Better answer him

"What's up, boss?" You ask cheerfully and start walking.

"Update!" He barks.

"Well, Lynx is gone. His appearance has been changed but I got someone here who can recognize what he looks like now. Problem is that I don't know anything about this guy, so I don't even know where to start looking for him", you explain. There's some foot traffic around here but the locals wisely don't pester you about your unusual shoulder-accessory.

"Humph. Well, better than nothing. Take a break but stay somewhere where I can get in touch with you easily. I'll put some feelers out and see if I can't find a place that you could raid", he tells you.

"Okay boss, you got it. Hey, can you arrange some transportation for me?" You ask. It can't hurt.

But your boss just gives that look of annoyance you're beginning to be so familiar with and cuts the connection.

Well, fuck him. You're starting to think that going independent might not be a bad idea at all.

You make it another block towards Barrens before your commlink buzzes you again.

"Yo-yo Bear! The boss said you needed a ride. Where you at?" A cheerful orc man asks you.

"Uh, who are you?"

"Right, we haven't met yet. I'm Chrome, the best wheelman in town!"

You nod as if that explains everything but you do give him your current location. Having a GPS in your brain is turning out be pretty handy. Chrome tells you to sit tight, so you do. Transferring Peaches from your shoulder to your lap makes it look less like ****. Hopefully, no wanna-be heroes walk by and decide to get involved.

Luckily no one bothers you before Chrome arrives in a beat-up van. Both sides have naked orc females painted on them - very busty females. One is riding a lightning, the other a fireball. The skullbones decal at the front is a great finishing touch. Tasteful and artistic.

"Hey hey, big guy! Get in the back!" Chrome shouts and waves his leather-clad hand. Again, there's not enough room for you to stand in the back, so you put Peaches on one side and crawl in on your hands and knees.

"It's pretty sweet to finally meet you, dude! I only entered the game a little time ago and I'm working for the Syndicate to pay my debt but this sweet ride is worth it. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be square soon enough! What about you man? I heard you're kicking all sorts of ass left AND right! Some of the other guys are pissed that a newbie like you is already going places!"

What.

"So you're another player as well? You ask, surprised that someone would come to a virtual world and work such a menial job.

"Uh, duh!"

"So why are you driving a van then? I thought that was NPC shit", you continue.

"Oh, you're pretty limited in what stuff you can get for free at character creation unless you want to loan money. I really wanted a bitchin', pimped-out, gun-toting van, so I said to myself, Chrome, you can DO THIS!"

You look around. At least in the back, the van looks like shit. You're not sure if Chrome is the most sarcastic deadpan snarker ever, or just completely deluded.

"So wait, is the Boss a player as well? How come he's running the Syndicate?"

"Oh, he's a beta tester. Not all the big fish are players, but those who are, created their characters back in the beta. That's why they're so far ahead", Chrome explains.

Well, that clears things up. So it is similar to older multiplayer games. Which means that you probably shouldn't go against Boss any time soon.

"Okay, here we are, home sweet home!" Chrome announces as the van suddenly screeches to a halt. The brakes definitely work. You just barely caught Peaches before she would have slammed against the front of the van. Pulling her with you, you get out and look around.

Barrens doesn't look as barren as the name implied. It's just a shitty neighborhood. Well, a really, really shitty neighborhood. You can see a collapsed building in the distance and two more burned out hulks nearby. The building in front of you, however, is in decent shape. It's six stories tall and the walls are made out of some smooth, gray material. Though you see cracks here and there, and some of the windows are covered with metal sheets. There's only one entrance, with ten steps leading up to a gray double-doors. Three youths, wearing gang colors, are lazily sitting on the stairs, smoking.

You remember that Peaches might not be very cooperative when she wakes up.

"Hey Chrome, can you do me a favor and get me two pairs of padded handcuffs?"

"Kinky! Man, that's why I love this VR! Absolutely no censorship! Everything goes! Dude can do anything you want. Hell, I could go fuck a dog right now and the game would let me!" He explains, grinning.

As you stare at him, he quickly realizes what he just said.

"Not that I wanna fuck dogs or anything! Shit dude, no way! Just a figure of speech! Anyway, I need to get some stuff so I'll swing by later and bring those cuffs!"

With a wave of his arm, he takes off.

The gangers stare at you and Peaches. Time to assert dominance. You swing the knocked out girl over your left shoulder and walk to the boys.

But they just nod at you respectfully and allow you to pass without a comment, though it does make for a nice change.

The lobby doesn't impress you, either. Some more gangers are lounging on some ratty couches, there's an old-fashioned metal elevator in the middle, the kind where you have to pull a mesh door closed. Luckily, it's big enough for a troll, so you get in and push the button for the top floor. After an annoyingly long time, the lift reaches its destination and you step out. There is just one door with no lock on it. Luckily, it opens automatically as you step closer. Must react to your commlink or something, you guess.

Inside, it's not much better. The place isn't really furnished as much as there are some items left lying around and to make things even better, there are no dividing walls - it's nothing but a big empty space. With a shower unit in one corner and a massive futon in another and a ratty couch just sort of aimlessly drifting through the place, though currently it's stuck against a fridge-freezer combination that for some inexplicable reason is standing in the middle of the place.

"And this is something I had to earn?" You ask yourself, amused but somewhat disappointed as well. You were hoping for a fancy bachelor pad, not some art-school dropout studio from a straight-to-video B-movie. Still, at least there are no rats scurrying across the floor and the windows aren't broken.

You drop Peaches on the couch and open the fridge. Happily surprised, you take out the two cans of beer and chug them. Not sure what to do next, you sit on the floor next to the couch and have a think.