Now it's time for something a bit different.

I've always felt that there is at least one quest missing between "I Don't Wanna Hear It" and "Off the Leash". Both male romanceable characters were so neglected by the devs and their plotlines feel so rushed to me, I decided to write my own extra quest.

I wasn't exactly planning on dividing the text into chapters, but it's going to be longer than my previous works, so it's only for the sake of easier reading.

This one's for you, hellsheep – for making me write again after many years :)

"You must be fucking kidding."

Kerry didn't even bat an eyelid, but inside he was roaring with laughter upon seeing Kovachek's face. He'd never heard his manager swearing before and often suspected that the guy must have installed some linguistic cyberware as nobody could be so glib. That wouldn't be very surprising - a lot of spokespeople were using such hardware to appear more professional and effective, but it was obviously an open secret.

"Nope," snorted Kerry, blowing cigarette smoke in Kovachek's face. He knew it was rude, but couldn't help doing it. Oh, how much he hated it when people lied to him... "You're fired".

Kovachek blinked a few times and shook his head. He looked genuinely shocked.

"Kerry, dearest friend, let's talk this over again, shall we?" started Kovachek with soft voice. "I'm certain we'll be able to find a way to resolve our differences..."

Before Kerry answered, he put out the cigarette. That shithead's sophisticated language was slowly making him sick.

"Got nothing to add. You tried to fuck with ol' Kerry, so ol' Kerry's fuckin' with you now."

"But...! Everything turned out to be fine for you! Touring with Us Cracks will make your star shine bright again!"

"Preem. And tell ya what, I appreciate it so much I got a reward for you." Kerry sighed and stood up slowly. "Sit pretty and wait for a same-day termination. And as a bonus, for a suit from my lawyer."

Initially, Kerry's plan was to punch Kovachek in the face, fire him, then go back to the villa and get smashed as a part of celebration. However, when Kerry left the building after the talk, beautiful weather surprised him. It was a pleasantly cool, sunny Monday morning and somehow even the smog wasn't as heavy as always, which was quite a rare phenomenon in Night City. Kerry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The air still smelled like fumes, piss and street food, but suddenly he felt he didn't want to spend the whole day at home. It was pretty strange, since Kerry usually hated leaving his villa with no reason, but that day he decided he'd surrender to that craving. He failed the plan anyway by not turning Kovachek's face into a crushed tomato, so he might drop the idea of binge drinking as well. At least his liver would be happy.

While thinking about how to spend the rest of the day, Kerry heard his stomach growling. Of course, the cook had a day off, so there was nobody to prepare breakfast. Kerry actually knew how to cook a few dishes, but he was almost never doing this. For what? It was much easier and less time-consuming to hire a cook or order takeaway. And today he thought he would be back after dealing with Kovachek, so leaving without a proper meal didn't seem to be troublesome in any way.

Kerry decided that before wasting the day on pleasure, he must fill up his stomach with anything that had caloric value. Well, as long as it's organic and tasty.

On the other hand, he absolutely hated eating alone. That was one of those activities which made him feel depressed and miserable. Upon looking at a single plate he was always painfully realising how lonely he was, not even being able to have a casual chat during a meal. It disturbed Kerry to such an extent that he was always inviting someone from his staff to eat together. When there was no one around, he was often just skipping the meal, as the ritual of eating alone was making his throat closing up anyway. While being in town, he was usually calling Kovachek, but now it was obviously impossible. Maybe not exactly, as Kovachek would gladly accompany to buy his way into being a manager again, but Kerry would rather eat that synthetic shit called Eezybeef than look at that guy again.

That thought lowered his spirits a bit, but he decided that nothing will ruin his mood today. Kerry pulled out the phone and started browsing the contact list.

"Ariel... nah, he's borin'," murmured Kerry to himself. "Denny's avoidin' me again… Nance's always busy... Oh. Bingo," he said, when he reached the end of the list.

Kerry felt stupid that he didn't think of V at the beginning. He genuinely liked that guy, even though they met a few days ago and under rather controversial circumstances. And V seemed to be fond of Kerry's company as well, he agreed to help with the whole Us Cracks issue and didn't even ask any questions. Yeah, he's got some balls for sure.

"Hey, Kerry," said male voice in the phone. "What's up?"

"Eaten breakfast already?" Kerry never bothered to exchange pleasantries.

"Well... had just coffee." V sounded surprised. "Why?"

"Preem. I'm in the town, lookin' for a hungry comrade. You in?"

"Ah... Depends on what you want to eat."

"This one's on me."

Kerry heard V laughing.

"Can hear you're pretty desperate." Kerry felt an unpleasant sensation in his stomach. He would never admit that, but V was actually close to the truth. "Okay, sure, but I'll be ready in an hour. Where do we meet?"

"You know what? I'm gonna pick you up. Where do you live?"

"Little China. Megabuilding ten, eighth floor. Go past the gym and vending machines, then up the stairs, and cross the gate closest to the dropbox. It's the first apartment you'll see, can't miss it. There's a graffiti of a walking man next to the door."

"Shit. Sounds like a fuckin' treasure island. Can't ya just give me the number of your condo?"

"It's the only one without the number."

"Fuck."

Kerry had no problem with finding the right building – megablocks were easily visible in the city's panorama – but felt a bit uneasy when he entered it. He didn't fit that environment at all and could swear that he was getting a bunch of sideways looks. Kerry was almost sure that in a second he'd get a blow in the head and wake up in a mouldy dump the next day, with all the chrome cut out.

Also, it smelled. Really smelled. It wasn't surprising with all those garbage bags, but for sure it was hard to stand.

Trying to hold his breath, Kerry rushed upstairs when he left the elevator. V was right, the apartment was easy to find, despite not having the number. Kerry was glad he didn't have to venture into the labyrinth of dark and dirty corridors – otherwise he'd probably tell V to go to hell with the idea of picking up.

The doorbell was broken – which somehow didn't shocked Kerry at all – so he knocked the door.

"I told you it's gonna take me an hour," said V upon opening the door, but he moved to let Kerry enter.

"Thought I'd help you pick up the pace. I'm starvin', y'know. Whoa, that's how you live?"

Kerry looked around V's apartment. Judging from the neighbourhood, he thought the flat would be equally bad. In fact, it was... much better than he expected. Of course it was no match for a villa in North Oak, but the apartment was surprisingly clean, spacious and even somehow cosy. And the view from the window was nice.

"Any problem?" V raised one eyebrow.

"Quite the opposite. Honestly, I'm pleasantly surprised." Kerry took off his sunglasses. "Actually kinda cool and doesn't smell. Expected cockroaches big as rats and dripping water from the ceiling."

"Well, you're right with cockroaches." V smiled lightly in embarrassment. "But they're small."

"Fuck. Thanks. Some things're better left unsaid."

Kerry sat on the sofa and leaned back comfortably, checking for cockroaches beforehand. Luckily, there was none, but he noticed an ugly plushy next to him. It looked like a Maelstrom member who decided to install too much illegal cyberware. The toy was holding a small barrel with the word Arasaka on it.

"The fuck is this, V?" Kerry lifted the plushy and looked at it with disgust.

"A memento from past life," explained V. "Got it at one of office parties while working for Arasaka. I know it's stupid, but I kinda can't bring myself to throw it away. My cat likes sleeping next to it."

Kerry blinked.

"Your cat? You got a cat?!"

"Yeah..." started V carefully. Pets were rare in Night City, but not illegal. However, every owner had to pay a horrendously high tax so as a result, only the richest were deciding on adopting an animal.

"Why didn't tell me earlier? I love cats! Been some time since I saw a real one!"

V actually seemed relieved, which made Kerry laugh inside. So he probably didn't report owning a pet after all! V called the cat and soon a sleepy Sphynx came out from the wardrobe. It stretched and meowed, as if asking "what the fuck do you want from me, stupid human?" V took the cat into the arms and gently rubbed his face against the animal's forehead. In response, the cat poked V's nose with its own, to which V laughed quietly.

Kerry was observing the scene and thought it was quite sweet. He was really fond of cats and knew that they do the nose thing only with humans they trust. Kerry had no idea that V had such soft side which led to adopt a stray cat and form a bond with it. He somehow wished he also had a pet, but would he be able to look after it properly if he didn't know how to take care of himself?

"His name's Nibbles," said V, putting the cat on the sofa.

"Stupid name," sniggered Kerry and scratched the cat behind its ear. Nibbles started purring and leaned its head to get more stroking. "I'd call him Behemoth. Just like in that old Russian book."

"Thought you might prefer Fluffy."

"Choom, just look at that lil' guy." Kerry pointed at the cat. "Fluffy? He'll rip your throat if ya fuck with him!"

V raised his eyebrows and looked at Nibbles, which headbutted Kerry's arm, demanding more attention. Kerry laughed and stroked the cat under its chin. Loud purring filled the room again.

"Gonna leave you with that little murderer and take a shower, 'kay?" V made an indefinite gesture towards the bathroom. "Gotta shave, too."

"No need. Lookin' good with bit of a scruff, V," said Kerry, looking at him and nodding appreciatively. "Not sayin' that only 'cause I need food and want ya to move faster..."

V chuckled.

"Fine, I'll skip shaving, but won't deny myself a good, hot shower," said V and went to the sanitary compartment. "Oh, a friend of mine's gonna drop by! Be nice and let him in!"

"What? Thought you finish and we're out!" shouted Kerry, trying to out-yell the sound of the water.

"I told you! I need an hour!"

Kerry sighed and shook his head disapprovingly. From where he was sitting, he had a good view of the cabin and it certainly didn't look like V was willing to take a quick shower. So the mystery of an hour was somehow solved... Kerry observed the blurry silhouette behind mat glass pane for a moment. It wasn't clearly visible, but it seemed V was heavy tattooed around the chest area. Kerry was curious about that tattoo – and a bit about other parts of V's body too – but quickly concluded that simply going and checking would be too creepy, even for him.

For lack of a better activity, he got up and walked around the apartment, casually examining random items. And some of them were very random, like Jefferson Peralez's campaign poster hanging on the wall. Why the hell would V like to have something like that? Kerry hated politics so much he wasn't even sure who won the latest mayor election. Was it Peralez? Ah, screw that. He thought that sooner or later he'll get an invitation to the city hall anyway so he'll find out who's the new mayor.

Kerry approached the shelves next to the stash and almost immediately noticed some old-school CDs. He felt an overwhelming nostalgia, because he loved those small, silver discs even though they became obsolete sometime around 2030. Since that time, the music industry decided to release the new albums on shards only, which Kerry hated so much that he was always spending a fortune to get a single CD copy of his own albums, just for himself. There were only a few CDs on the shelf, but all of them came from the beginning of the century. Among them, however, he noticed his own album from 2025, titled Second Conflict. Kerry wasn't that surprised – after all, he was a world-famous rock star – but it somehow felt good, to find that CD at V's apartment. Despite the fact that fifty years have passed since the release, it still was his favourite album. He gently took Second Conflict from the shelf and opened the case. It was in brilliant condition, even the booklet was so well-preserved that Kerry smiled to himself.

"Found anything interesting?" heard Kerry behind his back.

"Kinda. Had no idea you're my fan. Could give ya an autograph."

Kerry turned back with the CD in his hand, only to see V rubbing his hair dry with a towel. He was wearing just underwear, so now Kerry could finally see V's tattoo – it was a long snake, winding over the muscular chest and right arm. Between the serpent's scaly body there was also a realistic heart, in the same exact spot as V's own one.

"Wow. Awesome tat you got there."

V looked down at his own chest.

"Got it in Tokyo, it's inspired by traditional tattoos. I'm half Japanese, guess I somehow wanted to pay tribute to my roots."

"Bet the tribute's name's Fluffy."

"Oh, shut up." V frowned.

"Chill the fuck out, man, just jokin'!" Kerry raised his hands in an apologising gesture. "Fluffy's really cool. I like it lots. See, my tat is also roots' inspired," he added quickly, seeing that V was rolling his eyes.

"I noticed." V pointed at Kerry's left arm. "It's Filipino, isn't it?"

Before Kerry managed to answer, both heard knocking on the door. V hanged the towel on his neck and rushed to open.

"Yo, V. How's things?"

A tall, well-built man entered the apartment. He looked like a Creole, but Kerry knew that look meant nothing in Night City. The man didn't seem to have his appearance changed that much, though. The only cyberware that Kerry could notice was optics in his left eye socket and an artificial right hand. V greeted the man as if they were close friends – they shared a quick hug with a pat on each other's backs.

"Ker, it's my friend River. Ex-cop, private investigator now. River... ah, you probably know who's that." V shrugged.

River shook Kerry's hand with a firm grip.

"Of course I do. Won't ask what Kerry Eurodyne is doing at your place, though." River gave V a wink. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Eurodyne."

"Kerry's enough. I'm not that old to call me mister," snorted Kerry with a small smirk.

River laughed. He seemed to be a good guy, there was something in his face that made Kerry like him from the very beginning. River certainly had that vibe of a man to whom you could trust your own life and not regret it.

"Okay, Kerry. Good to know." River turned to V. "Sorry, man, I'm in a bit of a hurry today. Can we go straight to the biz?"

V made an inviting gesture towards the sofa. River got there first, then pulled out a thin folder and put in on the table.

"Hey, River. You okay with Kerry listening?" asked V, grabbing a black tank top with a big "X" from the wardrobe. He pulled it on over the head quickly, then sat next to Nibbles, which was sleeping curled up in a little ball.

"I guess." River nodded slightly. "If you trust Kerry, then I have no problem with doing so."

Kerry still remembered about the cockroaches, so he didn't take a seat. Instead, he leaned against the wall, opened the window and smoked a cigarette. He was a bit annoyed, because the empty stomach wouldn't let forget about it, but the curiosity got better of Kerry. He decided he'd give V ten more minutes and if the meeting didn't end, he'd just leave.

"V, the client is Angelo Hayward…"

"Hayward? That braindance producer?" interrupted Kerry and looked at V – he'd reached for the folder and completely drowned himself in the contents.

"Yeah," agreed River. "It's a rather delicate issue, his beloved wife is missing. He reached out to me and seemed so desperate I couldn't say no. The problem is…" River sounded troubled. "I can't really take on it."

"Why not? It's your job, isn't it?" asked Kerry.

"It is. But… ah, it's embarrassing." River scratched his head. "I'm overwhelmed with work at the moment. And this job… might require a lot of digging for which I don't have time right now."

"You prolly need a manager." Kerry blew the smoke. "Could recommend you one, but better check on him from time to time."

"Not sure if I could afford that, but luckily, I got V." River smiled. "He agreed to take over this case so I can rest easy. He's the best merc in town." He again turned back to V, who seemed to be broken out of his thoughts. "This dossier is yours. You'll find all the info I gathered so far inside. Should you have any questions, got my number."

River stood up.

"Please, be careful, V," he said in a serious tone. "We don't know who and how is involved. Hayward is a powerful man, so this may be a… shady affair. If you feel threatened, promise me you'll drop the case."

V put down the folder on the table and leaned back on the seat. He seemed to be deep in thoughts for a moment.

"Can't do that, River," he spoke finally. "You know there're no shady enough affairs for me."

"I know. But you know what they say. You fail a gig only once." River smiled sadly. "I believe in you, but be careful," he repeated. Then he gave V a high-five, shook Kerry's hand again and left the apartment.

Kerry finished the cigarette in silence. It seemed like V needed some time to process what he just heard and read and Kerry thought that two or three more minutes won't hurt. In fact, it was quite pleasant to observe V now. Small wrinkles appeared on his forehead and he narrowed his eyes, as if he was about to think over a difficult move during a game. V was definitely lost in thoughts, but a slight determined expression was also present on his face. Kerry suddenly got an impression that this man never surrenders. Like, never.

"Sorry, Ker," said V finally and shook his head, as he snapped out of the pensive mood. "I still remember about our breakfast, but after that… I need to work a bit."

At that moment, Kerry remembered his morning promise to himself. The day was supposed to be fun and he definitely didn't want to spend it all alone at home. Not now, not when he just got some hope for having company, for attention. Kerry subconsciously felt that it could end up bad if he simply returned to North Oak so, without much thought, he said what he said.

"Wanna go with ya."