The Legendary Junkmaster

The sounds of banging and more flashes of light continued long into the night. Only growing silent as the first rays of dawn crept over the horizon. At this time, the goons camping outside of Star Gear cast wary gazes over Jason, who exited the building carrying a long leather bag.

The leader of the group approached him and asked in a nervous tone. "Sir, do you mind showing us what's in the bag? Unfortunately, we can't let you pass if you've created something that might be of interest to our organisation."

Jason cocked an eyebrow at the man before letting out a friendly smile. "Sure, that's no problem."

The man was relieved to find that Jason was cooperative, but he felt like something was amiss for some reason. Why was someone they were suppressing being reasonable with them? The man could not shake that feeling as he gazed inside the bag.

There were several pieces of wood with nuts and bolts attached. Something that looked like it was a metal stand. A larger version of the hand crank that could be seen on the Multitools and various other pieces of random junk.

"Is this it?" The man asked in disbelief as he stared at the contents. There was nothing noteworthy, and if he had to guess just by the hand crank, Jason had not made a weapon at all!

"Of course. I was just making a few things that we need to fix up some things around the house." Jason shrugged nonchalantly like it was no big deal. "Since you guys have made yourselves at home here, I'll be leaving town for a few days."

"What's the nature of your business outside the walls?" The man had to know so that he could report it to Sam. He did not believe that Jason, an inventor, would leave town for no good reason.

"Got to earn money somehow. So I'll go back to being a scavenger until all of this nonsense ends." Jason smirked as he saw a dark look cross over the man's face.

Jason had thought about it while he worked on the Arbalest. These guys wanted him to stay in business so they could make money off of him. Naturally, it would throw a wrench in their plans if he was happy to keep the shop closed till they gave up. There was nothing they could do about this tactic except report it to Sam and let her deal with it.

Though, she would probably be pissed off if she could not force this guy to create new weapons for her. The man watched Jason walking away as if he did not have a care in the world. 'The young miss is likely to shoot the messenger. I'll have John deliver this news.'

"John, come here a sec…"

Jason chuckled as he imagined the headache his words would cause for the Red Steel Gang. Naturally, he was not really willing to close the store for an extended period of time. He just needed witnesses that could testify that he was not in town when his plan went down. Who better for that role than the goons who were meant to keep an eye on him.

They would also be able to confirm that the only weapon he had on him was his Riot, which they still thought was actually a Primal. It was a far cry from the Arbalest, which would also help to deflect any suspicion aimed at him.

Jason stopped by his home for a bit to let his Gramps know that he was going out for some time and not to worry. Not that Harry was bothered anyway. He just figured that Jason was up to something that would solve their issue.

After that, he breezed through the registration at the gate, leaving a paper trail that proved that he had indeed left town. He only walked long enough to be confident that nobody was following him. After all, there was no telling if Sam would have left orders to deal with him if he left Highrise.

"That one should be fine." Jason casually commented as he made his way towards an abandoned house by the side of the road. It was not anything special. He just chose it for how close it was to Highrise. He just needed somewhere to rest until nightfall.

Once he checked that there was nothing unexpected in his temporary shelter, Jason finally sat down his leather bag. 'Let's get to work.'

Jason spread the contents out before quickly assembling the pieces into the Arbalest. He had taken it apart in a way that its components looked useless but could be reassembled in a short period. Once the Arbalest was ready, he turned his attention to assembling his secondary weapon.

When it was complete, it was in a compact form that did not give away anything about it. It looked like a random bit of wood with metal pieces attached and a hinge in the middle. Jason chuckled as he thought about the surprise that any pursuers would get if they came after him.

Now that he had completed those two tasks, he folded out the black bag used to carry the gear to reveal that it was actually his coat with the other clothing items folded inside it. He had figured that someone might search him, so he did all that he could to hide anything that might allow someone to put two and two together if he was spotted.

He performed several checks to ensure that everything was in working order and that he had sufficient ammunition while he waited for darkness to envelop the world. Once the sky was blanketed by the night sky, he finally changed into the dark stealth gear he had created. He felt kind of cool wearing it, but he discovered that it was heavier than he had expected.

The gas mask also made it more difficult to breathe, but its purpose was to make sure that he could not be recognised. Jason grabbed the strap he had attached to the Arbalest to make it easier to carry before slinging it over his shoulder. This was followed by slotting the compact secondary weapon into a unique holder he had attached to the cargo pants at the last moment.

With everything he needed safely stored in the bandolier, Jason finally stepped out of the rundown building as if he were the very shadow of death. This first night was where he aimed to injure those camping outside his store, hoping that they would then lead him to where he could find Sam. Depending on her reaction, then he would send a warning her way directly on the second night.

Jason thought his plan was full proof, but then again, he had no real experience with this kind of thing. However, he was determined to see it through. Especially since these people were directly threatening his future. If he had to hurt someone to secure what was his, so be it!

Highrise was generally so safe that nobody bothered to patrol the exterior perimeter of the walls. Jason deliberately chose the closest place to his store because of this. It would be dark, and he would not have to worry about alerting anyone either.

Once he was close enough, he unslung the Arbalest and loaded it with a bolt whose head was shaped as a grappling hook. A long rope hung from its end, and Jason could only hope that he would not overshoot the wall entirely.

Since he had to fire at a raised angle, he could not even use the tripod to assist him with this. The sight swayed quite a bit while he took aim. He took deep breaths to calm himself down before making his shot!

The thrum of the string as he pulled the trigger was not loud enough anymore to cause anyone to react to it. Jason watched on with wide eyes as he watched the hook rise high up into the air. 'Almost there! Shit! It went too far!'

Jason dropped the Arbalest as he dove for the rope that quickly followed the bolt. As he grabbed hold of it, the momentum pulled him across the dirt for a bit before he managed to cut the bolt's trajectory short.

There was a loud clang as the hook fell to the opposite side of the wall and obviously struck the side of one of the rusted cars. Jason grimaced as listened carefully for a bit to see if it drew any reaction. A few minutes had to pass before Jason decided that his blunder had gone unnoticed.

He slowly reeled in the rope and began to pray that the grappling hook would catch on something on the other side. Minutes passed, and Jason began to fear that he would soon pull it back over the wall. Which would force him to attempt a second shot. 'Come on! Don't let me down!'

Suddenly he felt some tension being fed back when he tried to pull on it again. The rope suddenly went taught, and Jason could not help but smile at that feeling.

'So far, so good…'