Chapter 14: Johnny

  “Samurais meeting for the first time can be rather complicated. Different personalities, sometimes competing interests, gimmicks that clash, civilians in danger and so, so many more problems.

  We try to have those meetings in house at the family, in a controlled environment. It reduces instances of… unideal results to those meetings.

  It does make them boring though…

  –Online Q&A with Laser Jack about The Family, 2054

  ***

  Roasting-I mean helping Kevin took a bit, but we equipped and put him to work on the other side of the shelter quickly enough. I might have thought of a sort of plan! A decent enough one. Of course, that meant something had to happen to fuck with it.

  Those gunshots came closer and closer until we suddenly had a break in the incoming aliens. I’d been arming the militia with cheap SMGs at the time. Not as good as the stuff I gave my enforcers, of course, but they’d put a nice dent in the aliens.

  I also bought some cheap as hell anti-personnel 10mm caseless that came in huge crates. Much better than any human handgun rounds, it even approached rifle ballistics. Thanks to my catalogues I also found damn effective bullets!

  I wouldn’t trust them against the bigger bastards however. Overall, still leagues better than the shitty AK-47s they used before!

  My people had the good sense to not shoot someone shooting aliens. So, that's how someone new arrived at our barricade. My husband hovered nearby, helped the new survivors and organized some cleanup.

  We wanted clearer lines of fire and also, you know, less dead xenos in the halls.They grossed people out a bit.

  My darling also stayed close to help with social stuff. Smart move since, well, I fucking sucked at that.

  We still had to worry about ambushes so every cleanup team had at least some well equipped militia with them, or an enforcer.

  The kids stayed in my line of sight. I liked having them surrounded on all sides by armed people I trusted! So, things were calm enough for me to handle the new arrival.

  I turned off my mic before asking Altany “that’s a samurai right?” It was fairly obvious but having confirmation would be nice!

  Dude wore a goddamn cowboy hat with RGB lighting. That stylistic choice was reserved for insane people, samurai, or those that were both. Good bet on both most of the time.

  Cute enough guy with a shaved face, blue eyes and a cocky grin I could see through the clear visor of his helmet. Was the cowboy hat part of the helmet? Probably.

  He is. Information on other vanguards is a bit taboo to share, but I can confirm that he is one.

  “Whew, nice little carpet of leaves I had to blow away! Pretty sure that hive’s more dangerous than people think! Howdy there! You’ the new kid?” He asked me with a smile.

  I might have been a tad obvious as well. Not many people could pull glowing sci-fi plate armor out of their ass.

  He had this vibe about him. Cocky, confident but a sort of fragile confidence. The type of guy life hadn’t tested much yet by street standards. It put me on edge.

  “Yeah, not sure about ‘kid’ but that’s me. What’ you doing here?” I kept my arms close to my body, side arm included. His armor looked like an undersuit mostly. I could see six revolvers strapped to him, two on his hips, same on his sides and ribs.

  They hid behind some kind of high tech trench coat. I’d put my money on that coat having a fuckton of tech. “I’m here for you actually!” He said with a smile. It made my muscles tense up, ready for a fight.

  “I’m Johnny Law! Pleased…” I shot him before he finished. Well, I tried to at least.

  The guy moved quickly, as in quicker than me. By quite a bit at that! He dodged and immediately put his hands up. Good thing too! Dude might have been fast, but he had a good dozen guns on him almost instantly.

  “Whoa! Hey! Not here for trouble! Jesus!” I eyed him suspiciously. The cowboy didn’t reach for his guns but…

  ‘Altany, do you believe him?’

  His profile would suggest an attack is unlikely. I believe his claim of being here for you is more an attempt at assistance than a threat.

  “Who are you with?” I asked in a tone that made it clear the guy better fucking answer if he didn’t want to dodge a massive volley.

  Civies scurried off into apartments and Robin put the girls behind him. Not as safe as I’d like but maybe my darling had a better sense of the guy than I did.

  “Laser Jack sent me for god’s grace!”

  “For god’s grace? Whatever, why do you think I’d know who the fuck that is?” He looked a bit baffled at that but didn’t back down. Good man.

  “He’s a prominent member of the Family?” A few chuckles escaped my people but everyone kept professional… mostly.

  I started inching the barrel of my gun back towards his face. “You a corpo?” I asked with narrowed animated eyes.

  “Oh god give me patience… No! I ain’t corpo! Not corpo-sec either! Ain’t a member of the Family!” The kid seemed to take a deep breath and compose himself.

  I lowered my gun. For one it was aggro as fuck but also, he’d probably dodge a gun he could see. “I am an independent samurai from down south. I happen to be in the area.” He started speaking slowly, like he had to explain something to an idiot. I did try to shoot him, so I cut him some slack.

  “The Family…” He didn’t know why a few people around him burst out laughing which just made it so much funnier. Kevin grumbled in a corner though.

  “... is an organization that helps samurais. That means making sure new ones don’t die or get kidnapped by some corp or whatever. My job’s to come here, get you and your buddies out of here, then screw off. That’s it!”

  I eyed him for a few seconds. There were a couple big problems in what he said. Most pressing one: ”What’s my name?”

  He looked a bit baffled at the question. “I don’t know? My AI ain’t tellin’, some kind of privacy thing between samurais. Laser Jack didn’t tell me diddly squat.”

  I stayed silent and thought for a couple seconds until a call came from the front. “Boss! The hentai ones are back!” I moved to the corridor, but kept my echolocation on him.

  “I’m guessing you don’t have a samurai name yet?” He said, following behind.

  “Nop. Got a nickname, so my AI did branding based on that.” I didn’t elaborate since there were tentacled fucks to kill. I went with those white phosphorus things.

  “What’s the nickname?”

  “Panda…” I answered in between shots, my railgun pushing me back hard because of the distance and the weight.

  May I recommend a recoil control system? Something similar to earth’s battle tanks would work well with your coilgun. There may be a slight loss of velocity overall, but such can be remedied with more power sent through the coils.

  She really wouldn’t let that go would she? I accepted.

  New purchase: Morphic Coil Gun Recoil Control System!

  Points Spent… 65!

  Points reduced to… 1347!

  My points were coming back up nicely! Not as much as I’d like but still pretty good. That little excursion had been brutal and profitable. The point reduction for my enforcers was rough though.

  A box appeared with yet another work in progress logo. Maybe she watched my brain chemistry while testing the waters.

  Inside, I found a metal hexagon with… something in the middle. “Altany, what the fuck is that?” The kid seemed bothered by all the cursing around him. Where the hell did this white little angel come from?

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  These are a mesh of micro springs. They are coiled in such a way that the coilgun can move back several times the width of the recoil ring and still be under tension.

  Why the fuck would I question Altany? It had a wider diameter than my railgun but after putting it over the barrel, the weird hexagon tightened and installed itself.

  “So, your name isn’t panda… and the gang in charge of this section would be… The Bear-Yakuza according to…” He muttered while working shit out. I interrupted him. “Don’t.”

  There was an art to looking casual. An important one if you wanted to be bait for a gang ambush. The Cobra Kais tried that tactic a few times, so a lot of the enforcers did, in fact, get good at it.

  Probably the reason why Johnny Law didn’t realize until then that my railgun pointed backwards at that moment, straight at his chest. Same reason he’d dismissed Lila, who was ‘resting’ on the wall, her gun on a sling but finger on the trigger. She even aimed for his hip to be less conspicuous.

  The cowboy had four other guns casually aimed at him. Johnny struck me as someone with a lot of power, but not a lot of experience. However, he wasn’t stupid.

  I could tell when Johnny figured out my name. He’d unconsciously reached for his pistols, but stopped. Smart kid.

  “You’re Louis Larose?” He asked with a lot of apprehension and the usual judgmental tone to his voice.

  “Yup.” I answered simply.

  “You killed a lot of people.” He said flatly.

  “Calling them people is a bit generous but yeah. No one I didn’t have to though. Do I have to…?” It was a painfully clear threat any idiot could understand.

  “At that number, you’re technically a serial killer…” He said, eyes narrowed, body still as a statue.

  “Are soldiers serial killers?” I asked, my tone casual but body coiled like a spring.

  “No, in that case it’s called mass murder.” He said, tone even, hand twitching every so often. No one moved a muscle since the start. I broke the ice with a simple nod.

  “Yeah, that fits better. I’m Louis Larose, also known as Panda, mass murderer of Peach Trees. All I’ll say is that it was worth it, and that they deserved it.” I said, my tone filled to the brim with venom, hatred and spite.

  I saw it reflected in my enforcers, the militia, even the few civilians that braved the risk to see what happened. We had regrets, anyone does, but they shared the sentiment.

  “I’m lacking context…” He worked out for himself slowly and out loud. The last part of my statement seemed to have hit a cord. “... since you were selected to be a samurai… I’m guessin’ there’s a good reason. Being chosen and all that, I don’t see a reason not to wipe the slate clean on my side.”

  Quite a few people relaxed but it took me a bit more. “Altany, any clue if he’s lying?” I asked with my mic off.

  I suspect he is not. Vanguard Johnny Law has been recorded publicly apprehending criminals you would consider abhorrent. Mostly, he seems to aim for those with corporate backing, who escape justice or have too much protection for any reasonable arrest time frame.

  You may consider him a soft-hearted idealist, and with the proper context, I suspect he might support your actions. I do not see a reason for him to attack you. Your enforcers should also be safe, since their crimes are not those he would typically act on.

  Of course, their association to you is also a layer of protection. His reputation on social media is one of seeking justice for and protecting the innocent. Considering this, I believe he could be a powerful ally.

  My shoulders finally untensed. “Alright, tell me if shit hits the fan, alright? Don’t take unnecessary risks, if those ranged assholes come, tell me and take cover, deal?” I received a chorus of ‘yeah boss’ from the militia and broke away.

  I had to have a discussion with Johnny and the middle of a firefight wasn’t a great choice. I got up and walked towards Robin. My helmet receded to the back of my head and I kissed him.

  Our long overdue kiss took a bit of time. My armor fed me tactile information but I still made the gloves move back so I could touch his sides with my hands. It took away a hell of a lot more tension, although added a bit more!

  “Hey darling…” I said with a smile, my face only an inch from his.

  “Hey pandear…” He answered with a smile of calm contentment that melted my heart. “You should take care of our guest, pretty sure a blush like that could cause a stroke.”

  Yeah, that got Johnny Law pretty damn red. Poor guy! With skin that pale, everyone could tell. “Hum, sorry, didn’t mean to…” Robin didn’t let him finish his stammering.

  “So Johnny, where are you from?” Back on more solid ground, the answer came with confidence.

  “Texas! Born and raised!” There was a bit of pain in his smile.

  “Too gay for the Texas theocracy?” I asked, resulting in a little slap on the chest from Robin. Did I say something rude? Fuck, probably did. It also earned another blush plus some bluster.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he said with a glare and low amounts of outrage.

  I just stared at him. Then, I slowly looked at Robin, then back at him. The silence dragged out for a second or two before Lila broke the awkwardness.

  “So, you’re here to save the day?” She asked with faux-casualness.

  “Uh, yes mam’. Laser Jack informed me of a new samurai that needed his ass not baconed as it were.” I could definitely recognize the accent from shows and movies now that I knew the origin.

  “So, what's your gimmick?” Robin asked, being his charming self. The cocky grin came back to his face.

  “Quickdraw! I focus on bein’ quick and on six-shooters! My grandpa taught me and I picked up on the tradition. I also use a lever gun for long range!”

  At that last part, he reached behind him and a cowboy-style lever action rifle unfolded itself. “Aren’t those a bit obsolete?” I asked, confused. I mean, I had a revolver but I’d bought it for cheap. This guy clearly had more experience!

  “That’s the point!” He answered with a smile. At my confused stare, he explained.

  “You need a gimmick to be a samurai. Doin’ everythin’ means you’ll end up weak as a kitten for the bigger bastards. My catalogues focus on speed and a solid, perfect design of weapon that doesn’t ask for much super tech.” I snorted but he ignored me.

  “Revolvers are foolproof. If I spend my points on some super weapon doodad, they spread out to just make the darn thing work! The magazine, the action, the barrel, self-aim, all that stuff. When I buy a revolver though, all the points focus on just a couple things! That means I can hit above my weight-class for the same amount of points. Reloadin’ ain’t any issue since my AI can just teleport the rounds in place!”

  That was… smart. Very smart! Could I do something similar? Was I already doing something similar? “Not only that, but the point of those semi-autos is to shoot faster, ain’t it? Well, I’m speed focused! I can work a lever faster than a damn pistol cycles at this point!” The man clearly prided himself on his abilities.

  “Or, well, mostly, pistols are darn fast! I’m still upgradin’. Although, I guess all samurai keep upgradin’, it’s the job.” While still looking at him, I took a hit from my speed boosting vape. I wanted time to think.

  Could I use my focus on some stuff to spend less points for the power? My Mole-Bear catalogues gave me a bit of room to experiment with because of those alloys. My current gun had pretty harsh recoil, did that count? Could I go higher on the recoil because of my strength or armor?

  “That’s… a fucking great idea. Why didn’t you mention this Altany?” This time, she answered out loud. We were far enough from the fighting that shouting was unnecessary.

  “My job is to assist you, not coddle you.” Her avatar said, lounging at eye level on a model five’s remains. “Also, we’ve been busy.” That… Alright, fair point.

  Most of my purchases had been quick decisions. I didn’t like that. I spent massive wealth constantly! I had to consider what I used it for.

  “You decided on your gimmick yet?” Johnny asked me with interest.

  “Close quarters combat…” I answered, distracted as all hell going over my options. I refocused a bit more when I realized that he wanted more.

  Well, Robin realized and smacked my ass lightly. That tactile was impressive! On one hand, I didn’t trust him yet. On the other, we’d fight together soon enough. Yeah, knowing what I could do would prove rather critical.

  “I invested my points into an alien catalogue, the Mole-Bears…” He snorted

  “‘Cause of the name, Bear-Yakuza and all that?” I glared daggers at him but Altany deserved the outrage on this one.

  “I didn’t know what they were called.”

  “You bought a catalogue you didn’t even know the name of?” The kid was starting to get on my nerves now.

  “I was kind of fucking dying at the time! The shattered rib cage stabbing into my organs made for a strong distraction!”

  Robin’s hand found mine and I could tell I’d fucked up. He hadn’t heard the details yet, and sharing them now might hurt him. “Sorry darling…”

  “It’s ok…” He said while playing with my hand, as if to make sure it was real. “Thank you for coming back to me.” My smile came back.

  “Always.” I answered simply with a smile.

  Then I sadly had to refocus on the job. “Anyway! Their thing is metal, like super alloys and shit. Tunnel dwellers that fought super up close and personal. Got some great body mods out of it, mostly muscle and bones but I got a speed boost that’s currently installing itself. Same for the muscles. I also got this awesome morphic armor in the deal.”

  Johnny seemed thoughtful, maybe considering how we’d work together. “What kind of firepower are you packing?” He asked with interest.

  “I bought catalogues for large bore kinetic weapons and esoteric ammo. Mostly, I’ve been shooting weird shit and equipping my people with similar weapons. My enforcers get the good shit. I’ve been giving them the most bang for your buck ammo I could find. I need a fuckton of points and their kills don’t count for as much.” Johnny stared at me, eyes wide, realization clear on his face.

  “Hey, do you mind if we combine catalogues? I made a bunch of points getting here and I think I could buy some really good stuff with those!” I wanted to accept but…

  “Promise me not to arrest any of my people and it’s a deal.” Silence stretched between us for a few seconds. He seemed to be considering it.

  “That has to depend on the crime, I’m sure you understand…” He said slowly.

  “You can shoot any pedophiles if you find them?” He looked me in the eyes, then nodded, mollified.

  “Yeah, sure, screw it. They’re killin’ xenos and protectin’ people, I don’t mind.”

  “Deal. We can combine catalogues?” For some reason, Altany switched to comms. Was this info just for samurai or something?

  Yes. The points spent can come from either party, but you can also simply lend technological advancements in your catalogues to another vanguard. I believe vanguard Johnny Law will benefit greatly from this.

  “Damn straight I will! My stuff is focused on making my guns solid enough to handle the loads, then making sure I can take another shot without spending entire milliseconds handling recoil. With your stuff, I think I can bring my guns up a caliber or two! Right now I get my kills by always making headshots” He said with quite a lot of pride.

  I didn’t mind, he was probably a much better fucking shot than I was. “The bigger ones take more work, but with a better caliber, they ain’t gonna be an issue anymore!”

  “And If I get your recoil stuff, I could add a lot of power to my weapons while still keeping them usable!” I worked out for myself.

  Well, things were probably about to get fun.