The Legendary Junkmaster

Jason returned to his store, leaving his Gramps in the care of Dr Cee. 'It either has to be the Red Steel Gang or the Bounty Hunters that did this. Nobody else had any reason. Out of the two, the gang may be making another move to take over my store. Which is unlikely. As for the Hunters... Maybe they thought he knew something...'

Jason sighed as he manoeuvred the ANT-V past Raymond and into the workshop. 'Either way, it's my actions that led to this. I guess I need to put my plans into action and frame the Red Steel Gang. That way I can play the two sides against each other.' Jason's eyes flashed with malicious intentions. 'But first, I have to deal with my legs...'

Jason frowned as he drew up one of the plans he had been working on during his journey. It was a slim, lightweight exoskeleton. This would allow him to 'walk' while being slim enough to fit under clothing. Effectively giving him an alibi in his current condition. 'Syssie, create overlays of each part to scale. Lay them out on the table so I have a visualisation of the parts.'

"Right away..." Syssie nodded solemnly as she created holograms of the parts that only Jason could see. 

"Ray! Did Zach come by yet?" Jason shouted as he realised that his materials were nowhere to be seen.

"Not yet! You want me to send him through when he arrives?" Raymond's voice came from the storefront.

"No, just get the materials from him and pass them through. Let him know that I'm busy and can't be disturbed!" Jason sighed as he picked out the parts that he could make with what he currently had on hand.

"Got it, boss!" Raymond's voice was full of sarcasm as he said the last word.

But that just made Jason smile ever so slightly. He had to admit that he liked the sound of it, and technically, he was Raymond's boss. 'I wonder how much Gramps has been paying him?' Jason wondered briefly before he remembered the type of person Harry was. 'It won't be much...' Jason chuckled as he swiftly moved around the room, collecting materials.

Nearly an hour later, as he was using the different tools to shape metal to what he needed, he heard Zach's voice from the shop. However, he had a brief conversation with Raymond before disappearing. Moments later, the sound of people moving in and out of the store intensified. 'That'll be the goods then...'

Jason grinned as he waited for them to finish up so he could collect them. While the caravan workers ushered in the materials to the storefront, Jason began rearranging the workshop to have room for storage. Luckily there was plenty of room that had not been utilised properly. By the time Raymond poked his head in, the workshop looked completely different. Now, having a large area that was completely void of anything.

"Thanks, Ray. I'll take it from here." Jason flashed a grin at Raymond's confused face before he could say anything. 

Raymond nodded before slowly backing out to deal with customers who were still entering the store. When Jason moved to retrieve the boxes of goods, he noticed that a number of customers were staring at the boxes expectantly. After all, new materials being delivered in such bulk must mean that Jason was going to release new products! 

The questions started immediately, but Jason ignored them, leaving Raymond to deal with it. Which would not help the customers much, since he knew nothing about what Jason had planned. 'I guess it's about time to take this seriously now!' Jason stacked the boxes in what was the empty space, quickly filling it up. Then he set his scanner to look for the best materials that he needed. 

This saved him a lot of guesswork and potential failures as he picked out what he needed. Soon, the workshop came alive with the sound of sawing, grinding, screeching and other things as Jason put his all into his new creation. These sounds generated a lot of buzz from the regular customers as word spread throughout Highrise.

Before long, word reached the ears of one of the Lord's agents who was disguised as a stall owner. Meanwhile, Jason was oblivious to what was happening outside of his own little world. The various parts of the exoskeleton took shape under the guidance of his hands. All while keeping them separated so that nobody who saw them would be able to guess what they were for.

Most people would find the work tedious, but Jason loved every moment of it. From shaping the metal to inserting bolts. From wrapping the wires that would carry the electrical currents around the structure to testing how much pressure they could take. Whenever he put himself to work like this, he felt more alive. Like this was what he was born to do. Those thoughts made him wonder if his Power had something to do with that feeling and everyone felt that way about something.

As time passed, Raymond eventually popped his head in to say that it was time to close up shop. But Jason waved a hand at him and said that he would be fine. Raymond shook his head and sighed at the youth before taking his leave. Making sure to drop the keys on a work surface before doing so. 

Jason groaned when he realised what Raymond had done. It meant that he had to put his work down for a moment to lock up the store with himself inside. He cursed under his breath as he snatched the keys up and moved to the shop entrance. He paused for a moment as he glanced into the darkness outside. A sudden frown swept his face as he noticed four people still on the street. 

As he watched them, he could have sworn that they would glance towards his shop every now and then. As if checking that he was still there. 'Are they hunters?' Jason's frown deepened as he tried to understand their intentions. 'They shouldn't be burglars or anything. It would just be stupid to break into a store with the guards around.'

Of course, he was not stupid enough to say that there was no way for them to escape Highrise. After all, he had proven that wrong himself during his own actions against the Red Steel Gang. The only problem he was having with this was why they were focusing on him. As far as he was aware, he had not left a trail that could directly lead to him. 

He could buy hunters attacking his Gramps for information while he was away. After all, the weapon used to make the killing happen was rather unique in the Empire. So it would make sense if it was made in town by an inventor since it would be difficult to sneak it in unnoticed. Which would make him suspicious, but not guilty of the crime. 

However, if that were the case, these hunters should have approached him by now to ask him questions. Unless they planned to beat it out of him, in which case they would need somewhere quiet to corner him. Jason wondered if he had just given them the opportunity that they were looking for. Or did they plan to ambush him on the way home? 

Jason flashed a grin and waved at one that just so happened to look in his direction at that moment. The man seemed taken aback as he gave an awkward smile and slowly waved back. However, the hesitation in his actions just seemed to confirm Jason's suspicions about these people. 

He quickly closed the shop with himself still inside. Making sure that everything was locked up tight. A smile spread on his lips as he thought about how disappointed his stalkers would be. They would make a lot of noise if they attempted to break in, which would draw the attention of the guards. Then, with him not going home also thwarted any plans of an ambush. Leaving them no openings unless they were willing to take a risk.

'I need to move faster. If I don't shift attention away from myself soon, it will only get harder to do anything.' Jason mused as he rubbed his chin. Until the exoskeleton is ready, I can only put out the bounty for now. Hopefully, that will make them back off and give me some breathing room.' Jason sighed as he thought about how complicated things were becoming. 'Maybe I should put out a bounty for any information on who attacked Gramps while I'm at it?'

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