Chapter Eight – The Cats Who Were Herded

Chapter Eight – The Cats Who Were Herded

“The Family is a strange organisation. It’s one part a corporate entity whose existence revolves around assisting samurai and acting as a logistical support base for them, and one part a club for samurai to hang around at.

The organisation is unique in several ways. Notably, it’s one of the few corporations whose size has changed frequently over the years. The occasional death of high-ranking members costs the organisation much power, but the influx of new members brings in more than enough to counterbalance the loss.

–The Observer’s Report, Jul-2047 “The Family”

***

When I was told that there’d be a meeting with a whole heap of samurai–hosted by the Family, no less–I was expecting something pretty extravagant as a venue. Maybe another hotel at worst. In my mind, though, I imagined I’d be visiting another space station or something equally awesome.

Lucy had been super jealous last night when I’d recounted my visit to Deus Ex’ home. She spent more time asking about that than she did worrying about the massive, planet-wide alien invasion that was about to go off right on top of us.

She really did have her priorities in order.

We spent a few hours in PJs, just chatting until, between one blink and the next, I fell asleep. Lucy woke me up with fresh toast and slightly burnt eggs and a kiss that took my breath away.

I really wished that I was back home instead of here. Then again, Lucy was going to spend the day moving the kittens over to the new house, so even if I could stay, it wouldn’t be all naps and shower sex.

I shook my head to refocus. As pleasant as those daydreams were, they weren’t productive.

The Family had a building in New Montreal. A boxy thing, with no windows and what looked like thick walls. It would have stood out from the rest of the city based on its size alone. It was squat and short and entirely hidden from the main city. The base was placed on the ground, beneath the huge platforms that held up New Montreal.

I had to dip down below street level and along a main road that was filled with large cargo vehicles going back and forth to reach the base. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why they’d decided to build down there. Maybe privacy? But if they’d built above, where every other building in the city was, it would be much easier to slip in without notice.

Did they not have the budget for a nice place? I really doubted it. The Family had a bunch of samurai working for them, they could just kick some corporation out of one of the towers and take the spot over it they really wanted to.

I sighed. When did I start spending so much time thinking about real estate? It was such a boring, adult thing to think about.

My hoverbike glided towards the side of the building, and part of the wall slid to the side to let me into a large parking space.

A few of the cars here were definitely samurai-owned. The Fury was sitting pretty next to something that looked like a mechanical stingray, and next to that was a large bulbous vehicle covered in windows and with a complex control seat in the middle of it.

I parked my bike in a free spot then disembarked even as a small head-sized drone hovered over to float near me. “Greetings, Miss Stray Cat. Are you here for the meet and greet?”

“I guess I am,” I said.

The drone spun. “Please follow me.”

I glanced around, but there weren’t any other people around, just a well-maintained parking garage. I was spending a lot of time in those lately.

Following the drone, I stepped into an elevator then waited as it shot down a few floors. Way faster and smoother than a normal elevator, I noticed idly. The doors opened, and the drone hovered out into a lobby. An archway to the side led into a large room with a hodgepodge of desks and seats and couches, all more or less pointing to a half-stage at the end of the room.

There were samurai here already.

I recognized that girl in the green armour, Grasshopper, hanging off a wall in a weird squat, a can of soda in one hand with a straw leading up into her mask. She saw me staring and waved.

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Sam-o Ray wasn’t too far from the entrance, speaking with Gomorrah with wide, happy gestures.

Deeper in, I made out Jolly Monarch talking with a man in a neat suit that I didn’t recognize.