OG: Chapter 19

We arrived at Lizzie's ready to Slammit On with the Animals, piling out of V's Ao Guang and rushing into Lizzie's Bar Iron out and ready to fight. Fortunately, it seemed our haste was a bit premature. Nobody was ready to Slammit On at Lizzie's just yet. However, both Erica Nightly and Jessie Nyan were there, as was Suzie Q. No sign of Rita Wheeler or any of the usual, Mox-specific, enforcers, though. I had to imagine they were busy keeping the animals from Zeroing too many of the Joytoys and other Gangoons that were affiliated with the Mox. Fighting the good fight. Worryingly, I didn't see Punchin' Judy anywhere either. I hoped she was keeping her head down out there.

"About damn time!" Swore Suzie Q, drawing me out of my thoughts.

"We're here. Where do you need us?" I questioned.

"You know the Old Cyberteen Shop out near Monroe Street?" Queried Suzie Q.

"Cyberteen? Those Gonks went Belly-Up Years ago. They finally couldn't hawk their Rusty Scop to anyone for enough eddies." Frowned V.

"Corps get Zeroed just like the rest of us, only it takes another Corp to do it. Me? I prefer Iron, simpler that way." Smirked Jackie with a shrug.

"You're not wrong. I know someone back in NorCal whose Mainline managed to scrounge him up a pretty Nova piece of Iron, only it had one of those Cyberteen Paintjobs on it." Nodded Jessie Nyan.

"Wait, are you talking about Red Whelan? I heard about that! He took that Iron into some Biz that put him up against the Weng Fang Tong out in San Jose and the word was, the Gangoon he was sent in to Zero laughed at him all the way till the bullet punched into his brain." Smirked Erica Nightly.

"Regardless, it doesn't belong to Cyberteen these days. That's a spot we use sometimes for Joytoy Services. Got it set up like a Massage Parlor on the down-low, even the badges don't know that its there, nets us some preem eddies every month." Informed Suzie Q.

"Happy ending?" Grinned Jackie.

"I look like a fucking Tyger Claw Boss to you?" Scoffed Suzie Q.

"Racism aside, what about the place?" I asked.

"Punchin' Judy did a bunch of Netrunner Biz and hijacked some Cameras." Offered Jessie Nyan.

"And? Just spit it out." Sighed V.

"And it looks like, if Rita's Group can't zero enough of them to get their Gangoons to back off, that's where the Animals are gonna hit next." Admitted Erica Nightly.

"Where is Judy now?" I questioned.

"She's trying to evacuate the Joytoys from the shop. I want you three to take these two and head over there. Zero anyone who needs to be zeroed and don't let up till they've ghosted off entirely." Intoned Suzie Q.

"We're on it." I nodded.

"Yeah, sure thing. Ain't no Pendejos gonna touch the Girls, count on it." Confirmed Jackie.

"You two, come with me." Ordered V, gesturing at Jessie Nyan and Erica Nightly.

"What? What for?" Queried Jessie Nyan.

"Yeah? You know we don't swing that way, yeah?" Asked Erica Nightly, teasingly.

"Please, I'm taken, and even if I wasn't I could Stuffit with a lot hotter than you two. We've got presents for you." Smirked V.

"Yeah, armor like Jaquito's over there." I nodded.

"I dunno." Frowned Jessie Nyan.

"Yeah, we're not exactly the Doughgirl type." Snorted Erica Nightly.

"Trust me, you're gonna want a vest like this. Shit's preem, I took an armor-piercing round from some kinda Soviet Super Iron with this on." Smirked Jackie.

"You'll barely notice the weight, trust me." I added.

"Come on. We don't have all day." Insisted V.

Jessie Nyan and Erica Nightly looked at each other and just gave each other a shrug before following V out to her Ao Guang. V pulled the pair of Light Carapace-equivalent vests I had made for them out of the back of her Ao Guang and soon, they both were suited up in the brand new, ultra-preem vests. They didn't even detract from the whole outfit that the pair of them had on, largely because they were both wearing Jackets today that could cover the vests. At any rate, eddies couldn't buy that kinda Nova gear, at least not unless I started selling it. They'd be glad they had it when it came time to Slammit On with the Animals.

With that done, we all piled into V's Ao Guang. Fortunately, the new Kombi was a lot less cramped than her old Ortiz Yacatecuhtli, which meant that the five of us could just about squeeze all our happy asses into the Ao Guang. It wasn't the most comfortable ride out there, but it would get us there. As V drove us toward the makeshift cathouse, she turned the radio on where Stanley Media was talking about the ongoing war in Japantown. He'd just gotten to the bit where the Animals had been pushed out of their Gym on Sagan Street when V changed the channel to some Chromatic Rock Station.

"Good choice, I don't care what that Gonk says, we gave those Pendejos an out and they decided to Slammit On instead. They've got everything coming to 'em." Scoffed Jackie.

"We might not need to really zero all the Animals, Jaquito, just get Shotgun Eddie and enough of his Lieutenants." I reminded.

"What good will that do?" Questioned Erica Nightly.

"The Animals are on shaky ground out here. The Japantown Packs were led by a guy named Mastodon. The problem was, Mastodon was looking to cooperate with the Mox to form a United Front against the Tyger Claws and their Organiskaya Allies. Shotgun Eddie didn't like that so he challenged Mastodon to one-on-one combat for leadership." Answered V.

"That's a thing?" Queried Jessie Nyan.

"It is in the Animals. Normally, it works out in most folks' favor, since that sort of thing weakens the local packs. The only problem is, this time it went the other way. Fortunately, given how hard the local Packs've been getting squeezed by the Claws and Organiskaya, Shotgun Eddie is already on shaky ground as a leader. If we can zero, and zero enough of his Lieutenants, the rest shouldn't be able to hold the local Packs together and the Animals in Japantown will splinter apart." I explained.

"Either way, they won't be our problem anymore, Comprende?" Smirked Jackie.

"I think I get it." Nodded Erica Nightly.

"Yeah. Seems simple enough." Added Jessie Nyan.

"This is gonna be the easiest part of this war." Warned V.

"Just stick close to us and do what we say when we say it, and you two Rookies are gonna make it out of this just fine." I offered.

And with that, the interior of the Ao Guang lapsed into silence except for the roaring of the engine and the strains of the Chromatic Rock coming in over the Radio. We would arrive at the Cathouse shortly. I checked my Iron over, making sure I was ready to Slammit On. Jacquito did the same, as did Jessie Nyan and Erica Nightly. Our weapons checks were done and dusted with just a few minutes left to spare in the drive.

When we arrived, it would be to a scene of panic. . .

XXXX

Shotgun Eddie was pissed right the fuck off. Oh sure, the Moxes' little Door Bitch hadn't really done more than bruise his Abs with that fucking baseball bat of hers, but it still hurt to move around. Of course, if he hadn't been on so much of the Juice as he was, it'd probably hurt a lot more. The Lidocaine that he added to his mix tended to dull that sorta thing, after all, and he was pretty sure none of his ribs'd been broken thanks to all the muscle mass the Juice put on him. That was some sorta poorly kept secret or something, that the Juice could give you low-grade armor when it came to Gangoons trying to zero you in melee. Why do you think the Animals owned the Underground Fighting Rings in Night City?

Regardless, it wouldn't be nearly enough to stop Shotgun Eddie from doing what Shotgun Eddie does best. He got his Handle because he'd been on enough Juice for long enough that he could duel-wield Twin Shotguns. He had his favorite pair with him now, two Constitutional Arms M-Twenty-Thirty-Eight Tacticians. The Right was loaded with slugs, while the left was loaded with Incendiary Ammo. Together, they'd punch through cover and burn up anything in their path. It was the combo of Iron he'd used to zero Mastodon, after all.

Now, however, as sat in the back seat of the Thorton Merrimack Truck while Gecko Hanlon drove him to the Cathouse he was getting ready to capture, all Shotgun Eddie could think of was that the Wheeler Bitch'd ghosted off too easy. He'd only managed to wing her with the incendiaries, after all. Sure, that'd burned off some of the fake Scop she had posing as skin to show the Chrome underneath, but that'd been about all. He'd been high on kicking her ass at the time, but now that he thought about it, you don't get to be the Chief Enforcer of a Gang, even one as weak as the Mox, by being a coward.

"Gecko, hold up." Scowled Shotgun Eddie.

"Boss?" Questioned Gecko.

The far leaner Animals Member frowned as Shotgun Eddie ordered him to hit the brakes. Gecko'd always been a bit of an outlier as far as Animals went. He liked questioning shit, even to the point where he'd only take enough of the Juice to maintain the muscle mass he had, instead of trying to grow even bigger like most of the Animals.

"I got a bad feeling about something. Take Fletcher instead." Commanded Shotgun Eddie.

"Why? That'll add a couple minutes to our drive." Queried Gecko.

"Just do it, Gecko!" Snarled Shotgun Eddie.

"Sure thing, Boss." Shrugged Gecko.

Questioning or not, Gecko hauled left on the wheel and turned them onto Fletcher. The entire war party followed suit, even as Shotgun Eddie remained tense, waiting for the other shoe to drop and a buncha Mox Gangoons to spring up outta the ground or some shit and try to zero the convoy in an ambush. It didn't happen though. After all, by taking Fletcher, the Animals War Party avoided Rita Wheeler's Ambush, though nobody knew that just yet.

When they arrived, they would find a Cathouse that had only been partially evacuated, with only a small, outmatched security team led by Judy Alvarez to try and stop them. . .

XXXX

Judy Alvarez snarled as she hunkered down behind a section of the concrete wall. They were getting hammered out here! Where had all these Animals Gangoons come from? Last she'd heard Rita had been setting up an ambush to try and zero as many as she could from surprise after faking like she and her team were Ghosting Off! There weren't supposed to be this many of the damn Gonks left!

The worst part was that she'd had to send half the security team with the Girls to try and sneak them all out the back way as if that wouldn't get noticed sooner or later! Of course, so long as she and the other half of the security team kept these Gonks busy here in the front, that might just be crazy enough to work. It'd been why she'd done it, after all. Of course, when talking about a group of six enforcers, half a security team wasn't exactly an army.

As she thought that, however, one of the other three enforcers holding the front of the Cathouse against the Animals with her was blown back through the doorway as some kinda massive shotgun slug punched through her subdermal and fucked her internal organs all to hell and back. Judy didn't need to be a Medtech to know that'd zeroed her. She'd been one of the new Girls that'd joined up in the past couple of months, Thora she thought she'd been named. Judy hadn't interacted with her too much and now she never would get to.

"Scopsuckers!" Spat Judy.

As she swore at them, Judy popped up from behind her cover to fire off a couple of rounds from her Kang-Tao A-Twenty-Two-B Chao Pistol. She winged one of the Gangoons, her bullet grazing the Mohawk-Sporting Man's shoulder, but she was forced to duck back down to avoid a burst of fire from the Animal's Submachine Gun. The bullets pinged off the concrete, throwing a shitload of dust and other Scop down into her hair.

Unfortunately, Judy wasn't exactly the best shot. She was a Netrunner, for fucks sake! Netrunners weren't supposed to be up on the front lines, ready to Slammit On with anyone who wanted to! Normally, she could fall back on her Netrunning Abilities to hack into these Guys' Chrome, but the problem there was that these were Animals, they tended to go full Bioware! The only reason they didn't count as a buncha Exotics was because they didn't tend to try and do the usual Exotic Scop with fangs and tails and shit!

As Judy popped back out of cover, she fired off two shots that took the Submachine Gun-wielding Animal Gangoon down. Judy didn't know if she zeroed him, though, because she immediately had to duck back down to avoid fire from Shotgun Eddie. The Animals Pack Leader was firing two shotguns that he held one in each meaty fist guns akimbo style. Judy'd only ever seen that done in Vids before!

Regardless, his shotguns took a big old chunk out of the Rusty Scop that passed for a Concrete Wall that she was hiding behind with its slugs, even as she saw Angela, one of her two remaining Security Enforcers get hit by a burst of incendiary fire that engulfed her and sent her crashing to the floor. Judy frowned, popping up to fire the rest of her clip at Shotgun Eddie, hoping to take the Alpha of Japantown out. It wasn't to be, though, two of her bullets grazed him, but he quickly moved back behind a truck, leaving Judy firing uselessly into an engine block.

She ducked back down just as Shotgun Eddie popped out of cover and fired his shotguns, eating away at even more of her cover, as some of the other animals pinned down Judy's last security enforcer, Ricki, forcing them both to huddle into cover. As Judy looked over at Ricki, as they both reloaded, she saw that Ricki seemed to think they were done for. She could see it in the other Woman's eyes. Ricki wanted to surrender, Judy could tell.

"No." That was all Judy had to say to that.

"What?" Asked Ricki.

"We're not surrendering. You think a Gonk like Shotgun Eddie is gonna let us be if we do? Hell no. I'd rather go out swinging than suffer through that." Intoned Judy.

"If we Slammit On with them again, that's exactly what'll happen!" Protested Ricki.

"We need to give the others more time to get the Girls away from here! So long as these Gonks are focused on the front door, they'll never realize the Girls went out the back!" Hissed Judy.

"Wait, they've stopped shooting." Whispered Ricki.

"I know you two are still hiding in there! I'm gonna give you to the count of three to come out without your Iron and surrender! I reach three and you're still in there, and I'm gonna take this grenade here, and toss it right through that busted window near you!" Called out Shotgun Eddie.

"You and your Leadhead buncha Scopsuckers can ghost off!" Spat Judy.

"That your final answer? Shame. What about the other one in there with you? You speak for her too?" Demanded Shotgun Eddie.

"Judy. . ." Began Ricki.

"Not a fucking word, Ricki!" Warned Judy.

"All right, Guess it can't be helped. Let's smoke these bitches out and be done with this." Scowled Shotgun Eddie.

Judy Popped up the second she heard the ping of a pin being pulled on a grenade. If she was going down, she was going to go down swinging, like she'd said. Of course, she and Ricki had no real hope of winning this, but that wasn't the point, the point was to buy as much time for the Girls to get away as they could.

As Shotgun Eddie wound up to toss the grenade, however, something happened. V's Beast of a Kombi screeched around the corner, doors opening as it did. Ernie leaned out of the open door as Shotgun Eddie tossed the Grenade, sighting down on the thrown projectile with his pistol and firing a single bullet that took the grenade in mid-flight, causing it to blow short of their position. Judy ducked back down to avoid the few flechettes that made it her way, but the shot had been perfect. She ain't seen anything like that before outside a vid, it was just that preem a shot!

Then, Ernie, V, Jackie, and the two Newbie Solos that Suzie Q had brought back from NorCal stepped out of V's Ao Guang, and all Hell broke loose. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. A lot of it is set up for the action of the next chapter, but suffice it to say, that this is going to be a pretty climactic showdown between the Mox and the Japantown Animals. Shotgun Eddie probably won't be walking away from this, and it's a toss-up as to how many of his lieutenants will be walking away from this either. Either way this plays out, the Japantown Animals are gonna be hit hard from the fighting. They probably should've taken Suzie Q's deal when they had the chance instead of ousting Mastodon.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve the remainder of the battle entirely from Big E's POV. I'll also have a Character Sheet Update for Big E as well at some point before then. The thing is, as it's my birthday, this will be the only chapter I'm putting out today, so I can enjoy my birthday. That means the Character Sheet will have to wait until tomorrow at the earliest.

Stay tuned. . .