Silence had fallen on Shallow Alley, where only a shift earlier a blazing gun battle had played out. The Redemptionist rat-mutants of Norvegicus had attempted to claim the needleway hub from the Hi-Viz Jackers, but after a bitter fight in the narrow corridors, the Orlocks had held the turf.
Now, two Jacker veterans patrolled the territory: Akilles Lebow, tracking his suspensor-aided heavy stubber left and right as he walked; and Griv 'The Grift' Javinsky, a recent recruit, but nonetheless a son of Bedlam Town, who knew Akilles from way back. The two men discussed the recent fight.
'That was a smart move of yours, hirin' that snouty mutie to dress up like one of them ratmen,' said Akilles.
'Hell, I wasn't sure if it'd come off, but it seemed worth a shot.' Griv had persuaded an old scummer acquaintance to infiltrate Norvegicus in disguise, and it had paid off, sowing discord just as the firefight was heating up. 'Solid play all round, I'd say. You kept your nerve going up the middleway like you did.'
'Yeah,' said Akilles with a pout, 'I should've kept the juves back, though - both of 'em got burned by them ratty boys. Dwice is gonna be okay, but that kid Steez is a goner. Ain't worth the creds the doc's asking.'
'If he were a Bedlam Towner, maybe things'd be different. But who cares about a badzone waif like that?'
Harsh words from Griv, but Akilles didn't disagree.
Instead, he said, 'What about the mob you took through the needleways? Darik and that juve Lorn? Nice work splitting the main mob of rat guys' attention.'
Griv shrugged, hefting his combat shotgun. 'Well, they were trying to take the turf from us. Would've been dumb not to use the crawlpipes to our advantage. An' I gotta say, it was nice to see Darik work his flame pistol - Cawdor jerks getting a taste of fire for a change.'
Akilles grinned at this. Griv continued, 'If only they hadn't got mobbed and taken out... Lorn's gonna be okay, but Darik's leg's all busted, he ain't gonna walk like he did. Sumpdammit, if I'd'a got a shot through the rat boss's armour...'
'Don't sweat it, man,' said Akilles, 'They bottled in the end. Sure, it was dicey for a click or two, but we steeled it out.'
'Hell, yeah,' nodded Griv. 'Tzig came through good - that frag grenade damn near cleared that room of muties after... well...'
He trailed off. They'd been talking around the problem. The sumpspider in the habhole, as it were.
Akilles gave voice to the thought. 'What the hell was Vints thinking, anyhow? Vain bastard, running in there, pistol blazing. Takes no one out and then gets taken out himself by, what was that, a chainsword on a stick?'
'Chainglaive,' said Griv. 'To be fair, it's a good weapon.'
'Still,' said Akilles, showing unusual ire, 'he has us load up on extra ammo before the fight, which was more of a liability than it was worth, and then when it comes to it, he gets taken out and leaves us to do the dirty work, just like last time...'
'Hell, at least we did it, though. Shallow Alley's still ours.'
'But here's the thing,' continued Akilles. 'You hadn't joined the Jackers when Tzig Oresson turned up. He's a snake, man - got sent down here by the overbosses to keep an eye on Vints and make sure we're holding our own.'
'And so we are - today at least.'
'Thanks to who?' growled Akilles, stamping to a halt. 'Not Vints, that's for sure. Thanks to Tzig, more like - and you can bet your last cred Tzig'll be reporting all this to that creep Overboss Degister uphive...'
'And what, they decide Vints ain't fit to be leading the Jackers?' said Griv. 'Sumpdammit, man, think about it. Never mind Tzig and his overboss. Maybe we think Vints isn't fit to be leading the Jackers.'
The two men stared at each other. The unspeakable had been spoken. Akilles Lebow snarled and turned away from Griv to continue the patrol.
But again, he didn't disagree.