Despite how notorious of a reputation Samurai have for being anti-corporate, there are rare occurrences where they do engage in agreements and contracts with specific companies, usually ones they were previously affiliated with before their initialization. These contracts almost always heavily favor the Samurai for apparent and obvious reasons, allowing for complete freedom and authoritative control of relevant projects, but the corporation’s side of the deal is usually not that bad, as these superpowered protectors are often more forgiving of people who are willing to work with them as opposed to around them.

  Well, until the corporation tries to get smart and breach the contract that is. Then there will very shortly not be a company to breach said contract.

  - “Samurai and the Art of the Deal”, 2055

  “Sho,” I said, talking through a bunch of rocky road ice cream in my mouth. “Now that your a Shamurai-”

  “Hear ye, hear ye,” Campbell interrupted, doing a tiny little knighting motion with his spoon.

  “Thanksh for that. Ash I wash shaying,” I swallowed my mouthful. “What’s the plan for Staccato going forward?”

  Rudy rolled his eyes at the name, but didn’t say anything opposing it. Guess he had accepted it. Instead, he fiddled briefly with the spoon between his fingers. “Nothing concrete, but I do have a few ideas.”

  “Alright, spill ‘em.”

  He leaned back into his chair, putting his hands behind his head while taking somewhat subtle glances towards his coworkers. “Well, for the meantime, I'm thinking of sticking with Dust Devil.”

  Both Hazel and Campbell rose their heads from their bowls and looked towards Rudy in a look of surprise. “You serious?”

  “I guess,” he said while giving a shrug. “I mean I’ve been a Samurai for what, a day? That’s basically no time at all to process these types of things. I’d rather be able to fall back on some stability before I make those big, sweeping Samurai decisions everyone loves talking about. Plus I’m not exactly fond of leaving my friends high and dry.”

  “Let me guess, Shermanson gave you a proposal, too?”

  Hazel looked at Rudy with a big smirk on her face, crossing her arms across her chest while leaning back in her chair. A look of confusion crossed his face, which slowly moved into stupefied realization, then a confirming nod. “Yeah.”

  Not being as in the loop, since last night’s agenda consisted of “collapsing into a metaphorical pile of fleshy sludge into my bed”, the obvious question slipped out. “What proposal?”

  “Shermanson is a corpo, but he isn’t stupid. As soon as he reported Rudy’s new status and received that message from you—that was funny as hell, by the way—he must have started setting up some background plans. Earlier this morning during my report to him, he made a very convincing offer for the plan going forward, an offer that I’ve run by Campbell and we’re planning on taking.”

  Campbell gave a nod. “Mhm. Say what you will about the company he works for, but man’s a good boss when the chips are down.”

  “Ah, so that’s what he meant,” Rudy added. “Yeah, he got with me before coming here and laid out his whole plan for the town now that I was a Sam’, and offered a partnership to try and help improve the place. Cemented himself in Orson with Samurai backing, and gave me reason to stay in town. Damn, he got me good.”

  “Yeah he did.” I turned to Hazel. “Do you think that Dust Devil will give you the green light for it?”

  She gave a snort. “If we take the deal we won’t even be with Dust Devil anymore.”

  “Oh shit.” I instinctively leaned forward, suddenly much more interested in the deal that had been proposed. Even took in another spoonful of ice cream and greedily shoved it into my mouth.

  “Yup, whole new company. Technically partnered with Murdock, but with so many freedoms we may as well be a separate entity. Of course, the deal’s D.O.A. if Rudy decides not to join up, since it's counting on a Samurai to throw their weight around.”

  Rudy shrugged. “It’s more accurate to say I want to stick with you guys more than Dust Devil, so if you need me to ditch them I will.” A small smirk formed on his lips. “Though don’t expect me to hold your hand through everything. Sticking with you guys isn’t the only thing on my mind.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “There’s more? Well, don’t leave us hanging.”

  What I didn’t expect was for him to turn sheepish, a soft blush coloring his cheeks. “I…want to try and run some music classes.”

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  “God, Staccato was such a slam dunk of a name,” I blurted out. Out of the corner of my eye, I didn’t fail to notice Campbell shooting a smirk towards Hazel, who prompty grumbled something under her breath that I couldn’t make out. Did they have a bet or something? “Sorry, that slipped out.”

  Rudy shot me a well deserved glare, then took a moment to collect himself. “Yeah, I…I thought it’d be nice to give this place more options outside of whatever Murdock offers. Also keep me from just killing Antithesis all the time. It lets me do something more…grounded, you know?”

  A thought popped into my mind. I searched through my pockets, yet the card eluded me, even when I stood up to check and drew the attention of the others.

  You switched pants.

  “Dammit, I switched pants.” I slumped back into the chair. “There was a place I visited yesterday before linking up with you guys. Some charity with a focus on miners. …Ugh, the name’s escaping me.”

  Campbell lost himself in thought, snapping his fingers to try and place it himself. “...Pick Me Up?”

  “That! Yeah, Pick Me Up. My point is that dude who was running it–Gil, I think–seemed like a pretty legit guy. Might not be the same field and all that but I imagine he could probably help you get stuff running. Or point you towards someone who can if he can’t.”

  Rudy had that look in his eyes indicating he was looking through his augs, so I guessed he was probably looking stuff up about Pick Me Up. “Huh, I’ll keep it in mind.”

  Hazel turned her attention to me. “So, now that you have sufficiently harassed my subordinate, would you like to tell us the plans the enigmatic Death Punch has for the future?”

  I bit my tongue. “To be honest? I’m probably leaving Orson tonight.”

  Such a statement could invoke several different reactions, ones like shock, surprise, or panic. What I didn’t expect was for the room to fall into murmurs of understanding and acceptance.

  I was a little dumbfounded to be honest. “I thought you guys would be more broken up about it.”

  “Nah, we kind of expected it,” said Campbell, in between a spoon of his ice cream. He ate vanilla, like a psychopath. Not even french vanilla, just normal vanilla. “You’ve always given off the vibe of “lone wanderer who enters a town but never stays too long.” Ever seen a western?”

  “Can’t say I have. Way before my time.”

  And yet you are able to reference The Hobbit, of all things.

  “Shut. But…well, you kind of got it in one. I always was planning to pass through Orson and nothing more. Spend a few days here, get my fill of the place, then head on out. That plan's just been accelerated by yesterday’s events. Pleasure turning into business kind of puts a damper on my trip, and I wasn’t particularly attached to the town anyways.”

  “Can’t blame you,” Hazel added. “There really isn’t much to the place unless you are a fan of dirt, rocks, and coal.“

  She gave a playful jab to Rudy’s side. “Maybe our shiny new Sam’ can do something about that.”

  Watching a new routine of playful bickering start up, I went for another spoon of my ice cream, only to be met with the scraping sound of an empty bowl. I’d taken the last solid parts and now was left with that liquid bit that always melted into the bottom indents and felt impossible to get out. Maybe I should take that as my cue to bow out.

  I rose from my seat and brought the bowl over to the office sink, giving it a quick wash. “Well, fellas, it’s been fun, but I think its about time for me to skedaddle. Gotta pack up, make plans, and all that other stuff.”

  “What plans do you ever make?” Rudy snarked.

  Dammit, he knew I was full of shit. “Important ones, very important ones.”

  Hazel rose from her seat and brought up a hand for a shake, to which I firmly accepted. “Well, it has been an honor to have worked with you Max, despite everything that happened. We couldn’t have taken down those hives without you.”

  “Yeah, that was a fun couple of hours we spent with you,” Campbell said next, also rising from his seat. “...until it wasn’t, of course, but hey, you at least had the hospitality to give us free ice cream. Can’t say that about that bullet bomb guy, can you?”

  Rudy stood up last. “Thanks for guiding me through being a Sam’ during the hive raid. I’m sure I’ve still got a lot to figure out, but it was nice having a shoulder I could fall back on. Still not a fan of that name you gave me, though.”

  All those nice things–and Rudy’s remark–made me crack a smile. “Get in line, kid. No, y’all have been great to be with, and I’d totally do it again if I decided to settle down here. But, y’know, western wanderer trope or whatever Campbell said.

  “Tell Shermanson that I’m no longer irritated by him. Still a corpo, but also seems like a nice dude otherwise. And, hey, if you ever need anything from me, shoot me a call or something. I’d say you know where to find me but…I don’t really got a place to find, do I?”

  Hazel gave one final snort as I slipped through the door. “Have a safe trip.”

  Listening to the door click closed behind me, I unintentionally mouthed my next thought, albeit quietly. “But where’s the fun in that?”

  You seem to have had a good time with them.

  I switched over to using my augs to chat, otherwise travelling back through the hallways of the Murdock building in relative silence.

  [What gave it away, the fact I was willing to bring ice cream and talk shit with them?]

  No, the tone of your voice when talking to them is one that I have found to appear when you are feeling positive about something.

  [What a wonderful clinical answer.]

  So, what now?

  [What now indeed, what now indeed. All I know is I don’t want to do my travelling on foot anymore. One time was enough.]

  Does that mean what I think it does?

  [Yep. Max feels like buying a motorcycle.]

  I thought this day would never come.