Riki called his friend's name as he pushed his levitation bike into the garage. It was the place that Norris had told him to meet to get parts for his ride; all those years of neglect had shown. She could no longer make sharp turns, which could cost him if he ever entered a competition. Not that he had that in mind, but it would be good to get his bike checked on regardless.
Bison made good money at biking tournaments back in the day, in fact, when they weren't raiding supplies on their way to Ceres or even Tangura. This accomplishment made their Bison group so infamous among the aristocracy and honored above all other groups in the slums, not to mention feared.
Riki was capable of horrible things to make Bison a name to be whispered in the ivory towers and further rumored about among his peers in the slums. But he wasn't the only one; everyone here had their own stories to tell despite the short lives they had all lived; they had lived their lives with a kind of tenacity and intensity that only the strongest and the most cunning survived. Every day, someone was being murdered or tortured, and not just in Midas either. He knew better than anyone what Raul was doing in those labs.
Riki was constantly surprised at how creative killers became in Midas, even those who were involved in typical gang wars and not psychopathic serial killers. There had been a time when Riki was one of those relentless, insatiable, violent individuals who would have risked his own life, if not those around him, just to make a point or issue a challenge to another group leader. But he hoped that his immature impulsiveness was reigned in enough that he could think more clearly than he did back then. After all, judgment was affected by brain development.
It's one of the things that made Riki wonder how someone like Kirie ever got adopted into their group. Despite his useless nature and senseless babbling, the youth was ambitious. And that was something that haunted Riki to the core even while he found genuine cause to respect it. Other than seeing similarities between himself and someone as pathetic as Kirie, knowing that the very mindset Kirie had was what got Riki in trouble in the first place, was something to keep in mind.
Bison seemed to be washed up since he left, in the shadow of their former glory and accepting just about anyone into their ranks. It wasn't a good look, and amending their reputation would take a lot of work.
Just because Riki had a different mindset didn't mean he wasn't willing to start retaking territory. But coming back into the game would be a new challenge for him. He needed reliable information and to make connections to minimize the losses on the supply and territory.
It was his fault, having left them all to their own devices without leadership or even any guidelines while he was away, but he knew that was because he hadn't planned on returning. His responsibility was to work towards his group's stability and put them back on the list of names to be feared. That all began with working with what he already had and conserving until they had their first payout.
"Norris! Norris," Riki called.
The shop was small and smelled like battery acid, cleaning chemicals, and the faint scent of melted alloys and circuit boards. Some oil lubricants were on the shelf that Riki could just catch a whiff of, as well as the paste used to harden into gum over electronics.
There was once a time in history when people rode on combustible vehicles. That thought still made Riki wonder what people were thinking back then. Gasoline was a thing of the distant past in Riki's world, and he was glad for it. However, it was still used in some products, such as crude explosives. But it was laughable to think of it as an energy source at this point.
It was also dark inside the garage, and Riki had to squint to see through the dusty atmosphere ahead. Where parts of all kinds of mechanisms, from robots and vehicles to appliances, were lining the shelves. Custom shelves, from the looks of it, too, all screwed together and welded at the corners. Riki was momentarily overwhelmed at how cluttered and crowded the space was as he continued to push his hoverbike into the space. It was certainly something to behold due to the sheer amount of collectibles and probably would have been a candy store for any knowledgeable tinkerer. The amount of scavenging and bartering must have been significant.
"over here!" Norris casually answered as he waved from across the room. Norris was seated on a bench with his tremendous friend, who appeared to be the shop owner. They both seemed to be enjoying some alcohol while the mechanic took a break. Riki pushed his bike into the center of the space as the mechanic stood up and picked up a sizeable rectangular tool case.
"What do we have here?" he asked gruffly. He approached, and Norris quickly followed, jumping to his feet with an easy smile and bright eyes.
"Hey man, welcome to Maxi's Apex Auto Repair! He has everything from ordered-in parts to customs and even antiques!" Norris proclaimed and gestured to the area surrounding the shop.
"I promise you're in capable hands. I never met a man with better parts than Maxi! And he might even give us a sweet discount!" Norris added with a grin. Riki smiled back. No one could ignore the way Norris's optimism and bounce-back attitude spilled over the edges of his personality. It was the kind of welcoming aura that had most people drawn to him in the first place. Riki had nearly forgotten about it until now.
Norris came up beside Riki as Maxi hunkered down by the bike's side to better understanding of what he was working with. Norris threw an arm over Riki's shoulder playfully and added, "You know Maxi here, and I have been hanging out for a little while now, but we first met at the laundromat of all places! I had no idea why my machine wasn't working, and he figured it out in no time at all."
"There was buildup in the detergent shelf, and the faulty door had a broken lock." Maxi pitched in from over his shoulder as he pulled out some tools to begin opening the bike's side port.
"Yeah, exactly! That's why I found out that my clothes smelled like mildew! Isn't that great? Anyway, apparently, Maxi here knows nothing about folding laundry, so I helped him with that, didn't I?" Norris laughed as he patted Maxi on the shoulder, and the other grunted in reply.
"Yep, soon after that, we found ourselves drawn to the laundromat even when we didn't have laundry...then we sealed the deal, and I've been folding his laundry ever since," Norris concluded with a happy sigh.
Riki chuckled. "What a way to meet a guy," he said, not realizing his own words.
"That's right..." Norris said with a look of utter mischief. "speaking of Guy, how are you and the ponytail doing?"
Riki shrugged and pretended to itch his nose when Norris gave him another playful glance.
"Leave him alone, Norris. This is why you can't be here during work hours; you terrorize my clients," Maxi said in his deep rumbling voice. Norris scowled dramatically as he and Riki watched Maxi check a few wires under the bike's spine.
"You know I'm the one who told him about this place; you should thank me," Norris replied petulantly.
"How does she look?" Riki asked as he interrupted Norris.
"Well, the disuse hasn't helped her in the least, and my parts may be well built, but even the best parts can't fix every problem. These are custom made, so it will be 1200 once I'm done," Maxi said once he had evaluated the battery conservation drives.
"You rip off. They are just parts that you will throw away if you can't sell them," Norris said with a roll of his eyes.
"I'm not throwing these away. I have plenty of customers I can sell these to. Custom doesn't come cheap these days," Maxi explained in that same casual lumbering voice as always.
"Cut us a deal! Uhh, this is so typical," Norris complained, but Riki could tell he wasn't really upset. Of course, he wanted a cheaper price, but he wasn't about to cheat his friend either.
It amused Riki how Norris could attract someone so opposite to himself. His loud and expressive manner was a complete contradiction to that of the kind and quiet giant that Maxi was. But something about that was nice. They both seemed to complement each other in a way that Riki wasn't sure anyone else could, at least in Norris's case. As fun as he could be and direct, he could be a lot. Maxi was the perfect way to balance that energy. It showed that Maxi expertly handled all of Norris's comments.
While the two of them were negotiating a price, Riki wandered towards the shelves on the darker side of the room, where the yellow buzzing light didn't reach. There were loads of scraps and parts of things that Riki wasn't entirely sure what they once were, but his eyes caught on something that startled him from his thoughtless observations.
'Is that...a security guard robot from Eos? Why here?'
Riki thought. It was like someone had shoved liquid nitrogen down his spine, and he felt a lousy surge of adrenaline about to explode in his torso. That shape, those soulless automaton eyes, pale faces with security uniform hats...Riki stared frozen in place, breath caught, unaware that he was holding it, afraid to move but at the same time ready to run.
There was no reason to run, even if it was what he thought; it was scrap metal. He inched forward as casually as possible, yet he could not remain fully self-conscious despite not being alone. Thankfully, the other two were too distracted by each other to notice his silent crisis. Riki forced himself to take a shaky breath and faced his fear, deeper in the consuming shadows, daring to reach out towards the object of his trepidation, refusing to become compromised by something that could not physically harm him. 'mind over matter, not a victim, never again, not now not ever, it was my own choice, even if it was a bad choice, which means that I can still choose.' Riki thought to himself as firmly as the voice inside his head could speak. There was a static of panic still drolling over that voice, trying to make him remember, the surge of mental and emotional turmoil trying to make him forget. Forming walls over the remnants of his mind that three months had offered him to reflect upon. He didn't want to suffer the same tragedy over and over like a phantom that could not pass on, living in a nightmare that no longer existed, but reaching for that pale face was causing him a pain that he would re-suffer at a later time. 'i have to.' Riki told himself, needing to know, 'I have to because if I don't, then everything I am working for will have already been for nothing.'
Ride or die had been the life he led in his youth, and now he was feeling that immediate terror of choice and struggle that he had known so well before. Riki's eyes flickered with a dark stern gaze as he reached again for what looked like the Tangura security model. He would grip that soulless robot's face in his hands and face that nightmare of the not-so-distant past. 'fuck you..' Riki thought with venom as he surged forward and took hold of the robot's cap. It fell aside before Riki could establish a proper hold on it, and he saw in a sudden instant that it was alright.
It wasn't what he had thought, just some old robot model with a smooth and emotionless mask for a face. Tangura did not issue the cap it was wearing; clearly, it was never an object of value or danger at any point in its existence.
'It's just some piece of junk, ' Riki thought to himself with immense relief that washed over him. He suddenly took in a deep breath, having been holding it without realizing it. The dizziness faded just as quickly as he breathed again, and the tension he now felt rolled out of his shoulders, and his fists turned lax.
'how silly of me, thinking a Tangura android could travel all the way from Eos to midas.' Riki wanted to laugh, but he still had the side effects of jitters. He shook his head briefly to rid himself of the intellectual cobwebs.
"Fine you win, 1200. better be worth it." Riki heard Norris finally say. Maxi and Norris's voices leveled back into his head like the slow wading out from the ocean into the shallows, and with it he was greeted by the sun warming the cold from his bones. His friends.
"Great, then it's a deal," Maxi replied with a small, shy grin.
"Yeah, hey, Riki. Is there anything else you want to get?" Norris called over, and Riki began to walk back towards them. He regained his composure as quickly as he could.
"No..." he said slowly, still shaking off remnants. "Thanks for the help, though, in finding this place. Speaking of, I wanted to talk to you, Maxi, at some point. When you're able," Riki added as an afterthought.
"sure thing, we can meet on my off day, but what did you want to discuss?" Maxi asked politely.
"I want to talk business regarding my group and your shop for a collaboration."
"sounds interesting, will do," Maxi replied.
With good bye's said and one last look at the dusty shop, Norris decided to walk Riki back to the parking spot where Guy was waiting.