The warmth on her skin, the feeling of air rushing through her hair as it danced in the rushing wind. The sounds of honking cars, yells, and the rhythmic chatter of gunfire. The sour smell of burning rubber and the comforting scent of gunpowder. It was like music, a thousand parts coming together in a chorus that set her heart racing and her adrenaline soaring to glorious new heights.
Kissing the side of her gun, she leveled it at the van behind them as she emerged from the window, looping her leg around the seatbelt to keep steady. Behind her came the perfect opening note. David's encouraging voice, almost mirthful in tone. As he did, the van's radio launched into a rapid rock beat, drums thundering as the lyrics of Night City Aliens began to play
"Fuck 'em up, Becca." Perfection. And with that, she pulled the trigger, and answered the grim melodies of Night City with her own little solo.
"KISS MY ASS, YA COCK-JUGGLING THUNDERGONKS! WOO!" She howled, bracing her gun on her shoulder, and unloaded a full magazine at the windscreen. Most just bounced off the reinforced glass, but the salvo cracked it enough to impede the driver's vision. The Scavenger van swerved in response, and she ducked back in for a moment to reload before popping out again.
"When ya see an opening, pull over a lane and slow down for two seconds, got it?" she called in through the window, watching the Scavs try to line up shots as they wove through the cars heading for the highway into Westbrook. If they could outflank these guys for a second, she'd have a clear shot to zero the lot of 'em.
"Got it!" David called, his voice only the slightest bit tense as he drove. She kept firing off bursts at the emerging gunmen, watching the second van get closer as it struggled to catch up to the one just behind them. Then, as they passed a particularly large group of cars, she heard him grunt. "Pulling over… NOW!"
Turning her rifle, she took a deep breath and focused. As they swerved to one side and the brakes squealed, she aimed carefully and held down the trigger. The spray of bullets swept along the side of the van, stitching a bloody line across the gangoons hanging out of the windows and the van's open side door. Three bodies fell off and tumbled away behind them, while the driver swerved sharply and began to weave. The last remaining gunner glanced back at the corpse in the front seat, then dove for the wheel. As the van veered off, the other one began to catch up. "Nice work! Now floor it again, the rest of the fuckers are catching up!"
Over the comms, Falco hummed. "Hey, just so ya know, the third van turned off after chasing us for a little. You probably got another busload of bastards incomin', so just be ready. How's the cargo?" She muted the call, the distractions best left for the people not currently hanging out of a vehicle going ninety miles an hour down the highway. One of the Scavs poked his head out of the side door as the gap closed, and immediately pulled it back in. She was only one gunner, but seeing five of your mates get flatlined probably made one cautious. Still, if you didn't wanna die like a gonk, rippin' cyberware out of unlucky bastards you kidnapped was a bad career for it.
David was keeping ahead of their pursuers, and so far the van hadn't taken much damage. Even so, the longer they fucked about and kept up this firefight, the more likely it was that one of these idiots would land a lucky shot and damage the cargo. Looked like playtime would have to end early. Aiming downwards, she began sweeping her shots across the front wheels of the van.
It took a few tries, but first the left and then the right tire blew, and the Scav van began fishtailing. As it vanished around the bend, David swerved over towards an exit and pulled down into the clustered buildings of Kabuki. Drawing close to a four-way intersection, however, a faint but rapidly increasing sound of squealing tires reached her ears. "David, we got incoming!"
"Shit, okay! Which way?" Looking around, she tried to pinpoint where it was coming from. She wanted to hope that it was just an unrelated car chase, or even a street race, but odds were pretty fucking low. The noise was warped and hard to follow thanks to the tight alleys, and it wasn't until they were approaching the overhead roadway coming from Japantown that the origin became clear: the final Scavenger van, side partially crumpled, came tearing out of the exit and barreled right towards them. The door was open, and a Scav with a god-damn Militech Mk 31 heavy machine gun clutched in his heavily chromed arms was levelling it at them, his back braced against the van's doorframe.
"FORWARDS!" she yelped. Time seemed to slow as the two vans tore towards each other. It was like those old knights from the story books, jousting. She was feeling a bit fuckin' underequipped in comparison though. Was this what guys felt like if they had a small dick? Reaching into her jacket with her other hand, she grasped one of the little gifts she had taken from Pilar's old stash. No way she was going to win a shootout with that bastard without risking the cargo, he was packing enough firepower to tear a hole in a Basilisk! Behind her, she heard David growl in frustration as he gripped the wheel and spun hard.
"Hang the fuck on!" Dropping her gun back onto the seat, she grasped the window frame with one hand and pulled out the sticky grenade. As the cars closed the gap, she hurled it forwards, and watched the machine gunner's eyes widen in shock for just a moment. Then, with a sudden jolt, the van tilted hard onto two wheels, turning sharply and sliding through a gap in the lane barrier as they returned to the proper flow of traffic.
Losing her grip, she tumbled backwards across the front seats. As their ride came back down, the crook of David's arm stopped her fall. The van's wheels landed on the ground and she landed planted sideways in his lap. Out the window, she could see their pursuers go up. The Scav vehicle's frame buckled, glass blowing out in a spray of sparkling crystal as flame and smoke engulfed the vehicle. A burning ganger rolled out of the car, flailing wildly before slumping over, dead. Exhaling in relief, she looked up at David.
His face was sweaty, but he was smiling broadly and leaning back in his seat. Reaching up, she poked his cheek. "I'd say that was suave, but I'm pretty sure me ending up here was just an accident. Points for style though," she teased, wiggling slightly as she got comfortable. Seemed like he was enjoying the situation a bit too much, not that she was complaining. If they hadn't been on a job…
In the back, V snorted. "I wish I had popcorn for you two. Aside from whatever you call this, I think we're good to drop off the delivery. Got a few dents in the van and a bullet hole or two, but none of 'em hit the data drives. Thankfully they sprung for the reinforced stuff." Leaning forwards, they glanced over at David. "I'm just going to take the passenger seat, seeing as it's unoccupied."
As they hopped into the now unoccupied seat, David turned onto the main drag. A moment later, the wail of a siren behind them cut the mood slightly. Fuckin' cops. An NCPD cruiser pulled up beside them, and V glanced over at David, then nodded. He hit the brakes, rolling down the window. The officer got out of the car and walked over to the window, pulling up her baseball cap. Leaning on the window, she took a look inside slowly.
Her eyes raked across V's amused expression, the massive racks of data drives, and finally landed on Rebecca herself, still sitting in David's lap. The cop didn't say anything for a minute, then popped her lips. "Edgerunners?"
"Mhmm," V responded.
"Guessing the Scavs dead on the highway were you?" Rebecca waved at the cop, more than happy to take credit for this one. With a chuckle, the cop tilted her head, and a transfer went through. "Bounty's all yours, then. Props on actually hitting your targets and not the other drivers. Keep it up, makes my life easier." Standing up, she turned and walked back to her cruiser, waving them onwards.
As David pulled them away from the curb, Rebecca relaxed again, giggling slightly to herself. This had been a good day, a good job. All they needed now was a good party to finish it off. Not to mention, she had gotten a little bonus for offing those Scavs. First round was on her.
The van had been dropped off in one of Wakako's garages, the payment had been wired, and now it was time to celebrate. Getting a street party at Turbo's together at short notice had been no problem. People were always ready to celebrate a few Scavs getting zeroed, and it was a piddling percentage of their pay to buy a few cases of booze to prime the pump. Swigging her bottle, Rebecca glanced around at the scattered crew. The looming shadow of Megabuilding H8, the neon lights of the diner, and the arcing highway exits made this a cozy little corner.
Falco was slouched against the hood of his car, sipping a glass of whiskey and flirting with some pretty young thing who seemed interested in his ride. Seemed a bit stereotypical for the nomad to be hitting up the one in a mechanic's jumpsuit, but whatever nitroed his engine. Jackie was off by the vending machines, using them as a backlight while he recounted some story that required gesturing with finger pistols.
Lucy and V had gravitated towards the apparently officially-designated moody grump corner, the pair seeming somewhat uncomfortable with the loud and exuberant behavior of most of the group. The two seemed like they were makin' an effort to get along, which was a relief given how Lucy had been on edge around the ex-Arasaka agent before.
Speaking of pairs… turning to where Dimples sat next to her, she waggled her eyebrows at him as the song ended, and a thumping beat began to echo from the speakers. There was a clearing in the assembled cars in the parking lot, with a few people bopping and grinding to the music. Reaching out with one hand, she grabbed the elbow of his jacket and gave a pointed tug as she stood and took a step towards the dance floor. "C'mon, let's move a bit. Whadda ya say?"
Wincing, he looked towards the other dancers. "Um, I'm not sure that's such a good idea. I'm not a very good dancer." Pouting, she stopped and stared up at him with the widest eyes and cutest pleading expression she could give. Really lean on those fuckin' heartstrings. "I mean… Just… Oh, alright." Rubbing the back of his head, he moved towards the dance floor and slapped the sides of his face twice.
Then, he began to do something. It could'a been called dancing, maybe? It was certainly moving to the rhythm. His arms wriggled like snakes, then he bounced his head. Walking in place, he spun on one heel, before popping his collar and sort of half-walking backwards for a moment. She had intended to dance as well, but right now she was just stupefied by the movements that David was making with his body.
As he began doing some kind of back and forth bobbing, fists moving up and down like a boxer's, the song came to an end. Looking over, he raised an eyebrow as she fought like hell to keep her face straight. He snorted, and looked away, face flushing. "Go ahead, I know. I look silly." Her facade crumpled, and she doubled over with a wheezing cackle as her fist pounded the ground.
"David, my man, you— what was that? I swear your limbs slid through each other for a second. I can't—" Breaking down into a gale of laughter again, she had to bite her lip in order to get the chuckles under control.
[Music: Sweetheart Madness]
Standing up, she wiped her eye with one finger, exhaling hard, then grabbed his hand. As the beat changed again, she spun and pressed herself up against him. Grabbing his other hand, she looked up his chest and met his now very wide eyes.
"Just follow me, okay?" With that, she began to move. Letting the beat fill her ears, she brought her arms in, then her feet up. For a moment, it drowned out the other noises and distractions, allowing her to just focus on the person pressed close to her. Fingers linked, she guided David as they moved together, his feet stepping behind hers as he watched. There was a point or two where she felt him vibrate slightly against her, and the realization that he had pulsed the Sandevistan to get a grasp on the moves almost made her laugh again. Hips shaking, arms moving back in forth in tandem, grasping at the sky.
Arms moving in sync with the beats, feet sliding along the ground, after a minute or two he began to match her movements more instinctively. Letting go, she spun around and faced him, watching as he mirrored her. The look of concentration on his face was somewhat ruined by the way his lips pulled back as he watched her, the softening twinkle in his eyes.
Together, they swayed, the music and lights leaving them in a momentary place a step away from the grime and trash that filled the city. Dammit, that smile…she wanted to just reach up and grab his collar. As the music faded out, however, she found him grabbing her collar instead. There was a split-second's hesitation, as if waiting to see if she'd react poorly to it, but then he moved in and pressed his lips to hers.
There was a quiet moment of warm skin, a hand running down the side of her neck, and the feeling of tingly volts dancing along her spine. Then she was back in the middle of the dance floor as David spoke up. "I'll go get us some drinks, alright? Think I'm a bit danced out." Practically levitating away, he was chased towards the bar by a chorus of whoops and cheers from those present. Even Falco was putting two metal fingers in his mouth and making the age-old wolf whistle, a teasing smirk on his face as David flipped him off.
Moving over to an open chair, she grinned fiercely at the laughing edgerunners and raised two birds of her own. "You motherfuckers are just jealous, go suck a dick."
"Not bothered by that?" V took a sip of their drink, eyes following David as his yellow jacket vanished from view. The ex-corpo was lounging on the planter with Lucy, their backs to the metal poles holding up the Turbo's sign. Taking a long swig of their Donaghy's, V glanced over at Lucy, who was smoking, swirling her Broseph's idly. She had seemed kind of out of it.
"What, David kissing Becca? Should I be?" Lucy took her cigarette out, and flicked off the gathering ash. Raising an eyebrow, she gave V a long look. "You suddenly worried about my personal life now?"
"Well, yeah. You're a coworker, and I'd like us to be friends. I want to make sure you're okay." The nonchalant tone V used seemed to take Lucy aback, and the young netrunner actually sat up fully to consider them. "I mean, if you don't want to talk about it, feel free to tell me to fuck off."
Lucy hummed, then rested her hand, cigarette between splayed fingers, on one knee and smiled softly as she watched David return. "It doesn't really bother me. David and I are still friends. He's been checking in on me, we've been spending time together. He has my back, I have his. More than that…well. It's something I wouldn't mind doing for him, but I think he has someone more…enthusiastically interested in that."
"She is a horny little goblin, yes. Cute in a morbid sort of way though, have to admit," V commented, taking another swig and swinging the bottle back and forth by the neck. "I kind of get that. It's like Jackie and I. We've had each other for ages, and if he ditched me just cause he got a new input or output, I'd be pretty pissed. Long as that's not on the table, I've got no real reason to be jealous of his thing with Misty or whatever."
Lucy raised an eyebrow for a moment, then smirked. "So you're saying you do want to fuck Jackie, or…" Oh, nice try, but V wasn't going to fall for that, not easily. As Lucy took another sip, the blade user hummed and shook their head.
"Nah. I'd lean more towards someone slim, fair-haired, probably smart. Sound familiar?" Lucy's eyes flared open, and she choked on her beer. As she smacked her chest, trying to clear her airways, V waited. Once she was safely out of danger, they leaned in closer. "I really just have one question then, Lucy…"
"I— that's not— you mean—" she babbled, eyes wide as she leaned back, cheeks flushed with indignation and confusion. V had leaned forwards, letting their hair drift over one eye, and moving from calm and collected to smokey and deep. As they stared Lucy down, they nodded once.
"Is Kiwi single? I assume you'd know." The netrunner froze, eyes flicking across their face as V began to smirk wider and wider with each passing moment. The cheshire grin was not impeded in the slightest by Lucy's snort and quick flick upside the forehead.
"You're a real piece of work, V. How Jackie puts up with you, I've got no idea." Shaking her head in irritation, she looked about ready to stand up and walk off, but then sat back down. "You get one. I do owe you for letting me put some paranoia to rest. But dial it back before I wrap a line of monowire around your tongue and pull."
"Deal. As for how Jackie puts up with me? You really don't know that gonk very well then. Has he told you about the time he tried to smuggle an iguana across the border?" As V began to tell the story, they decided there was no reason to admit the other cause was a fear of this nascent crew breaking apart. It was a bit embarrassing to admit they had begun to like hanging out with the group. There was the icy-cold and sarcastic ruthless corpo image to uphold, after all.
Sitting on the couch, David stared down the briefcase that Lucy had passed off to him before the party dissolved into clumps, some staggering home while others headed on to the next watering hole. Inside the heavy hard-sided case was, according to the QR code printed on it, a Biotechnica Mark 4 'Wavethought' Synaptic Signal Optimizer. It was a solid piece of equipment, in surprisingly good condition, and it'd really help him out with being able to survive more than he would otherwise. Not to mention, it'd help his body handle the stress the Sandevistan's power put on his muscles.
Yet, every time he went to touch it, he flinched, feeling icy-hot dread start to reach up his throat and strangle him. He remembered the twisted look on Maine's face, the obsession. The outright refusal to listen to anyone until the very last moment. He could feel himself shaking, and the idea of his own body turning against him like that—
Rubbing his face, he muttered to himself as he tried to center his racing heart. "No, dammit. I can handle it. I've been running the Sandy with no problems." It was true, other than a few minor headaches when he had to lean on it, he hadn't had any real problems using the military implant so far. All the other issues were with pushing his body too hard, and this was a solution for that very problem. So why was he so goddamned scared of a piece of cyberware?
His uncle came walking down the staircase, and David winced as he realized he must have been just a bit too loud talking to himself. Straightening up, he met his tio's eyes. "Sorry, hope I didn't wake you. I just… I don't know what to do."
Moving over to the couch, Jackie settled down next to him and spread his arms, leaning into the far corner of the couch. "It's up to you. I'm glad you're cautious of that stuff. Too much can rot your soul, leave you one of those chromejunkies who'd shoot ya soon as look at ya. Thing is…it's also a tool, just like any other. You can bash someone's head in with a wrench if ya want to." Rubbing his chin, Jackie shook his head. "I'm aimin' high, but I don't want you to feel like you gotta do stuff you don't wanna because you need to follow the path I'm on, okay?"
"I'm not. I'm glad I get to work with you, tio, but I'm doing this for me. I want this city to remember my name." Giving a proud smile, Jackie hummed for a moment.
"Well…just one thing to consider. You ever ask the bartender at the Afterlife about their drinks?" Getting up, he headed over to the kitchen and rustled around, bottles clinking as he prepared something.
"Drinks? No, not really. I usually just get a beer, their drinks are probably preem, but 150 eddies a glass is insane." His uncle came back out with a pair of glasses from the Coyote Cojo.
"Here we are. Two tequila old fashioneds, with a splash of cerveza and a chili garnish. As they call 'em in the Afterlife, a Johnny Silverhand. You want a drink named after you there, you gotta bite it bigtime. One day, I'm gonna have a drink there, David." Raising a glass, he grinned. "But not before I've squeezed out every last moment I can get from this life, and seen the legend you'll become." Clinking his glass against David's, he took a sip.
Cautiously tasting his own, David was surprised how well the disparate ingredients came together. Setting it down, he looked back at Jackie. "So, you're saying I should chip this, damn the risks?"
"What? No! Weren't you listening, idiota? I'm sayin' you think about it, and then we take ya down to Vics and get you some time to get used to it between jobs. Let it settle in, see how you take it, and if you're not handling it well, we'll pop it back out." Blinking, he withered slightly under his uncle's annoyed glare.
"That…makes a lot more sense."
"Yeah, no kiddin'. After all, that thing could be real helpful. Even some cyberware is necessary if you wanna be doing our kinda work. The sort of person who'd do this with nothin' chipped at all? Probably some kinda lunatic." He drained his drink, then clapped David on the shoulder.
"Sleep on it, eh?"
The moon hung lazily over Night City, pale rays swallowed by the city lights. The sounds of parties, gunfire, and general mayhem were always there, but in some places they were much more prevalent. In a dark alleyway deep in Pacifica, a raggedy figure strode purposefully past piles of trash bags and tipped over dumpsters. He was wearing a large, shallow hat with a wide brim, shadowing his face. A set of large orange beads jangled around his neck, and his body was wrapped in a dull brown cross between a raggedy poncho and a robe. From the doorway up ahead, a pair of Animals stopped their boisterous argument and stepped out, blocking his advance.
"Hey there, choom. Seems you haven't paid the toll yet. Not looking like you got much on ya, but we'll take whatever you got." He laughed in a high-pitched screech, then took a step forward.
The oddly dressed man slowly looked up at him, and the two Animals immediately noted that the man didn't seem to be augmented at all as their scanners played over his body. No signals, no ICE, nothin'. "Oh, praise the Sages of the Six Realms. It seems this trip has paid off already. I was looking for you two, apparently!"
"What? Apparently? What the hell were you looking for us for, ya weirdo?" said the muscular woman, turning to her partner as she snickered. Then she was silenced, as a terrifyingly tight grasp cut her voice off mid-laugh. The man had bolted forwards, the tendons of his hands bulging as he pressed his fingers into her neck. His arm was massive, almost as big as her own augmented muscles, with thick ropey veins pulsing as his fingers pushed between the plates in her neck. As his hat slid back slightly to reveal two wide eyes boring raptly into hers, he smiled over the edge of his scarf with a benevolent grace at the other Animal, who was fumbling for the pistol at the small of his back.
"This is the result of your karma, my child. You misunderstand the nature of reality, and thus cling to this world. Such is the nature of avidya" His other hand swept up, revealing a long heavy barrel, nearly three inches across at its cavernous muzzle, connected to an enormous handgun with a bolt action of all things. "May the Asura be cleansed from you both, that you may journey once more upon the path of Samsara from this realm of Naraka."
In one motion, he clenched his fist closed and pulled the trigger, and blood spattered across the alleyway.
(Editing: Golden_, SPAG: Somnolent Slumber)
(No, this is not suddenly a crossover.)
