Chapter 96: One Month
Night City. Santo Domingo. Inside a 6th Street garage.
In a second-floor office, a stack of credchips sat on the desk, next to a case full of disassembled firearms.
An old man sat in front of a computer. He wore a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, denim clothes, and old-fashioned boots with spurs. He looked like a gunslinger who'd walked straight out of a century-old western.
Gunner looked at Reiner. The young man had traded up. Gone were the tracksuits; now he wore a sharp military-style uniform. His weapon had been upgraded too, from a clunky kinetic rifle to a sleek, efficient smart-gun.
Gunner clipped the end of a cigar, lit it with the heating element on the back of his pistol, and took a long puff.
"Captain, it's been a month. I admit Ms. Martinez is talented, but a month of asking? That's enough to prove our sincerity." Reiner's voice was low and serious.
"..." Gunner puffed on his cigar, understanding Reiner's frustration. He thought for a moment. "Counting today, how many times have you gone to invite her?"
"Seventy-one times," Reiner answered immediately.
"Seventy-one... I don't think anyone has ever turned us down that many times..." Gunner mused, his eyes flickering.
Since the incident, the landscape of Night City had shifted. The Tyger Claws' territory had been carved up. The Japantown raid had hit them hard—half the district wrecked, a third of their businesses shut down, and a lot of key members dead.
But a month was enough time for a gang like the Claws to recover. Now, they were pushing back, harassing Santo Domingo and aggressively seizing turf in Watson.
The areas where Mox territory overlapped with theirs—the territory the Claws had "generously" allowed the Mox to use—were being reclaimed.
The Mox were in a bad spot. Their braindance parlors were struggling to stay open. No customer wanted to visit a shop surrounded by armed gangers with glowing tattoos.
6th Street, on the other hand, had profited from the chaos. They'd seized parts of Charter Hill. Gunner, having played a key role, had seen his status rise. He was no longer the sidelined old man. He now commanded nearly three hundred men and managed three auto shops, a food processing plant, a gunsmith, and a smuggling route.
With eddies came people. With people came territory.
But Gunner still hadn't moved against Gloria. Not just because her advice had helped him, not just because she was talented, but because... she was connected to those psychos who had caused all this.
A month had passed. The media had scrubbed the public's memory. Thanks to the constant bombardment of infotainment, the average citizen had seemingly forgotten Rhys and his crew.
But Gunner, who had benefited directly from their actions, remembered.
"Maintain the status quo. Keep inviting her. But..." Gunner hesitated. "This time, make sure she actually comes to 6th Street. Like you said, Reiner, a month is enough. We've shown our sincerity. But our patience isn't infinite."
"Yes, sir! I'll bring her in!" Reiner barked.
He was sick of it. Seventy-one times! He'd gone to her door twice a day for a month, only to be shut down every time. Even if she had helped the Captain, being treated like a nuisance was grating. Now that his position had improved, his tolerance had lowered. Gloria had no backing. The only person helping her was that ex-Valentino merc, Jackie.
Jackie was tough, sure. But he was one man. Against Reiner's three hundred? He was a bug on a windshield.
Afternoon. Santo Domingo. Megabuilding H4.
Gloria's face was dark as she stared at the group of men in front of her.
"Am I to understand that your 'invitation' has turned into a kidnapping?" she asked coldly. Her usual smooth, polite demeanor was gone. Because... they had David.
Reiner had his arm around David's shoulders, flanked by several 6th Street gangers. He smiled. "Gloria, what are you talking about? I'm just inviting David to visit 6th Street. A little tour."
"Don't use my first name!" Gloria snapped. "Aren't you worried about what happens when Rhys and Maine come back?"
"Him? First off, he's been gone a month. Probably dead in a ditch somewhere. And even if he comes back, so what? You think he's going to start a war with 6th Street for you? He's got enough enemies. Arasaka will be on him the second he shows his face," Reiner scoffed.
Gunner had investigated. Gloria wasn't part of Maine's crew. They'd helped her because she was Rhys's neighbor. Neighbor... Reiner didn't believe in good neighbors.
Even if the psycho who killed a corpo on live TV came back, would he really fight 6th Street for a woman he barely knew?
Gloria fell silent. For a month, Maine's crew had vanished. No messages, no trace. If not for Jackie and the Mox helping her out, she might have already caved and joined 6th Street.
She kept her connection to the crew secret. The only member left in the city was Jackie, and he was struggling. No fixers would touch him. He was radioactive because of his association with Maine.
But because of Jackie, Gloria kept refusing 6th Street. She preached to David about being someone, about principles. If she chose the easy, wrong path now, ignoring the help she'd received... what right did she have to lecture him?
"Let's go, Gloria. It's just a visit. Why resist? In Santo Domingo, no one says no to us," Reiner smiled, but his eyes were cold. His grip on David's arm tightened. It was a threat, plain and simple.
David didn't panic. He looked calmly at his mother.
Gloria glared at Reiner. "Fine." She agreed, but her hand was already behind her back, sending a quick text to Jackie.
"That's the spirit, Ms. Martinez. You finally made the right choice."
Reiner let go of David. His men surrounded the mother and son, escorting them to the waiting cars. They drove off towards the main road.
Jaguar Base.
"What's taking Rhys so long? Why isn't he out yet?"
Maine, looking significantly leaner after a month of recovery and training, asked Sasha.
Sasha, wearing her pink jacket and netrunner suit, shook her head. "I don't know."
"How do you not know? Sasha, don't you sneak into his room every night?" Maine teased.
Sasha rolled her eyes. "I go to his room for training? You think we talk about combat sims?"
Unlike before, Sasha didn't hide her relationship with Rhys anymore. Before, she was shy about being the older woman preying on the 'innocent' organic boy. Now?
Operation: Night Raid was loud and proud. She made sure... she knew.
"..." Lucy's mouth twitched. She pulled out a cigarette.
"Gimme one..." a weak voice rasped beside her. It was Kiwi.
Her eyes were sunken. She'd replaced her mask with a new, chrome jaw. Honestly... Kiwi was beautiful now. Tall, mysterious, that netrunner aura... With the new jaw, she was a knockout.
But she looked like death warmed over.
Lucy handed her a smoke. "How many times did you puke?"
"Better than last time. Only three. You?"
"Two," Lucy said. "But our situations are different. Shoko was obviously going easy on you." She emphasized the easy.
For the past month, Lucy, Sasha, and Kiwi had been learning from Shoko. Lectures turned into sparring matches in the local net. Even with safeties on, losing meant a data dump straight to the brain. Nausea was the least of their worries.
Kiwi chuckled weakly, lighting her cigarette. "I never thought I'd work this hard. I learned hacking just to survive, to make a living. Now... feels like I'm killing myself to get better."
Lucy smiled. She'd learned a lot too. Shoko had poured knowledge into them. The battles had sharpened Lucy's skills rapidly. They didn't know it, but the three of them had burned through over a million eddies of the base's operating budget in just a month.
"Hey, the comms are back online," Tigress announced, walking in with Rebecca. "Boss approved it. You guys can leave today."
"Finally! Shit, I wonder what Night City looks like now!" Maine shouted.
"Call Jackie and Gloria?" Dorio suggested.
"Yeah! I miss Jackie!" Maine dialed immediately.
Pilar leaned in, trying to listen.
"Don't be a creep," Rebecca snapped, rolling her eyes. "Use the team channel."
Maine switched to group comms. A moment later, it connected.
"Holy shit, Maine?!"
"It's me, Jackie! Hey, how you been?"
"God damn! You guys are alive? That's preem! I thought... ah, never mind. Just good to hear your voice." Jackie sounded choked up for a second, then laughed loudly.
"Hey, what about Sasha...?" he asked anxiously. He hadn't been able to reach her since their last call. He knew she'd gone to the Badlands alone. It was dangerous out there.
"I'm here, Jackie. I found them," Sasha said.
"You're a legend, hermana!" Jackie sighed with relief. Then he remembered something. "Wait, Maine... where's Rhys? I gotta tell you guys something."
"Rhys isn't out yet. Still training. We can talk in person. We should be back in Night City by this evening. Drinks on me," Maine said.
"You're coming back today? Shit, that's great!" Jackie sounded excited.
He'd had a rough month. Fixers treated him like a leper. Even Father and Rogue were keeping their distance. Jackie wasn't in it for the money, but for the respect. Being treated like a rat was wearing him down. If it wasn't for protecting Gloria and the Mox, he would have snapped long ago.
But now, the crew was coming back!
"Actually, I'll just tell you now. 6th Street has been harassing Gloria. I'm with Anna Nox right now, heading to a 6th Street outpost. Those bastards... before, they were just bothering her at home. Today, they took her and David. Just come straight there when you get back. Might need backup. Can't talk more, almost there."
Maine froze. He wanted to ask more, but Jackie had already hung up. He sounded urgent.
"What's going on?"
"Doesn't matter. We need to tell Rhys immediately."
"6th Street? Why would they go after Gloria? She wouldn't expose her connection to us."
"Is that the point? The point is our people are in trouble."
"Wait for Rhys," Maine decided. He looked at Tigress. "Sorry, Tigress. Looks like we need to get back to the city ASAP."
"I wasn't planning on letting you drive back anyway. You think I'm gonna let you steal more of our cars?" Tigress rolled her eyes.
These guys... Between Rebecca's chrome and the facility usage, they'd burned through at least five million eddies of the budget. Five million! Sure, the Boss was rich, and Moira could make that back with a few magazine covers, but... even a capitalist feels the pinch.
Maine laughed awkwardly. They had planned on 'borrowing' a couple of cars.
"Alright, AV it is. We need to get back fast."
CLANG—
A heavy sound made everyone turn. The door to Training Room 2 opened. Thick white steam billowed out. A lean figure emerged from the fog.
His clothes were soaked with sweat, his black hair plastered to his face. His eyes were red, bloodshot. His face was pale and gaunt, but a small smile played on his lips.
"Hey. Everyone's here?"
Rhys panted, smiling at them.
Over the past month, Rhys, Rebecca, and Kiwi had grown the most. Rebecca had Tigress's personal tutelage. Kiwi had Shoko. And Rhys?
He'd been intimate with Adam Smasher for a month. In every scenario, every way possible...
He'd gone from lasting a few seconds to lasting longer, fighting more times a day. And now... he'd officially beaten the game.
Not that he could last thirty seconds.
But because... the braindance shard had burned out from overuse. It was fried.
In that month, Rhys had completed four missions in the base. Two training missions with Smasher, one with Sasha, and one with Lucy.
They gave him 2.5 attribute points total. 1 Free Point, 1.5 Random Points.
His stats now:
[Name: Rhys]
Body: 11.85
Reflexes: 9.16
Technical Ability: 10.02
Intelligence: 4.55
Cool: 9.2
Skills: Potential Overdrive, Rapid Healing.
Achievements: Rising Star (Equipped).
With the achievement bonus, his Body was over 12. Several key stats were over or near 10.
In one month, Rhys had been reborn.
Adam Smasher... was a hell of a quest giver. Two missions in a month? What a guy.
"You're finally out!" Maine grinned. "Time to go home, choom."
Rhys nodded. "Yeah. Time to go back. Before they forget about us."