V stood in the alley between Misty's shop and Vik's clinic taking a few moments to finish gathering his thoughts. He knew the course of action he had to take but he was very limited on options. There were three fixers V could contact but he only had history and relationships with two of them as the third, Regina Jones, had only contacted him a few hours prior. As V stood there his backside against the graffitied wall the young merc knew there was no good option for what he was trying do to and he only had one card left to play. In resignation V leaned forward resting his hands on his knees and looking at his feet. "Fuck." V cursed softly to himself as he stood up steeling himself for what he was about to do as he activated his telecom implant and called Wakako Okada.
The implant simulated the sound of a phone ringing in V's ears as it connected to Wakako's telecom number. "V, did not expect to hear from you so soon." Wakako said in greeting, the old fixer had never been one to mince word or exchange pleasantries. "Watson is still on lock down but if you want payment for last night that bad, I can transfer the credits to your account. A nice bonus has been attached from Trauma since you discovered the jamming shard." The elderly fixer had a slight grin on her face so V knew that she had taken a big slice of that bonus for herself, normally V would have haggled the bonus but he did not have time.
"No, I'm calling about something else." V cut in evenly as he looked around the now empty alleyway making sure no one was trying to eavesdrop. "I'm calling about a job."
"V you know fixer's stay in their territory, besides Watson is still under lock down."
"What about a fixer like Dexter DeShawn?" V was greeted with several exceptionally long silent seconds as his question hung in the air.
"Information does not come freely V, and I do not do favors for mercs." Wakakos friendly and maternal tone of voice had suddenly taken a harsher and unwelcoming tone to it.
"Take your fee out of my cut from last nights job then." V said with a hint of urgency in his voice and a tone of voice that was not as cold as Wakako's tone had been, but only slightly.
"Oh. Must be important then." And just like that Wakako's voice was back to that of a sweet elderly woman talking to a family member, a reminder that this fixer was also the head of the Tiger Claws and was not to be taken lightly by anyone.
'Finally, some progress! Fucking Wakako and her grandmotherly bullshit act.' V thought to himself before speaking again. "Two years ago, Dex walked away from the game for no real apparent reason. Now he's back and wants to hire me Jack and Bug for some big payday job. I wanna know why us."
"Always thought you were smart V, one of the reasons I like you." Wakako said cheerfully across the telecom connection. "I abhor stupidity." Wakako's tone of voice changed again, only this time it was a professional tone as she was now discussing business with a paying client. "I do not now the full specifics but two years ago Dexter DeShawn hired a small time grew for a job, it was a simple enough job with some risk." Wakako said as she recalled the event from memory. "They were to intercept a Kang Tao transport then deliver the transport and its contents to Dex."
"And you just know all that off the top of your head?" V asked skeptically, he didn't think Wakako would lie to him when Eurodollars were being exchanged but he also didn't completely trust the old woman either.
"I have a long memory V." Wakako said dangerously. "And mercs aren't the most tight-lipped people when they are drunk and celebrating a elevation in status that grants instant entrance to The Afterlife."
V silently conceded the point as he had a pretty good idea Jackie would want to celebrate getting into The Afterlife, in fact he was sure the big gonk would be acting like a kid in a candy store. "So, what happened with the job?"
"As far as I know they completed the job. A corpo transport getting hijaked in Night City was big news, sure Kang Tao tried to keep it quiet, but word got around in certain circles." Wakako said evenly.
"So Dex left because of heat from Kang Tao?" V asked irritably. If Wakako was playing games with him he was quickly losing his patience with the old woman. "Could have just said that from the start." V half growled out.
"Did I saw that V? Just because I like you does not mean I will allow you to disrespect me." Wakako's hard tone of voice returned. "Now if you are done interrupting me may I continue?"
V clenched his jaw at the woman's words, not because she had scolded him, but because for a split second he forgot who he was talking to and just how dangerous she truly was or how difficult she could make his life as a mercenary. "Go ahead."
"After that job was done no one ever heard from or saw those mercs again, and four days later Dexter DeShawn left Night City." Wakako finished telling V what she knew about Dex's disappearance two years ago. "There is one other thing you should know V. Right around that same time from T-Bug showed up on the Net Runner scene." V's eyes widened and he stood up a little straighter at this bit of information. "I nave no proof of any connection between them, but you have been working with T-Bug maybe you can find something that links them."
"Ok thanks Wakako." V said flatly as this information while worth some amount of eddies, it hadn't been the homerun piece of intel he had been hoping for. "Take your fee out of my cut from the Dorsett job and transfer the rest to me. Call me if another job comes up."
V was about to end the connection to Wakako but her voice stopped him. It wasn't what she said but how she said it that gave V pause. "V, I do not know what you are going to do but be careful. I hate losing good people to stupid choices."
"Thanks Wakako." V's voice was weary as his mind now shifted to the task of telling Jackie they were not taking this job ad the young man ended the connection to the Lady of Westbrook Estate. As V pushed off from the wall he had been leaning against the whole time he had been talking to Wakako he received a message alert from Jackie Welles.
'whats takin so long? move your ass ese! Dex is waiting on us'
V sighed heavily as he walked up to the back door to Misty's Esoteric and V paused for a few moments hesitating to do through with the rest of his plan to get himself and Jackie out of a job that was feeling more and more like a death sentence. Either the Arisaka ninjas would gut them like a fish or Dex was going to shoot them in the back, quite literally sounding from the information Wakako had just told the brunette merc. V reached out to push the door open and hesitantly pulled his hand back into a fist and held it there a few inches away from the door a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions colliding inside of the young man. Fear, uncertainty, regret, anxiety, hope, despair all battling beneath the surface of the man who was desperately putting the life of the man he considered his brother before everything else.
"Fuck it." V said his voice sounded defeated as he pushed open the door and heard Misty calmly speaking to Jackie about some chakra or something, he really wasn't paying attention. "Jackie, we need to talk. It's important."
