Chapter Thirty-Seven – Cash Money

Chapter Thirty-Seven – Cash Money

“Been doing some morally ambiguous shit?

But skip a payment and we’ll fuck you up.”

–Acts of God Insurance Corp. ad, 2050

***

I had time to think as Katallina, the dog whose-name-I-would-change, and I moved through the R&D lab’s corridors. Sure, there was security coming for us, but I had a lot of knock-out gas grenades and access to the cameras so I knew where they were coming from before they turned around the corner.

That meant walking over a lot of sleeping idiots on our way out.

It felt a little cheat-y, but I was fine with that. Cheating was alright in my books, as long as it wasn’t done against me.

Besides, I was busy thinking, and Myalis-jokes aside, I did like a bit of quiet to think in.

Our mission was essentially over. Not in the ideal way either. It left me with a girl (and a dog) to take care of. I didn’t think that someone like Deus Ex would particularly care for Katallina now that it was revealed that the girl was just a normal girl.

She was an orphan too. Which I’d saved. By some weird twisted logic, that kind of made her my problem.

Because I didn’t have enough problems–or orphans–to look after.

Lucy was going to be so much fun to deal with. I sighed and absently fired another burst of grenades through a glass door. The idiot hiding behind it panicked, throwing a jacket over the canisters spewing gas into the room, but not quick enough to stop himself from face-planting a moment later.

There were other things. Money problems. Problems of reputation and such. How would this company react to us blowing up their lab?

“Fuck it,” I muttered.

Is something wrong? The hormone balance in your brain suggests that you’re in something of a foul mood.

I took a deep breath. “Nah, I’m fine,” I said.

“Huh?” Katallina asked. She looked a bit lost in thought too.

“It’s nothing,” I said. “Just talking to someone else.”

Is there anything we can buy to help you?

I barked a laugh. “I don’t know. What do you think Sunshine’s reaction will be to us, uh, doing this?”

Likely denounce everything, cut ties with whomever plotted this, then funnel resources into shell corporations before going bankrupt in order to not have to save face. For many smaller human corporations, it only takes a few days for them to essentially cease existing, then return as an entity with the same employees and a different logo.

“Damn,” I said. “Shit’s really not fair, is it?”

Not usually.

I stretched a bit. I was developing something of a stress headache. I was way too young for that kind of stuff though. “Who’ll profit from all of this? I mean, in the end, who’s responsible?”

The chain of legal responsibility would stop at the person carrying out the kidnapping on the behalf of the company. The moral responsibility is a little more loose to define. I suppose that in the end, those who run the company are those responsible.

“So the CEO?”

That is merely a well-paid employee, not the end of the line.

I rubbed at my neck through the material of my suit. “Do you know who the big shareholders are?” I asked.

I do.

“Do you know if they knew about… this?”

They seemed aware. At least, those who own considerable shares. Those with only a fractional share didn’t seem to have been informed. Most of Sunshine Weapons was owned by Switzer Corp.

I nodded. “Right, in that case. Those that knew, empty their accounts. Split half of it with the company’s employees. We’re keeping the other half. Liquidate the rest, I guess. How much is that?”

Seventy-three million credits. Before dividing it in half. I wasn’t able to reach some accounts in such a short time, I’m afraid.

I tripped.

“Uh, you okay?” Katallina said.

“Fucking fuck,” I replied sensibly.