Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Priapus, Beans
The Celestial Punk
Chapter 07: Testing
— V —
Heading back to the base, she admired how much Luis had already cleaned it up. Or, his droids, at least. They'd already gathered all the trash, and were working on dismantling the remaining machinery and moving the storage containers to their next destination.
After the party, she and Jackie had doubled down on hitting the NCPD subcon work, along with some minor jobs from Padre that they could do easily. It wasn't flashy work, but with their skills it was safe and profitable. Especially with the current plan to scavenge everything.
Every weapon, every vehicle, every body. They took them all back to be stripped for parts.
While they'd been working, Luis had been busy himself. His Pit Droid had gained three friends, thanks to her arranging a delivery of the parts they needed, which had been picked up by an Aldecaldo and delivered to Luis himself.
His droids could do almost as much as he could, and he had been right to make them first. Plus, once he'd made something once he seemed to be able to fly through it in repeated builds.
This was objectively the best way to go about this. As smart as she was, she'd be next to useless in refurbishing. She could maybe carry some stuff around but beyond that? She was no help. A single Pit Droid was about ten times as useful as her in the renovations. Same with Jackie, he was good for carrying stuff but the Pit Droids could outlift him (much to his dismay), and they just weren't needed.
That said, she had to consider the matter of male pride. Luis was staying at home working on the house while she and Jackie went on wild adventures. Sure, they were simple jobs because they wouldn't take anything bigger without him, but it was more exciting than what they had Luis doing and it was easy to see how he might get offended.
The fact that he could share his powers had shocked her to her core and only convinced her that she should do literally anything to stay by his side. Misty's aura sight, something that thrilled the occult-loving girl, was no con. While Luis had been drunk, she'd convinced him to try sharing it with them instead since he could take it back and both she and Jackie had seen through their third eye or whatever.
As useful as it was, she'd almost agreed with Luis that she just wasn't built to be able to peek behind the curtain like that. It was… unnerving in a way she couldn't quite articulate. Misty, however, adored it. To her, it was proof that everything she did, what she'd dedicated her life to, wasn't just nonsense.
She knew Misty planned to seek out those whose auras showed despair or hopelessness, and try to guide them back to light. She'd have no end of patients in Night City. V wished her well, but that was a venture that V wasn't touching. She'd keep an eye on Misty, for Jackie and Luis' sakes, but that kind of humanitarianism wasn't for her.
Jackie, still on the high of living with Misty, had gone to his apartment which meant it would just be her and Luis here tonight. Time to make sure he wasn't getting bitter about being left out. If he was, she needed to pivot fast. Efficiency wasn't worth antagonising him.
Heading into his workshop, she smiled at the sight of him working on something at his bench. The latest car they'd sent to him was already finished, decals removed, new paint job applied, plates changed and registration wiped. Two Pit Droids squabbled with each other as they replaced a wheel, Luis not even glancing their way.
He'd automated their car business. He'd made a shard that she could jack into any car they took that would drive it to their place, as long as it started on a proper road, and now the droids did the actual work. As he made more, they could steal a dozen a day and have them already to sell by night. Plus, sticking to stealing from criminals meant that nobody even cared that they were taking them except the gangs themselves.
And when she was already killing their guys, that ship had sailed. The cars and bodies were just an extra insult to the already insulted injuries.
"You've been busy," V said, amused as he jumped in surprise. She'd bought some cameras to set up around the base, not wanting to be blind as a netrunner, and they'd written a simple program to raise an alarm if anyone not permitted was seen on them, but he was obviously too focused on his work to check them himself.
She'd have to talk to him about that flaw. Maybe some security droids so he wasn't caught by surprise if someone could bypass their ICE?
"Got to pull my weight," Luis agreed as he turned around to face her. Watching him carefully, she couldn't see any bitterness at his lack of action. "Jackie said the jobs went well."
"Yeah. We're starting small. Taking jobs that are low risk, to build up our name without drawing too much attention before we're ready," V agreed. "We need better equipment before we take on bigger jobs, all three of us."
"Funny you should say that," Luis hummed, gesturing for her to come closer. "Remember the issues we had on the Wraith job, since the Badlands doesn't have enough cameras?"
"Yeah. It's why I had us do the jobs in Watson today. I like the benefits of the Badlands, but I won't deny that I feel blind out here," V agreed.
"Then it's time to meet your new eyes," Luis boasted, clicking something on his Omnitool as a cylindrical drone came to life and floated up, hovering above the workbench.
It was around the size of a basketball, with one large eye in the centre and two additional cameras in the centre of smaller orbs connected to it, one on the top left and one underneath.
"Meet the DRK-1 Dark Eye Probe Droid," Luis explained, the smaller orbs swiveling around to look around the workshop. "I've honed the tech for the anti-scan technology, and worked out the way to fool cyberoptics. They won't show up on cameras, basic cyber-optics, or any scans. They're fast, quiet, and at night they'll be basically invisible. I wanted actual cloaking but I didn't have the parts and I'd need to make them considerably bigger to fit it, as things are now. Try connecting to it, I've set you as its owner."
Needing no further prompting, V reached out and connected with her cyberdeck. Instantly, she saw through the high-quality optics of the drone, staring at herself. With ease, she could command it to move around to switch to another of the cameras. Infra-red, ultraviolet, temperature and night vision. Luis had gone all out with this one.
"The idea is to eventually have several that you can spread out to serve as your eyes. They have a simple combat protocol, zipping around to make it harder to hit them," Luis explained, pulling out Seraph and taking aim.
An alert registered that someone was aiming at it, and the drone took evasive manoeuvres without her needing to do anything. Every time Luis tried aiming at it, it zipped away with surprising speed, moving behind cover to avoid the shot.
"It's amazing," V admitted, wondering how many of her ops would have been laughably simpler if she'd had a handful of these to support her. She could use it as a relay to extend her quickhacks to anything it could see, and the range seemed impressive.
"In addition, it has a minor mechanical 'arm' it can use to interact with things. Don't expect much from it, but opposable thumbs are useful," Luis continued, watching as the drone returned and a small compartment opened up and a thin metal arm poked out with three metal 'fingers' and a thumb which gave her a thumbs up. "And finally, a link so it can connect to systems without you needing to risk using your personal link or be there in person."
Again, another slot opened up and a small cable extended.
"Luis, you really are a tech wizard, aren't you?" V asked, beaming ear to ear at her latest toy.
"I'm not some super hacker/sniper like you, or a force of nature like Jackster. I'm a techie, it's my job to make sure my team has the best tech imaginable for every job," Luis said with a confident smirk. Ah, he was getting upset but not for the reasons she feared. He didn't like the idea of not being useful to the team, even if he was doing important work here, he wasn't helping on the missions. Instead of getting angry, he'd simply started working on a fix.
"I know Counter-Intel Corpos who would sell you their mothers for one of these. I never thought leaving Arasaka would end up with me getting better gear," V joked.
"I figured it'd be good to get some practice on drones before Dakota brings hers over. One thing led to another, then the Dark Eye was finished. I plan to have a dozen rotating around the base eventually, more eyes on the surroundings. It uses the same charging stations as my Pit Droids, because standardisation has its benefits," Luis continued. "I'm making a portable charging station for the back of the Merrimac. That way, you'll never be short on eyes on the job."
Luis was a solution oriented person. He saw an issue, he built a solution. He felt he wasn't contributing enough, so he made something that would contribute for him.
"I think I love you," V said, getting a laugh from him. He was pleased that she liked her new gadget, as if she would ever dislike something that made her so much more dangerous.
"If you're that easy, should I be getting ready for a marriage proposal when I finish your other toy?" Luis asked playfully.
"If I thought you'd say yes, probably. As I doubt you would, I'll probably just jump you instead," V admitted shamelessly. Luis certainly didn't mind her upfront flirting, a grin on his lips. "So, what else are you making? Come on~ I love spoilers."
"As I said, you're our team's sniper. Can't have you fighting with a fucking Nekomata you picked up off the floor," Luis explained, her eyes widening. "I'm still working on the pieces. It's my first foray into weapons production, but I think you're going to love it."
"Just how many ideas do you have running around in that head of yours?" V asked, stroking his hair as he chuckled.
"Oh, you have no idea. This is the small shit. The irrelevant shit. Just basic improvements over existing tech. Some of the stuff I have in my mind is revolutionary," Luis admitted. "But for that, we need materials, and security. The more we have here, the bigger a target we become."
"True," V admitted. Militech would have certainly noticed their presence already. Who knew what they were saying behind closed doors. She'd been careful not to go too close to their bases or outposts so far, but that would only go so far. "At the moment, all our profits should go into fueling you. We need to snowball, and fast."
"I know. I've prepped a specialised Pit Droid for salvage. Built in a scanner that can pick up usable stuff, same stealth functions. We're close enough to the landfill that they can make quick trips back and forth, under the cover of night. There's a mountain of valuable stuff buried under the garbage," Luis explained. That would explain where he was getting some of the parts. The edge of the landfill was just on the other side of the cliffs surrounding them. "I also sent the Aldecaldos to pick up some parts from various junkyards, for a small fee. They always need eddies, and it's easy work for them."
"Still good for the scav plan?" V asked.
"As long as they're criminals, yeah. I have no pity for gangoons getting a taste of their own medicine. I think I can design an Autodoc that can strip them for me, same as the car crew. It's going to take me some time to write the soft for it, and I wouldn't trust the first model to implant anything but it's not like the 'patients' can complain about its bad bedside manner," Luis snorted.
"Send me anything you need for this bot. Cyberware is going to be one of our best moneymakers. The bounties are great, but some of these guys have cyberware worth ten times their bounty just going to waste," V ordered.
She was well aware that she had a habit of taking over things. It was a habit from her counter intel days, because she didn't trust the other agents to not either fuck up or sabotage anything she wasn't directly in charge of. Jackie joked about it occasionally, and Luis didn't take offence as he easily nodded.
"We'll need a place to put the remains," Luis pointed out as she nodded. She didn't love the idea of a growing collection of dismembered corpses in their new home. "And some of the cyberware is going to need specialised storage."
"Yeah, good points," V agreed, bumping him with her hip.
"You want to play with your new toy, don't you?" Luis realised, a grin growing on his face as she laughed at being caught out.
"Absolutely. You don't mind?" V asked, directing the drone out of the garage and into the air.
"I insist. Seriously, I need feedback," Luis replied with a laugh, watching her perk up. Yes, they had work to do but she wanted to field-test this baby. As she moved, she noticed something. At the other side of the workshop, two Pit Droids were building… a Pit Droid.
He'd already automated that much? He'd given her the list of materials to make one of them, and she'd had made some calls to make sure they had mats to spare but this meant they could replicate themselves until they had an entire workforce.
"Go on and get," Luis joked, giving her a spank as she grinned at him. "I need to finish the Vaporator anyway."
"Vaporator?" V asked, looking at what he was working on.
"Nothing interesting this time, I'm afraid. It's a Moisture Vaporator, drawing water from the atmosphere to supply us with fresh, clean water. The infrastructure to use the flooded quarry would take more than it's worth at the moment, but a couple of these and we'll never want for water," Luis explained. "We will need a water tank soon. I'm going to build underground ones eventually, but for now an above-ground tank will suffice. I'll sort out a way to recycle the water we use as well, waste not want not."
"How portable are they?" V asked, biting her lip.
"Portable enough for the Nomads to be very interested, far more effective than any water sources they have at the moment, and damn reliable," Luis reported in amusement, clicking his fingers and pointing at her as he sent her a compiled file on them. "Yeah, you're that predictable. Now, get lost so I can work. Make yourself useful and get me some good field data."
"Sir, yes, sir," V saluted with a grin. Oh, they were going to make so much money. Even Pacifica had trouble getting clean water, RealWater cost a fucking fortune in large amounts.
— Luis Ibarra —
100cp granted, 100cp total.
Feat Achieved: Get a lap dance from ???, 100cp, 200cp total.
…ugh.
Ignoring my own power mocking my blackout drunken escapades, I continue my work. Water is going to be essential no matter what we do.
Water, power, food.
I need this place to be self-sufficient, eventually, because we can't trust the corps and everything we can make for ourselves is one less thing they can hold over us.
I've built a new generator but it's just not good enough for even a small replicator. The parts I need for a full-sized one are going to be expensive and difficult to acquire.
Still, having the Aldeclados doing my shopping is useful. With our new contacts, I can send them my shopping list and basically put a bounty on different parts. I end up paying above market value but it puts a level of separation between me and wherever they get it. Junkyards don't think anything of Nomads coming in looking for parts, and won't connect it to me.
Plus, I can pay my tab in labour. They are more than happy to trade the parts for me giving their rides a tuneup. Not my full anti-smuggling array, since that would mean they wouldn't need the Valentinos deal and would piss off the Tinos, but I can make their rides faster, tougher, and smoother.
Checking my messages, I frown. We're way too reliant on the Net. I've heard the Voodoo Boys have their own net, and a part of me is considering making my own for me and mine. It wouldn't be... impossible. Hard, yes. Draw Netwatch down on us, absolutely. Basically invite every Netrunner in NC to try and breach it, certainly.
Worth it? Maybe.
Padre wants to know if I'm willing to heal some high profile clients now that my secret is so thoroughly out there. Panam has sent me a pic of the job she's on. She's their best driver, so while Mitch recovers she's doing the drops and pick-ups. Iris wants some advice on modding her van. Raul wants another van and to see if I've got any more BDs or have time to edit some others.
Ugh, I didn't mean for my BDs to become a business. I needed a hobby that wasn't working on my cars, and BDs are a way to escape. Of course, most are shittily edited and I got offended and edited it myself. One thing led to another and my BDs spread, so I ended up editing some BDs scrolled by Valentinos for his new club.
It's not that I don't enjoy it, but I'm fucking busy.
Answering all my messages, I stretch a little.
[Behind the Shadows] - 200cp, 0cp remaining
Source: Honor Harrington
There is more to technology than just big booms, you know. Oh yes, you do. You are utterly incredible at all kinds of stealth based technologies. You can build up infrastructure and shipyards in total secrecy, with not a soul becoming aware, and the results tend to be some of the best cloaked and concealed ships and weapons in the galaxy. The spider drive, with all of the supporting tech needed for it, is only one of the examples of what you're capable of with this perk.
Writing a quick message, I smile.
'Hey V, bring back the drone and give me like ten minutes and I can add in that cloaking device.'
Stealth is such a broad category… even now, I have ideas for a cloaking field to make this base look either abandoned or unchanged from outside of it, letting us build without the corps realising anything until it is far too late. Ways to ensure that our underground expansion goes unnoticed.
"I just left," V says as she returns, amused despite herself. "Your power again?"
"I just became the foremost expert in stealth technology in the world," I admit shamelessly. "If I give you a list of things I need, I can have you equipped in a stealth suit that would have 'Saka ninjas creaming their corpo pants by nightfall. I just need your measurements and like two hours once we've got all the pieces."
"You're making it really hard not to fuck you," V admits shamelessly.
"Why are you holding back?" I ask curiously.
"…because if we start, I'm not stopping until you're drained. And I want my stealth suit," V admits shamelessly.
"Then go and get me the parts. Sending the list now," I say, gesturing at her as I transmit it. "Go on, get to work. I'll have built the cloaking drive before you get back."
"God, I hope you're this bossy in bed," V says shamelessly as she walks away, hips swaying. Tease. Well, no. Tease implies she's not going to follow through and I think we can safely say that won't be an issue.
As she leaves, she sends me back what is almost certainly a very accurate model of her nude body with the numbers. Why, exactly, did she have that on-
Ah, because of all her bodysculpting. She knows her numbers because she hand picked them.
"Okay, Computer. Open a new project, Stealth Suit Mk1."
Watching the hologram light up in front of me, I grin. She's right. I was busy. Recreating the hologram tech from my Omnitool was easy enough. I've got a million ideas in my head, and I need to get them all out.
— V — Later —
"You sure you want to try this alone?" Luis asked, his voice in her earpiece.
"You wanted it field tested," V replied back with a grin she couldn't suppress. Her jeans and tank-top, not exactly the outfit of an Edgerunner, were gone. In its place, a jet black skin-tight bodysuit and helmet clad her body. Against the dark backdrop of the Badlands at night, she was already almost invisible as she moved toward the located Wraith hideout.
Her outfit was bland, but Luis agreed that future versions would be more flashy to help them get their name out but in truth? This would be a kind of fame as well.
Being seen a lot helped, but never being seen was just as good for building renown.
"Sending in Dark-1," V said, crouching on a hill overlooking the Wraith base. Her vision flickered, swapping over to the drone that was now flying toward the Wraiths in almost complete silence.
There was the smallest whisper-quiet hum if you were close enough, but as the cloaking kicked in, she grinned. Unless she flew the thing into a Wraith, they'd never know it was there.
"Beginning scans," V reported, watching as the building lit up. An old Corp-Bud Railroad Station. One of the ones she marked as a potential base, in truth. There were a dozen like it, all abandoned after the railway shutdown.
Luis had no idea just how good he was, did he? A regular ping would give her an idea of where people were, sure. The Dark Eye sent out an undetectable 'pulse', and she watched as the data filtered back. A map appeared in the corner of her vision, a complete layout of the area with the station's floor-plan, every single thing of interest marked.
She'd taken this job from Dakota, because these guys were poaching her drones. She had someone who used them for chem shipments, both medical and otherwise, and the Raffens were using the antenna here to take control of the drones. It was why she'd wanted Luis' magic touch, but she'd be equally happy with the main culprits being removed.
She'd still want the upgrades because this proved that her drones were vulnerable. But if V could find evidence of what had happened to her missing shipments and dealt with the thieves, she'd be doubly happy.
The outlines of all the Shivs lit up for Dark Eye, their secrets revealed without them ever realising it. They petered about idly, unaware of the drone that was flying around their station. Without even stepping within half a mile of the station, the cameras and turrets were all hers. She could wreak havoc from here, but that wasn't her intention.
Going prone, she pulled out Luis' third gift for her. She'd gotten him everything he needed, and though it had taken till past midnight, her 'toy' was ready.
The Night Stinger Blaster Rifle sat in her hands. She'd called it a laser rifle, and much like hearing his droids called robots, he'd been adorably offended. Blaster rifles were an entirely different matter.
Flicking the switch to activate that stealth mode, she had to agree as she spotted a lone Wraith. Ugh, taking a piss on the wall of his own base. Don't shit where you sleep, dumbasses. Still, he'd helpfully wandered away from his friends.
Taking aim, she took a breath and put pressure on the trigger. There was no pew-pew, no flash of light, but the Wraith dropped dead with a hole through the side of his head anyway.
What separated the Night Stinger from a regular blaster rifle was this particular mode. It made it hog energy, barely firing three or four times before needing to be reloaded, but in exchange it fired entirely silent and invisible bolts. Technically you might be able to see the air shift if you had a good enough camera, but 99.99% of technology would have zero way of telling what just happened.
One down. Oh, one on the rooftop. Make that two down.
As she was doing this, the Dark Eye flew up to the antenna that the Wraith program was installed in, jacking in as she copied and deleted the program, transmitting it to Dakota.
"Sister," Dakota's voice greeted, sounding casual. It wasn't enough to hide the impressed undertone from V's trained ears. "You work fast. My eyes never saw you enter."
"Because I didn't. Transmitting my location," V replied, sending her location to the Fixer. There was a moment of silence, as the Fixer tried to work out how she'd done all this while sitting on a hill half way down the track. "I'm going to wipe out the rest of the Wraiths. I'll tell you if I find out what happened to your shipments."
"Appreciated, sister. It's good to know we have a professional in the badlands," Dakota praised.
"A team of them. Jackie isn't on this job, but Luis is the one who made this possible," V reminded her.
"Indeed. I look forward to seeing what else he makes possible," Dakota agreed, ending the call so she could continue.
Picking off another wanderer, she paused before smirking. Dark-1 flew into position and she sent the signal. A Wraith, formerly asleep, jolted awake in confusion at the sound of someone shouting his name. Stumbling out of his safe and secure spot, he got around the corner before a bolt put him down and she calmly reloaded. Putting a speaker on the Dark-1 had been her idea, and it was proving to be incredibly fun.
She got seven before they realised anything was wrong, and their panicking made her feel like the kid with a magnifying glass staring down at the ants, deciding which to burn next. Some tried to go into cover, but they couldn't even work out where they were being shot from.
Some called for help. Ha. Luis was a menace to society, and if he wasn't on her team she'd want him dead. He'd explained that stealth was a very wide field and he'd worked out how to put out a signal that hid any other signals. As long as Dark-1 was floating there, invisible to the naked eye, they weren't calling for shit. Sorry, Luis made your distress calls and texts very stealthy indeed.
The last five didn't put up a fight. They couldn't. They didn't have a single weapon that could reach her, even if they knew where she was. All it took was waiting for them to make a mistake. They took cover inside, but Wraiths weren't the patient type. One went to check the antenna, and his friends got to see his head explode the moment he went up the steps. One ran for his car. Dead before he took three steps outside.
Two decided to fire blindly in what they thought was her direction, based on how their friend fell. They were like… 80% right. It didn't help them.
Watching the last one cower, she adjusted the switch on the Night Stinger one last time and took aim, through the concrete wall.
This time, there was a pew-pew and a flash of light. Not that the Wraith got to enjoy it as the blaster round pierced the wall and his skull.
"Send them in," V ordered, sending the all-clear signal to Luis. Watching through Dark-1, she giggled as she watched a large black van with a trailer attached roll up to the gate and a set of familiar looking dome-headed robots hop out and rush inside. As she kept her eyes open for any reinforcements, not letting the curb-stomp encourage complacency, she watched the droids strip the place down.
Each body was jacked into by Dark-1, allowing her to hack into their communications, copying anything of value (and emptying some unsecure bank accounts). Some of the drugs and one of the stolen drones were here, and she got a location for where the rest had been sent.
The bodies, weapons, and anything of value was loaded into their van and trailer. The Wraith cars were compromised as the droids plugged the shards in and Luis did his magic remotely. The van left, returning about twenty minutes later, and started again until the place was stripped bare with the exception of Dakota's chem shipment and drone, with a message sent to Dakota to come and pick it up before someone else did.
The objective complete, all enemies killed, and the place looted to the bedrock, all without her or Luis going within half a mile of the target.
She'd say they took everything that wasn't nailed down, but the droids had even taken the cameras, turrets and computers. They'd taken everything that was nailed down too.
As the droids drove off with everything of value, she watched some Aldecaldo boys show up, finding the chems just sitting in front of the building, nice and neat for them. Even as they looked around, Dark-1 hovered above them and they saw nothing.
Getting the confirmation message from Dakota, with their bonus, she watched them leave before recalling Dark-1 and heading down the hill, getting into the Merrimac.
Night City was not ready for them.
— Bonus Scene — Faraday
Examining the footage again, Faraday frowned at the sight of the hispanic boy glowing with golden light.
Someone had tried very hard to ensure that this footage did not get spread too far, but his sources were vast. The Saint of Haywood? He'd heard the rumours, but they'd claimed it was just some talented Ripperdoc that did work for cheap. Nothing worth crossing Padre for.
Heywood was Padre's domain. There were smaller fixers who worked in the district but Padre remained the most influential and had enough ties to make him an inconvenience for anyone who wanted to operate in Heywood without his permission. Too much trouble to waste on some Ripperdoc.
But it seemed that the good preacher was lying to his flock. This was no Ripperdoc or Medtech. He'd confirmed the validity of this recording. The girl, Rosita Fuscino, was alive and well. Far too well for a girl who had been hit by a car moving 40 above the limit. Her family had gone silent, likely at Padre's instruction, but he had his ways.
Luis Ibarra. Ah, that explained why Padre was so protective of his Saint. Family ties made people so… predictable. And yet, where had Luis gotten this technology?
He could think of several sources that would pay very handsomely for it. Militech, in their prepping for a renewed corporate war. Trauma Team, to stay at the cutting edge of Medtech. Biotechnica. Arasaka.
No, this was not some Ripperdoc. This was something worth crossing Padre for. He just needed the right disposable pawns for this.
Maine and his group of failures. They'd completely bungled the last job, and couldn't be trusted to go after Tanaka's data. How they'd managed to so overcomplicate stealing a shard from Tanaka's driver was beyond him, but they'd even just lost one member while not even on the job. Fortunately, Pilar supplied little value anyway.
Making a call, he barely had to wait one ring before Maine, the eager dog that he was, picked up.
"Faraday," Maine answered, trying to sound gruff and unbothered.
"I am pulling back the job on Tanaka. Developments have made the information useless," Faraday said without bothering with small talk. He made sure to put the right inflection in his words to make sure that even a dullard like Maine understood he was being blamed for how badly the driver job had gone. In truth, he was just going to pick a different crew for this job. "Instead, I have a different task for you. There is a piece of experimental cyberware currently in the hands of someone it does not belong to. You are to retrieve it."
"What- that wasn't the deal," Maine tried, so obsessed with his reputation.
"Jobs change when clumsy mercs alert the target with such blatant tactics. You and your… band are not suited for subtle work. You are lucky I am not charging you for the inconvenience you caused. Instead, I am giving you a simple smash and grab mission. Luis Ibarra, new edgerunner, resident of the Glen, part-time worker at… El Coyote Cojo. You are to retrieve him and the experimental cyberware he has stolen," Faraday commanded. "Prove that you are worth something. A less forgiving Fixer would have dropped you and blacklisted you and your group of fuck ups. This is not the first job you, or more specifically Rebecca, has ruined."
"Wait, Ibarra? As in Sebastian 'Padre' Ibarra?" Maine asked. Tch. Irritating.
"Correct. Luis has joined the edgerunner life and cannot be expected to be given special treatment. There will be no reprisals from Padre and Luis will be returned once the cyberware has been extracted," Faraday lied shamelessly. He'd have to make sure he sent someone else to make sure Maine didn't do anything stupid. "If you are not willing, then I have other groups, but I will have no further work for you."
"I didn't say that," Maine rushed, predictable fool. "I just want to know what we're going up against."
"A minor band of beginner mercs, operating out of a rundown base in the Badlands. A failed Valentino Gangoon, Luis and a new face to the edgerunning scene. Only this V is of any concern," Faraday said, transferring the data he had gathered. "And that is mostly because of how little I could find on her. Likely someone running from her past."
Maine stayed quiet before they began to speak numbers. If Luis was half as valuable as he thought, he didn't intend to leave these clowns alive to tell anyone, especially Padre, that he had him, and as such giving them a number big enough to put stars in Maine's eyes was simple enough.
You could promise the world and the stars when you had no intention of paying.