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"So, you're out of the game for a bit?"
Rogue called me when I was already home, and her voice held a hint of concern. It's not that she was worried about me, exactly, but in general... if you ignored our first meeting, we had a pretty steady relationship.
"Well, I'm gonna hold off on combat ops for now. But my crew and I will keep taking on tech gigs and jobs involving setting up ICE, or hacking various little tech gadgets. Just let me get some sleep, this job wasn't easy..."
"Alright..."
A note of satisfaction came into Rogue's voice.
"Did you call just for that?"
"Not entirely. I'm calling to warn you..."
"Listening."
"Dex has gotten pretty interested in you, and he's buying up intel on you and your crew. And Faraday... I'm guessing both of them have already gotten info on your temporary inability to work, and I think they might try to poach your people."
"Well, you should know that's not so easy to do."
"Yeah, but they aren't me. They might try to take advantage of your weakness..."
"And who said I'm weak?"
My image raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"My dear Rogue, the fact that for my own safety and the safety of my crew I'm refraining from combat ops until my ripperdoc fully restores me... doesn't mean I can't fight back against any arrogant upstarts who want to use force against me. Yeah, my ripperdoc will grumble, but in the end..."
I shrugged.
"I understand, and I never doubted you. But I still thought it was worth warning one of the solos with a crew I actually enjoy working with."
"Thanks... working with you is pretty comfortable, too."
"Yeah, yeah, and you still prefer that Regina to me... that kid..."
I scoffed.
"Rogue, don't talk shit about your colleague... especially with your income, you could easily look twenty, just like Regina, but it doesn't fit your personas as serious, high-level fixers. But you both feel... well, considering everything I've learned about you, you both feel like you're about twenty-five... and a girl is as old as she feels..."
"You smooth talker..."
"The main thing is you take care of yourself."
"Hmm?"
"Dex is always trouble. Just remember his last job, I mean the failed one... And now, to get his reputation back, he needs a loud, very loud job. And he hired..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know who he hired..."
"Well, yeah..."
My image nodded.
"...I can't say anything bad about V; her skills are pretty high, but her chrome is average. It's dangerous to go into the big leagues with that. At least for the really big jobs that fat choom is famous for."
"And?"
"And he's definitely going to attract a lot of attention... and as far as I know, he loves holding his planning meetings at the Afterlife..."
"You're worried about me... how sweet..."
"Of course, I'm worried. I'm not ready to take on the role of Afterlife King and work as a fixer... I have a lot more reputation to build before I can make a move like that."
"You cocky gonk!"
Admiration was in Rogue's voice.
"That's who I am... alright, ciao. I've been given a two-day ban on working, and after that, I'll call you and Regina and let you know I'm ready to take on tech and runner jobs."
"Alright, later..."
The call ended, and I was finally able to focus on the girls, who were all gathered together and clearly planning to cook. It was unexpected and pretty intriguing...
The main question I was thinking about was: should I let them know my call was over or not?
I sat in the chair for another seven minutes until I smelled something burning and, with a sigh, got up from my spot.
"What's wrong?"
"You're all about to burn the place down..."
I shook my head and went to the kitchenette, carefully looking at what they were doing.
"Alright, go get cleaned up; I'll finish this..."
"But..."
Even Kiwi looked a little unsure.
"Girls, I'm not lying here without hands and feet, am I? I'm fine..."
"Yeah... he's totally fine..."
Judy gave me a skeptical look.
"...he's missing an arm and a leg, and everything's fine..."
"So? In our time, that's not so bad, so go get washed up..."
They tried to protest, of course, but they gave in. After that, I started cooking. It let me relax and get my mind off the heavy thoughts.
"What are you thinking about?"
Kiwi was standing behind me, watching me carefully. She must have decided not to fight the girls for the right to shower first and talk to me instead.
"Oh, just... I think this all happened at a perfect time..."
"A perfect time?"
"Yeah..."
I shrugged.
"...think about it. With every job, we're stepping on the corps' toes more and more. Yeah, we're not directly acting against them, but we're cutting off their contacts with the gangs... they've always loved using convenient gangs for their dirty work. And here... we're still a long way from wiping out even the average Scavs, but our style of work is making a lot of them shiver with fear... And that doesn't just apply to the Scavs; it applies to other gangs, too."
"Yeah, and we also took down some of the most arrogant lower-level employees..."
"Exactly. In another six months or a year, we would've gotten much more attention. And I'm not at all sure that if we met it face to face, we'd survive. Mystic isn't the only Legend who might not be dead... Look at Smasher, he was also considered dead for a couple of years after the explosion in Arasaka Tower, but then he unexpectedly showed up and started taking on jobs from the corps, mostly Arasaka, of course."
Kiwi nodded in understanding.
"And now, after I got run over, I can say with confidence that I'm going to work myself to the bone, and I'm going to work you guys to the bone, too..."
"Huh?"
"We're going to upgrade our skills. Your chrome is top-of-the-line right now. Not experimental, but top-tier, the kind that not all elite solos have. Of course, the Legends probably have something better... but you're not going to be getting into direct combat. I've got my Sandevistan to handle that. But your skills..."
I looked at Kiwi.
"So your debt to me is only going to grow, because through Rogue and Regina, I'll find different mentors for you who are willing to sell you some of their knowledge. Though... "
I scratched my cheek thoughtfully.
"...maybe lessons from runners aren't the best idea. I'll probably buy training shards. Your skills are good enough already; we'll add some foundational knowledge. Plus, you'll all take self-defense courses with me."
"Actually, there's no one here who can't stand up for themselves..."
"Kiwi, if we stayed at the gang level... I wouldn't say a word; you girls are tough. But we're talking about much higher stakes now..."
I shook my head.
"Also, I think all of you will take sniper support courses, though Panam will most likely be our main sniper since she's not busy during the job. Judy and I will make her a drone with a good rifle, and she'll be able to work from above on any enemies that might get in my way. And it'll be good extra cover for you runners, too."
"What about Becca?"
"What about Becca? Unlike the rest of us, she's a master of her craft... no, she'll improve her close-quarters combat. Maybe I'll train her for covert ops so I can use her as a second string and support in a pinch. But in general, as embarrassing as it is to admit, she's the most prepared out of all of us."
"So, these are our immediate plans?"
"Well... almost."
"Almost?"
"Yeah. First, tomorrow morning, I'll contact Regina and have her get the payment from the client. Then I'll need to contact Saul, because our small group can't empty the police warehouses, and I'd also like the Aldecaldos to move farther away from Night City, because working with Basilisks and Manticores so close to the city is just stupid."
"He's going to be tough... but like I said, his days as clan leader are numbered. He's too obsessed with Biotechnica. Even now, no one in the clan wants that. But if he gets new tech..."
Panam was completely naked, drying her hair with a towel.
"In short, as soon as people find out what we can get, even the ones who are in doubt or just staying quiet will be against him. So you're gonna be the new clan leader soon..."
"No way in hell..."
I shook my head.
"...I don't need that kind of happiness."
"And you don't have a choice... people just won't understand if you're still an outsider who has nothing to do with the clan even after a gift like this."
"A gift? We're not giving all this to the Aldecaldos for free, you know..."
Kiwi looked at Panam carefully.
"I know that, they know that, and no one's expecting it for free, but tell me, what's more important to you? Another zero in your account, or having an operational base that's protected not by Legends or Elites, but by solid average joes? Considering what our Behemoth has become, living in the clan will be very comfortable, even if it's a little cramped."
"It won't be cramped."
I shook my head.
"I've already thought about buying a couple of good tents and figuring out how to attach them to the sides of the Behemoth. It'll be a kind of tent right next to the Behemoth. That'll greatly increase the total living space. That way, we can leave just the closets and workshops in the Behemoth itself, plus the bathroom, but move all the bedrooms to the tent part."
"Hmm... that's an interesting idea..."
"Well, or we could consider another option..."
"Another one?"
"First, we'll see what's in the warehouses. There might be another Behemoth. We can re-purpose that and link it up with our current one at the camps. Then we won't need any tents; we'll just put up a small tarp as a roof next to the living area."
"Hmm..."
Panam looked at me thoughtfully.
"And maybe that'll solve the energy issue, too..."
"Hmm?"
"I guess you forgot about your plans for taking power, but private individuals are forbidden from owning Manticores. You can only dismantle them for parts. On the other hand, you can use them to upgrade the Basilisks and also provide power to the camp itself, because unlike other tech, they have very reliable nuclear reactors. Even one could provide for the Aldecaldos' domestic needs for a year on a single 'tank'."
"Ahem... and you still don't want to be clan leader?"
Judy came out of the bathroom in her underwear. Unlike Panam, she wasn't in a hurry to get too close to her friends. Maybe she was just afraid that her yuri tendencies would awaken and make her pay more attention to them than to me.
"Well..."
I shrugged.
"...I'm not ruling out the possibility of moving into the clan. That's what my ideas for improving the clan's life are all about. Because having the ability to drill a well and pump water out of it, as well as having a reactor, will make life a lot easier, allowing us to set up a base a little farther from the city, which means it'll be a bit safer."
"Only if we keep the camp hidden."
"And who's to say we can't do that?"
I shrugged.
"Alright, I think we can end this conversation for now. We'll get some sleep, and once we get our reward, we'll go and check out the access points. We'll get everything ready quietly so Saul only has to bring the people who will take out all the tech and spare parts."
The girls nodded. Kiwi was about to turn around and go to the bathroom, but I stopped her with a wave of my hand.
"Wait, since Becca and Lucy are here with us, too..."
That's when Becca and Lucy came out, wearing light bathrobes.
"...I should warn all of you that Dex and Faraday have started to take an interest in us. And Rogue warned me that info on my condition has already leaked and they'll find out about it soon. So we need to be extra careful."
"Okay..."
The girls nodded, and Kiwi, making sure that was all I wanted to say, went to the bathroom, while I just silently continued to cook...
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