Buy Me a Pint... or Five

It was an interesting position to be in, having to balance speed and grace. The nomads needed speed to avoid unwanted attention for their second border crossing in less than twenty-four hours; but they also needed grace to avoid exacerbating Miz's injuries. It was nearly an hour before Panam and her people were able to meet Pops and the crew at the roadside motel. By that point, Ky had managed to dress all but the cheek. Miz had finally stopped bleeding from her body wounds. They estimated she'd lost around five pints of blood, so she was in a bad way if she didn't get help soon.

The crew decided to forgo the Centurion this time around, instead mounting up with the individual vehicles in the convoy. The middle vehicle was a Colby CST40, effectively a long wheel-based ute with a camper. It was just long enough to allow Miz to be loaded in on a stretcher through the rear tailgate. Billy insisted on riding with her, and Pops insisted on driving, leaving both the nomads assigned to that vehicle riding shotgun with someone else. There was a fire in both of their eyes, and Panam could tell now wasn't the time to get into a pissing match over who drove what.

Billy held on tight to Miz's hand, not letting go. She was out cold, her pulse weak, her breathing uneven, but she was "stable" for the moment. They had argued taking her to Vik, but Panam urged them that Miz didn't have enough time for that. She needed a transfusion, and soon. They had all the supplies they needed at Las Palapas, and more-than-capable hands to help. In Miz's present condition, she would die if they tried to make it all the way back to Watson in one hop. It was decided, they'd have to stay the night again at the staging area.

Pops had a look on his face that Billy hadn't seen since the Waterfront job. Sheer determination, no emotion; he was zeroed in on his objective. Everything else was just cruft. It was scary to see him like this, but Billy understood it. It didn't matter in this moment that Pops also had Liv; Miz was his world, and had been for almost a decade. They had been through it all together. Good times, bad times, they always had each other. It would break his heart if Miz died on his watch. He couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't let that happen.

Current crisis aside, they had completed the job. They had the nav data from Farris' truck, along with some other hidden files stored onboard; Max was always good about that. As far as the Los Padres County Sheriff's Department was concerned, they had one live half-naked corpo left to answer for 12 mutilated corpses in the parking lot, so he wouldn't be back any time soon.

The return trip was relatively quiet on account of the Centurion wreaking some havoc as a diversion at the Border Crossing Checkpoint. With a strong enough show of force, it would draw the Griffins away from their regular patrol zones, leaving No Man's Land free and clear.

At last, they had broken out of No Man's Land and back onto the main roads on the Night City side of the Border. The sun was already setting behind them. Pops wasted no time in breaking away from the convoy, speeding past the rest of the vehicles. He knew the way from here. At this point, Panam couldn't even blame him. She just hoped she got there in time to prevent any unpleasantness. Considering all that was already going on when she got the call from V to meet the crew at the roadside motel, she failed to mention one crucial detail about Las Palapas. Pops was in for an unpleasant surprise, and Panam felt terrible about it. It was really the last thing he needed to face in his current condition.

She made a decision then and there. She broke off from the convoy, trying to keep up with Pops and Billy. She called out over the radio for the other vehicles to do the same, "We all know the way home from here. Disperse and we'll see you back there."

Pops didn't think anything of it, nor did Billy. In their present state of mind, if nothing else, it made sense for marked nomad vehicles to not ride along public roads in a convoy. It sent the wrong message.

The coast was clear in both directions, prompting Pops to cut across the 101 median and two oncoming lanes to hit the on-ramp leading to the road in front of the motel. There were already several parked vehicles he didn't remember seeing the night before, and his stomach sank. He was in no mood for this...

As quickly as he came to a stop outside the motel's parking lot, so did Panam screech to a stop next to him. She leapt out of her truck and called out to him, "Phoenix! I'm sorry I didn't tell you! It just didn't feel right at the time!"

Without looking up, Pops spoke dryly, cigarette hanging from his mouth, "Did what ya had to. Just keep 'im out of my way."

Panam nodded and continued, "Ground floor of the motel, second door on the left, they've got IVs and blood-bags ready."

Pops nodded, continuing to work with Billy to carefully pull the stretcher from the the vehicle. They each negotiated one end of it as they made their way across the parking lot in the direction Panam had indicated. She walked alongside them for a time, almost as if trying to block them from view. She was ultimately unsuccessful, as a gruff tenor voice called out from a small crowd, "And just what the fuck is that Outsider doing here, Panam?!"

She fired back, diverting to cut the man off from approaching as she wagged a finger at him, "Now is not the time, Saul!"

Before he could answer, he caught sight of the stretcher and the bloody bandages adorning Miz's body; the stitches weren't holding. Saul looked Panam square in the eyes as he said quietly, "We'll discuss this later."

Never one to back down, Panam rebuked him openly, and loudly, "We'll discuss this never! I don't have to ask permission to look after friends or comrades on the job!"

Saul's jaw clenched, hands on his hips as he stared Panam down. His shoulder length hair was swept back, a greying black accented by a full beard and bright green eyes holding years of experience behind them. His face was rounded, his complexion tanned from a lifetime of living under the sun; he bore wrinkles around the edges of his eyes, his brow and forehead. He was only a few years behind Pops in age. He sported a lean and muscular build, several tattoos adorning his left upper arm. He wore a white t-shirt bunched up under a bolero-style rally vest covered in Aldecaldos colors and patches. The vest itself was buckled into a harness situated around a pair of worn aramid-weave racing pants bloused into combat boots.

Several other nomads took notice of the argument as Saul's cheeks burned. He hated it when Panam squared off with him in front of the Family. He tried with futility to sidestep her, but she blocked his movement, gritting her teeth and flashing with her eyes just what a bad idea that would be. Right now, she wanted an excuse to drop him on his ass.

Ignoring them both entirely, Pops and Billy entered the second door on the left, finding a ripperdoc ready and waiting. He quickly instructed them with what to do as they transferred Miz from the stretcher to a makeshift operating table. The 'doc wasted no time in getting Miz hooked up to the IVs and a blood-bag as he inspected the work already done. He was impressed at the quality of work considering the conditions, but was also unsurprised that the stitches had already torn loose. It was a field dressing, nothing more. She needed real treatment.

They couldn't help but overhear Saul's voice towering over Panam's as he said, "...I don't care! As soon as the Outsider's stray is awake, get them all out of here! It's not our problem..."

Billy's blood began to boil, eyes full of fire as his hands curled into fists. It took the 'doc repeating himself twice before Billy even realized he was speaking as he said, "Look, I know you want to be here, but there's nothing you can do, and I need the room to move. I hate to do this, but I need you to wait outside."

In a split-second, Billy appeared calm, a light smile on his face as he nodded and turned to leave. Pops shrugged his eyebrows as he turned to follow.

Don't have to tell me twice, Billy thought to himself. He was just given an excuse to do what he needed to do. He made no attempt to hide his intentions as he walked a straight line in Saul's direction. Pops caught on, but it was too late as he said, "O-o-oh shit."

At the last second, Saul heard the heavy approaching impacts of Billy's boots against the asphalt as he turned. A sudden crack sounded in Saul's head and he flew backwards to the ground. Everything was dark for a few seconds before his eyes opened and he was met with Billy standing over him. He felt a jerk as Billy grabbed him by the vest collar and pulled him up to look in his eyes. Saul could see the fire burning as Billy readied his Gorilla Arm, the platelets articulating and bracing, and said, "Call her a stray again, I fucking dare you!"

Saul smirked, but before he could say anything, Pops pulled Billy off of him. As he dusted himself off and stood up, trying to find his balance, he took the opportunity as he yelled, "I don't care if your stray is stable or not! ...you are not welcome here, starting now!"

Billy lunged toward Saul again, but Pops caught him with a heavy hand on his chest. Billy tried to resist, but Pops pushed him back with a grunt before staring him down. Billy could sense it, Pops was furious... at all of it. He looked as though he could snap at any moment. Billy didn't want to let it go, but more than that, he didn't want to push Pops any further. Maybe it was too late; Pops turned and took a step towards Saul before Panam stepped in between them. She kept Pops at bay with a hand on his chest as she turned to Saul and said, "That's not your call to make! I found this spot, I fought for it, and I claimed it for the Family! So if anyone gets to say who is and isn't welcome, it's me. Is. That. Clear?!"

Saul realized this wasn't a fight he would win without giving a pound of flesh, but that didn't stop him from airing his grievances as he said, "You and your fucking outsiders, Panam! It's going to kill this family one day..."

Pops still hadn't spoken a word; his eyes said it all. Against the light of a bonfire, his eyes burned even brighter as he watched Saul back away into a small crowd. Their eyes stayed locked on one another until he finally turned and disappeared.

After a second of contemplation, Pops stepped back from Panam before pulling his revolver from its holster. Panam panicked at what she thought was about to happen; instead, Pops cycled the cylinder, emptying the rounds from each chamber into his hand. Panam looked at him with confusion as he dropped the rounds into one of his pockets. At last, he held a single round in his hand as he slammed it back into one of the chambers, slapping the cylinder shut. The click of the spinning cylinder was oddly satisfying. Panam was still trying to piece it all together before Pops shoved the revolver into her hands and said, "Tell him if he ever had a backbone at all, he'd do the honorable thing... what he should have done years ago..."

Panam's eyes widened, her head full of questions as she admired the weight and worn finish of the revolver. It was easily older than her. Pops turned back towards the motel, lighting a cigarette as he walked. He had nothing else to say.

--

[A few hours later]

Pops and Billy were sitting outside the motel room on a bench. Neither had spoken a word since their altercation with Saul. Billy leaned forward, stretching his back as he looked down at the ground. He took a drag of his cigarette before stamping it out. A few feet away, Ky, Max and Luca were perched patiently against a railing, waiting on any word. Nobody had seen Panam or Saul either since the altercation, but from the tense air around the other nomads, it was apparent the gears were still turning in the background.

Everyone's heads jerked all at once to the door of the motel room as the 'doc finally stepped out, pulling down a surgical mask. His face bore a half smile as he said, "She's stable."

The collective sigh of relief among the crew brought his half smile into a wide grin as he continued, "She's gonna have some wicked scars to add to her collection, but she'll heal just fine in a couple of weeks. Whoever did her field dressings probably saved her life."

Billy's eyes darted to Ky, whose cheeks were burning with a sheepish smile. Though nobody said it, they all knew how Miz would react to finding out Ky was the one responsible for keeping her alive. Pops broke his silence for the first time in over four hours as he said, "Can we see her?"

The 'doc nodded, "You can go and be with her, but she's likely out for the rest of the night. I had to give her another dose of tranquilizers. Does she have another 'doc she can go to for a follow-up?"

The question was asked with equal parts genuine concern for Miz's wellbeing, but also a cautionary awareness that Saul wanted them gone as soon as possible. Billy answered, "Yeah, Viktor Vektor, in Watson."

"I know the name, he's a good man", the 'doc said as he stepped out into the lot, lighting a cigarette as his voice trailed off, "Call for me if anything changes before sun-up."

Pops stamped out his own cigarette and stepped off the bench, making his way into the room. Billy stood to follow, but turned to Ky first. He grabbed him over the railing in a firm embrace as he said softly, "Thank you, brother. I owe you one."

Ky's eyes clouded over as he reciprocated and said, "It's nothing, brother. We're a family, you know that."

Billy let him go with a light sniffle. As he collected himself, he said, "Go get some rest. Pops and I will stay with her until she wakes up."

Max broke her silence as she leaned against Ky and said, "Nah, ti chen, we na' goin' anywha'."

There was an air of unspoken agreement between all of them. Billy smiled as he turned to Luca and said, "Hey, you holding up okay?"

Luca returned the smile, looking up at Billy as he chuckled and answered, "Not the first time I've been knocked around."

With a gentle hand on Luca's shoulder, Billy thought for a moment before he said to all of them, "You all did good today. Be glad when this one's done and over with."

It was almost laughable, someone nearly half Ky's age taking charge and addressing them like a leader, but nobody said a word; not the time, nor the place. For all of his lack of years, Billy had learned a lifetime's worth of experience from everyone in the crew over the last six months. All things considered, they were okay deferring to him since Pops' heart was clearly elsewhere at the moment.

Billy entered the room, taking a seat next to Pops. He noticed Miz had been carefully moved from the table to an oddly clean bed with bleached white sheets. She was carefully tucked in, her chest slowly raising and lowering with her breathing. After a few seconds, he leaned forward, placing a hand on Pops' shoulder as he squeezed gently and said, "At least the worst is over."

Pops snorted, trying to hold in a laugh as he smirked and said, "I fear it's yet to come. Miz will be fine, I have no doubts about that. She's stronger than any of us..."

Billy's eyes narrowed as he asked, "You think it's going to come to a head with Saul?"

"Already did as soon as you cleaned his clock", Pops answered calmly, "Well deserved, in my opinion. Now the concern is what's goin' to come of it."

Billy looked at his right hand, expecting to see bruised knuckles. Perks of a cybernetic limb, he soon remembered. Another few seconds passed and he asked, "If Panam runs the family alongside Saul, that's got to count for something, right?"

Pops spat as he said, "Even a blind man can see that's just a political move to save face and keep the family from tearing itself apart... hell, the family's already broken, has been for a long time. Saul's just hangin' on to what he has left."

Panam surprised them both as she said, "That's a ringing endorsement if I ever heard one."

They both turned to find her leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed as she continued, "May I come in?"

Pops smiled as he motioned to a chair across from them and said, "It's your house."

She took the chair, moving it closer to them as she sat down and stared at the floor for several seconds, trying to find the right words. Instead, she reached over and handed Pops his revolver. To his disappointment, the single round was still loaded in the chamber. As he holstered the revolver, he looked to Panam and asked, "So that's that?"

Panam chuckled, looking back to the floor before she asked, "What is it between you two? Like, I get that he's hard to get along with. But it goes way deeper than that for you."

Pops answered with no emotion in his voice, "Ought to ask him. Not my story to tell."

Panam kept pushing, "Yeah, I tried that, he told me to 'get the fuck out'. V said there was history between you two, something to do about a job with Rogue back in the day?"

Pops looked to the floor again as he chose his words carefully, "Seven years ago, Falco and I ran a job with him. He made a choice that night, one that neither of us could abide. He gave us a choice, 'fall in or fall out'. So we walked. After that, he severed ties with the Afterlife and declared us 'unwelcome'."

Panam's eyes widened as she said, "So that's why you and Falco never came back around..."

Pops made it clear he wasn't going to say anymore on the matter as he crossed his arms. Panam sat in silence for a minute before she looked up at Miz, unconscious in the bed. She admonished herself and continued, "Shit, I'm sorry... h-how's she doing?"

"Doc says she'll be okay", Billy answered, giving Pops a break, "As soon as she's awake, we'll be out of here. We've caused enough trouble."

Panam shook her head, "You didn't cause any of this. I should have warned you. This is my turf, and it's still my call. You're welcome to stay as long as you need to."

Billy smiled and said, "Thank yo—"

He was cut off by stirring sounds and a light groan coming from the bed. Miz's head turned, her eyes opening slowly. In an instant, Billy was right next to her, Pops standing over his shoulder. Panam joined them at the edge of the bed, eyes wide with anticipation. As she regained her faculties, the room coming into focus, Miz locked eyes with Billy and she said weakly, "H-heya Tiger... hey Pops..."

Within seconds, Ky, Max, and Luca barreled through the door, barely leaving any room to breathe. Pops smiled, his eyes clouding over as he said, "Heya kiddo, how ya feelin'?"

Miz tried to move, wincing in pain as she answered, "Like a cut of meat on the butcher's block..."

They all gave a sigh of relief. Billy gently held her hand as he pulled his chair next to her bed. Her eyes filled with sorrow as the flood of memories returned, and a tear ran down her cheek, soaking the surgical tape holding it together. Her voice broke as she looked in Billy's eyes and said, "I-I'm sorry... I..."

Billy reassured her, "Hey, hey... you're alive, and that's all that matters."

He felt her grip tighten around his hand as she pulled herself up with a cry of pain and wrapped herself around him. She began to sob quietly into his chest as he pecked the side of her head with a gentle kiss and held her tight. He knew they'd have to talk about it at some point, but now wasn't the time. The thought still sat uneasy in the back of his mind, a pit forming in his gut.

Earlier that day, when she had jerked away from him before passing out, there a was coldness he hadn't felt since the morning after the Waterfront job. He felt the same casual disregard as he did when she fucked him and then dropped him like a bad habit... and he didn't like it. He honestly thought they had moved past that. But right now, he was just happy to have her in his arms. That's what mattered.

Everyone took the hint to give them some space as they cleared the room. Panam first, followed by Ky, Max, and Luca. Pops stood for a second before placing a gentle hand on Billy's back as he said, "I'll be just outside, pup", and he turned to leave the room.

As timely as the angel of death, a holocall rang in Pops' head. He waited until he was outside before he answered, "It's scary how you always know just when to call."

V's voice replied, "How's our girl doing?"

"Alive and hurtin', but alive", Pops said, "She's awake now."

He could hear a sharp sigh of relief from V's end. A few seconds passed before she continued speaking, "That's... shit, that's really good to hear, Pops..."

He tried to hide his frustration at the entire situation as he said, "...appreciate you checkin' in. So what can I do for ya?"

"You can focus on looking after Miz", V chided him gently, "Max already sent the data from Farris' truck over a secured line. The contract is closed. Should get your payment shortly. Just wanted to thank you for a job well done as always, and make sure Miz was okay... and the crew... I heard there was some unpleasantness with Saul."

For the first time since they'd been back to the motel, Pops genuinely laughed as he said, "There always is."

V fired back, "Tell me about it."

Pops returned fire, "Rather not."

She stumbled over her words, "I... uh... get some rest, Pops. I'll stay out of your hair for a while. Let me know when Miz is fully healed, and we can talk then."

"Will do", Pops answered with a smile before giving a heartfelt, "Thank you, V."

--