You a shark or a mark?

Earlier...

One of these nights that reminds you this is a business. Lot of money sitting on this guy’s head so we’re getting down all over this shit like hawks. Thing is, I got two deals to make same hour too. Just took the calls so the deed is gonna have to get done if I don’t want Seyii kicking my ass.

Blue Pill at X80 Warehouse, blow this motherfucker’s brains on the Setelli HQ Helipad, then wholesale at Irelle. Entourage is gonna want some drinks before we roll but I got a treat from Cero lined up instead.

“Alright, listen up. We’re goin’ in five. Get your shit together.”

“Hey Boss, howsabouta—“

“Cero says he’s fully stocked. If you can make it to his alive then you can enjoy some of the most pure shit your skull can handle.”

Markhus grins like a fuckin’ idiot and starts huddling the guys. Setelli’s gonna be a clusterfuck now he’s saying.

Make it to the warehouse and the first thing Markhus says is I’m pretty sure these fuckers are some kind of cult. Not that I don’t disagree, but I tell him to shut up all the same. He’s a decent right hand, but fuck he needs to learn to keep the politics and ideology out of it.

Amarrians it looks like. Robes and everything. Fidgety fuckers too. Some scary cyberoptics shit going on under there, whirring away. Not cool. The guys wheel the goods out and the Amarrians just nod and pass the money over straight away, with us standing between them and their stuff. We almost draw our shit on them right there, but they’re just chill, sitting there whirring away like fucking toasters. Huh, well…return business is worth more, so we back off and leave it to them. They just stand there still. Not cool.

Markhus says we shoulda just fuckin’ blown the place apart. I tell him to save that for the next trip.

The guys want to set up a contingency in case we miss the headshot, but this requires busting down some doors a few blocks down. Only way to be sure of a direct hit on the heli. It’s not that we don’t have the explosives I’m telling Markhus, it’s that I’m not sure we want to attract that level of attention when we’re spread apart. He’s nodding and saying good good boss, even as he loads two guys for demo and anti-aircraft. I’m gently removing the fluff from his shoulder as I politely enquire as to whether or not he understands what the fuck I am saying to him, considering his dumb as shit body seems to be disobeying his even dumber than shit brain.

He’s got that superstar look in his eyes and grinning though, so I figure he’s sending ‘em off and claiming the kill pay alone. I just hope the heli pilot doesn’t take off once we’re done; I get the feeling the boys would want some reason to claim payment too. I return the little nod and wish the guys well. Markhus reaches for the rifle the moment they’re gone and starts settling in. Cheeky fucker.

2 minutes until the mark exits the building. Grey suit, pale blue shirt, augs on the right cheek, purple tie.

5 minutes after we put his lights out to get outside of the hot zone. Direct 200 hover along the 89th, then pull up to 5,000 once we’re clear of signatures.

5 minutes after that to get to the Irelle Enclave and land.

3 minutes after that to make it past Fatty the Brutor and his little testicles of friends. Cero hires the most useless security I ever seen.

That’s the calculation. The 1’s and 0’s of it all.

After this fucker is dead, I have exactly 13 minutes before I need to be in Cero’s shitty little office that smells of sweat and sex, pretending that I need his business just so he can get my boys off and sell some of my shit for a ridiculous markup.

12 minutes now.