Go home and stay home

"Hey! Synth bartender! You're early tonight!"

"S-So are you..."

Jak is standing right outside Dahlia's. Beside him is his friend Rusty, the man with the 'D17' tattoo on his neck. It's unfortunate that I had to head home after the morning shift. Jak's strange fondness for me is difficult to deal with, especially without Gin talking to him so I don't have to.

"Where's Gin?"

"He won't be coming tonight."

Jak turns to the man next to him.

"Huh. Did you tell him to stay home too?"

"What? Who?"

Rusty is wearing a dark green jacket over a plain white shirt. His large frame keeps his clothes snug. His face on the other hand seems distressed and, thanks to Jak's question, confused.

"If you'll excuse me..."

I decide to keep out whatever they're up to but it seems Rusty wasn't even paying me any mind.

"Jak, listen to me ya dumbass, it ain't safe tonight. Go home and stay home."

"No can do Rusty. I might lose my job again if I skip. Besides, dealin' with trouble is what I'm here for!"

Jak flashes him a confident, toothy smile as he punches a fist to his other hand's palm.

"Also the synth bartender's got my back. You should see us kick ass on a fun night. Right, synth bartender?!"

I've barely taken any steps from where I was standing when Jak looks to me.

"Uh... Y-Yeah..."

Damnit Jak, stop pulling me back into the conversation. Just then, a cold breeze blew, followed by the sound of a motor approaching from down the road. From the corner of my eye, I spot three motorcycles, each colored and customized differently but all large and bulky. Leading from the front is a familiar man, large and towering with cornrowed hair. As they drive closer I detect his full cybernetic left eye.

"Shit! Run!"

Rusty's warning comes a split-second too late. The gangsters come at us faster than expected, their headlights a blurring streak in the dark streets of the night. A powerful blast of something being fired sends my system in a heightened security state. A metal bola spins towards me. I manage to raise one leg in an attempt to leap away but it hits my other leg and wraps around it. I trip but manage to catch myself from completely falling over. I look to the rope my leg is bound with and find it attached to another length of rope.

As the gangsters drive past us, the rope is pulled taut and I feel myself get yanked and dragged across the rough concrete. Metal body screeches and sparks against the sidewalk. Unable to find my bearings, I connect to nearby device.

Connecting to Device R-CSDW122935...

I see my body being rag-dolled for all but one second. The man turns to the chair flying towards him. He manages to smack it away with the entirety of his arm, but an empty bottle of Veer follows and hits him head on. He pulls on the breaks and is thrown off the motorcycle. The motorcycle slams against a streetlight not far from where it was forced to stop.

Disconnecting from Device R-CSDW122935...

The moment I feel my body become stationary, I sit up straight and undo the ropes on my leg. Damage is mostly cosmetic and I'm still fully functional. I see Jak and Rusty run towards the other two gangsters that pulled up to help their leader.

Jak immediately goes for the face, despite the fact that the gangster is wearing a motorcycle helmet. Rusty tackles the other onto the ground. With my leg free I stand and rush in.

"Jak!"

He gives me a quick glance before grabbing the gangster by the collar and shoving them towards me. I step to the side and trip them over. They land on the ground and I push a palm on their chest. I dig in my nails a bit and release electrical pulses to incapacitate them.

The gangsters' goliath of a leader finally gets to his feet with blood dripping from his brow. He walks quickly towards Jak with a cocky grin and a confident gait.

"Look who it is! Been a fuckin' while, Jak-ass!"

"Who the fuck are you?"

"How the shit do you not know who I-"

Jak goes for a sucker punch but the man catches his fist. But much like earlier, Jak is quick with the follow-up. He uses his other hand to punch him in the groin hard. The man bends over to Jak's height and Jak lands a headbutt. The man staggers back and Jak wraps himself around the gangster's leg.

"The fuck are you doing you midget piece of-"

I launch the rest of my taser nails towards him. His reflexes were quick enough to take notice but not quick enough to react. I manage to electrocute him for a few seconds before he manages to power through it and pull on the wires to release my nails.

"Goddamn synth! I'm gonna-"

Again, we don't let him finish any of his taunts. Jak lets go of his leg and lands an uppercut, extending his arm straight up from underneath the large man. His eyes turn white and lands straight on his back, limp and unconscious.

Jak, sweaty and out of breath, looks at me then throws a thumbs up with a smile. I respond with an awkward nod to the battle freak. We both turn to Rusty who is mounting the third gangster as he lands the last punch that knocks them unconscious.

"I told ya Jak, tonight ain't a good night."

A familiar beep from our pockets and the few distant bystanders seize our attention. AIKA's residents have been conditioned to equate that distinct beep to flash storms but technically it isn't exclusive to just that. The city-wide notification system is there to inform the people of incoming or occurring disasters. I stare down at the first sentence displayed on my phone screen:

All individuals in the vicinity of District 17 and all neighboring districts are advised to stay indoors and secure all entrances due to the sudden outbreak of gang riots.