Chapter 44 – Keeping in touch

Chapter 44 – Keeping in touch

“Don’t trust anything they wanna jam in yer skull! Those implants will turn you into mind controlled slaves at the push of a button! I tell ye, that’s just all fockin’ bullshit to control ye! Wake up sheeple, all they want is to steal yer bodies!”

- Post on the pre-net Internet Forum ‘TechFreaks’, about the rise of the augs, 2025

While we waited on Jenna, Chloe and I chatted about a few mundane things, my plans for the district, how I would go about it, what she planned to do for a little while.

I also wanted to give Tina and Castas a call, as well as Victor. Those three had some things I wanted to talk to them about and while I still wasn’t sure about Tina, considering the whole... Sarah episode, I wanted to do it sooner, rather than later. It was important.

Thinking about Sarah made me slump a little, that same guilt and feeling of helplessness washing over me once more. Chloe’s presence helped a lot. It calmed me, calmed the whole chorus, and gave us the strength to follow through with the call.

Deciding that I had some time, I called Victor first. He was more likely to be awake already, and it gave me time to prepare before I spoke with the other two.

“Seraphine,” Victor's voice came when he picked up.

I was of course using my virtual realm to call him, and watched the call window when he picked up. Victor looked... tired. Not bad, not really, just exhausted. Not a surprise to be honest, considering that we had just gone through an incursion.

“Victor, morning. You tried to contact me?”

“Yeah... Heard that some changes are coming. I’m not gonna pretend that I like them, Samurai or no, but I’m also not stupid enough to fight you on it. I like my life and as the saying goes, don’t fuck with Samurai.”

“Glad to see you’re as sharp as ever,” I said with a smirk. For the call my avatar was wearing my combat dress, it felt a lot more fitting.

“You don’t survive by being stupid, Seraphine, you should know that better than most.”

“Oh, I do, believe me. Anyways, what did you want to talk about?”

He grimaced slightly, but it vanished quickly, “Honestly, I wanted to know when you plan to get back to it and what you have in mind for yourself when you do. You have a list of client requests long enough to clog up my server and at this point I had to block any more requests because my provider was calling me and telling me to stop melting their shit with all the traffic.”

That had me giggle, “Yeah, I can imagine. You can forward them all to me, my AI will take care of it for the moment. And I can’t tell you yet when I get to them. I have a few days off, might take a few on the day after tomorrow, who knows. But I also gotta do some Samurai stuff, you know how it is. The world doesn’t stop spinning just because you want it to.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice,” he muttered his reply, then sighed and nodded, “I’ll send them all to you. Anything you can tell me on how you’ll conduct business from now on?”

“Eh, not quite sure yet. I’ll probably still use the brothel for it, but I’m going to get it some upgrades. Not just for myself, mind you. That place needs some proper maintenance and I happen to have a swarm who is more than eager to polish some stuff. Pick a day out that works for your schedule and I’ll polish things up. Apart from that, there will be some more changes coming, I’ll be introducing a new department to keep an eye on those who might go down a very slippery slope. There was a... quite unfortunate incident yesterday and it showed me just how much we need to up our game to prevent another one. Is Galia still around?”

He nodded, “The chick you were keeping an eye on? Yeah, she is... To be honest, she isn’t looking too good. I tried to play some connections in your absence, maybe find a way to help her, but... well. She’s too high to hear much of it. We only got back yesterday, so there wasn’t a lot of time yet. Especially with the... clean up. Shame about Dax, really... That man deserved so much more. All of them did.”

Victor wasn’t typically a man I liked that much, he could be a little aggressive, but I also didn’t dislike him either. His comments made me raise my opinion of him though. He seemed to genuinely care and that spoke well to his character.

“I’ll see if I can’t drop in later today. Try and help her. That department I mentioned will be for cases like her. And I want to make it very, very explicitly clear that that’s my pet project. Any outside interference will not be tolerated and will end up with being fed to the swarm, got it?”

“Clear as holo-glass. I’ll assume you’ll be hashing out the details?”

I shook my head, “Tina will. I realised that I’m not the right person for it. She is the head of the Crimson Rose who are in charge of the Joytoys and the brothel business. With her expertise and her people she’s much better at it than I could ever be. She talked to you yet?”

“Yeah. Called yesterday evening, after we cleaned up here. She also mentioned that incident I’m pretty sure you are talking about... How are you taking it? I know I can come off as a bit of an asshole, and you would be right to say I’m asking for more than just personal interest. Truth be told, we can’t afford our patron Samurai to have a breakdown.”

Typical Victor, always so rough around the edges. But his voice told me he wasn’t entirely without personal concern. And he was right.

“I’m... okay. Not fine yet, but I had a long talk earlier and I have people who keep an eye on me. It still hurts, of course. It hurts like a motherfucker if I’m honest. But I’ll live.”

“Good to hear... Be careful out there, you hear me? Now, was there anything else? Need to start on the day’s admin shit.”

“Not really, no. I’ll let you know about the details of my own job when I hammer them out. Maybe keep Galia off the books for today?”

“I can do that. She won’t be happy about it, she takes Shiver like Sharon... But I can manage. Just make sure to swing by, okay?”

“Will do. Later.”

He nodded, then cut the call. I sighed in the virtual realm, rubbing my face, and taking a moment before I placed the next call.

The news about Galia was not unexpected, but it didn’t mean I worried any less. After yesterday... I hoped I could still help her. She hopefully wasn’t too deep into it all yet, so maybe a bit of Cleanse and some therapy could help her out.

Tina picked up soon after, although Castas didn’t. It quickly became apparent why though when Tina turned on her PC cam. It was a bit outdated to have PC’s, of course, but in the redlight district there weren’t many who could afford the kind of augs to have your PC with you all the time.

Castas was with her, both sitting on the edge of the bed in nightgowns, and it was very apparent that both had just put them on, Castas still adjusting his shirt.

“Hey. I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” I asked with a smirk.

“Well, you did just kind of blue ball little Cas here, but that’s okay. We can pick up later,” Tina said with a cute giggle and gave him a loving glance.

Of course, after Cheryl’s comments I had been aware of the two maybe being an item, but so far it had all been distant and not that obvious. Until now, at least.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you, give you a prio order. Tina and I can tag team you and show you heaven,” I said, my smirk growing.

“That’s not the kind of offer I should reject, huh?” he asked, glancing at Tina.

“No, silly, you shouldn’t. You know how good I am, Seraphine is leagues above me. How does this evening sound?”

I shrugged, “Probably won’t have time then. I can manage in two days, if you want? Maybe tomorrow, but I’ll see what the day brings first.”

“Okay, I’ll hold you to it,” Tina said with a dangerous smile on her lips, but it quickly sobered. “How are you? After yesterday...” She hesitated, obviously unsure how to continue.

“I’m getting there,” I told her with what I hoped was a reassuring smile, but truth be told I probably didn’t quite manage it, “I’m sorry, Tina... I know there was nothing I could have done, but... I’m sorry.”

“Your AI sent me a summary of what she figured out... I’m just as sorry as you are, Sera. To know that entire... thing went down without any of us noticing... I knew she was in bad straits, but that was a whole lot more fucked up than I ever could have imagined.”

“Yeah... It’s why I’m calling you. There are changes I want implemented and soon. To make sure shit like that doesn’t happen again. Or to at least make it a whole lot less common. Just talked with Vic, so he knows, but you’re in charge of the Joytoys. The details are for you to hammer out, but basically I want a department for that kind of crap. Have some place to keep an eye on things, people that anyone can go to for help. We can’t entirely stop it, not with how fucked up it all is, but we can make it better. And I want to make it clear from the very beginning that it’s my project and that anyone who fucks with it has to deal with me.”

She nodded and so did Castas.

“To that end,” I continued, looking at him, “I also want to introduce some policy changes regarding drugs. We won’t ban them, that won’t do anything and just make it all worse. But I want some kind of idea who takes what and how much, so we can keep an eye on cases that might go badly. I’m not asking you to keep an eye on everyone, I have some of my drones in the district to make sure nothing like it will happen at the moment, and I will probably ask Jenna for help regarding a more permanent system. But I want it known, maybe you can think about how best to tackle it? If you need something for it, just ask. I know your resources are limited, even with the help of Haze, so I’m willing to do what I can to help.”

“Yeah, two Samurai. I met them the day of the Incursion.”

“Damn... Three Samurai. That’s... That’s a lot. And you’d help just because I ask?”

“Of course. Helping people is what we do.”

She nodded and was about to say something when she stopped, obviously taking a moment to think through something. “If... If I ask you right now to help me with something, would you?”

“That depends. Like I said, I’m a bit strapped for time, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“It’s about work, to be honest. I’m a freelance developer, as much as you can be freelance in today’s world. Need some problems fixed and it’s been bothering me. Deadline is tomorrow, but I can’t think at all, not after the last couple of days. Boss doesn’t care and I might very well lose my contract with it. And I need it to pay off some debts I still owe. Or at least parts of them.”

“Done.”

Kaysa took my meaning and went to work. A moment later her elven form popped into existence next to my avatar.

“Problem solved. I also fixed some minor bugs and made it all a bit more efficient. Still obviously your work, but a bit better. You have talent.”

Sabrina’s eyes of course went wide at seeing her. “An elf?!”

I giggled, “It’s just an avatar. This is Kaysa, my AI helper. We’re in a virtual realm at the moment, makes it a bit easier with calls and such.”

She nodded, although the shock was still there. She probably had some issues coming to terms with it all, considering her state of mind.

“I’ve also,” Kaysa continued with a bit of a playful smile, “Adjusted your debts to be accurate. There were some discrepancies that went against the legal paperwork. Sadly I can’t do more, not without some more dedicated purchases from Seraphine’s end.”

“What do you need?” I asked her. If I could help and it wasn’t too much, then I would.

“A more dedicated hacking catalogue. There is one for 100 points that would be of help and might be useful to you in the future, if only to allow me some more direct action.”

“Get it. That’s nothing.”

Sabrina’s eyes went wide, “100 points?! Do you have any fucking clue how much that is?!”

I shrugged, not particularly caring that much, “Honestly, no clue. For me it’s ten dead xenos, that’s the work of at worst a minute, and I don’t even have to be present. If it’s to help you, I’d pay a grand if I had to. Sure, I don’t know you personally, but you’re Dax’ friend. A friend he cared deeply for. That’s the only reason I need.”

She was shocked and it took her a moment to even reply. “Are you for real? That’s more than I could ever pay back!”

Again I shrugged, giving her a warm smile, “Again, you’re a friend of a friend. That’s the only reason I need. Not to mention I’d bet my left tit that it would help people in the future too. That’s hardly points wasted.”

The well known ding from a new purchase came in, but I ignored it.

“I know this is a lot for you. Hell, I’ve been in your shoes not that long ago. But I don’t mind helping. And you don’t need to worry about me coming back to you to blackmail you or anything. Or to repay me for that matter. I want to help. So if you need something else, just gimme a call, yeah?”

“Yeah... Thanks... A lot... I don’t even know how I could thank you...”

“Just help the next person that needs it. Or just call me for that, if you feel like you can’t handle it. That’s what we’re here for, to help people.”

“Thanks... It’s... today’s been a lot... Haven’t slept yet and I’m exhausted... Too many energy drinks and trying to get everything sorted.”

That surprised me a little, considering how awake she looked when she had picked up the call. Then again, energy drinks could do wonders to people, while also completely fucking up their bodies with all the shit in them. Better than drugs though, at least for your health.

“Then take some time to rest. Your project is done, and if your boss comes knocking with a complaint, just tell him to call me. I’ll make sure he leaves you alone.”

“Again, thanks... It was nice talking to you. Seraphine, was it? Hope we can talk a little more... I’d love to take some time to chat about Dax, if that’s okay with you?”

“Of course. Rest well.”

“See you.”

And with that she hung up. Sabrina was... not really what I expected. But then again, she was under a lot of stress. Hopefully she’d find some time to rest properly.

“What did you want that catalogue for?” I asked Kaysa now that we had some privacy.

“Oh, just a few little things here and there. I squashed a few bugs trying to steal her work, made some security changes, and I may or may not have left a little note for her boss that he best do as he told her to, otherwise a few Samurai might find out about his rather unpleasant habits. Nothing illegal or immoral, but not something you’d want blasted into the net.”

“Oh? What habits?”

She shrugged, “He tends to find loopholes to get out of paying all that he needs to and might have a thing for stalking his employees and using deep fake AI tech to make porn of them fucking him or each other. A little weird, nothing illegal.”

I raised my eyebrows, but didn’t comment. I wasn’t going to butt in on that unless he fucked over Sabrina. If I would stop and do something about anyone like that I’d do literally nothing else in my life and would have to dethrone or kill every rich person around the planet.

Returning my attention back to my body I smiled at Chloe. We were sitting on one of the couches in a half-hug. Her warm body next to me calmed my mind and made the world a better place.

“Calls done,” I said softly.

“As are mine,” she replied with the same smile.

We were silent for a moment, then I spoke up, a bit hesitant.

“Chloe... You said you wanted to talk about the Hive thing... And I’m up for it. Maybe... Maybe my drones can help? We can chat a little while we eat, before we do the other thing after.”

“Okay. Sounds good to me. I’m not going to say that I’m too comfortable with your drones, because that would be a lie. But it’s part of what I need to get used to. So sure.”

“Thanks, Chloe... Really.”

Myriad, the Princess drone, appeared next to the door, dropping her invisibility. A moment later two more drones stepped into the room, all giving Chloe a warm smile and a little wave, before they moved over to the kitchen area to start food prep.

This was going to be interesting. And while I was a little anxious about it all, okay, very anxious, I was also looking forward to it.

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