Chapter 9: Getting in motion 2

On a high-speed Hover train bound for Upper South Swesaild.

Aiden, who was sitting by the window, picked up his new burner phone and looked at the time casually.

There are still 10 minutes left to arrive at the station.

"Things are going so smoothly but I wonder why I have this uneasy feeling," Aiden muttered to himself.

His trip to the Upper South was for nothing more than getting identification for the crew and a car that's where the market is.

The main purpose of coming here was the Identification, with that he could confidently have them move around.

Hanks, the man at 'Q' who directed him to a woman called Motherboard, has vouched for her professionalism, not only is she a veteran hacker, but she is also a bit of a celebrity in Spark City.

He was able to get that info after donating Hank a premium-level Tip. The goods surprisingly won't be gotten immediately, but sent to an unmanned warehouse for you to pick up, It would be there for a week but would be retrieved if you are unable to 'make it'...

On the bright side, Exclusivity was of the utmost importance

"Tomorrow..."Aiden looked at the address given to him earlier in a haze, "The United Front has a lot of power in their hands and none of these could be linked to any of them, that's why it is even more dangerous... What if they intend to set you up?"

Cain defensively stood to the side, taking his bodyguard duties seriously, "Boss, we have arrived"

"Okay "

______

Lucky for Aiden, the next location wasn't far from the station so they arrived briefly after exiting with the help of the city map stored on his cyberdeck.

241 Dancing Daisy Road.

Vulcan Hotels Building, underground garage.

A gray SUV van parked quietly at the corner, a tanned-skinned man with a big head stood not too far from the vehicle and stared intently at the surroundings not far away, attempting to look as natural as possible. His partner, a bald, fat middle-aged man squatted in front of the Van as he turned his head and looked towards his teammate While smoking a cigarette.

The fat man blew out some smoke before speaking up, "Hey Sergio, who is the one picking up the automobile?"

"I don't know man, Some new guy bought it from Pepper, we are just the delivery guys...pass me the stick"

"Must be moderately loaded, want to shake him up a bit...", Without much thought, he passed the cigarette and spoke but his words trailed off as they spotted Cain approaching them.

Cain's unsmiling face scanned the duo as he exuded an intimidating aura, "Who's Sergio?"

His hoarse voice broke the silence...

Sergio cleared his throat to clear his embarrassment, "who's asking?"

"Picking up the car on behalf of the Crows, but I want to inspect it before making payment, I believe you won't mind" As he spoke he was already heading to the SUV without waiting for a response.

Not too far from Cain and the others, Aiden watched the situation from behind several vehicles and then looked at the car he was paying for, the VFalcon 400, a car reminiscent of the Grand Cherokee from his previous life.

It took most of his funds when picking it up at the car auction earlier this morning, 70k Star credits, luckily he didn't have much competition. He then proceeded to change the paint job, rims, and so on.

Aiden adjusted his face cap and wore his black nose mask when he saw there wasn't any problem, he made the transfer to the account number Madam Pepper sent before walking out of the entrance.

Sergio got a call and gave the keys to Cain while trying to have some small talk, Unfortunately, Cain didn't bother to respond and drove off.

"You say that's a newcomer? that's just his goon bro!"

"Don't talk too much, good thing we didn't try to do anything funny because I don't think I can take that guy," Sergio replied with a sigh.

"Looked chipped too, wait who are the crows again?"

______

After Cain appeared from the garage, Aiden's eyes couldn't help shining, it would be a lie to say he wasn't on edge. He sat in the passenger seat with a pair of shining sharp eyes, fixed on the interior of the vehicle, carefully observing every detail of the car.

"Our first car" Aiden whispered.

The Gray car drove away from the underground garage, it didn't take long for them to find the map function.

Looking out the tinted glass, Aiden made a call with his burner phone.

It didn't take long for someone to pick up...

"I'm at Upper South" Aiden states.

"Ebon Route, we'll meet there"

20 minutes later, the gray car drove into a moderate residential area in the upper south of the city and Aiden called once more.

"I'm here," Aiden said in a deep voice

"Bridge"

Tuu Tuu...

Before long they arrived at the only bridge in the area, Aiden had heard of this place once but never had a reason to come to this side of the city. Cain parked not too far and they both headed for the bridge as it could only be transversed by foot due to the heavy amount of kiosks, buildings, and tents.

On the bridge, there were a lot of people who looked like tourists, while the others were merchants and what you would mistake for random thugs...

Shirtless, tattooed gangsters, drinking and eating skewers with a ruddy complexion!

Girls seemed to be littered everywhere in all shapes and sizes, it didn't take long for Some wanton and ostentatious eyes to fall on Aiden and Cain.

...

Aiden tried to remain expressionless and calm while leading the way in, Cain followed closely behind.

As He got deeper and deeper while crossing the bridge, his burner phone vibrated...

Bzzz! Bzzz!

Aiden picked up casually, "Hello?"

"Hello!" a playful female voice sounded out from behind Aiden, Cain gestured with his chin towards the young woman with lemon-colored hair, she looked to be of Asian descent if this were earth. Her well-toned abdominal muscles were exposed below her black crop top.

"Mr. Colie, Hank says you've got business for me" Motherboard spoke while pulling out a lollipop from her mouth casually.

Aiden pulled out a cigarette from his pants and Cain quickly lit it up calmly, he had been expecting such a situation, having his information easily accessible is less than ideal but it wasn't a major issue.

"I see you did your research" He blew the smoke from his lips, trying to come off as relaxed, and he looked directly at her eyes.

"Honestly, I have a lot of doubts, you seem way too different from what I saw, So what do you want from me?"

"IDs for now"

"How many?"

"4, all necessary information is in here" he tossed a chip at Motherboard lightly.

After looking at the chip for a few seconds, she looks at Aiden and says, "It will be ready by tomorrow but tell me this, are you Aiden or Noah?"

Aiden raised a brow before turning to leave, "You will get payment when the Job's done, so I will be in touch".

Motherboard honestly didn't expect to be ignored but she didn't hate the feeling, "Hot...That's how it is eh?".

"..."

Silently watching Aiden retreat, she smirked lightly while muttering, "Maybe..."

____

Upon getting into the vehicle, Aiden says to Cain while opening the system notifications he got from today, "We are heading back".

"Ok," Cain responded with a slight nod and started filling out the details on the map after responding.

[1 star Gang Quest]

* Every growing organization needs money, the gang at least 2000 star credits. (20,000)*

* No organization can thrive without structure, Create organizational ranks and rules. (Basic)*

* Every organization needs a base of operations, you need to get a safe house. (1/1)

* Two bosses alone don't make a gang, so why don't you do some recruitment? (4/2)

* Every Organization needs a stable source of income, do you need a protection racket? (0/1)

[1-star Gangster Quest]

* As fresh blood, nothing is more important than earning respect and recognition. This can be done through various little ways ...

- Tattoos (Completed)

- weapons (Completed)

- Clothing (Completed)

- Notoriety

- Prestige

'Everything is going smoothly, The 1-star gang quest is almost complete; it seems like it isn't too hard starting a Gang in this City, can't say I am surprised though. The real hurdle should be the last one, considering it would affect some people's interests.' Aiden thought while rubbing between his eyebrows in a circular motion, something he's been doing a lot lately and he suspects that it is due to his [Critical Thinking] trait as it works passively.

Beep!

A slight beeping sound came from his deck.

[Green Citadel Bank (reminder): 130,000-star credits have been credited to your electronic account at 15:42, leaving a balance of 171,867-star credits.

It's a pleasure to know you are with us Mr. Aiden Colie, stay safe out there.】

It was a text from the Bank that unexpectedly came in, letting him know Noah's delivery was successful with Dr. River, 'Nice timing, was already running low on cash earlier. Till next week again huh, probably 3-to 4 days before this batch runs out and he comes for more. We'll get him then '.

______

Westway District,

Apple Street,

Brown Orchid Bar,

The situation of things in Westway was getting tenser by the minute. Usually, the district consisted of many small-mid-size gangs coexisting with little to no skirmishes from time to time, but the addition of the Disciple's unbridled invasion into the district has been causing a lot of friction lately.

Some alliances were formed in resistance while some were annexed by the disciples, the others chose to remain neutral with a wait-and-see attitude.

Not all Gangs were like that though, with the ‘Wild ones’ being the most obvious exception.

"Hmph. Why am I not surprised that the chaos doesn't get to the Brown Orchid? Should I say it's the least impacted" T-Bone muttered as he eyed the stream of people going in and out of the huge bar with a brick-colored painting, looking out of place with the other modern world.

Spark City was a very diverse city, but the gangs were even more so. T-bone could see individuals of several races who were rarely found in his world and it was even more diverse with the genetic alterations people do such as a tall six-armed man wearing a black suit or the diminutive dwarf with an enormous brain. Even humans were rather diverse, I wonder what the world would look like should there be aliens out there.

However, none of them seemed all that concerned about the subtle tension that enraptured the rest of the district.

"That was never in question, sir," Charles said in agreement. Charles was a homeless bumpkin T-bone found as a guide, and he stuck around ever since, "If they reacted to danger like a normal person, then they wouldn't be gangsters, besides, wouldn't they be prepared? Considering they started it."

Unable to argue against that point, T-bone merely chuckled darkly and began making his way into the bar. The interior was just as bustling as the exterior, with several people standing around a large AR display board watching an old match from ‘Honorbound’. Others were chatting at tables in small groups, most likely discussing some random stuff.

T-bone mostly ignored them, making his way straight to the bar counter that ran along the back. Behind it, an older, harried-looking muscular woman with graying hair was dealing with a particularly agitated customer. He caught a few words of the conversation, noting that the man seemed to be arguing over the belongings he seemed to have lost during a fight of some sort.

After a couple of minutes, he stomped away in a huff, leaving the woman, who was likely the bartender to rub her temples. Seeing her free, T-bone approached.