Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

       He was always told that "When he grew up, he would be good at something". There was no telling what that 'something' would be. Raking trash and slinging scop dogs in Arroyo a mile from where he was born and grew up probably wasn't what he had in mind as a kid. As hardworking and determined as his father was after finishing his service in the military, his efforts to get ahead in life never really got him anywhere. Any attempts whether trying to start a business, or build a portfolio always felt like nothing more than tires spinning in the mud. As time went on... those attempts became less and less frequent with the death of his wife playing a major part in this. His father... drained by his depression over the years... stopped leaving the house... barely even left his chair... a tattered and worn lazyboy that looked more like it belonged on the street.

       If he wasn't working or taking care of his father, he'd often find himself just throwing a Broseph back with a choom or 2; Every now and then tucking in for the night to dabble in some black market BDs. The traumatic, often violent experiences that go on to define a person... mind crippling memories that wither away at the psyche while never letting go. The brutal, personal death throes of an innocent victim... the adrenaline rush of a cold hearted murderer in their element fulfilling their darkest desires... sold into a desensitized society by card carrying sociopaths for an eddie. A thriving, well adjusted market created on the backs of trauma and dismay.

       With so much going on around him, there wasn't much left to do except... exist. Born into a life where all the cards are already dealt, none of which being good and forced to play a game where the winners are already decided. He held spite for Night City in so many justified ways and yet, there was nothing he could do about it... and the city made sure he knew that. Whether it was luxury AVs flying by in the sky, or the occasional Rayfield parked in the neighborhood and conducting shady business surrounded by huscle; The opulence and power on display sent a clear message to him and everyone else around: Not For You.

       He looked on at these occurrences as they happened with less spite and more curiosity over the years as he grew up. As a child, he'd often think to himself "Who are these people anyway..? Why do they come here...? Why do they have... and I don't..?" Night City... a living, breathing entity in it's own right. A town where order and chaos live under the same roof... dancing hand in hand in a whirlwind of violence, passion and hyper-stylistic allure. Where an endless cat and mouse game relentlessly permeates throughout all echelons of the culture and society. A place where the experiences you have and the relationships you make can be just as intense as they are fleeting.

       It was a cold and foggy morning... the air was brittle... dorph heads skezzed out of their minds wandered the streets like zombies. After taking the time to get his father situated, he was out front getting his cart ready for the day while contemplating his route through the district. He abruptly hears the sound of screeching tires and gunshots off in the distance. "6th Street" He immediately thought. Not thinking much of it, he continued to get ready. The distant sounds began to grow louder as the invisible conflict grew closer. People all over the block started to stop doing what they were doing to look around at where this was coming from and more importantly, where it was headed.

       The gunshots and screeching tires suddenly come flying around the corner at full speed... burned rubber from skidding tires sends thick smoke and tire shrapnel flying. High and small caliber rounds blended together with the whirring and whizzing zaps of tech guns creating a symphony of violence. Everyone on the block, kids included, either scattered for cover in the back alleys, behind stoops, or reached for iron. It was so quick, he could barely react, diving and taking cover behind his small metal cart and barely dodging a volley of high velocity lead. As the 2 fighting cars pass by the front of his house, the exchange of gunfire lit up the pavement and his cart. Bullet holes, some the size of his hand riddled the cart as he curled into a ball, covering his ears and head while gritting his teeth and bracing. The cars continue flying up the road until one of them rammed the other through a street pole and into someone's stoop toward the end of it. A Chevillon Emporer turned a Quadra T 66 Avenger into a crushed soda can..

       As the commotion up the street fades, and several of the occupants of the vehicles flee, he let out a sigh of relief before slowly standing back up and glancing down the street. Looking at his cart, the size of the bullet holes perplexed him as well as made him grateful to still be alive. He turned back to see his home riddled with bullet holes and blown out windows... shrapnel, scattered debris and blackened singed spots covered the front porch and front face of the entire house. A look of shock and disbelief overwhelms him as he frantically rushed back into his home... stumbling over his own feet. "DAD!!!" He screams as he struggles to yank open the shredded front door. He enters and sees his father sat, as he did for quite some time now... in his chair... as he walked toward him in the darkened house, he sees his lifeless father, leaking blood streaming out of several gunshots wounds, one of which being in the head. The man stared... frozen in disbelief... hyperventilating as fear overwhelms him... a high pitched ringing in his ears silences the commotion of the aftermath outside as he stares at his father. The room begins to slowly spin as his light headedness sends him to his knees before collapsing into his father's lap as he began to cry. The distant sounds of the aftermath and commotion outside amongst the neighbors fade out of focus.

Just another soul... claimed by Night City. The staunch callousness of an environment that's already moved on.

       He sat with his dead father in an emotionless trance all day never leaving his side. Various scattered memories of time spent with each other blur together in a haze of broken emotions now numbed by the day's events. Finally... as evening approached, he heard the growing sounds of sirens off in the distance getting closer. He raises his head to glance in their direction as he hears a quick but subtle crash behind him in his backyard. Instinctually, he quickly gets up and darts to the backdoor kicking it open.

       He startles a woman kneeled down near his garbage cans... he sees her and makes some very quick observations: Shes injured... blood running down the side of her head and face... holding her arm while masking pain with her eyes wide open in shock. Shes fairly tall and lanky... wearing a modified Kuomori black leather trench coat; but the most important observation he makes: Shes Not From Here.

       As he opens his mouth to yell at her, she pulls her iron while clicking the safety off of her jet black, modified Nue with an extended barrel. The look of fear and desperation on her face was clearly visible in her eyes even with a black leather facemask on. The two of them exchange an extremely tense and quick stare at each other as the sounds of the approaching sirens arrive and the tires screech to a halt.


       With his hands in the air in surrender he glances back in the direction of the siren sounds... The woman takes the opportunity to turn and run, jumping fences and fading into the light starved neighborhood. As he looks back towards her, he glances in the direction she ran in before being startled by what's left of his front door being kicked completely off of it's hinges.

"NCPD!! HANDS IN THE AIR!! NOW!!!" 2 Badges storm the house clearing it. With his hands still up, he stands in silence and disbelief... unable to find any words to say after the accumulation of the day's events.

"WHERE IS SHE!? WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!?" One of the badges yells at him with iron drawn and pointed directly at him as he slowly moves closer.

"SEARCH THE BACK!!" He yells to his partner before he grabs the man by his shirt and pushes him up against a wall... pinning him to it with force.

"I said.. where is she and the WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!?"

       

       In this moment... something indescribable was triggered in the man's mind. The daily risks of Night City have found their way past his front door and into the very living room of his life. Whether it was his traumatic upbringing... the traumatic day... the pig having his hands on him... or the very nature of Night City itself feeling more determined than ever to drive him to his knees. It made something click in his head and gave him a numbed feeling he had never felt before. Numbed.. but with fire... and an undeniable energy behind it.

Snapping out of it, the man looks up at the cop as his partner re-enters the house from the back.

"Name's Brian... Brian Varga... and I don't have shit to say to A FUCKIN PI-" before he can finish, Brian is pistol whipped in the face with full force and sent to the ground. As the two badges proceeded to beat Brian down, the woman who fled is now seen with her back leaned up against the side of his house. With an emotionless stare on her face... she walks away into the night.

Chapter Text

       The cold brittle morning returns like a broken record. The quiet stillness of air rests along side Brian laid facedown in his own cold and drying blood. After a deep, strained cough and inhale, he rolls over onto his side to face his father's chair; Empty. He gently rolls again onto his back and stares up at the withered and decaying ceiling as the pain settles in. His eyes bloodshot... his face cut up and bruised... he glances down at his chest to see a piece of paper on it. He grabs the paper causing it cut his chest from the staple being pulled out...

The front reads: R.E.O.

He crumples the paper without reading it and drops it to his side. Still staring up at the wrecked ceiling, he takes another strained deep breath before sitting up.

       Brian walks outside onto his wrecked porch, cigarette in mouth. A break in the clouds allows the sun to beam down on his tender face kissing and hugging his open lacerations and bruises. He lights his smoke and takes a glance up the street to see kids collecting bullet casings and throwing debris at the badges securing last night's crime scene. It gives him a painful grin that splits open a cut on his lip a bit more. He takes inventory of his damage... ringing headache... blunt force trauma scattered across his arms and torso... even a man as tall and burly as he is can be broken down with ease when lacking the right chrome. Night City never has a problem reminding you where you stand on the food chain. Those who tend to forget or refuse it.. are either made an example of at worst... or at best... become just another tale for the next dreamer.

       As Brian smokes and looks on, he notices there are more than just badges securing the crime scene. Various suits and private security also littered the area. Drones floated above scanning various buildings, debris and areas around the crushed T 66 Avenger. Neighbors looked on as some were being questioned. He quickly realized the badges weren't the ones conducting this investigation at all. Halfway done with his smoke, he leaves his front porch in the opposite direction... walking painfully... but with purpose.

       The idle beeps, buzzes, and hospital chatter fill the space as carts are wheeled by with half dead and groaning patients. The tattered, dirty environment reeks of morbid failure and dismay. It was as if the place was more morgue or mortuary than hospital.

"I had Mikey take the rest of the day off so you didn't have to deal with that gonk...sorry about your loss man."

"Thanks Graves." Brian responds.

"I also gotta tell ya, you've used up the last of the cred your mom had here with this one. You know she was a superstar here for us back in the day but..-"

"What do you mean last of the cred..?"

"B.. you know how R.E.O. is... heartless and sociopathic. And you know with all the medical support your dad had been getting over the past few years...well, it added it up."

"Added up huh..."

"To be completely honest with you.. its past added up... I had been doing your dad a solid for a while now... No one here knew... Now with patching you up as well as your cremation cost here, there's really nothin left i can do for you bud."

"I get it, i get it... thanks.." Brian turns around to walk away and gather his father's ashes but Graves stops him again.

"Hey, Brian, about that cred... well... I could really use your help on somethin."

Brian turns back around, "If its scraping viscera and smeared scop off the streets next to a flaming Supron then count me out choom.."

"I know you don't have a head for this man. I'm talking about something a bit more...lucrative."

"No." He responds condemningly

"Come on choomba.. this is easy scratch! Done this before. Just would be more chill if I had someone roll with me y'know? Whole neighborhood's heard by now you can take care of yourself out there! No viscera or scop either. Promise!"

A brief but apparent pause happens as Brian looks down at the messy and bloodstained hospital floor. The various events of an unforgettable day weighing heavy on his mind.

"Alright." Brian says reluctantly while continuing to look down at the floor.

"Preem! I'm gonna finish up a few things here, you can wait for me outside."

Brian looks up at graves walking away from him "You mean we're doing this right now..?"

"No better time THAN the now choomba!"

Graves goes back upstairs leaving Brian in the quiet front lobby. The loud obnoxious sound of the buzzer was unmistakable as it turned Brian's attention towards it. "Crematory Service" in bright neon lights atop a metal slabbed wall shakes and clunks out a heavy metal urn. "Enrique Varga" "Handle with care" written on a white label. Brian grabs his father's urn and just stares at it before closing his eyes.

Chapter Text

Leaned up against a wall, cig in hand, Brian stares up at a huge neon advertisement barking out into the city.

"SEVEN MINUTES OR A REFUND! THAT'S THE TRAUMA TEAM GURANTEE!"

       He looks down at his lit cigarette then glances at his father's urn before taking another drag. He gently touches the bandage on his nose only to jolt in pain which aggravated him. Brian takes a deep breath before slowly letting it out and resting the back of his head on the wall. His mind quickly flashes back to the woman who pointed the gun at him in his backyard. He hears the sound of her clicking the safety off, he hears her taking in that deep gasp when he startled her... and he sees that look on her face... He just can't get that look on her face out of his head. It was almost as if he felt how dangerous she was... but in that moment, she was at her most vulnerable. This contrast stuck in his head playing on a loop. Arroyo and Rancho aren't often home to much corpo antics. Whoever she was... she was a long way from home.

"AYE CHOOM!" Graves yells out to Brian while walking towards him... snapping him out of his thought loop. "You ready? We got a little time, lets roll."

The pair walk up the street a bit before hopping into an all black Colby Butte and speeding off. Listening to some Night City Synthwave, the pair cruise the streets of NC.

       Neon lights and Friday night firefights... the lifeblood of the city flows through the activities of it's inhabitants. Night citizens run the streets flatlining rivals, claiming territory and klepping desirables. Slamming drugs and slinging chrome with the mentality of those with no real intention to see tomorrow. Meanwhile the ascended elite meticulously tamper with the human genome generation after generation... constantly pushing the limits of weaving metal and meat. Unbothered by repercussions... the ramifications of this constantly escalating arms race even has the likes of them careening right toward the edge. Hopelessly obsessed with the power structures they've forged through corporate corruption and brutal disregard... This city is home to them all.

Graves lowers the music a bit.

"Listen man... i'd been meaning to ask.."

"You're always askin somethin."

" 'Hey, y'know i'm used to you bein' the one with the answers anyway. Steering the ship's never been my forte. Besides... how the fuck else would i learn huh? hahaha"

"Maybe try listenin' sometime." Brian responds dismissively.

"Hahaha! Maybe... but hey, listen... i'd been meanin' to ask for a while now. Y'know since uh... everytime I try to fold you back in to some of this stuff you walk away." Graves says while looking over at him. A brief pause takes over the interior of the Butte as Brian doesn't respond. Graves continues.

"I know you haven't... you know... been in the game for a while... I just... was wonderin... y'know, why? I mean-"

"You already know why."

"B... you know just as well as i do that there was nothin' you could do about that. Things just got outta hand overtime... She pushed too hard and was in way over her head... we all were... you need to let that shit go... you know she'd want you to."

Brian staring out the window of the Butte mutters to himself under his breath "...nothing i could do about that huh..."

The two share some somber silence together before Graves turns the music back up.

       Later in the evening, as the sun begins to turn in for the night, so do the straight and narrows of NC. Clocking out after a double shift and making it home with all of your limbs was often a well earned victory in itself. Nevermind what tomorrow may have in store for you when you step back out that door into those wet, neon soaked streets. Brian sat in Graves' car just outside his apartment complex finishes a smoke before flicking it out of the window onto the trash littered pavement. Looking out into the street, there's endless activity going on with the locals at a steady pace regardless of the time of day. Street networking for that next gem of information, transactions being done, shouting matches taking place, music blasting, graffiti being hit up, drugs being slammed. He sits wondering where these people live and if they ever even sleep. With all this energy they expend... is the end result even really worth it? Is life just an arbitrary chase for the things you desire? Even if it means going right over the edge? What are they exactly doing with their lives...? To what end..? Do they even care...? The sound of the trucks side panel being opened snaps Brian out of his thoughts. It slams closed and the driver side door flys open, Graves hops in. "Alright. Let's go."

       The pair begin to drive as the evening sunset concludes making it harder to see. However the darkness is short lived before giving way to the blooming neon lights of Night City. The notorious glowing allure that draws people in via some of the most profound and inexplainable sensations and experiences. For some, an opportunity to transform themselves before their very own eyes... for others... an inescapable cage of light fixated on revealing to you your true self before driving you to your knees.

"So is it time for you to finally tell me what were doin or am i supposed to just wing this one." Brian asks.

"Quick trade choom! You know how I rizzoll!"

"Y'know, you bein' a 6 foot 7 ex-animal with gorilla arms honestly makes me think you'd be workin huscle for some corpo gonk instead of still bein' out here in Santo doin' 'quick trades'."

"And you, bein' an equally 6 foot 4 tall ex- uhhmm..." Graves looks over at Brian whom looks back at him before looking forward again. "uhhhmm...yeah, I would be thinkin you would be out of Santo by now but it is what it is y'know? And besides, i klepped these arms remember? You were there, was a hell of a night!"

"Who are we doin' this 'quick trade' with?" Brian shifts subject. "Is it Abby again?"

"Abby? Ha... shes been out of the picture for a while now. Nah, this is a new contact i got in good with through Marcus. Shit... chooms buyin big!"

"Marcus...? Hes still around..? His contacts have always been shit... always one step from either a jail cell or some Maelstrom ganger's trunk."

"Its networking B! Marcus has an in on a distributor who linked me up with this guy we're headed tooo! Cmon, you know how all this shit works."

"I'm not a merc, Graves." Brian says in a monotone while looking out the window watching the vibrant, glowing city lights flicker by.

"RIIIIGHT! YOU'RE A SCOP DOG SALESMAN! REAL UPSTANDING NIGHT CITIZEN RIGHT B? Tch, gimme a break."

"What's he buyin?"

"You know... a little bit of this... little bit of that. Little bit of all of it really." Brian glances over at Graves with a familiar look... Graves returns the glance and does a double take before looking back at the road and clearing his throat. "Syn, lace... and glitter."

"WHAT!?"

"Mostly glitter."

"Where the fuck did you get Synthetic Coke? And Black Lace? Who the hell are we doin biz with?!"

"Choombada... relax... no volume here... just a sample package to start a hopefully long and... fruitful business relationship."

"Did you bring iron?" Brian asks with angst

"Course i brought iron... You?"

Brian looks back out the window quickly analyzing and contemplating. "No..." He says regretfully

"Damn, still not carrying huh? In Arroyo? You're psycho choom."

"Gimme yours." Brian quickly grabs Graves' Lexington and checks the magazine and chamber.

"What the- Why..?"

"You've got those gorilla arms, you'll be fine... besides... easy scratch right?"

Chapter Text

        The slow rolling of the tires on cracked concrete and rocks brings the Butte to a stop. As the engine rests idle purring, the pair scan their surroundings. Kabuki. 11pm. The bright lights of the district glow off in the distance illuminating the hustle and bustle of the NC night life..casting an even denser shadow over the area the 2 resided in waiting for their contact. The cherry from Brian's cigerette glows bright with every drag as he scans the area around him. The mood is somber but alert. The both of them are clearly focused. Like most situations, Brian makes some accute observations: They're in an isolated area. Too dark for comfort. Not enough intel...and far away from home. This type of situation, although not too unfamiliar for Brian kept him on his toes.

"Christ, where the hell is this guy??" Graves asks while looking around and growing impatient

"Look." Brian gestures over to a pair of headlights slowly approaching towards them from the direction of the lit street. Before getting too close, the vehicle adjusts its direction slightly and begins to slowly drive in circles around Graves' Butte. As it passes to the side for the first time, it gives Brian a dim but clear look at the car...A red and green Mizutani Shion Mz2 with blacked out tinted windows, red rims and greenwall tires. Brian's eyes open wide in surprise.

"You've got to be fuckin kidding me Graves, TYGER CLAWS?? That's who we're doin biz with?!?"

"Wha-? I didn't know choom! Marcus never told me!"

"Yeah.. because he knows we wouldn't have done it.." Brian slams his fist onto the glove box. "FUCKIN Marcus..." Brian continues to watch the circling Shion. The Shion circles the Butte one last time before slowly driving back toward the direction it came in from.

"The fucks he doing?" Brian asks with angst.

"That's the signal...we're supposed to follow him."

As they follow the Shion through the streets, the areas become less and less crowded as well as less and less lit up. Brian stares deeply at the vinyl tiger printed on the back of the Shion glaring right back at him...flickering in the dimness of the inconsistent street lighting. As Brian stares deep into the eyes of the tiger, his mind begins to wander. He thinks back to an event from his past...hearing only the unforgettable screams of a woman "NO! PLEASE! VARGA! VARGAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

"I don't like this shit choom...Got a bad feeling about this." Graves says,  snapping Brian out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, me neither." Brians says while racking the slide on the Lexington and checking the side. "But what are we supposed to do now hm? Turn off right here and go home..?"

"That's exactly what the fuck we should do."

"Yeah, but we're not gonna are we..."


Graves looks at Brian with an agreeing expression... Brian continues. "We're marked already. Nothing we can do now. Head on a swivel choom."

           

     They continue following the Shion, the air in the car is tense as the pair take on different responsibilities. Graves being the driver focused on watching for tails. Brian being the passenger focused on direction and area recognition. The driving pace was slow and it was clear they had very little to go on. Brian eventually breaks the silence as both communicate in a dead tone.

"What're you thinkin."

"I don't know man...ever since you reduced spec..or- i guess what little spec you had..and just stayed mostly ganic I was wondering if you'd be able to even do somethin like this again."

Brian continues to look out the window checking streets and clutching onto Graves' Lexington.

Graves continues, "I mean...this is Night City B...you're born n raised here like me... its almost like an inevitable upbringing you-"

Brian interrupts;  "Fuckin City of Dreams Graves...Doesn't hurt to change your approach...or at least question other's"

"What the fuck does that even mean..?"

"Hey, we're here." The conversation breaks as the pair notice the Shion slowing down.

      Graves follows the Shion through one last turn onto a street unfamiliar to both of them. Still clearly in Kabuki, the alley was dark and lit up dimly by a few apartment lights bleeding into it. The Shion finally comes to a complete stop near the back of the alley. A lone man gets out of the driver side and walks toward Graves' car at a brisk pace. He's wearing traditional tyger claw attire and sporting traditional tyger claw tattoos. His energy seems non threatening which briefly calms the two of them in the moment. Brian tucks his iron as Graves rolls his window down. The man uses his forearm to lean onto Graves' car and into his window. He speaks in broken English with a deep raspy voice.

"Marcus' friend right?"

"That's right." "Graves." He replies

"And you?" The man looks over at Brian who is already looking at him.

"Brian."

The man nods in acknowledgement before glancing into the back area of the cab in Graves' Butte. There sat the big silver urn storing Brian's father's ashes. The man wrinkles his eyebrows in curiosity at the sight of it and then comments with a slight grin.

"A 3rd choom in the back huh? That supposed to bring good luck?" Graves and Brian both glance back forgetful that it was there due to the situation. The man continues with a ramble looking at Graves.

"Haven't seen one of those in a while. I always wonder.,. how can you know there are ashes in there...? Can you even open those...? I hear you can't once they seal them up. Could be they're just selling people heavy chunks of metal filled with scop or a bunch of-"

Brian cuts the man off. "Lets just stick to biz and get this over with huh?"

        The man turns his full attention over to Brian, raising his hands in the air in a mocking gesture. "Ook ...'Brian'" He says sarcastically. "...Biz it is then." The man takes a step back away from the car as both Graves and Brian get out. "Well, where is the kit?" The man asks. "Back here." Graves replies while walking to the back of the Butte opening up the side panel revealing the box. He hands the box over to the man who rummages through it clinking glass and plastic around. Without saying anything he turns around and walks away towards one of the few lit alley windows on the first floor of the right side apartment and knocks on it 3 times. The window opens and the man briefly says something through the window in Japanese while handing over the box.

The window closes and the man walks back to the open driver's side window of the Shion to grab something. Graves and Brian briefly exchange a look with each other. The man returns back to Graves and hands him a cred chip while looking up at him. "Good." He says in a deep raspy voice. "Know that next time we won't be meeting in-" The man stops mid sentence as all 3 of them listen to the sudden sound of a quick roaring engine approaching from up the alley. 

          All 3 of them turn to look and see a Yaiba Kusanagi speed up to them and stop about 10 yards away on the side of the Shion. The crimson red bike with green leather seats shined and reflected clean even within the dimly lit alleyway. It paired well with the biker gear the rider wore. The man on the bike gets off and screams something in Japanese towards the man Graves and Brian are dealing with. The biker B-lines it up to the dealer while yanking his helmet off and tossing it to the side; As the two yell at each other in Japanese exchanging words and occasionally pointing and looking back at both Graves and Brian. Brian recognizes the biker is carrying no guns that he can see on him which makes him shift focus to other details. Graves and Brian both take a step back from the arguing Tyger Claws and take a step closer to each other. Graves leans over and whispers to Brian: "A, let's delta, we got th-" 

          Before Graves can finish, the sound of a blade slicing through bone cuts through the air like a gunshot. The pair look to see the biker with a mantis blade protruding from his right arm again slice the dealer once more diagonally across the skull decapitating and dropping him to the floor. The biker watches him fall before quickly looking at Graves and Brian. Within arms reach, the biker lifts his bloodied bladed arm to swing at Graves. Brian quickly goes to pull his iron, but fails to as it get caught on his jeans, while Graves quickly reaches and grabs the biker's arm by his elbow before he is able to swing it down on top of him. You hear the air compression and working mechanics of Graves' gorilla arm kick in as he squeezes the Tyger claw's arm like a vise slowly crushing it in the process while raising his other fist to punch him. The Tyger claw screams in pain before engaging his second mantis blade and driving it directly through Graves' stomach and out of his back. Both Graves and Brian's eyes open wide in shock.

         Brian instinctually dives on top of the Tyger claw forcing the blade out of Graves' stomach. Graves drops down to his knees looking down before falling over on his side motionless. Brian's momentum drives himself to the ground first. Knocking the Tyger Claw off balance, Brian attempts to get back to his feet by using the side of the parked Shion. While doing so, the Tyger Claw regains his balance and goes to stab Brian with his one working mantis blade with full force. Brian quickly throws his body out of the way and falls to his side making the Tyger Claw stab the Shion through the top left corner of it's hood. The Tyger Claw instinctually attempts to turn to face Brian before attempting to yank his blade out of the hood of the car forcing it to be jammed. Brian recognizes this, quickly gets up and throws his body at the Tyger Claw pinning him up against the car.

        He grabs the Tyger Claws broken and dangling mantis blade arm forcing the Tyger Claw to once again scream in pain. The Tyger Claw instinctually twists his body around in an attempt to push Brian away; while doing this, the dangling mantis blade failing to re-contract back into place slices upward along first Brian's shoulder then up to his neck and then off of his chin gashing him open. Brian's eyes snap closed as he flinches in pain before slamming his body up again against the Tyger Claw pinning him to the Shion once more. Brian hooks the crushed mantis blade arm under his own arm before cranking it back towards himself with all of his strength. The Tyger Claw lets out his biggest shriek of pain yet..at the same time, Brian grabs his Lexington with his other arm and places the barrel at the base of the Tyger Claws skull letting out 5 shots. The first 2 shots exit out of the Tyger Claw's face as the 3 behind them send blood splattering wildly into the Night City air like a fountain. The Tyger Claw, still pinned by Brian's force is let got of as he collapses to the street lifeless with his arm still stuck in the hood of the car.

Chapter Text

       The pouring rain drowns out the sound of tires screeching to a halt. The backdoor of the R.E.O facility is kicked open with full force letting in a tremendous gust of wind and rain. The lights of the run-down facility are off making the place look abandoned. The sounds of strained grunts and dragging clothes pair together with the heavy wet footsteps of boots. Brian gets Graves into an operating room.. struggling to lift him onto the table.

Brian frantically looks around the room grabbing various supplies, violently opening drawers, tearing open gauze packages, riffling through endless amounts of empty maxdoc inhalers, and knocking over a bunch of metal tools and glass containers. Graves' eyes open wide, coughing up blood struggling to breathe as Brian gets back to the table.

"COME ON MAN!" Brian screams through his teeth while pressing down on Graves' wound making him shriek in pain. Unsure of if he should even be doing that, he quickly rips his hands away from the wound before quickly putting them back on.. then taking them off again. He quickly glances and looks around the room before sitting up and putting his hands on his head. Scanning Graves' body while trying to move his clothes out of the way, Brian yells Through his teeth again, "WHAT DO I DO?!! YOU GOTTA TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!... PLEASE!!!!"

The sounds of rain and frantic panic in the operating room gives way to the feint sound of a woman's playful giggle. As Brian desperately tries to work on Graves, the woman's giggle goes from feint to strong as a flashback to Brian's past begins:

"Hands up choom!! Now gimme that shard!" The woman attempts to grab Brian by his shirt to drag him to the floor unsuccessfully. Brian grabs the woman's arm and effortlessly spins her around pulling her in close.

"Not bad." Brian whispers in her ear with a big smile on his face before shoving her down onto the bed. The woman lets out a big laugh, "Not bad?! hahaha that was horrible! Who the hell am I scaring with that?"

Brian, continuing to smile, sits down next to her at the edge of the bed with the bright beautiful sun beaming in through the window.

"The how can be taught pretty easily... I need you to spend more time thinking about the why."

"What do you mean?" She says while grinning and playing with Brian's blood red, crimson Nue, tilting it and making it catch the rays from the sun at just the right angle, giving it a glossy wet glimmer and sparkle.

"Take that same scenario... Iron in hand, shard to be klepped... but instead of some street punk gonk like me in your hands.. say its a mother of 3... with her hands in the air... and her eldest trying to fend you off." The woman's grin turns to a serious, contemplating face as she loosens her grip and lowers the Nue. Brian continues.

"There's always going to be cases where force is the only option.. but even in those cases... its not the only option."

"GOD VARGA! What the hell does that even mean!!?" She shouts through her teeth as she sits up and wraps her arms around his neck from behind. The pair of them laugh while Brian turns around to face her while still in her arms, lifting her slightly before both fall to the bed.

"Its usually better to think before you act.. that way you don't have to act before thinking... Remember... The discretion of a merc-"

"-Can be as lethal as their iron." She whispers with a smile finishing his sentence with a smile and looking deep into his eyes. The two giggle at the symmetry before sharing a brief silence in each other's arms.

"And what about you huh? Mister merc guru with all the answers... what are you doing in that scenario?" Brian continues to stare deep into her eyes before producing a big smile as the two of them move even closer to kiss.

The sound of pattering rain and heavy wind woosh back into focus and ending the flashback.

Graves coughs up more blood before taking a deep breath and looking at Brian trying to apply gauze to his wound. Graves grabs Brian's jacket and pulls him in close, struggling through the pain...Brian grabs Graves' fist thats holding onto him.

"Brian.. li- listen to me. im.." Graves beginning to apologize stops himself, closes his eyes tight and pauses for a brief but clear moment, turning his head to the side and tensing up before looking back at Brian.. "I just wanted... I just wanted to GET BACK UP THERE Y'KNOW?!" Graves says through his teeth, while fighting tears and letting out a big exhale and cough. Graves looks up at the ceiling. " i... We were..."

Graves pauses again... this time longer due to the pain before continuing in a tired voice looking at Brian deep in his eyes.

"You... you have to remember B..." Graves looks back up and away from Brian before another pause... letting out an exhausted and fleeting breath.

"Remember for her..."

Graves' grip on Brian's jacket loosens as his hand surrenders to gravity... Brian grabs ahold of it even tighter to prevent it... He pulls Graves in tight as the pair rest their foreheads on each other. Seeing only their silhouettes, the sounds of Brian's guttural screams are left completely muted and unheard... as the sound of the gentle rain continues to relentlessly fall onto the windows of the darkened operating room.

       Some time later in the night, Brian pulls back up to the front of his house in Graves' Butte. The sound of the pattering rain blankets the roof of the vehicle with numbing consistency alongside rolling thunder. He puts the Butte in park before looking down... he then looks over at the passenger seat stained with excessive amounts of blood before looking back down again. The blood soaked bandages and gauze barely hanging on to Brian's open wounds stick to his damp, shredded clothes and body... another long night in NC has taken it's promised toll. Brian goes to walk up his porch before stopping and staring at the wide open door frame and destroyed door letting in excessive amounts of rain and debris. The crack of the lightning briefly illuminates the destroyed front of his house... nothing more than a brittle shell with stored memories of what it once was... With his father's urn in hand, he steps in through the door frame to his completely pitch black house... crunching broken glass beneath his boots with every slow step.

Feeling completely empty and alone... lost... broken... an already tainted soul now ravaged with fresh wounds by the wrath of an unforgiving city. He stands at the kitchen counter with the weight of the world baring down on his shoulders before reaching to turn on a light.

The unmistakable sound he had trouble forgetting re-enters his mind instantly. The safety of a Nue being clicked off forces his eyes wide open. As he goes to turn around he hears the voice of a woman that hes never heard before... "Busy day?"

Chapter Text

"...Busy Day?"

       Brian turns around to see the woman in black he found in his backyard from the prior evening... sitting on the couch in the now dimly lit and tattered house. With that jet black Nue pointed at his skull sponge, she sat comfortably on the living room couch adjacent to the kitchen area and his father's chair. The steady rain outside occasionally wafts in with the strong breeze continuing to soak the patio and entrance to his home. The rolling thunder compliments the sparse cracks of lightning adding to the tension.

       Instinctually, Brian makes some quick and familiar observations of the woman as he assesses her. Tall and lanky... dressed like an operator... wouldn't be surprised if she was a solo... perhaps a merc even. Upon second glance however... the picture becomes far clearer. Excluding the jacket, her kit looks formally retrofitted... all the way down to her boots. The various implants he could barely notice are clearly tailored to her specific figure... minimal EMP threading... minimal LEDS. Her chrome weaved cleanly with both her ganic flesh and high quality RealSkinn... so well that he could hardly tell if or what she had. This level of professional work...? The silent thought hits him conclusively:






"Corpo." 

       He calmly raises his eyebrows and tilts his head slightly showing his deep neck wound that ran up from his chest to his jawline. The deep gash barely covered by blood stained gauze has left his light skin raw and red. Several quick flashes of Brian's intense scrap with the Mantis Bladed Tyger Claw are seen alongisde Graves being stabbed and Brian unloading Lexington rounds into the back of the Tyger's head. A silent flash of lightning briefly fills the room followed by a crackle of rolling thunder.

The woman raises her eyebrows in slight surprise before speaking through her black leather facemask... her voice is feminine yet fairly gruff.

"VERY busy day i see." The woman looks Brian up and down noticing his condition and the urn he had just rested on the kitchen counter. She then glances around the house while Brian stands there silent... she continues.

"Y'know, i almost thought this place abandoned. I was probably gonna-"

"Are you alright..?" Brian interrupts.

The woman raises her eyebrows again shocked and chuckles before gesturing at him. "Am i alright..? Ha"

"You didn't look it last i saw you..." He looks down and away slightly while wrinkling his eyebrows. "To be frank... I haven't been able to get it out of my head."

"Where is it?" She asks while squinting her eyes and nodding her head up... iron still trained on him. The extended barrel on that jet black Nue made it look like a cannon.

He lets out a tired deep breath "...Where's what."

She pauses and crosses her long legs, rubbing the tight black leather together before continuing with that feminine and gruff voice alongside the sounds of pattering rain.

"You know... I gotta be honest... it wasn't easy getting the spec on you."

Brian's posture shifts slightly as he grows more attentive. She continues.

"Your records spotted... barring several mediocre run-ins with NCPD i'd say its pretty vanilla... No more... current living relatives" She glances at the bloodied lazyboy. "And no known associates either.."

Brian wrinkles his eyebrows while continuing to look at her... Almost attempting to check her condition. Several quick flashes of how she looked when Brian found her in his backyard rush through his mind. The panic on her bloodied face... her iron shaking in her hand... her gasp of fear. The woman shifts her weight on the couch, switching her crossed legs and setting her Nue down by her side.

"You said it yourself... vanilla." Brian responds dismissively.

"Mm.. that was before digging." She crosses her arms and rests her back up against the couch in an even more passive posture. "You've done several gigs... no record of who for. Few and far between but big scores nonetheless. The only real pattern to emerge was the lack of traces found in the work..." She raises her eyebrows and scratches the back of her head. "It just got me thinking... who the hell does this guy have scrubbing data for him...? Must be good."

Rolling thunder rests alongside a brief pause... she asks. "You F.I.A?"

Brian scoffs and smiles while putting his hands on his forehead, turning and looking away... he responds in a ridiculing tone: "F.I.A..." he chuckles condescendingly.

She continues. "Even if you got someone good enough to scrub intel for you... can't get rid of everything. Arroyo born into a military family-"

As she rattles off basic public information, Brian becomes completely disinterested in what shes saying or talking about. He turns his back towards her to reach onto the counter for his pack of smokes. While doing this, the woman, still looking at him, tilts her head up slightly and pauses... almost preparing for what shes about to say next.









"Marilyn Parker."

Brian immediately stops mid motion and glances back toward her over his shoulder. The rolling thunder and pattering rain hitting the windows takes over the brief dead silence...

"Sister to one Evelyn Park-"

Brian turns and snap draws his Lexington pointing it directly at her... she gasps as her eyes open wide. The spinal column of the woman fires triggering her sandevistan. She flashes behind Brian yanking one of his arms behind his back and slamming him head first into the kitchen counter pinning him to it as his Lexington goes flying. The force pressing against Brian feels like the weight of a car as he hopelessly struggles against it.

"Struck a nerve?!" She barks through her teeth as she holds Brian down feeling him resist.

Brian's open wounds begin to run again as his blood starts to leak onto the sleeve of the woman's black leather Kuomori trench coat. She continues gritting her teeth "Wanna tell me about her? Cuz i couldn't find SHIT!...why is that huh?!"

Brian slowly begins to stop struggling and resisting as the blood loss and force leads to a ringing in his ears... muffling and distorting the woman's demands and questions... He passes out.

Chapter Text

\+/ PAST \+/       


       Marilyn's deep, labored breaths grow from feint to apparent. The sound of her shoes slapping pavement and cracking broken glass ties together with the sounds of loud music, sirens, car alarms and gun shots. Marilyn... having never done this before is clearly in a panic... her mouth and eyes wide open as she sprints down the street as fast as she can. Her dilated pupils illuminated her big beautiful green eyes under Night City's neon glow as she passes by advertisement after advertisement. Countless holograms of eye catching marketing tactically held in front of your face for as long as possible. The fabric of her jean shorts rubbed together vigorously as she hops a loud, clanky chainlink fence before sprinting down a back alley shrouded in shadowed darkness. Moments later, she makes it to an edge before hesitantly taking a final leap down a 10 foot dead drop... the impact makes her fall to her hands and knees as she lets out a subtle grunt. She scrambles back up to her feet, she takes on a brisk and steady walking pace up the dimly lit street towards a parked Cortes while occasionally looking back over her shoulder.

       She swings the passenger door open and hops in out of breath and close to hyperventilating. Brian sitting in the driver's seat calmly smoking a cigarette slowly looks over at Marilyn struggling to catch her breath. She glances at him, reaches over, and yanks his cig out of his mouth before using her labored breathing to take a deep puff of it. She rests the back of her head on the headrest while arching her back and continuing to smoke. The adrenaline coursing through her body leaves her restless and struggling to calm herself. Its as if she had plenty of energy left to spare. The mellow, Royal Blue playing on the radio has the volume lowered creating a calming atmosphere in the car.

"Shard?" Brian asks in a dead tone.

Marilyn produces the shard from her jeans pocket, looking at it with longing curiosity while Brian quietly observes.

She goes to slot the shard before having her forearm quickly grabbed... the speed of the grab makes a skin slapping noise that startles her.

"Klep... the shard. Not slot it." Brian says as he calmy takes the shard out of her hand before holding it up in front her. He continues.

"This is corpo trash Mare... the less we know about it, the better. You can use your imagination to discern what's on it...and i'm sure it'd be pretty spot on... Some corpo gonk tryin' to get a taste of the NC night life... probably got a bit too comfortable and started openin' his mouth... or has an acquired taste for somethin' he'd rather no one know about.."

Marilyn, takes another long drag of the cig before she responds.

"A corpo this sloppy... hm... couldn't we see whats on it and like... use it to our advantage or something? Maybe get some extra eds out of him..? Or a favor...? or both? He is dong biz outside of a fixer after all. I mean.. his recourse at this point is practically zilch right?"

Brian looks over at Marilyn with a proud smile. "Easy tiger... this guys a low level corporat... wouldn't have much worth extracting even if it meant having a favor owed... But yes. You're right."

Brian pauses and raises his eyebrows while titlting his head to the side. "Already using your discretion to look for potentially unseen opportunities to be seized... I'm not creating a monster am i...?"

Marilyn looks at Brian and grins before looking forward again and taking another drag of the smoke. He continues.

"And The Moxes that had it...?"

Marilyn looks over at Brian with a now serious expression, almost forgetting that part of the job.

"Oh! uhm... they love me." She chuckles. "Initiation for me is 'sometime in the near future' she said."

"Good... You'll be ready." Brian responds before promptly starting the car.

Marilyn sits up in her seat. "So where we going..? Off to the rat?"

"Off to the gym." Brian responds. "If we take longer... he'll think the job was harder."

The pair look at each other at the same time "Extra Eddies!" they both exclaim in sync as they laugh together while casually driving away.

Chapter Text

\+/ PRESENT \+/

       The cool breeze of the early morning nips at Brian's wounds... finding himself once again flattened by the powers that be. He awakens on his couch, sitting up and feeling a sharp twinge of pain on his chest and face during a brief coughing fit. Several flashes of the previous night's events fly through his mind... Graves' lifeless embrace... the idle sounds of his frantic scrambling around in the operating room when he was trying to save him... His final words to Brian: "Remember for her." Echo in the back of his head against his will.

The pain is mostly mitigated as Brian looks down and notices gauze and bandages have been applied to his wounds in a professional way. He glances over to see his blood soaked jacket and shirt have been left draped on his dad's bloody lazyboy. The cold air of the morning wraps itself around Brian like a new jacket as he takes a deep labored breath, feeling his wounds slowly throb and contract.

The costs behind every action you take out there are often paid in blood and regret. Compounding mistakes... and unforeseen factors force a desensitized and often stoic mentality into the culture of Night City. With a never ending flood of events going on at any given time in any given place... there's a jaded mindset created... compelling people to just move on.

He slowly rises to his feet and puts his jacket on as he smells the strong scent of cigarette smoke emitting from the front of his house.

       Brian slowly staggers outside onto his front porch. He sees the streets of his neighborhood carrying on like they normally do... already far removed from the events that have now changed his life forever. Shouting matches, dice games, loud music, kids at play and the occassional stray gunshot settle in for the day. He sees remnants of the morning his father died within the scattered debris of the block... reminding him of just how fleeting the events of Night City are. You can be on top of the world one day before it all comes crashing down the next... and completely forgotten the following. This is a cycle Brian is all too familiar with and contemplates regularly... applying the concept to any days events.

He glances to his right to see the Woman in Black with her back leaned up against the house smoking. He sees his pack of smokes on a chair on the porch and grabs them without looking at her. He lights one and takes a deep breath as she stares forward smoking her own in deep thought as the pair share a silence together.

"Thank you.." Brian says in a deep tone while glancing down at the patchwork she did on him.

"...Who the hell are you..?" The woman impatiently but inquisitively asks... The black leather facemask she wears slightly muffles her speech but compliments the unique tone of her voice.

"Seems you already know who I am... I should be askin' you."

"I lost something more than just my Avenger when i was being chased you know... they-"

"You mean the chase that killed my father." Brian says in a dead tone still looking out into the street away from her before he takes another drag.

The woman stands up straight before taking another drag and crossing her arms before walking toward Brian. The heavy sounds of her black leather boots walking across the withered wooden porch add weight and thump with each step... she stops almost shoulder to shoulder.

She looks at Brian for the first time directly, "I'm... sorry about your dad... Enrique was it...? I didn't-"

"What are you looking for." Brian says as he impatiently turns towards the woman in black approaching him, looking at her for the first time directly in daylight.

Brian, unprepared for how close they are is caught off guard and again has some instinctual thought reactions: "We're the same height... her eyes are a vibrant emerald green... her hair is jetblack and long." Most importantly... he can see the worry in her eyes.

"An access card." She replies in a serious tone.

Brian looks away and takes another drag while thinking... With a posture of almost reluctance to get the cogs in his head turning on the subject. Its as if he knows where this is inevitably going to lead... how can he not coming from where he's from. The kids on the block yelling and playing takes over the brief pause. She continues

"I stashed it in your backyard just in case they caught me... Came back around later... it wasn't-"

"Come." Brian says after taking a final drag of his cig and flicking it towards the street before walking back into the house. The woman promptly follows.

Chapter Text

Brian steps out onto his backyard scanning the area before stepping down the backsteps into the patched dead grass and dirt with litter scattered everywhere. The Woman in Black follows him out the backdoor with her arms crossed watching him.

"You think I didn't do this already..?" She proclaims

"Well, if you found it, you wouldn't still be here would you?" He says looking back at her; She looks at him directly as Brian continues.

"No... you wouldn't. In fact, I'd go as far as to say you can't go back to wherever you've come from without... whatever the hell this is." He goes back to searching briefly before shifting focus and walking back into the house right past her... she promptly follows.

        Brian exits back out on to the front porch of his home while lighting another cigarette. The feelings... frame of mind.. and energy he now has feels in complete contrast to when he first exited his home that morning. This dormant, buried energy of proactive motivation he once had has returned so unexpectedly that he doesn't even notice it... instead remaining focused on the task at hand. His front porch offered him a great view of the entire block's landscape... enabling him to see it's activities and inhabitants more like a chess board. He scans the street out front with focus while he takes a drag of his smoke before stepping down onto the side walk. Brian looks at the burned rubber tire marks of the Avenger and the pursuing Emperor... they drag in a drift right past the front of his house before returning to the road slightly and continuing up the street.

       He calmly smokes his cigarette as he follows the path of the tire marks up the street occasionally glancing at various areas and debris around them. Local pedestrians stumble by detached from reality or self involved in their own business... The woman sticks out like a chrome thumb as she catches hard looks and hears subtle whispers from vagrants and street toughs. The unfamiliarity of the environment grips the woman... the level of squaller and sketchiness causes her to remain guarded with her head on a swivel.

       She follows behind him at a good distance with her arms crossed attentively watching him work... observing his methods of tracking. The area was in ruin... with trash piles that all sort of blurred together. The overall typography of the place made it a nightmare for her untrained eye to discern new remnants from old... the streets were just littered with the aftermath of various compounded events left to rot in their final resting places. On her own... it'd be like looking for a needle in a bonestack.

       They reach the end of the tire marks as Brian looks around the impact/crash site. To his surprise, the area that it went down in is noticeably far more clean than your standard NCPD wipe up. All traces of both vehicles are completely gone besides several twisted metal scraps and a lot of broken glass... it was as if they wanted to be sure not to miss anything... nothing left for the local buzzards of the neighborhood this time. Brian takes another drag before looking around the impact site then up to the top floor of a nearby apartment complex. He takes a final drag before flicking the cig into the street and letting out a deep breath. "Shit.." He whispers in a tired tone.

"What is it..?" The woman asks confused.

"Come on." He B-Lines it into the apartment at a steady pace as she follows. The pair walk past a clearly destroyed elevator to take the stairs up.

"What are we doing..?"

"We're gonna try and have a chat with someone."

"Up here..?"

"Nicholas Howard.."

Brian says while reluctantly closing his eyes and continuing up the flight of stairs.

"Who..?" She asks.

"For as long as I can remember, playing on this street, we kids would always look up and see ol' Nick staring blankly out of that damn window right inside his living room. We would laugh and make guesses as to what he was looking at or what the hell he was even doing... just standing there all day like a fuckin' potted plant. Nothing about it was certain except for the fact that he was always there... always looking up and down the street day in and day out... stood stone like a fuckin' gargoyle."

"And you think he saw... what exactly..?"

"We'll find out." The flight of stairs is no joke as both traverse them, neither of them get winded or tired on the way up. Brian continues. "Besides... its not exactly what he knows that matters." The woman promptly looks over at Brian as they both reach the front door of the apartment. Brian returns the look. "Its what he won't tell anyone that matters." Brian knocks on the door 4 times with light force.

"So he doesn't talk to badges huh." The woman proclaims figuring out the purpose of the visit

"He doesn't talk to anyone..."

"So why the fuck would he talk to you..?" She asks while putting her hands in her jacket pockets.

A brief pause takes place.

"...He knew my father."

Brian responds before impatiently knocking harder another 4 times. "NICK! Its Brian! Open up!"

Brian knocks on the door harder as the woman in black waiting rolls her eyes. Shes clearly impatient by nature but has worked on it. "He's not here." She proclaims as she stands back up straight ready to leave.

"Oh, he's here... he's just fuckin around... NICK!" Brian bangs again. The sound of an Achilles tech rifle charging up on the other side of the door startles the woman as she quickly turns to face the door. Brian calmly puts his arm out in front of her... gently moving her over to the side out from in front of the door. Next they hear an M2038 Tactician get racked as Brian closes his eyes and takes a deep breath looking down. The heavy footsteps of Nicholas slowly approach the door as they hear several locks and chains get fiddled with and removed... some dropping to the carpeted floor with a hard thud.

The door finally opens with a slight crack as Nicholas peeks through. "Brian..." He says in a deep, rough voice

"Nick.." Brian responds while looking at the man's red eyes and disheveled thinning hair, holding the rifle.

"What do you want Brian... Where's your-"

"He's gone Nick... shootout you heard the other day."

Nicholas stares at Brian before briefly looking down in mourning. Brian continues while letting himself into the apartment slightly pushing himself past Nicholas. The woman, surprised by this, promptly follows behind Brian as Nicholas looks at her confused.

"Y'know, if you ever took the time to actually leave this place you'd have a better idea of what's goin' on outside the view of your windows here." Brian says as he glances around the apartment and walks up to the window showcasing a clear cascading view of the subsequent backyards leading up the street towards Brian's house.

       The woman in black takes the time to make some observations... all things considered, the place doesn't look anything like she guessed. It was spotless... everything was in order and squared away... A direct contrast to the scattered trash and debris you find in the streets and in that very apartment complex. The place smelled of fresh linseed oil and polish from woodwork. It was clear to her judging based on the man's big, imposing frame and organized living space that he was most likely ex-military. Upon further observation she notices his opened weapon locker with various guns scattered within it and a lone picture of 2 men in uniform side by side resting atop it.

"There's nothing left out there for me Brian... you know that. I don't belong here... never did."

"I know Nick... my dad-"

"-Enrique..." Nicholas interrupts

"My dad told me-"

"My only choom.." Nicholas says as he stares off in the distance

"Nick..."

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him...The only reason I stayed in NC..."

"Nick.."

"Right by his side... no matter what... even if it meant being in this shithole Arroyo-"

"NICK!"

Brian yells a final time getting Nicholas re-focused and standing right in front of him... Nicholas turns his attention to Brian.

"After the shootout and the crash... what did you see out here Nick. Who did you see?" Nicholas stares at Brian briefly before turning his attention to the woman in black leaned up next to the backyard window.

"So that's why you're back here huh." Nicholas says to her... getting her full attention.

"Wanna know what i saw?" He says raising his rocky, grumbled voice looking at Brian.

"I saw HER!" Looking over at the woman in black. Brian looks over at her then back at Nicholas.

Nicholas continues while face to face with Brian but only looking directly at the woman. "They were on her ass like i'd never seen before. Cornered her... then she went to work... right there." Nicholas points vaguely at the window.

"I saw her kill 3 chromed out corpo huscle... yeah, i know they were corpo... she even sent a 4th one fleeing..." Nicholas turns his body away from Brian and towards the woman while squinting his eyes and grinning slightly... he continues.

"What was that... sandevistan and a K-Bar? Ha... they almost had you. I thought it was over after they got your iron." Nicholas pauses briefly before shifting subject.

"Where the hell did you get that implant huh...? Military grade combatware... and who the hell would even be able to chip that for you huh? Cyberware acquisition at that echelon... tch... damn near unheard of... everything's catalogued"

"Nick.. who else did you-" Nick ignores Brian and starts walking towards the woman before continuing.

"You wanna know what stood out to me about that..." He says slowly stepping towards her as she shifts her posture and attention towards him.

"Nick.." Brian says agitated... attempting to interrupt.

"I've seen and been apart of some scraps in my day... but that... that was brutal." Nicholas pauses briefly. "You like killing corpos... don't you." He says as he stands in front of her now face to face.

"NICK!" Brian yells.

Nicholas matches the tone and yells back while still looking directly into the woman's eyes. "The fourth one didn't get away!... Did he?" He exclaims.

"She tackled him... strangled him while he begged for his life." The woman now fully locked into his eyes uncrosses her arms. Nicholas continues with a smile. "You didn't have to. You wanted to... didn't you." He whispers in her face.

The woman looks down and away from him before he continues... getting even closer to her face and lowering his rocky grumbled voice.

"What did they do to you huh?... what did they take-" The woman quickly looks back up at him and into his eyes... an expression of nervous intensity washes over her face... she says nothing.

"Because THAT'S! WHAT THEY DO!! THEY ONLY!! TAKE!!!!-" Nicholas shouts right in her face.

Brian grabs him from behind, tripping him and quickly slamming him to the floor of the apartment. He pins him down with his knee on his back while holding one of his arms and pressing down on his head. The woman looking away flustered doesn't react... feeling the tension of the moment suddenly break.

"I don't think you're hearin' me Nick." Brian says through his teeth with an intense look on his face.

"Gaahhhh!!! Brian! You little shit!!!" Nicholas shouts in pain while squirming to get up or move with no success.

"AFTER it went down and everyone was gone... WHAT. Did. You. SEE! NICK!"

"NCPD SQUAD CAR! OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE!!" Nicholas yells while in pain.

"WHAT ELSE!!" Brian yells through his teeth while holding him down and yanking slightly... The woman in black stands there watching while still in a haze.

"Aaagh! 6th STREET! THEY WERE AT YOUR PLACE! BACKYARD!" The woman, snapping out of her trance re-focuses her attention... Brian, uneasy at the news continues.

"How many."

"JUST ONE!! AAGHH!!! WHAT THE FUCK!! LET GO!!!"

Brian looks directly at the woman while holding Nicholas down. She returns it with a confirming look... Brian then lets Nicholas go and stands up over him as he lets out a shriek of relief while still laying on the floor.

"Get out of this city Nick... you said it yourself... nothing left for you here." Brian says in a dead tone... staring down at Nicholas with heartless pity and the jaded numbness of different times

Brian glances at the woman before turning and walking out of the apartment... She stares down at Nicholas left in pain on the floor... thinking deeply. Nicholas stares back up at her without saying anything... She follows after Brian out of the apartment.

Chapter Text

\+/ PAST \+/

       The neon soaked cityscape of Night City glows bright on a Friday night. The loud booming music of Lizzie's Bar cascades throughout the densely packed block drowning out car horns, boomboxes, commotion and loud conversation. Tourists and night citizens walk the streets with high energy and debauchery on their minds. Everything from Rayfields to modified street racers loaded with Choo2 reflect and shine bright under the neon lights of Lizzie's parking lot.

       Throughout the noise and chaos of the night, a loud thumping is heard across the street... the sound of a steel baseball bat crushing bone leaves a man screaming in pain. A crowd gathered around the commotion includes suits, bar hoppers, and gangers of various outfits cheering and looking on... some with disgust... some with astonishment... and some with arousal. Within the crowd... given a wide birth, stood another smaller circle... glowing with various vibrant colors... hot pink platform shoes, tight turquoise spandex and jewelry that glowed brighter than the sun worn by a small group of toned, voluptuous, skin showing women also screaming and cheering on.

       Within THAT circle, the back of a denim jean jacket is brought into focus... rocking the patch of a bow-topped turquoise and pink neon glowing skull on it. The blood soaked red bat lay beside the woman thats on top of the man beating him nearly unconscious. As it is revealed that the woman in the center is Marilyn, she grabs the corpo by his collar and pulls him in close. With blood streaming from a cut in her mouth and her eyes wide open, she yells through her blood stained teeth nearly exhausted from the beatdown, "DON'T FUCK WITH THE MOXES.." before punching him a final time leaving him in a bloody puddle lifeless on the pavement. Marilyn is assisted back to her feet by her sisters who shower her with pats and praise as they all walk away making the crowd disperse. Marilyn walks up to the joytoy that the corpo was involved with stood off to the side... gently grabbing her face and looking her over... the young woman with her clothes torn sports cuts and bruises on her neck, face and forearm. Marilyn pulls her in close resting the sobbing joytoy's head on her chest while consoling her.

       With the joytoy in her arms, Marilyn glances past her shoulder up the sidewalk to see Brian crossing the street towards her from Lizzie's Bar. Her eyes light up and widen at the sight of him as her voice cracks and she instinctually calls out to him; "BRIAN!?" Marilyn yells surprised.

"Take her." Marilyn glances over and calmly says to the other Moxes as they gently escort the joytoy back across the street toward Lizzies. She walks up to Brian and punches him in the chest stumbling him slightly.

"Where the FUCK have you been Varga." Ignoring her question, Brian grabs her beautiful face... looking over her wounds and wiping the blood with his bare hand.

"What the hell are you doing..?" Brian whispers in a calm voice with his eyebrows wrinkled.

Marilyn stumbling over her words shouts back frantic.

"Uh? pf- what am I DO?- WAITING FOR YOU! You haven't.. called.. you haven't been answering me! I didn't know WHERE YOU WERE! YOU LEFT M-"

Brian stops her outcry with a long deep kiss while still holding on to her face... getting her blood on his lips and jaw. Marilyn breaks eye contact and looks down while holding both of his wrists... she calmly continues.

"I don't know... what i'm doing here... You didn't tell me.. what to-"

"Exactly." He says cutting her off. "This is who you're becoming... without me telling you what to do... that's why its important that you know exactly what you're doing... and i don't.. Your path is yours to walk."

"This isn't my path.." Marilyn responds in a whispered tone... still holding onto his wrists tightly. A brief pause happens amongst the intense nightlife of the city as Brian still holding onto her face looks down past her almost with guilt.

"...It is now." He whispers barely audible over the loud sounds of a night out on the town.

Marilyn looks up at Brian with slight distress and confusion. "Varga... i-"

"Come." Brian turns around with his arm around Marilyn pulling her in close. She rests her head on his chest as the pair of them walk up the street a few yards as Marilyn stares at her cut, bloody and bruised knuckles.

"We need to talk." Brian says while pulling out a pack of smokes; He gently places one on her lips before caressing her cheek and lighting it for her. He lights one of his own as Marilyn takes a seat on the edge of a concrete structure. Her tight, thigh high denim shorts rub against the concrete as she crosses her bare legs. She inhales deep and exhales even harder.

"Listen, me and Graves got into some shit... It wasn't-"

"Why didn't you tell me." Marilyn quickly responds in an exhausted tone with no eye contact.

"Too dangerous. Shit got outta hand with this Maelstrom deal... we were with-"

"I can help you... and you won't let me. What do you think that feels like..?"

"This isn't a fuckin college course Mare... people die."

"AND YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT!?" Marilyn yells before uncrossing her legs and turning toward Brian. "You stick me here in Watson then split without so much as a 'good luck, you got this'? Popping in and out of my life whenever you want!?"

Marilyn pauses taking a drag and calming herself. "Everything you've been teaching me... all of the training... all of the busy work. Why? Just to... Varga... if something were to happen-" Brian cuts her off.

"There's a wreath that I have stashed with Graves... belongs to this Maelstrom fuck head that owes us some serious eds. We know hes got the scratch... apparently the guys been hoarding from his entire crew. Graves' girl Allie confirmed it for us... deep in Maelstrom turf. Thing is, this gonk never leaves the block let alone their flophouse... too busy neck deep in XBDs or high off his ass on S-Keef. Guys such an isolated prick none of his chooms even come around him anymore."

       Marilyn continuing to smoke looks over at the parking lot of Lizzies and sees her girls coming back out front. The high-polish, neon gloss on her fingernails catches the light glow of the city perfectly reflecting their vibrant color. Marilyn's outfit is a perfect display of the grit and beauty brought about by the Night City street life. The active mentality she carries day in and day out has gone on to define her in significant and powerful ways. As her rep as a Mox increases... so does her capability with Brian's guidance. He continues

"Hes looking for a custom tuning and gave his wreath to Allie for some reason... I don't know... Guys an idiot. Thing is, after that shit that went down with Softsys my tuner skipped town a long time ago... We need something that'll keep him occupied while something a bit more... deliberate happens... We're at a dead end here Mare."

       




       The two of them share a brief pause in each other's company while smoking. The stray laughter and party atmosphere of the area settles in as thoughts weigh heavy on both of their minds. Unlike some of their high energy romps through the streets they've shared in the recent past... tonight's different. Its as if the pair rest sat a crossroad. In Night City... the choices... the decisions you make often go on to define you. The never ending rat race between the haves and have nots is often what drives people to take those daring risks... sending em right over the edge.

"My sister." Marilyn says in a dead tone breaking the silence. "She has this good friend of hers.."

"Who? What's their name?" Brian asks with an eager tone of hope.

"Ummm... ahh, i can't remember... Whenever i'm at clouds though I see her staring at me alot... uhm... sometimes.."

Brian looks over at Marilyn with his eyebrows wrinkled and a puzzled look, she looks over at him awkwardly.

"Its... kinda weird- Anyway, apparently shes a real wizard with all that tech stuff and does high level custom tuning all the time. Eve's always talking about how good she is. I think they've gotten pretty close to each other... especially recently."

"Is she game?"

"I don't know Varga, I have to ask Evelyn... You know how she can be."

Chapter Text

\+/ PRESENT \+/

       The flick of Brian's lighter is heard on the front steps of Nicholas' apartment complex... car horns blare out amongst booming music and chaotic street activity. An NCPD squad car in hot pursuit of a fleeing Cortes screams by with stray gunshots being exchanged without so much as a flinch from preoccupied pedestrians. Just a watered down version of yesterday's events with iron of a much smaller caliber... not serious enough to even react to in this part of town as it screeches by headed toward Heywood. Brian psychologically numbed to the chaotic nature of his environment takes a heavy drag of his smoke as he glances up the street. The heavy booted footsteps of the woman in black thump down the stairs behind him as she exits onto the porch causing Brian to look back at her. While doing this, he watches her remove her black leather facemask for the first time.

       His instinctual thought reaction: "Shes beautiful." The rays of the sun hit her fair skin illuminating her face in a light Brian has yet to see her in revealing a deep scar along the side of her neck and jawline. Resting in the exact same spot in which he just got sliced by the Tyger Claw mantis blade the prior night... the coincidence of the placement perplexes him... it was a matching scar. To Brian, her scar compliments whom he's grown to understand her to be in their limited time together... with so many fleeting questions left unanswered and hanging in the air. Instinctually, he can't help it... his curiosity peaks... what would an operator of this caliber be doing getting chased around in Santo Domingo? Her recklessness is clearly pointed... but what would the cause be? He quickly checks himself before allowing his subconscious to poke and delve into places he'd rather not involve himself in. The slippery slopes of Night City often end in blood and betrayal... broken trust... and barren promises... these are realities that Brian knows all too well.

       The woman not paying attention to Brian at all lowers her mask in one hand and runs her fingers through her long black hair with the other. Clearly rattled by the interaction with Nicholas she stares down in deep thought. She's definitely not one used to being seen... let alone understood through the observations of strangers. She grabs one of her cigarettes before looking for her lighter... before shes able to start really looking, Brian lights her smoke for her. She glances at him before looking back down, taking a drag and putting her hand on her forehead. The two of them share a silence for a bit smoking as the ambience of the neighborhoods various activity rings out... the silence of their proximity to each other working as good enough company. The woman begins to speak but glances up to see Brian promptly walking away up the street at a steady pace. Surprised, she flicks her cig and follows after him up the sidewalk matching his speed.

"W-Where are you going?"

"Home."

"Wha-? But... you know 6th street right? This is your neighborhood."

"Trust me... barely at all." He says continuing to walk at a steady pace occasionally glancing back at her trying to keep up.

"Well listen, I don't know these people... i... i don't know Arroy-"

"Not interested." He raises his voice dismissively

"I need your help." She proclaims.

Brian quickly stops and turns around as her momentum trying to catch up to him puts her right in his face as he looks her deep in her eyes.

"I CAN'T!" He says in a whisper forcefully through his teeth before turning back around and continuing to walk away leaving her standing there.

"Y'know... your record wasn't completely spotted. Not hard to piece together when you think about it a bit." Brian ignores her and continues walking.

"THIS WHERE YOU WANTED TO END UP?!" She yells cracking her gruff, feminine voice, getting him to stop in his tracks. He hears the tone and emotion in her voice in a way he never has before without any interference from her mask. She continues while slowly walking towards him.

"Look... I see where you were... and I see where you are now... I just don't understand... why? Its almost like... you put yourself here. Even though this isn't where you wanted to be."

Brian turns around to face her standing right in front of him. Looking at her directly makes him glance away almost as if its hard for him to do. "I don't even know you..."

She lowers her eyebrows and responds. "You think that-"

"And what about YOU hm..? You got the spec on me but let me take a couple guesses." Brian cuts her off as he locks in, looking directly at her face to face speaking in a raised tone but quietly so only the two of them can hear.

"Car chase through Arroyo, shootouts, body count, collateral damage, and for what? You don't even have what you were after... AND!-" He stops abruptly to look over his shoulder to see if anyone's listening to them before looking back at her and checking his tone. "And you don't know where it is."

As the frustration increases, his voice lowers. He pauses before shifting subject and squinting his eyes..

"And where the fuck did you get that Sandy hm? ...Who do you have up your ass trying to rip that out of your back these days..? tch... as capable as you are-"

He looks her up and down as he steps in, leaning toward her. "You're lost."

The woman looking at him breaks eye contact... she looks down and away before he continues in a now lighter tone while turning and walking away.

"Go get your chooms to help you... you've got your lead."

"What chooms..?" The woman replies cracking her voice. Brian instinctually turns back around toward her hearing the distress in it. She continues.

"You think i'd be fucking around in Arroyo if I had reliable help..?"

Brian at a loss for words takes a deep breath before looking down.

"I'm... my name's Zaunya."

Chapter Text

       The flick of Brian's lighter is heard inside of his dilapidated home. The state of it is in shambles... broken glass, no front door, and the victim of at least one bum raid while he was away briefly resulting in tossed furniture and rummaged through belongings. If there was one thing Brian's father did it was keep the house in complete order. Similar to his choom Nicholas' place... it was spotless in times past... a direct contrast to the current condition. As Brian smokes he thinks about how pissed his father would be to see it... and how uninterested he personally is in fixing it back up. The metaphor of times changing in Brian's life are clearly seen through his home.

Zaunya sat back on the couch with her long slender legs crossed already smoking watches Brian slowly pace back and forth in the living room. Its clear due to their energy and body language that a conversation has happened prior to them being back at his place.

"So who's this for." Brian asks finally breaking the silence.

"What?"

"The gig, who gave you the job."

"This isn't a gig... just a... solo endeavor... why?"

"Any significant moves made in this city always catch a whiff from fixers..." He turns away and walks towards one of the houses front windows scanning outside before continuing slightly under his breath. "Especially in this shithole where nothings ever going on... That car chase and shootout raised some serious ears by now i'm sure. It gets easier to decipher the difference between a random street spat and a fallout amongst corpo huscle."

He looks back at Zaunya and catches her subtle reaction to the claim before continuing. "6th street is everywhere in this neighborhood... but when it comes to who could've took it in such a small time frame.. you won't have to look far."

Zaunya takes a drag of her smoke "Your neighbor said there was only one."

"Only one he saw." Brian takes a drag. "Remember... he doesn't know shit outside of those window views." He pauses briefly while changing subject. "Did you check the angles while we were up there."

"Yeah." She responds

Brian starts to continue, "Two blindspots in the backyard window and-"

"One in the front on the-" Zaunya says.

"Right side." They both say in sync. The chemistry gives Zaunya some levity while discomforting Brian and making him pause while shaking his head slightly. He turns back around and continues. "And what's on that right side blindspot out the front window?" He says as he can't help himself but test her ability to observe.

"The street." Zaunya replies figuring it out.

"And you're telling me you have NO idea who it could've been."

       


       Zaunya takes another drag before flicking her cig out the front window. "I was chased to Arroyo... had no business here." She glances outside before licking her lips and putting her black leather facemask back on... Brian catches another glimpse of her defined scar... running from her neck up to her jawline... just like his fresh wound but on the opposite end of her face. "They mirror each other..." He thinks to himself. She continues. "Honestly have never really been down here before outside of the occasional flyby."

"There's an outfit across the street that i know... ran by one Rick Forrester... real bleeding heart this guy. Been a 6th streeter for as long as I can remember. They get first dibs on pick throughs in the neighborhood whenever something like yesterday goes down. They tend to be far more... proactive than they really need to be lets say. Tried to get me to join once upon a time but..." Brian catches himself before finishing the thought. He changes the subject. "His crews small... but loyal... only 4 or 5 em i think... We should go have a talk with em."

"A talk..? Really..? That's the plan..?" Zaunya chuckles

Brian flicks his cig out the same window she did before glancing at her. She continues.

"I'm familiar with how these things go... But yeah, lets talk." The pair share a silence with each other for a brief moment as they prepare to leave. Zaunya breaks the silence. "Y'know... you haven't asked me any-"

"If you don't know the how... i'm not even gonna bother with the why." Another pause takes place before Brian looks directly at her.. "Not yet at least."

She breaks eye contact before Brian continues.

"First move is ours... alot of advantages to that when dealing with a situation like this. Information is key when searching around in the dark... especially around here. I know this asshole as well so.. that helps." Brian realizes hes thinking out loud before turning the thoughts towards Zaunya. "Just be discreet alright? Wait for me to move first." He says impatient.

"Oh, you think i can't be?" She raises her eyebrows and smirks forcing her cheeks slightly above her facemask.

Brian scoffs. "Yeah.. lets avoid burned rubber car chases and neighborhood shootouts alright?"

Zaunya gets up off of the couch and stands in front of Brian nodding her head in silent agreement.

He's again taken aback by her slender 6 foot 2 frame matching his height almost exactly... him being slightly taller. He returns the nod... looking at her emerald green eyes... This hits him with a wave of discomfort before turning to walk out the front door. The pair exit his home.

Chapter Text

       Later in the evening, Brian and Zaunya are seen in Graves' Butte finishing some smokes taking the time to scope out the 6th street house on the block. Its clear another conversation has taken place between them prior to this. Although the evening hue of Night City brings with it a shifted tone to it's inhabitants... the danger and energy only increases. Mellow lulls before flashes of action in the simmering pan of the black asphalt and slabbed concrete... this flow of motion that exists within Night City is one that takes some getting used to if learned before its too late. To their surprise, attentively as they watch, they don't see any foot traffic in or out of the house all afternoon bleeding into the late evening. Brian decides its time to go by simply opening his door, with no signal; Zaunya follows.

       With the sun now set and work commuters turned in for the night to tuck dirtkids into bed, Zaunya and Briancan be seen walking with purpose through the mellowed streets of Arroyo... just on the border of Rancho Coranado. Stepping over dorph heads caughing and huffing... skezzed out their minds and past kids running around breaking into abandoned buildings and busting windows or trying to start fires. The two share a silence, walking at a steady, determined pace side by side as she follows his lead up the street... neither have a need to talk at this point as the plan is clear. The two of them reach the 6th street house... a huge purple skull with a giant 6 on the forehead lay spray painted onto the wall of the house silently glaring at both of them. The pair both glance at each other before ascending the porch steps. Brian takes a brief pause before knocking on the door forcefully, it startles Zaunya a bit.

"WHO THE FUCK IS IT!!?" A loud, booming, scruff voice yells through the door seemingly across the house.

"Its Brian, open up." He says matching the tone. A long pause happens as the pair outside waiting glance at each other... they hear heavy locks and chains release with some thumping to the floor. Footsteps are heard on the otherside of the door along with scattered shuffling around before it finally opens. A short, older man with a brown leather bomber jacket and a white cowboy hat swings the door open. A huge smile takes over his face:

"BRIAAANN!!! LOOK AT YOU! GOOD TO SEE YA!!!"

"Rick." Brian says before attempting to walk into the home. Rick stops Brian in his tracks by putting his hand on his chest. Brian immediately grabs his arm with quick force, stepping towards him and holding onto it tight while squinting his eyes and gritting his teeth. Rick, unbothered by this turns his full attention towards Zaunya.

Rick and Brian disengage as Rick leans the forearm of his prosthetic up against the door frame and crosses one of his short legs over the other looking up at her. "And you sweetheart? who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" Rick says in a lowered monotone trying to be sexy. Zaunya looks back into the man's eyes with a serious expression.

"Z" She simply says in a flat tone.

"Z huh..? haha.. alright, fair enough." Rick continues to smile big raising his eyebrows and checking her out before stepping out of the door frame letting the pair of them in watching Zaunya walk past.

       The 3 of them make their way through the 6th street hangout. They feel the warmth of the building hit them immediately.. a direct contrast from the cold streets just outside. With Morro Rock playing obnoxiously loud in the background they see scattered Broseph and polished off Whisky bottles layed everywhere. The place smelled like tobacco and spilled liquor...'Live Free or Die' spraypainted in blue is seen in the main room with various 6th street gear and clothing scattered about. Rick speaks as they follow.

"Hey... some pretty crazy shit a couple days back huh? Did you see ALL that corpo huscle? Tch... sniffin' around here like bloodhounds i tell ya... pretty much scraped the entire damn place clean! Funny how some of these rats like to keep things 'extra' tidy at times."

Rick stops abruptly in his tracks and looks back at the pair of them remembering something. "And hey Brian... sorry about your dad." Rick says in a serious tone... he looks down and away briefly in mourning. "We lost a real soldier with that one..." Rick turns back around and continues walking. "You checked on Nick at all since? Better to before he strings himself up first. I know he never really wanted to be out here.-"

       Rick continues to ramble as the pair silently scan the area following behind him. Stacks of various crates and boxes with old military tech are piled up in the corners with an endless assortment of weapons laying about everywhere... Some being taken apart and laying in pieces to be cleaned, others mounted on the walls like trophies... some belonging to other gangs: A Tyger Claw katana, A Turquoise metal bat from The Mox and even a golden Valentino prosthetic arm formerly belonging to some poor unfortunate choom. Rick sits at a desk displaying the trophies overhead behind him as Brian and Zaunya take seats across the desk from him.

       With the music now turned down and cigar smoke from Rick's stogie tacking the room completely out, Rick continues to ramble to the two of them about the car chase and shootout from a few days back. Brian and Zaunya struggling to remain patient sit back attentively listening to Ricks verbal diarrhea drone on and on almost turning it into background noise. The pair of them glance at each other before Brian finally engages while Rick is mid laugh.

"So where's everybody at..?"

"Crews out workin right now... Badlands."

"Still got em out there rollin' around in the dirt huh." Brian chuckles

"Hey, Eds are eds Brian... nomads are usually good for it. Last fuck up turned out to be on OUR end... we flatlined that trash though. Fucker had the audacity to look me straight in the eyes and lie to me... RIGHT in my face... i mean... can you believe that? I don't even think the-" Brian cuts him off before he can get going with another ramble.

"Did you find anything out there after the badges split Rick... We're lookin' for an access card." 

Rick abruptly stops talking and takes a long drag of his stogie leaning back into his chair and changing his facial expression. The pause in conversation allows the radio to take back over and makes Brian and Zaunya lock back in...

       Rick takes one more puff before putting out the stogie in a dirty, littered ashtray that looked like a graveyard for smokes. He then reaches over in to the top drawer and pulls out the access card. It has a sleek all black finish with gold trim throughout it which shined even under the dim lights of the hangout. No identifying markings, brands or logos on it at all... just a clean sleek piece of metal that he promptly puts into his pants pocket. Rick finally speaks in a now lowered and serious tone.

"I sent Angela over there after things got quiet... Didn't tell her to go snoopin' through people's backyards though... shes a real go getter that one."

"Mm. And what do want for it." Brian asks

Rick wrinkles his eyebrows and crosses his arms before continuing, still leaned back in his chair.

"Where's Graves a-"

"Dead." Brian immediately responds in a flat tone looking Rick straight in the eyes. Rick raises his eyebrows surprised and looks down n' away before looking back at Brian.

"...You know he owed right?"

"No, I didn't Rick... the hell does that have to do with-"


"He'd been your fuckin' choom since the sandbox Brian. I remember seein you little shits runnin' around this block all the time. Was he chasin scratch..? You'd know. He better have been. Shit. We might need to take a look through that apartment of his tomorrow when everybody gets back." Brian blankly stares at Rick stone cold... keeping his emotions buried expertly and not reacting.

Rick shifts subject slightly due to the lack of response now looking at Zaunya... he leans forward in his chair.

"Sweetheart... let me ask you somethin'... Do you have any idea who it is you're runnin' around with? Hm?" Zaunya, sitting back in her chair with both her legs and arms crossed doesn't respond. Rick continues gesturing toward Brian.

"This is the son of Enrique Varga... haha... of course you don't know who Enrique Varga is... but if you did... you'd damn sure know who his son is." Rick giggles softly before reaching over and grabbing a bottle of Massy. He continues

"Something I picked up servin' always stuck with me... everytime I think about it... makes me think of you." Rick says glancing over at Brian while pouring a glass of Massy for himself. The sound of the liquor filling the glass takes over the lack of sound due to the now turned off radio. Rick continues while raising the filled glass.

"Talent... Talent hits a target that nobody else can hit... Genius hits a target that nobody else can see." Rick takes a swig from the glass before continuing still looking at Zaunya whose attention is now raised.

"You see... Brian is a brain. Alright...?... You're not gonna find him on the receiving end. Any conflict you have in the streets leads back to a thought. A thought someone, somewhere once had that manifests itself into action. In our world... our game... in this city... its not the guy whose gonna pull the trigger you have to worry about... its the guy who plans it."

Brian staring at Rick finally breaks his stare looking away slightly bothered. Rick takes a final swig finishing the glass before continuing. "I still say to this day you would've been the best damn thing to happen to this outfit Brian. Your dad made sure that never happened of course... unfortunately."

"What do you want for the card Rick.."

       Rick completely ignores Brian before continuing. Still looking at Zaunya. "He disappeared into NC once upon a time... Don't know what the fuck happened but when he came back, well..." Rick reaches over and re-opens the same drawer he pulled the access card out of. He pulls Brian's blood red, crimson Nue out of the drawer and gently lays it on the desk in front of them...the heavy weight of it makes it knock down onto the wood hard.

Zaunya and Brian both look at the Nue shine and glimmer even in the dimly lit, darkened hangout. Brian stares deeply at his iron... almost as if seeing someone he buried... got rid of for good long ago. Rick proclaims: "Graves ain't the only one that owed."

       Brian's blood red, crimson nue lay resting on the desk in front of the 3 of them. Brian staring deeply at it doesn't react, keeping a straight face. This iron represents a multitude of things in Brian's life... past successes... past failures... past regrets. The sight of it sends a flood of memories back into his head...most he's chosen to bury away to no avail... others that he had luckily forgotten return with vigor and clarity. Rick breaks the silence snapping Brian out of his trance.

"I mean... how could I have ever said no to THIS." Rick says to Zaunya while smirking. Rick grabs the Nue and raises it up toward the light turning it back and forth making the dim light reflect off of it.

"I gotta say Brian... everytime I look at this thing... well... she's a real looker alright... definitely one worth a display hm?" Rick says looking back at the various iron, cyberware and tech mounted on the back wall like trophies.

"As good as she looks... doesn't really fit the criteria for the wall... you being a nobody n' all." Rick says placing the Nue back onto the desk hearing that heavy knock of the wood again before continuing. "I'm guessin'... he never told you why he came back did he?" Rick says to Zaunya before finally turning his attention back over to Brian locking in and looking directly at him while squinting his eyes.

"Care to tell her Brian? Hm? Care to tell her what sent ya scurrying back to daddy in Arroyo? I'm sure we'd all like to know at this point. Or maybe tell her about what 6th street did for you when you had nowhere else to turn."

Rick pauses for a bit before looking deep into Brian's eyes leaning forward onto the desk. "Who are you now Brian." He says in a deep tone.

"The card Rick... what do you-" Brian says impatiently in a raised voice tired of his rambling before being cut off.

"You don't have aaanything that I want Brian!..." Rick says in a now raised tone leaning back into his chair and laughing condescendingly.

"I know damn well ya got no eds! As good as you were... this city chewed you up and spit you back out. Ha... honestly thought when you left i'd never see you again. As fate would have it... here you are."

He then looks over at Zaunya... scanning up and down her long legs and lanky frame.

"Your friend here on the other hand... 'Z' was it..? How bout you do me a favor and take that mask off hm?" Rick says licking his lips and leaning forward in his chair.

"Shit, I'll give ya the card... no idea what its for... don't care either. I just wanna see that deliciously beautiful face i know you're hiding." Rick gets up out of his chair and starts to walk around the desk... both Brian and Zaunya sit up in their seats. Now standing before both of them but still resting up against the desk. Both of them shift their posture, Zaunya looking directly at Rick standing in front of her grows uncomfortable while lowering her eyebrows and trying to stay calm.

Rick leans in uncomfortably close making her instinctually lean back... a rapid succession of memories suddenly hits Zaunya like a truck... A series of quick flashes enter her mind.

      She sees her mom smiling and cheering in celebration... she sees a corporate executive office with muted blue colors and lighting... She then finally sees a bed with bright neon pink lights surrounding it... flooding the room with vibrancy, pink silk sheets that shined in the dim light... and the unforgettable sound of dress shoes tapping across the marbled floor step after step after step... Rick's voice snaps her out of the flashing memories.





"Come on... why hide your beauty..? Is it really worth that much? Hm? How bout a kiss... through the mask." Rick goes to push up toward her for the kiss.

       Before Brian can reach over to him, Zaunya throws a punch at his face. Rick dodges the punch, grabbing her wrist and quickly throwing her over the desk, slamming her back up against the trophy wall with great force making a loud bang sending various trophies flying around the room as Zaunya falls to the floor. With his attention turned toward where he threw Zaunya, Brian tackles Rick from the side as both fall to the ground wrestling. Brian, now on top of Rick starts raining down fists and elbows while holding Rick's arm. Each strike deters Brian from throwing another one as the damage being done to Brian's knuckles and elbow outweighs the damage being done to Rick's face. The impact of bone on chrome is excruciatingly brutal but Brian ignores it. Rick instinctually tries to get up but Brian stops him, still holding him down with his much bigger frame attempting to crush Rick's throat.

       Rick quickly grabs brian by the throat with his prostethic... Brian grabs the metal hand with both of his while gritting his teeth trying to rip it away. "Still mostly ganic huh!?" Rick says gritting his teeth trying to get Brian off of him. Rick punches Brian in the face sending him flying off of him as he knocks over a bunch of empty glass bottles breaking some of them. Rick, without getting fully up scrambles on top of Brian... the weight on top of him feels like a full sized car. Rick quickly draws a blue and white stinger from his ankle and stabs Brian in his bandaged wound on his shoulder from the Tyger Claw blade a few nights back. It causes Brian to scream in pain in a tone never heard before. Without hesitation, Rick yanks the knife back out and raises it to stab Brian again in the face.

       The booming sound of a gun shot rips through the hangout hitting rick in his collarbone from behind and exiting out of his neck from the front... spraying blood all over Brian's face. The velocity of the shot sends Rick tumbling off of Brian immediately giving Brian a clear view of Zaunya holding her nue with her hand shaking and a smoking barrel. As Brian rolls over in pain struggling to get up, Zaunya helps him to his feet checking his body and stab wound as he breathes in relief, flustered trying to calm himself as he shakes her touch off. Their attention is then quickly turned to Rick who has crawled over to a wall and sat up against it with his eyes wide open caughing and spitting up blood as he struggles to breathe.

       The fear and panic in Rick's eyes is clear as Zaunya slowly walks up to him, squats down, and grabs his knife. She holds it up admiring the craftsmanship and customization. The white and blue steel faded in and out all the way to the handle with a single white star along the body of the blade stained with Brian's blood. "Now THAT'S a trophy." She says in a detached voice completely contrasting Rick's state before standing back up fully and casually tucking it in her belt. She turns back around to see Brian stood over Rick's desk not moving before she continues to search Rick's person... opening up his jacket, jostling his arms and legs around and patting down his pockets as he grunts in extreme pain with every movement she makes him do.

Brian slowly reaches onto the desk grabbing his nue... the feeling of the iron in his bloody and bruised red right hand sends a warming shock through his core... drowning out the sound and commotion of everything happening around him. He stares at it in his hand deeply as Zaunya walks back up to him explaining their current situation... due to his current state of mind... it was completely inaudible.

"Brian..? ... Brian..?" Zaunya says softly realizing his state and snapping him back out of it... he quickly looks at her.

Rick struggling to speak through the lack of air and blood gets both of their attention as they turn to look at him while standing side by side. "You're... you're dead... the both of you... are FUCKIN DEAD!!! ya hear me!!!?" Rick's eyes begin to glow orange as he attempts to make a call on the holo. Brian and Zaunya both raise their nues simultaneously unloading a flood of loud, booming shots into Rick's face and chest leaving behind gunsmoke and an unrecognizable, barely together torso.

Chapter Text

       A close up of Rick's lifeless body slowly zooms out as he lay in pieces on the floor of the hangout... the blood leaking from his cracked open skull and shredded torso leave Brian and Zaunya completely unfazed. They're both seen scrambling throughout the hangout rifling through various containers, desks and areas of Rick's office. The heat inside of the building from the recent rumble has caused the windows to fog up with condensation alongside blood splattered walls. The amount of hardware throughout the place nearly overwhelms them after taking a second look at all of it. New and used cyberware implants, taken apart iron and tech shotguns, drugs waiting to be packaged for distribution, and various 6th street armor plating and combat vests. Brian glances out of one of the windows to see several neighborhood kids peeking in before quickly scattering into the night.

       He walks around to the opposite side of Rick's desk to find a heavy wooden chest with a giant 6 and "Blessed Be The Patriots" carved into it. He yanks the heavy chest out from underneath the desk to see a heavy iron lock on it. Brian glances over at Rick's shredded corpse briefly before looking back at the chest and pointing his Nue at the lock. He shoots the lock before kicking the rest of it off the hinge and opening it.. Zaunya, with Rick's blood on her sleeves and hands, makes her way around the desk as he does this.

They both stare together at the now opened chest as Zaunya's eyes open wide. The chest, full of eddies makes her instinctually bend down and reach for it before having her forearm quickly grabbed, the speed of the grab makes a skin slapping noise that startles her.

"No." Brian says as she quickly looks up at him with confusion. Before she can ask anything, he yanks her behind him heading for the door. While being pulled away by Brian she looks back at what's left of Rick's body as they pass by it.

She hears his voice echo in her head in that gravely deep tone. "Come on... why hide your beauty...? Is it really worth that much..? Hm?"

She then quickly hears Nicholas' voice after: "What did they do to you huh?... what did they take-"

A flashback to Zaunya's past begins:

"Zaunya?... Zaunya honey." Zaunya's mom says in a soft caring tone getting her attention. A young, adolescent Zaunya snapping out of her daydream looks up at her mother with her big emerald green eyes. "ohh honey... your hair... this just won't do." Zaunya's mom quickly works to fix Zaunya's hair into a presentable fashion before continuing in a tired and slightly irritated voice.

"You know how they demand standards with presentation Zaunya.. Petrochem says first impressions are everything! Come here." She turns Zaunya back around further touching her face up.

"Do you know how hard I had to work to get them to accept you so young?" She says before pausing and taking a deep breath.

She puts both her hands on Zaunya's shoulders speaking in a soft, proud tone. "You're going to do great honey! They're going to love you!"

Another pause takes place as Zaunya's mom stares at her little face... her eyes well up with tears as she caresses her little cheek "My beautiful baby girl..." She whispers to herself with a smile on her face holding back tears. The two of them turn and begin to walk toward the door leading out of an office in the PetroChem HQ.

Zaunya's mom, holding her hand tightly leans down and whispers in her little ear:

"Remember... whatever they want... whatever they ask... the answer is yes. Ok?

..the answer is yes. Ok?

..the answer is yes. Ok? "

The sound of Zaunya's mom's voice echos on repeat in her head as she stares blankly out of the window of the Colby Butte. Brian reaches over and gently places his hand on her shoulder making her jolt... snapping her out of her thoughts... she quickly looks at him.

"Hey.." Brian says in a softened tone having kept an eye on her... silently paying close attention to her state of mind. "You ok?"

       She doesn't respond and goes back to looking out of the window... Brian lights a cigarette and takes a deep puff. The pair of them have taken a position in the Butte that offers them a perfect view... looking down into Brian's neighborhood allowing them to see both sides of the street clearly. The pitch black, residential darkness of Arroyo contrasts the well lit up other districts the closer you get to the city center. The sounds of chirpping insects and the cold open air take over the lack of city sounds the pair are used to hearing... offering a quiet, general calmness for the both of them to share. Zaunya finally breaks the silence.

"Why didn't we take the eddies." She says in a monotone

Brian realizing shes shifting topics away from her state pauses and re-focuses himself.

"You saw that holo call he was making right." Brian says as Zaunya finally looks over at him. He continues.

"I'm sure they're already on their way."

"Soo.. no traces left behind is the reason huh? They won't know..?"

"Oh... they'll know." Brian says holding up and showing her his blood red, crimson nue. "Its just a matter of how far they wanna go with it."

"And the lack of klepping is..what? an attempt at a seize fire before it even begins..?"

"look." Brian says as he takes another drag of his smoke as Zaunya reaches for her own.

       The pair of them see several 6th street gang cars caravanning together up the block towards the hangout. As they all exit their vehicles, various kids from the neighborhood begin running up to them. Several run up to a woman heading the caravan... Angela, whom has exited the lead car... she bends down listening to the kids as they point toward the hangout. She quickly looks over at it before running in with the rest of the crew following behind her.

       Brian and Zaunya quite far away quietly watch the 6th streeters scramble back into their hangout creating silent tension. A fair amount of time passes by with the two quietly smoking in the butte. Night City in many ways is the city of action... initiative... making it the home repercussion... vengeance. Costs associated with actions often compound... leading to often unpredictable bouts of chaos... or retribution. This vicious cycle rests like a powder keg permeating throughout the culture and events that go down here. Whether or not you're capable of surviving that reality... is a different story entirely.

They look to see that same woman leading the caravan come back outside... putting Rick's white cowboy hat on and stepping out onto the street with her crew in tow. Brian and Zaunya watch the group B-line it down the block to Brian's house... pushing past pedestrians and street thugs while armed to the teeth.

Zaunya in shock gasps as she looks over at Brian emotionlessly watching them. 3 of the 6th streeters pile up outside the door before storming in with Angela walking in unarmed behind them. Brian closes his eyes briefly as the two of them hear the low, feint sounds of glass breaking and the interior of his home being completely destroyed along with stray yells of them communicating with each other.

"Brian..!?" Zaunya says, cracking her voice, getting him to open his eyes back up.

He sees a small bright orange glow begin to emanate from his home as the 6th streeters all file out.

The small bright orange glow rapidly grows into an inferno within the home as the 6th street gangers stand outside watching it. Angela pulls her iron and unloads shots directly at the house before looking around at the rest of the now woken up neighborhood watching them work... Brian whom has seen enough starts the car and turns it around to drive away.

Chapter Text

\+/ PAST \+/

The neon glow of Night City shines bright within the darkness of the night sky... reds, blues, pinks, purples and yellows... the neon pollution becomes more and more imposing the deeper you venture into that cage of light. A concrete jungle... a cesspool of desire and debauchery coated in the various loud sounds of a thriving and active city. The city of dreams... a place you dare not call home.

       We enter a megabuilding to see Brian and Graves, stood across from each other squared up in stance with their fists in the air. Graves closes the distance and feints before throwing several punches at Brian whom dodges each of them before attempting to tackle him. Graves recognizes this and effortlessly stops the takedown by flinging Brian to the side with a big smile on his face. Brian gets back up to try again, this time feinting a punch to distract him before trying to tackle him with full force. The two struggling hear a knock on the heavy metal door to their room causing them stop.

       In walks Marilyn... sporting her Mox best... neon-turquoise platform high-heels with pink bottoms, black leather spandex so tight that it really made her curves pop. The color pattern in her outfit weaved between light and dark as the glow of her fit cascaded down the front of her bare legs down to her neon glowing toenail polish. Her EMP threading was subtle and seductive... pairing well with her petite, lanky frame. Brian walks over to the radio and shuts it off as Marilyn walks past him. Graves takes a seat before whipping out a Black Lace inhaler and taking a whiff. Brian speaks.

"So? How'd it go? Evelyn's friend still eye-fucking you?" Brian and Graves both chuckle.

"Fuck off." Marilyn says rolling her eyes while lighting a cigarette and taking a drag. She takes a seat on the couch and crosses her legs before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She pulls out the wreath the maelstrom ganger gave to Allie along with the tailored, unmarked BD. Brian grabs both admiring the end result of Marilyns work before moving her cigarette away from her lips and giving her a deep kiss. She immediately pops the cig back in as Brian leaves her lips and she looks out of the window.

"Right.. now, lets go over this again" Brian says

As Brian paces back and forth in the room breaking down the plan, Graves listens attentively while Marilyn gazes out of the window out into the beautiful neon glowing Night Cityscape behind the couch. The city stares back at her... longingly... infatuated... their connection feels... inseparable as the first taps of rain begin to hit the window... Marilyn recalls a memory:

Marilyn sat in the basement of Lizzie's Bar rests her back up against a wall patiently waiting... taking long drags of her smoke and crossing her arms. She surveys the warm room.. curious about the various tech and hardware stacked in there before taking a seat in the scrolling chair. Evelyn walks in and sees her.

"What the FUCK!! I said you can't smoke in here!" A hand is quickly placed on Evelyn's shoulder from the side as a woman walks past her.

"No no, its ok Ev." The woman says continuing past Evelyn and approaching Marilyn... her gaze fixated directly on Marilyn's eyes with hidden desire. She kneels down in front of her at the scrolling chair and hands her the BD.

"Here you go! Should be all set... i've uh... honestly never tuned a virtue like this before."

"Thank you SO much!... really I... your name again?" Evelyn stood in a corner watching with her arms crossed rolls her eyes.

"Judy." Judy says with a smile on her face slightly disappointed.

"JUDY! RIGHT!.. I'm so sorry, it's just been-"

"Hey, don't worry about it..." Judy smirks and pauses before looking down then back up into Marilyns eyes with a smile. "Its not everyday that i get to help out Mox royalty." The two giggle together as Evelyn turns and walks out of the room. Judy looks back at Evelyn leave then turns her attention back to Marilyn as the door closes... she stands up, walking back to her desk while continuing.

"She's... got a lot going on right now... the stress is killing her."

"I know.." Marilyn says taking another drag of her cig while glancing at the door Ev walked out of with skepticism. "Susie won't let me get involved.."

"Why..? I mean...  She's your-"

"As calculated as ever. You know her... I've pretty much stopped bothering to ask at this point." Marilyn sits up and shifts her weight in the seat, slowly crossing her bare legs which catches and holds Judy's eye.

"She's... the brain and you're the fist huh..." Judy says while checking her out mesmerized.

Marilyn takes another drag while holding up the BD in the light and looking at it from various angles "Hm... Don't let her 'calculated' demeanor throw you off.. I've still got a ringing in my ear from my initiation." The pair laugh together before a long pause... Judy breaks the silence.

"I've... gotta ask. I can't help it."

Marilyn looks up at Judy.

"Your... friend that you run with. Brian was it..?"

"What about him." Marilyn asks in a shifted and flat tone, locking into Judy's eyes and taking another drag of her smoke. The shift in tone and direct eye contact intimidates Judy a bit.

"Uhhmm... Ev told me a little about him."

Marilyn scoffs and breaks eye contact. Judy continues

"Mainly.. that... she doesn't know much about him...? And.. how much that bothers her."

"Everything bothers her." Marilyn dismissively says putting her smoke out underneath the arm rest of the chair and getting up.

"Yeah.. i just..." Judy pauses... now standing in front of Marilyn... blocking her path and looking down contemplating. She looks back up at her before continuing.

"Just be careful... ok? Please..." Judy pleads in a serious tone of concern. Marilyn looks at Judy inquisitively after hearing the crack in her voice. Judy continues

"Night City street mercs... They'll do anything to get what they're after... risks and consequences be damned. The truly lost ones... set no limits for themselves... They're committed to the edge."

Marilyn looks away deep in thought at the statement... a long pause is shared between the two in each other's presence as Judy backs up slightly to move out of the way. Marilyn finally speaks... projecting her thoughts outward at Judy.

"But... but what if I don't know what they're after?"

Judy looks at Marilyn... feeling a breakthrough.

Chapter Text

\+/ PAST \+/



       The pitter patter of rain on the megabuilding's window provides a white noise in the room... the warm atmosphere of the cozy apartment contrasts the cold harshness just outside and desperate to get in. Marilyn on her 3rd smoke remains in deep contemplation as she stares out of the window with tonight being a bit different than most others. Tonight... she understands full well what's being asked of her... it carries risks and stakes higher than anything shes taken on in the past and she feels it. The experience shes gained... the skills that shes acquired over the course of her evolving person have lead her to this moment as she bares the weight of it. She buries her nervous energy expertly as she mentally prepares for the edge. The bright neon glow of Night City cascades outward away from the window shes staring out of... the wet buildings and pavement grab ahold of the light making them shine and reflect with a glossy neon soaked finish.

Several attempts to get her attention have now passed as Marilyn hears Judy's voice in her head: "The truly lost ones... set no limits for themselves... They're committed to the edge..."

"Mare.."

"...They're committed to the edge..."

"Mare."

"...They're committed to the edge..."

"Mare!" Brian says a final time snapping Marilyn out of her thoughts. She looks over at him and nods... Brian then looks over at graves and nods his head up at him. Graves understanding the signal gets up and promptly leaves the apartment. Marilyn looks on confused before sitting up on the couch and resting her elbows on her knees... putting her hands on her forehead. The door slides closed leaving the two of them alone... Brian understanding her tense, nervous energy breaks the silence, speaking in a softened tone.

"Do you remember... when we first met?"

"Jig Jig street." She says taking a final drag of her smoke before flicking it in the room.

"What were you doing there that night..? I never asked."

Marilyn pauses, crosses her arms and shifts her weight in her seat before responding in a calm tone.

"My sister... She'd been trying to get me to leave NC for a while at that point.. I guess... the deeper she got into the merc world the tighter her grip on me became."

She gets up off the couch and starts pacing around the room. "Shes more like a mom to me than she ever was a sister... Can't blame her though... things weren't easy when we were young... Shes never seen me as someone who could become...well... me." Brian listens on with a serious look of admiration on his face. She continues.

"She came at me with a fucking one-way to Oregon. THAT SAME NIGHT! To our AUNT'S HOUSE OF ALL PLACES! That crazy bitch... she hated our mom." Marilyn pauses briefly. "Tch.. Ev knew it wouldn't have worked... Hate seeing her when shes desperate."

"What did you say to her?.. Why not leave?" Brian asks while sitting down on the now free couch.

"I just... ran." Marilyn pauses. "And i didn't stop running..." Marilyn makes her way to the window by the couch near Brian. She gazes out into the neon cityscape with a sense of awe and mesmerization... the towering, cascading cityscape stares back at her with an intimidating and silent glow. The power of Night City's beautiful allure on full display and undeniable... creating sensations in those who gaze into it rarely able to explain. She places her hand on the window firmly... looking past her emerald green eyes in her reflection. "I don't know... This City... it calls to me... I feel it at the core of my being."

She stares deeply into the city as the pattering of rain keeping the glass windows cold takes over briefly...

"Can you feel it Varga?" She asks in a whispered tone of awe.

"I do..." He whispers back in a deep tone as he closes his eyes.

Marilyn takes her hand off of the glass while continuing to stare at the city... she finally looks down before finally stepping away from the window and continuing.

"Ended up on Jig Jig street... talking to some.. joytoy about.. nothing. The music was too loud to hear her anyway. Bouncers had just finished cleaning up a barfight... sweeping up glass and dragging some unconscious, lead head gonk out the front door to make way for the next batch of loud bar hoppers. It felt... familiar. Warming... Like home."

She continues to pace around the room. "Eventually we went outside for a smoke... she insisted we walk down toward the storage tunnels away from the bar... It was a pretty slow night that night and didn't carry much foot traffic through the back streets. It was late enough that most people had already decided to delta. That's when they grabbed me... Scavs... I was... so overwhelmed... the only thing i could do was... scream." She looks over at Brian who picks up on it.

"When i heard your scream I... I didn't even think about it. I just came running... to be honest... I heard the fear and desperation in your voice more than anything." Brian pauses before glancing out the rain filled window. "3 shots, 3 dead scavs. ... Flatlined em all. ... 'cept one." He looks over at Marilyn. "Do you remember."

"The one you were wrestling with on the ground? Yeah."

"And what did you do Mare." Brian asks leading while making that eye contact with her that she craves. She looks away... visualizing the events of a night that would change her life forever:

       


       The joytoy that lead Marilyn down into the storage tunnel entrance pulls iron and places it at the back of Brian's head. Marilyn wraps her arm around the joytoy's neck from behind and yanks back... making her misfire and send the gun flying out of her hand. It slams onto the tile and skids across the sewer grates causing a loud echo in the tunnel. The joytoy struggling to get Marilyn off of her is off balance and flailing her arms trying to turn around and face her. Marilyn moves with her momentum, never letting go of her neck causing the both of them to fall. The joytoy falls face first onto the hard tile floor of the storage tunnel... splattering blood with Marilyn riding her back.. allowing her grip to sink in even tighter. The Joytoy struggling to breath puts both of her hands onto Marilyn's forearm gripping it tightly while kicking and flailing her legs around. Marilyn buries her head behind the joytoy's head closing her eyes tight and squeezing as hard as she possibly can. The joytoy goes limp while Marilyn continues to squeeze as hard as possible.. letting out a blood curdling scream through her teeth. The pressure Marilyn is applying causes the joytoy's body to twitch unctrollably before finally stopping lifeless.

       The area has long cleared of stray bystanders as Brian goes to grab Marilyn, struggling to pull her off of the dead joytoy. Marilyn stumbling to gain her balance grabs ahold of Brian's jacket before looking up at him. He sees her cut up, bruised and bleeding face while holding onto her shoulders... they lock eyes for the first time. Strangers with a kinship being forged through violence... where life and death hang in an uneasy balance for all. The moment is suddenly broken as their attention is turned toward deeper into the storage tunnel by a shout.

"FREEZE! NCPD!" 2 badges yell while running toward them in the storage tunnel with iron drawn. Brian grabs Marilyn and yanks her closer to his chest as he points his Nue in the direction of the badges. He fires a shot that hits a climate control unit causing sparks and the fan blade to fly directly at them before sending several more shots their way causing them to take cover. The pair of them then take off back toward the north entrance to Jig Jig street fleeing the area.

Marilyn looking down and finishing the recollection looks back up at Brian... He stands up and walks toward her... she meets him in the center of the warm apartment. He hands her the wreath and the BD before gently placing her forehead onto his. They both look down... embracing each other in their arms in the center of the room as the rain on the window leaves behind only their silhouettes.

Chapter Text

\+/ PAST \+/

       A cold and foggy dark night in Watson has Marilyn on edge... her senses are heightened as she hears the distant sounds of sirens and car alarms. She walks with a brisk pace up the damp cold street past the Totentanz club blaring cyber metal out onto the street... her high heels tapping on the pavement heavy with each step one after the other as she passes by a sewer grate wafting white smoke of waste and decay. Several Maelstrom gangers, both male and female smoking outside the club cat call her as she passes by begging her to come in.

The cyber alterations to their voices yell out to her: "WOOOHOO!! HAY HAY! COME ON IN HERE BABY! I'LL BUY YA WHATEEEVER YA WANT!!! HAHAHAAAA!!" Marilyn glances over at the pack briefly while continuing to walk by minding her business. She turns the corner at the end of the block making her way down it halfway past the long abandoned Foody restaurant to the first apartment complex.

       She knocks 3 times on the garage door to the side with a sign atop that reads 'Ruf Tread Racing Gear'. She crosses her arms waiting as a few seconds pass before the door slides up. Shes suddenly face to face with something barely resembling whats left of a human being. The top half of his head was completely chromed out lacking traditional facial structure along with his multiple glowing bright red eyes... leaving the bottom half of his head below the nose ganic with a scattering of piercings all over his face. He sported a black leather sleeveless vest showing his prosthetic cyber arms with various Maelstrom quotes and exploits carved into em like tattoos. The amount of cyberware augmented onto his body takes Marilyn aback briefly as she looks up at his lanky, imposing frame... she holds her nerve.

"Well well well.." The man calmly says in a deep cybernetic voice. "You're earlier than i thought you'd be... Name's Caine" He says with a big smile on his face looking her up and down checking out her bare thighs and legs all the way down to her cherry red painted toes. Her short, neon red thigh high skirt hugs her curves tightly as she shifts her weight with her feet. With the darkness and true grit of Night City as a backdrop... its as if light was radiating off of her.

"Mare..." She smiles back introducing herself. "Been looking forward to this." She says as she starts to walk in. Caine puts his hand out in front of her stopping her in her tracks and starts giggling.

"Nah nah, I never scroll here."

Marilyn looks at him lowering her eyebrows confused. "But-"

"Too much traffic in n out... cmon, this way." Caine says cutting her off and promptly stepping outside to where she is and turning around to slide down the garage door, slamming it closed.

Marilyn's heartrate increases as a wave of nervous energy washes over her briefly while his back is turned. She bottles it up quickly as he turns back around to face her with a smile as she grins back. The pair of them turn the corner from the garage and start to walk their way down the street together under the dimly lit streetlights. Her discomfort builds one step after another... with each step taken... fear creeps in... uncertainty grabs ahold of her. Marilyn glances back over her shoulder with a concerned look... her mind racing at the unexpected location change as several snap thoughts cross her mind on what she should do. She has no idea where hes taking her and neither does the crew. After everything Brian and Marilyn have been through... this feels... different... wrong.

This is not part of the plan.

Marilyn... strongwilled and determined as ever to prove herself has no thought of turning back... they continue on around another corner.

       Brian standing out in front of Grave's Butte positioned on the opposite street corner down the block a bit away from the street lights, iron in hand squeezes it so tight that you can hear it. The rest of the crew watches the pair of them turn the corner away from the Ruf Tred garage. Brian quickly turns around and B lines it back to the car looking directly at Graves. "Buzz - Allie - NOW!" He says through his teeth while walking past him to the trunk of the Butte.

       Marilyn and Caine are next seen quietly entering the nearby apartment complex with a series of storage garages attached to it. She closes the door behind them as they make their way past the staircase leading up to the rest of the apartments; remaining on the first floor. They enter the first floor apartment which happened to be connected to one of the storage garages by a single blue door. "Just finally got the place cleaned up the other day. These scop puppets can't seem to keep anything clean longer than a day in here." Caine says proudly walking in.

       Marilyn closing the door turns around to see a surprisingly organized apartment. Even though recently cleaned, the amount of used and new tech alongside various legacy tech and cyberware littered about has already begun to gather a bit of clutter. Various Maelstrom logos have been spray painted about the place alongside tagged quotes and sayings. Oil and smog stains various pieces of equipment as well as the furniture. It clear the place sees high traffic even though its currently dead in there.

"Wow, Lot of chrome, lot of iron in here." She says looking at the spread of it in the living room. Caine looks back at her with a big smile on his face before reaching into his pocket and pulling out an access card, shifting subject slightly. "You have no idea how much work went into me havin' these keys." He giggles.

"This scop ain't nothin' doll... Check this out" Caine walks over to the door connecting to the garage using the access card to open it as Marilyn follows him in. She gasps and jumps slightly at the sight of a stockpile of cyberware that overwhelms her. Cytech, Zetatech, Dynalar, Militech you name it. Branded crates and boxes filled to the brim with various chrome. Some of it organized by size, type and quality while most of it just layed piled together. Some was in high quality biometric security containers while others sat in stray trashbags. Shelves filled with various netrunner gear and accessories, Cybernetic limbs of various sizes and quality hung from the ceiling... gorilla arms, mantis blades, P.L. systems, Titanium fragments... most of it shined in the dim garage light...an organized yet unorganized cache.

"Oh my god-" Marilyn says under her breath in a whispered tone with her eyes and mouth wide open as she puts one hand on her chest and another over her mouth with an astonished and intimidated expression on her face.

"I know right?" Caine says in a seductive tone continuing to smile from ear to ear. "We moved everything over here and put a jammer up a while back after it started to get... well.. serious in here; Can't ever be too careful." Caine pauses briefly before continuing.. rattling off a bunch of chrome they have stocked.

"Kiroshi's latest models over there.. top of the line, fuckin' preem, fresh off the belt Microrotors, Adrenaline Converters, Sandys, Kerenzikovs, you name it! Shit, even got some Cellular adapters lyin' around back there somewhere. Tetratronic, Dyna, BioTech" He takes a deep breath then pauses. "Ain't it just...gorgeous?" He asks looking back at her before briefly pausing again.

"Nowhere near as gorgeous as you though." He says turning back around and slowly walking towards her.

       Marilyn looks at him deep in the face while grinning and backing up back into the apartment slowly removing her black fur coat in front of him revealing her short, tight neon red dress. With the glowing allure of her incredibly sexy body, She pulls the wreath out along with the BD and holds it out between the two of them. Caine grabs both of them and casually tosses them to the side onto the couch. Marilyn's facial expression abruptly changes from seductive to startled and serious. The tone and energy in the room instantaneously intensifies...

"What are you doing..?" She asks in a serious tone as he steps closer to her.

"Eh, we'll scroll later... I want the real thing" He says as he looks her up and down reaching out and grabbing her by the small of her back trying to pull her in. Marilyn instinctually puts her arms out in front of her to stop him... trying to create separation while giggling nervously. "Wait...- stop cmon.." She says, struggling to push him off as his grip on her tightens. "STOP!" She yells in a panic cracking her voice and using all of her strength to try and shove him away barely staggering him back. He cocks back and slaps her with full force making her shriek, sending her hard to the floor of the apartment and cutting her face. She tries to get up but is stopped by one of his spiked boots which he uses the bottom of to push her back down flat onto her back on the floor. Caine gets on top of her as she reaches up and punches him in the face square in the chrome hurting her hand. She swings again with her hand open due to the pain attempting to slap him. Caine stops her by grabbing both of her flailing wrists and pinning them to the floor.

"NO!" She screams in a frantic panic through her teeth kicking and flailing around vigorously doing everything she can to get him off. "BRIAN!" She instinctually yells out in a scared tone desperately to herself, continuing to scream. "NOO!"

"Stop- FIGHTING!" He says through his teeth struggling to fully hold her down "Just let this happen." He says in a forceful, aroused tone.

       Marilyn continues to franticly scream and resist. Caine raises his fist and punches her hard in the face once quieting her... then a second time even harder dazing and knocking her nearly unconscious. He lets go of her other wrist while still sitting mounted on top of her... breathing heavily and watching her completely stunned. He effortlessly rips open her dress as you hear the loud tearing of thin fabric exposing her chest; he continues to rip down toward her stomach as she shrieks. Marilyn still barely conscious doesn't move as Caine runs his long tongue along the side of her face first, then her neck down to her chest.. laying the full weight of his body up against hers. He releases a lot of tension as he enjoys the feeling of her soft, silky skin on his hands... he takes a deep whiff of her delicious smelling perfume while taking his time. As she begins to regain her senses she shrieks and twitches while crying subdued.

Caine now overwhelmed with pleasure instinctually whispers: "Delicious ganic... you're mine." He reaches over onto the nearby coffee table and grabs a syringe. He squirts a small amount of fluid out of the syringe, checking the level. While doing this, Marilyn reaches over to her right and grabs an old spiked stun baton layed on the apartment floor and shoves it through Caine's neck with full force letting out a feral scream.

       The force of the impact causes her hand to slide up the handle turning it on... sending a surge of electricity through Caine's body causing his entire body to twitch and vibrate...The surge blasts Marilyn's hand away and off of the handle. Caine lets out a roar of pain that wildly changes in pitch and tone multiple times as the electrical surge fries his vocal cords and throat sending him to the ground falling off of Marilyn. Without thinking, she quickly gets on top of him and grabs the spiked baton again, shocking herself and yanking it out of his neck before slamming it back in. Her hair wildly flails around along with her ripped dress as she continues to stab Caine over and over with gradually increasing force. As the stabs switch from neck to face, she breaths deep inbetween her grunts and screams through her teeth. The true feral nature of her being is brought out as she continues slamming the baton into his face and neck covering herself in yellow synth blood now squirting and spraying out with each strike. Caine now lays there lifeless... as she continues to cave his face in, her grunts and screams build up louder and louder within the dead silence of the room. The sound of the front door of the apartment being blasted and ripped open doesn't stop her at all. She is quickly snatched from behind by her shoulders sending her falling backwards and the baton flying across the room.

"Mare!-"

"GET THE FUCK OFF OF MEEE!!! NOOO!!!!" She screams flailing and struggling to resist.

"Its me! stop! Mare! stop!" Brian struggles to say while wrapping his arms around her and falling back onto the apartment floor. He grabs her by the face forcing her to look at him as she aggressively clutches onto his forearms. "Hey! hey... Its me.. Its me." He says softly trying to calm her down as he looks at her bruised, cut face covered in both synth blood and her own. Marilyn realizing its him completely breaks down... screaming and cracking her voice as he pulls her face into his chest. He wraps his arms around her tight as she lets out a blood curdling scream... hitting him with her fist while crying and convulsing uncontrollably.

       Graves and their side choom storm into the apartment shortly after with their rifles drawn. "CHECK THE BACK! GO!" Graves yells to the backup shooter while clearing the rest of the apartment himself. He moves over toward Brian and Marilyn sat on the floor. "Marilyn.." Graves says in a somber tone before looking at the scene that transpired around her in shock... Seeing the syringe, the gored Maelstromer and all the random tech lying around. Before he's able to say anything else their side choom yells out to him.

"Yo! Graves!" Graves looks over and sees the blue door leading to the garage open and quickly walks over with his gun raised. Graves lowers his gun, placing it onto the ground and putting his hands on his head.

"Holy shit..." He says in a whispered tone to himself with his eyes wide open at the site of the cyberware cache.

"HOLY SHIIIIT!!!!" The side choom yells before being quickly grabbed and shushed by graves.

"SHHH!!!! SHUT UP! GO BRING THE WHEELS AROUND, SCOUT THE BLOCK! MOVE SLOW!!" He says before yanking the man back toward the entrance of the apartment.

Graves then quickly moves back to Brian. "B... B you gotta see thi-" Graves says in a lowered tone reaching for Brian's shoulder. Brian quickly slaps Graves' arm away without looking before clutching onto Marilyn tightly again as she continues to shake and cry into his chest.

Graves grabs his rifle and exits out the front of the apartment to secure the street and the Butte pulling in... leaving the pair locked tightly in each other's arms alongside a decapitated Maelstromer. The stray white noise in the streets of Night City take over... leaving you unable to hear her screams.

Chapter Text

\+/ PRESENT \+/

       A beautiful sunny day shines in through Graves' apartment window. The thin grey whisps of cigarette smoke calmly twist and spin amongst the sun's rays undisturbed. The clouds of smoke disperse as Zaunya is seen slowly walking through it past the window with both her iron and a proximity mine in hand. Brian is seen walking past her before opening Graves' weapon locker with the passcode... pulling out Graves' M2038 Tactician. The custom finish on it was a Cyberpunk yellow with a quote engraved in black along the barrel that read 'Negotiator' in Cyberpunk lettering. Brian raises the gun up over his head admiring the work and reminiscing to himself about times past... memories buried in time.

The heavy sound of Zaunya's boots slowly walking up behind him causes him to turn around. Standing before him, she hands him a combat knife which he grabs before stepping past her. She continues past him back over to the window looking out onto the street... she lights a cigarette before glancing back to see Brian on the other side of the apartment messing with the proximity mine.

Yet again... it is clear that the pair have had several conversations before now. The calmness in preparation within the apartment is palpable... the air holds a feeling of inevitability that the two of them look to have accepted... together. Anticipation of the unknown is often filled with any number of emotional anomalies. This combined with the countless series of events leading up to this point have the two of them in a complete flow state.. remaining expressionless and sharing no words with each other.

       As Brian walks back across the apartment, Zaunya glances over at him before taking another drag of her smoke and looking back out the window. He walks over to a dresser and stands before it... picking up and staring at a small framed picture of him and graves in front of Graves' Colby Butte when he first got it. As Zaunya looks on at him doing this, she places her lit cigarette onto the window seal and puts her black leather facemask back on before getting up and walking toward him. Her heavy footsteps, once again grab his attention... he glances back at her and notices shes looking up past him. He glances back forward... looking up at the CCTV screen above Graves' dresser where they both see 2 6th street gang cars rolling up the street towards the entrance of the apartment. They both stand before each other looking deeply in each other's eyes with their Nue's clutched in their right hands... mirroring each other.

       Brian holsters his Nue while holding Graves' shotgun in the left... he looks away from her as she turns around walking toward the other side of the apartment. Zaunya takes her position on the far end of the apartment away from Brian staring at him focused. Brian hugs the shotgun while patiently watching the CCTV. He watches as they pile out of the two cars...he slowly looks over at Zaunya and holds up 4 fingers, signaling the amount of them coming. He glances back at the CCTV again to see a final person leave the first car from the backseat, Angela, still sporting Rick's white cowboy hat. The group of them all carrying enough iron for a proper street war. Brian glances back at Zaunya and instead holds up 5 fingers. He watches them enter the building and make their way to the top of the staircase outside of Graves' apartment before walking away from the CCTV and taking his own position.

       The front door is gradually ripped open by a prybar slowly building up the tension of the moment. As the various members quickly flood in, the first one in the door looks left in Zaunya's direction seeing her crouched waiting before getting pushed from behind by the 2nd one. Brian blasts the second one that enters in the head, ripping a chunk of his skull off and sending it flying upwards toward the ceiling. The concussive sound of the blast sends the first and 3rd ones that entered instinctually falling away from it in the opposite direction right into the proximity mine triggering it instantly. The explosion of the mine sends fire, smoke and debris pluming throughout the apartment muting and ringing everyone's ears while knocking them off balance. As the explosion goes off, the 4th 6th streeter to enter, falling onto Brian in his direction, grabs the barrel of Brian's shotgun pushing it up toward the ceiling as Brian struggles to see through the smoke and debris. As Brian goes to draw his Nue, the guy tackles Brian to the ground with what felt like the weight of a truck.

       While this is happening, during the explosion, Zaunya triggers her Sandevistan, sprinting through the black and grey smoke clouds with shrapnel and debris floating through the air in slow motion...almost like zero gravity in space. She quickly executes the 2 6th streeters with point blank headshots as their bodies continue to fly off balance through the air from the momentum of the mine explosion. Still continuing forward, she sees Angela at the top of the stairs still in the process of drawing her revolver. Without hesitation, Zaunya dives through the yanked open apartment door flying toward Angela raising her Nue up to her face. Angela quickly pushes Zaunya's hand upward toward the ceiling while also finishing drawing her revolver and pointing it at Zaunya's gut. Zaunya notices Angela was able to trigger her own sandevistan just in time. With her wrist being held by Angela she uses her momentum while still in the air to throw her right knee at the barrel of Angela's revolver right before it fires... knocking it out of her hand and landing on top of her. The finishing momentum of the explosion sends the 2 of them flying down the staircase.. tumbling in each other's arms yanking and throwing strikes with unseeable speed.

       Brian, still in the apartment has Grave's shotgun being pushed up against his throat pinning him to the wall on the backside of the apartment. Brian throws a headbutt at the 6th streeter snapping his head back slightly which has no affect on his chrome plating only cutting himself open in the process. He throws a headbutt back at Brian, stunning him and doing serious damage. Brian then throws an elbow at his face which the 6th streeter takes, while also using the moment of the strike to quickly toss Brian onto the ground. He cocks the shotgun and aims it at Brian directly on the ground. Brian quickly throws his leg up and kicks the barrel away from him sending a blast through the wooden floor of the apartment kicking up wood chips and dispersing more explosion smoke. Brian then gets up and charges at him, picking him up and slamming him onto the ground onto the back of his head stunning him. Brian shoves his forearm down onto the guy's throat holding him in place while finally drawing his Nue. As he raises it up toward the 6th streeter's face, he pulls a knife and plunges it into the side of Brian's ribcage. The shock of the deep stab causes Brian's entire body to flinch and tense up... making him pull the trigger at the same time sending a bullet from his Nue directly into the 6th streeters face. His lifeless hand still clutching onto the knife gets effortlessly pushed away leaving the knife stuck deep in Brian's side as he unloads 5 more shots into his face... sending blood splattering all over his own face and chest.

       Before he can even gather himself... covered in blood, clutching the collar of the lifeless 6th streeter hes sat on top of, he hears the sound of footsteps at the blown off front door. He raises his Nue and points it at the sound with his right hand while still clutching the 6th streeter with his left. He looks to see Zaunya stagger back towards him before falling onto the door frame in pain. He instinctually attempts to get up and rush to her aid only to be reminded of the knife stuck deep in his ribs. He grunts in deep pain struggling to get off of the corpse and stagger to his feet as Zaunya slowly slides down the side of the doorframe covering it in blood and falling to her knees.

       Brian yanks the blade out while shrieking in pain before tossing it onto the floor of the apartment next to Graves' shotgun. With blood seeping out of his ears, he staggers over to Zaunya to help her up. He takes her by the same hand that her Nue is in to help bring her to her feet. Their matching, bloody red right hands... separated by only the gun... as they both unknowingly, fully embrace that first personal contact with each other. Still stunned, she falls into his chest with her forearms as he places both of his hands on her face looking over her bloody cuts and injuries. He gently looks her over as her bottom lip streams from a cut inside of her mouth down her chin past her scar. He slowly helps her down the stairs past Angela's now mangled corpse only identifiable by that bloodied, white cowboy hat...The pair leave behind nothing more than a bloody spattering of dead 6th streeters and an ashing lit cigarette on the untouched far-side windowsill.

Chapter Text

       The low tone buzzing of a bright light beaming down on Brian's face jolts him awake suddenly. With his vision in a complete haze and his hearing still coming too, he hears the sounds of two people talking with muffled voices. The ceiling of the room slowly spins as he begins to regain his senses.. feeling the heavy after effects of being put under for an extended period of time. He attempts to raise his head slightly only to feel an intruding weight and stiffness in his neck... he feels a dramatic shift in his overall weight and heaviness almost to the point of feeling held down. He hears the sounds of tight, new chrome creaking with every slow, ginger movement he makes as he finally sits up with his head resting on the back of the padded chair. He hears the sound of a door sliding closed which grabs his attention, looking over at it too late to see who left. Through his blurred vision he sees various tools and equipment around him covered in blood alongside gauze, rags and syringes. The amount of blood surrounding his area makes it almost hard to believe there's no corpse nearby. The remnants of a frantic yet surgical overhaul lay to rest like a storm that recently blew through and now rests silent.

"Mornin' love." He hears from a soft, feminine voice hes never heard before as his blurred vision continues to adjust. The bright lights beaming down on him are suddenly clicked off as he glances over in the direction of the voice. He looks over to see a woman in a white, blood covered tank-top with black jeans and boots sitting in a chair off to the side smoking a cigarette. She's petite and coated in tats, running down from her neck to her finger tips along with a spattering of various piercings complimenting her make-up and short white hair.

She has one leg raised up onto her desk with her other foot resting on the bottom of Brian's chair itself as she takes another drag observing him closely as he comes too. He shifts his weight in his seat to face her, causing the chair to squeak and creak under his now heavy weight. Still in a haze... he lays his head back onto the seat feeling restless and failing to get up. The woman finally speaks.

"Easy honey... its gonna take some time. Take it slow." She says in a calm tone before taking another drag of her smoke.

"Wh- what...?" He says, barely conscious closing his eyes tightly and putting his hands on his forehead. The weight of his hands catches him off guard as he quickly removes them to hold them up and look at them making sure they're still his hands.

"Titanium vanadium bones." She says in response to him before continuing. "You got lucky. I don't just keep complete skeletal structures just lying around... especially none your size." She says while raising her eyebrows. "Afterward, i figured.. there's no way he's gonna be able to move around any good with that amount of added weight... so I went ahead and hooked you up with some Bionic Joints as well... definitely shouldn't have any problem carrying the load. Your chrome to ganic flesh ratios are pretty stable and in a good place."

"N-..no no no.. you can't-" Brian says straining to sit up in his seat. He feels the ganic flesh of his muscle tissue adjusting to the weight and denseness of his new and dramatically improved bone structure... the tissue squeezes and contracts around the chrome as metal and meat are forced into harmony.

"As for your... pokes and slashes, well... stitching was the best i could for your ganic... Gotta say, that's gonna make quite the badass scar there." She says with a grin gesturing to the long slice from the Tyger Claw mantis blade going down from his jawline, past his neck, down to his chest now patched together with some high quality stitch work. "Blood Pump should take care of you from now on." The woman finally pauses briefly, taking a deep breath and resting her back up against her own chair.

"She must really care about you." She says matter of factly in a genuine tone

"No no... i'm not taking any of this... reduce spec." Brian says without making eye contact in an exhausted tone.

The woman giggles with a smile "What..? hahaha it doesn't work that way. You should know that by now. I saw the traces of previous work you've had done. Figured considering how conditioned your body already is to the process that the steep jump up in modification wouldn't give your nervous system much of a problem."

With no energy to protest or bitch about it inhales deeply before plopping his head back onto the chair and exhaling... taking a moment to shift subject.

"I'm guessin' you chipped her Sandy huh."

The woman raises both her eyebrows, shoulders and black, tool tipped ripperdoc hands at the same time.

"She ask ya to do that too or did she just wake up to it." He asks in a mocking tone

The woman quickly sits up in her chair and aggressively leans toward him. "Hey, this isn't a fucking arts and crafts project alright? You were half a flatline when she drug you in here. Didn't even have time to help her while i was working on your ass... she ended up having to take care of herself."

"Who are you...?" Brian asks looking directly at her.

She breaks eye contact with a frustrated expression on her face before standing up and walking over to one of her shelves. He strains to finally sit up fully, hanging his legs off the edge of the chair as he stretches and glances around the place briefly. She comes back over with a small brown paper bag handing it to him.

"Immuno blockers.. DO NOT start taking them right away... From what i could tell... your nerves took to the chrome... extremely well honestly. They're just in case... for now.." She says walking back to other side of the room.

"Where's Zaunya."

"Outside... waiting for you." The woman chuckles before crossing her arms and leaning up against a wall. "Hm... funny... she once told me she doesn't wait for anybody anymore." The woman pauses for a while thinking deeply, debating whether or not she should express something before leaving the wall and slowly walking toward Brian with her arms still crossed. "I don't know who you are... but... I honestly haven't seen her like this in well... quite a long time."

"Like what?" He asks. She stops before Brian looking at him deep in his eyes.

"Alive." She says raising her eyebrows with a serious expression on her face. Brian breaks eye contact as he looks away thinking deeply. She walks past him sitting down back at her desk.

"You were never here. I'm sure that's obvious enough." She says glancing up at him before looking back at her computer. "Shes got deets for you." She says gesturing over toward the exit door. Brian finally gets up off of the chair... the weight of his body thuds to the ground with a subtle but heavy impact. He feels the dense, heavy bones underneath his flesh struggle to catch up with the rest of the neurological responses firing off throughout his body. The bones lightly jostle around underneath his flesh as they softly settle and catch up with every movement.

The new weight distribution catches Brian off guard as he struggles to regain his balance and stumbles a bit. He gingerly walks over to an opened locker containing his clothes and gear which he slowly puts on... working his coordination and range of motion. He makes his way to the exit door before hearing the woman's soft feminine voice speak to him a final time causing him to glance back at her over his shoulder.

"And don't worry... I'll be seeing you again."

The door to the exit slides open as Brian walks out.

Chapter Text

       Zaunya waiting outside the entrance of the ripper's is seen leaned up against a chainlink fence. Her black leather facemask hangs out of her front pocket as she posts one of her long legs up against the fence for stability. The lack of ambient street and advertising lights has her nearly shrouded in darkness as stray sirens and car horns can be heard far off in the distance. Its been a long day... thinking of Brian's injuries causes her to take a brief inventory of her own damage. With chrome as quality as hers, damage that'd normally rip a choom in half like wet tissue paper is nothing more than a few dings and dents to her.

The hierarchy of power that exists within every circuit... every wire... every single piece of chrome anyone may have walking down the street... creates a never ending cybernetic arms race driven by things so very human...

Fear.

Understanding of the sheer precariousness... the fragility of the world around them... bendable to the will of the strongest and most determined.

Zaunya takes long, calm drags of her smoke as she stares deeply into a small puddle beneath her feet... recalling a memory:

       Young Zaunya, now about 16 is seen frantically organizing an opulent tea set. She places the various cups and silverware onto a gold tray. Engraved at the base of the tray reads 'PETROCHEM' glaring up at her. Her hands are shaking as she nervously lifts the tray and makes her way down a long hallway in the corporate mega-structure. She makes her way past various corpos going about their business hearing stray shouting matches, whispered conversations and office equipment being used. Janitors on their hands and knees cleaning up alcohol spills and party trash, vacuuming open offices and scrubbing desks.

       She arrives outside of a board meeting room and is just tall enough to peek in through a small window on top of the door. She sees various suits sat at a huge table deep into a meeting. Her green eyes catch a man sitting at the head of the table with his elbows on the table and his hands folded resting on his forehead looking down. Its clear hes either irate or uninterested in whats going on. She glances behind him to see her mother, standing behind the man seated massaging his shoulders.

       Zaunya enters the room abruptly, bumping into the door awkwardly with the tray causing a clanking noise that startles everyone inside, throwing off the flow of the conversation and causing everyone inside to glance over at her including her mother. The executive being massaged is the last person to look up at her. He glances over at her with a half surprised expression. The conversation continues on normally as everyone re-focuses and Zaunya begins quietly serving tea. She silently offers each member of the table a cup of tea to which some accept and some deny. As she slowly makes her way around the big table she glances over at her mother giving the man at the head of the table a massage before her attention is immediately turned to the man himself staring directly at her. It startles Zaunya as she glances at him realizing just how hard hes staring at her as she attempts to stay focused on her task. After serving each one she would glance over to still see him staring right at her... it was almost as if time had slowed and everything happening around them was inaudible as her senses heightened and her heart rate increased.

       She finally makes her way to him as she sees her mother with her hands on his shoulders with both of them now looking at her with smiles on their faces. The man places his hand on her mother's hand signaling her to stop massaging and to take a step back as he quickly sits upright as Zaunya approaches. Zaunya pours the man a cup of tea as his eyes never leave her face. She quickly goes to turn away without looking at him before hearing his deep, intimidating voice for the first time. "Thank you sweetheart." He says with a big smile on his face making her jump slightly. She turns back around to face him, forcing direct eye contact for the first time as she smiles and nods before quickly turning and walking away. She collects the tray and heads for the door; As it slides open and she steps through, she instinctually feels him still staring at her which compels her to turn around and check. She sees him a final time staring right at her with his hands folded. She stares back fearful as the door slides closed forcibly breaking their eye contact with each other. Ending the recollection.

       Zaunya drops her lit cigarette into the puddle, distorting her reflection. She hears the sound of the door slide open off in the distance causing her to glance up. She looks over to see Brian walk out, quickly looking around the street for her in the opposite direction. He finally looks over in her direction and sees her before B Lining it toward her... She calls out to him.

"Hey, good... You're ok.." She says letting out a sigh of relief. He doesn't respond as he continues walking at her with vigor and anger. Recognizing this, she shifts her tone.

"What..?" She asks confused as Brian gets closer... not responding or altering his speed.

"WHAT?!" She asks again in a raised tone now frustrated, lowering her eyebrows and raising her arms confused.

Brian shoves her toward the fence... The force of the push surprises her and sends her falling back onto it causing the chainlink to clank loud and echo down the alley. He puts both of his hands on her shoulders pushing her up and pinning her against the fence.

"Four days!? Four fuckin' days i spill blood for you and you bring me to a FUCKIN RIPPER?!" Brian shouts cracking his voice and looking her deep in her eyes "WHAT THE FFFUCK!?"

Zaunya struggles to release his grip to no avail. She yells back through her teeth. "You wouldn't... stay awake! You were... dying!"

He quickly lets her go and turns around walking away running his fingers through his short hair with his mouth wide open and his eyes closed tight.

"Was I supposed to just... let you bleed out!? There was NOWHERE. ELSE. TO GO!" Zaunya yells cracking her voice and watching Brian pace back and forth.

"What does she want... Who the hell was that?" He says trying to calm himself glancing over at the door to the building and the surrounding street, recognizing its unmarked and next to impossible to identify.

"Look.. that doesn't matter right now alright? Because this? THIS is time sensitive." She says holding up the black and gold access card they retrieved from 6th street. "Your place is gone... You're going to need this to start over."

Brian puts his hands on his face and raises his eyebrows in disbelief at her audacity. He looks back at her with his raised eyebrows and points directly at her face. "You. You and i... are gonna have words." He says as he walks past her toward the street. Zaunya unable to find the right words quickly follows behind him.

Chapter Text

       Another late night in Night City... The engine of Graves' Butte can be heard with a low and calming hum as the pair drive the streets of Watson gradually making their way over to Arroyo. The flickering, color changing neon lights of Night City fill the cab of the Butte just as quickly as they exit it. Brian glares out of the passenger window with Zaunya behind the wheel driving as his motor functions continue to adjust to the chrome. She occasionally glances over checking up on him as the cab is completely quiet with only the sounds of the engine and ambient city antics happening on the street filling the space. In Night City... you can often find yourself thrown into high stakes situations with people you barely even know or just met... re-enforcing the principal that its not really who you are that matters... only what you're willing to do.

2 strangers driven together by buried emotions and circumstance rely on their personal experience to ground themselves by falling back onto their tried and true ways of operating.

Brian lights a smoke and takes a drag feeling his muscles and bone structure adjusting with every slow drag. As widely common as cyberware augmentation has gotten over the years... the metaphysical transition from man to machine is anything but trivial. He breaks the silence.

"Who are you." He asks in a dead tone looking over at her.

"Is that really what you wanna know right now?" She promptly responds looking him up and down.

Brian raises his eyebrows and goes back to looking out the window. "Biz then... Access card. I'm assuming you already have a plan or a plan isn't needed for this."

"Why's that."

"Because you've never mentioned it... I've seen the way you look at that thing. 6th street hangout, Back at my choom's place...tch.. you look at it as if seeing an old friend" He says before taking a long drag of his smoke and continuing. "Needless to say, all goes well, divvy should be in my favor. I'm sure you'd agree... all things considered."

"What..?" She asks confused trying to pay attention to the road

"The divvy... payment." He responds impatiently "50/50 just... won't do. I'm sure you understand."

"Oh. Yeah.. right. Of course." She responds dismissively. Her reaction catches Brian's attention. Being the type of person that he is, he makes a mental note of this before shifting subject.

"The Ripper... who the hell keeps a station equipped like that running in a hole in the ground. And how the hell do you know em?"

"Audrey? What, she didn't tell you her name..? Tch.. still doing that ominous bullshit i see. Anyway, she told me that mantis blade cut you got dug into bone past flesh.. i'm assuming it got worse after 6th street... she said it was a miracle you were still able to be up and moving. As for your stab, it hit ribs... broke a few with the force. She could've got you stable and just stopped there but you wouldn't even be on your feet right now.. So... she did me a favor. Didn't tell me what she was gonna do.. just said: 'I got it.' Zaunya takes a deep breath and shakes her head before continuing. "Didn't have any time or options... I'm sorry."

Zaunya apologizing causes Brian to finally look over at her. After a pause of silence in the car he finally responds.

"You saved my life... Don't be sorry." He says in a deep monotone before continuing to look back out of the window. She looks over at him, barely missing his eye before looking down then back at the road. A long pause happens in the cab while the NC nightlife passes by with flying colors before they pick back up.

"So other than S-tier basement rippers what other contacts ya got hm? What do you even do...? How'd you meet her?"

Zaunya looks over surprised, raising her eyebrows with a now slight smile on her face.

"Questions galore now huh? That how you deal with your nerves before a gig?"

"Eh, I don't usually dive head first into some work completely blind."

"Could've fooled me. That speech cowboy hat gave back there seemed pretty far off the mark from where i'm sitting."

Brian looks down on the floor of the cab still holding his lit cig with a now big grin on his face. Zaunya looking over notices this.

"What?" She says giggling

"You're cute when you flirt." He says before taking another drag and flicking it out of the window. Clearly understanding that Zaunya won't get into who she is, he uses the ripper in attempt to pry further and find leads. He raises his hands out in front of him before clinching them both into fists and taking the time to really feel his skeletal structure, joints and muscle density. The process of merging meat with metal promises to have different affects based on the host body as well as the quality of chrome applied. Any even slightly unstable mix of the aforementioned can lead to catastrophic results... all things considered... Brian no doubt won the cybernetic lottery with this rip. He takes a deep breath before continuing.

"This isn't just some over the counter, bargain basement cyberware. Its already neurologically settled.. with little to no side or after affects... How the hell do you get someone like that on call?"

Zaunya looks over before quickly looking back at the road.. another pause takes place between the two of them.

"She knew my mother."

Brian looks over at her without saying anything, thinking only to himself: 'Knew her mother?' his mind begins to race. 'Was her mom a corpo? Ex-military? Politician? I don't have the spec on her at all... don't know her chrome. Don't know where were going... what shes doing... don't know... anything.'

This thought hits him hard and sticks with him as he begins to feel and understand the same feelings Marilyn once felt when dealing with him. Brian sits back in his seat without responding to her. The feeling of a reckoning takes ahold of him as the pair continue to drive through the neon soaked Night City.

Chapter Text

       The tires of the Butte creep into the dark back corner of an alley between a fence and a series of warehouses planted side by side. The destroyed condition of the building they sit next to is clear. Being on the border of Arroyo, he keep his head on a swivel remaining alert... hes familiar with the usual back alley hotspots that you can find all sorts of activity happening at odd hours... this particular setup not being much different. He glances over to see Zaunya NOT doing the same thing as she instead has a fixed stare on the towering 'Petrochem' mega structures across the street. Leaned up against the Butte, she takes deep inhales of her cigarette not paying much attention to Brian checking his iron and supplies. She carries with her a stoic energy and tenseness that he picks up on making him wary. The closer they got to their destination on the ride over, the less and less she spoke... almost in a trance while being now singularly focused on something that seems almost irrelevant from Brian's perspective.

       Zaunya flicks her cig out through the fence down into the waiting embankment to their left. She puts her black leather facemask back on as the pair of them pick up their pace almost into a light jog moving behind the series of warehouses. They slip in to the nearest one through a giant hole in the side of its wall with crumbled concrete. Brian then effortlessly lifts her, boosting her up to the second floor before casually jumping, and lifting himself up the rest of the way. The pair of them take a position, peeking past their destroyed building looking onto the warehouse next door, which happened to offer some dim, ambient, red and blue lighting from a glowing sign that read 'Electric Corporation'. The pair silently observe several posted guards walking the perimeter and interior of the building. They both glance at each other preparing to make their move.

       

       They wait until the perimeter guards pass by before quietly dropping down out of their building and quickly sneaking past the gate entrance and road leading in. They quickly hug up against a wall of the facility before crouching down by a door after spotting an active surveillance camera. Zaunya quickly stands up... they share a look with each other before Brian grabs her by her waist, lifting her up towards the camera... She lightly pushes the camera upward, forcing it to look up blankly at the night sky. He gently lets her down, dropping her onto her feet while still holding onto her waist; She instinctually grabs for his shoulders to catch and stabilize her balance. This is now the most intimate their contact with each other has ever been as the pair glance at each other... catching each other's eyes before quickly letting go at the same time... recognizing the intimacy and ridding themselves of it.

       An abrupt bang from something metal falling off of a shelf inside the building breaks the moment and refocuses the pair. They both duck back down outside the door as Zaunya attempts to force it open. Brian switches places with her, moving closer to the door before placing the palm of his hand on the left side of it and slowly running it up and down the frame feeling for something. He lightly taps at several areas around the frame before working his fingers inbetween a loose groove near the locking mechanism and applying just the right amount of pressure to bend it outward, freeing the lock and sliding the door right open.

The pair quickly duck in as Zaunya slides the door closed behind them. They hear the sounds of 2 blue collar Petrochem employees talking as they listen from a nearby empty room.

"GOD DAMNIT!" One of the men yells looking on at the big pile of pipes spread out around the floor of the warehouse just recently fallen off of a collapsed shelf that couldn't handle the load.

"I told ya they wouldn't fit up there choom. Even if they did... i knew this piece of shit wouldn't be able to hold em." The other man says with his arms crossed looking on.

"FUCK this. I'm not pickin any of this shit up. Lunch time anyway. Cmon, lets go."

"Oh, no no no choom.. I'm not doin Buck A Slice again. That scop turned my fuckin guts inside out last time."

"Choombada... come on. Chick workin there LOVES me! How can ya turn down some free slices!" The second man takes a deep breath before responding.

"Ahh..fuck it. I'm starving... lets go." He says as the two of them make their way to the garage exit on the opposite end of the building carrying on a conversation.

       




       Zaunya and Brian enter the dimly lit, open warehouse making their way past the pipes littered on the ground to another door requiring a pin. Brian glances around the warehouse before watching Zaunya pull out the black and gold access card and hold it up in front of the reader. The pinlock lights up green and beeps before the door slides open, revealing a steep staircase leading to another door. Its clear at first glance that this staircase now leads deep under the structure itself with no indication as to where to. Before Brian can whisper anything, Zaunya puts her arm out in front of him motioning him to take a few steps back. She takes a knee right by the entrance to the door and uses the palm of her hand to feel along the floor right inside of the opened door frame. She lightly presses down with her hand causing a small strip of the concrete to sink into itself. Brian looks on confused before his attention is turned to the staircase. They both watch as dozens of infrared lasers instantly appear covering the entire staircase. It makes Brian jump slightly and take a step back as the lasers quickly switch from red to green indicating safety.

       Zaunya goes to step in through the door frame as Brian quietly grabs her shoulder with uncertainty and hesitation. She looks back at him and reaches for his arm before grabbing it and gently pulling him toward going in. The pair make their way down the steep staircase as Zaunya uses the card again to open the door at the bottom. The two step through as Brian slides the door closed behind them. Zaunya stops him again in his tracks as they look on down a well lit, long, empty, narrow hallway. She takes a deep breath before closing her eyes and re-opening them with focus. She triggers her Sandevistan... sprinting full speed down the narrow hallway getting to the end of it and pressing a red button near the pin lock and almost falling on her face. She feels light headed and dizzy... unable to get back up to her feet forcing her to stay planted up against the door taking exhausted deep labored breaths. Brian watching this, sees her condition and goes to step forward... she quickly puts her hand out toward him silently signaling him not to move. A brief, tense moment passes as the infrared lasers again fill up the entire hallway before blinking green several times and disappearing.

       Brian makes his way down the long hallway to her still in a haze on the ground... clearly the use of her sandevistan is taking its toll... Brian makes a mental note of this. He slowly helps her up to her feet with her equilibrium still off... he begins to open his mouth to ask if shes ok before she quickly places her hand over it while shaking her head signaling him to stay quiet. She regains her senses and pulls the access card back out holding it up in front of the pin lock... it beeps once before following up with an invalid error sound. Brian quickly looks over at Zaunya with growing concern... she holds the card up again only to hear the same invalid beep as the tension grows and her heart sinks. She steps back and takes a deep breath with her eyes closed for a moment... a routine technique she uses to center herself in tense moments before trying again. This time the pinlock quickly beeps invalid again before correcting itself and turning green with a confirmed beep causing the heavy reinforced door to slowly slide open.

       They slowly walk into the room as the sensors for the lights are triggered illuminating the space. Brian's eyes and mouth open wide as he looks on at an almost endless spattering of chemical barrels stacked from floor to ceiling. Shelves filled with various vials of samples and tools used to operate the warehouse are scattered around the area alongside various biohazardous containers and tubs. He notices a wall filled with smaller chemical barrels towards the back housed behind thick glass isolated from the rest of the supplies stored. Overwhelmed and confused he turns around to confront Zaunya only to see her jacking in to a computer nearby the testing station and ripping data as her eyes flicker blue briefly.

"What the fuck is all this!?" He shouts amongst blaring alarms turning around to look at her.

Zaunya completely ignores him before getting up and aiming her Nue right past him, thinking shes aiming it at him causes his heart to sink- "Was my intuition right?" He quickly thinks to himself. A flood of various thought reactions flood into his mind while staring at the barrel of her iron.

Instead, she aims at the glass and unloads a volley of rounds sending loud booming echos throughout the warehouse, causing him to flinch and puncturing the glass along with the barrels within it. The punctured barrels quickly begin to pour out thick, green glowing liquid onto the warehouse floor as a loud buzzer and flashing lights start to go off triggering the automated security voice.

=ALERT. CONTAINMENT PROTOCOL INITIATED= ALERT. CONTAINMENT PROTOCOL INITIATED=

       Brian quickly looks back to see the heavy reinforced door they entered in from closing as slow as it opened. He sprints back to it and uses all of his strength to prevent it from closing as he fights against the pressure. He looks over to see Zaunya shooting several automated extinguishers on the ceiling attempting to coat the green liquid pouring out while running back towards him. She uses her momentum to slide under past him back into the hallway. Brian lets the door go as it slams closed and the pair of them sprint full speed down the narrow hallway listening to chemical chain reactions igniting and exploding on the other side of the door. They race up the steep staircase as the entire building begins to violently shake occasionally knocking them off balance. The flames spin at a rapid pace blasting the containment door down the hallway and sending a purge of flame up and out of the staircase and the rest of the warehouse. The loud booming explosion shakes the earth and lights up the dark Night City streets with a green hue and smoke plumes as the pair are seen sliding down the embankment leading into the river tunnel before sprinting further down it.

Chapter Text

       Brian screeches the Butte to a halt on gravel and dirt. They find themselves on the outskirts of Night City in the Badlands... He hops out of the car and walks in front of it gazing out at the distant, silent glow of NC... with feint green plumes of aftermath smoke off in the far distance. With his adrenaline rushing he hears Zaunya's passenger door open. He looks back directly at her before B-Lining it up to her pissed off, her shout stops him in his tracks right in front of her as he irately listens.

"WE GOT WHAT WE CAME FOR..." She yells in a raised defensive tone. "This was the-"

"What THE FUCK was going through your head back there!? That was a fuckin Petrochem warehouse buried in the FUCKIN GROUND!"

"We just needed the data to the!-"

Brian leans in close lowering his voice and looking directly into her eyes instinctually making her step back intimidated. He yells through his teeth in an angered tone. "Petrochem's a fucking MEGACORP! They're gonna have eyes all over this shi! Corpos don't give a fuck about the first strike... they make sure they take the last one... and for WHAT!?" Brian pauses briefly.

"You're not a merc, you're a fuckin' terrorist."

He proclaims under his breath as he steps away and turns his back to her. The pair separate and share a long pause... allowing the ambient sounds of the baron badlands to take over briefly. Zaunya finally speaks in a softened, forthcoming tone... narrating her own recollections.

"I was born in Night City... not really how most people are though... there wasn't much in the way of a childhood where i come from..." You hear Zaunya's boots kick rocks and scrape gravel as she walks toward the edge of the cliff, looking out into silent glow of Night City. She continues.

"I come from a legacy family of security... Protectors of some of the most high-value assets in the city. My grandfather was shield to the PetroChem CEO himself. His abilities were second to none...Heightened sense of awareness, sharp reflexes... but most importantly... unwavering loyalty to the corp. These gifts... abilities... permeated throughout the family... raising our status and value overtime beyond that of even some of the most valued corpos in the city. Fear and success... kept us safe... gave us access to a life lived by few and desired by all..."

"My mom was shield to a PetroChem board executive... one of the highest ranking members of the company... born into it of course. They uhm... they didn't give us names." Zaunya says as a flashback begins:

       

       Zaunya's mom is seen engaged in combat training in various scenarios against various opponents. Skillfully stopping or immobilizing each one after the other with brutal technique while using her cyberware augmentations to maximum efficiency. Petrochem executives and developers whisper amongst each other as they watch her showcase her capabilities with the latest in chrome and tactical training PetroChem had to offer. Everything from Robot R MK 2s to slabs of concrete and granite are effortlessly cut down by her speed and power. The discretion of her implants was paramount as well... needing to maintain a professional look when with the appropriate clientele.

"Training was life. The only driving motivation we had was to do everything in our power to keep PetroChem HVTs safe."

       Zaunya's mom is next seen at a high level corpo meeting taking place in a neon soaked bar in Night City, stood behind an executive she is protecting. An assassin resembling that of someone gone cyberpsycho storms in at break neck speed toward her executive. Several other security are decapitated before he lunges for the executive. Zaunya's mom quickly steps in between the two of them causing her to be impaled by the assassin's mantis blade through the gut. She instinctually shrieks in pain before gripping on tightly and shoving the mantis blade deeper into her own gut... pulling the psycho in closer allowing her to grab his head. She squeezes with all of her strength and an intense look on her face as she crushes his skull into an explosion of blood that covers her face. She falls facedown motionless on top of the headless corpse as her executive scrambles away in fear.

"Sacrifice... was our purpose of living."

Several other PetroChem bodyguards swarm the area in the aftermath around Zaunya's mom rushing to her aid, rolling her over, and securing the perimeter around her and the executive.

"Always figured they didn't name us because... we needed to be expendable. Nothing more than a write-off... if anything were to happen to us... It was like we never existed. How we were viewed to the corp in public was nothing like how we were viewed in private... even amongst those of status and absolute power. Being the weapon in a room full of targets often put you at the top of this weird... social hierarchy. Such a contrast... fucked with our heads."

You next hear Zaunya's mother's high-heels tapping across a marble floor in an executive office... shes wearing a thin gold slip accentuating her curves and highlighting her long legs. She opens a concealed door on the wall toward the back of the office, leading into a hidden room.

       The room housed a bed with bright neon pink lights surrounding it... flooding the room with vibrancy, pink silk sheets that shined in the dim light with various mirrors surrounding the room all focused on the bed. The Petro executive, leaned back on the bed with no shirt on watches her enter the room with fire and lust in his eyes. He looks her up and down... slowly gazing at her face all the way down her body to her feet. Zaunya's mom slides the door closed.

"After things started to settle down... Petro execs needed less protection and more... service."

Zaunya pauses and takes a deep breath, struggling to find the words she wants to say next. Brian continues to listen from the hood of the Butte, watching her stare off into the city from behind her. He sees her long black hair lightly blowing in the wind along with the tail flaps of her black leather kuomori. She continues.

"I was late to cleaning the execs office one evening at the end of the day... hadn't seen my mom for quite some time at that point. I just... pressed up against the wall lightly by accident and the door slid open... scared the shit out of me."

       Young Zaunya walks into the hidden room where she is met with a neon pink ambient glow and a spotless bedroom setup. It grabs ahold of her curiosity and draws her in.. The door slides closed behind her as she slowly walks throughout the room covering herself in neon pink ambient lighting and slowly taking it all in with her mouth agape... wondering what the hell all this is... it was as if she had stepped into another world.

       

        Zaunya hears the front door to the executive office beep and slide open causing her to gasp. She then hears the sound of a man talking loudly with a slurred speech and a woman giggling alongside of him as the sounds of their steps grow closer. She recognizes her mother's giggle and instinctually dives under the bed to hide... her heart begins to race as the tandem steps of dress shoes and high heels on the marble floor grow closer toward the hidden door. Before she can even think, the door slides open and the pair bring their outting energy into the bedroom. Zaunya sees only her mother's feet in high heels next to a pair of dress shoes as she giggles while being pushed onto the bed... the exectuive quickly follows behind her. The combined weight of the two slams onto the bed forcing it down slightly on top of Zaunya's back making her jump and opening her eyes wide. She forces her hand over her mouth before she hears her mom speak while giggling.

"You've had too much. I can tell." She says to the executive while giggling.

"Ahh... too much. Never! hahahaha!... never too much of you!" He responds before beginning to make out with her mom on the bed.

As the action progresses. Zaunya hears the sounds of moaning in ecsctacy turn to fear and turmoil. As the executives tempo increases, so do his grunts of pleasure as do Zaunya's mom's grunts of pain. The bed continues to give under their combined weight lightly pressing down on Zaunya's back.

"S-slow down! What are you d-doing!? S-STOP!" Zaunya's mom struggles to say... he grabs her by the throat and pins her down to the bed by one of her arms with all of his strength continuing to pump harder and harder.

"S-STOP! PLEASE!" Zaunya's mother struggles to yell through her teeth as she shrieks with her breath being taken away as the executive continues to grunt even louder. Zaunya's mom goes silent as the executive continues holding her down by her neck and pumping as hard as he can. Zaunya under the bed covers her ears with her arms as the bed presses down on top of her repeatedly.

Zaunya takes another drag of her smoke before closing her eyes tight, forcing tears down the side of her cheeks as she turns her head to the side. The distant neon glow of the Night Cityscape catches a slight reflection off of her tears. She continues to recall the past after taking a moment to gather herself.

Young Zaunya is now seen sat at the opposite end of the executives desk subtly staring at the hidden door in a trance. She is now surrounded by a bunch of suits who have gathered around her for a meeting at the executive's desk without him in attendance. His new assistance speaks to her in a softened, feminine tone feinting excitement.

"Good morning Zaunya! I hope you're having a good day. We just wanted to come together to share some great news with you!" Zaunya looks up at the woman..staring at her manufactured smile.

"Your mother has been assigned to PetroChem abroad! This is one of the highest honors to be sure! She'll be responsible for overseeing all of the most important protection and safety initiatives of the entire company and will have her own personal team under her leadership!"

       Little Zaunya, intimidated by the imposing suits around her, is forced to sit and listen to the woman. As the sound of the woman's voice fades into the background, Zaunya looks back over at the hidden door as her tension begins to grow... rendering her unable to breath as her body begins to hyperventilate anyway. The sound of the woman repeatedly calling her name snaps her out of it, causing her to quickly look up at her.

"Zaunya...? Zaunya? Your mother even took the time to leave you a message!" Zaunya, confused quickly sits up in her seat and focuses in on the laptop in front of her as her eyes begin to well-up. She sees her mom sat at a blank brown desk with a muted black background behind her in a pre-recorded video. Her mom gathers herself on video slightly before speaking.

"Uhm... Hi Zaunya! Sorry I couldn't see you before I left." She pauses and glances at several of the people off camera.

"I've... i've been told that my services are in high demand throughout the companies' various locations and they'll be needing me far outside of Night City." She pauses again, at a loss for words... struggling to find the next ones before continuing.

"I'm... i'm not sure when i'll be back sweetie..." Another pause.

"Please take care of yourself... my... my sweet baby girl." She says half smiling and half crying.

She pauses even longer as her and Zaunya stare each other deep in the eyes through the screen.

"...I love you honey." She whispers cracking her voice.

The video cuts. Leaving nothing behind but a blank screensaver and text that reads: 'PETROCHEM'

Chapter Text

       The cold silence of the badlands has the pair in silent, deep thought. Brian leans up against Graves' Butte... heavily impacted by Zaunya's story. He remains silent as he watches her gaze upon the distant neon glow of Night City as her black leather koumori gently flutters in the breeze. He carries an expression of disbelief before looking down in mourning. She continues.

"I was... trapped- I had... no one. Nowhere to run... nowhere to go. Confined to the will of the megacorp that killed my mom." Zaunya begins to pace back and forth again, pouring her inner thoughts out in a way Brian didn't know she could considering how guarded she can be.

       She clinches her fists tightly cracking her knuckles as her voice cracks while shouting. "They gave me her position... treated it like a FUCKING GIFT! I was forced to be by his side constantly... and... he never brought another woman around us... and... he never looked at me. All of our communications were done through proxy... even though i was right by his side. His guilt did nothing but enrage me." She squats down, still looking at the city with her back turned to Brian as the wind gently continues to blow her long black hair and leather Koumori.

"I retreated into my training... being shield to one of the 'highest valued' execs on the board came with perks... tch, they treated me like fucking royalty. Tried to give me my own handlers, high-end experimental cyberware upgrades, master level security clearances, the works. I always knew it was him... the way he'd look at me... it was like... he knew i knew." Brian crosses his arms and shifts his weight leaned up against the Butte. She continues

"Years went by like this. As i grew up, I just became... numb to it. Stopped thinking about ways out... and started focusing on ways in." She says gritting her teeth, clinching her fists and shifting her tone from somber to angry as you see a close-up of her green eyes reflecting the glowing image of Night City within them as she stares deeply off into it.

"What'd you do." Brian speaks for the first time and asking in a serious tone unfamiliar to her.

Zaunya finally breaks focus on the city off in the distance and turns to look at him over her shoulder for the first time with a serious expression... shrouded in growing rage.

She says nothing... A flashback begins:

       Zaunya is seen barefoot, slowly walking in the hidden room at the back of the executive's office... a place shes now grown far too familiar with. The light pitter patter of her feet on the marble floor combines with the loud snoring of the executive passed out in the middle of the bed naked. Zaunya has silently slipped each of his limbs into steel wire restraints tied to the gold framed bed as he comfortably sleeps, completely worn out. Shes wearing a red slip, accentuating her curves and her long legs as it lightly flows behind her from her walking speed. The neon-pink hue of the room warms the space as Zaunya receives a text message from Audrey:

=Jammers up. Delta the fuck out of there... Now.=

Zaunya glances at the text before glancing back at the executive... her instinct compels her to flee... but a wave of dark memories flood her mind like stabbing knives. The culmination of loss, sacrifice and brutality brought about by a lifetime of service grabs ahold of her and doesn't let go.

       She looks back at the table shes standing in front of and grabs the K-Bar formerly belonging to her mother before looking back and walking towards him. She gently mounts on top of the executive and rests on his stomach, deeply staring down at his unconscious face. She grips the K-Bar tightly with both hands and raises it up as high as she can before bringing it down and driving it deep into his abdomen. The force of the stab jolts him awake instantly opening his eyes as wide as possible and making him shriek in immense pain. Zaunya jolts in fear at the sudden onset of brutality as he desperately triggers his sandevistan in an instinctual attempt to flee. He attempts to lift his right hand and swings at her with all of his strength while triggering a blade in the palm of his hand that slices Zaunya's neck and up to her jaw, cutting her deep. The jolt of his quick incapacitated movements knocks Zaunya off balance as the tension of the steel wire holding his arm re-tightens and yanks it back down. As he continues to repeatedly fire the Sandy, the chrome begins to short circ as electro static smoke begins to plume and shoot out. Zaunya panics while scrambling to get back on top of him and begins to repeatedly stab him with all of her strength... With each stab the pair of them let out feral shrieks and grunts on a rattling bed struggling to carry their weight.

       The executive's shrieks eventually stop as the taught tension on the steel wire holding him down begins to loosen and he lay there lifeless. Zaunya continues to stab him with all of her strength with her eyes wide open gritting her teeth. She stabs him repeatedly in the neck, face and chest as an overwhelming amount of blood begins to spray out of his neck and face completely covering her nearly naked body. The feral sounds of her grunts and screams vibrate the walls as she continues to stab... only stopping due to exhaustion. As her grip strains, she lets go of the knife while still sat atop of the now barely recognizable corpse... a pool of blood with hair on top. The now muted silence in the room allows you to hear nothing but Zaunya's deep labored breathing. She continues to stare deeply at the naked, now faceless and throatless executive... a tension release is followed by a brief feeling of closure.

       A long pause takes place with Zaunya in a trance on top of the body as she slows her breathing. She then grabs the knife again and raises it towards him as she begins to slice and hack his body in half using experienced muscle to work her way past various chrome and ganic flesh. She removes the top part of his head and sees various blinking lights from the s.o.s and trauma team pings triggering unsuccessfully due to the jammer. She bags the executives torso before throwing a bunch of various items and trinkets on top of it she collected overtime... some holding irreplaceable memories. The final thing being a picture of her smiling in her mother's arms in front of a PetroChem corporate building... Ending the flashback

Zaunya again stares out into Night City with the wind blowing. "I could have just... ran." She takes a long pause trying to gather herself.

"But there's nowhere to run to like Night City... A cesspool of chaos where yesterday's events are tomorrow's forgotten history." Zaunya begins to open her mouth to speak but unable to find the words... overwhelmed with emotion.

She hears the sound of Brian's footsteps behind her crunching rocks and scraping dirt as he approaches. She turns to face him as tears start to run down her face.

"She could've killed him.." she says cracking her voice. Brian pulls Zaunya in to his chest, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight as she begins to cry.

"SHE COULD'VE KILLED HIM!!!" She yells into his chest as she falls into him. The momentum drives the two of them to their knees holding each other tightly as she cries uncontrollably into his chest. Her true self laid to bare before him.

You see only their silhouettes as they hold each other tightly in the darkened Badlands... overlooking the towering and imposing Night City glow... awaiting their return.

Chapter Text

       The heavy taps of black high-heels rapidly stomp one after the other across a linoleum floor. Various corpos throughout the halls doing various tasks and carrying on various conversations quickly realize who she is and move out of her way. Some bow their heads in respect while others offer a nervous smile with wavering eye contact. The smells of fresh roasted coffee and business colognes combine with designer perfume and recently cleaned carpets. The woman makes her way through the long, wide PetroChem megabuilding halls to an elevator that scans her before opening.

       The elevator rises with a gradual hum... there's a brief pause of stillness before the woman takes the moment of privacy to hyperventilate; Catching her fall by posting her hand on a wall in the elevator while struggling to catch her breath. Shades of her humanity begin to pierce through the cracks of her corporate shell while no one's looking. To climb this high to the top and still remain rocksteady is often only possible for those who've ridded themselves of such things like 'humanity'. This one however... seems to have somehow slipped through the cracks. She quickly gathers herself before taking a final deep breath and stabilizing the shaking in her hands by clenching them together tightly. The emotionless gaze of a veteran of this daily struggle washes over her face as the elevator dings open.

       She enters an executive suite with a birds eye view overlooking the sunny and bustling Night City. The lavish opulence of the office suite glimmered in the eye of the sun's rays beaming in through the wall sized windows. A beautiful black and gold theme was present throughout the office... marbled pillars and floors with glossy high-polish reflections. Spotless jet black carpets sported golden PetroChem branding with various gold patterns and trim throughout them. An executive leaned up against his black wooden desk smoking a cigarette stares out into the City with his arms crossed. He speaks in a deep tone... clearly on edge.

"The postmortem. Is it complete."

"Yes sir." The woman promptly responds. "They're still digging through the details. The clean up is gonna be a real bitch... collateral damage reached most of the block and across the street. Families of the deceased employees are being paid for their silence or cooperation with public statements. N54 and all other media outlets sniffing around are being fed diversion or damage control."

She then steps across the black and gold marbled floor as you hear her high heels tap one after the other causing a hollow echo to flutter through the air. The fabric of her jet black corpo skirt rubs against her thighs as she makes her way beside him... joining him looking out into the cityscape with her back straight and hands clasped behind her back. She continues.

"Product is completely irretrievable. No security footage recovered now that the buildings been leveled. Several eye-witnesses are being probed as we speak. Instructions were clear to focus on intel gathering over cleaning on the building site... not much you can do with a fucking explosion though. Its everywhere by now."

He listens while still gazing out into Night City, taking long drags of his smoke... his gold ring with the PetroChem logo on his middle finger briefly catches the sunlight and reflects off. He speaks.

"Rectifying the product shortage is priority number one." He takes a deep breath letting out a sigh... calculating the various compounding problems looming on the horizon. "The new formula won't be easy to replicate. Why the fuck was security not-"

"Board made the call sir... they decided on discretion for the product over security."

"Fuck discretion. They're shooting themselves in the foot. The product was integral to finally obtaining leverage over Sovoil. For it to go up in smoke just like that... cleaning this up is gonna be a real bitch." He says before taking another drag.

"What are next steps sir."

The exec pauses briefly... thinking deeply while smoking.

"Touch bases with the research team. See what can be done about the product setback... if further funding is needed for whatever reason... provide it. Have the auditors on high alert. If any traces of the formula make their way to the streets I want to know about it. Can't let this get into the wrong hands."

A long pause takes place between the two as they each continue to look out into the cascading Night Cityscape... hearing the muffled sounds of a busy city behind thick glass in each other's presence.

"And the goons who did it?" She asks.

"Get local PD to sniff around. Start with the vehicle witnesses saw." The corpo exec continues speaking as you quietly see Brian and Zaunya driving through the pitch black badlands with the city off in the distance from the night prior.

"Fact is... Whoever did this... knew exactly what they were doing... We just gotta find out why... to find the who."

Zaunya takes drags of her smoke in the passenger seat with a fixed gaze out of the window into the badlands. Brian meanwhile has his gaze fixed on the bright neon lights of Night City off in the distance. As the rumbling engine of the Butte settles into the late evening breeze, the warmth of the cab takes over the pair sharing a quiet, somber silence after an intense and personal interaction.

The bonds and connections made on any given day in Night City can grab ahold of you as strongly as they can push you away... Whom you choose to trust or open up to could lead to outcomes you may not even wish on your worst enemies. The collective experiences you have may drive you down a path you'd soon rather set ablaze than take a single step down.

       Completely exhausted, the desire for the two of them to interact at this point is far gone... with so much on each of their minds and so much they'd like to say... for one reason or another... they've both found it best to keep thoughts and words to themselves. The quiet ambience of the baron badlands far away from that of Night City's booming, relentless ambience is a welcome change of pace... allowing for some quiet time to organize thoughts. The pair slowly approach a parking lot with neon pink lights gradually filling up the cab the closer and closer they get.

Chapter Text

       The white noise of scattered insects fills the baron wastes... the communal buzzing and chirping overlapping each other isn't much different than a bustling night on the town. Brian, in a quiet focus rests his forearms on the railing in deep thought... taking heavy drags of his smoke and staring at a neon-pink flickering sign that reads 'Dollop of Sunshine'. The area's mellow with very few passers by to and from along with the occasional off-roader flying by. The type of quiet isolation you can find this far removed from the noise and distraction of the city can often bring out unseen aspects of one's self. Isolated confinement for people like these... is an entirely different type of battle.

       Zaunya, just inside the motel room behind him impatiently paces back and forth with her jacket off showing her sleeveless black leather vest. She slowly rotates and loosens her neck before kicking and smashing a dresser with a bunch of glass bottles on it sending them smashing to a stained carpet floor. Shes tries to maintain her nerve unsuccessfully as various buried thoughts and emotions brought about by revisiting the past return with a vengeance. Vulnerability and sorrow turning to rage and bloodlust like a stoked flame. She aggressively runs her fingers through her hair... simultaneously yanking on it... struggling to maintain her cool.

Again... it is clear that the two of them have had several conversations before this point... the contrast in the pair's mental state lends to what some of those conversations just may have been.

Brian stuck in a state of deep thought drowns out the environment around him as he hones in on a memory... triggering a flashback:

       The bright glowing neon sign towering above all of the chaos reads 'Jig Jig Street'. Marilyn runs through the street in a hurry with Brian in tow, dragging him behind her as he attempts to keep up with her pace. She giggles gleefully with excitement as they rush past various people posted on the block including some of her Mox sisters at work beating down some corpo rat as "DON'T FUCK WITH THE MOXES!" Is shouted off in the distance. The variety of vibrant colors on display is staggering. Everything from animated clothing items and accessories to flashy jewelry and hyper-stylized implants are sported throughout the crowd. Joytoys soliciting sex and dealers slinging drugs... alluring debauchery drawing in the lustful hunger of even the most straight edged out there.

The loud booming music of a hot summer night in Night City... is in full swing.

       Marilyn and Brian rush to and arrive at their destination... stood outside of a pod with a front that reads "BD SHACK". Marilyn attempts to lightly open one of the shacks to no avail... She then runs her fingers down the slit of the door and works them inbetween before attempting to force it open. As Brian watches, he hears the compressed air and working mechanics of her gorilla arms engage and the door frame give in to the force. As the door rips open they see a couple in the shack engaged in intense intercourse... the woman on top of the man glances back at them briefly before continuing completely undeterred. Brian and Marilyn quickly look at each other and share an embarrassed laugh amongst themselves. Brian slides the wrecked door closed back into place leaving it basically open as Marilyn pulls him toward the next shack beside it.

       They enter the empty BD shack and sit on the tattered couch inside... the door slides closed as the pair of them lock eyes and get close. Marilyn, with a huge smile on her face grabs Brian's left hand and raises it up between the two of them. She then raises her right hand and laces her fingers in-between his, squeezing his hand tight before then loosening the grip and adjusting the angle. Their matching gorilla arm cyberware hands sport a chrome, blood red metal finish; the cyberware augmented onto them weaves perfect with the RealSkinn still left on their hands creating a clean finish... some of the spoils of their raid on Maelstrom. With their palms connected and their fingers now loosely laced, Marilyn begins to weave a thick wire around their connected hands. She weaves the wire between their fingers and wraps it around their palms and wrists... yanking it tight with each loop being sure not to leave any space between them while never breaking their deep, intimate eye contact.

"What..?" Brian says in a calm tone with a big smile on his face as Marilyn continues to giggle.

"What..?" he says again while giggling with her. Marilyn grits her teeth as she yanks the wire tight a final time... constricting one of each of their hands together. They continue to lock eyes as Marilyn places Brian's wreath on his head while kissing him before placing her wreath on her own head.



       With the muffled sounds of loud booming music and people partying outside the door to the shack, you see Marilyn and Brian laid back on the couch stared up at the ceiling in a open-eyed trance, engaged in an intense braindance. Their bodies twitch and jolt in ecstasy as you hear Marilyn begin to moan in extreme overwhelming pleasure. Her body begins to tense up as she squeezes her bare thighs tightly and curls her toes. As the intensity in their physical responses grow, their tightly laced hands twitch and yank occasionally straining the wire working hard to hold them together. A loud crash of breaking glass in the motel room behind Brian snaps him out of his flashback.

Zaunya screams in rage to the sounds of more shattering glass and screaming causing Brian to glance back into the room. As more furniture gets smashed and glass breaks... her screams in anger build. He flicks his cigarette out into the parking lot below before turning to re-enter the room.

Chapter Text

       A close-up of Zaunya's cut and bloody hands shaking do their best to try and stabilize themselves... she takes slow deep breaths as she sits up against a wall in the back of the small motel room... her bout of rage subsiding and returning to a simmer. The quiet stillness of the room combines with her heavy breathing and the stray sounds of engines speeding by outside. While collecting herself, she hears the door to the room slide open.

       She looks up to see Brian calmly walk into the room and approach her. Without saying a word, he grabs a cloth out of his pocket and kneels down next to her... he begins gently cleaning her hands. Zaunya feels a wave of embarrassment wash over her as Brian checks her hands for deep cuts. While holding one of her hands, he places a cigarette on her lips and lights it for her before taking a seat next to her sitting up against the wall. He lights one of his own as the pair sit in silence taking deep drags allowing the busy noise outside the room to take back over for a bit. Brian breaks the silence.

"Petrochem-" He says... making Zaunya look over at him.

"-Is one of the biggest megacorps in Night City... plenty of eds to snatch..." She quickly responds dismissively

"No... I mean, if this is just a means to an end for you... If this is just a one-way. I need to know. Corpos don't forget. At best... shit just gets filed away only to be re-opened later."

"Then what the fuck is your point Brian." She asks impatiently.

"My point is... if we're gonna do this... I need to know where your head is at. Going in blind ain't gonna cut it."

She takes another drag of her smoke and runs her fingers through her hair without responding. Tampered emotions attached to unforgettable memories continuing to fester that shes uninterested in delving into.

A long pause happens as the pair sit next to each other. Brian breaks the silence.

"I lost my best friend." 



Zaunya looks over at him curious. Brian's mind defaults to Marilyn... visualizing her beautiful face smiling at him. A series of quick flashes passes by in his mind of some of their time together. He then quickly catches himself before mentioning her... shifting the direction of the story last minute.

"That same night we met... I had a uh... had a gig..." Brian shifts his weight and takes another drag of his smoke before continuing.

"It was simple... just a quick trade... easy scratch he said." Brian looks down and closes his eye tight... a series of quick flashes enter his mind of the sudden life or death struggle that occurred in that alley that night. Reminding him full well the fragility of the environment they exist in... the ruthless speed in which things can change forever.

"He took a gut shot... i got a scar to last a lifetime."

Zaunya glances at Brian's stitched, soon to be scar running up from his chest to his neck and finishing on his jaw. She sees the resemblance in her own scar... how they mirror each other. The coincidence intrigues her... a spoon fed sensation of connection that she hardly understands.

"I got him to an R.E.O operating table but... there was nothing I could do... didn't... didn't know what to do." He takes a deep breath while looking down. "He bled out in my arms."

Zaunya looks down as Brian stands up and slowly walks to the center of the room.

"The Butte we've been rolling around in was his... the bloodstains are both of ours... brought it home... where you happened to be waiting." He takes another drag of his smoke before rising to his feet and pacing back and forth briefly.

"In the end... he told me something that I haven't been able to shake out of my mind. Told me to remember who we were, before all of this shit; to remember who i was..."

"Before what shit...? Brian... Who. were. you?" She asks in an exhausted tone with a heavy desire to know... having now laid to bare who she truly is to him.

Brian looks back at her... looking directly into her eyes... he says nothing.

He turns to walk out of the motel room... as the door slides open, Zaunya quickly gets up and follows him out the door.

He's next seen walking through the parking lot of the motel and onto the dirt of the badlands. Zaunya a few yards behind him quickly follows after him.

"Brian?" She says and gets no response. The sound of rocks and dirt being kicked underneath their boots as they walk takes over the space along with the chirps of insects.

"...BRIAN?... Wha- Where are you going?" She asks flustered. He makes his way over the lip of an embankment and approaches where he's stashed Graves' Butte. He grabs a length of rubber hose from the trunk before pulling open the gas port causing Zaunya to stop in her tracks at the top of the embankment. He lightly sucks into the tube causing the Choo in the tank to begin to flow before sticking the hose into the cab of the Butte. The choo begins to flood inside soaking the blood stained seats and the dashboard and filling the area around him with a dank chemical smell that'd grab your nose.

He takes a few step back before flicking his smoke into the cab causing the choo to instantly ignite, lighting up the area around them with an orange glow. Brian makes his way back to the top of the embankment before turning around to stare at the glowing flame.

Zaunya and Brian's silhouettes stand side by side as the flames gradually take over the Butte in the darkened badlands. As he begins to be overcome with emotion, he shuts it down before turning and walking back toward the motel. Zaunya's sight fixed on the flaming Butte recognizes this and quickly turns to follow him.

       As they make their way back to the motel, you see the flames begin to grow above the embankment before a loud boom sending flames and chunks of metal scrap into the air causing Zaunya to flinch and stumble over her footsteps. While looking back at the explosion she instinctually puts her forearm out in front of her face. Brian doesn't miss a beat as he continues to walk back to the motel completely unfazed.

Graves' Colby Butte is laid to rest in flames out in the desolate Badlands... Fading to black.

Chapter Text

       Thick clouds of smoke gently whisp through the air undisturbed... the sun's rays beam through the shadeless window of Brian and Zaunya's motel room. The scattered stray sounds of various cars and people going about their day are feint on the other side of the door. Brian pacing back and forth in the room causes the gently wafting smoke to scatter and dissipate... he occasionally glances out the window to check the roads. Cigarette butts scattered throughout the trashy room, most of them being fresh.

Zaunya sits at the edge of the bed with her legs crossed and her elbows rested on her lap. The idle smoke from her cig remains consistent and still as she stares down at the floor of the motel in deep thought... a flashback begins:

"AUDREY!" A loud shout and banging on a metal door causes Audrey to jolt awake and fall out of her chair. The screams and banging continues as Audrey quickly scrambles to get up and get to the door. As she slides it open she sees Zaunya struggling to carry Brian with his limp arm slung over her shoulder. Audrey's eyes open wide in disbelief at the sight of her... she gasps and steps out of the way allowing Zaunya to drag Brian's unconscious body down into the room with streaking blood trailing behind him.

Zaunya and Audrey work to quickly get Brian lifted onto the ripper chair in the quieted clinic with the sound of scuffling on linoleum combining with rumbling thunder.

"MOVE!" Audrey shouts as she gets in-between them and quickly begins to cut and rip Brian's clothes off with her tool tipped ripperdoc hands as her fair skin forearms begin to get covered in blood. She starts to grab for various tools and items while turning on various pieces of equipment as the beeps and whirs of her medical tech begin to fill the room. Zaunya slowly steps back while putting her hands on her head with her eyes and mouth wide open as she absentmindedly get his blood smeared on her face... completely flustered in a panic.

"Is... is he alive?" She says under her breath to herself as Audrey scrambles to work on Brian.

"SHIT." Audrey says gritting her teeth. "He needs blood.." She says while B-Lining it to a cabinet.

Brian lays on the ripper chair... completely mangled with his ears ringing... looking as if fresh off the battlefield of a corpo war as Audrey and Zaunya's frantic communications back and forth are completely muffled to him.

Sometime later, Audrey and Zaunya stand just outside of the clinic leaned up against the side of the building with smokes in hand. The distant sirens and Night City street sounds take over the space as the two rest in each other's company covered in blood. Audrey breaks the silence.

"Where the fuck have you been Zaunya." Audrey asks in a tired tone... Zaunya doesn't respond.

Audrey steps in front of her and begins to check her wounds and patchwork... occasionally opening her coat and lightly grabbing her face and turning it. Zaunya gently grabs Audrey's wrist and moves it away from her face. "I'm.. i'm fine." Zaunya says while turning away.

"I told you get the fuck outta the city... and who the fuck is tha-" Audrey says with growing anger while pointing back at the door with her thumb.

"I'm sorry. Audrey.." Zaunya says while looking down at the floor.

"Sorry..? You're SORRY!? Do you know what the fuck's gonna happen if they find out you're still here!?" Audrey yells cracking her voice trying to keep it low... She takes a few steps away turning her back and looking up and down the street.

"You knew i wasn't going to fucking leave Audrey."

"Zaunya..." Audrey responds exhaling... closing her eyes while looking down.

"This isn't over... Audrey... Its not gonna be... I have to finish it."

Audrey quickly turns around and walks up to Zaunya getting right in her face and grabbing both of her shoulders... her tone shifts abruptly as she begins to plead.

"No no no Zaunya please... look at me. You can't do this... your mom-"

Zaunya looks up at Audrey directly into her eyes. Audrey becoming overwhelmed with emotion tries to continue to speak but struggles to find the words to say. As Audrey looks at her... its clear the woman she's looking at is no longer the same woman she once knew and cared for. She sees in her eyes a different person... one with fire and purpose. Her energy feels lighter than its ever been... emotions she once felt are long gone or buried. Its as if her mind is not only clear... but pointed with calculated determination... an energy all too unfamiliar. Audrey picks up on this energy after taking a long hard look at Zaunya's face... it causes her to let go of her shoulders and take a step back... neither of them break eye contact.

After the moment of realization in Audrey... Zaunya takes another drag of her cigarette.

"I'm gonna bring the whole thing down." She says while exhaling the smoke... leaned up against the building and looking deep into Audrey's eyes.

The two separate and share a pause as music blaring from a car passes by along with more sirens off in the distance... the weight of time's past adds to their distant familiarity.

"Now tell me what you want for all of this." Zaunya says pointing back at the door with her thumb.

Audrey, near the street with her back turned to Zaunya puts her hands on her hips and takes a deep breath in defeat before a pause.

"An eye." She says causing Zaunya to stand up straight and look over at her with her arms crossed. Audrey continues

"There's this corpo gonk who got my number from someone I don't even speak to anymore. He was climbing the brown nose mountain and well on his way to a cushy executive existence. At the time he was mostly good for the eds but luckily i know how this game works and made em pay for one eye at a time. He must've pissed someone higher up off soon after because I never even received payment for the first one. Its an Oracle... I don't just keep those lying around and can definitely do better with a pair instead of just one."

Audrey finally looks back at Zaunya over her shoulder.

"Bring me the eye." Audrey says in a serious tone nodding her head up.



Zaunya, with her arms crossed drops her cigarette and steps on it. Cutting to black.

Chapter Text

       The sound of a slow ticking clock accompanies Zaunya and Brian as they pace back and forth right past each other in the small motel room, both occasionally glancing out the windows and checking the roads. The restless and chaotic nature of their personalities have bubbled to the surface of their being... forced confinement is something neither of them can snarf during a time like this. The black smoke rises in the sunbaked badlands above the distant embankment where the burned Colby Butte lays to rest. The various remnants of Brians past continue to shed... left behind in charred smoke.

Its clear that the pair have again had several conversations before this point and are on edge. Often times... anticipation and calculation can be more daunting than just making a move.

       The accumulating series of events that have driven these two to where they are now feels less like an end and more of a beginning. Regardless of the actions they take.. the people they kill.. the enemies they create... they remain at each other's side for better or for worse. They're intelligent.. therefore their instincts are to question everything... even the nature of consistency. Night City is the city of dreams after all... not trust; However, as time goes on... its clear that its become harder and harder for these two to adhere to that. They haven't been honest with each other from the beginning... however circumstances have forced the pair to do so... for the sake of survival.

"How much longer are we going to sit on our asses..? We're running out of smokes." Zaunya says complacent.

"I just got some more from a choom downstairs." Brian says as he hands her a pack. "And not yet... if they did a postmortem, which they DID.. then they'll have been scanning the entire city nonstop... the race to keep this bottled started as soon as that green juice went up in smoke. When nothin' comes up, they'll-"

"Start looking on the outskirts.. probing nomads, shaking down shacks, turning over old rocks. She says finishing his sentence while opening her pack of smokes.

"And when that happens-" He asks leading... unable to help himself... the exact same way he used to lead Marilyn through thought processes. A quick flash of her smiling face staring deep into his eyes hits him like a speeding Supron.

"We'll be trading places." Zaunya responds nodding her head and finishing his sentence. The synergy of the moment gives Zaunya some much needed levity... but causes Brian to retreat into a much less relatable interaction. He abruptly shifts subject to something a bit more confrontational.

"Your Sandy."

"Huh?" She asks confused

"Back at the warehouse... the after effects you suffered after using it weren't common with high-end chrome like that being chipped. Been told they usually do their best to tailor the specs directly to the associated user... symptoms I saw of yours are often associated with neurological instability. Did the-"

"Klepping a sandy from a Petrochem exec via decapitation isn't going to yield the most ideal results. When Audrey chipped it, she told me it wasn't a good idea at all... that I would probably have to do something about it eventually."

"But..?" He asks leading.

"Body acclimation. Started to get better over time to the point where she saw no reason to do anything. Just told me not to use it too many times a day; pretty easy compromise if you ask me."

"Speaking of your ripper friend... I know for a fact shes not doing work like this for free." Brian says gesturing at himself. "What does she want for it."

Zaunya raises her eyebrows and looks away from him... almost having completely forgotten the debt.

"This corpo gonk she used to run with has something of hers... we need to klep it."

Brian turns away laughing in disbelief. "From terrorism to extortion. You're fuckin' psycho girl-"

"I KNOW who he is and where we can find him... snake got his fangs ripped out and now hes on the outs with his corp... works for this small time PetroChem affiliate company. In these kind of corpo circles hey can lose influence and power just as quickly as they gain it... saw it happen an endless amount of times."

"Item of interest. What is it."

"A kiroshi Oracle."

" 'A' Kiroshi Oracle...? So you mean just one..?"

She looks at him without responding. He takes a deep breath and raises his eyebrows before shaking his head and turning his back to her.

       Later that night... like birds being released from a cage, they finally leave their motel room together as Brian takes lead. The sounds of their boots thump down the stairs with weight one after the other before making it down to the dirt and cracked pavement. The lack of ambient lighting gives the environment around them a damp, dusk landscape illuminated by only the moonlight as their boots crunch dirt and kick gravel. They pass by several strays and vagabonds before turning a corner at the opposite end of the motel.

       Brian B-Lines it up to a Galena G240 parked on the side of the motel and smashes the driver's side window open with his elbow creating a loud bang and causing Zaunya to jump slightly. He reaches into the car and unlocks it from the inside before stepping to the side and holding the door open for her. Without words, he gestures her to get into the driver's seat which she does with startled hesitation. The Galena speeds off into the night toward the bright, glowing neon cityscape towering above them off in the distance... awaiting their return.

Chapter Text

       The flick of a lighter creates a dim, orange glow from a small flame in the car briefly. The low rumbling of the engine creates a mellow white noise... as the pair share a silence with Night City effortlessly reeling them back in via their car. For these two, there's a certain level of comfort in that feeling... that familiarity. Nothing quite like the feeling of making your way back home.

       Night City often has the ability to do depraved things to your soul... imparting scars and traumatic memories on those not lucky enough to make it out. However this is only one aspect of this town. Just as easily as it can take what's most precious from you... it can hand you something that you'd never want to let go of... something you never even knew you needed. The mentalities of those born into this ethos are hardened... desensitized to events that'd easily break you. keep you from ever wanting to leave the house again... questioning the nature of morality in an environment breathed of any.

       For most... regardless of what this city does to them... or how far they may travel to try and get away... it calls to them... pulls them back in... an enigmatic feeling indescribable to those on the outside. Some hear the calls through whispers on a quiet night... in the depths of back alleys with rain-soaked pavements... even through the very words of people you love and trust. The strength of its allure tends to lay within the very actions you choose to take within it... with every move you make... it's grip tightens... the crazier the move... the tighter the grip... cause and effect choomba... cause and effect.

"Where is this rat." Brian says breaking the silence in the warm, cozy interior of the Galena. The cold, heavy wind outside begins to pick up as it lightly rocks the light frame of the small vehicle side to side. The darkness of the baron badlands reminds them of the lifeless void ever looming around the vibrant, glowing life they can't get back to fast enough.

"He used to be sitting pretty in a suite in the city center. He got chased out to Heywood... last we know."

"Last we know huh.."

"What? Expecting exact coords..?"

"You really are just a loose cannon aren't you?" Brian says glancing over at her

Zaunya smiles with one hand on the wheel and the other holding her cig as she exhales the smoke. "You love it."

Brian scoffs with a smirk as he turns his attention back out of the window... gazing out into the Night City glow off in the distance. He shifts subject.

"I think you underestimate the value of a plan."

"oh, do i?" she says mockingly while raising her eyebrows.

"You've got a justified vendetta, a cut-throat megacorp breathin' down your neck and now you've got a rat to hunt n' track... This isn't the time to just be winging it."

"uhhmm.. you mean WE? You can try and distance yourself from this shit as much as you'd like but we're in it now. I don't-"

"Which means we'll be doing this my way."

Zaunya looks over at him with a now serious look. He continues.

"We're gonna need a central point of control. A base of operations of sorts... First move is once again ours.. thankfully. We'll be sure to make it the right way this time." Brian takes a drag of his smoke before continuing.

"There's multiple factors at play here. With every move we make.. we leave trails. Trails that if picked up by the wrong people spells disaster for us. Think of it like quicksand that we're already in.. the more aggressive the action, the quicker we're consumed."

       Zaunya looks over at Brian while staying silent.. listening to him continue to analyze their situation and dissecting various elements of past events they've been through...how they coincide, and what needs to be kept in mind as they move. This is the first time shes seeing him do what he does best. The thoroughness of his thinking catches her off guard and intimidates her slightly. She concludes with a silent thought: I'm glad he's on my side.

"I know a place... Its out of sight... Should be ok to lay low there and think next steps." She says chiming in.

Brian smirks. "Funny.. we could've just stayed put a while longer." He says gesturing back toward the direction of the motel. "Yet here we are.. driving head first into a neon web of chaos...like flies to a light.."

Zaunya smiles and looks over at him. Responding calmly. "Right... but this our home..." she says gesturing toward the city within the darkness of the badlands.

"Isn't it Brian." she asks in a tone of awe.

Brian says nothing as his gaze stays fixed on the towering glow of Night City as it glows brighter the closer they get. You see the reflection of the neon cityscape enter his eyes as they speed directly towards it.

Chapter Text

       The sirens of Night City whale off in the distance as rising smoke from sewer grates wafts into the air. The size and density of Night City offers alot of deadzones... areas that were once or even never inhabited. Abandoned store fronts... crumbled construction projects... businesses that just never got off the ground... empty shells of hallowed out soulless structures. Its no wonder so many in society whether vagrants, criminals or runaways call this place home. A cityscape where opportunity and dismay dance together hand in hand in a whirlwind of chaos and uncertainty. Whether its dorph heads skezzed out and living in squaller, wandering the streets like zombies or blue collar workers snarfing scop dogs on the street corner before double shift, its home to them all. Such is the folly of Night City... the desire to change things ever loses to the white knuckling of another day on the streets.

       Amidst the feint sounds of the empty, isolated streets; 3 people turn a corner off the main road down an alley. The darkness of the alley hidden away from direct sunlight engulfs the 3 as they make their way down its long stretch. They get to the end of the quiet, trash littered stretch and hop a short chainlink fence before turning a final corner. They walk another 30 yards down after turning the corner and stop in front of a door. Audrey waves her hand over the locking mechanism causing a dim green light to appear illuminating a small feint area of the alleyway. Audrey then places the palm of her hand over the green light causing the door to beep subtly before sliding open.

       They make their way into the hideout still pitch black and slide the door closed behind them. Audrey turns on the lights giving a clear view of the living room area. The pristine nature of the living space is in direct contrast to the surrounding neighborhood... the second story apartment looked barely lived in... untouched by high traffic and regular use. It was almost as if stepping into a portal to a more high-end part of the city. Although no opulence was on display, it was well put together... comforting... things were organized and had their own place.. it was cozy with 2 bedrooms and a small living room connected to the kitchen area.

"You guys can stay here for the time being... Its not much, but definitely safe from prying eyes."

Audrey says as she watches Brian and Zaunya slowly walk through the place checking it out. She continues. "CCTV is setup to watch the mainstreet and this back alley here."

"Interesting location for a get-away vacation home." Brian says looking around the layout of the place.

"Well, if you're trying to 'get-away' for vacation or because a multibillion eddie mega-corp is hunting you down, i'd say you've been brought to the right place. There's several spots you can use as shooting nests up along the fire escape... and the buildings been retro-fitted for small arms and explosions... heavy concussive impacts."

Brian looks over at Audrey with confused skepticism. She continues.

"And if all else fails... come here." Audrey says as Brian and Zaunya gather to follow her. Audrey walks into the kitchen area behind the bar counter and opens a couple of cupboard cabinets under it... leading to a ladder that leads down into a dark hole. "You can use this to get down into to the sewer systems... hopefully well... you won't have to bother going down there. Bought this place years ago... long before property managers in the area could sink their claws into the district."

"Thanks Audrey... I don't know how to even repay you I-" Zaunya says.

"Don't mention it... just bring me that eye and we should be square." Audrey says as she closes up the cupboard.

"I gotta ask..." Brian says gazing out of a window, watching the front street with a slight grin on his face and his head down. Zaunya and Audrey look over at him. He continues

"The location... this place. A lot of work went into it... a lot of thinking. I don't know... It just screams disstrust to me. Me n' her aren't the only ones on the run here are we..?"

Zaunya looks over at Audrey without saying anything

Audrey pauses for a second focusing in on Brian... she checks him with a serious tone he's never heard before.

"...When you're in service to a mega-corp... doing work off the books. You don't get deets... you get orders. Sure, they pay well but it comes at a cost." She says while slowly walking up to him. She continues while getting closer.

"I'm a tool. She's a weapon." She says with a flat tone in his face while gesturing back toward Zaunya whom looks down and away with her arms crossed saying nothing.

"Tools and weapons... They don't get a break. They don't get to retire. They don't get a say. An opinion... A heart...a conscience. They're simply used until they are no longer OF use. To then be disposed of and replaced... forgotten." Audrey says before looking down calculating and taking a step back. She continues. "This is just in place for that inevitability.."

"So you're still tied to em huh." Brian says.

"More like chained..." She replies with a nod... looking deep into Brian's eyes before a brief pause. "More like chained." She says again before turning around and making her way to the couch.

"So what? Do they not track you or..?"

"Contract work honey. Technically i'm not theirs there for not their responsibility... Plausible deniability with no liability whatsoever and all that. Don't ever let them hear that claim though... I'm sure they'd say otherwise. 3rd party contractors like me are usually only looked at when needed. Like being filed away in a cabinet till called upon."

"Hm.. not much different than the merc fixer relationship i guess huh."

Audrey shrugs in reply saying nothing.

"Thanks for this Audrey... Really." Brian says sincerely.

"Don't thank me yet. We still have biz."

Brian and Zaunya exchange a brief look with each other as all 3 of them converge on the living room space. Brian grabs a cigarette and lights it before tossing the box onto the table. Zaunya drags a chair from the kitchen to the living room area to sit on.

"Ready?" Audrey asks glancing at the pair of them.

Chapter Text

A top down view of the round coffee table in the living room slowly spins as they gather around it... pulling up chairs and settling into the space.

       One of the primary culprits that makes such a lawless pit of chaos like Night City so hard to stomach is often two fold: too few ladders out... and the undying lack of cooperation. A cybernetic arms race looms over it's citizens caught in the crossfire... scratching and clawing just for another day above ground. Frantic power grabs conducted by everyone from high-class corporate executives reaching for that last rung on the ladder, down to scop-tier street punks clutching onto their last enny. Regardless of the players involved... lack of trust is the seed catalyst that can uproot and decimate some of the most formidable of entities-

Zaunya, Brian and Audrey sit around the coffee table calmly smoking.

-However... those able to garner trust... strike fear... inspire loyalty... or dare to love; create power. Power that just might keep you breathing a day longer as the scattered remains of any day's events take their toll. In Night City... there's only action. The ones you choose to take can go on to shape the very foundations of the cityscape... etching your mark alongside all those who have come before you.

"This isn't gonna be your run of the mill smash and grab. Like i said before... guy was well on his way to the top of the corporate foodchain before he stepped on somebody's loafers on the wrong day. That means hes sure to have stray huscle... stray resources." Audrey says as Zaunya and Brian attentively listen. The conversation flows as she continues.

"A choom of mine used to be close with his sister. He let me know that she told him, he'll be staying in heywood across the street from The Coyote in some apartment complex.. top floor... Didn't get the exact one."

Brian picks up after taking a drag. "Its a dense area... A lot of foot traffic. Should be easy enough to blend in... use a simple cover even if we need to. That area of Heywood is usually pretty active so... there's gonna be a lot of eyes combing the streets. Fixers often have as many scopes scanning out there as your average street slinger."

"When they've had a taste of the high life like this one... corpos get comfortable with not being on the streets pretty damn quickly. Flying high above the crowds in their AVs to and from every destination... wearing corpo huscle around like security blankets... handlers making sure they never have to lift a finger. Soon as all that gets stripped away they're left feeling naked... vulnerable... like a Kabuki Joytoy at the TotenTanz." Zaunya adds.

Brian nods in agreement looking over at her. "They stand out."

"Well, by all accounts he's still committed to the high-lifestyle even minus the eds. Apparently hes been restless... regularly hitting bars in the area to rant about the corps while drinking his sorrows away and preachin' what ifs... guys completely gonked." Audrey scoffs

"Then we're better off catching him outside. The closer he is to his nest the safer he becomes." Brian says as Zaunya nods in agreement. Brian continues.

"You said hes on the outs with his corp... doesn't mean they're not still up his ass. He'll most likely still have have at least some sort of tail from them... making sure he's not saying or doing the wrong things to or with the wrong people. Based on this situation as a whole with the given context... there's no rush. We'll take the time to gather information and pick our moment." A brief pause in the conversation causes Brian to shift subject.

"Audrey." He says causing Audrey to look over at him.

"I need a favor... need your eyes and ears on Petrochem while this shit is goin' down. Contact me if you hear anything new about the explosion aftermath. We came back a bit earlier than we probably should've. There's a burned Butte we stashed out in the badlands... and they've got to have several witnesses from Arroyo that had to have seen SOMETHING. Probably lookin' to squeeze an eddie out of em by now... let me know as soon there's any beat."

"You got it." Audrey says before taking another drag of her smoke.

"I mean it. Anything at all. As soon as you hear about it, we need to know... Corps move quick with blood in the water." Brian says nagging.

"Take me for a fuckin gonk? Heard you the first time."

"Thanks Audrey.." He says as he stands up. "I'm gonna go sort through some of our gear."

       


       Brian walks to one of the bedrooms as Audrey and Zaunya get up and head out onto the fire escape to finish their cigs. With their forearms rested on the iron railing of the fire escape, you see the thick white clouds of smoke whisp in the gentle wind; complimenting the bright white moon light as they share a silence together... neither wanting to speak first. Its almost as if they know what each other are going to say and are both just waiting for each other to say it.

"You don't have to do thi-"

"Zaunya..." Audrey says in a tired tone cutting her off and shaking her head.

"I'm serious Audrey. Th-This... this isn't your fight-"

"And what the FUCK do you know about my fight huh!?" She shouts under hear breath while quickly turning to face Zaunya catching her off guard. Being sure only the two of them can hear each other.

"You split Zaunya... Who do you think they came to after what you did huh...? Do you think they believed me...?" Audrey says in a lowered tone, squinting her eyes and looking deep into Zaunya's. Zaunya breaks eye contact as Audrey continues.

"You know and understand their structure and protocols better than anyone... when they find out your hands are on this-"

"Audrey PLEASE!" Zaunya says gritting her teeth in a desperate tone begging.

"There's no going back Zaunya... Whether you want it to be or not-" She stops and glances back gesturing toward the direction Brian is in. 

"-This isn't just your fight anymore."

Audrey takes a final drag of her smoke and flicks it over the fire escape... she turns to walk back into the apartment leaving Zaunya at the rail.

Audrey stops in her tracks and looks down with her back toward Zaunya before pausing... hesitant to speak... she turns to face her.

"You know what your mom said to me?... the last time i saw her."

Zaunya quickly turns around and looks at Audrey in her eyes.

Audrey gets choked up and struggles to speak the words as emotion begins to build on her face. 




"She... she told me to make sure you don't lose yourse-" Audrey gets choked up as tears begin to run down her face. She rolls her eyes as she wipes them away while gritting her teeth in anger and turning to walk away.

Zaunya turns back toward the fire escape looking out into the silent, moonlit glow of Night City. As a single tear runs down her cheek she slams her fist down onto the thick iron railing leaving behind a caved in dent... cutting to black.

Chapter Text

       The heavy weighted thumps of Zaunya's boots on carpet can be heard one after the other as she paces back and forth in front of the window of the apartment. The cigarette smoke casually makes it's way out of the open window into the Night City air. Her shadow plays peek a boo with the curtains as she struggles to maintain her patience... feeling as restless as she did back at the motel. Idle hands is often the devil's playground... especially for someone carrying the weight of time's past like she is.

With her arms crossed tightly, she hears various voices begin to echo in her mind... starting with her mom's:

"Remember... whatever they want... whatever they ask... the answer is yes. Ok?"

She then hears Brian's voice: "tch... as capable as you are... You're lost".

She then hears Audrey's voice: "This isn't just your fight anymore."

Zaunya runs her fingers through her long black hair, gripping it tightly while still pacing back and forth. She hears Nicholas' voice: "What did they do to you huh..? What did they take."

       The feeling of powerlessness brought about by a lifetime of serving and the instinctual need to do something about it bares down on her. The various events of time's past begin to flood back into her mind untamed... as the tension builds within, she grits her teeth and hits her own head several times with the palm of her hand. Pacing back and forth vigorously as the voices in her head grow louder and louder.

She hears Nicholas' voice echo a final time: "BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY DO!...THEY ONLY! TAKE!"

       As Zaunya's tension reaches it's peak she hears the front door to the apartment abruptly slide open. She snap draws her jet black Nue and points it directly at Brian as he enters. Brian stops in his tracks after entering and stares directly at Zaunya pointing the iron at him. He lowers his eyebrows and tilts his head up slightly at her without saying anything. Zaunya lowers her Nue while closing her eyes and breaking eye contact with him. He picks up on her energy before speaking in a deep, mellow tone.

"Any move you make in this city... involves a thought... an action... I've found that intentionally doing no action is often the most challenging part of any one of em."

Zaunya looks up at the ceiling and takes a deep breath. The tension release causes her to drop her Nue onto the carpeted floor with a heavy weighted thud before covering her face with her hands.

"Waiting... is a skill in itself... to be studied... learned... and mastered." Brian says as he slowly approaches her. He gets right in front of her as they both look at each other. He reaches down and picks up her jet-black Nue before looking her deep in her eyes and pausing.

"...Waiting ends today." He says in a deep tone as he places her Nue back into her hand. Zaunya looks up at him as the two share a brief silence.

Sometime later in they day they sit in the Galena G240 parked strategically scoping out El Coyote Cojo and the surrounding neighborhood. The streets are busy and in full swing as Night citizens go about their day in a cesspool of chaos they've long become numbed to. We pick up on the pair of them toward the end of a conversation.

"Talked to Mama Welles. Gave her the description you had... was right on the money. Apparently the rat is overstaying his welcome and shes at the end of her rope with him n' his 'goons'. I guess makin' more racket than a loose servo... deterring regular patrons and-"

"hahaha geez; 'rat'..? You really are a streetpunk aren't you? How's that 'climb to the top' working out for you huh? That chase to become a legend."

"Legend's a title they give to sorry gonks who bit off more than they could chew... Only way to it is in a hole in the ground... You often end up there before you ever even get close." He sees a quick flash of Graves' bloodied corpse in his arms in the R.E.O facility.

"Ha.. yup. A street punk through and through."

"Is that right." He says leading while glancing out the driver side window.

"Mercs don't question. They simply do what they're told to do for eds... incorporating as little discretion as they can along the way. Not you though huh... You're a whole different... kind of something aren't you."

"Interested in pickin' my brain? Probably flow better over a drink instead of a stakeout." He says giggling.

"Heh. I disagree." She quickly responds giggling as he checks the time.

"Mama Welles gave me a time window she usually sees them at-" Brian's kiroshis glow blue briefly as he checks the time "-which is about now"

"So what's the move?"

"They'll more than likely be there." He points at the Coyote bar.

"We'll be there." He points at an apartment complex across the street from the bar.

"Mama Welles did us one better... big mouth gave up his room number a few nights back. Apparently had the nerve to invite her over to his place. Ha... guy really is fuckin gonked." As he continues to articulate the deets, the pair of them suddenly see the corpo amongst the heavy foot traffic. He carries an energy of no nonsense with a bitter scowl... feeling the locals are hardly even worthy of his presence... even as he lives among them. Projecting his insecurities of inadequacy with every step he takes... sticking out like a neon thumb with his escort of mixed bag huscle as they make their way into the Coyote.

"THERE HE IS!" Zaunya shouts to Brian as she quickly puts her black leather facemask on and opens the passenger door to start to get out. Brian quickly grabs her forearm causing her to stop and look over at him.

"The less your masked face is out in public the better. Stay here."

"WHAT?"

"Think they're the only ones that stick out around here...? Petrochem is scanning the entire fuckin' city right now.. any significant moves involving corpos are gonna get sharper looks... All it takes is the wrong set of eyes on you and we're done."

"Brian." Zaunya says in a tone of disbelief looking at him in the eyes.

He begins to instinctually say something but quickly catches and stops himself... the look in his eyes imply a subtle level of fear as he breaks eye contact with her. He lets go of her forearm and slowly pulls his hand away.

"Lets go." He says opening the driver side door of the car.

Chapter Text

       Brian and Zaunya carrying a brisk pace weave through heavy foot traffic and a shouting match over a fender bender... entering a stacked apartment complex with endless floors. They make their way through the unkempt front lobby past various residents and blue collar building mechanics going about their day... giving them subtle glances as these two towering solos pass by packing gear like they mean business. No matter how well you might try to blend-in in this town, if you're not from there... people know it. A light breeze flows through the long hallways as Brian and Zaunya exit an elevator onto the top floor. As they walk down the long tattered hallway with stray trash and stained carpet they notice multiple cameras throughout it. Some were completely busted... however the cameras that were functional followed them directly as they walked past each one. Brian notices this and abruptly stops walking causing Zaunya to stop and looking over at him.

The cameras follow suit and stop as well... locked in on the pair of them. Zaunya now picks up on this and glances directly at Brian who returns the look. The pair continue walking as the cameras follow them.

They arrive at the apartment door matching Mama Welles' deets. As Brian takes a knee and begins to run his fingers along the edges of the doorframe, it abruptly slides open causing Zaunya to snap draw her Nue and point it inside. He stands up and slowly pulls his Nue out and points inside... they exchange a look with each other before entering with iron drawn.

       The apartment catches them by surprise as they look to see the massive size of the living area. The next 3 apartments over have had the walls removed allowing for a huge open and cascading living space. The opulence on display was waning but still clear. An all white and red theme was visible throughout... white leather couches, red furniture with white and red cushions and chandeliers hung from the ceilings as they walked on white marbled floors. It was as if the rat had cracked open his piggybank and sunk whatever he had left into this place... doing his best to look like the biggest fish in the smallest pond in Heywood.

"What the fuck..?" Zaunya whispers confused as the pair make their way through the place clearing rooms and checking out the opulence on display. Zaunya uses her Kiroshis to scan the area, temporarily turning her eyes a golden yellow and offering her enhanced detection.

"Definitely not a temporary stay for this one. A stealth place like this..? Choom had the mind to plant roots here no doubt." He says

"Where do you want to set up-" Zaunya asks as she looks over at Brian.

She suddenly sees Brian's entire body begin to tense and seize up as several static sparks fly out of some of his neuro ports. He screams in pain briefly falling to one knee trying to regather himself.

"Brian!?" She shouts as she rushes over to him.

"I'm... i'm alright... the fuck was that?" He says taking deep breaths trying to gather himself and slowly staggering to his feet. The pair of them raise their iron as they continue to scan around the apartment on alert. Zaunya then hears the sound of Brian's Nue drop to the white marble floor with a loud thud and cracking a piece of the floor on impact.

She looks over to see Brian with his hands on his head as he shrieks in pain falling to his knees. Brian's vision begins to black out as he sees red particles flickering making it nearly impossible for him to see.

"BRIAN!" she yells as she runs over to him; He falls to the floor and begins to rub his eyes trying to blink and clear his vision. Zaunya looks up to see someone stood at the far end of the apartment nearly 50 yards away looking over at them.

       The person sported a Cyberpunk yellow hoodie with black jeans and boots with their hood up... she sees only a black digital mask covering their entire face. The mask has yellow LED lights illuminating what looked like digitally pixelated eyes staring directly at the two of them ominously. She quickly points her Nue up at the person causing them to sprint through a door they were stood next to at the far end of the apartment. Zaunya triggers her Sandevistan as Brian laying nearly blinded watches her flash after him out the door on the far end.

       Brian groaning, rolls over on his side and begins to immediately feel relief as his vision and body abruptly return to normal and releasing the tension. He takes deep labored breaths as his eyes open wide in shock as he slowly stumbles back up to his feet. He hears the sound of Zaunya scream in pain louder than he ever thought possible causing him to jolt as he races out of the door they came in from. He sees Zaunya collapsed onto the floor twitching and contorting her body as she rolls around in pain in the hallway with the person standing over her with their back toward Brian.

Zaunya screams again even louder as her eyes open wide from the indescribable amount of pain being inflicted as she helplessly rolls on the ground.

Brian suddenly yanks the person down by their hoodie from behind causing their mask to fly off down the hallway and yanking the hood off of their head. Zaunya immediately feels instant relief as she lays on the ground rolling back and forth crying in deep but fleeting pain... it was as if her entire body began to throb. Brian points the Nue directly at the person's forehead as they hear the safety click off.

Brian's eyes open wide as he abruptly stops in his tracks. In total shock and disbelief he says to himself under his breath gritting his teeth:

"Its a kid... Its only a FUCKIN kid..."

The expression on the kid's face is one of complete fear and surrender. With his eyes open wide he puts his hand up in front of Brian's blood red, crimson Nue.

"Please.. i- i didn't-" The kid says as Brian slaps his hand away and presses the barrel directly to his forehead.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU TO HER!" Brian yells through his teeth with his eyes open wide.

"She- Shes ok! i- i let go! i didn't-" The kid pleads as Brian shoves him down further onto the floor before he quickly gets up and rushes to Zaunya's aid.

       Brian gently rolls her over and begins to tend to her. He hears her deep labored breathing as he cradles her in his arms... she wraps her arms around him as he slowly helps her to her feet. She falls back onto the wall of the hallway with a thud while looking down completely out of it as Brian gently grabs her face checking on her. While doing this, they hear the sound of the elevator ding as it slides open causing all 3 of them to look over.

As the elevator slowly slides open they see the target along with 3 huscle of various sizes. The corpo sees the 3 of them as his eyebrows lower and his eyes open wide. "HEY!!!!!" The corpo screams at the top of his lungs to the 3 of them. The kid quickly rolls over onto his stomach and faces the elevator to see who it is.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING ON MY!-" The corpo's screaming is interrupted by one of his huscle quickly yanking him back deeper into the elevator. "GO!!" He yells to the biggest one of their group as he confidently steps out of the elevator. He sported traditional black corpo security wear and based on his size looks to at least be a former member of The Animals. He steps out of the elevator while the other 2 huscle quickly step in front of the executive to protect him as the elevator closes again. Without hesitation, The Animal charges down the hallway at break-neck speed... the sounds of his weighted boots thump hard... shaking the walls and weak floor boards underneath them giving way.

"Oh SHIT!" The kid says as he quickly rolls out of the way of the charging animal barely avoiding getting trampled.

       The Animal crashes into Brian at full speed.. the impact knocks Zaunya off of her feet as she falls to the ground still stunned and out of it. Brian catches The Animal's charge energy.. attempting to twist his body and throw him using his own momentum against him to no avail. He grabs Brian by his waist and uses all of his strength to lift and fling him at the wall of the hallway letting out a labored roar of a grunt. Brian hits the wall hard causing a massive chunk of it to cave in as drywall dust and debris go flying into the air. The force of the impact doesn't faze Brian at all... as he lands on his feet, he grabs him by the back of the head and throws an elbow directly at The Animal's face. The impact of his new titanium bones, powered by his new bionic joints, combined with his refined technique, delivers a crushing blow with booming impact causing him to stagger back stunned. Brian throws another elbow... chrome meets flesh effortlessly sending blood and teeth flying... leaving a dent in his face and stunning him. Brian then steps forward putting his leg behind the man backing up to trip him. As The Animal falls to the ground, he grabs Brian's jacket and the back of his neck causing them both to tumble to the ground.

       The Animal uses his momentum to roll on top of Brian grabbing one of his wrists and using his other forearm to pin him down by his neck choking him. As Brian reaches up to claw at his face, it becomes clear to him their physical strength is near equal even if their skeletal structures aren't. The air compression and sounds of working mechanics engage in the Animals gorilla arms as he begins to apply immense pressure to Brian's neck and wrist. As the strength of the cyberware begins to slowly overwhelm Brian you see sparks begin to shoot out of the arms as the pressure quickly begins to let up. The pressure of the gorilla arms releases as the Animal sits up and looks at his arms with his eyes open wide in confusion. As sparks continue to fly out of them, the Animal quickly grabs his own throat and begin to strangle himself. The force of the strangulation causes the Animal to fall to his back and off of Brian. Brian looks over to see the kid stood about 10 yards away... he sees the red glow in his eyes with a serious look of focus on his face as he quickhacks the Animal.

       Brian then takes the opportunity to jump on top of the Animal and begins punching him in the face repeatedly. The pace and strength of Brian's punches and breathing gradually increase as blood begins to fly up to the ceiling. As his punches increase in power the Animals face begins to cave in and blood begins to cover his face as he doesn't let up... causing the kid to back off in fear at the level of violence and brutality. Feeling and hearing that level of weight and chrome clashing at that speed and impact was unlike anything he had ever experienced. The raw speed and power on display was whiplashingly deafening.

"BRIAN!" Zaunya yells as she rushes over to him. "STOP!! BRIAN!! Stop!-" She says gritting her teeth struggling to grab him from behind and pull him off. The force of her pulling causes Brian to fall backward on top of her and the kid to take a step back.

Chapter Text

       Brian and Zaunya slowly stagger to their feet as they stand over the Animal... staring at his lifeless body with his face caved in over pooled blood. She turns to face him and grabs both of his hands to get a closer look at them. To her surprise, although dripping with blood, they're completely unscathed... really showcasing the quality of the cyberware augmentation Audrey did on him. Although the chaos of Night City can see anyone flatlined... there's still an established pecking order... a never ending arms race of chrome and technology that's ever evolving. Looming over every confrontation... every choom you pass by on the block... wondering if today's the day. As physically imposing as the Animal was... it didn't make much of a difference.

The kid finally speaks, stuttering over his words nervously in a fearful voice.

"Hey... uhhm.. are- are you the-"

Brian snap points his blood red, crimson Nue directly at the kids face and says nothing... Zaunya glances at the kid uncomfortably before looking down and away.

"Woah woah.." The kid says putting his hands up in surrender and taking a few steps back. This causes Brian to lower his Nue while still staring daggers at the kids eyes. He recognizes the fear and intimidation in the kid... causing him to turn around and walk back into the apartment.. Zaunya quickly follows behind.

"He won't be coming back here..." Brian says to Zaunya as he begins to rummage through a computer desk.

"Don't think he's gonna run to his corp about it do you..?" she responds

"Nah... as far as he knows, they may be the ones that sent us. Regardless, we're on a timer now... don't really have time to-"

They hear the sound of the door slide open as the kid walks in. Brian points his Nue at his head again from a good distance.

"Yo choom... easy.. easy... white flag." The kid says putting his hands up in surrender again.

"If i see those eyes turn red... this is gonna be the last thing you ever see." Brian says staring the kid deep in his eyes.

"Did um... did they send you guys..?"

"Did Who send us..." Zaunya asks impatiently.

"I mean, well uh... his corp." He says with a nervous chuckle. "I mean, this rat's made a lot of enemies y'know."

"Who the fuck are you kid..." Brian says abruptly while slowly lowering his iron.

The kid opens his mouth but hesitates to answer. "I'm- uhh..-"

"Lets delta... No shots fired but we're all over this complex's feed. We should hit their server room before we leave if they have one." Zaunya says cutting the kid off and ignoring him.

The kid chimes in while slowly lowering his hands: "No need.. i can wipe this place clean if ya want." He looks over at Brian nervously who is staring daggers at him.

"Hey choom, chill! Look, nothin' up my sleeve. Promise!" The kid says raising his hands again. The kid's eyes change color as you see sparks and smoke from various cameras start to shoot out. The computer they're standing next to also begins to smoke and pop causing Zaunya and Brian to quickly look over at it.

"See..? Done and done. All clean. Hardware n' Software to boot."

       Brian picks up on the efficiency and speed of the kid's capabilities... Although impressed, his mind immediately thinks: Corpo. The age and skillset simply didn't match.. often signs of someone taught with formality and structure at a young age. Brian takes a harder look at the kid and notices several details: Tall for a kid... pretty scrawny... easily intimidated... skittish. All traits that become a real problem with the wrong power behind it... however... he also sees no bullshit in his eyes. Determination with a layer of fear on top of it usually means: genuine. Not to mention... what he was able to do to the both of them with minimal effort. Intimidating... but in-experienced.

Brian and Zaunya quickly glance at each other and then back at the kid before they begin to walk out of the apartment. Zaunya steps by him as Brian purposely shoulder checks him hard causing the kid to get knocked off balance as they make their way out to the hallway. As they make their way to the elevator and step over the kid's black digital mask they contemplate next steps.

"We gotta move quick.." Brian says. "Mama Welles might have-"

"Hey!" The kid shouts rushing out of the apartment into the hallway after them. "Are you uhh..like..still goin' after this guy..? I can-"

"Get back to the academy kid... or whatever corpo boot you crawled out from under... we don't have time to babysit." Brian says with his back turned.

"CUZ IF YOU ARE I KNOW WHERE HE'S GONNA BE NEXT." The kid shouts in a serious tone they haven't heard yet... causing them to stop in their tracks and look back at him.

Zaunya and Brian then glance at each other with uncertainty.

Chapter Text

The back alley door to the hideout slides open to Audrey with a look of shock on her face. She's met by Brian carrying Zaunya with one of her arms slung over his shoulder completely unconscious. Audrey's heart drops at the sight as her eyes open wide... she immediately begins to help Brian carry her in as Zaunya's feet drag behind them.

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!?" Audrey shouts in a panic as her and Brian make their way to one of the bedrooms talking back and forth about the op. The kid slowly steps into the hideout after them looking around at the place in stunned admiration.

"Nova..." The kid says under his breath in awe. Its clear that the contrast in area and location to the quality of the living space catches him off guard. Its a level of comfort and cleanliness not often found in this part of town. 'How would they...tch.. why would they setup here..? They on the run too..?' He thinks to himself. His thoughts are abruptly cut off as he hears commotion coming from the room behind him, making him turn around.

He turns to see Audrey B-Line it out of the room with iron in hand and Brian quickly following behind her. "Audrey.. come on." Brian pleads lightly. Audrey with her eyes locked on the kid shoves him up against the closed apartment door pinning him by his throat and pressing her iron to his face.

"WHAT THE FFUCK DID YOU DO TO HER!!!!!!!" She screams scaring the shit out of the kid... unable to speak while being choked, he looks at her with his eyes open wide in complete fear and surrender.

"AUDREY!" Brian yells; Audrey ignores him and yanks the kid off the wall and throws him to the ground by his throat. She then pins him to the ground by his throat and puts her knee on his chest with the iron pressing on his cheek making him squeal as he starts shaking. The fire and intensity in her eyes is primal... the look of someone who has shown restraint for countless years... burying their instincts behind a surrendered veil, now re-awoken. She whispers in a softened tone while gritting her teeth... looking directly into his eyes as she changes the energy of the moment with growing rage.

"Shh... shh... listen to me... shh... listen... if she has permanent neuro damage from this shit... i will END you do you UNDERSTAND ME!? DO YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAN-"

"AUDREY!" Brian yells as he yanks her off of the kid by her shoulders. The kid lays there with his hands up in shock...overwhelmed by the situation. She turns to Brian and shoves him hard.

"What the FUCK happened out there!? And why would you bring this kid HERE?"

"Kid tripped us up... rat gave us the slip. We had to do some clean up... no shots fired so we got outta there pretty unnoticed."

"PRETTY UNNOTICED!?" She shouts.

"WE WEREN'T NOTICED." Brian shouts back sternly... changing the energy of the moment and briefly calming Audrey. "The kid knows where he ran off too... and its not his corp... its not a loss, its a reset."

Audrey turns away from Brian and looks at the kid on the floor in anger... she looks back at Brian before B-Lining back toward the room Zaunya is laying in. She stares daggers at the kid as she steps over him saying nothing and sliding the door closed. The kid watches her walk back to the room before he is unexpectedly yanked up to his feet by his hoodie by Brian.

"Get up.. come on." Brian says as he yanks the kid by his hoodie over to the couch and shoves him down onto it. Brian grabs a chair and places it right in front of the kid before sitting down and looking directly into his eyes with his blood red, crimson Nue rested on his lap. The kid finally speaks after glancing over at the occupied room and glancing down at Brian's iron.

"Yo man... look, I... I promise i-"

"The rat.. where's he gonna be." Brian says during an exhale. Carrying the tone and energy of someone who's been here before.

"No. Seriously choom I didn't mean to hurt your girl. She has-" Brian lightly slaps the kid in the face, cutting him off.

"Focus kid. Focus." He says in a calmed tone. "The rat."

"I can help her! Let me help her!" The kid pleads slightly frustrated.

Brian begins to speak but the kid cuts him off in a serious tone speaking in a near whisper.

"Listen.. she's got vulnerability points that she can't be runnin' around with out there... If i can do what I did to her... there's no tellin' what another runner out there with bad intentions can do."

Brian sits back in his chair staring at the kid with his hand on his iron and says nothing. The break and silence makes the kid uncomfortable as he impatiently waits for Brian to say something. The quiet tension in the apartment takes over as the kid in unfamiliar territory restlessly squirms in it. He glances over at the room and then back at Brian.

"Look choom its gonna get worse before it gets better!" The kid says impatiently while looking at Brian with a serious expression on his face. Brian looks deep into the kids eyes as the kid returns the look with the same depth and seriousness. Brian recognizes the truth in them as he continues to stare him down while the kid does the same unwaning.

Chapter Text

       The tapping of black high-heels on marbled floor echo down a PetroChem megabuilding hallway. Various corpos and office employees going about their day scramble to get out of the way of the woman walking with a brisk pace over to the elevator. The woman enters the elevator with a straight face... once the elevator door closes, she begins to hyperventilate. She puts her hand over her mouth and posts her other hand on a wall in the elevator to maintain her balance. The extreme anxiety she feels builds in her stomach as she begins to gag... Doing her best to gather herself after taking a deep breath and getting her shaking under control. As the elevator door opens she walks out with confidence as she sees the executive stood with his back toward her, leaned up against his desk, smoking a cigarette and looking out into the Night Cityscape.

"Status report." The man says in a deep monotone before taking another drag of his smoke.

"The blast site has been completely combed through and overhaul clean-up starts tomorrow. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything found on site... several of the eye-witnesses we had went on the run as soon as we made contact. Typical.. but not ideal."

"The board can thank the company's overall public reputation for shit like that." He scoffs.

"We still have a couple of them. One of which is probably the most valuable of the entire bunch. Hes asking for a big payday for what he knows... fuckin' typical Night City street scum fishing for an eddie on shaky ground."

"We don't have time to waste on this shit. Pay him."

"Yes sir." The woman responds as she joins the executive by his side with her hands behind her back looking out into the Night Cityscape.

"Shit like this is too often looked at as a simple write-off... completely disregarding the fact that at this magnitude the fallout can snowball or cascade... spending too many years at the top makes you comfortable... when you're comfortable you're careless and complacent. Never forget that." The exectuive says as he takes another drag.

"Yes sir." The woman responds with a slight bow of the head.

"Whoever did this... isn't done here... can't be done here.. I just know it." The man concludes as you see Zaunya unconscious on the bed of the apartment.

The door to the room slowly slides open as they see Audrey plugged into one of Zaunya's nuero sockets.. diagnosing and tending to her. She looks over her shoulder to see Brian and the kid enter.. she doesn't react.

Brian glances at the kid whom returns the look slightly confused. He gestures the kid to go over there and help as he said he would. The kid hesitantly approaches slowly.

"Hey..uhm" The kid says in a softened tone clearing his throat. "May i..?" He asks gesturing toward Zaunya... Audrey looks at him skeptical but unplugs and moves out of the way. The kid reaches for Zaunya's head but Audrey quickly grabs his arms violently forcing him to stop and making him jump slightly. Audrey gently moves Zaunya's head into position for the kid while moving her long black hair out of the way. The kid jacks into one of Zaunya's neuro sockets while she lays there unconscious and begins to scan her. After some time passes, he speaks in a serious tone.

"There's a lot of holes in the ice.. Looks to me like not the best patchwork was done. Most of the problems derive from her sandy but there's a few other things going on." Brian glances over at Audrey who returns the look. As the kid's eyes flicker blue while running with code he notices several things that give him an instinctual reaction of surprise that Audrey picks up on.. however he does a great job of masking his reaction. Almost as if he saw something he knows no else has seen. The discovery catches him off guard as he unplugs and clears his throat again.

"That should uhh... get her stable."

"What did- you do..?" Audrey asks looking over at him. While he responds... she glances at the kids neck and gets clear, up close look at a small and subtle tattoo that sits near his nuero sockets that simply reads: "NTK". The realization causes Audrey to open her eyes wide in shock.

"The work shes had done on her... the hardware is solid but the soft is... just not up to the same standard at all really. Had to do a bios scan.. refine some of the-" The kid abruptly stops as he looks over at Audrey quickly stand up staring straight at him... the tension in the room suddenly increases.

"Impossible.." She says in a whispered tone under her breath which grabs Brian's attention as he stands leaned up against a wall with his arms crossed. The kid also looks over at Audrey nervous and confused.

"What is it." Brian says uncrossing his arms and coming off the wall.

Audrey speaks as she stays focused on the kid. "One of my clients and close friend BugBear... one of the best damn runners I know... A few weeks ago we were hangin' out and she was droning on and on about this unknown runner building a heavy rep. Raiding Cytech and MiliTech data fortresses for sport... and just doing random unpredictable hacks on various sectors of the city; Serious stuff... power grids, Biotechnica black labs, Confidential Trauma Team platinum client specs, you name it. She told me they'd penetrate then just leave... doing no damage.. stealing no data... Only thing they ever left behind was a calling card in the ice... NTK." She says as she points over at him. "She said only runners with a specific skillset are able to decipher the abreev."

"The fuck is NTK...?" Brian asks

"Netty The Kid." Audrey says with a tone of discovery while chuckling.

"Hah.. I bet none of those code fiends would've ever guessed that its ACTUALLY a fuckin kid." She concludes while smirking as Brian approaches and stands behind Audrey's shoulder with his fists clinched while staring daggers at the kid.

"Hey.. I don't want any trouble." The kid proclaims in a serious tone as he unplugs from Zaunya's neurosocket.

Brian responds as he steps forward past Audrey. "Then you've come to the wrong place."

Chapter Text

A mellow cadence of Synthwave fills the room much like the smoke from Audrey and Brian's cigarettes. Netty The Kid sat on the couch watches Brian pace back and forth occasionally glancing out of one of the apartment windows. He waves his hand over his face in discomfort... overwhelmed by the excessive cigarette smoke.

"If what you're sayin' is true then we shouldn't have much of a problem." Brian proclaims.

"Yeah. Its a good plan." Audrey agrees.

"The only problem we got is his huscle... Hes gotta have beefed it up by now right?" Netty says.

"Since he's on the outs with his corp his funds can't be too healthy... huscle shouldn't be too much of a problem... the location change works to our advantage. Isolated and away from prying eyes. Probably figures the bigger the castle the safer he is... doesn't realize the closer you get to the bottom of society makes you all the easier to break. Typical corpo gonk" Brian responds. He continues.

"We're only gonna have one shot at this... I'm gonna take the kid with me." Netty looks over at him in surprise. Brian glances over at Audrey with a serious expression.

"Watch her... Holo buzz me when she comes too." Audrey nods in agreement. Brian gets up and grabs his iron off of the coffee table and racks the slide.

"W-Wait. We're going now..?" The kid asks nervous.

"No better time than the now. Let's go kid." Brian says as he turns to walk out the front door... the kid quickly gets up and follows.

       Later that night, Brian and Netty drive through the streets of Watson... The hour is late as the sun has already set giving way to the now blooming neon light of the city. Brian lights a smoke as Netty stares out the passenger side window. After the series of violent and chaotic events of the day, heavy thoughts weigh on his mind... being that close to cybernetically enhanced brutality has taken its toll. The fading stress of a life or death struggle seeps out of the open window as they continue to coast through the streets. He hears a man's voice from his past come into focus:

"You don't want this life son... but I understand that I don't control what you want... if you're gonna follow in my footsteps-" "-You're gonna learn." Netty says to himself under his breath making Brian glance over at him but say nothing.

Brian picks up on the kids energy before breaking the silence.

" So... 'Netty The kid' huh. tch... you runners are somethin' else with your handles."

"Name's Netaniel. Choom of mine took to callin' me Netty when we were still in the sandbox. stuck n' evolved from there. Honestly been thinkin' of droppin' the 'kid' ever since i passed 18 but... let's just say the name was given to me and i've always dug it."

"Where you from kid." Brian responds.

"Watson... family moved all over the city though... was in Heywood for a while.. then Kabuki.. we even had a small place over in Westbrook for a little bit."

"Y'know, at your age I was more concerned wit chasin' tail. What're you doin involved in shit like this..? Goin' after a corpo is never a good idea. Pretty far out on the edge there choom."

"Cmon' choom you know how it goes in this city-"

"Nothins free, nothins fair." The pair of them say at the exact same time.. sharing an instinctual chuckle from the both of them. Finding connection in familiarity.

"Havin' a rep in this town can prove to be more of a problem than an asset. 'specially these days." Brian says

"Yeah... no kiddin'.. that's why i keep things encrypted... stay out of the spotlight if you know what i mean... Honestly didn't know what was gonna happen after your friend made me... its never happened before."

"A tat with your calling card on your neck says otherwise kid.."

"Tch.. yeah.. Good luck to anyone tryin' to get close enough to see it." The kid responds in an unexpected tone... causing Brian to look over at him impressed.

"And your cyberdeck..? That's impressive stuff you were able to do back there. Made it look effortless. Who'd you klep that from."

A pause takes place as the idle sounds of the busy streets take over briefly as the pair drive by a crowded Jacked and Coke.

"It was my father's."

Brian looks over at the kid now staring back out of the window and says nothing. The beginning patters of rain start to tap on the windows of the Galena G240.

       


       Audrey Back at the hideout rests her forearms on the fire escape railing having a smoke and listening to the growing pattering of rain coming down. The moonlight glow gets a few final peeks before being masked by rainclouds as she thinks deeply about her past. Various thoughts and memories having been laid to rest begin bubbling to surface of her psyche. She glances down at the caved in railing Zaunya slammed her fist into and shakes her head... taking a deep breath before taking another drag. She looks back into the apartment in Zaunya's direction before she receives a call on the holo, causing her eyes to glow orange.

= Audrey.. its Bear. I was just over near your shop and saw badges snooping around. =

= What? =

= Didn't think much of it till I saw a corpo Chevill roll up next to the squad car. =

Audrey flicks her smoke out into the rain and quickly walks back into the apartment.

= Scan them for me. = Audrey says sternly as she quickly begins to put her jacket and gear on. = I'm on my way... meet me at our spot. =

= Roger Roger. = BugBear responds before ending the call.

Audrey grabs her iron before walking back to the room Zaunya is passed out in... she stands over her with anxious concern. She bends down and gently places the palm of her hand on her shoulder firmly before closing her eyes.

She opens them with a serious look on her face before turning and leaving the apartment... sliding the door closed... cutting to black.

Chapter Text

       The heavy rain on the car windows settles in as the Galena slows to a stop with squeaky, worn out brakes. Brian and Netty gaze out at a lone, isolated warehouse with several service vehicles parked out front of a towering, fenced off, brick building. Its clear the pair have had several conversations before arriving. The kid is anxious... intimidated at the imposing site causing him to begin to tense up and take deep breaths while doing his best to stay focused. Doing his best to keep in mind the crash course he was given on the ride over by Brian when it comes to situations like this. He feels a heavy hand be placed on his shoulder causing him to jolt and look over at Brian.

"Easy kid. Stay focused. Besides... your ass isn't leavin' that seat."

"What?"

"Slot this shard." Brian replies as he hands him a light blue, blinking shard. Netty grabs it hesitantly and holds it out in front of him staring at it. Brian silently watches.

"Is this a-"

"Tracker." Brian replies. "You never know with ops like this... Anything can happen."

The kid scoffs: "Psh.. what, you mean like me running off? I ain't no coward man."

"Better safe than sorry choom. The last thing i need to be worryin' about during some shit like this is where you ran off too.."

"I ain't runnin' off!" The kid shouts frustrated.

"Link into comms and let me know when you've got ahold of the building. Nothin' starts without your say so." Brian says as he opens the door to the car letting in a heavy flow of rain. The two share a brief silence as Brian hops out and turns back to face Netty with his hand on the roof.

"You're up kid... It's time." He says raising his eyebrows and looking Netty straight in the eyes. Netty returns the look with a determined face to prove himself as Brian closes the door.

"How long have they been over there." Audrey asks BugBear as you see the pair of them scoping out Audrey's clinic from a safe, unseen distance... watching as the corpos loiter around the front like some Afterlife rockerboys on a smoke break.

"No more than 20 minutes... I called as soon as they pulled up. I was on my way out when i got no answer from you. Good thing i was gone before they got there..." BugBear says as she takes another drag of her smoke.

"What'd ya get?" Audrey asks

"Leader looks to be one Molly Seeker. PetroChem employee, job title redacted, no public record... shes even got corpo immunity... 'Do Not Delay, Detain or Arrest For Any Offense.' huh... that's a rare one... Must be a heavy hitter.. Guessing a lot of collateral damage follows wherever she goes. The badge and her personal huscle didn't turn up much. A few write-ups for insubordination, corporate misconduct... the usual... Typical dogs in debt to be lead around on a leash at her service."

"Molly Seeker... fuck, why does that sound so familiar?" Audrey says to herself

"Well, judging by what i've picked up so far just by watching them over there she's impatient... wirey. In that little of 20 minutes i've already seen her chew out her own corpo security and grab the NCPD badge by the throat and slap him twice in the face." BugBear says as she raises her eyebrows and tilts her head slightly with a smirk. "She must be running out of time."

"Thanks Bear.." She says as she gets up and begins to leave toward the corpos. BugBear quickly reaches and grabs Audrey's wrist stopping her.

"Hey! What are you doing..? Aren't you gonna tell me what this is all about? You seem to know more than I do at least."

"I can't... not yet." Audrey replies as the two share a pause. BugBear slowly lets go of her wrist and looks at Audrey feeling dejected. Audrey grabs BugBear's hand causing her to look at her.

"Wait here... watch my back yeah?" Audrey asks causing BugBear to nod silently and look over at the group of corpos.

Over comms, BugBear and Netty simultaneously say: =Can you hear me?=

Brian and Audrey simultaneously say: =Loud and clear.= as each pair connect via their respective holos.

=Alright. Now! GO!= Netty shouts to Brian over the holo. He quickly hops the chain link fence making loud clanking noises being masked by the heavy rain fall. He lands on the other side and quickly takes cover behind a stack of crates. He looks up to see a camera above a door several yards away staring right at him. He instinctually points his Nue at it. =Yo! Chill choom! Its me! See?= Netty says as he moves the camera up and down as the light on it turns green. =Front room is clear, move up!= Netty says as he opens the door for Brian whom quickly sneaks in.

"Can I help you?" Audrey shouts as she approaches her shop in the heavy rain causing all the corpos to look over at her as she steps under the building overhang toward them. She is met halfway by a woman sporting a black blazer with a matching black thigh high corpo skirt hugging her curves tightly. Audrey listens to the sound of her corpo high heels tap heavy on the pavement as she approaches. Her hair is a long, flowing silverish white and she sports several subtle but clear face tattoos. "A corpo with face tats...? that's another rare one" Audrey thinks to herself as the woman approaches with her hand out for a shake.

"Audrey Presca?"

"Yes?"

"Molly Seeker. PetroChem auditor. Investigations Department. Its nice to finally meet you!" She says with a big greeting smile on her face.

"What's uhh.. all this about?" Audrey says raising her eyebrows and glancing at all of the huscle and the NCPD badge tending to his face.

"Oh! Just my babysitters.. Don't mind them! I asked if all of this was necessary and they told me 'absolutely in Night City'. Odd i thought" Molly says with a light giggle.

"Investigations? Did something happen?"

Molly continuing to grin with the same big smile pauses for a second while staring deep into Audrey's eyes to an odd and uncomfortable extent... making Audrey uncomfortable... She lowers her eyebrows and points with her thumb over her shoulder and finally replies. "There was... a huge explosion. Not too long ago?"

"Oh! That! Right! Yeah. Just another day in NC!" Audrey replies as the pair laugh together.

"Great... well, i'm actually here for a check-up doc! Didn't have the chance to get around to it before i took off. Do you mind? You come recommended by some of the best on file." Molly asks still grinning big as she begins to walk toward the shop entrance... Audrey forcibly follows.

=There's 2 in the room up ahead. Hang tight till they pass by.= Netty says as Brian patiently waits crouched behind a desk with his knife out.

=Shit! They split! one of them is headed to your room! now!= Brian quickly gets up and moves to the side of the door and presses his back up against the wall. The door slides open as one of the huscle steps in.

       The lights in the room cut off leaving it darkened with little to no visibility causing the guard to flinch. Brian grabs him by the neck from behind with his left arm and quickly stabs him in the throat twice causing him to squeal as blood comes squirting out of the wounds onto Brian's arm and shoulder. He slowly brings him to ground as he lets out another spit gargle and his body begins to shut down. Brian yanks the knife out of his throat causing the blood to run and pool in the small office room.

"You weren't waiting too long out in that rain i hope?" Audrey asks as she turns on the lights to the lab and takes her jacket off. Molly steps past her toward the ripper doc chair and slowly removes her blazer revealing her tight white corpo dress shirt while shaking out her hair. As she does this; Audrey can't help but check out her well toned body from head to toe... She slowly gazes at her tight figure from behind... down past her tight skirt squeezing her curves... to the back of her bare legs as she watches her slowly shift her weight in her high-heels. She quickly gathers herself before Molly responds.

"Not at all! Sorry for not contacting you ahead of time. This entire thing was pretty last minute so they've been briefing me since touchdown. Things feel like they're about to start getting pretty antsy up at the top."

"Whys that?"

Molly looks over at Audrey as she sits in the ripper chair and crosses her bare legs.. catching Audrey's eye. "Because i'm here... I'm not brought in unless someone fucked up nearly beyond repair and would rather few knew about it... whether off record or not."

"I see. socket please."

"Ooo... not even going to buy me a drink first?" Molly says seductively with a smile as she casually flips her long white hair out of the way and gently turns her head to the side allowing Audrey to jack in and get to work. She continues, changing the tone.

"You know... i've never been to Night City before... From what i hear, it checks all the boxes... Depravity, deception, debauchery, degeneracy. Hm... some city of dreams you guys have here."

"I'd say the sooner you can get out of this city the better... For most thats just a pipe dream."

"A pipe dream? Hahaha you say that like its a prison cell... Why not just leave?"

Audrey pauses for a fair amount of time Leaving Molly curious for an answer. "...I think thats a question all of us struggle to find an answer to. Whether its one reason or another... this city has a way of grabbing ahold of you and not letting go..."

=There's 2 more in the room now! They're coming back!= Brian quickly darts out of the room and charges at one of the huscle tackling and slamming him to the ground as he begins to wrestle with him. The other huscle draws his iron as you see sparks fly out of his neuro sockets causing him to tense up and shriek in pain. He fights through it and points the iron at Brian as his neuro sockets explode letting out sparks of electricity and black smoke causing him to drop to the ground dead with a heavy thud. His iron scrapes across the cement warehouse floor as blood leeks out of his mouth, ears and eyes. Brian strangles the man hes wrestling with on the floor overwhelming him with his size and strength, crushing his wind pipe. He then drags the two corpos into the room and piles them on top of each other. =Thanks kid.= he says while breathing heavy.

The kid stumbling over his words does his best to keep himself together in the heat of the moment. =There's uhhm.. there's no more i can see in or around the office- w-wait... I... I see him! I see the rat! Hes outside!= Netty shouts as he stares at the corpo pull up in an unmarked Chevillon. Netty gets a clear look at the short corpo as he exits the vehicle and looks around paranoid... sporting the chrome Kiroshi Oracle with a sleek, gold finish.

=I've got this.= Netty says with certainty while opening the door.

=NO! Plant your ass right there! I'm comin' back out!= Netty ignores him and disconnects the holo as he jumps out of the car. He races across the street in pursuit of the corpo.

       He gets to the end of an alley way with chainlink fence on both sides and sees the rat with his 2 huscle turn a corner heading into the warehouse casually. Netty begins to walk deeper into the darkened alleyway in the heavy rain with little more than the few dim and flickering street lights for visibility. He feels the impulse of action begin to fade and give way to paranoia and uncertainty with every step closer to the building that he takes. One of the huscle unexpectedly comes back around the corner and is met by the kid standing about 10 yards away. This startles Netty as he instinctually stops in his tracks and turns around to quickly walk away.

"HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE!" The huscle yells at the top of his lungs as he draws his iron.

"PetroChem bringing in special agents for public events like this doesn't happen too often... If you end up finding anyway i can help ya out. Please feel free to Let me know." Audrey says subtly checking her out and fanning Molly's ego a bit as she finishes her check-up and disconnects from one of her neuroports.

"Oh! I'm certain that won't be necessary doc... I'm sure you've got no place in any of this!" Molly says with a big smile while chuckling and looking over at her while rested at the edge of the ripper chair.

Netty quickhacks the huscle.. "AGHH! I CAN'T FUCKIN SEE!" he screams as he drops his rifle onto the gravel below with a hard rocky thud. The man then charges in Netty's direction at full speed and trips over himself running head first into the chainlink fence making a loud clanking noise as he falls to ground rolling around.

       Netty, with his eyes still glowing red feels a sharp pain enter his head causing him to close his eyes tight and shriek. He turns around to see the other huscle, a netrunner, attempting to quickhack him... wearing a blood red netrunner visor that glowed bright in the dim alleyway. The quickhack distorts Netty's vision briefly before he turns to face him. As he focuses in on the corpo runner it causes him to scream loudly in extreme pain while holding onto his head. Netty slowly walks toward the corpo runner with an intense, violent death glare on his face. He screams even louder as smoke begins to emit from his ears and mouth as he falls to his knees in immense pain. The corpo runner's visor explodes with a bright red shock as he lets out a final shriek before collapsing to the ground lifeless while Netty stands over him.

"Although, how fun would it be if our paths DID cross again because of this operation!" Molly says to Audrey with a big smile on her face.

       Netty stands over him still quickhacking before he is tackled to the ground from behind with full force. The weight of the impact knocks the wind out of him as he looks to see the first corpo he blinded now on top of him. The corpo punches Netty in the face with full force nearly knocking him unconscious as he pulls his iron and points it directly at his forehead. Before he's able to pull the trigger, his head explodes in a shower of blood that fills the dimly lit air and covers Netty's face. The corpo's body falls off of Netty to the side as he sees Brian standing over him holding his Nue to his side. Netty looks up at Brian with a traumatized face as Brian yanks him up by his hoodie.

"I told you to stay. in. the CAR!" Brian yells gritting his teeth as Netty finds his footing and looks back down at the 2 dead huscle they're standing over.

"The honest, specialty corpo, ripperdoc contractor-" Molly says as she leans in closer toward Audrey.

Brian slowly opens the door to the main office as the rat stands there holding his Lexington and shaking uncontrollably. Brian raises his Nue without hesitation and unloads 5 shots into his chest sending him flying back over the desk... sending paper and glass bottles flying. The 2 approach as Brian focuses in on the golden eye attempting to get his fingers into the dead corpos eye socket. "Rippin' without a ripper? What are ya? A scav?" Netty chuckles.

"-Who turned out to be behind the whole thing." Molly says to Audrey staring deep into her eyes and leaning in even closer... still smiling and building the tension.

Brian grabs a machete off of the office table and begins to hack the corpo's head off... sending blood flying and causing Netty to gag and throw up in a corner of the room.

"But I guess that'd just be another tale from night city huh." Molly shrugs and concludes with a smirk in a softened tone.

Lightning flickers into the dark office while Brian holds up the severed head of the corpo rat as Netty watches blood drip from the base of it.

Chapter Text

       Thick clouds from Audrey's cigarette fill the living room of the hideout as she paces back and forth occasionally glancing at the room Zaunya's passed out in. Shes tense... clearly rattled by the interaction with the corpo auditor. "Molly Seeker..." She says to herself under her breath as her flowing adrenaline builds. "Just a middle of the night check-up!?". She pictures a quick flash of that dead stare attached to a big smile Molly had on her face during most of their interactions. "What does she know...?" "What does she KNOW!" she says gritting her teeth in a low roar. The tension and internal dialogue shes engaged in builds to peak... triggering her to recall a memory:

       Audrey is seen on the lower levels of a PetroChem megabuilding being politely escorted by two PetroChem building security. The long, hollow halls carry a quiet and chilling breeze down their long stretches. The quiet stillness in the air carries tension and dismay... as if whatever's going on down there is neatly sealed away behind closed doors and the guise of clean floors. They bring her to an empty concrete slabbed room and leave her isolated for an hour with a single camera attentively watching her pace about back and forth. Her nerves run rampant as she thinks of the recent events that've sent shockwaves throughout the entire organization.

Eventually a man enters the room wearing a black suit with a small gold Petrochem logo pinned on his lapel. He stands in the doorway making eye contact with her as she does the same.

"What's going on..?" She asks lowering her eyebrows nervous and confused.

The man approaches her without saying anything as the echoing taps of his dress shoes on concrete get closer. He reaches for her shoulder, gently ushering her over to the lone chair and table in the room. "Please, have a seat Presca."

Audrey sits down frustrated as she rests her elbows on the table while holding her forehead with her hands. Her knee begins to bounce uncontrollably... the nervous anticipation makes her feel like a caged animal backed into a corner.

"Smoke?" He asks as he pulls out a pack of cigs.

"No...thank you." Audrey quickly responds frustrated. He pulls a smoke out and lights one for himself... he then walks over to a corner of the room and leans his shoulder up against it while crossing his arms and legs. A brief pause takes place.

"What do you guys wan-"

"Where is she Presca." He interrupts

"WHO?" Audrey shouts in confusion while raising her arms.

"We know the pair of you were close... inseparable even. Clearly you were the last one to-"

"SHE NEVER TOLD ME!-"

"YOU WERE THE LAST ONE TO SEE OR MAKE CONTACT WITH HER. WHAT! DID! SHE! SAY!"

"SHE WOULDN'T! TELL ME!"

       The door to the interrogation room slides open as another corpo woman walks in wearing black leather gloves and sporting black corpo business attire. The sound of her high-heels tapping across the concrete floor quickly towards Audrey intimidates her, causing her to gasp. The man stood up against the wall with his arms crossed calmly watches her step passed him. The woman steps to Audrey and punches her in the face with full force... blood sprays onto the cold slabbed wall as she falls out of her chair... sending her to the concrete floor while she lets out a shriek of pain.

"Where is she." The corpo woman says in a calmed voice spoken like someone who has done this countless times before. She punches Audrey even harder... again causing blood to spray out of her mouth onto the dry, cold concrete floor. Audrey's deep breaths and squeals of panic combine together with the thumping of punches shes taking to the face. The shadowy depths of the PetroChem megabuilding being put to their standard use.

"WHERE!" The woman yells as Audrey looks up at her and flinches in fear and surrender.

"SHE DIDN'T TELL MEE! S-SSTOPP! PLEAASEE!" Audrey screams through her teeth with thick blood running out of her mouth as shes grabbed up by her hair and tossed up against one of the concrete walls. The woman grabs her by the throat and pins her up against the wall as she struggles to breathe.

       The man stood in the corner watching slowly walks over with his arms still crossed. You hear the tapping of his dress shoes on the concrete as he steps through a puddle of Audrey's blood... painting the soles of his black dress shoes red. He stands alongside the corpo woman as he stares deep into Audrey's eyes. Audrey resists and shrieks as the corpo woman holds her still and he jacks into one of her Neuro ports. After a short amount of time he disconnects.

"Sure... You may not know where she is right now Presca... but you're gonna help us find her... if its the last thing you do." He concludes before the corpo woman yanks her off the wall by her neck. Ending the flashback.

Audrey hears the sound of the front door to the hideout slide open causing her to look over. She sees Brian and Netty slowly step in casually talking about the gig as they enter. She notices Brian carrying a white sack with dark blood seeping through and dripping out of the bottom of it.

"Did you see that shit choom!? They almost-" Netty says before hes immediately cut off.

"BRIAN!" Audrey says as she quickly approaches him and begins rattling off what went down in a frantic panic.

"What? Hold on- wait- Slow down.. slow down... What happened." Brian says while putting his gear down and instinctually glancing over at Zaunya's room. Netty keeps quiet and makes his way over to the couch.

Audrey slows her breathing and takes a moment to gather herself while still breathing heavy.

"A corpo... came by my shop... said... said shes been brought in to lead an investigation on the warehouse explosion.. she-"

"WHAT?!" Brian shouts causing him to storm over to the farside window of the apartment watching the main street. "Did they follow you!?" He shouts quickly looking back at her.

"They weren't after us! They!-"

"WERE. YOU. FOLLOWED?!" Brian yells as he storms up to Audrey standing right in her face.

"NO!" Audrey yells. "I didn't just fuckin come straight back here!"

"What did they say!?"

"A woman... Molly Seeker. She... It was... shes fucking crazy!"

"Audrey..." Brian says exhausted trying to get her to focus.

"She doesn't know SHIT! OK!? She's never even been to NC before... just landed even. Said shes being briefed on the situation and doesn't have all of the deets."

"Then what are you?-"

"I DON'T KNOW OK?! Its just... the way she looked at me... the way she spoke... the time she decided to show up at my shop?! Its just fucking weird! Brian... I-... I don't know what to-"

The sound of a door sliding open from one of the rooms in the apartment grabs the attention of all 3 of them as they look over.

They see Zaunya stumble out of the room holding her head in exhaustion before catching her fall with the doorframe. Cutting to black.

Chapter Text

"Zaunya..."

Audrey whispers with a surprised look on her face as she quickly rushes over to her.. She gently grabs her face to look into her eyes while tending to her balance. Netty gets up off the couch and approaches himself and begins to scan her with concern. Audrey and Netty glance back to see Brian slowly approaching which causes them to each take a step out of the way. Brian stands before Zaunya and embraces her... She braces with her forearms on his chest as he raises her face to get a better look at her... the two share a moment. A quick flash of Marilyn's face enters Brian's mind as he looks her over.

He's never seen Zaunya under this level of duress... the brutal nature of Night City has the ability to keep even the strongest in check. Scary part is it doesn't even take much to do it... the right amount of force... applied to just the right place... at just the right time. Should keep you honest... keep you on your toes... a reminder there is no one true way that rules all in this game of Night City rock paper scissors.

"Hey..." Brian whispers in a soft, deep tone with a smile on his face.

Zaunya hears his voice and gives him a big hug... holding him tight and burying her face into his chest. Audrey and Netty glance at each other. Zaunya finally speaks:

"I.. need a smoke.."

       Some time has passed along with the tone in the room as the pitter patter of rain settles in outside the windows of the hideout with rolling thunder. The hideout's warm and cozy as Audrey is sat at a desk with a bright light beaming down on the severed, bloody, disheveled head of the corpo rat. She turns on an even brighter point light that rests on a monocle like strap on her eye. She begins to skillfully carve in and around the golden Oracle eye causing stray blood to occasionally squirt out as you hear her slice and rip chunks away from the face and carve deep into the skull being sure to avoid the high-end cables and wiring. Brian paces back and forth occasionally glancing out the window and back at a resting, lethargic Zaunya and the crew as all 3 smoke cigs. Netty grabs Brian's pack of smokes on the coffee table and looks at them with curiosity, he pulls one out and looks at it closely before taking a sniff of it and gagging. It gets a genuine chuckle out of Zaunya even in her hazed state as she watches him.

       


       Further time passes by deep into the night as the rain really begins to pick up... the pattering on the roofs and asphalt in the alleyways intensifies. The 4 of them hear a knock at the door making them all to glance up at it. Audrey puts down her tools and quickly gets up to answer it. She sees BugBear standing there, sporting her red netrunner jumpsuit tucked under a pair of black jeans with a cyberpunk yellow riding jacket on. She speaks while stepping in out of the heavy rain.

"Geez.. wasn't easy finding this place. I knocked half expecting no answer."

"Come in quick." Audrey says ushering her in and quickly sliding the door closed behind her. BugBear glances at everyone in the room as she walks in... she sees Zaunya resting on the couch.

"ZAUNYA!?" She shouts with her eyes open wide cracking her voice as she instinctually rushes over to her. She wraps her arms around Zaunya tight and buries her face into her shoulder and starts sobbing. "When I couldn't find you... I thought... I thought-"

"I know honey... I know... I'm ok." Zaunya says exhaling in a soft tone while being held tightly by BugBear.

"She must've put the jammer up for them that night..." Brian silently thinks to himself connecting dots and saying nothing.

A bit more time passes as the group are now seen gathered in the living room. BugBear takes a drag of her smoke sitting on the couch as Brian continues to rest near the window watching the street through pattering rain. The warm calmness of the energy in the hideout highlights the heavy rain pouring down outside. As everyone listens attentively, BugBear speaks.

"I stuck around for a while... when Audrey didn't show, i took off. They rolled up not even 2 minutes after I left."

"We're you followed here." Brian says slightly changing subject as his paranoia gets the better of him.

"...One of the earliest things I learned being a runner is how to not be followed... in or out of the net.." BugBear responds looking at him. He reluctantly lets it go as he continues to occasionally glance out of the apartment window. She continues on topic.

"I watched them pretty closely before I called... The amount of huscle she had with her didn't sit right... didn't make much sense... even moreso with a random NCPD badge alongside her. She looked lost, this corpo woman. It was clear to me she didn't know where she was... y'know, there's a lot of benefits to being a Night City native. Outsiders can't help but stand out. The harder they try not to... the easier they are to spot. She wasn't trying though. Almost gave off the energy of a feral animal in unfamiliar territory."

"You're right. Shes not from here... told me this is her first time in NC... PetroChem auditor... investigations department she said."

Brian closes his eyes tight and subtly shakes his head. "And you're telling me they don't know shit?" He says in a frustrated tone to Audrey. Before Audrey can shout back shes interrupted by Zaunya.

"-There's a lot of layers and factors to shit like this. In the corporate world.. whenever there's big, uncontrollable mishaps damage control can get tricky... Goals and intentions can splinter throughout everyone involved... it gives way to miscommunication leading to distrust and mistakes... finger pointing... and eventually betrayal... these are our points of attack."

"Sounds kinda warped. In my experience.. corporations as big as PetroChem run like a well oiled machine regardless of the event... There's protocols in place, contingency plans, unlimited database access, an unlimited well of huscle and operators on speed dial... Their reach and influence seems fuckin' limitless." Brian says.

"Its a front. Trust me-"

"-Explain..." He responds skeptical. Zaunya sits up on the couch resting her forearms on her lap and crossing her long legs.

"Why do you think they're considered so powerful..? Because those they rest their boots on the necks of have NOTHING. If you ever see quick, rampant escalation happening so high up in the chain of command then its running on borrowed time. Desperation has hit and someone's racing to avoid catching the falling knife. They'll exhaust every avenue of their often limited reach and resources to make it go away... or at the very least pass the problem off to someone else." Zaunya pauses briefly as they all take this valuable information in. She concludes:

"Corpos are only as powerful as their enemies are weak... and we're not weak." Zaunya closes her eyes tight as she exhales... feeling a deep, sharp pain.

"Zaunya!" BugBear shouts as she grabs her forearm and looks her over. "What happened!?"

"My... back.." Zaunya says in pain while holding her head and falling back into the couch cushions. Audrey instinctually moves closer and gently cradles her... holding her tightly. She feels a hand on her shoulder... causing her to look up.

"I've got this." Netty says in a softened tone looking down at Audrey with a genuine look. "I'm gonna need some of your hardware though." BugBear puts her arm out in front of the slightly taller than her kid and gets inbetween him and Zaunya.

"Uhm. I'm sorry. Who is this kid?" BugBear says glancing at Audrey and then over at Brian.

Audrey responds after a brief pause with a slight smirk. "That's NTK"

BugBear's eyes open wide as she looks over at him. "WHAT!?" she shouts causing Netty to look over at her.

"Heh, yeah... we plucked him outta the jaws of a corpo rat nest. I honestly think-"

"-Bullshit. Show me." BugBear says cutting Audrey off in a serious tone as she stands up. Her eyes glow and flicker blue as Netty's eyes do the same. Netty quickly shows her a private key signature confirming his identity.

"Holy shit!" Bugbear says in an exhale in complete shock with serious look on her face. "The Militech datafortress? I heard about that Cytech hardware catastrophe too! The Dynalar black lab momento!"

Netty listens on feeling slightly embarrassed. Apparently to trained eyes in the know, he's not as out of the spotlight as he may have thought.

BugBear pauses briefly and takes a few steps back.. still looking at Netty.. completely changing the tone and the energy of the room... The heavy rain outside pattering on the roof and windows of the hideout takes over with occassional rolling thunder. She gathers herself and prepares for what shes about to say next.

"And the Black Wall..." She says causing Netty to glance over at her with a serious expression and say nothing. She continues

"Shit... I heard Netwatch has an entire specialized team dedicated to YOUR spot on the wall... scanning and scratching their heads about it like junior amateur runners during a college course. Fucking NOVA man."

"Black wall...?" Zaunya asks curious.

"Its a barrier... kind of like a virtual border that's meant to protect runners on the net... think of it like... the traditional net you or I would use is on one side... and the untamed remnants of a forgotten age lying just past that. To most, going beyond it is plainly considered suicide... The rogue a.i's that exist on the other side are relentless... rabid... Some of the greatest, highest skilled runners out there that've dared to go beyond it are simply looked at as slow, helpless maggots... fragments of outdated code with no significance... to be purged and removed... fried to a crisp. Anyone crazy enough to go beyond it let alone TOUCH IT... has gotta have a deathwish. Netwatch put the thing up back after the datakrash n' things were really starting to get outta hand... There's a lot of debate and theories about it these days amongst runners under the surface but one things clear... No one fucks with the Black Wall... Nobody... Except i guess... NTK."

The energy of the room shifts as everyone listens raptured in the tale. BugBear inevitably continues. "How the fuck did you-?"

"-Its a long story... Don't really wanna talk about it." Netty responds dismissively in a serious tone thinking deeply.

"PSH, Don't wanna talk about it? You're-" Bugbear says as she catches a look from Brian subtly shaking his head at her signaling not to pry causing her to stop. Brian picks up on Netty's dismissive reaction and takes mental note of it.

"We should get started." Netty says looking over at Zaunya. The pair of them get up and begin to make their way to Audrey's room in the hideout. Audrey quickly starts to follow the pair to the room but is abruptly stopped by Zaunya with a look over her shoulder.

"Alone." Zaunya demands in a serious tone causing Audrey to reluctantly stop in her tracks.

The pair enter the room sliding the door closed behind them.

Chapter Text

       The wet black asphalt rests with scattered puddles as the cold rain continues to pour down from the night sky outside... pattering the windows of the hideout hard with relentless consistency. Cigarette smoke calmy wafts through the air in the warm, cozy living room of the hideout while some mellow reggae plays on the radio with a low volume.

"Hahaha... no shit... Netty The Kid is ACTUALLY a fucking kid. Hah... what a time to be alive." BugBear says with a smile as she lays back into the couch and kicks her feet up onto the coffee table with a fresh smoke in hand. "Y'know what makes that so fucking preem? We didn't even KNOW that shit was possible! I mean carving INTO the blackwall like that? Leaving a mark that big? Fuck! Its gotta be permanent!"

"Yeah, but what does it do..?" Brian asks while comfortably leaned up against the window, watching the rain pour down and occasionally checking the dark streets with sparse lighting.

"SHIT!" Audrey grunts through her teeth while sat hunched over, still working on and carving up the severed corpo rat's head... ripping and slicing skin as blood occasionally squirts and flys out past her shoulders.

"Psh!! What does it do? It sticks the biggest fucking middle finger EVER up to Netwatch and all the other corpos that have no choice but to look on at it. A clear sign of the Black Wall's potential vulnerabilities... Leaving JUST enough left to the imagination for ANYONE to run with!" Bugbear shifts her weight on the couch and sits up slightly. She pours a few glasses of Centzon for everyone before getting up and walking over to Audrey and resting one of the drinks on top of a pool of blood on the table shes working at. Audrey reaches for it with her bloody hand and takes a quick swig before placing it back down into the pool of blood. BugBear walks back over and plops down onto the couch next to Brian. The mellow energy and warm comfort of the safehouse contrasts the harsh elements and hazards just outside the walls.

"You see, not everyone has actually seen it like I have... its still just rumor amongst runners like most shit is. But any runner good enough and well... curious enough that's gotten past Netwatch's security to see it for themselves, AND crack the encryption to reveal the meaning of the abbreviation KNOWS the significance. To be straight with you.. its pretty fucking legendary. The simplicity of the code compliments the staying power of the hack. Its left Netwatch and any runners in the know COMPLETELY stumped! Just standing there... looking on at this thing with confusion and awe. Whether its Netwatch too hesitant to fuck with their safety net or runners too pussy to even get close enough to see it. Countless smooth brained gonks running the net with constant back and forth bickering and debate over who and why like it even fuckin' matters at this point right? Hahaha 'NTK'... Beautiful art permanently carved into a fucking wall of death. Hahaha... god... how the fuck did he do that." She smiles before taking a swig of her drink.

"Alright... it's almost ready." Netty says with a serious tone as Zaunya sits straddling a wooden chair with her back toward him and her shirt off in the dimly lit apartment room. The rain continues to patter the windows and roof... her black leather Kuomori trench coat hangs off the edge of the bed as she feels the various wires connected to her augmented spine jostle around lightly. The intertwined neurological sensations of meat combined with metal is a stiff, discomforting feeling shes grown all too familiar with. The amount of chrome shes packing underneath her real skin is intimidatingly hard to spot with the untrained kiroshi. She hugs the back of the chair tightly with both arms with restless anticipation and lingering pain. Netty has used several of Audrey's bio tech hardware to plug both Zaunya and himself into a central diagnostics interface... focusing on her sandevistan.

"Hey uhh.. listen.. I gotta ask. Didn't wanna in front of everyone else." He says while finishing his prep. Zaunya glances back at him.

"Your chrome. Its all corpo licensed... Even got some experimental black lab models that i don't even have a point of reference for. Even the data to its origins is encrypted.. in my experience it usually means executive level clearance when it comes to high end corporations... and your sandy? Its not yours... the bios foundation doesn't match up. I'm guessin' that explains the compatibility malfunctions... Are you-"

"-Not anymore. Its... its a lot that... i'd rather not talk about right now m'kay?" She cuts him off in a soft, tired voice.

"Hey, listen I get it... My dad worked in service to them pretty much his whole life. Plucked him off the streets of Watson when he was just a kid messin' around wit city drop points and pokin' holes in data terminals... They feel like they own everything... everyone." He says while grabbing a small piece of wrapped cloth. "They take what they want when they want it... to either champion it-" He hands Zaunya the cloth. "-Or dispose of it". He concludes looking at her eyes.

"We're gonna need to do some major overhauls to the soft. Reinforce the ice and take care of the compatibility vulnerabilities. You're gonna wanna bite down on that... Shits gonna hurt." Netty plugs in to the hardware as the pattering rain on the windows combines with the whirrs and wizzes of Audrey's cyberware equipment dialing in. His eyes glow blue as he hears Zaunya's voice.

"Thank you Netty." She whispers in a genuine tone... he glances down at her and gives a sincere smile.

"SO. What's going on now hm? What are you guys gonna do about this corpo chick?" BugBear asks Brian who has now joined her on the couch as they enjoy their glasses of Centzon in the warm living room.

"So many factors at play... so many moves to make... just a lot to think about." He says before taking a swig from his glass. "Fortunately, based on what we know so far and how I feel right now, we have some breathing room. Taking the time to cover our tracks has been a big payoff... Don't know... Honestly told myself I wouldn't be apart of shit like this anymore a long time ago."

"Apart of what? Had a crew?"

He pauses for a moment as he takes another sip. "Somethin' like that." He says looking up at the ceiling and taking a deep breath.

"Familiarity muddies the mind... You make yourself responsible for people... and when they... they become apart of you-"

Brian hears the feint sounds of Marilyn's screams re-enter his mind with vigor "NO! NO! PLEASE! VARGA! VARGAAAAAAA!" causing him to close his eyes tight.

"Their pain becomes your pain... and when they're gone? Well... you lose parts of yourself. Like a fuckin joytoy on a scavs table." The two giggle softly together before taking another drink from their glasses. The rolling thunder alongside rain continuing to patter on the roof and windows creates a warming white noise complimenting the brain massaging reggae. BugBear sits on the sentiment for a bit after another sip from her glass.

"Well, from where i'm sitting... seems like you know what you're doing... Zaunya doesn't stand by people she doesn't respect.. Hasn't in a long time... heh... Audrey especially." BugBear says giggling causing Brian to look over at her with a serious expression. "These are good people you have here Brian... Hell, i've known you all of about 5 seconds and even I can see they look to you a lot." She continues, while looking at him in the eyes.

"Never lose sight of what brought you together. Remember what you stand against... A crew's loyalty and trust is only as strong as their leader's." BugBear concludes as the pair share a sincere smile with each other.

"Thanks Bear." He says in a calm tone as the two share a moment.

"FUCK YEAH! DONE!!" Audrey yells as she quickly stands up at her table causing Brian and BugBear to look over.

The sounds of Zaunya's muffled screams rattles Netty as she bites down hard onto the wrapped cloth. She shouts through the cloth in a frantic panic "NO! NO! STOP!! PLEASE STOP!! NO MORE! I... I CAN'T-" she begs before tensing up again with her eyes wide open in uncontrollable pain.

"Stay with me! Breathe! Just Breathe... Shh.. Its ok.. we're almost there! Almost... there." Netty says frantically trying to keep her body stable and not fall off the chair. Zaunya's grip on the back of the chair tightens as the wood begins to crack in and give way to her arm's squeeze. "You're ok, hang on!" Netty says in a panic as Zaunya continues to muffle screams through the cloth with her eyes wide open.

She eventually passes out from the pain... her body goes limp over the chair and her long black hair hangs down in front of her face nearly touching the carpeted floor.

"Easy... easy.. you're ok... you're ok... Alright, now i can REALLY get to work. No runner's fuckin' with you after this." Netty whispers to himself as his eyes continue flickering blue, flowing with code.

"Check THIS SHIT out!" Audrey says holding up the golden Kiroshi oracle eye as coagulated blood drips down from the golden wires attached to it. Brian and BugBear stand up and walk over to the table. He glances down at the bloody gore covering the work area and a barely recognizable head of a human being... looking as if a cyberpsycho had dug into him.

"Holy shit! NOVA!!" BugBear shouts as Audrey hands the eye to Brian. He holds it up to the light, admiring the intricate workings of the small piece of chrome with a smile of success on his face.

"And NOW. We have a set." Audrey says as she walks over to a desk and pulls out a clean matching gold Kiroshi Oracle still sitting housed in its cylindrical metal capsule.

"I'm telling you. You're gonna love what all this bullshit was for!" Audrey shouts at Brian with a big smile on her face.

All 3 of them hear the door to Audrey's room slide open causing them to look over. They see Zaunya and Netty walk out of the room as Zaunya clearly looks to be in a much better state. She takes a deep breath of relief as Audrey rushes over to her and gently grabs her face. Zaunya grabs Audrey's forearms as Netty steps past the 3 ladies toward Brian... Brian looks down at Netty in his eyes.

"All good?" He asks in a low tone as Netty returns it with a genuine look.

"She'll be fine... Better than fine now." He concludes in a low tone as the pair of them look over at the women talking and laughing amongst themselves.

"Good work kid... I owe you one." Brian concludes in a deep, sincere tone looking at Netty with pride as he taps him on the shoulder with force causing Netty to stumble.

"HEY! Listen. Lets get outta here." Audrey says to Brian causing him to look over confused. She continues.

"We just hit fucking BIG! Its time to celebrate! On me!"

"Probably not the best idea." Brian says as Zaunya quickly agrees with him. He briefly hears the sound of Graves' voice enter his head but you're unable to hear what he says... hearing only his feint laughs of joy inbetween him speaking.

"Fuck that, if we spend another minute in this fucking place playing hide n seek we're gonna lose our minds. Fuck the corps, fuck the trail, we need to unwind. CUT LOOSE! I know the perfect place away from prying corpo gonk eyes filled with ONLY the right people. LETS MOTOR!!!" Audrey proclaims as BugBear and Netty cheer along with her. The group slowly files out of the apartment talking amongst themselves.

Chapter Text

       The loud, booming music of Jig Jig street fills the air with the intense night life of Night City in full swing. Dealers making moves, Joytoys making profits... entire lifelong relationships beginning and ending. The crew walks together in tandem through shoulder to shoulder crowds talking amongst themselves as they passively follow Audrey to their destination. The bright, vibrant variety of neon Night City colors were on full display. Bright, glowing neon clothing and accessories dawned alongside vibrant matching chrome and sleek hardware. Animated accessories expressive of unique statements and personalities pass by with flying colors one after the other to the sounds of booming music from cars and storefronts. The night sky served as a black canvas for the colors of Night City to really pop as people clink glasses, light smokes and party the night away.

"HEY CUTIE! Mmm.. why don't you come on over here and talk to me..!" A joytoy seductively barks at Netty while licking her lips. He turns his full attention over to her with a big smile.

"Hey, i uh-" he says before being abruptly yanked back to the group by Brian as they continue walking down main street.

       They reach their destination, a neon pink soaked bar with a packed house. Pole dancers put on a show while bar patrons scream and cheer in ecstasy as the crew makes their way through the crowded floor being lead by Audrey. They make their way to the bar as Brian takes a moment to get a feel for the area... the warmth of the place brought about by the sheer energy being projected by everyone in attendance. He glances over at Audrey whispering into the bar tender's ear before his attention is turned to the floor of the bar itself. He can't help but spot the various suits cascaded around the place, some drinking and glaring about, some conducting business deals with the locals, some sitting alone somberly leaving their worries and sorrows at the bottom of a glass. His heightened sense of awareness tends to always come out in times like this... something about the lack of awareness of his people... knowing their guards are down... it often drives him to keep his up. Brian feels a heavy hand on his shoulder snapping him out of his scanning and causing him to turn around.

"Come on!" Zaunya says with a smile on her face as she grabs him by the arm pulling him toward the door the rest of the crew is standing by. A quick flash of the serious look on her face she had grabbing his arm and pulling him deeper into the PetroChem warehouse enters his mind. Both the similarities and contrasts of these two moments blindside him with lingering impact.

       


       The bartender unlocks the backdoor behind the bar... ushering Audrey and the rest of them in. As it slides open, The crew begin to descend down a narrow staircase carrying on conversations amongst themselves. Their energy is lively with anticipation as they effortlessly meld into the high octane night life they're accustomed to in Night City. As they descend further down the surprisingly steep staircase, the music of the bar above begins to fade out as a new, louder tone and bass booming from below gradually fades in and takes over. They get to the bottom and Audrey bangs hard on the heavy metal door several times causing a small metal window on the door slides open. Audrey speaks a password.

"Wires and Roses. Cyberpsychosis." She says causing the little window on the door to promptly slide closed and the door to open. The crew are met with a flood of bright red neon glow as the loud thumping sounds of heavy metal come flying out of the doorway.

       


       They step in to what looks to be a different world. The atmosphere and energy of the basement bar and dancefloor pulls them in as they step past a packed crowd watching an unknown band shredding like they belonged on world tours, and rockerboys cutting loose. The eclectic band of misfits playing live blasts energy out onto the dancefloor feeding the untamed and darkened atmosphere with a red hue. The vibrant colors of all the hyperstylistic cyberware and fashionware on display brought with it a drip that you could only find in Night City. A local's paradise for those at the forefront of the culture... for those in the know.

The crew are next seen clinking beer bottles and glasses in shouts, cheers and celebration at their success in a corner booth elevated a few steps.

You get an establishing shot of the entire crew hanging out and enjoying themselves deep into the night. Swapping stories, sharing intense laughter, people watching, and getting to know each other on a far more personal level... filling in blanks. The energy of the crowd and crew themselves is euphoric and positive as they all revel in it together. Something that's often hard to find in Night City. It was clear it was just one of those nights where everyone in attendance was determined to make it one to remember.

"Listen kid. Whatever you're lookin' at, whatever you want in this place tonight, its on me alright?" Brian says with his giant arm around the back of Netty's skinny neck pulling him in close causing Netty to giggle.

"I didn't think i was ever going to see you again girl! where have you been!?" BugBear asks Zaunya while Audrey attentively listens as the ladies catch up and share laughs.

The night carries on as you would expect... the crew takes the time to unwind while fully embracing some of the most coveted perks Night City has to offer. The bread and butter of what makes city life what it is... and how it shapes those within it. Building bonds through violence and suffering is a lot different than building it through good times and euphoria. The staying power is often different just as the foundations are.

"You never really know what you're gonna get with people in this city. Conflict spreads like a plague... can fizzle out faster than a lit match. That's why adhering to what you actually CAN control is what matters." Brian says rambling on and on while Netty listens like a kid in class. "Regardless of your intentions for someone.. you can control nothing but yourself... You did good back there kid... its clear to me you can carry your own weight." He says as he takes another swig of his Brospeh causing Netty to do the same as a pause in their conversation allows the music to take over.

"But remember kid... There's no one in this world you can trust more than yourself." Brian says in a serious tone causing Netty to look over at him with a serious expression.

"As soon as you start to lean on others... start to hold on too tight... you're in trouble... Got me?"

"Yeah, i uhh... i got it." Netty responds before they both swig their Broseph's together and the music takes over.

Later in the night, Brian finishes up a conversation with a choom at the bar after buying a pack of smokes off of him. Little does he know, he's had a pair of emerald green eyes tracking his moves for quite some time now. Thoughts weighing heavy on her mind.

"I'll be right back." Zaunya leans over and says to BugBear who's watching Audrey dance intensely on a stripper pole with a joytoy while Netty gazes on with his mouth hanging open.

The backdoor to the hidden underground bar slides open letting out into a quiet, narrow alleyway below street level... muffling the booming atmosphere just inside. Zaunya exits as she quickly glances up the alley to see Brian near the end of it leaning over a railing preparing to light a cig. She slowly walks up to him as he hears the unforgettable tapping of her boots... causing him to take a deep breath.

"Hey..." She says in a softened tone causing Brian to glance back at her. He silently offers her a smoke; As she takes it, he lights it for her as the pair share a silence with each other for a while smoking as you hear the feint, bustling and lively activity of Jig Jig street above. He can't help himself... he breaks the silence.

"What're you thinkin'" He calmly asks in a deep tone.

"You know... i should probably be asking you that." She responds causing him to look over at her. The dim glow of the Neon Night city streets above bleeds through from above them giving them a unique color spectrum to loiter in.

"You do a good job of holding your cards close... a defense mechanism perhaps." She says before taking a drag of her smoke "...I almost feel like the more you learn about me... the less i realize i know about you-"

"-What's there to know."

"-OH, CUT the bullshit Brian! Stop treating me like some fucking geek off the street you accidentally bumped into in the City Center." Zaunya says in a raised tone causing Brian to look over at her.

"You want a non-starter? How bout this..." She says as she steps toward him locking in. "Graves? That cowboy back at the 6th street compound? I haven't forgotten any of this shit you know! Oh, and the last time i mentioned HER name...? You were about ready to blow my fucking head off." Zaunya shouts in a challenging tone causing Brian to turn and face her... looking deep into her eyes.

She steps towards him even closer... getting right in his face speaking in a whispered tone, squinting her eyes. "You wanna talk about trust?... I don't even know who the fuck you are."

"YO! uhh.. I hope i'm not uhhm.. interrupting anything?" Netty shouts as he slowly walks towards the pair from a distance.

Zaunya continues to stare deep into Brian's eyes as she slowly takes a few steps back with her fists clinched tightly... she then turns around to walk back toward the bar past Netty. Netty slowly approaches Brian who turns his back to continue leaning over the railing.

"Is...uh ..everything alright?"

"What is it kid." Brian says before taking another drag of his smoke.

"I uh... I Heard somethin' in there I think you're gonna wanna know..." He says in a serious tone causing Brian to quickly look over at him.

Chapter Text

Netty walks up and stands next to Brian at the railing. "Hey man. I just heard-"

"Why are you here." Brian asks cutting him off.

"I uh- i'm trying to tell you?-"

"No... I mean, why are you here." Brian says cutting him off again and turning to face him. "The rat... what's your connection and why were you there that day."

"Listen choom.. i don't-" Netty says before looking over at Brian staring daggers at him.

Brian taking him to task catches Netty by surprise. He pauses for a moment and closes his eyes while leaning over the railing as Brian attentively watches him. Netty continues.

"I was just... followin' a bunk lead." Netty responds as Brian continues staring at him. He continues.

"My dad was a freelance NC runner... he did contract work for some of the city's top clients... Corporate executives, high level politicians, multi-billion eddie businesses, you name it. He wasn't alone either... ran with a crew that he grew up with. They were all dedicated to the craft... fuckin' preem work on the daily, no hiccups, no fuck ups... Their reputation for consistency and discretion were second to none... true ghosts of the net." He says causing Brian to lean back over the railing and take another drag of his smoke as he quietly listens.

"His chooms were like my uncles... they had kids that I grew up with... my best friends... there were... 5 of us." He says slightly raising his eyebrows while looking down and away. He pauses and takes a deep breath while thinking deeply as he recalls a memory:

Netty and his friends, no more than 8 years old are seen sprinting down a street laughing and fleeing from a store owner.

"GET BACK HERE YOU FUCKIN KIDS!!" The store owner shouts as he helplessly chases after them. As Netty and his friends hop a fence, one of them quickhacks a powerbox next to the store owner causing it to explode and knocks him off balance as he slams to the ground sending trash scattering. The kids hop the fence and continue sprinting down the alley.

"Since our dads were pretty much constantly plugged into the net or on the move we had free reign with a desire to follow in their footsteps... We all had our own cyberdecks by 10.. most of them being our dad's original models... It was kind of like a badge of honor whenever one of us was given one."

Netty takes a step back from the railing and begins to slowly pace back and forth in the alley.

"As we got older.. stakes got raised... We would constantly push each other to do harder... riskier shit... became this endless escalation of competitive drive between us... god they were so fuckin' good." Netty says as he pictures the faces of several of his friends.

"We'd learn of some of our dad's exploits and try to emulate em. Whenever one of us would pull somethin' unique or special off, me and the boys would work tirelessly to try n out do it. We elevated each other this way... kept us off the streets... During a time when we really needed to be y'know... our discipline and ability was on a steady incline. Just... immersed ourselves into the craft on an obsessive level." Netty says with his back turned to Brian.

"We never did it for 'our principals' or any of that ideological 'power to the people, death to the corpos' bullshit. Why would ya? It'd just be like pushin' a boulder up a hill... No, it was for sport moreso than anything... proof was in the work. We usually didn't fuck with anything or... anybody while we were in there. If any of us ever started to get a bit too esoteric or agenda driven we'd often stamp it down and call em a 'hero' as a dismissive insult... consistently reminding each other of OUR code... why we do what we do and the importance of it. Running the streets of Watson was always unpredictable... never knew what was gonna happen next. I guess you can say there was a certain level of comfort in it... We were the masters of our domain after all. Gave us the safety to kick our feet up pretty much wherever we pleased."

Netty takes a deep breath before he recalls another memory:

Netty's dad storms into his room making a loud banging noise on the way in causing young Netty to jolt and quickly look up at him. He grabs Netty by his shirt and lifts him up onto his feet while moving back toward the entrance to the door to his room. "You gotta split. Somethin' came up."

"I never bothered to ask what was going on... shit like this was pretty commonplace. He was never the best at communicating the things he really wanted to. It... was a problem at times."

       You silently see Netty's dad briefly explaining something to him before gesturing him toward the street and closing the door to the house in his face. Netty casually walks down the street to an unmarked, abandoned building several blocks away through the cold, rain soaked streets of Watson. He climbs down a ladder deep in the warehouse and removes a scrap of heavy metal revealing a hidden door. A rush of warm air hits his face from all the hardware running as He enters to see his friends setting up for a deep dive... gearing up and sorting a bunch of hardware out. Their biz was running on all cylinders as usual... just a group of capable kids with a unknown cause running amuck through the net.

"We had our own setup by then. Fuckin preem, top of the line hardware that took us ages to klep and gather... fully integrated links, seamless connection quality, discreet and formidable. Took us quite a while to dial everything in perfectly just how we liked it but once we did... It really was somethin' special. You don't ever really see THAT many runners coordinating together at that high of a level like that... we were young but... felt like our heads were in the right place y'know." Netty pauses briefly on the thought. Clearly something he's spent countless hours thinking through.

"It made us cocky... careless... felt untouchable... full of ourselves. More daring less... cautious."

"We had been working this Kang Tao datafortress for a while by then... Was kinda odd it had taken so long... we'd spend whole nights lounging in some of our favorite kick it spots in and out of the net speculating on it at times. Everyone had their own theory... thinking of different ways to approach it. Then..."

Netty then closes his eyes tight, recalling a memory:

While all 5 of them are plugged into their setup, you see what looks to be red lightning flash on the visor of one of Netty's friend's runner goggles causing them to short circ and explode. Netty's friend lets out a loud shriek of pain as his body seizes and tenses up... the tension in his body slowly releases and re-settles into his runner chair as blood begins to run out of his ears, nose and mouth and slowly dripping to the floor. Netty and his friends still plugged into the net see his avatar explode into a bunch of fragments of code before disintegrating. This causes the rest of them to immediately play defense while searching for the source of the attack as their heightened awareness locks them in. One by one, as they attempt to flee and disconnect the same red lightning rupture happens to each one of them. Some of them putting up quick, unorthodox and strong resistance before ultimately falling prey to this overwhelming, unknown source.

"I just... ran.. and I didn't stop running... until... I saw him."

Netty slowly approaches his dad's avatar in the net who has his back turned toward him standing still. Netty slowly reaches for his father's shoulder causing him to quickly turn around and grab Netty.

"There's no time. You have to go. NOW!!" Netty's father says. As he pulls him in close his eyes quickly flicker blue causing Netty's to do the same.

"DAD!?" Netty says in a tone of complete panic and desperation.

"JUST GO!!!" Netty's dad says as he shoves him away nearly knocking Netty off balance.

"...Just fuckin go.." His dad whispers a final time with subtle emotion in his voice. A lifetime of thoughts articulated into a final command. You see a tsunami of distorted, red lightning flooding toward them as Netty takes a final look before turning to run away.

Netty in his runner chair takes a deep gasping breath with his eyes open wide, almost as if resurfacing out of water after nearly drowning. He quickly yanks his helmet off along with all of his plugs while hyperventilating and hearing the various alarm beeps and buzzes of equipment. He rips the last of his wires out of the system before falling to his hands and knees while coughing and vomiting. With his head spinning in a daze, he slows his breathing down and scrambles to his feet. He sees his friends laying lifeless in their chairs with blood seeping out of their ears noses and mouths along with gentle, idle smoke rising from various machines and wires connected to their setup. The stench of death fills the room alongside cooked machinery crackling under the pressure of fire and heat.

"NO! NO! NO!!!" Netty screams as he rushes over to one of his friends; he instinctually reaches for his friend's wires before he hesitates to touch any of them. "COME ON!!" He yells through his teeth while grabbing his friend's shoulders and shaking him. Netty takes a few steps back to look at his 4 friends laying dead in their chairs causing him to look on in complete disbelief as the emotions of the moment overwhelm him. Netty screams of panic are completely muted as you see his silhouette frantically attempting to tend to his friends... ending the flashback.

Netty stands looking over the railing as Brian rests his back on the wall of the building with his arms crossed listening attentively.

"It was a trap... they let us get deep enough into the dive before they put us between a rock and a brick wall... with the only way out being the edge of a cliff. Everytime one of us tried to disconnect, we were fried. Only reason I made it out was.."

He pauses briefly before shifting subject slightly. "His.... his body may be gone... but he's still alive. He's still in there... I know it."

"Retreated into the net..? I've heard of stuff like that happening before but it never-"

"He's alive." Netty says sternly while quickly looking back at Brian with a serious face as a single tear runs down his cheek. "I know it... He was too good to just go out like that... I know hes in there. Somewhere. He's gotta be."

Netty takes another deep breath trying to calm himself. A pause accompanies the change in subject.

"The Black Wall hack was for them."

You see Netty fearlessly standing before the Black Wall alone deep in the voids of cyberspace... truly on the edge.

"It was a hack just like any others we had done... to send a message... it was about... taking back... control."

Netty raises his hand out toward the Black Wall causing the wall to shake, resist and distort in an intense fit.

"It was about letting them know that i'm still here..."

The Black Wall begins to cave in slightly as Netty strains hard while gritting his teeth with his palm out in front of him touching the Black Wall. As his palm lay pressed against it, the reaction of the wall only intensifies as the affects begin to ripple throughout the area surrounding his point of contact. The very void of cyberspace around him begins distort and glitch along with an intense shake resembling that of an earthquake lasting for a period of time.

"That WE'RE still here..."

The Black Wall then begins to slowly settle as Netty staggers a few steps back away from it, leaving behind his calling card of 'NTK' burned directly into it about the size of a large street sign... concluding the flashback.

"Letting who know..?" Brian finally speaks asking in a low tone. Netty looks back at Brian before turning and walking toward him.

"Doesn't matter... what matters right now is I think we're being tracked."

Chapter Text

Zaunya and the rest of the ladies back in the booth laugh while enjoying their last drinks of the night in the underground club as the band takes pictures with fans and and bar staff wraps up. Last call has been announced as various patrons find seats to catch their breath and slam final shots, plotting their next destinations while others are dragged out unconscious by their chooms. Although Night City is often a place of re-inventing yourself... being whoever you want to be... your sense of identity tends to be shaped by the people and environment around you... things beyond your control. Its often overlooked the longer you're in it... the influence of such a polarizing place... it does things to you.

"I would've been gone long ago if I ever planned on walking away."

"That's not the point Zaunya... the point is you still CAN." Audrey asserts as BugBear passively listens on knowing her place and not interjecting.

"I got my hands on one of their intel databases and several datashards back at that warehouse. Leave it to PetroChem to leave a bunch of valuable eggs all in one fucking basket... Its a spattering of various shit; locations, people of interest- some i even recognize... redacted cyberware and firearm inventory ledgers... and more deets on this 'experimental' choo2. Where we might be able to find it... maybe whose making it even.. Its weird... its almost like-"

"Zaunya... going to war with these corpos only leads one way... you know this."

Zaunya continuing to listen to Audrey plead her case feels a sudden heavy hand on her shoulder causing her to look up and see Brian standing over her with Netty making his way back to the table and booth. The sounds of various glasses clinking and being cleaned up mixes together with chairs being dragged and rags being used to wipe down tables.

"Hey, we need to talk." Brian says with a subtle tone of urgency and panic while raising his eyebrows and gently grabbing her arm up.

"What happened? Is everything ok?" She asks with a concerned look on her face. She instinctually feels his uneasy energy and quickly matches it with a wary tone of panic.

"Yeah.. yeah everything's fine. Just... come" Brian says in a reassuring tone catching her reaction. Knowing how she can be, he tries to remain subtle while now firmly grabbing her arm and leading her toward the staircase going up and out of the hidden bar.

       Netty plops back down onto the booth where Audrey and BugBear are, however the loud commotion and conversations of the bar, along with the idle house music make it impossible for him to hear them. He takes a look around the club and has a moment to himself to sit down and process where hes at in life and why he's there. A quick flash of his friends taking a group picture together on the roof of a corpo megabuilding feeling on top of the world enters his mind... then another flash of his father handing him his first cyberdeck. He hears his father's voice echo: "If you're gonna follow in my footsteps Netaniel; you're gonna do this shit right, do you understand me? I'll only allow you to do this... to become the best." Fond memories he'd never let go of. Thinking about the countless hours of rigorous and thorough Netrunner training he did with his father, he takes a final swig, finishing his drink and resting his glass on the table. He glances over to see Audrey and BugBear get up and quickly start to make their way to the stairs with purpose causing him to get up and quickly follow behind them.

       The 3 of them exit out of the front of the bar onto street level into the mixture of warm and cold Night City air and make their way toward their parked Galena off in the distance. They see Brian and Zaunya at the hood of the car finishing what looks to have been a brief but intense back and forth conversation. As the 3 of them approach; Brian who's standing in front of Zaunya glances over at them past her shoulder causing Zaunya to turn around and face them at the same time.

"Hey! You guys ready to delta or did you wanna hit another bar? I'm kinda starving honestl-" Audrey says while stepping past Brian to get into the car. He quickly grabs her by her arm and slams her down onto the hood of the Galena G240 with force while also pinning her down by her head causing her to shriek.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!!!!!" BugBear screams as she steps to Brian and punches him in the face with full force flinching him slightly and hurting her hand badly in the process. She instinctually opens her hand due to the pain and instead slaps him as hard as she can in the face before shes grabbed by the waist from the front and pushed backwards away from Brian by Netty causing her to scream. Zaunya quickly steps inbetween Netty and BugBear with her hands out in front of her before she grabs BugBear's shoulders to calm her down and hold her back "Stop honey, stop! hold on! wait!" Zaunya pleads as BugBear franticly struggles to free herself while shrieking.

"LET GO OF MEEE!!!! YOU FUCKING GONK!!!! WHAT THE FFUCK!!!!!!" Audrey screams through her teeth trying to resist.

"DO IT KID.." Brian shouts sternly while holding her down as blood begins to run from his mouth from BugBear's punch. Netty quickly turns around leaving Zaunya to hold back BugBear as he runs over and stands over Audrey. He hesitantly jacks into one of her neuro ports as his eyes begin to flicker blue and he begins scanning.

"AUDREY!" BugBear screams frantically struggling as Zaunya holds her back by her waist from behind.

A brief amount of time passes before Netty quickly unplugs from Audrey's neuro socket and takes a few steps back.

"Holy shit.." He says under his breath with a look of fear on his face causing the commotion to stop and everyone to look at him.

Chapter Text

       The heavy taps of black high-heels rapidly stomp one after the other across a linoleum floor. Various corpos throughout the halls doing various tasks and carrying on conversations quickly realize who she is and move the hell out of her way. Some bow their heads in respect while others offer a nervous smile with wavering eye contact. The woman makes her way through the long, wide PetroChem megabuilding halls to an elevator that scans her before opening. As the elevator rises with a gradual hum, the woman once again takes the moment of privacy to hyperventilate; Catching her unstable fall by posting her hand on a wall in the elevator while struggling to catch her breath.

Often our moments of privacy are where we allow ourselves to be our most vulnerable... in the life of a corpo on this level however... vulnerability tends to be more of a lover's mistress.

She quickly gathers herself before taking a final deep breath and stabilizing the shaking in her hands by clenching them together tightly. The emotionless gaze in her eyes take over as the elevator dings open.. concluding what feels like her daily ordeal.

"What's the status on the site clean up." The waiting executive says while gazing out of the window.

"Finished sir. Its to be re-purposed into a parking lot for the new hires as requested."

"Good. and the paid informant?"

She pauses briefly before responding. "He's given us a lead on a truck he reportedly saw fleeing the area soon after the explosion. He had been just out range of the blast site and saw a black Colby Butte with 2 occupants drive past him in the direction he was driving in."

"Is that really it? Are you fucking kidding me?" He replies in a tone of frustration.

"Not quite. Out of curiosity he followed the Butte out to the city border. Said it took off into the East Badlands before he stopped following. Not really too many locations out there they could've scurried off to."

"Get a team out into the dirt to track it immediately. Have them hit every location of interest we have out there... if no one else in the city saw anything then that means everyone who did is going to be out in the wastes. In the meantime, have research dig into the 'E.P.V' database. Not the common one.. the extreme personal vendetta database and return to me with a report on what names show up. We currently have scop for leads... no clear pattern, no clear lead up, no clear motive... may mean the lack of a pattern IS the answer." He concludes as he takes another drag of his cig.

"Yes sir." The woman says in response with a slight bow before a pause.

She lives in the brief calm of silence for a while stood behind the executive before gulping. She strongly hesitates before speaking as she tenses up.

"There's... uhm.. another issue sir."

He glances over at her without saying anything.

"I've been informed through one of my points of contact that the board may have a 3rd party investigating the explosion."

A dead silence takes back over the already quiet office.

"What." He says in a dead tone as he quickly looks over at her. The sudden snap startles her as she does her best to not show fear.

"Its... unconfirmed but there was a significant shift in street security detail. Several full units along with an entire investigation team have been consolidated to one redacted entity for a 'black' project here in the city."

The dead silence lingers... the tension in the air tight enough to strangle a horse.

He clinches his fists tightly and slowly walks over to his desk as you hear the tapping of his dress shoes echo throughout the spacious office. He hunches forward while standing in front of his desk... resting his fists on it without saying anything. The woman nervously stands at the opposite end awaiting a response or whatever was coming next.

"I'll see you at the upcoming briefing... we'll discuss this then." He replies trying to remain calm. Feeling the weight and vague feelings of shifting tides and control slipping away, he grits his teeth and bares it in the moment.

"Yes sir." She says in slight relief before bowing and quickly rushing her way back to the elevator.

As the elevator closes and heads down, the executive continuing to hunch over his desk breaths deeply in and out. Allowing shades of his humanity to bubble to the surface in private. As the anger builds, he slams his fists onto the hardwood desk causing a loud bang and leaving it crushed in half. The woman breathes a sigh of relief as the elevator gradually hums down.

       

       Brian stands across the street and a block or so away from the hideout smoking a cig, pacing back and forth occasionally glancing at their building and up every street. Zaunya silently watches him do so as its clear the two have had several intense conversations before this moment and are taking the time to gather themselves. The streets are cold... wet with scattered puddles and sparse street lighting as the occassional pair of headlights casually rolls by on a late night.

"Point is.. I trust her more than anyone I know... she'd never willfully put me in danger... put us in danger."

"-And how can you be so sure Zaunya. huh? What if she just fucked up and made a mistake?"

"She's already saved your life once Brian... mine more times than i can even count... Lets just... see what they turn up in there." Zaunya says looking over at the hideout that blends in with the rest of the spattering of smashed together architecture. Often times in the city streets... it can be misunderstood that the later it gets, the more dangerous it becomes... however the opposite is true. Even the psychos of society turn in at some point... leaving this eerie... peaceful quietness filled with stray ambience. Intimidating to some... and to others... home.

The heat of the hideout has been recently turned on gradually warming the space as a cold breeze lightly pushes up against the windows from outside. BugBear leans up against a wall with her arms crossed and her eyes glowing red, casually running a jammer. She watches Netty plugged into one of Audrey's neuro sockets as she lays there unconscious on the couch of the living room.

"Its outdated code.. trust me.. back when i originally checked it out-"

"Its fuckin' not outdated code, I'm tellin' you. Its old but its still dormant. Easily triggerable if someone has a mind or reason to do so. The explosion wasn't long ago so they probably haven't started reachin' this far yet... but point is they can." Netty responds cutting her off.. "jesus.. what the fuck even is this shit...?" He says to himself under his breath as his eyes glow and flicker blue while flowing with code.

"Honestly I can't even remember how many times I went in, tinkering around trying to find different ways to remove that shit. Did some digging into the source code used to operate a piece of tech like that. Info was all over the place with a flood of various specs... Couldn't find much in terms of installation let alone removal... and this ones clearly corporate grade... so its not gonna have specs just lying around to catalogue through." BugBear says before walking over to the coffee table to grab her pack of smokes.

"Yeah, that's what i'd assume you'd get with somethin' like this if you try to remove it... when they hardwire shit like this its done with the expectation that there'll never even be a removal... replacing it however.." Netty says in a tone of discovery causing BugBear to catch on to his point and look over at him impressed.

Chapter Text

The bright full Moon beams down on the wet, dark and quieted Night City streets. The sounds of stray sirens and slow rolling cars fill the air as you see the entrance to the hideout discretely tucked away from prying eyes. As Audrey lay unconscious being tended to by Netty she finds herself recalling a memory through her dreams:

*BANG BANG BANG* Audrey hears a sudden, heavy pounding on the door to her shop, jolting her awake and nearly falling out of her chair while quickly looking over at it.

*BANG BANG BANG* "PRESCA!!" *BANG BANG BANG* Audrey quickly gathers herself and rushes over to the door. She slides it open to see 2 well dressed PetroChem huscle. They slowly enter struggling to carry an extremely heavy black body bag.

"Easy! Easy! Watch it! Don't bang anything ya gonk!" One of the huscle yells to the other while straining. "Table! Right here! Hurry up!!" He yells as Audrey moves out of the way... they drop the body bag on the table with a loud, heavy thud... They both rest their hand's on their hips in heavy exhaustion taking deep breaths.

"The fuck is this..?" Audrey asks with her eyebrows lowered and her hands out.

"Got an A-36 for ya doc. Rip and Recycle... I tell ya, the craziest ones always come in at the wildest hours y'know."

"A-36...? Executive Blacklist..? Who is this?"

"Said it yourself doc... Executive Blacklist. No deets, No clue. Other than the fact that they're fuckin' tall n heavy. You do the math." The huscle says dismissively while he quickly scans the body bag and enters some information onto a smart tablet. "Be seein' ya doc" He says as the pair promptly leave.

Audrey watches them walk out and the door slide closed. She turns around to see a lone bodybag in the center of her shop on a cadaver table. The dead silence intensifies the heavy tapping of her boots as she slowly walks up to it. She takes a long, intense look at the lone yellow PetroChem logo on the jet black body bag and hesitantly reaches for the zipper.

She slowly unlocks the securing mechanism attached and unzips the body bag down to the chest... revealing Zaunya's mother's pale, lifeless face along with discolored bruising around her neck.

          Her eyes and mouth open wide in disbelief as she feels the air in her lungs get yanked out of her. She slowly stumbles backwards... losing her balance as the quiet silence of a muted room causes a high-pitched ringing in her ears takes over. The room begins to slowly spin as she hyperventilates... becoming light-headed while her heart pounds in her ears. She runs her fingers through her short hair as she begins to scream... Audrey rushes back over to the table with her eyes full of tears as you hear the fading sounds of her screams of terror give way to a gentle nudge she receives on her shoulder from Netty; slightly jolting her awake... and ending the dream.

Audrey slowly opens her eyes with no reaction... this is a dream she has become all too familiar with. A memory incapable of being lost to time.

She glances over her shoulder to see Netty unplugging from her neuro socket and giving her a soft pat on the back of her shoulder. She glances over to see BugBear stood in a corner of the room with her arms crossed watching him work.

"Rise n Shine." Netty says in a soft tone with a slight grin. "Didn't wanna wake ya, you honestly seemed like you needed the rest... you were mumbling somethin' in your sleep."

"What did... what did you find." Audrey says, groggy as she slowly sits up on the couch while scratching her head.

Netty glances at BugBear before responding. "You uh... you had some sort of... nano tracker embedded into one of your neuro sockets. If they wanted to... they could have geo-sats pinging your location at anytime... It was still inactive so... I guess it was just waiting for a trigger remotely. We tried combing through info but couldn't find anything formal on whatever the hell custom hardware that is... You didn't know about this..?" Netty asks looking over at Audrey. She closes her eyes tight without responding and plops her head back down onto the sofa; They then hear the backdoor to the hideout slide open as Zaunya and Brian step back in.

       They're next seen gathered in the living room of the hideout... Temporarily both warm and safe from the various brutal hazards of Night City as early rain drops begin to fall. The energy of the crew has shifted as everyone sits patiently while Brian paces back and forth. He occasionally glances over at Audrey while doing his best to avoid making eye contact while having an aura of embarrassment surrounding him. They light smokes as BugBear casually offers Netty one. He hesitantly takes the cig and places it on his lips as he leans over toward BugBear who lights it for him. He takes an uncomfortably big, rookie drag of the smoke forcing him to let out a deep, uncontrollable cough causing drool and spit to go flying. BugBear closely watching him die lets out a cute giggle with a hand over her mouth.

"They were after me once upon a time. However like all things in this city, focus changes from one event to the next. Like I said before, in times of crisis... they run on borrowed time. Think about how many enemies a corp like PetroChem makes a day... overtime it gets hard for them to see what's coming and from who." Zaunya explains as the idle smoke from her cig whisps in between her fingers.

Netty finally finishing his cough puts the barely smoked cig into an ashtray on the coffee table. "I was able to isolate the geo-sat trigger and replace the resulting ping with something a little more... appropriate."

"Appropriate?" Brian asks.

"If they trigger the bug, those gonks'll get an urgent S.O.S pinging them directly to a deeply hidden compound run by The Animals. A nosy buddy of mine used to do dives into their subnet just to peep on em. Ended up learning more about The Animals than any of us really needed to. We used to always fuck with him and say he was lookin' to join up and they had a personal stack of synthroids waiting for him . Real chrome heads these guys... almost like they communicate through violence over words."

"So not only will it route them there but Audrey will still get notified of the trigger as soon as it hits." BugBear says to Netty piecing it together in an impressed tone.

"Exactly." Netty replies while grinning back at her. The two share a brief and subtle moment.

Brian instinctually opens his mouth to confront Audrey on not telling them about the tracker but quickly catches himself and instead switches subject slightly. "Good work kid... I need you to do me a favor. Do a quick sweep of the local networks in the area and cross reference them with that trigger. Let me know if anything comes up."

"You got it." Netty replies as the crew disperses around the hideout to do their own thing.





Brian sees Audrey make her way to the fire escape on the balcony. He waits for her to exit onto it alone before he follows her out. Audrey lights a smoke and rests her forearms on the dented railing as the pair listen to the rain settle in for the night. They share a silence with each other before Audrey breaks it.

"Hey listen... i'm sorry I didn't-"

"No, i'm sorry Audrey... I'm sorry. I didn't handle that shit the right way at all... I just... communication and results often never pan out the way I expect or hope em to. I don't know its just... its hard to trust people without holding onto em too tight. I guess... i guess what i'm trying to say is-"

Audrey gently places a hand on Brian's shoulder causing him to stop and look over at her.

"I'm not the type to keep secrets from the people I care about Brian. Listen, I know how this looks... but I just want you to hear it straight from me. I fucked up... guess I never realized whatever they did could come back to bite me in the ass like this... Regardless of however long ago it was."

"What'd they do exactly?"

       Audrey sees quick flashes one after the other of her screaming while being tortured and interrogated in various traumatizing and inhumane ways... Being slowly cut on different areas of her back... Slowly strangled by a rope around her neck while trying to to balance on a small flimsy cardboard box with one foot... Being waterboarded while crying and begging in a desperate panic... These thoughts cause her to close her eyes tight in discomfort before responding.

"Megacorps... operate on ownership... if they feel they own you? Well... you piece together the rest." She says taking another drag of her smoke before exhaling deep. "Shit they do changes you... violent or not."

"So no love lost then... between us huh?" Brian asks in a genuine tone shes yet to hear before... the two of them glance at each other with a friendly smile.

"Depends." She says before flicking her smoke out down into the alley below and pausing to think deeply.

"I need someone to ride with me." She says causing him to look over at her again. She continues.

"My buyer has been bothering the shit out of me since we left for Jig Jig. The optics you guys helped me piece together are gonna fetch us some serious scratch. More than i'm comfortable with just picking up alone... even though the buyer was kind of a good choom of mine once upon a time, the area is pretty shit... and so are his contacts."

"Didn't answer my question choom... are we good?" He asks sincerely in a vulnerable tone.

Audrey pauses as she crosses her arms and a big smile washes over her face. She nudges Brian's shoulder hard with her shoulder. "Yeah.. of course." She says through her teeth in a comforting, feminine tone that he's never heard from her before... The two share a moment on that balcony.

"Don't start to get soft on me now Varga... We've still got work to do." She says in a light giggle as she turns and walks back into the safehouse.

Brian hearing his last name out of Audrey's mouth causes him to close his eyes tight... being hit with a wave of sudden discomfort... Cutting to black.

Chapter Text

       The bright, beaming sun shines down into Night City and the No-Tell Motel. The sun's rays shine bright onto Molly's face slowly waking her into a dizzy spin. A spattering of smashed or empty liquor bottles and scattered lines of synth coke lay to rest throughout the room. A personalized PetroChem combat knife with the initials 'MS' for Molly Seeker on the white handle rests covered in dried blood, in a small bowl of now melted ice. Various clothing items belonging to her and another woman lay shredded and tossed about near the foot of the bed... it was as if a tornado had hit the place. Molly rolls over and slowly sits up in bed in her bra and panties while stretching her neck and casually checking herself for marks and scratches. Her eyes catch a joytoy in the room from the prior night... she silently watches her run her fingers through her long black hair... frantically gathering her stuff to leave... rattled after being pushed past her limits. She slowly slips her red singlet back on making her quietly wince in pain as it rubs up against the fresh, deep cuts along her back causing Molly to smirk. She bends over to pick up her high heels giving Molly a final look at her work before the joytoy quickly tip toes out of the room and the door slides closed.

Molly sits up at the edge of the bed giving her near naked body another once over checking for scratches or marks... silently disappointed to not find any. She reaches for one of the liquor bottles and shakes it lightly, realizing its near empty, she tilts it up to try and get a swig out of it anyway. She stares at the empty bottle and takes a deep breath before abruptly hearing a knock at the door causing her to roll her eyes. She slides the door open halfway and leans out slightly.

"Do any of you... have ANY sort of life." Molly says in an annoyed exhale to her small army of huscle stood outside at attention waiting for her. Her personal shield and long time bodyguard Manny, the only other person that arrived to Night City with her, steps forward with his large, imposing frame. He takes a quick glance with concern at her to make sure she's ok before quickly snapping back into character and clearing his throat.

"Ma'am." He says with a slight bow. "We've got intel on a lead that arrived early this morning. We're ready to move as soon as you're uhhm... dressed and ready." Molly rolls her eyes again and slides the door shut.

       Shes next seen sporting her corpo themed formals that looked perfectly suited for the desert. Calf-high combat boots, thick kevlar coverage around her curves, and an array of various gear and equipment she may need for any and all eventualities. As the Chevillon Emperor shes being driven in exits the city line she looks back through the rear window at the Night Cityscape... she stares deeply at it while it stares right back at her... neither wanting to look away. A sudden feeling sets upon her... she feels a deep, uncontrollable urge course through her veins unlike anything she's ever felt before. A well decorated, well traveled corpo hunter with countless years of experience... known for her sharp mind and success in brutality is left feeling vulnerable... hungry urges to JUST. GO. BACK. The whisper pierces through her core like a gunshot... She quickly recognizes the uncontrolled, psychological longing in her emotions... finding it odd... she shuts it down.

"Tell the rest of them to hang back here. We shouldn't be gone too long and I'm not looking to spook the locals."

"Yes ma'am." Her shield says as he promptly radios in to their crew telling them to hold position as you see Molly's lone Chevillon's tires trail dirt behind the SUV as they proceed alone.

       The Chevillon Emperor sits parked neatly in the desert dirt covered parking lot of the Dollop of Sunshine motel. Various people are smoking and meandering about the Motel balcony; gathering and whispering amongst each other about the foreign corpos sticking out like chrome thumbs. Molly and her personal shield stand before the hollow, metal shell of Graves' charred Colby Butte left planted in the desert. The gentle, quiet wind takes over the lack of conversation as you hear the sound of Molly's boots crunch the rocks and sand beneath her feet.

"What do you think? Ditched the vehicle?"

"Well Manny, apparently they stashed it THEN ditched it." Molly says condescendingly. "I mean... look at this shit." she says glancing around the area. "I don't think you can say 'please don't come looking for me' clearer than this." She casually hops into the driver's seat frame of the Butte and places her hands where the steering wheel used to be while gesturing the steering wheel motion.

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY GONK! WE HAVE A CITY TO BURRRNN!!!! HAHAHAHA!!!" Molly yells at Manny standing at the hood of the frame with his arms crossed watching her before rolling his eyes. She hops back out of the frame making the last of the steel creak under her weight and steps past Manny.

" 'Gonk..?' Really?" he says with a light giggle and smile.

"Lets go turn over a few rocks." She says as they both make their way back up the embankment.

Molly sits with her sand and dirt covered boots kicked up on the receptionist's desk with Manny's massive 6 foot 5 frame stood behind her. The receptionist stares up at Manny in fear and intimidated before having her attention turned to Molly.

"Yes dear, I understand. People come and go everyday, at all hours however I need to know who came allll the way out here into this hot, beautiful wasteland of a desert only to burn their truck. I mean, did they get a holo buzz from jesus christ himself telling them the next journey was beginning or?" Molly says laughing while removing her boots from the desk and sitting up.

The receptionist speaks in a heavy accent with an intimidated tone. "I... please, i was told by the other ones never to speak about it again. They say someone like you may be come ask about it soon."

Molly doesn't allow the revelation to show on her face and instead continues to smile big while now looking deep into the receptionist's eyes. She takes a long pause while doing this leaving the space silent at an odd time... building the tension in the air for everyone and making the receptionist begin to shake.

"What else did they say about... someone like me."

"P-Please.. just no talk to you. I don't want trouble!!"

"Shh.. shh.. please, its ok dear relax. No need to worry. You see... the suits you talked to are actually in my department. We have the same boss! They just sent me back around to do another once over in case we missed anything." She says with a giggle while putting her hands up with a big smile. She pulls out a credchip and places it on the wooden receptionist desk causing it to make a heavy thump as metal meets wood. The receptionist looks down and stares at the credchip... a precious piece of metal being presented to her just like that. Something that can change the entire course of her life over night... the sight of it excites her about as much as it intimidates her. She hears Molly's voice, snapping her out of her trance.

"Credchip, 5k." Molly says. The receptionist instinctually reaches for the chip causing Molly to casually place her hand on top of it while resting her other elbow on the desk with her hand under her chin. She continues to glare deep into the woman's eyes with a big smile on her face. Molly giggles softly.

"I want everything dear... clear?" Molly says in a conclusive tone as the distant sounds of multiple roaring engines rapidly approaching the motel outside fade in. She doesn't react at all to the sudden onset of the commotion outside and instead remains 100% focused on smiling and staring deep into the receptionists eyes. The receptionist uses the opportunity to break eye contact with her and instead look out of the window nervous.

       Five badlands vehicles sporting various vinyls of flaming blue skulls belonging to the Wraiths are seen parked in formation in the open parking lot of the motel. The leader of the squad was tall and built like a brick house.. rocking a spiked, black leather jacket, a blue spiked helmet and a fanged gas mask. He hits a man with his hands up surrendering in the face with the buttstock of his rifle sending him to the ground before pointing it at him. "Get the fuck behind the truck asshole! You're comin with us!" He yells as several other members drag him behind the truck kicking and screaming in a panic begging to let him go. Various people begin to scream in fear and scatter. "HANDS UP! ALL OF YOU! DON'T FUCKIN' RUN AND NO SUDDEN MOVES UNLESS YOU WANT AN ASSHOLE WHERE YOUR FACE USED TO BE! GET THE FUCK DOWN HERE NOW OR BE DRAGGED DOWN-"

"PLEASE! DON'T SHOOT! P-PLEASE! I DON'T WANT ANY TROUBLE!!" Molly shouts as she exits the motel with her hands up in surrender. Manny make his way out of a back entrance and circles around the building, taking a position unseen. You see the wraiths tying various people up and loading them into the trucks as some of them try to resist and shriek in terror.

Molly approaches the leader with a steady pace pleading in a scared, desperate tone. "P-Please! Don't do this!! You have to let me go! I have a family waiting for me in Night City! T-They don't even know where i am! My kids are waiting for me! PLEASE!!"

"GET THE FUCK ON YOUR KNEES!!! NOW BITCH!!!" He yells while pointing his rifle directly at her face.

       Molly swings her fist at the Wraith leader's gut while engaging her mantis blade. She effortlessly impales him causing an excessive amount of synth blood to spray out of his back like a grenade he swallowed just went off. The booming sound of the impalement piercing through the leader's thick chrome causes the wraiths and civilians to flinch and look over. Gritting her teeth, she lifts the Wraith leader with the blade stuck in his stomach and uses her other hand to post it on him for stability. She runs forward using him as a shield as the wraiths open fire... she starts taking high caliber rounds to various parts of her body like a tank unfazed. Their focused fire lights up their leader's back sending chunks of his body and blood flying into the hot air as thrown grenades kick up sand and dismember bystanders.

       Amidst the loud and chaotic gunfire and scrambling civilians, Manny sprints forward out of the bushes firing his copperhead rifle at the wraiths while closing the distance. Molly uses her posting hand to draw her iron. A personalized, chrome-gold Liberty with a gold holosight, and a matching 'MS' on the white pistol grip handle. She fires at the Wraiths while continuing to run forward with her meat shield being completely shredded as various bloody chunks and limbs continue to drop into the dirt of the Badlands. Molly drops several of the Wraiths with clean chest and headshots while Manny finishes his flank taking care of the other shooters. Manny is then hit in the back of the head with a crowbar causing him to instinctually turn as hes tackled from the side and begins struggling with one of the final wraiths.

Molly lets the limbless torso of the leader surrender to gravity... As it slides off of her mantis blade onto the waiting desert floor, the chrome of the blood covered blade briefly reflects off of the sunlight shining bright before the sleek, crisp working mechanics engage and she retracts it cleanly.

     
       As she does this, another huge wraith built like a tank and sporting a pair of cobbled together, highly modified gorilla arms tackles her from the side at full speed sending the pair of them to the ground hard and kicking up dust. As the wraith on top of Molly grabs her by the throat to pin her down he feels an instantaneous numbness spike through the various points of contact he has on her body. Molly lays there passively with her kiroshis now suddenly glowing pink as she watches the giant wraith's motor functions begin to instantly seize at the points of contact and the constrictions in his body intensify. She casually pushes him off of her leaving his body stiff, contorted and completely immobile... even slowly restricting his ability to breathe. Molly's eyes stop glowing pink as she deactivates her custom cyberware implant while standing over him looking up at her in shock and disbelief unable to move. She smirks before raising her calf high combat boot and repeatedly stomping on his face hard gradually crushing his skull as you hear the sounds of chrome and bone gradually crunching under the impact.

She then looks over at Manny overwhelming the wraith in the dirt causing her to roll her eyes and walk back in the opposite direction. Walking away, she hears Manny begin to stab the final wraith multiple times and shriek in fear and pain. She walks up to the final wraith attempting to crawl away while blood builds and streaks under him and various captives flee screaming in terror while still tied up. The speed and intensity of the conflict concluded about as fast as it started.

       The barely alive Wraith crawling away slowly turns over onto his back to see her standing over him. Hes unable to make out her face due to the sun beaming behind her and sees only her silhouette and long hair flowing in the wind. She gets down and places one of her knees square into the center of his chest slowly caving it in under her weight... causing him to squeal and struggle to breathe in deep pain spitting up synth blood. She takes a deep breath of relief while looking up at the sun with her eyes closed with that same big smile on her face that she loves. This is clearly a feeling she not only longs for.. but truly relishes in... she places the barrel of her Liberty under his chin while looking deep into his barely open eyes.

"Back to Night City!" Molly says under her breath while raising her eyebrows in excitement before pulling the trigger causing a loud bang. Cutting to black.

Chapter Text

       The mellow rumbling of the Emperor's engine creates a comfortable white noise in the vehicle for the pair. You see... Night City has an enigmatic aura to it. An unexplainable draw that doesn't just lure you in... it drags you in. This phenomena is quite a unique one that leaves even the most grounded Night City natives unable to explain it. It cares not who you are or what you're capable of... only that it's insatiable hunger is fed... and fed well. There is no bottom to the depths this city is willing to guide you by the hand to... A place that can both give you everything you've ever wanted... and take away everything you've ever had. Regardless of how deep you may dare or desire to venture down into the neon rabbit hole, Night City has a spot reserved... just for you.

       

       Molly slowly cleans the blood off of her hands after putting on a new top and keeping her blood covered pants on. She silently contemplates the PetroChem executives' actions out in the badlands with all the new information she's received.. feeling confident with her theories. However, her normally clear thinking mind has a distraction she's been unable to shake as she keeps her eyes helplessly fixated on the Night Cityscape. The anticipation on her face was palpable while her heart fluttered to an increased rate. As composed and in control of a person she is... she can't help but wear the hungry fixation on her face. Manny, who's driving, glances over at her and picks up on this. Completely familiar with her demeanor and mannerisms, her current state easily stands out to him while she tries to wear it subtly. He breaks the silence to gauge her reaction.

"All good ma'am?" He says in a soft tone causing Molly to snap out of her trance and quickly look at him.

"Wha-? Yeah.. of course" She dismissively says lowering her eyebrows causing Manny to smile to himself. The pair share a silence with each other as they gradually grow closer to the city line. Manny decides to speak up again.

"Haven't seen you like this since Monaco."

"Like what..?"

"You know as well as i do this job can get about as redundant as stamping passports... just nice to see you eager to be somewhere again."

"Eager..? To be in this shithole..? Psh... give me a break."

Manny giggles and raises his eyebrows as he glances over at her. "You sure about that..?"

She looks at him without responding... not wanting to concede the truth, she breaks eye contact and returns to looking out of the window.

The act of not driving while still being brought back to the city gives her the sensation of zero control as she stares on at the towering, intimidating cityscape staring back and effortlessly pulling her in... awaiting her return.

"I dunno... this just sounds kinda off to me." Zaunya says to Audrey skeptical. "Why would they wanna meet there in particular? Said it should be just a quick trade right..?"

"Cmon, be still.." Netty says giggling with a big smile on his face trying to slot one of Brian's tracking shards into one of BugBear's neuro ports. She giggles with a big smile on her face with him behind her as she moves and turns, giving him a hard time.

"This deal was set quite sometime ago so the setting and circumstances can of course change... not really sure why they decided to change location but its not like they swapped a safe one for a dangerous one or anything like that. Not the most uncommon thing to happen. Its a serious sale too so i'd expect em to be on edge." She takes a deep breath. "This all seems quite lucky on my end honestly... never really expected to need this many people coming with me on this but i'm definitely glad to have them... all things considered." Audrey replies.

"Sure but... hmm.. whatever. You know more about this street or... merc shit more than i do." Zaunya concedes as she hands Audrey one of Brian's blinking blue tracking shards. She casually grabs and slots the shard as Zaunya slots her own.

Zaunya's eyes suddenly begin to glow orange causing her to glance at Audrey before turning and walking out onto the hideout balcony alone.

= Hey. Its Brian. =

= Hey. Everyone should be plugged in by now. Can you see? How's latency? =

= Yeah, everything looks pretty good. I see everyone comin' online. I'll consolidate em in a minute =

= What's the sitch at the meet location. Anything stand out? =

= Other than the gym i'm at being an Animals gym with a bunch of chromeheads grunting their faces off, no. Been keepin' an eye on the spot. Completely dead even this early. Tells me there's no real setup. Least not yet. =

Brian pauses for a bit connected to Zaunya's holo. Several thoughts grab ahold of him... causing him to shift subject.

= How's everyone doin'. =

Zaunya glances back into the hideout to see Netty, Audrey and BugBear talking and laughing together with positive energy... contrasting Zaunya's personal angst.

= They're good. We're almost ready over here. Just waiting for the call from Audrey's contact. Shes thinkin' it won't be till tonight... said hes an ex-Tyger Claw that's been chased out of his gang into DogTown... looking to meet in Pacifica of course... Didn't really sit right with me honestl- =

= Shit.. hold on. I got somethin' =

= What is it...? Brian...? = Zaunya asks as he doesn't respond. He re-racks his weights before walking up to the window of the gym and looking out of it.

= Animals. Scoping the spot. I think I even see Audrey's contact over there. You said ex-Tyger right..? Yeah.. that's gotta be him. = Brian says as he focuses in on the Claw. = Definitely dresses like the choom with the eds we're lookin' for =

= What are they doi- =

= Just get everybody ready and wait for the call to come in from this guy... I'm gonna hang back here, keep an eye on things and wait for ya'll. Let me know as soon as Audrey gets the call so I can time something... Buzz ya if anything changes. =

= Roger that = Zaunya says before ending the call and turning to walk back inside.

"What are you lookin' for..." Brian whispers to himself as he posts his forearm up against the window of the Animals gym focusing on the group outside and down the street.

       Zaunya walks past Netty and BugBear and notices her handing Netty a cyberpunk yellow DR5 Nova which he grabs uncomfortably having never handled some iron before and being completely unfamiliar with the weight. BugBear places her hand on his shoulder and begins to speak to him in a serious tone while looking deep into his eyes which Zaunya doesn't hear. She continues past the pair and slides Audrey's door open before stepping in.

The door slides closed behind Zaunya... she gasps with her eyes and mouth open wide.

       She looks to see Audrey in her bra, putting on a shirt with her back turned toward her, sitting at the edge of the bed. She sees an almost endless number of deep scars cascading all throughout her back... starting from the neck down to her hips. The amount of scars she sees overwhelms her and causes her heart to drop. Audrey finishes putting her shirt on before slowly glancing back at her over her shoulder.

Zaunya... for the first time... bears witness to some of the true consequences of her actions...

"Audrey?!" She says cracking her voice with disbelief on her face. The shock of the moment causes her to start tearing up.

Audrey turns to face Zaunya and looks her in the eyes briefly before stepping past her and speaking in a flat, aggravated tone.

"Contact just called. We should get moving."

"Audrey!" Zaunya says in a emotional whimper while attempting to step in front of her... causing Audrey to glance up at her. Zaunya tries to gently grab Audrey's face causing Audrey to aggressively look away.

"Lets delta... we have shit to do." Audrey says cracking her voice in a monotone filled with building emotion as she swipes Zaunya's forearms away and forcibly steps past her out of the room. Zaunya puts both of her hands over her mouth as she begins to silently cry alone in the room.

Chapter Text

       The distant, early morning car horns chirp to the warm, orange sunrise of Night City. The different light stages that appear throughout the day tend to make the city expressive of various emotions... very human emotions. Its almost like the city itself is a sentient entity. A collective hive mind of lust and temptation culminating into an impulsive explosion of unpredictable actions at any given time, in any given place.

Brian, recalling a distant memory, stands looking out into the blooming sunrise over the ocean horizon before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath:

"What is... the definition of trust." He asks in a calm monotone while slowly walking up to Marilyn as you see their black silhouettes move amongst the beautiful orange hue of the Night City sunrise.

Marilyn scoffs and giggles "You mean mine or yours?" She responds while staring deep into his eyes causing him to let out a seductive, audible growl.

"Mmmggh... you're so... good... Have I ever told you that?" He says as he looks her up and down admiring her as if she was a complete character of his own creation.

"Yeah Varga... but that never stops me from wanting to hear it." She responds in a gentle tone as the two embrace each other.

"Why do you call me Varga hm? I've never asked." Brian asks in a playful, confronting tone.

She giggles. "Because all those empty headed, street tough gonks out there stand up straight and answer to Brian." She says as she grabs him by his high collar jacket with both hands.

"I get Varga." She says gritting her teeth with a smile while pulling him in close and giggling... the pair never break eye contact.

Brian wraps his hands around her lower back and slides his Blood Red, Crimson Nue into the back of her jeans' waistband while yanking her hips up against his causing her to moan in pleasure.

"Go fetch Mare." He says in a deep tone which causes her to shove her tongue into his mouth and the pair begin to make out. She shoves him away hard as they both step back and turn to walk in opposite directions.

Brian hears the sounds of screams in panic and turmoil alongside booming gunshots from his Nue repeatedly firing off in the distance as he continues to walk away unfazed. Ending his memory.

He re-racks his weights a final time before glancing out of the gym window once more briefly. He grabs his gear and heads for the exit.

       The sound of BugBear's yellow ARCH Nazaré Racer rips through the streets of Night City causing various pedestrians to turn their heads. Netty sat on the back of the bike checks out BugBear's body... awkwardly searching for where he should hold onto her. He hesitantly places his hands on her shoulders which causes her to glance back at him. She lightly shrugs and shakes her body causing his hands to drop down to her waist. As he goes to move them away she grabs one of his wrists and wraps it around her waist just above her thighs. As he feels her soft, toned curves he instinctually takes his other hand and grabs her waist securing his grip, and silently turning him on.

= Are you ready for this? = She asks him through their comms

= Huh?- Oh! As uh... as ready as I'll ever get =

= Just... try to stay calm and keep your eyes open alright. Everything'll be fine. = She says reassuring him as they continue through the neon lit streets.

       Netty's vision suddenly begins to distort as it flashes black with pink static sparking throughout it. He instinctually blinks and shakes his head to no avail as the black and pink distortion effortlessly continues against his will. The distortion abruptly stops as a large icon covers his vision. The icon was unmistakable to him; a smiling cartoon shark, wearing a hooded grim reaper cloak, and dangling a little dead corpo suit on puppet strings. The sight of the icon causes him to gasp in disbelief. A squeaky, ominous, cartoony notification tone obnoxiously accompanies the intrusive, animated icon blocking his vision:

= CORPOS IN MY TUMMY!! YUMMY YUMMY!!! =

= CORPOS IN MY TUMMY!! YUMMY YUMMY!!! =

Before Netty's able to say anything to BugBear the black and pink distortion along with the notification ping abruptly stops as an encrypted text message from an unknown number comes in.

The text reads: = Sweet wire causes cavities. 47 Seduction. =

Reading the text causes his heart to sink down into his stomach. "No... It can't be" he thinks to himself. His heart begins to race as his adrenaline surges at the sight of the text... the sudden sight of those words tenses his entire body while he shouts out.

= STOP! STOP THE BIKE! BEAR! =

Netty's shouting through comms catches her off guard as she quickly looks back at him.

= BEAR! STOP! PULL OVER! PULL OVER THE BIKE! = He shouts again looking directly at her with frantic panic on his face.

She pulls the bike over on an unknown street somewhere deep in bustling Heywood alongside a spattering of pedestrians passing by. Netty hops off the bike and glances around briefly before quickly walking toward a dark alleyway causing BugBear to quickly yank off her helmet and follow after him.

"NETTY! Wha-? What the hell are you doing? Where are you going!?"

"I... I gotta go. S-.. something came up. It can't wait, i'm sorry."

"What the fuck are you talking about? We have somewhere to be! Like RIGHT now!"

"I HAVE TO GO!" He shouts back causing his voice to crack in a tone she's never heard before... she hears the stress and panic in it... causing her to realize the seriousness. She shifts her tone as fear and concern wash over her.

"Then i'm... i'm coming with you."

"No Bear... you can't. Get to the others... keep them safe."

"I'M NOT! JUST! LEAVING YOU HERE!" She shouts as she runs up to him in the alleyway.

As she reaches for the back of his shoulder, a quick spark flashes out of one of her neuro sockets causing her head to snap back as she gasps deeply with her eyes wide open. She drops to the ground stunned... barely able to move while she lets out a shriek.

Netty glances back over his shoulder at her revealing his red eyes. "I'm sorry..." He says in a deep tone as he takes off up the dark alley... hopping a loud chainlink fence before landing on a rusty dumpster on the other side. The various glass and debris clanks and crashes as he takes off up the wet pavement.

"N- No..." She pleads to herself in a stunned daze collapsed on the street... straining to get up.

"Netty.." She whispers helplessly reaching for him... her vision fades to black.

Chapter Text

The sound of a door being yanked open causes the stray neon light of the city to flood into the house before it slams closed. Netty rushes into his home.. passing by the dark living room and racing down to the basement. He waves his hand over a very particular spot on the blank wall making it slide out of the way, revealing a hidden door that slides open.

       Netty steps into his dark basement that nearly has a bigger square foot radius than his house itself. Clearly re-modeled, the space was a Netrunner's paradise... housing all the necessary and unnecessary bells and whistles needed to manage anything pertaining to netrunning. High-end system links, an automated security drone comfortably tucked away in it's housing, corporate grade hardware that you wouldn't find in just any runner's domain. He slowly reaches for his father's personal netrunning jumpsuit and stops midway... he looks down before stepping past it and placing his hand firmly on the arm of his father's large, custom designed runner chair. His eyes glow blue to turn the lights on in the basement, illuminating the space and turning on the various runner equipment. The heavy whirs and beeps of equipment powering on that hasn't been used in quite a long time fills the underground space, slowly warming it. Netty takes a deep breath and pauses before hopping into his father's chair and jacking in. The neurological surge of jacking into the net floods his brain as he connects... briefly tensing his muscles before relaxing into the seat.

       As he enters the net, he traces back to the notification he received, forwarding him to an isolated and secure communications domain him and one of his closest chooms setup ages ago as an emergency contingency. The text message he received: = Sweet Wire causes cavities = was an agreed upon cypher to only be used as form of urgent notification... when it was a matter of life and death. The follow up of = 47 Seduction = also had a clear meaning: Desperation has set in.. and events are imminent. Uncertain of what he might encounter, Netty prepared his most dynamic and refined arsenal of counter-offensive and defensive programs. Netaniel has always entered the net with the state of mind of someone preparing for war... where the matters of life and death take priority over exploration and discovery. It was and never will be a place he ever intends to let his guard down.

       Netty enters the domain and proceeds to slowly walk around it. The neon red hue of the domain soaks the area contrasting his light-pink avatar. The communication domain was pretty much exactly how he remembered. A large, grassy island platform in the middle of the Pacific ocean looking out into a warm orange and red sunset. Although it was something they cobbled together a long time ago, it carried with it fond memories he holds onto tightly. In fact, the more he thinks about those memories, the more he realizes just how ridiculous it is for him to be back there. He then suddenly starts to hear the aggressive yet feint whispers of an unrecognizable voice echoing in and out of existence and tickling his sense of hearing.

"What Wicked Webs We Weave"

"What Wicked Webs"

"We Weave"

"Wicked Webs"

"What Wicked Webs We Weave"

        Hearing the ominous whispers continue puts Netty on edge and sounding far too close for comfort. He quickly scans the area for traces of input activity but finds nothing.. further putting him on guard... raising the tension and making him hyper alert. He then feels the light sensation of a hand placed on his shoulder from behind, causing him to quickly turn around... he again sees nothing. He then emits a neon yellow pulse covering a radius as large as the entire communication domain itself designed to ping any active avatars or traces of encrypted inputs and command codes.

       As a result of this pulse, a lone avatar is revealed toward the end of the domain. With its back turned toward Netty, it overlooks the beautiful digitized rendition of the pacific ocean at the edge of the platform during sunset. The unknown avatar was a bright neon white and distorted beyond recognition... his passive attempt to scan them brings up an unknown error causing the code to just sperg out. He slowly approaches the avatar causing them to glance back at him over their shoulder then back at the sunset. The avatar finally speaks.

"This scene is truly beautiful... Its not very reflective of urgency or desperation i must say... i can tell this is an old ocean... long before it was tainted... so serene... so light." The avatar speaks in a calm, cybernetically altered voice. Distorted to the ear.

"Guess it depends... what you consider urgent... or desperate" Netty responds in a soft tone as he takes a few steps forward toward the avatar. It glances back at him again briefly.

"I see you've shown up here prepared for a fight... unnecessary. I merely wish to talk... make an introduction."

"By using my dead friend's encrypted panic ping? Not a good first impression choom."

"I meant no disrespect. However... I guess there are any number of ways one could go about making contact."

"Who are you and what do you want."

"Your involvement with the Black Wall is... peculiar to say the least. I'd be remiss to say what you did isn't worth a meeting."

"I have no idea what you're talkin' about."

"A lie i'd be more than willing to accept... if I didn't witness you do it myself."

"What...?" Netty says in disbelief. The avatar continues.

"I've spent... i'm not sure how long now... day in and day out watching various runners use it for various purposes. Whether its the VDBs doing their weird rituals in front of it or the occasional suicidal shut in looking to end it all." The avatar finally turns around to face Netty as he sees nothing but a white, unidentifiable silhouette of a person shorter than himself. "Then... one day... I saw you."

"Saw me huh.."

"You looked... empty... like so many i had seen before. Like you had nothing left... nothing to lose... the numbness in you.."

"I'm not speakin' on this with an anon. Could be anybody. Who are you?"

The avatar deflects and switches subject. "Your friends... They're walking into something dangerous. Something i think they're not prepared for. Figured i'd tell you considering you took the time to meet... gesture of good will n all."

"How does that make any sense..? Thanks for the tip but in doing that, you're holding me here away from them... not answering any of my questions. This the work of someone trying to help me or someone that needs to be moved out of the way..."

The avatar takes the kid's threat to the chest and sits in it unfazed... pausing for the first time allowing the sounds of a gently flowing ocean to take over briefly and fueling the unnecessary tension. Their nature instinctually compels them to respond.

"If I wanted to hold you here. It wouldn't be a problem."

"You sure about that choom? Try me. Make a move." He quickly responds in a confrontational tone while taking a step toward the avatar.

It takes a deep breath and sighs. The reaction of someone who's found themselves in this moment countless times.

"Mm... you remind me so much of him y'know... your father Nathan."

"WHAT!?"

The avatar initiates a stasis program. Netty suddenly feels his motor functions instantly begin to dramatically slow down almost as if he was shocked... along with his vision beginning to fade. As he strongly tries to resist with his defense it slowly begins to take over like sky blue quicksand leaving him nearly immobilized. He falls onto the floor of cyberspace stiff as a board, completely helpless.

"The circumstances around us meeting aren't trivial... We have a lot that we need to talk about. You'll be fine... but you're coming with me... for now." The Avatar says as they begin to walk away atop of the ocean and off into the sunrise leaving Netty to use the last of his strength to helplessly resist with his vision gradually fading to black.

He hears the feint, muffled sound of BugBear's voice screaming through the voids of cyberspace. "NETTY!!!!"

BugBear is seen rapidly typing on the terminal connected to Netty's chair while her eyes glow red and his body twitches uncontrollably. After a brief ordeal, she quickly turns around and disconnects him from the chair. Netty's eyes open wide as he gasps deeply for air as if re-surfacing from under water after nearly drowning. He coughs recklessly as he begins to hyperventilate and struggle while gasping for air.

"NETTY!! Hey.. Shh, shh.. its ok.. its ok. shh.. its ok.. I'm here. I've got you... i've got you." BugBear says in a frantic, whispered tone filled with emotion while cradling his head and shoulders in her arms tight, pulling him in close and rocking back and forth.

Chapter Text

Netty's deep, labored gasps for air slowly come under control as he gradually re-gains his motor functions. His mental and physical exhaustion catches him off guard as he continues to breathe deeply. He comes too... realizing he's in BugBear's arms... causing him to look up at her as she looks down at him flustered and panicked in the middle of the large basement.

They're next seen in his living room. As he holds his head in exhaustion, she slowly paces about with angst.

"How did you find me." He asks her in a groggy tone from his couch.

"What, Did you think you could run here faster than I could ride..? Deading Brian's tracker isn't gonna be enough to stop me from finding you.."

"Then how did you-"

"Doesn't matter. Netty... tell me what's going on. What the fuck happened in there? You were-"

"A runner contacted me when we were on our way to the meet... a damn good one at that. They... they used an old panic ping me and one of my chooms setup ages ago... thing was a fuckin' exact one to one copy... how the fuck did they even get the spec for it...? Shit, why would they...? god.. i never saw it coming." He says in a defeated tone.. completely disappointed in himself. "They could've did anything to me in there... they must've initiated the program AS SOON AS I entered... must've had it timed to trigger or... maybe after one of my inputs... thats gotta be the reason I wasn't able to catch it. Fuckin' smart that..."

"Who was-"

"Couldn't get a scan on em. Masked themselves well. Completely distorted. No spec. No trace... impressive... but not enough. My scraper program logs any activity i interface with no matter what... i'm gonna have to look back through this."

"Scraper won't be enough if they're any good at covering their tracks... but I guess it could be a start." She responds while continuing to pace about the room. Her eye catches a very nice, vintage sound system parked in the living room. She slowly approaches it, searching for the interface to turn it on.

"True... god... i just don't know..." He says in an exhale.. putting his hands over his face and sinking back into the couch for a moment. "Listen, we need to head out though." He says getting off the couch.

In that moment, BugBear finds the switch for the sound system. Upon turning it on, she hears Gregory Issac's 'Night Nurse' begin to play on the radio. (Press Play Here)

"Oh my god... I love this song..." She exhales and begins to move to the music. Matching its tempo.

"Hey, we gotta get goin-"

"Come here..." She whispers softly... gently yanking him toward her while dancing. The music plays as the following events transpire in complete silence:

Brian, Zaunya and Audrey pull up to the meeting spot. They stop before a bridge overpass and exit the vehicle approaching Audrey's contact.

Netty joins her in moving to the rhythm of the music... the palms of their hands connect.

Brian glances over his shoulder and sees a car racing toward them. Audrey gets shocked in the neck with a stun baton sending her to the ground unconscious.

BugBear and Netty lock eyes... continuing to move to the music while holding the palms of each other's hands.

Brian snap draws his Nue and opens fire, running toward the animals tying Audrey up. Zaunya draws her Nue and triggers her sandevistan. She turns tail, flashing up to the driver side window and places 4 shots into the drivers face, sending the car careening full speed into a palm tree and exploding.

Netty and BugBear continue to dance... staring deep into each other's eyes... naturally matching each other's rhythm.

Zaunya feels a sharp pain in her spine.. making her head snap back and her eyes close tight. Though the pain quickly dissipates as she looks over to see a netrunner get auto traced.. revealing her location. She flashes up to the runner, blows her brains out and stands over her watching smoke and brain slowly leak out of the hole in her head.

Netty and BugBear continue to dance to the beat, slowly inching closer together and lacing their fingers.

Brian fires and an Animal catches a bullet to the head. He's then rushed from the side but quickly hip tosses the charging animal slamming him to ground hard. He yanks upward snapping his arm and fires two rounds into his face before letting go and raising his Nue with both hands, stepping over him, and continuing to fire.

As BugBear and Netty inch closer together, she turns her back to him causing their bodies to connect for the first time.

Brian takes a slug to the back before turning and dropping the shooter instantly with a headshot. He's then grabbed from the side and bear hugged by a huge merc sending his iron flying.

Netty wraps his arms around her waist from behind feeling her soft, toned curves sway and push up against him.

The Animal squeezes Brian with full force trying to crush his body. Brian frees his left arm from the grip and uses it to push the animals face away before drawing his knife and shoving it down his throat. He yanks it back out causing the animal to let go before stabbing his face and neck repeatedly while blood squirts violently onto his own.

BugBear leans her head back onto his shoulder with her eyes closed tight and an intense expression of pleasure on her face... they continue to move to the pace and rhythm of the music.

An animal rushes Zaunya, slamming and pinning her up against a concrete wall caving it in and closing her eyes tight. She re-opens them as they glow a neon green and emit a bright green flash.. frying the looking animal's kiroshis and completely blinding him. He lets go of her as she confidently steps toward him and headbutts him hard... causing her long black hair to flail wildly and caving his face in dropping him... She then stomps her boot through his face crushing his skull in a splattering explosion.

Netty buries his face into her neck from behind as she reaches for the back of his head.

Zaunya is abruptly yanked backwards by her neck and slammed to the ground with augmented force. She's dragged over to where Brian has been subdued and brought to his knees covered in blood, nearly unconscious.

The warmth of Netty's house comforts the pair as their bodies sway and move connected together.

The animal slams Zaunya hard and pins her head to the ground as she screams something in an intense panic at Brian then the Ex-Tyger.

BugBear turns around in Netty's arms toward him as the pair nearly touching faces continue to sway perfectly timed to the pace of the music in pure ecstasy.

The Ex-Tyger approaches Brian, placing the barrel of his iron to his forehead causing Zaunya's eyes to open wide as she screams at the top of her lungs in a desperate panic with her head pinned to the ground.

As the tempo of the music begins to fade out, Netty and BugBear return to earth. Their dancing slowly stops... and they look deep into each other's eyes with disbelief in a full embrace.

"We have to go..." Netty whispers in a deep tone... causing the pair to slowly... reluctantly let go of each other.

Chapter Text

       The Ex-Tyger racks the slide of his iron and presses it to Brian's forehead causing Brian to look up at him. With the iron pressed against his head, he catches a glimpse of a crow cawing and calmy flying across the sky which grabs his attention... silencing the moment for himself and hearing the wind blow. His stunned gaze remains fixated on the crow... 'gotta be a hallucination... right..?' He thinks to himself in a detached haze as he hears the feint sound of Marilyn's playful giggle... remembering just how hard it was to get her to at times. Zaunya being pinned down by her head resists while screaming at the top of her lungs with her eyes wide open... completely muted by the moment.

       As the trigger nears pulling, an explosion causes a bright white flash of light to blind everyone. The force of the impact sends Brian to the floor with his hands still tied behind him and the rest of the mercs to duck and scatter. He looks up to see the ex-claw quickly turn around and take a gunshot to the gut. As he falls to his knees, hes shot again in the shoulder dropping him to his back and sending blood flying. As Brian's vision fades in an out, he sees a new group of unidentified street mercs flood the area dropping the various remaining animals and thugs with ruthless efficiency.

The leader of this new group slowly approaches Brian and Zaunya with his revolver drawn, passively pointing it at them. He exchanges a few unheard words with his crew securing the area before he nods to take them as their both yanked up onto their feet still in a daze. Brian's blurred vision catches a glimpse of Audrey's unconscious body being carried away before a bag is placed over his head.

       The bright neon lights of Night City off in the distance assist in shrouding Pacifica in darkness. The lack of ambient light gives the district an aura of the dead... a place that was once home to the heart of Ambition in Night City, casted into the shadows of the forgotten left to rot. We focus in on the Hotel Pistis Sophia. Stagnant puddles of chemical infused rainwater, and scattered trash litter the area alongside flaming trashcans and burning vehicles. Foot traffic is sparse with the few loitering around being nothing more than a few homeless natives and the occasional pair of headlights passing by. The air was stoic on this Night... carrying a tense energy wafting throughout the leaves of palm trees and ocean waves.

       The feint sounds of torture and interrogation are heard as we make our way slowly down a long, dark hotel hallway. Rooms cascaded outward to the left and right.. some with the walls completely blown out allowing you to see the remnants of what looked like several decades of stories. Dried and blackened blood smeared on the walls, discarded old tech and tattered, decaying furniture lay littered about alongside various rusted chains and restraints. The dragging of a prisoner is heard as his boots streak-drag down the hallway while being carried by 2 mercs. The prisoner being escorted glances to his right through his bloody, barely conscious vision to see Brian tied to a metal chair by his wrists and ankles. The two of them exchange a brief look with each other before the prisoner passes by the doorway.

       Brian checks his restraints with a light yank on them causing the heavy metal to clank. Iron tight. He looks around the dark, litter infested Pistis Sophia hotel room... nothing but several destroyed pieces of grime covered furniture and more trash than even worth mentioning. A repurposed paradise that looked like a holding facility tailor made for torture, terror and interrogation... naturally coated in wither and suffering over the years. He hears the commotion of various people being talked, tended to and relentlessly beaten through the walls alongside feint screams of begging and pain. Overwhelmed by the sudden onset of the brutal environment, he closes his eyes in attempt to drown out the chaos. He hears both Marilyn and Zaunya's voices echo in his head one after the other. Marilyn's panicked begging is quickly followed up by the sound of Zaunya's voice as the ladies' voices alternate back and forth in his mind:

"No no... please! VARGA!! VARGAAAAAA!!!!"

"...I almost feel like... the more you learn about me, the less i realize i know about you."

"This City... it calls to me... I feel it at the core of my being... Can you feel it Varga?"

"You wanna talk about trust...? I don't even know who the fuck you are."

"All those empty headed, street tough gonks out there stand up straight and answer to Brian... I get Varga."

He then thinks back to the heart to heart he had with Audrey on the fire escape of the hideout and her nudging his shoulder with a smile on her face.
"Yeah.. of course." "Don't start to get soft on me now Varga... We've still got work to do."

"Who are you now Brian." He hears Rick's deep, rough voice from back at the 6th street compound. Causing him to open his eyes to the sounds of distant screams echoing throughout the halls of the Pistis Sophia. He then hears the heavy tapping of boots making their way down the hallway towards his room. Brian instinctually takes a deep breath and prepares for the worst... maintaining an expression as cold as ice... a mentality he seemed to work for years to bury silently returns with a vengeance... as if it only laid a mere few inches below the surface.

       The merc that initially shot Audrey's Tyger Claw contact enters the room. He has a large, towering frame and dresses like a traditional Night City street solo. His body language carries a heavy aura of confidence and routine as he walks through the room. Brian's instinctual thought reaction is that he looks a bit like his late choom and best friend Graves... this catches him off guard briefly as the merc approaches him and promptly unlocks his wrist and leg restraints causing the heavy iron to release and clank to the floor.. This gives Brian pause as his mind floods with a bunch of various snap thoughts due to the unexpected move. The merc speaks for the first time with a deep monotone while posting up in a corner of the room with his arms crossed.

"You can pardon the precaution. Some of my boys saw the work you and your girl did out there... the two of you sure saved us some time and bodies dealin' with that bunch. Real fuckin' blood bath... on the beach of all places. Eh, they felt the need to be better safe than sorry." The merc says

"But not you huh." Brian quickly responds.

The merc recognizes the sentiment behind the statement and gives Brian a tired grin and chuckle.. confident in his own ability and experience.

"We got no reason to go at each other choom."

"Well, i'll tell you one thing... if you or your crew did anything to those women you brought me here with... then we've got nothin' to talk about."

"They're as fine as you are... for now."

"Yeah, and why is that exactly..? Could've flatlined us right there n' left us in the sand."

"Cuz first off all, generally, that's not how we roll... keepin' fresh marks and activity in and around Pacifica is always good for business in this shithole. And second of all, i couldn't give two shits about you or your women. After a bunch of back and forth with these circ fiends givin' us the run around we finally got what we came for."

"Then why am i here."

"How bout you start by tellin' me what you were doin' out there tonight huh? What kinda biz could you have with a piece of shit like Saichen."

"I should be asking you the same question. Pacifica isn't necessarily known for being a bastion of organized crime and structure in street activity... let alone territory. I think Ya'll going out of your way to pick over a random street spat while saving my life at the same time in itself is proof of that shitstorm of confusion."

"If you wanna consider your life 'saved' I suggest you start talkin' rather than askin." The merc says sternly. Brian pauses for a brief moment hearing the thuds of someone being punched in a nearby room causing him to briefly glance in the direction of the sound before continuing.

"We had a quick trade with em. That's it... Kiroshi Oracles."

"Heh. Those were yours huh. Explains the amount of eddies we found on em. Who put you up to the gig?"

"Who?"

"Fixer. Who hired you?"

"Santa Claus... i'm not a merc choom."

"Not a merc..?" He laughs "Shit; Playin' a dangerous game in these circles then. Got a habit of steppin' on toes? Or maybe you just don't value your life much. Shit'll catch up with you eventually-"

"This interview done or are you lookin' to play some fuckin' pea knuckle too? Think i left the oven on."

"Don't bullshit me choomba... do you or either of your girls know anything about a Maelstrom convoy drop or any of that piece of shit Saichen's dealings in DogTown."

"DogTown...? Night City's sewer deposit? Thought there was nothin' but broken vagrants and scop bein' flushed into that shithole-."

       The merc steps to and punches Brian in the face hard as a loud thud echoes in the room. It staggers him only slightly causing blood to spray out of his mouth... he feels little to no pain at all from the blow. Brian looks up at the Merc unfazed with a more serious demeanor. Being free of his chains he resists the opportunity to make a move and instead shows expert level restraint while staying focused. Not knowing their current whereabouts, the number of hostiles, or most importantly, where Audrey and Zaunya are.

"Just an honest deal... quick trade. DogTown pretty much sits at the top of my list of fuck that places. Only biz i've ever had there once upon a time involved 2 Barghest gate security girls and a bottle of Joe Tiel... one of em had a voice fit for cartoons. Where is our shit by the way?"

The merc pauses and ignores the question... instead thinking over a a brief period of silence.

"Cmon, lets go." He says getting up and gesturing toward the door.

       


       The pair begin to make their way down the dark, low visibility hallway at a slow pace. Brian sees various unknowns looking more like shadows than actual people doing various things through the deep darkened hallways of the Pistis Sophia. He sees a man soundly asleep in a cot, he sees a woman mopping up blood in an empty room as he hears the sound of mop water and blood sloshing around, he sees a man bound by chains and hanging from the ceiling of another room unconscious. As these scenes pass by, he keeps his eye out for the ladies... any weapons, and how many bodies he can spot... how many potentially hostile and not hostile... Threat and not a threat... The merc leading him stops abruptly which snaps Brian out of his intel gathering.

"Shit. Hang on a sec." He says as he promptly turns back and re-enters the room he was holding him in. Brian knows making a move now eliminates any element of surprise he may have left. The merc's nonchalant nature shows a level of confidence thats telling of their current situation and environment... this was his domain... and the lack of alertness could easily be a setup just baiting Brian to try something. He holds fast... testing the limits of his patience and instincts to see where this is going.

In the brief moment alone, Brian just happens to glance over into the open room next door and sees the man who was being dragged past him earlier. After hearing the voice of the merc escorting Brian, it causes the man to glance up and see Brian stood in the doorway who was already looking at him.

       It gives Brian a good look at him. He was tall, had a slender, lean frame with short white hair and a deep widow's peak. He was badly beaten, covered in blood and resting in his restraints completely defeated. Based on his state Brian could tell he had been there for quite some time. He wore his dejected and drained demeanor on himself like a tattered blanket. The hopeless, lifeless gaze in his eyes seemed to pierce directly through Brian who stood there looking at him. Brian naturally shifts his weight while standing there and accidently steps on a thick piece of broken glass making a subtle cracking noise... causing the pair to both glance down at it at the same time.

"Cmon, lets go." The merc says returning to Brian. Brian keeps his foot firmly planted on the glass, covering it up as the merc passes by him. As the merc steps past him, Brian shoves the glass with his foot toward the prisoner without looking and continues down the hallway. The prisoner watches the thick, sharp chunk of glass scrape across the floor towards him... causing it to hit the metal leg of his chair with a light 'tink'. Cutting to black.

Chapter Text

       A slow, spiraling, topdown view looms over Audrey laid curled up in the center of a cold, dark room with her hands tied behind her back. Small goosebumps cover her entire hardened body while she freezes in her thin, white bra and panties. The dark, spacious holding area carries a chilling breeze that bares down on her petite body.. as thick condensation billows out of her mouth with each slow, heavy breath. A close-up of her raw, red ankles with dried blood caked on the restraints rest down by her bare feet.

The unknown series of events happening to her have caused a psychological break... ripping open the long closed gates of the past, as resisted traumas return with a vengeance.

Audrey lays helpless as her short, white hair recently soaked wet lays draped over her face... She stares at the dark, concrete slabbed wall in a trance while she softly sings to herself.

"A thing of beautyy.. i knoww... will never faade away, what you did to mee... I knoww" A single tear runs down her cheek while her tranced facial expression doesn't change.

"What. you. did. to... me-" She repeats as her voice cracks and the tears begin to flow down her face. Audrey recalls a memory:

       An indoor explosion causes a huge plume of smoke to fly in through the window of a bullet ridden apartment complex room. Audrey and Zaunya's mother quickly slam up against a wall to take cover in the room as large caliber rounds effortlessly penetrate the thin walls. Shrouded in thick smoke and surrounded by chaos, various heavy boots are heard scrambling around the complex to the sound of booming gunfire as unknown people scream out in pain and panic. Zaunya's mom shifts her position and rests her back up against a shredded dresser as Audrey drops her gun and quickly takes cover next to her.

"WE HAVE TO STOP HERE! YOU'RE OVER-CLOCKING AND LOSING TOO MUCH BLOOD!!"

"So fuckin' PATCH ME UP THEN!!" Zaunya's mom shouts aggressively causing Audrey to quickly pull out suppressants and several tools. She begins to work on Zaunya's mom leaking excessive amounts of blood out of various wounds gathered over the course of a brutal and extensive operation with impossible odds. Being a finely honed weapon of war, Zaunya's mom quickly barks into her comms to the support leader of the op.

= TELL THE UNIT TO GET READY TO MOVE! WE'RE DOING THE KILL SWEEP IN 3!!! =

"-This has gotta be the last offensive we do Zayta. We can't fuckin keep. coming. out here like this!!" Audrey franticly shouts cracking her voice. Zaunya's mom, Zayta breathing heavy stares deep into Audrey's eyes with an emotionless gaze... watching her quickly work on her. Audrey continues.

"Anytime you're still thinking of volunteering for shit like this think of your daughter huh? Understand me!?" Audrey shouts frustrated with her adrenaline surging.

"My daughter..." Zayta says injured and exhausted.. sat up against the dresser, looking down. "They're... they're turning her into a weapon... there's... th... there's nothing i can do to stop it..." She says before pausing and slowing her breathing. "...I need your help Audrey."

"I won't BE ABLE to help you if we don't fucking make. it. out of here!! Hold this.." Audrey demands causing Zayta to hold onto a length of synth gauze wrapped around her arm. A brief pause allows the sounds of burning flames and gunfire to take over, Zayta continues to stare deep into Audrey's eyes while trying to catch her breath through heavy combat wounds... she speaks in a soft tone.

"We kill for these corpos... the people we're killing... I don't know who they are... or what they've even done... but... you can see... you can see to them... it's worth fighting and dying for."

Audrey continues to franticly work on Zayta. Saying nothing. Zayta continues.

"...What do we fight and die for Audrey."

Audrey half shakes her head while pursing her lips together and continuing to franticly work on Zayta... still saying nothing. Zayta continues in a tired monotone while being lightly jostled around... still staring deep into Audrey's eyes.

"Regard your soldiers... as you would your children... And they will follow you into the deepest valleys... Look upon them as your own beloved-"

"-And they will stand by you even unto death." Audrey says finishing the quote.

"-Even unto death." Zayta repeats while staring at her. The two lock eyes... sharing a moment of silence as the stray sounds of gunfire and combat fill the space. A single tear drops out of Audrey's eye as she breaks eye contact and gets choked up in the moment. "Turn over." Audrey whispers cracking her voice... causing Zayta to turn over giving Audrey a better position to work on her back.

"Zaunya knows who she is Audrey... I... I made sure of it." Zayta says grabbing and clutching onto her iron and gathering herself to move.

"Promise me Audrey... please... make sure she doesn't lose herself." Ending the flashback.

"Don't let them take her." Audrey hears Zayta's voice in her head causing her to whisper it out loud at the same time in a soft tone... still laying in her dark holding room tied up.

"Don't let them take her..." Audrey whispers again to herself without Zayta's voice in her head while still staring at the concrete wall in a trance.

The heavy, rusted iron door to her room creeks and slides open, allowing a dim amount of light to bleed in followed by the sounds of heavy weighted boots approaching her from behind. She's then yanked up from behind by her restraints as she grits her teeth and lets out a feral scream.

       Brian and the merc continue down the dark hallway by scattered debris and the remnants of countless stories. Passing by a room full of mercs smoking, playing cards, and listening to music. They then pass by another room where Brian sees the Ex-Tyger claw they had the deal with laying lifeless on a table being casually gutted. His various implants and body parts lay scattered amongst excessive blood and decay, loosely organized for packing. They make their way down a flight of stairs and down another hallway heading for an exit... as Brian slowly follows behind him he notices the lack of people the closer they get to it. A small room sits beside the exit door that leads outside.. ironically enough, this small room seems to be the only area not completely cluttered in shit for some reason like the rest of the building. The merc steps to the side, now standing in front of the entrance to the small room and gesturing Brian to the exit door.

"Right. Fuck off choom." The merc says dismissively. Just like that, he makes his intention to simply kick Brian out clear.

"Where are the-" Brian asks before hes cut off by the sound of the merc's safety clicking off of his Liberty. The merc points it directly at Brian's face... as the merc opens his mouth to say something, Brian quickly reaches for the gun, forcing it upwards toward the ceiling while simultaneously slamming the merc up against the wall near the doorway with his forearm. The merc attempts to wrestle Brian off of him but greatly underestimates his strength as the two go tumbling into the small room by the exit. Brian, on top of the merc throws an elbow hitting him square in the face, stunning him, but throwing himself off balance at the same time. The thick-chromed merc unfazed by the heavy blow uses the opportunity to punch Brian and roll over on top of him. The merc's chrome now engaged slowly begin to overpower Brian's grip and squeeze his throat like a vice.. pushing the limits of Brian's own chrome's durability as he feels it begin to give. The merc reaches for his iron only to have the bend of his elbow stepped on with full force torquing it in the opposite direction and breaking it. The merc lets out a loud shriek of pain that blends in well with the rest of the chaos and violence occurring across various rooms in the hotel. As the merc falls off of Brian, Brian sees the prisoner he helped free jump on top of the merc and begin to unleash a feral beating on him. He grunts and screams along with the full force of his punches while pinning the merc's broken arm to the floor with his knee.. unleashing a flurry of built up anger and personal resentment. Brian quickly staggers to his feet catching his breath and points the Merc's Liberty at both of them still on the ground. He watches as the prisoner pounds the merc into submission leaving him limp and barely conscious before he takes a quick peek into the dark hallway and sees no one. He then sees the prisoner grab the merc by the collar of his jacket with both hands.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE!?" The prisoner yells gritting his teeth before punching the merc again with full force causing even more blood to spray out of his badly cut, bruised and bleeding face.

"WHERE!?" The prisoner screams in a grunt punching him again before he can even respond. He lifts him again by his collar giving him a chance to speak but only garbles some inaudible words. The prisoner punches him hard again as a result causing Brian to roll his eyes and continue watching. The merc finally collects himself enough to speak.

"Y-You-... you think we... you think we were just gonna let her go?... You stupid... STUPID FUCKIN' GONK. hahahaaa!!!" The merc says coughing up blood and struggling to breathe before smiling through his bloody teeth causing the prisoner to look into his eyes with fear and disbelief... He continues after noticing the prisoner's reaction.

"Yeah.. that's right motherfucker. We took her... stripped ALL of her parts... had some pretty decent chrome on her too... But not before we each had a taste of her sweet, delicious-"

       The prisoner silences him by punching his fist into his mouth and gradually shoving it further and further down the merc's throat causing him to open his eyes wide while gagging and shaking uncontrollably. The prisoner progressively shoves his first further into his mouth past his wrist and halfway up his forearm, cracking teeth and causing the merc to shoot blood and vomit up all over his arm while making gruesome noises. Brian lowers his eyebrows while continuing to silently watch on at the brutal execution. As the merc's body convulses and seizes up, the prisoner watches the light slowly drain from his eyes while trying to get his breathing under control. As the merc lay there lifeless, the prisoner then yanks his bloody, vomit covered arm out of his throat before tossing a bloody chunk of viscera off to the side and staring deep into the dead mercs eyes.

       Before allowing himself to become overwhelmed with emotion, he glances back over his shoulder slightly and notices Brian watching on. This causes him to immediately bury his emotions while feeling vulnerable... he shakes some of the blood off of his arm and wipes the rest clean with the dead merc's shirt. He yanks the merc upward, ripping his jacket off and promptly putting it on himself while crouched down. He checks the corpse's pockets as Brian walks over to him. Brian interrupts the prisoner's looting and using his foot to kick the dead merc and roll him over onto his stomach revealing his Blood Red Crimson Nue tucked in the back of his waistband. Brian grabs his iron and racks the slide while the prisoner gets up and talks fast but subtle, with a quick witted monotone.

"We gotta delta. Not keen on bein' here when they find this scop."

"I'm not goin' anywhere. They've still got some of my people."

"Yeah well, all mine are dead by now... the ones that matter at least." The prisoner says raising his eyes brows and tilting his head slightly. He pauses briefly then glances over at Brian with a nod. "Blix. Carter Blix."

"Brian Varga."

Carter gives Brian a quick once over and sees his very distinguishable face scar on his jawline trailing down his neck to his chest. "Preem scar. Mantis Blade? Or ya get that from eatin' pussy?" He asks with a grin showing his bloody teeth. The joke catches Brian off guard as he grins, scoffs and chuckles all at the same time.

Carter continues after thinking a bit and raising his eyebrows again.

"Well, i'd be a liar if I said I didn't plan on seein' these gonks again real soon." He then looks Brian in the eyes. "Lets motor."

Brian steps toward Carter handing him the dead merc's liberty. Cutting to black.

Chapter Text

The sound of heavy weighted boots walking side by side echoes throughout the long dark halls of the Hotel Pistis Sophia.

In Night City, trust can be hard to come by... however... strangers uniting behind a common enemy or cause can sometimes be an everyday occurrence. The violence and tyranny at play all but calls for it by the people its inflicted on... but when the threat has been eliminated or sent packing... What's left..? What CAN be left..?

A big, heavyset merc wanders out into the hall from a room to see Brian and Carter walking towards him.

"HEY!!!!!!!!" The merc roars in rage at the top of his lungs-

*BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!* Brian and Carter unload a series of shots simultaneously into the Merc dropping him instantly to his knees lifeless as they continue to walk forward at the same pace. Brian front kicks the dead merc in his chest slamming him onto his back causing dust to kick up in the dirty hallway as the pair step over him. The crack of the gunfire puts them on a timer... Carter breaks left while Brian breaks right... each engaging various enemies.

       Brian enters a room and sees a merc in the middle of raising his copperhead assault rifle toward the door. Brian grabs the barrel of the rifle and pushes it upward toward the ceiling while shoving the merc up against a wall. The copperhead lets out a loud burst, blasting holes into the ceiling as Brian unloads 2 shots into the merc's gut and a final one to the head. He then quickly spins around with both hands clasping his iron to see a second merc firing at him who he drops with a single headshot. Carter enters a separate room and is immediately hit in the head with a metal bat by a merc hiding up against the wall, stunning him slightly. The second swing of the bat comes down as Carter instinctually raises his arm to block it, he meets it in the middle and dents the bat in half on impact against his forearm. He raises his Liberty up to the mercs chin and pulls the trigger, sending blood and brains shooting up to the ceiling of the room. He turns around to see another unarmed merc trying to flee and take cover by diving behind a couch. Carter raises the Liberty with one hand while exiting the room and takes a no-look shot, hitting the merc in the back of the head and sending him tumbling over the couch.

       Brian and Carter meet each other back in the hallway, continuing up the stairs and reloading. A merc at the top of the staircase aims down and sends a series of shots from his iron down at the pair causing them to quickly duck and return fire. The merc comes tumbling down the stairs past them full of bullet holes with blood streaking underneath him. They quickly step past the tumbling body, race up the stairs and are met by a huge chromed out merc, looking nearly full borg carrying a Militech Mk. 31 HMG at the far end of the hallway.

"HOLLLLD STILLLL MOTHERFUCKERSSS!!!! HAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!!" The merc roars down the hallway as he unloads the Mk 31. The concussive shockwaves of the rounds vibrate the thin narrow halls as giant flaming rounds go flying down it. Brian and Carter again split in opposite directions into separate rooms as several mercs come racing down the hall past the borg. Carter busts into a room with his shoulder smashing the door and flying in hitting the floor. He looks up to see 8 women in it as they all shriek in fear huddled up in a corner as he quickly returns to his feet. They appear to be dolls and joytoys brought here for a client who never allowed them to leave. He looks at the women and raises his eyebrows with a smirk on his face.

"Ladies." He says in a greeting tone like a gentleman before we cut over to Brian in a dead lock with a merc nearly equal his size. Brian uses his footwork to shift the merc's weight and momentum off balance, tripping him. The merc reaches for Brian's gun hand and swats his Nue away, sending it flying across the room and hitting a wall with a heavy impact and letting off a stray shot. As the 2 fall to the floor Brian reaches for an empty glass bottle, pins the merc down with his forearm and smashes the bottle over his face sending glass shards and blood flying. He then uses a sharpened edge to stab the merc multiple times in the face and neck. Another merc blasts in through a door to the room with a shotgun and points it toward Brian. Brian grabs the bloody dead merc hes on top of and rolls the corpse nearly on top of himself as the live merc sends a shotgun blast at him. The dead merc's corpse catches the shell putting a huge hole in its back sending a glob of yellow synthblood spraying into the air. Brian then grabs the dead merc's gun out of his belt waist and raises up past the corpse shooting the shotgun merc twice in the face dropping him.

The ladies are next seen screaming and scattering wildly down the hall in fear toward several mercs headed for Carter's room. As the mercs hesitant to shoot the ladies try to aim past them, several of them are knocked off balance while some are pushed to the ground in the chaos.

One of the mercs shoves one of the ladies out of the way; "MOVE!!!" he screams. As he shoves her to the ground he looks up and sees Carter with his Liberty pointed directly at him; he shoots him in the face dropping him instantly. Carter then shoots past several of the other women with ruthless and efficient accuracy dropping several more mercs as gunsmoke and bullets continue to fly. He grabs one of the fleeing ladies by the back of her hair causing her to scream and lose her balance as he yanks her back towards him. He pulls her into his chest and turns his back toward a merc firing at the two of them as a couple slugs hit him in the back. Carter then turns to face the merc while still holding the woman down and fires several rounds hitting him multiple times in the neck and dropping him. The woman hes holding onto slaps him in the face and wrestles free from his grip before stumbling and continuing to run away.

At this point, the entire crew as well as backup has been called to the location as over a dozen more mercs are seen entering the hotel and making their way through the halls with iron drawn. Brian and Carter are next seen in the same room back to back.

"Good?!" Brian shouts over the chaos while glancing back at Carter.

"Good!" Carter confirms in an exhausted tone as the pair scramble to reload and check their weapons. They hear the strays sounds of mercs scrambling throughout the various floors and halls of the building while yelling and trying to coordinate. The darkened, hard to see in atmosphere of the place that once served as a tool of psychological intimidation has now become one of their biggest combat disadvantages. As smoke and debris continues to scatter and settle within the area, the pair gather themselves.

"Eyes 360! There's more comin!" Brian says as a flashbang comes flying in through one of the doors causing the pair to scramble for cover at the explosion. An animal then comes charging into the room and attempts to tackle Brian. Brian tries to catch the Animals momentum but instead gets lifted into the air and rammed through several walls one after the other. As the animal goes running through the walls and various rooms holding Brian, he eventually loses his balance and falls on top of him as the two begin to wrestle on the ground. Carter is next seen pinned by his throat up against one of the walls of the original room by another big merc nearly the same size as him. The merc's partner tries to get a clean angle on Carter to shoot but can't due to his partner's massive frame wrestling with Carter. Carter then uses all of his strength struggling to raise up the liberty to the side of the mercs head and pulls the trigger dropping him and releasing his grip. Carter is then shot twice by the backup before he returns fire dropping him with a single headshot and falling down to one knee. Before he can gather himself, he scrambles up to the door they came in from and slams his body up against it in attempt to barricade it. As soon as he does this, a flurry of more bullets along with the giant rounds of the MK. 31 come piercing through the door and walls causing him to duck down and cover his head with his arms overwhelmed by the suppressive fire. The heavy stomping boots of the borged out merc and his backup are heard closing in on Carter's suppressed position.

       As Brian wrestles with The Animal, he's near exhaustion from the entire engagement... the non-stop run through the hotel has pushed him and Carter's bodies to their limits. The animal pulls a knife and attempts to drive it into Brian's face. Brian catches the Animals wrist and re-directs the energy of the stab to his side but is then quickly punched by the animals other fist stunning him. The Animal raises the knife and drives it down a second time but Brian catches the tip of the blade with the palm of his hand as it pierces right through causing Brian to let out a roar of pain. The Animal then uses both hands to push down with the knife.. shoving it deeper through the palm of his hand as Brian struggles to resist the force, gradually losing the deadlock as two of them grunt... straining with all of their strength.

       Suddenly, the high pitched hissing of something hot gradually cutting through metal is heard. The animal on top of Brian shrieks and squeals in pain as he sits up straight after being yanked back by the neck with force. The hot, piercing cord of pink monowire slowly but surely begins cutting through the neck of the animal like a hot knife through butter as blood comes spraying out of it and he hopelessly reaches for it. The monowire finishes cutting through him, severing his head as it lands directly on Brian's chest completely covering him in blood. As excessive amounts of blood continues spraying out of his neck, his body falls to the side off of Brian revealing BugBear standing there with the monowire.

       The suppressive fire raining down on Carter's decaying position abruptly stops as various screams of pain and electric static shock are heard on the other side of the wall. The various mercs are seen dropping like flies as smoke and static sparks shoot out of their bodies and heads to the sounds of screaming in pain. As the full borg holding the MK.13 turns to face down the dark hallway he sees nothing but a small pair of red eyes towards the far end of it. This is the last thing he sees before his vision blurs and his implants begin to short circ. The borg does his best to resist the quickhack only for the pain to sink in even deeper as he lets out an even louder scream of pain while dropping to his knees with a heavy thud. The sheer amount of chrome present provides a landscape of weakpoints to be picked apart with ruthless precision. The inside of the borg's head explodes as the chrome casing housing his brain cushions the muffled explosion and he drops to the floor lifeless with an extremely heavy, weighted thud on wooden floor.

As Netty slowly approaches out of the darkness... eyes still red... he stands over the huge borg and speaks in a dead tone.

"All that chrome and no ice... hm... typical." He says as blood and brains begin to slowly leak out of the holes of his chrome dome onto the dirty carpet. You hear the subtle pops and cracklings of cooking wires and melting chrome.

"Bad move... choom."

Chapter Text

       BugBear reaches down and helps Brian slowly stagger up to his feet. She instinctually gives him a big hug, burying her face in his chest with her eyes closed and holding him tightly. This causes Brian to hug and hold her even tighter as he rests his cheek on top of her head getting blood all over her while breathing in pain and heavy exhaustion... Its clear that the pair are more than just relieved to see each other alive and ok... they genuinely embrace the feeling of safety brought about by trust and familiarity. Giving each other sudden comfort and relief in a place surrounded by violence and death. A testament to their strong, growing bond and trust with one another... they share a very genuine, human moment together.

       They hear the sound of the door to the room slide open causing them both to look over. Netty slowly walks in, stepping over a dead merc with a concerned look on his face, filled with adrenaline and clutching tightly onto that DR5 Nova. When he sees Brian, it causes him to breakdown... completely racked with guilt knowing what happened to the crew in his absence. He can't help but feel the heavy weight of responsibility having not been there... he frantically stumbles over his words as Brian slowly approaches him.

"B-Brian.. I didn't... I... I was- I don't-"

"Come here kid." Brian whispers in a deep tone as he yanks Netty in to his chest for a hug.

"I'm sorry..." Netty says flustered.. cracking his voice while being held tight. "We-"

"Tell me about it later. Zaunya and Audrey... ee have to find them." Brian says cutting him off while still gathering himself.

BugBear searches the body of the headless merc, using her boot to kick him over and check his pockets not finding anything useful. She stands up and responds. "Their trackers have been deaded. Last ping was this same location like yours... Bad sign."

"Then they're not here. We have to get to them... Now." Brian says as they hear the door to the room slide open again causing Netty to quickly turn around, yank back the hammer and aim his DR5 Nova. His wrist is quickly swatted down and grabbed by Brian causing a loud skin slapping noise as the 2 look at Carter enter through the door. With fresh wounds and blood still running down the side of his head, hes gathered all of his gear they had stashed in the hotel including his signature black leather trench coat with a high collar. He speaks in his normal, fast talking monotone.

"Easy kid. The ones ya gotta worry about've already been fried." He says with his palm out in front of him before he turns his attention to Brian. He steps past Netty up to Brian and hands him his Blood Red, Crimson Nue with direct eye contact. "Yours if i recall." Brian grabs his Iron and checks the magazine before he tucks it. Carter then glances back at Netty, then over to BugBear. "Found em?" He asks looking at Brian.

"Not yet... Not all of em."

Carter raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Big crew huh. Takin' applications?" He says as he steps past Brian and checks out the spattering of blood and debris in the room.

       Suddenly, they all hear the sound of someone moaning in pain out in the halls of the hotel causing them to look at the hallway outside of the room. Brian quickly steps past Netty and Carter out into the hallway as they follow. He sees a badly wounded merc crawling up the hallway away from them streak-dragging blood. The merc reaches for a rifle just out in front of him before having his wrist stepped on by Brian's heavy boot causing him to squeal loudly in pain. Brian then rolls the merc over onto his back and yanks him up with force by his chest.

       A short time has passed, and the group is next seen together in the same room Brian was once being held in. They've sat the barely conscious merc onto the same metal chair Brian was once held on. As he sits there covered in wounds, bloody and stunned the group posts up in various spots in the room. After briefly checking the halls a final time, Carter rests one foot up on a stool with his arms crossed, leaned up against a wall. Netty squats down near another wall with BugBear standing next to him with her arms crossed. Brian slowly paces back and forth as you hear the heavy taps of his boots one after the other. He takes a deep breath while rubbing his eyes with fresh blood running from the knife wound in his hand... he sits down in a chair directly across from the merc.

"I saw you... You watched them bring us here." Brian says in a monotone causing the merc to look up at him.

The merc gathers himself and spits on the ground near Brian's feet. Brian immediately slaps him in the face hard and continues in the same calmed and flat tone.

"There were 2 other women brought here with me."

"FFUCK YOU!!!" The merc screams through his bloody teeth causing Brian to slap him again even harder with a violent thud causing the merc to let out a grunt of pain... sending blood flying and nearly knocking him out of the metal chair. This brutality makes BugBear instinctually turn away and Carter to raise his eyebrows and chuckle.

"Where are they." Brian says in the same calm tone with an emotionless gaze glaring at him. The merc says nothing and continues to stare at Brian with murder in his eyes. Brian stands up over the merc with a brief silence... the look they exchange clearly says everything that the both of them need to know.

       Brian turns back and looks at Carter. "Shake the place." He says causing Carter to promptly head for the doorway. He then steps over to BugBear and places the palm of his hand on her back, leans in and whispers something into her ear. She looks at him with hesitation and discomfort... seeing a different man she knows and understands, but doesn't fully recognize as she nods in agreement at the unheard directions. Brian takes a last look at the now confused merc before exiting the room with Carter as BugBear slowly approaches him with her arms crossed.

       As Brian and carter clear rooms, they find no one... Each room housed remnants of different stories. Dried blood, scattered equipment and shredded clothing littered most of them. As Brian enters one of the many dark rooms throughout the halls he hears the sounds of someone struggling to breathe and spitting up pooled blood causing him to look over with iron drawn.

He sees a young woman he doesn't recognize... she's been badly beaten and tortured... laying in her shredded clothing near a corner of the room nearby chain restraints. He lowers his iron as he slowly steps toward the woman... she coughs up blood and struggles to breathe as he gets down on his knees and gently cradles her in his arms.

"Hey... hey... shh... it's ok.. shh.. shh... its ok" He whispers in a gentle tone. She coughs up more blood as her eyes open wide to Brian cradling her. She reaches for him as she struggles to speak through pooled blood running out of her mouth. The various cuts and bruises have done their job of ruining an otherwise beautiful face owned by the petite and frail young woman. His adrenaline fueled, racing mind can't help but recognize the feint resemblance she has to Marilyn... this triggers him to see her face on the young lady in an intense, onset moment of post traumatic stress. The sudden feeling of Marilyn... once again in his arms breaks him as he begins to mutter in a deep, soft tone... holding the unknown young lady extremely tight. "No... no no no don't do this to me baby... Don't do this to me please no... don't do this to me... please..." The unfamiliarity in her voice abruptly snaps him out of his episode as he struggles to refocus and catch his breath.

"They... they took them... all.. they...they k-... killed.. all... all of us." She forces out of her mouth filled with blood while gasping for air with distress on her face. Brian stares deep into her eyes as emotion begins to overwhelm her. She grabs Brian by the collar of his jacket, holding him tight and spitting up more blood. This triggers the memory of Graves' death in his mind causing him to grab and hold onto her even tighter.

"K-... Kill them... Kill... k-..kill them all huh... D-.. Don't...Don't let them... Don't let them do this again" She struggles to say filled with emotion, before she begins to convulse. Her gasps for air become sporadic before her grip on Brian's jacket slowly loosens and she quietly fades away in his arms... Brian lays the young lady down gently. As her head turns to the side, a single tear trails out of her now lifeless eyes down her bloody cheek... Brian gently closes them and places her hands across her chest... sitting in the long, dead silence of the moment with her.

The ever present white noise of the environment rests somberly alongside the pair shrouded in darkness...

"Yo, found nothin downstai-" Carter says as he quickly thumps in and sees Brian cradling the now lifeless young lady. "Shit." He says with a look of disbelief on his face.

Brian glances back over his shoulder at him before looking back down at the woman. "Didn't know her."

"Oh fuck.." Carter says while letting out a sigh of relief

"We have to find them." Brian says in a serious tone Carter's never heard while he stares down at the young woman.

"Holy shit..." Netty whispers to himself under his breath with shock on his face as he looks on at BugBear connected directly into the restrained merc's neuro socket. The merc screams in immense pain as his body twitches uncontrollably and his intense flailing breaks his restraints. His eyes roll into the back of his head as nearly falls out of the chair completely tense and unable to breathe due to the pain. BugBear quickly grabs him by the throat and pins him to the chair while gritting her teeth with her eyes glowing red. As she increases the intensity of the hack, Netty looks on both intimidated and aroused as he begins to see the variety of her true nature; What shes capable of, and what shes willing to do. He says nothing and continues to look on in slight discomfort with a desire to see what happens next.

Brian and Carter re-enter the room and are taken aback by the screaming merc and relentless brutality of BugBear's methods. Brian looks over at Netty with a 'what the fuck?' expression on his face. Netty returns the look with a 'I have no fuckin' idea' expression on his face.

"Haha, holy shit..." Carter says under his breath with a smirk while raising his eyebrows impressed. He casually walks over back to his spot in the room.

"Bear..?" Brian says walking up to BugBear. She ignores him as the sound of the merc's screams of agonizing pain fill the room.

"BEAR!" Brian shouts over the merc's screaming as he places a hand on BugBear's shoulder causing her to glance back at him with her red eyes. She takes a final look at the merc and reluctantly unplugs from his neurosocket, relieving the pressure as he lets out a scared and painful whimper. She stands over him. "Piece of shit.." she says under her breath as she steps away and Brian gets in between them. As the merc attempts to re-gather himself Brian grabs him by the throat further straining his ability to breathe.

"WHERE! ARE THEY..." Brian says forcefully gritting his teeth and pulling the merc in close.

"C-c..crss street" The merc gurgles

"What? What did you SAY!?" Brian says with angst grabbing the mercs shirt and releasing some of the pressure on his neck.

"C-cr...Cross... the street" The merc says letting out an exhale. Brian immediately lets go of him and takes a step back causing the merc to nearly fall out of his chair and vomit all over himself. Brian looks over at BugBear who immediately storms out of the room completely pissed off with fire in her eyes.

As Brian begins to quickly follow behind her he stops and takes a glance at Netty directly in his eyes with a serious expression.

"Kid." He says causing Netty to look over at him.

"Zero em." Brian says in a dead tone looking the merc up and down before leaving the room behind BugBear. Carter with uncertainty on his face glances at Brian, then at Netty before he quickly follows Brian out of the room... leaving Netty alone with the dying merc.

Netty's heart drops at the given order. Although hes flatlined his fair share of gonks, pulling the trigger with iron in hand is a completely different story. Something hes never done before, and something his father made sure he knew all too well what the differences are. Netty gulps and takes a deep breath while clutching on tightly, and looking down at that DR5 Nova. The bloodied merc, still completely stunned, raises his head and gets a look at Netty. Netty slowly steps in front of the merc and slowly raises the DR5 Nova up to his face with his hand shaking.

"N-NO NO! PLEASE! P-PLEASE!" The merc screams causing Netty to flinch and lower the iron slightly. A look of fear and uncertainty washes over him as he listens to the dying Merc unexpectedly begging and pleading for his life with heavy emotion and desperation in his voice.

"P- PLEASE choom! I- I've got kids! I got a family waiting for me out there! They don't even know where i'm at right now. They've... they've been trying to call me! PLEASE! J-Just let me go! I'll leave NC for good yeah? Y-You'll never see me again! I swear! PLEASE! T-THIS AIN'T HUMAN MAN! PLEASE!"

With the DR5 Nova only halfway raised up Netty's hand continues to shake uncontrollably. With his eyes wide open he breaks out into a sweat and begins to panic... nearly hyperventilating.

       
       Before he can gather himself fully he hears the sound of heavy footsteps approaching behind him and the safety of a gun clicking off. Before he can even turn around multiple booming gunshots are unloaded into the merc causing Netty to flinch and fall down out of the way while covering his head. Netty looks up to see Carter standing over the now dead merc full of bullet holes and smoke slowly rising. After a brief pause, he speaks.

"First ones always the hardest." Carter says with his back turned to Netty.

"It ain't the first one ya gotta worry about-" He continues while offering a hand and helping Netty up to his feet who is still flustered and gathering himself.

"Its how easy the rest happen after that." He says while looking Netty in the eyes. Netty returns the look... still trying to calm down.

"Worry about that... before it starts." He concludes before looking at the dead merc briefly and exiting the room.

Netty stares at the dead merc leaking blood out of his head and chest with trauma and disbelief... Fading to black.

Chapter Text

       The calm ocean waves of Pacifica gently grace the sands of the beach one pull after another. The neighboring quiet chaos of Night City matches the tone and energy of the starless night sky and the baron tattered streets. The silhouettes of Brian and the crew march together up to the building they hope Zaunya and Audrey are being held in. As Brian leads the march, he hears the sounds of the crew racking their iron and preparing their kit alongside their confident footsteps on wet pavement through the quiet streets.

His mind begins to race with possibilities on what may have happened or what could be happening to the women. A quick flash of the dead young lady's face back at the Hotel Pistis Sophia enters his head. The moment that has engraved itself in his mind revisits... laying her limp body gently to the floor and watching a single tear run out of her lifeless eyes as her head turned.

He hears the sudden scream of Marilyn's voice come back into his head... continuing to haunt him during his times of stress and uncertainty. "NO NO! PLEASE! VARGA!! VARGAAAAA!!!!!"

He shuts the intrusive thoughts down and locks in.. drawing his Nue and clutching it tight. He speaks to the crew while they continue to walk.

"There's gonna be more in there. They gotta know whats goin' on by now. Eyes open. Keep up... match my pace." He says to them sternly. They stack up on both sides of the building entrance as a homeless man trying to mind his own business passes by on the sidewalk. He gets a glance at the crew and decides to quickly cross the street toward the beach instead. BugBear quick hacks into a tattered surveillance camera of the building watching the street, granting her access to several of the cameras inside. She quickly scans through the available ones giving a limited view into various rooms.

"Nothing so far... place looks emptied out-.. Wait, shit. I see a few of them. They're hunkered down toward the back. Alot of iron... They're waiting... ready."

"How many." Brian whispers

"uhh.. I see 6 in the front and like 8 more upstairs. They're still scrambling around."

"Netty, get the door." Brian orders causing Netty to quick hack the security access panel next to the door. The light on the door turns green. Brian gives Carter and BugBear a nod as they all ready their iron to enter.

       

       BugBear with the gang goons in line of sight through the camera remains in deep focus. With her eyes still glowing red, she navigates her custom pink runner interface with her various personalized logos and branding on it, one being an angry robotic cat baring its teeth and roaring. She targets the various goons while cycling through her programs. "Just a... sec more... and... done.. Short circ with an optics reboot incoming.. And not much in the way of resistance either! They're mine." She says with an intense look on her face with her eyes glowing red.

"NOW!" Brian yells as they yank the door open and storm in. Brian takes lead with Carter as BugBear and Netty hang back. Carter raises his custom jet-black Guillotine with a high polish finish that catches the dim light perfectly making it gleam and pushes forward alongside Brian. They see a once prepared group of mercs with their guns trained in their direction now completely compromised with some stumbling around blinded. They drop several of the sight and cyberware compromised mercs panic shooting and struggling to clear their vision with ruthless efficiency and a sudden onset of loud booming gunshots ringing throughout the building.

       The sounds of their brutal work is heard upstairs by the other mercs as some of them stay put and several sprint for the staircase. The several that sprint for the staircase are met at the top by a couple of thrown flashbangs that go off right near their faces. The closest mercs to the explosion have their heads nearly blown off by the concussive force, dropping them instantly and blinding the waiting mercs on the top floor. Brian keeps the merc's body propped up with his own strength, using it to push forward as multiple heavy rounds are fired into the back of the corpse by the rest of the waiting shooters. As Brian draws the fire of the mercs on him, Carter pushes up behind him spraying the mercs with precise Guillotine bursts. Carter takes a heavy round to the shoulder knocking him off balance as he slams up against a wall in the hallway, leaving blood behind on impact. Brian shoves the dead merc he was running with on top of another posted at the end of the hallway in front of a door. The dead weight of the body catches the merc off guard and knocks his giant 6 foot 5 frame off balance. Brian leaps up into the air over the falling dead body and knees the huge merc right in the face with full force nearly knocking him out. The force of the impact knocks the two of them off balance sending a bunch of blood from the merc's face spraying onto a nearby wall as they go tumbling to the floor. Carter quickly walks up behind them and rips chunks out of the back of the merc's skull with his Guillotine. As Brian shoves the corpse off of him, Carter helps him up to his feet.

Without missing a beat Brian turns his full attention over to the door the merc was guarding as he franticly struggles to open it. He desperately bangs on the heavy iron door several times while hopelessly trying to yank it open. Carter looks on while watching his back.

As Brian struggles helplessly with the door... his anxiety runs rampant and his worst fears begin to rush through his mind. "Am i too late!?" He thinks to himself as his eyes open wide and he grits his teeth...

The feelings of uncertainty and desperation grab ahold of him and bare down...

He hears the feint shriek of a scared woman in his head alongside Marilyn's playful giggle.

Various thoughts race through his mind untamed as the intensity of the moment builds.

"Has this all been for nothing...? Did i fail... again...?"

The door abruptly turns green and slides open as Netty and BugBear slowly make their way up the stairs through the brutal carnage of the building. Seeing various clouds of smoke, debris and street toughs pooling excess blood underneath their lifeless corpses. All of them sporting headshots.

Brian rushes into the room and stops in his tracks with his eyes and mouth wide open...

       He sees Audrey alone in the center of the room... in her white bra and panties, with her hands tied behind her back, and a stray rope around her neck like a dog leash. She lays with her back towards them in the darkened room now lit by the dim hallway light behind them. She's... lethargic and frail... barely conscious as Brian gets down on his knees and works quickly to untie her restraints around her wrists and ankles. She begins to whimper and moan in a daze as she comes too. "N- No.." she helplessly says with no strength left before she hears the sound of Brian's deep, gentle voice.

"Audrey! Audrey.. its me.. shh.. shh.. its me." He says causing her to gather her attention towards him. The sound of his voice causes her to break down... As the restraints around her raw, red wrists and ankles come off, she turns to face him while still laid on the ground. She sits up and hugs him around the neck tightly, pulling him down as tears begin to run down her face and the intensity of her emotions in the moment overwhelm her.

"They tried to-" She cries uncontrollably into Brian's shoulder... causing him to pull her into his chest even tighter.

"My god.." He says overwhelmed letting out a sigh of relief, looking up at the ceiling as emotion begins to consume him. "I'm here Audrey.. shh.. its ok.. i'm here.. shh.. its ok...its ok..."

They share a very personal... vulnerable embrace with each other.

       BugBear races into the room pushing past Carter and Netty. "AUDREY!" She shouts as tears begin to build in her eyes. She drops to her knees and wraps her arms around Audrey nearly falling on top of her as the pair embrace each other tightly. Brian gets up and sees Netty gathering Audrey's clothes torn and scattered about the room. He steps to Carter completely flustered, with his adrenaline surging.

"There's... there's one more. Zaunya... she... they... they can't-" Brian stumbles over his words before Carter cuts him off, placing his heavy hand on Brian's shoulder and forcing eye contact.

"Hey... hey.. we'll find her, Yeah? We're gonna find her." Carter nods in a deep, reassuring tone. Brian looks at him before looking down and silently nodding in agreement.

Audrey yanks the rope off of her neck and over her head. With blood running out of her mouth, she shouts through her teeth to the group while slowly being helped up by BugBear.

"Basement!... BASEMENT!! I saw them take her there!!" She shouts in pain, filled with frantic emotion causing Brian to look over at her before immediately storming out of the room at full speed.

A final chem fiend looking scav with wirey hair and goggles on is seen with his back pressed up against a door while clutching his iron. He sits in the intense, uncertain silence while in a panic. The door gets pounded with a loud bang and great force, pushing him off of it briefly and nearly knocking him off balance... scaring and causing him to press up against the door even harder.

The door blasts open causing the scav to go flying into the corner behind it.

Brian steps into the room...

       He sees Zaunya in the center of it with both her wrists chained and held up by the ceiling with various vials, bottles and needles littered about the floor and a side table. Brian quickly approaches her with full focus and fear in his eyes... Carter enters right behind him and sees the scav attempting to get up to his feet and shoot Brian in the back. He kicks the merc's gun away causing it to fire and sending it flying before proceeding to beat him down relentlessly. Netty enters soon after and joins Carter in beating down the scav as BugBear rushes to free Zaunya from her restraints.

The commotion going on in the room is silent to Brian as he drops to one knee and gently grabs Zaunya's face... she slowly looks up at him as he places his thumb on her bottom lip, revealing her bloody mouth and teeth. In a stunned daze, she gently turns her head away as tears start to build in her eyes.

As her restraints come off... she falls into Brian's chest limp as he wraps his arms around her, grabbing the back of her head and pulling her in tight.

With his mouth open in disbelief, he clutches on tightly to Zaunya with her face buried in his shoulder... He closes his eyes tight.

Chapter Text

Its the late evening as the tapping of high-heel shoes on linoleum returns with a rapid pace. Most staff has long turned in for the night, giving the PetroChem corporate megabuilding a proper echo with each commanding step she takes. When everyone goes home... they take their energy with them. Leaving the office with a very calming, serene air that she just can't get enough of.

       Various corpos lingering about the halls after hours quickly move out of the way at the sight of the woman; some bow their heads and some avoid eye contact all together. She glances around at various people as she makes her way to the elevator. She once again takes advantage of the time alone to hyperventilate and quickly gather herself. This has become one of the few places of privacy in her life.. therefore peace… even if only for a brief moment in a lifestyle filled with the exact opposite… constantly tagged, constantly inventoried… constantly owned. The repetitive nature of this routine can't possibly be healthy for the mind let alone the soul... However, the environment of corpo culture all but demands it. Stripping individuals of identity and sanity…. their very own humanity. She exits the elevator with confidence as she approaches the window to stand by the executive waiting for her smoking a cig.

"We've finally got some traction." He says causing the woman to glance over at him. He continues after pulling up a detailed, corporate blue hologram on a window pane with the neon glowing cityscape as a backdrop, displaying the various pieces of data/information they're reviewing.

"Now that the cleanup protocol is nearly done, the board has given us the leeway to pursuit some various avenues. We got in contact with a local fixer in the area on our leash. He's been instructed to put his ear to the ground to any and all activity going on in the streets in and around Arroyo and Rancho. Who's saying what, who's selling what and who saw what. The pay we offered should get him producing results very soon. EPV database access got red taped until further notice due to an unrelated hack."

"Data collection on the warehouse explosion is pretty much completely tapped on our end sir. Research team has moved on to the re-manufacturing of product B. Beginning the exhaustive ordeal of re-obtaining resources and thoroughly re-creating the volatile process of production. By all accounts, the chemical composition of this new CHOO 2 formula is seriously unstable. Took them god knows how long to accumulate what they had previously. Hell.. rumor has it a few of the researchers died in the aftermath of its creation with their families subsequently meeting a fate not too dissimilar... that's off the books intel by the way." She says before pausing for a bit to light a smoke… feeling a comforting air of optimism and momentum in the office, she switches subject after a few drags.

"Is there any new insight on this black project going on?" She asks causing him to take a glance at her with admiration before promptly pulling up Molly's company profile.

While the executive narrates her profile, you see Molly somewhere deep in the dark, neon lit and bustling Night City streets… she turns a corner onto a much quieter street and begins slowly walking
down a long, dark alleyway alone.

"The head of this supposed 'black project' is one Molly Seeker."

Dressed in civilian street clothing and a plain, black baseball cap, Molly occasionally glances over her shoulder being sure not to be followed. She wears a serious look of timid fear and slight excitement on her face being in such unfamiliar territory… gazing up and around at her gritty, alluring yet foreign surroundings no different than your typical tourist would.

"PetroChem auditor in the investigations department. Her profile is all over the place but unmistakably decorated."

Molly reaches her destination and is stopped by the hand of a huge security guard working the door of a completely unmarked establishment... She hears only the very feint sounds of muffled music vibrating through the walls. He leans over to his right allowing his partner to whisper a few unheard things into his ear while they both side eye Molly checking out her tight, thick figure being squeezed tightly by her street clothes. They both smirk while stepping out of her way and welcoming her in with a gesture.

"Long standing seniority within the company. She's done direct work for the board in most major countries and various key places. Russia, Cuba, Ireland, Brazil, China, you name it. Oddly enough at this level, most of her projects are marked as classified. The only constant really being her success rate. Apparently it's the highest in the division... 2nd and 3rd don't even really come close." The executive says impressed.

       Molly is next seen being slowly lead by the soft hand of a gorgeous, petite Russian woman down a vibrant, warm neon hallway. She gazes at her from behind… mesmerized by her tight, petite figure… lustfully eyeing her back all the way down to her barefeet in high heels. various dressed and half naked patrons socialize while huffing, sharing drugs, smoking and caressing each other. The environment is mellow yet carrying an intense, seductive energy being shared and embraced by everyone there... causing her to blend in effortlessly regardless of her inexperienced nervousness

"An excessive amount of classified information on her prior ops… not really worth digging into but she's consistent… and thorough in her work. Apparently shes even responsible for uprooting a couple of the longest sitting board members back in the day... guess they got a little too complacent... over-ambitious. Looks as though it got pretty messy over the course of a long and complex ordeal of an investigation… sent ripples throughout the entire company... certainly re-arranged a lot of pieces on the map. I sent the details of the op over to you earlier today… its one of the few complete public files she has. Other than that, I got access to a majority of her redacted, out of house field work which is… gruesomely impressive to say the least... shes more than effective. Tch… any A30s that high up on the ladder volunteering for intelligence and counter offensives like this, in some of these places? Has got to have a circ or two loose. Its no wonder they decided to relegate her in house to something a little less… bloody. Needless to say… her body of work speaks for itself in a lot of ways."

       Molly, deep within the underground location has her jacket being slowly removed off of her back by the gorgeous Russian woman. She then removes Molly's baseball cap, gently letting her long, flowing white hair down... Molly instinctually shakes it out lightly before taking a moment to look around the room in awe. She sees different pairs and groups of varying wealth and social status throughout it holding, caressing, kissing and fucking each other. Everyone naked while some even had neon body paint that glowed bright amongst the dim, warm lighting... accentuating the toned bodies and bare curves present throughout the colorful space. The seductive tone and energy of the room was unbelievably alluring and sexy… overwhelming Molly's senses and pushing her comfort level to their limits. The amount of surrendered control going on stands out for her in a major way.

       The gorgeous Russian doll whispers into Molly's ear from behind with a soft, sexy Russian accent. "This is not just some place…... this is THE place..." She says as Molly continues to look around the room... hearing the moans... seeing everyone either deeply engaged with each other or swaying... flowing to the energy of the music and environment. Some surrender while being completely taken while others have their thresholds give way to the overwhelming sensations of their desires and simple pleasures. The doll continues in a whisper.

"Lust and pleasure…. exist at the core of our being….. no matter how rich... no matter how smart... no matter how... powerful-…." She trails off mid sentence... completely mesmerized by Molly's incredible figure while slowly removing her clothes from behind. Molly continues to push herself to the edge of her comfort in unfamiliarity... while being fully taken by the environment.

"Welcome... to the home... of your deepest desires…" She whispers through her teeth in Molly's ear… revealing her pearly white, sharpened, vampire like canines while the mellow song of 'Simple Pleasures' takes over. She wraps her arms around Molly from behind and begins to suck on her neck… causing Molly to close her eyes and tilt her head back… exhaling in overwhelming pleasure. The doll slowly caresses Molly's thick curves feeling the soft warmness of her body tense up. As she uses her hands to admire the perfections of Molly's body, she feels a deep, intense sensation of desire hit her hard... a different… uncontrollable feeling of desire that shes never felt before… it lustfully fuels her hunger for more as she increases the intensity of her touch all over Molly's body. As the doll begins to overwhelm her, the pair blend into the busy room... everyone indistinguishable... connected through pure sensation.

"Them bringing her in only spells trouble for us... if she decides to dig deep enough- we're finished. This needs to remain a simple mishap brought about by some low level corporate ineptitude and some random gung ho street rats… nothing more."

"Highly decorated... hmm... what's the catch with this one sir..?" She asks the exec while the tapping of her high heels on the marble floor takes over briefly as she paces about.

"She's... reckless and chaotic. Been formally reprimanded over 6 times and has countless insubordination write ups... Several of the current active board members have apparently gone as far as to see to her disciplinary actions personally. As far as I know, over the course of the company's history that's never even happened before… Tch… good luck getting a hold of some of those data entries." He scoffs, raising his eyebrows and taking a drag of his smoke. He continues.

"I mean…. someone this willing to fuck with the edge... its a surprise she's still breathing let alone active." He says before another brief pause and continuing. "It may take some time… but this is no doubt our point of attack."


       Molly is shoved hard onto a couch slightly knocking the wind out of her as the Russian doll hops on top of her thighs straddling her. Molly makes out with her briefly before she blasts a rail of synth coke and feeds the doll one. The doll then pulls out a pink, Black Lace inhaler and takes a deep whiff... exhaling a huge, thick cloud of vibrant pink smoke and intimidating Molly. She places the pink inhaler up to Mollys lips, causing Molly to aggressively jerk her head away and resist. The doll forcefully snatches her throat and pins her to the couch while speaking with a forceful, intense whisper.

"FUCK what you want…. I KNOW. What. You NEED... I can FEEL IT…" She says moaning in a lustful tone before forcing the inhaler up and pressing it to Molly's lips…. forcing her to take a huge whiff of the Lace…. her eyes open wide, then roll to the back of her head briefly as she lets out a surrendering whimper. The doll… overcome by her level of control over Molly is filled with the lustful need to fuck her brains out. She bares her fangs while continuing in a tranced, seductive tone.

"All of your status... all of your power... completely at my MERCY." She growls in a forceful whisper gritting her teeth as she shoves the palm of her hand between Molly's legs. Molly lets out a loud, primal moan of pleasure with her eyes and mouth wide open, blending in perfectly with the various sounds of all the other action happening in the room. The extreme high of a drug shes never done before intensifies the sensitivity in her nerve endings... her entire body tenses up as she squeezes her thighs together tight and curls her toes. The doll moans in an intense explosion of built up lust with her eyes wide open and focused on a surrendered and vulnerable Molly. "Delicious..." She whispers to herself before shoving her tongue in Molly's opened mouth overwhelming her.

"She will be dealt with." The executive concludes in a monotone. Cutting to black.

Chapter Text

       Molly suddenly jolts awake with a deep inhaling gasp... shes been tucked into bed nice and snug with a warm, soft, silk blanket and a fresh bottle of real water waiting for her on the bedside table. Her head feels heavy... carrying along a headache that makes her feel as if shes been hit by a MaxTac AV. She rolls over onto her side to see that she's in a clean, well furnished, beautiful apartment high-rise. The familiar sounds of Night City lay muffled countless floors below her as she looks around at the quiet, opulent and stylish, high-ceiling apartment. Completely lost, and unaware of her location, she shakes the blanket off and sits up in the bed revealing her black bra and panties. She lets out a deep, exhausted shriek of pain as she feels the soreness in her body wash over her. She looks down to see a deep bite on her chest with dried blood around the deep top and bottom row of teeth marks. She slowly reaches to lightly touch it and feels a sharp pain, making her twitch. Her pale neck and wrists were red and raw as she raises her hands to her forehead and lays back onto the bed.

       She then slowly gets out of the bed and stretches before the warm, rising morning sun... wrapping itself around her curves. The sound of her bare feet slapping on the polished wooden floor is heard as she walks up to a huge window pane overlooking the beautiful morning Night Cityscape. She sees a feint reflection of herself before she focuses in on the city. She firmly places the palm of her hand on the glass as she stares deeply out into the city. Unable to understand the immediate feelings she feels when doing this, she fully embraces them for the first time as the city stares back at her...

"Good morning Night City." She whispers softly to herself in a tone of awe with a slight smirk. She re-focuses her attention back to her reflection in the window pane... seeing her own toned, curvy body in her bra and panties. A wave of various thoughts and emotions hit her all at the same time as she stands there overlooking the cityscape and her own reflection overlapping each other in the window.

       She suddenly feels the sensation of belonging... acceptance... as if she's offered forth the enigmatic, feral nature of her true self only to have it embraced with open arms... A feeling she's truly never felt before. In all of her years of travel and work all over the world, nothing has ever given her these sensations. They seemingly all hit her at once causing her to snatch the palm of her hand away from the window and take a step back in discomfort and disbelief... ending her mesmerized gaze out into the cityscape. 'What the hell was that..?' She thinks to herself... intimidated and confused.

She glances to her right and sees her street clothes neatly folded and stacked beside the bed. On top of the clothes rested a small white note written in pink cursive left behind by the Russian doll. She walks up to the clothes and grabs the note, hearing the Russian doll's soft, beautiful voice in her head as she reads:

"You have taken me. And I have taken you. Nothing will ever change that."

"Please. Make yourself at home. I will see you soon. My precious killer. My Milaya."

       Molly looks up with disbelief on her face as she slowly crumples the note, closes her eyes, and puts her hands on her forehead. "Shit..." she whispers to herself under hear breath. She begins to slowly put her t-shirt on and feels another sharp pain on her back causing her to wince and shriek hard. The shirt slowly slides over the deep, red scratches all over her back from nails digging in. She finishes putting on the rest of her clothes and makes for the exit. She sees various personal belongings, pictures and items throughout the apartment that she forces herself to ignore as she leaves. She exits down the elevator, walks through the lobby and makes her way outside.

       A sudden rush of the city sounds and commotion wash over her as various people go about their day. Vendors shouting things for sale, car horns and alarms going off alongside the sounds of sirens and people laughing in conversation. These sounds are a new, welcomed comfort to her that shes quickly growing a fondness for as she makes her way up the street through the dense foot traffic. She walks several blocks up the street, well away from the doll's apartment and takes a seat on the stoop of another apartment complex. She takes a heavy drag of her smoke before taking a deep breath and slowly gathering herself while casually watching various pedestrians and cars pass by. Countless thoughts drift through her hungover and exhausted head as she sits there thinking deeply about not only the prior night... but the entirety of her time spent in Night City. For such a unique and unfamiliar place.. she can't help but feel the belonging.. the sense of kinship lingering just within reach and waiting for an outstretched hand.

She takes all the time she needs before taking another deep breath and letting it out slowly while feeling the remnants of an unforgettable night both mentally and physically.

"Fuck... here we go." She says in a tired tone.

       She rests her cheek on her closed fist as she turns off her geo-block... causing a huge wave of text messages to flood her vision. Countless texts and missed calls from Manny and various associates of the corpo chain frantically trying to contact her scroll in one after the other with the notification sound pinging over and over again. Before they even finish flooding in, a call on the holo comes in from Manny causing her eyes to glow orange.

"Molly!!" He shouts in a genuinely concerned tone before he quickly catches himself and clears his throat. "ehem; Ma'am. A-Are you-? Is everything alright? W-where are you? Team was trying to report you MIA but I didn't let em... as you wished. I think the-"

"Just... come get me Manny..." She responds in a tired tone before disconnecting the holo call and taking another drag of her cig and flicking it.

She gets up off of the stoop and starts to walk up the block... She hears a voice that shes passing by on the sidewalk which grabs her attention... causing her to stop and look over.

"Spare a veteran some change ma'am?"

Without hesitation, Molly transfers 200 eurodollars over to the homeless man. "Of course... Here you go." She says in a soft, genuine tone.

"Knew I saw good in you... God bless."

Hearing the statement causes Molly to pause while continuing to look at the homeless man in the eyes... she responds in a stern tone.

"...There's no good in me."




Before the homeless man can disagree, she walks off into the distance as he watches.

Chapter Text

The fast rolling tires of a Chevillon Emperor come to a screeching halt in front of a high end skyscraper mid sunny day. Molly arrives, dressed in her corpo best... her long white hair was slicked back and tied up in a professional corpo style, the reflection of the light glimmered off her polished, corpo black high heels as they stomp down a marble floored hallway one after the other.

       Shes Escorted by Manny and her unnecessarily large entourage of corpo handlers through their base of operations, an entire floor of a high-end city center skyscraper draped in blood red carpets and white marble decor with gold trim. The entire floor of the building has been cleared out for her and her team's use with restricted access being held by a very select few gathered for a sync meeting. Molly and Manny exit an elevator and make their way down a long, pristine hallway toward the main room at a brisk pace carrying an energy of no nonsense. Molly feels the fabric of her white corpo dress shirt rubbing up hard against her deep back scratches and bite mark. It feels amazing... as if her feral nature has been both tamed and satiated with a stark reminder she can feel with every motion of her body. She ignores the pain, keeping an all business look on her face as her high heels continue to tap heavy on polished marble floor.

       While entering the mainroom with the rest of her personal team waiting patiently for her, they stop their scrambling around and idle conversations with each other and make their way to their seats. Several stacks of documents, datashards and different pictures with paperwork pertaining to the Petrochem warehouse explosion are scattered all over the large conference room table. Some of the various intel includes old records of past operations, former associates turned enemies, various rival corporate executives of interest and their loyal huscle, you name it. An entire private team's worth of investigative work gathered including current active leads. Molly sits down at the head of the table and kicks her high-heeled feet up onto it.

As everyone sits silently waiting for her to speak she glances around at them for a brief moment expectantly.

"...Well..?" She asks lowering her eyebrows causing the various suits in the room to perk up.

"Hello ma'am." One of them says, clearing their throat "Good to see you're ok. Here we've compiled the various data we've accumulated since you touched down including the information you acquired out in the badlands-"

"The long and short of it is this. We were provided a description of 2 people of interest from the receptionist. She informed me that the 2 we're interested in were indeed the occupants of that Colby Butte we found burned and stashed out there. Said they left the motel several days later in a different vehicle after burning the Butte... of course.. not sure of which one. She also said that wasn't something all that uncommon out there." Molly says chuckling in amusement.

"So we're unfortunately unable to know who the owner of the Butte may have been. Nor do we know the vehicle they left with" One of the suits in the room says at the table chiming in.

"Fuck the small breadcrumbs. Whoever they are, they've already proven they can play that game well. Following a small lead at a time will get us nowhere at best and running in circles at worst." Molly says before pulling out a smoke and crossing her bare legs in her corpo black thigh high skirt. Manny quickly produces a lighter and lights her smoke for her before standing back at attention behind her. She continues in a relaxed tone after taking a drag.

"Lets think back to the original action... the potential motives are few and far between. Nothing as far as we know was taken... it was clearly a forced breach in security and NOT an accident. This was a completely unmarked location of interest and access was obtained through a very specific pathway... through very specific means." She takes another drag of her smoke before continuing.

"This tells me it was someone with inside knowledge and understanding."

"An insider ma'am?" One of the corpo women in the room asks curious

"Mm. One who knows how to hit where it hurts... I've seen my fair share of blackmail attempts, inner company sabotage, and coordinated regime takeovers but this... this is different... this feels... personal... emotional." Molly replies as the conversation in the conference room continues to flow.

"There's any number of enemies we've made in the industry over the years that can have an interest in hurting us in any way possible. Sovoil doesn't skip my mind for a second." Another suit in the room says.

"The known enemy strikes where you're prepared to be hit... the unknown enemy strikes where you dread to even be grazed..." She says looking over at the suit before she takes another drag of her smoke while they all ponder. She continues.

"Needless to say, i'd go as far as to wager this isn't competition... oh no... this... this is a punch in the face... an assault from someone who not only wants to make the company hurt... but is more than likely hurt themselves. Hmm..."

"We have several other pieces of intel in the way of events of the week ma'am. This city is entrenched in serious fuckin' chaos. I almost didn't believe the amount of corpo involved violence activity reports we pulled but one in particular stood out. A car chase that occurred days prior to the warehouse sabotage involved several PetroChem contractors tasked with security of our particular warehouse. They pursued a T66 Avenger driven by an unknown occupant through a slum neighborhood... however they never reported back. Both vehicles had been mostly stripped before the area could be thoroughly secured and investigated."

"Mmm.. Now THERE'S something." Molly replies while reaching onto the white marble conference table. She then slots the waiting black and gold datashard with the team's gathered intel on the topic as her eyes begin to glow blue. With her feet still kicked up, she takes a few more puffs of smoke while various other suits light their own cigs amidst the waiting silence. After a few drags, one of them breaks it.

"We're ready for your next steps ma'am."

Molly continues to silently sift through various pieces of thoroughly gathered data with her eyes glowing blue. The team glances around at each other in their red leather chairs in the silent high-end conference room awaiting a call from Molly. She takes several more minutes of assessment before her eyes stop glowing blue causing the rest of the corpo team to perk up and listen.

"This is clearly a delicate investigation. The people involved in this are intelligent, highly capable and motivated for currently unknown reasons. Due to the unique... extreme nature of the environment this case resides in, as well as various in-house factors, i'll be unable to approach this conventionally. In order to ensure the highest probability of success, it'll work to my advantage to continue light in this investigation, and proceed without further encumbrance by an unnecessarily large operation and security detail."

You can cut the silent tension in the air with a knife... Molly pauses while taking a heavy drag of her smoke before putting it out in a pristine, unused, glass PetroChem ashtray... stamping the burning cherry out right in the center of the logo.

"I'm hereby officially deeming this black project's classification to: Redacted. Under article 9, subsection PCx dash 726: Company Policy."

The statement causes several of the suits in the room to subtly gasp and look at each other with disbelief and angst. She continues.

"I will be submitting a formal request to extend my investigation into this matter until further notice. I, along with Manny will thoroughly parse through the provided data, and pursue the various leads in a manner appropriate to the required process necessary to succeed in this investigation." Molly concludes in a serious, professional tone we've never heard before causing the various suits in the room to quickly glance around at each other in silent confusion.

She removes her feet from the table. "Yeah, that's correct. You're all fired."

She gets up out of the chair causing the various suits sat around the conference table to quickly stand up and bow their heads in silence. She makes for the exit with Manny promptly following behind her leaving them speechless in the conference room.

"Please feel free to disregard the associated mandatory debriefing. Oh, and don't worry about me, resources and Huscle are but a holobuzz away... i'm sure you're all no doubt DEATHLY concerned for my well being." She says sarcastically. "Note that your re-assignments will be sure to come in due time. Thank you all, of course, for your efforts and continued faithful service to blah blah blah blah." Molly concludes dismissively as the sound of her high heels tapping on the marble floor exit the conference room.

She presses a button on the elevator to the ground floor as it hums slowly heading down.

"I am fucking starving.." Molly says with a tired exhale before glancing over at Manny. She notices him smiling with his big arms crossed.

"What is it?" She asks.

"Company Policy classification huh?... Heard thats only been done like 3 times in PetroChem's history... under redacted even?... heh... I've always known you to be a bit of a wildcard but even for you this is pretty fuckin' close to the edge."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Sure it is. Remember Colombia? Germany?... San Francisco?"

"Eh.. maybe... This feels different though... This city is unpredictable... chaotic. Too many layers... too many factors at play to keep up with. We're gonna need to consolidate and be thorough. Intel usually doesn't tend to splinter and scatter about like it has here... constantly changing even. Trust here seems more like an imaginative concept than a real one... more of a tool or a weapon as apposed to a pillar of morality. Gonna need you focused and ready for x-factors... need you to trust me."

"Heh, When have I ever not?... Consider it a uhh... personal 'Company Policy' classification of mine." He replies in a deep tone causing the pair to giggle amongst each other... sharing a brief, wholesome moment together... shining a subtle light onto their connection before the gentle hum of the elevator takes back over.

"What are you STILL smiling about?" Molly asks laughing with a smile.

"Just love when you take charge of an op ma'am. Results speak for themselves... You know i've got your back." He says looking forward.

The elevator dings open, cutting to black.

Chapter Text

       We open up with a flashback to the lead merc who kidnapped Brian, Zaunya and Audrey and brought them back to the Hotel Pistis Sophia: He slowly walks down a dark hallway in the hotel... occasionally glancing into various rooms as he makes his rounds and overlooks activity like a logistics manager. He enters a supply room filled with various tools and equipment they use throughout the hotel. He makes a call on the holo causing his eyes to glow orange. The call is answered.



=Monica. Its Rob.=

=Rob...? What the hell do you want? Got any idea what time it is?=

=Think I got somethin' preem for ya. Fresh crop just came in a little earlier. Chicks sportin' some serious chrome... Had Kenny run some spec scans on her. Said shes been chipped with a bunch of custom pieces hes never even seen before. Military grade combatware and a bunch of Shit not even registered or on market. Had a few data shards on her with a bunch of Corporate intel and shit on different corpo projects... locations involving PetroChem.=

=Mm.. interesting. Sounds like a hell of a catch.=

=You know what that usually means right?=

=Sure.. Corpo.=

=Bingo.=

=Dangerous endeavor choom. High-end mystery chrome is some real, up there, corporate illuminati level shit. Try to think of it like havin' a tickin' time bomb on your hands... someone's bound to come sniffin' around sooner rather than later. Might be best to just yank her off the reel and toss her back. Think you might've grabbed somebodies' runaway?=

=Shit, well, with the chemical concoction Tweak is givin' her, she probably doesn't even know what planet she's on at this point... made sure Rhonda's got a jammer up just in case... And, Dunno... Streets been silent these days when it comes to the corps... hmm. I'll hit up a few fixers... See what I can find out-=

=Wait! Do you remember that warehouse that blew up over in Arroyo a while back?=

=Uhh.. Yeah, what about it?=

=Streets ended up finding out it was a PetroChem warehouse! They put out a juicy reward for info on who did it. That chicks gotta be involved!=

=Hm... Dunno. Sure they haven't found em already..? Corpos aren't really the type to let some shit like this just slip through the cracks. NCs always got the next crazy event goin' on after all... meanin' they're not the type to be draggin' their feet. =

=Fuck that! I'm gonna make some calls. Watch her like a fuckin hawk Rob! Understand me? Do NOT process her. I'm on my way down there RIGHT now. We're gonna be RICH!= The merc ends the holo call, Ending the flashback.

       Brian drives the Galena G240 through the dark and quieted Night City streets as the mellow rumbling of the engine warms the space. Its close to 2am as the neon glow of the streets flickers into the interior of the car. Zaunya is seen in the backseat being cradled in Audrey's arms asleep while Carter rides shotgun staring longingly out of the window. Its clear that hes in a trance... thinking deeply about something significant. Brian picks up on this energy and chooses not to think about it... instead frequently looking into the rearview mirror silently checking on Zaunya and Audrey.

BugBear on her yellow ARCH Nazaré Racer with Netty on the back holding on tight, drives closely behind Brian's car as they leave Pacifica. The tone and energy of the crew is somber and exhausted. Having just been through a traumatic event, the experience has affected them all... leaving lasting marks in various ways. Most haven't had the time to process the traumatic series of events that have just transpired... however one thing is certain and undeniable: They're together.

Events like this... drive people closer together in an absolute fashion... sealing often unbreakable bonds through emotion and the unspoken word.

Connection through pain- You see Carter with his bloody face barely wiped staring down out the window somberly

Connection through violence- You see BugBear through her helmet visor with a serious look of anger on her face.

Connection through love... You see Brian in the driver's seat looking into the rearview mirror at a passed out Zaunya in Audrey's arms.

The wires that bind us are often not tightened by the forces that drive us closer together. They're tightened by the forces that try to rip us apart.

"Right here's fine." Carter softly says as Brian slowly pulls the car over and BugBear stops the bike behind them. Carter glances into the back seat and nods at Audrey whom returns the nod... he hops out and closes the door. He then reaches through the opened window and shakes Brian's hand.

"Be in touch" Carter says in a low tone. He pats the roof of the Galena a couple times before turning and walking away up the street while Brian and BugBear pull off.

The crew is next seen slowly pulling up to Netaniel's house. Brian pulls the car forward as the bike slowly pulls up behind them. He hops off the back of her bike and walks up to the driver's side of the car and rests his forearm on the hood.

"Tracker on kid. See you soon." Brian says in a monotone.

"You got it." Netty replies while glancing over at a helmeted BugBear in her cyberpunk yellow biker gear.




He walks back toward her bike as she gets ready to pull off.

"H- Hey uh, hold up." He says in a serious tone while placing his hand on the front of her bike. This causes her to raise the visor on her helmet and sit up. He continues.

"L- Listen uh... about that dance...-"

"We.. uhm... we... don't need to talk about that." She says in a soft tone cutting him off.

After a brief pause of him struggling to find a response, she continues in a soft tone.

"Don't think after all this i've forgotten about that little dive into the net you did."

Netty looks down and away... She then raises his chin with her hand causing him to look at her.

"Don't forget... you owe me one huh." She says causing the both of them to smile lightly at each other.

She flips her visor back down and speeds off on her bike as the engine's roar fades into the distance. Netty watches her and the crew depart before looking up at his house. He takes a deep breath and walks in.

The low rumbling of the car's engine creates a soft white noise amongst the silence of the Galena G240. Brian glances into the rearview mirror and sees BugBear break off and take a turn down a different street headed home. He then turns his attention back to Audrey looking out the window and cradling a passed out Zaunya.

"We should head to your clinic." Brian says in a gentle, dead tone causing Audrey to look back at him through the rearview mirror... She nods.

Chapter Text

       Carter sits on the roof of his apartment complex alone in a lawn chair overlooking a bustling district late night after being dropped off. A light drizzle of rain has checked in for the night shift as he swigs his Broseph. He glances over to an empty lawn chair beside him... he hears the feint giggle of a woman in his head causing him to restlessly get out of the chair, walk to the edge of the roof and rest his foot on the edge of the overhang. He calmly watches the path the raindrops travel as he stares down at the 5 story dead drop below him. He sees the roofs of cars casually driving by and the tops of several neon umbrellas glowing as he takes another swig of his beer. The woman's voice then echos in his head at the end of a long conversation that he'll never forget:

"Babe… Listen to me... Whether you decide to stay with them or walk away doesn't matter… I'm... I'm going to be… wherever you are… I'm yours Carter... You know that."

He then hears his own voice: "Like i said before doll... This is it. My last ride... then we're outta here. After everything's that's gone down till now, we're right where we need to be. We've talked about this….. You know that."

"Memory fades as time changes my love... I just want…. I just want you to be careful. Be careful of what you choose to hold onto…... I choose to hold onto you." She replies in a whisper.

Hearing this causes him to slam the beer bottle on the roof shattering it as the stray sounds of the city and rain take back over and he puts his hands on his head... racked with guilt. The drizzle quickly turns to rain... masking his tears as the rolling thunder creeps into the atmosphere.

The gentle pattering of rain taps on the windows of Audrey's clinic. Brian leaned up against a wall with his arms crossed stares out the window in deep thought as he hears Zaunya's voice in his head: "You wanna talk about trust..? I don't even know who the fuck you are." This causes him to look back at her passed out on Audrey's ripper chair with Audrey jacked in and working on her. He goes back to looking out the window watching the streets and heavy rainfall. Growing anxious... he breaks the silence.

"How is she." He asks Audrey in a serious tone as he walks over.

"Not sure... I'm doing a full scan.. not really finding anything fucked with... but they hit her with some serious drugs…. anesthetics mostly… Don't really know why… Fucking monsters. I almost thought that-"

"-And how are you." Brian asks cutting her off.

They both pause for a clear moment as the light sounds of beeping machines and Audrey rummaging through tools in a drawer are heard... She doesn't respond, so he continues.

"What happened in there." He asks in a deep, soft tone while looking away... She again ignores him before another clear pause and rumbling thunder.

"Audrey..."

She doesn't respond.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

The silence in the air rests even long as the room sits quiet to the sound of pattering rain on the windows.

"No..." She finally replies in a soft, emotional tone while working on Zaunya.

This hits Brian hard... feeling the personal responsibility behind her hurt. The lack of information tortures his imagination. After another extended period of tense silence, she changes subject.

"Who the fuck were those guys.." Audrey says as she disconnects from Zaunya's neuro port and gently lays her head down. Zaunya rolls over onto her side facing her back towards them in her sleep.

"Probably doin' merc work for the scavs based on the shit i saw in there. They had me in some sort of… holding or interrogation room. Could be like some pre-screening shit they do before they rip. Shit looked like it ran like a system... weirdly organized. Saw a bunch of equipment and uhhmm.." Brian stops himself and looks away causing Audrey to glance back at him

"What is it?"

"...Found a girl in there... couldn't have been a day older than 20." Brian says causing Audrey to turn and look at him. He continues.

"She um..." Brian lightly shakes his head and looks away as he fails to express the words. Audrey picks up on this and says nothing.

The pair share a long silence together while some time passes... allowing the heavy rain on the windows to again take back over. Audrey eventually breaks the silence.

"Well..."


"Well what."






Audrey looks back at him in the eyes without saying anything. The expression on her face is more than enough for him to pick up on what shes implying.. the message of this look is clear in her eyes. Brian continues.

"The choom who helped me clean the place... Carter. Told me hes got history with these gonks. Apparently shit runs deep. Said they're seriously stacked…but he also said he knows where they stash their shit... guess they never planned on him livin' to tell about it. Should be able to find all of our dues there... everything that we're owed... there's-"

Audrey slowly stands up, causing Brian to abruptly stop speaking as she slowly steps towards him maintaining deep eye contact. The heavy taps of her boots on the linoleum close the distance between them... she stands before him… face to face.






"We have to finish it." She says in a serious tone looking Brian deep in his eyes.

Brian gives Audrey a silent nod before they break eye contact and she steps past him to walk outside.

Some time has passed and the bright lights of Audrey's clinic have gone dim while the various machines purr idle. After everything that went down in Pacifica… Zaunya's eyes open slowly as she wakes up. She quickly notices that shes in Audrey's shop which mellows her in the moment.

She rolls over onto her side to see Brian right next to her in Audrey's chair soundly asleep…..

The sentiment hits Zaunya hard as she lays there looking at him…..

Having someone who cares about her in this way is a foreign concept to her… One she doesn't fully understand. Almost like shes only been taught what it is… as apposed to experiencing it. The life of a sworn shield to a megacorp like PetroChem is home to no sentimental bonds or camaraderie.

She breaks the silence in her alluring, gruff, feminine voice.

"I've had PetroChem special security agents chrome-wiped for falling asleep on a shift." She says in a soft, groggy tone with a smile gently waking Brian up.

He sees Zaunya laying on her side facing him with her soft smile watching him stir awake. He quickly sits up at the edge of his seat as he slowly comes too and instinctually leans closer to her. He gently grabs both of her hands... holding them tight. He looks at her with a soft grin as she smiles.

"Hey..." She whispers in a soft tone looking deep into his eyes.

"Hey..." He responds in a deep soft tone. Continuing to smile.

They share a brief pause while continuing to stare at each other. The sound of them both softly giggling breaks the silence.

"Are you ok?" Brian asks finishing his giggle.

"Hard to say... Feels like… a hell of a hangover honestly. Like… i've been wandering the streets skezzed out of my mind for days….. Who-… who were they?"

"Had to be scavs. They had scattered chrome and tech hardware from rips and convoy raids... place was a mess. Had me chained up in some sort of processing area. Interrogations and beatdowns for information going on. Felt like it was a structure. A system they had been runnin' for a while based on how they ran it. Saw some serious shit in there. A young lady had um... had been tortured to death. I.. there was nothing i could do for her."



Zaunya pauses briefly while processing all of the information before responding. Causing the pattering rain on the windows to take back over for a bit.

"...Are they all dead?"




Brian says nothing as Zaunya continues to look at him.

"Brian?"




He pauses briefly. "We don't think so."

"-Then they'll be looking for us." She says in a groggy tone while holding her head and getting up slowly. She sits up at the edge of the ripperdoc chair while Brian gently helps her.

The two share a silence together as Zaunya stretches and takes a few deep breaths... checking herself over. The sound of rolling thunder enters the room as the intensity of rain on the windows picks up.

Brian sits back in his chair… still looking directly at her as she gathers herself. The discomfort in his body builds along with the hesitation… struggling to get the words out... now leaning forward toward her in the chair.

"Listen, I... I haven't... I haven't taken the time to explain.... ev-... Everything i..."

Zaunya's attention is immediately raised and a serious look washes over her as she listens to a genuine tone in Brian's voice that she's never heard before. After everything…. after all this time, and up to this point, she had resided herself to believing a side like this to him didn't even exist. He continues.

"...The last thing I ever wanted was for you to not-"

      Brian is cutoff to the sound of the entrance door to the clinic sliding open causing them both to look over at it. Audrey rushes in with a look of panic on her face. She quickly puts her index finger over her lips with her eyes wide open, gesturing the both of them to stay quiet. As she rushes over to them, they both quickly get up and she pushes... motioning them to a trap door in the floor in the back storage room of the clinic. She raises the trap door as Zaunya quickly follows Brian down. Audrey and Zaunya share a look of panic with each other without saying anything. As the pair descend down the ladder, Audrey closes the trap door.

Audrey is next seen pacing back and forth in the clinic briefly with a smoke in hand. She takes deep drags as she attempts to gather herself, filled with anticipation.

Soon after, she hears a ring of the doorbell causing her to look over at the entrance. Zaunya and Brian turn their attention to a small drain hole on the cieling leading into the clinic allowing them to hear Audrey's boots tap on the linoleum walking toward the entrance. Although no visibilty, they're able to hear fairly well.

Audrey slides the door open and is met face to face with Molly Seeker with her signature grin plastered on her face. The sight of her startles Audrey and gives her pause but she does a great job of masking it.

"Hey doc!" Molly says in a bright tone.

"Mind if I come in? Any longer out here and I just might start dancing in it!" She says with a chuckle as the crackling thunder erupts alongside the downpour of rain.

"Please! By all means!" Audrey says matching her tone.

       Molly enters and takes a deep breath of relief while slowly removing her black overcoat. Audrey watches her from behind... checking out her toned body through her tight, black corpo skirt hugging her curves. She can't help herself as she slowly gazes at the back of her neck... all the way down to her black high heels while shes shifts her weight. She notices the beginning of a large back tattoo starting at the bottom of her neck. As Molly unties her long white hair and lightly shakes it out, it covers it. To Audrey, It was almost as if she was moving in slow motion... Molly then rests the overcoat on Audrey's desk before removing her black leather gloves and tossing them on top of the coat.

"How's business doc? Good?" She asks while glancing around the room and pacing about.

"Oh, fine… Just fine. Even on late nights like this there's never really a shortage of traffic through this place. Is.. uhm… is everything alright?"

Molly doesn't respond.

After glancing about the clinic and satisfying her instinct to look around in a very nosy fashion, assuring no one else is there. She takes a seat in Audrey's chair.

"Please. Sit with me" Molly says causing Audrey to grab one of the stools in the clinic and pull it up next to her. As she drags the stool across the floor, Brian and Zaunya quickly glance at each other remaining silent.

"What's goin' on?" Audrey asks while doing her best to mask her nervous adrenaline. The anticipation of yet another unexpected visit has her mind racing. Their first interaction with each other truly fucked with Audrey's head and returned to her a lot of long buried paranoia. Her history with PetroChem is extremely convoluted to say the least. An entity that has both given and taken everything away from her. She wonders what could've happened if they hadn't even come to the shop themselves that night. Could she possibly already know about the scavs? Or worse... Zaunya? The rampant speculation in her mind builds to peak as Molly finally breaks the silence.

"You're... you're from Night City.. right?"

The question completely catches Audrey off guard and instinctually eases a significant amount of her built up tension while raising confusion.

"Uhm... Yeah. Born n Raised. I mean, i've done my fair share of traveling over the years of course but this is certainly home without question. Why?"




Molly pauses for a while as the heavy rain and rolling thunder fills the dead silence…




"I've been having….. these….. feelings.. these... sensations."

Brian and Zaunya glance at each other again as they continue to listen closely. Audrey looks on at Molly attentively with now genuine concern as a doctor... She continues.

"I can't… really explain them? Lately, when i've found myself alone out here I... I don't... really feel alone…? If that makes sense…? Whenever I take the time look at or admire the place it just... i don't know. Its like... staring back at me. Calling to me... gripping." Molly concludes in a soft tone before looking at Audrey with a genuine look masking concern... An unfamiliar look to Audrey.

Audrey takes a deep breath while shifting her weight on the stool. She responds.

"Something people tend to say to those not from here is that Night City often has a promise of something for you. Doesn't really matter what that 'something' is to you specifically. To some, it might be a lie. An illusion. But its there. Right around the corner at any given time, in any given place. Whether its someONE, somePLACE, or someTHING. It can find out who you truly are and reveal it to yourself. If it has you it…. it doesn't let go... not without a cost."

Molly listens closely to Audrey's words with an attentive look of fear on her face… A look we've never seen on her before. She breaks eye contact… thinking deeply. She hesitates, but speaks in a fearful tone.

"But... but what if- " Molly is interrupted by the sound of a holocall coming in, causing her eyes to glow orange. She quickly turns her head to the side and answers with a shifted tone more in line with what Audrey is used to hearing.

= Seeker. What is it. =

= uh huh. =

= Copy that. I'll be right out. Give me a minute. = Molly ends the holocall and turns back toward Audrey.

Before she continues to speak to Audrey, she notices her staring directly at the subtle red blood stain on her white dress shirt. Audrey then catches a glimpse at the deep bite marks on Molly's chest through her loosely buttoned dress shirt along with the fading redness on her throat…. it startles her. Molly instinctually quickly tries to cover herself up.

"Do you um... Want me to take a look at tha-"

"-I've uhm, I gotta go doc. Thanks for the um… I'll um…. I'll see you later." Molly says as she quickly stands up and grabs her overcoat and gloves before heading out the entrance back into the pouring rain. Audrey takes a deep sigh of relief as she sits back in her chair overwhelmed trying to process the interaction as she hears the trap door slowly opening with Brian and Zaunya returning.

Molly quickly gets back into her Chevillon Emporer with Manny waiting at the steering wheel for her. The rain pounds the windows of the Emporer while she stares at the entrance to Audrey's clinic as Manny speaks.

"Got the heat on for ya ma'am. Everything go smooth?"

"Yeah uh… Yeah, everything's fine." She says in a distracted tone.

"Good. Boards waiting ma'am." Manny says as he and the city slowly pull her away from the Clinic... The various glowing, neon lights of Night City enter Molly's eyes as they make their way through the streets... away from help.

Chapter Text

The heavy pattering of rain on the windows are heard in a pitch black house... the only light being that of the dim street lights outside bleeding in through the closed curtains. The rolling thunder and lightning continues into the night as the empty house lay untouched. A bright light can be seen through the bottom crack of a door leading down into the basement.

       Hours have gone by... deep into the night... the warmth of the basement bakes with the comforting heat of all the hardware running on all cylinders contrasting the cold just upstairs and outside. He's re-watching his interaction with the white avatar via his scraper program over and over again from various angles. As his eyes flow with code he uses another interface to conduct code stylometry in an attempt to identify the avatar. However, his father was unable to thoroughly teach him the practice making his understanding of the process fairly weak. Results are uncovered but without the ability to understand and fully trace the origins. Frustrated, he hits a wall in his research.

He's next seen in his father's runner chair... jacked into the net. As he lay motionless, he enters the net, returning to the communication domain he originally met the unidentified white avatar in.

       As he slowly walks around the red hued domain overlooking the pacific ocean during sunset countless thoughts begin to race through his mind. Since originally meeting Brian and Zaunya his life has changed significantly. Whether it be the violence, the recognition of his rep, who he is and some of his exploits, nearly having to execute that merc begging for his life... the killing... the romance. Its a lot to carry for such a young man. Not much older than the young lady who faded away in Brian's arms. Not to mention this cryptic ghost of a runner who seems to know everything about him. His blackwall disruption... the death of his friends... who is father is. As these various thoughts race through his mind and begin to overwhelm him, he pictures himself silently dancing with BugBear in his living room... this memory calms his mind in the moment and puts him at ease.. just long enough for him to realize a presence in the domain has re-entered. This causes him to reluctantly let go of one of the only thoughts he's found that comfort him. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and shakes his head.

"Knew you'd show." He says with his back turned toward the white avatar who's revealed themself. He continues.

"Just so you know... Runner to Runner... There are better ways of communicating with someone you've just met than this."

"I'm surprised you'd return here." The avatar says in a distorted cyber voice

"Wouldn't expect you to know or understand the significance of this place. Its been long buried in mind... A place like this... carries memories i'd rather forget." Netty responds

The avatar pauses briefly before responding. "Makes you wonder why we take the time to create places like this. A place to go when the worst has happened... when all hope is lost."

"How do you know my father." Netty says abruptly changing the subject and finally turning around to face the avatar.

The avatar doesn't respond and continues to stare out into the sunset alongside Netty. He breaks the silence.

"Come on choom... What are we even doing here at this point. Gotta be a reason you went through all this." He says in a tired tone.




After a long pause... the avatar finally speaks.

"Back in the early 2000s... Were some of the fondest memories of my life... It was such a simpler time... we were young and reckless but... We were... free.. Truly free... In control." Netty focuses in on the avatar, listening attentively. The avatar continues.

"Running at the time was done for a bunch of different reasons... It was an art... a culture... It instilled a sense of true autonomy in a world quickly losing it to the corporate capitalist structures. Corporations at the time were running rampant... corrupt personal data accumulation, spying on the local innocent, blackmail exploits on the working class unions and small upstart businesses... we crushed em all at the leisure of our own will. Your father was close with a good friend of mine once upon a time... We'd bring Nathan in on some of our... exploits whenever we'd hit a dead end or needed someone who could think outside the box. He didn't always agree with the shit we were doing.. said most of it was quite dramatic and unnecessary... but he always ran with us... no matter what we asked. He was there. Never really asked him why to be honest. Kinda how things were back then. Loyalty and reputation was through your actions. While the rest of us were being reckless.. moving fast and breaking things; Nathan was a surgeon... precise and absolute with his methods and programs." The Avatar pauses briefly and takes a deep breath. "We were such a small group who knew each other... made us close."

"The 2000s..? He never really talked much about those days with me. Not as much as some of my friend's dads at least. Usually kept me in the dark about his younger days. What uhm... what friend are you talking about?" Netty asks as the tension in his body rises.

"You may have heard of him... although i'd guess not. We normally called him dog." The avatar says in a dead, distorted tone.




This causes Netty's heart to sink as he gasps with his eyes wide open. He takes a few steps back from the avatar while looking directly at it.

"Impossible..." He says under his breath as the avatar finally turns to face him.

"Sp-... Spider Murphy..?" He guesses in an uneasy tone.




The bright white neon glow of the avatar dissipates as her true person is revealed. She sported red, long braided, Rapunzel like hair with jet black round eye shades. Her Night City street clothes were presented in a retro fashion that complimented her beautiful aging features. She wore a white trench coat with a high collar and short sleeves. Shorter than Netty, she approaches him face to face.

       Spider Murphy.. a legendary netrunner whom was closest to one of, if not the most well known netrunner of all time: Rache Bartmoss. Growing up, Netty idolized this woman. As his interest in running grew, so did his fascination with her particular reputation and exploits. Part of the reason behind Netty's principled, non-destructive philosophy that he carries himself with was due to the way she ran back in her day. Having read 'Guide To The Net' and 'Brainware Blowout' back to front countless times, Netty, as a result of his (to put it bluntly): Obsession with old school netrunning, is well aware of Spider's life and involvement with Rache Bartmoss from back in the day.

"I do miss your father." She says in a sincere tone. "Had no idea you were his son when I saw you at the wall."

"The Black wall... you... you were there during the datakrash- Weren't you. When Bartmoss released the rabids program?" Netty says in a tone of disbelief and angst.

She doesn't respond.

"Heard its a crazier story than the public ever got to know... Deets i found definitely suggest so." He says.

"Wouldn't imagine that you'd be taking the time to dig into ancient history. That something you and your chooms liked to do in between data runs?"

Netty looks away offended at the mention of his friends. His short tempered, impulsive nature that really comes out when it pertains to netrunning gets the better of him as he responds.

"You wanna bring up old obits? How bout this. Rache Bartmoss. Flatlined sometime during the 4th corpo war under YOUR watch. Crashed and splintered the net as a result." He says in a confronting tone.

Spider pauses briefly as Netty's words cut deep. His surface level understanding of the subject gives her an agitated feeling but due to the numbed, jaded years of times passed, she hardly reacts.

"Mm. You don't like him huh." She says in a flat tone. Interested in what this kid, so far removed from the events of back then could possibly have to say on a subject so significant and close to her personally. Netty continues.

"Bartmoss was a psycho. Regardless of his intent.. after he realized he was at a dead end with no way out. He got desperate... emotional... sloppy. A just cause maybe. But completely moot when you realize-"

"-Was a different time kid." She says cutting him off. "Being a runner during a corpo war meant accepting truths few could bare."

Netty checks his tone. "I always figured he'd did it thinking it'd empower runners. Ended up doing the exact opposite... splintered the net and took away OUR power. He left us open... vulnerable. Relegated to subnets controlled by some of the worst types of people you could imagine."

Netty pauses briefly, thinking deeply... back to conversations him and his friends would have on a regular basis about this. He speaks in a serious tone.

"I can't even begin to think how many... some of the best runners that've ever lived got caught on the other side... Those were OUR fuckin' people... and for WHAT in the end!!?" He shouts causing Spider to close her eyes tight and look away in discomfort... being confronted on some of the very thoughts she struggles to face herself. Netty pauses as Spider slowly turns to walk away and face the sunset. She speaks.

"Wise beyond your years i see." She says in a flat tone as Netty struggles to maintain focus in the presence of his idol. He shifts his tone.

"Listen, I... I hate to ask, but... these are pretty crazy times for me these days and trust can be pretty waning. Can uh.. *He clears his throat* can... can you show me?" He asks in a hopeful tone.

Netty's eyes begin to flicker blue as Spider looks at him over her shoulder and does the same. She shows him her private key signature... a signature that he is all too familiar with and never thought he'd see up front with his own eyes, confirming her identity.

"Holy shit!!" Netty shouts with his eyes wide open as he exhales and takes a step back. "I-... I wasn't even sure if you were still alive. Is it true you were in strike team Beta with THE Morgan Blackhand? The Saka tower raid? Shit, I even heard you're the one who zeroed Kei Arasa-"

"Keep digging kid... The black & whites of history often turn out to be grey."

"I've... i've always wanted to meet you. I mean... its hard to be believe this is actually happening. I have so many questions that I-"

"Your father was one of the most consistent, disciplined men that I ever knew. He changed so much... after he had his son... you." She says causing Netty to look down and away. She continues.

"We didn't really see or hear from him much after that. Rumor was he settled down and took a backseat. Doing freelance work for various major corps until..." Spider pauses with her mouth open and looks away from Netty. This catches his eye and raises his attention.

"Until what?..." He asks.

She doesn't respond.

"Until What?" He asks again in a demanding tone. She pauses before changing subject and turning to face him.

"The Black wall. What do you know-... At least, what do you think you know about it."

"Spider.." He says in a tired tone knowing shes withholding information about his father from him.

"I need you to explain your involvement with it. I've got my own theories but-"

"Too much to know... too much to understand." He says cutting her off.

"Are you telling me you think you understand the Black Wall?"

"I know its not just some absolute barrier put up by NetWatch- i know that." Netty says matter of factly and voicing personal speculation he hasn't done in a long time. He continues.

"Overtime, rogue a.i's have been findin' a way through one way or another... the fallout of some of the events that have occurred are just insane. Random curious anons all over the place have been fuckin' around with it. Trying crazy shit... learnin' things that might even be worth diggin' deeper on. No structure or consistency in that endeavor though... its all over the place... just... chaos. Some even say Netwatch has already completely lost their grip on it..."

"And what do you say?-"

"-I say who gives a fuck. Whether its NetWatch or Bartmoss' mom's ass. It doesn't matter. We were fucked long before that thing went up... Its too late now."

Netty's words hit hard. Forcing spider to take a pause and see things in a way shes refused to for so long. He continues.

"I mean.. you have to have known that yourself by now... right?"



Spider doesn't respond.

He continues after a long pause.

"That why you saw me at the wall that night? ... You there often? ... Tryin' to reconcile for your choom's mistakes of the past?-"

"-Rache's mistakes were his own." She snap responds sternly.. cracking her voice with heavy emotion. "What he did... what he caused to be created is serious... relentless... rabid viciousness that shouldn't exist. The people and entities involved with the wall now are beyond even my level of understanding. I couldn't... there was... only so much i could-"

"Then why Spider... Why are we here." Netty asks geniunely in a tired tone.

"There are net structures that have long since been abandoned due to the 4th corpo war. Some responsible for keeping the old net alive... places like this are why the Black Wall was even created."

"Abandoned net structures..? What are you talking about? What does that have to do with-"

"-It'll be explained in time... for the time being, I need you to trust me. For now... i've gotta go... I'll be in touch." She says causing Netty to look at her with uncertainty and disbelief.

"W-Wait!" He shouts as Spider ignores him, disconnecting and vanishing from the communication domain.

Chapter Text

       The night time neon glow of Night City casts a thick shadow in an undisclosed, darkened, narrow alleyway. A small pair of glowing orange eyes is seen within it with a jet-black Chevillon Emporer parked at the alley entrance. Molly with her eyes glowing orange is casually leaned up against a wall in the alley and occasionally pacing back and forth up and down it. Manny patiently waiting at the driver side of the Emporer people watches the streets as stray cars and pedestrians pass by. Molly is nearing the end of a long meeting with the board. He occasionally hears her off in the distance trying to drive the meeting to its end with the proverbial: "Yes sir. uh huh. Ok. No problem. Alright. Yes ma'am. Understood. Alright. Ok now." This causes Manny to chuckle to himself.

She finally arrives at the end of the long conference call and immediately lights a smoke after an agitated exhale. She makes her way back up the alley toward her ride to a waiting Manny while taking deep puffs.

"So? How'd it go?"

"Good! Yeah.. squared away." She responds matter of factly.

Manny pauses briefly before responding with a tone of doubt. "They were uh.. alright with the call you made on the op?"

"What do you think." She responds flatly before taking another drag.

This causes Manny to smirk. Confirming his intuition.

"The uneasy, tight leash again huh... couldn't be from us playing out in the sand of the Badlands now could it?"

"Tch, i'm sure that didn't help. Regardless. You know I work best when the spotlights on."

"You know I've got your back." He responds as the two smirk at each other with confidence.

"What've you got so far." She asks before taking another drag.

"Got in touch with one of my POCs earlier about that access card. Said he got lucky on pulling the geo-sat tracking data which was kind of a miracle in itself considering its not stored in a database for too long. Although the logs were pretty sparse, he did scrape together enough of it to paint a picture. Looks like the card was klepped from somewhere in-house before that chase began. Geo-sat pings dropped off somewhere on the border of Arroyo and Rancho Coronado in some little neighborhood apparently. Should probably start there."

"Tomorrow maybe... its late and I need a drink."

"Hey, nothin' compares to your pace in my opinion. You know that." Manny concludes with a smirk as he promptly opens the door to the Emporer for her. She glances at him and returns the smirk with a light hearted giggle as she flicks her smoke and hops in.

       Later that night, BugBear is seen at the ho-oh in Kabuki; a neon lit bar sitting alone to the sounds of house music. She takes a swig of her drink and finishes it before lighting a smoke and glancing out the window. She notices the rain begin to pick back up as it mercilessly taps on the windows trying to get in. She puts her cigarette hand on her forehead thinking deeply as the smoke calmy wafts upward. Various thoughts about her current situation flow through her mind. Although shes someone very acquainted with her type of Night City lifestyle, this is different... the constantly varying factors involving some of the closest people in her life has heavily weighed on her. She hasn't had much time to process some of the events that've gone down but she understands the stakes. This clearly isn't some run of the mill gig passed down by some fixer with organized processes and clearly understood players. In fact.. none of this is a gig at all... the amount of x factors involved in her situation presents it as a very all or nothing endeavor... where eddies and fame have fuck all to do with it. A deadlock between life and death uninterested in hanging in the balance.

       As her anxiety and stress begin to peak, she instinctually thinks back to some memories involving Netty... offering some much needed levity and relief. Him trying his first smoke... her teaching him how to use the DR5 Nova she gave him.. but mainly... she thinks back to when she was at his house. The warmth of being in his arms... the smile she had on her face with her eyes closed as they slowly swayed to the music together. The purity of this moment... in a city bereft of such things... grabs ahold of her and doesn't let go... An impossible moment...

Her deep thoughts are abruptly interrupted by the sound of liquor pouring into her glass. She glances up to see the bartender stood behind the counter.

"Thanks Eric." She says in a monotone before grabbing the glass and taking a swig.

"Everything alright?" He asks with his eyebrows slightly lowered after picking up on her energy.

"Yeah... just uh.. got a lot goin' on y'know."

"Anything ya wanna talk about?" He asks in a curious tone.

"Ohh.. not tonight" She says with a light chuckle with certainty in her voice while raising her eyebrows at him. "Just trying to... get away from it all y'know."

A brief pause takes place as the various sounds of a packed, lively and active bar take over. The bartender breaks the silence while cleaning a glass.

"Hm. y'know... I know you're in the business of running and everything Bear... but sometimes in life... although you easily can... there's just some things you ought to not run from." He concludes causing her to look up at him after another brief pause.

"Thanks Eric-" She says in a soft, genuine tone with a warm smile.

"HEY! DRINK SLINGER!! I NEED TWO OVER HERE!!" The sound of a woman shouting causes BugBear and the bartender to look over. They see Molly Seeker with a smile on her face along with Manny.. causing BugBear's heart to sink. She quickly turns her body away from the pair in a subtle fashion... however Molly's intuition instinctually catches this subtlety after watching BugBear and the bartender speaking before she interrupted.. Molly makes a mental note of BugBear's reaction.

"Shit..!" She thinks to herself. She instinctually thinks of calling Brian but abruptly stops herself before doing so. Her heart rate increases as she falls back onto her instincts... She faces forward and looks down while calmly taking another sip of her drink as her eyes begin to glow red. She spots a camera up in the corner through the mirror reflection on the bar counter and quickhacks it. Without looking, she listens to the pair over the chaos of the bar after Eric finishes serving them.

"So what do you think we're gonna find with this access card?" Manny asks before swigging his beer.

"Well, its tied directly to the warehouse, but we're probably in for another fucking breadcrumb trail if you ask me." She responds before swigging her drink

"Sounds like a lot of leg work. Kinda got the best of both worlds working for us with a full team's worth of intel for just the 2 of us to sift through. Traveling light tends to always be more effective with so many different factors at play." Manny replies

"Yeah... to be honest with you i'm not really in any rush to get started either... can't you tell?" She says before they both chuckle together and clink their glasses.

They then go on to start scanning the room and people watching... laughing the night away and gossiping about various people one after the other. Having a few drinks together and really enjoying the atmosphere of a new and unique place.

BugBear glances at the pool table through the camera and sees a game between several people going on. She notices one of the players with a pool cue in one hand and a drink in his other, held by his prosthetic cyberarm. She quickhacks the man's arm causing it to malfunction and splash his drink on another guy who was trying to sink the 8 ball.

"YO! WHAT THE FUCK GONK!" The shooter says as he gets in the drink spiller's face. Before the guy can even say anything he's quickly grabbed by the collar.. causing a shoving match to begin which quickly turns into an all out brawl. The shooter gets hit in the back of the head with a pool cue by a 3rd person cracking it in half as the spiller gets tackled from behind by someone else. Most of the bar erupts into a full blown melee as various cyberware engages and the bartender shouts while hopping over the counter to assist security. BugBear takes the distracted opportunity to casually get off her barstool and walk out of the exit.

As Manny attentively watches to protect Molly, she looks on with hyper excitement and joy as she laughs loudly at the situation.

"OH MY god!-... AAHAHAHAHA!" She cackles out loud while fully taking in the experience. She takes a deep breath before shaking her head lightly... "Can't stop diggin' Night City..." She says to herself under her breath with a smile on her face.

As the brawl continues to erupt, she takes a look back at where BugBear was sitting and sees nothing but a half filled glass of liquor.

This gives her pause as her intuition is again triggered causing her to wrinkle her eyebrows slightly...

As soon as she begins to think about it, she hears her text notification tone which snatches her attention away. She glances at her messages and sees a new single text message from a contact name that simply reads: ' Her '

She gasps deeply to herself with excitement as her body begins to tingle. She opens the text message... It reads:

= Milaya? =

Molly immediately closes the interface and takes a quick glance at Manny who is fully focused on the bar brawl being broken up. She swigs the last of her drink and puts it on the bar counter while taking a final hard look at BugBear's abandoned glass.

"Hey. I'm gonna take off. I'll give you a call tomorrow" Molly says into Manny's ear struggling to speak past the loud noises. He then leans back over to her ear.

"You sure you're gonna be ok? Don't need me to give ya a ride?-"

"I'll be fine. Go ahead and take the night... Maybe taste the night even. Redhead at your six has been checking you out since we got here." Molly says subtly gesturing over to the hot, long legged redhead causing Manny to look back at her. Molly gathers her stuff and makes for the exit.

BugBear is next seen fast walking down a dark alleyway toward her parked bike occasionally looking back over her shoulder. Her eyes begin to glow orange.

= Brian... Its Bear. =

Chapter Text

       The afternoon sun beams down on the Night City skyscrapers of the city center as commuter traffic honks and zips around the freeways. Various clothes lay scattered about a polished, marble floored, high-end hotel room suite; alongside empty liquor bottles, broken glass, and various drugs on a countertop. Molly's custom PetroChem combat knife with the initials 'MS' for Molly Seeker engraved in gold on the white, textured blade handle lays covered in dried blood and resting in a small bowl of now melted ice. Molly lays sound asleep naked under gold sheets alongside her beautiful, petite Russian doll. Molly rolls over in her sleep to spoon with her, revealing Molly's wrists and neck both red and raw. The doll... with a fresh, deep cut down the center of her chest, takes a deep breath in her sleep as she grabs Molly's hands to wrap them around her waist and hold them there… revealing blood on and under all of the doll's fingernails. The two are out cold with the warmth of each other's bodies creating a barrier of comfort around them... deep in a city that offers little to none of that. The explosive energy of their lust and impulses lay to rest like a quenched thirst as they wear the marks of their true selves inflicted on one another. Their individual propensities for violence contrast the vulnerability of their current loving embrace in a beautiful way.

Brian, Zaunya and Audrey are gathered in the living room of the hideout with mellow house music playing. They light smokes after snarfing down a much needed meal from a favored place in the area.

=Nova. Sounds good.= Audrey says as her eyes stop glowing orange and she finishes a call on the holo. "She's on her way." She says to the group right before they hear a knock at the door. Audrey slides the backdoor open and sees Netty with his yellow hoodie on dressed in his familiar street clothes and wearing his signature black digital mask covering his face; With a digital smile on it made from yellow pixels.

"WHAAAAZZZUUUUUP!! MY!! CHOOOOOOMMBAAADAAAAAASSS!!!!! HAHAHAAAA!!!!!" He shouts in greeting with a digitally altered voice causing everyone to look over at him. Zaunya can't help but giggle hard to herself with a big smile as Brian rolls his eyes with a smirk.

"Take that fucking thing off…" Audrey says in an annoyed tone while quickly ushering him inside.

Netty in a good mood plops down on the couch next to Zaunya and sees her grabbing a new smoke from her pack. He gestures to her asking for one causing her to look at him with skepticism. She gives him one as Brian looks over at the pair of them. He gazes at the cig from various angles, holding it with two fingers and an unnecessary level of curiosity. This makes Zaunya giggle with a smile on her face.

"Smoke it or lose it kid." Brian says like an annoyed older brother. Zaunya lights Netty's cig for him as he takes a drag of it and begins coughing his lungs out.. causing her to laugh hard as she watches him. He drops the cig into the ashtray after a single puff effectively wasting it. He settles into the living room with everyone else as they chat and catch up.

Some time later, A light knock is herd at the door. Brian walks over and slides the door open to see BugBear stood there waiting. He steps by to let her in as they give each other a hug.

"Hey." They each say to each other. "Just be sure to tell em what you told me alright? Everything." Brian whispers. She responds with a silent nod. She then glances over to the couch and sees Netty sat there beside Zaunya placing his DR5 Nova on the coffee table. They make fleeting eye contact and exchange a silent greeting with each other while BugBear avoids a smile. The last time they saw each other is a memory neither of them have let go of… try as BugBear might.

       Some more time has passed as the crew spend the afternoon with each other... Brian spends it teaching Netty various workouts and fight techniques he wants him to add to his newly given training regiment hes expected to do. Zaunya and Audrey re-enter the hideout from the fire escape returning to everyone in the living room. They settle into their various seats with cigarette smoke wafting through the air as they focus their attention on BugBear. She speaks.

"I was over in Kabuki at a bar late night... weather was shit so I planned on sticking around. Before I knew it, there she was. Recognized her from the first time I saw her outside your shop.." She says glancing over at Audrey while the rest of the crew silently listens on. She continues. "Although I will say her getup did look radically different this time… honestly wouldn't've recognized her as a corpo when i saw her at the bar counter. Anyway, Figured there's no way she could've possibly followed me... I ended up there at random."

"Kabuki night life…? hm... chicks got quite the appetite." Brian comments.

"Checks out based on what we heard down at Audrey's clinic." Zaunya says.

"Wait, she went back there?" Netty asks confused causing Audrey to chime in.

"She showed up randomly during that heavy rainstorm after we all split.. luckily I saw her before she pulled up… was able to stash these two in the basement before she came knocking." Audrey says gesturing at Brian and Zaunya.

"It was… interesting to say the least. Sounds like she came by for a therapy session if you ask me. Was sounding like Night City is starting to grab ahold of her." Zaunya says causing Brian to chime in as the conversation continues to flow amongst smoke and sunlight.

"I've heard of shit like that happening before. Fresh off of a flight and landin' smack dab in the middle of that glowing Night City allure for the first time can feel like a straight hit of the lace. Although I have heard in some cases your taste for what the city has to offer can definitely change things."

Brian pauses then changes subject, looking over at BugBear and returning on topic. "Did she spot you?" He asks her for the first time causing everyone to look over at her for an answer. She pauses and hesitates as she tenses up slightly.

"We.. did catch each other's eye... but I gave her the slip! After I heard her talking to her huscle about the access card!"

Hearing this causes Brian to wince.

"B-But! she doesn't even know who I am! shes never even seen me before!" She says in protest.

"Doesn't matter. This woman doesn't have the position that she holds for nothing… intuition can be a hell of a thing... I'd know." He says before taking another drag of his smoke and handing his lighter to BugBear before continuing.

"She may be busy tasting what Night City has to offer… but she WILL be on high alert. She's not from here... she's got an eye thats not native to this town. Things may stand out for her in a different way. Her knowin' about the access card means shes on a trail that WILL eventually catch up to us if we don't make a move. Its gonna have to involve some finess... can't stop her from being well… her."

Brian takes another drag of his smoke before continuing. "Also important to say Bear heard she's working this op alone now with just her personal huscle... now that's one i've never heard of happenin' before. Guessin' she's got some serious pull to be able to just shoo away her handlers and entire investigation team."

"Why don't we just fucking zero this bitch." Zaunya mellowly barks dismissively chiming in.

The still silence of the moment grips everyone as the words float through the air carried by tension. It causes Netty to look over at her uneasy.. nervous at the idea. Audrey glances at her with concern while BugBear and Brian smirk.

"You wanna flatline a PetroChem special agent..?" Brian says with a giggle and a smile. "Startin' to like you more and more by the minute girl." He says causing Zaunya to scoff and smile.. breaking the tension.

"Well if we play this right... we might not even have to." BugBear says cutting him off and returning on topic. She continues.

"Naturally, you can imagine I ended up not getting much sleep after running into her. Ended up doing a deep dive into a few known PetroChem subnets." Hearing this causes Netty to turn his full attention toward her with a serious look of disbelief and interest. She continues.

"Got a hit and ended up in one of their datafortresses... PetroChem icewalls are no fucking joke... took a while to navigate discreetly. Had to be thorough-"

"You... hit a PetroChem datafort?" Netty asks impressed..,. completely caught off guard. "I uh.. I could've maybe helped-" He says as she glances over at him.

She ignores the statement before continuing.

"Took a lot longer in there than I thought I would. There was a lot of misdirects and spoofing but I eventually got into a pretty tight section of their employee database... ripped as much of her file as I could." Her eyes begin to glow blue as she uses Audrey's t.v interface to project a datashard for everyone to look at. Audrey's eyes begin to glow blue as well as she steel curtains the various windows in the apartment, completely blacking the place out and highlighting the projected holograms. They various floating displays show Molly's character profile, specs and history with the company in a well made, organized manner alongside a professional, no nonsense profile picture of her gaze. BugBear speaks.

"Molly Isabelle Seeker. PetroChem Auditor, Investigations Department. Shes worked as a Special Agent for these fucks for well over a decade now. List of successful projects involving black ops seems to just scroll on and on with a lot of sparse details... a lot of it being scrubbed or redacted. Chicks been all over the world building this jacket. Cuba, China, Ireland, Japan.. you name it. Shes gotta be packing some serious chrome too... redacted implants, one off pieces... hell... most of its not even listed or on market... Couldn't get her full spec."

Netty quickly thinks to himself while looking over at Zaunya leaned back on the sofa with her long legs crossed. "Redacted chrome..? Just like Zaunya's..." BugBear continues.

"Higurashi 20-13 Mantis Blades... a heavily modified version of them even... heh... Shit, those are illegal now if i'm not mistaken... Steel skin, Nano Plating... Adrenaline Booster... a Pain Editor... and a Cellular adapter to boot just to name a few... This chicks a tank... not gonna be wanting to let her get too close-"

"Speaking of one off pieces... Her kiroshis are a custom made model." Audrey chimes in. Effortlessly Spotting the subtleties of her various chrome with her naked eye. She continues. "Those aren't just a traditional legacy model I can see the work in them. When they chip shit like this they can integrate a number of different perks and capabilities into them.

"Like what?" Netty asks curious

"Tch... feel free to use your imagination. Anything from seeing chrome through walls and lighting up the pitch black darkness... to literal fucking laser beams being shot out of them. Worth noting the anatomical limitations to them alongside the compromises needed to sport a set of these. Shit... she was probably walking around blind with a team of handlers for at least a couple weeks while they dialed em in. Strong application... limited use." Audrey concludes before taking another drag.

BugBear's eyes continue to glow blue as she takes a drag of her smoke before continuing.

"With all that being said, i've gotta say... Shes quite the fucking degenerate. Thirty. Fuckin'. Seven insubordination write-ups... and shes been formally reprimanded 9 times. Heh... Don't even wanna begin to comb through that... most didn't make it into the rip anyway."

Hearing this makes Zaunya briefly gaze at Molly's picture with a different perspective. She scoffs and smiles to herself at the relatability... BugBear continues.

"Crazy that shes even still actively working for them... Hm.. regardless... we've got her made now."

BugBear concludes as her eyes stop glowing blue and the various interfaces close. The steel curtains of the hideout slowly rise back up, revealing the sun while everyone sits processing the intel. She steps over to Brian and hands him the datashard with Molly's spec on it.

"First moves ours... what do you wanna do?"

Brian takes another long drag of his smoke while staring at the datashard in his hand.

Chapter Text

       A heavy knock is heard abruptly at the door to the hideout causing everyone to react in various ways. Several of them reach for their iron as Brian puts his hand out to quickly calm everyone. He then approaches and slowly slides the door open revealing Carter's slightly taller than Brian, lanky frame standing there with a smirk on his face. Now cleaned up, his short white hair with a deep widow's peak compliments his gear. A black leather trench coat with a high collar and a plain white T-Shirt underneath... complete with a pair of black jeans and boots. Carrying his gear in a duffle slung over his shoulder, his chrome is tucked away under high quality real skin. Brian ushers him in; As he steps past him, Carter speaks in his patented, quick witted monotone.

"jesus. Wasn't easy findin' this place. This's the kind of hole I'd expect to find Bartmoss himself tucked away in."

"And how did you find it exactly." Brian asks in a flat tone with skepticism on his tongue.

"Well, I was wanderin' around for a while with the deets you gave me and still had no luck... then I saw her." He says gesturing at BugBear causing her to look over. "Recognized her so I just followed. Saw where she headed but figured it'd be best if we weren't seen comin' back here together so i grabbed a bite... waited a while." Carter concludes as he continues to glance around the hideout taking it all in.

Brian glances at BugBear with a look of blame. She quickly looks away slightly embarrassed.

"Nice place." He says with levity as he slowly walks about checking out the digs. "Considering the neighborhood, i'd say this's pretty first class."

He then begins to approach each member of the crew posted in different areas of the hideout to introduce himself and catch up.

He ends his introductions with BugBear. As he turns his attention towards her, he raises his eyebrows in interest and attraction while he checks her out in her Night City street gear and cyberpunk yellow riding jacket. He approaches her and offers his hand for a shake speaking in his sly, fast talking monotone.

"Blix. Carter Blix. At your service doll. Don't think we got a chance to formally meet." He says with a playboy smirk on his face.

"BugBear, nice to meet you." She responds with a friendly smile while shaking his hand.

"BugBear!" He says with a heightened tone. "A Netrunner handle huh. I can dig it." He says as they both giggle at the same time. This grabs Netty's attention as he watches and listens on with growing tension and rage. Brian immediately picks up on this.

Carter continues after glancing at her wrists. "Preem chrome." He says releasing her hand from the shake causing her to look down at the glowing neon pink Monowire in her forearm. "That dyna? Can tell by the thickness… they don't fuck around. Heard they slice through chrome and ganic flesh like butter. Heh… Pink model even. Style AND lethality huh… I like it." He concludes while nodding and smiling at her.

"I see you know your chrome." She says impressed smiling back.

"Hey, sometimes it pays to." He says raising his eyebrows smirking. He steps away back toward Brian.

"Thanks for comin'." Brian says as Carter approaches him and shakes his hand.

"My pleasure. No chance I'd miss an opportunity like this."

"Right. Lets get started." Brian says as him and Carter turn to face the waiting crew.

Some more time has passed as the sun outside has begun to set.

These down times are often home to the opportunity of driving connection... with the type of lives these people have chosen to live, who you know is often far more different than who you GET to know.

As Carter continues to explain the situation, Brian offers him a smoke. "No thanks, I quit." He says as he continues.

"Good news is, location's isolated. Away from prying eyes. Bad news is its kinda a fuckin' fortress... Remember seein' it when it was in full swing. Was as packed and busy as an old All Foods plant in its hay day. They were holdin' me there for a while... saw em breakin' people's resolve… crushin' their spirits... Rippin' people's chrome… straight from the hip too… no blockers, no anesthetic. Looked like they did it at times not even tryin' to retrieve the chrome... just a... mangling... Real uh... real fuckin' mind games."

Carter reluctantly pauses as several traumatic memories flash by in his head. He shakes his head lightly at the thoughts. "..Anyway, these rats have gotta heard by now what went down at the Pistis Sophia. They'll be on high alert after seein' what we left behind... Could still be pickin' through our work honestly." He concludes as various members of the crew begin to chime in.

"How many." Brian asks while puffing his cig.

"Hard to say. We definitely took a chunk out of em back at the hotel but you can tell they've been doin' this shit for some time now. There's gotta be a structure in place. A lot of people involved at various levels if I had to guess."

"Any runners." Netty asks as he sits continuing to tinker with his digital facemask while jacked into it.

"I'd imagine so. They ain't rippin' all that chrome without at least some soft work."

"You sure what we're due is even gonna be there? The Kiroshi Oracles? The eds we're owed..?" Audrey asks with skepticism.

"They had shipments being dropped off regularly. They put me in a holdin' cell that gave me a clear view of their loadin' dock. I'd see crates and duffle bags with scores they were talkin' about rollin' in pretty often. Was pretty damn organized. Whatever they've got. All the eggs are in one basket."

"What about signs of corpos." Zaunya asks finishing her smoke and putting her black leather facemask back on.

"Corpos..? Heh.. honey. These are scavs. They're more likely to rip a corpo before workin' with em."

"Why." Brian asks vaguely; tripping Carter's fast talking mannerisms up in the moment as he searches for an answer.

"uhhm... Corpos and scavs mix together like-"

"-No... I'm asking you why. Why are you doin' this... Why are you here right now."

"Why..?" He responds confused.

Brian doesn't respond, instead looking him in eyes, waiting for an answer. The abrupt shift in tone raises everyone's attention.

Carter hesitates while thinking deeply to himself. Extremely reluctant to answer the question. He hears the voice of the woman he was thinking about on the rooftop. She giggles playfully as a quick flash of her smiling face taking him by the hand and venturing off enters his mind. Brian picks up on his silent reaction.. recognizing it as genuine. He takes another drag of his smoke.

"They uh….. they iced my crew so.." Carter says reluctantly under his breath with a somber pinch of his lips.

Brian immediately thinks back to the merc at the Pistis Sophia that Carter executed. Due to the brutality of the moment. The memory rings clear in his head as he hears the voice of the merc and his final words to Carter... visualizing the memory.

"You-... you think we... you think we were just gonna let her go? You stupid... STUPID FUCKIN' GONK! Hahahaha!"

"Yeah.. that's right motherfucker... We took her... stripped her implants.. had some pretty decent chrome on her to be honest. But not before we each had a taste of her sweet, delicious-"

Brian silently remembers this moment and keeps it to himself.

"On a vengeance kick huh? Slippery slope choom." Audrey says dismissively.

"If by vengeance kick you mean hittin' a scav cache built up over the course of god knows how long… and I guess wastin' a few gonks who deserve it along the way then sure." Carter replies trying to avoid talking about his personal hurts and motivations. Brian takes over.

"I'm not expectin' em to be sportin' too much cyberware... scavs aren't really like Maelstrom.. They're more in the business of dealin' chrome rather than chippin' it."

"That's a good point... didn't really think of that." BugBear says.

"Alright, this is what we're gonna do…" Brian says as everyone listens up.

Chapter Text

As the sun calls it quits for the day, it sets on the horizon just behind the baron back alley behind Audrey's hideout. The breeze begins to pickup as random trash and debris floats around the dead quiet of the empty alley. The crew is seen slowly and methodically gearing up in various places of the apartment.

The energy in the room is both tense and serious. Much like the feeling of inevitability Zaunya and Brian faced together when dealing with 6th street, this is no different at all. Everyone in this room clearly understands the risks as well as what they're marching into.

As far as they're all concerned... they're preparing for war…

       Carter checks his spare magazines for his SMG as the high-polish finish reflects the light of the hideout cleanly. He takes deep breaths while trying to remain focused in a new place amongst new people... fearing a repeat of some of his past experiences. Although his outward appearance reflects comfort and confidence… inward hes feeling uneasy… leaning heavily on his experience to keep himself squared away. He does his best to bury the thoughts of his past history with this organization of scavs. This opportunity to exact vengeance is one he never imagined he'd have… and he has every intention to exploit it to its full capacity.

       BugBear, wearing her red netrunner jumpsuit steps passed Audrey while taking a drag of her smoke. She glances and sees Netty with his digital black mask resting on his lap while staring at the DR5 nova she gave him in his hands. He looks up to see her walking past him as the two exchange a brief, neutral look. It feels as though every interaction they have... regardless of how subtle... pokes and prods at the two of them like pins and needles.

       Audrey is finishing prepping her tried and true combat medic gear... a very specialized kit shes tailored for any and all inevitabilities when it comes to the violence of a cybernetically augmented environment. Her experience when it comes to live field work is unmatched. In a chrome world that prioritizes damage and destruction... being able to patch a chrome jockey up to keep them in the fight with bullets flying overhead is nearly impossible to come by. Her black PetroChem standard issue Liberty rests on the carpeted floor by her side. The iron had no identifiable markings except for a big "Z" carved deep into the handle. A gift from Zaunya's mother, Zayta… It would appear that Audrey is taking her mind back to a place she has tried so hard to escape… More than likely triggered by the intensity... the brutality of the collective recent events shes experienced. As various thoughts of her and Zayta's time together race through her mind, so do the memories of brutal violence they faced, inflicted, and overcame together.

Her singular purpose... the goal at the forefront of her mind is clear…

Keep. Zaunya. Safe. At all costs.

This unwavering, strong desire to tend to Zaunya's well being is a subtle maternal mystery continuing to linger… Although filling in the blanks yourself shouldn't be much of a challenge.

       Zaunya holsters her jet black Nue and slowly puts on her black leather facemask having already finished gearing up in her all black operator fit. You can tell her gear has been tailor made to her very particular anatomy. The various pockets, slots, attachments and detachments wrapped around her lanky figure perfectly while her implants effortlessly weaved with and under her ganic flesh. Designed for intense speed and mobility... durable destruction... and absolute devastation. The unknown kit of a corporate executive shield gone rogue... packing chrome that carries the weight of a small army.

She slowly approaches Brian from behind.. slowly draping his heavy jacket onto his back... helping him put it on as he looks down at the carpeted floor.

       She prolongs the contact by squeezing his shoulders firmly and letting her hands slowly cascade down his thick arms before letting go. He takes a deep breath while racking the slide of his signature blood red, crimson Nue.. The wet, glossy glimmer of his iron glistened under the lights of the hideout. He promised himself once upon a time after everything he's lost that he would never find himself in this life again. He passively checks his implants as he hears Marilyn and Graves' joyful giggles in his head and his mind begins to race. 'Evelyn…' He thinks to himself accompanied by a wave of guilt that washes over him. He remembers his inability to face her... to look her in the eyes which hits him hard. Various random memories of time's past are abruptly halted by Zaunya approaching him from the front and looking deep into his eyes.

       Brian finally looks up at her into those emerald green eyes before glancing around the room and noticing the rest of the crew standing before him geared up. Its clear they're all tense.. but ready… looking to him to make the call. This visual hits Brian hard... bringing back uncomfortable memories of his past successes and failures. He hears the voice of his father, Enrique Varga enter his mind. An intimidating... deep, raspy and serious voice he hasn't heard in quite some time... nearly having forgot what it sounded like… it grabs his attention.

"Mijo… as a soldier… your loyalty is to those that fight alongside you. As a leader… their very lives are in your hands. At that point... your ability to take care of yourself no longer matters… only your ability to take care of the pack. In this life… in this city... when all that's left is violence and war... the lone wolf dies…. but the pack survives."

"Lets delta." Brian says looking on at the crew before turning and walking toward the exit. Audrey holds the door open for him as he slowly steps out with the crew following behind him one by one.

As the late night falls upon the neon glow of Night City, the crew is seen flying by a packed Jacked and Coke headed back toward Pacifica. The engine of the Galena G240 roars with all the might it can as BugBear's Nazare racer quickly follows behind with Audrey's car following closely behind her in a caravan style fashion.

Netty holds onto BugBear tight as the speed of the caravan increases and the traffic becomes less busy. Tension is high... but being this close to her without any communication is fucking with his head. Having not had the opportunity to talk to her about their past experiences causes it to be the only thing on his mind... clouding his focus... Dangerous...

As she rides through the dense streets, she does her best to keep the same thoughts at bay… knowing the likelihood of him bringing it up, she tries to remain focused and doesn't say anything. He can't help himself as the words pull themselves out of him. He speaks through their comms.

= Bear.. =

=Not now… please..= She quickly responds in a flat tone.

=We need to talk..-= He says in a serious tone, growing frustrated.

=You need to be focused Netty, alright?= She says aggressively =This isn't the time.=

He bites his tongue as he feels another fleeting opportunity slip away and the two continue through the streets of NC... although currently connected through direct contact... they're more distant to each other than ever.

Audrey with both hands on the wheel glances over at Zaunya frequently as Zaunya stares out the window.

"You ok?" Audrey can't help but ask in a soft tone while looking over at her… sensing her energy.

"I'm fine… just... a lot on my mind." Zaunya says in a tired tone... After a long pause of silence in the car. Zaunya speaks.

"I know you were always close with my mom." Zaunya abruptly says causing Audrey to quickly look over at her very unexpected. She continues.

"I mean... you once said you guys spent a lot of time together but… you never really talked about why and… honestly I never really had the nerve to ask."

Audrey looks back at the road anxious without saying anything. Zaunya continues.

"I um… I always just assumed that you did her chrome work. Right..? Was… there anything else?"

Audrey's mouth opens as the words fail to come out. These questions are the last thing she expected to be asked right now. She finally responds.

"I… we…" Audrey struggles to speak causing Zaunya to look over at her curious with her attention now raised.

"We did combat contracts together… counter offensives mostly. Whether it was gang goons, PetroChem insurrectionists abroad or corporate rivals like Sovoil made no difference… Dark times... A lot of violence… A lot of killing. Wasn't just in Night City either. I... I followed her All over the world… anywhere PetroChem had a stubborn leak that needed fixing."

Zaunya says nothing and listens on as Audrey gets choked up.

"I... I was her trauma medic." Audrey voice cracks in a tired tone filled with emotion and relief... a single tear runs down her cheek against her will.

Zaunya says nothing while taking the information in. Her mind begins to race.

"Heywood. Born n' Bread choom." Carter responds as Brian continues to skillfully pick at his brain while they roll in the Galena G240 together.

"Mm.. Rough times I've heard back then." Brian claims

"Yeah, well, nothin's free nothin's fair in this town choomba. Gotta get it where ya live.. either that or ya catch a bullet first."

"Preem guillotine ya got there." Brian says causing Carter to look down at it.

"Heard its known for havin' uneasy stability with that high fire rate. Crazy considering how quickly I've seen you drop gonks with it."

Carter responds with half a smile, "Yeah, it uhh... it was a gift." He says before catching himself. His facial expression abruptly changes as he disengages and continues to look out the window. Brian notices this and says nothing. Allowing a long pause to take over in the cab.

Two men coming from similar backgrounds having faced similar traumas in the past connect in silence through the unspoken word as the tires rolling on the pavement takes over for a while.

"Be sure to put it to work… for them huh." Brian says as he hands over a tracker shard, looking over at Carter. Carter returns the look, grabs and slots the shard without saying anything... caught off guard by Brian's level of already understanding him. A level of understanding that could only be obtained through relatable experience.

       The crew now finds themselves back in Pacifica... a place they were unsure they'd ever leave not too long ago. They stop the caravan about a mile away from their target location.. parking in a secluded alley far away for any nosy eyes or light. Much like people, Night City becomes different once the sun goes down... being shrouded in darkness has the potential to do certain things to people. The lack of being seen tends to reveal parts of people they'd rather leave kept in the dark.

Brian stands before the crew looking on at them in silence as they look at him. He turns around to walk up the alley to begin as they all follow behind him. They slowly break off in various planned directions about a half mile from the location. Using the sparse street lighting to their advantage.

Carter and BugBear break off first to their position which fucks with Netty to no end as he watches them slowly leave sight. Brian and Audrey then break off next to their position as Brian helps lift Audrey over a chainlink fence before making his own way over. This leaves Zaunya and Netty together as they continue to their position.

As Zaunya does a final look over of her gear and iron she glances over to see Netty staring in the direction that Carter and BugBear left in. She picks up on this but doesn't mention it.

"Ready?" She asks in a soft tone grabbing his attention and causing him to look over. He silently nods before putting his mask on.

Chapter Text

       The eerie atmosphere the night brings with the city is in full effect. Cold, isolated and quiet, the various members of the crew sit in silence as the wind calmly blows around them. The only thing going through most of their minds at this point is... violence. This is an all in situation with everything at stake and they know it. Their chrome, their eds… what they're owed is now finally for the taking.

       BugBear and Carter at their point of attack sit crouched down behind cover as they assess the security situation at this quiet, isolated warehouse. Carter, in full focus takes a deep breath and quickly slams the spacing between each of his fingers against each other ensuring his leather gloves are tightly secured on... a ritual habit of his. He gets antsy while psyching himself up in his head, BugBear's whisper grabs his attention.

"Usually get nervous like this before ops?" She whispers playfully. Her demeanor is calm and confident.

"Adrenaline doll. Heh… definitely the type of question I'd expect from a runner. Not much in the business of gettin' your hands dirty…; No no, These are the nerves of a solo about to get to work." He says with a smirk looking over at her. She returns the smirk.

In that moment they hear heavy footsteps on pavement past the cover they're hiding behind. Carter motions her to wait and hold her position.

       3 scavs passing by and chatting hear the sound of quick footsteps approaching behind them causing them to react quickly by ducking and turning around. Carter shoots 2 of the scavs in the head with a suppressed pistol.. the first in the back of the head and the other in the side of the head as he's ducking and turning around, dropping them instantly. Before he can shoot the third, the scav shoves the barrel of Carters pistol upwards causing him to misfire as the scav grabs his wrist. The scav tries to shank him with a 6 inch bowie knife he was flipping with his free hand and attempts to stab carter directly in the throat. Carter catches the scav's knife wrist as the two quickly glance down at each other's tied up hands in a dead lock, instinctually searching for the next best technique. Carter quickly headbutts the scav hard.. dazing himself and barely stunning him before he shifts his footing in an attempt to toss the scav to the ground to free his gun hand. Instead it causes the two of them to go tumbling down to the pavement with a hard impact. As the scav begins to overwhelm Carter with his strength and rain down punches.

       He frees his knife hand while pinning down one of Carter's arms and raises it to stab him in the face but is quickly snatched by the neck from behind by BugBear's neon pink monowire. The force of the yank puts him on his back, sinking the monowire in deeper and causing BugBear to stumble back slightly from the weight. She places her foot on his shoulder for leverage and yanks even harder, gradually piercing his chromed out neck and severing his head causing blood to spray out of his neck hole like a fountain onto the pavement as the tension releases. The excess synthblood shooting out of his neck coats her legs below the knees in yellow. She offers her hand to help Carter up… assisting him back to his feet.

"Dirty hands means sloppy work." She whispers with a smile on her face, looking him in the eyes.

Carter smiles back completely turned on. "Thanks doll... I owe you one." He says as they finally let each other's hands go. The pair then make their way into the warehouse through a side entrance with iron drawn.

"Place is fuckin' huge." Brian whispers to Audrey as they both scan the area while tucked away hidden.

"Looks pretty dead too… weird… think they're out somewhere?" Audrey asks

"Not sure… guessin' we must've did a bigger number on em than we thought."

After several more seconds of checking out the area, Brian glances at Audrey. "Hang back here."

"What!? No!" Audrey whispers aggressively

"I don't need you gettin' hurt out here." He insists

"I'm NOT just going to sit here Brian!"

Brian pauses for a bit and turns his full attention over to her... lowering his iron.

"Fine… If you're gonna run with me on this... then you're gonna tell me what happened back at the Pistis Sophia choom."

Audrey pauses with a serious look on her face frustrated at his audacity and nerve to bring this up now. Brian returns the look unwavering.

She eventually breaks.. growing upset.

"What. You want to hear that they stripped me..? Tied me up..? Cut me..? Put a rope around my neck and drug me around like a fucking dog on a leash? They were… they were gonna-" She stops as she gets choked up...

Brian gently places a heavy hand on her shoulder causing her to look him in the eyes.

"Stay close." He says in a deep tone. The pair of them slip their way into a cracked window on the bottom floor of the warehouse.

       
       As they enter, they notice 2 scavs working on a Chevilon Emporer with its hood up searching its interior and stripping it for parts. Brian grabs the bigger scav from behind and wraps his forearm around his throat slowly choking him to death... causing him to drop his tools to the ground with a hard clunk. This shocks the scav next to him causing her to gasp and reach for her iron before being quickly grabbed from behind and stabbed in the neck by Audrey; Causing the scav to shriek and gurgle with blood spraying out onto Audrey's chest and jaw. The woman lets out a muffled shriek as Audrey covers her mouth.. gripping her tightly from behind. As Audrey struggles to maintain her grip on the deathfall of the scav, the pair of them slowly begin to lose balance.

       The gurgling scav falls on top of Audrey before Audrey gets on top of her and continues to stab her wildly with force. Brian scans the rest of the room with his iron pointed before realizing what shes doing. He looks on with confusion and slight disbelief as Audrey's stabs on an already motionless corpse grow in unnecessary strength and brutality... He bears witness to a side of her he never even knew existed as her grunts begin to build into low screams... triggering a familiar memory of his.

       He recognizes the woman but not the actions... he grabs her arms from behind, forcing her off of the mangled, unrecognizable scav and shushing her. He grabs her face in attempt to calm and refocus her... bring her back to earth... She snaps out of it with only anger and frustration waiting for her at the other end... its clear a side of herself Brian was unaware of has been re-awakened. She aggressively swipes his hands away and wipes the blood off of her jaw while looking down at the twitching scav. They then look at each other and nod... ensuring shes gathered herself.. before pointing iron and slowly moving forward deeper into the warehouse.

"I'm going to need you to wait here." Zaunya whispers to Netty as the pair of them look on at a group of 8 scavs standing in a circle intensely discussing the Pistis Sophia events deep in the warehouse compound. The group is clearly not just some civilians loitering around outside of a fuckin' Jingugi, it's a well built, well equipped group of soldiers on home turf, ready for anything to pop off.

Netty looks at Zaunya with his digital black mask on, altering his voice. The yellow pixels being used to illuminate various facial expressions connected to his neural synapsis shift to a yellow pixelated expression of disbelief.

"What…? Are you crazy? Hold on a sec, lemme-" Before Netty is even able to finish his statement and begin quickhacking, Zaunya triggers her sandevistan and flashes toward the group.

       With expert efficiency, she uses her mother's combat knife to either stab or slice the throats of each of the 8 scavs one by one before any of them can even react. Netty looks at the 8 of them standing there before they each drop in a blink as blood comes spraying out of each of their necks and glops to the floor like the sound of a cut open water balloon. Smoke from their shredded chrome calmly wafts into the air out of their various wounds.

Netty bares witness to the nearly impossible to track speed and devastating capabilities of a military grade piece of combatware... used by an expert in the art of killing. Seeing chrome of that level used up close... so effortlessly... intimidates the shit out of him... making him feel the true vulnerabilities he steps outside into those streets with everyday.

With a lifetime steeped in living amongst the daily use of cyberware... this was different... this was scary.

       As Zaunya looks back over her shoulder at each of them dropping, she hears the working mechanics and air compression of a Militech Centaur turning around behind her. Before she knows it shes face to face with a chromed out merc powering up the centaur exo-skeleton and pointing the thermal cannon right at her alongside the sounds of thermal energy being built up.

"Shit!" She grunts through her teeth with eyes wide open as she instinctually reaches for her iron.. completely out of position and out in the open face to face with this thing. The after effects of her sandy bare down on her at the worst time... a shriek escapes her mask as she feels a wave of exhausted pain... the after effects are so inconsistent she just never knows if or when they're gonna take hold.

       Before he's able to fire the cannon, the exo-suit begins to short circ as the merc tenses up and screams loudly in pain.. echoing throughout the warehouse and causing various scavs throughout it to raise their already high strung attention. Zaunya glances back and sees Netty's eyes glowing red as he confidently steps out of cover and quickhacks the exo-suit sending sparks flying throughout it and the merc's chromed up body. The merc fights through the quickhack and raises the bright orange thermal cannon toward Netty as the high pitched whirrs of heated charges fully engage, causing Netty's yellow, pixelated eyes to open wide in fear on his mask. Zaunya raises her Nue firing a single booming shot and sending a bullet through the merc's skull sponge killing him instantly. The thermal cannon launches a high-pitched beaming shot as it drops to the floor causing Netty to dive out of the way of the strafing beam melting everything in it's path. He slams into a shelf filled with metal tools and equipment that rain down on top of him.

The loud booming shots, one after the other, echo throughout the entire warehouse causing the lower levels to shake... blowing the entire crew's cover. Every street tough scav within the compound grabs or loads their iron as they begin to quickly scramble in confusion.

=We're made!= Zaunya shouts into the comms of the entire crew.

=NOW!= Brian immediately yells into the comms right after.

You see the entire crew simultaneously stop in their tracks, close their eyes, and take a deep breath. They hold it in for several seconds before letting it out extremely slowly and opening their eyes back up while raising their weapons. The entire crew executes the break on Brian's command perfectly.

       They each then continue at an extremely slowed pace making each step they take calculated... allowing them to hear the frantic stumbling, vibrations and poundings of each footstep from the scavs rumbling throughout the compound. The lights abruptly cut off due to BugBear jacking directly in to a terminal she finds while Carter watches her back. This causes the emergency lights to unexpectedly engage giving the warehouse extremely dim, sparse lighting and leaving most of it pitch black...

       One by one, as the crew slowly positions themselves, various scavs come flying out of various doorways in a frantic panic pointing iron. Brian drops one racing out of a doorway with a shot to the chest from his Nue. The scavs running momentum slams him up against a wall leaving a splattering of blood behind that streak drags as he slowly slides down it lifeless. He steps toward him and places another shot in his head before stepping over him and slowly continuing forward.

       Carter, exiting out of another room right behind Brian headed in the opposite direction shoots another scav dead with a clean headshot right before he can raise his gun to shoot Brian in the back. Carter continues to clear the floor as he steps over the dead scav he shot and continuing in the opposite direction away from Brian. BugBear then comes around a corner and walks past Carter in a different direction down a long hallway. A scav pops out from behind a wall at the end of the hallway and fires at her causing her to flinch and duck down slightly before firing 3 shots at him dropping him in a thick cloud of debris and gunsmoke. She slowly approaches and places a final round in the scav's masked head before stepping over him and continuing to clear corners.

       The crew continues to flow like this through the warehouse… staying close, and continuing to cover each other from various unorthodox angles with slow confident efficiency. Flashes of light from gunshots occasionally spark through various windows as they drop various well armed scavs and you hear them squealing in fear and pain... panic spraying their various iron before being silenced by single shots and double taps. The crew... is locked in.

       Zaunya and Netty, now on the third floor of the compound back to back enter a large room after she kicks it open. At first glance its clear… suddenly Zaunya's sharp reflexes are triggered as she looks to her left to see a Militech proximity mine flipping toward them through the air. She instinctually points her iron at it.. however, soon after, she hears the safety of a gun click off and sees a smiling merc, wearing sunglasses pointing it right at the mine flipping toward them. Her eyes open wide as she gasps deeply... immediately turning her back toward the mine while wrapping her arms around Netty shielding him.

The loud explosion booms on impact of the bullet...

       Netty suddenly jolts awake in the room, now filled with flames, cloudy dust and debris.. nearly impossible to see. With blood leaking out of his high pitched, ringing ears.. he slowly staggers to his feet as pooled blood is pulled out of his mouth by gravity. He sees his DR5 Nova on the ground through his blurry vision and falls to his knees on top of it... slowly clasping it in his hand. He rolls over onto his butt.. sat down in a painfully stunned daze with his head spinning from the concussive explosion. Through the clouds of debris he sees the merc slowly crawling toward Zaunya layed out on the ground incapacitated. He regathers himself as he sees the merc reaching for a chunk of concrete like a rock. Netty raises the DR5 Nova, pointing it directly at the merc. With his hand shaking... he again hesitates to shoot in a panic... hearing and watching Zaunya get beaten... he freezes. The merc smashes the chunk of concrete over her head crumbling it before immediately switching to punching her full force with his prosthetic steel fist.

        In the midst of the cloudy smoke and debris, Zaunya grunts in pain through her black leather facemask as she continues to get punched taking serious damage… Her vision begins to fade as she gradually gets knocked unconscious. As she goes out... it triggers one of her combat failsafe implants installed in her neck. It emits a powerful electric shock with a neon green hue lighting up the surrounding smoke and debris plumes while triggering a modified dose of Black Lace.. injecting it directly into her bloodstream. The shock blasts the merc's hand off of her that was pinning her throat down and sending the gun flying that he was in the middle of raising with the other. The shock causes both the merc and Netty to shout in intense but fleeting pain and wrecking their motor functions briefly. Soon after, Netty attempts to dive on top of the merc but overshoots it and is easily shaken off as he goes tumbling. In this moment of distraction Zaunya punches the merc hard in the face before kicking him off of her.. sending him flying across the room. She does a quick kip-up as the merc reaches for his iron on the ground that he landed next to. As he goes to raise it, pointing it at her face; Zaunya raises her right arm, quickly engaging the sleek working mechanics of her projectile launch system. The high polished, jet black chrome of the PLS system fires a small, steel cased missile at him... exploding his body into a red mist and shower of guts and viscera. The concussive force of the explosion sends Netty, behind Zaunya, tumbling and smacking up hard against the back wall on the farside of the room and sending blood flying. She turns her head away from the viscera shower, covering her masked face with her forearm as it rains down... the tail flaps of her Black leather Kuomori flutter in the heavy breeze of the explosions aftermath before re-settling.

       As the excessive kicked up debris finally begins to settle, she looks at the giant red splotch on the wall where a person used to exist. She then looks back to see Netty in a stunned daze on the floor completely overwhelmed and nearly unconscious. His second taste of high level chrome being used in such close quarters. She helps him stagger back up to his feet with an overwhelming level of guilt on his face while Zaunya looks over her wounds, gear, and implants while catching her breath pissed off.

"Im- I'm sorry… I didn't know what-"

"Lets go." Zaunya snap responds in a feral tone as she yanks her Nue out from under some debris and wipes blood off of her face while wincing in pain. They exit back out into the hallway together through a hole in the wall to continue to flow through the compound with the crew.

       A brief time later, you see a scav Netrunner jacked into the net. She lays still in her runner chair surrounded by quite an impressive high end setup. The quality of the gear shes using's a real testament to their success being long standing. Its clear that some serious investment has been put into it from her organization as you hear the low, mellow rumblings and tones of all of the equipment. The various equipment being powered by the compound's reserve energy slowly begins to power down and shutoff.

       BugBear safely jacks the woman out of the net… she opens her eyes wide and gasps deeply as if resurfacing from underwater after nearly drowning. BugBear slaps her in the face with force lightly to help her come too before walking off to the side. She slowly sits up and glances at Brian's crew standing before her planted silently in various positions of the dimly lit room in a very intimidating fashion.

She first glances over at Netty squatted down with his black digital mask on with a face made of yellow pixels staring right at her while tilting his head slightly…

She then looks over at Audrey with her arms crossed and one leg posted on a stool with her black jacket and white tanktop covered in blood.

She sees BugBear lighting a smoke with her arms crossed stood next to Zaunya while Zaunya wipes blood off of her face and tends to her own wounds.

Carter off to the side stares directly at the scav runner while sat in a chair with his elbows rested on his knees and his hands gaze fixates on Carter as she looks at him with confusion... in complete disbelief that he's actually here.

       The crew remains dead silent as the heavy, weighted thumps of Brian's boots slowly step out in front of her from behind her runner chair... grabbing her full attention. His big, imposing frame blocks her view of the entire crew briefly as she comes face to face with his signature trench coat... seeing the lava like veins gently corse through the length of it alongside stray bulletholes. He finally turns to face her… standing before her with the passive posture of someone who has done this countless times before. She first sees the deep scar running up from his neck to his jawline... a scar worth at least a dozen stories.

       Being unplugged Surrounded by a group of strangers wasn't what she was expecting to happen after jacking in for a deep dive surrounded by her people. Too busy squirming around some corpo subnet to pay attention to her own warehouse security. Typical Night City booster gang netrunner... confident and careless. Brian takes a deep breath while looking up at the ceiling and loosening his shoulders and neck. He interrupts her while the rest of the crew remains dead silent.

"Wha-? … Who the fuck are yo-"

"Y'know… i've never struck a woman in my life... i'm very proud to be able to say that."

Brian says in a deep. calm tone with a smile... A tone and energy unfamiliar to us... but all too natural to him. This running theme of awakened mentalities once laying dormant... brought about through forced, traumatic events continues permeating throughout the crew... the woman in fear listens on silently. Brian crosses his arms.

"Though… I gotta be honest with you… I can't help but have a fondness for..-"

       Brian looks over at Audrey.. signaling her to punch the runner in the face. Audrey steps forward, cocking back and punches her as hard as possible.. throwing herself off balance. The loud impact of the punch matches the runner's grunt of pain in a beautiful way. Blood gets sent flying out of her mouth and splatting down onto the cold concrete as the momentum almost knocks her out of the chair. Brian with his arms crossed with one hand on his chin winces in pain before raising his eyebrows with a dirty smile.

"- Now THAT…. is somethin' I struggle to get myself not to enjoy." He says with a light giggle. "Don't know why… never have."

"What the fuck! Fuck you gonks! I!...i... please... I haven't done shit to anybody!" She desperately shouts in a feral voice filled with pain and fear.

"Oh.. no no no… you haven't done shit to nobody right... right... You just tell em where to find all the people they gut and slice and rip and fuck, Hm?" He says in a calm deep tone looking directly in her fearful eyes before a brief pause. "How many S.O.S shards do ya got stacked somewhere in here huh? Heard you scavs have a real hard on for who can collect the most."

"We're not fucking scavs asshole!" She shouts cracking her voice with heavy emotion almost near tears and crying in surrender. Brian leans in and places his hand just above her head causing her to flinch and tense up in fear... silencing herself.

"You're gonna give me…. Everything." He whispers in a deep tone... looking deep into her eyes while he takes a few steps back. BugBear, Audrey and Zaunya then step forward silently past Brian. Zaunya and Audrey pin down each of the runner's arms as she screams and desperately struggles to resist.

"GET THE FUCK OFF OF MEEEEE!!! NOOOO!!!" She screams in a familiar tone...

BugBear flicks her smoke and silences her by snatching her by the throat and pinning her to the runner chair while she jacks into her neuroport. The woman's shrieks and panics become muffled and distorted as she squeaks in pain and surrender… Netty forces himself to watch. While this is happening Brian turns and slowly steps to Carter.

"Where is it." He says looking him in the eyes. Carter looks at Brian before slowly leading him out of the room as the sounds of the runner's struggle and pain slowly fades.

       




       Brian and Carter are next seen headed down a steep staircase into a basement area. The area opens up to a pretty spacious storage area housing various weapons equipment and tools that a scav may have everyday use for. They clear the various corners and search the place.. finding the remnants of a packed and busy operation abruptly left behind thanks to their work. The two stand before a steel vault that looked to be about the size of a small bathroom. They glance around it noticing the annoying front of opulence throughout as well as the denseness of the steel.

"Needs a passcode.." Brian says looking at it.

"She had it." BugBear says as she makes her way down the stairs with Netty and Zaunya behind her.

They stand before this vault with anticipation as BugBear enters the passcode... A subtle confirming beep rings out with a green light... The vault slowly opens.

Chapter Text

       The loud booming sounds of party music ring out into the air. Various Night City natives gathered at a local kick it spot hidden away from those not in the know dance, clink glasses and network surrounded by a neon soaked district. Tables and open neon bar counters form a huge semicircle filled with various people smoking and loitering around parked luxury and super cars. Rainbows of vibrant colors overwhelm the space with hyperstylised chrome and fashionware dripping with eye catching aesthetics. Breakdancers in the center of a hyped and cheering crowd put on a show using their implants to execute flashy, jaw dropping moves. The high energy atmosphere of the area causes our crew to blend in perfectly throughout it as they each go about doing different things in various places.

       Netty glances over and sees Audrey and Zaunya looking to be engaged in a serious heart to heart with each other with drinks in hand. He looks back down at his lap and stares deeply at the DR5 Nova he was unable to shoot as the various sounds of cheers and a lively party fill the space. His mind drags with various thoughts… overwhelmed by this fast life of violence where life and death linger relentlessly… Where the experiences you have and the connections you make are just as intense as they are fleeting. A lifestyle he never intended nor probably wanted to even live.  His attention is turned to Brian as he comes over to sit right next him.. causing him to put his mind racing on hold.

"How ya holdin' up kid." He asks in a deep tone in a loud atmosphere. He takes a swig of his beer causing Netty to look back down at the DR5 Nova.

"Alright I guess…" He responds in a monotone.

"Should cheer up. That score set us up pretty nicely… you saw how deep that vault was stacked. Even though it wasn't as chunky as we hoped.. shit in life's about to change… whether any of us want it to or not. Gotta know that as well as I do by now." Brian says before a pause as him and Netty gaze out at the neon glowing party scene. He continues over the sounds of continued party music and crowds cheering off in the distance. He continues.

"Consequences of actions… in Night City… They don't just hit… they stick… some permanently in the game we play…" He says still looking out at the crowd.

Netty quickly looks over at him with a serious look of concern. Brian, picking up on his energy, glances at him before a brief pause and continuing.

"Easy kid… There's always a way out. Its just... usually never the way you want it to be."

Netty continues to look at Brian while thinking deeply. Brian swigs his beer again to the party music before looking at Netty again deep in the eyes.

"There's always a price." He says in a conclusive tone... causing Netty to look down and away from him allowing the sounds of party music and commotion take over. Brian reading where Netaniel's head is at continues

"That scav runner we hit back at the compound. She was a fuckin' gold mine of stored data.. Bear pulled a shit load from this chick after you wiped the place. Apparently they were in deep with Maelstrom. They were doing chrome swaps and dealing in iron with each other on a pretty regular basis. They'd split leaked corporate convoy intel and share spoils with each other. Even had corpo moles on their payroll... scavs with legitimate business fronts... Deep shit. Of course, Maelstrom was gettin' the better of this exchange in a huge way. Easy guess is this scav hive we busted had scraps compared to their former partners." He explains before a pause. "Other than that of course... they'll be curious what happened with their scav pipeline suddenly runnin' dry... soon enough…. They'll come sniffin' around... That's next stop choom."

Brian notices Netty looking down.. uninterested in what hes saying. A lot to take in for a kid who already feels in way over his head. The varying forces at play tugging at his emotions and nerves weigh heavily on him. Brian decides to change subject.

"See that burly gonk over there in the cheap suit lookin' like hes trying to figure out how to stand?"

Netty looks up and over at the guy.

"Marcus Santello.." Brian says as Netty sees the barely put together cheap suit standing alone at a bar counter looking impatient. He continues.

"Hold em responsible for the death of my best friend. Gonk found out I was still alive and did the smart thing and came runnin'….. Wannbe fixer. While most of us were playin in the mud and chasin' tail he was doin his best to be someone he clearly wasn't. Trying to make connections, network with the local huscle, introduce himself to corpo rats. You name it."

"A lot of talkin' with a lack of accomplishment ain't gonna get ya very far in Night City. False promises.. ineptitude and an embarrassing string of gigs that went belly up. Tch.. why I personally always stayed away from the gonk. Its like accomplishment tends to jump up and slap him in the face before slippin' right through the cracks. Watchin' him honestly illuminated to me why the merc life is such bullshit…. just not my steelo ya dig."

"You mean you're… not.. a merc?" Netty asks quickly looking over at him.

Brian giggles before a pause allowing the party atmosphere to take over briefly.

"Lofty aspirations of becoming Night City Legend. Not only having the wealth.. but the entire city and it's networks revering who you are and eatin' out of the palm of your hand….?"

Netty looks on continuing to listen as Brian pauses while taking a swig of his beer. He continues.

"Sounds nice…. Then you remember what Night City is…. The people who live in it… the people who play in it… and the people who truly control it. Scratching and clawing to reach the top of a shit heap.. Only to realize a shit mountain towers the fuck over it. Not the life for me." Brian concludes before taking another swig of his beer.

"So fuck status and fame for wealth and power… That the point-" Netty asks in a flat tone.

"-The point is to get you and yours kid… and fuck the rest." He forcefully says. "Night City has no shortage of things... free for the taking. What that ends up bein' is on you... and you alone." He concludes before finishing his beer.

Brian glances down at Netty again and notices him still in a haze, not much interested in the shit Brian is talking about.

He then notices him staring at something. He looks over to where Netty's looking off in the distance and sees BugBear and Carter at a bar counter with their backs turned toward them... sharing drinks and laughing away. Their energy looks lively and celebratory as they're seen chatting together. Brian connects the dots and begins to smirk.

"So what's goin' on with that." Brian asks causing Netty to snap out of it and quickly look up at him, realizing what hes asking about.

"Wha-? Oh uhm… nothin. Why."

"Heheh… gotta work on that poker face kid. I'm assuming there was a reason why neither of you showed at the deal originally."

"Dunno... She won't talk to me... Trust me I've tried."

"Heh. Somethin' DID happen then huh." Brian says prodding like an annoying older brother with a smile.

Netty instantly thinks back to him and BugBear slowly dancing connected in his house. He sees her smiling face and feels her touch.. He doesn't respond and Instead takes a deep breath while looking down.

Brian takes a few moments to look over at Carter and BugBear at the bar past foot traffic and people dancing.

"She might be scared." Brian claims

"Scared…? Tch.. Scared of what." Netty asks dismissively frustrated.

"Ohh, Netty… my inexperienced choom... this is Night City... where yesterday's history and tomorrow's a mystery... Gotta be careful what you choose to grab hold of and hold onto." Brian says causing Netty to look over at BugBear and focus in on her. "Sooner or later… for one reason or another… you just might be forced to let go of it." He concludes as he gets up off the chair next to Netty and begins to walk away toward Marcus. "Stop thinkin' about it too hard... Grab a drink. We're celebrating.. remember."

Netty takes another glance over at BugBear and Carter. "Get you and yours kid... fuck the rest... Remember that." Brian shouts back over his shoulder over the booming music leaving Netty to sit and ponder alone.

After sitting alone, sulking in the atmosphere for a while, Netty stands up and walks over near a trash bin to throw something away. He stands there for a while checking out the party scene... finding nowhere really to fit in. Seeing a flood of vibrant colors and intense activity. He can't help but glance over at Carter and BugBear again. As soon as he does, he sees Carter put his arm around BugBear's shoulder.. breaking the touch barrier while laughing and talking to her. Clearly they've had a few drinks.

Suddenly, Netty's vision gets covered as he hears a notification ping, causing him to look down and away. An icon of a cartoon, brown recluse spider pops out of a hole and roars at him like a lion before quickly retreating back into the hole and disappearing. A text message then follows up the animation.

=Its me. We need to talk.=

A pause happens while she types. ...

=Jack in. You know where to meet me. =

He reads the text messages before they promptly delete themselves which catches him off guard. He then quickly looks back up at where BugBear and Carter were sitting to find them no longer there… Nothing left behind but a few empty glasses and barstools. Netty takes a deep breath before looking down.

As he stands alone to the sound of loud booming music and an intense party atmosphere he receives a call on the holo. It's the same number that texted him...

Netty pauses briefly... letting it ring a while unanswered before ignoring the call… dismissively chucking his thoughts and obligations out of his mind. He pulls out a crinkled cigarette he held onto from earlier and lights it. Attempting to take a very light drag... he begins to cough his lungs out. Cutting to black.

Chapter Text

"Today's the day" 

       Molly thinks to herself... sitting patiently in the passenger seat of her Chevillon Emperor as her and Manny roll through the streets of NC with intention. The tone and energy in the cab is no nonsense... they were sure to get started early in the day and are carrying an excessive amount of gear and equipment. This overcompensation is likely due to a subtle level of embarrassment felt by each of them. Having spent far too much time with their hands in the Night City cookie jar... not adhering to their biz... a story as old as time itself in this town. This, of course means the pair are on high alert... potentially ready for anything. Venturing into unfamiliar territory in Night City is a hostile endeavor by default... they're like 2 porcupines headed into a lion's den. Regardless... with their combined experience, working through a project like this shouldn't take much time anyway... right?

       

       A bright sunny day welcomes the two of them as they turn a corner onto a street in Arroyo, just on the border of Rancho Coranado. Neighborhood kids playing in the street and loitering adults stop what they're doing and turn their heads as they hear the growing roar of the Emperor's engine getting closer. The locals in Brian's old neighborhood know the routine by now. Various people who'd rather not be seen make their way into run down apartment complexes while others stash drugs and other desirables in their preferred locations. As a kid darts across the street with several more chasing after him, the Emperor pulls to a stop.

       Manny exits the driver side and glances around the block hearing the sounds of booming music and street activity before quickly opening Molly's door for her. Various nosy residents see her corpo black high heels step out of the car onto the hot sunbaked asphalt. She stands tall and locked in as she scans the area with a serious look on her face with all street eyes on her. As the people silently look on, she makes her way to the back of the Emperor and pops the trunk open. She sits in the back of it and casually kicks off her high heels, exposing her bare feet and causing the sun's rays to reflect off of her glossy red toenail polish. She then grabs a pair of jet black, calf high, combat boots and squeezes them on. This causes the various onlookers to slowly disperse and begin to walk away in various directions. She hops out of the back and closes it.

       Molly glances around the neighborhood briefly... seeing a number of stories told through the various destruction present on the block. Due to the sheer widespread nature of the decaying neighborhood, she has trouble telling the difference between whats been there for a while and what's recently happened. It just kind of all blurs together to her… looking like an earthquake and a tornado hit the place together at the same time. As her and Manny slowly make their way down the street they're nearly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of garbage and decay present throughout the entire block.

'An unfamiliar typography nearly impossible to track through conventionally' is her first thought. The entire block would've probably cleared out already if they showed up with her giant, former team. The contrast compared to what Molly's used to seeing hits her pretty hard... making it clear that shes deep in unfamiliar territory.

       They're then stopped in their tracks by a beggar that runs up on them. Manny quickly steps in front of Molly and flashes the huscle pose... putting his palm out stopping the guy in his tracks and making him keep his distance. The guy looked as if he had been drug around the block tied to the back of someone's Quadra. Most of his hair looked liked it had been ripped out of his head before being struck by lightning. His hands and barefeet matched with black dirt along with his completely shredded shirt.

"HEY! HEY! CHOOM! CHOOM! CHOOM! OVER HERE!! OVER HERE!! SPARE AN ENNY CHOOM? SPARE AN ENNY? LOOK! LOOK! CHECK THIS OUT!!"

He quickly detaches his prosthetic arm with a huge toothless smile on his face and tosses it up in the air before doing a one handed cartwheel. The twirling arm in the air lands back perfectly in his shoulder socket as he finishes his cartwheel and gives a ta da bow.

"Hahaha, what the fuck?" Molly laughs with her eyebrows raised and a smile on her face. Manny begins to tell the guy to fuck off before they're all interrupted by a screaming voice not too far in the distance. They all look over and see a group of street thugs come sprinting out of a back alley at full speed.

"HEY!!! THERE HE IS! GET THAT FUCKIN GONKED RAT!! I WANT HIS SKIBBIESS! NOW!!!!"

       The beggar quickly looks back at the thugs rushing at him from across the street. He pushes past Manny knocking him off balance and taking off up the street. The gang quickly follows behind him as Molly and Manny turn to watch them chase after the beggar. As the beggar goes to turn a corner a Villefort Columbus decked out in 6th Street Gang vinyls and paint screeches to a halt right in front of him and the gang chasing after him. They see the purple skull and all stop dead in their tracks as 4 members of the 6th street gang promptly hop out.

"WELL! WELL! WELL! LOOK WHO IT IS!!" One of the 6th streeters in a cowboy hat says as he cracks his knuckles with a big smile on his face. The 6th streeters point iron at and pistol whip the beggar and the pursuing gang of thugs before shoving them all into the back of the Columbus and speeding off. Before Manny and Molly can even react to the chaos several loud booming gunshots ring out from two speeding cars screaming by on the street fighting each other. They both instinctually duck down as Manny goes to shield Molly with his body to the sound of tires screeching loudly and stray bullets kicking up dirt. Molly quickly stands up to get a better look at the fighting cars as they drift around the corner at full speed continuing to fire at each other.

"Damn" Molly says to herself under her breath as she looks on with her eyes open wide and a slight uncomfortable smile on her face.




Although quite fond of her fair share of violence and chaos… this is a different animal. Its ugly.. dirty… as human as it gets. With a lifetime of much of the opposite, she can't help but feel out of place… in unfamiliar territory where everyone's looked at as equal… where status and power go to die.

The sounds of kids screaming, babies crying and adults arguing like children get drowned out by the sound of a man shouting and making his way down the sidewalk toward Molly and Manny.

"SCOP DOGS!!! GET YA SCOP DOGS HEREEEE!!!!" He shouts before crossing paths with Molly and Manny walking toward him. He stops his small, banged up metal cart, filled with bullet holes with a scraping thud right in front of them.

"Heya there gorgeous!" He says to Molly. "Any chance I can interest you and your mighty friend here with a buy 2 get 1 free deal? I'm sure you can put em down aye big guy!" He says glancing up at Manny as he starts to get the dogs dressed causing Molly to giggle.

Molly and Manny are next seen stepping into the doorway of Brian's old home… the ware on the building shows a place long abandoned. Caved in roof... cupboards and dressers ripped open, windows smashed with scattered broken glass throughout the floorboards alongside tattered and shredded curtains. The entire building was completely burned out black and smelled of burned furniture fabric and ashing charred wood.

"Jesus.." Molly says to herself under her breath as she slowly walks through the place looking at the graveyard of a home. She stares at the black blood stained lazyboy that once sat Brian's father. Although indifferent to the place, she can't help but feel a subtle sense of pity and empathy glaze over her briefly. She briefly glances back over her shoulder to the bright sun outside.

"Place is quite the shithole" Manny says before taking another bite of his scop dog while cradling two more.

"Coords lead back here." Molly says determined as she walks out into the back. She sees the trash filled backyard with scattered dead grass and singed burn marks from built fires spread about. She begins to gradually rummage through it while checking her kiroshis and referencing the coordinate data.

"Jesus… these scop dogs are fucking amazing. You sure you don't want one?" He asks while taking a bite of the 2nd one and holding onto the 3rd. Molly scoffs and rolls her eyes before returning back into the home.

       The pair exit onto the front porch filled with debris and trash. Mollys takes a moment to glance out at the neighborhood and scan her surroundings from the very same spot Brian once used to... recognizing the advantageous vantage the location offered of the neighborhood. She looks down to see a kid sat alone on the small front lawn who looked to be no older than 10 playing with a stick and poking at the dirt.

"Hm." She says to herself before a brief pause.

She steps down the stairs of the porch while her heavy weighted boots thud down hard on withered wood and slowly approaches the kid. She sits down right next to him and curls her legs up like his.

"Hey there." She says in a friendly tone with a big smile on her face.

Chapter Text

Molly and Manny make their way down the tattered street deeper into Rancho Coranado with their heads on a swivel. The various distractions and activity going on throughout the block blur together as they follow this kid up the sidewalk being lead somewhere.



Molly watches as the kid navigates the vagrant filled, trash ridden streets with broken glass and sharp edges as if they were his own living room. This image sticks with Molly... recognizing the kids comfort within the harsh environment... feeling very 3rd world. They arrive just outside of a tattered building somewhere in the middle of the dense neighborhood.



       The kid glances back at the pair of them and holds his hand up briefly signaling them to stop which catches them both off guard as they instinctually stop on the kids order. He then approaches a teenager leaned up alongside the building and the two begin to whisper to each other... occasionally glancing back over at Molly and Manny. The pair share a confused look with each other before looking back at the kids discussing something. The teenager finally confirms with the kid before bending down and grabbing a small key from under a brick in the dirt and placing it in the kid's little hand. The kid then looks back at Molly and Manny and waves them over.. they each step past the teenager who doesn't even bother to make eye contact... Molly bites her tongue and resists the urge to crack some jokes and stays focused.

       The 3 are next seen entering a small 3 story apartment. The sketchy front entrance had no doors and was shrouded in darkness even with the bright beaming sun outside. They make their way up a flight of stairs and stop at a concrete slabbed wall with a single iron door in the center of it. The kid knocks on the heavy iron door four times... a brief pause happens before the little metal window on the door slides open. No words are exchanged as the kid hands the key to someone through the slot. The slot scrapes closed as the kid leans up against the wall waiting patiently. Molly and Manny glance around the dirt ridden complex remaining on high alert still curious. After a short amount of time the little window scrapes back open and the kid is handed a different key which he uses to unlock the heavy iron door... it creeks open loudly.

       They slowly make their way to the end of a long, dark, trash ridden hallway with daylight bleeding through. Various street vagrants and drug users litter the long hallway as they see lighters flicking, people coughing up their lungs and bums nodding off or completely passed out. The hallway carried a damp, humid, sickly air to it as Molly and Manny bare witness to some of the grittiest dregs Night City has to offer. The darkest corners of society are often home to the things people'd rather not see. They both gradually feel more and more disarmed as their fight or flight instincts give way to pity and indifference. Although indifferent, they both can't help but be taken aback by the sheer level of dark... grey hopelessness they're wading through.

       The door slowly clunks and slides open as the boy leads Molly and Manny into the dank, dim apartment. The boy walks across the open floor to a man sat at a desk casually taking apart and cleaning several copperhead assault rifles. Several containers and packages of drugs crowd the desk alongside scattered bullets. The kid whispers into the man's ear for a while as he continues to fiddle with gun parts. The kid then promptly exits the apartment and closes the door behind him.

"Can I help you?" The man asks in a calmed tone still focused on his iron and tools. Molly speaks after a pause.

"Got dirt kids as your eyes n ears on the streets huh? That come with a 401k plan?" She says with a grin as her and Manny step forward into the apartment. The guy replies after a brief pause while still working

"Everybodys' hungry around here gorgeous... kids gotta eat too."

"Interesting way to roll out the welcome wagon is all. After a while I was almost expecting to step through a 2 way mirror and crawl down a fucking rabbit hole."

"You've been pegged since before putting your emperor in park... usually you guys don't come down here without escorts..."

"Do you not see this 10 foot hunk of a man behind me?" She says pointing back at Manny causing the pair of them to smirk. She continues while slowly stepping toward the desk.

"Jokes aside. Here on a routine track and find. Was hoping you or.. someone around here could maybe point me to the lost and found."

"Oh yeah..? Out here..?" The man giggles.. continuing in a light, casual tone "What'd you lose that you're actually expecting to find?"

Molly slowly steps even closer to the desk with her arms crossed as Manny stands off to the side.


"Something that was used to blow up one of my warehouses... ring a bell?"

The man finally stops tinkering with his guns and produces a grin. He gently places his gear down and looks up to see Molly across the desk as he silently admires her figure. "That warehouse that went up over in the industrial area a while back? No shit." He says in surprise. "What'd you lose over here...? The detonator?"

"Something like that." She replies, returning the grin and feeling progress. They hear stray coughing and lighters flicking on the other side of the door.

"Hm.." He pauses while thinking briefly. "Gonna cost ya."

Molly quickly chucks a credchip onto his desk. It knocks down onto the wood with a hard thump. He grabs the thick, pristine slab of metal and holds it up in the dim light.

"Credchip. 5k." She says. The man looks over at her with a look of insufficiency. Molly pauses briefly before rolling her eyes and throwing a second credchip over to the guy who quickly pockets both of them.

"6th street had their hands all over that back when it went down. Control of the block gives you first dibs on scrape throughs like that. I wasn't here nor do i know or give a shit what they've been up to as of late so i couldn't tell you... I know who can though."

"Well, point the way kingpin." Molly says in a mocking tone. The man grabs his jacket, gets up from behind the desk and makes for the exit. Molly and Manny follow behind him.

Chapter Text

Molly and Manny continue down the block following behind this Rancho Coranado street thug under the hot sun... even deeper into the district they go. The further they venture... they harsher the environment becomes on all fronts with debris and squaller awash.

       Manny's head remains on a swivel as he finds himself regularly looking over his shoulder with growing panic and paranoia. Being this far out of his element... his intuition can't help but trigger his fight or flight instincts as his tension raises and he prepares his implants. Meanwhile Molly continues to just stare at the back of the ganger's head with her eyebrows wrinkled and a half smile of disbelief on her face... taken aback by his audacity.

They make their way through several more crowded streets and around a corner to a small yard area. It was surrounded by several tall buildings and littered with trash and dirt patches amongst the dead grass and shrubs away from prying eyes.



They continue toward a door before being stopped in their tracks by the sounds of multiple windows sliding open and safeties being clicked off of iron.

       Manny reaches for his iron while quickly looking around at various windows being slid up and rifles being pointed out right at them. Molly glances up and squints her eyes realizing they're using the bright glare of the sun beaming down to hide the gunmen from their line of sight. She adjusts her Kiroshis to completely nullify the bright glare of the sun and shakes her head in disappointment as the ganger slowly turns around to face her. She speaks in a disappointed tone disconnected from the intensity of their situation while still looking up with a hand on her hip.

"You see, no no... This isn't a sufficient kill box. You guys fucked it all up... your angles are all off and there's too many points of escape."

"Sorry love.. but i bet your chrome and emperor can fetch far more than these fuckin' CREDCHIPS!!!"

       As the ganger finishes, he quickly draws a knife and drives it into Molly's stomach with all of his strength. The knife barely punctures her skin as it abruptly stops, unable to penetrate her chrome at all. The ganger quickly looks at Molly in disbelief before she grabs him by the throat and effortlessly raises him 6 inches off the ground. She again wrinkles her eyebrows with a look of disbelief and a smile on her face. As he's gradually raised into the air he struggles to breath and hopelessly uses both of his hands in an attempt to pry himself from Molly's death grip. A volley of various caliber gunshots begin to ring out... as Manny draws iron and returns fire, Molly casually engages her mantis blade with her free hand and shoves it through the gangers stomach causing him to belt out a death shriek. The impact of the blade piercing through causes blood to spray out of the gangers back as well as his mouth, covering Molly's face in blood.

She throws him off of her mantis blade with her choking hand and stands over him staring at his corpse as various caliber bullets hit various parts of her body with force lightly jostling her around. Manny quickly wraps his big body around Molly with a bear hug as heavy volleys of high caliber and energy projectiles continue to rain down on his large frame.

       As the various weapons begin to run out of ammo and click dry, Manny turns and launches Molly like a football up to 3rd story of one of of the apartment complex fire escapes. A huge 6 foot tall street thug struggling to reload his MK.31 HMG looks up in disbelief to see Molly right in his face, soaring through the air toward him. He gets a brief look at her before she shoves her mantis blade directly through his face causing a loud boom that cuts through the air like a gunshot as the blade pierces his thick chrome fortified skull. She uses her momentum to barely grab hold of the railing on the fire escape with her free hand to stop her weight from pulling the thug down over the railing. She struggles to free her mantis blade lodged in the huge gangers face and instead uses it to stabilize her balance allowing her to let go of the railing and use her free hand to draw her iron. She begins to fire at the thugs who have now reloaded while swinging from the face of the dead ganger and landing multiple headshots. As the fire and projectiles begin to focus toward her alongside an incomings RPG, she retracts her blade back into her arm lodging it out of the gangers face and sending her falling back down to street level at a high speed.. barely dodging the explosion. Manny cradle catches her before the two refocus and go back to back using their kiroshis and enhanced aiming capabilities to begin dispatching the various assaulting gangers while taking heavy slugs themselves as scattered glass and building debris rains down on them.

       In the midst of the firefight, Molly glances up at one of the roofs to see the kid she originally met on the block drop 2 EMP grenades down toward them. She looks in disbelief as she takes aim with her custom chrome gold Liberty. Before shes able to fire, another EMP grenade goes off right beside her and Manny from a closer vantage. The concussive, pulsing blast of the EMPs are quickly followed up by several X-22 Flashbangs tossed directly at them. The force of the various explosions overload their senses sending them to the ground with a hard force.



As the dust and smoke from the various explosions, gunfire and debris being kicked up begins to settle, Molly, completely covered in it is seen stunned with her hair wild and blood seeping out of her mouth and ears. With a feral look on her face, she looks past Manny's unconscious body through the settling white dust to see another wave of gangers charging into the killbox towards her...

Overconfident... Out of position... and most importantly... underestimated.

       A high pitched ringing in Molly's ears renders her unable to hear... With her vision blurred she struggles to stand realizing her implants have been temporarily disabled. She puts her hands on Manny's unconscious body in a struggle to even rise to a knee before she is hit with a metal bat with full force. With her pain editor disabled she feels the full blunt force of the bat's impact on her face giving her true, sharp pain in a way that she hasn't felt in years and sending her flying onto her back with a hard thud.. further stunning her. The ganger then quickly raises the bat to bring it down onto Molly's head with both hands. She quickly kicks him in the nuts with her steel toe boot causing him to hunch over top of her before she then draws her combat knife and swings with all of her strength stabbing him in the side of his throat. The momentum of the stab sends blood squirting and the ganger slamming to the ground causing Molly, still holding onto the blade, to roll with his weight barely dodging several pistol shots from another ganger right behind him. As the shooter rushes over to take aim past his choom and at her head she lets out a feral scream while rolling back over and kicking the pistol out of his hand, sending it flying. He then kicks her hard in the face with the bottom of his boot causing her to let out a grunt of pain and sending the back of her head bouncing off of the dirty pavement.

"No!!" Molly shrieks in a feral panic through her teeth in an unfamiliar tone... Her eyes open wide in pain as the shooter quickly pins her left arm to the ground by stepping on it with what felt like the weight of a building. She screams as she helplessly struggles in complete fear while looking into the ganger's eyes.




She doesn't see evil; she sees the feral nature of a human being committed to killing her without any hesitation… a look in the eye similar to that of a lion with its fangs in a zebra's neck... fully committed.. all in with no going back.

An intense but fleeting thought hits Molly hard… a thought she's had very few times over the course of her career causing her pupils to dilate: "Am I gonna die?".

The surging adrenaline of the life or death situation triggers a memory... causing her to see her gorgeous, petite Russian doll cradled in her arms.

"Rachael..." she pleads to herself in a whisper... she gently strokes the doll's cheek with a comforting smile on her face as they lock eyes under the sun's rays... she hears Rachael's soft, feminine voice speak…

"Milaya…" She whispers in a gentle tone of satisfaction with a smile on her face as the two lean in for a kiss.

       The loud booming sound of a shotgun rips through the air snapping Molly out of her trance and ripping a chunk out of the back of the ganger's skull right before hes able to stab her in the face. Molly looks over to see the gangers surrounding her begin to scramble and be lit up with high caliber rounds. As blood sprays out of their skulls and torsos she does her best to quickly scramble on top of Manny and cover his body while putting her hands over her head.

       Molly, still shaking slowly uncovers her head and looks up into the sunlight. As her vision gradually comes back too and her implants come back online she looks around to see a squad of fully kitted operators storming the position. They move with tactical efficiency as they wipe the rest of the gangers that sprung the trap. The cracks, booms and screams of people dying and bullets flying slowly comes to a stop as you hear the stray sounds of car alarms and people screaming in fear off in the distance.

       The heavy weighted boots of a well equipped squadron secure the area as Molly still flustered is gingerly helped to her feet by a thick glove. She quickly takes a closer look and recognizes PetroChem insignias being sported on their gear giving her some sudden, much needed relief. As the squad floods and secures the area Molly gathers herself after another true near death experience. She turns her attention to the masked soldier who helped her up.

"Ffuck…" Molly exhales in relief... trying to catch her breath before continuing in a broken tone. "Didn't think ops response would be this quick.. or even reach out here for that matter. What outfit is this?"

The man looks at her without saying anything as the rest of the squad settles in the area after mopping up stray gangers. She continues after getting no response.

"Well? I'm sure you're all looking for commendations. No write up or clean up required even. I'll be sure to file with post op.. make sure you have some serious goodies waiting for ya."

       




       The soldier, along with the gathered group of uniformed men slowly begin to chuckle amongst themselves. The reaction of the squadron trips Molly up... A look of hesitation and confusion quickly washes over her as their chuckles grow to laughs and the soldier takes a few steps back. Her deep feelings of relief and safety are quickly ripped away and replaced with uncertainty and tension. A voice shes never heard before breaks the tension of the moment causing her to turn around.

"It would appear that you've found yourself in an unfavorable predicament." The deep voice says with a tone of formality and decency causing her to look over. He continues.

"After the prior corpo mishap that occurred on this block I wondered when you'd all be back around. I'd say that waiting paid off but i guess that's yet to be seen."

"You're…. you're people have-"

"XPC-O9's. The latest kit and some of PetroChem's finest. I can assure you, it wasn't cheap. I, of course only deal in the best." He says as they hear Manny slowly beginning to stir awake... Molly rushes over to his aid... dropping to her knees to help him.

"Who... who the hell are you?" She asks looking up at the man causing him to smirk not so different than the way she does herself. Her question gives him an instinctual reaction of accomplishment he seems to have been chasing for ages. He steps forward past some of his armed operatives while adjusting his tie.

"Anthony Carmone Escalante… better known as... Aces. At your service. The pleasure is certainly mine my dear." He says with a slight bow of the head. The man was slender with a slightly taller than average frame with short white slicked back hair. He sported a well put together suit that looked to be inspired by the red sets of a traditional deck of playing cards. A white suit jacket with red pin stripes that produced a sleek glimmer that made it look as if made of silk. Matching white dress pants and a pair of blood red alligator boots tucked away under the well fitted pant legs. With a small blood red handkerchief in his chest pocket, he wore a red ruby pin on his lapel with both aces of the red card suits: hearts and diamonds.

Molly gently lays Manny down and steps toward Aces to shake his hand.

"Molly Seeker." She says while taking the time to stealthily scan him. She sees several redacted files on his record and although he carried a pristine and somewhat delicate look, it was clear he was packing some expensive fashionware. More than shes even willing to bother glossing through considering the amount of effort hes taken to assure it weaves well with his ganic.

"Although I've been made well aware of your presence in Night City, its truly a pleasure to finally associate a name with the face." He says as they finish their handshake.

"Cut the shit… you already knew my name… the hell do you want….. Fixer." She says condemningly… agitated with his veiled insult to her intelligence. She glances back to see Manny slowly being helped to his feet still in a haze and being tended to. Aces smiles before a brief pause and responding.

"I meant no disrespect of course…. i'd like to extinguish any growing doubts you're feeling so allow me to spare you from a daunting ordeal and present you a gift." Aces snaps his fingers and takes a step to the side. A man is dragged forward by two of his soldiers that has been clearly beaten badly and barely conscious. They toss him to the floor with a heavy thud before Molly's feet.

"This.. less than lustered gentleman's name here is Javier Gomez... However, he was ordered to present himself to you by the name of 'Angel' and tasked with saving your life here today with several other goons that I have already taken care of."

Molly and Manny stand over the half dead goon with a look of confusion while blood flows out of his nose and mouth onto the hot sunbaked concrete. The blood runs near Aces' boots, matching the color perfectly as he continues.

"What you don't know is that they were all mere pawns working for the same king. Attempting to weave a web of distrust and confusion along the path to obtaining their inevitable desire which is always the same... your chrome and data." He says while looking Molly in the eyes.

"Untangling this knot of deception surely won't be a simple endeavor... However i believe us working together can no doubt yield great results in both of our favor... if you so choose of course." He says as Molly and Manny look at him while he raises his arms.

"Welcome to Santo Domingo". He concludes with a smirk.

Chapter Text

Molly gingerly assists Manny, still recovering from the onslaught, keep a steady walking pace as they follow behind Aces. Although wounded and uneasy, they're surrounded by a sizeable almost military like escort that gives her this warped feeling of security.

Although they were fully kitted in some of PetroChem's latest in combat equipment and really looked the part, most of them had criminal jackets no better than some of the worst dregs you'd find in DogTown. Trafficking and murder charges... drug distribution... rape and rioting, kidnapping, assault you name it.

'What kind of savages like this would even have the mind to dial all of that tech in? Even moreso... what kind of psycho would take the time to kit out a group of wrecks like this... let alone how..?' She thinks to herself as she watches the fixer shake hands, network and be approached by random locals throughout the street.



Mercs and punks confirm completed gigs and turn in items of interest while he doles out eddies and information before sending them on their way. Local business owners and street eyes touch bases and have questions answered. Molly gets a brief look at what the general dealings of a Night City street fixer looks like first hand. It was almost as if he was savior visiting his hungry flock.

"What are you, a fucking messiah?" Molly chuckles as the locals wander off and the 3 of them make their way toward Molly's parked Emperor while he responds.

"All manners of people from corporate counter intel to the dregs of the very streets we're walking on are in need of something. Whether its one thing or another, regardless of status or power, people are always looking for someone to 'take care of it'. In various places throughout Night City, I am indeed the man who holds the keys… sows the seeds… and can no doubt get you what you need… regardless of what that may be."

Molly continuing to follow Aces scoffs and rolls her eyes with a smirk.. unable to resist some of his charm. As they stop on a corner of the street, Aces finishes tasking his squad of PetroChem outfitted huscle and they disperse in various directions. He checks the time and glances over at Molly and Manny walking together gingerly in pain trying to keep up.

"Would you mind driving? We should get going." Aces says expectingly as he promptly walks toward Molly's Chevillon Emperor. Manny and Molly look at each other without saying anything.

       The 3 are now driving to the slow, mellow rumbling of the SUV engine creating a comforting white noise. The lack of conversation in the car gives everyone the space to let their minds race. Fortunately for Molly, her and Manny have a covert communications link they use to talk to each other in proximity with no tell or flicker in the eyes... almost feeling like telepathy. As Aces looks out the window watching various streets like chess boards pass by, they sync up with each other in a familiar tone they both find comfort in.

=Hey.=

=Hey...=

=Shit was a close call back there... how you holding up?=

=Feel like... I got hit by a fucking Thorton that decided to reverse into me afterwards. Those couldn't have been standard issue X-22s… They had to have been modified... Increased concussive blast or... and those EMP effects… they weren't conventional…. feeling a... weird numbness in my wiring. Did a fucking kid throw those at us?= Manny says in a groggy tone while driving.

=Nothing around here is conventional… i'm starting to learn pretty quickly the levels of obfuscation going on this deep in this city... This is uncharted territory for an op like this. Too many unknown layers, too many unknown factors... You think that kid got flatlined after we got bailed out just now?= Molly says in an obvious tone of doubt causing Manny to silently look over at her intimidated before she continues.

=Players at the top using the disorganized chaos and lack of law enforcement to sink their claws into the local populace… Rack up owed debts, control the flow of valued information and... whatever the hell else they get up to out here. Makes players like this rat in the back seat here think they're actually somebody. Informed, Confident and In control...= She says causing Manny to look at Aces in the backseat through the rearview mirror.

=He's certainly in for a rude awakening.= Molly concludes

       After a short ride, the tires of the emperor screech to a halt on pothole ridden pavement. The trio exit the vehicle and make their way toward the stairs of a tattered 4 story flat. Molly and Manny waiting at the bottom of the steps watch Aces exchange a few words with a street punk guarding the door. Molly pulls out a smoke causing Manny to quickly produce a lighter and light it for her. They standby idle feeling the remnants of a life or death struggle... their implants feel as though they've been pushed to an unfamiliar limit as the pair silently continue to gather themselves as best as they can. After several puffs and some active people watching together, they both catch Aces gesturing them up the stairs into the building. They make their way up the ratty staircase and exit out onto the roof. The roof overlooks an unassuming layout of a huge section of Rancho Coranado on a lazy, sunny day.

"What am I looking at here fixer." Molly asks while slowly walking toward the edge and surveying the area below.

Aces puts his arms out in a gesture of presentation. "Why, the keys to the kingdom of course! What you're looking out at is most likely the entirety of Marcus Santello's territory. The gang goon tasked with not only saving your life today but bringing you to this very area more than likely had an entire web of deception weaved and prepared for you to get tangled in. If I hadn't interfered when I did, then you would've no doubt been brought here after the staged 'saving of your life." He says gesturing quote marks

Molly looks on at the landscape with a now much more intimidated gaze of disbelief as the depth of that scenario sinks deep into her psyche. Aces picks up on this and continues.

"Pawn after pawn of red herrings and dead ends… all designed to wear you down and whither away at your perception and trust… with an attempt on your life behind Every. Single. Angle." He concludes.

A dead silence takes over allowing Molly to take in the information and surrounding area... hearing only a high altitude breeze and the distant sounds of a chaotic and broken part of the city… shunned and ugly.

"And what are you expecting in return for this….. 'generous' offering." She asks still looking out at the landscape.




Aces glances over at Manny who's watching over them during a brief pause. He hesitates slightly before responding which silently catches Manny's attention.

"A Lucrative business interest of mine recently went up in flames... one of my runners involved in the operation was left..." Aces gets slightly choked up causing Molly to turn back and look at him. "She was uhhmm.." He clears his throat and loosens his tie slightly. "She was... left.. mangled nearly beyond recognition... without the data we pulled we would've been certain it was... was the work of a cyberpsycho." He pauses while thinking deeply before catching himself and clearing his throat again. "Al...though the data was nearly fried beyond recovery by what looks to be an ace runner, we recovered the intake logs of the ins and outs of the establishments in question. There was a final intake of several clients the night of the incident then poof... up in flames... along with an unforgivable amount of resources and huscle under my employ."

"And I should give a fuck about this why." Molly responds in a serious tone causing Aces to smirk, prepared for the reveal.

"Before this unfortunate catastrophe, one of my primary points of contact involved in the operation gave me a call. Apparently one of the intakes turned out to be quite the weapon. She was sporting military grade combatware.. most of which was completely off market or had unknown specs. However, most intriguing were several of the datashards she carried in her possession. Redacted intel on various black projects involving none other than... PetroChem."

The presented information causes Molly and Manny to focus their full attention on him with a silent reaction of surprise and disbelief. Aces smirks... easily picking up on their reaction while acquiring their undivided attention.

"Who was this stolie." She responds.

Aces raises both of his hands in the air stumped. "Unfortunately both the Jane and the datashards were gone before I was ever delivered the goods... so too are my various contacts who happened to be involved." You see a quick flash of the countless corpses layed in blood throughout the bullet ridden and destroyed Pistis Sophia. "You could say it was... a... clean break of sorts.

"And you're after... what. Revenge..? Tch.. why don't you just cut your losses and look for another dump pile to call your own. I'm sure one's just as good as another. You look like you've got money."

"Well, I would hope that presenting you with all I've gathered along with the... saving of your life no doubt, that we would be able to tackle this mishap together. Indeed win-wins for both of us, on all sides. I can find the missing pieces to my recent investment gone up in flames and you can find your.… weapon." Aces concludes with a smirk.

Molly continuing to stare at Aces begins to smile right back at him with her signature dead stare of intimidation. She slowly approaches him as you hear the heavy high altitude wind pick up with debris and gravel crunching beneath her heavy combat boots with every step... intensifying the moment.

"You wanna know what I like about you? Even though... you… 'lord' over a shithole such as this-" She says pointing back at the neighborhood with her thumb. "You still put in allll the effort to look and carry yourself as clean as possible. Heh... I would've never guessed that with enough dirt on you around here... you can actually come out clean on the otherside!"

     

       Molly stops right in front of him face to face and looks up into his eyes... she gently places the palms of her hands on Aces' cheeks and gently begins rubbing them with her thumbs... catching him completely off guard and making him tense up and open his eyes wide. Its as if the simple feeling of her touch has snapped him out of his natural mentality as a fixer and intimidated him… causing him to raise his hands slightly up to his waist in surrender.

"Oooo... you're... just... so..... cute..." Molly says with a look of arousal mixed with pity on her face, staring deep into Aces' eyes as her mantis blades slowly engage... This causes Manny to smirk to himself and cross his arms as he takes a step off to the side.



Aces hears the crisp, sleek sound of the chrome's working mechanics right next to his ears as the blades slowly open like blooming flowers. The mantis blades hook around the back of his head as they finish protruding and Molly continues to stroke his cheeks with her thumbs.

"If we're working together... i'm sure... you wouldn't... mind-" She says in a seductive, aroused tone as she wraps one of her legs around him... pulling his hips in between her legs.

"Giving... me-" She says in a moan of growing pleasure while breathing heavy.

"EVERYTHING!-" She moans louder with her eyes closed tight while pulling him in even tighter with her leg. Molly feels Aces' Mr. Stud implant lightly poke her inner thigh causing her to open her mouth and eyes wide looking directly at him. Aces instinctually takes a step back out of Molly's grip... rattled and intimidated with a look of disbelief on his face as Molly retracts her mantis blades and continues suddenly in her now professional voice.

"-You've got on this operation of ours... right?"

Aces quickly glances over at Manny still standing there with his arms crossed before he looks back at Molly in front of him. He shakily pulls out one of his personalized white and red datashards and hands it to her.

She quickly grabs it and steps toward him again right in front of his face... she speaks with a serious whisper.

"Good boy... Now... With that... If you value your life, I'm gonna need you to stay out of my way until i'm finished, or until i'm gone... Understand?"

Aces, continuing to look at her intimidated can't find any words.

"Because if you don't... i promise... you'll no doubt soon learn-" She steps in even closer while squinting her eyes and looking deep into his.

"I like to mix pleasure with pain." She whispers in a serious tone of confession before a tense silence and breeze takes over on the rooftop. Her facial expression transitions from serious to her usual smile and gaze as she lightly taps him a couple of times on his cheek causing him to flinch.

She steps past him headed for the staircase with Manny quickly following behind her. Aces stands left alone on the windy rooftop looking out into Rancho Corando. As fear slowly leaves his body, the rage slowly enters... he clinches his shaking fists tightly... Cutting to black.

Chapter Text

The metal clanking of heavy, steel weights being dropped and re-racked mixes together with traditional gym ambience. Brian deep into a set of weighted squats has his eyes closed in full focus.. tuning out the obnoxious sounds of the busy, conversational gym. As the gym sounds muffle and fade out during Brian's set… he recalls a memory:

       The beautiful neon glow of the downtown Night Cityscape lights up the pitch black night sky. Its late into a mid summer night… leaving the isolated area quiet. Marilyn grips the cold railing tightly while taking slow, deep, nervous breaths… overlooking a bridge dead drop so high she can't even gauge it. She slowly and carefully hops over the railing and lowers herself down onto a small maintenance platform underneath the street of the bridge. As she lands her feet firmly onto the platform she turns around to see Brian with his back leaned up against one of the bridge's support beams. She carefully walks over to him with her street clothes flapping vigorously in the heavy wind as the pair embrace each other tightly.

"You ready for this?" He asks in a soft, deep whisper.

"Yeah.-" She whispers nervously in reply while she looks down in his arms.

"You sure?... This is what you wanted to do yeah?-" He asks stooping down trying to get a look at her eyes.

"Yeah.- " She nods and whispers again nervously as the intensity in her breathing increases and she grabs ahold of his forearms tightly. She begins to hyperventilate.

"Varga- "

"Just calm down… calm down…. I'm here…. I'm right here alright?"

"ok..."

"Remember what we said right?… I jump, you jump. Yeah?"

"yeah..."

"Alright?"

"I jump, you jump" She exhales nervously.

"Alright" Brian whispers. She silently nods before letting go of him and turning to walk toward the edge.

She looks down again into the blackened abyss below unable to see even the dimmest of reflections sometimes offered by the neon city lights. With her heart pounding in her ears, she hears only the stray sounds of a heartless, unforgivable ocean below staring back at her.






As she stands…. truly on the edge.… she begins to hyperventilate again. Her body tenses up and her eyes open wide.

"Stop." Brian demands in a raised tone making her flinch slightly. She looks back at him over her shoulder.

"Come here." He says softly, gesturing her back over. She slowly turns around and makes her way back to him. She stands in front of him as he gently raises her chin, forcing eye contact.

"Look at me Marilyn… neither of us…. have done this before….alright?….. So…. I don't want you to think about the action…" He says as he lets go of her chin and steps past her.… slowly walking toward the edge as she watches.

"I need you to think about the reason." He concludes as he turns to face her. The two lock eyes briefly while Brian takes a step backwards.

"V- Varga!!!? NO!!!!!-" She shouts cracking her voice with angst as she steps toward him with her eyebrows wrinkled. Brian takes another step backwards…. sending him over the edge.

"BRIAN!!!!" She instinctually screams with her eyes wide open as she sprints towards him at full speed.

       As Brian falls backwards over the edge… Marilyn soon follows as her momentum chasing after him slams her into his chest as she wraps her arms around him tightly. The momentum of the impact sends the pair into a spiral while in a full embrace... leaving the edge behind. As they soar through the air alongside the watching neon cityscape… they're then taken by gravity as they begin to plummet head first down into the waiting abyss. The sound of their clothes flapping in the wind during the intense drop accompanies the two staring at each other deep in the eyes…. unable to feel… see… or hear anything but each other…. during an impossible moment.

       They hit the surface of the ocean hard to a loud, booming splash sending water flying high into the air. The weight of their combined chrome sends the pair sinking deeper into the ocean abyss as they continue to slowly spiral in a tight embrace. They continue to stare deeply at each other… illuminated only by the small pulsing neon lights of their various implants. Their lips meet each others in the muted silence of the black ocean depths.

As they near the surface, the waiting neon glow of the cityscape welcomes them. The loud, resurfacing splash and deep inhales of breath combine together with the distant stray sounds of downtown NC. The two instinctually gaze up at the towering cityscape... an incredible view... before turning to face each other while floating on the surface.

After a brief look at each other, they both begin to smile big from ear to ear. Their nervous laugh together grows into a loud laugh of success… disbelief… and pure joy as they swim up to each other to hug again.

The two embrace.... continuing to laugh hysterically in each other's arms as Marilyn lets out an exhilarated scream of success. "WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" Ending the flashback.

Brian stares down at the floor of the gym thinking deeply as her scream fades… he does his best to bury his various feelings behind an emotionless gaze. He feels a heavy tap on his shoulder, causing him to raise his eyebrows and glance back.

"YOO!! CHOOOOM!!! DAMN!! LOOKIN' GOOD! The hell are you squattin' on this bar? Should I even count the plates? Hahahaaa!!" Netty says looking down at Brian sitting in front of the bar.

Brian doesn't respond while still in a haze… Netty picks up on this and speaks after a brief pause with his arm rested on the squat rack.

"So… she uh… she still not talkin' to you?"

"Tch.. I wouldn't fuckin' say all that… but…. uhh… shit.." Brian says in a defeated tone. Netty continues after a brief pause.

"Been a while since that scav hunt. Heard from Audrey at all?"

"Not yet…. Haven't heard from any of em honestly…. starting to make me wonder."

"Wonder what?"

Brian pauses for a bit before responding. He shifts his weight on the gym floor to face Netaniel.

"Zaunya's… one of the most restless people I've ever met. Not the type to be sittin' around idle for too long."

He pauses again before speaking in a tone of discovery. "They gotta be busy."




Brian continuing to contemplate turns his attention over to Netty. "What about you? Heard anything from uhm…" Brian stops himself as Netty looks him in the eyes. He continues.

"I'm sure after all this time ya gotta be wonderin' " Brian says causing a quick flash of BugBear smiling and swaying in Netty's arms in the middle of his living room to enter Netty's head.

"Yeah…" He responds under his breath to himself while staring at Carter walking over to them…

"RIGHT, So its all setup. I gotta be honest with ya. Startin' to get tired of the walls in this place. Gonks in here are startin' to blend in with the duds."

"So we're ON!? Clouds tonight?!" Netty shouts hyped while looking down at Brian.

"jesus… again?" Brian says in a tired tone

"CMON CHOOMBA!! You've been lookin' like you need a disconnect these days! We're gettin' tired of that thousand yard stare ya got restin' on your mug all the time! Lets scrolllllll!!!!" Netty shouts causing Carter to giggle.

"To be honest…. as much I love it, I'm honestly gettin' tired of this gym grind myself." Brian says before a long pause.

"Fuck it." He says throwing a hand in the air before grabbing Netty and Carter's hands as they lift him to his feet.

       Late in the night, the trio are next seen leaving Megabuilding H8 deep in the heart of neon soaked Japantown after another intense night of hardcore partying. The front of H8 at this hour is littered with various luxury cars and countless groups of party people bumpin' tunes, smoking and loitering about. The loud booming atmosphere of Night City's night life is in full swing as people network and head to new destinations. As they stumble through the crowds in front of H8 drunk, they laugh loudly while talking about the various chaotic events of the night.

"HAHAHA!!! YEAH RIGHT!! I SAW HER YANK YA INTO THAT SIDE ROOM CHOOM!!" Carter yells with his arm around Netty as the two stumbling together maintain uneasy balance.

"YEAH! THAT WAS AFTER WE TRIED USIN' THE ROOM WE FOUND BRIAN IN HAHAHAHAAA!!!!" Netty yells back in Carter's face with a huge smile.

"SHE HAD TO STRAP THE WRAITH TO YOUR HEAD AND HOLD YA BY YOUR ANKLES GONK!!! YOU WERE HANGIN' UPSIDE DOWN!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Brian shouts drunk as all of them laugh loudly together turning heads and causing other people to giggle as they pass by.

As they make their way up a quiet street away from H8 toward their parked wheels, they're engaged in a quieted and drunken heart to heart with each other.

"Listen.. L-Lusten.. whatev thfuck they got goin on..? Fuckin' got NOTHUN' to do wit us! Yaknow?!" Netty shouts slurring his words with his arm around Brian's neck as they stumble down the street.

"TCH see?…. See? Thas xactly what thfuck I'M SAYUN'!" Brian shouts back with his arm hanging around Netty's neck slurring his words just as hard.

"IF THEY-" Netty stumbles while Brian and Carter catch his fall. "IF THEY NEEDED US-"

"-See? You see why? I told you. Told you I love this fuckin' kid" Brian interrupts slurring to Carter who's barely conscious and helping carry Netty.

"-IF THEY FCKIN WNTED US THERE..HERE..? WHEREVER! THEN… WE WOULD BE THERE!" Netty finally concludes in a drunken slur while stopping and putting his arms out. "-SIMPLE!" They all laugh as they continue up the street. The foot traffic is all but gone as the party atmosphere fades in the distance and the streets get quiet.

"L-Listen.. hahaha.. SHHH!… L-listen, Lusten.. this is- this is what you should do." Carter drunkinly whispers in Netty's ear while they all continue to laugh. "Hahaha when we- hahahaha when we see um agen.. and pshhpfffff who the fuck knows when that is right? ya gotta- hahahah you gotta-"




Carter slams shoulders hard with a street punk walking in the opposite direction.

The impact nearly knocks Carter and the rest of the boys down causing Netty and Brian to look over as the energy of the moment instantaneously intensifies…

"YO!! WHAT THE FUCK SHIT BIRD!!! WATCH WHERE THE FUCK YOU'RE GOIN'!!!" The punk shouts as he stops in his tracks with his 2 friends that were walking alongside him.



Everyone stops….. immediately escalating the issue rather than choosing to keep walking, de-escalating it. Carter stands up straight and turns to face him, noticing all of their tall, imposing builds. "Pffft what..?" He says with his eyes nearly closed from smiling so big.

The punk quickly grabs Carter by the hi-collar of his jacket with his eyes wide open, gritting his teeth "YOU FUCKIN HEARD ME CHOOM!"

This causes Brian and Netty to turn and immediately close the distance. Carter continuing to smile big looks deep into the punks eyes after the shortest of pauses.

"Alright." He says in a serious tone while smiling before grabbing the punks shirt and headbutting him hard... crushing his nose and dropping him.. leaving squirted blood on Carter's face. Before Carter can laugh, he's punched by one of the punk's chooms even harder in the face nearly dropping him with the augmented power of his chrome. This causes a full blown street fight to break out as you hear the frantic sounds of scuffle on concrete surrounded by silent streets.

       Brian grabs the punk that punched Carter by the neck with his forearm from behind and starts choking him out. "SIT! THE! Fuck. Down.." Brian barks gritting his teeth while slowly dragging the merc down to the street with the tightest of squeezes. He sinks the choke in deep as the punk gasps for air before Brian is kicked hard in the face by the 3rd punk.. releasing his grip. Netty immediately begins to quickhack the 3rd punk with his eyes glowing red.. however he gets tackled by the first punk that grabbed carter scrambling to his feet. As the punk slams Netty to ground, Netty hears the sound of a knife being pulled. The punk quickly puts the knife to Netty's throat before hes yanked backwards off of him by the hair. In the midst of the intense street scrap, various chrome begins to engage and start being used in the otherwise quiet, wet streets. The fear of the knife that was just at his throat causes Netty to instinctually pull out his DR5 Nova while still on the ground. With his hand shaking, he points it at the 3rd punk that kicked Brian in the face. The punk struggles to draw his iron while Netty, looking right at him, again… hesitates and fails to the pull the trigger. The merc finally gets his iron out at and points it at Carter, letting off a loud booming shot from his revolver and hitting carter in the back. "AGHH!" Carter roars in pain as the shot sends him tumbling off of the punk he was fighting. He then turns and points his iron at Netty, causing Netty's pupils to dilate and his eyes to open wide….





In this primal moment… his mind flashes BugBear dancing with him in his arms…again…. the warmest of smiles on her face... the feeling of the tight embrace they once shared is felt on his torso.

A loud, booming shot rings out…

       The punk pointing his iron at Netty is hit in the throat from the side… dropping him to the street with a hard thud and scrape… snapping Netty out of his trance. He looks over and sees Brian step toward the punk shrieking in pain and gurgling blood. He lets out a final whimper before another loud booming shot bounces his head off of the wet pavement atop spattered blood. Brian then quickly turns around and smokes the 2nd punk before he can even come too let alone scramble to his feet. The 2nd loud booming shot causes Netty to jolt with his eyes still wide open and a traumatized expression on his face. Brian then looks over to Carter still tussling while shot with the first punk that started it all. He walks over and kicks him hard in the face, freeing Carter from the tussle. Carter scrambles to get up and kicks the punk in the back of the head with the bottom of his boot, sending him smacking face first into the pavement with a near curb stomp. Brian steps to him and fires a final loud booming shot… allowing the mellow Night City ambience to immediately take back over.

Brian glances around at the 3 dead punks before glancing up and around at various streets to see if there were any bystanders; To his surprise. Not a single person. Several onlooking silhouettes in various high up apartment windows continue watching or leave the frame. He then looks at Carter. "Good?"

"Good… Yeah.. I'm….. I'm good." Carter says overwhelmed by the pain of the gunshot as he exhales deeply. Feeling lightheaded, he slowly drops down to a knee and looses his balance while struggling to breath heavy. He falls backwards onto a stray trashcan… knocking it over and sending a bunch of loud glass bottles and trash cascading all over the sidewalk.

"Shit!" Brian snaps under his breath. He quickly crouches down and slings one of Carter's arms over his shoulder helping him up and causing Carter to shriek hard in immense pain. The excessive amount of blood from the wound begins to paint Carter's white t-shirt red along with Brian's jacket.

"Get the fuck up kid!! MOVE!!!!!" Brian shouts causing Netty to finally snap out of it and scramble to his feet. He rushes over to help Brian carry Carter toward their new van… a modified Villefort Columbus V340-F parked no more than 30 yards from where their abrupt life or death struggle just happened.

"Buzz. Audrey. NOW!!!!" Brian shouts to Netty as he helps Carter load into the van.

They speed off back towards and past Megabuilding H8… past the bustling, vibrant party atmosphere… leaving behind a quiet, bloody spattering of streetpunks in their final resting place... off in the not too distant darkness of the cold, wet, unforgiving Night City streets.

Chapter Text

The dilated pupil of Zaunya's eye, in full focus, stares deeply at itself in the mirror. The various softened footsteps on carpeted floor is heard outside the door as Audrey and BugBear chat and move about the hideout. The focus on Zaunya's pupil slowly zooms out… revealing her beautiful emerald green eyes.

       The zoom out finishes… for the first time, revealing Zaunya dressed in traditional Night City street clothes… staring at herself in the mirror. Her long, jet black hair was braided up in a stylish fashion… her vibrant colored clothes really dripped with confidence and the perfect amount of skin showing… her calf-high boots complimented her long, and otherwise bare legs… her make-up was perfect. This looks nothing like the Zaunya we've grown to know… a person in the mirror unrecognizable to not only us… but even herself. She stares at the mirror in a slight trance… she can't help but carry the feeling that shes wearing a disguise at best and at worst a fucking costume. She's of course…. as beautiful as ever…. But she struggles…. unable to see it. Almost as if her beauty is something she never really understood… as far as she understands… its only ever been a curse.

As Zaunya stares at herself in the mirror, BugBear and Audrey's laughs, along with the mellow house music playing becomes muffled as she recalls a memory of the prior night's events:

       BugBear somewhere deep in the city shoves a corpo suit hard onto a couch.. knocking the wind out of him. Dressed in an incredibly sexy and revealing outfit she jumps on top of his thighs straddling him. As they begin to kiss, he's overwhelmed by the intense, spontaneous engagement causing him to pull away. He looks up at her sexy, alluring body as she looks down at him with a smile, recognizing the nervousness on his face.

"Mmm.. Whats wrong babe? Never picked up a local Night City girl before?" She seductively says as she grinds on him and plays with his hair.

"N-no!- uh, uhm! I- i mean y-yeah!" He says nerviously before quickly glancing past her body on top of him at his drink on the table. He quickly reaches past her and slams his nearly full glass of liquor in an attempt to calm himself.

She giggles "Aww.. don't be nervous baby… you don't gotta worry…. I don't bite… unless you ASK me to." She whispers gritting her teeth as she rips open his dress shirt exposing his chest and causing him to gasp.

=Yeeowza… Buggie's really going for it isn't she.= Audrey giggles to Zaunya over comms.

=tch.. you'd think she was Petro spec-opps being this thorough. Though shes never really been one to half ass a job. I don't need to remind you about that Biotechnica thing from back in the day do I?= Zaunya replies as you see her hidden in the shadows of a PetroChem facility somewhere deep in the city with her back against a wall. She occasionally peeks out checking her surroundings for patrolling security.

=god.. how can I forget. Still gives me the chills everytime I think about what she did to that runner. Corpo special agent ice cracks hard once it finally gives… Some of those sounds are pretty unforgettable.=

The corpo quickly tries to sit up but BugBear shoves him back into the couch hard while still on top and kissing him.

=I… kinda want to say she seems…. distant…? But honestly shes pretty focused these days… i guess maybe a little too focused. She even got the deets to the Choo2 warehouse you're in pretty damn quickly considering how many of them PetroChem has… hm… Haven't really payed enough attention honestly leading up to this thing.=

=Hmm.. might be shutting something out… avoiding something. You know how she gets. Runners gonna run after all... you should probably talk to her about it.=

=Uhhmm.. me?"

=Uhhmm, yeah? I mean.. I know we call her mama bear every now and then… but you know you've been the maternal hand we've both held onto over the years.=

=Yeah, sure…. right.=

=But seriously Audrey... after this is over… talk to her… please…. i'm starting to get worried.=

=I guess… yeah… Roger that=

BugBear moans loud in ecstasy as she snaps her head back, looking up at the ceiling while grinding on him. The corpo suit watches her overwhelmed before his vision begins to blur. As his grip on her hips loosens and his eyelids grow heavy she leans in and whispers in his ear with her eyes closed.

"aww, cmon' baby… please don't fall asleep on meee…. not yyehht." She says as he loses control of his head and begins to pass out.

"Pleeaasse…." She whispers again in his ear while opening and revealing her red eyes as she begins to run a jammer.

       The corpo conks out with his dress shirt ripped open while sunken into the couch. BugBear promptly hops off of him and walks over to the front door and slides it open. Audrey stood casually waiting there with her back up against the wall promptly walks in. BugBear hands her back a small medical container she used to spike the corpos drink as they both make their way over to him passed out on the couch. The ladies both struggle to carry the corpo over to the bathroom before thumping him down onto the linoleum hard as he lands on the back of his head. The impact of the chrome in his head meets the floor of the bathroom with a loud clunk.

"Fat fuck…" Audrey mutters through her teeth before she walks over to a terminal they have setup and tosses a chair out into the living room they had prepared for him but no longer need.

As she sets up, she looks over and sees BugBear stripping naked.. hesitant to speak.

"Still uhm... haven't told me why you didn't wanna use your jumpsuit?"

BugBear doesn't respond as she finishes removing her clothes and takes a deep breath… she steps into the bathtub filled with ice.

"Bear.." Audrey says uneasy in a tone of disappointment… wanting an answer badly in hopes of getting at least some insight... knowing she wasn't likely to.

"Don't unplug me until I ping you." BugBear responds in a dead tone as she lays down into the bathtub. The ice clinks together along with the light sloshing of the water as she settles into the quiet bathroom. As she stares up at the ceiling in a trance... deep thoughts heavy on her mind... the words pull themselves out of her.

"Audrey....." She whispers in a soft, tranced tone.

"Yeah babe?" Audrey quickly says in a hopeful tone turning around to look at her over her shoulder.

She doesn't respond...

       BugBear's state of mind has had a shift since we've last seen her. Although uncertain of why.. the ladies find themselves in both a pressing and precarious situation having been on a serious run of events leading up to this moment. There's simply no time for it. BugBear takes another deep breath while looking up at the ceiling. Audrey jack's the unconscious corpo into the central terminal before walking over and crouching next to BugBear in the tub. She firmly kisses BugBear's forehead as they exchange a look of determination with each other in the eyes... sharing a moment. BugBear nods before Audrey jacks her in... causing her body to momentarily tense up before relaxing with the back of her head dangling limp slightly over the edge of the tub.

=Jammer's down Zaunya.. Timers on. Move your ass. Now!=

=Copy.= She responds before leaving cover headed deeper into the facility. As she maintains a light jogging pace she glances around at the various cameras Bear took the time to shut off. She abruptly slams into a corpo security guard turning a corner making them grunt and sending the two of them to the ground with a hard thud. The weight of Zaunya's chromed body crushes his pelvis... pinning the guard underneath her as she instinctually presses her forearm to his throat before covering his mouth… halting his scream of pain and silently suffocating him attempting to crush his wind pipe. After a frantic struggle, his neck gives and his body goes limp... his vision fades as the last thing he sees is her masked face. She then drags his body into an open storage container before closing the lid.

She uses the guard's access card to enter a sliding door, deeper into the well lit warehouse. She enters a large room filled with various equipment used for Choo2 production and distribution.

       This gives her pause after thinking back to the warehouse her and Brian hit... as her mind quickly flashes a memory of the expression Brian had on his face when she pointed her iron toward him. She recalls the neon glowing green choo in those special barrels and cannisters from back at the original warehouse.. being sure to note seeing no signs of it. She continues through various doorways with the guards access card barely avoiding detection frantically in search.

   


       BugBear's pink avatar, deep in the corpo's neural network is seen traversing various databanks and stored memories present throughout his subconscious. After some time, she locates the memory bank storing the information they're after. Shes met with a PetroChem ice wall... it wafted with a smoky yellow hue towering over her and causing her to take a few steps back. She immediately begins to hack it as her hyperstylised runner interface begins to quickly flow with code and whimsical cat animations.

       Audrey paces back and forth antsy with her arms crossed. The anxiety in her stomach grabs ahold of her tightly as she occasionally glances out of the window in the living room. She re-enters the bathroom to check on Bear, seeing the corpo layed unconscious with the occasional twitch from muscle reflex. Suddenly, she glances at the corpos wet, twitching neck and sees his blue blinking S.O.S shard begin to blink green in his neuroport. "Shit.." She whispers to herself through her teeth causing her to rush back into the living room and look out the window again in all directions... nothing yet. She then glances back into the bathroom. "Come on Buggie…" She whispers to herself.

       After dispatching several more guards Zaunya finds herself in a research office of the warehouse clearing the room efficiently. She sees countless schematics… blueprints… tools that didn't look to have any car or machinery use. She sees months of research and work cascaded about involving the use and creation of Choo2.. nothing out of the ordinary. In all her years spent amongst corpos, she knows 'ordinary' tends to always be an obnoxious afront with them. She uses her custom Kiroshis to scan the room, briefly turning them golden yellow offering her vision able to spot even the highest qualities of active camo. Her scan picks up the outline of a hidden door frame behind shelving. She quietly lifts the shelving out of the way just enough for her to slip past. She tries to use the access card but gets an invalid beep on the door.

= Found it!= She shouts through comms to Audrey.

Audrey finishes injecting another heavy dose of anesthetic into the rat before rushing back over to the window. She looks down and sees 2 unmarked corpo SUVs pull up and park in front of the building alongside the sounds of an approaching Trauma Team AV.

Audrey's adrenaline starts to surge as she feels the walls of the room slowly begin closing in. She rushes back into the bathroom, falls to her knees and cradles BugBear's unconscious head with her open red eyes flowing with code. "Come on babe!… PLEASE!" Audrey frantically shouts cracking her voice.

BugBear hears the feint, muffled sounds of Audrey's panicked voice in cyberspace but remains completely detached… in deep focus in front of the yellow hued, towering Petro ice wall.

"Come on girl… relax… relax…" BugBear whispers to herself in an experienced tone focusing on the task at hand... finishing the hack and cracking the ice.

       




       She outstretches her arms in front of her... crossing them over one another with the palms of her hands facing the cracked ice wall. With an intense look of focus on her face she slowly moves her hands in a circular motion counter-clockwise while straining hard and gritting her teeth. The wall gradually cracks open slowly down the center to the slow, circular motion of her hands before she violently gestures ripping it open like double doors... Her eyes open wide at the sight.

       Zaunya waiting restless at the hidden door with her adrenaline surging decides to try and use the access card again to open the door… An extremely loud siren goes off causing her to flinch with her eyes wide open. "Shit!" She shouts through her teeth before looking back into the warehouse and hearing the sounds of shouts and heavy footsteps approaching from all angles. She draws her iron, and presses her back against the sealed hidden door... ready for a fight.

       BugBear looks on at this spattering of files, code and well documented information in the quiet voids of a neural network seeing almost an endless stream of seemingly random stored memories... some only 1 to 2 seconds long. She opens the first file at the top of the stack containing a message and nothing else. The message popped up in large roman styled lettering covering the various data almost like a lock screen.

She reads the message to herself under her breath in full focus….

"The blood that's spilled... often filled with sorrow.
The suffering of those not likely to see tomorrow.
The traumas of a past we can't yet make.
Souls in a prison… lies thought fake.
The pain of those we do indeed tax…
Slowly melting away… like candle wax.
Boundless energy derived from resistance…
Gradual ascension to an absolute existence.

4796049"

       Confused by this, the tips of BugBear's fingers glow neon yellow before she touches the message with her hand and swipes it out of the way. She then immediately jacks in to a virtual port attached to the data and begins to rip it as her virtual eyes begin to flow rapidly with code.. bypassing various spoofing and encryption. A timer is triggered as a result of her jacking in.. beginning a 10 second countdown.

Zaunya with her iron trained on the door leading into her room receives a text from Bear that pops up on her interface immediately. The text contains the number sequence she found and nothing more. Zaunya immediately turns around and enters the series of numbers. 4796049

The door slides open and Zaunya enters a small room no bigger than the size of a closet. Confused at the sight… she looks on at a messy gathering of photos, printed bio-monitor data and piles of datashards scattered about. There were various maps and schematics of various districts, apartment complexes and commonly frequented civilian businesses around Night City.

       Amongst the countless headshots of unknown people tacked to a wall sat one posted higher than them all…. Almost as if sitting at the top of an information pyramid. The woman in the photo looked no different than anyone else you'd come across in NC. Just another face among a sea of them you may happen by on any given day. The photo of this woman was also the only photo that carried a name underneath it.

"Marsalla DeNarsee..?" She whispers to herself confused while gazing directly into the woman's eyes in the photo. Not seeing anything of note about her. Zaunya starts to swipe as many datashards as she can from the table while glancing at documents and recording with her Kiroshis.

Audrey hears the sound of loud pounding on the door causing her to gasp and look back over her shoulder at the entrance in a panic.

"Mr. SILVER!! MR. SILVER!! CAN YOU HEAR ME!? SIR!?" A loud booming voice screams on the other side of the door before they begin to smash it down with the weight and intensity of a battering ram but the speed of thrown punches.

"Come on Bear…!! PLEASE!!!!" Audrey shouts through her teeth while cradling an unconscious BugBear. The corpo rat begins to groan and stir awake with his ripped open dress shirt, bleeding head and fucked up hair.

BugBear jacks out of the virtual terminal and glances up at the timer after finishing the rip and taking a few steps back as the entire virtual space begins to intensely distort.

3….2…1..




She stares at the yellow hued memory vault gradually close... stunned and overwhelmed at the various things she saw.

"BEAR!!!!!!!" Audrey desperately screams in a panic causing BugBear to hear it in the voids of cyberspace snapping her out of her trance..… she immediately pings Audrey…

       Audrey immediately jacks her out to the extremely loud sirens, whirs and sounds of a loudly approaching Trauma Team AV outside and a heavy banging at the door. BugBear's eyes open wide as she gasps deeply as if resurfacing from underwater after nearly drowning. A loud crash smashes through the glass of the living room windows as a Trauma Team AV sends X-22s and various other grenades flying in. The front door is then blasted open with booming force as PetroChem huscle storm in from the other side. Audrey still cradling BugBear in her arms turns around with her Liberty in one hand.. clicking the safety off and firing a single shot….

Zaunya, frantically finishes grabbing the various intel she can. She takes a final glance up at the woman's picture plastered above the rest.

"Marsalla DeNarsee.." She thinks to herself to the sounds of an obnoxiously loud buzzing siren. She snaps out of it to the sound of the door to the hidden room abruptly sliding open.. causing her to gasp. She turns to face the door… triggering her Sandevistan.

       The loud boom of Audrey's iron firing off is immediately followed up by the loud blinding pop of a Trauma Team X-22 Flashbang going off. Audrey's shot hits the waiting target.. causing a loud, smoky boom.. triggering a daisy chain of placed explosives throughout the entire living space in rapid succession. Amidst pluming smoke and debris, Audrey dives into the tub on top of BugBear… pushing her down into the water in the process. The daisy chain explosion reaches the bathroom.. tearing the dazed corpos body into pieces and sending the entire bathroom floor down to the ground level. The impact blows the windows of the first floor out sending random civilians screaming and scattering, corpo huscle and Trauma Team scrambling, and setting off parked car alarms.

Through the blinding smoke, Audrey is seen facedown in the tub unconscious on top of BugBear. A blur passes by as the unconscious ladies vanish into thin air. Smoke and fire begins to settle in alongside sirens and the frantic chaos within the building.

Zaunya is next seen cradling Audrey and a naked BugBear in her arms as she flashes down the street weaving through street traffic and toward Audrey's car hidden away… ending the flashback.

Zaunya continuing to stare at herself in the mirror suddenly hears the frantic, muffled sounds of shouting and commotion in the living room of the hideout.. causing her to snap out of her trance and look back.

"Why the FUCK DIDN'T YOU ANSWER!?" Brian shouts at Audrey while carrying Carter in with his arm over his shoulder. Carter leaking pints of blood everywhere shrieks loudly in pain, barely conscious as Brian lowers him to the floor as gently as he can with Netty's help.

"WHA-!? WHAT DID- W-WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!-" Audrey shouts back at Brian shocked.

"GET ME A TOWEL!!!" Netty yells to BugBear. BugBear, dolled up and looking as sexy as ever grabs a towel and falls to her knees next to Netty as the two coordinate together trying to help Carter.

"YOU WEREN'T AT THE FUCKIN' CLINIC!-"