Chapter Nine

(Manny's P.O.V)

It's been over 10 minutes since Manny had seen Sasha and the others off to their hidey-hole back at Aldo's Garage—it still feels weird to think that he's been to an actual location in the Edgerunners series.

The Primarch would have loved to follow them back to celebrate and all. But even without anyone telling him, Manny knew that doing so would be the height of irresponsibility seeing as that would be leaving his people behind without sorting anything out.

It would make everything he had said to the Helios Wrath seem like a LIE—which was the ONE thing Manny didn't want on his rep.

Unlike before when Manny had slipped into the Warehouse, this time he didn't bother to hide his presence which brought the buzzing edifice into a respectful hush.

'My teachs would have loved to have a skill like this.'

Then again, even though Manny had expected it, he still didn't know how to feel concerning the respectful gazes being thrown at him.

In a way, it felt quite fanatical and that was kinda scary.

'Guess it comes with the package of being a Primarch.' Manny internally concluded and gestured at them to continue whatever they were doing;

Which would most likely be gossiping about him if his enhanced senses were as good as he thinks they are.

Which they are, by the way.

Meanwhile, a familiar shadow joined Manny's side.

"The Alphas—I mean the others are up waiting in the office for you, Bossman," Pepe said, motioning at the partition upstairs.

Manny nodded, "Lead the way, I'm right behind you."

Walking behind his right hand, Manny couldn't stop the sigh from escaping his lips upon thinking back on how everything led to this moment.

The Primarch had initially entered the building to rescue Stella from the Animals either by persuasion or by force. To him, the Animals were as he had seen them in the anime and games; a rowdy lot who would be cowed to his bidding no matter what—even if he had to paint the place red…

But upon entering, a thought was planted in his mind and just like that, killing became the last resort. With that in mind, Manny had met Pepe and as they say: the rest is history.

Where Manny had seen the Animals as an ordinary combat gang, now he sees people with a purpose—and comrades who will bring about the start of something MORE in this city.

'Huh?' Manny shook his head in bewilderment. 'Since when did I start thinking like that?'

Since you accepted the challenge of rising to the call.

"Bossman…"

"Hmm?"

Pepe's voice drew Manny from his thoughts to see the former Hyena holding the door waiting for his signal to open.

"We're here."

"Oh… Right…"

Manny took in a deep breath and all the distractive thoughts recessed back to the depths of his mind like it was never there in the first place.

This isn't the time to be reminiscing.

The Primarch smirked, "Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

The door opened and with it began the first of the Helios Wrath Top Brass sitch.

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The Warhammer Books underestimated the responsibilities of what it means to be a Leader.

Well, I did too.

Honestly speaking, I thought after getting the Hyenas, Apes, and Leopards under my control, everything else would proceed smoothly on my journey to the top.

Unfortunately, reality doesn't work that way.

With manpower comes a proper need to dispense it. A proper need to manage it. A proper need to take care not to waste it.

And there's nothing I hate more than things being used carelessly—especially when that thing includes something as precious as lives.

No matter how powerful a Primarch may be, it still falls on the kind of people he leads to fully display his splendor.

Horus had his Sons of Horus.

Magnus had his Thousand Sons.

Peturabo had his Iron Warriors.

Russ had his Space Wolves

Logar had his World Bearers.

Of course, it wasn't like the other Primarch's Astartes were the perfect legions—if the 30th century had anything to say about it—but compared to what I had theirs were INFINITELY better.

Currently, the people I had under my banner were a rag-tag group whose ideology falls precariously close to Live Loud and Die Fast.

So not exactly a preem starting point all things considered.

But then again, I thank my lucky stars—or maybe the Emperor—that my foundation hadn't started on overtly shaky grounds.

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"Upè. Alpha of the Apes…"

The muscular man introduced himself—only to trail off as he realized what he had just said.

"Well, not like that means anything now. Eh, fuck. Just call me, Upè."

The other muscular brunette woman resting by the wall—the woman who Manny knew as the Alpha of the Leopards—nodded at the Primarch.

"Bastet. Alpha of the Leopards."

Manny nodded at both of them which somehow prompted a light blush on Bastet's face.

'Hmm… Could this be…?'

The Primarch couldn't help but tilt his head.

Manny isn't an idiot. As someone who had watched more than enough animes and mangas with annoying dense protagonists, not recognizing what was going on with Bastet's behavior would be ultimately a sin.

'Is she a tsundere?' Manny pondered, before shaking his head. 'Now's. Not. The. Time.'

"Manny." He introduced himself. "As of this moment, leader of Helios Wrath."

With introductions done and gone, Manny walked ahead towards Katz's chair, only to realize how tiny it was compared to his enormous frame.

Then again, even the office itself seemed more like some tiny storeroom from Manny's point of view.

Ignoring that, Manny stood in front of the table and regarded the people within the room.

"There's gonna be some serious paradigm shift in the way things will be rolling from now on. The Helios Wrath ain't like the Animals. We're gonna be better. Stronger. Faster. Wiser. But for that to happen, we're gonna have to stop thinking like animals and start thinking like a true Apex Predator. Like how a wise human would think."

Upè chuckled. "See I like where you're going with this, Manny. But how do you suppose we do that? Where are we to start from?"

There was something in Upè's tone that felt quite double-edged. It felt it was less of a question and more of a… Test.

Seems we've got another intelligent guy in the group.

Thank goodness.

.

.

.

There were many qualities needed for a group—especially a budding one like the Helios Wrath—to prosper in a place like Night City.

But the most important of all qualities is the ability of its leaders to use their number 6: their brains.

Manny, even as a Primarch, is just one man. A very powerful sci-fi demi-god, yes. But in the end, he's still one man. He can't be everywhere at once…

… Or maybe he could.

Nevertheless, until Manny is sure he can do that, he won't make any assumptions.

What Manny needs now are people capable of making choices that won't run this [Legion] he is setting up to the ground.

But that doesn't mean, Manny won't be cautious.

There's no enemy more dangerous than a clever one.

Something cold settled in Manny's gut.

'I'll be keeping an eye on this Upè just in case.'

Outwardly, Manny cleared his throat and smiled.

"Excellent question, Upè. 'Where are we to start from?' is it weapons? I'm sure every one of you can bring out an iron faster than I can cough. Eddies? You all may not exactly be rolling in it, but you can produce a stack in a single day if you set your mind to it. Men? Heh, I'm sure I don't need to say anything about that, do I?"

The Primarch's smile flattened as he straightened up.

"As the Helios Wrath, it's true we're gonna need more weapons and tin cans. More eddies for the draga stuff. More manpower for future ops and fucking logistics. But for now, we don't need to start jumping to the sun. Babel wasn't built in a fucking day. It took one single stone at a time, and we're gonna be doing the same thing. People, what we need for now is a VEIL."

Bastet raised a brow in bemusement.

"A veil? What's that gotta do with us?"

"Everything, Bastet."

It was Upè who answered. The man's voice carried a tone of fascination and resignation.

Looking at Manny sheepishly, Upè said. "From the looks of things, it seems you already know the reason why I'd asked you that."

"Eh, just an impression."

"Impression, huh? Well, consider me impressed. I never even thought of that. Casting a veil. Where I'd gone into was taking that gig that machinegun motherfucker had left for us for more scratch to fund our future ops. But whoops, guess I thought too far ahead."

"You didn't. Taking on that gig still helps us kickstart things. It's just that you merely got the list wrong."

Pepe made a surprised noise.

"So you're saying we're playing the turtle game, huh? Well, it's not like I don't get where you're coming from."

"Well, this Leopard don't." Bastet gruffly interrupted. "All I've been hearing is veil this and tortoise that, what the fuck have you guys been going on about?"

"Oh…" Manny self-consciously rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry for keeping you out of the loop. It's not my attention."

"We-Well as long as you understand."

Bastet stammered out—before she suddenly threw the other two grinning people a scowl that instantly shot them up.

Dangerous tsundere woman.

The Primarch cleared his throat.

"So what we're currently going for at the moment is to create a camouflage to mask what we're going to be doing from now on." Manny began,

"Unlike the main gangs in the city, Helios Wrath doesn't have the required manpower or resources to tangle with the big leagues YET, and simply announcing our existence for the World to hear can draw in rabid wolves who'll come to devour us before we can even stand on our own two feet. Which is why we'll be keeping our operations clandestine. But to do that, we'll need a new base of operations where we can freely do our thing."

"Uh right." Bastet nodded in vague understanding. "What about my place? It's not exactly the best of places—being One Block and all—but it isn't well known even amongst the Animals."

Upè gave the former Alpha a knowing look that provoked a growl from Bastet and almost made her go for her iron—thankfully, a cough from the Primarch stilled things before it had gotten bloody.

'Sheesh, talk about trigger-happy. Ugh, Cyberpunk. Shouldn't have expected anything less.'

"Thanks for the offer, Bastet. But unfortunately, your place won't do."

Manny raised a hand to calm her nascent protest.

"It's not that I hadn't considered it. But I can't risk anyone knowing about what's going to happen with the Helios Wrath."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Bossman's talking about moles," Pepe said with a frown. "Fucking puppets skulking around, ready and waiting to give the detes on what happened today to their corpo overlords or rival gangs."

"Seriously?"

"You don't see me smiling." Pepe angrily smashed his fist against his palm. "I know because I've got 2 of them in the Hyenas. Kept them mostly to feed them whatever I want the fucking corpos or gang sent them to hear. Now it's too much of a risk to keep them."

"So the Hyenas got moles." Upè chuckled. "Well, I know of 15 from my side… What? I run the biggest underground fight club in the city. I got rivals, mercs, and even fucking corpos coming to my place. It ain't surprising that there's gonna be a few opened holes. I'd left them doing their thing for the biz. But I think it's time I do some recycling."

Bastet's eyes twitched erratically.

"You've gotta be motherfucking shitting me."

Manny reckoned that Bastet's skepticism was because she had found it quite hard to think that there was a traitor within her pack. And with what he remembers, the portrayal of the Animals as a tight-knit group didn't help all things considered.

The former Alpha simply clenched her fists and said nothing.

She probably has plans of her own to deal with the spies within her group.

'Just hope she doesn't short-circ much.'

"So where are we gonna be setting up the bonanza, anyway?" Upè asks. "Sure I've got places, but I'm ain't sure they're clear of unwanted eyes."

"There's no need to stress yourself about that."

Fortunately, Manny had already thought of something.

"There's already a place I have in mind. Somewhere no one in this City will think of looking. It should have enough space and supplies that'll help us in the meantime. It can buy us time for a month or 3, but by then, we won't be needing that place much."

"Damn." Bastet whistled. "Sounds like a preem spot. So why haven't I heard of such a place?"

"Because it's an occupied spot," Manny replied. "We're gonna be doing a bit of slamming on and recycling to take it."

"Recycling…?" Pepe echoed before his eyes widened in alarm. "Wait, you can't be thinking of where I think you're thinking?"

"Yep," Manny smirked. "We're gonna be taking over a Scavs den… And we're going for the biggest one in Night City."

The silence that followed after Manny had said those words was palpable. In a way, the Primarch knew his idea was quite a wild one.

But it was the best option available.

The Scavengers, despite not being a true gang -more like a smuggling slaughterhouse- in Night City, have one of the widest reaches around. People want to make easy eddies and nabbing it from their fellow human's flesh in a city where life seems so cheap seems like quite the premium deal.

So it's not much of a surprise that the Scavs will have enough resources and manpower on their hands.

Which he's all too happy to take.

It goes without saying that while Manny disdains such a gruesome business avenue, he knows that at the moment, he's going to have to use their resources for his benefit—albeit by force and with lots and lots of blood.

'Hmm… Seems like I don't have many qualms doing away with this kind of people. Maybe it's the same as how everyone hates the Nazis. I hate Scavs.'

That's good to know.

Upè clicked his tongue. "Uh, I don't think—"

"I think that's a pretty tight plan." The Hyena Deputy said to the amazement of the former Alphas.

"Pepe, you fucking gonk." Upè objected rather loudly.

"I know how much you hate the Scavs, but no one in Night City has ever managed to get the drop of them. Not the corpos or the gangs or the badges or even the fucking mercs. That's not even talking about the firepower they'll have at their Den in Watson. This ain't the safer option."

"First off, have a load of this." Pepe showed Upè the middle finger. "Next off, I would have agreed with you—if it weren't for the fact that I know something that you don't."

Upè scoffed.

"Enlighten me then, wise guy. Cause from where I stand, fighting those bastards in their very own tuff is simply asking us to go on a suicide mission."

"Enlighten eh? How about I do you one better."

There was a hint of mischief on Pepe's face which Manny recognized.

'Is this guy for real...'

The Primarch had an idea of where Pepe was going with this little prank of his. It is within his power to intervene and stop what is about to go down—but he won't.

Not when it could help explain things much easier.

"Try looking at Bossman with aggression."

""Huh?""

Both Bastet and Upè sounded bemused.

"What are you playing at, Pepe?" Upè asked in irritation.

"Just do it, and you'll see where I'm going with this," Pepe said confidently.

With a grunt, Upè turned to look at Manny and then—BLANKED.

"…Huh… Upè?"

Bastet looked at the man whose face slowly morphed in fear, before alternating gazes between Manny and Pepe.

"What's going on?"

The former Alpha was becoming nonplused at the disturbing sight.

"Nothing surprising. Just a prey meeting eyes with a true predator." Pepe incanted.

"Alright, that's enough fear for one day." The Primarch said and snapped his fingers.

"JESUS CHRIST! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"

Upè hoarsely roared as his large frame skirted away from the Primarch.

'Same reaction that never gets old.'

"Sorry about that, Upè." Manny apologized. "So how are you feeling?"

"Ho-How am I feeling?" Upè incredibly echoed. "Like I've been on a 10-kilometer run from Adam fucking Smasher in my underwear."

"So tired but still good."

"Not good. Scared." Upè laughed. "Scared and satisfied. Pepe remind me to fix your face a new one when we're done. Free of charge."

"In your dreams."

Somehow those words made Upè shiver.

"Shit, I sure ain't gonna be sleeping without my iron tonight."

Manny turned towards Bastet who simply shrugged with a sigh.

"I'm in. It's not like I was objecting anyway. All this merely made me more convinced."

"Good. Without any further ado, here's what we're gonna be doing starting from tomorrow—as it's already too late to get anything started."

Manny snapped his fingers at Pepe.

"I want you to handle the gig my predecessor left for us. The Animals don't normally deal with sneaky gigs, but somehow, something like that landed on our plate. We're gonna eat it. But we first have to be sure what we're eating ain't poison. So use everything within your disposal to find out the true detes behind this ops. Rip out the dead man's shard if you have to and get me something to use tomorrow."

Pepe nodded.

"Got it, Bossman."

The Primarch gestured at Upè.

"You're the one with the most revenue, and the one a lot of eyes is gonna be on for the next few days. I want you to start rooting out the puppets in all the squads. Or if possible try to manipulate them by any means possible. Just don't go too far—the Helios Wrath is to set a standard in this city."

The former black Alpha crossed his arms.

"Understood loud and clear."

Finally, Manny pivoted towards Bastet.

"I want you to spend tomorrow preparing. Load your irons and choose with you 20 of your most trusted guys. Cause the day after that, we're gonna be paying the Scavengers a surprise visit."

"2o sure does seem like a small number. But eh, I just saw you reducing Upè's lifespan with a glare so I won't be arguing much." Bastet said and raised a brow in bemusement. "But why the day after, why don't we go about it tomorrow?"

"Cause we're going to be spending the entire day making sure that none of you flatline on the day of the ops. Driving in and starting to shoot like crazy ain't gonna be how we roll. We scout and make arrangements. Plan for any unwanted variable and make sure that our first ops as the Helios Wrath have the perfect score."

Bastet's mouth opened for a moment before it spread into a slightly maniacal smirk.

The Leopard has found a prey to latch on.

"Perfect score, huh? My kinda thing."

"Nice. Now that's all said and done. As they say back at my place…"

Golden eyes gleamed in satisfaction.

"This class is dismissed."

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And with that ends the first ever Helios Wrath sitch.

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