Chapter 13 (Part 2)

Tokyo - Arasaka Corporation's Tech Development Office

Phone Conversation - Secure Channel

"So, you're inviting me to oversee your special project?" Anders Hellman was quite surprised that such an influential company wanted to contact him personally. Even though he was a distinguished bioengineer and a neural network specialist, there were many people like Anders around the world. The man was rightly cautious, expecting some sort of undisclosed catch.

"Your knowledge and skills speak for themselves, Mr. Hellman," Kato Arasaka was accustomed to flattering people. It could be said that he had acquired a taste for it over his time in position.

"Let's skip the overt flattery. I doubt you're calling just to pour sweet syrup in my ears," Anders liked his skills to be recognized, but he wasn't fond of sycophantic praise.

"Of course, I cannot disclose all the details. The information you'll learn will mark the beginning of a future breakthrough in medicine, and we are making every effort to ensure it does not fall into the wrong hands..." Kato disliked having to explain such self-evident truths to others, but he couldn't depart from his persona, so he endured.

"I fully understand that, Mr. Arasaka, but you must understand me, your offer seems like a 'pig in a poke,' and I've heard enough of such things from other similar employers. Even if Arasaka is a mega corporation..."

"What do you want?" Kato had to interrupt his interlocutor, stepping slightly out of his usual demeanor.

"Guarantees..." After the scientist's word, a brief pause ensued, during which Kato managed to contact the necessary people and receive confirmation from them to disclose part of the overall plan.

"Tell me, Anders-san, would you like to come closer to the greatness of a god?"

***

America - California, Militech Corporation Headquarters

Outgoing Video Call - Mark Wirth (Project Leviathan)

Call Accepted - Secure Connection Established

"Mark Wirth speaking." The man picked up almost instantly, responding in his usual, slightly gruff manner.

"Mark, how is progress on Project Leviathan?" Bill Drake didn't like electronic reports that were sent to him by the dozen, preferring to hear information straight from the mouths of his subordinates. Many corporate agents of his level boasted a similar character trait, and this desire was not out of the ordinary.

"Sir, our engineers have finally managed to create the first working prototype using the experimental Vega simulation, but preliminary data suggests the project needs a lot more refinement. To troubleshoot the issues, we'll need to replicate at least one working prototype..." The scientist closed his eyes heavily, mentally estimating the amount of resources needed to build such a massive creature intended to be a worthy response to the maritime aggression of the rising sun empire.

"Don't trouble yourself with excessive explanations. I understand perfectly how difficult it is to create something so unimaginable with only a virtual model. I'm only concerned with one question, where can we house our 'pet'?" Bill clasped his hands together, peering intently at his interlocutor.

"If we want to keep everything secret, we'd need to find a closed body of water or lake, but in America, they all have national status. You understand what caused this." The man was clearly hinting at the Fourth Corporate War, which affected much of the territory of the current USA.

"In that case, we have only one solution. We need to create this body of water ourselves..." Drake smiled mysteriously, looking at a volumetric holographic map of California in front of him.

"Excuse me?" The scientist was so taken aback that he momentarily lost his ability to speak, trying to understand his boss's line of thought.

"A body of water, Mr. Wirth. If there are no 'available' bodies of water, as you say, then we will create it ourselves. Look here." His counterpart sent a holo-map to his employee, marking the location of the future "reservoir." "Right here is where we will create our monster."

"But excuse me, you've marked a small town ten kilometers from Night City." Mark was unsettled by what his boss proposed, and it wasn't because someone might get hurt in the process. Mark frankly didn't care about other people. The scientist simply couldn't imagine how such a behemoth could be hidden so close to such a densely populated city.

"Exactly... Laguna Bend is located in the boonies, and the flow of people going there is practically minimal. No one will ask the corporation unnecessary questions if we simply relocate the people elsewhere. We'll even allocate them some money to make the local residents less dissatisfied with their sudden move. You could say it will be accounted for as necessary expenses." Bill smiled again, causing his interlocutor to feel a chill down his spine.

"Understood, Mr. Drake. In that case, I'll leave the further questions and the implementation of preparing the site for testing up to you."

"Don't worry, I think in a year or two, we can realize our plan without any eavesdroppers. There's no need to rush in this matter... Thank you for your time, Mr. Wirth, have a pleasant rest."

"Thank you, Mr. Drake, until next time..."

Call Ended - Connection Terminated

***

Night City - Biotechnica Corporation

Valentin Astra tapped his fingers on his desk in frustration. "Securicin" had hit the market, but another significant problem related to side effects had emerged. It wasn't about a suddenly awakened conscience. The man couldn't care less about others as long as it brought profit, but the profit could diminish because of one "little" flaw... Someone managed to leak a critical drawback of the new painkiller online, and the information had spread among many internet users.

Of course, not many believed it, as this kind of information often surfaces about any product from some corporation or another. The problem was that there seemed to be a mole inside the company, and it was crucial to find them. The question of how to do this remained open. Although Valentin was the senior project manager of biotechnologies, even his power here was not unlimited. There were still many challenges, namely the security service, the human resources department, and a whole bunch of useless idiots who couldn't do their job properly.

The team of scientists and security has changed three times in a year and a half, which is an alarming precedent. After Mikhail Volkov orchestrated a terrorist attack, the company lost many valuable employees caught in the crossfire. Astra had learned from his mistakes, but too late. He still secretly blamed himself for snapping at his subordinate that day, provoking him to retaliate against the aggression received.

Fortunately, Valentin managed to save his own skin and shift all the blame onto the head of security at the time. His guilt was indeed more pronounced, so the "master's" wrath focused on Jeremy Martinez, who was simply and straightforwardly eliminated. No, the man wasn't killed, but his further career was sabotaged to such an extent that he couldn't find a job anywhere but as a warehouse guard. A sad fate for such a young father.

Now, Valentin was relaxing after another video call session with his boss. He was praised for successfully launching the advertisement for the new drug, but Astra knew that if he didn't act now, sooner or later, someone would succeed, and "Securicin" would become his downfall.

Outgoing Audio Call - Tyler Garcia - (Head of Security)

Call Accepted - Connection Established

"Tyler, I have a job for you..."

***

The Bakker Clan Camp

Kiwi woke up shivering, missing the familiar warmth beneath her. Frowning in annoyance, the girl groped for Alex, whose body had previously radiated such pleasant heat. Not finding him, the blonde opened her eyes in displeasure and looked around for the missing boy.

"He's run off again," Kiwi stated matter-of-factly.

Getting out of the warm bed was the last thing she wanted to do, as it was even colder outside. Shivering, Engel tucked her legs under the blanket, scowling in displeasure again. She didn't want to get up earlier than she had set for herself, but it seemed today she would have to fight her laziness.

"It's cold," the ruffled blonde muttered, hurriedly putting on a sweater. Nomads were used to sleeping in their clothes, but Kiwi couldn't bring herself to sleep in what she had worn all day. It seemed simple enough, but not for her. Finally managing the challenging task, the blonde poked her nose outside, suppressing the reflex to dart back in.

Engel's sharp gaze immediately noticed a boy sitting by the fire, chatting with other nomads. It seemed to be Kirk and Chad, along with the father of that little and very cheeky boy named Vincent. Kiwi was terribly annoyed by this child, who constantly got into various adventures. Just yesterday, Vi decided to try to activate her personal bracelet out of curiosity, for which he naturally got an electric shock. Instead of apologizing for trying to take someone else's property without asking, he lashed out at her. He was curious, and she was so bad for setting up a foolproof protection.

"Vincent, annoys... John, always messing up his hair - irritating," flashed through the blonde's mind as she slowly walked to the communal fire. Finally reaching her destination, the little girl sat down next to Alex and turned his head towards her, looking at him disapprovingly.

"You're up early today..." Alex smiled sweetly, pretending not to notice Kiwi's discontent.

(-_-) 

The girl sighed heavily and laid her head on the boy's lap, closing her eyes again. The boy's hands naturally fell to the white-haired girl's hair, slowly sifting through the fluffy curls. The blonde's lips lifted into a semblance of a smile, invisible to others as her back was turned to them. A month had passed, but the problems with adapting to the new group hadn't disappeared. In this regard, Alex felt much more at ease, although he too was initially wary of everyone, more out of habit than the actual possibility of getting stabbed in the back.

"I see you two get along well..." John winked at the boy good-naturedly, feeling a bit envious. "Somehow, I don't get that honor." The girl doesn't let John pet her, as Kiwi thinks he does it too roughly.

"Alex is warm, he's allowed," the little girl thought to herself, feeling another touch.

"Just don't constantly try to ruffle her head. You know, I'm also not a fan of someone trying to mess up my 'pumpkin'." The boy gently massaged her head, bringing even more pleasant sensations to the blonde.

"Hey Alex, will you help us with the engine today?" The brothers also woke up and greeted the boy with deliberate cheerfulness.

"Noisy!" Kiwi protested, squirming a bit on the brunette's lap.

"Alright, but only in the evening. I have a lot of work in the morning, sorry." The boy slightly lifted his lips in a semblance of a smile, turning his face to the children.

"Okay, fine," the boys said in unison.

"Alright, kids, we'll be having breakfast soon, so off to your exercises for now." Susan's voice rang out, having briefly stepped away to tidy herself up. For washing, the nomads used a special installation that circulated technical water in a loop. It passed through a series of powerful filters, thereby allowing the use of such water dozens of times.

"Damn, just forgot about it." Alex rolled his eyes in annoyance, lightly patting the girl on the head. "Get up, Kiwi, or our 'big sister' will eat us alive."

"I heard that!" The woman added a bit of displeasure to her voice, spurring the alacrity of her charges.

"No rest for the wicked..." the boy lamented, slowly leading the group of children to their usual morning activities. After all, physical fitness is important and should not be neglected...