Save Scumming Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Three - Feeling Cool

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Three - Feeling Cool

Did I feel cool grabbing the door, ripping it open, and stomping into the restaurant?

Yes. Yes, I did. The poncho-cape thing swirled dramatically behind and settled around my shoulders in a very satisfying way, and there was just sothing about that, and being in my full costu, that just made feel powerful and aweso.

Was it a little much for entering what was basically a fast food joint?

Also yes.

The cashier, so twenty-sothing who looked like they were running on two hours of sleep and six coffees, just stared at blankly. The only custors inside at this ti of day were a pair of old ladies and a trio of laughing teens at the back.

One of the grannies clutched her purse closer.

Yeah, okay, maybe I was being a bit dramatic, but this was a loop that I didn't intend to keep anyway, so what did it matter? I moved over to one of the many free tables off to one side. This place had a setup where you could order through their app and have things delivered to your table. It was pretty cool, and it ensured a level of privacy.

I logged into the restaurant's godawful app, linked a prepaid card to it, then set the phone down and waited.

Fortunately, I didn't have too long to wait.

I glanced towards the entrance as soon as I saw sothing yellow from the corner of my eye. Becky had arrived.

She was in torn up fishnets and old jean shorts, with a bright yellow jacket tossed on. Her stomach was exposed, revealing a pretty cool rat tattoo peaking out from the band of her shorts. My eyes strayed up to her face, and I got to see her expression light up as she caught sight of .

Becky was cute. I wasn't sure if I dug the weird super-short haircut she had on the side of her head, but it did fit her, especially the bright blue highlights.

"Yo! DL, sup?" she asked as she stomped over. "Love the hat. That's a cool hat. Where'd you get it?"

"I know soone," I said. "Also, hello, Becky."

"Nuh-uh, if you're here in a mask and cool hat, with a fucking cape and codena, then I want one too," she said.

"Oh?" I asked. "Let guess, you want to call you Pikachu or sothing?"

She froze for a split second. "Yes? I an, yeah, that's what I was gonna say. Holy shit, can you read minds?"

"No, I can't. And if I could, I wouldn't touch yours. Also, we're not calling you that."

"Raichu?"

I frowned, trying to rember what that even was. "No, not that either. Can we stick to non-copyrighted nas? I don't want a corpo hit squad dropping in on us."

"Fine! La. Call ... heh, call Buzzkill." She grinned, extrely proud of herself. "Get it? Because I buzz and I kill."

"I get it," I replied. "At least it's not innuendo."

"I an, it could be," she replied. "Did you order yet?"

"No," I said. I turned my phone around and slid it towards her. "Order whatever you want. It's on ."

"Anything?" Becky asked.

I shrugged and gestured for her to go on. "Yeah, anything."

Becky cackled, then started to order. I didn't. I figured with the amount she was adding to the cart, I'd be able to grab sothing to eat off her tray. God, not having to suffer the consequences of my culinary sins was a blessing.

"So, is this a date, or did you just wanna talk?" Becky asked. "Because I was told in no uncertain terms that I shouldn't put out on the first date, especially to soone wearing a mask and hiding their identity."

"Uh," I said to get a bit of ti to parse that. "No, this is more of a business eting. Not a date. Why would you even assu that I'm single?"

"You're wearing a hat with a little skull on it and a cape," Becky said.

"It's a combat...poncho," I tried.

She stared at .

"Okay, so maybe I am." I really wanted to say sothing like 'but I sex ladies all the ti' but that would have co off as way too desperate, as true as it may or may not be. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"I'm single too," Becky said. She smiled, strangely proud. "No one can handle , even at my best."

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"Not what I was going for," I replied. "I ant more... look, there are a few things I need to know, and I figured you might know them."

"How much?' Becky asked.

"How much what?"

She stared at . "Deadline, DL, my gal in the mask... we live in a capitalist dystopia. Money! How many dollars?"

"Lunch?" I tried.

She paused, tilted her head left, then right, then shrugged. "Okay. Fair."

"Cool. So, a gang is planning on hitting a gala tomorrow night. It's a big gala held by Seraph. I don't know which gang it is, why they're attacking the gala, or what they plan on gaining from it."

"But you know it'll happen anyway?" Becky asked. At my nod, she leaned her elbows onto the table. "How?"

"Does it matter?"

"I an, a bit," she said. "Are you a pre-cog? Can you read my palm? Will my gacha pulls be fruitful this week, because that hundred pull thing you got ? I got shit-all out of it. It was real bad. Nothing but max pity the entire ti. I even complained about it."

"If I had that kind of magic, do you think I'd waste it on sothing so silly?" I asked.

I was the world's biggest hypocrite.

"Hmm, I would," Becky said. "But also, you were super mysterious and strange last ti. Just showing up. And Mousey's been paying attention to you too."

"Who?"

"Leader of the River Rats," she said with a dismissive wave. "She said you hit up a Synthcorp place that was all breach-y, and like, two days ago you yoinked a portal from right under NetherGain then aura fard your way out. The video was cool, even if it got no views. Did you really et a wizard?"

"I did," I said. "He was weird."

"I an, if it was a wizard that kinda goes with the hat, no? Wait, is that why you have that hat?"

"It's unrelated," I said. "The hat is to protect my ID... and it's a fashion statent?"

"Hell yeah it is," Becky said. She perked up as a drone rolled over to our table. It was a tall, pillar-like machine on a wheeled base carrying three trays with these little extendable arms. It spun, placing one tray after the other on our table until there was no room for anything else.

Becky dug in, unwrapping a burger and sinking her teeth into it like a famished dog.

"So, the gang I'm looking for is based out of the west-end of the city. They might be involved with so pizza place?"

"Oh!" Becky said, then she started talking with her mouth full. Why had I thought she was cute before? "I know who you're talking about. That's the Weiss crew."

"The Weiss?" I asked.

"ans white, or sothing? Anyway, they run like, three little pizza places out in the west end of the city. Not that much of a gang, really, only they have this whole turf war going on with who gets to drive delivery in their part of the city. It's weird."

"And they'd stoop to attacking a Seraph gala?" I asked.

"That sounds real stupid," Becky said. "Like, Seraph have a bunch of rankers, no?"

"Yes, they do," I replied. "And I take it this Weiss gang don't have very many?"

"Their boss is a normal dude, but their biggest muscle is a C-ranker. Uh, I think a Wind user?"

Elental wind? That ant that they were a Joy mage. That was one of the most uncommon elents out there. Probably not one of the most dangerous, but still, anyone who had made it to C-rank was worth respecting, and C-rank would an that they had a lot of power behind their attacks.

"Think they'd be able to attack a gala just like that?" I asked.

"I an, they might ruin the catering. Hey, those are my fries," she snapped.

"I paid for them," I replied as I stole another.

I wasn't sure if the situation didn't add up, or if I was just missing sothing. Probably a bit of both. Becky went on to tell so more between stuffing her face. It was almost interesting to watch her disappear so much food. Where was she putting it all?

As for the gang. Well, I had an idea, but not the whole image.

"Hey... if I called you out of the blue and asked you to help stalk a gang, would you be down for that?"

***