Gearbound: Cyberpunk 2077

2-in-1-chapter

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Carole responded without hesitation, "We should attack immediately, the sooner the better. We all know exactly what kind of scum the Raffen Shiv are. They'll strip our people for cyberware and organs, selling them off to the black markets in the city. As for Saul, they'll keep him for last, but that will absolutely not be a good thing for him."

"Attack the Raffen Shiv camp head-on? You…"

Leo's eyes moved slowly across Carrol, Teddy, and Cassidy's faces, seeing that they were serious and not joking.

He shook his head and said plainly, "That's suicide."

The Aldecaldos weren't as strong as the Raffen Shiv. Panam had told him this in private before. They refused to do just anything for money like the Raffen Shiv did, which meant they weren't nearly as wealthy.

Without money, they couldn't get better gear—Leo didn't even need Panam to tell him that. He had already learned this himself after having Vik give every Aldecaldo member he recruited a full medical scan. Every single one of them, including Panam, Mitch, and Scorpion, either used black-market cyberware or outdated junk that had been obsolete for years. And those were the lucky ones. The rest of the Aldecaldos had even worse.

If their cyberware was inferior to the Raffen Shiv's, and their weapons were also worse, then going for a frontal assault on a Raffen Shiv camp could only end one way—in death.

"I think the same," Teddy said, taking a long drag of his cigarette. "They have better gear than us, plus heavy weapons. We'd be walking to our deaths."

Carole shot him a glare. "Then what's your brilliant idea?"

"We can't go head-to-head with them. We need to infiltrate, find Saul and the others, and get out."

"Infiltrate? You think it's that easy? We don't know where their sentries are, we don't know their patrol routes, and most importantly, we don't know where Saul is being held. How exactly do we rescue him? Do you think the Raffen Shiv are blind? Or deaf?"

"It's still better than charging straight into their guns. And if we don't try, we'll never know if it could work. Between that and running into their barrels, I'd take my chances on this."

Seeing the two of them about to get into a shouting match, Leo stepped forward and placed himself between them.

"Enough. Both of you, stop."

The Raffen Shiv hadn't even attacked yet, and they were already about to start fighting among themselves. That was unacceptable.

Carole gave Teddy one last glare but respected Leo enough to hold her tongue. Teddy stayed quiet as well.

The truth was, Teddy's infiltration plan didn't hold water either—just as Carole had pointed out. They had no intel on the Raffen Shiv's positions, no idea where Saul was, and no contingency plan for what to do if they were spotted. From Leo's perspective, Teddy's plan was about as likely to succeed as Carrol's frontal assault—meaning almost not at all.

And if they failed, the Raffen Shiv would only tighten security around the camp, making any second attempt—whether by assault or infiltration—far more difficult.

After separating them, Leo thought for a moment before speaking to Carrol.

"Tell me where the Raffen Shiv camp is."

Carole turned her laptop around and pointed to the screen. "They're holed up in an abandoned cement plant and they've got plenty of heavy weapons. They're like locusts—wherever they go, they strip everything clean and move on."

"They've mounted an automated turret on one of the buildings. No idea where they got it."

"That alone tells us something—they're not planning to move on quickly like they usually do. They intend to stay here for a while. The reason isn't certain, but it could have something to do with Saul."

Leo studied the footage on the laptop. The plant covered a large area, with perimeter walls, multiple structures, and a complex layout. Even from the drone footage, there were clearly dozens of Raffen Shiv visible—and that was without counting those inside.

They had the turret, heavy machine guns, and grenade launchers. That kind of firepower was far beyond what typical wasteland road bandits carried.

"How many of them are there in the plant?"

"At least three hundred, maybe more."

"You're not certain?"

"We can only estimate based on what the drone's picked up."

Leo stayed silent for a moment. At least three hundred enemies, plus an automated turret, heavy machine guns, and grenade launchers. The walls, structures, and terrain gave them excellent defensive positions.

Even a corporate security team would take heavy losses trying to storm a base like that with infantry alone.

War favored those with the better equipment, and the Aldecaldos didn't even have parity with the Raffen Shiv, much less an advantage. How could they mount an assault?

Such a gap in firepower couldn't be erased by willpower or the desire to save Saul. With that clear in his mind, Leo was certain: if the Aldecaldos tried to attack head-on as Carole wanted, they would lose half their people, maybe more—and still fail to save Saul.

"This won't work. You'll lose people. A lot of people."

The disappointment in Carole and Teddy's eyes was obvious.

"Mr. Leo, you're not suggesting we give up on Saul, are you? He may have said before to treat him like anyone else in the Aldecaldos, but he's still our leader. We can't just abandon him."

"You all need to calm down first. The boss isn't going to do what you think."

Mitch stepped forward to speak on Leo's behalf.

He didn't believe Leo had come here to tell them to give up on rescuing Saul; if that were the case, there would have been no point in him making the trip to the Aldecaldo camp at all. Mitch was certain Leo had another plan—something better.

Scorpion didn't speak, but he stood silently behind Leo, making his stance clear without words.

Panam, however, was far more direct.

"Damn it, has the wind and sand out here fried your brains? The boss isn't one of the Aldecaldos—this has nothing to do with him—but he still came. If he came here just to tell you to give up on Saul, then what the hell is he even here for? That'd be like dropping your pants to fart!"

"Carol, you're giving orders in Saul's place right now. If Saul knew you were about to take the family he's fought so hard to protect and shove them straight into the muzzles of the Raffen Shiv, what do you think he'd make of that?"

"Teddy, do we look like James Bond or Solid Snake to you? If we had the ability to sneak into the Raffen Shiv base, snatch Saul and the others out without raising any alarms, then why would we even leave? We'd just wipe them all out and be done with it."

While Panam flared up like an angry cat, Mitch leaned toward Scorpion and muttered, "Since when does Panam think ahead like this?"

"I don't think she's incapable," Scorpion replied quietly. "She just doesn't usually bother. But when it comes to priorities and knowing right from wrong, she's sharp enough."

Panam turned and glared at them. "What are you two whispering about?"

"Nothing, nothing," Mitch said quickly.

"We were just saying you put it perfectly. We could never match your way with words."

Carol and Teddy both looked sour after Panam's outburst, but they couldn't deny she was right. Their faces were flushed, yet neither argued further.

Leo patted Panam's shoulder to calm her, then stepped forward.

"I'm not here to tell you to forget about Saul. I'm saying your current plan won't work. If you follow it, you won't just fail to save Saul—you'll lose a lot of people for nothing. That's needless sacrifice."

He paused, then added, "If you want to get Saul back, you'll have to follow my lead."

Cassidy, the old cowboy, flicked the last stub of his cigarette to the ground.

"Alright, let's hear it, Mr. Leo. If it'll get Saul back, we'll follow your orders."

With Cassidy on board, Carol, Teddy, and Bob each nodded in agreement.

"Good. First, we need to scout the cement plant the Raffen Shiv are holed up in. Drone recon isn't enough—I need to see it for myself."

Drones could only show so much. If he could get closer, Leo's tactical goggles could gather far more information.

"I'll go with you," Carol said immediately.

"Me too," Teddy added.

Cassidy straightened. "I might be old, but I can still hold my own. Dropping a few Raffen Shiv won't be a problem."

Finally Bob spoke up. "Count me in as well."

Seeing their eagerness, Leo waved a hand.

"No need for that many people. I only need one of you who knows where the Raffen Shiv base is." Seeing their confusion, he explained, "The Aldecaldos trust you. While Saul's gone, you need to protect them. Don't let Saul down, and don't let down the people who've put their faith in you."

His words hit exactly where they lived, lifting their opinion of him several notches.

After a brief discussion, they settled on Bob. "Bob should go—he can handle the drones."

"Alright, Bob, you're with me. Panam, you drive. As for the rest of you," Leo turned to the companions who had come with him, "stay here at the Aldecaldo camp. See if they need help with anything, and post extra sentries. The Raffen Shiv may try to hit you while we're away."

Carol still couldn't help speaking up. "The Raffen Shiv don't know where our camp is."

Leo shook his head. "That was before. Now that some of your people are in their hands, there's a chance they do."

Carol's expression hardened. "The Aldecaldos don't have cowards."

"I know," Leo replied evenly. "That's not what I meant. But out here in the Badlands, you may be underestimating how fast tech has advanced. Once they jack a datacable into your neural port, any halfway competent netrunner can pull the location of this camp right out of your neural link."

Maybe Saul's cyberware had enough protection to block them, but most Aldecaldo neural links didn't.

Unless those captured died fighting before they could be taken, the Raffen Shiv would eventually extract the camp's location.

This had nothing to do with willpower—just the reality of tech and the people willing to use it.

Carol's anger faded, replaced by tension and unease. "Then we'd better move fast. I don't know how long Saul can hold out."

"Exactly," Leo said. "Which is why we leave now."

...............

.....

.

Leo, Panam, and Bob climbed into the armored SUV Leo had brought. Panam took the wheel, Leo sat in the passenger seat, and Bob settled into the back.

The Badlands landscape stretched endlessly—sand and more sand, nothing different to the naked eye.

The Raffen Shiv's cement plant base was about two hours from the Aldecaldo camp.

No one spoke on the drive, the air inside the vehicle heavy and silent.

After a little over an hour on the road, with less than an hour left to their destination, Panam finally broke the silence.

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