Entering the observation gallery, I sat down in a chair and lit a cigarette. With each
exhalation, not only tobacco smoke came out of me, but also stress. Finally, many things
became clear. Answers were found. Even if not all of them added pleasant moments, the
main thing is that they are there.Unleashing the tongues of all our prisoners was not an easy job.
But there is always a weak link. And that weak link turned out to be Kiwi.It turned out to be much easier to break this cowardly creature than her apprentice
or Chester Bennett. Only a few days of light torture, forced interrogations and
work through the network and voila, she began to speak. But Lucy and Bennet turned out to be strong
pebbles.If in Bennett's case, I believed that it was thanks to his life
experience and character. But in Lucy's case, everything was connected with hatred. She hated
Arasaka with every fiber of her soul and was ready to do a lot to harm megacorp.
She didn't forget that she was deprived of her childhood, she didn't forget that she was the only one who was able
to break free and escape, she didn't forget that every day she woke up with a feeling of
fear of being caught.The pebble that broke Lucy's resistance was not torture
or threats, but her teacher's betrayal. When she was shown a recording
of Kiwi telling everything, including some points that she had been withholding, even the girl was broken from her
.And Kiwi told me a lot. A lot. Too much.Behind the attack on Yerinobu were the ears of the Alt Cunningham. She no
longer had the opportunity to carry out military operations after we
knocked out the Voodooists and did not give her a break, continuing to pursue. But
espionage and other methods of gathering information were still with her. Thanks to them
, she found powerful dirt on Kiwi and forced her to become her slave and replace the
Brigitte as an obedient executor.And with Bennett, everything was even more fun. This sadistic and bastard
began to be burdened by working for Colonel Kurt Hansen and wanted to become the leader of Barghest
and Dogtown. On the hook of ambition, he was caught by the Arasaka people, or rather, introduced
to the faction of Michiko Arasaki, which had extensive connections among the mercenaries. He
was offered to seize power with the covert support of Arasaki when the colonel died.
And so, a few weeks before Gloria and Jeremiah's wedding, Kivi,
posing as an envoy from Michiko, Arasaki, offered to participate in the capture of
her uncle, Yerinobu Arasaki. Bennett was shocked by this. Attacking the heir to the
mega-corp was almost a ticket to the afterlife. But Kiwi was able to show that it was
all part of an intra-factional struggle. Michiko wanted to weaken her uncle, who had become too dangerous in the wake of
success. And so a slight injury and the very fact that he
was captured would cause such damage to his reputation that the balance of power would become more equal.Chester Bennett was not a complete idiot and did not want to get involved in this
frank, stinking affair. But where persuasion and guarantees did not work, blackmail helped
, and Chester, gritting his teeth, agreed, because he knew that if Colonel Hansen found out about his
flirtations with Arasaka, then his corpse would be hanging from
a lamppost.Sweetened the pill with the fact that even if, with the opposition of two
factions to the investigation, Yerinobu gets on the trail of Barghest, then you can throw
all the blame on the colonel. And his fighters, despite all their coolness, will not want to fight with an
entire megacorporation. And an alliance with Militech is impossible because of shitty relations and
the past, and the fact that no one likes traitors, and especially megacorps. A quick
coup, the colonel will either kill or simply disappear, and then Bennett will become
in charge, make peace with Arasaka, going under the wing of Michiko Arasaka. Delirium and fantasy. But
the jackpot. It was worth it in the eyes of the trio. Freedom from the noose for Kiwi. Power for
Bennett. Revenge for Lucy.Everything was mixed up here. The madness of cornered rats, greed
for power, and hatred. And behind it all was Alt, who wanted to destroy
Arasaka with the help of a civil war that would break out in the event of Yerinobu's death
and take revenge for everything.Yerinobu entered the gallery, who immediately went to the bar and
took out a bottle and took a big sip. And then he threw it against the wall.- Did it feel better? - I asked him and let out a ring of smoke.-No. Yerinobu replied and sat down in his chair with a sigh.- We walked on the very edge. Everything was done on pure risk
and she almost succeeded. Shit. Only now did it dawn on me that we were
facing a very clever and dangerous enemy, not just a powerful AI. Yerinobu
continued, rubbing his face.-Yes. Everything was on the verge. But we still escaped from this
trap. What are you going to do with them?" I got up and looked down where the prisoners were sitting in
special boxes.- Kiwi is an intriguer. You can't trust such a one. You can use it.
But it's better not to. Worse than a snake to bite anyone if it feels
danger or benefit. So only death."I'm not surprised. Back in the days of
the shadow operative and solo, I wanted to stick a knife in her cunning face. And with Bennett?"It's complicated here. As much as I don't want to
just shoot him and send his head to the colonel with a note saying that I need to
take better care of my dogs, I'll try to make him my dog. Even
shit can be used for your own benefit by simply throwing it into your opponent's soup."
Yerinobu grinned at the last sentence."And what about Lucy?"-Hmm. You can't force such a person to serve. Hatred is too strong.
But you don't want to lose such a useful toy either. She's a good netrunner. Too
good to just put against the wall and shoot."Brainwashing?" He stared at Yerinobu.-Yes. A living weapon. If my father has Adam, then I
will have her. Kiwi has prepared her well, and now I will make the perfect
weapon out of her.-Risky. But seeing how tightly I hold Smasher
by the balls, I think it's worth it."I hope you don't have any problems with that?" Yerinobu asked
and headed for the bar.-M? No. Kowalski learned once again that rose-colored glasses
always break with the glass inside. A useful, if painful, lesson. And his mother, when she
finds out what happened, will be able to straighten his brains, well, or simply
justify that she never liked Lucy and that her mother did not raise her
eaglet for chickens. Yerinobu and I laughed in the end.I walked over to the bar and pointed to a bottle of whiskey. Yerinobu
took it out and poured it into two glasses.- For victory."And let it not be the last!"