Wellsprings

  October 30th

  2069

  “Sorry about that deary,” said Ophelia.

  “Right…” Despite not believing a word coming from the bitch after what just happened, Sophie soldiered on. “So, can you tell me why I’m here? Otherwise I think I’ll be taking my leave. You’ve wasted enough of my time already.”

  “Ah! Ophy, you haven’t told her why we invited her here?” Benjamin turned to his wife, questioning her.

  “Well Benji, if you hadn’t made such a fool out of yourself I would have explained everything already.” The woman snapped. She turned back to Sophie. “We called you here today mostly to thank you.”

  “To thank me? I’m sorry but I’ve never met you, let alone done something deserving of thanks.” In fact, I really wish I’d never met you.

  “Ah! Don’t say that! Just a week ago, you rescued our precious daughter!” Ophelia replied.

  “Your daughter?” Sophie questioned, casting her mind back. The only gig I’ve done recently was the one for Padre…Hmm, Ophelia mentioned Lily earlier. Is that their daughter? I don’t know who that is though…

  She looked at the pair, who seemed to have sparkles in their eyes as they looked at her. Eyes…Eyes? Oh! The blue eyed girl! Wait, aren’t their eyes implants!? Do they have real eyes making sparkles!?

  “Is your daughter that girl with big blue eyes?” She voiced her suspicions, though she was already 99% certain. The way the couple seemed to light up confirmed her guess, even before Benjamin started speaking.

  “That’s right! If it weren’t for you, our poor baby might have gotten hurt! If only she didn’t decide to go for a walk without protection…”

  “Yeah, about that. How the fuck did your daughter get kidnapped? Shouldn’t she have had guards or something?”

  “Mmm, well we’ve recently returned to Night City. Lily came ahead of us and said she’d stay at home until we arrived, so she didn’t need any protection aside from the robots around the villa. Of course, we would’ve given her a hidden protector anyway, but our people, without exception, were required to attend some kind of course run by one of our coworkers.”

  “Huh, that sounds mighty convenient.” Their faces darkened at the comment.

  “Indeed. When Lily called us after her Neurolink connection was reestablished, post-rescue, we realised our coworker had been scheming behind our backs. He wanted to blackmail us. Hmph, that man should be grateful he died so quickly. I still think three days was too short, Benji.” Ophelia practically spat the words, clearly still angry about what happened to her daughter.

  Sophie felt herself sweat at the comment, though her confusion at the situation quickly returned. “So, I understand why you wanted to thank me, I guess. But couldn’t you have done all that over the holo? Or better yet, you could’ve left a message with Padre.”

  “No no no! We needed to meet you. How could we offer you a reward for your actions otherwise?” Benjamin said.

  “That’s right, Sophie. If there’s anything we can do for you, please tell us. Weapons, cyberware, vehicles. Whatever you need.”

  Sophie gave them a skeptical look. “Uh, that sounds great and all but can you really do that?” They blinked at her before chuckling.

  “Oh dear. Allow us to introduce ourselves once more. My name is Ophelia Lancaster, Militech’s Director of Special Operations.”

  “Benjamin Lancaster, Lead Researcher for Militech RnD.”

  The introductions caused Sophie to gape for a moment for sitting up straight, suddenly aware just how dangerous the two psychos in front of her actually were. However, the newly revealed titles certainly lent more credence to their words. These were two people that had an immense amount of influence and power at their fingertips.

  “So, does that reassure you?” Ophelia teased. Sophie didn’t trust herself to speak, so she nodded, falling into thought. There was a lot that she wanted, though she wasn’t sure how much she’d trust anything they’d give her.

  Chrome would be nice. They’d have access to some seriously advanced stuff. Weapons too. I’ve been wanting a car though, so should I go that route? Ahhh! So many options but I’m pretty sure I can only pick one…

  The room lapsed into silence for a few minutes, broken only by the soft chatter of the couple in front of her. Eventually, Sophie spoke.

  “Assistance.” They looked at her, confused. “I want the opportunity to call for help, no matter when, what or how. Completely unconditional.” It wasn’t a reward that would help her immediately but she had a big reason for picking it. Namely, the threat of Suko Takeshi.

  A piece of chrome or a cool, high tech weapon would be great. But the man that wanted her dead had top tier chrome, powerful weapons plus more experience and more connections. Sophie also wasn’t sure whether she’d be capable of using a piece of high tech cyberware. She certainly wouldn’t be able to use it immediately with her current fleshy body.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  However, if she could call in a Militch Spec Ops team to kill the man, that would solve all her problems. It wouldn’t give her any personal power but it would certainly remove the target from her back.

  Judging by the smiles that graced their faces, the couple appreciated her answer.

  “What an interesting choice. We can certainly do that,” said Ophelia, nodding at her. “Now, we have something else to speak about. An offer, so to speak.” Sophie gave her a confused look. “Our daughter, Lily. As mentioned earlier, we’ve only just returned to Night City. She doesn’t have any friends in the city.”

  “Okay…?”

  “She spoke quite enthusiastically about you after the rescue and was very sad that she froze up when she had the chance to speak with you. So, we would like you to be her friend.”

  “Absolutely not.” Sophie responded sharply. “I think we’re done here.” She moved to stand up.

  “Hold on. Are you sure you want to refuse?” They asked simultaneously and it felt like the temperature of the room plummeted. Sophie sat back down before replying.

  “No, I can’t be your daughter’s friend.”

  “Why not? Is she not good enough for you?” Ophelia’s tone was sharp as she spoke.

  “No, that’s not it. I’m afraid she’d probably be in danger if she spends any time with me. Plus, I’m not particularly interested in making friends with people.”

  “Why would she be in danger around you?” Benjamin asked.

  Ophelia jumped in before she could say anything, “Ah! Is this about that buffoon you killed a few months ago? The one with the flashy sword?” She pulled a small device from her blouse and started muttering. “Aha! This one! Suko Rei, right? He’s already dead but he’s the only high profile target you’ve taken out recently. So it’s his father, isn’t it. You’re afraid of him.”

  “Is this the reason you wanted to be able to call for help?” Sophie nodded. “I see. What if this man died? You wouldn’t have to use your reward either. Would you be willing to befriend our baby girl?”

  “My answer is still no. Having a relationship like that with me is too dangerous.” Ophelia’s eyes narrowed.

  “Let us change the deal then. You will be our daughter’s personal bodyguard, for when she roams Night City. Of course, one of our people will follow you, to ensure neither you nor anyone else brings harm to our precious daughter. That should also alleviate your concerns regarding Lily’s safety.” The woman took a moment, then continued.

  “However, your reluctance to befriend our daughter displeases me. We will no longer kill this man for you, unless you choose to use your reward for it. Instead, we will provide you information on his movements. It appears you wish to face this challenge alone, if possible. Despite it being a foolish endeavour, I commend your spirit. I should add that you’ll be paid for your work. Now, do you agree?”

  Sophie took a moment to think. Why didn’t I take the first offer? Stupid Sophie. I could have had Takeshi killed and gotten a cool piece of chrome. But I guess this offer isn’t bad either. They’ll probably pay well, plus I get info on Takeshi’s movements. And I can still have him killed if I need to. If I take this offer, it’ll be regular, well-paying work and I don’t have to worry about getting too close to her…I’d be stupid not to take this offer, huh.

  Despite her thoughts, she wasn’t entirely happy with the proposal.

  She took a deep breath, then replied, “I’m interested, but I want to clarify some things first.” The couple nodded and she continued. “First of all, what am I allowed to do to keep your daughter safe? If you’re going to restrict me until I can barely do anything to help her, I might as well not be her bodyguard.”

  Benjamin leaned back into the lounge while Ophelia’s face turned thoughtful. “Hmm, you can do whatever you need, as long as you don’t hurt her or restrict her freedom too much. At the end of the day, you’re responsible for keeping her safe, no matter the circumstances.”

  “Right…I guess that brings me to my second question. How much freedom should she have? Night City is a dangerous place and it sounds like Lily is new here, which means she probably won’t know much.”

  “She should have as much freedom as possible. We all know that Night City is dangerous and there’s only so much one person can do to minimise that risk. Unless she’s actively approaching gang members or something, there’s no need to restrict her too much.” There was a strange tone in the woman’s voice, as though restricting Lily was a bad idea.

  “What about where she can go? Places like Watson at the moment, or Pacifica. I don’t think she should be going anywhere near those districts.”

  “Well, there’s a reason you’re a bodyguard. If she wants to go to those places, let her. If there’s trouble then it’ll be on you to make sure she’s safe.” The statement was utterly unfair and yet it fit with the personality Ophelia seemed to have.

  “Uh huh. Can I override her decisions if I think they’re unnecessarily dangerous?”

  “No. Give her as much freedom as possible. Unless she’s trying to put herself directly in harm’s way, there’s always going to be risk no matter what.”

  “But I could minimise the risk if you let me veto any of her poor decisions.”

  “If you can’t deal with a little bit more risk, there’s no point in hiring you as her bodyguard. Your skills are sufficient to deal with most of the filth crawling through the streets. In the event that something or someone appears that you’re outmatched by, a hidden guard will deal with them.” There was a warning in her voice and Sophie realised it would be futile to press further. She fell into thought.

  This sounds like a massive pain in the ass. Protecting a client that I’m restricted from protecting properly? Really? Maybe she’ll be reasonable though. If she makes a poor choice I could try and convince her otherwise. On the other hand, the payment is likely to be high and I need the money. I might even get access to higher-end chrome and gear later on…Fuck. I don’t know what to do.

  “Alright. My final question. Payment. What am I getting?” Ophelia gave her a warm smile that sent a cold shiver down her spine.

  “For a normal day you’ll get 50,000 Eurodollars. If it’s a more high profile or important day, you’ll get more. If you get hurt protecting her, we’re willing to provide you with better cyberware and we’ll pay for any other injuries. And don’t worry, your services won’t be required often. A few times a month maybe.”

  The offer was good. Very good. And it wasn’t much different from her normal work, just higher risk for higher reward. The typical mercenary behaviour.

  “You have a deal. I’ll protect your daughter.”

  Ophelia clapped her hands together, beaming. “Fantastic! Now, to save me some time, who’s the man you’re so afraid of?”

  “His name is Suko Takeshi. He pretty much controls the Tyger Claws in Japantown.”

  “Hmm, sounds scary.” Her voice was flat while Benjamin watched the proceedings with a carefree smile on his face. “Now, you should arrive here tomorrow morning. Lily mentioned earlier today that she wanted to go shopping. You will accompany her. Go, make any arrangements you must.” The dismissal was clear, if a bit sudden, and Sophie stood. She looked at the pair of walking oddities before making her way out of the villa, still trying to process what had just happened.

  -----------------------

  Ophelia watched the mercenary girl walk out as Benji spoke up beside her.

  “Well? What do you think, Ophy?”

  “Jax! Report!” She ignored her husband’s smug smile as she spoke. Abruptly, a man materialised into existence beside her, handing over a tablet.

  “Ma’am? May we return to our regular duties?”

  “Yes yes. All of you, go. Make sure Lily is well protected.”

  A chorus of “Yes!” sounded as a small group of individuals materialised around the room, saluting briefly before vanishing once more. Ophelia read over the information her agents had gathered about the girl, Sophie.

  “Hmm, she was telling the truth. About everything.” She watched grainy security footage of the young girl they’d just met having her arm amputated before tearing her attacker’s throat out. She was disappointed the other footage didn’t show much. “I like her. Jax does too. Says she’s quite impressive.”

  Benji leaned over her shoulder, watching the same video. “Mmm. Y’know, she reminded me a bit of Rosa’. Both so ruthless yet Sophie doesn’t seem to care about climbing the corporate ladder, unlike Rosa’ did.”

  “Mmm. She’s got skills. Nothing special, but she’s young. I don’t mind making some investments early on. I’d love to see how far she can go.”

  “Oh? Do you want to back her?”

  “No. I think she’ll grow far better away from corporate lies. And she’ll be a good influence on Lily, I think. Truly, we coddled her too much. Meeting someone that’s clawed their way up from the bottom of the barrel will be a wakeup call.” Ophelia paused. “Well, hopefully.”