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
The Celestial Punk
Chapter 03: The First Job
– Luis Ibarra –
Finding the Wraiths was never going to be difficult, at the end of the day. The Badlands are their domain. It's like trying to find a Valentino in Heywood. Take a walk, look around, you'll see at least three. Now, not every Nomad is a Raffen Shiv and not every Raffen Shiv is a Wraith but at the end of the day that wasn't hard to deal with either. The only clans active in NC are the Aldecaldos and the Red Ocher, and the rest are either independent Nomads who have come to the city for work or Raffen. Indies aren't hanging out in groups out in the Badlands, and most Raffen have been absorbed by the Wraiths. They're the de facto gang of the Badlands at this point, from the intel Padre got us from Dakota.
We know where the Aldecaldo camp is, and they're licking their wounds so they won't be sending anyone out while they fear another attack while weakened. I've made some adjustments to my scanner to track the 'traditional' Nomad vehicles and we found a bunch where the Aldecaldos are making camp and there's no real movement. It's not perfect since they could have other vehicles I filtered out by accident but it seems like they're on the defensive. The Red Ocher are located further south past the Biotechnica Flats so they won't play a part in this.
The harder part was finding the right Wraiths, since there's so damn many of them. Night City collects the dregs of America, so when they're kicked from their clans, a lot of Raffen Shivs wander over this way and get consumed by the Wraiths. But again, all we had to do was find who had my van, and viola.
"What's the sitch, chica?" Jackie asks as we wait for V to finish checking the cameras.
"Not great, I'll admit," V says, her eyes flashing as she does her Netrunner thing. "I count eleven Wraiths. Our target is in the basement, bloodied but alive. Either their alliance turned sour after he got some of their men killed, or they planned to do this either way. Van is in the garage on the west side. Looks like they've got a mechanic trying to work on it."
"Great. So I have to fix whatever fuck up they did as well, for good measure?" I sigh. Nothing good comes from people fucking with my mods.
"Still, I think they came off worse in the fight against the Aldecaldos than they want to admit. I see seven Wraith vehicles on my Ping, but only eleven members? I'm guessing they got fucked up and took the bodies with them," V continues, frowning to herself.
"Any chance of the other Wraiths joining the fun?" I ask, watching her shake her head. We picked up three different Wraith operations nearby, and Nomads are mobile by nature. Some could be here in under two minutes if a call for reinforcements goes out.
"Don't think of the Wraiths like Valentinos. They're closer to Scavs than a proper gang. Each 'group' likely has no communication with the other cells, and they're as likely to fight each other than work together. Still, I'll try and jam any outgoing calls as best I can," V explains. I won't deny that she's damn useful. Miss Counterintel knows a hell of a lot about just about every faction in Night City, corp or gang. "I don't love the idea of us running in guns blazing. Two of them are packing heavy iron, and we don't have much defensive cyberware. Luis can fix up any wounds, but only if he doesn't get ripped in two by that Militech Mk. 31 HMG I can see. And I can't guarantee I marked them all."
She has shared what her pings grabbed, the red outlines of eleven Wraiths moving around the abandoned building, and one dumb motherfucker tied to a chair in the basement.
"Fucking Badlands," Jackie sighs, and he's not wrong. V is a great field Netrunner, but out here we're working with limited intel because there's just not as much for her to remotely connect to. In Night City you can't go into a single building without there being half a dozen cameras at a minimum. Out here? The tech is far more spread out and blindspots are everywhere.
There's a sniper on the roof, but he's barely paying attention and it's late. The sun has already set and he isn't scanning enough to spot us three lying prone in the distance, watching them.
"Can you hack the sniper?" Jackie asks, but V shakes her head.
"I could take him out, sure, but not without shaking the hive. When Luis did his magic on my cyberware, it reset my Cyberdeck and I lost most of my quickhack soft. No System Collapse or anything subtle enough to take him down without alerting his friends," V explains.
"My bad," I say with a shrug.
"Ha, no. I was going to lose it either way. Sure, I lost my quickhacks and demons, but I got to keep my top-of-the-line counterintel cyberdeck rather than have it ruined. Trust me, I wouldn't be nearly as useful if I had to go back to some basic deck rather than my Arasaka MK4 Shadow," V assures me, watching me pull out my gun. "Nice iron. Custom Liberty, right?"
"That's the Seraph, one scary ass motherfucker," Jackie explains. It was Padre's but he gifted it to me when it became clear that I was set on this. The grip is red with the imagery of a half-naked nun wielding two pistols because it's from his Valentino days and they love Catholic imagery mixed with their own brand of sex and violence. As Jackie speaks, he pulls out his own weapons. He's got a shotgun, but until we get closer he's dual-wielding pistols. V has a pistol of her own and a Smart SMG, a TKI-20 Shingen. "So, ideas? Cause we might be badasses, but that's eleven people shooting back at us if this becomes a shootout."
100cp granted, 100cp total.
Already? I guess this is the best way to get my power working. Still, I don't want to add new shit right before a combat engagement. I won't have a chance to test it, and an unreliable power is as dangerous to us as it is to the Wraiths.
"They don't seem to have a netrunner, nobody watching the status of the others. If we pick some off, they shouldn't realise until it's too late," V points out, holding her silenced pistol. It really says something about her that one of the first things she bought upon having to restart her life is a pistol and a silencer. It's just a Lexington, nothing special, but it's not bad either. "If we can take out the sniper, we could take the high ground for the actual fight. I'm pretty good with snipers, I just couldn't afford one so soon. Could try to sneak up on him and klep his."
"There's only one set of stairs, and there's one Wraith near the bottom," I point out. "Still, fortune favours the bold. If they're still weak from the fight, it's better to strike first before anyone else arrives. Eleven is small for a Wraith cell. This is about as good as it's going to get. Take out the sniper, I have an idea but I need him not watching those two Galenas."
"Got it, Jackie, position yourself behind that wall. If things go hot, I'm going to need your shotgun to raise some hell," V orders, getting a nod from Jackie. "Luis, move to the other wall, close to the Galenas. I'll clear the lookout for you."
And here we go.
– V –
As she creeped along the rooftop, she felt her heart pounding, blood pumping through her veins. While her cyberware was mostly intact, her hormone regulator was disabled and removed because it was linked to Quantified Satori and she didn't need Arasaka finding out she was still alive because of something as dumb as a high cortisol alert. She was going without for the first time in years, her emotions far higher than usual as she skulked to the sniper.
Dumbass didn't hear her coming, thanks to her Lynx Paws leg cyberware, and while she might be working with limited resources and inferior gear to what she was used to… there was no saving someone dozing off two feet in front of her. Sending a control hack to silence him, she slipped forward and slit his throat.
As he spewed blood on the floor, she idly pushed him over and picked up his Nekomata. Not her sniper of choice, but it was too much to hope that the idiot had a Grad.
"He's down. Make your play, Luis," V said, keeping her eye on the other Wraiths. The camp was half asleep, beyond the three in the garage and the two outside the target's 'cell'. Watching through the scope, she followed Luis' movements toward the two cars. He wasn't the best at sneaking, but she had eyes on the Wraiths and guided him to avoid getting spotted. As he reached them, he looked around before popping the hood open and getting to work with his everpresent toolbox. She'd have to get him a good toolbelt for future missions, because he was attached to that box at the hip.
Luis' plan was a pretty interesting one, and she had to admit he was onto something because if there was exactly one thing that Nomads fucking hated… it was people fucking with their cars. To a Nomad, their vehicle was about as important to them as a limb. Sometimes more so.
So, when Luis slipped away a few minutes later, going to a new hiding spot she'd picked out for him, she smiled and watched as the two cars turned on and began driving. Luis really was a techie wizard, and the sound of their cars leaving sent the camp into chaos. The idea that they were getting carjacked was taken about as well as could be expected. She was half convinced that they'd be less offended if Luis fucked their girls then pissed on the Wraiths mothers ashes just for good measure.
Watching as eight of the ten remaining Wraiths rushed out and got into two Mackinaws. The Mackinaw was a real popular vehicle amongst the Nomads for the same reasons that Luis loved his so much. It was big, reliable and could drive on just about any type of terrain with a little modding. It was also fast enough to catch up with the two smaller Galenas, especially since they weren't going too fast, with the Mackinaws racing ahead to block the road.
As six of the Wraiths piled out, the drivers staying in place, they approached the Galenas and even from here she could see the confusion on their faces as they looked into the Galenas and saw… nothing at all. She couldn't hear them, but her lipreading told her that they thought some runner was trying to klep the cars, the Wraiths, unfamiliar with netrunners as they were rare in the badlands, arguing over what to do.
As they did, Luis and Jackie moved into place. Jackie was going down to the target who had one guard, and Luis was going to the techie still working on the van. She kept her eyes on the Wraiths, waiting for the perfect moment as they finally finished checking and were convinced that nobody was hiding in the backseat.
As they opened the cars to get in, she couldn't help her giggle at the sight of them putting two people in each Galena to make sure they didn't go anywhere else, and sent the signal. The four in the cars stood exactly no chance, the blast from the rigged cars engulfing them in an instant. The two outside were sent flying back, and she fired at one of the Mackinaw drivers at the exact moment, using the blast to cover the sound of her gunshot. The Mackinaw was good at taking small arms fire, but the Nekomata wasn't small and her round pierced the skull of the driver in an instant. At the same time, Jackie sprung out and fired his shotgun into the side of the confused guard and Luis moved into the garage. Before he could fire, the girl still working on the van backed up with her hands raised, shouting for him not to shoot. V frowned as Luis hesitated, but had to focus on her own business as she took a second shot and put down the second Mackinaw driver. She was pretty sure one of the two who were outside the car died from the blast, but one was stumbling to his feet, head ringing from the blast. He'd been hit by a whole ass car door, sent tumbling onto his ass, but it had worked as a psuedo-shield from the shrapnel.
Aww, the Wraith was scared and confused. Too bad. How sad. The Nekomata rang out again, putting him down before he could work out what the hell was going on.
From Jackie's comms, she heard the target letting out a sigh of relief at the sight of the Valentino looking Jackie. Jackie responded by kicking him in the face, sending him and the chair he was still tied to tumbling to the ground. Selling out Valentinos to Wraiths then expecting the Tinos to be here to rescue you? This guy was a fucking clown.
"Got the target. We good?" Jackie asked, as V took a running leap from the rooftop. Her Lynx Paws cushioned the blow as she headed to the garage, unwilling to risk leaving Luis alone with the Wraith.
"Bring him up to the garage," V ordered as she entered, swapping out for her pistol.
"Wait, wait! Don't shoot, I'm not one of them!" the girl said. She'd been relaxing with Luis, but V's appearance sent the girl panicking all over again.
"Luis?" V asked.
"Meet Iris Tanner, Nomad Techie. Claims the Wraiths hired her to work on the van for them. Apparently, their Techie died in the fighting," Luis explained. He wasn't willing to shoot a surrendering woman, but at the same time she was glad to see he had Seraph trained on her all the same. Wasn't tricked by a pretty face. "Which clan are you from?"
"Aldecaldos. My van is in the next garage, with Aldecaldos decals," Iris tried.
"Aldecaldos? Then why the fuck are you working for a group of Wraiths that just got finished ambushing and killing your clan mates?" Luis asked, his gun raising a little higher. Iris froze, her mouth opening before she paled.
"...what?!" Iris asked, and V believed the shock was genuine. "They said they got this from some Valentinos! They've even got one tied up in the basement, I thought-"
"Dumbass," V sighed, nodding to Luis to lower his weapon. "The Valentinos and your clan are doing biz. The Tino in the basement betrayed the gang to the Wraiths as a power grab, and they ambushed the meet, killing both sides and making it look like they turned on each other. Congrats, you're helping idiots who just got finished killing your family."
"I- fuck! Saul is going to kill me- oh shit, is Saul okay? How bad did they hit the clan?!" Iris asked in true panic.
"Don't know, but we've been hired to retrieve the van you're trying to work on and return it to the Aldecaldos. You can ride with us. Actually, let me put it in better words. You are riding with us, and if the Aldecaldos don't recognise you, I'm putting you down," V said bluntly. "What did you do to the van?"
"They wanted me to change the registration and make a new keyshard, but- I don't know what the fuck any of this is! Someone modded this thing to highhell and whoever they are, they're far better than me," Iris admitted with a sigh. "After I told the Wraiths that, the bastards locked me up in the garage and took my keys. Told me I wasn't leaving until I managed to do the job they hired me for but how the fuck am I supposed to rewire something this complicated? The techie who did this might as well be the techie version of Bartmoss."
"You aren't. Show me what you did to my van," Luis ordered, a mixture of annoyance and pride in his tone as Iris froze before blushing at the realisation that the techie she was jerking off was stood right there. V paused, looking at the redheaded Nomad girl with careful eyes before nodding to herself.
Iris was cute, but she was hotter. Iris wasn't going to be much of a threat to her plans. It was annoying that the boys probably wouldn't let V put her down now that she knew Luis was the techie. One more person to leak Luis' talents. At least the Aldecaldos wouldn't be the type to talk to Corpos.
Jackie arrived, the target over his shoulder and a grin on his face.
"Man, was that preem or what? Sad I missed the fireworks," Jackie joked, tossing Claudio onto the floor. He was already out cold, but V lazily uploaded some hacks to keep him that way. She didn't have her proper soft, but with him out cold and all the time in the world to work, she could make sure his cyberware kept him on ice. "Friend of yours, Luis? We leave you alone for ten seconds and you're already picking up chicks."
Luis responded with all the grace and eloquence required as he flipped Jackie off without even looking up from the van. Iris flushed again, but she was relaxing now that they weren't going to shoot her until the Aldecaldos had a chance to claim her. Still, as she relaxed she was getting close to Luis, asking a million questions to the better techie. V didn't miss the way Iris was pushing her breasts against his arm in the confined space. Motherfucker. V wasn't surprised, competence was sexy, but she had enough issues without dealing with other girls trying to get Luis first.
"We good, Luis?" V asked. "How bad did she fuck it up?"
Maybe it was petty, as V watched Iris scowl, but V was a petty bitch.
"We're good. Iris didn't do anything I can't fix in a couple of minutes," Luis confirmed. "So, what are we doing with all the Wraiths shit?"
V paused at that, considering their options. The most expensive stuff would be the cars, but they only had four people and she wasn't leaving Iris alone in her truck to make a break for it if she was lying. V was pretty sure Iris was telling the truth, but she also wasn't risking Luis' secrets on a 'pretty sure'. Until the Aldecaldos confirmed Iris was one of them, the girl was a major liability.
"You got any ideas?" V asked. She had some of her own, but wanted to see what Wonderboy could come up with. Luis paused, finally looking up from the engine.
"Yeah. Jackie, V, go and get all the cars and park them up just outside the gates. Then, strip what guns didn't get damaged and start loading anything of value into the back of either my truck or the Wraith vehicles. I'll make some soft to get the autodrive function to follow my truck," Luis explained. "Either the Aldecaldos or Dakota will buy them, or we can take them to Raul's place to be chopped or reworked."
"So, just load anything and everything into the backs, yeah? Plenty of old tech around here, better than scrounging in the junkyard," Jackie pointed out. Luis just nodded. She really needed to talk to these two about operational security because they were far too comfortable talking about shit that really should be kept quiet.
"I'll see what I can use and what we can sell later. I want to check and doublecheck the van, then I'll start on the cars," Luis agreed. V paused, not wanting to leave Luis alone with Iris but she was unarmed and Luis still had Seraph at his hip. She'd stay close, but she doubted Iris was going to try anything. Even if she managed to take down Luis, she'd just end up dead by V and Jackie, and she knew it.
Going to do as Luis asked, she checked on the Mackinaws first. They were a little banged up, and the front windscreen was busted from her putting a round through each, but Mackinaws were loved for their durability. They'd work, ruined seats aside.
The Galenas were fucked, but that still left them with two Mackinaws, an Archer Quartz, another Galena and a fucking Thorton Merrimac. Probably belonged to the boss of this little group, as it was a nicer model than the Mackinaw. Mackinaw was better for the day-to-day but the Merrimac was basically a tank on wheels. The Mackinaw's bigger and tougher brother.
She was glad that she, Jackie and Luis were all on the same page because this one was theirs. Luis' ride was great, but they could use a proper gig ride and the Merrimac had more room for mods, cargo space and everything else.
As for the rest of the loot? Plenty of guns and ammo, which she packed into their Mackinaw to be sold later, and some old tech that had been around since the place was abandoned, along with some Nomad tech. Generators, filtration units, and all the other fun stuff that Nomads had to rely on since they lived off the grid. The ones that were portable enough to take, she and Jackie loaded up into the rides. That happened to be most of them, because Nomads were, as the name suggested, nomadic and had to pack up and move on the regular.
Returning to where Luis was working on the cars to make sure they followed them home, she frowned at the sight of Iris leaning against the car he was working on, giggling at something he said. Her entire body language was screaming that she wanted Luis to bend her over the hood and go to town, but Luis was focused on the job. Didn't mean he hadn't noticed, and it definitely didn't mean he wasn't interested.
"Think we got everything worth taking. Claudio is loaded into the trunk of your Mackinaw too, Jackie is keeping an eye on him," V reported, getting a nod from him as he closed the hood.
"I'm done here. It's a sloppy soft, but it'll get the job done. As long as we don't go too fast and stick to relatively even terrain, they'll follow along," Luis replied. "I've changed the owner registration as well, wiped it clean. As far as the system is concerned, these cars have no owner. Except the Merrimac, that one is in my name."
"I've called the clan, let them know we're coming. If they see half a dozen vehicles headed their way, they're going to think we're Wraiths. Sprayed over the Wraith tags, but these are still Nomad vehicles and Red Ochers have no reason to be in this part of the badlands," Iris added.
"Good thinking. How'd the clan take it?" V asked curiously. Iris laughed, but it was a bitter, self-depricating one.
"If I'm lucky, they're going to beat my ass for taking jobs from Raffens. If not, I might be facing exile," Iris admitted with a sigh. "Luckily, Carol trusted that I was just stupid and not a traitor so it should be fine. I think."
V didn't comment, but she wondered if she should try and tip the scales in Iris' favour… or against her. If Iris stayed in the Aldecaldos, they'd learn of Luis' skills. If she was exiled, she'd be more desperate and more likely to sell the info to people more likely to act on it. But, on the other hand, if she was exiled then V could make her disappear. Exiled Nomads disappearing wouldn't even raise an eyebrow, most would think she left the area in shame.
"Jackie, ride in the back with our new friend. Iris, I'm riding with you," V said, her tone making it clear that this wasn't an option. Sure, she'd called someone but for all they knew, Iris could have called someone else to pretend to be the Aldecaldos. Iris rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. She knew why V was doing this, and V guessed that the Nomad understood her unwillingness to let her guard down around a possible Raffen Shiv.
– Luis Ibarra –
Even as we drive to the Aldecaldo camp, I already have plans for my new ride. Don't get me wrong, I love my Mackinaw but the Merrimac is bigger and more space means more room to work with.
It's lucky that it's so late. The Badlands has a strong Militech presence, and the sight of seven large cars on the move would attract some unwanted attention. Sure, they can't prove we've done anything illegal but since when have corpos cared about what they can prove?
Feat Achieved: Become a merc. 100cp granted, 200cp total.
Feat Achieved: Complete the Gig for Padre. 100cp granted, 300cp total.
Technically, we haven't finished shit but really we're past the point where failure is likely. Sure, we have to get through the Aldecaldo meeting but we've retrieved the target and the van. If the Aldecaldos prove to be cunts, we can just leave with both. I doubt it'll become a firefight unless things go really shitty.
As we arrive a short distance from the camp, I see a blockade of Aldecaldo cars on the path, damn near two dozen armed Nomads waiting for us. This is their turf, we're just outsiders, and they have no reason to trust us yet.
Parking up a short distance from them, I nod to Jackie who grabs Claudio and throws him over his shoulder as we get out of the car. V and Iris get out of Iris' van, and I see some faces relax at the sight of one of their own.
"Iris, come here," the man in the front orders, a frown on his face. He's on the older side compared to us, and his voice has a certain authority to it. Iris hangs her head, giving us an apologetic look as she moves to her clan. I'm guessing that's Saul Bright, head of this Nomad Family. The Bright Family are a small subsection of the much larger Aldecaldos (according to V), and he's the head honcho around here. "We will discuss this later."
Iris winces at that, but she doesn't seem afraid. More embarrassed than anything else. Almost immediately, an older woman grabs Iris and pulls her further in, taking in angry, hushed tones. Is that the Carol she mentioned?
"If Dakota was not vouching for you, you would not have made it this close," Saul finally says to us, looking over us and the cars behind us. I can tell why he's worried. That's seven rides that could be hiding reinforcements. Or rigged to drive into the camp and blow if Iris told them what we did to the Wraiths. "I am Saul Bright, Leader of the Bright Family. What business do you have with us?"
We share a look before I nod to V. I'm not blind, she's far better at this kind of thing than I am. I'm a tech guy, I know cars and guns, not people.
"We're here on behalf of Sebastian Ibarra, or Padre, the Fixer of Heywood," V starts. "He tasked us with fixing this colossal fuckup, and patching things up between the Aldecaldos and the Valentinos so business could continue."
"I know the name. What I don't know is why we should continue to do business with the Valentinos. We barely dealt with you for a month before we were stabbed in the back," Saul says, looking at me and Jackie with narrowed eyes.
"We aren't Valentinos," V corrects. "My name is V, a new Merc operating out of Heywood. These are my teammates, Luis Ibarra and Jackie Welles. Both are from families with Valentino ties, I won't deny that, but neither are members."
Saul pauses at my name, eyes narrowing further before he shares a look with a guy with a nice mustache and a cowboy hat. I don't know what that means, but they could be reacting to the Ibarra part rather than the Luis part of it.
"The car wizard," Saul finally responds, giving me a look before he looks at the convoy behind us. "Your name has come up, despite certain efforts to prevent it."
I just shrug, leaning against the hood of my Mackinaw.
"He's damn good," Iris agrees, getting an annoyed look from Saul.
"That doesn't explain why we should work with the Valentinos, or what you are doing here," Saul continues.
"As I said, we're here to fix things up. As for why you should keep working on this deal? It's a tale as old. Everything was running smoothly, both sides making heaps of eddies, right up until some power-hungry cunt got jealous that his boss was succeeding and tried to take matters into his own hands," V explains, nodding to Jackie who tosses Claudio in front of us. "Meet the cunt in question. Claudio Moreno, an underling of Gizmo. He wanted to klep his boss's success and arranged for the Wraiths to ambush and kill both sides, making it look like you betrayed the Tinos to them, and so you'd think the Tinos betrayed you. Predictably, the Wraiths betrayed him too to keep the van for themselves, which is where we came in. Padre ordered his death, but Luis pointed out that your clan would want their pound of flesh from the traitorous bastard. If you don't, the Valentinos certainly will."
Saul pauses, before someone moves forward and says something too quiet for us to hear. He's an asian looking guy in a hooded leather jacket. As they speak, V does something and sleeping beauty finally wakes up. He can't even rise before Jackie forces him to his knees, a gun to the back of his head as he tries to plead for his life.
"Scorpion," Saul says, nodding to the hooded man who approaches, pulling out a dangerous looking dagger. Claudio has no chance to speak or struggle before its stabbed into his gut, Scorpion twisting the blade before ripping it upwards. Jackie lets go of Claudio as his guts spill out, spitting on the traitor. Jackie isn't a Valentino anymore, but traitors don't sit well with him. "Luis was right. We did want our pound of flesh. We have a dozen dead, and almost as many on their way out. For this, at least, I'll thank you."
"What about the van?" a female voice calls out. I almost see Saul audibly sigh as a caramel skinned woman forces her way forward. I won't deny, I pause for a second as quite possibly the hottest woman I've ever seen stands beside Saul. She's wearing a red and black biker jacket over what I think is a revealing bodysuit that goes down into his jeans. If she's not the hottest, she's definitely top three and while V might be objectively sexier, and I still can't deny that Misty still does something for me with her leather skirt and fishnets, the Nomad might just be the most 'my type' with her dark curly hair tied in a bun. Maybe it's how feisty she seems, because she's already getting in Saul's face.
"That depends on your boss. The van was a part of the deal with the Valentinos. If he's ending the deal, we're taking it back," V says simply. That wasn't the orders from Padre, but I trust that she knows what she's doing.
"Saul-"
"Not now, Panam," Saul says firmly, giving us a look. "You would have us go back to working with the gang as if one of their own didn't cause this disaster?"
"Yes, because it's best for everyone and you know it. You came to Night City looking for work for your family, and it's common knowledge for anyone who cares to look it up that you barely made it here to begin with. Now, you're stuck here dealing with Militech patrols and the Raffen who would love to raid you and wipe you out to get some revenge on the clans that booted them out to begin with," V counters. "You can beat your chest as much as you want, and I get it. You can't show weakness, especially when you are weak. But the simple truth is that the smuggling is going to happen either way, and if you pull out the Valentinos will replace you in an instant. You need this deal more than they do."
"We have other options," Saul says, rising to his full height and crossing his arms. Even I can tell he's just puffing up his chest.
"Like Biotechnica?!" Panam says angrily, once again getting a barked 'Panam!' from Saul. "No, screw that and screw you. You would have us sell out to corpos because something went wrong? We all knew the risks of smuggling. Mitch knew the risks."
"Not. Now," Saul orders, as Scorpion places a hand on Panam's shoulder to get her to calm down. Maybe it's the latino in me, but the angry nomad girl is doing something for me. There's a rumble of agreement from the Nomads, many agreeing with Panam much to Saul's frustration at their dirty laundry being placed on display. "We will hold a clan meeting over this, not shout our business for outsiders to hear. Panam, to your tent."
Panam, a woman who looks a few years older than me, lets out a shout of disgust at being sent to her room, but storms off all the same.
"What of your convoy?" Saul asks, his eyes moving to the collection of cars behind us.
"The Mackinaw at the front, and the Merrimac are ours. The van is Iris'," V explains. "The rest is loot from the Wraiths. Our car wizard wiped the owner reg and tamed them. I'm going to contact Dakota to see if she's interested, if not we can have an associate chop them."
The avarice on the Nomads faces are obvious, but again, even I can see that much. They were in a bad way before they got hit by Wraiths, and these are modified cars made for the Badlands. I mentioned selling to the Aldecaldos earlier, but V left them off the buyers list. My guess, she'll 'consider' selling to them later at a discount as part of the negotiations and to help the Aldecaldos out, making her look generous for 'being willing' to sell to them instead.
Fucking corpos. God am I glad she's on our side.
"It is late. You may stay at our camp for tonight, no harm will come upon you," Saul finally decides, giving us a nod. "It is late, and a convoy moving to Night City at this time will just attract attention, Militech or Raffen."
"Much appreciated," Jackie says with a big grin. "I'm gonna call Misty, let her know I'm staying out tonight."
"I'll call Padre and let him know Claudio has been dealt with, and the van has been recovered," I agree, giving the Nomads a grateful nod. "Where should I park the cars? I don't want them drawing attention."
"I'll show you," Scorpion speaks up, gesturing for the blockade to move as the Nomads disperse. "I owe you a beer for bringing that bastard here anyway."
"I've grown up around the Valentinos, and while you guys are more family focused, the Tinos have a community thing going too. I figured if he got your clan mates killed, you'd want more than a secondhand confirmation that he was dealt with," I shrug, guiding the cars into the camp.
"Damn right. How bad did the Valentinos get hit?" Scorpion asks curiously, before we pause at some shouting. Ah, Iris is getting ripped a new asshole by the woman I think might be Carol. "Dumb kid. She's a tech genius, don't get me wrong, but trusting the Wraiths to hold to their word? All skill, no smarts. Thanks for bringing her back."
"No worries. I almost shot her, to be frank. She was a nomad hanging out with Wraiths and working on the stolen van," I admit with a snort. Scorpion just sighs and gives Iris a tired look. "As for the Tinos? It could be worse. Lost half a dozen men, but Gizmo has nearly two hundred under him at this point. You?"
"We went in heavy, still didn't trust the Valentinos. Problem is, we were watching the Valentinos, not the surroundings. Didn't see the attack coming until it was too late," Scorpion admits. "And when the lead started flying, we shot at the Valentinos thinking it was a trap. Didn't realise it was Wraiths until everything had gone to shit."
"Probably what they were relying on," I agree as I park up our rides, a short distance from the Nomad camp's cars. "Saul said you had a bunch of injured members?"
"Some survived, barely. No trauma team over here, and Nomads get special treatment in Night City hospitals. I'd sooner trust them to the coyotes and vultures to the city docs," Scorpion admits. "Damn it, Mitch. Survives the Unification War just to bleed out over some fucking Raffen cunts. You killed them all, right?"
"Rigged two Galenas to blow, wiped most of them out in one go," I agree.
"Killing a Nomad with their own car? Harsh, kid. Still, just this once I'll let it pass," Scorpion jokes, slapping me on the back. "You said you had a call to make? Meet me at the bar, that truck over there. First rounds on me."
As he leaves me, I feel the weight of my healing on my shoulders. I could fix up their injured members like it was nothing. Padre would tell me to pray for guidance in moments like this, but I have more reliable guidance than a silent god.
"Luis. The job went well?" Padre asks as I call him.
"We have the van, and Claudio was just executed by the Aldecaldos," I confirm. "We're spending the night at the camp to not attract attention with our convoy of… reclaimed vehicles. They're holding a clan meeting over whether to continue working with the Valentinos."
"Whether they do or not is not our business. I sought to prevent war, not to reestablish trade. In this, you have succeeded. Transferring the eddies. I have made a joint account for the three of you, as money can turn noble men to madness. Better that you all have access to the records. Transparency keeps you honest," Padre explains calmly. "There is more. I can hear it in your voice."
"The Nomads got hit hard, nearly a dozen members at risk of dying from their wounds. They won't go to Night City docs, and there isn't exactly a hospital out here," I say, knowing he'd get the rest.
"They are right to look upon city doctors with suspicion. Nomads are rarely treated well when they enter the city itself. You know this is Pandora's box, nieto. Once opened, you cannot close it again," Padre reminds me.
"Pandora's box is Ancient Greek, not Catholic. You're getting your theme mixed up," I tease to buy time.
"You never listen to my Catholic examples, but you like your Greek stories and games. Sermons are best accepted when tailored to the recipient," Padre replies with some humour in his tone. "The message remains true, all the same."
"In this case, the box is already cracked open and leaking. It feels like half of Heywood knows the 'Saint' is connected to El Coyote Cojo. You and Raul have done a lot to keep it from spreading, but it's inevitable. If it's going to leak, better to do it with my own hands and a clean conscience," I reply softly.
I didn't do this. It's not my fault they're dying. But, if I hadn't made the vans, they wouldn't have been in the position to begin with. I'm not taking responsibility or anything, but it's a simple cause and effect. I'm the cause, this is the effect.
"Perhaps. This is your gift, Luis. I will not tell you how you should use it. If your conscience says to aid them, do so. If you do not wish to risk it, then do not. But you decided before you even called me, did you not?" Padre points out knowingly. "Tell me this, are you doing this to impress a pretty girl?"
"Abuelo!" I reply, hoping my flush doesn't show. "No, it's nothing like that."
"...Luis," Padre says, his tone going from teasing to exasperated.
"I mean, there is one really good looking girl but I've not even talked to her. Could be married for all I know, and you taught me enough to not go for other men's women," I sigh. He caught me looking at Camilla, Jackie's slightly psycho ex, one too many times. I wouldn't have done anything either way, because while Camilla was incredibly hot, she was also batshit insane. Jackie was right to dump her crazy ass… then Jackie moved on to Misty. Some gonks get all the luck. "But this has nothing to do with her."
"Do as you will, Luis. All I will say is that a heavy conscience is more of a danger to a good man like you than any corporation," Padre replies simply. "Rest well, and call me when you wake up. And message Mama Welles, she'll want to know you are fine and if I know Jackie, he's already partying with the Nomads or flirting with Misty."
"Will do. Good night," I say easily, ending the call and sending a quick 'we didn't die' message to Mama Welles. It's late but she'll be working at the bar right now.
"A good looking girl, huh?" a voice says, sounding highly amused as I freeze. Turning around, I make eye contact with Panam's soft brown eyes as she smirks lightly. "What was that about?"
"Just letting my grandfather know I didn't die on the first job," I say, not at all nervously. "Didn't you get sent to bed without any supper?"
"Bah, Saul can order me where he pleases. I am not some child to be put on the naughty step for saying what everyone was thinking," Panam scoffs, crossing her arms. Two things occur as she does. She looks kinda like Saul when she does that, and it also pushes her already impressive bust together. "Is that your baby?"
"The Merrimac is new, the Mackinaw is mine," I confirm, patting my baby on the hood. "Haven't had a chance to work on the Merrimac yet."
"A man of culture. My Warhorse is a Mackinaw as well, though even she isn't as modified as yours. A fine piece of work," Panam praises, giving it a long look. "Iris says you are the one who modded the van."
"That's right. I do indie work for the Valentinos. Jackie's brother is a high ranking member that handles the chop shops, mod scene and street races," I explain. He also handles the gambling on said street races. Raul made a lot by tricking corpo nepo babies into betting their rides against my modded race cars. He lets them win against unmodded cars with their fancy rides, then slips one of my modded rides into the finals where the pot is the biggest. Even Gustavo's Riptide used to belong to some nepo baby who thought he was hot shit.
Watching some dumb corpo kid stare in shock as his much more expensive ride loses a fucking Thorton Colby remains a source of great amusement for the Valentinos. A lot of them will cough up eddies in the tens of thousands to keep their rides (and kneecaps).
"You had the clan techies scratching their heads," Panam admits with a laugh, leaning against the hood of my ride. "They pride themselves on being as good, or better, than you city techies. Then, you come along and leave them all feeling like novices who barely know which end of the screwdriver goes into the screw."
"I'm the best at what I do," I say with a small grin. "They might be better than the regular city techie, but so am I."
"Oh-ho, a confident one," Panam teases. "And what exactly did you have planned to impress this really good looking girl?"
I mentioned not speaking to them, which means she knows it can't be Iris. No other Nomad girl came forward. Ah damn, she definitely knows I'm talking about her.
"How much did you hear?" I ask, wincing slightly.
"Just the tail-end. Heard you shout Abeulo as I was walking over, anything before that is safe. A warning, friend, privacy is in short supply in the camp. Too many people in too small a space. Even if they don't intend to listen in, assume someone hears everything you are saying, or doing," Panam reassures me, nudging me with her shoulder. She didn't hear much, then. It could be far worse. "And you are dodging the question."
"Something probably dumb as shit," I admit with a laugh and a shrug. "I can help with the injured clan members."
Panam's teasing smirk fades in an instant, standing up straight.
"Do not joke about such things," Panam warns, and I just smile.
"I don't," I reply. She stares me down for a long moment, before relaxing.
"That would indeed impress," Panam admits. "Do you have medical supplies hiding in the back of your ride? Or are you a medtech in addition to being an unnaturally good techie?"
"Neither. Well, I suppose medtech isn't wrong. How pissed is Saul going to be if we go behind his back? I get the feeling he wouldn't trust me to tie your shoes, let alone heal a clan member," I point out.
"Screw Saul. Mitch is dying as it is, you can't make it worse. If it doesn't work, I'll take the fall. If it does, I'll fight Saul myself if he dares to complain about a family member getting to live," Panam says, grabbing my hand as she drags me toward the camp. There's some wolf-whistles that she responds to with a familiar gesture of an idle middle finger. I swear one of those whistles sounded like Jackie, who is predictably already at the bar making friends like he was always one of them. Even from here, I can hear him talking about bikes with some Nomads.
His ability to make friends remains bafflingly powerful. Meanwhile, V gives us a concerned look before her eyes widen and she stares daggers into my back, almost begging me not to do this. Sorry, V, but I'm a man of my word.
"He is the worst of them. He was driving, and they lit him up. If your vans weren't so armoured, he wouldn't have survived but Scorpion managed to pull him out and get him away," Panam explains with a grim look as she leads me into a tent. Not exactly a sanitary recovery environment but I do most of my work in Mama's kitchen so I can't talk. Panam can't hide her concern, pacing slightly. "Well? Can you do anything?"
This guy is… well, fucked. Multiple bullets to the chest and gut. It's a minor miracle he's still alive, but the armour must have blocked most and slowed the bullets that pierced it.
"Panam!" Saul shouts, storming over with a furious look on his face. Scorpion, V and Jackie are behind him, but once again the tensions are high as the Nomads wonder what the hell is going on. Jackie looks at the guy, Mitch I think Scorpion said, then sighs in realisation. Rather than give me a warning look, he just gestures in a 'well, get on with it' kinda way. V's face is set in a grim frown, her hand brushing against her gun before she moves it away.
Panam goes to speak, but I cut her off as I move forward and press my hands on Mitch's chest. The clearing goes silent as everyone turns to look at me, golden energy leaving me and flooding Mitch's wounded body. There are some shouts after a moment of shock, mostly suspicious nomads wanting to know what the fuck I'm doing to one of their own, but they all go silent as Mitch sits up with a gasp, his hand coming to his bare, undamaged, chest.
"So, impressed?" I ask Panam with a small grin, watching her fuss over Mitch for a moment before the woman who was ripping Iris a new backside pushes forward (uncaring that she just shoved Saul out of the way), before she jacks into Mitch's neck. Ah, she must be a rare nomad Netrunner.
"Carol?" Saul asks, looking between Panam, Mitch and me with a frown.
"The fuck?" Carol mumbles to herself. "He's fine, even his cyberware is fixed up. Better than it was before he got used for target practice."
There's a wave of sighs of relief at this, the guns starting to lower but the confusion only grows as what feels like half the Bright Family stares at me.
"Very impressed," Panam finally admits, before turning to Saul. As someone who grew up in a very hispanic community, I know a feisty woman getting ready to shout when I see one, but Saul cuts her off as he steps forward.
"Then we are in your debt, Luis," Saul says, making Panam pause in surprise. Whatever she expected, that wasn't it.
"First, there are others who need medical attention?" I remind them, getting a nod from them.
"Panam, take Luis to the others," Saul orders. "The rest of you, move along. This is no show for your entertainment."
"Come on, Luis," Panam says eagerly, taking my hand again as she leads me to the next tent.
Feat Achieved: Spread the Legend of the Saint of Heywood. 200cp gained. 500cp total.
And so, Pandora's box is smashed open and the lid lost forever.
— Bonus Scene — V
Motherfucker.
She leaves him alone for a few minutes and another girl shows up?! And unlike Iris, this time Luis wasn't on the job and was blatantly showing his interest in this Panam.
…not that V could blame him, given how damn sexy the Nomad girl is. Even V had to control herself to not stare at the way she filled those jeans but still! She'd kept her eye on the Iris situation, trying to decide how to deal with that leak only for a far bigger one to open the moment she looked away.
This was going to be trouble. She couldn't stop the Nomads from talking, even as she spent some time ensuring they understood the danger of the corps learning about this. Of course he did this in the camp of one of the only Nomad clans actively looking to work with a fucking corp. She'd sniffed out some details of this Biotechnica deal but now she had to make sure it fell through so Saul didn't sell Luis out.
As for Luis' power, she lied like her life depended on it, because it just might. Experimental bioware, nanites that could heal flesh and cyberware easily. It was bullshit but it was just plausible enough for them to buy it, even if she'd have to concoct some story about how Luis ended up with this tech that didn't bring every corp down on their heads immediately.
Contacting Padre as the celebration began, she paused as he immediately sent her a file before she could even really ask.
…Project Nightingale? Biotechnica project, Doctor Joanne Koch… kidnapping Red Ocher members to use as test subjects? The images attached even made her wince, as she sent her gratitude to Padre, understanding that the Fixer was both two steps ahead of her and even more motivated to keep Luis safe. At least she understood how it'd remained silent so long now.
Author's Note: Luis is a good boi who was only mostly tempted by Panam booty.
Written: 10/03/2026