Chapter 11

The Sewer Access for Kyoraku Sushi was guarded by an Automated Turret. It was an older model, a Saka David IIC, which was easy enough for me to hack into with my enhanced intellect and implants. The funny thing was, the turret was connected to their entire Security Net, which let me netrun my ass right into this place's Datafortress. A few minutes later I had control of all cameras, which I looped, security measures, which were now programmed to see me as friendly, and even the password to the Casino Vault.

After picking the lock on the door, which was all too easy given my Omnidisciplinary Capabilities included some measure of locksmithing capability, I made my way up a concrete staircase into a basement. Here, a large section of the basement was taken up with a giant vault next to a security desk with a terminal and a couple monitors. Those monitors showed looping footage from earlier, though the gonk who was supposed to be watching them seemed AWOL.

It wasn't till I heard the flush from the bathroom to the right that I realized where that particular Gonk was. I knew that I didn't want to Zero him with my Lyndwyrm, since that'd alert the folks upstairs that they needed to Bombshell, which was would be a problem. Instead, I made my way right over to the side of the bathroom door and waited for the Gonk to exit. Sure enough, mere moments later, a Gangoon in one of those neon green monstrosities that the Tyger Claws called jackets walked out of the shitter and right into a rear naked choke from me.

He tried to break the choke, clearly using a Reflex Booster to try and out-technique me, but between my enhancements and my armor, my hold was like a steel cable. Within nine seconds, he was unconscious, after eleven seconds, I twisted, snapping his neck. The Mox said to limit collateral damage, but Tyger Claws didn't exactly count as collateral damage when you were attacking a Tyger Claw place. With that done, I moved on to the Vault.

I'd managed to grab the password to the vault, punching in the combination, seven-eight-seven-eight, and opening the vault. What greeted me was a combination of Paper Eddies, Synthcoke, Iron, Weapon Mods, Ammo, and Chips. I had no real need for any of the Synthcoke, and while I could use the Iron, Ammo, and Paper Eddies, I couldn't carry it all back to Chela's Cochimetl, even with the duffel bags sitting there. The Chips, on the other hand, only took a brief moment to Chop into. Suddenly, I found myself sitting on a quarter of a million in chopped eddies.

An even split of it all, between everyone involved in this, still had me coming out with fifty grand. That was pretty Nova, even if I didn't also grab a Duffel Bag full of Paper Eddies, Iron, Weapon Mods, and Ammo. The Paper Eddies would bump that up to an even hundred grand per share, plus the Iron and Ammo could be used for crafting while I could reverse-engineer the Weapon Mods for the same. The rest of everything else, I sealed up in the vault behind a randomly assigned new password so the Tyger Claws couldn't get at it. The full duffel bag, I placed near the Sewer Entrance, ready to be grabbed whenever I had to Bombshell.

With that done, I made my way up the next set of stairs into the Back Rooms of Kyoraku Sushi, where the Casino was. On entering, however, I realized that Jotaro wasn't alone. Sure he was there, in a white suit dressed to the nines, with a literal bowtie on, but he wasn't the only one. A busty Japanese Chick in a leather ensemble with a pair of Cyberarms sat at the same table next to him, as did a man in a ruffled dress shirt and trenchcoat with a pair of Kiroshi Optics on display. Alongside them, three other Tyger Claws were working the bar or guarding the doors.

"And just what the hell are you supposed to be?" Demanded Jotaro.

"The Gonk who's gonna zero you." I answered.

"Enough talking! The Gaijin wants a fight, I suggest we give it to him." Snarled Kyoraku.

He stood up from his seat, inching his hand toward his trenchcoat. The Woman did so as well, hand going for the Nue she had holstered, as did Jotaro his own hand reaching for his jacket pocket. My hand rested on the butt of my Lyndwyrm casually, causing everyone else to pause. For a few moments, nothing happened as all of us stared each other down, waiting for someone to make the first move.

"The hell with this! Michiko, do your thing!" Snapped the Woman.

Then one of the Tyger Claws, a Dyed-Red-Haired Woman who looked like some sort of Us Cracks Fangirl leaped over the bar with a Katana and rushed toward me looking to Slammit On. Her reflex boosters and reinforced tendons making her move faster than the eye could normally see. As time slowed down I ran the numbers and my Sandy and Kerenzikov kicked in, however, I was easily able to figure out her trajectory and spot a hole to exploit in her defenses.

As time sped up, I slid smoothly to the side, dodging around her arcing, vertical, slash and I drew my Lyndwyrm, firing four times in rapid succession. The First Bullet was stopped by the Purple, Red, and Blue Hexagon-Patterned, Enhanced Aramid Vest, the second bullet was deflected by the subdermal, but the third broke through the subdermal, and the fourth punched into her torso, sending her to the floor, Katana falling from nerveless hands.

I spun around, snatching the Katana mid-fall in my left hand and squeezing off a fifth round from my Lyndwyrm that punched through the back of the fallen Us Cracks Fangirl's neck, severing her spinal cord and zeroing her even as I brought the Katana up to parry a strike from Kyoraku, who had pulled a Katana of his own from inside his trenchcoat. The Woman of the Group had pulled her Nue and was lining up a shot, while Jotaro had grabbed a hypo from inside his jacket pocket and was injecting himself with something, while the other two Tyger Claws Gangoons were grabbing shotguns from behind the bar.

Time slowed down as I once more ran the numbers, figuring out angles and probabilities. As time sped back up, and Jotaro ran for a gun locker that had to contain a Heavy Weapon, I knew exactly what to do next. I pressed forward against Kyoraku, forcing a blade lock and pivoting, sending him stumbling sideways just as The Woman fired her Nue, emptying her clip into Kyoraku's back that I had just presented to her instead of having a clear shot at my side.

Kyoraku was made of sterner stuff than that, of course. His expensive subdermal practically ensured that he was, but not much sterner as it turned out. I found that out as I swiped down and around in a circular cut with my Katana to disarm him, literally. His right hand was lopped off at the wrist, taking his blade with it in a spray of blood and sending Kyoraku into shock, even as I lined up a shot at the Woman with my Lyndwyrm. Seeing that I had a bead on her, she ducked down, kicking the poker table up and over as a makeshift barrier just in time to avoid being shot.

A loud roar echoed from behind me as I felt the brunt of sixteen smart projectiles smash into the backplate of my armor. My HUD warned me that my armor had taken superficial damage from the twin jackhammer blows even as I stumbled forward. I turned around to see the two Tyger Claw Gangoons holding a pair of Kang-Tao L-Sixty-Nine Zhuo Shotguns. I was knocked flat on my face, by a second salvo as my HUD warned me that my armor had taken minor damage from the twin jackhammer blows.

I then had to roll to the side to avoid more fire from the Woman who had reloaded her Nue and was firing like a madwoman at me. A trail of bullet holes followed my sideways roll as I skipped to my feet, taking another pair of rounds to my thigh armor as I stood and dashed forward, dodging bullets easily now that I was aware of everyone's position I leaped over the barrier of the overturned Poker Table, tanking a Cyberarm punch from the Woman on my Pauldron before lopping her head off with my Katana. I ducked behind the table just in time to avoid a third salvo from the Shotguns, which blew chunks out of the heavy metal table.

Popping up I launched a Muay Thai-style push kick into the overturned, partly shot-up, table. My enhanced strength from various implants and the super-soldier formula sent it skidding forward at the two Tyger Claws Gangoons. One was bowled over, pinned between the heavy metal desk and the solid wood of the bar with a shout of pain, while the other had managed to use his Reflex Booster and Reinforced Tendons to dodge out of the way. I was already calculating his angle of dodge, though, time slowing to a crawl, and when it sped back up, I knew exactly where to send the five shots from my Lyndwyrm that shot him to pieces. His subdermal wasn't nearly as good as Kyoraku's had been, it seemed, as he fell to the ground, dead.

I turned to head for Jotaro, sliding a new magazine into my Lyndwyrm just in time to see him pull out a Tsunami Arms Type-18 Grenade Launcher and associated ammo backpack. That was the sort of Iron that the Corpos made for the JSDF, not something you'd normally see in the hands of a Gangoon, even middle management like Jotaro. That was some preem Iron and I found I wanted it for reverse engineering.

Unfortunately, just as I passed the last bank of slot machines before reaching him, Jotaro turned and fired at me, and I felt myself get picked up and carried across the room, smashing into and wrecking a slot machine. The light from the wash of flame was dialed down by my HUD, allowing me to see perfectly that the grenade had blown up several nearby slot machines as well and scorched the reinforced concrete walls black. The bank of slot machines was nothing more than twisted metal, burnt plastic, and scorched concrete, along with the floor.

My HUD informed me that my Armor had taken Moderate Damage, but I was still ready to go, the perks of chemically treated advanced armor were clear to see. Anyone who wasn't a Full Borg would have been completely zeroed by that attack, and even some Full Borgs wouldn't have been in much shape to keep going. I was still ready to Slammit On though, and as I pushed myself up to my feet, I could tell that I'd put the fear into Jotaro because he hesitated in firing again, as if he couldn't believe I'd just gotten up from that. I took the opportunity to line up my Lyndwyrm for a perfect shot and squeezed off a pair of rounds, which popped his head like a melon.

I stalked over to him, gathered up his Preem Iron, and made to leave. I almost had forgotten about the last Tyger Claw Gangoon, who was still pinned between the wreckage of the Poker Table and the Bar, struggling to get free. As I passed him, he looked over at me sharply.

"The hell kind of Oni are you?" Questioned the Gangoon.

"The kind that doesn't leave loose ends, sorry but it's just business." I grunted.

Then I fired three rounds into his head, the first was deflected by a Scarab Sheath around his skull, but the second and third cracked his head open like a walnut. Just to make sure Kyoraku wouldn't be able to be saved, I emptied the rest of my magazine into him as he bled out on the floor. He was definitely zeroed now. That done, I made my way down to the basement, grabbed my pre-prepared duffel bag, and headed out through the sewers.

As I was making my way to the Alleyway where Chela was parked, she contacted me. I answered her via my implants and as soon as I did, she was already yelling at me.

"What the hell did you do?" Queried Chela.

"Depends on what you mean." I answered.

"There's a bunch of Straphangers running away from Kyoraku Sushi! My contacts with the NCPD are saying they've gotten a half dozen called about some kinda explosion upstairs from the Sushi Restaurant!" Exclaimed Chela.

"You've been dialed into the badges?" I asked.

"Not important! Are you loco? They're gonna have to send someone out with this many complaints!" Insisted Chela.

"Well, then it'd be a pretty Nova idea for me to already be on the way back, then, wouldn't it?" I snarked.

"Are you? If they lock down the district 'cause you pulled some Chingaderas, then you're paying for where we lay low tonight." Warned Chela.

"First off, it wasn't me. The Pendejo I was here to Zero managed to pull out an honest-to-god military-grade grenade launcher on me. Secondly, I'm almost there, Calmate." I responded.

"Tell me you don't have that Grenade Launcher on you." Pleaded Chela.

"All right, I don't have the Grenade Launcher on me." I lied.

"Chingata madre! I expect that sort of thing from Jaquito, but I thought you knew better, you leadhead! Ditch the launcher, that'll bring too much heat on us with the Badges!" Hissed Chela.

"I'm planning to take it apart and see how it works. By tomorrow morning there won't be any launcher for the Badges to track." I pointed out.

"And if they set up a checkpoint tonight?" Questioned Chela.

"Fine. I guess that's a fair point." I muttered.

"Yeah, just do it. You'd better be here in fifteen minutes or I'm gonna bombshell without you." Warned Chela.

"I'll be there in five." I agreed, shrugging off the ammo backpack and putting down the Launcher.

Chela hung up on me as soon as I said that, and within the next five minutes, I made my way back to the sewer access in the alley where Chela had her Cochimetl Van parked. I clambered up onto street level out of the sewers and banged twice on the back of the van to let Chela know I'd arrived. Then I opened the rear doors, threw in the duffel bag, and piled in after it, closing the doors behind me as Chela turned around, a look of disgust on her face.

"Madre de Dios, what's that smell?" She queried.

"The sewers don't smell like roses." I shrugged.

"Fine, what's in the duffel bag?" She asked.

"Iron, Ammo, Weapon Mods, and about three-hundred-grand in eddies. I also chopped a bunch of Credchips and pulled an additional three-hundred-grand off there digitally." I answered.

"Yeah? I assume I'm getting a cut?" Demanded Chela.

"You'll get your cut, don't worry." I nodded.

"Then I guess I can handle a bit of sewer stank." Shrugged Chela.

With that, she threw the Van into drive and soon we were making our way south toward Vista Del Ray and my Apartment. We just barely made it out of Japantown before the NCPD declared a lockdown of Japantown over the Radio. Apparently, the Tyger Claws had discovered Jotaro Group's Zeroing at the same time the Badges had and went on the warpath. I got a message flicked to me from Punchin' Judy, letting me know that she managed to plant evidence that the local Scavs had been planning to hit the Kyoraku Casino tonight via the Net and that Susie Q wanted to see me when the Lockdown lifted tomorrow morning. With any luck, the Tyger Claws and Scavs will weaken each other and leave the Mox be.

I didn't much care about that, simply shucking my equipment as soon as I got back to my Apartment, feeding the Iron and ammo into my Autofactory to be rendered down into materials, and then feeding in my Armor for repairs. Once that was done, I sat down to begin reverse-engineering the various Mods I'd picked up. Three Scopes, a Kanetsugu, a Jue, and a Gaki, three Muzzles, a Cetus, a Dybbuk, and a Strigoi, and five weapon mods, a Pyro, a Swiss Cheese, a Supercharger, a Gambiteer, and an Equalizer. I immediately began to tinker with them, reverse-engineering them and designing better versions.

Using all my knowledge, I was able to not only create better versions of each of those attachments and modifications but also take the best qualities of each of the improved versions and mix and match with them. By the time my armor was finished, I had designed a general ranged weapon modification that I called the Bandido, which allowed rounds to be armor-piercing, do thermal damage, and cause an EMP Blast when striking the target. I also designed a general scope I called the Deadeye, which allowed an eighty Percent Increase in Range over the normal, an additional ten percent zoom over the normal, and a forty-five percent increase in accuracy over the normal. Finally, I designed a general muzzle attachment I called the Assassin, which allowed for a complete reduction in noise, a complete reduction in recoil, and a fifteen percent increase in accuracy.

By the time I was done, however, it was three in the morning. I sent a message off to V and Jackie, letting them both know I would meet up with them by six at night so we could move to hit the Stop-N-Leave together. Then I fed the schematics for my new attachments into my Autofactory before heading to bed. When I woke up, I'd install them into my Lyndwyrm and then head out to see Susie Q, pick up the payment for the BritVid, head to my bank to deposit the physical paper eddies, and then split up the cash between myself, Jaquito, V, Chela, and Punchin' Judy. Then I'd head on over to El Coyote Cojo and meet up with Jaquito and Company for the next mission.

It was a lot of work to do in a short period, but it should be worth it for the Eddies and Street Cred. I had no way of knowing just how much street cred or how many Eddies I would be getting by the end of this, but it should be a lot.

As I would come to find out, it would be more than enough to put me on Aleksander Yurinov's Radar. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. We see Big E completely fuck the Tyger Claws here. Not only did he just zero their three best-earning middle managers, but he also knocked over the Kyoraku Casino and did so while shrugging off a round from a literal anti-tank weapon. Wakako already had plans in motion, but now she is going to accelerate them. So that's something to look forward to.

At any rate, the next chapter will see Big E teaming back up with Jackie and V to deal with the Sixth Street Drug Cache at the Stop-N-Leave Storage Facility. I'll also have a character sheet update before then as well.

Stay tuned. . .