We made it back to Anoosheh’s at 4am – not just on time but early – but somehow we lost H.C. along the way (I can’t really say I’m sad about that part though).
So. We’re standing at Anoosheh’s door dripping wet, and I have this barely alive body with me. We knock on her door, no answer. We knock again. Finally, some of her clones open the door, but these seem different. They have a different looking circuitry pattern on their faces than the ones that we’re used to. Plus, they don’t seem to recognize us.
They’re being total dicks. Finally, Taki convinces them that we’re at least not enemies of Anoosheh and gets us in, but they do some weird brain scan on him. I manage to convince them to let me take them to a makeshift barn to put house the horses. They sent some other punk clones with me, as if that’d be enough to stop me if I wanted to get out of line.
When I get back, I ask for towels to dry me off, and whiskey to warm me. They look at me funny and kinda chastise me as neither they nor Anoosheh drink. Look pricks, maybe you don’t partake, but if you’re a host, you goddamn host. Why do you think I have veggieburgers in my freezer? They’re not for me. Also? No apples for the horses. Who doesn’t have apples? Or a salt-lick?
Joey came out of his room, and hung out with us. He was real curious about the body. Taki had the presence of mind to cover it as Anoosheh was crystal clear that if we were to succeed in our goal, that the kid wouldn’t know about it. He really wanted to help, and got out his tricorder to scan the body – it’s healing really fast. Joey also scanned Taki – things aren’t good with him. When the clones did their creepy brainscan on him, apparently it caused an unburst aneurysm.
Anoosheh finally showed up, looking pretty beat up. And boy, was she pissed at those dick clones for not only not letting us in, but especially at the one that messed up Taki’s head.
In her private quarters, she seemed pretty impressed to see us. We had certainly exceeded expectations. And lemme tell ya, while those clones suck, she’s a good host. She has whiskey hidden not for her, but for guests. I like her.
Anyway, she paid us and let us know a bit about our rescuee – he’s Joey’s missing uncle who apparently exploded in a munitions factory or something – I dunno, I wasn’t around then. But, because Taki’s kind of wanted, she gave him a super neat item that lets him shift his appearance. I totally want one.
We started to make our way to the bar, but we had to return the horses first. The police barn was a wreck, and the cop we borrowed commandeered the horses from, Walter Theriot, was frantically trying to lift up a wall that had fallen. I ran over, and lifted it for him – a five legged horse had been trapped underneath. I told the group I was going to help him track down the horses that had escaped overnight – it was the least I could do. I may have been expelled from the force, but this guy thought I was still a cop. And honestly, I had nothing against this guy, and felt kinda bad. So while we were rounding them up, I came clean and told him that I was no longer a cop. Felt kinda good – he trusted me after all, and I didn’t want to potentially make his life harder. If his supervisor had asked how the storm went, and he told what he thought was the truth – that he lent out a number of horses to a fictional cop – it’d be the end of his career.
Anyways, told him that if there was ever some justice that needed to be dealt out “discretely”, that I’d rather him tell me and get my hands dirty rather than his.
Finally, I made it back to the bar, grabbed a mug of whiskey, and slept like the dead.
Still no sign of H.C. and I have his share of the $$$ for the job (10,500 nuyen cash), minus 500 nuyen cash – a sort of handling/convenience charge. Overall, a pretty good day.
