บท 232: Hard to Know
...
Ori continues to stare at the barrel, unflinching, "All of us can see it Maine, the clusterfuck with Aliya earlier is just the tip of the iceberg. Either let us help or get rid of some chrome-"
"Go to hell! You think I'll sit here and listen to that trash!?" he jabs the barrel at Ori, "You just wanna replace me, take my crew and whatever else I got, I can see it in your eyes!" he then turns to David, "And you!? Said it yourself didn't ya!? Want my fuckin' Cyberware if I drop, you already took my sandevistan, ain't much of a step from there is it!? Shit, I bet you wanted to take Dorio's Gorilla Arms too!"
David's eyes widen, "W-what!? You really think that!? I thought we were joking around back then, I'll have enough Eddies to get my own set anyway, why would I want to klepp yours!?"
"He's really friggen' losing it!" Pilar can't help but say, only angering the large merc further.
"Maine, listen to yourself!" Falco exclaims, "We been working together for years, none of us wants beef with you! But this thing, it's not just gonna get you killed, but the rest of us too! We were lucky to get outta the casino, but how many more chances d'you think we got!?"
...
"Man, fuck all this." Maine spits, retracting his arm cannon and heads for the door, "Goin' for a walk." he growls, leaving nothing to question as he slowly strides into the darkness.
...
Ori sighs and rubs his face, "He's gotten worse."
"Wait, you knew about this!?" David accuses, "Why did you let it get this far then!?"
"You saw his reaction, whatchu think'd happen if I brought it up not long after Dorio kicked it? Plus our lack of Immunosuppressants? He'd have actually tried to kill me." Ori states resolutely, confident in his claim.
He sighs and dips his head, getting back to bandaging his leg. David didn't have anything to say, his loyalty to Lucy and everyone else outweighed his loyalty to Maine, especially when the man was becoming so self-destructive. The fact that he'd put everyone at risk with his recent stunt hadn't been forgotten, nor his out-of-character disregard for Lucy's life.
If the choice was between her or him, David knew who he'd pick. And wasn't that a terrifying thought, to know who he placed above others?
Pilar straightens and shrugs, "I've been with him a long ass time but I've never seen him like that. Shit, just thinking if he got his hands on the sandy..." he waves his hand at David, "No idea how the kid handles it, but I've seen gonks short-circ after one go."
Falco nods, "He'd be a monster, a guy that size moving that quick? But his mind wouldn't take it, I dunno if it's Dorio's death or the recent upgrades he's got, but he won't last much longer unless someone gets through to him."
Ori sighs, "Don't look at me, he seems to think I'm out to replace him or summin'. David's no better, dunno what you said to him but he looked ready to gut you."
David frowned, "We were wasted and it came up, what I wanted to happen to the sandy if I flatlined. Told him he could have it, if I could get his arm if he ever ended up checking out." he shakes his head sadly, "Never thought he'd actually take it like that, I love the guy, we're choomba's and he thinks I wanna cross him..."
"Like I told him, don't take it personal. He ain't himself right now, you think the old Maine woulda risked Lucy like that? He's the guy that dropped by my place with a gun when he heard I was shackin' up with Rebecca."
Pilar chuckles, "Heh, I remember that. When you were a scrawny wimp simping over my sis, now you're just a bigger simp though..."
"Pilar, you're the best person to try talk to him. Falco's never been a full-time member of the crew, and you've spent more time with 'em than anyone else, barring Dorio... I'd ask Rebecca too but," he trails off, not liking the idea.
Could he rely on Maine's 'brotherly' instincts to not hurt her if she hit a nerve? Probably, but he wasn't going to risk it... Was he an asshole for sending Pilar out there instead? Yeah, but he had his priorities.
Pilar snorts at this, "Yeah sure, just throw me to the big pissed-off, chromed-up bear. But fuck it, I'll try to talk some sense into his big head, just don't expect me to come back in one piece." he says and goes to stand.
"Wait up, not now... Give him some time to process, maybe he'll realise we're not out to get him." Falco interjects.
...
"What are we doing now then? Y'know, with most of the city hunting us." David questions.
Ori shrugs, "Meet with Christy and Lucy, Grab the gold and contact Sasha 'n Kiwi. Rogue'll pull out all the stops when she hears what we got to trade, give her even one percent commission on the three or four billion Eds we got and we're back in business. After that, we'll buy up what we need, property, grunts, guns, you name it, and get back at Arasaka for doin' in Dorio." he explains.
"Hmph, I like the sound of that. Shit, maybe we could start our own Merc corp or something, like those Lazarus assholes." Pilar adds.
"You wanna start a corp? You surprise me..." Falco remarks.
He sniffs in response, "It'd be the most bitchin' corp you've ever seen. None of that suit-shit all the rest've got goin' on. I'd be at the top, telling peeps what needs to be done without the bureaucrat bullshittery!"
Ori chuckles, "Yeah I'd love to see that. You'd last maybe two days before one of your 'employees' did you in. That or some other corp would frame you for something and have your shit raided."
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บท 233: Wanted for the Wrong Reasons
Judy spins around idly in her office chair as Kiwi and Sasha go over the recent Arasaka movements, it was late in the night and everyone was tired but those two, in particular, seemed determined to keep themselves updated on the burgeoning situation.
From what she could hear, Saburo Arasaka was apparently going to pay a visit to Night City, presumably to visit his son Yorinobu. The CEO was bringing his daughter Hanako too, all on some exec ship called the 'Kujira'.
The duo were discussing the possibility, or rather impossibility of attacking it. Judy knew that it wasn't just a ship, it was a heavily fortified war machine, escorted by submarines, satellite tracking, and as many aircraft as the sky could fit.
The suits weren't stupid, they knew hundreds of powerful people would look to see if they could sink them, so they'd made adequate precautions.
Shaking her head, Judy stops the chair and leans forwards to them, "Did you two hear about it?"
"Hear about it?" Kiwi inquires in a dull tone.
"The feed we got from Las Vegas." she replies, causing both to straighten.
"There anything about them? The crew?" Sasha asks.
Judy shrugs and accesses the webpage showing the shit-load of news coverage about 'two large-scale terrorist attacks'. The Crystal Tower owned in parts by DMS, Militech, and Eurobank had been bombed, and a massacre had been committed in New Caesars Palace... Worst of all, an anonymous source had tipped news networks off to the ones responsible.
The next page showed mugshots of some familiar people. Maine, David, Rebecca, Pilar, and Falco. There were also two blacked-out photos over the names 'Ori' and 'Lucy'. Guys probably couldn't get an actual photo of them considering their circumstances.
All of this was under one banner though, 'Zombie Crew'...
"Shit..." Kiwi utters, almost dropping her cig as she looks it over.
"Were they arrested?" Sasha questions with a deep frown.
Judy shakes her head, "Not from what I can tell, their bounties are still up. From the forums it looks like they fled into the underground."
"This is bad..."
"No shot. We're probably gonna need to change up some plans. Even if they make it back their public personas are fucked." Kiwi remarks.
"No, not quite..." Judy interjects, "Night City is independent, if the city officials don't go after them then they'll only have to worry about the Corpos they pissed off. 'Sides, there are already plenty wanted men here."
*Ping!*
...
Sasha quirks a brow, "That's me... Speak of the devil..."
[It seems that some plans need to be advanced.] - ???
--------------------
A couple days after the heist...
Maine sits against the wall in front of a big pile of corpses, all belonging to mole people who thought they could jump him and sell off his Cyberware. Idiots, did they think his shit was for show? Even if that were the case, would it be worth selling?
He looks down at his trembling, blood-covered hands, inwardly wondering if the guys weren't bullshitting him.
Sure, things hadn't gone to plan. But that wasn't his fault, it was David, Lucy, and Ori's fault for catching Arasaka's attention in the first fuckin' place! If none of them had done that then they'd have never left Night City, Dorio would still be around...
Dorio...
"FUCK!" he shouts, slamming his fist down on a mole man's skull, splattering what was left of it across the floor.
"There's nothin' wrong with you. They're the ones losing it, you're the only sane one around!" he shakes his head, "Just keep runnin', the minute you slow is the moment you go..." he mutters to himself, standing up.
"Yo, Maine, you good?" Pilar greets, pausing as he peeks his head around the tunnel entrance. "The fuck happened here!?"
"They attacked me, what else?" he grunts, turning to look at him over his should. "Why, that a problem?"
Pilar shrugs, "Nah, why would it? These gonks were probably askin' for it!"
He snorts, "They ask you to bring me back then? Like I'm some dog off its leash?"
Pilar crooks a brow, "Now you're just yanking my stick, what kinda fuckin' dog has a cannon mounted on its arm? Shit, if you know about one you let me know, I'd call it 'Mini-Me'."
...
"Whaddya want...?"
"Wanted to know how you doin'. You lost it and left for a day or two, was starting to think the Corpos got ya'."
"I didn't lose." he scowls, "I just didn't wanna listen to you guys raggin' on me for no fuckin' reason. You keep to your shit and I'll mind my own."
Pilar sighs, "Buddy, they got a point. We almost died, and since Dorio-"
Maine whirls around, and grabs the merc by the arm tight enough to cause bruises, "What'd I say about talkin' about her!? Shut the fuck up! Mind your own mother fuckin' biz!"
"Get off me you big lump! See what I mean? You're going full schizo! Another month like this and you'll be the next goddamn cyberpsycho on the headlines!"
"Shut up!"
"All of us have noticed! Even Lucy and Christy, heck, that celeb-bitch might seem dumb, but she had a whole plan to get us out after saving Luce', then you fucked it by going for honky-gonk terrorist!"
Maine shakes Pilar harder, causing the man to grip his fist to stop him from tearing his arm off, "Choom get the hell off'a me! I'm tryna tell you how it is straight, and you grabbin' up on my jock ain't helpin' nobody! The fuck would Dorio think if she saw your ass-"
"GOD DAMN IT! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Maine roars, palming Pilar's face and slamming him back into the stone wall.
*SPLATTER!*
...
Maine blinks at the sudden warm wetness filling his hand, his breath hitches as he looks over and sees the back of Pilar's skull completely busted open, blood and brain matter spattered across the wall and floor.
"No..." he steps backwards, letting the body drop.
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Niggross
Niggross
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
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