Shadowrun: Old School: Sprawl Stories, Volume Two by Old School (Sprawl Stories Volume Two) (Shadowrun Anthology Book 7)

Author:Old School (Sprawl Stories, Volume Two) (Shadowrun Anthology, Book 7) [Retail]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Catalyst Game Labs

The Opera club is happening. There is a line to get inside. I hesitate and opt to wait a while. It’s a common misconception you can just wave money in the face of a bouncer and get in a club. Those guys have professional pride, you might be surprised to hear. They hate macho assholes who think they can get in just because they have money, or more likely, because their daddy does. I mean, in theory, a guy waving dough around to get in the club will be good for business. Mister Big Spender is going to drop lots of dough to get bottles to get the girls. You’d think the bouncers would like that. Thing is, bouncers aren’t big on the whole concept of “corporate good.” They really don’t give a shit how much money the club makes. They only care about regulating justice. You’re on the guest list, you get in. You’re not, you wait your turn. You act nice and respectful, maybe they’ll let you in faster. You act like an asshole, they’ll tell you to shove off. I’ve seen them do it to known gangsters. I’m serious; they care more about the philosophical order of things than they do about money or their own personal safety. Bouncers: Don’t mess with them.

So I don’t. I play it straight, approaching the bouncer for a friendly chat. I show respect, ask him how things are. He shows respect back. I make it clear—through my actions, not direct words—that if I get in I’ll spend some money, play well with others, and not cause a scene. That’s what he wants from a customer. We shake hands, he tells me to enjoy myself. It’s simple: Drop the attitude and you’ll make friends. Maybe this will make a difference later, if I need it. You want to be a Johnson, you start thinking like this. This is how we operate. This is how we stay alive.

Opera is an interesting place. I assume it must have been a theatre or something in some past life. The shell is vaguely shaped like a theatre. I’ve been in a theatre a total of twice in my life, and both were field trips when I was a kid in school. The arts aren’t what they used to be. I live in Manhattan and have never seen a Broadway play. I hear the special effects are nice.

Anyway, once you get past a lobby area, the club has immensely high ceilings. There are tables on the ground floor, a huge bar, and more tables on the second level. The floor isn’t slanted like a theatre’s would be. That would make it pretty bad for dancing. The walls are given depth by having a weird kaleidoscope of overlaid AR scenes from popular operas. But they flash in quick, disorienting succession. It’s mesmerizing, but I command my commlink to dim the effect. It’s a little too much for me right now.

I head for the bar. It’s fairly crowded with people in their twenties and thirties, mostly women.

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