Sandstorm
The final road out to Laguna Bend, or what was left of it, had been completely empty. No police, no Biotechnica convoys from the farms, no nomads or Raffen roaming the highways. It had been a straight shot down from the north, on the interstate all the way from Oregon. It had taken three days to get this far.
Judy had felt a sudden compulsion to return to her birthplace, to dive on the town alone. It had been nine months since she had taken V underwater to her childhood home, and while she travelled, she had edited the raw braindance to perfection, their two minds joined into an emotional mix like nothing else.
The day she had completed it, she knew she had to go back, one last time. She'd probably never see V again, even though they kept in touch every now and then.
But as she came across the first dam, the beginning of the last leg of the journey, Judy's heart was pounding like a drum and her foot was hard down on the CHOOH, trying to squeeze every last bit of speed out of her van.
At sunset, as she began the hill climb past the landfill, she was distracted by the faraway sight of a sandstorm coming in off the desert, the whirling sand glowing an angry red in the last light of the day that made it look like a vengeful neon god was descending on the darkening city beyond. It was beautiful enough that she didn't see the three vehicles creeping up behind her until it was too late.
A sharp blast from a droning horn behind surprised her, causing her to jump in her seat. She struggled with the wheel for a second or two, before regaining control. She had looked at her rear-view camera feed and straight into the large front grill of an Arasaka armoured car.
Panic twisted up her insides, as her worst fears came flooding to the front of her mind. There was no reason for Arasaka to be out of the city that far. Which begged the question: did they find out about her role in the Konpeki gig at last?
Another blast from the horn. The passenger was waving her down now, gesturing for her to pull over.
Not a chance. Judy slammed down the accelerator and tried to outrun the corpos. Her van wasn't a racer by any means, but armoured cars had to be slower. If she could get into the approaching sandstorm, she could lose them in it and hide out at the Bend.
Her mouth went dry as she glanced between the road and the rear view every few seconds. She was putting out distance, slowly breaking away from the Arasaka pursuit, and the sandstorm grew every closer... The clenched feeling of hopeless began to dissolve, replaced by the thrill of possible escape. She was so close. Another few minutes, she could dim her lights, bolt off the road and double back.
And then the world spun out of control.
The van veered off the road to the right, onto the dirt, slamming Judy's head against the window. Pain shot through her like a knife, sending her gasping for air as the view outside had changed completely.
Her ride had turned on the spot once the traction of the asphalt was no longer there to give the wheels grip. The Arasaka armour came rolling deliberately and slowly off the road, the three cars spreading out to block her off in front and on both sides.
Judy's head swam until the front passenger of the lead vehicle swung his door open and stepped out with a rifle already in hand. They had blown out her tire.
"Ugh, fuck," Judy muttered to herself, gripping the wheel tight like it might protect her from the borg now disembarking all around her.
Only the first guy had a gun, but the way the others stood in a semi-circle around the front of her car was possibly more intimidating. Black suits, hands crossed in front of them, and cyberware worth hundreds of thousands of eddies... they didn't need guns. The one with the gun gestured for her to get out, before levelling the barrel of his weapon straight at her.
Her instincts were screaming at her to slam the van into reverse, to try and get away... but she was too smart to try that. The glass between her and the gunman probably wouldn't stop a rock if he threw one, never mind a bullet. With dread flooding her body, Judy opened her door and stood up on shaky legs.
No, she thought, if this was her final day, she was going to go out with some fucking dignity. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to walk out confidently in front of her audience, stopping five yards in front of the gunman and crossing her arms. She couldn't bring herself to look at the man aiming the gun at her.
Another of the Arasaka agents spoke something in Japanese that she couldn't quite hear. The wind was really picking up, soon the sandstorm would be around them and they'd have to shout to be heard over the roar of it. The rear door of the first armoured car opened.
A man in a perfect white suit emerged, a katana in a jet black scabbard in one hand. He had black hair, a grey-streaked beard, hard eyes and even more chrome than his underlings. The last was particularly visible at his neck, showing off a full respiratory system replacement and augmentation. Judy's unease was deflected a bit. He was familiar somehow.
"Are you unharmed?" the man in the white suit asked in accented English, "You are lucky you did not crash." He nodded at the large, empty billboard off to her right that she hadn't even noticed.
The nerve of him, pretending as if his guy hadn't shot out her wheel! Not the time to lose cool though.
"I'm fine," Judy said flatly, "You got biz with me? Or do you just get a kick outta using three trucks and a squad of ninjas to scare a girl?"
The man in the white suit frowned, and gestured for his people to back off... a little. Most took a step or two back. He stopped his own slow advance towards her too.
"Álvarez-san, my apologies for the manner of our meeting, but your return to Night City is a very ill omen," he said, "It would be very unfortunate if you were involved in anything... untoward."
Judy said nothing. She had no idea what he was talking about.
The man in the white suit continued his approach. "Where are my manners," he continued, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Goro Takemura. We have a mutual acquaintance." He bowed from the waist, his glowing eyes never leaving hers.
Now Judy understood why the man was familiar, and would've slapped her head in other circumstances. What she didn't know was whether this was good or bad news. Last she had heard, Goro Takemura was an Afterlife merc, not an agent for 'Saka.
"Yeah, V told me about you," she said, "Thought Arasaka had thrown you away, 'cause they thought you got the emperor killed or sumthin'."
The man glancing away for a second. "I am back where I belong," Takemura replied, "You should return to where you belong."
Judy's skin itched, knowing how many other eyes were on her without looking. All of them expecting her to roll over. Fuck that.
"And where I belong isn't here?" she asked, "Is this the point you threaten to flatline me if I don't get out of town? No wonder V didn't trust you."
Takemura's eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened for a split second, she noticed. She had pushed a button, a big red button.
"Not at all," Takemura said slowly, with a shake of his head, "You can remain in Night City as long as you wish. However, should V return, do not involve yourself in any actions which may be considered... hostile. Arasaka is capable of great injury to those that wish it harm. I suspect that I do not have to tell you that."
"I'm no solo," Judy shrugged, "Couldn't harm you even if I tried."
Besides providing the information that made stealing the most valuable piece of technology on Earth possible... but Judy was pretty sure the 'Saka agents didn't know that. Else she would be a corpse, not conversing with them.
"You killed the one nicknamed 'Woodman', did you not?" Takemura said, "With V's assistance. And you are an associate of Evelyn Parker. It is fortunate that we have no evidence you were involved in the death of Saburo-sama. You are indeed not a solo, but nonetheless, you are not innocent or a pacifist. We would be fools to ignore you."
"Do you have any idea what that Woodman fucker did?" Judy snarled back, walking right up to him and poking his chest with her finger, "That wasn't about me becoming a merc, that was personal."
Before she realised her error, Takemura took her hand in his, gently but firmly.
"I am sorry for your loss, truly," he said, "But Evelyn Parker is responsible for her own fate, as is V for his."
Her head swimming with disgust, Judy moved back a step, pulling her hand free. She clenched her fists, wanting to tear him limb from limb.
Takemura wasn't done. "V once told me you were a highly skilled braindance editor," he continued, "It would be best for all concerned if you did not attempt a career change. This is the only warning you will get, Álvarez-san."
The sandstorm began closing in around them, dust and dirt blowing around, getting everywhere. Takemura disappeared behind the swirling sand with the others, like ghosts, only the sound of their armoured cars' engines announcing that they had existed at all.
The rest of Judy's drive to the Bend was short but difficult, as the tire that had been shot out kept threatening to pull the whole vehicle off the road at random intervals and the storm was throwing up more dust than she had ever seen before. There were only a few times she had been out at the lake when a sandstorm blew in, though, so maybe it was normal.
Either way, it was only the green glow of the transit stop's holo that told her where she needed to turn off the main road, and even then, she almost put the van into the lake itself, as the dust covered up the usual tracks that would indicate the way. Luckily, with the blown tire, which got her heart pumping again.
She wasn't going very fast, so she could correct herself. She followed the edge of the water, through a forest of discarded trashbags, until she could pick the shadow of the house and the busted up car wreck out of the gloom. Home sweet home, she thought, as she pulled up.
Instead of stopping right outside the door, she swung the vehicle right so she could stop right beside the generator.
The headlights immediately picked out someone kneeling by the fuses, doing something with the switches. Everything about him screamed nomad, from the dirty leather-padded jeans, cowboy boots, racing straps, to the flannel shirt and large revolver on his hip.
Great, Judy thought, drifters had found her cabin and were planning to set up camp. A shot of guilt went through her for a moment for judging him, as she realised V was now a nomad too... but this guy wasn't V. After being stopped on the road, the last thing she wanted was company. She wanted to do what she had come to do, and then leave, preferably forever.
This guy had no place in the picture.
She brought the van to a halt, opening her door before it had stopped, and jumped out with her pistol in hand. The guy had noticed her too late, or so she thought, and she raised the weapon right at him.
In the blink of an eye, he had swivelled on the spot, revealing driving goggles around his eyes, a ridiculous grey moustache, a cowboy hat in one hand and the revolver, the last of which had somehow jumped from its holster.
They both got their sights on-target at the same time, and hesitated. It was an even stand-off.
"This is my place, get back on the horse you rode in on and fuck off!" Judy shouted over the roar of the sandstorm, barely able to keep her eyes open in the dust, "I've had a really shitty day!"
The man's moustache seemed to wiggle, in response to the man moving his lips in thought. He was offended by something. Judy suppressed a laugh, if only to prevent getting dirt in her mouth.
"What's your name?" he asked loudly and gruffly.
"None of your business!" Judy replied, "All you need to know is this is my place and I don't want you here."
Another moustache wiggle a head tilt, and the man holstered his weapon in a slow but smooth motion, before he raised his palms up to chest height. "Alright," he said, "You got me."
"That's right," Judy said, in triumph, "Now get back in your car and never come back."
"Is that any way to treat a guest?" came a sarcastic voice from behind. Close behind.
The shock of it got her moving quick. Judy spun around on the spot, hoping to shoot the person before they shot her or the cowboy could get his revolver into the game... but a hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. Her fingers twitched by reflex, sending a gunshot off into the swirl of sand around them uselessly.
Judy looked up at the person behind her, dreading to see who it was...
V looked back down at her through another pair of goggles, a smile on his face. He immediately released his grip on her arm. "Hey Punchin' Judy!" he shouted over the wind, "How's the BD biz these days?"
A wave of emotion rocking her, competing to be expressed first... but relief and gladness won out in the end. Judy dropped her gun and threw her arms around V, hugging him tight. He returned the embrace, lifting her up and spinning her around once, chuckling to himself.
"Wow, you did miss me!" he joked, "Should Panam be jealous?"
Anger came out next, burning her skin with its intensity. He knew damn well that wasn't her intent and he wasn't her type. She was still raw as a live wire about Evelyn because of the forcible 'Saka meet too, and didn't need the jokes.
She released him and threw a very serious punch at his side. She regretted it instantly; his body didn't yield a millimetre, and her hand throbbed with pain.
"Don't joke!" she shouted back at him, shaking her hand to wave off the hurt in her knuckles, "Do you have any idea how much shit you've landed me in?"
He was taken aback, briefly, but recovered quickly.
"I'd love to hear all about it," V replied, "But can we get out of this fucking sand?"
"Yeah, let's do that," the moustache cowboy agreed, interrupting his speech to hock wet sand out of his mouth as he was waltzing over, "Generator's all ready to go."
Ten minutes later, and Judy is enjoying the best cup of coffee she had ever tasted, with V looking on with an annoyingly satisfied look. It smelled and tasted amazing. The old cabin hadn't really changed since the last time she had been in it, when she and V had taken the dive to the real Laguna Bend.
"Well?" he asked, "Great, right? Feel better?"
"Gotta admit, this is the best," Judy said, raising her mug to drink again, "Where'd you get it?"
"Perks of working a Biotechnica contract," V replied, "The Aldecaldos have had a great six months. We basically destroyed the Wraiths out in Arizona, 'bout two weeks back."
Looking him over, she noticed a lot more chrome than the last time she had seen him. Which explained why punching him had hurt so much.
The cowboy put his hat back on his head as he leaned back against the wall, reminding Judy he existed. "That was a glorious moment, wrecking those Shiv sons of bitches," he said, "'til we figured out they had been backed by Arasaka and it seems ol' Yorinobu got Alpha Dome to cancel any future work."
Which explained why the nomads were on V's side, anyway. Aside from the Panam thing.
Judy looked at the cowboy, as he drank deeply from his own coffee, wondering what his deal was. "Who's this guy?" she asked V, "He's damn fast with that big iron on his hip, know that much at least."
The cowboy grinned, patting his revolver and saluting her with his cup. "It's practice, is all," he said, "We Aldecaldos gotta be quick."
Judy could believe that, if Cowboy was hanging around with V. Who knows, maybe he'd piss off the Martians next.
"This is Cassidy Righter," V explained, "As he's pointed out, he's an Aldecaldo. Here to watch my back while I'm in NC. But we'll get to that. You said I landed you in the shit, what's happened Judy? Tyger Claws renege on their deal with Maiko because they found out I was involved?"
If only it was that simple. Judy felt her anger at V build up again, plus a little embarrassment that she had forgotten it for a moment because of coffee.
"Worse," Judy said, "Couple of minutes before I pulled up here, your old choom Takemura ran me off the road. Held me at gunpoint with a whole bunch of ninjas, and told me under no circumstances was I to help you with... anything. Anything you wanna get off your chest about that?"
V sighed, rubbing his face and grimacing. "Shit Judy, sorry," he said, "Can't say I thought you'd be here. Thought you were still in Oregon."
"Well, I'm not," Judy sighed, "And now I've got Arasaka ready to kill me and my grandparents too, probably."
V was quiet, looking up at the ceiling. "Truth is, I was gonna ask you to help me," he admitted, "Get someone to scroll a few BDs for intel, edit them enough to get what we need. But if you say you're out, that's cool. We'll find another way."
Judy stared at him, can't believing her ears. "You're planning an op against Arasaka?" she said, "Again? Jesus V, why would you come back here? You already faced them twice, and you died the first time."
"I died the second time too," V replied, "A slow death. That's why I'm back, or one of the reasons anyway. There's a cure for this chip in my head, and I'm gonna tear it out of Arasaka's fuckin' heart."
No wonder he was on the warpath, believing shit like that.
"According to who?" Judy asked, "You got someone on the inside at Arasaka, feeding you detes?" Her mind wandered to the obvious candidate; Takemura. She would really kick his ass if he was the source.
"Johnny," V replied, "Or Alt speaking through Johnny, to be more precise."
"As AIs go, a scary one," Cassidy added, with a frown that made his moustache wiggle again, "But the intel has been reliable so far."
Judy shook her head. "And you don't think an AI has an agenda they might want you to carry out for them?" she asked, punctuating the question with a sip of coffee, "That you might be expendable?"
"Already know what Alt-Johnny wants," V shrugged, "At least, short term. Either way, with that kinda netrunning capability on my side, our chances of remaining above ground through the whole thing are a whole lot better. It's like Panam always says, we're going through the Triple A plan; Assess what you've got, assemble what you need, take action."
It sounded insane, impossible... but V had achieved the impossible before on the back of one of Panam's plans.
"I'm still not helping you," Judy said, "Love you and all, you helped me out when no one else would, but this is too much."
"Heard you loud and clear," V said, "Wouldn't want anything to happen to you anyway. What we're gonna do Judy... it's some heavy shit. Makes Konpeki and Arasaka Tower look like amateur hour shit, because that's the way it's gotta be."
Cassidy the Cowboy cleared his throat for attention. "Don't mean to be the bearer of bad news," he said apologetically, "But V... once we start poking around, won't Arasaka bring Judy here in to see if she knows what we're up to?"
"I was planning on her getting back on the road right away," V said, "So she's out of the city before they even know we're back. No way to connect us to her."
Another moustache wiggle. "D'you think that'll be enough?" Cassidy asked.
Judy felt the uncertainty and powerlessness over her life creep back to her, and she looked at V for the answer. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life on the run.
It was V's turn to frown, which he did while shifting his weight in the chair he was perched on, his eyes turning up in thought.
"It should be," he said, "But I can't one hundred percent say they don't have eyes on this place. Can't see us right now because of the storm, but we can't call in Delamain's AV before it clears up either. They see our vehicles parked outside the same building, they're gonna wonder. That's assuming they have this place under surveillance, which they shouldn't."
"Seems like a risk," Cassidy replied at once, "But it was one we knew about comin' in."
"Yeah V, sounds like a big damn risk," Judy agreed, "What if you're wrong and they're watching any place you've been seen at before?"
V gave a single nod and leaned forward over his knees. "Shit, you're right, it's too big a possibility," he said, "Bit of bad luck on our part. We need to get you somewhere safe."
"Where's safe from Arasaka?" Judy asked, "'cause I don't have a big nomad family to watch my back. And you'll be too busy to do it personally, if your big talk about ripping the heart out of Arasaka is for real."
"Could always send you back to Arizona," Cassidy suggested, "The big nomad family has got room for one more."
"Can't just yet," V said, "It would draw attention, make it look like we're gathering people for an op, which is exactly the opposite impression we're lookin' to give Arasaka. Besides, our border agent contacts will probably get bribed before we can get her across. It wouldn't work."
"So what?" Judy asked, "I'm screwed, that's what you're saying?"
V examined her from afar for a minute, before smiling and standing up. "We make you a part of the plan," he declared, "We're heading to a place we'll be safe, right? In the public eye? We bring you with us and make you part of the cover story."
"What cover story?" Judy asked.
"Triumphant return of the V to Night City," Cassidy said, "Rubbing elbows with the rich and infamous, making all sorts of waves."
That did not sound good, Judy thought, as the conversation was steered in a completely different direction to what she had been expecting.
"You still getting offers from studios about editing work?" V asked, "Still working on that BD we scrolled at the bottom of the lake?"
Judy nodded. "Yeah, still getting calls, and I just finished editing our braindance, actually," she said, "Came back for a last look at the place before I released it. Felt nostalgic about it, dunno."
V smirked at Cassidy. "See, that's perfect," he said, "The screamsheets can write some bullshit up like V and Kerry to work on new Samurai scroll with indy BD genius. They'll eat that up."
The cowboy conceded it sounded good.
"Kerry?" Judy asked, curious. There was only one Kerry she knew that he was associated with.
"Eurodyne," V replied, confirming her thought, "The plan is for him to help us make lots of big public moves that have nothing to do with any biz they might associate with harming them."
"And you don't think Takemura will find that a bit convenient?" Judy said, "Might as well wrap yourself up in a bow."
"If Arasaka think we're gathering troops for an op while swanning about with Eurodyne and the Mayor, I'll eat my hat," Cassidy chuckled, pulling the hat in question off his head and holding it out in front of him like a pizza, "Best part of the plan, as far as I can tell. They'll still be suspicious and will probably try something, but nothing that we can't handle. If we tried sneaking about, they'd squash us with everything they have and just say our sneaking about was proof we were up to no good."
Judy couldn't believe that she felt it wasn't entirely crazy an idea, which was just as shocking as anything else she had heard that day.
"Suppose there's a certain logic to that," she said, "But what exactly do I do?"
"Judy, the question is this," V said, "You up for living with Kerry Eurodyne for a while?"
