Chapter 14: The Chase
Elsewhere, far behind Jericho and crew, a red-haired man shouted at a confused corporate police officer. Blackwell Chief of Police David Madison had no idea what the man was yelling about, but he seemed serious.
"She was here! How do you not recognize an outlaw!? Tall, dark hair, eyepatch, permanent scowl!"
"Nobody came through town matching that description. Look, we just had a serious crime committed here, all of our resources have been tied up in that!"
"Fine! Did you see an AV take off from here?"
"Actually, yes. It took off towards the north. My stepdaughter was aboard it and headed to Seattle. She knew the crew and could vouch for them, though. None of them seemed like bad people..."
"That's how it works with them, they all seem nice up until you're surrounded by your dead friends and family. Fuck! Everyone, back into our AV. We're headed to Seattle!"
"Got it, Jean. I'll set coordinates immediately.", a younger man noted.
"James, make it the fastest route possible!",
Jean Starhawk didn't mess around, not when his nemesis was still out there and still causing chaos. He ran back to his own AV, a heavily modified cargo grappler painted bright red and named the Proscrita Estrella. The chase was on. He held his bolt-action .50 cal pistol up and examined it carefully. Hildegarde wouldn't escape this time. Third time was a charm.
The Horus, Jericho's AV soared through the skies of the USSR. They had taken a path over the Bering Strait and headed into Russia first. In a few more hours, they would be above Neo-Tokyo and then headed towards United Korea. There was little to stop them at the moment except a broadcast from International News.
"Hildegarde Lives!", the headline blared with a picture of the outlaw front and center. The article read on about the Outlaw's life and career as one of the most infamous to carve a bloody path through Russia and Europe before disappearing in a fiery explosion 3 years ago and reappearing in Night City to everyone's disbelief. A blurb at the bottom noted a particularly large bounty having been placed on Hildegarde's head after her reappearance for the ungodly sum of 500 thousand Eurodollars by a corporation called Monarch. The details regarding the bounty were available only from Monarch themselves with a phone number to inquire about it.
"Five-hundred-thousand! For my head!?", Hildegarde exclaimed, waking everyone from their naps. "That is bonkers! Not even the highest bounty from before was more than 50 grand!", the outlaw shouted upon reading the article.
"Aye, it's insane, but nobody has bothered to call about it.", Scotch noted. "Asher's been watching the calls."
"Well, there's been one..."
"Who!?"
"...Jericho."
Hildegarde turned to Jericho, her eyes meeting his in surprise and anger. "You wouldn't dare. Not after all we've been through!"
"Five hundred thousand is quite a lot of money, Hildgarde...", Jericho noted coldly. V just stood back, in case Hildegarde's severed head came flying his way.
"Y- You wouldn't... I don't believe you.", Hildegarde gasped in disbelief.
"I called them. I'll admit that. The terms of your retrieval are nigh-impossible. Monarch wants you alive and unharmed. Nobody is capable of that except me. And I'm not about to let you go yet.", Jericho noted.
Hildegarde sighed and collapsed onto the couch. "Why the fuck are you scaring me like this!?"
"I was curious and you needed a wake-up call. Besides, I believe this is a PR stunt. Offer a huge bounty with impossible demands to get their name out. Last time I checked, Monarch manufactures vehicles and heavy-duty construction equipment. We have never had any reason to deal with them simply because they're a small British company with absolutely nothing of importance to us.."
"So it's nothing, then?"
"It's nothing. The article was published in an international tabloid, I doubt anyone will take it seriously. Other articles mention the return of Elvis Presley and his remarkable transfer from an Engram into a robotic body that will perform on Mars.", Jericho laughed.
Hildegarde just slammed her fist into the arm of the couch before settling back down. V just stood in shock. Hildegarde did have fears, fears of being betrayed and the fear of death as it seemed. He just sat back as the AV flew on.
"500k? Hell if they were offering that much for Alt, I would've tossed her into that Arasaka van myself...", Johnny noted appearing next to V on the cot. "Could've bought a lot for that amount."
"Johnny, you're a dick."
"I'm just saying, V. That's a helluva lot of chop! Fuckin' Jericho could hire an army with that kinda cash."
"And give up your output for that cash? Kill her and claim the bounty?"
"The bounty wants her alive. Not too difficult for someone like him, V."
"Jericho won't do that. He's not a monster."
"That's what you think, V, he's got too many faces."
"Johnny... Just leave me alone. I have enough to deal with right now...", V sighed.
V just laid back down, it would be a few hours before they touched down in Neo-Tokyo. He needed the rest after all that had happened. He was sure this was just another marital spat between Jericho and Hildegarde since they were apparently married to each-other through cyberware. He was still curious about why on earth there was such a large bounty, though.
"Hey, Hildegarde, what the hell did you do to Monarch for them to set your bounty so damned high?", V asked, pulling the one-eyed merc's attention.
"Well... A very long time ago, there was a small one-woman heist on them that involved the CEO's entire bank account and the theft of their personal armored cargo AV...", Hildegarde sighed.
"You did that by yourself?"
"My first ever big heist and it was a complete success, there was nothing the CEO could do except flail his arms around impotently and scream curses at the heavens. No idea why they've decided to post a bounty after my alleged demise and resurrection..."
"That's because the CEO of Monarch stepped down and let his son take over the business, Sigmund Von Bretton now runs Monarch with an iron fist.", Asher added from the co-pilot's seat. She'd pulled some information about Monarch while they'd been talking."He's holding some kind of grudge against you, Hildegarde. Any idea why he wants you alive?"
"Most likely for a good old fashioned beheading in their courtyard. Monarch is backed by the Royal Armory and the Crown, they're in charge of rebuilding London.", Hildegarde sighed.
"Y-You mean like a public execution?", V and Asher added.
"Yep. At least my death would be officially confirmed by the millions watching it on the Net. Poor Starhawk wouldn't even get his revenge.", Hildegarde noted. "They'd better be using a laser-axe, I've got titanium bones so it'll take more than a hundred whacks to take my head off."
"I don't know if we should be worried or not. It's only one corporation. It's not like others have offered anything as of yet.", V reassured.
"Others probably have. Monarch just offered the largest one. And believe me, Sigmund will change his mind regarding the bounty when nobody calls in. 'Taken Alive' but not necessarily unharmed is the likely outcome, I doubt he wants my head served on a silver platter if he plans on executing me himself for what I did." Hildegarde mused. "There are quite a lot of things a person can survive, V. Just like I told you."
"I suppose if this bothers you that much, Hildegarde, then there's only one choice. We turn you in for the bounty.", Jericho added.
"You just- You said you wouldn't do that!", Hildegarde exclaimed.
"Yes. But we don't have to surrender you, we just need to get inside the CEO's office and purge Monarch of its leadership. They're small and unlikely to recover from a blow like that. Now, they're not on my list of Corporations to take vengeance upon, but I can make some room for them if it makes you feel any better."
"I truly hope you have a plan."
"Oh, I do. We'll bind your hands with zip-ties and lead you into their headquarters at gunpoint using your own rail-gun. Since your firearm is coded to your cyberware, it won't even be able to be fired if the CEO decides to execute you in the middle of his office. You'll break free, kill the CEO and then we'll abscond to better places. Perhaps even take their 500k with interest.", Jericho explained. Hildegarde just stared at him in contemplation.
"Well, I do like the sound of that. One condition, I'm the only one to kill Sigmund, we have some history... It can wait though, we need to find your memories first. And I need to sleep on this."
Jericho just turned back to his computer and kept reviewing the data they'd retrieved. Hildegarde pulled out the upper-most cot and laid down, turning away from the group and onto her side to sleep. V just did the same, except on his bunk on the lowest level. An impromptu heist, or bounty or whatever after getting Jericho's memories. He could stick around for that, it might be entertaining and besides there was a helluva lot you could do with cash like that. He'd buy Panam and himself a nice hideaway in Blackwell, maybe become a local musician and eventually have kids and retire before finally dying of old-age in a quaint little town where nothing ever happened.
Elsewhere, far away from Hildegarde and her bounty, in Seattle a red-haired man interrogated a local Media and TV show host. Ryan Koffield sat across from the man as the mercenary grilled him for information.
"Did you see this woman?", Jean Starhawk asked holding up a picture of Hildegarde.
"I did. What of it?"
"Who was she traveling with?"
"A tall man of Asian descent with extensive cyberware, a short bald man with a beard, a short blonde girl with a ponytail and some random guy. Any reason why you're asking?"
"She's wanted in many countries. Her crew is dangerous. I'm going to stop her before she kills again."
"Hm. They seemed pretty nice when they stopped by. If you've got a good story on this, I'd love to have an interview with you on the topic! Sea-73, the N-N-News of Seattle!", Ryan noted adding a bit of radio flare to the end.
"I don't have time for that! Where were they headed?"
"No idea. Anchorage maybe? My daughter said she heard them talking about heading up there, no idea why..."
"Great. Thank you for your time, Mr. Koffield.", Jean Starhawk concluded before heading out of the fancy apartment and back to his AV.
He was getting closer and soon Hildegarde would be dead. He knew of the ridiculous bounty and didn't care. She needed to be very, very dead for what she'd done to him. The others who rode with her? They'd have to die as well, when there was nobody left to take vengeance upon her, he'd finally be free of this. None of them seemed particularly special in any way shape or form and knowing Hildegarde, all of them were disposable when she was finished with them anyways.
Horus touched down on a landing pad in Neo-Tokyo. The gleaming city glowed with neon and LED lighting everywhere. Lighted walkways illuminated the glorious city from top to bottom rivaling Night City in its beauty. The Arasaka Headquarters loomed high in the sky as a beacon to Japan's greatest. Jericho would not be leaving the AV, despite wanting to exact revenge on Arasaka for stealing his designs, attacking them in their home country unprepared was a death sentence for everyone involved. Asher and him would stay behind to maintain the Veil on their AV and do some necessary preparations for their imminent arrival in United Korea. Only Jericho knew their final destination and wanted everything to be in top shape when they got there. He was expecting resistance, despite telling everyone the location had long since been abandoned.
Scotch headed off and away from the landing pad to find the nearest bar. Sake would have to do for now and he could drink a lot of it. He told V not to drink any more 'Smash' as that was what constituted for beer and even after a few drinks it would leave you in a feebly mumbling ball of pain. Hildegarde and V left together towards a scenic viewpoint.
"So, you're not emotionless after all.", V noted.
"No V, I'm not. To be completely honest, the sooner we deal with Starhawk, the better.", Hildegarde sighed.
"Why? He's just one guy with a few other gonks helping him. From what I've seen from you and Jericho, he'll be dead in a few rounds."
"He's more capable than that. He's creative, no doubt he's had time to train. But... He's still small potatoes to the massive bounty that's on my head. When Starhawk is dead, others will take his place."
"Even so, why don't you just kill all of them?"
"We did, V. That was a constant problem towards the end of our travels before our hiatus. When Starhawk is gone and Jericho is restored, we'll take our fight to Monarch and do what we need to do. Then... Jericho's Revolution can begin."
"So we're gonna finish up all your side-quests and then the real fight begins. I'm still not sure whether to stay with you guys or go off on my own..."
"Stay, V. As much as I say I hate you, you're useful. You're the Wildcard, V. You don't have a power-core, but you do have an AI. None of us have an AI to guide us. Jericho chose you for a reason..."
"Shit. I knew it. Fuuu... I'll stay as long as I can. But if this gets too hot for me, I'm out. I'm back on the road with the Nomads."
"That's fine. You wouldn't survive very long if this turns into a full-out war. You're still human, V."
"And you're not?"
"Not quite. Not like you. Not anymore."
"This is the Chipset, isn't it?
"Yep. Once you've felt its raw power, what it can do for you, you won't go back to being a Nomad. We- Us with a Chipset are destined for something greater, V. Something far greater than ever imagined.", Hildegarde mused, staring over the gleaming cityscape as AV's and cars drove through the maze-like grid below.
"I haven't really felt that much different to be honest. Aside from Johnny poking into my business. I guess it's doing something though, since I'm not glitching out and dying."
"It takes time to get acquainted with its abilities, but when you do... It'll change you."
"For the better, right?"
Hildegarde just stared at him, trying to come up with an answer.
"Right?"
Hildegarde just left the overlook and began to head back towards the AV. "Of course, V. For the better..."
V was now alone overlooking Neo-Tokyo below him. He stared up at the Arasaka Tower, even larger than the one in Night City and sighed. This had all started because of them. This whole problem, its solution, its subsequent failure and now another solution to a problem that had been brought down upon him like a fist from an angry god.
"You know, V. I've had more than enough time to figure this shit out. Maybe we should try changing gears a bit.", Johnny noted joining V on the overlook. "Arasaka... Goddamn them. Even stronger here in their own country, might as well rename this place Arasaka-land."
"Have you? This Chipset saved my life and that's it. I haven't even seen any abilities or enhancements like they're talking about!"
"Look, V. You've got a 7 speed gearbox and you're only using first, second and third right now. Great for city driving, but I think we should put the pedal to the metal in this thing. Rev her up and see what we can really do."
"I think you might've forgotten, but I don't have a nuclear power core. What happens if I shift into all of them at once? Will I die? Suffer a stroke? Explode?"
"Ehh. Think of it like my old car. We ease onto the clutch and shift up a gear nice and smooth. Then when we're going fast enough, we do the same thing again until we're up to speed. I mean, I don't think dropping all the way down into first from seventh gear is a good idea, but if we take it nice and easy, we'll be going places fast."
"Okay... Next time we're in combat, try that. Let's see what this machine can do!"
"I should probably mention, V. One of those cores that you have active is an Empathy Circuit, it makes you empathize with others. The other two control your accuracy with a firearm and your reflexes."
"Well... Don't deactivate the Empathy one! I still want to be human with emotions and shit... I guess just make the best decision for me? I dunno, all of them seem important, but deativate Reflexes when if I need brute strength and gun accuracy if I need to move quicker and I'm not shooting."
"Sounds like a plan, V. You know, I think I like being in your head again. We're actually working as a team."
"Strange as it sounds, but I've been enjoying it too, even though you bother the living shit outta me half of the time."
"Two peas in a pod. Who could've guessed."
V just stood at the overlook a bit more. He lit a cigarette and puffed one out for the Rockerboy in his head. He didn't know if Johnny could feel the pulse of nicotine through his body, but he hoped so. Johnny wasn't so bad. They'd lived together in Night City and occasionally, Johnny's wisdom made sense. Other times, it was pure insanity. But as of right now, Johnny and V were still two different personalities and no unification had happened yet. Maybe Jericho was wrong.
Elsewhere, on an AV landing pad in Anchorage, a large German cyborg was interrupted by a familiar face. A red-haired man had found him yet again and he was not going to have it this time, not after being mistaken for someone else time and time again.
"You! I have had it vith you! Go away, scheissekopf!", Gunter exclaimed as both of his arms split open to reveal hidden gattling cannons, two shoulder-mounted rocket-barrage canisters opened and his skull-gun took aim pinpointing a laser on a red-haired man's face.
"Hey! Just wanted to talk! I know you're not affiliated with Hildegarde!", Jean Starhawk backpedaled.
"Idi nahui, Starhawk!", Navarre shouted, stealthed and invisibly stalking the red-haired mercenary.
"Hildegarde. She was here and she's alive. Where did she go?"
"Hildegarde haz been dead for years! You think ve know where her corpze is? At ze bottom of ze Mediterranean! Verfick dich!", Gunter shouted, guns still aimed at the rival mercenary.
"I suggest you leave. We know nothing and we want nothing to do with you. Perhaps you should leave before my partner's trigger finger slips?", Navarre half-threatened.
"Fine! Fine, I'm leaving! See? Walking away now! No need to shoot!", Starhawk noted as he backed away from the AV and the massive cyborg that was ready to end him.
Jean Starhawk just continued to the local watering hole, the only one in the domed city, the Iceberg, and sat down. Navarre and Gunter had been mistaken for Hildegarde and her other teammate repeatedly and they'd fought back hard enough to search out the Outlaw themselves. Apparently they'd lost, licked their wounds and headed somewhere the Outlaw wouldn't follow them. The NUSA seemed like an obvious choice.
"Hey, Barman! You seen this woman?", Jean asked holding up a picture of Hildegarde again.
"Huh? You gonna buy anythin'? No talkin' without buyin'", the barkeep stated pointing to a sign.
"Fine, gimme a bourbon... neat."
"Alright. Yeah, I seen her. She was with a little bald man. Bald man said he was flyin' to United Korea or somethin'... Didn't care to ask why.", the barkeep noted.
Jean Starhawk slammed his bourbon and stood up suddenly, the overly-strong alcohol making him sway slightly.
"James! Set coordinates for United Korea! Hildegarde dies tomorrow night!"
The Horus departed Neo-Tokyo, only staying long enough to pinpoint the location Jericho had mentioned. The location where his memories would be found and the location where V would finally decide his fate. They were headed to a small island off the coast of United Korea, Jeju Island and particularly Mt. Songaksan. There was a small town here with nothing really to note as it was mostly populated by fishermen. The old dried-up volcanic crater was where they had to land the AV. Jericho mentioned seeing the mountains after leaving the underground laboratory he'd awoken inside. There was no record of anything even remotely close to that having been built on the island, but this was a Black Project, and anything was possible.
"Just keep flying and keep us low. Keep the Veil active at all times. Scotch keep the engines warm and hit the skies in case we set off any alarms inside.", Jericho commanded. "Asher, you'll be coming with us into the laboratory."
"R-really?", Asher asked.
"Yes. I need your skills. Hildegarde keep your eye out of anything, traps, rogue bots, anyone who might still be inside after all these years. V, you'll take the rear, keep the heat off of us in case we get surrounded."
"Do you really think there's anyone still there? How long has it been since you've been there?"
"It's been decades, but the last time I tried to access their mainframe, every corporation and military descended on me. The place is highly irradiated as well, so take some Anti-Rad when we land."
"Is that why you don't NetRun? You did the same thing back in Arizona..."
Jericho just stared at V. "Yes, V. That is why I don't NetRun. JANUS is detected as soon as it's connected to the Net."
"But... What is Janus?"
"An AI? I'm not quite sure, actually..."
"Seriously?"
"This is why we're doing what we're doing V."
"Okay. I've got you back."
Jericho just sat at his desk, computer closed and readied himself for the upcoming battle if there was one. He also prepared himself for the realization of what he truly was and why he was the way that he was. If he thought that he was, therefore he was. But if he was what he thought he was, was that really him? Only time would tell.
Chapter End.