Sometimes, you just want a quiet day at home. Today wasn’t one of those days.
I was working out and running Matrix checks when Evie—my neighbor—knocked on the door. She came to personally invite me to some community festival on Saturday. I guess she got tired of me ignoring her messages. She brought cake, so I figured, why not? Let her in, and one thing led to another—beer, whiskey—and before I knew it, things escalated. It turned into a casual affair. Didn’t expect that from her. I had her pegged as a total Karen, but turns out she’s actually kind of interesting in a down-to-earth way. Something about her keeps things grounded, which is rare for me.
Then, Mr. Black called: "Meet me at the club." So, I hopped on my bike and rode through Tacoma, making my way to Redmond after dark. The city felt quiet, like it was waiting for something—probably the storm. Black’s putting together a new team, and he wants me as muscle, which makes me laugh a little. The team includes Vanya, an elven mage fresh from Portland, and Tag, a female ork rigger. Black doesn’t have a decker lined up, so I offered up Wizkid. He knows I’m reliable, even if he doesn’t know Wizkid’s true identity.
The job’s interesting—PanGen Industries, some lab facility out in Maple Hills. A little digging in the Matrix revealed there’s a hidden underground facility beneath the main building. A secret lab, maybe. Whatever it is, it’s not on the books, and I’m betting it’s worth something big. Definitely not a simple gig.
After the business side of things, I met up with Kate at the Black Wolf. Now, Kate—she’s easy on the eyes and a lot of fun to be around. Definitely a lucky meeting. We hit a few bars, swapped stories, and ended up at her place. Turns out she’s actually Katherine Swinton, from Vancouver, and she’s got a bit of a past. Apparently, she was involved in some shady BTL productions back in the day and came to Redmond to escape that part of her life. Not exactly the ideal place to reinvent yourself, but I can respect someone trying to start fresh.
Funny thing—she lives with Tag, the ork rigger Black brought into the team. And here’s the weird part: I feel this odd attraction to Tag. Normally, orks aren’t my thing, but there’s something about her. Could just be this Awakened world we live in—nothing’s impossible anymore. I’m curious to see where that leads, if anywhere.
All in all, today wasn’t what I expected, but I can’t shake the feeling this PanGen job is going to lead us somewhere deeper. Maybe something none of us are ready for.
TB’s Journal - February 28th, 2097
Still recovering from last night's escapade with Kate and Tag. We partied until 8 am, so the first order of the day was sleep—lots of it. Finally dragged myself out of bed mid-afternoon.
Used some of the advance I got from Mr. Black (5,000 nuyen, not bad) to order new suits. Gotta look sharp for this job at PanGen.
Paid a visit to “the Goblin.” Yeah, he’s the crime boss around here, though he prefers “leader of the Redmond Safe Zone.” He’s a horribly mutated and stunted ork, but he runs this place with a tight grip. Paying respects is just good business.
Had an unexpected run-in with “the Marshal” on the street. This guy’s a real character, believes he’s a marshal from the Old West. Most folks find him amusing, so they let him do his thing. He knew me from back when I was Jack, fresh out of the orphanage. Funny how some things stick with you.
Later, I had a gig with the Skyway Elite model agency—one of my legit side hustles. Bodyguard duty for four models headed to dinner with some corporate suits at "The Low Spindle," a swanky spot near the Renraku arcology. Picked them up from a Knight Errant-secured parking lot in a limo. Little bit of discussion with the driver, but I'm not riding with anybody but Tag these days.
Once we ditched the suits (thanks to a subtle pharmaceutical concoction), the models wanted to go slumming in the limo. This was strictly off the books and mildly illegal—definitely a breach of contract. But hey, it turned into an epic all-nighter. We burned through a lot of cash, and now half of my advance from Mr. Black is gone.
Gonna have to sweet-talk JJ, my contact at Skyway, like crazy to avoid getting fired or sued. Always something, but it was a hell of a ride.
TB’s Journal - March 1st, 2097
Another day, another late start. I’m still crashing at Kate and Tag’s place, and, to be honest, I’m having a pretty good time. Feels strange to be back in Redmond, like I shouldn’t be enjoying it this much, but I do. There’s something about this place… maybe it’s the grime, the edge. Or maybe it’s just Kate and Tag. Either way, it feels right, even though I know it shouldn't.
Woke up late again. First thing I did was check the news while shaking off the sleep. The door cam feed from my apartment showed Evie was knocking again. Guess she’s still trying to invite me to that community festival (fuck, that's tomorrow). Tough luck for her, though—I wasn’t around to answer.
Then there’s the PanGen situation. The ownership search I set up earlier finally brought back some intel: 80% of the company is owned by Eurolabz, one of the big megacorps, especially strong in Eurasia. They’re hiding it behind a series of subsidiaries, but it’s all Eurolabz when you dig deep enough. The other 20% is split between a few publicly known investors and some funds that are impossible to penetrate without a major effort. I’m 99% sure those funds are just smoke screens for PanGen and Eurolabz execs, keeping a bit of the action for themselves.
The more I learn, the more this job feels like it’s gonna be a serious challenge. Eurolabz doesn’t play around. This could get messy, but with the right crew it'll be fine.
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