Chapter Forty-Two – Trash Panda Feelings

Chapter Forty-Two – Trash Panda Feelings

“As we modernise, it’s become increasingly obvious that the youngest generations are lacking crucial, real-world communication skills. Small talk is becoming harder. Connections are more difficult to establish.

A counter-culture needs to start from the roots, from people who are tired and want to see change, and who are willing to work together to achieve it. This new world we’re developing is stomping on the very foundations that rebellion needs to function.”

–A Study of Sociology and Rebellion, 2028

***

Things finally calmed down around the same time as the Family arrived. And when they arrived, they really made a show of it. Seven heavy vans, escorted by a trio of light combat vehicles. Enough spotlights to turn the dreary tunnel street into a bright-as-day space.

The Family settled off to one side, and then the doors to their vans opened up and the teams within dispersed. It was all orderly and careful, soldiers with clear training moving in a predetermined, practised way.

I decided to stand aside. Eventually, one of them would come over to brown-nose, but for now, I could leave them to it.

Which meant that I had nothing better to do than annoy Rac and her friends.

The group was backing away, letting the cops and newly arrived Family take care of the Sunrise PMCs. So Rac and her friends were all standing next to one of the still-burning APCs, and it looked like Rac was being raked across the coals by Garter.

“Hey, Gom,” I said. “I’ll be back in a minute or two. Just gonna check on Rac.”

“Sure,” Gomorrah said. “I’ll direct the Family. I don’t want them stumbling into a trap.”

I nodded my thanks, then started walking towards Rac and her… team? Did they have a team name? I couldn’t remember them mentioning one, and I was afraid that if I asked about it, it might come off as corny.

My ears twitched as I got closer. Garter was clearly not happy about something. “If we’d known, it would have changed everything,” he said.

Rac crossed her arms, but she wasn’t meeting his eyes. I knew that look. She wanted to stand up to him, knew he was wrong, but was afraid of pushing back too hard. “It shouldn’t change anything,” she said.

“Of course it does,” Garter said. He swiped a hand through his hair. “You know a samurai. Two of them! Maybe more? That’s… huge? Do you know the kind of rep that comes with that? The kind of doors it opens up?”

“Garter, chill a little,” Coco said. “It’s cool that Rac has friends in high places, but they’re her friends, not ours.”

“Cat’s not like that,” Rac said. “She’d figure out that you’re trying to scam her right away.”

“Scam her? No, I just want to be her friend too. There is so much to gain from just knowing a samurai. After tonight, our rep is going to be damned solid. We can lean into that, grow the crew, get Millenium to give us a few more jobs that pay better. We can take more careful risks if we have a samurai to fall back on like tonight.”

“Cat won’t rescue us that often,” Rac said. “She’s on vacation right now. I think it’s the only reason she came.”

“Wait, this is vacation?” Coco asked with a gesture to the street and the carnage laid out across it. The motion was why she was glancing my way and saw me coming.

She wasn’t the first. Jerusalem was staring already, but it looked like he’d elected not to let his team know.

“I am on vacation,” I said. “At least until I don’t feel like it anymore, or I run out of points to spend, which at this rate is gonna happen sooner than I’d like,” I said as I came up behind the group.

Garter jumped and spun around. “Ah, Miss Stray Cat.”

“Just Stray Cat,” I said. “Or Cat, if you’re a friend.”

“Cat then,” he said.

“You’re not a friend,” I pointed out.

Garter’s jaw worked, but he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut as I turned my attention to Rac.

I nodded to the side. “Can we chat?”

Rac nodded, then practically scampered after me as I moved on. We left her friends behind and relocated closer to one of the walls alongside the road. There was an actual bike and pedestrian path, which was kind of weird to find in an underground street. Maybe it was for the few people working down here to get from one location to another without the overhead of having a car?

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In any case, it was a space separated from the rest by a wall of hip-high plastic bars, and it served to separate us from the rest well enough.

“Hey,” I said as I turned to her. “I overheard Garter a little.”