candle smoke was gathered in the ceiling which probably made visibility poor, but still, if we did something, we'd need to be fast about it.Moving next to the surgery, I snuck my head in and stilled to observe.The man within was in a stained lab-coat. Mid-thirties, bespectacled, greasy hair, one hand replaced by a higher-end doctor's prosthetic, the sort that concealed several knives, injectors, scissors and other tools, but which could transform back into a hand for ease of use.This wasn't a drugged up, addle-minded cultist that would go down easily...Not unless I got creative, and the large tank of oxygen next to the surgery platform gave me an idea.It would be loud, however.I continued to look around, but when I discovered the keys, I was upset to find that they were in the man's labcoat pocket.Well, nothing for it.I slid into the room, then padded next to the surgical bed in its centre. I'd have to be fast, and hope that he was more distracted cleaning than he was attentive. He had earbuds in, and I could just barely pick out the sound of what might have been an audiobook playing.I did love it when a target distracted themselves.I jumped up onto the bed, then leaned over to the command console next to it. There was a full suite of anaesthetic diagnostics systems there, none of it locked. It took three taps to start sending oxygen out of a plastic-tube with a mask on the end.I hopped down the bed, then darted back into the room full of warlocks. There was some groaning, and a lot more motion. They were coming awake, Alyssa included. I had to hope that they were awake enough.Grabbing a candle by the base, I held back a wince as some hot wax dribbled onto my whiskers, but I now had a source of flame.Now, this next part was going to be interesting.I'd really turned into a sloppy assassin since turning into a cat.
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Chapter Twenty-Nine — Warlocks Unlocks
Chapter Twenty-Nine — Warlocks Unlocks Explosions were fantastic. They were also sloppy, loud, and governments and corps feared the use of them more than just about any other type of targeted attack, with the possible exception of biological attacks.It was simple, really. Bombs were indiscriminate. Inaccurate, loud, catastrophically messy, but most of all, indiscriminate.They were the sign that things had gone horribly wrong with a job. The tool of the novice who didn't care for the art enough, but sometimes that tool was still worth using.Fortunately, I wasn't planning on using an explosion. I was merely planning to light things on fire in a very rapid, very hot, and very spontaneous way. That wasn't an explosion... technically. It was a conflagration."Sharp?" I asked."Yes?" Sharp asked. "Jenny looks like she's ready to run across. I told her to wait, but I don't think she will for very long. Yes Jenny, I know you can hear me.""Never mind that," I said. "I'm about to go loud. Alyssa is... somewhat awake. Once we go loud, the alert will sound out. I'm going to need you to do everything you can to distract the people below. I don't know how we're going to escape here, but hopefully unleashing half a dozen angry warlocks all at once will cause enough chaos to let Alyssa and I slip out."And if the girl didn't make it? Well, she was a low-priority person. I was a killer, not a hostage rescue specialist.I padded back into the little ripper section of the room. The man there had turned around and was fishing one of his earbuds out.He leaned forwards, a frown on his face as he listened to the soft hiss of the oxygen tank emptying. He leaned to the side, and picked up the oxygen mask and gave it a sniff. "What the?" he muttered before reaching over to the bed's LCD and shutting off the oxygen.Damn. My time was almost up. I still needed something to light this moron up with. Then again... humans could be quite flammable.I took off running, then leapt up onto the surgery bed. The man blinked, then gasped as I took another jump right at him. He wasn't expecting a sudden cat. He was expecting the lit candle in my mouth even less.I landed on his face, claws digging into skin to grab a solid grip on the man. That was enough to let me scramble upwards. The candle was dropped right atop his head, dripping wax all over and the lit wick immediately caught on his scruffy, greasy hair.The man screamed, which was a perfectly natural reaction to getting a cat to the face. Then he discovered that he was on fire, and he forgot all about me the moment I leapt off.The landing on the floor was pretty harsh. The guy wasn't tall, but it was still the furthest I'd fallen. Fortunately, I still weighed next to nothing, and rather than splatter, I kind of bounced off the ground. I flipped over, then ran at the man.It was disgusting, but needs must! I reached out and chomped his calf.He screamed a whole new scream and kicked out, but I was gone already. A bump against the back of his knee was enough to tip him backwards, and just like that he came crashing down onto the floor with a loud wallop.Perfect! Now he was at my level. I jumped back up to the bed, then grabbed a tool from a rack nearby. A scalpel.It was small enough to hold in my mouth, and it even had a nice rubber grip to spare my teeth. I fell back to the floor just as he was swatting the last of the fire out of his hair. It wasn't even hard at that point to sneak up to his side and allow the scalpel's sharpness to do most of the work dipping into his exposed neck.He gasped and slapped a hand over his side even as I dove away from a gush of arterial spray. Some hit me anyway, but it was mostly on my coat. Small mercies."What the fuck? What the fuck?" he said rather calmly as he turned around and stumbled to his feet. Then he crashed down to a knee. He was pale, dangerously so.I knew the signs. He had a minute or two to go. People didn't die instantly, even to a cut as serious as that. But combine it with some serious discombobulation and a bit of fire.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.I ran towards him, then dipped out of the way when he swiped for me. There was blood running down the side of his once-white coat.Just to be sure, I came in from behind him and stuck the scalpel into his thigh. I used to be an expert at finding the femoral artery, but it was tougher when going at it with my mouth. Still, I stuck the knifepoint in, and he helped by smacking it.This man was done, and so was I. I jumped back onto the bed, then paused for a moment. My heart was racing madly, and I could feel the drain of tiredness pulling me down. The trip up here, this fight... I wasn't quite ready for all that."Enemy down," I said. "I'm going to check on Alyssa. Tell Jenny to have her car ready for a quick escape. If... when we make it to ground level, we're going to have to get out of the area quickly.""Got it!" Sharp said."And Sharp... it's possible that I won't be able to save her. If that happens, you're going to have to let Jenny charge in on her own. Find any excuse to break free and get away. I'm stealthy enough to find my way out of here later, once things have calmed down.""O-oh," Sharp said. "Okay."I was about to return to the room with the cages when I remembered. The keys! Right, there'd been a reason why I killed that man.I ran back, found him bleeding out on the floor, and carefully made my way into his pocket to pull out a ring covered in keys. They had small plastic tags with numbers on them, numbers that corresponded to the cages in the room.A few of the warlocks were properly awake now. The bear guy looked like he was finding his own way out, a foot pressed against the door and his back against the opposite wall of the cage, the muscles in his legs were bulging and the entire cage was stressing.I shook my head, which had the effect of making the keys jingle. Then I ran to Alyssa's cage. She was blinking herself awake. She looked... slightly better. More blood in her face, more life in her eyes.The keys caught her attention, and then she stared at me for a long moment. "Sharp's cat?" she asked.I couldn't talk to her, and I didn't want to. Instead, I moved my head into the cage and spat out the key-ring.Alyssa grabbed it with a trembling hand, then fumbled through the keys until she found one that matched the number above her cage. It took an eternity for her to get the key slotted in and the door unlocked, and when it was, she practically fell out of the cage.The other warlocks started to call out for her, then there was a loud banging crash as the bear warlock finally kicked the door in. "Calm your tits," he snapped. "Don't need the morons hearing us. Girl, get the next cage open."Alyssa blinked and seemed almost ready to protest on reflex alone, but she nodded and stumbled over to the next cage.My job here was mostly done, so I did the clever thing and made myself scarce. I hid in the shadows, aware that a few warlocks had gotten a good look at me, but they weren't making a fuss.Alyssa opened two doors before the keys were taken from her by a lithe man with a large fox tattoo across his entire arm. He was a good deal faster than Alyssa about opening the remaining cages. Which left a room filled with a dozen warlocks, all linked to different and disparate eidolons."Well?" the bear man said. "I for one don't plan on staying here to die. You chumps can follow me or sit here and wait to be shoved in a cage again.""Gimme a minute," a woman said. She started to mutter something, and with a snap of her fingers a crown of yellowish feathers appeared around the heads of everyone in the room, myself included. I almost batted at mine before they faded awayI blinked. I had gotten so used to the constant droning sensation that enveloped the entire mega building that its absence was almost a surprise.The fox guy soon had balls of fire hovering around him, and the bear man ripped the handcuffs off of another warlock's wrists with far too much ease.There was a very real possibility that this group in particular were exactly the kind of people that could make a desperate escape out of a tower like this.
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Chapter Thirty — Chosen of the Eidolons at Play
Chapter Thirty — Chosen of the Eidolons at Play The bear warlock moved out of the room while the others were still plotting and planning. He timed his exit to coincide with a pair of cultists walking past. It was probably for the best, because while the cultists were mind-addled and clearly confused, it was entirely possible that they'd notice the warlocks and raise the alarm.The warlock ran out, grabbed a man by the head, and proceeded to smash said head into the far wall with enough force to leave a bloody smear behind. The second started to shout, but a swift mule kick sent the cultist stumbling into the room we were all in.The others jumped on him, and a dozen kicks and a few stomps beat him into silence.The two cult members had guns and knives. Those were quickly reappropriated and shared between the warlocks.I was happy to see that even though they were all working for different eidolons, they were all willing to work together to get out of here."Let's go!" the fox warlock said. He slipped out of the room. The others followed, with varying levels of enthusiasm. Alyssa was the last one out, which might have been for the best. The warlock just before her ate a trio of bullets to the chest and crashed down onto the ground, very much dead."Things are going to be loud here," I warned. "If Jenny has any plans for a distraction, now would be the time to set them off.""I'll let her know!" Sharp said.I hopped up and scampered after the warlocks. If it were possible, I would have warned them about the blocked stairwell, but there was no real way to do that, so I followed behind them as they stared down the corridor.The cultists here were all armed. They were also still lethargic and sloppy. Most had machine-pistols, and I suspected that whomever was organising all of this preferred that kind of weapon because the high rate of fire at least gave them a vague chance of hitting something.The warlocks flung spells forwards. Balls of laughing fire, a few concussive blasts. The woman that had summoned those yellow flowers cast something that summoned... a flight of small canaries. They shot forwards, leaving glowing trails behind them before they crashed into some cultists and started to tear into their flesh in a very un-canary like way.Alyssa had picked a gun off of a corpse and was taking potshots at anyone sticking their head out. It turned the corridor into a loud echo-chamber, the cracks of gunfire reverberating through the entire place and likely carrying to the floors above and below.There was no chance that we weren't going to be noticed.So I did the smart thing and kept to the corners and moved from corpse to corpse, body held low in case a stray bullet came my way.One of the cultists flung a grenade our way, but it was batted back out of the air by a quickly muttered spell.The explosion had my ears folding back and made my bones rattle. It also shut down half the lights in the corridor.At least it had stunned the cultists more than anything.The warlocks made it to the stairwell, kicked the door open, and stomped in... only to discover the blocked stairwell. "Anyone got anything for that?" the bear warlock asked."Not tired as I am," canary-woman said.The bear-man looked at Alyssa, but she just shook her head, as did fox-boy and the others. "Well, let's keep moving. The elevators still work.""Unless you've got great hacking skills, I wouldn't trust it," canary-woman said. "It could be shut down with the lot of us in it, and then we're all screwed. There has to be another stairwell down.""The windows?" one of them asked."I can fly, you lot can't," the canary warlock said, and that was the end of that particular idea.They filled out of the stairwell, took a few more shots to keep any cultist heads down, then started running. They were halfway down the corridor with me trailing after them when the elevator dinged open and a dozen cultists stumbled out.There was a bloody gunfight. I spent most of it sensibly using some poor idiot's corpse as a meatshield. "How are things on your end?" I asked. Things weren't progressing well here, and I was hoping for some good news."Jenny has a rocket launcher," Sharp said.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.I blinked. That... was not the kind of good news I was hoping for. "What do you mean, she has a rocket launcher?"I heard it a second later. A distant screaming whistle, then the entire building shook. I heard faint screams from afar, even over the spellfire and gunshots.Well, that would serve as a half-decent distraction, assuming she had more than one rocket. It would also call down a lot of attention on Sharp's head. "It might be best to back up," I said."I don't think I can! Jenny gave me a gun and she told me to shoot. I don't know how to use guns!"I was about to scold her when the floor shook under me. I stuck my head out and blinked as a wash of dust passed me by. When it cleared, there was a massive hole in the floor revealed. Bear-guy was below. His arms glowing a bright green. He was covered in blood, and it looked like he had been shot in the chest a few times, but that wasn't keeping him down. Had he just blown out the floor?The other warlocks, those that were left, moved to the edge of the hole and pushed themselves down, some with more acrobatic finesse than the others. Alyssa paused, sitting on the edge of the hole, and glanced back my way.Sighing, I darted out from behind the corpse and ran over to leap into her arms. She slid down and crashed to the floor a moment later.There were more cultists, but they seemed still unaware and very much unprepared for a drawn out gunfight. The warlocks made short work of the few that stood out, then there was a charge back to the stairwell.It wasn't blocked on this level, and the group was soon stretched out in the stairwell as the faster ones ran down the stairs and the slower ones stumbled after them.Alyssa dropped me down after a few flights. I was mostly just happy that I didn't need to walk all the way down by myself.On reaching the ground floor, we found ourselves in a charnel house. Cultist bodies were scattered across the floor. The front entrance was a smoking wreck, and the bear warlock was off to one side, roaring psychotically as he beat a corpse up with its own arm.I decided not to interrupt. Instead I kept close to Alyssa as she stumbled forwards towards the exit. "We're almost out!""G-got it!" Sharp shouted back.The moment we were out Jenny's van came rushing out towards us. It stopped with a screech. "Aly! Get in!" Jenny shouted as she rolled the window down. The back door was slid open revealing a wide-eyed, dishevelled Sharp holding onto an assault rifle. "G-get in!" she said.Alyssa stumbled into the van, then fell to the ground. I hopped in after her, then turned to look out.Sharp, grabbing the gun in exactly the right way if her goal was to break her wrist, opened fire in the general direction of some cultists pushing out of the blown out entrance. She missed every shot, but it was enough to make the smarter cultists dive for cover."Hang on!" Jenny shouted.I was almost thrown across the floor as she gunned in. Sharp struggled to slam the door shut, then threw herself down as a scattering of gunfire smashed through the backdoor and over our heads.We were around a corner and relatively safe a few moments later."Aly! Aly, are you good?" Jenny asked."I feel like run-over shit," Aly said from the floor. "But I'm alive, and the moth isn't too pissed at me."Jenny just laughed, uproarious and happy. I suspected that she was close to tears, which didn't bode well when she was the one driving."Are you okay?" Sharp asked as she plucked me off the floor and placed me on her lap."I'm fine," I said. "But we might not be if we stick around with these two for too much longer. I don't need their questioning.""Right," Sharp said. "You did really well in there."I huffed. "Obviously. I'm an expert. Given some time to actually plot and plan it wouldn't have been half as messy, of course."Sharp grinned. "Of course!" she said.Then both of us gasped as we were suddenly hit by a wave of notifications.Anima Has Levelled Up!Anima 1 2Body Has Levelled Up!Body 1 2Cat Has Levelled Up!Cat 3 4Combat Has Levelled Up!Combat 2 3Magic Has Levelled Up!Magic 1 2
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Chapter Thirty-One — Running to a Home
Chapter Thirty-One — Running to a Home "Y-you can let us out here," Sharp said.Jenny didn't let up on the pedal, and we roared past one of the main entrances into Fenway. I sat up a little straighter, having relocated myself to Sharp's arms... or more accurately, having allowed her to grab a hold of me. She was hugging me close, so it saved me from bumping around too much as Jenny climbed her van onto the curbside and continued to rush forwards past the usual traffic."J-Jenny?" Sharp asked."We're going to Allston," Jenny said."Jen," Alyssa said. She was still plastered onto the floor of the van. "Just take us home.""Fuck that," Jenny said. "They saw your face. Bet they saw my van. They can trace us back with nothing more than a two-bit netrunner. Home ain't safe, and you need a medic.""I don't," Alyssa said. She groaned as Jenny took another sharp turn, honking as she wove through a busy intersection. Sharp shifted to the side as Alyssa vomited across the floor of the van. Fortunately, it seemed as though she didn't have much to vomit. It was mostly wet bile."You can let us out here," Sharp said again, gesturing to a four-way up ahead. Technically we were in Brookline now, having cut through the lower edge of Fenway. We weren't in the more... posh and well-protected areas of Brookline, however. Rather, we were on one of the suspended highways over the nicer parts of that district.Jenny shot past the intersection without a look back. "We're going to my doc," she said.Alyssa's response was an ugly groan."Stop complaining. You're injured. Injured people should shut up and let their docs fix them up." Jenny was blinking quickly, and the look on her face as I caught it in the rearview was far from pretty. She sniffed, but her eyes were steel.I glanced up at Sharp. She was a little concerned, obviously, but not on the verge of panic or anything. To be fair, there was little reason to be. Jenny was doing a somewhat sensible thing dragging her friend in for medical attention. Stopping to drop us off might lose some precious minutes."It's just... it's just magic sickness," Alyssa said. She pulled herself up, and Sharp set me down on the seat next to her to help Alyssa sit up straighter. "It'll pass.""Last time you had magic sickness you were down for three days and you didn't look half as bad as this," Jenny snapped. "And you were in a cage, I saw it. Did they stick you with anything? Were you drugged or something?" Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Did they touch you? I'll fucking kill them all.""Nothing like that," Alyssa said. She slumped back into the seat Sharp helped her into and just closed her eyes for a moment. Sharp stared for a moment, but didn't say anything. It was kind of irritating how Alyssa managed to still be attractive, even with her hair in total disarray and her face so pale it was clear she was ill.A bit of a distraction couldn't hurt. "Did you gain a lot of skills all of a sudden, Sharp?" I asked."Hmm? Oh, yeah," Sharp said. She picked me up again and brought her head close to my ears. With the sound of traffic, there was a good chance Alyssa wouldn't overhear much. "My Combat went up one, so did Protagonist and Tech."Not the same set of increases as me, which I supposed wasn't that surprising. There were only three skill ups compared to my four, which was also not too strange. I'd been in the middle of the fighting whereas Sharp was more tangentially caught up in it. Any amount of increase was good, though.We were both reaching the point where we had skills close to level five. If the pattern held, that would be when we finally got some more of those Perks that Sharp had mentioned. Her one perk so far had summoned me, and I liked to think that it meant that the perk was relatively strong.Hopefully, that pattern of strength and utility would hold and all of the perks we'd gain would be just as strong and useful.Squinting, I dragged out the skill list, just to see where I was sitting at the moment.Anima 2Body 2Cat 4Combat 3Cool 1Magic 2Reflex 2Tech 2That was... a fair bit of improvement, but the only skill actually close to that perk rank was Cat, the skill I perhaps cared about the least. Combat being a close second was actually kind of nice. I was looking forward to that, but at the same time, levelling combat required being in combat, and that meant being in a degree of danger that I wasn't comfortable with.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.I was knocked out of my thinking as Jenny took a turn far too sharply. "Get the fuck outta the way!" she shouted at some people diving off the road. We'd taken an off-ramp and were now in a busier part of the city, surrounded on all sides by older warehouses and shops and tenement buildings.Jenny had punched the dash a few times, shutting up the device tallying up all of her tickets.Jenny drove the van into an open garage door in what looked like a large repurposed factory. The walls were covered in glowing graffiti, most of the art showing people dancing or animals or musical notes. The van shut down, and Jenny leapt out of the driver's side. The moment the door opened, I caught some heavy electronic beats coming from just outside.The side door opened, and Jenny came face-to-face with Sharp and I. "Oh, right, you and the cat. Uh. Just stand off to the side. I'll take care of you later."Sharp scrambled out of the van and I leapt up and onto her shoulders.This was a gang hideout if I ever saw one. The DJs, if I had to guess. I didn't know much about this group, except that they were small and kind of wild.The men and women around here were dressed... almost normally. There was a lot of tracksuit-chic and graphic-tees covered in bright neon artwork. Half the people I saw here had glowing tattoos as well.A man came over just as Jenny was helping Alyssa out of the van. A shorter man, in an orange coat not too dissimilar from the bright yellow jacket that Jenny was wearing. "Didn't think I'd ever be seeing you again, Jenkins," the man said.Jenny froze up, then half-turned to give the man a glare. "I need to chat with the old fox," she said."Your friend shot up?" he asked. He wasn't giving ground, and there was a certain tension in the entire room. Lots of folk just sitting back and watching, but guns were close at hand.I really didn't want to be here."She... we got tangled up with that cult of freaks in South Boston. They did some magical shit and Aly got caught in it. She needs a doc."The man stood his ground for a few moments more, then he nodded. "Fine," he said. "Get her in the back. Fox will give her a look, but it'll cost you, in explanations to begin with."Jenny worked her jaw, but nodded before shifting her hold on Alyssa. "Yeah, alright. Thanks," she said."Once family, always," he said. Then he turned his gaze onto Sharp and I, though I only got a spare look. "Who's this one?""She's a solo that helped us," Jenny said. "Sharp, grab Aly's other side. You can skip on out of here after.""Oh, uh, okay," Sharp said as she scrambled to help. I leapt off her shoulder and landed by their feet. The ground was disgustingly humid, but I decided to reserve my complaining for the moment.Jenny knew where to go, so we just followed along. I had questions, but no way to ask them, and Sharp didn't seem in a very communicative mood. Not that I blamed her. It was a long, tiring day. She was due to go to bed, not to be out here messing around.Maybe we could take an autocab back to Fenway? Though it would cost a small fortune."You got an account on the Solonet?" Jenny asked."The what?" Sharp asked."Fuck," Jenny said. "Set one up and ping me your code, I'll give you credit for a gig completed. You... did pretty alright tonight. Might not have been able to save Aly without you, so as far as I'm concerned, I owe you one, yeah?""Okay," Sharp said. Then she looked down to me, and muttered a question that Jenny might have heard but which was definitely aimed at me. "What the heck is a Solonet?"Right, of course some random orphan wouldn't know. And of course it would fall on me to answer the question.I sighed. Time to explain to Sharp how to accomplish her dream, I supposed, though it brought me no pleasure to have to do the explaining, or having her know in the first place.
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Chapter Thirty-Two — The Solonet
Chapter Thirty-Two — The Solonet Jenny led Alyssa into a doctor's office of a sort at the back of the building. It reminded me a little of the surgery room I'd just been in within the mega building the cult occupied, but this one had more posters of scantily clad women on the walls and LED lighting. It was also, notably, cleaner.The doctor who came out was shrugging on a pristine white coat as Jenny entered and helped Alyssa onto the surgery bed in the room's centre.Sharp and I stood back as he asked Jenny some pointed questions and then started to inspect Alyssa.Jenny stepped away soon after. She gave Sharp a quick tilt of her head, indicating that she should follow her out into the corridor. "Hey, uh, thanks for everything. I've got to talk to some people. I'll arrange a ride back over to the bar for you, if you want. On me.""Thank you," Sharp said. "I'd appreciate it."Jenny nodded sharply. "Yeah, no problem. And I was legit about the Solonet thing. Hook me up with your deets.""Okay," Sharp said.We stood awkwardly off to the side while Jenny moved on past. Sharp waited for her to be out of sight before she glanced down at me. The curiosity in her eyes was obvious.I sighed. "The Solonet is a sub-faction of the wider internet," I said. The modern internet was... divided. For safety, and because it was more profitable for some people this way. The city had its own net, as did most major metropolitan cities. There was a country-wide net as well, then dozens of corporate maga-servers. The Solonet was not one of those. Instead it piggie-backed off of the wider internet, a collection of well-hidden yet accessible sites."Okay. I think I know what that means," Sharp said. "We had something like that for education stuff."Right, that made sense. "Well, in this case, the Solonet was designed by some mercenaries. It's both a forum, and information gathering device, and an organisation of sorts. When you create an account to log into the Solonet, you tie it to your mercenary ID. Official or otherwise. That account is used across the Solonet, for access and also as a sort of social-media account.""I never really got into social media stuff. The orphanage warned us that it was unproductive," she said."Fair enough. It mostly is. The only useful thing is that accredited members of the Solonet can tag others for having completed a job. Fixers and info-brokers have more power when it comes to giving someone credit for work accomplished."It took a moment for the light in Sharp's eyes to brighten. "Is that how edgerunners are made?""It's... one of the ways," I said. "Mostly those credits are added up to a score that determines how good a member of the Solonet is at accomplishing certain types of work. Netrunning, hacking, assassination, grunt work, transportation, information gathering. There are categories. An edgerunner is often someone who rises very rapidly through the ranks with little regard for pacing themselves.""I need an account, then," Sharp said.Great. Now I had to temper her expectations.The Solonet had plenty of work available on it. Some of that work was gatekept behind certain levels of capability. It prevented nobody idiots from taking on jobs far beyond their capabilities. But some work? Anything went for those. The pay was trash, and the work dangerous, but it paid and it gave the worker points.People often became obsessed with seeing numbers go up. It was a stupid part of being a thinking, human being.The riskier the job, the better the reward in terms of accreditation and expertise rankings. A fresh solo might start off with simple, low-risk gigs, but they often quickly discovered that the best gigs were locked behind higher levels of expert ranking.To get those levels faster, they could take on riskier work. If they lived, they'd get access to jobs that paid significantly more, as well as more respect on the Solonet and outside of it.It was a vicious cycle that mulched up unwary and unprepared idiots all the time.That was how Edgerunners were born. People wanted to be at the top of the rankings now. Not in ten or twenty years, after carefully picking their way up.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.I explained all of this to Sharp, though with a hefty dose of warnings and some careful arguments about the dangers of the Solonet and its tendency to make young people turn into young corpses."I really want to be at the top of the rankings," she said."You haven't even seen the rankings," I said.Sharp blinked sleepily. "Yeah, and?"This girl was going to be the death of me. Fortunately, Jenny returned. She checked on Alyssa before saying anything, but she did return with good news. "I got a friend of a friend to agree to give you a ride back to Fenway. He can drop you off on the same block as the Bloody Bat.""Thanks," Sharp said. "I think the moment I'm home I'll be taking a shower, then it's off to bed. Today was a lot.""Yeah," Jenny said. She smacked Sharp on the shoulder. "Thanks again. I'll uh, talk with Aly about a decent pay.""Cool," Sharp said. She took the name of our driver, then headed out with me riding on her shoulder the entire time. We got to the garage, where Jenny's van had been reparked in a more sensible location and where some of the locals gang members were now loitering. One was waiting by a car.He just nodded and let Sharp in, and then we were off. His ride was one of those little Asian imports, low to the ground, covered in neon paint, and with a sound system worth more than the rest of the car.The car blasted neonstep until we were in Fenway. I was very much tempted to bite the driver, but that might cause us to crash, and I didn't need that at the moment.Once we were back in our home turf Sharp and I made it back to the Bloody Bat, slipping in through the rear. Sharp never did get that shower of hers. She crashed onto the bed face first and was instantly out.I sat on her back, then laid down. She was warm and made for a good bed, even if she did stink a little of sweat and gunpowder. We would have to wash the sheets out.Then again, we might not be staying here for long.We had enough money now that continued work for the Bloody Bat felt... somewhat foolhardy. Money was nice, but the amount Sharp earned here was too small to matter.It would be far more sensible to start moving back to my place.There were trains from the town I lived in to Boston Two. It was a good three-quarters of an hour ride, and it wasn't cheap, but we could afford it now, and we had the means to cross the city.Sharp was almost earning enough from her gig work as a courier to afford rent. Almost. With the savings we had, she could ostensibly afford a place for several months in the same building I lived in as long as she was accepted. And if I had access to my place, then she would be.I nodded to myself as I started to fight off sleep myself. It was a good plan.Not tomorrow, though. There were a few things we needed to get done first.The money left sitting under the bed was a bad move. I hadn't thought about it, but with a Solonet account, we would be able to funnel it into a... somewhat secured account. Mercenaries needed discreet ways of moving money around.I trusted the Solonet as much as I trusted any bank. Less, actually. But for someone like Sharp? Well, it would do for now.I made a mental list of things to go over:— Continued training— Securing our current money— Obtain some basic gear for Sharp— Continue courier work— Get a bead on some better gig workThat all seemed... challenging but doable. As long as we didn't exaggerate anything, we had some good opportunities lined up.Ah, right, there was the entire kerfuffle with Jenny and Alyssa as well.Best to find a way to avoid either of them for the foreseeable future. They owed us one, as far as I was concerned. Hopefully, anyone who'd seen me would assume that I was an agent of the Cat Eidolon, or one of their warlocks, and not tied so closely to Sharp.I... was going to need a disguise as well, at some point, even looking like a cat.How irritating.I yawned, then pressed my paws into Sharp's back before spinning around to find a more comfortable way to rest. This girl needed to eat more, she was all skin and bones, and that didn't make for a comfortable bed.
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Chapter Thirty-Three — SharpRunner1902
Chapter Thirty-Three — SharpRunner1902 We woke up early enough the next morning for Sharp to confirm with Mark that he didn't need Sharp to come in that morning. He seemed used to his couriers being the sorts of people that dropped in and out of the job. We did get news that Derek was back on the job properly, though he was taking things slow and keeping to safer, less burdensome deliveries and was also helping Mark in the office with paperwork.He was recovering from that gunshot well, but still had some postoperative convalescence to get through before he would be ready for proper work.In any case, once we got through that call, Sharp and I took a long shower. I still didn't have cleaning products for cat fur, but we made due with some water and softer shampoo for now. I needed it.And then... we returned to bed.The night had been long and rather rough on both of us, and we clearly needed some more rest. I was pushing it as it was. My body was still very much juvenile, I needed sleep. Or so I told myself as I laid down next to Sharp's warm body and fell right back asleep.By the time I woke up some hours later, I wasn't feeling nearly as damp. "Good morning," Sharp said.She reached down and ran her hand down the length of my back. I almost told her off for it, but it did feel nice. "We should find a grooming kit," I said.Sharp giggled. "We can add it to the list."I nodded. "Today's going to be a big day," I said."It is?" she asked."It is. First, we're buying a computer of some sort. We don't need an advanced deck, just something better than a phone to connect to the internet with. Then we're going to get you access to my apartment. I've been thinking about it, and... I can enter your biometrics into my personal apartment. We don't need you to rent a separate space.""Oh," Sharp said. "Thank you? Is that something we can just... do?""Certainly. Then we need to make it to my apartment. We're going to want to create a Solonet account first, however, and use it to stash the money we have in a secured banking account."Sharp yawned, then moved me aside so that she could sit up on the edge of the bed. "Okay," she said. "So a big day of shopping and such, and then... a new home?""If we make it there by tonight," I said. It was a good ways from the city. Obviously we were going to take a train to the town, then take an autocab from the station to my place. That'd take a solid hour, however.I generally liked the separation between my home and Boston Two. It was safer that way. It was surprising how often gangs and the like would simply refuse to move out of their neighbourhoods."First, we need to meet with Paris and let her know that we won't be working for her anymore."Sharp tensed up. "I can't do that! She needs me for a shift today!""And how do you think we're going to get everything we need to do done if you're going to be here working a shift? Do you think I can lug that bag full of cash all the way to the nearest bank on my own?"Sharp groaned and flopped back onto the bed. "Maybe... tomorrow?"I narrowed my eyes at the galling laziness, but... well, it wasn't smart to rush. "Fine."Sharp grinned. "We still have hours before work starts! Let's get that computer and do the banking thing?"That was a sensible idea. Sharp got dressed in her Sunday best, which were still too close to rags for my liking, then scooped me up into her arms and we were off. Our first stop was a place to grab some semi-decent electronics.We could have gone to any old retail place, but those tended to piss me off. The computers they sold were half bloatware by mass. I didn't need to have Sharp spend the next week deleting pre-installed spyware and mucking around with operating systems to remove the constant pop-ups that came with that kind of system.No, instead I decided to take on a slight bit of risk and I led Sharp across the city towards Cambridge. The area had several large universities and colleges, many of them technical in nature. That did mean that there were more stores selling basic electronics, laptops and tablets and the like, but there were also a few stores hidden away in that area that sold things directly to netrunners and hackers.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.Those kinds of places were usually paranoid, and for good reason. They sold to people who were often on the wrong side of the law and jailbreaking systems was... questionably legal.The issue in closing them down was that a good portion of the netrunning community relied on these shops to function, and in turn the city needed its netrunners, as did every corporation out there. So, a blind eye was turned towards the shops as long as they kept their heads down.It took us a solid hour to find a decent one that very specifically wouldn't ask any questions. Not even a peep about our Solonet account or any ID. With Sharp wearing her courier jacket, they probably assumed she was being sent out to grab something on someone else's behalf.It was a sensible enough thing to assume.The shop we snuck into was long and narrow, filled with racks that pushed into what little walking space there was. We found a selection of refurbished laptops at the rear, then picked something that was right in the intersection of not too expensive and not unusably old.A wad of cash was handed to the shady older man at the counter later, and we had a working machine.Now we just needed an internet connection.Fortunately, Cambridge had more cafes than a poor neighbourhood had dollar stores, and it wasn't hard to find one that was pet friendly and which had wifi. The hot chocolate that Sharp ordered was exorbitantly expensive, but it came with whipped cream, marshmallows, and a dusting of cocoa powder."Alright," I said. "Now we just need to make you a Solonet account.""Is that hard?" Sharp asked as she fiddled with the laptop. It had a few things pre-installed, but they were innocent enough. A browser and some basic programs, all we'd need to set it up to our liking later."It shouldn't be. Go onto the main page from your browser, yes, that's right. Ah, we need a secure browser, so we need to download that first... good, now while that's downloading, order me something too. Maybe some milk? There has to be some sort of pastry that's cat friendly here, right? They have seventeen types of milk."I got a snack and ate it while resting on a table made of recycled pallets. Sharp got us the browser we needed, along with a few extra bits and bobs, and finally got onto the Solonet. From there, we opened a fresh account.There was some arguing over names. I veto'd KittyLover and CatPetter, but I wasn't able to prevent her from avoiding any sort of pun.The SharpRunner1902 account was born.It took another half hour past that to use the Solonet account to open an account on a digital bank. It wasn't as secure as I'd want, but it was a start."Okay," I said perhaps an hour later once we were all set. "Now we just need to deposit the cash in our digital account and we're done. Fortunately, we happen to know a courier service that we can trust. Mark can take care of the transfer for us.""I'm gonna text Jenny my username!" Sharp said. "Ohhh, there's a leaderboard."I walked up and sat on the keyboard. "No," I said sensibly. "We don't need you hooked on the idea of seeing numbers go up when all it means is that you're going to risk your life even more. Contact Jenny if you must, you do deserve that reputation and more, but don't get fixated on these leaderboards."Sharp pouted, but it had no effect on me.She did finish her hot chocolate and packed up. A few minutes later, we were riding our way back to the Bloody Bat.One more night at the bar, and we'd be out of there.I was looking forward to it. So many luxuries had been left behind when I turned into a cat. I suspected that Sharp wasn't quite ready for it all, but it would be fun to see her trying to get used to a soft mattress and a limitless shower whose water was actually warm.
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Chapter Thirty-Four — Last Night, First Prey
Chapter Thirty-Four — Last Night, First Prey We returned to the Bloody Bat just a few minutes before opening. Sharp clutched her hands together as she asked to talk to Paris, then she stuttered though an explanation that basically boiled down to 'thank you for the job and the room, but I'm heading out not.'"Well, can't say I'm surprised," Paris said. "I'll have the room cleaned out. Fold the sheets up on the bed, if you could.""Okay," Sharp said.Paris eyed her, then raised an eyebrow. "Well?""Oh! Uh, yes, okay, thank you," Sharp replied quickly. "I'll get changed for my last shift!"She darted off, which meant she missed the woman shaking her head ruefully. It seemed like Sharp's lack of sharpness had won the woman over, at least a little. I missed the days when I could pass myself off as a bright-eyed, innocent youth. People were so quick to judge from appearances alone and assuming that a person who was so daft and sincere-seeming wasn't a threat.It made getting close to a target so easy.Ah, but it wasn't time for reminiscing. We'd be leaving the bar for the last time in the morning, heading to a bank, then off to my place, hopefully before mid-morning was done. Sharp wasn't going to stay for very long, as she still had some courier work to take care of.Sharp got dressed in a hurry, then darted out to get to work, leaving me all alone. I, of course, chose that as a good time for a nice nap.I had nothing better to do, and the day had been quite busy.Naps did as naps were wont, and made time slip by without notice. I blinked awake some time later, vaguely aware of the shift in the air in the room as Sharp slipped in. "Finished your shift already?" I asked before stretching my paws out and my rear up.Sharp nodded and sat on the bed, then reached down and removed her shoes. "Yeah. Last one. I think I might miss it... a tiny bit. A man pinched my butt.""His physical description," I demanded.Sharp snorted. "The bouncers flung him out the back. He wasn't someone important enough to be untouchable or anything.""I see," I replied. "That would certainly put a damper on wanting to work here.""I guess. Ah, it'll be nice to not have to work as hard."I harrumphed. As If I wouldn't be working her to the bone once we were at my place. I had a small home gym, and there was a larger one of the entire apartment. That, and I'd have her enrolled in self-defence courses, gymnastics, maybe even music, for the dexterity practice. If this idiot girl thought I'd be letting her coast along without turning her into a lean mean killing machine, she had another thing coming.Sharp changed into a loose shirt and shorts, then crumpled onto the bed to sleep. She pulled me closer, and I allowed it, for a period.I wasn't terribly tired, however.The music in the bar continued for another hour, and I decided to fiddle with our laptop while Sharp slept, but I couldn't get the damned thing to open. It was clearly not designed with cats in mind.Eventually the bar settled down. An hour or so passed, and yet... I still wasn't tired.Sighing to myself, I stood and made my way to the door. It was easy enough to open it and peek my head out. The coast was clear. The kitchen was closed for the night, and the lights in the back section were all shut except for a few glowing red emergency exit lights.I padded across the corridor, walking back and forth along it. I tried some light jogging, then a full on sprint. The last almost ended with me meeting the exit door face-first, but I managed to stop by using my claws on a carpet by the door for traction.I had to get used to this body some more, and a bit of additional exercise couldn't hurt. I wanted to get those next couple of levels in Body, if only to see what would happen. It seemed like the most logical skill to increase, and it was close.Cat was closer, but I genuinely didn't care for that one except to be curious about what it might give. I wasn't even sure if the system I had access to was complete like Sharp's. For all I knew, it might well give me nothing but the vague pleasure of seeing numbers rise.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.I was just going for another run when I heard something.A clink and clatter, like someone moving a plate on a table. It was coming from the kitchen. No light under the door, no footsteps. I felt my ears swivel a moment before I lowered myself and stealthed over to the doorway.Keeping low, I squeezed into the kitchen and scanned across the room. It was only lit by LEDs on some of the stoves and ovens and fridges and by the emergency exit light, but that was more than enough to see by.I stayed still for an interminable second before I heard it again. A clink, then a clatter.There! On one of the tables by the far end of the kitchen. There was a sort of window into a space behind the bar for waiters to pick up meals. A sink was next to that, empty, but someone had left a couple of plates with leftovers out. A lazy last-minute pick up left for the morning crew?It didn't matter, because someone else had found the plate.A large, overweight little mouse was standing on its hindlegs right atop the plate. It had some piece of food in its forepaws. A fry? It didn't matter. The little bastard was munching away, beady eyes scanning the room but mostly out of the window.I ran.Not towards the table, but behind cover. Then I slowed so that my paws wouldn't make any noise. Circling around and keeping furniture between us, I reached the bottom of the table.I could hear the mouse now, faint little crunches as it ate. I felt my blood spike with adrenaline. That would be its final meal.With a powerful leap that had me spring upwards, I cleared the edge of the table and landed on my hindlegs. The mouse squeaked, but I was already lunging forwards.The plate flew off the side of the table and exploded below, but not before I gave the mouse a serious wallop across the face.It was flung off the side, and I gave chase.The mouse landed, rolled, then hopped onto all fours.I crashed next to it, mouth clamping down at its neck, but the little bastard zipped away. I did bat him with my paw though. My claws sank into some flesh, but I think I did more to trim its fur than actually injure it.The chase was on.The mouse ran through the fallen debris left by the plate, scampering around sharp porcelain spikes, then it was on a straight-away. I could see the gears turning in its little head as it dashed towards the underside of an oven.So I pushed harder and leapt, my forepaw swinging as hard as I could.My claws grabbed onto the little mouse's flank and I swung it around and away from the oven. It got loose, but not before leaving some blood behind.The mouse squeaked as it tried another dash, this time under the table.I followed. It zigged, but I had predicted it and crashed into the mouse chest-first. We tumbled, and even as I spun and it went airborne, I refused to look anywhere else.When the mouse came down, it was into my open jaws.I only realized how disgusting it was when my mouth had clamped already.I wasn't about to let go, however. Spinning around, I brought my rear legs up, and started to kick repeatedly while gripping my teeth into the mouse as hard as I could.I didn't play with my targets.A minute later the mouse and its insides were spread out across the kitchen floor and I was covered in entrails, but I was victorious!I almost wanted to howl into the night, but that was a little melodramatic. Instead, I started to inspect the area. I didn't want to leave bloody paw prints around. Maybe I could wipe my paws off on a paper towel?That's when the ding arrived.Cat Has Levelled Up!Cat 4 5You Have Reached a Threshold Pick a Perk!You have... 30 Available Cat Perks!Pick one!I swallowed as I opened the list, then stared. Why were there so many options?
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Chapter Thirty-Five — Curiosity Chose the Cat
Chapter Thirty-Five — Curiosity Chose the Cat It was a good thing that Sharp was a heavy sleeper, because otherwise she might have heard me pacing the room as I scanned through the list of options I had.It hadn't truly struck me at the time, but Sharp's level five perk for Anima was... strong, wasn't it? Summoning a knowledgeable expert in the form of a living animal with their own growth ability? That wasn't anything to scoff at as far as powers went.I supposed it was possible that Sharp had just found the best possible option, but Sharp wasn't that sharp in the head. She probably picked out the skill that had the highest chance to give her something small and cuddly to squish.A list of options sat before me. There were more past that, greyed out. Those had prerequisites that I didn't meet and would likely not meet for some time, and so I didn't focus on them. Instead, I observed the list before me.
Abyssal Curiosity
Illusory Kitty Cat Clones
Purr of Tranquility
Can Has Cheezburger?
Infinite Batting
Purr-fect Healing
Cat Nap Resurrection
Karmic Scratch
Quantum Cat
Cat's Paw Impact
Meme Material
Shadowstep Pounce
Eternal Curiosity
Moonlight Slink
Spirit of the Cat God
Feral Spirit Bond
Nine Lives
Stray Cat Strut
Feline Frenzy
Nightmare Visions
Time-Crinkle Pounce
Furry Forcefield
Pawsitively Purrfect
Unfathomable Grace
Hiss of Terror
Paw of Infinite Mischief
Voidstep Blink
Hunter's Mark
Paw of Unyielding
Wallrunning Paws
Thirty options.Just on a whim, I opened three of the first ones.Abyssal CuriosityOpens a rift into the curious dimension next door where lost things are found. Caution, however, is due, as not all that is lost wishes to be found, and curiosity has killed several cats.Cat Nap ResurrectionTaking a nap heals all wounds and all ills.Cat's Paw ImpactGive 'em the old one-two smack! Your paws are capable of delivering blows of immense strength. Topple (small) buildings and kill even the largest prey with just a few smacks!"What the hell?" I muttered to myself. These were all incredibly potent abilities. Any one of these could turn a normal person into a threat. The first had some terrifying implications and I was definitely far too risk-averse to even tempt it, but it had some powerful potential utility. Having instant full healing on tap? That was obscenely powerful, and the impact skill seemed like the kind of thing that would immediately turn me into a real danger.The rest of the skills were no less disgustingly powerful.Karmic ScratchYour scratches do more than hurt the body, they tilt the karmic scale. The crueller your foe has been to catkind, the worse their luck and the greater their ailments.A luck-manipulation ability? That was obscene. The very best killings were the ones where a target died to what seemed like sheer ill luck and coincidence, and this looked like something that could ruin anyone's life.Hiss of TerrorA terrifying hiss that causes enemies to flee or become paralyzed with fear.No specified duration. Could I scare a person to death? Would additional hissing add to the effect? Comparing this to other abilities suggested that yes, it was exactly that broken.Spirit of the Cat GodOnce per day, channel the power of the Cat Eidolon, doubling all stats temporarily and making you immune to damage while the effect lasts.Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.I shook my head in exasperated amazement.Sharp hadn't picked the strongest skill available in Anima, she'd definitely picked the one that would give her a furry friend! The idiot!There were even more that were broken.Eternal CuriosityGrants the ability to instantly unlock, decipher, or bypass any magical or physical barrier, fueled by your innate curiosity.Purr of TranquilityWhen the cat purrs, nearby allies receive regeneration, reduced anxiety, and temporary immunity to mind-affecting abilities and spells.Quantum CatCan be in two places at once, creating a duplicate that can act independently for a brief period.I almost wanted to wail. These abilities were so stupidly strong. I had expected... I didn't know, something mildly useful. A small perk like better night vision, or a slight increase in agility. These were just an order of magnitude more than that.Almost all of them were, in any case.Can Has Cheezeburger?Can has! Summon Cheezeburger.That one disturbed me. On several levels. Why was Cheezeburger a proper noun? Was it a... person?I wasn't picking that one to satisfy my curiosity.I continued to pace the room. I had to make a choice here. These were too good to pass up, though... there were still options that were greyed out.Purr of the CosmosYour purr soothes all living beings within your dimensional area. Time pauses for all but you. Peace abounds.Requirement: Appease an angry god. Purr for a year without pause. Bring peace to a living world."What the fuck," I muttered.Voidwalker's Nine LivesLive again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. Be immune to harmful detection. Move freely as only a cat can.Requirement: Give up all of your lives. Have the Abyss stare back. Spend an eternity in the void.There were so many implications there that I was not ready to dig into. A lot of the greyed-out perks required some wild things. A thousand kills? A perfectly even karmic balance? A mastery of elemental magic?Things that I wasn't sure I could achieve with any ease, though some were more probable than others. Did my previous kills count retroactively?Honestly, if these perks and the little bit of information they gave was accurate, then this was a treasure trove. Sure, it was small tidbits, but it was the kind of knowledge that researchers could spend years studying to obtain, or which was simply outside of mortal means of accessing.I'd have to be an idiot of the highest order to reveal that I had access to even this much, but if a method arose to obfuscate my identity while also confirming the veracity of my knowledge, then a small fortune awaited.That was a whole issue for another time, however.I spent the next hour reading through every one of the options I had. A lot of these weren't... reliable, as powerful as they might be.I narrowed the list down to five options. These weren't necessarily the strongest, but they felt like the most reasonable. Things that would have daily utility and which didn't have very narrow fields of application. Sure, killing things dead was nice, but I could do that already. One didn't need mystical powers when Samuel Colt's legacy was still available.Cat Nap ResurrectionTaking a nap heals all wounds and all ills.Paw of Infinite MischiefSwipe away a creature's items and tuck them into a pocket space for later.Nine LivesYou have nine lives. Regain one every month.Purr of TranquilityWhen the cat purrs, nearby allies receive regeneration, reduced anxiety, and temporary immunity to mind-affecting abilities and spells.Voidstep BlinkPhase through objects and walls as long as you remain unperceived. One moment there, and a blink later, not.The nap power seemed to just be a powerful survivability tool. Healing of any sort was, but that seemed particularly useful and was what I was leaning towards. It was a little mundane, but not something so easily overlooked.Nine Lives was stupidly broken as well. That was immortality, of a sort. Though the lack of more descriptions made me question its full utility.The other three were more potent abilities in some ways. Voidstep would depend a lot on whether cameras counted as perception. Purr of Tranquility was more something I might use on Sharp to keep her hale and healthy, and Paws of Mischief...I didn't know how that one worked, but I really wanted to try it.I was an assassin, not a thief, but... there was a certain bit of overlap in skills there.Ah, but making a final choice now might be unwise. Sharp had a similar system, and there was no immediate hurry. I could be patient for a morning, discuss things with her, then pick my perk.I sat on Sharp's chest and poked at her cheeks with my very cold paws.At first she didn't do much but make faces. Then she started to twist and turn, but it was morning already, and while this was a few minutes before she'd normally wake up... well, she had her eight hours already, and besides, this was perfectly normal cat-like behaviour.One could say that I was just grinding out my next five levels to get a second perk."Queeenie, what are you doing?" Sharp asked."Wake up. We need to talk, and I'm hungry."Yup, just grinding those levels.
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Chapter Thirty-Six — Picking Perks
Chapter Thirty-Six — Picking Perks "Are you sure you don't want to take the Cheezeburger perk?" Sharp asked."I'm positive," I said.We were currently both making our way across the city. Fenway was relatively safe now that we both knew it better, and most of the north-western parts of Boston Two were... are not secure, then at least not actively dangerous.The gangs and police forces in these areas only tended to target minorities and people who looked like they might be up to no good. While Sharp's courier jacket didn't make her the most popular person around, it did give her a valid reason to be crossing the city.We had packed up our things and hit up a bank first thing in the morning. It was relatively uneventful. We walked in, made for a counter, and then made a deposit in Sharp's freshly opened Solonet-linked bank account.When the automated teller detected the amount we were depositing, a flesh and blood bank worker came out to greet us and helped Sharp through the deposit within the safer confines of the bank.We didn't deposit everything. Just seventy-thousand. Even with modern inflation, that was still a hefty amount. More than the average corporate worker made in a year, and far more than they could save up in five. The seventy-K now sat safe and secure in a digital form, and Sharp had the remainder of the additional five thousand stuffed into her pockets.We'd spent a lot of that already on essentials over the last few days. And for breakfast this morning. But that was in the past, and in our digestive systems, now. Our current goal was getting across the city, and that meant sitting at a bus stop after having spent eighty dollars on a one-day ticket that would bring us to the far end of the city.From there, we'd be able to get a ride on one of the few passenger train lines out of Boston, this one in Central."We don't know if Cheezeburger gives you a summon, or if it allows you to summon infinite cheeseburgers," Sharp said."And why would I want either of those?" I asked.Sharp smiled. "Because can has."Asking Sharp for her opinion was a mistake. "No," I said.Sharp giggled, then resettled me on her lap. We were at a bus stop, though the bus was already five minutes behind schedule. "Okay then," she said, pitching her voice low enough not to be heard by the few business men and students loitering nearby. Most of them were listening to something anyway. "Which option did you want?""I've narrowed it down to a few. They're not the most potent or powerful, but they are mostly perks that would lend me a great deal of survivability. I prize utility above all else.""What an old lady way of thinking," she muttered.I lightly bit her hand and then shifted to the side to avoid a retaliatory swipe. "See if I let you call me that again. In any case, I have five options I'm interested in. Some I might just ear-mark as future choices."Sharp nodded. "Go on, then?"I had already listed off the full list of perks, along with their descriptions. Sharp indicated that her own list for Anima had been quite a bit longer. Overwhelmingly so, even. "Cat Nap Resurrection is a great option as a self-healing ability. Paw of Infinite Mischief might be one of the best utility abilities on the list, as is Voidstep Blink. Then there are the two major contenders for choices that I place above all the others.""What are those?" Sharp asked. "Oh."The last was because a bus was pulling up. It was a lightly armoured vehicle, with a small turret emplacement on the top. Passengers shuffled out of it, then we took our place in line to get in under the watchful glare of the bus's automated defences. By the few scrapes and dents in the armour, those defences had been tested before.We showed our ticket at the door, then Sharp quickly found a seat within. She was almost immediately pushed against the window as a... rather corpulent fellow sat next to her.I climbed up to her shoulder to have some room, then continued where I'd left off. "Nine Lives is an 'I win' button in so many situations. It regenerates as well, which is incredible. Though we'll have to experiment a little to see how it functions in practice. Does it just bring one back from the brink, or would I be returned to full health? Either case is useful, but one is more broken than the other. Also, would I regain a life as in... be reborn, or regenerated in a fixed location, or just where I died? If I died in a fire pit, would I just be returned to an unburned state only to cook again?"Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings."That's morbid," Sharp muttered."It's important to think about," I said.If the perk did send me back to a fixed location, then... then I could just strap a grenade to myself and take out targets with impossible ease. That would be ideal."What's the other?" Sharp whispered."The other is Purr of Tranquility. It's essentially a method to counteract a number of mental effects from spells, and if I'm reading it correctly, from other sources as well. Regeneration might only be mental, but I suspect that there's a weak physical aspect to it. Perhaps even magical?"Mages tended to use themselves up when casting, becoming tired and lethargic. If I could counteract that as well... it would make for a powerful combination with any future magical abilities.The bus took off, and I held myself in place as it rode through the city. There were a few screens on the inside linked to exterior cameras, but no windows, obviously. The ride wasn't going to be too long. We could have walked it. But... well, I wanted to make it home earlier rather than later."I think hesitating over the choice is foolish," I said. "I'm going to pick Nine Lives. Purr of Tranquility can be my next pick, and past that I'll make another choice when the time comes.""Good choice," Sharp said as she gave me a scratch. "But wait a bit. My last perk was... very anime."What did that even mean?The rest of the bus ride was dedicated to me dressing Sharp down for having terrible tastes in TV shows. I didn't care that the orphanage didn't have any real subscriptions to anything, that just meant that they ought to have pirated better shows.Eventually we made it to the stop nearest the train station. It was in Central, one district away from South Boston, and on stepping out of the bus, I could make out the mega-building where we'd fought the cult just a couple of days prior. It was smoking."Let's see if we can't find a newspaper with information on the cult," I said. It would be good to know, just in case. Some cultists might be out for retribution, and it wouldn't take the world's best to narrow down a search all the way to Sharp and myself. She hadn't worn a mask, and was a somewhat known associate of Jenny and Alyssa.We walked over to the station, buying a newspaper from a kiosk along the way. Once there, we had to sit and wait, which was as good a time as any to catch up to the news.It wasn't on the front page, but it wasn't far from it."Whoa," Sharp said.There were images of some people stepping out of the ruined mega building, most covered in blood, but looking damned heroic about it. Men and women, some magic-users, others halfway to cyborgs, all armed well enough to take on an army.Edgerunners.The big damned heroes that Sharp foolishly looked up to. The news was light on details, but the overall story was simple enough. The cult had pissed off enough people that the bounty on their heads rose to the level where it caught the attention of some mercenaries.The next day, the cult was gutted.It looked like we'd gotten Alyssa out of there just in time. Another day and she might have been caught in the crossfire. Assuming the cult didn't kill her in the meantime."We can probably put them aside for now," I said. "If they wanted revenge, we're far down the list. And they'll be low on resources after this."It made me wonder what the longer term plan even was.The train arrived, and we boarded. Another hundred dollars gone.At this rate, I might have to splurge and buy Sharp some driving lessons. I had a little car-just for groceries and the like-but I sure couldn't drive it in my current state.The train took off, and I found myself nervously pacing on Sharp's lap.Home.Soon, I'd be home.
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Chapter Thirty-Seven — Nine Lives
Chapter Thirty-Seven — Nine Lives I got my Nine Lives before we made it to my place. Mostly, that came about because we had to switch from riding the train to taking a bus, and the bus was not going to show up for a solid half hour, and only if it was on time... which it wasn't going to be.We were out of Boston Two, however, some smaller city to the north, mostly run by a triumvirate of corporations that kept the peace in this area and ensured a certain level of homogeneity. A middle-class city, with few opportunities and a massive 'burg all around. It was hardly worth notice.Sharp and I found an alley behind a gas station, one with access to a rather dodgy washroom, and we slipped inside.It wasn't the most glamorous place, but that didn't matter too much to me. I cared more about being out of the way and unnoticed."Alright," I said. "Let's see how this works out."I focused, and the list of available perks popped back into being before me. I scrolled through it with my eyes until I picked out Nine Lives and selected it.Nine LivesYou have nine lives. Regain one every month.Select this perk?I nodded while thinking 'yes.' Previously dismissing the prompt would have it fade away. This time the prompt shuddered and it almost felt like it was asking me if I was certain.I wasn't liking this whole system thing. It was far too wishy-washy. Who had even designed this? It sure wasn't natural.A more serious confirmation had the prompt disappear, and then I glowed.It started at my paws, all four of them sparking with small motes of rainbowish light, and then the prismatic particulate swept upwards like a magician pulling a cloth off of a tricky device. The swelling lights grew stronger for a moment, then faded away, the last of the motes winking out soundlessly."Whoa," Sharp said.I looked around. "Is that it?""I mean, it's magical light," Sharp said."It looked like mid 2000s particle effects," I said. I shifted around, then looked down at my paws and finally I turned over on myself to look at the rest of my body. "I can't see any noticeable differences.""Maybe think about it real hard?" Sharp asked.I frowned and did just that.Anima 2Body 2Cat 5 Nine LivesLives: 9/9Combat 3Cool 1Magic 2Reflex 2Tech 2Well, that was something. It wasn't terribly specific, but it was present. "I feel like I ought to experiment to see how powerful this perk is, but seeing as how it should only activate on my death, I feel like the risks there are perhaps too elevated for that to be worth the trouble.""Yeah, I don't want to kill you just to see if you come back," Sharp said with a serious nod.We left the washroom, and I felt rather... anticlimactic about the perk. Perhaps if I'd chosen something more immediately powerful I wouldn't feel this way, but then I wouldn't allow myself to regret this choice.I was looking forward to bringing my other skills up to five as well, however. If every skill gave perks as potent as Cat's had been, then... I'd be a fool not to work to raise them.We arrived at the bus stop in time to sit around for twenty more minutes. I did allow Sharp to spend some of her hard-earned money on vending machine snacks, though I insisted that she buy something that at least pretended to be healthy.We got on the bus when it decided to show up, and then it was another half hour's ride across the city and out into the countryside before finally, we made it to my hometown.It wasn't anything to write home about. A small rural town that had continued to expand until now it was almost a city in its own right, though one without much of an identity.There weren't any mega buildings here. A few large apartment blocks on the edges, but that was all.We stepped off the bus and I pointed Sharp in the right direction. It wasn't a very long walk. My home was on a quieter street, behind an old clinic and only a block away from a smaller grocery store. Two miles out and we'd be at the town's main road where a dozen franchises had settled in over the years."Is that it?" Sharp asked as she paused on the sidewalk. We were across the street from my place.This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon."See those three quadruplexes that all look the same?" I asked."Uh-huh," she said."Those are mine. That's twelve homes, each one just over five thousand square feet. I could go on the usual spiel, how we're close to a decently well-graded elementary school, and how we're only an hour's commute from Boston Two, but I think I can spare you."I was a little proud of my home here. This was a lifetime's worth of work taking away other's lives, all culminating in three... rather cookie-cutter buildings, but they were mine.They were all three covered in dull grey siding, with some faux-wood panelling on the fronts. A couple of yards of grass out front and some pavement leading to a row of single-car garages built into the front. A few cars were sitting on the sides of the road as well.My place was in the middlemost house of the middlemost building. Sharp walked up to the door, one right out in the open, and then she stared at my security panel. I muttered the numbers for her to punch in, then she stared into the little eye scanner.The door unlocked. "Is that... safe?" she asked."No, of course not. That was the guest code, which also primes the home's self-destruct mechanism and the turrets."Sharp blinked. "The what?""Just step in and head over to the closet on your left, there's a panel behind some coats, I'll instruct you from there."I hardly needed my house going up in flames right after making it back. In any case, there were things in place to allow maintenance people to step in. I had access to some very good security, the best money could buy which didn't seem too suspicious for a house out in this area.There was a nice middle ground between seeming like a single lady who was very security conscious and seeming like someone who had something valuable to hide. I endeavoured to make my place too annoying to rob and to make myself too frustrating a target to assassinate discreetly.We stepped in. My house had a small corridor as its entrance, with the stairs to the second floor to our right.Sharp eyed the space, no doubt looking for those turrets. She wasn't going to find them, of course, the ceiling was actually a solid two feet taller than they looked, and the guns were hidden up there. They'd just shoot through the ceiling.She rushed to the closet, even though she had plenty of time, and I instructed her through adding herself as a guest. More than that would need more permissions and a bit of finagling on my part.Finagling that would have to wait, because we had been noticed, and three curious people had come out to greet us.I swallowed as I looked down from Sharp's shoulder."Oh, kitties!" Sharp said. She knelt down and moved a hand towards the nearest cat."Do not presume to touch my most majestic form, strange-smelling servant," he said.I blinked. Wait, I could understand cats? I supposed that it wasn't too strange but... well, I never expected to actually comprehend them."Mercury, Cyanide, Arsenic," I said as I greeted the three.All of the cats looked up and eyed me, but it was Arsenic, my oldest and most vocal cat, who spoke first. "How do you know our lesser names, small one?" he demanded.Cyanide, my beautiful siamese, stepped closer and sniffed. "Its voice is that of Mother," she said."Nonsense!" Arsenic said. "That little thing looks nothing like greater servant Mother. It smells nothing like her either."I considered what to do for a moment before deciding to just jump down. I landed before the cats and suddenly felt rather small. Strange, I didn't feel small before Sharp and other humans, but maybe that was expectation. "Hello," I said. "It's me. Caroline. Mommy? I'm back?"Arsenic's eyes narrowed. "Trickery... unless. What is my favourite food?""Tricky Whiskers brand wet food, chicken specifically," I said."And why can I not have that delicacy every night?"I blinked. Did... did Arsenic understand that it would make him fat, or that the chicken type wasn't always available?"Move aside, Lord Arsenic," Cyanide said as she came closer. She sniffed, then walked over to me and booped my nose with her own. "I have questions of my own!"I felt like this might take a while.
* * *
Chapter Thirty-Eight — Pet House
Chapter Thirty-Eight — Pet House "Alright," I said as tensions started to ramp up. "Let's show Sharp the living room, and we'll talk this out, shall we?"The three cats before me considered it, but it was Arsenic, my loud baby, that spoke. "I suppose. Is 'Sharp' your pet?"I glanced up to Sharp. "Can you understand them?""No?" she said. "I mean, he meowed a couple of times, but that's it? I hear you just fine though!"I turned my gaze back down to Arsenic. "Yes, she is," I said.I wanted to give Sharp the grand tour, but really, this situation with the cats had to be handled first. The living room was just inside, a space with a plush sofa facing a wall-mounted television. A fireplace was tucked in the far corner, mostly as decoration, thought it was technically usable.I had once had a decent passion for interior decorating, and the budget to spare. My home looked like the inside of a magazine. A nice grey sofa with a number of plump cushions on top in complementary colours, to the side were a pair of rounded seats and a low wooden table with the TV remote and a small lamp.The wall to one side was entirely taken up by an inset bookcase, some of the shelves holding knick-knacks while the rest had paperbacks. I had tried to find hardcover copies of all of my favourites over the years, because they looked so much better on display.And, of course, there were several cat trees. The bigger ones, with multiple levels, small boxes, and with several dangly toys for the cats to bat around."Woah," Sharp said. "This looks like in a movie.""Take a seat," I said. "Usually I'd offer you something to drink, but you'll have to serve yourself later."Sharp nodded, removed her backpack, and gingerly set it down on my genuine hardwood floor, right next to the plush rug taking up the centre of the room.A fair bit of light was coming in from the rear patio doors, so we didn't need to tinker with the lights for the moment. Sharp sat down, and I relocated to her thighs.The cats arranged themselves in the living room. Arsenic jumped onto the coffee table, Cyanide hopped up next to Sharp, and quiet old Mercury peeked out from the other side of the table like the shy baby he was."So," I said. "Some things have changed.""Obviously," Arsenic said. "You cannot be our pet anymore.""Mommy isn't a pet," Cyanide said. "Pets are like the serving people Mommy brings to take care of us. Mommy is special and good and loves us very much."I felt my chest swirl with pride. I would never tell the others, but Cyanide was my favourite. "Thank you, Cyanide.""Mommy is a baby now," Cyanide said."True. How will you provide us with our needs when you are but a kitten?" Arsenic asked."Easy, Sharp will do that for me," I replied.Sharp perked up. "I'm going to do what?""Change the litter box, feed and water the cats, and generally take care of grooming, nails, vet visits, parasite prevention..."Mercury slowly poked his head up a bit higher. "Play?""And playing, petting, scratching..." I continued.Sharp blinked, then smiled. "I think I can do most of that!""Good," I said. "In exchange, you'll receive training, some resources, and the right to sleep in my home. We're going to have to make some space for you. Though... I suppose I'm no longer using the master bedroom. I'll insist on you showering before using my bed."Sharp looked around the room. "I almost can't believe that I get to stay here. This is bigger than my room at the orphanage."I blinked. The living room was quite large, wasn't it? "You had a large room, then?""I mean, I guess, but I shared it with nineteen others.""Ah," I said. "Well, then yes, you'll find this to be a considerable step up.""Mommy, what's happening?" Cyanide asked.I tried to smile at her reassuringly, but I wasn't sure if I conveyed it properly in cat. "Nothing, sweetie," I said. "Now, Sharp, it's time for introductions. My dear cats all have two names, one for... the common outsider and guests, and a true name."Arsenic puffed himself up."The British shorthair here is Arsenic," I said.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation."Arsenic," Sharp repeated. "Like the poison?""Exactly. Though in front of others his name is Scenic. It's what his record at the vet says as well. This beautiful lady here is a Siamese, her name is Cyanide. Cya in front of strangers.""Hi Arsenic, Cyanide," Sharp said with a bow."This pet is well trained," Arsenic replied."She's getting there," I said. "Anyway, the shy baby over there is Mercury. He's a Maine coon. No second name for him." The name was inoffensive enough as it was. Also, I'd never tell him, but Mercury was a bit of a simple baby."Hi Mercury!" Sharp said. Mercury ducked down behind the table to hide again."And there's a fourth, though she hasn't shown up yet," I said. I turned to Cyanide for confirmation, and she just blinked languidly at me. "Is Belladonna around?""Bella is sleeping Mommy. You know she doesn't like strangers," Cyanide said.That was a good point. Mercury was a shy baby, but he'd come around eventually for a pat and a scritch. Bella didn't care for any of that. She'd disappear for hours on end and only show up when she wanted something."You'll have to meet Belladonna later then, I suppose," I told Sharp. "In the meantime, shall we give you the tour?"Sharp nodded, and then stood up while scooping me onto her shoulders. Arsenic stared up at me, then meowled at Sharp. "Carry me as well, peon."I translated his wants to Sharp-with some light censoring, and she scooped him up as well. "Oh, you're a big boy, aren't you?" she asked."What did the pet say?" Arsenic demanded to know."She said that you are grand and majestic," I lied.We continued with a tour of the first floor. There was the kitchen nearby, with access both in the dining room part of the living room-a space with a round table and four chairs, as well as a nice cabinet for plates and silverware-and another doorway that led from the kitchen into the opening corridor.There was a small antechamber in the kitchen with my washer and dryer, as well as a door that lead into the garage where my car was parked.The car wasn't anything to write home about, a small six-year-old electric hatchback. It could get me to the groceries and back, and that's all that mattered to me. Plus it was paid off, which was nice.There was a bedroom on the first floor that I'd long since converted into my office and hobby room. The space was a little chilly, having been closed off from the rest of the house since I'd last entered. The cats followed us in and sniffed around, and I had to remind Cyanide that she wasn't allowed next to my 'rock collection.'In reality, the collection was an excuse to get my hands on some chemical products of dubious legality, I had little interest in geology.There was a small washroom on the first floor, and a nice walk-in connected to that bedroom-tuned-office."The second floor is better," I told Sharp as we made for the stairs.At the top was a small loft area. I'd never known what to do with it, so I had stuck some gym things there with a small screen on the wall. A stationary bike, one of those resistance trainers, and a fold-up treadmill. Not much, but I intended to put it to use soon with Sharp.Then there were two bedrooms with a connecting bathroom. One was my storage room. It was a space filled with shelves for books, with a comfy chair for reading and another, larger, cat tree and playground for my babies.There was also a bench at the back along with a set of four gun safes. My excuse was generally that I'd inherited the weapons from my family, though that wasn't really true at all. Still, as an upstanding citizen who paid all of her taxes on time and who minded her own, with no criminal record and no ties to anyone suspicious, no one had ever questioned my possession of any armaments."We'll go over that later," I said.Finally, the master bedroom. A nice queen-sized bed, with four posters, and a walk-in for all of my clothes, as well as a seat and desk where I could apply makeup. There was an unfortunate amount of cat hair on the bed, I noted.Really, I had to do something about the quality of cleaning personnel I hired."Anyway," I said. "That's it. I hope it meets expectations?"
* * *
Interlude One
Interlude One She awoke feeling strangely... floaty. It was a novel sensation, like tipping over in a chair without going so far that she lost her balance. It was dancing on the knife's edge of falling and not. It took her a moment of shifting around to realize what was going on.It was the bed.Fasmine had never slept on something so... cloudy before. She wasn't resting on the mattress, she was sinking into it. She understood Caroline's insistence on taking a shower and changing into warm, if oversized, PJs before sleeping. It made it all the more comfortable.It wasn't just the mattress, the silky-smooth pyjamas, or even the soft blankets and chilly room kept at just the right amount of 'cold' to make the blankets feel cozy. It was the several warm spots she could feel on her.There were two near her legs and another right on her belly.Stretching up a little, she blinked in the dark of the room and could only-just make out Arsenic and Cyanide sleeping on either side of her legs. Mercury was nearby too, sleeping on the edge of the bed on his side, and next to him was a cat she'd only heard about laying down as a loaf. Her eyes were opened, and she glanced up to give Sharp a look.Fasmine felt like if she moved, then Belladonna would bolt away.Fortunately, she didn't feel like moving. That last spot of warmth over her belly was Caroline. The woman-turned-kitten, the one who'd allowed Fasmine into her home, was laying down flat across the blankets, paws stretched out and face pressing down.Fasmine smiled, then let herself relax. She was hurting in a few places. Her legs had cramps, there was some bad chafing in her thighs from the bike rides, and the muscles in her lower back were sore. There was that constant throbbing pain in her lower rib that came and went, and when she took a breath that was too deep, she felt like someone was reaching a hand up her lungs to close her neck up.But those were normal pains, and this mattress was making her forget them. At the same time, it was reminding her of home.Well, if she could call the orphanage home. The mattresses there were three fingers thick on the outside, and if she was lucky, one finger thick in the middle. She suspected that every mattress in the orphanage stacked atop each other wouldn't be as thick as the one she was sinking into now.This level of luxury was... it was strange. It was undeniably nice, but it also made her feel a sort of queasy, guilty feeling.She let out a sigh and turned her head a little to peek at the clock on the nightstand. It was some old digital thing, with red glowing numbers that said that it was almost six in the morning. She had today off, but tomorrow she'd have to get back to work.This level of luxury didn't come free, she knew. It was... way, way beyond anything that she could afford herself. And yet the little kitten on her tummy had just given it to her.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.Not quite for free. There were strings attached, but they were strings, not chains, and so far it all seemed worth it. She was getting stronger. Not very much, and not very fast, but it was happening. Some of the soreness she felt was proof of that, right?"Are you awake already?" Caroline asked.Sharp smiled. "Good morning, Earl...ess Easy Eyes.""Earl is a male-only noble title, and the rest of the name is so bad as to not be worth commenting upon."She shrugged, which had one of the cats by her feet-Arsenic, maybe-stretching and shifting in their sleep. "It's not even six AM. Can't I get away with not being good at names yet?""I suppose I could let you off the hook this time. The cats were going to be waking you up in about twenty minutes anyway.""At six?" she asked."Food time is seven-thirty, on the dot," Caroline said. She stood up, still on Fasmine's waist, and streeeeetched big."But six is an hour and a half before that?" Fasmine said, uncertain. "How long does it take to prepare the food?""Only a couple of minutes, at most. That's no reason not to make sure you're awake in time. Cats are punctual creatures. When it suits them. I'm afraid that one of the prices for living here will be home maintenance, which means a lot of small chores. I've spent a lot of money minimizing as many of those as I can, but that costs money. A lot was paid upfront. Quality building and good machinery saves on long-term maintenance, but some chores can't be avoided. Which means you're either going to have to sacrifice time, or earn enough money to pay others to do the work for you."She nodded. She kind of understood the concept. Chores certainly weren't foreign. They had plenty of those to do in the orphanage, and as part of their life-to-work program, they all had to do plenty of menial labour. She'd always been ranked as a hard worker, so a few extra things to take care of didn't bother her in the least."I think I can handle it. And a job too! I don't know if I can still do courier work?" She kind of wanted to continue. It felt like it was just a short step away from her dream job as an Edgerunner."I suppose. The travel time might be a bit much, but we can fill it with education, and the work pays relatively well. For what it is."Did it pay well enough to own a house like this one? Fasmine suspected that the answer to that was a resounding no. "I suppose I should get out of bed," she said.But she really didn't want to.And so she didn't.Well, not until Arsenic started to walk over her face at the crack of six-thirty, because no amount of comfy mattresses was going to get between him and his breakfast.Fasmine sighed, but it was a happy sort of sigh. This was her life now, and it was a pretty big step up.
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Chapter Thirty-Nine — Getting Sweaty
Chapter Thirty-Nine — Getting Sweaty I was sitting on the control board for my old fold-out treadmill. It was a little awkward, since the board was at a bit of an angle, and it was bouncing with each step Sharp took. "Come on, you'll never hit that next level of Body if you don't sweat a little more," I said."I'm... sweating... plenty," Sharp said.She was. Her old shirt was covered in a layer of it, and I was doing what I could not to recoil from the stench wafting off of her. We'd started Sharp's first morning at my place pretty simply, first by emptying the food that went bad out of the fridge, then by making a hearty breakfast.And then it was hitting the gym. Well, my in-house little gym in that awkward loft space. The window was opened a crack to let some fresh air in, and all of my gym equipment was strewn about. We'd been at it for a solid two hours already.First stretches, which confirmed that Sharp wasn't flexible at all, then some callisthenics on a roll-out mat, then we started to use the equipment I had. A few minutes on the exercise bike to work those legs, and now some light jogging on the treadmill to cool off."Here, we can make it better using your imagination.""Huh?" Sharp asked."Sharp! A huge man is running after you!" I shouted. My paw came down on the 'faster' button and the machine beeped rapidly as the speed ramped up.Sharp gasped and started to sprint all-out. Soon her arms were windmilling to keep her steady, but that failed as well and she flopped over and rolled off the machine."We're gonna have to work on it," I said as I tapped a paw on the off switch, then I leapt down from the treadmill. The other cats... well, two of them, were in the room, lounging around and watching. "Go take a shower.""Urgh," Sharp replied. She was flopped onto the ground, legs and arms splayed out as she breathed hard and stared at the ceiling."Don't be overdramatic, it was just a bit of sprinting. Which is a very valuable skill.""I guess," she said. "You could have warned me a little.""Out in the field, you don't get warnings."Sharp sighed, then turned around and pushed herself up. "Where's that shower?""The good one is in the master bedroom," I said. "I have some sweatpants and a loose shirt or two that might fit. We really need to head out and buy you some proper clothes.""That'd be nice," Sharp said. She grunted as she stood, then wobbled her way into my bedroom. I saw her starting to look around for something to wear after pulling a towel off of a rack. I was going to have to show her how to do the laundry, but that could wait.What couldn't wait nearly as much was our financial situation. This place, as nice as it was, wasn't free. For that matter, nor was food and consumables. We had a nice nest-egg, but we'd need more.I had plans, and a lot of those would require a fair amount of discretionary funds.So while Sharp figured out the shower, I strutted on down to my office. I noticed Cyanide following me from behind while Arsenic stayed put. He was laying in a sunbeam that was coming through the window and warming up the floor, so he wasn't about to move any time soon.Using my desktop was out of the question, but I did have a tablet computer I could use... assuming I could get it out onto a flat surface. That required a fair bit of finagling and some awkward tugging to get it out of its case, but eventually I had my old tablet out.The battery, of course, was dead.I cursed and pushed a drawer open, found the right charging wire, and then plugged it into the PC. There were a few more curses as I discovered the pain of plugging in a USB was magnified a hundredfold when you didn't have opposable thumbs.Finally, however, I had the tablet plugged in and was able to step on the screen to make it work. I knew it would work because I used to put on some cat games, where little fishies would swim past, for the cats to play on.... I'd seen it on a video online and it seemed cute.Since this was my home computer, I had access to some of my less secured accounts. These were the ones that were a lot easier to find, those that I expected the government to know about, where I paid my taxes from and where the profit from my rentals were deposited. A lot of small transactions passed through these.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.I nodded as I looked things over. Nothing too far from the ordinary. I had a local accounting firm that checked on things for me, including a yearly audit.I had a quarter million sitting in my account. That was... okay money, but it could be better.Fortunately, I had more elsewhere, but those accounts were designed to be trickier to enter. I'd have to take some time later to figure them out.In the meantime... I hopped over to the internet and went to a small, rather niche, furniture selling forum. It was where I purchased quite a few items I had in my house.It was also a subtle place for a few fixers on the East Coast to post contracts. I pawed through the more recent posts. There weren't that many of them, but some were somewhat interesting.Folding Chair Set — Lightly UsedCondition: Excellent, though some minor scuffs from field testing.Details: Perfect for temporary setups or swift adjustments. Requires pick-up from a high-altitude location. Bring your own transportation. Special features include "collapsible design" that allows for immediate removal once the deal is done.Price: $10,000 (negotiable based on discretion).Contact: @[email protected]An extraction mission. Someone needed someone pulled out of somewhere. That could be interesting. The low price suggested a relatively low level of risk.Obviously I was skipping past the six-figure jobs, those were the kinds of things that might take me a few weeks to plan and plot for. These lower risk, lower pay jobs were a lot more tempting.Vintage Oak Dining Set [Seats Eight]Condition: Classic, reliable, slightly weathered.Details: Ideal for gatherings. Expect minor wear and tear during transport. Some messages carved into table, lightly damaged. Needs refreshing.Price: $25,000Contact: @[email protected]Oh, an actual assassination job. Seats eight meant that there were eight targets. For that price, they were probably not much more than a local gang. Some toughs that took over a building as a gathering spot and who needed to be cleared out. Doable.Luxury Sofa, Leather, RecliningCondition: Pristine, very stylish.Details: You'll need a team to handle its size and weight. As a bonus, this sofa is very flashy. Great compliment to a loud room.Price: $50,000Contact: @[email protected]A single-target assassination job. Not too high of a pay, especially as it asked for a team, and to be flashy. No, this wasn't my kind of thing. I didn't like jobs that required that I be flashy and obvious. It was antithetical to how a good assassin ought to operate. Besides, we didn't have a team.Antique Rocking Chair — Minor Repairs NeededCondition: Sturdy, but creaky joints. Needs lubrication to function smoothly again.Details: Available in a rural compound. Chair needs some TLC to rock again. A little loud, can be quiet if fixed.Price: $10,000Contact: @GrandpaFixer on SolonetI perked up. The pay was trash, but that seemed like an easy enough job. If I was reading between the lines correctly, a facility out in the boonies needed some sabotaging done.That was generally a very easy kind of job. The price was low, however. Ten thousand? That would barely cover the cost of a drone and some explosives to do the job safely.Still, I didn't always have to explode things to sabotage them. There were plenty of ways to do that.Any idiot with a crowbar and a free afternoon could wreck a place, and for ten grand, I would assume that it wasn't very well defended.I logged onto a throwaway Solonet account and poked at the contact. Within a few minutes, I received a small package. It was all about this nice old chair... but adding the numbers on it together gave me some coordinates. Not based on any modern GPS system, but one frequently used by Solos.The facility was a small storage space just twenty minutes from the outer bounds of Boston Two. Low security, if any. Half the pay probably came because it wasn't in the city and most gangs didn't like sending their people too far away.It wasn't too much, but that was fine. A job like this would pad our pockets, give Sharp some much-needed field experience, and it could be what she needed to push herself to train some more.I liked it.
* * *
Chapter Forty — The Plan
Chapter Forty — The Plan "This is the plan," I said.We were in the living room, and I was standing on the coffee table while Sharp sat on the edge of one of the sofas. Before me was my tablet, fully charged and laid out for me to use. It's had to have Sharp go into the settings and adjust it so that it used the 'poor eyesight' mode. Which did add to my monthly subscription, but whatever.It was worth it for the bigger letters and larger buttons. I found myself somewhat farsighted now that I was a cat, and it was somewhat annoying to try and read a monitor when it was too close."Plan?" Sharp asked."Did you think you'd be staying in my home for free? Getting fat and lazy? No. We're going to keep you working. This job has a payout of ten thousand dollars, which is a very respectable amount for a job that should only take a week.""Oh," Sharp said. She sat up straighter. "Is it edgerunner work?"I snorted. "More like... middleruner work."Sharp blinked. "Please don't make puns."Sniffing, I tapped the tablet with a paw. "I've discussed-" with much difficulty "-The details of this operation with the fixer. His name is Grandpa, and he's a somewhat well respected, older fixer in the north end of Boston Two.""His name is Grandpa?" she asked."He's eighty-two and had been a Fixer for longer than I've been alive," I said. "Not a high end one, but also one who knows not to stick his nose into things that are too hot. A lot of old mercs owe him favours. His rep is solidly... middle of the pack. He's not innovative, he's not the kind to take on legendary jobs, and he doesn't kick any hornets nests. It's why he's so old in a job that tends to kill young.""Okay, I guess," Sharp said. I could read the disappointment on her face already."This is a solid job," I said with an angry twitch of my tail. "Decent pay, low risk. You could live a good life pulling off two of these every month. In the meantime, it's the kind of work you can do with your level of skill, and it'll wet your toes without you tripping into the deep end."If only I'd had a mentor who helped me this way. I'd taken on some far too risky jobs without enough knowledge or prep in my youth. I'd come out of it unscathed, but that was more up to blind luck in some cases than actual skill.Jobs where I'd left evidence behind, or where I was seen. Sloppy errors that could have been prevented.Sharp nodded and leaned in a little closer. "So, what's the job?"Good, I had her attention now. I patted the tablet until I had a map open. It was a satellite-view map, a few years old now, but that didn't matter. This was a downloaded map, disconnected from any network, but it would do. "Do you see this building?" I asked.Sharp stared at the grey rectangle. "I see it," she said."Good. This is a warehouse some ways north of Boston Two. It's not in the city itself, but right on the outskirts of the suburbs. Our job is to sabotage it.""What's it holding?" Sharp asked.I gave her the best shrug I could. "It could be drugs, though I don't think so, it could be weapons, though again, I doubt it. For the level of discretion given and the price, I'm assuming it's parts, raw materials, or data of some sort. But that doesn't matter. It could be filled floor to ceiling with newly born babies, and we'd still have a job."Sharp blinked. "I'm not burning down a building filled with babies," she said.I rolled my eyes. Morals! "I doubt it's filled with babies."She crossed her arms. "Well, now I want to check to make sure.""Fine. That is part of doing a good job. This job calls for us to sabotage the building in a significant way. Fire is obvious. Other forms of destruction work as well. We don't need to annihilate it, just damage the warehouse. But, I want to play this as though it was a far more serious job. It'll get you the practice you need for future work." Without, I didn't say, putting her at any great risk.Even if law enforcement came around, Sharp could run, and if she didn't make it... well, it would only be a year or three. She'd leave prison with all sorts of level ups, I was sure.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement."So, we pop over there, make sure it's not a baby storage place, then... break the place up?" Sharp asked."If we're doing this the correct way. Which we are, then the right thing to do is to don a simple disguise and scope the place out first. We see what kind of security we're dealing with, who has obvious signs of ownership. Gang affiliation, the area, location of fences and cameras.""Like a spy!" Sharp said."Yes, like that."Shap bounced to her feet. "Okay! What do we need, then?""First, a disguise. You can't go there dressed as your usual self. Not that you stand out much, but we can improve that. As a cat, I can play the role of a stray and scout around the place a little as well."Sharp nodded. "I'm going to need a disguise, then! Does that mean we're finally going to go shopping?" I nodded, and Sharp grinned as she picked me off the table and gave me a spin. "Yeah! What are we getting?""A reasonable amount of clothes that we don't mind disposing of," I said. "You never wear the same thing to two scope-outs. We can hit up a local shopping centre. We'll want fast fashion. The kind of clothes worn by the greatest number of people."The kind of outfit that absolutely didn't stand out, but which also had a thousand copies going around. If Sharp was ID'd from her clothes as suspicious, the person trying to track her would get a thousand false positives.I'd heard horror stories of otherwise good assassins getting caught because they wore distinctive jewelry or tailored, or otherwise uncommon, clothes."We're going to want an outfit for the mission itself. That'll be something that covers all of your skin and that's otherwise utilitarian. We can stop by a shop that sells construction materials. Most of those will have hard hats and other clothes for construction workers."That wouldn't exactly be top-shelf combat gear, but it was usually hardy and came with lots of pouches and pockets. Also, it blended in well.A high-visibility vest masked many a suspicious item. Professional guards would question everything, but the common person tended to quickly place people in a box. 'Someone else's business' was a rather large box that was easy to exploit."Our budget is... I'd say two thousand. For all of the equipment for this job. Keeping in mind that a lot of it will be ditched at the end.""Oh... that'll mean we'll only make eight thousand?" she asked."Welcome to the world of expenses," I said flatly. "Count yourself lucky that you're not paying taxes."Sharp nodded. "Right. So... are we heading out now?""Are you that excited to buy a few shirts and some pants?" I asked.She nodded quickly. "Yeah! I've never really gotten new-new clothes before. Especially not stuff that I got to pick out myself.""Ah," I said smartly. Well, that was... a little sad to hear, actually. Retail therapy had helped me through a few rough spots in the past. I supposed it was normal for Sharp to have missed out on that but still. "Let's walk on over to the nearest shop, then. It'll give you a bit more exercise and some fresh air, and it's a good opportunity to learn how to scope out a neutral location!"She rolled her eyes. "Not everything has to be training."I harrumphed. She had no idea how valuable a few dozen hours of extra practice could be."I bet you have no sense of fashion."Sharp gasped in mock outrage. "I have seen your wardrobe! Even when I was living on the street I at least knew not to wear double denim. And your techware is outdated."I felt my eyes twitching. So, she wanted to play it this way, huh? We'd see who came out looking better in the end. "Are you calling me an old lady?""Not in so many words.""Who taught you how to be sassy? I'm trying to teach you how to be lethal, not how to have a sharp tongue. That kind of thing will only get you killed."
* * *
Chapter Forty-One — In Matters of Taste
Chapter Forty-One — In Matters of Taste I was right, Sharp's taste in clothes was questionable at best.It wasn't so much that she picked poor pieces. She found some nice pieces. A blouse here, some nice pants there. She had a good eye for what fit, though she did lean more towards the baggy side of things, and had a clear preference for things with many pockets, which was fine.Techware was always in, just like jeans and black in general.The problem came when Sharp combined things.A nice top with nice pants sounded cute, but the top was a modern techwear piece in bright greens with orange highlights and the pants were flared out Nouveau-Disco things with tech-bedazzle.I quickly had to set up a veto system, and guide Sharp towards not just trying on anything she thought was cute.A good outfit was about more than its individual parts.And a good disguise-which was what we were shopping for, and something I had to remind Sharp of rather constantly-was something that would blend in with the background and not have you stand out in any meaningful way.I let her pick out a few things, here and there, because... well, the girl might have maybe deserved a small win, but I put my paw down on more than one glitzed out item, and I didn't care how much neon it had or how many LEDs were woven into it.In the end, we returned to my place with a dozen large shopping bags filled with clothes."Did you want to stake out the place tonight?" I asked as Sharp shouldered her way in and then started to fiddle with the security system. We'd gone through the trouble of adding her as a permanent guest with return rights, and myself as another 'cat' in the system.Obviously, I didn't have a security system that would target my own cats, that would be silly.Cyanide ran up to greet us, and Sharp set me down. The cat gave me a sniff, then started to rub herself around me while saying her hellos, but I was mostly listening to Sharp."I'd like to," she said. "Should I get changed?""Yes, yes, hello Cyanide," I said when the cat became impossible to ignore. "Yes, you're the prettiest baby, mhm, mhm."It was rather awkward to babytalk my baby while she was taller than me, but I did what I could."Mommy, Arsenic ate all the food again, and Belladonna left, and I'm hungry! I haven't eaten in forever Mommy!""Sharp, feed the cats," I ordered.Sharp rolled her eyes, and a moment later I was scooped up. "I fed them before we left. And they have an automatic feeder.""They like it better when you feed them yourself. And the auto-feeder doesn't have wet food," I said. Did she not listen to my discussion about cat food that very morning? It didn't matter. "Once you're done, we'll pick up a gun or two and go to the range. I want you armed before we head out, and before you're armed, I want to make sure you know which end of the gun goes bang."Sharp's eyes had lit up already, and it was a wonder she wasn't squealing. "Really? I get a gun?"This was a bad idea. "You get a gun, but only if you can learn how to handle it! I don't need you to shoot your own foot off, or fail to learn how to handle a firearm. In fact, that's the first thing we're going to look into... after you feed the cats."Sharp ran across the house towards the kitchen, and Cyanide showed me just how much she cared by scampering after her, nails scratching the floor the entire time as she tried to catch up.I sighed and made my way upstairs, something made far more difficult by my small stature making steps annoying.I had a few guns hidden in my house, of course. Some here, others there. Just in case. Most, however, were in my office upstairs locked in a gun safe, because anything else would be unsafe and irresponsible.Also, Arsenic liked to chew on things he shouldn't, and I had an irrational fear that my dumb baby would end up shooting himself somehow.Sharp caught up to me, breathing a little heavily and still carrying the clothing bags we'd come in with. "Put those in my bedroom," I instructed. "Then come and help me with the safe."Stolen story; please report.The safe wasn't plugged into anything. I hated those easily-hackable 'modern' safes, and had gone out of my way to buy something old with a turn-dial lock. Now I regretted it a little because I could have maybe opened those fancier new ones as a cat.Sharp entered the code and got it on her third try, then opened the safe. I had a small rack within with a few rifles, and above that some show-box-sized dividers with unloaded handguns, magazines, and boxes of ammunition.I had another, larger safe, but that one held a few more... tactically-appropriate weapons. I'd start Sharp off with something easier to handle first. "Right... if we're hitting the range, then we'll need those ear muffs up there, yes, those. Now, grab that black bag there, the scrunched up one. It's a duffle."Sharp did as instructed, and then I pointed out a few guns for her to pick up. "This one?" Sharp asked as she raised a rifle."Yes," I said."It's... kinda dinky?"I gave Sharp a flat look. She was holding a lighter, wooden-stocked rifle, chambered in 22LR. It was dinky. That was the entire point of it. "And you're a dinky shooter until proven otherwise."Sharp glanced into the safe, specifically at an anti-material rifle that just barely fit within. But she didn't complain and loaded the gun into the duffle after I showed her how to check that it was empty.We followed with a small handgun, then a smaller break-action shotgun. I wanted to give her a wide range of experiences with different kinds of guns, and that meant trying a few things.First, though, I'd try and see if she could hit the side of a barn. "There's a range nearby, just out of the city. We're going to have to call up another auto-taxi, but it's a nice space. I know the owner. He'll give you shit for not knowing how to handle a gun, but if you're nice and polite he might show you how to shoot straight without smacking you with his cane.""That sounds a little abusive," Sharp said.I shrugged as best I could. "You'll learn fast."I had her pack up a couple of hundred rounds as well, and then get changed into something nondescript and comfortable. Jeans and a sweater. I dressed up myself. There were a few pieces of clothes here and there that I liked dressing my cats in... well, mostly Mercury. He was the only one that would allow me to dress him up. The others squirmed and protested.I'd only ever gotten a few cute pictures of Cyanide and Arsenic with little bows on their heads.Belladonna was right out.That kitty would shank anyone who dressed her up... even if she would be so cute in a little vest!Sharp helped me dress myself, which was still a little humiliating. Then she helped me put on a small cat-sized hat. It had the added benefit of covering my ears a little, which muffled noise. As far as ear protection went, it wasn't ideal, but it would do.The auto-taxi arrived just a few minutes later, and we rushed out of the house to get in. Then it was a short, twenty-minute ride to the outskirts of the town and into the countryside proper.The McFarlane range was once a farm, and it showed. There were a few old barns and a big farmhouse in the centre. One of these barns had the back opened up onto an old field where dirt was stacked up to the sides and a hill served as a backstop about a kilometre back.An old man was sitting out on the front porch of the house. He barely stopped rocking as the taxi let us out and Sharp looked around curiously."Now, who might you be, girl?" he asked."Uh, hi!" Sharp said. She shifted the bag on her shoulder a little. "I'm Sharp! I was told that there was a shooting range here?""Hmpf, might be," he said. "You with the feds?""Uh... no?""Good, good. Getting too old for shoveling open holes in the dirt." He stood up, one knee cracking, the other was entirely made of metal. "C'mon, lemme open up the range. You're in luck, I was waiting for someone else to show up to use the place in a bit, so no harm in getting it open early.""Oh, thanks!" Sharp said."Careful with that man," I warned. "He's killed more people than you've met."I liked Clemus, he was a good sort.
* * *
Chapter Forty-Two — Shot Grouping
Chapter Forty-Two — Shot Grouping "My range is the best around, it's single-proprietor, and I take a great deal of pride in keeping it clean and in tip-top," Clemus said as he walked Sharp and I towards the main shooting gallery. "Which leads me to being a smidge curious, you see?""Curious about what, Mister Clemus?" Sharp asked. She was walking next to the older gentleman. He wasn't moving fast, relying on an old wooden cane to help with every step."Oh, the usual. What's a young lady like yourself doing here?"Sharp shrugged. "I need to learn how to use a gun properly. Uh. For self-defence and stuff. You know. It's scary being a girl in some places."Clemus nodded along. "Do you know how to handle a firearm?""Not really?" Sharp said."Tell him that you've heard that he's the best. That he was a legend back in Paris.""B-but I heard that you were the best to teach that kind of stuff. That you were a legend in, uh, Paris?"Clemus didn't even have a hitch in his step, but he did change directions ever so slightly. "Let's get you set up. Now, don't worry, the cameras are mostly for show. Got them set up to turn off at the flick of a switch."He led us into the range. Being a converted barn, the interior was rather sparse. Wooden walls, with several metallic racks and parts of what might have been a feeding system mounted to the ceiling. There were some rooms to the back with padlocked sliding doors. The place smelled like hay and gunpowder, but it was almost impeccably clean.The business side of the barn had several stalls, likely meant to hold... cows or something. I wasn't a country girl. They had wooden sides and a small counter at the front with a pair of wooden panels serving as covers that could be removed to give the shooter a nice view downrange."Do you have hearing protection?" Clemus asked."Yup!" Sharp said. She stepped into the third stall as he pointed it out and set the duffle we'd brought down. Opening it, she pulled out the guns within and placed them on the counter, along with all of the munitions we'd brought."Well, you came prepared. Now, I'm not a very curious kind of man. That's what's kept me alive all this time, I think, but I've got to wonder about the cat.""Oh, uh, she's... a service animal.""I see," he said. There was a twinkle in his eyes before he lowered his bushy brows and I couldn't see them anymore. "Well, that's something then. Let's see if you can't plink a few rounds into the twenty over there, hmm?"Sharp started with the handgun, though what she started with was her choice. I think she picked it because it was the least intimidating.Clemus watched as she fumbled with the magazine, slipping rounds into it one at a time with some mild difficulty, then she loaded it in. She'd seen movies here and there, and maybe a game or two, so it didn't take her too long to figure out how to rack the gun.The safety took longer.And then she aimed down the sights, closed one eye, bit the tip of her tongue, and missed her first shot by about a mile.Sharp squeaked at the noise and almost dropped the gun."Hmm," Clemus said. "Now, having watched you a little, I think you might need a little... polite coaching. Let's start by actually putting that hearing protection on, yes? It's nice to have it on hand, but better to have it on your head. Heh!""Oh. Right. What about you?""Hmm? Oh, I have hearing aids already," he said. "I already hear a buzzing like one of those old CRTs in my head, can't make it much worse now. Good, get those muffs on. Hmm, now, let's work on that stance."Clemus stood nearby, never approaching or touching Sharp except to use the end of his cane to poke her arms up a little and then tap the side of her handgun to make sure her grip was steady. I watched and listened as he told her to keep both eyes open and her tongue in her mouth.He was smiling through the entire thing, and I think instructing Sharp was genuinely amusing.Sharp took a few more shots, emptying the magazine before Clemus had her shift to the shotgun, then the rifle.He nodded along and had her switch back to the start. "There's some value in plinking with the same gun all day. There's more in switching it around. You get complacent and familiar otherwise."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.Clemus didn't stick around for too much longer. He nodded a few times when Sharp finally reloaded the handgun without fumbling it and put three out of seven shots into the target. At twenty metres that was... well, it wasn't good but it wasn't terrible. The target was stationary and so was Sharp, and she had plenty of time to aim between shots.Still, the initial improvement was noticeable and fast. There was a base level of competency with using guns that didn't take years to achieve. A few hours of shooting and nearly anyone could be 'good enough.'Mastery would take years, at a minimum, but I wasn't looking for Sharp to be a master."This is kind of nice," Sharp said. "But I think my hand's going to be sore, and my shoulder." She rubbed between her neck and shoulder, over her clavicle."That's normal. Keep in mind that on the job, you're rarely going to find yourself emptying magazine after magazine. Most jobs only require three shots.""Three?" she asked."One to kill, the next to make sure, and the third because redundancy is never a bad idea."Sharp giggled, as if I was telling her a joke. Silly girl.The shooting continued. We had only brought a hundred or so rounds but that was fine. Once she was down to her last quarter or so, I was going to have her slow down and focus on actually aiming each round.Learning the feel for the shooting was important, of course, but there was no point in shooting without hitting. So I planned on having her switch her focus eventually.Sharp was not that bad. An hour in and she was clearly getting comfortable with the three guns. I noticed that she seemed to prefer the handgun, which was entirely fair.A small, concealable weapon was ideal for the kind of work that I did. Rifles could be nice, but they were very situational, and in this day and age, it was best to set up a rifle on a device that let you aim and fire it from afar, which required a whole different set of aiming skills.Still, knowing how to shoot a rifle and shotgun couldn't hurt. Getting a hang of the different ballistics was useful, at the very least.We were interrupted as someone came in. A young woman, with a long all-black bag. She was tall, with long, mussed up hair tied in a dirty ponytail, and was wearing the kind of clothes I'd expect to see on someone out for a mid-afternoon jog.The girl was bobbing her head to the beat of some music we couldn't hear, and I noticed that the inside of her ears had the tell-tale marks of having some cybernetics plugged in.Sharp was momentarily distracted, but a quick meow had her refocusing on the target.The girl stared for a moment, chuckled as Sharp put three quick rounds into the dirt next to the target, then she casually pulled out the parts to a long rifle and assembled them.A minute later she was installed at the first stall, the little barrier wall removed so that she could lay down on a blanket on the floor.In the distance, about a kilometre out, a small plate moved up on a metal arm. It was about the size of a person's head.The girl shot, and the plate fell, only to rise back up a moment later.Sharp stared until she remembered that she was here for a reason and she continued to shoot, taking her time between shots.The girl continued to fire, and I noticed that every dozen or so shots the target's size would become smaller. Eventually she was hitting a target suspended on a piece of string that was about the size of a ping-pong ball. I could barely make out the metal arm holding it in place, let alone the chartreuse target.Sharp eventually ran out of ammo, and we decided to call it a day. A good, productive day. "I got a Combat level," Sharp muttered."Well done!" I said. That was good progress!On the way out, Sharp paused to stare at the sharpshooter girl.I bit her ankle when I noticed that she was mostly focused on the girl's legs and the way they moved with the recoil of her rifle.The idiot was going to die at the first honeypot she ran into, I swear.
* * *
Chapter Forty-Three — Gun Expert
Chapter Forty-Three — Gun Expert "Okay!" Sharp said the moment we were back home. She raised her arms over her head and stretched hard until her limbs shook. "That was kind of fun! Plus now, I'm basically a gun expert, right?"I snorted. "Hardly," I said. Then I was distracted as I had to greet my cats. Cyanide ran up for nuzzles and Mercury skittered into the room only to linger by the entrance to stare, wide-eyed, as if he'd never seen anyone before.Arsenic strutted in confidently a few moments later. "Mother, I'm hungry," he said in lieu of any appropriate sort of greeting.I sighed. "Sharp, check on the feeder. And give everyone who asks a snack.""Okay!" Sharp said. I was happy to see that she got along well with the cats. Cyanide abandoned purring against my side to instead dart after Sharp as she headed for the kitchen and the locked cabinet with the cat snacks.I wasn't sure what I would do if Sharp wasn't a cat person, or mistreated my babies. Probably kill her, which would make me feel quite awful all said and done, but I didn't have to consider it now. Sharp was smiling as she gave Arsenic a treat, then she bent down and scooped Mercury up. The big lug went floppy as she hugged him close and then cradled him like a baby to give him a snack more directly.I nodded. She was good with the cats, and that said much about her, I decided."Don't get too comfortable. The day's still early."Sharp's shoulders slumped. "Not more exercise," she said.I chuckled darkly. "No. That can wait until tomorrow, I think. We don't want to push you to the point of straining anything. Instead, we need to scope out the location for our job. We're on a relatively short timetable here.""Oh, right!" Sharp said. "Do I need to change?"I nodded. "Get some plain clothes. Matching, clothes that... you know what, I'll help you pick it out. We'll be putting it into that duffel, so go put the guns back in their place, but keep the handgun out."It took a bit, but soon we had a partial change of clothes for her. Just a second pair of shoes-big work boots-and a jacket that she could throw on that had a hood. A scarf to cover her lower face and a pair of heap non-prescription glasses from my wardrobe made up the rest of her outfit. All stuff that was ease to store."Let's find you a holster for that handgun," I said. "You're pretty thin... Lower your pants a little.""Weird thing to ask someone," Sharp said as we entered my office and she set down the clothes next to the bag we were going to use.I shook my head then carefully judged the distance for a hop that landed me right on the edge of a cabinet. "In here. There are a few holsters. There's one that's worn as a sort of belt. It's a front holster. A little strange, but most pat-downs don't check the lower waist and if you're wearing a baggy shirt or sweater, then your gun is always within easy reach."Sharp opened the right drawer and then fumbled through half a dozen holsters before finding the right one. It took a bit of fiddling, and some adjusting (her waist was narrower than mine had been) before she had the holster in place. She checked the safety on the handgun we'd picked out and slid it into place."Do a few squats, some jumping jacks, then touch your toes," I instructed.Sharp did as I asked, only pausing once to tighten the strap and change how it sat. "Nice! This is kinda comfy, I guess? It presses into my tummy, right over my bladder when I bend over double.""Can you live with that?" I asked."Yeah. It wouldn't be comfortable long-term, but it's not that bad.""Good. Now, remove the gun, and its magazine. We're going to fill one with fake bullets. Yes, there's such a thing as fake rounds. They weigh the same.""Okay... why?" she asked, which was rather sensible."Because you're going to practice drawing the gun a few dozen times. Draw, flick the safety off, then aim. I want it down as a single, smooth motion. Which isn't going to happen with just ten minute's practice, but it's better than nothing."If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.It took another hour before we were ready to go. By then, I'd gotten Sharp to hide a small pocket knife in one pocket and another in an ankle holster, just in case.Being so armed was also a risk, but it was better to be safe than sorry. She wasn't the only one to gear up. I had her help me into a little kitty vest. It was an off-white, with cute little flowers on it.I'd bought it for Cyanide, but when I dressed her in it she just flopped onto her side and refused to move. In any case, it fit me, even if it was a little large.The idea wasn't so much safety as it was to draw the eye away from what I looked like as a cat. People would remember the vest far more than the cat within. Also, it was a little nippy outside."Are we ready?" Sharp asked."I think so," I said. "Well, as ready as we can be, given the timeframe.""You're the one that picked out this job so soon," Sharp said.I rolled my eyes, but she did have a point. I could spend another couple of months training Sharp into... well, perhaps not someone entirely competent, but closer. The issue was... well, I hadn't gotten many increases in my skills since we left the more dangerous Boston Two. I suspected quite strongly that growth would only occur through long practice, short bursts of danger, novel experiences, and by overcoming challenges."Come on, daylight's burning."I said goodbye to the cats, all but Belladonna whom I'd only caught a few glimpses of recently, and then we were off again. I did turn on the TV for Cyanide, who said she liked the noises it made. That was interesting, because I could recall her staring at the screen before, but I didn't know she actually enjoyed it.Maybe I'd see if she couldn't figure out the remote? Or I could get some animal-cybernetics for her? There were some augmentations available for pets. Things like games mounted to the eyes and biometric scanners so that a pet-owner could monitor their little companion's health from afar with a decent degree of precision.It was all rather expensive, and I suspected that for the price paid, the quality was lower than the same kind of equipment for humans, but... well, that was maybe fine.Having something like that myself might be my only way to interact with the wider world. I'd have to see what I could buy and then tinker up.I did have a Tech skill that was wallowing. What would happen when it reached the first perk level? There was a lot of potential there!I let my mind wander as Sharp left the block and we took an unsecured bus out of town and towards Boston Two. We climbed off before making it into the city and the hellscape of traffic at the boundaries.With just my head poking out of Sharp's neck, I scanned the road. Sharp knew more or less where we were going, but still needed some directions here and there.Eventually, however, we made it to the right spot."Let's find a place for you to change," I said.The best place for that turned out to be a gas station, which wasn't ideal, but it was good enough. Sharp and I both changed, then we were off again.Twenty minutes later, after cutting across an empty construction site and through a couple of dodgy alleys, we had made it close to the space we were scoping out. I could do more of this next bit myself, but Sharp had to learn."Just walk casually by. Scan the place from the corner of your eye as you move by, but mostly, try to get a feel for the place," I instructed.The warehouse was a single-floor, all-grey space. It was cinderblocks with nothing covering them on the exterior, with no obvious windows. The entire facility was built like a large C, with the centre just barely large enough for a semi-trailer to park in.There was a fence all around, with barbed wire atop it, but it was the cheap old stuff, not modern razor wire, and it was rusted all over. The fence itself was little more than a standard chain link fence.It looked very much like a normal, boring warehouse facility.So why in the world were there three armed guys hanging out by the front?"We might have to drop this job. It's too hot," I said.
* * *
Kittypunk Christmas Special
Kittypunk Christmas Special "Hmm," I said.Sharp sighed."Maybe... but no."I felt Sharp's grip shift ever so slightly so that she was holding me on her other arm. She shook the arm I'd been resting on out. Had it fallen asleep? I suppose that was possible, I'd been resting on her arm for a solid hour or so."I don't get why this is taking so long," Sharp said."That's because you don't understand the target. You can't just approach them with anything and expect it to work. Not everything works on every target. When possible, pick something tailored to the job, otherwise you might just be wasting time and effort for nothing.""But... we're just buying cat toys," Sharp said.We were currently standing in the middle of a long row of toys in one of the city's larger pet stores. This one was opened the day before Christmas, because... well, why shouldn't it be? It wasn't like it had that many human employees.There was an entire alley dedicated to cat toys and accessories. Feather wands, catnip mice, spring toys, balls with little bells in them, even plushies and crinkle balls.A selection of thousands, and so far I'd only picked out two items.The first was a tiny plush snowman, with a little hat on. It had the enticing scent of catnip and was very soft. The inside had one of those little chemical pads that warmed up when squeezed. Dangerous for dogs, but fine with cats.Obviously, that was going to be Arsenic's gift. The silly baby boy was the cuddly sort, but not when around others so much. This was exactly the kind of thing he'd love.For Cyanide, I'd gotten a plush new bed. Hers was getting a little ratty, and I think she'd like this new one. It was very soft, and came with a matching blanket.There was nothing cuter on this green Earth than a snoozy kitty wearing a blanket.Mercury was tougher to shop for. My shy baby wasn't as vocal about the kinds of toys he liked. He liked playing on his own, but Arsenic would just steal anything too... interactive."Maybe..." I muttered."What about that?" Sharp said, pointing to an interactive puzzle feeder."Oh... you know, that might work. Good job, Sharp," I said.Yes, he'd like that, I thought. It was a food-dispenser that required that a clever kitty fiddle with paddles and moving blocks a little. Arsenic would give it a try, but he'd grow bored with it, and Cyanide wouldn't touch someone else's toy. Mercury would have fun solving this one, even if it took him a long time."It's perfect," I said."Cool. So, that leaves Belladonna, right?" Sharp asked."Oh, yes. I know what she'd want, but I'm not getting that," I said."What would she want?" Sharp asked.I snorted, then nodded my head to the far end of the petshop where there was a wall of bird cages. "Something alive... at least before she gets to it. But we're not unleashing mice and birds in the house.""There's some toys that look like mice and stuff," Sharp said."Yeah, I've tried those. I think the lack of... life in them insults Belladonna. She smacks them around a little then leaves them behind.""Ah, well... that's annoying," Sharp said. "She's tough to buy gifts for, then?""Tell me about it," I said with a shake of my head. "Maybe something practical? A new collar, maybe? I think she really liked the one I bought for her a few years ago. It had spikes. Eventually it was worn out and I had to toss it, but I think she liked it? I can at least ask now, which is nice."The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.We did find something nice, a collar with star-shaped spikes around it. They weren't quite sharp, but they were rather pretty. And it was pink!Sharp and I went to the cash registers and paid for what we bought, then it was off to a gift store where each item was packaged up into itty-bitty boxes. My kitties liked ripping into those, and it was very cute to see them go ham on wrapping paper.Once that was done, it was back home!We took an auto taxi, and while on the ride, I directed Sharp to a site where we could order already-cooked meals to be delivered at home. We ordered the smallest Christmas feast option, which was half a turkey and cranberry sauce and a few other seasonal things. It was pricey, but that was okay. The leftovers would last a while!When we arrived at him and stepped out of the auto-taxi, I immediately noticed that there was a small package by the front door. It was a brown envelope, left by the front step by a no doubt careless delivery person."What's that?" Sharp asked.I peaked down from her shoulder and read the text on the front.Ah.Well, it was too late to hide it now."It's your Christmas present," I said.Sharp blinked, her grip on the package tightening as she tilted it to examine the front more closely. "What?""It's your Christmas present," I said again, my voice perfectly even, though my tail flicked nervously behind me. This might have been a mistake. It was... a little presumptuous, but... well, it was a legal loophole that needed closing. It was just the sensible thing to do.Sharp didn't say anything for a moment, just stared at the envelope. Her silence stretched, the city sounds around us muted by the snow blanketing the street. I let out a small sigh, shifting on her shoulder."It's not a big deal," I said, ears twitching. "I just thought... well, you're already part of the family anyway. This just makes it... official."Sharp finally tore the seal open with her thumb, pulling out the papers inside. Her eyes scanned the text quickly—of course she was a fast reader—then froze on the bolded words at the top: Adoption Certificate.Her mouth opened slightly, then shut again. Her eyes darted back to mine. "Caroline... you..."I shrugged. "Like I said, not a big deal. Now let's get inside. I don't want to sit around in the cold."Sharp didn't move. Instead, she held the papers in one hand and reached up with the other to gently lift me off her shoulder, cradling me in both arms as she studied my face. There was something strange in her expression, something sharp but soft at the edges. Then she blinked rapidly, her lower lip wobbled, and she started to cry, though silently."Thank you," she said, her voice quieter than usual, like she was trying to keep it steady. "You didn't have to—""Yeah, yeah," I cut in, looking away. "Just don't get sappy on me, okay? It's Christmas. Let's go feed the cats."Stupid child. It was just the logical and legally expedient thing to do.The cold was playing games with my sinuses too. I didn't know cats could cry.
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Chapter Forty-Four — Stake Out
Chapter Forty-Four — Stake Out Sharp and I walked back and forth across the front of the warehouse twice.Twice was as far as I would allow. There was an old adage about once being an event and twice a coincidence, and generally speaking that was true. People noticed if something happened twice, but it took three times for them to start suspecting a pattern.If you offed someone that was part of an organization and you were talented enough to make it seem like an accident or illness, then the others that were around them would weep and cry and get on with their lives. The second death under similarly strange circumstances? Well, bad luck happened and people died. The third, and suddenly security would be increased, people would be taking shelter, and caution would be at an all-time high.The same rule of three applied to staking a place out.Anyone could walk past any building for any reason. It wasn't strange. People had to get places, and sometimes they had to get back from the place using the same route.Walking by a third time, however... "It raises suspicions," I explained. "And even if you have a perfectly valid alibi, you never want to get to the point where that alibi has to be tested.""Why not?" Sharp asked."Because, no matter how good your alibi, the moment someone starts looking for something wrong, they'll find it. It's why, when you start learning how to drive, you will never drive in an erratic fashion, with a vehicle that's not obviously road-secure, and in a fashion that draws attention."Sharp hummed, then she took a sip from her hot chocolate. We were stationed at a fast food place two blocks down from the warehouse we'd been staking out. Sharp needed a small break to eat, and so did I. I was still chewing on a bit of croissant that she'd cut off for me. We were sitting outside. It was a little chilly, but not that bad, and the porch was empty at this time of day."So, I can't look again?" she asked."Not today," I confirmed. "Not without risking raising suspicions. So, you're going to have to operate with what you know.""I don't think I know much," Sharp said.I hummed. I'd started her on observation training a while ago, but we hadn't kept it up too much. Still... "Tell me what you do know. We walked past twice, the second time quite slowly. I saw you scan the place, you must have noticed something."Sharp nodded. "Right! Okay, so I saw three guys at the front, and two more on the side, sitting by a car.""What kind of guys, armaments, gang tags? The car, what sort was it?"Sharp swallowed, but then she narrowed her eyes and thought about it. "The guys didn't all have gang stuff, I don't think. Most of them were in jeans and hoodies and sweatpants. Casual clothes, I guess. One of them had a tanktop even if it's chilly out, and he had tattoos on his arms. Uh, they looked like scales?""Good, go on.""I saw a few handguns. Usually in the, uh, bands of their pants. Nothing bigger than that, I don't think... wait, no, there was a shotgun up against a wall.""Well noted. And their disposition?""Their what?" she asked."Did they seem stressed, on guard?""Oh no. I guess not? They looked a little bored? I think they were all on their phones. The ones in the car, at least. The three out front were either on their phones or just chatting? I think there were lots of cans around them on the ground. The garbage bin near them looked full."I nodded. "The car?""Uh, a hatchback... I think that's what they're called? It looks old. Like, its been broken and fixed a few times? Some of the parts aren't the same colour.""Good work. Now, putting all of that together, what kind of conclusion can you reach?"Sharp leaned back and thought about it for a few long seconds. "I guess that they've been there for a while. They're not there for fun, it's probably boring. So it's a job of some sort. I don't know if they're part of a gang or not, but it feels like they might be, but if they are, they're probably not important."Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.I felt a little proud at that moment. She'd reached some good, logical conclusions there. "Well done," I said. "Now, a few things you missed that are worth mentioning. There's a build up of cigarette butts in the area. That's always a good sign that people are loitering. There are also several boxes and things moved around to make for seating. People naturally want to sit when waiting around for a long time. The car is modded, but it is older, you're right there. The guns are mostly low-calibre things. Probably printed. The shotgun is older, however, a break-action. It's not the kind of equipment you'd see on professionals. You also missed that one of them had an alligator on the back of his coat.""An alligator?" Sharp asked."Or a crocodile? I'm genuinely not sure what the difference is.""Oh! The other had scale tattoos!" she said. "So they are in a gang?""Possibly. Look it up.""On my phone?" Sharp asked."No, in the phone book," I said with a flat voice. Sharp just gave me a confused look, and I realzied that she might not know what a phone book even was. "Just look it up. Try the name of this town and describe the symbol. There are usually forums and such where people warn about small gangs.""Right, okay," Sharp said as she pulled out her phone and got to doing just that. I moved up next to her so that I could see her navigate the web. It was painful. She was a peck-typer and I groaned as she clicked on several sponsored ads instead of clicking on actual posts. She had no idea how the real net worked and it showed. She wasn't entire tech-illiterate, just... inexperienced.Eventually, however, she found a social media page dedicated to the northern end of Boston Two, and there were several posts complaining about youngsters in crocodile clothes causing trouble.They reportedly broke a few knees, got into some fights with some of the larger gangs in the region-and got their asses handed to them-and sold some lighter drugs off of street corners until someone noticed them and they'd run off."Looks like they're a smaller gang?" Sharp asked. "Maybe this is a front though? Like, a big gang setting up a little one to start taking turf and then it'll undermine whichever gang is actually in this area?""Or we follow Occam's Razor, and this is just a bunch of jumped-up street kids that made a little gang for themselves. If they're selling drugs then they need to store them.""You think that's what's in the warehouse?" Sharp asked."It's more likely than babies or whatever it was you jumped to," I said. "And if that's the case, then it'll make things pretty easy. We just need to torch the building without being noticed.""Uh-huh," Sharp said. "So, uh, how do we do that?""Did you notice any cameras?" I asked.Sharp blinked. "Now that you mention it, no?"I sniffed. "There were some. But we can handle those. First... we need a few tools, and you need to get changed." I glanced down at her phone again. It was approaching mid-afternoon. This time of year... we probably had another two or three hours of good sunlight. "Let's get going. We'll buy what we need, then you get to participate in one of the time-honoured traditions of the Edgerunner sort."Sharp perked up a little at that. "What tradition?" she asked.I grinned as only a cat can. "Waiting around while nothing happens," I said.She pouted, but we did get up and got moving. First to a hardware store, where we bought a few essentials while trying not to look suspicious, then back to where Sharp had stored her clothes. I had her prep for the rest of the mission right there, because what we were making for this next part was a little... messy.It was the first time I had Sharp make something for a mission, and I figured that if anything, it might maybe help her level up a skill or two, especially once things went off in a satisfactory way."Ah... we forgot to buy lighters," I muttered.There was always something.
* * *
Chapter Forty-Five — Dangerous
Chapter Forty-Five — Dangerous "Uh, this feels dangerous," Sharp said as she looked upon the labour of our work.We had to pick up a few essentials and bring them back into the gas station's washroom. Fortunately, the stench around the place kept most people at bay, and this was one of those automated gas stations with no real workers. The drone at the counter was either AI or-more likely-remotely controlled by a person in a third-world-country for pennies on the hour.They didn't have any shits to give about what we got up to in the washroom.We had six bottles on the counter. They were picked out of the trash, so no two really matched, but that was fine. Next to those were a small container of kerosene, a now-empty plastic tank for diesel, and a chopped up mess of styrofoam. There was also an opened pack of tampons and the last pair of socks from a pack of eight pairs we'd gotten for cheap. The final part was a set of magnesium road flares. And tape, of course.Always bring duct tape. That and a small can of sprayable lubricant. There was always some need for it on the job."Of course this is dangerous," I said. "But the worst part is done. I don't think there's any harm in tossing most of this in the trash. No one will likely check. Leave the gas canister outside and someone will abscond with it as well.""Alrighty," Sharp said. She grabbed the bottles and gingerly inserted them into her duffle bag. We had some scraps of cloth to spare, so she wrapped them around the middle of each bottle so that they wouldn't clink and bang into each other. We didn't want them spilling, after all. "So, what's the plan now?""Let's see how much light we have to work with, but it's very possible that the next part of the plan will involve a lot of waiting."And I was right, obviously.Sharp and I left the gas station, only pausing once to rearrange the bottles so that they'd stop clinking with every step. The noise was unusual enough to grab attention, and that was the last thing we wanted.We headed for the warehouse, but didn't just walk up to it. Instead, I had Sharp take a detour into a field, then I hopped off her shoulder and led her through some taller grass and across an old culvert until we came up behind the warehouse itself."We should be safe here," I said. We were a dozen metres from the rear fence of the warehouse. There was not much here, just a dip in the terrain and an old ditch that stank of chemicals and stagnant water. Greenery was pushing through old cement pads and the only other buildings in this area were all rather dilapidated warehouses and yards.Some were in better shape. This wasn't a dead town or anything, there were trucks coming and going at all hours, and a highway ran by about two hundred yards back, but this certainly wasn't a lively spot.I imagined that the only people that crossed the space we were in were vagrants and perhaps some strays. There was certainly a faint stink of piss in the air."Okay," Sharp said before I hissed at her."Quiet," I snapped. "We're not so far from the target that we couldn't be overheard.""Right, sorry," Sharp said in a low whisper. "So, now what?""Now we need to find a way in. There's a fence in the way though. I think the sensible thing would be to let me pass. I'll scout ahead and warn you if there's someone coming. One meow means hide, or something like that."It wasn't entirely fair to help her this much, but... well, this was her first gig. A bit of hand-holding couldn't hurt.Sharp nodded, and we carefully made our way over to the fence. It was a little taller than she was, but not so much that Sharp couldn't hold me up in her hands close to the upper end. I considered the fall. It was... pretty high up. Taller than I'd ever fallen before, even, but I was pretty sure I could make the landing."Drop me," I said.Sharp tossed me up a little, and I just barely went over the edge of the fence. I thought I'd have time to react before hitting the ground, but I fell so quickly that it was all I could do to splay my legs out. Then I hit the ground and sort of just... sprung there."Huh.""Are you okay?" Sharp whispered.I shifted, testing things. "I'm fine," I said. "Get the wire cutters out, I'll scout ahead.""Got it," she replied before reaching back and under a bush. A moment later she returned with a brand new set of bolt cutters. She fiddled with them before locking the cutting end against some of the wires near the bottom.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.I nodded, then took off towards the warehouse. Slowly, keeping to the shadows, I made my way around until I was closer to the front. One of the guards was at the car, leaning against it and talking to another inside it. The other door was open, and the guy in the passenger seat was on his phone.The others I couldn't see, but I did pick up a bit of music, probably belted out of a phone without a good speaker. They were talking.I looked back and gave Sharp a nod.There was a fairly loud 'clink' as Sharp managed to snap through one of the links in the fence. The guards didn't even care to look up. "Keep it up," I said, keeping my voice down even if it wasn't necessary.There was another clink, then another, each one spaced some thirty seconds or so apart. I would have congratulated Sharp on taking her time, which was objectively the right thing to do, but I think it was only taking so long because the bolt cutters were manual and Sharp very much wasn't.Eventually our good luck came to an end, though. One of the guards muttered a 'did you hear that?' to his friend just seconds before Sharp snapped through another link in the fence.I heard him standing up, and the faint crunch of boots on gravel.I winced, then did my part."Meow," I said. "Mrroww," I added while I sauntered forwards towards the goons.The man coming over paused before reaching the corner and looked down at me. "Oh, it's a kitten," he said. "Pspspsps.""Meow." I said."C'mon, kitty kitty," he replied before crouching down. This was a full-grown man, lean and muscular, with reptilian tattoos running down his uncovered arms. He made kissy noises.I blinked slowly at him, and replied with another, "Meow.""Just a stray," another said."Nah, look at him, he's got a little coat," the goon said. "Pspsps," he added.I glared at him, then sat down well out of reach. The man smiled and turned towards his friend. "Hey, gimme a bit of your sandwich," he said."What? Mah man, my ma made these.""You're not eating the crust, are you?""The fuck you take me for, a kid? Yeah I'm eating the crust.""C'mon, it's for the cat.""We're not gonna feed the strays. You're gonna end up with a dozen of them.""Yeah, and why's that bad?"I rolled my eyes, then realized that such a human expression was probably not smart. "Keep going, Sharp," I said. They were too embroiled in their argument to care.I made a point of running past the goons, then lingering nearby, always well out of reach. I didn't want them grabbing me, after all. They didn't pay any attention to the occasional clink from where Sharp was waiting, not when they could instead argue with each other.Eventually I ran around the lot, going the long way around until I returned to where Sharp was waiting. She smiled at me, and carefully pushed the hole she'd made in the fence open for me to get in. "Good work," I said."Thanks," she whispered. "I got a bush to hide the hole too."She had unrooted a small bush from nearby. It made some rustling noise as she moved it, but it was a decent way to hide the cut in the fence, and I doubted those goons had memorized the location of every bush out back."Decent thinking. Let's get the next part going, then."Sharp nodded, then reached over for her bag. I had to swat her hand to stop her from trying to push it through. Instead, we placed the bottles on the other side and then I helped Sharp squeeze past.If I trusted her ability to throw things, then we wouldn't need to do this so carefully... but I didn't.In any case, it took a solid twenty minutes of skulking around to place the cocktails we'd mixed up across the lot. Then, with the hole in the fence held open by a stick, Sharp flicked on a lighter and started to light the fuses.The rags, soaked in kerosene a while ago but still damp, lit up the night.Then the road flares caught, and soon there were a few loud cracks as the bottles burst open and spilled oil and diesel all over.We were some ways away when the guards noticed, and by the time they'd come around to see what was burning, a few of our fires had started to spread."I think that should count as a successful mission," I said.
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Chapter Forty-Six — Techie
Chapter Forty-Six — Techie As soon as we crossed the wide ditch behind the warehouse to use the shrubbery Sharp and I were both hit with a couple of notifications. I couldn't see her own, obviously, but that didn't stop me from knowing that she'd received something. Her gasp, in time with my own pop-up, was an easy enough tell.Tech Has Levelled Up!Tech 2 3Cool Has Levelled Up!Cool 1 2Two level ups at the same time. I considered it for a moment, but they kind of made sense. Tech likely came from the creation of those Molotovs. That had required some technical knowledge and a bit of research. It didn't surprise me that creating tools of the trade fell into the broad categorization of 'Tech' as a skill.The Cool level up was less expected. Perhaps that had come as a reward for keeping calm? Or just giving Sharp instructions."What did you receive, as far as levels?" I asked."Body went up to four," Sharp said.Reasonable. She'd been training physically a fair bit lately. It seemed like whatever system governed things generally rewarded novel experiences more than constant practice, though we had determined that practice would pay out eventually as well, it just took significantly longer."And tech went up to five!" Sharp squealed. "Ohhh, that's a lot of options."Another skill hitting the perk threshold! Actually, that was her second, confirming that skills needed to hit level five to unlock a perk.I was worried that there might be something like an incremental gain system, where each subsequent skill-up would require more effort. Maybe only unlocking the second perk as a skill hit six, then seven, and so on. But no, it seemed as though things were a little more reasonable."Let's make it back home first. This isn't actually a mission-accomplished until we're safe and the money is in our account.""Right," Sharp said. She scooped me up, then we quickly made our way out of the area while the warehouse went up in flames behind us. I could see the shadowy forms of the gangsters we'd left behind trying their best to put out the fire with waving coats, but it was already too great for them to control. I imagined that firefighters would be showing up soon. I doubted that the gang could afford that kind of service, but some of the other buildings nearby might have fire-insurance on tap."Let's get home," I said.Of course, we didn't just take a taxi from there. That would have been foolish. Instead we walked for some ways, took an auto-taxi from the industrial area towards home, then got off a town away. From there, Sharp and I both changed clothes and I hid in her coat as she took a night bus to the town I was from then we took a second auto-taxi from another provider to get home.I could tell that Sharp was basically shaking to start poking at her perks, but we held off. First, we had to reassure the cats that we were back, then feed them, cook something up for ourselves (I barely trusted Sharp to microwave things, so I kept an eye on her as she cooked) and finally, once all that was done, I insisted on a shower and a change into something more comfortable.I think if I pushed it back any more than that, however, Sharp was going to explode."Alright," I said as I sat down across from Sharp. "How many options are we working with, here?""Uhm twenty-one," Sharp said. "There's a lot more, but they're greyed-out."So, similar to my Cat options. Actually, there were fewer of them, but maybe that was because Tech relied more on previous experience? I wasn't sure. "Okay, well, list them out."Sharp started to rattle out the options, and I quickly stopped her and had her write them out instead. I had a decent memory, but not for twenty-plus distinct names.
Adaptive Oracle
DaemonF0rge
Patchwork Guru
Aegis Sight
Digital Cloak
Phantom in the Shell
Assembly Storm
Energy Efficient
Pockets
Athena's Shield
Elysiumian
Rust Whisperer
Black Ice Breaker
Failsafe
Scrap Alchemist
Chimera Modder
Mechwright's Grace
Signal Spike
Chronos' Custodian
Panoptic
Snow Crasher
I took a deep breath as I scanned through the completed list. "Some of these sound like they have potential," I said.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it."They sound awesome!" Sharp said with obvious, giddy energy. "I'm gonna be so cool. I want that Daemon one!""Let's take this one step at a time," I suggested. "Do you mind writing out what they do? Then mark out those that interest you the most." I didn't have the right to tell her which ability to pick, that was to be her choice, but that didn't mean I couldn't guide her a little, or try to.Sharp nodded quickly and started to scratch down the information she had on the first few skills.Adaptive OraclePrescience in programming. Understand the impacts and affects of any program as they are being modified.I... didn't know enough about programming to tell if that was good, but any sort of prescience seemed good to me. We didn't do much programming, however. Honestly, this seemed like a somewhat underwhelming start, which led me to suspect that this was stronger than it looked from its description alone.Aegis SightTo defend requires sight. See into ranges beyond human limits. Heat and electrical energy become visible.Thermal and some sort of electrical vision? That was interesting. It was definitely beyond what any normal human could do unaugmented... but there were cybernetic eyes that could do this. I was loathed to encourage Sharp to pick up a perk that could be replaced by a pair of expensive but available eyes.Assembly StormAssemble pre-designed devices and equipment in a storm. Become a whirlwind of creation.How literal was that? It could be useful, in specific situations.Athena's ShieldCreate a temporary barrier.Alright. That description was sparse, but still intriguing. The fact that it used the name of a historical, mythological goddess didn't go amiss.Black Ice BreakerHack and break through even the most toughened and dangerous of counter-intrusion software. As subtle as a shot to the face, but just as unstoppable.If Sharp was a hacker, then this would be a good choice. Too many of them got caught up in some unfamiliar corporate black ice and got themselves killed."Anything jumping out at you so far?" I asked."That shield one, maybe? I'll put a little star next to it! I think it could be cool, like magic!"I supposed. Thought this wasn't the Magic perk, so was it technological?"This one's neat," Sharp said as she bent down and wrote down another.Chimera ModderGain an instinctual understanding of the tech and biology of anything you've killed. Add these modifications to your own tech. Become a fusion of form and function.That did sound potent. We'd need to experiment with the definition of 'kill' there, but if I was reading it correctly, this was a perk that would let Sharp gain knowledge on how to make things as long as she destroyed those things first. That, and knowledge of how to combine what she knew together.That was a lot of potential, though all locked away behind having to kill. I could live with that.Sharp hummed, made a little star next to that one, then moved on to write the next.Chronos' CustodianTime moves on, but not evenly. The life of devices you use are prolonged. Bend time to slow decay.Literal time magic. Or tech so far gone it was a moot point. That was incredible... only it seemed extremely limited in scope."Oh, I like this one too!" Sharp said.DaemonF0rgePr0gr@m @ h0st 0ƒ l0y@l min!0ns w!th !nst!nct!v€ 3@$€ t0 c@rr¥ 0ut ¥0ur d@rk d€s!r€s!"Is it... actually written out like that?" I asked."Yup! I'm putting a star next to this one too!"Digital CloakFading circuits hum,Whispers lost in silent waves,Shadows drift unseen.Okay, so this one was a poem. Great. I suspected that this meant that Sharp's digital signature would be hidden and confused, but I couldn't be certain when the description was a damned haiku.Energy EfficientYou use less energy to accomplish the same tasks.How very vague. "You might want to star that one too. It doesn't specify just electrical energy. It could also mean metabolic, and if so, that's a useful side benefit.""Okay, but we're only halfway through!""We have all night," I assured her. "Let's settle in and check the rest, then we can sleep on which one to pick."I had to admit, Sharp's growing impatience was amusing.
* * *
Chapter Forty-Seven — Pick
Chapter Forty-Seven — Pick Sharp wrote down the next few perks to pick from with the speed borne of someone who desperately wanted to get something done now. I think she was genuinely worried I'd send her to bed without picking anything if we weren't fast enough.Of course, I wouldn't actually do that. She'd get her time to pick tonight. It wasn't like she needed a bedtime."Okay," Sharp said. "I wrote down the rest at the end of that row. Check these out."I sat up straighter as she set a page down in front of me.ElysiumianAll things have an afterlife, even the digital. Gain Lesser Authority over the electronic dead.Lesser Authority? The capitalization suggested that was a proper thing but I had very few ideas what that could mean. The rest was only mildly concerning. I suspected this would give Sharp control of sorts over broken electronics. Maybe easier access to deleted files. This bordered on the magical.Mechwright's GraceWhen building mechanical devices you move with grace and efficiency. Learn with the ease of the truly talented.That was just good. Sure, it didn't sound magical, but... well, I had opinions about 'talent' as a concept, but I could acknowledge that it existed, and gaining talent for building things was impressive, the added grace and efficiency was a fantastic bonus. If Sharp wanted to switch track from Edgerunner to mechanic, this would be a no-brainer, something to give her a constant boost until she gained another perk.PanopticInstantly understand the entirety of any system one interfaces with. Beware the bite of knowing.I worked my little kitty jaw. No. Too risky. It would be fantastic if Sharp were connecting to far older systems. Understanding old Dos-based things in their entirety would be impressive, but not impossible. Written down, they only took up as many pages as a small town library.A modern system? Suddenly understanding several terabytes of raw information couldn't be healthy.If she interfaced with the internet? There were parts of the internet that were literally magical nowadays, and some deep, dark areas that were cursed.No, this would straight up fry Sharp's brain.It might also... not, but I wasn't going to let her take that risk. Fortunately, she hadn't starred that one."Do any of these three jump out to you?" I asked."The Mechanical one is kinda neat. A bit boring though," Sharp said.I considered it. "Star it. It's a valuable skill, even if it doesn't satisfy your flashy urges."Sharp nodded, took the page, and made a cutesy little star next to Mechwright's Grace. "Here, look at these four in the meantime!"I had another page placed before me with more text on it.Pathwork GuruIf it works it ain't broke! Tape, glue, lubricate and patch! It will work.I hummed. A sort of temporary repair skill? Or maybe not so temporary? The thing was, fixing something required knowledge on what was broken, exactly, and how to make that thing continue to function. Would this grant knowledge, or just let Sharp smack things into working for a little while longer? It wasn't bad in either case, just situational.I didn't go into the field with gear liable to break, and if something could, then I brought backups.If a gun jammed on me at the range a few times, then I'd buy another, better, gun. Needing to patch and fix things on the move was a terrible situation to be in.Phantom in the ShellBecome invisible.Well... okay. That was... good. No notes. Sharp had put a star on that one already.PocketsNow... where did I put that... ah, here it is! The tool I need is always in my pocket!This one switched to first person, which was concerning, but it was also obscenely strong. "Sharp, out a star on this one too," I said as I patted it with a paw."Huh? Okay?"Rust WhispererYou can hear the tale of failure. That which is no longer extant in life speaks to you.Strangely worded, in a way that I found slightly concerning, and with no redeeming quality, at least not compared to other skills."Do you have the others?" I asked."Yup, last three," Sharp said as she finished writing the final line and set the page down. She started to spread them all out.I should have used cue cards for this.Scrap AlchemistWeave gold from straw. Gain an innate understanding of chemistry and a talent for the alchemical arts using common, everyday items and reagents.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.That was a good one. I wasn't deeply familiar with magic, but alchemy was one of those strange branches that I'd heard about here and there. I'd even purchased some things for a few jobs. Acids that worked impossibly fast, rapid cures for some ailments, potions that could temporarily make one seem more youthful...Signal SpikeJack up that signal! Temporarily make signals significantly stronger. Know your com codes!Very niche. It could be useful for information gathering, but this was a problem that could be solved with some money. Likely not worth it.Snow CrasherGet good at music, movies, microcode and high-speed pizza delivery.That.. okay, this could be good, depending on what 'get good' meant. Did it mean gain a talent for it? Three out of those four were actually useful. Music for timing and dexterity, microcode was just software, which was never too lost, and being good at high-speed deliveries was just handy for traversal.I didn't know what being good at movies would help with."That one looks good, yeah, but I think a few before it were better, and it feels like we've starred too many already.""Fair point," I said. "What are the options that stood out?"Sharp wrote down seven options on a new page. "Athena's Shield, that's the one that would give me a shield. Chimera Modder, a bit icky but I'd be able to make stuff based on things I kill. DaemonF0rge, which I really like! It lets you make... uh, stuff? I think those are programs, right?""Hostile programs, yes," I said. "Like AI. the stupid sort, not an AGI, but a digital intelligence.""Neat! And then Energy Efficient, to use less energy doing stuff. Mechwright's Grace, for getting a talent at making things and being good at it. Phantom in the Shell, which turns me invisible, and... Pockets.""You can only pick one, so let's start eliminating. Do any of them stand out as weaker than the rest?""Energy Efficient sounds a bit lame," Sharp said. "Like, no, it's cool, but not that cool?""Fair enough," I said. "Scratch it off the list. Any others?"Sharp winced. "Athena's Shield?"I nodded. That was fair as well. It would probably be very situational."And Pockets. I don't know why you wanted to star that one."There I disagreed with her. "What is a tool?" I asked. "Because in the Edgerunner trade, weapons are tools. Lockpicks, scanners, timepieces, explosives, detonators, and probably a dozen other items that don't come to mind immediately.""Oh," Sharp said. She looked down at the list again. "Okay, I guess it can stay for now. Uh... Mechwright's Grace? I mean, it's cool, and useful, but also maybe not something an Edgerunner would need?"I liked it, and would have it on my own shortlist, but I could see where she was coming from. "Fine, nix that one as well. That leaves four.""I think... Chimera Modder is kind of gross," Sharp said.""You do?" I asked. I supposed that I was a little more comfortable with the general idea around killing something for gain than Sharp was. It would take some time for her to come around and see life as a bit more... transactional. "Okay. I can see it having lots of potential, but maybe it'll come up again later.""Yeah," Sharp said.Too bad. It was the kind of skill that would be best to start with early, but that was fine."So... Pockets, which does sound kinda handy but also a bit... lame? Phantom in the Shell, and DaemonF0rge.""I'd take Pockets in your place. I think you're underestimating its usefulness. On our last job, we had to go out to buy tools for all sorts of things. Imagine if we could skip that entire investment.""I guess. But DaemonF0rge! That's so cool!""We don't have any of the material or equipment to get you started with coding. And no, you can't start Netrunning from my house. Do you have any idea how often low-level Netrunners get swatted by their competition, or bagged by corporations?" I'd been hired to do just that a few times."Aww... but... oh, fine. Phantom in the Shell?""Can't argue that invisibility isn't useful," I said plainly.Sharp hesitated, then she thumped her feet repeatedly against the carpet like a petulant child. She scrunched her face up, waddled left and right, and then... "There!" she cried."You picked?" I asked."Yup! At random!"I closed my eyes. This... this idiot. "What did you even get?" I asked.Sharp grinned, then reached into a pocket, rooted around, and pulled out a fork. "Oh, this is gonna be neat!"
* * *
Chapter Forty-Eight — Pocket Test
Chapter Forty-Eight — Pocket Test The next day, or at least the next day's morning, was spent rigorously testing Sharp's new perk.It was... potent. But it was also not impossibly strong. I suspect that we had traded strength for utility with Sharp's choice, and that was totally fine.First, we looked up some ground rules for her ability.She couldn't reach into her pocket and pull out anything. No, instead, it seemed as though she had to either know which tool she wanted before reaching in, or have a clear idea of what task needed doing.For example, I had her fetch a set of old locks from a shoe-box tucked away in a corner. They were for lock-picking practice, but mostly they were just old padlocks to fiddle with.Sharp reached into her pocket and pulled out exactly the right kind of pick for each one of the padlocks, from rakes to ball picks. She confirmed to me that she had no idea what each tool was, or how it worked, exactly, but... well, the power seemed to supply what was needed.Later on, I confirmed it when I had her undo a digital clock. The screwdrivers she pulled out were always the right size, shape, and length.If I told her to pull out lockpicks for locks that she couldn't see, she'd usually pull out a set of them, with several different sorts. Likewise, she could pull out a multitool for other jobs with several different nibs on it.So the power wasn't prescient about what tool was needed. It would provide the correct one if Sharp could observe which tool was needed.When I pointed out that the manual screwdriver she was using had an electric version out there, she managed to pull out a small electrical screwdriver next.Looking at online catalogues of tools proved useful as well. Sharp went from pulling out simple, if usable tools, to some that looked like the higher-end, top-quality tools in the catalogues, with rubberized grips and small electric motors.The power was limited, therefore, to Sharp's imagination.Moreover, the tools summoned seemed real. They didn't just disappear. We had seventy-nine screwdrivers on the kitchen table at one point. They'd disappear only when Sharp shoved them back into her pocket.She could summon electric drills, kitchenware, lockpicks, crowbars, remote detonators... the list went on.However, there was a big barrier to her ability. Sharp couldn't just summon anything willy-nilly. She had to need that thing. Or she had to think she needed it.We only managed to summon that detonator after setting up a remote decoy 'bomb' out in the living room.Given a task that could use a tool, she'd be able to pull just about anything related from her pocket, but planning on doing a task wasn't enough.Weapons also seemed to be out of her reach, or maybe that was more of a mental block? She could summon up a kitchen knife to chop up veggies, but couldn't reach into her pocket for a combat knife.Well, that was fine. She could still summon up some related tools. An ammo-loader was within her range, as were sight-adjusters, even a rangefinder.The things she could summon weren't limited to the non-electronic. She could pull out a geiger counter as easily as a hammer. That could have some use. I didn't know if her tools were appropriately calibrated, but I think it was safe to assume that they were.One last, interesting detail was that her tools were never on-brand. A hammer with an identical grip as a popular tool brand would have its inset logo replaced by a similar one that just read Sharp.That could be a giveaway, in the right circumstances, but it still felt safe enough to use."I feel like I should... you know, do something with this," Sharp said as she tossed a pair of scissors up and down. We were making pants.Well, making was... a broad generalization. There was a laptop open on the coffee table and we had cloth out, as well as some sewing materials. Sharp was providing the needs and scissors and other smaller tools, even including a tiny handheld sewing machine that we'd seen a version of online.The goal wasn't a nice pair of pants, but one with massive pockets.It irked me to no end that even so far into the future, women's pants still lacked appropriate pockets.It was a clear oversight when Sharp picked her new perk, because it needed pockets to work.But what if the pocket was huge? She couldn't pull out a crowbar from a small one, but she could from the thigh-pocket of some old cargo pants. Would bigger pockets mean bigger tools?A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.It had to be tested."What kind of thing?" I asked. "We spend the morning testing things already.""No, I spent the morning testing," Sharp said. "You've been cuddling on the couch all day.""Hmpf. I'm grinding my Cat skill," I shot back. Sure, I was sitting between Mercury and Cyanide, the both of whom were quietly purring, but that was just my way of grinding up my skills. Also, it was warm and soft. Having a kitty on your lap was heavenly. Having two kitties smothering you while purring? God only wished they could have comforted this grandly.Sharp leaned back. "Fine, fine," she muttered. "But I meant more like... a job?""Another?" I asked.The pay for our last job had only just come in. After fees, material costs and expenses, it came down to a hefty six thousand or so dollars. That might have been a lot when I was much younger, but right now? That was about as much as what some lower-middle class sorts made in a month.Still a good amount, of course, but not enough to keep us going for long."I suppose a second job couldn't hurt. What kind of work would you want?"Sharp perked up. "What kind of gigs are available?""I have no idea," I admitted. "What's available changes nearly constantly, and it's rare that you'll find a repeatable gig. Though... sometimes, when a gang war is sparked, one side or the other will hire out. It's risky, however, but it does mean lots of work. Usually, repeatable jobs aren't considered gigs.""Then what are they considered?" Sharp asked."Jobs.""Oh," she said. "Wait!" She squinted at nothing for a moment, then nodded. "I need to bring up my lower-levelled skills. Cool is still at level zero! That's... kind of painful, actually. But Body and Reflex could both use a bit of a boost.""Hmm," I hummed. That wasn't a bad way to look at things, actually. "Give me a bit, I'll try to line something more physical up. Maybe some transportation work? Though... at that point, you might as well continue to work as a courier. I'm sure Malcom would hire you for more courier work. It's not great pay, but it means lots of moving around and some amount of physical labour."Sharp worked her jaw, then nodded. "Okay. I feel like I get a lot of experience and levels for doing a proper gig though. Like that last one? That was a lot of levels all of a sudden."That wasn't wrong. I'd gotten a decent boost at the end of that last gig. "Fair point. Let's lock you in for two days of courier work a week? I think that would be acceptable, and it'll give you lots of time to learn the city.""Learn the city," Sharp repeated. She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Anyway! My other skill that's low is Magic. It's sitting at one. One! I could have... like, spells and stuff! I bet I could count a wand as a tool.""Interesting point. Fine. Get the laptop over here. I believe that there are some open courses for young adults to learn the basics of magic. We'll sign you up for self-defence classes too."I had Sharp open up a calendar app, my old one, in fact, and then a second browser tab that we used to look for a few things."Monday and Friday can be your combat training days. We'll use Monday at the range, since it's usually a quiet day. Friday evening courses are pretty common for martial arts classes, especially lower-levelled ones.""Okay, okay," Sharp said."Tuesdays... hmm, courier work? We can lock in Tuesdays and Wednesdays for that. Two days a week of work shouldn't hurt. Which leaves Thursdays and Fridays for gig work.""Two days for gigs?" Sharp asked."They can take time to plan and prep," I said."Okay! That's fair. And the magic classes?"I considered it, then looked at the calendar. "We'll look for something on the weekends. Preferably on Saturdays."Sharp nodded and typed in the last options.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Combat Training (Range day!)
Courier Work
Courier Work
Gig Day!
Gig Day 2!Evening: Martial art butt-kicking training!
Magic training! 3
"And... Sunday?" Sharp asked.""You'll need at least one day to relax... and clean the house."
* * *
Chapter Forty-Nine — Mondays
Chapter Forty-Nine — Mondays It was Monday morning, which meant another day at the range.We arrived bright and early, unloading from an auto-taxi with a large duffel bag that I sat in so that Sharp could carry me about without much fuss. Being that it was so early, I might have expected the place to be closed, but Clemus wasn't that sort of man."Oh-hoh, so you're back," the old man said. He was sitting on his rocking chair, cane across his lap. "Well, here to plink a little more?""Yeah," Sharp said. "If you don't mind? I think I was getting somewhere last week, but I feel like I could be better!""That'll always be true. Well, an hour at the range is worth ten in the field. C'mon, the range is in use already.""Already?" Sharp asked.Clemus grinned, showing off a gap in his teeth. "Some folk take their jobs seriously, kid.""I'm not a kid," Sharp said. "I'm legally an adult in... a certain percentage of the states and corporate territories around here.""Kid," he repeated with a chuckle before he climbed up onto his feet with a grunt. "C'mon."I settled into the bag while Sharp followed Clemus. For all the weight the man put on being early to things, he certainly didn't walk with any amount of alacrity. That was fine, I supposed. The rate he charged for the use of his range was very respectable, and I trusted him more than most commercial ranges when it came to keeping information to himself.We were practicing with a new set of weapons today. The basic rifle, shotgun and handgun of last time were good to set up a baseline, but if I wanted Sharp to be competent, then she'd need a relatively wide range of experience with more than just a few basic examples of available guns.We were packing a submachine gun, a machine pistol, a revolver and a compact assault rifle today. And ammo. A lot of ammo.These were the kinds of guns that chewed through bullets. Honestly, we were going to burn through more money's worth of ammo today than Sharp would likely make this week.I knew being single and childless was worth it. Just one teenage girl was costing me a fortune. And we hadn't even gone to her first martial arts or magical arts classes."Here ya go, same box as last time," Clemus said as he stomped into the barn. The range was as empty as last time, which is to say that only one of the slots was in use at the moment.Sharp slowed down for a moment to stare. It was the same young woman as last time; a tall, long-legged blonde, wearing tights and a sports jacket. She was fiddling with the sight mount on a compact rifle. Adjusting it with a tiny screw-driver, then holding it up to her eye and scoping downrange before making another tiny adjustment."Got everything you need?" Clemus asked."Huh? Oh, yeah!" Sharp said. "Thanks! I'll pay on the way out again?""Yeah, you will," he said before nodding and waddling off.Sharp set her bag down and I hopped out of it and up onto the counter. She started to pull out guns and boxes of ammo and magazines that still needed to be filled. And then she pulled out something for me."Okay, don't fuss now," Sharp said."I'm hardly some stray cat. I won't fuss about protection," I said as I allowed Sharp to smush my face in. We had bought a cat-hat. It was an all black, rather warm, piece of stretchy cloth designed to fit around a cat's face, squeezing in the ears and allowing a discerning owner to attach all sorts of hats to the top.Mine had come with little flowers embroidered all around it. It was very cute.Of course, we weren't going to stop there. I'd ordered some noise-cancelling earbuds online. Good ones, with decent range around them that were meant to be worn around the back of human ears but which ought to work for me as a cat.Sharp and I had spent the evening sewing some pockets into the cat-hat to fit them in."Alright, here goes," Sharp said as she pulled out a phone. A moment later I heard... not too much of a difference, really, as she activated the noise-cancelling via bluetooth. "Does it work?""We'll find out once you shoot a few times," I said.This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.Sharp nodded quickly, then started loading up the rifle's magazine. We'd brought two, so that she could practice rapid reloading. Having her manually reload every one after emptying them would be a chore, but we would be here for a few hours, and it was good for her to learn how.If she was ever caught in a firefight and needed to reload mid-battle, I'd want her to know how.Plus, she cheated by pulling out a load assist from a pocket and slotting it over the magazine.Once it was loaded, Sharp went to the edge of her booth and shouldered the rifle. I sat next to the controls for the plinking targets and tapped my paw against the ten metre marker, making it spring up down range."A little more forwards. Move your right leg back a tiny bit. That's right. You'll want to feel the recoil and imagine it travelling through you and down your leg."Sharp took a shot, then glanced at me.I nodded. The noise-cancelling worked. Her aim didn't. She kicked up dust a few metres past the target.But that was fine. I was having her use nothing but iron-sights for now. They were better at helping her understand the entire concept of bullet traversal. Fancy sights were for people that needed to compensate, didn't have good training, or who needed that extra bit of accuracy. Not that I'd fail to use them myself. Any tool for the job.I had Sharp run through aiming drills until she could hit the target nine times out of ten, then it was quick reload drills between full-auto bursts. Her aim worsened there, but not by too much. She was getting the hang of it.So I shifted to her aiming as if there was a wall in the way. Lean fire, firing on one knee, and eventually I added a second target at the twenty-five metre mark and had her switching between the two.Then we ran out of rifle ammo, and it was time to switch over to something else. I chose the revolver. It was lower and one-handed, which would throw her off before we tried something like the SMG."Urgh, this thing sucks to reload," Sharp said. She stuck her tongue out between her teeth and fiddled with the catch that allowed the cylinder to slide out. Then she fumbled some bullets into place."Yeah, revolvers are like that. I'm surprised that anyone would still practice with them."Sharp jumped, and I carefully turned and glanced up at our interloper. The blonde. She had a bag slung over one shoulder, and her booth was cleared out. I hadn't noticed her finishing up, which was careless of me."Oh, uh, hi!" Sharp said."Hi," the woman replied. She grinned, then reached over and turned her hand palm-up close to me. "Nice cat. Well-behaved... I think? Is he... she friendly?""Sometimes," Sharp said.I wanted to roll my eyes, but that wasn't what a normal cat would do. Not that there was too much hope in passing off as entirely normal already. Normal cats didn't stand quietly in the middle of a gun range like I'd been doing. Or had clothes on.I sniffed her hand, then touched it with the side of my face, which was incredibly awkward. The woman's smile grew and she started to stroke my back. "Aww! You must be some sort of warlock, then?""Uh," Sharp said."That's cool. I saw you here last week. Is old man Clemus taking on a new apprentice?""Oh, no," Sharp said with a shake of her head. "I'm just, well, trying to learn how to defend myself?"It was a lame excuse. Someone learning self-defence didn't show up with this many guns and this much ammo.The girl raised one eyebrow at that, then shrugged. "Good to see someone around here in any case. Old Man Clemus gets lonely. Though, uh, don't let him know I told you that?""You know him well?" Sharp asked. "Is he your grandpa?"She laughed. "Great-grandpa, more like! Nah, we're not related by blood. At least, I hope not! I'm his former apprentice.""Oh! So you run your own range?""Uh," the woman said. "Yeah, something like that.""You moron," I said. "Clemus is a retired sharpshooter-for-hire. If she's an apprentice of his, then her job is to put lead in people's heads for cash.""Oh," Sharp said. "So, are you an edgerunner? That's so cool!"I sighed. This idiot.
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Chapter Fifty — Talking them Up
Chapter Fifty — Talking them Up Sharp, unfortunately, spent a solid half hour talking up the blonde before we finally left. It was mostly a litany of excitable babble that had me wanting to cringe to death, Nine Lives perk or no.Doubly unfortunately, the woman took the prattle as complementary and seemed to actually enjoy it. She laughed at Sharp's exuberance and then took some time to show off her equipment.That part, at least, was somewhat interesting. It was hard to keep up with all of the tools available in my trade. There were new solutions popping up all the time, because if people were good at one thing, it was killing others.Her rifle was a rather ugly, spindly little thing. A thin barrel and a tiny aluminum stock with just enough furniture on it to hold a scope in place above and a narrow magazine below. It was pure function over form and reminded me more of the kind of rifle I'd seen Olympic biathlon athletes use.She showed off the gun and its rather advanced optics for a while before bragging about having other, cooler guns. Sharp demurred about the weapons we'd brought ourselves.Eventually, the young woman had to head out, and Sharp got back to practicing when I subtly encouraged her with a bite to the calf.Another couple of hours passed before we were done running through all of the ammo we'd brought. A few guns jammed, which was great. A learning opportunity on how to handle something going wrong with equipment in a safe environment. Better than the same happening in the field, of course.Once we were through with ammo, however, it was time to head out. In all that time, not a single soul showed up at the range.That wasn't altogether surprising. Clemus was the private sort, and while the range was open to anyone, not everyone knew about it to begin with.I suspected that he'd bought a hundred or so acres of land around his little estate, to keep neighbours at bay.Sharp packed her things up, and I hopped into the duffel as well so that just my head was poking out. We paid Clemus via Sharp's smart phone, and the old man waved us goodbye as we headed out in an autocab.We were halfway home when Sharp suddenly groaned and pressed her face into her hands. "No," she moaned."What is it?" I asked. She didn't sound physically pained, just inconvenienced."I didn't ask her her name!" Sharp said."Ah. Yes, you are quite stupid like that.""Don't rub salt into it," Sharp said. "She was so pretty!""She could kill you with one eye closed," I said."I knoooow, you don't have to tell me, I think she's awesome already."Sighing, I rolled my eyes. "Don't let this kind of silliness get in between you and the job. Getting struck by a honeypot isn't the way to go."Then again, I didn't want Sharp to be entirely without any relationships. My own paranoia had prevented me from ever forming anything really long lasting. People always had questions and the moment you allowed them to start digging, they'd start finding inconsistencies.Sharp... could probably find something, if she wasn't stupid about it. "It's not my place to criticise your choice in partners, but I feel like I ought to warn you away from people that can literally kill you with ease. No matter how... interesting you find that kind of thing.""Yeah, I guess," Sharp said. "It's just that... like, everything else in my life feels awesome right now, you know? I've got food, and a nice home, and I guess a cool job, and it feels like I'm slowly reaching the point where all of my wildest dreams are coming true, and I guess part of that is getting the girl, you know?""I suppose," I said. Why was she telling me all of this? I wasn't a therapy cat."Yeah... did you know, I didn't know that I was into girls for a long time.""You don't say. Did someone have to smack you for you to figure it out?""Hmm, I guess I really realized it when the people at the orphanage threw me a coming out party. That was really nice of them."I let myself go boneless so that my face crashed into the plush seat. I couldn't.We arrived home, and a red-faced Sharp escorted me back in where, of course, we were greeted by the usual suspects. Arsenic wanted food-his food bowl was full, so it was mostly just the need to fill it back to the brim and stir it around-and the others wanted hello cuddles, which I was more than ready to accept.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.Once we were settled in I had Sharp grab her phone and place an important call. If we wanted her to work two days a week as a courier, then we needed to let her boss know.The call went well enough. Malcolm wasn't an idiot. He knew a good employee when he saw one, and even if she was down to two days a week, that didn't harm him too much.Courier work wasn't the most popular gig to get to in Boston Two. The pay was too low for the amount of movement it required. Most folk looking for easy, low-pay work would settle for flipping burgers or taxing people around for an app. It was far safer, even if the pay was just a smidge lower. That, and courier work generally required an in."Done!" Sharp said after she hung up. She flopped back onto the couch, then picked Arsenic up and placed him on her chest where she started to run her hands through his fur. "Why is talking on the phone sometimes harder than doing an hour's workout?""Because your brain is wired incorrectly," I said. "Now that that's done, let's see about grabbing you a gig.""Oh?" Sharp asked. "I thought that would be for Thursday?""And what did you plan on doing for the rest of the day?" I asked. "Sit around and watch TV? Scroll on your phone for six hours?""Uh," Sharp said.She definitely planned on doing just that. "We can easily find work now that only needs doing on Thursday. It'll even give us some time to plan things out. What if we pick up a job that would be best started from in the city and we need to grab a hotel? Or if we need some specialized equipment?""Can't I pocket anything like that?" she asked."Maybe. But also, maybe not."I had Sharp fetch my laptop and soon we were both looking at the forums again. I had her skip any job that paid more than a certain amount. Those usually had a level of risk consummate with the price."That one. The glass table," I said. "That's another sabotage mission."Mid-Century Modern Coffee Table — Glass TopCondition: Slightly cracked but still functional.Details: Located in a central hub. Expect glass to shatter during removal. Some sharp edges. Handle with care.Price: $15,000Contact: @[email protected]"Another?" Sharp asked."Why not? That last one went relatively well, and this one pays a little better. Depending on the location it might even be easier."Sharp nodded and opened it in another tab. "What about that one?"Bean Bag Chair — Oversized and ComfyCondition: Sink-in comfort, though bulky.Details: Found in an underground space. You'll need patience and persistence to retrieve it. A bit messy but worth the effort.Price: $80.00"Is the price a typo?" Sharp asked. "That looks like a... retrieval gig?""A search mission, yes," I agreed. "And the price isn't a typo. You can't just have everything written out with exact prices. That'd be too suspicious. Click on it, see if the poster had anything to add."There were a few comments. Some of them were bot-generated, the kind of thing that looked valid at a glance to throw visitors off, but a few seemed to come from real accounts and they asked valid questions. Pickup times and locations, willingness to negotiate.It painted an interesting picture. Someone had lost something in the sewers around the north end of Fenway. They were hiring out anyone who could go and look. Anyone that proved that they had searched got a tiny payout, barely worth the hours, but the reward for finding whatever it was? A cool eight grand.Not a ton, but not bad for a mission that didn't ask for any level of violence."Yes, I suppose that one could work. It would even look good on your Solonet account. There are too many people that look down on someone with good detective skills in favour of someone good with a gun. But the good fixers know better.""Neat!" Sharp said. "So, an easy job, then?"Yeah, an easy job in the sewers. She wasn't ready for this, but she'd learn.
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Chapter Fifty-One — Belladonna
Chapter Fifty-One — Belladonna I was teetering on the edge of a deep slumber, currently in the position informally known as 'loafing' while resting at the foot of my own bed with a thinner blanket draped over my back. It was warm, especially when the kitties came and laid down next to me to share their heat.At the moment, though, they were off gallivanting through the house, doing their own kitty-cat things. Cats were famous nocturnal, but that wasn't quite true. It was more that hunting at night was more pleasant than hunting during the day. If you kept a cat busy all day, they'd sleep through the night, but with me out of the house for extended periods...Well, I'd been awakened by my cats having the zoomies at 4AM plenty of times before.At the moment, however, I had spent the day working with Sharp and was ready for a long bit of rest.Which was why I was annoyed when I was gently pulled out of my rest by the lingering feeling of someone nearby.I twitched my whiskers, then slowly opened my eyes to peek out and scan the area around me.Belladonna was sitting right in front of me. "Good," she said. "The mother-kitten wakes. Do not allow yourself to be unalert at all times. That way is how prey dies. You are not prey, are you?""Belladonna?" I asked. I didn't see this kitty all that often. It was rare, but she had come out of her skulking a few times when I was human to come and sit on my lap. I always had the impression that she loved me just like the other kitties, but in her own way. She didn't like lavish shows of affection and cuddles."Get up, mother-kitten. It is time to hunt."I blinked my eyes open properly and scanned the room. Squinting at the digital clock on my nightstand revealed that it was... 2AM. Sharp was sleeping soundly, her breath rattling away with faint snores every so often."Are you that hungry?" I asked. "There's food in the dispenser, unless Arscenic pigged out.""The lazy one should serve as no example to you, mother-kitten. Come." With that, Belladonna hopped off the side of the bed, landing without so much as a thump.I shook myself out of the covers then padded over to the edge of the bed. My beautiful abyssian baby was waiting for me by the door, the tip of her tail twitching faintly with obvious impatience.Well, whatever. This was a good chance to bond with my most mysterious kitty and I wasn't that tired. I could always catch up on any sleep the next day.I didn't land with nearly as much grace as Belladonna, but I managed all the same. It was hard, still, to wrap my head around long falls and the like. "So, what are we hunting?" I asked.More than once, Belladonna had awakened me in the morning with a gift. Usually that gift was a dead mouse or an injured bird. But I still fondly remembered a teenaged Belladonna, all gangly and long, bringing me a crunchy leaf she had captured overnight.I ran up to her, but as I came close, Belladonna slipped away, her tail the last thing I saw around the door before I had to catch up again.She disappeared.I blinked for only a moment before bouncing upwards and doing my level-best to twist around in mid-air.Belladonna was sitting next to the doorway, a step back and in the deeper shadows, casually licking a forepaw. "Good. Too slow. But good.""Are you trying to scare me?" I asked."No. I want to see if you have the instinct to hunt. The others do not.""They're not so bad," I said.She scoffed, then started walking again. I followed, and this time there weren't any tricks. She led me towards the stairs, then walked right past and to the upstairs bathroom. The door was closed, but Belladonna tensed, then leapt up and struck the handle.The door squeaked open.My baby was so clever! I was quite proud as I followed her into the little bathroom, at least until Belladonna hopped up onto the counter, then the bathtub-shower, and finally up onto the small windowsill above the bath. It was a small window, with thick warped glass that didn't let you actually see out or anyone see in.She leaned a paw down onto the latch, then pressed her weight into it, pushing the window open a smidge.Well... that was a security gap if I ever saw one.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident."Come," Belladonna repeated before she slipped out of the narrow gap left in the window.I jumped up, following her as best I could. When I finally stuck my face out, it was to find that the outside was chilly and cold, and the exterior part of the window sill was only a half-dozen centimetres wide."Belladonna?" I asked."Here," she replied.She was a level below, some half metre down on the top of a small awning. She leapt down from there and onto the top of a fence, then down onto the ground, all done with casual ease, as if she'd made such risky jumps a million times.I didn't want to appear the coward, but it was a long way down.Still...I aimed as best I could, then jumped down. The landing was a bit iffy, but I managed it, then the next leap down was easier. The last was a little far, but other than a bit of a sting when I landed, it wasn't so bad."So, this is why I find you meowing outside so often in the morning," I said.Belladonna shifted to look over the backyard. There was a small community garden here, but it was rather scraggly and not very impressive. "There are small blind rodents making their home here. They invade our space. Find them and hunt them."Blind rodents? Moles? They had been a problem in the past.I scanned the backyard. It was an enclosed space, with relatively tall, thick fences all around, made from locally-sourced brick and covered in a few vines here and there. Moles... weren't a threat, I didn't think. Even to a juvenile cat, hunting a mole caught in the open wouldn't be dangerous.This was, essentially, the best arena a cat could find to teach a younger cat how to hunt. "Thank you, Bella," I said."You cannot eat thanks," she replied.Fair enough.I wasn't sure how to start a hunt for a mole, but for a human? That I knew, and it always involved gathering intel.In this case, that meant figuring out the lay of the land.I started a slow creep around the edge of the backyard. Belladonna was sitting by the entrance gate, where a small gap below would be no obstacle to an escaping mole but her presence would.I couldn't see any molehills as I went around, but there were signs that the grass had been disturbed. I tried out my other senses as well, sniffing at the air for any telltale signs that there was something amiss.I caught it on the far end of the garden, a faint... wet-fur like smell.I sniffed around but continued my circle of the backyard, just in case. Then, when I found no other hints, I returned to where the smell was strongest and drew a large circle around the area, searching outwards for the source.It didn't take too long to find it. A bush by the back, looking rather pitiful, had its base ripped up a little, and it looked like something had been digging around there recently. My culprit, then?I snuck closer to the bush, taking into account the weak breeze and trying to keep out of the bit of moonlight pouring in over the fence until, finally, I saw them.That was not a mole.Moles weren't bigger than a teenaged cat and covered in stubbly brown fur. That was a rat.A sleeping rat. I laid down and just stared at it for a moment until something caught my eye. Its face had several scars, big ugly things that hadn't healed fully yet.Something... or rather, somekitty had clawed this rat's eyes out.I could just jump on the rat, but that wasn't smart. Instead, I moved towards it at a careful, slow pace. Three feet's distance covered in a blistering inch per minute. I carefully lowered each paw, slowing down until the landing was whisper-soft, and making sure that my weight was evenly distributed up until, finally, I was right up next to the rat.Then I pounced.The rat awoke to teeth biting into its neck and my claws raking it across the flank and sides.It squealed, but I just bit down harder and sliced at it all the faster.It went down without much fuss after that, almost anti-climaticly so.Combat Has Levelled Up!Combat 3 4"Well done, mother-kitten," Belladonna said. She'd gotten close at some point."Thanks," I said.Then I had to start figuring out a way to wash my mouth out.
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Chapter Fifty-Two — The Real World
Chapter Fifty-Two — The Real World We left the house at half-past six in the morning only to hit traffic into Boston Two anyway. That was the biggest downside to living outside of the city. The traffic in and out was god awful at the best of times.Still, we managed to arrive at the courier's office before eight, which wasn't bad all things said and done.Markham was in his office, feet up on his desk and a mug of hot coffee being nursed between his hands when we came in. He greeted Sharp with a grunt.Derek, on the other hand, was a lot more enthused to see her. "Sharp!" he said before clapping her on the shoulder hard enough to jostle. "Good to see you, girl. Been a minute.""Oh, hi!" Sharp said. Derek looked... fine enough. He seemed to be back to full strength and was standing tall. There was no way of telling how his healing was progressing at first glance, but he at least seemed energetic. "Are you feeling any better?""Good enough to work," Derek said with a shrug. "And that's what matters, isn't it?""I guess so," Sharp said. "Does it still hurt or anything?""Nah. The stitches pull sometimes when I move my abs, and I think the doctor told me not to work out for a month? But who listens to those?" Derek grinned."Yeah, what do they know," Sharp said with a disturbing amount of sincerity. I... suspected that she'd never actually visited a doctor before. It might explain some things, actually."If you two are done. Derek, I have a few annoying jobs for you today," Markham said. He slid his boots off his desk and groaned as he reached over for a tablet and tapped it a few times. "You'll need the van." He passed the tablet over to Derek and I caught sight of a city map on it with some markers."Alright," Derek said. "Can't say I love sitting in traffic all day, but it's whatever.""Mhm," Markham said. His attention shifted to Sharp, and for a moment me where I was sitting on her shoulder, before he grabbed a second tablet and fiddled with it. "Anywhere you wanted to work in particular?" he asked."I can ask for that without, uh, problems?" Sharp asked.Marham looked up to Sharp, then shifted a boot slightly. "I've worked with folks that have mixed-allegiances before. As long as you don't do me dirty, I don't care. You've proven alright so far. Don't stretch it though.""Thank you," Sharp said. "And I won't! Stretch anything, that is. Um... I am on a gig right now that's in the sewers near the northern end of Fenway."I sank my claws into her jacket. Idiot trusting girl. Markham wasn't so trustworthy that she ought to spill anything to him. Sure, this was for an unimportant side-gig, but still."We don't have anything that needs delivering in the sewers," Markham said. "That's never happened, even. But the northern end of Fenway? That I can accommodate a little." He tapped the tablet, then nodded to himself. "We have at least four packages that need to be delivered in that area, and one pick-up. Do the pick-up first.""There and back here?" Sharp asked."That's it, yes," he said. "Bit of a pain, but they paid for it. I'll shoot you the details for the other three once you arrive. I might be able to set up a drop-off for some other thing around there too, since you'll be in the area. This should go without saying, but you're representing the company while working for us and wearing that jacket. Don't go around covered in sewer gunk.""Yessir!" Sharp said with a quick and sloppy salut that almost threw me off her shoulder. "I'll be on my best-smelling behaviour."Derek laughed, but I think she was being honest.Could her Pocket perk pull out air-freshener? We'd have to test that, actually.Sharp looked over the delivery schedule, took some notes on a small pad that she pulled out from an inner pocket, then gave the boss a quick salute. "I'm off, then! I'll try to get everything done as fast as I can!""I appreciate it," Markham said. "Now get going, the traffic only gets worse around this time."Sharp and I slipped out of the back and grabbed one of the courier bikes from a shed, then we were out and heading on towards Fenway once more. It had been a minute since we'd gone to the area.The traffic was, as predicted, terrible, but being on a bike actually made some parts not as unbearable. With none of the cars able to move more than a foot an hour, the chances of crashing was reduced a fair bit, and with so many other bikes and mopeds on the road, the traffic police were too busy to catch us slipping by.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.We made it to Fenway, found the first delivery, grabbed it, and made our way back to the Courier's office. Sharp took a small break on returning, just long enough to grab a bottle of water and down it. I shared, drinking out of the cap.We then rode back to Fenway, but this time we made a slight detour.The sewers of Boston Two were... nothing too special, really. They were pretty much what was expected from a modern city built atop the bones of an older city.Entering them was probably as easy as popping open a manhole cover in the right area. The vast majority of the city's sewer system was nothing more than under-road piping. There was no way anyone sane could crawl through those.So, when people said that they were 'in the sewers' they were more likely to be found in the combined sewage tunnels under most of the streets and megabuildings in the city.In theory, those tunnels were meant to be... mostly pollutant-free. Wastewater from factories and mega-buildings was meant to be processed outside of the city, and pumped out to facilities elsewhere. In practice, plenty of folk dumped their crap down the storm drains.In any case, that meant that there was a network of highly polluted, dense, and very humid tunnels that were prone to flooding in spring right under our feet.They weren't pretty places to be, but no one honestly policed them unless it was urgent, and they made for decent smuggler hideouts, places for homeless camps, and areas for punks to hang out and feel cool about themselves while breathing in lungfuls of carcinogens and literal excrement.I wasn't a fan."So, how do we get into the sewers anyway?" Sharp asked while peddling to our next pick up location."You ask nicely. But... you can also find entrances all along the river.""Isn't the river like, hyper-dangerous?" Sharp asked. "Even at the orphanage, they warned us never to touch the water. Especially if it's foamy, colourful, dark, or bubbly.""I think that describes all the water in and around the Boston river," I said."I think that was the point," Sharp said.Fair enough.The packages we had to deliver were mostly small things, and mostly destined to some nicer apartment complexes and even one rather nicely defended mansion tucked in the quieter part of Fenway.We didn't ask questions. People who could afford to have packages delivered directly and rapidly without using normal postal services tended to prize their privacy, and that was just fine for us.Sharp finished delivering the last package in the area just past one in the afternoon. Not too late, but not too early either. With a bit of time for a break that we could justifiably use for poking around, we started heading northwards, towards the river and presumably the sewers.Though we did stop for food along the way.Fenway had several large arenas, and arenas meant crowds of inebriated sorts who didn't mind eating at a roadside stall for prices that were frankly kind of ridiculous. I couldn't say it wasn't practical, however."Oh... maybe we shouldn't have eaten," Sharp said as we approached the edge of the Boston river. It actually took some doing. The buildings nearest the river all had tall walls along the coast, and there was no easy access to the riverside. Most of it was actually cement rises, though there were a few rare areas where there was... something that could charitably be called a beachside."It's not the prettiest sight," I said. "And the smell is, ah, not exactly pleasant."It stank of shit."So, do you recall the exact wording of the gig?" I asked.Sharp covered her nose with one hand and fished out her phone with the other. She'd copied the post on there before we left. "Uh, looks like the person who posted the gig wants someone to find an entrance in the sewers, one into... Mega-building 371. You know, this sounded a lot easier when we were at home.""It always sounds easier when you're at home," I said. "Welcome to the real world."
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Chapter Fifty-Three — Stinky
Chapter Fifty-Three — Stinky "Ew," Sharp said as she took in the entrance into the city's underground.It was... a reasonable feeling, to be honest. The water out-flow was a long, large set of concrete openings that were spilling brackish water out onto the Boston river. Each opening could have fit two semi-trailers side-by-side, and there were six of them set one after the other, with thick concrete walls between each.The area stank. It was likely all because of the water turning into a fine mist as it was catapulted out of the exits. That same mist was carried around by the wind. If it wasn't Boston Two street runoff, then it would still be deeply unpleasant."Nope," Sharp said as she turned us around and started back towards the courier bike."Are we giving up on this mission?" I asked."I'm giving up on going in there without a mask on," she said.That was... a fair point. However, I felt like she was forgetting one major point of fact. "You do recall the new skill that you've only just unlocked, yes?""Ah," Sharp said. Her shoulders slumped, then she reluctantly reached into her pockets and tugged out a filtered gas mask that only barely fit in there. It was the sort with a full-face rubber mask, including twin glass goggles and a large round filter at the front. "I'm going to need so many showers," she said."We don't need to go in. The gig was meant to be something we'd tackle on Thursday, and it's still only Tuesday. The goal was to get a lay of the land.""Yeah, but don't we usually do that to learn what kind of tools we'll need?" Sharp asked."Yes... and I can see why that... hmm, alright, you make a fair point. Maybe you'll be unable to provide protective equipment sized for a cat?"Sharp rooted around in her pockets for a moment, then came out with another mask. A much smaller one, with a smaller filter on it, and a pair of tiny rubber cat ears. "I... does this even exist?" she asked.I paused. We had done a fair bit of testing with the perk, but this was something that I hadn't thought to test. The tools she summoned were often marked with fake but very similar branding to real tools, so I knew to some extent that they were based on real items but modified to some degree.But this was something entirely bespoke.Unless there was a market out there for teeny-tiny cat-shaped masks out there. Something told me that that was unlikely. People who had cats liked giving them hats, obviously, because it was adorable, but not gas masks. "I'll admit, that is a little strange," I said."Should we give it a go? I'm kinda tempted not to because... man, I don't like doing laundry, it sucks." She sounded a little whiny at the end there, but I got it. I wasn't so much concerned about my own clothes, the little navy-blue cat-jacket I had on was easy to wash, and Sharp would be doing the work for me anyway, but my fur? That stuff did not clean easily."You make a fair point. We did only come out here to scout. We have a couple of days to acquire some appropriate PPE."I was pretty sure there were sites that sold armoured PPE, but that was maybe a step beyond what we'd need. Finding something cat-wearable would be annoying... unless we could leverage Pockets again?"Yeah, I like that idea. We can head home early and... wait, is that Jenny?" Sharp asked.I blinked, then narrowed my eyes and looked in the same direction she was, and yes, there was a familiar yellow jacket way out next to one of the further outflow tunnels. The passage was one of the few that wasn't spitting out a deluge of water.The girl gestured to someone I couldn't quite see, then a second figure joined her, someone wearing a purple long coat and big old galoshes."And that's got to be Alyssa," Sharp said. "Whoa! I haven't seen them in ages.""And yet we happen to run into them while scoping out a site for a mission," I said. "What a coincidence.""Yeah... that doesn't feel like it's likely, does it?" Sharp said. She shrugged. "Let's go say hi!"I rolled my eyes, but that didn't stop Sharp from starting to look for a way around. It took a while, and on the way Sharp helped me into the kitty-sized gas mask her Pockets ability had drummed up.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.We made out way around a large building and out into an old parking lot where a broken-down van abandoned next to a burnt-out old drum and a heap of trash. Jenny's car was parked there, looking as unreliable as ever. It still had a few bullet holes in its body, though it looked like one fender had been replaced with another that was a glaring green."Yeah, that's Jenny's car alright," Sharp said as she walked up next to the junker. If it wasn't such a piece of trash I might have been worried that someone would break in and steal it. This spot didn't look like it had surveillance. But then again, most thieves had at least some idea of what something was worth. If they brought this thing to a chop-shop, they'd probably be charged for wasting the shop's time."I'm not sure if interrupting the girls in whatever they're doing is a good idea.""Aww, come on, what's the worst that could happen?" Sharp asked as she started to fit on her own mask."You could get shot," I said. But there was no dissuading her now. "Or don't listen to my advice and chase skirt into a sewer, what do I know?""It's not so bad! They're friends," Sharp said, like a moron.We came around to a short cement barricade meant to prevent idiots from crawling into the storm drains, one which had boxes at its base to make climbing over all the easier, then all Sharp had to do was follow a well-trodden path down along a slope and then climb down a rusty old maintenance ladder into the mouth of the drain.The tunnel stretched out within, a large dam was raised at the base of it, with churning water lapping behind. It seemed like it just wasn't high enough to spill over this part. There were a few wet prints on the ground, showing us where the girls had been. They were easy to make out. Both of them were wearing large rubber rain boots and they likely looked goofy for it.... I should get some for myself. Four itty-bitty-kitty galoches.Sharp moved up to the dam, then climbed up a small inset staircase up and over the dam and onto a metal catwalk about a metre over the water. "Can't see where they went," she said, though her voice was muffled by her mask.There was no sign of either girl, though... no, that wasn't true, there was a faint purple light out ahead, just past an intersection in the tunnel. The misty shit water in the air and the poor lighting made it hard to see.Sharp started towards the light, but I started to glance around instead. Something felt off."Wait, this might be-" I started just as we reached the intersection.And then there was a gun pointing up towards Sharp's head.The purple light ahead winked out a moment later, leaving us in partial-darkness. I looked to the side and sighed. "Told you so," I said.Jenny was holding out a fat little handgun with unwavering hands. She was almost poking Sharp's temple with it. "Who the fuck are you and why are you... is that a cat? Wait, Sharp?"Behind Jenny was the mage, who blinked as she registered just who we were, or at least, who Sharp was. "What are you doing here?""I saw you!" Sharp said as she slowly raised her arms in surrender. "So I came over to... uh... see what you were up to? I wasn't stalking, I swear!"Ah yes, very reassuring that.Jenny slowly lowered the handgun, then shook her head. "What the hell? I almost shot you!""Beyond that. Do you think we'd believe that you were here, in this part of the city, in this location of all places, at the same time as us?" Alyssa asked."Yes?" Sharp asked. "Because that's the truth?""The truth isn't usually so contrived," the mage replied.That was actually way off the mark. Reality tended to have much stranger statistical anomalies than people thought. This one... was probably Sharp's luck having a thumb on the scale. A really fat thumb."Maybe... maybe we're here for the same gig?" Sharp asked. "Also, maybe we can talk somewhere without so much poop in the air? I'm wearing a mask and it still stinks."The two girls, neither of whom were masked, looked at each other and communicated wordlessly.It seemed as if Sharp wasn't going to be shot for not listening to me... today.
* * *
Chapter Fifty-Four — A Lil Chit-C(h)at
Chapter Fifty-Four — A Lil Chit-C(h)at "We can step out to talk," Alyssa said. "Or at least, go somewhere less loud."That was a fair point. I had that gasmask on, which did some work muffling my hearing, but the area was still quite loud. Rushing water breaking against concrete walls wasn't exactly a subtle kind of sound."Yeah, okay," Sharp said. "So, out, or somewhere else?"Jenny lowered her gun, then stuffed it into a thigh holster strapped onto the outside of her pants. "Come on, follow me. There's a room up over here."She turned, and soon Sharp was following. I didn't fail to notice that Alyssa was keeping to Sharp's side. The ideal spot to keep an eye on Sharp while tailing Jenny. They seemed to be at least mildly prepared for the excursion. Both girls had flat-backed flashlights clipped to their belts, and Jenny was wearing a hardhat with a small light at the front, though it was currently off.No masks, however. I imagined that was something they were regretting. For that matter, other than their big old water boots, they were wearing normal clothes, not the kind of PPE that I would have suggested for an excursion down here."It's there," Jenny said as she pointed ahead.The catwalk split in four directions, but the one Jenny was pointing down soon had the catwalk end at a sturdy metal door. We walked over to it, and I squinted to read the sign printed on the front of it. Maintenance 150A.Jenny tried the handle, then cursed when all it did was jiggle. "Fucking typical," she swore. Then she reached for her gun."Wait!" Sharp said. "I might be able to unlock it, maybe."Jenny eyed her, then the door, before shrugging and stepping back with a sweeping gesture.Sharp nodded, then fell onto one knee before it. "Let's see," she muttered as she reached into a pocket and tugged out a small set of lockpicks. Quality ones, with several picks held within a small sleeve. She fiddled with them, and I quickly realized that she was showing them to me one at a time.I rolled my eyes, but smacked her shoulder when she reached the right kind. Just a simple rake. There was no way a random maintenance door had actual good locks on it.Sharp still took a whole minute to pick the lock, and it only came apart when she grew a little frustrated and wiggled the rake about. Still, it worked, and she was able to twist the handle and open the door a crack."Nice work, short-stuff," Jenny said.Sharp blinked. "Are you like, a head shorter than me?"Jenny's eyes narrowed. "Don't poke me while I'm down," she said."But you're always down, because you're sho-ow ow ow!" Sharp hissed as Jenny started to jab her in the stomach with the end of a finger. "Okay, okay, fine!"Jenny shook her head, then slipped past Sharp to enter the maintenance room. It wasn't a very impressive space. The room was surprisingly large and deep. There were a few pallets with large sacs of something on them, next to a hand-pushed forklift, and further in was a large electrical panel that took up most of one wall, with lots of flickering lights. Dusty boxes were stacked in one corner, and there was a staircase leading up and away as well.Jenny glanced around and eventually found a light switch. A flick later, and some neon tubes hummed to life above, illuminating the pale-turquoise walls and linoleum floor up so that we could see better.Sharp stepped in, followed by Alyssa who shut the door behind her."Oh, thank fuck," Jenny said. It was considerably quieter in this room, and I imagined that the smell was likely better too.Sharp tugged her mask off her face, gave the air a sniff, then peeled it off completely a moment later. "Ah, this is gonna leave a mark on my nose," she complained."What are you doing here?" Alyssa asked.So much for small talk, then. Sharp shifted from foot to foot and glanced between the two girls. Jenny found a spot to lean against the wall and Alyssa simply stood with her arms crossed nearby. "So, it's a short story.""A short story?" Jenny asked. "Isn't it usually a long one?""I mean, maybe, but this one really is short," Sharp replied. "I've been taking gigs on the side to make a bit of money. One of them was to check out something in the sewers. I wasn't even going to enter them today. I'm not dressed for it. But I did wanna see where the entrance was? Anyway, I was looking around when I saw you two step in, so I went around and followed you in. That's... all of it."This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it"That's a conveniently short story," Alyssa said. "And it's conveniently unverifiable.""Huh? No it isn't," Sharp said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. A moment later she had the details of her gig pulled up and turned it to show Alyssa.The girl frowned at the screen. "You could have made that up.""When?" Sharp asked."That's... a fair point," Jenny said. "We were barely here for twenty minutes before you followed us in. Unless you knew we'd be here beforehand?""No? It really was a coincidence," Sharp said. "Well, seeing you was. The following was more... curiosity, I guess.""Do you often follow strange women into the sewers?" Alyssa asked."It's never come up before, but so far it's working out for me!" Sharp replied with a guileless smile. "So, what are you doing down here anyway?"Alyssa sniffed. "That's for us to know.""But I'm curious!" Sharp said. "Plus, I finished work today, so I might just follow you around and find out.""Did you miss the part where I threatened you?" Jenny asked."Huh? No, of course not. But you wouldn't actually shoot me, right?"Jenny's eyes narrowed. "You're not so keen on the whole self-preservation thing, huh?" she asked. "Look, we're down here on a gig too. It's probably sensitive.""Does it have anything to do with Megabuilding 371?" Sharp asked. Both girls tensed, which was as good as an admission of guilt. "Cool! So we're on the same job then!""You're being paid to break into the megabuilding?" Jenny asked."Oh... I guess we're not on the same job then," Sharp replied. "Nah, my gig is to find the entrance into it from the sewers. That's all. Yours sounds a lot more dangerous."Jenny and Alyssa glanced at each other, and there was more unspoken communication between the two for a while. Then Jenny sighed. "Might as well," she muttered. "There's a pretty big bounty out at the moment for something in that building. It's basically impossible to get to it from the outside, so we figured if you can't come in from above or from the side...""That leaves below," Sharp said. "And I guess teleportation."Alyssa snorted. "Spoken like someone who doesn't know the complications and risks of something like that," she said.Sharp shrugged. "Okay. I guess that this gig of yours is a big deal?""It's something," Jenny said. "You heard of it?""No? Well, only for the part I have. I guess you're not the only ones who decided to try going under if someone is willing to put out a gig for the same thing," Sharp said.Jenny was the one to cross her arms now. "Well, we can't let you do that," she said."You can't? Are you... going to kill me for it, because that feels kind of extreme. Also, I wasn't even going to start today. Are you going to lock me up until the gig's over on your end, then?"Alyssa eyed Sharp for a while, then sighed. "She's got a point, Jen," she said. "We can't exactly stop her. Not without doing something drastic.""I also accept bribes!" Sharp added."We're not paying you to do nothing," Jenny snapped. "And... fuck, yeah, can't exactly shoot you either. I figure you're not exactly an enemy."Sharp's grin was as big as it was stupid. "I'm happy that we're not enemies then!" she said. "So! Want to work together? We're both looking for the same thing, and I'm pretty good at finding stuff sometimes.""Are you?" Jenny asked."I found you, didn't I? And I wasn't even looking!"Jenny groaned, and I almost joined her. This was... maybe not the worst idea Sharp had ever had, but it was certainly not one of her smartest. Still, better to move around as a group than solo, especially if this gig proved to be more complicated than we'd first realized."Fine then," Alyssa said. "We'll allow you to follow us. But we're in charge. You're just the help.""Sure!' Sharp said. "So... where do I send the invoice?"
* * *
Chapter Fifty-Five — Grumbles
Chapter Fifty-Five — Grumbles Jenny grumbled a little, but Alyssa was surprisingly ready to pay Sharp for the assistance. "Five hundred," she said."That's a little low," Sharp replied."It's a job you're double-dipping on," Alyssa replied."Yeah, but the other side is paying me in full," Sharp replied. "And I'm not telling them about you at all, so it feels only fair that you pay me a little more.""Greedy," Jenny replied.Alyssa sighed. "A thousand, then, but not any more than that."Sharp eyed her for a moment, then nodded. "A thousand... for me. What about for my cat? She's an expert you know, so she should get a cut of the pay as well.""We're not paying your cat," Jenny snapped. "I don't care if it's the Cat Eidolon's favourite mask-wearing tabby, it's your cat, so you can pay it. Besides, what does a cat even want payment in?""Love and affection?" Sharp asked."Cash USD. Preferably through untraceable bills or a direct bank payment," I said.Sharp shook her head. "Fine. I'll take care of Regent Meow Meow von Meow. And I suppose I should take care of you two as well, since you're not my clients." Sharp had a small backpack on, but she slung it off and reached inside, then she pulled out a mask not too dissimilar to her own and tossed it to Jenny who fumbled it out of the air. Another went to Alyssa."You had extra masks with you?" Jenny asked."I told you I was prepping for this mission, not just going on it without being ready yet," Sharp said. "Wait, I have more stuff." She reached in and pulled out a small, compressed plastic bag, it was about a foot by a foot and rather thin. The label on the front had an image of a generic-looking man in full body PPE. "Here, I have three of these, so we might as well share."I hadn't considered using her Pockets power for that, but I supposed that PPE technically counted as a tool, of sorts. Or maybe it was just tool-adjacent enough to count? She was able to summon up gloves and masks, which I suppose only fit the definition of 'tool' if it was stretched a little."Well shit," Jenny said as she ripped the bag open and unfurled the suit within. It looked to be sized for Sharp, so rather large for her, but it was PPE. Those kinds of things were never exactly tailored properly at the best of times.Sharp grinned. "I'm useful to have around, you know?" She shucked off her courier's jacket, then her boots, and started to squirm into one of the PPE suits. It was a pale bluish colour and made of a sort of swishy plastic that I immediately hated the feel of.Alyssa stared at hers for a while before sighing and slipping into the suit. It really didn't fit her new-age hippie vibes, but I think she understood the worth of not having her normal clothes smell like sewers so much.Once they were all dressed and I'd found my way back to Sharp's shoulder, Sharp took a moment to retie her boots while talking to the girls. "So, did you guys have an idea of how to get to the place we're trying to reach? I hadn't had time to find a map and all that yet.""We have an idea," Jenny replied. "I bought a map off of a Mute I know. It's not the best, but they know the slimier parts of the city better than almost anyone, even the city itself.""That's a little weird," Sharp said. "You'd think the city would know? I mean... we're in a maintenance room, it has to belong to someone?""They would, only the information is often scrubbed," Alyssa replied. "A lot of gangs and corporations have good reasons to want to avoid having their locational data easily available. It's a problem every time there's an issue because the only people who know where things are are older workers."Sharp shrugged. "Well, okay. I'll trust your map, then. Lead the way?"Sharp pulled out a small headlamp with straps from a side pocket of her backpack then fit it on her head. She turned it on with a flick and scanned the light across the room."Right, let's go," Jenny said.We stepped out of the maintenance room and back into the tunnels. I opted to walk alongside Sharp on the ground. The grated floors were far from comfortable to walk on, but they weren't that bad, and it gave me a bit more freedom with my movements.Jenny consulted her phone, then pointed off to the right. "That way. C'mon, we have a long ways to go. We're walking a few miles down here, for sure."Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere."I can do that," Sharp said. "I've been working out." She flexed a bicep, then very obviously glanced over at Alyssa to see if the woman would react, but there wasn't even a twitch of notice on her part.Probably for the best. If anyone fell for Sharp's... 'charms' then they were probably not smart enough as a person to be worth keeping around.The passage Jenny led us through eventually turned down into a tunnel, and soon enough Sharp had to pick the lock of another door to give us access into a maintenance tunnel that felt like it went on forever."This should be running over the storm drains," Jenny said as she looked to her phone. She shook it a bit, then swore. "Man, I bought this phone because it was supposed to work anywhere.""I don't think 'anywhere' includes tunnels underground," Alyssa said."Yes it does, that's literally the definition of anywhere," Jenny shot back. "I have the map saved, but I was counting on the GPS letting me know where we were on that map. I think we're... here, this long ass passage leading in the city." She traced something with a finger. "And we need to continue for... a while, until we reach 105G.""Are there any people who hang out in these tunnels?" Sharp asked.The corridor we were in was deserted. The only signs of recent human habitation were rubber skid marks on the floor from pallet jacks and maybe a few cigarette butts.Eventually we reached the door that Jenny was talking about, and pushed through, then it became a confusing mess of turns, locked doors, and doubling back whenever Jenny misread her map."I should have bought better mapping software," Jenny complained after what must have been a solid hour of wandering around. I was pretty sure we'd gone in a circle three times before Jenny finally found the right stairwell leading us deeper into the undercity's system.On the more positive side, we had encountered a few entrances into the lower levels of some megabuildings. Never the correct one, of course, but it at least proved that they existed.Finding the correct one, however, was going to be difficult. "We should be super close," Jenny said. "Look, there's supposed to be a passage right here."She pointed ahead, and the group walked over slowly and stopped in front of a wall. A very bricked-in wall, where the cinder blocks didn't quite align with the others around them."Wait, did they block off all of the underground access like this?" Sharp asked.Alyssa poked at the wall. "No way of knowing if this was recent. It could be, I suppose.""Let me try something," Alyssa said. She reached for her waist, then sighed when she encountered the PPE. A half minute of her unzipping the front and rooting around later, and she returned with a small butterfly pendant that she held up before the wall."Oh, magic," Sharp muttered. I could almost feel her attention sharpening. Though to be fair, mine did the same.Alyss muttered something under her breath, an incantation that I couldn't quite pick up, not that I expected to be able to decipher anything of the sort. The pendant started to sway from side to side, then it glowed faintly before a tiny moth, the same size and shape as the one on the pendant itself, peeled off the emblem and flew right into and through the wall.Alyssa slowly knelt down and tilted her head down, adopting a meditative pose. "Is she okay?" Sharp asked."Give her a minute or two," Jenny said. "I've seen this trick before.""It's a spell," Alyssa muttered, her eyes still closed. "Not a trick. And please remain quiet, I'm working here."Jenny shrugged, and Sharp nodded back. Both of them remained blissfully quiet for a minute, and then two, and then three. Finally, the wispy moth returned, looking a little fainter then before, and it reentered the pendant.Alyssa opened her eyes and let out a long sigh as she tucked the pendant away. "It's around here," she said. "Through this wall and a corridor away. They blocked off all the other ways in, as far as I can tell. Ripped out some of the signage too, but there was an electrical box that had the megabuilding's number on it. This is the right place.""Cool," Sharp said. She eyed the cinder block wall. "Uh, you guys didn't happen to bring sledge hammers?""Let's not pull that out of your pocket. There's only so much you can stretch credibility."
* * *
Chapter Fifty-Six — Picking Skills
Chapter Fifty-Six — Picking Skills "Right... well, we know where to look next time, I guess," Jenny said. She adjusted her mask, then shook her head. I had the feeling she was one part frustrated and one part annoyed. Two not-so-distinct emotions."We can always come back," Sharp said. "Unless this wall is a complete no-go?""It's not," Alissa replied. "I might... maybe be able to take down the wall with a spell, but I don't have a lot of confidence in doing it in a way that wouldn't be obvious to every sensor in the area and every mage within a mile.""That wouldn't be very subtle," Sharp said. "Even a small bomb might be less noticable if it's down here."Alyssa nodded. "I'd rather not risk it. And honestly? I'm a little tired from all the walking around in circles.""Hey, I know where to go this time," Jenny said. "I think we can find an easier way here next time. Just pop the right manhole in some alley and bam, we'll be here again in five minutes." She looked up at the ceiling, then cursed. "But getting back to where we started is going to be a bitch.""Then just any exit?" Sharp asked. "And then we take an autocab back to the start?""An autocab? Do I look like I'm made of gold?" Jenny asked.Alyssa waved her down. "It's fine. We can cover that much. Let's get going?"And with that said, we started to head on out of there. Jenny mumbled the entire time, but eventually found a fork in the tunnel that led back into the storm drains and finally to a slime-covered ladder leading up to a manhole cover.I hopped up onto Sharp's shoulder as she climbed up and to the manhole, then pushed it up with her back until it squealed aside. We exited out into an alley with only a couple of itinerants there to stare at us. They didn't seem willing to try anything, not when three very suspicious youths in pale blue PPE stuffed their way out of the ground.Alyssa called for a cab, and all three of them undressed while waiting for it to show up. The balled-up suits were tossed into the trash, but Sharp collected the masks. They would usually be a little too expensive to just throw away, so we had to take them back with us as part of the charade."I'm going to take so many showers when I get back," Sharp complained."Yeah, tell me about it," Jenny said. "So... same time tomorrow?""Ah, I can't, I'm working tomorrow. But if you guys want help, then I'll be available on Thursday!" Sharp said."That's inconvenient," Alyssa replied."I can bring more safety equipment with me, and a sledgehammer," Sharp said. "Plus, I bet I'm cheaper than just about anyone else you could hire to help on this kind of gig, and you know that I'm discreet.""Sure you are," Jenny said.Their autocab arrived, and the three of them, and myself, filed into the back. Usually I'd make some effort to hide so that the taxi wouldn't detect a cat and apply a surcharge for it, but we weren't the ones paying.Fortunately, we weren't that far from the river where we started off. Just a few miles at most. Those few miles overland were a lot shorter than the same distance underground through winding tunnels and the like."So, not free tomorrow, huh?" Jenny asked. "When can you be here on Thursday?""Uh, early, I guess. I'm staying..." she paused as my nails gently reminded her about the value of discretion. "Just on the edge of the city. So I can come here early, but not super early. I have a bike from the courier company I work for to get around. And the bus, I guess.""Cool. I think we're okay with that. Be here for eight. And bring that hammer you mentioned," Jenny said. "And bring a gun if you've got one.""A gun?" Sharp asked. She turned her head hard to the side. Jenny, being the shortest, was relegated to the middle seat between Sharp and Aylssa. She wasn't wearing her belt, because she was young and stupid, of course."Yeah, you've seen those before, right?" Jenny asked. "You... do you own a gun? This is still America."Sharp nodded. "I mean, sure, I have a few, but I didn't think this job would call for a gun at all."Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more."I mean, if you're going to help us break through that wall, you might as well help us the rest of the way. Whoever is paying you for info will pay you for a lot more if you get some from the inside, right?""Maybe," Sharp said. "Look, I'll see if there's a better price for that, but I have the feeling that if you break in and steal whatever it is that they want to begin with, they won't want the information after all.""Heh. That reminds me of a pair of jobs I once took. One was for information on a target, the other was to eliminate them. It was amusing handing the information packet over when the very last line was their time of death."Sharp patted my head, gently."That sounds like a you problem," Jenny said before crossing her arms. She uncrossed them right after because there was no room in the back for that kind of attitude."We... can set something up where you'll be compensated a small amount if there's any violence. Having a third gun, so to speak, would make things a lot safer for us," Alyssa said.Jenny worked her jaw, but she didn't seem entirely averse to the whole thing.In any case, we arrived at the spot where they'd parked their old beater and got out of the taxi before it charged us extra. "Right, I'm heading home," Jenny said. "I stink. You all stink. Fuck, why do we never take jobs in nice places that smell good? Alyssa, why do you never want us to rob a perfume factory?""You complain too much," Alyssa said before turning her attention onto Sharp and I. "We'll see the... two of you in two days. In the meantime, do you have a number? In case plans change and we need to contact you?""Sure. I have a burner phone," Sharp said."Don't trust us with your real number?" Jenny asked.Sharp blinked. "Uh... actually, I don't have a real number. Just lots of burner phones."Jenny snorted. "Yeah, you sound like every baby edgerunner ever right there."That last comment had Sharp's mood on a high until we made it back to the company bike, the silly girl. "Let's get home. I want in on that shower you mentioned. And the babies will be worried. Usually when I leave for such a long day, I give them extra treats so that they know I'll be back. We didn't do that."Sharp sighed as she got on the bike. "Did anyone ever tell you that you worry about your cats too much?""No one who went on to live, no," I replied."Uh... I take it back?""I bet you do."Getting back home was a little involved, but with nothing pressing us for time, we made it back eventually. Of course, there was traffic on the way out of Boston Two, but that was just par for the course."I was thinking," I said as we rode in an armoured bus."Oh?" Sharp asked. She ran her hands through my fur. The humidity in the storm drains hadn't been kind."We have a day and a bit before this gig resumes. It might not be enough time to level a skill on the threshold of five yet, but it might be enough for one of your weaker skills to level up.""Hmm," Sharp muttered. "I have Cool, Magic, and Reflex at pretty low levels. Zero, one and two, respectively."Cool was still at zero? I looked up to Sharp, who was wearing a dopey grin. Right, yes. "It might be possible to increase Reflex, at least. You have courier work tomorrow morning, but that doesn't mean we have to waste the afternoon. How about something like... badminton, or tennis?""The sports?""No, the salad dressing. Obviously the sports. They'll train your reflexes a little, and there are some centres in town. Just an hour or so after work tomorrow. We don't want to burn your muscles before a job."Walking up to a job, even an easy one, with sore muscles was a good way to jack up the difficulty without meaning to. A younger me had learned that one the painful way, and it was a lesson I'd rather impart vocally to Sharp rather than have her experience it for herself."I think I might like that. It sounds fun!"
* * *
Chapter Fifty-Seven — Next Day
Chapter Fifty-Seven — Next Day Work the next day passed in a flash. We headed out to Boston Two, got to the courier's office, then took off and got to work.The day passed relatively quickly too. I rode in a side-car while Sharp worked on her Body stat by peddling the bike manually. We didn't push too hard, of course. If we were going on a gig the next day, we didn't need her to have sore muscles the entire time.By the time early evening rolled around Sharp was pretty tired, but the bus-ride back home was relatively quiet, and I watched out for her while she took a nap.When we got home, Sharp fed the cats, gave everyone the attention they deserved, and then crashed on the couch for an hour or so.Obviously, I didn't let her sleep the day away, even if she was tired from work. That'd be wasteful.She wasn't even twenty. She could burn that candle from both ends. When she hit forty or so, then yeah, she'd need that nap, but until then?"Yes yes, you're very tired," I said as sarcastically as I could. "Now drink your energy drink and let's get started."It was for her own good. Besides, if she slept too much it would throw off her sleep schedule later. It was far too easy for a self-employed person to lose track of when it was a reasonable time to sleep.We started with stretches, which I was unsurprisingly pretty good at. A younger body, combined with the natural flexibility of a cat, meant I could twist myself around in a knot.Sharp couldn't even do the splits, but we worked on it a little anyway, and it wasn't like I couldn't practice to be even more flexible. There were few situations where more flexibility wasn't desirable or useful, or at the very least rather neutral.Once that was done, we started training reflexes. I had an old device to train boxing with. It was a sort of heavy but soft ball on a tether with a device on the ground that made it bounce in unpredictable ways.Sharp tried punching it while avoiding the ball when it bounced back.It was very amusing to see her eat the ball in the face when she dodged too slowly.As for my own Reflex training, that came in the far cheaper option of some old cat toys. Did I feel rather silly, doing somersaults and kicking at a ball on a long spring with colourful feathers? Yes. Did I leave me breathing hard after a few minutes and feeling like I was far too clumsy for my own good? Also yes.It was all worth it, in the end.Reflex Has Levelled Up!Reflex 2 3"Level up!" I said cheerfully."Oh! Me too!" Sharp said. "Reflex three! That's... not a big milestone, but it's still nice!""It's a good thing. Every step in the right direction is a good one."Our progress had slowed down somewhat recently. Not that badly, but it was still somewhat noticeable. In the first few days when I was turned into a cat, I think I had at least one skill level every day, if not two. Now it was closer to one level up every other day.Nothing to scoff at. At this rate, in two or three months Sharp and I will have accumulated a half dozen more perks, and they were all exceptionally powerful.Which actually worried me a little.Sure, in the short term, for someone given this kind of system, the progression rate might be incredible if they were throwing themselves into trouble headlong. Heaps of growth in a short time, accelerated by danger and risk.But the problem with risk and danger was that it was like playing Russian roulette. That first click was a one in six, but the next one? And the one after? It wasn't long before death was all but guaranteed.So what happened to people with a similar system as what we had? I knew they existed. The world was filled with edgerunners and mages and people with exceptional talents that managed to break through the barrier of mediocrity imposed by corporatism.Given a year, how many perks could we unlock with minimal risk?Had there been others like Sharp who took the slow, careful route to incredible power until they had a strong base to jump off of?That evening, after Sharp and I showered and got ready for bed, after Sharp laid down and immediately konked out for the night, I found myself tip-tapping my paws on my tablet. Searching the web was a pain, and I was growing to hate autocomplete and the stupid, fiddly little correction thing that tried to fix my grammar but only made it worse.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!The first few searches weren't specific enough, and then the search engine started to run out of sponsored ads and products it could push onto me. Eventually, I started to run into some interesting results.I tapped a link, ears twitching as I scanned over the page. It was a forum post, some seven years old, but I wasn't going to let recency bias cloud my judgement. The information I was looking for didn't factor in time as much as some other things did.The information was compiled by a forum user that seemed to have an obsessive interest in people with systems like Sharp's. Their ramblings gave me the impression that this person might not be entirely... normal, in their perspective, but their obsession was paying dividends for me now, so I wasn't going to complain.Over the course of three years of meticulous research, they'd compiled information on seven individuals who may or may not have similar systems to what Sharp had. Two were difficult to confirm, with the only proof being a few statements they made. One was... a lot harder to verify than even that. They were an individual in western China that came out of nowhere, displayed several unique and bizarre abilities, and who were chased down by their government. They put up one hell of a fight, and over the course of a week, displayed more and more strange abilities before they eventually disappeared.If they were like Sharp, then that was chalking up one more on the 'burn fast and hard' tally.Of the others, there were two that might have still been alive. The nominal CEO of a military-tech company based out of the west coast, and a European woman in charge of a biotech corporation who was a doctor before she started to gain strange skills at an alarming rate.Well, alarming in the grand scheme of things. One or two strange abilities per year.Interestingly, if I assumed that that was based on perks gained then... well, it was very possible that she'd gained a lot more than that, but that several perks weren't so easily visible.If that was the case, then the real question wasn't just who had systems like Sharp's, but how many of them were out there, quietly accumulating power without drawing attention?I flicked my tail, deep in thought. The forum user, who went by the handle GhostCompiler, had tried to contact some of these individuals. Unsurprisingly, they hadn't responded. Either they were smart enough to keep their heads down, or they were too far removed from normal society to care about an internet rando trying to catalogue them.Still, there were patterns. The ones who burned bright, who made big moves and used their abilities publicly, rarely lasted more than a few weeks. The ones who made it past the one-year mark? They either disappeared into corporate or government structures or built their own protective empires.I glanced over at Sharp's silently snoring form. We'd made it past the week mark.Did that mean that we were destined to go the other way?My own ambitions had always been rather mundane. Sure, I had a lot of money... for a single individual. I could afford to live a very comfortable life. Good insurance, a paid-off home, money in case of disasters, a nice vacation every year and multiple pets.I was living a nice, cushy life.Sharp's perks and abilities could let her do the same.But would she want to stop there? Would I be able to keep up with her once she set her ambitions even higher?Sharp and I were growing stronger, yes, but we were still small-time. If we kept progressing at a steady rate, how long until we hit the point where we were noticed? And if we were noticed, would we be able to survive it?I wasn't naïve enough to think that corporations, governments, or even just other edgerunners wouldn't jump at the chance to get their hands on someone like Sharp. Or me, for that matter.There were more posts, mostly speculation, but a few mentioned other rumored system users. I took some notes, saving names, locations, anything that might be useful. We needed to be careful, but that didn't mean we couldn't be prepared.
* * *
Chapter Fifty-Eight — Growing Pains
Chapter Fifty-Eight — Growing Pains Sharp yawned, and I found myself turning to look up to her for it. "How can you be tired? We had eight hours.""I dunno," she said. "Just... still a bit sleepy. Maybe I need more than just that?""I suppose. You are growing... you are growing, right? It would be inconvenient if you weren't becoming healthier and taller."Sharp smiled down at me, then scritched the top of my head. "Yup! At least, I think so? Maybe? It's only been a week! But I've had more food in that week than in the whole month before, so I'd like to think that I'm gonna grow big and strong.""I hope so," I said. The girl was still too thin in the wrong places. The exercise we were getting was probably going to help in the long term, but recovery from a life of abject poverty wasn't as simple as the movies and shows made it out to be. A day or two of good care and good food wasn't nearly enough. It might take months before she was fully recovered.Also, I still hadn't made an appointment at a doctor for her. For all we knew, Sharp had some pretty nasty issues lurking under the surface. Issues that we might be able to throw money at, in the best case, or issues that wouldn't be fixable.Well, if it was the latter, there was always hope in the system that Sharp had. There might well be a perk that would allow her to heal herself. Or I could work hard, level Cat up to ten, and hope that I unlocked a second perk. If I were to pick one now, it'd definitely be something with healing capabilities.My ears perked up, and I sat up straighter. At some point, Sharp's hands had pushed me down with the way her fingers constantly ran through my fur. I stood up and gave myself a shake. I was currently wearing the world's cutest PPE suit. A full-body glove that covered me from ankles to neck."Did you hear something?" Sharp asked.We were currently located in a rather wide alleyway just off the Boston River. It was unsurprisingly empty. Even the homeless knew better than to camp in this spot."A car. A beaten up old junker, even," I said. The sound of a perforated muffler became loud enough that even Sharp heard it, and she stood up properly just as Jenny drove into the end of the alley and parked her trashy little van to one side behind a dumpster."Hello!" Sharp said with a friendly wave.The doors of the van opened, and both girls pulled themselves out. "Yo," Jenny said."Hi!" Sharp said. "Oh, do you need help with anything?"The girls were circling around to the back of the van and Jenny threw the sliding door open to reveal a pair of duffel bags. "Nah. We're good. Though... you don't happen to have more of those weird suits on you?""I do," Sharp said. "I brought a few things too."We had packed a number of useful things that morning and shoved them into a backpack for Sharp to bring along. There was more than that, of course. Sharp was in cargo pants and a plain shirt with a zip-up hoodie on, the sort with a plain hood that could be tossed on for some small amount of added anonymity. It was also exactly the sort of loose clothes that worked well to hide the handgun she was carrying.Her bag had a second gun, a little semi-automatic tactical shotgun, the sort with a powerful light at the front and five-shell tube magazine. It wasn't anything too special, but it was reliable and relatively small. Good for combat in tighter spaces.Sharp reached into her backpack and grabbed three folded up PPE suits, and we both watched as Jenny and Alyssa got into theirs."So, what's the plan?" Sharp asked as she finished dressing and pulled the zipper on her suit up. The last thing she pulled on was a full-face mask, one with a decently wide-visibility visor and two filters. She handed the girls a pair of much cheaper masks.It was important, for the sake of our disguise, that Sharp wasn't handing out thousands of dollars of equipment so casually. Not that it was easy to convince her to hold back that much."The plan's easy," Jenny said. She attached her holsters onto the outside of her pale blue suit. "We go in, bust that wall down, then slip into the building. Alyssa knows where to go from there. We break into the spot we need to break into, steal what we want, then dip."The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation."Is the thing we're stealing small enough to fit in a bag?" Sharp asked."Yeah, don't worry about it," Jenny said. "If we're in there and you see something you want, feel free to take a grab at it.""Okay," Sharp said. "And how much security are we talking about here? Uh, guards?""There shouldn't be much," Alyssa said. "The entity we're stealing from is too paranoid to hire guards."The entity? I didn't like the sound of that."Okay!" Sharp said. She reached into her backpack and pulled out the shotgun within, then slung it over one shoulder before pulling the bag on. "I'm ready!"The girls both stared at her for a moment before shrugging and starting towards the storm system's exit way.I walked up alongside Sharp, then leapt up into her hands when she bent down to scoop me up. It was time for that uncomfortable cat-fit mask again."You sure about bringing that ugly thing along?" Jenny asked while eyeing me."I wouldn't call her that," Sharp said. "She might kill you for it."Jenny snorted. "Uh-huh. Well, whatever. Maybe we'll run into some sewer rats for her to scare off with that ugly mug of hers."I shot a glare at Jenny, but then decided to ignore her. She was beneath my notice. Besides, while they probably, rightfully, suspected that something was up with Sharp's cat, they didn't know that I could understand English so easily. No point in giving it all away.Entering the storm drain system was much the same as the last time. It didn't look like anyone else had passed through since we'd last visited, probably because there was so little of worth down there.Jenny pulled out a small GPS, a better one than last time, and started to guide us through the tunnels. Conversation, unsurprisingly, died down. The roar of water in the drain was enough to drown most of it out, and while I had issues with Jenny and Alyssa, they were at least passingly professional. For a bunch of untrained brats.Making it back to the section beneath Megabuilding 371 took significantly less time when we knew where we were going. On reaching the bricked-over wall, Jenny stopped and stowed her GPS, then dropped her bag down."Okay, this is it," she said. "We don't know if busting this down will set anything off, but chances are it probably won't.""I didn't notice anything like that last time," Alyssa said with some confidence. "And the area seemed entirely unused.""Right. Let's get to work, then," Jenny said. She opened her bag and pulled out a rather short-hafted sledge hammer. "We'll do a few swings each, then switch it off to someone else. I don't want to get sweaty in this damned suit thing.""Fair enough," Sharp said.Jenny took a half-step back, then swung at the middle of the wall. The hammer rammed into the edge of a cinder block and bounced off, but not without leaving a crack in it.The next three blows around that same area broke a piece of the block off, and Sharp flinched as it flew past her head. It took a half-dozen more strikes before there was a noticeable dent in the centre of the wall."Here you go," Jenny said as she passed the hammer to Sharp.Sharp took it, then swung at the wall herself. She didn't have quite the upper body strength of Jenny, but she had longer arms to compensate. Then it was Alyssa's turn, and the mage proved rather weak, her strikes barely chipping away at the edges of the hole Jenny and Sharp were punching into and through the wall.I ran back a ways, then sat down to watch. It took a solid five minutes of switching up between the girls before a hole large enough for someone to crawl through was ripped open."Right, we need to keep at this. If we run, we want a big enough hole that we won't be stuck," Jenny said. "Hey, can the cat scout ahead?""Oh? I guess, if she wants," Sharp said as she looked back at me.Well, there was no harm in trying, and I was a little bored besides.
* * *
Chapter Fifty-Nine — Urban Spelunking
Chapter Fifty-Nine — Urban Spelunking Sharp held me by the collar, pinching it between forefinger and thumb as she carefully squeezed me through the hole they'd manage to make so far."Okay, you can let go," I said.Sharp opened her hand, and I fell into the almost complete darkness for a thrilling half-second before landing on all fours on the ground.The only light pouring into this area was from the hole that the girls had made, and it wasn't all that big, especially with Sharp's head jammed into it. "Be careful over there," she said."I've got it, don't worry," I said back with an affirmative meow.The truth was, I wasn't so sure I did have it, but these tunnels we'd been navigating were mostly empty save for some electrical boxes and pipes along the walls. To a normal person, the idea of hiding in here would be... unappetizing. To someone of my size? Well, there were also a few small heaps of trash left along the sides, and mounds of old dust. They were almost as large as I was, and I was certain that I could squeeze into the cracks between some of the pipes and the walls.Basically, being tiny made stealth a lot more palatable, and having natural night vision just helped.I shook myself and focused as best I could. This might have been an easy-mode gig with the girls, but it was still a serious job. Things could and would go wrong if we weren't careful, and my task at the moment was to discover the elements that could make things go wrong before they had time to activate.I started down the corridor, walking at a slow, careful pace. As I reached a T-junction further in, one that continued on straight and turned to the right, I discovered a single EXIT-sign hanging above. It was broken off on one side, as if something had smashed into it, and only half the lights within the sign worked, but it was enough to cast a faint reddish glare across the corridors.It was enough to see by.I'd spent a bit of time in the odd megabuilding in my day. Sometimes to track a target down, but more often to secure a deal or pick something up. They were strange spaces. Cities within cities. Some developed their own cultures and communities, becoming separate from the actual city they were within. I'd heard of some older megabuildings which had their own patois that was almost incomprehensible to outsiders.I'd never been in the basement of a megabuilding, but this was... pretty much what I imagined it to look like.I moved with the slow, stealthy caution of a cat on the prowl, eyes scanning ahead and tail straight behind me. I didn't want to be surprised, nor did I want to make any more noise than I absolutely had to.The space was empty. In fact, it was more than empty, it was long empty. There were a few spots where water was collecting on the floor, and more where a lack of ventilation led to a small pile of dust forming in the middle of a passage. These were deep and undisturbed. Just moving close had the dust shifting, so I knew that anyone walking by would leave traces that would last a while.I kept walking, reaching an intersection, then turning back to the previous intersection and then taking the other option. It was a terribly slow way of moving around, but the search pattern made getting lost rather difficult, especially since, as I was re-walking the same paths over and over, I had the time to form a pretty accurate mental map of the area.I wouldn't trust my ability to draw something completely accurate, but I wasn't getting lost. That was a very real possibility when so much of the underground looked the same.I suspected that Alyssa's little ghostly trick had allowed her to slip through walls and obstacles, otherwise there was no way she had properly scouted the area.After what must have been a half-hour of scouting around, I finally found a stairwell.It was behind a door that was chained shut, but someone had tried to force it open from the inside, and they'd left it ajar. Enough so that I was able to squeeze in through and into the stairs.They were simple concrete stairs, leading upwards. When I followed them by the light of a few old emergency lighting fixtures, I found a set of doors a level above, then a second a level above that.This was a maintenance area. Not a well-decorated space for civilian use. The stairs even had a built-in ramp in the centre for carts.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version."Good enough," I muttered to myself before I turned tail and made my way back to the girls.When I returned, it was to find that the hole was now large enough for someone to squeeze through, but no one was working on making it any larger. Instead, all three girls were sitting down against the walls. Jenny had her PPE suit halfway off and was slowly taking sips from a canteen, and the other two looked like they were just chatting along."Glad to see you all hard at work," I said, though it was only Sharp who heard it."Regentesse Roflbottom!" Sharp said. "You're back! Did you find anything?"I hopped up and through the hole, then walked over and sat on Sharp's lap. "I did. A maintenance stairwell not too far away. Alyssa was correct. A number of the other corridors have been bricked off, just like this one."Sharp nodded. "We've opened enough of a hole to move through. Uh, but we were getting tired. Even all three of us taking turns is... not very fun. We're not very strong.""Hey now," Jenny said. "I bet I'm above average in terms of strength. Just... not made for this kind of endurance work.""I'm sure," I said flatly."Right... oh! You guys can't speak cat," Sharp said with a nod. "She said that she found a maintenance staircase a little ways in.""I can lead you there," I confirmed. "Assuming you're done sitting around and being lazy?""Yeah, we're done being lazy," Sharp agreed with a nod."Good, in that case, carry me up, I'm tired of walking all over."Sharp snorted, but I soon found myself on her shoulder, and the others finally decided to stand up from their rest.Jenny took a few more swings at the wall, breaking through a couple more cinderblocks that she wiggled and then tossed aside. It was enough that the girls could simply step into the corridor beyond now."Alright, kitty cat, lead the way," Jenny said. Then, in a lower voice that I was probably not meant to pick up, she said, "Man, I'm following a cat around now..."I led Sharp through the corridors, pointing out where to turn and where to go. Jenny, showing a surprising level of cleverness, pulled out a piece of chalk and made little marks on the walls, pointing back to the way we'd come. It was even some sort of glow-in-the-dark chalk, though I doubted it would continue to glow for terribly long.Once we reached the door with the heavy padlock and chains, the girls all paused. "This is the way up?" Jenny asked. She grabbed the lock and tugged at it. "Shit's locked up tight.""I think I can undo that one," Sharp said. "Maybe. It looks kind of heavy-duty.""That has little to do with the quality of the lock itself," I said. "And a lot more to do with its weight."Sharp shrugged, then pulled out a lockpicking kit from a pocket inside her PPE. She bent down and started to fumble with the lock, but only after Alyssa had a look at it. I suspect that she was checking for traces of magic or the like.Whatever we were moving towards, there was definitely some sort of magical crap going on.I hated jobs like those. Magic was always such a wildcard that it was hard to work around."Alright, listen up," Alyssa said. "This is going to be easy as long as we don't make it hard. We're heading for a specific storage unit on sublevel three. It's technically restricted access, but it's not exactly high security. The problem is... there's a mage that should have made getting into any of the sublevels impossible. But we're coming in from a different angle, and we should be fine. Our job is to get in, get the box, and get out without drawing attention. Simple, right?"Sharp nodded while still focused on the lock. "What kind of security are we dealing with?""Mostly passive stuff," Alyssa said. "Security cameras-though I don't think anyone's watching. The occasional maintenance drone, and if we're really unlucky, warding magic. The basement's been impossible to reach for a long time, so it should be unoccupied.""Why?" Sharp asked. "I mean, why is the basement blocked off?""Some mage turned it into his lab-slash-tower. But he's dead now, so the magic keeping the place safe is falling apart. That's why it's a race to get the good stuff first.""Oh," Sharp said. "Well, that makes it kind of exciting." And with that, she tugged the lock down and it opened with a heavy click.
* * *
Chapter Sixty — Gun Out
Chapter Sixty — Gun Out Jenny gestured Sharp back, then tugged one of her handguns out of its sheath. "Guns out," she said."Really?" Sharp asked."I'm with her on this one. Better have a weapon on hand and not need it than the opposite," I said.Sharp blinked at that, but she pulled out a gun from her pack anyway, a compact little shotgun. It only had a four round magazine, but it would pack a decent punch even if it wasn't too subtle. Usually, by the time bullets were firing, the time for subtlety was past, in any case.Just in case, Sharp got a handgun and some straps out and attached it in its sheath to her outer thigh.Alyssa very noticeably didn't pull out anything that looked like a weapon. At least, until Jenny noticed and grunted, then found a rather dainty pistol for the young mage to hold onto. "I don't need it," she said."Yeah, and you won't faint after casting six combat spells in a row?" Jenny asked.There was a story implied there. Alyssa glared, but took the handgun all the same. "I should take the lead on this one," she said. "I can sense any magical traps.""Tsk," Jenny said, but she nodded and stepped to the side. "You first, then the kid and her cat, then me. No names from here on out.""No names?" Sharp asked."Might be cameras. They'll be old as shit and maybe not connected to anything, but a skilled netrunner might be able to grab a still or two anyway, or pick up on what we're saying.""Then shouldn't we cover our faces too?" Sharp asked.Jenny shrugged, then pulled out a scarf from her bag which she wrapped around her lower face. It wouldn't be enough to stop someone determined from IDing her, but then, nor would covering her entire face. She was distinctly short and with a unique build. So was Alyssa, but she was uniquely tall and gangly.But sometimes it wasn't about perfect cover, it was about having cover good enough that following your trail would be too much work for the effect to be worthwhile."Let's go," Jenny said.And so we stepped into the stairwell, with Alyssa scouting just a few paces ahead. The stairs were illuminated by red Exit signs at each landing, and with the centre of the staircase left as an open space that someone could look down, it actually gave us a fair bit of lighting.The stairs only climbed up one level, to a small landing with a metal door with the words Sub-Level One painted in blocky letters on its front.Alyssa brought her hand close to the door, letting it hover there for a moment before nodding. "Safe," she said. She grabbed the handle and pressed down on the latch, then slowly opened the door while Jenny moved to the side to aim past.The door led into a corridor.It was surprisingly anti-climatic. We stepped in, and found ourselves in a space filled with stale air and... nothing. The walls were painted concrete, white and a pale blue. The ceiling was that sort of floating ceiling found everywhere, and the floor was covered by a squeaky sort of linoleum.This could have been a back corridor in a hospital, or an apartment complex, or the back of a mall. There was no dust or grime, the neon lights didn't flicker or hum, the pipes that must have been in the walls, didn't rattle or clang.Alyssa took a slow breath, then muttered, "This place is… heavy."Jenny frowned. "What does that mean? 'Heavy?'"Alyssa didn't answer immediately. She walked forward, careful, deliberate, like she was moving through deep water. "Old magic. Thick, layered, and not just from one caster. This isn't just some guy's abandoned basement lab." She exhaled slowly. "It's like… a graveyard of spells.""Is that bad?" Sharp asked, peering around, her fingers twitching around the shotgun's grip."It's complicated," Alyssa said, stepping forward and trailing a hand along the wall. "Magic leaves an imprint. If it was cast here for long enough, if it was strong enough, the space it was cast it will have a sort of... memory of the spellwork, even if it's no longer active. It can make recasting a spell much easier. Stay close. Don't touch anything."We all watched, both Alyssa and our surroundings, as she knelt and cast something that took several minutes. When she was done, a small flock of moths, none bigger than my forepaws, fluttered out ahead of her and disappeared into a thin mist. More appeared in her hand and flew in the same direction, right towards a wall.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation."That way," she said. "I suppose we'll have to find a way around.""Let's just grab the package and bounce," Jenny said, and for once I agreed with the girl.The corridor stretched out ahead, doors spaced evenly apart. They were all shut. They didn't have any stencilling on them, or marking hinting at what was behind them. That's when I noticed it. There was no signage here. No ads. No posters, graffiti, no stick-figure symbols warning people about exits or washrooms.I flicked my tail, ears twitching. Something felt off. The hairs along my spine bristled."We should move fast," I said.Sharp nodded and fell in line behind Alyssa, who was leading them with careful steps. Jenny took the rear, gun raised, eyes sharp.Alyssa exhaled, fiddling with the pendant at her chest. "This place… it doesn't just have memories. It has intent.""Creepy," Sharp said. "I used to have fantasies about being in a spooky place with a few cute girls, but in those I always saved them from the big bad monster, and now that we're here, I'm second-guessing my dreams.""Anyone ever tell you you're weird?" Jenny asked."A few times.""Anyone ever tell both of you to shut up?" Alyssa asked.Jenny snorted. "Alright. If your little moths know where to go, we follow."The moths flitted ahead, their faint glow reflecting off the linoleum floor as they guided us deeper. They didn't hesitate, didn't waver, moving through the air like they already knew the way.We followed in silence. At the first intersection, I meowed at Sharp and the others, catching their attention. "Sharp, mark the walls with something. So we don't get lost.""Right, gimme a sec," she said before reaching into a pocket and fumbling out a large marker. Jenny paused to watch, then nodded as Sharp drew an arrow at about head-height. "That's okay, right?" she asked."Shouldn't interfere with anything," Alyssa said. "Come on, this place isn't infinite, nor is it a maze. We'll get to the vault soon enough."The corridors twisted and stretched ahead, identical walls and floors making every step feel wrongly familiar. Sharp kept marking the way, but the sense of being watched settled over me like dust.Jenny's grip tightened on her gun. "I don't like this.""No one does," Alyssa muttered. "We keep moving."The moths led us through a wider hall, where the walls were lined with reinforced doors. Some had digital locks, others manual ones, but every single one was shut tight. No signs of tampering. No signs of escape. No numbers or letters on the keypads.Alyssa inhaled sharply. "This isn't a storage wing. It's a containment unit."Jenny stopped mid-step. "Containment for what?"The silence stretched out. The air felt thicker now, pressing against us like the walls were leaning in. I flicked my tail, ears flattening. The hairs along my spine prickled, and my claws flexed against Sharp's shoulder.Alyssa turned in place, her fingers twitching toward her pendant. "Something that wasn't meant to be let out."Sharp squinted at the rows of reinforced doors."I mean… everything in a vault is technically 'contained,' right? Maybe this is just, like, a really secure part of the facility?"Jenny huffed. "Yeah, sure. And I'm a billionaire. These aren't storage lockers, kid. These are cages."I didn't like that phrasing.Alyssa stepped toward the nearest door, her fingers ghosting over the surface. She muttered something under her breath, and a wave of purple energy ran from her fingertips across the metal. Symbols, faint but still active, flared up along the surface of the door in a dim, warning-red glow."Still powered," she murmured. "Still warded."Jenny shifted her grip on her gun. "So what, this place isn't as dead as we thought?"Alyssa's lips pressed into a tight line. "It's been abandoned, yes. But not deactivated."Sharp gestured at the glowing symbols. "Okay. What do they say?""No idea," Alyssa said. "There are three dozen common magical scripts and a hundred more private and hidden ones. This isn't one of those I can read."Alyssa raised her hands, and the fluttering little moths guided us to the far end of the room where, past several branching corridors leading out of the hall, there was a door. A large wooden door, looking entirely out of place in the concrete and metal space."That's our destination," she said. "Let's grab the goods and go."
* * *
Chapter Sixty-One — Warded
Chapter Sixty-One — Warded Just barging into a magically warded room with no preparation or thought was, generally speaking, a dumb idea.I hadn't lived as long as I had doing dumb things, and so I was very much tempted to call this entire mission off as Alyssa poked and prodded at the door.I didn't, however. Mostly because she was a somewhat competent mage.Working with mages and magicians and kineticists and wizards was always a risky bit of business. People who stared past the physical world and into the space beyond that tended to be... skewed. Still, that didn't mean that they couldn't be professionals.Alyssa, for all of her youth and brash attitude, struck me as one such person. I didn't think she'd come into her art as a professional, however. The way she did things reminded me of Sharp, in a way. She acted as though she had been trained to act that way.It came in the way her spells were practiced, in the confident way she read into what magic she saw. At the moment, she was reaching into a pocket to pull out a small pouch that looked like it was filled with sand, and she did so with the ease of long practice.Most younger folk didn't bother practicing mundane skills related to their discipline until they were second nature like that.I watched as she spilled salt onto the ground, the scent in the air telling me what she was dealing with.Alyssa then touched the door and muttered an incantation, and soon enough she slumped down.Jenny placed a hand on her shoulder, keeping her steady. "You good?" the shorter woman asked."I'm fine," Alyssa said. "Just, give me a moment. This is a complicated one, but we're so close... we'll have time to rest later."Jenny nodded, then returned to scanning the room. Every sound we made, sniffles, shoes scuffing on the floor, or words spoken in a low whisper, echoed through the large space in an eerie way.Alyssa took a deep breath, then refocused. A glow suffused the door, then a form shifted out of it. A moth, as large around as a person's head. It gently glided down, then alighted onto the pile of salt and disappeared.The salt... melted down, tumbling away and spreading out into a circle with spaces marked out within it. It continued to move, and after a long minute, there was a complex diagram written on the floor."Okay," Alyssa said. "We're dealing with something pretty standard. There's a barrier that goes off if you tamper with the door directly, another set of alarms for magical tampering, and... this one here looks like it explodes outwards if you try to force the door open." She pointed to various parts of the diagram."Fun," Jenny said. "Can we open it?""Yeah," Alyssa said. "I mean. Yes. This is old stuff. Solved a long time ago. I can unlock the vault door, but I might not be able to stop all of the alarms linked into this bit of spellwork.""What does that mean?" Sharp asked. She'd been pretty quiet, staring at the diagram and the magic as it unfolded."It means that as soon as I break the lock, we'll have seconds to act before the alarm goes off," Alyssa said. "And I have no idea what that alarm will do, only that it exists and is linked to the door."Jenny hummed, then scanned the room. She pulled out a smartphone, turning on its flashlight to scan the ceiling. "No turret emplacements. I didn't notice any traps on the way over. Could be that the alarm is just a signal. And with the master of this place being dead as doornails, we might be okay.""Might be?""Let's be fast, then!" Sharp said. I think she just said it to override any of the very sensible objections I had.My main concern was that Alyssa and Jenny were being rather cagey about what exactly, we were here to grab, and what we might find in this vault. I had some guesses, but nothing concrete to go off of."Ready?" Alyssa asked."Yeah," Jenny said.Sharp stepped to the side, then brought her shotgun up to her shoulder in the same pose we'd practiced at the range. "Go ahead," she said.Alyssa touched the handle, then yanked the vault door open in one smooth motion. Sharp and Jenny tensed, aiming into the room that was only lit by Jenny's light.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.It was... a small room with a few shelves along the walls and a couple of long tables. The space wasn't much bigger than the average public washroom, with furniture that looked like it had been bought from one of those 'assemble it yourself' stores.On said furniture were a few items, but mostly books."Looks clear," Alyssa said. "There, that's the one." she was pointing right across the room, where a large tome sat all alone on one of the tables. It was black, bound leather with a bit of golden gilding on the sides. The kind of thing that was needlessly expensive and pretty, but exactly the sort of thing an ostentatious mage would be attracted to.She crossed the room, and we followed.I was looking for trouble, but didn't find any in the knick-knacks resting on the tables. There were wands and foci, more books, and a few jars with samples of unidentifiable stuff in them, but nothing that jumped out to me as actively dangerous.Alyssa's hand hovered over the book for a moment before she nodded. "Safe," she said before grabbing it. "Jenny, bag.""Got it," Jenny said as she pulled out a crumpled plastic bag and swished it open. The two managed to slip the tome into it.Meanwhile, Sharp was looking around. There were items here that might be worth something, but I wasn't going to let her just grab anything. Except... "Can I have that?" she asked, pointing to one of the books.Alyssa looked over, then blinked. "Uh... sure, let me check it."The book Sharp had pointed to was rather small. A palm-sized paperback, well-read and with a few bits of paper sticking out from between its dogeared pages. Alyssa picked it up, then handed it to Sharp. "Thanks!" she said.I finally got a good look at the title. Magic for Newbies.Well... yes, I supposed that was a good pick. And it looked like something that wouldn't be worth setting any sort of magical trap on."Guys, let's move," Jenny said.We moved, though not without complaints. "You know, when I agreed to help, I expected to get some sort of reward out of this," Sharp said. "Not... just one small book.""We agreed to pay you a thousand dollars, that's not nothing," Alyssa said. "Besides, this has been a cakewalk, no danger, no-""Trouble," Jenny interrupted.My fur climbed to stand on end at the word, and I perked my ears up to listen better. There was something moving. Something small but relatively fast... no, multiple somethings, and from the faint electrical whine, they weren't organic.The first of them came rolling out around the far end of the room, out of one of the adjoining corridors.It was a drone. It rose to meet Sharp's waist in height, with four tractor-like treads and a boxy metal body. The unit had a set of sensors on its front, which was fine. The turreted gun atop it was not."Shit," Jenny said. She raised her handgun and took three quick, loud shots that echoed through the room. The first two struck the robot centre-mass, the last cracked into one of the walls behind.The moment she fired, an alarm started to blare, and the emergency lighting came on.The bot Jenny had shot veered off to the side and ran into a wall, incapacitated. So, nothing too strong.Cheap, AI-operated security drones like that were a dime a dozen. They carried small arms, and could recognize people with a good-enough ratio of accurate identification. They usually went down in a couple of hits. Not even necessarily bullet hits either. Someone with a bat and some enthusiasm could take one out.But in bulk, they sold for about three or four thousand a piece, and even an enthusiastic bat-wielder would hesitate after seeing a dozen gun-toting drones wheeling their way.Another came out of a corridor to our left. Jenny took a few more shots, then Sharp levelled her shotgun and tore the machine's side off with a spray of buckshot."Time to move!" Jenny shouted, and she was right. I could hear a few more coming, and these things were usually networked together. They'd start by investigating, then if met with violence, would adopt a 'shoot-first' kind of stance.We weren't bullet-proof enough to handle that.And so we finally had an excuse to put all that cardio I'd been pushing Sharp into to the test.
* * *
Chapter Sixty-Two — Drone Warfare
Chapter Sixty-Two — Drone Warfare We made it to the first bend in the corridor and instantly I knew we were in for some amount of trouble.A trio of drones were waiting at the end, their little tracks humming along as they charged across the corridor. It seemed like they'd mostly slipped out of small openings placed in the walls, with sliding doors that hid them rather well."Fuck shit," Jenny said. She slid to a stop, arm coming up straight before her, her gun tilted to the side. She fired a dozen shots, and about a third of them hit. That was enough to take out the rightmost and middlemost of the three, but the last shifted around and opened fire.We all flinched as a line of bullets shot across the space between us. Fortunately, whomever had bought these bots cheaped out, because their targeting software was awful.Sharp fired her shotgun twice, both shells full of buckshot ripping into the remaining bot. Then she turned and took two more shots into the remaining drones, just to be sure. "Let's keep moving!" she shouted."Don't forget to reload," I reminded her.Sharp nodded and fumbled around the side-pocket of her pack for a few loose shells. A couple spilled to the floor, but she got a handful and started to reload the gun, shells slipping into the bottom tube one at a time.The hum of tracked wheels became louder behind us, and I realized that we were in something of a trap. The corridors here were long and narrow. There wouldn't be any cover until we were around the next bend, and there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be more adversaries waiting for us there.We didn't have a huge amount of choice, however. We needed to go and go fast. Staying on the floor and mopping it up of any drones was... well, it was technically an option, but we'd run out of ammo before the drones did.Jenny tossed an empty magazine aside and slid a fresh one into her gun. "How many shells you got?" she asked."A few," Sharp said. "There's maybe a handful in my other pocket."Could she summon up shotgun ammo with her power? Did bullets count as tools? I'd usually say so, but with a massive caveat and even then, that'd be stretching the definition of tool."Shit," Jenny said."If I can have two minutes, I can cast something to help," Alyssa said. "But I'm nearing my limit.""Yeah," Jenny replied. "Any chance we can steal those drones' guns?"It was a smart question, but the answer was a resounding no. The guns were fixed on there tight, and they weren't designed for human use in any case. They didn't have handles or stocks, just an electronic trigger mechanism and the lower receiver of whatever assault rifle was cheap at the time of creation."It's useless, just move," I told Sharp."We can't," Sharp said."Fuck," Jenny replied, and so we ran past the three destroyed drones and around the next bend in the corridor, the girls moving so fast their sneakers squeaked on the plastic tiled floor.Fortunately, the next corridor was empty. Unfortunately, we slowed down before taking the next one blindly, and Jenny turned to Sharp and whisper-shouted. "Can you send the cat around to see if there's more drones ahead? We're like, two turns from the door.""I think so," Sharp said before she looked at me. "Can you do that? Can you manage it, Princess Buttercup Bristle... uh... Bomb?"Princess Buttercup Bristle Bomb? Her head was really not in the game. "I'll scout," I agreed with a very obvious nod for the benefit of the others. Then I slipped around the corner, keeping close to the wall where the light wasn't as strong.There weren't any drones here, and I called back as much to Sharp. Still, I ran ahead as fast as I could go, which was admittedly pretty quick. Cats weren't known as slow animals, and I was quite certain that even as a juvenile cat, I could outrun even the fastest unaugmented human.I made it to the next corner and winced internally at what I saw.Seven of those drones. They were even parked across from the door into the stairwell we'd taken to get here. Were they on some sort of network smart enough to have them investigate the area? That sounded dangerously plausible.If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it."Seven of them ahead," I called back to Sharp. "They're blocking the entrance. Do you think you can take on that many?""Seven?" I heard Sharp gasp.The sound had two of the drones slowly wheel around."If you can take careful, clean shots, then I might be able to distract them," I said.It would be a huge risk, and I didn't really want to put Nine Lives to the test, but... well, it was time for action, not for needless pauses.I was pretty sure I could weave and duck well enough to avoid getting hit, in any case, and the depression on the turrets didn't look very good. They wouldn't be able to hit anything near their base."I'm going in. Watch your aim. Take out those furthest from me first, and aim high."And with that, I was darting around the corner and moving for all I was worth.The drones slowly turned my way, and I could almost imagine their primitive systems wondering if a ballistic cat was a threat or not.Then I leapt up and onto the first of them, using the added height to give me clearance to hop onto the second.The first had been the one furthest to the left of the pack, and it was the one Sharp shot a few seconds later.The drones turned. Two of them towards the end of the corridor where Sharp and the others were, the rest following my movement through their group.That would have to do, I figured as I started to run in circles around the group, keeping drones between myself and the furthest from me whenever possible. The drones shifted around, moving surprisingly fast to try and run me over, but that was all they could do. Their guns just couldn't aim low enough.Then Jenny and Sharp continued to fire, and I found myself ducking down as a hail of bullets and pellets whizzed by overhead.I swear I felt some ruffling the fur on my eartips a couple of times.I couldn't do much more than I already was to help, but I supposed it was enough. The last drone went down with a clatter, and then the girls came running out around the corner.Sharp scooped me up on the way by, and I scampered up onto her shoulder. "I'm out of shotgun ammo," she said. "I, uh, missed a few times.""That's fine," I said. I did notice that she had her handgun out in her free hand, so she wasn't entirely unarmed, which was good.Jenny opened the door into the stairwell, and we practically jumped down the stairs, the door slamming shut behind us. Then it was into the poorly lit basement section, with just the marks left on the walls to guide us back."Think... think we're safe here?" Jenny asked as she paused for breath just past the wall we'd torn down."Should be... more or less," Alyssa said. "We might want to move out further, but for now, I think this is safe from whatever's in the building. The drones can't go down stairs, right? And if they could, they'd need to find us."Sharp moved to the side and leaned up against one of the walls, heedless of the dust and grime on it. "That was scary at the end there, but it wasn't so bad overall, I think.""No mission that ends with you being shot at is good," I said."Yeah, that was pretty alright," Jenny said. "I'll wire you your pay. You were... not so bad to have along.""Thanks!" Sharp said. "Was the thing worth it? The big book you stole?""It's not theft if the owner is dead," Alyssa said."Isn't it just... looting in that case?" Sharp asked. "I'm not sure if that's much better."The mage didn't seem to care about the distinction much. She just ran a hand over the tome in its plastic bag. I had the impression that whatever magical lore it contained wasn't going to be good for the overall health of the city, but I also didn't care so much."Mission complete," I said. "Let's get paid and get home.""Yeah," Sharp agreed.And then I jumped as a few notifications popped up before me.Reflex Has Levelled Up!Reflex 3 4Anima Has Levelled Up!Anima 2 3Judging by Sharp's little intake of breath, she'd been hit by a reward as well.
* * *
Chapter Sixty-Three — Level Ups!
Chapter Sixty-Three — Level Ups! Sharp was vibrating all the way home. So much so that she forgot to flirt-painfully-with the girls before we darted away.She had a good reason for it."I had two level-ups!" she said. Then, before I could ask the obvious question, she spilled the answer out. "Combat levelled up! I'm at four!""That's good," I said. Not too surprising either, she'd done a bit of running and gunning back there, and the situation overall was definitely a more combat-oriented one. The increase made sense. "And the rest?" There had to be more. She wouldn't be this hyped up for just one small step.Sharp's grin was so wide it almost looked painful. "Protagonist!"I tried to raise my brows at that, but it was a little tricky as a cat. Still, that was an impressive skill to increase. "Protagonist, huh? That's one of the weirder skills." And the only skill Sharp had that I lacked. Instead, I had the rather bizarre Cat skill.I made Sharp wait until we were back home before allowing her to look into her skills. She tore through the house, feeding the kitties, cleaning the litter, petting everyone, and basically rushing through her chores like a woman possessed.In under twenty minutes she was done with everything, even heating some lunch up in the microwave. She sat down on the couch, then stared at me with demanding eyes."Yes, yes, we can start now," I said.It was kind of cute, how eager she was to start looking over her skills. Not that I'd ever tell her that. Sharp had a small heap of notecards with her already, and she started to scribble on them with her tongue pinched between her lips. She set down one card, this one covered in a crudely drawn grid where she'd written the names of all the skills she had available. Twenty-One in all, I noticed.
All According to Keikaku
Your Reflection. It Knows.
Power Through Love and Rage
Berserk
Final Episode Privilege
One Liner Execution
You Are the Chapter Title
Friendship Is My Power
Quiet Main Character Energy
Cheat Code Reflexes
Limit Breaker
Retcon Immunity
01010011 01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100
[Redacted]
Training Montage Master
Deus Ex Machina
Mid-Season Power-Up
Unskippable
Destiny's Chosen
Narrative Authority
Voice of an Actor
"That's a pretty large selection," I said."Yup!" Sharp agreed. "Here, the first one!"All According to KeikakuWhat? How could you have predicted that?! You devious mastermind!That was... certainly a description. "Aren't these supposed to have helpful descriptions?" I asked."You'd think, right? This one's better, at least," she said as she finished writing the second card and setting it down. She was recreating the grid on the table.BerserkYou are always exactly as strong as the situation demands. If the battle needs you to be an unstoppable force, you become one. If the story requires you to shatter the sky with a single punch, the sky had it coming."I think this one makes me strong," she said simply."There's an implication beyond that," I said. "A berserker is often someone who gives up intelligence in pursuit of madness-empowered strength. This might be a poor choice."You Are the Chapter Title —An attack is launched.You smile knowingly.The screen goes black."Uh," Sharp said."Yeah," I agreed. Two weird perks within the first three. This one wasn't even in alphabetical order as all the others were."This one's a bit cooler," Sharp said as she placed down another card. She'd already made a star on this one.Cheat Code ReflexesBlades halt an inch from your skin. Bullets pass through the space you occupied before you even moved. You are not dodging. You are refusing to be hit. As long as you're monologuing, you are unhurtable.I nodded. This was more in line with what I expected. A powerful buff, to be sure. There had to be some sort of limit to it, right? Otherwise, this was very strong. Sharp could be made to memorize a few monologues from films and books. Even someone like her could do that much.Dramatic TimingThe battle never ends anticlimactically. If your sword swing needs one final arc before connecting, the villain will live just long enough to receive it. The moment the fight feels perfectly cinematic, the world lets it end."No," I said.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road."Why not?" Sharp asked."Because drama is the last thing you want in this line of work. Drama means that people are paying attention. What you want is to leave not even a crumb of evidence that you were ever involved in anything. Drama is the opposite of that."Sharp pouted, but didn't complain. "Uh... I don't know what this next one is?""Is it not in English?" I asked."It's just numbers. Ones and zeroes?"I blinked at that, then had Sharp write it down anyway. The result was...01010011 01101000 01100101 01101100 0110110001001001 01110100 00100111 01110011 00100000 01101101 01100101 00101110It took a moment, and an online binary converter, to figure out what the name and text even said. Shell It's me."I don't know what that one means, but I think we can skip it," Sharp said."Agreed."Deus Ex MachinaAt the last possible moment, in the most impossible way, you are saved. Maybe by an ally. Maybe by sheer dumb luck. Maybe by something that should not exist. The world is invested in you. It won't let you die yet.Now that one had potential! A perk that would literally bail Sharp out of trouble at the last minute? It wasn't something she'd want to rely on, but at the same time, it would be invaluable when it did activate.It was a get-out-of-death-free card, of a sort."We're marking this one with a star, right?" Sharp asked."Oh, definitely," I said."I could tell from the way your tail twitched."I glared. My tail did no such thing.Destiny's ChosenTreasure, legendary weapons, fated encounters—they all happen to you. People will travel the world searching for an artifact, only for you to find it in a ditch while looking for snacks."This one starred too!" Sharp said.I read it, then read it again. "No. And before you complain, think about it. You get into enough trouble as it is. This one says nothing about saving you from the consequences of getting into more trouble. Do you know how many destined heroes suffer until their very last, painful moments?"Sharp grumbled, but didn't put a star on that one before moving on to the next.Your Reflection. It Knows.It's there. Do not think about it."Nope, nopity nope," Sharp said. That one got turned around and placed words-first onto the table.Honestly, a good and healthy response.Final Episode PrivilegeThe moment the grand finale nears, the rules change. You stop taking lasting injuries. Your enemies hesitate when they should attack. The music swells. You are no longer playing the game. You are playing the ending."Is this better?"I sighed. "Barely."She put a star on it with a smug, self-satisfied smile.Friendship Is My PowerEvery ally, every person who believes in you directly makes you stronger. Their faith is a shield, their admiration a blade sharper than any steel. The moment a villain respects you, they have already lost."Now this is an interesting perk," I said. "But one that would require, and forgive the terminology, a whole different build. If you were significantly more charismatic, then this kind of ability could change things in a big way. A populist politician with this perk in their back pocket would become a force to be reckoned with, but I don't believe the... five people who know you care enough to make the mentioned shield unbreakable or that 'blade' any sharper than a butter knife."Sharp didn't say anything for a while, then sighed. "You could have been nicer about it," she said."It's still a decent option. It's basically a tiny boost, but a free one, with no obvious negative repercussions."Limit BreakerYou are told you can't. You are told it's impossible. The moment you must surpass your limits, they cease to exist. You are not limited. You never were. You just didn't know yet."Most obvious star ever," Sharp said.I had some ideas, but she was mostly right, so I allowed it."And the next one is just redacted," she said. "That's its name, Redacted, with brackets. The description is a black bar. Uh, like this."[Redacted]Wow, you actually went and tried to read this? What did you expect?"I imagine that it's probably best to leave that one well alone, then," I said."Kinda tempted to grab it anyway," Sharp said. "It's like a gacha!""No." I said.Mid-Season Power-UpIf you are backed into a corner when all hope is lost, you awaken. The power-up shouldn't be there, but it is. The reason? Irrelevant. The moment was right, and that's all that matters.Another easy star, even if this one was probably lower priority than some of the others. This was... an interesting set of potential perks so far, and we were only about halfway through them.
* * *
Chapter Sixty-Four — The Next Bunch
Chapter Sixty-Four — The Next Bunch "What's the next one?" I asked."Gimme a sec," Sharp said. "You know, I can only write so fast. This one's got a long explanation too."Narrative AuthorityIf you demand an explanation, the universe itself starts talking. A villain who would never monologue finds themselves unable to stop. The more you understand, the more likely you are to win.Hmm... I had to think on this one. A perk that seemed to maybe play with probability? The last line was the one that stood out to me. The ability to make a foe monologue was neat, and in the right moment it could be strong, but most targets had guards and companions, and 'villain' felt rather like a restrictive hole to put someone in.Oh, there were plenty of CEOs, politicians, cult leaders and depraved killers that fit the bill, but they were probably one in ten thousand. Most of the people we'd be fighting were more ordinary.It was extremely uncommon for me to have a job taking out a 'villainous' CEO. It was far more likely that I was hired to plug a leak, or take out a whistleblower, and they rarely stood out as villains to me.The last line, 'The more you understand, the more likely you are to win,' that struck me as very powerful. I didn't like going into a situation blind, and this perk sounded like it would reward research and time spent scoping a place and target out."Star?" I asked."Yeah, it does sound pretty decent," Sharp said. "We have a lot with stars though, and this one..."Power Through Love and RageIf you love someone, they cannot slip from you, and if you hate someone, then you will not suffer them to live. The universe acknowledges that those you love may not die just as those you hate cannot be suffered to live."Oh."I wanted this.I wanted that perk so bad.A form of immortality, or at least a powerful protection, applied uniquely to those I loved? I would never have to bury a kitty again. The hate part didn't matter, it was the love that did."Yeah," Sharp said as she added a star next to it.One Liner ExecutionWhen you say something cool before an attack, it always lands. If you say something cool after, it kills. If you're not looking at an explosion, then it cannot hurt you, because that wouldn't be cool.Very strong, but entirely unusable for Sharp. "Skip," I said."But... it sounds kind of good, no?""How many levels in Cool do you have?" I asked.Sharp pouted, and started writing the next one. Yeah, I figured as much.Quiet Main Character EnergyIf you keep to yourself, mind your own, say nothing, and act according to your own thoughts, then the people around you will gravitate your way, knowing that even in silence, you are competent.I sighed. "You're too loud for this one, Sharp.""I can be quiet," Sharp muttered, but she notably didn't add a star to this one either.Retcon ImmunityWhen retcons occur, you will find yourself a step to the left of reality, displaced for the moment it takes for things to snap back into place, and then, once more, you will be back."When retcons occur?" I asked. This thing made it sound like it was a regular occurrence. Was there a retcon every week or something and no one knew about it? What were the implications of that? I... did not like that, not one bit.Unfortunately, the power didn't seem overly strong on the face of it. Or maybe it was the strongest here and I just didn't have a way of knowing. If retcons were a thing, did we want the attention of those causing them?Probably a safe one to skip.Training Montage MasterAs long as you participate in a long session of focused training, you will feel time slip through your grasp, but knowledge will do the opposite. You come out of training sessions far ahead of where you started, feeling refreshed and ready to put new skills to work!"I like this one," Sharp said."It's a shortcut. Powerful, certainly, but a shortcut nonetheless. You'll get the same benefits from putting in the elbow grease.""But it'll take a lot longer," Sharp said."And you're pressed for time?" I asked. "Do you have something next week? Planning on taking over the world in a month? If there's anything we have in abundance right now, Sharp, it's time. Don't rush. Not when some of the other options we have are so much better."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.I didn't tell her, but I also feared that if Sharp thought she was suddenly competent, she might put herself into situations where that competence needed to be tested.UnskippableLike a cutscene with no skips, when you start talking, everyone else has to listen."Eh," Sharp said."Eh," I agreed."This is the last one," Sharp said as she started to write. "I might want this one later, but I think I'll skip it for now. It's cool, though!"Voice of an ActorYour voice and way of speaking is entirely within your control. You can speak, scream, shout and sing like the loudest rocker on a world stage or the softest mother whispering sweet nothings to a babe.Sharp was spot-on with this one. It did seem like a neat perk to have. I could think of a few scenarios where perfect vocal mimicry could come in handy, and if Sharp left the assassination business, she could sing in dive bars or something. It wasn't immediately useful, however."Okay... lining up the ones with stars," Sharp said. She listed all of the perks that we'd added stars to.☆Cheat Code Reflexes☆Deus Ex Machina☆Final Episode Privilege☆Mid-Season Power-Up☆Narrative Authority☆Power Through Love and Rage☆Limit Breaker"Tough choices," I muttered. "But I think some can be removed from the list fairly easily.""Okay," Sharp said. "Which ones though? I'm thinking the two that are kinda similar?""Final Episode Privilege and Mid-Season Power-Up are relatively similar, and both require that you be actively in a... situation. Something narrative. That means they might never trigger at all, or only during a mission that's gone sideways, which is a good time for a perk, but it also means that we failed to go in prepared in the first place.""Yeah," Sharp said. She crossed both out. "Mid-season sounds cool, but the power you get from that isn't specified. What if it's really bad?"☆Cheat Code Reflexes☆Deus Ex Machina
☆Final Episode Privilege☆Mid-Season Power-Up
☆Narrative Authority☆Power Through Love and Rage☆Limit Breaker"Okay... next... Cheat Code? It sounds awesome, but you need to be monologuing. I don't wanna do that.""And someone needs to be actively attacking you, which may well happen one day, but only if we've failed elsewhere."Sharp nodded. "And it's not like I can use it to be cool in like, training or whatever. Why would I monologue then?"Another strikethrough.
☆Cheat Code Reflexes
☆Deus Ex Machina
☆Final Episode Privilege☆Mid-Season Power-Up
☆Narrative Authority☆Power Through Love and Rage☆Limit Breaker"Down to four," I said."Deus Ex is like the two we crossed out, but kind of better in a way," Sharp said. "It's a get-out-of-jail free card.""I agree. Narrative Authority is also good. It says win. Winning can mean succeeding in a mission. The more we know, the better our odds. Which is already true, this just makes it moreso.""That is really strong," Sharp said. She chewed on the back of her... my pen, and then nodded. "What about the love power? The power of love and friendship is OP, right?""I suppose with that perk it would be," I said. "Personally... That's the one I would take for myself. But that feels like a selfish choice.""It's selfish to want those you love to live?" Sharp asked."In a way, it might be."Sharp stared off into space for a long time, then nodded. "I'm taking that one.""Really?" I asked. I was genuinely surprised."Yup! When I get a girlfriend one day, I don't want her to die because of me, you know?"I sighed. "Take Narrative Authority, you dolt. And we haven't talking about Limit Breaker yet, which sounds like a good tool to have once we're reaching the upper limits of a skill. You should take one or the other. But I prefer Narrative Authority.""What? Why?""Because the chances of us getting stuck in a losing mission is an order of magnitude more likely than you talking to a woman without shoving your own foot in your mouth.""Hey!" Sharp whined. "I'm... I'm not that bad.""Maybe Narrative Authority also applies to conquests of love. But if you start flirting with someone, don't go and bring them here."Sharp pouted, but I saw her gesture in the air, then nodded. "It's done! I'm now stronger! As long as I know something about the thing I'm doing!""So, nothing's really changed yet except the urgency needed to get you to hit the books."
* * *
Epilogue
Epilogue Caroline Daniels was the world's best assassin.She wasn't known for it, because famous assassins were usually only famous posthumously. The right people in the right places knew that if they asked the right questions-and paid the right amount-someone would come along and do their dirty deeds for them only to fade away and never be heard of again.It was a lucrative job, and even though she was a little bit dead, she was still proud of her work.Queen Violence was still the world's best assassin.A little impairment such as being stuck in the body of a kitten wasn't going to strip her of her hard-earned knowledge.This wasn't the life that Caroline expected for herself, but she... could live with it, she supposed.Being a cat had its upsides. She was back home even now, sitting in a comfortable loaf position, with her babies all around her.Arsenic was licking himself clean in a corner, and she was sandwiched between Cyanide and Mercury. Belladonna was also loafing, but was up on top of a bookshelf, hidden deep within the shadows where only the occasional flash of her eyes in the dark could be seen.And next to her, laying across the couch at an awkward angle to not push the cats off, was her wayward orphan of a student.Sharp was idly tapping away on a tablet, entirely unaware of the introspective mood her master was in. Caroline eyed her with half-lidded eyes, taking in her gormless expression as she smiled at the tablet she held.Sharp had... potential, Caroline was ready to admit. The girl was going somewhere. Probably to an early grave, but she was definitely going to make the trip there memorable."Sharp," she said."Mm?" Sharp asked."You're alright."Sharp blinked at that, then gave her a plain-faced, confused look. "Huh?"Caroline decided not to elaborate any.
* * *
Things had been looking up for Fasmine Sharp from the moment she got that weird ding-ding that went off in her head. The sound had been the announcement that things were changing for her, and in a big way.One minute she'd been living on the street, all alone, and a little worried that things were never going to improve, and the next... well, at least she'd been given some hope. Hope that happened to pay out, in the end.She wondered now if she should make more of an effort to pay that forward. There was so much good she could do. But a lot of good meant doing some bad. It was something she knew, even if she didn't want to live with that knowledge all the time.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.Fasmine lived by a simple creed; be happy when you can. If push came to shove, it wasn't hard to force oneself to be happy, even when they really shouldn't be.She hadn't been living on the street for no reason.She hadn't had to keep her happy creed going because her life before had been happy.The orphanage hadn't been the most pleasant place to grow up in, but it had been enough. Two and a half square meals a day, secondhand everything, but they were a happy family, and every time one of them was adopted, they swore they'd help those left behind. And sometimes they even did.The people who worked there were good, for the most part. The pay was low, and the hours awful, and a lot of the kids had issues of one sort or another, so the job tended to attract people who actually cared and that was worth a lot.Then the place was sold. The government was tired of shouldering the cost, and when a little corporation owned by a medium-sized one, in turn owned by a big one came around... well, they found ways to make it profitable.At first it was little jobs, then bigger ones, then some that were a little more dangerous. But they got stuff out of it too, and it wasn't all bad.Then they discovered some things. It was rumours at first, but one of those that was adopted had new parents who knew people who knew, and the owner of the new company that ran their home had a... reputation.Fasmine and a few of the older kids had ventured out and found people from other places he'd run. The stories were true.They turned her gut.And when he showed up one evening, all smiles and a snazzy business suit... Fasmine had been working the kitchens. She had this big knife.Obviously, she couldn't stay in the orphanage, couldn't keep using her name too much either.So she found an alleyway. It wasn't even far from home, but the Boston police never looked that far.And then it happened. The system leapt out of nowhere and grabbed her, gave her hope once more.Sharp, not Fasmine because no one had used that name in a while, reached over and ran a hand over Caroline's back, feeling the rough fur beneath her fingers.Yeah, things were looking up for her, but when she glanced back and over her shoulders, she was worried that the things behind her might one day catch up.She jumped when her phone rang.It was the one that Jenny had the number for, and when she answered and listened in to what the girl had to say, she found herself sitting up. "Break's over," she said with a sigh as she hung up. "Looks like someone needs us, Queen Violence!"Sharp couldn't say she had any complaints about life at the moment!
* * *
Afterword!
Afterword! Hi!Kittypunk is done! At least, this volume of it is! I... don't regret writing it, but at the same time, it was never as good as I had hoped it would be. Still, for a little side-project, it was pretty refreshing and fun while it lasted. I had a lot of fun researching things for this fic, building a cool world, and both Sharp and Queen Violence were amusing characters in their own rights.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.I hope you enjoyed the story too! I'm proud to see it hit 3000 followers just as it reaches its end 3 So, if you're one of these followers, thank you!I might look into turning it into a book on Amazon, since that might be fun, or an audiobook? That could be neat as well! I'll make a big post about it if that happens!Anyway, onto the next project!
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