After deducting 40% for the team fund, which amounted to two million eurodollars, from the total five million eurodollars, the remaining three million eurodollars were the squad's cut for this job.
Every member of the Kindling Squad participated in this mission. In terms of contribution, aside from Mercer and V who still firmly occupied the top of the contribution list, the person who ranked third was, surprisingly, the seemingly unreliable Pilar.
Not only did Pilar participate in the creation and modification of the drones, but he also cobbled together a rapid-fire rocket launcher from individual rockets. His sniper rifle also proved useful several times. It could be said that his contribution was nearly on par with V's.
As for the others, while they didn't make any outstanding contributions, they all basically did what was required of them.
Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, Mercer decided that Pilar, V, and he would take 50% of the cut, with each person getting roughly seventeen percent.
Kiwi, Lucy, Maine, Dorio, Sasha, and Rebecca would split the remaining portion.
This was by no means a small sum. With everyone receiving at least close to two hundred thousand eurodollars, it was enough for the crew to live lavishly for a long time after this job.
As for the two million eurodollars deducted for the team fund, it would be used to pay commissions, including the one for the Aldecaldos, which would be about two hundred thousand eurodollars.
Considering they had provided people, effort, and equipment, Mercer felt this sum was fair. By then, the Aldecaldos who had worked on the job would each get around ten thousand eurodollars, which was a lucrative deal for them.
Another portion would be used to cover losses and base operations.
Mercer planned to lay low for a while and get the base's money-making ventures on the right track. The production input and the base's utility expenses were not small, so Mercer didn't plan on buying anything else expensive, intending to be frugal.
After the money was distributed, everyone excitedly went off to think about how they would spend their share, but Mercer waved a hand and called Lucy over.
Telling her to wait for him in her room for a bit, Mercer found the medical kit Panam had specifically placed in the room and went upstairs.
She was sitting on the mattress, dazed. She only snapped out of it when she saw Mercer walk in with the medical kit, then said, "I don't need..."
"I'll know whether you need it or not after I check."
Mercer just glared at her, sat down in front of her, and, without taking no for an answer, reached out and took her right leg to examine it.
He first carefully touched her shin and knee through the netrunning suit. "Does it hurt?"
Lucy looked at his face and hesitantly nodded.
Mercer then frowned and continued to use his hands to confirm the location of her injuries. Her ankle was, unsurprisingly, sprained and visibly red and swollen. Still, Mercer had her endure the pain while he checked for any fractures.
Although he didn't have professional equipment, Mercer, who had taken advanced medical courses in both Arasaka and Biotechnica online classes, quickly assessed her condition.
"We need to go see Vik. At the very least, you have a ligament problem in this leg. I suspect there might be some hairline fractures in a few places, but the good news is there shouldn't be any torn ligaments or direct fractures." Mercer made his diagnosis. "Topical medication can only numb the pain. The simplest thing to do is get it checked out. If it needs cyberware repair, get it repaired. That way, you'll probably only need to spray it for three days post-op to fully recover."
In this world, all sorts of external injuries were the easiest to deal with. No matter what part was broken, the simplest method was to just get a replacement. Synthetic materials were far tougher and more durable than the human body. As long as you didn't buy from some small-time company or get second-hand goods, they would basically last a lifetime without any issues.
"Oh," Lucy said softly, lightly brushing her short hair back as she watched him lower her leg and sit cross-legged in front of her.
Mercer picked up the pain-numbing spray, rolled up the leg of her netrunning suit, sprayed the medicine on, and performed some simple first aid.
Lucy just blinked, letting him do as he pleased, watching his gentle movements as he evenly applied the medication.
Once he was done, Mercer packed everything up, washed his hands, and looked around. He decided he might as well catch up on some sleep right here. He had been busy since early yesterday morning and had only closed his eyes for about an hour. Now that he was relaxed, he was actually feeling a bit drowsy.
So, Mercer simply lay down on her mattress. "I'm going to rest for a bit. You just sit here and rest, got it? Tomorrow, I'll take you to see Vik."
"Mhm." Lucy shifted to make some room for him, then rested a hand on her knee, propped up her chin, and turned her head to look at him.
Mercer, however, fell asleep without a care in the world, as if he was dead to the world the moment he closed his eyes. Watching him lie there quietly, Lucy surprisingly felt a wave of drowsiness come over her as well. She carefully moved her legs and lay down beside him, closing her eyes.
He didn't know how long he had slept, but when Mercer opened his eyes, it was already dark outside. He turned his head and saw Lucy, who was using his arm as a pillow, sleeping soundly.
Mercer carefully pulled out his arm, which had gone numb from being pinned, and stood up. He shook it a few times before he felt the blood circulating through it again.
Seeing how soundly she was sleeping, Mercer didn't disturb her. He tiptoed out of the room and went downstairs, where he saw V, Maine, and the others chatting in the living room.
He very naturally walked over to them. Kiwi handed him a cup of instant hot coffee. Not caring whose it was, Mercer took it, had a couple of sips, and said "thanks" to her with a smile before sitting down. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Maine's past," V replied casually, then teased, "Did you have a nice sleep with Lucy?"
"Damn, why does that sound so wrong coming from you?" Mercer shot her a glance, then leaned back on the sofa, looking languid.
He was used to being busy right after waking up. Now that he was suddenly idle, he actually felt a bit unaccustomed to it.
Mercer listened for a while, then found an opportunity to steer the conversation to a topic he was interested in.
"Do you know a guy named Reed?" Mercer's sudden question made Maine subconsciously turn his head to look at him.
Maine frowned. "I know him. We were comrades-in-arms. When I was discharged, he even tried to recruit me to come to Night City and keep working for the NUSA. You know him?"
"I know him, but he doesn't know me." Mercer paused, then said directly, "He's still in Dogtown right now."
"Are you sure?" Maine was somewhat astonished. "I thought all the NUSA people left after the armistice agreement took effect. Back then, those Arasaka people did a major purge of Night City."
"More or less. He barely escaped with his life, got sold out by his own people, but was ultimately saved by President Myers of the NUSA."
After Mercer finished, Dorio, who was beside him, asked curiously, "Is this also thanks to that ctOS of yours? I heard Rebecca going on about it just now, saying you made some super preem deets-gathering system."
Rebecca, however, retorted irritably, "If you ask him, he'll definitely say yes. But I suspect this guy has other sources of intel. He's so secretive."
She shot Mercer a glare, seemingly having an issue with him and Lucy napping together; in the afternoon, she had felt Mercer had been gone for a while and went to look for him, only to find him and Lucy sleeping soundly together.
Mercer shrugged. "Anyway, this guy is an FIA agent now, just in a dormant state, not yet activated by the NUSA. I wanted to ask what your impression of him is."
Maine gave a rather direct answer: "A good man, a reliable comrade, a loyal soldier; he's not like me. He'd do anything for the NUSA."
After a sigh, a rare, somewhat somber expression appeared on Maine's face, as if he was reminiscing. A second or two later, he continued, "I don't recommend you deal with him, unless you plan on siding with the NUSA."
"What about his skill level?" Mercer pressed.
In the game, Reed was one-shotted by V, but that absolutely didn't mean he was the kind of cannon fodder V could just instantly kill.
As an agent, his combat skills were by no means his strongest asset. His mind, his strategies, his composure, that was where the agent's true value lay.
"Well, let's put it this way. Besides V, no one here is probably his match. And if he was determined to assassinate someone, I guess even V would have a hard time surviving."
Maine was speaking the truth.
V, however, suddenly raised a hand, a headache coming on. "Stop, stop, stop... why is the FIA involved now? I thought we were hiding out in Dogtown to have less trouble?"
The moment she heard Mercer's question, she guessed he must have thought of something related to the NUSA.
Whether Mercer wanted to cooperate with them or trip them up, it would definitely be a huge hassle either way.
"I'd like that too, but I'm guessing that after this is all over, both Militech and the NUSA will have their eyes on me," Mercer said.
"Why? Your netrunner skills? The NUSA is huge, they wouldn't come after you just for that, would they?" V said.
Mercer just chuckled. "Honestly, if they truly knew my skill level, my netrunning abilities alone would be enough for me to walk into the White House and get a job on the spot."
V only knew his skills were preem, but she had no idea they were that preem. She looked at him suspiciously. "For real?"
"But this time, it's mainly because of that exoskeleton," Mercer said truthfully. "After Militech's people study it a few times, they'll probably realize just how astonishing my talent as its user is. For the past few decades, Militech has been desperate to find a reliable merc to succeed Morgan Blackhand, to fight for their position in Night City and strike down their enemies. And Myers from NUSA is even more complicated. I'm worried she'll see me as an upgraded replacement for some poor netrunner."
Mercer felt he wasn't just being an alarmist; it was highly likely this would happen.
"So what's the plan? Do you have one or not?" V asked with a frown.
"I do~ If I didn't have a plan, I definitely wouldn't be stupid enough to just hand this equipment over to Militech."
Mercer laughed. "My idea is to eat the sugar-coating and throw the cannonball back. No matter how they want to recruit me, they'll have to show me the benefits first."
"Aren't you afraid they'll use you as a guinea pig?" Rebecca understood the implication in his words.
"That would be fantastic. This set of cyberware I have, wasn't it a free gift from someone who wanted to use me as a guinea pig?" Mercer laughed heartily.
He said with a grin, "After we've taken all the benefits from Militech and NUSA, we'll just keep flip-flopping and jump over to Kang Tao or Arasaka. While we're at it, we can leave Dogtown and officially move into the city proper of Night City."
"You wish," V commented.
But Mercer was very confident. "Just you wait and see. However, for now, we still need to try our best to cooperate with Militech and NUSA. We'll use this opportunity of selling them the exoskeleton to establish a connection, and then we'll just fleece them for all they're worth."
From the very beginning, Mercer had made up his mind. If Stout proved reliable, he really did plan to establish a short-term cooperative relationship with Militech to get as many benefits as possible.
Once he reached an agreement with Yorinobu, he would consider switching sides. Or, if Militech's appetite was too big and they really did target him to be used as a guinea pig, then Mercer would take the benefits and turn around to join Kang Tao first.
After using the exoskeleton, Mercer could also finally be certain of one thing: his tolerance for cyberware was by no means inferior to V's.
Strictly speaking, he was practically natural-born borg. As long as he was given a suitable set of equipment, Adam Smasher would be nothing but a punk in front of him.
He was confident he could build himself a suit of battle armor that was in no way inferior to Adam Smasher's, but the problem was, he lacked the corresponding development and manufacturing capabilities.
He already had some design ideas in his head. Next, he would have to see where he could fleece some support from.
Mercer changed the subject, not delving into the details. V and the others didn't press further either. They were used to him stirring up trouble anyway, and since he would definitely discuss it with everyone before making a final decision, there was no need to talk too much about it when nothing was set in stone.
The group laughed and joked around for a while. When the sky had completely darkened, Mercer volunteered to take the night watch.
Late at night, a newly awakened Lucy came downstairs, limping groggily to find something to eat. After grabbing a bag of instant jelly, she turned her head and saw Mercer sitting by the window, his cyberoptics glowing and his brow slightly furrowed.
"In trouble again?" she asked.
"Yeah. Morning Star found some anomalies and is reporting the situation to me now."
Mercer gave a simple reply, his attention still focused on his communication with Morning Star.
[Morning Star: It can now be confirmed that the people scouting the area around the base are disguised Barghest. Based on a comparison of personal information, I have sent their personal files to your inbox.]
[Mercer: Your assessment?]
[Morning Star: It doesn't seem like Hansen's handiwork, as the Barghest soldiers who came to scout the base don't have the status or rank to match your strength. I'm more inclined to believe these soldiers got greedy over Faraday's three-million-eurodollars bounty, or they received a commission from Arasaka through some channel.]
Mercer didn't give a direct answer, instead continuing to ask.
[Mercer: What do you think we should do now?]
[Morning Star: My recommendation is that communicating directly with Colonel Hansen would be the most prudent course of action.]
[Mercer: Oh?]
[Morning Star: You currently have an Arasaka warrant out for you. Even if Stout later publicly states that the exoskeleton is in Militech's hands, the possibility of Arasaka retaliation cannot be ruled out. Rather than waiting for Arasaka and Hansen to strike some kind of deal that threatens you and the base's security, it would be better to take the initiative and negotiate with Hansen now. Furthermore, considering Hansen's personality, approaching him in a way that shows you need his help might allow your cooperation to proceed without conflict in the short term. At the very least, as long as you don't plan on moving out of Dogtown anytime soon, dealing with Hansen is unavoidable.]
Morning Star clearly understood Hansen's personality very well.
He was the type of guy who liked to be in the dominant, proactive position in all things. If you appeared weaker than him, he might actually be willing to cooperate properly and wouldn't stir up trouble unless your interests clashed.
But if you were too assertive, to the point where he felt threatened, the guy was prone to losing control.
Mercer fell into thought.
But Morning Star was still presenting its plan.
[Morning Star: You have already fully demonstrated your and Kindling Squad's combat capabilities, and you possess sufficient technical skills. From any angle, Hansen's need for you right now far outweighs the threat you pose to him. As long as you are willing to appropriately relinquish the dominant position, based on my judgment, you and Hansen will have a honeymoon period of at least a year. During this time, you and Hansen can absolutely achieve mutual success.]
Mercer simply nodded.
[Mercer: Let's do that, then. I'll... actually, I'll contact Hansen tomorrow morning. As for the Barghest soldiers around the base, are the internal security systems sufficient?]
[Morning Star: According to my calculations, the probability of them breaching the base's automated defense systems is 0.17%.]
[Mercer: Then I'll leave it to you. Tell Kyoko not to worry too much. If anyone has designs on the base, then let them die.]
[Morning Star: Understood.]
After another moment of contemplation, Mercer decided to start communicating with Hansen right away.
[Mercer: Go and send an email to Hansen in my name. Remember to attach the files on this group of people. Ask him if these Barghest soldiers around here were acting on his orders, and leave him my personal contact information. Wait for him to call me.]
The purpose of this was to remind Hansen that some of his men were taking matters into their own hands and causing trouble for Mercer.
As for Hansen's reaction... he would most likely take advantage of the situation to threaten him a bit, assertively reminding him who was the boss of Dogtown before seeking cooperation with Mercer.
Dealing with this kind of warlord was truly a pain. Mercer pursed his lips, no longer worried about the situation back at the base. The base had security bots and automatic turrets, and the entrance to the underground facility was extremely well-hidden. He didn't need to worry about any small-time players at all.
He turned his head and, seeing Lucy was still looking at him, took the initiative to explain.
"Hansen's side has probably got their eyes on us, but they haven't made a move yet. They're likely waiting for me to deal with the trouble on my plate and return to Dogtown to see how I clean up this mess before they contact me. It's just that his subordinates are getting a little restless. I don't know if Arasaka commissioned them privately or if they're just greedy for the bounty. In any case, it seems the sooner we meet with him, the better."
Lucy said worriedly, "Kyoko is still at the base by herself."
"It's fine, Morning Star is watching her. With the heavy drones, deployable machine guns, and several robots in the base, forget a few Barghest soldiers; they'd need at least an elite tactical squadron to even get in."
Mercer said confidently, "With Morning Star, the lethality of those unmanned machines is far greater than you can imagine."
Lucy nodded, but she still wasn't entirely at ease.
Seeing her like this, Mercer comforted her, "Don't worry, I've already had Morning Star send Hansen an email to gauge his attitude. If the situation looks bad, I'll have Kyoko delta."
"I knew we should have sent her to the Aldecaldos," Lucy said.
"...I'd actually feel she was less safe over there," Mercer reminded Lucy. "We're worth three million eurodollars right now. Even if most of the Aldecaldos are good people, what if just one of them turns out to be unreliable..."
This was also why he hadn't chosen to hide with the Aldecaldos, but had instead separately commissioned Panam to find him a hideout.
Lucy could only nod and say, "Alright, then. How long until we can go back? She's all alone there..."
"Why do you sound like her mother?" Mercer chuckled. "She's a lot tougher than you think."
Lucy shot him a glare.
Mercer reassured her, "It won't be too long. Stout's side should have some results in a day or two. We'll be able to go back soon."
"I hope so," Lucy said, then curled up on the sofa and continued to doze off while watching the boring commercials on TV.
Mercer, meanwhile, turned his head to continue staring out the window, standing guard while lost in thought, enjoying the rare moment of peace and quiet.
Just as Mercer was savoring this rare moment of rest, a fierce argument had broken out within Militech because of him.
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