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"Girls, I don't doubt your professionalism for a second, but I have to ask…"
We were sitting next to the Behemoth, and I was cooking another masterpiece over a fire, which all the Aldecaldos who were nearby were eyeing. I was never stingy, though, and I always cooked with plenty of leftovers, so many of the nomads circling our campsite would get to taste another one of Martinez's dishes.
"…are you sure it was a coincidence?"
"Uh-huh…"
Judy nodded.
"Yeah, we're sure."
Lucy was a little more elaborate in her answer.
"Alright… then it was a coincidence…"
I nodded my head.
"You doubted it?"
"Well… paranoia, it doesn't get in the way of my life. And the fact that a certain fixer with a not-so-clean reputation, whom we all know, was trying to get to us, makes me suspicious of everything. I even looked at every job from Regina and Rogue under a microscope, looking for a possible setup from that choom."
"A paranoiac…"
Judy snorted.
"Well, I get it…"
"Alright, did you get the addresses for the Wraiths' bases?"
"They have a few bases, but we got all three addresses. So maybe we should organize a raid and…"
"No…"
I shook my head.
"…there won't be any raids. There will be three hits by Ghost's crew, and this time, I'll need all of Becca's skills for making noise."
"Oh… I get to have some fun?"
"You can… while you're making noise at the entrance and drawing all the attention to yourself, I'll go in quietly and give our netrunners a chance to hack the systems. Although…"
I thoughtfully tapped a spoon against the pot…
"…I'll still have to study all of this, but I think we'll have to bring in a couple of more people so Becca isn't alone at the entrance…"
"Alright, let's talk about it later. But for now… is it ready yet?"
Becca came closer to the pot, and I, smirking, nodded, taking it off the fire. Other members of the Aldecaldo clan immediately appeared next to us. But I, of course, first gave my girls double portions and only then started feeding the people who had come for a snack…
For a while, we just ate…
I enjoyed the way everyone around me reacted to my cooking. And, of course, I was especially happy to see my girls eating the pilaf I had made for them with such joy and smacking their lips.
And it was only after about half an hour that people started to disperse. Everyone who got a portion came up to me and thanked me, and they also transferred a pretty decent amount of money to my account. And no, I wasn't asking for it. That custom just appeared on its own. One of the Aldecaldos just happened to notice that I was cooking with natural ingredients, and they cost a decent amount of eddies, so it would be a low blow not to pay…
Of course, I didn't try to refuse, as it was true, and I was actually thinking that cooking like this for the Aldecaldos was too expensive. But I wasn't going to stop, as I needed to build relationships. After all, there was a good chance that I would leave Night City with this clan one day and continue my life as a solo nomad…
"Alright, where are their bases?"
"Two in the badlands, one in Night City…"
"Did you get the plans for these bases?"
"Of course…"
My netrunners looked a little smug. Well, they had every right to. And when they sent me the data on the Wraith bases, I started to study them…
"So?"
Becca, who was sitting at the table right across from me, was the first to notice that I had come back to reality. I had spent about two hours coming up with a rough plan, and even that was just a preliminary plan that still needed to be worked on. So I was very surprised that she was still sitting at the table.
"Becca, why are you still here?"
"Well, what else am I going to do? Shoot at cans? That gets boring after five times… I'm a master sharpshooter, and even if I usually prefer to use a guidance system, ricochet, and sometimes smart weapons, I'm still a master sharpshooter. I'm a master of firearms, and it's not hard for me to turn off all those fancy gadgets to shoot at stationary targets. So… I'm just enjoying the quiet… you don't get this in Night City… and you don't get air this clean either…"
"Clean?"
I smirked.
"Come on, you know what I mean. The exhaust fumes are much less here. Yeah, there isn't enough greenery for the air to be truly pleasant to breathe, but even so… with the population density here, you can breathe a lot more freely…"
"I have to agree…"
"So, have you come up with a plan?"
"A preliminary one…"
I nodded.
"Should I call the others?"
"No… first, I need to get some info from you…"
"From me?"
"Yeah… who would you prefer to work with in the distraction group?"
Becca closed her eyes.
"Dorio and Pilar… maybe if Maine is stable, we could use him as a sniper. With a normal scope and a good rifle, he would be a very deadly guy for anyone who decided to show their face. And as a lookout, who would warn us about incoming reinforcements for the enemy…"
"Then call them…"
I closed my eyes.
"To start, I'm willing to promise ten grand per person for the distraction at one of the Wraith bases."
"Ten?"
"You think that's not enough?"
"No… that's a lot…"
Becca shook her head.
"Usually, jobs like that for a distraction don't pay more than five or seven grand per person… of course, there are also bonuses, but in reality…"
I smirked.
"Well, I'm not going to be stingy. So they can also count on a share of the loot."
"Pff… David, you're too kind…"
"Becca, I get that the solo life is a tough one, but I'm not going to lower the price of the job. That would be bad for my reputation. We're considered a pretty well-off crew, so we shouldn't be cheap on jobs we don't get through fixers."
"Alright… I'm on it…"
Becca was out of it for about ten minutes, after which she focused her gaze on me again.
"They'll be here in an hour…"
"Good…"
I closed my eyes, and just then, Lucy got out of the Behemoth.
"Girls, our sleeping beauty is awake!"
I smirked at that name for myself. And when the familiar faces of the girls appeared from the Behemoth and the garage made of a tent, I nodded at them, gesturing to the table.
"Alright, first, I want to make you all happy. A few people will be joining us for the destruction of the Wraith bases… some of you know these people very well…"
"Don't tell me you invited Dorio and Pilar…"
Judging by her voice, Kiwi smirked. As far as I knew, she was saving up for a face restoration, as there was nothing under her mask but chrome. It was a good thing that she could eat normal food thanks to the special design of her mask and throat.
"Not just them. I also invited Maine… Becca said he could be a good sniper…"
"Well… that's true… and he'll feel needed…"
Kiwi had no choice but to nod.
"Next, I can tell you that our netrunners will have to split into two groups. One will cover the distraction, and the second will hack the Wraith networks and drain data and eddies from them."
Lucy, Judy, and Kiwi exchanged glances.
"How you decide to split up is up to you. You know each other's capabilities better, and you know in which direction you'll be more useful…"
"I'll cover them…"
Judy didn't think about it for too long and immediately gave her answer.
"The girls can help me write a couple of daemons, just in case, and I'll be fully armed and can handle any netrunners that try to get in the way of our brave fighters. Especially since I'll be ready for their actions…"
"Good…"
I nodded my head.
"…so Lucy and Kiwi will be working with the data from the Wraiths… I think it would be better for you to stay here… in the camp…"
"Hmm?"
"We'll set up some ice baths for you so you can work with a full load on your chrome. I don't know how much work there will be, but I think it's going to be a lot."
"Well… that makes sense…"
"By the way, how are your decks?"
"They're all fine… we all replaced them recently…"
"Good. Then let's wait for the support team. I'll start planning the first attack. And the others can start planning, too…"
And I closed my eyes again, now planning our actions in more detail. It wasn't the final plan yet, but it wasn't the preliminary one either…
I opened my eyes when the chrome-depleted Maine, along with Dorio and Pilar, sat down at the table.
"So what do you need that you're willing to pay us a ten grand?"
Maine was looking at me seriously. And I understood that even though he had lost his chrome, he hadn't lost his 'weight.' He hadn't broken down, and the same goon, at least in his soul, was sitting across from me. Yes, I didn't have a very good opinion of him, but… I guess my subconscious reluctance to get involved in the canonical events played a role here… I just didn't want to get involved with them and die at Smasher's hands…
And to make sure that didn't happen… well, not for sure, but to have a greater chance of avoiding a turn of events like that, I had to break the canonical events as radically as possible. Which I did…
"Ten grand per person…"
I corrected Maine, and he raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"I thought Becca was exaggerating a little…"
"No…"
I shook my head.
"What's more, there are three jobs on the table, and for each one, I'm willing to pay ten grand per person. Per job."
"Don't sweet-talk me. Tell me what you need…"
"You need to create a distraction."
Maine frowned.
"A distraction?"
"Yeah… we're going to hit three Wraith bases for now… you'll have one netrunner with you, Judy…"
I nodded at her, and she raised her hand, greeting Maine and the others and showing them who I was talking about.
"I would have preferred…"
"No…"
Kiwi cut Maine off.
"Believe me, in the direction Lucy and I will be working, we'll be much more in demand. And Judy, while a little less capable than us, is still more than competent as a netrunner and can do everything needed to support you guys."
I nodded my head.
"In short, Judy will be with you… and it's in your best interest to create the most convincing imitation of a raid possible… the Wraiths have to believe that you're going in hot, that you're ready to breach their defenses, and that it's only a miracle that they're holding you off.
"Just pretending?"
"It has to be extremely convincing… because the main attack will be on me, Lucy, and Kiwi… and whether you get a bonus as a share of the loot will depend on your actions…"
"A bonus?"
Maine raised an eyebrow.
"Uh-huh…"
"And what are you counting on? You think you can get a lot of cash?"
"I think two netrunners, with my help, can hack all of them and zero out their personal accounts, as well as the accounts they have access to through their computers and decks… so I'm counting on a pretty decent amount of money, as well as some possible addresses of places where they're keeping their goodies…"
I looked Maine right in the eyes.
"And you'll share that with us?"
They smirked. I, in turn, shook my head.
"You'll get the eddies… that's a given. And the percentage will depend on your effectiveness as a distraction team. So everything will depend on what you can do to create a distraction."
"Got it… I'll need a sniper rifle… a good one, and some recon data…"
"The data will come later. I'll do the recon myself, and I'll also buy some intel from Regina…"
"Rogue would be better…"
I just shook my head at Maine's words.
"Rogue sometimes works with the Wraiths, so it's better not to use her… she could leak the info, and the Wraiths would be prepared…"
The discussion then moved to the third draft of the plan, which now took into account Maine's opinion… his experience… and the experience of Pilar and Dorio…
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