Favourite Worst Nightmare
The AV shuddered as it flew through the engine wash of a superheavy cargo carrier, overtaking the flying giant as both flew westbound, the air traffic control having routed the flight in a circle over Rancho Coronado and the ocean instead of directly to downtown.
The champagne glasses tinkled and chimed in the drinks cabinet from the vibration for a few seconds after the AV itself, with a certain musical quality that only the very best provided.
A reminder of how things used to be. The more V interacted with it, the more the past before Johnny seemed like another planet.
"Three minutes," Delamain announced over the speakers, "There is an emergency situation that is causing some delay. Unfortunately, reports indicate that this flight is being monitored by the press, and they will likely extrapolate your destination before our arrival."
That had been inevitable. In fact, V suspected that air traffic control had gotten a payoff to make sure it would happen. It had been part of the plan, until suddenly it was a problem for the plan. Fucking Nevada.
V plucked a glass from the cabinet and the bottle of real champagne, pouring the golden liquid out and drinking as large a gulp as was respectable. Not that anyone who cared could see.
"Thanks Del," V replied, "No rush. Militech should let us land on their pad. Send the access request now."
Delamain made an affirmative noise, and V went back to watching out the window, as the spaceport came into view. Another shuttle was preparing to lift off, to the Moon or to one of the L stations. Maybe O'Neill. V wondered idly if he'd ever get to space, when a throat was cleared from the seats opposite.
"This is a really bad idea," Cassidy said, "You should've tried for the No Tell Motel instead."
"Would've loved nothing more," V replied, "Sampson wasn't buying it. Said that if we wanted to meet for biz with Militech, the Militech building was the only place for it."
Which was bullshit, the corp conducted business wherever the hell it wanted... especially someone at Sampson's level. Getting down in the dirt was what the border patrol did for a living. It was certain the guy had slummed it before. Hell, his street races against Claire and the rest were the very definition of slumming it.
"Yeah, and it smells like the trash heap outside of town on a hot day," Cassidy pressed, "But I'm sure you're gonna tell me we've got no choice. Again."
"Only other way Panam gets through into North Cali is by shooting her way past," V stated, "If our convoy shoots its way past a major Militech outpost, no way they're gonna be forgiving about it. Not with their star rising and Arasaka's in the gutter, for the moment."
"You understand the politics of it better than I do," Cassidy admitted, "Just concerned that I won't be able to shoot us out of the situation we're flying into, is all."
If shooting started, they were truly screwed regardless.
"Duly noted," V said, "But this should be a talk and nothing else." He hoped.
Delamain's speakers pinged again. "Apologies for the interruption, but Militech are refusing to allow us to land on their pads," the AI said, "They have sent landing coordinates however; for the front doors."
Exasperated, V gulped the rest of his champagne down in one go, damning respectability to hell.
"Why?" Cassidy asked, "What are they up to?"
"The media are probably outside already," V replied, "They want me to walk in, all the world watchin'. Arasaka, especially."
Nothing better for a corporate fuck you.
"But weren't we supposed to not scare the shit out of Arasaka by doin' somethin' like that?" Cassidy said, "If we landed at the pad, we could have at least pretended, but..."
"Arasaka will probably try some shit," V confirmed, "They'll come at us sideways because of the media, but come they will. Fuck it. Del, take us in."
When the AV landed with a bump and the doors opened, V was already half on his feet, hanging off the leather padded handrail. He jumped out, Widowmaker tucked under his arm, and stepping straight towards his goal; the Militech tower that cast its shadow over everything.
All around was media of every kind, from Gillean Jordan in front of a hovering drone cam to random folks with phone and eye pieces to capture the scene. Holding most of these back were heavily armoured Militech goons, reinforced plastic shields in a line formation either side of the narrow path leading to the man he wanted to see.
Just beyond the barricades, Peter Sampson waited in a grey corpo suit, with another contingent of troops and a trio of mechs behind him.
After a quick check to make sure that Cassidy was following close behind, V set his eyes to filter out camera flashes and walked on.
He spotted Nancy in among the crowd, apparently not as willing to take advantage of the privilege of working for N54 as her colleague. He smirked and shot her a wink as he passed, 'cause why the hell not throw her a bone after the favour she had already done for him. The entire city was screaming about his return and it was all her doing.
The number of flashes increased enough to briefly overwhelm his Kiroshis filter, and no doubt there'd be a great shot of him winking at Nancy, but he kept his pace. He cleared the area the crowds were allowed into quickly, and greeted his host, ignoring his escort.
"Hey Sampson," V said, offering his hand, "Long time no see."
The man's face was sour. Probably pissed off that his marker was being called in this way, V thought.
"Not that long," Sampson replied glumly, taking the hand and shaking, "Even if we've both been busy. Let's head inside."
"Any problems setting up this meet?" V asked, feeling this was too easy all of a sudden.
"Yeah, some," Sampson admitted, "There are hard feelings about just how you got through to Arasaka Tower." Namely, blowing through a Militech security position and holding it against a whole Militech mechanised infantry company.
Entering through the front doors, the foyer looked pretty much the same as the one as Arasaka, except the surfaces and furniture were more angular than rounded, and the aesthetic was western rather than Japanese.
Nothing had changed from the few times V had visited on behalf of Arasaka, and the foyer was as far as he had ever gotten. Part of him was curious about what he was about to see.
Sampson swiped a card against a reader, and an elevator pinged open for them to step into. He gestured for the guards to remain, leaving him alone with V and Cassidy. Curious.
"Don't need guards in your office?" V asked, "Not afraid I'm going to steal your secrets?" He could hack, after all.
"My office isn't in this building," Sampson replied, with a look.
V knew what that meant at once, and a lump in his throat swelled up all of a sudden.
"Then where are we going?" Cassidy asked.
"V is going to the office of the Government Relations Executive," Sampson replied, before turning to Cass, "You and I are going to the rooftop veranda for a drink while they shoot the shit."
A sinking feeling joined the lump, the one V got when he knew he was being outmanoeuvred. The person he was trying to avoid obviously didn't have the same feeling about him.
"And the Government Relations Executive would be..." Cassidy asked.
Here it comes, V thought.
"Meredith Stout," Sampson replied in clipped tones, "Trust me, cowboy, you don't want to be in the same room as her. She isn't expecting you."
"Yeah Cass, she really isn't," V added, "It's okay. Go grab a cold one."
Cassidy grumbled under his breath, taking off his hat to run his fingers through his hair. It was an ask. For all the guy knew, V was about to be killed and he would follow soon after. At least together, there was a hope that they'd be able to do some damage before going down.
But V knew there was no hope at all, if Militech wanted them dead.
The elevator sped upwards, enough to cause pressure on the knees, and decelerated just as hard, giving a feeling of slight weightlessness. This corp had no time for waiting around, V thought to himself, the Arasaka elevators were famous for being leisurely.
The doors opened again, and revealed a huge room, half in shadow and half bathed in the light of day. The entire wall directly opposite was glass, a window to the outside. Between it and the elevator was a desk with a terminal, ashtray and a coffee mug, a comfortable leather chair, and a figure standing just by the glass.
Meredith Stout was staring out over Corpo Plaza... in the direction of Arasaka Tower.
"Thanks Sampson," she called from the window, not looking back, "You can go now."
"No problem, Ms. Stout," Sampson replied, gesturing with his head for V to step out into the room.
Strangely nervous to be in her presence again, V nonetheless forced himself out of the elevator, just about. The doors closed behind him, but not before Cass gave him a grumbled but loud 'good luck' that got a twitch out of his host, her head turning ever so slightly to aim an ear at the source of the sound.
V approached slowly, one step at a time, deliberately. His guts twisted as he got closer, filled with something like regret.
The woman was exactly how she had been the last time he had seen her, after they had fucked each other's brains out and she was deltaing the hell out of the motel room.
Long blonde hair, fringe combed over and clipped directly backwards.
Smoky black dress that stopped just above her knee with a kevlar torso overlay, yellow Militech logo on one of the shoulder straps. Black synthleather gloves, black pumps with a yellow line along them.
Join lines down and around the left side of her head, where they would've installed the neural cyberware that kept her at the top of her cognitive game.
Cigarette between her fingers, one arm crossed over the other, holding it away from herself.
Meredith Stout was a model of neomilitarist fashion and function, at least when she had to be.
Despite himself, V couldn't help but return to thoughts that hadn't plagued him since before the Hellman op. He had once spotted her on TV after Silverhand had been put into his head, and wondered what could've been if he had walked away from the Konpeki job entirely, or if it hadn't fucked up when it had.
He would've had an in with Militech thanks to her, and who knew where that could've went? Better work, certainly, and hey, a few more meetups for more intimate affairs would've been nice too. Instead, he got a ghost walking around in his head, changing who he was. Probably for the better, all told.
V crushed the feelings, clenching his fist. They were why he had tried to get Sampson to do what was required, not her.
Regret was not only pointless, but he was actually glad for the way things had turned out. He had found more meaning in his life this way. There was something to be said for having someone you could rely on completely, for having a family to back you up... hell, for being a legend. None of that would've happened if he had been doing gigs for Stout instead of rushing to save his life and destroy Mikoshi.
With that piece of mind-theatre cleared up, and missing that Johnny hadn't been there to kick his ass for even thinking about it, he sped up his pace. Crossing from shadow into the sunlight, he finally joined her at the window.
No point being formal. He had seen her tattoos, felt the skin they were on. No point beating about the bush either, this wasn't a social call. He decided to go straight at the point.
"Hey Meredith," V said softly, "Need a favour."
She brought the cigarette to her lips, and drew a breath in through it, leaving red lipstick on the butt as she held it away again and exhaled the smoke. V felt an ache of want for her, but kept his cool.
"You wouldn't be here otherwise," Meredith replied, just as softly, "But it'll cost you."
Time to see just how good his credit actually was.
"You owe me," V said, "And it's not a big favour. Not this one, anyway."
Meredith shot her blue eyes straight at him, locking him a glare that probably sent her subordinates scurrying to do her bidding. But V wasn't her subordinate, and knew that game all too well.
"I don't owe you anything, V," she replied harshly, "You were well compensated for that meat plant business. A Flathead drone is not a cheap piece of tech." The sex that had come afterwards had been omitted from the list of things owed, but V suspected it was an honourary member of it nonetheless.
"Not talking about that," V explained quickly, but calmly, "Talking about how I plunged a blade through Arasaka's heart, destroyed its most valuable asset and prevented another corporate war."
Meredith's gaze softened, and she returned to her watch through the window on the tower opposite.
"You think you did all that, do you?" she mused, "And that Militech owes you for it?"
"Yeah, pretty much," V replied, insistently, "Before I came along, they were hiring gangoons to attack their facilities, disguised as your troops. They were ready to crush you, and you know it. Not any more. Now, they're more vulnerable than they've been in five decades."
Meredith took another drag on her cigarette, before fully turning around to speak to him.
"You killed seventy eight Militech personnel to do it," she retorted, pointing the two fingers holding the smoke at him, "Destroyed three armoured personnel carriers, fifteen heavy drones, twenty four light drones, seven heavy mechs and a tunnel SERC worth a half a billion eurodollars."
V felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards. He hadn't known the SERC had been a complete write-off.
"This is not funny," Meredith hissed, "The only reason I didn't have your AV shot down the second it entered Plaza airspace is that you did hurt Arasaka far more than you hurt us."
"So you admit it?" V said, "You do owe me."
"A debt I am repaying by listening to you right now," she replied, smoothly now, "Granting you an audience and not having you killed is your favour repaid. You might be a legend out in those streets, V, but here in the real world, where the real power lies, you are nothing unless you have allegiance. Not to a cause, but to a corp."
Oh, he was sure she would've liked to believe that... but events had proven that to be bullshit. You didn't bribe all the Raffen Shiv in Arizona to kill nothing, and you certainly didn't let a nothing walk into your office and address you by your first name.
"Yeah, that's what Arasaka thought too," V quipped back, "Look where it got them. But since this is my big repayment, I'll just come out and say what I want; need you to open the I-80 border crossing from Nevada for a nomad convoy."
Meredith spun on the spot and marched straight over to her desk, without warning. V watched her, wondering what the hell she was up to, as she tapped at the terminal for a few seconds.
Suddenly, the light pouring in all around him from the windows darkened slightly; the glass had polarised, preventing anyone seeing inside the building. There were faint whirrings coming from the top corners too; cameras being pointed the wrong way and turned off.
The executive sat on the desk and crossed her legs, which drew his attention.
"Now that we can talk privately... what are you up to?" Meredith asked. V barely heard her, before the organ in his head resumed control over the one in his pants.
"Nothing much," V replied, moving closer, "Panam and some others want to come through, is all. You've heard of her, right?"
The mention of Panam was as much a reminder to himself to keep it cool as it was information for his host. He sat down in her chair and swivelled it around, putting both his hands on the armrests. It really was a nice seat. Playing it real casual seemed like a good bet to avoid problems.
"Yes, I've heard of the Queen of the Highway," Meredith said through her teeth, "Answer my fucking question before I lose my temper, V."
He paused, wondering if he should spill the plan. Militech was on the list of parties to approach, after all. But it was too early. He had literally no one else. It wouldn't be credible.
"She's joining me here," V lied, "We're going to make some eddies with Kerry Eurodyne. BD work."
The Militech Exec grimaced and shook her head.
"Bullshit," Meredith stated plainly, "You are making money hand over fist out in the desert. Your clients out there are more than rich enough to pay you indefinitely."
Naturally, Militech would know that, because the Aldecaldos beat them out on a security contract.
"Yeah, we were," V agreed, "Until Arasaka burned us with Alpha Dome, and with my medical costs..."
That gave her pause.
"Medical costs?" Meredith asked, confused, "What medical costs?"
V wasn't sure if she was lying about not knowing... but considering Alpha banked with Arasaka, he supposed it was possible she didn't know what bills he was getting paid.
"The Relic chip that had Silverhand on it?" V said, "It's killing me. There's a treatment that slows it down, but it ain't cheap."
Meredith's brow moved up. She hadn't expected that. Her eyes rolled up in thought, and she took a final drag on her cigarette before stabbing it out in the ashtray.
"Now that is interesting," she said, "Because I recently received a relevant piece of intel from a source inside Arasaka. They have recreated Relic and its consciousness storage system, right here in Night City."
Meredith watched him, waiting for a response. V attempted to keep his poker face, but she was just as skilled an operator as he was, at least where reading people was concerned.
"Funny, that," he said, all sarcasm, "Guess you'll have to make a move, or they'll Soulkill the best netrunners again and fuck you right over."
He got a truly venomous glare for half a second, before it softened into something like a smile.
"Someone will have to," Meredith agreed, her tone making it clear who she expected to do it, "Arasaka revive the tech that is killing you, and you come back to Night City just in time. Now you tell me you're dying and they destroyed your chance at a pay check. Coincidence?"
Yeah, it did sound pretty far-fetched... but there was no helping that.
"So what? One thing's got nothing to do with the other," V replied, "The city loves me, all I gotta do is sit back and cash in. With Eurodyne at my back, iron in my hand and Johnny Silverhand's guitar skills in my skull, only thing I want of Arasaka is for them to stay the fuck away. No point risking my neck."
A huge lie... but the bigger the bettter, V figured, as it had a lot of truth mixed in.
The reaction he got in return was something else. Meredith sighed in frustration, running her fingers through her hair. She leaned over and undid the straps of her pumps, releasing the shoes to the ground. She padded over to him, pulling off the kevlar overlay, revealing a dropping neckline beneath that exposed the wing skull tattoo just above her breasts.
V knew what she was trying to do... but it was a little bit hard not to fall for it.
"Much better" Meredith breathed, "You know we helped Silverhand with his own attack on Arasaka, right? Unless you grew up under a rock, you must."
V opened his mouth to speak, but Meredith silenced him, by pulling the skirt of her dress up slightly, so she could begin straddling him. He tried to get up, but she shoved him against the back of the chair with force. A hand curled around the front of his throat. His breathing became heavy... but not because of the fingers wrapped around his neck.
He called up his cyberware suite, preparing to disable her via a hack, so he could disentangle himself... but she went no further. It was part of her game. Entanglement of some sort would be required, clearly.
"You know what I think?" she growled, "You're here to give back to Arasaka what they gave you... Death." She caressed the side of his head where his chip slots were, the edge of her fingers playing over the top of the Relic teasingly. V grabbed the hand away, afraid she'd accidentally do something to it.
"How the hell would I do that?" V whispered, "Take out Arasaka? It was basically a miracle that I got in and out of the Tower last time."
Meredith shifted closer, her body pressed up against his in pleasant, familiar ways. He moved back as far as he could, which was bare millimetres. No use at all.
"Asking how is not a denial. We could help," she whispered in his ear, cheek-to-cheek with him, "Where do you think Silverhand got his nukes?"
"Uh huh, and you get credit with your board for whatever damage I do," V whispered back, "While I take all the risk. You think I don't know how this game is played?"
"Of course you do," Meredith laughed, curling her arms around his neck and leaning away from him again, "You showed that even before you were a name on everyone's lips. And this is obviously an opportunity for me too, but let's not forget who came walking in here for help."
"Taking on Arasaka again, gloves and all bets off, is a steep price for a crossing a border," V said, "Especially when DTR are crossing regularly, it's not like it's the north-south border. Panam could get across one way or another."
"I don't believe for a second that all you are doing here is some BD work, V," Meredith replied, her tone dropping a note and becoming dangerous again, "You want to stay in our good books for some reason, else your nomad friends would just blow right past the border. I checked their situation out as you were flying in; they have the firepower to do it."
Things were going in circles. His skin itching, V realised he wasn't getting out of there without telling her a different story. Rushing the plan was the last thing he wanted to do, but it was looking like he had no choice.
Something must have shown on his face, because Meredith soon had a triumphant smile plastered all over hers. She leaned in and kissed him hard, tasting like coffee than smoke, before withdrawing again. He let it happen for a few seconds, not entirely sure what the hell to do about it and not exactly disgusted by it, before she withdrew.
"Knew you'd come around," she said, "We really clicked the last time. No reason we can't this time too."
V rolled his eyes. "We had a fling and never saw each other again," he stated flatly, "I was a fun nobody to you."
"A very fun nobody, and how wrong I was about that second part..." Meredith said wistfully, "Turns out you were somebody all along. A diamond in the rough. Such a rare thing."
"Damn right," V replied, not about to deny that, "But I'm also spoken for... so if you don't mind?" He gestured to either side of their bodies, noting their proximity.
"I'm comfortable," Meredith said quickly, denying his request for personal space, "So, admit it. You're here to screw Arasaka." She shifted her weight again, allowing her access to his belt... which she proceeded to fiddle with.
V grit his teeth, but couldn't see a way out.
"Not only that," he replied, "Turns out there's a cure. Something that'll stop me from dying. But it's deep in the Arasaka Waterfront."
Meredith nodded. "See, that wasn't hard," she said, "What's Panam Palmer's role in all this? She didn't come back with you, does that mean she doesn't agree with your little plan?"
V wanted to laugh. Panam had been the one to propose the whole Aldecaldo nation west of the Mississippi get in on it, and bring any nomads that wanted to come along too. It was her plan more than it was his. But Meredith didn't need to know.
"Something like that," V lied, his amusement covering it well, "At least for now. Hopefully I won't need her help this time. I'm owed a lot of favours by people in this town, so is Panam, and I'm going to cash all of them in."
Meredith narrowed her eyes. "Do I have to remind you again, V," she said, "That I'm not one of those people, as much as I find you amusing."
V held up his hands. "Wasn't implying you were," he replied, "For Militech, it's strictly biz. Quid pro quo. You help us humble your biggest enemy."
"You're light on details," Meredith pressed, "What's the plan?"
"It'd be fairly stupid of me to have one before knowing what assets I'm playing with, wouldn't it?" V shrugged, "I have ideas, depending on who signs up to the cause. All of them involve maximum possible damage to Arasaka, so that when Yorinobu checks his accounts and sees what it cost him to fuck with the Aldecaldos."
Of course, it was really Panam who had the ideas, mostly. But you didn't admit you weren't the one behind the wheel when negotiating with Militech.
The exec smirked, liking the idea of that. She again leaned in to his ear.
"In that case, I'll need a guarantee," Meredith said, "You sign a secret contract with us. We give you what you need. We guarantee you immunity from prosecution. You destroy Relic, all data about it, and kill any scientists related to the project. I have no idea why you even left them alive when you were in the Tower."
He had done so because they were pathetic, and although they were in the way, they had also not been a real threat. V thought back to the sight of them trembling and fleeing as Panam, Saul and he strode into their lab, shooting off their pistols with all the accuracy of a drunk shooting at empty bottles.
V recognised the pattern of her proposal from a famous example.
"Morgan Blackhand," he thought aloud, "You want the same arrangement with me that you had with him."
The most famous solo in the world, except perhaps V himself now if you could count him as one, had assembled a team of die hard mercs during the Fourth Corporate that would've put any crew in the world to shame. And it was aimed right at Arasaka the whole time, with ol' Morgan himself famous for bringing in the targets alive for interrogation.
"Got it in one," Meredith whispered back, "Blackhand was one of the best investments Militech ever made. Don't see why we can't have the same … relationship."
"Not looking to be NC's next top solo," V insisted, "I'll be getting the hell out of NC when all this is over."
Meredith clicked her tongue. "Pity, because they say you're better than he was," she said, "That you could've stormed Arasaka Tower alone if you had wanted to."
"Oh yeah, and I'd have consumed the 'Saka army inside with fireballs from my eyes and lightning bolts out my ass," V chuckled, "If I could do that, I would be chilling on some patio in a top-rate apartment, enjoying the sun. Not plotting part dos of my personal war."
"It wouldn't be impossible," the exec replied, "But regardless, you are the best in the business."
"So, I add wiping out Arasaka's ability to 'secure souls' to my list," V summarised, "And you give me whatever support I need."
"Well, assuming you can call in any favours," Meredith said, "Militech can't be seen to be helping you, so corporate funding is out of the question. Beyond doing nothing about your activities on the border, we can … lose a couple of convoys of weapons. Nomads are good at taking what is not theirs, after all."
So she knew about the panzer, or at least suspected. V smiled sheepishly. "That we are," he said, "And all I've gotta do is sign on the dotted line."
"You'll want to read the contract first," Meredith added, "We cannot allow you to make an attack on a fellow corporation, unless it was clear you were acting in our interest when the smoke clears."
She was deadly serious, no mirth in her voice now.
"No revolutionary statements. No 'trying to change the world' bullshit, except as cover for whatever activities you deem necessary. No getting out of the deal either. I would recommend reviewing the sections about what happens if you fail."
He had no intention of doing anything else. A Militech contract was what would get Panam across the state line to gather the seven nations for the fight, plus a whole lot of other help. Meredith wouldn't know about Alt.
"I could probably recite the failure clause from memory if it's anything like the Arasaka one," V quipped, "We have a deal."
"A man who knows a good one when he hears it?" Meredith said, lightening up again, "But that was a little too fast."
"Need to understand something," V replied, "We have a great thing going out in the desert. I'm getting it back, and I'm gonna enjoy it for a long damn time. If I have to sell my soul temporarily to do that, I haven't got a problem. I've sold my soul before."
How disappointed Johnny would be... but to hell with it. He himself had signed up with Militech to fuck Arasaka.
"Assuming anyone has a soul," Meredith smirked, "I don't suppose I could offer you an obscene amount of money and power to make the arrangement permanent? With added perks..." The descending placement of her hand made it very clear what perks she had in mind. His belt was already undone.
V didn't believe for a second that this was some sentimentality on her part. He had read his own psych profile; 'susceptible to influence by sexual means'.
Hell, it was half the reason he had helped Panam out back. He found it hard to say no to a pretty face, especially if he or she had a good cause. The woman on top of him was a lot of fun, but she was corpo through and through, and this wasn't the No-Tell Motel.
So, it wasn't really Meredith Stout touching him right at that moment, it was Militech. And Militech was ugly as sin, a fucking hellspawn.
"No," V said, a little too fast, grabbing her hand away.
So she bit him.
In the end, the contract was signed, the deal was done, Panam was messaged through discreet channels that her convoy would be brought through to Cali, and all that was left was to fly back to Kerry's villa to plot the next move.
Yet as V joined Cassidy and Sampson in the elevator again, to get to the landing pads where Del was waiting. Sampson cleared his throat and was careful not to stare, but the road-cowboy was not as tactful.
"V, your ear is bleeding."
"I know, Cass."
"What happened?"
"Same shit that happens every time you get involved with a corporation; they treat you like property and mark their territory."
