Chapter 91: I Am the Victim!
After a long ride, Arthur finally returned to his apartment in Delamain's car. As they pulled up outside the towering super-skyscraper, his phone buzzed again—another call. He sighed and scratched the back of his head, already weary from the day. Glancing at the caller ID, he groaned. The call was from Maine.
The moment Arthur picked up, Maine's voice blasted through the earpiece like a shotgun. "Damn it, Arthur! Where the hell have you been? I've been calling you non-stop! You just ghosted me!"
Arthur blinked. Had he done something to provoke Maine lately? As far as he remembered, no. So why was he getting yelled at?
"Oh my sweet Maine," Arthur said, his tone dry. "If you ever talk to me like that again, I swear I'll plant my boot so deep in your ass, you'll be choking on shoelaces."
Annoyed, Arthur leaned against the building wall instead of heading upstairs, ignoring the buzzing swarm of cockroaches and the overpowering stench wafting from a nearby garbage chute. Not even the sight of a homeless man wearing outdated Mewtwo tech stumbling around could distract him from the headache Maine's call was giving him.
"You remember the last job we did?" Maine said, voice suddenly lower. "Things got... complicated. It's not going well, and I might need a little help. How about it, Uncle Arthur comes to the rescue?"
Arthur snorted. If it was just "a little trouble," Maine wouldn't be calling him like his life depended on it. His eyes drifted to a nearby public screen broadcasting the news. There it was: breaking footage of a cyberpsycho who had taken company employees hostage and was locked in a standoff with NCPD.
He narrowed his eyes. "Let me guess... your little 'trouble' is that you've got an entire Terrorist Mobile Team parked outside, like some twisted version of a Welcome Wagon?"
"Cut the chatter!" Maine snapped. "Just answer me straight—are you coming to help or not?"
Arthur shrugged. With a quick motion, he pulled his pistol and pointed it at a nearby Sixth Street Gang thug. The poor guy immediately froze, hands raised.
"Woah, woah! No need for that, choomba!" the thug stammered. "The car's over there. Take it! Just, uh... bring it back, yeah?"