Chapter Twelve
July 16th, 2077
Night City, Northern California
Charter Hill, Hideout
V departed the fuel station an hour after the Spartan's departure. Panam wasn't too perturbed in being left in the presence of Saul, but the Mercenary wasn't about to touch that bundle of fireworks with a ten-foot pole.
The Aldecaldo had her problems to work through, and there wasn't much that V could do to help her choom. So, she chose to put some distance between her and the mass of Aldecaldo Nomads. At first, V was going to drag Hellman's unconscious body to the Sunset Motel, but a curious message from her resident Spartan stopped her.
Cyrus had sent a cryptic and yet incredibly straight forward message to her communication module. The message contained a set of coordinates and a note to bring Hellman to the location. It was barely an hour since she had last seen Cyrus, and now she was in the middle of nowhere, five kilometers east of Charter hill.
She almost lost her grip on the comatose Corporate Doctor a few times but was able to save herself the embarrassment of dropping him on his head. Eventually, she came across a relic of a distant past.
V stood in front of an old fallout shelter nestled deep into the rolling hills east of Night City. When nuclear war was still a terrifying concept in the old world, citizens and corporations made fallout bunkers to save themselves from nuclear winter. As time passed, the threat of a Nuclear catastrophe slowly diminished with the rise of Mega-Corporations.
The Mercenary wasn't sure what to do when standing in front of the hulking fallout door, but her decision was taken from her when the steel laded door swung inward. The familiar hulking form of her favorite mass-murdering psychopath waved her inside.
"Come in; this won't take long," Cyrus stated.
V followed after the Headhunter's brisk pace, walking down a flight of concrete stairs into the fallout shelter. When she finally reached the bottom, the Mercenary was stunned by a treasure trove of armaments and electronics. The Bunker only contained a single room, but it was segmented into four different areas.
Off to her right was a room hosting an extensive collection of electronic workstations, a single mainframe, and a host of computer screens. There was enough tech in here to make Judy feint in ecstasy if she ever got her hands on it.
To V's immediate left was a makeshift armory. Weapon parts and explosives littered the top of a steel table along with an assortment of ammunition boxes and magazines. The table was pushed against the bunker walls, sitting just underneath a weapon rack filled to the brim with firearms. The Mercenary almost went bug-eyed when she spotted an M-179E Achilles, and those were hard to come by in Night City.
The rest of the room contained a kitchen with an insane amount of Militech MRE's and a relatively simple bedroom. And by that, she assumed the metal bed frame was something he slept on; otherwise, she was at a complete loss.
"Put him here." Cyrus's hyper-lethal voice interrupted her thoughts. The Headhunter motioned for a foldup chair resting in front of the electronic workstation.
V placed the unconscious form of Anders Helman onto the chair's seat carefully, ensuring that the doctor would maintain his torpid state. Her hands quickly fell to the side as Cyrus went to the mainframe and retrieved a long jack cable.
"What are you doing?" V questioned softly.
"Jacking into his neural network." The Spartan inserted the jack cable directly into the doctor's neck. "High profile Corpo scientists have a storage module installed into their Cyberdecks; it allows them access to their work wherever they go."
"What didn't want to ask him his opinion on the matter?"
"I don't care for his opinion or his lies," Cyrus stated. "He won't suffer any lethal side effects, but he won't be conscious for a few hours."
The Headhunter's attention immediately returned to the workstation's central console; an assortment of data and other technical records populated the screen. The Mercenary was left with little else to do but laze around the hideout and snoop around for goodies.
"Shit, I can get with that," Johnny's Engram made an appearance, leaning against the Headhunter's armory bench. "Cut the bullshit, get the intel you want; I'd almost like the guy if he didn't scare the piss out of me."
"You'd like anyone that kills Corpos Johnny." V retorted.
"True," Johnny admitted. "But clearly, this is the exception to the rule."
The piece of technology that caught her undivided attention was a piece of equipment eerily similar to the Spartans' armor. It was an intricate piece of machinery with an exotic feel to its otherworldly design. A dull light of cyan caught her attention. V glanced in Cyrus's direction and surreptitiously grasped the module with both hands. Its weight mimicked a Carnage, heavy and robust, and she was pleasantly surprised how pleasant it felt in her hands.
"Vargas," V almost dropped the equipment on her feet. "Put the camo module down."
The Spartan had turned his attention to V, who wisely chose the path of least resistance and returned the module to its previous spot. Cyrus stared at the Merc for a few moments longer before returning his attention to his workstation.
V explored the Spartan's workbench once again, palming a Carnage shotgun that had seen some work done to it. The barrel was extended by an inch or two, and Cyrus replaced the shotgun's stock with a sturdier material. An S0-21 Saika was mounted on the shotgun's railing. V had been dying to get her hands on one of these babies.
The Merc placed the Carnage back where she found it, eyes drifting around the assortment of automatic weapons and sidearms. A large container of weapons parts drew her attention. A mixture of suppressors and muzzle brakes filled it to the brim. Cyrus had more gear in this compartment space than she had ever carried in her lifespan.
"Do you think he has a bigger cock than me?" V nearly choked on her breath, turning to Johnny with an unbelieving look.
"Johnny," V scolded. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"What." The Engram replied nonchalantly. "Guy that size, his pecker's gotta be a killer at the very least. Besides, I'm only thinking it because you were at one point, especially when you were feeling his arm up like a goddamn hooker."
"Jesus, Johnny." V exasperated. "I was just fucking with Panam, and you know that."
"You we're fucking with both of them, V. You practically live for making people squirm around you, and if you say otherwise, that's bullshit."
V's face was red with anger, and she almost let loose a tirade of inappropriate comments that would have school children running for the hills, but the Spartan's voice stopped V in her tracks.
"Vargas," Cyrus intoned. "A moment if you will."
The Mercenary gave the Engram a scathing look that only drew a wider smirk from the Rockerboy. V had to feign a cough into her hand to realign her composure, an attempt that drew the Spartan's attention briefly.
"What?" The Headhunter's attention turned back towards the video screen. The Mercenary exhaled deeply, trying to ignore Johnny's incessant snickering.
"Take a seat," V complied with the order. "How did you get the Relic?"
"Got picked up for a retrieval job in Konpeki Tower." V supplied. "The Relic was the object of interest, and during extraction, its containment unit was breached. To protect the asset, we jacked the biochip into our neural networks, didn't know what we were getting ourselves into."
"We?" The Mercenary's face fell as memories rushed back; she hadn't come to terms with Jackie's death. The image of his pale complexion and the rush of blood echoed through her head.
"A friend of mine died during the gig. Thing's haven't been the same since his passing." The Merc's forlorn look left little to the imagination for the Spartan.
Death was not a foreign concept to Cyrus; the cessation of life dictated his own livelihood for well over a decade. He had friends pass on into the encroaching darkness on Ferax when he was still coming to terms with surviving on the streets.
Fellow Headhunters he had spoken to days earlier in a UNSC mess hall never returned from their latest assignments. It happened far too often for his liking.
"After we retrieved the Relic, we shifted back to our rally point in a shoddy motel. Our Fixer was pissed that Saburo Arasaka was a corpse." The Merc's expression shifted into pure venom.
"Fucker shot me when I wasn't paying attention, dumped my body in the Junkyard. Wouldn't be wandering Night City without it, but the Relic came with an irritating passenger in tow."
The Rockerboy shot V an unamused expression, raising his right hand and flipping V the universal bird. Despite herself, V couldn't help the smile cross her face. Johnny, for all his faults, the man had proven to be anything but ingenuine. He never lied to her, and sometimes that kept V on the straight and narrow; other times, he was just an asshole.
"And now it's killing you." The Merc nodded in affirmation, time was not her ally, and her mind was a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment.
Cyrus ripped the jack cable from Hellman's neck and held it out for V to take. The Merc stared in confusion as she grasped the cable tentatively. The Spartan swiftly took the end of the jack cable and inserted it into his MJOLNIR's tacpad. She stared in quiet disbelief, her fingers rubbing at the jack cables wire.
"I can help you, V," Cyrus revealed. "But I need direct access into you're neural network. I need you to jack into my armor."
Johnny's constant smirk died out almost immediately, his eyes almost as wide as V's own. Neither one of them was expecting this current pattern of events to take place. They came here to settle a deal, and now we're face to face with someone neither of them expected to be of much help when it came to the Relic.
"How," V began. "Forgive me, Cyrus, but you don't come across as someone who has direct knowledge of Arasaka technology. And don't try to tell me you made that armor yourself."
"A friend of mine can help you," Cyrus replied. "She's the best at what she does."
"Does 'she' have a name?" V's tone emphasized her concern in the matter, and she had never given anyone in her life direct access willingly. Her experiences with the Bakkers and while living in Night City made it nearly impossible for her to ever give direct access willingly to her neural network.
In essence, direct neural access was forging a connection between two neural networks that essentially bonded them together as one. Granting direct access was a personal decision. Those people outfitted with cybernetics only granted it to those they shared an emphatic relationship with or an intimate one.
"I can't tell you unless you agree."
The Headhunter's tone left no room for argument.
This was not an issue he was willing to compromise in. Chamber's very existence was a technological abnormality, and the fewer people knew about her, the better.
"Cyrus," V questioned softly. "I like you, more than I probably should in some cases, but I don't see how-" The Headhunter cut her off with a firm yet gentle tone.
"Vargas. Do you trust me?"
Trust, a word that was not used lightly in Night City. V trusted very few people in her life, even fewer of those when she had only known them for a week or two. And yet, V would be lying to herself if she told him that she didn't trust him. Whether Cyrus knew it or not, he had a certain gravitas about him, cloaked by his otherwise terrifying demeanor.
She didn't know him well at all, only the bare basics of knowledge when it came to the Headhunter. The city he was born in, his name, and his reputation was all that she knew. She didn't know what he actively enjoyed doing, what his dislikes were, how old he was, or hell, she didn't even know what he looked like.
So, V supposed this was a good time to do just that.
"Cyrus," V started slowly. "Jacking into a neural network is an invasive procedure, direct access even more so. Typically, it is only ever done in life or death situations. I trust you, but I can't trust someone I don't know a lot about when it comes to that type of neural jack."
"Even if it may save your life." V's expression did not waver.
"Even then."
A silence permeated the Bunker's atmosphere, neither one willing to look the other in the eye. The conversation had taken an unexpected turn on the Spartan. He was confident the Mercenary would jump at even the slightest chance of self-preservation, so he did not expect her to deny his offer.
Cyrus's opinion of the Mercenary changed with her decision; he could understand her final decision's moral complexity. Allowing anyone direct access to a neural network was only ever allowed to the most trustworthy of people. The Headhunter was unwilling to force the issue when he could simply provide her the Relic's blueprint and let V make her own choice.
Cyrus took a knee in front of the Mercenary. His hand slowly went to retrieve the jack cable when the woman's left hand slowly fell atop his own. The Headhunter's hand was trapped between both of V's, causing his eyebrows to furrow in confusion.
"My mother's name was Valerie," V spoke softly. "It's why I go by V, couldn't stand to be confused for my mother when I was a kid."
Cyrus understood her meaning; his tone was mimicking her own. "Her name was Eva; she named me after my late grandfather, a memento to an old war veteran she adored."
"Eva," V tested the name on her lips. "It's a beautiful name, no doubt for a beautiful woman."
"I wish I could tell you if she was." Every year that passed only served to tarnish their memory; Cyrus had no pictures to remember them by. Only a memory that slowly faded from his mind as time passed, and now when he recalled them, all that was left was a blurry reminder. "I doubt she'd like what I turned out to be."
Eva's baby boy thrown out into the streets and eventually turning into an ONI assassin with a questionable moral compass. Cyrus was reasonably sure that his mother would have been rolling in her grave if she had one.
V nodded in silent understanding, rubbing the top of his hand with her thumb. The two quickly fell into a comfortable pace, sharing small details about one another's life. V provided most of the conversation's life; Cyrus only spoke in short words, enough to satisfy the Mercenary's curiosity.
For the first time in weeks, V's eyes sparked with each passing moment. The Mercenary was finding her comfort zone with a Spartan Assassin, an unlikely and somewhat near impossible occurrence.
Chamber could only watch the pair in silence, eyes tracking every emotion along V's face. The Mercenary was content in the Headhunter's presence; anyone could see that despite the bizarre circumstances. The woman had been under a tremendous amount of stress lately, and Chamber didn't need to be an advanced AI to come to that conclusion.
However, she needed to be a UNSC AI when it came to finding out why V was so desperate to locate Hellman. The Relic that Chamber had detected when they first met was slowly consuming the Mercenary's mind.
V was dying, and Chamber wasn't entirely sure how to help in the beginning. The blueprints were a good starting point, but she couldn't actively begin to figure out the reasons why without a direct link to V's Neural Network. Something she wasn't comfortable in partaking just yet.
The AI was curious in meeting Johnny Silverhand, and he was created in much the same way she was. The difference was the technology involved and the process behind the Engram's creation. She didn't know the complete details, but an inspection of the Relic would narrow down her questions and start giving her answers.
However, that would have to wait for another day.
Chamber quietly shuttled the Relic's blueprints to the Mercenary, stopping the conversation in its tracks. V leaned back into her chair, hands slowly letting the Spartan's hand grasp the jack cable and return it to the mainframe.
"These are," V's eyes trailed along with the scrolls in data in surprise.
"The Relic's blueprints," Cyrus said. "They were in his breast pocket while you were poking around."
The Mercenary had the decency to glance away at the accusation, her eyes finding an interest in the Bunker's floor. The Headhunter found his feet soon after shuffling past the still unconscious Anders Hellman. Chamber had inserted a program to prolong the doctor's sleep for at least an hour longer.
"Thank you, Cyrus," V acknowledged. "I ugh, I need to get going. An acquaintance of mind needs to speak to the good doctor."
"Takemura?" V wasn't surprised by the Spartan's knowledge; a soft smile came to her face as she regarded him.
"The very same."
V stood on her toes slowly, watching the Headhunter move towards Doctor Helman's comatose body. The Headhunters hands grasped the Arasaka Doctors comatose body roughly, drawing the Mercenary's attention.
"Hey," V teased. "Watch it now. I need that old man alive."
Cyrus gave her an unamused look and strode up the Bunker steps with the doctor slung over his shoulders haphazardly. "Still can't take a joke, I see."
"Your jokes aren't funny," Cyrus said.
"Asshole." Chamber could only smile at the duo's banter; V and Panam were able to bring the Spartan out of his shell; he just didn't know it.
The Headhunter emerged from the bunker entrance with a purpose, distributing Hellman's body at the rear of V's ARCH. The Mercenary swung her leg over the motorcycle, frame comfortably adjusting for the doctor's weight.
"We'll talk more later, Cyrus." V purred at the Headhunter. "Until then, try to stay out of trouble. I'm not done with you yet."
The Spartan merely nodded in response ignoring the Mercenary's teasing tone as he returned to his Bunker. V could only stare at the Spartan's receding back before the steel doors shut behind him with a tremendous thud. Johnny, who had gone missing during her tender conversation with Cyrus, made his reappearance, eyes fixated on the bunker doors. Her mind wandered back to Cyrus's so-called 'friend'. There was no possibility it was a Corpo scientist, and she didn't know many Netrunners who possessed knowledge of the Relic that wasn't in Arasaka's pocket.
"He's hiding more than a simple Netrunner V," Johnny commented. "I didn't believe for a second; he was the one that would crack open the Relic before he came clean."
"What do you mean?"
"Do I really have to spell it out for you, V? Cyrus is a killer," Johnny eye's flicked over to her. "He walks like one, he talks like one, hell I'd bet my ass that he was conditioned to be one."
"Get to the point, Johnny." V huffed.
"All I'm saying is the age-old adage V, trust but verify." With his final piece said, the Engram disappeared into the void leaving behind a contemplating V.
Johnny, for all his bravado and sarcastic remarks, was a man that knew exactly what he was talking about. Cyrus was all the things Johnny said he was, and much more as V was concerned. He didn't carry himself like a scientist. His entire persona and body language were that of a trained assassin. V could tell instantly that it wasn't him that would be helping her, it was someone else, and she couldn't trust her life to that chance.
Cyrus walked like the incarnation of death itself. His body always coiled, ready for a fight. He consistently scanned an individual's weaknesses in form and capability from the moment he met them. The Headhunter reminded her of a retired hitman she came across a few years ago. Even for the most mundane of tasks, the hitman walked with an unbearable weight that exhumed his very presence to all who crossed his path.
Cyrus carried that same unbearable weight and even more, which was utterly absurd to think about in her opinion. But it was clear to V that Cyrus was not your average person; his reputation alone shattered that notion in seconds.
But that wouldn't stop her from trusting the Spartan, and she'd just have to put in the extra work to understand him, is all.
V would find out what made Cyrus tick. It was only a matter of time and patience.
July 18th, 2077
Night City, Northern California
Japantown, Mega building H8
With Hellman's skeleton closet now in the hands of Chamber. Cyrus was now free to continue his crusade against the Tyger Claws, and the Headhunter was merciless. For two days, he ambushed Tyger Claw gangers up and down Japantown, hunting any sporting their colors in a campaign of rapid dominance.
His first steps towards the Tyger Claws capitulation were their trafficking rings. These detestable forms of organized crime were littered all across Japantown; most were smuggling weapons, people, and sometimes children in and out of the city. Cyrus took great pleasure in tearing apart this particular source of income, and yet their dismantling would be a far more precarious endeavor.
The Tyger Claws, unlike the Maelstrom, possessed connections within Night City's residents that could not be done away with violence alone. Japantown is the nightlife district in Night City, and the Tyger Claws controlled 80% of all businesses in the district.
The ganger's owned more businesses in Night City than any other syndicate in the city. Establishments such as bars, restaurants, braindance clubs, brothels, and casinos were just one of many legal business fronts for illegal operations and money laundering.
The Claws make most of their money from human trafficking and prostitution. However, a significant portion also originated from the manufacturing and distribution of drugs, most notably "Glitter." Couple that with their low-level thugs taking on hit jobs and various small-time criminal activities. The Tyger Claws were rolling in more eddies than any other gang in Night City.
The Claws also had a corporate connection to Arasaka, with incredibly close ties to its upper management. Arasaka outsourced protection details, assassination gigs, and other side jobs to the Tyger Claws almost exclusively. Their payment came in a variety of means, such as eddies, Cybertech, and military-grade equipment.
So, the Headhunter decided to hit the Tyger Claws' most profitable estate. Nestled inside Mega building H8 was a nightclub called Clouds. Its function was much like locations that utilized braindances and catering to the desires of all its visitors.
Hiromi Sato is a Tyger Claw captain, who runs the club on behalf of the syndicate. The man had a well-known reputation for being incredibly uncaring towards his employees inside the Nightclub. Rumors abounded that his personnel manager, a man named Oswald Forrest, regularly 'mistreated' the Joytoys for his amusement, and when Sato was informed, he cared little for their plight.
Cyrus would ensure their transgressions would not be ignored any longer.
The Headhunter was observing the club's interior from a perch on level 15. Chamber was analyzing the floor's layout, marking patrol patterns and Joytoy workplaces as time went on. Neither of them spoke much since V's departure, and Chamber had been preoccupied with exploring 'The Net.' Scavenging every piece of the telecommunications network for information on Project Pandora.
In the meantime, Cyrus had received a call from Dana Parker about a Mercenary snooping around the outcast camp. The Headhunter was mere moments from dropping his Tyger Claw campaign and ridding the Merc from existence, but Dana saved the wretched man's life.
The Merc had left a message from a fixer named Rogue Amendiares, a woman with an infamous reputation in Night City. Rogue employed her own company of mercenaries to perform gigs from inside the Afterlife, and she recruited only the best Night City had to offer.
The message contained only Rogue's contact information and a request to visit the Afterlife at his leisure. A request that the Headhunter would decline to accept, at least on her terms. He had little doubt that Rogue possessed knowledge that Chamber could not obtain for all her capabilities. Seven decades of firsthand experiences and accounts were far more valuable to the Headhunter than anything Chamber could conceive. He wouldn't tell her that, though.
"Chamber," Cyrus leaned against the low concrete wall. "How much longer?"
The Headhunter's perch was an abandoned apartment room; the building's manager had evicted the previous occupants along with most of their valuables. There was still a family picture dropped haphazardly onto the carpet floor. Cyrus left the picture where it laid, not willing to touch a family's precious artifact.
"Just a minute longer," Chamber replied. "Tossing a few ideas in my head, see if we can make this a little more interesting."
Chamber was devising a plan to access the Joytoy workrooms. Most customers would be enjoying brain dances or personal time with their selected sex worker; this gave Chamber the ability to shield the civilians away from the Headhunter's assault. All the AI needed to do was tweak a couple of systems to her liking, and they'd be in business.
"So," Chamber drawled out. "You have been popular lately with our favorite pair of outcasts lately."
The Headhunter vehemently disagreed if popularity meant mundane conversations without end, then he'd rather be unpopular. Cyrus appreciated the pair's attempts to stay in touch, but he felt more and more like a rope in a tug of war match. Now, it was a rarity not to get a call from either of them at least once a day.
Cyrus was slowly getting used to having whole conversations while saying the bare minimum of words. Chamber irritatingly stated that he was being trained like a good dog. God, he hated people.
"No comment." Chamber only snorted in amusement.
"You'll get used to it, trust me," Chamber conceded. "If you don't, then I suppose you only prove that a Spartan's main weakness is when there expected to be social."
"Chamber." The AI wisely chose to raise her hands in defeat and return her attention to the Nightclub below. The two UNSC assets had been staking out Clouds for twelve hours now, getting a feel for the surroundings.
Chamber would have preferred just jacking the security cameras and planning from there, but Cyrus always preferred a hands-on approach. Seeing patterns and targets interact with one another on a feed was one thing. Watching it with his own eyes was an entirely different ballgame.
While Chamber scanned the Megabuilding's security cameras for any other breach points and potential targets coming in and out of the Nightclub, seconds later, she came across a curious pair of individuals, one of which was remarkably familiar to her.
"Cyrus." The Headhunter's eyes caught onto her discovery.
"I see them," Cyrus magnified his hud, zooming in on a familiar Merc before switching to her companion. "Who is Vargas with?"
"Analyzing…Ah a somewhat familiar face." Chamber recounted. "It's the Mox braindance technician V was rolling with back at the Red Sons hideout. Judy Alvarez is her name. Records show she was a former employee at clouds before she was 'terminated.'"
"Is she a problem?"
"No, you monkey," The AI scolded. "Alvarez is harmless to us, and she is an acquaintance to V, so I don't think our favorite Merc would appreciate what you're implying."
The Spartan watched the duo's movement quietly, and both women were conversing while the Mox smoked a cigarette. "I need to hear that conversation."
"Standby," Chamber replied. Mere seconds later, two distinct voices filtered into his helmet. "And voila all done."
"-Leave the talking to me. I know her best, and she is not fond of outsiders." The Mox's soothing voice stood out to Cyrus instantly.
"How are we getting her to our side. I don't fancy the idea she'll drop everything to help us." V's familiar tone echoed in his HUD.
"By telling her the truth about what happened with Evelyn, after that we improvise." The Mox took another puff of smoke, handshaking momentarily.
"So, what then," V grimaced slightly. "Am I here to be your huscle?"
"I didn't mean it like that, V. I just know the woman better, is all." The Mercenary's face was the definition of exasperated by the current events. Eventually, V took a deep breath, settling her nerves rapidly.
"Alright, then. I'm ready." The Mox nodded her in thanks taking one last puff of smoke before stopping out the cigarette bud. Judy walked over to a junction, tampering with the wiring, while V leaned her weight on her left leg. The Merc stood around quietly, minding her own business before her head stopped for a moment.
V was contemplating a decision inside her moderately unstable mind for a few seconds. When she finally came to a conclusion, the Merc accessed her communication module and brought up a list of contacts.
Mere seconds later, the Headhunter's tacpad lit up with an incoming message. Chamber immediately brought the message upon his HUD. The Spartan quickly ignored the long list of insane text messages she had sent him over the following few days.
:May need your help. Will be in touch xoxo:
"Huh, how about that," Chamber spoke aloud. "I guess you are being trained like a good dog, your master sends you an order, and you're already two steps ahead of her."
"Shut up, Chamber." The Merc closed her communication module and followed her choomba into the office.
"Yeah, whatever," Chamber began. "Might as well stay ahead of the game and see what they want with Clouds."
The AI brought up a security feed linked to the office of Clouds' unofficial manager. Maiko Maeda, Chamber had already written up a dossier for him earlier in the morning. So, she wasn't exactly a new prospect for him to recon; what he didn't know was her relationship with Judy Alvarez. A relationship the Mox was clearly trying to take advantage of.
"-help the dolls." V's voice cut in. "But we can't do it without your help."
"Dolls make more money than any whore in Night City. It's the reason they even come to Clouds." Judy's voice exploded in trepidation at Maeda's remark.
"Clouds isn't the problem." Judy began. "I want the Tyger Claw's gone along with Woodman. That sleazy bastard raped Evelyn while she was unconscious, then sold her off like scrap." The Clouds Manager rolled her eyes at Judy's naïve reasonings, deciding it was an excellent time to enjoy the fruits of labor hidden in a cigarette. Maeda chose not to immediately answer Judy's protest, rather inhaling a puff of smoke and blowing it into the Mox's face.
"What you want is a fantasy and completely out of your capabilities."
Cyrus ignored the rest of the conversation, turning his attention to Chamber's avatar. "So, if I'm putting the pieces together correctly. Our Merc and her friend want to remove the Tyger Claws as the proprietors of Clouds. Ambitious but incredibly naïve."
Cyrus agreed with Chamber's assessment; the Night Club made far too much money for the Tyger Claws to ignore a management change. Vargas could kill the men in charge all she wanted; eventually, the rest of the Tyger Claws would come knocking. And V was not capable enough to kill every single TC in Night City.
But Cyrus could.
"Well, that sucked." The Mox massaged her head in a vain attempt to rid her growing aneurysm before throwing her arms in frustration. "Argh, she didn't even let me make my point."
V agreed in spirit, but his plan was a longshot the entire way. Maeda was too far up the management chain to throw in with them that quickly. She had more to lose than anyone else did in this crazy-ass plan.
"Look, Judy, Maeda's scared," V informed. "She has more than lose than any of us if things go sideways."
The Mox did not like that fact, hopping off the container and brushing past V. "So, what she'll end up ignoring everything that goes on. That's bullshit, and you know it V. We need help V."
"I know Judy," V replied. "But we also need more than just her help. You want to remove the TC from Clouds, that means we need heavy hitters, and I know just who to call."
The Mox gave V a sharp look. "V, we don't need other Mercs on this job. They are more likely to sell us off to the TC for a cut."
"He's not a Merc." Judy looked at her like she had grown two heads.
"So, what is he then," Judy vaulted over the terrace's low wall making a beeline for the Megabuilding's maintenance level. "A good Samaritan V, I'd sooner trust a Scav to watch my back?"
Before she could retort, her comms module ringed in her head. V's momentum halted, drawing the attention of the Mox. A whimsical smile crossed the Mercenary's face as she answered the inbound call.
"Cyrus," V drew out teasingly. "I'm happy you called, really I am. But I'm kind of busy right now. If you call back later maybe, we can go on a date. If you're lucky." The Merc wasn't surprised in the least when the Headhunter practically ignored her entire statement.
"Where are you, Vargas?" The Headhunter's no-nonsense tone made her smile grow.
"Out and about enjoying the beauty and laurels of Night City." V ignored Judy's amused expression. "Why you miss me?"
"Lying to me is useless, Merc." He knew how to make V all fuzzy inside sometimes. Shame he was an absolute dick to everybody, but she supposed that was part of his charm.
"Spoilsport," V grumbled underneath her breath. "I'm in Mega building H8 outside the Clouds Night Club. I just spoke to-."
"Maiko Maeda." V's breath caught in her throat, eyes blinking rapidly in disbelief. Judy, who had been listening carefully, walked up to the Merc.
"V, you ok?" The Merc nodded in affirmation, turning her attention back to Cyrus. The Mox was unwilling to let that slide, splicing into the communication channel with relative ease. V shot the Mox a look but didn't comment on the intrusion, and if Cyrus noticed, he didn't let it show.
"You're not the only one interested in Clouds Vargas." The Merc's face leveled out. She needed to get used to his bullshit; it was the only way V could maintain her sanity around the Headhunter.
"Ok, so what do you want with them?" V drew out. "Because I guarantee a guy like you will not enjoy the entertainment they hand out CY."
"I imagine the same reason as you," Cyrus explained. "The only difference is I want to kill every Tyger Claw in the district."
Judy whistled in astonishment; V's choomba had lofty goals, that was for sure, and she liked him all the same for it in the future. "Sounds ambitious; I'd almost say you're talking bullshit, but I know better. When do you want to meet?"
"When you're ready, but I doubt your friend will enjoy my presence." V stopped her sarcastic retort in their tracks; she never said anything about Judy. Alvarez's face drew the same conclusion, eyes scanning around the Mega building, unable to locate any security cameras or the source of the voice.
"I never said anything about another party Cyrus," V explained. In contrast to her companion, V appeared to be taking the revelation with little issue. Judy was not so tranquil; she hated being spied on, and whoever V's friend was, they were damn good at it.
"You didn't have to." After a moment of silence, the Headhunter got back to V with a reply that sent shivers down her spine.
"Get some rest, Vargas. You look tired." The connection was cut immediately. V's optics scanned the terrace's around them, unable to pick out the Spartan's hulking form. Judy's eyes shot back to V's with a bewildered and somewhat disturbed look. V could only chuckle at her choom's antics, and the man knew how to get to people.
"V, who the fuck was that?" V glanced over to her resident Mox.
"That Judy," V declared with a smile. "Was our Good Samaritan, and in this case, you don't fuck with anyone crazy enough to be a good Samaritan in Night City."
I hope your not disappointed Chamber didn't get to meet Johhny and V. I did intend to introduce them in this chapter, but it seemed a little rushed in my opinion and Cyrus would not risk Chamber's safety unless it was on his terms. I rationalized that a UNSC AI is one of the most dangerous things to possess besides MJOLNIR armor. As a result, I went this route, but not to worry Chamber will soon interact with the rest of the gang. It's only a matter of time.
Like always I hope you enjoy and criticism is welcome. Happy Holidays everybody.
Reviews:
MEleeSmasher: Chamber was less possessive more overprotective. I hoped it didn't come off to Yandere as you say.
SilverExcel115: Correct our boy was in Beta Company, but he was a year or two older than the rest. His disappearance from halo was in the year 2551 so he will be turning 21 soon.
Zeoncobra: Some missions will maintain the same ending and buildup, but I am adding more elements to the story. Such as Gangs becoming a bigger factor with Cyrus now involved. A Spartan's appearance will change a great many things in Cyberpunk the ending most of all.
aljpogi: Ask and you shall receive.