The NCPD agents took the six samples to the central precinct of Night City, and the moment they stepped through the door, the suitcases were taken from them on orders from higher up.
Lieutenant Vera wasn't even surprised—she was sure someone from the group had reported the situation on the way back. What caught her attention more was the Maelstrom theft, while technician Max tried to make sense of the misuse of Substance X-27.
Officer Dwayne headed to the shooting range; the way Dorio had treated him like a misbehaving child had pissed him off, and if it weren't for the consequences, he would've given her a taste of "law enforcement strength" right then and there.
He still remembered the image of that damn burrito turning into sludge.
"I should've asked if there was a way to get rid of that damned tree," Max realized once he sat down to rest.
"Even if they could," Vera handed him a cup of synthetic coffee, strong enough to keep him awake for another six hours, "they'd ask for compensation for the job—or just flat out refuse. Given their situation, I'd bet on the latter, with some excuse pulled out of thin air."
"I can understand expecting payment, but refuse?" Max asked, confused. "Wouldn't wiping out the tree help clear their name?"
Vera looked at him like he was an idiot.
"You should pull your head out of all those gadgets and start thinking more about what's going on around you," Vera took a sip of her coffee without flinching—years of drinking that crap had taught her when to deactivate her taste buds. "That massive tree—even if they weren't the ones who made it—now they'll use it like a billboard."
And what a billboard it was!
A small theft had led to the total extermination of the thief's entire gang...
"Hey," Vera nudged Max's shoulder, "how about we go get some sushi later? The disappearance of Maelstrom is worth celebrating. Now those corporations will have to find other dogs to do their dirty work. Ha!"
"...Only if you're buying the sake," Max replied with a rare smile on his face.
The lieutenant was right—what harm could it do to loosen up just once?
Vera looked at her nerdy partner in surprise, laughed, and patted him on the back a few times.
"Hell yeah!" she raised her fist. "Tonight, no one's going home sober!"
Vera had no idea that night would turn out hotter than expected, sparking a romantic relationship with a work colleague, followed by a wedding two years later and three kids who would eventually carry her last name...
...
Several floors above, unaware of the future they were about to shape together, the two suitcases lay open on a mahogany table, in front of an older man sharply examining the vials inside.
Behind this man stood three others, all seemingly younger, each representing the interests of various people and factions.
"Substance X-27 and Substance C-65," repeated the NCPD superior. "As you can see, we have exactly three samples of each, their supposed effects, and application methods."
Max's data was in the file all of them were reviewing.
Laurel, dandelion, pepper, cinnamon, daisy, basil, clover, acorn...
"Is this for real?" one of the men questioned whether they were being taken for fools. "Laurel went extinct twenty years ago, basil twelve, and dandelion over forty."
The rest of the listed raw ingredients were still available from satellite farms, but only in small amounts for minor culinary demand.
"These are the results from the scan, and I've already sent a few drops to the lab to confirm the contents—everything's real," the NCPD superior clearly didn't care about the agreement he'd signed with Faelan's company. "We know everything it contains… except for one key ingredient, supposedly the one that causes the special effect in the mix."
"We can handle that," said another man with the confidence of someone expecting to retrieve data the NCPD's cheap lab couldn't. "Have the effects been verified?"
"I figured that, given their nature and limited availability, it'd be better for everyone if we did a live test."
The effects were incredible, and he didn't want anyone coming at him later accusing him of editing a video file to trick them. Years of climbing the ranks had taught him there was no such thing as being too cautious around people like this.
"I agree," said the man who had remained silent until now. "How do we proceed?"
"Since we need dirt and filthy water, we'll head to a recycling facility near the city's edge," the NCPD superior explained as he stood up and began moving. "I've already ordered the required amount of water to be prepared, and there's a few hundred meters of arid land—we'll be able to test both samples on-site."
Thus, they would go from six to four samples—and the fewer there were, the higher their value...
Though NCPD vehicles weren't as comfortable as their private limousines or the ones provided by Delamain, they were bearable.
"This one here," he pointed to what looked like a medium-sized but deep pool, "is an unpurified water tank. Oil, blood, chemicals, and all kinds of filth are in there. I requested a water analysis so we can have a reference point for the transformation."
Once everything was confirmed ready, he ordered a lower-ranking NCPD officer to pour Substance C-65 into the water while he and the others stayed behind a protective transparent screen.
After all, safety came first.
As soon as the potion was poured, the water changed at a visibly fast pace.
"You don't even need to stir it?" one of the men exclaimed. "You just pour it in and… that's it?"
Even powdered artificial tea didn't work that fast!
"Seems that way," the NCPD superior gave the signal to collect a sample of the water for analysis. "While we wait for the results, let's move on to the other sample—same procedure."
Once again, a subordinate was picked to pour Substance X-27 onto the dry ground, jumping in surprise when the earth bloomed several meters around with green grass and a few flowers.
"This makes no sense," one of the men remarked. "Forget the grass—even just flowers showing up without any seeds…"
"What did you just see?"
"But—"
"No buts. You saw it, and that's what it is," the man cut him off sharply. "That's exactly why you've been stuck in the same position for the last five years—your thinking is too rigid." He adjusted his tie and turned to the NCPD superior. "Now that we've confirmed the results, I'll be taking the samples to—"
"At no point did we say the samples were yours," the third man interrupted, his gaze sharpening with every second. "If anything, I should be the one to keep them. My people—"
"No! I'm not spending another five years in that miserable position! Those samples are mine."
Just like that, three men who could decide the fate of hundreds of lives with a single word started bickering like little kids throwing a tantrum.
Who told them to use an entire dose just to test the effects?
The best part? When the water test results came out, they went from kids to warring chimps.
…
"Yeah, this is much better," Viktor nodded with a satisfied look as he glanced around the clinic, where a few potted plants now brightened the atmosphere.
Being able to add a touch of life to his clinic felt good.
"I picked plants that do well in low-light environments and don't release any particles that could interfere with your work," Faelan explained as he finished filling the last pot. "Just water them once a week and make sure the clinic's well ventilated. If you see them start to wilt, let me know and I'll check on them. But if you take care of them, they should last a few years."
Ironically, even though they'd started making money with the company (more than Vik, actually), neither he nor Kiwi had looked for another place to live yet. As for the main reason… very few people would take them seriously at their age, and they'd rather not get scammed.
Just because they had money didn't mean they had to waste it!
For one, they still needed to save up to buy the land from Gloria and stop paying rent. Kiwi was also waiting to stop growing before getting a major upgrade to her implants—an expensive one, even with Vik doing the procedure—not to mention the possible need to buy more land to expand the company and their crops…
It was like every time they got close to having a comfortable amount of money, new expenses popped up everywhere.
"Hey, kid," Vik called and gestured with his thumb toward the operation chair. "Sit down, we need to talk about something."
"Have you ever considered getting a couch?" Faelan asked as he took a seat.
"Not a chance," Vik waved him off dismissively. "If I had a couch, people would want to hang around during procedures and that would throw me off. I like working without anyone breathing down my neck, thank you very much."
Huh, that was actually a good point.
"Fair enough, just saying." Faelan raised his hand in surrender. "So, what's up?"
Vik's face turned serious as he rolled closer on his wheeled stool.
"Look, I know I don't really have the right to talk to you about this… but considering I'm the only male figure in your life, I'll take it as a sort of duty. I can't just let you stumble around in ignorance," Vik pointed at him. "Your hormones… they're starting to go haywire, right?"
Faelan needed a second to understand what was happening—then his face turned bright red.
"Vik…" he muttered, rubbing his face with his hand. "Please don't tell me you're trying to give me The Talk right now!"
And about being the only male figure in his life…
Uh… there was also… um… Gordon!
Wait, did he even count?
Besides the rare lunch invites and help setting up the business, they hadn't really seen or talked to each other much. Everyone else…
Galina, Gloria, Sasha, Kiwi, Dorio…
"Holy shit, it's true!" Faelan's eyes widened as he realized he was almost exclusively surrounded by women.
Maybe that's why the shift hit him so hard when he saw Gloria?
Vik mistook the silence for shyness.
"I know it's an awkward topic, but remember—I'm a doctor," he said, pointing to his license on the wall like it would somehow make everything less weird. "With your newfound awareness of the opposite sex and considering you live alone with Kiwi (and girls mature faster in these things), you might find yourselves in some… situations where it's better to be informed." He reached into a drawer and pulled out a small box marked 0.01, handing it to him with a firm gesture.
Faelan was so stunned and speechless from Vik's logic that the box nearly slipped from his hand—and so did his sunglasses from the bridge of his nose.
What the hell was wrong with Vik? Or this city?
He was twelve. Twelve. For fuck's sake!
"Curiosity is perfectly healthy," Vik continued, "but there are some boundaries better left until you're older to—"
"VIK!"
The ripperdoc made a patient expression at Faelan's loud outburst, the kind of calm only a father explaining an uncomfortable subject to his kid could muster.
In his eyes, Faelan and Kiwi ending up together was inevitable. He'd seen how they protected each other after escaping that hellhole of a factory, how they supported each other as they grew…
Kiwi might think she was subtle, but both Viktor and Galina had seen the way she looked at Faelan.
"Youth… such a precious thing," he thought wistfully.
He had a few regrets of his own, but life moved on.
Faelan could see the determination in Viktor's eyes and had no choice but to resign himself to listening to everything he had to say… for the next two hours!
"And I thought puberty was already going to be bad enough!"