Chapter 85: Escape, Divergence, and Michiko Arasaka
"Shit! The feed's dead! What happened?"
"Was that guy serious? Is he really going to war with the corps?"
"WNS cut the broadcast. That's Arasaka's heavy hand right there! Militech is useless; letting this run would humiliate Arasaka, so why cut it? Or did Rhys's speech piss them off too?"
"Sigh. Capital. The Big Lie. When it comes to crushing us, Militech and Arasaka put on the same pair of pants."
The sudden blackout of the WNS signal sent a wave of anxiety through Night City.
Are you kidding? It was just getting to the good part!
Over? No, it wasn't over.
Just as the madman had told the entire city: This is just the beginning.
The danger Rhys faced was just beginning, too.
Live-streaming a murder? Not exactly new. Gangers did it, mercs did it, even random psychos looking for fifteen minutes of fame did it. But killing an Arasaka executive live on air?
That was a different beast.
Arasaka agents were already mobilizing. Under immense pressure from the corp, the NCPD had to act. And in 2075, the NCPD wasn't just the city's police force; they were privatized enforcement for the highest bidder. MAX-TAC was the only division that still inspired genuine fear, the true guardians of the city's chaotic order.
So, Rhys, the lunatic, was now facing a manhunt by both the NCPD and Arasaka hit squads.
And not just them. Every major corp would be gunning for him. A man who dared to zero an exec on live TV while spitting in the face of the system? No corporation would tolerate his existence. The capitalist machine didn't need another Johnny Silverhand.
The Afterlife.
Claire stood behind the bar, polishing a glass. She looked up at the crowd of standing, shouting mercs, a flicker of unease in her eyes.
Night City... is about to get very loud.
She sighed, her movements slowing.
Everyone knew mercs were the easiest demographic to incite. It was true decades ago, and it was true now. They were people driven to the edge by inequality and desperation, forced into a life of violence for eddies. If anyone hated the corps, it was the edgerunners sitting in this bar. Most of them had been chewed up and spit out by the corporate machine.
Rhys's speech was like a spark in a powder keg.
The bar was in chaos. Arguing, shouting, shoving matches breaking out.
Violence in the Afterlife? Not since Rogue had personally thrown out a drunk gonk who ended up dead in a sewer the next day. No one dared start shit here.
But today... everyone was starting shit.
"No! I liked what that psycho said! I'm gonna go help him! Who's coming with me?!"
"Bones, are you insane? You want to get involved in Arasaka business? You got a death wish?"
"The corps took my home! Corpo-dogs snatched my wife! I've been cowering my whole life! Now someone finally stands up and punches back? I don't care if he didn't kill my enemies—he hit a corp, so I'm backing him!"
Bones, a short Eastern European solo with electro-plated black chrome arms, jumped onto a table. "How long are you gonks gonna hide?! He's just a kid, barely grown, and he dares to zero an exec! And us old dogs are too scared to even flip off a suit?!"
"Heh. Nice speech. But don't get used. He's just getting revenge for a personal beef. You want to make him a symbol? Another Rockerboy Johnny?" a merc named Mabry sneered from the corner.
SMASH!
A glass shattered against Mabry's head. A massive merc flipped him off. "Shut your mouth, Mabry! Save your cynical bullshit! You think I forgot how you cost me an arm on that last gig?"
"What does that have to do with this?!"
"I just hate your face! That kid is right. Endure, endure, endure... until we have nowhere left to stand? I'm done enduring! I'm not a turtle hiding in a shell! I've got beef with the corps too!"
"Fuck it! Anyone who wants to help, follow me! Arasaka agents aren't invincible! They bleed just like us!"
The noise level rose. Cups flew. Weapons were drawn. Claire tensed. Fighting was one thing, but pulling iron in the Afterlife? That was a death sentence.
Just as she was about to intervene, the door next to the restrooms opened. Crispin Wayland stepped out, looking flushed. He stepped aside.
A woman walked out.
Instantly, the riotous noise of the Afterlife died down. Everyone looked at her.
She just said one sentence.
"You all planning a mutiny?"
Silence. Heads lowered.
Rogue walked into the middle of the room, parting the crowd like the Red Sea. One side wanted to fight the corps, fueled by rage. The other side called it suicide.
Funny, Rogue thought. A bunch of killers with four-digit body counts arguing about morality and suicide.
But that was mercs. They wore their emotions on their sleeves. They lived fast, drank hard, and exploded over the smallest things because the pressure of Night City never let up. It was the little things that broke them, usually.
But today... Rhys was the detonator.
"If you want to riot, get the hell outside," Rogue announced, her voice cutting through the silence. "Once you're out those doors, do whatever you want. I don't care."
"You mean...?" Bones's eyes lit up.
"I didn't say anything, Chris. It's your choice. I didn't give you a gig today," Rogue said, hands on her hips, eyes narrowing.
"Fuck it! Let's go! Anyone who wants to help, move out!" Bones roared, raising his chrome arm.
In an instant, half the bar emptied out, following Bones into the street.
They knew they couldn't stop Arasaka. They were ants compared to the corp. But... they could mess with the cops. They could block the roads.
Loitering?
Officer, I'm just standing here soliciting business! Is that a crime?
There are joytoys all over Jig-Jig Street, why don't you harass them?
Oh, I can't solicit on the main highway? Fuck you, I like the highway! More clients!
What? My chest hair is longer than your head hair? You discriminating against hairy men? Maybe some people are into that!
Fueled by booze and adrenaline, they weren't running to their deaths, but they were definitely going to cause chaos.
The Afterlife emptied. Rogue sat at the bar.
"Drink?" Claire asked, smiling.
Rogue tapped the counter with her index finger. "Tequila. Lime. Bitters..."
"And a splash of cerveza?" Claire finished.
Rogue looked up and nodded.
A moment later, a Johnny Silverhand was placed in front of her.
She downed the fiery liquid. A smile tugged at her lips.
He wasn't quite Johnny... he couldn't rally the civilians. But getting a bar full of hardened mercs this riled up? That was something Rogue hadn't expected.
The kid... he really does have that charisma.
"What about Michiko?" Crispin asked from behind her.
"Did I break her rules? She said I couldn't be seen involved. But this? They went on their own. Did I order them?" Rogue said without turning around.
"You're being a hooligan," Crispin noted.
"Go fuck yourself," Rogue laughed.
She was in a good mood. Rhys's mess wasn't solved, which was annoying, but... she felt good.
She poured the remaining half of the drink onto the floor.
"Johnny... if you were still alive, you'd love this kid."
Rogue sat in the silence, waiting for news. There was nothing more she could do.
"Hey! Wait!"
A voice called out from the sky. On the rooftop, Rhys turned. The pretty reporter was leaning precariously out of the helicopter.
Selena locked eyes with him, her face glowing with adrenaline. "Run! Take your team and head North! The cops haven't closed the net there yet!"
Rhys blinked. He looked at the WNS logo, then at her press badge. He nodded, offering her a warm smile. "Thanks."
"No..." Selena whispered, watching his smile. "You're welcome."
Rhys turned and sprinted off the roof, immediately patching into the team comms.
He needed to link up with Maine and get out of Night City. Arasaka would be mobilizing everything they had. If they didn't hit the Badlands now, they'd never make it.
"Selena, you... you..." The cameraman next to her was stuttering.
"What?" Selena turned back.
"Are you crazy? If Jim finds out... losing your job is the least of your worries. Breach of contract... you'll be paying for the rest of your life!"
Selena smiled, winking. "The feed was cut. No one knows I warned him. Unless... you're going to tell?"
"..." The cameraman sighed, shaking his head. "If I tell, I go down with you. They won't listen to my explanation."
Selena smiled at him.
"Are you guys forgetting about me?" a voice drifted from the cockpit.
The pilot, an older WNS veteran, turned around with a grin. "Relax. I just hate being ignored. I ain't saying shit."
"That kid... reminds me of back in the day. You know, when the nuke went off in Arasaka Tower? I was dancing right in front of the gates! Got beaten by corpo security for it, too. Fuck 'em."
Rhys moved through the alleys of Japantown, contacting the team. "Maine! What's your twenty?"
"Location? Fuck, we're pinned down!"
"I'm coming to you," Rhys said.
"Don't bother! We're almost clear. Don't worry about us, we're all alive. But Rebecca took some hits. A grenade took off her arm and half her side. But she's still bouncing around. And hey... you didn't tell me you were gonna zero Tanaka! I thought we were just hitting the Claws and Faraday!"
Maine's voice was scolding, but the tone was full of pride.
Rhys worried about Rebecca. She was the most reckless fighter on the team. Injury was just part of the job for her. Good thing we loaded her up with armor plating.
"It was a... sudden development," Rhys laughed.
"Fuck! Can we cut the chatter?!" Kiwi's voice shrieked over the comms, tight with rage. "Because of your 'sudden development,' I can't stay in Night City anymore! Get your ass over here and pick me and Lucy up! We're cut off!"
"Sorry, sorry. Right, we're heading North together," Rhys said, his voice softer.
He treated them differently. Maine, Dorio, Rebecca, Pilar... they didn't care about leaving Night City. Even the natives, Rebecca and Pilar, wouldn't miss it. But Kiwi... she wanted to stay. She was being dragged out of her life because of him.
"Where are we going anyway? Night City is burned. The cops guarding the perimeter are pushing in."
"Chicago? Heard it's even more chaotic than here. Corps have no foothold. With Rhys, we could carve out a nice slice of pie there."
"Don't be a gonk. Let's figure out how to leave the city first. Arasaka agents will be on us any second."
The comms were chaotic, but strangely lighthearted.
They were running for their lives, but... they felt free.
Rhys killing Tanaka? When they heard, their first reaction was—Holy shit, Rhys, you legend!
Second reaction—Fucking righteous!
Only at the very end did they think about the consequences.
Maine's crew, Rhys included... they were the type to act first, enjoy the rush, and deal with the fallout later.
Charter Hill. Luxury Apartment.
Tigress swallowed hard, staring at her computer screen.
"Intel confirmed. Just like Rogue said. Rhys has minimal chrome but combat capabilities rivaling top-tier agents. Boss... you know Rin. Even for me, taking him down is work. Only Moira could handle him easily. He was Arthur Jenkins's top dog in Counter-Intel. A beast."
"But he and another senior agent engaged Rhys... and Rhys flatlined them both. Their bodies were found in an alley." Tigress gestured vaguely. "It was messy."
"What are you saying?" Michiko Arasaka asked, pouting slightly in her high-end suit.
"He's a male, but... we need that combat power. With his potential, he could surpass Adam Smasher."
"I want him too. But he's too hot right now," Michiko sighed.
Did she want Rhys? Of course. Anyone who saw that data would want him. An organic capable of that destruction? Imagine him chromed up.
The higher you climbed, the more paranoid you got. Rhys could be the ultimate bodyguard—the perfect shield and the perfect sword.
But... "The trouble is too big. If he'd just killed Tanaka and kept his mouth shut, I could save him. But that speech? He declared war on every corporation. Saving him now would cost too much political capital. Arasaka combat teams are already in the air. Intercepting them? Too messy."
Michiko spoke plainly to her confidant. "I believe in long-term investment, but an investment that requires massive upfront cost with high risk? That's bad business."
"Sigh..." Tigress slumped.
Suddenly, the TV beside Michiko blared.
"It is 4:25 PM. Currently, a group of mercenaries in Watson are throwing an impromptu street party, blocking NCPD units from pursuing the cyberpsycho Rhys! And in Santo Domingo, another group of mercs has blockaded the police precinct! Damn it, what are these people doing? Are they trying to let a terrorist escape?"
"Terrorist my ass! You corpo mouthpieces think we don't know what's going on?!" A civilian's voice cut into the live feed.
Tigress listened, eyes widening. "He did it. He became the spark. The public's hatred for the corps... he ignited it. Damn. Shame he's going to die."
"..." Michiko went silent.
On the screen, Tigress saw her boss lower her eyes, her head bobbing slightly, her leg bouncing.
Michiko's short hair brushed her cute face, and her eyes... began to shine.
Tigress froze, then grinned. "Boss, you got a plan?"
Michiko had the most brilliant mind for manipulation Tigress had ever seen.
As the daughter of Kei Arasaka—the man who nuked Night City—Michiko had been vilified by America as a child. Japan didn't want her either; Saburo despised her American mother.
Yet, in that desperate situation, Michiko had won over her father's old loyalists and manipulated the media to seize power. She went from 'daughter of a terrorist' to 'victim.' She used her cute appearance to charm America and her intellect to control the narrative.
US citizenship, ties to Militech, guest of the President... and still the leader of Arasaka's Dove faction.
If Michiko was smiling like that... she had a play.
Michiko looked up, her voice soft.
"Take your weapons and your team. Take the combat AV. Get Maine's crew and Rhys. Bring them to me."
"What about the Arasaka agents? We'll run into them."
"Kill them all," Michiko said, waving her hand dismissively.
"Understood." Tigress took a deep breath, nodded, made a call, and left.
Michiko clasped her hands under her chin, smiling at the news feed.
The entire city is resonating with his voice. She knew that sound well.
Humans were herd animals. Loud noises disrupted their thinking; they followed whoever shouted the loudest.
In this situation, with mercs and civilians causing chaos, what would the Night City branch of Arasaka do? They'd do something stupid to save face, hurting the stock price.
But she... she was different.
She could find the best path through the chaos.
She snapped her fingers. "Shoko. Message the head of WNS News. Tell him to meet me. And get some of those idols and influencers on the payroll. I need them to work."
A moment later, a smiley face with black cat ears appeared on her phone screen.
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