Regardless of whoever Adrian was trying to call, it would be someone else entirely on the other end of the line.

"You're like a teacher confiscating kids' phones at lunch. D'you break into everyone's houses and steal their tech or do you only steal from the ugly ones?"

There was a short laugh on the other end of the line, but they wouldn't give Adrian the opportunity to speak again.

"Eddie may have been a dirtbag, but you could've at least left the Model-T46 gauntlet. Gee, I could've sworn he wanked with that thing. It's not like you're just going to toss this shit back into circulation."

There was some keyboard clicking.

"And shit, do you really need to call the people on the streets rats? That's a bit harsh, even for a self-righteous prick like you."

Though 404 hadn't formally introduced themself, if Adrian had even half a head on his shoulders, he'd know who he's talking to.

"Your prettyboy head can rest easy, I didn't do anything to your sister. It's a different connection, so she's safe and wondering why the hell she can't call you."

When Adrian mentioned the Internet God moniker, 404 let out a chuckle. "So you do know who I am! I was starting to think maybe you were just daft in the head. No, I don't want your stupid weapons, they're of no use to me."

A pause, some curious keyboard clicking.

"If I wanted your tech, I'd already have it. But you're fortunate that I don't like fighting nearly as much as I like giving people the weapons to do so."

Then there was a lot of clicking, almost like smashing the keys.

"I want to help you, Adrian-- With something you might be able to appreciate. But I'm going to need those weapons delivered somewhere else... I'm sure you don't want to take back tech that's half-covered in jizz, do you?"

"By all means, destroy the weapons. I couldn't care one way or another-- I'm just trying to help you out."

They paused for a moment.

"Are you familiar with the gang ran by Beetle Burgess? Many of her goons are former employees at Angelico Industries-- a corporation we can all say we've run afoul of time and time again. Beetle just wants to give her men an edge in fighting back against the corporation that used and abused them. You couldn't really say no to helping knock them down a peg, could you? They're Morei Tech's greatest competitors, right now. Wouldn't it be ironic?"

404 knew that Adrian had every right to be suspicious.

"You'd just have to drop off what you're carrying at a secure location, easy peasy. And if it helps you feel better, I could even ask Beetle to give the weapons back after. She'd have no use for them after this. The kid doesn't even like hurting people all that much."

404 found themselves off-put by the idea that Adrian didn't know what one of his newest big competitors was like.

"Angelico Industries is what gives massive corporations in this city a bad name. The company's run by some rich prick and his son, Abaddon, and they run the place with a rotten fist. Word is that they overwork and underpay their employees, and any employee uprising results in more than a few disappearances. They've been trying to buy everything in the city, even the government and the police force. Through this, they've stolen patents and designs for their products in the many mergers, getting away with selling other people's tech designs at extortionist prices."

It felt like a textbook definition of corporate corruption, but even 404 found themself struggling to condense everything wrong with AI in just a few sentences.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they have plants in MT, but considering the fact that none of their current products strike an eerie resemblance to Morei Tech's, I'd say you're safe for now. Don't know how long that will last, though. They're a bunch of sneaky fuckers. They silence everyone that tries to publicize their rampant corruption, which is why you don't hear about how shitty they are on the news. They may even own the city's most prevalent media outlets by now."

They sighed.

"Point is, they're fucking evil. I know it's hard to just say shit's 'evil' in the twenty-first century, but I can't find another word to better describe them. You're better off talking to some of the men there on the outskirts, I imagine you can probably hear a few firsthand accounts from them, yourself. If you even care."

"I like to think local vigilante Adrian Taivas cares enough about the people of the city and his own company to know when shit like this has to be stopped. You're fucking mistaken if you think they won't try to go after Morei Tech, too."

404 thought Adrian might relent, eventually.

"Good shit. You're not going far-- Beetle may enjoy the privileges of Uptown wealth, but she likes the gritty shit, so she operates mainly on the Outskirts. I thought you might decide to help out here, so I've already started decrypting and reprogramming your helmet, and..."

There were a few decisive clicks.

"There."

The phone call died, suddenly, and the helmet went dark for a second before booting back up. Adrian would be greeted with an upgraded interface as new elements appeared in his vision. Notably, a sort of digital topographical map at the corner where a point of interest was highlighted. New additions included current speed and outside temperature in another corner. The design was not streamlined for Adrian himself to be granted a whole lot of control over, but that was all part of 404's plan.

404's voice could be heard from inside the helmet.

"You still with me? Awesome. As you can see, I added a little few things to your helmet's visual interface. Pretty basic for now, but if you're good, I may contemplate on giving you more upgrades. As you can see on your minimap, you're going to be headed west, closer to The Streets. You're looking for a tucked-away tattoo shop called Mark's. Start heading there, and I'll let Beetle's people know you're on your way."

"Awesome."

If Adrian hadn't looked at his new minimap, he may want to consider using it to guide him to his marked destination.

Though the journey wouldn't be long, 404 was bent on making conversation with the vigilante.

"So. Adrian Taivas, working as a vigilante. What do you even do? What can you do without pissing off the authorities? Until you and your brother were outed as super heroes, I thought vigilantes and masked crusaders were only found in comic books and video games. Proved me wrong."

404 hummed thoughtfully, their thoughts completely masked.

"Yeah, totally fair, dude. The police force is fucked to all hell right now, anyway. Sometimes you need something different to protect the city. Until the Council shapes up and shuts down corrupt corporations like AI, the police are going to do nothing but hinder the people who actually want to help."

There was a pause.

"But hey, what do I know? I just get paid to press some buttons and mess with people. Speaking of which-- anyone on your hit list right now? Might be able to rickroll them as a threat, haha."