Chapter 31

About a week had passed since the Biotechnica incident.

As usual, two teams were working together to handle a job from Little Boss, and our team—the Jackals—was starting to gain some name recognition.

That’s no surprise, considering how well-balanced our team is.

We’ve got plenty of people who can hold the frontline, and even our netrunner—Sasha, who’s gone back to using her real name, Sachi—can handle close-quarters combat at a basic level.

If I really wanted to, I could use my old counterintelligence tricks for hacking, and the synergy between Vanny and Sasha works well for a cyberrunner team that values speed and precision.

Jackie? Jackie’s… well, he’s the captain. As long as he stays calm and solid, that’s good enough.

Just having someone like that around brings a sense of reassurance. It’s good for mental stability.

“...Everyone’s here.”

Little Boss had her elbows on the low table, fingers steepled in that usual pose.

That alone was a clear sign this was a serious job—important enough to summon the Jackals face-to-face.

Normally, the requests we get are passed along through Sasha. Having Little Boss call us in person like this only happened early on.

“Yo, Jag. Team Jackals is all here. Must be a big one, huh?”

“...Yeah, it is. That’s exactly why I called you. The Edgerunners are handling another job and will link up later. I structured the mission around you guys because you're balanced and adaptable... I'm sending the details now.”

...?

Something about Little Boss felt off—too grim, too serious. Definitely not her usual vibe.

It must be a high-difficulty mission. We all held our breath.

What came through was a mission to investigate the disappearance of a Militech convoy. The suspected location? A Maelstrom stronghold.

Everyone was floored.

Usually, even in extermination gigs, the targets are limited to container houses or small offices. Going after a whole base? That was a first.

Sensing the tension in the room, Little Boss put on a serious face and spoke up.

“Let me explain the mission. The objective this time is to storm the Maelstrom hideout and wipe out everyone there... Just kidding.”

We were all collectively thrown off. Everyone reacted in their own way.

Seeing our varied reactions, Little Boss gave a small shrug and smiled gently.

“Relax. You all looked so tense I thought I’d ease it up myself. No, I need you to negotiate a purchase on behalf of the client. Originally, that Militech convoy was supposed to vanish in a cleaner way, but something went wrong. The client’s main goal is to get the item onboard—something called Flathead. A tactical toy used by military spec-ops units. It seems this whole mess was caused by a change in Maelstrom leadership. What should’ve been a straightforward backdoor deal turned into a hijacking. The new head? Not too bright. Grabbed the whole convoy. And they were so sloppy about it that Militech noticed immediately.”

Little Boss sighed, clearly exasperated, and sent over another data packet—it looked like contact info.

“Militech sent us a request too. For some reason, they want us to recover the convoy that got hit. Not the goods—just the convoy. Apparently the packaging matters more to them than the contents. They want to erase the incident before the wrong eyes catch wind of it. Touching, isn’t it?”

“So basically, buy the Flathead, then snatch back the convoy?”

“This contact—who is it?”

“That’s Militech’s client rep. Use it if needed. Or just drop a word to keep them in check. Up to you.”

“...What kind of person is this client?”

“Anthony Gilchrist. Militech agent. Supposedly the middleman in this mess. Must’ve gotten himself into some serious trouble. The guy actually mistook me for a hitman and asked me to kill any other Militech squad that shows up. Idiot. Anyway, I’m also sending you another contact—the convoy’s transport supervisor. Basically his boss. Who you deal with is your call. It’s your job, handle it however you like.”

And with that, Little Boss sent over another contact: Meredith Stout.

...Wait, we’re missing one more.

I opened my mouth to ask Little Boss, who looked a bit worn out.

“Little Boss, do you have the contact for the buyer’s side?”

“...I do, yeah. But do you really need it?”

“How should we handle the Flathead transfer?”

“I’ll deliver it. Just bring it here to this office.”

“...You? Shouldn’t we leave that to David?”

“I’d love to. But they asked for me by name. The buyer is Evelyn Parker—owner of Lizzie’s Bar. She probably wants me to disassemble and reassemble it in front of her, just to be sure it’s legit. She’s cautious, but also a bit naive. Probably hasn’t seen much action. Just a nightclub owner, after all.”

Makes sense. That falls under Little Boss’s area. No need to butt in.

David will probably act as escort. Should be fine.

To sum it up: our mission is to buy the Flathead from Maelstrom, then hand off the convoy to one of two Militech agents.

A shady middleman... or a competent and overworked superior.

...Emotionally, I lean toward the latter. But we’ll see.

“Jack, which side do we go with?”

“Come on, no question. Definitely the superior. Can’t trust a backstabber to cover your six. Plus, this whole thing’s a sinking ship. It’s hopeless on every front.”

“Right? Honestly, wouldn’t it be smarter to rat him out and sweeten the deal?”

“...Agreed. He’s clearly going to be scapegoated for this Maelstrom mess.”

“Also, Militech’s the next biggest megacorp after Arasaka. Gotta think long-term—we want to stay in their good graces.”

Poor Anthony Gilchrist.

That’s the fate of a traitor, especially in Night City, where corruption thrives.

Unanimously, we decided to side with Meredith Stout and made contact.

Well... yeah, I figured. Of course I’m the one making the call.

Stop staring. Go back to your small talk or something.

"...Who is this? This number should be encrypted."

"You could say I’m calling on behalf of Jugra Kagura. Meredith Stout, I presume?"

The voice on the other end was a woman’s, slightly older. She spoke with a controlled strength, typical of a Militech agent.

Apparently, I’d taken the right approach. She exhaled, releasing some of the tension, and replied with a softer tone.

"...Heh. Looks like you’ve made a smart choice. Am I to take it you’ll be the soldier handling the convoy retrieval for our company?"

"That’s right. I’m Vitt—your point of contact. Looking forward to working with you."

"...Hmph. That depends on your results. So, tell me—who was the fool stupid enough to tuck our supplies away for themselves?"

“If you sweeten the reward, I’ll gladly sell him out.”

“…Fine. I’ll think about it after we meet. I’ll keep an open mind.”

“Okay then. The culprit’s name is Anthony Gilchrist. Apparently, he tried to take the job to Little Boss too. Even asked to be killed if anyone came after him.”

“…Hah. That’s just… I’m speechless. Have you already pinpointed the convoy’s location?”

“It’s headed to Maelstrom’s base. He used to do business with the previous boss, but after the leadership changed, their sloppy handling got them exposed.”

“…Oh? Now that’s interesting… Soldier, I’ve got an additional request. If you can retrieve any data confirming Gilchrist’s dealings at the base, I’ll throw in a bonus.”

“That’s mighty generous, though it’s up to Little Boss in the end.”

He figured the reward was shaping up to be decent when Meredith suddenly fell silent.

A few seconds later, a sigh was followed by a voice, as if pushed out.

“…Hard to believe she’s really just fifteen. How far ahead is she thinking—no, seeing? Anyway, no problem on that front. It’s already accounted for. If you doubt it, just ask her.”

Reflexively glancing over at Little Boss, he saw her flash a sly grin.

…So she’d anticipated their personalities and moved things forward ahead of time.

In other words, that whole back-and-forth earlier was just theater—part of introducing the players.

…Too damn thorough.

Feels like there’s a water station at every step.

“…Looks like it. Confirmed. Anything else?”

“No, that’s it. Once you’ve secured the convoy and made your escape, Militech’s elite squad will move in. Don’t try anything while you're combat high. That’s all. Good luck.”

The holocall cut clean. Her confidence left the distinct smell of stress in the air, and he let out a sigh.

…Well, it is Militech. She meant that quite literally.

“Negotiations are done. Recover proof on Gilchrist, and we get a bonus.”

“Hmph. About what I expected. Vitt, take this—an empty credchip loaded with a virus. The second it connects to the Net, a daemon activates and pings the system, automatically uploading a contagious chemical warfare daemon. Great for if you’re looking to shoot your way out—it gives you the first move. The other is payment from the client. The Flathead’s worth ten thousand eddies. Expect the price to go up—stay sharp. Anyway, I’m leaving the rest to you.”

He pocketed the two credit chips handed over by Little Boss.

How to handle things would be decided later, but this joker card was appreciated.

As Sasha settled into a sofa and started reviewing the data, he began planning.

…Yeah, with this group, things are probably gonna end in gunfire—as usual.

That said, it’s not until after they find the Flathead and locate the convoy.

“Right, the previous Maelstrom boss was Brick. Bit of a decent guy—well, compared to the rest of the radio-fried lunatics, anyway. Then this Royce guy staged a coup. Word’s spread among Maelstrom, and Brick loyalists have been protesting.”

“So we’ll need to split into two teams. A stealth group to locate the convoy, and a front group to stall for time and ‘buy’ the Flathead.”

“Then I’ll go stealth. Tracking stuff down is Transmission’s specialty.”

“Right. If the convoy’s our ride back, I’ll go too.”

“Good. Here’s the plan: Vitt and I will pose as clients and go in through the front to get the Flathead. Vanny and Vali will loop around back to find the convoy’s location. If we don’t have it by the time payment’s due, we use the legit chip. If we do have it, we use the daemon chip and wipe them all. Either way, Militech’s cleanup crew’s got our backs—we deserve at least a tip for the trouble.”

“Roger that. We hitting this in the evening?”

“Yeah, easier to clean up under cover of darkness. Vanny, can I leave the bonus data extraction to you?”

“Of course. Ripping data’s second nature to me.”

“But don’t go grabbing weird BDs again, alright? I’m the one who has to virus-check them. Or better yet, you do it.”

“Ehehe… I just can’t help it, y’know? They always look so interesting. And if I get a rare one, it’s a real score!”

Vanny’s bad habit, likely a holdover from her street kid days, made Sasha roll her shoulders with a sigh.

Apparently, she’d developed a hobby of secretly collecting BDs from job sites, and Sasha had once found her twitching and drooling after plugging in a Scav-special abduction BD. She gave her a proper scolding after that.

Since then, Sasha had taken to checking Vanny’s finds herself after each job—just in case.

She talks tough, but honestly? If Vanny ever started doing it herself, Sasha would still butt in and help.

As for Little Boss, she never had anything to say about BDs—aside from crafting a BD device with built-in safety protocols for Vanny. …Which was probably her silent way of commenting on the issue.

She clearly viewed underground BDs like bootleg videos—only interfering when a client made it a job. Otherwise, she kept her hands off.

In fact, it seemed she didn’t like watching BDs at all. No one had ever seen her use one.

…Then again, maybe she just didn’t have the time. She was always working.

Still just fifteen. It’d be nice if someone could look after her a little more…

Maybe David could use a little push from Rebecca?

For some reason, Little Boss seemed to hold David in high regard. More than just “Edgerunner David”—he was basically her bodyguard now.

Lately, it felt like she had this unspoken rule: Just bring David along and it’ll be fine.

…Not that it’s doing David any favors. The lack of romantic signals is frying his brain. Poor guy.

Rebecca’s all flustered, caught between jealousy and guilt, trying to stay polite like she always does. And now she’s the one burning up inside.

David clearly knows how Rebecca feels, but the dangerous glow of his first crush has him acting way too protective…

Until they wrap up all the Biotechnica business, this mess won’t be cleared up.

Hopeless, really.