Another Choice
Part 1: Return, Chapter 9
Joseph Grand was feeling quite pleased with himself. It had been five days since he'd publicly denounced Arasaka and given a week for a response. While no statement had yet been given in turn by Saburo or Arasaka Corp, Grand had learned from his informants that the tower was locking down, and reinforcements from Japan had been flying in for days. He was finally getting the war he'd dreamed of.
His preparations were coming along nicely as well. He now had full support of the Mayor and state government. Peralez was a pushover, willing to do whatever the people called for. With a little nudging and underhanded dealing, Grand gained public support and the rest of the police force. The majority of Militech's private military forces had been called back to the city, and hundreds of new conscripts were enlisting every day. The factories were running at top speed, churning out weapons, tanks, and AVs. All of the other Militech headquarters were doing the same across the world, wherever an Arasaka installation was nearby.
He'd purged his Board of Directors as well, quietly eliminating anyone who could defy him, and replacing them with his own loyalists. Now, only one loose end remained. Cashmere Gallagher.
He'd put Colonel Graves, his top MaxTac officer on that one, and it bewildered him that Gallagher still lived. The man was an idiot. There was no way he could evade MaxTac. Grand had already had Gallagher's mansion put on lockdown, his cars seized, his accounts frozen. Gallagher had nothing left, and yet somehow he was still alive.
Gallagher was the only thing standing in his way for true takeover of Militech. The man was a senior Vice President, with the power to legally contest any of Grand's decisions. They could be overruled, of course, but the company would be that much weaker with a dissenter in the upper ranks. All because he was the previous CEO's son.
But Grand was a patient man. Even if he couldn't be eliminated right away, Gallagher would have to show himself at some point. Grand knew he was still in the city, as the in and out traffic was being closely monitored. And even if he did escape, he couldn't show his face without one of his men finding out about it. So dead or in hiding, each would be fine for now.
His thinking was interrupted by a notification in his HUD. He read the message, and smiled. Graves had found Gallagher.
[-]
The plan was set. After 8 hours of deliberation, V had a way into Arasaka that wasn't complete suicide.
They were still waiting for information from River's contacts, which would at least provide security movements and details. Militech was hired to patrol the site, but they didn't have any heavy weapons or vehicles in the area. So it was only foot soldiers they'd have to contend with.
The team would assemble at the Aldecaldos North camp. The dig site was only a few miles away, closer to the city. They'd use the Basilisk and the Aldecaldo's desert cars to transport, and break through the first wave of defense. Once they'd gotten past the front gate, the Aldecaldos and Afterlife mercs would provide cover for Carol, Judy, and V so they can get to the control tower and hack the SERC. Panam, Mitch, Saul, and Johnny would take the SERC itself, which was a half mile into the giant tunnel it was digging. After the SERC was hacked, Panam would pilot it 30 degrees to the right, so it plowed into a storage room, which was much closer than the transportation tunnel the SERC was aimed at. From there, they could make their way up and into the tower.
Takemura had been delivered the Datashard from Hanako, which had access codes to most doors and subsystems in the tower. The data was constantly re-encrypted every few seconds, so that made the shard even more valuable. The Save Your Soul laboratory was located on the 70th floor, so they'd need to use the elevators.
The infiltration team was as small as V was willing to make it. Panam, Saul, Weyland, and Johnny would act as protection for V, Judy, and Carol. Judy and Carol were needed for the Netrunning aspects of the Save Your Soul protocols. Takemura would also be on the team, as he already knew the best routes and possible dangers within the tower.
Misty, Viktor, Kerry, and River would remain with the initial assault team, helping to guard the construction site and be on standby in case anything went wrong.
Finally, Weyland had organized an AV to pick them up from the roof. They'd only be able to use it if they took out the tower's defense systems from the inside, something Carol was working on. If they weren't able to land the AV, they'd have to go back underground and exit out the SERC tunnel.
V and Takemura didn't tell anyone else besides Judy and Johnny about the assassination job, fearing it would stall the plan and divide their forces. Though nobody, not even V knew if she was going to go through with it.
Sometime in the middle of the planning, Johnny pulled V to the side.
"V, some stuff you and me gotta sort out. C'mon."
He pulled her back behind the bar, to The Afterlife's Netrunning room. It looked like Nix had been doing some upgrades. Brand new monitors and equipment were hanging from nearly every surface. Even the Netrunner chair in the center looked shiny and unused. Nix sat at his usual place, in front of the central computer. He gestured at the chair for V to sit.
"I was doin' some thinking, and we've still got some holes to fill, for any of this to work." Johnny said. "I convinced Nix here to optimize his setup for deep Cyberspace dives. And by convince, I transferred him a shit ton of eddies."
Nix leaned over V, pulling levers and pressing buttons.
"I felt it was in our best interest," continued Johnny, "To talk to Alt and find out the burning question, is Yuna Arasaka even still alive?"
Nix pulled a tight fitting set of Netrunner goggles over V's head. V could only feel Johnny's hand as it rested on her shoulder.
"'Cause if Yuna can't be saved, then there's no need to keep considering this crazy plan you and Hanako have cooked up."
V was starting to see his logic when Cyberspace exploded into view. It began as the standard blue wireframe she'd seen in Pacifica, and slowly coalesced into the recreation of the Arasaka Tower courtyard Alt had used before. Just as quickly, the blue amorphous blob of Alt manifested itself in front of her.
"I calculated this interaction as likely to happen," said Alt. "Why is it you stand in my realm once more?"
V suddenly recalled how Alt had tricked her and Johnny, lying about them both surviving the damage caused by the relic chip. Fury clouded her mind.
"I wanna know why you let Johnny come back, after leaving me for dead in my own body," V bit out.
"Johnny Silverhand's Engram was not properly optimized for reintegration into me. I foresaw this as a potential error, and prepared accordingly. The only minds available to me at the time were the ones from the Arasaka Save Your Soul program. I wiped them and returned Silverhand's Engram to one of the surviving bodies. The other was intended for you."
"And why the fuck did it have to be Yuna Arasaka?" V demanded.
"I had no choice in the bodies available to me," said Alt. "The one known as Yuna Arasaka was simply strong enough to survive the wipe."
V found controlling her temper was much more difficult in Cyberspace, as there wasn't any air to breathe, no floor to stomp or object to smash. But she had to control it.
"Is Yuna still alive?" V finally asked.
"Yes, and no. I have Yuna Arasaka's Engram, but it is not active. It cannot exist in this realm without deteriorating, as it does not have a host," said Alt.
"Can she be put into any other body?" V pressed.
"That would require a relic chip for the Engram to inhabit until complete neural rewrite has occurred. You are already familiar with this process."
That eliminated V's other idea, to have Yuna come back as somebody else. She didn't even know if more relic chips existed, let alone where to get one. "What if you wiped another body?"
"This I cannot do. The consciences I had access to were already prepared for upload into Cyberspace. Without proper preparation, I cannot wipe a physical mind and have it survive."
V steeled herself for her next question. "Can Yuna be put back into her own body?"
"Yes," said Alt. "However, if you decide to return the user's consciousness, I will be forced to destroy all access points to Blackwall and beyond. This particular user has the ability to access Blackwall, and I cannot allow that."
It was with a sinking realization that V realized nothing Alt told her changed anything. She still had to choose who would end up in Yuna Arasaka's body. She turned her back on the construct, and ran back into the darkness.
She opened her eyes to the Netrunning room, the equipment around her slightly smoking, and Johnny in a chair facing her. "Well, learn anything?" he asked.
V updated him on what Alt had told her. Johnny had a dark look on his face at the end of it.
"Well, when the time comes, I hope you make the right choice, V," said Johnny. Then he got up and left the room.
[-]
The group was finally relaxing with some beers at the end of the deliberation. The bar had opened up by then, and patrons were streaming in at a steady rate. V was laughing with Judy and Mitch in Rogue's booth, when a booming voice from a loudspeaker echoed in from outside.
"This is Night City Police. We have a warrant out for Cashmere Gallagher. You have one minute to release this man into our custody, or we will enter the premises by force."
V's heart stopped. She recalled how Johnny had told her how he'd ended up at The Afterlife, having been chased by a squad of MaxTac, and nearly flatlined by them before Weyland and Claire intervened. Then she recalled who Johnny was galivanting around as. Cashmere Gallagher, VP of Militech.
She bolted out of her seat, pulling Johnny away from two pretty patrons and to a dark corner of the bar.
"Fucking MaxTac is outside!" she hissed through her teeth at him. Johnny looked confused for a moment, then his eyes widened and he touched the back of his head, where his shard slot was.
"Fuckin' hell, I didn't realize it turned off," he said. V's furious look convinced him to elaborate. "Cab I was in gave me a signal blocker, said MaxTac was using tracking Daemon's on me. Apparently it switched itself off an hour ago."
"Well what the fuck do we do? " V demanded. "We can't fight MaxTac, it's too risky!"
Johnny was silent for a moment. "Let me sort this one out. I gotta go out there before they come in here."
"They'll fucking kill you!" V cried.
"No they won't, just wait and see. Get everyone with a gun ready, and wait for my signal."
"What signal?" V called after him, but he was already out the door. "Fuck me," she murmured, before running to grab her guns.
Johnny stepped outside to a tense group of MaxTac. There were ten of them, each pointing a rifle at his head. All besides the officer in the middle, who looked to be their leader.
He was a tall, heavily built man, with a shaven face and bald head. He looked to be older, possibly in his fifties. And everything about him screamed 'hardass'.
"Ahh, Gallagher, there you are," said the officer. "We've been looking everywhere for you. Good thing your personal IR signal turned back on." He held a holo-document up in front of him. "Got a warrant here with your name on it. So how 'bout you come down to the station with me, or I can splatter your brains all across the street right here. Up to you."
Johnny grinned. "Don't believe I've had the pleasure there, sir. Who the fuck are you?"
The man's evil grin faded. "Colonel William Graves, and the last person you're gonna see if you don't shut up. Rory, cuff him."
One of the other officers lowered their weapon, and brandished a pair of handcuffs. Johnny suddenly recognized her.
"Melissa Rory. They still hiring cyberpsychos, or is it just for your looks?"
Rory backhanded Johnny with the cuffs. "Shut it, Gallagher." Johnny waited until she was behind him, then activated his Sandevistan. Time slowed to a crawl, and he rapidly twisted, grabbing Rory's wrists and crossing them in front of her neck, then locking his own hands behind her head. She couldn't activate her Mantis Blades now without slicing her own head off. The rest of the MaxTac squad all tensed.
With protection from the immediate threat, Johnny was able to relax slightly, while still keeping a firm hold on Rory.
"Now, we can speak like gentleman. Why does Militech want me killed, huh? Grand want the whole shebang to himself?"
Graves looked furious. "Like I give a damn why. Your name came up, and I do the hit. That's all this is."
"Sounds like warmongering to me. Doesn't Militech realize they can't win this war, or is it all filled up with dumbbells like yourself?" said Johnny with his usual cheekiness.
"Militech will win the war. Arasaka is primed to fall. But unfortunately for you, you won't be around to see it. Now, last chance Gallagher, give yourself up, or die here and now.
"'You're in no situation to be making demands," Johnny said, nodding down at Rory.
Grand smirked. "You think I give a fuck about one officer? I'd sooner kill both of you and be done with all this."
"So inconsiderate," said Johnny. "Well I don't feel like dying today, so let's even the playing field, shall we?" With that, he let out a piercing whistle. To his delight, V and every other armed merc in the bar swarmed out onto the street, leveling their own iron on the MaxTac squad. Graves looked even more enraged.
"Gallagher ain't going with you. So how about I give you 5 seconds to fuck off," said V.
Graves looked like he wanted nothing less than to give the order to fire, but self-preservation eventually won out. He waved the squad into the AV behind them, before boarding it himself. "This isn't the end, Gallagher," he yelled as the door closed. Everyone watched as the AV shot into the sky, headed back to Corpo Plaza.
"Excellent job, V," said Johnny. "Knew you'd come through."
"Shitty plan there, Johnny," said V, holstering her pistol. "A standoff? That was the best you could come up with?"
Johnny smirked. "I only had a minute to plan. Told you I wouldn't get flatlined, though."
He inclined his head at his human shield. "What do you wanna do with this one?"
Melissa Rory had slumped, no longer fighting Johnny's hold after her team had left her. Johnny pulled her arms down so he could bind her hands with her own handcuffs. V stepped in front of her.
The woman looked utterly defeated. Eliminating her would be the smart thing to do. They didn't have the resources to keep her prisoner. But V wasn't in the mood for executing anyone, especially an unarmed hostage.
"Let her go," she said. Johnny looked aghast.
"Let her go?" he repeated incredulously.
"You heard me. We can't keep her here, and we have no use for her. Let her crawl back to MaxTac, they'll probably show even less mercy than we would've."
Johnny obviously didn't agree, but he removed the cuffs, and kicked Rory into the street.
"Count yourself lucky," he said, throwing the cuffs so they struck her in the back. No one watched her limp away.
[-]
V and Judy ended up at Viktor's later that night, picking up the last of V's pills. The plan would go into motion the next morning, and they wouldn't have access to the clinic again. Vik provided a tiny bottle, enough to last the next few days. V took one to make Judy happy.
After leaving the clinic, V pulled Judy aside.
"Somethin' I've been wantin' to do," said V. She took Judy's hand and led her over to the central elevator between the close buildings, pressing the call button. Judy looked on curiously as they stepped inside, and V hit the button for the roof.
"Where's this go?" Judy asked.
"A special place," said V.
Another minute and the elevator stopped at the top. V stepped out, pulling Judy along behind her, and led them to the roof.
The sun was just starting to set, casting a warm orange glow over the flashing neon of the city. It reflected and refracted against the glass of the megabuildings, making the city look like it was aflame. Judy's jaw dropped in awe.
"I've never seen the city look so beautiful," she breathed out. V had gone to lean on the edge, looking out at the view. Judy joined her.
"This is where I decided what to do about the relic chip. Misty showed me it, used to come up here a lot with Jackie. Said it helped her think."
Judy watched as the wind played with V's hair. She remembered that night, and that strange phone call she'd gotten from V. She remembered worrying over it for hours, unable to sleep, trying to figure out what V was trying to do. V had said she was going to go and face death. Judy had wished at the time for anything but. Now, she and V were in the same situation they'd been in then, just a week ago.
"I felt like I was going to my death, when I called you. Wanted to hear your voice, remind myself why I couldn't go," V said as she continued to stare off into the distance. "Part of me wanted to end it, be done with the pain and the stress. That's kind of the reason I let Johnny take control, in the end. I wasn't strong enough to fight myself. Then, when we were in Cyberspace, and I found out about the timebomb in my own head, I begged him to take my body." V heard Judy gasp beside her. "He refused. And I didn't realize how much of a blessing that was until I woke up, and saw you."
V finally turned to meet Judy's eyes, her beautiful brown irises wide with emotion. "You were my sole reason for wanting to come back. You're the sole reason why I'm still here now."
V reached up, and pulled her bullet necklace over her head. She'd made a single modification to it recently. She'd strung Johnny's relic chip onto the chain. Very gently, she placed the necklace over Judy's head.
"The things on this necklace killed me, and yet I'm still here. They stand as my promise to you, Judy Alvarez. That no matter what happens, I'm never truly gone. And wherever I end up, I will always love you."
With a sob, Judy threw her arms around V, embracing her fiercely. And it was there, in that embrace on the rooftop, that V's mind, heart, and soul made its choice. V took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.