Where's the Money You Owe Me?

 
I was feeling like hell warmed over as I was walking down King St. when I saw them following me. Two 'borgs with nice, shiny new limbs and scope eyes designed to make them the most accurate shooters this side of the spin. Covering their rear was a PXL-143Q-T assault bot that didn't bother to hide that it had just found me. I stopped in front of the Queen Bee Brothel and Spa to light my cigarette. I was making a show of it for them to see if they were going to even pretend that they weren't following me. They just came right on and grabbed me there on the street. 

"You've been a naughty boy, Quinn," the 'borg on my right said with the stench of bourbon on his breath. "Diamond wants her money."

I smiled up at him, I'm afraid you've got the wrong man, friend. My name's Jerimiah Johnson.

"Cute," a little girl's voice said from the 'borg on my left. "I bet you thought that little joke of yours might throw us off."

Another smile as I looked at the wiring over his left eye. Sloppy work there, same as with his friend. No joke guys. It's really my name. 

A metallic voice box barked at the two 'borgs, "Diamond said he'd be difficult. Said when he was that I was to take over and begin breaking each of his bones and not to stop until I'd gotten them all."

"Not on the street," the first 'borg said. "Lizzy, let's take Mr. Johnson into the Queen's Private Chambers to continue this conversation."

"Oh let's," answered Lizzy, "and after Pixel get's done breaking his bones I'll skin him. Wouldn't you love a new rug for our apartment Jonas?"

"I would indeed," he said as the trio lead me into Bee's, through a secret passage in the entryway, and down a flight of stairs. Cozy little place. Drain in the center of the floor with chains overhead for letting your guests lounge at their convience. 

They shoved me into the room expecting me to panic. They wanted me to fight them so instead I walked to the drain and lit a new cigarette. Boys, I said, you really don't want to do this. Lizzy laughed as he began to smack his fist into his open palm and walked towards me. I smiled as he came, Last chance. 

"You've already had your last chance," Pixel's voice box ground out, "Diamond doesn't consider you worth waiting on any longer."

Too bad, I said as I flipped my cigarette up toward the ceiling. 

The thing about having an automatic targeting system attached to your cerebral cortex when you take on a cybernetic conversion is that you track any sudden movements. Birds flying into your field of sight when you're trained on an enemy combatant and you'll follow the fucking birds if your enemy is standing still.  So as that cigarette flipped up in the air Lizzy and Jonas watched it go up in the air; when they looked back at me I shot both of them with my old Beretta. Blew their brains all over Pixel's shiny red chest. 

Whoops. 

"You'll die for that," he groaned out as he charged!

I dropped under his first swing and emptied seven rounds under his chin, blowing his brain box across the ceiling. Fucking robots.

I reloaded the Beretta and started searching the bodies for anything useful. Five thousand credits between them which became mine (it's not like they were going to need it), my picture (fuck, I need to shave more often), two las-guns, and a burner phone. I slipped one of the las-guns into my boot; the Beretta into my shoulder harnes, and readied the last las-gun for some heavy use. As I started back up the stairs I could hear an alarm going and heavy footsteps racing down the hall. I smiled as I started firing into the first dumb son of a bitch to come down the stairwell. 

Today was going to be a good day after all.