Chapter 42: Badlands, Desert, Aldecaldos
"Wait, fuck, Rhys, you know her too?!"
Seeing Rhys casually chatting with the stunning newcomer, Pilar immediately let out another squawk of disbelief.
What the hell! How does this guy get all the girls? He looked so plain, nowhere near as cool or stylish as Pilar himself. Didn't he know anything about street style? Punk style? Plus, Pilar had massive chrome arms! But did any woman on the crew give him the time of day? Even his own sister...?
"That's what I should be asking!" Rebecca chimed in, standing beside her brother like a comedy duo. She rounded on Kiwi, mouth agape. "You know this chick?"
"She's the one I told you about yesterday. Wait, you guys know each other?" Kiwi looked genuinely bewildered for once. She'd met Lucy by chance. The woman was even colder and more driven than Kiwi herself. The only reason they'd become 'friends' was because Lucy had initiated it. Lucy needed intel on surviving in Night City; Kiwi needed access to Lucy's high-level netrunning knowledge. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. So, seeing Rebecca and Rhys apparently know her too... Kiwi was surprised.
"Just a coincidence, right?" Rhys said to Lucy.
Lucy didn't reply, just pulled out a cigarette case, lit one up, and took a drag. "Kiwi said I'd get eight thousand eddies for this gig, plus hazard pay. Correct?"
"Hazard pay?" Maine blinked, then quickly recovered with a grin. "Right, of course. If things get hairy, we'll bump it up by another two K. How's that sound?"
"Deal," Lucy nodded.
"Alright then, less talking, more driving. Let's roll!"
Maine gave the order. Three cars. Jackie drove one, with Rhys and Rebecca. Maine took the wheel of another, with Dorio and Kiwi. Pilar drove the third, glancing hopefully towards Lucy.
"Come on, beautiful, ride with me! Best driver on the crew! Guaranteed thrill ride!" Pilar whipped off his sunglasses, leaning out the window and waggling his eyebrows.
Lucy stood outside for a moment, completely silent, then decisively opened the door to Jackie's car and slid into the back seat. Rhys took shotgun, leaving Rebecca and Lucy in the back.
Jackie drove smoothly, following Maine's lead. "Last time I went out of town," he said excitedly, "all I got was a mouthful of dust and zero eddies. But I feel like this time's gonna be different."
"Rhys, what do you think? After we get paid, should I get an arm cannon like Maine?"
"I think you'd be better off with subdermal armor," Rhys replied thoughtfully.
"What? Real men don't need that crap," Jackie scoffed.
Rhys didn't argue, just turned to look out the window. Santo Domingo was already on the edge of the city. As they drove further out, the traffic thinned, and after taking an off-ramp, they were the only three vehicles on the cracked asphalt highway.
After another fifteen minutes or so, Maine's car slowed down. His voice came over the comms. "Border checkpoint ahead. I'll handle it. You guys stay in the cars."
Maine got out and walked towards the checkpoint booth, where several border guards in hats and flak jackets were already approaching him, guns held loosely. He raised his hands, submitted to a quick pat-down, and disappeared inside the booth.
A few minutes later, he emerged, exchanging laughs and waves with the guards before getting back in his car. Ahead, the automated turrets retracted, and the checkpoint barrier lifted. Maine drove through slowly. Jackie followed close behind.
After a moment, Maine's voice crackled over the comms again, laced with annoyance. "Fucking thieves. Rogue gave us the clearance codes, who knows where she got 'em, but those bastards still shook me down for fifteen hundred eddies. Tried to give 'em five hundred, wasn't enough."
"Gotta see if Rogue will reimburse us for this bullshit," Maine grumbled, his earlier jovial mood gone.
"Are they gonna charge us again on the way back?" Rhys asked.
"You bet your ass they will. These leeches make most of their eddies shaking down travelers," Jackie spat, his own anger flaring. "That time I told you about? Ate dust, made zero eddies, and still had to pay a thousand just to get back into the city. Caused me a whole lot of trouble too."
"Fuckers!"
"Alright, alright, think about the alarm clock in your apartment," Maine laughed bitterly. "When you're broke, you don't even have the right to turn that damn thing off. Same with your door. Can't even get into your own place without eddies."
"Rhys, call the contact. Ask where we're meeting," Maine instructed.
The cars picked up speed, leaving Night City behind and entering the desolate expanse of the Badlands. Rhys looked out at the landscape: mountains of garbage piled high, abandoned vehicle graveyards, oil derricks spewing plumes of fire into the hazy sky.
He dialed the number Rogue had provided. After a few rings, someone picked up.
"Yeah?"
"This is the buyer Babs sent. Where do we meet?"
"Took your sweet time. Alright, I'll send you the location after we hang up. East side, top of the trash heap. Get here quick." The line went dead.
A moment later, Rhys received a message.
[From: Leon Rinder]
[Time: 11:34]
[Content: Location attached. Hurry up. Don't waste my time, I'm busy.]
"What'd he say?"
"Got the location. Sending it to you now," Rhys reported to the team.
After receiving the coordinates, Maine spoke again. "Lucy, can you pull anything on this location from the net? Or on the sender?"
"Stand by," Lucy replied. She closed her eyes in the back seat. Rebecca watched her with a hint of envy. Netrunners... they really are something else.
A few minutes later, Lucy opened her eyes. "I breached the network of the hotel Babs manages. Found some info."
"Aldecaldos. This Leon guy is part of a minor Aldecaldo family branch. The disappearance of Babs' previous crew... doesn't seem directly connected to him."
"That's enough. Nice work, kid," Maine said immediately. Slipping through a major hotel's firewall in minutes, using just a portable rig... this girl had skills. What could she do with a proper setup?
"Alright, let's head over. Hope this gig stays simple."
Rhys sat in the passenger seat, cleaning his katana, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. Aldecaldos... In the game, wasn't Panam's clan called the Aldecaldos? But from what Jackie had told him last night, the Aldecaldo nation had fractured years ago. The massive clan, once millions strong, was now scattered across the wastelands in countless smaller families. So, this Aldecaldo contact... probably wasn't directly related to Panam or Saul.
Still, Rhys felt a thrill of excitement. Vegetables... fresh vegetables! Too bad his apartment didn't have a proper kitchen; otherwise, he'd cook up a real meal. But eating them raw... that would work too!
However, a nagging feeling persisted. This mission felt... too easy. Just pick up a shipment and deliver it? Was Rogue just handing them free money? It didn't feel right.