“V?” Placide asked me through my earpiece, “I check stability. My end clear?”

  “Yes,” I replied to him as I trudged through Pacifica’s underbelly on the way to the GIM. The parking lot was massive, even bigger than Arasaka’s underground lot. Except this one reeked of feces and stale engine oil. Joy.

  I took out my face mask and half-balaclava, donning the latter before approaching the only Voodoo Boys I found on the lot. Seemed like a couple of right assholes. If I had a choice in the matter, I’d have just walked up to the front door and politely asked the Animals if I could head in. I’m an outsider, after all. They’d probably trust me a hell of a lot more than the VDBs ever would. But, like Johnny said, I have to play by this stupid game.

  One thing I won’t do, though – I won’t kill these people if I could help it. As far as I knew, the Animals weren’t exactly hostile. And I had no beef with them, at least not personally. It wasn’t my place. The Voodoo Boys hired me to look at the van and find the owner, but if there was another way out of this, I’d take it in a heartbeat. That said, I doubt that the Animals had the netrunning wherewithal to remove the Relic.

  God dammit, why’d it have to be these people…

  “You V?” they asked me as I walked up and crossed my arms.

  “No, I’m Animal Control,” I replied sarcastically, “Do they know you’re watching them? You’re within visual range.”

  “Dis is our turf, our home!” they chanted, “We need not be ghosts here!”

  “It is you who must be ghost,” the one on the right told me, “Be silent, invisible.” Yeah, except when they prepare defenses because they’re expecting company, you fucking morons…

  “Great, so where’s my ingress point?”

  “What?”

  “…The way in,” I sighed.

  “Garage, in de back,” the left one told me.

  “Great, thanks. I’ll be back in 30 minutes.” I took off without another word, interrupting them as they went on about me being quiet. I will not be lectured by two bumbling idiots about being quiet. Thanks, but I know how to do my fucking job, I’m not interested in being patronized any more.

  I walked to the loading dock after scanning around to confirm that no one was there. Seemed to me that everyone was inside. There were a few sentries here and there, but no one gave me any grief, even as I walked down the ramp itself. I’m not sure if they just didn’t give a fuck or they were outright not hostile. I was very obviously not a Voodoo Boy, so that probably helped.

  “Got two of ‘em,” I overheard a pair talk amongst each other, “Out in the parking lot.” Must be referring to the morons.

  “Yeah, and?” the other one asked.

  “And… nothing. Just sitting there,” the woman on the motorcycle replied as the man climbed on the back.

  “Hmph,” he grunted, saying something I couldn’t make out as they disappeared up the ramp behind me. I could only hope they’re about to rip those two a new asshole. They deserve it, most likely.

  I snuck through with relative ease, coming across several more scattered packs of Animals. Unlike the rest of the VDBs, I selected a far less obvious approach. The only thing these people knew about stealth was how to hide their motivations. But they sure do not know how to actually not be seen.

  I wasn’t sure if this route they selected was purposefully the one filled with the most Animals they could find and they wanted me to openly engage in combat, or they just wanted me dead, or they really were that dense. Either way, this route was shit. They’re putting me right into the heart of the base straight away, like come on. I snuck past a few more, they were saying something about the “Big Guy up top.” Someone else mentioned someone named Sasquatch… Wait, the Sasquatch? The leader of the Animals was here?! Fuck me, would’ve been nice to have gotten that intel…

  “I’m in,” I whispered into the earpiece as I casually walked inside the building through one of the darkened loading garages.

  “De kamyonèt, check it.”

  ‘De kamyonèt,’ he says… I’ll kamyo his stupid nèt…

  “How do you know it’s compatible with my tech?” I asked him, “You just said it was over 20 years old. I’m assuming we’re dealing with a custom van, how do you even know it has an interface at all?”

  “Dis you will find out,” he spoke as vaguely as ever. Yeah, that’s really fucking helpful…

  “Oh, and you do realize they fixed the cameras in here, right?”

  “Yes,” Placide replied bluntly, “Animals come in, dey fix de eyes.”

  “Wonderful…” I grumbled. I didn’t have a way past these. My mask scrambled my appearance, sure. But anyone watching the feeds would see me clear as day, or at the very least see that a camera went down. If it was up to me, I would’ve just dropped in from the roof during the shift change, gassed the security room, then just… walked up to the fucking van and checked the VIN number or something. This was just ridiculous.

  Right… stores. Malls have stores. This is a loading dock, maybe another way in through a department store, something carrying bulk items… Let’s see…

  Ah. Triple Extreme Workout Center… I can see why the Animals set up shop here. It still reeked of that stale, sweaty smell, too. What joy.

  “…This one’s got a motion sensor,” I overheard a conversation as I headed up the loading bay to the gym, “Only moves when you move.” I see… a boxing ring, looks like. And an absolute shit-ton of Animals. Two-story store, first story was all workout equipment and the ring itself. Second story was probably juice and protein shakes and clothes, all the lighter weight shit. Had to find a way past…

  “New model’s got muscle memory sims,” another Animal remarked on the sparring bot as I snuck to the left side, ducking not two meters from their position, “Reacts faster than ever based on what you’re doin’.”

  “Meanin’ what?” the guy in the ring said between heavy breaths, “The new ones know what I’m gonna do before I do it? And this one I can just pound into the ground…”

  I left earshot as I moved between workout benches, skirting the entire perimeter as low as I could.

  “…the AIs? And it’s just NetWatch sittin’ in there?” NetWatch… figures… Bet a million eddies that’s who the van belongs to…

  “Oh yeah? Doin’ what?” another Animal asked as I slithered between shelves.

  “Dunno, prolly not much,” his friend replied out of visual sight, “Lookin’ out for the boogeymen. Countin’ corpo cash. Jerkin’ off their rhino horns…” I climbed up onto one of the pieces of gym equipment and headed up to the top, nearly being seen by two more guards. This place was absolutely covered in Animals. Why the fuck did they have me infiltrate via the gym, of all places? Do they not realize that the Animals are most likely to be in the gym?! Why couldn’t I have gone in through, I dunno, an intimates store or something? Whatever, it’s done now. But this is quickly becoming a great deal of trouble.

  I carefully negotiated my way through and out into the main promenade, greeted once again by none other than Placide. “I see you are in de central area. Find de kamyonèt. Be careful.” Great, thanks for the reminder, I was about to stab this poor guy in the back of the head before you told me.

  It was a major hub, indeed. I counted no less than a dozen people on this story alone. And the van was in clear line of sight now, parked directly in the middle. Fucking fantastic… So I’m supposed to walk up to this thing and jack in with nobody noticing?! Is Placide actually an idiot? Whatever… focus. Keep your mind on-target.

  “…gotta have the whole theater to himself.” Someone mentioned him again… the theater… okay.

  “Them oldschool movies, pretty sure they didn’t work like that,” another voice said as I ducked into a restaurant to avoid a passing patrol.

  “I mean, shit, I’m at work here.”

  “So is he…” their voices faded behind me as I pressed on, checking the layout of the mall on a nearby fire escape map… Movie theater… Downstairs, to the left, behind the van. Got it.

  The restaurant had its own escalator, apparently… quite helpful, if a bit of an odd design choice. Still, at least that’s my way to the first story again…

  Alright, just three more stores from the van. And I need to figure out how the hell I’m gonna get these people away from it. I doubt that talking to them will work, might just have to wait for them to leave on their own. Guess I’m gonna be here a while… Well, first thing’s first, getting over there. I might be able to slip underneath the van if I can manage to get close enough, provided no one was on the passenger side. Let’s find out…

  One minute… two minutes… five minutes…

  Finally, an opening… I slipped into a SoftSys electronics store and ducked behind some old stock on a cart, observing the van up-close. Definitely looked like a custom job. Hodgepodged bodykit to hide wiring harnesses. Some sort of satellite uplink on the roof. No input devices on the left-hand side, but the sliding door was on the right, so maybe I’ll have better luck there.

  Just have to wait for this guy to leave…

  At some point…

  I’m gonna be here for hours… Fuck. It’s one of those jobs, isn’t it…

  I overheard several conversations outside. People speaking more about NetWatch. About the Blackwall. Something about this VIP they’re protecting. I began to piece together some sort of situation – this NetWatch guy came in here, likely to spy on the Voodoo Boys up-close and personal. He hired the Animals as personal protection, meaning the VDBs couldn’t get near him. Otherwise he’d just disappear again. They weren’t stealthy enough. And now Sasquatch was here, so she’d rip any VDB who got close in half anyway. Hence why they hired me. Probably looked into my military background, too. Great… that’s great. So I’m here to wipe out NetWatch’s eyes, and in exchange I get to speak with Brigitte. With no guarantee that the chip will be removed. Wonderful. I hope Johnny’s happy about how shitty this deal is… Man, I’m hungry…

  Oh… Oh! Alright, we’re in business, he moved… Right, I have to be quick about this. “I’m at the van,” I whispered, “No sign of the owner.”

  “I see,” Placide replied over the earpiece, “Interface wid de van.”

  Alright… “What do you see?” I quietly asked him as I received information.

  “Dataflow map of Pacifica,” he told me, “Dey hunt agwe… NetWatch. Dey always out to fuck us.”

  “This is ballsy, even by NetWatch standards,” I said as I glanced around and under the van, looking for signs of movement. Nothing. “What’d you do to piss them off this time?”

  “One reason only. Always de same. Rezo agwe. It is a net dey cannot see, cannot touch.”

  “Okay, so what’s next?”

  “You must reach de agent. Easy enough to find him now. Jack into him, we take care of de rest.”

  “Understood,” I replied as I unplugged from the van and crouched down and out of the way again.

  “Deir map is no complete. Dey still lack source validation. You must reach him before dey do dis.”

  “Mm…” I hummed silently as a pair of Animals approached, occupying the space where I stood not 15 seconds ago… too close…

  “Step away now,” another voice suddenly interrupted, “This isn’t your fight.” NetWatch agent, I presume…

  “Fuck!” Placide shouted over the net, “We are cut. Pushed out. Plug in cyberdeck, we give you more ICE.”

  “No, I don’t think I will,” I told him bluntly, “I’ll let you know when I have him.”

  I had to assume that the Animals would be right on top of me at any moment. It’s likely that this NetWatch agent controlled every single camera and talked with everyone on the holo. I had to move quickly.

  He slammed shutters down, cordoning off the entire first story. Back into the restaurant I went, heading up to the second floor and skirting around the entire perimeter flank, going store by store. Fortunately, this guy didn’t have access to my cyberdeck – neither of them did. I was more worried about Placide than NetWatch, though. I had no reason to suspect this man wanted me dead aside from simply protecting himself.

  I found my way to the second story entrance to the cinema, receiving message after message on billboards warning me to turn back. Sorry, but I wasn’t having it. Whether I wanted to or not, I needed this. Otherwise, what would even be the point. Still, all they wanted was him gone. I suppose it didn’t necessarily matter how I did it, so long as I did it. Maybe I can talk him down. I guess we’ll find out.

  I heard a woman in the distance speaking in German. “…I don’t know, but don’t worry, it won’t be a problem… I already have my men looking for him…” Sasquatch…

  Holy shit. She’s at least twice my size, easily… And, of course, she was standing right in the way of the door. There was simply no way around her. I didn’t have a choice. Fuck… Well this was less than ideal.

  No… no, she wouldn’t go away. She was charged with protecting him.

  Jackie, I know you’re gonna help me with this one…

  I gently removed my mask and put it away, unfurling my scarf and presenting my face.

  “Uh, what’re you doin’?” Johnny interrupted me.

  “No way around her,” I explained to him, “But I’m willing to bet that she’d be up for a fight. The Animals are all about brawling, tests of strength and courage. She wouldn’t let the others interfere, it’s beneath her.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “Nope,” I replied bluntly, unsheathing my sword, “But if you have a better idea of how to get past her, I’m all ears.”

  I slowly approached her from behind, not making any sudden moves as she turned around, silently presenting my sword before me.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Hah, you got some balls,” she grinned at me, eyeing me before raising her fists, “Come at me, I fuckin’ dare ya.”

  There was absolutely no way in Hell that I would win this fight without my sword. I cranked up the magnetic gloves to maximum and left it there as she readied herself.

  –

  Sasquatch charged headfirst at V, forcing her to dodge before she got plowed into dust by this rhinoceros of a woman. V quickly returned to her feet, dusting herself off as Sasquatch snarled and drooled like a primitive cavewoman, baring her teeth in the cool blue glow of the theater’s plaza. V rotated her sword about a little and steeled herself for the follow-up shot, digging her feet in beneath her as Sasquatch launched herself again, this time smashing headfirst into a pillar as V dodged it a second time. It felt like the whole building shook beneath V’s boots.

  “GAAHH!” Sasquatch shouted as she glanced over to a bench on the far side of the room, on which rested her custom-made oversized sledgehammer. The malfunctioning electrics caused by her massive impact shot up a series of floor-mounted digital displays, changing the layout of the battlefield drastically. V rushed as Sasquatch collected her hammer, only to find the massive hulk of a woman barrelling towards her again, weapon in-hand. V narrowly dodged the attack, but only just – Sasquatch quickly got frustrated, screaming her lungs out in pure, seething anger at this woman who dared stand against her.

  Sensing an opportunity, V lunged and thrust her sword directly into Sasquatch’s chest, stopped dead by the sheer amount of metal. Fuck me, she must’ve had an inch of titanium beneath her skin… V thought to herself just before Sasquatch wound up another strike, activating her Sandevistan. What little RealSkinn on her arms ripped apart as she put her muscles into overdrive, slamming down the hammer with alarming speed and sending V flying backwards from the shockwave of the blast.

  V struggled to regain her breath but forced herself to her feet anyway, knowing full-well that even a single direct hit from that hammer would paste her to the wall like splattered paint. Sasquatch charged again with the hammer presented head-first, presenting a rare opportunity for V – she sidestepped to the left, hooking the massive weapon behind its head and drawing her sword all the way up the handle, scoring a massive and devastating blow to Sasquatch’s hands. Still, she held on to the hammer with an almighty death-grip, seemingly barely phased by the sparks and flames emanating from her wrists.

  Sasquatch violently swung the hammer again, smashing into one of the billboards and instantly shattering it into a million pieces as V only just dodged it once more. The sheer velocity from the hammer’s swing nearly pushed her over, forcing her to backpedal. In one fluid motion, she launched herself forward as the hammer fell beside Sasquatch again, performing a devastating uppercut and slicing off the side of Sasquatch’s faceplate. The brute cried out in anger and pain, clutching her face to check and see how much of it was still there.

  “HAH! OOOHH YEE-EAH!!” she shouted as shards of her faceplate fell off. V got in a few extra swings before the giantess simply brushed the sword aside like a toy and wound up for another massive rebuttal. She slammed the hammer completely unopposed, sending shrapnel flying off of the floor and peppering V in the face, lacerating her forehead. V stepped back and wiped off the blood before it blinded her, following Sasquatch’s hammer with her sword in a desperate effort to keep it at bay.

  She knew she couldn’t run; Sasquatch was far too fast. Instead, she closed the distance, forcing the point by diving to Sasquatch’s left and going for the body before jabbing her sword directly into the Sandevistan on her back. She forced the sword deep into Sasquatch’s spine with both hands, permanently disabling the implant and sending Sasquatch to her knees as she finally dropped her hammer.

  –

  “AGGH!! FUCK!!” she screamed through bloodied lips as the wounds on my forehead once again poured blood of their own, “WHO ARE YOU?!”

  “V,” I replied in-kind, taking the moment’s respite to gather my breath, “And… you are…?”

  “Your WORST FUCKIN’ NIGHTMARE!” she shouted, ignoring the hammer on the ground and charging straight at me with her bare knuckles. While I wasn’t able to block the hammer, I easily sliced right through the sinew in her forearms in a flash, sending jets of blood streaming out. I quickly back-handed my weapon and finally finished her off, grabbing one side of her head and smashing the back-end of my sword as hard as I could directly into her temple. She collapsed and rolled around on the floor, shouting in pain as I stood over her.

  “Good,” Placide interrupted us, “Now finish her and get de Watcher.”

  “No… I think… she’s had enough…” I panted, sheathing Shinden and sitting down to check on her. “Hey…” I spoke as I rested my legs and let the adrenaline clear itself out, “Are… you okay…?”

  “Guuuhhh…” she muttered to herself.

  “Just hang in there, Sasquatch,” I told her, setting down an airhypo next to her, “In… in case you need it…” I got up and dusted myself off… I couldn’t quite get my breath back… Think I might’ve broken a few ribs… Fuck… Well, here’s hoping the guy didn’t go anywhere… the battle lasted for all of about 30 seconds, he couldn’t have gotten far…

  I walked into the ticket lobby, the room filled with dusty, stale air, everything long-since cleared out. I wonder what such a place would’ve been like in its heyday. People packed to the brim, lining each wall, waiting for the opportunity to see the latest film on the big screen… it must’ve been magical.

  There was some sort of sound in the distance… almost like a guitar, but not quite… something on a loudspeaker. A movie playing…? I recall one of the Animals mentioning something about an old movie. Hm, alright…

  I entered the empty theater, actually my first ever time inside a movie theater in general… it felt… strange. Empty. And quite surreal… like it was too large to physically exist within the mall itself. Perhaps it was an illusion of the black walls making everything seem far larger than it was. I had to concede to the designers of this room – it looked deeply bizarre to me.

  A movie played on the big screen behind me, catching my attention… Man, I used to love these old films back in the day. The romanticism of a life that’ll likely never exist again, the freedom of a wide-open landscape, it was breathtaking. I always loved the notion of being transported to another world like this. I remember someone told me once, the reason people got TVs and otherworldly BDs and video games was a rational choice of the mind. People don’t want to live in the squalor we faced every day. The magic of such media brings us out of that.

  One of the guys from my days in the Bakkers was obsessed with movies like this. I think this one is One Eyed Jacks, if I remember correctly? I forgot what it’s about, some guy named Rio and his dad…? Hmph, whatever, it’s fine. Focus.

  “I’m in,” I tell Placide over the call.

  “Mm, I see,” he replied, “Now you must–” AGH! A sudden spike felt like a massive hornet sting or something… What the fuck was that?

  “Placide…?” No reply. A jammer, perhaps? Probably the agent’s doing… he’s still here. I started up my cyberdeck and plugged it in, booting up all three layers of self-ICE that Kiyo had expertly laid onto the system.

  Remember, this is for your mind, I thought to myself, For the Relic. Let’s end this and go home.

  I opened the door to the projector booth and made my presence known, removing Shinden with an audible metallic noise to announce myself.

  “Whoa!– Hey, easy with that,” the man turned around and raised up his hands in surrender as I slowly walked towards him.

  The man was utterly caked with chrome, little of it combat-related. He looked more like prey than anything, with the artificial ears to warn him of a lurking predator. Still, I made no compunctions about his appearance - I was certain that he was a formidable adversary, if a bit out of his depth with me. It's clear he didn't expect someone to get past Sasquatch; he was panicking the whole way through. But I might be able to use him.

  “I take it you’re the one who severed the link?” I asked him, rotating my sword with my wrist to shake some more of the blood off.

  “Only so now we can talk in private,” he told me with a cold, unbroken voice. Typical corpo salesman sounding motherfucker… “Just severed your connection to the rest of Pacifica. Gives us a little time.”

  “Hmph, and I suppose you’re still here for a reason,” I grunted, putting away my sword but keeping my hand well within reach of the scabbard, “Yet you’ve been discouraging me with your cute little signs. I urge you to pick a lane, and fast.”

  “I see you’ve met Sasquatch,” he pointed to my bloodied face, “Guess I underestimated you.”

  “She’ll live,” I spoke deeply, “But her condition will be the least of your problems if you don’t tell me why we’re having this meeting.”

  “Alright,” he nodded, “Had a spectre on you, didn’t you? Saw and heard all you did? Followed his orders?”

  “With the notable exception of placing your head inside a box, yes.”

  “No idea what the Voodoo Boys are paying you, but our pockets are deeper.”

  I scoffed at his suggestion and crossed my arms with contempt. “I am under no illusions about that. The Voodoo Boys live in destitute squalor. They can barely afford shoes without holes in them, much less what my contracts typically command.”

  “You misunderstand – this isn’t a monetary counteroffer,” he slowly lowered his hands, “The Voodoo Boys have no loyalties to anyone but themselves. They’ve been here in two forms for what, 50 years? And they still cling to their tribal mentality. Their distrust of outsiders – legendary.”

  “Get to the point.”

  “My point is you’re backing the losing horse,” he explained, “Everyone works with corps. I see you have, too. Arasaka don’t hand those uniforms out for free, so you’re probably ex-military, high-ranking at that. Could verify that right away, actually, but what’s the logic in distracting ourselves.”

  “Indeed,” I sneered, “I should just finish my job and leave if all you’re here to do is sell me a seat at NetWatch. Sorry, but I’m not interested. Nor am I interested in the Voodoo Boys.”

  “Yet here you are, following their orders to the letter – why?”

  “Hmph,” I rolled my eyes, “I’m here to get you to shut down your operation. Doing so will grant me an audience with Maman Brigitte. I assume you know her.”

  “Brigitte and her lapdog Ti Neptune have been frozen for several days now,” he explained to me, “Ever since we shrouded their subnet with ICE. And you? Well… you were sent here to free them.” I suddenly recalled some guy running out of the room while Placide and I were speaking, blabbering on about a woman’s heart rate… must’ve been her. “Do you know why they didn’t tell you everything? Cause you’re a ‘ranyon.’ That’s what they call outsiders brought in for special jobs – floor rags. And when you’re no longer needed, they chuck you.”

  “Believe me, I’m well aware that they have no trust in me,” I retaliated, “I’m not after friendships. Nor do I really give a damn what the Voodoo Boys’ motivations are, so long as I get what’s owed to me.”

  “Sure, but I wouldn’t exactly expect the Voodoo Boys to have a customer service department to receive your complaints when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.” To be fair, he has a point.

  “Out of curiosity,” I asked him, lowering my own arms in-turn, “How did you defeat Maman Brigitte, anyway?”

  “When we took the mall, we knew the VDBs would send runners,” he explained in a more relaxed tone, “Ti Neptune breached first – to see what was going on. When we ICEd him, Brigitte dove in after him. Used him to shield herself. Tough cookie, that one, but still found herself stuck.” The movie screen behind him flashed over to a grid of the Rezo Agwe subnet, displaying Brigitte’s and Ti Neptune’s locations.

  “And I’m supposed to believe all of this?” I laughed, “That you invaded her own subnet, ICEd her after luring her in, and now you have my best interests at heart? First off, last time I checked, and I checked pretty often at Arasaka. But NetWatch – any megacorp for that matter, never profited off of altruism.”

  “Is it altruistic to want both of us to get out of here alive?”

  “Oh? And why do you assume I will not?” I asked him, “Unless you know something I don’t know. Something that you’ll tell me, because you’re banking on it saving my life, and me being gracious enough to save your life in-kind. Which means you have proof of the Voodoo Boys setting me up.”

  “Ah, corpo indeed,” he grinned, “Of course. I came prepared.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Soon as you handed over your link. Spectre infected you with a virus.”

  “Hah, he’s talkin’ as if he was there,” Johnny appeared beside him, “He’s workin’ you! So obvious, it hurts.”

  “Careful, Johnny, your bias is showing.” Not gonna happen today, you fuck. This is my domain, not yours. “I figured as much,” I replied plainly to the agent.

  “So I see, judging by your external cyberdeck,” he pointed at the device humming on my thigh, “Seems that you don’t trust them, either.”

  “Not in a thousand years,” I told him with a blank expression, “Now, the proof.”

  “Very well,” he nodded, “Run a system diagnostic.”

  I obliged him, connecting my Personal Link to my phone and activating the interface, running a full system scan. Sure enough, though, everything checked out. Not even a stutter or hint of a virus. “Not looking good for you, I’m afraid,” I showed the screen to him.

  “Do it again. Then cross-check the result against the first.”

  “Alright…” I booted up the program again after saving the screenshot, redoing the entire process from scratch. A few seconds later, everything came back exactly the same… exactly. Down to the decimal point for every percentage.

  “Identical, right? That’s cause it’s not a real scan. It’s a copy. They must’ve took it when you first jacked in.”

  “Mmh,” I groaned, “Typical Voodoo Boys…” Slipping my phone into my back pocket, I wiped some more of the blood off my face and took a moment to consider my options. Likely the Voodoo Boys planned to ghost me the second I fulfilled this mission, meaning they’re gonna expect to be able to do just that. If I take the virus out, then it’ll be shoot-on-sight. If I don’t, then I’m dead anyway. Wonderful. “One question. Why not just deal with the Voodoo Boys yourselves? You know where the leaders are, you know how to kill them.”

  “See me as a sly assassin, offing them one by one?” he asked me.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do,” I told him with a hint of sting, “What do you think I did for a living? Don’t pretend like NetWatch doesn’t also have a cloak-and-dagger department for wet work.”

  “And the Voodoo Boys are as skittish as field mice. You know as well as I do that they love sniffin’ out people like us, it’s a hobby of theirs.”

  “As if that hasn’t stopped you,” I criticized, “You’ve been waging war with them for years. Unsuccessfully. Why?”

  “Any idea how many attacks from behind the Blackwall we neutralized last year?”

  “Isn’t that the Blackwall’s job?”

  So you don’t know,” he spoke with some irritation, “No one in Night City knows, apart from us. And no one wants to know. People imagine it as this great border wall. A one-time solution to protect humanity forever. Whereas… it’s more like a torn-open trash bag over a busted window. And the Voodoo Boys won’t stop pokin’ holes in the fuckin’ thing.”

  “Hmm…” I stopped and thought about this for a few moments, “So let me get this straight. You’re after the Voodoo Boys’ internal data forts to prevent them from breaching the Blackwall – and no one benefits if the Blackwall crumbles. So what you’ve done was breach their subnet and systematically remove their most valuable players, effectively holding them for ransom. Honestly, I can’t say I’m not impressed by the skill such a move requires, but it still leaves me to the wind. I cannot do my job unless Brigitte is out of the Net. Which leaves us at an impasse.”

  “Plus or minus,” he explained, “They can’t keep those players in that state forever, which means it’d remove our most valuable trump card at some point in the near future. And then they’ll start up their own little independent Net again and go right back to attacking the Blackwall, like they’ve done for decades at this point.”

  “Which means that, either way, I’m fucked,” I sneered, “Suddenly the Voodoo Boys’ offer looks tempting. So what do you have in-mind?”

  “A compromise,” he smiled at me, “I’ll fish the Voodoo virus out of your system. Upgrade your cyberdeck while I’m at it with our latest tech. And I’ll release Brigitte and Ti Neptune. They’ll wake up like nothing ever happened. Not to worry.”

  “And in exchange?”

  “All you gotta do is let us walk. With our data.”

  “See, you know what’s funny about all this,” I canted my head to the side, “I was on-board right up until you mentioned ‘fishing’ the virus out. I assume that means jacking in.”

  “Obviously,” he replied.

  “Mm. Now, here’s the problem. The Voodoo Boys need me – or, more accurately, they need something that belongs to me. You – you don’t need me. So let me tell you what you’ll do. You’re going to infect me with some strange daemon designed to flush out the rest of the Voodoo Boys, so that when I enter their subnet, they’re all killed in one fell swoop. Normally I wouldn’t be opposed to such a plan, in fact I’d relish it – except for the fact that you cannot guarantee my safety. I may not be a netrunner, but I am a tactician and I know a poor outcome when I see one. So if that’s all you have to give me then I’ll have to deny your offer. Either way ends in me being potentially killed. I don’t like the Voodoo Boys, but I still need them. And, frankly, I do not need you.”

  “Mm, you’re a bright spark, I’ll give you that,” he nodded in agreement, “True, we’re after bigger fish than you.” And there are your true colors.

  “As am I. And once I get what I want, they will simply be a speedbump to me,” I grunted, “So let me offer you an alternative deal. You provide me with transparency. And I will dismantle what’s left of the Batty’s Hotel cell pro-bono, then visit an independent runner to extract any lingering data you might’ve let slip.” Admittedly I didn’t have much of a choice here. The fact that the Voodoo Boys were actively attacking the Blackwall changes things. Regardless of the Relic in my head, if I get that extracted but the VDBs pierce the Blackwall, well, the Relic will be the least of anyone’s concerns.

  “That’s fair enough,” he said, holding out his hand, “Bryce Mosley. NetWatch Field Agent.”

  “V,” I cautiously accepted the handshake, “Former Arasaka counterintelligence.”

  “Definitely not what I was expecting from a merc, I’ll be honest,” he replied, “Nice sword, by the way.”

  “Be careful with what you do, or else I’ll give you a hands-on demonstration of what it can do.”

  “Don’t worry,” he smiled, “I assure you, I won’t–”

  “Don’t give me bullshit,” I interrupted sharply, “I’m a trojan horse, plain and simple. I agree to this on the condition that you let me do my job when the time comes. Do not presume to be my friend. I’m not interested in a fucking sales pitch.”

  “Alright, alright,” he nodded meekly, “Your hand, please.” Well, at least he actually bothered to ask for my Personal Link this time. “And… done.”

  “What have you done?”

  “As I’ve said, removed the malware,” he told me, unhooking my Link from his computer, “Installed a spike onto this chip. Put it in your head, then activate it when you’re on their subnet. Anyone caught in the Net will be stuck there permanently. At that point, you can safely jack out and remove it and that’d be our business concluded.”

  “Agreed,” I nodded. Johnny appeared beside him as I accepted the shard and put it in my head.

  “Can’t believe you’re fallin’ for this shit,” he criticized.

  “I’m not, Johnny. That’s why we’re seeing Nix immediately after this is done.”

  “Get the feeling we’ll be seeing each other again,” Mosley smiled at me, leaning up against his desk.

  “Doubtful,” I shook my head and glanced back over to the movie screen as it resumed the film. “Hm. Fan of Westerns?”

  “Of course,” he glanced back behind him, “They depict a simpler, better time. One thing hasn’t changed, though. Good guys still carry badges.”

  “Oh? Ever seen the movie The Unforgiven, with Gene Hackman?”

  “No, and they didn’t have it here.”

  “Think it’ll really speak to you.” I left his presence on that note, silently walking out of the room. Placide’s gonna be none too pleased about this. But if all he wanted was Brigitte and Ti Neptune out of whatever hell they were in, then I suppose he shouldn’t give a damn. I had a feeling he would, though. Only one part of his plan succeeded. But the agent was still alive. Still, if there’s one thing I disliked more than anything else, it was being deceived. I have no interest in playing along with his plans, and now that I have the assurance that Brigitte is awake, I can simply walk on over there and give him the surprise of his life.

  Oh, speak of the devil, look who’s calling. “What de fuck, V?! You off de net, we lose eyes.”

  “Brigitte and Ti Neptune are awake?”

  “Who told–?!” he demanded, apparently stunned, “Yes… Dey are both awake.”

  “Excellent. Then I’ll be over to collect my end of the bargain.” I swiftly hung up and tossed my phone aside. Time to get another new one. Won’t be a problem when I go to see Nix, though. I’m sure he has drawers filled with more burners.

  I casually walked down the cinema stairs and headed through the hallways as the Animals talked around me. “She’s lettin’ her go?” one of them said, apparently in disbelief of Sasquatch’s orders.

  “See, Johnny?” I smiled, “Sometimes it pays to actually make friends every once in a while, you should try it sometime.”

  “Yeah, well, let’s see how long it lasts ‘fore some gonk gets the bright idea of tryin’a take their throne back from the scrawny Japanese girl who just kicked their leader’s ass.”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” I told him, grabbing some napkins from one of the stores and wiping my face off. Looks like the nanosurgeons were working overtime today – not even a scar left behind. “I have a date with the Voodoo Boys. And I don’t think I’ll be as nice as I was the first time.”

  ---

  Based in London, NetWatch operate across the globe as the preeminent police force on the Net. After the DataKrash of June 3, 2022, the R.A.B.I.D.S Virus ran virtually unchecked, transforming the Old Net into a virtual hellscape for netrunners, who risked their very souls just by accessing it. NetWatch was founded in 2023 in an effort to contain the spread of this virus, which corrupted and transformed military-grade AI into unknowable monstrosities, any of which is easily capable of ushering in an extinction-level event.