63. chance
Although Leonard is not a writer, he has the literary and cultural knowledge he has enjoyed for over 30 years, so he was able to create a story in a snap.
“A rain of bullets, a suffocating escape, a desperate crisis, and an outlaw in the wilderness.”
Max, who was of a similar level, followed with a chuckle.
“It’s wary of strangers, but it’s a subtle feeling that gradually sprouts when you give them food and prepare a place to rest.”
“What bullshit?”
Bandit looked at him with a puzzled face. But Max, absorbed in the story, spun around with his arms outstretched like a stage actor.
“On a hot night, in the morning at dawn, I leave for an unfulfilled mission, but I keep looking back at unknown emotions. Is this fate or a joke of fate?”
The bartender responded with applause. However, the expression of the bandit client was not good. It was never because I was ashamed.
“I-I’ve never exchanged a word with her.”
“What did you say?”
When Leonard uncovered the identity of her first love, Bandit reluctantly confessed. Turn-of-the-century romances weren’t so pretty. To be honest, it was abnormal and nonsensical.
“So, you raided a corporate convoy and all your clan members died, and you fell for that killer corporate guard?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Are you serious? Isn’t that a bandit joke?”
“Because it is.”
She was a killer in many ways. Leonard rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a lollipop. It felt like the blood sugar was dripping down my brain.
“How did you know his name?”
“I heard them calling. ‘suggest! Jessica! stop coming back! A-044 Return to City!’ said.”
That one sentence was all. Leonard rubbed his forehead and sighed. The bartender, who had become an onlooker, also sighed in unison.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever had a last-ditch request like this in my 7-year career as a solver.”
@
Max ordered another glass of juice and jumped in before the water man said anything.
“Do you believe that?”
Leonard didn’t play meanly with the price of juice.
“How are you?”
“I guess you’re trying to find your enemy and take revenge on an excuse that’s not even funny?”
It was possible with the Junk Town sensibility. However, this was a wasteland.
“If revenge is the goal, I just ask for revenge.”
“Isn’t that expensive?”
“Or ask them to find someone in revenge. I guess I’m looking for someone anyway.”
“Oh, is that so?”
When the juice came out, Leonard quickly intercepted it and made a cool one-shot. Max’s ball swelled up. Leonard burped and said grown-up.
“And it’s Bandit. They’re not the kind of people who would roll their heads that way.”
“Then you really fell in love? To the man who killed his gang?”
“It’s like the difference between a gang and a bandit. Gangs join organizations for credit, but bandits stick together just to survive. There will be no such thing as vengeance.”
It is not possible to generalize people’s lives, but the characteristics of cities and wastelands were generally the same.
“But this kind of request is a bit… stalking, right?”
“You sound interesting, assistant.”
Leonard laughed without a smile.
“Will the fixer take the job after arguing about that?”
Well, he would find it even if he asked for it to kill people, but there was no reason to refuse the love request.
@
Leonard and Max left Head Town after saying see you in three days.
Bandit wanted to follow him like a suspicious bandit, but he firmly refused because he would be tired if he was with a criminal. How can you believe in a nameless bandit when you can’t even trust public security with citizenship?
“Hacking?”
Max was worried about how to find it with just one name, but after 7 years of experience as a solver, there were ways.
“First of all, you need to know where you belong. It’s easy if you find the corporate convoy that entered A-044 City between the 20th and 25th, and find a woman named Jessica in it.”
“You say it’s easy, isn’t it?”
Unless the corporate convoy was made up of rare idiots, there was no way they would talk about their schedule. The route, time, cargo, and number of people were all top secret, so it was hard to find out by asking casually while buying a drink like in an old spy movie.
“It’s difficult to extract information about upcoming shipments. You have to break through the company’s security net. But it’s not difficult to get past transport information.”
“It’s like having to break through a security system.”
“There is a difference between which security.”
When Leonard gave a hint, Max, who was smart, took it right away.
“It’s public security!”
“It is precisely the record of the public security checkpoint.”
Departure could be known only by hacking the company’s computer network, but arrival could be known by hacking the checkpoint surveillance camera. It was the reason for the 1,500 credits client.
Leonard stopped the pickup truck at a place where the first checkpoint in Head Town could be seen from afar and watched the movement. It was all red-brown soil, a clump of tumbleweed, dark clouds and an endless asphalt road. It was desolate and boring because it was the outskirts of the city where less than 100 vehicles passed by every day.
“It will take some time. Because the distance is far and I need to know the date.”
“Hee hee! I’m fine.”
It was Leonard who suffered anyway, not Max.
Leonard activated the Hexagon module, scanned the checkpoint, and attempted to infiltrate the computing device. Although the distance is far, there was no interference with radio waves as it was an open area without a single car. It was worth trying.
“All those who get paid are thieves. Look how he hates to work.”
It was Leonard’s personal idea. Let’s not get it wrong.
Anyway, I managed to break through the firewall. It was a security program provided by the company as standard, and it was simple because it had not been updated for more than a year. A month’s worth of video records and checkpoint logs were downloaded to the brain chip and traces of infiltration were erased.
“It’s easier than you think.”
“Did you finish early?”
“Not yet. It starts now.”
Leonard reclined the driver’s seat and sat comfortably. The one who went out to the wasteland was there. He was a corporate mercenary, fixer, fugitive, and explorer. The most frequent of them were fugitives. Once they left, they never came back. They may have been killed by bandits or settled in another city.
Leonard skipped unnecessary records and focused on corporate mercenaries. They usually drive large trucks, but sometimes they move quickly in one or two jeeps. If the bandits had attacked, there would of course be cargo, but there were cases where the advance team arrived first or joined later, so I had to check them all.
“great. found.”
You did a good job finding it. There was one wingbody truck coming in late after a corporate convoy had passed. Even with the poor quality video of the checkpoint, it didn’t look very good.
Leonard checked the time and opened the checkpoint journal. It was an access record written casually, but the mercenary’s signature could be recognized. Jessica Rabbit. It was a cute name compared to the job.
“It must have been a guard from Big Ground.”
Among the over 20 ground companies, the Big Ground Company was strangely often involved. It didn’t seem like a coincidence.
“Where did Bandit get the cargo information?”
“Couldn’t you have found the convoy by accident?”
Although Bandit was a fool, he was not a suicide attempter. In addition, as shown in the video being played now, the condition of the wing body was not good. It means that many of the bandits attacked with guns.
“It smells different from a romantic wasteland bachelor.”
Leonard remembered Bennington Holly, the ‘gunman’ he met on the outskirts of A-038 City. It has hostile relations with Big Ground, and recently there was an organization that joined hands with Bandit.
“It smells like Wild Kid.”
@
The conspiracies of giant corporations and giant gangs in and around the city are exciting, but right now, the request comes first. Leonard and Max visited the Big Ground branch in Whitetown.
“wow…”
It was a small building compared to the headquarters of A-010 City, but it was still a large company. Excluding the lobby on the first floor and the basement, the 42nd floor was equipped with various convenience and welfare facilities. Also, due to the nature of the corporate state, it was not a simple branch office. In the old days, it was similar to an embassy.
From the people passing through the front door to the office androids at the information desk, everyone was arrogant. A golden chrome body was standard, and shoes made of genuine leather in a high-end suit were a different world that could not be imagined in Junk Town. Most surprising, however, is that Leonard is not fooled.
“I used to look booty.”
It wasn’t a whole body made of iron, so it wasn’t very wrong. Max thought it was because of the 19,000 credits court.
Entrepreneurs simply passed through with their identification cards and pass cards planted in the implant body, but outsiders could not. Leonard approached the information desk in the lobby on the first floor. The fourth-generation Android bowed respectfully.
“This is Big Ground’s A-044 City branch. How can I help you?”
“Wow! Wasn’t that a person?”
Max backed up, startled. 4th generation androids were no different from humans in appearance. No, compared to cheap implants, they were more like people than people. Even the focus movement was natural.
“Jessica Rabbit, you must be in the Operations Department or Transportation Department. Can I meet you now?”
The android blinked one big eye. It was also the latest model, so there was no noise. As if I had found the record, I moved on to the next procedure.
“Can I know the business?”
“It is family. I came from home.”
If it was a human being, I would have questioned it because I was dumbfounded. ‘You’re a family member, but did you come to work instead of home?’ However, Android, which is responsible for customer service, has completely ruled out personal opinions.
“Please tell me your name.”
“Just send them as family.”
“I sent a request in the name of Mr. Family. Denied.”
It didn’t even take 3 seconds. Since the cell phone is linked to the brain chip, I could not receive it unless I was sleeping. Depending on the setting, you could receive it even while sleeping. Of course, there was no reason to respond to the unknown ‘family’ call. Leonard removed his hand as if he knew that.
“I’m asking just in case, don’t you know the address or contact information?”
“It is not possible according to the regulations.”
“All right then. Good work, robot lady.”
Leonard turned around without regret. Max, who was looking around the corporate building because it was strange, belatedly followed.
“what? Are you giving up?”
“Can it be?”
Leonard glanced at Max. Max was immediately convinced. Both Leonard’s pupils were hexagonal.
“I heard corporate security is hard to hack?”
“Enterprises are tough, but having an Android is simple.”
Android intercepted contacts sent to Jessica Rabbit. It was only a 10-digit phone number, but there was an infinite amount of information that could be found out with it.
“Mr. Leonard, I’m a little scared. It’s like a complete stalker.”
“If possible, act like an expert.”
It didn’t seem like it would take 3 days for Bachelor Bandit to find his first love. As a leisure activity, I decided to dig into the war situation between the Wildkid Gang, the Twins Gang, and the Big Ground Company. It was a good opportunity because I had connections in all three places.