Jack Of Spades, Queen Of Clubs

by SuddenPainter

Summary:

V is a born and bred son of Heywood, having spent most of his life in Night City, save for a short and rather unfortunate stint in Atlanta. So it’s really no surprise that he’d get involved with someone like Rita Wheeler, the prime bruiser at Lizzie’s.

Always on the lookout for the next job that could propel him into the Big Leagues, V’s ambitions need to be put on hold when his sister, Gloria gets into trouble and he suddenly ends up being a sort-of-mentor to his nephew, David.

Notes:

This pairing had been floating in my WIP folder for a while, and I felt like writing some more of Cyberpunk so here we are.

No promises on how often this will update, but if you’ve followed previous works in this series, you’ll know it may go on for a while. Let’s see how it goes.

Chapter 1: Just Visiting

“Hey! Haven’t I seen you here before?” Rita’s trademark alluring but intimidating tone never failed to light a fire under the pot of excitement in V’s gut. Even a few minutes of listening to this surly tone that the bouncer of Lizzy’s put up when on the job would send him reeling for action. The fact that her outfit left little to imagination didn’t help in the slightest, especially for the guy who had spent plenty of time exploring and memorizing what was currently hidden.

“Very funny, Wheeler,” he retorted before ambushing her with a short burst of Sandevistan-induced super speed.
Before the pink-haired bombshell knew it, she was in his embrace, their lips so close, one would need a microscope to see the gap.

“You really gotta stop using it for silly things like this.” Her words were no more than a breath, audible only to her and the man currently holding her waist in a firm grip.

“How can I resist when the mere sight makes me want to steal ya away into one of those comfy private booths?” V didn’t wait for an answer, choosing instead to close the almost non-existent distance between them, locking their lips in a kiss.
Rita reciprocated instantly, hungrily, as if she was waiting all night for this exact moment.

“Fuckin’ hell, you two!” Susie Q’s disgruntled tone made the two snoggers pause, but not separate. “Not in front of the fuckin’ entrance!”

“Oh, I don’t mind actually. I can wait.” Some suit that just happened to be waiting behind V for his turn to be allowed entry shrugged. It was painfully obvious that he didn’t come to Lizzy’s for a drink. If anything, this little show was like an appetizer before the full-on smutty BD show he was about to indulge in.

“Nobody asked your ass for commentary.” Susie’s sharp-as-barbed-wire rasp made the corpo shuffle back a few steps.
She quickly turned back to her employee and said employee’s input. “You, street urchin. Come with me, I got somethin’ to discuss with ya.”

V had little choice in the matter. He reluctantly pulled back from Rita, who looked equally as disappointed in their premature separation, and quietly followed the Mox bosswoman inside.

“I’ll catch ya later, sweet cheeks.” Wheeler’s parting words sounded so sorrowful, it was as if V was being taken away on a years-long mission to Mars, and not a chat with her boss.

‘See ya,’ V mouthed back as the doors closed behind him.

——

“What can I do ya for, Suze?” V’s familiar tone wasn’t anything new. The snarky merc was a known quantity in Mox's stronghold far longer than he was a mainstay in Rita’s bed.

Even despite extensive facial cyberware, one could tell that Susanna Quinn was worried. She had to be - why else would she go as far as to resort to confiding in anyone, let alone someone like V?
Susie sank into her well-used office chair and lit up a cigarette before replying. “It’s Evelyn. She’d gone‘n’got some sorta heist plan in her head. Been using the club like some sort of private meetin’ spot with potential crew members.”

V raised an eyebrow. “And here I thought them booths were sound-isolated?”

“What sorta third-grade gonks do you take us for?!” The Mox leader huffed, spewing some leftover smoke out of her nostrils in pale plumes. “Everything that happens there goes on record that only I and very few others have access to.”
“Anything bonkers happens in there, the Mox’ safety comes above all else, privacy of those pervs be fucked.”

V swallowed hard, hoping that his rather common trysts with Rita did not see the light of day. Being an accidental star of a porn flick, and not even a BD kind, was far from V’s list of top life achievements.
On the contrary, fame and fortune was very much up there. “Heist, what heist?”

“Fuck if I know!” Susie Q threw both hands in the air. “She talks in riddles, even when it’s supposed to be private.”
“Thinkin’ she doesn’t trust any of those would be burglars.”

“A’ight, I’ll bite.” All of this fell far from V’s normal expertise, but he was willing to extend the courtesy to the Mox who had been very good to him, even before Wheeler started climbing him like a tree every chance she got. “Whadda ya need me for here?”

“Can you…” Susie rolled her eyes, as if unable to believe what she was about to ask, “talk it out with her? Convince her it’s a gonk idea, ideally. But I’ll take just a passed and accepted warning to not get her pretty pale ass into trouble she can’t get out of.”
She spun in her chair a little, likely from unease over the whole situation. “Last thing I need is Alvarez storming into my office and demanding we rescue Ev from a shithole of her own making. Or turning into a complete nervous wreck again - she can’t edit for shit when she spends most of the time bowlin’ her eyes out.”

The last comment was unnecessary, uncalled for and rather ill-spirited, but V just let it slide to avoid an argument he was never going to win. He was there when Judy’s now-ex broke up with her. Him and Rita had to sacrifice quite a bit of their livers’ health to help the BD editor pull through. It was true - Judy was rendered completely incapable of doing anything productive for good two weeks, but holding it against her wasn’t something he would ever consider, even if he was her boss and relied on her for income at his own club.
Instead, he just got to the point. “Is she here now? Ev, that is?”

“She ain’t, but Mateo tells me she already booked one of the rooms for later this eve.” The Mox’ attention suddenly shifted to the security camera screen - one of many that adorned the wall above her desk. “THE FUCK?!”

V instinctively leant in to see what was going on. What he saw was a two-man scuffle taking place right in the middle of the dancefloor. One particularly large man was in the process of pummeling a smaller, but significantly more chromed out guy.
Unable to resist a good spectacle, the young merc rushed right after the yellow-jacketed Mox.

“ENOUGH!” Susanna’s voice boomed even over the thumping electro sound of the monstrously capable sound system.
She dove in and separated the two fighting gonks by herself, her spiked Gorilla Arms threatening to inflict real damage on either dudes if they attempted to struggle against them.

Once the bundle of men became two separate people, V finally got to take a good look at them. The chrome junkie proved to be a complete mystery to him, but the bulky one was an entirely different story.
“Jackie? Jackie Welles?” The merc ventured, stepping closer to the still fuming Valentino. “You’re Mama Welles’ son, aintcha?”

“And who the hell are you, holmes?” Obviously, the bulky man was still fired up from his freshly interrupted fight.

“Name’s V, I hang out at the Coyote quite a bit - I’m Gloria’s brother.”

“Ahhh, right!” Jackie cooled down in an instant a spark of recognition crossed his face. “Pepe mentioned somethin’ about her hotshot hombre coming back to town from… where was it? Atlanta?”

“Dead on.” V was impressed that a stranger remembered such details about him after what must’ve been a single conversation. “Been back a few months now, though.”

“This is all very touching and all,” Susie interrupted with a most sarcastically apologetic tone. She was still holding both men by the collars of their tops. “But can you explain how the fuck’ve you two mistaken middle of my bar for a fightin’ ring?”

“That’s my bad,” Jackie admitted readily. “Can’t help myself when some pendejo bumps into me and then has the smarts to insult mi mama outta nowhere.”

By this point pretty much everyone who wasn’t currently getting hot and bothered inside a smut BD was paying attention to the scene that had unfolded. The Mox’ leader was very aware of that, this much was evident.

“A’ight…” She sighed, letting go of her grip. “Fuck off, both of ya. The club’s off limits for you tonight.”

“Fair and square, señora,” the Valentino conceded with a small bow of the head.
The other guy, despite looking like he was of a mind to argue against being thrown out, took one look around him and quickly changed his mind, choosing to set off for the exit without uttering as much as a word.

“Guess back to El Coyote it is,” Jackie thought out loud wistfully. “V, is it? Wanna come with, see what other chooms we got in common?”

V glanced at Susie, who still hadn't given him a time when Evelyn was going to show.

“You’ve got three hours,” she replied sternly. “And don’t turn up sloshed, ya hear me? No amount of sucking up to Wheeler will getcha in if you turn up unable to do a job asked of you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hear you loud and clear.” V simply shrugged and turned to follow after Jackie for the exit.

“Leaving so soon?!” There was a good deal of disappointment in Rita’s voice. “And who’s your new choom?”

V knew he’d be in deep trouble if he didn’t stop for a moment for a quick cuddle and a ‘see you later’ kiss. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Will tell ya then.”

“You better, pretty boy.” Rita planted a quick peck on V’s lips and spanked him on the butt as a way to say ‘keep moving’.

“You’re awfully friendly with that bouncer chica, aintcha?” Jackie asked, his eyebrows wiggling. The pair barely knew each other a good ten minutes, and he was already dishing out personal questions.

“Mhm, can say that,” came a non-committal answer.

“Keep your secrets then, holmes.” The bigger man chuckled knowingly. “Although I would show off a hermosa like that to everyone if I were you.”

The all-too-familiar attitude began to get to V. “You this chummy with everyone you meet after a brawl, or am I special?”

“Hey, you’re Gloria’s blood, so almost as good as my own blood!” Jackie looked somewhat surprised that he had to explain this. “She saved so many of Heywood boys that I’ve lost track who owes her their life. I certainly do. See no reason why we should act like complete strangers, even tho our paths never crossed till now.”

By that point their casual stroll-and-talk landed both of them at the far end of the car park, where two bikes were standing side by side. V remembered seeing the other one already parked when he pulled up some minutes prior. The fact that it happened to be an Arch was already impressive, but just as spectacular was the intricate graphic work on the gas tank that unapologetically declared the latino roots of its owner. After meeting said owner, he saw just how perfectly the steed matched its rider.

By the looks of it, Jackie was just as impressed by V’s black and red Yaiba Kusanagi.
“Fhew!” He whistled. “That’s some wheels you’ve got.”

“Right atcha, choom.”

With the respective egos stroked, both men saddled their respective engines and brought them to life. The motors purred in unison, prompting two very content smiles.

“Race you there?” Jackie offered with a self-assured grin.

V could never decline such a proposition. “You’re on.”

Chapter 2: Very Tempting Offer

Summary:

V and Jackie reconvene at El Coyote Cojo, but someone else drops in on their conversation. Back at Lizzie’s, V learns a little more about what Evelyn has planned, which turns out to be much bigger than he had anticipated.

The look on Pepe’s face when the pair walked in together was priceless.

“You!” He glared at Jackie before turning to V. “And you. Since when do the two of ya know each other?!”

 

“Dios mio, Pepe!” Jackie replied, “shoulda be more surprised we haven’t bumped into each other for this long.” 

 

By the time they approached the bar and landed on two well-used stools, a pair of generously filled glasses of tequila were already waiting for them. Jackie’s was neat, while V’s had one large ice cube. Pepe poured a measure for himself too, but used a shot glass instead.

“To new friends from old places!” He raised the glass with his gold-plated cybernetic hand.

 

“To new friends!” Jackie and V proclaimed in unison, joining the other man with their own glasses.

 

All three glasses were downed in one go. Pepe promptly refilled the two tumblers, but skipped his own glass.

 

“I’ll let ya two catch up. Got some ‘ware to polish, anyway. Call me if ya need anythin’.” The man left, but the bottle of tequila stayed.

 

“So, V.” Jackie appeared to like being the one to start the conversation. “How comes we never seen each other round here, but bumped shoulders all the way over at Lizzie’s?” 

 

V had a decent idea about the first half of that question, but the second one he himself had plenty of questions about. “You tell me, Jack. I’ve actually seen you around a few times, but always in passin’. You’d come through the main door, walk past the bar, grab a drink and disappear in the back.”

“What’s that ‘bout?”

 

“Ahh, right…” the bulky ex-Valentino scratched the back of his head, “I - uh - got my digs in the back alley over there.”

 

“G’damn, choom.” V leant back and forth in his chair in surprise. “Taking the whole living close to home gig literally, huh?” 

 

“The place suits me, and I get to see mi madre frequently. Otherwise she’d scream my eardrums out for not comin’ round often enough.” He made a ‘you know what I mean’ expression, to which the other merc nodded. 

Even if V hadn’t experienced their own mother doing so in two decades or so, Gloria was just the same with David. Fifteen minutes past curfew and the tactical chancla came out. The adult solo feared that weapon of dignity destruction far more than many of those that could actually hurt him.

 

Mama Welles must’ve had a sixth sense, since she appeared seemingly out of nowhere no more than sixty seconds after being mentioned.

“Jaquito, you come back and don’t let me know?” 

Just one glance at the man’s barely bruised face and she was already beside him, tilting his head this way and that like he was some sort of mannequin. “Who’d you pick a fight with this time?”

 

“Nobody, mama. ” Jackie tried to whirl out of his mother’s grasp, but failed at that miserably. “ Pendejo picked a fight with me by- ehh, nevermind what he did. He looks much worse, that’s for sure.”

 

V watched the whole scene unfold with quiet amusement, afraid to attract any attention to himself with a too-loud huff or out of place chuckle. Alas, he had no chance to escape Guandalupe’s watchful eye.

 

“Vincent Martinez.” One could use a single hand to count all the people in Night City who knew V’s full name and would get away with using it in a casual conversation and suffer zero repercussions. Even David didn’t know V’s first name, or whether V and his mother even shared the same surname.

“Have you been trying to talk sense into mijo, or were you the one to get him into trouble in the first place?” 

 

Boy, was V glad the answer wasn’t the latter. 

“Neither, actually,” he replied truthfully. “Just happened to be in the same place at the same time.”

 

“Mhm.” From her expression, it was impossible to tell if such an answer was satisfactory or damning. Neither Jackie, nor V dared to ask which one it was.

 

“It’s a shame your sister Gloria stopped coming as often as she used to,” Mama Welles spoke finally, allowing both men to breathe easy. “Pass my regards and I hope that David is doing well at the Academy. He’s such a bright boy, but can be such a handful, just like my Jaquito.”

 

“I will, señora Welles,” V promised while actively stifling a laugh over Jackie being equated to a rascal teenager. 

 

“Please, call me Mama Welles. We’re pretty much family.” She had followed the same logic as Jack did back at the club. Although, unlike her son, the matriarch likely had a very good reason to claim such a connection.

 

Suitable response to a request like that could only be a grateful nod and an equally grateful ‘thank you’. 

 

“It’s almost dinner time and I’m certain neither of you had a proper bite to eat all day.” She was dead on in V’s case and, judging by the hungry look that Jackie gave at the mention of food, in his case as well. “ Toma, I’ll make you something.”

 

——

 

‘Something to eat’ turned into a feast of quesadillas, tostadas and a whole bunch of other delicious treats that V had no clue how to call, but wolfed down almost as fast as they were placed in front of him.

It was fair to say that he hadn’t eaten anything this good in years.

 

Barely able to walk properly, the merc said his profound thanks to the gracious hostess and began to make his way towards the exit where his bke waited. 

 

“Hey, V, wait up!” Equally stuffed Jackie hurried after the other man. “Gotta ask you a little somethin’.”

 

“What is it?” V slowed his pace a little, but didn’t stop entirely. 

 

“You’re chummy with those Mox girls, aintcha?” The big man wiggled his eyebrows, obviously referring to Rita in particular. 

 

This time V did stop. He turned to look at the other guy with narrowed eyes. “And? Get to the point.”

 

“Listen…” Judging by the twisted expression, Welles Jr. was hesitant if he should be asking what he was about to ask at all. “I’m, eh… I’m looking for a chica that hangs out at that club a lot, but no one will tell me nuthin’, like they’re all protectin’ her.”

“I hear she’s got a preem contract open and wanted to offer my services. The cash’s a little tight right now, but I wanna treat my girl to a nice date, and help Mama with some repairs round the bar…” 

V’s attention shifted away from the guy’s ramblings and focused on the crux of the request. Jackie was also looking for Evelyn Parker, but his motives were diametrically opposed to V’s. 

Or were they?

Although Susie asked the merc to dissuade the enterprising blonde from getting into whatever that heist gig she was trying to organize, V himself was rather intrigued. A heist implied there was something valuable to klept, and that, in turn, implied large stacks of eddies to be made. 

 

‘Worst case scenario, gonna waste ten minutes of my life talking to her,’ the solo rationalized to himself. ‘What’s the harm, right?’

 

“Earth to V?” Lost in his own thoughts, the merc hadn’t noticed that Jackie had stopped talking what must’ve been an awkwardly long time ago. “Do you know a Mox called Parker or not?”

 

“I do,” V admitted. “But I can’t intro you tonight, I’m ‘fraid. Got my own biz with the lady first.”

 

Jackie looked disappointed. “Don’t be skipping the queue by cutting a choom out now, holmes. That ain’t cool, ya hear?” 

 

“It ain’t nothin’ like that, I swear.” That much was true, although if V did do what was asked of him, then there would be no more job at the end of that anyway. He’d take it away from Jack one way or another. His freshly made acquaintance did not need to know that, though.

 

“Fine, fine. But be a good man and pass my deets to her when you two see each other, will ya?” The ex-Valentino’s eyes lit up brilliant blue as he sent his number to V. 

 

“A’ight, sure. I will.” There was no harm in promising and even doing so, or at least so V thought. 

 

“Catch ya later then, I better go help Mama clean up.” Jackie let a fearful chuckle out and waved the other man goodbye before disappearing back into the bar. 

 

‘What an odd evening this is turning out to be,’ V thought as he straddled his Kusanagi and fired up the engine.

 

——

 

As usual for a Thursday night, the queue to get into Lizzy’s stretched well into the bar’s car park. 

V went right on and skipped the line, angering a whole bunch of prospective patrons in the process. Most simply voiced their distaste for the q-jumper, while a select few went as far as shouting threats at the merc. 

He ignored each and every one of those gonks, walked right up to Rita, gave his output a long smooch on the cheek that prompted a satisfied giggle, and walked straight through the front door like he owned the place. 

 

“Back so soon, pretty boy?” Cricket, one of the Mox girls that usually watched the front desk, called V over in the same way she always did. She never meant anything by it, or at least she better didn’t. Otherwise she’d have to square things up with Rita and nobody, not even a fellow Mox, would want to get on that woman’s bad side. 

 

“Believe it or not, comin’ in for Susie Q biz.” V treated the scantily clad ganger to a cheeky wink without slowing his pace. 

 

One minute later he was perched on a stool near the end of the bar, giving Mateo, the bartender who was currently serving someone else at the opposite end some meaningful glares. 

 

As soon as he served the drinks, the attractive barkeep walked across, but not before grabbing an empty tumbler and filling it with tequila. Said glass was deftly slid across the backlit surface towards the merc. 

“She’d gone down to talk to Alverez.” Without even being asked, Mateo nodded towards a set of double doors that V knew led to the basement - Judy’s BD den.

 

“A’ight, thanks man.” After downing the fiery liquid in one gulp, V wired the full price for the drink, even though he knew he didn’t have to. “Cya later.”

 

The other man didn’t get a chance to respond, as at least three different customers began trying to catch his attention to make their order.

 

V ignored the foreboding sign of ‘Employees Only’ and pushed one of the metal doors with his shoulder. Just as soon as the door swung shut behind him, the almost deafening noise of the club quieted down a few decibels into a manageable upbeat hum. The sounds faded even further as the solo descended into the maintenance level.  He followed a line of pipes, skipping right past a room filled to the brim with servers to reach his destination - BrainDance editing suite of one Judy Alvarez, a true magician when it came to virtual reality experiences.

Instead of barging straight in, he decided to hold back and see if he could steal a few bits of a conversation between the pair. Neither Judy, a BD editor, nor Evelyn, a doll, were likely to have any implants that could alert them to his presence, so he was safe in that regard. 

 

“Why are you even telling me all this, Ev?!” Judy didn’t seem at all pleased with whatever it was that Parker had divulged. “We both can get zeroed for even talkin’ about it.” 

 

“Would you stop worrying already? Nobody’ll find out it was me.” There was a pause punctuated by a very faint clicking sound - a cigarette lighter.  “Some whore visiting Arasaka’s prodigal son is but a detail to be omitted from the official reports, nothing more.”

Parker’s unfiltered self-awareness was astounding to witness. One thing was very clear to V - the woman was acutely aware of her current position in this world and was determined to abuse it to get ahead.

The woman’s personal qualities and ambitions aside, the part about Arasaka and its supposed ‘son’ was much more worrying. V knew of only one person who could be called that, and that would be Yorinobu Arasaka - the last remaining heir to the throne of the Japanese megacorp. If he understood the implications correctly, Evelyn was currently sleeping with the man and - somehow - wanted to use that access in her plan for this heist.  

Whatever it was that the enterprising blonde was scheming, it was bound to either be a glorious success, or a meteoric downfall for every single soul involved. Knowing Arasaka, chances of it being the latter were overwhelmingly higher.

 

“You keep talkin’ like you’ve already got everything set up.” Judy was speaking again. “But all I see are buncha wannabe legends that can’t even rob a store, let alone a megacorp, and an ever-growing drinks tab with Mateo that I can’t keep begging to get extended for much longer, Ev.”

“Maybe it’s time to let this go or at least find a fixer, huh?”

 

“And lose half of the money in the process?!” Evelyn let out a disgruntled huff of such magnitude that it could be heard even through the metal doors where V was standing. “Thanks for your concern, Judes, but no. I’ll keep trying on my own for a little while longer.”

 

V decided that he had heard as much as was useful by this point. He straightened up, walked up to the door in a way that his footsteps would be audible and gently knocked on the small glass pane installed in the middle of one of the doors before pushing it open.

 

“Hey there,” he greeted the pair, whose anxious eyes darted to him the moment he stepped past the threshold of the BD editing studio. 

 

“V?!” Judy asked. “The fuck’re you doin’ here?” 

 

“Who’s this?” Evelyn asked her friend without letting the newcomer out of her sight. 

 

“That’s V, Rita’s input,” the BD editor explained. “He’s a good friend of the Mox. Although…” 

Her eyes narrowed as she seemingly scrutinized every tiny detail of V’s expression. “Why would you bother coming down here, huh?”

 

There was no point beating around the bush and, besides, V already felt like he was getting pulled by an unseen vortex of drama and danger that he was very much unwilling to be sucked into. When he heard Susie Q speak of the ‘heist’, he thought of some transport in transit, or an experimental bit of Kiroshi wetware… But dealing with the royal family of Ara-fucking-Saka? That was way too much even for his gluttonous risk appetite. 

“Susie Q had asked me to talk to Evelyn about this heist you’ve apparently been chattin’ to people about,” he said plainly, making sure to not accidentally drop any bit of intel that he had gained by eavesdropping. “She’s worried you gonna get the Mox mixed up into something shitty by conducting your biz over here.”

 

“Looks like you weren’t as careful as you thought you were, Ev.” Judy’s expression was complex. It was an ever-shifting mix of her warnings and concerns being vindicated coupled with genuine worry for her friend’s wellbeing.

 

“But how did you-?!” Evelyn didn’t even finish her question as she must’ve realized that the answer was pretty much moot. She had been found out even before she could get her master plan into motion.

“Nevermind.” Her tone turned ice-cold. “Tell Susanna that I’ll refrain from conducting my business at the club from this point on.”

 

It was V’s turn to scrutinize the other person’s expression. “Are you droppin’ the whole idea, then?” 

 

“Why do you care? You can tell your taskmistress that you’ve talked me out of exposing the Mox, she’ll give you a pat ‘well done’. Isn’t that what you want, V?” 

 

V wouldn’t normally let some stuck-up wannabe mastermind speak down to him like that, but she did have a point. His job here was done, so there was no reason to keep pushing or even talking at all. 

Besides, there was much better female company waiting for him upstairs. “You got a point there. This is my que to delta.” 

 

Without bothering to listen for a response, he quickly turned on his heels and left the BD editing den, making a swift beeline towards the bar to grab a pair of beer bottles to share with Rita as she finished her shift.

Drinking on the job was not something that would ever be prohibited at an establishment such as Lizzie’s. Besides, there was even a benefit to it - Rita could always use the empty beer bottle as a projectile in case any undesirable just happened to be a little too far out of reach of her trusty baseball bat. 

 

——

 

“How’s your day been?” V asked as the megabuilding lift shot up. Rita was staying over at his that night. 

They rode back together on his bike, but such a mode of transport wasn’t the most accommodating towards conversation, so the lift ride was the first real opportunity they got to catch up.

 

“Fuck my day, what the hell were you up to?” One look at Rita made it obvious that she wasn’t going to accept an evasive answer. Not that V was going to give her one, anyway.  “First, ya break up a scuffle and leave with some chunky honcho. Then I find out that Susie gotcha talkin’ sense into Parker about the shady shit she’d been tryin’ to run at our club…”

“Spill, V.”

 

“A’ight, a’ight.” V raised his hands, calling for a ceasefire in questioning. “I’ll tell ya everything, but can we do it with a drink in hand?” 

 

“It’s your place, you gonk.” Rita grinned. “Have whatever ya like, as long as ya pour me one too and keep talkin’ until you tell me everything.”

 

Notes:

I’ve now got a decent idea where I want to take this, and it will be a little different from the previous stories in the series, primarily because I will want to have more relationships between different characters involved (platonic and romantic), and just have a go at it.
V and Jackie’s friendship, V’s relationship with (his now sister) Gloria, V’s influence on David, and so on.

Next chapter, we’ll get a proper introduction to Gloria and David, plus a certain event that will turn out very differently from the original.

Chapter 3: Collateral

Summary:

V’s in the middle of running a job for Padre when he gets a call from Gloria - David’s in trouble with the Arasaka Academy again.

Notes:

There’s a bit of what I can best describe as ‘tasteful nudity’ at the beginning of the chapter.

V woke up first, as he usually did. Rita, on the account of her mostly nocturnal occupation, got her beauty sleep whenever she could, and that morning wasn’t an exception.

He gave his sleeping girlfriend a quick glance, brushed a strand of hair away from her face and deftly rolled off the low-slung bed.

 

“Meow!” Nibbles didn’t wait a single minute to greet his owner. He was particularly keen on attention whenever someone else was around.

 

“And good morning to you too, big man,” V whispered as he crossed the tiny flat and punched in a few buttons on the built-in vending machine.

A bunch of eddies left his account, and the merc soon had his can of iced coffee, while the cat was digging into a portion of Meat Delight. V wouldn’t mind grabbing a bite himself, but wanted to wait for Rita to wake up first.

 

Luckily, the Mox didn’t make him wait too long. The coffee wasn’t even finished yet when she began stirring in bed. She turned around and attempted to wrap one hand around her not present input. Failing that, Rita opened her eyes ever so slightly to investigate where V had vanished. 

 

“Mmorrning,” Rita murmured after locating V sitting at the edge of the couch, watching her while he stroked Nibbles behind one ear. 

 

“Morning, sleepyhead,” the merc beamed in response. “You hungry?”

 

Rita replied with something inaudible. 

 

“Whaddaya say?” V placed the now empty can on the small table by the window and leant in to hear the still half-asleep woman better. 

He wasn’t ready when two chromed hands grabbed and pulled him back onto the bed. The same two hands then proceeded to wrap around his torso, cutting off any means of escape.

 

“Five morr minutsh,” Wheeler’s already quiet words were muffled further by V’s tank top, where she was currently burying her face in.

 

“A’ight, a’ight.” V wiggled in place in order to settle further into the C-shape of Rita’s body. 

 

They lay like that for good five minutes before the Mox spoke again, her face still resting against the top of V’s back. “Burritos.” 

 

“You want burritos for breakfast?” He confirmed.

 

“Mhm.” The barely audible sound was punctuated by a light bump of her forehead against his skin. V concluded that it was probably meant to be a nod.

 

“Okay then,” he replied with a smile. “I’ll need you to let me go to get them, though.”

 

“In a bit.” This time, Rita’s voice was loud and clear as she shuffled a little higher so that she could hook her chin on V’s shoulder. “I’m enjoyin’ this way too much.”

 

V had zero objections to that. Not a single one. 

 

They lay intertwined for a few more minutes that felt like seconds when an alarm clock went off inside V’s head. 

He grumbled in protest, but still began to slowly wriggle out of Rita’s clutches. Eventually, V managed to get back up again and targeted the shower as his next destination.

The stream of water from above barely managed to thoroughly soak V’s body when Rita stepped into the shower, ducked under one of his arms that was resting against the wall and came face to face with the merc. 

 

“Hey there, handsome,” she spoke in a sultry tone as her disheveled morning hair began to get wet and straighten out under its own weight.

 

“Hey,” V replied as he watched the droplets rush down Rita’s shoulders and over her breasts and stomach. 

 

“Found somethin’ you like, loverboy?” The Mox wiggled her hips seductively as she teased her input for admiring her body.

 

“Very much so,” V exhaled as he grabbed Rita by the hair at the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss.

That went on for a while until Rita decided to take matters into her own hands and jumped on top of her man, wrapping her legs around his waist and grabbing one of the handles to keep them stable.

 

Fully aware of where this was heading, V felt obliged to offer a warning. “You’ll be late for lunch with your mom.”

 

“Not the mental image I wanted to have right now, but you’re right. Two secs.” Rita’s eyes lit up blue for a moment before returning back to their usual malachite green. “There. Let her know I’ll be late.” 

She leant back into V, letting go of the handle and letting him hold her up on his own - a task that the merc was more than capable of. “You’ve got fifteen minutes, hotshot.”

 

——

 

V approached the unassuming square nested between a cluster of buildings. The fenced-off section was originally built as a basketball court, but was used for many other things. Just last Saturday, V got his Champion of Heywood title in an illegal boxing match, beating Cesar Ruiz.

Only Valentinos and natives of Heywood knew of the true significance of this place. By far the most important purpose of this small square was the meeting spot of choice for a certain Sebastian Ibarra, better known as Padre . The man commanded immense levels of respect among the gangers and civilians alike, the courtesy that he had extended in return. V could even recall some people from the neighboring boroughs paying respects to the former priest, even if only to safeguard safe passage within his territory.

Him and Padre went way back. Although long not practicing, the merc still remembered that it was Ibarra who had baptized him. On many an occasion teenage Vincent had been protected by the quiet, but vengeful man whose word carried weight with a gangster and NCPD officer alike. 

So, when a text came asking to meet, V took it less as an ask and more as a direct request. A request he wouldn’t dare deny even if he had much better things to do.

 

“V, my son.” Padre stood up from his bench to greet the approaching merc with a heartfelt pat on the shoulder. “Always good to see you in the flesh.” 

 

“And you, Padre.” The merc gave the fixer a respectful nod. “Saw your text. What’s goin’ on?”

 

“Your prompt response is always appreciated, V. Will you walk with me?” The older man gestured towards an alley.

 

V obliged, matching the fixer's slow but sure pace.  “Course, Padre.”

“What is it?”

Two bruisers who were previously watching the kids shoot hoops from the other side of the wire fence followed the pair without a moment’s hesitation. They kept at a respectable distance, but still close enough to be able to come to Padre’s aid if such a need ever arose. Not that the older man was in much danger in his own neighborhood. 

 

“You know the church off Ford Street?” Padre took out a small roll of eurodollars and passed it to a beggar woman. She proceeded to bow multiple times in thanks, but didn’t dare to interrupt their conversation.

 

V knew that church well, perhaps a little too well. His parents were married there. His father’s eulogy was read there too. A hundred years ago he’d be buried next to that church, too, but these days even a tiny niche in the Columbarium was a luxury that few could afford. An aluminum urn on a shelf in Gloria’s flat had to do in their case.

Padre knew as much, but avoided using any specific reminders out of courtesy. 

 

“Mhm,” the merc nodded. “What ‘bout it?” 

 

“A group of men came by the other day. Emptied the donations box, made a mess of the altar, Had the audacity to take the statue of Virgen Maria with them, too.” It took knowing Ibarra as long as V did to notice the slight changes in the man’s tone that betrayed that he was absolutely furious about the whole situation, not any less because his hands appeared to be tied. 

“Sister Helena described these men. Neon jackets, loud bikes.”

 

“Tyger Claws,” V hissed through his teeth.

 

The fixer approached a seemingly random door and rang the bell. The man who opened up immediately began bowing before accepting another, slightly thicker than before wad of cash. He made the sign of the cross before bowing even lower and closing the door shut again.

 

“I am of the same opinion.” Padre turned around to look V in the eye. The merc returned the gesture, witnessing more of quiet seething rage in the older man’s gaze. “Will you recover what was stolen and punish those who raised their hand against those who could not fight back?”

 

Everything about how this request had been served screamed a personal favor, rather than a ‘formal’ gig, so V had little wiggle room here. Not that he would deny, anyway - Heywood blood boiled inside of him at the Claws’ audacity. Hitting a group of Valentinos or even Padre was one thing, but robbing a church?!

“Course, Padre. I’ll find them,” V promised.

 

“Go with God, my son.” Ibarra placed both hands on V’s shoulders as a form of blessing, held them there for a few moments and then turned back in the direction where they had just come from. His two bodyguards waited for the man to approach closer before turning back themselves.

 

V reached under his arm and unholstered his trusty Unity pistol. A quick check of the weapon revealed that it was in perfect condition and fully loaded. With three more magazines on him, a whole bunch of determination and borderline righteous anger at the Tyger Claws, he had everything necessary to proceed with the assignment.

 

——

 

V could hardly call himself a detective, but neither were the gonks he was after mastermind criminals. A few chats with the witnesses and a call to Wakako landed him an address of a bar that the likely suspects claimed as their den of sorts. Despite her affiliation, Lady of Westbrook Estate was not keen on any incursions that could threaten the fragile truce between Night City’s biggest gangs. Giving up a few low-ranking opportunists was a small price to pay for peace and subsequent protection of one’s income and status.

 

Aside from not being a sleuth, V was also not particularly apt at keeping his snarky mouth shut when he really ought to. 

This is why he currently found himself hunkering behind what used to be a functional vending machine only a few minutes ago. By this point, the smashed-up food dispenser was good only for one thing it was currently used as - a bullet sponge.

Perhaps calling one of the Tygers who got testy with V a scop-munching imbecile wasn’t the best course of action, after all.

 

Of-fucking-course Gloria had to dial him up right in that very moment.

 

“Gloria! Hi!” V tried to put up as neutral of an expression as he could as his sister’s image popped up in a corner of his HUD. “ Whassup, sis?”  

 

Gloria was onto him right away. “Why’re you talking like you’re one of David’s chooms?”

A barrage of bullets unleashed at V’s makeshift shelter that made him flinch didn’t help things either.

“Vince? What’s going on?” 

 

“Just on a job, y’know how it is,” V shrugged, sliding even lower down to avoid getting clipped by a stray bullet. “ To what do I owe the pleasure, anyway?” 

 

Gloria let out a deep, pained sigh before answering. “It’s David. He managed to nuke Academy’s subnet somehow, and now I gotta go pick him up since he got his gonk ass suspended.”

“I bet they’re gonna make me foot the bill for repairs, cos ‘course they will…” She looked like she was very reluctant to ask what she knew she had to ask. 

 

Perhaps partially out of feeling bad for taking the call in the middle of a firefight, but mostly because he felt for his sister who was working herself to death trying to pay for David’s incredibly expensive education at Arasaka Academy, V decided to let his sis off the hook. “ I’ll foot the bill, dontcha worry. Just let me finish with this and-“ 

 

Before V could finish a sentence, one of the remaining Tyger Claws decided to perform a daring flanking maneuver, suddenly appearing from behind another row of vending machines.

Unfortunately for the ganger and his plan, V spotted him way earlier and already engaged his Sandevistan. The operating system implant was the cheapest of its kind - a budget version, as the ripper had diplomatically put it - but it did its job well enough, especially when applied thoughtfully. The merc leapt to his feet and closed the distance with the Tyger currently soaring in slow-mo through the air. V took his time to position himself behind his target, raised his pistol and pulled the trigger. 

When the world returned to its normal speed, the Tyger Claw flew halfway across the aisle, his brains spraying all over the place.

 

“V!” Gloria yelled into the holo link. “ The fuck was that?! Gunshots?!”

 

“M-maybe…” The merc shrugged innocently.

 

“V!!” The face of anger was replaced with an expression of deep worry and concern. “You coulda answer after you were done! I ain’t rushin’ halfway across NC to patch you up if you get shot while trying to multitask on a gig. Again.” 

It was amusing to see her Heywood slang come out when she was agitated and talking to someone like her brother. 

 

“Hey, you know I never decline your calls, Glo. You never call unless it’s important.” Given he was busted anyway, V saw no point in trying to hold things back while still on the phone with his sister. 

He proceeded to dash over the bar counter, grabbed one of the bottles at random and threw it at the last remaining Claws ganger. The misdirection worked wonders and gave him just enough time to unload the remaining three bullets in his magazine into the guy’s chest. He stopped squeezing the trigger only after the pistol clicked empty three times in a row.

“I’m all ears now,” V spoke into the holo after ensuring that everyone of interest was dead. “ When do you want me there?”

 

“How about you come by H4 and we can ride together? No offense, but you arriving on your loud-ass bike won’t do any favors for our image as upstanding citizens.”

 

V knew it was going to get him in trouble, but he asked the question anyway. “Since when’re we ‘upstanding citizens’, eh?!”

“Sure, sure.” He added immediately after being treated to a death stare from Gloria. 

Not losing any time, V fished out a backroom key from one of the corpses and proceeded towards the back of the bar, where he suspected the stolen items would be. 

He made a quick round of mental math to estimate how long it would take for him to drop off the statue and make it to the Megabuilding where Gloria lived. “Can be there in about… twenty?” 

 

“Fine, but don’t you go on some detour like last time. I don’t want to look like I set a bad example for David.” Gloria’s face turned stern again. “ And neither do you, right?”

 

That last bit didn’t sound like a question at all, but  V was too happy to have found what he was looking for to protest. “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Glo. Cya soon.”

He quickly grabbed the holy statue and every other valuable item in the stash and dashed for the exit.

 

——

 

Gloria left her brother to mind the car while she came inside to mitigate any damage caused by David’s stunt with the school’s computer system. V didn’t mind much - dealing with stuck up ‘Saka administrators was far from his idea of a good time. 

Although it was hard to say that being glared at with disdain and pity by the snotty offspring of some high-flying, coke-snorting corporats was much better. 

 

“Look at that car,” one of the kids about David’s age whispered to his mate with a grimace on his face. “Where’d he get it, the municipal dump?”

The pair began laughing at first, but after getting treated to a menacing scowl, they quickly hurried along and jumped into their daddy’s and mommy’s cars, not daring to glance back at the dirty scary man from the streets.

This amused V a little, somewhat offsetting the nasty feeling stemming from his gut that being inside Arasaka’s premises for a prolonged period of time produced.

He experienced being the punchline to a few more half-assed jokes, as well as a couple more disapproving glares from students and parents alike before he spotted Gloria’s high-viz jacket emerging from the sliding doors, followed closely by moping David. 

 

“What happened?” Gloria demanded from her son as soon as the trio settled into her dingy Thorton Galena. “Didn’t I tell you to get the upgrade?”

 

V missed the part where he was promoted to the chauffeur position, but after Gloria climbed in the back with David, he simply shrugged and got into the driver’s seat. 

 

“Yeah. Doc’s damned fault,” David grumbled in response, looking out of the window as the Arasaka Academy building disappeared behind them to be replaced by a row of characterless steel-and-glass skyscrapers. “Gave me a faulty broken drive.”

 

V recognised that name instantly “Doc?! That butcher hasn’t sold a working piece of tech in his life.”

He adjusted the rear view mirror to get a better look at David’s face. “How’d you even get mixed up with that kind of character?”

 

“This the first time I’m buyin’ anything from him,” the teen replied. “Usually just help him shift some stock for a bit of extra pocket cash, s’all.”

 

The merc knew exactly what kind of ‘stock’ Doc was peddling and if David wasn’t in deep shit with his mother already, he’d share that knowledge right there and then. However, the gonk teen was already in trouble and V would be a shitty uncle if he kicked the guy when he was already down. 

Instead, he made a mental note to talk it out with David one-on-one.

 

“You tried to get around the system, didn’t you?” Gloria was obviously not done with her son just yet. “Now it’ll cost us ten times more. I’ve had to ask V for help, otherwise we won’t make rent this month.”

 

“S’okay, really, Glo.” V tried to diffuse the tense air inside the tiny hatchback at least a little. “It could be much worse than twelve grand.”

 

“Twelve grand?!” David’s eyes bulged out in shock. “Is that how much they charged you for that tiny glitch?!”

When the implications of this new information dawned on him, he deflated just as quickly as he got riled up. “I’m sorry, mom, uncle V.”

 

“If it’s something you gotta apologize for, then don’t do it in the first place, ‘ey?” 

 

“You said you didn’t have the eddies when I asked, so I thought I’d help a little by finding an alternative.” 

 

Once again, V’s tongue itched to drop a truth bomb on David that there were far more reliable - and likely cheaper - people to turn to for such software, but ultimately kept his mouth shut. 

 

“I was waiting for payday!” A note of desperation creeped into Gloria’s voice. “You know we ain’t got that kind of cash just layin’ around.” 

“Can’t you sit still for one goddamn minute?!” She was referring to the never-stopping tapping that David was doing with his foot every time he felt impatient, which was pretty much always. The teenager obliged and stopped, although that never lasted for long. 

 

“You know, I’ve been thinkin’…” David started dejectedly, “maybe I drop out, find some work or whatever. V’s doing well for himself if he’s footing our bills ‘n’ all that.”

 

“Do you hear yourself?!” Gloria rasped. “To throw all of it away just like that?!”

“Neither V, nor me had anything close to such an opportunity to make it somewhere in this world.”

 

As much as he was conflicted about the whole studying to be a corpo deal, V had to agree with his sister. He didn’t choose to be a small-time hustler - that was simply one of the two options available, right beside joining the Valentinos or some other gang. The fact that he made it this far without scoring a bullet between the eyes had already put V into the upper echelons of those coming out of Heywood, and that still amounted to ‘fuck all’ in the grand scheme of things. If David made it through the Academy, he had a real chance to outshine generations of his family that came before him, and set his own children for far better futures than his mom or uncle could ever hope for.

 

“You don’t want my life, kid. Your mom has worked too hard to make this work for you to just give up on your future so easily.”

 

“You don’t see how the others look at me,” David replied. “If you ain’t bleedin’ corpo blue, all you get is getting shat on by everybody else.” 

“They won’t accept me even if I graduate top of my class and don’t fry a single other circuit of theirs before getting there.”

“No kid from Santo is gonna be a suit.” He crossed his hands on his chest and demonstratively turned from his mother and uncle to face the other way. “Don’t want to be one, anyway.”

 

V heard a faint whimper coming from where Gloria was sitting. He clutched the wheel so hard, his knuckles turned white. If he wasn’t driving, David would get a smack on the head that he wouldn’t forget for a long, long time for upsetting his mother like that.

 

“Everything I’m doing, busting my ass off at my job, taking triple shifts, barely seeing you…” V adjusted his mirror again, this time focusing on his sister. Tears began gathering at the corners of her eyes. “That’s all for you, Dee.”

“You’re breaking my heart, mijo… ” The last line wasn’t said much louder than a whisper, but the one it was aimed at heard it loud and clear, or so it appeared.

 

“Don’t cry, mom…” David finally turned to look his mother in the eye. “I’m sorry I even brought it up.”

 

If V wasn’t stealing glances of the heartfelt conversation happening in the back, he would’ve definitely missed a pink van loaded to the brim with Animals swiftly approaching them from the rear. At least two juiced-up meat mountains were hanging off its sides, massive weapons in hand. 

Something was about to go down and you didn’t need to have a single street smart bone in your body to know that you didn’t want to be caught in the middle of it. 

 

As the Animals’ vehicle swerved to the right to overtake their Galena, V engaged his Sandevistan. 

“Hold oooooon !” He yelled, the last word’s sound getting elongated into infinity as the slow-time implant kicked into full gear. The solo slammed on the brakes at the same time, pulling their car to a safe distance behind the gangoon’s van. 

 

“Whaaat theee fuck was that?!” Gloria’s voice returned to normal speed halfway through her question as V’s Sandi timed out. 

 

The merc didn’t have time to explain. Animals opened fire out of all available barrels, aiming at a corpo-looking limo. 

After that, all hell broke loose. A rocket threw the limousine up in the air, flipping it in the process. The long car slid a few meters forward on sheer inertia, threatening to smash into the fast-approaching Galena, which V was desperately trying to steer in any other direction but forward to avoid the almost inevitable collision. He wasn’t getting far with that on the account of the old Thorton’s handling being on the far end of ‘fucking terrible’ on a good day.

Reluctantly, V engaged Sandevistan once more. Doing so in such quick succession was promising to run havoc on his nervous system. It was still better than ending up bleeding out by the side of the road.

An almost impossible swerve to the right was performed, but V didn’t quite manage to avoid the flaming corpo carrier completely. He caught the wrecked vehicle with the left corner of his Thorton, sending the tiny car into a spin that was interrupted only when they smashed into another car that got shot up into swiss cheese by the trigger happy Animals. 

 

“Are you two okay?!” V yelled to his passengers as soon as he recovered from the whiplash caused by the sudden stop. 

 

“I-I think so?” Gloria replied. She was already studying every square inch of David for bruises or any other, more serious injuries. 

 

“Mom!” The teenager protested. “Mom, I’m fine! I wasn’t hurt!”

 

“Thank god!” Only after she made sure that was the case did Gloria turn to check up on V. “V, your nose’s bleeding!” 

 

Suddenly resumed gunfire prevented V from brushing off the Sandevietan-induced nosebleed as nothing to be concerned about.

“Look after your mom.” He told David before pulling out his gun and checking it was loaded. 

 

“V, no!” Gloria reached out to try and grab her brother to keep him inside, in the supposed safety of their car, but she missed him and her fist grasped at empty air.

 

“Stay in the car, both of ya,” the merc instructed sternly before ducking behind the nearest wreck. 

 

Much to the credit of Villefort, makers of the ambushed corpo limo, it appeared that most of its passengers survived the explosion and subsequent rough landing. Those passengers quickly began firing back at the Animals, who turned around to check if their target was truly dead. 

For a second V wondered if this was a hit job or just some gang-corpo grudge getting settled in the least subtle of ways, but it ultimately didn’t matter in this case. If these two groups were to continue their fiery squabble, his family was bound to get hurt. He couldn’t let that happen. 

 

“Yo!” V called over one of the limo guys, who looked like hired muscle, and not your usual factory-issued corpo bodyguard. 

 

“Stay the fuck away!” The bulky man in pitch-black sunglasses yelled in response, training his pistol at V. 

 

“Relax, choom! I’m on your side.” The merc nodded at the approaching Animals. “Those motherfuckers almost shot me up to pieces, fuck ‘em.” 

 

The huscle took his sweet time contemplating the offer. In the end, even his modem-powered brain must’ve done the math and concluded that he couldn’ afford to turn down help with these odds. 

“Alright then,” he nodded. “But no funny biz, ya hear?” 

 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” V wordlessly gestured that he was going to go round, to which the other man agreed to with a nod before proceeding in the opposite direction.

 

The flipped-over limo acted as a decoy for the advancing gangoons, who were too focused on ensuring they zero whoever was inside that they had completely missed two men flanking them.

V leapt from behind his cover, taking two down Animals from the side in one swift barrage of bullets. Unfortunately, their chooms caught on fairly quickly and soon he was under a blanket of high-caliber fire that threatened to tear off his limbs if they got caught in it. Pinned down and unable to even peek out, the solo hoped that he didn’t make a mistake siding with the bodyguard.

Thankfully, the black glasses proved to be much more capable in combat than in tactics, taking down the gangoon with the LMG and giving V just the window of opportunity to resume his advance. 

A couple of minutes and a looted Saratoga later, three more Animals lay motionless on the tarmac. 

 

Eventually, V and his newfound friend met again by the pink van. 

“Hey, nice work over the- ACK!” A searing burst of pain exploded in V’s side. He instinctively turned around to see that one of the borged out goons wasn’t as dead as he appeared at first, probably revived by one of his implants. That omission was quickly corrected by a shot to the head that no cyberware could possibly revive one from.

 

Thankfully, the bullet only grazed V’s stomach, not hitting any vital organs. He swore, more at himself for being so careless than the bastard who shot him, as he pulled out a Bounce Back and stabbed himself just to the left of the gunshot wound.

 

“Nice shootin’, bruv.” The huscle gave an appreciative nod. “They were after my bossman, but he ain’t in the car right now.”

 

“What kind of boss do ya have, to make enemies out of Animals?” V didn’t really care much, but felt like asking anyway. His first priority was to get back to his car to check up on Gloria and David.

 

“You might find out,” came an oddly ominous response. 

 

“Whatever, choom. Gotta go.” The merc gave his one-time partner a lazy wave and proceeded to shuffle back towards where he left the Galena. 

 

He just saw its rusted roof peek from behind another vehicle when a panicked face of David shot up from the other side.

“V! Come quick!” The teen cried out. “It’s mom. She’s been shot.”

 

Notes:

The great response to this work is greatly appreciated, thank you!

I’m updating tags as they come up. Any new content warnings will come up at the beginning of the chapters where they become relevant, but there shouldn’t be anything beyond what one encounters in canon.

Next up: aftermath of the shootout on the highway and David facing the all-important decision that will determine his future, albeit now he’s got a completely different frame of reference to go off.

P.S. I haven’t settled on a theme for the chapter names just yet, so they are all untitled for now. I’ll update once I have something I’m happy with.

Chapter 4: Close Call

Summary:

V rushes to get Gloria to a doctor while suffering from a gunshot wound himself. David gets introduced to some of V’s friends at Lizzie’s.

Despite his side burning up like wildfire, V began running back to the car. He found its whole side riddled with large bullet holes that must’ve been strays from the madman with his blasted machine gun. 

 

“Gloria!” V called out to his sister who looked like she was going to lose consciousness at any moment. The whole left side of her jacket was soaked in blood.

“Glo, stay with me, ya hear!” He fished out a premium-grade BounceBack from the pocket of his synth-learther jacket and without any further ceremony stabbed her right in the chest. 

Gloria gasped as a monstrous shot of adrenalin overwhelmed her body, kicking it back into gear, even if only for a short while. 

 

“Mom! Stay with us, mom!” David pleaded from the other side of the back seat.

 

V ignored the kid for a while, his mind focusing on a singular goal - to get Gloria out of that wreckfest and to a doctor. He carefully, but swiftly pulled her out of the totalled hatchback. Glancing over every vehicle in sight, he could only see undrivable salvage candidates anywhere he looked. 

Only one car appeared to be in working order, and that was the pink van that no longer had a living owner to claim it. 

“Fuck it,” V spat before heading back towards the only promising way of saving his sister from certain death.

 

“Watch her, and don’t you dare let her pass out, ya hear?!” He instructed David after carefully settling now delirious Gloria onto the floor of the cargo compartment.

He tore a large piece of his already ruined t-shirt and handed it to his nephew. “Use this and push on her wound as tightly as you can.’ 

 

“Push on wound, keep her awake. Got it.” David sniffed and wiped tears off his cheeks, but there was a look of steely resolve in his eyes now. It promised that the teenager would do as he was told. 

 

Without losing a single second, V jumped behind the wheel and floored the gas pedal as he reversed, smashing into some other car and pushing it out of the way, much to the chagrin of its already disgruntled owner. It could be the mayor Lucius Rhyne himself yelling, the merc couldn’t care less at that moment.

Nor could he care for a caller ID that had just popped up on his holo, until V suddenly realized that it may be exactly the person that he needed to hear from in that exact moment. 

 

“Yo, V. You didn’t think you’ll-“ 

 

“Not now, Jackie,” V interrupted the grumpy looking ex-Valentino. “I’m in one hell of a sitch right now. Need a lead on a good ripper, stat.”

“We’re near an overpass leading into Watson.” 

 

Much to his credit, Jackie Welles simply nodded and replied directly to what was asked of him. “Little China, Vik’s your man. His place is just behind an Esoterica shop, down the stairs. You know it?”

 

“I don’t.” That was still enough to start on. V made a sharp turn that would lead him towards Little China and pushed the van’s engine as far as it would let him.

 

“Got that hombre loco who’s always shoutin’ about some alien Technomancers or some other bullshit like that?” 

 

How could anyone forget the guy dressed in a plastic bin bag preaching some of the craziest shit V had ever heard come out of anyone’s mouth?

 

“I know it, on our way.” V didn’t even blink as he raced past the red light, missing a merging in Kaukaz hauler by no more than a few centimeters. 

 

“Buena suerte, V. Tell me how it goes.” 

 

“Will do,” V nodded into the holo. “And thanks, Jack.” 

 

“De nada, holmes.” The other man cut the call, leaving V to focus on driving. The only other voice in the van was David trying desperately to keep his bleeding out mother alive.

 

Less than five minutes later, V rushed into the subterranean clinic cradling Gloria in his arms. “Vik? Vik?!” 

 

“Put her in the chair, quickly,” the muscled ripperdoc instructed with such a lack of surprise, it was as if they came for a scheduled appointment.

Without a single word, he began working on Gloria’s wound as soon as V placed her on the ripper’s chair and stepped away to give the man space to work.

 

The merc himself stumbled backwards, all of a sudden feeling weak and sleepy himself. He allowed his knees to buckle under him and slide down the nearest wall onto the floor. 

 

“V?!” David, with his eyes bloodshot from all the crying, dropped on his knees next to his uncle. “V, you’re bleeding too!”

 

“Am I?” V lazily glanced down at his side where he was shot by the Animal. “Ah, shit!”

All the straining with carrying Gloria must’ve opened up the wound further. He was losing a lot of blood. 

 

Vik must’ve been a true professional in his field. Instead of tunneling his attention on the first patient, he quickly rolled on his tiny chair to where V was currently bleeding out holding some sort of canister in his right hand.

 

“This is gonna hurt, kid,” he warned, “but it’s the only thing I can give you quickly without one or both of ya bleeding out on me, okay?” 

 

“Mhm.” The merc had little energy left to say much else.

“ARGH!” He groaned as foamy substance enveloped the wound and the soar flesh around it, burning in, but sealing it at the same time. He was in a whole different kind of pain after that, but at least the blood loss stopped.

 

“Watch over him and let me know if he starts flatlining.” This was the second time in a space of twenty minutes that David was instructed to stop someone from dying.

 

“C’mon, uncle. You’ll pull through,” the teenager encouraged while holding V’s crimson-soaked hand. “Stay with me, V!” 

 

“A’ight, a’ight. Since you asked nicely…” 

V managed to stay conscious long enough for Vik to call David over to help him move Gloria to a cot and for the pair to move the merc to the ripper’s chair in her stead.

However, as soon as Vik started working on him, everything went dark and the solo sank into unconsciousness like a rock into the depths of Laguna Bend. 

 

——

 

V’s instincts were way ahead of his consciousness, it appeared. By the time the merc had clocked what was going on, he was already pointing his pistol that he grabbed from the bedside table at an ethereal-looking woman. The most surprising detail was the fact that she showed no fear or resentment towards the man who was pointing a gun at her. 

 

“Hello, V,” the blonde spoke in the calmest of voices. “Glad you’re awake.” 

 

Such a reaction quadrupled the guilt that soon filled V. He swiftly lowered his Unity and placed it under the duvet, as far out of sight as possible.

“I’m very sorry,” he apologized, feeling so ashamed that he couldn’t bring himself to look the woman in the eye.

 

“Don’t be,” she said in a way that simply emanated empathy. “Vik tells me that you’ve been through a lot.”

 

This reminded V of what happened before he passed out. 

“Gloria?!” His eyes darted across the clinic, looking for his wounded sister. 

“Where’s she?” He asked the stranger, not even bothering to hide the despair in his voice.

 

“She’s safe. Vik said he didn’t have the right equipment to ensure she recovered well here, so he called in a favor to move her to a local private clinic on credit.” She sat on the far edge of the bed. “I’m Misty by the way, Jackie’s girlfriend.”

That last revelation suddenly made a lot of puzzle pieces come into place. Jackie must’ve known about this clinic because his girlfriend worked here. Vik wasn’t surprised about their arrival because he got warned beforehand. 

Still, being treated so nicely by complete strangers felt odd, almost alien.

 

“Where’s-“ V had to take a pause as he shuffled upwards to sit up. The side of his stomach hurt something awful, but at least it didn’t feel like it was bleeding out anymore. A quick glance down revealed that his whole lower torso was bandaged so tightly, that he’d probably need a knife to undo them.

“Where’s David, the scrawny teen that was with us?” 

 

“Jack’s taken him to Lizzie’s. Said with you out cold, it was the only place he knew of where you had friends.” 

Learning that David was taken to a bar-slash-strip club-slash-porn BD parlor was not the best news, but it was also very far from the worst. Judging by the fact that the gonk was peddling XBDs, this wouldn’t be the most shocking sight he’d have experienced. 

V would just need to have a very, very stern conversation with the kid to never, ever mention it to Gloria whenever they’d reunite. 

 

Faced with a decision of whether to pick up his nephew or check on his sister first, V quickly realized he had a much more immediate challenge to overcome - getting out of bed. 

“Argh!” He grunted as the stitched hiding under all the bandages began to stretch and dig into sore flesh.

 

Misty quickly rushed to his side and grabbed one shoulder to support his ascend. “Take it slow, don’t rush.” 

There was something incredibly soothing in how Misty talked, even to the man that pointed his gun at her as the first order of business. Jackie knew how to pick a good partner, it seemed.

“All good?” The blonde asked once V was standing up properly. 

 

“Y-yeah.” He leaned slightly forward and then slightly backwards to test his own stability. “Thanks, Misty.”

“And sorry about…. y’know.”

 

“Don’t mention it. You’ve just been acting on instincts.”

 

After popping a clean t-shirt that wasn’t his, but fit like a glove, V shuffled towards a coat rack where his jacket was hung only to see a giant shredded hole in its side. 

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” the merc grumbled as he surveyed the damage. Not only was he now indebted to at least two people, he was down his favorite item of clothing.

‘Speaking of…’ The man looked around, only just noticing that it was just the two of them in the clinic. “Where’s Vik, anyway?”

 

“He’s out for the evening, asked me to keep an eye on you.” She stood up to leave as well. “I’ll lock up once you’re gone.”

She hung out just for his sake? V was definitely indebted to three people, and that was before any of the Mox who would have to play babysitter cashed in their favors… 

 

“Thanks again, Misty. I uh- I better go fetch David then.” He wanted to add ‘before Rita teaches him something that his mother will kill all of us for’, but thought not to impose his personal issues on someone who had already gone above and beyond.

 

“I’ll see you later. Take care, V” There was an almost spooky level of casual certainty in Misty’s voice, as if she already knew when and under what circumstances they would meet next.

 

“Will do. Cya.” The merc still threw on his torn up jacket, given that he didn’t have anything else to wear and it wasn’t the warmest of months.

 

V figured out he had another problem as soon as he left the alley and stepped onto the pavement of the main road. His bike was all the way in the parking lot of Gloria’s building. That was a couple of miles away. 

“URGH!” He looked up to the sky, as if whoever was responsible for all of the misfortune that had befallen the up-and-coming solo was living up there. 

Luckily, there was a CombatCab terminal nearby. He’d be out a hundred eddies, but that was still better than taking the MagLev. Between the sorry state of the trains, non-existent punctuality and an almost hundred percent chance of being a target of picksockets, the public transport system in Night City was truly abysmal. CombatCabs weren’t exactly Delamains either, but at least one could trust them to get you to your destination in one piece.

V punched in his destination, accepted terms and conditions and settled in on the nearby slab of concrete to wait for the taxi to arrive. At least that gave him a good opportunity to send a grateful text to Jackie. He wasn’t a fan of owing an almost complete stranger such a big debt, but anything was better than losing his sister.

 

——

 

It was still too early for the club to open, so there wasn’t anyone minding the door. V used Rita’s spare keycard to swipe in. She wasn’t far from her usual spot, though - the merc spotted the pink-haired bombshell leaning against the front desk as soon as he stepped into the building.

 

“V!” Rita looked both relieved and positively furious. “What the fuck, I’ve been calling ya for hours!”

She only needed to take a single long look at the guy to see that he had a rough day.

“Sorry,” the bouncer apologized, taking V’s hand in both of hers. “What happened? The kid just said that you and Glo got shot. Didn’t want to press him any further - he’d already been through enough as is.” 

 

“Got in the middle of a shootout on the highway, one of the bastards got me.” He lifted the t-shirt to show the bandages. “Gloria’s got hit too. Gonna grab David and go see her.”

“Thanks a lot for looking after him.” V looked around only to fail to spot David anywhere. “Where’s he, anyway?” 

 

“Don’t thank me. Judy’s doing all the babysittin’.”

 

“You left a teenager with your smut editor extraordinaire?” V’s parental instincts were almost non-existent, but even to him that felt a little too much. 

‘Hopefully Dee hadn’t popped a blood vessel or five while in there,’ the merc thought.

 

“Since when are you a responsible adult, huh?” Rita shot back with a sly smirk. “Besides, Becca went down there a while back. Doubt any actual work is gettin’ done.”

 

“Oh, that’s for sure,” V chuckled. Although knowing the foul-mouthed shortie, there still was a solid chance that David would get exposed to at least some type of profanity.

 

“Go fetch your kid. I’ll see you later and kiss all of your ouchies better, kay?” Rita threw a scorching-hot look at her man before pushing him away from herself, and towards the door leading to the main dance floor.

 

“I’ll hold you to that.” V pointed a pair of finger guns at his output before turning the corner.

 

He never could get over just how quiet, peaceful even the club was during the day. No blasting music, no moaning customers - there were just a few staffers and models hanging out by the bar, and that’s about it. V gave them all a wave as he passed, receiving a slew of greetings in return.

Less than thirty seconds later, he was already opening the door to Judy’s editing den. Unlike last time, there was nothing to eavesdrop on, at least because Becca was speaking so loudly that he could hear her retelling of how some Maelstrom gonk got his dick shot off by her all the way from the staircase. Judging by the two voices laughing in the background, the story was going down like a treat.

 

“V! My man!” You could tell that the green-haired menace was an edgerunner herself on account of her reacting to the sudden arrival way ahead of the other two. You needed reflexes like that to survive in their profession.

She was by his side in an instant, pulling at the t-shirt to have a look at his bandages. “Heard you got shot up pretty badly, huh? How’d you manage that?”

 

“Forgot to double tap a gonk, almost got tapped myself.” The merc shrugged. There was nothing else to tell and he certainly didn’t have Rebecca’s artistic flair when it came to storytelling. 

 

“Rookie mistake, man.” She slapped him on the back. “Glad you came out a’ight, tho. Would be hella sad around here without ya.”

 

“You seem to be holding up the fort without any issues, Bex.” V glanced at David and Judy, both of whom still had tears in the corners of their eyes from all the laughing.

“So how many ways to butcher someone’s crotch does Dee know by now?” 

 

“Eh, just the one for now. But it’s the most reliable.” Becca proceeded to pull out her neon-pink iron and give it a spin before simulating unloading a full magazine at some imaginary gangoon. “Just aim it right and bam! Bam! Bam!” 

 

V shuddered at the thought and quickly went for a different subject. “Whatcha up to these days anyway?” 

 

“Eh, same old, same old.” She hopped on one of the steel desks that wasn’t piled up with random tech. “Runnin’ with the same crew, displaying saint-like levels of restraint on the daily by not shootin’ my bro’s head off… Just the usual, y’know.”

“He’s got himself a new wreath so I was just droppin’ by to pick up some new goodies from Jude over here.”

 

“You’re running smut runs for him?!” 

 

“Fuck no, you gonk.” Becca stared at her fellow merc with disgust. “That’s for me.”

 

“And I thought only dudes watch the-“ David winced before finishing the sentence. “ Those kinds of BDs? ”

 

Judy laughed heartily at such a naive claim. “That’s cute.”

“Chicas dig this stuff just as much, trust me.”

 

“I mean, who wouldn’t want to get railed by someone with a Sandevistan, amirite?” The green-haired solo wiggled her eyebrows at V. “Rita’s a lucky gal, eh eh eh, V?”

 

Normally, V wouldn’t be phased at all by such a joke, but he just happened to give David a glance in that same moment. Their eyes met, making the suggestive comment that much worse.

“Ahem,” the merc swallowed hard. “We better go. C’mon, Dee.”

 

“Yes, right.” The teenager was also more than happy to interrupt a conversation about his uncle’s sex life. “Are we gonna see mom? Is she okay?” 

 

“Vik’s texted me on the way here, she’s stable and awake.” He skipped the part about a huge hospital bill that was also waiting for them. David didn’t need to know about such things, especially after his shenanigans had just cost them five figures. “But we’ll need to borrow a ride first.”

He turned to the two women. “Cya later, both of ya.” 

 

“Byeee V, nice to meetcha, Daviiid.” Becca gave an enthusiastic wave. 

 

Judy was already peering into her many screens. “Later.” 

 

“You alright?” V asked after they walked past Rita who was very confused as to why David’s face went all sour after witnessing the couple embrace and share a quick peck on the lips. 

 

“I could really do without that mental image in my head, but otherwise yeah, all good.” David was kicking a loose rock in front of him as they walked towards the main road. “They’re a nice bunch, I see why you hang out with them so much.”

 

“How’d you know where I hang out anyway?” V raised an inquisitive eyebrow. 

 

“Mom says that you practically live in there at this point and after today, I don’t blame ya.”

 

“Someone’s a fan of shooting shit with Becca I see?” The merc gave his nephew a knowing smile which grew even wider when the teen grumbled something inaudible after getting insta-flustered by the insinuation. 

 

“Have you ever done any jobs with her? Like, for a fixer, I mean.” The change of topic wasn’t subtle, but V let it slide on the account of the question making him stop and think for a moment. 

 

V smirked at the memory of one of the gigs where Becca and Pilar came up with a brilliant idea to use a rigged MaiMai as a rolling bomb and ram it right into the building where their targets were. “Once or twice. She runs with this guy Maine - he sometimes gets outside help when a job needs more bodies than his usual crew.” 

“Why?” 

 

“No reason,” David swiftly clarified. “Just strikes me as a good choom to have watching your back, I guess.”

 

“That she is.” By this point, V had already made a deal over text with El Capitan, agreeing to loan a cheap set of wheels with the promise of taking it off the fixer’s hands if the car was to his liking.

“C’mon, we’re picking up the car jus’ round the corner.”

 

Notes:

Early Becca intro! Also a few bits thrown in that hint at how the rest of the gang may slot into this storyline eventually.

Next up, David’s POV.

Chapter 5: Dazed And Confused

Summary:

David wrestles with the reality of his situation as his mother and uncle’s lives hang in the balance.

‘How could this happen?’

‘HOW?! Could THIS happen?!’ 

The same question spun in David’s head over and over as he watched the ripperdoc who V had referred to as Vik hunched over Gloria, mumbling something to himself as he worked. 

David wasn’t even properly looking at what was going on anymore. His mind didn’t, couldn’t process what was going on. He simply stared in that general direction. 

His other senses were about as dull as his sight.

Other variations on the same question, many much worse than the original, kept swirling in his head like hungry piranhas stuck in a bowl that was far too small for them. 

‘Would mom be OK if I didn’t fry Academy’s systems?’

‘Should we’ve listened to V’s advice to stay in the car?’

‘Could I’ve helped him somehow?’

All these questions didn’t have an answer.

One thing David knew for certain, though. Gloria had shielded him when their car began getting pelted by relentless gunfire, not hesitating for a moment to put herself in harm's way for his sake. It was highly likely she had saved his life, or at least prevented all three of them from sitting at death’s threshold just then.

 

David was so overwhelmed by his inner turmoil that he had completely missed when Viktor had finished working on his mother and walked up to the rocking back and forth teen holding an open can of NiCola and a steaming Burrito XXL.

 

“You gotta eat something, kid.” The ripper offered the food and drink and waited patiently while David uncurled from his fetal position and accepted them.

 

“Thanks, Vik,” he just about managed to mumble before digging into the burrito. 

It was only after tasting food for the first time did he realize just how hungry and thirsty he was. He took a couple of giant gulps of soda even though its fizz irritated the hell out of his throat, making him want to cough.

 

“Your mom’s gonna be fine.” Vik placed a reassuring hand on David’s shoulder. “But I’ll need to get her moved to a hospital, since I can’t do anything else for her here.”

 

“What?! A hospital?!” It was a good thing that he swallowed before hearing that, otherwise some of the food would’ve certainly fell out of his gaping mouth. “I got no money to pay for it, we’re totally broke.”

“Hell… I ain’t got any scratch to pay you, in fact.”

 

“Relax, I’ve got a line of credit extended for V on account of a particularly glowing referral from one of my regulars.” Vik’s eyes darted to the entrance, where a low growl of an engine suddenly pierced the quiet of the clinic. “Ah, and here’s the man himself, it seems.”

 

David turned to look in the same direction and watched as the steel grate that acted as the entrance door slid to one side and a giant man stepped through the gap. He looked like some sort of mix of ganger and solo. Despite the imposing build, the newcomer had one of the kindest faces that David had ever seen. This first impression was further enhanced by brilliant eyes that emanated concern as the man looked across the room, first at Gloria in the chair, then at passed out V, whom David had relocated to one of the beds. Those eyes eventually landed right on David.

 

“You must be David, huh?” The giant’s hand that got extended in greeting looked almost twice the size of David’s. “Name’s Jackie Welles. I’d say it’s a pleasure to meetcha but y’know…”

He shrugged, as if pointing around the room at David’s shot-up family members.

 

“You were on the holo with my uncle, werencha?” David took the offered hand and tried to produce as confident of a handshake as he could. “Thanks for putting in a word with Vik for us, dunno what would’ve happened if we had gone to some other ripper.”

 

“Ain’t a thing, mano .” Jackie waved the teen off with the same hand as he had just shaken. “Your mama and mi mama go waaay back, apparently.”

 

David let out a puzzled huff. He had no idea who Jackie’s mother was, but it was unlikely that she was some quiet pensioner. He scanned his memory but found no Jackies or Jacks being mentioned by his mom as a friend of the family or a relative. Why this choom was so helpful and friendly was a complete mystery, but not one that someone in David’s position would moan about.

 

“So, uh… What now?” David asked the big man. 

 

“I’m gonna drive your ma to the hospital, save on ambulance fees and all that. Can drop ya off at where V’s output works after if ya like? Vik ain’t one for babysittin’, are ya, Vik?” 

 

“I ain’t a child that needs watchin’,” The teenager was quick to correct. 

 

“I gotta delta as soon as I fix the boy in the corner over there,” the ripper replied, completely disregarding David’s protest.

 

“A’ight, it’s settled then.” Jackie clapped his hands, as if punctuating a decision made. “Pack your stuff, maybe put your mama’s jacket on - it’s chilly outside.”

 

David opened his mouth, about to ask how did this guy he had only just met know that it was his mother’s jacket, but quickly closed it again. It must’ve been just a lucky guess, he concluded. After all, between the three of them, only Gloria was the likely owner of an EMT jacket.

Already feeling chilly, without even setting foot outside, he quickly followed the advice and put on the hi-viz jacket. Something hard and cold brushed against his back, but he quickly dismissed it as an inner reinforcement layer and paid it no mind. 

 

“Need help?” Vik offered as Jackie approached the ripper’s chair. 

 

“Nah, she looks light enough.” Jackie easily picked up Gloria’s unconscious body. 

“Off we go then.” He nudged David towards the door with a nod of his chin. “Hold it open for me, will ya, David?”

 

“Mhm.” The teen nodded and grabbed one side of the gate and pushed it forward all the way to the wall, making enough space for the older man to carry Gloria out with ease. 

He then followed Jackie up the stairs to see a bike parked just near the railing. 

“Ummm…” David didn’t want to seem rude or ungrateful, but one had to be a complete idiot to not see a problem here.

 

“I know, I know, choom.” Jackie shook his head with a soft smirk. “I aint hauling all three of us on this, dontcha worry.”

 

“What then?” Arasaka student looked all around them, spotting only trash, grifters and more trash.

 

Jackie didn’t say anything else and just walked up the alleyway towards what appeared to be a small car park. There, a couple of vehicles were parked. They all looked a little worse for wear, but nonetheless still capable of transporting three people in relative comfort.

“How about this one?” The burly man asked, pointing at a dirt-green Colby. 

 

“S-sure?” David really had no idea why he got a choice in the matter. It wasn’t like all of these rides were owned by this guy, anyway. 

 

“A’ight. Hold her for a spell, will ya?” Without waiting for a reply, Jack unloaded Gloria into her son’s arms and turned his attention to the vehicle in question.

 

David grunted under the strain as he tried to keep his mother’s body level. He did his deal of athletics at school, but holding someone of at least his own weight was still very much a challenge.

He couldn’t quite see what his unlikely friend was doing near the driver’s door of the Thorton, but one thing was obvious - this wasn’t Jackie’s car and he wasn’t just fiddling with the keys.

 

“ Vale!” Jackie shot up triumphantly when the lock finally gave in and the door clacked open. He swiftly unlocked all other locks from the inside and rushed to pick Gloria back up.

After that, he loaded his unconscious charge in the back, making sure that she was lying securely and comfortably.

“You wanna sit back with her, or at the front?” He asked David once done with everything. 

 

“I-uh… Will she be okay back there?” In truth, David had no idea what was best. On one hand, he didn’t want to overcrowd the back seat, but on the other - just leaving her there on her own felt irresponsible.

 

“She’ll be nova, dontcha worry. I strapped her in with both seat belts jus’ to be sure.”

 

“Ah, alright.” The teen walked over to the other side of the hijacked vehicle. “I’ll jump in the front, then.” 

 

“As you want, mano .” The merc shrugged and hopped into the driver's seat himself.

 

Before long, they were off in the direction of the hospital, with the second stop being Lizzie’s Bar - V’s regular haunt where his input Rita worked.

 

“Do you wanna come with or wait in the car?” Jackie asked after they pulled up into a short stay car park by an entrance of a concrete box of a building. The only way to know it was a hospital were blinking neon words above the door, paired with a cross sign that wasn’t lit up at all. 

 

“Is this place- is it even safe?!” David knew that they couldn’t afford anything decent, but this looked like a place where people’s vitals ‘nosedived suddenly’. 

He had to admit that if it was him making a choice while Gloria was still balancing on the edge, he’d settle for worse. However, his mother looked stable enough now and he was in a much better state, able to assess the situation more clearly.

 

“If Vik says it’s good, then it’s good enough for me.” Jackie appeared undeterred by his temporary charge’s doubts in the slightest, a conviction that soon infected the teen as well.

 

David pouted for a few seconds more, but ultimately couldn’t find a counter-argument to that logic. “Guess you’re right.”

 

“Come with if you’re still doubtin’.” The muscly man nodded towards the entrance. 

 

“Nah, s’fine.” David pushed himself deeper into the seat to show that he was fully intending to stay put. In truth, he hated hospitals ever since he was a kid, and all the experiences with back alley clinics that were their only affordable option hadn’t made things any better since.

“You go ahead, I’ll wait.”

 

“Suit yourself, holmes .” Without further ado, Jackie stepped out of the car before scooping Gloria out of the back seat and disappearing behind a set of mirrored double doors.

 

The sudden silence and absence of any other people as if sucked out all sound from inside the car. Besides the irregular thud of his foot tapping against the worn-out floor mat and an occasional car horn from the highway overpass above them, everything was dead silent. This hospital surely wasn’t one of those from the BD series, where a critical patient was arriving every ten minutes, riddled with incurable diseases or cyberware glitched to high heavens by some master hacker.

This setup wasn’t helpful at all, for it was the perfect breeding ground for more intrusive thoughts and disturbing what-if ideas.

 

Desperate not to fall into that deep pit of self-inflicted despair once again, David focused on their upcoming destination - Lizzie’s Bar. 

Admittedly, meeting V’s output was very far down his bucket list, but getting into the legendary BD nightclub absolutely was. Every self-respecting BD enthusiast - young Martinez very much counting himself as one of those - owed a pilgrimage to the place that kicked off the careers of stars like Kira Nova, Zara Vox and Kai Storm. Some screamsheets proclaimed that even Lizzy Wizzy’s career couldn’t see such a meteoric rise if it wasn’t for some hotshot media producer seeing her early demo during his visit to Lizzie’s.

 

With all of this musing and daydreaming about bumping into one of the future megastars of retina-projected media, David had completely missed Jackie exiting the hospital and approaching the car. The teen jumped in his seat when the driver’s door opened and the hunky man dropped back into his seat.

 

“Everything’s nova,” Jackie reported. “They got her hooked up to all sorts of biomons and IV drips. Say she should be good to wake in a day or two.”

“Here.” He initiated a data transfer which the younger guy accepted. “That’s her live patient’s card. Anything progresses, you gonna know first.”

 

“Thanks, Jack.” David blinked a few times as his focus adjusted to the data displayed in his field of vision. It was mostly all medical jargon, but the overall prognosis, indeed, sounded quite positive.

 

“A’ight, choom. Time to delta.” Jackie fired up the engine and immediately began to pull out of the parking spot. “I gotta be somewhere soon, so I’ll just drop you off by Lizzie’s. You’ll be okay from then on?” 

 

“S-sure.” In truth, David was hoping to have V’s friend at least come inside with him for a spell, make the introductions and all that. Would he even be let in on his own?

 

“Dontcha worry, my man.” One of the heavy hands landed on the teenager’s shoulder. “Just drop that you’re V’s sobrino and they’ll take care of ya.”

 

As much as he tried, the teen couldn’t quite summon much confidence to infuse his reply with. “Mhm, sure.” 

 

Jackie only laughed, as if he really didn’t see a single reason to worry.

 

——

 

David had a rather specific image in his head of how entering Lizzie’s Bar would be like - a long queue stretching all the way into the car park, a pair of stunning, but dangerous bouncers at the door, short bursts of bass-laced tunes escaping into the night air every time the doors are opened to let the next patron in…

 

‘The hell?!’ 

 

The only detail that did match up with his imagination was the huge shining sign above and a pair of neon female outlines placed on either side of the entrance. There was no queue and the only loud noise came from the siren of a police car that rushed past behind him. 

After a moment’s consideration, the Arasaka Academy pupil quickly deducted what could’ve been behind the mysterious metamorphosis - it was barely past noon.

 

With Jackie long gone to attend some other errand that he was already late for, the teen had little choice but to try and talk his way into the closed club on his own. He slowly approached the doors, as if one could expect turrets and mines to be scattered all over, lying in wait for any careless gonk to approach outside of business hours.

All that greeted him instead was a dull eye of a security camera above an intercom with a single button.

Without much other alternatives, David pressed ‘Call’ and waited as the annoyingly robotic chime rang once, twice, for a third time.

 

“Waddaya want, gonk?” A raspy voice called out from the speaker as the camera tilted lower to get a better look at him. “We’re closed, can’t you see?”

 

“I uh-“ Before he could get another word in, the feed cut off with a short ‘click’ and the line went silent again.

 

David looked around once more to check for any openings that looked like they could house a turret. When he found none, he finally dared to press the button once more.

It rang five times, then ten times… Until the doors right in front of him slid open, forcing the startled teenager to stumble back a few paces.

 

“I SAID WE’RE CLOSED, YOU MOTHER-“ The bright yellow-haired woman raised a mirror-polished metal fist at him before stopping mid swing and eventually lowering it altogether. 

“Yo, kid. You lost?” She looked around, as if searching for an adult that might’ve misplaced a child. “This ain’t a school or whateva. The closest one those is- I got no fuckin’ clue where it is, but it ain’t here.”

“Now skedaddle, shoo!”

 

“V’smyuncleI’mlookingforsomeonenamedRita!” David blurted out the entire introductory sentence so quickly that, if he ever got it played back to him, he would probably fail to recognise a single word.

 

The Mox was so confused that any annoyance from being disturbed outside of working hours by some rando had seemingly evaporated. “What didja just say? Couldn’t get a single fuckin’ word of it, choom.” 

 

David had to take a trio of deep breaths before he finally managed to calm down and try speaking again. “I’m V’s… nephew. Name’s David.”

“He got in trouble, a choom of his told me I can find his inpu-eh-girlfriend here. Her name’s-“

 

“Oooh you’re looking for Rita, aintcha?” The woman interrupted. “Why didntcha say so from the get go, eh?’ 

She gave him a casual pat on the shoulder that was so hard, it almost made David’s knees buckle under him, not that they were doing particularly well before that.

“Come on in. I’m sure she’ll be delighted to meet one of V’s fam.” It was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or genuine.

 

They crossed the threshold and made a sharp right before swiftly arriving at what appeared to be a reception of sorts. David surmised that would be where the patrons would pay for entry if a payment was required. 

 

“Yo, Mia!” His ‘guide’ called out to the equally colorfully dressed and accessorized woman behind the desk. “You seen Rita anywhere?”

 

“Rita’s out. Who the fuck is this pipsqueak?” The reply came not from the person the question was targeted at, but from a terrifyingly looking woman that appeared from the side door to their left.

 

“Oh!” Judging by the first Mox’s reaction, this was not the kind of encounter she was happy to have in this situation. “Suze!”

“This is-“ She looked at the teen, with a ‘help me out here, choom’ look in her eyes. 

 

“David,” he hurried to respond. “V’s nephew. Nice to meetcha.” 

He extended his right hand forward, but got only a cold look in response. He slowly lowered it, feeling his cheeks burn up as he did so.

 

“We ain’t a daycare, David .” The reply from the scary woman was cold and definitive. “What the fuck is V thinkin’ sendin’ you here in the middle of the day?!”

 

“He-uh…” David had to consider how much he should tell these strangers, one of whom looked not happy to have him there in the slightest. “He got hurt, badly. His friend Jackie said I’ll find his girlfriend Rita here, so here I am…”

 

“That sucks, I’m sorry to hear that.” Despite her condolences, Suze appeared completely unmoved. “And you what, got no mom or pops to take care of ya so that you gotta come here instead?”

 

“Mom got shot too…” David knew he must’ve looked like an abandoned puppy right then, but couldn’t do much about it at that moment. All the grievous thoughts rushed right back to his head at the thought of seeing unconscious Gloria being carried into the hospital.

“Never met my dad.”

 

The boss woman stood staring at him intently without uttering a word for a while, raising the tension in the room by a few levels in the process. The other two Moxes simply watched the pair without daring to interfere. David could feel a drop of cold sweat roll down his temple and drop onto the high-viz neon jacket still stained in his mother’s blood.

 

“Ugh, fine!” Suze finally groaned, as if they had just spent a full hour debating whether David should be allowed to stay or kicked back out on the street. “But don’t loiter in the main club.”

“Rita’s out on an errand for me right now, she’ll be back soon. How long do you think V’ll be?”

 

“I dunno…” As much was true - David had absolutely zero idea how long a man with a major gunshot wound would need to wake up and recover enough to be able to walk. At least Vik proved to be capable.

 

“And this Jackie fella… You got his number?” 

 

“Umm…no.” In hindsight, that really should’ve been something that David should’ve asked for first thing.

 

“Grrreat…” Judging by her tone, she found nothing great about that response. “So you’re stuck here until Rita’s back at least.”

She rubbed the bridge of her nose, as if all of this conversation gave her a headache.

“A’ight then. Fran, escort our youngblood guest downstairs. He can hang with Alvarez for a while.”

 

“Sure thing.” From Fran’s expression, it was obvious that she wouldn’t want to say anything to anger her boss any further. “C’mon, David.” 

She gestured for the teen to follow as she walked past Suze into what looked like an office of sorts, cutting right through it until they reached a staircase leading down.

 

As they descended, David began hearing more and more pronounced sounds of people moaning. At first he caught two distincts tones, but they were soon joined by at least three more. If he wasn’t feeling too out of place to voice a single question, he’d ask whether this Alvarez person was in the middle of shooting a porn scene. 

Everything became clear as soon as they crossed another set of double doors. Instead of a bedroom or some other staged scene, he was greeted by rows on rows of servers and other high-tech kit, as well as a pair of reclining chairs not unlike the one that Vik used in his clinic.

 

“Yo, Judy,” Fran called out to the woman who looked utterly engrossed in whatever she was looking at on one of her many ginormous screens. Upon closer inspection, that ‘whatever’ turned out to be an orgy scene. Thus, the mystery of the multiple moaning voices was quickly solved.

 

“Fran?” The BD editor looked a little disoriented after getting pulled out of her editing trance. “And who’s this guy? We doin’ ‘bring your kid to work to work’ days now?”

 

“Fuck off, Alvarez,” Fran grunted, “how old do ya think I am?!”

 

“Just pullin’ your leg, sis.” Judy Alvarez chuckled, turning to address David directly. “Who’d you be then?” 

 

“Name’s David,” he said for the third or fourth time in a space of ten minutes. “V’s my uncle. He and my mom got in trouble and this the only place I can go right now.”

 

“Shieeeeet, choooom.” Judy whistled. “A’ight, then. Get comfy, I guess…”

 

“I’ll let Rita know you’re down here when she comes back,” Fran promised before disappearing behind the swinging door.

 

David did what he was told and aimed at one of the chairs, but quickly got distracted by all the cool tech stashed in the room as if it was some sort of BD editing treasury. 

“Some setup you got here,” he said wistfully as he inspected one of the racks. “Virtual by-processors, signal relays… This must’ve cost a fortune.”

 

“It did, but not even as close as it would be if I didn’t boost half of the tech to perform to its full potential.” Judy crossed her hands on her chest, sounding equally as impressed with her sudden guest’s deductions as she was proud of her own work.

“You BD editor yourself, then?”

 

“Naah, just into watching ‘em,” David admitted honestly. “But was always curious what does it take to make one.” 

 

“Nova.” Judy’s brow suddenly furrowed. “Wait a sec. You’re too young for most BDs I’d consider worth watchin’. So what are you into? Cartoons or summin’?”

 

The teen felt offended by such a scathing assumption, but couldn’t bring himself to tell this person he’d only just met that he got off on the neuron-shattering thrill of cyberpsycho XBDs. “I-uh… Skip the age warning, if y’know what I mean…” 

 

The BD editor gave him a knowing look and a nod. “I see how it is…”

 

It took David a few seconds to clock that she got an impression that he was into porn BDs.

“No, I ain’t- I- I-uh-“ He instantaneously tried to explain himself and give some other excuse, but his tongue got twisted inside his mouth and only some stuttered jibberish came out instead. 

 

“This ain’t the place where we judge peeps, choom. Chill.” She chuckled. “But if you wanna see somethin’ a little cooler than smut, then grab that wreath next to ya and I’ll show you a BD that you had never seen in your life!”

 

“Sure,” David agreed with a good degree of uncertainty. 

‘Can’t get worse than porn BD, I guess…’ He thought to himself as he popped the gadget on with a rehearsed motion and instinctively leant backwards in his chair to get more comfortable. He once again was reminded of how uncomfortable the EMT jacket was in the back, but ignored it in order to focus on the BD he was about to see.

 

“Ready?” 

 

“Y-yeah!” Hesitation was quickly replaced with excitement at being shown something that very few people could get their hands on. “Fire it up!”

 

“Eager aintcha?” Judy chuckled once again. “Gimme a sec, need to calibrate it for ya.”

 

——

 

David shot upright in the chair as if he had just emerged from a long dive. The comparison was particularly apt because that was exactly what he had just experienced inside the BrainDance.

The BD that Judy hooked him up to was of someone diving into a dark lake, where water looked to stretch down into an infinite abyss, with not a single speck of light escaping from the unfathomable depths below. David had never been to a swimming pool, let alone an open body of water. Anything around Night City would melt your skin off with its toxicity, so he didn’t exactly get much opportunity to try. 

 

“This was totally nova!” The teen exclaimed with unbridled excitement. “I never felt so weightless before.”

 

“Glad ya liked it.” Judy looked very pleased with his reaction. 

She looked like she was about to say something else when the entrance door swung with such speed that it crashed into the wall with a loud bang. 

 

“Watcha yellin’ here about?!” The unexpected guest yelled at the stunted pair as she walked through the gaping opening with a sure strut. 

“Hey Judes!” She fired a greeting in a tone that was only a few decibels quieter than the initial burst. “And- who’d you be, choomba?!”

The latter was aimed directly at David, who suddenly lost all ability to speak. 

 

“This is David. He’s V’s nephew or summin’ like that.” Judy answered in the stumped teenager’s stead. “Be nice, Becca, or I’ll tell him that it was you who traumatized the kid.”

 

“I thought we were chooms, Alvarez.” Becca pretended to be mortally wounded in the heart, but quickly perked right back up as if nothing happened.

“So did ya get on Suzie’s shit list to be assigned babysittin’ duty?” 

 

“No idea, but he ain’t a bad sport to be honest with ya.” Judy spoke as if David wasn’t in the room. “Seems to be a BD connoisseur in the making.”

 

“You don’t say.” Becca approached David with an inquisitive look more befitting a space explorer who had just discovered a new alien species.

“So, Daaaviiid… ” She stretched out his name, as if still undecided about what she wanted to do with the newcomer. “What kinda trouble did V get into so that he had to drop ya off over here?”

 

As much as he was getting tired of explaining over and over again to each new Mox that he came across, David’s gut told him that he should not annoy this particular person. 

“He got shot, so did my mom. Had nowhere to go so waiting for Rita to come back so we can go see how V’s doin’.” 

 

“Shiet, heavy stuff, choom.” Becca leapt on the chair next to him without breaking eye contact for a single second. “Name’s Rebecca, by the way. But ya can call me Becca if ya like.” 

 

“David.” He smiled with relief. “Nice to meetcha, Becca.”

 

“Say David …” Rebecca leant forward, giving him a look that he’d consider ‘flirty’ if he wasn’t so damn strung up by all of these dangerous women just dropping on top of him. “You picked up any tips from watching Judes edit all this smut in front of ya yet?” 

Notes:

Aaand we’ve came full circle. No preview for next chapter as it is best read without hints.

P.S. Interesting detail regarding AO just discovered - if you preview first and publish after, the line break spacing is very different. It should be updated to the usual now.

Chapter 6: It Can Always Get Worse

Summary:

David’s post-shootout adventure continues. Much to his disdain, he has to go back to ‘Saka Academy.

Notes:

Idk how the chapter got this long, but it works so here we are. Enjoy the read!

“And then he goes ‘I’ll zero yo ass, you lil’ bitch!’ and I go ‘yeah?! with what iron?!’. Aaand then - POW - I shoot him in the nuts with his own pistol!” Becca raised her finger gun and blew the imaginary smoke off the business end. 

 

David was laughing his ass off alongside Judy, although at the same time couldn’t help but feel mildly terrified of the pint-sized maniac sitting in front of him. 

Becca had arrived a full hour ago and hadn't really stopped talking since, save for when she asked an occasional question aimed at David. By this point he knew she had an older brother that she wanted to kill more often than not, that her boss made her sit out on the latest gig so she was ‘bored as fuck’ and thus didn’t have much going on at the moment. He was also treated to three different stories of hilarious badassery, the latter involving a Maelstromer, a stolen gun and the subsequent loss of family jewels.

Despite the intimidating confidence with which Rebecca carried herself, he began to like the cheerful woman. She exuded a very unique kind of appeal that came only from someone who was fully comfortable with themselves and wasn’t ashamed to show it to the world.

The teen caught himself checking out Becca’s highlighter-pink tattoos, staring a little too long at times, perhaps. The fact that she was wearing nothing besides what could only be described as a ‘tactical bikini’ with a humongous jacket on top didn’t help with the wandering eyes in the slightest. Luckily, the teal-skinned woman appeared to be fully engrossed in her own storytelling to notice.

Rita, V’s input, had showed up at some point to say hi and check in on him. The exchange was somewhat awkward on an account of her being utterly unprepared for meeting her boyfriend’s family member under such circumstances. Despite any of that, David could see that she was genuinely worried for the shot-up merc, which already put her in his good books. Not that V would ever seek David’s approval on who he dated, anyway…

 

The laughter in the room hadn’t died down yet when the door swung open again. This time it was the guy himself, looking pale as a sheet, who stepped into the BD editing den. 

 

David was about to say something, but got beaten to the punch by Rebecca. “V, my man!”

 

The teen was then treated to an exchange between the two that didn’t appear like anything special on the surface, but had a strong undertone of familiarity to it. That could come only from knowing one another for a sizable chunk of time. He made a mental note to ask his uncle about what their story was when he got a chance.

 

They didn’t stay long as there was a much more important stop to be made - go visit Gloria.  

Rebecca’s enthusiastic goodbye plastered a smile on the teen’s face that he struggled to conceal. Thankfully, neither Becca, nor V looked none the wiser.

David made a fool of himself in front of Rita after a hyper-sexualised image of her and his uncle - placed in his head by none other than the scantily clad teal firecracker - had flashed up as soon as he saw the purple-haired Mox leaning against the reception desk. Saved once again by V’s obliviousness, he made a quick dash for the exit. Surprisingly, the older man didn’t loiter for long and joined him outside within seconds. 

 

Just like Jackie before him, V was also lacking in the wheels department. His uncle didn’t resort to ‘borrowing’ a car, though and instead agreed to actually borrow one from some guy he knew.

Before long, the pair of them cruised in a mostly intact Hella towards a spot that only V could see in his HUD, even though it was David who had been there before.

David got momentarily distracted by the bobblehead of an angry, cybernetically enhanced dog doing its thing on the dashboard before focusing on what was actually important - checking in on his mom. The link that Jackie had shared with him had worked just fine and soon he was back into a land of medical charts and statuses that summarized Gloria’s condition. Naturally, he understood just about nothing, but the big green tab with bold white letters spelling out ‘Stable’ was a reassuring sign, indeed. All other markers looked exactly as the summary claimed - stable.

 

“V?” David asked, his rudimentary optic implants still showing one of his mother’s charts. 

 

“Yeah?” The merc replied without taking his eyes off the road.

 

“What’s a normal heart rate for a person?”

 

“Choom, I got no clue. But lemme check…” V went quiet for a second before speaking once again. “My biomon says eighty-six BPM. Why?”

 

“Just wonderin’,” David lied. Gloria’s was at 60, which felt too low. But then he considered that she was lying down, not doing much… Or could it be because she was slowly dying?!

 

“You okay, Dee?” His uncle turned halfway to try and get a good look at David, who had just keeled over and covered his face with both palms, and the road that wasn’t going to go away just because David was having a silent mental crisis. 

 

“Yeah, yeah. All fine.” That was only half a lie. After his common sense re-emerged, David decided that as long as his mom was alive, that was good enough for the next few minutes that it would take them to get there. V had proven that he could deal with a whole crew of well-armed and overly-juiced gangoons. Some hospital security and doctors would be easy if they needed to storm the place to rescue his mom.

 

“S’fine, y’know. I’m worried about Glo too.” There was softness in V’s voice that David hadn’t heard often, if at all. The older guy was always projecting this aura of cool machismo that could be borderline annoying at times if it wasn’t for his undeniable talent. It made David forget that his mother was also V’s sister and there was someone else who cared for her as much as he did. The two of them had at least one thing in common besides the surname - pathological inability to express their care out loud.

 

While David mused about his intra-family dynamics, they had arrived at a car park that he had been to only a few hours prior.

 

“Here we are,” V announced as he pulled into a free parking spot. “Would be quicker if El Capitan didn’t give us a rollin’ bucket’o’bolts, but at least it was free, eh?”

 

They both got out and headed into the hospital. David shuddered as he crossed the threshold from the darkening street into the blank white interior. He hated hospitals. Being inside one, the concept of being left to the devices of some strangers with who-knew-what kind of motives… It irked him to no end, but there was no way to escape coming in for the second time in a row. That would look like he didn’t care for his mother or didn’t want to see her, and neither of those were true.

 

Thankfully, V didn’t pay much attention to his nephew’s expressions and marched right up to the front desk. 

“Hello there,” he said to the receptionist in the sweetest, friendliest of voices. “We’d like to visit a recently checked-in patient of yours, if that’s okay?” 

 

The uniformed woman looked up at him as if even that simple act was far beyond her expected work duties. “Name. Patient ID.”

The questions weren’t even phrased as questions and each word was spoken in such a slow, tired way, as if the mere act of paying attention to an unwanted visitor was almost too much to bear. 

 

“Gloria Martinez. ID’s seven, seven, dash, five, oh, b for burrito, nine, one, oh, another b for burrito, six-nine-four-two-oh.” It didn’t matter if V knew it from memory or read it off some saved cheat sheet. The rehearsed precision of his dictations showed that he had been mentally preparing to read the info out, possibly even as far back as Lizzie’s.

 

“Mhm,” the receptionist hummed as she lazily clanked in the digits and letters on a keyboard. 

Such input method could be considered ancient by David’s standards. Almost every piece of tech he knew and used ran on either wireless connection or, at worst - a personal link. 

“She’s in room F four-five-one,” the uniformed woman replied in the same bored tone.

 

“Would you mind telling us where that would be, please?” V was a picture of patience and courtesy. “It’s our first time in ‘ere.”

 

“Go right from here and just follow the signs.” She could not possibly look any more inconvenienced by such a simple and reasonable question. 

 

“A’ight, thanks a lot. You really helped us out!” V rewarded the receptionist with a nod and swiftly turned in the direction indicated. 

 

David had no other choice but to follow. The exchange didn’t do any favors for his confidence in this facility’s quality. 

They did follow the signs to Block F, but managed to get lost anyway. In the end, it turned out that ‘F’ must’ve stood for ‘Fucking Nobodies’, because they had to descend three different sets of steps to get to the right place, and then navigate through a bunch of musty, damp corridors to locate the room they were looking for.

When V turned the handle and pushed the door open, David expected to find a scav’s den straight out of one of the XBDs that he had watched last month.

Much to his relief, they had found a rather bland, but clean room with four beds lined in a row, each occupied by someone looking far worse for wear than was natural for a healthy human being.

 

David recognised Gloria almost instantly, despite the fact that barely any of her peeked from under the covers.

“Mom!” He rushed to the third bunk as fast as his legs would carry him.

 

What was visible of Gloria’s body told the full story of her injuries. A bunch of tubes came out from different parts of her body and linked up to a whole plethora of machines placed around the bed. There seemed to be too many of them, and not enough at the same time.

Her face was bruised from the initial impact of hitting some other car on the highway. One arm was encased in a cast and suspended above her body on some sort of rack that didn’t look even remotely stable or actually made for such an application.

However, none of those visible injuries would land anyone in a long-term recovery unit, so the main damage was obviously somewhere else.

David turned to a small portrait-oriented screen that hung on the wall beside his mother’s bed. It read out her vitals and general condition. 

 

[ Patient: Gloria Martinez ]

[ Condition: Unconscious - Stable ] 

 

What followed was a bunch of tiny flowing graphs and numbers that the teenager had no way of deciphering. Cybernetics and bio-engineering wasn’t on the curriculum until next semester, IF he managed to last that long in that hellhole of a school.

 

“Looks like Glo will be just fine,” V commented with a soft voice. 

 

“How’d ya know?” David inquired instantly, his words laced with doubt. 

 

“The readings all look nova, and they’ve bandaged her well,” the merc explained calmly, as if that was the most obvious thing in the whole wide world. 

 

“You a ripper now?!” David had no idea where this latent anger had come from, but now that the bottle was corked, he couldn’t help from it spewing out. 

 

“Chill the fuck out, Dee.” Despite the swearing, V’s voice was as level as when he was talking to the rather unhelpful woman at the desk. “I’ve got a biomon installed, and that comes with some instructions.”

“Can tell what a good BPM or blood pressure numbers are.”

 

David didn’t reply right away. He felt bad for airing out his frustration with the entire situation on the one person who had prevented the whole situation from getting completely out of hand. Jackie and Vik were on the list too, but they were involved only because his uncle knew them. If left to fend on his own, David would have no bloody clue what to do and who to turn to.

“So she’s okay, then?” He asked finally, actively making sure to make his tone sound as calm and soft as possible.

 

“As okay as she can be, I guess?” V walked closer to his sister and fiddled with a few things, making sure everything was secured properly, nowhere was bleeding and, all in all, she was as comfortable as the narrow metal bed would allow. Apparently still unsatisfied with the latter, he gently fluffed her pillow so that Gloria’s head rested a little higher than it was before.

 

“What now, then?” David asked, genuinely not having a single idea as to what was the prescribed next step in such a situation.

 

“Unless you wanna try to poke her till she wakes…” V looked at the teenager for long enough to make him feel like he was the one in charge. 

“Fuck, Dee…” The merc laughed. “Jus’ pulling ya leg, you gonk!”

“We let her be. Come back another day. I’ll slip that enthusiastic chica at the front desk some eddies to let us know when she wakes up.”

He reached out and placed his hand on Gloria’s shoulder that wasn’t bandaged and, therefore, intact. “I’ll see ya later, firecracker.”

 

And so they just… left.

After a small hike through the catacombs, staircases and corridors of the hospital’s basement, they came face to face with the receptionist. V slipped her a bunch of folded banknotes while whispering something too quiet for the teen to hear. After receiving a satisfied nod, the older man turned on his heels and walked out of the hospital, once again seemingly expecting for his nephew to follow without question.

 

“Where to now?” David asked once they were back inside the Hella.

 

“I got some biz to sort out. Gotta pay Vik back and all that.” Judging by V’s expression, this ‘biz’ wasn’t particularly pleasant, but the kind one would engage in out of sheer necessity.

 

“Can I do anything? Help somehow?” By this point, David felt like an outright freeloader, getting helped and supported by everybody in everything. It irked him to no end, but at the same time he had no way of changing the situation. In the end, he was just some kid in need of protecting and caring for. Could he be any more pathetic?

 

“Honestly?” V turned to look the youngster in the eye. “Go do your homework and don’t fry any more ‘Saka mainframes.” 

“Academy pinged, they’re expecting you back tomorrow. Minor family grievance excuse works only for a day.”

 

“The fuck?!” David blurted out. He couldn’t believe that having his only parent, the one that was paying for the Academy in the first place, almost dying got him only one day off.

 

“Don’t be shootin’ the messenger, man!” V raised both hands up in surrender. “Just go back to school. I’m sure we can getcha out for another day or two when Glo wakes up.” 

 

David considered for a few moments. It wasn’t like he had better things to do, anyway. 

“Fine,” he finally replied. “But I’m gonna walk home instead. Wanna clear my head n’all that.”

 

“Suit yourself,” V chuckled. “Less drivin’ in this slow-mo chariot for me.”

 

——

 

David really meant it when he said he was going to walk back to his place. What he didn’t realize at the time, though, was just how long the trip would take and how shitty some of the areas that he’d need to cross would be.

However, unlike just about anyone else in Night City, he didn’t have the luxury of turning to the nearest Combat Cab terminal to buy himself a ride home. With his current bank balance, it was an unobtainable kind of luxury.

So, public transport it was, then.

He swiped his student ID against the card reader to get entry and dragged his feet towards the correct platform with the amount of enthusiasm that a condemned man walking up to the electric chair would have.

Once on the train, David kept strictly to himself, ensuring that his empty stare would not meet anybody else’s. Even in that mostly-detached state, he couldn’t help but notice a particularly attractive woman making her way through the carriage. Her most distinctive feature was her hair - it wad dyed shades of pastel, dominated by powder purple. Except it wasn’t that hair, or her looks that caught David’s attention - the stranger was swiping other passenger’s shards right out of their neck ports as she passed by.

It was David’s first time witnessing a picksocket in action. He always thought of them as slimy washed-out netrunners in smelly floor-length jackets. Seeing a gorgeous woman doing that felt almost jarring. Almost involuntarily, he leant forward to try and reach her wrist, tell her he caught her in the act… But by the time his neurons made all the right decisions, the ethereal thief was long gone.

David Martinez was left by himself, clinging to a metal rail. Soon enough, his stop was announced by the robotic loudspeaker and he had to get off without any chance of even glimpsing at the identity of the mysterious woman who had crossed his path for a brief moment. He knew his chances of meeting her again were close to none, but it was just one of the many disappointments that his life appeared to be filled to the brim with as of late.

 

Before long, he could see the towering monolith of Megabuilding H4 - his home.

David hated just about everything about that place. Its entrance was a shirine to over-consumption, just judging from all the trash bags stacked on either side of filth-covered stairs. The lift was slow as hell and smelled of piss and vomit pretty much around the clock. The level that was meant to provide some ‘services’ to help with living inside the human anthill was filled with overpriced stalls and shops whose only genuine promise was to scam you out of your hard-earned eddies.  The rent on their flat was extortionate, even though the place itself was a tiny dump. Money-hounding didn’t stop when one crossed the threshold, either. There was no worse fixture than the eddie-hungry washing machine, which asked for a full meal worth of eddies for a single cycle and wasn’t even good at its main job of washing clothes.

Seeing an ‘Access Denied’ holographic projection in front of the door did not surprise David in the least. He was fully aware they were behind on rent payments, so it was just a matter of time before the landlord took action. 

Luckily, there was a handy ventilation shaft leading right into his flat with minimal climbing involved. Apparently, that was to be David’s new entrance to his own home for the foreseeable future.

He made his way through the cold, narrow, dusty tunnel before finding an exit on top of the cursed washing machine and dropping head first into the laundry room. 

 

“Fuck!” David swore as he performed a rough landing on the plastic floor. 

 

At least he was in. 

Tomorrow was Thursday which meant a school day. Which meant that David had to clean his uniform, which he was still wearing for at least the 18th hour in a row. With the whole stint in the gunfight, followed by holding his mom, followed by hanging around Vik’s, then Lizzie’s and then the hospital… His whole getup could really use a wash.

With a heavy heart, David took off the suit and shirt and shoved it into the greedy contraption. After he had dialed in the settings for a full wash and stain removal, the bill came dangerously close to the total amount that he had left on his personal bank account.

Seeing no other way forward, the teen paid up what was asked of him and watched the money-grabby appliance begin to spin. At least the washing machine was going to do what it said it was going to do…

 

David checked his remaining funds - 32 Eurodollars.

With Gloria unconscious but not dead, he had no way of reaching her account, so the 32 eddies were really all that he had going for him.

That amount could buy exactly one small EEZYBEEF sandwich, so David had to settle for that. The alternative was to starve for the night.

 

After forcing himself to chew and swallow the disgusting meal, the teenager settled into the narrow bed that was usually occupied by his mother. It felt weird to sleep there, but she wasn’t about to come back, and it felt even dumber to still take the couch in her absence.

Sleep came easily on account of how tired David was. As his eyes closed by themselves, he thought about just how much he hated the Megabuilding, and how much he hated their tiny flat, or how he hated how much his mum had to work to maintain even the tiniest of semblances of decent life and keep him in ‘Saka Academy. 

David fell asleep feeling guilty that he had caused this much trouble for his mother who had done absolutely everything that she could to give him a better future. He still hated the idea of being an Arasaka corpo drone, but not as much as he used to. Perhaps, seeing his mother getting shot was the catalyst for him to see how making a career at Arasaka could make everything work out for him, and for her…

 

——

 

“Piece of shit!” 

Despite swallowing most of his remaining money, the washing machine failed to fulfill its basic function. It got jammed at some point during the night, meaning that David’s one and only Arasaka Academy uniform set was soaking wet and dripping all over the place when he pulled it out after prying open the door of his most hated appliance.

He kicked it for good measure before surveying the rest of his dry wardrobe. Nothing else that he owned could possibly pass as uniform, so he didn’t even bother trying. Turning up in inappropriate clothing felt like a much better outcome than not turning up at all.

 

David used his usual shortcut via a pile of trash bags to cut exactly ninety-seven seconds off his descent towards the ground floor of the megabuillding. The one benefit of not adhering to the dress code was not having to worry about getting it dirty.

The rest of the journey towards Arasaka Academy was taken up by the NCART public train system which felt slower and gnarlier than usual. This time round there were no beautiful picksockets to keep David’s imagination entertained either, so he simply frowned his way throughout. Even as the guard bot at the gate greeted him with cold programmed courtesy, David barely managed a barely audible ‘mhm’.

 

“Mister Martinez.” The voice of the AI instructor calling him by his surname even before the class had started was never a good sign. “You appear to not be wearing standard issue Arasaka Academy uniform. This transgression will be noted on your school record.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” David didn’t even bother to look at the hologram that was speaking to him. It wasn’t like she was a real person, anyway. 

He traversed the distance between the door and his allocated seat as quickly as possible and tried to not make eye contact with anybody. The teen was particularly keen to avoid crossing paths with Katsuo Tanaka - the asshole ‘Saka blueblood who made it his divine mission to make David’s life as difficult as possible, as frequently as possible.

A new headset was waiting for him on the little side table. This was unexpected.

‘Guess when you fork out that much scratch for repairs, they can at least get you the thing that they’ve been repairin’…’ He surmised, having no way of telling whether the school had managed to fleece his mom for more cash while she was still unconscious.

 

“Students, please make way to your seats and put on your headsets,” the holographic teacher instructed via the classroom's speaker system. “The class is about to start.”

 

David was already in his seat, so it took him no time at all to get ready. He had to wait for a minute or so for the others to do the same. If he could see himself, he’d notice the excessively tapping foot that appeared to have a mind of its own. It spurred into the monotonous action every time David felt bored or restless. He felt that way rather frequently.

 

Before the boredom really got to David, the AI spoke again. “Today is the fifty-third anniversary of the tragedy that still bears its dark mark on Arasaka and Night City - Arasaka Headquarters Bombing. Hence, our topic today will cover this horrible event in detail.”

 

The headset activated and soon enough David was transported into a digital reconstruction of Night City from the year 2023.

 

——

 

Arasaka Academy sucked in just about every way, as far as David was concerned. The one exception, though, would be the food. Even when he wasn’t starving like today, he’d look forward to lunch break, usually getting distracted by daydreams of juicy RealMeat burgers or crispy Just Like Chicken tenders. 

This time his stomach’s sorry state was commanding a particularly large share of the teen’s attention, so he had completely missed when a question was asked aimed at him. 

 

“Mister Martinez!” The AI’s voice increased in volume, only then managing to pull the distracted guy out of his blissful stupor. 

 

“Y-yes, yes! I was listenin’!” He lied.

 

“Could you tell us what came of the perpetrators, Mister Martinez?”

 

He felt very lucky, because this was the question he could answer easily. “Most of them got away. Johnny Silverhand was killed in the explosion and Morgan Blackhand had disappeared without a trace.”

“I bet he escaped easily, though,” he quickly added. 

 

“Correct,” the hologram nodded. “Although you should keep to factual information and avoid presenting your guesses when answering questions of this kind in the future, Mister Martinez.” 

 

David rolled his eyes and was about to defend his point, but the status label in his HUD turned from green to amber, indicating that the lesson was over and thus he could stop giving a single damn about it.

He took off the headset and ran towards the room’s exit, towards the promise of food that didn’t taste like stale damp cardboard.

He could already see the sliding double doors with an illuminated ‘Cafeteria’ sign above them when someone’s firm hand grabbed his collar and pulled him into a side corridor. 

 

“Yo, what the fuck, dude?” David protested even before he could take a proper look at whoever it was that decided to stand between him and lunch. 

“Ugh, you again,” the teenager spat out with a furrowed brow as his eyes fixated on the grinning face of Tanaka Junior. “The fuck you want, Katsuo?!”

 

“Is this really how you choose to address your betters, Martinez?” Arasaka kid’s grin turned into a predatory scowl.

“I guess there is no teaching you street rats how to know your place or speak properly, huh?” 

 

“Did ya grab me just to monologue about how much better you are, or is there a point you wanna get to some time soon?” David refused to bend out of shape for this stuck up bastard, like some of the very few non-corpo kids did to try and get into their good graces. 

 

This tiny act of defiance apparently angered Tanaka to no end. 

“Tsk,” Katsuo clicked his tongue as he pulled one of his fists backwards. 

 

“Is there a problem here?” One of the few human staffers of the Academy approached the pair with a raised eyebrow. 

 

“No problem at all, ma’am.” Katsuo quickly withdrew a few paces from David and put his hands behind his back, as if that would erase the fact that he was mere seconds away from punching his classmate in the gut. “I was just giving Martinez over here some advice on how to get where he needs to be in life, that’s all.” 

 

“How nice of you, Mister Tanaka.” The teaching assistant’s tone did nothing to hide how little she cared for the excuse. “I suggest you both hurry along to get lunch, though. The break will be over before you know it.” 

 

“Yes! Lunch!” David was not about to waste his opportunity to slip away from the arrogant shithead. Before Katsuo finished with his own forced pleasantries towards his senior, the teen was already crossing the threshold of the dining hall.

 

The sight of pizzas made with lab-grown, and not bug-made pepperoni erased any memory of his almost painful encounter. Before long, David was already sitting by himself in a quiet corner, ready to devour the first slice just to sate his growling stomach. He planned to savor the second one for as long as he could, since it appeared that he’d end up having the memories of it for dinner that evening.

 

The lunch break finished way too quickly, as it always did. Before long, David had to shuffle back to class. He suffered through the rest of the day’s timetable, paying just enough attention to take in the information that he’d need to get through the written tests that they had at the end of every week. 

Despite his general disdain for the whole concept of becoming a soulless corpo drone as the pinnacle of his opportunities, failing his mother was not an option. After she broke her back working double and even triple shifts just to pay the fees, the least he could do is get good grades to keep advancing. The teen couldn’t bring himself to put too much effort into studies, but the curriculum was generally easy enough so he didn’t have to.

He took notes when he felt like he needed to, participated in mandatory interactive sessions and even carried the corpo gonks who thought of themselves too good to do any work during group assignments. 

Top of Arasaka Tower wasn’t David’s dream, it was Gloria’s. But, until he finally figured out what his own dream was, this one would have to do.

 

——

 

David was ‘this’ close to managing through to the end of the day without another unfavorable encounter. He even got as far as the alleyway that was his shortcut towards the NCART station. 

Apparently, that day was not the day for avoiding trouble.

 

Katsuo stepped from behind the dumpster to block his way. This time he brought some backup in the form of two braindead gonks who were kept enrolled in the Academy just because their parents were some corpo bigshots. 

“Where do you think you’re going, Martinez?! We haven’t finished our little chat.” 

 

“Umm…” David wrinkled his nose at the stench of rotting trash, piss and who-knew-what-else that saturated the air of the dark alleyway. “How long have you been hidin’ in this dump while waiting for me to come by? What if I took the long way? Would you just sit here, enjoyin’ the freshness ?” 

 

Tanaka Junior’s response was a punch in the face that came so quick that David registered what had happened only after he found himself lying in the heap of black bin bags. A moment later, his face exploded with pain, but he did his best not to show it. Defiance was his best weapon in such a situation, and he was prepared to wield it to the very end.

Not one to turn the other cheek, David sprung back on his feet and, using the shot of adrenalin that came with getting socked in the noggin, rushed his bastard classmate with everything he had.

 

“You think your pathetic moves are gonna work, Martinez?” Katsuo chuckled as he easily deflected David’s advancing fist and kicked the raven-haired teen in the stomach.

 

“UCK!” David saw blood hit the pavement, but didn’t know if it came from his nose or his mouth. It could be both. 

He stumbled backwards, this time taking longer to observe the other guy. Katsuo’s fists glowed, as did his eyes.

‘Course the fucker’s gonna be chipped…’ The only implants that David carried were those that he needed to barely function in Night City. Any combat chrome was out of the question. Gloria wouldn’t permit him chippin’ in even if they could afford it, which - obviously - they couldn’t.

 

“Stay down among the trash where you belong, Martinez.” Katsuo spat at the keeled over teen and turned to leave, but not before throwing a thinly veiled threat as his goodbye. “I wouldn’t turn up to school tomorrow if I were you. You know you don’t belong there, but I’ll be happy to make you see it for good if you’re too dumb to do so yourself.”

 

It took David a good five minutes of sitting on the grime-covered floor before he felt confident enough to stand up before puking his tortured guts out. When he finally managed, he slowly walked towards the NCART station while silently cursing everything and everyone even remotely affiliated with corpos.

 

“David? David!” V appeared seemingly out of nowhere, although it could be the result of his slowed reaction time due to still being mildly disoriented after the beating that he had just received. 

“Dee?!” His uncle quickly leant under the teenager’s armpit and shot up, givign him much needed support. “The fuck happened?!”

 

“It’s nothing, don’t- don’t worry ‘bout it.” David’s eyes finally got to focus on V’s face properly and were greeted with an expression of worry and anger.

 

“Like hell I won’t,” V shot back. “And I wanted to pick ya up from school, grab some burgers or summin’. They said you’d just left and you weren’t answerin’ your holo so I drove up to the station to see if I can intercept ya.”

“And good that I did, apparently.” He gave David a little push to a parking lot near the station. “C’mon, I’ll get ya to Vik. It looks like ya got a broken nose, choom.” 

 

His instinct screamed about being broke, but David was in too much pain to protest. The hurt teen simply followed where his uncle was guiding him until he was helped into a passenger seat of a now familiar Hella, also known as the ‘Slow-mo Chariot’. 

 

“The fuck happened?” V asked when they were already driving somewhere, presumably to Vik’s clinic. “And don’t give me that ‘nothin’ bullshit, kay?” 

 

“A classmate, some ‘Saka blueblood…” Speaking wasn’t the easiest of tasks on the account of a lip that just kept getting more and more swollen. “Has it out for anybody who ain’t like him.”

 

“Ugh… Hate those types. Haven’t made shit of themselves yet but wanna boss peeps ‘round as if they’re Saburo-fucking-Arasaka themselves.” V squeezed the steering wheel tighter, making his knuckles turn white.

“You tried to fight back, I take it?” He asked after a short pause.

 

“No shit.” David chuckled bitterly, which only made him groan more as his stomach did not like that in the least. “Little good that did for me tho…”

“Hard to fight a gonk if he’s chipped and I ain’t.” 

 

“Ah, right…” V nodded absent-mindedly, as if already deeply considering something.

 

“I wanna get the same chrome as you, Sandi and everythin’.” 

 

“Like hell ya getting a Sandi, Dee.” This time, his uncle let out a genuine laugh. “You’re too scrawny and your body’s too unused to taking in chrome like that.” He poked David on the shoulder, obviously meaning his minimal cyberware loadout. “Gonna fry your brain before ya know it and then Gloria will kill both of us. You for chippin’ it and me for being the bad influence.”

 

They both laughed at the joke that was funny because it was true. 

 

“Tell ya what.” V had his signature look that he always got when he had some sort of cunning plan that would normally lead to at least some degree of chaos and mayhem. “How ‘bout we get ya a Cyberdeck instead?”

 

Notes:

Next up: we’re back with V.

I’ll try to do 2 and 2 chapters with V and David as a little narrative challenge for this one.

Also, aware there’s not that much V and Rita so far, but that’ll change in the two subsequent chapters and beyond.

Chapter 7: Safe Space

Summary:

Hurting and exhausted, V reaches out to Rita for support. An unexpected contact gets in touch with V, promising opportunities.

[ Hey, Ri. When r u getting off? ] 

 

It was impossible to tell from the text, but V was desperate to get a friendly ear to hear him out, and there wasn’t anyone he’d rather turn to than Rita at that time.

Luckily for him, the response didn’t take long to arrive.

 

[ The door’s quiet so I can get off in 15. U ok? ]

 

V wasn’t ok, far from it. Still hurting all over and painfully aware of just how much debt he had racked up with Vik in less than 24 hours was bad enough, but his mind was borderline paralyzed with worry for Gloria. On top of all that, he also had to think about the kid.

David may have acted tough, but what teenager didn’t? At his age V - still going by Vince then - also felt like he was immortal, indestructible, able to shrug off anything.

If the merc who had seen his fair share of blood and death, and got through numerous near-death experiences was rattled, then it was a miracle that the kid wasn’t in a state of a constant internal panic attack. Perhaps Dee was tougher than V gave him credit for in the end…

Then there was his gunshot wound. Vik had done a stellar job, but the painkillers he had used began to wear off and the merc was fresh out of Bounce Backs. Most movements that involved him turning his torso or bending up or down were hurting, and promising to grow ever more painful by the hour.

The wounded solo suddenly remembered that he was in the middle of composing his reply to Rita. It must’ve looked terribly dramatic on her end, seeing a typing animation for a good minute. He tapped out ‘yeah, all good’, but quickly deleted it because it was an outright lie.

Rita wasn’t the one to get easily hurt by small lies, but nor was she one to easily let them slide. Even if she was, though, V still wouldn’t want to lie, especially not when she’d see through him the instant her emerald-green eyes met his bloodshot blues. 

‘Truth it is, then…’

 

[ Worried shitless for Gloria and got no idea what to do about David ]

[ Could really use ur (always reasonable) input. If that’s cool with u? ]

 

[ You gonk, ofc it’s cool with me. We leave as soon as you get here ]

[ Suze can stuff it if she decides to kick up a fuss. ]

 

The fact that Rita guessed what his first worry about her bunking off work early would be made V chuckle, providing a momentary uplift to his spirits. 

With newfound energy, the merc floored the gas pedal, almost immediately cursing Archer’s engineering department that had made such a drowsy piece of crap on wheels. 

 

He parked at the spot furthest away from the bar, knowing that the Hella would be likely staying there overnight. Rita had her own set of wheels.

‘Guess Glo was right that dropping so much cash on a bike and not a car was a bad idea…’ the merc thought, almost immediately dismissing his own conclusion on the account of just how preem his Kusanagi was. Besides, how could he have possibly known that he’d suddenly need to act as his family’s wheelman?

 

Speaking of Wheeler’s wheels, the neon-blue Shion Targa was parked just a few spaces down, its roof attached to avoid any opportunistic behavior. Even looking at the car made V feel more comfortable. He was much happier inside a 400-horsepower sportscar than the underpowered shitshow that was his current vehicle.

 

He didn’t need to text Rita that he had arrived because his input was right there, in front of the club’s door, her trusty yellow bat resting on her shoulders. She winked as their eyes met. V almost ran towards her, desperate to finally get some reprieve from having to deal with his life’s shitshow all on his own. 

It was unusual for Wheeler to not pretend like he was just another customer seeking to empty his balls off some VR smut, but that just showed how much she was worried for him.

Even before he reached the entrance, Rita put down her signature weapon and started walking towards him. They met halfway, with her wrapping her arms around the merc, one hand reaching to the back of his head and gently playing with his hair. 

 

“Let’s go home, babes.” The words coming out of her mouth were velvety smooth. This tone was reserved for V and V only. “I’ll drive.”

 

The merc only nodded in response. He was dying for some alone time with her even before the whole highway shootout clusterfuck. By this point the desire got to a point that it was almost physically painful to wait any longer.

 

They jumped into the blue Shion and were off before Suzie Q could catch onto their escape through the security cameras trained at the parking lot. With the roof up, Night City’s constant 90-decibel noise background quieted down to a whisper, creating a sense of serenity that V could very much appreciate.

 

“Do you wanna talk ‘bout it now or wait till we both got a drink in hand?” Notably, Rita didn’t ask where V wanted to go. She appeared to be fully invested in making all of the decisions that evening - her way of trying to ease his burden as much as possible. V was totally, utterly, absolutely on board with that approach. 

 

V glared out of the window for a short while before replying. From the route that his output had taken, he quickly surmised that they were headed to her place. 

‘That’s likely for the best,’ he surmised without ever forming a distinct reason why he came to that conclusion.

 

“V? Didja fall asleep on me already, big boy?” You didn’t need to look directly at Rita’s face to know she was smiling as she spoke. “Should I let ya rest till we get home?”

 

Home. Despite all the injury, exhaustion and anxiety that oversaturated every cell of V’s body, that word alone managed to wiggle some warmth into him. Home was somewhere safe, somewhere nice, and that was exactly where V needed in that moment. 

 

He wanted to tell her how all of that, but instead he said something completely different. “Nah, I’m awake, I’m awake. Was just zonin’ out a lil bit.”

 

“No fuckin’ wonder you’d zone out after everything you’ve been thru, babes.” Rita chuckled bitterly. “And I’m sure I don’t know half of it.”

 

“Definitely could-“ V tried to turn in the seat to see his output better, when a stab of pain in his abdomen made him grit his teeth, “use a drink.” 

 

“Don’t worry, I gotcha. Got us a bottle of Centzon. Was gonna surprise you on a good ocasion, but…” She took her eyes off the road for a moment to give the bandaged up guy a sorrowful glance. “Think you deserve a treat.”

 

“Thanks.” V responded with a soft smile and placed a hand on her knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. Normally, such thoughtfulness would score Rita a kiss on the cheek, but even the thought of moving around some more made the merc’s stomach ache. Kissing would have to wait until they were in a more comfortable setting, and without an armrest between them.

 

“And then I’m gonna take a look at that bandage of yours. It’s probably gonna need changin’. And after that you’re getting the best shoulder rub of your life.” She grinned like a Cheshire cat as she listed all the ways she was going to pamper him.

“What’s that gonk look for?” Rita asked after she caught V staring at her with what must’ve been a gonk expression, indeed.

 

“You’re the best, Ri.” He really meant it.

 

“Awh, shut up.” The Mox puffed her cheeks in exaggerated disapproval. “You ain’t got a monopoly on being nice and caring, y’know.” 

 

A sharp turn followed by an almost immediate stop meant that they had arrived at their destination - the Sunset Motel. Part of the building operated exactly as one would expect - a motel, while at least a third of the rooms were converted into permanent living quarters instead. 

 

“You want help gettin’ out?” Rita asked as she opened her door. 

 

“Nah, I’ll be fine.” It would hurt either way, so he could as well manage on his own. 

“Fuuuck…” He exhaled just in case that would alleviate some of the burning pressure in his gut as he pushed himself out of the seat. It didn’t help.

 

“C’mon, you stubborn bastard.” Rita ran around the vehicle and threaded her arm under his armpit. “How can I get a download of how you almost got yourself zeroed if you collapse on my porch, huh?” 

 

“Thank you.” He allowed her to take some of his weight on and together they slowly shuffled towards Unit 1242. 

 

Rita’s apartment was about the same size as V’s, meaning it was tiny. However, the key difference was just how cozy and thoughtfully decorated her place was compared to his. The only piece of customization the merc had conducted at his place was replacing the storage room with an armory. In stark contrast, every surface in Rita’s place was oozing with her personality. From neon-green door curtains to an arcade machine, it was all her - bright, loud, passionate, but also warm and welcoming if you got as far as being invited to her digs. 

There was one corner, though, that few would ever imagine could be associated with the loud-mouthed bouncer of Lizzie’s Bar. An unassuming shelf acted as a home for a couple dozen tiny clay figurines. Some of them resembled people, some - animals. Some were just seemingly random blobs without a recognisable shape or purpose. Rita sculpted them in her free time. It was a very personal, almost spiritual activity for her, akin to meditation or prayer. V had never seen her do it on the account of getting kicked out of the apartment, but he could understand that it meant a lot to his input just from the sheer joy and fascination that she described each of her creations to him. She adored those tiny figurines just as much as he adored his prized bike, or his trusted Unity pistol. Clay sculpture was important to her, so it was important to him. He’d never even considered questioning, let alone doing something as cruel as ridiculing it.

 

“See you’ve started on a new one?” He asked after spying a piece of carton with a still slightly glossy clay figurine. That one was definitely a person - he had two legs, two arms and a head. The pose was somewhat amusing. It was as if the little guy was ready to jump into action at any moment.

 

“Oh yeah.” Rita beamed at the question. “That’s you, actually.”

She giggled at his bewildered expression that her response had prompted. “What? You not seein’ the almost lifelike resemblance?”

 

V laughed with her, but very quickly regretted it. “Fuck…”

 

“Right.” She had her game face back on. “No more of this grunting in pain every time you move biz.” 

Rita walked V all the way to her bed and helped him land on the corner before disappearing behind the green curtain into the bathroom. She re-emerged in less than a minute holding a MaxDoc.

“Here, this should help.” She gently placed the inhaler into V’s palm. 

 

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” V made a mental note to replace the first aid item the first chance he got… right after he handled all the other debts. He popped the lid off the mouthpiece and emptied the entire canister into his lungs. This wasn’t a miracle medicine, or even a high-grade version, but it did the job nonetheless. Within seconds, the potent cocktail of painkillers, stimulants and other drugs that the merc had no idea about began circulating in his bloodstream. 

“So that’s how it feels being in an okay shape,” he concluded after the pain faded all the way til it became just a dull ache.

 

“Glad that made you feel better.” While V was self-medicating, Rita had procured the booze and a pair of glasses that were already half-full. All of that hanging out with Mateo at Lizzie’s had borne fruit, it seemed.

She handed him one glass and sat down on the bed so that they could face each other. Their legs were touching. “And now you’re gonna spill how a trip to pick up your nephew from ‘Saka Academy landed you and your sis into a ripper’s clinic.”

 

——

 

< Incoming Call: Caller ID Unknown >

 

Groggy and still half-asleep, V had enough brain function active to answer with mental dictation rather than voice.

 

“V speaking. Who’s this and why’re you callin’ me at-“ He shifted his attention to the clock in the other corner of his HUD, “five-fifteen in the bloody morning?”

 

“Mister V.” The voice on the other end of the line was unfamiliar. “My associate Oleg tells me you’re quite a promising individual.”

 

“Don’t know any Olegs and still donno your name, choom.” The meds had worn off ages ago so V was cranky from the pain. He’d been through too much trouble lately to play ‘Guess Who?’ games with some rando. 

 

“Dexter DeShawn here.” The voice made a pause, as if to let the man process the revelation. “I believe there’s an opportunity for us to make each other some thick stacks of eddies.”

 

‘THE Dexter DeShawn?!’ Thankfully, this call didn’t have a video feed because otherwise V would embarrass himself with the wide-eyed expression on his face when he heard the reply. What did Black Jesus of the Afterlife want with a street kid like V?! Sure, the solo was doing pretty well for himself, but he was still a nobody in the grand scheme of things. Doors of the famed merc bar were still very much closed to him, so having one of its prime fixers call directly felt outright surreal.

 

Aware that he hasn’t said anything for a while, V steeled himself and quickly came up with how to respond. “Was that your guy with the limo that got shot up by the Animals on the highway?” 

A lot of things began to make sense. He wasn’t siding with some random rich corpo’s huscle on that underpass, but with Dexter DeShawn’s bodyguard. 

 

“Precisely. He spoke highly of your skills. Taking on a whole crew of Animals with just a pistol and coming out mostly unscathed is quite an impressive feat. Very impressive, indeed.” For some reason, it felt like DeShawn was smoking a cigar as he talked. 

“How about we meet tomorrow and talk biz? Would that be enough time for you to get back on your feet?” 

 

“S-sure, yeah.” V seriously doubted that his gunshot wound would fully heal by then, no matter how many MaxDocs he inhaled, but he wasn’t about to pass on an opportunity of a lifetime because of that. “Name time and place and I’ll be there.” 

 

“Splendid. Deets are coming your way as we speak.” 

 

< File transfer received >

< Accept? Y / N >

 

In the transferred folder was a meeting placeholder with associated coordinates, as well as a contact ID for none else than Dexter DeShawn.

 

“I look forward to meeting you in the flesh, Mister V.” 

 

The merc was about to respond, but the call was cut.

‘Fuuuck…’ He exhaled deeply, his mind now fully awake and racing at full power. ‘Wonder what kind of job someone like Dex could give someone like me…’ 

 

Still very much asleep Rita reminded of her presence by shuffling closer into V’s side and draping one of her hands over his naked torso. Despite being metal, they were still warm like the rest of her body. 

V remembered that it was still damn early, shuffled a little to get more comfortable and closed his eyes to try to catch a few more hours of rest. His brain might’ve been awake, but his body was still exhausted, so sleep found him again much sooner than anticipated. 

 

——

 

Next time V woke up, the light was shining through the single window above the bed. Clock was showing 11:13 AM. 

 

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Rita planted a soft kiss on her boyfriend’s forehead and turned back to the data pad that she was reading from. It was probably another one of her adventure novels. “Slept well?”

 

“Yeah, all good.” He used his elbows to help him sit up.

Before saying anything about the call, V double checked that he hadn’t dreamt it all up by pulling up his contact list and scrolling to the letter D. After finding Dexter’s number there, he was finally convinced that it was all for real. 

“Somethin’ rather odd happened in the early morning…”

 

“Huh?” Rita put down her book and turned to face the merc. 

 

“Got a call from Dexter DeShawn. Wants to meet, ‘talk biz’ - his own words.”

 

“DeShawn?” Her brow furrowed as she tried to place the name. “Wait, ain’t that some bigshot fixer out of Afterlife who had left NC a while back?”

 

“That’s the one,” V nodded. “Heard a rumor that he was back a month or so ago, guess that confirms it.” 

 

“Holy shit, that’s huge news, V!” She shot up in bed, datapad forgotten and attention fully trained on V. “Told ya you’ve got a real talent in that gonk head of yours.”

“Mostly for getting into trouble,” she quickly added with a mischievous grin, “but also for some cool shit like that time you managed to rescue that chick with every Maelstromer being none the wiser you were even there.”

 

Sudden burst of praise took V by surprise. “She was in like, the first room in the back, I had to disable just one camera…” 

 

“So what? Other gonks would try to storm the front doors and get either themselves shot up, or the hostage zeroed.” Judging by the gleam in her eyes, Rita wasn’t planning to give up any ground in this discussion. 

“There was also that time when you bravely stood up between five Tygers and a poor Mox chick who realized she was way over her head way too late.”

 

“Awh, shush, you!” V gave her a playful smack on the shoulder. The last feat was how they met and the ‘poor Mox chick’ was Rita herself. She could probably manage just fine on her own that time, and they both knew that, but she loved to pretend V was her knight in shining armor just to see him squirm. 

 

“My savior!” Rita batted her eyelashes at him like one of those last-century madames from her books and snuggled in closer until she could easily reach his face and pepper it with kisses. 

V wasn’t about to object to that kind of treatment. Not in a million years.

 

Face kissing swiftly turned into kissing-kissing and before V knew it, his output was already straddling him, sitting a little further away than she normally would so that she wouldn’t nick his bandages by mistake. 

 

“When’s the meet?” Rita asked after the pair had separated for a moment to catch their breath. 

 

“Tomorrow at two.” V abridged his response as much as possible so that the two of them could get back to making out as soon as possible.

 

Rita gently pushed him back into a lying position and repositioned herself so that their faces were aligned once again. Lust was burning brightly in her emerald eyes. “All this talk of my boy getting into the Big Leagues got me quite fired up.”

 

Her mood was infectious, and the infection was spreading like wildfire. 

“And what do you have in mind?” V murmured, his grin matching hers. 

 

“I’ve got a couple ideas…” She slowly began sliding lower and lower, but stopped when her face reached the bandages.

“Don’t you dare move, though.” She gently pressed on his chest with her right hand, as if that would physically pin V in place. “We don’t want you to rip a stitch now, do we?”

 

——

 

Freshly re-bandaged and with all stitches intact, albeit only barely, V knelt down to grab his jeans that were strewn on the floor the night prior. With one hell of a great morning behind him, the solo was in the most splendid of moods. Neither the hole in his side, nor in his bank balance could dampen it.

 

To make things even better, they had just had what might’ve been the best pancakes of V’s entire life. They were thick and fluffy, and the syrup was rich and applied generously, unlike the tiny micro-drizzles that you got from the stingy vendors around Kabuki. The brunch was delivered by Wheeler herself on the account of ‘the patient’ needing more rest after his ‘stellar performance despite injured state’ , as she put it. She certainly enjoyed pretending to be his stern, but caring nurse. V was getting one hell of a kick out of it as well. 

 

Unfortunately, blissful existence inside the safe cocoon of Rita’s apartment had to come to its eventual end… That chasm in V’s wallet wasn’t going to fill itself and he couldn’t entirely rely on Dex to be the solution to all of his monetary problems. It was time to get back to work and that meant giving a few fixers a call. 

Rita also had to leave. Her mom called halfway through their brunch to say that Wheeler’s grandmother wasn’t feeling too well, so the Mox was on her way to see what was up. V offered to come with for support, but was swiftly shot down. Rita was very private about her family to an extent that her input of six months still wasn’t introduced to them, despite close proximity - they lived only a few blocks away from her.

 

“You sure you’re gonna be fine getting back to Lizzie’s?” Rita looked guilty about not dropping him off back at her place of work where his car had spent the night. 

 

“It’s completely outta your way and you look worried as is.” V came closer and let his hands rest on her hips. “One ride on NCART won’t kill me, I promise.”

 

“I dunno, feels like those trains need to come with a biohazard warning…” The fact that she was joking suggested that the guilty spell was passing. V took it as a good sign.

“Call me if you need anything, kay?” 

 

“Same to you, hon.” He gave her a quick peck on the lips before stepping back to let Rita get into her car. “I’ll stay over again tonight?”

 

“You better!” She adopted a fake overly-serious expression. “The patient needs overnight supervision.”

 

“He certainly does,” V chuckled. “Cya, Ri.” 

 

“Ba-bye.” With that, the door swung shut and a few seconds later, the Shion disappeared behind the corner. 

 

V looked in the direction where his girlfriend had driven off for a few moments before pulling up his phone and locating the contact details for Regina Jones. 

 

“Heyy, Regina, how’s it hangin’?” V knew that the mercs that had frequently worked with the ex-media-turned-fixer called her Reggie, but he also knew that they weren’t on that level of familiarity. Not yet , at least. The call from Dex had added more fuel to the fire of his ambitions and he fully intended to make use of it. 

However, V wasn’t that much of a reckless idiot to fail to note his current physical limitations. 

“You got any quick’n’easy gigs for me by any chance?” 

 

“V! You’ve got perfect timing.” The one-eyed fixer smiled at him. “I just got a lead on a job from a friend of mine, Jacob Lamb. Wants his implant back from this gambling den run by Tyger Claws.”

“That quick and easy enough for you?”

 

V nodded at the woman. “Sounds easy enough, send over the deets.”  

 

He terminated the call and switched to the text messages interface. As it usually was with Regina, the details of the gig arrived promptly. He had the address and the description of which implant he had to recover. The irony that it was an eye didn’t get lost on V. Location ended up being favorable as well - the casino was in Watson, a stone’s throw away from where he’d be picking up his wheels.

 

This day kept getting better and better, prompting an almost habitual concern regarding what kind of epic shitshow was waiting for V towards the evening. That thought quickly reminded him of Gloria, who still wasn’t fully out of danger, and of David, who must’ve been an outright miserable wreck after what had happened. 

‘Gotta go see how the kid’s doing after I’m done with my biz,’ the merc surmised as he strolled towards the nearest NCART station. 

Perhaps he could share some of his good mood with his nephew, cheer him up a little… 

 

Notes:

I’m trying to take a different approach to the romantic relationship here, with dropping them into a ‘not recent, but not fully developed’ territory where there’s plenty of directions where it can go in still very much on the table.

V deserved a break from all the chaos, I felt like. Not that it’s gonna last, mind…

Chapter 8: Woes Of Parenting

Summary:

V checks up on David to find his nephew all banged up by one of his classmates. Sandi out of the question, an alternative option comes up. However, before V can go get Dee chipped with a Cyberdeck, they have to get the scratch for it first.

“A cyberdeck?” David slowly blinked twice, as if V had suggested he should replace both of his hands with tentacles, rather than chipping the world’s most popular OS implant. 

His following question clarified where his confusion came from. “How’s that supposed to help me in a fight?”

 

V sighed. Gloria obviously did quite a good job in sheltering her son from the ugly sides of Night City. Perhaps too good of a job… And one her brother was about to dismantle to some extent.

“Guess the school day ain’t over just yet, my young padawan,” the merc quipped as he fired up his borrowed car’s engine.

 

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean?” The teen snapped angrily. Apparently, a thorough beating didn’t manage to punch all of the angst out of him.

 

The older man took a few seconds to answer, spending it mostly figuring out the fastest way to get some extra scratch to pay for an entry-level cyberdeck. He was thinking Militech Paraline Mk1 - it was as basic as one could go, but didn’t glitch as much and there were plenty of aftermarket parts to give it some juice once David had the eddies.

“Cyberdeck’s good not just for hacking corpo subnets and trying to bring down the entirety of Net-connected civilization, y’know?” He tapped on the neuroport nested at the base of his skull. “What d’ya think happens when someone uploads a cocktail of nasty viruses right into your chipware?”

V pretended that one such quickhack did hit him, twitching and spasming in his seat. As much as he hated to admit it, such a performance came very much from experience. “If your deck’s good enough and you’ve got the skills for it, you can cut through an army of chromed-up corpo brats at your school without leaving your seat.

 

“Woah! Really?!” The change in expression hinted that David was slowly, but steadily getting sold on the idea. “That doesn’t sound too bad, actually.”

Judging by the mischievous glint in his eye, the teen was already coming up with all the ways he was going to take revenge on his bullying classmate.

 

“A’ight, it’s settled then.” V punched the gas pedal, guiding the vehicle to merge with the lazily-moving traffic. “But first we gotta make a stop.”

 

“What for?” 

 

“Gotta make some scratch for the implant first,” the solo explained. “I ain’t getting deeper in the red with Vik.”

 

“We’re gonna do a gig?” David seemed to be in equal measures excited and terrified.

 

For better or worse, the actual plan was far less exciting. “Nah. A choom I spar with at times tipped me off ‘bout an off-the-books fight happenin’ in Kabuki.”

 

“A fight?!” The teen looked his uncle up and down. “In your state?!”

 

“Who’re ya, my big sis?” V shot back with a huff. “I’ll be fine and besides, do you wanna get chipped or not?”

 

“Guess should be fine as long as they don’t puncha in the gut,” David answered quietly after a short pause. 

 

“In worst case scenario, I’ve got ya to drive me to Vik’s.” V’s little half-joke had a much worse effect on his nephew than he had anticipated.

“What?!” The bewildered merc asked when he received a panicked glare in response.

 

“I’ve had, like, one driving lesson, ever…”

 

“See, you’re ain’t entirely wet behind the ears.” V tried to instill some confidence in the youngster. “Not like this piece of junk is a race car, anyways. Pedal to go forward, pedal to stop, wheel to turn left and right. Easy bis, ain’t it?”

 

“No, no. You just don’t get it.” There was still abject fear in David’s eyes. “Y’know that deep dent in the driver’s door that mum’s car got?”

‘Had’ would be a more appropriate tense, since after the pile-up at the underpass, Gloria’s wheels were only good for a scrapyard. 

 

“Yeah, sure. What about it?” There was no way one could miss a deep crevice that suggested Gloria had been bumped into by someone going far above the speed limit. It was a small wonder the door worked at all after that.

 

“That was me,” David admitted quietly, not even daring to raise his eyes from the footwell on his side of the Hella. “Well, technically it was me and a bollard, but mostly me.”

 

“How the fuck did ya get that piece of junk to meet a bollard sideways, Dee?!” No matter how much he pushed his - not exactly daft - imagination to come up with a reasonable scenario, V couldn't do it. 

 

“What difference does it make?!” Teenager’s embarrassment had obviously transformed into frustrated anger. “Don’t expect me to drive your unconscious ass anywhere. That’s all there’s to it, okay?!’

 

While the discussion on David’s driving skills was taking place, they managed to make it all the way to the co-ords that Coach Fred had sent V. The merc pulled up into a parking spot and killed off the engine. 

“We’re here.” He turned to his young charge. “Ya wanna come watch, or gonna stay in the car?”

 

“Course I’m gonna come watch!” Before V could say anything, David was already halfway out of the vehicle.

 

V followed suit, making sure to lock the car up and try the handle to double-check. Not that it would have any deterrent for somebody with enough tech skills or an upmarket pair of gorilla arms, anyway. One comforting thing was the fact that the Hella was firmly on the wrong end of desirability spectrum. Its looks were a far better deterrent than any alarm or a better set of locks could ever be.

He was going to tell David to stay close, but first the merc had to figure out where on earth they were meant to go. He was certain that the location was correct - the blue marker on his map confirmed as such. However, in front of them was only a row of faceless shopfronts, and nothing even remotely resembling a place where one could find a boxing ring, even if it was a makeshift one.

 

“I’m guessin’ your fight ain’t happening in the kitchen of a noodle shop, is it?” David pointed at the place in question with his chin.

 

“Shut up and lemme think,” V grunted at the cocky brat as he scanned their surroundings with his entry-level Kiroshis. 

He eventually found a digi-print of two crossed fists - one organic, and one cybernetic - sprayed near a fire escape ladder. For those in the know, this was the sign to guide them to the location of the underground fight. It was another helpful tip from Fred. Why the ex-boxer was so keen to get an average merc and a below average boxer to participate in these fights was anyone’s guess, but V would never say no to a promise of some quick eddies. 

“This way, Dee,” he called out.

 

A two-storey climb wasn’t the end of the road, as it turned out. The pair had to duck under some air pipes and take another set of metal stairs up before they finally saw some people gathered at the edges of a small rooftop with a red circle painted on it. Judging by the selection of visible implants and the general fisiques of those attending, this was the right place.

 

“So what else’ve you got besides Sandi?” David asked after eyeing the other potential opponents.

 

“Not that much, if I’m honest.” V raised one of his fists and twisted it around. “Got subdermal armor covering most of the upper torso and some titanium knuckle guards, but that’s about it in terms of what’ll actually be useful ‘round here.”

 

“Not exactly stackin’ the deck in your favor here, aintcha?”

 

All this bitter teenage angst started to get on V’s nerves. “You ever thought of saying somethin’ nice to someone who’s about to get punched in the face to get you your implant?”

 

David frowned and went quiet. He kicked a small piece of chipped concrete between his feet for a short while before finally speaking. “Sorry, yeah. Good luck against whoever it is you’re fightin’, V. I’ll cheer ya on from the sideline.”

 

“That’s better.” V raffled the youngster’s already messed up hair to show that it was all water under the bridge before stepping over the low wall that separated the metal stair landing and stepped onto the roof proper.

 

The ring itself was occupied at that moment by what appeared to be two twins. They kept attempting to hit each other, but their motions were so similar that neither could land a direct hit.

 

“This is pointless!” Both spoke in unison. “I know where I’m gonna strike before I do it!”

 

The up-and-coming merc had heard about close bonds among twins, but this was ridiculous. He waited for the twins to give up on their apparently futile exercise before coming up closer.

 

“Hey there, chooms,” he greeted with a nod. “D’ya know who is it that I’m meant to be fightin’ for the ‘Champion of Kabuki’ title?”

 

“Me,” the two answered in perfect sync.

 

“Hol’ up, chooms.” V raised both hands, requesting the pair for some of their patience. “The guy that told me about this setup said nothing about a two-on-one situation.”

 

“We’re the same person,” the twins replied before pointing at one side of their heads. Only one of them proved to be correct, however, as a strange metal implant was not on the same side for each. “Neural Oscillation Synchronisers.”

 

The merc’s eyebrow shot up. “Say what, now?”

 

For the first time since the conversation had started, only one of them - that V had named ‘Leftie’ to himself - spoke, without his copy joining in. “I used to be twins, as you could probably guess.”

 

“The twins had a close bond, but they wanted to be closer, stronger.” ‘Rightie’ followed up without skipping a beat. Having to follow this kind of conversation made V wish that the twins would go back to speaking as a chorus of two.

 

“So we installed the oscillators and then…” Leftie made a dramatic pause.

 

“We’re, well, me.” It was so obvious that they had prepared this speech in advance. It was almost painful to watch. 

“My bodies do everything together. Everything.”

 

V couldn’t help but laugh at a whole stream of mental images that the completely unnecessary admission had kicked off in his head. Sleeping and eating didn’t appear to be a problem to do in tandem, but then he began thinking about conjoined toilets and cars with two steering wheels and that’s when he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

 

“Watcha laughing at, dick?!” Both of them raised a right middle finger at the amused merc.

 

“Nevermind that.” He had half a mind to ask about whether they did everything together under the sheets as well, but talked herself out of it before the intrusive thought managed to turn itself into spoken words.

Another, much smarter idea followed immediately after that. “Fine, but we’re raisin’ the stakes. Double the bodies to fight, double the eddies to win.” 

In truth, doubling down and losing could completely wipe out the entirety of his paycheck from the job for Regina. On the other hand, winning would mean closing off his debt with Vik, at least for his own bills. The mountain of charges incurred for Gloria’s sake would have to wait before getting paid off.

 

“Fair,” Rightie nodded. “See no problem with that.”

 

“So?” The two joined in once again. “You ready, or what?” 

 

“Yeah, fuck it.” V raised his clenched fists, just how he had practiced with Coach Fred. “Bring it on, Annie’n’Hallie.” 

 

David didn’t make his uncle wait long until he showed his best attempt at being a cheerleader.

“Fuck em up, V!” The teenager yelled as the trio of fighters began their bout.

 

V was concerned that going up against two perfectly synchronized opponents would be a recipe for disaster, but he quickly figured out why it could actually work to his advantage. It was true that the pair were completely aligned, but that made their movements more predictable, if not outright futile. Their minds may have been unnaturally altered to work as one, but their bodies were still bound by the same laws of physics like everybody else. All V had to do was dodge one fist thrown at him, and he was almost guaranteed to dodge the other that was aimed at almost exactly the same spot. In contrast, he could choose to land all of his punches at either of the brothers in any sequence he felt like, while they perceived the strikes as one.

It took a bit of getting used to and a few practice punches, but eventually V got into the groove of fighting the pair. 

That didn’t mean that the merc had derived a perfect strategy, however - he still managed to let a few punches through. One landed right on his right cheek and all but guaranteed a bruise, while the other narrowly missed his bandaged wound to strike at the reinforced rib cage. Thankfully, the mind-sync implant was by far the most advanced piece of chrome that either of the twins spotted. As far as V could tell, they were almost completely organic beyond that and the very basic implants that every semi-functional member of society had to have.

After only narrowly missing an uppercut from Leftie, V decided to try and end the whole spectacle with the help of his Sandevistan. It was true that he had conveniently ‘forgot’ to ask whether the slo-mo implant was even allowed in these fights. At the same time, the solo was fighting in a very much illegal match, paired with the fact that he was going up against two nutters who turned themselves into a single entity. 

All things considered, it felt fair to engage his trump card.

A familiar feeling of weightlessness kicked in as the world slowed down to a crawl and V’s senses kicked into hyper-sensory overdrive. He watched three beads of sweat slowly slide to one side of one of his opponent’s foreheads for a few milliseconds before forcing his mind to focus and get back to the task at hand. 

Said task was knocking two weirdos out and fleecing them for their eddies.

For some reason, Rightie griped V more than his brother. It must’ve been his Maelstrom t-shirt. So, he got punched in the gut first. Fully determined to use the mind-sync gimmick to his advantage, V quickly switched to the second opponent, landing a direct hit to the left temple. All that iron pumping came handy as he felt his titanium knuckles connect with flesh and bone. 

V’s Sandi didn’t have much over a few seconds of duration in it, but that was more than enough to turn the tide of the match in his favor. While the twins’ connected brains struggled to reconcile between two completely different sources of hurt arriving all at the same time, the solo didn’t waste a single second. He bounced between the brothers, landing punch after punch in places that one body expected to be hit from the other direction. 

In the end, the whole ordeal felt almost too easy. As much as fighting two bodies instead of one seemed unfairly balanced at the beginning, it suddenly began looking like a hindrance instead.

 

Before long, both fighters were flat on their asses, holding their respective heads and begging for a break in unison.

 

“Fuck yeah, V!” David didn’t hesitate to dash to his uncle and pull the man’s fist up high. “Kabuki’s got a new champion!!”

 

V’s face ached something awful, but he smiled nonetheless. It was good to win after what felt like a whole week of feeling like he was run over by a Kaukaz hauler all the while his wallet was drained like a bucket with its bottom missing.

 

It took the synced-up brothers a few moments to recover and take a seat by the edge of the ring. 

“Here, your winnings.” Leftie’s eyes lit up as he transferred eight large into V’s account. 

 

“Nova. Pleasure fightin’ ya, chooms.” V tilted an invisible hat at the two weirdos. “Ten outta ten, would beat yo ass again any time.”

 

“Get lost, dickwad!” 

 

No amount of verbal abuse was enough to dampen the guy’s spirits by that point, so he simply turned around and walked off towards the fire ladder that would bring him and David back to their car.

 

“That was FUCKIN’ AWESOME!” The teenager shouted after they both got into the Hella. “Two gonks down in space of no seconds flat, fuckin’ hell!”

 

“It wasn’t that fast,” V chuckled awkwardly. He was glad that David had finally turned that frown upside down, but wasn’t about to let the kid praise him needlessly.

“Also,” he turned stern for a moment, “this little show doesn’t mean we’re gettin’ ya a Sandi. You get that, right?”

 

“Yeah, yeah.” David’s enthusiasm appeared to also be impervious to any form of dampening. “Let’s go get me that deck now? Pleaaaseee?” 

 

“A’ight, a’ight. Vik’s just a stone’s throw from here, anyway.”

 

Notes:

This ended up a slightly shorter chapter because I want the experience of getting a Cyberdeck to come entirely from David’s perspective.

Next up: trip to Vik’s and a discovery of why Gloria’s jacket was so uncomfortable at times.

Chapter 9: Chip, Chip, Hooray!

Summary:

David comes with V to Vik’s clinic to get his cyberdeck installed. The visit doesn’t go like he’d expect, to say the least…

Notes:

Just as the previous chapter was shorter, this one is longer to kinda make up for that. Not exactly on purpose, but narratively made more sense.

Enjoy the read!

“Hey Misty,” V greeted the mysterious-looking blonde at the desk of an esoterica shop that the pair entered for some reason. 

David noticed there was a distinct note of guilt in his uncle’s voice, but he had exactly zero context to even start coming up with a theory. 

 

”Hey there, V.” Her bob wobbled gently side to side as she spoke, producing an almost hypnotizing effect. 

She turned to the teenager and smiled ever-so-slightly. “And you must be David?”

 

’How did she-?!’ The sudden greeting startled David. He swallowed hard to give himself a moment to regain composure. “Sorry, have we met? Last few days were a bit mad for me.”

 

”We haven’t, but I heard good things about you from Jackie and Vik.” She nodded to the side, pointing at the merc. “Besides, V isn’t the kind to bring just any schoolkid here. Connecting the dots wasn’t hard.”

 

”Listen Dee, uh-“ V’s face was a grimace of awkwardness as he gently butted into the conversation. “I’m gonna go talk to Vik one on one for a minute, a’ight? Be back in a bit.”

 

”Um. Sure, I guess?” There wasn’t much room for negotiation there. David’s uncle seemed to have a habit of leaving him with strange female acquaintances of his. 

 

You didn’t need to tell the older guy twice. He disappeared through the back door of the shop quicker than you could say ‘Sandevistan’.

 

”How you holdin’ up, David?” Misty’s voice was uncannily soothing. 

In a city seemingly obsessed with being louder, more obnoxious, more aggressive, the quiet esoterica shop and its proprietor were like a tranquil sheltered lagoon in the midst of a raging storm. David had only seen a lagoon in a BD at the Academy so he wasn’t actually convinced they worked like that, but the metaphor seemed very apt nonetheless.

Such a thread of thought had immediately thrown itself sideways when he remembered the previous time that one of V’s chooms ‘babysat’ him. If there was a notion of opposite people in this world, then Rebecca would be exactly that to Misty - raucous, overflowing with emotions, infectious with her energy. Not that David would ever expect to be in a position to choose between the two, but he was still inadvertently leaning towards the latter.

Weathering the storm felt much more fun than hiding from it, thought the teenager who had always thought of himself as being too sheltered from the outside by his overly-protective mother.

 

”Sorry!” Suddenly realizing that he never actually replied to Misty’s question, David yanked himself to stand straight with such force that he gave himself the mildest form of whiplash. Gloria’s jacket promptly scraped his spine with its needlessly solid back insert. “Yeah, I’m alright, thanks.”

 

”No need to apologize.” Misty seemed far more amused than offended. “This is exactly the place for reflection. I hope that short conversation with yourself helped you find a small piece of clarity.”

 

’Who is this woman?!’ David began to wonder, but quickly stopped himself as to not zone out for the second time in a space of a minute. Despite Misty’s immaculately zen deposition, even she - surely - had her limits.

 

”Come sit, David.” Misty gestured at the tall chair on the customer side of the table that appeared to be pulling double duty as her own personal workspace and the client reception of sorts. “I’ll do a reading for you.”

 

Now that was a proposition David would not expect even in a million years, not in the least because he had no idea what it actually entailed.  ”A-A reading?! Like a book?!”

 

“No, not a book.” The blonde chuckled in such a soft way that left zero space to feel offended, embarrassed, or any other negative emotion at all.

 

David could only pull an awkward, confused smile in return and sit where he was told.

 

”These are called Tarot Cards, the Major Arcana,” Misty explained as she laid out a number of elaborately illustrated cards before scooping them back into a thick deck she held in her right hand. “I’ll help you uncover the meanings behind them to guide you on your onward journey.”

 

David could just about make out a rabid face of a menacing man looking like he belonged to Maelstrom, a skeletal black figure licking his sword and two skulls engaged in what could only be described as tongue-heavy kissing. None of those cards appeared to spell anything positive to him, but at least they didn’t seem to be a part of his reading .

 

”Alright, then.” The teen glanced behind his host at the door to the back alley. If V suddenly came back and interrupted this whole thing, he wouldn’t be exactly torn up about it. “What do I do?”

 

”Think about the question you’d like advice on. Let everything else go for a short while and really focus on that one question.” Misty’s melodic tone acted like a lullaby to allow all of David’s worries to melt away, letting him focus on a singular dilemma.

 

It didn’t take long at all to come up with what was concerning him the most. 

’Am I just gonna go back to my life when mom wakes up?’

The fundamental question wrapped itself around David’s brain and kept circling as he raised his eyes to meet Misty’s. He didn’t speak, afraid that trying to form words would let other thoughts invade his head once more, shattering the rare moment of singular concentration that he had managed to achieve. 

 

“Well done, David. Not everyone manages to concentrate so well on their first try.” She began laying down card after card until four laid face-down on the table between them.

David was burning with curiosity to see which ones he’d get, even though he had absolutely no way of knowing whether their meanings were good or bad until Misty walked him through each one.

 

His first card was that of a circular pictogram with what appeared to be a dead body lying slumped below it. Judging by the slit throat and half-opened briefcase, it must’ve been a mugging gone south. David couldn’t help but admire how incredibly detailed the pictures were, even though the specificity of the scene did confuse him as to what its meaning could be beyond ‘you’re gonna get mugged’.

”Is that good or bad?” He asked carefully.

 

”Cards seek to provide guidance, not judge the outcomes.” Misty’s reply was about as clear as the card itself, but by this point the teen had figured out that this was just how she spoke all the time. “They can warn you about upcoming danger, but it’s up to you to decide whether this is something you want to seek out or avoid entirely.”

”After all,” she nodded in the direction of Vik’s clinic with a small smile, “we know someone who thrives on danger, don’t we?”

 

David chuckled at the unorthodox characterisation of his uncle. He could only nod in agreement - in Night City danger would always find you, that much was certain. Only by meeting it head on could anyone hope to survive long enough. Him and his mom were prime examples of that, too. No matter how much she wanted to shelter him from danger, it found them anyway.

 

”The first card represents your past,” Misty continued. “You must always remember where you’ve been and where you came from, for nothing often influences our future like our past.”

”The Wheel Of Fortune.” She tapped the card with her black-laquered nail. “You’ve experienced a great change, and a terrible one at that. But remember, the wheel is always spinning.”

She treated David to a reassuring smile. “It’s a reminder that no matter how bad things get, the situation is not always going to be this gloom. Things will get better for you.”

 

”Mhm,” David nodded to show that he understood. It was hard for him to imagine how his situation could really get any worse, safe for a situation when his mom’s condition would suddenly take a nosedive and he’d end up a true orphan. 

He instantly chastised himself for even considering such an outcome. Gloria’s superstitions never rubbed off on her son, but he still preferred to avoid accidentally manifesting his mother’s death. Just in case.

 

Card depicting an enthusiastically marching forward punk was laid on the table next. He appeared to be about to walk off an edge of a roof, but, perhaps, that was just David’s overly-negative interpretation after seeing the Wheel Of Fortune image.

 

“The Fool,” Misty proclaimed, instantaneously crushing the youngster's hopes for a positive reading of this one. 

“Don’t look so disheartened, David,” she urged after noticing him frowning. “Fool is everyone - including you and me. We step into this world not knowing if we’ll soar or if we’ll fall.”

She pushed the card closer to him so he could get a better look. “See his little companion over there? That’s a reminder that you’re not alone, David. You’ve got people who care for you, who want you to succeed.”

”This card is meant to represent your present, and I think it’s a very positive sign that it came up for you.”

 

”How’s that?”

 

”It signifies the beginning of a journey. You’re just starting out, so it’s okay to feel scared, or indecisive. It’s okay to not know exactly where you’re going.”

 

She slowly flipped the next card and placed it on the table face-up. “This is your future.”

 

David leant forward to get a better look, for there was a lot to take in on that one. The man - woman? it was hard to tell - depicted didn’t have a face, just a skull. Instead, there was a wall of faces behind them, seemingly ready to be put on at will. In front lay an array of bloodied blades. It was hard to tell if this person was meant to be offering their wares for sale, or if they were just showing off their gruesome collection.

To say that the meaning of said card was a little hard to deduce from the image would be one hell of an understatement. 

 

Misty waited for a few seconds, probably expecting any more premature reactions, before speaking up again. “The Magician.”

“You can be confident that you’ll be able to overcome your hardships through your wits and your imaginative approach to the situation. Your enemies won’t know what hit them as you outwit them at every step.”

She fanned her fingers over the card. “You’ve got to be careful, though. For every trickster risks their scheme being discovered, or meeting an equally cunning enemy.”

 

’This is getting a little too speculative for my liking,’ David thought, but didn’t say anything of the sort to avoid offending his host.

And then it hit him. He was about to get a cyberdeck installed. Hacks, to someone completely unfamiliar with 2077 technology would appear no different to magic. Unlike a Sandevistan that V was spotting, he wouldn’t have it so easy by just shooting or punching his way out of a sticky situation. 

‘Damn…’ Only three cards in and the jaded teenager was already getting on board with the whole concept.

 

”Last one offers some advice on how to proceed, or interpret the previous cards.” Misty laid down an image of a hooded figure with some sort of elaborate metal mask covering her face. A tattoo of a person wrestling a large beast adorned the skin just above her breasts.

This time round, David didn’t even try to pass judgment on the meaning of the card.

 

”Strength is the card of resilience. You should gather all your willpower and push through in order to reach your goal.” 

 

Misty let David look over the four cards that were supposed to predict his future for a while before speaking once again. “How was that for you, David?”

 

”That was, uhm…” In truth, David had absolutely no clue how to feel about this entire thing. 

On one hand, he could definitely see meaning and relevance in every single one of the cards that he got, but his rational self struggled to accept that some random pictures could ever possibly have any real meaning or impact on his life and future.

 

Arasaka Academy training eventually kicked in and he went for a graceful show of gratitude. He bowed his head slightly. “Thank you, Misty. This was very insightful, actually.”

 

”It’s okay to doubt the cards.” It was as if she was reading his mind. “Jacky didn’t really take any of it seriously at first, either.”

 

”Really?!” It was surprising that the bulky ex-Valentino even agreed to a reading in the first place. “And now?”

 

“Jackie’s a kind soul. He tried to understand even though he did not believe.” She shrugged. “I don’t know when it happened, but one day I just knew that he had no reservation in his heart anymore. Not about the cards, at least.”

”Maybe I’ll see it in you one day too, David.”

”I guess that’s all the time we have now,” Misty added after another small pause.

 

She barely stopped talking when V leaned through the doorway and called out to Daivd. “Yo, Dee! Thought you’ll shuffle over here by now.”

”Ya wanna get chipped or not?!”

 

”Coming!” David mouthed another ‘thank you’ to the mysterious blonde and quickly hurried to join his impatient uncle. 

 

“Hello again, David.” Viktor greeted the teen as soon as he and V crossed the clinic’s threshold. “How’ve you been?”

 

“Been a’ight, thanks Vik.” David stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, unsure whether to go straight for the chair or if he was meant to wait somewhere.

 

”Have a seat.” The ripper gestured at the operating chair and waited until his patient complied. 

 

“Ouch!” The youngster complained when the jacket poked him in the spine as soon as he leant into the seat. 

 

Naturally, the doc picked up on that in an instant. “What is it?”

 

”The jacket keeps poking at my back all the fuckin’ time.” David sat back up and took the blasted EMT coat off. “Maybe a reinforced layer got busted or summin’?”

 

Vik’s brow furrowed as he took the jacket and gave it a brief look-over. ”Those don’t usually come with anything like that.”

He threw the jacket at V. “V, have a look at the threads while I’ll check if this one didn’t score some shrapnel in the back. Can never be too careful there.”

 

David allowed for his shirt to be lifted up to expose his back. “I don’t feel anything when I sleep, or if I wear something else.”

 

”Right, skin looks intact.” Vik said quietly. It was unclear if he was addressing David or just talking to himself. “No bumps or bruises or anything.”

 

”Think I found the culprit.” V opened the jacket to reveal a secret compartment hiding behind a zipper in the back. Inside, strapped with multiple lines of tape, was a transparent plastic sleeve that held some kind of implant. 

 

“Well, I’ll be damned…” Viktor let out a long whistle. “You’ve been walking around all this time with a high-grade Sandevistan.”

 

V carefully took out the package and threw the jacket on the chair in the back of the room. He walked up to the pair and handed it over to the ripper.

 

”It’s definitely a Militech model, but I’ve never seen this particular one.” Vik turned the packet this and that way as he inspected the precious piece of tech inside. “No serial number, either.”

He looked up at V. “You’ve any idea how your sister got her hands on what appears to be a piece of secret corpo tech?”

 

David watched the interaction with unblinking eyes. He always saw his mom as a tirelessly working paramedic, leading a life clean as a whistle - no shady biz on the side. That worldview appeared like it was about to shatter into a million pieces.

 

V huffed at the question, as if the mere idea of Gloria running around, stealing secret corporate prototypes was ridiculous to the point of absurdity. “Glo? Klepping prototype chrome?!”

”Naah,” he waved the ripperdoc off. “She stayed far away from corpo bullshit ever since-“

He suddenly stopped talking with an expression that could only come with a major realization.

 

”Ever since what?!” David shouted from his seat after the silence that hung in the clinic became unbearable. 

 

“Nevermind that.” V, eyebrows furrowed in the shape of his nickname, rubbed his chin. One could almost hear cogs turning inside his head. “Vik, remember that shootout in Corpo Plaza? Some cyberpsycho. Zeroed a whole buncha cops before MaxTac got involved?”

 

”Yeah, I remember N-Fifty-Four reporting on that,” the older man nodded. “They said he was some NUSA army bigshot that gone off the rails from all the chrome he was carrying.”

 

David knew exactly who they were talking about. One could say he had intimate knowledge of lieutenant colonel James Norris, for he was inside his head to witness his death at the hands of a squad of MaxTac cyberpsycho hunters. 

Of course, David could never admit as much, because then he’d have to fess up to watching cyberpsycho XBDs and maybe even go as far as owning up to peddling them in school to pad his usually empty pockets a little.

He decided to keep his mouth shut for a while and let the other two talk things out. What the teen really wanted to know, was how his supposedly straight-edge parent managed to get as far as stowing a piece of experimental cyberware away in her jacket.

 

”Recon he’d be the kind to carry a prototype Militech Sandi?”

 

Another nod from Vik. ”That part checks out, but how did it get into the hands of your-“

 

David, his head full of many more questions concerning his mother than he had started the day with, watched as both men yanked their heads towards the high-viz jacket hanging off the back of a chair. 

 

“EMT.” V and Vik said in unison.

 

”Can’t believe she managed to lift it without anyone even clocking it.” Vik sounded more impressed than he was concerned. “Must’ve had only a couple of minutes with the body while it was getting transported.”

He looked at his left hand that had the ripperdoc’s glove on it. “Not sure I’d manage to disconnect it safely in such a short time. Although, I guess when you don’t need to worry about flatlining the patient…”

 

”Glo’s got the skills for that, for sure.” V, in turn, looked proud of his older sister’s abilities, whatever those abilities could be. “I just wouldn’t think that she’d go back to applying those sticky fingers of hers in such a way.”

 

”Hey!” The teenager protested. “It’s my mom we’re talkin’ about here! Care to include me in this convo or you just gonna keep talkin’ like I ain’t even here?!”

 

V sighed. “She’ll probably gonna kill me for telling ya, but what the hell. Glo’s got some explainin’ to do herself, in the end.”

He pulled up the chair that had the EMT jacket on it to sit closer and sat down. “Your mom used to be Trauma.”

 

”Trauma…” David repeated. The word jiggled some recognition in his mind, but it was too faint to put a finger on it.

’Trauma, Trauma, Trauma.’ He repeated the word in his mind over and over again, almost grabbing onto it, but still not catching the answer every time.

And then he got it. 

“Mom was with Trauma Team?!” Images of armed to the teeth medics in white helmets flashed in David’s mind. Save for MaxTac, they were the most elite force in Night City when it came to protection and rescue if things went south. Even Militech and Arasaka security details paled in comparison when it came to training and dedication that Trauma Team would put in to safeguard their client. 

To think that Gloria Martinez, his mother, would be in such a situation was mind-boggling. She was the one who would try to talk David out of school fights, yet, in her previous life she would routinely drop into crossfire between two gangs to save some corporat.

 

”Yepp.” V nodded without the slightest hint of mischief on his face. He was dead serious. “Can revive or zero a gonk with about the same level of efficiency ‘n all that.” 

 

David groaned. This was not what he expected when he agreed to take a drive to a ripperdoc and get some implants chipped. The teen didn’t even get his cyberdeck installed yet, and he already had his future foretold and discovered that his mom was hiding her past from him.

Hundreds of questions swirled in his brain like steel marbles inside a blender set on ‘blitz’ setting. There was really no way to decide which one he should ask first, so he picked the first one that floated to the top.

”Why’d she quit?” 

 

V appeared amused that this was the one he went with. “She found out she was pregnant. With you.”

 

”Oh.” That was all that the teen could muster. If he wasn’t already sitting down, he’d probably sink onto the nearest flat surface at that point. Coincidentally, that particular revelation had quieted the storm in his head, but didn’t take away the sinking feeling of hopeless lack of context. 

 

“I reckon you gonna need to have a nice long chat with Glo once she’s back on her feet,” V suggested.

His gaze shifted at the plastic sleeve that Vik still had resting on his lap. “What do ya suggest we do with this then, Vik?”

 

”Well, if either of you are planning to chip this thing in, you gonna have to look for another ripper.” Vik picked up the implant and raised it in his hands towards V so that the other man could take it back. “Bottom line, she must’ve klepped it for somebody, and I don’t want to hear about one of you getting found in some back alley, missing half of your spine.”

 

An image of the dead body under the Wheel of Fortune flashed up in David’s memory. “Yeah, I’ll pass. Cyberdeck’s fine with me.”

 

”We can at least wait till Glo wakes up.” V carefully placed the wrapped Sandevistan to the side. “Whoever has the scratch and need for this thing is unlikely to be happy if their chipware gets swiped from under them.”

 

”Well,” Viktor breathed in and out slowly, as if to punctuate the conversation, “why don’t we get back to what you came here to do, what do you think?”

 

“Yeah, yeah.” David wiggled in the seat to get more comfortable. “Let’s get this done, finally. Before I find out I was a test tube baby or some other batshit crazy fact I dunno about.”

 

”This’ll sting only for a moment,” the ripper promised as he readied a syringe of what was likely to be anesthetic.

 

——

 

David had been chipped before. He got his neurolink and accompanying interfaces done just over two years ago when he enrolled into Arasaka Academy. Since then, he had to get them resized on account of him growing and a retina overlay got installed so that he could interact with the growing number of augmented reality screens that his school insisted on using. 

Dizziness, slight confusion and a feeling that something wasn’t right with your body all came par for the course with those operations. Nothing that he had experienced so far, however, was even close to how it felt to wake up from an anesthetized sleep, with an entirely new piece of chrome nested inside his brain. It was hard to tell whether it was his imagination, or if he really felt the slight pressure on the lower-back part of his skull.

 

”No sudden movements, kid.” Vik placed a heavy hand on David’s chest to drive the point home. “Take your time to get your bearings, otherwise you’ll paint the floor with your lunch in no time.” 

 

It took a few seconds for the teenager’s blurry vision to focus on the smug face of V. The merc stood with his hands crossed on his chest, watching with a smirk as David slowly recovered from the numbing effects of drugs and fully re-entered the waking world.

 

”Congrats, Dee,” V said with a nod. “You’re now officially chromed up.”

 

”So how do I…” Scan? Hack? Cyber-run? David had no idea what term to use for what he wanted to try. He wasn’t a Netrunner yet, not even by the long shot. He didn’t even know if his new cyberdeck had any daemons pre-uploaded or if he’d need to get some. 

 

“Hey, don’t look at me.” V pretended to cower away. “I haven’t used a cyberdeck in years.”

 

”Let’s start with something simple.” Vik’s calm and measured tone provided a layer of reassurance that David very much needed. It was very obvious that the ripper had gone through this with a countless number of other customers of his.

”Focus on me and think about scanning me.” He gave David a few moments to make an attempt before asking. “Did it work? Your vision should turn slightly tinted and an overlay window should appear.”

 

David grunted with effort as he desperately tried to will his own body into doing what the doc had asked him to do. He had no idea if it was him thinking about it wrong or if there was a connection loose or something, but the overlay just wouldn’t show up.

A couple more ‘ ugh ’s and ‘ hnnn ’s later, the defeated teen sunk back into the chair. 

 

“Hey, hey, Dee.” V quickly joined him, kneeling down so that their faces met at roughly the same level. “Don’t be so harsh on yourself, a’ight?”

”It took me some time to get the hang of it myself, I remember that much.” V looked away for a moment, seemingly contemplating something.

”The advice I got when I was trying it out was to clear your mind a little and focus just on that singular action.” He tapped his own neuroport. “Visualize a link from your brain to the cyberdeck, and then tell it to use the scanner.”

 

’Kind of like with the tarot cards and my question,’ David thought as he began forcing thoughts out of his mind in order to clear it for the task at hand. 

 

Repeating an action that he had done previously proved to be much easier. In no time at all, everything turned slightly red and he had Vik’s shape outlined and a pair of options menus projected on either side of his field of vision.

On the left, he had a single option of ‘Ping’ available to him, while the side was occupied by the aforementioned info panel. There was nothing there besides Vik’s listing as a ripperdoc.

 

”Judging by your face, you’ve got it.” Viktor smiled. “Well done, David.”

A congratulatory pat on the shoulder followed.

”Your scanner won’t do much for you given it’s not a full implant and isn’t hooked up to any databases, but it should allow you to target any quickhacks at whoever you want.”

The older man turned to V. “I hope you ain’t getting him to help you out on gigs? I probably should’ve asked before installing this, but got kinda side-tracked by the whole Sandevistan situation.”

 

“Nah.” V shook his head. “Just a countermeasure against some blue-blood fuckboys at his ‘Saka school.”

 

Vik nodded with approval. “In that case, I’ve got a few basic hacks that I’ve no use for anyway. I’ll upload them for you now.”

 

”Woah!” David was speechless. After everything that this guy had done for his entire family by this point, it was unbelievable that he’d still be willing to help out some more. “Th-thanks so much, Vik!”

 

”Consider this my contribution against bullying in schools.” The man chuckled at his own joke. 

After a series of rapid taps on his touchscreen, Vik turned around to face his two customers once again. “Got you Sonic Shock and Cyberware Malfunction. I trust your uncle can explain what those are in your own time.”

 

”Why can’t I try one now?” Excited giddiness took over David. It was like that time he got that Cops’n’Robbers AR game for Christmas and immediately challenged his mom to a match.

 

”Well, if V’s willing to risk planting his face into the floor when you glitch his cyberware, then be my guest.” Vik raised both hands and turned them around to show they were fully organic. “I ain’t got much in the way of implants and besides, I might have a customer come by later.” 

Both of them turned to the merc. 

 

“No fuckin’ way!” V said almost immediately. 

When neither David, nor Vik backed off or said anything, but just kept looking at him expectant eyes, he eventually surrendered. “Fiiiine! But only one. And I’m warnin’ your ass - if ya zap my entire system, I’ll knock ya out into tomorrow mornin’, Dee.” 

 

“Fine, fine.” David was already pulling up the scanner and training his sights on his uncle. 

‘Select Cyberware Malfunction.’ He sincerely tried to get only one instance of the disabling daemon going, but must’ve thought a little too hard about it. 

One after another, tiny boxes began lighting up above V’s head with a process bar quickly counting down to zero for each one of them. If his entry-level cyberdeck hadn’t run out of RAM, he’d probably upload even more.

 

”Ouch! That kinda stings!” V clutched his left hand which began twitching uncontrollably. 

“Fuck!” The other hand began doing the same. 

“You bastard! I thought you promised-“ This was when the third and final quickhack hit V’s system, forcing him to keel over and drop on all fours.

He stayed in that position for at least a minute and rose back up only after all of his limbs stopped living a life of their own. 

 

”You little shit!” The merc began angrily advancing towards his nephew. 

 

“I didn’t mean to, I swear!” David raised his hands in front of him in an attempt to defend himself from getting bonked on the head. That was V’s favorite method of scolding him. ”It just happened!”

 

That seemed to have proven enough to quench V’s ire. The older man stopped in his tracks before turning to the ripperdoc. 

“Thanks, Vik. As promised, the payment in full and some extra for the dameons.” His eyes lit up bright blue momentarily before going back to their usual, slightly darker blue.

”C’mon, Dee. We gotta delta.”

 

Keen to avoid angering the guy who had just paid for his chrome any further, David quickly pushed himself off the chair and started strutting behind V.

 

”Wait-!” Viktor didn’t manage to say what he was about to say in time. 

 

An overwhelming feeling of nausea suddenly overwhelmed David, forcing the teen’s knees to buckle. He fell face-first on the floor, hitting the concrete with an audible thud. A small comfort was that, at least, he hadn’t thrown up like Vik predicted he would.

 

“Told ya,” Vik followed up with an audible smirk in his voice, “need to take baby steps.”

 

”Count us even, Dee,” V said as he stood over his nephew with an outstretched arm.

 

Notes:

Shoutout to GuestMan for correctly guessing / suggesting how the whole Sandevistan situation would unfold eventually.

Do let me know what you think of the reveal of Gloria’s past and the chapter as a whole.

Chapter 10: Proportional Payback

Summary:

Freshly chipped, David is looking forward to his next confrontation with Katsuo Tanaka.

David barely noticed the journey from Vik’s to his megabuilding on account of being too distracted with his new toy.

The cyberdeck had opened up an entirely new world that was right there, just beneath the surface of the real one. Every traffic light, Drop Point kiosk and pedestrian now appeared like open targets for him to try and hack. 

At least hypothetically .

Most things and people David had scanned had far too much anti-hacking protection for him to even attempt to upload a daemon. At the same time, in so many instances he spied no resistance at all, meaning he could hack to his heart’s content if he wanted to.

The biggest hurdle was the scanning. His retinal overlays provided almost no data and strained his eyes something awful. 

 

“V?” He called over once the concrete anthill that he and his mom lived in came into view.

 

“Yeah?” 

 

“How much would a pair of optics cost?” 

 

The merc chuckled. “Already lookin’ to chip in more, huh?”

“Mine were about ten large, I think.”

 

‘Fuck…’ David barely made a thousand eurobucks a month pushing XBDs. At the same rate, it would take him just under a year to earn enough to pay for a set of Kiroshis. 

 

There was an alternative, of course.

 

“Hey, d’you think I could help out on some gigs, maybe? Watch your back ‘n’ all that?”

 

V laughed so hard that he managed to swerve the Hella side-to-side. 

“Wait!” He exclaimed after subsiding the laughing fit and with it the car. Suddenly, any sign of amusement vanished from his face. “You for real?!”

 

“Y-yeah. Why not? We can split the cash sixty-forty.” 

 

“Two things.” His uncle raised two fingers without taking the other hand, nor his eyes off the road. “You’re dreamin’ with that split. Eighty-twenty is as good as you’re gonna get if you’re just gonna be ‘ watchin’ my back ’.”

“But more importantly, have you fuckin’ lost it, Dee?!” 

 

Sudden yelling made David jump in his seat. He was expecting to be shot down, but not in such an aggressive manner. 

 

“How you imagine the convo with Glo is gonna go?” V continued. “ Oh hi, sis, I kinda sorta got David involved in the underworld while you were under and now he’s missing a leg cos some ‘Stromer gonk shot it off?!”

“She’ll chancla us both to death, mano. ”

 

When Spanish began bleeding into V’s speech, you knew he was serious. 

 

“A’ight, a’ight!” David pleaded for a reprieve. “Gonk idea, I’m sorry!”

 

“Finish school, get into one of those swanky internships and then the corp will pay for all of your implants, not just the optics.” 

V meant well, but the prospect of being chained to a corporation with his actual body felt so fucked up to David that he grimaced at the concept without even realising it. Luckily, his uncle had to focus on not ramming the car into one of the lampposts as he took a right turn.

 

“Well, here we are.” 

 

They pulled in front of the megabuilding’s main entrance - a wide span of gray concrete stairs framed by piles of trash on both sides. 

 

“Thanks for the lift,” David mumbled as he exited the car.

 

“Hey Dee,” V called over before the teen could shut the door. 

 

“What?”

 

V smiled. “Don’t hurt that stuck-up gonk too much, will ya?” 

“And make damn sure you don’t get caught by one of ‘em security cams, ya hear?”

 

“I won’t,” David promised, secretly scolding himself for not thinking about that on his own. “Thanks for everything, V.”

 

“Don’t sweat it, choom.” V waited for his nephew to shut the door before blasting off. Although with the shitty car that he was driving, it was less of a blast and more of a loud pop, at best. 

 

A familiar sense of reluctance began bubbling inside David’s chest as he lazily ascended the stairs leading into an always-busy lobby of the gigantic flat block. Food vendors, gangers, cops, drug dealers, joytoys and a whole plethora of other characters inhabited the space around the clock. His eyes trained firmly at the ground immediately in front of him, the teen passed all of them. He only raised his eyes after approaching the rusted grated gates of the elevator. 

Once inside, he mindlessly pressed the correct pair of numbers to get him to his floor. Despite his best attempts to tune it down, the ever-invasive noise coming from a wall of TV screens invaded David’s hearing nonetheless. It appeared to be a news broadcast of some sort, but these days it was hard to tell those apart from the outright ads. 

 

“… but the studio had vehemently denied that the BrainDance scroll of the massacre from the set of Saigon Sisters that cropped up on black market was actually legitimate…”

David’s ears had perked up at the mention of a BD, but he quickly lost interest when the reporter began talking about Saigon Sisters, which he knew to be some shitty soap opera. Camp and fake as hell, it placed firmly on the opposite end from what he’d consider his entertainment preferences.

 

There was a final hurdle to be overcome before he finally got home - the vent climb. The rent was still due, so the entrance door remained locked.

After performing yet another poor landing, David quickly chucked his clothes on the couch and headed towards the bathroom.

 

A long, hot shower definitely helped with the ache that plagued half of his body, concentrated on where Katsuo’s punches landed. It wasn’t his first time getting beaten up for being too poor, or too ordinary, or simply not conforming enough to the constantly rising social bars established by blueblood children of corpo bigshots at his school.

Unlike any previous times, his mom didn’t coo over him, using her company-issued medkit to bandage the scratches and cuts. A much more stark difference, though, was David’s anticipation for the day that followed. Usually, he’d dread showing his blued face on campus, but this time he was looking forward to it. He knew for a fact that Tanaka Jr. would be pissed beyond belief if David turned up all chirpy and upbeat, even as he spotted a black eye. This would prove the perfect bait to get them alone again.

 

”Tsk!” The teen clicked his tongue in annoyance as the realization that his bully wouldn’t be alone-alone quickly dawned on him.

 

His resolve quickly returned, overshadowing the brisk moment of fear. Katsuo’s chooms weren’t chromed as much as he was, and they were all chums who wouldn’t get lunch money out of a junior if their leader wasn’t with them to do it.

As long as he disabled Tanaka’s implants in time, he’d be fine.

To do that, however, he needed practice. So he practiced.

Soon enough, every piece of electronics from the TV screen to the toilet flush had been probed by David’s eager retinas. He tried everything he could possibly think of - direct view, lying down sideways, even spinning around and trying to target and hack something as soon as possible.

The only appliance that seemed utterly resistant to teenager’s hacking attempts was the blasted washing machine. It had some sort of protection around its main CPU that he just couldn’t crack. Not for the lack of trying, though - David began feeling the back of his skull begin heating up before he decided to call it quits and give up.

 

”Ah, shit!” The newly-christened netrunner gasped in shock when he spied the clock spelling out three AM.

He had to get up in around four hours.

That momentary interruption, however brief, appeared to remind David’s body that he was going at it for multiple hours. A wave of exhaustion promptly enveloped the teenager, threatening to knock him out if he didn’t head to bed right that second.

David’s face had barely touched the pillow before he was already sound asleep.

 

 ——

 

For the first time in what felt like forever, David woke up looking forward to his day at Arasaka Academy. His uniform finally washed and dried, he had no reason not to turn up looking particularly sharp - even the tie got a proper, tight knot over the usual ‘can’t be arsed’ treatment.

 

David stepped through the sliding doors of the school while whistling a tune of the latest viral hit that was taking over the airwaves - Us Cracks’ PonPon Shit. The track sounded beyond annoying to him at first, but after being exposed to it anywhere from the elevator to V’s car for a whole week, it started to really grow on him.

 

”Welcome, Mr. Martinez.” He could swear the AI lecturer sounded extra-chirpy to see him. Maybe it was simply because he didn’t break any rules on arrival. 

David even went as far as giving the hologram a little wave.

 

Naturally, Katsuo could not stand for the prime subject of his ire to have a moment of contentment. ”What are you so cheerful about, Martinez?” 

“Did you get accepted for a job at an EEZYBEEF factory or something?” 

As always, his two cronies laughed at the lame joke as if it was the funniest thing to ever be spoken out loud. 

 

David was extremely tempted to hack the guy into next Thursday right there and then, but V’s warning about cameras quickly flashed in his head, acting as a much needed coolant. 

The moment passed and soon enough, they were told to get into their seats and put the headsets on - the lesson was about to start.

 

Even the lectures that were normally a total slog felt a little more interesting. Perhaps, the fact that David spent most of them testing every single bit of hardware inside the classroom hall for vulnerabilities had something to do with it. The teen never bothered to question the positive outcome.

Regardless, he even managed to get a commendation star for answering a surprise quiz on Night City Holocaust without a single mistake, even when most people failed at naming all identified edgerunners that were involved. 

 

As expected, his blissful existence irked Tanaka Junior something awful. This time round, David watched his back as he left the school’s grounds towards the NCART station. Now that he knew what to look out for, Katsuo’s crew’s attempts at being subtle in following him looked borderline laughable. If he had any intention of losing their tail, he’d be able to do so without much hassle at all.

Pretending to be blissfully unaware of his followers, David walked into the shadow of the same tunnel where he had his ass kicked just the day prior. He stopped just at the edge where the sunlit part from the exit on the other side met the shadow thrown by the overpass.

He counted the steps that his would-be assailants took and waited for them to stop before turning around.

 

”That smirk on your face is so annoying, Martinez.” Katsuo’s voice was pure venom. “I think I’ll do us all a favor if I wipe it off your stupid face.”

 

David grinned even wider, just to mess with the guy some more. Besides, all the talking gave him a perfect opportunity to queue some quickhacks on the two gonks in the back before focusing on his main target. 

“Come and try, asshat.” 

 

“You’re dead, gutter trash.” Katsuo didn’t wait for his cyberware to fully fire up as he lunged at David, his fist already raised.

However, unlike the previous day when the first, and every subsequent strike found their target before David could even react properly, the exact opposite happened this time round. Chipware visible on the back of Tanaka’s head sparked and failed to come online. His unaided punch glided through the air at almost sluggish pace, giving David plenty of time to dodge it, grab the bully by the elbow and almost casually throw him forward. 

 

“AAAH!” Katsuo yelled as he lost his balance and toppled into a pile of torn trash bags.

 

“What the fuck have you done to him?!” One of the others shouted at David, but didn’t dare to make a single step forward. Just as expected, Tanaka was keeping company with pathetic cowards.

 

“Make a move and you’ll be next.” David pointed two fingers at the guy as a warning, secretly hoping that the idiots wouldn’t suddenly realize it was still a three-on-one situation.

 

He stepped closer to shellshocked Katsuo, who struggled to get out from the slippery heap of trash, only succeeding in covering himself in more grime and muck. He tried to use his cyberware again, but David had uploaded a whole chain of daemons that guaranteed nothing would come online for at least a couple of minutes. This pushed his cyberdeck to its limit, but it would be able to rest from that point on. 

The rest of the job would need to be completed by his feet and fists.

 

David pulled his right foot far behind him and then swung it forwards, like they were told in football practice. Except this time, he wasn’t aiming at a ball, but smack in the middle of Katsuo’s face. The sneaker connected with the nose, producing a loud crack and sending the other teen hurling back into the trashy depths. 

Screaming and flailing, Tanaka Junior eventually managed to get up. His face was a mess, with blood gushing from both nostrils. His shirt was more red than white at that point.

 

“You fucking peasant, you broke my nose!” He yelled, sending droplets of blood and spit flying all over the place. “Do you even know who my father is, you brainless worm?!”

 

“Don’t know, don’t care.” David shrugged and punched the guy in the face again with his right hand. He overdid it a little and hurt his own knuckles, although that pain was unlikely to be even in the same ballpark as the other guy must’ve felt.

In some sort of ever-repeating loop, Katsuo fell back into the trash bag pile. His cronies could only watch in shock, too paralyzed with fear and indecision to do anything else. 

 

David leant over the other teen, who couldn’t get back up this time. “Who’s a cockroach now, huh?” 

He gave Katsuo another kick in the gut before heading towards the NCART station.

 

“I’ll get you for this, Martinez!” Tanaka yelled after him. The coughing fit that followed completely nullified any serious threat in his words. “You’re a dead man!” 

 

By that point David had already turned the corner and was thinking about something else. All this yelling about parents made him cast his mind to Gloria. He knew that she was still unconscious, otherwise the hospital would’ve already let them know. Nonetheless, the teen still felt compelled to go check up on his mom.

He quickly typed up a text to V to let him know that he was heading over and invited him to join before swiping his card and passing the gates leading to the platform.

 

The train only just started moving when an urgent alarm began blaring in the corner of David’s vision. He instinctively opened it to see what was going on. His heart instantaneously sank, as if it was made of solid lead. 

 

According to the set of bars and graphs that hovered over zeros across the board, Gloria had just flatlined.

 

“No, no, no, no!” He began repeating out loud, startling some nearby passengers. 

They lost interest in the distraught, but not violent teenager within seconds, though - there were more than plenty of crazies on NCART. His very public panic attack wouldn’t even make the Top 10 of the weirdest sights for that day.

David’s knees buckled under the weight of sudden news and he sank on the floor.

Face burrier in his palms, David dialed up V.

 

V replied after just five rings. “Yo Dee, what’s up, choom?”

He immediately saw that something was wrong. “Did that gonk at ‘Saka Academy pick a fight with ya again?”

 

David had completely forgotten about the episode with Tanaka that took place no more than ten minutes ago. 

“He- No, it’s worse. It’s-“ Words got stuck in his throat like jagged caltrops.

 

“Hold up, Dee, gettin’ another call - it’s Glo’s hospital.” 

 

David raised his head with such force that he heard his neck joints crack. “Patch me in.” 

 

“Mr. Martinez,” image of an annoyed-looking nurse came up on the second feed.

 

“What’s going on?” The merc asked. “Is something wrong with my sis?”

 

“Not exactly…” She appeared to be struggling to find the right words. Or was still deciding on which lie to tell. 

 

David wanted to scream. To interrogate this woman until she told them the truth of what happened to his mother. 

 

“It appears she ran off. We didn’t find her in her bed during routine check-in and she isn’t anywhere in the hospital.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “I hope you understand, Mr. Martinez, that we already have your payment details on file and this kind of behavior will not be taken-“

 

She kept talking, but David stopped listening as soon as it dawned on him what had really happened. Gloria wasn’t dead, she just took off the monitoring device. 

David had never felt so relieved in his entire life. He felt rescued from drowning, able to take his first breath after being stuck underwater. 

 

“Oh thank fuck,” he quietly whispered to himself.

 

While V and the nurse were discussing something about checking security cameras, he pulled himself up. V was, understandably, annoyed about how a hospital managed to lose a patient and then dare to talk about payment as their first point of discussion. The woman on the holo, in turn, grew more and more frustrated with having to explain herself. 

 

“Fuck it,” V said finally. “I’ll come over and deal with it in person.” 

“Dee, you comin’?” 

 

Of course David was coming. 

 

The train’s pace appeared to slow down to a crawl, but it was probably just David’s sense of urgency that shot through the roof. And no amount of tapping his foot on the sticky plastic floor would make it go faster.

All of a sudden, his singular fixation on getting to the hospital to find out where on earth did his mom run off to was interrupted by a familiar voice. 

 

“C’mon, Luce! You need to lighten up a little, come drink with us tonight! Sasha’s gonna be there too. You can exchange hacking tips or whatever it is you netrunners talk ‘bout.” 

 

David turned to look who it was that he recognised, struggling to place the name by the sound alone. He was confused to see nobody, but that didn’t last long. A suit got shoved to the side and he saw Becca make her way through the carriage followed by-

 

‘No fucking way!’

 

It was that elusive picksocket from the other day! The probability of the person from that chance encounter on NCART being friends with the rowdy ex-Mox that he happened to bump into at Lizzy’s was borderline non-existent, and yet there they were. Becca was wearing almost the same outfit than she was when they met last - a set of what she called ‘tactical underwear’, this time in a different color, and her oversized jacket. David’s gaze got stuck on the exposed stomach with the ramskull tattoo on it. He swallowed hard after clocking that he was staring, hoping that she wouldn’t notice.

 

Thankfully, Rebecca spotted him a little after he had spotted her. “David?! Holy fuck, what were the chances?!” 

 

She quickly strutted up to him, unceremoniously pushing a few more people to the side to clear the way. “David, my maaan! How’s it hangin’? Is your mom all patched up now?”

 

”She’s, uh…” He really didn’t feel like it was appropriate to unload the whole latest drama on Becca. “She’s okay, but still in hospital.”

Technically, this could be true.

 

“Ah, bummer.” Becca puffed her cheeks.

”Oh!” She seemed to have suddenly remembered that she had someone with her. “This is Lucy, by the way. Lucy, David. David, Lucy.”

 

”Pleasure,” the pastel purple-haired woman responded coldly. She puffed a gum bubble, allowed it to burst and began chewing again.

 

”Hey there.” David really had no idea how else he was supposed to respond.

 

Lucy appeared to have lost interest in his existence almost as soon as they were introduced. She turned to her friend. “Our stop is next, Bex.”

 

”Right,” the teal firecracker nodded. “Was nice to bump into ya, David! Say hi to V when you see him, will ya?”

She gave him a playful bump on the shoulder that was followed by a cheeky wink.

 

”Sure, will do,” he promised.

 

The train soon came to a stop and the doors opened. 

Rebecca briefly turned to David just before stepping out. “Cya later, Daaavid .”

 

”Yeah.” He couldn’t help but smile. “Cya, Becca.”

 

David’s stop was the one after that. He didn’t even wait for the doors to open up fully before dashing out. 

 

Notes:

We finally get an intro (albeit a rather icy one) to Lucy!

Next up, back to V (and Rita), as he gets to meet up with Dex. Gloria will make an appearance too, of course.

Chapter 11: Step-Up Opportunity

Summary:

V gets ready to meet with Dexter DeShawn. An unexpected stroke of luck lands him with a new set of wheels.

Notes:

i’ve been busy as of late so this took a little longer to finish. The chapter’s a little longer, though so hopefully that’ll make up for the wait.

The beginning is a little spicy, but nothing beyond what we’ve had in earlier chapters.

V had barely slept on account of thinking about all the scenarios on how his meeting with Dexter DeShawn could go keeping him wide awake. Rita didn’t exactly complain about it, though. The Mox made a point in doing her best to distract her input using one way that always did the trick - seduction. The pair performed an improvised tour all around the bouncer’s apartment, with the table, chair, kitchenette counter and, of course, the bed all being just some of the ‘stops’ they’ve made.

 

“I look like shit.” Physically exhausted, but finally somewhat relaxed, V stared into the mirror at dark circles under his eyes. 

 

“Lookin’ mighty fine to me, babe.” Rita punctuated her sentence with a loud slap on the man’s bare ass. 

He tried to retaliate, but the blindly thrown hand only met air, missing its fleeting mark by a wide margin. This only spurred Wheeler on - she attempted to ambush her boyfriend once more, but he was more than ready the second time.

Using the Sandevistan, V leisurely walked around Rita who was now moving at a snail’s pace. He took his time choosing a perfect angle before unleashing an attack of his own. The merc savored every extended millisecond as his palm connected with the firm flesh of Rita’s backside and grinned like a Cheshire cat as he watched it jiggle in slow-motion. The sight was truly mesmerizing.

The effect of the implant wore off just in time for him to hear the spanking sound.

 

”Oay! Ain’t fair!” Wheeler protested at first, but then her mouth stretched into a mischievous grin. “Next time you’re usin’ it during the main event , ya hear?”

 

”As you wish,” V bowed low like an obedient noble would towards his queen. “Just not now. I feel like certain somethin’ is gonna fall off if we go again.”

 

”Yeah, same.” Rita winced slightly. “Joys of stayin’ ‘ganic, amirite?”

 

”Anywhere but there.” V couldn’t think of anything worse than replacing his manhood with an implant. He wasn’t one of those anti-chrome religious wackjobs by any stretch of imagination, but certain things were just too much for him to swallow. 

 

V gave his less-than-ideal looking mug another glance. ‘Guess Dex would hire me for my skills, not my looks…’ 

 

“A’ight, sweet buttcheeks,” Rita yawned as she wrapped her hands around V from the back. “Imma go back to sleep for a few ticks.”

He watched them in the mirror as she planted a long, warm kiss on his left cheek. “Go kick ass with DeShawn. I’m sure you’ll do a preem job and gonna be waving at me from all the way up in Major Leagues in no time at all.”

 

V chuckled nervously at such a bold prediction. “Ya think so?”

 

”I don’t think so , hot stuff.” She pinched his right cheek, looking him in the eye through the reflection. “I know so. ”

 

V felt cold when Rita withdrew to climb back into bed. He also felt a decent degree of jealousy that she could just catch up on sleep while he had to go and do stuff. His meeting with Dex was not for another few hours, but there was plenty to do before that.

Firstly, he’d need to hop back to his digs to pick up a decent loadout. At the moment he had only his trusted Unity and a few mags on him. That wouldn’t do if Dex wanted V to jump right into the fray. Asking for a pause to get re-equipped would surely ruin any chances for a follow-up job. 

While in Megabuilding H10, he’d also hop into Wilson’s shop to get the weapons looked over and maybe shoot a few rounds at the range to get himself primed. The owner of his local 2nd Amendment shop was a great guy and a real virtuoso when it came to firearms, but he was also a huge talker, so that visit alone would likely take an hour, at least.

Next item on the list was entirely optional and even somewhat pathetic, but he still felt like it had to be done. V despised Hella - the car that El Capitan had allowed him to use for the foreseeable future as a favor. It was slow, it drove like crap and looked even worse. V just knew that pulling up to a meeting with Dex in that disaster on wheels would just send his confidence into the negatives, no matter how prepared and ready he was in reality. His plan was to go chat up the mulleted fixer in person and maybe even do a quick job for him in order to score a better ride for a few days. This carried massive risks, especially if V would get hurt during the gig, but it was the kind of risk he was willing to take. 

Any spare time after all of that would probably be spent practicing cool comebacks to any pointed questions DeShawn could throw at the upstart merc. He wanted to come off cool, composed and ready for anything. On a normal day, that was exactly how he was, but this was far from a normal day. Although - perhaps - if he played his cards well, then working with a legend like Dex would become a common occurrence…

V was glad that nobody was around to peek into his racing thoughts. They would mock him to death if they could, most likely. 

 

He showered, put on his favorite Samurai jacket that also acted as a good luck charm and checked that the pistol was loaded before turning to the bed. V planted a soft kiss on the forehead of his already half-asleep output and quietly snuck out of the apartment.

 

Ride back to H10 was relatively easy since rush hour traffic didn’t manage to hit the streets just yet. V’s thoughts quickly drifted back to the world of opportunity that he could be presented with later in the day as he cruised through the city.

Naturally, there was no such thing as an incident-free morning in Night City, and the merc was promptly reminded of that when a stray bullet shattered his side view camera. 

 

“What the fuck?!” V swerved to the right and just in time. A bright blue Herrera Outlaw rushed past, missing his own car by mere centimeters. If his side cam was still intact, it would certainly not be after that maneuver.

Almost immediately after that, a black van with skull spider graffiti drove after the executive car. Two Maelstromers - one from the front seat, another through the open cargo door, were shooting at the chased vehicle. 

The whole scene stirred up unsettling memories from a few days back in V’s head.

Bullet-ridden Outlaw then performed a 90-degree skid into a side street, doing so across three lanes of incoming traffic. The supercar managed the maneuver just fine, though. The same couldn’t be said about the van that was after it. The bulky vehicle almost toppled at the apex of the turn, but that swiftly became the least of its passengers’ problems, as a Kaukaz hauler then rammed right into it at full speed, sending two gunners flying. Sparks flew as one of them landed onto concrete face-first and slid at least a couple feet forward, leaving a bloody streak behind him.

Curiosity got the best of V and he slowly turned into the same side street to see if Herrera managed to escape or stopped and to check if the passengers needed any assistance. Who knew, perhaps doing something good for a stranger was just the perfect act to get some good karma on his side. Misty would certainly approve of that logic. Or perhaps it was his way of getting over his own gang-related accident that almost killed his sister and the merc hinself.

 

With the Maelstrom-caused crash putting traffic to a standstill, it was easy for him to dip into the alleyway without any problem. Onlookers were too preoccupied with the fiery spectacle to pay a nondescript vehicle much mind at all.

Much to V’s surprise, he didn’t need to follow far at all. He found the sky-blue Outlaw planted into the first dumpster that came in its way. 

V surveyed the car as he approached, one hand hovering over his firearm, just in case. Herrera was in one piece, but only just about. Rear light bar had more smashed bits than those still intact, while the only remainder of the rear window was a halo of jagged shards of glass sticking out around the metal frame. Miraculously, all tires looked intact and no smoke was coming out of anywhere, despite a thorough peppering of bullet holes spanning the entire visible side.

Windows were completely murdered out so there was no way to tell how many people were inside and what their condition was. 

V’s hand was mere inches away from the front passenger door’s handle when it opened from the inside and a bloodied man fell out of it. His clothes could be considered exceptionally nice if they weren’t torn in places and soaked with blood.

The man sputtered some incoherent nonsense that was hard to even call proper speech before collapsing onto the dirty concrete.

 

“Hold on, choom!” V pulled out a MaxDoc from his inside pocket and readied to administer it, but when he turned the guy over, it became obvious that no amount of meds would help. The unfortunate dude was gone.

“Well, shit…” V sighed. That was Night City to you.

 

He tried to scan the dead body to try and get any info on him, but the result came back blank. This was not uncommon - plenty of people used cyberware and scanner jammers to maintain their anonymity. V himself had a homemade version of a scrambler programme running on his cyberdeck so that anyone trying to get a read on him would only get his single-letter monicker back, and nothing else.

Resorting to the good old fashioned rummaging through the man’s pockets, the merc arrived at more questions than answers. The only three items he found were an unmarked shard, a half-empty pack of gum and a business card with nothing but a red crown stamped on it.

V twirled the black slab of plastic and circuitry between his fingers as he considered what to do next. 

“Eh, fuck it!” The merc exclaimed before taking a deep breath and slotting the unknown chip into one of the ports at the base of his skull. 

He winced, mentally preparing to find out that he had just willingly injected some malware into his systems. Luckily, none of that came to pass. Only a simple message showed up in his HUD.

 

[ Vehicle ownership transferred. ]

 

‘Well, that turned out much better than it cold’ve.’ V looked at the worse-for-wear limo with new eyes, this time considering how much scratch it would cost to repair it. 

Thankfully, he had just the perfect person in mind to help him in this question.

 

Claire Russell replied after quite a few rings, but that was likely because she had to climb from under whichever new project car she was working on and grab her agent to actually answer him. Afterlife’s prime bartender and daytime mechanic prided herself on being completely chrome-free. 

 

“Yo, V. Wassup?”

 

”Got a fun lil’ question for ya, Claire. Have a look.” The merc switched turned video feed on and switched to field of view projection. “How much do you think it’s gonna cost to fix this baby up?”

 

”Don’t tell me you got so sick of that Hella that you zeroed a dude for a set of wheels?!” The mechanic gasped. “Although can’t really blame ya, that’s one preem ride. Looks like seventy-four model year, GTS variant.”

 

V chuckled. If he ever did decide to get into carjacking, he wouldn’t get into the habit of turning the merchandise into a bullet sponge. ”Nah, haven’t stooped that low just yet. The gonk’s been chased by Maelstromers who zeroed themselves out of the equation.”

 

”A’ight, let’s have a closer look. Get in, I’ll talk you through it.”

 

”Two secs.” V dragged the dead body out with as much care as he could, feeling like he at least owed the guy that much for presenting him with a new set of wheels. That took a minute or two. He reluctantly sat into bloodied seats, already feeling sorry for his freshly washed threads that would need to go back in as soon as he got back home.

The interior was an oasis of high-tech equipment and heavenly-soft leather. 

“What do I do now?” He asked as he looked over a plethora of dials and screens. Even the climate control setup looked complex - in contrast to Hella’s settings that tapped out at ‘Hot’, ‘Cold’ and ‘Off’.

 

”The screens on the steering wheel, tap on the left one. Then find the diagnostics menu.” Even without seeing her face, V could tell that the gearhead was getting a kick out of this entire exchange.

”It might ask you to jack in. That’ll load all the data straight to your cyberdeck and you can then ping it over to me.”

 

V followed the instructions with utmost diligence and soon enough, an attachment with his new car’s vitals was on its way to Claire.

 

She spent a few moments humming into the mic as she read through the file. “Do you want good news or bad news first?”

 

”Umm… Bad news?” 

 

“I hoped you’d say that. Bad news is that your entire left side would need work, rear light cluster is fucked beyond repair, one of the front lights is a goner and the radiator’s leaking a lil’.” 

 

V started to feel dizzy at that assessment, already imagining the astronomical sum of eddies he’d need to cough up to get all of those parts replaced. “Those good news better be real good, Claire.”

 

”Oh, but they are! Pretty sure I’ve seen a totalled Outlaw at Mason’s junkyard the other day. We can probably grab it off him for a couple grand tops. If it’s got everythin’ you need then we’re nova.” 

 

“Still gonna have to pay you for your troubles, though.” The merc wasn’t the kind to just expect everyone to hand out favors to him. 

 

“It’ll be my first Herrera job, so I reckon I can waive my usual fee off this one time. But you’re definitely payin’ if you get it shot up again.”

 

V grinned. “You’re a legend, Claire. I’ll make sure to make it up to ya somehow.”

 

”I’m sure I can think of something. I trust you know where to find me.” 

 

The merc checked the time. This was very much an unexpected diversion to his plan, but he had enough buffer still left, so it wouldn’t be an issue. “Yeah, be there in twenty.”

 

First, V parked the soon to be returned to its original owner Hella out of the way. Then, he dragged the dead guy and sat him against a wall.

”Thanks, choom.” The merc saluted the nameless corpse, closed the door of his new wheels and carefully reversed out of the alley and back to the main road. 

 

——

 

“G’damn…” Claire whistled as she circled around the Outlaw, giving it approving nods. “It is kinda trashed, but even then - looks preem as fuck.”

”And you got it off some dying gonk? Lucky bastard!”

 

V shrugged. ”Wanted to help at first, but when the dude gave in on me, didn’t see a reason to just leave this beaut out there for NCPD to impound.”

 

Claire wasn’t really listening anymore. She was already popping up the hood to have a look inside. “Engine’s all good and looks like it’s been maintained well.”

”C’mon, V,” she egged the man on, “give her some gas.” 

 

V obliged and punched the throttle.

 

”Sound worthy of the gods!” Claire shouted over the glorious rumble of the 700-plus horsepower engine.

”I’ll have fun working on you,” she promised the car before closing the hood. 

 

“I don’t have time to go out of town, unfortunately.” V was already calculating the time it’d take him to get a cab back to where he left his other car. 

 

“Oh, don’t you worry ‘bout that!” Claire waved him off. “I’ll grab the trailer and grab it myself. You can pay me back when you come to pick her up.”

 

The merc was lost for words for a moment. ”You’re an angel, Claire. Seriously.” 

 

“Go, go!” She shoo-d him away. “Go do whatever it is that’s more important than getting this art piece on wheels back into working order.”

”I’ll call when I’m done. Probably in a few days.”

 

V mouthed ‘you’re the best’ before leaving through the still open garage door.

 

Journey back to where he left his Hella felt longer and more annoying than it probably was in reality, but such was the stark difference between driving a luxury limo and taking public transport. After experiencing the Outlaw, getting back into the Archer was truly painful, but the solo told himself that he had this piece of junk only for a few more days. 

Luckily, his surprise adventure took place just a few blocks away from his Megabuilding, so he was back on track with his plan in no time at all. Jeans and t-shirt went straight into the wash while the leather jacket got a loving wipe-down to remove all the caked blood from it.

Less than ten minutes later, V was fully dressed and ready to get on with his plan. 

 

As he was pulling his shoes back on, the merc suddenly had a moment of utter inspiration. Given that he just scored a brand new set of wheels far better than anything he could actually afford at the time, bargaining with El Capitan felt borderline counterproductive. Besides, V only just realized that he didn’t need to ferry any family members around for the meeting, so his bike would prove a perfectly viable option. He only needed to pick it up from the car park in Gloria’s building and he was golden.

Pleased with himself for gaining the time spent on dropping off the Herrera, V cheerfully hummed along to the radio as he stocked up on weapons and ammo in his personal armory. Opting for the bike limited his options somewhat, so any of the chunkier guns were out. Luckily, he had found another gift inside his new car - an ultra-compact Arasaka Senkoh SMG that was closer to a pistol in size. That one would definitely need to get taken for a test drive at Wilson’s as V despised using firearms he wasn’t familiar with on jobs.

 

Armed, motivated and extremely dangerous, V left his apartment and headed down towards the services hall.

 

”Yo, V!” Coach Fred looked particularly cheerful. “Nice one knockin’ out those weird-ass twin motherfuckers!”

 

The merc simply raised both hands with his thumbs up to avoid wasting time talking to the guy that always seemed to have a different underground fighting ring for him to get involved with.

 

“Hey, V!” The balding gun store owner greeted his favorite and highest spending customer. “Got a brand new shipment of gear just yesterday. Come have a look!”

 

”Think I’m good, Wilson.” V pulled out his new piece and twisted it around to let the other man take a better look.

 

”Fuck me sideways ‘n’ call me Miss Nelly!” The gunsmith gasped. “You bargain with me for spare ammo jus’ last week and now turnin’ up with a Jinguji piece like it’s no big deal?!”

 

V didn’t even know this was meant to be some sort of luxury firearm. That did explain the gold plating on some of the hardware and the satin finish, however. 

“I didn’t buy it, duh.” He decided to not reveal where and how he came by the gun to avoid any additional grilling from the chatty shop owner. “Found it on some dead gonk in a back alley.”

 

“Whatever. Gimme.” Wilson grabbed the red and black piece and began inspecting it from every conceivable angle. 

“Insane…” He mumbled after looking at the end of the barrel. “Magnetic accelerators to simulate a longer barrel… Them engineers at ‘Saka are complete nutters, I swear.”

 

”Alright, alright.” V snatched his new toy, putting it away for good measure. “I need ya to look at my other piece.”

 

”Ya not cleaning it properly as usual?” The gunsmith grimaced as he reluctantly accepted the gun that he had worked on countless times by this point. “Fiiine, I’ll go have a look. Go shoot up some targets in the meantime.”

 

V grinned. That was exactly what he wanted to do.

 

——

 

With his guns tuned to perfection and fully stacked on ammo, V made his way to Megabuilding H4. The merc sighed with relief when he found his bike exactly where he left it - in Gloria’s parking spot that would now be vacant on account of her Galena likely rotting somewhere in Night City’s municipal landfill. 

It felt good to be back on his iron horse. Cars were nice and all, but few things could compare to feeling the wind in your hair as you swerved between cars at 100 MPH, feeling completely unimpeded by such silly things like traffic jams and red lights.

 

V was still 30 minutes early, so he took the scenic route, going through the Corpo Plaza and the rest of the city center rather than taking highways. It didn’t escape his notice that the coordinates provided were awfully close to Afterlife. He was still nowhere near the level to be allowed entry on his own, but the possibility of walking through the doors of a morgue turned legendary merc haunt made V feel giddy. Doing so together with one of the city’s legendary fixers was just the perfect icing on the ego trip cake. 

 

V parked up behind the club, right next to a pearl-white version of his brand new ride. He double checked the details that DeShawn had shared with him to make sure he was in the right place. After confirming that he hadn’t dreamt the address up, the solo leant against his bike and began waiting for his ticket into Major Leagues to arrive.

Right at the designated time, a pristine Chevillon Thrax pulled into the parking lot. Dex must’ve been keen to upgrade to a heavier-armour model after the Animals ambush.

The armored limo drove past V to pull into a parking spot. He didn’t take offense to that and simply pushed himself off from the bike and walked up to the black car. 

The same guy that was his chance partner during the underpass shootout stepped out from the driver’s side. He gave the merc a barely perceptible nod before walking round and opening the passenger’s door closest to V.

A hulking black man climbed out, visibly struggling to get his ample body out in one go. As awkward and amusing as that looked, V didn’t dare to even smirk. 

Aside from being a few stone heavier, Dexter DeShawn was exactly like what the upstar solo had imagined him to be. Decked head to toe in what appeared to be the most expensive version of everything, the man spotted a golden right arm, although with the amount of bling on his other wrist and neck, one could easily think that he had more golden chrome on him.

 

”Mister V, I take it?” Dexter’s voice exuded comfortable confidence and authority. “Pleasure.”

He did not offer a hand to shake.

 

”It’s great to meet you, Mr. DeShawn.” V had half a mind to bow, but ultimately decided against it.

 

“Call me Dex. How about we talk somewhere a little bit more private, hm?”

 

There was only one correct answer to that. ”Sure, ‘course.”

 

He followed Dexter and his bodyguard down the stairs to enter the foyer of Afterlife - both a proverbial and literal gateway to the top of the merc world of Night City.

A no-shit-taken looking bouncer at the door simply nodded at the approaching fixer before stepping to the side.

 

”He’s with me.” DeShawn said casually as he threw his golden thumb at V. 

 

“Hey.” V whispered sheepishly at the bouncer, feeling like a kid who somehow managed to get into an adult’s Birthday party.

 

They made a leisurely beeline towards the far side of the club which was relatively empty and quiet during the day. Claire was nowhere to be seen, likely on account of her shift starting much later, and her being busy with the pet project that V had delivered to her only a few hours prior.

’Shame,’ V thought. Seeing a friendly face right then would’ve been very helpful to his self-confidence. 

 

They crossed the whole dancefloor and made a sharp turn to the right, after which the huscle lead them through a set of sliding doors and to the back, where a sound-isolated meeting room waited empty. 

 

“Take a seat.” Dex landed onto the widest side of a cough that was big enough for five people at least like he owned the place.

 

V modestly took a smaller one on the other side of the table. “I’m honored that you’ve chosen to speak with me Mr- I mean, Dex.”

 

”Course I’d get interested after Oleg here told me how well you’ve performed against them Animals.” Dexter summoned a cigar and a lighter from a pocket of his trousers and promptly lit it up. The sickly smell irritated V’s nose, but he did his best to not show it. 

”I’ll get straight down to biz if you don’t mind, Mister V.” He blew a generous cloud of smoke before continuing. “I’ve got a bit of a problem with a shipment.”

 

”Hm?” The merc leant forward. “What kind of problem?”

 

”You see, I’ve made a deal with a certain Brick of Maelstrom for a Militech bot that they happened to come in possession of .” 

 

‘A pickup job?!’ The merc reeled internally. Was that all he was good for to this guy?!

 

”Now I see that you might think of it as a mere errand and you would be correct.” The fact that the fixer could tell exactly where the other man’s mind would go first was beyond impressive and slightly terrifying.

”You see, as it’s often the case, Maelstrom’s leadership is rather… volatile. It appears that Brick has been deposed and his lieutenant is now in charge. Goes by Royce.”

 

This was getting more interesting, but also significantly more dangerous. 

 

DeShawn took V’s silence as a sign to continue. “I need you to parley with Maelstrom on my behalf and retrieve the bot that I had already paid for.”

”It’s up to you how you get it. If you’re as good with your tongue as you are with a gun, then perhaps you’ll be able to talk them into a peaceful resolution of this… misunderstanding. ”

 

V scoffed to himself. Maelstrom? Peaceful? Not in a million years. This could prove to be by far the most dangerous gig he had ever signed up for. But the payoff in the form of rep and good standing with Dexter DeShawn could prove to be enormous, even if the literal pay wouldn’t. He decided to ask anyway. “What’s the pay?”

 

DeShawn let out a low chuckle, giving the merc a fright that he may have overstepped. “I like you, Mister V. You get straight to the point, no fuckin’ about.”

”Pay’s not what I’d call impressive since I’m trying to cut my losses here, but how does five large sound?”

”And if you pull this off for me, there would be some truly lucrative jobs coming your way. And that’s a DeShawn guarantee.”

The man was using his name as a brand - that took balls. 

 

“A’ight,” V nodded. “Sounds simple enough. Pay Maelstromers a visit. Get your bot. Be extra persuasive if it comes to it.”

 

”I rate your confidence, Mister V.”

 

”Anything else I should know?” Anything could be helpful at this point.

 

”Nothing else, I’m afraid. I couldn’t get a lead on anyone from Militech looking for the bot, so you’ll have to go in just by yourself.” 

 

Going in by himself - that was the main crux of the problem. V didn’t feel like walking into a den of sadistic homicidal chrome junkies without anyone watching his back. Despite the earlier offer, David would be the last on his list for that. 

‘Something to figure out later,’ he concluded, deciding to focus on the conversation instead.  ”Alright, I’m in. When do you need this done?”

 

”The sooner the better, but feel free to take your time to plan it out properly.” More smoke was blown into the air. “I’d rather wait a day and get my investment in full, rather than have a promising candidate get zeroed and lose what I’ve already paid for.”

 

V understood that answer as meaning that he had a day or two maximum to pull this off. That was still better than nothing.

He stood up. “I won’t disappoint you, Dex.”

 

”Good luck, Mister V.” The fixer gestured towards the door with the flaming tip of his cigar, indicating that the meeting was over. 

 

Notes:

Some borderline slice of life bits in there, but I wanted to get V a proper car and what better way to do so than to have a random shootout that ends up with him scoring a Herrera Outlaw? Great excuse to introduce their friendship with Claire, too.

The gig with Dex will feel very familiar, no doubt, but I assure you - the way it will go down will be very different. But first… we’ve got the whole hospital runaway Gloria situation to deal with.

Chapter 12: O Sister, Where Art Thou?

Summary:

V tries to get to terms with the implications of his meeting with Dex and meets up with Rita to talk it through. Unfortunately for the merc, he soon finds out Gloria’s missing from the hospital…

Notes:

My apologies for going on an imprompty mini-hiatus on this. Wasn’t planned, but kinda happened. Had quite a lot going on in life and just needed a little break.

This particular chapter lived through three re-writes of different magnitude, just because it happened to have some monumental bits of plot that I couldn’t quite get right.

Either way, hope you enjoy this.

As he climbed the final flight of stairs to see the light of day once again, V finally allowed himself a deep exhale. It felt like he was holding his breath for the entirety of the meeting with DeShawn. 

Keeping his cool throughout took a heavy toll on the aspiring merc and now that he was out, his body reacted accordingly. As if suffering an adrenalin crash, he felt his knees weak, arms sweaty. His stomach churned a little, threatening to spill out the RealBeef spaghetti that he had hastily inhaled just before departing from his Megabuilding. 

Afraid that Dex would come out and see him in such a sorry state, V swiftly shuffled into the nearest back alley. He perched against the closest wall and allowed himself to slide down a little only after making sure he was completely out of sight for anyone exiting the famed edgerunner haunt.

 

”Fuuuuck…” V pulled both hands over his face to help himself calm down. His heart was beating like crazy and his mind was racing with the speed of Caliburn on nitrous. 

He was working for Dexter-motherfucking-DeShawn!!!

Sure, it was just a single gig for the time being. But that’s how he got to work with Regina and Wako, after all. One well-executed gig became two, which became five, and so on until you suddenly turn into their go-to guy for a certain type of job. As long as you managed to keep the quality of execution up and didn’t get zeroed in the process, of course.

 

It took five minutes for V to calm down and begin to breathe evenly once again. Just as he pulled himself up and wiped the last of cold sweat off his forehead, a message from Rita dropped into his inbox. 

 

[ Hey there, rising star. How’d it go? ]

 

V stared at the projected textbox with an adoring grin. He re-read the simple message thrice before responding.

 

[ All good, got a trial gig off Dex. Will cover the deets when I see ya tonight? ]

 

[ Have you met me? I ain’t waiting that long. Come by Lizzie’s, I’m already there. ]

 

[ Sure, sure. On my way. ]

 

It wasn’t like V had anything else to do. His plan for the day peaked at the meeting with Night City’s prime fixer. He didn’t even bother thinking what to do after in case he’d need to jump into the fray immediately.

Besides, Lizzie’s was almost literally around the corner.

 

Returning to the car park, the merc took note that DeShawn’s ride was still there. Reluctant to draw unwanted questions by accidentally bumping into the fixer as he’d leave Afterlife, V quickly jumped on his bike and drove off.

 

Perhaps it was the excitement from the world of opportunities that seemingly opened in front of him, or simply the good weather, but Night City looked particularly bright and actually somewhat joyous. Sunlight darted between glass skyscrapers, making the low-slung concrete buildings appear a little less shabby and depressing. Even the toxic water of the bay glistered like a floating canvas of ever-shifting LEDs.

 

He pushed the Kusanagi a little harder on the straight, making full use of the streak of green traffic lights in front of him. He managed to make the last light before Lizzie’s just before it turned from amber to red, making his overall journey last only but a few minutes.

Leaving his bike next to Rita’s car, V strutted towards the closed door and rang the bell.

 

”Yo, V!” The little speaker chirped as the double doors parted to let him in.

 

”Sup, Mia!” He saluted the Mox minding the desk. “How’s that new set of Mantis Blades treating ya?” 

 

“Preem A-F my man!” To prove her point, she raised her neon-green right arm and unsheathed the razor-sharp blade. “You’re a sweetheart for recommending Vik. The dude’s worth every eddie.”

 

”Told ya!” V casually leant against the desk to get a better look at the implants pair. Vik’s handiwork was truly stellar - he managed to reskin the Arasaka-manufactured cyberware to blend with the Mox aesthetic perfectly. For someone who didn’t know better, it would look like the implants came like that out right of the box, and they couldn’t be more wrong. 

 

Before V even opened his mouth again, Mia had already anticipated his question. “Rita’s downstairs, in Judy’s den.”

 

”What’s she doin’ there?” It wasn’t that his output and the resident BrainDance wiz weren’t on good terms, but Rita generally couldn’t give two shits about the BD creation process. Finding her in the ‘ place where the magic happens’ , as Alvarez would often call it, was quite unusual.

 

Before answering, Mia looked around with suspicious eyes. Only after she was satisfied that no one was around did the Mox lean in and whisper quietly. “It’s about Parker. Suze dropped a club-wide order that she’s officially cut off until she pays up her ginormous tab that she’d racked up.”

 

”Fuuuck… ” V exhaled in response. Evelyn may have left the gang and worked elsewhere by this point, but for the Mox to cut off one of their own like that - even if they were an ex-member - was borderline unprecedented. 

“Is Ev there too?”

 

”Nah. Suze must’ve decided to take a covert path and get Wheeler to suggest it to Alvarez, rather than having to tell it to Punchin’ Judy directly.” The bouncer shrugged. “Guess that’s better that way than it sounding like a direct order, y’know what I mean?”

 

”Yeah.” The merc nodded. “Well, anyway, lemme go down there and see what’s up.”

 

”You do that, but don’t tell me I haven’t warned ya after, kay?”

 

”Sure, sure. How bad can it be, really?” 

 

As V would shortly learn, it could - in fact - get pretty damn bad. 

He could hear Judy yell all the way from the stairwell. 

 

“THIS IS BULLSHIT, WHEELER, AND YOU KNOW IT!” A loud stomp followed immediately after. The BD editor was certainly adamant to live up to her reputation of turning into a miniature human nuke when pissed.

 

”It wasn’t my decision, obviously.” Rita’s voice, in contrast, was much calmer. She sounded apologetic, even. “I know she’s one of our own, but c’mon, Jude. That tab’s just got too big without a single eddie trickling back in.”

 

V decided to not loiter and pushed the door in after a duo of warning knocks. “Hey Rits, Judy. I- eh… I know it’s a bad time, but didn’t want to hang ‘bout in the corridor.”

 

”What do you mean bad time?!” Judy still looked pissed, but at least she wasn’t yelling. “It’s the perfect time, in fact! C’mon V, you’re a more or less neutral party here. Surely you see how kicking Evie outta the club will turn up shitty for everyone involved.”

 

”How much does she owe, anyway?” The merc asked. It didn’t really matter to him either way, but he was curious.

 

”Twenty large,” Wheeler replied grimly.

 

”Tw-“ V sucked air in so quickly that he almost choked on it. “Twenty?! How the fuck does one rack up this much in the first place?!”

 

”Eh, you know,” Mox bouncer shrugged, “a round of drinks here, a VIP room booking for an ‘important meeting’ there… Stretch it over three or four months n’here ya go.”

 

V glanced at Judy, who didn’t have much to add there. She seemed utterly deflated all of a sudden, which wasn’t at all like her. He could only surmise that there wasn’t much going in terms of Evelyn’s defense there - the woman did leech off the goodwill of her old gang for quite some time. Whatever her ambitious plans to get rich were, they either hadn’t materialized, or she wasn’t intending to pay back her debts to those that helped her. 

 

“I-“ The BD editor started, but the words seemed to have got stuck in her throat. It took a long couple of moments to pass before she spoke again. “I’ll talk to Evie tonight, explain everything. I’m sure she’ll see Suzie’s perspective on this.

 

”Thanks, Jude.” Rita’s tone was as sincere as they came. “And I’m sorry this all needs to happen through a buncha intermediaries. Don’t think Suze wanted to risk a scene at the bar or summin’ worse.”

 

”Nah, I get it. Can’t have people knowin’ she allowed someone run this deep in the red without anythin’ happening till only now.”

”And V?” Judy suddenly turned to the merc.

 

“Yeah?” He blinked at her a few times, utterly confused as to what she could possibly want with him at a time like that. 

 

“Be careful if Evie tries to rope ya into some kind of daring job, ‘kay? She’s likely running short on cash and this entire thing won’t do any favors in that department either.” She came closer and placed her hand on V’s shoulder. “Wouldn’t want ya getting mixed up into some mess you don’t deserve gettin’ mixed up into.”

 

”I’ll keep my distance from any gigs that she tries to throw my way, for sure,” the merc promised. Indeed, getting knee-deep into some other festival of fuckery was far too much and far too soon for the man who had his lion’s share of suddenly arrived problems as of late.

 

With the Parker issue settled, Rita and V swiftly exited the basement and headed back up. Lizzie’s Bar was still closed to the public, so they could take their pick of where to sit. The matter being somewhat sensitive, the couple eyed one of the booths on the far end of the room, out of earshot of any Mox who’d happen to walk by. 

 

”Drink?” Rita asked as she vaulted over the bar. Before V could place his order, she was already pouring herself a generous serving of tequila.

 

“Same for me,” V replied. His head once again began spinning with the universe of possibilities that working with Dex could unlock. This left precious little mental capacity to think about small things like what he’d be drinking.

 

The Mox bouncer obliged, dropping a couple of ice cubes into each glass before jumping back on the bar and demonstratively swinging over one of her slender long legs after the other. She smirked gingerly after catching V staring intently at the mini show that he had just been treated to. 

“Like what you see?” She murmured in a sultry voice that was only audible because the club was utterly empty. 

 

“Very much so.” His mind focused on the singular target, that being Rita, V got up from his cushy seat and walked towards his output. 

They were close enough to feel each others’ breaths on their lips and were still getting closer and closer.

 

The couple was mere milliseconds away from kissing when a loud grunt made both of them punch the brakes on their romancing and turn to look at its source. 

 

“Fuck you Mateo! Ruining a perfect moment like that!” Rita threw a handful of ice cubes at the bartender with the worst timing in the universe. He managed to dodge most of them, but one frozen projectile did hit him right on the nose, making the man wince. It got only worse from there, as the ice cube slid into the open collar of Mateo’s shirt, making him jump up.

 

“Club-full of private booths and you choose to do it in the open - that one’s totally on you, Wheeler.” Mateo didn’t sound annoyed, but more bemused with the two startled faces he was treated to a few moments ago. “Now, you either lettin’ me join in or take your party elsewhere so that I can prep for the night. Hm?”

 

V could never tell if the bartender was serious or not, which landed him as the butt of many a joke inside the Mox’s establishment. This time was very much the same. 

 

Thankfully, Rita came to his rescue. “Stop winding V up, you gonk.”

She then dragged V by the hand that wasn’t holding a glass towards the furthest booth, shooting non-serious death stares at Mateo who simply shook his head in response.

 

Wheeler was the first to speak as soon as they settled in close to each other. ”Where were we?” 

 

“I think somewhere around here…” V placed a firm hand on his girlfriend’s thigh and started leaning in to finally snatch that kiss from her. 

Rita reciprocated with her usual dose of urgent passion that was ever-present in all of their intimate moments.

They made out for a while before the bouncer began giggling so much that kissing became nigh-impossible. 

 

“What?” V asked, bewildered.

 

”I meant your meeting with Dex, but it’s not like I’m complainin’ or anythin’.” She kept giggling between words. 

 

“Ah.” The merc laughed as well. He completely forgot about his meeting with the fixer for a moment. “Course.”

 

He then recounted the whole ordeal, including the journey there and the surprise encounter that landed him with a shot-up Herrera. 

Rita listened diligently throughout the whole tale, only nodding and humming in acknowledgement. V was somewhat surprised by that - she usually was rather vocal about everything and didn’t have the patience to hold her opinions till the end.

 

”So?” The up-and-coming merc asked carefully after he was done. “Whaddaya think?”

 

“Fuckin’ hell, V!” Rita exclaimed. “A gig from someone like Dex that doesn’t sound like a complete clusterfuck is just nova! He didn’t ask ya to go raid a corpo or zero some politician mofo, so I see that as an absolute win already.”

She paused for a moment, likely contemplating the gig V was tasked with. “Maelstrom ain’t a joke tho… You definitely don’t wanna walk in there on your lonesome.”

Her face suddenly lit up with an idea. “What about that big dude you’ve tussled with on the dancefloor before grabbing drinks with? He looked like a guy who wouldn’t piss himself in front of a buncha ‘Stromers.”

 

”Rita.” V placed both hands on her neck and pulled her forward. He kissed both of her cheeks in slow succession.

”You.” He repeated the kissing.

”Are.” More kisses.

”A genius!” He concluded with four more pecks on the cheeks.

V really did mean it. Jackie Welles was the perfect candidate to clue in on the job. He also was charismatic enough to impress Dex if introductions needed to be made and most certainly reckless enough to agree to go against Night City’s least favorite gang of cyberware junkies. 

If anything, it was a wonder he hadn’t thought of the guy in the first place.

 

“I’ve my moments,” the bouncer giggled after the barrage of affection came to its eventual end. “Whatcha got planned for the rest of the day? Gonna raid Wilson’s store for ammo again in prep for this gig I assume?”

 

”Already done that.” The merc allowed himself a self-assured smirk for being extra-prepared. 

“Actually was gonna give Dee a ring, see how he’s doin’.”

 

”Look atcha, stepping in to be a parent!” She gave him a playful punch on the shoulder.

 

Rita’s face twitched as her eyes lit up, signaling an incoming call. The Mox didn’t speak for a short while before gritting her teeth in anger. 

“For fuck’s sake, Suze!” She spoke out loud, most likely so that V could get the gist of what was going on. “We’re not openin’ for another two hours at least. Can’t I unload the booze crates later? Kinda busy here.”

Whatever Suzie Q had said in response only made the purple-haired woman angrier. “How’s that for insubordination, huh?!” She turned to one of the security cameras hanging high in the corner of the room and flicked a middle finger at it.

That must’ve been enough for Rita to let off the immediate frustration with being interrupted. She exhaled loudly and replied to her boss in a much calmer tone this time. “Fine, fine. Lemme finish my drink and I’ll get on ‘em bottles.”

 

V cocked his head. “Suze makin’ ya do manual labor again?” 

 

“You bet yo ass she is.” Some ire still remained in Rita’s voice. “Said that she ain’t payin’ me to chat up street urchins.”

She gripped her glass and downed the remainder of tequila in one gulp. “I can tell her to stop callin’ you that if it’s gettin’ old.”

 

“Nah, s’fine.” V did the same with his drink. “Knowing her, she might come up with something much worse instead.”

 

He stood up, grabbed both glasses and did a quick there-and-back to drop them off at the bar, scoring an appreciative nod from Mateo in the process. By the time he got back, Wheeler was already up and stretching her shoulders in preparation for a bunch of heavy lifting.

 

”Want help?” V offered as they walked towards the exit. 

 

“Don’t ya have David to deal with right now?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

”Ehh,” the merc shrugged. “He’s probably still in school or playin’ with his new cyberdeck. I’ll give him a ring once we’re done.”

 

”You’re a gem, V.” A grateful smile was followed up by a long, passionate kiss. 

 

“With thanks like that,” he whistled, trying to catch his breath, “call me any time.”

 

——

 

“The fuck’re you up to, Glo?!” V grumbled under his breath as he ran yet another red light on his way to the hospital.

 

When the hospital called in the middle of his convo with David, V was expecting the topic to be something along the lines of ‘unexpected expenses’ or ‘additional fees’, the usual. Never in a million years would he think that his sister would run off who-knew-where, for who-knew-what-reason. He’d probably drop the call with his nephew and sort the whole thing on his own if he knew how it would turn out. Now, not only did the merc had the whole ‘runaway sibling’ situation on his hands, he’d also have to deal with a teenager who had certainly suffered more than his fair share of distress in one week.

 

He stormed through the hospital doors to find David already there, arguing with the receptionist.

 

”How could you lose a patient?! Don’t you have security or cameras or somethin’?!”

 

”Chill, Dee. I got this.” V placed a hand on the other guy’s shoulder to let him know the cavalry was here. 

 

“Finally, Mr. Martinez.” The receptionist huffed. “May I remind you that abuse of staff may incur additional charges.” 

 

“Okay, okay.” The merc raised both hands up to call for a ceasefire. “I’m sorry for my nephew if he was rude, but you surely can understand the situation here.”

”His mother’s gone, of course he’s distraught as hell. But he’s sorry.” He poked the teen with his elbow. “You’re sorry, right Dee?” 

 

“Y-yes, sorry for shouting,” David mumbled sheepishly.

 

”But the hothead’s raisin’ a good point, actually. You got security footage to see where she could’ve gone?”

 

The woman on the other side of the desk rolled her eyes. ”Of course we do. That’s how we found out she ran off in the first place. Climbed out of a storage room window but not before stealing a set of nurse’s overalls.”

”We’ve already added their cost to your bill.” 

 

“Course you did,” V gave her his fakest of polite smiles. “Can you tell me anything else? Was she awake before running away? Did someone speak to her?”

 

The receptionist only shook her head. “She was gone between morning and evening checkups. Once she’s out of the building, she’s not our responsibility anymore. It states so in clause seven dash fifteen in your contract.”

 

Despite his best efforts to stay calm and composed, this one-sided exchange began proving tiresome for V. One thing was clear as day, however - they were not getting any more help from here.

”Send the bill to my inbox, I’ll get it sorted out.”

 

”Of course, Mr. Martinez.” At the mention of money, the receptionist suddenly became much chirpier. “Repayment terms will be attached.”

And that was it. No ‘good luck to find your sister’, not even a ‘we hope to see you again’, although the latter was somewhat sinister to say in a hospital so, perhaps, it was all for the best.

 

”Wait?!” David, who had kept quiet all this time, glared at V with a slack jaw. “That’s it?! We just gonna walk outta here like nothin’ happened?!” 

 

“Yes, yes we will.” The merc grabbed the youngster by the elbow and dragged him out into the street noise.

 

”What the fuck, V?” David seethed at him when the pair stepped past the sliding glass doors. “Mom’s missin’ and you ain’t even gonna try and get the cam feeds?”

 

”And spend hours and probably hundreds of eddies trying to get them?” V snapped back. “You heard her back there - they woulda charged us for breathin’ in there if they got a chance.”

”We’ve got a much better way to do it now, anyway.”

 

The teen blinked at his uncle a few times, not getting the drift in the slightest.

 

”Fuck, Dee!” The merc rolled his eyes. “You’re our fledgeling netrunner, aintcha?”

”Let’s find ya an access port and we should be good to go. With how cheap these gonks are with everything, I doubt their security is up to scratch.”

 

V swiftly turned into a narrow alleyway that acted as a separator between the hospital building and the one next to it. As per usual the passage was littered with torn trash bags, shards of broken glass and a whole bunch of other types of trash. He ignored his nephew’s continued questions and protests, proceeding further and further into the dark space. V scanned the left wall, hoping that his optics would do most of the work for him. His hopes proved fruitful, as soon enough, a glowing outline of a box appeared just by the second floor’s fire escape window. 

 

“Gotcha!” He exclaimed gingerly. 

 

There was only one problem - the fire escape ladder was not extended to the ground. It was set in a locked position too high for anyone to reach without having a set of calf implants installed. 

 

”Hey, Dee. Come ‘ere.” He beckoned to the perplexed teen to come closer before pointing at the ladder. “If I give ya a bit of a boost, think you can grab onto the thing and pull it down for us?”

 

”Umm, sure I guess?” David still looked unconvinced. “You wanna climb into the building this way and grab the recordings that way?”

 

”Won’t need to get in at all if it works out.” V pointed a bit higher, at the rusted metal box that was promising to contain an access point. “Jack into that and you’ll have access to their subnet. After that, it’s just a question of finding the right node and extracting the intel we need.”

”Think ya can handle that, Dee?” 

 

David’s brow furrowed for a minute while he considered. “I mean… I did read up on that and practiced a little with a few vending machines, but a whole subnet… Dunno, choom.”

 

”You’ll be juuust fine,” V encouraged. “If it gets too dicey in there, just jack out and we delta the fuck outta here before their security even clocks what happened.” 

 

“Sure, I guess. Anything that’s gonna help find mom.” David walked under the opening in the grating floor of the second-floor balcony, moving a few half-steps this way or that to make sure that he wouldn’t hit his head on the way up.

 

V, in turn, knelt down and cupped his hands, creating a makeshift launchpad. 

”Ready?” He asked once David placed one foot onto the fleshy step while holding onto V’s shoulders for stability.

 

”Yep.”

 

”On three, then. One, two, three!” V pulled with all his strength, using both his arms and legs to launch the surprisingly light teen high into the air.

 

David grabbed onto the ladder and tried pulling on it with his weight. When it refused to budge after the third attempt, he gave up on trying and simply climbed up. 

“I’ll jack in and jump back down when done?” He offered, looking down at V through the large opening. 

 

“Guess no other way,” the merc agreed. “But dontcha flatline on me. If you hit ICE, get the fuck outta there, okay?”

 

”Sure, will do.” 

 

David swiftly turned his attention towards the metal cover of the access port. It took him only two yanks at the old and overlooked container to rip the housing clean off, exposing a black panel with a tiny LCD display and a single jack. 

 

“Here goes nothing,” he said before plugging his personal link in.

 

——

 

“Can’t believe she ran off almost as soon as she woke up.” 

 

After successfully retrieving the cam footage, the pair drove a few blocks away from the hospital, stopping at the first fast food joint they saw to watch what they had recovered. 

Much to their mutual relief, the situation pretty very much exactly as the woman at the hospital had described. They saw utterly confused Gloria emerge from her room and immediately start to seek something to wear instead of her rather revealing gown. She avoided at least three staffers with enviable ease by hiding in adjacent rooms or behind corners before procuring the outfit that V would have to pay for. They followed her journey through Wing F until, just as described, Gloria managed to break into a supply closet. She did not emerge from it after, leading both V and David to believe that she had escaped through there.

 

”Fuck!” David’s eyes bulged as if he had just experienced the most incredible of revelations. “We should call her!” 

 

“Ya think I’m some sort of braindead gonk or somethin’?! Tried her as soon as I found out. Her number’s been disconnected for missing a payment.”

 

”Ah, right…”

 

”A’ight, so here’s the plan.” V paused to make sure David stopped moping and started listening. “You go back to my place to check if Glo turns up there. I’ll go scout out your digs in the meantime. Will also give a ring to everyone we know, just in case.”

”How does that sound?”

 

David looked confused. ”Why are you going to our place while I’m going to your place?”

 

The truth was simple - if Gloria felt it was so urgent for her to run off, then she must’ve felt that either her or David were in danger. Given that she had little to no cash on her, she’d likely have to come back to one of the two Megabuildings. If Vik was right the mil-spec Sandi was the lynchpin of this whole fucked-up situation, then Gloria’s apartment was far more likely target for both his runaway sibling and her disgruntled client. Sending David to the other side of town was the only way to keep him safe while still giving the stubborn youngster a plausible reason why he should go there in the first place.

 

Unfortunately, spelling it out to David would likely produce the exact opposite effect that V was hoping for, so he opted for a half-truth. “She’s got a decent head start on us by this point. I’ll be quicker to reach your place on the bike, but don’t want to miss her if she goes to mine instead.”

 

”I guess that’s fair…” The teen still looked unconvinced, but nodded anyway. 

 

“Here.” The merc pinged $€500 over. “Get a cab.” 

 

——

 

After seeing David off, V jumped on his Kusanagi and rushed towards Megabuilding H4. He made it in just under five minutes, which could’ve easily been a new record. 

 

Ignoring the parking space allocations, V drove all the way up to the lift and dropped the bike in one of the handicapped spots. 

 

“Aw, c’mon!” He yelled at the slow-as-hell elevator which appeared to get only slower with every passing second, as if on purpose. 

 

On the never-silent TV screens, Gillian Jordan was talking about the appearance of Kojira, Arasaka’s flagship air carrier, in the waters near Night City. V’s brain registered the information, but would probably forget it as soon as the doors of the elevator opened. 

And that was exactly what happened. As soon as he could leave the slow-moving metal box, V had instantly forgotten about Arasaka, their big-ass ship and what it meant for the fragile stability of Night City. 

 

“Glo?! Gloria?! You there?!” The merc called out as soon as he got into the flat. 

 

The fact that the lights wouldn’t turn on was disturbing, but not exactly surprising. The landlord probably cut them off in the hopes of extorting the late rent payment by any means necessary. 

V stumbled in the dark, trying to find the switchboard that could reset the externally-enforced block and finally let him turn the lights on. 

He was probably a few meters away from his destination when he felt someone step behind him. Next thing he knew, there was a menacing, low glow of a monowire held so close to his throat that he could feel its flesh-scorching heat.

 

A stern female voice spoke into V’s right ear. “Who the fuck are ya and where’s Gloria Martinez?”

 

The grip was amateurish to say the least - it left plenty of wiggle room for the merc to land a counter-attack even without using his Sandevistan. But for the time being, it was to his advantage to pretend to be in the stranger’s full control. 

 

“What do you need Gloria for?” He asked, turning his head ever so slightly to try and get a glimpse of his assailant.

 

”She owes us a shipment, but hadn’t delivered.” 

 

The extremely vague answer revealed one thing - whoever this person attempting an interrogation was, she knew very little about what exactly she was looking for. Alternatively, she did know, but was trying her darnest to not reveal any intel.

Regardless, V wasn’t keen on leaving a string of burning-hot nanofiber around his neck, so he acted.

Sandi kicked in with the usual dose of minor nausea. Unlike most occasions of him using his slow-mo implant, not much of the surrounding world ahd visibly slowed down on account of just about everything being enveloped in darkness.

Taking care as to not slash himself by accident, V headbutted the stranger, creating just enough space for him to slide his head out from her clumsy embrace. He spent the remaining time grabbing her arm, twisting it all the way round and pushing with all his weight down, so that he’d smash the stranger’s body right into the plastic floor. The other hand held his pistol firmly against the side of her head.

 

“Fuck!” The woman yelled once the slow-mo effect wore off and she realized that the tables have turned in a rather dramatic fashion. 

 

V studied the woman’s face intently. She was young, very young. Couldn’t be more than a couple years older than David. 

“Now, girlie… Who the fuck are ya and what are ya doin’ ambushin’ me in Gloria’s apartment? Answer quickly. I’ve had a shitty streak as of late and could be rather… trigger happy.” 

 

“Don’t you dare move a muscle, motherfucker.” A new voice spoke from the darkness. 

 

V glanced down at his chest to find a laser dot planted right where his heart would be. He looked back up, trying to use whatever tiny volume of light inside the apartment to get a look of the newcomer. The silhouette in front of him was that of a towering monstrosity that could hardly be human. The man was almost as wide as he was tall, and he was aiming not a firearm, but a hand-mounted rocket at V.

All of those clues swiftly ran through the merc’s mind, ultimately landing him on. sole conclusion. 

 

“Maine?” V asked, pushing his optic implants to try and peer into the blackness of the room. “It’s me, V.”

 

He barely got to utter the last few words when the lights came back on and the trio had finally seen each other proper. Although the woman that V was still pinning down was far less capable of looking around on account of his hand still holding her head down in a firm grip.

Just as V suspected, it was Maine, the borged-out leader of one of Afterlife’s rising crews, aiming his trademark handcannon right back at the merc.

 

Neither man got to say a word to each other, as a fourth person stepped into the makeshift arena.

Gloria, clad head to toe in last-gen Trauma gear sans the helmet, approached from the utility room. She wielded a heavily modified Saratoga, which she promptly aimed at the bulky edgerunner.

 

”I thought we were on better terms than this, Maine.” Gloria’s voice was colder than Biotechnica’s cryo-chambers. “Wouldn’t expect you to barge in to my home and try to off my brother over a few days delay, hm?”

 

Notes:

Chapter names are long overdue so will start popping up soon enough. It also makes it easier for me to navigate between them when I cross-reference David and V’s timelines.

Next up - Mexican Standoff between V, Gloria and Maine’s crew with a number of impactful ripples into the story forming.

I should be back on track with more regular writing schedule now, so update will come in about a week or two.

Update: we have fanart! GuestMan has kindly created some images on Gloria’s Trauma Team uniform during the standoff. You can see them right here.

Chapter 13: Misunderstanding, Managed

Summary:

Gloria, V and Maine talks things out. Gloria finally gets to reunite with David.

Notes:

This chapter was difficult mainly because I needed to set a few other bits into motion and send individual characters ‘on their merry way’ so to say.

A lot of dialogue in this one, hopefully padded with some interesting introspection and deduction from V’s POV.

Also, I’ve been having some very odd special character copy-paste issues between Google Docs and AO3 lately so apologies for any of those - they’re very hard to pick up.

The room was dead-quiet, save for a monotonous muffled background noise coming from the window. Despite great height and ample sound isolation, it couldn’t fully block out the ever present bustle of Night City.

 

V gazed into the barrel of the cannon that was still aimed straight at his chest. It was about as thick as his own wrist, so surviving a blast from that was out of the question.

He then switched his attention to his sister. Gloria was focused solely on Maine, who - in turn - returned the favor by focusing exclusively on her.

The stranger, quietly moaning and squirming under the weight of V’s body, was all but ignored. 

 

Finally, Maine broke the ever-growing tension by speaking up. “You got my implant, Glo?”

 

Despite his rather compromised position, V couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. He figured as much that Maine was the mystery buyer for the mil-spec Sandevistan. But to think that the bulky edgerunner and V’s sister were on good enough terms to use nicknames was brand new information. 

 

“I did have it, but kinda ran into a bit of a shitshow,” Gloria replied coldly. “Chances are, V here is the only one who knows where it is so I’d be veeery careful with that hand cannon of yours.”

 

”V?” Maine turned to the merc. “Mind letting my netrunner go? Then we can all put our iron away and talk like normal people.”

 

”Sure.” V swiftly tucked the gun into its holster and removed his knee from the monowire-wielding woman’s back.

 

She swiftly rose to her feet and hurried to stand next to Maine, all the while giving V death stares. 

 

“Hey, don’t get angsty with me, chica,” V quipped. “I ain’t the one who wrapped a burnin’ hot wire round your neck as a way of making intros.”

 

Maine was the one to speak for his subordinate. ”That was uncalled for, perhaps. This is Lucy, she’s quite green yet so might get a little trigger-happy.”

 

Judging by a blink-and-you-miss-it outraged glare at Maine, Lucy didn’t exactly agree with that assessment. Nonetheless, she kept her mouth shut, which was undoubtedly a better choice in this situation.

 

”Right.” Gloria exhaled. She must’ve been longing to put the gun down from the very beginning of the unorthodox stand-off. “How ‘bout I pour all of you gonks some tequila and we sit down and talk things through, hm?”

 

”Sounds nova to me.” V volunteered by planting his butt on the nearest edge of the couch. 

 

Maine and Lucy quickly joined him. Gloria wasn’t far behind, opting to bring the entire bottle rather than bothering to pour the drink separately. She placed four empty glasses on the small circular table and quickly free-poured almost perfect doubles. After sliding each glass to their respective recipients and keeping one for herself, their host finally got a seat of her own. She choose to pull up one of the metal chairs rather than trying to squeeze into rather scarce empty space left on the couch.

 

”So!” Gloria began after giving her ‘guests’ a look over. “V, I presume you still got my EMT jacket with ya?”

 

”Yeah, but-“ One panicked look from his sister, and V was already rapidly trying to clarify. “But I removed the Sandi stashed inside. It’s safely stowed back at my place.”

”David’s there too, by the way. I thought it was safer to send him back to mine since your buyer probably wouldn’t know where I lived.”

 

”Clever,” Maine nodded. “And good to hear that you’ve got it, V.”

 

”So, no harm no foul?” V’s question was addressed at the hulking pile of synth muscles. “Right?”

 

”What happened anyway?” It was frustrating that Maine refused to answer the question directly, but as a buyer scorned he was entitled to at least know the basics of why his purchase was yet to be delivered to him.

 

”I got in the middle of some firefight on the motorway,” Gloria replied before V could. “V here saved our collective asses. Mine, David’s and his own. And with ‘em, your precious Sandevistan.”

”I reckon some thanks are in order, which I’m sure you can show in form of eddies or some work coming his way, hm?”

 

”Hol’ up, Glo,” V interjected. He would be happy to just put the whole ordeal behind them. Seeking to gain extra from it seemed like testing their luck.

 

To his surprise, Maine nodded in agreement after a few seconds of contemplation. “I guess that’s only fair. I’ll throw in two more grand on top, how ‘bout that?”

 

V was keen to agree before his fiery sister pushed the guy’s goodwill past a point of no return. “That’d be totally nova, Maine. Thanks.”

Two thousand eddies were infinitely better than zero eddies and double-infinitely better than being blown to bits by a rocket. Besides, with all the medical debt he had rapidly accrued over the past few days, any extra cash would come rather handy.

 

“Are you okay now?” There was genuine concern in Maine’s voice, which made V ever more suspicious about the true nature of their connection that he wasn’t aware of. 

 

“Yeah, yeah. All patched up.” As if to prove that she was all fine, Gloria patted her right half. Only V knew that her bullet wounds were on the other side, but he wasn’t about to give her game away. 

”We can get you your Sandi by tomorrow AM. Name a time and place and I’ll be there, I swear.”

 

Maine raised an eyebrow. ”I see no reason we can’t drive over there right now.”

 

”Listen, M.” Gloria took a swig from her glass and leant forward. “I woke up from a coma I wasn’t plannin’ to be in, in a room I didn’t recognise, inside a hospital that I had no idea existed.”

”I had to nick a fuckin’ nurse’s uniform so that I wouldn’t flash my bare ass to half of Night City in that hospital gown as I escaped. Just in case it was the ‘oops your relative suddenly flatlined’ kinda hospital.”

”You know the ones, hm?” She nodded back when Maine nodded to show he knew exactly of the hospitals she was talking about. 

V nodded too. Only Lucy looked wide-eyed and not clued in. The merc caught himself envying her unspoilt innocence. If she, like him, saw the horrors that took place in those Scav-affiliated ‘clinics’, she’d probably lose all faith in humanity as a whole. 

 

“So,” Gloria continued, “if you don’t mind, I’d like to change out of this fucking suit, put some normal clothes on, go see my son who must’ve had one hell of a week himself and then stuff my face with some habonero locust pizza.”

”Unless you’re ‘bout to launch straight into some epic life-or-death op and need it right this fuckin’ second, then I think it can wait till tomorrow, hm?”

 

Her monologue stumped everyone, even V who should’ve been used to his sister’s gift of the gab by this point. Except he sincerely believed that it was utterly impossible to get used to it.

 

”I-I guess it can wait. Yeah, you can deliver it tomorrow.” It was obvious that Maine wasn’t feeling too good about being managed so well in front of his junior associate. “We can meet at Turbos around twelve. Grab lunch too, maybe?” 

 

‘Isn’t he with Dorio?’ V thought to himself after witnessing this thinly veiled attempt at scoring a date out of the whole situation. Perhaps he was overthinking this whole Maine-Gloria thing. But, at the same time, his gut was telling him that something was going on. And it  was rarely wrong on this kind of thing.  

 

“We’ll see about lunch.” Gloria’s words may have been non-committal, but her tone implied that the chances of it happening were near zero. “I’ve gotta figure out if I still have a job first. We can go from there.”

 

”Can always make space for a sawbones on our crew. Will be like old times.” 

 

“Don’t think it will ever be like old times, Maine.” V’s sister fidgeted with one of the straps of her uniform as she wistfully looked out of the window.

 

A police AV with its spotlights on full blast passed by the building, briefly bathing the entire room in an uncomfortably bright wave of light. Gloria had to cover her eyes with her hand so as not to get completely blinded.

 

”They ain’t looking for ya, are they?” The bulky edgerunner asked.

 

”Seriously doubt it.” Gloria stood up, indicating that she was done with the conversation. “Now that we’ve cleared things up, how about you two head out. I still need to get a lowdown from V on what the fuck had happened and see my son.”

 

”Of course.” Maine stood up as well. Lucy rushed to do the same shortly after. “Glad you’re okay, Glo. Cya tomorrow.”

”Good to see you too, V. Despite the whole gun pointin’ biz n’all.”

 

”No sweat, big guy.” V gave the older man a casual two-finger salute. “Cya tomorrow.”

 

Once the door shut close behind the pair, Gloria exhaled with relief. Her entire posture and demeanor changed to that of an exhausted woman, as if that breath deflated all of the confidence and bravado that she had going for her so far.

 

”Bloody hell, that was a close one.” She put the Saratoga as far away from herself as possible and began to unzip the armored chest piece. “Never expected to need to pull this suit outta the strongbox, I’ll tell ya that much, V.”

 

”You okay tho? You did leave the hospital in a hurry. All stitches intact n’all that?” The merc knelt next to his sister to inspect the bandages that were hiding under the Trauma Team uniform.

Once he was sure that Gloria wasn’t bleeding again and that everything was in order, V returned to the couch.

”Why’d you delta from your room, Glo? That was one hell of a gonk move, I’m telling ya.”

 

Gloria chuckled. “In hindsight, I see that now.”

“But when I woke up, all I could think of is ‘shit, ain’t no way we can afford this place’, so just assumed that something dodgy was goin’ on.”

She looked right into V’s eyes. “How did I end up there, anyway?”

 

”The ripper that patched us both up recommended the place. Made some calls, pulled a favor in so that they’d take you on credit.”

 

”Fuck!” She covered her face with both hands. “Academy fees, paying for the damages David’s stupid hack did, now ripper and hospital fees too. How the fuck am I gonna pay for all of it?!”

 

“Dontcha worry, Glo.” V placed a reassuring hand on his panicking sister’s shoulder. “I’ve got a good thing goin’ right now, so eddies shouldn’t be a problem in a couple days, maybe a week or two max.”

 

”Oh?” She was looking back at him with curiosity. “Pray tell.”

 

”That limo that the Animals shot up back at the underpass? Belonged to Dexter DeShawn of all people. His huscle put a good word in and next thing I know, I’m meeting the guy at fuckin’ Afterlife of all places.”

The merc shook his head, still not fully able to comprehend this was really happening to him, and wasn’t some sort of BD-induced fever dream. “Doin’ a trial gig for him. If that goes well, he said bigger things are on the cards.”

 

”Dexter DeShawn?” Gloria didn’t look particularly pleased for him. “Wasn’t he the one who got run outta Pacifica a few years back? Had to skip town completely, if I recall correctly.”

 

V leant back in surprise. “Had no idea you cared for Night City’s underworld movings and shakings, sis. What gives?”

 

”EMTs are the biggest gossips. Besides, apparently it was such a big deal that some info had bubbled up to the surface to us civilians.”

”Either way.” Her face grew serious. Very serious. “Be careful, V. Don’t follow blindly based on his old rep alone. Make sure you don’t get dragged into somethin’ you won’t climb out of, okay?”

”I’ll find a way to make money if I have to. I’d rather have my lil’ bro in one piece and be poorer for it, than the other way round.”

 

”Alright, alright. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

 

”How’s David?” The sudden change of topic was very much welcomed. ”No child should go through what he’d gone through in the past couple of days.”

“I need to see him, right now>”

 

”He ain’t that much of a child anymore, Glo. But yeah, he’s fine. I’ve been looking out for him in the past coupla days, but he’s quite independent on his own.” V had half a mind to mention how he outsourced some babysitting to Rita and the other Mox, but decided to hold off for the time being. 

“But yes, let’s go see him. The kid’s been waiting for news long enough.”

 

”Just let me get changed out of this bloody thing and then we can drive ove-“ She stopped mid-sentence. “The car. It’s gone, isn’t it?”

 

”Yupp!” V drew a large arch with his middle finger. “Straight into the landfill with that one.”

 

”So I gotta cling to you for my dear life on your bike again, hm?” Judging by her expression, she wasn’t at all enthused by that prospect.

 

“Well, funny you mention it! I mean, yes, for today. But I gotta tell you about this preem set of wheels I happened to stumble upon.”

 

——

 

“Mom!” It took David a long second to process who had come through the door, but once he clocked it, the teen was up on his feet in an instant. 

He crossed the entire length of the small apartment almost instantly, embracing his mother in the tightest of hugs. V became worried that some stitches may give in, but decided not to ruin the moment.

”You’ve had both of us so worried, mom!” 

 

“I’m sorry, mijo.” Gloria gently stroked her son’s hair as she looked at him with a blissful smile. “But I’m okay as long as you’re okay.”

”V tells me you managed just fine on your own while I was out. Well done, you.”

 

”Yeah, it was alright.” V saw David clench his fists as he held Gloria even tighter than before. “V and I managed.”

 

Gloria slowly pulled away and began eyeing David from top to bottom. She squeezed his arms, poked his sides and even pinched his cheek.

 

”Ow! What’s that for?!”

 

“You look scrawnier than before. Have you been eating properly?” The examination continued as she spoke. “Have you been going to school on time? No more trouble with the classroom tech I hope?”

 

”Yes, yes. It’s all fine.” David shot a glance at V that just screamed ‘don’t you dare tell her’. 

 

V nodded to confirm that the pair’s secret about how David got one over his bully would stay between them. Gloria was bound to find out about the cyberdeck eventually, but the reunion wasn’t the right time or place for it.

Besides, she had plenty of things to explain on her side. 

 

“So,” V carefully began approaching the implant-shaped elephant in the room, “should we talk ‘bout that Sandi then?”

 

His sister let out a pained groan. It was obvious she was hoping to stall the conversation on that particular topic for a while longer. “What of it? You said you’ve got it here. We’ll drop it off with Maine tomorrow, I get the other half of the cash that he promised me and that will be it.”

 

“Is that right?” The merc raised a suspicious eyebrow. He wasn’t buying it. “And what ‘bout next month? And the one after that?”

”You planning to klept chrome from dead psychos until David finishes school?”

 

“For fuck’s sake, V!” Sudden yelling startled everyone, evidently even Gloria herself.

”What other way is there?” She added, quietly. “Think the EMT job pays anywhere near enough? Not like it matters now anyway, I’ve probably been fired for not showing up for shifts.”

 

”Why haven’t you told me that the money was this tight?” There were tears in David’s eyes. “I don’t need to go to that corporat school with all stuck up bluebloods in there, mom! Not if it means you’re risking so much for it all the time.”

 

”Don’t say that, mijo.” Gloria was crying as well. “You have a real chance to make something out of yourself, to break the cycle.”

”You make it through that school, you’ll be set for life. You’ve already worked so much, you now thinking of giving it all up?”

She turned to her brother for support. “V, tell him!”

 

V’s prayers to not be involved in that particular conversation were unanswered. He could only manage a stumped ‘uuuhh’ when David cut in.

 

”Don’t drag him into this, mom!” 

 

“Why the hell not?” Gloria’s eyebrows shot up. “He knows how it is when you don’t have any choice in life. You do, and yet you wanna throw it away anyway.”

 

The merc sighed. It was obvious to him that this conversation would just go in circles and was adamant to avoid being the inevitable tiebreaker in it. He’d make at least one of his family members annoyed despite the fact that he knew full well that everyone would just stick to their beliefs anyway. Such was the Martinez bloodline - they were all stubborn to no end, for better or worse.

 

”Listen,” V raised a hand to each of his family members, asking for a truce. “Let’s first deal with the whole Sandi situation first. Glo, you’ll get paid, which should get you and Dee goin’ for a short while, ‘Saka fees and all.”

”Dee,” he turned to the teen, “nobody excused you from school yet, so you’ll keep goin’ until we decide otherwise.”

”And I, in the meantime, will see how well Dex will be payin’. Maybe it’ll all work out.”

 

”Fine.” Gloria’s surrender showed just how exhausted she was. The redhead then looked around the apartment with searching eyes. “Where’s the implant?”

 

“Got it stashed in the armory.” V threw a thumb at the locked door. “I say it should stay there until the meet. I can bring it over.”

 

”Guess you’re right.” She turned to David next. “C’mon, then, Dee. Let’s get home. I feel like I could sleep for a month.”

 

V watched David open his mouth like he was about to say something in protest, but one look at his tired mother made the teen stop himself. He gave the merc a small smile after the older man gave an approving nod. 

”How are we goin’ to get home?” David asked.

 

”Guess it’s NCART for us today.” As she walked past, Gloria stopped and placed a hand on V’s shoulder. “Thanks, Vince. I appreciate everything that you’ve done for us. Immensely.”

 

”Don’t sweat it, Glo.” Flustered by the sudden show of gratitude, V tried to shrug the whole thing off. “Wasn’t much hassle, really.”

 

“Bullshit,” she smirked. “But I’ll find a way to pay you back, I’m sure of it.”

 

”Yeah, yeah.” V playfully bumped his sister on the back, urging her to get a move on. “Cya tomorrow, firecracker.”

 

The door slid shut and V was left alone in his flat, suddenly wondering where to go from there. His mind was occupied with a singular task of making sure Gloria was okay that he had almost forgotten about other pressing matters and people he’d need to keep tabs on.

Naturally, he had to let Rita know that everything was fine and that the runaway patient was found.

Then, he needed to hit up Jackie regarding the proposal for a teamup on Dex’s gig. If the ex-Valentino declined or asked for too big of a share, then the solo would be back to square one with his search for a partner.

On top of all that, there were unread messages from both Padre and Wakako. While no gig took priority over the one for DeShawn, it would be stupid to skip on what could be a few easy stacks of eddies.

He was also itching to give Claire a ring to check up on the status of his cyan blue Outlaw, but quickly shelved that as to avoid pestering the woman who was doing him a favor, at the end of the day.

 

Rita’s profile was set to ‘Do Not Disturb’, which checked out - it was the busiest part of the night at Lizzie’s. The bouncer would have her hands full by this point and getting distracted by phone calls was a surefire way to get socked in the jaw by one of the disgruntled patrons. 

V paced the scarce empty space of the flat as he listened to the dial-up ringtone of Jackie’s phone.

 

“For fuck’s sake!” He angrily dropped the call that was going nowhere and sunk into the uncomfortable couch.

 

On any other day, such trivial inconveniences as two busy contacts in a row would just be shrugged off without a second thought. This wasn’t a normal day, however; not in the slightest. 

V was positively exhausted in more ways than he cared to count.

 

He checked the messages from the other fixers next, only to find that Padre was simply checking in given V’s recent appearances in Valentino’s territory without coming to say hello and Wakako had already given the job to someone else. 

 

With energy and motivation levels hovering dangerously close to the zero mark, V began drifting off. 

Before his body overpowered his mind and sent the merc into dreamless sleep, he just about managed to type out and send a short note to Rita, to let her know of what had happened earlier.

 

By the time the ‘Delivered’ status flashed on his long text, V was already fast asleep.

 

——

 

“Ugh-WOAH!” V landed on the floor with a loud thud after sleepily rolling off the couch while trying to get his bearings. 

He had completely forgotten how he ended up passing out on the couch rather than the bed that was mere feet away.

 

”Fuck!” The merc rubbed his bruised elbow, squinting at the bright beams of light sniping him right in the eye through the narrow gaps in the window shutters.

 

It was already late morning, which meant that he had slept for over ten hours, if not more.

At first, V began planning his basic morning routine. His biggest dilemma was whether to down a mug of coffee first, or to jump into the shower as first priority. It was truly a hard decision, for he was both feeling the caffeine deprivation, as well as the unpleasant odor coming from his own body.

It was only after more events of the previous day had re-emerged inside V’s memory that he suddenly remembered that he had a very important meet at noon. 

 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” He pulled up his HUD. praying to whichever deity would listen that he hadn’t slept through the rendezvous with Maine. 

 

[ 10:37 AM ]

 

V grabbed his chest as he exhaled, as if fearing that it wouldn’t work properly anymore after how tight it got for a second.

At least he was now more awake than if caffeine was injected into his blood stream intravenously. ‘Silver linings and all that.’

He still shoved the last clean mug into the cavity inside the vending machine that lived inside his flat and punched the button that corresponded to an extra-strong brew, sold at a €$5 premium. 

While the machine was whirling and spewing steam, V cranked up the shower to max pressure and jumped right in, even before it got up to his preferred temperature. A splash of cold water did to his body what earlier panic did to the brain - woke it up through force of shock and discomfort.

 

With nobody around to see him, V strutted butt-naked towards the steaming cup and picked it up with glee. It wasn’t about the caffeine - he just liked the taste and the feeling of spreading warmth that it gave him. After a few blows, the brew was perfectly good to drink.

Still bare, the merc walked towards his small, but well stocked wardrobe and began rummaging around. The outer layer was all but predetermined, so there was no point in even wondering about that. He went for his favorite pillhead tee, as well as a pair of cargo pants. Additional pockets would come in handy for the extra magazines that he was planning to bring. Just in case.

A pair of black hi-tops and a silver-hue neck chain would complete the ensemble. 

With the outfit decided, V quickly gulped the leftovers of the coffee and started to get dressed. Once done with that, he headed into his armory to get restocked on ammo and give his pistol a check. He wasn’t planning to bring anything heavier than that to avoid an adverse reaction from Maine.

Last, but by no means least, was the Sandevistan. He fished it out of one of the inconspicuous ammo boxes and tried to place it into a large inside pocket of his jacket. No luck - the thing was too big. Racking his brain for the best way to discreetly transport the sought after implant, V’s eyes stumbled on a familiar high-viz jacket.

 

“Guess it can travel as intended,” the merc said to himself as he unfolded the EMT jacket and unzipped the hidden compartment. Once the Sandevistan was secured. he zipped it back up and folded it neatly over his right arm, taking particular care as to not bend it in the wrong place.

 

With fifty minutes left to make a twenty minute journey, V decided that he had enough time to grab some noodles from the vendor downstairs. 

 

Notes:

We’ll have many more branches out from here on out. David is still expected to go to Arasaka for now, V is gearing up for the gigs that will lead to the heist and Gloria is pushed to make some hard decisions.

Next up: David’s POV on the whole thing and the meet between V/G/M.

In case you missed the update in the end notes of previous chapter (totally fair, I updated it only a few days ago), we’ve got plenty of story strands now generally outlined and some new characters joining the roster soon enough.

Chapter 14: Restlessness

Summary:

David reluctantly waits for the resolution of the whole situation at V’s flat. Not everything goes completely without drama, however, as he has quite a surprise encounter.

David hated the uncertainty almost as much as he hated being relegated to the ‘backup bench’ in the form of waiting in V’s flat.

It was plain as day to the teen that he got sent to ‘watch out for Gloria’ at his uncle’s place as a thinly veiled ploy to get him somewhere safe. He knew his mom well enough - she’d dash back home as soon as she could to check up on him. 

Unless something happened to her. But David had to deal with too much of that first hand to even entertain the notion. He did have to rewatch the security footage a few times to remind himself that she was alive and well, mobile and seemingly mostly in her right mind. Besides the whole running away part, that is.

 

He completed what must’ve been the thousandth loop of V’s tiny living room when his already high-strung nerves finally gave up. The teen sunk into the couch, burying his face in his hands at the same time, as if that would wipe away all of the worry that had been accumulating inside of him for almost a full week by that point.

 

”Fuuuuuck thiiiis…” 

 

“EXPLOOOSION OF TAAAASTE!!” 

 

Sudden noise assault made David jump up as if shot out from a cannon. He immediately pulled up a scanner overlay, ready to launch all of his available, if few, quickhacks at the intruder. 

It turned out that he just happened to graze the TV control panel built into the armrest, thus waking up the constant stream of advertising. Why V insisted on keeping all those hardware gadgets like his phone or the TV remote was anyone’s guess. His mom was exactly the same, but with her David always penned it onto a generational thing. V was closer to David in age, so he should’ve been far more comfortable with technology.

 

‘Who the hell knows with that gonk.’

 

The aspiring netrunner quickly shut down the screen with a harshly applied mental command. The surprise adrenalin spike prevented him from calming down immediately, though, so he turned to pacing again. 

 

‘Maybe I should go back to mine, see if V needs help.’

 

This was when David’s eyes brushed over the opaque door of a closed-off room. In his version of the same flat back at Megabuilding H4, this was just a cramped utility room, too small to even stuff a single bed in. He knew that V had long gutted out the space and turned it into a full-fledged armory. David was never allowed in, but his mom complained about poor use of space enough for him to overhear that his mercenary uncle stored plenty of guns and ammo in there. 

Having a gun would be much better than turning up empty-handed, even if he did have a few quickhacks up his sleeve.

 

”Damn!” David grunted when the door to the forbidden toy room turned out to be locked with an eight-digit passcode. 

Although he should’ve really expected as much - V was sharing most of his mother’s genes, after all. The guy was blood-bound to be extra careful.

 

After putting the armory’s door on lockdown after three failed hacking attempts, David turned his attention elsewhere. This was the first time he found himself alone in his uncle’s flat. Not that there was much mystery or intrigue going on there. What exotic secrets could a run-of-the-mill merc really have going for him, anyway?

The mini fridge under the desk was filled exclusively with bottles of Calavera Feliz. The freezer - with ice, likely for the tequila that rested on the desk with two glass tumblers keeping it company. David was thirsty, but alcohol wasn’t his thing. Especially the beer. Fizzy drinks gave him the worst kind of throat tickling that made him cough at best and outright choke at worst.

V’s personal terminal was also locked by a password. David was pretty certain that he’d score an ass-whooping if he managed to put every single piece of locked technology in the flat on high alert, so he left it alone.

After writing off the bathroom and the bed nook as areas of lowest interest, David decided to check out the view out of the window. Beyond the gun room, that was going to be the only other major difference between their two bog-standard flats.

 

Shutters turned with a quiet clank before the whole blind slid upwards to reveal a view of Night City at dusk. Even though the two megabuildings - V’s and David’s - were located in different districts, the view was almost depressingly similar. It was split between cold concrete and glass of skyscrapers, dashing lights of cars passing down far below and small slices of polluted sky. In short - equally as depressing and soulless as what David saw out of his own window every damn day.

There was a single noticeable difference. That was a lush spot of green grass in front of a vast penthouse apartment that rested on top of the nearby high-rise. The vast outside area framing the luxurious dwelling made it look more like one of those celebrity villas out in North Oak rather than a part of the building underneath it. It was as if some mega-rich corpo or BD star decided to airdrop it there on a whim, and got their wish fulfilled to the letter.

 

David let out an impressive whistle. ‘If mom means this when she says I can get to the top, I wouldn’t complain, really.’ 

His daydream was immediately soured by the realization that he’d need to slave away as a corpo drone for years, if not decades, before being able to even step inside such a place. 

 

Suddenly, a beam of light flashed right into the flat’s window, forcing blinded David to cover his eyes with his hand. 

 

‘What the-?!’ After the spotlight shifted elsewhere, he put the arm down and leant in forward to try and see where it could come from.

In doing so, he managed to step into what turned out to be a blue-gray plastic basket that the teen had completely missed before. The side that his foot now rested on bent and cracked under his weight. 

 

“Shit,” David swore out loud, making a mental note to apologize for breaking it to his uncle. 

 

His attention soon returned back to what was going on outside. The source of the light turned out to be an AV. The flying vehicle hovered above the lawn for a few seconds before landing itself in a singular smooth motion. A couple moments later, a woman dressed in a floor-length gown stepped out and headed towards the set of double glass doors. Those parted as she approached and closed promptly as soon as she passed. At the same time, the whole apartment lit up from the inside, as if coming to life at the sight of its mistress.

David couldn’t help but remember how the light control panel at his own place sometimes needed a whack before it would turn anything on. Though it was designed for voice and remote control, it seemed that the only reliable input mode was brute force.

 

”Argh!” A sudden jolt of sharp, stinging pain at his ankle forced David to look away from the penthouse. 

 

Instinctively, the teen jolted backwards, looking down to see what could’ve scratched him. His involuntarily formed theory was that the jagged edge of the broken basket was at fault.

Nothing could prepare David for what he saw. Or, rather, who he saw.

Down on the floor, a furless cat was hissing at him with all the ferocity that an animal of that size could evoke. 

 

“Whaaa- Argh!” In his confusion, backpedaled frantically away from the cat, not watching where he was going. He stumbled over the small step into the ‘resting area’ and fell backwards, landing on the floor with a painful thud. Still, he was rather lucky, missing the edge of the central coffee table only by a few inches. Hitting that would leave a mark on his back, without a doubt.

 

The cat appeared… amused by David’s tumble. It stopped hissing and its face relaxed. The animal strutted towards its ‘defeated’ foe with the confidence of someone who owned the place. It looked at David from the top of the stair with superiority in its vertically-pupiled eyes.

 

”Where the fuck did you come from?!” David’s brain still couldn’t quite compute what was going on. 

He read in a textbook that Night City still had a small contingent of animals living within the city limits, but to actually bump into one inside his uncle’s apartment was bordering on impossible.

 

The cat let out a meow that just screamed disappointment and turned to the damaged basket. It walked over, nudged the thing upright with its muzzle and quietly settled in.

 

”Oh…” Suddenly, the teen felt bad. “You were just mad that I messed up your bed.”

 

This encounter had swiftly wiped the earlier assumption that V had nothing interesting going on at his place. David now had questions on how, why and where he got the animal, along with at least a dozen more.

He got up, but very slowly, doing his best to not make any sudden movements that could anger the tiny beast. The cat, in turn, stumped the broken basket a few times from this angle and that one, looking more and more dissatisfied with every attempt. Apparently deeming the makeshift bed uninhabitable, the animal grunted quietly and hopped out. It gave David one last bored glance before strutting towards the bathroom. There, it deftly jumped on top of a small shelf before performing the same acrobatical act towards the shower curtain rail. Finally, the cat dove into what David saw was an open vent. This explained how the feline managed to ambush him so easily in the first place.

 

With the cat episode seemingly over, David’s thoughts quickly drifted back to his mother and V. He tried to ping both of them on the holo, getting nothing but dead silence in response. 

 

“Urgh.” Feeling exhausted from the shocking earlier encounter, David sunk back into the couch. “Where are they?!”

 

Despite the best efforts, David couldn’t help but glance back at the black hole in the wall of V’s shower. He couldn’t help but feel like the cat would return, furious that he was still there, even after the warning shot of the first scratch. The last thing he wanted was to drift off to sleep only to wake up with those two soul-piercing eyes staring right at him after he came to. 

‘And what was up with all the wrinkly skin?!’ He wondered with frustration. ‘Ain’t cats meant to be furry?!’ 

 

Thankfully, he didn’t need to wait for long. After less than five minutes, the front door opened, forcing David to freeze in place and glare at the newcomers.

Even though it could really only be the two people that did walk in, it took him a few seconds to fully process that both V and Gloria were there in the flesh. 

 

“Mom!” He exhaled, shooting upright in an instant.

 

——

 

The NCART journey back to their place was probably the least eventful event of the past 72 hours. 

It was also the happiest. David just couldn’t stop smiling like a gonk while looking at his alive and well mother. Even the mile-long list of questions about her past, what happened while he was waiting back at V’s and their financial future was not enough to dampen the teenager’s spirits.

 

”I’m happy to see you too, mijo.” Gloria ruffled David’s hair, prompting a habitual grunt of protest from the guy. 

Normally, David would protest with more vigor, but he decided to let it go this time round. 

 

“I’m sorry you had to go through all of this, Dee,” Gloria said as soon as they stepped off the platform and headed towards their usual exit. “Really.”

 

”It wasn’t that bad, honestly.” He was speaking the truth. Now that the whole situation had resolved itself and a tsunami wave of relief washed over him, David could look at what had transpired with a fresh perspective. All said and done, he had been to places he normally would never step into, met some of the most colorful characters Night City had to offer and scored a piece of cyberware that already changed his life for the better. Hell, he even managed to bump heads with his uncle’s cat!

 

”S’alright, mom,” David hurried to reply before his happy-contemplative silence got mistaken for something bad.

 

”V hadn’t recruited you into a merc crew, had he?” Judging by the sudden change in tone, Gloria meant the question with utmost seriousness.

 

”No, no. ‘Course not,” he shook his head, choosing to omit the part where he did hang out with the Mox. For everyone’s sake.

 

They made it back to their apartment without encountering any other out of the ordinary events or people. That was completely fine with David. He certainly had enough excitement for a while. 

 

As soon as they crossed the threshold of their home, Gloria’s mom mode reactivated in full force. Much to her son’s chagrin, she began quizzing him on his homework, whether he ate properly, if the uniform was clean and about another hundred different questions that could really wait for a short while as the pair settled back in.

 

”Fuck!” If Gloria swore in front of her son, you knew the topic was dire. “Gotta pay the school fees before they hit us with late payment surcharges.”

 

David had a burning question to ask, but he waited until his mom was done with the payment before he asked it. “What’s happening with that implant we found in your jacket, then?”

 

”None of your business, that’s what.” Her tone was a little too harsh, but that must’ve been the result of having to drop an ungodly amount of money for what David considered to be a luxurious mental torture chamber, rather than a respected educational facility. 

”V and I are gonna sort it out tomorrow and that will be that. Nothing for you to worry about, Dee.” Her brow furrowed. “If ya wanna help, then how about you focus on your studies, hm? To make all of those eddies count towards something?”

 

“I will, I will,” he promised. After learning just how far his mother went through to ensure he attended that darned place, David managed to find a messed up kind of motivation deep inside of himself to keep trying hard.

Said motivation, however, was nowhere near enough for him to pretend that he wasn’t insatiably curious about the deal that Gloria and V had alluded to. David quickly surmised, though, that trying to quiz it out of his mom was a futile exercise - she’d just shoot him down and reveal nothing. 

The only way to find out for himself was to follow her when she thought he was at school. One more missed day wouldn’t make much of a difference at this point, anyway,

With his mischievous plan settled upon, David agreed and followed every direction that his mother gave him that night. He ironed and then re-ironed his uniform. He ate the EEZYBEEF wrap without as much as a groan. He even refrained from checking if Gloria knew about V’s cat, even though that took far more restraint than complaining about every other disagreeable task combined. 

 

With the clock showing five minutes to midnight, David settled on his usual spot on the couch while his mother took the bed. She tried to offer the better sleeping spot to her son, but the teen vehemently declined, citing her far-from-fully-healed state as the reason she should get a better spot. 

 

“Fine, fine,” Gloria murmured as she settled on the bed. “Look who’s got so decisive in just a few days without me, huh?”

 

”Aw, c’mon, mom!” David protested. “It’s nothin’.”

 

She only chuckled before grabbing the curtain that served as a flimsy privacy screen.

 

”Goodnight, Dee.”

 

”Goodnight, mom.”

 

——

 

David woke up all on his own for the first time since he joined Arasaka Academy. Normally, it would take him at least two alarm snoozes and, sometimes, even a perfectly-aimed flip-flop launched by Gloria to get up. 

But this was far from a normal morning. 

To begin with, David shot up from an immediate post-wake up realization that he could’ve overslept, missing his mom’s departure completely. Finding her fast asleep with one arm hanging off the edge of the bed calmed David down in an instant, but he was already far too awake to even wish to catch more Zs. 

Not that he would want to, anyway. After all, he had plenty to do before Gloria woke up

One thing that David realized before he fell asleep was that he had no idea when or where the exchange with this Maine character would take place. The Megabuilding had at least four different exits and camping in the narrow corridor right outside of their apartment was as good as a direct invitation to get busted. 

He had to get more sophisticated than a simple stakeout to see what his mom and uncle were up to. 

 

After quietly sliding off the couch and crouching towards his school bag, David grabbed a small knife that they used to open particularly tough packages and food wrappers. With its help, he sliced through the lining of an inside pocket and quickly fished out a thumb-sized tracking device. Those came standard as a way to track down the bag in case it was stolen or lost. Because Arasaka ‘believed in coaching independence of its students’, as the dull ad brochures claimed, the token was tied to David, and not Gloria. This would allow him to track her location without much risk of getting detected.

The EMT jacket with an already existing hidden compartment would be a perfect place to stash the tracker. However, the hi-viz garment was nowhere to be found, which could only mean one thing - it was still at V’s, locked away. David settled for the only other jacket that his mother owned. It was an old quilted bomber that most certainly has seen better days. Nonetheless, the weather was getting quite chilly this time of year, so it was almost a guarantee that she’d at least take it with her. He chose to stash the black slab of plastic and circuitry into a tiny pocket on the shoulder that appeared to be there just for style, and not any practical purpose.

 

Satisfied with his spy-worthy maneuver, David lazily shuffled towards the bathroom to get ready for what promised to be a rather enlightening day of checking out what kind of person his mother really was and the circles that she really ran in. 

Keen to maintain his cover as faithfully as possible, he put on the school uniform and repacked his bag.

 

”Hey, mom,” he whispered to her quietly. “I’m off to school. See you later.” 

 

“Mhm.” Gloria stirred quietly, her eyes still closed. “Have a great day, mijo.”

 

David quietly snuck out of the flat, putting his foot in the doorway as the door closed so that it wouldn’t slam as hard as it normally did. He would be spying on his mom, but it didn’t mean he had to disrupt her rest that she more than deserved. 

The immediate problem that the teenager faced in his self-imposed mission was the fact that he had no idea when Gloria was meant to leave. With their car relegated to the scrapyard, she would have to use NCART to get to her destination, so he had quite a few options to wait at. After using the long elevator ride down, he ultimately settled on the noodle shop in the services lobby. It was situated in the second row of stalls, so would be out of the way and have enough cover for him to hide. Still, David didn’t want to take the risk of his mother spotting his familiar face with a random glance sideways as she walked past, so he came prepared. 

Out came a set of large dark aviators that he found in their flat. He had no idea who they belonged to. Could be V, Gloria or even some random friend who had left them there by mistake. With the latest slew of revelations about his mother, a random pair of sunglasses was really the least interesting of items for the teen to wonder about. He also changed out of his school blazer, roughly stuffing it inside the backpack. In its stead, David pulled over an acid-green t-shirt that he knew for sure was V’s. The older man left it back at their apartment in case he’d need to stay over. Similarly to the sunglasses, David didn’t worry much about wearing it, since borrowing his uncle’s stuff without permission was a far more innocent transgression than spying.

 

“Can I have uuuh…” He glanced at the handwritten sign listing everything on offer, looking for the cheapest item. “Some green tea, please?”

 

The stall owner rolled her eyes at the order, but did not say anything. She turned to a tall metal kettle and tilted it without lifting, pouring a serving of steaming brownish liquid into an uneven porcelain cup. 

David didn’t even know if he liked tea or not. He never had it before. But there was no way he would be allowed to sit around without ordering at least something, so it was either that or a 20 eddie more expensive Real Water.

 

”Outh!” He spat out when the scolding-hot liquid instantaneously singed the tip of his tongue. The cup got promptly placed back on the counter as the teen grimaced in pain. He didn’t even get to taste the thing; it was all just searing heat. 

The owner only chuckled and turned back to the smoking griddle where the next batch of teriyaki skewers were cooking.

After a few minutes and at least a couple dozen careful blows on the cup, the tea became drinkable. When he finally got to get a proper taste, David almost regretted that it didn’t burn the entirety of his taste buds, because the brown-ish liquid was truly grim. Licking a nomad’s car tire after a long trip through the Badlands would taste better, surely.

 

’And people actually drink this?! Willingly?!’ He carefully slid the cup away and proceeded to pull out the cyberdeck’s settings interface.

Since he had time to kill, could also use it to do something useful.

 

There definitely was much more to be found in the menus than the fledgeling netrunner would expect. There were a whole ton of options including transmission frequencies, encryption protocols and other hyper-technical mumbo jumbo that he had absolutely no way of navigating on his own. Those he decided to leave alone for the time being, at least until he could ask someone about them. That someone was just a mental placeholder, given that David knew precisely zero netrunners. V was unlikely to be much help either, since the guy spotted a Sandevistan for as long as David could remember. Netrunning wasn’t on Gloria’s list of secret occupations, although by this point it could as well come out, too.

Musty aroma from the cup pulled David out of his musings for a moment. He pushed the thing as far away from him as he could and returned to digging through the deck’s interface. After a few more menus, the ‘visual settings’ button came into view. 

 

‘Preem,’ the teenager grinned. He could certainly work with that.

 

The highly sensitive gradient sliders were a little tricky to move around with your mind at first, but he eventually got the hang of it. The red overlay hue was replaced with dark-ish green, while the rest of the user interface got shifted to a bright green - David’s favorite color. 

He then got to moving a few other things around like shifting the information window a little higher in the HUD and adjusting the ultra-sensitive eye tracker. With the UI looking much more usable, the teen closed the control panel and pulled up the scanner to see his handiwork in action.

 

’Now we’re talking!’ He nodded with a satisfied grin, admiring the view that only he could see.

 

”Oay, kid!” The stall owner called over, instantaneously bringing the mood down. “You gonna order food or not? You can sit and grin like a gonk somewhere else otherwise.”

 

He didn’t have enough cash left to afford even the cheapest of options. So there was no other choice but to slide off the chair and turn away.

Frustrated and bitter about the never-ending lack of money, David shuffled mindlessly through the market hall, keeping an eye on the blinking green light that signified his mother’s location. So far, it hasn't moved.

He lazily switched between normal vision and cyberdeck scan when a blinking icon overlay in front of one of the vending machines caught his attention. David re-scanned the drinks dispenser more deliberately the second time round. Focusing his attention on the pulsating icon, he prompted a window to open. There was a grid of repetitive letters and numbers and a sort of command line that appeared to take in a series of those alpha-numerical glyphs. It didn’t take long for David to surmise that this code matrix was some sort of hacking interface, although he still wasn’t sure how he was meant to use it.

It took a few failed attempts and getting locked out for him to finally get the hang of it. Eventually, David figured out that if he managed to find a correct sequence, he could access the machine’s control interface and score himself a freebie or, even better, fleece it of its earnings.

 

”Ha! Got it!” He exclaimed victoriously once the flimsy, but annoying to deal with defense of the vending machine fell before him. 

The device started whirling and flashing, but then suddenly fizzled out and went quiet. The small screen went dead, too. Trying to scan it again produced no results - it appeared offline. 

 

“For fuck’s sake… Useless piece of junk.” David knelt down in front of the dispenser window and looked inside to see if, maybe, the thing managed to drop at least one thing before it keeled over.

 

As he peered into the dark spot, he completely missed that the vending machine came back to life and began churning on the inside. Before David had a chance to dodge, a can of NiCola shot out of the dispenser like a projectile and smacked him bang on in the middle of the forehead. 

 

“Ouch!” The teen recoiled backwards, losing his balance and dropping on his ass. 

 

The fizzy drink assault didn’t end there. One after another, the machine began emptying its contents in his direction. It was as if it was making its final stand against the rude assailant, choosing to go down fighting. 

Luckily for David, all he had to do was to simply roll to the side. Soon enough, the machine ran out of stock and he was safe to pick up the spoils without risk of getting more bruises.

He looked around to check if anyone happened to bear witness to his embarrassment. Luckily, that particular corner of the services floor was rather empty, with only a few people chatting away on the far end. They were far too preoccupied with some piece of junk tech in front of them to notice what happened. 

 

”Ow, c’mooon!” He exhaled in disappointment after seeing how every single can and bottle contained a fizzy drink. Even Real Water was sparkling.

 

< Transfer: €$350 > 

 

“Huh?” The notification startled the teenager, making him forget about the little haul of drinks that he couldn’t actually drink.

Given that David barely had any money coming in and out of his digital wallet, it wasn’t hard to track down where the money came from. Apparently, he did manage to extract some cash from the machine. ”Nova.”

 

With enough cash to finally be able to afford some street food, he grabbed one NiCola can and headed back into the main area. Purposefully skipping the stall with the rude owner, he sat instead by one that advertised soy beef burgers. 

The can fizzed as it was cracked open. David had a single careful sip before choking on the fizz just like he always did. Free or not, he still couldn’t drink those.

 

”Here you go, man.” The aging cook with a spatula attachment on his metal arm placed the tray with the food in front of David.

 

”Thanks, choom.” The teenager gingerly inhaled the intoxicating aroma of freshly fried grease. He didn’t realize just how much he was starving until the food was right in front of him. 

He dug into the burger with fervor. The food tasted ten times better through sheer fact that he paid for it with his own, and not his mother’s or uncle’s money. The nature of said earnings was best left alone, but David didn’t really feel too bad about it. All those vending machines funneled their earnings straight into some megacorp’s pocket. Mere few hundred eddies wouldn’t be missed.

 

David was through the three quarters of his burger when a notification popped up in the top right corner of his vision. The tracker was on the move.

”Damn!” He stuffed the rest of the bun into his mouth and hopped off the high chair he was sitting on. 

 

It was time to finally see who his mother really was.

 

 

Notes:

I’m mindful that it may seem like nothing much happened in this chapter and I probably wouldn’t blame you for thinking that. But we’re finally getting to a point where both David and V’s paths begin converging with those of Maine’s crew. Plus, David’s got his first proper taste of hacking for cash and who knows what kind of trouble that’ll get him into!

Next up: our teenage spy is going to get a liiiitle more than he had bargained for.

Chapter 15: Spymaster Martinez

Summary:

David embarks on his self-appointed mission to spy on his mom. It doesn’t go to plan. Not in the slightest.

Gloria walked swiftly, as if she was late. Or on edge. Knowing just how important the meetup was, David penned it on the latter. His above-average field & track performance proved helpful, particularly when he had to rush to make the same train as her. The doors almost snagged him as they shut, it was that close.

Trying his best to look as inconspicuous as possible, the teen attempted to comb down his telltale spiky hairdo. The result was shoddy at best, but it did make him less recognisable from a distance.

NCART wasn’t too busy during the day, providing just enough crowd coverage to make it easy to blend in, but not so crowded that it’d be hard to follow someone. Which was lucky for David, because he had to tail his mom through an interchange that took place at a rather open platform. If he didn’t manage to sneak behind a group of monks who were doing the same, he’d probably get busted.

Gloria exited the second train at a stop near the H8 megabuilding. They were in the heart of Japantown. David said his thanks to the monks who only gave him confused looks in return and dashed out of the carriage before the doors closed on him.

 

David’s stealthy self-appointed mission almost came to an abrupt end when a familiar face showed up out of nowhere and called out to Gloria. If V looked just past his sister, he’d see the panicking teen trying to hide behind a metal post that was all too thin to provide any meaningful cover. Thankfully, the merc wasn’t looking around much, so David’s anonymity remained secure for a while longer.

 

’Gotta be much more careful now.’ Not only was trailing two people more difficult, David’s streetsmart uncle would likely be on the lookout for a tail out of habit.

Last thing David needed was for the older guy to pull iron on him thinking he was some sort of scav trying to klep the Sandi. 

 

His heart beating rapidly, David proceeded carefully behind the pair who were chatting about something that he couldn’t quite make out. Trying to get closer was out of the question, so he’d just have to rely on what he saw. He watched as V said something sly, judging by the man’s usual smirk that he pulled every time in moments like this. Gloria laughed and playfully punched the guy on the shoulder. V faked being in huge pain, which prompted even more laughter from the woman. The seemingly meaningless, but incredibly wholesome exchange made David feel guilty for snooping. He was infringing on the siblings’ bonding time. Between their wildly different lifestyles and schedules, it was almost unheard of for V and Gloria to get any time together as just the two of them. She almost always tried to get David to tag along, as they also spent too little time together.

Once again, David was third-wheeling these two siblings. Except this time they had no idea.

Either way, he was already in too deep at this point, both in terms of his insatiable curiosity and getting in trouble with the school. An automated message regarding his absence at the Academy must’ve already been sitting in his mother’s inbox.

 

V and Gloria stopped in front of some stall after the merc jumped from excitement after seeing something on display. Gloria only shook her head in disapproval, but didn’t say anything. David glimpsed how V’s eyes lit up as he made the transfer, receiving a plastic bag with what looked like a t-shirt in return.

 

”Psst, hey. Kid, hey.” A homeless guy sitting on the floor next to where the teen was kneeling down to spy on his family members called out. It took David a few seconds to clock that the man with only a stump instead of what was meant to be his right arm was talking to him.

 

”I ain’t got any money for ya, old man, sorry.” He assessed the bum’s age purely on the grey bushy beard and wrinkles.

 

”How dare you,” the other guy protested, “I ain’t that old.”

”And you obviously ain’t that great at snoopin’, kid.” He nodded towards Gloria and V, who were still talking by the other stall. “Could tell from giving you a single looksie that you were after those two lovebirds.”

 

At the word ‘lovebirds’ aimed at his mother and uncle, David cringed so hard that one could be excused to worry that his face would never return to its original expression after. 

“They ain’t-“ He quickly stopped himself. Why did he have to explain anything to this random dude anyway?!

 

”You should at least get a hat, to obscure your face better.” The sitting man rummaged in his sack for a few seconds before pulling out a relatively clean ‘I <3 NC’ baseball cap. “Here, some tourist dropped it the other day. I didn’t even wear it, if you’re gonna ask. Good as new, really.”

 

”I’ll pass, thanks.” David glanced back at his targets, scared to get too distracted and lose them. 

 

“C’mon, man. Twenty eddies.” The homeless man tugged at the leg of David’s trousers with a mischievous grin. “Help a man out, will ya? Or I’ll start such shitshow over here that they definitely gonna look. Then your ass will defo be busted.”

 

”Fine, fine, you bastard.” David pulled a crumpled banknote from his pocket and chucked it at the guy, who deftly caught it before tossing the hat to the teen. This was his last piece of physical cash.

 

”Pleasure doin’ business with ya, choom.”

 

”Whatever.” After the newly acquired spy accessory passed the look and sniff tests, David reluctantly pulled it on, making sure to angle the bill in such a way so that it covered the top half of his face. 

This did mean that he had to tilt his head up to be able to see anything at all, but at least it served its purpose well enough. 

 

Gloria and V were on the move once more, so David followed suit.

They didn’t get much farther, making just one more turn into what looked like a car park of a fast food joint. Aside from a bar-restaurant-cafe kind of thing called Turbo, there were a few stalls and actual cars, arranged in a rectangular shape that turned the place into a square of sorts. Judging by all the tables and chairs scattered around, the original function of the place was long forsaken in favor of turning it into a makeshift social hub. Some kids were using one of the fenced-off flower beds as a skateboard rail. A lone guitarist lounged on a battered couch someone must’ve dragged there from the landfill, strumming a tune that David recognised, but couldn’t name. 

What caught David’s attention weren’t the stalls or the buildings, nor was it the music. His eyes almost instantaneously fixated on a mountain of a man sitting on one of the steel chairs that threatened to buckle under him at any minute. The tanned giant was easily the largest person David had ever seen. He knew of the Animals gang and their affinity for chrome and steroids that produced living mountains of metal and flesh. But to see someone like that for real was a different thing entirely.

He only just managed to pick his proverbial jaw from the ground when it dropped back down with what would’ve been a loud clank. Gloria and V walked right up to the huge guy and pulled up chairs after a familiar greeting that betrayed that the trio knew each other.

 

’What on earth?!’ David had to blink slowly, just to make sure he wasn’t seeing things or wasn’t mixing up some strangers for his mom and uncle. ‘How does that guy need even more chrome than that?!’

 

Cyberpsychosis wasn’t taught in school even as elite as his - the public stigma was too high. Besides, fear of having too many implants would certainly hurt sales. David was intimately acquainted with the sickness that plagued chrome junkies from a completely different source - the XBDs that he got to try out for free before he pushed them to his classmates. In fact, he was a little too familiar with the case of that particular implant that V and Gloria were about to hand over, since he saw the last minutes of its previous owner’s life. All in perfect immersive VR glory, courtesy of the XBD editing genius Jimmy Kurosaki.

It was hard to fathom just how much carnage the tank-like choom of his mother’s could wreak if he ever went off the rails. A cold sweat dripped down the back of David’s neck at the mere thought.

 

The teen shook his head, as if that could literally shake the unnecessary trains of thought out of his brain. Nonetheless, the move worked and soon enough he was fully focused on what was going on in front of him once again.

This was most certainly the meeting to hand over the Sandevistan. After a few sentences were exchanged, the hulk waved towards the bar. Almost instantaneously a young guy, probably one or two years younger than David, rushed out with a trio of brown bottles. The big guy used his undoubtedly cybernetic thumb to pop the cap off each one before they were handed round. V was the one to offer some sort of toast that appeared to amuse the other two. David had no chance of hearing any of that, so his imagination filled the gaps instead. It was probably some joke about how they should stop meeting under such circumstances, or some such. There was no denying that his uncle was a funny guy and used it frequently to his advantage. 

Then the EMT jacket came out. V unzipped the hidden compartment and handed the vacuum-sealed film pack to the borged-out stranger. He, in turn, looked the implant over from every angle. Only after that did he give a content nod, carefully stuffing the Sandevistan into the inside pocket of his equally huge sleeveless leather jacket. Bottles were raised once again. The conversation began flowing, almost like the trio were old friends. 

 

David could kill for a chance to listen in on their conversation… Except he actually could now!

A quick scan revealed an old, but still powered up camera on the lamp post just above the table where his ‘targets’ sat. It must’ve been a leftover from the times where the place was an actual car park. Its security wasn’t updated since 2069, so getting in proved easy. In a continued streak of luck, the device also had a microphone, albeit a terrible one.

Still, it allowed David to hear enough of the conversation. 

 

The first voice was unknown to David, so it could only be the big guy. “… you got shot up in the first place? You were awfully cagey ‘bout it yesterday.”

 

”Was just bad fucking luck, honestly.” It was unusual to hear David’s mom swear. “Got caught in crossfire between Animals and some corpo limo that they tried to turn into Swiss cheese.”

 

“Animals, huh?” The half-borg shook his head. “They got the balls to venture this far outta Pacifica these days? That ain’t good for anyone. Glad you took care of ‘em, V.”

 

”Not like I had much of a choice…” V scratched the back of his head. “Was us or ‘em kinda sitch, y’know.”

 

”When is it ever any different? They should write this on every billboard on the outskirts: Night City, Modern Paradise Where You Kill Or Get Killed. Mighta save a few gonk lives.” David couldn’t help but like this guy’s attitude, even if every fiber of his body that was responsible for self-preservation screamed to stay far, far away.

 

“Listen, Maine,” Gloria shuffled uncomfortably, “I know you mentioned grabbin’ food, but I think we gonna bounce. I still gotta go see if I’ve got a job in the end and all tha-“

 

She never got to finish, as this Maine guy raised his giant palm. “Hold up, Glo. We’ve got unwanted company.” 

In that moment his eyes shot up. He peered right into the lens of the camera that David used as his own eyes and ears. Maine’s pupils were lit up yellow - someone was talking to him on the holo.

 

”Oh shit!” David instantly surmised that he was said unwanted company.

 

He logged off as fast as he could. Evidently, that wasn’t fast enough.

Teen’s cyberdeck flashed a warning of a hostile quickhack incoming, but it was advancing far too quickly for him to try anything. Not that David had any idea how to protect himself from an enemy hack in the first place. Next, many more warnings joined the first. Those, however, were screaming about every single piece of cyberware, however few he did have, glitching out.

David keeled over, overwhelmed with nausea. He now felt for V, who he had over-hacked earlier - experiencing this with more chrome must’ve been outright pain.

 

”Found our snooper.” A set of navy and green sneakers that appeared to be attached to a familiar voice walked into view. They were soon joined by a pair of pink ones.

 

Risking spilling out his hard-earned lunch, David pulled himself upright to take a better look at his assailants. As the hacks wore off, his head began filling with all sorts of horrible scenarios that could befall him after getting caught.

 

”Wait, David?!” Rebecca’s red-green eyes widened with surprise as she recognised him. “The fuck you doing here?! And what’s up with that stupid hat?”

She quickly glanced towards the car park, then back at David. “All good here, false alarm. Just a kid fuckin’ round with the old tech.”

 

Becca’s companion, who turned out to be an equally diminutive woman of the same-ish age, raised her eyebrows in question. Simultaneously, her eyes flashed yellow as she pinged something over, supposedly in Rebecca’s direction.

 

”He’s a choom.” The teal edgerunner pointed towards the table, where Gloria and the other two had resumed their conversation. “V’s blood.”

She turned to David. “Not sure what kinda crazy idea you had in that gonk head of yours to try and spy on your uncle, but let’s just say you owe me one.”

”Oh.” She threw a thumb at her friend, who was still frowning. “This is Sasha, by the way. She’s our main netrunner.”

 

”Hey there.” David gave the raven-haired woman an awkward wave, but not before taking off his ridiculous baseball cap and chucking it out. He tried to make that move feel as natural as possible, but failed miserably at it. Thankfully, neither Sasha, nor Becca seemed to care much for it.

 

Instead of a verbal answer, a notification popped up in his retina overlay.

 

< Sasha Y sent a contact request >

< Accept Y/N ? >

 

Seeing David’s confusion, Becca chimed in. “She’s not much of a talker. But can pour out novels in text form.”

The solo giggled mischievously at her own joke. It scored her a disapproving pout from Sasha. 

 

David accepted the request and instantaneously, a blob of text appeared in front of his eyes. 

 

[ Nice to meet you too, David. ] The woman smiled warmly before sending a quick follow-up. [ Sorry about earlier. We were worried someone far less harmless than yourself caught onto the exchange. ]

 

Being called ‘harmless’ was certainly not the nicest of things to hear, but it was largely correct in this context. The only person that stood a high chance of getting harmed in this entire setup was David himself. In hindsight, he should’ve really thought this bonkers plan of his through a bit more.

 

”Whatcha doin’ here anyway, David?” Becca asked after hopping onto the concrete slab that until recently acted as David’s hiding spot. “And did you manage to find your missing mom? Funny, Maine’s supplier had also gone off the grid for a couple days-“

”WAIT A FUCKIN’ SECOND!” She jumped back down, eyes even wider than before. “Maine’s chrome supplier is your mom?!”

 

”Y-yeah…” The teenager grimaced. “I found that out recently myself.”

 

[ That’s quite a coincidence, huh! ] Judging by Becca’s nodding, Sasha’s message was sent to both of them simultaneously.

 

“I think you better haul ass before your mom finds out you were here, David.” Rebecca’s words were as good as snatched directly out of David’s head.

 

”Yep, think that’s a good idea. Thanks for not giving me up, Becca. I do owe you one.”

 

”No sweat, choom. Just don’t be such a gonk next time.” Rebecca gave him a cheeky wink. “I won’t always be there to bail yo ass out.”

She swiftly turned to Sasha. “Aw, shut up, Yakovleva. Nobody asked you.”

 

”What?” David figured that there must’ve been a message sent to Rebecca directly, but had no idea what it could possibly say.

 

”Nothin’,” the teal merc cut off.

 

”Alright, I’m gonna head then. Cya later, Becca and was nice to meet ya, Sasha.” David had already turned his back to Turbo’s and began heading in the direction of the NCART session when a barrage of loud noises forced him to turn around.

 

Bursting into the scene came a brightly coloured van pursued by a quintet of motorcycles. Judging by the exchange of fire between them, the two parties were actively trying to take each other out.

They approached Turbo’s at breakneck speed, smashing through the road rails and any other obstacles on their way. 

David froze. Memories of the underpass shootout came flooding in once again. He was terrified, just as he was back then. Just as last time, it was he, Gloria and V in the epicenter of a bulletstorm. 

 

“David, get down!” Rebecca forcefully pulled the frozen teen down, and just in time, too. A hail of stray bullets hammered down the other side of the plant enclosure. 

 

A hairline brush with Death acted as a reset mechanism to the paralyzed teenage brain. David began blinking rapidly, and breathing almost just as quick as adrenalin began surging inside every blood vessel of his body.

“Who the fuck are those guys?!” He was yelling, but that was just the quietest setting that his hyperventilating body could do in that moment. It also helped to be audible over the never-ending torrent of shots ringing just yards away.

 

”No idea yet, but they’re ‘bout to find out that I ain’t a fan of being shot at!” Becca already had two pistols - one pink, one blue - in her hands. She leant from behind the other side of the concrete slab and quickly ducked back in.  “Fucking Tyger Claws!” 

She turned to the netrunner. “Sasha, you on ‘em?”

 

The other woman only nodded. Instead of a weapon, she armed herself with a visor of sorts. David could see countless lines of code run on it, too fast to read.

He tried to have a peek himself, but was quickly and harsly pulled back by Sasha. 

 

[ It’s not safe out there for you, David. Stay here, I’ll protect you.] Her visor made a winking cat emoji expression.

 

Something had changed in those few seconds they were talking. The gunfire didn’t stop, not even for a moment, but the pacing had changed. Instead of a continuous, one sided assault, it turned into a tempo of shots and return shots. Tyger Claws assault evolved into a shootout.

 

“Can a choom have ONE calm day for once?!” Only V would choose to complain out loud while in the middle of a firefight. At least that meant that he was alive and intact enough to waste his breath on those kinds of gonk one liners. 

 

There was an explosion. David had seen enough Bushido flicks to recognise a vehicle exploding. He would be proven right in a few seconds when a flaming carcass of a bike landed just a couple yards away to his right, a smoldering corpse of its occupant still latched onto the destroyed machine. A sickly smell of burning fuel, plastic and what could only be flesh quickly filled the air, making the teen’s nose itch and eyes water. Although the latter was more from the thick black smoke blowing in his direction than the smell.

 

”Maine must be pissed big time!” Becca’s remark sounded like a cheer. “Stay here, you two. Can’t let bossman have all the fun out ‘ere.”

She promptly jumped out of her hiding place and proceeded to open fire at someone out of sight. Naturally, there was a battlecry to accompany all of that.

 

David wondered how did Becca manage to last this long in this biz with this attitude without scoring at least a couple bullets, or worse.

His mind quickly switched gears when he spied another derelict, but seemingly intact CCTV camera. Hacking into it was even easier than the first one now that he knew the steps.

The feed was grainy and the bottom-left corner of his field of view was completely obscured by a large crack in the cover glass, but it was far better, and safer, than trying to peek on his own. 

The van had toppled to the side, but its occupants apparently managed to climb out, on account of every visible door being swung open. Said occupants were currently returning Tygers’ fire using their ruined ride as cover. They all turned out to be women. The significance of that detail was lost on the street-unsavvy teen. 

David was about to switch his attention elsewhere to look for his family when he noticed someone rather familiar in the crowd of battle maidens. Thankfully, the security cam had a zoom function, so he could take a closer look. One of the women was most certainly the one who opened the door for him at Lizzie’s. Right next to her was none other than Rita Wheeler herself, V’s output. Much to David’s relief, both looked only lightly bruised, but otherwise intact.

Scanning the car park more broadly, David quickly found his persons of interest. Gloria was easy to find on account of the bright EMT jacket she was clutching like her life dependent on it. She was cowering not behind any car or structure, but behind the mountain of a man known as Maine. He, in turn, did have the table the trio was sitting behind earlier, but it was almost comically too small for his size. The best it could cover were the legs and even then the knees were sticking out. The hulking edgerunner didn’t need much protection, however. Bullets ricocheted off his body like popcorn kernels. The number of layers of subdermal armor Maine had must’ve ranged somewhere between ‘many’ and ‘hella’. 

David quickly glanced over the ‘battlefield’ to look for his uncle. He found V dashing towards where Rita was hunkered down, just as one would expect. With Gloria safe behind her human rock, V would take his girlfriend’s safety as his next top priority.

 

With all of his family members located, David took more interest in the wider scene unfolding in front of his digital eye. Tyger Claws riders were thinned down to just three, but another car with gang tags had arrived by that point, evening the odds on both sides.

That was until Becca and Sasha joined the fray. Young netrunner watched in awe as he watched the short merc flank a pair of Tyger gangoons behind their car before she ambushed them with a hail of bullets from both of her weapons. The closest one to her fell in an instant. The second, while trying to retaliate by aiming his shotgun at Becca, got zapped with what could only be a quickhack from Sasha. Becca made sure to double-tap both of her targets just to make sure. She then proceeded to circle round the car on the far side, no doubt aiming to jump one more Claw hunkering down nearby. 

It was at that moment that David noticed the front door of the Tyger car open and another man carefully climbed out of it. How nobody noticed him sitting inside was anyone’s guess, but that wasn’t important. He brandished a gnarly-looking serrated knife. 

David tried to zapp the guy with Cyberware Malfunction, but hit a self-ICE wall so strong that his hacks simply fizzled out against it like sparks against concrete.

 

‘Becca, watch out!’ He tried to shout, but his mind was fully synced with the camera that was as mute as a doornail. 

 

David logged out as rapidly as he could and began running towards the gangoon vehicle. It took him a few precious seconds to re-orient himself in his real body, but otherwise he lost no time. Ignoring the bullets swinging above head, he dove forward, landing just at the corner of the vehicle, mere feet away from the assailant.

 

”Becca, watch out!” David repeated his warning. His shouts were drowned out once again, this time by the gunfire.

The Tyger didn’t hear anything either. He was also all too focused on his prey to notice the teen sneaking behind.

 

Left with no other choice, David grabbed a baseball bat dropped by one of the men that Becca had zeroed previously and lunged at the unsuspecting gangoon before he could skewer his newfound friend.

The first hit landed right on the back of the other man’s head with a muted thunk, prompting the latter to flinch and turn around.

 

”Becca!” David cried out while desperately trying to keep eyes on his target. 

 

He struck once again, but this time the Tyger Claw was ready. The attack was easily deflected.

 

”You’re gonna pay for that, shithead,” the man sneered as he readied his blade to strike at David instead. 

 

He swung once, but the teen managed to dodge. Just about. Once again, all of those athletics lessons suddenly turned out to be quite useful. Who could’ve known?!

Another swing, another near-miss. David tried to swing with his bat in retaliation, but found himself to be too slow and too clumsy with the weapon he had never wielded before, even for its intended purpose. 

Soon enough, he found himself backed against another car that was parked nearby, unable to retreat any further. 

 

“Gotcha, you lil’ chinpo sakka.” The Tyger Claw licked his lips in anticipation of slaughter. “I’m gonna gut ya like a pig!”

 

The man lunged forward, but barely managed to close the distance by a half when a shot rang out in the air. That threw the gangoon off his initial trajectory and to the side. He dropped to the floor with an inhuman wail. Two more shots followed the first. The gangoon went dead-quiet after that.

David glared in the direction where the saving shots could’ve come from. There stood Becca, a smoking shotgun in hand. 

 

“Ya okay, David?” She asked, noticeably worried.

 

”Y-yeah, I think so,” he mumbled in response, turning to the injured Tyger. “Is- is he dead?” 

 

“Looks like it.” Becca walked over to the keeled over body and kicked it to check.

When no movement happened in response, she nodded. “Yeah, big dead.”

 

David was about to throw himself into a grateful tirade for saving his life not once, but twice in a space of a few minutes. But then a motorcycle roared onto the scene, with a wounded, but alive Tyger Claw riding on it. 

 

“You bastards!” The ganger shouted as he looked over the scene. “You killed boss’s bro!”

He pushed the throttle, making the back wheel of the bike spin up smoke. “You’ll pay for it with yer heads!” 

He raced off before any of the shots from those chasing him connected.

 

David’s heart sank. He didn’t quite understand what had just happened, but the ominous threat really sunk deep.

Being falsely blamed for killing some sort of Tyger Claw bigshot was the last thing that he needed in his life right now.

 

”Becca!” Rita rushed over to her old friend. She stopped five paces before reaching her intended destination when she saw who was standing next to the pint-sized edgerunner. 

“David?! The fuck’re you doin’ here?!” Rita instantly turned back and yelled. “Yo, V! Your nephew’s here and think him and Becca just zeroed some Tygers’ bigshot.”

 

”I haven’t-“ David only sighed, sinking against the car that he was already half-leaning against. He had no energy in him to argue against the completely unfair assumption that it was him, and not Becca who killed the Tyger Claw.

He also knew that he was in for so much trouble that getting skewered with a katana seemed to be a less painful option.

 

As expected, V wasn’t the only one to rush over. Running in front of the merc was Gloria. She looked deathly scared, but completely unharmed.

 

”David?!” She called out. “Mijo?!”

”Mijo!” Gloria, now wearing the EMT jacket over her other one, slid next to her son and instantly began inspecting every square inch of him for wounds. “Are you okay? What’re you doin’ here, in the middle of the firefight?!”

 

”What do ya think he’s doing, sis?” V crossed his hands on his chest. “Little shit’s been spying on us. Bet he grew too curious about the Sandi trade, hm?”

”Never heard the sayin’, Dee? That curiosity killed the cat?”

 

David felt slightly betrayed that his uncle just threw him under the bus like that, but at the same time couldn’t really blame the guy. After all, V was pretty much spot on with his assessment of the situation.

 

”Was this pipsqueak our mole?” Maine, who joined the pair a few moments later, turned to Becca and Sasha, who were checking each other for any missed bullet grazes. “I thought you said you dealt with him?”

 

”And we did, boss!” Becca pointed at David with both hands. “He was jus’ leavin’ when these motherfuckers with shit for brains stormed into the scene guns blazin’.”

She turned to Rita, who until that moment was just quietly observing the mix of family and crew feud with interest. “What were they chasin’ you lot for anyway, Rita?”

 

”Fuck if I know with those gonks.” The Mox bouncer threw her hands up in the air. “We were just makin’ a delivery when those fucks decided to open fire outta nowhere.”

 

”Typical for Tygers.” Rebecca spat with disdain at one of the dead gangoons. “Think just cos this is their turf they can do whatever they want.”

 

Both her and Maine suddenly jerked in surprise before turning to Sasha, who must’ve sent them an alarming message. 

 

Maine spoke up first. “Speakin’ of Tygers’ turf. Sasha tells me there’s chatter in the area. That bastard who escaped is trying to drum up some reinforcements.”

”We better delta the fuck outta here. As soon as we can.”

 

”I’ve only got my bike,” V replied. He then counted all the other heads, including all of the Mox that were in the van. That van was in no condition to carry anyone by that point. 

 

David did the same and counted up eight others, excluding himself and V.

 

“Maine, is it?” Rita addressed the hulking edgerunner. “Mind taking the other girls’ back to Lizzie’s? They could use patching up. I can go with V.”

 

”Can Glo and Dee come with ya as well?” V asked.

 

Maine considered for a moment before nodding. “Fine. It’s gonna be cosy, but think we can fit everyone.” 

He looked in the direction where Tyger Claws would likely come from. “Now c’mon, let’s delta before more of those fuckers come.”

 

David had half a mind to feel relieved that the urgency of their escape could save him from an ass-whooping of epic proportions. A single cold as ice glare from his mom had swiftly killed any semblance of hope that he’d manage to get away with his failed spy gig.

 

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

David may or may not have contributed to the start of a new Night City gang war. Well, he didn’t really, but everyone will think that he was the one to zero that Tyger.

I’ve been thinking recently about which stories I prefer writing for at the moment and decided to shift focus a little bit. This story will take first priority (so not much change there), but I will also try and finish Nightcall before the 3-yeear anniversary in August. Aside from that, I’d like to get back into more experimental works, so I might drop a few shorter (10k-ish words long) What If and Alternative Pairings stories in the coming weeks & months.

Chapter 16: Neck Deep

Summary:

Things turn ugly for V once again when he joins Gloria for the handover of the Sandevistan. With a gang war looming over them, the unexpected group sets to regroup at Lizzie’s.

Still feeling peckish after his early lunch, V grabbed a teriyaki dango skewer from the stall near the NCART station where he was meant to meet up with Gloria. 

 

With the other hand holding the EMT jacket with their precious cargo, he had to wave with the half-eaten snack to get his sister's attention. “Yo! Glo! Over here!” 

 

”Fuck.” One of the sauce-smeared balls managed to slip down the stick, staining the merc’s fingers.

 

Gloria raised an eyebrow as V attempted to slide the last piece off the other end with his teeth without making any more mess. Surprisingly, she didn’t comment on it, choosing to pick on something else instead. ”Since when do you arrive places on time, Vince?”

 

“Whath do yhou mhean?” V replied with the dango stuffed safely behind one cheek. He chewed and swallowed it before talking again. “I’m always on time.”

 

”Yeah, right.” Gloria let out a non-malicious huff and beckoned for him to follow her through the small market sprawled around the station.

 

The place was rather busy for a Friday afternoon, but not busy enough that they had to push through bystanders. That was very much a good thing. The last thing V needed after everything that had happened recently is to get into a fight with some cocky Tyger Claw upstart shopping for bootleg Jinguji synth-leather jackets after bumping into the guy by accident. 

Despite the fact that he was just passing through and having a much, much more important thing to get on with, V couldn’t help but scan the passing stalls for any interesting merchandise. He ignored the stalls peddling generic t-shirts and cargo pants. Next, they walked past a stall selling chrome that looked like it was clepped by scavs… about half a century ago. Those ancient aluminum alloy arms and legs would better serve as blunt weapons than actually functional artificial limbs. 

He almost got bored by the useless junk on offer when a square plastic red and black sleeve with a viper getting stabbed with a katana. Seeing a Samurai record on sale in the wild meant only one thing - there was a chance they could also carry their merch. His last tee got shot up during one of the gigs and he couldn’t find any that weren’t just cheap knock-offs. Once one junk peddler even tried to gaslight him into thinking that SEMURAI was the correct way to spell the band’s name.

 

“Hey there!” He greeted the stall owner with a cheerful smile. “You got any Samurai threads on sale?” 

 

“Really V?” Gloria looked less than pleased. “We’re really doing this now?!”

 

“I ain’t missing out on a chance like that! We’ve got time anyway.” He turned back to the woman behind the shopfront. “So, do you?”

 

”You betcha, choom. Got loads.” She reached under the counter and pulled out an entire box of film-covered t-shirts. “Even got the original twenty-twenty tour. Should be in your size, too.”

 

“That’s probably gonna be a bit rich for my wallet.” V thumbed through the tees until he found one with the classic burning face on it. “I’ll take this one.”

 

“That’d be three hundred eddies.” 

 

“Fucking hell… But fine.” V wired over the cash and accepted a plastic bag in return. “Thanks.”

 

”Your priorities, honestly.” Gloria could only shake her head in disapproval. “Can we go now?”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go see a guy about a Sandi.”

 

Spotting Maine was incredibly easy, no less because he was sitting right in the middle of the converted car park. 

V was reminded once again that there was some odd connection between his sister and the crew leader. However, this was most certainly not the time and place for it.

 

After making a mental note to interrogate her about it later, he followed his sister to join the large man at the table.

 

 

——

 

V’s reaction to sudden outburst of gunfire was instinctive and thus instantaneous. Without as much as a single grunt, he grabbed the table they were sitting at by one leg and flipped it to one side, simultaneously repositioning it to come between the potential threat and himself. Even though Turbo’s hadn’t cheaped out on their outdoor furniture, opting for metal over plastic, the thing still wouldn’t have much luck stopping anything beyond a 9mm. 

With his other hand, he had tried to scoop up Gloria and push her behind himself and the makeshift shield. Needless to say, she was far less maneuverable than the table.

Maine reacted about just as quickly. However, unlike V who had only his chest and shoulders covered with Subdermal Armor, the hulking edgerunner had more reinforced cladding than a Hellhound. If anything, staying behind him would’ve given Gloria a far better chance of survival.

 

“Glo, get behind me!” Maine clearly had the same idea. 

 

Having recovered from the initial shock, Gloria quickly did as she was told. She also quickly pulled out her own pistol from the holster hidden under her jacket and clicked the safety off.

 

”What now?!” V gritted his teeth. ‘Can’t have a single fucking day without some fuckery.’ 

 

If they were lucky, this would prove to be some sort of random shootout or a driveby and soon enough they’d put the chairs upright again and resume their earlier conversation.

Unfortunately, luck seemed to have been on holiday somewhere.

V knew that he’d have to dive into the fray once more as soon as he saw the neon pink skullgirl graffiti on the side of the van that was going sideways for a dangerously long time. With the aerodynamics of a brick and stability of a one-legged drunk, Villefort Columbus was really not advisable to use for drifting. Except this was exactly what that mad outfit of Moxes was doing. 

The cause for such desperate driving quickly became apparent as a brightly painted Thrax Jefferson flanked on both sides by five bikers stormed into the scene. 

 

‘Motherfucker…’ Not only would V have to step in to help his input’s gang, but he’d have to do so against Tyger Claws, Night City’s largest and best equipped gang.

 

As V watched the scene unfold, his prediction regarding Villefort’s ability to stay upright while gliding sideways came true. Physics took its toll and the van toppled to one side, undoubtedly sending all of its occupants tumbling inside.

 

”Maine, you got her?” He asked the big guy.

 

“She’s safe with me. Go on.” Maine nodded at the crashed van with his chin and raised his left arm. A tank buster of a cannon emerged from it.

 

”A’ight. Stay hidden, Glo. I’ll be back in a tick.”

 

Just as V strafed to his right to find better cover, he spotted the side door of the van slowly slide open. He froze for a second when out of the opening peeked a purple head with two tightly tied buns on top. 

 

“Rita?!” 

 

The stakes had just been raised a hundredfold. 

 

V snapped out of his momentary stupor and began rushing towards the toppled vehicle that was already peppered by Tygers’ gunfire. 

He opened fire at the Chevillon, surprising the gangers hiding behind it. They didn’t expect to be shot at from anywhere else but the van. 

 

”The fuck you doin’ getting involved, you gonk!” One of the Claws yelled in V’s direction. “This ain’t any of your biz.”

 

”Oh, but it very much is now,” V quietly whispered to himself while reloading. 

 

A sudden explosion made V turn around. Maine had just taken out one of the bikers with his hand cannon. The biker gonk who thought it was a good idea to rush a mountain of a man with that kind of weapon at the ready must’ve had a death wish. Or, more likely, he was just dumb or high off his marbles on battle adrenaline. 

Whatever the reason, that was one less gangoon to worry about. 

Not wanting to be a deadweight himself, V proceeded to snipe at one of the other bikers. The Tyger Claw must’ve thought he could use his iron steed to easily circle around the Mox who were gathering behind their totalled ride. Unfortunately for him, V saw the sly maneuver from a mile away. 

A trio of shots discharged in rapid succession ensured that the neon leather-clad man would hurt nobody else from then on. 

The selfless attempt to protect the Mox didn’t go unnoticed by the other Claws. V was made aware of it when a number of high-caliber bullets flew right next to him and turned the concrete greenery island behind him into a spray of stone shrapnel. Some of the debris left painful scratches and possibly even lodged themselves in the back of his neck that wasn’t covered by the jacket. 

 

“Ack!” V instinctively reached out with his free hand and tried to pry the tiny shards out of his skin, but only managed to irritate it further. This could easily prove to be a job for Vik and a pair of sharp tweezers. 

 

Ignoring the irritating pain, V turned his attention towards the fight once more. 

With three fighters down, Tygers took a more careful approach. They still refused to retreat, which was rather alarming. 

Tyger Claws rarely fought against enemies on an equal footing. They preferred to either overwhelm, outgun, or outmaneuver their targets. While this particular incident could’ve easily turned against the Mox, sheer coincidence proved to be working against the Claws. So far, they were the only party with deadly casualties and it only looked worse for them from there on. 

V had spotted Becca try to sneak around from the other side of the car park. This meant that there were at least three different groups hammering at the Tygers, and that was before Maine managed to find a properly safe place for Gloria. That would allow him to dive into the fray head on, just as he liked. If that guy went full-on, then those Arasaka sponsored goons were as good as dead. 

However, V didn’t have time, nor patience to wait for Maine. He had the two most important women in his life under fire and he wasn’t about to wait for someone else to ensure that they were safe for good.

Diving behind a nearby dumpster, V managed to join the Mox behind their van.

 

“Good of ya to join us, babes.” Rita must’ve spotted him at some point, because she was not surprised in the slightest. 

Unlike her comrades. Each one of them first raised eyebrows in surprise to see V. That was quickly followed by a cascade of grateful nodding.

 

His arrival was timely too, as the Mox were getting overwhelmed by the gunfire and desperately needed to move away from their upturned vehicle that was threatening to blow up any minute. 

It was time for Sandevistan to come out.

Dodging the enemy fire became a trivial task as V rushed their position before the slow-mo timer ran out. The merc managed to get only three shots in before everything started moving at the normal speed again, but he made sure they counted. The heaviest-looking Tyger with the LMG dropped dead with two holes in the side of his head and another in the chest.

The maneuver proved rather reckless as it opened V up for return fire from the Tyger’s three friends, but he accounted for that. Instead of standing out in the open trying to get another kill, he dropped on the floor and used the goon that he had just zeroed as a bullet sponge. While the Tygers were reloading, the merc unloaded the rest of his clip in their direction. He managed to hit one of them, but it wasn’t fatal.

In the meantime, the Mox had used the reprieve from being shot at to circle the scene from the other side. Rita ambushed the healthy Claw with her baseball bat, knocking his jaw out of its sockets and sending the man flying. The final goon was gunned down before he recovered from V’s shot.

 

“Nice shootin’ there, babe.” Rita wrapped her hand around V’s waist and pulled him in close before planting a heated kiss on his lips.

 

”You’re not so bad yourself.” V was more than happy to return the favor. 

 

“V! Are you okay?” Gloria rushed over to check on his brother. She immediately started checking him over - a force of habit. 

 

At first it appeared that this would be the end of it, but then another three shots rang out in quick succession. Rita rushed towards the noise first, with V following shortly after.

He stopped dead in his tracks when Rita called out the last name that V had expected to hear - David’s. 

 

Gloria, in turn, only hastened her pace. “David?! Mijo?!”

 

The merc saw his nephew stand next to Becca with a dead Tyger in an expensive-looking suit on the floor in front of them.

 

——

 

V made sure that Gloria and David departed safely inside Maine’s modified Ragnar before getting ready to leave with Rita. 

 

She straddled the bike behind him, wrapping her hands firmly around the man’s waist. V normally immensely enjoyed her riding with him, but the whole situation didn’t allow much for savoring it.

He revved the engine and pointed the bike in the same direction as the others. The only thing left was to hope that they managed to leave the scene before Tygers reinforcements arrived.

 

Unfortunately for the pair, V’s bad luck streak continued to haunt him.

 

“Fuckers ain’t lettin’ go!” Rita’s warning was punctuated by a bullet whizzing right past V’s ear. It then smashed right into the windscreen, shattering a corner into pieces and leaving a nasty crack all the way down its right side. 

 

Adding insult to injury, not only Tyger Claws put his family in harm’s way, one of them now settled V with a hefty repair bill for his favorite ride. 

Unfortunately for him, there was no way to shoot back at their pursuer while actively dodging traffic. 

Thankfully, V had an incredibly capable and equally pissed off bombshell riding with him. 

 

“Rita!” V yelled out to make sure she heard him over all the noise and gunfire. “I’ve got an idea.”

 

”Go on then,” she shouted into his ear. 

 

“Get your guns ready and hold onto them tight,” he responded. 

 

There was no need for a verbal confirmation that she did exactly what he had asked. V could feel her hands leaving his sides and Rita shuffling about as she made space for herself to pull her trusted pair of modified Lexingtons. 

Glancing backwards to check if they were in the clear first, V quickly swung his right arm around Rita’s torso and shifted her to sit in front of him, facing backwards. Doing so on the Yaiba meant quite a bit of mild acrobatics. V had to shift backwards, effectively taking the space in the saddle that Rita was occupying mere seconds ago. 

 

“Fuuuck…” The Mox exhaled with excitement. “If only we weren’t gettin’ shot at…” 

 

“Focus, Wheeler,” the merc growled. “Zero the fuckers and then we can talk ‘bout the rest.”

 

“With. Pleasure.” Rita leant to one side to get a better view and opened fire. 

 

All V could hear was the loud rattling of Rita’s guns, complemented by exactly three consecutive pained yells from her victims as she got each pursuing Tyger biker one by one. 

 

“Think that’s the lot of ‘em,” Rita declared after the last gangoon was felled. 

 

“Wanna shift back?” V asked. 

 

“You fuckin’ mad?!” She looked far more outraged with that suggestion than the entire situation of being attacked by a rival gang. “No way in hell I’m missing on a single minute of this.”

 

”A’ight, a’ight.” It wasn’t like V minded much. He was enjoying this setup himself. Very much so. 

 

Two minutes later, they pulled into Lizzy’s Bar car park, right next to Maine’s car. Between the XXL SUV and V’s bike, they took exactly two marked parking spots.

V scanned the exterior of the edgerunner ride, looking for any bullet holes or snags. Finding none, he concluded that the main group was far luckier when it came to encountering more Tyger Claws. V’s heart rate dropped a few points in an instant - he didn’t have to worry whether Gloria or David were hurt on the way here. 

 

”Hold up a sec, hotshot.” Rita pushed down on V’s shoulders when the man tried to slide from under her to get off the bike. “You ain’t getting away with getting me so hot and bothered and just leavin’ it at that.”

Without giving the man a chance to respond, she pulled him by the jacket and brought their lips together. From the intensity of it all, V could tell that she really needed that release. One of Rita’s hands quickly moved to the back of his head, grasping at the hair and pulling them together even closer. He, in turn, grabbed with both hands at her midriff, digging his fingers into her supple, if synthetic skin.

 

”Alright, alright. Not gonna keep you away from your fam much longer,” she said after a minute that most certainly felt much longer than that to the merc. “Come on.”

 

V glared at her, still delirious from the passionate exchange. It took him a few seconds to respond properly. “Yeah, right. Let’s go.”

 

It was rare for the club’s doors to be open before six in the evening, but the circumstances appeared to call for an exception.

 

”Yo,” Mia nodded at the newcomers, “everyone’s in the main hall, waiting for ya.” 

She waved her hand to hurry the couple along the corridor. “Go on, then. I’m dyin’ to hear what the whole shitshow’s about. I haven’t seen Suze this angry in a looong time.”

 

“But we didn’do nothin’!” Rita threw her hands in the air. “It was all Tygers!”

 

“She knows, she knows.” Mia gave her fellow Mox an encouraging pat on the back. “For once her ire is aimed exclusively outwards.”

 

Even though he’d been to the club before opening a hundred times, V was still jarred by the almost eerie quiet of the building when it was not jam-packed with patrons.

The loudest source of sound at that moment was Anna Nox, who was in charge of a simple cargo run turned gang shootout. This detail didn’t escape V’s attention when they first regrouped at Turbo’s. He wondered why one of the top lieutenants was running errands.

 

“-that old hag Wako sold us out, I’m telling ya, Suze!” Anna paced in a tight circle, her fists clenched so hard one could fear she’d make dents in her arm prosthetics. “That woman is as much in bed with the Claws as they are with Arasaka.”

 

‘Well, that’s just plainly not true,’ V thought to himself. He had done plenty of jobs for Wako that went directly against Tyger Claws and their interests. Perhaps the knowledge that a huge number of her sons died while serving or fighting the gang wasn’t common knowledge, after all.

He held his tongue, unwilling to pour fuel on the fire he had no business feeding. Besides, there was a much more important question to be asked.

 

”I’ve sent them downstairs to get looked at by Judy and Mateo.” Susie Q nodded to the side door before V could even say anything. 

 

The merc looked to Rita, who nodded to give her permission. “Go on, check on your fam. I guess I’ll be needed here.”

 

”Bet yo ass you’ll be needed, Wheeler,” Anna snapped at her fellow Mox. “You oughta tell ‘em that we did everything just as planned.”

 

As V passed the infuriated woman, he couldn’t help but notice a light twitch in her right arm. It lasted for only a few seconds before she put it into the pocket of her jacket. 

 

He approached the BD editing den slowly, listening in for any raised voices, looking out for Gloria’s in particular. Surprisingly, the coast appeared to be clear. V surmised that she must’ve given David an earful in the car and stepped into the room with confidence that the worst of his sister’s ire was behind them.

V walked in on a rather eclectic collection of characters. Maine, easily the most prevalent presence in the room, was leaning on one of the servers in the back while David was perched on Judy’s diving chair with the techie applying some plasters to his face. Mateo was doing the same to Becca, who appeared more inconvenienced by the attention than her injuries. There was a young woman that V had never met before sitting next to her. 

Gloria had one arm in a slingshot, but it didn’t look like it was anything more serious than a sprain. This must’ve explained why the EMT wasn’t the one applying first aid. 

 

”Here he is! Uncle of the year!” 

 

The sudden outburst aimed at him and not David had completely short-circuited V’s brain. He froze in the doorway, allowing the door to smack him on the ass as it closed. 

 

“Wha- Why me?!” The merc gasped. “The fuck you yellin’ at me for?!”

 

”A bloody cyberdeck?! Dios mio, V!” Gloria was seething. If this was her house, she’d throw something at him by that point. “He’s still in school!”

 

The right thing would be to try and diffuse the situation, but V was still flustered by the unexpectedly aggressive welcome and somewhat frazzled by the earlier firefight, so he wasn’t thinking straight.

 

”Hey, at least now he can keep up with all the chipped corporats in that bloody school of his.” 

 

Judging by his sister’s furious furrowed brow, he quickly surmised that this was, in fact, a very wrong answer. 

 

“I asked him, mom.” Despite V outright calling him out earlier, David appeared adamant to defend his uncle in this situation. “I woulda gone to some other ripper if V didn’t hook me up.”

”And besides…” He nodded at the yellow jacket that must’ve still held the much coveted Sandevistan. “Not like you’re the one to talk about chippin’ in, given you’re selling that thing.”

 

”Ahem.” Maine’s quiet interruption made everyone turn to look at him. “Since we’re on the topic of the Sandevistan, I’d much prefer to get that done and dusted so we can delta outta here.”

”Gettin’ caught in a cross-clan warfare ain’t on my to-do list.”

 

”Aw, c’mon, Maine,” Becca protested with a pout. “It won’t hurt for us to hang about for a min.”

Her raven-haired friend nodded with an equally dissatisfied expression. 

 

“You’re welcome to stay. I, for one, am already late for a meetup with Dorio. That Biotechnica job ain’t gonna plan itself, y’know?”

 

V’s ears perked up at the mention of a prospective job. He still had Dexter’s gig to sort out, but having backup plans in case that wouldn’t work out wouldn’t hurt. “What kinda job? Got space for one more on that one?”

 

”Nah. Most of it is job for one, really.” Maine pointed with his chin at the stranger sitting next to Becca. The big guy’s tone left little room for negotiation, so V dropped the issue immediately. 

 

“This conversation isn’t over.” Gloria stabbed V in the chest with the index finger of her good hand before she walked over to the towering crew leader and handed over the sealed plastic packet with the much-coveted implant.

The merc had to admit that he wouldn’t mind keeping the thing for himself, but there was no way in hell he could afford it at this time. Besides, while he was chummy with Maine on a normal day, the two had very little real rapport. Trying to screw the avid chrome junkie like that would surely land V with a one-way ticket to Night City’s Municipal Landfill.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if the addition of a notoriously hard to handle implant would prove too much for Maine. After all, the guy was already chipped to the gazoo with all sorts of tech, some of which looked outright antiquated.

 

While V was musing about things that didn’t really concern him, the exchange was concluded and the big man headed for the exit. 

 

”See you later, Glo. Let me know if ya got any other fun toys to sell. Hope next time we can finally have a lunch that doesn’t get interrupted by bullets, hm?”

 

”We’ll see about that.” Gloria was still adamant on not giving a definitive answer to the idea of meeting Maine in a social setting. This prompted another wave of speculation in V’s mind and, judging by his frown, in David’s too.

 

When they heard the second door of the basement swing shut, Judy turned to V with an expectant look. “Will at least you, V, tell me what the fuck had gone down?!”

She threw her thumb in David’s direction, which prompted the teenager to jump in his seat from shock. “Why do I keep landing with this gonk in my studio?”

 

”Thanks for your help, by the way.” V first nodded at Judy and then at Mateo. “I appreciate it.”

 

”No sweat, my man.” Mateo walked over and handed V the first aid kit. “I’m gonna go see what our main lot upstairs are ragin’ about. I’m sure you lot can sort a few bruises yourself.”

”Judy? You wanna come with?” The seasoned bartender obviously could tell when a situation could do without additional witnesses.

 

”And leave them lot unsupervised?” The techie grimaced. “No way in fuckin’ hell!”

 

”It’s fine, this isn’t the place for it anyway.” Gloria gestured to David. “Let’s go, Dee. We’re going home.”

 

”Wait a sec, mom! What about the Tyger Claws?!” David looked outright terrified. “You didn’t hear that guy! He was sure convinced I’ve zeroed his boss.”

 

”And you think that staying inside the base of their new enemy is our best bet?!” Gloria bristled. “You’ve done enough to get your ass in trouble, young man. Now you listen to me, and let’s go.”

 

”V?” The teen turned to his uncle with pleading eyes. “Tell her!”

 

V had to admit that both of them had valid points to raise. He hated to be dragged into the debate that much more for it.

 

Thankfully, Becca barged in first. “The Mox are gonna stand their ground better than wherever you two live. But I suggest we go and check out what Susie Q is plannin’ before you decide.”

She then turned to her friend. “Yeah, Sasha. ‘Course I’ll fight for ‘em. They’re my chooms too.”

They must’ve had some sort of connection running between them, because the woman that Becca referred to as Sasha didn’t respond in any way other than a frown and yet, the teal-skinned edgerunner’s reaction was as if a pointed verbal rebuttal just came her way.

”You heard the big guy, he’s gonna be busy today and I doubt the job’s happenin’ any time soon. You can go if you want.”

 

This time Sasha went as far as punching the other woman on the shoulder, eliciting a quiet ‘ouch’.

 

V, Gloria and Judy exchanged a confused glance. Only David appeared to be unphased by a bizarre one-sided exchange.

 

”Alright, party’s over.” Judy started waving her hands in front of her in an attempt to herd the unexpected guests out of her precious domain. “Go see what’s boilin’ upstairs and leave me be? Gang war or not, I still got a whole bunch of footage to sift through.”

 

”You ain’t coming?” V raised a surprised eyebrow. 

 

“I love a shot-up Tyger Claw like any other Mox,” the BD editor shrugged, “but it’s not like I won’t find out all the juicy goss from your output, anyway.”

”Besides.” She was already putting on her editing wreath. “Suze never listens to anything I’ve gotta say about these things, anyway.”

 

”Suit yourself.” V opened the door to let his family and the two edgerunners pass first.

 

Anna stormed out of the main hall mumbling expletives just as the group came back up.

 

”What’s got her panties in a twist?” Becca asked no one in particular after following the angry woman with her gaze until she disappeared behind a corner.

 

”Leave it, Rebecca.” Susie pinched the bridge of her nose.

She then proceeded to give each of the visitors a stern look-over. “Y’all got patched up as a thanks for being there for my girls, even though I’m gettin’ tired of seeing your kid around here, V.”

“Unfortunately for me, I can’t kick ya out, though.”

 

”Why’s that?” Gloria bristled.

 

“You must be Gloria,” the Mox leader nodded at V, presumably implying the familiar similarity. “Glad that you seem to be in one piece, although trouble still appears to follow ya around.”

”Rita here tells me that your kid had gone and offed none other than Haro Shobo.”

 

”I haven’t offed anyone!”

”He hadn’t offed anyone!”

 

Both David and Rebecca shouted in unison. 

 

“It was me who blasted the bastard to bits,” the short woman added. “Why does the name sound familiar, though?”

 

”He’s the younger brother of Jotaro Shobo,” Rita explained, although it seemed that even saying that name out loud was bitter to her.

 

”Oooh, fuuuck.”

 

V knew the name well. The Devil of Kabuki had a grim reputation across the whole of Night City. Known as one of the prevalent member of Tyger Claws second, he was better known for his grizzly appetites that ranged anywhere from rape to outright torture. The bastard made quite a name for himself in XBD circuits, often spoken in the same vein as Jimmy Kurosaki. 

The merc hated that he knew this much about this putrid facet of Night City’s underworld, but it was borderline impossible to avoid it as someone dating a Mox member. The gang had a contract out for the guy’s head for months, but no one yet dared to deliver on it, or simply never managed to come out alive.

 

Being accused of killing a family member of a Tyger lieutenant was bad enough, no matter whether you actually did it or not. However, you’d at least get a chance to defend yourself and if lucky or eloquent enough, would likely get away with your life. Claws were a deprived gang in many ways, but they were also obsessed with honor and tradition. 

Jotaro Shobo wouldn’t care for any of that. He’d happily skin everyone involved in that shootout just to send a message.

In hindsight, Maine should’ve stayed to find out this information, but that could be amended later. In that exact moment, V had to figure out what on earth he’d have to do to protect his family and Rita. 

 

“Well, why don’t we just kill the fucker then?” Becca said it as if it was the most obvious and simplest thing in the world.

 

”Yeah, right. We don’t even know where he is,” Susie growled. “And as much as I doubt that Wakako had fucked us over, I’m not about to test it by askin’ her for intel.”

 

The short edgerunner appeared undeterred. ”Sasha says she’ll help. We’ll get Lucy on the case, too.”

”I’m sure Maine wouldn’t want for him and his crew members to have marks over our heads.” 

 

“You’re gonna start a bloody gang war like that.” Gloria threw her hands in the air. “First you kill one of them, then they’ll off one of yours. Rinse-repeat until, this entire place is gonna get torched to the ground. Cos, no offense, I don’t see Tygers losing this one.”

“Dee and I had enough trouble as is. I just want us to get back to life as normal!”

 

“It might be a lil’ too late for that, chica,” some Mox said in the background. “Looks like your kid had already started it.”

 

”I didn’t-“ David started to protest again, but V cut him off with a raised hand.

 

”Becca might be onto something here. I doubt Jotaro would go runnin’ to his bosses to ask for help. That’ll show him as weak and that’s a death sentence.” V looked around the group to check on their reaction to his words. Surprisingly, even the ever-combative Susie was nodding in agreement.

”We post another job to Regina from a grieving parent, then Maine’s crew will pick it up and get it done. The Mox are nowhere near it, and the Tygers will see it as Shobo’s dirty hobby finally catching up to him.”

 

”That…” Susie Q pensively rubbed her chin, “might actually work.”

 

“Fuck yeah!” Becca gave him an overly-strong smack on the back that knocked all air out of V’s lungs. “Nice plan, choom.”

 

V looked at Gloria, who he expected to be his harshest critic in this situation. 

 

To his utter shock, she nodded after a long pause. “Fine, but on one condition.”

 

”What is it?” The merc had absolutely zero idea what that could possibly be.

 

”I’m coming with you. If some motherfucker is gonna try to enact a bloody revenge plot on me and my son, you betcha I’m kicking his ass myself.”

 

David’s jaw dropped. “Mom?! What the fuck?!”

“Then I’m gonna help too.”

 

”Like hell you are!” Both siblings yelled in unison. 

 

Chapter 17: A Better Outlook

Summary:

With Gloria and David out of danger for the time being, V’s bad luck streak seems to be coming to an end when a familiar face calls about a job.

When the debate over David’s alleged involvement in unbundling the mess he had inadvertently started turned into a shouting match, V made an executive decision. He dragged both of his family members into one of the empty private booths to avoid broadcasting their argument to the entirety of Lizzie’s bar staff.

 

”But mooom! I can help, be the lookout or somethin’. I can hack now.” To prove his point, the teenager glanced at the hologram of a male stripper in the center of the table and disabled it. 

 

Only then did V notice that both his sister and her offspring looked rather uncomfortable with the naked projection. He had been at the club so frequently that such sights didn’t even register.

 

”See?” David pointed at the table like it was some sort of irrefutable proof of his abilities. “And that was child’s play.”

 

Gloria, visibily relieved by the absence of digital buttcheeks in her peripheral vision, still appeared utterly unconvinced. V imagined his expression matched hers, as David pouted, no doubt disappointed by the lackluster reception to his equally lackluster show of skill.

An awkward pause hung in the air for a few seconds before a quiet knock on the door finally broke it.

 

”What is it?!” V called out, but then remembered that the rooms were meant to be sound-proof. 

He poked the button on the side of the door to open it. Becca stood on the other side, flanked by Sasha. 

“Whaddaya want, Bex?” The merc asked, his voice tinged with annoyance. “We’re having a bit of a family thing goin’ on here.”

 

”Yeah. We heard.” Teal edgerunner’s friend snickered at her deadpan response. “You do know those booths aren’t really soundproof, do ya, V? There’s maybe a lil’ padding here and there, but that’s about it.”

 

”They aren’t?!” The merc swallowed hard. 

Rita had assured him they were all the way back when they only just started seeing each other. The pair made a habit of sneaking into them for quickies during her breaks. Back then V was truly mortified of Susie Q’s wrath and went along with it only after being armed with the knowledge that they could not be overheard. It was one thing to know that they could possibly get caught by the hidden cameras, but to be overheard by anyone simply passing by? That was a bit too much even for him.

 

”Earth to V?” Becca nudged with an amused grin. “In case you’re counting back, I wouldn’t worry. You two ain’t the only horny lovebirds who use the privilege, trust me.”

”It is a smut BD parlor, after all. If you ask me, it could really use some real action from time to time.”

 

”Uh-um,” V managed with a light nod.

 

This was when Gloria finally had had enough. She pushed her sibling to the side and addressed Rebecca directly. “What did you want?”

 

”Sasha says she can train David. Show him the ropes, as they say.” She nodded towards her friend. “Don’t let her adorable looks fool ya, the girl’s a real smooth operator in the Net. But also a very careful one.”

”She’ll teach David all the right things to do and how to not get caught on his third dive.”

 

”Oooor…” Just by that one word, V could tell that Gloria hated the idea in its entirety, “he won’t get caught at all if he never dives in the first place, hm? How’s that for a safe solution?”

 

”Aw, c’mon. As if total abstinence has ever led to anything good!” Becca looked disappointed, although it was hard to tell with what exactly. “V, tell her. Choom’s already been thrown into this world. Whether you want it or not, he’ll have to adapt or get chewed out like so many other gonks before him.”

 

V hadn’t known the short edgerunner for long, so he wasn’t sure how often she was spewing out such nuggets of street wisdom. He had no clue if they were deliberate or purely accidental, but he’d be a liar if he said that he didn’t agree with this particular one.

 

”The pintsized menace’s got a point, y’know.” Rita was leaning against the corner wall of the corridor. She lazily flipped a lollipop stick from one corner of her mouth to the other. “When my folks told me not to hang out with the streetkids on my block, my first response was to hang with them even more.”

 

“Don’t take it the wrong way, both of you,” Gloria said with a sigh, “but I see a severe lack of parenting credentials. I think I know what’s best for my son, even if he himself doesn’t see it yet.”

 

V heard a loud disgruntled sigh from David in the back, but decided to ignore it for the time being. The fiery teen could only make things worse in this instance, especially if he accidentally ended up threatening Gloria with rebellion. There were very few things she hated more than threats. If that would happen, the only thing David would be hacking for the next week would be their darned washing machine, since he’d be so very grounded. 

V could swear that at times, Gloria would ground him too if she could. 

 

With a heavy sigh, V chose his side in this argument. “Glo, the girls are right. You know Dee’s not gonna just go to school every day, get home, study and repeat it all over again, day in day out, after everything that’s happened. Right?”

V looked at Sasha, thinking about her generous offer to tutor his nephew. “So instead of him runnin’ off like a gonk and getting mixed into some other shitshow without anyone there to spot him, maybe this is better.”

 

The merc turned to look his stubborn, straight-laced sister in the eye, trying to gauge what she was thinking. He could see her reluctance to accept reality, but also a glimmer of understanding. Even though she refused to admit it, the arguments, backed up by David’s epicly failed attempt at being an FIA agent from earlier in the day, were valid. 

If Gloria took a hard stance on this, it would only prove to be the first of many infractions. She knew it, V knew it. Apparently so did everyone else save for, maybe, the teenager himself.

 

“Ugh, dios mio, FINE!” Outnumbered five-to-one, Gloria finally buckled with a groan. “But as long as all of your homework is absolutely pristine. And no more messing with the school’s hardware!”

 

David looked happier than he did when V got him that MaxTac Psycho Hunter VR game for his 13th birthday.

 

——

 

There proved to be no shortage of candidates to escort Gloria and David back to their flat. Rebecca, Sasha and Rita all offered to act as the bodyguards. Even Susie Q offered to part with a muscle for a few hours, although that was likely because she wanted Wheeler to stay on the door for the club’s sake.

Ultimately, though, V vetoed all of those offers. His reasoning was rather simple - Tygers would be on the lookout for any Mox activity and Becca wasn’t exactly inconspicuous. Besides, she had to warn Maine about the potential vendetta coming his way, and it wasn’t the kind of conversation to have over holo. That left Sasha, but she could easily monitor their journey remotely, so her physical presence would be more of a hindrance. 

Even V’s involvement could be an issue, given that he was a somewhat known quantity in Kabuki and could’ve easily been recognised by one of the surviving gangoons.

The safest way, he argued, was to default to your good, old CombatCab.

 

The five of them, including Becca and Sasha, snuck out through the delivery entrance into an alleyway. V led the way to the nearest cab terminal at Sutter Street, making sure to be on the lookout for any bright jackets and vehicles.

He allowed himself to breathe out with relief only after the banged up, but reliable taxi cab carrying his closest kin disappeared behind a corner.

 

”They’ll be fine, V.” Becca gave the man a playful poke in the ribs. “It’s, like, fifteen minutes on the highway if they don’t hit traffic.”

 

”Yeah, yeah.” He knew all of that, and yet… 

Knowing that there was a homicidal psychopath out there somewhere with a beef against his family gnawed at V something awful. He’d go shoot up Jotaro’s safehouse right there and then if he could, but that would be suicide with his current loadout. Besides, he didn’t even know where to go!

 

”Sasha and I are gonna bounce. Here’s our cab comin’ too.” Becca gave the man a cheerful wave. “Take care of yourself, V.”

 

”And you too.” He returned the gesture.

 

He didn’t get long to think. The universe appeared to be in the mood to load some more stuff on V’s plate in the form of a call from the last person on his mind.

 

“Jackie?” The merc glared into the holo. He swiftly remembered that he was meaning to call the ex-Valentino over the job for Dex, but the other man had no way of knowing that. “What’s goin’ on?”

 

”Yo, V.” Jackie Welles appeared as cheerful as ever. “Gotta job that’s kinda urgent. We need a third for it.”

”Imagine my surprise when Wako goes and name drops ya as a good potential candidate, hm!”

 

Sometimes Night City felt like a very small place. What were the chances that a random choomba that V bumped into at Lizzie’s would not only end up being related to the proprietor of his regular bar, but also be working for Wakako Okada of all fixers? And on a day that could easily mark a start to another gang war, no less.

V did not share suspicions about the Lady of Westbrook estate selling them out, but the doubt of whether he should accept the job still flashed in his mind. 

Nonetheless, if the job was urgent, it would pay well. It would also prove a great opportunity to see Jackie in action and get a feel for his abilities.

The merc dared to hope that this little coincidence could spell a much awaited end to the dark strip of unfortunate events. 

 

“Sure thing, send me the co-ords.”

 

Jackie laughed heartily. “Now that’s what I call a man of action! Give us a sec. T-Bug, the netrunner with me is gonna ping you where to go.”

 

’A netrunner, huh?’ V has had one netrunner too many to deal with as of late, but he wasn’t in any position to complain. At least this promised to be more interesting than a simple smash and grab gig…

 

Moments later, a new contact request from the aforementioned T-Bug came through. After V accepted it, he instantly got a text message with an address. No introductions or pleasantries came with, just the cold hard intel.

 

At this point all V could do is shrug. He pinged Rita a text to say that he was out on a small job so she wouldn’t worry where he’d disappeared to and swiftly climbed on his bike. 

Westbrook was just across the bridge, so it wouldn’t take him long at all to get there.

 

——

 

“Fuuck…” Jackie slid down on the ground, using the wall at his back for support. ”That pendejo with the machine gun was almost the end of me.”

 

“Nice tackle though,” V, also perched on the floor, replied while watching the Trauma Team AV shrink into a tiny dot and then completely disappear from view. “Blasted through that wall like a wreckin’ ball.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at his own joke about the scene from 5 minutes ago.

 

”Ain’t half bad yourself, holmes. Cleared that first room in no time with that Sandi of yours.” Jackie pulled out a MaxDoc and emptied an entire canister with a single inhale. “Ah… That’s better.”

”Good job to you too, by the way, T-Bug,” he spoke into their shared holo call with the netrunner who guided them through the building and unlocked the doors.

 

”Yea, thanks for the tip about the blocking chip,” V joined in.

 

“If we’re done with the pleasantries, cutting wires on my end. See ya in the near future.”

 

With the gig concluded and Wako’s money sitting tightly in their accounts, it was time to broach the next subject. 

 

“Listen, Jack-“

 

”Uh oh,” the bigger guy interrupted before V could get another word in. “With that kind of start to a sentence, you makin’ me worry.”

 

V empathetically shook his head. “No, no, no. Ain’t nothing like that.”

”I was just gonna say that you seem like a dependable guy and I still owe ya for the save with Vik.” He paused to make sure there were no objections to the statement so far. Encountering none, he continued. “So I’ve got this big gig I gotta do, but I don’t think I can do it myself.”

The merc turned a little bit to see Jackie’s reaction to what he was about to say better. “Dexter DeShawn gave me a trial job to fetch something from a Maelstrom base. It could be nothin’, but it could turn into a shitshow and I definitely don’t wanna find myself without someone to watch my back.”

 

”Hol’ up, cabron.” Jackie’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Did you just say Dexter DeShawn gave you a job?!”

”The Dexter DeShawn?! Didn’t even know he was back in town!”

 

’Well, this is going much better than anticipated,’ V thought to himself.

”Yep, that’s the one.”

 

”Damn…” The ex-Valentino looked most impressed. “That’s a ticket to the Major Leagues right there, V!”

”What’s the job?” 

 

“Dex had paid for some hi-tech bot that ‘Stromers klepped from Militech a while back. Wants me to come and fetch it.”

 

”He paid in advance?! Chingada madre… That wasn’t very smart now, was it?” Jackie shook his head. “No wonder he wants someone else to take delivery.”

”Oh well!” He jumped back on his feet and slapped both sides of his legs, as if to hype himself up for the upcoming job. “We might need to shoot our way outta there, but if that’s what gets us in good graces with Dex, then I’m all for it.”

 

”Nova.” V couldn’t be happier with the response.

 

Jackie helped his newfound partner up and the pair of them headed out. V had half a mind to torch the vicious place, but was afraid to set the whole building block on fire.

 

”Hol’ up, mano.” Jackie looked like he almost forgot something. He jogged back into the flat-turned-butchery and returned a minute later with the HMG slung over his shoulder. 

“Would be a shame to leave this big boy here, dontcha think?” He replied to V’s suspicious raised eyebrow. 

 

“You got a point there.” The merc glanced at the heavy weapon. If the situation with Maelstrom would get hairy, they’d need any firepower they could get. 

 

“So where we goin’ then?” Judging by Jackie’s tone, the guy was perfectly happy to set off to their next job right there and then, despite the fact that he had at least one fairly serious wound to deal with.

 

”Well, you ain’t going anywhere but Vik’s,” V cut off curtly. “That thing’s gonna start bleedin’ again if you flex too hard, choom.”

 

”You might be right there.” Jackie chuckled as he inspected the hole in his leather jacket with far too little concern that it deserved. “You wanna come with? The old man’s been askin’ how you were doing since you visited. Think he took a likin’ to ya.”

 

V checked his balance. He now had enough scratch to get a decent pair of Gorilla Arms with some left for the rainy days and daily expenses. Answering Jackie’s call proved to be a very good idea, indeed. ”Sure, why not.” 

 

“Todo chido! Let’s delta. I’ve had enough of this place.” 

 

“You and me both, choom.”

 

——

 

“Gorilla Arms, huh?” Viktor Vektor posed a rhetorical question as he browsed through his catalog of available options. “And here I thought kids these days are all about Mantis Blades or rocket launchers.”

 

“What’s wrong with punching a gonk in the face till he drops anyway?” V asked, also rhetorically. 

He picked the slimmer version out of the list that the ripper doc sent his way and confirmed the purchase. There were better value-for-money options that could include heat elements or electric pulse dischargers, but he preferred a streamlined look and modern materials over added offensive power. Either way, there were very few instances he could think of where burning someone on top of crushing their ribcage inwards would be required to finish them off.

 

“Alright,” Vik nodded. “Let me handle Jackster over here and then we can get onto your new fists.”

 

Jackie appeared very happy to hear that he’d be looked at first. Between the Scav den and the clinic, his arm began bleeding profusely once more. His souped-up Arch bike would need a thorough clean for one of the sides that now had gruesome streaks of dark crimson smeared all over. Even the red paint struggled to conceal them.

If Mama Welles saw that Jackie was being so blaze with his wounds, she’d give him a walloping far worse than any Scav could. Ironically, she’d probably thank V for looking after her last remaining son. He still had that ‘highly liked acquaintance’ status that gave him preferential treatment, but also shielded from the scolding reserved for real or acquired family. 

Knowing Gloria, V was truly terrified by what Guadalupe Welles’ version of tough love would look like. He might need to get a few more reinforced limbs to withstand that amount of scolding.

The merc swallowed, remembering that the whole topic of him paying for David to get chipped was still not entirely addressed. 

 

“Think it’s time I added some subdermal armor, eh, Vik?” Jackie asked while the doc worked on prying every shattered piece of the bullet out of the man’s bicep. “To avoid stitches like this one.”

 

”Funny you ask,” Vik answered without looking up at his patient. He dropped two more shrapnel shards before continuing. “I’ve just got this new shipment from Zetatech. Comes as a foam injector, but apparently should work just as well as Arasaka or Militech plates. Without the grafting, too.”

 

Jackie’s eyebrow furrowed for a moment as he considered the opportunity. “I know you’re as honest as rippers come, Vik, but what’s the catch?” 

 

“Don’t blame ya,” Vik snorted. “Not even a little. Sounded too good to be true to me too when they sent the brochure.”

”From what I can tell, it will hurt like a bitch cos the polymer is gonna fuse directly with your hypodermis. Asked around and was told that it feels like getting a tattoo, except if the ink was on fire.”

 

It was rare to see Jackie Welles truly concerned for his own wellbeing. ”You gonna jab me with painkillers to the gazoo then, I hope?”

 

”Course I will.” Despite the verbal reassurance, Vik’s face betrayed the fact that he wasn’t certain that would help in the slightest. 

He confirmed as much with his next words. “Apparently the burning sensation happens after you’ve been numbed to high heaven.”

 

”Ah, what the hell!” Jackie used his good hand to slap on the hand rest. “As Hemingway writes, ‘you have to be prepared to sacrifice yourself’. This is nothing.”

 

V had no clue what the guy was talking about, but went along with it anyway.

 

”Sure.” Vik spun on his stool to face V. “You ok to wait for a little while longer?” 

 

“Yeah, yeah.” V waved the older man off. “Do what you two need to do. I’m gonna go chat to Misty in the meantime.”

 

V had only just been introduced to Misty, the proprietor of the esoterica shop and Vik’s de-facto landlord. He knew of the shop, but never cared to step in. All of that stuff, as the man described it, wasn’t his glass of tequila. Incense? Chakra? Fortune telling? Nah, V had much more tangible mantras to believe in. Those being eddies, guns and words. Each had their own negotiation potential in his world. Predictions of the future - not so much.

Nonetheless, he couldn’t help but be enamored by the infinitely chill proprietor of the esoterica shop. Beyond that, the merc was simply curious how on earth a woman like her ends up with a guy like Jackie Welles.

 

With his curiosity pulling him forward, V stepped into the musty-smelling parlor that he had passed through only fifteen minutes prior. 

 

“Hi again, Misty,” he greeted the blonde for the second time that day. “Can’t be bothered to watch your input gettin’ chipped, so thought I’ll come say hi.”

 

”Sure thing, V.” Misty was unphased by his arrival, as if they had agreed to meet up again beforehand. “Is he finally getting some more protection?”

 

”Y-yeah, he is.” At first, V was impressed with her insight and wanted to ask how she knew that Jackie would choose to be chipped with the new product on the spot. But then he realized that the two could’ve talked about the prospect of getting some armor beforehand. 

 

”I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist it once Vik told him that it doesn’t involve invasive surgery.”

”Jackie hates being cut into,” she quickly explained after seeing V’s confused expression. “Goes back to when he almost died in a shootout.”

 

”Gotcha.” The merc had no knowledge of any of those events or circumstances and felt almost dirty for finding out from someone else but the man himself. He quickly dismissed those thoughts, rationalizing it to himself with the fact that a girlfriend wouldn’t just drop such personal information on someone if her partner would disapprove. 

 

“You’ve got a lot of negative chakra whirling around you,” Misty said after studying V for a few seconds, “but it looks like it’s clearing up little by little.”

 

He didn’t know exactly what that meant, but couldn’t agree more. Events of the past few days hung like a dark cloud over V still, but there was a sunny break on the horizon. Between the lucky Outlaw find and a successful gig he’d just completed, things were promising to be on the up and up from there.

Who knew, perhaps Jackie was right - Dex could prove to be V’s ticket to the Major Leagues.

 

”Tea?” The blonde offered, pulling V out of his daydream of strolling into Afterlife like he owned the place.

 

”Sure.” The merc accepted a tiny cup that looked even smaller in his hands than in Misty’s. Thankfully there was a teapot with more of the steaming brew sitting on the table.

V glanced back at his hands. It only just occurred to him how easily he was willing to give up on his own flesh, how normalized the entire notion had become. But he needed to do it - reinforced arms meant he could carry heavier weapons, climb the underground fight scene ladder higher. 

 

Feeling rude for not saying anything despite arriving with the premise to talk, V turned to face his host properly and poised a casual question. “You been at the Coyote yet?”

 

”Not unless you count the back alley behind it, on the way to Jackie’s place.” 

 

It was very polite of her to call the garage with a back room a ‘place’. Even V had to concede to Mama Welles’ dislike of her son’s self-imposed living conditions. Not that he’d ever dare to argue with that woman. 

 

But that wasn’t what irked V in Misty’s answer. “Why not? We practically live there on certain days. I’m sure he’d love to have you come hang out when you’re not mindin’ the shop. I sure would.”

 

Rita surely took Guadalupe’s offer to stop by at any time, often swinging by even when her input wasn’t there. The two women, despite being nothing alike on the surface, turned out to be kindred fiery spirits. 

V knew there would be hell to pay to Mama Welles if he ever treated Rita poorly.

So the merc was utterly baffled when he heard that Misty didn’t seem to enjoy the same level of hospitality, despite being Jackie’s childhood friend-turned-girlfriend.

 

”It’s a long story…” Misty’s calm demeanor was broken for a second by a look of deep sadness as she looked away.

A beep of a notification from her terminal was received by the woman like a lifebuoy thrown to a drowning person. 

“Vik says he’s all done with Jackie,” she said with a regained sense of serenity about her. She topped up his teacup. “Take this with you, it’ll help you relax before the op.”

 

Perplexed and worried over the implications of their conversation, but reluctant to press the person he’d barely met any further, V thanked Misty for the tea and headed back towards the clinic. 

 

——

 

As V flexed his newly installed fists to make sure all of the neural connections were intact - as per doctor’s orders - he couldn’t help but admire the barely perceptive midnight shimmer of the carbon-titanium weave. It was already worth the extra 500 eddies over the standard black model, and that was before Rita saw them.

 

”Two puffs now and then two more every two hours until the thing runs dry.” Vik handed an immuno-blocker inhaler. The aftercare meds came as standard at his clinic, which was news to V.

 

”Two every two,” the merc repeated, “easy enough for any gonk to remember.”

 

”You’d be surprised…” Judging by the way the ex-boxer said it, he wasn’t joking.

”Avoid punching anything and anyone solid for a day or two and remember - these go up to your elbows. Shoot a Grad and it’ll still take your shoulder right outta its socket.”

 

“Gotcha.” V flexed the fist one last time to admire it before jumping off the chair.

He wired the ripper’s fee with 500 eddies on top as thanks. 

 

It was surprising to see Vik’s brow furrow when the transfer landed. “Got a bit too much there. Grab yourself a MaxDoc on the way out, then.”

 

”That wasn’t-“ The merc was about to protest, but his gut told him that it was a futile exercise. Instead, he extended his newly installed right hand towards the older man. “Thanks a ton, Vik. You’re the best.”

 

”No problem at all, kid.” Vik shook V’s hand with a grip that could rival that of cyberware, despite being entirely organic. “Good to see you walk in here on your own two feet and without any extra holes in you. Hope these fists will help keep it that way in the future.”

 

”I’m sure they will. Cya, Vik.” 

 

He made sure to close the metal grate door quietly before heading back inside the esoterica shop. 

There were no raised voices or stern looks, but for some reason V felt like he walked in on an argument unfolding.

 

”-you worry for nothing, Misty,” Jackie pleaded with his output. “My rep’s been on up and up as of late, so ‘course I’ll be gettin’ better jobs.”

His face lit up when he saw V walk in. “There’s the man of the hour! Not only did he save mi culo in that scav den, but got me into one major job for a true Night City legend!”

 

”And I never said I wasn’t happy for ya, Jack.” Misty sighed. “Just remember - avoid negative energy for a while, especially the mean reds.”

 

’Mean reds?’ That was taking things a little too far even for V’s relatively open mind. And a merc in Night City would faster score a date with Lizzy Wizzy than manage to avoid negative energy. 

 

”We’ll be just fine, mi amore!” Jackie gave his girlfriend a reassuring hug. “I’m bulletproof, remember?”

 

V couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony of that claim. After all, his newfound friend had arrived there with a nasty bullet wound. Then again, he did just get a new tricked out subdermal armor layer installed…

He decided not to rack his brain about it and instead followed Jackster to where their two bikes were parked. He received a text from Mama Welles inviting him to dinner while Vik was working, which meant that Jackie would as well. V did have an involuntary urge to ask if Misty would join them too, but quickly decided against it. Some family drama was better left untouched if one could help it.

 

After scattering a band of kids that assembled around their bikes, the two mercs were ready to go. Jackie with his giant hand cannon strapped to his back and V with his shiny new arms. 

Tomorrow, they’ll take on Maelstrom, but today was an entirely different kind of danger - getting thoroughly scolded for poor table manners.

 

Notes:

We’re slowly, but steadily starting to get into the events that will begin to have real impact on characters and their futures. But not quite yet!

Next up, David’s getting an earful from Gloria, but also his first proper Netrunning lesson.

Chapter 18: Settling Back In

Summary:

David’s got a lot on his mind as he and Gloria return home.

Notes:

We’re back after a (much longer than expected) break!

Life’s mega-busy at the moment. Work is mental, lots of stuff happing in life, etc. Finding time to sit down and write had been difficult and on top of that I had a nasty span of writer’s block for a bit.

I’m slowly but steadily getting back into the groove of things, but bear with me please.

This chapter is a little on the shorter side, but it sets us up for some very fun things for David in the next one.

On three occasions did David expect to get yelled at by his obviously pissed off mother. And all of those three times the dressing down did not come.

 

First, riding inside Maine’s sweet-as-hell customized Chevillon, he had to endure only the continuous angry glares. Gloria didn’t utter a word to her son, although she didn’t really need to. Her deep displeasure was painted all over her face. Even Rebecca’s relentless flurry of jokes at Tyger Claws’ expense did nothing to lighten the mood in the back of the SUV.

 

They almost had a family altercation at Lizzie’s when he had suggested joining them on the hunt for Jotaro Shobo. But even that was cut short by V’s timely intervention before she could even officially ground David. Despite feeling like his uncle had thrown him under the bus, the teenager was very grateful for not having to be told off in front of a whole bunch of onlookers. The strangers didn’t bother him much, but he already ran a deep tab of embarrassment with Rebecca and Sasha. He had no desire to dig that hole any deeper. When V grabbed Gloria by the elbow and dragged her towards a side corridor, David obediently followed.

 

Still adamant to prove his worth, he quickly disabled the digital smut projector. The hack itself was even easier than the vending machine from the morning. It were his eyes that posed a major problem - with only retina overlays to work with, he had to squint and strain hard. There was no universe where it was feasible to hack more than three or four times in a row without popping a bunch of blood vessels in his oculars.

 

To David’s frustration, his show of capability completely failed to impress his family members. Who knew where the conversation would go if Becca hadn’t interrupted it?

Apparently dead set on rescuing David from the mess of his own making, the short edgerunner suggested Sasha train the budding netrunner.

Despite everything, David didn’t expect to get such overwhelming support for the idea from everyone but his mother. Even Rita walked over to pitch in, scoring herself even more brownie points in the process. Keen to avoid sabotaging the negotiation, David decided to keep quiet, although he couldn’t resist a few grunts of dissatisfaction when the discussion started going south.

Ultimately, he did get what he wanted in the end - someone to show him the digital ropes of the Net without needing to sneak behind Gloria’s back. The prerequisite of schoolwork felt like a minor concession on his part in comparison to what he was set to gain.

After all, if he was trained by a real mercenary netrunner, his chances of weaselling his way into the unlikely crew on the hunt for the Tyger Claws boss were going to only increase.

If only he could score some more chrome to aid him in this quest…

 

The reluctant teenager was currently living through the third episode where he expected to be yelled at or at least reprimanded in some capacity. The interior of the CombatCab was very conducive to a private conversation, too - a thick pane of bulletproof glass separated them from the driver, and there even was a light to indicate when the intercom was in operation. How trustworthy that light actually was would be anyone’s guess.

However, this time there was a third party’s interference in Gloria’s ability to tell off her son. The cab driver proved to be rather chatty.

 

"Going to H4, huh?" The man asked with a strong Haitian accent. "My sista an' her boyfriend live dere. Dere’s a place dat do a real good sos pwa in de market."

"You know it?"

 

“Uh, not really,” David answered after a small pause. His auto-translator implant failed to explain the dish mentioned, so he couldn’t really know even if he had seen the mentioned stall.

 

The teen leant forward, scrutinizing the driver in more detail. He noticed a heavily faded tattoo consisting of what looked like paint-drawn skulls around a wide cross on the man’s neck. Even in its rather degraded state, its meaning was clear. The guy was somehow affiliated with the Voodoo Boys.

A muted response didn’t discourage the cabbie in the slightest.

 

"Claws really losin' any shame, dey are,” he said with a frown as the car drove past some Arasaka-aligned gangers. “Hangin' out in places dat ain't theirs. Not gonna spell any good for dem, I tell ya."

 

At the sight of the gang that was likely looking out for him, David and Gloria shared a worried glance. However, these were just common foot soldiers who didn’t even pay attention to the traffic. The traffic light turned green and they were rushed away without scoring as much as glance in their general direction.

When they were just over a mile away from their tower, the monstrous building already in sight, a Trauma Team AV rushed closely overhead, kicking up clouds of dust in the process.

 

Naturally, the man behind the wheel had a comment to voice on that as well. "Looks like some otha loaded corpo wandered where he shouldn’t. Shame he got whacked, I woulda appreciated de extra fee for gettin' dem outta here quick."

 

”Hope they’re okay.” The words escaped David’s lips without him even realizing.

The sight of the TT airship instantly reminded him of the shootout under the overpass. If V or Gloria had a good coverage with the battle medics team, at least half of the trouble they’d been through wouldn’t even come to pass.

 

“Dunno, boss…” The cab driver leant forward to get a better look at the AV that was now hovering over a roof of a nearby building. “Dat’s a Scav’s buildin’. Few’d come outta dere still livin’.”

 

David was about to respond, but Gloria’s soft hand placed on his shoulder, followed by a small shake of the head interrupted him. He leant back into his seat without another word.

This was also when he noticed from her lit-up eyes that she was on the call. The suspicious silence suddenly made much more sense.

 

”Ya two seem quiet. Had a long night or summin’?” When no response came, the man simply pulled up into a drop-off bay at the foot of the H4 and clicked a switch to unlock the doors. “You tek care den. Loa watch ova you.”

 

“Thanks, man.” David raised a hand in an awkward goodbye before turning on his heels and following Gloria up the stairs into the services level of the

 

“Had to make a few calls,” Gloria spoke suddenly as they passed the food stalls.

 

She sighed. Despite David not expecting any explanation at all to follow, she continued. “Good news is that your school bought the lie that I got worse and that you needed to take care of me. They sent some work for you so that you can catchup.”

 

His lips involuntarily curled in a sour grimace at the prospect of schoolwork.

‘What could possibly be worse?’ He thought for a moment, but quickly checked himself after remembering only a few things that had happened in the past few days. “And the bad news?”

 

”The bad…” Gloria sighed once more, heavier this time. “I’ve no longer got my EMT job.”

Another sigh, heavier still.

 

”Mom…” He grabbed her hand and held it in both of his, forcing both of them to stop in the middle of the walkway. “I’m so sorry…”

 

”Not your fault, mijo.” Despite everything, Gloria still managed a soft smile that was reserved just for David. “I’ll find something else, dontcha worry.”

 

A degree of sterness returned to her face in an instant. “If you wanna help, do your homework and don’t get into any more trouble. Okay?”

 

David let out his own sigh at his mother’s relentless stubbornness, but nodded in agreement nonetheless. “I will, I will. I promise.”

 

As they continued walking, ultimately arriving in front of the pair of elevators, he pulled up his message inbox. Sure enough, there was already a stack of unread messages stuffed with a dozen homework assignments for him to complete.

Annoyed at first, David reconsidered his stance almost instantly, for the topic of the largest batch of homework intrigued him greatly. Turned out that the topic of his Corporate History class was on Dogtown that week. This meant plenty of material on the latest Corporate War as well as some juicy data on Militech and other rival to Arasaka corpos.

While the Japanese-headquartered company served highly sanitized info about its own shady exploits to its students, ‘Saka didn’t shy away from spilling the beans on its competitors. It was corporate propaganda at its finest, but David didn’t mind it as long as the juicy details kept coming. He routinely dug around the net even before having a cyberdeck installed to explore the urban legends of Night City.

Now that he could get into areas of the Net previously barred to him, the opportunities felt endless. Who could tell what long-forgotten secrets lay buried in the far corners of corpo subnets…

 

”Whatever you’ve got planned, drop it.” Gloria’s voice startled David out of his daydream. “I know that look. Whatever your plan is, it ain’t gonna end well.’

 

”I was just excited about the essay assignment!” David protested. Technically, it was not even a lie. “I promised I’d behave, didn’t I?”

He truly meant it. The idea was to take things slow and not attract any attention.

 

”A’ight, a’ight.” She gave him a pair of strong pats on the back. “Forgive your overbearing mama for worrying about ya too much, will ya?”

 

”Course,” he smiled, keen to be as unproblematic as possible, for as long as possible.

By that point they reached the door of their flat to find a big fat holographic cross glowing in front of it. In small letters above it was a notice informing them that the flat was locked for non-payment of rent.

 

”Mierda!” Gloria spat. She immediately began looking for something around them to help her pry the door open.

 

”Wait a sec, mom.” David already had the scan overlay pulled up. “Think I can sort this one out.”

The building’s management were a bunch of gonks. Security protocol on the lock that was meant to keep them out of the flat was exactly the same as the one used for the vending machines downstairs. David didn’t even need to hack anything. He simply used an already saved password and the door slid open like nothing was wrong at all. There wasn’t much to be done about the holo projection, but that was probably for the best - the landlord could still think they were locked out.

 

”Can’t believe that I’m saying this but…” Gloria rubbed the bridge of her nose. “This new skill of yours is proving handier than I expected.”

 

Despite it being only a couple hours, David felt like he hadn’t been back to their place in days. It felt different somehow. It was probably just the exhaustion and the residual shell shock from being in the middle of a firefight.

A nagging silence fell between the son and his mother. Gloria fiddled with the zipper of her EMT jacket that she looked attached to despite the fact that her work had tossed her out.

 

“Listen, mom…” He started, but then suddenly failed to find the right words, despite the fact that the thought was fully formed in his head. “You sure you’re not gonna have a go at me? I’ve been waitin’ on that the whole day and my nerves are all strung up by now.”

”If you need to tell me what a gonk I was, better get it outta the way.”

 

He prepared himself for a range of different reactions ranging from dismissal to anger, but no mental scenario rehearsal could prepare for what actually happened. Gloria simply stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, as if he had just admitted to being a werewolf or something.

 

”Dee, I-“ She choked. Only then did David notice that the corners of her eyes were gathering tears.

 

“Mom, no… I didn’t mean to-“ He was interrupted by being yanked towards her and locked into a deep hug.

 

”You’ve been through more than enough, mijo.” Gloria rocked him gently from side to side, almost like he was an actual baby. “I’ve been a terrible mother lately, putting you into so much danger and leaving you to fend off for yourself…”

 

”Not at all!” David reluctantly pushed himself out of her embrace. This was required so that she could see how serious he was about his next words. “You did nothin’ wrong at all. It wasn’t you picking a fight with the Animals! You didn’t drag me outta the flat to come to the meet with you. That was all my idea.”

 

”And besides, I wasn’t alone. V’d really pulled through for me while you were out.”

 

“Oh, David!” She embraced him once again. “Forgive me for forgetting that you’re all grown up already.”

 

”We’ll be alright, mom,” he mumbled into the side of her jacket.

 

She eventually let go, allowing him to initiate a separation without pushing himself away.

 

“Right, you must be hungry.” Gloria sniffled as she wiped her tears off with her sleeve. “You want some burritos for dinner?”

 

”Hell yeah!”

 

——

 

After helping Gloria clean up after their dinner, it was time to get the assignments out of the way. David pulled out his antiquated BD wreath and jumped onto the couch.

 

”Gonna do homework!” He announced in order to erase any doubt that he was actually doing what he promised.

 

”Wonderful!” Gloria leant out from the utility room. “I’ll be making calls to see if I can land another gig by tomorrow. Will do my best not to disturb you, mijo.”

 

They exchanged a smile. It was already feeling like everything had gone back to normal. Just another school night.

But a rapid stream of status notifications from the cyberdeck swiftly reminded him that things were far from normal. He was a fledgling netrunner with a gang boss after him for a blood debt.

All of that would have to wait, however. For now, there were fifteen chapters of “Unification War And Its Impact On Night City” to get through.

 

The graphics loaded after a considerable length of time spent on a dull loading screen. As soon as he jumped into the VR experience, David was quickly reminded just how old his kit was. After sampling Judy’s gear, his own felt utterly inadequate.

Besides the slow loading times, there was the graphics degradation, glitches in immersive sound processing and about a dozen of other, less important but still irritating glitches. Arasaka Academy’s virtus were geared towards the latest tech, which didn’t help matters either. It was as if the corpo school never expected someone of limited means to experience them.

An upgraded BD wreath swiftly made its way onto David’s ever-growing shopping list.

 

He quickly skipped past all the basic rubbish about the current status quo in Night City. Arasaka never missed an opportunity to remind everyone that they were the dominant force in the free city, and this time was no exception.

The first heading that truly captured David’s attention was the “Turbulent Development of Pacifica”. Pacifica of 2077 was a lawless playground for gangs and anybody else who would be keen to escape the oversight of the law and corporations. Half-finished skeletons of skyscrapers were a vivid reminder of ambition failed and dreams unrealised.

David gritted his teeth at the database entry on gangs of Pacifica. Animals called the place their home, although they were far from the dominant force. Voodoo Boys held dominion over the majority of the area, although they were not even close to the biggest power out there.

Barghest. Kurt Hansen’s outfit formed from a renegade Militech force that refused to withdraw from a patch of Night City that they fought tooth and nail to secure in the first place. You didn’t need to study at Arasaka Academy or read any intel to know of the city within the city that was Dogtown.

Naturally, David knew only what he could overhear or dig up online on forums. None of that information could ever be taken to heart, but the overarching theme was clear - there were forces in Night City that even megacorps had to tread around carefully.

David was about to take a short break to rest his eyes and brain from the constant onslaught of information when a notification popped at the top right corner of his field of vision.

 

’New message?’ He read to himself.

Before he could even open the window, a figure appeared inside his simulated view of Pacifica’s seaside.

The figure started as a blurry bundle of gray pixels, but soon turned into an image of someone rather familiar.

 

”Hey David!” Sasha’s words were accompanied by her trademark joyful smile and a little wave of a hand.

“Hope you don’t mind me interrupting you in-“ She looked around, rather perplexed. “Pacifica tour?”

 

”Schoolwork,” the teen shrugged. “Saka wants to really rub it in how Militech fucked it up for everyone in Night City after starting the Unification War.”

”But wait!” He gasped. “I can hear you? How?!”

 

Sasha’s digital avatar covered her mouth to giggle before answering. “Voice modulator, silly.”

 

“So…” His curiosity finally won over the sense of awkwardness. “Are you mute or somethin’?”

 

The raven-haired netrunner shook her head ‘no’. “It’s a long story. I’d rather not go into it, please.”

 

”C-‘course!” David immediately began shaking his head, regret for asking in the first place firmly settling in inside his gut. “I’m sorry, not my biz to pry into anyways.”

 

”You’re nova, don’t sweat it.” She smiled at him before turning to take a look at the visualization around them. “They say that Pacifica holds countless buried corpo secrets, those that were abandoned even before the last war.”

 

”Really?!” David’s reaction was driven primarily by the surprise of finding anyone else who was interested in uncovering which urban legends of Night City weren’t legends at all.

 

“Project Cynosure, ever heard of that?”

 

David frantically searched his memory for any sparks of recognition, but came out blank. “N-no, doesn’t ring a bell.”

 

“Maybe we chat about that some other time.” She turned back to him. “You want to explore something a lil’ closer to home?”

 

“Like what?” David raised an eyebrow.

 

“Come down to the parking lot and see.” Sasha waved goodbye. “Give me a ring when you’re down there.”

 

”What the hell was she on about?” David asked out loud as he pulled the headset off.

 

”You said something?!” Gloria shouted from the bathroom. Judging by the sound of streaming water, she was showering.

 

“No! Nothing mom!” David got to his feet swiftly and grabbed the first outwear item in reach - the EMT jacket. “I’ll go for a quick walk! Take a break before crunching the last of the homework.”

 

Gloria shouted something that sounded like an agreement, but David was already halfway out of the door to hear it in full detail.

Notes:

Next up: Sasha’s mysterious assignment tests David’s mettle.

Chapter 19: Chippin’ In

Summary:

Sasha guides David through the underbelly of his own Megabuilding, to surprising results.

Notes:

Hello there! Yes, I’m alive and this story isn’t abandoned. Life had been…. taxing to say the least, so writing had to take the backseat.

Sasha called David directly almost as soon as he walked out of the apartment.

 

”Hey again.” She spoke in an identical modulated voice as before. “You wanna head to the lowest car park level.”

 

”Alright.” David mentally remapped his route and headed right, down the corridor that led to the secondary elevator lobby which could get you directly down to the car park.

 

The only reason he’d take that particular route would be when Gloria dropped him off at school on her way to her job. Given she often started either in the early hours of the morning or late hours of night, that was an infrequent occurrence.

 

”Why don’t you tell me where you- Damn!” His leg caught onto something on the floor, although there wasn’t anything to stumble over down there a moment ago.

 

”You okay?” Sasha asked with a worried voice.

 

“Yeah, yeah. It’s just-“ David had no idea what to even say as he looked down at a hissing ball of black fur.

 

He managed to trip on some sort of pitch-black animal. Judging from the pointed ears, vertically slit eyes and a small snout, it must’ve been a cat.

Speechless, the teen just stared at the pissed off animal until she got bored of scolding him and went on her merry way.

 

“I just saw a cat,” he whispered into the holo.

 

“No way!” The netrunner’s tone quickly switched to that of utter excitement. “What color was it?! Boy or girl?! Did you pet it?!”

 

”Think it was a she although I ain’t an expert.” David leant around the corner where the feline had disappeared to, but couldn’t see the animal anywhere. “She looked pissed so I didn’t try anythin’. She’s gone now.”

 

”I wonder where she lives… You should leave her some food out when you’re back, in case she’s hungry.”

 

”Think cats like human food?” David rummaged in his memory, trying to dig up any information on the few animals still safe from complete extinction in Night City.

 

”You tell me, mister Arasaka Academy, sir.” It was easy to tell that she was pulling his leg.

 

”Anyway!” Sasha exclaimed after a momentary silence. “Let’s press on, that secret stash won’t find itself.”

 

”What secret stash?!” Shock of meeting a stray animal made David almost forget he went out for a specific purpose.

 

“Aintcha impatient?” The netrunner quipped with an audible smirk.

 

David couldn’t really argue with that. Patience wasn’t his strong suit. “Guilty as charged.”

 

He reached the elevator in record time, but then had to wait for a good three minutes for it to actually arrive.

 

“Those are slow, aren’t they?” Sasha commented in a bored tone.

 

David rolled his eyes. ”Tell me about it…”

 

“We’ll have to fix that then.”

 

“And how do you mean to do that?” The promise of faster elevators was almost more fantastical than that of some secret treasure hidden in the belly of the

 

”You’ll see,” was all he got in response.

 

When the rattling TV-lined cage finally arrived, David jumped in and instinctively reached out for the control panel to punch in the ‘Atrium’ destination. He quickly stopped himself, realizing that he had no idea where he should be going.

 

Thankfully, Sasha had an answer for him. “Try going to the maintenance level.”

 

David obediently scrolled up on the digital display until he found a button titled ‘Maintenance’. He pressed on the plastic, but only got a red error message.

 

“Says ‘Personnel Only’ when I press it,” he dutifully reported back.

 

“Thought it might. Not a problem.” Her cheerful tone instilled confidence in the teenager.

“See a small metal plate above the screen? Try prying it open.”

 

David did just that. He was expecting some sort of security in form of a lock or screws. But the little scratched-up piece of steel peeled off so easily, he almost ended up dropping it.

Behind it was a miniature fuse box and a simplistic port.

 

“See a port in there?” The netrunner asked. “Jack in.”

 

David had half a mind to question the safety of connecting to a random, poorly protected and easily accessible port. However, his trust into his newfound mentor had won, and he did as he was told.

As the input pin of his personal link slid into the output cavity of the port, he braced to be immediately spiked by some planted virus.

Instead, all he got was a small window projected directly onto his corneas.

 

[ Maintenance mode initiated. ]

 

Elevator’s door closed, cutting off access for any incidental passers by.

 

[ Please enter mantainenance code. ]

 

“You got it?”

 

”Mhm.” David nodded, swallowing hard in anticipation of what would come next.

 

”Ready for your first Breach Protocol attempt?”

 

”It’s actually-“ He was about to tell her how he managed to hack into a vending machine before, as well as remind about him taking over the cameras back at Turbo’s, but decided against it mid-sentence. “Ready.”

 

If Sasha picked up on the odd reply, she chose to ignore it. ”Pull up a Breach Protocol from your cyberdeck and see what happens. It’ll be like a riddle.”

 

David did just that and soon was presented with a now familiar alpha-numerical grid. This one appeared more complex than the ones he had encountered before, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.

 

He decided to tell Sasha as much. “I see it. Shouldn’t be a problem to crack.”

Without waiting for a response, he mapped out the most optimal routes and quickly executed a series of commands to unlock the security.

Unfortunately for David, just as the upload completed and he got ready to see what his elevator’s maintenance interface looked like, he got yet another grid pop up in his vision.

“Uhh, what?!” His surprised words popped out on their own.

 

“You thought it’s just a one-and-done deal?” Sasha laughed. “You should be grateful the gonks that run your building invested just a lil’ bit into the security.”

”You’ll have to do it again until you get through.”

 

”How many times?!” While she was talking, David managed to solve the second riddle. The only thing that waited for him on the other end was yet another grid.

 

“Donno. Five, maybe six?”

 

“Great.” David clenched his fists and got to work.

 

He started on the next riddle with some confidence, convinced that they were just trivial blockers at this point. Perhaps through this self-assurance, or from sheer clumsiness, he ended up picking the wrong tile. The successful sequence collapsed in an instant, sending him back to square one.

That was when David noticed a slowly decreasing timer bar towards the top of the panel, as well as the highly limited buffer slots of his cyberdeck. There was too little of both of them left to complete the chain again.

”Fuck, I messed up!” He started to panic. “What’s gonna happen now?!”

Images of Megabuilding security surrounding the elevator door at the bottom of the building instantly invaded his mind. David didn’t even believe they had security in the building, but that didn’t help push back against the elevating panic in the slightest.

 

”Relax, choom.” Sasha sounded most amused. “You can just try again.”

 

”Really?!”

 

“Yeah. Just don’t fuck up too many times - there is likely a lockout mechanism out there.”

 

”Alright.” David swallowed hard.

“Alright.” The second time he said it out loud, more to steel himself than anything else.

“Here we go.”

 

Ten minutes and twelve frustrating layers of security later, he got the elevator moving down to the maintenance level that lied just beneath the services promenade.

 

”Ok, we’re finally moving. Now what? What if they got guards, turrets over there?” David asked with a notable strain in his voice. Aside from the usual descending hum, he could hear the nervous tapping of his own foot.

 

Sasha let out an amused giggle. “You really think they’d bother spending money on guards for a place nobody goes to unless something’s really broken? Oh, David. You give people too much credit.”

“The worst you’re gonna get are some security cams, but we’ll deal with those.”

 

David shifted uncomfortably as the floor numbers blurred on the screen. After that failed hacking attempt, his confidence was far from its peak. “And if I can’t get past their security?”

 

“I’ll guide you through it,” came a warmly reassuring response. “You ain’t on your own here, David.”

 

There was something comforting in her nonchalance, even if it felt a little patronizing. David tried to focus on the task ahead.

The maintenance level would be no man’s land. A place only visited when things were truly going sideways. If Sasha was to be believed, he was unlikely he’d run into anyone, but still... What if he did?

The elevator stopped with an unusual jolt, not usually occurring when it arrived at publically-accessible levels. David ended up staring into a closed door for a few seconds before it finally hit him that a different side had opened instead.

Only after scanning the dimly-lit corridor three times did he step out of the cab. Pipes lined the walls, dripping with condensation. The stuffy air smelled of damp and rust with a subtle undertone of burnt plastic. A faint hum of electricity emanated from large yellow lamps that must’ve been older than Gloria, let alone David.

 

“I don’t know what I imagined it would look like, but this is worse,” David muttered, stepping deeper into the concrete catacomb.

Alarmed by a too long for comfort silence on the holo, he promptly called out to his guide. “Sasha, you there?”

 

“Yeah, yeah.” She replied a few tense seconds later. “Was just scouting ahead.”

”There really ain’t much to worry about, but have your scanner at the ready.”

 

David surveyed the hallway. It was mostly silent, save for the occasional hissing of steam from the overhead pipes. His subpar optics did nothing to improve the poor visibility. It took him a few seconds, but he finally spotted the first of the cameras - a small black dome tucked into a corner on the far end of the corridor, its lens slowly panning back and forth.

”Found one.”

 

”Good. Time to practice those hacking skills again, but this time at a distance. I’m sending you a lil’ gift that’ll help with that.”

 

David didn’t even hesitate to accept an initiated file transfer. A file named ‘Ping’ with an unfamiliar extension landed in his inbox after a short delay.

He quickly began the installation, dismissing the system warning to avoid software from unknown sources.

 

Sasha waited patiently before following up. “You got it?”

 

”Yepp. Ready to go, but… What is it?” There was no tooltip or description on the quickhack, so David really had nothing to go on.

 

“How about you try it out on that camera?”

 

”Alright then…” David did just that.

After the initial upload timer expired, his vision was suddenly assaulted with a whole network of nodes and connections. The security cam in front was the beginning of a chain that jumped well ahead into next rooms. Aside from the nodes stuck to the ceiling, there were a few placed lower.

 

“Woah!” The teenager couldn’t help but gasp at the sight only he could see. “I can tell where every single one of them is. This is gonna be a cakewalk.”

 

”Told you it won’t be hard. You’ve got access to the whole network now, so hackin’ into one will be like hackin’ into all of them.”

 

”What you’ll want to do is to loop the footage on each one of them so that it’ll look like they’re still functional, but you’ll pass like a ghost.”

 

”Nova!” Even without being told, David was already pulling up the familiar hacking panel.

”Here goes nothing.”

 

——

 

“Ummm… Sasha?” David called out to the netrunner. “We might have a problem here.”

 

”And what could that be?” She appeared utterly undeterred by the alarming sentence.

 

”The vent that I’m meant to climb through.” David scanned for the fourth time, just to be sure. “It’s… completely manual. Just a metal lock, nothing else.”

 

“Oh.” The revelation appeared to genuinely perplex the chirpy merc, but not for long.

After less than 30 seconds, she replied with a suggestion. “How about this?”

Another file transfer was initiated and accepted. This time it was named ‘Lock Picking For Dummies - A Crash Course’.

 

“What’s this?” David stared at the file name with an unconvinced expression.

 

“What do you think it is? A training course, duh!”

”Be quick and get on it.”

”Alright, alright,” he conceded. “I’m doin’ it.”

 

As soon as he opened the file, an overwhelming stream of information flooded every spare instance of David’s mental capacity. His brain got bombarded with a repetitive flow of instructions about how to pick locks, brute force locks, find weaknesses in locks, forge keys for locks… For a good minute, all he was allowed to think about were locks. Locks, locks, locks.

 

“Aaagh!” He screamed out loud after the near-torturous barrage of info finally stopped. “The fuck was that about..?”

 

”David, you okay?” Sasha ventured carefully.

 

”Y-yeah, all good.” He did his best to put up a confident front all the while still reeling from the experience.

And yet, despite the deeply disturbing process, David felt like he could pick just about any analogue lock he encountered.

That feeling got crushed rather quickly after he tried to pick the one lock that mattered. Yes, he had the knowledge, but his body was completely devoid of any muscle memory to actually perform the actions. It was akin to stuffing a ragdoll with every martial art known to man - the knowledge was there, but physical ability was very much absent.

 

”Fuck this!” After what must’ve been his fifteenth pathetic attempt to use the bent wires he had found nearby, David threw the useless tools aside and kicked the seemingly impregnable grate.

“I can’t get into this fuckin’ thing!” He told patiently waiting Sasha over the holo.

 

“Don’t give up, David,” she encouraged. “See if there’s a crowbar or something nearby.”

“As Maine says, if all else fails, brute force is what’s left.”

 

”Well, I ain’t built like a fuckin’ mountain,” Daivd muttered to himself as he rose to his feet and began to reluctantly scan the area.

By some miracle, the toolbox that he had eventually located tucked behind one of the giant fans had exactly what he needed - a pair of heavy duty bolt cutters.

 

‘Should’ve started with that in the first place,’ David thought to himself as he knelt by the infuriating lock once again and placed the open blades of the bolt cutters on either side of its shackle.

It took a few attempts and a good deal of straining before the metal finally gave in and the padlock dropped to the floor.

 

”Fuck yeah!” David proclaimed into the holo, his fist pumping high in real life. ”I’m in.”

 

“Well done!” She sounded genuinely pleased. “Good luck. It’ll be tight in there, but nothing you can’t handle. Just follow the path until you hit the main room.”

 

David slipped into the vent, pulling the cover closed behind him. The narrow space forced him to crawl on his elbows, his body brushing against the cool metal walls. The confined space invoked a brand new kind of uncomfortable feeling in his chest, but he focused on Sasha’s voice in his ear.

 

“Don’t rush. You’ll be on the other side in no time.”

 

The sound of David’s own breathing echoed within the small space as he shuffled forward, metal creaking under him. He pushed any worries about the sturdiness of the aging structure out of his mind. There was plenty to worry about already.

He continued crawling through the vent until he finally reached the end. Luckily for him, this end was not locked in any way. Pushing the vent cover aside, he dropped down into a dimly lit room that was almost indistinguishable from the maintenance corridor he had departed not long ago. The air felt much stuffier, but cleaner, and that was about it in terms of differences.

 

“Okay, I’m in,” he promptly reported.

 

“Good. Now, for the final trick—there should be a door to the secret lab nearby. It’s locked, but nothing we can’t crack.”

 

”I’ll help you if you start strugging.”

 

David approached the heavy steel door, his heart racing. It was time for the real test. “Let’s do this.”

 

——

 

The room on the other side of the door was nothling like David expected to find this deep under his trash-filled, poorly maintained Megabuilding.

He expected dust, decay - something to reflect how long the place had been sealed off - but was instead greeted by an almost sterile cleanliness that was so very out of place. By all means, this could easily be the cleanest place in the entirety of the H4.

The air was still, as if nothing had disturbed it in years, and the harsh white lighting overhead flickered intermittently, casting long shadows along the pristine floor.

The only detail that betrayed the fact that the place was long abandoned was the occasional piece of tech embedded along the walls and ceilings. There were too many manual switches and keypads around for it to be anything from the 70s. David’s wild guess placed the place to be at least fifty years old, if not more.

The lab stretched out before him, a maze of sealed rooms, each with observation windows framed in brushed steel.

His curiosity inevitably led David to step next to the closest window and try to sneak a peek. However, same as every other one in this corridor, it was completely fogged up. The glass was coated with some film or condensation from the other side that made it impossible to see anything.

Whatever experiments had taken place here, there was no way to tell from here.

 

“David?” Sasha’s voice pulled the teen out of his mesmerized stupor. “I can’t see anything from my side here, so you’ll have to talk me through it.”

 

“Ah, right,” he replied. “It looks like a lab, but I can’t tell what they’ve been working on here. All windows are blurry.”

 

”Don’t you worry about that.” There was a new tone in her voice that wasn’t present before. Urgency. “Keep walking forward, you should hit an office eventually.”

 

David did as he was told and slowly delved deeper into the mysterious complex. On his way he happened to notice a large Biotechnica logo printed above what appeared to be a reception and waiting area.

’What the hell would Biotechnica be doing, hiding under a megabuilding?!’

 

Pushing his worries aside, David pressed on.

Eventually, he did reach the room that appeared to be what Sasha had described. The room had two rows of approximately twelve desks, each equipped with a bulky-looking personal terminal. Stacks and stacks of paper covered the majority of the remaining flat space on the tables.

Everything appeared so neat and tidy, it was as if the inhabitants had vanished in an instant, not given a chance to collect any of their belongings.

 

”Find the biggest looking desk, with the most advanced looking computer,” Sasha instructed. “That would be the director’s spot.”

 

David didn’t even need to look long to spot what she was talking about. In the corner of the room, separated by a small partition, was a workstation that was far larger and better equipped than any other.

 

“Found it,” he promptly reported. “What do I do now?”

 

“Upload this through your personal link. Doubt these terminals have a wireless connection.” Another file transfer was initiated and accepted.

 

Already used to being told to jack into unknown devices, David simply pulled on the cord of his personal link and connected with the terminal. After doing so, he opened up the new file and followed the instructions provided to upload it into the computer.

Just as the upload completed, the screen came to life. Login screen flashed for a second, with the password entering itself automatically. The computer continued to execute unknown commands, as if guided by some unseen force from beyond.

David quickly surmised that he had just helped Sasha infiltrate a corpo compound and upload some sort of daemon.

 

“David?” Her voice called over the holo. “Can you tell me what’s happening?”

 

“Not entirely sure, but…” He took a second to scan the screen. “I got a buncha files showing up. What should I do with ‘em?”

“Could you please download all of them and transfer my way?”

 

“Sure.” He did exactly that. The database was rather hefty, so it took about a minute to beam itself up to Sasha.

“Now what? What were those files anyway?”

 

“Can’t tell you, sorry.” Her tone left little room for ambiguity. She wasn’t going to tell, even if he pressed for it. “But that’s my reward of this little expedition. Now let’s get to yours.”

”If you use that same terminal, you should be able to unlock a storage room. It’s just next door.”

 

David leant forward and peered into the ancient-looking interface. It took him a short while to figure out a way to navigate around the menu. It turned out that a small matte plate was touch-sensitive and allowed him to guide an arrow-looking pointer around the screen and click on different items. He eventually located the security control and clicked for the storage room to be unlocked.

A faint click could be heard on David’s right. He followed it.

Soon enough, he entered what appeared to be a hybrid between a school locker room and a lab.

Unlike the office, this place appeared like someone tried and failed to raid it for its contents. Rows of metallic containers filled the room, many of them large, blocky, and reinforced, but all looked damaged—cracked open or deformed as if something had caused them to malfunction. The faint smell of burnt electronics and evaporated coolant lingered in the air.

David approached the only container that still had a status light on, dimly flickering green. The front panel was dented, but it still seemed intact. He bent down, peering through a small observation port, and there, nestled inside, was a metal canister. The label on its side, though worn, was unmistakable.

‘Kiroshi’

 

“Found something,” David said, his voice barely a whisper. His heart raced.

 

“What is it?” Sasha asked, the excitement in her voice clear.

 

“A canister… labeled Kiroshi. Looks intact.” He instinctively slide his fingers around the locker, trying to find any sort of lock or button to open it. He located none.

 

”Well, looks like we’ve found your reward alright.”

 

“Gotta open this thing first…” David turned around, scanning the area for anything that could help him.

 

Next to one of the thoroughly scavenged containers lay a sturdy looking crowbar.

‘Bingo!’ David’s face lit up.

He swiftly grabbed the crude tool and lodged the narrow end in the gap of his desired locker.

It took quite a few heaves and a whole load of effort, but the door finally gave in with a painful-sounding screech. The resulting opening was just big enough for David to reach in and pull out the shiny canister.

You didn’t need to know much about cyberware to be able to tell that those were Kiroshi optics - the best in their class by a long mile, even in their most basic variants.

 

”Alright, I got the goods. Now, how the hell do I get outta here?”

 

“Don’t worry, you won’t have to go back the way you came. Sending you the blueprints - there should be an evacuation shaft leading right to the street level somewhere south.”

 

——

 

David couldn’t sleep. The sealed metal canister stashed inside the air vent called out to him like some sort of charmed artifact.

He kept wondering if the hiding place was good enough for such a treasured item. What if that cat prowled the building’s airways and took a liking to the shiny object?!

 

”Get your shit together, man,” David chastised himself with a barely perceptive whisper after slapping his own cheeks with both open palms.

 

Gloria was sleeping on the couch, as usual, so it wasn’t like he had any chance to retrieve his prized loot in any scenario.

Sleep had truly abandoned the young teen by that point. Choosing to make better use of his time than stressing out and drilling holes into the ceiling with his - for the time being - still organic eyes, David rolled to one side and reached for his BD wreath.

The image of a high-tech room hidden deep in the underbelly of the filthy Megabuilding was laser-etched on his retinas. If such a small and seemingly insignificant facility housed treasures…

It was hard to imagine what kind of secrets lurked underneath Dogtown.

’Project Cynosure’. Quick etymological search revealed the meaning of the strange word - center of attention.

With a name like that, it must’ve been something big. And when it came to corporations, ‘big’ often meant ‘terrifying’ or ‘outright evil’. It was most likely some kind of weapon, or at least something that could be repurposed into a weapon. Corpos rarely bothered with new tech that they couldn’t turn against their enemies in one way or another. Even David, with his selectively taught knowledge of history, could gather as much.

As expected, searching for the keywords directly brought no results at all. There was a company somewhere on the East Coast with the same name, but they were running PR for aspiring pop stars. Unless one considered the state of modern music an assault on senses, there were no weapons to be found there.

Undeterred by the initial setback, David broadened his search. That yielded promising results almost instantly, or at least it seemed like it until David actually started to dig into what he had found. The website he clicked in was chock-ful of ramblings in heavily modulated voices. They ranted about secret facilities, sure, but they also went on about Lizardmen controlling the government, Tech-Necromancers from Alpha Centauri and a whole trove of other nonsense.

Many more searches yielded only more disappointments. Some websites were so unhinged that they went full circle into comical. David spent way too much time reading throw the missives by someone going by Swedenborg-Riviera.

 

Frustrated and mentally exhausted, the teen ripped off the wreath from his head and chuckled it on the bed.

With the public Net being utterly unhelpful, he’d need to resort to breaking into places that were not meant to be looked at by just anybody. But that would be far too much heat for him to take on for the sake of mere curiosity.

David eventually did fall asleep wondering if he could ask Sasha about how she found out about Cynosure and if there were any other Night City secrets she could guide him to.

 

——

 

He woke up to the blaring alarm clock, feeling surprisingly fresh given only a couple hours of sleep.

As usual, his mom was already out, probably trying to get her job back.

This gave David plenty of time to climb on a chair, carefully take off the metal grate and extract the Kiroshi capsule from its hiding place. Aside from a thin layer of fresh dust, it appeared untouched.

 

It was unusual for David to carry a bag to school, but there was no other way to transport the canister without arousing undue suspicion. He gently placed the metal cylinder at the bottom and covered it with the Arasaka Academy hoodie to make it look like he only had his gym kit in there.

After showering and getting dressed into a clean - and finally fully up to standard - set of Academy uniform, David threw the bag over his shoulder and rushed out of the door. If he was to avoid any prying eyes before he got to stuff the bag into his locker, he had to hurry.

 

The journey down took longer on account of not using the usual shortcuts. Thankfully, pedestrian crossing lights and NCART trains seemed to be in league to help the teen out that day, so he made it to the Academy well before any other corpo brats had arrived.

 

David had already proclaimed his stealthy operation to deposit the Kiroshi implant into his locker without anyone noticing a success when a sudden voice made him jump.

 

“Martinez?” The voice belonged to Helene, or Helen as she insisted to be called at the academy. “Since when are you ever early, rather than late?”

 

Threatened with violence if he revealed her secret, David was the only student at Arasaka Academy to know who she really was. He knew that the posh-and-polished star athlete of his class was much more like him than any of the blue-bloods they were studying with. Finding this out wasn’t hard - they lived in the same Megabuilding, after all.

Helene was significantly better off than David in relative terms. Firstly, both of her parents were in the picture. Both had decent jobs - an NCPD dectective and a City Hall administrator. And yet, they were still not in the same league as all the other corpo parents.

David first bumped into the bleached blonde, cyan-eyed student in the elevator. He couldn’t believe it at first, thinking she was lost or seeking one of the underground drug dens that the tower was riddled with. It was Helen’s father who noticed David’s uniform and made the connection. His daughter had no choice but to be polite and introduce them.

 

Helen Parr, as she was known to all of their classmates, was their class’ most promising gymnast. With enough implants to boost her endurance, she leveraged her body’s natural flexibility and grace to win numerous awards and acolites, even without any major backing.

 

David scolded himself in his head. He really should’ve expected her to be there early to train.

 

”Gotta catch up on some homework,” he half-lied. He did have a few more catchup assignments to finish. “Apparently having your mom in the hospital doesn’t excuse you for shit.”

 

”Ah right, your mother.” Helene’s brow furrowed. “Sorry to hear that. Hope she’s feeling better.”

 

”Yeah, she’s alright.” David didn’t know what else to say. After Helene threatened to hurt him something awful if he revealed that she was ‘just like him’, he had barely exchanged a dozen words with her during the entire year.

”Thanks for askin’.”

 

Apparently, Helene also felt somewhat awkward about their exchange. Her eyes darted around, seemingly looking for any other prop to use as a conversation starter. Finding nothing, she simply mumbled something incoherent and rushed towards the shower room.

Content with being left alone, David triple checked that his locker was well and trully secured and walked out of the changing room to finish those pesky assignments.

 

——

 

The school day felt like an eternity, but that would happen when you counted seconds till the end of every lesson.

David had successfully avoided both Helene and Katsuo throughout the day through utilising the Library to his advantage. Neither of them ever bothered to go there.

As soon as the final bell rang, David was back in the changing room. Two minutes after retrieving his bag, he was already walking out of the main door.

Keen to play the good son role for as long as he could, David made sure to let his mom know he’d be home later than usual.

 

[ Gonna do some extra studying. Back for dinner. ]

 

NCART was far less punctual than in the morning, but it did arrive eventually.

With the route being unfamiliar to him, David almost missed his change stop, but a last-second dash through the closing doors saved him.

Since he was on the clock, the teen decided to take the alleyway route to get to Vik’s clinic. He didn’t have anything against Misty, but she did have a talent to keep him busy with her fascinating views on the world and promises of fortune readings. If he had any hope to get home before dinner, however, all of that had to be avoided.

Luckily, the ripperdoc appeared to be available. David found Viktor Vektor fiddling with his robotic glove while watching a boxing match.

 

“Welcome, take a seat,” Vik said in a hehearsed manner after hearing the metal gate sliding open without taking his eyes off the task at hand.

 

It was only after he swiveled in his tiny chair did the ripper’s eyebrows shoot up at his unexpected visitor. “Oh, it’s you David.”

”Everything alright? You lookin’ for V? He isn’t here, I’m afraid.”

 

”No, no.” David shook his head. “I know V’s busy sorting some stuff out. I’m here for your services, Vik, actually.”

Somehow, the older man looked completely not surprised to hear that. ”Is that right?”

 

”And what can I do for ya, David?”

 

The budding netrunner walked up to the doc and placed the chrome cylinder on the corner of the desk.

“Want these installed,” he said while pointing at the upper half of his face. “Got the scratch to pay you for the work too, of course.”

 

Without another word, Vik picked up the canister with his ungloved hand and started examining.

”OR-A4 model, huh?” The question sounded like it was more of an out-loud thought than something aimed directly at David. “Top of the line.”

 

”Found ‘em in an abandoned stash,” David blurted out an explanation even though nobody asked him for one. “I don’t know if they’re any good, though.“

“Are they?”

 

Vik looked David right in the eye. Feeling an interrogation coming, the teenager stepped a pace backwards.

”Relax,” the ripperdoc said softly. “I was just checkin’ out what you’ve already got installed. A simple retina overlay. Means I’ll have to cut.”

Vik then placed the Kiroshi canister back on the table.

”These ones you got are a few levels above ‘good’,” he smirked. “This model is a couple years old, but still way ahead of anything you can easily get on the market today.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d quiz you a bit more on how you got ‘em, but an abandoned stash is good enough for me.”

”I’ll just give them a few extra scans to make sure I’m not installing some bootleg malware-ridden duds into your skull. Call it professional pride, if you want.”

 

David gripped the armrests tightly and steeled himself before replying. “Go on then. Scan and cut away.”

 

“Not so fast, kid.” Vic chuckled as he pulled on the plunger to fill the syringe with some sort of clear liquid. “You’re still a minor. Need permission from an adult.”

 

“V knows I’m here, told me to check with you himself.” The lie excaped David’s lips so quickly, he barely got to think on it.

The ripper simply raised an eyebrow. That was more than enough to get the conniving teen to crack.

”Fine, fine,” David replied with a defeated sigh. “Call him, check if he’s okay with it.”

There was no way his mom would agree to this, especially without being consulted first. So all bets had to be hedged on V’s lenient nature and own love for good chrome.

 

“Thought as much.” Vik pulled the cigarette pack-sized device from his sleeve and began typing on the keyboard.

 

David wondered why a ripperdoc would use such outdated tech, but decided better than to pry. He was already on thin ice after a rapidly botched attempt to gaslight the doc into thinking he came pre-approved.

 

Viktor then put the device to his ear and waited for a response.

“Hey V, how are the new fists fairing? You finished the inhaler?”

”Good to hear.”

He let out an amused chuckle over something the man on the other side had said. “Of course you did.”

”Listen, V” Vik’s face turned serious in an instant as he looked at David. “Got your nephew here with a set of top shelf Kiroshi optics.”

”Says he found it in some abandoned stash.”

”Well, he’s your blood after all.”

“I’ve got to ask a responsible adult-“ There was an audible laugh on the line after the doc said that, “before I install any cyberware.”

”Mhm,” he nodded.

”Well, not sure I can reattach his head, but can certainly see about a major neck injury if it comes to it.”

 

“What?!” David gasped.

 

”Two secs, V.” Vik took the cellphone away from his ear and looked more intently at his patient.

“He says that it’s fine, but if Gloria finds out, he will swear that he’d heard nothing about it and that you went to Doc to get them installed.”

”You ok with that, kid?”

 

David swallowed hard before replying. Doc was exactly the kind of guy to operate on a teenager, no questions asked. “Y-yeah. I’ll deal with it.”

His plan for ‘dealing with it’ involved exactly two steps. Step One was to tune the iris color to his natural hue. Step Two was to not tell his mom under any circumstances until he turned 18.

 

“Alright then.” Viktor adjusted a dial on his glove and gestured to the chair, “Take a seat, David.”

“I’ll sedate ya, but not too much. This is less invasive than the cyberdeck op, so you should be fine being awake.”

 

When David settled in, the doc proceeded to stab him in the shoulder with a needle and emptied the contents of the syringe into the teenager’s bloodstream. After pulling the syringe out, Vik ensured to wipe the area with an alcohol-soaked pad.

Almost instantly, David started feeling more relaxed and woozy. The ripper’s chair felt fluffier, and the world overall less worrisome.

 

”You good, kid?” Viktor asked while fiddling with the canister containing the eye implants.

 

”Y-yeah, nova.” David nodded. He felt nothing while moving his own body parts. It was more akin to controlling a remote-controlled toy.

He couldn’t remember feeling like that the first time, but that must’ve been the result of over-excitement over his first ‘proper’ cyberware implant. Or, judging by the gaps in memory of the last visit to Vik’s, it could as well be that he had passed out from the painkillers and hadn’t even noticed.

’Should ask V, even if he’s gonna laugh at me for it,’ the teen noted to himself.

 

The operation passed in a blur, both literal and figurative. David did not drift off into blissful sleep like the last time, but he was still barely present nonetheless. At some point, he lost sight in his left eye, only to regain it from a bizarre angle - overlooking Vik working from the back. The dream-like sequence continued as the ripper picked up David and proceeded to carry him back above the chair.

An unknown number of minutes later, the same happened with his right eye.

Eventually, he could see from the ‘correct’ angle, but the whole world was out of focus, like a CCTV camera that was improperly set up. For a second, the teenager panicked, thinking he opted out for a major downgrade to his semi-organic setup.

 

Vik must’ve noticed the reaction. “You might feel some discomfort at first. Blurred vision, low contrast, glitches, that kind of stuff. Those aren’t entry-level implants, after all.”

“But don’t worry, you’ll see everything crystal-clear once your brain adjusts to the chrome.”

He placed his unoccupied hand on the youngster’s shoulder and squeezed a little for reassurance.

“Try focusing on the glove.” Vik raised his other arm.

 

David did as he was asked. A green overlay enveloped everything in sight. It used to be an almost useless exercise, bringing up no info at all and only allowing him to hack into network-connected devices.

This time, however, something borderline miraculous happened. Every single piece of tech in the room was outlined and visible, with a small window detailing its stats and security levels. Even Vik had a green glow about him. When focusing on the ripperdoc, a small dossier popped up about the man, including his full name, status and any police priors. There was also a space to display a bounty, but in this case it was sitting at zero Eurodollars.

 

“Hey, I can see intel on you!” David chirped in surprise. “What’s that about?”

 

“Got you hooked up to the NCPD database for good measure.” Vik paused for a sec as he checked something on the monitor. “So you can easily tell when not to mess with someone.”

 

”Uh-uh,” the younger guy nodded, instantly reminded that he was very low on the food chain in Night City. “I’ll remember to use it.”

”Well, unless you’ve got a Bioconductor or a Kerenzikov hiding up your sleeve, kid, then you’re good to go.” Vik extended a hand with an inhaler and dropped it into David’s open palm. “Two whiffs now and two in an hour.”

”If the eyes don’t adjust on their own by then, give me a ring.”

 

David already leant forward and began sliding off the chair when it hit him that he had almost forgotten something vital. “H-hey,

 

“What is it? You feelin’ dizzy?”

 

”No, no. All good.” David made an awkward face. “Could- Could you adjust my eye color back to how it was before. Please?”

 

The question first appeared to stump the doc, but he recovered quickly enough. “Wanna play it on the down low, huh?”

He gestured for David to slide back into the chair, jacked a personal link cable back in and got to fiddle with some sliders on his screen.

Notes:

I was struggling with having fun writing this chapter for a while, but then had a few interesting ideas about each of the scenes which helped me get through them and complete in one sitting.

Hope you enjoyed!

We’ll be jumping back into V’s perspective for quite a few chapters after this as I’m itching to kick the story into the next gear.

Chapter 20: Friends, Family, Flathead

Summary:

With the invitation from Mama Welles that he can’t refuse, V joins Jackie and a few other guests for a family dinner.

The next day, it is time to do that job for Dex. Maelstrom involved, things go out of hand, quickly.

Notes:

This chapter is a bit of a mix of a lot of themes, but I don’t mind that. It still felt worthwhile including all of them in this order, especially as there will be far more commotion going forward.

Also, the scene at the Maelstrom compound is, indeed, very similar to the Pick Up gig, down to some choice lines. I really like that gig and didn’t feel like I could make it better setup-wise. However, it shouldn’t be all a word-for-word slog for you - there’s plenty of variation sprinkled in, particularly towards the end. Hope you like it.

“Dios mio, Jaquito!” Mama Welles yelled at her son pretty much as soon as Jackie and V had crossed the bar’s threshold. “What are you thinking, bringing that thing in here?!”

 

She was, of course, referring to the hand cannon strapped to the bigger man’s back. In a place that had a strict no open carry policy that even the most hard-boiled gangers respected religiously, turning up with that was far beyond a bad look.

 

“Oh, right, right! Completely forgot I had it.” Jackie raised both hands up in a placating gesture. “I’ll go take it to the garage.”

 

”Be right back. You settle in, V. I’ll be five mins.”

 

He swiftly vanished behind the corner.

 

”V! Come in, mijo, come in.” Guadalupe’s voice shifted from stern coldness into that of welcoming softness in an instant. “You boys are early — the food isn’t quite ready yet.”

 

”Grab yourself a beer and come help in the kitchen before the other two arrive.”

 

”Two?” V already started towards the staircase, but the surprise mention stopped him dead in his tracks.

He guessed that Rita would be making an appearance, but didn’t know about anyone else coming. If it was Misty, they’d have taken her with them.

 

”How can I invite one of the Martinez siblings, but forget the other? Gloria’ll be joining us too.” She waved for V to hurry up. “You can be surprised with an apron on. Hurry up, or the quesadillas will burn.”

 

Keen to not let Mama Welles’ famous dish meet an untimely end, V fired up the Sandevistan and rushed into the kitchen way before the owner made it there herself.

 

”V!” Mama Welles protested, whacking him with a wooden stirring spoon on the shoulder. “How many times did I tell you boys - none of those tricks inside!”

 

”Sorry, sorry!” He talked while putting his head through the apron’s neck loop. “Jus’ didn’t want to make you wait much longer.”

 

By this point he knew his place in Guadalupe’s kitchen. V grabbed a suitably large knife from the magnetic rack and started diligently chopping the red onions and coriander that were already waiting for him. Mama Welles took the head chef position in front of a pair of steaming and bubbling pans.

 

”Told Gloria to bring your nephew along too, let the boy’s stomach rest from that horrid scop that you get from the vending machines.” Her eyebrow furrowed. It was hard to tell if the cause of it lay in one of the pans, or in her words.

”But she said he’s got some sort of project at school so will need to work on that instead… What a hardworking young man David’s growing up to be.”

 

“Yeaah, riiight,” V mumbled through his teeth with a smirk. His money was firmly on this ‘project’ being more practice of hacking vending machines and old security cameras.

“Anythin’ else needs doing, Mama Welles?” He turned to his host after the last of the thinly chopped coriander landed into a small bowl. A generous sip of beer was his reward for a job well done.

 

Mama Welles had already finished pulling out slightly charred quesadillas and quickly surveyed the kitchen before responding. “Enchiladas are in the oven. Take them out please, will you? If tu hermana y tu novia get here soon enough, they’ll still be hot.”

 

“Sure thing.” V crossed to the side where the oven was located and popped the door open.

 

His senses were instantly assaulted by blistering heat interlaced with delicious aromas of melting cheese, tangy tomato sauce and hearty synthbeef. If Gloria and Rita didn’t arrive fast enough, they risked not having anything left for them to eat.

V swiftly grabbed the piping hot dish and pulled it out of the oven.

 

He turned back to Mama Welles. “Where d’you want it?”

 

”Santo cielo, Vincent!” Mama Welles rushed to him with a towel in hand, utterly confusing the merc as to the cause of her concern.

 

At first he thought that he somehow managed to fuck up a simple act of taking something out of the oven, but one look down quickly clued him in on what was going on. Mama Welles didn’t know about his new chrome acquisition.

 

”I’m fine, Mama. These are heat-proof.” He slowly lowered the still piping hot dish on the steel table and raised his hand to show that it was completely intact.

 

Guadalupe shook her head in disapprovement. “You kids love your chrome too much. You got to be careful, Vincent.”

She took his still warm hand in-between both of hers and cradled it, as if he was a child who had hurt himself for real.

 

”I will, I promise.” For the hundredth time, the orphaned street kid was reminded that this stern, but kind woman was the closest he’d had to a mother in just over two decades.

 

A sudden stomping of heavy footsteps alerted both of them to Jackie’s imminent arrival.

 

A few moments later, the big man rushed through the door, slightly out of breath. ”Yoo, you haven’t started eatin’ without me, didja V?!”

”Oh, hell yeah! We got quesadillas and enchiladas! Mama, you’re spoiling us.”

 

”Please help set up the big table, Jaquito,” Mama Welles asked softly, any ire from earlier completely gone. “Gloria and Rita are joining us.”

 

”Nova.” The big man scooped up a bunch of cutlery and napkins from a tray near the door and was quickly out again.

 

”It’s good to see he found someone to watch his back.” Her words weren’t as much aimed at V as they were at the universe in general, although he was glad that he got to hear them.

 

“Yeah,” the merc nodded, “it’s good to have a reliable choom like Jackie in NC.”

 

Judging by the raised voice of Jack from downstairs, the other two had finally arrived. Without needing to be told, V grabbed anything that he could safely carry in two hands and started making his way down to help set up.

By the time he arrived, Gloria was already roped into a beer run to the back of the bar. Rita, in turn, was helping Jackie distribute the napkins and utensils to each of the seating spots.

Pepe, still behind the bar to serve all the other customers, locked eyes with V. The two men shared a barely perceptive nod and the bartender immediately reached for a handful of highballs and a bottle of tequila.

 

——

 

“Oh boy, am I stuffed…” Rita leaned back as far as her chair would allow her without toppling and gently patted her stomach.

Her outfit was much more modest than usual, but the midriff was still very much exposed, so V could confirm for himself that she wasn’t lying. Her normally perfectly sculpted abs were showing evidence of a hearty meal.

 

“You said it, chica.” Jackie looked like he was already crashing, all of the blood going from the brain to his overworked stomach. “One more bite and I’m gonna explode.”

With eyes half-closed and head slumped backwards, he made an exploding gesture from his own lower body before slumping deeper into the plush couch.

 

”Weaklings.” Ever the competitive one, Gloria lobbed her insult in between bites of the last remaining quesadilla.

 

Mama Welles had excused herself a little earlier to attend to some altercation on the other side of the bar. When offered help by every one of her guests, she met it with a grateful, but firm decline. Even Jackie chose to not press further.

V, also near-comatose from the sheer volume of food that had come their way, simply observed the rather unlikely collection of individuals in front of him.

Why he and Jackie hadn’t crossed paths until a couple weeks ago was a mystery, especially given that Mama Welles was an unofficial guardian for him and Gloria for years. Perhaps it was the bigger man’s history with Valentinos that had played a part - Guadalupe was adamant to keep anyone she cared about far away from any gang involvement. Unfortunately, her youngest and last living son as well as his older siblings didn’t seem to listen.

 

”V, you’re spacin’ out again, darlin’.” Rita pinched the man’s arm hard enough to make him flinch a little. “Come back to Earth, will ya? We were just talkin’ how Gloria needs eddies-”

 

”-and how we might have a way to help her out,” Jackie completed the sentence.

 

V blinked at the trio staring him down for a response. He must’ve been in his own head for a short while, because he had completely missed the part where this trio had colluded on something that he, apparently, was also involved in.

A confused ‘huh?’ Was all that he could manage.

 

Gloria was the one to jump in with an explanation. “You’re raiding a Maelstrom hideout tomorrow, aintcha?”

”Well, I say you could really use a medic on your side. Both of you sound like you’ve got a tendency to get shot on the job.”

 

It took V a second to rearrange his memory banks to realize she was talking about the job for Dex. That one had only 5,000 eddies on the table and he was already splitting them with Jackie. Not that V was against helping his sister out, but a portion of ‘not much’ still amounted to ‘not much at all’.

”Uh, listen, Glo-“

 

”I know pay ain’t shit and this is some job for a hotshot fixer so he can give you real jobs,” Gloria interjected. “I’m not asking for a split.”

 

”How’s sticking your neck out in fronta ‘Stromer’s guns pays the bills, then?” The merc scoffed.

 

”They’re bound to have some gear lying about there. If we shoot up the place, nobody’s gonna be around to keep inventory, hm?”

 

“We weren’t planning to shoot up the place.” He knew this was a crappy argument, but refused to let Gloria just insert herself into his gig without thinking things through.

 

”Aw, c’mon V!” This was Rita interjecting. “Y’know how those chrome junkies operate. They have Black Lace for breakfast, then get angry at any inconvenience and start blastin’.”

”And you walkin’ in asking for a bot they already got cash for is exactly that - inconvenient.”

 

”Ugh…” V wasn’t expecting to be having this conversation, but it was too late to back out now.

Besides, he would feel much safer having not just a new choom, but his own flesh and blood watching his back as well.

“Fine!” He finally blurted out after a lengthy pause. “Anything you can get your sticky fingers on is yours to keep, Glo.”

 

”Nova!” Jackie looked excited by the prospect of a third teammate joining them.

 

Rita reached out over the table to give Gloria a high five.

 

V watched them celebrate, but still couldn’t help shake off the feeling that he had just agreed to something that would backfire massively…

 

——

 

Each of them gave their heartfelt thanks to Mama Welles for her hospitality and complimented the food. Each promised to come by more often.

Jackie excused himself, retreating to his place located in the opposite way from the main street that the El Coyote was on. Him and V exchanged a few words to agree on a meeting time and place as the bulky man walked off into the alleyway.

 

”What now?” Rita asked, stretching her arms. “You two game for a few drinks at Lizzie’s?”

 

”Sure, why not?” That was a surprisingly carefree reply from Gloria. Usually she was too tired from her grueling job to hang out.

 

If anything, V thought that his older sibling could really use a break. Between working herself to death prior to the underpass shootout, to the difficult recovery and worries about future finances, she really had a terrible streak going.

He couldn’t just let her off the hook without making a jab about it first, though. “Sure, sure. Feelin’ like some preem smut BDs tonight, huh, Glo?”

 

That scored the merc not one, but two punches on the shoulder, from both sides. While Gloria herself looked genuinely outraged, Rita’s giggle betrayed that she was just using the opportunity to tease V some more.

 

He nodded at his bike. “How did you two get here? I can take one.”

 

”NCART.” His sister let out a defeated sigh.

 

”I’ll take you, girlfriend,” Rita volunteered. “My ride’s parked just round the corner.”

 

“Actually…” V needed to have a conversation alone with his sister and this could be a perfect opportunity to do so sooner. “Rits, do you mind if we swap keys for this one?”

There was no reason for him to hide anything away from his output or to keep Gloria in the dark about his intentions. “I wanna talk to Glo about tomorrow’s gig.”

 

Wheeler raised an eyebrow in surprise at first, but then gave an approving nod. “Sure. Just keep in mind - if you scratch it, you fix it.”

 

”I wouldn’t dare drive above twenty,” V quipped before rewarding her with a soft kiss on the cheek. “Thanks a lot, babes.”

 

”Don’t mention it.” Rita grinned giddily at the surprise display of affection.

 

They already had each other's credentials logged into their respective vehicles, so no additional actions needed to be taken.

 

“See ya there then?”

 

”Cya, sweet cheeks.”

 

V watched as Rita swung her slender leg over his bike and took a second admiring the view that was presented in front of him. Before Gloria could slap him for ogling, the merc swiftly turned on his heels and proceeded in the direction where his input’s car was meant to be parked.

 

The traffic through Corpo Plaza appeared to be horrific, so he chose to take the longer, but more promising route via Vista Del Ray and Japantown. A swift message exchange with Rita confirmed that she had arrived at the same conclusion and was planning to head that way as well.

 

“So?” Gloria crossed her hands on her chest. “You gonna try and talk me out of coming tomorrow?”

”My job as good as thrown me out without a chance to come back and there’s no other wa-“

 

”I ain’t gonna try to change your mind,” V interrupted, causing his sister to give him a surprised stare. “I just wanna make sure you really thought this through, Glo.”

 

”Do you really think exchanging bullets with those bug-eyed psychos my idea of a great working environment?!” She burst out.

“At least at Trauma it was about saving lives as much as taking them if required. This is just…” Gloria sighed, looking deflated compared to the start of her short monologue. “There isn’t any other way, not right now. I’m lucky I’ve got someone like you that I can trust to watch my back.”

”But David’s school fees won’t pay themselves, you know?”

 

”I get it, I really do. Doesn’t mean I worry less.”

V stopped at the traffic light and took a moment to just observe as cars on the opposite side started moving. It felt good to not rush anywhere for once. It was his very own piece of calm before the storm.

“You got all your gear in good shape or need to borrow something?” He finally asked after a prolonged silence. “I know you took it out at the flat to get Maine and that blonde netrunner of his to stand off, but got no clue if it was just for show or if it still shoots.”

 

”Will probably need to re-assemble and re-grease both guns, but they’ll work just fine.” She rubbed her chin, contemplating something.

”Might want to cover those TT logos on my armor though. Don’t want to cause any misunderstandings along the way.”

 

”Mhm,” the merc agreed.

There was one more question that V wanted to ask, however. “You planning to klep their chrome like you did with the Sandi, too? Is that what you’re counting on?”

 

”Mierda, Vincent! You take me for some scav?!” Gloria sounded positively furious for a second. “Norris was already dead. I’m not going to kill a bunch of gonks just to rip out their chrome.”

”Nah.” She shuffled deeper into the bucket seat of Rita’s Shion. “I’m sure there’ll be plenty of stuff not bolted to the walls, or people for that matter.”

”A couple thousand-worth of gear will tidy me over for the time being.”

 

”So what, La Curandera is back in action then?” V grinned, already knowing what was about to come after he used that nickname.

 

Gloria groaned like a wounded animal at that, then followed up with a tirade of under-the-breath swearing.

“How do you even remember that?! You were nine!”

 

“Yeah, but the whole neighborhood called you that.” V smiled at the particularly warm childhood memory. “The kind woman who’d patch you up for free and charged half of street value for meds.”

”In hindsight, amazed Trauma Team hadn’t busted yo ass for stealin’ from them.”

 

”Eh, when you charge it all back to the customer, what’s an extra MaxDoc here and there?” Gloria shrugged, also smiling.

”But seriously, though. Don’t you dare bring that nickname back from the dead, you hear?”

 

”A’ight, a’ight.” V took one hand off the steering wheel for a second to make a lip zipping motion. “Just don’t come bustin’ my ass when someone else remembers.”

 

Their conversation got them through the whole way to Lizzie’s. V took a sharp right and pulled up into the parking lot where Rita was already waiting, chatting up with one of the Moxes who was her replacement for the night.

The evening was still young, so the crowd only just began to gather. Not that they’d need to worry about queueing, anyway.

V was certainly ready for a drink. Anything to take the edge off his growing anxiety for tomorrow would be most welcome.

 

——

 

“Can’t sleep, hon?” Rita murmured into V’s side as the merc sat up in bed, studying the blueprints of the All Foods factory where the Maelstrom was holed out.

”You worried this much ‘bout today, huh?”

 

“It’s a big place…” He dismissed the file and turned to look at his still very sleepy girlfriend as she snuggled in closer. “Must be crawlin’ with bastards.”

”Just makin’ sure I’ve got an exit plan if things get too hot for the three of us.”

 

”You’ve always got an exit plan, babe.” He could feel that she was smiling. “You’ll just grab the other two gonks by the collar and outta there if things go sideways. I know it.”

 

“Might be giving me too much credit there, no?” V gently stroked her messy bed hair with one hand. “Not that I’m complaining, mind.”

 

Rita stirred to get a better look at V’s face and winked. ”Jus’ a tiiiny bit.”

“But seriously. I think you got it, V. You’ll either blag your way outta there with this bot thing, or shoot your way out.”

She rose up, keeping the blanket over herself, straddled V and placed both hands on each side of his face. “And then, after you make your delivery and get your hard-earned eddies, you gonna come see me and we’ll fuck each other brains out to celebrate, how about that?”

 

”And why can’t we do that now too?” V treated her with a puppy-eyed look.

 

“Cos your head ain’t in it right now, that’s why.” Rita let out a hearty laugh. “I don’t wanna share that head of yours with Dexter DeShawn and a buncha ugly chrome motherfuckers.”

 

She was right. The upcoming gig had been living rent-free in his brain for a while. Now that the day had come, his head had turned into a penthouse with a sole, restless occupant.

Texts from Gloria and Jackie arrived almost simultaneously. The other two must’ve been just as on edge as him.

He replied with a confirmation of time and place for a meet. In an hour, they’d be knocking on the door of a Maelstrom base.

 

“Is it go time?” Rita, still peering right at V, couldn’t have missed his eyes wonder as he read the texts.

 

”Still got about twenty till I need to delta.”

 

”Perfect, just enough time to shower and get ready.” She immediately shot off the bed and started dragging V to follow.

 

After the quick, but pleasant shower together, the pair got dressed - Rita in a mix of her yesterday’s clothes and some of his threads and V into his usual gig outfit that incorporated a Kevlar vest and reinforced cargo pants.

V made sure to triple-check all three guns he was taking. He also emptied his backup stash of meds and stuffed them into every spare pocket he had.

 

“Lookin’ ready to take on an army.” Rita’s confident attitude and tone provided the much needed confidence boost. “Let’s bounce.”

 

“Yeah,” V nodded curtly, “let’s go.”

 

They took the elevator down together. Rita had errands to run, so decided to not stay on her own in V’s apartment. He appreciated the extra few minutes that he got to spend with her.

 

“Well, shit.” Wheeler pointed at the wall of screens which was broadcasting a news report at the moment. “Yorinobu-fuckin’-Arasaka decided to grace our lil’ town with his presence.”

”Whaddaya think his royal ass wants?”

 

”Who the hell knows,” the merc shrugged. “Making sure ‘Saka still has the city in a chokehold?”

A very specific detail about Yorinobu Arasaka lingered at the very back of V’s mind, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. After a few seconds he stopped trying to remember.

”I’m sure he’ll run back to Japan soon enough, complainin’ to daddy dearest on how shit us Americans are at everything.”

 

They both scoffed at the screen, which by then switched to an image of Konpeki Plaza - Arasaka’s most expensive hotel and residence in the city.

 

”It seems like it’s time for us to part now, darlin’.” Rita twisted one foot in place and sheepishly looked at the floor, as if pretending to be a schoolgirl getting dropped off in front of her front door after the prom.

 

“I’ll see you soon enough.” That was meant as much a reassurance for himself as it was for her.

 

“You better.” In an unexpected switch of tone, Rita grabbed V by the collar and pulled him in for a passionate parting kiss.

 

When they eventually parted, she gave him one last wink before opening the driver’s door of her car and hopping in. “I’ll be waitin’.”

 

Within seconds, the bright blue Mizutani revved its engine and disappeared down the ramp.

V didn’t linger. He swung onto his bike, kicked it into gear and sped off to meet Gloria and Jack.

 

——

 

“Finally, cabron! We’ve been waitin’.” Jackie looked more amused than irritated by his friend’s late arrival.

 

Gloria however, looked noticeably frustrated but kept quiet - a small courtesy, V guessed, since she was technically a plus one in this whole operation. Her TT armor was hastily spray-painted green over most of the plating, although some of the white still remained visible.

 

V had a good-ish reason to be late. A major altercation between Tyger Claws and NCPD had turned the bridges into a gridlocked mess. Even with his bike, it was nigh impossible to cross the usual way, so he was forced to take the long way round. A relatively short trip to the edge of Northside pretty much doubled in length.

 

”Sorry, sorry,” V said as soon as he shut off his bike’s engine. “But hey, who knew Tygers and cops would wake up this morning and decide today was the day to go to war with each other, right?”

He swiftly double checked that he hadn’t left anything behind in the small storage unit at the back of his bike before turning to his companions. “Ready when you are, chooms.”

 

”Let’s get this over with.”

 

The Maelstrom-infested food packing plant sprawled out in front of them. It looked surprisingly intact - most of the abandoned factories in the area were dilapidated husks of concrete and steel. Graffiti covered nearly every inch of the walls, the gang’s skull spiders being most prevalent of all.

A charred skeleton of an NCPD cruiser acted as a stark reminder of who was in charge in this area.

 

“Place’s real inviting, ain’t it?” Jackie muttered.

 

V shrugged. “We ain’t exactly doing an arms deal at Konpeki Plaza, now.”

 

Jackie smirked. “Just hope these psychos keep it simple.”

 

V stepped up to the intercom by the gate, pressing the button. Static buzzed before a voice cut through, rough and mocking.

 

“Hmm. don’t know ya. What do you want?”

 

“Here to see Royce. Dex sent us.”

A pause, then a low, grating chuckle. “Main room. We’ve been waitin’.”

 

With a metallic grind, the gate slowly opened, revealing the dimly lit interior. Right behind the gate, a pair of high caliber sentry turrets waited on standby. They didn’t even flinch at the sight of two men, indicating that the path was clear.

 

“Oh yeah, they look damn prepared for a visit,” Jackie’s voice turned grim. “Look at all this firepower.”

 

”Must’ve klepped it from the same place as the bot,” V wagered a guess.

 

Gloria, silent until then, offered her opinion as well. “Things go south, I vote we avoid exiting the way we came.”

 

The two men could only nod in agreement.

 

”Cozy place,” Jackie commented as they continued to delve deeper into the compound, “missin’ a few plants, though.”

By this point V had cracked that making jokes was the ex-Valentino’s way to steel his own nerves.

 

As they ascended the heavily boobytrapped stairs up, V decided to join in and break the tension. “Mhm, anti-personnel mines… my favorites.”

 

“Just don’t make me drag you both out in pieces. Stay smart.” Gloria didn’t seem to appreciate the humor, but nobody could really blame her.

 

V glanced at Jackie, a slight grin tugging at their mouth. “You hear the lady.”

 

Jackie grinned back. “Loud and clear.”

 

As they entered a large hallway of sorts that looked like it could be a loading bay or a storeroom, the trio were blinded by a spotlight shining right in their faces.

 

‘Cheap intimidation tricks,’ V thought to himself. ‘Utterly unnecessary after that loadout upfront.’

 

They pressed on into the metal grate elevator illuminated with a single, blood-red light that made it look like a portal into Hell. V wasn’t religious, but with Maelstromers looking like they did, imagery of demons and eternal fires sprung up in his mind entirely on its own.

The elevator grated and whined it’s way up until the doors on the other side opened and a mean-looking gangoon that ticked pretty much every box of the ‘Maelstrom Cyberwear 101 Guide’ was already waiting.

 

”So whaddaya want?”

 

“You got a bot-“ And that’s when V realized that DeShawn gave him precious little to go on here and he, like a gonk, hadn’t asked for more. “A Militech specimen, high spec.”

 

“And?” The red-eyed man spread his arms, one brandishing a heavy revolver, to show how little he cared for this conversation.

 

”Dexter DeShawn, I’m sure you know the guy, already paid Brick for it.” V paused to let the information sink in. “We’re just here to pick up. Can talk to Royce direct, if necessary.”

 

”Nah, not necessary. You talk to me. Name’s Dum Dum.”

 

’Well, that’s one hell of an encouraging name right there,’ V sighed internally, already foreseeing how this negotiation is going to turn out.

 

The gangoon used his pistol to point deeper into the room. “Couch, plant it.”

 

The trio proceeded deeper into what appeared to be the heart of the base. There were screens, terminals and wires everywhere. Alone netrunner slanted in his chair in one of the corners, deeply immersed in a dive.

V had to endure more mocking stares and remarks from other gangers in the room, three in total.

Him and Gloria took the wider couch in the middle, while Jack chose to stand on V’s left.

 

Disobedience with instructions appeared to frustrate Dum Dum to no end, who came up to the taller man. “Goes for you too, big guy. Ass. Couch!”

 

V could see that his friend was about to make things difficult, so he caught Jackie’s glance and shook his head, trying to ask for no trouble without saying a word. Jackie held eye contact for a second with an expression that made it clear he wasn’t happy about it, but he eventually relented and sat down.

Content that his orders were finally obeyed, Dum Dum relaxed and dropped on the makeshift table in front of V. He took out a dark inhaler, took a generous hit of it and presented it to the merc.

 

“Gotta lighten up a little, choombas. You so damn glum lookin’, the lot of ya.”

 

”No fucking way!” Gloria interjected. “That’s Black Lace right there. Like cyberpsychosis in a can.”

 

”Aintcha a fuckin’ straight-edged princess,” Dum Dum groaned.

 

While they were debating drugs, another gangoon arrived with a large briefcase, the sorts that bands carried their most expensive and fragile gear in.

 

“Here we go.” There was pride in Maelstromer’s voice. “Militech, model MTOD12, also known as the Flathead.”

”A sexy piece of kit, this one.”

 

He then proceeded to recount a whole list of specs and qualities that went right over V’s head. He was savvy enough to tinker with a scope or a car engine, but all this high-tech mumbo jumbo was just too much.

One thing was certain - this had to be the Bot that Dex was talking about.

 

”Now, let’s see your cred.” Dum Dum outstretched his arm with palm facing upwards and beckoned to V to hand over 10,000 eddies that the man didn’t have.

 

”It’s already been paid to Brick.” The merc stuck to the original line.

 

A metal gate that V hadn’t noticed was opened before, dropped with a loud crash, alerting V to a new presence. A towering man with an angry face and a particularly intrusive-looking set of ocular implants stormed into the room. This could only be Royce.

 

“Paid to Brick, he says! Hah!” Royce immediately took out a pistol and began aiming it first at Jackie, then at V. “I don’t see any fuckin’ Brick around here, do you? So whatever you paid before ain’t worth shit.”

 

All other goons trained their weapons on V and his partners. Sitting down and unable to easily get out of the bullet’s way put them at a critically bad disadvantage.

The verbose merc was about to jump into a tirade about how it was a bad idea to start beef with Dexter De Shawn, but he wouldn’t have to.

A distant explosion made the whole building tremble, showering all present with dust and a hail of small debris. A few moments later the antiquated alarm system began blasting, making the room look even redder than it was before.

 

”The fuck was that?!” Royce turned to his men.

 

Big mistake.

 

In an instant, all three of them shot up from their seats, pulled their weapons and aimed them at every Maelstrom gangoon in sight.

V’s pistol found its home just under Royce’s jaw, pointing directly up and through his skull.

 

“Militech motherfuckers found us!” The netrunner yelled from his chair, utterly unaware of the tense standoff that was currently underway in the room.

 

That was V’s cue that time for negotiations had long passed.

 

“Bang!” He pulled the trigger and sent Royce’s brain tissue flying towards the ceiling.

 

Jackie and Gloria weren’t wasting any time. Using the confusion caused by the Militech attack and Royce’s abrupt demise, they lined their shots and fired as well. Two gangers dropped immediately, while the other two, including Dum Dum, managed to evade and hid behind some crates on the other end of the room.

 

”Motherfuckers!” Dum Dum yelled before turning round and bolting in the opposite direction.

 

”Ha! Bastard’s just gone and turned tail!” Jackie laughed at the cowardly gangoon.

 

While Jack and Gloria finished off the last standing enemy, V turned his attention to the netrunner. With a gun pointed at him, the net jockey didn’t even try to drop the merc with a quickhack - it simply wouldn’t upload fast enough.

 

”We need another exit. Not the one we got out of, and not the one that’s currently swarming with corpos.”

To increase his chance of persuasion, V grabbed the skinny guy by the collar of his studded leather vest and pushed him against the wall of screens. At least two smashed in the process, beginning to glitch and flicker.

 

“Fuck y-“ The netrunner was interrupted by a pistol whipping him over his half-cutoff cheek.

“A-alright, man! I’ll tell ya!” He raised his hands in front to protect himself. “Maintenance tunnel, keep left and you’ll see some storage rooms. It’s just there.”

 

”Good boy.” V stepped away. “Now get the fuck outta here.”

 

The netrunner immediately started running in the same direction where Dum Dum had disappeared to.

 

“Shouldn’t have let him go,” Jackie grumbled. “One more of these fuckers to kill on the way there.”

 

”They’ll have their hands full with far worse than us.”

 

V looked at Gloria as she rummaged through the room, scooping every shard and roll of paper banknotes she could get her hands on.

 

“Glo, you’ve got a minute and then we gotta delta. Unless you wanna get in hot water with Militech as well.”

 

”Yeah, yeah. I’m on it,” she replied without taking her eyes off the task at hand for even a second.

 

V, in the meantime, picked up the gun dropped by Royce. It looked far better maintained than the one carried by the rest of the gang. ”Don’t mind if I do.”

He’d need to repaint it to get rid of the Maelstrom logo, but otherwise it appeared solid.

 

Jackie did something similar, collecting some firearms and others.

 

“C’mon, gang. Let’s get outta here.” V called out to the other two after he packed the Flathead into its case and double checked that the locks were all fastened.

 

“Lead the way,” Gloria nodded, with her rifle at the ready. “We’ll be right behind you.”

 

They made their way through the dark compound, ensuring to keep to the left as the netrunner had told them to. With the Militech assault seemingly in full swing, they only met a few stragglers from Maelstrom. Taking those down proved to be rather easy as they hadn’t expected to find resistance from this part of the building.

V managed to score an unlucky ricochet into his left bicep, but a swiftly applied bandage and painkiller from Gloria negated the wound’s effects almost in their entirety.

 

“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but kinda grateful for Militech to show up when they did,” Jackie said with a bitter smirk as they slowly made their way over a metal catwalk.

 

V chuckled bitterly. ”Hold your praises till we get outta here, and don’t land into an interrogation room in some basement.”

 

“Guys, think it’s this way.” Gloria pointed at a rusty, barely visible in the dim light of a single lightbulb sign with ‘Maintenance’ and a left-pointing arrow on it.

 

“Nice one.”

 

They just made it past a row of storage rooms with glass viewing windows in them when V noticed a faint glow of a guidance laser that he had seen earlier.

 

“Wait, wait,” he called out to his companions, beckoning with his hand to come over.

When V peered inside, he saw a faint outline of a man, sitting in front of another of those anti-personnel mines that they had seen on their arrival. The tripwire was pointing right into the middle of his chest. A particularly strong cough, let alone an attempt to move would trigger the explosive.

 

”That’s fuckin’ diabolical,” Jack gasped. “Who the fuck is that, even?”

 

”Think I got an idea.” V opened the door, prompting the locker’s inhabitant to turn his glowing red visor at the newcomer.

”You must be Brick.”

 

”And who the fuck are ya?” The Maelstromer spat in response. “I don’t remember orderin’ room service.”

 

“For a guy with a mine pointing at his chest, you’re being too much of a dickhead,” Gloria noted coldly.

 

V spotted a detonator lying on a barrel by the door. He grabbed and studied it, finding a pair of triggers - ‘Detonate’ and ‘Disarm’.

“We ain’t got much time, Brick. We can let you go and come with us to escape Militech, but we’d expect somethin’ in return. Or we can leave ya here, waiting to blow up yourself or be shot dead by one of their ops.”

”Waddaya goin’ for, choom?”

 

“Tell ya what, choom.” Brick grinned. His teeth were covered in congealed blood. “You let me out and I’ll get you through the maintenance tunnel with access codes. No breakin’ in required.”

”And once I get Maelstrom back under my control, I’ll owe ya a favor. How does that sound?”

 

”Baaad idea,” Gloria weighed in.

 

V looked at Jackie for a second opinion.

 

“Ehh, I dunno mano…” Another building-shaking explosion added a good deal of urgency to the decision. “One thing is letting some ‘Stromer runner go, but this one… A gamble for sure.”

”Ah fuck it!” Jack hit the nearest wall with his fist that still held one of his two matching golden pistols. “Worst case scenario, nothin’s gonna come outta this. Let the fucker free.”

 

V obliged and pushed the appropriate button. The mine’s laser died off, letting Brick stand up and stretch his neck.

 

“Fuuuck, been sitting on that damn chair for two days.”

 

”Go on then.” V pointed towards the door with the barrel of his gun. “Lead the way.”

 

”Yeah, yeah, “ Brick obediently shuffled past the trio and turned in the direction of the maintenance tunnel. “I’ve got no desire to lick Militech boots for dinner either.”

 

Just as the deposed Maelstrom leader claimed, the tunnels were secured by a set of locked doors that he could just produce a code for. The others would need to struggle to either pull the doors apart with force, or find some other way to get through. Both could take too long and land them in more hot water.

They exited through one of the disused sewer drainage gutters that all merged into one, giant ‘mega gutter’. Judging by the map, it would take them about ten minutes of walking to get back to where the bikes were parked.

Brick split without as much as a ‘goodbye’, but neither of the three minded it much. Gloria appeared to breathe much easier when he was gone, too. Although in truth, all of them were just happy to have avoided being caught in-between the Maelstrom-Militech firefight while also getting what they came there for.

 

“Think it’s safe to get back there to grab our rides?” Jackie asked V after everyone got a chance to catch their breath and let their nerves subside.

 

“Dunno, man.” V stroked his chin while contemplating. “How about we get a cab back to El Coyote, and then I call Dex to tell him the goods are secure?”

”Doubt anyone’s gonna try to nick the bikes with so much corpo jarheads around.”

 

“Muy bien,” the bigger man agreed. “Gloria, coming with?”

 

Gloria shook her head. “I’ll pass. If you can drop me off at mine first, it’ll be much appreciated.”

”Gotta sort through all of this junk I’ve grabbed without looking before David gets back from school.” She patted the jam-packed duffle bag hanging off her shoulder.

 

”Sounds good to me.” V looked around and suddenly realized their more immediate predicament. “Umm… Does anyone know how the fuck do we get back to the street from here?!”

Notes:

This was fun and I’m happy it didn’t take me as long to write it as the previous update. Getting back into the groove of things!

Next up, V mets with Dex. Some reality checks and disillusionments may come his way there. Oh, and maybe a new(ish) set of wheels.

Chapter 21: Small World

Summary:

Dex reveals the big plan he has for V, but the client spells all sorts of trouble.

Notes:

Hey hey, been a short while hasn’t it?

I’ve finally decided how I’m gonna approach the Heist plot, and it should be quite fun (and quite different from the original). You’ll see some of that begin to ripple in this chapter.

V pulled up the fixer’s contact card as soon as Jackie slapped a glass of celebratory Centzon into his hand. They cheered, downed the drinks in one gulp and switched to the beers that the ex-Valentino had picked up as a chaser.

Somehow, just dropping DeShawn a text felt amateurish, so V called. Three rings passed, then three more.

 

After the ninth unanswered tone, a voicemail kicked in. “You’ve reached Dexter DeShawn. I’m currently… indisposed.”

”Leave a message. If it’s worth my time, I’ll be in touch.”

 

There was little surprise there - Night City’s prime fixer must’ve had his hands full upon his return. V left a short voice note to say that the job was done. Details could wait till they got to speak properly.

Much to his surprise, the call was returned less than two minutes later. The pair of up and coming mercs barely started speculating what bigger gigs they were going to get when V’s view was interrupted by the five-stripe avatar of the fixer.

 

”Mister V.” Just like in real life, Dex’s ample form filled up most of the space in the virtual viewport. ”Congratulations on a job well done.”

”Hit any issues with Maelstrom?”

 

“It’s Maelstrom,” V shrugged. “Psychos wanted us to pay twice.”

 

”And did you?”

 

The question was met with a loud scoff ”Course not. We had to shoot our way out.”

”Luckily, Militech turned up just in time lookin’ for their stolen merch. Chrome fuckers had their hands too full to mind lil’ ol’ us.”

 

For a second, Dex’s eyebrows shot up behind his crimson glasses, as if he was taken completely by surprise by the megacorp’s surprise involvement. V thought nothing of it.

“Good to know you can tell when it’s time to leave the party, Mister V.” The fixer said, puffing a cloud of cigar smoke that obscured most of his face. “I’ve got some news of my own.”

“There’s been a curious development. It’s not for the holo, though. We gotta meet.”

 

By that point Jackie was shooting impatient glances at V. The other man could only roll his eyes and mouth ‘Dex’ to be left alone for the remainder of the call.

 

“Sure thing, name a time and place.”

 

“Sent you the co-ords. Can you be there in 30 minutes?”

 

V took a few seconds to assess the volume of remaining beer in his bottle and the distance to an address in Little China. “Yeah, shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll be there.”

 

The call was promptly cut off from the other side before V got to ask whether to bring the newly acquired bot or not.

 

”So?!” Jackie was leaning so far over the table, he could as well be sitting right in V’s lap. “Is he gonna make us rich or what?!”

 

“Not sure,” V replied sincerely. “But he seemed pleased enough.”

 

Jackie responded with an approving nod. “Sounded like we’ve got a meet coming up.”

 

”Yeah…” It was quickly dawning on V that he had forgotten about the fact that his bike was currently many, many blocks away from the bar. Parked in the middle of a swarm of Militech vehicles, most likely.

 

Jackie was no help, since his steel horse was in the exact same place.

V’s gaze drifted all over the bar while he tried to come up with a solution. Combat Cab was always an option, of course, but there was no guarantee it would arrive on time.

The merc’s eyes darted from one patron to another while his brain rummaged through the list of people he knew in the area. Mama Welles didn’t own a car and Padre was too far to walk.

Then, his eyes stopped at Pepe. A family man, he must’ve had some sort of wheels that V could borrow.

 

”Hey, Pepe!” He called the other guy over while approaching the bar. “You drive?”

 

Visibly confused, Pepe nodded in agreement nonetheless. ”Yeah, ‘course I drive. I drop Ricky at school most mornings.”

”Why?”

 

V checked the time, although that was a largely pointless action. He had zero clue when an eight-year-old would get off school. He didn’t even remember when David finished, and he had picked up the teen on multiple occasions.

 

“I gotta dash somewhere on the double.” V was painfully aware that he was already digging into the half-hour timeline that he had given to Dex. “I’ll be back in an hour, tops.”

 

Pepe made a face as he scratched the back of his head in contemplation.

 

Painfully long thirty seconds later, the bartender finally replied with his decision. “Ah, fuck it. I’m on the clock for the next two hours so you should be fine.”

“But you better not dent it, V.” He paused for another few seconds, as if contemplating whether to say what he wanted to say next. “And you gonna owe me a solid, ya hear?”

 

”Yeah, yeah. Nova. Sure thing.” V grabbed the man’s right hand with both of his and shook it awkwardly. His mind was already focused on the meet itself.

 

”Here.” Pepe reached into his pocket with his free hand and produced a set of keys that he promptly passed to the merc.

 

“Muchos gracias, mano,” V grabbed the keys and started to walk briskly towards the door when it dawned on him that he had no idea where the car was parked.

”Eh, Pepe?” He turned back to the bar.

 

“In the back.” Visibly stifling a chuckle, Pepe threw a thumb behind him.

 

“Right.” V nodded awkwardly and set out for the rear door. He chose to not reward Jackie’s hearty laugh with a reaction.

 

”Go get ‘im, V,” the bulky ex-Valentino said as his partner dashed towards the exit. “This is gonna be a big one, I can feel it.”

 

Having known Pepe for quite a few years, V actually knew very little about the bartender’s private life. This had become painfully evident when he had laid eyes on the man’s set of wheels. Instead of a boring, run-of-the-mill Colby, Pepe drove a CXT40 - a punchy, all-wheel-drive variant of a dull budget family car. Not only that, the thing was painted top to bottom in fire truck red paint!

V went from concern over being seen in some shoddy family van to actively considering buying one of those for himself after the next payday.

 

“Alright then.” V grinned as he revved the engine. “Let’s do this.”

 

——

 

After arriving at the provided coordinates, V couldn’t help but think he had messed something up. The map pin got him to a small car park with nothing of note around it. Unless Dex suddenly got a taste for Buck-A-Slice, this must’ve been the wrong place.

And yet, after double and triple checking, the merc was sure that he had read the directions correctly.

It was only after he had visually scouted the area did he see the now familiar limo parked a couple paces away. Equally familiar huscle diligently stood by the passenger door, giving V’s car cautionary glances through his blacked out glasses.

 

V slowly got out of the car so as to not invite any violent reaction from the bodyguard. Much to his relief the bulky man relaxed as soon as he saw the merc’s face.

As V approached, Flathead case gripped firmly in his right hand, the door was opened for him and he got into the limo.

Dex sat right across, puffing smoke from yet another cigar.

 

”Mister V. So good of you to come so promptly. Tardiness seems to be the plague that affects just about everyone in Night City, but not yourself.”

 

”It’s no problem.” The merc tried his best to conceal the fact that his heart was still racing after running three consecutive red lights. “Was in the area anyway.”

He drummed his fingers on the large kevlar case. “One high-tech bot, just as ordered.”

 

”Space a little tight to see this baby right this sec, but I trust your word, Mister V.” Dex filled the cabin with the sickly smoke from his cigar.

“Oleg will take it off your hands.”

 

”What now?” V blinked rapidly. The smoke was making his eyes water. “You got a buyer for this bot or what?”

 

”Na-ah,” the fixer replied. “It’s an investment I couldn’t pass on, even if I would need to pay double for it. This tech can mean the diff between success and failure for a golden op, so I’d like to have ‘em on hand.”

”And it’s lookin’ like it will be just the perfect fit for a gig I’m cookin’ up.”

 

V’s ears perked up in an instant. “Oh? What kinda gig?”

 

”Does the name ‘Relic’ say anything to you?”

 

”Only what the ads say and the religious nutters keep yellin’ about, but not much else.” V scoffed.

“Allows you to speak with a copy of a dead relative, provided you’ve got like a million eddies to fork out upfront.”

 

Dex rewarded him with a slow nod of approval. ”Right you are, Mister V.”

”A rather intriguing client had reached out to me just yesterday, seeking help to put up a crew for a heist.”

”She isn’t my usual kinda clientele, but the payday she’s talkin’ about… Even my old eyes started to water a lil.”

 

This was where the merc got stumped. The proposal didn’t match up with the target. He decided to demonstrate his ability to see the situation from a broader point of view and voice his concerns directly.

 

“That doesn’t make much sense, if you don’t mind me sayin’.”

 

DeShawn raised an eyebrow, but did not say anything, in disagreement or otherwise.

 

V took that as his cue to continue. “Sure, those gilded gonks who got themselves a Relic are not exactly an ennie a dozen, but still. Not the one-of-one kinda breeds either.”

”Doubt we need a complicated plan to nab one of ‘em and pluck that chip outta their head?”

 

He paused for a second, just to make sure not to bury himself any deeper in case the fixer had anything to comment. With no objection coming, V was ready to deliver the final observation.

 

”Lastly, who’d want to have a prized piece of tech with a stranger’s ghost coded on it? I sure wouldn’t wanna risk gettin’ in Arasaka’s crosshairs just to have someone’s grandma yellin’ at me twenty-four-seven.”

 

”Ah, but you see, Mister V…” Another cloud of smoke erupted from the fixer’s nostrils. “It isn’t just any Relic the client’s after.”

”It’s - to use your very astute turn of phrase - a one-of-one kinda chip. Experimental model, right outta Arasaka’s top-secret labs.”

 

All puzzle pieces clicked into place in an instant. Why would Dexter DeShawn bother spending his first few weeks back on this job. Why he’d stake an advanced piece of military-grade tech to ensure the job goes smoothly. Why the vetting process involved an audition gig. The upstart solo couldn’t help but feel flattered to be even considered for the job.

Dex grinned at the effect his revelation had made on the other man, letting more cigar smoke escape into the car.

 

“Why don’t you meet the client directly? She wanted to eye up the crew anyway, and you’d be perfect for it.” He took out the smouldering cylinder out of his mouth and pointed it at V. “You’ve got the charisma and the brains to back yourself, Mister V.”

By that point, V managed to collect his thoughts and get back into the there-and-then of the situation.

 

“Sure, why not,” he replied. “Won’t hurt to eye the client up, too. See what they’re about.”

 

“I’ll put you in touch.” Judging by the fixer’s tone, he considered the conversation finished.

 

V wasn’t the one to stick around more than he was welcomed. It took quite a bit of effort to get out of the car with the heavy case in hand, but he just about managed. Oleg was already waiting, his stone-like face betraying no emotion at all, as usual. The huscle accepted the case and promptly stashed it into the boot before returning to the driver’s side of the vehicle and getting in.

Just as the merc was about to step away, the rear window slid down.

 

”I probably don’t need to tell you this, Mister V,” Dex spoke, “but this should be kept on the down low. The client’s looking for a tight crew that can handle themselves. And don’t ask too many questions, if you catch my drift?”

 

”Totally.”

 

The limo hastily drove off, leaving V standing in the car park on his own. After the fixer’s car disappeared around the corner, he turned on his heels and began walking to Pepe’s car.

He had already started the engine and began pulling out of the parking lot when a contact shared by Dex made him slam on the brakes and glare at the virtually projected information card.

 

”Evelyn?!” V blurted out the name that came up on the virtual projection. ‘The kinda fuckery is that?!’

 

——

 

If he wasn’t driving a borrowed set of wheels, V would’ve gone straight to Clouds where Evelyn would’ve been working at this hour. He could see himself storming into her booth and shaking the doll until she shed light on this clusterfuck of a situation.

He had to drive slower and more carefully on account of being hopelessly distracted. Dozens of questions swirled inside the merc’s head, ranging anywhere from the basic ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ and all the way down to conspiracy theories.

Dexter DeShawn’s first big score after a years-long hiatus was meant to come from Evelyn Parker, who only a few days ago V had to give a talking to regarding her reckless conversations with mercs for an unknown job.

And now it turned out that said unknown job was nothing less but fucking with the world’s most influential and vindictive megacorp.

For a megapolis that it was, Night City proved to be claustrophobically small.

 

Having made it back to El Coyote in one piece - somehow - V rushed inside. He found Jackie exactly where he had left him, shooting shit with Pepe at the bar. Both men instantly shifted their attention to V. Two pairs of eyebrows rose in expectation of an update.

 

”I, uh…” His brain short-circuited after trying to come up with a simple enough version of what had just landed into his lap.

Where would he even start? At the Relic end, or at Evelyn’s?

 

”That bad, huh?” Pepe took the silence as a bad sign.

 

“No, no, no…” V shook his head, both to put a stop to the blatantly wrong insinuation and to set his derailed train of thought back on track.

”Dex’s eyeing us up for a big job, but-“

 

Jack didn’t let V finish, bursting into a loud celebratory cheer accompanied by both hands flying high up in the air. “Fuck yeah!”

 

Pepe, on the other hand, looked far more guarded.

”Sounds like that one hefty ‘but’ you’re ‘bout to drop on us mano,” he said after catching the set of keys thrown at him from across the bar.

 

“Yeah…” V sighed, sincerely wishing that he had returned with better news.

 

His would-be partner in crime had caught on that something wasn’t right by that point and quietly sat back down on his stool. V now had two sets of eyeballs expectantly drilling into him.

 

“The snag’s that our client is Evelyn-fuckin’-Parker.” Judging by the others’ blank stares, the name didn’t mean anything to them. V didn’t expect it to.

”She’s an ex-Mox, now works as a doll at Clouds. Been seen talkin’ to all kinds of mercs, solos and any other gonk that would sell his grandma out for a few eddies.”

 

Pepe’s eyebrows furrowed even deeper after that explanation. “Why’d she ring up a fixer then?”

 

V shrugged. ”No fuckin’ clue, choom. But I wouldn’t trust her with a gas station hol’up.”

”The woman’s all sorts of trouble.”

 

”What’s the gig, though?” Jackie had the glint of a man seeing an opportunity in his eye. “Is that why Dex had us fetch that Militech bot? Blockhead — or what did the borgheads call that thingamajig?”

 

“I think Dex was just bein’ opportunistic to grab a cool piece of tech,” V responded, punctuating his words with yet another shrug. “Didn’t sound like he had all the deets about the gig when he sent me on the pickup errand.”

”And the gig’s preem, on paper. Major Leagues grade for sure.”

 

”Well?!” Jack was leaning so far forward, he ran the risk of falling off his seat. “Mierda, cabron! Stop holdin’ out on us.”

 

”The target’s an experimental Relic chip. I’m meant to get more intel from Evelyn herself.”

 

”Dex got some cojones messin’ with Arasaka.” Jackie pensively rubbed his chin. “Lookin’ like he wants to use ya to vet the client, too.”

 

”Shouldn’t a fixer vet his clients beforehand, hm?” Pepe ventured, voicing what was eating at V ever since the meet.

 

While the details of the gig made total sense to him now, the circumstances around it have become a mess of unlikely coincidences, tenuous connections and unanswered questions. Either DeShawn was playing 3D chess, or he had zero grasp of the situation.

Regardless, the only way V could get to the bottom of it all was through the woman at the center of it all.

He had questions and Parker had answers.

Luckily, V knew just the person to ask about the scheming doll’s whereabouts.

 

[ Yo, Judy ]

[ V? Since when you text me? ]

[ What’s up? ]

[ Do you know where Ev’s at? ]

[ No? Why?? ]

[ Fuck, is she in trouble?! ]

[ Dunno yet. Need to talk to her ]

[ We were meant to meet at Lizzie’s tonight. She finally closed the tab, so I guess your lil pep talk worked.]

 

That seemingly innocent tidbit of information alarmed V more than he dared to admit. Where did Evelyn get this much scratch in one go? Was she already spending the gig money she didn’t yet have?

 

[ Mind if I crash that party? ]

[ Really need a word ]

[ On one condition - you’ll spill the tea. All of it. ]

[ Fine. ]

[ Whatever she’d gotten herself into, try and help her not make it worse at least, V. Please. ]

[ I’ll see what I can do. ]

 

With the conversation concluded, V turned back to his two friends, who patiently waited for the merc’s eyes to stop glowing yellow.

 

“You arranged for a meet with her then?” Jackie couldn’t be quicker with his question.

 

”Kinda. Know when she’s gonna be tonight, will catch her there.”

 

”Take it you gonna do that alone?” Jack didn’t seem at all offended by that eventuality. “I get it. Wouldn’t wanna spook her.”

“Pepe?” He turned to the bartender. “You ok to drop us off some place before your school run?”

 

——

 

V was happy to be reunited with his metal steed, and even happier to find it in the same condition that he had left it in. Jackie’s Arch also looked untouched, much to the ex-Valentino’s satisfaction.

 

”Will keep ya posted,” V nodded to his friend before revving the engine and bursting off in the general direction of central Night City.

 

He had plenty of time to kill before the evening meet up with Evelyn that the woman didn’t know was happening. Without much on the cards, he pinged Claire to check if the bartender-mechanic was at her garage. It was a good time to check up on his new baby.

The Herrera was half-covered by a sheet of canvas when he walked into the humble, but well-equipped garage. After peeking underneath, V soon found out why - instead of the mighty V8, he was greeted with a gaping hole, framed by a mess of cables and pipes.

 

“Don’t worry, I didn’t bin the thing.” Claire’s voice forced the merc to shoot upright and turn around. “Was easier to take it out rather than squirm underneath for days on end.”

”The gearbox was fucked, but I found a good replacement for just under five large. The seller even chucked a supercharger on top.”

 

”You’re a wizard, Claire, really.” V admired the metal work. The shot-up side looked like new, not a single dent or scratch in sight. The bullet holes all but vanished.

Nonetheless, the rebuild was getting expensive. V was once again reminded that he had bills to pay, and for that he needed more jobs.

“Hey, Claire, you get any wiffs of what’s goin’ on at Afterlife from behind the bar?”

 

The woman gave him a knowing smirk. “You gonna have to be more specific there, choom.”

”Whaddaya got in mind?”

 

”Man’s got bills to pay and I ain’t sure this big job I’m working on is gonna pan out.” He tried to act as casual as possible, but wasn’t sure it was working.

“Was just wondering if you heard of anyone lookin’ for a reliable and affordable merc, y’know…”

 

”Jeez, V,” she laughed. “Shoulda just said it out right - you want a job.”

”Rogue doesn’t share intel of her dealings with bar staff, but I’ve got something in mind for ya, actually. It’s more of a personal ask, but I promise there are eddies in it for ya.”

 

”Hm?” He couldn’t possibly begin to guess what she had in mind.

 

“Heard of Death Mile races?”

 

”Does Saburo shit in the woods?” V scoffed. “Used to go watch the Heywood race with my old man every month.”

”You thinkin’ of entering?”

 

“Yeah. But not just one race. Gunnin’ for the champion’s prize.”

 

Now that was a revelation. V knew Claire was a gearhead and then some, but this was a whole other level. The best and and the nastiest came together for the Death Mile championship. By the quarter finals the body count would easily reach double digits and that wasn’t including anyone who’d flatline from injuries afterwards.

The prize money made it worth the risk, though. He’d need to run a dozen contracts to earn the same kind of payday.

 

“You got wheels?” He threw a thumb at the half-finished vehicle next to them. “Cos I ain’t gettin’ this baby back under fire the day it rolls outta here.”

 

”Don’t you worry your pretty head ‘bout that V,” Claire winked. “I got the wheels sitch more than sorted.”

 

She walked over to another cloth-covered mountain. V had noticed it on his way in and assumed that it had to be a pile of crates or something similar.

With a proud grin, Claire tugged on the canvas, pulling it all the way down.

Underneath was a tank-sized Thornton Mackinaw, although there was very little left of the original workhorse. Armor plating covered just about every square inch save for windshield and front windows, although even those had a degree of protection courtesy of a fine mesh. The front had what could only be described as a battering ram, adorned with a pink bunny plushie tied to it. V couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor guy. Instead of some cuddly child’s bedroom, the bunny was destined to land in an urban warzone.

He took a few moments to weight his options. A pile of promised eddies had won over in the end.

 

“A’ight, count me in.”

 

“Brill!” Claire beamed in response. “I’ll put our names down and keep you posted when’s the first race.”

 

”Can’t wait.”

That was only half a lie. V really did look forward to racing and winning tons of scratch.

It was the whole ‘being shot at’ part that he wasn’t too thrilled about.

Although even that was hardly a departure from his usual day-to-day activities.

 

——

 

“I’m taking my break!” Rita yelled into Suzie’s office without checking if there was anyone there, nor waiting for a response.

 

At the mere mention that there was drama going on with Evelyn, the Mox bouncer dragged her input inside. They quickly descended the staircase, but instead of turning right into the corridor that led to Judy’s den, Rita unlocked a steel gate that protected the BD servers from unwanted visitors.

Unlike bugged booths, this was a truly private place - perfect for having sensitive conversations. As long as they didn’t short-circuit a tower, there was virtually zero chance of them being interrupted.

 

“Go on then,” Rita urged on. When V took three seconds too long to start with his tale, he was treated to a poke to the ribcage.

 

”Ouch, Wheeler!” He uncomfortably wriggled in place, using his hands to protect as much of his torso against any follow-on attacks. “Impatient much?!”

 

“Keep this up and I’m goin’ back up and gettin’ my bat.” She wasn’t serious, but most certainly looked like she was.

 

Either way, he wasn’t about to find out.

”A’ight, a’ight! I’m gonna tell ya.” He double checked that nobody was loitering in the basement before starting from the encounter at the All Foods factory.

 

Rita let out an audible gasp when V dropped the bomb about how Parker was connected to his dealing with the famous fixer. He couldn’t help but feel a little smug that he managed to surprise her better than those soap operas she really liked watching. Small wins and all that.

 

“Back the fuck up, V.” Rita spun her raised index finger. “So all those gonks she’d been ‘interviewin’ as of late, she thought she could use ‘em to klept a secret Arasaka chip?!”

 

”Mhm.” He nodded. When put that way, the premise seemed equal parts fantastical and moronic.

 

”Guessin’ after Suze kicked her skinny ass out for non-payment, she clocked that there was a reason fixers were rollin’ in cash in this city…” Rita was musing out loud.

”So she gets in touch with Dex, dangles a huge payday in front of him and he dangles it in front of a fresh talent - yourself.”

”Except Night City is, apparently, a lil’ border town so everyone knows everyone and you realise your gonk ass is about to head for the biggest shitshow of your lifetime.”

”How’s that for a summary?” Corner of her mouth curled into a bitter smirk.

 

”Pretty much…” At first, V didn’t see the whole thing as being a complete bust, but now that he heard it retold to him, he began to see just how many holes this setup had had.

”What grinds my gears to a standstill is wonderin’ where Ev snagged a lead like that. You need some real deep pockets to finance an op like this. Judy says she even paid off her debt upstairs.”

 

”Now that was one helluva surprise,” Wheeler scoffed. “I didn’t know Suze’s eyebrows could even go that high when Mateo told her during the mornin’ meetup.”

“Let’s recap…” She raised her closed fist and stuck one finger out. “They’re not afraid to fuck with ‘Saka for one.”

Second finger uncurled. “Certain enough to bet on a no-name doll, even givin’ her an advance that she uses to cover her personal debts. Must be keepin’ an eye on her so that she doesn’t screw them over.”

”Three, they want to stay as far away from this as possible, otherwise they’d get in touch with a fixer directly.”

 

V nodded in agreement to each point. He was of the exact same opinion. “And they patient, too. Cos she’d been at it for weeks now.”

 

”Playin’ the long game.”

 

”Exactly.”

 

“Well, shit.” Rita wiggled her four outstretched fingers. “There ain’t that many parties that could fall into this criteria.”

 

“I can think of only one, actually,” V interjected.

 

“Netwatch,” they both said in unison.

 

“Girl’s definitely well over her head,” the Mox concluded with a grave expression. “They gonna burn her without a second thought as soon as the job’s done. She won’t see another eddie, which means you won’t either.”

 

”Yeaah…” That much was obvious by this point. The bigger question was how V could back out of this without upsetting his budding relationship with Dex.

 

Rita jerked her head upwards as a call came in. “Ha! Did she now?”

”Thanks Mateo.”

“Speak of the devil. Guess who just walked in?”

Notes:

I won’t leave everyone hanging with how convo with Ev goes, so next chapter will be V again before we shift to David.

Christmas hols are coming up, so I should have more time to write.

Chapter 22: Heavy Risk Management

Summary:

V meets up with Evelyn, his would-be client for the big job for Dex. He’s got no idea what kind of scheme he might be signing up for…

Notes:

Hey chooms! Hope you’re having a lovely holiday break. I’ve been busy, but trying to catch up on writing before the year is out.

Enjoy the chapter!

Rita had to get back to minding the door, even though the last thing she wanted to do was to miss out on first-hand conversation with Parker.

 

V spotted Judy’s colourful bob first. The techie was leaning against the bar, facing into the room. Evelyn, in turn, was perched facing Mateo. V’s approach was not noticed by either of them.

Judy’s gaze darted from her friend to the merc when he was standing right in front of her. Although startled at first, her expression quickly turned to one of worried concern. Not for him, naturally.

 

”I, uhh…” the Mox fumbled before simply pushing herself off the bar and stepping away to let V take her place. “I’ll be in my den, editin’.”

 

Unlike her friend, Evelyn appeared rather startled by V’s sudden appearance. She puffed a particularly dense cloud of cigarette smoke in front of her, undoubtedly to act as a screen and give herself just enough time to regain composure.

 

”What biz could you possibly have with me, errand boy?” She lazily waved at her tall glass of bubbly. “My tab’s been repaid. In full.”

”Mateo,” she beckoned the drink slinger with a perfectly manicured finger, “get this man a Centzon.”

 

”No need.” V shook his head at the bartender, who was already reaching for the top shelf.

He looked the woman in the eye. “I hear you’re planning a bit of a heist, aintcha?”

 

There was a momentary flash of panic in Evelyn’s eyes.

”Mateo, we’ll take the free booth. If anyone asks, I’m not here.” With that, Parker grabbed V by the wrist and started pulling him towards one of the private-but-not-really booths.

 

V could’ve easily broken out of her weak grip, but chose to play along for the time being. He obediently allowed himself to be pushed into the empty room. It was the same one where he had an impromptu family meeting with Gloria and David. After checking for any nasty stains, the merc quietly landed himself onto the couch.

 

”How do you know about the heist?!” Evelyn rasped, inhaling half of her cigarette in one drag at the end of the sentence.

 

“Simple, really.” V leaned back and crossed his arms on his chest. “Your fixer is my fixer. He fingered me for the job.”

 

“Did he now?” She scoffed. “I was promised the best in the biz. No offence, V, but you’re hardly the best among the rabble that fights for Rita’s spot at the front.”

 

”None taken.” He shifted forward with a cold smirk. “Cos you know shit ‘bout me or how good I am.”

“Besides, you trusted Dex to get your heist crew assembled, why wouldn’t you trust his opinion about me, then?”

 

Evelyn rolled her eyes with a sigh, as if V had just said the most naive and childish thing ever spoken out loud. “Dex’s a gonk. But he’s the only one who’d return my calls so I thought better him than some nobody.”

 

Such a perspective was, admittedly, like a breath of fresh air for V who had started feeling like the only outsider in the wayward fixer’s fanclub. But it also raised more questions than it answered.

More importantly, the main crux of the issue was yet to be addressed.

 

”Ev.” V shuffled even further in his seat as a gesture of good intent. “This ain’t even about me being involved or not.”

”It just all sounds utterly insane and looks like you’re gettin’ taken for a ride. Whether it’s Netwarch or someone else payin’ you, they’ll likely get rid of ya as soon as the job’s done.”

 

At the mention of Netwatch, Parker’s left eyebrow twitched ever-so-slightly. Even though she was most certainly spotting a face plate, some involuntary reaction must’ve slipped through the sensory filters.

 

”Netwatch?” She finally sat down. Yet another cigarette was lit up. “Where’d you get the idea that I’m backed by anyone, let alone the cyber-narcs?”

Her words were bold and direct, but there was a barely-perceptible quiver in her voice. Whoever was bankrolling her, she was afraid of them.

 

“Listen, Ev.” By that point, V was as close to her as he could be without sliding to the ground. He looked the doll right in her green eyes. “Unless you come clean, I’m coming outta here, telling Dex the whole thing’s a bust and I’d rather dive into the river to search for gold than have anything to do with this dumpster fire of a job.”

”So?” He held a long pause, just in case she’d prove to be more cooperative than he expected. “What’s it gonna be?”

 

Parker didn’t reply for a long time. She first looked angry, no doubt displeased with V’s threat to derail her entire operation. But then she withdrew, as if finally coming to terms with just how deeply over her head she was.

The merc didn’t want to rush her. The last thing he needed was for the woman to clam up and refuse to cooperate. Then he’d also have to explain to Dex why the client had gone off the rails, which could prove… difficult.

 

”Fine.” Evelyn’s eventual response sounded more like her talking to herself.

”Fine,” she repeated herself, looking back at V this time round. “I’ll clue you in, but you gotta help me get out of this mess, then.”

 

”Hold up, hold up.” Both of V’s arms shot up in a defensive motion. “Said zero about helping you out just yet.”

”Want to know how high the shit pile goes first.”

 

“Got a point there.” Ev leaned backwards and treated herself to two more inhales from her death stick.

”No clue where you got that notion from, but it ain’t Netwatch that’s payin’ for the gig. They’re one of the very likely bidders for the Relic, though.”

V couldn’t believe his ears. This con artist was already planning to double-cross her original client — and she didn’t even have a buyer lined up yet. The whole thing was a gamble, a reckless shot in the dark that all but guaranteed to end in a tragedy.

 

Unaware of the storm brewing in V’s head, Evelyn leaned in for the big reveal. “I was contacted by a woman — a Haitian, out of Pacifica...”

 

V’s mind reeled. It didn’t take a Night City scholar to piece it together. Her mysterious benefactor wasn’t some corp or Netwatch. It was the Voodoo Boys. He hadn’t even considered a gang, let alone them.

That spelled bad news for Evelyn. She was a ranyon, an outsider, and the Voodoo Boys weren’t known for their loyalty. They’d use her for as long as she was useful, and then they’d cut her loose. Permanently.

 

”Ev, you do realize that-“

 

“That I’ve been collecting intel for the VDBs?” The woman let out a bitter scoff. “Course I know that. Wasn’t born yesterday, V.”

Another scoff. ”It was as good as written on her forehead she was a runner for the Voodoos.”

 

“And you still wanna mess with those bastards?!” V could only shake his head in disbelief.

The line between bravery and stupidity was a thin one and Evelyn appeared to have crossed it in the wrong direction a long time ago.

 

“They’re not some sorta gods of the Net, I’ll be fine, will just need to lay low for a while, wait for the payday.” Evelyn played with a strand of her hair as she spoke about her obviously light on details escape plan. “With the pile of eddies we’re talking about, even VDBs won’t touch me.”

 

”Ev… Do you even hear yourself?!” All this naive wishfulness was grinding V’s gears something awful.

“You wanna cross Night City’s biggest megacorp, and it’s most secretive and vengeful gang, all in one go?!”

 

”Jeez, V. What got your knickers in a twist?” Evelyn tried to sound unbothered, but did a poor job of doing so. “Nobody would even look at a little ol’ me, a whore plaything of Yorinobu Arasaka.”

”I’ll make sure to stay off the grid until everything blows over. That should take care of both ‘Saka and VDB runners lookin’ for me.”

 

”Umm what now?” The merc’s brain began to overheat from all the bombshells that had been falling on him. “What’s this about Yorinobu?”

 

”Ah, right.” Evelyn acted as if she was just reminded that she had left a burrito in the microwave.

 

“Yorinobu and I have an… arrangement,” Evelyn said, her tone too casual for V’s liking. His stomach tightened. She was playing with fire, and she didn’t even seem to realize how close she was to being burned. “That’s how I got to learn about the Relic in the first place.”

 

“Aw, c’mon, Ev. Now that’s complete bullshit.” V threw a dismissive wave in the woman’s direction. “Lemme guess, you’re about to tell me you two been fuckin’ and you’ve swiped the keys to his vault or summin’?”

When the only response he got was a sly smile and a quick flicker of the lighter in front of a cigarette, the merc sunk into the couch, defeated. “No fuckin’ way…”

 

”Even the mighty among us can get lonely,” Evelyn finally spoke after a prolonged pause, “and the higher up they are, the more lonely it is.”

”But don’t get any ideas, it’s strictly biz, between Yori and I.”

 

”Yori, huh.” V scoffed at the blatant familiarity. “And will Yori not get you kidnapped and tortured as soon as he finds out you’ve used him to get into Araska?”

 

”As I said, I’m far too low on the food chain to be remembered, let alone considered a suspect.” She fiddled with an intricate metal cigarette case, repeatedly opening and closing it. “And besides, won’t be anywhere near Konpeki Plaza when the heist takes place. I’ve already arranged to be at a friend’s party.”

 

V sincerely doubted that Arasaka bothered with nuisances such as alibis when chasing down those who had wronged them, but didn’t have a good enough reason to argue.

Unlike Evelyn with her scheme to prove her innocence, he’d be right there in the middle of the hurricane. If anything goes wrong, his ass would be mulched through the corpo meat grinder faster than you can say ‘due process’.

If he was to even consider taking this job on - which appeared like a suicide with the current lay of the land - he’d need assurances.

 

”Bullshit! No way you stayin’ at an arm's length while me and everyone else puttin’ our asses on the line for this chip. Either you put as much skin in the game as we do, or go tell the VDBs that you fucked up.”

 

V rose to leave, expecting Evelyn to keep up her attitude and brush him off. Much to his surprise, a soft hand was placed on the merc’s shoulder. Immediately after, his eyes were met with a pleading look from the doll.

 

“Please, V. ” Her composed mask had slipped entirely by that point, revealing a terrified deer in the headlights behind it. “I need this to work.”

“If I go back to VDBs empty handed or try to disappear without the payday, next thing anyone’ll hear about me is how my brain has spontaneously cooked itself.”

 

The atmosphere in the room had changed, palpably. This was no longer a discussion, or even a negotiation. The only question was whether V would still walk away, or try to make sense of the situation.

A sensible person would’ve looked at all the red flags that were lined up for him to see and took the high road. V considered himself sensible, but glory and eddies had a way of overriding common sense. And this job was promising both in heaps, albeit with a side of almost-certain death attached to it.

It took a few seconds for him to hash out an outline of a plan that was stacked more in his favor.

 

”Fine.” V sitting back down had released the tensed-up spring that appeared to sit inside Evelyn’s spine. She immediately relaxed.

”I’ll tell Dex I’ll be meeting you tomorrow. That should buy you time to chase up on some buyers.”

He took a pause to accommodate any objections, but heard none coming forth. “Once we get the cash lined up, only then I’ll even consider diving into this.”

”And Ev?”

 

“Yes?” She looked a few years older than at the beginning of their conversation.

 

”Make sure Dex got a rock-solid plan, ok? One that won’t get all of us zeroed if anything goes wrong.”

 

”I’ll do my best.”

 

There was nothing else to discuss at this point, V thought, so he rose up again and headed for the door. This time, no attempt to stop it was made. Nor did Evelyn try to follow after him. She just sat there, staring into space.

Unsure what to even say to the woman, the merc simply left her there, justifying it to himself that she needed time to think in private.

Knowing full well that he was expected to report to Judy, V typed up a quick message to the techie, saying that while Evelyn’s plan was complete madness, there was a ray of hope that it could work out. The messages weren’t opened even though she was showing as online, so he just put it down to her being busy editing yet another smut BD.

With that obligation out of the way, it was time to ensure that the conversation with Evelyn remained truly private.

 

”Hey, Suze?” V peeked into the Mox leader’s office. “Got a sec?”

 

”Is it ‘bout you and Parker scheming in booth five?” As usual, Suzie Q looked and sounded annoyed by this thing or another. “I already wiped the recording. Don’t wanna know, don’t wanna ask.”

 

V’s eyebrows shot up. He was anticipating having to grovel in front of the strict woman. “Thanks a ton, really, I-.”

 

“Don’t thank me,” Suzie interjected, her eyes narrowed and a stern finger pointed at the merc. “This ain’t charity - I’m doin’ this for the Mox. Just make sure your mess doesn’t become ours.”

 

”Yeah, yeah. I will.” Keen to not overstay his welcome, V pushed himself up against the doorframe and turned 180 to leave the club.

 

”And make sure you and Wheeler gossip ‘bout it at home, and not at the front door!” Came a chaser yell just as V was turning the corner.

 

That advice would come in handy, as Rita ambushed V with the questions as soon as she caught a glimpse of her input stepping outside. “So?!”

 

‘Later’, he mouthed quietly and got an approving nod.

 

With the big talk out of the way, V’s mind could finally shift to other things.

Like checking up on his sister and nephew.

 

——

 

Bumping into Gloria haggling with a 6th Street gangoon in the parking lot was not where V was expecting to find her.

Dying of curiosity, he swiftly got his bike parked and secured and strutted towards the arguing pair. He quickly caught onto the cause of their disagreement - a Mizutani Hozuki parked next to them. In theory, it would be an upgrade on the totalled Galena. Except the ‘new’ one looked like it had come to Night City via one of the frontlines of the last Corporate War and survived at least one direct blast from a missile.

 

”Listen, Glo,” the man pointed at the car with his cybernetic hand, “That’s the best I can do for ya.”

”You’ve saved my ass before, but that was, like, twenty years ago.”

 

”I know, I know, Jason. But dios mio…” Gloria puffed her cheeks as she re-inspected the scrapyard-longing vehicle. “Does this rust bucket even run?!”

 

”Drove here somehow, didn’t I?”

 

“Guess that’s fai- V?!” Gloria finally noticed her brother, who had been leaning against one of the columns for good half-minute.

 

”Who’s this gonk, you know him?” Trigger happiness must’ve been part of the criteria to join the gun nut gang, as Jason immediately reached for his iron.

 

”No need for that, choom.” V raised both hands up high to show he wasn’t a threat. “I’m her brother. Just heard you two talkin’ and thought I’ll come by and say hi.”

 

That seemed to do the trick on the gangoon, who visibly relaxed and returned to the matter at hand. “Are you gonna take it or not? My choombas are waitin’ outside.”

 

”Guess it’s better than no wheels at all.” Gloria rewarded the guy with a forced smile. “You really did help me out, Jace.”

 

”Don’t sweat it.” The 6th Streeter departed with a salute.

 

Once he was out of the earshot, V finally unleashed a line that he was fighting to hold in for the whole duration of the conversation. “Real preem ride there, Glo. Thought of takin’ it racing?”

That scored him a painful whack on the shoulder.

 

”Oh won’t you fuck off, bastardo engreido!” Gloria growled. “You think I don’t know this thing is a piece of shit on wheels?!”

 

”Alright, alright,” he replied between waves of cheeky laughter. “Can’t be much worse than the old one, anyway.”

 

”Hey, abuelito called that thing his orange rocket. I miss that car.”

 

V scoffed. “That was the problem with it - outlived not only abuelo, but papa y mama with ‘im.”

“Anyway, how’s the job hunt goin’? Gonna have to pay for gas somehow.”

 

His sister rolled her eyes. ”We’ve split up, like, four-five hours ago. Barely had time to cash this favor in.”

“Last time I checked, I’ve got only one measly meatbrain. Can’t do ten things at once.”

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be the ‘wonder child’?” V made sure to apply very exaggerated air quotes to the term. “Surely you can multitask.”

That was what their grandparents called Gloria when she was growing up, especially when they needed to scold V for bad behavior.

 

Gloria’s only response was a death stare that threatened to drill a hole in the centre of V’s forehead if he was exposed to it for too long.

 

”Okay, okay!” The merc backed off. “Can I help anyhow? Want me to hit up Padre or Wako? A sawbones’ always in demand.”

 

A sudden outburst of gunfire coming from the street startled both siblings for a second. As soon as it became clear that the danger was far away, however, they promptly turned back to each other.

 

“That would be… nice, actually.” Gloria’s expression softened. “Not the kind of work I was hoping for, but the money from the Maelstrom gig isn’t covering us beyond this week.”

 

”Will do.” V subconsciously looked up after remembering that he also wanted to check up on David. “Is Dee around by the way? Was gonna check up on how’s he gettin’ on with the deck.”

 

”He’s getting on just fine. Too fine, even.” Judging by Gloria’s scoff, there was a story there.

Thankfully, she did not need to be nudged to spill. “Hacked the bathroom lighting to turn on automatically when you enter. Almost gave me a heart attack this morning when the whole room lit up all at once.”

“But he’s doing his homework and left for school early for once, so can’t complain.”

 

V had his suspicions that his nephew wasn’t going to school early, but didn’t want to rain on Gloria’s parade until he had some real evidence. Not that he was bothered to gather any. As long as David stayed out of big trouble, there was no harm in him learning how to apply that cyberdeck of his.

 

“He should be home soon. You want to stay for dinner?”

 

The merc considered for a moment, weighing his options. Rita was going to be back from her shift in the early hours of the morning and, no doubt, would not hesitate to wake him up to tell about the conversation with Evelyn. So an early dinner with family was promising to be a pretty decent idea. He could then get home and catch a few winks before the inevitable interrogation.

 

”Sure, sounds nova. I can make those calls while we wait for him.”

 

——

 

Borderline bursting at the seams from the extra large helping of Locust Pepperoni and more than ready to fall into a food coma, V pointed the bike in the general direction of Rita’s apartment. He had made this particular journey between H4 and her place quite a few times, so there was no need to bother with the navigator or even the map. He simply focused on the road and navigated by memory alone.

It was that focus that, quite likely, saved V’s life in the end. If he wasn’t paying enough attention, he could’ve easily missed the giant Kaukaz hauler that jumped the red light and almost mowed the merc down just as it did at least two other vehicles that were about to cross the intersection. He managed to slam on the brakes mere seconds before becoming a blood and guts splatter on the tarmac.

The hauler tipped over with a screech followed by a thundering crash, as the shipping containers it carried snapped off the chains that held them in place and toppled to the side.

A crowd instantly began to form around the terrible car pileup. Some good Samaritans tried helping the injured out of their smashed-up cars while others called the municipal emergency services.

As soon as the initial shock of going through a near-death experience had subsided, V took another, more sober look at the situation. There appeared to be no pursuers, unless they high-tailed as soon as they saw the truck lose its balance. Another possibility could be the driver losing their marbles, be it from overwork or even cyberpsychosis.

The latter hypothesis quickly disproved itself when the driver, bleeding from one temple and with a nasty gash on his left cheek, climbed out of the cabin, brushed off any offer of assistance and began running from the crash site.

This swiftly turned V’s attention towards the cargo. That had to be the reason why the guy would risk the wrath of his employers for abandoning the shipment, rather than waiting for the authorities to arrive.

He knew he should’ve simply moved on, but V was far too much of an opportunist to pass up on an opportunity to pocket a few freebies from the crashed containers.

After all, everything would likely become an insurance write-off, so what did it matter if someone had helped themselves to a few samples?

A few other people must’ve gotten the same idea. A small crowd of steel pipe and crowbar-wielding individuals gathered around the easiest to access container. On a third attempt, the lock was pried open and the doors could be opened.

There were gasps and exclamations of disbelief when the first few got to see what was inside. Egged on by the reactions, V pushed through to get a look for himself.

 

‘Well, isn’t today my lucky day, huh?’ He thought to himself after seeing an entire mountain of weapons spill out of the container and onto the pavement.

 

Deciding to count his blessings carefully, V picked up a couple interesting looking pieces, hopped back on his bike and raced off before cops or - far worse - the original owners showed up.

Notes:

We’ll be jumping back into David’s side of the story from next chapter. Likely to be out in early Jan 25 now!

Chapter 23: Punitive Action, Rebellious Reaction

Summary:

David finds out he’s suspended, decides to spend his time more… productively.

Notes:

Been a while, hasn’t it? I didn’t even realise just how long ago the last chapter was published. My apologies for this. Been trying to figure out where to take things. Can’t say I still got all of it planned out, but I’m close.

In the meantime, enjoy David’s side of the story.

”Suspended?!” David gawked at the emotionless face of the holographic AI teacher. “What for?!”

 

”Please refrain from raising your voice, Mr. Martinez,” came a robotic response. “We were made aware of an altercation with another student off the Academy's grounds. Such actions carry a minimum of three days suspension.”

 

”This is bullshit!” He slammed the terminal with both hands, making the hologram flicker.

 

“Attempted damage to Academy property could carry additional suspension time, as well as fees for any repairs,” the instructor warned with uncaring coldness. “Five alignment points taken off for profanity.”

 

”Take off this!” David gritted his teeth as he raised a middle finger at the projection.

He knew full well it would cost him another ten points. He didn’t care.

 

If anything, the novice netrunner welcomed an opportunity to practice some more without distractions on pointless propaganda-like lessons. It would only become a problem if Gloria found out. All he needed to do was to skim through the skipped material, fill out a few extra-credit assignments and he’d be back on track with Gloria being none the wiser.

Backpack slung lazily over one shoulder, David stepped back out of the Academy building without giving the clinically-cold halls another glance. He had previously scouted a coffee shop on the other side of the NCART tracks, so he made his way there. Coffee wasn’t David’s drink of choice, but there would surely be a vending machine there too. What he needed was a seat and a quiet place to make a call.

 

With a can of Tiancha in one hand, Martinez chucked his bag on a chair nearby before landing into one next to it. His first idea was to call Sasha, but something in his gut told him that this wasn’t the right person for his questions.

 

Rebecca answered after the seventh or eighth ring. “David, that you?! What’s up, my man?!”

“Aintcha meant to be in your snotty school or

 

”Ehh, they’ve been assholes again. Suspended me over nothing.” He groaned with exacerbation. “Didn’t even happen on the grounds. Katsuo, fuckin’ spoilt brat must’ve told on me.”

 

Becca’s eyes lit up at that revelation. “Meanin’ you gave a corpo spawn a thrashing? Good goin’,

 

David felt his ears burning at the sudden praise. He sure hoped that the image didn’t translate such small details to the other side.

 

”You wanna hang out?” The teal edgerunner suddenly offered, beating David to the punch.

 

”I- uh-“ He shook his head to snap out of the momentary spell of confusion. “Kinda. I was wonderin’ if your crew had a spot free for a lookout or something of the sort.”

”I don’t need a payout or anything!” He added quickly after seeing Rebecca raise an eyebrow. “Just wanna see for myself, how it goes with you lot. S’all.”

 

Becca twirled her left pigtail and looked upwards as she considered the question. With her other hand, she raised a shiny, narrow metal object to her temple and scratched it. David almost fell off his chair when he realised it was a pistol.

 

“We ain’t got anything lined up with Maine for today,” she replied finally, having completely missed the younger guy’s shock. “But Pilar and I were gonna go junkyard divin’. He wants more scrap for another one of his projects and I could use some gun parts.”

 

It was David’s turn to think things over. Dumpster diving was not what he had in mind when making the call. Perhaps ringing Sasha first would be a better idea in hindsight. At least with her he could always practice hacking.

 

”Aw, dontcha hold out on me like that, Daviiid!” Rebecca interrupted his musings. “It’s gonna be fun, I promise.”

 

She made a puppy eyes face and David buckled instantly. ”Alright, alright. I’m in.”

 

“Nova!” Becca clapped with excitement. “Droppin’ my address. Ring thrice.”

 

“Got it.”

 

David squished the empty can and chucked it into the bin on the other side of the room. He made a celebratory fist pump when it landed in with a quiet thud like a clean three-pointer.

 

——

 

Becca never said when they were planning to leave, and David forgot to ask. Afraid to be the slowpoke, the teen rushed all the way there. He ran the escalators up and down the NCART stations and took a few risky crossings on amber. All in the name of being on time.

By the time David got in front of the door marked ‘313’, his heart was pounding like a drum and he was utterly out of breath.

Still, he remembered to buzz thrice.

When the door opened, two barrels stared at the youngster from up high.

 

”The fuck do you want- Oh, David!” Pilar immediately lowered the weapons and shifted a cigarette from the left corner of his mouth to the right with a flick of a tongue. “Did you nab an AV or summin’? Didn’t think you’d get here so quickly. The rabid hobgoblin’s still in the shower.”

He turned back and yelled into the apartment. ”WHO, BY THE WAY, FORGOT TO REMIND ME WHAT OUR PASSCODE WAS!!!”

 

”The fuck’re you yellin’ for?!” Becca, with a towel wrap on her head and nothing else, casually walked behind her brother.

Her usual getup could only be described as ‘tactical bikini’, but this was another level of exposure that the hormone-wild teenager wasn’t ready for. It was the first time David got to see all of her tattoos in full, but his eyes had something else to fixate on.

 

“Yo, David!” Becca greeted him with a small nod, like nothing out of the ordinary was going on. “Noodle arms got a point, though. You were lightning fast, my man!”

 

David felt his face turn brighter red than the ‘Don’t Go’ markers on the crossings that he had been largely disregarding for the past fifteen minutes. Unable to bear the awkwardness, he promptly turned around. He chose instead to stare down a non-functioning ceiling fan in the corridor like his life depended on it.

 

Pilar must’ve clocked something wasn’t right and turned. “Fuckin’ hell, you freak! Put some clothes on!”

 

”What?!” Becca spat right back without skipping a beat. “Think he ain’t seen a pair of tits before?”

 

”Not in the real, I haven’t…” David’s thoughts escaped without him realising it.

 

“What was that?” Pilar leant in through the threshold, his visored head popping to David’s right and startling the youngster into a small jump.

 

”Nothing!” David chuckled nervously. “I didn’t say anything!”

 

Pilar wrapped his left arm over David’s other shoulder, pistol still in hand. “Relax, choom. My bad for the shitty welcome. Been a bit o’ trouble in the neighborhood lately, ya dig?”

 

”Mhm!” The teen nodded fervorously. “No probs, choom! All good!”

 

”Good man.” The techie withdrew and gave the younger guy a slap on the back that knocked the wind out of David’s lungs.

 

Still wheezing, David turned and found Becca gone. ‘Thank fuck.’

 

“C’mon, let’s grab a drink.” Pilar beckoned into the flat. “The gremlin won’t mind if you get one of her beers.”

 

David followed the other man in with a puzzled expression ”It’s nine thirty in the morning though?”

 

“And you’re what, time cop or summin’?!” Pilar chuckled at his own joke. “That corpo factory of yours producin’ A-grade pussies, I see.”

 

Not wanting to be ‘an A-grade pussy’, David only nodded and followed the man to a pair of bar stools.

They seemed to be the only seats available in the kitchen separated from the rest of the room by an opaque screen. The apartment was surprisingly clean - something he wouldn’t expect from the chaotic siblings.

 

Pilar used his thumbs to pop the caps off the bottles and promptly offered one to his guest. “Cheers to stickin’ it to the system and seeing some of the real world.”

He clunk his own bottle on David’s before taking a swig that emptied a third of the beer.

 

David took a much more measured approach. He took the bottle to his mouth slowly, having never tasted beer before. His mom didn’t like the stuff much from what he gathered, so they rarely had it in the fridge. David himself couldn’t drink heavily carbonated drinks at all. They always got him into a coughing fit.

But backing out now would be rude, so the teen endured. To his surprise, the beer wasn’t even closely as bubbly as the likes of NiCola were, so it went down much easier. The taste though… It was certainly something to get used to.

He ended up coughing anyway, prompting an amused chuckle out of Pilar.

 

“Man, you really are wet behind the ears, aintcha?” The techie’s tone was softer than usual and he offered no mocking comments after. David took it as a positive.

 

”The fuck? You drinkin’ and didn’t even pop one open for me?” Becca, clothed and annoyed, looked at the pair with arms crossed on her chest.

 

”Relax, you grumpy dwarf.” Her brother easily reached into the fridge that was way too far for anyone else to get to without standing up and fished out a third bottle.

“Here.” The bottle made a satisfying ‘pop!’ as the cap was flicked off it. “Not our fault you took your sweet time gettin’ all pretty for David here.”

 

This time David wasn’t the only one to get flustered, although he looked away too quickly to notice anything.

 

”Fuck you!” Rebecca promptly punched her brother in the shoulder. “This hair takes ages to dry properly. I’m gonna give that lardass Ryder a mouthful next time I see him.”

She angrily flipped the middle finger of her free hand at her brother.

 

The rest of the drinks were finished over planning of their incursion into the Night City Municipal Landfill. Much to David’s surprise, there was more to it than just turning up and starting digging. Apparently, different corpos would use different parts of the trash fields to dump their discarded goods. If you were after gun parts, then southwestern corner would be best because Militech would normally use that one. Arasaka would take the opposite end, naturally.

This time, both Pilar and Becca were hunting for gun parts, so it was Militech’s corner that they were after. David didn’t have a preference, although he wouldn’t say no to a few bits to sell on the side. Extra cash would never hurt, especially with his growing appetite for cyberware.

 

When the bottles were empty, the trio descended to the ground level and exited through the rear door into an open-air car park. Pilar scanned the few cars scattered around the lot, eventually setting his sights on a blue Thornton Galena. The mere thought of getting into that car immediately twisted a knot on David’s stomach. He did his best to not show it. It wasn’t the siblings’ fault that they had the same car as his mom used to have, after all.

Except, what Pilar did as soon as they walked up to the car was far from what an owner would do. The lanky edgerunner produced a bundle of elaborate lockpicks from his pocket and knelt down to get a better view of the driver’s side door. The lock didn’t last long and within a minute, all three of them sat inside. Pilar was driving, his knees sticking out from the seatwell like pointy peaks. Becca drove shotgun while the youngster was relegated to the backseat.

After some fiddling with the ignition cables, the Galena’s engine came to life - however feeble that life was - and they were ready to get on their way.

 

——

 

The air at the dump was thicker, saturated with smells of rust and decomposition. Even though they were digging through never-ending piles of metal and circuitry, the stink of something rotting was never far behind.

Equipped with Rebecca’s spare nose pincher and a pair of thick polymer gloves, David diligently combed through the piles of Militech trash.

 

An hour in, only Becca managed to score something of actual value. She managed to spot a mostly functional Carnage shotgun half-buried under some engine parts.

 

”Gonna restore and paint this beauty somethin’ awesome,” she’d proclaimed while stuffing the weapon into a large sack that each of them carried.

 

Pilar and David were mostly out of luck. The techie did find a few widgets for his latest side project. The teen was pretty much empty handed, although that could’ve been from the fact that he didn’t really know what to look for.

 

”David, look!” She pulled out a dirty teddy bear. No one knew how it ended up among Militech’s trash.

She wobbled the stuffed animal up and down and side to side, making it dance.

 

”Looks a bit like you when we first met. A bit battered, a bit bruised.” She smiled and nodded at David with her chin. “And now look at ya. Much better.”

 

”You think so?” He didn’t expect a compliment to come out of this exchange.

 

“Tellin’ ya, choom!” Becca discarded the toy and walked over to David.

She poked his chest with her extended index finger. “Looking more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed than ever.”

 

”Yo, you two!” Pilar yelled from the top of a particularly large trash mound. “Less talky talky, more looky looky!”

“I ain’t plannin’ to smell shit all day!”

 

”Bah, whatever!” Becca flipped her brother a bird, but did turn around and started looking again. “Why don’t you have a look a bit further in, hm? Might finally find something good.”

 

David did as suggested, and was almost immediately rewarded for it. He had barely turned the corner when he spotted an orb-like shape twitching on the ground. Its LED screen was glowing faintly, as if the thing was on its deathbed.

 

“A Bombus, huh?” David said out loud as he picked up the drone and inspected it.

 

The thing was worn out and dirty, but there was no obvious damage to its casing or thrusters that would explain its current state. Curious and keen to solve the mystery, David swiftly pulled up a scan overlay on his Kiroshis.

It took a short while for the cyberdeck to run the diagnostic report. While waiting, David looked at the little machine once more. He spotted a few more dents and a hairline crack in the glass protecting the display.

 

[ Diagnostics report: Ready. ]

 

The list of errors was short, but almost every single one had a ‘Critical’ or ‘Serious’ tag next to them. Thankfully the top two ‘Criticals’ were to do with a severely drained battery.

 

”You’ll be coming home with me, little guy.” David gently scooped up the damaged bot and placed it, just as gently, into his loot sack.

 

After rummaging in the new area with a much more positive outlook after his surprise find, the teenager managed to gather a few more bits that could be valuable. Among them were a few battery packs that looked usable and what looked like a shotgun choke. The latter - naturally - was going to be his little gift for Becca. As a thanks for taking him with.

 

David was walking back, grinning with anticipation of how the other two would react to his find, when he heard a commotion. It sounded nothing like the sound of more trash being dropped from high above by the ever-passing hauler drones. Nor was it a verbal scuffle between the two siblings who seemed to always be at each other’s throats.

What David heard was the sound of a full-on firefight.

 

The bag was carelessly chucked in the mud as the teen broke into a full on sprint. Within seconds, he was already turning the corner to see a third, unknown figure present. They were hunched over, breathing heavily, slowly approaching Becca who somehow ended up on the ground. In her hands, the teal edgerunner gripped a pink SMG. Where it came from was anyone’s guess, but David was very glad she had it. Becca unloaded the whole clip into the creep, but it only slowed the strange man down.

David flinched when the figure raised on arm and a fan of five razor-sharp blades emerged slowly from his fingers.

 

”Get away from her, you cyberpsycho fucker!” Pilar also opened fire, but his Lexington was even less effective.

 

’Cyberpsycho?!’ David froze after hearing the word.

 

After watching a good dozen XBDs involving the crazed chrome junkies, he knew better than most just how much unbridled violence they were capable of. But it was one thing to get your neurons tickled by the BrainDance. Unlike his virtus, here David ran a real risk of swiftly switching from an observer to a brutally slaughtered victim.

 

David’s jerk-knee reaction was to throw his only combat quickhack at the stranger. ‘Synapse Burnout’ should’ve paralyzed the bastard’s cybernetics just long enough for the trio to make their escape.

He did just as practiced. Initiated the scan. Found an open entry point into the cyberpsycho’s system. Launched the hack.

And then the whole world turned crimson.

Feeling like his own quickhack was amplified tenfold and thrown back at him, David keeled over. He coughed, instinctively covering his mouth with his hand. When he pulled it away, he saw blood. A trickling feeling just below his nose and over his lips suggested his nose was bleeding too.

 

“David!” Becca’s voice just about managed to pierce the veil of panic. “He’s too much for ya to handle!”

”Get the fuck outta here, David!”

 

She quickly reloaded and turned back to face her encroaching attacker. The only reason nobody was hurt yet was because the cyberpsycho appeared to be sleepwalking. His steps were slow, but deliberate. The red glow of his eyes was fixated on the small woman like a homing beacon.

David did try to run. Despite the burning sensation in his throat and head-splitting pain in his temples, he tried to get away. In his head, he was already turning the full 180 and running in the opposite direction as fast as his legs would carry him. But his body had a completely opposite idea. It refused to obey, petrified and as immovable as the rusted crane that loomed over them.

 

‘Hold on a sec!’ His body may have failed him, but his mind was still frantically looking for ways out.

 

David looked up at the loading crane that he had noticed just before they decided to split. It was little more than an oversized piece of scrap metal by this point, but there was still a large shipping container affixed to its arm.

Fighting through the pain, he scanned the cab to find its systems dormant, but still functional. Unlike the cyberpsycho, there were no defenses or any security at all to speak of. He instantly was offered the full range of control options, although the vast majority of them threw errors.

He needed only one of them to work. And it was green.

 

David’s eyes rapidly darted between the cyberpsycho and the shipping container swinging above. Deciding there was no more time to hesitate, he screamed.

 

”Becca, roll back as far as you can!”

 

Rebecca glared at him with confusion, but still did as instructed.

He pinged the command to the control panel.

With a creak, the hook holding the container released and the metal box dropped straight down.

Dust cloud bloomed, swallowing everything.

David clutched his pulsating head and staggered.

The crashed container made no more sounds. There was no movement in the mud underneath it.

 

”Bullseye!” David threw his fist in the air in celebration, but immediately keeled over again. Whatever that psycho’s Self-ICE did to him was far from marginal.

 

”Fuuuck, Dee! What a move!” Pilar’s hand was around the teenager’s shoulders within seconds. “You okay, my dude? You look like shit.”

 

Their exchange was interrupted by the sound of metal scraping against metal. All three turned back to the steel box to see the bottom of it shift.

First, a hand - bent and leaking fluid - emerged from underneath. Then, a head. Same two burning embers for eyes. The metal jaw was hanging by only one joint, adding to the grotesque visage of the cyberpsycho.

 

Rebecca didn’t say anything, didn’t hesitate. She pulled a long concrete-tipped steel armature from the ground and dragged it with her as she approached the wriggling cyberpsycho.

She raised her makeshift mace high above her head. Struck. The concrete slammed into his chrome skull with a loud crunch.

Becca repeated the motion. This time, she missed a direct hit, taking the jaw clean off.

Cyberpsycho stopped moving. His eyes dimmed to a barely perceptive glow.

 

”Is-is he dead?” David asked weakly.

 

”Not about to find out.” Becca beckoned for them to follow. “We’re getting the fuck outta here, stat.”

 

”Wait! Our shit!” Pilar ran over to grab their sacks of loot. He made sure to give the crashed container a wider breadth. Just in case.

 

David leant on Becca, who gently wrapped her arm around his chest to support. Her height made her the perfect person for this kind of thing.

 

“Wait,” he murmured as he was ushered towards the exit. “Can we pick up my bag too? Dropped it as I ran here.”

”It got some nice goodies.”

 

Becca chuckled, giving him a gentle pat on the side. ”Only cos you saved the day, Dee.”

“But after that, we’re taking you straight to a ripper. Hackin’ a crane shouldn’t give you a brain bleed.”

 

”It wasn’t the-“ David started to defend his hacking abilities like usual, but quickly gave up. He didn’t have the energy to argue.

”Fine. I know just the guy.”

 

”Look at this guy!” Pilar, walking in front of them with all three bags, threw his hand in the air in mock celebration. “Just started skippin’ school and already got a ripper on speed dial, huh?”

 

Once again, David wanted to object, to clarify. But he was too tired to speak.

 

——

 

David jerked up as he woke up. He had no idea where he was or how long he was out.

The last thing he remembered was his face meeting the surprisingly soft-feeling, albeit stinky fabric of a car’s back seat. Where he found himself was most certainly not a car.

First thing to greet David was a bright white light above him that momentarily blinded the disoriented teen. His Kiroshis adjusted soon enough and he could look around. A row of cots. To the left, a desk framed by neon signs. On it, a screen scrolling some old boxing match.

 

”Hey, Vik?” David leaned a little further out in his chair and looked around for the ripper.

 

”Welcome back, kid.” The ripper rolled into view on his trusted tiny chair. “A nasty ICE you caught there.”

 

The teen was about to ask where Rebecca and Pilar were, but then suddenly remembered that he was meant to be in school. So his mom would panic like crazy if he didn’t get back on time.

 

“How long was I out?!” He asked nervously.

 

“Just an hour or so,” Vik smirked. “Still good to be back for dinner.”

 

It was obvious that the seasoned ripper was very much onto David’s schemes, just like last time.

”Your friends went out for a minute, but said to not let you out before they get back.” He chuckled. “That little lady’s one hell of a firecracker. Wouldn’t stop barraging me with a mix of pleading and threats when she got you in here, out cold and bleeding from every head orifice.”

“She must really care for ya.”

 

The doc’s words sent David’s head for a spin. Becca? Caring for him this much? It sounded ludicrous. They barely knew each other, after all. He appreciated the opportunity to explore and hang out with real flesh-and-blood edgerunners, but also held no illusions as to what he was to them.

 

“I guess facing a cyberpsycho brings people together, huh…” Before David’s fried brain clocked that he was talking out loud, it was too late.

 

“They didn’t say anything about a cyberpsycho.” Vik’s eyebrows shot above his glasses. “Just something about a crane at the junkyard.”

“Jeez, kid… You might want to see Misty out front, check if someone put a bad luck charm on ya.”

 

”Just please-“

 

”Yeah, yeah,” the ripperdoc interrupted before David could start pleading, “don’t tell your mom or uncle.”

”Patching someone up doesn’t require consent, plus your friends already paid for everything. So I don’t have to notify anyone.”

He paused, giving David a stern look. “Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t, though.”

 

The teenager swallowed. Hard. Obviously, it wasn’t his fault that he had bumped into a cyberpsycho. But he wasn’t where he was meant to be. Gloria would argue that chances of encountering a cyberpsycho at the Arasaka Academy were close to zero. V would probably take her side. David’s uncle was only fun when it didn’t risk enraging his older sister.

 

”I’ll tell them, I promise.” The lie came easily, primarily because David didn’t see it as a real lie. He just had very low confidence in himself fulfilling this particular promise.

 

Viktor looked like he was about to say something else, but a loud rattle of the grated door made both him and David turn towards the entryway.

Rebecca and Pilar stormed in, each holding a large brown bag filled to the brim with snacks and bottles.

 

“David!” Becca’s face beamed. “You’re awake!”

 

”C’mon, lil’ hacker.” Pilar waved his free hand towards the exit, beckoning David to jump out of the chair and follow. “Not every day you cheat death. We gotta celebrate.”

 

David glanced at Vik to see if following the crazy pair was a good idea. All he got in response was a shrug. Utterly unhelpful.

 

”Sure,” he said after an indecisive pause. ”But I gotta be back home by five. Sober.”

 

Notes:

I recon the next chapter will probably bring everyone together in one spot, although that may change.
In short, no point in me leaving a “Next up” note, because who knows just yet!

What I know for sure, is that I want to adopt Sasha’s music video as a small arc before I get into the Heist. So the next few chapters will be setting and executing that.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 3 of Cyberpunk: Alternative Pairings