The Tower: A Cyberpunk 2077 Story

Chapter 12

I wondered how long I'd be awake before the next attack came. The Relic decided to be extra efficient after Takemura's gonked up plan went sideways. I first lost all feeling in my body and collapsed after getting both of us out of the apartment building where he held Hanako Arasaka after the parade. I managed to keep my shit together and get to the Sunset Motel. After an unexpected and brief conversation with Hanako via proxy, I fully blacked out, letting Johnny assume full control. After a few hours of bonding time in Pacifica with Johnny coming up with ideas, I thought those two attacks were the end of it, but it wasn't long before I felt my head spinning while on the highway out to the Aldecaldo camp. Next thing I knew, I woke up on a cot with Panam staring at me like I was a bomb ready to go off, but it made for a nice place to rest while I waited for things to calm down in the city. I was getting tired of explaining the problem over and over again, but I got through it one more time before she finally let me try to sleep.

My eyes lazily studied the green canvas of the tent as I rested after the long night. I heard the footsteps crunching the small pebbles on the ground outside the tent and I anticipated the sharp knocking on the tent frame.

"Mornin'! You awake?" Panam asked with a knock before peeking inside.

I grunted and slowly sat up. "Yeah. Feelin' a bit better. No headaches or blackouts for a few hours. Actually got to sleep a bit."

She exhaled and sat in a small folding chair next to the cot, a worried look crossing her face. "New camp's coming together quickly, even a little faster than you are. Mitch believes your story about the chip causing the problems, but I think we should charge you rent and see how quickly you get back on your feet."

"Heh," I huffed. "Thanks for the encouragement."

"Anytime," she jabbed with a smirk before returning to a more serious face. "Any word on... the other stuff?"

I nodded. "Yeah, River's keepin' a low profile and an eye on the police bands in case something comes up with Sandra or Militech. It looks like Hanako helped get some of the heat off me so I can actually get back into the city without having to outrun the NCPD. Vik sent me a message to call him, so I'll do that on my way in."

She leaned forward in the chair. "I've been thinking about what you told me. She found you the very same night of the parade, but her brother – the guy you actually stole the chip from – he still hasn't. I don't get it."

I frowned. "Yeah, that is kinda odd. I mean, apparently, Takemura placed a tracker on me, but I'm sure he did that when he first caught me, too. I kinda avoided Arasaka up until the parade, but I never even left the city. Maybe that was the problem, it made it harder to find me."

"I dunno," she shrugged. "The city might have more places to hide, but the badlands are still a good place to get lost. I think she found you because she needs you, and that's not a bad position to be in."

"You're not really suggestin' I try to make a deal with Arasaka, are you?" I asked dubiously.

"Oh, hell no," she smiled and shook her head. "But think about it – you've got something Arasaka wants. That means that their sworn enemy, Militech, is gonna want it even more, right?"

"The Relic," I nodded. "Sandra and I figured Militech might be trying to come up with some kind of competitor. But Arasaka and Militech are all the same – any deal I make with them will be end with me being shot to hell as soon as I'm no longer useful to them."

"So don't make a deal, make a distraction," she offered. "Get them off your back long enough to plan your first move. You already did it with Arasaka. You just need to somehow tell Militech that you have something they want."