Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 615: Such A Worrywart.
[NEW MESSAGE]
[Viktor: Meet me at the Golden Hummingbird.]
Dante stared at the message for a few minutes before it clicked in his mind. Was he asleep? For how long?
[19:45
Sunday, May 16, 2099]
Trying to move made him realize he was sitting in a chair. The sight before him was confusing to say the least, so it took him more than a few seconds to realize he was in his apartment, sitting in front of a dining table that had been covered in bottles.
A sniff made him realize he smelled like the toilets at an old bar. If not for his body being 90% bionic, he would have undoubtedly gagged, throwing the contents of his stomach out. He no longer felt those urges, but the notifications popping in his face were a good reminder.
One would think Ascended cyborgs wouldn't need to use toilets, but turns out that's not entirely true. After emptying his bionic guts of the ultra- processed slop he last had, he hopped into the shower and let the scalding water wash whatever filth was clinging to him. He had to take great care not to space out, which proved to be quite difficult.
Standing in front of the mirror a few minutes later, he was met with a little surprise—both his hair and beard had grown quite a bit. Taking care of the latter, he made a mental note to visit a barber later on, but then remembered that one had joined Inferno a while back.
It has been a week since he checked on the gang, so he sent Carlos a message telling him to prepare a report. The repairs on the Red Oni Club were mostly done, so it should be ready for reopening in a couple of days. Inferno was running well even without him around, and the rival gang that sprang up a while back was no longer being a bother. What happened with Black Skull clearly played a role in the last part.
'Right…'
Now that the war was over, his subordinates were likely waiting for their rewards. Scheduling a meeting for tomorrow morning, Dante went about checking his bionics, swapping the 5-3 Module that was on his legs with 4-3's, then did the same with his arms. The damage Jason dealt to it took quite a while to repair, so it was quite a relief to have it back.
'Volcan.'
[Yes?]
'Did anything happen while I was out?'
[Nothing that requires your concern.] Volcan replied. [The city has been peaceful for the past two days.]
Normally, his resident AI would offer a good morning whenever he woke up, but it seems that the bad mood he was in made avoiding it the right choice. The elevator took him to the underground parking lot, where he took out the Raven from his Storage. Doing so without checking was a bad habit that was starting to stick, but he was sure Volcan had warned him if anyone was snooping around.
Riding through the old highways, wind blasting his face, Dante finally started to feel awake. Feeling the absence of the hangover he should be having told him that he spaced out through it. Not a very good sign.
Cutting through Nightsun, he arrived at the Golden Hummingbird. The bike parked right at the entrance was easy to recognize, which brought a frown to his face.
"Mr. Dante, it has been a while."
The old bartender greeted him with his usual warm smile.
"Hey, Thomas. How have you been?"
"Pretty well for this age. I hope your taste hasn't changed."
"I will take the usual. Are the others above?"
"They are waiting for you."
Months had passed since Dante had last visited the classy bar, and the nostalgia flooded in as he made his way to the second floor. He wasn't ready for the second wave to hit him the moment he tried to open the second floor, however.
"DANTEEEEEEEEE!!!"
Holding his arms up, he caught the purple-haired woman who jumped at him.
"Should you be moving like this?" He asked, feeling a smile pulling on the corner of his mouth.
"Don't be such a worrywart," Rose gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'm happy that you're concerned for me, though."
Looking up, Dante's eyes widened a little.
"Mr. Pike, you're back."
"Dante, it's good to see you again."
The smartly dressed man put down his glass and stood up. The smile he wore felt a little strange, bringing Dante's attention to the fact that he hadn't seen him smile in the few times they met.
"It's good to see you too," Dante took the hand he held up to him and shook it. "You've been away for too long."
"I'm a nomad, remember?" Mr. Pike said. "I rarely stay in the same place."
"Yet you haven't visited since the heist," Dante said.
"I just happened to get more than a few jobs." Looking down at the hand he was holding, the old man raised an eyebrow. "I see you have been quite busy yourself."
"That would be an understatement."
A cough drew their attention to the rugged man who looked drunk despite not having a drop in years.
"Hey, kid. Uh…" Viktor said. "Didn't think you would show up."
Dante could tell at a glance that the fixer was concerned about his mental state, more than usual, in fact.
"I'm not too busy tonight." Shrugging, he looked at the other two. "Don't tell me we're doing another heist."
"No, nothing of that sort." Viktor's shoulders relaxed a little. "We're catching up, that's all." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
The small door of the lift in the corner opened, revealing the glass of Shandy inside. Dante wasn't truly in the mood for alcohol after drinking himself into a coma just a couple of days ago, but it was already too late by now. Seeing the iced cola in Viktor's hand, he felt that it would be too rude not to drink tonight.
'Volcan, mind upping the alcohol filtration for me?'
[Right away.]
