Thirteen.
Dammit! I was off by two!
You owe me lunch tomorrow! I was thinking wings.
-Internal communications at Yousoft Gaming, 2043
“So, first fun thing, you have made a deal to purchase a number of floors from that building that had a hive growing in it on the cheap in return for fixing the damages you caused while raiding it. Now, after a few days of thinking about it, do you know how many floors you are willing to buy?”
I took a deep breath. “The number has changed a few times over the last couple days, to be honest. Now, I'm not saying this is the final number, but how much would it cost to purchase the whole thing?”
I could feel Morrigan raise an eyebrow at me.
“Huh, that's a lot. Not gonna lie, due to various factors, we do have plans for a decent chunk of the building, so the whole thing is not for sale. About ten of them have been set aside for your potential purchase, and that number was only given after learning that you are an army type and will probably need the space. Sorry, man.”
“That's fine, I was more curious than anything. If you have set aside ten floors, then how much for all ten?”
“With the deal in place, you're looking at seven hundred and fifty thousand per floor, so seven point five million.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right. I'll take the top ten floors, then. Including the roof. Estimates on repairing the damaged parts are a few hours, so we can get started once we are done here, right Morrigan?”
She nods, “Um hmm! Construction on the cavern won't begin until tonight as Shrew needs to get some things together, so I can fully focus on the repairs.” she turns to me, “I can also build a few more Fabrication pairs to get the actual living area built by tomorrow morning.”
“You sure, Games? Ten floors of a megabuilding is a lot of space, even with future expansions in mind.” Black Log asked.
“Unfortunately, yes. We will be needing all that space in the future.”
A bit of silence followed, then the jellyfish clicked its non-existent tongue. “Damnit, Games, you lost me a bet.” Doma just chuckled next to me. “Fine, ten floors, all yours. Our AIs can finalize the transaction.” He grumbled.
“Right, on to fun thing number two. Your welcome package. Now, a part of the package is, of course, the expert training your family is receiving now. The official program is labeled under familial assistance, but we just call it family distractions. The next part of your package is a one time purchase of any item from any listed Family Samurai catalog. This can be cashed in at any time and is somewhat subsidized by The Family leadership, meaning Doma and me, of which we would pay for fifty percent of the purchase. I would really recommend something fun, like a tank or mech.”
That surprised me greatly. “Is there a Class limit, or a point total limit? It can't possibly be anything?” I ask, confusion evident in my voice and face.
Doma giggled next to me, “No, there is no limit besides what is listed. It could be any number of combinations of Catalogs, or from a single catalog mixed with your own. I will mention that there are no Class IV Catalogs available due to the strategic nature of them, you see.”
She leaned in closer to me, once more whispering in my ear, “That said, I have a number of fun catalogs that I would be willing to share at a later date,” her voice was silky smooth and warm in my ear. She pulled back before I could respond and took a sip from her cup.
Black Log chuckled, but didn't comment on what just happened. “As I said, this purchase can be completed at any time, with the only limitation being the time it takes to meet said Samurai in order to use their catalogs. Scheduling is a bitch and all that. Third and final fun thing, seeing a pattern yet, is access to The Family stock market and banking. Now, I see you making that face, asking ‘how is banking fun’, and it is for one very specific reason. We do it to fuck with the normal stock market. Acting like insider trading, our accountants short the stock of any corporation that has a high chance of falling to a Samurai or other clandestine operations. We then use those funds to start up our own corporations to do actual good in the world. A number of Arizona based corporations are owned by us, about ten percent, and quite a few corporations across North America are also owned by The Family. We are the only bank in North America that can guarantee you a steady increase in your cash, and make sure it's not just gathering dust.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“So, socialism, but good?” I ask, wearing a smirk.
He sighs, “Sure, kid. Boil down the complex economical war we wage as ‘socialism but good’. Kids these days, I swear.” He grumbles.
Doma placed her cup down on the table drone. “All of these benefits can be accessed on The Family Store, should you wish to utilize them, or should you wish for your AIs to use them for you. Do you have any other questions?”
“No, not at this time. I would like to check in with my family and see how they are doing, then I want to head to the megabuilding and get started on that as soon as possible, cause I'm sure once Jill is finished at least, she will want to go use her new cybernetics on antithesis. Or gangs, but I would rather her not kill people who don't deserve that level of vitriol.”
Doma nodded, then stood up. “That should be everything, for now. I will leave you in Kira’s capable hands, as I do have other business to attend to. I hope you have a great rest of your day, and once more, thank you for your assistance with these matters. You have helped a lot of people and dealt with a major headache for us.” As she walked off, she said something that I could just barely hear, “It really is such a shame you're too ripe,” then, she was gone.
Black Log chuckled, “Sorry not sorry, kid. You have her attention until she bores of you or someone more interesting comes along. So you only have to wait until the next Incursion when a new Samurai awakens. She normally moves on soon after that. Good luck!” Then the jellyfish vanishes.
Morrigan laughed a bit, “Damn, General. You really hooked a big one like it was nothing! Hey, hey! I predict that Roger will be the first to congratulate you and offer you advice on how to handle her, even though you are all virgins.” She proceeded to laugh as I walked out of the room.
Kira, being a professional, ignored Morrigan as I exited. “Hello, War Games. Shall I lead you to your new office? It seems as though your family has gathered there and are waiting for you.”
I shook my head, giving up. Giving up what, exactly? No idea, but that was the feeling I had. “Sure, Kira. Let's go to the office.”
We had to take an elevator down two floors to get to the office. Entering through the door, I was met with a beige room with a simple desk and a few chairs. There was a double door on the back wall that Kira led us through. Inside was everyone, sitting on very bland chairs. The room was decently sized, but it had no other furniture.
“So, how were your instructors?” I ask as Roger stands.
“They were very enlightening,” he said with a serious face. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “Sands, Victor, we were so lucky growing up. It is a true miracle none of us died horrifically a dozen different ways.”
Buddy nods heavily, “After Abigail finished going over our class schedule, we went over a few of our past missions that I kept records for. Her face paled numerous times throughout, then she declared we deserved to retire if we were a normal PMC for going through half of the stuff we did, let alone surviving.”
“Hilda said basically the same, then said she would adjust my combat training difficulty accordingly.” Jill said, stretching as she stood.
“Icebreaker was impressed by my code, considering that I was self taught, saying that it was functional.” Cody grumbled. “Then he showed me some stuff he did when he was my age and…” he didn't finish, but I could see his frustration.
I chuckled, “Sounds like you guys are going to have a productive time.”
“So, how did your stuff go? You look like you've been through a wringer.” Roger asked. He looked behind me aslt Kira and asked me a question with his eyes. ‘Is she good?’
I responded with an affirmative signal. No way was she working for a Samurai without having been vetted by a dozen different AIs, plus Synaptic. And she hadn’t warned me of her.
“Yeah. Well, the good news is that in about a week Bestlé will be dealt with. More good news is that by tomorrow we can move into our new home properly. It will be a bit before the rest of the living arrangement is finished, so we may need to order food for a few days, but otherwise we can be out of the hotel.”
“Hmm. We could probably take a bunch of food from the hotel before we go. Morrigan, could you make us a bunch of iceboxes?” Buddy asked.
“Easily! Once we're back, we can pack enough food for three days worth of meals. Hydroponics and the Generator will be done by then.”
Everyone nodded at that. As we were moving to leave, Roger wrapped an arm around my shoulder, “But seriously, Vic, you look exhausted. What happened?”
I had a small panic, “I had to speak in front of a dozen Samurai, convincing them of our plan. It was nerve-wracking.” I said in a bit of a hurry.
“Oh, yeah. That would do it for you, wouldn't it.” He nodded.
“Hey, General! Your leaving out the most important part!” Morrigan chided, her cat-like smile spreading. I looked to her with wide, panicked eyes, pleading with her, begging her through the network.
She ignored me.
“You were teased mercilessly by a very sexy older lady repeatedly, and every Samurai knows it. She even offered you some fun once you were more mature”
I died. I was dead. I refused to look at Roger and his spreading grin. I refused to listen to the network that was howling with cackling laughter and awash with amusement. I stared straight down to avoid looking at Cody and Buddy's wide eyed amusement. And I definitely refused to look at Jill's very scary smile.
“Oh? Was he now?” She said, relishing the words escaping her lips.
“Oh, yes! I took video of each interaction! We can watch them later.”
Hmm? What videos? I haven't the foggiest what you mean.
She lied. She lied as easily as I breathed.