AN: So. Just to be clear, this is the beginning of a larger section in the story. And while I would have prefered to deliver this in one chapter... that wait for that would be ageeeess. So I'm breaking it up. More stuff at the end!
"What do you mean MaxTac is on standby?!"
The side door of the assault chopper was open, wind howled through the cabin, and I compensated by yelling… even though we were on a closed circuit channel, meaning communication was always constant, regardless of outside volumes.
Mike socked my shoulder, not appreciating the yelling on open comms.
"Sorry" I mumble, "first time" I attempt to joke.
Mike fixes me with his signature stare.
Before I can balefully mumble another 'Sorry' Vi jumps onto the comms.
"Can someone please remind me why greenie here is tagging along?"
From the other side of the chopper and facing the other open door, I can't see her face, but I can feel the eyeroll.
Any attempt at person defense is swept away by Kincaid's voice, speaking to all of us.
"Because if our target rabbits, our young and innocent hound here will sniff him out"
Yeah. Because that doesn't shoot my nerves to hell again.
"Won't you, John?"
The question tickles at my mind and punches my gut simultaneously. Something about Kincaid, and his… tone.
God, it was scary.
But my spine decides to grow back. And my renewed vigor and confidence give me just enough strength to respond with;
"Of course sir"
Kincaid doesn't reply, but I know he's stepped away from the comm line. In whatever mobile command center he occupied, he'd be rolling in on the ground, relaying tactical data and information.
Kinda like Fred I guess.
But I have to ask someone, anyone. Because this just boggled my mind.
Now quieter, I asked the others;
"So what about Max Tac? We can just tell them to 'chill out' while we shoot up a building?"
Policy coming into this fight was sketchy at best. Like any other Corpo contractor, I was familiar with ground Policy.
As in, securing Arasaka property or completely Arasaka work required clearance for certain actions.
Don't shoot civies or potential non-combatants (unless directly specified) was a big one.
So was; don't kill the Cops, under any circumstance.
Max Tac was a no go, ever. If the Apex Predators showed up, Corpo's tended to steer waaaay clear. Any problems that might come from that could be dealt with legally, so long as Arasaka never interfered on the ground, in any capacity.
But when we rolled out, Kincaid had told all of us that the entirety of the NCPD was on standby. Including Max Tac.
Someone up the chain of command at Arasaka had given this mission a free bee with the police. Someone, had the power to tell the NCPD to fuck off and let Arasaka deal with this.
"Kid" Mile turned to look at me again, "wet work isn't exclusive to those countries you joke about with your friends, incapable of being civilised" he then gazed out the choppers door, watching the buildings fly past.
He seemed too calm.
I can't help but keep asking though.
"When mister boss man told us that we've got full tactical authority… he never specified potential civ-"
"Kid" Mike almost snapped, turning once again to look at me.
He holds my gaze, some kind of anomalous mix of anger and calm.
"We're hammers. Whatever we're pointed at is a nail" the man shouldered his AR. The chopper came into a spin, flying around one of the smaller buildings in Chinatown.
A quaint, 8 story structure.
"Just do your fucking job, and we all walk out of this in one piece"
"See?" Johnny was leaning against the wall behind Takemura. Once again taking his time with yet another cigarette as he glared a hole in the back of Goro's head.
"So Johnny got blasted by Soulkiller, gets stuck in the chip. We… I steal it from Yorinobu Arasaka, who stole it from Saburo Arasaka… I get wounded and taken to Arasaka tower, and now Johnny is just... in my head?"
Takemura had countered my Green tea with a tasteful Jasmine of his own.
We had not exchanged drinks, so I could only guess as to the smell and flavour.
Only ever ordered Green.
I shake my head slightly, squeezing my eyes shut for a second.
"So it would seem" Goro finally speaks, "were it not for our presence being unwelcome at your Ripperdoc's, I would recommend you return for an inspection"
His gaze is unreadable, considering how much he'd allowed me to infer from Arasaka.
Soulkiller, and it's application history.
Saburo's Save Your Soul power play.
"Only from someone you can trust, V" Goro regarded me for a moment, "I am no expert, but a person occupying your head does not sound… healthy"
"I agree" I mutter, closing my eyes for a second, "but I'm not sure if I want to involve them in this"
Takemura didn't falter, a zeal overtaking him as he too leaned forward.
His words were pressed, urgent.
"V. You must live. You're revenge will never be possible if you were to perish"
I can only look at him, surprised at his words. Their conviction.
Goro believed in what he said, truly believed it. Like the order of the universe was absolute around what he spoke.
That was… comforting to know-
"He doesn't give a rats ass"
Johnny jumped closer to Takemura, flickering next to him in a heartbeat. He was looking right at Goro, studying him from up close. The bodyguard had no idea the image I was witnessing.
"Johnny" I warn.
His dark shades turn to me, a snarl just barely concealed underneath them.
"Don't tell me you're buying into that horseshit?" Johnny was surprised. Actually surprised.
I… I just didn't understand why.
So I parroted something Vik had told me.
"Having someone in your corner is never a bad thing, Silverhand"
And Johnny bit back, fast as hell.
"You lose your choom and suddenly you're just latching on to the next hand willing to help you?"
...
There it is.
The red hot boil, the magma from within.
My eyes narrowed in fury, my expression twisting with the vortex of rage in my body.
Johnny and Takemura both recoiled.
But the Rockerboy only stumbled. He kept talking.
"Go ahead, have a tantrum. The only reason Takemura needs you alive is because he wants to suck Saburo off one last time" he tossed his cig on the ground, pointing at me with his metal finger.
"It ain't care, it's concern. And a corp's only concerned when you're worth something to them. When you ain't-"
"Enough, Silverhand! Enough!" I snap.
He shuts up.
But… he doesn't leave the space, instead moving back to his spot on the wall.
As long as he's quiet.
"Vik" I settle on saying, "he'll help out. But we're going to need to be scarce for a few days"
"I agree" Goro nodded, "in fact, we should be leaving this place now. Arasaka will be upon us within hours"
And a second after he said that, there was a crackle. A crackle of an intercom coming to life.
"V" a puring Asian woman's voice silked into the room, accented but clear.
I stood, pushing my chair back in my haste, "Madam Yang, I haven't-"
"It's quite alright dear, you haven't broken any rules"
She coughed daintily as I stood in silence, awaiting her words.
"I just thought I'd let you know there are two Arasaka assault teams ready to storm-" Goro stood as well, "-the building, and a Combat helicopter 30 minutes out"
We looked at each other, ready to speak and plan, but Yang continued on;
"Might I suggest you go see Yao, and arm yourselves appropriately"
Goro nods.
So I say, "thank you Madam, we will"
We walk to the exit of the booth, the attendant's outline already present through the privacy wall.
"Well that was fast" Johnny mutters.
Goro opens the door.
"This way, please" the attendant smiles, taking us down the passageways of the establishment.
"Too fast" I grumble back to the ghost, "you may not like Takemura, but being an ex-high ranking member of Arasaka, I'm surprised he was wrong about the company's response time"
"Hmmm… right" Johnny concluded, "must have turned a lot of heads with your stunt at Arasaka"
We snapped another few turns, before coming to a door.
Upon its opening, an entire store of munitions and weaponry awaited us. Guns in counters, upon walls, and stacked upon crates and items. A plethora of armaments and gear.
"Meaning?" I ask him, bustling past the somewhat stunned Takemura.
"The Board sicked the dogs on you" Johnny snorted, also taking interest in the space.
Snagging some holsters and compact ammo bags, I attach them to my person while I peruse Yao's wares. Two thigh holsters and an ammunition belt for my waist are my first selection.
One heavy vest with segmented plating is next.
Now… weapons.
Reaching for handguns first, I checked for some of my favourite models.
"What's with the Unity obsession?" the way he said it sounded degrading, but that seemed to be the only record he played.
I place the weapon back on the rack, running my hand over a few revolvers.
"They get the job done" is a simple explanation, and should be sufficient to tide over his curiosities.
Johnny is silent for a moment.
And then he lets out a bark of laughter.
He actually laughs.
"And? You've got Arasaka on your ass, about to jump head first into a firefight, and you don't want to look good while doing it?"
I say nothing at this, deciding upon a Unity with a longer barrel. Slightly larger ammo capacity too.
"Hear me out"
With a sigh, I look over to him.
He's half an aisle down, looking at the opposite side of a weapons rack that Takemura was browsing.
Heavy handguns; a great deal of them too.
"Skully dug a hole in your head and popped in a fucked up aimbot" Johnny explained, gesturing to a set of handguns, "one of these babies paired with it would be pretty preem"
Johnny Silverhand, giving me weapons advice.
...he was a notorious solo. Not a Morgan Blackhand, to be sure, but a legend built upon his own exploits and fame.
So perhaps the advice wouldn't be so bad.
I come to the pistols, taking a few glances between all of the ones Johnny wanted.
"Trust me" he says, pointing at one in particular with a sleek but worn brown handle.
"You're good with both hands, but let the metal one take that-" he taps the gun, "-little beauty's recoil"
I pick the weapon up, getting a feel for it with my new chrome. And that feeling is nothing.
Johnny echoes my thoughts.
"You're chrome's pretty decent. Won't feel a thing"
Heavy duty ammunition.
Small firing chamber, ergo less chance of jams.
Solid fire rate.
Minimal overheat problems.
I grasp it by the handle as I gaze upon it. If I had to go loud… might as well prioritize physical lethality.
"Never used a Malorian before"
I can feel Johnny's grin from beside me.
"Even a fucked up Gonk like you is going to love this"
In a smooth motion, I holster the Malorian Arms 3500 model Heavy pistol. Ammo can be holstered by my side. The small units allow me to carry so much more.
But…
"In case we can effectively escape this situation" I walk back to the first rack I checked.
A silencer is added to my selection.
"Really?" Johnny groans, as the Unity takes my other thigh holster.
"Yao" I ignore Johnny's dejected whinging, instead turning my attention to the far end of the room.
Opposite from our entry is a small window behind a glass panel. Next to this window is the outline of a door.
Behind this glass panel was Yao, still as youthful as when I first met him. Albeit, not significantly older, but the gap between 12 and 16 was drastic for boys.
"Yes?" he nearly yawned, looking up from a monitor.
His long black hair obscured most of his face, his dull brown eyes peeking through the locks. Combined with a dirty brown shirt, he seemed far too laid back and bored to be Yang's arm dealer.
But he was her son, and she spoiled him rotten so long as he did his job.
"Anything special in your rifle department?"
Yang looked up for a moment, recalling something. He leaned back in his seat slightly before gazing back to us a moment later.
"Funny thing" he grinned, "got a few things you might be interested in"
"That's the last of them" the leader for Assault One confirmed over the communication line.
"Good" Kincaid replied, "break your force into three units Captain, I want two in the lifts and one to take the stairs"
"Roger that"
Kincaid's battlestation was only fifty feet from the building sight, near the now cordoned off streetside. The armored truck contained a multitude of monitors and two seats. Thermal imaging was displayed before his chair, alongside Bio signs and tactical positioning. He'd pulled up a schematic of the building beforehand, deciding on how he wanted to deal with the target.
Mike and the team would deploy from the rooftop while the grunts from Arasaka would push up the stairs.
The target would have to make a decision, fight up, or fight down.
Adam Smasher was on standby to assist whoever he needed to, and he'd bring the full force of Arasaka with him.
"He met with Yorinobu" came the soft voice of the only other occupant in the back of the truck.
In the other seat, cables all plugged into the back of her helmeted head, was Wolf. Her section of the truck was stuffed with just as many screens as Kincaid, but the images were vastly different.
Security camera feeds, systems diagnostics and every utility within the district. You name it, Wolf was looking at it.
Kincaid tilted his head to her.
"Hm?"
"Adam Smasher… he met with Yorinobu privately before we deployed" on one of Wolf's screens a small video feed of Smasher stepping through an office door appeared.
Kincaid rubbed at his chin, studying the video for a few seconds.
Wolf kept tabs on all his assets, including the ones he didn't have direct control over. Smasher being ordered to speak with Yorinobu was no small deal. In fact, Kincaid would be willing to bet an arm and a leg that it had to do with the current operation.
"Good work Wolf" he smiled, "we'll deal with that later"
He turned back to the tactical information.
Assault One had moved every visible civilian out, while Assault Two was just moving up now. The first set of teams had already advanced to the third floor. But the one's in the lifts… they were about to come out on the sixth floor.
"Alright ladies" Kincaid keyed the comm line, "here on out, everything's a threat. You see it, you drop it"
"Yes sir" the Captain's voice filtered back.
Kincaid switched to Assault Two.
"Ease up boys. I want you ready to move at a moment's notice" he studied the floor plan, "but wait in the lobby for further instruction. Assault One is going to poke this bee hive for all our sakes"
"Roger that" Assault Two's Captain was female, and Kincaid heard the distant bark of her orders to her unit just as he closed the comm line.
One final piece needed to be moved.
"Mike"
The Helicopter carrying his personal squad was in position. They were just waiting for the confirmation.
And the voice of his underling shot back at him.
"Yes boss?"
"Time to party" Kincaid nodded to himself, turning to Wolf briefly, "hit it"
And the game begins.
"Saddle up Kid" Mike stepped closer to the open door of the Helicopter.
The chopper was now hovering above the roof of the target site by a few meters, ready to dispense its combatants.
Mike didn't wait for me to confirm my status, or even say much of anything.
As soon as he reached the lip, he nonchalantly stepped out of the Helicopter, plummeting the short distance to the rooftop.
I watched him land in a half crouch, easily getting up and moving away from the spot, his weapon raised.
Did they just expect me to-
"Move kid"
A large arm pushed the small of my back.
I didn't yelp.
Nor did I scream or shout.
But a small noise came out of my throat. A grunt left my body as I hit the ground sideways.
Getting to my feet in a hurry, I find myself nearly shaken off of them by Vi suddenly landing next to me.
"Real graceful" she remarked at me, moving after Mike. Her fists had extended into the large gorilla arms she was known for. But they looked… modified. The right one had exhaust ports down the side of it, and the left was hardened and vicious looking.
Arasaka adjustments.
"I got a thousand eddies that says the kid dies today"
I blink, just barely hearing Vi off radio comment to Mike.
"Hey-"
"Your on" Mike grunts, before switching over to the radio "now move it up Kid. You really don't want me telling Kincaid your slowing us down"
They weren't going to give a shit if I get myself zero'd. I'd just be bank in someone else's wallet. Not to say I don't get corporate squads, because weak links are always being rotated out, and I've never been rotated out on a squad due to something like that...
But I did understand combat effectiveness. I wouldn't be slowing anyone down today.
"Right" I hustle after them, moving as fast as I can through the ventilation units and air duct devices.
We're going to get this bastard.
"The assault helicopter has dispensed three units onto the rooftop, all significantly enhanced. Two are, more so than the other" Madam Yang echoed into my ear piece.
An ear piece that was recently donated by Yao, saying his mother wished to communicate with me directly in this current... 'crisis'.
"And the elevators and stairs?" I reply, looking around at the people waiting in the restaurant proper.
After myself and Takemura had armored up, we exited Yao's gun emporium only to be informed by Madam Yang to wait.
The entire building had been surrounded by Arasaka forces.
A number of civilians had been extracted, but it was a superficial gesture. There would be no prisoners taken from here on out.
At least, that's what the number of combatants suggested.
"A company had detached into three squads. Two are taking the lift and another is in the staircase. They will be here in five minutes"
"Fuck" Johnny was pacing in front of me, "and we're just supposed to sit here with our dicks in our hands?" he gestured out into the small antechamber space.
The other restaurant patrons were here too. A man in a suit, two women, one in a dress and the other in semi combat fatigues, and what looked like two members of the Maelstrom.
We were seated at different tables, all of us taking seconds to eye the others. Most of them had gear or weapons strewn across the tabletops, checking them over again and again… except for the Borged out Maelstrom individuals.
They were locked and loaded.
"Restaurant policy doesn't let guests fight, and unless things get out of hand…"
Yang had guns at the ready. The gonks taking the lift were going to get chewed up by the hallway guards.
Yang had at least one to two killers behind every door in the hallway, all tasked with protecting her Haven.
But this would be it.
Beyond today, even if we made it out of here, there would never be another establishment like this.
Besides the ones that already exist, Arasaka would burn Yang's place to the ground, and likely her along with it.
I open my comm line;
"Madam Yang" I began, "I'm sorry-"
"V" she stops me, before I can fully express anything.
"This day was unavoidable. The old ways are dead or dying... we live at the whims of the great corporate entities now…" she exhaled softly, "it is sad, to know this is the end... but-"
From across the room, video feeds sparked up on an opaque wall, revealing the corridor of the sixth floor.
"-I'll be damned before I let my Haven go without a fight"
Johnny stopped pacing, giving me some kind of appreciative look.
"Going down swinging. I like her"
I say nothing.
My head is already running hundreds of scenarios, imagining how to get myself and Takemura out of here.
But where is there to go?
Vik's… no, that would be a death sentence for him and misty if I had a tail.
I needed someplace distant, far out, secluded from technology-
Oh.
Fuck.
I wouldn't hurt to ask… even if I didn't want to.
"And so it begins," Takemura voiced from beside me. I look back to the screen.
The elevator doors were opening.
"Sir, this is Assault One, lift is about to arrive" the Captain of the Arasaka assault force was going to be the first one in. In the packed freight elevator, filled with twelve Arasaka Heavy assault troopers, he stood at the front.
The comm line fizzled slightly, but the Captain paid it no heed.
His superior would contact him if it was something important.
In combat, it was expected for leaders to work from the front.
...a philosophy that wasn't expressed right to the top of the Arasaka combat forces pecking order, but was expected by grunts.
Couldn't trust a man who couldn't lead from the front.
But everyone in the lift trusted their Captain. Through thick and thin he had always allowed them to prevail. There had been losses at times, unfortunate and sadly inevitable. No unit could exist perfectly without losing a member or two…. Or five.
But they were good. They were Arasaka's best.
All of them were armed with close range weapons, ranging from short barreled shotguns, to combat lightweight submachine guns.
They were trained for this.
The lift came to a halt.
And as the doors split open vertically, the Captain was able to see the corridor for a brief moment.
"Six on the left, five with me on-"
A shotgun shell blew his face off, killing him instantly.
The radio crackled to life as the soldiers hunkered down, attempting to defend the lift they were now boxed inside of.
"Captain! It's a trap! Try to-"
It didn't matter what the superior was saying.
Guns were firing, people were dying, no one had time to retrieval what was left of the Captain's helmet.
There was yelling, and a cacophony of noise besides the gunfire.
Gun's fired blindly into the lift, mulching some of the soldiers.
The Arasaka soldiers, struck and pushed into an unfavourable position attempted to alleviate their situation and their stress with a tried and true technique.
Keep shooting.
And they did, right until they all ran out of ammo. When the submachine guns no longer spit lead, and the shotguns ringing boom fell silent...
The enemy that had engaged them was no longer strafing the inside of the lift. Dead Arasaka soldiers were tucked between the survivors.
No one moved.
No one wished to advance.
The injured were breathing heavily, but none made a sound.
A spherical object was tossed into the lift, bouncing off its wall and landing next to the nearly decapitated body of the Captain.
"Gren-!"
The explosion vaporized the interior of the lift, the flames licking out into the hallway very briefly.
Destabilized by the blast, the lift groaned once, before plummeting down the shaft it had risen from. The lift, and its char grilled contents crumpled at the bottom of the shaft.
One third of Assault One had died in under a minute.
The building shook, right after the not so dull thump had reverberated throughout it.
After clearing through the exterior door of the rooftop, we'd discovered our first hurdle.
A ridiculously armored door that Vi was doing her best to rip out of its reinforced sockets. Mike had contacted Wolf to see if she could figure it out, but that was right when we had heard the staccato of gunfire.
It was turning into a combat zone, far faster than I was familiar with.
That in mind, I just had to ask, "What the fuck was that?"
An explosion, obviously. But what had caused it, what was going on. It seemed like our situation was getting a bit hot.
Shane would have called it 'Spicy'.
Bastard…. Never could deal with hot foods.
Mike wasn't on an internal food metaphor tirade, he was present, doing his job. It was cool to watch his instincts kick in.
He stepped back from the struggling Vi, his attention focused on a man not so far from our building.
"Kincaid?"
Mike was looking for some kind of information update. The evolving nature of the situation was a direct concern of his.
"Heavy resistance. Ambushed a pawn"
"Ambushed?" Mike asked, while I wondered about the whole "pawn" part.
"...there's an onsite Netrunner. Maybe two. Wolf's running interference but she's got her hands tied for now"
Mike sighed, taking some kind of mental stock as his eyes shut. Oddly enough, stressed Mike seemed the most at peace. In fact, the crinkle on his face was relaxing, taking on a whole-
His eyes opened again.
He glanced at me, an incredibly subtle grin on his face.
"Hope you've got some good ICE, kid"
And as soon as I had his attention, it was gone, swinging back to our magnanimous leader.
"Kincaid. How do you feel 'bout a bit of demo work? This door isn't going to be budging any time within the next year" Mike appraised the steel wall that Vi had finally backed off of.
"Try to keep it down Mike"
Keep it down?
Hmm.
So there were still a few limits on their operational procedure. Gunfire in night city, quite common. Heavy explosives however. This seemed to be a one off thing.
"Of course" Mike nodded to Vi, giving her permission.
The charges were slung from out of her combat backpack and attached around the circumference of the steel obstruction.
"Right, back it up Kid" Mike ordered, stepping away from the door and towards the nearest corridor corner. Based on the size of the charges Vi had distributed, I eagerly followed him. Didn't want to get flung around by the backblast. Or debris.
However…
Another question had formed as we closed in on the cover.
"Mike"
"Yeah kid?"
"Kincaid said there were two Netrunners onsite"
"Yeah?" he grunted out.
"...and they were keeping Wolf busy"
He turned his head to regard me with a bit more anger than I believed was necessary. We round the corner, Vi only a few feet behind us. Mike leans back against the wall, his rifle draped across the front of his torso.
"Get to the point"
"Wolf must be an incredibly skilled Netrunner" I hunker down beside him, checking then re-checking my pistol and its smart link before I continue.
"Kincaid doesn't strike me as the kinda guy to hire mediocre talent"
Mike shot me a look of derision, "If you're trying to pat yourself on the back-"
"No"
His eyebrow raised in response.
"I'm probably the best tracker you've ever met" I look him firmly in the eye, "like I said. We all serve some purpose for Kincaid"
Mike doesn't say anything.
Neither does Vi, who arrives around the corner right in the middle of the now tense air between myself and Mike.
"Wolf's probably a far better Netrunner than I can imagine'' I point to Mike's gun, "I'm guessing you're not just a decent shot with that" I turn on Vi, "already know what you can do. Smasher is… well, Smasher is Smasher"
I cross my arms, looking between the two of them.
"What kinda Restaurant, even gang owned, has locked doors that need industrial explosives to open, damn good ICE and Network defense… and what sounds like a small army downstairs?"
My temper might have flared a little bit near the end, but I didn't like how casually they were taking all of this.
It seemed as though we were consciously stepping into the melting pot, and I'd only just arrived in the frying pan!
"I'm curious as well" Mike held out a hand to Vi, "but before we can ask any questions-"
Vi put the detonator in his palm.
A palm with fingers that immediately pressed down on the trigger.
Dust and rubble invaded my vision before I could cover my eyes. The roar and then ringing of the blast suffocated my ears.
A hand grabbed my shoulder, pushing me up and onto my feet.
Huh. Hadn't even noticed I'd fallen over.
The ringing subsided eventually, just as my hand was coming down from my scrunched up eyes.
Mike filled my vision, my dropped handgun in his outstretched hand.
"We've got a job to do, kid. Doesn't matter what's in the way"
I look between him and the weapon for only a few moments.
He was right, after all.
I grab the gun.
'Doesn't mean I'm not worried about marching, however carefully, into the hornet's nest'
Authors note continued: Thanks all of you who follow, favourite and review. If you're one of this people, you are the reason this story continues. It proves to me that someone enjoys my writing enough to express such views, thus motivating me to write more.
I hope each and everyone reading this has a great of a day as I'm having.
18 hours without sleep,
Freedom.