9. Mecha-beef
Chapter nine
Mecha-beef
My vision returned as I looked around the room. Everyone was waiting for a response.
Ralia disconnected me from the neuroset.
“It didn’t work?” I asked.
She disconnected her own. “Oh, it worked. We’re in. Check your interface.”
I did as she replied and saw a small outline of myself in the bottom right corner.
Accessing core. It read, pulsing with a faint blue light.
“See it?” she asked.
I nodded and exited the neurospace.
“As long as that is blue, you’re good.”
“And if it’s not?”
“If there is nothing, you’ve merged your minds back together. If it’s freaking out like some kind of a glitch, one of us has zegged up.”
“So don’t do that,” Boyband said.
I glared at him. “Like you have any say in it?”
Footsteps entered the monastery.
“Do you want to share with more people than us?” Ralia asked.
Boyband shook his head.
“Then drag her away to feed before Abbas and Akna can complain, unless you want to share with her.”
He pulled Kalacia down the hall, away from the entrance.
“Don’t forget our molars!” Ralia sighed and raised her eyes as Boyband left the room. “One day maybe things’ll click for that kid.”
I turned to Naoma. Both of us opened our mouths to talk, but in that second of hesitation, Abbas and Akna entered.
“Reporting from Haven Health,” Abbas said, lacking enthusiasm.
“Soo, how’d it go?” Ralia winked at Akna. “Abbas stay in line?”
She smiled, nodding with more enthusiasm than I expected.
“That good, huh?”
Boyband ran into the room, crunching teeth with a few in his hand. “I’ll get yours later,” he said with a stuffed mouth. “What’d I miss?”
“Nothing yet.” Abbas sat on the ground, then let himself collapse and stretch out. “This girl got way too hungry towards the end.”
Akna giggled. “And he took me out to feed right before we came.”
“Ah,” Ralia said. “Explains your energy then, huh? You didn’t give her any fixes, did you Abbas?”
“Zeg, no. She got a little too excited and that must have drained her. Thank the Light she didn’t have her mod functioning to burn her even more.”
“We just ate every tooth in a Faith Breaker chapter.”
I smirked. “Those guys who live on neuronet forms just to try and prove everyone wrong?”
“Regardless of their conviction,” Abbas added.
“Yupper,” Akna said.
I raised my eyebrows. “Well, can’t say I was a fan. How many sets?”
“I had one.” Abbas pointed to Akna. “No zegging idea how many she had.”
“At least six,” she said.
“Holy Light,” Ralia gasped. “What drained you so hard?”
“Bom-Girls!”
Ralia laughed.
I looked at Naoma, furrowing my brow. “Do you know them?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Or I guess the Neon Idol did.”
“What’s wrong with them?” Akna asked.
“Let her fangirl,” Ralia said.
Naoma scowled. “Are we going to do that with all people who might be enemies now?”
“Why did you meet them?” I asked. “I thought you were going to Haven?”
“We did meet with Haven,“ Abbas said.
“Yeah, yeah.” Akna waved him off. “But first, I want to know why you think they’re bad.”
Naoma raised her eyebrows at Akna. “How much do I really need to explain? They’re another girl group owned by Reef Records.
To be fair, I think I am the only one who has her past hidden from her.
The others were bought by Reef. I just kind of appeared one day and they accepted it.
Any time I tried to ask about it, they brushed it off. Why do you care about Bom-Girls?”
“I’m still a kid. Let me enjoy it.”
“How old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
“Your childhood died a year ago, babe,” Ralia said.
“Look.” Naoma put her hand on Akna’s shoulder. “I get your enjoyment. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you need to separate them from the idols you thought they were.”
“Coming from you?”
“Yes. Especially from me. Look at me now, Akna. I’m a girl.
A human. Nothing worthy of worship or the devotion the world tosses me because of my talent.
That’s not even mentioning the lesser person I was when Reef owned me.
Sure, Bom-Girls have done some terrible things, but even if they were great, it doesn’t mean they need your love.
The lumens and egos they receive are more than enough.
You’re a Cross follower, right?”
Akna nodded.
“Then prioritize your worship. Bom-girls aren’t worth it.”
“I never said I worshiped them.”
“I know, I know, it’s just… I’m seeing the consequences of my devotees when I didn’t deserve all that they gave me. I guess I still feel lingering guilt.”
“I understand. I just like their music and thought it was cool to see them.”
“Right, I’m sorry, Akna.”
“Don’t be. You’re just trying to keep us all safe, right? What did they do that was so bad anyway?”
“They pull fanboys in, make them think they have a shot, then basically enslave them. That’s just a taste of what I’ve heard before it takes a darker turn. Reef isn’t good. I see that so much more now that I’m on the outside.”
“Which is probably why they were meeting with Haven,” Abbas said. “I think we have the competition wrong. I don’t think Reef wants the presidency, not officially at least. They want to join with Haven.”
Boyband laughed. “Drugs and entertainment, what could go wrong?”
Naoma didn’t acknowledge Boyband but looked at Abbas, distraught. “What?”
“Haven thinks they’re going to lose the upcoming election after declaring war without any Neon Essence to make it worth it. They still have the monopoly on current techbone treatment, but figure they need a new approach. What better way is there to gain public adoration than through their idols?”
Naoma pressed the skin of her forehead up as she groaned.
“Hey,” Boyband said. “This isn’t that bad. Our ties with Haven are destined to burn when they get a clue, but you still have connections to Reef, don’t you?”
“I don’t know if they’ll be happy to chat after leaving to work for Nichley.”
“It was just another contract, right? Don’t things like that happen all the time? I’ve seen the Neon Idol advertising meds, cosmetics, and all of that guk.”
“But it’s Nichley.”
“They don’t mix well? Reef has their head on right, then.”
“I don’t know if I would say that. Regardless, I didn’t leave on the best terms.”
He nodded and shrugged. “And I guess killing your producer and his buddy wasn’t the best way to–”
“What?“ she exclaimed, glaring at Boyband, then at me as if to check the validity of his claim.
“Why would you care?” Boyband asked. “They were your captors, weren’t they?”
Her glare turned to concern, eyes looking down in introspection. “Yeah… I guess they… were.” She groaned and ran her fingers through her hair with enough tension to move her forehead back. “Light.”
“You good?” I asked.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “I guess some of my old self is still in there. I should be glad they’re dead, but I only get that by taking a moment to internalize it.
The Neon Idol has only good memories of them, though I know they are all through Reef’s lens.
I–Naoma–never really knew them.“ She nodded. “Sorry, Boyband.”
The corner of his mouth turned up. “It’s all good.
She sighed. “I can’t make any promises, but if you really need me to get us in, I might be able to.”
“Pulse. Wait, why do we want that? What are we looking for exactly?” He pointed at Abbas and Akna. “And why didn’t they zeg you up at Haven for going AWOL?”
“I covered that,” Ralia said. “Made it look like Cut ordered us to retreat back home with his last words. It was a real tearjerker, sent them footage and everything. Dying old man’s final with kinda guk, you plug?” She groaned. “Zeg, I miss what I could do with my mod.”
“They know we’re back here in Zingang,” said Abbas. “I’ll have to attend weekly meetings, sometimes more frequently–”
“With me too!” Akna said.
“Right, with my new assistant. I’ll keep them in touch, make sure they think we’re doing as told, taking on occasional hit jobs.”
“Which we’ll handle.” She smiled up at him.
“Right.” He smiled down at her.
I didn’t have to lie to myself. Each day was as difficult as the last to let Abbas’s betrayal sit while he stood.
He could act as friendly as he wanted, but that didn’t diminish what he had done.
Forgiveness aside, trust was difficult to repair once torn.
Despite my inhibitions, this felt right.
This felt like he was making up more than by killing Cut.
No words need be spoken to express the deed he had done, nor did I need to ask to know that there was a blossoming relationship there.
Nothing romantic. He had to be five to ten years older than her, but something more familial.
I saw what Boyband and I had, minus the brotherly angst, and add the protective older sibling.
He could fake it, but I doubt she would.
I smiled. Seeing her and Boyband–two teenagers–receive the care they needed was more than I could pray for.
Maybe Abbas could make me forget any betrayal.
“Okay,” said Boyband. “Keep Haven in check, but that doesn’t tell me why we need to send Naoma in to check up with Haven and Reef.”
“I never said that we had to,” Abbas said. “I’m just telling you what we know.”
“Celebrities,” I said.
“Good, Pet,” Boyband said with drawn out words and sarcastic enthusiasm. “You know what we do. Good boy. Famous people bad. Scary guy like you good.”
I shook my head, too caught up in my thoughts to play around with him.
“Denji!” I shouted.
“Just a sec!” he called from down the hall.
Everyone turned as Denji appeared holding David, squirming in his arms.
“Sorry I took so long,” he laughed, setting David down before Boyband. “I thought I could get him in a good mood but–”
“Kill me please.”
Denji laughed and gestured. “Now you see.”
“Can someone please kill me?”
“At least he’s forming coherent sentences,” Naoma said, struggling to hide her disgust.
“You’re right!” Boyband said, kneeling down to pet David, whose sweaty meat coated Boyband’s hands with each stroke. “Why?”