A Day in the Life

[Megabuilding H10, Little China, Watson]

The hustle and bustle of the block was just as the crew had remembered, almost like nothing had changed. There was still the physical evidence of their skirmish over a year ago, but Night Corp had done a decent-enough job of fixing up the building after it arguably got blown to shit.

As the elevator reached Level 7 and churned to a stop, Billy, Miz, and Ky negotiated their way around the crowd of people filling the car. It was never wise to be right up front, because there was always a chance of getting knocked around by those exiting or others boarding; but neither was it wise to get caught all the way in the back. In a sixty-story building, there was no telling how many people would be going to which floor. Rather, it was an acquired skill to get a feel for staying somewhere around the middle edges.

As the doors opened, all three edgerunners stifled their laughter at the large number of uninitiated residents who had yet to catch on. They exited with some finesse and made their way through the atrium. Fred was nowhere to be seen, which was odd for the time of day. Though that didn't stop anyone from using his mats or weight racks.

Finally, they made their left turn, walking into the open door of Bob Wilson's "2nd Amendment". His eyes lit up, seeing three familiar faces as he called out, "Well look what the cat dragged in!"

Never one to miss an opportunity, Ky stopped in front of the desk as he locked eyes with Bob and said, "Cats would certainly explain the reek of piss in the air..."

Bob narrowed his eyes as he said, "Hey fuck you, man!"

Ky laughed with a smile as they shook hands and exchanged pleasantries; it didn't take Bob long to look past as he called out to Miz, "Hey! You gotta check in!"

Not breaking her stride or even looking his way, Miz nonchalantly fired back, "It's the same Unity I've had as long as you've known me, Bob."

She continued walking through the sliding automatic door, the sounds of gunfire filtering in from the range before the door sealed it off. Billy stepped up to the counter, seemingly the only one willing to cut ol' Bob a break as he placed his Molniya down and said, "You can check this in, if you'd like."

"See?! A man who respects his fellow man!", Bob exclaimed before his eyes locked onto the heavily modified break-action revolver and he said, "He-e-ey, nice piece! I've been trying to get my hands on one of these. Who did the barrel swap and the laser grip mods?"

Billy raised his hand with a half-hearted wave and a smirk as he leaned in; in that moment, it looked like Bob might just have a hard-on as he handled the iron with care and admiration before he said, "Yeah, you're all okay. You're known quantities, I just like to give ya a hard time."

Ky reached over the desk with a heavy pat on the shoulder as he said, "And we wouldn't have it any other way, muffin."

They all shared a laugh before Bob handed over several boxes of ammunition and said, "Have a blast, let me know if you want to try anything out."

Miz was already hard at work in her stall on the range, checking and clearing her Unity as she placed it on the bench. The air stunk of spent brass, grease, and gunpowder. She was joined shortly by Ky and Billy as they carefully set the ammunition down and took their place in their own stall next to hers. Ky was lightning fast and precise on checking and clearing his weapons before placing them down. Miz was already loading two magazines up with rounds, pausing to send her target down range as she said to Ky, "So exactly where are Pops and Max, again?"

He answered with a smirk, "I guess our Badlands princess needed a netrunner for a gig this morning, and Pops agreed to tag along in case there was any unpleasantness like last time."

Unpleasantness; what a fuckin' joke, Miz thought to herself. She'd only heard about it secondhand after the fact; both Billy and Pops facing off with Saul after they crossed the border back into Night City. Had she been conscious for any of it, she would have fed him his own balls for good measure. She tried to push it out of her mind as she slammed in a magazine and racked the slide before taking aim.

Billy took a step behind her, looking over her shoulder from a distance as she fired. She was a deadly shot, and she had a really cute stance too. She fired one shot each second, all of them landing center-mass. Now the fun stuff; Miz ejected the first magazine before speed-loading a second, followed by four separate bursts of center-mass double taps with single taps in the head, all finding their mark.

Billy just smiled and admired it all before Miz turned her head, noticing him as she said, "See something ya like?"

He answered, "More and more every day", eliciting a groan from Ky before he opened fire with his favorite Kyubi in short, controlled bursts. Miz stepped back from the stall as she said, "You're up, Tiger. Impress m— OH SHIT!"

Miz pulled Billy to her and ducked behind the stall as a wild burst of submachine gun fire rang out, tagging the metal sides of the stall, the bulletproof wire glass, and the concrete walls and ceiling. Once the chaos had ceased, there was a heavy dust in the air before a young male voice called out, "Fuck, man!", followed by the crash of a weapon against the floor.

Miz took her chance as she stepped out, teeth gritted and face threading flashing red. Standing twenty feet away was a young male in 6th Street colors, hands shaking with eyes wide open. Miz nearly exploded as she yelled out, "WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF GONK BULLSHIT WAS THAT, YOU—"

She was cut off as Ky stepped in front, holding her back as he said before turning, "I'll handle this... HEY, JUST WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU'RE THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Billy smirked and looked out the damaged window to see Bob fuming as he made his way out from behind the counter. The young ganger found his confidence and fired back, "It was an accident! Who the fuck do you think you are talking to me like that?! Do you know who I am?"

Miz broke past Ky as she grabbed the ganger by his jacket and threw him with one hand against the wall. She stood in front of him with her right against his shoulder as she extended the scratchers on her left hand and said calmly, "I know you're about to be another corpse on the six o'clock news if you don't shut your mou—"

"Alright, alright, alright!", Bob cut Miz off as he walked through the sliding door and continued, directing his speech to the young ganger, "Hey Cum-for-brains, you're done. Get the fuck out of here while she still lets you."

Miz smirked as Bob made sure there was enough shit for everyone to get a little bit on them and he followed up, "And Miz... please stop threatening my customers..."

The ganger was out the door as soon as Miz let him go, and she flashed a smile with a chuckle as she said, "You're no fun, man..."

She and Ky both returned to their stalls as Billy excused himself for a moment, running quickly out the door and back into the megablock's atrium. Miz was curious, but he was already gone before she could say anything, so she went right back to what she was doing before she nearly lost her head. She picked up a sawn-off pump shotgun and loaded several shells before taking aim. She braced herself against the impending recoil before pulling the trigger. The shot scraped and clawed its way out of the barrel with a thunderous crash, further accentuated by the metallic sound of a slam-rack and the plastic plink of the spent shell clattering against the concrete floor.

Miz smiled through the whole experience, giving a sigh of relief before hearing a pounding thud against the window. She set the shotgun down on the bench before turning around and bursting into laughter. She was met with the sight of Billy smiling and holding the same ganger from a few minutes ago by his collar and smashing his face into the glass. Miz could almost hear their muffled voices as Billy said, "Now... apologize to the pretty lady."

The ganger tried to resist, to which Billy slammed him harder against the glass. Finally, he managed to squeeze out a slurred, "I-I'm sorry..."

Miz gave a casual nod, to which Billy threw the ganger down on the floor and said, "Now go find some dick to suck."

Even Ky was impressed at Billy's brass as he laughed. It was only a few seconds before Billy rejoined them on the range as Miz smirked and said, "Such a gentleman..."

Billy leaned in and planted a kiss against Miz's forehead as he chuckled and took his place on the range, checking and clearing both his Molniya and Liberty before taking his stance.

Miz stepped back to watch before a holocall pinged in her head, followed by V's warm and strong voice, "Heya Miz, long time no talk!"

A smile crept on Miz's face as she replied, "And here I was starting to think you didn't like us anymore..."

"Harsh, Miz. Harsh", V replied with a chuckle, feigning insult as she continued, "I tried raising Pops, but he didn't answer. Got a job for ya."

Miz fired back, "Yeah, 'bout damn time. Pops is on a job with Max and Panam... whatcha got?"

There was a slight hesitation before V answered, "You know how it is, best to talk in person. Know when he'll be back?"

Miz actually was at a loss for words as she said, "I uh... I do not. Sorry."

"Can catch him up later, I guess", V said, her voice losing some confidence before she found it again, "Afterlife at 18:00?"

Miz answered, reading the current time in her HUD as 11:18, "It's a date, boss. See you then."

The call dropped, and Miz stepped forward as both Billy and Ky turned to her with anticipation in their eyes. She baited them for a bit before she said, "Afterlife. We got a job."

There was a resounding cheer shared among them, but Miz had a look of concern on her face. Pops never didn't answer his holo. She took her chance and pinged a call directly to him, ringing twice before he answered, out of breath and with gunfire in the background, "Not a great time, Em. I'm alive, Max too. Call ya back, love you."

The call dropped; she was relieved to at least hear his voice as she thought, What the fuck did Panam get them in the middle of?!

--

[Militech Detention Center, Jackson Plains, Badlands]

The holocall dropped before a burst of fire punched through the concrete wall mere inches from Pops' head. He grumbled loudly before stepping out as he said, "Ah, fuck this!"

Spotting his target in the open, he unloaded three shots from his revolver, each finding their mark as the external power unit of the Centaur exoskeleton's railgun went up in flames, consuming the pilot in the resulting explosion and reducing the machine to a pile of molten scrap.

Pops returned to cover, slamming his back against the wall with a sharp sigh as he wiped the sweat from his brow and nose. He turned to the desk line with computer terminals, finding Max still hard at work, her eyes a blue flurry of activity as he said, "Please give me good news..."

At first, it seemed Max was entirely oblivious to his presence as she hammered away at several keyboards. Another Militech operator burst through the door opposite them, before Max turned her head, her eyes flashing red for a split second. The operator screamed out as he grabbed the back of his head, sparks and smoke arcing from his ears as he fell to his knees and slumped over.

As soon as the body hit the floor with a soft thud, Max was back to the terminals, her focus steadfast and unflinching. Pops left her to it as he raised Panam on comms and said, "Remind me the next time you call to jus' ignore it."

Panam laughed as she fired back, "Hey, I was willing to pay your whole crew for this job... even Ky."

"Yeah yeah yeah, hindsight and all that", Pops joked with a chuckle, "How y'all holdin' up down there?"

"Clear of bad guys, for now. Be better if we knew where we were going", replied Panam.

As timely as the angel of death, Max jumped in the call, "Ye can'a rush art. Cell block 1138, should be down and to your left."

Panam smirked as she replied, "Thanks babe. Hold it down up there, we'll see you shortly."

Pops was already reloading the empty chambers of his revolver as he said, "Your wish is my command, princess..."

They could both hear Panam grumbling as they shared a laugh before Max spoke out loud to Pops, "Why ya na' offa' de rest o' de crew?"

Pops shrugged and sucked his teeth as he lit a cigarette and answered, "Miz an' Billy needed a day off after the whole mess with the Dashi parade, and I know Ky was itchin' to get in some range time... thought it might be good for them to blow off steam together."

Max flashed a rare smile as she said, "Mm. Pops always lookin' out fo' us."

BANG!

Smoke rose from the barrel of Pops' revolver as he stared down the end of a hallway freshly painted with the remains of an operator's head before he looked down to Max and said with a smirk, "I do what I can for those I love."

Max shook her head and picked up her Omaha tech pistol off the desk as she approached the doorway to keep watch. There was nothing more she could do from a terminal, so may as well help Pops keep the coast clear for their nomad compadres. He narrowed his eyes as he said, "Thought you didn't like guns."

Max didn't break her gaze as she said, "Wi, sti' don't. But I'm no' much use at a terminal now."

Pops shrugged his eyebrows and took a drag of his smoke, "Either way, I'm glad to have ya along."

The sound of a door kicking open reverberated through the now empty building as Panam called out, "Let's fuckin' delta!"

Pops looked to Max once more as he said, "Ya ready?"

She smirked back, "Ya even need ta ask, bosmang?"

"Attagirl, let's move", Pops said with a wink as he stepped out, careful to watch for any surprises, Max following closely behind and covering the rear.

Out in the warehouse space, Pops' eyes widened as he saw a familiar face, one he'd not seen in years. An even older cowboy than him was stumbling, holding his gut as he struggled to stand up straight, helped on either side by his younger nomad brothers. His leathered and worn face was bruised, blood running from his nose and mouth, but his green eyes retained a spirited twinkle, and his mustache was probably the only one this side of the NUSA border that could give Pops' a run for its money. His medium length gray hair was hanging down, slightly obscuring his face, but Pops had no illusions about it as he said fondly, "As I live and breathe, you ol' dog!"

The familiar voice was enough to make the older man stand straight up with a wince as he smiled through the pain and said, "Now there's a voice I ain't heard in too long..."

Pops stepped forward and embraced the older man, helping to hold him up as he said, "Cass, it's good to see you alive, brother."

Pops shifted to help keep Cass upright as the latter said, "Ah, good Lord just ain't called me home yet."

Everyone shared in the warmth of this touching reunion for several moments before Panam brought them back on track, "We're clear for now, looks like. But we won't be if we hang around much longer."

Still struggling to stand up straight, Cass fired back, the pain apparent in his voice, "And here I was, ready to bust out the Broseph..."

Pops let loose a hearty laugh as he braced himself under Cass's arm and said, "Let's get you home, old man."

The other nomads along with Max covered the exit from the building, keeping a wary watch on anything that moved. Militech was known for mounting serious counterattacks to great effect on very short notice, and they'd come too far to get caught in the open.

Pops tried to quicken his pace, but Cass was having a hard time keeping up. Pops looked to his old friend and said, "Sorry in advance, amigo."

Cass answered, "Sorry for wha-a-A-A—"

Pops knelt down before hoisting Cass up and over, carrying the older man across his shoulders as he ran back to Panam's Warhorse. She just watched and shook her head, trying not to laugh, before she opened the door to the back row. Pops carefully set Cass back on his feet before trying to help him step up into the truck. Cass protested, smacking his hand away as he said, "I'm wounded, Phoenix, I ain't dead! ...least, not yet."

All of the nomads were mounting up on their individual vehicles, and Pops wasted no time in running over to the passenger side of the truck and piling in, Max taking the seat next to Cass in the back. By now, Panam already had the engine running as she shifted into gear and peeled out, leaving a cloud of dust and gravel in their wake as the other vehicles fell in line to follow.

Pops had his revolver out and ready, scanning the horizon as he lit another cigarette. With a deep drag, he rubbed his brow in exasperation and grumbled to himself, causing Panam to ask, "What's got you so worked up?"

Before Pops could answer, Cass interjected with a pained groan as he said, "You know damn well by now what's wrong..."

Pops leaned his head down, his brow furrowed with the smoldering cigarette hanging from his mouth. Panam's eyes softened and she let up as she said, "Hey, look... if you want to cut out before camp, I can drop you somewhe—"

"No", Pops cut her off, the frustration apparent in his voice as he continued, "Job ain't done 'til I get Cass back to his people. 's what you're payin' us for."

Panam smirked as she tried to raise his spirits, "Yeah, and your wheels are sitting snug at our campsite, too."

A few seconds passed before Pops' mustache flared, a smile creeping in as he took another drag and said, "Yeah... there's that."

Panam took her right hand off the wheel to give him a light punch in the arm as she said, "And who knows? He sees you carrying one of his own into camp, maybe he starts to come around?"

Cass cut in again, "Don't... don't bullshit yourself, Panam..."

Pops chuckled as he turned to look at Cass, "Couldn't have said it better myself... you goin' to be alright?"

"I've had worse", Cass groaned as he adjusted in the seat, "And hell, you've carried me out of worse."

"Yeah, we've had some good times, ain't we?", said Pops, the fond memories coming back, mixed with some not so fond.

Max broke her silence as she leaned forward, "Oye, ya gon'ya call Miz back?"

Pops nodded with another drag as he answered, "Yeah, once we're safe and sound. Thanks, Max..."

She smiled and gave him a light pat on the shoulder before she leaned back in her seat and kept watch. Though nobody wanted to jinx it, they were all surprised they hadn't encountered any Militech resistance. Still, it was a long drive back, the camp being on the other side of Rocky Ridge, northeast of the city.

--

[13:00 - Viktor Vektor's Clinic, Urmland Street, Watson]

Vik looked over the frames of his sunglasses at Miz sitting in the reclined exam chair as he said, "Last chance. You're sure you want to do this, kid? That's blade's been a part of ya for a long time now."

Miz looked over to Billy, who gave her a shrug with a smile; it was her call, plain and simple. She looked next to her jacket hanging on the rack, itself having been modified with buckled straps securing a pair of sheathed blades across the back. Miz took a page from her own book during the Dashi parade, rekindling her love for the katana and wakizashi. She had decided shortly after to start carrying them alongside her Unity, effectively negating the need for her Mantis Blade; to Vik's point, she'd had it since she was a teenager.

She looked down at her right arm, thinking hard. On one hand, she did feel like she was giving up a part of herself; but on the other hand, sticking to traditional blades also felt like she was stepping back from the unhinged edge she'd ridden for so long. A katana required more control, more discipline, and Miz knew those were things she could only benefit from having more of.

After far too long, she met Vik's eyes again as she smiled and said, "I'm sure, Vik."

He smiled back and nodded, hitting a switch and watching as the exam chair reclined further. Miz raised her arm and placed it inside the metal rig. Vik went to work, bracing and securing her upper arm as he injected a light calming agent. Miz didn't like the anesthesia, but she understood well enough that the calming agent kept her from twitching too much while he was rooting around inside of her.

Vik wasn't really one for small talk, but he also wasn't used to having patients awake in his chair while he worked. He looked for something, anything to fill the air while Miz concentrated on looking anywhere except directly at him or at her arm.

Billy could feel the tension between them, awkward as it was, before he had a stroke of genius. He walked over to Vik's desk, turning down the volume on the TV, to which Vik said, "Hey what the fuck are you doing?!"

He followed up by turning on the radio, dialing into 89.3 Radio Vexelstrom, and cranking the volume, to which Miz said, "W-what are you doing?"

Billy didn't say a word to either of them, simply taking a seat at Vik's desk with a smug look of accomplishment as Samurai's The Ballad of Buck Ravers filled the space, eliciting sighs of relief from both parties. They'd always been able to talk music.

Vik looked up to Miz as he said, "You got some smart input there, kid."

Miz blushed and smiled, her head bopping to the rhythm as she said, "Don't I know it..."

There were a series of metallic clicks and clanks before Miz felt the entire lower arm being removed, followed by a numbness below her elbow. Maybe numbness wasn't the right word, but there was nothing to feel, because there was nothing there. Billy had to admit he was curious, and he politely asked, "Hey, either of you mind if I watch...?"

Vik looked at Miz and said, "He's your squeeze."

Miz looked at Vik and said, "It's your clinic."

They both laughed before looking to Billy as they said in unison, "Get over here, ya gonk."

Billy scooted the seat over, taking a spot to Miz's left as he watched across her body at Vik doing what he did best. There were bits of chrome and machinery jutting out from what appeared to otherwise be just a 'ganic elbow, ending in an Arasaka-branded interface plate. They had set the standard for man-machine interfaces, creating a generic mating collar and "plate" to which a multitude of different implants could be attached. Whether your implants were genuine Arasaka-make or something else following their demise, likely they would still work with the generic interface.

Billy admired getting to watch Vik operate firsthand. He couldn't help himself as he asked, "Was he this gentle and precise when he replaced my entire arm?"

Miz shook her head as she directed a question to Vik, "Hey, what'd you ever do with that rusted meat cleaver?"

Vik scoffed, not missing a beat, "Uh... I think I let Misty borrow it."

Billy smirked, to which Miz giggled and gave him a wink as she said, "Not that I needed to, but I didn't leave his side while you were out, Tiger."

Another series of clicks and clanks, and the new arm was affixed to the plate, but still lifeless. Vik opened a panel on the inside of the arm, revealing several leads and headers. Before connecting each, he carefully removed the panel altogether and set it aside as he said to Billy, "Inside the cooler, there's a panel just like this one, but it already has RealSkinn and Miz's dermal imprint."

"Got it", Billy said as he wasted no time in grabbing it. Vik turned to Miz, "Cassius dropped it off late last night."

Miz scoffed as she almost appeared genuinely ashamed, "Yeah, sorry for two-timin' ya, Vik. I don't know what I was... I was weak..."

Vik placed his hand over his heart as he joked, "I don't know if my heart can handle it, kid."

Billy reappeared, presenting the panel to Vik, who took it and quickly installed it, making sure to connect every single header with masterful precision and speed. Finally, He secured the panel on the arm, giving it a gentle stroke to make sure the RealSkinn had applied properly. Warm and soft, just like the real thing.

He pulled around a screen, punching several keys on it before the arm lit up and he said to Miz, "Curl a fist for me, then retract and extend each individual finger, please?"

Miz obliged, curling her hand into a first, to which Vik asked her to wait while he punched a few more keys. Next was each finger, slowly, one at a time. Extend, hold, retract, key-presses, rinse and repeat.

Vik continued his calibration and diagnostics, instructing Miz to just use the hand as if she were going about her everyday life. Naturally, the first thing she did was reach for Billy's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze and intertwining their fingers as she smiled. Next, she hopped out of the chair and walked over to her jacket. She carefully unsheathed her wakizashi, twirling it and manipulating it between her fingers, but careful to keep her space from Vik or any of his equipment. Finally, he called out, "That's enough, I got what I need."

Miz placed the shorter of her two blades back in its sheath before returning to the chair, plopping comfortably into it as Vik pressed a few more keys on his screen. Like with Billy's arm before, the platelets on Miz's fingers sprang to life before settiling. She made another fist, watching the articulating bits brace themselves as she flashed a cheeky smile and muttered, "Fuckin' nova."

Vik leaned back, proud of his work, as Miz gave another test, reaching her right hand up to run through the hair hanging over the side of her head. She carefully pushed it back, feeling every individual strand as it fell forward again. She smiled and nodded, "It feels good, Vik. Feels... natural."

He smiled, feeling a pat on the shoulder from Billy as he followed up, "Now, you're sure you don't want a full wrap on it? I've got the 'Skinn in stock."

Miz held her arm up, admiring the mixed blackened composite and raw silvery chrome as she said, "I'm okay. As long as I have a patch for the dermal imprint, I like the bare look of it."

Vik held up his usual inhaler as he said, "Then you know the drill, kid."

Miz's eyes flashed blue as a transfer of eddies took place before she carefully grabbed the inhaler and brought it to her mouth, taking two whiffs in rapid succession. Vik being Vik, he continued, "You know the drill, but I'm going to say it anyway. Stay off the arm if you can, nothing outside of general use for at least 24 hours. If you can swing it, come back and see me tomorrow afternoon."

Miz nodded as she hopped out of the chair and grabbed her jacket, "I got it. We'll see ya tomorrow. Thanks for everything, Vik."

--

[Aldecaldos Camp, Rocky Ridge, Badlands]

The Warhorse pulled into camp, followed by the other escort vehicles, a crowd of nomads gathering around to cheer and celebrate a safe return and another successful job. As Panam's truck rolled to a stop, she opened her driver-side door and stood on the running boards as she smiled before opening the driver-side back door, revealing Cass nearly falling out of his seat, but alive, eliciting more cheers from the crowd. Pops and Max nonchalantly exited the truck, trying to whisk themselves away before any unpleasantness arose.

Thankfully, Mitch always had space for them. He nodded them both over to the makeshift garage housing the Family's very own Basilisk, keeping watch as they stepped out of view to make their holocall in private.

Miz answered dryly on the other end, "Oh goodie, you're still alive..."

Pops chuckled before Miz followed up, "What the fuck did Panam have you doing out there?!"

Max took over, giving Pops a moment to light a cigarette, "One o' dey cowboys go' pinched comin' 'cwoss de Border..."

Miz picked up from there, "Militech was holding him at the detention center, Panam needed your help... got it. Everything go okay?"

"Well, they put a hurtin' on Cass", Pops jumped in, exhaling smoke through his nose as he continued, "Some big deal goin' down outside Yucca, they wanted answers. We got 'im out, back to Rocky Ridge."

Miz smiled and said, "Good, glad you're both safe. V called, has a job for us."

Pops joked, "And here I was startin' to think she didn't like us anymore."

A laugh burst from Miz as she fired back, "That's what I said. Anyway, Afterlife at 18:00, think you can swing it?"

Pops looked first to Max, who nodded with closed eyes and a smirk, before he answered, "We'll be there. Gotta settle up here, so see ya later. Love ya, kiddo."

"Love ya too, Pops", Miz replied as the call dropped. He took another drag as he stepped out into the desert sun, a familiar resentment of the afternoon heat creeping up in the back of his mind. He walked quickly, with Max close behind, over to Panam's tent before the last person on Earth he wanted to deal with stepped in his way and blocked the path.

Saul's eyes narrowed as he stood straight and proud, his shoulders back, and looked up at Pops for several seconds before extending a hand. His face gave no tell of emotion, but his tone of voice was cordial as he said, "I have to thank you for looking after my people and getting Cass back home to us safely."

Since when do you fuckin' care?, Pops thought to himself as he took Saul's hand in his own. This was an act for appearance's sake, and nothing more; best to just get it over with.

Panam gave a heavy hand to Saul's back as she approached around his left and said, "Hate to break this up, but I need to settle accounts."

Saul stepped back, breaking the handshake as he said, "Of course. Come see me when you're done?"

"Yeah, be a few", Panam nodded before turning to Pops, waiting until Saul was out of earshot as she continued, "You're welcome. Theatrics make me want to vomit too."

Pops smirked as Panam nodded her head and followed up, "Come on, let's get you paid and on the way home. How's Miz?"

"She's makin' do", Pops chose his words carefully, "Got a call from the Afterlife about new work while we were in the thick earlier."

Panam laughed as she raised the flap of her tent, "No rest for the wicked, huh?"

Pops bowed his head to enter before Max pinged a private call to him, "I wait by de truck, hm?"

"Sounds good, be there in a sec", replied Pops before speaking out loud to Panam, "Curious if it's to do with our rowdy-dow beyond the Border a few months back."

Panam shook her head, "Can't say, but I'd think V would have clued me in to help get you across."

Pops smiled as he placed a hand on his chest and said, "We'd all be very much obliged to ride in your chariots once more."

"Cut the shit, old man", Panam laughed as she grabbed a beer from a mini-fridge in her tent, holding another out for Pops. He politely shook his head, "No offense, but I don't want to overstay my welcome. Best pay us and send us on our way before any more words are said."

Panam picked up on his trepidation, and his meaning. Just because Saul was cordial before didn't mean he wouldn't find a way to ruin it. She turned to a footlocker, propping it open as she rooted around. Before long, she produced two neat stacks of physical eddies and turned to Pops, "Ten each, right?"

He nodded, taking the scratch in his hand as he said, "Yeah, 's what we agreed upon."

She wasn't letting him go easy as she reached up for a hug, her head resting against his chest as she said, "Thanks again, and hope we see ya soon."

Pops wrapped an arm around Panam with a brief but comforting squeeze and said, "Take care, kid. We'll see each other soon enough, I imagine."

He turned and left the tent, careful to drop the flap and give Panam some reprieve from the heat as she drew a sharp breath. She really didn't want to deal with Saul right now.

Pops approached the truck, Max leaning against the door as she watched him carefully before hopping into the passenger seat. Once they were both situated, he pulled one of the stacks of eddies from his vest and handed it over as he said, "Good work today."

Max nodded and said, "Mm, ou'si byen."

They sat for several seconds, watching the nomads scurry about the camp in the pursuit of their everyday chores. Max noticed a look of longing Pops' eyes, and she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as she said, "Ou'kay, bosmang?"

A sad smile crept onto Pops' face, try as he might to hide it. He didn't need to say it, Max already knew and said it for him, "You miss de nomad life, eh?"

He nodded and answered, "There's a calm out here you jus' can't find anywhere else... ah well. Best be on our way."

Pops turned over the ignition and shifted into gear, careful to reverse out of the camp as a cloud of dust formed around them.

--

[18:00, Afterlife, South Watson]

The crew made their entrance as they had so many times before; V and Rogue were sitting at the bar, a flatscreen TV captivating their attention, and Claire's. The sound of the TV paled in comparison to the blaring music, but the captions on the screen are what really had them locked in. Gillean Jordan's face was painted across the screen, eliciting an audible groan from Miz as she said stepped forward and said, "Seems like everywhere I go lately, her face is all I see..."

A smile broke on V's face as she turned and stepped off the stool. She approached with outstretched arms, meeting Miz halfway in a hug as she said, "It's good to see you, choom. Nice new chrome and blades."

A year ago, Miz probably would have shit her pants in excitement at the Living Legend of the Afterlife treating her like an old friend. She reciprocated the hug, still not knowing what to say. As they pulled apart, V looked past to Pops and Max before saying with a smirk, "I hear you had a fun morning in the desert."

Pops smiled and nodded his head as he said, "Could definitely use a beer, that's for damn sure."

Claire pulled her attention away from the TV as she waved to the crew before grabbing beers for everyone. Miz lit a cigarette before continuing her previous line of discussion as she said, "So what's everyone's favorite corpo-media brat rattling on about this time?"

V flashed her teeth with a smile as she said, "Same shit she's been spewing for the last month, and the reason I called you down here."

Miz's eyes narrowed, and the rest of the crew turned their heads in curiosity as V nodded in the direction of her private booth. Miz deferred to Pops to lead, but he simply shrugged and waved his hand, silently indicating the lead was hers to take. Everybody noticed, nobody said a word. Since Miz's masterful handling of the Dashi parade incident and the attempt on Wakako's life, Pops had been deferring to Miz more and more on leading the crew. As was the case after the H10 job while he was still nursing his ribs, the crew were more than happy to back up and answer to her. Pops had taught her everything he knew, and if there's anyone who could read his mind or think like him, she was the closest thing to it.

Miz blushed with a light smile as she quickly met everyone's eyes. They all gave silent approval, Ky even ushering a nod in V's direction as Miz finally turned and walked, the rest turning to follow. Rogue took notice of everything going on, and leaned in to whisper something to Claire, the latter's eyes lighting up with a smile.

As everyone grabbed their beers and made their way into the booth, V did her usual scan of their surroundings before the door slid shut. She faced the crew sitting across from her, a tinge of guilt on her face as she opened with, "So... how's things?"

Ky answered first, "Really? Small talk?"

V blushed in embarrassment. She knew they knew, and she knew they probably didn't care, but she felt guilty all the same as she said, "It's... it's been a while, I know. I'm sorry for that. The only jobs worth your time are the big ones from Blue, and he was radio silent until a few days ago."

Miz leaned forward, finding her confidence in speaking for everyone else as she took a drag of her cigarette and said, "Hey, we'll take any jobs you want to give us. You gave us the Tooley gig. That means you gave us the freedom to work for you or anyone else in this city. You owe us nothing. We owe you everything."

Everyone nodded in agreement, leaving V's cheeks burning as she scrambled to regain her composure. As she could feel the heat rising and nearly breaking a sweat from it, she managed to eke out, "I-I'd say you paid that debt ten times over with the work you've done for us..."

Miz wasn't letting up as she narrowed her eyes. Ky pinged a crew-wide call as he said to Miz, "This is cute and all, but cut her a break before she has a stroke... or before Billy gets jealous..."

Everyone fought to keep a straight face; it was fun seeing the Living Legend tripping all over herself like a gonk with a crush. Miz smirked as she winked at V, sending the latter reeling as she said, "Maybe next time, don't wait so long to call us back, babe."

V conceded the point as she lit a smoke. Something, anything to cool off as her eyes flashed blue and she brought them back on track with a holographic map of North Watson, "L-let's get to it... if you've watched the news in the last month, you've heard about the killings adjacent to the Arasaka Waterfront. Media and NCPD think it's just gangland violence. Scavs picking off corpos or other scavs as crimes of opportunity."

Pops smirked as he lit his own cigarette and took a drag, "And you think otherwise...?"

V smirked as she answered, "Blue knows otherwise. He's calling the shots on this one. It seems the old notion of 'leave no man behind' wasn't shared by Arasaka when they pulled out of Night City."

Billy tossed V a bone as he said, "You mean when they pulled out because of your bad-assery?"

What is it with you all today?, V thought to herself as she smiled and gave a graceful bow from her seat, eliciting a laugh from all the crew before she continued, "Turns out Arasaka may have abandoned one of their own top operatives when they vacated in a hurry."

Her eyes flashed blue again, calling up a redacted dossier. The headshot was of a young albeit grizzled Japanese man with almost empty dark brown eyes, cropped hair forming a sharp widow's peak, and a tidy mustache and goatee framing a sharp jaw. V gave everyone a moment to soak it in before she said, "This is Kazuo Shimada, aka 'The Ghostrunner'..."

A silence befell everyone with a collective shiver up their spines as they leaned back and considered the name, Ghostrunner. Things were about to get interesting.

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