Hot off the presses! Portland’s newest and most eligible bachelor, as well as Samurai, was spotted today at Papa Hayden’s enjoying a sumptuous meal with a couple of fine hotties. Reports are that these are two of the people that he rescued in the recent Powell’s Incursion. That’s some quick work for our hero to lasso in these two young ladies. However, there were no signs of the third, redheaded rescuee. Has our man started showing a preference? Could this be a sign of trouble in the lovenest already? Stay tuned to find out.
--The Olympian, local gossip blog, 2057
***
After work, I met up with Ginny and Tara at a restaurant known for both their desserts and the quality of its dining. After a day of drinking nutrient supplements, I craved real food even if the others had already eaten.
“I heard back from Kenson’s,” Ginny said as she picked at her light and flaky pastry. “They said the car is totaled, and you had to pay for disposal.”
“They’re double-dipping.” Tara said. She had opted for a gigantic, multi-flavored ice cream pile of sugary sweetness. “Maybe triple. They strip the parts and sell those before sending the rest for recycling. The scrap metal alone is worth as much as that fee.”
“Which I pointed out to them, and they dropped the fee. But then they tried to pull something about you agreeing to pay for the cost of a quarantine.”
“Which was bull, since I’ve not talked to them in months.” I’d ordered a French Dip sandwich with a side of fries, only to have to fend off Ginny’s attempts to steal my fries.
“And I knew from texts with Corie that you were still out cold from doing your upgrades, so you couldn’t have said any such thing. I asked for the call transcript, and they caved. Frankly, that seems too easy to me, but maybe they were nervous about irritating a Samurai even by proxy. So, long and short, you are out of a car, and you might not want to go back to them again.”
“That’s fine. One of their mechanics is a regular at Threat Dynamics, and I know him pretty well. We’ve set up a deal for him to buy and upgrade a car for me. I have a feeling he’s going to be breaking out on his own soon.”
Ginny nodded, then glanced aside as she checked a list in her augs. “I also heard back from the Portera management. They are definitely interested in making a deal and have put your name on the new place. You may need to do some marketing stuff for them. Show up at some events, do a picture shoot, that type of thing. We’re still hammering out details.”
After this evening at the store, I’d realized that I would have to suffer being used this way for a while. It felt slimy using my name for drawing people into places, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Kaitlyn was annoyed by your appearance at the store,” Tara said. “You suddenly started trending hard on the local platforms.”
“Yeah, she said she was in a class when suddenly your hits were taking off, and she didn’t know why.”
“I’ll try to let her know in the future. The thing at work wasn’t planned or thought out. We kind of got flash-mobbed and hadn’t planned on anything that big. I’ll let her know my work schedule when I have it. Where is she, by the way?
“She has to study for a quiz first thing tomorrow,” Ginny said. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to tour the new apartment or not. But I did get in touch with a security firm, and they’ll be meeting us there tomorrow morning for a tour.”
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“You should come,” Tara interrupted. “You’ll probably need to make some changes. The listing says it’s been altered from the basic layout but doesn’t say how. At that level, customization is expected.”
I didn’t care how it looked. As long as it had enough walls and a ceiling, I didn’t think it would matter.
Ginny seemed to catch on to my ambivalence. “Really, you need to tour it. There’s no telling if it’s actually bad for you until you see it. What if they have it all done up in puke orange?”
“Painting is easy,” I said. “And I don’t need any fancy decor. It won’t matter if my bathroom towels don’t match the kitchen sink.”
“No, but you need to get a feel for the space to know how you want to organize it. There’s all kinds of little details about the place that could irritate you, which you wouldn’t know about if you didn’t visit.”
Tara nodded seriously. “When I moved out, I had to find a place to stay. I checked out a dozen apartments; all of them looked good online. Each of them had something wrong that wasn’t in the description. You can’t smell sewers through a picture.”
“And you need to be there to tell the security people what you can do or to learn what you should be doing.”
“Alright, fine. As long as we’re done before work.” I said.
“Have you thought about what you’d want? Like what kinds of rooms and what they’d need?” Ginny asked.
“I hadn’t thought about it. What would I need besides a bedroom, living room, kitchen, or maybe a great room plan?” I paused in thought. “An internal shooting range would be nice, something virtual,” I added.
--There’s a way to set up a combat simulator using a couple of your catalogs. And you should set up a space for Tara when she’s acting as your eye. Most of that is done in her augs, but external monitors and controls help. She also needs an upgraded communication unit.
“A monitoring room for drone management,” Tara said, unknowingly echoing Corie. “And a garage for the drones.”
“How large is it?” I asked.
“Four hundred square meters, not counting the balcony,” Tara said, “which is huge; almost a quarter of the inside space.” That sounded impressive to me, but I had no real grasp of how big. I didn’t even know the measurements of my current place. Maybe the tour would be a good idea after all.
We spent several minutes brainstorming what kinds of spaces would help, from a hot tub to a panic room. Corie noted that much of the construction costs could be covered in points or by getting a construction robot.
“Whether by points or credits, this is going to be expensive. I’ll need to either figure out where to find some Anti’s to kill or how to sell some Samurai stuff. Do either of you have contacts with the university that might be able to approve purchases?”
Both of them shook their heads. “Maybe Jonnie can point you to someone?” Ginny asked. I nodded in agreement.
Tara scooped up the soupy remains of her dessert. “How did things go with your advisor?” I asked her.
“Okay. She wants me to get an evaluation before she’ll approve me going back to class. I have to find a shrink and prove I’m fit for people.”
“My mother does work like that, if you want a recommendation. I could give you her contact info." She nodded, and I sent her the needed info. “I don’t know if she’s taking clients after last night, but worst case, she’ll know someone to refer you to.”
Ginny raised an eyebrow at that, and I answered the unspoken question. “She’s been blind since before I was born. After splitting up with you yesterday, I went to heal her. It’s a big thing for her, and she might want some time off to adjust. She’s been sending pictures to me and my sister all day of places around town.”
“Must be amazing, being able to help folks that way,” Ginny said.
“One of the best things I’ve ever done. I’ve wished I could get her sight back all my life. To finally have a real chance was a dream come true, and then when it worked…” I shook my head as my words failed.
“How does it feel? Being a Samurai, I mean. Has it set in yet?”
“In many ways it feels the same. I’m still me, only with a slight difference. But everyone I meet treats me differently. Last week, if I came here, no one would give me a second glance. Today…” I flicked my hand towards one of the other tables.
Ginny’s eyes followed my gesture to where a middle-aged man in jeans and a T-shirt stared in my direction while his augs showed the light of a recording in progress. His warning light, set to yellow, tinted his skin, adding to the creepiness factor. I’d been watching him in my peripheral vision, but all he’d done so far was record us sitting and talking.
