The day had started so well - a job, explanations, an unexpected reconciliation. Just then, the sound of engines was heard further down the road, and Solena and Tubio decided to separate.
-No, I'm not expecting anyone. The desert's full of nomads, not all of them reliable. So I think we should be going. See you Toto.
Tubio saluted her before returning to his car, but not without looking over the mound of earth. Below, a group of armed people were strolling between the mobil homes, clearly inspecting the area.
image [https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1178789115622326365/1178791144663036025/cyberpunk_2077_wraith_s_car_by_singlestooge_dg7pvlv-fullview.png?ex=660b15cd&is=65f8a0cd&hm=65003e74f5845a1a7085c78562f53cf735a5131af97f96486d1267c426b48433&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=550&height=309]
The cars bore the markings of the Wraiths, a group with a very bad reputation in the Badlands. Tubio was about to discreetly climb into the car before putting his foot down, but he had forgotten one thing. As he reached the door, Solena, unaware of the danger, started her engine, her motorcycle roaring noisily as it went.
Immediately the strangers turned in their directions, shouting to each other indicating the presence of Tubio and to get into the cars. Tubio then shouted to Solena, who raised her head at his shouts!
-Delta, they're Raffens!
Immediately Solena put on her helmet and set off in the opposite direction to Night City, passing between rocks to get off the beaten track before disappearing behind a mound. Tubio climbed into Boréale, but the Wraiths' engines could already be heard.
Tubio hesitated to take out his new shotgun to defend himself here. But in a quick decision, he climbed into his car and started up too. The important thing was to survive, and the chances of these bastards outnumbering him were too great.
With this in mind Tubio didn't wait to make a beeline between the advertising hoardings and the rocks of the circuit to go off-road. Boréale, though made for the road, had good suspension, and the Raffens wouldn't hold it against him.
The car shook in all directions in the absence of a road, but Tubio kept it under control, dodging undergrowth by the skin of its teeth, as well as rock piles and small crevasses.
Tubio wouldn't and couldn't stop. The Raffens Shiv, better known around Night City as the Wraith, are a nomadic clan known in the Badlands for being outcasts who were rejected from their nomadic "family". Creating a group of opportunists, traitors, rapists, murderers and other culprits through banishment.
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Tubio skidded along the dirt road, turning right, until he found a paved road, which he followed in the direction of Rocky Ridge. He thought he was out of trouble, but gunshots bouncing off Boréale told him otherwise.
Beside him, a motorcycle was racing over the bumps of the desert, and suddenly there were more gunshots behind him. Tubio saw it only briefly, but a second motorcycle was right on his ass, shooting at him. Tubio accelerated and sped past the abandoned town's entrance sign.
Tubio felt as if he wasn't making any headway - he should have been way ahead of the motorcycles.
He passed the first abandoned mobil homes in a flash. One of the bikes slowly pulled him up as he concentrated, two men on the bike, one driving the other armed. They wanted to put a bullet in his head and get Boréale back. He knew he mustn't let himself be overtaken, and in a desperate attempt he tried to steer into one of the alleys.
Tubio lost control. Despite the fact that he was holding the steering wheel steady. The motorcycle came to rest perpendicular to the front of Boréale, colliding head-on with the car and sending its two passengers flying through the air.
Tubio slid into Boréale, and despite holding steel the steering wheel firmly immobile in his hands, felt the ground beneath the car shift as centrifugal force swept him along. Boréale went too fast and skidded sideways before coming to a halt, hitting a gate after doing a 180 in the adjacent street. More fear than harm for Tubio, the motorcycle's two passengers... motionless on the ground.
The second motorcycle came around the corner.
Tubio opened the door, the latter rising upwards, Tubio fired his Unity at the two Wraiths, causing them to abandon the bike and one to find a bullet as they took cover at the corner of a wall and returned fire. Tubio immediately put Boréale back on the road, turning off onto one of Rocky Ridge's adjacent roads. He was about to circle the area and return to the main concrete road. It was impossible for Boréale to go off-road with nomads as opponents.
Tubio rounded the corner and continued parallel to the main road. Still, he put his foot down to avoid being overtaken. Reaching the end of the road, he made another 90° turn, once again going too fast, skidding a little but keeping his trajectory. Getting back in line with the main road this time, he slowed down. With no motorcycle left on his arse, he was about to take a leisurely turn onto the asphalt road, only to T-bone one of the Wraiths' cars on the bend in front of him. The latter had arrived at full speed, no doubt to block his path, but found itself impaled by Boréale, who continued in his momentum even after the impact, going into a lone distributor on the side of the road the Wraith car stopped only at the impact.
Fortunately for Tubio, Boréale still had some under the hood and this time it was the other one who took the impact. Tubio banged his head against the back of his seat and the steering wheel, almost losing his footing on the gas pedal as he turned the wheel to the sound of crumpling bodywork.
The lost speed was quickly regained as the enemy vehicle who took the scenery was already reversing.
The race resumed. With Tubio in the lead, he wasn't looking back. He was looking ahead. It was now a long straight line to Night City as indicated by the green sign, 1.2 miles and the relative safety of the skyscrapers.
The road was straight, but his raid on Night City was not yet complete. Tubio thought he was well on his way when shots hit from behind. The car he'd put in the scenery was behind him again, and unlike Tubio. His car was armed with a mounted machine gun. The main road was in front of him, but a new, unfamiliar vehicle was approaching from the opposite direction.
Not wanting to take any chances, Tubio turned right onto the railroad tracks. Also heading towards Night City, it was a path like any other and would protect him from bullets for a few seconds longer.
Passing under a tower of some kind, Tubio dodged an electric pillar. Tubio could only see the mouth of the tunnel in the mountain, knowing full well that if he went in there, he'd be perfectly lined up for his pursuers.
He turned left as soon as he saw a road cutting across the tracks leading back to the main road.
Tubio did his best to ignore the machine-gun fire behind him. Even though it wasn't easy, Tubio tried to zigzag to reduce the precision of his pursuers, but not too much either so as not to lose control.
The dirt road led directly to the mouth of the main road in the cliff. He was almost there. But to his right, a car had overtaken him. It, too, was a Quadra, the same model as Boréale, but desert styled and armed, with neon-blue skeletal hands on the sides.
As he slammed into the side at the back of the trunk, Tubio lost control. Once again Tubio lost control but this time it was total, and it was for good. Boréale made a 90° turn. All the while, his enemy's guns were shooting along the bodywork to the door. Their car going into the side of Boréale like a battering ram. Boréale pulled onto the main road in the middle of the traffic. At the mouth of Night City. Cars nearly hit both of them before the traffic slowed and then stopped.
Tubio looked to his right where the Wraith vehicle should be, but the crystal dome was damaged and the windscreen gave Tubio only a partial view of the enemy car.
But fortunately for him, an NCPD car was parked in front of the bus stop. Tubio hesitated to play dead. But he didn't want to see Boréale taken to the pound to disappear.
With a squeal of tires, the Wraith car backed up, the mounted machine gun firing at the police officers taking cover. A guy of the Wraiths getting out and running to steal Boréale.
Tubio took advantage of this to set off again, passing along the road, in the dirt and behind the now-stopped cars to get away for good.
As he skirted the column of cars, he came to a crossroads and took the first possible exit to get away as quickly and discreetly as possible. An alert had just sounded in the passenger compartment: Tubio had connected an alert to the NCPD frequency.
"All units, a getaway car just pulled into Rancho Coronado, suspect is on the run following a shooting..."
Tubio could only swear as he was incriminated over the radio.
Quickly making a decision, he climbed onto the sidewalk and went between two houses before stopping and cutting the engine. He climbed out through the door and went to the back, opened the trunk and took out the tarpaulin that had covered his client Mr. Gory's car in the desert rapidly covering Boréale, making sure it wasn't visible.
All this to realize that a child was standing off to the side with a balloon in his hands. He smiled at Tubio.
-How much for your silence?
-100.
-Deal.
After this exchange, Tubio sat down on the ground to blow against one of the dilapidated houses. Tucked away between the old detached houses, Tubio could take his time observing the damage and thinking about the chase. Only now did he realize how lucky he'd been. Boréale's right door should have been Swiss cheese, but the Crystal Dome had more than done its share. Could have lost his legs, or head, if the dome hadn't held.
Taking deep breaths through his nose, he could feel the adrenaline pumping through his body. Minutes passed as he checked for injuries, just bruises and a bump on the back of his head. He was fine.
He got up to get back in the car when the kid with two other people showed up, both armed.
-What? My silence and your security aren't the same thing.
-Well said. Now, old chap, you're going to give us your car or we'll make you do it.
Tubio, still sitting on the ground, didn't seem to move as he watched the two men. But his gun was already in his hand for this kind of situation.
He raised his weapon and shot one of the men in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground with a scream. His partner watched him fall to the ground before raising his weapon towards Tubio, firing vaguely in his direction and running off.
Tubio frowned as the boy hid to the side. The man hit was on the ground, not moving in the face of Tubio's Unity. Tubio retrieved the man's machine gun. Then he turned to the boy.
-How much for your lives? I'll take 200.
The guy at his feet answered.
-Don't touch my brother.
-Pay up.
As the transaction was taking place, an NCPD car turned the corner, coming up in front of them. Tubio swore in his head as the car turned on its lights, slowly approaching.
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The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Tubio was the most suspicious motherfucker around. Guns in hand, a kid watching his brother being shaken down. Tubio could already see himself handcuffed,Boréale's camera, covered by the tarpaulin, probably wouldn't have picked up any of the visuals. Or even any sound, if Tubio even had it running. But even if he had, he'd be in for a rough time.
Tubio raised his weapons, stepping back from his victims. The boy watched the scene and the police car in turn. Suddenly, the car stopped. In the distance, explosions rang out in Night City. The NCPD car did a burn, doing a 180 before disappearing into the distance.
Tubio and his victim looked at each other.
-Okay... We go our separate ways and everyone's happy.
Tubio let the guy go, hurriedly stowed the tarpaulin and got the hell out of this shitty neighborhood. Tubio did his best to ignore the holo calls as he did his best to avoid an accident. With no visibility on his right-hand side, he was constantly bending over to compensate for the curves.
As he reached the bottom of H2, it was only then that he began to look at his message box. It was a mixture of worrying messages from his mother, Ruby and one from Solena. But seeing Ruby's messages, he thought it best to clear the fires in order of priority.
-Ruby?
-Where the hell have you been? I've called you three times!
-I'm fine. I got a little shaken up in the desert on the way back by some Wraiths. I need a good dose of calm. Boréale's pretty banged up.
-Are you all right?
-I'm fine. I'm fine. What's got you so freaked out?
-The Bozos are in town...
******
Ruby took her time to explain the situation. Tubio parked Boréale in her parking space near H2. The fact that psychopathic killer clowns were now roaming the town was news Tubio could have done without hearing. But he understood Ruby's concern. After telling him where he was, she said she was on her way.
Meanwhile, he called his mother, who reassured him that she was fine.
Then he called Solena.
-WTF do you answer when we send you messages, damn it. Are you okay?
-I'm fine, thanks. Boréale protected me but she'll need repairs.
-Sorry about that.
-Not your fault, but do you know a garage?
-Yes, but...
-If we could avoid the one where my sister works, it wouldn't be so bad.
-It's the closest I'd trust, you know. Unless you want to rebuild the whole thing yourself.
Tubio took a deep breath.
The right-hand door wouldn't even open, the crystal dome was damaged, the left-hand side of the shock absorber had been hit by the motorcycle, the trunk and most of the bodywork was riddled with bullets, not to mention the paintwork and other impacts. Tubio was many things, but a mechanic...
-Ok, I'll see tomorrow, too many emotions today. Thanks Sol.
-And... I'm glad you're okay, Toto.
******
After rejoining Tubio, Ruby told him about her day. Who would have thought that the Bozos would have returned to Night City. Ruby was worried sick about him and almost more mortified than he was about Boréale. She'd told him about Caliopéa and what had happened with the dancing clown. Although Tubio, who didn't know either of them, was willing to meet Caliopéa but will put a bullet in the other's head.
As they ascended the elevator, the four screens spit out their news. N54 News.
"Hello, I'm Gillean Jordan and this is the news. Today in the four corners of Night City, attacks were reported on people dressed as clowns. These individuals took advantage of the crowds around them to create dramatic incidents, resulting in numerous deaths throughout the city. The authorities are asking everyone to postpone the presence of these individuals as quickly as possible, not to follow them or intervene, as these individuals are armed and dangerous..."
-How did you find them? Bozos...
-Happy to be in Night City. They're gone to stay.
Tubio pondered the implications. A new threat, one more he thought, before shrugging. Not his problem, maybe they're just passing through.
Tubio then noticed a small object hanging from Ruby's back. A sort of metal button. He picked it up and threw it into the H2 hall on level 13, dropping it into the central hole of the tower...
******
In an abandoned building in Pacifica, a curious band of clowns gathered on the floors of an abandoned hotel. Some in traditional costumes, others with combat vests, weapons and ammunition slung over their shoulders. A mixture of colors and deformed, exaggerated smiles could be found in every corner, accompanied by murmurs and sinister laughter...
In the middle of one floor was a large hall with a double staircase leading to a balcony with a railing overhanging the room. On the balcony, a flamboyantly colored clown snapped his fingers. The lights went out, and he found himself under a single spotlight.
-My friends! I'm glad you answered my call. Inauguration day went even better than we expected! So here's the program, do what you want! May Night City be forever engraved with your name!
******
-Just a moment. Tubio? Isn't he dead?
-No, he made a great night show at the Cocktail, look.
He gave a shad of data containing the evening Tubio spent at the Green Cocktail.
-You know we're going to ask him to come for the clash.
-... Yeah, we'll invite him.
-Are you sure?
-What's he gonna do? He's just a kid, he'll take the crumbs we give him like he's always done.
-You know boss, death... it changes a man.
-Shut up, I'm the one doing the thinking here. This pussy has never lifted a finger. It's not going to start today.
******
A holo called Tubio as he and Ruby returned from the Crimson Spear. The car chase, the arrival of the Bozos, Tubio and Ruby needed to rest after a day like that. Tubio recognized the caller, one of the organizers of a club he used to frequent. He hesitated before answering. Then, after a long breath, he answered.
-Tubio! Glad to have you, I knew you were alive. Listen, I've got something for you, you'll love it.
-My money?
-Money?
-The money you've owed me all this time, the 4000? Do you have it?
-... Okay listen, I don't have your money, you'll have to see the boss about that, okay? Fredy doesn't give a shit...
-Well, neither do I. I want the money he owes me, I'm not doing a free show. Do you understand me?
-Tubio, listen to me, damn it. There's a clash in a few days, big crowd, big eddies. You feel me?
-That's it and half of it's in your pocket, isn't it? Flimsy excuses to take the winnings I should've had?
-Tubio, you know I couldn't do anything.
-Yes, there was. Resign. Or keep my word for a change. But we know you're too good at your job for that.
-What do you want?
-My money. Every last eurodollar. I'm sure your boss has it all invested, so he'll be able to satisfy me.
-You'll have to talk it over with him...
-Tell him to call me.
As Tubio hung up, Ruby, who had been staring at Tubio in silence, caught his eye.
-Eh? What's going on?
-If you could only get back some of your pride after being humiliated. But to do that, you'd have to do something really stressful, even dangerous. Would you do it?
-It depends. Why would you do it?
-I'll explain later.
A new holo arrived. From the "Boss".
-Listen to me, you little prick. 10 000. That's how much the winner of the next clash will get from me, on stage. Get your ass down here or don't, but you won't get an eddies if you don't.
Before hanging up. Tubio turned to Ruby.
-That went well. But I've got him.
-Care to explain?
-An asshole who organizes events got in touch with me, and with his boss they're pulling a, by my point of view, scam by inviting artists and refusing to pay them, well... at least me... They invite them to what they call the clash, where they pit them against each other with prizes. Guess who won last time.
-You did? Are you serious?
-Yeah, but the more I think about it, the more I think it was rigged - the guy in front of me was a thousand times more talented than me. Strangely enough, I'd been invited during the period when I was persona none grata. Guess what happened.
-They refused to give you the money because no one was behind you.
-Bingo. I didn't get a penny of the 4,000 I was supposed to get, on the pretext that they didn't help rapists. So I asked for the money he owed me as an advance for the next event, and as expected the bastard told me he'd give 10,000 eddies as a reward for the next winner.
Ruby hissed in surprise.
-So we're going to win 10,000 eddies?
-Nah, the clash runs on crowd-voting software, the crowd connects to a machine and the winner is the one with the most approval, but if it's rigged like I think it is, he makes sure it's always towards whoever he wants to win.
-The bastard...
-I'm gonna need to see that machine if I'm gonna win.
-You want in?
-I know it's stupid, but after everything that's happened, I'm sure I could win legally. And back then at the Green Cocktail... I was feeling good. See?
Tubio and Ruby smiled as they thought back on the evening, standing on the precipice that was H2's central hole, they discussed what they were going to do.
Objective: make a thief cough up 10,000 eddies.
******
Back at Elisabeth's house, the two had spent a quiet night thinking about what they were going to do. With a heavy heart, Tubio went to the garage where his sister worked, hoping not to bump into her at the reception desk. Naturally, he was greeted with a frown. But after a brief chat with Kevin, the owner, he agreed to take a look at Boréale. With his mouth wide open and his hand on his chin, he was clearly appalled by the state of the car. In his unfiltered voice, he looked at Tubio.
-I don't even understand how you got to the garage. Seriously, the whole body needs redoing. I haven't looked at the dome, but judging by the shots it's either disconnected or damaged beyond hope. And look at its wheels. SHIT! Of the four, 3 are flat. You must have skidded like a motherfucker on the turns.
-I think that's why the Wraiths targeted them.
-You're a lucky cuckold. I'll give you that. But fuck, you know it ain't gonna be free.
-Give me an estimate and I'll see.
-Phew... The dome and the wheels already. You can't drive without 'em. It's gonna run you 4000-5000 to get it squared away at least.
-Just for the basics?
-It's for the essentials. I'll do the upgrade while I'm at it. The interior must have had some damage you can't see under the hood. Have you looked at it or not?
-Not since yesterday but nothing's leaking.
-Mm, ok good news at least, leave it with me for a few days and we'll see what I can do. Do you want to see her?
Tubio immediately recognized who he was talking about.
-No, she'll come when she wants to, not before.
-All right, then. Nice to see you again, Tonio.
-Thanks, Kevin.
******
Ruby, for her part, decided to check out the club in question, where the clash would take place. Level 11 in a Latino club called Rosa Pulse. A blue neon rose in the front made her stand out from the crowd. Dressed discreetly, she walked in, hood up, observing the place.
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Ruby had called Irène to find out more and she had confirmed the place's dubious reputation. Popular with the Latin population. The club was known for the contests it organized, but for the rest, it struggled to get a full house. Ruby entered to find a dark room with no music, a miserable bartender and three alcoholics.
The room was large and low-ceilinged, with round podiums scattered around. Stripper podiums Ruby thought? The room didn't smell right, but she decided to look around with her augmented eyes.
Releasing a Ping, she connected to one of the room's TVs. She quickly found the connection node guided by a data line leading into a back room.
Tubio had explained to her how the clashes worked: challengers who want to challenges the champion, steps up to a podium and a theme is given, where they must perform improvised, unplanned songs or songs they have prepared in case of, winner by public vote among all challengers. Then, the next step. Try and beat the titleholder the same way face to face but with more resources. Except that the themes are chosen by the opponent.
All this with "random" themes - easy, if you know the themes in advance. Tubio knew that the "Boss" wasn't going to play fair. So he had invited Ruby to facilitate the cheating on Fredy's side.
Fredy, aka the Boss. Had a youth full of false glory with the Valentinos before being dumped for X or Y reasons. The fact is, he doesn't brag about it too much. One wonders why...
Tubio had thus convinced Ruby to highlight key words in the "random" theme system. Fredy was an asshole. And he was desperate to catch Tubio out so he wouldn't have to pay him. It was obvious that the theme system, as well as the voting system, had already been used to sort out the participants in his little contest.
A little push from Ruby and Tubio should do the trick when it came to the themes Fredy would choose for Tubio. And for the final part with the champion...You have to beat him. To beat him, you have to sing, rap, better than the other, how do you know? A simple vote by the people. At least if the machine works well. The winner's spotlight stays on, the loser's goes out.
Challengers are forbidden to touch anything before the final clash - no access to lights or musicians. They must use the sounds they bring and the chrome or hardware they have on them. Some bring guitars, microphones, bass or other instruments, while others bring songs they've created themselves. Those who don't will be given a random background beat.
Against the champion, the challenger can ask for help from other musicians with access to sound or lights.
Ruby had volunteered to go through the club's data and set up their strategy. Who knows, maybe Fredy was just being honest with his contests...
In addition to checking the contest variables, Ruby had another objective. She was interested in the Pulse connections. If this Fredy had been up to something for months or even years. He must have been peddling some of his money to the Valentinos to be left alone. Otherwise, he'd be out of business by now, with disgruntled artists and other incidents. This was Tubio's biggest worry, that Fredy really did have the Valentinos' backing.
He didn't want to embark on a personal vendetta against a gang leader without knowing it. So Ruby took it upon herself to search Fredy's e-mails.
Ruby followed Ping's lines. Apart from the bartender, there was no one on staff. A false absence in the toilets and she was free to break into the magnetic door leading to the storeroom. A rectangular box on the wall marked the place's connection node. She wasted no time in hacking into the data node, creating a new ping. This time, a clearer picture of all the systems in the club.
Sorting quickly, she headed for what she guessed to be a desk. The width of one of the objects indicated the presence of a computer screen behind the wall. Another door, this time unlocked, and she found herself in an untidy office.
Passing behind it, she looked for data shards or other physical information, but nothing.
She forced herself onto the computer. Accessing messages.
-SUBSCRIBE!
Pass.
-Alcohol delivery.
Pass.
-YOU WIN!
Pass.
-Bet.
Stop.
From: Joe.
To: Fredy Ibirnaz.
"Regarding the clash bets I have takers, I need names to prepare everything. We'll do as usual, keep me posted."
From: Fredy Ibernaz.
To: Joe.
"I'm finalizing the names. Watch out for the program, I want the return special for "Tubio", prepare the long run for the final failure. Still to confirm participation, strong possibility for the evening itself."
From: Joe.
To: Fredy Ibernaz
"Ok It's doable. Let me know, last deadline the day before for the others."
Ruby understood the implied language, but it wasn't anything concrete if she wanted to rub it in anyone's face. Next.
-Have a good time in good company.
Pass.
-Fredy, you'd better not miss.
Oooh stop.
From: Olie.
To: Fredy Ibernaz.
"You know why I'm sending you this message".
From: Fredy Ibernaz
To: Olie
"I'm still on schedule".
That was the end of the exchange. Ruby sat back in the chair. The messages were all useless stuff or didn't go back far enough. The only two interesting ones had no substance. Ruby decided to pack up. Confirming that Fredy was betting on the clash confirmed Fredy's interest in rigging clashes. The only question in the matter was who Olie was. But he seemed to be more Fredy's problem than anything else. With no trace of affiliation with anyone.
Closing the computer and erasing her tracks, Ruby had suspected that the guy wouldn't leave anything obvious in a place like this. She hesitated to go and rob him at home, but changed her mind. The two clash machines and back home for tea. Ruby smiled at the thought.
Returning to the main room, she realized a problem she hadn't considered. The devices were either right in the middle of the room, high up, or in front of the counter, the only place the bartender could see... Shit.