Chapter 4

I moaned happily as I yawned and stretched out in the bed, staring up at the dozen or so decorative wooden beams stretching across the ceiling. The sheets were softer and smoother than any I'd ever used, one of the many luxuries I was enjoying in the suite at Konpeki Plaza as we waited from word from T-Bug. My entire body felt limber and loose in addition to the tingling I usually felt after a good round of sex. The wall of warmth from the body next to me filled my heart and made me feel even more relaxed, if that were possible. I turned over and sild my arm around his waist and pulled myself to him.

"I love you, Jackie," I whispered.

I heard a light grumbling and saw him stir, which made me sigh sadly.

"Look… I'm sorry about what I said in the car," I breathed softly. "I get how much this means to you, to hit the big leagues and be a legend. I want that too, just… I don't need all the flash and glamor if I have you, that's all. I thought you'd be happy."

Jackie rolled over to face me, but his mouth was dripping with blood. "V…" he gurgled, dripping more blood from his mouth and reaching a blood-soaked hand out to me.

As he leaned back, I saw Evelyn Parker's dead body next to his, her slit wrists spilling blood onto the sheets. My heart pounded and I could barely breathe, then I felt the wetness of the sheets below me and saw that my hands and body were stained with blood - blood that I knew was both of theirs.

"V!" a voice shouted.

I scrambled back from the bed, but my legs were tangled in the sheets.

"V, wake the fuck up!"

I felt myself topple out of the bed, and my vision went black as my head thudded against the floor. I blindly slammed my hand down until I my hand hit the button for the lights. Once I felt the button, I reflexively reached for the gun holstered next to my pillow and spun around to an aiming position. My apartment lights blinked on, and I slowly regained my bearings in the silence while panting and dripping with sweat. I sank to the floor and sat against the wall as I tried shake off the nightmare, and Johnny appeared sitting at the edge of the bed.

"Shit, what the hell was that?" he asked as he glared at me.

I tried to slow my breathing as I examined my hands, which still smelled of the soap I used to scrub off Evelyn's blood only a few hours ago. "Didn't think you could see my dreams," I huffed.

He shook his head. "I couldn't until this one. I didn't even have a choice; it was so strong. And if I can't control seeing your dreams-"

"I know what you're getting at, but it's not just a dream," I cut him off irritably. "Not entirely. That was the night Jackie died, our last quiet moment in Konpeki Plaza. I haven't dreamt of him like that for a while, but Ev offing herself and getting her blood on me must've made me remember it. We've seen each other's memories before, so this isn't that different. We still have some time."

He grumbled and stood up. "None that we can waste just sitting around, waiting."

I tossed my gun back onto the bed and hoisted myself up to start some coffee. "Not like we have much choice. Marchin' down to Pacifica and shooting up the VooDoo Boys isn't gonna fix the Relic. We have to wait for Mr. Hands. 'Sides, we still have the Peralez job to finish up. Just gotta report what River and I found."

"Good. Maybe we'll both sleep better with them out of our way," he suggested grumpily before fading away.

I sighed again and sipped my coffee, then crossed the apartment and opened the window. It was 9:30 AM, which meant that I only had 3 hours of sleep after a long day. I took a quick shower to help wake me up, then got dressed and headed out. I didn't care that my shirt had a few rips, I was about to give the Peralezes valuable info that'd wreck Holt's campaign. They could deal with it. They lived in a luxury apartment building in the southern end of Westbrook, and I waited patiently at the lobby entrance as the intercom called up to their apartment.

Elizabeth answered, "V? We're upstairs."

As the glass door unlocked, I replied, "Thanks." I walked across the empty lobby and called an elevator, but Johnny appeared after I hit the button to their floor.

"Just gonna tell you one thing," he warned. "Don't tell 'em nothin'. Don't get involved. This muck is deeper than you think. It'll suck you in if you're not careful."

I shook my head. "I'm always careful."

"Load of shit," he grunted. "Fine, do whatever the fuck you want. Not like ya listen to me anyway. Just don't cry to me if they string you along for another job."

The doors hissed open, revealing a foyer about half the size of my whole apartment. A large wall display showed discordant flows of red, blue, and teal jagged lines. I wondered if it was cutting-edge art or a broken smart screen. Overhead, camera watched steadily as I exited the elevator and was greeted by Elizabeth, who was waiting with her hands folded in front of her like a practiced hostess.

"Hello, V. Please, come in," she welcomed me with smooth anticipation in her voice. "Make yourself at home. Jefferson will join us shortly."

A set of double doors opened to a long hallway, which led into a much larger space that stretched halfway around the penthouse. The room was lined with floor-length windows that looked out to spectacular views of the city, except for a set of glass doors that led out to a large terrace. It contained two bars, each fully stocked and at opposite ends of the curved room, as well as several lounge seats and sectionals, a conference table, and another digital display with another strange pattern similar to the one in the foyer. An automated piano softly played a bittersweet tune that carried throughout the space. It was an entertainer's paradise. I kept following Elizabeth to the seating area.

She gestured to one of the sectionals. "Please, have a seat," she offered as she gracefully walked to the bar with a happy sway of her hips. She poured a small drink, but let it sit without touching it further.

"Thank you," I replied as I sat. I almost felt whiplash having visited the slummy shoebox that was Péter Horváth's apartment and then this monument to opulence in the same 12 hours. It was a wonder, but no surprise, that they could both exist in Night City.

Jefferson entered from the terrace and walked towards me, but smiled at Elizabeth, who then picked up the drink and carried it towards us. Jefferson extended his arms and grinned at me.

"Good to see ya, V," he greeted as he rounded the sectional opposite me and sat down. "Elizabeth tells me you have answers for us. I'm all ears."

He rested with his arm over the back of the sectional and his legs crossed, then reached up for his glass which Elizabeth was already handing to him as she sat behind him on the back of the seat. Their fluid movements and positioning looked like something out of a movie, or like they had practiced that pose while sitting for a portrait – the prominent politician with his devoted wife, the power couple. It even made me wonder if they designed the sofas to be at just the right height for them to be able to do that.

I leaned forward. "It's not a hundred percent clear what happened," I began.

Elizabeth scoffed. "Hardly anything ever is, but…?" she added expectantly.

"I think Weldon Holt was behind Rhyne's death," I reported.

Jefferson's grin spread even wider. "I knew it! You got any proof?"

"Not exactly. Some emails to and from him that paint a different picture of the night Rhyne died, but nothing implicating murder," I clarified. "That's more, uh… strong suspicions."

Elizabeth put her hand on his shoulder. "That's all we need to know, Jeff. We have to be careful, keep a close eye on Holt, and up our security."

He rested his head against her hip. "You're right… As always, you're right." He looked back at me. "Thanks for your help, V. Your fee…" His eyes glowed blue as he transferred the money.

I couldn't help but smile as I saw €$11580 transfer into my account. It more than made up for Johnny's latest night on the town, and that was before I even sold the guns I found. I nodded happily and stood up.

"Glad I could help," I replied as I began walking back to the elevator. When I reached the foyer, the large display flickered while showing the same colors in a different pattern, yet still as jagged and straining as it was before. I shook my head and looked away as I waited for the elevator.

I needed something else to distract me while I waited for Mr. Hands to call, so I scrolled back to a text message I received but had forgotten about. It read:

Hey, it's Sandra Dorsett, the one you saved from the scavengers. After what happened, I get the feeling I can trust you. Would you be up for retrieving a little something for me? I'll pay, of course, but… it's kind of a sensitive matter, so I'd rather not get a fixer involved. It's my databank. The scavengers must've taken it while they were keeping me there. It was still connected to the net, so I traced it before they caught on and switched it off. I'm sending you the coordinates. Call me if you find it. I'd be super grateful.

P.S. - Data's confidential. I trust you won't access it.

The address was just up near the Kabuki market, which was just a stone's throw away from my apartment. With the Peralez job complete, the easy job nearby, and the extra €$7500 I picked up from selling all the guns in my trunk, I felt pretty good about the day. I pulled up to the curb with my I360 and was walking towards the address Sandra had sent when my holo rang with a call from Kabuki's fixer, Regina Jones.

"Hey, V," she greeted. "Got a job for you."

I chuckled. "Already on one, but hit me."

"Heh, looks like you really get around. Introducing Alois Daquin – a deadbeat with a pretentious name." She transferred a photo over the holo. "Gonk broke my trust and skipped town. Well, fuck him. Only thing I care about now is the data he left in NC – specifically what's on his comp. Check the attachment, you'll see what to do."

The job file came through, and the address was the same as the address Sandra gave me. "Guess NC is a little smaller than I thought," I hummed curiously to her before hanging up.

I scoped out the unit at the address and entered through a back-alley door. I crept along with my suppressed pistol at the ready. I heard voices and talking casually back and forth, and I found two people talking in a stock room. I kept out of sight while I scanned them, finding them both to be wanted Scavengers connected to several corporate kidnappings. It was no wonder that they had Sandra's databank, and I had an idea of what happened to Alois Daquin. I quietly zeroed the two of them, then continued through the building. Two more Scavs stood between me and the tracker on the databank, and neither of them stood a chance at close range with the pistol's accuracy.

I finally found the databank, though a noise quickly made me turn around with the gun pointed forward. A woman was curled up on a coffee table, though I noticed that she was fully immersed a braindance. I quickly scanned her and saw that she was just a joytoy and not one of the Scavengers, so I let her be, knowing well that she was better off without the Scavs hovering over her vulnerable body. Looking back to the databank, I checked to make sure that it was what Sandra was looking for. The shard was secure and encrypted except for the title, which read as "Operation Carpe Noctem." With a title like that, I decided that a quick peek wouldn't kill anyone. The security behind the encryption was fairly strong, but I managed to get the data decrypted before any more Scavs showed up. I quickly read through it:

FOR NIGHT CORP INTERNAL USE ONLY

The tests have come back successful. The artificial intelligence CN-07 has proven itself capable of bypassing commercial, device-specific, and macro security systems accessible to Night Corp employees of the lowest ranks. None of the test subjects were aware that this experiment was being conducted on them.

In compliance with the orders it was given, CN-07 focused mostly on subject HK-13, which at the time of the experiment's commencement was classified as "calm and empathetic." After a period of subliminal conditioning, as we predicted, HK-13 began to display acute psychopathic behavior. The highlight was a dispute over coffee, during which HK-13 strangled one of their colleagues, then jumped out of the 16th floor window of the research facility.

We will soon commence the next phase of the procedure and install CN-07 onto the devices of our actual target.

I exhaled sharply as I read, and while I really wasn't surprised that a corporation was experimenting on their peons, I was surprised that it was Night Corp of all corps. I pocketed the shard and wondered if Sandra needed it to expose Night Corp or to protect them. It was hard to tell with corpo types like her, even if I did save her life.

Moving through the rest of the unit, I cut down two more Scavs and found the laptop Regina was looking for. Her target, it seemed, had been captured and torn apart for implants and organs in true Scavenger fashion after being lured by the ripperdoc operating a floor above. I made sure that the ripperdoc at least admitted to what he did before I gave him the same treatment as the other Scavs.

After dropping off Regina's laptop and receiving the €$1000 reward, I ran through my contacts and dialed Sandra. Her image came through on the holo with her in a suit, her hair grown back and styled, but her face still pale and fragile.

"V?" she asked. "You're V, right? Did you find the databank?"

I smirked. "Right to the chase, huh? Yeah, I have it. Found it in another Scav haunt." There was silence on the holo for a moment, and I noticed that she wasn't moving or blinking. "Sandra? You there?"

"Yeah," she replied. "It's just that… well, ever since they told me what happened, I can't stop seeing them… Figured they musta had it… but y'know, it's not like I was gonna go lookin' for it myself after… Ugh… I keep telling myself it's over… the ones who took me are gone."

I nodded understandingly. "So is this group. Didn't leave a single one to let this get started up again. But listen, you've got Trauma Team Platinum. You couldn't be in better hands. I'm sure they already fixed the exploit that got you last time."

"True, but who knows what the Scavs will cook up next time?" she reasoned, then chuckled nervously. "Heh… Anyway, that's all in the past now. Got bigger fish to fry."

"You wanna talk about it?" I asked, wondering if I'd get a glimpse of her intentions for Night Corp.

She shook her head. "It's nothing. Just bring the databank to my apartment. Sending the address now."

"Thanks," I replied as I downloaded the data.

I drove down to her apartment building. It was a relatively smaller building, similar in quality to my apartment and nowhere near as clean or luxurious as the Peralezes', but decidedly inconspicuous. I imagined that factor appealed to her after what she'd been through. I found her apartment door and knocked. After no response, I knocked again.

"Sandra?" I called. "It's me, V. I got your databank." Silence again. "Sandra? You in there?"

"Are you alone?" her voice electronically buzzed.

I quickly looked around and noticed a camera looking down at me from above the door. It had a small speaker which I guessed was how I heard her.

"Did anyone follow you?" she asked.

I shrugged and looked around annoyedly at the empty hallway. "What does it look like?"

The door clicked and slid open. Sandra stood there with her eyes narrowed and rapidly looking around. She quickly gestured me inside.

"Come on," she urged shakily. "I don't like leaving the door open."

I looked around while we walked back to the main room of her apartment. It was largely Japanese-inspired with very modern furnishings. What caught me off-guard was a large turret hanging down from the ceiling and scanning around the room. I scanned it to make sure it wasn't about to tag me as hostile, then looked back at Sandra.

"Still worried about the Scavs?" I asked.

She gave me a confused look. "The Scavengers? No, I'm worried about… Um… No, no, it doesn't matter. Did you bring the databank?"

'Moment of truth,' I thought to myself as I pulled it out from my pocket. "Here. Don't worry, it's completely intact."

She glared uneasily at me. "When someone tells me not to worry, it usually means they're hiding something. You wouldn't happen to have seen what's inside, would you?"

I smirked and primed my Sandevistan in case she decided to sic the turret on me. "Alright, you got me. I looked inside. I know everything."

She took a step back, folded her arms, and snarled. "That's what I thought. So, what's your next move?"

By how afraid she was, it was clear that she didn't have Night Corp's protection, which meant that she didn't get the data legally. I smiled and nodded. "To congratulate you, of course. Anyone who hacks Night Corp has earned my respect."

She seemed taken aback, then she let her posture relax. "Oh, well I… um… thank you. You know, if they end up going through with it, then—"

'-The Net will become even more dangerous," I completed. "You were worried they'd find out about you."

"Exactly," she nodded.

I shook my head as I thought it all through again. "Using an AI to condition workers' minds… Huh, that's some supervillain shit right there."

"Not just workers – anyone," she warned. "That's the scariest part."

My eyes narrowed as a thought crossed my mind. "How do you think they could condition random people? I mean, workers are one thing when you follow their every move."

She shrugged. "Dunno yet, it must vary from person to person. Probably why they need an AI to do it for them. Why? Do you think you saw something?"

"Not sure," I replied hesitantly. "I just had a job investigating a cyberpsycho. By all reports, he already had several screws loose, but supposedly he got even worse while he did a brief stint in prison. Then after his release, he tried to assassinate some bigshot. Just wondering if somehow he got conditioned too."

She thought it over for a moment. "I don't know. I imagine it'd take a while to condition someone, not like flipping a switch. And Night Corp only just moved this out of the testing phase, so likely it has nothing to do with that job. As it goes on, I hope to find out more about how they do it. But hey, since you're here, I never got the chance to thank you properly. If not for you, Trauma Team wouldn't have been able to put me back together last month. Wasn't there someone else with you? Big guy? Whenever you get a chance, tell him I said thanks."

My stomach twisted a bit, and I took a deep breath and looked down at the floor. "Um… Yeah, about that… Jackie's… dead."

She sighed heartbrokenly. "No… My condolences. It… it wasn't 'cause of me, was it?"

I shook my head. "No. He was killed by Arasaka. Wasn't too long after we found you. Jackie always had too much cool to let anyone know he gave a shit, but after everything you went through, he'd be happy you remembered him."

She nodded. "You've been a big help. Here, I threw in a little extra – for a fellow runner. It's good to be reminded I'm not in this fight alone." She transferred over €$1700 to my account.

I smiled lightly. "Thanks. Be seein' ya."

She nodded as I made my way out, but before I reached the door she called out, "Make them pay."

I glanced back at her.

"Arasaka," she continued. "Fuck them over. That's my plan for Night Corp, anyway. Maybe… maybe we could help each other."

"Oh?" I asked as I slowly walked towards her again. "What do you need?"

Her eyes looked away as she thought it through, clearly not having considered all angles before offering. "Well… I… I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some of Arasaka's dirty secrets, too. You send me whatever info you find on them and anything that helps me with Night Corp, and I'll be your netrunner – make life a little easier for you while you do your merc contracts."

I grimaced. "I dunno. The last runner I worked with was killed by Arasaka on the same job as Jackie. You'd be battling an army of corpo runners if you were discovered."

She smirked confidently. "I got the dirt on Night Corp, didn't I?"

"You're sure about this?" I asked dubiously. "You were scared enough just from me showing up, and that's when you were expecting me."

"That's different," she argued. "I… I can take care of myself on the Net, just… not on the streets. But once I jack in, you can count on me for anything. Deal?"

I considered the dangers for a moment, then reached my hand out. She shook it, and we both looked at each other like we were crazy, but that it was the right thing to do.

I tiredly stumbled into El Coyote Cojo. I walked slowly and exhaustedly as I nursed an almost-healed bullet hole in my side, though I had a smile straining to show itself on my face. The late-night crowd populated the bar and gave a lively buzz to the air along with the rhythmic music. I saw Pepe and Mama Welles working the bar as I walked in. He nodded to me without too much concern, but she eyed the blood on my shirt and shot me a worried look. I smiled and shook my head, waving off any doubts or concerns she might've had. Pepe nudged her and handed her a full shot glass, which she carried as she got out from behind the bar and intercepted me.

"Ay, V, you're bleeding," she observed with the motherly mixture of genuine concern and justified annoyance. "Here, drink this. Pepe's 'liquid anesthesia.' Then we'll fix you up so you don't bleed all over the bar."

I chuckled and took the shot glass. "I stopped the bleeding before I got here, don't worry." I downed the tequila, moaning happily at the taste and feel as its warmth joined the rest of my body.

She looked at me with a strange smile. "You seem happy today. Did the job go well, or did you just use one too many hypos on your way here?"

I shook my head and smirked. "It's better, a lot better. I was hoping to tell Jackie the good news."

She raised an eyebrow at me, then nodded with a small hint of sadness. "Take all the time you need."

I nodded gratefully, then I walked over to the side of the bar where we had all created a small shrine for Jackie's ofrenda. It was a small table complete with a small portrait of him, candles, various gifts from his friends, and the urn containing his ashes. While the music played throughout the bar, this corner was quieter and peaceful. Some of the candles had melted into wax puddles, but I found spares off to the side and lit them in the old ones' places. I relived the ofrenda again as each gift was left with a memory someone recalled for everyone there. My nerves tensed as I looked at his portrait, and the aching loneliness spread through me again. But I fought it as a new feeling had been building in me for the last couple of hours.

"Hey Jackie," I whispered as I leaned on the table. "I… I wanted to let you know something. It's… It's been a rough few weeks since… well, since you died. I called you just to hope I'd hear your voice. I know, it's stupid. I even replayed some of the videos we took together, and that made me feel worse. I've… I've even dreamt about that last fight we had in the Delamain. I know we made up, but… I still feel awful for wasting that last bit of time we had together bickering. It kills me that I lived and you didn't, but looking back, I don't think I've actually lived a single day since then." I bit my lip and took a breath.

"But I think it's time that I tried. Something happened today, and I think I actually have a shot now. A couple of nights ago, I got a call from a fixer that got me in with the VooDoo Boys. Their leader, Maman Brigitte, hired Evelyn Parker to steal the chip, then basically killed her when the job went sideways. I didn't plan on killing Brigitte, but… they tried to kill me twice over the last day, so I don't feel too badly about it. I just shot my way out from their crypts and tossed a grenade into their servers. You woulda loved it. No stealth, just swords, guns, and glory." I chuckled as I imagined him smiling.

"I found us a lead with an AI on the Net, an old girlfriend of Johnny's. She's gonna help untangle Johnny and me, and that might save my life. I even have some people that might be able to help. You remember Sandra Dorsett, the corpo woman we saved? She remembered you, and she wants to help me go up against Arasaka. I also met this one cop, kinda cute but a bit dumb, you might've liked him. Think I could get him to help if I tell him what Arasaka's been up to. You'd never believe it, but Saburo Arasaka's old bodyguard, Takemura, is helping me, too. I've even made friends with Judy and some of the Aldecaldos. It's… it's really been something. I know you'd at least want me to live, or at worst to die becoming a legend, like you. So that's what I'm gonna do, but not like this. If we're gonna be legends together, I'm gonna have to be the V you remembered. I thought he died that day I took a bullet to the head, but I guess he just needed a reason to believe he'd live again."

On the table with some of the other gifts were two gleaming golden Nue pistols, custom-made and modified, intricately engraved and identical, the only set of their kind. They were called "La Chingona Dorada." I took each pistol and checked that they were loaded, then holstered both and smiled bittersweetly.

"I love you, and I still miss you every day," I reminded him. "But we've got work to do, and we're gonna finish it together."

I took one last look at his portrait and ran my thumb over his cheek, then turned around to leave but stopped when I saw Mama Welles leaning against the wall, watching me and listening. She held my drink in her hand and a knowing smile on her face.

She studied me for a moment, then walked up and embraced me. "Bienvenido, V," she breathed. "Welcome back."