Chapter Thirty-Three - Stealth, But For Real This Time

Chapter Thirty-Three - Stealth, But For Real This Time

Chapter Thirty-Three - Stealth, But For Real This Time

While its true that every Samurai is very much unique, you can still observe some patterns in their collective behaviour.

Notably, their spending habits tend to fall into two broad categories:

Those who purchase new equipment frequently.

And those who find a tried and true style, and keep to it until they need to adapt.

--Excerpt from On the Habits of Gods, 2046

***

Gomorrah parked near ground level, right up against the side of a building and halfway into a traffic lane. Something in her car had all the trucks behind us funnel around to give us some room.

So, youll go up, and Ill see about clearing an escape route? Gomorrah asked.

Thats the whole of it, yeah, I said. I stepped out of Gods Righteous Fury, then took off my coat. It had a few holes in it; annoying ones that I found way too obvious even when the rest of it was invisible. Can you stay here for a bit? I asked.

I can, Gomorrah said. Whats up?

I flung my coat onto the passenger seat, then stretched a bit. Need new gear.

Do you have the points for it? Also, that jacket had better not be dirty, she warned.

Its probably not, I said. And yeah, got... just shy of eight thousand to spend.

Christ.

I leaned down to look into the car. Gomorrah had a hand over the mouth of her mask. You stub your toe or something?

Thats a lot of points. Why havent you spent them yet?

Catherine, Myalis said from the cars speakers. Is exceptionally frugal for a Vanguard. Foolishly so.

That AI would have me burning all of my points as soon as I get them, I said. Money and points are for saving. You never know when youll need them. Like right now.

Gomorrah leaned back. Well, hurry up. And please dont take off any more clothes than you already have.

No cameras on the outside of your ride? I asked.

There are plenty. I dont want to soil them with images of you undressed. Gomorrah flicked a switch and the door next to me snapped shut with a hiss.Rêạd new chapters at novelhall.com

I showed the side of her car my finger, knowing that she could see it in full 8K from where she sat. Rude, I said. So, Myalis, I need gear.

Im always ready to accommodate. Youre looking for stealth-specialized equipment?

And a new jacket, I said. I think Ill give that other one to Lucy? The bullet holes give it a certain look when its not invisible.

Shall I inform Lucy that you want to see less of her?

Handgun (currently have 1x holsters empty)Coat. Possibly Stealth-Tech.Ammunition (Trench Maker + Arm launcher)Additional protectionAdditional firepower

Lets start from the top then, I said as I started towards an elevator. It was one of those big cage-y ones that you could lose an arm with by sticking it out through the bars. Why do you think I need a second handgun?

You have two arms and two slots in your holster.

Thats a great reason to have more guns, I said. Wasnt exactly hard to convince me. I want something really cool.

How incredibly vague.

And not cat-themed.

That significantly reduces my options.

I chuckled. Come on, there has to be something else?

Very well. Perhaps as an alternative to your Trench Maker which can use nearly any sort of ammunition, a more specialized handgun? The Victorious Model Seven. Its a handgun that fires subsonic osmium rounds through a barrel that is essentially one large suppressor.

So it fires a big heavy bullet but doesnt make much noise? I asked.

Any noise. Also, the gun only fires smart rounds. They have small ailerons that can turn and adjust the trajectory of the round mid-flight in order to curve towards your intended target. Perfect for someone whose aim is as creative as yours. Adjustable rate of fire. Cyclical, single-use twenty round magazines. The only issue is the guns weight when fully loaded. Though that does help with its recoil.

Sounds cool enough, I said. How much?

Eighty points.

That was getting a little expensive. Not crazy-expensive, but on the higher end of things. Then again, it wasnt even a hundreth of what I had. Sure, and enough magazines to fill my holster.

New Purchase: Victorious - Model Seven

Points Reduced to: 7865

I paused and raised both hands just in time for a neat little box to fall into them. Popping the surprisingly hefty box open revealed a sleek handgun. All angular and sharp, with a rectangular barrel and angled grip. The top had a sort of tiny scope, glassy at one end and flat at the other. I held it out before me and a holo-graphic sight appeared above it.

Nice, I said.

There wasnt much to shoot at though, so I stuffed it away into my shoulder holster after making sure the safety was on.

I picked up the next two things to drop before me. Two rather heavy magazines that I handed to the little grabby arms of my holsters even as I walked out into a space with wall-to-wall vending machines and a few dozen street rats mingling around.

They eyed me, I grinned back. They couldnt see it through the helmet, but I liked to imagine that some of the expression came through.

I need a jacket, I said. A badass one.

Another wonderfully precise description.

Youre usually pretty good, I said. And no cat themes.

Youre ruining my fun.

Deal with it.

***