Never Fade Away: Day of the Dead (ch. 41) (Patreon)

"Listeners, a whole lot of shit started flying since the Konpeki Clash and Arasaka hitting the trail, and I'm to report about some of it that's a sight more serious than some lost jobs, that no one else is likely to talk about.

A Nomad Clan based near Night City, name of Red Ochre…. got wiped out. Not just killed - torn apart. An entire camp of over two hundred Nomads - men, women and children - slaughtered and left to rot in the desert sun. And no one knows who or why - shit most folk didn't even notice! And some probably fuckin celebrated, cuz people in the city all seem to think all Nomads are Raffen Shiv.

Let me tell you now - they ain't. Just like not everyone in town is a Scav. Most Nomads… are better people than those you'd find in the city. They value their family more than any amount of eddies, and family to a Nomad means their entire clan.

That's what got murdered - a family of two hundred people. But, some survived - a handful of Red Ochres that weren't in the camp when it happened. And they're not running - they look to find who butchered their kin and return the favor. If you know anything? Drop a line and Nora'll run it to 'em. Cuz right now, the only clue they got?

Whoever did it had claws.

…

Here's The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia by Vicki Lawrence."

~

"Someone just tried to kill you," River blurted out as they watched the vehicle vanish down the road. That caught Kaiden flat footed, making him snap his attention to him. The car that did the drive-by was the one that had been following them since the investigation began. Kaiden just assumed that the car was there to shadow them for River's sake in case Kaiden proved to be hostile. A reasonable enough measure. Except for the fact that Kaiden caught the tail as soon as he started following them.

"I don't think that was meant for me. I think that was for you, River," Kaiden replied, making River's brow furrow. "The people that try to kill me aren't the drive-by type, if you know what I mean?" He added and now a deep frown started tugging at his lips. "Do you have any enemies?"

Based on how River's expression twisted, a name came to mind. What that name was, he apparently didn't feel like sharing since he simply crossed his arms. "I've put a number of people behind bars. Could be any one of them," he deflected, a challenge in his voice, as if daring Kaiden to call him out on it. It was clearly something personal if River was protecting the name of the person that just tried to kill them.

"Could it be anyone in the police department?" Kaiden prodded, thinking it was more likely than some criminal that happened to see him on the street, follow him, then sprayed out the window. The exact situation in the NCPD escaped him, but Kaiden couldn't imagine that trying to stay on the straight and narrow made River particularly popular within the corrupt department. And, based on how his lips thinned, Kaiden's guess was closer to the mark than not.

"Could be related to the case," River deflected, and badly. "It's no accident that they tried to get us both right after we walked out of a crime scene." Kaiden didn't believe that for a second. River was hiding something, but Kaiden wasn't sure why. Did he just not want help? That reminded him of L, and instantly, Kaiden found himself annoyed with the comparison. Even if it was a spot on one because Kaiden could see that River was going to dig his heels in, meaning that he had to use the same tactic he did with L.

Basically, hope that it became such a problem that they realized they couldn't deal with it alone and that they were smart enough to ask for help.

Kaiden swallowed his questions, through the matter very much wasn't dropped. "Maybe," he allowed after a moment. He did entertain the possibility -- Biotechnica wanted River and him dead for investigating the crime scene. But, that left the glaring issue of why go so messy when you were going to have to clean up the mess after? That was just creating work for yourself. No, this was someone else. "We need to be on our guard then."

To thar, River seemed pensive. "I think it'd be best if we call it here," he said, and practically revealed he knew exactly how much danger that he was in. "This show and tell was just meant to get a message across to the Arasaka spawn about what we need to do our jobs -- funding, equipment, and a paycheck. We didn't get it under Holt, but if he wants me to lift a finger for him, he better move mountains for us… but now we're getting shot at. I'll take it from here, and you go off to do whatever you crazy kids do these days."

Kaiden had to admit that he wasn't wrong there. The message had been received loud and clear. He did enough to say that he got the job done and, as interested as he was in the murders themselves, he did have other things he could be doing. Like finding an alternative to the police, because he doubted that the cops would suddenly fall in line when conditions improved.

However, just as he was about to take River up on his out, Kaiden received a message from Becca. An 'SOS', followed by a pin drop.

Kaiden sucked in a breath and River immediately noticed his change in expression. "What's wrong?"

"A friend needs help," Kaiden began, ready to pivot on a heel and start running. It was a testament to River's character that that was all that needed to be said because he immediately grabbed Kaiden by the shirt and started pushing him to a cop car.

"I'm taking your ride!" He informed the cop, who was still in cover from the bullets, sliding into the front seat. "Where are we going?" River asked as Kaiden got in the passenger seat, the sirens turning on and Kaiden flicked him the address. River slammed a foot on the gas, made a sharp pivot, and started speeding g towards the destination.

"Thanks," Kaiden told him, his voice curt as every muscle was taunt, ready to jump into the action. That was some coincidence -- a hit on him and River, now Becca and Jack were in trouble? It was Night City, and they had a lot of enemies, but the timing was too perfect. This had to be enemy action, but it was a question of who… and who else were they targeting?

L? The kids?

Kaiden's fist tightened around the brace bar, his jaw clenching as he began firing off messages. To Judy, to the Aldecaldos, to the kids. As he did, River spoke, "Your family seems to be at the center of every storm in the city lately, so no need for thanks. I'm just getting ahead of the disaster," River replied, waving the issue away.

It took a long minute for them to get near the destination, the car pushing two hundred on the roads as the siren opened up the traffic lanes. And, as they did, Kaiden's heart clenched when he saw the building start to fall, as if it were being pulled in on itself. Even as River slammed his foot on the brakes, skidding a long way to the foundry, Kaiden opened the door and launched himself out of it with his biotics. He was greeted with a plume of dust to the face, immediately filling his lungs and covering him entirely while the vibrations of the collapse traveled up his legs.

The pin drop was precise and Kaiden jumped right to it, pushing the dust away with a blast of biotic energy. His heart pounding in his chest, "Becca! Jack!" He shouted, trying to connect a call as he pulled at the debris with more biotic energy. It rippled around his hands, his blood humming with power. He wasn't anywhere near as powerful as Jack was, but it was enough to send chunks of brick and metal flying to the sides.

It took another half dozen throws before the call was able to connect. "Kaiden! We're fine, but you need to work down towards us! Jack can't hold out much longer!" Becca exclaimed and Kaiden's relief was only matched by his renewed urgency.

"I'm fucking fine!" Jack argued, her voice strained. The fact that it was strained at all told Kaiden all that he needed to know. Jack compared herself to Adam Smasher, who was an inhuman monster when it came to raw biotic power. Outside of him, she was hands down the most powerful biotic -- at least out of the kids, and everyone he had seen. Their position was dangerous if Jack of all people was exerting herself.

Kaiden found that his talents leaned more towards fine control and leverage. Jack was the one who could pick up a five ton car and throw it like a rock. He was demonstrably weaker, but making something light enough that he could position it to set up a lever? That was far more doable. For a long minute, Kaiden tuned everything out -- the sound of sirens, the sound of screaming from those that saw the building go down, and even the sounds of a hovercar that was getting a birds eye view of the situation.

He focused exclusively on getting through the rubble that buried his friends piece by piece. The only indication that he was getting closer was the occasional shift from below as the shield that Jack made was able to expand an inch higher.

Then, without much in the way of warning, a thin layer of debris was shot upwards as Jack cleared the rest of the way in one go. Bits of rock showered Kaiden, but he was already reaching down to pull them up. They were in a half collapsed closet, from the looks of it, and Kaiden took the hand of Jackie while Becca and Jack rose out of the hole with a woman he didn't recognize. Evelyn, Kaiden ventured.

"What happened?" Kaiden questioned as soon as they were all out, none of them looking worse for wear. Jack was dripping with sweat, however, and taking deep breaths despite all the lingering dust in the air.

"We got attacked by some… thing that brought the whole damn building down on us," Becca informed, her tone thoroughly annoyed as she carried Evelyn. "I couldn't see the damn thing. My optics went static the moment I tried to look at it."

Kaiden stiffened, "What? Was it… nine feet tall? Huge claws?"

"That cut through people like sacks of meat? Yeah. What the fuck, you know what that thing was?" Jack started to grill him, looking throughout the wreckage as if searching for this supposed creature.

"I know it's got something to do with Biotechnica, and I have a name, but not much else. It attacked you?" Kaiden questioned, that would throw a wrench in his theory that the assailant was assassinating people connected to Holt in some way. Or those that were connected to a decision of his.

Becca nodded curly, "This whole mess was a trap for L, I think. Bagged Evelyn in the hopes that Judy would go to L, so they could get their hands on the Skeleton Key. But they underestimated how much trouble L brings and Judy opting to go for a different merc." To that, Jackie offered a polite wave.

"Seems like I can't do a job without getting wrapped up in L's biz," he meant it as an idle remark, but this was twice now. Coincidence?

Kaiden took a moment to process that before he looked up at the hovercar that was pointing cameras in their direction. "How about we discuss this somewhere a little more private?"

Becca nodded, "Good idea. We need to drop Evelyn off anyway." Kaiden looked over to River to see him kneeling over a body that Kaiden was pretty sure he might have thrown to the side in his haste. Based on his expression, he realized the connection too. The bodies were in near identical condition to the ones in the hotel and club.

River just nodded, gesturing for them to follow and after trading a nod with Becca, they did.

"What are we going to tell L?" Kaiden asked Becca, who snorted.

"Who said anything about telling L?" She questioned, and he heard what she was saying. L was fresh out of a coma.

They could handle this.

…

It was a tight fit, but they all managed to load up and head to Lizzies. Judy was at the door waiting for them while the kids had  responded to Kaiden's call to arms. They had all fallen back to defensive positions, and because of it, there was a small army of children hanging around the building as the rest locked down the surrounding area.

Judy only had eyes for Evelyn as they got out, jumping forward to caress the unconscious woman's cheek. "What's wrong with her? Why hasn't she woken up?" That was a rather good question, Kaiden decided.

"Someone did something-" Becca began but Jack interjected.

"The Voodoo Boys-" she said, only to be interrupted by Becca in return.

"We don't know that. They just didn't correct you when you called them that," Becca said, sounding annoyed while Jack scowled. They brought Evelyn into the club to see the Mox and Kaiden saw that even some of L's poser gang were loaded up. It was unusually quiet in the club, without anyone on the dance floor. Becca dropped Evelyn off on a couch and a doc immediately jacked into her systems to identify the issue. "We have a shit ton of enemies, Jack."

Judy forestalled an argument by raising a hand, "My office. I want the whole story," Judy decided, her gaze lingering on Jackie and River, who seemed ill at ease with everything going on. Jackie even went as far as to eye the exit but followed all the same. They all descended down into Judy's workshop, where she sat in her chair and promptly looked at them all, "Would someone please tell me what in the hell is going on in this city now?"

Becca quickly launched into her explanation, and Kaiden's hackles raised the moment he heard about the demand for the Skeleton Key and this monster that Jack described. River looked like he wanted to press for answers, but held off simply because they were in the heart of one of the most powerful gangs in the city and he was a cop. Kaiden might not have been out in the world long, but you didn't need to be to know that gangsters and cops were like oil and water. Judy paled and went tense as the tale continued.

Evelyn had been targeted because of her contact with L. With them.

Judy didn't say it, but she didn't need to. How her lips thinned and her gaze hardened told them exactly what she thought.

As soon as Becca was done, Kaiden launched into his side of the story -- the murders, the attempt of assassination, and the Biotechnica connection.

"Why can't this city just be normal?" Judy groused, and River seemed like he was fighting off a smile. Kaiden imagined he felt much the same. "I'm not happy about this," Judy continued, speaking to him and Becca. "I know L means well, and I appreciate that he's trying to protect us, but now we're getting targeted because of that connection."

Becca frowned, "Can't have it both ways, Judy. Can't take someone's help then complain about the consequences."

To that, Judy's nostrils flared, "I sure can when it's putting people I care about in some megacorporations' crosshairs! L managed to send Arasaka running. That's incredible and terrifying, but that is his fight to pick. I'm just looking out for my people." Judy said, anger coloring her tone. The sentiment was a familiar one to Kaiden by now. Judy was better than most. A lot better. But when it came to Night City, everyone put themselves and their people first.

"I'm not here to talk about your biz," River spoke up, leaking against a wall with his arms crossed. "I have piles of bodies and now you're telling me I have a  monster running around the city?" He pressed, nipping the argument in the bud before it could spiral out of control. Kaiden appreciated it. They had enough enemies to worry about without fighting with friends.

Kaiden glanced around the room to gauge everyone's reaction -- Jackie was bouncing a foot as he sat on the couch, trying to appear at ease. Jack was wearing a scowl while Becca seemed tired and annoyed. River was frustrated, visibly so. "I'm going to follow the Biotechnica lead," Kaiden informed, bringing everyone's attention to him.

"I still think it was the Voodoo Boys. They've been eyefucking us from the start," Jack offered her opinion. She wasn't wrong there, even if Kaiden would have preferred different phrasing. The Voodoo Boys had always hovered around them, never directly acting, but they had kept a close eye on them.

Still, Kaiden didn't think this was them. It fit their MO of using proxies, but it was too messy. Unless they were just taking advantage of that creature Jack saw, Kaiden couldn't see them having something like that in their back pocket. No… if he had to plot it out… "River… you were the target of the assassination attempt, right?" He questioned and River opened his mouth, only to close it a second later. Wordlessly, he offered a nod.

Okay. That simplified things.

This was just another trap for L that they had ended up stumbling into. Drawing him out with Evelyn, taking a chance to get the Skeleton Key, and it was fairly common knowledge that L had optics so a biotic that he couldn't see was going to be a tough fight for him.

"We follow the Biotechnica lead," Kaiden decided, standing up. Jack scowled, but she didn't protest the decision. She might be the stronger of the two, but more often than not, she listened to what he had to say. It was easier when L was here to point the way, but right now, he was dealing with his own… issues. More than that, he needed to see that he didn't need to hover over them like a guardian angel, even at the expense of his own health. "We have a name and a starting point. We need to discover why the mayor and that Militech executive were murdered, and kill whatever that thing is."

Jack leapt to her feet, "You're damn right we do." She growled, as if she had a personal issue with the creature. Well, they had been buried under a mountain of rubble by it, so maybe she did.

"I'm in," River answered curtly. "If only to keep this mess from blowing up on the streets." His priorities were clear, at least.

"Eh, fuck it -- I'm in," Jackie said, saying the words before he thought better of them, it sounded like.

"I'm out," Judy held up her hands. "This is Biotechnica. They're the reason why this city still has any food. If you have beef with them, then that's your beef. I don't want to be involved in the exodus of the megacorporation that feeds us." It wasn't what Kaiden wanted to hear, but it was understandable. And, at the very least, it sounded like she was putting money on them winning rather than Biotechnica.

"And perhaps," Yorinobu's voice echoed out, as he descended the stairs and entered the office in a suitably dramatic fashion, "I can be of service. After all, I just received a message from Ms. Joanne Koch requesting a meeting."

Kaiden just smiled -- there it was.

An opportunity.