####
It was a very pleasant dream. Back when he was younger, when Borko was a puppy, when he played with his brother, mom and dad watching. Back when there were no worries, no fears, no panic attacks.
Cypher missed ho. He'd died with just a video ssage left for them. He hoped nothing bad happened to them after what he did. The dia might have troubled them, but considering the world's hatred towards corporations and the ultra-rich, he reckoned normal people wouldn't trouble them.
He wished so deeply to know what happened. Even his dreams reflected them.
Bam!
"Hey! Wake up!"
"Uh." Cypher groaned, eyes open, the scent of Judy's apartnt reminding him quickly of his new reality. Without getting up, he turned on the couch and found Maiko standing close by, dressed in her work attire, all dolled up.
"Had my fill of gutter junkies like you. No upside, only trouble. Keep Judy clean of your ss, or I'll make a call. I know people."
Cypher, still sleepy, lazily yawned. "You do? How many?"
"A lot."
"Well, give them my regards," he said and turned again, going back to sleep.
"..."
Judy's laughter followed, and then Maiko's frustrated thump of heels. He didn't see anything, trying to sleep, but he heard the door open and Judy saying bye to her partner.
Bam!
Yet again, he felt a soft kick on his butt. Once again, he turned with a groan to look up at Judy. But he didn't have to say anything as she dangled his DL-18 blaster pistol in front of him.
"Where did you get this?"
"Huh?" He sat up, happy that it didn't fall to the raffens.
"Thing spits plasma, Cyph." Judy shot him a hard glare, fingers tracing the weapon's grip. "lts clean through steel. Tech like this? It's a ghost. Not even 'Saka or Militech have this kind of hardware on the books."
"No kidding, there aren't any. I cooked this up."
"You made this?" She fired back, in total disbelief. "You're shitting ?"
Cypher sighed and got up. Hands on her shoulders, he made her take a seat instead, and then crouched down in front of her. Then he took the blaster from her hand and disassembled it, and then reassembled it faster than most could a regular gun.
"..."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm a fucking genius," he said jokingly. "Don't overthink, trust ."
Judy stayed still for so ti, alternating her focus between the blaster and Cypher's face. It took her ti, but she eventually realised he wasn't kidding.
"Cypher, choom, you get what this ans? If they sniff it out, you're flatlined for sure. Plasma weapons are still pure sci-fi. They prob have beams, but this puppy shoots legit bullets."
"You tried?"
"Bet your ass I did." Judy's voice lit up like a neon sign. "Soon as that AV yanked you skyward, I snatched it. Just for shits, I put one into the raffen wagon. Blew clean through the door, Cyph. This thing's straight-up insanity."
Cypher agreed on that. The gun was far too powerful for sothing of its size. But at the sa ti, it was his insurance for getting out of tough situations.
"It ain't on the market, Judy. This baby's just for your boy out living feral in the Badlands. And for turning raffens into puddles of goo."
"Better that way, choom. Outta sight, outta mind. Corpos won't lose sleep flatlining you the second it suits 'em." She gave his good arm a soft pat and stood up. "Anyway, get so rest, yeah? I gotta delta back to Lizzie's."
"I'll be back on the job tomorrow, Jude."
"Preem, I'll have the deliveries planned. Chow's in the fridge, grab what you want. And hey, mitts off my rig. Tool bench is fair ga if you feel like tinkering."
Judy slung a bag over her shoulder and headed out.
"Judy!" He called before she walked out. "Thanks."
Half out of the door, she leaned her head back in and winked at him. "I'll accept it with a decent al."
"You got it."
Finally, with the hiss of the door closing, he was all alone in the apartnt. His body told him to sleep, but his mind urged him to make the screwdriver. So, he got off the sofa, grabbed a cheese HawtDawg from the fridge, and sat down at the tool bench where so scattered items sat.
For the first ti, he felt the need for a computer. Having a design tool would have helped him and minimised his wastage. But Judy didn't want him to use her rig, so he started working blindly.
Let's see…
Since he lacked the specialised things needed, he started with the parts he could make right away with the junk lying there. He found a Zetatech stylus and used that as a base for the body. Even though he had no clue about so of the parts, he just knew they'd work.
"This won't do." He stopped suddenly, frustrated. "I need parts."
But he had no money, and that was the real problem. He racked his brain, trying to find a way. Even broken parts would help, he reckoned. But he wasn't going to find them in the landfill. No, such broken parts usually sat with ripperdocs.
"Hold on a sec, I do gotta visit one anyway."
It wasn't his paranoia, but just a fact. He wanted to get rid of any cyberware on him that could sohow touch his brain or any inner organs. The things he was making could land him in a lot of trouble, and the last thing he wanted was for a corporation to have a brain turn-off switch to blackmail him.
So, he changed his clothes into whatever Judy had grabbed from his house and headed out. Thankfully, the place he had in mind was close by.
####
It stank. No matter where Cypher went, it was filthy.
As he arrived at Little China, it was no different. In comparison, his ho outside the city was better. The water was toxic, but the air didn't sll bad.
"There it is!"
He arrived at Urmland Street, mostly filled with degeneracy—bars, clubs, hotels, food stalls, dancers in glass displays. Then there was the shop he was looking for. Misty's Esoterica was written in neon above a door. It was the only door on that whole street that felt inviting due to its scents.
What a vibe.
As soon as he entered, other than the pleasant sll, there were so many trinkets all around. From waving cat toys to painted skulls, books, tea boxes, and bonsai plants. It was small but cozy.
"Welco to Misty's Esoterica. What can I do for you?"
His head turned to look at the shop counter where Misty was leaning, waving towards him with a big smile. She had an almost gothic makeup look, but not the attire. Dirty-blonde hair cut in a ssy short bob. She had a spiky collar around her neck, a loose-shouldered top, and…
Big—Ugh, can't be thinking that.
He made sure to only look up at her face and not her sizable chest. With a big smile, he walked over to the counter, but his conviction faltered. She wasn't absurdly stunning, but still pretty to look at.
"Uh, hey. Looking for Vik, the ripperdoc. Na's Cypher. I got so cyberware in that needs to get yanked out," he explained, taking deep breaths and letting the soothing scents calm his thoughts.
"You're carrying so heavy vibes, Cypher. Vik's tied up slotting Kiroshi into another client. Chill here for a sec, let the city hum pass through you. Want to read your tarot cards while you wait?"
With a sigh, he nodded. There wasn't anything else to do anyway. "Sure, read my cards."
"Great!" She bead a big, pretty smile. "Focus on the recent past and what you want from the future."
Cypher did just that. He thought of dying, then rebirth, then killing raffens, his invention, his addiction, and how he wanted to get rich and be debt-free.
"The Hermit," Misty whispered, placing the card on the table. "Feels like you are pulling away on purpose, isolating, maybe in your head or in your space. You want a break from the noise. You want things lined up the way you like them."
"The Magician." She placed the second card. "Sharp and wise, you will face hurdles, but you are confident in facing them, adapting with sheer intellect and will. Even when all roads seem closed, you will always have one last trick to remain in control of your own destiny."
"The King of Wands. People will gather around you. They will see you as a guide and a friend. But trouble tags along too. But the King of Wands is an impulsive, devastating force of nature, capable of breaking oaths and crossing any line just to achieve their goals."
"..."
"The Sun." She pulled the last card. "Through many hardships, you will still succeed. A bright future lies ahead of greatness and splendor. So exciting, Cypher. These are the most interesting cards I've pulled in months."
Cypher scratched his head because so of it made sense, and so of it felt like bullshit. He honestly didn't know if Misty had so sort of supernatural ability, but she sure was great at selling it.
Chuckling, he looked at his own reflection on a nearby surface. So thin, baggy eyes, a face that had been abused by the owner. He saw no greatness and splendor awaiting him. But her words were sweet.
"Thanks, Misty." He said and walked over to the side to take a seat. Sadly, he could see her fishnet stocking-covered legs from there, and that didn't help.
The brick returns.
______________________
Check out Cypher X Panam, Cypher X Misty, Cypher X Gloria Martinez NSFW art, and advance chapters at [email protected]/MrPlotThickens Or Subsc-ribestar.adult/mrplotthickens
Advance chapters on [PATR-EON] are in long-form format. I have 6 long chapters of this story on Patr-eon. That's equal to 24-28 Webnovel chapters.
User Comments
0 comments from readers