Chapter 7: Scotch Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
V awoke once again, this time in the same place he'd fallen unconscious. He laid in the street. His neck itched a bit and he went to scratch it, finding a citation hastily stuffed into his collar. He grabbed the paper and struggled to focus his eyes on it.
"Drunken Vagrant Passed-Out in Street.", the citation read. V looked at the Eurodollar amount before wanting to puke again. It was for a staggering 6 thousand Eddies. Groggily and hungover, he brushed himself off and stumbled around the backside of the bar towards Jackie's Garage. He stumbled as he went to lift the door open, feeling his balance sway as last night's alcohol rushed through his system. Finally wrestling the door open, he stepped in and was greeted by Jericho, who was working on something again.
"V! When you mentioned taking some time off, I hadn't expected you to use all of your money on booze. Please do not drunk-dial us next time. There shouldn't be any issues with the Chipset and it should definitely not be killing you."
"Oh, about that. I do have some issues, actually. That 'AI' you installed, took over my body last night and went on a bender."
"Aha. That is concerning. Possibly a side-effect of using an Engram. The Chipset has the tendency to amplify both emotions and psyche... as well as your physical strength as long as your cyberware allows for it.", Jericho paused for a moment. "Do you think of Johnny Silverhand as a real person instead of an AI?"
"Uh... Yea? Johnny's a real person."
"I suggest you stop thinking that way. Johnny Silverhand died decades ago, you have a digital copy of him on the Chipset. He is an AI. By treating him as a real person, you are teetering closer to Unification. That would be bad."
"What? What's Unification?"
"When your mind and AI merge mentally. You wanted to be you again, did you not? If you proceed the way you are now, Johnny and you will become one. Your mind and memories combined with his attitude, perception, goals and dreams.", Jericho mused. He stopped what he was doing and turned to face V, his oddly glowing blue eyes stared straight ahead. "You will neither be you nor Johnny, but someone completely different and you won't be able to tell which was life or a dream."
V sighed. Of course there would be problems. There were always problems with Biochips. This one at least wasn't killing him, but it was still overwriting his mind. Johnny and him would merge and become one if he wasn't careful and he really didn't want to know what that result would be. Johnny by himself had dangerous ideals and V wanted none of it.
"How do you know all this?"
"V... I too possess a Chipset identical to yours. There was a time when I perhaps knew who I was as well, but now I do not. I wish to know once again, as I am aware of what had happened when I was weak; the AI and I merged. We became something far greater than imaginable, but knowing your past also shapes your future.", Jericho mused, staring outwards again.
"Do- Do the others know about this?"
"Of course, V. Did you think there was only one Chipset? There are not, there are four Chipsets not including the original. You, Asher, Hildegarde, and Scotch all possess one as well. Why did you think we were all working together? You possess Version 4, I possess the original. There have been modifications made to each version, but you do not need to know that information. We each have our own role in this. And you need to find yours."
"Scotch? Is Scotch the final teammate?"
"Yes. I have finally been able to make contact with him. It appears that the Nomad Clan he was riding with has returned to the area surrounding Night City. They are currently camping in the Badlands. You are well aware of this Nomad Clan, V as it is the same one that led you to me." Jericho had resumed what he was doing previously, working on yet another device. "You and Hildegarde will retrieve him. I hope you have a vehicle that is off-road capable. I do not think that old Porche 911 will be sufficient for the journey."
"Uh... Any idea what he looks like? I'd like to avoid another situation like the one with Hildegarde."
"Scotch is shorter, about halfway between Asher and Hildegarde's height. He is of stocky build, is bald and has a large red beard. I understand that he is the resident bartender of the campsite, no doubt you have already met him."
V stood back for a second. He actually did know 'Scotch'. Scotch was the one who had made contact with the 'Nuclear Nomad' originally. He was the one who had drawn the maps for Mitch. He was the one who had brought the Anti-Rad. Pieces began to fall into place. Did V actually find Jericho purely on luck or was the mysterious Nuclear Nomad looking for him instead. Everything that had happened, was it planned from the moment he'd met the Aldecados?
"Uh... Any reason why you're not coming along?"
"Yes V. As you are aware, I am nuclear powered. I would rather not inadvertently irradiate an entire city block every time something needs done. You may consider me a 'Techie' or 'Med-Techie'. Hildegarde is our Solo and she is the one that usually takes the... 'hands on' approach."
"Got it. When should I leave?"
"Whenever V. I suggest you go and get yourself cleaned up first as your odor is quite unappealing. Perhaps buy a vehicle capable of off-road travel. You will not succeed dressed in an old Samurai t-shirt and cargo pants, I suggest wearing protection."
V took a random sniff of himself, he smelled awful. A combination of barroom restroom piss, stale beer, vomit and body odor. He just turned around and left Jericho alone. As he slogged out of the garage back to the Porsche, Johnny popped up randomly again.
"Do you actually trust anything this guy's saying to you? He's a hard read, even for me.", Johnny noted, sitting on the hood of the Porsche.
"Johnny, you're not real. You're just an AI or engram projection in my head."
"I'm real, V. And you just can't accept that. It's just like when we first met. Like it or not, we're gonna have to live together."
"Ugh. Fine. But don't steal my body again! If and when you want control, I'll give it to you."
"Sounds like a deal. Look, I was just pretty excited to finally get to live again. I'm sorry, V."
"Are you? Are you really?"
"Yes."
"Fine."
V looked around, people were staring at him like he was some kind of mental patient. He quietly realized that he'd said most of that conversation out loud again and he looked like he was arguing with an imaginary friend. He just sighed and hopped into the Porsche again. As he left the Coyote Cojo and headed back to his apartment, he checked his bank balance, which currently displayed a little under 7000 eddies. Not nearly enough for a new car, let alone his humiliating citation. As he pulled into the parking garage of his apartment his eyes wandered over to the old and beaten Galena Rattler he'd originally driven so long ago. It was dusty and had graffiti sprayed across the fender that read 'Donkey Lips'. It would work for now, although Hildegarde would probably mock him to death over it. At least it was off-road capable.
V continued up the elevator, an N54 News report blared on about Kerry Eurodyne and 'Us Cracks' planning on going on tour together. At least someone was happy. The news was rarely upbeat and briefly ran a rundown on what Kerry had been doing up until now. V took one last look at the old Rockerboy on the news and stepped off the elevator and into his apartment. He took off his clothing, walking into his shower and turned it on. He let the hot water wash over him. He took the bottle of shampoo and squeezed it only to realize that it was empty. Hurriedly, he stepped out and grabbed the bottle of hand soap, using that instead to wash his body, hair and face. He sniffed, he smelled like lilac and gooseberries. Not manly at all. He sighed, dried off and put on some better clothing. He grabbed the Aldecados jacket, another shirt and some black tactical pants. He got dressed and proceeded to make his way back out of the apartment, once again taking the elevator.
Entering the parking garage, Johnny appeared again, this time in front of V.
"If you think you're taking my car off-road, you're in for a surprise."
V had the feeling that Johnny would forcibly take his body if he said or tried anything even involving the classic Porsche 911.
"Wasn't even thinking it, Johnny. I'm taking my old Rattler. Think I'll just use that from now on since it annoys you so much..."
Johnny just disappeared, content with V's decision. V got into his old car and turned the ignition key. The car sputtered for a few seconds before firing up, causing an excess amount of smoke to fill the garage. He threw the car into gear and took off out of the Megabuilding's garage heading back to the Coyote Cojo. After a short drive, he pulled back into the small parking lot and parked his car, letting the offbeat Nomad car sit next to the rest of the regular cars. Upon reentering Jackie's Garage, Hildegarde met him this time.
"Jericho said I'm not allowed to kill you, no matter how much you've lost the plot. But... He didn't say I couldn't hurt you. You just need to be alive... There are a lot of things a person can survive, you know...", she hissed, a sinister grin crawling over her lips as she stared at V.
"Look, Hildegarde. I'm not afraid of you. I haven't even heard of you. You're just another gonk as far as I care.", V stated defiantly. Johnny appeared and motioned at him in a way to say 'No, you idiot, why did you say that?'.
"Are you taking the piss? Don't worry, V, you'll have more than enough reason to fear me... soon."
V attempted to say something witty, but Jericho interrupted them, popping out of the side door.
"Hello, V. Looks like you've cleaned up nicely, although your current scent is a bit... odd. Are you ready to retrieve Scotch?", Jericho added cheerily.
"Yep. All set. Got the car, got the gear. All set."
"Good. Hildegarde, as we've talked before, V is not to be murdered even if you really think that he does. He is one of us now."
Hildegarde just nodded, keeping a watchful eye on V. The smirk on her face said otherwise. V just nodded to Hildegarde and led her away from the garage, the outlaw trailing behind him somewhat begrudgingly. As they approached the Galena Rattler, V didn't bother opening the door for Hildegarde and just got ready to enter the car. Hildegarde just stared at their vehicle in confusion.
"V, when Jericho said to get a vehicle capable of going off-road, I believe he intended for you to get a truck of some sort not a motorized wheelie bin.", Hildegard mocked. "Did you name it 'Donkey Lips' or is that some kind of euphemism?"
"What? No! That's just graffiti. Get in, let's go."
"V. Let's get something straight here, I don't like you. I'm only doing this because Jericho asked me to."
"I figured."
Hildegarde just opened the passenger side door and sat down, taking a moment to pick random bits of dirt out of the seats, dash-panel and door sills. She buckled the seat belt tightly and just stared at V. V got in as well, turning on the ignition. The car didn't start. He tried again. It still just chugged, trying to fire up. Hildegarde just sighed. V got back out and opened the hood of the car, trying to see what had gone wrong. He wiggled the fuel rail a bit before unplugging the distributor and plugging it back in again. As he reentered the car, he tried the ignition which finally started the car. Popping the shift lever into Drive, V pulled the car out of the parking lot and headed for the highway out of Night City and towards the Badlands. A thought had snuck into his head again, he'd forgotten to tell Panam they were coming. He frowned and kept driving.
As the two of them sailed down the freeway, V had realized that his old car had problems. Perhaps leaving it to rot for 3 solid months was a bad idea. It rattled and occasionally sputtered and surged. It wasn't running right at all. Hildegarde arched her back and stretched a bit, pushing her ample chest forwards.
"This is, by far, the most uncomfortable car I have ever had the misfortune of riding inside. V, keep your eyes on the road and not on my chest.", Hildegarde complained, noticing V's sudden gaze. "I should've visited a Ripperdoc, made sure my tetanus shots were up to date. Just in case you crash this pile of rubbish..."
As expected, V was being mocked to death. Though unreliable, this little car had taken V all across the desert, through Night City and beyond. He ignored the continuous vicious mockery and continued to push the little engine the wouldn't. V glanced into the rearview mirror and noticed Johnny sitting in the rear seat.
"V, didn't you get a truck from the bartender at the Afterlife? Claire?", Johnny asked, not being affected by the bumpy road.
"Oh yeah... I forgot about that."
"You could've driven that instead of this hunk of shit. But oh well, V. Oh well..."
Hildegarde just stared at V again. He was having another conversation with his imaginary friend. She idly wondered why Jericho had even brought this imbecile onto the team. He didn't appear to have any extraordinary skills, fashion, talents or anything particularly outstanding. He was just some random nomad-turned-street-punk. As long as he stayed out of the way and didn't try to betray them, she'd refrain from killing him. She winced as her head met the B-pillar as a particularly large pothole launched the car somewhat. Now there was a new problem, the pothole had definitely bent something and now there was a constant thudding as they drove through the desert. She just sighed and was glad that her body-suits had built-in support as she was sure the V would inevitably be ogling her assets otherwise as the car bounced down the road like a three-legged rabbit.
After a long bouncy journey, V and Hildegarde finally arrived on the outskirts of the Aldecado Nomad Camp. The camp had been set up in a semi-circular arrangement allowing for lines of sight for all sides. A few of the nomads waved at V and allowed him to enter. Coming to a stop, V got out and inspected his car for a moment, now noticing that the rear-right wheel was both bent and the tire was flat. One of the nomads noticed and briefly told him that they'd find a replacement for him while he was here. Hildegarde exited the car, stretched her back again and slammed the door shut so hard the glass broke and the side mirror went flying off into the sand.
"Well, we made it. Time to go find Scotch and get the hell out of here.", Hildegarde stated, looking around the camp. A rather angry nomad woman was walking towards her. She kept her hand close to her holster in case this nomad decided to start trouble. Strangely, the angry nomad didn't, Hildegarde just stared at the woman as she headed straight past the outlaw towards V. She snickered quietly as V was punched in the face by the nomad woman. Hildegarde just walked off, V could handle this, probably.
"V! What the hell is wrong with you!? You were supposed to return to the camp when you had finished with the Nuclear Nomad. Instead, you run off and go back to Night City, you do not call, or even tell us where you went. Mitch feared that you had died!", Panam roared, spittle flying into V's now also black, right eye.
"Heh... Funny story, actually. I-", V was cut off as he was punched again, this time Panam grabbed him by the ear and pulled him off into the camp.
"You can explain to the others at the bonfire! V, I hope you have a damn good reason for doing what you've done!"
Elsewhere, Hildegarde chuckled. She'd heard some loud arguing and two good heavy thuds with several cries of pain as V was getting his ass beaten. She idly wondered what he'd done to piss off the nomads, well one nomad in particular, the rest of them seemed pretty chill. She scanned the various townsfolk before targeting Scotch, who was doing his job of providing illicit beverages to the tired nomads. She simply walked over and took a seat at the makeshift desert bar.
"Scotch, you seem to have been doing well."
"Aye, Hildegarde! Long time... Did ya bring the kid with ya?", Scotch slurred, pouring something. The liquid was brown, cloudy and filled with sediment as it dribbled into a glass for a nomad.
"He's here. He's a pain in the ass. I don't know why Jericho even bothered."
"Aye, the mysterious Jericho and his ways of wisdom. He's gotta plan, would've nabbed the kid earlier, but the lad ran off to do something in the City."
"Well, it doesn't matter, really. You know why I'm here. It's time."
"Aye. I've been ready for some time now, was just waitin' for the call. Couldn't really leave in the middle of Arizona, though. Haven't got me car."
"Well, I hope you can drive a rubbish bin, because that's what we drove here..."
"Hildegarde, there's nothing I cannae drive. Let's go find the kid and get out of here. The heat's been messin' with me beard."
Hildegarde nodded before getting up and turning around. She scanned the camp for V, before finding him surrounded by a horde of angry-looking nomads in the center of the camp. She just laughed quietly and headed off to go find out what was happening to V, maybe he was being used as a sacrifice to whatever gods the nomads worshipped? She could only hope.
Not too far away, V was in the process of trying to make sense of his sudden return to Night City to Panam, Mitch, Cassidy, and the rest of the nomad clan. They didn't seem to be buying it. They did believe that he had been cured and wasn't dying, but the whole situation with Johnny back in his head was a little unbelievable. Panam looked like she was about to hurl him into the roaring bonfire behind him. Mitch just frowned. Cassidy just stood with his arms crossed. The other nomads sat quietly. Johnny sat among them with a bag of holographic popcorn in hand.
"No, no really. The Nuclear Nomad didn't do this to me for free, he asked for my help in exchange for the procedure. Then we got attacked by Militech. You had to have seen the AV when we passed over the camp!", V hesitantly explained.
"Yeah, V. We saw it. Even thought of going after it, but we didn't have the supplies or manpower to chase it down...", Mitch noted, remembering the smoky AV.
"Yeah, so then we crashed in... SoCal? Jeri- The Nuclear Nomad and I helped out one of his friends and then left for Night City. I really meant to call earlier, but..."
"And? What then? What's kept you from returning to the life you wanted?", Panam asked.
"Well, I'm still working for him, the Nuclear Nomad. He's got some pretty dangerous company with him. There's this other woman-", V got slapped again. "No, it's not like that. We're not- she doesn't even like me. She wants to kill me."
"Then why on earth are you even doing this? The Nuclear Nomad's friends want to kill you. Just run away, come back, ride with us.", Panam pleaded.
"Because he can't leave. If he leaves, then the Nuclear Nomad takes away his gift. And since V needs that gift to live, then he dies.", Hildegarde interrupted. Surprising Panam and the rest of the nomads. "Besides, even though I want to kill him, it doesn't mean that I am."
"Who- Who are you!?", Panam exclaimed.
"Hildegarde, the Genocider. Would you like to find out how I got my nickname?", Hildegarde introduced, hand on her holster.
Panam hesitated for a moment. It was just one person, she couldn't really kill all of them, right? Right? She just shook her head and accepted the fact that V had actually been telling the truth, Hildegarde didn't like him at all, and he was stuck in another predicament. She sighed. "V... Just take care of whatever it is you're doing. When you are finished, return to the camp and you will ride with us again."
"There you go. No bloodshed. Come along V, it's time to leave.", Hildegarde motioned to V to come along.
"Aye, and I be leavin' too. The Nuclear Nomad has called upon me as well as he needs me talents as a Panzerboy.", Scotch added.
"Wait, really? What about all those cool drinks you keep making?", Cassidy asked in bewilderment.
"Aye, I've left me recipe book at the bar. Ye needn't have to look far for the main ingredient! It's CHOOH2 with a little pinch of desert sand and paprika!"
"Mitch spat onto the ground. "We've been drinking CHOOH2!?"
"Aye."
Almost simultaneously, the nomads in the camp began to retch and hurl. CHOOH2 was both a powerful fuel and horrendously poisonous refined grain alcohol. Small amounts would get you so sloshed you wouldn't even remember your name, but more than a cup would kill you.
Panam had turned several shades of sickly green. "Just... Just get rid of him.", she promptly proceeded to upchuck into the bonfire, which roared higher into the sky like a volcano.
V got up, hugged Panam in between retches and left with Hildegarde and Scotch. The rest of the camp was in disarray due to the accidental consumption of what was the equivalent of rocket fuel. All in all, it wasn't a total disaster. V would come back after he was done with Jericho, whatever that meant. He'd come back and live as a nomad again, ride the roads to freedom as he had done before.
Hildegarde just beamed. It was complete chaos. Everywhere V went, everything went tits-up in fun new ways. Maybe he was useful after all? A disasterpiece that just kept getting better and better. She thought idly of what would've happened if Jericho had only sent her and relished in the fun of killing all the nomads, it would've been fun for a bit, but what V had done by getting them all in one spot meant that the fun of watching several hundred people in agony could last forever.
"Tha was an accident, ya know. I dinnae mean to poison them all. Mebbe they're not as hardy as me and the Army Boys. We were drinkin' CHOOH2 all the time...", Scotch added, looking back at his nomad family as they painted the sand green with sickness.
The group had returned to V's Rattler, which now had a mismatched rear wheel, but seemed to be in driving condition. V went to get in, but was pushed away from the driver's seat by Scotch. "Aye, I'll be drivin', V." V didn't complain. He went around to the passenger seat and was shoved out of the way by Hildegarde who got inside instead. Begrudgingly, he opened the rear passenger door and sat down in the slightly sticky bench seat.
"Now you'll see me Vehicle Zen. Watch and learn...", Scotch noted as he plugged his personal link into the car's computer system. He turned the ignition key and fired up the engine. "Ah, runnin' a wee bit lean... Let's up the fuel pressure... Adjust the timin' a bit... And...", The car roared to life with renewed vigor. It spat flames from its exhaust as Scotch revved the engine.
"How did you do that?", V asked.
"Panzerboy experience. Thar's nothin' I cannae drive, V!", Scotch announced as he slammed the car into gear and slammed the accelerator to the floor. The car shot off into the desert at a far faster rate of speed than V had ever experienced during the entire time he'd owned the car.
"Goddamn. Maybe he could take a look at the Porsche, V.", Johnny mused from the spot beside V.
"Haha, you wish. I think his magic only works on new cars, not old relics like that."
Hildegarde and Scotch just eyeballed V strangely as he continued to talk to Johnny, gesticulating as his conversation continued.
"He just does that. He has an imaginary friend.", Hildegarde sighed.
"Aye. He's lost his marbles."
The two original teammates just shrugged at V as they continued their way back to Night City. Now that the team had been fully assembled, there was no reason to keep hiding. The Heist was about to begin. The true purpose of V's recruitment would soon become known.
Chapter End. Poor nomads.