The next day.
Arron was silently going over all that he had learned the day before in Kix’s crash course on what to do and what not to do. There was a lot to take in so that he could stay alive as well as how to act like a meathead thug that would be accepted into any of the yakuza families.
He was currently standing in a long line with at least 30 other violent-looking people in front of him. There were even more people behind him.
Everyone was gathered here for one reason.
The Ryu family had sent out information that they would be doing a recruitment drive for new lower-tier members. The sorting of candidates had already been going on for over an hour before Arron had arrived.
According to Kix, the Ryu yakuza family was very strict in who they allowed to join, but to Arron’s surprise, the line was flowing along at a fast pace that Arron wasn’t too sure what to expect.
He was not too worried about being found out at this stage. Just looking at his fashion and his muscular body screamed wealthy country bumpkin gang member. He had no other choice but to trust in the Office of Reasons’ new tech that was now attached to his face. It felt like real skin and did not hinder his facial expressions as it was very flexible.
When the line was shortened to the point that there was only one person in front of Arron, he watched both the guards’ interaction with the new candidate intently one last time trying to glean as much information as he could on what to do or not to do. to see if there was anything he should person in front of him to be inspected he was immediately disqualified as soon as his hand was placed on a scanner
As soon as the male candidate placed his hand on the large portable scanner that was placed in front of the two muscular guards…
BEEEEEP! A red holographic caution sign kept blinking as it let out a constant alarm.
The two yakuza members pulled out their weapons and pointed them at the man’s head.
“Leave,” said the first guard.
“Guys, what’s wrong? I just want to join the Ryu family!”
“If you don’t leave now the Office of Reason can come and take you back in a body bag,” said the second guard.
“Waa~?” The man’s complaints were cut short as the two guns were shoved only an inch away from his face.
Arron’s attention was not on the man that was creating a yellow puddle but on the exposed skin of the guard’s arms.
They were completely covered in tattoos.
In his daily patrols, he had seen thousands of odd tattoos and was immune from being surprised by the owner’s art taste. These tattoos, however, were not normal in any way, they were 2D holographic images that shimmered and moved as if they were alive with even the slightest movement.
When the office of reason pawn had fled the area, the two guards looked at Arron and saw him staring at their tattoos with fascination.
“You won’t be getting any of these Izumi inkings until you become a full member,” said the second guard with a smile.
“I’m…” Arron wasn’t allowed to finish his introduction as the first guard glared at him.
“Don’t talk unless we ask you a question. Place your hand with the NerViz cloud chip onto the scanner,” said the scowling guard.
Arron silently placed his new metal hand onto the scanner.
The two members raised eyebrows at seeing the expensive slim alloy hand as a yellow light flashed several times doing several different probing scans on different settings.
The two were now not looking at Arron but at the streaming data that was being spat out by the scanner.
No beeps or other flashing lights showed up causing Arron to not be sure if that was a good thing or bad. He didn’t have to wait long as he soon got his answer.
“It all checks out, Ark Fune from Nise city. Recently smuggled into sector one.”
“Am I in? That easy?” asked Arron.
“Whoa, hold your horses. Do you really think it is that easy to join us?”
“We aren’t like the low-level gangs who take in anyone immediately. Just now you only passed the sorting stage. Come back in three days and you can receive your test along with everyone else for a chance to become a probationary member.”
“If you have the money, you can stay here for the next three days. If not, go find some other place to stay,” said the first yakuza guard pointing to a holo-sign with the prices of rooms listed by the day.
“There is no need to worry about the Huoko laws since you are already here, we can give you a good price and make sure that you are not hassled by the local police or Office of Reason kicking in your door for illegally living in the Mega-city,” said the second guard.
“That will be unnecessary. I guess I’ll come back in three days to take your test,” said Arron.
“Move along then. We have others to sort!” said the first guard with a blank expression now that Arron had refused to pay for the housing arrangements.
As Arron left the area he did not look behind him or act in a suspicious way just in case he was secretly being monitored by the Ryu family.
***
“Good, everything is going as planned,” said A.S. over the Secure group holo-call inside Kix’s office.
“I saw someone that they thought was from the Office of Reason being chased off. Did you hear anything about that?” asked Arron.
“Sure did. I even told those guys that such an old-fashioned attempt would not get them inside a large gang like the Ryu family. Such tactics may work on the small fries but not on them. Did they tell you what type of test you will be taking?”
“No, just that there will be others there as well.”
“Just in case, you better prepare for every possible situation in the next few days. If you mess this up it won’t be me complaining or having to deal with the consequences of failure. So do what you want if you can live with the consequences.”
With that A.S. ended the call.
“For someone that’s supposed to be overseeing this undercover mission, he sure is not helping out with anything. How am I supposed to complete this mission successfully without knowing anything other than what you’ve told me?” asked Arron, unhappy with the mess he found himself in.
“You’re expecting too much from the Office of Reason. If either of us is found out to be working with them this won’t end well.”
“I felt naked when standing in front of them as I was being scanned, but somehow I managed to pass. I doubt I will be able to pass whatever test they have or go under their radar as an outer city gang member with what little information I know about them.”
“That’s a positive thing in my opinion,” said Kix. “It means that you don’t have any major hurdles to relearn or have to mask your knowledge and hatred of the yakuza families like the Office of Reason agents. There are always people in the families that can read body language, which is one of the simplest but deadly ways to fish for Office of Reason agents is how they talk to and treat yakuza and gang members when they think no one is watching.”
Arron nodded his head, he understood how it could be hard for the Office of Reason agents to get over their extreme hatred of their enemies to try and infiltrate them.
“The yakuza families value their honor and the honor code that they all share. If anyone steps over the line things can get bloody, so don’t do anything stupid like that and you can keep your head. Lucky for you, even though A.S. is a useless person I can cram your head full of all the knowledge you need to not get yourself killed on the first day.”
“We don’t have enough time!”
“We have three days! This is better than nothing. When I’m done with you, you will be a proper bumpkin thug,” said Kix, slapping Arron on the back.
“You say that as if it’s something to be proud of for being such a thug…”
