Chapter 223: The Legacy of War
The man didn’t answer Arthur’s question. He just clutched the bundle tightly to his chest and hurried off in one direction.
This time, he didn’t call out to Arthur... as if his earlier plea had been nothing more than asking for a lift on the motorcycle.
Curious, Arthur followed, leaving his bike behind. The road ahead cut through an unfinished construction site, impossible to cross on two wheels.
He wove past piles of building materials. Luckily, it hadn’t rained in Night City recently, so the ground wasn’t a muddy mess.
Before long, noise carried from ahead... shouts, ragged breathing, the crack of gunfire.
After circling another obstacle, Arthur finally saw the scene...
Four or five men had surrounded a run-down tin shack, the kind of makeshift shelter slapped together from cheap steel sheets. They were firing into it while hurling curses.
Judging by their look, they were gang members. Bodies lay sprawled at the doors and windows—likely their own comrades.
As Arthur watched, the man with the bundle bolted straight toward the shack.
Figures... the guy’s out of his damn mind. Arthur shook his head and drew the revolver from his belt.
Gunfire rattled on until, one by one, the shooters outside crumpled to the ground... Arthur advanced slowly, weapon still raised.
The man... had already rushed inside.
“I told you... Don’t come back here!” a man’s voice shouted from within.
The only answer was muffled sobbing. “The medicine... I got it... it’s here...”
Arthur stepped into the shack. The floor was bare dirt, never reinforced, and the place looked long abandoned.
A man sat against the far wall, gripping a gun in one hand, his other leg ending in nothing but a raw stump...
Odd. In an age where Cyberware could replace half a body, a doctor could’ve patched him up easily.
“I made it... Met a good man today... huh?” The man spotted Arthur, forced a grin, and tossed his gun aside to show he meant no harm.
“I’m Riel. The other one’s He Ke... Anyway... thanks, buddy...”
“What happened here...” Arthur holstered his gun, frowning as his eyes swept the room.
Bullet holes riddled the tin walls. Sunlight stabbed through the gaps, stirring clouds of dust inside.
“Ah... well...” Riel gave a bitter smile, gesturing around. “Pretty pathetic... We came to steal meds, and this is how it turned out.”
“I mean...” Arthur tilted his head, choosing his words carefully. “Your leg... why not get Cyberware? It’s useful.”
He thought of the bodies outside. Clearly, Riel wasn’t helpless.
“Oh, that!” Riel shook his head with a wry smile and pushed himself upright on his single leg... which itself was Cyberware, and not cheap junk either.
“We’re from the New United States. Heh... don’t laugh. The government abandoned us. To win over Arasaka, they even locked down the Cyberware of us grunts.
This one? I replaced myself.”
He slapped his only good thigh.
“Being a merc would probably be better than this,” Arthur said, giving the man a once-over. Riel wasn’t that old—maybe He Ke’s son?
“Yeah... maybe... but neither Arasaka nor Militech want people like us in Night City. Even fixers won’t hire us.” Riel still wore that bitter smile. “Truth is, no one in this city wants us. And yet you...”
He cut himself short, yanked the backpack from He Ke’s hands, and peeked inside. When he saw it full of pneumatic injectors, his face darkened.
“Idiot! Didn’t I tell you? The blue canisters! I—”
He choked off the curse, remembering the stranger in the room.
“Arthur,” he said, nodding and shaking Riel’s hand. “And this man... He Ke... he’s your father?”
“...” Riel froze, blinking quickly, his brows knitting. “How... how did you know...”
“Oh. He said he came back to save his son.” Arthur glanced at He Ke, who stood awkwardly, empty-handed now, fumbling with his fingers.
“Yes. He’s my father... and my squad leader.” Riel muttered as he closed the bag, then bent to pick up a metal rod from the floor—a makeshift crutch.
“We enlisted together... and were both abandoned in Night City. My mother died. My wife... she was a netrunner. Arasaka fried her brain while we were out on a mission.
Not long after, we ended up stranded here.”
With effort, Riel hauled himself upright and let out a heavy breath. “Sorry... we’ve got nothing to pay you with. If... you want these intensive treatment syringes, take them all.”
Arthur didn’t take the backpack. He just studied Riel a moment, then waved it off, speechless.
“Hey... don’t worry about it, friend. Guys like us... we’ve killed plenty. Not exactly worth pity.” Riel forced a grin and pulled the pack back to his side.
“How’s your father...?” Arthur finally asked, glancing at He Ke, who stood there blankly. Hard to imagine he’d once been a soldier—an officer, even.
“He... his mind’s broken.” Riel tapped his temple with a finger, resignation in his voice. “Arasaka’s crackdown. He was saving me... a bullet grazed his left brain...”
His face was calm now, though his words faltered. “We couldn’t afford a Ripperdoc... He... he... for a long time... couldn’t even recognize me...”
Arthur didn’t reply. In silence, he walked slowly with the two men as they left the shack.
Author's Note
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