Chapter 6: Remote Love

Miss Crown was looking at the smoking remnants that used to be the already devastated apartment's bedroom, plus the broken window with some blood on the sharp edges.

Her fists were clenched and her teeth constantly grinding out of anger. Realizing that there was nothing more to see, she turned on the spot and headed for the exit, taking big steps over the numerous puddles of blood on the floor.

The big, empty place beside the building was stuffed with parked vehicles, plus an AV of Night City's Medical Center.

Adolfo Brians was sitting on the back seat of a van whose side door was standing open, smoking a cigarette. His head was bandaged, blood seeping through the gauze where the bullet had hit his armored skull.

The enraged woman grabbed him harshly by the collar, pulled him out of the seat and pressed him against the vehicle. One Mantisblade snapped from her arm and got held under the assassin's throat.

"What the fuck happened in there?" she hissed furiously, letting the metal touch his skin.

"You already saw the holos," he replied defiantly, not showing any fear. "This bitch wasn't just a netrunner. She was a pro. We were simply unprepared for that and walked into a trap. You're the head of this op, so this was your mistake. You take responsibility for that!"

He was right. Caren knew that he was right. Yet, it was hard to accept that he was right. Especially since it would make her responsible for the death of her own baby-sister.

Screaming out of anger, she let him drop harshly and slashed the blade along the side of the van, leaving a deep scratch.

The sound of an incoming call then chimed in her head and the symbol of Kang Tao appeared in her sight. She immediately took it, snapping "What?!"

"We analyzed the blood sample, as ordered. Sending you the data."

The loading bar signed the incoming datastream and as soon as it was finished, a picture of V appeared, along with her entire personal data.

Now Caren knew who her enemy was, which painted a big, vicious smile on her face.

"Assemble a new team and search 'em. And also give an assignment to all fixers around Night City. 10,000 eddies per head. 20,000 if they bring 'em in alive."

"Yes, captain!" Adolfo confirmed and got to work, already knowing that if fixers got involved, things would get ugly pretty soon.

"Fuck!" V hissed as she put an improvised bandage around a deep cut on her left arm.

"You need stitches," Judy, who was driving the car - a Makigai MaiMai P126 - they had stolen, commented, giving her friend a short glimpse. "Had my fair share of cuts when gatherin' scrap from those junkpiles outta city."

"I know, but it has to wait. We need to delta out of the city, ASAP. Just keep driving and don't stop. I need to make a call."

V opened the comline and as her call got taken, the face of an old, Asian woman appeared.

"Hey Wakako, it's V!"

Wakako Okada was one of the top fixers of the Westbrook District and the literal queen of Japantown. Her expertise ranged wide, from supplying gigs to mercs over trading valuable information, up to negotiating high valuable contracts.

"V, it's been some time since I heard from you."

"I know," the young woman replied, instinctively scratching the back of her head. "Listen Wakako, I need a favor. Two false IDs and tickets outta city, ASAP."

"Hmm…" the old woman hummed with a frown. "False IDs won't come cheap. Especially good ones, and I only trade the best."

"I know. How much are we talkin' about?"

"15,000 Eddies per ID plus flight. But tell me one thing, V. Is this second ID for a particular Judy Álvarez?"

'Shit' was everything that went through V's head at the moment Wakako had revealed that she already knew everything. She closed her eyes to calm down the incoming panic and then said "How much?"

"20,000 Eddies per head, alive. Half if you're dead."

V now realized that soon they would get hunted by every merc in the city. Even 10,000 Eurodollar alone was a lot of money for a simple hit job. Most mercs won't even consider capturing them, but just shoot on sight.

"I don't have the money for two IDs, but I'm gonna take one for Álvarez, plus a flight to wherever she wants to go. Sending you the money 'n' detes in a couple."

"A noble gesture, V." Wakako complimented with a nod. "But you should think about your whereabouts, too."

"I'll find something."

"V, I always treasured the quality of your work as well as your code of honor and morals. Yet, I have to open this gig or else I'd endanger my reputation. You'll have the ID in 23 hours, the gig will go public in 24. This is all I can do for you."

"Thanks Wakako! I never could've asked for more."

V terminated the call and sighed again. Things had gotten a lot worse, and Judy could literally see it in her face since her relaxed demeanor was entirely gone.

"That bad, huh?" the young techie asked, glimpsing again at her as long as the traffic allowed it.

"They know who I am now and put a price on our heads."

"Shit," Judy scoffed cynically upon this very bad news, almost feeling so desperate that she would've loved to give up. "Any good news, at least?"

V looked at her for a few seconds before she said "I got you a false ID and a ticket outta here. We just have to lay very low for the next 24 hours and then you're as good as gone."

Finally gone. Out of this city with a phony ID. A fresh start someplace else. A dream coming true for Judy. But what about her friend?

"And you?" she asked suspiciously, steering the car into an empty, almost hidden parking lot. "Think you can fight 'em alone? Fuck this!"

Knowing that an argument was heading her way, which got even more obvious as Judy stopped the vehicle, V took a deep breath.

"Jude, a false ID costs a shitpile of Eddies, and…"

"Nuh-uh, V. You already risked your neck for me and paid for my shit. There's no way I'm gonna let you pay for me again and then just bail outta ya life."

"There's nothing with leavin' me behind." V returned, shaking her bowed head. "Judy, I'm a Nomad. I have a clan that'll take me back in and protect me. You don't have this. You need this fresh start."

"And what if they don't take you back?"

A good question. A question that V didn't have an answer to, yet, and probably never will have in the near future.

"Listen," Judy then said, rubbing her bandaged wrist. "I'm really grateful for what you wanna do for me, but before I leave, I need to find my friend anyway. So, just take this ID, and…"

Suddenly, V scoffed loudly and let her hand smash onto the console of the car. "Sorry, Judy, but lemme get this straight. You wanna look for a friend, who you probably don't even have a clue where she is, while the whole scum of Night City is after you, and this without any combat experience?"

Simply shrugging with her shoulders, the BD-techie replied "If I have to…"

This drove V over the edge. She scoffed once more, shook her head and got out of the car. She stomped away with angry steps, only stopping as Judy ran after her.

"V, wait up…!"

Furiously, the merc spun around and yelled "If you wanna fuckin' get yourself killed, then do whatever the fuck you want. But without me. I don't wanna see it happen, when you steer yourself into the next gonk shit."

"Then why did you help me in the first place? Why goin' through all this shit, if you're about to bitch out just because I wanna help a friend and lemme die?"

"I don't wanna let you die, don't you get it?!" she now retorted directly into her face. "I actually wanna save ya, and I thought that you're smart enough to get that. But…your fuckin' ideals are gonna fuckin' get ya killed. And I don't want that!" She took another deep inhale in order to vent some anger, then saying more calmly "Jude, you need to face the truth. Your friend's probably already dead, and if not, then they'll probably use her as bait."

Judy stayed silent. Her lips began to tremble and a single tear emerged from her eye. "I'm sorry, V," she then said with a low, shivering voice, "but I just can't leave her. I owe her that."

She was about to walk past her friend as she got grabbed on her arm, which made her stop, but not look at V, who stayed silent for quite some time, obviously thinking.

"If you really have to do this, then…you'll need help. Big help."

Both then looked at each other, brown eyes into violet ones. V was still very serious, her demeanor telling that she meant business.

"We've got 23 hours. If we don't find her before this deadline, we'll drop it and bail or else you're gonna be on your own. Got it?"

At first, Judy simply replied with a nod, but then wrapped her arms around her friend for a big hug, whispering "Thanks, V!"

"Shit, I wish I had my van back," Judy complained as she steered their small vehicle down another street, almost hitting the curb. "How can people drive such a gonk car?"

"Sorry, Jude, can't risk it. They probably tapped it," V replied, trying to stretch her legs, which was almost impossible. "But believe me, I can't wait to ditch this piece of gonk garbage, too."

"So, um… What did Wakako say?"

"After what you told me about Evelyn, the chances are pretty high that she got sold as a doll. Anythin' else wouldn't make any sense, since - as inhumanly as it sounds - she's way too valuable than to be put on the market as a standard whore."

Judy's grip on the wheel tightened as she was reminded how women got treated in the horizontal business. She has learned this hard truth back at Clouds. Yes, the dolls got paid well as long as they were pleasing enough customers. But then Maiko Maeda, her ex-girlfriend, got promoted and another asshole took over human resources. But while Maiko mostly tried to stay fair to the dolls - thanks to Judy's influence - her successor saw them only as an item. A ware that you could use and then throw away once it lost its value. Over time, some pervy customers demanded younger dolls, and Clouds delivered.

The Tyger Claws, who were ruling the place, didn't care as long as the money flowed. And Maiko ignored it, because of her career. And at one point, Judy couldn't take it anymore and left, both Clouds and her girlfriend. Now, she would be forced to look down this abyss of inhumanity once again.

"Wakako said that there's a special marketplace for dolls on Jig-Jig street," V continued while checking her gun. "But that's all she could say. It's very exclusive, and only tolerated by the NCPD as long as the right people are bribed. It'll be hard to gain access."

Judy listened to every word. She knew what was at stake and therefore was ready to face and gulp down these crimes against humanity. She was even ready to jump over her own shadow and call someone she never wanted to talk to ever again.

"I think I might know someone who could get us in there…" she mentioned and initiated a call.

A few seconds later, Maiko Maeda's face appeared, looking at her with a frown.

"Judy Álvarez, what a surprise! Thought you hated my guts…or that's at least what you told me after you threw my stuff on the streets and then blocked my number."

Judy had to close her eyes and sighed, once again gulping down her true emotions.

"Hi Maiko, I, uh… I need your help."

But Maiko simply scoffed in amusement and shook her head, before she answered.

"Oh, my. YOU need MY help? What about a 'How are you?' or a 'Nice to see you?'? How about you come over and we talk first?"

"Maiko," Judy hissed, her patience running thin. "I don't have time for your bitchy shit. It's about Evey. She needs my help and you're the only one who can help me."

"Lemme guess, this fuckin' gonk screwed up one of her sidejobs again, didn't she?" the Asian woman returned with a sigh, her fist hitting the top of the desk, audibly. And as Judy didn't answer, she added "And you're probably knee-deep in this shit, too, right?"

Once again, the BD-techie remained silent. It was now obvious that this wasn't the first time such a conversation happened.

"Alright," Maiko then sighed, shaking her head. "I'm gonna help ya two gonks one last time. So, what do ya need?"

"The market for dolls on Jig-Jig street. I know that Clouds got some of the girls from there. I need access."

For a minute, Maiko stayed quiet. The tension was high and the woman's help was uncertain until she said "You owe me big for this one, Judy! Dinner, tomorrow night, my place. Dress up good, sexy underwear. Be in the mood to pleasure me all night long. Got that?"

"Yeah…got that," the young woman replied after some short hesitation, knowing in the back of her mind that she would either be dead or out of town by that time.

"Preem!" the Asian manager answered with some joy. "The password is Remote Love. That's it. And tell your fuckin' gonk of a friend that she should swing her ugly ass back to Clouds and work off her missing hours or else I'm gonna sell her myself!"

Immediately the call got terminated and a very frustrated Judy remained. She parked the car, yet stayed still in her seat, just staring out of the windshield.

"You ok?" V asked with some worry, softly touching her friend's shoulder. She almost expected it to get swatted away, but instead, it got grabbed by Judy like she needed some hold.

"Just imagine fuckin' the person you hate over everything. Imagine crossing bridges again that you thought had burned down." She then turned her head and looked at her friend with a sad demeanor, which changed back into determination within a second. "C'mon, let's do this!"

Jig-Jig street was like a giant brothel without a roof and the different buildings were like its rooms with various possibilities of finding pleasure. All day long, but especially during the nighttime this area was roamed by hundreds of people by the minute, no matter the sex or gang affiliation. Everyone was just searching for their kind of relief. Rivalries were suspended until the next day.

Almost every building was colorfully enlightened by neon light. Some even had sort of store windows, where the latest sex toys or prostitutes were displayed.

Judy felt pretty uncomfortable in these surroundings, V could sense that. She was all tensed up and walked cautiously, like she could step on a mine every second. Instinctively, she put one arm around her friend's hip, like she wanted her to feel safe and protected.

"Hey, V!" a female voice suddenly chimed from behind and both women turned around, facing a young woman with shoulder long blond hair, porcelain skin and the one or other mark that showed that she had the one or other implant.

"Jewel!" V returned, taking this woman in a short hug, which caused Judy to frown and blush out of jealousy. "How are ya doin'?"

"Oh, y'know, business as usual," the prostitute replied, giving the violet-haired woman a soft push. "And you? Still huntin' dickheads and Cyberpsychos?" She then shifted her gaze towards Judy with a wry smirk. "And who's your sexy armcandy?"

"That's Judy and, uh…she's a friend."

After the introduction, Jewel made a step towards Judy, her smile growing wider as she shook her hand. "Hello Judy, I'm Jewel."

"Uh…hi, Jewel!" the young woman replied with a low voice. It was obvious that she wasn't comfortable around the prostitute, who closed even more in and whispered into her ear.

"I know you're jealous, but believe me, I'm the one who should be jealous instead. Don't let that catch go to waste, sexy!"

Judy was just stunned. Had she just heard right? Jealous? Really? She wasn't jealous! Or was she? But why would she be jealous? Yes, V was attractive and it would be a lie if Judy would say that she hadn't thought about her savior at one or other occasion, but real feelings…?

"Thanks, Jewel. See ya around!"

V's voice let the young techie jump back into the real world. She saw how the merc and the prostitute hugged again before they parted ways. Absently, Judy had seen them talk, but about what and if it had involved her, would stay a mystery.

"She said that the market was in a basement and accessible through an underpass at the end of Jig-Jig street," V mentioned as they kept on going, and for a moment, Judy had to sort her thoughts.

Damn, when was the last time she had been zoned out that much?

"So, uh…Jewel… Ex-girlfriend or are you a regular?" she asked, which caused V to scoff.

"Nah," she replied, telling her story. "I met her during a gig. She helped me out with some detes, I helped her out with a fuckin' stalker and… Well, one thing led to another. But it was just casual, no feelings. We both needed a timeout and gave it to each other, that's it."

Just casual…

Why was this causing a feeling of happiness inside of her belly? And why did V mention it at all?

Judy didn't know. Actually, she loved emotions; worked with them all the time. But when it came to her own, however, she was at a loss. Showing emotions was hard for her, because people tend to abuse them.

Would V abuse them, too?

Another question, which answer would remain in the shadows until further notice, because they already had reached a door in the dark corners of an underpass. In front of said door stood a gorilla of a man, his body probably pumped full of cybernetic implants that were turning him into a tank. Obviously the bouncer of this place.

"Name and invitation!" he ordered with a deep, booming voice that was already giving him every bit of authority.

What name? What invitation? No password? Maiko hadn't said anything about an invitation. But why? Maybe this was new, or…she had simply let her walk into a wall of knives. Stupid bitch!

"We, uh… Yeah, um…our invitation… The password is Remote Love," V stammered, being as perplexed as Judy was.

"All passwords are invalid. Without invitation, no entry. Now, fuck off!" the bouncer stated, crossing his arms to underline his words.

But Judy couldn't accept this. Yes, Maiko - this evil cunt - had probably played them a stupid prank, but Evelyn was still in danger and that drove her furious and let her gather every drop of courage.

Self-consciously, she stepped forward and said "Maiko Maeda sent us. We're here for Clouds and need some new merch! Nobody told us anythin' 'bout an invitation."

For a moment, the guard just stood still, quiet like a statue, his eyes glowing, signing that he was communicating with someone.

"You're clear to go," he then mentioned plainly and stepped aside, the door sliding open. And with it, opened the gates to hell.

Not only that they were again greeted by another gorilla, who took their guns and led them through the market, but they also witnessed the deepest depths of the industry.

The market wasn't like a typical market with stands and merchants, who were praising their exhibited goods. It was more like a club with loud music, couches, a bar and BD-boothes. But that wasn't the freaky part. What shocked V and Judy, was how women - the dolls - got treated.

They really were nothing more than goods; displayed, examined and tested. Some got forced to do wicked stuff. Some got forced to please their future owners on the spot. But the most terrifying issue was some dolls' age. An issue that made Judy furious, and V recognized this.

"As gonk as it sounds, but swallow it down and spit it out later," chimed V's voice via private com. "Remember, we need to keep a low profile. Losing your cool now won't help anybody. Not the dolls, not Evelyn and definitely not us."

To Judy's frustration, V had a point. Though she would've loved to shoot up the whole place, she would die trying and change nothing. So, she did what she was told to and swallowed it down.

Their journey eventually ended in a private room that looked like someone's spacious office. A giant, luxurious desk with golden ornaments, expensive carpeting, an enormous couch, paintings and so on. The doll-business was obviously booming and made some people very rich.

The gorilla signed the two women to take a seat on the couch, and then they waited. But only a few minutes, until a two-winged door swung open and a pompous person sauntered in. It wasn't obvious if this person was a man or a woman. It wore colorful clothes and a lot of jewelry, plus had an artificial eye that looked like a ruby. Additionally it was guarded by two bodyguards.

"Well, what do we have here?" the unknown person said with amusement, the voice as undefined as the body. After the person had sat down on the throne-like chair behind the desk, it signed with its hand that the gorilla should leave, while the two bodyguards remained in their position. "Two obviously very lost sluts who're claiming to work for Clouds."

"Maiko sent us to…" Judy started to tell, but got cut off by another raised hand.

"Don't get me started on this lil' whore," the pompous person scoffed and got more and more enraged. "This cunt crossed me, twice. She forced me to tighten up security, which cost me a fortune. And now she sends some gonk fuck-pieces like you to do some business. Unbelievable!"

"Hey," V intervened loudly, not being impressed by the ranting. "We dunno anythin' 'bout some feud you have with Maiko. We're just here to do some biz."

"Some biz, ey?" it eventually stated with an amused chuckle, crossing its fingers. "Then how about we introduce each other first? That's common courtesy. I'm the Puppetmaster. And you are…?"

Puppetmaster. What a fitting name. A name that caused Judy to cough up bile. Thankfully, V had taken over the talking.

"I'm V," she said and then pointed at Judy. "She's my assistant and not of importance. So, are we finished lickin' our asses and finally do some biz or should I leave my eddies somewhere else?"

For a moment, the Puppetmaster stayed silent, gazing deeply at the two women. Eventually, his eyes began to glow and not a second later the two-winged door opened once more. This time, a young girl walked in.

She was young, maybe around 14 years old, her ebony body only covered by some scarce lingerie. Her blue glowing eyes made it clear that her doll-chip was working and she was nothing more than a slave. Her head was shaved and the scars of the implantation fresh.

With wide open eyes, Judy and V looked at each other for a brief moment, before V returned into her role as a buyer.

As soon as the young teenage-girl reached them, the young woman got up and started to examine the offered merchandise. And it was terrifying how deep V was in her role.

She not only checked that girl from head to toe, she also touched her. Touched her arms, her butt and even the small mounds that were starting to be her breasts. It was like she had fallen into the role of a rich farmer from the old days, who was looking for a new slave. And this let a cold shiver run down Judy's spine. She wanted to yell at her friend and choke her to death. However, the young techie just hoped that V was just playing her disgusting role and didn't enjoy this.

"Where did you get her from?" the young merc asked, touching the girl's thigh.

"From the streets, of course. Ready for the takin'," the Puppetmaster replied with some pride. "Her parents died in the crossfire of a gangwar. She was homeless and alone, so we offered food and shelter. One syringe of sedatives later… Voila!"

V stopped for a moment and turned around, facing this demon. Her demeanor was unreadable, yet Judy knew that she would've loved to just shoot this ugly, inhuman creature.

"A really tempting offer, but that's not what I'm lookin' for…"

"Not looking for?!" the Puppetmaster exclaimed. "A doll, underage and a virgin. Most motherfuckers out there would kill to get such an offer. And that for only 150.000 Eddies!"

V lost her temper as well, slapping her hands on the desktop, which caused the bodyguards to pull their guns. But she stayed cool, saying coldly "Listen, I get orders for what to buy, and right now I'm lookin' for a seasoned doll. 30 to 40 years old, female, nice curves. A clean slate is preferred. Got a preem offer?"

"Of course," the Puppetmaster replied with a shrug and sat down again. "But why a clean slate?"

"One of our premium dolls vanished. We need to replace her since she used to do the…very kinky stuff. So, we either need a doll who hasn't any problem with that or a clean slate."

"Hmm…" the doll-dealer hummed and pressed a button on his desk. One of the big portraits on the wall slided aside, revealing a big screen, and on it appeared the picture of Evelyn Parker. "How about her?"

Taken aback, Judy gasped and jumped up, but stopped any movement as soon as one of the bodyguards aimed at her. V, however, stayed cool again. And the reason became obvious as the guards got suddenly shaken by electric shocks as their cybernetic implants got overloaded as well as their nervous system. They both went down, and before the Puppetmaster could react, V had already jumped over the desk and had punched them right in the face, sending it down.

The teenage-girl still stood in the middle of the room, unaware what just had happened around her.

V had the dazed Puppetmaster now grabbed by its colorful clothes and was pulling this waste of a human being up onto the chair again, giving it another hard slap.

"Evelyn Parker," she yelled, signing at the screen. "Where is she?"

"W-who?" the Puppetmaster stammered, shaking its head.

"That woman!"

"I sold her, of course," it spat out, earning another hit in the face.

"To whom, you disgusting piece of shit?"

Sadistic as the dealer was, it started to chuckle evilly, replying "You think I'd tell you? You're dead. I know who you are and I already called the people who're lookin' for ya. You won't leave this place alive. They'll flatline you two bitches, while your lil' friend will be deepthroated by a bunch of cyberpsy-..."

BANG!

The back of the Puppetmaster's head exploded in a messy cloud of blood, bones and metal after he got shot through his ruby-eye.

Being stunned for a moment out of surprise, V then slowly turned around, seeing Judy standing there with a still smoking pistol from one of the guards, which she had picked up.

Judy simply hadn't been able to listen to this monster anymore. Hearing this snark and sadism of this inhuman creature that sold even little kids to disgusting perverts had just driven her over the edge.

Knowing that she couldn't do anything about this given situation anyway, and entirely agreeing that this monster had to die, V put her hand on Judy's gun and let her lower it. After making sure that her friend was okay so far, fired up the late Puppetmaster's computer on the desk and hacked it.

"She got bought by a guy named Piledriver Billy," she mentioned, closing the laptop, and then picking up any gun and ammo available. "Now c'mon, we need to delta before we get company."

A hammering and knocking echoed from the door to the market, letting it shake constantly. Luckily, it stayed shut, for the moment, thanks to that V had already hacked and deactivated it.

Agreeing with a nod, Judy took one of the teenage-girl's hands and wanted to follow her friend through the two-winged door, but got stopped by her as soon as she realized what she wanted to do.

"What are you doin', Jude?"

"I'm not leaving her here," the young techie replied adamantly, tightening the grip around the girl's wrist.

"Judy," V tried to reason, "we're hunted by mercs and assassins. How high do you think her chances of survival are with us, huh?"

"V, I know what happens to girls like her. You saw what's goin' on outside this fuckin' door," Judy returned, pointing at the still shaking door that was leading to the market. "She'll get sold and then abused until she's considered too old. Best case: she'll end up on Jig-Jig street. Worst case: she'll get sold to Scavs, who'll strip her body for parts and remove her doll chip for the next poor thing. ¡Nunca más, Valerie! ¡Nuanca más!"

Judy was right and V knew that. So, she did what she had told her friend beforehand: she took a deep inhale and swallowed any second thoughts down, before they finally went on to leave this hell.

Behind the two-winged door was a corridor, which led to even more - what looked like - exclusive VIP-rooms, and an elevator.

An explosion chimed from the office, telling V that the bad guys had blasted open the locked door. Now lacking time and other possibilities, the merc guided Judy and the young doll towards the elevator. Via remote access, V managed that it was already open and ready to take them aboard. Barely, they had entered it as first shots sounded through the hall and bullets impacted at the backside of the cabin.

Pressing against the sides, the two women tried to take cover and while V returned fire, Judy covered the young girl with her own body. Luckily, the doors soon closed and the elevator transported them upstairs. Until, the journey came to a sudden halt and the main lights went out.

"Shit, they must've hacked the building's power systems," V mentioned and, luckily, the emergency lights kicked in a second later. At the same time, the young doll, who had still been under the influence of the chip, yerked and gasped as said chip lost contact with the server and she regained control over her body.

Like after every emergency stop, the young teenager was confused and panicky, flailing out as she wanted to get away from the two women. In the end, she got stuck in a corner of the cabin, her eyes twitching between the two strangers at a fast pace. Whereas the dimly red emergency light didn't help the case.

"Wh-who are you? Wh-what…?" she gasped, already hyperventilating. If not used to it, an emergency cut was always very exhausting and terrifying. Judy knew that. Had witnessed it enough.

"Ssh, it's okay. We won't hurt you," Judy tried to soothe with a calm voice. And as much as V could understand this cautious approach, the sounds that were echoing through the elevator shaft made it clear that they needed to hurry. So, she kneeled down in front of the girl.

"Hi, I'm V and this is Judy. I know that you've probably got a shitton of questions, but we need to move, 'cause there are a lotta bad guys after us, okay?"

Entirely puzzled, yet also lacking any alternative, the young girl just nodded and took one of Judy's hands as she got helped to stand up. Additionally, V gave her her jacket before she opened up the hatch on the ceiling. The merc took a peek outside into the elevator shaft, before pulling herself up.

"C'mon, we need to delta before they reach us," she said and helped the young girl and Judy up. At the same time, commotion could be heard from several doors.

"Shit!" she hissed and tried to find a solution. If they would get caught in the shaft, there would be no room to take cover. They would die. And since the power was gone, her netrunning skills were of no good use as well since not one electronic device of the building was working, not even the surveillance systems.

But then, she spotted a ventilation shaft, just one ledge above them. Like an acrobat, she jumped up and reached the entrance, which was covered by an iron grid, which she easily removed by using her slightly enhanced muscles. And again she gave her friend and the doll a helping hand. She had barely entered the ventilation shaft after the others as first bullets hit the concrete close to the hole, missing her feets only by inches.

They had just crawled a few minutes along the cramped shaft as once again, some commotion could be heard from behind. V pulled out a gun and aimed at the access through her spread legs, and opened fire upon the first movements.

Screams and yelled curses echoed and first shots got returned, ricocheting from the metallic walls. In return, V returned fire, too. She knew, as soon as she would stop, they would send a bulletstorm and riddle her with holes. So, she kept on shooting, hoping that Judy and the girl would reach safety right on time.

Surprisingly, though, the merc got grabbed by her collar and pulled along the shaft by Judy, while she kept on firing, until they had reached a turn and could take cover.

"Um, J-Judy…? Sto-...!" chimed the black girl's voice. But it was too late as the young techie didn't stop in time, pushed the young girl and they both lost balance and fell through a covered ventilation hole with loud shrieks. They both landed in the middle of the doll market, their fall softened by a couch and the people who were sitting on it.

V followed right behind them, but in contrast to the others, she landed on her feet. An explosion followed through the ventilation shaft, turning the entire market into a flock of headless chicken. People screamed and took cover, others grabbed their belongings and ran. Security guards tried to assess the situation throughout the chaos, a few of them seeing V as the culprit.

They opened fire and V returned it, covering Judy and the young girl while they were heading for the exit. Sadly, it was guarded by two enforcers of the assassins, who had just waited for them. They raised their guns, but didn't shoot, and soon, the three fugitives were surrounded.

"Don't move! Drop it!" one of them yelled and was probably calling for backup. Yes, V, Judy and the young doll, who was scared beyond everything, were trapped. And as they all dropped their weapons, it was very obvious. But this led also to a slight lack of awareness by their captures, who began to relax. A situation they needed to use before one of the operatives would show up.

Knowing that this was an emergency, V activated her Sandavistan and drew her still hidden knife. Maybe her implant wasn't as advanced as the latest military versions, but it was enough to surprise the people that were guarding them. Few of them still tried to raise their weapons. But before doing so, their throats got cut and they went down, gurgling out their last breaths.

As soon as V's Sandavistan stopped its work, she collapsed onto her knees upon exhaustion. It took an excessive amount of energy to make this device work. Short reaction-boosts, like when she had taken down this operative, were no problem. But taking down multiple targets at once was a whole different number.

But Judy was right at her side and pulled her on her feet again, half carrying her out of the door. Another barrage of shots chimed, impacting around the door.

V groaned as a bullet hit her in the back, robbing her of all her strength. The same happened to the young doll, who shrieked, tripped and hit the ground.

Desperately, Judy tried to pull the now injured and even heavier to carry V further, but couldn't do it anymore.

"Run!" groaned V, pushing Judy away. "Getta fuck out!"

V was right. There was no chance that all of them could escape in this condition. But she also refused to leave her friend behind. There was no way she would do that. So, under tears, she took her into a tight embrace, whispering "Thanks for everything, Valerie!"

The first enforcers appeared at the entrance and the end seemed to be near. But to everyone's surprise, they were greeted by a barrage of bullets, originating from a tall, broad man, who yelled with a Spanish accent "¡Maldito infierno, V!"

To the bulletstorm he also added a few grenades, making it impossible to use the entrance for some time.

"C'mon, chica, get the girl and let's get outta here, rápido."

Judy did what she got told to and picked the squirming doll up while the broad guy carried V.

Shots were following them as they rushed along Jig-Jig street, and as they finally had reached the for traffic cleared road, a car was already waiting, a woman with short blond hair sitting at the wheel.

The Hispanic man threw V onto the backseat, accompanied by another bunch of Spanish curses, then turned around to give them all some covering fire. As soon as Judy and the injured girl had entered the vehicle as well, he eventually took a place on the passenger's seat and sent some more shots towards their follower, until they finally drove away, leaving their perpetrators behind.