"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey."
Only after spitting several times did Jack feel the bloody taste in his mouth fade somewhat. His gaze swept over the now-quiet battlefield, littered with the corpses of mercenaries and attackers, then shifted to the Arasaka Security personnel who had only slowly driven over after the battle was over. He curled his lip in displeasure. "We've already finished fighting, and only now are they coming over. They might as well have 'you're just expendable cannon fodder testing the danger' written all over their faces."
"What else did you expect? That's just how Corpo Dogs are. Jack, don't move around. You've got quite a few bullets lodged in you. None of them hit anything vital, but if they aren't treated properly, they could leave lasting problems."
Oliver used alcohol-swabbed tweezers and a scalpel to treat Jack's wounds. Once he was done with Jack, he still had to tend to the other mercenaries. They had fought through a battle together, after all. He couldn't just watch them lie injured and wait to die.
"Can't you just give me a shot of Re-Con or Full Cure? You've still got some left, don't you? Wouldn't that heal me faster?"
Jack bared his teeth as numbness and pain spread through his body. It wasn't that he couldn't endure pain—it was just unbearably itchy. As Oliver treated his wounds, he explained.
"Those things promote your cells to heal directly. If the wounds close too fast, the bullets might stay inside and cause secondary damage. We need to remove them first. Besides, I already used all my remaining stock to stabilize the heavily injured mercenaries."
"You're being this kindhearted?"
Jack gave Oliver a sidelong glance. "Doesn't seem like your style."
"No haggling. One hundred eddies per dose."
"Never mind, then."
In truth, Jack knew Oliver was mostly acting out of kindness. When it came to saving a life, let alone a hundred eddies, mercenaries would probably pay a thousand, even ten thousand, for a teammate who might otherwise die. They were all mercenaries who had made a name for themselves, and there was some bond between companions. From a team perspective, spending money to preserve fighting strength was the most rational choice possible, especially when it only cost a hundred eddies.
Oliver probably just didn't want the other mercenaries to feel indebted to him, so he charged a hundred eddies in the name of payment.
"Quite the compassionate doctor."
Carl returned after clearing part of the battlefield. She had gone to check the third floor where the sniper had been and found only a shattered Kitsune Sniper Rifle and broken helmet exoskeleton. The sniper himself had fled at some point. It seemed Carl's shot had not killed him.
As for when he had escaped, Carl wasn't sure. After the mercenaries launched their counterattack, they had wiped out the attackers in no time. There had only been that brief window to run.
The attackers had been counted as well. Aside from an unknown number who had escaped, there were twenty-one bodies in the apartment building, cut down by the mercenaries.
Every attacker had carried a Shingen Smart Submachine Gun, but before the mercenaries could seize them, the attackers had destroyed nearly every gun themselves using locking programs or grenades. As far as spoils went, they had come away empty-handed.
Twenty-one attackers had taken thirteen lives from the twenty-seven mercenaries and left four more seriously wounded. Meanwhile, the thirty-seven Arasaka Security personnel—the largest group—were not only unharmed, but had not even dirtied their clothes.
"Half of them are gone just like that."
Maine walked over with a sigh. He felt some sorrow for his fellow mercenaries, but he was also quietly glad that he had followed Carl on this mission. If he hadn't, he might have been among the dead.
Or rather, if Carl had not taken down the sniper in that insane exchange of fire, every one of those mercenaries might have ended up lying here.
"They were all capable men. What a waste."
Jack felt a little like a rabbit mourning a dead fox. Which of those thirteen mercenaries had weapons and cyberware inferior to theirs? Jack and the others had simply been luckier—not locked onto by the rocket launchers from the start, not singled out by the sniper during the later attacks. They had survived through sheer luck.
"Only those of us who survived have the right to mourn them."
As Carl spoke, she noticed that after arriving, the Arasaka Security personnel had actually begun driving away the mercenaries who had just fought for their lives, clearing the road so their convoy could pass.
"Fuck, did they treat us like disposable padding? The road ahead hasn't even been cleared, and they're already this desperate to leave?"
Maine immediately started cursing. "If I ever take another job from a Corpo Dog, I'm a fucking idiot."
"I'm more concerned about something else."
Oliver watched the injured mercenaries, barely able to stand, get roughly shoved to the ground by Arasaka Security. His expression was terrifyingly dark.
"How much money did those fixers skim off us for these Corpo Dogs to dare treat us like this?"
Oliver felt that the price of risking their lives seemed a little off.
"Probably a lot. But judging by their attitude, even if they hadn't been paid much, they'd probably still dare treat us this way."
Carl said, "Corpo Dogs get paid to do a job, but some of them probably don't even understand how much money gets them how much work."
"So Corpo Dogs have ranks now? That works too."
"Why else do you think dogs of different colors can be ranked into classes? Even dogs care about pedigree."
"Are you talking about real dogs or Corpo Dogs?"
"Is there a difference?"
Carl stared at the slowly approaching Guinevere. "Either way, it's all about color and bloodline."
"Oh, right."
As if remembering something, Carl tossed the Shingen Smart Submachine Gun from her waist to Oliver. "I recovered two Saratoga Submachine Guns before. I gave one to Jack, and I modified the other myself. I never gave you one. Consider this making up for it."
"Didn't I say before that I wanted a sniper rifle more? Forget it. It's not like I have any other gun to use now."
Oliver still couldn't let go of his 'fallen' SOR-22. Jack, who had just had the last bullet removed from his body by Oliver, chuckled and patted his shoulder with a broad hand.
"Don't worry, brother. You'll get one eventually. You'll get another one eventually."
"True."
Oliver sighed. "But first, we have to survive this mission."
He watched the Arasaka Security personnel skillfully begin clearing the obstacles, his mood growing heavy.
This mission had only just begun.
Carl checked the time.
Of the two-hour time limit, half an hour had already passed. They had one hour and thirty minutes left to deliver the target before time ran out.
Guinevere drove past them. Carl seemed to sense something and looked toward the vehicle, but all she saw was its gleaming silver body.
An illusion?
When Carl turned away, the person inside the vehicle withdrew their gaze as well.
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