Snippet #1956483

'Hurry up, zombie, I gotta go get drunk.'

Yen looked up from the gun he was tinkering with in amusement. A tough looking fellow in merc armor was standing impatiently in front of him. This man had set a Mr. Gutsy down on the table and was implying not so subtly that he wanted Yen to fix it. He observed the hapless robot with a critical eye and then looked back at the man.

'You hearin' me, zombie, or did the radiation destroy your fuckin' hearing, too?' He leaned over the table to get closer to Yen. 'Well I'll say it clearer. HURRY. THE FUCK. UP.'

Yen casually reached down, grabbed his pistol off the floor, and pointed it in the man's face, which he had so nicely put so near to him. "Please back up. I'm working." The man slowly leaned back. Yen put the pistol back on the floor, and continued talking. "This rifle is for another client. He hired me yesterday, and said it was of the utmost importance. Therefore I will get to you in a minute. I am almost finished, as you can see." A piece on the gun clicked into place. And another. "Done. Now I will go outside to test it. If you'll excuse me." He stood up to leave, only to find the merc's gun in his face.

'I can play this game too, zombie. Put the rifle down and fix this damn hunk of metal, or I will put my own hunk of metal right through your motherfuckin' brain.'

Yen set the rifle down, still coolly, and sat down. Then he looked at the robot. "There's nothing wrong with it."

'What?'

"There is nothing wrong with your robot." Yen repeated. "It is simply out of batteries."

The merc stood there angrily. 'Then what the hell did I come here for?!?'

"Nothing, apparently. Get out of this shop, and find a new battery. At least I'm not going to make you pay me."

The merc left grugdingly. Yen sat back and sighed. There were at least two clients like that per day. Well, he was gone now. Yen picked up the rifle and walked outside to finish it.

Yen closed up his shop with a sigh. Hopefully this was the last time. The last time he would offer to be a group's hacker. He had made dozens of offers to dozens of groups, but none of them would accept him for different reasons: he was a zombie, he was too old, they didn't believe that he was as good as he said he was, they were full up, they needed someone with caps, etc. He was an expert in computers and repair, but you wouldn't know it by looking at him. He looked decrepit, like an old shack by the side of the road. He was so beaten up he didn't even recognize himself anymore. He certainly didn't look like an adventurer. But he knew he was one.

He turned the sign on the door to "closed" and paused for a moment, wishing himself luck. He didn't have much of it. Then he turned away, walking toward Silver Venom.

When he opened the door to the inn, the smell of whiskey and beer breezed by him pleasantly. He inhaled deeply and looked around. Seeing Emma looking at him, he smiled. This only made him look more gruesome, but he did it anyway. He liked Emma. Everybody did. She was talking to another ghoul whom Yen did not recognize. Intrigued, Yen walked over. "Hey, Em." he rasped. "How're you doing?"