Shaggy blinked as he stepped into the sunlight. He was back topside again, and he really wasn’t sure how this trip was going to go. At least the Quinica at the tunnel entrance hadn’t given them any trouble, although Vlad gave them the stink-eye the whole time. But the Quinica seemed to content to let them pass. Shaggy guessed that they were a minor annoyance to the Quinica, for now.
Vlad, Ren, Dave, and Slink stepped into the alley and blinked like Shaggy had. Most of them had taken a trip topside once or twice at this point. But getting used to the sun after days of constant darkness was a pain. Shaggy scratched his head and sighed as he listened to the hustle and bustle of the city beyond their alley. If he had to guess, it was probably close to evening, and the NPC population was heading home.
The NPCs of simulated Austin had jobs, dreams, and even life goals. Thanks to the game’s AI. It had created sub-AIs to run every NPC and let them grow as if they were normal people. Shaggy shuddered at the thought of it all. The processing power alone would have to be tremendous for the gaming company. He shook off the thought and switched his thoughts to thinking about their problem.
“Okay, so we have to find this Damage Assessment thing, right? That’ll point us to the right guy?”
Slink sighed as Vlad and Ren shook their heads. Dave was happily walking toward the street outside the alley.
“The Damage Assessment Division is just who the guy works for. We have the name of the guy’s construction company. Spiegal Brother’s Construction. So we take a walk that way and see what we can dig up. If the job seems too hard, we go back down and tell Frank we couldn’t do it.”
“How hard could it be?” Vlad muttered, squinting his eyes against the sun. “It’s a construction company. We break a few trucks, injure a few people, maybe burn down a building. Then we head back down and go back to dealing with important shit. Like kicking Space-Vamp ass.”
“Let it go, Vamps. We’re here already. So let’s make the most of it.” Shaggy said.
Before Vlad could respond, Dave ran back down the alley, wheeling his arms as he ran. He slid to a stop and panted as he grinned at all of them.
“Dudes the streets are full of Supes. It’s awesome.”
Shaggy raised an eyebrow and glanced at the others. They all shared questioning looks until Ren pushed forward. The big alien headed for the entrance to the alley. The others all hurried to catch up and see what was going on. Shaggy figured that a few Supes were out on patrol, but as he exited the alley, he saw how wrong he was.
The street in front of the alley was full of hundreds of Supes. Some were in flashy costumes, while others were in regular clothes. But all of them were marching northward, chanting and holding signs that read ‘Down with the HLO!’ and ‘Heroes don’t need oversight!’ Shaggy grinned as he watched the obvious crowd of players draw the looks of everyone on street and everything in the sky. The drones were flying overhead, looking down on the marching crowd. Shaggy figured they were all headed to city hall, or maybe they were just marching through the streets over and over.
He shared a look with his friends before he took a few steps back into the alley again. They all smiled at one another as the marching Supes continued to chant.
“Players.” Ren said, shaking his head.
“They were only going to take that level of oversight for so long,” Vlad said.
“Yeah, the forums don’t make it seem like a good time,” Dave agreed.
Slink shrugged. “It’s the game. What do they think they are going to change? As I understand it, the HLO is a global organization.”
“Yeah, but oversight in other places isn’t as bad as it is here. I’ve read up on it in the forums, but really it doesn’t concern us. We’re Villains. What the HLO does won’t really affect us.”
Shaggy shook his head at Ren and sighed. “Poor Ren, didn’t you notice the drones?”
“What about them?”
“Dude, that crowd of butt-hurt Supe players is drawing dozens of drones away from the other streets. If we keep an eye out, we can move with impunity.” Shaggy explained.
A look of realization dawned on everyone as they realized their job topside may have just become easier. Before, they had to keep an eye out for the buzzing bastards scanning the population of Austin. But now they could almost like regular citizens. Dave looked a little confused, as he had rarely been topside. But Ren and Vlad explained as Shaggy and Slink moved to the opposite end of the alley, away from the marching Supes.
Peering around the corner of the alley, Shaggy glanced north and south before he grinned. The street was quiet and practically, save for a few people moving toward the crowd of marching people. Cars lined the streets and the buzzing of the HLO drones was nowhere to be heard. Shaggy saw a few businesses and shops still open in the street, but foot traffic was way down then what it had been.
Shaggy looked at Slink and grinned.
“We need a car.” Slink said. “The construction company is to the south. Out of the city proper. We can’t all ride your wolf form.”
Shaggy’s grin fell as he glanced up at the approaching Ren and the others. The kid was right, but that meant they had a problem.
“What kind of car is going to fit Ren?” Shaggy asked just as the large Perinadon caught up to them.
“Hey!” Ren complained.
“They make specialty cars for larger alien body-types. We have to find one if we want a car. Or else we’re hoofing it.” Vlad explained.
“Do you see one, dudes?”
Shaggy and the others glanced up and down the streets again. A few wheeled cars were parked on the street while some hover cars flew in the designated lanes above the sky. But none of them looked the right size. Not to mention, he wasn’t even sure how they were going to hijack a flying car.
“Nothing.”
“Doesn’t look like it,” Vlad agreed.
“So are we, like, walking?” Dave asked.
Ren grunted as he stepped out of the alley. “We have another problem.”
Shaggy followed his large friend out of the alley and started walking south. He still kept an eye out for drones. But so far, the only sound was the low hum of the hover-cars. Slink and the others followed behind them. The young boy asked.
“What’s that?”
“Do any of us know how to hot-wire car? Or even crack the computer system on one of the newer models?”
Shaggy stopped walking as such an obvious problem slapped him in the face. He did not know how to hot-wire a car and he was sure the others didn’t either. As he started walking again, he glanced around at the others, and they all shared chagrined looks. Except Dave, as the guy was still smiling at the towering buildings and the empty streets as he walked. Ren coughed as he nodded.
“Yeah, thought not. So that means we have to mug the keys off someone, which means it will be reported and we’ll have a speedster on us.”
“Bah, speedsters aren’t so bad,” Vlad argued.
Shaggy shook his head. “No, they aren’t. But they aren’t supposed to be. They are there to slow you down while the Supes rally the rest of their people. While we’re dealing with one bastard, several more could be incoming. Which is a headache we don’t need.”
Slink groaned as the setting sun beat down on them. “So what do we do?”
Ren grunted as they walked southward out of the city. “Long term? We have to find a spot up here to make our own, then we get a collection of cars. That way, we’ll have something for when we are up here. But short term, I think we’re walking.”
Slink and Vlad groaned as Shaggy sighed. Meanwhile, Dave stepped out into the street and waved at a few cars heading southward. Shaggy watched as several cars ignored Dave and shook his head. Catching a ride was a good idea, but the chances of one being big enough for Ren were slim. At least he thought so until a large eighteen wheeler with a long metal trailer pulled to a slow stop next to Dave.
“Howdy!” Dave said happily.
The old man driving the extended cab truck stared down at Dave, not saying anything. Dave kept smiling as he reached into a pocket.
“I have a hundred and fifty credits if you can take me and my friends where we’re headed.”
The old squinted down at the credit chips in Dave’s hands for a long few seconds. Until finally, he nodded.
“Big’uns gonna have to ride in the trailer. But the rest of y’all can get up in the cab.”
“Thank you kindly.” Dave said, smiling as he turned back to the others.
Shaggy’s look of disbelief was still plastered on his face and he would bet that the others all looked incredulous as well. But Slink seemed to shake off his surprise faster as he rushed forward. Vlad and Ren followed, moving to get the back of the trailer open so Ren could climb in. Slink was giving the driver the address as Dave and Shaggy climbed into the large cab.
“Can’t believe that worked.” Shaggy muttered as he entered the large cab just behind the driver’s seat.
“Why not?” Dave asked as he sat on the small bed.
“Who is just gonna pick up a bunch of dudes wandering to a construction company?”
“Earl D. Sisyphus.” The old man’s voice called toward the back of the cab.
Shaggy and Dave turned to see their driver looking back at them as Vlad and Slink climbed into the passenger’s side door. Once the two got situated, Earl eyed all of them. Once he had studied them to satisfaction, he turned back to his steering wheel and snorted. He threw the truck into gear and they slowly began moving. Earl grunted before saying.
“I don’t really care what you boys are doing. But I feel I should tell you that construction work can be pretty demanding.”
Slink shot Dave and Shaggy a worried look from the passenger seat. But Shaggy understood the obvious lie the boy had told the old man.
“We’re tougher than we look. Plus, with the city the way it is, they are going to need all the help they can get.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Earl grumbled. “Entire city went to shit with all them robots running around. Then you have them Corporate Supes flying everywhere ‘saving’ people.”
“Corporate?”
“Yeah, y’know them fancy pants Supes in the snazzy outfits. All prim and proper like. More concerned with fulfilling quotas than saving lives.” Earl explained.
Shaggy racked his brain for an in-game company name he had heard before. It took a few seconds before he thought of one.
“Like K-Tech?”
Earl turned in his seat and squinted an eye at Shaggy. “Now, Kersait Technologies is one of the good ones. Sure, them black-armored guards of theirs look ‘timidating, but they at least were out helping. But then you have corps like the D.A.D and Harvest or even Kaplans. Them fuckers were so busy trying to look good that it took the HLO sending in the big guns to settle Cog down.”
Vlad nodded wisely. “Yeah, and no one wants to mess with the HLO’s big guns.”
Shaggy could hear the question in Vlad’s tone. But, Luckily Earl seemed to miss it. No sense drawing attention for not knowing something they should have.
“Hell no!” Earl cackled. “Them blue alien bastards are tough sons of bitches. Even if they are all uptight assholes.”
Shaggy and his friends shared looks as they all racked their brains for notably blue aliens. Shaggy had a fleeting memory of a spandex-wearing blue man in the DA’s office. The alien had been shouting down a few rambunctious players. He had seemed a little pompous and uptight. Shaggy filed the alien’s looks away for later discussion and the cab fell into amiable silence as the large truck left the city.
Vlad struck up idle conversation with Earl as they continued southward. Shaggy kept an ear on the conversation, but for the most part, he let his mind wander. They had a good foothold in Under-Town, but when it came to above ground, they were woefully uninformed. Something else they were going to have to look into later. Hell, maybe he could log off for a day again and see what they came up with. He had been gone around two days in-game helping his wife set up her pod and the group had gotten themselves pretty entrenched.
Not that he minded helping his wife. They always had a great time when they played together in other VR games. It was a passion they shared, and he was more than willing to miss a few days in the game to get her in sooner. But, man, he wasn’t a fan of missing out on growing their burgeoning empire. Although as he thought about it, ‘empire’ might have been too lofty of a word.
Under-Town was full of criminals of various stripes and attitudes. They were just a small section in a small part of the Town. They still had to contend with four full-scale criminal organizations. Sure, the Town was still reeling from the robot invasion. But once that was through, they were going in for tough times. At least Shaggy thought so.
Thinking about the Viper’s Nest, Shaggy turned to Dave. The man was smiling benignly as he stared into nothing. Probably in his menus. Shaggy hoped.
“Are we sure the bar will be okay?” Shaggy whispered.
Dave started as he blinked away the menus he was looking at. Turning his gaze to Shaggy, Dave’s smile grew wider.
“Of course, dude. The boys know how to handle themselves.”
Shaggy winced as Dave did not lower his voice. Vlad and Slink turned to gaze questioningly at the both of them. Shaggy grinned and waved them off.
“Just worried about the people back home, y’know? Hoping nothing comes up that they can’t deal with.”
Vlad nodded as Slink looked over at Earl. The old truck driver was keeping his eyes on the road. But Shaggy was sure the old man was listening intently.
“They’ll be fine. Petra is an excellent manager and Ephemara is on security. Even if she steps away for a bit, there’s still the Sisters.” Slink said.
Shaggy nodded and let the conversation drop. He wasn’t sure how far Rashi and her sisters would go to defend their bar, but he didn’t want to discuss it here. Dave had gone back to looking through his menus while the others turned to look out the front window. Shaggy was sure Dave had a browser open, was watching videos or something. He sighed as he sat back in his slim chair.
The drive was long and quiet. Vlad and Earl held several small conversations as the vampire tried to pry various bits of information from the truck driver. Slink was watching the exchange intently, clearly intent on learning from Vlad’s questioning techniques. Shaggy bemoaned his own lack of a view before he thought of Ren in the trailer behind them. He grinned as the truck slowed down.
Shaggy tried to look out a small window in the cab, but all he could see were enormous fields. There were a few large buildings in the distance, but nothing that looked like a construction company. Everyone in the cab turned to look at the old man as the truck pulled to a full stop. Earl engaged the parking brake and looked at them all.
“Alright boys, this is as far as I can take you. Your destination is further out that way.” He said, pointing to the west.
Shaggy and the others nodded as they clambered out of the cab. Dave handed the old man his promised credits and then jumped to the street as Vlad went to let out Ren. Shaggy stretched his legs a bit and took a big whiff of the air. Very faint scent trails crisscrossed through the air, but mostly he smelled gasoline and rubber. He was obviously too far to get a decent scent, but the smells he saw intrigued him. They were the usual mix of blue and yellow scents, but in the direction they were going, there were a lot of them. Probably proving Earl’s statement that the construction company was out that way.
Once Ren had joined them, Earl pulled away. Dave rapidly waved goodbye at the truck as Shaggy and the others started walking through the grass straight for where Earl had pointed.
“Lot of people out that way,” Shaggy said, pointing at his nose.
“Anything dangerous?”
Shaggy shook his head. “Can’t really tell with just smell. At least, not yet. All I know is that there are a lot of aliens and humans out that way.”
Vlad snorted. “There’s a lot of people everywhere. What good is it if you can’t tell who’s dangerous?”
“Hey! A predator doesn’t know his prey is dangerous until he tries to take it down.”
Slink furrowed his brow. “Is that true?”
Ren shook his head. “Probably not, but it sounds like it is, and I’m sure that’s all he cares about.”
Shaggy threw up his hands. “Screw you guys, then. See if I tell you anything I learn from my enhanced senses again.”
“Awww, don’t sweat it, Shag-dude. I thought it was nice to know.”
“Thanks Dave.”
They continued chatting as they made their way across the grassy plain. It was a rare bit of flora surrounded with the metal and brick of modernity. Warehouses and brick building rose in the distance and Shaggy could smell the dust in the air as they walked closer. Slink zeroed in on a large red brick building and singled it out as their destination. Shaggy raised an eyebrow at the white brick fence surrounding the property, but they continued forward.
Once they had gotten to a street running alongside the building. They followed toward a group of warehouses. Shaggy could see dozens of scents in the air, combined with the smells of gas, sweat, a metal. The sound of heavy machinery resounded as forklifts zipped around the various warehouses.
“What. The. Fuck.” Ren said as they all turned the corner toward the front of the brick building.
The big man was blocking their view, but once Shaggy and the others got around him, they all made sounds of agreement.
“Shit.”
“Whoa, dudes!”
“Fuck that!”
“It’s not so bad…”
They all turned and glared at Slink. The young man winced at their combined looks. Although Dave was still smiling, even he looked a little incredulous at Slink’s statement. Shaggy turned back toward the entrance to the building, where a large sign read: Spiegal Brother’s Construction. He waved a hand at the assembled guards in front of the building. All wearing black laminate armor. An armor they had all seen once before. In a junkyard.
“Slink,” Shaggy said, waving a hand at the crowd of guards. “That is three full squads of K-tech security. Some of whom look to be wielding laser rifles. Even with my healing and Vlad’s speed, we are fucked. Time to get back home.”
Slink looked between Shaggy and the guards a few times before he sighed and nodded his head. Everyone let out a collective breath as things calmed down. They really didn’t need to be standing outside a building guarded by K-Tech, holding an argument. Shaggy was turning when a harsh voice sounded from behind them.
“Hey! What are you lot doing here?!”
“Oh, sweet shit…” Shaggy grumbled.
Shaggy blinked as he stepped into the sunlight. He was back topside again, and he really wasn’t sure how this trip was going to go. At least the Quinica at the tunnel entrance hadn’t given them any trouble, although Vlad gave them the stink-eye the whole time. But the Quinica seemed to content to let them pass. Shaggy guessed that they were a minor annoyance to the Quinica, for now.
Vlad, Ren, Dave, and Slink stepped into the alley and blinked like Shaggy had. Most of them had taken a trip topside once or twice at this point. But getting used to the sun after days of constant darkness was a pain. Shaggy scratched his head and sighed as he listened to the hustle and bustle of the city beyond their alley. If he had to guess, it was probably close to evening, and the NPC population was heading home.
The NPCs of simulated Austin had jobs, dreams, and even life goals. Thanks to the game’s AI. It had created sub-AIs to run every NPC and let them grow as if they were normal people. Shaggy shuddered at the thought of it all. The processing power alone would have to be tremendous for the gaming company. He shook off the thought and switched his thoughts to thinking about their problem.
“Okay, so we have to find this Damage Assessment thing, right? That’ll point us to the right guy?”
Slink sighed as Vlad and Ren shook their heads. Dave was happily walking toward the street outside the alley.
“The Damage Assessment Division is just who the guy works for. We have the name of the guy’s construction company. Spiegal Brother’s Construction. So we take a walk that way and see what we can dig up. If the job seems too hard, we go back down and tell Frank we couldn’t do it.”
“How hard could it be?” Vlad muttered, squinting his eyes against the sun. “It’s a construction company. We break a few trucks, injure a few people, maybe burn down a building. Then we head back down and go back to dealing with important shit. Like kicking Space-Vamp ass.”
“Let it go, Vamps. We’re here already. So let’s make the most of it.” Shaggy said.
Before Vlad could respond, Dave ran back down the alley, wheeling his arms as he ran. He slid to a stop and panted as he grinned at all of them.
“Dudes the streets are full of Supes. It’s awesome.”
Shaggy raised an eyebrow and glanced at the others. They all shared questioning looks until Ren pushed forward. The big alien headed for the entrance to the alley. The others all hurried to catch up and see what was going on. Shaggy figured that a few Supes were out on patrol, but as he exited the alley, he saw how wrong he was.
The street in front of the alley was full of hundreds of Supes. Some were in flashy costumes, while others were in regular clothes. But all of them were marching northward, chanting and holding signs that read ‘Down with the HLO!’ and ‘Heroes don’t need oversight!’ Shaggy grinned as he watched the obvious crowd of players draw the looks of everyone on street and everything in the sky. The drones were flying overhead, looking down on the marching crowd. Shaggy figured they were all headed to city hall, or maybe they were just marching through the streets over and over.
He shared a look with his friends before he took a few steps back into the alley again. They all smiled at one another as the marching Supes continued to chant.
“Players.” Ren said, shaking his head.
“They were only going to take that level of oversight for so long,” Vlad said.
“Yeah, the forums don’t make it seem like a good time,” Dave agreed.
Slink shrugged. “It’s the game. What do they think they are going to change? As I understand it, the HLO is a global organization.”
“Yeah, but oversight in other places isn’t as bad as it is here. I’ve read up on it in the forums, but really it doesn’t concern us. We’re Villains. What the HLO does won’t really affect us.”
Shaggy shook his head at Ren and sighed. “Poor Ren, didn’t you notice the drones?”
“What about them?”
“Dude, that crowd of butt-hurt Supe players is drawing dozens of drones away from the other streets. If we keep an eye out, we can move with impunity.” Shaggy explained.
A look of realization dawned on everyone as they realized their job topside may have just become easier. Before, they had to keep an eye out for the buzzing bastards scanning the population of Austin. But now they could almost like regular citizens. Dave looked a little confused, as he had rarely been topside. But Ren and Vlad explained as Shaggy and Slink moved to the opposite end of the alley, away from the marching Supes.
Peering around the corner of the alley, Shaggy glanced north and south before he grinned. The street was quiet and practically, save for a few people moving toward the crowd of marching people. Cars lined the streets and the buzzing of the HLO drones was nowhere to be heard. Shaggy saw a few businesses and shops still open in the street, but foot traffic was way down then what it had been.
Shaggy looked at Slink and grinned.
“We need a car.” Slink said. “The construction company is to the south. Out of the city proper. We can’t all ride your wolf form.”
Shaggy’s grin fell as he glanced up at the approaching Ren and the others. The kid was right, but that meant they had a problem.
“What kind of car is going to fit Ren?” Shaggy asked just as the large Perinadon caught up to them.
“Hey!” Ren complained.
“They make specialty cars for larger alien body-types. We have to find one if we want a car. Or else we’re hoofing it.” Vlad explained.
“Do you see one, dudes?”
Shaggy and the others glanced up and down the streets again. A few wheeled cars were parked on the street while some hover cars flew in the designated lanes above the sky. But none of them looked the right size. Not to mention, he wasn’t even sure how they were going to hijack a flying car.
“Nothing.”
“Doesn’t look like it,” Vlad agreed.
“So are we, like, walking?” Dave asked.
Ren grunted as he stepped out of the alley. “We have another problem.”
Shaggy followed his large friend out of the alley and started walking south. He still kept an eye out for drones. But so far, the only sound was the low hum of the hover-cars. Slink and the others followed behind them. The young boy asked.
“What’s that?”
“Do any of us know how to hot-wire car? Or even crack the computer system on one of the newer models?”
Shaggy stopped walking as such an obvious problem slapped him in the face. He did not know how to hot-wire a car and he was sure the others didn’t either. As he started walking again, he glanced around at the others, and they all shared chagrined looks. Except Dave, as the guy was still smiling at the towering buildings and the empty streets as he walked. Ren coughed as he nodded.
“Yeah, thought not. So that means we have to mug the keys off someone, which means it will be reported and we’ll have a speedster on us.”
“Bah, speedsters aren’t so bad,” Vlad argued.
Shaggy shook his head. “No, they aren’t. But they aren’t supposed to be. They are there to slow you down while the Supes rally the rest of their people. While we’re dealing with one bastard, several more could be incoming. Which is a headache we don’t need.”
Slink groaned as the setting sun beat down on them. “So what do we do?”
Ren grunted as they walked southward out of the city. “Long term? We have to find a spot up here to make our own, then we get a collection of cars. That way, we’ll have something for when we are up here. But short term, I think we’re walking.”
Slink and Vlad groaned as Shaggy sighed. Meanwhile, Dave stepped out into the street and waved at a few cars heading southward. Shaggy watched as several cars ignored Dave and shook his head. Catching a ride was a good idea, but the chances of one being big enough for Ren were slim. At least he thought so until a large eighteen wheeler with a long metal trailer pulled to a slow stop next to Dave.
“Howdy!” Dave said happily.
The old man driving the extended cab truck stared down at Dave, not saying anything. Dave kept smiling as he reached into a pocket.
“I have a hundred and fifty credits if you can take me and my friends where we’re headed.”
The old squinted down at the credit chips in Dave’s hands for a long few seconds. Until finally, he nodded.
“Big’uns gonna have to ride in the trailer. But the rest of y’all can get up in the cab.”
“Thank you kindly.” Dave said, smiling as he turned back to the others.
Shaggy’s look of disbelief was still plastered on his face and he would bet that the others all looked incredulous as well. But Slink seemed to shake off his surprise faster as he rushed forward. Vlad and Ren followed, moving to get the back of the trailer open so Ren could climb in. Slink was giving the driver the address as Dave and Shaggy climbed into the large cab.
“Can’t believe that worked.” Shaggy muttered as he entered the large cab just behind the driver’s seat.
“Why not?” Dave asked as he sat on the small bed.
“Who is just gonna pick up a bunch of dudes wandering to a construction company?”
“Earl D. Sisyphus.” The old man’s voice called toward the back of the cab.
Shaggy and Dave turned to see their driver looking back at them as Vlad and Slink climbed into the passenger’s side door. Once the two got situated, Earl eyed all of them. Once he had studied them to satisfaction, he turned back to his steering wheel and snorted. He threw the truck into gear and they slowly began moving. Earl grunted before saying.
“I don’t really care what you boys are doing. But I feel I should tell you that construction work can be pretty demanding.”
Slink shot Dave and Shaggy a worried look from the passenger seat. But Shaggy understood the obvious lie the boy had told the old man.
“We’re tougher than we look. Plus, with the city the way it is, they are going to need all the help they can get.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Earl grumbled. “Entire city went to shit with all them robots running around. Then you have them Corporate Supes flying everywhere ‘saving’ people.”
“Corporate?”
“Yeah, y’know them fancy pants Supes in the snazzy outfits. All prim and proper like. More concerned with fulfilling quotas than saving lives.” Earl explained.
Shaggy racked his brain for an in-game company name he had heard before. It took a few seconds before he thought of one.
“Like K-Tech?”
Earl turned in his seat and squinted an eye at Shaggy. “Now, Kersait Technologies is one of the good ones. Sure, them black-armored guards of theirs look ‘timidating, but they at least were out helping. But then you have corps like the D.A.D and Harvest or even Kaplans. Them fuckers were so busy trying to look good that it took the HLO sending in the big guns to settle Cog down.”
Vlad nodded wisely. “Yeah, and no one wants to mess with the HLO’s big guns.”
Shaggy could hear the question in Vlad’s tone. But, Luckily Earl seemed to miss it. No sense drawing attention for not knowing something they should have.
“Hell no!” Earl cackled. “Them blue alien bastards are tough sons of bitches. Even if they are all uptight assholes.”
Shaggy and his friends shared looks as they all racked their brains for notably blue aliens. Shaggy had a fleeting memory of a spandex-wearing blue man in the DA’s office. The alien had been shouting down a few rambunctious players. He had seemed a little pompous and uptight. Shaggy filed the alien’s looks away for later discussion and the cab fell into amiable silence as the large truck left the city.
Vlad struck up idle conversation with Earl as they continued southward. Shaggy kept an ear on the conversation, but for the most part, he let his mind wander. They had a good foothold in Under-Town, but when it came to above ground, they were woefully uninformed. Something else they were going to have to look into later. Hell, maybe he could log off for a day again and see what they came up with. He had been gone around two days in-game helping his wife set up her pod and the group had gotten themselves pretty entrenched.
Not that he minded helping his wife. They always had a great time when they played together in other VR games. It was a passion they shared, and he was more than willing to miss a few days in the game to get her in sooner. But, man, he wasn’t a fan of missing out on growing their burgeoning empire. Although as he thought about it, ‘empire’ might have been too lofty of a word.
Under-Town was full of criminals of various stripes and attitudes. They were just a small section in a small part of the Town. They still had to contend with four full-scale criminal organizations. Sure, the Town was still reeling from the robot invasion. But once that was through, they were going in for tough times. At least Shaggy thought so.
Thinking about the Viper’s Nest, Shaggy turned to Dave. The man was smiling benignly as he stared into nothing. Probably in his menus. Shaggy hoped.
“Are we sure the bar will be okay?” Shaggy whispered.
Dave started as he blinked away the menus he was looking at. Turning his gaze to Shaggy, Dave’s smile grew wider.
“Of course, dude. The boys know how to handle themselves.”
Shaggy winced as Dave did not lower his voice. Vlad and Slink turned to gaze questioningly at the both of them. Shaggy grinned and waved them off.
“Just worried about the people back home, y’know? Hoping nothing comes up that they can’t deal with.”
Vlad nodded as Slink looked over at Earl. The old truck driver was keeping his eyes on the road. But Shaggy was sure the old man was listening intently.
“They’ll be fine. Petra is an excellent manager and Ephemara is on security. Even if she steps away for a bit, there’s still the Sisters.” Slink said.
Shaggy nodded and let the conversation drop. He wasn’t sure how far Rashi and her sisters would go to defend their bar, but he didn’t want to discuss it here. Dave had gone back to looking through his menus while the others turned to look out the front window. Shaggy was sure Dave had a browser open, was watching videos or something. He sighed as he sat back in his slim chair.
The drive was long and quiet. Vlad and Earl held several small conversations as the vampire tried to pry various bits of information from the truck driver. Slink was watching the exchange intently, clearly intent on learning from Vlad’s questioning techniques. Shaggy bemoaned his own lack of a view before he thought of Ren in the trailer behind them. He grinned as the truck slowed down.
Shaggy tried to look out a small window in the cab, but all he could see were enormous fields. There were a few large buildings in the distance, but nothing that looked like a construction company. Everyone in the cab turned to look at the old man as the truck pulled to a full stop. Earl engaged the parking brake and looked at them all.
“Alright boys, this is as far as I can take you. Your destination is further out that way.” He said, pointing to the west.
Shaggy and the others nodded as they clambered out of the cab. Dave handed the old man his promised credits and then jumped to the street as Vlad went to let out Ren. Shaggy stretched his legs a bit and took a big whiff of the air. Very faint scent trails crisscrossed through the air, but mostly he smelled gasoline and rubber. He was obviously too far to get a decent scent, but the smells he saw intrigued him. They were the usual mix of blue and yellow scents, but in the direction they were going, there were a lot of them. Probably proving Earl’s statement that the construction company was out that way.
Once Ren had joined them, Earl pulled away. Dave rapidly waved goodbye at the truck as Shaggy and the others started walking through the grass straight for where Earl had pointed.
“Lot of people out that way,” Shaggy said, pointing at his nose.
“Anything dangerous?”
Shaggy shook his head. “Can’t really tell with just smell. At least, not yet. All I know is that there are a lot of aliens and humans out that way.”
Vlad snorted. “There’s a lot of people everywhere. What good is it if you can’t tell who’s dangerous?”
“Hey! A predator doesn’t know his prey is dangerous until he tries to take it down.”
Slink furrowed his brow. “Is that true?”
Ren shook his head. “Probably not, but it sounds like it is, and I’m sure that’s all he cares about.”
Shaggy threw up his hands. “Screw you guys, then. See if I tell you anything I learn from my enhanced senses again.”
“Awww, don’t sweat it, Shag-dude. I thought it was nice to know.”
“Thanks Dave.”
They continued chatting as they made their way across the grassy plain. It was a rare bit of flora surrounded with the metal and brick of modernity. Warehouses and brick building rose in the distance and Shaggy could smell the dust in the air as they walked closer. Slink zeroed in on a large red brick building and singled it out as their destination. Shaggy raised an eyebrow at the white brick fence surrounding the property, but they continued forward.
Once they had gotten to a street running alongside the building. They followed toward a group of warehouses. Shaggy could see dozens of scents in the air, combined with the smells of gas, sweat, a metal. The sound of heavy machinery resounded as forklifts zipped around the various warehouses.
“What. The. Fuck.” Ren said as they all turned the corner toward the front of the brick building.
The big man was blocking their view, but once Shaggy and the others got around him, they all made sounds of agreement.
“Shit.”
“Whoa, dudes!”
“Fuck that!”
“It’s not so bad…”
They all turned and glared at Slink. The young man winced at their combined looks. Although Dave was still smiling, even he looked a little incredulous at Slink’s statement. Shaggy turned back toward the entrance to the building, where a large sign read: Spiegal Brother’s Construction. He waved a hand at the assembled guards in front of the building. All wearing black laminate armor. An armor they had all seen once before. In a junkyard.
“Slink,” Shaggy said, waving a hand at the crowd of guards. “That is three full squads of K-tech security. Some of whom look to be wielding laser rifles. Even with my healing and Vlad’s speed, we are fucked. Time to get back home.”
Slink looked between Shaggy and the guards a few times before he sighed and nodded his head. Everyone let out a collective breath as things calmed down. They really didn’t need to be standing outside a building guarded by K-Tech, holding an argument. Shaggy was turning when a harsh voice sounded from behind them.
“Hey! What are you lot doing here?!”
“Oh, sweet shit…” Shaggy grumbled.
