Whatever was happening to D-23, it sounded serious. Was there even a need for further consideration? Josh headed instantly toward the suburbs.
Well, he did send a quick guild message just in case:
-Josh MF Malum: There may be some shit going down at D-23 soon. No details yet, but feel free to head there if you're bored.
Just as he was looking for a transportation method, he noticed something bright yellow out of the corner of his eye. It was a taxi. Yes, a yellow one! Not orange! He hollered at it while waving.
Wait, did this mean that a fellow earthling was driving a taxi? What about the curse of the Fallen?! Oh well, he'd be able to ask once inside. The driver aligned next to him, and he climbed aboard.
"Welcome. Where are we heading today?" A smiling Armin welcomed him.
"It's you. Metropolis-D! I need to meet someone at the MTA there." Armin nodded and stepped on the gas (or whatever powered these things?).
"Actually, since when is your taxi yellow?" Josh couldn't help but ask.
"Hehe. I needed a new paint job anyway. I figured I might as well select a color that would remind you of home." He smiled and winked as he said that.
For a second, Josh didn't know how to react. He was more stunned by this than when he had allied with Draconic or even managed to buy D-23. Objectively, a paint job wasn't anything remarkable, but somehow it made him feel something.
What was this feeling? It was happiness tinged with nostalgia and a sense of comfort somehow. That was strange, wasn't it? He had barely cared about leaving Earth, and yet…
He felt a huge smile blossom on his face while Armin nodded at him in understanding. He choked for a few seconds before he finally uttered a low: "Thank you." Then he couldn't help but chuckle: "I have to say, this is some crazy customer service! Thank you!"
"Hehe, only the best for my clients! But, there is no need to thank me, Sir. Actually, can I be forthright?" Arming looked at Josh, who nodded. He continued.
"I should be the one to thank you instead. You are the only customer I have that truly SEES me. For all the others, I am nothing but the taxi driver. It's almost as if they take me for a soulless being."
Was there anything worse than to feel abandoned and ignored? Josh had felt abandoned when his parents had died, but at least he knew why: they were fucking dead! The real tragedy was to be ignored by the living as if you were dead.
"You are the goddamn best taxi driver I've ever seen and a great man, Armin. Tell me, are you satisfied with your job? Is there anything else you'd like to be doing?" He somehow felt like this genuinely caring man deserved better.
"To be frank, Sir. I have enough credits to live a few lifetimes, but I truly enjoy driving around chatting with customers. I was beginning to lose hope, but you've reignited this flame in me."
"You can call me Josh. Plenty of credits for a few lifetimes? Did you take inflation into account? There is bound to be a massive one as we unlock higher qualities of gear."
"Don't worry about me. I have enough from a job I did back in the day. I don't need much to be happy either." He truthfully and mysteriously answered. "Right, Si— Josh. What are your plans in Metropolis-D?"
"The Disaster Zone seems to be more and more active. Something big could happen very soon." Was that confidential information? Well, whatever.
"Ah! Isn't this an emergency then?! I'll drive faster! Don't worry, we'll be there in no time!" They accelerated at an insane speed. Was this a taxi or a racing car?!
But they had barely left the city that a black flying vessel could be seen chasing them! They kept going, leaving the sight of Metropolis-C. At this rate, it would soon catch them. A voice was heard: "Align on the side, or you will be shot down!" Were they going too fast or something?
"This is shady. A black squad vehicle wouldn't try and meddle with us. I'm travel accredited, after all." Armin clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Do you think it's an error, or is this guy an enemy somehow?" Josh asked.
"Hard to say, but don't worry, we'll be fine." He winked as he said so.
They soon landed, their pursuer doing the same. They then exited the taxi with their hands in the air. The guy that had been following them came out wearing the usual black full-bodied outfit and pointed a large silver canon at them. How powerful was that thing?
"You guys fucking screwed up big time. You are hereby under arrest for stealing and vandalizing a taxi belonging to the Transport Division of the MTA. You shall be judged according to the laws relative to—" He seemed ready to continue forever.
That's when Josh noticed his friend murmur. "Stun target."
It all happened in an instant. A metallic panel slid on the side of Armin's taxi and large canons came out. Then, there was a flash of light and the man fell on the ground paralyzed.
"Pretty nice, right?" Armin looked so smug right now.
"More than nice! Alright, what do we do with the body? Do we cut it in pieces and get rid of it?" Josh enthusiastically asked. Ah, apparently, the man could still hear their conversations as he somehow began trembling all over.
"There is something wrong with this guy for sure. He didn't ask any relevant questions like my driver's number and directly started spewing this crap. He's probably a fake black squad member too." Armin explained
"So, what do you suggest?"
"We can hurry for your thing. We can even bring him with us. I have an anti-tracker in the trunk of my car. We'll be fine."
They removed all the equipment on the guy, dropped it to the floor, had him enter the trunk, and gave him another dose of the paralysant for good measure. During the whole process, the eyes of the man showed despair. He had shown so much confidence before only to end up in this embarrassing state.
Afterward, they resumed their journey, going as fast as possible. Josh couldn't help but glance at Armin. He had a custom taxi full of defensive technology. How awesome was that!
"Right, what is that travel accredited thing you mentioned before?" Josh clearly remembered Kasha just speeding away every time without any issue.
"Normally, arriving and leaving a Tower city requires to be registered with it. This is to ensure there are enough Rankers and general guild members in the city at all times. The guilds are the last line of defense in case the black squad gets overrun."
"So it detects when these powerful people's cars leave? Isn't that too controlling? Won't the Rankers object to that?" Josh exclaimed.
"No one can access that data. It's sent to an AI that sorts it out, and issues request should the defenses of the Metropolis be deemed low. Then they would ask the local guilds to stay here or invite friendly guilds from neighboring Metropolis for a visit." Armin explained.
"What do they fear exactly?"
"They fear someone taking over the Tower. They'd be able to recapture it fairly easily, but the whole Credit taxation system on it would take a lot of effort to reinstate. Well, that and they want to avoid anyone hurting the civilians. That'd be bad for PR."
"Was there such an issue in the past?" Josh curiously asked.
"Yes, not here. It was Metropolis-X, I reckon. Since then, it's been a policy for all the MTAs."
Thus they kept flying all until they reached Metropolis-D and landed in the suburbs. Josh grabbed the naked guy before turning to Armin. "Thanks for the ride! Let me transfer some credits to you and …."
"You can do that afterward. I'll come with you in case you need a lift. It's D-23 that's acting up, right?" Then he slapped his taxi and somehow it drove away by itself!
"What?!" Josh couldn't help but stare at it speeding away.
"Oh, it's going to do laps around the city and be ready for us whenever we need it. It's faster this way."
Josh had seen autopilot before, but did this mean this taxi was sentient?! He almost let the curiosity get the better of him but remembered why they came here. They headed to the MTA, Armin not intimidated in the least by all the government personnel.
As they walked in with a naked guy on Josh's shoulder, they instantly attracted many gazes. Some seemed to think the man was hurt. Others realized the fear in his eyes and understood that this was a kidnapping.
But, just as Josh wanted to introduce himself, Markus came running out.
"You're here! That's great, just in time! Wait, who's the naked man?"
"Some loser that was faking the identity of a black squad member back home. He tried to apprehend us without just cause." Josh explained briefly, handing the guy to a building security member.
"Let's hurry to the scene. I've coordinated as much help as I could. The rest will be up to us to deal with." Markus exclaimed.
"What kind of support are we talking about?" Josh inquired.
"Sadly, not much. There are local guilds that have agreed to remain on standby in case of emergency. As for our allies, there are representatives from Metropolis-C and Metropolis-E that should be coming in soon."
"I feel the but coming," Josh remarked.
"Yeah, we have no idea what danger is coming. They'll help as much as they can, but they won't put their lives at risk. Most guilds have been buying large transport ships to move their headquarters if we can't handle it." Markus sighed.
"So we have soldiers, but their loyalty is pretty low, eh? Whatever happens, we'll figure it out together." Josh stated.
It was time to head to D-23. Hopefully, nothing bad would happen….
Creator's Thought
At the time I didn't realize what exactly made Armin so special. The weird part was that he really felt like a normal taxi driver. But, how could a taxi driver have all these gadgets or how could he be so fearless? He had not hesitated a second before stunning that fake! Yet, he was the very definition of a nice guy. A man of mystery...
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