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"Lucy?"
I was already in the car, and so was Becca. Now I was looking at the white-haired runner girl with a question in my eyes as she stared thoughtfully out the window.
"There are three bases... I don't know which one they're holding the target in."
Lucy sent us all the coordinates of the Wraiths' bases, and we started to study everything we knew about these locations.
"I'd put my eddies on the northern one..."
I glanced at Panam, then studied the data thoughtfully.
"Hmm... well. It is easier to deliver cars that need repairs, as well as other items, there..."
I nodded and looked at Becca and Lucy.
"Don't ask me... I can shoot, but choosing a place where the target we need to save is likely to be..."
Becca shook her head.
"That's not my thing."
"Well, I have my own thoughts, of course, but I think like a runner. But from a logistical point of view... Panam is probably right."
"So it's decided... we're choosing the northern hideout. Although we could also send the data to Dakota; maybe she can tell us something?"
"Let's try it..."
Panam nodded at me, and I immediately called Dakota.
"Listening, Ghost. Did you save Iris and are you on your way to me?"
"Not exactly... I cleared the Wraiths' base whose coordinates you gave me. I cleared it out just like you asked, with a lot of noise and fanfare. But Iris wasn't there..."
"She wasn't?"
"No. We got data on three more of the Wraiths' spots. I decided to ask you, as the one responsible for the Badlands, where you think Iris should be? No, if we have to, we'll zero out all three spots... but I'd still like to find the girl faster."
"I agree with you... let me check..."
The call was put on hold, and I leaned back in the front seat of the car with my eyes closed.
Dakota came back in about ten minutes.
"Ghost, are you still on the line?"
"Of course..."
"Alright, so, according to my data, she's most likely at the western camp. The northern one is more convenient logistically, of course, but there's a smaller contingent there, and as a result, there's no one to hold the fort."
"Alright, then we'll start with the western camp and hope that Iris is there."
"Alright, end of comms."
The call ended, and I looked at the girls.
"Dakota thinks we should go to the western camp. There's a bigger contingent there, and it's easier to defend. In her opinion, a valuable asset like Iris should be kept there."
"Well... we're solos, we're subordinates. The fixer said to do it, we said yes..."
Lucy commented on my words about the data we got from Dakota.
"Panam, let's go."
The brunette nodded, and the car started moving, and I got to work studying the data on the Wraiths' western camp. A camp that I, and then Becca, who was also sitting there, quiet as a mouse, would have to storm.
The drive to the western camp took about two hours. I got out of the car and activated my Sandevistan, and I realized that they were waiting for us. They already knew that one of their camps had been destroyed, and the entire camp I was heading to was on high alert.
I went down the first road and had to admit that the Wraiths here were clearly better prepared than at the last base. After I got to a relatively safe cover, I turned off my Sandevistan so I could talk to the girls.
"Ladies, especially Bookworm, the fighters here are clearly better prepared."
"Hey! You promised you wouldn't get involved!"
"I'm not going to..."
I shook my head.
"...I'm just warning you that it'd be better not to use only pistols, and to let Snowflake do some of the work. She can cover you from the back, if our target is here after all, and I can't cover you myself."
"Alright..."
I turned my Sandevistan on again and went deeper into the camp. And this time, Dakota was wrong again, and the girl wasn't in the camp. But that didn't stop me from inserting shards into all the fighters, as well as all the vehicles in the camp. And after that, I froze in a safe place again, turning off the acceleration.
"Snowflake, it's your turn..."
"Got it, Ghost..."
The minutes of our runner's work dragged on...
"Ahem..."
"Yeah?"
"Turns out our target is here after all..."
I frowned.
"I didn't see her..."
"In the garage, where the van is, there's a dirt-covered manhole on the side. They put her in there..."
"She's alone?"
"Yeah..."
"I see... I'm going to free her and guard her."
"Go for it, we'll be waiting..."
I turned my Sandevistan on again and got to the garage pretty fast, where I quickly found the manhole Lucy had told me about. After activating my optics, I almost swore. If I had done that right away, I would have known that there was a kind of cellar here.
After I was sure that the girl was alone and that there was no system by the manhole that would set off an alarm if it was opened, I opened the manhole without any effort and, after going down, I closed it behind me.
My Sandevistan was turned off...
I went up to the girl and touched her neck, and she immediately started to flinch.
"Are you alive?"
Hearing my voice, she froze and focused her gaze on me. A couple of seconds later, she nodded jerkily, and I took out one of my throwing knives and started cutting the ropes she was tied with.
"I'm with the target. Get to work."
"Uh-huh..."
"Are you okay?"
I finally took the gag, which was a knot, out of the girl's mouth.
"Da..."
She recognized me, and that was good. I wouldn't have to explain myself for long. But I still didn't let her finish her sentence and put my hand over her mouth, shaking my head.
"No names... I'm Ghost right now."
"But..."
"Yeah, finding out who Ghost is isn't hard; you just have to buy the info from a fixer..."
I could hear shots and shouts from outside. Iris flinched a little but still sat up. She looked at the manhole I had come through with a hint of fear.
"Don't worry, I'm here to make sure nothing happens to you."
"I... alright."
"Snowflake?"
"Bookworm is doing fine for now. I'm covering her by zeroing out the Wraiths who have either taken cover behind a very solid spot or are trying to get behind her."
"Good..."
Despite the conversation, I was still watching the manhole with my optics, and when a Wraith's figure appeared over the manhole—and I was sure it wasn't Becca, as she would have warned me about it—I got a throwing knife ready.
A throw...
I made it as soon as the manhole was ajar, and the knife went right into the Wraith's throat. The body froze for a couple of seconds, then grabbed its throat and fell down, and the manhole closed behind it. I didn't stay put, though. I went up to the enemy and delivered a finishing blow with the energy blade of my tonfa, just piercing his heart and a couple of other important organs.
I deliberately didn't touch his brain so Lucy would have a chance to dig through the memories of the chrome that was installed in his brain.
"Is this all because of me?"
I glanced at the girl and nodded.
"Yeah..."
"But..."
"Iris, a solo needs a fixer, no matter what kind of work they do."
"But I don't need one. They just take all the money and don't do a damn thing!"
"They at least filter jobs into interesting and uninteresting, and dangerous and safe. Something you, judging by the situation I found you in, don't know how to do."
"Well, I made one mistake, so what?"
The sound of gunshots got louder. Lucy sent me a feed from the cameras, which I could use to keep an eye on Becca so I wouldn't worry too much about her when I heard the shots.
"You didn't make one mistake... and your biggest mistake was working for the Wraiths."
"What's so wrong with that?!"
I sighed, watching as Lucy turned off the vision of a few Wraiths who were trying to be snipers. Becca, meanwhile, having apparently gotten their location, moved to the side so she could get into a more advantageous position and fire a couple of precise shots.
"What do you know about the Wraiths?"
"They're nomads..."
Iris shrugged.
"Ugh..."
I shook my head and looked at the girl with disapproval.
"What?! It's true!"
"It is... but it's not the whole truth."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said. The Wraiths aren't just nomads; they're nomad clans. And a lot of them aren't even connected to each other and have different names, like the Hands, the Moles, the Cubes. I could list ten more clans that, even with their own names, are still Wraiths."
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that the Wraiths are more than just a name. The Wraiths are an umbrella term for nomads who were exiled from their clans for committing crimes, as well as nomad clans that were formed from these outcasts."
"And what were they exiled for?"
"Iris, you're like a little kid... you worked with the Aldecaldos for so long and you didn't even think to learn about the differences?"
I shook my head.
"I had other things on my mind..."
"Uh-huh..."
I nodded.
"In general, a clan doesn't have many laws. The main one is to live and let live. There's also the understanding that everyone in the clan is one family, and a couple of other rules and laws that define the clan and the relationships within it. And in the Aldecaldos, for example, there are a few laws that, if you try to break them, will get you exiled."
"For trying?"
"Yeah..."
I nodded a couple of times to give my words more weight.
"...for example, an attempted sexual assault. If the attempt is thwarted, the person who tried to assault someone else will be exiled."
"And what happens if the assault is successful?"
"Death..."
I shrugged, as if there was nothing to it. And I really did think there was nothing wrong with it. Especially since in this world and time, there are optics that can record, and as a rule, the victim of an assault will turn on their recording on their own, getting the main proof. And with proof like that, a full investigation is conducted, since there have been cases where recordings like that were made during role-playing games...
"Isn't that a bit much?"
"No..."
I shook my head.
"...a clan is a family. If you can sexually assault your sister/brother/mom/dad, or any relative for that matter, then you're a piece of trash, and you're lucky if you were stopped. There's also murder, which is the same situation as assault..."
I sighed, also noting that Becca had almost cleared out the Wraiths' camp. The sound of gunfire from outside was getting quieter and quieter, and the cameras showing me what was happening outside showed that there were almost no survivors. And not just the cameras, but the shards, too, which showed the Wraiths' status and location. So I knew we would be in this kind of cellar for another five minutes until Becca cleared out the camp.
"There is one exception to what I just said, though."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah... even for an attempted murder or sexual assault of a child, if the guilt is proven, the person will just be zeroed out."
"Ahem..."
"Uh-huh... and those are the kind of people who were either stopped from committing crimes like that or who committed them and ran away and joined the Wraiths. And those are the people you decided to work with."
"Well... I didn't know..."
"And not knowing doesn't absolve you of responsibility."
I looked at Iris carefully.
"So what do you think I should do?"
"Well, for starters, I would at least try to work with a fixer. Believe me, Dakota, even though I don't work with her, is a pretty reliable fixer who isn't inclined to screw over her solos."
"Fuck... alright... I'll try... but I'm not promising anything!"
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