Chapter 18: Chapter 18 – Plans

+NEW JOB

A FATHER'S LOVE

• Eliminate the kidnappers
• Find intel confirming the ones responsible

Getting another job was exciting, but I was more enthusiastic about what I had cooking for Night City.

The Arasaka family is a fractured mess, with members that have overlapping ambitions constantly battling each other. Saburo's exposure to both World Wars forged him into the ruthlessly efficient man he was, but it also corrupted him. His hatred and biases are so profound that he can't look beyond the lens of his past when deciding on any future acts. His sole goal of world domination has allowed him to justify any action, no matter how twisted.

Yorinobu is the exact opposite. He lived a sheltered existence, only to find that the comfort he enjoyed was at the sacrifice of an unknown amount of people. Unwilling to accept the true goal of world domination and disgusted with the pain his family has wrought, Yorinobu left the amenities of the Arasaka compound and began a public resistance against his father. 

Years of lashing out at the megacorp eventually taught Yorinobu that Arasaka was too powerful to destroy with outside forces. So Yorinobu sought forgiveness and received it with the help of his younger sister. Now that his father had died and Yorinobu became the defacto leader, he was in the perfect position to demolish Arasaka from within. 

Saburo was too distracted with world domination to be left alive. Similarly, Yorinobu was too preoccupied with destroying Arasaka to notice that the company could benefit humanity under the right leadership. And that's where Hanako comes in.

Hanako was the symbolic middle ground of the family. She was raised to be the 'heart' of the family, to 'uphold life, ensure continuity, stability, never to oppose' as she puts it. She understood and despised the true nature of the Arasaka corporation but withheld her criticism because of her given function in life. My plan is to release Hanako from the cage that her family built and let the 'heart' take control of Arasaka. 

But to get to that point, I must first meet with one of the board members. Helping Rosa's family should get me most of the way there, but to guarantee the fish will take the bait, I'll offer the return of one of their missing bioengineers, Hellman. By capturing Hellman, I can use his return as a chance to meet the last part of my plan, Michiko.

Michiko is the niece of Yorinobu and Hanako. When she was younger, she harbored the same tendencies as Yorinobu. With age comes wisdom, and now she is the leader of the liberal faction seeking change within Arasaka. If I can bring Michiko onto my side, I can gain access to Hanako. With access to Hanako, Michiko and I can convince her to take the company's reigns.

I further developed my plan while driving back to my store. By the time I got home, I'd already come up with a detailed plan for the first leg of my goal. Entering my store, I entered the office and opened my laptop to start outlining my needs.

I know Hellman will be on a Kang Tao AV after defecting from Arasaka. The problem is getting the specific AV and its flight details. For that, I need to contact Rogue and convince her to get me the information on Hellman. Persuading Rogue should be simple enough. All I have to do is offer her a second shot at Adam Smasher.

If I want to topple Yorinobu, I will have to get rid of Smasher sooner or later. Best to start collecting the right pieces to challenge him now than later. I could also use V's help, but the problem there is I need to figure out how Johnny Silverhand will interact with my intentions. 

It's hard to believe that the rocker boy will acquiesce to teaming up with Arasaka, even if it's the 'good' parts of Arasaka. Hell, he's probably more likely to side with Yorinobu than with me. Let's hope he's just as dedicated to saving V's life in this world as he is in-game.

After a few more minutes sitting at my desk, I came up with a game plan I think can work. I just needed Rogue's contact info to get the ball rolling, which I got from Panam. Getting Rogue's number also gave me a new Job.

+NEW JOB

ASSET RECOVERY

• Convince Rogue to help with your plans
• Convince V to help recover Hellman (Optional)
• Intercept the Kang Tao AV and capture Hellman

Not wasting any time, I immediately called Rogue from my office.

"Rogue speaking. Who do I have the pleasure of talking to?"

"Let's not waste time with my introductions. We both know you're already looking into me anyways. I'm here to offer you something you've been chasing for the last 50 years. For a small price, of course."

"Hmmm. And who are you, Mr. Basil, to offer such a thing to me? I've never met you in my life, so I doubt you know me well enough to propose such a thing."

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"What a fascinating question. What do I know, indeed? I know that Johnny took you on a raid to rescue his girlfriend, Alt Cunningham. I know that you all failed, and Alt died creating Soulkiller for Arasaka. I know you were a part of the team that caused the Night City Holocaust. I know Adam Smasher squashed your ex, Johnny, in that raid like a bug."

I let my knowledge sink in. I didn't particularly appreciate how she was about to discount me as some random gonk, so I spouted some things that only a few people would know. I wanted Rogue to realize I meant business.

"I also know you've been waiting for a chance to kill Smasher ever since. And that is what I am offering, a shot at Smasher. How about now, Rogue? Do you think I know you well enough?"

The tension from the silence was almost palpable. I got to give it to Rogue. She's not a Night City legend for nothing. I don't know how, but I could feel her glare through the phone and the temperature around me dropping.

"What do you want?"

At least she's paying attention to me now. Let's try a joke to ease the apprehensions.

"I want us to be friends! Maybe go out and see a movie or play laser tag. Things like that."

"Oh lord. Not another fucking clown. What do you want?"

"Fine. No one appreciates attempts at de-escalating anymore."

It seems rogue isn't one for some light-hearted jabs. Straight to the point it is.

"I want information on Anders Hellman. I know he defected from Arasaka to Kang Tao and is being transported out of Night City on an AV. I need the flight details of that AV."

"And what about the hit on Smasher?"

"You help me get Hellman, and I can start working on the meetup with Smasher."

"... Fine. I'll call you once I have the info ready."

Rogue hung up immediately after accepting my job. Considering her connections, she'll probably be back with me in a day or two. Before then, I need to start working on what to do for the next few days. The three main things on my to-do list are to get a shower and proper bed into the store, find Rosa's traffickers, and get ready for the date with Panam. 

I also need to start making ammo to fulfill another order. This will be the first monthly order, which will get me a bunch of Eddies. What a weird set of things that couldn't be further apart from one another. One second I'm looking for a new place to live, and then I'm planning for a coup at a Megacorp, followed by preparing for a nice night out with a girl I like. That's the life of a merc, I guess. 

I spent the next few hours reviewing my contract with the store and planning my date with Panam. It was midnight by the time I finally finished, and I was happy with what I had accomplished. Nothing in my lease agreement said I couldn't live in or modify the store, so I found a contractor who could stop by tomorrow to start work on the shower. 

I also racked my brain for deciding what activities to take Panam on. She's a great gal who deserves a great day out, so I really put the effort in to schedule things I think she'll like. Not to pat myself on the back, but I think I've knocked it out of the park. Now that I think about it, this was the first date I've been on in years. I hope I don't massively embarrass myself.

I yawned and stretched simultaneously, feeling the entire day's fatigue finally catch up to me. I dragged my tired body onto the sofa and groaned at the slight discomfort of sleeping with my head on the armrest and my feet dangling off the side. With the promise of a better living situation right around the corner, my eyelids grew heavy, and I fell into a deep slumber.

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