Chapter 55: Machinations

  “Samurais can often have problems with intimacy. It kind of comes with the job. You’re given power beyond people’s imagination and want to be close to someone else that doesn’t have that power. The imbalance can cause quite a few issues, let’s say.

  Still, it’s worth it! Love is always worth it.”

  –Samurai Lovy-Dovy, online AMA, 2051.

  ***

  “Are you sure it’s alright?” I asked Lila and Robin for the twentieth time.

  “Stop your pussyfooting and just go for fuck’s sake! We can hold down the fort without a samurai for a few hours, come on!” Lila admonished me, again.

  “Ain’t a thing to worry about Mad, they got this. Buildin’s got more enforcers than it takes to repel a darn army. They’ll be fine while we poke around that hive location.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know, the Kais not having done anything horrible in the past month’s just got me on edge is all.” I shuffled but… yeah, I was being overprotective to the point of insanity. Maybe it was because I didn’t tend to leave the building much? Plus, hey, at full thrust I could get back real quick. Plus, Lila was looking over the family!

  Said woman scoffed. “I’ve been killing Kais long before I had crazy samurai gear, come on, fuck off!”

  We left pretty quick after that, but… Robin had that look in his eyes…

  ***

  Lila sighed next to him as Robin smirked. He knew Louis caught his look a bit, but too late now! Mouhahahahaha! “So, no plans tonight, hey?” He asked the poor confused woman next to him.

  “Uh… no? Didn’t we talk about this already?” Robin nodded, hiding his smirk much better now that he had his vic–friend’s full attention!

  “Oh, no, we did, it’s just I called someone over since then. Mind helping me entertain a guest?” Lila’s eyes narrowed instantly. Fuck, too fancy language, bitch knew his tells… “It’s just someone my husband’s close to that I want to meet, that’s all!”

  “What did you do?”

  “Nothing! I just fucking invited someone over for diner!” Lila gave him an odd look.

  “You know, if I didn’t know you any better I’d say you were trying to ease me into a Louis-less threesome.”

  He instantly balked and slugged her in the arm. “No you bitch, Jackal’s gay!” A moment of silence later, he cursed. God damn it, Lila just knew him too well for the usual machinations to work. Implying being unfaithful in their somewhat open relationship really got him angry and flustered… Just because he used to be a whore didn’t make him a bad husband! Whatever…

  “J-Jackal?” He didn’t miss the minuscule stutter in her voice that came along with the obvious mix of triumph and startlement on her face. Right, as always. He hid the smirk.

  A knock at the door, which fit so perfectly into his timetable for how much Louis would hesitate it made him smile, interrupted the conversation. “Hi Jackal!”

  ***

  “That a mighty deep mudhole. Gotta be careful with those, they’ll suck you right in…”

  I startled and turned to Johnny. I mean, he wasn’t wrong, something clearly caved in at some point, and the whole thing was half-full of acid-rain water, but… “Didn’t expect that kind of joke out of ya.”

  Johnny turned to me in confusion and it took a full three seconds before he actually recoiled. “What!? No! Gosh darn it, you’re dirtier than a rat king in a pigsty filled with ranch sauce on a sunny sunday…”

  I chuckled. Okay, yeah, made more sense. Had to say, kind of liked the southernism! “Nice one, and yeah, more your style, but speaking of, how are things with Fran–” Even though I was the strength focused one, dude could still punch damn hard! I felt so proud.

  ***

  “Hey, uh, yeah, Altany sent something about needing someone to watch over the building while he was gone? Do you need me to check out some control room or…” Robin didn’t let his sub– new friend darken the door for long!

  “No, no, come on in! Johnny Law took care of security, I’m sure your AI can interface with it no problem.” The poor samurai was no match for his hidden charisma stat and absolute unflappable demeanor! “Oh, wait, you haven’t met Johnny yet, have you? I think you’ll like him. He’s, like, this pure white little angel that’s fun to dirty up, you know?” Jackal didn’t know how to answer that, which just gave him more time to bring her to the dinner table without protests!

  “Thank you for the peace of mind, really. It’s really nice for you to come here and help out even though it’s not some point farm, don’t you think Lila?”

  Finally, someone else got to talk! After a very secretive death–glare, the woman did answer. “It really is. I mean, is that a samurai thing, the whole selflessness and helping people and all that?” Jackal shuffled a bit and even with all the armor on, Robin could tell she must be blushing hard!

  “I-I didn’t really have anything else going on, it’s not much of a fucking bother…” Alright, off to a great start! Time to let things percolate. Jack, his assistant for the evening, started crying right on time for his dinner!

  “Oh, sorry, gotta take care of that. Have at it, it might be a while.” Robin said while gesturing at the table, plenty full enough for two and a half people, just enough to not be too obvious. He headed out, happy for a job well done.

  ***

  Jackal removed her helmet since, well, it felt a bit fucking rude, not that she usually gave a fuck. She lowered her voice to something Mad’s husband wouldn’t be able to hear. “Uh… Is your friend setting us up?”

  Lila sighed, big and heavy. “Yeah. Gimme a fucking sec…” The woman answered while pawing at the ground under some sink. The sound of a biometric safe opening heralded the coming of a very expensive bottle of whiskey. “To apologize or… wait, do you drink?” The snort that came out of her was answer enough.

  “Not very… hum, subtle.” Lila plopped a glass in front of her and poured a finger for the both of them. Then, she downed it, poured another and started sipping.

  “Not meant to be. My guess is he knows that we know, and it becomes a conversation starter, an early funny story or some bullshit like that. Best not to go down the rabbit hole of motivations, that man’s mind is a fucking mystery…. That way lies madness. Well, except for Panda but… actually no, fits perfectly.” She said with a small humorous smile.

  Jackal hesitated a bit, but after a few moments, just went ‘fuck it’. “Give me a sec…” She took off her armor, since this was apparently a fucking date, better to… she had no fucking clue. First date for her, really.

  The whole process didn’t take long. She ended up in under-armor, her backup super-compressed leather pants and jacket stored in the armor –boy did she learn that lesson the hard way!-- fitting like a glove, which had taken some getting used to.

  She wasn’t the self-conscious type when it came to nudity and… well, she wasn’t nude! No reason to blush… Even with how Lila looked at her…

  Maybe she shouldn’t have changed in front of her… It’d been habit! Also, well, she was wearing under-armor! That shit wasn’t underwear, all of her scars were covered…

  Lila’d been nice about it, realizing her attention caused a bad reaction after a few seconds of stolen glances. A small smile did stretch at her lips, which… kind of surprised her. Having people look at her that way usual pissed her the fuck off but… Well, it’s not like her eyes didn’t wander when she bent over… and every second of their conversation…

  Fuck she needed more experience. Well, this’d be experience no matter what!

  After less than a minute of changing at samurai speed, she sat back down and took a deep breath. Then, she downed the glass in one shot.

  Wow, that was a sipping whiskey! She cleared her throat quickly to hide a small cough. Fuck, Lila noticed! She didn’t want to look like a pussy!

  Quickly, her glass was refilled. “Sorry, yeah, that’s not really shots material.” Well, it did taste pretty good. Her enhanced nose picked up quite a lot, including a lack of poison. Good baby steps… probably…

  Jackal cleared her throat. “Hum, yeah. So, are you irish?” She asked without thinking. Did that make her pause?

  “Just a bit more than you’re Abenaki.” She said before hiding her expression with another small sip.

  “Ah, no folk outside the building?”

  “None that don’t dese–” Lila suddenly cut off mid-sentence, apparently frozen.

  “Shit, sorry, you don’t…”

  “No, no, sorry, it’s alright, it’s hum… Just getting used to the idea that I… can talk about it I guess?”

  “You don’t have to…”

  “No, no, I want to! Or, I guess kind of…” It took another couple sentences of mutual fumbling before Lila actually started talking. “I hum… I have a son. Panda’s helping me get him back. His sperm donor had custody because, well, he had to think I was dead. Didn’t really have a shot at… anything while under his control…”

  Jackal nodded easily at that. “Knew quite a few like that, mostly girls but a few guys as well. I’m guessin’ powerful?”

  Lila nodded gloomily. “Shareholder.”

  She whistled. “Fuckin’ hell. Your shot out of the shit?”

  “Nah, rich parents, sold me at sixteen…” Jackal’s glass broke by accident. Fuck! She usually had better control of her strength, damn…

  It barely took thirty seconds for Lila to clean up the broken glass and just like that, she had a new glass in front of her. “Fuck, you’re good at that…”

  Lila… blushed? “Yeah, taking care of kids’ll do that… Not the hottest thing around…”

  That got a snort out of her. “Nothin’ wrong with that, which I was better at that shit.” Was that relief on her face? Whatever…

  “So, hum, I’m guessin’ not on good terms, eh?”

  “Nnnnop!” Looks like the scotch was doing its job. “Aggressively Irish, which, for a family from here’s just a bit fuckin’ weird. Who the fuck gets their kids to taste-test whiskey at fourteen?”

  Jackal snorted, getting looser herself. “Even I know that’s bad parenting.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “Right? I mean, Louis’ parents did maple syrup tastings, that’s aggressively french-canadian and except for potential cavities, it wouldn’t fuck up a kid!”

  That actually got a laugh out of her! Fuck, when’s the last time she laughed like that? “Gotta say, I’m new to the region, don’t really get the whole Frenchy stuff…”

  Lila put a finger up while she swallowed her latest drink. “Shouldn’t say that…”

  “Oh, sorry, didn’t…” Then, the woman facepalmed.

  “Shit, sorry, shouldn’t…”

  “Nah, I don’t want to insult the people around here, I’d rather know.”

  Her… date sighed. “No, it’s just… It’s like, one of those things that’s fine to say unless you know, you know?”

  “Hum… Not really?”

  “It’s like… Okay, super shitty comparison, but it’s like saying the ‘N’ word with an A, but everyone says it and everyone that it hurts is too polite to say so.” Jackal blinked a few times to try and make that compute through the booze.

  “I… think I get the concept? What’s wrong with it?”

  “Implies they’re not Canadian, like calling some group of Americans British or somethin’. Old-Montreal’s hockey team were called the ‘Montreal Canadians’ for a reason. It’s more an ethnicity than a culture, really. I mean, it’s different nowadays, but the way his mom told it, seeing ‘fuck off frenchy’ graffitied on your grandparent’s retirement community’s signage when visiting them in Ontario will make you rethink your view of that shit. Also, there’s stories of getting curb-stomped in the wrong army bar because of an accent, plus there’s all the online shit. I mean, I saw a guy call him ‘the downfall of Canada’ once. Did you know there’s a Canadian KKK? Guess who’s on the list?” Lila closed her mouth and blushed as she realized it turned into a rant.

  Jackal didn’t let the silence stretch for long. “You really fucking care about him, don’t you?”

  That got the woman to blush a bit more. “Uh… Yeah, I do. Took me a while to admit, honestly, but he’s… like a brother, you know? Fought for me from the moment I met him… We fought together, he trusts me more than I trusted him for way too long, I… When he asked for my help carrying Jack it… After my son, it felt… I don’t know how to describe it. He’s, like, the whole reason I got even a little bit of a chance to get my son back… He paid the bribe, Altany was my lawyer, I just… He’s family.” She ended the messy speech simply. Didn’t bother her.

  ***

  “Fuck this fucking hive and its fucking fucked up shitty fucking construction! This plan can suck a throbbing cum drenched horse-cock!”

  “It was your plan Mad! The heck’s wrong with it?”

  “You ever fucking tried melee fighting in fucking mud!? Almost around the fucking–Fuck you you tentacled fuck! argh!--” Johnny got the concept.

  They’d found a heck of a good tunnel for Mad Panda to attract the hive’s attention to. One of the reasons he knew the guy was getting close? A model four getting thrown at the wall! Boy, Mad was gettin’ strong!

  He really tried not to laugh at the poor guy slippin’ and slidin’ all over the place. It looked hilarious in his defence! Add a reflex enhancer, muscle augs and a dozen model threes hanging on to him into the mix and it made for quite the show!

  Didn’t stop him and the six newbie enforcers from opening fire! His armor could take it, and if the kinetic energy threw him off balance to faceplant into the mud? Well, shit happens.

  ***

  Lila tried to get the conversation moving off of herself. “So, guess I should ask, got another name than Jackal?” The scarred woman gave a little frown, her cheeks clearly a bit heated from the booze.

  “Not one I prefer…”

  “Yeah, I get that. Lots of enforcers are like that. I had Altany change my name legally.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, used to be Irene. Like I said, aggressively Irish.” She shared with a small laugh, hoping she wouldn’t be the only one to open up tonight. Jackal apparently sensed it, better give her another option than that kind of loaded shit. “Got anyone you’re close to?”

  “No, not really… Well, I’ve had people, the gang that found me in the garbage for one. They raised me, taught me how to be a thief. They’re dead. Some to the aliens, others to, you know, the street.”

  Without thinking, Lila reached and put her hand on the younger woman’s forearm. “Sorry, you don’t have to, you know?” Wait, younger woman? Since when was she old herself!? She didn’t even reach thirty! God, taking care of kids really aged her. Worth it, but still… Wait!

  ‘Altany, she’s legal, right?’

  Yes, only a few years younger than you, obviously so I might add. You should reduce your consumption I believe.

  ‘Nnnnnnop!’

  “It’s alright, some of ‘em were cunts, but a bunch were decent folk. Had a few… I guess mentors after that? They all died or ran… Hard to get close to people after that. Ended up kind of a solo-op gal. Still, I remembered that, you know, I was alive ‘cause people helped me. Always stayed on the lookout for kids in need. I ain’t no saint, at all, a bit the opposite, but still, stayed on the lookout for kids like I used to be.” She could understand that. One of the reasons she ended up protecting the brothel girls herself.

  Lila nodded in understanding. “I know the feel, Louis does the same for people. If you want less assholes in the world, helping someone’s the best way to go about it.” She suddenly realised her hand hadn’t moved from the girl’s arm. Was that wrong? Fuck she lacked experience with dating. Fucking, she knew, but dating? Not really…

  Jackal smiled at her, one side of her mouth quirking up in a way that looked just right and… did things to her. “Thanks. That’s kind of how I became a samurai. Knew a kid gang, you know, teenagers and younger coming together to survive. They’d get massacred by the xenos, so I got in the way. Had a few knives and a discount-bin SMG.”

  “Gotta ask, what’s with all the knives? I don’t disapprove, at all! Just curious.”

  “It’s alright, I know it’s a bit of an odd choice. As a thief, well, ceramic-blades don’t show up on magnetic scanners.” She said with a shrug to Lila’s snort.

  “Damn, why didn’t we think of that!”

  “It’s a bit of a dedicated thief thing. Although, yeah… Stabbing things that need stabbing can get…” The cute girl hesitated, so Lila took over.

  “Cathartic and satisfying?” She finished with an understanding smile. It surprised the other woman apparently. “Did a lot of stabbing when we revolted. Felt damn good to get revenge.”

  “I know right? I’ll also admit, the bat as a non-lethal also feels great.”

  She laughed at that. “I’ve had occasion, yeah, although it happened when I ran out of ammo.”

  They shared a laugh and a small silence fell over them for a little bit before her impromptu date clearly tried to get the subject off of herself. “So, you’re getting your son back! That’s awesome, any idea when?”

  “A bit over three weeks. We’ve been drilling, analyzing scan data of where he’s being kept. We got a good plan. I tried to get the other enforcers not to follow since, you know, I hate putting them in danger for my own shit, but… Well, the general sentiment was apparently ‘fuck off, we’re helping and you can’t stop us’.”

  “You got good people.”

  “I really, really do. I’m lucky as fucking hell to have them. I always thought I had to do this alone, but my friends just won’t fucking let me!” Lila added with a laugh.

  “Bet it’ll be pretty fucking satisfying to kill that cunt…” Lila’s face betrayed her apparently. “... or not.”

  “We… The plan’s to focus on getting my son back. His safety’s what matters and adding Rodrick as a second objective might endanger him, especially since Panda wants to keep things less lethal.”

  “Oh? He’s not a fan of lethal?”

  “Well… I’ve never seen him hesitate when it was required, but he needs that little push of… inevitability I guess is the right word? He’s not like me or a lot of the enforcers. I accepted what I do a long time ago, but he doesn’t feel great about that shit most of the time. Wait, is that common with samurais?” Lila asked, a bit worried what the girl would think of a killer like her.

  “Yes and no and yes.” Jackal answered with a wry smile. “Samurais don’t kill that often in general, but since those are the ones that make the news, well… I met Panda’s type before, been at it longer than him or Johnny, you know? Seems like the type that doesn’t hesitate when necessary, but he needs to see it’s necessary. Seeks other solutions first, which I respect.”

  “Is that your type?” Lila asked, curious.

  “No.” Jackal looked away, not elaborating.

  “Me neither.” She said, trying to reassure. Her hand, which she still hadn’t removed from the woman’s arm, tightened in support. Just a little ‘it’s alright’ gesture.

  ***

  I was covered in mud. Not just mud, but true-ground mud, full of garbage juices and acid-rain. Oh, and antithesis gore got in the mix as well! Yeah. It got in every single little crack in my armor and fucked with my movements.

  Thank the protectors for their amazing engineering, and praise Altany for making my fucking armor airtight!

  There I stood, in front of my enforcers and Johnny, the hive’s forces mostly decimated, looking like a fucking mud golem.

  “The first one to make a shit joke is getting shot.”

  “I understand, boss. It’s a pretty s–”

  “Altany, I need some LTLs.”

  ***

  Jackal took a deep breath, reveling in the feeling of Lila’s hand on her arm. She had no idea why it felt so good. The way her thumb brushed against her for reassurance… Maybe she’d been contact-starved for too long?

  The woman threw her a life-line. “So, how’s samurai life been treating you?”

  “Pretty good! Chill for the past couple years. The Family offered me missions and I went along, but they were smart enough not to order me around. Never joined, of course, I’m no corpo scum, but they just, you know, gave me jobs here and there. I kind of went with the flow since, well, I had no fucking clue what to do. Met a bunch of others, they’re usually decent enough people, weird as fuck but still nice, never made a ton of friends though. I’ve stolen a lot of stuff from rich fucks, partially because their mansions just so happen to be full of aliens. Not my fault if looters got there after I left.” She said with a wink. Lila’s giggles sounded… beautiful. She liked getting her approval, or maybe attention?

  “Been a bit lost since… You know what. I’m pretty fucking glad you guys called me, if I’m being honest.”

  “I’m pretty fucking glad we called you too.” Lila answered with such a beautiful smile… She felt happy they’d skipped over the sore point. “So, what do you do when you’re not… samurai-ing I guess is the term? Whatever.”

  “Mesh games mostly. There’s this one where you kill antithesis, like, wave after wave and you get a bit of time between each to buy stuff? Super satisfying, get to kill a lot of shit without any guilt.”

  “Oh, yeah, I know that one, Rachael’s a big fan! We play with other enforcers often to pad out the team!”

  “Really? Damn, I always play solo, is it better with a team?”

  “Oh god, yes! You can specialize a lot more, there’s all the side-objectives you can go after, it’s so much more fun, believe me.”

  “Huh, might have to try that, but I hate matchmaking with a bunch of cunts, you know?”

  “Forget that, we got a few spots on our team, usually filled by whatever enforcer’s available, we can add you no trouble! It’d be great, Rachael’s a big fan of samurais, she’d love to meet you.”

  Jackal blinked a bit, some moisture in her eyes. Was it because she just got invited to meet the woman’s niece? Even in mesh space, that was a lot of trust… “I-I’d hum… I’d love that. I’m free whenever, not much to do outside of helping you guys out.”

  “Sounds great, what’s your style? I've always been partial to LMGs…”

  The discussion continued, getting lighter and more fun, whiskey loosening both of them up a bit. Their internal walls lowered more and more, opening up to let someone else in, maybe for the first time in a long time for Jackal…

  ***

  Pandamour: Hey darling! On my way back, a bit faster than we thought, which, yeah, with Johnny along doesn’t really surprise me. Should see him, his clean, shiny white equipment all dirty. Be there in 15. Love you!

  Moharlot: No!!!

  Moharlot: Please, please wait? Pwetty please?

  Pandamour: Darling, all your ‘please’s are pretty by default.

  Pandamour: On a related note, what the fuck kind of machinations did you set in motion this time?

  After a bit of back-and-forth, I laughed inside my helmet. Good darling, trying to make Lila happy! “Hey, who wants to celebrate? It’s your first time killing xenos, right?” Every newby nodded, each still dealing from coming down an adrenaline dump.

  They handled it well! Not specialized yet but they had points now! Plus the stuff I already set aside for them, they’d have the opportunity to grow stronger. They’d be great, all of them, I just knew it.

  Johnny made points too, which helped me feel better about receiving the list of point farms and having control over the situation. Sharing was caring!

  “Awesome possum! Altany, can you find us a place that’s fancy, doesn’t deliver, that kind of shit? Kind of feeling like making rich fucks wrinkle their nose at how we smell. I don’t want to stay there, just pickup the food and eat in the APC uh… Is there a table folded somewhere in here?”

  A holotable, yes. It is meant for mission planning, but I suppose you could eat on the extremely valuable equipment.

  “Perfect! Johnny, any preferences?”

  “Ain’t got none, but I like the idea, let’s eat fancy without all the bad fancy stuff!”

  I’ve found a restaurant and arranged for full group service inside the Armored Panda Carrier. I suggest tipping the poor waiting staff well.

  Pandamour: Bringing the team to a restaurant, eating inside the APC… after some cleanup. Thanks for helping Lila darling, you’re the best. Love you and the kids so much, have fun with your plots and schemes.

  Moharlot: Always!