Dakota was driving her pickup truck across the Badlands, heading to the Aldecaldo camp with a few capable hands.
Just as she was about to leave, the signal from the Aldecaldo camp suddenly cut off, and there was severe interference. The last message she received was:
Drone attack!
So, she grabbed some additional medicine and weapons, which delayed her for a bit.
However, when she got close to where the Aldecaldo camp used to be...
There was nothing there?
She looked around several times—
There was a tall, abandoned power transmission tower at the Aldecaldo camp. The Braithewaite family had hung solar panels on it to generate electricity.
She looked again and confirmed that the tower standing in the wilderness was indeed the one from her memory.
But then, she got even more confused!
There was absolutely nothing there!
Then she spotted a large man standing under the sun in the Badlands, in the middle of the empty desert, expressionless, standing tall.
This was the Badlands, where the highest temperature could exceed 140°F!
"Brake!"
Dakota's instincts were screaming, and she immediately ordered her men to stop the vehicle.
Screech—
The signal tower's connection was restored, and static buzzed through the car's radio. Soon after, Leo's voice came through:
"Dakota, you've got the right place. Saul and the others have already left. I'll explain the details on the way."
"Alright."
The people in Dakota's convoy breathed a sigh of relief—
Who in their right mind would stand in the Badlands waiting for someone?
How long had Leo been waiting there?
Is he even human?
Some of the nomads started to come up with stories in their heads.
As a fixer, Dakota's car was pretty decent. While it wasn't as powerful as the Wraith's vehicles, it offered a comfortable ride, which was nice.
The handling was also decent, similar to a Mackinaw—at the moment, Leo was driving.
Jackie, being a big guy, took up two seats in the back without saying a word.
Dakota thought to herself: He looks like a simple brute, but if he can stand under the scorching sun in the Badlands like that, his willpower must be immense.
When Dakota finally spoke, Jackie's eyes moved—looking for something to drink.
Dakota said, "So, Saul and the others went to Red Ocher?"
"Yeah—it's not bad over there. But of course, Red Ocher is no longer in the same spot it used to be, I won't forget that detail."
As he spoke, Leo looked around: "Got anything to drink?"
"Under the steering wheel."
Two bottles of water popped out from under the dashboard—crudely filtered water.
In this world, there's hardly any water that isn't polluted. To Leo, polluted water tasted worse than soft drinks—at least, that's how he felt.
But Leo still took a sip despite the urge to gag, then tossed the other bottle to Jackie in the back.
Dakota continued, "I've got a lot of things to discuss with you, one at a time.
First of all, you've caused a huge mess. The nomads in the Night City Badlands are all having a hard time because of you."
"Heh, that doesn't work on me. Let's talk business."
"You don't seem like the kind of merc who finishes the job and walks away. What's your plan?"
"Simple. Militech thinks they've already conquered the Badlands. Let's remind them. How many nomads are around Night City?"
Dakota closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, feeling a bit dizzy.
"Going up against a corporation never ends well. You're leading them to their deaths."
"Don't you think that sounds a bit contradictory? If they don't want to oppose the corporations, why even be nomads? You've been a fixer too long, your mind's getting foggy?"
"Watch your tone, Burger King," Dakota said sharply. "The nomads aren't going to follow you into reckless chaos."
"You're just a fixer; you don't get to decide that. There's always someone willing to do a job that pays—
Speaking of money, did you get that stuff I asked you to sell to Dogtown? Nobody's come after me, right? Don't get too cocky just because you're a fixer."
"No one talks to me like that."
Leo laughed.
"In Night City, no one talks to me like that either—want me to tell you what happens to the people who do?"
He looked arrogant.
Maybe, in the game, Dakota came across as a respected figure, someone not worth provoking.
But Leo had to act cocky.
Dakota had distanced herself from the nomads for too long.
Saul might still be hesitating about siding with a corporation, and he'd been criticized for it multiple times.
But Dakota had been working with them as a fixer for a long, long time.
Dakota was a nomad-turned-fixer, formerly a nomad but now affiliated with no tribe. At best, she was just a fixer living like a nomad.
And if she truly still cared for the tribe, if she still considered herself a nomad, she wouldn't hold a grudge against Leo for this.
Just like how Saul got into arguments with people in the tribe every day, but no one in the family would ever stop following his orders because of it.
On the flip side, interacting closely with the corporations and Night City could subtly change a person's outlook. A fixer who dealt with mercs and corporations daily but still wanted to talk like a tribe elder?
This kind of straightforward, confrontational communication was how nomads truly behaved, and it was also the demeanor expected from Night City's top mercenaries. It could help Dakota clearly understand her role in both spheres.
As a nomad, Leo had sold medicine at a low price to save a group of people, fought for justice for Red Ocher, and now helped the Bright family fend off an attack.
As long as the nomads didn't try to suck up to the corporations, resolving their crises would largely depend on Leo.
As a fixer, keep things straightforward, don't get caught up in formalities and rank.
If you don't like it, draw your gun and end the cooperation—but are you sure you want to do that?
The last fixer who was that arrogant had their ashes scattered to the wind.
So, would Dakota see herself as a nomad or a fixer?
Clearly, Leo was reminding her of the former.
Dakota paused, then looked deeply at Leo. "Fine, let's talk business.
I sent your goods to Dogtown, just like you guessed. They're selling well, and the buyer is very interested in you."
A small line of text appeared in Leo's vision:
Transfer: 120,000 eddies.
Account balance: 135,648 eddies.
The fixer's cut was quite hefty, Leo thought to himself.
"Nice, pleasure doing business."
Leo didn't doubt that Dakota would skim off the top, and Dakota's expression softened a bit. "Back to the main point. I used some methods. Militech plans to cut off all access for nomads within the next month. The other corporations don't seem to mind, so it looks like they're tacitly agreeing."
"How long is 'soon'?"
"One month."
"So, that means we've got one month left—what about the Maelstrom situation?"
"Hard to say. They've suddenly gotten their hands on a lot of gear."
"Perfect—we're short on gear. My people and Saul's are already looking for more, and we just captured one of their guys.
Let's see if we can get anything useful out of his head."
"You want... to directly attack Maelstrom?"
Leo nodded. "Militech doesn't have enough boots on the ground here; otherwise, they wouldn't need to sponsor Maelstrom."
Dakota thought about this and slowly said, "But have you considered, Militech might have anticipated that? They could use the Maelstrom camp as bait."
The nomads weren't very strong, and there weren't many who could fight, especially with families to look after.
Given the recent supply issues, it was only natural that Militech would guard against these crazed outlaws attacking Maelstrom to buy themselves some time.
Since they weren't strong enough, it was time to strengthen them.
"So we'll need to boost our strength first—I've got a plan.
Whether or not Maelstrom's camp is bait, we need more power, so we'll have to rob someone rich.
Give me the fence's number in Dogtown. I'll negotiate directly, and you get in touch with the rest of the nomads.
Tell them—the time to strike is coming soon."
"But... who are we robbing?"
Yeah, who to rob?
The Badlands wasn't exactly full of riches, after all. You couldn't just decide to rob someone and go for it.
But Leo had been thinking about the tuition he'd paid at the Valley District for a while.
Martin hadn't just taught him how to override gene drives; he also gave him a "treasure map."
"Don't worry, I've got an idea. You'll find out soon enough—just finish what you're doing for now."