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The gunfire stopped. And judging by the shards and cameras, there were no enemies left in the camp, so I just stood up and opened the manhole, which was easy to do. I then squatted down, interlocking my hands to make it easier for Iris to climb out.
"Thanks..."
She nodded and put her foot on my hands, after which I easily lifted her up from where she could easily get out. After that, I jumped up myself, and thanks to my synthetic muscles, I just sprang out.
"Is this your car?"
"Yeah..."
Iris nodded and quickly walked up to her car and started looking it over. I, meanwhile, just closed the manhole and walked over to the nearest wall. And a couple of minutes later, a car with Panam and Lucy drove up to us, and Becca walked up to us too.
"So, what do you think?"
"You did great... I guess we'll take on some loud jobs from time to time now, but I still prefer working quietly... Look, Snowflake probably profited again by hacking everything before the chaos started."
"Well, that's just our style..."
Lucy shrugged.
"...which became that way because of you. You're always going on and on: 'Hack everything, get extra income...'"
I shrugged.
"I'm not judging. On the contrary, I'm praising you. Thanks to your work, our group's profit goes way up."
"Pff... you should be praising me, not her..."
"And what should I praise you for?"
I shrugged.
"You just walked out and shot people..."
"How can you say that?!"
Becca looked down at the ground. I activated my Sandevistan and was instantly in front of her. I turned it off, gently lifted her face, and kissed her. Softly...
Becca's eyes widened in shock, but that didn't stop her from getting into the kiss and turning it into a more passionate and greedy one.
"You did great."
I said that as soon as we broke the kiss.
"I'm proud of you."
"Heh-heh-heh... nyuck-heh-heh..."
A stupid grin appeared on Becca's face.
"Alright... I think Ghost broke Bookworm."
I grinned at Panam's slightly envious remark. In fact, Lucy was also looking at Becca with a hint of envy. So I had to—well, why "had to"?
So I happily kissed Lucy and Panam as well.
"So, is your car okay?"
"Yeah."
Iris nodded and patted the side of her van.
"The car's fine. We can leave."
"Good... drive behind us. I have to hand you over to Dakota in person."
"But maybe..."
"Iris... just give it a try. No one can force you to work for her forever. Just give her a chance..."
"Alright..."
She gave me a slightly displeased look. The girl was clearly not happy that I was insisting on the necessity of cooperating with a fixer. However, she didn't voice her complaints out loud, and the corpses lying on the ground, which were clearly visible to her, probably helped with that.
"Alright, let's get a move on..."
I got into the car and sat in my rightful front passenger seat. Becca sat behind me, and Iris got into her car, and we drove toward Dakota's place. I sent Dakota a message that Iris had been rescued and was on her way, but she still wasn't very keen on working for a fixer.
The drive to Dakota's base took about two hours, simply because Iris's van couldn't keep up the high speed and drive off-road, so we had to wind through the roads, which wasn't very convenient. Our car, on the other hand, had the ability to drive off-road, which we gladly used when we were moving through the Badlands.
After all, roads aren't everywhere, and it's also easiest to monitor what's happening on the roads...
Our car stopped next to Dakota's hideout, and I calmly got out, noticing that Iris's van was parking in the lot behind our car.
"Alright, I'm going to go turn myself in to Dakota, and you can go..."
I nodded toward the bar that was open.
"...get a drink."
"Uh-huh..."
Panam was not very pleased with my words.
"They can, but what about me?"
"You can too. I can drive on the way back. I might not be as good of a driver as you are, and I can't go as fast as you on the off-roads, but on the roads..."
I shrugged.
"...or on the off-roads, but at a slower speed. I'm perfectly capable of doing that."
"You're not kidding, are you?"
"No..."
"Thanks!"
Panam smiled happily, after which I still went toward Dakota's "office," or to be more precise, the garage where she was sitting.
"Dakota..."
"Ghost..."
"I brought Iris, but..."
"I'll talk to her myself. And of course, I won't hold her here by force. By the way, how about you? Do you want to earn a little more?"
"Hmm?"
"Clear out the remaining Wraiths' spots... It won't get rid of all the danger from the outcasts, of course, but it will make life in the Badlands a lot easier. And the roads will be a lot safer for a couple of months."
I shrugged.
"I have no problem with that."
"Good... I'm sending you the job details."
I immediately got a notification from Dakota, and I nodded.
"But I'll get to that tomorrow... the girls decided to relax a little... in your bar."
"I'm in no rush..."
Dakota shrugged. And I opened the message from Dakota, in which everything was concise and simple. I destroy the Wraiths' camp and send a confirmation, and I get paid for it. That's all...
"Alright, then I'm going..."
I turned around and headed for the exit.
"...Iris, good luck..."
"Thanks."
I left the garage and went straight to the car, where I got into the driver's seat and leaned back, closing my eyes. After sitting like that for a while, I called Kiwi.
"David?"
"Kiwi, hey, how are things going with you?"
"They're fine... Judy and I are quietly breaking the shard's security... we haven't found anything unexpected there yet, but we're not letting our guard down."
"Good job. We're done for today. I'll be bringing our ladies home soon."
"I take it they decided to get wasted?"
"Well... not that they decided to, more like I gave them permission... and I doubt they'll get completely wasted, but yeah, they'll definitely be a little drunk."
"Well... tell them to bring some for us too..."
"Alright..."
I opened the window and leaned out of the car a little.
"Panam, buy something for Kiwi and Judy that they'll like!"
"Alright!"
And I immediately went back to talking to my blonde who still preferred to wear a mask. In the Badlands, though, that was pretty justified.
"I warned Panam; she'll buy you something you'll like."
"Good... by the way, I have a question..."
"Yeah?"
"What are our plans for tomorrow?"
"A new job... it's still dangerous to go into the city, so we're going to raid the Wraiths' bases."
"And with the same crew again?"
"Do you have a different suggestion?"
I grinned. However, I knew that Kiwi and Judy wouldn't want to stay in the camp all the time, and they might try to get me to take one of them on a job.
"Well... we could switch out the runners..."
"I'm not against it. You guys can decide among yourselves who will replace Lucy tomorrow, and the other one will go the day after."
"Alright..."
She nodded.
"And in general, how is it?"
"Quiet and good... you know, I think I'm starting to enjoy this life, especially when it's comfortable enough. The silence, the lack of constant noise outside the window..."
"Well... there is still noise outside the window."
I grinned at Kiwi's words, even though I knew exactly what she meant.
"You knew exactly what I meant..."
"I did."
"Well, then stop acting like an idiot who doesn't understand anything..."
"Oh, come on..."
I grinned.
"We, as city dwellers, consider the Badlands quiet. Nomads don't. In fact, the city is just louder for them..."
"Well... I can't argue with that. I think in a couple of years, I'll think that too, but not now... Right now, the Badlands are quiet and desolate for me."
"Alright..."
I saw the girls come out of the bar and decided to end the conversation.
"Panam, Lucy, and Becca have left the bar. I think we'll be there soon."
"Got it. End of comms."
The girls soon reached the car and got inside. Becca wanted to sit in the front next to me, but Lucy put her hand on her shoulder, and she gave her the seat. As soon as the girls settled in their seats, the car smoothly started to move.
"So?"
"What?"
"What are our next plans?"
"Next?"
I shrugged and briefly recounted my conversation with Dakota, as well as my conversation with Kiwi.
"Tch... so I'm staying in the clan tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"Well... alright... I'll find something to do, although I wanted to go out again and stretch my legs a little. Riding a motorcycle isn't the same... jobs keep you in better shape."
"We've got a tail..."
I said those words about ten minutes after we got on the highway. At the same time, I glanced at the girls, making sure that they were in good shape and that the alcohol hadn't had much of an effect on them. Becca had already taken out her pistols, and so had Lucy and Panam.
"Maybe I should drive?"
Panam looked at me with doubt, but I just shook my head and sharply pulled the wheel. At the same time, I activated my Sandevistan at minimal speed, and when the car turned around one hundred and eighty degrees, I quickly switched to reverse, then opened the window on my side of the door and, taking out a pistol, I pointed it outside and aimed it directly at the pursuers' car.
The pursuers' car sharply veered to the side and started to slow down.
Did I imagine it?
No... I had been watching that car carefully and I was sure that it was tailing us.
"You decided not to let us have any fun?"
There was a hint of resentment in Becca's voice.
"No... just checking if I could turn around like that, and also to threaten them a little. I wouldn't have shot at the pursuers for too long; I would have left that to you, but giving you a signal... I intended to do that."
"Pff!"
I turned the car around again, and we continued on our way.
** From the perspective of the driver of the pursuing car. **
The girl in the driver's seat of the car that had just been pursuing David Martinez's car, also known as the solo with the callsign Ghost, clenched the steering wheel with great force.
She was shaking...
She had not expected such a reaction to her actions...
All she wanted was to find out where they were based and talk to her again... to Judy... to ask for forgiveness... to ask for help, since the Tiger Claws had started a full-scale hunt for her, and V said that bodyguard work had to be paid for separately...
That fucking greedy merc...
That fucking David, who had taken Judy away from her, who was such a convenient and obedient girl. And she had everything under control. She was going to show up in her life, stir up her feelings, press on a couple of sore spots she knew about, making her think that the breakup was her fault. And then she was going to forgive her, completely breaking her will and getting an obedient girl in her hands...
"Fuck!!!"
The girl hit the steering wheel with her hands, then again and again and again, until the intense irritation started to subside.
"I'll get to you eventually... Martinez..."
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