Chapter 8: The Last House of Laguna Bend

Judy crawled through the darkness, her infra-vision trying to catch every bit of light to enhance it. It wasn't much, yet enough to evade most obstacles. She already had tons of cobwebs in her hair and had even to climb over a corpse that was rotting down there for years.

She tried to find out where she was by cross-referencing the, in her brain, saved map of Night City with the paces she had done. Which wasn't easy since she was mainly crawling all the time.

Eventually, she arrived at a hatch that was right above her and should, according to the map, lead into the club.

At first, the young woman tried to push it open, but it didn't budge in the slightest, which caused her to curse.

Then she heard gunshots from the other side.

"V!" she gasped and tried to increase her efforts, yet to no avail. Until she realized that there was a mechanical lock, which required a key. She didn't have a key, but she was a technician. In her youth, the young Latina had picked numerous locks as a hobby, much to her grandparent's dismay, who weren't able to lock the sweets away anymore.

The shootout had already stopped as Judy had finally managed to pick the lock. Her panic and worry about V rising, she pushed open the hatch and ended up in some sort of stall. A sickening smell of death and decay was crawling up her nose, causing her to choke up some vomit, which she gulped down right away.

Drawing her gun, she climbed up and witnessed the horrors of the Greasy Piston. Old, mutilated corpses, blood and on top of it, a poor being who was strapped onto a table.

But the real surprise came as Judy took a closer look at the victim.

"Oh my god, Evelyn?!" she said with a shivering voice, her mouth agape as she witnessed how her friend's once beautiful body had gotten abused. She undid the restraints, but the poor woman still didn't answer or even move, but just looked empty at Judy with her oversized optics. "Evelyn, it's me, Judy!"

Even as Judy gave her a hug, the tortured woman didn't reply to the gesture, but began to mumble.

"E-Evelyn…Evelyn…Parker…J-Judy…Jude…Álvarez…Evelyn Parker…Ev-...-elyn…"

"Listen, Eve, I need to help a friend. Just try to get up and delta through that hatch. I'll follow in a minute, okay?"

"F-f-friend…J-judy…Eve…Parker…"

Judy wasn't sure if Evelyn had even heard or understood what she had told her, but thought to herself that this was everything she could've done for the moment. If necessary, V and her would pick her up on the way out.

But now that she had found and taken care of Evelyn, Judy could focus on V. She peeked around the corner and saw that her friend had gotten captured and was obviously in danger as the Maelstromers had already ripped her upper clothes and were about to strap her onto such a torturing table, in order to do the same things to her as they had done to Evelyn.

Lacking any other ideas, the BD-techie already wanted to intervene, but stopped as she also saw Miss Crown, who also wanted V.

Inhaling deeply, Judy decided to get involved, as well. Since she didn't want to see V in any other hands than her own.

"But you won't get her either, bitch!" she announced as she left her cover and let the barrel of the pistol sway over several targets.

It was a typical standoff. And even after Piledriver Billy had lost his temper, nobody dared to make a false move.

Then, Judy heard a faint, familiar mumbling, closing in and followed everybody's sight. Like being in trance, Evelyn walked through the room towards the Maelstromers.

"...E-Evelyn…J-Judy…friend…s-sorry…Judy…Eve…"

"Eve!" the young woman whispered as she couldn't believe that her friend was walking over to the enemy.

Nobody moved, nobody even flinched as the mutilated woman came to a halt in front of her tormentor. It was obvious that she had gotten enhanced, but none of her torturers would've ever imagined that it could be used against them. But at this moment, it was.

Very fast, Evelyn grabbed Piledriver Billy's head, squeezing it heavily so that remaining bones and metal cracked, before she ripped it off effortlessly. She then kept on pressing until the head exploded into a messy mash of blood, matter and metal, while the fountain of blood from her victim's neck painted her dark-red.

His friends, who were entirely shocked, stepped back before opening fire at the woman.

"EVELYN!" Judy screamed as she had to witness how her friend got riddled by countless bullets. She got literally obliterated as limbs got severed and her head exploded into bits and pieces.

With a loud cry of sadness, the young techie opened fire at and killed the next Maelstromer while V used the chance to overwhelm her guards by using her hidden knife. She rammed it into the first guy's head, took his SMG and gunned down the next one.

Caren Crown had also drawn her Mantisblades and attacked the gangbangers, slicing through them like a hot knife through butter.

V used the confusion and Judy's desperate covering fire to run towards her. The young woman was devastated, sobbing and shedding a stream of tears while standing in the middle of the room and still trying to shoot the murderers of Evelyn Parker, though her pistol was already empty.

V grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her behind the next cover. Then, she returned fire and tried to keep the enemy down.

"Shit," she hissed, getting down as bullets were flying over her head. "Judy, snap out of it! We need to get outta here!"

It took the younger woman to wipe the tears off her face and nod in confirmation.

"Follow me," she replied, her voice dull.

V affirmed with a nod and fired one last salvo, before following her friend to the stall with the hatch.

They had barely entered the tunnel and brought the first few yards behind them as the gunfire suddenly stopped, signaling that either the assassin or the Maelstromers were dead, yet the letter one seemed to be more likely.

"Fuck, we need to hurry!" V, who was trying to hold her ripped upper clothes together, urged and Judy tried to be as fast as possible.

Luckily, they had soon reached the exit, Jackie already welcoming them.

"¡Gracias a Dios!" he said, helping the two women up.

"Good to see you, Jackie," V returned, breathing heavily upon this fast crawling. "You got some grenades?"

"Sí, claro," the broad merc replied, bringing forth two HE grenades. V took them, pulled the pin and threw them into the shaft, sealing it with the explosion.

"Now we can go," she then mentioned and got up.

As it turned out, leaving the hot zone hadn't been that complicated. Nobody had been following them and hijacking two cars hadn't been that hard.

Jackie and V had agreed to go separate ways from now on, just to reduce the risk of getting caught together..

Jackie was heading back to Heywood, hiding at his place under the protection of the Valentinos for a while.

Judy and V, however, had still to bridge some time until the BD-techie's flight would take off. V's first thought was to just take a motel room outside the city, but any money transfer could be tracked. Eventually, Judy came up with the plan to spend the night at a place, almost nobody knew.

They were driving south, about to leave Santo Domingo and enter the badlands around the city, the giant dam that was delivering electrical power to the city, to their left.

Judy was absently looking out the passenger's window, watching the city, while V was driving. None of them had spoken a word since.

"I'm sorry about Evelyn," V eventually said with a soft tone, breaking the silence.

At first it seemed like Judy didn't want to answer, but then she sighed heavily and shifted her gaze towards her friend.

"Not your fault, V." Her voice was brittle, fitting her exhausted demeanor. "I was a gonk to think that we could save her, though she was already gone. She was dead the moment I threw her outta my place."

"Stop blaming yourself for this, Jude!" V replied sternly, softly touching her friend's shoulder. "You couldn't know what was goin' on. You tried everythin', moved heaven and earth…"

"I put you and Jackie in danger!" the younger woman blurted back, new tears of anger running down her face. "I almost got you killed…"

Sniffing and sobbing, Judy turned away again. V knew that the sorrow about losing her friend was clouding her mind. Therefore, she gave her this short time to mourn in private, without giving her any more patronizing words.

Even after they had reached their destination, a small house on the headland at the lakeside of the Laguna Bend reservoir, V let Judy have her private time.

The interior of the house was pretty simple. A living room with a built-in kitchen, a bedroom and a small bathroom. Everything was equipped like someone was living here, yet the dust and cobwebs told another story. Still she found a fitting shirt to replace her ripped clothes, since some of Judy's stuff was scattered around the place as well. Even a cardboard box with old scuba gear was standing in a corner.

In front of the house also was a small pier. A nice spot with a good view over the artificial lake and the gigantic dam. Judy was sitting there, her sight fixed on nothing particular in the distance. It was now night, but not dark, since the numerous burning lights of the dam were enlightening the entire area.

It was still 10 hours until Judy could finally escape the city and start a new life.

V watched her and pondered. Pondered what to do. Everybody around them had confirmed that they liked each other. But how far would this go, if there was a chance at all that they could build a relationship?

Actually, she felt sorry for the young techie in the first place. All this suffering and losing everything she had built up with her sweat and blood. Her entire old life was gone and the last bit of it had died with her friend, Evelyn.

Gathering her courage, V decided to give her friend some company, hoping that she would accept it.

She didn't say anything, but instead just sat down beside her, waiting for the other woman to make the first move. And it came as she, surprisingly, wrapped one arm around the merc's shoulders and pulled her closer, laying her head on one shoulder.

It was the only reaction, yet so powerful that it made V's heart skip a beat. In silence, they both watched the lake, how it reflected the dam's lights. It was quiet. A serene silence that caused them both to relax.

"Preem view you got here," V then mentioned dryly as the quietness became too uncomfortable for her. But she already scolded herself a gonk for choosing those words. But Judy didn't seem to mind them. At least, her soft reply told her so.

"My home," she said as she took one of V's hands and intertwined their fingers. "Once, there used to be a small town here. Then they built the dam and it was gone. You should see it. My grandparent's house, the church…it's all still there, at the bottom of the lake. Except this house here."

"Is it yours?" V asked in return, causing Judy to scoff.

"Nah, it belonged to a friend. He used to be the last citizen of Laguna Bend. They had to drag him out of his home. Then, he built this house and said that as long as this house stands, Laguna Bend is still existing. The last house of Laguna Bend, that's what he called it."

"And your friend, is he still coming by often, or…?"

"He's gone. Like everybody else. He and I were the only ones still visiting Laguna. I dunno why he left or where he is now, but he gave me this house, announcing me as the last citizen of Laguna Bend. And soon, I'll be gone, too."

V heard the melancholy in her friend's voice and pressed her even closer, saying soothingly "Everything changes, if we want it or not. That's life. Don't worry, you'll find a preem new home, new awesome places, peace, friends…"

Out of a sudden, Judy took her head off of V's shoulder in order to look directly at her.

"Please come with me! Let us leave this shitpit together!" she said with a determinant voice, holding her friend's hand even firmer. However, the young merc just sighed heavily and shook her head.

"Judy…Y'know that it'd be too dangerous. They're after me after all, not you, me. And I wanna lead 'em as far away from you as possible."

"Fuck 'em! Fuck 'em all!" Judy retorted in defiance, tightening her grip even more. "I already lost Evelyn, but I won't lose you! You understand! I like you way too much for that. Way…too…much!"

For a moment, V stayed silent, looking at the young techie intensely as she got lost in her brown eyes. She felt Judy's hands. How they were holding her strongly, like she feared that she might slip away. Then, one of the younger woman's hands moved up her bare, tattooed arm, which induced goosebumps all over it. She moved higher, over the young merc's shoulder to her face, where her thumb brushed tenderly over her cheek.

V froze and was awestruck as Judy leaned in and gave her a short, soft kiss. The young techie then backed away a bit, awaiting the other woman's reaction.

At first, there was doubt. A lot of doubt. Which got dissipated as soon as V took a hold of the back of Judy's head and pulled her in for a long, passionate kiss.

Reluctantly, both parted again, their breathing labored and their faces red.

Judy then got up, not letting go of V's hand and led her inside the house and right into the bedroom, where both immediately reengaged their makeout session.

The first thing that had to go was V's newfound T-shirt, which got pulled over her head by Judy, who stopped halfway, rendering her defenseless and blindfolded.

"Look, who's at my mercy," the younger woman whispered playfully, pressing V, who was playing along, with her arms above her head against the wall and then kissed her way from her lips over her neck down to her medium-sized breasts.

The merc hissed and moaned in pleasure as her nipples got suckled and softly bitten. After treating her lover's breasts, Judy went further down until she had reached the waistband of her trousers. Button by button she opened them and pulled the garment along with her slip down. She had seen V naked before, but now she had the pleasure to see her up close.

Biting her lower lip, the young techie comped through V's patch of brown hair while brushing with her thumb over her clitoris before she leaned in and let her tongue glide over every square inch of her vagina.

V moaned in pleasure as she pulled the rest of her shirt over her head and then laid her free hands on Judy's head. It's been some time since she had experienced such a treatment, and though the punky woman was younger, she already had a lot of experience.

Craving for more, V pushed Judy's head very softly away from her crotch and pulled her on her feet. With another intense kiss she savored her own taste from her lips before she began to undress her lover as well with a dreamy smile on her face.

Being mesmerized by V's soft brushes over her entire body, Judy remained still, very quiet moans escaping her mouth. Only as the violet-haired woman's fingers dived into her entirely wet pussy, she couldn't hold back a loud groan anymore.

In order to get comfortable, both moved their activities to the bed, where they kept on pleasuring each other for the next few hours.

Silence. The only things audible, were the small waves of the lake and Judy's calm and constant breathing in her ear.

V was lying on her back, the BD-techie's head resting on her shoulder while their naked bodies were practically intertwined. For hours, since the last orgasm had faded, they were situated like that. During all that time, V had stared at the ceiling, pondering about what to do next. From time to time she had softly brushed over her back. Just feeling her incredible soft skin made her feel like being in an awesome dream.

"An Eddie for your thoughts," the young Latina mumbled suddenly, who then cuddled even closer.

"Oh, y'know, just thought 'bout the two of us in 50 years, when we're old and wrinkled and our tits are hangin' three stories depper…"

"Psh, bullshit!" Judy scoffed in return, giving her friend a soft bump before she started to chuckle. "Can't even imagine you as a granny."

Joining in the snickering as well for a short moment, the violet-haired merc then said "Hey, gimme your hand!"

Frowning in return, Judy took V's offered hand. As soon as their fingers intertwined, a stream of data got transferred.

"Your new ID and a ticket outta here. Wakako delivered early. Guess she wanted to make sure that you get out easier," the merc explained with a soft smile. Judy, however, didn't smile. Instead, she gazed melancholy at their hands.

"V," she said with a low voice, "was last night real or just some nice fuck for the takin'?"

"It was real," she answered right away, without a second thought, giving the younger woman a kiss on the forehead. "And I got myself a ticket, too," she then added with a smug smile. "Y'know, fuck 'em!"

Overwhelmed by joy, Judy screeched cheerfully and jumped on top of her lover, hugging her tightly. Both laughed, both were happy and in love. In two hours, they would leave everything behind. The city, the assassins, their old life.

Sadly, the things you want to leave behind have the tendency to catch up, eventually. In this case, it was signaled by a gas grenade that crashed through a window.

Luckily, it just landed in the living room where the gas now spread. Being aware of the situation, V immediately jumped out of the bed and closed the door, hoping that it would stop the gas from entering the bedroom.

"Quick, get dressed!" V urged while throwing over a top and some shorts. A second later, she received an anonymous call, which she picked up, and the face of Caren Crown appeared.

"I must say, you're hard to find. Lucky for us that you left some traces in poor Ophelia's skull. Now, how about you and that lil' cunt step out and we finish this? You're trapped like lil' rats, no way to get out. I give you one minute before I'll blast this pile of trash into smithereens."

Huffing out in defeat, V looked at Judy with worry. They would kill her, no doubt about that. A fact that V couldn't accept. One last time, she gave her a big kiss and said with a trembling voice "I'll go out there and you sit tight! If they want me, they have to bargain or I'm gonna flatline this bitch and her friend."

Judy was already about to protest, but got stopped by V's very determined glare.

"No discussion!" She then grabbed her hand one last time, gazing deeply into the Latina's watery eyes. "I promise, I'll be back. I'll come and look for you, okay! But at the moment, you need to survive! Can you promise me that?"

"Val…" Judy replied, her voice full of sorrow as she confirmed the promise with a nod. She wanted to say the three magical words, but before she could do so, V had already slipped from her grasp and left the bedroom.

Now it was on her to keep this promise.

Gathering all her courage and wiping away the tears from her face, Judy thought about leaving immediately, since she didn't trust this bitch, Miss Crown.

Her sight caught the box with scuba gear, which gave her an idea.

The morning sun was shining bright, blinding V as she stepped out of the house, her hand covering her mouth from the remaining gas.

In front of the building were standing three armored vehicles and 7 persons: five enforcers, Miss Crown and Adolfo. Everyone, except the female assassin aiming their guns at the young merc.

"Miss V, nice of you to show up!" Miss Crown cheered with a toothy grin and let her gaze wander around the surroundings a bit. "And where's Miss Álvarez? I expected both of you."

"Miss Álvarez is none of your concern anymore," V returned, stopping only a few feet away from her nemesis. "It was me alone, who cracked the scrambler. She just delivered the job. A messenger, nothin' more. She knows shit. So, you want me without trouble, you gotta let her go in peace. It's as simple as that."

"Simple as that…" the Asian assassin chuckled, shaking her head. "But, y'know," she eventually replied, becoming dead-serious again. "Nothin' is simple. You're in no position to make any demands."

"You know what I am. You really wanna risk that?"

"You can't hack us all without gettin' obliterated. You'd be dead before your hack could break my ICE. So, fuck you!"

A sudden, hot, stinging pain went through V's head, making her groan and robbing her of any means to defend herself as she got brought on her knees.

The door of one of the vehicles opened and a woman with blond hair and dark skin stepped out. She was clad in a netrunner-suit and a trenchcoat, and was obviously the one who had overloaded V's implants.

"You see, I got all the cards in my hands," Miss Crown mentioned arrogantly while walking around the merc. She then snipped with her fingers and Adolfo walked over to one of the vehicles. He returned with a big grenade launcher, aiming it at the house. Snickering evilly, Miss Crown bent over so that she could whisper into V's ear. "Y'know, I was really considering your deal, letting this lil' BD-slut walk away, but… you've been such a pain in the ass that you need some punishment. Plus…" She then came even closer, hissing "She killed my baby-sister."

With a wave of her hand, Miss Crown let hell rain upon the small house, turning it into a burning pile of junk.

Powerless, V had to watch how the last house of Laguna Bend fell under the continuous firestorm of the assassins.

"Judy!" V groaned under pain, a stream of tears running down her face. She tried to fight the digital leash the enemy netrunner had put around her, but eventually failed as she went unconscious.