V sat atop a low concrete wall next to River Ward in a nearly empty parking lot outside a tiny dinner in the early morning. There was a slight drizzle out and light fog filled some spaces of the neighbourhood around them. River's head hung low as the large man leaned against the low wall, hands clasped in front of him and elbows propping him up. V held the cigarette case that Judy had given her in her hands, slowly rotating it by it's corners.
"You have anyone to go home to River?" V broke the heavy silence between them. She opened the case and pulled out one of the remaining cigarettes as she waited for a response.
"No," River sighed heavily, his organic eye rotating to look at the merc as she lit the cigarette held between her lips. "Never been any time for that kind of thing."
"No family? No output? Anyone that would miss you if you were gone?" V's gaze finally met River's. V hadn't smoked since being forced from Arasaka, the toxic air filling her lungs somehow felt refreshing after the previous night's events.
"Why? You offering?" River laughed, a light of hope in his eyes, "Only known each other a few days V."
"Not what I was asking," V's cold response caused the detective to look away. "I'm going to give you some advice about what is going on in your head right now.
"I was alone for years. Had friends that were close, like family to me, but even then I couldn't rely on them when I was up shit creek. I had a choice a few years ago much like you do now. Do I do what's morally right? Do I reveal the corruption that I found? Or do I cover it up?"
V looked down at the detective next to her and took a long drag of toxic air. She let the questions in the air hang between them for a moment.
"I had found out that one of the flagship commercial products Arasaka was working on, involved live human testing. The test subjects were being effectively tortured and this was in the middle of a massive investigation into Arasaka for acts against humanity.
"I had the choice of revealing it, or I could cover it all up in some way. But I found a third option. I caused the head of the project to commit suicide, overrode his implant's programming and left him a damning suicide letter. Made him pin all the blame on a small rising corp that had already been trying to recruit him. You know what happened? He left behind a wife and two daughters, all three of them were hunted down and killed by 'Saka ninjas. All three were silenced to keep any information from spreading beyond the official statement."
V could feel the gears in River's head spinning. She took another long drag and could feel Johnny's mind relishing in the smoke now filling her lungs. River shifted uncomfortably next to her.
"Why you telling me this?" the detective questioned, "This isn't the same."
"It is," V corrected, "Right now you have the choice to expose what really happened, expose the cover up that your partner was part of. Right now, you're mulling over what to do and only thinking of the effect it will have on those directly involved. I'm telling you that the effects will be much bigger than you could imagine. You'll be silenced, and anyone else that's close to you will be as well. The system is too big to fight from the inside, and too big for a single action to affect it."
"So what do you think I should do?" River's shoulders slumped forwards. "Just ignore what I saw?"
"No, don't ignore it. You need to use it to your advantage." V flicked the cigarette away from her. "You hold onto your information and wait until there's a better time to use it against those that hold your leash. Think of it as playing the long game."
V hopped down from her spot on the low wall and stretched her back and arms. She placed one hand on River's shoulder and the detective leaned into the touch. V pulled away after a moment and looked to the form of Johnny that fizzled into her optics.
"Really are a full on corpo cunt aren't you?" Johnny sneered, "Playing games with his head, Jackie was always right, can't kick the corpo outta the rat."
"Old habits die hard," V thought back, "But you know I'm right. You planted a bomb and yet Arasaka stands taller than before."
"You're still a pawn to them, even when not in Arasaka."
"A pawn that's going to get herself out of the game. Arasaka stole everything from you and it's doing the same to me. I don't want revenge, I want to escape."
"Only way to escape is-" Johnny sneered but V interrupted him.
"Is to make yourself too dangerous to be touched. That's what we're gonna do. I need your help Johnny, whatever it is the Voodoo Boys want, you're their key. And we'll use that key to set us both free."
V and Johnny stared at each other, both of them nodded to each other. Johnny opened his mouth to start responding, but a sharp ringing echoed from V's phone. Judy's information displayed itself on V's optics and without hesitation V answered.
"Hey Judy, what's happened?" V asked, a pit sinking in her stomach.
"V, I need you." Judy's voice was thick with pain and sadness. "Just come to my place please, it's Evelyn."
"I'm on my way." V's heart leapt into her throat and Judy disconnected the call.
River stood up from his spot and looked to V with worry and confusion. He only overheard V's side of the conversation, but the woman's voice was full of pain and sadness.
"What's going on?" The detective pressed, V started walking towards River's truck.
"I need to go, it's urgent." V's tone was cold and the woman felt dread enveloping her.
"I'm going with." River jogged to catch up to the merc and opened the passenger side door. "You drive."
V jumped into the driver's seat and without a thought, floored it towards Judy's apartment. Her body acted without any thought, instincts taking over. V's mind prayed that what she knew had happened wasn't true.
The drive to Judy's apartment was chaotic silence for River, V had control of his truck with expertise that surprised him. River couldn't help but admire the pink haired woman even more than he already had. His desire for her grew the more he was around her. He watched the woman driving like a machine the entire twenty minutes it took to reach a small blue building in Watson.
"Stay here." V ordered as she jumped out of his truck. River didn't have the chance to respond as the woman raced into the building and disappeared inside.
V raced as fast as her legs would carry her up to Judy's apartment and banged her fist on the door. The door slid open and Judy's sobbing voice filled V's ears.
"Bathroom." Was the only word that Judy managed to get out.
V flung the door open and her heart stopped. The thing she feared, the thing she knew would come since the day V and Judy had rescued Evelyn, had happened. Judy sat on the edge of her bathtub that was covered in blood. The pale, almost blue, body of Evelyn Parker lay sprawled inside. A blood covered kitchen knife lay on the floor next to the tub under Evelyn's lifeless hand. Evelyn had slit her own throat from ear to ear.
V took the heavy and slow steps forward and kneeled down next to Judy, looking up at the other woman with sorrow and pain on her face and eyes. Judy's eyes were bloodshot from crying, her makeup smeared and tears had pulled dark lines down her cheeks.
"Bird repays you-" Johnny's form materialized in V's optics, but V's voice boomed in her mind with rage.
"Shut the fuck up for once in your life!"
"I was only gone an hour," Judy sobbed out, her eyes not leaving the corpse before her. "I thought if I gave her some time and space-"
"This isn't your fault, Jude." V's voice was soft and cracking with pain, "You did everything you could for her."
"I didn't do enough!" Judy sobbed. V pulled Judy into a tight hug and Judy's arms wrapped around the merc.
"You did more than anyone else in this world." V rubbed Judy's back, holding back tears of her own. "You gave her the ability to choose what she wanted."
V held Judy in her arms for several long minutes as she cried and sobbed into V's chest. When she stopped, Judy pulled back, but still kept her hands on V's arms. V could see Judy trying to compose herself, take control of her emotions.
"I'm gonna call the badges." Judy's voice was hollow and empty, V felt her heart shatter into a thousand tiny shards. "I don't want any trouble."
"You don't need to." V assured, her eyes never leaving Judy's. "I drove with one, part of that job you sent my way yesterday."
"Can you bring her to the bed at least? I want her to look like a person, not a body." Judy's pain couldn't be held back as much as she tried to keep it in check.
"Yeah, she deserves as much." V nodded and shifted herself towards Evelyn's corpse.
V lifted the body into her arms and carried Evelyn to Judy's room. Gingerly, V laid the body on Judy's bed, the blood still draining from the gaping wound in her neck quickly leaking more and more blood out and covering Judy's sheets. With the body set down, V took both of Evelyn's hands and laid them on top of each other just above her heart.
"Thank you, V." Judy sat down on the edge of the bed next to Evelyn. "I'm gonna put something on her, just close the door."
V nodded and put a hand on Judy's shoulder, one of Judy's own reached up and squeezed V's before the merc pulled away and left the room, gently closing the door behind her. V's steps felt empty and sluggish as she walked outside the building to stand in front of River, who had been waiting against his truck.
"V? What happened in there?" River asked, seeing the merc's hollow and cold expression and her tank top soaked in blood.
"I need you to call a coroner. A woman commit suicide and we need her body disposed of the right way." V's voice was cold, River had heard more life from an automated system than the machine V had transformed into.
River met V's gaze and didn't need to ask any questions. The merc's eyes couldn't hide the pain and sorrow that filled the woman's soul. River pulled out his phone and dialed a number he had saved. This would cost him in favors, but the woman in front of him needed it more than River thought possible. V showed to be a cold blooded killer, and yet the person in front of him showed just how much soul the woman truly had.
V sat in a plastic chair on the roof of Judy's building, an unlit cigarette from Evelyn's case held lightly in her mouth, almost forgotten. V was too busy watching Judy as she paced back and forth looking at the city before them.
"Can I bum a cig?" Judy asked, finally looking to the merc, "Please, V, just need something besides air in my lungs."
"Yeah," V nodded, holding out Evelyn's case as Judy walked towards her.
"Evelyn's case." Judy muttered, turning it over in her hands. "I'm glad you're the one that has it."
"You don't want it back?" V asked as Judy pulled out a cigarette, her gaze fixed on the case.
"No, you keep it." Judy handed the case back and leaned towards V for a light. V lit both Judy's and her own.
Judy sat next to V, both women smoking in silence for a few breaths. Judy shook her head and V could see the doubt and self blame writing itself on her face.
"I don't know what to say." V's voice was soft, but just loud enough to be heard over the sounds of the city. "Never been any good at this kind of stuff. I just know that you can't blame yourself for this."
"You don't need to talk. You did more for her than anyone else. You bein' here is enough."
"I had a motive to find her, you know that." V tried to be gentle with her words.
"It's what you bring, what you did, that counts. You saved her from that hell. Gave her freedom, gave her a choice she didn't have there."
"I know, just feared she'd choose this when we found her." V slumped down in her chair and took a heavy drag of smoke.
"'Member Fingers? He said Evie was with him for four days before being taken. I couldn't let go, what happened to those three before she left Clouds? Tom told me she disappeared a week before you showed up. I went looking again at the recordings in her head. Most of it corrupted, unreadable." Judy's voice filled with pain and anger.
"You found other recordings?" V knew where the editor was going, "What happened to her?"
"Woodman, he kept her and used her. When he was bored," Judy's voice shook with anger as she spoke, "He sold her like so much scrap. I wish I could unsee the things he did to Evie."
"Woodman got what he deserved," V's voice was hard and cold, "I wish I had done worse now."
"What do you mean?" Judy asked, her eyes looking to V, "What did you do?"
"Butchered the pig and let him watch his own death."
"Wish you recorded it." Judy spat, tossing the smoldering cigarette away from her. "Almost want to live out what you did."
"No, Judy, you don't." V shook her head, her sad gaze meeting the other woman's. "You don't want to be a monster, that's not who you are."
"You ain't a monster, V. Right now, I'd call you a saint."
V couldn't contain the snort of amusement that resounded from her. Judy was so innocent, so unknowing of what V had done and could do. Even in the face of grief, Judy managed to make V happy with a simple phrase.
"There's gotta be somethin' I can do." Judy mused after a few moments. "Call Suze, see if she's got any ideas. Too many in this world like Woodman."
"If you think of anything, tell me, I'll join you down any path you take." V met Judy's gaze once more, and there was an emotion in the other woman's eyes that V couldn't place.
"Thanks, V." Judy looked away, "Just, I think I wanna be alone right now. I'll keep in touch, I promise."
"Need anything before I go?" V stood from her chair and placed a light hand on Judy's shoulder.
"No, but sweet of you to ask." Judy shook her head, staring at the city lights.
"Anything comes up, anything you need, even if just to talk or not be alone, call me." V's hand squeezed Judy's shoulder for a moment. Judy reached up and squeezed V's hand with her own and nodded.
V walked down from the roof, looking back at Judy one last time before leaving. Judy's eyes followed V as she walked and didn't leave V's form until she was no longer visible.
Vik sat in his clinic late at night. He had lost track of time and realized he should probably close up and head home. As fate would have it, while reaching to turn off the light over his operating table, the gate to his clinic opened. Vik looked over to see V walking in wearing a blood soaked tank top that clung to her torso and blood covering her hands and arms.
"Jesus V!" Vik rushed over to his patient, "Are you alright?"
"Physically?" V's voice sounded numb, "Yeah. Just here for maintenance, missed our appointment earlier today."
"It's a check up V, you're not a machine." Vik followed the woman over to his table, watching the slow steps she took and the weight on her shoulders. V stripped the tank top off and tossed it into a waste bin nearby.
"Beg to differ." V lay back on the table and her face was blank, but her eyes told Vik all he needed to know.
"Who died?" Vik knew better than to dance around a problem with V.
"Evelyn Parker, woman that hired Jackie and I for Konpeki."
"So you're grieving over a woman that you didn't know?" Vik was rarely surprised by the girl on his table but ever since Konpeki, she was full of them.
"Grieving for a friend." V had been Vik's patient for her entire adult life and the man easily caught the underlying meaning.
"Valorie, you're growing up so fast." Vik smiled at the dirty look the woman gave him. "Almost like a daughter I didn't have, glad to see even now that you're learning more about yourself than you were allowed to at Arasaka. This whole biochip thing might have freed you more than being canned from 'Saka."
"You're lucky I like you Vik." V stuck her tongue out and the older man, "Wouldn't let anyone else call me that."
"I imagine," Vik mused as he grabbed V's personal link and connected her to his systems. "That there will be a lucky young lady joining the small ranks of us that know that name."
"Such a gonk sometimes Vik." V face turned a bright red as she looked away from the ripper.
"Whatever you say, Valorie." Vik laughed and pulled up his chair in front of the table, holding up one finger. "Now, follow my finger, don't move your head."