I tossed a scrambler onto the table and filled Feras in while we ate. I kept most of the details to myself, ‘course. Although I needed his help, I didn’t need him to get too close to me. Not to mention if this fell through, I’d be shit out of luck. Getting the money to pay Athena wouldn’t be easy unless I somehow managed to sell a bunch more Roughriders out of the blue. The chances of that, though, were limited.

I figured I’d need at least twenty mil to approach Athena about it. I couldn't just turn that kind of money up. Not like those around me would lend me several million rayn if I asked politely. Stealing that much… Well, it wouldn't be impossible. Doing it in a short amount of time, though? Not easy unless I took a commission. Didn’t exactly have the contacts for that kind of thing, though.

Near the end of the meal, we both sat there deep in thought. Feras had a completely calm, neutral facade over his face. “Well, you’ve certainly moved up in the world.”

”So have you.” I twisted my head and looked around the restaurant. This was a private booth in a reserved section—not just anyone could casually sit here. At least, based on the vibe I got from the place and workers. “Did you earn enough to buy out this building?”

“Nothing so dramatic.” He sighed and leaned on his fist. “I saved their daughter from a corp called Build-A-Doll.”

The name hit me like a flash bang. My knuckles tensed up underneath the table. Even after all of this time, it seemed I still carried quite a bit of resentment for it. “Oh?”

”They were—” He paused and stared off into the distance for a moment. “Well, it doesn’t matter. The corporation doesn’t exist anymore.”

”Then I’ll have to thank you.” That place… I should’ve wiped it out after I got stronger. Or, at least, started a deeper Crusade investigation into it once I had the connections. “I ran into some, ahem, cleaners from them.”

”Sounds like quite the story.” He sipped from a cup and eyed me. “Save your thanks for Torren. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the guy so mad in my life. I dunno what he did, but the next day the Viento Cartel flatlined the entire board of directors.”

Torren—it’d been a while since I thought of him, too. I figured he had at least some connections with the cartel after he met me in that private booth of the bar the cartel owned. There was a reason I’d ghosted him even if he would’ve been super useful on occasion.

At this rate, this meet-and-greet was like a trip down memory lane? What next? Would Sean pop out of the cityworks to give me a heart attack? No, what were the chances of that happening… Fuck, Garrick must’ve rubbed off on me.

I superstitiously glanced over my shoulder and knocked on the wooden table. It was synth wood, but it had to count for something, chek? “How’s he?”

“Same old. Bigger, if you can believe it.” Feras shook his head and sighed. “He’s going to have a heart attack before too long.”

”Not necessarily." His magic, Bulk and Cut, worked around being big so he must’ve had some work arounds. Maybe some kind of chrome?

Feras went silent for a moment and then conceded with a nod. There were all sorts of medical technologies out there these days. Some even as simple as artificial veins could help protect against that kind of thing. “He’ll probably get onto me for not telling him I was meeting up with you. After the school job, he asked me a dozen times when I was calling you in again.”

He wasn’t a bad guy. I kinda missed him, to be honest. He gave a good impression, and the duo’s antics had been a little funny in hindsight. “Some things just aren’t meant to be.”

He sighed and shook his head. “Yeah… I’m surprised you even came to me, to be honest. I figured you’d have your own fixer.”

”I do. Several, even.” Or, at least two of them that I could go to if I really needed to. I could always go to a random one too, but I’d rather deal with people I knew first. “You mentioned you were going way of the fixer back then, though.”

Not to mention I had Luna look him up after I called him. He wasn’t, like, a big player in the city. His hand was in a surprising amount of jobs scattered around Oldtown, though. Sure, they were smaller stuff, but they gave me some confidence in his abilities. Just like me, he hadn’t been idle over the past year. Better than Mira and her cat returning service, at least.

“It’s been a blast.” He still had that neutral mask on, but his shoulders perked up noticeably. “I’m way better at this than being a field merc. Not to mention it pays better… I don’t do it, but a bunch of fixers around the city take upwards of seventy-five percent and only pass the dregs to their mercs.”

”Does Athena Alexandria? Do you know her?” I asked. She paid me well enough, but some of those gigs weren’t great pay wise. Granted, I was a new merc. I imagine her usual ones got paid more.

”The arms dealer?” He frowned and rubbed at his chin. There was a faint layer of stubble poking out of it. “I never dealt with her. She’s got a legendary rep, though, so probably not.”

”What about Carone? Kinda a douche, and a fire kinetic.” Out of anyone, he definitely cut me some bad deals. I mean, I took a few gigs for what—a couple thousand? That was pitiful amounts compared to how much money corporations had and were willing to dump into mercs to solve issues. Smug bastard.

”Probably. I’ve never heard of him, though, so I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I usually swipe thirty, and cover insurance and fully kit my mercs for the job. The longer they stay alive and better they do their job, the better off I am, anyway.”

That was a good way of looking at it. See? Not everyone was an asshole… just most people. I guess I would see in half a decade if he was still like this, though. Could just be the take of an idealist that hadn’t been through the world yet. Assuming we were both still alive then, ‘course.’

”So… about the job?” I shifted the topic back. “Don’t forget you owe me one.”

”As if.” He smirked and waved a hand to a waiter. “I’ll talk to some connections and see if I can’t approach Smith and Sons. You’re right, though, this is the only chance to make a move on this stuff… The properties won’t come cheap, though.”

”That’s fine.” To hide my actual interest, I gave him a list of several properties currently owned by Smith&Sons. They’d been busy with Shen Kang patrolling the group. The entire block where my building was located was owned by them, as were several more around the city. “I’m hoping they’ll accept an alternative exchange.”

He tapped his chin idly. ”If they ask me to assassinate their political rivals, will you be able to handle it? None of my guys are that good yet.”

“Hopefully it won’t come to that.” That was a big leap, but plausible considering everything. “I know some people though… you heard of Nightshade?”

”The shadow thief?” He arced a brow and stared at me. “You aren’t about to claim to be her, are you? I don’t believe you.”

“Why does everyone say that?” It was for the best, actually. Guess I just made that good of an impression on people. “No, I can contact her if I need to. It’ll be pricey, but she’ll be able to handle whatever comes up. She owes me one, anyway.”

”Interesting…” Feras seemed to believe that at least. It was kind of offensive in an ironic way, to be honest. Did they think I wasn’t good enough to be Nightshade? “Well, that’s certainly a strong playing card. You have rayn? Chances are they’ll still charge you for the property even if we cut some kind of deal.”

”A little under fifteen mil.” I shrugged casually at his wide-eyed stare. “You weren’t the only one that’s been busy. Athena pays exceptionally well.”

“No shit.” He sighed and rubbed at his temples. “She’s also a legend in the city, though. My gigs don’t get nearly that much thrown on the line.”

”Every legend has to start somewhere, chek?” I consoled him lightly. Sorry, Athena. At least I’m making your name more impressive and not dragging it through the mud, right?

“Yeah… was there anything else?” Feras asked.

“Oh, right.” I pulled a drive out and tossed it to him. “This has a bunch of info on Smith and Sons on it. Figured it might help.”

”Definitely.” He held the drive up into the light. “You’ve certainly changed quite a bit since then. Got more connections to get stuff like this, anyway.”

“A few.”

”To be honest, your eye took me off guard when I first saw you.” He carefully pocketed the drive like it was a piece of precious gold. “I figured you were broke with that. Looks infected.”

My hand shot up to my clone-flesh eye… it was definitely time to get a new one. I even had one made and ready to go, too. It was like the robot foxes with a full suite of functions, though built for myself instead. Usually that many features was a bad idea thanks to the power draw, but my electro-genesis took care of that little issue.

Beyond actually making the chrome, the deeper issue was feeling so lost in life. It was mostly gone after getting back to work on various things. I was feeling way more myself now, so Nael hopefully won’t be against it… Not to mention I was doing the responsible thing and actually seeing a counselor now. Maybe I should pop over after this and talk to the medek?

“Would it have changed anything if I was?” I asked.

”No. You and Torren saved my life back then.” He rubbed the back of his neck, and his head drooped slightly. “We’ve got a lot of playing cards to put on offer, anyway.”

I hesitated for a moment and then shifted in my seat. ”Um… don’t let it out that I know how to contact Nightshade, okay? She’s… prickly.”

“‘Course. I’m not a slag.” He side-eyed me with an annoyed tilt to his brows. “Just give me a couple days, and I’ll get it done.”

”The sooner, the better.” The dinner was coming up in four days, and I’d like to have it ready by then… if not, then so be it. There was no point rushing again and fucking everything up.

I slid out of the booth and stretched out tiredly. Being tired already wasn’t a good sign. The past couple nights staying up late with Luna to iron out the kinks in her code had been brutal. I had so much more I needed to do today, though… Maybe a little nap first wouldn’t hurt? Or I could swipe some stims from the Crusade again.

”See you around.” Feras waved a hand and pulled out a deck to start working.

”Chek chek.” I eyed for a moment and then headed back out of the restaurant. I disappeared back out onto the streets and merged into the crowd.

Once I was somewhere hidden, I snapped my fingers and instantly teleported back up to my Roughrider. I manually controlled a Dragonfly I left behind to destroy the feather and mounted up to head back to my workshop. Hopefully this wouldn’t blow up in my face even further.