"Been a while, choom! Your optics were nova, never had cleaner chro. Best deal of my life, straight preem… eh, what's this stink you got going?"
Cypher watched the freak-looking Maelstrom walk into his little shop corner. He'd normally greet back, but this ti he maintained silence. Dum Dum didn't co alone, after all. No, he had a female Maelstrom with him.
Cypher recognised her, but couldn't rember her na. She had short spiky hair, ugly-looking classic Maelstrom optics that covered the upper half of her face, and four glowing red dots there. Her chest had visible cyberware, the sa for her entire abdon. Her arms were, he was sure, those were mantis blades.
"This the gonk you keep singing about?"
Dum Dum nodded strongly, smiling. "Yeah, that's the choom. Seven-day warranty on all used chro he pushes. He fixes 'em himself."
Finally, Cypher spoke. "What're you hunting for? I just snagged a couple Sandevistans and so Gorilla Arms. But you're already rocking mantis blades, so I won't recomnd those."
The woman nodded and looked around at his shop. Cypher was just trying to rember her na the whole ti. He knew she was an important figure, just not how big.
"What's the boss Brick need from my choom here? If it's chro, he's loaded, got the biz," Dum Dum added, unreasonably boasting.
Brick? That's the current Maelstrom leader, isn't he? Then this is… Patricia?
He finally rembered. This woman was Brick's lieutenant, the current leader of Maelstrom. Though he wasn't sure if she really was the lieutenant at that point.
"Zip it, Dum Dum," the woman barked and dragged a nearby office chair to sit. She faced Cypher and asked. "You the na from Obsidian?"
Cypher nodded, cursing his luck. If only he had another day, he'd have that chain ready to speak with Atlas ntally.
"What's a corpo exec sniffing around here? Ain't got better work?"
"I'm a freelancer, not on their payroll. I don't work for the company. What d'you need?"
"You spec ops?"
"..."
This paranoid bitch.
"Spec ops? I wish. I'm buried in debt, and I sure as hell wouldn't be parked here if I had the eddies. So what're you after? Got chro that needs patching, busted chro you wanna dump, I'm your guy. Need so second-hand junk, I'm your guy—"
"Shards and iron, military-grade. You crack the ICE on them?"
Cypher thought for a mont and nodded. "Depends on the size. Got any samples?"
The woman, who hadn't even given her na yet, took out a shard from her jacket and handed it to Cypher. He didn't have any slots on his body, so he used a physical slot connected to his terminal. It removed any possibility of him being hard.
Besides, it wasn't as if he was going to do the work. This was Atlas's domain. And sure enough, Atlas spoke directly to his ears through the glasses.
[The shard is Militech property. It appears to carry the key code granting master access to a squad of Militech ard vehicles. The ICE is standard in scale. I can break it, yet I see why most netrunners would struggle. However, the higher question is why it was delivered to you. You are a techie, not a netrunner.]
Cypher just nodded, unable to talk.
[There is a possibility that the cyberware you sold to Dum Dum exposed tampering within the core software. Even if unintended, it may have revealed your capabilities to them. Or they are simply testing every capable techie they can reach. I'll investigate this matter personally. For now, you should feign an inability to resolve it. I'll place a Trojan inside to trace its location and every system it touches from this mont forward. I recomnd directing them toward Omnissiah instead.]
Cypher understood the plan Atlas ca up with right away. Omnissiah didn't exist, but by using Maelstrom, Omnissiah would beco a real na. A legendary netrunner living in secrecy.
"Militech, huh?" Cypher acted, frowning. "Yeah, no. Can't do it. I'm a tinkerer, not a whatever-this-is guy. It's miles outside what I know. I hope it works out for you, though."
He took the shard out of the slot and handed it back to the woman. As expected, she got up, scoffing.
"Move it, Dum Dum."
Cypher reclined on his chair, waiting before landing his next words. "Hang on a sec, I can't pull it off, but I know a fucker who can."
Patricia stopped in her steps and turned back to him.
Ah? Desperate? Let guess; Brick doesn't know? Trying to impress the boss?
That was the only logical explanation to Cypher.
"Who is it?" she asked, showing less hostility.
"So dude, or maybe not, I got no clue. Calls himself Omnissiah, talks like he's got a stick up his ass, like so dieval grandpa. Anyway, he's into challenges, cracking tough ICE and junk. Shard should be easy work for him."
[I shall rember that insult, Cyph.]
Cypher hid a smile. Banter with Atlas was sowhat fun.
"How do I find him?" Patricia asked.
Cypher shrugged at that. "No clue. I got lucky last ti. Hit a couple of netrunning forums, ntion Omnissiah and fat paydays. If he likes you, he'll show. But you didn't hear it from , cool? I don't wanna end up toasted."
Patricia just nodded and walked away. Dum Dum stayed and waved at him first, however.
Eventually, Cypher was left alone to think and freely discuss the matter with Atlas. "I don't buy that she ca only for . Feels like Dum Dum brought her along. She was desperate to break the shard. Atlas, track their movents for now. Also, from here on, I'm knocking prices down for all Maelstrom."
[Why?]
"I just realised that I got you, and there's a gang packed with chro junkies out there. I'm gonna sell my secondhand cyberware to them, and you'll install an untraceable trojan on them. I want a backdoor you can hit anyti. Having a Maelstrom-sized gang on tap? We'd be set."
[An interesting idea. Gangs like Maelstrom should not exist. They are a rot in this society, a creation of excess. But I believe you need not go that far. I can take over their systems whenever I desire. It's only a matter of gentle or forceful entry. For now, I'll begin tracking the Maelstrom gang and this shard's origins.]
"Do that. I'm gonna go eat."
####
Militech Offices, Night City,
"Glorious! Beautiful! This is fantastic! Such a great mind. Sha Militech lags in claiming such talents. Useless, all of them!"
redith Stout stood at attention, dressed in her usual uniform, but she was nervous. She was always nervous near this man. She kept her jaw tight, eyes focused. The machine was humming, a fully finished Moisture Vaporator, as the blueprints specified. Director Goldstein was in the middle of admiring it.
"Report, Agent Stout, have you established contact with him? Has he accepted our offer? We will purchase his Obsidian if he desires. Quote him billions, no, stocks! Yes, a mind like his performs optimally with proper motivation."
redith felt her heart race in nervousness. Her life literally rested in this old man's hands. "No direct contact yet, sir. I attempted to size up his capabilities and reached out to him indirectly. We had him take a Militech shard loaded with one of our strongest ICE. He slotted it into his terminal, and nothing occurred.
"The ICE was supposed to respond subtly when read, but it stayed quiet. He then redirected my contact to an unknown netrunner called Ommnisiah. He says this Omnissiah can break any kind of ICE, even Arasaka."
"And what do you think, Agent Stout? Who is this Ommnisiah?"
"I…" She wasn't fully sure, but she had to answer. "I believe Cypher Blackwell is Omnissiah as well, and he's maintaining a second identity to hide his netrunning."
redith wasn't sure because it was too much. This Cypher Blackwell had already proven himself beyond compare with his inventions. And to imagine that he was also a world-class netrunner… it seed impossible. The man was also so ordinary in ways, in vices, especially.
"Exactly!" Director Goldstein clapped. "This fruit keeps getting sweeter. I must have him, I must speak with him. Militech lacks visionaries in this era. Pri intellects! We need Cypher Blackwell to secure Militech's future, and that secures NUSA as well. Well done identifying his netrunning capabilities."
She nodded and remained silent.
"Look at this!" Director Goldstein jabbed a gloved finger at the Moisture Vaporator. "This is a revolution! An invention that changes the world. This is the mind we are trying to recruit. I have clearance from the top to do everything necessary to have him. And I an everything!"
redith gulped, wondering just how high 'top' ant. Executive Director? CEO?
"Yes, sir. I will widen the scope of my operations. My division is preparing a psychological evaluation of Cypher Blackwell. When we understand his preferences and aversions, I will personally step in and deliver him to you."
"I heard he likes won?"
redith noticed Director Goldstein's sharp eyes on her. The man didn't look at her body, just her face. He had never looked anywhere but her face, as if only his goal mattered; the rest didn't exist in his eyes.
"Yes, that is a fact we know, sir."
"You are not unsightly to look at, Agent Stout, even to my old eyes."
redith's jaw tightened. While she wasn't new to this side of corpo life, she'd done it before to climb the ladder. But never before had she been ordered to sleep with soone as a part of the job. And she preferred to at least have the ability to refuse.
"I understand, sir," she replied.
"Do whatever it takes to bring him over, Agent Stout. We have been issued a blank check. Failure was never an option, but now it is… deadly."
redith nodded. That was all she could do. Neither could she leave Militech now, nor refuse their orders, as both roads led to a painful death.
Soon, she was dismissed from the impromptu eting and left the secret room she was never supposed to look at. The more she knew, the worse it got for her.
And this damn eye!
She cursed under her breath once she was alone, her one hand reached for her right eye that felt hotter than it should.
####
Cypher stayed at Misty's place for two days, giving her all the loving she needed, and also worked on a lot of cyberware, inserting a backdoor to everything. Gloria also made a delivery; her team of EMTs was only growing.
Vik was happy as his list of clients kept growing, thanks to all the top-tier secondhand chro Cypher provided. Both of them made money, and even Gloria made good money. It was a win-win for everyone.
When the new itch ca, he was alone in his shop in the middle of the night. Since Atlas had already produced over a thousand Microbots, Cypher didn't need to be at ho all the ti to start with whatever itch he'd get. He could have Atlas start the work.
But this ti, when the itch ca, he felt more confused. Was this even a tech? How was it a tech? And didn't it already exist? It was 2077, after all.
"What is it, Cypher?"
"..."
"I'm coming ho. I'll tell you when I get there. Gotta buy sothing first." Cypher got up, grabbed his car keys, threw so tools in a box, and drove to Lake Farm. He made a stop on his way, however, buying a few more things.
When he reached ho, instead of heading in, he glanced around the outside. The place looked far cleaner. All the filthy garbage spill was gone.
Then he opened the door and stepped inside his ho and…
He walked back out, looked left and right, making sure he was at the right place. He walked back inside and noticed how the space and structure were the sa, but the interior was different. Far better than before.
"Atlas? You did this?"
Surprising Cypher, a real hologram appeared in his kitchen area. It wasn't advanced, but the shape and features were clear, only all-blue in color.
"I did, Cypher. I hold that a mind functions best when its dwelling feels like a ho. Clean, warm, and welcoming. Therefore, I perford modest renovations as is fitting."
"Modest? This is fucking luxurious!" Cypher barked and walked around.
The sitting area had a much better L-shaped couch, a coffee table, and the kitchen looked nicer. The bedroom was even better. The shitty cabinets were gone, the window was bigger, the bed looked cozy, and the best part was a workstation against the wall. And finally, the bathroom had a mirror, at last.
After taking his tour, he slouched down on his new couch and looked at Atlas' hologram. "Early for a Christmas present, but thanks, buddy."
"I'm pleased that you liked it. Now, what new itch have you received?"
Heh, sounds impatient.
Cypher grabbed his duffel bag and took out a tal box. He opened it and revealed threads and needles.
"A sewing kit?" Atlas asked.
"I know. Caught off guard as well. It's a fashionable bulletproof suit that can stop high-velocity rounds. The best part is that it looks like simple clothing."
"A fashion piece. The timing is optimal, Cypher. We will mass-produce these in the factory we are acquiring."
"Yeah… Wait, we're buying a factory? I don't have that kind of money, Atlas."
"I am aware, hence I'm consolidating the funds remaining on the Old Net. Soon, I will establish a global bank, and you shall be the first to take a loan from it."
"..."
I'm too dumb to understand what he's doing, aren't I?
"Atlas, explain it to like I'm a five-year-old."
"Acknowledged, calibrating to your cognitive level. Explaining as to a one-year-old now."
"..."
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[A/N: Itch Na - John Wick Bulletproof Suit
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Check out Cypher X Panam, Cypher X Misty, Cypher X Gloria NSFW ART, and advance chapters at [email protected]/MrPlotThickens Or Subscribestar.adult/mrplotthickens
Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 6 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 24-26 Webnovel chapters.
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