V pou verite

The blue glow of monitors and the red of the emergency lighting of the maglev station barely pierced the dark, as the simulated reality of the Net dropped away. The forms of the other netrunners waking from their connections was barely perceptible, even as they started sitting up, rubbing their eyes, their tongues moving in their closed mouths as they got used to their bodies again.

Commune with the One was always difficult, and there had been much else to do. Requests for data before anything could be asked. Tests that followed riddles that followed tests. A constant battle to prove their worthiness in its eyes.

Brigitte, called Maman by her followers, blinked rapidly and groped to the side, finding the bottle of water she had placed on a table by her runner-chair. Further movement by a large figure told her there was business to attend to, but first thing was first. She held up a hand to silence the rumbling beginning from her subordinates, as she slaked her thirst.

A quick glance confirmed who exactly was waiting. Placide stood mute, the tall man waiting patiently. Ti Neptune on the other hand, shifted on the spot nervously. Both in casual clothing with armour layered on top of it, though only Placide was armed.

Brigitte's lip curled. She knew she should've brought Ti on the deep dive. Now there was panic or excitement over something, probably for no good reason.

"Yes?" Brigitte said, "What is it?"

"News from Heywood," Placide replied, his voice lowered, "Tygers attacked a Valentino bar, got slaughtered. Police say it was V who did the killing. That he knew the owner."

Brigitte looked at the man, and saw what she expected. He wanted to chase the mercenary-turned-nomad down, now that they could get a solid lead on his movements outside of North Oak. Predictable, and annoying.

"Is that so?" she said, disapproving, "How long ago?"

"A few hours before you began," Placide intoned, gesturing at the chair. So, a few days ago. Heat rising to her head with annoyance, Brigitte suddenly regretted her decision to order no interruptions during the deep dives.

"That's not all," Ti spoke up, "The Valentinos are going to war with the Tygers. That should make things easier for us in the Glen."

The fighting in southern Heywood had already been heavy. The Valentinos had surprised everyone by jumping in on the war with 6th Street, leaving the Voodoo Boys fighting two major gangs instead of just one. The weak 6th Street presence in the Glen was supposed to be a shortcut to get as far north as possible with as little effort as possible.

But to get to their objective, Brigitte and her people knew they would have to trespass on Valentino territory. Sooner rather than later, so ultimately, it was to their advantage; the territorial pissing match between the two 'allies' standing against her could be exploited.

"Not so easy," Placide argued with a sharp shake of the head, his dreadlocks swinging, "V in a Valentino bar could mean he is to work for them. While he could not do again what he did once, he remains dangerous. Too dangerous to allow him to live. We do not know his motives. We can bet they are not in our interest."

Placide was referring to V's reaction to being used by Brigitte, twice. While the mercenary had left everyone alive and not badly injured, with one exception, he had torn his way through not only her best netrunner team, but the entire garrison above in the church. He had stolen things as he went, from hacks to weapons and clothing, including Placide's own coat, taken from his unconscious body. A higher than expected cost for dealing with NetWatch.

Using him as ranyon had been a mixed blessing.

"We spoke with Alt," Brigitte said, "On this very subject."

Placide and Ti exchanged looks. They knew a commandment was going to be handed down. And they didn't like it.

"What did she say?" Ti asked.

"She refused to say what V was doing. And that if we were not to join V in his task, we were forbidden to interfere," Brigitte replied, "She threatened to end our arrangement if we did not comply."

Placide made a short hiss through his teeth, turning his head away in frustration. He knew already what that meant.

"We would be forced to find another AI to ally with," Ti started, "Or else when the Blackwall fails..."

"We would be as vulnerable as anyone else," Brigitte concluded, "I have given some thought to that possibility already. Unfortunately, the next best candidate is another AI that V is on friendly terms with, and whose main core is not accessible from our side of the Wall."

"Delamain," Ti said, rubbing the back of their neck, "V was using a Delamain AV when he landed at Militech HQ..."

"So we have no choice," Placide growled.

Brigitte nodded once, causing her subordinate's shoulders to slump ever so slightly in defeat. Fighting V had become something of an obsession for Placide, but he was not so addled as to disobey. Especially not at the cost of everything they had been preparing for years.

"That is not all Alt said," she said, rising from her chair and standing up, "Our timetable has moved up. A hard connection with the corporate networks needs to be achieved sooner."

She left the 'or else' part out.

"But why?" Ti asked, "Did she seem in a hurry? Afraid of something?"

Brigitte looked at him, as it was a strange question. The AI never revealed her emotional state, or even if she was still capable of having one.

"She has new information about NetWatch," Brigitte stated, "The virus that V uploaded to their network crippled them on the West Coast, but they have reinforced from the north and east. And seem to have new friends; the other corps. NetWatch representatives have been meeting with Arasaka, Militech and Kang Tao executives regularly for the last few weeks."

Ti's eyes widened, and even Placide's face betrayed worry as his brow arched. It was not difficult to understand such a reaction. The three big names in security, on the Net and otherwise, military powers in their own right, they were not entities you wished to be associated with your enemy.

"So it is survival," Placide said gravely, "Alt thinks she may have to cripple the corps before they strike at her... or us."

"The only other option would be attacking the Blackwall from both sides," Ti agreed, "To cause the thing we have been preparing for, before either of us are ready."

Listening to their notion of what was happening, a bad thought came to her. Brigitte pursed her lips as a pattern she had not considered began to emerge.

"I am not so sure Alt's two commands are unrelated," she said, "The NetWatch story she has given us may be cover for something else, true or not. Something V is doing that requires her to have access to the corporate networks."

"Another attack?" Placide asked.

"Possibly," Brigitte said, "Though I do not know why V would attack Arasaka again, or why Alt would aid him. They both have already done much damage that way. It will take the corp years to recover."

"V taking on Arasaka would cause another security sweep," Ti replied, "Our hard connections would be found and cut, so Alt would not be able to access corporate data as she wants. She would be harming her own chances by using our work this way."

"Assuming she does not have another way," Brigitte said, "But it is not only Arasaka she wishes to access. A security sweep in one corp does not mean others perform the same way. Though I agree, it seems to be against her interests to act in this way."

"Then why the suspicion?" Ti asked, "Alt has not deceived us before."

That you know of. Brigitte had the distinct impression that Alt never told anyone the whole truth. For some reason, that made her disturbingly more human than other AIs. The others were less capable of lying or their lies were more … predictable.

"The timing is too much of a coincidence," she replied, "I do not believe she has lied to me, but she is not telling us the truth either."

"We should demand it," Placide cut in, "We cannot allow ourselves to be used." The words 'like ranyon' remained unsaid.

Brigitte felt laughter bubble out of her on its own. What an idea! Placide's face tightened ever so slightly, knowing that he should not have said such a thing.

"You do not make demands of gods in their own realm," she said, controlling herself, "No, we will play along for now. It could simply be that whatever V is doing threatens our ability to get the connections or data we need if we do not hurry."

"And 6th Street? The Valentinos?" Placide asked, "We can only hurry so much with so many guns between us and where we need to go."

On that, anyone would agree. Brigitte turned over options in her mind, before selecting a less obvious one.

"Gather our strength and attack the Glen," she said, "6th Street's territory is an island there. With the war with the Tygers heating up, they will have less to throw in to stop us. They will not call on the Valentinos nearby to help."

"Will take time. Too much time," Placide stated, "The Animals will fuck with us if we are too weak in Pacifica. And the law..."

"I will coordinate an attack on the Animals' networks," Brigitte said, "They will be too busy trying to wipe our viruses off of their cyberware to attack us. 6th Street won't have the strength to stop us, the police won't care. Anyone else, we kill them."

Placide stood up to his full height. "Anyone else?" he asked, "Including V?"

Brigitte sighed quietly to herself. "If V sticks his nose into the fight, feel free to cut it off," she concluded, "Alt said nothing about what we should do if he interferes in our business."