Chapter 33: The Aldecaldos' Campfire

Mercer stretched and decided to clock out early; after all, everything that needed arranging had been taken care of. Stepping outside, he noticed for the first time that the sky had already turned dark.

Just as he stepped out, he saw Panam chatting and laughing with Lucy and the others by a nearby bonfire. Mitch was singing a country song with a guitar—to be honest, it wasn’t very good—while Scorpion sat quietly beside him.

Nearby, Cassidy was chatting with a scruffy-looking middle-aged man. Seeing Mercer, Cassidy waved him over. "Mercer, come over here. This is Saul, the current leader of the Aldecaldos in Night City."

Mercer smiled and walked over. Saul didn’t look down on him because of his youth; he stood up proactively, his attitude warm, and offered a handshake.

"Saul, I've heard so much about you. I'm Alex Mercer," Mercer said politely.

"Ha! I was just listening to Cassidy tell the stories of your journey here. Mercer, don't stand on ceremony. Sit down. We Aldecaldos don't care for those formalities."

At this moment, Saul still looked ambitious and spirited. He laughed and pulled Mercer down to sit, showing none of the decadent, melancholic air he would later display in the game when he was pushed into a corner and forced to turn to Biotechnica.

"I’ve heard about your friends. Don't worry. The Aldecaldo family won't let a bunch of kids do anything dangerous. Those who want to stay can stay; you lot with hacking skills are exactly the kind of talent the family is currently short on. I heard you're going into the city tomorrow? Do you need a couple of bodyguards?"

Saul warned, "Night City is not a safe place, Mercer. It’s more complex and dangerous than the Badlands."

"Thanks, but Panam is enough. I don't plan on going anywhere dangerous tomorrow; just installing some cyberware and meeting a few people," Mercer said, turning to look at Cassidy. "I might need to use your bank account and our savings tomorrow."

"No problem, use whatever you need. We scraped together quite a bit of cash from those bandits on the road. Plus, the weapons and equipment we brought back were sold at the camp today, adding up to about 40,000 eddies." Cassidy agreed without hesitation.

"Right. I’ll need a fair amount for now. I have to get a new set of clothes and buy some equipment. As for the promised cut, wait just a little longer until I’m done with the cyberware," Mercer said, pausing. "When that's settled, you'll each get 10,000."

"Mercer..." Daichi Tetsuya tried to refuse, but Mercer waved him off.

"You don't have an income while staying at the camp. Even though I took out most of those guys, if I had to move all that loot by myself, I would have died of exhaustion on the road. Take it as a labor fee; just take it. It’s only 10,000 eddies—it only looks like a lot right now. Since you've arrived here, you can't just mooch off these people forever. Consider the 10,000 your starting capital; after that, you'll need to figure out what kind of work you're going to find."

He spoke with such boldness that he left no room for refusal, then rubbed his head and said, "Alright, enough of this annoying talk... it's a bonfire party, we should have a bonfire atmosphere."

Saul smiled, turned to Daichi Tetsuya and Leon, and said gently, "Don't refuse a friend's kindness. Giving your all when he needs it—that is one of the Nomads' creeds."

"Uh-huh, keep that in mind. From now on, you're following him," Mercer teased, then leaned back without a care.

Above him were bright stars, and nearby, the crackling bonfire. He squinted his eyes. The night wind of the Badlands didn't have much of a strange smell, just the scent of dust. Mitch started playing again, this time humming a tune, and everyone quickly returned to that relaxed, carefree atmosphere.

People chatted and drank; no one went out of their way to bother Mercer, or rather, they intentionally let him enjoy this peaceful feeling. Mercer yawned, slowly closed his eyes, and before long, soft snoring could be heard.

***

Lucy stopped her conversation with Anko and just stared at his sleeping profile. Because of her gaze, the others realized Mercer had fallen into a deep sleep, and the bonfire circle grew quiet.

"Looks like the kid was worn out."

Panam said this, but her eyes held a hint of admiration—she had heard from Cassidy and Anko about what they had been through on the road. In Panam's view, for Mercer to be only fourteen and lead this whole family from so far away to here, it was truly remarkable.

From a Nomad's perspective, this kid was good material for a clan leader: he had ambition and goals, he could take care of those around him, and he respected everyone’s freedom of choice. He wasn't bad-looking, either, just a shame he was a bit young... What am I thinking?

Panam gave a start, feeling like she was being a bit of a creep.

"Alright, you've all traveled a long way, time to get some rest."

Saul took the initiative to suggest calling it a night, and everyone complied.

"You guys wake him up, or cover him with a blanket. Even if it’s not cold in winter here, if he sleeps out in the open all night, he’ll catch a cold."

After Saul finished, Lucy nodded and whispered, "Let him sleep a bit longer, I'll go get a blanket... it’s rare for him to sleep this soundly."

"Okay~" Anko smiled at Lucy. "Then we'll head back to rest first."

Panam chuckled and raised an eyebrow at Lucy. "Looks like when this kid said he had charisma, he wasn't just spouting nonsense..."

"No... it's just..." Lucy ran out of words. She couldn't define her feelings for Mercer, but she knew it probably wasn't love—or maybe a little, but mostly, it was gratitude and reliance. Besides, this guy Mercer had a thing for older women... A precocious brat, huh.

In the end, she stopped worrying about what others thought, grabbed a blanket and a pillow, covered him up, and carefully tucked the pillow under his head. Then she lay down beside him and watched the stars and the moon.

The moon in the sky emitted a soft, serene light, as if it belonged to a completely different world from this filthy one. Lucy suddenly had a whim—if one day she could go up there and see it, what would she feel?

As she thought about it, she couldn't help but glance at Mercer, and suddenly, the fantasy of landing on the moon lost its appeal. He would probably be too busy to go on a trip to the moon.

Go to the moon alone? Just thinking about it felt lonely. She drifted off into such aimless thoughts until she fell asleep under the moonlight.

...

The next morning, a hand pinched her cheek.

"Mmm... five more minutes... Anko..."

"You can sleep five more minutes, but I have to get up and go to the city to work."

Mercer’s teasing voice made Lucy bolt awake. She opened her eyes wide, only to realize she had somehow crawled onto Mercer—in the literal sense.

Her head was resting on his arm, her body had stolen most of the blanket, she was draped over his side, and her arms were gripping him tightly. Her face turned bright red in an instant, and she practically jumped up. "I... um... that is..."

"Alright, if you've got time to be shy, you might as well massage my arm—in the middle of the night, I thought I’d run into a female ghost trying to drag me to hell by my neck."

Mercer laughed and worked his arm, needing quite a while before he felt the sensation return.

***

But Lucy was already stunned, because the now-extinguished bonfire was right on the edge of the camp. Early in the morning, the diligent Aldecaldos were already busy at work. Hearing the commotion, several nearby Aldecaldos flashed Lucy and Mercer kindly smiles. Even Anko, who usually loved to sleep in, was poking her head out from a nearby tent, staring at her with a teasing expression.

This kind of public execution was too cruel for the fourteen-year-old Lucy. She turned away, covering her face. "I'm going to... wash my face."

Mercer couldn't help but suppress a laugh, and in the distance, Anko put her hands on her hips and burst into loud laughter, not stopping even when Lucy glared at her.

Panam, holding Mercer's cyberware case, checked the time and said irritably, "Done enjoying yourself? Then hurry up and help! This is the cyberware your friend said you needed to install. Check if anything is missing and load it into the car. It's past eight in the morning, did you make an appointment with the doctor in the city?"

Mercer's expression changed. "I have an appointment at nine."

"Then get a move on!" Panam lifted her chin. "Take my MaiMai, and remember to bring your gun."

Mercer hurriedly packed up. After quickly organizing everything, he sat in the passenger seat of Panam's car.

Mercer waved a small hand. "Let's go, Little China."

"Damn, the traffic is going to be a nightmare by the time we get there... Sit tight, I don't want you to be late—those doctors in the city are incredibly arrogant. If you miss your appointment, they might just get annoyed and refuse to work on you."

Panam slammed on the gas.

Mercer, feeling a bit embarrassed, buckled his seatbelt. "I usually have a light sleep. I only sleep four to six hours a day..."

"That's a good thing, sounds like your nerves were wound tight, but... I saw it this morning, you two were hugging so tight, you must have slept pretty well."

Panam laughed, staring at Mercer with a suggestive look. Mercer covered his face with one hand, sighed after a long silence, and said:

"It was cold outside at night, and the blanket kept getting pulled away..."

[Lucy: Mercer, uh, what I mean is, it was very cold last night, so it was an instinctive reaction... you know. Anyway, if Anko asks, just say that—because it really was cold.]

[Anko: Was it really that cold last night? Really? Really? Really?]

Under Panam's stifled laughter, Mercer shut down his comms app, stared out the window, and rolled his eyes. Whatever.

To be honest, even if Lucy is a bit young right now, she was soft and smelled nice... Damn, I really am a creep.

The car kept the pedal to the metal, heading straight for Little China in the Watson district, but even with the rush...

Mercer was still late for his first meeting with Vik.