Friday Night Firefight: A Cyberpunk Isekai

I was jerked awake by a poke in the side and came to with Deng standing over me. I blinked rapidly, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep, and noticed that Deng was focused entirely on Anna. Her eyes were glowing gold, indicating she was on the phone with someone.

This is it. This is the information we’d been waiting for.

Zion had started packing up the weapons crate while Diego pulled an Agent out of his pocket and was typing out a quick message. When Anna’s eyes returned to their normal color, she turned to us with a smile.

“Northside. The spot under Ross Street.”

“Shit…that’s right next door,” said Deng. One of the largest homeless camps in North Watson was only a block or two away from the old WNS building we’d taken over. Deng had been over there a few times and had met with their camp leader, letting her know we’d be in the area if they needed anything.

We all burst into action. Deng and Zion wrestled the crate of weapons outside and into Diego’s van. Anna made a few last-minute checks of her equipment as she followed them out of the building. I patted at my holsters, checking that my Chao and Kenshin were both ready to go, and then glanced over at Diego. He finished typing out his text and pocketed the Agent.

“Ready?” I asked.

He grinned at me. “Let’s do this.”

When we arrived at the homeless camp – Anna and I went on foot while Deng and Zion rode with Diego in his van – Deng split off from the rest of us and went to meet with the leader of the camp. A quick scan gave me her name: Tani Kaori. As Deng headed over, she greeted him with a smile. I probably should have been over there with him, explaining to her that we had information that the Scavs hunting the homeless in North Watson would be hitting her camp next. But Deng was a known quantity to these people while I still looked like a naïve kid who was barely out of diapers.

My crew might see me as a capable merc, but I was easily overshadowed by the rest of them in the eyes of most people. Diego, with his military cyberware and bearing, was intimidating as hell. Zion had that quiet professionalism demeanor going for him. Anna still had traces of cop on her, and Deng had contacts all throughout Watson that knew what he was capable of. I let each of them get on with their jobs, knowing that Deng could handle Tani and the rest of the homeless while Diego went about setting up a tactical plan for all of us.

Speaking of Diego, he was busy scanning the camp while Zion started pulling weapons out of the crate in the van. The homeless camp beneath Ross Street was a hidden enclave, slightly underground and accessible via a steep decline. The decline led to a homeless camp that sprawled within the concrete confines of, what I was guessing, was an old parking structure. The area was dimply lit by a haphazard array of scavenged lights, with tents and sleeping bags that dotted the place.

Along the sides of the parking structure were rows of empty storage areas, originally meant for cars or crates or…something. Maybe the whole place had been a storage facility and not a parking garage. Who knew? The empty storage areas were tiny alcoves with each one unique, reflecting the personality of its occupants. Some were curtained off with tattered blankets or plastic sheeting, others were more open with only a few scattered belongings indicating that someone called it home. The sight of the alcoves made me worry.

By now, all the homeless in North Watson knew about the Scavs attacking homeless camps. The only reason anybody was still left up in North Watson was because they were all incredibly stubborn. They refused to flee in the face of the Scavs, and I was worried that Deng wouldn’t be able to convince them to leave the camp. If a firefight broke out in the middle of the homeless camp, we wouldn’t be able to protect everybody, and it would easily turn into a bloodbath.

As Diego scanned the camp, I could see plans beginning to take shape behind his eyes. I stepped up next to him and asked, “if you were a Scav, how would you hit this place?”

He looked over at me and frowned before pointing to the incline leading from the homeless camp up to Ross Street. “Two teams. One coming from Ross. We can expect a van or two. This camp is in a tunnel that connects Ross to…I think it’s called Shipyard Way. They’ll bring in another team from there. It’ll be a pincer attack on the camp. They’ll rush in and start shooting which’ll cause chaos and uncertainty among the camp population that they will use to pick everyone off.”

I nodded and then glanced back at Deng. It seemed like he had finished with Tani who was gathering up the people from the camp. Deng had probably convinced everyone to clear out for a bit, maybe sending them to the alcove. I noticed three homeless men rush up to Tani, saying something to her, before they headed over to Deng.

The three homeless and Deng fell into deep conversation before Deng sighed and nodded his head. He walked over to Diego’s van, the homeless in tow, and pulled out a Guillotine SMG and a few Unity pistols from the weapons crate that he handed over. Hmm, we had a tiny militia helping us fend off a Scav attack. Better than nothing, I guess.

Diego organized everyone fairly quickly. Everyone naturally deferred to him with regards to tactics and strategy. His years od training as a Militech soldier allowed him to set up an ambush better than any of the rest of us, and nobody thought to argue with his commands.

“Zion, you’re up on the catwalk,” Diego directed, pointing to the high, narrow structure far above the homeless camp. From up there, Zion would have a clear view of everything below, his Nekomata sniper rifle ready to pick off any threat. Zion nodded and swiftly climbed up to his perch, his movements efficient, showing off his years of experience in a corporation’s paramilitary force. I never bothered finding out which corporation had trained him. I was just happy his sniper rifle was on our side.

“Deng, you’re over there,” Diego continued, pointing to one of the alcoves along the back wall of the parking structure. Deng also had a Nekomata he’d taken from the weapons case, and he made his way to the position high up in the alcoves. His vantage point let him cover the incline and provide additional sniper support. From his position, he’d be able to cover the entrance from Ross Street as well as the tunnel that led to Shipyard Way.

Anna and Diego decided to stay on the ground floor so they could attack the Scavs directly after the opening salvo from Diego and Zion. Anna checked her gear one last time and moved behind a concrete pillar. The three homeless camp residents who had begged Deng to let them stay and fight were assigned to work directly with Diego. He positioned them strategically around the camp before explaining what he wanted them to do.

While Diego worked, I grabbed a few mines from the crate of weapons in Diego’s van and started positioning them around the camp. Two went near the foot of the incline towards Ross Street, and the other two were placed at the other end of the camp where the Scav attack force would move in from Shipyard Way. I hid the mines under various pieces of trash I collected from around the camp and then armed them. And then, because the camp had become way too quiet after everyone evacuated, I collected a few of the radios that the homeless had in their alcoves and sitting areas and dotted the camp with them. I turned them on, and the sound of Morro Rock Radio blared through the camp while we finished our preparations.

I climbed up to near where Deng was stationed in one of the alcove areas and had a clear view of the entire camp. I gave the camp a quick scan to make sure everything was in place and people were ready, and I caught sight of a lone figure trudging down the incline into the homeless camp. My heart skipped a beat as I instantly thought the Scavs were beginning their assault before we were ready. But I calmed myself when I noticed the figure walking down the incline was Cyndi. I pursed my lips, not exactly happy that she was here expecting to take part in this fight. She was still raw, still recovering from what Jotaro had put her through. But before I could voice my concern, Diego noticed her too.

He moved to intercept her, his face stern but not unkind. They spoke briefly, his words too quiet for me to hear. Whatever he said seemed to bolster her confidence. She went to the van and grabbed her DB-2 Satara from the crate of weapons, her grip steady despite this being, possibly, her first shootout. And then she took up position between Anna and Diego on the ground floor of the camp.

“Everyone in position?” Diego’s voice was calm but authoritative, cutting through the silence.

Zion: ready

Anna: I’m good.

The three homeless guys signaled their readiness, and I took a deep breath as I settled into the small alcove near me. I rearranged a few boxes up there to give myself some cover and then settled in to wait. From where I was sitting, I had a good view of the entire camp which included the two entrances and the mines that I had placed.

About half an hour later we heard the vans before we saw them. Two white panel vans peeled into the camp from Ross Street, their tires screeching as they came to a halt at the foot of the incline. Nine Scavs spilled from the vans, their weapons brandished, and they immediately began firing into the air, trying to instill fear and chaos among the homeless of the camp. I twisted my head slightly and saw another van approaching from Shipyard Way, speeding towards the camp with the same aggressive intent.

The attack unfolded exactly as Diego had foreseen. The Scavs poured from their vans, their guns firing into the air and their shouts echoing through the empty camp. Their attempt to create panic fell flat; the camp was eerily devoid of life and the only sound that greeted them was the voice of Maximum Mike – Mike Pondsmith who voiced the DJ of Morro Rock – that now blared through the radios I had scattered through the camp.

From my hidden vantage point, I watched as one of the Scavs, a woman who my quick scan identified as Yelena Sidarova, motioned for her people to start checking the tents and sleeping areas of the camp. The entire place was still alive with the remnants of homeless life: radios blaring music, lights flickering, and a few cookfires still burning, but nobody was in sight. It was a ghost town and the Scavs were put off by the fact nobody was around.

As they started poking through the camp, my attention was drawn to one Scav who walked dangerously close to one of the mines I had placed at the entrance. While we didn’t have remote detonators for the mines, we did have the next best thing: me. The mines had their own version of ICE installed, designed to thwart netrunner attempts to remotely deactivate them. Any tampering would trigger an automatic explosion. As one of the Scavs drew close to the mine, I remotely tampered the hell out of it.

The mine reacted instantly, the ICE triggering the explosion. The blast was deafening, a shockwave of fire and shrapnel that sent the Scav flying.

All hell broke loose.

Zion took the explosion as his cue to open fire from his perch up on the catwalk. His shots were precise with each one taking out a Scav before they could react. Almost simultaneously, Deng joined in with his own Nekomata, his shots adding to the chaos.

The Scavs were on the back foot and, as they tried to recover, were hit hard by Anna and Diego who moved with lethal efficiency. Anna peppered the Scavs with fire from her pistol while Diego’s shotgun rang out. The three homeless guys who had begged to stay fought bravely alongside Diego although they didn’t accomplish much. They were more a loud nuisance than an accurate kill-squad, but the bullets they released help to scatter the Scavs and gave Anna and Diego time to move into a flanking position.

The ambush was a whirlwind of chaos and violence. Yelena Sidarova, realizing the trap her group had waltzed into, desperately tried to regroup her people and barked orders to form a defensive perimeter. She shouted something in Russian, but I didn’t know what it was because, unlike V, I didn’t have any translation software installed into my neuroport. Whatever she said to try and organize the Scavs didn’t matter though as Anna and Diego were relentless, their combined assault picking off the Scavs with deadly precision.

From behind my makeshift cover up in the alcoves, I ducked out and fired my Kenshin, aiming at the Scavs still gathering around the van at the far end of the camp. The crack of gunfire echoed through the structure as a few of my rounds found their marks. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Yelena dip out of the maelstrom of lead that Diego was unleashing on her men. She ran away from her crew and ducked behind a concrete pillar, seeking temporary respite from the ambush.

My blood ran cold as I spotted Cyndi turn the corner of a different pillar, bringing her within sight of Yelena. Cyndi had her Satara out, but it was pointed towards the ground, and the Scav leader had her dead to rights. I watched as Yelena started to raise her rifle. Panic rippled through me, and I shouted out, squeezing the trigger of my Kenshin. The bullets ripped from my gun and impacted near Yelena, but my concern over Cyndi had jerked my aim and none of my rounds hit their mark.

Cyndi quickly ducked back behind the pillar she had raced out from, and Yelena turned her attention to me. I quickly scrabbled down behind my makeshift cover as she fired. The bullets slammed into the wall behind me, peppering me with shards of concrete kicked up by the impacts. My heart threatened to beat out of my chest, and I quickly patted myself down to check to see if I was hit.

I heard two loud bangs and chanced a look up from behind the boxes. Yelena was down, her body sprawled out on the ground, and Cyndi stood over her corpse, her Satara still aimed at where Yelena’s head had been. She pulled the trigger again and again, but the gun was empty. When she finally registered she wasn’t firing anything, Cyndi let loose an angry and frustrated noise and started slamming the butt of the Satara into Yelena’s torso, each blow fueled by a mixture of fear, rage, and adrenaline.

In moments, the ambush was over. Anna and Diego had finished off the remnants of Yelena’s group of Scavs, and Deng and Zion picked off the Scavs who had come to the camp via Shipyard Way. The only kills I got were the guy who had hit the mine at the beginning of the ambush and, maybe, one of the Scavs at the other end of the camp. I had completely bungled my shots at Yelena, but Cyndi had finished the job. She was still screaming at Yelena’s lifeless body in anger when Diego reached her, sweeping her up in a bear hug to try and calm her down.

The adrenaline was still pumping through my veins as I watched Zion and Deng head down into the camp, their eyes scanning for any remaining threats. The three homeless guys who had been working with Diego stood off to the side, and Deng went over to talk them through the adrenaline crash I knew would hit them hard. Their eyes were wide and I was guessing this had been the first time they had seen real combat. While Deng spoke with the homeless guys and Diego chatted with Cyndi, I joined Zion in poking through the bodies of the Scavs, checking for anything useful.

“Did you get anyone?” Zion asked, glancing up at me.

I shook my head, feeling a twinge of frustration. “Just the guy who hit the mine, I think. Maybe I nicked one of the Scavs at the other end.”

Zion nodded. “Your Kenshin isn’t exactly a long-range gun. If you wanna hang with me and Deng on overwatch again, we’re going to have to train you up a bit.”

I nodded, accepting the critique. Zion had been a lot less abrasive since the Jotaro job. It was probably more due to the eddies the crew had been earning over the past week and less because I had proven myself at least somewhat reliable. Zion, Deng and Diego all had military training, and if I wanted to keep myself alive, I should really be probing them for all their tips.

We all eventually got to scavenging the Scavs, gathering up all the guns they left behind and dumping them into the vans they’d arrived in. The weapons were a mix of high-end and makeshift, a testament to the scavenging lifestyle of their former owners.

Anna joined in the looting and, when we were finished, we had three Scav vans and a bunch of weapons. She stared at the weapons we had collected before saying, “You know, if we were smart we’d go to the different camps in North Watson and hand out a few of these weapons to people.”

Deng considered this, then nodded. “It might be good if we trained up a few people in the camps. That way, the next time we lay out an ambush we’d have a bit more shooters.”

It made sense. My original idea was to just sell the weapons and three Scav vans we got from the raid. The weapons wouldn’t get us a lot of eddies. Most of them were Rostovic or Darra Polytechnic guns, cheap weapons that gun runners didn’t have much use for. We’d probably be better off handing them out to a few of the homeless camps in North Watson so they could better defend themselves.

As we discussed our next steps, a name popped up in the corner of my vision, letting me know I was getting a call. It was Mor. I answered the call and smiled as I told him the good news.

“Hey, we just finished with the Scavs who tried to attack Ross Street. You can say that they’re no more. Get it?” I grinned.

There was a pause before Mor chuckled despite himself. “You’re ridiculous but I’ll pass it along. Tani and a bunch of her people made their way down here to the alcove while you were working. The whole place is packed right now, and I think the Mox are looking at us sideways. Probably wondering what’s going on. I’ll let everyone know they can head back to their camp so I can get my alcove back.”

Mor’s voice dipped lower as he kept talking. “That’s not why I was calling. The Hun is here. He says he wants to meet with you.”

I pulled up short, surprise clearly written on my face. Deng and Anna both seemed to notice, and they dropped what they were doing to come check on me.

“Uh, okay. It’ll take me a sec to get down there. We’ll finish up here.”

I didn’t know too much about The Hun other than Fred had been talking with a few of his people and had decided to set up a camp out in Arroyo. I didn’t know what he wanted to do with the homeless of Night City, what his intentions were, and whether I should work with him or not. I quickly put thoughts of The Hun out of my mind as the crew came over to check up on me.

“That was Mor. He said The Hun is down at the alcove and wants a meeting. Anna and Zion, can you try and get some money for those Scav vans? We can drop the weapons off at the WNS building and talk more about delivering them to the camps around North Watson. I’ve got to go deal with this thing down at the alcove.”

Everyone nodded along and got to work. Deng came over to me and explained he’d tag along to the alcove to find out what The Hun wanted.

With everything set, I dialed Regina. I knew next to nothing about The Hun, and if anyone could help me out, I was sure it was Watson’s resident fixer. She owed me for the whole Charles Bucks ripperdoc thing, and I was going to press her for information.

I needed to know who I was dealing with.