Honor Among Thieves (Cyberpunk)

Honor Among Thieves is the fifteenth episode of Cyberpunk. The previous was Dark Side, and the next is Resurrection Man.

Story
SpongeBryan stood in front of Wally’s door, heart thumping in his chest. He felt the laser gun in his pocket and thought about what he was about to do. He was angry, irrational. He was about to kill somebody for making it hard for him to steal from rich people. But it was more than that. It was about the betrayal. This was the second time in a year that he was betrayed; again by someone he considered one of his closest friends. He was too trusting. He was too nice. Well, that was about to change.

SpongeBryan kicked down the door with his good leg. Because of how old the apartment was, the door hinges broke easily. He saw that Wally wasn’t in the living room, so he pulled out his laser gun and checked the kitchen and bathroom. He couldn’t find Wally in either. He was about to leave the apartment when Pat and Ron entered it.

“SpongeBryan? You’re up already?” asked Pat.

“You fell asleep at your apartment four hours ago,” explained Ron.

“Well, I have more important things to do than sleep now,” said SpongeBryan.

“What are you talking about?” wondered Ron.

“What’s that laser gun for?” asked Pat.

“Neptune, what happened to your leg?” shrieked Ron.

“The less you know, the better,” groaned SpongeBryan, limping to a couch. “Have you guys seen Wally, by any chance?”

“No,” said Pat. “That’s why we were here.”

SpongeBryan sat down on the couch and sighed.

“SpongeBryan, you know you can tell us anything,” said Ron.

Pat and Ron’s slender pink heads turned into a pair of Wally-like heads for a moment. Startled, SpongeBryan rubbed his eyes, and their heads returned to normal.

“Do I?” said SpongeBryan.

Pat and Ron looked at each other, confused.

“SpongeBryan, are you okay?” Pat asked.

“No, I’m not okay!” said SpongeBryan.

SpongeBryan pocketed the laser gun and put his head in his hands.

“I’ll never be okay,” he whispered.

“Tell us what’s going on,” said Pat. “We’re your friends. We can help you.”

“I don’t even know what ‘friend’ means anymore,” said SpongeBryan.

SpongeBryan told Pat and Ron everything that Wally told him. When he was finished, Pat and Ron had shocked expressions on their faces.

“I can’t believe it,” said Ron. “When I get ahold of that bastard, I’ll… I’ll…”

“You won’t do anything,” interrupted Pat. He turned to SpongeBryan. “And you shouldn’t, either.”

“What?” sputtered SpongeBryan. “How can you defend him?”

“I’m not defending him, but I’m not saying we should go all Big Tony on him, either,” said Pat.

SpongeBryan felt like the laser gun was burning a hole through his pocket.

“We’re not murderers,” continued Pat.

“Don’t you dare tell me what I am,” snapped SpongeBryan.

“No, he’s right,” said Ron. “Whacking Wally would be going too far.”

“Coming from a drunk and a liar, that doesn’t mean a lot!” SpongeBryan shouted. Ron gasped.

SpongeBryan stood up. “I’m going after Wally. If you want to come with me, that’s fine. If you don’t, stay out of my way.”

SpongeBryan ran out of the apartment, and Pat and Ron followed him.

Jim had been waiting tables for three hours when his father walked into the restaurant and took his seat.

“Oh, perfect,” muttered Jim.

Cecil waved to Jim and motioned for Jim to come to his table. Jim hated his father seeing him the way he was, but he clenched his teeth as he walked to Cecil’s table.

“I heard that my daughter stopped by your apartment,” Cecil said.

“Yeah, what if she did?” responded Jim, trying his best to avoid making eye contact.

“I just think it’s great that you’re carrying on the family legacy.”

“I’m not doing it for you, if that’s what you think.”

Cecil sighed. “It’s not what I think. I know our relationship hasn’t been the best lately.”

The manager of the restaurant, a very large fish with part of a tattoo showing on the back of his hand, approached Jim and Cecil at the table.

“Is everything all right here?” said the manager.

“Everything’s fine,” said Cecil. “I’m just having a chat with my son, if that’s all right with you.”

“Of course it is. By the way, I heard about your retirement. Good luck on your campaign.”

“Thanks. I’ll be traveling to Alveus tomorrow.”

“Alveus? What are you doing in Alveus?” asked Jim.

“Didn’t you know? I’m running for mayor.”

Of all the places, thought Jim.

“I’ll leave you two to finish your discussion,” said the manager.

“Thank you,” said Cecil.

The manager walked back to a supply room. He did a double take then hurried into the room, making sure that the door was closed behind him.

"How the hell did we end up like this?" Cecil wondered. "We used to be so close."

"That was before I figured out that I was nothing more than a trophy for you and mom to parade around," growled Jim.

"I didn't know you felt that way."

"There's a lot you don't know about me. Because you never bothered to try and get to know me."

Cecil was quiet for a second. "Well, that ends right now. Tell me everything."

"What?"

"Everything you've ever wanted to tell me! As of right now, we're starting over. You talk, I listen."

Jim shook his head. "I have work."

"I'm sure that I can talk the manager into letting you out early."

"No! This is exactly what I hate about you. You take control of my life thinking that your money and your influence will solve all my problems. It won't. I'll talk to the manager."

"Okay, okay. I'm just happy that you're willing to try this whole father-son thing out again."

Cecil smiled. Jim smiled a little as well.

"Alright," said Jim. "If you're not going to order anything, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. If my boss says it's okay, I'll catch up with you."

Cecil nodded then left the restaurant. Jim walked to the door of the supply closet, knocked, and waited for the manager to come out.

"What do you want?" the manager asked.

"My dad's leaving, and he wants me to go with him. Do you think you can find a replacement for my shift while I'm gone?"

"No, no, no," said the manager. "Ours waiters are swamped enough as is. I'm afraid you aren't going anywhere."

Jim sighed. "Fine. I guess I need to call my dad to tell him I'll be running late."

As Jim dialed his father's number on his wristphone, the manager disappeared into the supply closet.

SpongeBryan, Pat, and Ron floated above Alveus with their rocket boots.

“I can’t see him anywhere down there,” said Pat.

“Can we go home?” asked Ron.

“Wait,” said SpongeBryan. “I see him. He’s flying in from Pacific City.”

“What was he doing in Pacific City?” Pat wondered.

“I guess we’re about to find out,” said SpongeBryan.

The three of them flew down and surrounded Wally from above.

“What the…” started Wally.

Ron punched Wally in the face, causing Wally to lose control of his rocket boots and fly into a coral tree.

“Ron!” scolded Pat.

“What? I couldn’t help it,” said Ron. “Hey, wait a minute. When could I control our arms?”

“I guess this means I can control our legs now,” said Pat.

Ron kicked himself in the backside.

“Hey! Stop that!” Ron whined.

“Time to finish this,” said SpongeBryan.

SpongeBryan took out his laser gun, and Pat kicked him, causing SpongeBryan to drop the laser gun.

“What was that for?” shouted SpongeBryan.

“I’m stopping you from making the biggest mistake you’ll ever make!" said Pat.

“Oh, someone here’s made the biggest mistake he’ll ever make, but it isn’t SpongeBryan,” came a voice from below.

SpongeBryan, Pat, and Ron looked down to see Wally holding SpongeBryan’s laser gun. He had a maniacal smirk on his face, which was bloodied up from the impact of the coral tree.

“Wally, don’t do anything drastic,” pleaded Pat.

“Why shouldn’t I? You were obviously here to kill me! All this would be is self-defense!” said Wally, waving the laser gun around.

“Great job, Pat!” said SpongeBryan. “You’ve killed us all!”

“Nobody has to kill anyone,” said Ron.

“No,” said Wally. “Somebody’s going to be dead by the end of the night, and it won’t be me.”

SpongeBryan, Pat, and Ron flew off in different directions, avoiding the lasers that Wally shot at them. Wally climbed up the coral tree to get a better vantage point, but by the time he made it to the top, SpongeBryan and his friends were long gone.

“We’ll meet again,” he said. “I know we will.”

As Cecil walked to his boat, his felt his wristphone vibrate. He pressed a button on it, and Jim’s hologtaphic face showed up.

“I’m sorry,” said Jim. “But the boss won’t let me off tonight.”

“I knew I should have talked to him,” grunted Cecil. Jim shook his head. “It wouldn’t have made a difference. We’ll try this thing again when you return from Alveus.”

“It’ll be like I was never gone. I promise.”

“Based on your track record for promises…I just hope you’re right.”

Jim hung up. Cecil sighed. Losing his son was the thing he regretted the most after a lifetime of building up FutureWorks. He had always been a businessman before a father, and he didn’t notice the toll it had on Jim before it was too late. After Jim ran away from home, the rest of his family went frantic looking for him, but Cecil simply stayed in his office, running his company, not letting the events of his personal life get to him. He hoped retiring would change all that. He and his son would still be apart, but Cecil would have more time to visit him and his daughter, go out with his wife, and spoil his future grandchildren. That, along with being mayor of Alveus, would ensure that he would never be bored post-FutureWorks. Better yet, he would be happy. Happy. That was a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a while. Sure, he put on a glowing façade when in front of the cameras, but that only masked the lonely man inside. For a while, he was unsure of whether or not he would ever be happy again, but now that he had hope for his family, for his business, for his life, he knew that happiness wasn’t far off. He got in his boat, pushed the coordinates of his house into his trackpad, and watched the world around him become a blur.

When he got to his mansion, Cecil jumped out of the boat and walked to his door. He carefully put his fin on a small screen next to the door.

“Fin pattern analysis complete. Welcome, Cecil,” said a robotic voice through speakers above the door.

The door opened, and Cecil walked in. His wife wasn’t home yet, so she must have been passed out drunk at a bar somewhere. Their relationship was one of the many that Cecil’s cold indifference weakened. Cecil gave his hat to an android standing in the corner and trudged up the stairs. When he got into his room, he couldn’t wait go to sleep after what was one of the longest days he had. He plopped onto the bed, and he closed his eyes. Suddenly, a shiver went down his spine, and he opened his eyes again to find Sam standing in front of him.

“E-electric man!” Cecil screamed.

“That’s what they call me,” stated Sam.

“You’re supposed to be dead!”

”You’re right. I am. And you want to know what the last thing I saw before I died was?”

“What?”

“The FutureWorks logo.”

Sam held out his hand, and he shot an electric ball straight into Cecil’s chest. He watched as Cecil convulsed, crying out in pain, swearing. Cecil rolled off the bed and began to hyperventilate until he stopped breathing entirely. Sam walked over to Cecil and felt his pulse to make sure that he was dead. Once he was sure, he tapped his wristphone.

“It’s done,” he said.

Sam took off his wristphone, crushed it in his hands, and threw it out the window. He walked downstairs and out of the mansion, never looking back once.