AN: So I got around to writing this chapter after watching Edgerunners. Fantastic Show. Played a little bit of the game as well. The biggest obstacle that I finally overcame was I got a computer that I write with finally.
I'm splitting my writing efforts between this story and my novel that I have finally finished the outline on...thank god. Seriously, if anyone who writes on here is working on their own novel, or has gotten on published through a publishing house or on a self publishing distributor like Amazon, I could use some advice to that in the future. I am confident that the book will get written and out in the world at some point, but holy mother of god, it has been far more of an undertaking than I originally predicted. I started doing the research for publication after I got the outline done, and it was heartbreaking to see how much more work was needed.
Chapter 02
V put his weight on Jackie as he was carried out the door of Lizzie's. His guts felt like they were trying to jump into his lungs, and cause the feeling of both nausea and asphyxiation. His eyes felt like dull pencils were stabbing into them. His skin crawled, shivered and sweat all at once. It dawned on V that this must be what organ failure felt like given Arasake just shut down most of his cyberware
"Jackie man, where we goin'"? V asked weakly.
"Takin' you someplace safe to stay for a bit amigo. You don't got your place no more i bet. I got the perfect spot for you to get back on your feet." Jackie spoke with a calm kindness that almost made V believe things would be alright.
"C'mon man. Anyplace that's taking a guy in my situation is running a game of some kind. That or it's a target for someone else." V said with cynicism.
Jackie chuckled. "No way. This is about the only place is Heywood where you can trust people to keep their word." Jackie continued to half carry, half walk with V down the sidewalk.
V just grunted in disbelief.
Jackie walked them up the stairs of a sidewalk to a Night City Area Rapid Transit (NCART) station. The station at this time of night held the usual combination of homeless, lowlifes and people coming off swing shift or going onto the morning shift. The elevated train was the only way to get to Heywood this late at night. Taxis wouldn't pick up two guys in this neighborhood at this time unless they flashed a stack of Eddie's, and that would just make them a target for a robbery. NCART might not be the fastest, safest, or fanciest way to get around, but it was affordable, and once they got their seats, it would leave Jackie with both hands free to fight back if someone hassled them.
V was slowly growing even more tired as they approached the waiting platform. Jackie swiped his credit chip through a ticket dispenser for two passes on the next train. Jackie stuffed the paper tickets into his jacket and made sure he had a firm grip on V as he walked them to the platform. V was having a hard time keeping his eyes open now.
The train pulled up to the viewing platform and V felt movement but wasn't sure what was happening until he felt his ass hit a plastic seat and his back go up against the surface of something.
"I'm about to pass out man." V said with regret. He didn't want to be a burden.
"Don't worry about it holmes, I'll make sure you keep breathin'." Jackie responded while looking around to make sure no one would mess with them.
V didn't actually know how fast he fell asleep.
V awoke with a hard tap on his shoulder. His eyes flew awake and looked around in a panic as he tried to get a feel for where he was and what was happening. He noticed it was light outside now, with the sun rising just above the buildings. Next he noticed the NCART was slowing down. Last, V noticed Jackie was getting up from his seat.
"C'mon mano, our stop." Jackie said with glee. "Glad to see you're not quite looking like as big a bag of merdé."
V rubbed his eyes and got up with his friend to walk out of the terminal. As he walked out, the details of the previous night rushed back to him to remind the now former corpo agent how deep he was in the gutter. His body still felt weak from the cyberware shutdown, but at least he was moving on his own two feet now. He didn't have any of his Arasaka credit chips, but he did have a fat stack of eurodollars. His company owned apartment definitely had the locks changed by now, but Jackie seemed confident that he had a place for V to stay. In a rare moment of optimism, V figured he wasn't quite as screwed as he was last night.
Jackie briskly walked forward onto the street with his characteristic swagger and charm. He then turned around with his arms extended out to his sides. "Welcome to the streets of Heywood Holmes." He exclaimed. "You probably didn't recognize it 'cause you normally just drove past or flew over."
V grunted. He could've responded in three or four different fashions, but his brain was still rebooting like most of the rest of his body. V figured the first thing he needed to do was get some food to help the process along.
"Jackie, man, you know a good place to eat 'round here?" V asked.
Jackie laughed. "Hell yeah. I know the best. Same place I'm taking you now."
V was glad that for once, Jackie seemed to have thought of everything. The former company man followed his friend through the neighborhood and noticed that the big Hispanic man seemed to know a bunch of people, and not in the professional sense. Jackie was asking people how members of the family were doing, how a weekend plan went, if their dad was having another Bar-b-que soon. V was even more glad that he seemed to be in friendly territory, cause he was unarmed, and in no shape to fight.
The good feeling lasted all of another two blocks when four guys in slick haircuts and tattoos stepped in front of them.
"Jackie man. What're you doin' with the suit? Taking him slumming through the hood?" The apparent leader asked.
Jackie just took it in stride. "Nah Luis. Just taking him to my place. V just lost his job. Needs a pick-me-up."
Luis just looked at V with disgust. "Why you helping out a corpo, choom?"
Jackie stopped in his tracks. V knew Jackie was a Night City street kid, and could spot a threat even in an innocent question. "Because he's had my back when I've been in some tight spots." He explained with a hard edge. Then Jackie cracked another smile "besides, if Mama Wells found out I left a friend in need…well I'd rather take my chances with you and a whole crew of Valentino's."
Luis, an apparent member of the Valentino's street gang appeared to consider his options. "Yeah…you're Mom would be the first to skin you. Wouldn't be enough left for anyone." Luis stepped to the side as well as the rest of his buddies. "Get home quick amigo. This ain't the best place for a suit to be."
Jackie and V continued past. "For sure." Jackie said.
V saw one of the other Valentino's give him the middle finger as he walked past. V concurred that it was not the best place for a poor corpo suit to be around.
Jackie led V up to a bar with a giant yellow sign that read 'El Coyote Cojo'. The first thing V noticed was that the street in front of the bar didn't have a bouncer. The second thing he noticed is that the street was also clean, or at the very least didn't have a bunch of abandoned bottles and litter. V was surprised that a bar like this existed in a district like Heywood.
The smell that came as Jackie and V walked through the front door beat back the stench of the outside. V wouldn't have called the smell 100% pleasant, with the scent of many spilt drinks and cigarette smoke leaving a permanent mark. The bar though was a step above week old trash and smog that tainted the air outside though. V saw Jackie moving to the main bar without hesitation.
"Hey Pepe! Is my Ma still around?" Jackie asked.
A Hispanic man in a leather vest didn't even stop wiping the bar down with a rag. "Nah amigo. She left at a reasonable time today. Though she did spend the last few hours complaining about how you didn't call her. You in trouble?"
"C'mon Pepe," Jackie stated defensively "I wouldn't come right to my Ma if I was."
Pepe threw his head back and laughed. "You might be in trouble now."
Jackie shook his head and waved his hand for V to follow him. "C'mon man."
V looked around one more time at the bar. His black suit and red button down shirt was far more upper class than the jeans and stained t-shirt crowd at the bar. V knew he would need to slip into something a lot more appropriate to avoid getting jumped in the street for the time being. He then straightened his outfit and followed Jackie, who took him out the back of the bar.
Jackie took him a short walk down the alley way to a two story rambler of a building that clearly had seen better days on the outside. V noticed that some of the paint was peeling, revealing the original building material beneath. It was shortly after that that V noticed that there was no graffiti on the building. In fact outside of the wear and tear of many years, the outside looked…clean. V couldn't believe that a place like this existed in the notorious rough and tumble Heywood district. Jackie strode through the door like he owned the place.
"Jackie! Is that you? You'd better have a good reason for staying out all night without telling me your plan Mijo!" came the voice of that perfectly blended anger, worry, and authority.
"V man, c'mon, need your help here!" Jackie said… with actual fear in his voice.
V walked inside the building to a small, and poorly lit living room. An elderly woman was standing with her hands on her hips and the normally tall and proud Jackie seemed to shrink at the sound of her. V had to chaulk this up to another crazy twist that he had seen in the past twelve hours. The woman looked at V and sighed with embarrassment.
"I apologize for the outburst. My name is Guadalupe Wells. I take it you're a friend of my son?" She asked.
V gulped. He remembered that his own parents would flip when he brought home surprise guests. "Yes Ma'am. Name's V. Had a bad night, and Jackie offered to help." V explained. He didn't feel the need to explain that he was homeless, damn near broke, and going through cyber withdrawal.
Mrs. Wells just shook her head. "Which means Jackie likes you and you are out of any other reasonable options. Mijo…are you going to bring home any more strays?"
Jackie laughed. "Mama, I only ever brought home the best of the best. Besides, he needs help."
Mrs. Wells looked at Jackie sternly for a moment before cracking a small smile. "Okay Mijo. We'll see what we can do to help."
V looked around the room again. He noticed the ripped couch. The pocket marked table. The absence of art. V guessed that this was not the center of wealth in Heywood. V pulled out the stack of eddies.
"Ma'am, I understand that this is an imposition. I can pay rent and board to help cover the expenses." V said while handing over some of the cash.
Mrs. Wells waved it away. "It wouldn't be helping if you paid us. Stay as long as you need, so long as you keep my Jackie on the right side of things."
V looked at her dumbstruck for a few seconds. No one turned down cash in Night City. Everyone needed more of it. Either for survival, as a tool, or as status. Mama Wells returned V's gaze afterword.
"Mijo!"
Jackie jumped. He had worked his way over toward the kitchenette in the corner of the room and looked like he was about to go into the fridge before pulling his hand back at his mothers call.
"Yes Mama?" the big man asked nervously.
"How could you let your friend walk around here in those clothes? Someone might kill him for the shoes alone. Get him some of Hector's old clothing so he doesn't get himself in a scuffle."
"Si Mama." Jackie confirmed. He moved away from the fridge and clapped V on the shoulder. "C'mon V. Got some of my cousin's old threads in my closet. Don't worry, I outgrew them, so you'll fit." he said while flexing his arms and smiling.
V followed Jackie out of the living room, down some stairs and into the basement. Jackie had converted the basement into a kind of a bachelor pad. The studio setup was spartan, but had everything that a man would need. Albeit the place was kind of messy. A bed sat in the corner, a work bench across from it with some gun and motorcycle parts and tools. V saw a closet that was spilling out. The suited man walked over and began to peruse the jackets, jeans, shirts and shoes.
"Try to find something quick amigo, got a job for us lined up." Jackie instructed and explained.
V looked to Jackie and back to the closet. "First day of my new life." he muttered to himself. V pulled out a pair of black jeans, some sneakers, a gray t-shirt and and black and red hoodie. He quickly dressed himself and turned to face Jackie. "How do I look?"
"Like a proper down-on-his-luck guy." Jackie said while flashing a thumbs up.
"So what's the job?" V asked, sitting down in a chair at the workbench.
Jackie opened his mouth for a hot second before starting to laugh his ass off. V just looked at him with a stern and annoyed look. Jackie's laugh died off to a chuckle. "Sorry Mano. Normally you're the one telling me the deets."
V smiled at the irony as well. He was at the bottom of the ladder, well and truly fucked, and with only one guy he could count on. Guess this wasn't that much different from being at Arasaka.