Now it sounded like a shitty deal to Cypher. He wasn't sure if throwing money at it would save the building if its foundation was rotting.
But then ca Atlas' voice into his head.
[Buy it, Cypher. I reached this decision with complete knowledge of the situation. The building will be renovated and repaired using microbots under my control. They're highly efficient for such work. But pay no more than fifty million eurodollars. Rember, we are purchasing the land. The building itself holds no value, and is instead a liability.]
Cypher nodded and continued with the woman. "It's a hazard. That is precisely why you will sell it to . But I'll pay for the land, not the building. And I'll pay no more than thirty million."
"What? No, that'll ruin . The market price itself is seventy million."
Cypher made the tech priest grip the woman in the chanical tentacles again, just to raise the tension. "Very well. I'll pay thirty million. Any amount beyond that will co from your hidden assets. It is corruption money, so it hardly qualifies as theft. Now the choice is yours. Choose how much of your wealth you wish to see diminish."
[That's a brilliant idea, Cypher. I am shocked by such competence.]
"..."
"Sir, please. I… I can manage it if you pay forty-five. Please, that's the lowest I can go. I beg you. They won't let live if I…"
Cypher thought about it for a mont. He planned to use the woman further in the future, and keeping her around was important. Since Atlas had deed the property's value to be fifty, he had already turned it into a better deal. Pushing her further was wasteful.
"Deal. Fortune favors you today, Ms. Freeman. I find myself in a generous mood. Forty-five for the building. Yet understand this. Our arrangent does not end there. I have further work for you, a test of capability. Succeed, and wealth won't rely greet you, you will drown in it. Your ascent through the ranks will follow, perhaps even to the office of Mayor.
"What I want is the entire Laguna Bend Reservoir. The surrounding lands as well. The dam too. It sits idle, wasting potential that I can clearly see. Pull whatever strings are required. Omnissiah shall guide you, for he watches always, ensuring your path leads to salvation. Deliver success, and aside from my support, you will receive five million eurodollars. Perfectly clean. Nothing that requires hiding."
Cypher stared at her face coldly, waiting for an answer. Though it was Atlas who annoyed him as the fucker kept mocking him with honey-laced words that he knew didn't co as praise.
[I was not aware you were hiding such intelligence beyond your ordinary eyes, Cyph. Even I am surprised despite all my computations.]
"How will you help reach the Mayor's office?" She asked.
Cypher almost smiled. What a woman, he had to give it to her. He held her entire life in his hands, and yet she had the guts to negotiate a better deal from him. It made sense why she had so much hidden wealth now. Albeit in corruption, she was highly competent.
"Restrain your greed, Zohara Freeman. If you seek knowledge of the quiet dealings and hidden weaknesses of other city managers and the mbers of the city council, you must first earn that privilege through my test."
Suddenly, Zohara Freeman smiled from ear to ear. Cypher found the bitch a little scary. She was sitting just an inch away from death. Atlas was in control of every part of her body, and still, all she could think of was her own corporate rise.
"That is music to my ears, Omn… Mr. Blackwell. I'll pour all I have to pass your test. Please support going forward. Praise the Omnissiah."
"..."
Cypher had never once hinted at those strings of words. And that ant it was the virtual fucker Atlas' doing, putting the thought in her mind. Clearly, Atlas was sohow highly influenced by Warhamr.
Wooosh!
And just like that, they all returned to the real world. The first thing Zohara did was bow her head deeply, as if paying him respect in the Japanese way.
####
Huh? What? What just happened?
T-Bug was confused. For a very long ti, nobody at that table spoke. After the initial greetings, the woman nad Zohara froze in her seat like a doll with a malfunctioning chip. She stared at her, tried to use her netrunning skills to evaluate her.
She instantly knew that she had a top-knotch ICE, and she was being actively protected by a netrunner sowhere outside the building. That seed too much for a City Manager. But then she looked at Cypher, and he was glaring, arms crossed on the table.
What are they doing?
T-Bug got curious. She took out her portable cyberdeck and tried to read through the traffic in cyberspace. To her shock, what she found was an absolute void. There was no traffic at all, no code traveling, no data packets, no request handshakes happening. It made no sense because her own cyberware should be creating a disturbance in cyberspace.
They're… talking, aren't they?
With a silent frown, T-Bug looked up at Cypher. From the way he was sitting, this was clearly his doing, as he looked to be in control. But how he did that was confusing. The Embers wasn't just a roadside joint. So of the world's most powerful and rich ate there, and they had top-notch physical and network security.
If you're able to pull this off yourself, then why bring ?
T-Bug pondered and silently watched. Soon enough, Zohara moved again and imdiately bowed her head. It looked more like a surrender to her than a greeting.
"The deal is acceptable to , Mr. Blackwell," Zohara said, extending her hand with careful respect, her other hand supporting the elbow. Her posture was fully submissive. "I will take my leave now and prepare everything for the sale. Have a pleasurable day, Mr. Blackwell."
T-Bug watched the City Manager of The Glen walk away, or more like run. The woman vanished into the elevator faster than needed, as if trying to escape.
Finally, she looked at the man beside her. "Mr. B… Cypher… are you also a netrunner?"
"Not at all. I'm just a little techie."
T-Bug saw his smile and knew not to trust it. There was more to the story than what appeared. Cypher Blackwell was a far more dangerous man than she had initially expected. Now that she thought about it, the man had sohow broken through her ntal walls and beco friendly too easily.
Yet, there was no hostility directed towards her.
"T-Bug, take your friend and wait for in the car, alright? Soone very eager to chat with is here."
T-Bug frowned and looked left and right, finding nobody. But then the bell of the elevator rang, and a tall, blonde woman with a militaristic walk arrived. The badge of Militech on her chest told her everything.
"But we're here to protect you," she reminded him. "Militech's pretty dangerous.'
"Oh, she sure got the bite, no doubt. But this ain't a battlefield. Don't you see? Look around. We're in the Switzerland of Night City. Go, I'm sending you the eddies for the job. I'm headed for the Afterlife after this. Stick around if you want to accompany , or you're free to leave."
T-Bug saw the notification in her optics as eddies got updated. Five thousand each for her and her solo-friend, just as the job had detailed. But knowing she had eaten food worth many tis over that, she couldn't help but find this amount underwhelming. Not for the job, of course. The job was too damn easy. It felt more like a holiday outing instead.
With the money paid, the job was pretty much done. And she wasn't close enough to bother worrying.
"Then we'll wait in the car." T-Bug got up and left with Rhino. She passed by the Militech woman and noticed how her gaze was entirely locked on Cypher. There was a frown on her face, but not the aggressive type.
T-Bug didn't even try to test her ICE. She just walked away, leaving as more confused and curious about Cypher Blackwell than she was initially.
####
"Gotta say, Atlas, she's a straight-up looker. Just check that face out. Frowning and sohow she's still fine as hell."
[I do believe she stands out by human standards of beauty, based on what I have observed.]
"Ugh! There you go getting horny, Atlas."
[Pot calls the kettle black. I have no desire for human procreation.]
"For now, sure. But I swear, the second I get you a body and a cock, you're gonna bolt straight to Jig Jig and find the first joytoy that'll let you ram it in."
[Such vulgar activities stand in direct violation of my programming. I do not foresee myself attempting them. Not unless the purpose is experintation, science, or the refinent of my simulations.]
"Hah! Sure, buddy. We'll just call it science then. Now hush, my favorite Militech agent is here. My precious stalker, if what you said checks out."
[It is absolutely true.]
"In that case… I'm hard."
[...]
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