Chapter 30: Chapter 29 – Art of the Deal

+NEW JOB

BACK IN BUSINESS

• Convince Saul to expand Aldecaldo's trafficking business

The newest job in my system was simple enough. Saul might be against partaking in the more dangerous trades, but that was only because he didn't believe the profits were worth the struggle. With my ability to make guns with literal garbage, this should be a home run of a business proposal.

After convincing Saul, I'll contact Grant Moreno to meet with Michiko and continue my schemes. Judy called me while V and I were stuck in the Sunset Motel and informed me that Evelyn was willing to stay put, so once the meeting is planned, I'll have to get in touch and convince her to join V and me while negotiating with Michiko.

I will use the gap between arranging and meeting Michiko to insert new chrome and do combat training. I gained another two levels after the Hellman gig raising my level to eleven and giving me two more perks and attributes points. I stored the perk points and used both attribute points to increase my Reflexes to twelve. Having Reflexes at twelve should allow me to upgrade my Sandi safely. Once I have a better Sandivistan installed, I'll start spending my perk points to fine-tune my combat style.

Even though there seemed to be a lot on my plate, I wasn't stressed since everything else had been going so well. I gathered all the ingredients for succeeding with my plan, my business is flourishing, and I even have a new sweetheart. Everything was turning up Basil.

I drove up the winding dirt path to the Nomad camp, parking offroad once I reached the mobile lookout built on top of a truck. I got out of the vehicle the Aldecaldos lent me and opened the rear door nearest to me. What greeted me was a small pile of guns that I hoped could lure Saul into engaging in smuggling again. I would have never considered aiding contraband runners in my old life, but this world was different. The world of Cyberpunk was even more prone to violence than in my old life, and having weapons was as standard as having cyberware. It was more of an investment in personal security than anything else.

I brought two of each Militech Ajaxes, Militech M10-AF Lexingtons, Constitutional Arms M2308 Tacticians, and Militech M221 Saratogas. A spread of assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, and SMGs should give Saul and the Aldecaldos a good idea of what I could provide. While inspecting the weapons and stacking them on top of each other, I heard footsteps approaching from behind me. Turning around, I saw Panam looking as good as ever. 

I waited for her by leaning against my van and enjoying her catwalk. Once she was a few steps away, I pushed myself off and wrapped her in a bear hug while giving her a quick kiss.

"Hey baby, how's it going?"

"Better that you're here now."

We reciprocated the affection and locked together, enjoying each other's warmth. I could have stayed like this for longer, but I separated from Panam since we did have business to attend to.

"Smoothtalker," I pointed to the truck behind me, "do you want me to drive this anywhere specific?"

"No, there's fine. I'll let Scorpion know where it is," Panam then noticed the open door and the stack of guns, "what's that?"

I turned around and brought her closer to the truck's rear cab so she could get a better look.

"That is what I the 'business' I wanted to bring up with you and Saul. Take a look."

Panam moved around me and dug into the pile, inspecting whatever gun interested her.

"If you were to smuggle these in quantity, how much would you get per piece?"

"Well, it depends on the manufacturer and what kind of gun it is. Arasaka weapons will have a higher premium for the NUSA states since they still can't operate there. And anything made by Militech will have a hefty price tag in Texas since Texas and the NUSA are at each other's throats again."

She then pulled the shotguns out of the bundle and removed them from the rest. Pointing at the Tacticians, she continued about the economics of smuggling.

"Both sides can buy guns from the other major manufacturers like Constitutional Arms, so we don't bother with those" She explained why the shotguns I brought were no good, then steered the conversation back to the Arasaka and Militech weapons, "For basic power weapons, I would say about five thousand for assault rifles, three for SMGs and shotguns, and two for pistols. Now the real money printers are tech and smart guns. For those, the premium is at least double the power weapons."

Holy shit, I was in the wrong business.

"Ok, I think I have an offer that will make you and Saul very happy. Take these," I tossed the two Ajaxes to Panam while I grabbed the Saratogas and Lexingtons, "take me to Saul. Let's see if I can get you two to agree for once."

I followed Panam through the camp, greeting Aldecaldos, who were going about with their morning activities. Some Nomads would see Panam coming around and greet her with waves or small cheers. Apparently, Panam gained plenty of goodwill when she and her posse came rolling in with a giant AV strapped to the back of a truck. The locals were even friendlier with me, not that they weren't before. Before the Hellman job, their treatment was generally lukewarm. Now, they seemed sociable and acknowledged me alongside Panam.

We walked towards the center of the camp and approached the familiar large truckbed that was converted into a mobile command center. Saul was looming over a table, trying to make sense of a pile of documents and maps. He was unaware of Panam and I's presence until we went up the steps and scattered a bunch of guns over his table. His face scrunched up in annoyance, and Saul looked up from his work. When Saul saw that it was Panam, his brows only furled further.

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"What the hell is this, and why is it on my desk?"

"Something Basil wanted to talk to you about," Panam said while stepping to the side so I could go forward, "and because I just wanted to annoy you."

Saul looked past Panam and made eye contact with me, barely lessening any of his annoyance that stemmed from Panam. Let's hope Saul isn't prone to anger transference.

"I'm here to offer a business opportunity, Saul. The AV will help with moving goods across the border, but there's no point if you don't have any goods to move in the first place. I can sell you Ajaxes for fifteen hundred and Saratogas for a grand a piece. In bulk, of course."

Saul tried to maintain his calm, but I could see his eyes widen slightly before quickly returning to normal.

"And why would you do that? What do you get out of this?"

"Well, money and Panam, duh. Jokes aside, having the Aldecaldos back in the game means getting another party to provide stability for the Badlands. And we all know the Badlands could really use a bit of stability. I'm also going to be making some moves in this city, and I'd like to have your clan back me up if I ever need it. Strengthening you now makes you a better ally later."

Saul didn't say anything, only giving me a stone-cold stare while his fingers drummed away on the tabletop. I knew he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, but something was holding him back. It's not because Saul doesn't want to seem weak and accept charity from Panam's plug. He's stubborn, not petty. It has to be something that poses a more severe threat. I didn't have to guess for much longer as the Nomad leader finally broke the silence.

"It's a reasonable price, I'll give you that, but it's not the cost that makes me turn away from smuggling. The Wraiths have been seriously cutting into the business we're traditionally known for. It wasn't a problem until recently since their infighting and reputation kept the good contracts away. But somehow, they settled their differences and started getting their shit together, undercutting us on gigs."

Fuck, that's not good. I knew the Wraiths and the Aldecaldos had animosity with each other, but this is more serious.

"You think they're trying to push you out?"

Saul paused, probably trying to figure out how much to let me in on. What's curious is that he looked at Panam as well. Taking a peek at her slight loss expression showed that even she might not be privy to what was going on.

"I think they're trying to get rid of the competition permanently. They've been scouting us and ambushing our routes and camps. It's why we moved two times in the last six months. The Shivs have more bodies than us, so I need outside help to even the score."

I see now. It never made sense to me why Saul wanted to work with Biotechnica.

"You don't think you can trust a corps or gang to provide help without signing your soul away. But if you work for them..."

I trailed off once the pieces clicked. Saul picked up where I left off, looking at Panam and me with shocking sincerity.

"But if we work for them, they'll protect us for the term of our contract. The clan can use that time to build our strength and hit back at the wraiths in full force. Of all the gangs and corps, Biotechnica was the lesser evil."

I can't help but think after hearing Saul's reasoning that if he was just open with why he wants to work with Biotechnica that Panam would be more understanding. She's headstrong but not wholly unwilling to compromise. I looked at Panam and saw that she was angry but not mad at Saul. She seemed more frustrated about being kept out of the loop and unable to help the situation. 

"I can't believe you didn't tell me why you wanted to work with those corpo rats. Does the rest of the clan know about this? Why didn't you let me know?!"

Saul sighed, taking Panam's irritation surprisingly well.

"I didn't want you suggesting a suicide raid on the Wraiths that would put even more pressure on the rest of the clan. I can see now that I might have been short-sighted, but you can't deny that immediate violence is what you would have chosen. Even if we won, we'd be broken. We need time, and you are not known for patience."

Panam was absolutely fuming now, teetering on the edge of starting a full-on yelling contest with Saul. At least the cat's out of the bag. Better late than never, I guess. Now that the problem is out in the open, I can use the information I know to try to solve it. I put my hand on Panam's shoulder and gently massaged it, calming her down. I then looked at Saul and smirked, coming up with a plan.

"What if I said I have a way of getting rid of your Wraith problem?"

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