Chapter 2: The Gig
They were waiting in a Diner in Watson. It wasn't one of the shabbiest and even the food was decent. A good and tasteful pick to meet with someone without raising too many questions.
Evelyn hadn't been that specific about the job. Just that the customer was a private group, represented by a woman, who had been asking around Clouds. And by chance the doll had overheard that this woman was looking for a preem, discrete BD-techie. And, of course, before Maiko, who was responsible for BD creation and distribution, could get some wind of it, she had approached the customer and offered her Judy's services.
"So, who is this chick we're meeting?" Judy asked, sipping on a milkshake.
"I actually don't know her," Evelyn replied, taking out a cigarette from her fancy case and lighting it. "Didn't see her before at Clouds. She goes by the name Miss Crown, that's all I know. Dunno if this is her true name, since she seems to be a corpo-chick."
"A corpo?!" exclaimed the younger woman. "Fuckin' A, Ev."
"Relax, Jude. Everything's gonna go preem."
From the crowd of people, who were coming and going, an Asian woman in rather fancy clothes approached their table and sat down. And indeed she looked like the upper class of society.
Her long, black hair was strictly bound into a ponytail, while her visible cybernetic implants were partly colored in gold as well as her long fingernails.
"Miss Parker. And I suggest that this is Miss Álvarez," she said with a cold, business-tone, reaching both women her hand for a handshake.
"Miss Crown," Evelyn answered. "How are you?"
Though her first impression might have been friendly, Miss Crown simply snapped back "I'm not here to talk about my well-being. Let's talk biz!"
Judy and Evelyn shared a quick gaze while the high-society lady lit a cigarette as well.
"Miss Álvarez, Miss Parker told me that you're very experienced and skilled with editing raw virtus. According to her, you even worked for some big studios. What references can you give me?"
Giving her friend an angry glare upon hearing that she had lied to that woman in front of them, Judy answered "Um, does editing smut for Clouds count as a good reference?"
Miss Crown froze, her serious glare drilling a hole into Evelyn. "Well, I guess this just turned out to be a waste of time, then. Unless Miss Parker has something to add."
"Judy's the best virtu-tuner you'll find. If she wanted to, she could be in the major league, but…"
Raising her hand, the Asian woman interrupted Evelyn and fixed her gaze now on Judy.
"Miss Álvarez, let's assume that Miss Parker's rambling wasn't just another pile of bullshit, why were you never considering working for one of the big studios?"
Scoffing upon how this strange woman had shut up her friend, Judy answered "The BD industry just produces shit. It's all about profit and manipulation. They trick people into feeling things that aren't there. Sex is different. Its pure emotions and emotions are what makes tuning an art. Every gonk with some minor sense for virtu-tuning can edit and scroll a BD. But getting the essence, that's where the true artist comes in."
Hearing this passion out of the young woman's voice, Miss Crown leaned back, took another deep draft from her cigarette and gazed repeatedly at both women while pondering about what to do next.
"Alright," she eventually said, extinguishing the coffin nail in the ashtray. "But before we continue, I need to make clear that the virtu we're about to talk about has nothing to do with sex, but politics. Can you live with that?"
"As long as the money's right…" Evelyn threw in, but got once more interrupted by the other woman.
"I think Miss Álvarez can speak for herself."
Not wanting to let her friend stand in the rain, Judy concurred with Evelyn, saying "Ev's right. As long as the money's right, there should be no problem."
"Preem!" Miss Crown eventually said enthusiastically and got up. "Please follow me, ladies! We'll discuss the details in my car."
Following Miss Crown, the three women left the Diner and headed towards a black limousine that was parked not far away. The driver, a tall, broad man with black hair that was bound into a pony-tail, immediately opened the passenger's door and then took the driver's seat again after everybody was inside. And after the car began to move, the Asian woman closed the shutter towards the driver's compartment in order to give them some more privacy before she lit another cigarette.
"This car's entirely tap-proof. No signal comes in, no signal comes out. Now, we can talk business."
She then typed on some symbols on a console and a holographic picture of a beautiful woman's face appeared.
"Does the name Adriana Oliveros ring a bell?"
"High-class politician. Young and very smart. As far as the screamsheets tell, she plans to run for Mayor for the next election, right?" Evelyn answered, which got approved with a nod from Miss Crown.
"That's correct, Miss Parker. Sadly, it won't come to that anymore, since she's dead. Murdered, to be exact."
"Wait," intervened Judy. "If this gal is so important, why isn't this shit all over the media, already?"
"Politics, Miss Álvarez," the high-society lady replied coldly, taking another passionate draft from her cigarette, like she was enjoying such murderous games that were normal in these higher classes. "Miss Oliveros was under the payroll of Kang Tao, the fourth biggest corporation in Night City. If Miss Oliveros would've become the new Mayor of Night City - and her chances were in fact good - then…"
"...then Kang Tao would've ranked up." Judy completed, earning another nodding by her client.
"That's correct, Miss Álvarez. And that leaves three major suspects, who would start pointing fingers at each other and throwing money around until nobody would give a shit anymore about who actually killed her. But me and my group want justice! We wanna know who did this! And that's where you come in."
"Sorry to be the one, throwing a screwdriver in your gears, but… why us? Why not going over a fixer and hire a PI or a merc for such stuff?" Judy asked with a frown, and as an answer, Miss Crown brought forth a datashard, holding it between her thumb and pointer finger.
"It's not official to the public, but almost every VIP has a high-rez BD-recorder implanted as an insurance. So, everybody who tries something, gets immediately recorded and the virtu sent to a special Server. Even after death occurred. This is Miss Oliveros' raw virtu, showing her demise. Sadly, the perp, though she seemed to have been close to him, is indistinct. Only a pile of faulty data, and we need someone capable to fix this. And only after we get a positive ID of the perp, we can start taking actions."
But Judy just scoffed and shook her head while she shifted her focus to the scenery outside the window. Both Evelyn and Miss Crown looked at her, puzzled. Yet, the ladder one eventually asked agitatedly "Is there something funny, Miss Álvarez?"
"I dunno," the young woman returned, returning the gaze. "But it's obvious that I'm not the first one who told you that it's impossible. These assholes used a jammer, pretty hightech shit. But that's it. End of the line. Nothin' I can do. And I bet the others told you the same."
Evelyn switched her gaze repeatedly between her friend and the client, eventually saying "What do you mean, Jude?"
"C'mon, Eve, think! Why would a person like her start at the bottom, with us? She obviously already asked every fuckin' BD-techie in this city and everybody told her to fuck off. So, why not take the last shit and ask at your local doll house. It couldn't get worse, couldn't it?"
Now even more agitated, Miss Crown hid the datashard in her pocket again and knocked at the shutter toward the driver's compartment, causing the limousine to stop right away.
"I guess you made it very clear that you don't wanna help me. Please keep the info you just received confidential and…"
"I didn't say that," Judy interrupted before this woman could throw them out. "You said that the victim and her killer were close, right?"
"That's correct."
"Hmm…" she then hummed as her mind started to work. "You got some sorta database about all her contacts and associates? Friends, lovers, business partners…?"
Not able to make some sense out of Judy's idea, the fancy woman frowned. "In fact I do, Miss Álvarez. But these are some very delicate data. What do you need these for?"
"An idea…" the young BD-techie mumbled as her idea took more and more shape. "And I dunno if it'll work, but it could at least narrow down your suspects."
Now intrigued as well, Miss Crown leaned back, ogling the young woman with interest. "So, I assume that you'll take the gig, then?"
And while Judy just rolled with her eyes, Evelyn nodded. "Yes, we will. But since this matter is so delicate and - obviously - complicated, we need to renegotiate our salary."
Now the client was the one who gazed out of the window while thinking about her words, eventually answering "Alright, I'll double the money, if you find out who the murderer was."
"Triple!" Evelyn threw in right away, earning her an angry glare. "Since corpos are involved and we're your last straw. And…we'll do it within 24 hours."
"Ev, what the fuck?!" Judy tried to intervene, but it was already too late.
"Deal! I'll await your call in 24 hours, then."
The passengers door opened with an electrical humming again and, after Miss Crown had given them the datashard, both women got out. There were no goodbyes, no handshakes, just a stream of data that was uploaded onto Judy's chip. The limousine drove off right away, leaving both women standing somewhere in Watson.
"24 hours?!" Judy suddenly exclaimed loudly at her friend. "How am I supposed to edit a raw, jammed virtu within 24 hours with a new method I've never used before, huh?!"
But Evelyn stayed relaxed, tossed the cigarette butt away and flung one arm around her friend's shoulder while walking with her back to the young woman's van, close to the Diner.
"If anyone can do it, Jude, then it's you. Just think about that shitpile of Eddies and our future, okay."
"You'll be my death, someday!" was everything Judy mumbled while they kept on walking, side-by-side.