Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 488: New Sponsor.
After everything he went through, Dante really missed just riding around the old highways, relaxing and letting his thoughts wander. The question of his next step keeps surfacing in his mind, and whenever he tries think of an answer for it, he would always find himself a bit reluctant to put any effort into it.
The obvious course would be to hurry and finish his cyberfication. The final battle was fast approaching, so reaching his full potential was his top priority. He had other things that needed taking care of, so he had been making the rounds, gathering info.
With the authorities now aware of his presence, Dante couldn’t move as freely as he had done in the past few months. He had to act as if he was constantly being monitored, and that was starting to sound like a major pain.
In the three days since his negotiations with the NVPD commissioner, Dante was informed of at least thirteen different infiltration attempts—cars and vans loaded with spy equipment, people moving in close to the Red Fist bar, camouflaged drones, and online probes. The authorities were sparing no effort to try to gather as much info about him as they could.
Dante was tempted to make it all disappear, but that could be used to confirm that his backer, Ghost, was in the area. Instead, he went around and told some of the spies to leave while using Ghost Mode to feed them false Data.
As far as they’re aware, he was still in his office above the old Red Fist bar. So long as they don’t catch his presence somewhere else, everything would be fine. His movements were still restricted, however.
’This really sucks...’
[Isn’t it what we’ve always done?] Volcan replied.
Technically speaking, his resident AI was right. They had been very careful with their movements since the day they met. The difference was that the heroes knew about him now, and whoever was pulling the strings likely figured out that the relic was in his hands.
Though they have yet to share that info, there was no telling when that would happen, and the same went for the final battle. Dante hated being on edge, but there was little he could do about it.
[Maybe we should launch our own surveillance campaign?]
’... That’s actually a pretty good idea...’
Though they had far fewer resources than their enemy, it wouldn’t be impossible to put them through the same level of scrutiny using Volcan’s capabilities.
’We just need to keep an eye on the heroes’ movements.’ Dante thoughts. ’It would be great if you could keep tabs on Jordan and Caroline.’
[It might be possible for me to get to Jordan Evans, but Caroline Lincoln will be a difficult case.] Volcan said. [She does not have a NIM, so constant surveillance will not be possible.]
’Just see what you can get. Anything that helps us anticipate their movements will help.’
~[ ]~
Having had his fill riding his Raven around, Dante made his way back to Nightsun. He stopped at a random burger joint and ordered himself a meal, then sat down to eat. As he bit into the whopper, a shadow fell on his table, and Dante looked up to find a familiar face.
"Hey, Rusty," A tall, middle-aged man greeted him. "It’s been a while."
"C’mon, it’s just a couple of weeks!"
Dante got up and daped the man, striking his shoulder and tapping him on the back. His name was Benjamen Martinez, better known as Ben. He was a part of the Los Aros gang, and the two of them became acquainted while working to take down Black Skull.
Being a tattoo artist, there wasn’t a part of his body that hadn’t tasted the ink. Coupled with his dark Tenebrosan skin and rough features, he made for quite the terrifying sight. Still, once you get to know him, he wasn’t really a bad guy.
"Sheesh, man! You really got yourself some upgrades!" He said, looking down at Dante’s hand. "What the hell happened to you?"
"A lot," Dante replied. "Want something to eat? My treat."
"Might as well get lunch now."
Dante looked over at the menu hanging over the counter, scanning its QR code and ordering another meal, which was delivered to their table via drone.
"Things have been crazy since that time," Ben said. "Feels like the city is falling apart."
[It has been falling apart for a while. The cracks are just getting too big to hide.]
Dante worked through his food even as he spoke. Thanks to his Voxcore Series XI, he could still speak even as he chewed. Ben stared at him for a moment, looked around, then leaned in.
"Say, what happened to the Daggers?" He spoke in a whisper. "Was that you?"
Dante looked up, his expression blank.
[You gonna ask about Red Garden next?] He let out a chuckle. [Man, you’re thinking too much of me.] He paused, then raised the corner of his mouth. [I just know people, that’s all.]
"R-right..." Said Ben. He started on his food as well, having to wait until he swallowed before saying anything else. "Red Rage was you, thought. Right?"
[Yeah... that one wasn’t a big deal.]
"Now you’re the one being crazy. The gang itself might have been small, but their boss was nothing to scuff about." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
[He was a tough bastard.]
"And you got yourself a bunch of nicknames now. Hands, Red Demon," Ben grinned. "Personally, I like the Cyberpunk the most. Fits you perfectly."
"Is that what people call me now?"
"You’re the talk of the town, you know?"
The two ate in silence for a while, then shared some of the news and rumors they heard. Dante asked mainly about the girls they rescued. He was planning to take Marie and go check on them soon, but the opportunity might not present itself.
"I wouldn’t say they’re doing fine, but..." Ben sighed. "Considering everything they went through, this is the best we can hope for."
[I can’t do much myself, but if you need the funds for something, just ring me up.] Grabbing his drink, Dante put away the straw and then downed half of it in one go. He then heaved a satisfied sigh and leaned back into his chair. [How long has it been since you heard from Rose?]
Ben realized that they were finally getting to the main topic, so he put down his half eaten whopper, his face turning serious.
"About a couple of weeks after Red Garden." He said. "We all had agreed to lie low, but she kept dropping by to check on the girls. One day she just... stopped showing up."
"A couple of weeks, huh?"
[That would fall around the time you underwent your latest surgery.] Volcan said, reminding him of what happened.
Dante went back and checked his message, and what Ben said seemed about right. The last exchange Dante had with his purple-haired friend was when he sent her a message explaining what happened to him and why he might be out of commission for the coming days. Her reply was brief, saying she would pray for his recovery. When he thought about it now, Dante realized it was a bit strange.
’Guess we weren’t as close as I had thought...’
"I don’t know if this has anything to do with it, but..." Ben said, sounding unsure. "There is something new going on with Black Skull."
Dante looked up, prompting Ben to continue.
"It’s nothing but rumors at the moment." He said. "They say they got a new sponsor."
"A new sponsor?"
The very idea sounded like really bad news. Red Garden had proven to have dipped its toes in politics, so it was more common for them to do the sponsoring. This wasn’t a case of a corpse like Red Rage needing all the help it could get to restart—even after the blows dealt to it by Dante and the Daggers, Black Skull didn’t lose enough of its strength that it would need outside help.
"Any idea who they are?" Dante asked.
"Not a clue." Ben shook his head, then came to a stop. "Actually, there is something."
"Well? Out with it already."
For some reason, the Los Aros member seemed even less comfortable about this par than anything else.
"I have nothing to confirm it, but... There is word that Black Skull has been dealing a new drug lately." Looking into Dante’s eyes, Ben said in a low voice. "They say it can give you powers on par with some of the heroes."
"Catalyst..."
"Yeah! That’s what they call it!" Ben exclaimed, then quickly lowered his voice, leaning in as he spoke. "I heard there has been a clash with Crimson Watch. You know, the hero team in Red Hill? They say another one of their members was killed the other day, and the rest of the team was taking a break."
Dante cast his gaze down. Though they might have been just rumors, he found himself leaning toward believing them. Months had passed since what happened in Factory Town, yet only now did rumors about the drug hit the streets. If what Ben said was true, then Black Skull’s new sponsors were likely the same organization that was backing Caligo a while back.
"Thanks, Ben." With a grunt, Dante pushed himself up. "Let me know if you heard anything about Rose."
He transferred a total of 5000G to the Los Aros member, causing him to choke on his drink.
"If it’s not too much, mind getting the girls something nice? You can keep the rest."
"S-sure!" Ben coughed. "About Rose, let us know if you find something. The guys are starting to get worried."
"Got it."
