Arya looked at the scar on her arm and sighed before activating the mirror.
She brushed her shoulder length black hair and looked at herself for a moment. She remembered being surprised that his appearance wasn't so different from her first life. The only difference was the color of her skin, which was a bit darker, and her hair.
She looked like her father
She hooked her necklace . It shone on her black top, her worn red jeans had seen better days but it was one of her favorites.
She walked towards the living room and met her parents' gaze.
She raised an eyebrow before giving them a smirk.
They blushed quickly.
If they didn't want her to know their stuff, all they had to do was lock the door.
"Are you ready?" her mother asked in an exasperated tone
"We can go."
The trip in his father's Chevillon was done in silence. Everyone remembering why they were in that car.
The car parked in front of the Catrina, a funeral parlor run by the Valentinos.
It was the tenth funeral Arya had attended.
She had made a point of attending with her father at each ceremony before the bodies were cremated.
She owed them at least that.
As she had promised Ziggy she had prayed for him.
But today was special and she looked worriedly at her father. It was not a loss he had expected. the hologram lit up and showed a man she had never spoken to but who was related to her.
Her father's brother, Gustavo.
He had taken a bullet a day before the end of hostilities. His father had wanted to prosecute the 6th Street members but his brother's death had been one death too many. He had decided to leave the remains of the gang occupied Santo Domingo. But if they set foot in Heywood again they would be immediately executed.
She hadn't spoken to her uncle for a good reason. He was a young gangster but above all a cruel gangster.
She had overheard a conversation between him and her father. He encouraged him to invest in human trafficking. Her father had abruptly refused. Her uncle left the door with his hand on his cheek and gave her a cold look before leaving. She didn't need more to know that she didn't want to know him. She knew he hoped to become her father's successor and that she was an obstacle to his plans.
Yet she listened in silence to her father talking about him.
"I didn't know you but I hope you rest in peace beside the god of death. Valar morghulis." she whispered.
During the following days she came across graffiti artists drawing the faces of the lost Valentinos with a halo around their heads, like martyrs.
Then the time came to choose her courses.
The file that had been given to her consisted of numerous courses. But when she clicked on the netrunner courses, she only found the basic and intermediate courses. Advanced courses were locked. No wonder it was the domain of corporations.
But she clicked the padlock anyway. Surprisingly a page opened.
"Advanced courses are only available to employees of the following corporations..."
She had no interest in reading everything but sometimes some surprises could be hidden.
"With the exception of students who have passed the intermediate module exam and who have received sponsorship."
It was as she suspected, the corporations had to find a way to find new toys and watched the most promising students.
They certainly offered them access to the next module in exchange for a contract. The poor students sold their souls and 20 to 30 years of their lives to the corporations. If they could stay alive until then.
Arya closed the page and chose the basic courses. She didn't want to be a netrunner. But you still had to know the basics and know how to use a ping in this city.
She then turned to defense and security courses.
She was excited to see that they were offering simulations. Students had the opportunity to put the lessons into practice in a gym sponsored by militech. There was no surprise there. The company was always on the lookout for new toy soldiers, but Arya wasn't going to deny herself access to high-end hardware.
So she clicked on basic and intermediate courses.
"Arya, don't forget what you promised the Padre" said his mother
"I have not forgotten !"
"Then why did he call me to ask where you were?" Arya sighed and hurried towards the door.
"See you !"