As the day went on, ohing became certain. These kids were NOT gangers. Wannabe or otherwise. They seemed more like the trust fund, frat and sorority type of crowd. They didn't seem to be b anyone. Hell, they didn't even bother me. I was an obviously out of pce puy, with a shitty car. They had left me alone when they'd made a supply run earlier. Sure, I was armed and armored but when has that ever stopped people with this level of wealth.

  What the hell was this? I had a bad feeling about this.

  I sent a text to Carver. Targets observed, no gang behavior or activity. Upper crust. Verify job parameters. I sent along a few pics of the kids. I started to put together ideas about what might be going on.

  Half an hour ter, I got the reply. firmed, eliminate all targets. Other factors irrelevant. Yeah, that was about what I expected.

  "Shit." I whispered to myself. Why would they wao kill a bunch of rich kids, that weren't causing any trouble? Sure, I got why they wanted ME to do it. I was a nobody, an unknown. That made me an excellent cutout. If I did this, someone will kill me for it, one way or another. Whether it would be Carver to tie up loose ends, or the kids' parents for revehe who didn't matter from my perspective, I wasn't getting out of this easy.

  Turn it around, who beed? Another aybe, rivals of the kids' parents? Or was one of the kids a wunderkind that was feared for what they could do. I kept mulling it over, really thinking how I felt about this, and how I could get out of this myself.

  I had kind of just went with the flow and tried to do things the eople here did them. Now I could that wasn't going to work, everything here was desigo chew you up. No, I needed another way. Yeah, I wasn't going to be pyed like this. I certainly wasn't going to zero a bunch of college aged kids, for unknown reasons.

  Getting involved with fixers had been a mistake. Or at least trying to work with Carver was. Thankfully, I'd left Sinnamin's of it. So, I could just walk away. Go back to base, e back with a small army. Dig Carver up and put him down for messing with me. Then maybe the fixer wouldn't try to fuck with me.

  But first, I was going to throw a monkey wrento the works of this job. I stalked over to the Mansion with Fix and Scuff fnking me. Dusk was falling and their party was just getting started. I looked around to see if I was being watched. If I was, I couldn't spot them. But it's not like I had any training for these things. Probably best to assume somebody was going to know what was about to happen.

  The Probes were already ih mode. Already sing the area for danger.

  At the mansion's gates, I saw a vid s so I pushed the button. A sed ter, a well put together young guy with a huge smile appeared on the s. "Hey you here for the...No, I guess you aren't." His smile faded, he took in my grim fad my gear and started making some calcutions. Smarter than I would have guessed, or more intuitive.

  "I'd like to speak with the head of the house, please." Best to keep this simple and straight forward.

  "I'm him, at least for now." A more stern expression was creasing his features. He didn't like the way I looked and he was trying to figure out what to do about it.

  "I'd like your tafo. I have some detes that are vital to your safety and I don't want to stick around any lohan I have to." e on, just say yes kid.

  "That doesn't sound like a good idea. In fact, I think you should leave." He was frowning now. He was signaling someone offs. I noticed some of the bots were headed this way. a few of the nearby turrets turn to track me. Fuck.

  "Alright, I tried to help you. My sce is clear. Have a good life. However, short it's going to be." I spun on my heels and jogged back to the Galena. I hopped in, ahe Probes thunk into the roof a sed ter. I took off. I got back to the main street as fast as I could. Soon enough, I'd left own with a bitter taste in my mouth. The person they send, isn't likely to care as much as I did. It was going to be a big fug mess.

  Nope, I put it away, it wasn't my problem anymore.

  When I got to the Northside Industrial District I headed south, staying on the eastern most side of the city. I bzed through Japantown and Charter Hills. I turward and headed for the Valley. Time to y low for a while.

  Roughly fifteen mier, I decided to stop at the Su Motel. It was busy, and maybe not the smartest idea to stht now, but I wao call my van out here. Maybe have a drink, and think for a while.

  I left the Probes to wander arouhe vehicles. I spent a moment to check out some of the sweet rides. All of them were dirty sure, but well maintained, and heavily modded. These people loved their cars, which meant we had something in on. So maybe they wouldn't be major assholes. Or they'd be my kind of asshole.

  I saw some folks outside lounging around with drinks and ughing. I got a few nods as I came through, and I returhem. So far, so good. Even if trouble was right on my tail, they probably wouldn't start shit off with all the iron I saw around here.

  In the barroom, it arty. With loud, almost try, music bring aeople dang and pying cards. Just having a good time. Lively without being overwhelming. I saw Greg behind the ter and another smaller guy, ah... probably Noah, I think Greg said that was the guy he worked for.

  Greg caught sight of me, "Heya Ryan, ya picked a good night to drop by. Whatcha havin'?" He poi a seat at the bar that was unoccupied. I paused for a moment before sitting down, making sure to turn enough to kept an eye on the door.

  "A whiskey, . How's biz, Greg?" Smiling a bit. It's o be remembered.

  "Biz is nova! Two s just had a good haul, made some es. These guys were on the way back to their camp and decided to have some fun. How'd NC treat you?" He leaned forward a bit, "I already see you got chipped. Must be a story to that."

  It was a dumb idea, but I gave him the rundown, anyway. At least I made sure to keep names out of it. He ughed when I told him about Lizzie's, "Yeah them Mox girls are something, huh?" He got me a refill as I got to how I earned enough for my e. "Yeah, Strom left their human parts behind, and Scavs are pure scum. Ya did good." I was starting to loosen up, as I came to why I was heading home for a while. He sighed, "That's the city for ya, a never endin' game of who backstab who the most."

  It was a hour ter and I was on my fourth whiskey, "Shhoo, unlesh youu know a good fixher tha I shell shome lumber ta, I got almosht nuthin' outa thish." He uood me perfectly. Which made sense, he was used to dealing with inebriated people.

  "Well maybe, I could help ya out. Put in a word for ya with some folk I know. They ain't friendly but they won't screw ya without reason." es, it was all about cultivating es.

  "Y-your a prrretty goood duude, Greg." Then I ordered a coffee, I had t myself back to even. But hey, it had been good to vent.

  Another coffee almost put me back to a fully funal state. Greg had retur other ers, my o yammer on sated for now. I watched the folks having fun, and it brought a smile to my face. I would have liked to join them, especially for a dah one of the very fine women. But I didn't know them, and they didn't know me. I knew better than to stick my o other's business.

  I thought I did anyway. A few mier, Gunsh out. From the h I could make out that it was some kind of raid. The folks who just a moment before where all smiles and fun, turned hard real quick. They rushed out to help the folks in the parking lot.

  I heard terms like, "Raffen" and "Wraiths" her of which meant anything to me. Maybe a different gang? I figured it be best to stay out of the way. Like I said they didn't know me.

  Greg me, telling me I made the right call. "Best stay out of it. They'll shoot ahey don't knht now."

  Yeah, that's me I'm a mind my own business guy. The shooting was over pretty quick. Then I overheard the after fight chatter, "Sally's been hit. We gotta get her to a doc." A guy's voice, he sounded pissed off and scared.

  "Camp's too far she'll never make it." A gal's voice struggling for calm.

  Fuck. The se of them dang just before was running through my head. I closed my eyes as I stood up. Internally calling myself every word for dumbass I could think of as I stepped outside. I sighed and called out, "I help, maybe." I was going tret this.

  "What? Who the fuck are you?" I felt a barrel pressed to my forehead. This was the panicked guy's voice. Right now, all I could see was his pistol. Not a great way to start a retionship.

  "I. The. Fuck. . Help." I spat out g my teeth. I gave a slight headshake to the Probes as they suddenly set asshole here to a priority oarget.

  "Lynx, calm down." This was the gal's voice from earlier. I'd love to look over at her, but my world was full of iron. The gun slowly receded. I could see a short scruffy guy oher end of that gun. His brown eyes spoke of all kinds of assholishness. I didn't like him for some reasoo him was a woman, tough as nails said her gray eyes. She was older, maybe the leader.

  " you really help?" She asked, you could tell she was holding back hope. A solid head on this one.

  "I'll have to look at her first, but I should be able to do something." I here was no reasrowth should be able to help someohat was still breathing.

  "Alright, see what you do." They both moved aside. Sally turned out to have been one of the dies I had my eye on earlier. A fine dancer. Let's see if she would dance again. Right now, she was bleeding out, from a few chest wounds. Buaybe. even from here, I could tell her breathing was shallow and sounded way off. I'd o check her lungs first.

  I moved as fast as I could, kneeling dowo her. I shaped a regrowth and eled it while holding her head. I heard startled excmations but tuhem out. I was already closing my eyes, and had no time to deal with it. Ohe spell ected, I could feel the damage to her body. Her right lung was shredded, and colpsed. Fortunately her heart hadn't been touched.

  There were dead zohat I couldn't feel, mostly her bones and her arms. Some parts of her major muscle groups. I figured out that these were cyberware and tried to work around them. The spell sunk deep into her, I directed the mana to around her lung. Slowing putting it back together and even more slowly refting it. O seemed fine, I checked over other areas. I fouomach had been pierced ao work on it.

  The best part of my Regrowth spell was that it was intuitive. I didn't have to know anything about medie for it to work. I just had to have enough mana, and enough tration. When I finished her stomach, my mana ran out. I pried open my eyes. Sally was looking at me. Her blue eyes are quite pretty, don't you think?

  "Hold still. I'm not sure that you don't have more injures. Give me a moment to rest and I'll check you ain." She nodded. Her eyes were wide, but not for the reason I first thought.

  "What was that? You some kind of Witch?" That was Lynx. I could hear him and his pistol behind me.

  "I don't know anything about witches. This is just something I do." Yeah not going to get into it with you, fuckwad. I have more important things to worry about. Like a pair of flower blue eyes.

  "Lynx, shut up. Leave him alone. He helped. We all saw it, and that buys him at least some peace. If not goodwill." I was starting to like this dy. I looked around to see a group of well traveled folks staring at me. Expressied from fear to awe. But most seemed relieved that Sally was out for uhe worst of it.

  "How long was that?" Blinking and rubbing my eyes. Oh, they don't really dry out anymore do they? e eyes for the win.

  "Well, strahat was about an hour, but shouldn't you know that?" She said while tapping by her right eye with her index finger. It took a sed for me the realize what she meant. I could call up the time when ever I wanted.

  "Ah, yeah. My interface is new, and I'm not use to it yet. I'm Ryan by the way."

  "Well Ryan, I'm Amanda. You've helped us out and we Aldecaldos don't fet that." She turo her people, "Alright shows over, let's get some rest. We move Sally to her room, if we get Ryan to stop petting her for a few minutes." Her voice carried notes of humor.

  "Huh?" I realized I'd aken my hand off of Sally's head. Worse I had unsciously been stroking her hair just like I would a cat. I sputtered and then turo look at Sally who was smiling at me. She looked over at Amanda.

  "Aww, does he have to? He's really good at it." She croaked out. Yeah, I still had some work to do on her.

  They say ughter is the best medie. I wouldn't know, I was too busy trying to get the blood to stop rushing to my face.