Chapter 6
"Congratulations!" Zo cheered.
"For what, exactly?" I asked him with indifference in my voice.
"Well, for one, you've completed your first contract." Zo stood up from his white chair. We were meeting back in his secret Bond villain suite. He meandered over to the bar and finished his thought. "And, if my math is correct, you have a 175% success rate. Completely unheard of."
I counted on my hands, "How do you figure?"
"I included the three imbeciles that got you here."
I reached for my foot to take my shoe off, "Hold up."
"Don't hurt yourself." He smiled at my gesture. "I also included the unsuccessful amateur clean up crew."
"That makes a little more sense, and you said report?" I inquired.
"Yes. I collected on the job I brokered to you, put your name in a fancy ledger and number of players killed compared to the eight required."
"Oh." I stammered. "Are, umm… Are people going to keep coming after me?"
"I can't guarantee that you future actions won't solicit a violent reaction." He sat back down comfortably and crossed his legs. "But I can guarantee no one from our side of the tracks will engage you."
"So I don't have to worry about getting ambushed in the middle of a jungle by other mercs?"
"Exactly. I will warn you, however, there are players dedicated to flubbing our hits and jobs. Some have gone as far as even killing us." He sipped his simulated scotch following his statement.
"Interesting." I made an adjustment to my posture and leaned forward. "So how often are you going to have work for me, because I feel like I need a break after that whole ordeal yesterday. I wasn't nearly as prepared as I should have been or even could have been. I mean, I stopped and got a new gun with what few credits I had from that arms dealer guy I learned about from the resources." I continued to babble and he just stared at me like he was really listening. "That was barely enough to deal with the situation. And I made it out by the skin of my teeth with that ion cannon wannabe laser chasing me off world. You said something about collecting for that job and getting paid?" I cut my statement abruptly.
"I've already transferred the credits to you. You will notice there is a high quantity of small deposits, that is only for my safety. I will have work for you frequently, but I don't have anything substantial at this time. Nothing for your magnitude of skill." Zo took another sip.
"Magnitude of skill?" I raised an eyebrow. "Is that jab at me?"
"Nonsense, X." He nodded with a smile. "I don't want to waste your time with oversimplified grunt work. I want to save you for high yield contracts because…"
I injected "Because you like to watch me almost get killed in new and interesting places?"
He continued, "No, because I want someone I can guarantee will complete the task. Even if it is complicated and extremely dangerous."
"I bet you say that to all the guys." I smiled weakly.
"If you continue this level of adroitness, you will be requested by name."
"Really?" I said with genuine disbelief.
"Absolutely." Zo stood and looked at his large platinum smart watch. "I assume you are overdue for your day off."
I stood to meet him. "A vacation's a vacation."
"I will be contacting you soon, with the complete set of resources. The next time I contact you after that will be work related." He disappeared in a blink, leaving me alone in his pristine chat room. I left shortly after and headed out to my newly acquired ship. I docked it a significant distance from my destination, so I had plenty of travel time to do more thinking.
I checked my balance and saw zeros. Lots of zeros. I had earned a small fortune, enough to get the highest quality or best version of whatever I needed for my arsenal, maybe even two. I could move out, I live on my own and take care of myself, like an adult. I received that message from Zo, interrupting my daydreaming, and like he said, it contained the full version of the trial library he gave me earlier. I tried downloading it, but my OASIS console said insufficient memory, so I opened it and perused the contents. 10 zettabytes of text, videos, images, maps, 3D models, catalogs of media, a phonebook called the 'Black Pages', it all seemed so endless. Zo tucked a message behind the data window, it contained another congratulations and an interesting bit of news. The guild I planned on dismantling offered me the position of guild leader, which Zo declined for me. He explained it would be a conflict of interest if I made any alliances or joined any guilds. He also convinced them to pay me, or rather us, protection money every month. I reserved the right to exterminate their entire roster if they failed to make a payment.
I processed everything I wanted to do with the money and tried to make decisions and take action in an order that made the most sense. I needed a new OASIS rig to continue my new job with higher proficiency, but I couldn't have it delivered here, I couldn't even leave it here. So I hopped on to the giant apartment hunting site and found something reasonable, close and with an immediate opening. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought, in about roughly an hours worth of searching I narrowed it down to two places. The one I liked the most was the furtherest away, but I could take a taxi if I ever wanted to come back this way, so it didn't break the deal. The second one was the closest, right around the block, but it had a hefty price tag for the same amount of space. It didn't take much time to make my choice, and I set up a walkthrough for this afternoon.
The clothes on my back, a second set of clothes, my outdated OASIS console and haptic equipment, and my laptop are the only things I owned. Most of them fit into a pillowcase, I didn't have a handkerchief or a stick to complete the traveling bum look, but I still threw it all over my shoulder. I made my way outside, I thought about taking a cab to the edge of town, but I prefered walking. I passed Johnny on my way through town, he had his usual setup, blocking an alley with his cargo van full of antiquities and oddities. He looked at me, walking by, I looked back, but I didn't say anything.
"Where ya goin'?" Johnny made it around his table and walked up next to me.
I replied "I'm moving."
"Where to?" Johnny continued to follow me.
"Just a couple blocks from the edge of the city."
"Do you need any help moving your stuff." He asked.
I lifted my bag off my shoulder and held it in front of me. "This is it."
He let out a soft chuckle, "Wow, you like to keep things simple."
"I guess." I put my bag back over my shoulder and continued. "I've never really needed much, but I've also never really had much either."
"Oh." His smile died.
"I don't even know If I'm moving in today, but I'm hoping they'll let me if I put the money down."
"Dude!" He chirped. "These places are hard up for tenants that can pay. I bet if you went anywhere with a deposit, they'd kick somebody out to get you in there ASAP."
"Really?" I asked.
"Really, really." He confirmed.
"Well then." I rifled through my pillowcase and pulled out the Haptic Quickdraw and gave it back. "Don't get too far from your stuff."
"You didn't like it?"
"No." I cracked a smile. "I loved it!"
"Why don't you just keep it then?"
"I was just going to buy one."
"Don't worry about it." Johnny put it back in my hand. "You can keep this one."
"You're awesome!" I thanked him.
"Don't forget about me, either. Invite me over when you're settled." Johnny's voice grew distant as he paced back to his van.
"No problem, I'm sure it won't take long to find a corner to put my pillowcase in."
He laughed. "See ya later, man."
"See ya." I replied and he disappeared in the distance through the bustle of bodies moving along the same sidewalk.
First impressions are powerful, being unimpressed is just as powerful. I saw the apartment, briefly, because that's the only way it could be seen. Efficiency apartments at this day and age and in this city, particularly, only had two doors. The front door opened to a plain white walled room with one window, the second door led to a closet-sized bathroom. It still managed to be a full bathroom, sink and toilet overlapping slightly and a narrow slot-shaped piece of raised tile floor contained the shower. I would have it all to myself. I asked the property manager what the maximum amount I could put down, and in confusion, she told me the minimum of the deposit and the first month. I told her I wanted to pay up as far as she was comfortable with taking. She looked around dumbstruck, and told me how much I needed to put down for a whole year, and I paid that much. Johnny was right, she let me move right in.
I dropped my sack of belongings in the corner and put together my tiny setup. I was able to get a direct GSS internet line, and all the other utilities set up and running within the hour. Businesses jumped and rushed to do what they had to, to get my money. I decided that was enough playing around for the moment and left my new place to find a new OASIS console and something to sleep on, maybe even some clothes. The first I visited was a large retailer electronics department store. I knew I was going to overpay here, but I wanted to take the stuff home with me today and not wait the three to five business days just to save a few credits. I made a bee-line to the back corner of the store where all of the good stuff was packed into display cases and behind metal bars. I didn't want to waste too much time looking around, until the most beautiful thing with buttons I'd ever seen caught my eye. Avenger brand Delta 551 OASIS controller, it looked exactly like the old MX8 prototype assault rifle, but it had a tactile shoulder rest for simulated recoil and a variety of buttons and switches conveniently placed for combat advantage. "She will be mine. Oh yes, she will be mine." I muttered under my breath. There was a small cardboard UPC card hanging in front of the display, so I took one and continued to the back of the store. When I looked upon my choices, the consoles had clear labels ranging from 'filthy casual' cheap and basic units all the way up to 'spare no expense' models that were so cutting edge they had to be contained in a large metal briefcase so no one would get hurt handling them. "Fuck it." I said aloud, breaking through my own indecision, and I grabbed the UPC card for the deluxe unit. I realized that I would need new gloves, too, so I went an aisle over. The choices were less clear cut then my previous shopping endeavors, and I had done zero research on any of the Haptic gloves. Until I stepped into this aisle, I didn't know they had ceiling suspended immersion rigs. It was too much, not too expensive, but the idea of being suspended from the ceiling with an adult version of a baby bungee swing was more than I could take. I ventured further down and saw they had brochures on everything that had overwhelmed me and they had package information and special offers when combining items. I then realized the two things I already had picked out were parts of the Solo Hero package. If I chose to go with that package, I would also get an Exoskeleton Haptic suite, with gloves to match and an elevated Teflon basin and suspension structure. I would end up saving money getting it, so I did.
I opted not to leave the store with any of the items I picked up, but I set up a delivery time for later today. The guys bringing it in would setup the suspension rig, so I didn't have to worry about fucking that up. Across from the electronics store was a furniture store. I walked through their intentionally one-way maze, grabbing up item information to make my purchases at the end. I didn't get anything flashy, the queen sized bed might have been the most extravagant thing I ordered, everything else was just for filling up the little space I had. A black headboard for the bed, a black dresser and night stand, a little black counter height table with two black stools, and two single recliners. Everything I got ended up being black, not because my soul is an abyss spiraling into oblivion, not the entire reason, but mostly because the walls were all white and the concrete floor happened to be stained white. I did get a huge red high-pile shag rug for the living room/bedroom/kitchen. None of this stuff would be delivered today, so still had to find a solution for sleeping tonight, since the sleeping bag wasn't mine so I didn't take it, but I really didn't need it anyway.
After visiting a few more stores, I ended up needing to rush back to the apartment to get all my new toys put in. I consolidated everything into one bag, it was mostly clothes, a pair of shoes, a jacket, and I dumped a bachelor kitchen kit into the bag on top of all that. I got home and still beat the delivery guys there. They came in, setup all the toolless stuff first, asked me some question about where I wanted it placed, and then made it very permanent. I wasn't getting my deposit back. I put on my new pieces and logged in. To my surprise, the Delta 551 and the Haptic Quickdraw played well together on my new balls-to-the-wall rig, it even prompted me to assign what weapon classes each of them would control. I kept the Quickdraw on my hip for my sidearm and other pistols and checked the little box next to 'everything else' for the Delta 551. Once that was all settled, I started the download of all that information and sifted through it while I waited.
I now knew a guy for every possible thing. I had several weapon specialists and arms dealers that had specialties varying from type of weapon to a collection of weapons divided by genre. I also had a guy who would auction stuff off for me, legitimately or through the new black market stalls I had access to. He took a cut, like consignment, but he also gave me the vendor price immediately and the rest of my cut when it sold, and it always sold. He, like everyone else in my network, was very good at what they did, and they all take their jobs with serious pride. I didn't come across any in-game realtors in my network, so I had to find my own hideout through official channels. I juggled the concept in my head about just using a really large spacecraft, so it would be mobile, like the ship I was on previously, but I didn't like the initial price or the price of the upkeep. The next best option, between cost and mobility, was a small space station. It had all of the amenities of a large vessel at a fraction of the cost, and if I really wanted to, if it was absolutely necessary, I could move it. My last option weighed in as the cheapest, least mobile, and least functional. A warehouse style complex was available near the center of the universe. The warehouses and compounds were so cheap and in such great numbers scattered all over the OASIS that I could justify getting a few, or a dozen. I needed a secure location to store all my stuff, I definitely wanted it to be as defenable as possible, but I also wanted to be able to pick up and move at a moment's notice. I was either stuck with the premium of premium options or multiple small scale cheap option. I needed more time to think about this, my brain kept telling me it wanted all of them at the same time. A stationary base of operations where I could dock my mobile castle would be incredibly useful, and having multiple secret bases around the universe would cover my ass if anything did go wrong. I moved on to updating my arsenal to give myself some time to figure it out.
The black market I walked through before was a fake. A simulation inside of a simulation. The real black market looked like a flourishing mall that happened to be located in a ghost town, well, 256 copies of a ghost town, and it wasn't in any of them, it was under them. The underground black market was literally underground. Genius. I strolled through the decorated paths lined with ships with a pretty solid idea of what I was looking for. What I needed included a sniper rifle, a new revolver, a secondary side arm for dual wielding, a reliable machine gun, some explosives, and a few magic items to match the caliber of the tech items I was looking for. I also needed some individual magic items for some quality of life changes. I also kept an eye out for any kind of armor upgrades, even though what I currently had equipped was all optimized for how I play.
I worked into the night, I ordered some takeout and used my shower for the very first time. I had very different feelings about shopping when there was so much money involved. When everything was said and done, I still had over half of the original account balance. Who ever wanted those clones dead has the means to make their dreams come true, in and outside of the OASIS. I made arrangements to have a Federal Corvette materialized in a hanger I could quickly teleport to with my new load out. I could keep most of my new items on me, but there was redundancy in my purchases, so it would be best for me to fill the weapon cache on my new ship with them. The items I knew for certain I would keep in my inventory filled my loadout slots so I could switch between the guns and explosives with a single action instead of drudging through and inventory menu. I could easily swap to a Barrett 122 .50 cal sniper rifle after fanning my revolver The Last Word. All the different weapons were a button press away, or a controller switch in my case.
Dawn poked through my single window, I still hadn't been to sleep yet, but I also didn't have a bed here yet. I took everything off, down to my underwear and tried to find a nice place to lie down where the sun couldn't hurt me. I needed curtains or something to cover this widow, but that was an afterthought. I rolled over to my stomach, kicked one leg out and up and put my head sideways on my folded arms and passed the fuck out. A banging at the door shook me awake, I couldn't have been asleep for more than a few seconds, but looking through my only window, I saw the sun high in the sky. I put my clothes on from yesterday and rushed to the door to stop the continuous pounding.
"Delivery!" A heavy set man wearing white overalls, yelled through the small crack in the door as I opened it partially. I closed it and unlocked the door the rest of the way. "Where do you want it?" He asked me as he entered the tiny apartment.
"Which part's first?" I asked back.
"I meant all of it, where do you want us to put your stuff."
I pointed around the room and instructed him where I thought each piece would fit, and if it didn't, that I would figure it out later. The bed came in first, which I was excited for the most. This would be my first real bed, as far as I can remember. Everything fit just as well as I expected it to, my OASIS set up did disrupt my initial plan for how everything should have been placed. It all worked together and made my space look a million times better, it also cut that annoying reverb down to nothing. The giant rug I ordered, however, didn't fit in any direction I tried to put it in. So I ended up cutting a square out of it, along with a relief cut, so I could easily put it around my Haptic station without it trying to climb the far wall. This setup pleased me, I had things to lounge on, sleep on, and eat at when I wasn't jacked into the immersion rig. I signed some papers and the crew left me all alone in my recently fully furnished apartment. Today was pretty much spent for me, I decided to get some more take out then sleep off the rest of the day, but before I went to bed I duck taped a black trash bag around my window. Now I could sleep easy.
