Never Fade Away: Reaktion (ch. 42) (Patreon)

"We live in a crazy, crazy world darlin's. But you probably knew that already.

Here's an itty bitty update on the Red Ochre investigation - apparently there are, according to numerous sources, 'vampires' running around underground in Night City, and werewolves stalking around those Biotechnica fields outside it.

Now, not saying that vampires and werewolves don't have claws that might fit the bill or anything, but the Red Ochre survivors are looking more towards it being a Cyberpsycho or something.

Crazy thing is, though… these vampires and werewolves are probably real. Well, not real but… Between biotech and cybernetics, there's whole breeds of freaks out there that most people just don't know about. Shit, compared to some of the wannabe robots in Maelstrom I've seen, a gang of wannabe vampires sound downright normal. And I'd be shocked if a dozen Animals aren't running around with wolf parts.

And shit… I wouldn't be surprised if real, actual dyed in the wool movie monsters were real all along. Crazier things are.

On that note… here's a true blue classic - The Devil Went Down to Georgia by Charlie Daniels.

~

"That. Id-i-ot," Becca growled every syllable of what was rapidly becoming a less than affectionate nickname for L. The gonk for brains just didn't know how to stop. 'Oh, I just woke up from a coma? Better go tinkering and leave the fucking city to go pick a fight with another megacorpration.' Without even leaving a note. The moment that L got back to Night City, Becca was going to strangle him. Full stop. She'd get Jack to hold him down and then she was going to throttle him.

"It works out for us," Kaiden said, a veritable ray of sunshine in an otherwise shitstorm of a day. It was downright impressive that someone that had his childhood managed to have such an optimistic outlook. He sat in the front seat, next to Falco, as they drove to the meet, his expression focused as they got ready for another mess. "This whole thing is a trap for L. If he's out of the city, we don't have to worry about him hearing the explosions and getting curious."

Becca swallowed a sigh as she cast a glance at Yorinobu, who sat next to her. He was going through some notes on a tablet. "What's this meet even about?"

"In theory, it's about my bid to become mayor. I haven't officially made an announcement, but it would seem I wasn't subtle enough while seeing who the major players were thinking of endorsing," Yorinobu answered, his tone distracted. "Biotechnica most likely wants the same deals that were given to Arasaka in exchange for continuing to feed the population and maintaining infrastructure. Provided that it's not a trap to kill me or L. Or perhaps both."

Yorinobu was a straight weirdo as far as Becca could surmise. Not quite a corpo, but not quite not a corpo. It was almost easy to forget that she was sitting next to the former heir of what was essentially the former king of Night City. Of Japan. And one of the largest megacorporations in the world before L sent it running with its tail between its legs. He almost seemed… normal, for a lack of a better word. Just some gonk off the streets. But then he went into corpo mode and she started to see it.

"It'll probably be a trap. And, after everything, we have to assume that Joanne Koch knows that we know it's a trap," Kaiden voiced and Becca swallowed a sigh.

"And I'm fighting blind," she sighed in annoyance. There wasn't enough time to swap out her optics for some 'ganic peepers. And when she reached out to L to whip her up something with that magic brain of his, she found that he wasn't in Night City. Then she remembered something, "And I'm not earning a single eddie," she sighed louder and more dramatically, casting a not so subtle hint at Yorinobu, whose lips quirked up into a smile.

She was barely even an edgerunner anymore.

"Are you aware what people call those who serve the greater good for free?" Yorinobu questioned, sounding too damn amused for his own good.

"Chumps?" Becca hazard a guess. That's what she'd call them.

"Heroes," Yorinobu corrected, chuckling when Becca just about gagged. She shot him a dirty look, but he just ignored it to continue cyberstalking the walking corpse they were about to zero. Free of charge. There wasn't even a fixer involved. Fuck.

"I'd rather be called a chump," Becca sighed, and at least Falco sounded amused by the situation.

"We're here," Falco informed them as they arrived in front of a club. It was a sketchy one, the kind that you only met at when both sides were gnashing at the teeth to kill the other and neither trusted anyone to mediate a peace. To Becca's memory, it used to belong to Maelstrom. Either they lost it when L was hunting them for spare parts, or they lost it in the various ensuing gang wars.

"We clear on the plan?" Kaiden asked as he double checked his shotgun.

Honestly. It was like he thought she was a rookie or something. Kids these days -- no respect. "Me and you are on Yorinobu, Jack, Jackie, and River are the cavalry when everything goes to hell." Becca answered, getting out of the car and she glanced in the direction that the others were located. They were in position for a quick breach if- when things went bad. Becca still wasn't sure how that big fucker managed to find his way into the foundry, but either way, having your entrance and exits covered was just common sense.

"Of all the meetings I've ever gone to… I think I'm most looking forward to this one," Yorinobu remarked, mostly to himself as he got out of the car. He straightened out his tie, seemingly unfazed by the shitstorm they were walking into without so much as an umbrella. He almost sounded a little excited. She supposed this was better than the tedious alternative of dealing with price per share and whatever else corpos talking about. "I expect both of your presences will be a disrupting force, but I do ask that neither of you provoke a fight. Like it or not, Biotechnica is still feeding this city."

Scary how similar corpo politics was to gang politics. They even had the same golden rule -- don't shoot first unless you're shooting to kill.

Becca just threw her hands behind her head, following Yorinobu as he strode into the club. The first thing that Becca noticed was that the club was silent as the grave, and there wasn't any security to be found. No one on the door, no one on the floor, and no one next to Joanne Koch as she sat in a booth facing the door. Immediately, red flags were waving and Becca's guard went all the way up. Either she was stupid, suicidal, or confident. And a confident corpo never led to good things. Ever.

This was 100% a trap.

As they approached, Joanne stood up and offered a bow, "Greetings, Arasaka-san. I'm overjoyed that you accepted my invitation," she said in Japanese. Becca almost wished her optics didn't have an auto translate subs because if she kissed ass any harder, her nose was going to end up turning brown. Beyond that, Becca gave Joanne a clinical look over, sizing her up.

Artificially pretty but not overly so. Short auburn hair, expensive looking dress suit. She wasn't armed and a quick scan proved that even her cyberware was rather light -- OS, cyberdeck, hormone controller, anti-tox… nothing spectacular.

"The honor is mine, Koch-san. I'm quite interested in hearing your proposal," Yorinobu began like it was just another day at the office, returning the bow with one of his own.

"Please, be seated and we can begin. I'm afraid I don't possess refreshments for you or your guests," Joanne said, looking at them. Becca fought off a glare, trying to decipher what this vibe was. Was the trap on the table, but not the goal? In a 'Offer you can't refuse' kind of way? Or was she switching things up since L wasn't biting the bait that she had laid out? "Though, I suspect they wouldn't trust anything I offer anyway. They are rather strange company for a member of the Arasaka family to keep."

Yorinobu took a seat across from Joanne, and Becca flanked him with Kaiden on the other side. Becca couldn't say she liked having her back against the wall, so she chose to lean against the entrance to the booth, letting her keep an eye out both ways. "Perhaps. Is that what we are here to discuss, then? My family fortunes?" Yorinobu questioned, interlocking his hands before him on the table.

"Not directly, but it would be a lie to say the topics aren't related," Joanne replied smoothly, throwing on a practiced smile. "Night City was the envy of every megacorporation in the world. A free city that was dominated by a singular overwhelming influence. That influence is now gone." Oh… this was one of them corpo battles, huh?

Dueling with words, subtle jabs and leveraging favors or influence. It was actually pretty interesting seeing it play out in real time. Usually, she only saw the end result when one corpo or the other hired her to fuck over the rival.

"Yet, people still know the name Arasaka. It is a name that those in power trust. As you're quite aware, names have power, Koch-san," Yorinobu replied, every bit as smoothly.

"You won't find such sentimentality in Night City. The Arasaka name was backed with power before-"

Yorinobu cut her off with a smile, "And it still is." The remark was cutting and Becca saw the effect it had on Joanne. Her lips thinned and her eyes narrowed. Becca was pretty sure that was the corpo equivalent to sputtering after a square kick in the cunt. The statement was a direct one because everyone knew exactly what he meant.

L.

It seemed like just yesterday he was a goober asking innocent questions about the damndest things. Now, his support could be considered equal to that of a megacorporations.

"I see. Then shall I take that as you having a formal arrangement with L?" Joanne asked lightly.

"Nothing in so many words," Yorinobu deflected, but that was probably closer to the truth than not. "What interest is it to Biotechnica whom I associate with?"

Joanne laughed lightly, "Please, there is no reason to act ignorant. L is a medical miracle and Biotechnica is very interested in recreating that miracle." The admission came easy to her and Becca found herself going still. "Everyone is. I had thought biotics would be the highlight of my career, but it pales in comparison as to what was done to L's brain. Subject M, have any others displayed any similar symptoms?" The question was casual but it rubbed Becca wrong like sandpaper in all the wrong places.

Kaiden scowled at the woman, his grip tightening on his shotgun, but he didn't react beyond that.

"My apologies. I seem to have touched a nerve. But you must see it from my point of view -- from a scientific standpoint, L's brain is the Holy Grail. He hasn't merely jumped centuries ahead in several fields of science, he's outright invented some. If it could be harnessed… humanity could conquer the stars within my lifetime. Immortality, the elimination of diseases, and post scarcity technology… and yet he only uses it to create bigger guns." She added, sounding bitterly disappointed.

Becca's gut clenched, her jaw setting as she tried to swallow down a retort. "I fucking wonder why?" She snapped at Joanne, making the woman's gaze dart to her. "You're talking a lot about the greater good, but everyone here knows you mean your greater good -- the bottom line."

"I'm a scientist. I don't care about money," Joanne refuted, sounding genuinely insulted. Good. Bitch. "What I want is to replicate his power."

"Perhaps that is why you asked for this meeting?" Yorinobu questioned, watching Joanne carefully.

Joanne refocused on Yorinobu, but the little tangent told Becca that she was being more honest than not. Joanne was a scientist. A fucking psychotic one, but she wasn't a pencil pusher corpo that sat in a cubical taking shit from her boss and shitting on her own underlings. "It is. I suspected that you might have a connection to L when I heard that you were attempting to become the mayor, but your association with Subject Zero and M have confirmed that theory."

"Kaiden," Kaiden interjected, his voice cold as hell itself. "My name is Kaiden."

Joanne looked at him and Becca saw it in her eyes. She didn't care. Kaiden, the kids, L… they were all just lab rats to this bitch. Something to cut open to learn how it ticked. They weren't people to people like Joanne. And that was a concept that Becca couldn't even imagine. Everyone in the world knew that human life was worthless to corpos, but at the very least, they got acknowledged as human beings.

Joanne ignored the interruption as if Kaiden hadn't said anything at all. "What I want- what Biotechnica wants, is to recreate L. We desire the data of the experiments done to him and relevant data to everything he has created thus far," Joanne began as if there was a chance in hell that she was going to get what she wanted.

Yorinobu, however, didn't so much as blink. "I take that as an admission that you don't have access to the Orphanages records?"

Joanne frowned, realizing that she gave something away without meaning to. "L was an Arasaka test subject. The files were private, and the moment that your father realized what he created, he took the original files and destroyed any copies. The only full copy is what L himself took when he attacked the Orphanage… however, there are partial copies. Files from the doctors that worked there, technicians, and talent whose products that were tested on L, who now are left in the wind with the dissolvement of your father's company." She continued, as if driving a point home. "We have enough data to begin trials. We simply would prefer the full data to prevent unnecessary waste."

Becca looked to Kaiden, half afraid of what his reaction would be. This bitch just made her intentions clear as day -- she would start nabbing kids off of the street and experimenting on them. It didn't matter how many of them died so long as she got what she wanted.

Evil. Becca never really put much thought into the word because it felt like it lost all meaning. She could be seen as evil to some. L could be called evil too. Everyone could be considered evil depending on how you used the word.

Joanne, however, was the single most vile and evil human being Becca had ever met, and she had squared up with Adam-motherfucking-Smasher.

Kaiden's reaction was restrained, but she could feel the anger radiating off of him like heat. He gripped his shotgun with white knuckles, as if he were physically restraining himself from turning business end in Joanne's direction and painting the wall red. The guy's restraint was monstrous, because Becca really wanted to kill her, and she couldn't imagine how much worse it was for him. Becca almost wished that Jack was here because she would show no such restraint and rip this bitch's head off.

Yorinobu interjected before the fight could begin, "I see your price. I don't see what you're offering." His voice was cold and clipped. Even he was pissed. It was weird to think, but Yorinobu really might be one of the good ones.

"I thought it was obvious. Support for your candidacy for Mayor and our ongoing support for you and Night City," Joanne replied bluntly.

Yorinobu narrowed his eyes, "And should I refuse this… generous offer?" He asked, his voice as light as feather but as sharp as any blade.

"Biotechnica pulls its support from Night City entirely. The liquidation of all assets within the city, and immediately ceasing food production. It's simply unwise to continue doing business in such a dangerous city," Joanne's threat couldn't be more obvious if she slapped them in the face with it. Biotechnica was punching Night City in the wallet, the stomach, and in the dick. Liquidating all assets in Night City was going to put hundreds of people on the streets. Ceasing food production? Tens of thousands of people were going to starve. It would make the city descend into complete and total chaos.

Way more than it already was. Things weren't great as they were, but if that happened… it'd make a Combat Zone look like a vacation spot.

"I see," Yorinobu replied, not sounding surprised by the tactic. "I believe that you're vastly overestimating the weight of that threat. I have in my possession blueprints to food and power that can not only meet Biotechnica's production, but exceed it at a fraction of the cost," Yorinobu lied like a lying liar. Becca fought off a smile the moment she heard that bullshit -- he had a crappy version of the GN Drive, but that was it. Joanne didn't know that, though. All she knew was that L pulled miracles out of his ass like it was his favorite party trick.

She bought it -- hook, line, and sinker based on the sudden hungry interest in her eyes. She didn't care about the bottom line. She just cared about what L created.

"As such, I don't see the need for Biotechnica's further existence within Night City. In fact, I believe that it would be in both of our interests for you to withdraw entirely. With the defeat of my father's company, L is looking for… other targets," Elephant continued to bluff. A gamble, but Becca saw the risk and rewards. Until they did have an alternative to feeding the city, they did need Biotechnica. It felt dirty to admit, but better to make a deal with the devil than starve to death because that's what would happen. So, convincing them that the bullet they had in the chamber was a dud was just clever biz. "Unless, of course, you can give me good reason to convince him to shift his attention elsewhere. Militech, for example."

Ha. He really just flipped the table on her by using L as a threat, didn't he? It would have been utterly unthinkable a year ago. L might be bitterly disappointed with the outcome of his showdown with Arasaka, but he was the only one that didn't see how utterly unthinkable it was.

"That is quite unfortunate," Joanne said, a sharp edge in her voice. She wasn't going to back down, and neither was Biotechnica. Becca tensed, feeling it in her gut that it was about to pop off. "There is no need to go to such trouble. I was prepared for this possibility. L failed to respond to the call of an ally, but I imagine we would get a greater response to the need of his… siblings."

Kaiden snapped into action like he had been practicing the movement in his head since they first stepped into the room. He leveled his shotgun at her and fired, and Becca caught purple sparks as a biotic shield erupted around the woman just in time before Becca felt herself getting flung back with a Push. Biotics. Of course. Of fucking course. Everyone and their mother was a biotic now. Might as well expect it at this point.

Grabbing Yorinobu so he didn't break his neck in the fall, Becca managed to land on her feet as Kaiden continued to blast away, and if she had to put money on the outcome, it was going to be on Kaiden. Joanne quickly retreated to cover, not doing much in terms of offense…

But then, out of the corner of her eye…

Static filled her vision.