The Brink and Back - Chapter 111 (Patreon)

When I left, I had Jackie and Gloria keep an eye on Gustavo, both to keep him company and to keep him from wandering around. Meanwhile, I took the express route straight down to Frank's lab. Sable headed back to our temporary bedroom in Cassie's room, and Riggs followed after me, sticking by my side through teleporters, as I stepped into the large lab.

When I arrived, Frank was taking readings off the three Golden retriever pups still floating in their artificial wombs. 

"Good evening, Jackson," Frank said without turning around. "I will be with you in just a moment."

"Sure… how are they doing?" I asked, standing just behind him. 

"They are more or less ready. We've slowed down the pregnancy so they wouldn't be born when everyone was busy," He explained, tapping on readouts and copying down their information. "Have you chosen who will be watching them?"

"I talked with Sable and Gloria, and they agreed that tending the dogs would be a great responsibility for the kids," I said. "But they won't be their owners. I imagine it will be like having an office pet."

"Understood," Frank said with a nod, going quiet for a few minutes before completing his task and turning back to look at me. "So, someone arrived at Rocky Ridge, and they needed your help, I presume?"

"One of the leaders of the Valentinos is going to do his best to go to bat for us, in exchange for us healing his girlfriend," I explained. "She took a bullet to her head and is stuck in a coma." 

"Hmm… Do you have any relevant data?" 

Before I could say anything, most admit to him that I actually hadn't thought that far ahead yet, Mary appeared at a nearby projector. 

"I can help you with that," she said, making a gesture, before Frank's tablet made a confirming tone that it received a download. "That's all of Martha Frakes current medical information, as well as her past medical records, freshly copied from the facility housing her."

"Ah, that is perfect," Frank said, looking down at his tablet. "One moment while I read through this."

I nodded, turning to Mary as Frank dug into his homework and gave the powerful AI a relieved smile.

"Thanks for the help, Mary. I got a bit ahead of myself there," I admitted. "Not difficult, I hope?" 

"They had a few Netrunners protecting the hospital's netcode, but I bypassed them easily,"  She assured me confidently. "There isn't much I can't overwhelm cleanly with how much pure computing power you've given me."

"It might be time to start poking at some of the more dangerous AI lurking around the web," I commented with a frown. "Do you feel confident you can handle something like that?"

"Of course, I have already started gathering intelligence on a few rogue AIs that need targeting," She revealed. "I believe there are several that I could use as a test to compare our abilities. That said…  I now have more computing power at my fingertips than the entirety of the local Arasaka. I do not believe they will stand a chance." 

"Hmm.... Why don't you put together a brief for a few of the potential targets, then we can discuss the merits of each," I suggested, scratching my stubble. "Once we have a better metric for how an AI of your style compares to the local version, then we can let you off the chain to run the selection process by yourself."

We discussed the concept for a while longer, eventually agreeing that it would be best to wait until after we had a firmer grip on Night City, specifically when the gangs were gone. Eventually, Frank was done with his reading, and he looked up from his tablet. 

"Good news, I believe my recent research and development will help the recovery of Martha Frakes considerably," He explained. "I will just need a moment to synthesize the injection."

One of our primary weaknesses, one of humanity's largest weak spots in general, was the brain. With stimpaks, biofoam, and several other medical miracles we had access to, the chances of any of my people dying from anything short of massive and instant damage to their body, the equivalent of reducing a significant portion of their mass to a smear, we were more than capable of stabilizing and healing them. Even then, if their remaining body was brought to Frank quickly enough, we could basically put their remaining mass on life support while we rebuilt their body at a much slower pace. 

The one hole in that concept was brain injuries. Stimpaks did technically work on the brain, but their effects were significantly reduced because the blood-brain barrier blocked most of the serum from reaching damaged areas. A stimpak would help push through a concussion, it might even heal a small aneurysm if you got to it fast enough, but any real brain matter trauma was usually beyond its scope and speed.

Then there was the fact that the brain was a hard drive, damaging it damaged the information stored on it, and that couldn't be magicked back by miracle healing serums.

On the other hand, most of the brain's natural ability to heal relied on neuroplasticity, which was basically the brain adapting itself for more efficiency, or in the case of an injury, around damaged areas. Sometimes it allowed for shocking levels of recovery, like letting someone continue living after a railroad tie was blasted through their prefrontal cortex. Unfortunately, neuroplasticity was also limited in effectiveness, and sometimes it just wasn't enough. There was usually some consequence for the damage, as the brain just couldn't fix it all with just a little remodeling.

But guess who had a drug that could instigate an incredible level of neuroplasticity?

Frank had been studying Addictol, an anti-addiction drug from Fallout, in an attempt to find a treatment for brain damage and injuries, in an effort to bridge across one of our major weak spots.

Basically, Addictol created a state of incredible neuroplasticity, and with the help of your doctors, you would engage in corrective therapy, allowing you to remove your addiction, both physical and mental, in an extremely short time. However, it also massively increased your risk for several brain issues, including Alzheimer's and tumors. 

Thankfully, we had a few large medical branches to work with, and Frank had been working on a way to reduce the side effects while giving the brain a better chance to heal. That was why I had been so confident in our offer to Gustavo. I knew Frank had already had some pretty considerable success with the concept already. 

It wouldn't bring back anything that was lost by the damage, but it would absolutely help a brain heal through whatever trauma it had undergone. On top of that, we could also mix in several other methods of encouraging the brain to heal from other universes. How much they recovered, both physically and mentally, was up to the patient.

Frank returned a few minutes later, holding a case containing four simple injectors and a single device, and handed them both to me. 

"The injections must be done once every other day, while the device is attached to the back of her neck for at least a few hours afterward, as it stimulates the nervous system and helps the brain start the healing process. If she wakes up, the injections should continue until they are gone, but as long as she is cognizant and reactive, the device is not necessary. 

"Right, thanks, Frank," I said with a nod. "And any side effects?" 

"I've managed to reduce the chances of long-term effects and scale back the intensity to greatly lessen the potential brain-altering issue," he explained. "That said, she should still undergo frequent checks for signs of developing brain issues. The chances are small, but there."

"Well, considering it looks like she would never wake up without treatment, I think that's a fair trade," I said with a frown. "I will explain it to Gustavo, he knows her well enough to say if she would go for it." 

Frank nodded, and after a few more minutes of explaining the details of the medicine and medical device, I headed back up to the Rocky Ridge. After a total of just forty-three minutes, give or take, I was walking back into the meeting hall. Gustavo stood up quickly as I approached, looking nervous but hopeful. 

"Is… is that it?" he asked, looking down at what I was carrying.

"It is," I revealed with a small smile and a nod. "Four injections, once every other day at the same time, while wearing this patch to stimulate her nerves and brain. However, this sort of tech isn't something we can just release into the wild."

"Then…"

"Which is why we are going to deploy some stealth Spartans to the hospital to keep an eye on Martha, and to make sure the injections are done at appropriate times," I revealed, before Gustavo could get agitated. "They will watch over her until she is awake." 

"That… would make it a lot easier," He admitted. "I haven't been able to visit her yet, her father has been keeping tabs on her constantly. Are you sure that your soldiers can-"

"Trust me, Gustavo, they are more than capable of making sure she gets her treatment," I assured him. "She should start seeing an improvement within a day or so, and you can expect her to wake up sometime after that, probably by the third injection. She will be noticeably confused, but she will be awake."

"Are there side effects?" He asked. "Beyond the fact that she might have some memory issues."

"There are. Tampering with the brain like this does increase her likelihood of various brain issues by about ten percent," I responded. "Frequent brain scans and tests will be able to keep an eye on anything that might crop up, and some of them can be treated. That said, many of those risks wouldn't present for some time, giving her plenty of time to prepare and enjoy her life in the meantime."

"I… thank you," he said, letting out a long breath. "Is there anything you need me to do?"

"Just stick to our agreement, and that's more than enough,"  I assured him, before passing both the box of injectors and the stimulator patch to Riggs. "We genuinely do want to help, Gustavo. Please help us convince your fellow leaders to work with us."

"I'm pretty sure I can do it," He agreed with a nod. "Give me a few days."

"We are clearing out the TC soon," I revealed. "And speaking to 6th Street sometime tomorrow… well, more like today at this point. After that, I don't know how much longer we can wait."

"I'll get it done," He confirmed, before reaching out to shake my hand. "Thank you for your help." 

"You are very welcome."

Gustavo left shortly after that, and the treatment for Martha was taken by a squad of stealth Spartans, who headed off to infiltrate the hospital. Not only would they administer the treatment and keep watch over Martha, but they would also keep an eye on the hospital, in case someone noticed her miraculous recovery and decided it was worth investigating.

Mary would be working that angle as well, guiding the Spartans through the hospital and keeping watch on its network. There was no doubt in my mind that corporations and fixers would be watching hospitals, as the check-ins would undoubtedly be valuable information.

When our impromptu guest was gone, I quickly passed my current doppelganger off to a Spartan pair, disconnecting from the copy and rolling over in my bed, spooning Sable and almost immediately drifting back off to sleep.

The following day was our meeting with both The Mox and the 6th Street gang. 6th Street wanted to meet us earlier in the afternoon, while The Mox invited us into their primary club for the meeting, and set the time for much later. It worked out well, but unfortunately, the situation spiraled almost immediately as we arrived at the 6th Street meeting place.

The meeting was done in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of their territory, not too far from some of our new property. I, of course, suggested that we meet up in Jackie's restaurant, but they refused. To be fair, they didn't have any of the history we shared with Valentinos, mostly in the form of past members, so the fact that they saw no reason to meet us in a place that didn't have at least nominal control was relatively understandable. 

It didn't quite matter to us, though the number of people I invited to go with us did shrink because of it. Sable was staying home, as were Gloria and Jackie. The former two had no reason to go, but Jackie and Gloria had ties to Valentinos, and bringing them would likely go over like a lead balloon. Instead, it was Rebecca, Kaytlyn, Riggs, two Spartans, and twenty stealth Spartans. It was absolutely overkill, but since I was the only one in a disposable body, I wanted plenty of Spartans around, just in case.

About twenty minutes after we arrived and took our places, the 6th Street leaders arrived, taking their places at the other ends of the table. Almost immediately, I could tell that this was not going to go nearly as well as the meeting with the Valentinos had. They were openly hostile the moment they walked in, faces covered in sneers. Where the Valantinos usually had subtle, simpler chrome, every person I saw across the table had at least half a dozen bits of cyberware I could see. At least three of the seven had visible twitches, a huge sign of the early stages of cyberpsychosis.

When everyone was seated, I attempted to start the meeting off, only for the biggest of the leaders, a man with a metal cyberware faceplate and two large gorilla arms, thumped the table with his fist hard enough to dent it.

"Fuck you," He said, a snarl on his face. I actually recoiled slightly, caught off guard by the immediate, violent attitude. 

I was, of course, prepared for things going wrong. What I was not quite prepared for was the escalation at that level without even saying anything. Of course, everyone who was with me reacted by tensing, hands flicking towards weapons, which only made the leaders do the same. Seeing the situation already starting to spiral, I stood up. 

"Enough!" I shouted. "We both agreed to meet peacefully under a truce. Is 6th Street going to go back on their word, when we have done nothing?"

A tense few moments passed before eventually everyone slowly started to unclench. It took them quite a bit longer than it took my crew, but it still happened, which I decided to take as a win.

"Thank you," I said with a nod, still standing. "Now, I can make a few good guesses at what the immediate hostility is from, but we have words to exchange, and the sooner that's done, the sooner we can go our separate ways."

"Threats, you mean," One of the leaders, a man covered in tattoos and scars. "You are here to exchange threats."

"No. Threats are what follow after this," I responded, staring the man down. "Threats are what I don't want to make. I will, but I don't want to."

My assurances did not shift anyone's hard looks, and I barely managed to keep from shaking my head. Without an in, and without prior contact, this was already going terribly compared to Valentinos, and that hadn't gone perfectly either.

"I understand that I am an outside force, and it comes off as me trying to take over what you consider yours," I admitted, trying to appease their aggression. "But please, consider how much we could achieve if we worked together. I'm offering a way to fund your protection services and public outreach projects, so that you can drop your less savory activities."

They let me talk for a while, letting me describe my goals, what I was looking to do, and what sort of projects I was hoping to fund. Unfortunately, while they let me talk, it was not from a place of openness, and my words were only met with stony looks. It made me wonder why they would even bother agreeing to the meeting, and listening to me, at all. Then Mary messaged me, and it suddenly made sense. 

"Someone is attempting to approach the VTOL," she warned, appearing as a fake projection via my interface. "They are wearing optical camo. Should I intercept?"

"No, let them approach, but watch them closely," I sent back. "May as well let them hang themselves." 

I continued to talk, now more or less just bullshiting, since I had already given up on reaching them. The person sneaking up on our ride did not go in, but instead affixed something to the exterior. It was too small to be an explosive, so it had to be some sort of tracker.

"That's why they agreed to all of this," I said through my connection to Mary. "They wanted a chance to try and track the VTOL."

"Why? Rocky Ridge on the map," Mary pointed out as I sat down, my bullshit speech finished. 

"Yeah, but Rocky Ridge can't be the source of all our supplies, gear, and soldiers. It's too small, so they are trying to find the real source," I guessed. "To sell the information, or to attack, I don't know. We will disable the tracker as we leave, not that it would work either way, but I don't want to trigger a fight now."

Mary confirmed my order, and the meeting continued, the leaders completely unaware of our conversation, or that we discovered the attempt to locate our base. Eventually, I delivered the final ultimatum, and we left, before we overstayed our welcome longer than we already had. As we boarded the VTOL, Mary directed me to the tracker, and I tore it off the hull, tossing it to the ground before we took off.

"Can I say I told you so now?" Kayt asked, raising an eyebrow as the

VTOL's rapid acceleration tugged at us. 

"No, because I never disagreed with you, Kayt," I pointed out, shaking my head. "I recognized that it was most likely pointless, but I needed to try anyway. After the Tyger Claws are dealt with, we will release the ultimatum to the lower ranks. Hopefully, the Valentinos will be on board by then." 

Just about the only highlight of the meeting was that it was significantly shorter than the ones with the Valentinos, which let us get back to Rocky Ridge with a good chunk of time before we needed to head back into the city to meet with The Mox. I spent that time with Alexander and Panam, as they finally made the transition from our Campground, over to Avalon. 

It had been an ongoing plan, since just after it was decided that the nomads we invited would explore Avalon, that Alexander's group would be the first to transition to there. We had built dozens of structures for them, where they would live while they learned how to use their new equipment. A lot of their old stuff was scrapped, but we did have some of the more personal vehicles stored in the ever-growing bunker beneath the red and purple forest. 

We had been calling the nomad part of the town the Campground for a while, but the new living area, over in Avalon, actually looked like a massive campground, as it was built from the logs we had to cut down to make room. 

Watching the Aldecados react to honest-to-god purple log cabins in a forest, never mind on a alien planet, was quite the scene. 

Unfortunately, the red trees weren't straight enough to build from, but we converted them into materials to make furniture, so it worked out in the end. The over all plan was to move in large groups, mostly divided by families, to teach them how to fly and use all of their new equipment, before they would head out and a new group would move in. Alexander's family was just the first of many. 

It was a bit strange to see the Campground empty after being full and lively for so long. However, it wouldn't be empty for long, as once it was cleared of stuff, we would be building several more apartment buildings, more services for the growing town, and likely more. 

When I was done seeing them off, it was more or less time to head to The Mox. Our meeting was set in their club, Lizzie's Bar, which was part braindance club and part dance club. I was actually familiar with the location, as my limited playing of the Cyberpunk game included visiting Judy, who worked in the basement as a braindance editor.

We arrived early, before the bar was technically open, and approached the front door. The bouncers on either side watched us as we got closer, each of them armed with bats, though they had side arms on their hips as well. The exterior of the bar was a mess, the parking area covered in trash, and its fence bent and beaten. Times were clearly tight for the small pseudo gang.

"Hello, I think you're likely expecting us," I said as we stopped, Sable and Rebecca standing on either side of me. "Jackson here to see Susie Q."

"Yeah, she's expecting you," One of the girls responded, before looking down at Rebecca. "Heard what happened, Becca, glad to see you still walking around."

"Hey Rita. Sucks but that's how it goes…" She said with a shrug. "Probably wouldn't have survived if this guy didn't find me in the heaps."

"He treating you right?"

"They all are," she said smoothly. "It's been a time, but I'm happy."

That seemed to surprise the bouncer, who looked up at me and the rest of the crew who had joined us. This time it was Riggs, Kayt, Jackie, Sable, and Rebecca, though we also had a pair of Spartans. 

Not to mention the ten cloaked Spartans already surrounding the building, including on the roof. 

Once the bouncer, Rita, recovered, she looked over to her compatriot.

"I'm bringing these guys in side, sticking around for the meeting. I'll send someone up to cover for me."

The other Mox member nodded, and Rita gestured for us to follow her. We entered the bar, heading through the back area and down the stairs into the basement. The interior was styled just as one would expect, with lights, music, a cold cyberpunk aesthetic, or private rooms and small alcoves for people to sit, chat, or cook their minds with a braindance. That said, it was also in need of a serious cleaning. There was a shocking amount of loose trash lying around, and most surfaces I could see needed a scrub-down. Rebecca seemed a bit surprised by the state of things as well, which told me this was a relatively new issue.

Once we were in the basement, we were guided into a room that I didn't recognize in the game, through a pair of doors that I was pretty sure were sealed shut when I played. It was a meeting room of sorts, built within a large storage room, with shelves filled with crates, boxes, and more. Despite that, it was functional, and people were already sitting and waiting for us. I recognized Judy, who was sitting with her head down, her hands gripping an energy drink like it was her anchor in a storm. I also recognized Susie Q as well, though only through my research. 

When Rebecca explained that Susie Q was more there for profits and power than because she believed in the cause, I had Mary do a deep dive on her and those connected to her. The results of the dive immediately proved Rebecca to be correct. Susie was running the Mox like a business, and while plenty of people disagreed, it was hard to argue against practicality, or that in a place like Night City, you should focus on protecting yourself and your own, rather than other people. 

It ran counter to much of what the Mox stood for, but nobody was willing to close her down, as they were either too loyal or afraid of what would happen if they spoke up. Not because they feared violence, but rather being ostracized from the group, a way of punishment that I was pretty sure Susie was orchestrating, but that I couldn't prove.

On top of that, Susie was also a bit of a control freak. She had taken over the Mox, which before didn't really have a singular leader. She had rather firmly taken the reins and did not like handing them over. 

I was also pretty sure she was skimming money from the gang as well, but since a lot of the funds were off book and isolated, I couldn't prove it without stealing airgapped information, at least not without causing a scene, which would come down to me convincing the other members, of which were extremely loyal and unlikely to trust the word of a stranger. 

So I was going to approach the problem from a different angle. 

My crew sat down at the table while I stayed standing, taking their places on the opposite side of the Mox. As they did, I placed a large briefcase in front of me, which I had been carrying with me the whole way. I could see their eyes shifting to it as I put it on the table. 

"Before we start talking about what we are looking to do, and what we can offer the Moxes, I want to start off by making you, Susie, an offer in particular. This is a one-time deal, so take it or leave it."

I slid the briefcase across the table, the chromed-out gang leader catching it easily as it reached her. 

"You come walking in here, making offers like you-"

She clicked the mechanical latches for the briefcase, her jaw dropping and eyes going wide when she got a peek inside. The closest person to her let out a strangled gasp when they saw the briefcase's contents. 

"That is half a million Eddies in cold, hard legal cash," I explained. "In exchange, I want you gone."

"You want us to disband?" Someone asked, anger rising. "We-"

"That is not what I said," I explained, cutting them off before they could pick up steam. "I said this is a payment for Susie, for her to leave. I want her to abdicate her position on the Mox and leave Night City. Immediately, and never come back."

After the shock had passed, quite a few of the Mox had some very strong opinions about my offer. Most of them were offended on Susie Q's behalf, annoyed or insulted that I would think something like that would work. Assuring me that the Mox was a family and that she wouldn't just accept a bunch of easy cash and give up being their leader.  

But I had already seen their numbers, already seen how little Susie, how little any of them were making. Even Susie, whom I was pretty sure was skimming off the top, wasn't breaking the bank. Half a million in cash, along with her own savings, was absolutely enough to start a whole new life somewhere else, to reinvent herself and try something a bit better.

Some of the Mox may have been angry with me, denying it was something she would even be interested in. But they were all looking at me.

I was watching Susie Q as she stared down into the briefcase, eyes wide and full of dollar signs.

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Hey guys! Some people have expressed that half a mil is to low, and considering my track record with guessing proper currency numbers, I'm inclined to listen and bump it up for next chapter. Leave a comment or like someone else's comment about it if you agree.