Seoul Kitchen: Side Dish 8 Part 1

Catering Madness

Chef liked to think he was used to the madness of Night City, that he could handle whatever it throws at him and roll with the punches. As he sat there in his living room and stared at the request he had sitting in his inbox, he wondered if he had spoken a bit too early on that matter. Did he jinx himself because this was definitely way above his paygrade.

Dear Chef,

Word's been spreading around town of an up and comer whose food could warm the soul and raise the spirit of those who taste it. I also heard that not only does he serve it to anyone, regardless of stature, but he also serves it at an eddie a pop. Now I say, that's a man of character, a humble man and generous soul which this city has been lacking as of late.

As a show of gratitude and appreciation to your fine cooking, I'd like to request, if possible, that you cater for my 80th birthday this coming weekend. You will be paid handsomely if you so choose to accept this invitation.

You may invite as companions to the celebration. I expect an answer no sooner than tomorrow.

God speed
General (ret.) Rick Morton
6th Street

"Hey Chef, you ok?" asked his output as she wrapped her arms around his neck before giving him a kiss on the checks, "You're frowning again."

Taking a deep breath, he sighed, "I'm honestly not sure."

"Ok, who's the gonk I need to cap?" Rebecca frowned as she hugged him tightly.

"Rebecca, babe, I love you, but shooting them is not the solution. I'm pretty sure it'd just make things worse" He sighed as he leaned into her touch, taking comfort from her shared warmth.

He loved her to bits, but she's the type of girl who sees every problem as nails to be hammered, or in this case, shot. Violence was not the answer, at least not this time. Rebecca, however, believed otherwise as she challenged him with a playful smile on her lips, "Try me."

"Believe me," He replied as he sent a copy to her, "I wished it was that easy."

Glancing behind him, he watched as her cocky smile fell before a confused and concerned frown grazed her brow. She opened her mouth, but words would fail her as she tilted her head and whispered, "... oh."

"Yeah, my reaction exactly," He snorted as a wry smile stretched across his lips, "You see the problem?"

Nodding back, Rebecca glanced away, her eyes lighting up as she tapped away at the air, "I'll call Maine and the crew over…"

"Good call," He nodded as he decided what to do, "Because I think I'll need all the help I could get with this one…"

-x-x-x-

One call later, Maine and the crew would come knocking. "Bee, this better be important cause I lost a lot of eddies dropping that gig," The giant of a man grumbled as he slipped inside, followed by Dorio and the others.

"And it was such an easy gig!" Pilar complained as he plopped himself on one of the coaches before resting his boots on his coffee table, "So spill and tell us who needs a quick dip in the harbor with concrete shoots cause I'd like to go back earning some proper eddies, thank you very much!"

"Oh fuck of Pilar," Rebecca hissed as she crossed her arms across her chest, "I would have asked for backup if it wasn't serious." Scowling, she shouted, "And at least take your damn shoes off!"

"Jeez sis," Pilar muttered, "Really getting into the domesticated life, huh?"

Before things got a bit too heated, he stepped in, wrapping his arms around Rebecca before turning to Maine, "I know it's a bit of a short notice, but I might be in a bit of pickle here?"
"Corpo shit?" Maine asked as he leaned against the wall.

"It's better if I just show you guys," He replied as he sent them all a copy. As Rebecca grumbled in his arms, he asked, "So, think I could get myself out of this one without pissing off the wrong people?" He really did not like this one bit.

"Well fuck me sideways," Maine whistled as he stared at the invitation, "It's General Rick Morton's birthday."

"And he's personally asking if Chef caters," Kiwi noted dryly as a mix of apprehension and concern flashed through Pilar's and Dorio's face. Yang on the other hand, looked confused, scratching her hair as she quirked her lips.

"So what's the problem?" asked the blonde cowgirl, "The man's just asking if Chef here's willing to cater. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

"Usually, it's not a problem," Chef admitted, "Heck, I'd be happy to cater for any birthday, but he's a bit of a…"

"Dick?" Kiwi snarked.

"A bastard who shoots his own men," Maine added.

"And the meanest son a bitch on his side of the city," Dorio scowled as the rest of the gang nodded in agreement.

"Last I heard, he had some strung up in a streetlamp just cause they looked at him wrong," Pilar mused, "Either that, or they sang off key during Karaoke night."

"Either way, he's not exactly the guy you want to mess with," He sighed, shoulders slumping. He lived long enough in this city to know there were just some people that he should avoid getting tangled with and the good old general was one of them, and this was him speaking after having dealt with several others!

"Ok, he's a real piece of work, I get it," Yang grumbled as she crossed her arms across her chest, "So just say no then," This immediately got him from the rest, making the girl shrink into herself as she looked around, "What? He's a dick, ain't he?"

"Sweetie," Rebecca sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "The leader of 6th Street just asked you over. Do you really want to say no?"

Yang opened her mouth to argue, before closing them shut as she looked away, "... you got a point there."

"And now you see why I asked you guys over," He grimaced, "If I say no, the man would just take it as an insult." Either that or the general would see it as him aligning against him especially after he had already shared drinks with Don Orta and Sasquatch.

"I say yes on the other hand," He added, "There's a chance I'd get shot if I don't live up to the man's expectation." He prided himself with his cooking, but he did not trust it well enough to put his life on the line.

"Damn if you do, damn if you don't," Pilar scowled as silence descended in the room. His situation was not an enviable one.

As Chef considered his option, Lucy piped up, "So just go then." Raising her hand to cut off Rebecca, she explained, "Chef already pointed out that Rick Morton's going to take it badly if he says no, so the only reasonable answer here is to just say yes."

"Chef gets a favor from 6th street which makes that what? 4 gangs backing him up?" Lucy pointed out as she walked over to the kitchen counter before grabbing herself an apple, "While the old bastard gets to eat good food."

"Heck, you can even move your store over to his party for a day and I doubt he'd say no," Lucy noted as she took a bite and moaned at the taste. "These are some really good apples," She complimented.

"You can take the basket if you want," he replied, "But that still doesn't solve the problem of getting shot." He really did not like his chance.

"That is if you get shot," Lucy reasoned, making him pause.

"If I get shot…" He mused. He feared getting shot, but would he get shot?

"Lucy might have a point here," Dorio frowned, "The old man might be a dick, but he has code."

"And the old man isn't asking much here," Luck noted, "All he wants is for you to cook and if my guess is right, he's probably asking because already had a taste of what you've been selling."

"There had been a number of 6th Street lining up in my store from time to time," He mused and they weren't all too hard to spot given their military garb, their high powered rifles, and liberal use of the stars and stripes on their uniform. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"I'm still not convinced…" Rebecca muttered, "What if things go south?"

Seeing his output's concern, he turned to Maine and asked, "You said you dropped a gig just to get here, right?"

"Yeah, why?" The man replied, raising his brow.

"Want to help me cater at the party?" He asked back, "I could use some extra hands and if said hands could help me make an escape, then all the better."