The Legendary Junkmaster

Jason stumbled around his bedroom in the dull morning light as he got dressed to head to Al's store. Al sold all kinds of low-grade weapons and armour, mostly they had been made by himself. Personally speaking, Jason thought Al had chosen a rather apt name for his store. The Rusty Nail. Al kept the first weapon he ever made hanging over his counter as a constant reminder of why you should not even think about causing trouble in his store.

It was a nasty looking baseball bat with long nails driven into it. If it did not kill you, then it certainly would not make you stronger. Its rusty nails were sure to leave behind disease or blood poisoning. So, in fact, death was actually the better option here.

Syssie lounged on top of his dirty mattress as she stared at him with an amused expression. Jason seemed so excited about selling his product that she almost felt bad about having to pop his bubble. Almost. "You know, if you're planning on selling that to a dealer, you won't get full price for it."

"Whaaa?" Jason half cried out before he tripped over his own feet in surprise.

Jason grumbled as he rubbed his elbow where it had slammed against his desk during his partial fall. He threw a dirty look towards the blonde for distracting him like that while he mulled over her words in his mind. 'It makes sense, actually. If it'os only worth fifteen credits, the Al will pay me less so he can make some cash.'

Jason continued to complain when he realised that he was not about to make the small windfall that he had hoped for. 'The materials I used to make it would've been worth around six credits if I sold them as scrap.' Jason's expression became hesitant as he looked at Syssie again.

"What do you think I should try and get for it then?"

Syssie considered the question slowly before she decided to reply. "I would say ten credits at minimum. Ideally, you'd want twelve."

Jason considered her advice carefully. It was best to go into negotiations with a clear goal in mind. Even at ten credits, then he would still make a profit of four credits. Which was worth the time he had spent in making the weapon. After all, sometimes, after a full day of scavenging, neither his grandfather nor himself would make even a single credit!

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Syssie." Jason nodded towards her with a sincere expression before stepping over his door that still lay on the floor. 'I'll fix that when I get back.' He told himself as he stealthily crept down the stairs.

The sound of his grandfather's snoring echoed throughout the two-storey apartment that they called home as Jason reached for the door. The doorknob let out a creaking noise as he slowly unlocked it and slid outside into the still quiet streets. Jason sighed with relief since he had succeeded in not waking up the old coot that would have thrown a fit for being disturbed by him.

Jason practically yelped as Syssie passed directly through the solid door next to him. She was so lifelike that he had utterly forgotten for a moment that her body that he could see was not a real thing! Of course, she would not be affected by material objects! The few people who were passing by at this hour cast a few questioning looks in his directions. As far as they could see, Jason had just yelped for no reason.

"Syssie, don't say anything unnecessary for now. If I react to it because of your bad timing, people will think I'm mad!" Jason whispered to her as he kept an eye on the few people who had paused to watch him for a bit.

"Isn't that what they're thinking just now? You know, since you're talking to thin air and all." Syssie smirked at her sarcastic reply. She was enjoying getting some entertainment at Jason's expense.

Jason cursed as he directed his gaze towards the ground in an attempt to lose the interest of those still staring at him. He placed his hands in his pockets and tried to look like any other youth in the neighbourhood that did not have any work today. Jason moved along at a steady pace as Syssie tagged along beside him. Jason did not doubt for a moment that if Syssie could be seen by the guys on the streets, then they would be getting attention for a whole other reason.

'Why did I design her to look and act like that?' It was a question that troubled him with every new interaction he had with the AI. He could not tell if it was his subconscious outright telling him what he was attracted to or if it was partially based off of Dani to give him a sense of comfort. After a few turns down some desolate alleys, the smell of cooking food permeated his nostrils, making his stomach growl at him in discontent.

Jason rubbed his gut gently, "Don't worry. I'll buy you something with the money we make today.' For whatever reason, his stomach seemed to understand what he had said and quietened down. As they exited the latest alley, the hustle and bustle of these streets locals took him a little by surprise.

It looked like the entire street was out surrounding the few stores establishments that sold breakfast at this hour. Eating out was a luxury that he had never experienced. His grandfather would just tell him that it is nothing but a waste of good credits while stuffing him full of poor tasting home-cooked meals. Jason sighed in envy as he passed through the crowd and made a beeline for the open door of The Rusty Nail.

As he slipped inside, Syssie whistled as she looked around at everything on display. "I didn't think it would be such garbage! Hey, do you really think it's a good idea to sell that to this guy? I mean, who in their right mind would shop here anyway?"

Jason was just about to reply when three figures quickly entered Al's store behind them. "Hey, kid! Move it! We're in a hurry here."

Jason quickly got out of their path as they rummaged around the shelves. Most of the stuff they picked up seemed to be disposable weapons, such as throwing knives and arrows. Hearing the sudden commotion going on in his store, Al finally decided to make an appearance. He was a chubby guy in his late thirties. A dark, dirty beard crawled over his faces as if it were threatening to consume him.

"Hey! You three!" Al pointed one of his beefy fingers at the group who were going through his stuff. "If you can't pay for it now, then get the hell out of here!"

Jason immediately understood that these guys had probably failed to pay a tab that they opened in Al's store. It got him wondering about what was so crucial for them to be stocking up on so much ranged equipment, though. However, Jason quickly threw that rogue thought to the back of his mind as he watched the men take their leave without so much as an argument.

Al was about to head into the back of the store again when he suddenly realised that he still had a customer in the form of Jason. He cast a scrutinising gaze over the youth before him while trying to figure out if he would find himself robbed blind if he left Jason without any supervision. As much as Al liked making money, he hated time-wasters even more.

"Hey, kid! If you're not buying, then kindly take yourself to fuck! Some of us are actually trying to get some work done today!" Al had pegged Jason for one of those kids who stumbled into his shop just to browse. The only thing that did not make any sense with this image in his mind was that Jason looked like a harmless homeless person. Which meant that he had no money at all!

"Ah, sorry, Al. It's me, Jason Wright. Harry's grandkid. I know it's been a while since I've been here." Jason quickly interrupted Al before he could duck into the back again. "I think I've got something that might interest you if you're looking to buy."

Al's mind reeled as he tried to connect the dots in the background. Eventually, he put two and two together and got four! Finally, Jason's enthusiasm began to take a dip as Al gave him a once over. "You're about medium height. You're lucky, you know. If you had come later today, then I probably wouldn't have anything left that would suit you. Since you're Harry's family, I'll offer you a ten per cent discount on everything that you buy today."

"That's about all I can manage just now," Al grumbled as if Harry just so happened to be a bad memory for him. "Make sure you choose something carefully. Especially if you're planning on using it for the Lord's Games next month to decide the new batch of guardians…"