Chapter 78: Phone Calls
"Hey, when are you finally going to introduce me to Maine and the crew?"
Rhys turned as Lucy's cool, clear voice cut through the quiet apartment. She was sitting on the windowsill, watching him. Seeing him look over, she pressed, "Rhys, it's been three days."
"Hm? The crew's still on downtime," Rhys explained. "Maine and the others are still at Vick's, getting used to their new chrome. Dorio said he's staying there so Vick can monitor him."
Rhys quickly ran down the list for her.
"Sasha's still in Dogtown. Her sister's situation isn't resolved yet. Apparently, her idiot brother-in-law got himself tangled up with another local gang. She said she'll handle it, told me not to worry."
"Pilar and Rebecca are with Wakako—oh, right, you don't know her. She's a major fixer in Japantown. With her help, they've already sourced a new car and some better implants."
"As for Kiwi..."
Lucy cut him off, looking exasperated. "Is that what I'm asking?"
Over the last two days, Rhys and Lucy had fallen into a strange routine: meeting up, eating, browsing BD stores, and... going back to one of their apartments to watch them. No, that hadn't happened. Their relationship was... a close braindance-buddy-ship. They'd spent the night on the same bed, but they hadn't done anything.
Lucy propped her chin on her hand, watching him. "I want to know what they think about me joining."
"They're all for it, hands down," Rhys smiled, then added, "Especially Pilar. When he heard you were in, he immediately offered to drive over and take you drinking."
"Pass. I don't like him," Lucy said, rolling her eyes. Pilar... that skinny monkey with the long chrome arms and the face like stretched rubber. He was everything she despised in a person—ugly, loud, and completely at odds with her entire life philosophy.
But Rhys... he was different. Strong, gentle, good-tempered, and incredibly reserved. Are all Eastern guys like this? she wondered, studying his face.
"Anyway, don't worry about it," Rhys reassured her. "I've already told Maine and the others. Everyone's happy to have you."
Well... mostly happy. Sasha and Rebecca hadn't been thrilled. Sasha had argued that they already had two netrunners, but Maine had shut her down, repeating his new mantra: you can never have too many deckheads. Besides, it wasn't like they were paying her a salary. You work, you get paid. More skilled people meant they could take on bigger, more lucrative gigs. And more people meant less risk for everyone else.
Maine wasn't just thinking about a "crew" anymore. He had bigger ideas.
"So, you don't need to..."
Rhys's words were cut off by his agent ringing. He glanced at the caller ID: Captain Muamar. He held up a finger to Lucy and took the call.
"Hey Rhys. I think you're in trouble. To ensure our future... ah... cooperation... I'm sending you some intel. Hope it helps," the Captain said, his punk-cut hair and serious face filling the video feed.
Rhys paused. "What trouble?"
"Huh?" The Captain looked genuinely surprised. "Your crew's gone dark. I just assumed... well, looks like you don't know."
Before Rhys could ask, Muamar continued, "Arasaka is very interested in you. It's all over the fixer network. They want to grab you, probably for some experiment. Haven't the Mox contacted you? Fuck, this is worse than I thought..."
"Look, here's the short version: The Tyger Claws are hitting the Mox. Hard. They're trying to force you out of hiding. They know your connection to them. A fixer in Santo Domingo named Faraday planned the whole thing. He's a nasty piece of work, a real snake, but he's got high-level Arasaka connections, so no one touches him. He's their attack dog on this."
"Since you're in the dark, just keep it that way. Lay low. Maybe leave the city for a while. In six months, everyone will forget," the Captain advised, his tone serious.
Rhys's face had turned to ice.
"Okay, don't tell anyone I told you this," Muamar added. "I don't need that kind of heat. That's why I'm calling, not sending a message. Good luck." He hung up.
"What's wrong?" Lucy asked, seeing Rhys's expression.
Rhys ignored her, immediately dialing another number. It rang for thirty seconds, no answer. Susan wasn't picking up. He hung up and immediately dialed another number.
It connected after a few rings.
"Yeah?"
"What's going on that you're not telling me?" Rhys demanded.
On the other end, Anna froze, then rolled her eyes. "You found out? I knew it. Even if we kept our mouths shut, this city is too damn small. Susan can lock down our comms, but she can't lock down everyone else's. How long did she think she could hide it?"
"But she's right, Rhys. She's almost never wrong. You need to stay out of..."
"Tell me, Anna," Rhys interrupted, his voice dangerously quiet. "What happened."
"..." Anna was silent, staring at him. Finally, she sighed. "The Tyger Claws are back, and this time it's not just posturing. Last night, they hit two of our warehouses. A few of the girls guarding them got hurt. This morning, three of our joytoys working in Kabuki got jumped. One's dead. The other two are in the hospital."
"Susan's sure they're doing this to smoke you out. Some of the crew wanted to give you up, but Korna slapped them straight, said it would just make things worse. Said if you went down, the Mox would have no future."
"Susan's plan was to handle it before you found out, but... how could that even work? Don't worry, Rhys. We're fighting back. Lizzie's is shut down, all the girls are off the street. We're at war. In fact, I just zeroed two Tyger gonks outside the Corpo Plaza," Anna said with a forced smile.
She was trying to reassure him, but her eyes were shadowed with exhaustion. She hadn't slept in two days. Since the attacks started, she'd been leading the counter-assaults, getting into a dozen small firefights, taking out more than a dozen Claws. But it was useless. The Tygers were a mega-gang. They were just toying with the Mox... waiting for something. If they'd wanted, they could have wiped Lizzie's off the map overnight.
"Tell Susan... she and I are going to have a talk," Rhys said, reining in his fury.
"Fuck, don't always make me the messenger. Make Rita do it..."
Rhys hung up and stared at his hands. Then he made another call.
"Vick. How's my weapon coming?"
"Not fully calibrated, but the fabrication's done. Why? You sound... off. You need it now?" Vick's warm voice replied.
"Yeah. I need a weapon. I'm on my way," Rhys said.
Lucy had moved closer, watching him, her expression unreadable.
Rhys made one more call. This time, to Rogue.
"Yeah?" Rogue's voice snapped. She was in a car.
"Rogue. The Mox..."
She cut him off brutally. "Don't even ask. I'm not touching it. You're the one who got Arasaka's attention. Three days ago, a corpo suit put a contract out on you to half the fixers in the city, Faraday included. Rhys, if you want to live, you lay low. With your skills and my intel, you can survive. But if you walk into this Mox business, you're walking into a trap, and I can't protect you. You're not that stupid, are you?"
Rhys just laughed, a short, bitter sound, and ended the call.
He hadn't expected her to help. Rogue had always been clear: gangs are gangs, mercs are mercs. And with her... complicated... relationship with Arasaka, she'd never get involved. He'd only called to confirm the intel.
"What happened?" Lucy asked softly.
"Nothing. Just... a little trouble back home," Rhys said, flashing her a tight smile. He stood, walked to the door, grabbed his jacket, and put on his cap.
"I've got to take care of something. We'll have to... uh... watch that braindance another time," he said, his back to her.
Lucy hesitated, wanting to say something, but he was already out the door.
...
"He hung up on me. The little bastard hung up on me," Rogue snarled.
In the passenger seat, Pangolin (Wayland) grunted. "What's his play?"
"What do you think?" Rogue leaned her head back, exasperated. "I knew he was trouble the second I recruited him."
Wayland chuckled. "You knew he'd do this, didn't you?"
"Shut your damn mouth," Rogue snapped, then fell silent. She had known. The kid... his empathy was off the charts. He was like Johnny, but without the narcissistic bullshit.
"Michiko's people are about to land. You know what you're going to say?"
"What choice do I have?" Rogue closed her eyes. "I'm going to have to ask the 'princess' for a favor, see if she can pull some strings, get the kid some breathing room."
"She's not exactly... accommodating," Wayland noted.
"Heh. A teenager who cut deals with the President of the NUSA? Who became a pop-culture icon and used public opinion to wage war on her own family? Who's now a major faction leader within Arasaka? No, she's not 'accommodating,'" Rogue said, her eyes flashing open. "Now shut up. I need to think."
Wayland muttered under his breath, "Fine. He pisses you off, you take it out on me..." He turned to look out the window. They were entering the ultra-rich district of North Oak.