Chapter 59: The Mysterious Chrome Dealer
Watson, Kabuki—
When the crew arrived at Vick's clinic, the ripperdoc was already tidying up his workspace, effortlessly hauling several heavy cases out from storage.
"Good timing. This is all stuff that might be useful. I'll walk you through it," he said.
Jackie immediately stepped up, "Here, let me get that, mano," and helped Vick carry the last of the cases, setting them down in front of the crew.
"Jackie already filled me in," Vick said, wiping his hands. "You scored big, and now you've got some new hardware you need installed, right?"
Maine held out the two cases they'd recovered. "These."
Vick took them, opened the first, and nodded. "This one's usable. But this... this one's heavily damaged. Needs repairs. And I'll tell you straight, even if I fix it, it'll be unstable. Prone to glitches. Best to just scrap it."
"How much do you think we could get for it?" Maine asked, eyeing the damaged Sandevistan.
"It's military-grade. Even damaged, once it's patched up, it'll fetch at least two hundred K on the market," Vick replied instantly.
Maine's eyes lit up. "So..."
"Stop," Vick cut him off. "I don't deal in that kind of business. The chrome I sell, even the black-market stuff, is clean. I make sure my clients aren't buying a death sentence or someone else's trouble. I don't sell junk."
Maine nodded, not offended in the slightest. "My bad. Jackie already told me as much. But, you know, I see eddies, my brain gets itchy," he chuckled.
Embarrassed? Hell no. To a merc, a good, trustworthy ripperdoc was a god. Someone who could literally give you a second life. Maine respected the hell out of Vick. In a city where most rippers were in bed with Scavs, jacking up prices and installing faulty chrome, Vick was one of the few who still had a conscience. A guy like that was a fool in Night City, but he was also a saint.
"Okay, now for your business, Rhys," Vick said, turning to him and adjusting his glasses. "Jackie told me your weapon was destroyed. You need a new one."
"Normally, this isn't my specialty. But you're Jackie's choom, which makes you my friend. So, I'll help you, Rhys."
Vick's voice quickened, all business. "I can handle the fabrication, I've got the materials. But the design, the specs... I'll need to sync up with your techie, Pilar. So, kid, let's hear it. What kind of weapon do you want?"
Rhys took a deep breath, his own excitement building. "My main strength is close combat, so I want to stick with a blade. But I also handle infiltration and stealth. A katana can't do much at range. I need a weapon that can also function as a long-range attack platform. Something with the reach of an assault rifle, at least."
Vick nodded, already scribbling notes. "What else?"
"Needs to be as strong and durable as possible. Don't worry about weight; my strength is high. Also, in tight quarters, a long blade can be clumsy. I need it to be adaptable for CQC, maybe a shorter blade mode." Rhys's voice trailed off, feeling like he was asking for the impossible.
But Vick just laughed. "That's the easy part. Just a collapsible, modular design. The joint mechanism will be tricky... maintaining durability without a single-piece forge is always a pain."
"I... I'm counting on you, Vick," Rhys said earnestly.
"Alright. I'll get with Pilar and hash out the details. Give him your full wish list. As for the rest of you... feel free to browse. Help me make some eddies," Vick said with a rare smile.
Maine and the others didn't need to be told twice. They were already tearing open the cases Vick had brought out, their eyes glowing at the high-end chrome. Jackie was drooling over a massive black cyberarm, practically pressing his face against the case.
Vick just shook his head, amused, and patched a call through to Pilar.
"What are we doing with the intact Sandevistan? It's a Dynalar Mk.4. Twenty-five percent time dilation. Turns one second into four!"
Rebecca, who'd been sulking ever since the car ride, was now practically drooling over the piece of spinal hardware. It was a thick, metallic processor linked by a bundle of black neural cables. A Sandevistan wasn't a replacement spine—that was a Kerenzikov. It was an implant that sat at the base of the skull, right at the top of the cervical vertebrae.
"Give it to Rhys. With that, I bet he'd be one of the top solos in Night City," Maine suggested. He wanted it for himself, obviously, but he knew reinforcing Rhys's strength was the crew's best move.
"No. I'll pass," Rhys said after a moment of genuine consideration.
It wasn't that he was anti-chrome. You couldn't be, not in 2077. He already had implants. But they were all functional, external, or minor—comms, payment interfaces. A major neural implant like a Sandevistan... he didn't want it. Not because he wanted to stay 'organic,' but because a Sandevistan required a whole suite of supporting neuralware to run safely. His system would be overloaded, making him a prime target for any skilled netrunner.
And besides, he still remembered Bort's last words: How could you fail me now...?
If Rhys didn't have his system, he'd take the chrome in a heartbeat. But his system was already making him stronger, and he was still growing. With 'Potential Overdrive' active, he could already touch legendary-tier attributes for thirty seconds. He didn't need to plant a ticking time bomb in the back of his neck.
"You're sure?"
"Yeah."
Maine hesitated, looking at the advanced piece of tech in his hand. He looked at the rest of the crew. Just as everyone thought he'd claim it for himself, he grit his teeth and made a decision.
"Alright. Then it goes to Jackie."
"Huh?" Jackie froze, pointing at himself. "Me?"
"Yeah, you. You're running with almost no high-end chrome. On the kinds of gigs we're taking, that's a death sentence. My mind's made up. The Sandevistan is yours."
"..." Jackie looked at Maine, his expression complicated. This implant... it was worth at least four hundred K on the black market. And Maine... was just giving it to him. He'd only been on the crew for a few days. Sure, they'd been through a serious firefight together, but... this was Night City.
But Jackie wasn't the sentimental type. He took the implant from Maine, his gaze steady. "I won't let you down."
"Haha, don't worry about it. I've got another source," Maine laughed, clapping Jackie on the shoulder. "That mysterious chrome dealer I've been messaging finally got back to me. Says he's got a fresh, military-grade Sandevistan. Top-of-the-line. I'll just grab that one."
"Then take my pay for the mission. I don't want it."
"Fuck you, mano, don't insult me. If you want to thank someone, thank Rhys. This was his score. Besides, if you really want to thank me, you're buying the drinks tonight. And you're paying for my gas," Maine said, pulling Jackie into a headlock.
Jackie just laughed. "Deal!"
"Maine, that dealer actually contacted you?" Dorio asked, surprised.
"Yeah, just this morning. Said he got his hands on a mil-spec Sandy, needs to move it fast. Thirty K."
"And the funny part is... we actually know the guy!" Maine said, a strange look on his face.
Dorio: "?"
The dealer was a ghost, operating exclusively on secure networks. No one knew his real identity. Dorio was skeptical.
"What's with that look? I'm serious, we know him!" Maine protested, then just blurted it out. "It's Rhys's good neighbor."
"?!" Rhys looked up, completely baffled.