Mark my words: Another war is on its way.
Summary
Almost one year ago FIA agents and a mercenary known as V infiltrated the EBM Petrochem Stadium by stealing the identities of two Netrunners. Their mission: To bring back a rogue agent named Song So Mi, also known as Songbird. She had made a deal with Kurt Hansen to escape from her former employer - Rosalinde Myers, President of the New United States of America -but everything went anything but as planned.
The timing was right and Myers decided to take this opportunity and the agents on site to kill two birds with one stone. Cutting of loose ends on her intelligence and get rid of a person, who had been a thorn in her side for many years.
And she almost succeeded.
Game choices influencing the story
Run This Town: Jago and Bennett had a reason to work together. Mr. Hands therefore did not interfere
Canon Phantom Liberty Ending: King of Wands
Canon Main Game Ending: The Star
The door slid open quietly and Jago entered the room, that the Colonel had made his personal office in the Sapphire. It was a shell, like almost all the other rooms in the upper part of the tall building. It was also not an office as one would imagine or as one knew it from the city and the Corpo building complexes. The room was very spacious and took up almost an entire level of the Sapphire tower, as the partition walls had not yet been installed at the time of construction. The furnishings were spartan. A large table was the centerpiece, surrounded by a few chairs, a variety of technology for all possible purposes, most of them military, transport crates, seating for internal meetings and a wall on which various types of weapons were displayed. Surely this should have been a conference room at some point, which could have been booked for presentations or opulent corporate events, if the hotel ever been completed. The room surely missed it‘s intended purpose but it surely became a place of power.
In the past, the Colonel hadn't spent too much time here as his duties usually kept him busy at the stadium. However, this was no longer necessary, or rather possible at the moment.
„Good morning, Colonel.“
Jago paused, his tablet tucked under his arm, and waited near the door. As he did almost every morning, the accountant came to Hansen to keep him up to date with current events and business and, of course, to take his orders and requests for the day.
Since the attack in the stadium, Jago had temporarily taken matters into his own hands as best he could. He continued to take care of the books, ensured payments were made and received on time, organized meetings with business partners and clients, and still tried to work his way through the Colonel‘s endless list of contacts so they could keep to the usual schedule. Even though he would like to claim that he managed all of this on his own, he had to admit to himself, that without Bennett's help, this whole endeavor would be a very difficult one. The Lieutenant Colonel had the soldiers of Barghest firmly under control and took care of all matters where military handling was an advantage. Transportation, security in Dogtown, new recruits, expansion of the trade routes - these and similar tasks fell to Bennett. And to Jagos surprise, he fulfilled these tasks without hesitation. Of course not very elegantly or with the necessary sensitivity, but at least he delivered results.
Although they had always disliked each other, and it did not change during their collaboration at all, they were now united by the respect and trust they had for Hansen and did not want to break under any circumstances. The business had to go on and the cover had to remain intact.
The cover - A strange request that Hansen had imposed on Jago. Several days of worrying, hoping and waiting had passed before the Colonel regained consciousness after the attack and had a task for his confidant. Not to take revenge for the betrayal of Songbird or the attempted murder of Myers agent. No, he wanted them to let the world believe that Kurt Hansen had died. The accountant was unsure at first whether he even knew what he was saying or whether he was dazed and confused from all the painkillers. But he insisted. It's hard to believe the Colonel would admit to a mistake, but he wouldn't be broken by it. Quite the opposite. He would use it to his advantage.
How exactly, he didn't want to tell Jago, much to his regret, a least not yet. And if there was one thing the young man couldn't stand, it was not being involved in important issues and not beeing informed.
But he obeyed, like he always did.
What mattered was that the President and anyone else who might be interested in it thought he was dead. Even within Barghest, only a select circle of persons in leading positions knew of the Colonel‘s whereabouts.
It was sometimes very difficult to hide a prominent face like his in the small area of Dogtown where they did their business, but otherwise it would have been far too unsafe. Something could slip out, just one wrong word and the rumors would spread like wildfire.
The secrecy gave him the opportunity to plan his next steps in peace. At least that was the answer Kurt always gave him when Jago tried to find out more about what was going on inside of his head.
As instructed, Jago invented an alibi. He faked a surveillance video of an unknown perpetrator who gains access to the clinic and kills the defenseless Colonel. The accountant deliberately left open who the killer was or why he did it. The video then found its way into a not very tightly secured area on the subnet from where it would spread quickly and people would waste their time speculating. A very bold move, but to his surprise the bait was taken.
The next step was the funeral. An open casket with a fake corpse, many important people were invited and the members of the militia would have no reason to believe their leader was still alive.
Everything ran like clockwork and losses in the business were almost non-existent despite the reorganization. Just like many days and nights when Jago couldn't sleep even a tiny bit. It was an extremely challenging time, but in the end it was worth all the effort. After months of recovery the Colonel was very pleased to see, that his trust in him had not been in vain. He slowly started getting back to his tasks himself, taking care of the important decision and managing the business from behind the scenes. Jago and Bennett thus continued to serve as the executive forces.
The sun was still fighting its way through the thick morning fog in Dogtown, so it was quite dark despite the large windows on the other side of the room. Kurt stood behind the large table , hands clasped behind his back, looking down at the already busy streets. He slowly but steadily getting back to his old strength, but it was obvious that he had been confined to bed for many months.
He did not respond to his accountants greeting.
„Alright…“, Jago added more silently, slightly annoyed and made his way across the room to the big table.
He‘d known Kurt for almost seven years now and had probably gotten to know all of the temperamental man's moods during their close collaboration. However, this excessive brooding was new and Jago didn't quite know how to deal with it yet.
„We don't have too much to discuss today. Yesterday's inventory list of the delivery would be the first thing. Everything has been unloaded, sorted and the necessary items prepared for onward transportation. Unfortunately, it arrived incomplete. For the second time. We need to take care of this, it’s unacceptable. However, it will be difficult to find someone else from the region who can work with us.“ He paused, looked over to the Colonel to see if he was listening at all, but decided to continue.
„The second topic would be the balance sheet for the last month and we have ...ehh,“ he quickly switched through his files.
„Ah, here it is. Six new large orders since yesterday evening. There is nothing exceptionally difficult to obtain except for two types of vehicles I am not sure who to contact for. But surely you‘ll have someone in mind for that.“
Jago's gaze again wandered from the tablet in his hands to the man across the table. He was still standing motionless by the window, looking down at the streets of Dogtown.
He hesitated and stepped on the spot.
„Should I … just leave the documents here for you? Or come back later? We don‘t have to discuss all of that now if the timing doesn‘t suit you.“
No response.
„Kurt?“, he asked, now with a little more vigor in his voice.
The Colonel tilted his head slightly, but otherwise remained motionless.
„Do you know who Garmr is, Jago?“
Silence. Jago was confused and hat to sort himself out first. Then he cleared his throat.
„No, I‘m sorry. That doesn’t ring a bell, I am afraid.“
Kurt calmly continued.
„He‘s a creature of the nordic myths. Described as a bloodstained dog, caught in chains, doomed to guard the gates of the underworld. At the end of time, when the world as it was comes to an end and a new era dawns, he fights side by side with the giants, in the all-important battle against the gods and kills one of them.“
Jago still tried to follow up. He really hadn't expected that change of subjects from business to one of Kurt’s ominous comparisons.
„You‘re into vintage literature now? That‘s new.“ A joke, of course.
„No.“ Kurt slowly turned away from the window, arms still folded behind his back and made his way around the table, his cold gaze finally met with his accountant.
„It's more of a metaphor.“
Jago remembered the time when he had met the Colonel. At first, he found his presence admittedly intimidating, even though he had worked with many people from Night City's underground before that. He had also never really been able to put into words exactly what had triggered this feeling in him. His charisma, his background, knowing what the man was capable of? In the meantime, however, the two men met at eye level and respected each other. Actually after all that happened, more then ever.
It seemed as if the wrinkle between his brows was getting deeper by the day, but something else immediately caught Jago's eye. The long scar that stretched across Kurt‘s throat and down to his chest where one of the attacks of the agent hit him. The accountant would need some more time getting used to that sight.
Terrible and gruesome things always had been part of Jago‘s life. He’d seen more of it than other men his age would probably see in their entire life and he was more or less used to it. He was the first who entered the bar in the stadium, after the security system was hacked and chaos broke loose. Bennett should have been there with the Colonel all the time, but it seemed something else needed his attention before Songbird turned on them. After Hansen remained silent over the situation and no orders where given, he already suspected something went wrong and he went to see what happened at the meeting with the Netrunners.
The agent of the FIA had left a massacre. He‘d never forget that stench of iron in the air and the trails of blood running across the floor. Murphy sadly didn’t make it, alongside all the other soldiers who had been there at the time.
For him, it was still a miracle that Farida had managed to save the Colonels life. She had surpassed herself, but also pointed out, that the military armor he still had installed from his days at Militech, had taken a lot of the impact. Without it, he would undoubtedly have died on the operating table.
A bloodstained dog fighting against gods? Various thoughts flashed through his mind. And none of them appealed to him. Not at all.
„What would you do with the supplier? The one from the incomplete delivery?“, Kurt asked him, changing the subject back to business.
Jago tried to shake off his thoughts to concentrate on the important matters again.
„Well, we certainly have different options. We could first look for -“
„I don‘t want any options, Jago. I want an answer from you.“
The Colonel was now standing right next to him, looking at him intently. He did not bat an eye. Cold and appraising.
That was another thing Jago had to get used to. Of course, Hansen had often asked him for his opinion before. Not that he really needed it, but he appreciated his view on things because he often thought differently due to his position and abilities.
But these were no longer simple questions. These were lots of little tests that Jago had to pass. For what exactly? He couldn't say for sure at the moment. In any case, Hansen wanted him to prove his abilities as a leader and that he will still able to make decisions in his own interest.
„I would finish off the head of the group. One of the men in his crew seems more reliable to me. Maybe even malleable. I had a few words with him yesterday and the morale within the group is probably at a low point too. Maybe I can persuade him to give his superior a bullet to the head himself. With the prospect of a profitable collaboration.“
The Colonel nodded.
„Sounds reasonable. Promise him a bonus if he does it today. I don't want us to lose any more time and money because of these fucking amateurs. And I hope that other guy is aware of who he‘s working with.“
Jago nodded approving „All right. I'll take care of it immediately after we‘re done here."
"Actually, you can take care of it without further ado."
Hansen held out his hand to Jago, expecting him to hand over the tablet.
"Thanks for the update, I'll take a look at the sheet and the list of orders later. You can go now. I need to make a few calls through out he day."
"Anything I might be able to assist with?" Making calls was not exactly an activity a dead man would pursue. Jago had the feeling that the time of waiting for answers was slowly coming to an end.
The corners of the Colonel‘s mouth twitched.
"No, you've got enough to do already. It's just a few friends from the past. I think I can manage that by myself.“
Jago passed him the tablet wordlessly and nodded as a sign that he had understood.
Kurt took it, but immediately put it down on the large table next to him and made his way back to the large windows.
The accountant also slowly walked back to the door, but turned around just before he got there. It was probably in vain, but he couldn't help but ask in the hope of finally being included in the Colonel‘s plans.
„Some friends. Giants, maybe? Like the ones in your stories?“
Hansen laughed lightly but didn’t turn around.
„We’ll talk later, Jago. Go now.“
He paused for a moment, looked at the man on the other side of the room but then went on his way. He indeed had a lot of work to do.
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