The conversation with Dorio was… enlightening.
Yes, she couldn't think of a better word to convey the experience.
As she expected, although her age made it difficult for Dorio to process the fact that she was now working for a twelve-year-old boy, she had seen stranger things. She wasn't going to refuse after saving his life, but it definitely inevitably influenced her perception.
She was especially more receptive when she started getting to know her boss during the conversation, and the amount of her salary was mentioned.
Weekly pay plus bonuses under certain conditions.
That saved Faelan the need to tie her up and whip her.
Wait, did that sound weird? No, she's twelve, perfectly normal and innocent.
Just as Galina suspected, Dorio was going to accompany her on the day's produce delivery, but not before wearing a full-face mask and refraining from speaking. Then, until Faelan got the blockers from Vik, Dorio was confined to Galina's house to continue the illusion of his death.
That included no calls, no social media, and no online purchases.
You know, the kind of signal that would tell Vanesa he was still alive.
As Kiwi expected, the mention of getting revenge on his "ex" brought a big, sharp smile to Dorio's face, and he happily shared all the information he had on Vanesa, down to the last speck of dirt he knew about her.
Faelan would have been perfectly content not knowing half of the things he said.
For Kiwi, he had more than enough useful information to narrow down the area inside Westbrook in just three days, but that was where his current capabilities, which were already more than excellent, ended.
Located southwest of Watson, it connected wealthy areas with popular, nightlife areas. In fact, if Faelan remembered correctly, Clouds, the luxury brothel controlled by the Tiger Claws, was located in that area.
But it wasn't just the Tiger Claws who had their hands in the area; Arasaka also had significant influence there. And rightfully so, since they also secretly support the former.
"We can rule out North Oak," Kiwi said confidently as he showed a 3D map. "If Vanessa lived there, she would never have become a fixer, or she wouldn't be so bad."
It was the richest and most exclusive area in Night City; even Hanako Arasaka lived there.
If Vanessa had access to money, clinics, connections, and implants there, her performance as a fixer would have been overwhelmingly superior, and she would never have partnered with someone like Dorio.
They had to look further downstream.
"That leaves Japantown and Charter Hill," Faelan pointed to the two remaining options. "Dorio, any ideas?"
Although she was eager to begin her experiments, she could postpone it for a few days, when her new employee could move around the city without fear of reprisals. Within what Night City normally allowed, of course…
The woman stared at the two locations, trying to associate anything with Vanessa, no matter how vague. Something she did, something she said, anything went.
"I think we can rule out Charter Hill as well. Luxury apartments, private clinics, corporate towers, but most importantly: high security due to the police presence and constant dual surveillance. If Vanessa was so fixated on security for every assignment she received, it means she doesn't have much around her, and that's why she's so cautious, right?"
Kiwi, Dorio, and Faelan turned at the fourth voice in the living room.
Sasha.
"You're somewhat right," Dorio admitted reluctantly. "Vanessa is paranoid about her own safety; something must have caused her to be so anxious." It also led me to believe Charter Hill shouldn't be.
If you live in a safe area, you don't seek the safety you already have.
"So it's Japantown?" Faelan zoomed in on the area on the map with a sweeping motion of his fingers. "While I'd like to say that makes things easier, it really doesn't."
Japantown was the center of Night City's adult entertainment and nightlife.
The neon-red heart of pleasure and power.
Filled with clubs, casinos, braindance venues, and high-end restaurants. Primarily controlled by criminal organizations of Japanese origin, like the Tiger Claws and other yakuza who shared the leftover crumbs.
The few residential mega-towers alone gave Vanessa plenty of places to hide, and there are plenty of eyes that will follow anything they do when they enter that district.
Faelan had a passing thought as he remembered a small detail.
Evelyn Parker worked at Clouds for a while before breaking up with Judy Alvarez, right?
If that woman were to "disappear"... how would that change those people's stories?
"I'm getting way ahead of myself," Faelan mentally scolded himself as he shook those dark thoughts out of his head. "Evelyn's only about six at this point. Even if I hated her character and design, the butterfly effect might have changed something—or nothing. Either way, I have time on my side."
He unconsciously made a rough comparison with other characters.
If he and Kiwi were twelve now, Rebecca and Lucy should be around three, and Judy would be roughly seven or eight. It would be about a decade before Lucy escaped that hellhole and started living on her own.
He wasn't entirely sure of the numbers, but it was the best approximation he could remember.
"We can try diving into the network and looking for traces of Vanessa on the local network," Sasha suggested, biting into an apple she had secretly "requisitioned" from Gordon's order. "We've seen the residual data from her previous connections and emails with Dorio; we should be able to trace her steps back to their source."
Again, why did they let themselves be convinced to let Sasha come with them?
"Neither you nor I are equipped with deep-diving implants," Kiwi replied, disagreeing for obvious reasons, crossing her arms. "Besides, we could be attacked if we go in and they recognize us as novices. No, too risky."
Dorio and Faelan exchanged glances, shrugging as the "experts" argued. Dorio stared distractedly at the apple in Sasha's hand; she would ask Faelan later if she could get some.
She was curious about the actual food and if it was as good as rumored.
"We don't need to interact, just look without touching anything." Sasha pulled a pink-visored helmet from her backpack, a four-year-old Cat-IIK model with a thick connecting cable. "The equipment we have is sufficient for that, and more importantly, it's safe and without recognizable traces."
Using this equipment, even if someone noticed their actions and tried to fry them for sticking their noses where they weren't supposed to, at most they'd burn the helmets' internal circuitry and toast their hair a bit, but they wouldn't be in any real danger.
Locating attempt? He yanks the cable off and that's it, path closed.
"That's... workable." Kiwi blinked, acknowledging it was a smart idea. "Still, let's avoid being inside for more than five hours or we could get a major headache."
Kiwi had been putting off the implant upgrade because she was entering a growth spurt and was prioritizing quality more than she had in the original timeline. Even if she made an upgrade now, she'd have to undergo many micro-adjustments with Viktor's help on most of the implants.
Instead, he was saving up for higher-grade implants that wouldn't be affected by his body's changes, starting with a decent cyberdeck that could last a while. He was considering a Paraline Mk.1, Arasaka Mk.1, Rippler Mk.1, or an implant Vik recently acquired and highly recommended, a Raven Microcyber Mk.2.
The first three implants were something of a standard among netrunners, varying only based on how they preferred to do things and which parameters they prioritized.
They also had versions ranging from Mk.1 to Mk.5.
But the reason Vik recommended the Raven Microcyber Mk.2 was that it had the strongest security, he could fully debug latent programs with his equipment from the clinic, and its programming didn't conflict with other brands of implants, which would greatly reduce the burden he'd have to bear upon activation.
This last point was what allowed the company that manufactured it to survive to this day.
Perhaps it will also update its optics, among other considerations, but until it fully matures, it could forget about implants like the subdermal armor Dorio was longing for.
Dorio was almost finished with his growth spurt, so he had many more options at his disposal.
Vik had given Dorio a full checkup, and aside from three minor adjustments with a couple of immunosuppressant medications, the job was well done.
The sunscreens Faelan requested from Vik also fell into his hands, and now, when Dorio needed to go out, he wore a half-face mask that looked like a discreet disguise or an unsuccessful attempt at setting a trend.
Kiwi and Sasha put on their helmets and logged in while comfortably stretched out.
"Hey, uh..." Dorio wasn't entirely sure how to phrase the question. "That thing you did with me, could you do it with Vanessa if we track her down? The thing with the roots."
"I'm afraid not. Japantown is too far away and guarded. Besides, if he were on an upper floor, it would be more impossible." Faelan shook his head. "But I admit the idea is a good one."
He had been stealthily spreading the roots underground over time, but due to the cloaking factor, their reach was currently limited to Watson. That's not even counting the particularly long root he has extending toward the Badlands.
"Too bad." Dorio frowned, not delving further into the matter.
Three days might not be long, but he had been able to roughly outline a general idea of Faelan in his mind. He was unexpectedly direct, which was in line with his taste.
He was also beginning to truly understand what Aunt Galina meant about being open-minded. He had gone down to the clinic's basement, and to say he was amazed would be an understatement.
Fortunately for her, Kiwi decided to give her a lecture on "mystical bullshit," and it helped a lot.
"Here," Faelan pulled a shiny red apple from under his clothes. "I saw you looking at Sasha. Go ahead, indulge yourself."
Dorio smiled excitedly and took the apple without hesitation. She examined it curiously, running her thumb over the skin to feel its texture, and smelled it before taking a bite.
The sweet taste and the moisture in her mouth were incredible.
"Is this what people normally ate decades ago?" Dorio stared at the apple in amazement. "Idiots..." she cursed as she took another bite.
If Dorio never cared how the world ended this way, now she criticized the inept people who caused the disappearance of natural food.
Soon, even the core of the fruit was swallowed, leaving nothing behind.
Dorio licked his lip regretfully; now he wanted more, but he couldn't afford the price of the product...
"Employees get a substantial discount." As if reading her mind, Faelan turned to look at her. "If our collaboration goes well, I wouldn't mind giving you some fruit baskets like this from time to time."
Ah... it seems Dorio fell into a trap.
"I'll take note," the muscular woman nodded. "By the way, what's with those experiments Kiwi mentioned?" she asked, curious about her first real job after finishing the Vanesa deal.
It was clear to her that delivering food and wine every week was more of a side gig.
"We'll be testing a series of… substances with unique effects," Faelan explained as he took out a corked wooden vial and held it in the palm of his hand so Dorio could see it. "Not ourselves, rather, we'll catch some junkyard workers as guinea pigs, give them to them, and when we confirm the effects… we'll reduce them to zero."
"What is the purpose of these substances?" Dorio looked at the wooden vial with caution and surprise, for even with the cork, a very faint greenish mist could be seen emanating from inside. "I hope it's not the addictive kind."
He noticed a symbol carved into the wood. Although it looked naturally formed, one half of the symbol was a butterfly, while the other half was the frontal head of a deer with large antlers.
Was that going to be the group's symbol?
"What? No!" Faelan was visibly offended. "It's not one of those filth mixed with who knows what!"
"So?"
"Oh, I don't want to spoil the surprise." Faelan slipped the vial into his inside pocket. "Just keep in mind that the guinea pigs won't be seen again, and it's preferable if they're not too chrome-plated, to better see the effects."
"Scrappers with low chrome plating are rare, basically novices."
"I know." Faelan turned his gaze to Sasha and Kiwi. "Some things are better nipped in the bud."