Dialogue: Corpo of the Month

ALAN NOEL

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Voodoboy

You think you a big man? You think because you fuck BARGHEST raw, you can fuck us too?

Courier

No, no, the tech's good! Perfect for your research. All's ya gotta do is slap it back together first.

Voodoboy

You’ll have to put your fucking skull back together when I’m done with you!

Courier

The fuck--?! Oh, no-no-no-no, this's gonna land on me!

V

Seriously doubt they'll suspect you.

Courier

Whadda you want?

V

1AMilko Alexis, a Voodoo Boy. Know the name?

Courier

1AYeah… 'bout all I know, though. Guy practically lives in the Net. Seems like he's got everyone walkin' on eggshells. Big deal, I guess.

V

1AWhere can I find 'im?

Courier

1ADon't ask me. Got enough problems as it is.

V

2AHere’s my offer – tell me what I wanna know, and I won't let slip to BARGHEST you're stealing from 'em.

Courier

2AThe fuck you mean "steal"? I ain't stealin'.

V

2AUh-huh. What was it he said… about you "fucking BARGHEST raw"...?

Courier

2AUgh… Fine, whatever.

2ARight, so these implants… the Voodoos break most of ‘em down. Lookin' for code exploits, new hacks, and so on. Whatever they don't use, they install in old robots.

2APiles of scrap, most of 'em, but one came together real nice.

V

2ARobots? What for?

Courier

2AWhat for? Think for a sec. If this Milko guy's so important, prolly needs round-the-clock protection.

V

3AHelped the Voodoo Boys build a small army. Surely you know how to beat it.

3BRunnin' out of time to spare. Know any way of gettin' 'round those bots?

Courier

3BNothin' gets passed their motion sensors. Slippin' by unnoticed is a non-starter for sure.

2AHow’s your aim?

V

2AI manage.

Courier

2AHmm… The Voodoos, they keep their bots in some kinda server room. I can overload the disk arrays, then you... you fuck up the servers till they go boom.

2AShould result in a pulse big enough to melt the circs of the rank 'n' file.

V

2AOK, feel free to delta. I got work to do.

Courier

2AHmm... Must be nice...

V

2BTalk. Or your skull really will be in pieces.

Courier

2BYou don't scare me.

2BAgh! Fuckin' psycho!

Courier

5AAgh, fuck! The nose! Oh, it hurts like a motherfucker!

V

5AReady to talk?

Courier

5AFine, fine, whatever! Just stop!

V

2CCame here to make a few eds, right?

2CTell me what I wanna know and you will.

Courier

2CNow you're speakin' my language.

V

2DThis is the thanks I get?

Courier

2DI know how to talk to my clientele. Had everything under control.

2DTill whoever-the-fuck-you-are swooped in.

2DI don't owe you shit. I'm outta here. It's bad for biz to be seen with a customer in that kinda condition.

V

1BScram before the place gets crowded.

Courier

1BYeah. Recommend you do the same.

V

1CResearch on implants? What was that all about?

Courier

1CDon't know, don't care. I got enough problems.

V

1DVoodoos can't just go to a ripper for their chrome?

Courier

1DThis cyberware isn't for installin' – it's for tinkerin'. Some kinda experiments.

V

1EJust saved your ass, choom. Be me askin' the questions.

Courier

1EYou-- you think you helped me? You just reduced my entrepreneurial venture to a steaming pile of dog shit!

V

1EDunno, your client sounded none too pleased.

Courier

1ENah man, they say that shit all the time and keep callin' me back. Just their little routine.

Courier

W-wait! Don't shoot! I'm just here on biz!

W-wait! Don't shoot! I'm just here on biz!

V

9AYou have biz with the Voodoo Boys?

Courier

9AYeah. Well… used to. After what you just did, thinkin' they'll want a new supplier.

V

9BLikewise. So beat it.

Courier

9BYeah. Yeah-yeah-yeah, already gone.

V

12AWhat's goin' on here?

12AWell, well... Now whadda we have here…?

Courier

Intruder! Intruder! Here to kill us all!

Damn, am I good…

I don't owe you shit. I'm outta here. It's bad for biz to be seen with a customer in that kinda condition.

V

Said before one of 'em’s different.

Courier

Leave it for last. Best to hit it from behind, pop it right in the processor socket.

Voodoboy

What the fuck is this?

We pay you for new! Our research demands it! That was our deal!

This... shitware cannot be hacked. It is already broken!

Security System

Activating defense systems. Forty percent.

Activating defense systems. One hundred percent.

System failure. System failure. Area scan in progress.

Human life signature detected. Initiating evacuation protocol. Unlocking emergency exit.

Alan noel

Hey, hey! Careful with that. I'm linked to the 'runner, see?

Don't want 'im to catch a ricochet, huh?

V

1ANetrunner, blackmailer, murderer. He’s my hit.

Alan noel

1AHe has some dirt under his nails, yes, but Milko is a no one. A small fish in a big pond.

V

1BMilko’s a corpse already, but you still got a choice.

1BWhoever you are, I advise you to step back.

Alan noel

1BYou’d only waste your bullets on 'im. Trust me.

I’m Agent Alan Noël, NetWatch, organized crime specialist.

I’m sure we can work something out.

V

2AMet a choom of yours recently. Likewise sniffin' around the Voodoo Boys.

Alan noel

2ADid you greet him with a gun too?

V

2AHe started it. Tried to scramble my brain first.

2AIt's why I'm not gonna waste my breath on a corpo this time around.

Alan noel

2AAgent Mosley? He speaks highly of you.

2AYou came to an understanding with our man back then.

V

2AYeah, I thought so too. Till I learned your buddy secretly injected a tracking program in me. Class act.

2BOK, Agent Alan NoëL, NetWatch, organized crime specialist. Get outta my way.

2CFirst I've seen a NetWatch agent ditch the tie and button-up to get his hands dirty, live with the enemy.

Alan noel

2CWe tried recruitment. More than once. None ever agreed, no matter our terms. We underestimated their loyalty to each other.

V

2CWell, Alan, NetWatch agent or not, if you stand in my way I'll be forced to remove you from it.

2DA real pleasure, Alan. My chooms call me Lizzy Wizzy.

Alan noel

2DI can prove it.

V

2DNo need. I like corpos even less than I do gangoons.

Alan noel

2DI know who you are. Everyone at the Igloo has been talkin' about what you did in Pacifica.

At least let me unplug from Milko.

That's better. Now listen to me.

You can't kill Milko. Not yet.

V

3AWanna stop me? Try.

Alan noel

3AMonths I've suffered this place, holed up with these scabs on society. I aim to expose their web of blackmailers and murderers, like Milko.

3ABut to do that, I have to find out who's pulling the strings first.

V

4AWell, got fingers crossed for ya. But don't count on my help. Safety of my client's my only priority.

Alan noel

4AThis client of yours... a corpo? Engineering type? That fits the Voodoos typical target profile.

V

4AMhmmm. Either help with the hackin' or get hacked, huh? What's the angle there?

Alan noel

4AThe Voodoos get their hands on old military tech. They wanna dust it off, get it running, which means they need experts to reverse-engineer it.

V

5ASmashed a few bots along the way. Those old military models?

Alan noel

5AMhm. And the Voodoo Boys won't be happy to lose them. But they do have more.

5AGive me a chance. Do you realize how many more people you can save this way?

5AI have reports of victims all along the coast. Milko is only one of the 'runners working for the Voodoo Boys.

5AAs soon as I find the head behind their operation, I can chop it off and end this for good.

5AI need Milko. His death alone won't change anything, understand?

V

6AHow can you be sure that'll work?

Alan noel

6ABecause I'm a professional. Just like you.

6AThe difference is, I intend to restore order, whereas you offer only more chaos.

Johnny

6AThink he cares about those poor saps the Voodoo Boys are hacking? Last thing on his mind.

6ACompany men like him – all the same. Just out to be the next fake-smilin' employee of the month.

Alan noel

6AYou won't do it, right?

V

7AFine, keep doin' your thing here. Just know if you fuck this up, you’re next on my shitlist.

Alan noel

7AYou won't regret it. I give my word.

V

6BTo you, these “victims” are numbers in a file, no names, no faces. Well, my client does have a name – Indira Barazza. And she'll die if I don't do my job.

Alan noel

6BYou think I don't know that?

6BPulling Milko's plug will not save Indira's life. He'll just be replaced.

V

5CI'm still missin' the "why". They wanna open a museum, sell tickets?

Alan noel

5CThere are plenty of people willing to pay good money for old hardware.

5CDeveloping countries rarely see better than bootleg corptech. A lot of buyers might not even realize the Voodoos' product is outdated, or even obsolete.

V

5DYa can't just find this stuff lyin' around the streets.

Alan noel

5DNo, but you can beneath them. Dogtown was built on an old Militech bunker complex. Why do you think they built that wall?

5DIt started as a secret military project back in the twenties. A total failure. Militech cut their losses and filled it with quicklime, but some persistent groups have managed to scavenge the labs, even today.

V

4AWell, got fingers crossed for ya. But don't count on my help. Safety of my client's my only priority.

Alan noel

4AThis client of yours... a corpo? Engineering type? That fits the Voodoos typical target profile.

V

4AMhmmm. Either help with the hackin' or get hacked, huh? What's the angle there?

Alan noel

4AThe Voodoos get their hands on old military tech. They wanna dust it off, get it running, which means they need experts to reverse-engineer it.

V

4BThis Milko guy work for you? Your source?

Alan noel

4BI piggyback whenever he jacks into the Net, try to pin down who's feeding him orders.

V

3AGuess you'll have to manage without Milko.

3AWanna stop me? Try.

Alan noel

3AMonths I've suffered this place, holed up with these scabs on society. I aim to expose their web of blackmailers and murderers, like Milko.

3ABut to do that, I have to find out who's pulling the strings first.

V

3BWho’s gonna stop me? You?

3BWho’s gonna stop me? You?

Alan noel

Do not do this!

You can't kill Milko. Not yet.

V

Fine. But so much as a twitch and you're a flatline.

Alan noel

You should go. The others could arrive any minute.

9AGo. I have to get back to work.

Fuck! Do you have any idea what you just did?!

Fuck! Do you have any idea what you just did?!

You just ruined a NetWatch operation costing in the tens of thousands.

Fuck! Do you have any idea what you just did?!

You just ruined a NetWatch operation costing in the tens of thousands.

Aaaagh!

Do not do this!

You won't do it, right?

V

Wanna stop me? Try.

Alan noel

Months I've suffered this place, holed up with these scabs on society. I aim to expose their web of blackmailers and murderers, like Milko.

But to do that, I have to find out who's pulling the strings first.

V

Guess you'll have to manage without Milko.

Alan noel

Fuck! Do you have any idea what you just did?!

You just ruined a NetWatch operation costing in the tens of thousands.

Aaaagh!

You just ruined a NetWatch operation costing in the tens of thousands.

MrHands

V, you won't guess who just called. Or... perhaps you already have?

My people at NetWatch have assured me they will place Indira Barazza on their witness protection list without delay.

They've assigned netrunner guards, around the clock, to protect her body and mind. No hacker alive can reach her now.

You've secured the safety of your client, and elevated your fixer's standing with his corporate employers.

With a full heart and a fuller bank account, I'll transfer your fee. Contract closed.

V, V, V. Do you know why I enjoy working with you?

I don’t have to tell you twice what needs doing.

Our client can rest easy now.

Job done, transfer sent, contract closed.

MrHands

V, I had a nightmare recently. My synthlungs were hacked, I choked, turned blue… Then I lost consciousness and... woke up.

My client, Indira Barazza, won't be so lucky if she doesn't strike a deal with her blackmailer.

The lowlife in question – Milko Alexis. He works for the Voodoo Boys.

You know what to do. If anything’s unclear, read the attached details.