Chapter 28: A Call from the Queen of the Afterlife
"Dorio..."
A groggy voice echoed through Viktor's clinic. Maine was pushing himself up from the floor. Propped up on his hands, his eyes, still hazy from the anesthesia, focused on his new arm. In an instant, the fog cleared, replaced by sharp clarity. His pupils contracted, then dilated, then spun—like a machine booting up.
A jolt of excitement surged through him. His internal bio-monitors kicked in, flooding his system with adrenaline, instantly burning off the remaining anesthetic.
CLICK—
Maine flexed his new chrome arm with a thought, marveling at the sleek, gray-black projectile launcher. Pure joy lit up his face. "Fuck yeah! This is what you call an arm cannon!"
"Glad you like it. But please don't deploy the weaponry in here. It's dangerous," Viktor's calm voice came from behind him. Maine turned and saw Rhys talking to the other big guy who had burst in earlier.
"Rhys, you didn't get any chrome installed?" Maine walked over, looking Rhys up and down. His clothes were fine, and he looked unchanged.
"I did. Bought a small anti-surveillance implant," Rhys replied.
"How many eddies could that piece of junk cost? Are you serious?" Maine frowned. He was a firm believer in the 'chrome is power' philosophy and wanted Rhys chromed-up and even stronger. His thinking was the opposite of Dorio's ex-Animal perspective.
"What? You think that's cheap? Mano, how loaded are you guys?" the man standing next to Rhys exclaimed.
Hearing him speak, Maine's eyebrows shot up. Damn, this guy's got energy. The big dude's voice hit him like a blast of ice-cold beer on a scorching day—boisterous, straightforward, no bullshit. Way better than Rhys had been when they first met—all cold, awkward, and hostile like a kicked street kid. This guy... Maine liked this guy.
"So how much do you think it's worth? It's just a small implant," Maine challenged Jackie.
"Mano, that's a military-grade optical camo system! Forget gang cameras; even corpo surveillance won't get a clean shot of your face. All they'll see is pixels. Maybe your body outline. How could you possibly think that's cheap?" Jackie said, exasperated. He held up his hands, "Ten... fuck!" He dropped his hands. "Sixteen... No, one hundred and sixty thousand! That thing's worth one-sixty K!"
"?" Maine turned to Rhys, his face twitching, the cybernetics around his eyes practically spasming. "Rhys, did you really just blow one hundred and sixty thousand eddies on a piece of junk that just pixelates your face?"
Rhys just shrugged innocently. He thought it was a pretty useful piece of tech. In Night City, where your personal data leaked like a sieve, having military-grade optical camo was a huge advantage for staying off the grid. How else did V manage to walk around freely after pissing off every major corp and gang in the city? It wasn't just because he was a cyberpsycho legend who'd carve up anyone who looked at him funny while activating his Sandevistan, right?
Maine wanted to argue further. With one-sixty K, Rhys could have gotten some real chrome! Those old implants he had were practically antiques. He needed an upgrade worthy of his skills. But just as he opened his mouth, a weak voice interrupted him.
"Aw... fuck me..."
"Shit... where am I? What... happened?"
Everyone turned. Kiwi was swaying as she tried to sit up on the stool where Viktor had left her. She clutched her head, her optics flickering erratically. Her jaw... was exposed, revealing the intricate mechanics underneath. Misty had apparently taken her red mask off to clean it. She really was a good nurse.
"Kiwi? You're awake?"
"Maine...? Rhys?" Kiwi looked blearily between them. "I remember... someone got close... uploaded a virus... then, they shot me in the head... I'm not dead?"
"Of course you're not dead. Rhys blocked the shot," Maine said with a grin, pointing to Rhys's bandaged shoulder.
Rhys looked at her. "How are you feeling?"
Kiwi's gaze shifted to Rhys, her expression complex. She saw the bandage on his shoulder, and her eyes softened slightly. "Okay... Just... feel weak."
"Good. Yesterday you were puking synthetic oil, then coolant... you even coughed up a piece of internal hardware."
Hearing Rhys's description, Kiwi could vividly imagine how bad it had been. She took a deep breath and asked the question that had been bothering her. "Why... didn't you just leave me there?"
"What kind of stupid fucking question is that?!" It was Maine who answered, cutting her off, his voice laced with anger despite being directed at Rhys. "I told you, from the moment you helped us hack those 6th Street bastards, you were family."
"Do you not understand what 'family' means?"
"..." Kiwi fell silent, lowering her head, lost in thought.
With Kiwi awake, the rest of the crew started stirring. First Sasha, writhing on the floor like a big pink grub as she slowly sat up. Then Rebecca, curled into a green ball. Then Dorio, and finally Pilar. Maine's yelling had woken everyone up.
Viktor had already gone back to watching his boxing match.
"How's everyone feeling?"
"Slept like a log. Haven't slept that good in ages."
"Hey, hey, hey! Why can't I get used to this new eye? What's wrong...? Oh, forgot to turn it on." Rebecca shook her head and tapped the side of her temple with a small, meaty fist.
Rhys walked over to Sasha, just as she was looking for him. Seeing him, her cat-like lips quirked into that mischievous, faux-innocent grin.
"Status?"
Sasha rubbed her head. "Good," she chirped. "Better than ever. He installed an overload dampener in here. Hey... I didn't do anything stupid yesterday, did I?"
"Hmm... If demanding Nicola Blue, then crying when you didn't get it counts as stupid..." Rhys mused, but before he could finish, Sasha clamped a hand over his mouth, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Shut up!"
"Pfft—" Rhys couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Seeing him laugh, Sasha lunged, trying to grab his face, playfully wrestling him. Thankfully, she kept her claws retracted; her Mantis Blades would have shredded him.
Rhys caught her arms, laughing as they tussled. Suddenly, his optics glowed yellow. He instinctively stopped fighting and pulled her into a hug.
The netrunner froze, her playful anger vanishing instantly. She went still in his arms, her large, expressive eyes blinking rapidly.
"Fuck! Let her go! Let me!" Pilar yelled, seeing them, ready to charge.
But Rhys ignored him. He'd just received an unexpected call. From an unknown number.
A call... from a major player. The caller ID was displayed.
"Hello, Rogue."
Just that one sentence stopped Pilar in his tracks. Jackie, who had been watching the crew with envious fascination, gaped, utterly shocked. Maine and the others froze.
Rhys... who the hell was he talking to?
And then, her voice echoed in Rhys's head. Cool and commanding.
"Afterlife. I need to talk to you."
"Now?" Rhys asked.
Her reply was instant, devoid of warmth.
"Immediately, kid."