Chapter 130

“It actually compiled.” Sasha muttered in surprise as she watched her quick hack go from just a pile of noodle code to a working, functional hack.

 

I’ll be honest and admit that I was tempted to copy it myself. Cyberpsychosis was a pretty nasty quickhack, but now that I’ve worked on it, I could just make my own that didn’t have fucking kitten emojis throughout.

 

“So that mean she’s legit?” Maine asked, and Sasha shook her head.

 

“No, she is more than legit.” Sasha turned to me, none of the cute kitten persona on display. “Why have I only barely heard about you? If not for the laughing man hack. I wouldn’t know who you are.”

 

“I don’t really care about rep much.” I admit with a shrug. “I don’t really do the normal netrunner stuff either. Yoko is like my only contact on the net.”

 

“I’ve met a lot of fourteen year olds. Most of them are just script kiddies. Were you some secret corpo project or something?” She asked almost in disbelief, but I just snorted.

 

“My mother was a netrunner.” I explained which didn’t actually explain anything. The perfect answer. “And I like programming.”

 

“What’s so special?” Maine cut in. The big man had to my surprise mostly just hung back in the booth without a word. He had made a few calls from time to time, but had remained silent while I worked.

 

“Maine. I was planning on spending the next week working on that hack. She finished it in… Two hours?” She looked at me and then just started laughing. “Making me look bad kid!”

 

“You’re fine. You did most of the work. Just needed some fresh eyes.” I said with a shrug.

“Pfft. If your eyes were what did it, then please tell me what you chipped in, I want some.”

 

“Kiroshi Mk.1” I said but it was mostly sass and she giggled in delight at my words.

 

“Huh. The kids got talent then?” Maine asked, and Sasha just rolled her eyes and shot him a look.

“She’s a better programmer than I am Maine. As annoying as that is to admit.” She added with a sigh, then she pouted at me. “Not fair!”

 

“Sorry not sorry.” I gave her, but she had just opened up a chance for me, that I couldn’t help but take.

 

I wasn’t interested in working for Maine. But…

 

To save Sasha.

 

“You know. I am a freelancer for other things as well. Infiltration, netrunning, sniping. I do combat as well, but I think the big guy already has that covered for you guys.” I explained, but I could instantly tell Maine wasn’t interested.

 

Just giving me a pseudo grunt of acknowledgement. Even Sasha just looked at me like I was something cute.

 

There were times my age was pretty annoying.

 

I looked between the two and just shrugged. Stopping it from becoming an issue. “Well just something to keep in mind.”

 

Then I rose up. All the deals had been done. Eddies had been transferred and Sasha now had a copy of my Reboot Optics, and I had done some work on her Cyberpsychosis hack.

 

Would it be enough to save her life? I don’t know.

 

“I’ll call you when I finish the Short Circuit.” I told Sasha and before she could respond I had gathered up my stuff and walked off.

 

I couldn’t change the way she saw me as just a kid. Even if she now saw me as a kid with serious programming talent.

 

If that was the only connection I had, then I would use it.

 

I just had to create something that would give her the advantages she needed.

 

—–

 

I went home and set to work. Hammering the code with all the focus I could to try and finish it. I had no idea when the Biotechnica gig would happen. I just had to be ready before then.

 

Life didn’t let me bury myself into a hole though. An hour later the door to the apartment opened, and I glanced up to see Hiromi.

 

“Motoko!” She cheered out as she charged over and flopped onto the couch grabbing me in a hug as she snuggled in and whined from deep in her throat. “Uuuuugh. Motoko! I did something totally gonk brained… Don’t be mad? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-”

“Hiromi.” I cut her off as she was sort of rambling into my side as she hugged me while laying flat. “What’s gotten into you? Tell me what’s up. It’s okay.”

“I accepted a gig… On your behalf?”

 

I blinked a little. “Well you are sort of my favorite fixer.”

“No I mean…” She sighed, “I screwed up. Sorry Motoko. I got a little heated and I said I had someone that could do a gig and I didn’t ask if you would before taking it. That’s… You don’t do that!” She berated herself.

 

I wanted to sigh. On one hand I had Sasha stuff that I was in the middle of, but on the other. Hiromi needed help. And maybe a rap on the top of her head.

 

“Okay.” I said reaching down and pulling her from the hug until we were both sitting and I could see her face. “Tell me everything.”

 

“I… I may have been bragging a bit… That I have this super cool solo that works with me? I mean I never gave names or anything, but like… Everyone talks about the bodyguards their family has, or the edgerunner they have on retainer to do their backstabbing stuff. So I mean… I got called out today. Everyone said I was making shit up.”

 

“So you defended yourself and accepted a gig?”

“Right. The gig. So, Asuka Kimigari, she’s in my class. Her ‘rents aren’t like managers, but agents. Not a huge deal, not everyone can be a Tanaka, right? But her parents apparently took out someone on a gig. Some nobody, but he was a nobody that had a brother who isn’t.” She sort of waved her arms a bit before collecting herself, and sending me a text.

 

Ah. She actually had put together a gig from the information she had.

 

Asuka Kimigari was a brunette. Almost a disappointment she wasn’t a redhead with twintails, but we can’t always get everything.

 

“Thomas Anderson, is dangerous. Like he’s got a rep and everything, and he is reportedly going to kill Asuka as the opening act to his revenge against her parents.” Hiromi explained and I was frowning.

 

The dossier on Anderson wasn’t exactly thick. The guy was a solo, but his skillset included netrunning. So sort of like my own abilities.

 

He sounded hella dangerous. Unification War veteran. The guy worked with NUSA, and had a rep even back then. Hiromi didn’t have a lot of direct details, what little she had sounded like word of mouth, but that was still not painting a pretty picture.

 

“Okay so you volunteered me for what exactly?”

“To resolve the issue… Whether that’s killing the threat, or bodyguarding?” She said wincing and I frowned at her a little.

 

“You must have been really worked up, you’re usually better at negotiating like that.” And I could feel from the tightness on her shoulders that she was not pleased with herself.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

 

“They were making fun of me. Of my parents, just… Of everything. You met my dad, but like… We aren’t super high up in the food chain Motoko. The Mitsunashi name isn’t really respected, or feared. My Dad and Mom do good work so they aren’t really targeted by anyone, but that’s all we can really say.”

 

“So they were making fun of you, and you decided to prove you weren’t lying when you said you knew a solo. Accepted the gig on my behalf, and that’s where we are now?”

“Yeah.”

 

“Well… I’m not angry or anything. I’ll help out of course. Just next time let’s ask first.”

“I will! I’m sorry!” She said, hanging her head and still looking pretty upset.

 

“Okay so bodyguard or assassination. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to find this guy. So probably just bodyguard.”

 

“I, I can try to get more information on him. Contacts, and if he has any normal haunts!”

“That can help, but don’t go crazy, this guy sounds like a pro so let’s be super careful… Maybe we should call Ichi and Malcolm in too? Make it a full Section 9 gig?” My words seemed to have the right effect, just as I said it I could see the fire in Hiromi’s eyes light up.

 

“I’ll call them, we could use transport for Asuka, and Malcolm can help me investigate!”

 

“Sounds like fun.” I tell her even as I itched to return to the laptop, to finish the quickhack. I shook it off. I would do what I could for Sasha but, while I wanted to save her because I felt for her.

 

She wasn’t my choom like Hiromi.

 

“Alright. Let’s get everyone together, we should have a meeting with Asuka as well.”

“I’ll call her!”

 

I nodded as I stood up to head into my room. Time to get suited up.

 

—–

 

When all of Section 9 gathered together in a high end garage under Asuka’s apartment, I was surprised to see changes in my chooms.

 

Malcolm did pull up in his Caliburn which still made me giggle at how over the top it was, but he stepped out of the car with a Militech Saratoga strapped to his chest.

 

I quirked an eyebrow at him, which he caught.

 

“I decided to upgrade my firepower. I got some better armor too.” He mentioned to my delight as he showed off the Section 9 jacket that I had originally bought for my chooms had been modified.

 

It was professionally done too. A few extra inserts into the tough material.

 

“He isn’t the only one to get an upgrade.” Ichi said huffing a little at Hiromi and I giving so much attention to Malcolm while ignoring him.

 

“Unlike Malcolm I didn’t spend all my eddies on an overpriced ride.” Ichi sniped at Malcolm with a smirk.

“It was a great deal!”

 

“So I did some extra work on my van.” He said with a smirk. He walked over to the back of his van and opened the back door.