Robbie placed his palms against the tile wall as he let the warm flow over him. The 24-hour gym had become the only place he could reliably get a shower. Every few days he would wander in and bathe off the sweat and blood. He rarely used the work out equipment as he was usually too sore to even attempt weightlifting. Robbie just didn't want to feel homeless, especially after getting Wander to leave him alone. The fuzzy Extra meant well, but he didn't understand life on Earth.

The edgerunner had finished washing himself but decided to linger in the shower till the timer ran out. Anything to make the calm last a little longer. Afterwards, Robbie dried off and threw on his freshly bought pants and shirt. The nearest laundry mat was too far away, too costly to be worth the man's time, so he was forced to toss out his clothes on the regular. The only things he kept were his shoes and his jacket.

It was a little past midnight when Robbie stepped out into the cool, early November air. The lights and sounds of Night City weighed down on his psyche. The city was one of insomnia and mania, and Robbie was beyond exhausted. He thought about heading back to the Afterlife for a drink but decided against it. His interaction with Masami earlier was too prevalent in his mind, and he needed to clear the air with the old techie.

Robbie kept his head down as he walked through the street markets. Something had the Tyger Claws wild-up and he didn't want to deal with a second group of thugs that night. He did his best to ignore the sounds of gunfire that seemed ever present that night. At least the increase in violence meant that the streets were less crowded that night.

Entering the apartment building, Robbie found the lobby abandoned. There wasn't anyone at the front desk, there were no teens loitering by the vending machine, and the lights had been dimmed. The eerie silence contrasted with the gang fighting outside, resulting in cognitive whiplash for Robbie. He wasn't sure which felt more dangerous, the silence or the violence.

With his hand on his holster, Robbie made his way up the steps and knocked on the door labeled 34. There was no answer for several seconds, so he knocked again. This time the door opened.

"Hey, Masami," Robbie said. "I was wanting to talk with you. Things got weird earlier, and I thought it would be good to clear the air."

"You are forgiven. Goodnight," Masami said abruptly and then tried to close the door.

"Wait a second!" Robbie put his hands in the way of the door preventing it from shutting. The system tried to close it a second time before canceling and opening again. "Ow," Robbie shook his hand, now sore from the door.

"What do you want?" Masami started to gripe at him. "It's late. Go away and let me sleep."

"I just want to talk," Robbie tried to explain. "With this deal with Dominator and me owning you money, things are getting weird. I want to sort it all out."

Masami stared at him hard before relenting. "Fine. Come back tomorrow afternoon. We can talk then."

"Alright," Robbie said. Masami nodded and went to close the door, but Robbie stopped him again. "Where's your gun?" There was a heavy silence between them for several seconds.

"I was cleaning it," Masami said flatly. "I will finish that then go to bed."

"Smart on ya," Robbie smirked. "Welp, goodnight then." He turned and began walking down the steps. He heard the door close behind him and continued down to the second floor.

"Cleaning it, my ass," Robbie mumbled as he started to make his way up the stairs again, being careful to make as little sound as possible.

Kneeling before Masami's door, he pulled an electric lock pick and screwdriver from his jacket pocket. With practiced precision, Robbie unscrewed the outer plate from the door lock. The door model was one he had hacked many times while with Maelstrom. He located the two necessary circuits and pressed the lockpick prongs against both. With his gun in his right hand, he took a deep breath and pressed the lockpick button. With a jolt of power, the door flew open.

Robbie sprinted inside, activating his Kerenzikov to assess the situation. On the far side of the room, he saw Masami, and Vinny was holding him at gun point. Brushing the confusion aside, he took a shot at Vinny just beside the man's ear. With some luck, getting grazed will scare him into surrendering.

Instead, Vinny leaned away from the bullet and pointed his own gun at Robbie. Running out of charge, Robbie dropped into a slide right as Vinny shot back. Two bullets flew by in slow motion just before the Kerenzikov ran out. With his brain running at normal speed again, Robbie kicked himself upright and pointed his pistol at Vinny.

"Hold your fire!" Vinny called out. He was holding his left hand out in defense but was still pointing his pistol at Robbie with his right hand. "You don't shoot, I don't shoot. We can talk this out, Robbie."

"Sure, we can talk," Robbie said through bated breath. "We gonna do this with weapons up? Make things interesting?"

"You're smarter than that. How about we holster on three?" Vinny suggested. Robbie slowly nodded, his hands starting to shake. "Ok, good. Ready? One, two, three." As agreed, both men lowered their guns and slipped them back into their respective holsters. "See? Now we can talk like gentlemen."

"You sound like a Bond villain," Robbie snarked. "Mind explaining why you were threatening my techie?"

"I wasn't threatening him. We were having a discussion."

"I saw you pointing the gun at him."

"Is that so?" Vinny quirked an eyebrow and took a step towards Robbie. "Kerenzikov?"

"Good guess," Robbie smirked. "You have something similar?"

"Synaptic Accelerator," Vinny said. "Latest model. Similar results to a Kerenzikov with less strain."

"Well, look at the fancy corpo over here. Now, why were you threating Masami?"

"I wasn't-"

"Masami," Robbie interrupted. "Why was he threating you?"

"Don't answer that," Vinny commanded. "This is Arasaka company business. It doesn't concern him."

"Masami," Robbie sighed. The old man looked terrified. Some counter encouragement was needed. "Please, Masami," Robbie pleaded as he pulled his pistol and pressed it against Vinny's head. "He's not going to do anything."

"So much for being gentlemen about this," Vinny grumbled.

"What did he say, Masami?"

"The corpo, he-" Masami gulped. "He doesn't want me making cyberware for any Extras. He said if I told Lord Dominator I can't help her, he would help me get a proper position at Arasaka."

"Wow. That's a pretty good deal," Robbie said. "Let me guess. Refusal to cooperate would result in some sort of death?"

"Y-yes," Masami nodded.

"I should have expected as much. These rats are all the same."

Robbie tisked at Vinny, but suddenly found himself getting punched in the gut. He tried to fire his gun, but his wrist was being held tight high over his head. Before he knew it, Vinny had disarmed him, turned him around, and kicked him in the back of his knee. Robbie was kneeling with his back to Robbie, his right arm in a grapple and a gun pressed against the back of his head.

"The hell, man?" Robbie groaned in pain.

"I tried to be polite about this," Vinny said flatly. "You should have kept your gun holstered."

"Not the arm lock, I get that part. I'm talking about Dominator. Why all th-?" Before Robbie could finish his question, Vinny smacked him with the butt of the pistol.

"Her name is Valerie," Vinny spat. His anger made Robbie forget about the pain in his arm and head, and the edgerunner fell into a fit of laughter. "You think that's funny?"

"It's just that… Jackie and Valerie care for you. And you obviously care for them," Robbie explained. "Yet here you are stabbing them in the back like a corpo rat. You can't help yourself!" He fell into another fit of laughter, causing Vinny to kick him down onto his stomach.

"I'm trying to protect them! Don't go judging me like you understand the situation! You gonna tell me you know better? That you care about my friends more than me?"

"Of course not," Robbie said. He turned himself over but remained laying on the ground staring up at Vinny. "I don't know them that well. And honestly, I don't think I'll ever care about Valerie. Jackie is pretty cool, but Val seems more interested in pushing me over the edge than becoming my friend."

"But what I do know is that this here, what you're doing, is betraying them. Doesn't matter how good your intentions may be, this is a betrayal. You are trying to control them. And that's not something friends do."

"Well, look at you, so full of wisdom," Vinny said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He stepped back to let Robbie sit up. "So, if you have it all figured out, what happens next?"

"The way I see it, you have three options."

"And what would those be?"

"You could shoot me and go forward with your current plan, or you could let me go and I tell the Welles family what transpired here."

"Sound's to me like you are looking to get shot," Vinny frowned. "Ratting me out is cowardly."

"Eh," Robbie shrugged. "It makes sense considering how much we hate each other right now."

"What's the third option?"

"You drop this plan altogether. Stay out of the deal, and let things progress naturally. Trust Valerie and Jackie to make the right choices."

"That's not an option."

"Why not?" Robbie asked.

"Arasaka Intelligence put me in charge of keeping an eye on Valerie. I help her out, but I also make sure she stays in line and does the work given to her. That includes making sure she doesn't make deals that would hurt her."

"Who's your boss?"

"What?" Vinny asked.

"Your boss. Who's in charge of you?"

"The head of Arasaka Intelligence. Why does it matter?"

"Well, what matter's more to you? What your friends think, or what your boss thinks? Hm?" Robbie raised his eyebrows, genuinely curious as to how Vinny would respond.

"It's not that simple. Stop acting like it is," Vinny frowned.

"Sure, it is," Robbie chuckled as he pushed himself to his feet. "If the answer is your friends, you'll find a way to deal with your boss. If the answer is your boss, then how much longer can you expect to have any friends?"

"Speaking from experience, are we?" Vinny accused.

"Me? No," Robbie denied. "I've been through some fucked up shit, but I never had to choose between my friends and my job."

The two fell silent as Vinny thought over his options.

"If I leave here, I'm not going empty handed," Vinny said slowly. "I need you working for me."

"Oh?"

"I stay out of Masami's business and let him build some chrome for the Welles. If I do that, you work for me."

"Doing what exactly?" Robbie asked.

"Whatever I ask," Vinny said. Robbie scoffed in return.

"Not happening," Robbie shook his head. "I don't sign blank checks. Especially when working for corporations."

"Fine. We'll start with information gathering. You keep an eye on Jackie for me. Make sure he stays safe and let me know what he gets up to. If that goes well, we can talk about more jobs."

"You want me to spy on Jackie Welles for you?" Robbie gave Vinny a disapproving glare. "If I do this, you stay away from Masami and the deal with Valerie."

"Of course," Vinny nodded. "Shall we shake on it?" He offered out his hand, which Robbie took. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"No, it wasn't."

Vinny smirked at Robbie. "Keep an eye on Jackie, and keep me updated," he said. The corpo turned and left without another word.

Robbie rubbed his tired eyes. With a heavy sigh, he looked up. Masami was hadn't moved from his seat next to the kitchenette, but the old man looked exceptionally displeased.

"You were awfully quiet for that exchange," Robbie said.

"I didn't want to get shot. Letting you fight with the corpo was my best option for survival," Masami said.

"Not entirely sure I agree with that, but it did work out for you." Robbie glanced around for his gun and spotted it on the ground by the window. "Following that logic, were you going to take Vinny's offer if I hadn't shown up?"

"Of course," Masami confirmed. "He was threatening my life. I would be a fool to say no."

"So, I saved you? Right?" Robbie picked up his gun and checked the magazine. Eight shots plus a ninth in the chamber. He was going to need to buy ammo soon.

"Hardly!" Masami yelled. "You broke into my home! You interfered where you were unwanted and nearly got yourself killed!"

"I had a feeling you would say something like that." Robbie pointed his gun at Masami as he slowly walked towards the techie.

"W-what are you doing?"

"How many clients have you had recently, Masami?"

"I've h-had a couple," Masami stuttered, looking for something he could defend himself with.

"All small jobs I assume, yea?" Robbie pressed his gun against Masami's chest as he interrogated the man. "Last I heard, you haven't had any big, expensive jobs since I came for your help, right?"

"That is none of your concern," Masami said, sweat starting to drip from his brow.

"I came here tonight to try to smooth things out with you," Robbie explained. "I am grateful for your help, and how you've allowed me to pay you back over time. But I am starting to get real fucking sick of your attitude. You're nothing but a bitter, old man who would have been thrown out onto the streets if not for my business."

"If my math checks out, I've paid back about two thirds of my debt to you. The way I see it, with me bringing you Dominator, we are officially square."

"That was not the deal! We did not agree on the referral terms!" Masami protested.

"Don't care," Robbie said as tapped his pistol against Masami's chest. "I've been living on the streets so I can pay you back. Everyday is a fight for survival just for you to berate me. I'll keep paying you for the time being, cause I'm a nice guy like that. But once you get your payment from the Welles, we are through."

Robbie marched out of the apartment and down the stairs. He didn't have the slightest clue where he was going to go for the night. His original plan was to try to spend the night with Masami, but that bridge was permanently burned. Seeing as his "new employer" wanted him to keep an eye on Jackie, it only made sense to head towards Heywood.

Valerie did her best to rub the tiredness from her eye as she took another large gulp of her coffee. With Arasaka's FTL program now in full swing, she needed to start pulling overtime to make sure everything ran smoothly. The current issue was getting everyone involved with the project on the same page. Today it was all of the Night City engineers and execs. Next week they had people flying in from Tokyo, and then more engineers from Paris the week after that.

The entire day had been repeating the same lecture to different groups over and over, and then answering the same handful of questions over and over. Valerie was not a teacher, so any attempts to improve the lessons only served to cause more confusion. Her only saving grace was that one intern managed to make sense of slip space physics quite easily. Valerie made a point to recruit them.

"What's not to understand, Toby? It's Toby, right?" Valerie asked the intern.

"Uh, yes ma'am," the young man nodded, adjusting his glasses. "And the issue is that a magnetic tripole is basically unheard of in physics. It's purely theoretical."

"You guys figured out how to generate monopole particles. A tripole shouldn't be that much of a stretch. The math checks out."

"I understand, Miss Welles, but…" Toby hesitated, unable to find the words.

"It's ok to call all these guys a bunch of idiots," Valerie whispered to him. "You understand it and they don't, right?"

"I do, Miss Welles, but the project can't move forward until more people in the company understand. Maybe if you could provide an example?"

"Uh, hello?" Valerie pointed to the equations on her tablet that she used to explain magnetic tripoles.

"No, I mean a more metaphorical example," Toby said. "A good way to teach space-time is to explain it like a big sheet. And all the stars and planets push down on the sheet to create divots that sort of wrinkle the sheet. It's a great visual way to show how gravity works and how it interacts with space-time."

"Yea… I don't follow," Valerie frowned at him.

"Oh," Toby deflated. "Well, maybe I could show you. If you understand how Earthlings learn, then you can teach us better."

"Sure," Valerie sighed. "I'll see if I can get us some textbooks or something. In the meantime, you are going to help me get through these lecture meetings. Let's go talk to your boss and-"

"Hey, Valerie," a familiar voice called down the hall.

"Oh, for fuck sake," the green woman mumbled as she turned and watched Vinny strut towards her. "Whatever it is, now is a bad time."

"It's about your cybernetics," Vinny smiled. Valerie blinked at him before turning back to Toby.

"Have your boss message me by the end of the day, or I will hunt you down and beat you. Understood?" she said, raising her cane to him to emphasize her seriousness.

"Uh, yes ma'am," Toby vigorously nodded.

"Good. Now go." Valerie watched the intern run off before turning back to Vinny. "I have another meeting in 60 minutes and I haven't had lunch. If we're going to talk, you're buying me food."

"Noodle place down the street?" Vinny offered.

"That will work."

15 minutes later, Valerie was scarfing down an order of synth-egg pad thai at the corner restaurant. She had finished half her bowl before she let Vinny talk.

"Alright," the woman sighed as she wiped her mouth. "What did you tell them?"

"Just the basics," Vinny reassured her. "You are pursuing custom cybernetic implants through an independent third party."

"And?"

"And I convinced the higher ups to allow it. But there are a few caveats."

"A few what now?" Valerie's face scrunched in confusion. She was more focused on eating her pad thai than trying to decern whatever fancy, Earth words Vinny used.

"It means there are some conditions required for this to work," Vinny said.

"Oh, great," she rolled her eye as she placed another fork of noodles into her mouth.

"Due to how this may effect your health, and therefore your Trauma Team coverage, we'll need an Arasaka rep to look over your chrome."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. Any cybernetics Masami builds for you will need to be reviewed by a certified Arasaka cybernetics developer before it is installed."

"That's a load of bull," Valerie said.

"No, it's extremely reasonable given the circumstances," Vinny retorted. "You're lucky I got them to go along with this. None of the Night City executives want to take a risk with your wellbeing. Especially now that you're becoming the lynchpin for the FTL project."

"Oh, I feel so cared for," Valerie deadpanned. "Anything else I need to worry about?"

"You will need to assist with a project at a later date. We can go over the details once things slow down around New Years."

"No, you can tell me now."

"I can't. The project is…" Vinny let out a breath as he briefly glanced around the restaurant. "It's strictly confidential. But your assistance may be needed. That's all I can say right now."

"Fine." Valerie spat. She finished off her noodles before dropped her bowl onto the table. "What else?"

"Nothing else official, but I do have a personal request," Vinny said. "Once you get your implants, whenever that may be, don't do anything stupid."

"Heh," Valerie smirked. "Ok? Sure, I won't do anything stupid."

"I'm serious, Valerie. I know you've been itching to get back into edgerunning since you signed on with Arasaka, but I can't let you. It's too dangerous."

"Would you stop panicking? I'm not going back to mercenary work. Arasaka pays me too well for that," Valerie said. "Even if it does get annoying."

"Promise?"

"Yea, I promise. No edgerunning."

"Thanks for the ride. Again," Valerie smiled through her exhaustion.

"My pleasure," Vinny said. "You get some sleep, and I'll see you in the morning."

"See ya." Valerie pulled herself out of the sports car, slinging her backpack over her shoulder, and watched Vinny drive off. She didn't bother waving.

Her mood was boosted slightly by the joy flowing out of Jackie through the mental bond. It sucked that she missed dinner, but coming home to the Welles was always nice. That feeling faded when she opened the door and saw Robbie chatting away with her family.

"Hey, V," Jackie greeted. "How was your first taste of corporate overtime?"

"The grob is he doing here?" Valerie asked, her expression turning sour.

"Well howdy to you, too," Robbie frowned.

"Be nice, mija," Mama Welles called to them from the kitchen.

"Yes, Mama," Valerie called back before turning to Jackie.

"Robbie and I did a job for Padre, and it went great. Mucho eddies," Jackie explained.

"I thought you worked in Watson."

"Usually, but the Tyger Claws were being extra violent last night," Robbie said. "Something about a faction split between the old guard and the Arasaka loyalist. So, I decided to hang out down here for a few days."

"Well, it was nice seeing you, but I'm sure you want to head home soon," Valerie smiled with fake enthusiasm.

"We're thinking about becoming partners," Jackie blurted out, breaking eye contact. Valerie didn't respond as she stormed off to the kitchen.

"How was work?" Mama asked. She looked up from the dishes and gave Valerie a concerned smile.

"It was fine," Valerie said. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a few hundred eddies. "Here's my rent for the month."

"Uh, gracias," Mama accepted the money, but her concern didn't go away. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"I said I'm fine!" Valerie marched off and climbed the stairs in record time.

With a heavy sigh, the green woman threw her bag onto her makeshift bed of a cot. She leaned against the misplaced sink with both hands, letting her cane fall to the floor. The image in the mirror felt almost alien to Valerie. For the first time in months, she took the time to examine the exhausted face staring back at her. Everything was disheveled. Cracks were beginning to show.

Valerie took off her eyepatch then turned on the faucet. The hot water offered a small amount of relief as she rinsed her face. She took special care as gently washed out her right eye socket. She had become quite good at caring for her condition, but she still wasn't used to it. Toweling off her skin, she was once again staring at that void on her face. Her stomach began to twist into knots at the thought that the man responsible was just down the stairs.

"Are you alright, mija?" Mama Welles said, dragging Valerie from her thoughts.

Valerie straightened herself before the mirror but couldn't bring herself to respond. So, Mama stepped beside her.

"What's bothering you, V?" Mama asked softly.

"Why did it have to be him?" Valerie choked out.

"We do not get to choose who El Dios places in our lives," Mama said. She wrapped her arm around Valerie's midsection, pulling the taller woman to her. "All we can do is make the best of it; try to be good people no matter the circumstances."

"I know, Mama," Valerie wrapped her own arm around Mama's shoulders. "But, of all the mercs in Night City, why did Jackie have to team up with fucking Latch."

"I don't think you're giving Robbie enough credit," Mama frowned. "He's made mistakes, but who among us hasn't had a few cagarla el momentos? Hm?"

"Yea, I know," Valerie blushed a little.

"What matters is that he is trying to be better and make up for his mistakes. He's a lot like you in that regard. And now that you have your fancy desk job, it's nice to know someone is watching Jackie's back."

"I guess," Valerie spoke quietly. So quietly that Mama almost didn't hear her.

"V, por favor," Mama turned Valerie towards her. "Tell me what this is about. Let tu madre help you."

"It's just… I don't…" Valerie let out a heavy breath as she tried to collect her thought. "Why does it feel like I'm back at square one? I had figured it out. I knew who I was and found a place that… that felt like home. But that's all gone now."

"No, mija. This is your home. Jackie and I, we are your familia. Things change, but nothing will ever take that away. I know you miss running around and being all 'badass' or whatever the kids say these days. But you have a new purpose now, and your familia will be here to support you."

Valerie didn't get much sleep that night. Her mind was a constant flow of confusion and stress that she struggled to silence. She wasn't happy where she was and wasn't sure if she would ever be truly happy again. At least she was alive, or that's what she told herself. Family, friends, and something kind of resembling a purpose. Why does she still feel so out of place?

Valerie opened her eye when she heard the front door shut followed by footsteps on the stairs. She pushed herself up when she was Jackie's silhouette in the darkness.

"Sorry for waking you," Jackie whispered.

"I wasn't sleeping," Valerie responded.

"Mind if I turn on the light for a second?"

"Go ahead," Valerie shrugged. She flinched at the sudden, dim light filling the room. She watched Jackie take off his blood-speckled jacket and toss it on the desk chair. "Where did you go?"

"Last minute job for Padre. A couple of thugs tried to rob the Valentinos. Robbie and I hunted them down." Jackie turned on the sink and started to vigorously scrub the dried blood from his hands.

"Did it go alright?" Valerie observed him with concern.

"We got the job done," Jackie huffed. "Neither of us were hurt, but the gonks wouldn't stand down. So, we had to put them down."

"I see," Valerie said, looking away. "Hey, um… I'm sorry about earlier. I… I shouldn't have been such a bitch when I got home."

"I know, hermana. It's alright," Jackie gave her a small smile. "And if you feel that strongly about Robbie, I guess I can-"

"No!" Valerie interrupted. "No. Don't… don't do that for me. If you think he'll make a good partner, then be partners. It's your life. Don't make that call on my behalf."

"That's good to hear," the Solo smirked at her.

"Don't get it twisted. I still hate him," the woman narrowed her eye at her brother. "But if he can watch your back out there, then I'll live. So long as you are safe. That's all I care about."