Chapter 14: Insanity

"So, Gonzo, is it?"

"Yep," she said, popping the p, "the one and only."

"Not that I don't appreciate it, but can I ask why you saved me back there? In the bar, I mean?"

She looked at me, and her eyes switched switched from a red colour to a softer bluish hue. A girlish tone crept into her voice, and her posture reflected the sudden shift from badass to girly-girl, "I thought you were cute!"

"What?"

She looked at me as though I was an idiot, and shrugged as she spoke, "Gonzo thought you'd pay for it. He was right."

At this point I was thoroughly confused, "Aren't you Gonzo?"

"No!" She looked at me incredulously, and then looked herself up and down. She gestured to her body as she spoke, "Do you know of any girl called Gonzo? I mean, look at me. Do I look like a Gonzo to you?"

I took the moment to give my new companion a once over. Magnificent mammaries aside, she boasted creamy, unblemished skin save for the seams of her cyberware, a flat stomach, a heart-shaped and expansive behind, and legs that seemed to run for miles. The crop-top that she wore ended just below her breasts whilst showing as much cleavage as possible with a very low neckline. Her miniskirt came no lower than her upper thighs, was coloured the same rich shade of pink, as was her choker, and scarcely managed to cover her arse as she walked. She wore a pair of thigh-high striped socks and a pair of cowboy boots. In spite of the revealing nature of her clothes, no underwear was visible, leading me to the conclusion that she was one stiff breeze away from being essentially nude. If nothing else, her taste in clothing was very... flattering. She certainly looked good from the neck-down.

From the neck-up was almost as impressive. This was an effortlessly beautiful woman, probably one of the prettiest I had ever seen. Her skin was a milky white, with nary an imperfection in sight, save for a small smattering of freckles around the bridge of her perfectly-proportioned nose. Her hair was done up in classic Harley Quinn style with pigtails dyed bubblegum-pink, her face was heart-shaped with impeccable bone-structure and rosy cheeks. Her lips were full, covering a sparkling set of pearly-whites, and also coloured a rich shade of glittery pink, as were her eyelids. If it weren't for her manner of dress, I would have assumed it was the face of a supermodel, or perhaps a pop-star. As it was, her looks conjured an altogether different vision in my mind. Before I could stop myself, the words slipped out through my lips with a snort, "You look like a Joytoy." I clamped a hand over my mouth, and I felt myself blanch, "Oh shit! I didn't... I mean..."

Contrary to expectations, the woman just smiled and giggled, purposefully jiggling her considerable assets for my benefit, "I know, right!"

"You... want, to look like a Joytoy?"

She smiled and nodded sagely, "It annoys the living fuck out of him. My version of payback."

"Payback... on who?"

She shrugged, "Gonzo, of course. Who else?"

I nodded slowly, my tone thick with scepticism, "Of course." I knew it was probably best to leave it at that, but I was just too curious, "And dressing like a..."

"...slut." Strangely enough, she seemed completely unashamed at being labelled as such.

"Yes. Dressing like a slut is revenge on Gonzo... how, exactly?"

"Simple. Gonzo is a guy. He thinks of himself as this macho man, y'know? He likes cowboy hats and fighter-jets and beer. Never mind that fact that he isn't a guy, that's what he thinks like, and, as a girl, that is not what I think like. So, when he comes on down from the Net and takes me over, even if by accident, I take offense. It's my body, y'know?"

I most definitely did not know, "Uh-huh."

"Yeah, I mean he can't just have my body! Anyway, what follows is a long bout of fighting for control and trying to off each other, after which we came to terms. Even still, there's a lot of tension in the air. So, when he pisses me off I wear this sort of stuff, and he has to just deal with the hit to his poor macho pride. He can't do anything about it cause fashion is my territory, just like cyberware is his."

One pertinent detail stood out from the rest, "You said Gonzo came to you from the Net? Are... are you sharing your body with an AI?!"

She rolled her eyes in exasperation as she looked at me, "Really aren't the sharpest tool in the shed, are ya?"

I smiled a sheepish smile, "I just thought you were plain nuts."

She turned around and walked out ahead of me as the pavement narrowed, snorting as she did so, "Nah. I mean, I am crazy, but I got my own special brand of crazy, if y'know what I mean. Like, my type of crazy ain't in no damn textbook yet, y'know?"

I nodded, "Well, at least you're self-aware, so we know you haven't completely lost it. Can I ask how long you two have been... you know, sharing a body?"

She tilted her head to the side in thought, "I dunno. A few years now. Stopped counting a while back."

"That's a long time. Can I ask why he decided to inhabit your body? Or at least how he got to be there?"

She shrugged her shoulders and snorted, "Fuck if I know. Gonzo does what he wants." Suddenly, she stopped and turned, looking at me with narrowed eyes, "You got any Synth-Coke?"

The sudden subject change was a tad jarring, "...No. Why?"

She punched the air in frustration, "Damn. I'm fiending over here for a hit of the good stuff. How much further till you pay me? Cause then I'd really like to go and get high, and so would Gonzo."

I couldn't believe the brazenness of this girl, "That's what you want the money for?"

"That's my main poison, but I ain't picky. Mescaline, glue, mushrooms, weed, reefer. Gonzo's a sense-addict, and he's made me one as well." She snorted, "Hell, if you offered him a line of the good stuff, but told him he had to do it off your cock, I'm pretty sure that big, manly Gonzo would cave. Guy's a dorpher."

Her eyes flickered as her alternate personality, presumably Gonzo, thought to disagree. My confusion was replaced with a touch of discomfort, and a sense of morbid curiosity, "You ever done something like that before?"

She sniffed and rubbed her nose, "No comment."

I scoffed at her non-response, "And he calls you the whore. Seems like you got yourself a crack-ho in your head." We shared a laugh, and the moment passed as quickly as it came, "He's really that desperate?"

"Nah. He just likes the feeling, and so do I. Can't blame him. We all have our thing, and I'm pretty sure an AI can't actually experience addiction."

A thought occurred to me at that moment. Soulkiller was a thing, wasn't it? "Actually, how do you know he's an AI? I just assumed, but if he's something... else, then who knows?"

"Told me he came from behind the Blackwall. What else can he be?"

I frowned, "From behind the Blackwall? Is that even possible?"

She snorted and waved her hand derisively as she walked, "Please, someone's been making tunnels through that thing for years now. According to Gonzo, suits at NetWatch had no damn clue for a long while, till relatively recently, at least. Now they're running 'round like headless chickens trying to figure it out."

I nodded and digested the information silently. The Blackwall. All of a sudden, dots began to connect themselves in the back of my mind. Delamain, the attempts on my life, the unexpected alliance between the gangs. This whole time, I had been hunting for a person, but what if it wasn't one? What if my assailant was an AI? And yet, I came to the same conclusion I did then. If it really was an AI, then why? Why come after me, and why with such a vengeance? Even still, with the new information, I thought it was worth more than a cursory look, in the form of an actually thorough investigation.

The rest of the walk passed with a comfortable silence. The woman in front of me drew a lot of looks from passersby, who seemed to like to gape at the Joytoy, but counterintuitively, the attention helped to mask my presence. My original clothing had been discarded for a scavenged set taken off of the cut-up corpses that Gonzo had seen fit to make following the encounter at the bar, and I now made for a passable imitation of a pimp, or a Tyger Claw off to get his roger jollied by the woman in front of me, not that many were looking at me with the half-naked smoke show walking along with me. It didn't help that she acted the part as well, swaying her hips and winking and blowing kisses at those whose stares lingered a tad too long.

With the gang regalia on my person prominently displayed, and her hand in mine, none dared to approach her, sufficiently cowed by the fearsome-looking mask-wearing Claw with blood on his jacket, though some looked at her hungrily enough that I was scared that they were going to try. Still, scavenging usable clothes off the chunks of corpses that had chased us was proving a worthy investment, in spite of the inherently disgusting nature of the endeavour. We went through the streets basically unmolested, given that we were on the edge of Claw territory.

When we passed some Claw gangoons, they failed to recognise me through the demon mask. Seeing who I was with, a few gave catcalls in Japanese, but left us to our business. I breathed a sigh of relief when they finally turned the corner and disappeared from view.

Eventually, we came to the agreed location, a van waiting to pick me up. Inside the back was Gloria, with a small medical bag containing all the essentials needed to treat minor wounds. She saw me, and her face brightened, and then she saw Gonzo, and her expression suddenly soured again. I clambered into the van, removing the mask, and Panam turned around from the drivers seat, launching into a rant at my stupidity at arranging such a dangerous meet, before she sighted Gonzo, fell silent, and her expression shifted from anger to bemusement at the sight of Gonzo.

I reached over to Panam as Gloria set to work, looking at the wounds on my neck, checking for infection and giving me a once-over to check if my existing injuries had been aggravated or if I suffered from any internal bleeds. "You got the cred-chip?"

She reached into the glovebox and handed it to me, "Every eddy you asked for."

"Thanks." I turned to Gonzo, handing her the cred-chip, "Here's payment for your services. As promised, ten-thousand eddies, and a little extra."

She grabbed the chip, slotting it in, her eyes briefly glowing as she viewed the money enter her account, "Nova."

"Gonzo?"

She turned around just as she was about to leave, "Yeah?"

"That little extra? It's a retainer."

She quirked an eyebrow, "You offering me a job?"

"You're strange as hell, but there's no denying you're good at parting heads from shoulders. You'd make a bad bodyguard, but a good enforcer, and you'd be well-compensated for the work." She seemed reluctant to sign on, "Come on. You know you want to. You can stay high a long time with the kind of money I'm offering. No more snorting synth-coke off of cocks."

Gloria's eyes widened in shock at the crassness of my words, and her gentle touch became a tad rougher. Simultaneously, Gonzo saw this as she came to a decision. Sighting Gloria's hidden jealousy, she decided to stir the pot a little. Reaching forwards, she pulled me closer by the lapels, smashing her lips on mine in a wet, forceful kiss as her hand snaked down and cupped my genitals over my trousers. When she let go, she licked her lips, adopted a seductive expression, and spoke in a husky whisper that was nonetheless loud enough to be heard by both of the other occupants of the van, "Sure, I'll take your deal, but I'm willing to bet there's still a lot of cock-sniffing in my future."

She smiled almost innocently, and left the van as suddenly as she had entered it, laughing maniacally as she walked away. The doors shut behind her, and the engine roared to life. I looked at Gloria, who sported a frosty look of cool, professional detachment as she continued to look me over and administer treatment, a firm departure from her usually attentive bedside manner. Silence reigned, and as we drove on, I looked to the drivers seat, and saw Panam's hands on the steering wheel, holding it in a white-knuckle grip. Looking in the rear-view mirror revealed that Panam's bemusement was long-gone, replaced with an expression of barely-suppressed fury.

Ah, shit.

Problems in paradise for our gallant protagonist! Will he win back the fair maidens hearts?
Sorry for the long delay between updates. I had an exam to revise for and a collaboration with an author fell through.
Feel free to comment and let me know what you think.
Hope you guys are enjoying the story thus far!