08/10/2077
The Afterlife, Watson District
Night City, California
V
-
The moment he'd heard the words put together in a sentence, he could have sworn that he was on the edge of fainting altogether.
He was talking, he was speaking words, to Morgan fucking Blackhand. The Solo's Solo, the one guy who managed to really fight Adam Smasher and not come away as a corpse. He'd heard tales of this guy as a kid, whenever they entered Nevada or California. He was just that good, his legend went above and beyond the City of Dreams. A big boss, a kingpin of soldiers and mercenaries everywhere.
Never in his life, from when he was a nomad kid, to a corpo dog-body, would he ever have imagined even speaking to the man, nevertheless even sharing the same space as the legendary Night City mercenary.
"I…" V managed to refer to himself, but his words refused to come out. He was standing in front of The Morgan Blackhand. Morgan Fucking Blackhand!
Rogue smirked. "Soldier-boy here has a bad case of hero-worship, kinda like every gonk in the city whenever they hear the name Morgan Blackhand. V, close that mouth, you'll catch a fly if you stay like that."
The old man snorted. "Guess it's to be expected, didn't think a legend would ever last as long as mine did. Figured there'd at least be somebody coming up to take my spot."
V hadn't even realised he might have been in a bit of shock. He'd closed his mouth, trying to hide his nerves as Morgan and Rogue walked off, Rogue waving for V to follow along. He'd flicked the safety on the smart-rifle, allowing the rifle to dangle from V's sling. Rogue had gone behind the bar, finding a bottle of old scotch from one of the body containers before she returned to her booth. Morgan had taken a seat next to Spider, V sitting across from them as Rogue took her own seat, four glasses placed on the table as she filled them all with the dark liquid.
How the hell had he, V, managed to even find himself in that position after his escapades? He should have (quite rightly) been dead almost three times over in the space of three months. He'd had his eyes, arms, sub-dermal armour replaced or taken out entirely to support his crusade. Started building bridges with the people of his old clan, sworn revenge on the largest corporation in the city, one of the largest in the world.
He took a slow sip, wincing at the utter foulness of the drink. Morgan and Rogue had tried it, without even a hint of disgust as they drank it. Spider Murphy, one of the best net-runners if not the best, was sitting across from him. Her head darted constantly between her wrist computer and V as if she were scanning him whilst ignoring the fiery taste of the scotch in front of her. He took the rifle from his shoulder, placing it to his side.
"So," Morgan began, staring directly at V. "Rogue tells me you're the guy who found Shaitan and got Bartmoss' body. That, as well as some other more sensitive information you stole from Arasaka."
"Yes, sir," V replied.
"And you stole that chip from Arasaka, the one that has Silverhand's personality engram that you decided to stick in your head?"
"I did, sir."
Morgan sighed, taking another slow chug of the scotch. "Kid quit it with the 'sir' shit. I haven't been leading anything since the attack on 'Saka Tower. Anyway, you still got him in your head? Has he, done anything?"
V thought about that. Of course, Johnny had done things, he'd taken over his body when he was on the verge of death and even when he felt like it. V hadn't felt Johnny ever directly take control, not when he was in the driving seat other than that comment towards Maiko.
"He," V began, "saved me when I almost died in the desert. Dragged me through the sand, called a friend to take me to shelter. He took over my body, but that's the only time he's done it. Other than that, he keeps popping up when he wants to. It's like he's some kind of glitch, he only appears when he wants to."
"That, or when I need to, usually to give your ass some advice. Questionable or not." Johnny grunted, appearing as if he had strolled into the club like he was alive.
As they sat in Rogue's booth, Spider's eyes (or visor) hadn't left her computer as data flickered past, reflected on her visor before she suddenly darted to look at V's face. The net-runner took a device from her pocket, something with three prongs that looked like it was ripe and ready to be slotted back into his head. There was a mirthful grin on her face as she approached, V leaning back into his seat as she approached. He couldn't see her eyes through the visor, all he could see was the HUD and the feedback on his side. That grin, though, that worried him. The device seemed to get closer and closer before he pushed it gently away.
Rogue turned to V. "Spider, words."
"Shit, sorry, I need to put this Kiroshi visor holographic feedback device in your neural slot. Just so we can see what you're seeing, apparently." Spider grinned. "So, if you can just let me put this in your head, and not squirm like most people in this city, then that would be appreciated."
V remained wary. "Give it to me, I'll do it myself. I don't want somebody sticking random shit in my head."
Rogue seemed to growl. "V, she's not going to be sticking a neuro-worm in your head. It's to confirm that Johnny is still in your head and that he's still the same guy that we knew. It's fine."
"I can do it myself, Rogue."
Before V could shuffle away any further, he felt the hand on his head, forcing his head to his shoulder as Spider slid the chip into the slot. He felt his vision blur for a minute before it receded, Spider pushing off from him before she took a small chip and placed it nonchalantly in her own slot. Rogue and Morgan had taken to drinking heavily as Spider optimised the connection between the two chips from her wrist-comp. His vision glitched, specks of black and white flittering in and out of his sight as the two chips connected.
Johnny had decided to stand on the table, hands delving deep into his pockets as Spider looked around and got used to seeing through V's eyes. Johnny did a little mock-jig on the table as V turned to look at the deceased rockerboy. Johnny gave V the middle finger, to which V gave it back, garnering odd looks from both Rogue and Morgan before Johnny finally decided to erase himself from sight once again.
Spider removed her chip, as did V. "I can't believe it, but he's in there. Silverhand is still alive, and still a prick."
"Damn, if only she had heard some of the shit I'd been saying about her when I was alive."
She offered the chip to Morgan, and then to Rogue, the both of them declining to see it as they finished their drinks and relaxed a little. V didn't feel comfortable, more or less due to the pushiness of Spider forcing the chip inside his head. That, combined with how Rogue had forced the answers out of him prior to Morgan and Spider's arrival. However, it was Morgan's blank stare into him (or nothing) that forced V to be on edge. The man was supposedly a legend, but with how old he looked, how weary and worn he was, he sincerely doubted how combat-effective he could have been.
"Well, I guess we're going to really give it to the Voodoo Boys when we're ready," Rogue stated. "As soon as we find that chip, we're gonna need to find a way to get Johnny to talk to us."
"He was always persistent," Morgan grunted. "Never thought he'd be this persistent. Silverhand must have vexed his way out of dying. Lucky bastard."
"Maybe someone should tell him I'm still fuckin' dead. I don't even have a body to live in right now."
V was quiet, watching the trio as they spoke amidst each other, voices just above whispers where everyone who was close knew not to listen to the sensitive information. Maelstrom, Mox, Animals, they weren't in the know, they weren't a part of the Afterlife crew that owed their jobs to Rogue. For the one time, he really wanted Johnny to say something (quite literally anything) he was quiet. He was in the presence of legends, and to them, he was like an ant.
"Rogue, when I was out in the desert, I made a call." V began, coughing a little as he presented it to the rest of the group, placing a shard on the table. "A contact gave me info on Adam Smasher."
Rogue's eyes looked ready to pop. "You what?"
"Kid does have balls, Rogue. You never mentioned that." Spider almost squealed. "I've heard things on the net. Smasher, he's gotten worse since twenty-twenty-three. More chaos, more collateral damage, he's pretty much hit the point where he's a coin-flip away from being cyberpsycho."
Morgan perked up. "Who's the contact?"
"Not saying."
"Good kid," Morgan muttered.
"With all due respect, sir, I ain't a kid."
Morgan huffed, a grunted laugh erupting from his lips as V seemed to focus on the legendary solo. "No disrespect to you, V, but you're all kids to me. Now, this info. What you got?"
V pushed the shard towards Morgan, the old man taking the piece of tech and sliding it into the small slot behind his ear. His eyes lacked the subtle brightness that occurred with most people had with their artificial optical mods or their entirely-new eyes. He seemed to look into the air, his head nodding as if sliding away sheets of research in front of him. As soon as he was done, he handed it to Spider, sliding it into her wrist-comp. V could see the info being fed to her visor, informative and quick before she took it out, handing it straight to Rogue.
It was Rogue, however, that didn't immediately look at the shard in front of her. She took it from Spider, handling it gently before she placed it on the table. She tapped her fingers quick against her palm, repeating the motion as if to calm herself as her eyes did not leave the data shard in front of her.
"Well, shit, never thought she'd be the one to be getting second thoughts." Johnny whispered.
"Rogue?" V asked, "You okay?"
The owner of the Afterlife and the late Club Atlantis had been quiet, even after repeated prodding from V, Morgan and Spider. Back in the day, they knew as a much calmer and more calculated figure, leaving Santiago to do most of the heavy lifting. It would have been the same if they had the full group with them, a full-strength unit with Johnny, Boa, Alt and Santiago. Those days were over, however; they had to focus on the present.
She'd held her tongue for a while before she managed to vocalise her thoughts. "This is a bad idea, a very bad idea."
V shook his head, scoffing. "You might think that. I'm still going for it, whatever is there, I'm taking it for re-assignment. For a lack of better words."
"V…"
"She's got a point, kid," Morgan argued. "If Smasher is there, what's the chance he'll just hunt you down and kill you for real this time."
"He won't."
"And you know that how?"
V looked towards Spider. "Because Miss Murphy here is already half-way to agreeing with me, and I have a feeling that wherever she goes, you guys will go too."
-
Night City Docks
V, Morgan, Spider and RogueHe couldn't have been more correct.
As soon as Rogue had noticed that Spider, Morgan and V had already decided they were going, she joined almost immediately. Piling into Morgan's truck after packing up, she'd been unusually quiet unlike the rest of them until they had arrived. As soon as they had arrived at the docks, Rogue had already marched to the front of the group, taking note of the Arasaka mercs further into the mini-compound.
"Right." Rogue began. "Morgan and I will hang back here with the truck and will push up as soon as it's clear. V, if your intel from your contact was correct, you and Spider should sneak in and find the security hub. If you two can deactivate the ICE and the dock security, we can take 'em by surprise."
V looked at Spider, shrugging. "Ready whenever you are."
Spider nodded her excitedly, the soldier and the net-runner had made their way around the main fence of the docks, V boosting Spider over the fence before he climbed over himself. The older members of the squad remained by the truck, Rogue tapping her foot constantly as Morgan double-checked and triple-checked his firearms. She could still hardly believe that he was in front of her, she'd resigned herself to knowing that she was the last of the bunch. She knew Johnny had died, the same fate had taken Alt, Boa and Santiago, knowing the fate of the latter killed her inside.
Yet she turned to look behind her, and then the feeling of grief and mourning seemed to fade away as if it were nothing. She felt a churning in her stomach, the time she'd lost mourning people who were never dead in the first place. Age had taken it's toll on them, but nevertheless, it was better to look older than it was to be some desecrated corpse. Morgan was right in front of her, counting bullets in his six-shooter as if he had never aged a day.
She shook her head, digging her nails into her palm. "Can't fucking believe this."
Morgan perked up. "What can't you fuckin' believe this time?"
"You!" Rogue almost shouted, attempting to calm herself. "I swear, I had to sit in this stinking shitpile of a mega-city for god knows how many years without a single person I used to know with me. All I knew, was that you and almost everyone else was either missing or dead. And now, because of V, all of you start popping out of the grave like you never attacked the Tower in the first place!"
Morgan allowed her a moment before he spoke. "It was a necessary evil. I know it was hard, but half of the squad died in the attack, and we both know that. I don't have to say the names, but I regret attacking the 'Saka Tower every day. I sleep knowing it was me who ordered the attack, it was me who got you all in on the gig, it was me who got Boa, Santiago and Johnny killed."
"You don't get to pull that card, we all jumped at the chance to stick it to Arasaka after what they did to Alt." Rogue spat back. "You don't get to self-flagellate on their graves, you don't have the right."
Morgan slid his six-shooter to his hip-holster. "And you do? You don't have the right to guilt me into feeling bad because I had other things to worry about. Shaitan was got, and they would have found Spider if it weren't for me. I did what I had to do. It wasn't just you isolating from this fucking city."
Rogue gritted her teeth. "You…"
"We can talk about this later," Morgan grunted. "Besides, I know what you did before you became the Queen of the Afterlife. Working for the corpos like we wouldn't be searching for the others."
Rogue's eyes widened. How the hell did he even know that she had worked for the Corpos when she was on her own? Probably using Spider, she had no doubts, but that meant she would know too. Her nails dug deeper into her palms before she slumped a little, letting out a heavy sigh before she pulled out her heavy pistol, Pride. She waited in silence, observing the dock buildings, lingering by the truck with Blackhand as he pulled out a pair of Mustang pistols and an old Militech rifle.
Spider and V were taking their time, she'd thought. Although that was more so due to the pair taking their time sneaking past the security to get into the hub. From what he'd experienced, V knew that Spider was a brilliant hacker and runner. The cameras on the way to the docks were either scrambled or turned away on the road, scrambling the ones outside the docks permanently so they wouldn't even know they were there.
V couldn't comprehend how the runners even managed working tech through their brain to an extent higher than a neural operating system like his Sandevistan. Spider had managed to rip down any sort of automated technology or computer security as they stalked into the main security building. Just as Spider had opened the door, she'd almost been caught by a guard, although the guard soon had his neck snapped by V.
Pushing forward, V took the point as Spider lurked quietly behind him. She'd soon become accustomed to the sound of suppressed gunshots, V rushing forward to catch the odd body to not cause a distraction of a body crumpling to the floor. He reminded her of a younger, quieter Blackhand, with less of the ego and more of a forceful nature to him. The sound of cartridge casings jingling as they fell to the floor became more and more commonplace before they finally made it to the second floor. Sliding a wire from her wrist-comp to the main security hub, it was only a matter of seconds before Spider had deactivated any automated security around the docks.
"Right, two seconds and…." Spider licked her lips, as she began hacking the comms. "Got it."
V turned away, reloading his silenced Copperhead. "Rogue, Morgan, security's down. You're clear to enter the dock area. Coming out now."
The ex-corpo turned to Spider as she extracted her wire from the hub, handing her one of his smaller Shingen SMGs in combination with her quick-hacks. The largest mercenary of the group forged ahead with Spider behind, the pair joining the elder solos as they regrouped in a heavily-stocked storage yard. Just as V was about to push forward, a bright light hovered over them before Morgan pulled him back into the darkness. A flood of light flittered over them, diverting away from the small alcoves provided by the stacked storage crates.
"Cargo freighter looked empty," Morgan muttered. "We can use that as a secondary evac route."
V nodded. "Roger that. You saw or heard anything on Smasher yet?"
"Since Spider hacked the security?" Rogue asked. "Nothing on comms. Might not be here at all. Hopefully."
"Hopefully for you," V grunted again, "Me and that fucker have some quality time that needs spending. Let's go."
The group of four darted between dark spots, sometimes having to linger apart as heavily-armed and numerous guards patrolled the docks. The odd one would occasionally wander off, or find himself stalked by one of the four. They'd be ripped from their spot, dragged away into the darkness and dealt with without any semblance of care or respect. Splotches of blood would scar the concrete, burnt synapses and oil leaking out. It left a trail as the group of four soon found another alcove, ducking inside as the hacked holo-comm started blaring.
"What the fuck is this guy doing in that freighter, waiting for some fucking invitation?" the voice yelled over the comm. "Tell him he either gets these crates of shit off the Ebunike right now, or I call Smasher from the Plaza to turn him into paste! Fuckin' idiot."
Rogue turned to V. "He's not here. This was a waste of damn time."
"No, whoever that guy is, he has a line to Smasher. We need to chat." V growled. "Even if Smasher isn't here, we need to make it worth our time. Let's go. That ship is the target."
The comm crackled to life again. "Tell him, tell that dumb fuck in the freighter to take these four crates now! Tell him Grayson said it, and to meet me on the motherfuckin' bow, right now!"
Before any of the others could even blink or speak, V had already darted out of the darkness and towards the ship harboured in the dock. The Ebunike, as it had been called, was a large cargo ship that looked barren. Other than the four storage crates slammed onto the hull, the airborne freighter landing on top of them, latching onto them as the engines died down. Morgan grimaced, with Rogue and Spider in tow as the old blood followed the new.
Spider could just about see the shadow of the mechanised merc running up the gangway, hauling ass right onto the ship. She just about caught the sound of a few suppressed shots being fired, which quickly died down as he threw two bodies over the edge of the ship and into the harbour. Kicking away one gangway, the trio had resorted to finding the other further down. With Morgan covering their six, Rogue and Spider climbed up before they too were discovered.
Gunshots rang out from above, heavy thuds from Rogue's pistol before a body slumped to the floor. Morgan rushed up, firing at three more guards with perfect accuracy as they dropped to the hard cold floor. Morgan thundered up onboard, placing an explosive charge on the walk as he pushed Rogue and Spider out of the open. Blowing the gangway and stranding them on the ship, Morgan provided some expert covering fire, moving back towards where V had rushed away into the ship.
As soon as they had gotten inside, Rogue had taken to blocking the door as soon as Morgan was out of the way. His red goggles mirrored her face, mutating it into something filtered in red as they rushed up the steps and to the bridge. As soon as the trio had scurried up the steps to the bridge, they were greeted with a scene that was consistent with absolute bloody chaos. Liquid crimson spattered across the steel-bolted walls, bodies torn apart by blade and bullet as the door into the bridge was left ajar. Slowly, the group made their way inside, to see the same inside the bridge.
Bodies scattered, ripped in pieces and left bleeding whilst V stood above it all. He taunted Grayson like he didn't have a gun in his face, ripping it out of his grip at lightning-speed. Grayson's hand was almost ripped out of it's socket. That was before V had jabbed the barrel of the gun in his eye, blinding him before a heavy metal hand knocked him to the floor. As Rogue followed Morgan and Spider, she watched as V played with his food. He wrenched Grayson to his feet, snapping one arm at the elbow before doing the same with his knee, dropping him to the floor.
Rogue had barely noticed that as V lingered over the man she assumed was Grayson like the angel of death, he held a familiar gun in his hand. That silver-plated Malorian, Johnny's wretched and hellishly-powerful hand cannon.
The group surrounded the wounded second-in-command, writing in pain as V gripped his arm in a vice-like lock. "Careful, Grayson, or I'll put another in you."
"Fuck you, asshole." The 'Saka merc spat, blood smearing his ginger beard. "My, Rogue Amendiares in the flesh. Me and you not playing for the same team anymore? Guess I'm not surprised, your speciality was always slipping a shiv in the backs of your own guys."
V turned to Rogue. "What the hell is this guy talkin' about?"
"Nothing." Morgan interrupted, socking Grayson right in the nose. "He's trying to get under your skin, V. Smasher has his guys do anything in the book to get back, psych-warfare is just one."
"Keep talking, fuckface. If not, I'm gonna crack your skull like an eggshell. You'll be able to talk, for a little while. So talk."
Grayson smiled before Morgan wrenched his hand around his neck. "What, you guys never wondered how Rogue survived the attack on the Tower? After you all got out, how the fuck nobody decided to hunt her down? Out of all the Atlantis trash? Who'd she fingerfuck? How many dicks? Who's crack did she have to lick before-"
Rogue didn't regret hearing the large and obnoxiously loud crack of Johnny's hand cannon, ripping off Grayson's arm like it was nothing. Morgan pushed Grayson to the floor, his foot hovering over the newly-made stump. "Where's Smasher, now?"
"With the fuckin' Arasakas. Got put in charge of Hanako's security detail, keeping her away from the spotlight. He ain't coming out, even if I called him. I'm just here to get rid of the loose ends…"
Rogue almost roared. "Shit! That bastard got away, after all this fucking time!"
With his final few breaths, Grayson mocked them. "You two will never jump that… high. Smasher's out of your reach. Besides, he likes to handle this shit… in person."
As Smasher's second began to slowly expire, V had shaken his head. Sliding the Malorian in the holster that used to hold Jackie's second pistol, he grabbed Grayson by the neck. "What did he do with Silverhand's body? Tell me, what did he do with the body?"
"Why? Plan to exhume the scop? He died, soaked in his own piss, neurons scorched to death by the Soulkiller. Buried him by the landfill by the oil fields, got his car too in one of those crates. Smasher likes his trophies."
V patted down what was left of Grayson, his final moments being picked at before the largest (and angriest) mercenary picked a small access card from his chestplate. Without care, Rogue had taken her pistol and put him out of his misery. The Queen of the Afterlife marched away, V right behind her. The group soon boarded the aerial freighter, V looking at the cargo manifest as Morgan and Spider took control of the freighter.
After scanning the manifest, he asked them to plot a course outside the city, a familiar spot that he'd gotten used to a lot more often, the more he visited.
-
"Least we got something out of that useless rat-bastard," Johnny muttered.
V grunted. "Guess you could say that."
"Christ, don't tell me you actually wanted to fight Smasher? Come on, V, I hate that cyber-bastard as much as everyone else but we ain't ready. Not yet anyway."
The Aldecaldos had scavenged what was inside the storage crates and the cargo freighter, medicine, packaged food and water, engineering tools and car parts, but one crate remained locked. It was coded to the key that V was twirling between his fingers. He had to adjust his gunbelt, the Malorian weighed down too heavily on one side compared to Jackie's pistol. He was carrying bits of Silverhand on him, and another piece remained locked away in the crate.
"Need a favour, V. I need you to find my body, or whatever's left. I just need to, I don't know, I need to know I can't come back. If all that's left is bones and dead metal, then let it lie. I'm not coming back as a borg, that ain't me."
V looked around; the crate lingered further from the camp than any of the others. Mitch, Scorpion and the rest of the clan had fully scrounged everything they could, but V had found himself on his own once again. His thoughts remained on what had happened. He felt himself falling for Panam again, he felt his loyalties to Johnny in his head truly set. He opened the crate, swiping the key across the locks before he tossed it into the sand.
Inside, was something so old yet so beautiful it was a relic in and of itself. Pulling back the tarp, an old-world jewel was revealed. The silver Porsche 911-930 Turbo. The paint still looked fresh, the car hadn't been scratched or touched in what looked like a few decades. V opened it up, sliding into the leather seat, slowly pulling it out of the crate before the soldier and the rockerboy drove out into the desert once more.