NOVEL NEXT Book 1 - Chapter 31 - Beepy's Big Day
"Why are we whispering? We're supposed to just be walking down the street," Mary whispered back as they walked down Dupont Street and tried not to look suspicious. No one really looked at them twice anyway. Mary's bots got some attention, but otherwise, she was just another girl with weird Skills. Alex still scanned the families walking their toddlers for late night strolls for any sign of the Krushers.
"I just want to make sure we know what we're doing," Alex whispered back, adjusting his strap and fidgeting with Beepy's little black hoodie. He picked at the little hood so the bot's form was as concealed as possible, as Beepy was critical with the plan. "You know, this isn't exactly going to be a walk in the park." Beepy nodded his little robot head and gave Alex a lego handed thumbs up. The little guy had been frantically excited before, but now he was calm and ready to go.
"Bah, we've been over it twenty times. We'll be fine. The plan is simple. In and out, then in again. Heh." Mary bumped into the florist cart selling anti-allergen moss and swore before catching up with Alex. It was a bit harder for her to 'see' through Zippy at night, but she managed with some bumps along the way.
Dupont was north adjacent to the hustle of the downtown core. The streets were busy without being packed, loud without being overwhelmingly chaotic. It was a mix of neighbourhood grit and industrial commercialization. Signs buzzed or talked in greens and blacks, flickering over storefronts and old warehouses that had either survived the brutal gentrification churn, or now gleamed too brightly to belong. They pushed past one of those weird post-System restaurants that served up Dungeon meat you could cook yourself. Wyvern wraps or Snuggle Snake carpaccio while a waiter wearing a crab outfit upcharged you for 'house made butter'. No one really made butter in house, even Alex knew that.
Up ahead Krusher Koven, which was a terrible name for a Clan Hall mixed with a bar, was unmistakable and unforgettable to Alex. It was a squat concrete tumor covered in non magical LED acne. Cheap grafitti had been burned into the walls, and a printed sign looped 'KRUSHER KOVEN,' in blood-red letters above a loading dock converted into a smokers pit. Music could be heard from down the street, and the crowd trying to get in looked greasy, bloated, and seedy. It made Alex's blood boil just looking at it.
Alex's Master Plan, Step 1: Get welcomed in. Nice and easy.
Alex cleared his throat and whispered again. "Okay, just to recap…Mary, you know what you're going to be doing? Boys? You know your duties?" He unzipped his bag to check the cursed bracelet was there again for the thirtieth time. It was stuffed inside a sock and safe for now.
He didn't know exactly what it would do,but hoped it was something poetic. The Krushers had beat up his friend Jemin, humiliated him, chased him down, pressed a girl he was interested in, and sent a man with assassination Skills after him. He couldn't confirm the last one, but Mr. Mystical had said so, and he was a Ghost. Even if Alex didn't believe him, it didn't matter. That was a rule: you didn't mess with ghosts. The second rule was: you listened to ghosts. To Alex, the Krushers deserved a little magical land mine planted on their property. Hopefully it would cause something like explosive diarrhea, perpetual aversion to fries and cake, or even an especially horrifying haunting. He had to ditch the bracelet soon, and the Krushers were the perfect target. Whatever it did, it was going down tonight.
Guess we'll find out. Hopefully this works.
As Alex whispered the plan again to an annoyed Mary and a very interested Beepy, Zippy was performing a textbook sweep of the mostly friendly neighborhood. The little drone hugged a brick corner like it was clearing Fallujah. His camera lens swept the street and scanned pedestrians that had even faint amounts of muscle or visible Skills. Zippy had even insisted on Mary taping his red light with a bandaid for "stealth." He was taking his job very seriously.
"Ok, so. Beepy–"
"Alex," Mary cut in as someone tried to pass her a pamphlet for a local cult that worshipped sentient sand. "Are we doing the plan again? Are we sure we know the plan? Your genius three step plan? Are you going to keep yammering about it, or are you just avoiding the actual thing that's bothering you?"
"Uhh–What do you mean?"
"Dude," Mary waved a hand at him. "The plan is fine. The Krushers are idiots. They're going to fall for it and our plan is fooool proof," she said like someone who planted cursed bracelets for fun. "Beepy's got his hoodie. Zippy will watch. You know your shit and have your sexy pants on. I'm a cute girl, I'll get us into Krusher Koven. Simple doop and plant. You just don't want to deal with the fact that you're broke and about to go on a date with someone who sent you thirty texts before you responded—Zippy!" she snapped at the drone who pointed furiously at something across the street.
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Alex followed his lens, then slapped his palm to his forehead. "Zippy! That's just a mom! We are not going to engage the bodybuilder with the stroller!" Across the road, a very muscular woman with a buzzcut pushed twins in a hovercart and sipped out of a gallon waterbottle.
"Move on, soldier." Mary shooed the drone bot. Zippy beeped dejectedly, then peeled away to continue searching the alleys with moody purpose.
"No. That's not what I'm doing at all," Alex said. "And don't make fun of my pants." Since it was a club they were infiltrating, Alex felt like it was a good opportunity to wear his new black corduroy pants for their mission.
"The pants are awesome. Beepy picked them out," Mary replied immediately while Beepy sounded with something that resembled 'mmmhm,'. "Don't change the subject." Before he could say something back, Mary flicked her hand at him and a System ping echoed in his mind.
[Credits: 33 -> 283]
"What? What are you doing?" He asked.
"I went shopping with you, so half the parking ticket is mine," she said casually as the crowd in front of Krusher Koven got closer. Alex felt immediately relieved that his wallet was a little bit heavier, but guilty that she was fronting him more than her half. "The 150 extra is for your date." Alex stared at her and instinctively reached up to tug at the leaf of a nearby blue tree. He tugged off the plump lead as the branch curled back with a rustle. Alex pulled the leaf apart nervously.
"Please stop picking my parts," the tree sighed. "That is rude. Thank you."
Alex froze for a second before dropping the leaf. "Sorry." He then looked at Mary. "I'm sorry you have to keep frontint me. I–I got carried away. Excited is all. I'll pay you back." The air began to shift to grime sprinkled with cheap cologne and burnt plastic. Zippy drifted back to Mary's shoulder, going full sentry as the crowd for Krusher Koven thickened.
The Krusher's didn't just run several criminal enterprises. They had many even slimier Clans paying up to them. Thick skulled guys loitered on the sideways with greasy and unkept Familiars. Gnardled pigeons, rats in tank tops, one guy had a smoking possum. They were the weaker satellite gang Clans under Krusher thumb that all clawed for relevance and jobs. Mary and Alex pushed through and kept their heads down. Alex then pulled them down a narrow alley that smelled like acid and wet wire insulation.
"Look," Mary said as she swatted a glowing fly out of her face, "you have actual money coming in now. Don't be a friggin' idiot. Pay me back, then save. A couple month's expenses–like two bare minimum. Set aside a thousand Credits for emergencies. I know you're a donkey, but you're my donkey. Don't do that shit again."
Alex grimaced at his friend's parenting. "You're right. I know." He had already learned his lesson. He wasn't just a street rat kid running odd questionable odd jobs anymore. Nino's was a real boon in his life, and if he played his cards correctly, it could set him up big time for the future.
"And Snu?" Mary added. "Play that shit cool, man. She seems a bit loco. Texting you 30 times? Now I like loco, but…be careful. Be nice, but don't let her push you around.."
Alex exhaled. "Got it. No loco overload. Play it nice to the crazy Dungeon Boss girl."
"Great," Mary nodded then smiled. "Parenting a fellow poor kid? Check. I'll be checking in on your budgeting. We're going to be selling the rest of the tips, so save that." She stopped and gave him a flat look. "Now–what was the plan again? I ignored you the first 30 times you told me."
Alex ignored her jab and was already pulling out the cursed bracelet sock and the bottle of Stink Scrub. The bracelet was practically vibrating in his hand. Mr. Mystical was right, there wasn't much time left before the thing went boom. Alex didn't have any Relic insight Skills, but he could practically feel the hectic energy pouring out of it. The Stink Scrub would make the planting possible. When they'd uncorked the bottle earlier, the stench had killed one of Mary's houseplants. The haunted Ikea bookshelf had thrown up torn up paper everywhere, which had taken an hour to clean.
Mary crouched down and put Beepy gently on the pavement, zipped up his little hoodie, and rubbed his metal head. The little guy buzzed nervously. Zippy hovered down beside him and gently tapped his brother's back.
"You're going to do great," Mary said, giving Beepy a tiny chin flick. "You're the hero now. Hero, Beepy. Mastermind. Daredevil. You hear me?" Beepy shook once, nodded, then spun in place, ready for his glory. Alex reached down and handed Beepy the cursed bracelet filled sock. Beepy took the thing carefully, popped open his front hatch, and placed it into his chest cavity. The little guy even banged himself on his chest to make sure his hatch was closed.
Alex unzipped his bag and made sure that the [Screeching Banshee Horn] was still there. He tucked the bag in the corner in the shadows and showed Beepy the horn. "If you think we need this, you squeeze it," Beepy looked at the horn with a tilted head. "But Beepy. This is only for emergencies. Actual emergencies. OK? I have no idea what the hell is going to happen with it." The little guy beeped and nodded in understanding, and Alex tucked the horn back in the bag.
Mary stood and peeled off her hoodie. Underneath, she wore a tight little black dress that clung to her impressive curves in all the best ways. Alex tried to drool over his friend. She fluffed her curls from her ponytail, and they tumbled across her shoulders. Zippy landed on her exposed shoulder and looked like a badass Familiar. She looked stunning, with a cute little red lipstick, curly black hair, grey eyes, tight dress, and cool sneakers.
"Damn, Mary," Alex said as he pulled up his sexy pants a little higher. If they were going to skip the line, he wanted to help out too. Mary smiled and looped Alex's arm as he tucked the Stink Scrub under his shirt.
"I did tell you I could get us to skip the line." Mary said happily as she pulled Alex back towards the entrance to Krusher Koven. Alex swallowed and prepared himself. Hopefully his plan would work. The Krushers definitely had it coming.
Alex's Master Plan, Step 2: Give the tiny robot with a lego hand a magical bomb.
Beepy pushed back and crouched behind a pile of junk, trying to steady his Core. He was nervous beyond belief, tasked with the most important role of his short life…but he was buzzing with pride. Beepy was part of the gang now.. He had a hoodie. He had a mission. He was pretty sure the weird Core thing was loading a Skill. He just wanted to make his Mom proud.
Beepy poked his face from behind the pile of trash and waited for his cue.