Money Matters (2)

Technically, Jason didn't lie too much to his dad. The first two floors of his City Pillar are still classified as the Blues, but everyone knows that they are run by the gangs from the Basements. Still, the two floors served as a sort of neutral territory where the people of the City Pillar mixed with those in the Basement. 

Of course, no one really said that out loud; it was more of an unsaid rule when it came to the city. A time ago, the gangs would use most of the Blues to push their products or recruit people, and the average people were the ones who suffered as a result. It probably would have continued until a Transcendent called the Infinite Sage declared that gangs can't appear above the Basements, forcing the corporations of their world, Alter-Khan, into compliance. 

Jason had heard it from his dad that no one really understood the weight of a Transcendent's words until the corporations of the City Pillar cut off the elevators into the Basement. Supposedly, there was a large uprising by many groups that were stomped down by said Transcendent before anyone actually took those words seriously. It was then that the gangs of each City Pillar chose to comply, and it was why there was an unwritten rule to not say anything about what happens on the first two floors of their City Pillar. 

As a Delver himself, Jason found it baffling how one Delver could force a world to follow his rules. 

Still, exaggeration or not, those stories filled the back of Jason's mind when he went down to the third floor. He made a few turns, following Oliver's scent and the various sounds of people through the maze of corridors that was the Blues. Every now and then he would pass by a couple of men that lingered at intersections, but Jason walked with a confidence that dissuaded them from accosting him; an act that he thanked Oliver for. Sometimes, he would find someone passed out on the ground, and Jason only paused momentarily to hear their breathing before he moved on. 

Eventually, he found what he was looking for. 

In front of him was a repurposed housing block that didn't have any outstanding features. There weren't bouncers in the corridors to ward off passer-bys, nor were there signs that would say there was a way down. 

See, there was a specific way down to the first floors that many residents in his City Pillar probably didn't know. It was probably different for each pillar, but Jason knew that if one took the elevators down to the first or second floors, all they would find would be normal housing blocks. Empty ones –save for those desperate enough to live there– but nothing really of value. 

With the Infinite Sage's declaration, the gangs couldn't appear in force above the Basements. Sure, they still did, but the corporations actively stopped most violent attempts to secure ground. However, the gangs still had a strong hold over the first and second floors, and even if they didn't admit it, the corporations had some ties with the gangs. 

Jason wasn't sure what kind of ties were there, and he never really cared to try and find out. Oliver had said that such information was grounds to get a hit squad of Delvers after you if you tried digging into a corporation's dirty deeds. Still, all this meant that the actual first and second floors were hidden behind certain buildings, and only trusted people were pinged the location via Holo when it changed. 

Of course, Jason had been sent the location by Oliver, but he neglected to look at it. Instead, he had followed the trails of his friend's scents, treating it like a game as they all lined up at one building. There was a lot more smoke, vapor, and body odor in the air that hindered his sense of smell, but Jason had found it eventually. 

The teen walked over to the nondescript building, finding the seams of the door to the building. He paused for a moment to pull up his Holo and read the code Oliver said to use. 

"Open up, asshole, I need some Jades." Jason said, knocking on the door. 

On the other side, someone knocked back. A slightly muffled voice answered. "We don't have any here. Fuck off somewhere else." 

Jason felt his temple twitch slightly, telling himself that it was just the next part of the code. He knocked in a specific rhythm this time. "I ain't no animal, let me into the Zoo." 

There was a pause, and Jason heard a couple of footsteps away from the door. He didn't get a second to wonder if they left him before the door slid open with a barely audible hiss. 

Jason took a moment to study the room before he went in. It wasn't very large. The walls were a default gunmetal gray, and it seemed like the room was only a passthrough. There was barely any space beyond a small alcove where a man in thick leather with piercings and a mohawk sat on a rusty stool. A couple Holoscreens were set up along the wall of the alcove where videos of the corridor Jason was just in played alongside some sort of drama show another corporation shelled out. The only other detail of the room was the blocky tag, written with colorful spray paint, that read "Animals Only" above a set of stairs that descended into the ground. 

"You's the bloodhound?" The mohawk-wearing man asked. He shuffled a little in his seat, eyeing Jason as if he were some exotic animal. "You's don' look it." 

Jason wrinkled his nose. "And you need to brush your teeth." 

The man smiled, exposing yellowed teeth. "Hah, sound's 'bout right. Head's up, you's best stay 'way from the 'rones; they's lookin' for you's." 

Jason frowned at that little bit but nodded with the warning. He knew that the Calderone Familia was after him after his accident in the Basement, but the first two floors were neutral territory. Oliver knew that too, so the teen would not send him on a mission into the Basement when one of the big gangs were after him. 

"Thanks for the tip." Jason said with a wave, descending into the staircase on the other end of the room. 

The walk down to the next floor was rather long. Jason had been through one of these before, but those were more public spots than this one. One had to pay a certain fee to get through those, and there would always be a couple people that passed up or down through them at any given time. 

This staircase was quiet. Jason could still hear music thrum through the floor along with voices every now and then, but it was phenomenally quieter than the others he had been in. Which was enjoyable; he much preferred to not go into loud areas with his new senses. 

Eventually, the long staircase changed. Jason reached a far wall and the stairs started to spiral downwards. He paused for a moment as Oliver's scent grew stronger, but continued on and flinched as the volume of music crescendoed in his ears. 

As he descended a couple more feet, Jason found himself in a giant spiral staircase. Around the stairs was a thin, wire mesh with lengths of rebar weaved into it to form a large cage. He could see through the wire mesh and rebar to find the neutral zones of the first and second floor. 

It was… rather impressive in scope. 

The gangs of the Basement had remodeled both floors, taking out the two floors into one massive one. Large towers covered in graffiti rose up here and there, connecting the ground and upper floors and forming giant, neon pillars. One tower rose up next to him, and Jason could see that there were concrete and metal ledges all across the surface of the pillar with bridges and ladders connecting them. People hung out on the ledges, laughing, drinking, and sometimes shooting their guns off into the distance. At other points, Jason saw more spiral staircases that descended from places above.

"Crazy, yah?" 

Jason hummed, looking down a couple of steps to see Oliver. The redheaded teen was leaning on the makeshift cage that surrounded their stairs. 

"No reaction, huh…" Oliver whined slightly. "I thought the Zoo's zone of… well, people would distract you enough to get the drop on you." 

Jason huffed, smiling. "Its hard to hide from my nose, Oliver." 

"Yeah, yeah, freakin' bloodhound." 

"Hmm, yeah, so," Jason started awkwardly, looking around. "What's the gig? And why the Zoo? They're… rather dangerous." 

Pointedly, Jason shot a glance at some of the people who were on the nearby ledges. One of them tripped and fell off, catching the edge of the platform at the last minute. Instead of helping him, his friends just laughed at him as he slowly pulled himself back on. 

Jason's nose wrinkled as well. There was a specific scent in the air that had bothered him for a while now. His eyes narrowed on his friend. 

"They're selling that new cigarette. The one you and Lee said you 'found' in the lower Basement." Jason accused. 

Oliver's face paled rapidly. It looked like he had just swallowed a whole lemon. "It's not that bad, Jason. Things in the Basement floors are pretty give and take, so I had to keep it a little under–" 

Jason sighed, shaking his head and cutting off the teen. If Oliver didn't tell him outright, then it meant he couldn't say anything. "You know what, never mind. So, you're becoming a Fixer for the Zoo, then?" 

Oliver's face pinched, but he relaxed eventually. After a deep breath, he answered, "Yeah, its what you're thinkin'. Sorry. They needed someone, and I happened to tick their boxes. I took the offer. They got a bad rep, for good reason, but I know not to be an ass about it." 

"I see… This is what you wanted, right?" 

"And if it wasn't, what would you do, Jason?" Oliver asked, but momentarily, Jason found a wide, goofy smile on his friend's face. "You can't just force your way everywhere, you know. This is just a step for me. Don't worry about it and focus on yourself." Jason could tell Oliver didn't want to continue the topic, motioning to follow. "Come on, we're wasting a lot of time here. I'll tell you about the gig while we walk." 

"We're in a rush?" Jason asked as he fell into step beside his friend. 

While he paid some attention to Oliver, half his focus was on the Zoo's area of the first two floors. He had only been able to hang around the more "public" areas instead of each gang's territory. Those areas were rather wild in their own ways, but the Zoo's territory looked like a constant rave. 

His ears throbbed from the beat of different musics blasting everywhere. As they descended further, Jason saw smaller buildings below the large pillars. Each of them looked like housing blocks that had been repurposed into places like Moxx's; only that the Zoo's gang had repurposed entire areas of housing blocks. They tore down buildings to have open areas where people danced around rough statues of different monsters that were created from the parts of buildings. Cloths and curtains of a collage of colors were hung from wire and string that connected the tops of the still-standing buildings, creating a sort of psychedelic effect as lights shone up from below. 

Jason tried to look at the various people below, but it was hard to make out everything from where he was. His sight only worked so well, and all the smoke, colorful flags, and bright lights definitely affected him. All he caught were people weathering animal masks or maybe they had been infected by the abyss. 

"-is why you are needed." Oliver finished, and Jason blinked, knowing he missed the main parts of the explanation. 

"Uh-huh, got it." 

"You didn't listen, did you?" 

"Nope." 

Oliver sighed, palming his face and then dragging his hand down. "Okay, I should have expected that from you… Short version: yes, we're in a bit of a rush. The Zoo is hosting an event and they didn't have their own Delvers to supply, so they needed a Delver with no relation to the other gangs. I originally didn't have you in mind, but they put a large amount of Bits on the table for the role. How have you been on that front?" 

Jason grimaced at the change in subject. It brought back memories of how little he was making. 

"Not good, then." Oliver said with a chuckle. 

"Shut it, man. Back to this gig. What exactly is this event– oh, watch your step." Jason stopped mid sentence as he had to step over a hole in the stairs. He frowned as he looked down to see the rest of the staircase was covered in similar rusted holes. "I guess the Zoo doesn't really care for their shit, huh."

Oliver offered an amused smile. "No, most of their shit involves harm to themselves as well. Though, if it works, they don't want to waste their time on it." 

"I guess… Anyways, what is this 'event?' Sounds not very sanitary if its coming from the Zoo." Jason asked. 

"Probably not with the Zoo hosting things." Oliver admitted easily. "And its a yearly thing. Each major gang in the Basements all meet up to discuss business deals and stuff. 'M not really sure what they talk about, but I know they use this event as a way to recruit new people into their gangs." 

Jason frowned, quirking an eyebrow up. "I'm not joining a gang, Oliver. I thought that was the last thing on your mind for me, too." 

"I know that. I'm not saying you're joining anyone. And since you didn't read the deets on the message I sent you, I'll have to explain it here." Oliver started with a sigh. "Essentially, this yearly meet and greet spiraled into a show of force for each gang. They who off their newest Delvers or their connections by having a stand-in for them. Honestly, I find it dumb as well but the four main gangs are real big into traditions, so even if they hate each other's guts, they'll still continue to sponsor this event." 

"And the four big gangs rotate who manages the event?" Jason asked, getting a nod from Oliver. He continued, "And I'm the one who is going to represent the Zoo?" 

"Pretty much. Last year the Calderone Familia showed off their newest Delver, and the Zoo somehow got intel that they and the Nakashima clan have a new Delver to show off this year." Oliver explained, drawing a scowl from Jason. The redhead saw the expression and pursed his lips. "That won't be a problem, will it?" 

"I got a tip that they're looking into me. Do— do you think they'll target me if I go?" 

Oliver's calm expression pinched a bit, growing pensive. "I… don't believe so, no. The 'rones don't forget grievances, but you stopped going to the Basement floors, so they might have been placated. These floors are a neutral zone, though; unless they want to get the other three gangs as well as the smaller ones on their back, they won't try anything here." 

Jason's expression eased up slightly at that. "Okay," he breathed a sigh of relief he didn't know he held. "Okay, that definitely is a little easier." 

"I can try to get confirmation if you want." 

"No, it's fine. Let's just focus on this event thing; what am I supposed to do?" 

Oliver sighed, and Jason's ears caught something about "an idiot who can't read" before the redhead gave him a small glare. 

"Well, since you're going with home turf advantage, I can tell you." He pointed to a large graffiti-covered pillar in the distance. Ziplines and ladders extended out from its various platforms in a vertical maze. "Its going to be a free-for-all on that pillar. I know its a bit—" he sighed, shaking his head. "Never mind, ya damn adrenaline junkie." 

"Huh?" Jason cocked his head to the side, confused. He reached up to his lips to find a smile had formed on them. "I guess I'm just interested to see how Delvers fight." 

His friend shook his head. "Just… don't die."