The trip in the van back to the hideout went off without a hitch. Except for Tubio

Tubio felt terrible, he had no idea what to do. If the old man wanted to scare him, he'd succeeded. He felt bad, should he give up? Or not. Who should he ask for help? Janissa? Nope, never without an insurance policy. As for the others, no thank you. Ferak? Not if Tubio wanted todrop his pants in front of him. Ulrik had told him that if he needed a favor... No, he didn't know him well enough. That left the Lianovaks, and Tubio threw that idea out the window too. Pavel carried as much weight in the situation as a puppy. And Tubio refused to deal with his father. Pridful perhaps, but not without reason. That left his mother and Ruby. The first would only bring worry and the second... Well, swallow your pride Tubio. Your skin's on the line. He called Ruby.

-Ruby?

-...

-Ruby, can you hear me?

-Yes.

-Are you all right?

-Yes.

-... Sure?

-I want to see you...

-Has something happened?

-... No.

She remained silent. If she didn't want to talk, Tubio wasn't helping matters by forcing the issue. Tubio almost forgot his situation. He hesitated to hang up, but Ruby spoke up.

-And what about you? Are you in trouble?

Taking a deep breath. He unpacked his bag.

-I'm not going to hide it from you. Maybe I'm in trouble.

-Tell me about it.

Tubio told him what happened from the moment he got into Pat's van to his surprise meeting with Janissa. As well as the assault with the group on Banon's hideout. All the way to his confrontation with Malik. And the fact that he didn't know what to make of it.

******

-I'm not following anything you just said.

-Do you deny everything?

-No. Just the Corpo part. I was recruited because I found Father Gong after answering a contract from Ferak. The rest is just luck.

-Are you making fun of me again?

-No sir. I could spit but my mask is on my face.

-You can start by taking off your mask. I'll scan your face and we'll see who you are. If you're not who you say you are, I swear you're gonna die here.

-Yes sir.

Tubio lowered his hand to his mask, pressed the button and the mask fell away from his face, leaving a red mark where the suction had taken place. Raising the mask in the air, he looked at Malik, who remained impassive. His eyes lit up, no doubt transmitting his face to a third person. Tubio remained silent. It seemed a long time before Malik questioned him.

-Last name, first name.

-Antonio, Rivière. My name may be marked Moreau. My mother remarried.

-Where are you living now?

-... H2.

-With your mother?

-...

-Ok...

-Does Pat want to know?

-No, it's for me. This whole thing stinks of shit and I want to know who's here to clean it up and who's here to stay in it. Why did you take this job?

-Money…

Tubio went round and round trying to convince Malik that he was innocent of what he was accusing him of, but he couldn't find anything to convince him to leave. Tubio decided to attack his arguments.

-Is there no way I can convince you somehow? That I can stay alive? What makes you think I'm a corpo agent? That I don't have a career? I don't. This is my first real Solo mission. Like you said, my cover's a bitch if I'm a corpo agent. You don't think I'd have created a minimal background for a fictional character. I don't know. Like changing my name and not using the name of a guy who miraculously survived a purge in the Maelstrom? How about another person. Wang could be one of the Tiger Claws informants, Clash with his guns and chrome would have a much better chance of killing everyone on the team than I would. Not to mention Donovan. Once the girl is secured or not, he could give the signal to kill us all. Not to mention Samir, who's ready to run at the first sign of trouble. If that's not suspicious. And let's not talk about the trio of girls, they'd be more dangerous than anyone 3 against the rest. And frankly, if you'd really studied Janissa, you'd know that if I'd known she was going to be there, I'd never have agreed to work on this job. Especially if she had been as I knew her in the Maelstrom.

-...

Malik remained silent, his eyes still alight with transmission. Tubio had run out of ideas. He had kept his tone neutral, but his voice gave away some of his panic. Malik asked another question.

-In that case, why is Pat pretending to get information in order to destroy everything?

-I don't know why. Why don't you ask him? Is that what the client asked? Maybe he's the one who's going to kill us all when the job's done?

Tubio remained silent. He was too far away to grab Malik's gun - one step and he'd be riddled with bullets. After several long minutes, Malik's eyes lost their sparkle and he regained his normal eyes. Malik didn't need a mask to have a poker face.

-Why would we choose you for this mission?

-So some paranoid can kill me? You said Pat was cleaning. Maybe I should be the one running, not Samir. But hey, if my daughter was a prostitute I'd make sure no one found out.

-...

The seconds stretched on and Tubio wondered what more he could do. He felt he'd hit on something with that last question. He summoned up his courage. Oh, Fuck this shit...

-I'm not gonna start crying if that's what you're waiting for.

-I'd like to take your mind off things, you know?

-Okay. Look... Let's say you're wrong, unbelievable, I know. But, in this scenario. I'm perfect for maximizing both our chances of survival.

-...Go on.

-You just told me you think Pat's cleaning house. I think I made it clear that the chances of me being a cleaner are pretty slim, right?

-Mm.

-Between you and me, do you think the boss is more likely to ask Pat to take us all out, a man who works for the customer? Than me? A street rat from H2 who just found a body? The whole thing's fishy, I'll give you that. In this story. How come the trauma team didn't rescue Mr.Gong's body. What if Mr.Gong was abandoned the moment his beacon was activated. What if, Mrs.Gong cutting him off and leaving him to die in the depths of Night City? Sending me to retrieve the remains of his chrome as she hopes. Bad luck for me...

-You found him in one piece.

-Bringing up a lot of questions that shouldn't be asked. Tell me Malik, did you talk to the girl I found?

-...

-She's dead, isn't she? Overdosed? Or drowned in the bay? And if the threat you're looking for isn't from the outside. Who's to say there isn't a fresh, well-trained second team ready to descend on us the moment we find Yumi? Besides, how could the daughter of a corpos, a rich corpos, end up in prostitution? As the investigator, did you look into this story?

-...

-Can you put the gun down?

-How would letting you live help me?

-For one thing, I can be useful.

Malik sniffed as if he'd heard a joke.

-Two, Janissa won't try to find out why you're back alone. Bringing with her two girlfriends, three new problems. Three, if Pat really is cleaning house, the experienced old investigator should be one of the first to disappear because he's can be hard to find. Four, between having a human shield or not. It's always better to have a volunteer one. Five, you know who I am and where to find me, so I won't elude you for long.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

-Anything else?

-If you kill me... can you send Mother my eddies, or is that too much to ask?

Seconds stretched out around them once more, as the fumes from the alleyway blew a rancid, repulsive odor. Without his mask, Tubio could only smell them. He was going to die in this sordid alley because Grandpa hadn't taken his medicine.

Finally, he lowered his weapon.

-You're too bad to be a corpos agent.

Tubio heaved a long sigh of relief.

-I knew we could get along.

-Shut up, I'm only letting you live because you said things that make a minimum of sense. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Here's what we'll do, we'll go back for the food and pretend nothing happened. I'll give you more information if you need it. You just keep your mouth shut. Frankly, I thought you'd be mute, but with a gun in your face you deflated like a balloon...

Tubio drew his gun. Pointing at Malik.

-And now?

Tubio's voice was cold, devoid of feeling. His gaze, empty. It was Malik's turn to be silent. Tubio had his gun raised, motionless. Then, he spread his arms in peace.

-You caught me off guard, that's the only reason I had to talk. But if I'd wanted to, like you, I could have shot...

Tubio holstered his weapon before passing Malik.

-We're on the same side. I want my eddies and to go home alive. Do you?

-We'll be in touch.

*******

Ruby listened in silence, which didn't please Tubio. When Tubio had finished, she spoke calmly.

Step 1: Flee if you must

Step 2: Find allies

-Ok. Tubio, everything's going to be fine. First of all, you need allies in this situation, then you need to make sure the contract doesn't have a deadly silence clause after the contract is up. The most important thing is that you stay alive. The fact that you're alive must outweigh the value of your death. When you can, transfer all the info you can onto a shard and hide it. You'll talk to Malik again and get as much info as you can on your sponsor.

-What's the point?

-I'm going to pay him a visit.

-Ruby, no...

-Cyclops.

-...

-Tubio. Please.

-I visit, okay? Sponsor info next.

-Okay... is Janissa here?

-Right in front of me.

-Do you remember your first meeting with Ferak...?

In the van, Janissa continued to chat, making small talk all by herself. She saw Tubio looking at her. She smiled at him before speaking.

-Have you fallen under my spell?

-Good evening, Janissa.

Janissa immediately lost her smile. Tubio's voice had changed to Cyclops'. Aria beside her immediately noted the change, Janissa's hand grabbing her arm to signal that something was wrong.

-It's not funny, Tubio.

Tubio turned in his seat and ignored Janissa.

Janissa remained silent as the van reached its destination. The exchange had been implicit.

Tubio got out of the van before sending a message to Malik.

-What do you want?

-Informations about our employer. I assume it was Yumi's mother who hired us... but... are we sure?

*****

Step 3: informations

Malik wasn't hard to convince. Too many things in the narrative didn't add up. Why now? Why hadn't the mother hired a private investigator or tried to use her corporate resources? Anyway, after a grunt and a frown. He climbed back into S4andot's cave. Promising more information.

Step 4: Stay alive

Less than a minute later Tubio found himself standing outside against a wall with a gun to his balls.

Step 5: In the event of a problem, refer to steps 1 and 4 by extension.

Hard to apply number 4…

Aria held Tubio against the wall, her Unity pressed against his crotch. Aria had lost all smile, her face the opposite of Janissa's, who hesitated to stop her.

-We stop laughing, explanation, or I'll blow your balls off. You wanted our attention now you're here, talk.

Why was he always being held up at gun point? It was going to become a running gag at this point.

-Take it easy. I wanted to get your attention, being the only group in the team I figured that with 2 people in addition to Janissa, I'd have a sympathetic ear to what I was going to say.

-It won't be long before you've got one less dick, just spit it out.

Tubio explained the situation. Malik's doubts and his own about the operation. Janissa had paled at the possibility of a clean-up after they'd finished the job. Perhaps what had happened to them had scarred her more than he had anticipated. Aria finally withdrew her weapon, but her smile never returned.

-Okay. You got proof?

-Malik's going to cook S4ndot. But this kind of thing takes time.

-This "fast" operation has gone on too long for today anyway. Let's call it a night and regroup tomorrow to make sure we don't get whacked for corpos shenanigans. Deal?

-Deal. Malik...

-Fuck Malik. If he doesn't go along, we're leaving anyway, he's not our father. If he wants to threaten us, let him. We haven't seen the shadow of an eddie yet, nothing's holding us back except their stupid NDA.

All three women agreed. The evening had already gone on too long and it was time to retire, especially after these possible revelations. A quick holo with Malik and half the team wanted to go home. In the Hangar, Samir was quick to show signs that he too wanted to leave. Clash and Wang were indifferent, but they'd been stuck here for hours doing nothing. Pat decided to accept and set everyone free for the night.

Taking the van, Malik, Tubio, Samir and the girls climbed in together. Pat took care of the others.

The first part with Samir was silent. With a tense goodbye, Samir was dropped in one of Kabuki's streets and disappeared into the crowd. Once the door was closed, Aria began talking to Malik.

-So, what have you got on the Gongs?

Malik turned first to her and then to Tubio.

-You really can't keep your mouth shut.

-I trust them more than you. Come on, we're not going to do this alone anyway.

-Ok…

Malik went on to explain who the family was: working for Keng Tao, father Tubiki, mother Sayako, daughter Yumi. The whole family was there.

-Even uncle and niece. Each in a different department. The mother in security, the father in secretarial duties, the niece as bodyguard and the uncle in accounting. A real little family, passing information between departments.

-What about their activities? Anything illegal?

-They're corpos. Of course they do illegal things. Even if the uncle takes the cake. Hiro Gong. The turn-over of his subordinates is one of the highest I've ever seen. Every scandal that might have something to do with him is committed by a third party or his subordinates. No trace of the mother either. Climbed the ladder and married into the family. The father had too clean a reputation and it didn't take me long to find stories about women left and right. The fact that he was found dead in such a rotten place surprised me but didn't seem improbable.

-The girl, Yumi?

-Nothing more than we already know, she's a kid, goes to school, surrounded by people her own age. No one has said anything or let anything slip that might give me a reason or explanation for where she stand in this story.

-And the niece?

-Mia Gong. Not high enough to make an impact in the company, she's below her aunt in an adjacent unit, no doubt to avoid favoritism. Well, where do we start.

-Pat. Does he doesn't know who contacted him?

-No. I quote, "The channels used are the correct ones." Might as well talk to a wall. If the system he's using is compromised, there's no way he knows. We could be working for Militec or Arasaka and it'd all be the same. He assumes it's Sayako, Yumi's mother, who contacts him, but...

-He didn't check.

-The moment the code was used, Pat found himself with funds for the operation. He's the one who did it all, recruiting people, renting premises, preparing protocols. Pat answers the message.

-Like a good employee.

-As a good soldier, yes. Pat was, or rather is, a soldier in Keng Tao's pay after all. He did a few years in their security service before being turned over to operations... Discreet?

-Illegal you mean.

-Bah. All the same, I took the liberty of looking at his file and guess who he worked with.

-Sayako Gong.

-Bingo. After working with her team for a few years, he left Keng Tao to become a merc. Hence his confidence when it came to code and funds.

The intel is distributed among them. Clem, who had been silent until now, asked the question.

-Where do we start? Logically, I'd say the father's apartment. That's where it all started.

-I have several addresses. But... I'd be more tempted by this one.

-An apartment in Japantown?

-Probably to accommodate his mistresses.

-No real security, no guards. A surveillance system, but nothing a group of experts like you couldn't handle.

Sarcasm aside, that would be a start. The group decided to start tonight. Janissa caught Tubio's eye on the way.

-Tubio... Will he be there?

Malik frowned and Tubio clarified.

-My partner. Cyclops. He's a netrunner, I'll contact him when we reach our destination.

-Great, another unknown variable...

-Is he all right?

-... Still convalescent. But capable. His chrome took some serious damage. Fortunately, it's his brain that's pulling him through.

Reactions to the announcement were mixed, with Janissa looking relieved, Aria focused, Mailk suspicious and Clem indifferent. Tubio didn't know how Janissa would react. Like him, Janissa had changed. For the better, he thought. But sometimes the past is a terrible thing. How does she, will do with Janissa? Would Ruby speak as Ruby or as Cyclops?

Pulling out Tubiki Gong's photo. Tubio wondered how a man who had everything could end up like this.

Arrogance? Money? Power? Prestige? Tubio couldn't understand Tubiki. Born with a silver spoon, he had inherited his position from his father, or even grandfather, who had lived in times of corporate conflict and found a way to survive. He had no achievements, nothing extraordinary. He just had a position and obediently climbed the ladder. At least, that's what the intels said.

Once there, Tubio had only to look up to see the lights of the lanterns above the traffic. He received a holo.

-Look in your bag. I left something there.

A connected camera.

-Hang it on your jacket or mask. I'll see everything you see and can remotely connect to certain electronics if need be.

-Cool.

-I could have... connected directly to you. But I was afraid of being invasive.

Sensing the double meaning, Tubio refrained from making a comment she wanted to hear. Attaching the tiny camera to her mask. Before sending a holo to the group.

-Good evening everyone, my name is Cyclops and I'm delighted to make your acquaintance.