Fuzzy, Kenji, Danny-O and Puppy - Saturday, July 28th, 2074 - Morning - Seattle Metroplex

With a feeling of trepidation, Fuzzy stepped into the steam of people on the sidewalk for the very first time.

"You okay?" asked Kenji.

Fuzzy walked next to him. It was also hard to see where she was going as almost everyone was taller than her. Short girl problems.

"Never seen so many people," she said, nervously.

Kenji just looked at her as he walked.

"You get used to it," he said, "We can stop and get something to eat. You hungry?"

"Had a big breakfast," said Fuzzy.

They were walking towards the ACHE, but weren't yet in the enormous shadow that it cast, though it was close.

Fuzzy tried to keep up with the crowd. She really did, but as they walked, her vision was obscured by a pop-up ad in her field of view since she was wearing her AR goggles. Fuzzy couldn't read and she didn't have sound, but it looked like a bowl of noodles. Then there was another ad, this one an attractive, porcelain skinned Asian woman speaking in another language which layered over it. Another selling gum. A picture of a commlink. She couldn't turn her head away from the ads as they kept overlapping in her field of vision and they just kept coming and coming. She managed to not bump into anyone, but only just.

"Can we stop?" she asked, "I'm having a hard time seeing where I'm going."

Kenji did so and she could only see him in her peripheral vision as the ads came faster and faster.

"What's wrong?"

"All of this stuff keeps popping up in my vision," she said.

She tore off her AR goggles and saw the world again for what it was.

"Oh shit," said Kenji, "Don't you have an ad-blocker or something?"

Fuzzy barely knew what an ad was, much less an ad-blocker.

"I don't know," she answered, angrily.

She looked down at her goggles in disgust. Meanwhile, Puppy had woken up and was currently whining and squirming in her arm.

"Yeah, Pike Place isn't far from here," said Kenji, "Huge tourist trap."

Even though she'd never been to Seattle, that name sounded familiar to Fuzzy but she couldn't put her finger on why. Meanwhile, she followed Kenji off the sidewalk and into a thin but long space of grass that hugged the edge of the Puget Sound.

"Let me take a look at your link," said Kenji.

Fuzzy wasn't sure what he meant at first, but he soon pointed to her ear where her commlink was clipped.

"It's mine," said Fuzzy.

Kenji tapped his foot impatiently on the grass.

"Here," said Kenji, "You can have one while I fix yours."

He fished in his pocket and produced another commlink like Fuzzy's. With a small flourish, he presented it to her and only then did she unclip her commlink from her ear and hand hers to him. She begrudgingly accepted the swap for now and let Puppy onto the grass for him to stretch his legs and pee.

"Oh, yeah, you had nothing set up," said Kenji.

"Can you fix it?" asked Fuzzy.

"That's not really my specialty," said Kenji, "Shit, not working. Your 'link is just covered in bullshit. I'll have a friend fix it in a bit. In the meantime, you use this. Figured you might need it."

He dug around in his pocket and pulled out yet another commlink of the same variety. Kenji gave it to her and Fuzzy gave him back the commlink he'd just given her.

"Hope you like being Courtney," said Kenji, "Kind of a fake SIN, don't tell nobody."

Fuzzy didn't even know what a fake SIN was and she was a little unclear on what a real one was either. Julian had tried to explain what a SIN, or a system identification number was because he'd provided her with one. Apparently you needed one to attend the school. However, concepts like "citizenship" was, or even an ID, which the SIN represented was tricky for her. She'd never needed such a thing before and wasn't sure what it was for other than getting into school.

"I won't," said Fuzzy, "Who's Courtney?"

Kenji shrugged.

"Someone who didn't need their SIN anymore in the ACHE," he said, "So right now, you're Courtney."

"Uhhhh..."

"You're not Courtney, obviously," said Kenji, "But your link sucks and all of these ads are fucking with it. So until I get this fixed, you're Courtney, not Fuzzy, got it?"

"Not really."

Kenji thought about it.

"You're pretending to be someone else," said Kenji.

Fuzzy nodded.

"Oh, okay," said Fuzzy.

"Cool. Your puppy done his thing?"

Fuzzy looked down as if on cue, Puppy peed and she swept him back up into her arm again, where he wiggled, wagged his tail and licked her face. She giggled a little and sighed happily. Keeping him had been the best choice she'd ever made.

"Yeah," said Fuzzy.

She was going to need to keep holding him. A little thing like him would get hurt if he tried to walk with all of the people moving around him. She wasn't ready to get back into the crowd yet, so she sat down on a park bench and Kenji sat next to her.

"I can get this fixed at The Red," said Kenji.

"What's The Red?" asked Fuzzy.

"You know what a black market is?" asked Kenji.

"Not really."

"It's a market without police," said Kenji, "Where uh...Questionable goods get sold."

"Questionable?"

Kenji looked both annoyed and bemused.

"Illegal," he said, "It's a market where illegal shit gets sold. Legal too I guess. But there's no cops in the ACHE. Gonna teach you how to say things without saying them if we keep doing this, damn."

As there were no police in her area of Puyallup, this didn't phase Fuzzy, though she was vaguely aware of them. There was a swap-meet near central Puyallup where she traded sometimes. There were a few sellers at that flea market that accepted meat and pelts and the like and she'd trade for gear. She was a fair hand at haggling too, though at the moment she had nothing to trade.

"Why is it called The Red if it's black though?" asked Fuzzy.

"Oh, it's not a black market," said Kenji, "It's a red market."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is that at a black market if you start shit, shoot up the place, steal, whatever, you might live through it," he said, "If you do that at a red market, they will absolutely, positively murder your ass. Though if you steal they'll just take a hand first."

Fuzzy was taken aback by that.

"Why would they do that?" she asked, "That sounds awful."

The Puyallup swap meet did have a little security, it was true, but it was small enough that basically everyone knew everyone. Actually killing people was rare.

"It is what it is," said Kenji, "You got locals selling shit, some locals buy, but a lot of people come from outside the ACHE to do whatever. So because you'll catch your death if you fuck around, the bag is secure, you know? The Red is the safest place in the ACHE to do some bidness."

"Which bag?"

Kenji's face twitched once.

"The money," he said, "The bag is how you make your creds and it is your creds. It's uh...Slang, got it?"

Fuzzy nodded.

"Got it."

"Cool," said Kenji, "Now I'm heading into The Red. My cousin Clever is getting some work done on his hands. Cyberware, you know? You're welcome to come with. Maybe come up to the crib if you're cool. It'll take me about an hour. If you want to chill out here though, I'll find you a place so long as you stay there. Don't want you getting lost."

"So it's safe?" asked Fuzzy.

"The Red is safe," said Kenji, "And the ACHE is always chill right before a garbage day burn. The kind of people still out in the corridors are too starved to pose a real threat. And the people who could pose a threat are making sure their doors are tight so the smoke doesn't get inside. We'll pay a little extra for an elevator up so we don't run into anyone, I'll get your knife, we get out, finish shit up, get back on the boat in the evening and its all good."

Fuzzy was no fool and a certain level of paranoia had kept her alive out in the ash wastes. So she was blunt with Kenji.

"How do I know you're not going to fuck me over?" asked Fuzzy.

Kenji who'd been fairly affable so far, suddenly became cool and calculating.

"Don't trust me?" he asked.

"No."

Kenji nodded in appreciation.

"You're no fool then," said Kenji, "I'm still a stranger after all. Well okay, two reasons."

He held up his first finger.

"First, Julian knows you're with me," said Kenji, "And if I don't come back with you safe, sound and happy, he's going to get mad at me. Real mad."

Fuzzy looked at him skeptically.

"That doesn't sound very convincing," said Fuzzy.

Kenji held up a second finger.

"Two, if Julian gets mad at me, there's my shot at school," said Kenji, "Gone. Once in a lifetime opportunity. These kids are rich as fuck and connected as fuck. I want access. That school is the biggest, fattest bag I'll ever see in my entire life. So if there's a hair on your head harmed, if someone fucks with you in the slightest way, I will fuck them up. Because I'm not losing this bag, you understand? Keeping you secure means my bag is secure. And I want to see if this works because I think that we're going to need each other in the future if I'm going to keep the school thing going."

"So...It's nuyen," said Fuzzy.

Kenji shook his head no.

"It's bigger than nuyen," said Kenji, "It's access. It's favors from the children of the wealthy. I'm going to get them, because that kind of access will set me for life. And I would not take you to the ACHE if I didn't think it was safe. I'm going to secure this bag at all costs, you understand? I'd like your help. Need it, probably."

Fuzzy thought about this. She thought and she thought and she thought about how he might betray her and try to hurt her, but his logic was sound. Julian did know that she was out with Kenji today. She also knew that the students on the island were wealthy. Sasha had talked about her wealth in terms that had seemed almost fantastical to Fuzzy. Constant realmeals, designer clothing, trips taken all around the world, her own private security team and more. It all represented a kind of wealth that Fuzzy was only beginning to grasp. She wasn't particularly interested in having that kind of wealth, but Kenji wanted it or at least he wanted to be close to it. So while she didn't trust Kenji, she felt like she could trust in his greed.

There was also the fact that Fuzzy needed someone to help teach her how things worked after all. Julian seemed like he knew a lot of things but she doubted that he understood her. There was also Julie, but she was quiet and isolated. There was also Sasha, but Sasha didn't know who and what Fuzzy was yet. So she took a risk on Kenji to figure out how to act because he seemed like her best choice.

"I'll go," said Fuzzy.

Kenji nodded and smiled in relief.

"Cool," said Kenji, "Stick with me, don't let anyone lure you away, don't eat or drink anything unless I say so and uh...Enjoy yourself I guess. I'll play tour guide. Show you a good time or at least uh...You know, a time. Shit is going to be different. Wait here, I'll get some snacks and drinks and an air mask. Maybe uh...Find a..."

Kenji tried to grasp for the right phrase.

"Doggy...Daycare...For your dog?" he asked, "Somewhere to put him for an hour? Not sure if he'd like being inside. Smells awful. Especially this time of the month."

Surprisingly, Kenji caring about her dog put Fuzzy a little more at ease.

"Puppy stays with me," said Fuzzy.

Kenji grimaced a little and then checked Fuzzy's pocket.

"They deep enough for him?" he asked, "Can you tie it off? I mean, not airtight, but..."

"Yeah."

"Okay, cool, I'll get something nice smelling for him I guess," said Kenji, "Back in ten...Courtney."

Kenji stood up from the bench, winked at her and walked into the crowd, leaving her here with Puppy. She wondered if she made the right decision, thought about it and if there was some angle that she hadn't anticipated, she had her knives at least and her rat leather coat and jeans were armored enough to turn a blade or stop even low caliber ammunition, though that kind of armor was fairly common in the metroplex.

While she waited and thought, she watched the mass of metahumanity as it passed on the sidewalk, along with the occasional person who sat on the grass or even played on it. A couple of people threw some sort of spinning, floating disc for their dog, which Puppy seemed interested in. Another couple sat on a blanket with a basket and they pulled out food. There were children here too on some sort of playground. This she trusted most of all. When she got close to places where people lived, if there were kids out and having fun, she was safe. Though if they moved, she moved. And if all she saw were men in some neighborhood that she wanted to hunt in, especially young men, she stayed away.

Fuzzy had a certain kind of street smarts, but there were definitely holes in them that she'd need to patch up. So while she kept the kids in her peripheral vision, just in case they started running or hit the ground, she watched the mass of people on the sidewalk and the cars- So many working cars! Beyond on the street.

What caught her interest in particular was another troll. She had her goggles back on again out of habit. Having gear on her face kept her comfortable because it was enough like a mask to keep anxiety away. Trolls were rare in Puyallup because food was scarce as they ate about twice as much as your average person, so she watched this one in particular out of sheer curiosity. Apparently for too long, because augmented reality activated again. A screen popped up next to him due to her continued interest and it was filled with numbers and letters.

Danny-O

Troll (Obviously)

Twenty-three yeers old

Nine feet two inches tall

372 pounds (All man muscle BAY-BEE!)

Currently listening to: Fraggin' Unicorns (Rock) Sample Music? Download current track for five Nuyen.

Bio: “hey gurls lookin 4 love for a nite or the rest of ur life im your guy. im a fuckin troll god and id hit me up if i wuz u. Fraggin Unicorn's BIGGEST fan an if u can't deal with that get out of my face!!!!

In upper-right corner of her vision, a square popped up with the dark green face of a warty looking troll. And her new commlink, Courtney's apparently, had sound on because she heard the troll talking.

"Hey Courtney, you like Fraggin' Unicorns or just Danny-O?" he asked, his voice a bass rumble through her earbuds, "Caught you peeping."

Fuzzy began to panic. A stranger was talking to her and she had no idea how to get rid of him and she had no idea how he knew her fake name. Luckily, it had been long enough that Kenji had come walking back with a bag in one hand. He must've noticed that something was wrong because he hurried up to her and spoke.

"What's up, Fuzzy?" asked Kenji.

"How do I turn off Danny-O?" she whispered.

The trolls face turned from hopeful to annoyed in an instant.

"You're already turning me off," groused Danny-O, "Plus your comm channel is still open, newbie. How fucking old are you anyway? Your bio says twenty but Danny-O is not believing that shit."

"One sec," said Kenji, "Let me see what happened."

Kenji's AR contacts eyes lit up and he immediately sniggered.

"Man, getting my hopes up like that," sighed Danny-O, "You are not twenty.

"Uhhh...I'm fifteen," said a slightly panicked Fuzzy.

The troll's eyes flew open and he began to wildly wave his hands in front of his screen.

"Whoa, hoooooly shiiiiit. Fifteen. Fuuuuck that from orbit," he said, drawing out the epithets, "Danny-O does not talk to minors. Fuck're you doing on a dating app? Check out Fraggin Unicorns though. Got some free Unicorn tracks for you. Later girl. Unicorns for life!"

He cut out while Kenji's sniggers turned to guffaws and a box of unreadable texted quickly flashed in her field of view before disappearing. Her cheeks blazing, Fuzzy pulled off her AR goggles, yanked off Courtney's commlink and glared at Kenji.

"Turn off Danny-O!" she exclaimed.

"Pretty sure you already did that," said Kenji.

Puppy began to bark in excitement now that Fuzzy was angry. Kenji's laughter just made him bark all the louder. Fuzzy sighed explosively and looked down at the commlink in her hand.

"Just fix it."

---

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