Borderline Joke (5)
Drdrdrdrdr---!! Bang! Bang!! Rat-a-tat-tat…!! A gang member perched on the back of the dump truck they'd dragged in unleashed a hail of bullets from the mounted heavy machine gun, raking the bar's walls like a madman. The ear-shattering roar and blinding muzzle flashes poured toward the residents. But despite its hideous appearance, the bar's outer wall—reinforced with multiple layers of steel plating for just such emergencies—served as a sturdy barricade, allowing them to hold out.
Pfiu---!!
“Gah?!”
One of his underlings dropped right beside him, a neat hole punched clean through his forehead. The Black Society boss frantically screamed into the comms channel.
A settlement on Harvest Planet where the megacity walls were visible to the naked eye. Sure, there were plenty of losers scraping for citizenship, but it was also a freakshow crawling with monsters of all stripes, hiding in every corner—people who'd escaped the corporate system but couldn't let go of their lingering obsessions and regrets, haunting that ashen borderline like ghosts. The bar owner who'd just silently sniped his guy's head through a window slit without even showing his muzzle was one of them.
“Wei Long, you slimy rat bastard---!! We're fellow countrymen—do we really have to go down this hard road?! I'll pay up to 8 million credits!!”
“Shove it up your ass and fuck off, Xiao Shun!! The Taito Gang offered 20 million upfront! If all you've got on the scale is this bullshit threat and your worthless blood ties, then get lost!!”
The sly rat-faced man chittered back, then ducked his head back inside the bar. The outlaws of the Black Society had a simple initial demand: They'd heard that Wei Long, the junk shop owner in the settlement, had scored a hovercraft and was meeting another gang to sell it. A sudden influx like that would upset the balance between gangs. So... either don't sell it, or sell it to us. Of course, that was just talk—their blatant show of force made their real intent crystal clear: Hand it over, or this little symbiotic truce ends here.
The settlement residents had held an emergency council in response... and reached a unanimous decision. Sure, the guy was a greedy asshole, but the hovercraft was Wei Long's private property, so leave it to his judgment. But—if they actually started shooting, we won't just stand by.
And so... while the boss Xiao Shun tried sweet-talking and coaxing the avaricious junk dealer, the predictable fuckup happened. Some punk underling, unable to contain his fragile pride or boiling blood, whipped out his pistol and shot Wei Long in the leg while he was jawing away.
Predictably, a scream like a drowned rat echoed out, talks collapsed completely, and that moron who started the shitshow got turned into Swiss cheese for his troubles.
The tense standoff had dragged on ever since.
Clang!!
“Son of a bitch?!”
A ricochet off the armored truck they'd brought skimmed right past Xiao Shun's head. The prolonged fight suited him fine. His scattered goons could loot whatever they wanted from the village, and once they swiped the hovercraft too, they'd have everything they came for. But until then, he had to hold the front line himself to keep these greenhorn idiots on task.
[ ……. ]
[ ……. ]
[ W-We just found it and we're heading out! ]
[ Roger……!! ]
The gang members' faces lit up at the comms chatter. Invaders or not, no one wanted to die. Why complain when the boss-man was gonna grab the sweet loot and bail?
“Dump everything you've got!!”
Drdrdrdr---!! Krunch!! Scraaaape!!
The intensified bullet storm battered the bar's outer wall, crumpling it hideously. Bullets punched through windows, shredding interior decorations and shattering the displayed liquor bottles with sharp pops.
Was there no countering this level of firepower? Schneider—the ex-merc turned current bar owner—who'd been picking off outlaws by using the windows like loopholes, activated the emergency shutters, sealing even the windows behind the outer wall.
Clunk… BOOM---!!
The iron curtain slammed down, securing immediate safety. Inside the dim bar, now a makeshift bunker, the fighters who'd been relentlessly battling the invaders without a break finally slumped down to catch their breath.
But holing up in the bunker meant the enemy had free rein outside. They'd taken out a ton, sure, but comparing the initial Black Society crew to the numbers seen just before dropping the shutters... imagining what the rest were doing loose in the settlement was nightmare fuel.
“Oof...!! You idiot! All my good booze is going to waste! How rusty are you, struggling against those clowns?”
“......If you're not gonna lift a finger, then just sit tight, Valentin old-timer.”
Ting---! Leaning against the counter, Schneider cleared a jammed round from his gun and shot back curtly. His sharp eyes flicked briefly to Wei Long, sprawled in the corner getting a hemostatic injection... then away.
The outlaws had fired first and thrown their weight around. Blaming Wei Long for exercising his rights didn't make sense... but thinking of his wife and little daughter hiding at home, his hands had been shaking nonstop.
If he'd known it'd escalate like this, he should've brought them to the bar instead of telling them to hide.... If he'd foreseen full-on war, he should've just sniped boss Xiao Shun first.... Getting tangled in someone else's mess like this—if he'd stayed in the city, at least his family would've had a cushier life.
“......”
Schneider's uneasy gaze landed on the wrapped takeout bag in old man Valentin's hand. For chasing away the blues or indulging a bit—two portions of synthetic meat steak bentos, a resident favorite. Schneider had never gone himself, but he'd heard multiple times that Valentin's granddaughter—rumored like crazy—had recently been spotted at his shop. Just one extra person, and the gloomy machinery shop had turned into some aesthetic salon or whatever.
“......Old man. Aren't you worried about that granddaughter of yours?”
“Koff...!! Kuhum!! Ahem!”
Caught off-guard by Schneider's sudden question, the old man Valentin hacked like something was stuck in his throat.
Willful, a bit naive somewhere. Pure like she'd grown up blessed... but harboring her own shadows. He'd neither confirmed nor denied acquaintances' questions... but he hadn't expected everyone to just assume.
“Hm... She's still a kid to me, but she's a grown adult who can fend for herself, so she'll be fine, surely. Though... who knows. This useless old fart or her cold dinner might worry her enough to come check here?”
“......I see.”
Click!!
His worry and patience hitting their limit, Schneider rose, wrapping himself in the savage battle-lust from his merc days.
Drdrdr!! Drdrdrdr!!
The outer wall still shuddered violently under gunfire, but no one questioned Schneider's call to end the brief rest and dive back in. They just followed the retired merc, checking their guns and ammo.
Some fought for family, others for property. But everyone gathered here per settlement protocol was a fighter. No one disagreed that fighting secured safety.
Rumble......!
The bunker rattled. At the same time came the hum of the hovercraft lifting off... and a comrade's panicked voice.
“Uh...... Schneider?? Your daughter left a post on the network...?”
“?!”
Not taking his eye from the scope, he hurriedly accessed the resident network. He'd always scolded her for using cyberware carelessly, afraid she'd pick up bad habits... but if she was safe, he'd forgive everything.
“......What?”
The hovercraft arrived in majestic glory, and the outlaws, convinced of victory, let out cheers. Some, eager to bolt ASAP, hopped onto the modified truck bed. The rest, Xiao Shun included, kept suppressive fire on the bar until the vehicle door opened.
Hiss! The hatch slid open to reveal... a pretty sister a tad smaller than Schneider had imagined.
Unlike the rigidly doctrinal foes, she looked like she'd crossed a hellish battlefield, blood-soaked as she was. Her mouth opened.
“Fire in the hole, you fucker...!!”
With a small metallic clink, something lobbed landed softly in Xiao Shun's hand. Schneider's eyes—packed with three visual implants—made out exactly what it was.
“Open fire...!! Drive 'em out!!”