Cyberpunk: I'm Not a Scavenger - Chapter 28: Return from the Badlands (Patreon)

BOOM!

A blazing fireball erupted behind the Merrimac "Warlock". The shockwave swept up clouds of Badlands dust and hammered against its bulletproof windows, but the massive vehicle barely rocked. Even an explosion that close had done almost nothing to it.

“Hold on! Don't fall out!”

Jackie wrenched the steering wheel. Somehow, he managed to throw the heavy vehicle through a hair-raising maneuver that avoided a missile fired by the Wraiths.

“Jackie, you're wasting your talents! You should be racing in the Death Race!” Pantheon shouted as he returned fire.

Half his body hung out of the window, yet no matter how violently the vehicle swerved, he remained as steady as a rock.

“They still caught up with us after all that driving. Guess this thing really isn't made for the Badlands.”

Pantheon ducked back into the passenger seat and pulled a weapons case from beneath it. Inside lay his M-179e Achilles Precision Rifle. It wasn't that he'd forgotten about the weapon. The harsh conditions out here were simply terrible for delicate precision tech rifles.

There was a reason Power weapons dominated the streets while Tech Weapons and Smart Weapons remained comparatively rare. The average street thug was barely literate. How could anyone expect those idiots to maintain sophisticated equipment? Even if they somehow got their hands on a high-end weapon, they'd probably ruin it in no time.

“I've marked the high-priority targets for you. Give me another two minutes to finish the intrusion.”

Lucy was connected to the onboard netrunning equipment in the back seat. The server's formidable processing power was helping her tear through the enemy network's defenses at an extraordinary pace.

Pantheon leaned out again. The Wraiths' modified vehicles glowed with highlighted outlines through the dust, and even the drivers inside appeared as clear infrared silhouettes. A little assistance hardly counted as cheating. And a bit of X-ray vision? That was practically fair play. He didn't even need to activate [Dead Eye].

The Merrimac bucked over the Badlands' potholes, but Pantheon's upper body remained remarkably steady outside the window.

Whoosh!

The electromagnetic rails emitted a piercing whine, almost inaudible beneath the roar of engines and gunfire. A tungsten-core armor-piercing round struck the leading vehicle with deadly precision. The Wraith driver's head burst into a cloud of blood. Before the passenger could grab the wheel, a second shot killed him too. With nobody left to steer, the truck veered off the road and plunged into a drainage ditch.

“Holy shit, King! That was incredible shooting!” Jackie yelled, excitement blazing in his voice.

“Easy, easy. We've still got three more.”

Pantheon grinned and began charging the Achilles again.

Bzzzz!

Shit! He'd missed!

It was entirely the other guy's dumb luck. The target vehicle had hit a pothole at exactly the wrong moment, throwing off the angle of the shot. Instead of hitting the driver, the round struck the Black passenger who'd been holding his gun above his head and spraying and praying.

A little embarrassed, Pantheon lined up another shot to prove he hadn't lost his touch.

“I'm in. They're finished.”

Lucy's voice came from the rear, relaxed and almost cheerful. Before she'd even finished speaking, a Wraith in one of the pursuing vehicles began convulsing. White smoke rose from his head. The unlucky netrunner had just become a serving of freshly fried brains.

The next instant, two modified Wraith pickups shuddered violently. Lucy had seized control of their onboard systems.

Screeeeech!

Their brakes locked, and their steering systems stopped responding. Tires shrieked against the road as the two speeding trucks lost control and slammed into each other.

BOOM!

Momentum sent them tumbling like bowling balls. They smashed into the ground, crumpled into twisted scrap, and exploded in twin columns of flame. The last Wraith vehicle, farther back, took one look at the wreckage, slammed on its brakes, and turned around to flee.

“All done. That's a wrap.”

Lucy sounded nonchalant, but the little smile at the corner of her mouth gave her away.

Pantheon put the Achilles back in its case and rolled up the window, sealing out the wind and grit.

“El Capitán really outdid himself with these modifications.” He settled back into his seat with a satisfied sigh. “You get what you pay for. Those three hundred thousand eddies were money well spent.”

This was their first job since taking delivery of the newly customized vehicle. It was a little short on engine power, but everything else had exceeded his expectations. All that frightening Wraith firepower had failed to penetrate its armor.

What are you gonna do, spit at me?

The onboard netrunning system had also given Lucy's abilities a tremendous boost. Without it, breaking into the Wraiths' network so easily would have been out of the question. Compared with results like these, the price tag didn't hurt nearly as much.

The Merrimac continued through the wasteland toward Night City. About half an hour later, the border checkpoint came into view.

Even from a distance, they could see the enormous wall of reinforced concrete stretching across the wilderness as far as the eye could reach. The highway narrowed, guardrails rising along both sides as they approached the inspection area.

The sprawling checkpoint had more than ten lanes. Armed security personnel watched each one, and automatic machine guns hung overhead, ready to activate. Vehicles were separated into groups and directed toward the inspection zones.

A waist-high concrete riot barrier painted with black-and-yellow hazard stripes blocked their lane. Jackie eased the Merrimac to a stop before it.

“Please proceed into the inspection area,” a guard instructed as the barrier began to lower. “Remain inside your vehicle. The security inspection will begin shortly.”

Jackie rolled down the window and beamed at him.

“Hey, officer! Still out here in the wind this late? Hard work, huh?”

The guard took one look at Jackie's face, and his stern expression softened.

“Oh, it's you, Jackie.”

“That's right, officer. My choom and I picked up a few secondhand parts out in the Badlands. Nothing fancy, just the usual stuff.”

Jackie rolled the word officer off his tongue as naturally as breathing. He handed over the customs form with a neat stack of bills and two packs of cigarettes tucked underneath.

The guard judged the thickness of the paperwork, nodded approvingly, and slipped it into his folder. With one hand hidden behind his back, he made a discreet gesture toward the security cameras.

The red scanning lasers swept lazily across the Merrimac twice and switched off. Before the concrete barrier had even lowered all the way, the guard leaned over again.

“Badlands have been rough lately. The Wraiths are acting up again. Next time you come through, make sure you bring a little extra 'preparation.'”

“Will do, officer! Thanks for the warning. See you around!”

Jackie waved cheerfully and drove on. Only then were they truly back inside Night City.

Pantheon watched the whole exchange with amazement.

“Jackie, you're in the wrong profession. With those people skills, you should be running for city council. I'd vote for you in a heartbeat!”

“Hahaha! Chico, that's just how you survive in Night City.”

Jackie laughed even harder.

“And when I'm on the council, my first law will be that every order of fries has to come with ketchup! Serving fries without ketchup? Illegal!”

“Hahahahaha!”

They'd barely cleared the Badlands' signal-dead zone when a call came through from El Capitán.

“Well? How's the car, boss? Treating you right?”

The fixer was grinning with genuine delight. Over the past two weeks, Pantheon had completed several gigs for him. His success rate was one hundred percent, he worked quickly, and nothing ever went wrong. What fixer wouldn't adore a mercenary like that? Forget calling him boss. El Capitán would call him Dad if that's what it took. It wasn't as if he'd never done so before.

“Better than all right! It's absolutely fantastic!”

One look at Pantheon's expression told El Capitán how much he loved the car. At last, the fixer could relax. Once he'd confirmed the thing he cared about most, he finally mentioned the gig.

“I've got someone waiting for you at your base. Just hand the cargo over when you get there.”