Chapter Text
- Half a year later -
Kiwi hummed to herself as she looked over the wall of monitors. With the dim light from the screens and the humming of the van’s engine, she felt like the very image of an old world spook - like an agent on stakeout for the world’s villains.
While it was technically doable for her to physically wire all the feeds directly to her brain, she had been gaining more appreciation for the “physical”, recently. Plus, it gave her added flexibility to move around during gigs if need be, and not be constrained to a mass of cables.
She grabbed a piece of jerky from a nearby bag and chewed idly. Her eyes on the other hand, were alert; following the two separate parties on the screens with unblinking vigilance.
Something caught her gaze and she cleared her throat.
“V, David - two gangers entering from the 2 o’clock door, ETA ten seconds.”
On the camera feed, she saw the two men stop in their tracks as they were making their way through the abandoned plant. With a quick nod, they both took position next to the door Kiwi had marked, and waited. Biding time for their opportunity.
The two Maelstrom gangers pushed roughly through the door, jabbering to each other in their coarse and distorted tones. Like all those that worked for Maelstrom, they had the most garish and bulky cybernetics installed, a red glow dimly lighting all their metallic facial features. They continued to talk and swear amongst themselves, never aware that they weren’t alone in the room.
The one closest to V sparked, jerked in place, and collapsed. The one next to David suddenly had his head twisted a full 180 degrees, and fell limply onto the ground. And like a well oiled machine, the two men lifted the two corpses up and stashed them under a desk before continuing onwards.
“Good work,” commented Kiwi, speaking around her piece of jerky. “Another two rooms till you two get to their netrunner. Jackie, Becca; you two ready?”
“Kiwi, when have we ever let you down?” Rebecca snarked back.
The angle was horrible, but the outside camera that Kiwi had grabbed ahold of was able to spy their figures just outside the buildings walls. The two made a humorous picture when they worked together, a huge dark skinned giant and a pale, almost fey-like girl. But at this point their combined body count could put some natural disasters to shame.
“That time in Pacifica’s mall, for one,” Kiwi responded lazily. Rebecca immediately burst out into angry accusations, and Kiwi cheerfully lowered her separate volume slider until the girl was intelligible. She’d switch it back to normal once Rebecca had something more important to say.
“In place,” announced David.
Well before schedule. V’s competency was understandable, he’d had a good five years of corpo training and field work before becoming an edgerunner. But David was rapidly becoming an incredible force of nature on his own. The kid learned fast, and with veterans like V and Jackie to learn alongside, he was becoming one of the best mercs in the business. And that was without using his prototype Sandevistan, too.
“Runner neutralized, daemons uploaded?” asked Kiwi.
“Yup.”
Kiwi made a satisfied noise. “Good, then we set it off on a count of 3 seconds. Vent team, on your mark. Backdoor team, sync up; and a reminder to stay clear from the blast.”
A diminutive “ The bitch is still calling us backdoor team! ” came from Rebecca’s dampened audio feed, but Kiwi ignored it. Teasing Rebecca was fun because Kiwi was one of the few people in the world that could get away with it without permanent injury, and she would gleefully exploit that whenever she could.
Kiwi stretched in her seat, made sure that all her team members were in place, and started the countdown.
3, 2, 1…
And all hell broke loose.
Across the camera feed, all the Maelstrom gangers howled in pain and clutched their heads in unison as their cyberware turned against them. On the cameras, Kiwi could see a huge directional explosion spray debris into the main room, and the faint shapes of Rebecca and Jackie moving swiftly in - and even more swiftly gunning down anything that was still struggling against the deadly intrusion of daemons and lethal hacks.
Vent team, composed of V and David, were also making their move. Silently they crept through the ceiling walkways, putting down gangers that were looking for highground with quickhacks, garrote wire, and old fashioned chokeholds.
David was always a bit touchy about killing unnecessarily, perhaps due to his young age, but even he had relented in this case. This Maelstrom hideout had been the cause of double digit disappearances around the district, and had been serving as a large provider of snuff XBDs. They rarely came across gigs that were so black and white, and David ultimately agreed with the 100% lethality level rules of engagement.
A huge, musclebound Maelstrom member approached from around the hallway, brandishing a huge sledge, roaring with pain and rage. Kiwi watched as David dropped quietly behind the muscled bruiser, drew an oversized handcannon, and dropped the man with two shots to the back of the skull.
Huh. That guy was one of the bonus objectives from their fixer - guess David was the one getting the extra bounty this time. Kiwi made a mental note as Rebecca and David met up and shared a high-five, before separating again to chase down the scattering gangers.
She leaned back in the leather seats and made herself comfortable. The peak of danger had passed, but was definitely still present. The gangers were routed and screaming for the exits (which Kiwi had locked up tight, thank you very much), but some of them would eventually calm down and start planning ambushes; it was their home turf, after all. Kiwi’s job was to watch out for that and notify anyone nearby to be careful when taking out the trash.
Still though it wasn't as if she couldn’t take it a bit easy. Anyone with anything large caliber enough to threaten their group’s armor, subdermal or otherwise, had been neutralized early. The pea-shooters left in Maelstrom’s hands could cause bruises at most.
Her fingers danced along the keyboard, switching between feeds and confirming what she already knew: Maelstrommers being bulldozed left and right by the team’s combined force of arms. She luxuriated in the satisfaction of a plan gone well.
Then the door to the back of the van opened with a jerk, allowing the last rays of the day to shine into Kiwi’s mobile workstation. Standing there was a befuddled ganger, covered in blood and clearly looking for a vehicle - any vehicle - to escape the premises. And as luck would have it, on this side of the building there was only a single van in the entire lot.
Kiwi looked in silence as she followed his gaze, tracking over all the monitored camera feeds, cabling, and finally settling on her. Then, she imagined that she saw a vengeful realization come into being on the ganger’s glowing crimson faceplate.
“Bitch! You’re one of theirs! You uploaded the -”
There was a small crack of a silenced pistol, and the ganger collapsed backwards. Seconds later V stood at the van’s door, nudging the downed man with his foot while he reholstered his gun. Kiwi ignored the slightly judgemental glance that he shot her way.
V tutted.
“Kiwi, you can’t tell me you didn’t notice the guy.”
Kiwi shrugged. “Oh, I knew that he was coming. He managed to crack the glass window on the third floor and climbed down a drainage pipe. Dripped a bloody trail all over the ledge.”
“And you let him get his far?” said V, hoisting the body up with a wince and placing him a distance away from the van.
“I saw you rounding the corner,” said Kiwi with a yawn, and got up and stretched. She stepped out the back of the van and gave V a quick peck on the lips. “It was like watching my Rube Golberg machine come to full fruition, I didn’t want to step in and interfere. And besides, I like getting saved by you.”
V chuckled despite himself. “Was it everything you hoped for?”
“Everything and more,” said Kiwi with a note of contentment. “How was work?”
“You watched most of it,” V replied casually. “We’ll probably have to chide Rebecca for rushing ahead of the pack again, but she’s so good at what she does that she usually gets away with it anyway. David though, he gives me the chills sometimes.”
Kiwi raised an eyebrow. “How so?”
V shot back a disbelieving glance, like he couldn’t understand why she was asking the question.
“He’s been a merc for like what, barely a year? But now he can run circles around people that’ve been in the business for decades. Not just because of his Sandy either, he’s got a really good sense for this sort of stuff. And you guys just plucked this guy off the street?”
Kiwi lit up a cigarette. She would have heard no end of it if she did it in the team van, instead of outside. “I mean, yeah. You probably heard it from him, but it was exactly what happened - picked him up after he installed a Sandevistan meant for Maine. He’s not hiding anything, believe me; I triple checked his background prior to joining us.”
“Ah, like how you triple checked my background accurately,” V sniped.
“Can’t help it, the spoofed data said you were in the chess club. With a nerdy face like yours, I was instantly sold,” Kiwi shot back. She grinned at V and exhaled another cloud of cigarette smoke.
V frowned. “Hang on, but I actually was in the chess – oh, piss off.”
Laughing, Kiwi shrugged off the light shove from V. The main doors to the complex opened, and out from the entrance emerged the rest of the team, all dusty and grimy, covered in blood that hopefully wasn’t their own. Time to make sure.
“Sound off,” called out Kiwi. “Any boo-boos or rolled ankles that we need to attend to before we go?”
Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Cut that shit Kiwi, they couldn’t touch us. And if some of us got nailed by a few stray shots, not the end of the world is it?”
“It is when someone gets them trying to cover your ass, Rebecca,” said Kiwi lightly. “Because you overextended, Jackie had to take risks himself to make sure you didn’t get capped. Just because Jackie is too nice to mention it doesn’t mean I won’t.”
Jackie shifted a bit uneasily, and opened his mouth. Probably coming in with a joke to ease the tension. But Kiwi could see V coming up from behind him, and shushing him with a pat on the back.
Rebecca fumed. “Kiwi, are you fucking serious –”
“...Becca.”
Rebecca shut up, her lips drawn up in a small pout. “... alright, I’ll watch my pacing. Sorry Jackie.”
Jackie smiled and offered a high-five, which Rebecca responded to with a chagrined grin of her own.”
Kiwi nodded. “All I ask. Beyond that, good work Rebecca. Nice job on clearing the west wing so efficiently. And David; you’re getting the eddie bonus for getting rid of Red Sledge. Buy Lucy something preem with that, alright?”
David grinned. “You bet, Kiwi.”
“And tell her to actually pick up my calls sometimes, it’s not always business calls from me.” Kiwi took another long drag from her cigarette. “Alright, that’s about it. Kids, get your asses in the van. Time to get a few drinks in.”
---------------------
As usual, Turbo’s was packed to the brim. But by now everyone in the area knew them, and in a welcoming chorus of cheers and greetings people made spaces for them in the open air lot. A selection of beers, tequila and soft drinks were brought over to them without prompting and Kiwi nodded her thanks at the staff. The team came here after every successful mission, and there had been a lot of those recently.
They clinked their drinks together, and Kiwi couldn’t help but smile to herself as she downed her beer. A few years ago, she couldn’t have seen herself running a team ever. Always a woman of a few words, she liked staying out of the spotlight unless pressed and stayed in her own lane when it came to responsibilities as well.
But picking up the whole of the group as her responsibility had turned out surprisingly well. She didn’t feel like a leader, not really – it was a trite and overused term, but “first among equals” fit the feeling much, much better. V helped her with strategic planning, Jackie managed networking with fixers, Rebecca and David made sure the team did other things than just work. Sometimes she felt like she just had to sit back and let it happen.
Kiwi watched as Rebecca and Jackie started to mingle with the crowd, and lazily lit up a cigarette.
“How is Lucy, by the way?” V asked David as he settled in with some whiskey. “Haven’t seen her in more than a bit.”
David made an unsure noise. “She’s doing fine. Really busy with something, whenever I get home she’s either out or doing netrunner stuff again. Occasionally I manage to get her out of the house for a date or something, but…” David shook his head.
Kiwi managed to read between the lines. “Still doesn’t want to hang out with us if she can help it?”
A flash of emotion came across the young edgerunner’s face. “...that’s my guess. And I can’t get anything out of her. I know she’s not a very expressive person when you really come down to it, but it’s getting worse.”
There was a whoop from the crowd as Rebecca started to juggle her massive shotguns, with Jackie in the crowd taking suggestions for what she should juggle next.
“She can’t still be guilty about that Tanaka gig, right? It was messy, but it wasn’t her fault,” said Kiwi with a frown.
“Yeah.” David’s fingers clenched around his glass. “It wasn’t. I don’t know… she still doesn’t go see Maine with me, but I could tell she was happy and relieved when I told her that Maine managed two whole words that one time. I just don’t understand it.”
Kiwi sighed. “I checked her records - she did everything right during the gig. And I’d remind her of that if I could get a hold of her. Seriously, it’s like she’s vanished from the netrunning community as well; I barely see her net handle active anymore. If this is her way of taking responsibility of a fuck up, she’s doing it wrong. She’s acting like she’s on the run, and I don’t get it.”
“Maybe she’s planning something? A surprise?” asked V.
David laughed. “It honestly feels like that sometimes, the way I feel that she’s hiding things from me. But it’s not anything like that.”
“Maybe it’s–”
Someone pinged Kiwi on the holo and she raised an eyebrow. She waved off the questioning stares and murmured a quick, “I’ve got to take this,” before moving away from the crowds and to the edge of the street.
And as the cold wind blew, she accepted the call.
“Faraday. How are you doing?”
“Splendid,” said Faraday smoothly. God, the man’s voice had somehow become even more self-satisfied today, like a cat who had gotten the canary.
“Good to hear,” said Kiwi, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. “But what’s up with the late night call? We’ll need some time to recover between gigs, and we just finished something decently large.”
“Ah yes, something from Wakako, was it? I keep telling you Kiwi, if you and your team would work exclusively for me, the compensation would be incomparable. Sure you don’t want to reconsider? Our work together thus far has already made us quite wealthy.”
An old topic between the two. “As much as I appreciate the offer, my response is still very much the same: Not at this time. But that’s probably not why you called, right?”
There was a pause.
“Perceptive as always,” responded Faraday. “Luckily for you, it’s a trait that I also share. I have little birds that tell me things, and some of them - in light of some recent events - have done some searching around. Have you caught wind of the recent slew of netrunner deaths?”
She had; corpo and mercenary netrunners alike, all chasing after some digital ghost, and eventually turning up flatlined on the subnet news. She hadn’t inquired further beyond that.
“I have. But if you want info, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“Ah, but I’m the one sharing info today,” said Faraday smugly. “Turns out, this person may be the one who had gotten Tanaka’s data after all, and has been killing the hunting dogs sent after their scent.”
“Tanaka’s data?” Kiwi snorted. “I sent you the netrunning records, and I’ve said this already: The files don’t exist –”
“And I’m saying that you’re wrong, the netrunning record logs were wrong, and the files do exist,” Faraday interrupted. “Think about it, and sleep on it. I’m sure a smart woman like you can come to some conclusions. Nevertheless, this brings me to my actual request. I find myself in need of an aggressive netrunner to nail down our impertinent friend. I have the baits, the lures, but not the teeth of the trap.”
“...and you want me to do it?”
“Last I checked, you were still the best in my employ, and I won’t need anyone from your team but you. Quick in and out gig. And consider it thus; a chance to finally complete the… mishandled Tanaka case, and also an opportunity to discover who really tried to kill your team.”
Kiwi grunted. What, some sort of overarching conspiracy? That sounded like some contrived bullshit. However… Faraday was an arrogant blowhard, yes, but he also rarely made statements without some sort of backing evidence. Something out of this entire thing stank, and a sense of trepidation slowly crept over her heart.
“Alright,” she said, finally. “Send me the time and place. I’ll be there.”
“Excellent,” said Faraday. “I’ll be seeing you soon.”
The line cut, and Kiwi was left by herself once again. She pocketed her packet of cigarettes that she had taken out unconsciously, and trudged back to the party in the cold night air.
Jackie, David and V were now crowded together around a small table with a selection of liquor. The men were mature enough to watch their intake, so Kiwi wasn’t worried about a scene. They did tend to get a bit sentimental after a bit of the hard stuff though – like now, for example.
V was hunched forwards, eyes intense as he talked. “...not kidding, after my Mantis arm installation I started getting the shakes. In the beginning I thought it was just a temporary thing, but they just wouldn’t stop . When I mentioned this to my doc, they just gave me double strength immuno suppressors and told me to fuck off.”
Jackie shook his head and sighed. “V, my man… why did you get them in the first place, then?”
“Because he needed to match the ridiculous performance indexes Arasaka set for him, I’d bet,” said David as he took another sip of beer. “Even if you’re ahead of the pack, they still require the same growth from you percentage wise, which just makes it ever so hard to maintain your pace.”
“Got it in one,” said V. His eyes lit up when he saw Kiwi approaching. “And like a message from God on high, an angel appeared to rip them off for me. And all the rest of my cyberware, for that matter.”
He wrapped an arm around Kiwi as she sat down, and she fought hard not to flush at the open display of affection. Had to maintain appearances in front of the team after all.
David perked up as well. “Hey Kiwi! You won’t believe this - I just managed to get Lucy to agree to something!”
Kiwi took a swig out of V’s glass. “Oh? Is that so?”
“Yeah, remember how I told you about how we went to the Badlands to see the stars? I’ve been trying to convince her, and she’s finally agreed to take all of us. We can do a triple date thing: You and V, Jackie can grab Misty, and me and Lucy. It’ll be great!”
“That just leaves Rebecca out,” noted V.
David scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, I know… but who knows, this might actually light a fire behind her to actually start dating people instead of just teasing me.”
Kiwi felt something inside her cringe and die for Rebecca. Oh, David… clueless as usual. But she had to admit, her interest was piqued. She didn’t have opportunities to visit the Badlands outside of the city that often, and this sounded fun. Not to mention this being one of the few times she could catch Lucy in the flesh again.
“Sure, I’m game,” she said. “Have to do a quick side job for Faraday before that though, that was the call I just took.”
“Oh? What’s the cabrón want this time?” asked Jackie.
“... not sure.” said Kiwi, after a pause. With everything so uncertain, it was better to see things for herself before spouting off. “Netrunner job, hunting someone down through the subnets. I’ll tell you all once it’s done.”
“Hey, you can tell us all about it during the ride over to the Badlands.” Jackie slapped his legs and stood up, stretching. “Alright, probably gonna be heading out. Take care of yourself during the gig, eh Kiwi? Keep yourself in one piece for our trip?”
Kiwi snorted softly and nodded. “If there’s a lone netrunner that could trip me up, I haven’t met them yet.” She took another long drink.
“I’ll be fine,” she said confidently.