From the Ritz to the Rubble
Four days after the ambush, and the call from the spectre of Johnny Silverhand.
The Aldecaldos had reunited their full numbers in camp outside Alpha Dome two days before, along with the dozens of prize vehicles, weapons, armour and tech. There hadn't been enough drivers to bring it all back, but V had rigged up an auto-drive network and the whole line of Wraith vehicles had driven themselves back to camp. All anyone else had to do was park them.
Word of what happened with the spectre of Johnny Silverhand had been spread around. There was a decision that needed making, and the family needed all the information.
It had been a tense couple of days since.
V had tried his best to defuse the situation, entirely at his expense, but it hadn't worked. So he withdrew to his day-to-day, and advised Panam to do the same, to let everyone have their say without the Queen of the Highway breathing down their neck.
Panam regretted the disagreement that had followed, but she had felt it her place to convince people of the best path, not let things get out of hand.
By the fourth day, she was exhausted and lonely. No consensus had been reached among the others. She went to find V.
Luckily, the man kept a schedule like it was programmed into his mind; another relic of corpo-rat life.
Early morning was his teaching time. Panam proceeded to the edge of the camp, in the exact opposite direction to the Dome, just beyond the watch pickets. There was a regular shout of Japanese, followed by a shout of exertion in a high-ish pitch, which was by now a familiar sound.
The people that were supposed to be keeping guard and watching the horizon were instead watching something happen far closer than that. She knew she was right where she needed to be.
Panam marched up, coughing behind the pickets and causing them to jump. No one could mistake that noise for anyone else, and they knew they were in trouble. But she would deal with that later. More pressing matters.
V was exactly where he was supposed to be.
He wore traditional Japanese martial arts dress in a dark blue, clashing with the fact that he was wearing his Aldecaldo jacket over the top half. In one hand was a katana in its scabbard, in the other was his bullet necklace, which he was fiddling with as he watched the scene in front of him.
A dozen or so kids, in their own little hakama stood in two rows, bamboo swords held at the ready. The oldest kid shouted, V's first student, and then they all swung according to what she had said. Sometimes it was a big overhead swipe, sometimes a lunge, or a swift underhand swing.
Passing on his skills before he died, he had told Panam, and the thought of it clenched up her insides again.
Her march resumed, around the students' backs, who continued their practice. V spotted her, and wandered casually over to meet her half way, his eyes expectant with … something.
Panam stopped dead before him, hanging her head, unsure of what to say. She still blamed him for what he had said, but it wasn't worth feeling like shit. There had to be some compromise.
"No luck?" he asked, earnestly, causing her to finally look at him properly.
He looked tired, his blue eyes slightly puffy. Lack of sleep. He had been affected by their falling out too. Though he was a great deal better at hiding it, but not good enough.
"None," Panam replied, throwing her hands up in frustration, "Johnny fuckin' Silverhand has managed to split the family right down the middle."
"I know," V sighed, drawing her into a hug, "Let me guess. Everyone who thinks our gigs out here are a little too close to selling out to corps is with you, everyone who thinks Arasaka can't really get us out here is against you."
Panam said nothing for a while, just enjoying his company before she made her appeal once again. The children began stopping their exercises and staring, whispering to each other and giggling.
"Class dismissed!" V declared, "Teacher has to talk to Panam."
"Yes, sensei!" they all replied, bowing as one and then running off, most of them waving their swords above their heads more like pirates than samurai. Only the eldest student walked off normally.
"Hanna there is pretty much ready for a real blade," V thought aloud, "A smaller one anyway." Hanna being the eldest student.
"Hanna is thirteen," Panam said, flatly.
"Never too young," V smirked, "Not in this world."
"True," Panam nodded.
V picked her up and spun her around, gave her a kiss. "Missed you," he smiled, "Even though you're gonna try and convince me you're right again."
"You know me too well," Panam frowned, "And you're not mad about that?"
"I've calmed down," he replied, "Realised it isn't my call. Not yours either, not alone, but you're not an idiot. You're a good leader, you follow when the family needs you to. And like I said, I missed you."
"You're insane to want to do it alone," Panam said, "No one at all wants you to go charging off back to NC without us right beside you. We stay or go together."
"Johnny was right about one thing," V said, releasing the hug, "I do have contacts there. And yeah, I know Rogue said that none of them will do a gig with me after Konpeki, but I don't want to put you all in danger again."
"We're already in danger," Panam growled, before easing off, "But we're going in circles with this argument again."
"I might have thought of a compromise that might break the deadlock," V said, "You interested?"
That sounded ominous, but what choice was there?
"Anything that could help at this point. What's the idea?"
"We take a small group back to Night City," V explained, "Our best, led by you. We gather whoever else we can; mercs, friends, anyone with an interest; then we steal what we need for the cure. A proper heist, not an assault."
That sounded far more attractive... but there was a big problem with it.
"And ignore Johnny's revolution?" Panam asked, "We'll probably need Alt's help to pull something like that off, because there's no way the real netrunners will work with us. People remember your friend T-Bug."
"Johnny isn't the only one who can get us the information and access we need," V said, "We use Takemura. He's back at Arasaka and there's no way it's because he's forgiven Yorinobu. Maybe he'll help."
Bad idea.
"That's a shit plan, for two reasons," Panam replied, "Takemura hates you, and you have to get to him in the first place. Even if you reach him, there's no way you'll be able to do it in secret."
"Then we talk through a third party," he continued, "Viktor might be up for it, and considering Vik saved Takemura's life at the same time he saved mine, there would be nothing unusual about those two staying in touch."
"From what I hear, Viktor isn't up for the cloak and dagger stuff," said Panam, "And the reason I know that is because you're the one who told me."
V tilted his head, conceding the point.
"Okay, so we don't do that," he continued, "We go to Rogue with eddies. She has people that can get the job done. If it's you who is doing the hiring and not me, we avoid the whole Konpeki mess. You're known around the Afterlife."
Now he was getting desperate.
"You're way way more likely to get that bitch to help if Johnny's the one asking," Panam chuckled, "And if he thinks you're not going to fuck the corps over completely to get this cure, he's likely to call her up and tell her to not let you commit suicide like this."
"Suicide?" he asked, "Really?"
"Not doing the whole small-team thing again, V," Panam said, "If we're taking on Arasaka again, it's gonna be with everything we've got. Not going to let another Adam Smasher or whoever else kill another of my family. Neither by too being afraid of them to get what we need, or by letting outselves be outgunned."
V hung his head, defeated for a moment... but only for a minute.
"Okay," he said, "Bad idea."
Panam felt a guilt rise up in the back of her throat. She ran her fingers through his hair and tried to soothe him. He was concerned about the division in the family, and she did not want him to feel bad about that.
"At least you're trying," she said, "I have no idea what's going to happen now. I gave it my best shot with everyone already."
"So what do we do now?" V asked, "How do we convince people?"
"We?" Panam said rhetorically, cocking an eyebrow, "Finally seeing things my way?"
"Thought there was some way out of this that didn't risk you and the family," V shrugged, "But clearly I'm wrong. If I went on my own, you'd charge off after me, then half the family would follow unprepared to try and save us. You make a good argument."
"I know," Panam smiled, "That's what being part of a family means, for us... As for what we do now... We need to celebrate our reconciliation a little. Panzer?"
A little neuro-synced fun was just what the doctor ordered. V eyed her, not looking tired at all suddenly. The look made her laugh, because it was both predictable and wonderful. He literally swept her off her feet into a princess carry, and began walking straight to where he knew the tank was parked. She allowed it, though what he did next could've been avoided.
"Guys, if anyone asks where Panam is, tell them she's going to be busy for the rest of the day," V shouted to the picket guards, "Don't even bother telling them anything about me."
A wolf whistle or two came back, which earned them a rude gesture from Panam... all in the spirit of fun, though Panam slapped V's side in disapproval nonetheless.
Then along came Cassidy again, like a storm cloud. He scratched at the large scar on his face as he approached, giving a little wave after. "Sorry to interrupt the reunion," he said, "But the Dome is sending a rep over. They want to talk payment."
"About time," Panam said, still being carried by V, "Almost thought they weren't going to pay us."
"They can wait," V declared, "Tell them we'll talk this evening."
"No they can't and we won't," Panam laughed, finally climbing out of his arms, "It shouldn't take too long to find out what they want."
"Well, there's another thing," Cassidy added, "They also said they want to talk about the 'future', whatever the hell that means."
"Sounds fuckin' lengthy to me," V grumbled.
Alpha Dome was actually a collection of domes, the central one being as wide as four Night City megabuildings standing beside each other and about as tall as one. It looked spectacular in the bright sun, panes of glass refracting the light.
It was a marvel. It had huge farms to the south, Biotechnica running the show there, cleaner air than any other city in the Americas, commercial hubs, a rock-bottom crime rate...
At least, that was the propaganda view.
It was safe in the streets, but it was also a corpo haven, and there were plenty of ways to rob or kill someone legally in those. meant it was also a nomad hub, though the Aldecaldos were the largest presence by far, multiple clans of nation being encamped outside compared to only small clans of the other six nations being present. A lot of the smaller Aldecaldo branches in the area had signed up when Panam brought the her larger clan to Arizona.
So, when the government of such a place sends a rep, you take stand up and look your best. Panam ordered everyone of any sort of standing among her family to get themselves presentable, and ready for a fight. It was a sign of respect that the rep would recognise... and would return. So everyone tooled up and suited up.
Nothing short of a full display of Aldecaldo unity that didn't exist any more would do, as far as Panam was concerned. Glad of the distraction from the debate, everyone complied.
Soon, a big silver Chevillon armoured car was speeding along the road from Alpha Dome, having come out a side airlock rather than the large truckport that was the dome's primary means of entry and exit. Behind it were two black Militech-model trucks, looking like civilian models except for the armoured wheels that gave away the game.
In reply, the Aldecaldos had parked the panzer and the most heavily armed of their own trucks across the road in front of the camp. Panam and V sat on the tank's nose, watching as the parley party drew nearer.
The car came to a halt about 100 yards away, the two trucks with it coming along to either side. Before the latter had even stopped fully, humanoid mechs were jumping out and spreading out, until there were a dozen of them in an arc in front, weapons held at rest.
Panam felt a chill despite the sun beaming down on them... she didn't like drones of any kind. They were often what was sent after nomads when someone rich wanted to get rid of them. Another reason she had made sure they had a healthy advantage in firepower, even if she was sure there wasn't going to be violence.
The driver of the car got out, went to the rear left door, and opened if for the rep to step out. A beautiful but unnaturally pale woman with jet black hair, in a white blouse, grey trousers and black pumps.
"Runner," V muttered beside her, "The skin."
Panam squinted a little, trying to get a better look as the woman approached, flanked by her mechs. There didn't appear to be any chrome in the rep's head, but maybe the hair was hiding it? Although for all she knew, V and the rep were already jousting in the subnet. Didn't seem like it though.
"Why?" Panam whispered, without turning her head to V.
"Must be bad news," V replied softly, "They sent someone who could protect their mechs from me for long enough for them to kill some of us."
"Well, you can blow them up with a thought," Panam agreed, "I guess all our good work hasn't changed the reputation of nomads any inside the Dome."
V snorted once, indicating his doubt that such a thing had ever been possible in the first place.
Panam punched him on the arm, then stood up on the nose of the tank, putting her hands on her hips and raising herself to her full height.
"Morning!" she greeted loudly, "You'll have to excuse the welcome committee, we're quite anxious to get paid. Now-ish would be good. It's quite unusual for the Dome to be this late with the eddies, you see."
"Then you are in luck," the rep replied, getting closer, "I am Venus. One of my duties today will be payment for services rendered." She gestured for the mechs to stop advancing with her. A statement of confidence.
Panam noticed the rep had borg eyes with glowing green irises, which caught her attention long enough that they were soon in conversing distance without the need to shout. So she sat down again beside V, while the rep came to halt directly in front and the other Aldecaldos moved up a little to hear.
"Panam Palmer," 'Venus' greeted with a small bow of the head, "Vinc..."
"Just V," V interrupted, "And not Mr. V either. The last guy who liked to call me that ate a bullet from an Arasaka gun, it's bad luck."
The rep seemed amused by this, though only a slight twitch of her mouth gave it away. Very buttoned up, this corpo-rat.
"Very well, V," Venus replied, "Ms. Palmer, as you are eager to receive payment, do you wish the full amount to be sent to you or split up to multiple accounts."
"Send it to me," Panam replied without a moment's hesitation, "My people trust me."
"Understood," said Venus, before pausing and staring as the transfer was processed.
Panam's phone beeped, and she took it out of her pocket. The message confirmed the transfer... but the amount was way off.
"What is this?" she asked, "This is far more than we agreed. By like fifty times."
"Our drones have determined that you defeated the Raffen Shiv in this state," Venus replied, matter-of-factly, "Their remaining numbers are so low that we are certain we can manage them with our existing forces along with the purchase of some new equipment which has recently been offered to us. The Board greatly appreciates your efforts and was very happy to see their trust in you rewarded."
"So you gave us a fortune?" Panam asked, "There's gotta be a catch here."
"With the Raffen Shiv defeated, we will no longer need to contract you for large scale convoy escort duties for the foreseeable future," Venus explained, "We do not however wish to seem ungrateful, so the bonus reflects a percentage of the costs we were expecting to incur in future contracts. 25%, in fact."
"So you want us to take our money and leave?" V said, "Now that we are no longer necessary."
"I did not say that," Venus replied, "In fact, we have seen profits increase beyond projections since you have been encamped here. Your continued presence is desired."
"But just not something you want to pay for," Panam added, "Not since we've done our job a little too well."
"That would be accurate," said the rep, "We are not a charity and neither are you. Why would we contract with a large paramilitary force when there is no enemy to fight? Eventually, more Raffen Shiv will show up and we can negotiate then as we have before, of course. Your arrangement with our doctors is also considered sacrosanct, as per our existing contractual obligations."
Panam thought that was fair enough, but it left the family in a bind. Without the big contracts, they'd be surviving on lots of other gigs, smaller ones.
Arizona had way fewer of those just waiting to be picked up, California was the place for that... But with the big pay-off, that fact wouldn't cause anyone to change their mind about Silverhand's plan for months, and the cost of V's treatment couldn't be covered by side gigs after that.
"Mind answering a question Venus?" V piped up, suddenly.
"Certainly, V," the rep said.
"You mentioned new equipment that's been offered to you," he said, "That wouldn't happen to be Arasaka equipment, would it?"
Venus remained silent and frowned, displaying genuine unguarded emotion. Annoyance that he had guessed it?
"That's what I thought," V said, "Arasaka funnelled the Shivs' new weapons through you, didn't they? Probably made an offer you couldn't refuse."
"I could not possibly comment," Venus replied sharply.
"It's alright, you being here with triple the number of mech guards is proof enough," V continued with a smile, "You wouldn't have done that if you had been here for just a payday. Arasaka wants us to remain right where we are, where we can't do any harm to them and they can keep trying to kill us, slow or fast doesn't matter to them."
The other Aldecaldos muttered or cursed loudly, Mitch openly shouting for everyone to shut up to let their leader speak.
Panam felt anger burn again and was glad to take the opportunity. "Is that all true?!" she demanded.
Venus paused, looking back to the Dome for a moment, staring. Communicating via the Net. Getting permission or advice.
"It is true," the rep confirmed at last, returning her attention to Panam, "Though we had no choice. As someone intimately familiar with the modus operandi of Arasaka, we trust you understand that we had no other option. Choosing you over Militech was a sound business decision, but it left us isolated, and Arasaka exploited this via their bank."
Panam cocked an eyebrow, not expecting the woman to just come out and say it. The honesty drained away her anger pretty quickly, along with the content of what the rep had just said.
"Why are you telling us this?" she asked, "It's not like we could've told if you were lying to us."
"Arasaka would've supplied a cover story," V agreed, "So what's up?"
"The Board does not like to be threatened or blackmailed," Venus sighed, relaxing her facade a little, "We wish to maintain good relations, though we do not think we can in the face of these circumstances."
"You're afraid we'll attack the Dome?" V stated, "Maybe not now, but when the money starts getting tighter in a six months or a year from now, or after Arasaka forces you to do something else."
"Attacking is sounding like a better idea with every second," Cassidy half-snarled, "Arming the Shivs to help Arasaka? People who do that are too stupid to live."
There were angry sounds of agreement with that from the nomad side, coupled with lots of blood-curdling threats. The mechs' heads began scanning from side to side... pre-targeting. The rep was scared and had ordered her robotic guards to be ready. And V's Kiroshi eyes were now glowing too, ready to hack.
Time to ease off, Panam knew. "Good thing she's right about us knowing how the Arasaka bastards operate!" she countered loudly, shutting everyone else up, "All this does is prove that they can absolutely get to us out here. Making another enemy would be damn stupid."
The mechs' heads stopped moving, and Panam breathed out with relief.
"Besides, if we attack the Dome, Arasaka will step in and help them," V added with a shrug, "Militech can't intervene if the Dome asks for help. If we're going to piss off Arasaka, there are better ways to do it, ways that can guarantee they won't come after us again."
The rep glanced at V, in confusion about what he was referring to there, but everyone else knew exactly what he was talking about. He was publicly joining Panam in asking the Aldecaldos to ride against Arasaka in Night City, without saying so explicitly in front of a corpo agent. Which she was grateful for. Trust had been restored between them.
"Venus, give our thanks to the Board for the extra cash," Panam promised, "We'll put it to good use. You don't have to worry about us doing anything stupid."
Venus took that as the cue to go. "Thank you, Ms. Palmer," she said, "And good luck."
We'll need it, Panam thought as the rep withdrew back to her armoured car and the mechs followed.
The other Aldecaldos dispersed in their vehicles as well, without a word for the moment, probably moving to relay the news of the Dome's strange forced betrayal to the rest of the family. The air was filled with the sounds of engines for a few minutes, and afterwards, it was just the tank left standing, quiet.
"On the bright side," V said, "I doubt there'll be many objections to going back to California now."
"Only a matter of time before Arasaka tries again," Panam agreed, "And now, no one can hide behind the idea that Alpha Dome will protect us and pay us forever."
"We'll get a sit-down organised tomorrow," V agreed, "Let the others talk about all this. But for now..."
"Panzer," they both said together.
