Tunnel Rat

Chapter 200: Party Time

From a balcony overlooking the 'reception hall,' Milo could see more than fifteen-hundred residents and over three-hundred employees of Manpower. It was the most people he had ever seen in one place, and it made him nervous and fidgety to think they were going to walk through that. Butch put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't sweat it. We'll let the crowd thin out for a few minutes when the doors open, then cut through what's left down on the far right. Just follow close behind me. Piece of cake."

Milo reflected that for Butch, at nearly six-foot-tall, it was much easier to 'cut through' a crowd. Milo would have preferred skulking past a horde of goblins. "I'm not nervous."

Butch laughed at him. "Then why do you keep eyeing the exit behind us and scrunching down to make yourself smaller?" Butch squatted on his heels, bringing himself down to Milo's level, and lowered his voice. "Minerva was doing the same thing before I told her to knock it off. You can't act like a scared victim. That triggers something in some people, and if you do it enough, you never stop. You don't have to swagger through life, but you can't always keep your head down. Plus, we look damn cool. Time to walk tall."

That made some sense to Milo. If you looked like prey, you had a better chance of attracting a predator. If you acted like an apex predator, others would challenge you. Better to blend into the middle group. He stood up and looked at the rest of the gang. Minerva was scared. It was her first time going to a swap meet. Mama had insisted. "If you don't take her now, Butch, there's a chance you'll be working and not get the chance to teach her." She was trying to stand straight and imitate her big brother with his casual nonchalance. Kenji and Yuri were joking back and forth with Minerva, as if this was nothing unusual. But he noticed that both of them were more tense than normal.

Brad wasn't with them. His mother was coughing badly and needed a refill of her prescriptions. The wait outside of the clinic was up to three days. Everyone in their family was taking a shift in the line, and they'd only bring Brad's mother over when they got close to the front. The gang was going to pool all of their trade goods to find copies of RoboRally Deathmatch for him. It was a game he'd always wanted, and it would make up a little for missing the event.

Milo calmed himself and tossed his anxiety somewhere else. Once Butch had pointed it out, he recognized it as part fight-or-flee reflex and part anxiety that he was wearing his crappy prosthetic leg and didn't have his tail. Even his crutches were easily bent aluminum and not his normal ones.

Butch had cautioned all of them. "Don't take a knife, and go through your tools. Leave anything stabby looking at home, even a screwdriver or small file. In fact, don't take tools at all, just the games you want to trade. The guards will be looking for stuff, guaranteed. All your trade goods should be in a separate shoulder bag, easy to search, and you don't want your games going through those scanners. Make sure you have your family ID card. Dad said that gave us a better chance of getting in if things filled up. If they ask a question about working for Manpower, say 'yes.'"

Butch had brought the gang over to section H by a route his father told him many new employees used. Manpower had cleaned up some of the corridors leading to the elevators their 'Local Workforce' used. They'd also annoyed Milo by cutting through some unused areas to simplify the routes, forcing him to change his maps once again.

The doors to the event opened, and the crowd moved forward, only to hit a wall of security guards. "Line up people, single file. This is for your safety. I need you to walk through the scanners slowly. Had over bags to be searched. No guns, no weapons, no alcohol, no drugs, no contraband, and no knock-off counterfeit gear that might offend our sponsors." The crowd was slowly let through the doors as each person was scanned.

Minerva stared at the security guards. "Those guys are huge! Are they scanning and searching people at the other entrances?" Kenji shook his head. "Doubtful. Rich folk don't get searched." Minerva didn't see the logic in that. "But they're the ones that can afford all the bad stuff they don't want inside!"

Butch patted her head. "New rule, little Min: Rules are made for poor people, not rich people. When we get down there, you be as quiet as Ghost. The mission is to get inside, get to the food, and play games until we pass out. But first, we have to get inside."

As the crowd thinned, Butch decided to head down two levels and get in line. The five of them came through the double doors at the back of the room like a pack of wolves. Butch was in front, staring ahead through his dark-tinted glasses and wearing a floor-length, black leather duster with a high collar. He was flanked by Minerva and Kenji on his right, with Ghost and Yumi on his left. All of them were dressed in black and sporting jackets or dusters from the movie. After watching the first movie, Ghost joked that they should get costumes for the party. When he showed up with all of the gear, they found out he hadn't been joking. Now they were all struggling to keep smiles off their faces and look serious as they moved through the crowd, getting lots of attention. Ghost had opted for a long duster like Butch but with his preferred hood.

Too much attention, in some ways. One of the guards pulled out a radio and asked for assistance. "This is Joe down at entrance three. I may need help down here. Mr. Sabbatino stressed very clearly that he didn't want gangs showing up, and I think I have one on the way. What gang? Hell, if I know. I didn't know we had gangs in the Hab that dressed like this. All black shit, but it looks sort of familiar. I'll be scanning them in five minutes or less, so send someone down here."

Butch was the first in line. He smiled at everyone and said, "Hi, happy to be here." He handed over his game bag and went through the scanner. The guard put up a hand. "ID first, please. And I need to know your affiliation with Manpower."

"My father works for Manpower. Henry Banner. ID# 34872. I turn eighteen in a few months, and I'm hoping to be accepted into the program."

The guard sighed. "Did your homework, did you? Fine, step on through."

The other guard called. "All clear; step to the side, please; your group needs to wait in the alcove." They didn't hand back his bag. Each person, in turn, walked up, presented their ID card, was asked the same questions, and was scanned. Butch caught Minerva's attention and made a motion for 'zip your lip.' She scowled at him and said nothing as the guard commented on her 'gang costume.'

Then it was Milo's turn. He handed over his ID card with no qualms. That wasn't going to be his problem. "I'm in the same family as those two. Adoption pending. My father has been missing for years; my mother died a decade ago. Henry Banner. ID# 34872." The first guard tapped the card on his desk in frustration. "I don't have any rules on adopted and pending. We're only allowing in members of families with a Manpower employee, and this family already has two kids here."

Ghost leaned on his crutches. "Sorry. I didn't get to choose when my parents disappeared or when someone decided I was too young to live alone. Adults like you are the ones in charge." The guard, Joe, had to agree with that. It wasn't the kid's fault. Luckily, someone was on the way to deal with this gang. He opted to keep them all together and waved Ghost through the scanner.

The alarm went off, of course, just as a man in a suit and tie was walking up. "He's got something on him. Search him." Joe looked at Ghost. "Probably his crutches. Can you walk without them?"

Ghost shrugged and tossed the aluminum crutches on the ground. "Can try." He hopped and shuffled through the scanner, which went off again. He sighed and leaned back against Joe's table. Then he bent down, rolled up his loose pants leg, and unstrapped his prosthetic leg. He shrugged at Joe and tossed it onto his crutches. He tried to hop through the scanners but couldn't balance and fell into them, knocking them over and setting them off.

Joe looked over at his superior. "Sorry, Mr. Chambers. I'll help the kid through." With a guard on each side of the scanner, Ghost was pulled through. The alarm went off again.

He looked panicked. "It might be my back brace. But I can't take it off. My back will go all bendy, and I'll hurt get hurt again." He looked like he was ready to cry.

Mr. Chambers was annoyed. He had only a few minutes to get to the stage for the main event. He didn't appreciate being called down to the entrance to deal with some gang. He looked them over and noticed the gloves. They had a logo on them that wasn't from Ubergear. "What are those? You can't be bringing in stuff that isn't from Ubergear." This wasn't true, but it would be a convenient way to eliminate this problem."

Butch held up his hands and showed the back of his gloves. "Claw Master. Not Ubergear and nothing in the invite said we couldn't wear our own gear. You think we can afford M-1000s?"

Joe was tapping on Ghost's back. "He does have a metal brace, sir. I don't think it's a good idea for him to take it off. Liability and all that." He helped the boy to a chair and handed him his fake leg to strap back on. It was the cheapest of prosthetic legs, with a steel frame and flesh-colored plastic.

Chambers was having none of it. He'd negotiated the deal with Ubergear, and his kickback from them would be substantially less if they saw a competitor's gear in the room. "We're done here. You bunch can leave and not come back. We have specific rules on gangs and wearing non-approved items with logos. I'll give you one chance, though. Toss the black jackets and contraband gloves in the trash, and you can wear the red Ubergear shirts we're giving away."

Butch smiled at him. "Piss off. Ubergear sucks. We aren't changing our colors because some prick wants to pick on us for having style."

Chambers turned red, then purple. Then he started screaming. "Get the hell out of here. And take your fake gloves and fake legs with you. We don't want you here."

Butch and the gang stood their ground defiantly. Butch looked at Ghost. Ghost silently gave the sign for "wait for it." Butch nodded, but...wait for what?

The crowd parted, and a girl in a wheelchair silently glided forward. The electric chair was all white, which matched the white and red hooded outfit she was wearing.

"I have a question for you, Mr. Chambers. Are you throwing out all the people who dressed up for my party? Or just the people who have trouble walking? How about invited guests of our corporate sponsors? Take your time; I'm sure we all want to hear your answers."

Butch and the gang wondered how the hell ghost had set this up. They also appreciated the Assassin's Creed 19 costume the girl was wearing. Milo was also wondering who this was. He'd simply been waiting for his video to start.

On the large screens, all over the venue, a white background appeared with the word 'Claw Master.' With a tearing sound, claws slashed through the screen, completing the logo. The logo faded to reveal a threatening game character in a hooded tunic crouching in the shadows. Both hands extended, wearing grey and black glows. With a small sound, large claws popped from the gloves, and the character lunged at the screen, seeming to tear through before the image faded to the Claw Master logo. A sinister voice said, "Claw Master: Because the Best gamers deserve the Best Gear."

People cheered and pulled out personal data pads to find more information on the product and company. Mr. Chambers walked away quickly. Joe helped Ghost with his leg and handed him his crutches. The girl in the chair rolled forward. "I am so sorry you had to deal with that asshole. Thank you so much for coming. It will never happen again. I'm putting you all on the VIP list from now on. No more scans. It's awesome you all came in costume. I love that movie."

Butch shrugged. "Can't fix guys like that; just stay out of their way. All good now, right Ghost?" Belinda watched Chambers walk away, wondering if he'd try to get John to protect him. The man had been rude and thoughtless and nearly caused a PR nightmare. She needed to repair that. And it was a great excuse to avoid the main event.

Ghost tested his leg to make sure it was on tight and walked over to the gang and the girl in the wheelchair. "All good. Little hungry, though." She smiled at them. "I'm Belinda. And I get that not-subtle hint. Let's head down to the gaming area and get some food. We got everything on your list, and it smells great!"

Milo agreed. He could smell the cheese sauce from here.