[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 59: Package

"I've scheduled a meeting for you tomorrow morning. While it's not too late right now in Dorum, I don't advise you to meet with Vincent at this hour. Night clubs can have an unpredictable influence in your client's mood."

"That makes sense. I'm not in a hurry, so I can wait. Do you have a place to sleep?"

While Marcella offered him a hotel, Ves was fine with using her spare bedroom in the rear of her office floor to crash in. He played around with Lucky for an hour while thinking about the information he gathered so far. This commission reeked of trouble.

"This is probably like interacting with the Little Boss, only ten times worse."

In the perspective of some people, large rich families like the Ricklins were just thugs in a waistcoats. They usually relied on wealth and legitimate power to get their way, but weren't afraid to get their hands dirty if necessary.

The next day, Ves took the shuttle alone to a private mansion where Vincent currently lived. He evidently trashed the previous four mansions he lived in after he got kicked out from the home of his parents.

Fortunately, the structure was intact. The gates and fences looked menacing and high tech, but once security cleared his entry, he encountered a majestic Terran style mansion. White painted walls, imported tiles and brilliant glassworks dominated the decor. Everything about it spoke of sophistication. There was no way Vincent had any hand in its design.

An old gentleman who served as Vincent's personal assistant led him to an indoor sports arena where Vincent was boxing against a bot. The artificial boxing bot fought back with brutal intensity. Even if its entire body was padded, the force of its steady strikes were so punishing that if Ves faced its punch, all of his teeth would be knocked out.

"Hah!" Vincent took a glancing blow in exchange for delivering a solid smack against the bot's face. The robot's head shined yellow as it indicated the amount of damage it received.

"Again!"

As the man and the bot exchanged punches with each other, Ves already encountered his first unexpected surprise. The media often labeled Vincent as a lazy coward, but the effort he put up in his boxing was anything but cowardly.

Still, Ves chalked up Vincent's fitness to his family's rich resources. Anyone could develop his body to peak performance with genetic therapy and lots of drugs.

After Vincent finally called it quits, he threw away his boxing gear and disrobed right in front of Ves and the PA. Embarrassed, Ves turned around while a bot appeared from somewhere and blasted Vincent with cleaning gel.

After a dozen seconds passed, the cleaning bot disappeared and a clothing bot took its place. Luxurious fabrics made out of highly resilient fibers spun themselves together under the highly advanced bot's direction until Vincent's clothes materialized in full.

"Who's the nerd?" Was the first thing that came out of the client's mouth.

"Sir, this is the mech designer you have requested to build your latest mech."

"Oh right, you brought me the spare. Ptuh." Vincent spat a big glob of spit at the floor of the boxing ring. "That asshole Edwin thinks he's too hot to sell me his products, and that fucking bitch Patricia won't even pick up my calls."

"They are designers sponsored and affiliated with much more formidable forces than ours. Mr. Larkinson here is the second-place winner of the Fusion Cup. His abilities may not be on par to theirs, but he should be sufficient for your wishes. Most importantly, he is an individual entrepreneur has is not beholden to any faction."

Vincent stared at Ves as if he was a bug. "So, do you think you are good enough?"

"That is your choice. The spec sheet of my product is available on the net. I'm sure you can see it's a mech that can keep up with others at its price point."