A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome to this new chapter that… took a while. Things have been kinda hectic, but everything's fine for now. Sadly, there weren't any responses, which sucks a bit, but what can you do. Anyway, it's time to get into some conflict and a few revelations, amongst many. I hope you enjoy it.
I'd also like do remind people that I'm not an engineer or mechanic, so I might get some things wrong, which you can either point out or ignore. I hope you enjoy regardless.
Also, I'd like to thank my beta reader for reading this chapter.
Within an abandoned building floor, the sound of a bass guitar rang out as Josue nodded to the rhythm. "Good, that's good." He complimented the young man, a Liberi with black hair, blue eyes, and a shy countenance that went by the name Yin, nodded, fairly placid.
"C'mon," a girl, a Perro with brown hair and green eyes with a bright grin and the name Rei, said, "show something more. He's complimenting you."
"If he's just complimenting him, should we really be that excited?" Oscar asks, leaning on his drums as Mia tunes her electric guitar, the blonde and brown-eyed oni the lead singer as well.
"We should!" Rei said with a bright smile, "C'mon, we haven't seen each other in a while."
"That is true." Yin relented, "We've all been pretty busy…"
"So," Mia asks with a deep voice, turning to Josue, "what's he doing here?" Meanwhile, Josue already had his guitar connected to his amplifier, as he held the neck of the guitar with his right hand despite being right-hand dominant. Idly, Josue played a quick tune, his foot tapping the floor and acting as a metronome while he nodded to himself.
Sure, playing with one's fingers leaves calluses, especially plucking, but Josue's left arm is a cyberarm. He can just dampen the feedback as he begins to play.
Mia, Yin, and Rei's eyes widened when he began to play Johnny B. Goode. Bobbing his head, he took a deep breath and began to sing.
"Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans,
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens,
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood,
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode,
Who never ever learned to read or write so well,
But he could play a guitar just like a-ringin' a bell~!"
With the line done, he let the note trail off before sliding a hand down the neck, silencing the note as he grinned, turning to them with a nod. "Hello, I'm Josue 'Tiger' Mondragon. I'm going to teach you how to play and how to get gigs."
Of course, he's not going to just give them all of the songs he knows, Led Zeppelin, Samurai, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, Wu-Tang Clan, NWA, all of these artists are themselves with their own thing. He's going to help this group find themselves by watching and playing with them on occasion.
"For now," he added, stepping towards them, "just think of me as a supervisor and an advisor." Josue explained, "I'm just here to keep you on the path you want to go, so take my advice with a grain of salt, got it?"
"Hm." Mia nodded, her own eyes alit with anticipation and excitement as Josue relaxed. Hands-off, but it's what he hoped was best for them. He rested as he watched them talk excitedly, playing and experimenting, as he nodded to himself. Yup, this should hopefully be fine.
The group played and experimented for a while before they separated.
Josue was back in the auto shop, and custom space frame pipes were around him. He measured them and cut them with a saw blade. The groundcar he's planning is a mix between a dune buggy and an FAV. Meant for the wild outside of the comfort of the Nomadic cities, just in case.
Compared to some other projects, it's incredibly easy, if not time-consuming, to hand-make every single component and put it together with his experience as a Nomad and a Tech. Occasionally, a few problems did arise, but they were taken care of quickly and easily. Aside from that, he would occasionally make house calls for broken appliances, or people would bring tech, and he'd just repair it.
The Rat King nor Scarp have come to him for a job, and he occasionally gets called in by Swire to work at the LGD, or he popped up there after a brawl and couldn't run fast enough.
Swire is still setting up the delivery of the materials he needs, and he's just passing the time as the days continue.
By the seventh day after he began working on the FAV, he finished it, lacking the aesthetic most vehicles tend to have, but with a few additions, such as the .50 caliber mounted machine gun hidden in the back, some armor, bulletproof glass, and more. In between the times, he also worked on a different project using a lot more scrap and way more materials, which would take at least a month to finish, but he'd get there.
All that he needed to do was perform some stress testing on the FAV. Now, how would he do that?
Someone stepped in, the sound coming from their shoes means it has to be… "Scarp." He noted, turning to him as Scarp inspected the vehicle.
"Impressive." He noted lightly, placing a hand on the vehicle. "I've never seen anything like it. What is it?"
"It's a sand rail." He explained as Scarp noted something.
"Where's the engine?" Scarp asked, and Josue pointed to the middle.
"It's an off-road vehicle, so it's best to keep the balance even, if not slightly in the back so it's in the middle." He said as Scarp nodded.
"What's this?" He asked, patting the M2 Browning machine gun mounted beside the driver's side.
"That's an M2 Browning machine gun, created by our lord and savior, John Moses Browning, and in use for centuries, only beat out by the M1911." He elaborated, patting the gun, "It fires off .50 BMG, a caliber usually reserved for anti-material rifles and armored individuals."
"You say it's off-road?" Scarp confirmed as Josue nodded. "That'll be useful."
"Do you have a job for me?" Josue asked, and Scarp seemed almost reluctant. "Scarp?"
"It's… complicated." He relented, "The client, they're Rhodes Island."
"Rhodes Island?" Josue asked as Scarp shifted, "What's the sich with 'em?"
"A pharmaceutical company that specializes in the treatment of the Infected," Scarp explained, as Josue nodded along. It sounded good, but Josue doesn't trust Execs simply by nature. Josue waited for extra, but Scarp didn't say much else.
"That's it? No PMC causing crimes, no money laundering, nothing?" He asked. Scarp seemed confused.
"That's normal though, most companies hire combat-capable 'operators' who can defend themselves and the company." He explained as Josue nodded, not exactly convinced but accepting it. "Still, the fact that they focus on Infected is strange."
"Well, whatever, what did they want?" He asked, and Scarp continued.
"That's the thing, they want to tell you in person," Scarp explained while Josue's face scrunched.
"Is that it?" Josue asked while Scarp nodded.
"Yeah."
Josue didn't say anything before sighing, "Let's leave it for later. Anything else?" He asked, and Scarp grunted in agreement.
"Yeah, seems like there are some people who find the suffering of the Infected and slum dwellers amusing," Scarp explained as Josue practically whirled. "The Rat King signed off on it, so he wants you," he explained, pointing at Josue, "to dismantle the underground fighting ring."
"Is that all?" Josue asked, and when Scarp didn't say anything, he added, "What can you tell me?"
Scarp reached into his jacket and pulled out a folder. Josue grabbed it and opened it. His eyes widened as he read through it. "This is a lot."
"Well, the Rat King keeps a tight grip around the slums. If he doesn't know something, he can always try another way." Scarp explained, "Most of it is his, but I managed to add in a bit extra."
Investigating was never Josue's strong suit, but he had experience with it. He grabbed a pen from his jacket and began compiling the information on a map of Lungmen he had once bought.
However, something prodded at him as he read through it. "Some of these people are fairly high-profile." He noted out loud, with some businessmen in the list of suspects, some had accusations leveled at them, from rape to assault and similar, and others have more financial accusations then he went to the files of the Infected and Slum dwellers.
The only reason the Rat King learned about this is that one of the ones who was kidnapped managed to escape and inform him. There are a few files on some slum dwellers who are suspected of assisting in the operation, but nothing is solid.
Once he had compiled the information, he tried to find a pattern or something, as he was stuck; the info was woefully jumbled. First, the victims were kidnapped at the edges of the Slums, while the suspects were all from the middle of the Slums, where the Rat King's rule was strongest. Second, how were they able to stay hidden?
The possible suspects themselves, he'll need to tail them, from where though?
A memory prodded him as he ran into the kombi and grabbed the Nomad Long Rifle. "Tell the Rat King I'll get it done." With that, he brings up his Agent and calls up a familiar name.
"Josue, strange to hear you call me." Ch'en started, "Is this for business?"
"Mostly." He answered, "I'll tell you when I get there."
Propping up the Nomad Long Rifle after assembling it, Ch'en stood behind him with crossed arms. "So, can I ask why you're setting up a sniper's nest atop the LGD?" She asked, again, as Josue glanced back.
"I already told you," he started, turning back while he lowered the Nomad Long Rifle onto the edge of the parapet with its bipod out and propping the heavy weapon up. "I'm just performing some sightseeing," Josue assured her. "It just turns out that this ol' girl," he patted the sniper rifle, "is best used for it."
"You know," Ch'en started, "strangely enough, I feel like you're not telling me the entire truth."
"Look," he said, removing the magazine and showing it to her, "no magazine, no rounds, none in the chamber. I'm just sightseeing."
"From atop one of the tallest buildings in Lungmen, with a sniper rifle, and in the morning when foot traffic is barely starting." Ch'en pointed out once more, glaring at him. "Tell me the truth, Josue 'Tiger' Mondragon."
"I'm hunting for wabbits." He answered with a grin and a slight accent that Ch'en couldn't place. "Those pesky wabbits." He added with a snap of his finger.
"Josue," Ch'en said, this time with the authority afforded to her as the LGD's Superintendent.
"I can't say." He admitted, turning his back to her, revealing the patch on the back of his leather jacket as he propped up the stock of the rifle against his shoulder and fixed the sights. "If you want, I can tell you more later, but you'll have to help me."
"And why's that?" Ch'en asked, raising a brow as Josue glanced back with an exasperated look in his eyes.
"So, the well-being of the Infected and the Slums mean nothing to you?" He asked as Ch'en froze minutely, her eyes practically boring through him as he looked down the sights. "I don't kill first unless someone points a weapon at me. Brutalize and knock out? Sure. But I've always preferred alternate methods to solve my problems, with a few exceptions."
"So, the bodies with holes through their heads we found weren't you?" She asked with a blank look and a raised brow as Josue shrugged.
"They shot first." Was his answer. "Besides, a lot of times, 'alternate methods' can't be reached when I'm being hunted. Also, how I'm feeling." He added, and Ch'en raised a brow. "Besides, I don't kill innocents." Josue explained firmly, "So, what's your choice, Officer Ch'en?"
For a long beat, Ch'en didn't answer, her eyes conflicted before she finally exhaled audibly, joining him as she leaned on the edge of the building. "You can't tell me now?"
"No." He answered, peering through the scope. "So, you up for it?"
With another long sigh, Ch'en nodded, "Fine, do you want me to meet you at the scrapyard?"
"Sure," Josue answered, peering through the scope as he shifted. "I'll give you the rundown then."
Ch'en grunted in agreement as she peered down at the people, unaware of Josue as he looked away from the scope. Her tail, thin and reptilian like the Eastern Dragons he's seen on some Arasaka Ronins or around Japantown.
It swung idly, glinting under the sunlight and revealing its dark blue color as his eyes landed on her rear.
Shapely from the exercise that comes with being a Lawman and her own workout regimen, she shifts as it sways, her lithe and slim figure emphasizing the curves of her waist to her rear. Even if her swords hid it somewhat.
His eyes returned to the scope as Ch'en's hand clasped around her sword, and she glanced back to see Josue focused on his job. She stayed in the position before returning to looking down, unable to hide the slight flush on her cheeks.
"So, are you going back?" He asked, and Ch'en scoffed.
"Please, and leave you to your suspicious activity? As long as you're within the LGD and I don't know what you're doing, I'll be staying." She confirmed as Josue huffed with a bit of exasperation and a bit of amusement.
Reaching for his carryall, he grabbed a pair of binoculars and passed them to her. "Then be somewhat useful and help me. The hotel to the right, something interesting on the fifth floor, third window to the right."
Ch'en could see the building he was talking about as she straightened up and propped the binoculars against her eyes. "Fifth floor, third to the…"
She trailed off as she spotted what he was talking about, her mouth agape and red blooming on her face like the woman who was being pushed up against the window, her mouth open, her hair a mess, and her makeup smudged. Despite being incapable of hearing them, she could imagine the pleased moans flowing out of her mouth with each movement as she gritted her teeth and turned to Josue as he was holding a hand to his mouth, hiding the grin on his face with his Agent up as it took a picture of her.
"Damn Ch'en," he started, "that's quite a style you chose."
"Wha-! You, is this some game to you!?" She asked, her eyes narrowing as her hand went for Chi Xiao.
"Chill, chill." He said, still chuckling as he put his Agent away and presented both hands to appease her. "I'm just yanking your chain. I am here for an actual reason, not to be a voyeur."
"Really?" She asked, raising a brow.
"Really, on my mom and dad's grave, I'm not here to be a voyeur," Josue responded, expression serious despite the lingering amusement on his expression.
For a second, Ch'en inspected him before sighing, relenting her grip on her sword. "Fine. But, I swear if you pull that stunt again-!"
"Right, right." He waved off, returning to his scope, "C'mon, keep a lookout on that window."
"Excuse me?" She asked, almost in surprise.
"The man giving the woman the night, or morning, of her life is a target for the gig." He elaborated, "I'm trying to cross-reference a few things, and when he gets out of the building, it is integral."
"You-!" She hissed, glaring with a blush on her cheeks before taking a deep breath and releasing it. "Fine, fine! Whatever, it's just a stakeout. Nothing new."
She returned to peering through the binoculars as she waited and tried to ignore the act she was witnessing as Josue continued to find the other targets.
Finally, he sighed, leaning back and pressing his eyes. He's used to being in the thick of things and providing overwatch, but no amount of chrome can remove the discomfort that comes with being still for hours on end. Even so, Josue knows himself, he knows himself very well. He's modified his cyberlegs and cyberarm beyond their reasonable limit. Practically military-grade minus the strain they usually put on the brain and unhackable without Black ICE. His singular cybereye isn't any worse.
That doesn't change one thing. Even with the modifications and streamlining of the various systems within his cyberware, his body could handle more, but it doesn't mean he should test it further. He's already tread over the Edge too many times for him not to be aware.
Still, his eyes are getting tired. "Switch." He said, surprising Ch'en.
"Huh?" She asked, and Josue couldn't help but huff.
"I need to relax my eyes." He said, extending a hand. "You should wash your face, you've got something…" He said, pointing around his eyes as Ch'en placed her hand around her eye and rubbed it.
She removed it to see a bit of black as Josue grabbed his binoculars, wiping the edge of the binoculars with a rag and revealing black. Ch'en's hackles were raised as she stormed away, literal black circles around her eyes as Josue chuckled and took Ch'en's place. "Jeez," he noted, "either this guy's got stamina, or we're looking at the wrong guy."
There's a reason he was trying to keep tabs on him: the man having the time of his life was a business partner of one of the suspects that has the highest chance of being involved. The main suspect has an ardent dislike for the Rat King, the Slums, and the Infected due to the land they 'take up' by existing. Land that could be used for something else, like industry or whatever else. This businessman is a close ally and new in town, sharing the same views but being far more quiet about them.
Reaching into his jacket, he brings out a cigarette box and slips one out, about to light it as the door opens. "You-!" She trailed off into swears and curses that sounded like Cantonese. He let her get it out of her system as he continued watching.
"That's nice." He dismissed, to her continued frustration as he put the binoculars down. "You know how to hold a gun?"
"Don't change the subject, you-." She continued, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before sighing. "No. No, I don't, but it looks simple enough."
"That's 'cause I've been shooting since I was a child." He informed her, to her surprise. "The movies and reports make it all seem so simple, and it is, but there's nuance. We can't get into it and won't, since you won't be shooting a gun, but I'll teach you the basics. Target doesn't look like they'll be leaving any time soon."
"They're still going at it?" Ch'en asked with a bit of shock.
"Or they're coming down from the high, caused by a performance-enhancing drug or simple satisfaction, I don't know, nor do I care." He shrugged, patting the gun. "C'mon, your turn on the sniper rifle."
Sighing, she did so, finally taking a moment to inspect the rifle, her heart speeding up in anxiety at the movies she's seen where weapons like this have caused kills. "So…" Her mind goes to the form, far different from what's seen in the movies and even in real life.
"Never seen a bullpup?" He asked, and she turned to her in confusion.
"'Bullpup'?" She asked as Josue nodded.
"Yeah, it's a model for firearms, meant to make it more compact and easier to conceal while not sacrificing the barrel length." He explained to Ch'en's confusion.
"What does the barrel length have to do?" Ch'en asked.
"It makes the round faster since the propellant is used more thoroughly." He explained as Ch'en raised a brow as she inspected the side. "What now?"
"Where's the…" She trailed off.
"Ejection port? Where the casing is supposed to leave from when the round goes off?" He asked while Ch'en nodded. "Don't need it. The gun uses a special type of ammunition. C'mon, we're wasting time, grab the grip and get comfortable, I'll laugh about it no matter how badly you do it." He encouraged her as she glared at him.
With a huff, she grabs the stock and propped it against her shoulder, resting a cheek against it as she looks through the scope. She takes a second to see how far the scope can see before clasping her hand around the grip.
Her nerves lit up, indecipherable information being directly fed into her mind as she gasped.
The Gun is modified, previously used by someone who wasn't very accurate, it's been fixed with a * link and has fired * rounds. Then, the User died as it reached Josue's hands, where he used it for a long while until he removed the link, instead fixing the scope with a scanner that displayed information directly to his mind—things such as range, people, or signals.
Ch'en has felt this before. Not to the same extent, but…
Chi Xiao.
Then, Josue clicked something, and the feedback stopped. She dropped it as she leaped back and glared at the rifle.
For a long beat of silence, there was only the sound of wind until Josue started, "You okay?"
Ch'en turned to Josue, his eyes genuinely worried as she relaxed. "Y-Yeah, just felt something."
"Really?" He asked, not believing her, "Well, you good?"
After a second, Ch'en nodded, "Yeah." She relented, walking to the sniper rifle as she took a deep breath and rested her hand on the grip, preparing herself for the ensuing flow of information.
Nothing happened; instead, Josue nodded, "Right, now…" He trailed off as she blushed slightly in embarrassment before returning to her previous state as she tried to hold the sniper rifle.
"It's on a bipod for a reason; don't hold it up." He stated as she slid her off-hand back. "Finger off the trigger if you're not going to shoot, even if the safety's on." Ch'en removed her finger. "You look like a chicken with your elbow like that; lower it." Ch'en did so, her brow twitching as Josue inspected her. Again, his eyes landed on her ass for a bit too long.
"Where are you looking at?" She asked with a growl as Josue looked up.
"I'm making sure your form is good. Believe it or not, firing a gun, especially the one you have, takes more than just placing the crosshairs on someone's head and pulling the trigger." He explained as he stood up and grabbed the binoculars. She peered through the scope, the remnant of the information stuffed through her mind still bothering her. "You've gotta make sure your legs are placed on the floor so you don't stumble; calculate the wind, the distance, the sway, the timing, all of these come together to make a great sniper."
At first, the idea of guns was a bit insulting, taking life from a distance easily, but it seemed she was wrong. A lot of thought seemed to go into it.
Shaking her head, she returned to peering at the couple as the two fell into an easy silence. "Ch'en, one of our targets is moving. Yours?" He asked, interrupting the silence as she looked at the room.
"Yeah, they're moving." She answered as Josue began going through his stuff. "What now?"
"We tail 'em." He answered, bringing out a drone and a screen, activating it as it came to life. "This little fella is outfitted with a tracker, so we drop him with them in the car. Then we'll check the signal later at night, scope out the area, and then plan the next move. Now, look to the left, there should be a cafe with a man in a fedora. Try and get a look at his phone through the scope. I've been doing it for the past hour or so, you can definitely do so."
Ch'en clicked her tongue, swerving as she looked at the phone, narrowing her eyes as she glanced at Josue before returning to her attempts at reading the small screen.
Meanwhile, Josue successfully manages to connect the drone to the car, flying in subtly and hiding it as he deactivates it but keeps the tracker on it. "Got it. Two suspects done."
Scarp should be doing his job on his end, so that leaves two more suspects.
"Tch." Ch'en clicked her tongue, "He's cheating on his wife, but I can't see much else."
"Keep looking." He suggested, "Who knows what kind of information he's sharing."
"I know," Ch'en grumbled as Josue returned to his binoculars on the last target available, another businessman, but one who has a habit of skirting the Slums a little bit too closely.
"He's leaving." Ch'en noted, leaning away from the sniper, "Far as I could tell, the most he was is a bastard."
"Slow down, dragon." He reminded her, letting his binoculars slip. "We're here on reconnaissance; besides, while I've been here helping Swire, I've been reading up on the legal codes." He said, finally placing the cigarette at his mouth and lighting it up, taking a drag and releasing smoke. "Not much on the Infected, you, nor the LGD would be able to do much legally without catching shit for it."
"And you could?" She asked, and Josue nodded.
"Yeah. I've got an idea, but I'll need more information." Josue answered, bringing a hand to his chin. "For now, I think we've gotten all we could." He noted, stowing away his binoculars and grabbing his Nomad Long Rifle. "Just go to Scarp's Scrapyard and head to the Auto Shop if you want to know more and take a more… active role in this."
"Are you going to kill them?" Ch'en asked, and Josue turned, Ch'en's eyes blank and conflicted.
"Yeah. Probably." He admitted, "Can't do much else on my own, and as good as I may be at talking, I'm even better at making things and killing people."
"Even if I have to arrest you for it?"
"I'd kill you if you didn't." He spoke almost coldly as her spine shivered, his eyes cold and piercing. "I don't like Lawmen, and as nice as it would be for me to not get in trouble, I try not to commit crimes I'd regret."
"So, you have committed a crime you regret?" Ch'en asked, almost interested as Josue looked away, closing his eyes.
"Yeah." That was all he said with an unreadable expression. "Anyway, if you want to learn more, stop by Scarp's Scrapyard at the auto shop." He said, walking away with a wave as Ch'en watched him go, alone on the roof as her entire world felt like it'd gone upside down.
Beyond that, what simply refused to leave her was how… similar the rifle felt compared to Chi Xiao. The feeling wasn't the same, but it was similar.
There were a lot of questions she had, but before that…
Looking down at Lungmen, her city, her responsibility, she resolved herself.
Later in the day, she'd submit the paperwork for time off and would leave on time after clearing out her backlog and then some. Swire and Hoshiguma did say she works too hard, and it's just a few days; nothing should go wrong.
W was a hard woman to track; of course, Josue had tracked down harder. Besides, he can respect a fellow scavenger; too many people just throw away perfectly good materials.
"Oh-ho~." W crooned, clapping her hands from the dust and garbage on them. "Well, well, if it isn't Tiger, what brings you around here? Looking for lil' ol' me~?"
"Actually, I was," Josue confirmed, leaning on the wall leading to a shady alley. "Was just wonderin' if you or any of your mercenaries spotted some shady people around here?"
"Sure, I'm looking at one right now." She joked as Josue raised a brow before shaking his head with a sigh.
"No, I mean suits hanging with gangers, things like that." He elaborated as W held a hand to her chin.
"You know, I think I heard something like that." W said, bringing a hand to her chin, "Though, I don't know, a bit of cash might jog my memory." She noted as Josue flashed a few bucks as W grabbed them and counted before nodding in satisfaction. "Some suits and thugs got in contact with one of my own, they were really insistent that he doesn't bring it up with me, set off a few red flags, and sent it my way."
"You didn't agree?" Josue asked, and W scoffed.
"No. I told my own to stay away and to refuse any jobs like that."
"But they're still waiting for an answer, right?" Josue asked as W sent him a blank look, barely hiding the turning of gears that must be happening in her mind.
"… Yeah." W admitted, "Why?" She asked, suddenly serious. Josue pushed off the wall he was leaning on.
"I'm… not sure yet." Josue admitted, "Still planning a few thing-."
"Oooh, a job. Count me in." W said, surging forward, "What's the pay like? Who is it from?"
"Wait, wait, who said I was going to bring you along?" He asked, and W tilted her head.
"So, you don't want the experienced mercenary on your team for a highly dangerous job?" W noted as Josue hesitated because she wasn't wrong, per se. "C'mon, I haven't been on a job for so long, I'm really itching to blow something up."
Josue hesitated as he turned to her. "You don't have any problems working with the cops, do you?"
Somehow, W looked smugger than he ever thought possible.
Scarp walked into the auto shop. The moon began to rise, and a file rested under his shoulder with a tea set in hand as he compiled the information he got and headed to the empty area of the auto shop. "How strange," Scarp noted.
Josue wasn't the dirtiest person he had met; in fact, he insisted on keeping things organized and rarely left messes, even when whatever he was doing probably should have left some. But, even so, for an entire area to be so empty seemed… strange.
Josue was always fairly simple but also efficient, preferring to use as much as was available to the best of his abilities. Such as the 'sand rail' he made, the wheels belonging to various vehicles that were in the scrapyard. So it's a bit strange for the entire area to be empty.
Scarp nearly jumped as the air shimmered, revealing a long and heavily armored vehicle, a section opening up like a van as Josue peered out from the inside. "Oh, hey Scarp. C'mon in; we're just waiting for the others to get here."
"You managed to get some help?" Scarp asked, passing Josue the tea set and the file before being helped up by Josue.
"Yeah." He admitted, almost reluctantly. "They're… Well, I'm hoping I can get them not to kill each other, but I've been able to do it before."
"My." Scarp noted with a heavy sigh, "Seems like this is spiraling into a bigger issue than before."
"Tell me about it." Josue huffs, sitting on the chair beside the multitude of screens after raising one of the chairs from the floor, to Scarp's intrigue before heading to the kitchenette to begin the preparation of the tea. Josue read through the files as he brought up a screen on a monitor, a map of Lungmen with a dot on it. After doing so, he returned to the files and hummed. "Well, we've got the 'who', now the 'how'."
"Were you the one who made all of this?" Scarp asked, impressed, and Josue raised a brow.
"Not all of it. I just modified it and rigged a few things." He explained, returning to the screens. "But, given enough time, I probably could."
While Scarp returned to making tea, Josue continued poring through the files and information, humming and hawing. The two fell into silence until someone knocked on the side of the kombi.
Josue opened the section to see W outside as she waved, jumping in easily, "Hello, Tiger~."
"W," Josue noted as he pulled up another chair. Her eyes were drawn to it before she looked around like a curious cat. "We're only waiting for one more person, and that's it."
"Ah, Scarp," W said, grinning at the Minos, "good to see ya."
"W, charmed as always." Scarp responded, "It's good to see the information I give you is useful."
"Useful enough to keep me alive, that's all I care about." W retorted as she sat on his bed, "This is pretty nice. You live in here?"
"Depends." Josue responded, leaning on the table with his keyboard and Communication Center, "Sometimes it's in the main building, other times I just pass out on the couch, but yeah, mostly here."
"So," she notes, her eyes on the locker beside the bed, "what's in here?"
"Guns." Was Josue's response as W's eyes widened and even Scarp seemed impressed, "Wanna see them?" He asked, making his way to the double-layered gun locker.
"Oh, do I?" She said, excited as even Scarp glanced as he opened the locker, the lock reading his biometrics from his right hand as it unlocked.
"Woah…" W noted as even Scarp seemed simultaneously unnerved but impressed. "Shit, those are a lot of guns."
And there were. Shotguns and sniper rifles lined the bottom, with a small section above it for the ammunition and slugs, all neatly organized as a section is above it with pistol and assault rifle rounds. Above that, a few assault rifles and submachine guns were propped up with a few pistols on the side of the locker. The doors themselves held axes, bats, swords, and even bows and crossbows with arrows inside.
The only ones who would be able to afford an armory like that are the super-rich or the Sankta. Of course, little do they know that the weapons they're looking at are Josue's preferred weapons. Within the vehicle, hidden in secret compartments, are a multitude of other weapons and ammunition. Speaking of, he grabs his Peacemaker and places the M1911 inside, forgetting to do so before as he slips it into his holster.
"I don't think even the Sankta have these many guns," W noted, spotting one that was a lot like the one she had.
Josue closed the locker as it locked, and he returned to his seat. "Well, now that your curiosity is sated, let's wa-."
"Josue!" Someone yelled, their voice not exactly clear, but that's probably because the voice was being picked up from outside as Josue checked the cameras and nodded.
From outside, Ch'en ambled around the auto shop, wondering where Josue was with Chi Xiao displayed proudly on her person. "Where is he?"
Something caught her eye, a distortion of the light as she looked at an empty area, away from the vehicles and gadgets around as she made her way to it. "What in the…?"
Then, before she could truly inspect it, the light seemed to refract, to her surprise, as a vehicle just began to appear. "Holy-!" She jumped, nearly drawing Chi Xiao as the vehicle, long and heavily armored, came into view. Even to Ch'en's amateur eyes, the vehicle was impressive and far more than it seemed as she shivered.
Something was off here, and she couldn't put her finger on it somehow.
Then, Josue opened a door, sliding to the side as he grinned and extended a hand. "So, Ch'en, are you ready to hear the details?"
She glanced at the hand with a bit of reluctance, his left hand extended while his right was keeping him hanging on. Finally, Ch'en extended her hand and clasped it with a satisfying clap. "Why else would I be here?" She asked as he pulled her in and the door closed behind her. She noted two more people.
"Josue."
"Yeah?"
"Why is there a terrorist here?" Ch'en asked, pointing at W as the Sarkaz grinned smugly and waved at her.
"She, like you, is here to get the rundown on the gig," Josue answered, opening one more seat as it sprung up, so Ch'en's surprise, before grabbing a table and placing it down. "C'mon, Scarp's tea should be done by now; he's got most of the details."
"Madame Ch'en," Scarp noted, sitting down and placing a cup of tea in front of her, to her surprise.
"And why is there a civilian involved?" Ch'en asked, though her eyes didn't seem to believe that since she kept looking back at Scarp, and Josue shrugged.
"Look, just sit down, listen, step away if you don't want to, and that's it," Josue said, Ch'en narrowing his eyes at him. "I can only do so much on my own, and this job, if we don't want it spilling out, will require more than a few dead."
"Then you're not using enough explosives," W said, sitting on the seat beside Josue. "C'mon~, c'mon~. One of us~. One of us~."
"Quiet." Ch'en hissed before closing her eyes as she sat between Scarp and Josue, directly in front of W. "This better be more important than W."
"That depends on how you feel about the Infected." Scarp began, gauging Ch'en's reaction, the Lung scoffing as she placed her sword to the side.
"All who live within Lungmen are under the purview of the LGD and, as such, under my purview," Ch'en answered resolutely.
W clapped, cheering, "Woooh~, such a nice and perfect answer. Tell me, how long did you practice in the mirror to get it right?" She goaded as Ch'en glared at her, and Josue sighed.
"Right!" He said, loudly and sternly, "Let's get into the details. First off, no one says anything about what happened here, got it? If you're not going to see it through, then leave and forget that anything happened. Got it?"
When no one did so, Josue signaled for Scarp to begin as he did so. "So, this gig was given to Josue by the Rat King. As one would expect, someone is causing trouble in the Slums. I've managed to get him to agree to a pretty good pay for everyone involved."
"How much?" W asked as Scarp said the words and her brows raised, whistling, "Damn, this must be pretty important then."
Scarp sipped at his tea as he reached for a folder, bringing out sheaves of stapled paper. "Once you grab these, you're involved, no backing out and no telling anyone uninvolved."
"Right, right, just hand it over," W said, grabbing the papers from Scarp's hand gently but still making it seem like she swiped it off his hand.
"I accept," Ch'en answered, grabbing the paper as Josue did the same and opened it.
The first page was of the Infected that got away from the ring, "A few days ago, the Rat King's subordinates found a Slum resident, beaten and injured and recently infected, which makes no sense as not only are most Infected cordoned off to a certain area, but the Rat King was sure there'd be no way something like this would go unnoticed." He sighed, "Turns out, that's because someone's been going under the Rat King's nose and helped set up an underground fighting ring made up of the Infected, where Slum residents are picked up, Infected and then put up to fight in a cage match for the entertainment of others."
"What!?" Ch'en hissed and even W seemed particularly pissed.
"Yeah, as you might know, the use of Arts without a Unit only speeds up the rate of Oripathy. As such, the fighters don't survive long. Obviously, if this was just a Slum problem, the Rat King wouldn't have trouble cleaning it up; the problem is that-."
"It isn't located in the Slums." Ch'en finished, going to the next papers as W does the same. "So, the people on here..."
"They're suspects." Scarp finished, "The Rat King has been keeping this information under wraps, so they shouldn't be aware, but if this is an operation supported by the upper echelon, there's not much that can legally be done."
"Lungmen, or Yan in general, doesn't give out 'citizenship' to the Infected." W noted out loud, "So, even if these crimes were brought to light, legally, anyone who tried to move against them would be arrested for 'inciting rebellion', 'mayhem', or whatever fucking jargon the judges can throw at the poor fuck that's suddenly on the chair." W grumbles, "Fucking 'inclusive', yeah right. More like open to bribes and the 'flourishing of the economy'."
Ch'en didn't visibly react, but the anger in her eyes was palpable. "Thanks to Ch'en and Tiger," Scarp continued, turning to the next page to see a map of Lungmen with lines on it and circles, "We've got a good idea of possible locations, numerous found within the city and others mentioned by the duo in their, admittedly, horribly coded language."
Behind the map was a transcript of the conversation as they read through it, and for all of them, used to codes, it was pretty amateur, but it did its job. "Sounds like a bunch of bullshit, so it's either coded well, or-."
"Do you have a pen?" Ch'en asks as Josue passed her one as she begins circling certain areas, "I've lived in Lungmen for my entire life; the ones who made up the code must have, too. Far as I can tell, this is as much as I got." Ch'en said as she laid it down, and Scarp nodded.
"Thank you." Scarp said as Ch'en nodded back, "Now, we know that they're the ones setting this up, the recording and the locations prove it, coinciding with where the initial victim that escaped came from. There's a high chance that this one," he points at the man, "is one of the organizers. Either using his money to pay off people or buying property and using it to host these 'fights'. The problem is that the victim was moved around a lot, so either the 'fighters' are somewhere else, or they switch position."
"I'll do it." W said, looking at the locations as the others turn to her, "What? I know we can't ask miss officer over there," she noted, Ch'en's hand clenching before relaxing, "they won't move to protect the Infected, more than likely if they did, it'd be to 'extract the VIPs from dangerous elements'. So, I can set up some of my own to be on the lookout."
"Those might not be the only locations," Scarp noted, "Sanzo Voltein, a Perro from Siracusa who came to Lungmen for business and his associate, the one setting it all up, Aaron Coten, a Liberi from Columbia who owns businesses in Lungmen could have more 'assistants', and, as such, more properties to use."
"Business probably gets an uptick due to polite gentlemanly and lady-like chatter over the sounds of a deathmatch." Josue scoffed, an unlit cigarette in between his lips.
"Tch, so, what can we do?" W asked as Scarp held up a hand to his chin.
"Well, I could put some feelers out, see if I can get some information from the people themselves." Scarp said, "But that'd be… pretty expensive."
"Or," Ch'en interjects, "I can look through the clerk's records. Get a list of all the official properties under Aaron's or his company's name."
"Let's do both." Josue suggests, "Get Scarp to see if he can get some information while Ch'en looks through the official documents, or gives me a way to enter without getting attention.
"Why can't I do it?" Ch'en asked, and Josue sent her a raised brow.
"You're supposed to be off, right? It'd be weird if you went to a government office right after requesting time off." He pointed out as Ch'en relented.
"What then? Do we get to blow shit up?" W asked, almost excited as Josue shook his head.
"No, we'll pour over any new information we got in between here and... let's say the day after tomorrow?" He asked, "It won't be a lot of time, and we probably won't get much, but it'll be enough to get everything set up and meet here. We'll plan our next move from there. According to him, he should be 'dead' to them since another killed himself to allow him to escape, so their operations shouldn't be stopping any time soon, and with the Rat King actively inspecting the area, he'll inform Scarp of any new developments."
"So, to summarize," Scarp began, "we'll meet back here in two days at this time. In that time, Ch'en and Josue will be infiltrating the Clerk's office, I'll try and get a list of properties and identities."
"While we're there, we should check out for cargo manifests." Josue recommends, "Under the name AColt Corporations, right?" He grumbled. "Should be easy enough, if not slightly harder than the clerk office."
"Alright, you'll look through the paperwork. W will set up her mercenaries near these areas to keep a lookout." Scarp continued, and W nodded, idly fiddling with the pin of a grenade as the others stiffened.
"Don't expect them to stick around too long," W noted. "They'll do it, but they won't be paid, so they won't be as efficient."
"Well," Josue started, "we don't exactly want us biting us in the ass any time soon. This will cause a lot of problems, so we might need to get some evidence to get the LGD to look the other way." The other three looked at Ch'en as she stiffened for a second and sighed.
"I didn't think I'd be joining something like this when I requested two days off." Ch'en grumbled, "I can't believe I'm actually doing this, but…" Ch'en sighed, long and heavy with a sour expression on her face, "I'll go through old records, see what I can find, closed cases or the like, and send you what to look for. If you can submit the evidence, I'll make sure it reaches the right people and that everything's in order. I won't divert patrols or anything like that unless I'm told why, where, and when at least a day beforehand, nor will I stop them if something big catches their attention, got it?"
"Yes, Madame Ch'en," Josue said while the others nodded along. After a pause, Josue scoffed and leaned back on his seat, eyes wide, "Jesus, can't believe we have to go through this many hoops to get these pieces of shit arrested."
"Why's that?" Ch'en asked, already aware of his status as someone who's not from this world.
"Even the sick had rights where I'm from, immigrants, and such. Sure, it wasn't the best place, and the Corporations didn't see the people as anything other than disposable money to be wrung dry. Racism, misogyny, and transphobia were a problem, but did that matter when you could just switch out your junk at a hospital? There, you could point the police, the government, anyone who cared and say 'hey, they're fucking people over' and you could send evidence, you could fight, do something about it. Sure, the Corporation would, more than likely, pay off the judge, sure they'd probably send assassins to you, but god fucking damn it, you could do something about your fellow fucking man." He growled as he stood up and paced the width of the kombi, his anger palpable and the outrage felt.
Sure, his time in Night City was for revenge, to fight against something, but god fucking damn him if he didn't fight for something. He fought for his friends, for his community, for his freedom, and for others.
Was it all for nothing? Maybe, but even if it wasn't…
He could do something about it, and he will.
Shaking his head, he relaxed. "Sorry, I lost myself for a second there."
W whistled, impressed, "Didn't think you had that in ya." For a second, he could see a bit of respect in her eyes before returning to his tea, missing Ch'en's pondering expression.
"Now, where was I-. Right, everyone has their roles, everyone has their plans, one last thing." He said, spinning to the communication center, bringing out some flip phones and placing them on the table in the middle. "These are burners. If you need to contact someone here, use handles and only use this in a hidden location. Beyond that, never say anything outside of this vehicle, got it?"
They nodded in agreement, "Scarp, W, and Tiger are already handled, Ch'en's the only one without one."
"Oooh, Pig!" W immediately brought up a hand as Ch'en's brow twitched.
"Let's not," Josue suggested. "She is a fairly public figure, her life would be ruined if she was exposed."
"Eh," W said, without much interest, as she looked through the file.
"Lung?" Josue recommended as Ch'en sent him a strange look. "What? Handles aren't supposed to be complicated."
"It's fine." Ch'en sighed. "I'm Lung then."
"Right, these can only contact each other." He warned them. "The battery should last a while, but, for now, grab one, call if you need something, and try and memorize the file before burning it."
There were agreements as they did so, sipping on tea and reading through the papers and clarifying a few things.
The first to go was Scarp, probably to overlook his businesses and begin putting out feelers. Then, W left, probably to go set up her mercenaries. Finally, it was just Josue and Ch'en.
Josue had already burned his copy, his Agent already having it memorized for him, a limited version of Tlaloc, the CCP AI, or Rogue AI as some would call him, within the kombi and acting as his Agent. Still, in the occasional conversations they have, he's been acting… strange.
Regardless, there's an agreement, and neither is looking to break it any time soon, so Josue lives with it.
"Wanna go for a drink?" She asked, and Josue turned to her, the exhaustion and confusion in her eyes obvious. "What?"
"You sure you wanna do that?" Josue asked while Ch'en rolled her eyes.
"I just joined three people- a shady businessman, a notorious mercenary, and you- in a plan to, what is most likely, attack people of Lungmen to protect the Infected." She sighed, closing her eyes, "If I'm gonna deal with this, I sure as hell am not gonna do it sober."
Scoffing, Josue looked around, with nothing much to do before shrugging. "Fuck it, why not?"
With that, the two got in his Parallax as he drove them to a bar.
Ch'en gulped down a mug of beer, knocking her head back as Josue found himself fine with this world's equivalent to the Johnny Silverhand from the Afterlife. He had a bit of a habit of getting flirtier the drunker he was. The few times he's blacked out, he remembers waking up in someone else's bed by accident the morning after.
The alcohol burned down his throat as Ch'en slams the mug of beer on the counter. "We need to talk." She said, a slight flush of red at the edge of her cheeks as Josue leaned on his palm.
"About what?" He asked, but he already had an idea of what.
Seems like she noticed.
"Chi Xiao let you unsheathe it and your… gun. It reacted to me." She noted that the idea of a gun that chooses its wielder was ridiculous. "What was that about?"
For a second, Josue doesn't answer, looking into the liquid of his Johnny Silverhand. Bringing the glass up, he took a shot, the burning sensation crawling down his throat, softened by the various additions the drink had as he put it down. "I don't know."
"What?" Ch'en asked, almost surprised, "What do you mean you don't know?"
"How can you draw your sword?" He asked, and she paused, incapable of answering it correctly before sighing. "I have a few theories myself, but… I don't know how they'd work."
"Well, anything's better than nothing." She noted as Josue brought a hand to his head. He reached for the fries beside them and ate a few.
"So, cyberware, not the style of clothing, but prosthetics, directly interfacing with the brain. Usually, for combat. That's understood, right?" He asked, and slowly, almost reluctantly, Ch'en nodded. "Good, now, some of this cyberware has a prerequisite system that needs to be implanted before it can be used. For example," he starts, extending his left arm and revealing his Interface Plug as he tugs it out, "this is an Interface Plug, it lets me jack into certain things and control them without moving my hands."
"Wai-." She nearly spits out her beer, swallowing it. "With your mind?" She said, managing to keep her voice low. "How?"
"Neural Link. It connects to the nerve endings after it's attached to the base of the spine or skull. I chose the spine since I'm a lot less likely to be hit there." He added as an afterthought to Ch'en's visible worry and disgust. "Anyway, the nanomachines are then connected, and I can send impulses through it. With me so far?"
"Yeah." Ch'en admitted, sliding the beer aside as her stomach turned, "Doesn't sound fun, but yeah."
"Well, it varies." He admitted, "Anyway, what this can also do is allow you to directly jack into a gun with a Smartgun Link, displaying information directly to your mind and increasing your accuracy with it. Which you probably felt."
Ch'en grimaced at the memory. "What does this have to do with Chi Xiao?"
"I'm getting there," he interjected before continuing, "Now, there's a cheaper alternative, a Subdermal Grip, which I have in my right palm. It's a subdermal plate under my palm that does the same as if I jacked into the gun directly." Not to mention acting as a warning for the internal frame in his arm for when he shoots the Malorian, his arm doesn't break. "It also acts as a safety and a biometric lock in some cases, so unless it's your hand grabbing the grip of something, it won't work."
Ch'en did not like where this was going. "And how is it powered?"
"Like your arm would, or at least mine does." He answered, scratching his head, "It took a lot of studying and the help of Mad, but I managed to get it so that it runs off of the body's food and so that every motion generates electricity via kinetic generators."
He continued to explain the intricacies with pride as Ch'en was lost within the next sentence. "Okay, to the point, please."
"I think Chi Xiao works in a similar concept." Josue explained as Ch'en looked at him in confusion. "Look, it's been weird, and I'm not even sure if this world is even mine. That's the best I can give you. Somehow, the sword acts like a Smartgun Link, and you have a Subdermal Grip in your hand, and the only reason you can. Which, again, is pretty impossible since this isn't my world." He trailed off, "All I know is that when I grabbed it, it felt easier than what you probably felt when you grabbed the rifle."
"Is that what you usually feel when you grab a gun?" She asked, reeling at the memory again. "I felt like I was going to go insane."
"Your mind probably isn't used to the stress." He pointed out. "I heard that some of the first soldiers who used cyberarms and the like tended to go insane easily, but technology evolved, so the strain isn't much, mine especially with how much work I put in them, but Chi Xiao was smooth in a way I can't explain. Like I inserted a Skill Chip in my socket, but like I entered a subnet of sorts as well."
The more Ch'en listened, the more she found it harder to look at him as she looked at her beer.
Why does it fight when I try to draw it?
It just didn't make sense.
She knocked back a beer as Josue turned to his snacks and ate a few before she slammed the mug down. "Bartender, another over here!"
"You should slow down a bit." He recommended, taking sips from his drinks. "The problem's not going anywhere."
"Neither is this beer, but fuck if it won't help." She cursed, taking another sip before grinning, a bit of resentment and frustration bubbling up, "What, don't think you can keep up?"
"I'm the one driving." He reminded her as she scoffed.
"So what? You can do that… thing." She says, pointing to his left arm. "C'mon, I even gave you a head start." Ch'en prodded, slightly drunker as Josue groaned.
"Fine." He relented, "But I want it on record that none of this is my fault." He said as Ch'en nodded.
"Good, good, hey bartender, bring another for my friend here." She suggested as a mug appeared in front of Josue. He grabbed it and knocked his head back. The burn of alcohol ran through his throat as he placed it down in tandem with Ch'en.
His mind flashed in and out, his balance wobbly as instead of beer, they have shot glasses in front of them as he reaches out for the first shot and knocked it back, Ch'en, with no jacket, doing the same as the two of them knock back the vodka. The Russian firewater burned going down his throat as he went to the next, Ch'en doing the same and equally as tipsy as he was.
He managed to finish and grab the third, nearly fumbling it as he knocked it back and slammed it down. "Whoo!" He cheered as Ch'en pouted slightly before pointing at him, red-faced.
Her words slurred, but the two were now officially drunk.
Or, they were, and Josue lived among Nomads who were notorious drunks. He knows enough drinking games to keep the night going.
"Chug. Chug. Chug. Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" The crowd chanted as he held a bottle to his lips, a straw coming from the side as he slammed the bottle on the counter as cheers rang out, Ch'en following a second later.
Her voice came out choppy, but he smiled, chuckled, and said something that had her blushing as he reached out and brushed a strand of hair aside.
"You look cute when you're flustered." He remembered muttering before he went to the next one.
A line of four cups, one table, Ch'en and Josue swayed at either end, and four cans of beer in front of them with an American quarter in their hands. Ch'en goes first, bouncing the coin against the table and missing slightly.
Josue bounced it, far better with accuracy and it goes in, he grabs a can and looks around, grabbing a man, a Sarkaz, apologized and pushed the base of the beer against their horn hard enough to poke a hole in it as he removed it, put it over his mouth, opened the tab on top and shotgunned the beer. Ch'en barely contained her laughter, the crowd does so too, the Sarkaz was pissed and walks out while Ch'en landed a coin inside a cup and opens via the tab knocking her head back as Josue let the empty beer bottle drop as he stomped on it. Crushing it as he bounces the coin, missing and cursing.
Ch'en finished hers and bounced the coin again, landing on a different one at the same time as Josue. She opened the tab, and Josue looked for his next horned victim, all of them, wisely, hiding as he slammed the side of the can against the edge of the table, opening a slight gash as he pops the tab and shotguns the drink.
The people are cheering, and some are whistling, music playing loudly as the duo are two for two.
Josue finished first and bounced it again, missing as Ch'en did so, too.
Again, they bounced the coin in and chugged the cans, Josue taking longer to drink from the can but Ch'en taking longer to open it.
The fourth was lost in a haze as people cheer and he gets drunk.
He could still keep going.
It was around midnight when they stumbled out of the bar, laughing their asses off and red faced while singing a song, trying to support each other long enough to get him to his bike and drive them to Ch'en's apartment. That was before someone punched him and he stumbled, getting his balance in a haze of adrenaline as Ch'en knocks them down with a punch, the Sarkaz stumbling as his friends seem reluctant and some try to fight.
His father fell in love with his mother when someone tried to grope her, and she slammed their head against a table, dragged them outside, tied them to a rope tied to her car, and drove them around the area. By the time she was back, the guy that tried to grope her couldn't cry anymore and was covered in road rash.
Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, 'cause damn if watching Ch'en beating up guys twice her size wasn't hot as hell. He stumbles to his feet and helps her, the two managing to get on his bike with less trouble as he led her to her apartment room. A part of him, the somewhat cognizant part, wondered how this would go, even if it already knew how.
Usually he would wake up in another person's bed, usually a woman, after having slept together or having slept together.
As he stumbled in, removing his jacket due to how hot it was, Ch'en brought a hand to her mouth, and he inwardly laughed as he rushed her to the bathroom.
She didn't puke on him, but she did use his shirt to wipe off her mouth. Then used too much strength and ripped it.
Josue helped her on the bed, removed his vest and shirt, and went to sleep on the couch. If nothing else, despite the migraine, the morning would be interesting.