100. candy
After thinking about it, Leonard removed the candy wrapper.
Recently, I was busy with real estate and the liberation front, so I couldn’t go shopping, so there were few candies left in my pocket. It was ridiculous to worry about running out of cheap candies made with artificial sweeteners while processing 10,000 credits per request.
“Are you old and candy?”
“It’s better than a chemical cigarette you don’t know what it’s made of.”
A dummy of twins came down to the second floor. Despite having done a rough job, his expression was peaceful. It could be that complex and subtle emotions are not expressed because it is a low-cost implant body.
Leonard tossed a dishcloth lying around on the shelf. The second floor of the shopping mall was originally a restaurant, so there were many useful things except for the ones that were damaged by guns and knives.
“Did you find out?”
The twin dummy took a dishcloth and wiped its face. It was blood mixed with oil, so it didn’t come off well.
“About the name and place of origin. They are from 07 City.”
“The federal capital?”
The New Human Federation is literally a ‘confederation’ and does not have an official capital. It was the first city to successfully colonize the land and the first city to declare independence eight years ago, so half-jokingly and half-seriously, A-07 City was called the federal capital. . It was also a city far away from A-044 City, which was relatively recently developed.
“Did you come all the way here for something to eat?”
“It won’t be for tourism purposes.”
It seems that I haven’t been able to figure it out until now. There’s no way the best doctor in Junk Town can’t read the memory, so he must have deleted it beforehand.
“Do you know anything similar to your department?”
The only seeds that care about security that much are corporate public security and fixers, but there was no way public security would go into hiding without support, so there was only one answer.
“I’ve said it before, but not everyone who is a solver eats friends.”
“Isn’t there such a thing as a union?”
“Is there such a thing as a gang?”
It was not the sheep that knew the sheep well, but the shepherd. Some claim that they are wolves, but wolves eat whenever they have the opportunity and do not distinguish their prey by name or appearance. Therefore, the broker who works the solver was right to know the solver well.
“Give me the payment you promised.”
Twin stacks transfer 10,000 credits twice. It was meaningful that I had to share it. Does it mean strictly keeping the contract, or does it mean that it can be sent three times?
“Then let’s see again.”
Leonard checked the account and left the mall still a mess. The twins did not see off. I’m busy with work upstairs, and I’ll see you again soon.
@
There are at least 3,000 fixer brokers in Junk Town, but fewer than three were trusted by Leonard. One of them was Jake, the ‘bald’ broker who was the owner of the makeshift 15th-9th Streets he had been living in these days.
“Isn’t this Lowell and Rogers?”
The broker checked the still image and was impressed. Leonard felt ominous when the information came out more easily than he thought.
“Do you know him?”
“The famous duo in A-07 City. I thought he retired because there was little news recently… Where did you film this?”
Leonard extracted the entire video from memory and transmitted it. I followed the gang into the building, climbed the stairs, and fought loudly after being ambushed. In the scene where the gun was aimed at both sides, ‘Lowell’ and ‘Rogers’ were clearly taken. The broker’s expression quickly deteriorated.
“How can you not be quiet?”
“I couldn’t help it because Faye liked it.”
The broker crossed his arms and gave him a disapproving look. It is not necessary for a fixer to work through an intermediary, but I didn’t like getting credit from a distant place and then taking out information. It was good enough. Leonard admitted it coolly and released what he had.
“We raided the Twins executives on 21st Street.”
“What? why?”
“I met you while looking for it.”
The broker’s expression changed again. Unlike anyone else, it was a biological skin, so the length, depth, and color change were varied.
“Isn’t this serious?”
Gangs fighting and psychos rampaging, it was inside A-044 City. The terrorism of the Liberation Front could have become an international problem, but it was well dealt with, so it was removed, and the rest was city security and city internal affairs. However, when A-07 City was involved, the story was different.
“If you personally uncovered the Twins gang, it wouldn’t matter…”
“It can’t be.”
Although they are collectively referred to as the ‘New People’s Federation’, A-07 City and A-044 City were far apart cities that had to cross several borders by old-time standards. Even if it was a coincidence, ‘personal matters’ were not intertwined.
“Because he is a solver, he must have been commissioned.”
“Shit. It’s a matter of who commissioned it. If commissioned by the federal government…”
In particular, A-07 City was important. It was the seat of the federal government, the decision-making body of the giant corporations that dominate the land. If they made up their minds and drew their swords there, it would be difficult for the ignorant fixer A and broker B to survive. Needless to say, even President Highlane Sar Volfors, who reigns as king in A-044 City, is willing to compromise rather than resist the federal government.
“The federation has nothing to do. Shall we rob a gang far away? A certain credit rotting rich man would have called it privately.”
The solvers here in A-044 City and nearby cities didn’t like to fight with the Twins, so they could have done it with a big heart.
“That’s a headache in its own right… but it’s better than the federal government.”
“Why don’t you investigate? Whoever decides to hit the Twins will be of great help to the brokerage business in the future?”
“That’s right. great. Shall we dig it up?”
Leonard cheered with a faint smile. He was a really easy-to-understand broker. However, it was not an easy-to-use hodgepodge. Broker Jake pretended to be busy and returned the phone. Leonard was half puzzled and half annoyed at the broker’s outgoing number in the middle of his field of vision.
“What are you doing?”
“Intermediaries are what brokers do. why? Are you going to sit down and eat? No way!”
He doesn’t seem to want to suffer alone. I decided to bring in all the people who could make this happen. Max, who happily returned from shopping, and Sigma, who had just finished charging, trembled with an unknown feeling.
@
It didn’t come for free, but it was a good thing to enlist the help of a broker. Unlike solvers who play individually, the community was well established. It was only natural that it was a job where personal connections and information were the strength.
“They’re not hired by my city.”
“why?”
“It’s an era where dogs and grunts are brokers, but there aren’t many people who can attract names from other cities. Even if you try to get the contact information, if you ask, it will eventually lead to several heads, but none of them have solved the information about Lowell and Rogers.”
“Are you sure?”
“About 87%? I can’t say 100% until I catch and interrogate all the people from A-07 City.”
“For something like that, 87% is pretty high, right?”
Max, a pure brain with good memorization but poor computational ability, raised questions. The broker answered with a shiny head.
“If you say you have a broker close to Lowell and Rogers in A-040 City, have visited A-044 City several times, and drained your credits on 14th and 22nd Street, the percentage goes up quite a bit.”
“How else did you find out about that?”
“It seems that he talked like that with his mouth. Some of my friends are saying something.”
As I said before, it was a job where information was power. Protecting something is just as important as having it, but looking at it being released so carelessly, the middleman’s qualifications were very lacking.
“You are still a broker. Uh, don’t you use your hands?”
Max, who had a good relationship with the priest, expressed his doubts. However, the teacher only taught knowledge and did not set an example.
“The times are suspicious.”
“The era?”
“Aren’t there many cases of brokers being kidnapped and assaulted these days?”
“Ah… is that right?”
He was a solver who knew how to jump on the flow of the world. Mentor and mentee exchanged sly smiles. The broker panicked and tore it off.
“If you do, then what will become of this floor? Please be patient. It’s still five minutes before the opening…”
Of course, I had no intention of going there and robbing the memory chip with a gun pointed at my head. I did it after I was more certain.
“A-040 City, I know some people.”
Again and again, connections were strength. The broker narrowed his eyes as Leonard flaunted his connections.
“you?”
“why? Shouldn’t I have friends?”
“Uh… Um… You know that being friends is a relationship that requires mutual consent, right?”
It could be said jokingly, but it hurt quite a bit to implant hackers. Sigma patted him with his four arms, hurting him even more. Max clapped his hands loudly and testified.
“You mean Elaia Garden?”
“How did you guys get Elia… Big Ground Co.?”
“Yes! We became friends then.”
One of the fixers hired by the Big Ground Saga to hunt down the Wildkid Gang was Elaia Garden in A-040 City. The federation was also disbanded after the battle, so the request was completed, so he should be back in his hometown by now.
“He’s also quite a celebrity, and if you’re a broker in your neighborhood, you’d know that. That’s a good idea.”
A trivial matter is that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has never been in touch since then. However, after proudly saying that they were friends, I couldn’t take it off. Leonard glanced sideways at his half-human, half-machine colleagues and cautiously opened his contacts.
“Are you on the phone? Do you have speakers?”
“Privacy is important to friends…”
It’s been a while since the request from Big Ground ended, so I was worried that I hadn’t erased the memory. it was raining As the other side is also a solver, he was well aware of the importance of networking and information. He couldn’t forget Leonard, a skilled fixer in a neighboring city and a rare implant hacker.
-Les, Less, Leonard Walker? uh, what happened…? Oh, oh, long time no see…!
The familiar stutter was nice. Leonard said hello with a triumphant face as if to see this.
“How are you? If you’re not busy, I’d like to ask you something.”
Since it was a brain-chip call, it didn’t matter that other people couldn’t hear it. Anyway, the information was steadily gathered.
@
Lowell and Rogers.
The samurai woman was Lowell, and the metal implant was Rogers, but nothing was known except her name and appearance. Some say they are lovers, some say they are siblings, some say they are father and daughter, but nothing has been proven.
“Really… I mean… I’ve only worked with a broker named Piper… I’ve never met another broker…”
Leonard frowned as he peeled the wrapper off the candy and saw that the kernels were broken. After being dragged out of the brothel, A-040 City’s fixer broker shuddered and covered his head. It was a gesture that made the person who hit him feel sorry for him.
“You were talking about saying you knew each other well.”
“I-I know Piper…”
“Do you really know?”
“We worked together for a short while before… Great, not a big deal, just transporting cargo…”
It’s not new since it’s a town that bluffs like inhalation, but I was annoyed that the clues I had caught seemed to have been blown away.
“Where did you get the credits from?”
“Credits? I’ll give you all the credits! Just save me!”
“…I didn’t say it would kill me.”
Leonard pulled out the least useful information and kicked him in the ass. I should have been suspicious when I found out that half a penny was a middleman who couldn’t manage information.
Elaia Garden scratched her head with a 9mm muzzle. The hair cut through sports has grown quite a bit, so it’s to the point of claiming that it’s a short cut. If she was well-dressed, she would be as beautiful as a gunsmith. Although it is not recognized as an implant anyway.
“I-I-I knew one thing…”
“Ah, yes. We need to find a broker named Piper.”
Leonard gave half of the candy to Elia Garden. I was sorry that I had nothing but candy to give to my friend who came across the wasteland to A-044 City with a single phone call.
“Chuck, this isn’t the first time.”
“You mean candy?”
“Oh no… A-07 City…”
Elaia tapped the brain chip as if she was frustrated even thinking about it herself. It was intended to transmit information. It seemed that he did not come to A-044 City purely out of friendship. Leonard bit off the half candy.
“If you had something like that, you should have given it to him first before you hit him.”