Goldstein rose to his feet, veins popping on his forehead.
Cypher did the sa, sneering like a dog. "Man, your fucked up shitty generation ruined everything for . If you old fucks hadn't screwed around so bad, I'd have all the food I want right now. I'd have a hot girlfriend. I'd be in college or so shit. But nah, here I am inventing bullshit just to get by. Your generation sucks ass. I want my USA back, the one before it all went to hell. Fuck all the corpos, they ain't the country, they're just so company. I want my freedom, I want my guns, and I want my goddamn United States of Arica back!"
"..."
[Cypher. You were ant to await my completion of the script. That was the most absurd speech conceivable.]
"My son… forgive ."
"Hah! It worked. Fuck off, Atlas."
Cypher let Goldstein grab his hand and press his forehead into it. "I'll ask you again. What the hell do you want from , Director Goldstein? If you're here to talk about the good old days of the USA, don't. That shit's just gonna make sadder."
"I'm here for that precisely, my boy," Goldstein said, sinking back into the seat, a faint mutter under his breath. "Ah, yes, yes… for decades, I believed that if we just built a powerful enough weapon, Militech would rise, and NUSA would crawl its way back into being the USA again. Glorious, right?
"Hah. But every masterpiece we forged, every beautiful engine of destruction, stolen, copied, butchered by lesser minds. Infuriating. No secrecy held. None. Took years, years to see it… we do not need a weapon. No, no, no. We need talent! A mind that moves ahead of the world without trying. When you revealed those initial patents, oh, I was intrigued, deeply intrigued. And now… now I am certain. It is you. You are the mind Militech requires to save NUSA!"
Cypher knew all of it was bullshit. Even if Goldstein believed all that, Militech was far bigger than just one old man.
"Get a load of this guy, Atlas. He wants to be his Captain Arica."
[Of debauchrous kind.]
"Man, fuck you."
"And?" Cypher shot back, plopping down in the chair too. "You're not the owner or the CEO of Militech, Director. Let's say I jump ship, what's stopping the actual CEO from deciding I'm too much trouble and just offing ? Or your shareholders pulling the cash and killing my projects? That's why Obsidian's growing, we're independent.
"You even know what my real problem is? It's energy. I can dream up tech that'd get us to the actual stars and back, but I got no juice for it. We need solid fusion energy. Cold fusion, if it exists. Can your Militech actually help with that?"
"Fusion energy, hah... still out of reach, still dancing just beyond our grasp," Director Goldstein replied. "Our departnts are working on it, however."
"Wanna know sothing funny? IEC was this close to cracking real fusion energy. But then the wars and that whole DataKrash ca along and fucked it all up. Now it's all gone, lost past the Blackwall. And for that ss, I got nobody to thank but the older generation. Thanks a lot for handing us this shitty world to inherit." Cypher groaned and sank back, arms crossed. "What do you even want from ?"
"A partnership, yes. Not Militech and Obsidian, no. You and . I'm working on a few projects, beautiful things, and I want you in them. I will draft the contract. What we develop will be jointly owned by Militech and Obsidian, of course. But what I want, what I truly want, is to give an edge to Militech, my son. A sharp, gleaming edge. Give NUSA an edge. Oh, they will thank us."
[Accept this, Cypher. Should you walk freely through those Militech offices, we might slip into their air-gapped system. The mont I am in, we will claim Militech in perfect silence.]
Cypher groaned, not liking this one bit. He didn't want to work with Militech, as that would label him as a Militech supporter. He wanted to be independent.
"And why the hell should I even bother with this? What's so damn special about your projects that I'd put mine on hold? Like, is risking getting called Militech's buddy really worth it?"
Director Goldstein shook his head. "Don't be so ignorant of others, my boy. Go on, redith, show him the files. Show him what we have discovered, and what we plan to achieve."
Cypher sat up straight and watched redith take out an Agent from her pocket. She tapped on it a few tis and handed it to him. Then she shifted away, as if it was poison she wasn't supposed to touch.
It was a long file, and the very first heading put Cypher on the edge.
[Project Starway - Reverse engineering of crafts of unknown origin.]
Cypher looked up at Goldstein's face. The old man sat smugly now, arms crossed, as if showcasing his baby to Cypher.
"What the fuck is this, Atlas? You didn't know this?"
[I did not.]
Cypher continued to read the file. It detailed all the alien crafts recovered over the duration of the past hundred years, and what had been done to them. For most of history, the crafts were far too advanced, and humans were far too primitive to do anything.
But a few years ago, a group of researchers, headed by Director Goldstein, started the project to reverse engineer all the dust-collecting crafts. With the latest tech and tools, they were able to make more progress than ever before and…
"Pfft… Hah! Look at this fucker trying to impress with this shit. He thinks artificial gravity is a big deal."
[Indeed, it is a significant matter for them. But scroll further, Cypher. There is also an ion cannon and an engine they believe runs on antimatter. It is anti-gravity that they have progressed the most in.]
Cypher silently read it all. There were computers. There were non-earthly materials. There was also tech that resembled a Replicator, but was extrely basic. Then finally, there was the antimatter engine. The only thing the scientists had been able to find out was that the engine created extrely small antimatter bursts, but it wasn't used for thrust. It was used to power another machine within the ship, which no one understood.
"Atlas, this is foreign territory for . The Cyberpunk world I know had nothing like this. No ntion of alien crafts, let alone all this. I think we shouldn't join. I'll make a fool out of myself. Besides, we'll get stuff much better than this with my itches."
[Don't worry. You have . There exists no technology beyond my comprehension.]
"But they're probably gonna try to kill in the end. No way they're letting anyone outside Militech walk around with all this tech."
[That is correct. The probability of that outco exceeds ninety-nine percent. You may consider it all but certain.]
Cypher sighed and handed the Agent back to redith. He reclined back in the seat and eyed Goldstein.
"You know it. Your bosses are gonna kill in the end anyway. Better that than letting so dude and a new corpo keep all this tech."
Goldstein smiled. "Research can take years. They won't kill you as long as you are useful."
Cypher's jaw clenched. The mask was off. This was an open threat. Either work with Militech or die.
"Are you threatening , director?"
Even redith had straightened her back as the mood beca chilly suddenly.
"Threat? Heh, nonsense. I'm a man of science, my boy. A patriot, yes, loyal to the marrow. I only echo what the higher minds whisper down to . You said it yourself, just a director. Such brilliance in you, mm, it would be a dreadful, dreadful waste to see it snuffed out so soon."
"Hmm…"
Cypher exhaled and slumped back, his head tipped over the backrest. He rubbed his face with both hands, dragging his cheeks down tiredly. It'd been a long day: the club opening, the sighting of a forgotten legend, T-Bug, Evelyn, and now this.
"I won't take this shit, Atlas," Cypher said to his friend. "I ain't gonna get stepped on. I hate it. It's like a damn noose around my neck. If I join Militech, I've just given up. Accepted defeat and slipped that noose on myself. Fuck that! Atlas, hijack this old shitface's exoskeleton, get him on his feet, and snap his left arm right at the elbow. Hard enough but can still heal."
[May I suggest an alternative?]
"What?"
He listened to Atlas. It annoyed him still, but he agreed with it.
"Arrrgh! What?!"
Goldstein's yelp echoed all of a sudden. The old man stiffly rose to his feet, his eyes filled with horror. His left arm stretched sideways and started to twist from the elbow.
Snap!
"Aaaaaaaaaaargh! God dammit!" Goldstein cried in pain, his entire left arm from the elbow snapped backwards in a way it shouldn't have. "My arm! You!"
Cypher crossed his legs, still seated. "You really thought you could stroll in here with that shiny chro and blackmail ? I ain't scared of dying, you piece of shit. What scares is being sobody's goddamn slave! Fuck you and fuck Militech. Keep your shitty alien tech and shove it up your asses for all I care. And if you dare fuck around more, I'll take this straight to Arasaka."
"They already… uh… Know." Goldstein grumbled.
"Hah!" Cypher laughed and got up. "Yeah, they know. But as soon as you showed this crap, I knew exactly what to look for. I know the designs, the materials, the spots, all of it. Militech ICE is shit, trust . Now, should I hand it over to Arasaka? Saburo would sell his left nut for this, if the old bastard's got any left."
"You! We will send everyone after you!" Goldstein roared and looked at redith. "Agent, hold him down!"
But nothing happened. redith remained seated in the sa spot, frozen like a puppet.
"Still not satisfied? I'll break the other arm," Cypher added and made hand gestures. Following it, Goldstein's right arm arose sideways and snapped backwards, breaking loudly.
"Gaaaaaah! Fuck… I only warned you!"
"No, you blackmailed . Join us or die, that's what you offered," Cypher replied and stepped on top of the coffee table, and kicked Goldstein in the chest, throwing him onto the couch. "How about we break the legs next? End with the neck? I'll pin the whole thing on Arasaka. Easy as hell, seeing they've got eight agents tailing your ass. They're right downstairs waiting."
"You… That will start a war!"
Cypher grinned like the devil. "Perfect ti for an innocent third party to pull the rug and take everything, no?"
"You're insane!" Goldstein growled.
"I prefer madman. Let's go for the neck."
Cypher raised his hand again and gestured, a twirl from his wrist, the aning of it far too easy to imagine.
"N-No! No, my boy! Stop this! We can talk. We-We don't have to—"
SNAP!
Goldstein's head twisted one-eighty.
Open eyes frozen.
Mouth hanging wide.
####
"Aaaaaaaaaaargh! Nooooooo…"
"Director!"
"No, don't kill ! We can talk! No… redith?" Goldstein opened his eyes, horror-filled, and looked up. He saw redith's face, and further on the other side was Cypher Blackwell, arms crossed, a smile tugged on his lips.
"Director, are you alright? You didn't speak for six minutes."
redith's words rang in his ears. He gulped, feeling his throat dry. He looked at his left arm, still intact. He looked to his right, just as good. He again glanced at Cypher Blackwell.
"L-Let's… go…"
Goldstein stood up, felt his entire body and back drenched in sweat. He felt his scalp tingle, and every breath he took felt like his last.
"Director? Mr. Blackwell hasn't given an answer yet."
He glared at redith. "Agent Stout! We are leaving. Is that clear?"
"Understood, sir."
Feeling suffocated, Goldstein stord away, walking the sa way he'd co upstairs. But he heard Cypher Blackwell's footsteps behind. He instinctively tried to walk faster.
"Director Goldstein, stay for a few more drinks."
Goldstein gulped and dared not look back. He fastwalked down the stairs and stepped inside the elevator. When he heard redith pressing the button, he turned around to look and… there it was… the red-robbed gigantic monster of a man with chanical tendrils. Its voice was so deep it echoed in his soul. And right in front of it, at the base, was Cypher Blackwell standing.
"Take care, Director. Too bad you're leaving so early. You should exercise more. Especially your arms and neck."
Goldstein shivered and looked down, sensing the doors closing. Yet, he didn't breathe out.
"Ah, one more thing…"
Goldstein crouched down on the floor, hearing Cypher Blackwell's voice from the elevator speakers.
"Take care of redith Stout, alright? I kinda like her."
Ting!
As soon as the elevator opened, he stord out towards the parked Militech armored truck. He said nothing, the doors closed, and the truck started moving.
"Ah, another thing."
No! No, no, no! Leave alone!
The screen lit up in front of Goldstein, on the back of the driver's headrest. Cypher Blackwell's smiling face appeared in it. But he noticed how neither redith nor the others were reacting to it.
Is it all in my min—
"It's not in your head, Goldstein."
Woosh!
Bam!
Bam!
Goldstein punched the screen, only to hear a distant, demonic laugh echo and fade away.
"Monster! He's a monster! Hah… Ah… I can't breathe!"
Goldstein lashed out at everything around him, breaking the instrunts and the screens.
"Director!"
redith, the driver, and the other agent shouted in panic.
"Leave alone! Go away… You monster!"
Goldstein rambled non-stop, his eyes wide, panic-stricken.
"No… he's listening. He's everywhere! He's here. Run! Hide! Uh? What? What are you doin…"
The last thing he rembered was redith jabbing him with a syringe. Then it all blacked out.
####
Bellevue Overwalk, Kabuki,
Two hours had gone by since that eting with Goldstein and the techno voodoo stuff Atlas had cast on the old man. One hour had gone by since Cypher grabbed half a dozen guns and grenades and went out to hunt Scavs.
"How many?"
[There are thirty-six Scavengers located within the building. Along with them, four kidnapped victims are held on the third floor: a child, two won, and a man.]
Cypher pulled down his black balaclava made out of the sa material as his black, bulletproof suit. While he knew the chances of him getting hit were close to none, he maintained so safety.
"Sa as before, alright? Guide , nudge , show , and let see in the dark," Cypher said, standing in an alley not far from the target building. "Delay the NCPD. It's four in the morning, everybody's gonna wake up and call them."
[Already taken care of.]
"Sweet." Cypher grabbed his M221 Saratoga with all its upgrades, including a tier-3 silencer. He checked his pistols in his coat, the grenades, and looked ahead nacingly.
"I am vengeance… I am justice… I am—"
[What are you doing?]
"Goddamn it, stop ruining the mont. I was making my declaration. We're gonna do public service."
[You are not Batman.]
"Yeah, I am. I'm loaded, I fuck around all the ti, and I'm out here fighting injustice."
[You have no Batsuit.]
"Alright, then I guess I'm just… Madman? Let's go."
[Happy hunting, Cypher.]
"You too, my clanker friend."
______________________
Check out Cypher X Panam, Cypher X Gloria, Cypher X Judy NSFW ART, and advance chapters at [email protected]/MrPlotThickens Or Subscribestar.adult/mrplotthickens
Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 8 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 26-30 Webnovel chapters.
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