-AN-

I had some major blockage in writing this and it got stuffed to the backburner. But I'm back, ready to chew this out and hopefully improve a bit. We'll see.

-Story Start-

V could say that he hadn't started the day off too badly, pulling himself out of some hole in the wall motel in Pacifica after rifling through Johnny's memories, hung over and feeling a bit like death. But he was alive and in this city that was a major win. At least. It should have been.

Until the local Animals decided he had ruined their pay day.

Granted, he had done just that. Wiping out a good portion of them at the Grand Imperial Mall along with their benefactor, but that was besides the point. Who the hell worked for Netwatch in this city anyway? That was just asking for trouble. Leave it to Animals to refuse to let things go. "Assholes can really hold a grudge." Running and ducking through an alleyway, a dumpster taking a slew of bullets for him, he started to make a call he probably should have made half an hour ago.

'Callin' the kid?'

"Yeah, could use a little backup."

'That meathead and his girls are pretty talented.'

"Could say that again." V groaned as he rolled over the hood of a wrecked car at the end of the alley. Ducking behind the fender and feeling the car take weapon fire, he fired blindly over his cover as the phone finally connected.

'It's David, how'd that lead pan out V?'

"Yeah uh, kinda getting shot at, you ain't to busy are ya?"

'Shit, where ya at?' On the other end of the line, David was riding along with everyone today. They were just about to head towards Arroyo to drum up some work. This was a detour worth making.

V took the pause in gunfire as a sign and leaned out to return some lead. Three shots to the center mass of one unlucky goon sent the rest back into cover. Though he immediately had to hide again as bullets started flying. "I'll send ya my cords. Running low on ammo here."

'Got em, be there in a flash.' The line cut and V set about firing blindly before making his way to what looked like an abandoned office building.

Johnny was chuckling in his head, 'Oh this is great. We've tango'd with every gang in this city, some corp trash, but we've gotten caught with our pants down by fuckin Animals.'

"Yeah I'm calling bullshit to. These pricks pick the worst times to show up." Running past several high piles of trash and what looked suspiciously like a dead body, the boarded up office building was approaching. Two shots to the lock and a boot gave him entry and not a minute to soon as a dozen angry goons burst out of the alleyway to open fire on him. Diving behind a concrete pillar, V looked around the place for anything that he could use. No help there, the office was empty short of a few desks and filing cabinets along the wall. There were three doors at the rear, but something told him they were just as empty and useless. Maybe one led to the second floor, but that still didn't help with his ammo situation. Edging out he took sight through the doorway to get an idea of what he was dealing with and frowned. Yup, a cool dozen Animals were still there, all heavily armed and shouting at each other. Quick as he could he took aim, two shots in the largest one's forehead. One more down but the rest began to return fire, holing the broken doorway and sending V back into defensive cover behind one of the two concrete pillars at the entrance. Concrete and brass flying everywhere, ammo very low, he swapped out for one of his last magazines and sighed. "Should have gone straight fucking home."

'Your body was too banged up, you needed to rest.' Johnny had taken control after their encounter with the Alt and the Voodoo boys, V having collapsed. It didn't bode well for how long they had left. 'We gotta do something, fast.'

"Yeah I know." Keying up a quickhack, V leaned out to tag a not so well hidden goon and fried their nervous system and sent them into a seizure. Ducking back inside, as again he was met with gunfire, he shook his head. "I really don't plan on getting zeroed here."

'You and me both.'

From outside they could hear the roar of a vehicle's engine, followed by a door opening. A woman's voice called out, "Who's ready to die!"

The world erupted into gunfire and explosions.

Ducking down and sitting as low as he could behind the pillar with dust and debri flying around him, V counted fully to a minute before the gunfire calmed down and stopped. Giving it an extra thirty seconds, the tired and worn out merc finally stood and leaned out to take in the scene. All of his pursuers were down, either shot full of holes or in a few cases blown to bits. Walking out into the street finally, David and his crew sat back giving him smug looks. Back door of their truck open while David sat there with a grin and Rebecca waved at him like a lunatic, V couldn't help but sigh with some relief. He could see others further inside and he was more than happy to walk over and meet them.

"God am I glad to see you."

Rebecca was the one that answered, slugging him in the arm as he got close, "You owe us one, better not forget."

David shook his hand and then pulled him inside, "C'mon, you can tell us all about it while we leave." Closing the door behind him he looked towards Falco, "Let's hit the road, and get far as fuck away from West Wind."

Falco gave a thumbs up, "On it boss." Driving away with speed, he made for the expressway.

Lucy was leaning over the front seat, eyes shining, "Jesus, what did you do to piss off Animals?"

V shrugged, "Might have killed some Netwatch guy who contracted them."

"Netwatch? Oh fuck me." Kiwi leaned back into her seat, "I heard you had some bad luck, but damn dude."

"You don't know the half of it." V relaxed back a bit while across from him David and Rebecca watched him quietly, waiting. He knew they wanted answers, he did call them out of the blue for a rescue after all. "Right, I said I'd give you answers huh?"

David nodded, "Yeah, just a few. You said you had a lead on fixing your problem."

V nodded, " Uh huh, honest reason I was out here, the Voodoo had a chance to drop me in the old net in order to get in touch with one of Johnny's old friends. Alt Cunningham."

Lucy perked up right away, "Alt? THE Alt Cunningham? No fucking way."

V waved his hand back and forth, "Sorta. More like an AI based on Alt."

'It was Alt, not just some AI.' Silverhand felt the need to correct his host right away which sent V mentally nodding.

"Anyway, Alt says she can help me out. The plan however involves getting me into Mikoshi and essentially ripping my soul out of my body and turning me into an engram like Johnny. Then she'll shove me back in while taking Silverhand for a ride." V didn't really understand how it all worked, but if it saved him from dying then he was all for it. He and Johnny had come to terms over it as well.

Lucy however was frowning, "Wait. She's going to turn you into an engram as well? Isn't your problem that Silverhand's engram is tearing your body apart?"

"Uh…yeah, that's why he has to go like yesterday."

Lucy shook her head, "No I mean…how does the soul killer program work?"

V paused, the truck bouncing along around them as he dived into his memories to think about that. Silverhand piped up, having paid more attention than him. 'The problem is my engram is overwriting your body. That's why you're dying.'

'Yeah, so how does that work?'

'I don't know, Alt said something about DNA recombining or something.'

V shrugged and relayed that info, not feeling that great as Lucy seemed to frown more and more as he finished. "Uh. Why do you look like you have bad news for me?"

Lucy shook her head slowly, "It's just. The save your soul program wasn't my thing, but I've dived Arasaka enough to have skimmed info from a lot of different programs. If Silverhand's engram is overwriting your body. Changing your DNA to fit his. What's the cut off point before the body is less yours and more his?"

"I uh. We don't know."

David leaned back and sighed, "Sounds like something to figure out before making your big move on Arasaka." It had been a while since he had considered his own mess with Arasaka, maybe he should give Faraday a call. The fixer had been radio silent for a while, maybe his scheming finally got him in trouble.

V nodded, leaning forward on his knees, "There's also, something else I've been thinking about."

"Oh?" Eyebrows raised, David locked gazes with the older merc, "What's up?"

"Well. You know how my last crew here in Night City ended. It wasn't pretty." V shook himself, thinking of Jackie and T-bug while wishing he could kick the shit out of Deshawn. To bad that tub of lard ate a bullet already. "I…I need help. A lot of it."

Rebecca grinned, "What, you looking to join our crew?" She was teasing, but seeing V wring his hands, her eyes widened, "Yo wait, really? No foolin?"

"Yeah. You lot have done right by me more than a few times by now. And I owe ya." V took a deep steadying breath, "So I'm looking to repay that. I wanna join ya, fight and run the edge. And after me and Silverhand get separated, well, I'll stick around, make the most of my new life."

David whistled, smirking as he didn't have to really think about it at all. Sure they weren't looking for another set of hands, but V was talented and had built a solid reputation of his own. "You sure? You could probably start rebuilding your own crew by now with your rep." David didn't want to hold the guy back what with how lazy they had gotten lately.

V shook his head, "Maybe, but right now all of my focus is on fixing my problem."

'I'm a problem now?' Johnny couldn't help but snipe at his host, knowing good and well they both wanted to be free of the other, even if they were slowly becoming friends.

'Like the clap.'

'You'd have to actually use your junk to get that, and it's not that bad anyway.'

Shuddering and just knowing that the legend turned engram had seen and done a whole lot of living in the past, David relaxed back in his seat. 'What are you, a walking std warning?' That Silverhand didn't say anything except to chuckle was telling.

Shrugging his head as V seemed to space out for a second, David turned to look around at everyone else. "Anyone against it?"

Kiwi scoffed, "Oh noooo, just another muscle head wanted by Arasaka, where's the concern?" She'd still run with them of course, but she had to fuss at least a little bit.

Rebecca knew that as well, "Don't mind miss explody over there, she doesn't mind ya." Grinning as the older woman turned a harsh glare her way, Rebecca blew her a raspberry.

"I don't explode things!" Giving Rebecca the finger was the least she could do.

"Say that to the Raffen."

Lucy shrugs as well, turning and sitting properly in her seat, "Would be good to have another decent shot on the team, and this could all be some fun." What was a little more heat anyway? Not like they weren't ready to take on the corps from the get go. Well, short of starting a war which having V near them just might do. He was Saburo Arasaka's killer presumably as far as the rest of the world was concerned.

Falco gave a thumbs up over his shoulder, "I'm for it."

David nodded, "Well, welcome to the crew, V, we'll help ya out for as long as you need. Though…" He looked the worn out and beat to shit mercenary up and down. "Maybe we could drop ya off at home, let ya get a shower in and eat probably." They had been on their way to pick up a job, he'd hate to throw V into another long day right after that.

V shook his head, "I just need some ammo and maybe a quick bite to eat, but I'm good to go."

Rebecca was already reaching under the seat, rifling through her bag, "What do you use again?"

"I had a Nowaki that's now in pieces somewhere, and my normal is a Lexington." Barely finishing his statement and three magazines for his Lexington were tossed his way. "Uh."

David waved him off, "She has a thing for weapons, and almost always has spares."

Rebecca was still rifling through her bag, "I better not hear complaining."

"My wallet is complaining." It wasn't really, but teasing her was always worth it.

"You're a man, suck it up." Rebecca was already looking to stash her bag away, securing it under her seat again and not paying attention to the grumpy looking David.

Lucy giggled, "You're so toxic."

"No I'm not, David says that shit all the time."

V couldn't help it, a low chuckle building up into a long and loud laugh that had everyone eventually looking at him sideways. It took a minute for him to calm down, stashing away his new ammo and wiping a tear away. "Sorry, just. It's all so much."

'You're just cracked.' Silverhand with the precise commentary as always.

Rebecca waved him off, "We sure he's not cracked already?"

"Hah, Johnny said the same thing."

"Oh great, we have to deal with some old codger's commentary as well." Rebecca wondered what it would be like, to have the ghost of some merc in your head all day and night.

'I like her, she's spunky.'

V just grinned, "Well, if it's worth anything, he likes ya."

"Yay, I'm gonna be haunted by a ghost if you die, I can just feel it." Faking a heavy shiver was easy when it was partially real. Would Silverhand find a way to stick around if V died? Would V? He said it was because of the relic in his head but with tech now who really knew.

David shook his head while he looked forward towards Falco, "I guess it's back towards our original job of the day, V says he's ready to go." Even if he smelled like he rolled through a dumpster. Probably needed the creds though after the day he had.

"On it."

"Should I be worried?" V was ready to work. He had time and needed to prepare before even considering making a move on Arasaka after all. Depending on his options, it was no less than declaring war on a corp. Not something to be done lighthly.

"Nah, just a smash and grab, nothing serious." David never did know when not to jinx himself.

-b-

The roar of the truck's engine was loud, a suspicious whine of something working hard and barely hanging on accompanied it while Falco spun the wheel and turned a tight corner. Narrowly missing a bus and drifting just shy of the curb, with a lurch he was able to bring the truck back straight and continue to flee their pursuers. Next to him, Kiwi was ranting and raving while trying to assist with taking out their current problem.

"You just had to say nothing serious! You just had to jinx us! You couldn't keep your mouth shut could you!" Kiwi was angry, truck lurching to the side as she attempted to lean out of her window, she re-thought that as she pulled back and the side view mirror disappeared in a flash of sparks and metal. "It's 6th street. They're always a problem."

Falco lamented his damaged truck, "Axle is gonna hate me after this." The older mechanic had grown on Falco and had become his personal repairman from then on. Not that he wanted to visit him so soon after the last fix up. Old guy could really throw a wrench when he was pissed off. Swerving around a slow moving station wagon and running up on the curb for a second, it was a good thing at least that the normal civilians were long gone or scattering as they barrelled down the road.

"How was I supposed to know things would go tits up?" David leaned out of his window with Rebecca's Masamune, firing and leading a trail of bullets along the hood of a muscle car chasing them. Steam spewing from under the hood, he heard the telltale signs of an engine sputtering and pulled back inside. "God we pissed off a shitstorm of em didn't we?" Several more vehicles chased them behind the smoking muscle car, each ready to take the lead in hunting them down.

Lucy was grinning, arm around the shoulders of a small blonde woman who was trembling and flinching at all the noise, "It's not so bad. It's not like it's Militech chasing us."

Kiwi looked back with furrowed brows, "Don't jinx us again!"

Rebecca was having a ball, Leaning out of the other window opposite of David and firing away several slugs from her shotgun. She landed a good hit on the driver's side wheel of the sputtering muscle car following them, sending it smashing into a parked car and careening end over end. "Wooo!" Cackling she fell back into her seat, "This is the best mission ever!" The explosion that rattle the air around them signaled that at least one or two of the sixth street cars was done for.

"I'd beg to differ!" Kiwi wanted to pull her hair out.

V chuckled, making eye contact with Lucy, "Is it always like this?"

"Nah, well." She had to pause to actually think about that. Could she remember the last time they had actually had a reasonable mission that didn't end in explosions or gunfire lately? "You know what…yeah actually it is." Next to her the woman had her hands over her ears as she trembled.

"I wanna go home. I wanna go home. I wanna go home. I wanna go home. I wanna go home. I wanna go home." Tears tracking down her pretty face, she began shaking her head from side to side in denial. How could this day go so wrong? She just wanted to explore and go shopping for cute clothes!

Lucy sighed, "Okay, nighty nighty for you." Eyes glowing, she tilted the other woman's face to look at her and within a moment she was knocked out. "How the hell did some corpo's wife get snatched by 6th street, and no trauma team account to boot?" Who ever this woman's husband was, he was either a deadbeat or a thrice damned gonk. Thinking on it a bit harder, it could be for insurance money if he had a decent life policy on her.

David groaned as their last chaser was catching up to them, a pickup branded with way to much flag imagery, "They're new corps. Husband has his, never thought to set up hers. She was supposed to be a good trophy wife and stay home. But apparently she got bored and wandered off. Some of the local 6th street smelled easy money and well." David motioned around them. That the vapid woman didn't think to arm herself or stay in the more ritzy areas was her own fault really. Night City was not a forgiving place for idiots. Could have been worse, could have gotten picked up by skavs.

Falco weaved around traffic and started making his way towards the freeway again. "Wanna end this before we hit city center? I'm pretty sure NCPD wouldn't like us bringing these problems down there." Something was starting to smell something fierce through the vents as well. Had they taken a few hits and he hadn't noticed?

Kiwi finally had a chance to lean out, hacking tools blossoming to life in her vision, "Give me a second." She wanted to end this before any other explosions could be blamed on her or one of the assholes behind them got a lucky shot on them.

Rebecca grinned and smacked V in the shoulder, "Just watch, Kiwi is the best."

Kiwi found the approaching vehicle's brake controls, though she had to wait as Falco swerved around a slower moving big rig. Stable again and the truck still following them, she set the 6th street truck to full stop and watched it hit the brakes in full, tires screeching in protest and the nose diving hard. "See, no explosions."

Looking back, everyone watched as their chaser's brakes locked up, brake checking the fully loaded big rig, full of all things, synfuel. Rig smashing into the pickup and rolling onto its side, the tank held for all of a few seconds before it ruptured and spilled fuel everywhere. Next came the explosion, the sparks from the sliding framework more than enough to ignite everything. They all felt the shockwave as a wall of fire engulfed the 6th street vehicle, more than strong enough to lift their own truck and send them sliding along the road. Falco fought for control for a moment before he accelerated away with a whoop and a smile.

"Hot damn Kiwi you really know how to lay it on!" Falco was giving her a thumbs up as she sat there, refusing to look back while there was a dangerous tic forming in her left eye.

Rebecca was again cackling like mad, "What'd I tell ya. Kiwi really knows how to blow someone away when she wants." It was no wonder Kiwi never wanted to use a gun, she never needed it.

V chuckles himself, "You weren't kidding."

Kiwi turned his way, shaking her head rapidly, "No no no. Don't have this image of me! I'm not normally like this. I promise!" She pointed frantically at Rebecca, "She's the explosion nut! Not me!"

David sighed and relaxed back, Lucy leaning into his side with a smile, "Should we count this as a win?"

Lucy nodded, "I think so." No one died, everyone left with the same number of holes as they came with, and their target was alive. Sounded like a successful mission to her.

V relaxed into the back seat himself, "Remind me never to piss her off."

'You said it. I think your brain is already scrambled enough.'

Whimpering and slumping in her seat, Kiwi muttered to herself, flatly ignored by everyone else, "This isn't right. I didn't mean to blow them up. How was I supposed to know that truck would tip over…"

The drive from Rancho Coronado to the downtown city center was a quiet one from there, short of Kiwi mumbling about changing her hacking loadout. Thankfully their payload slept through the rest of the trip. Rebecca took the time to inventory their weapons while David gave Falco their directions and everyone ignored Kiwi's muttering. Probably for the best, none of it was good.

Coming to their drop point, a parking lot not far away from the north eastern docks, David is the first to walk out, reaching back to carry the still unconscious woman while Lucy followed after him. Waiting for them was a fretting black haired man who looked to be in his 30s. Golden chrome running from blue artificial eyes and down his neck, his suit was more than a little ruffled. David smirked, "Well at least the gonk actually looks worried about his input."

Lucy shrugged, "That or maybe daddy dearest."

"Thank you, thank you. How can I ever repay you?" The man opened the rear door to a rather sleek 4 door sedan, in which David deposited the woman who groaned but remained sleeping.

Lucy pointed a dainty finger at him, "Eddies usually work just find."

"Ah right. Right, of course!" Eyes shining, the man held out a hand to David, "I assume the amount is all there? Plus a little extra for being so quick."

David shook the man's hand, nodding along, "It's there. Been a pleasure. Set her up with trauma team would ya?" Someone like that was bound to get themselves killed in this city. At least trauma team would give the idiot some closure when it happened.

"I will, I will. Thank you again." With another fretful look at his wife, the man entered his car, started it, and drove off. Leaving the team of mercenaries to their own devices.

Lucy was the first to stretch her arms high above her head with a groan. Finished with a smile she wrapped her arms around one of David's as they returned to Falco's truck, "Well that was fun."

David nodded, "Feels like it's been a while since we had a mission like that huh? Some real excitement." Most of their missions lately had been rather tame for them, at least in his mind.

"At least some that didn't involve some crazy corpo business."

Rebecca leaned out of her window, "Less lovey dovey and more movey movey, it's time to party!"

David and Lucy both shook their heads as they returned to the truck, "What're we going to do with you?" Lucy leaned over to poke the shorter girl. Playfully Rebecca chomped her teeth as if to bite the other girl's finger.

Rebecca grinned, "You want a list?"

David joined V in the rear, eyes shining as he shot the other merc his cut, "Think you can keep up with us?"

V nodded, "No problem. It's a nice change of pace, to be with a group again. Something stable." He tried hard not to think of his old Nomad family, or Jackie.

David nodded, "I don't know, I kinda figured you were going to go steady with that Aldo chick." If brief, David got the feeling that there was something there between the two while they worked together during that stakeout mission. Granted he was rather busy himself, but still.

"Panam? I uh. Well."

Rebecca pounced on the hesitation, "I smell loooove."

V eventually shrugged, "Maybe? I don't know, she's a genuine badass. And pretty easy on the eyes." Trailing off, he looked up as David, Lucy, and Rebecca were all watching him with smiles on their faces. "Oh screw you, my love life ain't your business." Men didn't pout, and V would deny it till he died if anyone claimed he did.

Silverhand couldn't let him go, 'What're you sulkin' for? They're just bustin your chops.'

'I don't do romance.'

'Yet.'

Rebecca chuckled, "Aw relax choom. Don't get your panties in a twist."

David nodded, "You're one of us now, we mean well enough."

"Right. One of you." V's mind traveled back. A different family among the wastes of old America. Cars and friends, an ambush. Lots of dead and more, nothing to return to. "A new home huh?" Across his vision Panam's caller id scrolled by. "Huh, speak of the devil. Panam's calling."

Rebecca turned to face him again, "Tell her I said what's up." She liked the nomad woman, full of fire just like her.

V nodded and answered, "Hey Panam, what's up?"

'Hey uh. So like. If I needed a favor. Like a huge, once in a lifetime favor. I could ask you right?' She didn't sound like she was in danger, but she did sound like she was rushing herself.

"Sure-sure, whenever you need me I'm there. What's going on?"

'I have a job, something big, can't explain it all now. Can you come to the camp? I'll explain it all when you do. Tomorrow, not now, to late now.'

"Sure, I'll come in the morning. Should I bring backup?" Idly he looked at the rest of the edgerunner crew who mostly either shrugged or nodded in his direction. Kiwi was still out of it, but most likely someone would drag her along.

'The more the merrier.' Line cutting off, V looked up to expectant faces. Rebecca was smirking and inserting a finger into a hole made with her other hand, but he ignored the crude girl. "Say, ya'll busy tomorrow?"

David raised his eyebrows, "Not really no."

"Panam says she needs help with a job. Won't say what, but says the more the merrier in terms of help."

Lucy sighed, "Sounds like guns and explosions to me."

Rebecca rocked in her seat, "I'm in."

Falco looked back as well, "It could be fun, I'm game."

David shrugged and motioned to everyone, "Guess we're in then. Wanna crash with us?"

V shook his head, catching the frowns both of David's women shot the larger man, "Nah I'll, I'll head home. Got some stuff to pick up and need to resupply as well."

"Gotcha. Well, here." David sent the address to the diner near their place. "Meet up there around 10 and we'll go see what Panam wants."

"Will do." V saves the location data and sets a reminder for himself. He could do this again, run with a crew.

Rebecca goes back to shaking Lucy back and forth, "It's time to party! Party! Let's goo!"

Falco laughs while Lucy just lets herself be shaken, "Alright then, to the bar we go!"

-b-

Panam wasn't entirely sure what she was expecting when she received V's call this morning saying they were on their way. Had he built up a new crew while he was away? Had he called in a favor? Would have helped her plan if he had let her in on the secret. Waiting on the outskirts of the Aldecaldo's camp in the early morning sun, she caught a glimpse of a familiar yellow and black armored truck. She should have figured he would have called them of all people. The teal haired shortstack was already hanging out of a window, waving like a loon and screaming her name over and over. Shaking her head, she smiled and returned the wave before placing her hands on her hips.

Falco parked next to her own Warhouse before the gang all piled out. Rebecca was already bouncing her way, large modified hands linked behind her head. "Heya Becca, you're in a good mood. I thought you weren't a morning girl?" Panam was still shaking her head with a smile on her face.

Rebecca nodded, "Yup, buuuut I've got some juicy gossip for ya. See V over there is-" She missed the tired looking David sneaking up on her, but she was quickly caught and cut off by him wrapping his arms around her and dragging her away kicking and screaming into his hand.

David grinned and winked at her, "Mornin'. Let me just pack this one back away and me and V will join ya."

V was next to make his way out of the truck, the rest of the group hanging out inside, some of which still looked half asleep. Panam was giving him a raised eyebrow as Rebecca pointed at him repeatedly before thrusting her hips back and forth. "Should I even ask what that was about?"

V shook his head, "For your sanity, probably not." Wishing he could knock the gremlin around a bit but knowing somehow that he'd get a bullet for his efforts, V focused on Panam, "Everything alright? You seemed worried on the phone?"

Panam turned and motioned to the camp, "Well, things aren't going how I would like. Sooo I've gotten some info lately and wanna pull off a heist. You in?"

Knowing he would agree no matter what she was going to ask, V nodded, "Of course. What's the score?"

Grin widening, Panam leaned in, "Militech. Word on the airwaves is they're transporting a basilisk in with a light guard soon. I wanna swipe it. For the family." She again motioned back towards the camp, "We're staying in one place for a while, and I'd like to have something that could defend us a little better."

"Huh." V wanted to say Panam was absolutely crazy, but she was also the one who helped him capture Helman by blowing a power station. "I'm sure Saul has something to say about this."

"Saul doesn't need to know." Panam gave him a conspiratorial wink and V just shook his head and resigned to his fate.

"I should have known better." V looked over as David saddled up besides them, "Feel like swiping some tech from Militech?"

David grinned, "Sounds like a blast. We got a plan?"

Panam nodded, "The beginnings of one. The convoy is light, but we'll need something heavy to stop em. So some prep work is needed." Turning and starting to make her way to the camp, Panam's smile was brighter than the sunrise as she made eye contact with V, "You're gonna love this."

David nudged V as they walked along, "Tell me you don't love her and I'll punch you."

"Mind your business kid."

"Make me."

"You're big, but I'm meaner."

David raised an eyebrow, "Really think so?"

V considered that. David had to put up with Rebecca on the daily and was used to getting into fistfights with the likes of Maelstrom goons and Animals, hmmm. "Maybe not. But I'm older, I've got more tricks up my sleeves."

"If you say so. You're just mad that I'm right."

Johnny couldn't help but right, 'Kid has you there.'

'Not you too.'

'Take it from me. If you find someone who's actually into you, might as well take it while you can.' Silverhand couldn't help but ruminate over his own past. 'Life can be taken so easily.'

'Noted.' V however did watch the shapely form weave her way through the camp, occasionally chatting or greeting members of the Aldecados with ease. V hadn't been one to consider settling down, at least not so long as his life had a time limit like it did. Wouldn't exactly be fair. That said as they reached their chow area and met up with a few of the older members, mostly vets by the looks of things, V mentally nodded to himself. Maybe they could figure something out on their own. Hopefully without everyone interfering.

-AN-

Gonna start making regular updates again. Hit some major writer's block because I looked forward and realized I was gearing up to just rehashing exactly how the game would go. My brain immediately locked up and said we hate this and I've been trying to figure out how I'm going to fix it ever since. I have like, 20 percent of a plan. Sorta. But we aren't going to just do that. At least, not intentionally.