Chapter 22: Chapter 21 – Missing Doll

The heat was the first thing I noticed when I woke up, then the smell, and finally, someone else's arm over my chest and head in the nook of my shoulder. I opened my eyes and saw Panam's face, eyes closed and gently snoring. The sun's beams shone through the windows, turning the van into a greenhouse and heating the inside. The smell of two bodies' fluids intertwining reminded me of what happened last night. My brain is telling me it's time to get up and be productive, but my body enjoys lying next to Panam more. While debating over what to do, someone else decided for me.

Panam's sleeping mind must have also disliked the heat since her left hand gripped the edge, and her body flipped to the right to get it off her, throwing her arm across and hitting me in the face. Taking advantage of the situation, I playfully bit her on her forearm. Her nose scrunched in annoyance, but she didn't wake up. I continued my assault, nibbling up her arm until I reached her neck and started kissing her collarbone. This seemed to do the trick, and she groaned before opening her eyes.

"Hrmmm... Is this how you're going to wake me up every morning? A girl could get used to this."

I sat up and brought my face up to give her a quick peck on the lips.

"Good morning, beautiful. I'll make sure to remember to do this every time. Now, come on. We need to get up."

She moaned a bit before also sitting up. Now that the arm covering her chest was above her head stretching, I got a full view of her wonderful assets. She caught me peeking and gave me a foxy grin. I shrugged and started putting on my clothes, can't fault a man for looking.

Panam wanted to clean up the mess I made on and in her the night before, so I gave her some water and paper towels and got out of the van. Primarily for her privacy but also partly because I'll probably get super horny if I watch her tidy up. While I was cleaning up the outside and packing all the gear, Panam got dressed and out of the van. I turned around and saw her leaning on the side of my car, giving me an unsure look.

"So, Basil. I have to know, how does this change things between us?"

"How about we say we're just seeing each other? No pressure, just let nature take its course."

Panam was scared to get into a relationship with V in the game because she didn't want to ruin the good thing they had going. I wanted her to know that the ball is in her court and that it's up to her when she wants to take the next step. Should probably also reassure her that I still want to work together.

"And I like working with you, so how about I check for jobs we can do in the badlands? Or if you ever need some help, don't be scared to give me a shout."

Panam smiled at that and sauntered to put her arms around my neck. I let my hands crawl from her sides and settle on her pert ass.

"And what if I want something more serious? Something that comes with a title?"

"Well, I'm ready whenever you are."

We stood there in silence for a bit, just enjoying each other's company, before being rudely interrupted by a ring from my phone. I considered blocking the call but decided against it when I noticed it was Rogue calling. I separated from Panam and answered the phone.

"Hello, Rogue. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Got a shard with your name on it. My contact at Kang Tao managed to pull Hellman's route details. Come meet me at the Afterlife tonight to pick up the info, and maybe you'll tell me what you're planning."

"Maybe I will. I'll see you tonight. Later."

Instead of finding a job for Panam and me, it seems the job has found us. I put away my phone and looked at Panam.

"Believe it or not, I already got a job lined up for you. Wanna come with me to meet up with Rogue?"

"When is it? I'm supposed to meet with a buyer we lined up for that Caliburn at four today."

"She just said at night, so it shouldn't clash with what you already got going on. I can drop you off at camp, then we can meet up wherever you're meeting the buyers, and we can go to the Afterlife together."

"You'll have to give me more details about your job."

"Fair enough. Hop into the van, and I'll tell you about it on the drive back to your place."

We both jumped into the van, and I made a loop in the parking lot to drive out. Once I was on the road again, I started explaining the basics of the gig.

"Target is a man named Hellman. He was the engineer leading the team working on the prototype Relic project. He defected to Kang Tao without properly terminating his contract at Arasaka."

"Hitting Kang Tao? You're going to come up with some serious resistance."

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"Nothing we can't handle, but it would be a walk in the park if your clan helped. Hellman will be traveling in a Zetatech Surveyor. I'm sure you're aware of what that is. I bet your clan would love to get their hands on a giant flying bus for smuggling."

Panam went silent, and I could see from the look on her face that she was doing mental arithmetic to see if the job was possible or not. I always wondered why the Aldecaldos never took the AV from Kang Tao. If they could steal and maintain a tank, why not an AV? Then I realized it was probably because Panam wasn't with the clan then, and they simply didn't have the preparations for it.

Now with me in the equation and Panam already back with the Aldecaldos, I'm sure they wouldn't pass on such an opportunity. The Aldecaldos were a force to reckon with the Basilisk tank. Imagine what they could do if they had their own private air support. While I was thinking about the possibilities of Aldecaldos with wings, Panam spoke up again.

"It's possible, but I need more information. I'll also need time to convince my clan. The vets are almost certain to hop on board, but Saul will hate the idea."

"How about we hold on any more planning until we meet with Rogue tonight?"

"Sounds good to me."

After our conversation, I dropped off Panam and drove back to the store. By the time I got there, it was twelve, leaving me plenty of time to do some planning. I've occasionally been checking in on the various cameras I had around the city to see if I can recognize any events going down. When I checked my laptop today, the recording at Lizzie's Bar showed a woman entering Judy's BD editing room, trying to hide their identity by covering themselves.

It had to be Evelyn, which would be a huge find. If I could get her to agree to help me alongside V and Hellman, I should have more than enough ammunition to convince Michiko. Let's hope Michiko uses this information for good instead of falling on the same path as her uncle.

Evelyn should stay in hiding with Judy for at least a few days, which gives me more than enough time to get in contact with V and get her onboard. I might also be able to contact Takemura through V, who could become a very useful pawn in this game of corporate espionage. The only problem I'm running against right now is how to deal with Silverhand.

Johnny hates Arasaka with a burning passion, which is understandable but provides a hard barrier to overcome if he influences V. I can only know how much this V is willing to cooperate with Arasaka once I meet her and get a feel for how they operate. At the very least, my plan to kill both Saburo and Yorinobu should tempt the two into cooperating.

The other cameras didn't show anything interesting, which is surprising since it's been more than a week, and V doesn't exactly have time to play with. Oh well, less work for me. I closed my computer, took off my clothes, and walked into the shower. While cleaning myself, I remembered that I had leveled up from helping Rosa's family.

I put the attribute point into reflex, which raised the stat to ten. Thinking of Rosa's family also reminded me that I forgot to give Panam her cut of the money. I'll just give it to her when we meet to sell the Caliburn.

If everything goes alright today, the Aldecaldos won't have any money troubles for at least a month or so. But it won't last forever, so I'm thinking about crafting weapons and selling them to the clan. I can craft weapons for cheap, then have the Aldecaldos smuggle them as a proxy.

Saul might resist taking on dangerous jobs like stealing a Kang Tao AV or Militech tank, but smuggling is still the Aldecaldo's bread and butter. I could craft guns for dirt cheap, then have the Nomads sell it as a proxy. This could get the clan the Eddies they need to stabilize, but more importantly, warm people to Panam's way of thinking. Gotta look out for my gal, after all.

After wiping the grime and sweat I collected from last night's activity, I got out of my shower and dressed. I then left the store and made my way to Vic's clinic. I went inside the L-shaped hall and exited onto the internal alley that connected the rear exit of many shops.

A short stairwell later and I was inside Vic's clinic. The place was clean but also looked like a torture chamber at the same time. The strange juxtaposition of blue vs red, and the centerpiece being an operating chair didn't help the image.

Vic was sitting at his desk, one hand holding a small screwdriver tuning the surgical exoglove he had on the other. The screen atop his working space was on and broadcasting some boxing match between two chromed-to-hell giants. Vic used to be somewhat of a local celebrity, boxing in the Watson in the heavyweight division. His crowning achievement was coming in second in the Watson Boxing Grand Prix.

Hearing the security gate open, Vic looked away from the match and saw me walk into his clinic. I walked up to the middle-aged man and nodded toward the screen.

"Reliving old memories? Or thinking about getting back into the ring?"

"Just enjoying the craft. I couldn't start up again even if I wanted to. Look at these kids. Every inch of their body is engineered for murder. This ol' bag of bones wouldn't stand a chance."

"Don't be so sure about that. Anyways, I wanted to see if you get some hardware for me."

I then went over a list of the new cyberware I wanted: better Optical Camo, a set of Gorilla Arms, Subdermal Armor, and some Lynx Paws. I wasn't happy with anything he had in stock, so we looked at what he could get in from other places. Instead of spending money to deliver the chrome here, Vic gave me a list of the cyberware I wanted and where I could find them. I needed to inspect the goods before dropping off the cash.

In the game, most cyberware only had a quality difference, but there were many more details in this world. Different manufacturers, models, materials, designs, and a slew of other specifications made each cyberware perform differently. They also seem to have game-like qualities only for me.

The Sandivestan I have, for example, is supposed to be used sparingly in a day. But I was able to use it dozens of times one day while crafting ammo. And my optical camo shouldn't recharge as fast as it does. I'm not sure of the physics behind it, but I kept it to myself and just stayed happy that I had an advantage. The problem is that those stats only show if I inspect in person, so I offered to bring Vic the chrome instead of having it shipped to him.

Guns were the same. The higher the quality, the better the damage and effects it has. Since a bullet to the head is still a bullet to the head, the increase in damage has been harder to gauge. Maybe the effects will be more noticeable if I fought better-equipped enemies than some Shivs in the Badlands.

By the time I got the list for chrome, it was already half past three. We were supposed to see the buyer of the Caliburn at four, and I needed twenty minutes to get there, so I said my goodbyes and left Vic's clinic. Once I got into my van, I pulled up the GPS, put in the address Panam sent me, and made my way toward the meeting spot.

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