Interlude - A Roaming Raccoon's Reasonable Relationships [Part Four]

Rac woke up with a start to a buzz in her head. No, not her head. Her aug’s alarm was ringing, which could only mean one thing. She sat up, one leg dropping off the side of her bed to swing there while she stifled a yawn and fumbled through the menu on her augs.

The alarm wasn’t one she’d set, but it was one she’d given permission for. Specifically to Jerusalem who had better, in Rac’s humble and currently violent opinion, have a good explanation for why he’d set it off.

The moment she shut the alarm off, she saw the team chat blinking. A twitch of her eyes and it opened up.

Spider: Wakey wakey~

Spider: Got a lead.

Spider: Need you all at the coffee place.

PrettyBoy: I’ll be there in thirty.

TheGorilla: I hate you.

TheGorilla: See you in 45? Anyone need a ride?

Rac groaned. She had to reply, and then get ready and going. She didn’t believe in pyjamas, but she'd rather not have her friends smell her, so she at least needed to change out of her crusty old shirt.

GutterBaby: I’d like a ride. Can you pick me up on the rooftop?

Coco would know where that was. Rac just needed to be there. She jumped out of bed, flung off her shirt, then grabbed a new one from the pile next to the door. It was one of those shirts that Lucy made, this one had Cat’s logo on it, but there were long, electrified wires sticking out of it and the words Wired to Whisker above it and then a line of bottom text that read Ten Million Wands Recharged: Time for Hysteria.

Rac had no idea what that meant, but assumed it was some obscure sexual thing that Lucy was into. That woman was, in Rac’s opinion, a deviant.

She found some pants she’d only worn twice, then shrugged into her favourite jacket. It didn’t have many holes in it yet. She was, of course, wearing armour.

Specifically the under-armoured suits that Cat had gotten a catalogue for. They were pretty expensive, material-wise, but Rac had been quick to get one, and slow to take it off. It wicked sweat away as if she was standing in front of an industrial fan and yet was warm and cozy. She hadn’t tested being shot yet, and wasn’t planning on it, but it was supposed to be resistant to small-arms fire.

The last thing she did was pick up her gun before tossing it onto her back, then she was out of the door and trying to make her way out of the house.

She didn’t make it.

“Rac!” Lucy said. The woman was all smiles as she took Rac in. “Going to work?”

“Yeah,” Rac said.

“That’s nice. Did you get enough sleep?

“Uh? Probably, yeah,” Rac said.

Lucy shook her head. “Give me a second,” she demanded, and Rac paused, not really daring to deny Lucy to her face. In the meantime though, she opened up an auto-taxi app on her augs. It would cost her a few thousand credits for a two minute ride, but it was much faster than taking the elevator down, then walking to the nearest transit point.

She didn’t have to wait long before Lucy returned. “Here,” Lucy said as she shoved a grocery bag into Rac’s hands. “You need to eat more. You’ll never grow big if you’re malnourished.” Lucy crossed her arms and made a point of bouncing her chest up.

“I don’t need that,” Rac said.

Lucy snorted. “More men have died for these than to guns, Rac. And they even work on some girls.” Lucy gave her a wink. “Have fun, alright?”

“Yeah, alright,” Rac said before she left.

She scrunched the bag up to her side, then darted out of the front, ignoring the kittens as she went. Rac didn’t dislike the kittens, but... well, they didn’t feel mature? Some were her age, and all they really did was lounge around and waste the day away. They’d had rough lives too, but now that they had everything they were just... enjoying it.

It kind of disturbed Rac. They weren’t planning ahead. They weren’t assuming that the worst would happen. They had a safe home, for now, so why not use it to get better, make contacts, get rich independently, or at least earn a fair chunk of credits for themselves if shit went down.

She slipped outside, then wished that she’d brought a hat. Actually, a helmet would be nice. There were a few skintight helmets in that catalogue Cat had gotten, but when she wore one to meet her friends, they’d laughed at her.

Well, Garter had. That was enough.

Rac glanced to the side and discovered Cat staring at the leg of her mech in incomprehension. The samurai’s eyes darted to Rac, back, then returned to pin Rac on the spot. “Oh, hey,” she said. “You got a minute?”

“Um, sure?” Rac said.

“Cool hold this thing.” Cat gestured with a small part while Rac came over. “It goes in here, like this, see? And then you’re supposed to click this bit and that bit, and that one there in all at the same time. It’s like, a press-fit? But it’s bullshit because you need at least four hands to do it... No Myalis, I’m not getting more limbs. Cats only have the four, and I thought you wanted to stay on theme? What? The fuck would I care about alien cats?”.

Rac just awkwardly listened to Cat’s instructions, holding the piece in place and feeling like she was pressed in way too close to Cat as they finagled the piece into place. It clicked, eventually, and Cat let go with a pleased noise.

“There! Fucking perfect.”

“Is it going to stay?” Rac asked. “It felt a little loose.”

“Yeah, trust me, I know what I’m doing,” Cat said.

“Alright,” Rac said.

A car pulled up next to the landing pad, and Cat looked up. “A taxi? You heading out? Be careful out there, alright? And if you need a hand, gimme a call. I’ve still got the one!”

“Sure,” Rac said noncommittally. Things would have to go really bad for her to call on an actual samurai to help. “See you, and uh, good luck with your repairs?”

“I’m almost done!” Cat said.

Rac nodded, then ran over to the auto-taxi. About halfway there she heard something drop and clink a few times, then Cat started swearing a lot.

She slipped into the taxi, which already knew where to go and which was already running up the clock, and buckled up as quickly as she could so that it would get moving.

As it drove off, she emptied the bag Lucy had given her, then dumped it onto the seat next to her. There were two bright pink cakes in little plastic-wrap covers, like those from vending machines, and an energy drink.

Shrugging, Rac got to eating. It was a better breakfast than some of those she’d had before. She ate while the auto-taxi shot through the city, lights blurring past until, inevitably, they got caught in traffic.

Rac groaned, but there was nothing to do about it. Complaining would only have the taxi mark her as a ‘troublesome’ rider and then she’d lose whatever fidelity points she’d earned and the micro-discounts that came with them. She took another bite of her cake and let the colourful crumbs go everywhere in revenge.

Eventually the auto-taxi landed on a rooftop that was surprisingly barren. It was the top of one of those massive agricultural towers in the middle of the city, and the roof had large panels of glass that were stained by decades of rain.

Coco’s van was parked on the far end, with the woman herself bobbing her head to something within.

Rac ducked out of the cab, made sure she had her gun on her, then darted across to Coco’s van. The sidedoor opened as she came close and she jumped in. “Hey, sorry I’m late,” she said.

“All good,” Coco said. “But strap in, I’m taking off now.”

Rac nodded. “So, what’s the news?”

“Didn’t get much yet. I think Jerusalem’s playing this one close to the chest.”

Rac frowned, but she secured herself at the front after climbing over to sit next to Coco. She rarely got to call shotgun. The van’s engine grumbled to life, and they took off, joining the traffic above. It, of course, started to rain again.

“Jerusalem’s not usually secretive with us,” Rac said.

“Eh, no offence, but you haven’t been there for some of our biggest gigs. This is the normal MO for big deals. And I think this is one. At least when it comes to clout, you know?”

“Right,” Rac said. It was important, at least to Garter and the others. This would secure their little group as real mercs in the eyes of some, or at least make them stand out, which would mean better gigs in the future. “I dunno, it just feels like a lot for nothing,” Rac said.

“Sometimes, that’s just how it is,” Coco said. “Sometimes that’s just how it is.”

***