Cyberpunk: Fatherhood

by RobinRounds

Car wrecked. Mom in the hospital. Bills are due. Desperation setting in. Our only chance is a number in mom's old holo records. It's listed as "Vinny - Emergencies Only!" I mean, fuck it, he can't make it worse for us. Right?

18. Chapter 18 - SEISO

["Hey Rebecca. Need your help with another gig."]

The simple message from V shouldn't have made Becca blush and grin like a schoolgirl, but it did. She had excitedly messaged him back, asking for detes and what she should wear. V's reply had been that it was a reconnaissance mission for their next gig, and that she should just wear her usual choice of comfortable clothing. Hearing that, Becca felt elated, hoping for a similar deal like when they had dealt with the tower. Maybe this time, she could actually get V to take off his pants?

Becca opted just to go out in her underwear and bra, but took the time to select the nicest in her wardrobe. Soft, dark green, and just the right amount of sexy. She still opted to cover it up with her favorite coat, and completed the look with her usual sneakers. Pulling her hair into twin pigtails and securing them with ties that matched her undergarments, Becca was ready to assist V with whatever he needed.

Too bad that turned out to be sitting with her brother in the back of their Colby on a rocky outcropping in the Badlands. V had tasked her and Pilar with observing a camp of Raffen Shiv nomads. He told them in person that Jenkins had demanded they eliminate Bruce Ward, a borged out leader of the Wraiths who was also an Arasaka Special Operations proxy. Today's assignment was to appraise the camp and come up with a plan before going after their target.

And from what Becca could see, it looked like the best plan might be just charge in and start shooting.

["Pilar, you seeing this?"] V's voice came over the holo, sounding oddly put off.

["Yeah! There's no turrets, mines, or traps that I can see. Oh wait, I think I see a wood or metal shack..."] Pilar peered down the scope of his Ashura. ["Strike that, it's just a stack of crates!?"]Becca held in a laugh as Pilar stomped his foot. ["These guys are supposed to be some big fuckin' assets for Arasaka and they're working out of tents!"]

["I...I know."] A long sigh came from V, and Becca found her eyes wandering to where he was hiding with Jackie. They were stationed on the opposite side of the siblings, cover provided by a large boulder and some scrub grass. ["I don't like it either."]

["Choom, might just have to accept the surface here is the substance."] Jackie added his opinion to the mix. ["Think about it. They're camped out in east nowhere, with nothing to set them apart from other camps. Seriously, whose really gonna question a nomad camp way the fuck out here?"]

["Exactly! They're so ordinary it's suspicious."] Pilar replied, and Becca let out a snort at how constipated his expression was. ["There's no security, fortification, or defenses. No way was 'look like any other nomad camp' their only idea for remaining hidden."] Only her brother could pull off the begging puppy eyes with monovision. ["You agree with me, right Becca?"]

["Sorry bro, but I have to agree with Jackie on this one."] The words were accompanied by a laugh. ["They're so not suspicious to the point that makes people suspicious, so they stay away."]

["You mean a fake-out?"]

["What was that old war story?"] Jackie paused, thinking. ["You know, the one about the guys who built the giant fire to stay warm and gave away their position. But because it was such an odd thing, the enemy didn't dare approach for fear it was a trap?"]

["But that was way back then, before all the fancy security and scouting measures we have now!"] Pilar argued, shaking his head. ["I don't see something like that working today!"]

["And yet, it appears to be doin' them just fine."] She crossed her arms, gesturing to the camp.

["Oh shut up sis! You don't understand recon missions do you?"]

["I do. V? Correct me if I'm wrong but its: Find your target. Find a spot to observe them from. Watch them. Make notes. Leave."] She counted on her fingers the steps. ["And by my observations, we've done everything on the list except for leaving now."]

["No...That pretty much covers it."] There was a weariness in V's voice that she hadn't heard before.

["Nuh uh. There's no way that this is just a campsite."] Pilar redoubled his efforts and once more used the scope to stare at the camp. ["There's gotta be something. Anything!"]

["Bruh."]

["Agreed."] Becca used her own binoculars to peer at V, seeing him copying Pilar's example with a rifle's scope. ["I can let the goddamn tents go, but where the hell is the security!"]

["This is sad."] Jackie sounded more amused and less sympathetic. ["Hey short-stuff. You wanna get tacos or something after this?"]

She looked at her own brother, who was muttering like the crazy homeless guy who hung out near their apartment. ["Can we get something stronger, like tequila shots?"]

["Why not both?"]

["I very rarely say this, so Jackie...enjoy it while you can."]

["What's that holmes?"]

["You were right."]

["Wait, has Night City frozen over?"] Though her binoculars, Becca saw Jackie kneel down and place the back of his hand on the ground. ["Nope, still warm."]

["Jackie..."] V rubbed at his temple. ["Alright, think we've gotten all we're going to get from this run."]

["Really?"] Pilar let out a tiny whine.

["Yeah. I mean...You've all seen it."] He waved for the two of them to stand down. ["They're using broken fucking cars instead of real defensive walls. Their buildings are reinforced tents. Oh, and the only noticeable security is the spotlights they only have on, at night! Making them even more of a target."] She heard V sigh. ["Oh, and there's maybe ten people tops 'defending' this place!"]

To Becca, V's assessment sounded like this was going to be a cakewalk. And while she liked shooting people and the rush of action, sometimes it was nice to have a quieter gig. ["You don't sound happy about that?"]

["It's complicated."] The suit replied, ["on the one hand. Makes our lives easier. On the other? This could all be a trap and we're being lulled into a false sense of security."]

["Somehow, I don't think so."] Jackie offered, ["if there was something. We'd have found it by now."]

["I know..."]A frustrated snort came from V. ["Pack up your gear, we'll meet over at Dakota's place to discuss this further."]

["'Kay."] The green-haired girl replied, looking at her brother who was still eyeing the camp even as he moved to grab the Ashura's case. "Seriously, let it go bro."

"I know, but come on!" Her brother sighed, gesturing with the gun back at the camp. "Between the four of us, we could probably pop 'em all from up here right now!"

"Maybe, but you heard V. He wants to discuss it in person before we continue." Becca started to pack her own gear away, setting in the back of their Colby.

"More like he wants to laugh without clogging the comms." Pilar replied, carefully settling the Ashura in its case. "There you go girl, all secure. Don't give me that look. I see how you baby Guts."

"Hey, Guts has proven himself a few times." She glared at her brother as he placed his gear in the truck. "Don't think I've seen you fire that rifle once. Even with target practice."

"Hey! She's more than a rifle." He moved over to the driver's side and hopped in. "She's an amazing piece of technology. Smart Link capabilities serve to enhance her already installed targeting and scanning systems. Sure, she can only fire one round but the fact that..."

Becca rolled her eyes, tuning out her brother's waxing over his gun as she settled in the passenger's seat to endure the ride over to Dakota's.

01010011 01100011 01100101 01101110 01100101 00100000 01000010 01110010 01100101 01100001 01101011

Following the discussion with V and Jackie at Dakota's – the four of them decided that Maine and the rest of the crew would check things out to confirm. And then they would launch their attack a day or two later. Until then, everyone was free to go about their business. For the siblings, this usually meant hanging out at the apartment if there wasn't a small gig or other job to occupy their time. Generally, the arrangement of their apartment afforded them both a decent level of privacy, but occasionally compromises had to be made.

That compromise was in exchange for thirty percent of his next cut from whatever gig they took. Becca would stay out and away from their apartment for the rest of the day as Pilar needed it for a 'date night'. What that usually entailed was her wandering around Watson, needing a way to kill some time until. A, she got the all-clear from Pilar to return to the apartment. B, got in touch with a member of the crew to crash with them if she never heard from her brother. Or C, stay out until the next day partying and the like. Then return home with a torch, and some spite.

"Don't exactly got a lot of eddies on me...So, window shopping unless it's something I really need." Becca looked around, catching sight of the landmark that was medical center. Seeing the building gave her an idea on how to spent at least some of her time. Smiling, she changed course and after a short while, found herself in the lobby of the med center.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist, a young man with soft brown eyes looked at her warily.

"Yeah, I'm here to visit a friend of mine." Becca approached the desk, smiling. "A miss Gloria Martinez. Can you tell me what room she's in?"

The receptionist typed something on the computer. "I can, provided you're on the approved list of visitors. Name?"

"Becca Rozen..." She paused, "wait. They might have put me in as Rebecca Rozen."

"Let me see...Ah, there you are." The receptionist smiled, "let me print you a visitor's pass." A few more clicks of the keyboard and there was a low hum as the printer behind him kicked on. Rolling over in his chair, the receptionist handed her the recently printed page. "Just keep that paper with you, though its more a formality than anything." He looked back at the computer. "And you'll find Miss Martinez on the sixteenth floor, room sixteen-thirty-three."

"Wait, you guys have thousands of patient rooms?" Becca's eyes were wide, even the Megabuildings weren't that big.

"No, we have it by floor and room number." The receptionist explained, seeming amused at her reaction.

"Oh, that makes more sense." A sigh of relief escaped her. "So which way is that?"

He pointed to a nearby elevator. "Take that elevator up to the sixteenth floor, then take a right. Her room will be on the left-hand side. You'll see a couple signs as well directing you once you're on the floor."

"Preem. Thanks." Becca looked down at the pass, seeing it contained her name, the date, and a candid photo he had snapped of her. Folding it and putting in her jacket pocket, she skipped over to the elevator and hopped on, pressing '16' even as a few Trauma workers joined her and selected their own floors.

The ride up was smooth, and Becca couldn't stop smiling as the door finally opened to Gloria's floor. Stepping out, she saw a sign confirming that Gloria's room was indeed to the right. Walking down the hall, Becca noticed that the odd numbered rooms were on the left, while the evens were on the right. To distract herself from the antiseptic smell, the green-haired girl started counting the rooms.

"...Twenty-nine, thirty-one. Here it is! Thirty-three!" A grin took over her face as she noticed the name plate confirming that she had reached her destination. The door to the room was closed, so Becca raised a fist and knocked. "Knock! Knock!"

"Come in." She heard Gloria's voice, slightly muffled by the door. That was all the permission Becca needed, and like a child, she couldn't resist showing off her newest toy as she stepped into the room. Her eyes instantly fell on Gloria, who was sitting on the daybed, having a cup of tea.

"Hey Gloria! Look what I got!" Pulling back her sleeves, Becca deployed her arm cannons and raised them for Gloria to see. The surprise on Gloria's face quickly faded as the sound of another weapon being drawn filled the room. Turning her head, Becca saw Gloria's nurse had drawn a piece of her own, and had it aimed perfectly at her head.

"Miss Martinez, do you know this girl?"

"I do." Gloria nodded, hitting Becca with what she recognized as the 'disciplining mother' expression. "Becca, put those things away."

"Aww, just wanted to show you my new toys." She pouted, but complied, seeing the nurse do the same. "Boy, V really didn't spare any expense, did he?" Becca looked around the room, a slight pout on her face. "Man, everyone has nicer places to stay than me."

"Oh shush." Gloria waved her comment away. "This is only my 'place' until I'm done with my treatments. Then it's back to a cheap little apartment. Speaking of, are there any vacancies in your building?"

"Oh please." Becca rolled her eyes and wandered into the kitchen, greeting Nadia as she did. "I wouldn't be surprised if V put you in a Glen apartment like he did David."

The red-head rolled her eyes, but Becca could tell the older woman agreed with her. "That aside Becca, what brings you to my not-so-humble room?"

"Pilar kicked me out of the apartment." Becca opened the fridge, ignoring the look Nadia was giving her. "Said he has a date comin' over and wanted the place to himself. Plans to do the whole romantic thing of dinner and a movie in the hopes of getting laid." She pulled a can of soda from the fridge and cracked it open, using a foot to close the door. "Also, I was bored and wanted to hang out with someone."

"I see." Gloria looked skeptical. "And I was your first choice?"

"Well, you were in the top three." The green-haired girl sheepishly kicked the ground. "V was my number one, but he was busy. Said something about taking David sword shopping." Gloria's skepticism only grew. "Yeah, that was my thoughts on that answer. So then I called up Lucy, but she was hanging out with Kiwi...And you know how well I get along with her." That brought a laugh from Gloria as Becca moved closer. "So...here I am!"

"Well, I'm flattered, but I don't know how much entertainment you'll get out of sitting with me in my room or walking around the halls with me."

"It's better than just wandering around the city like I originally planned." She turned in place. "Look at this. We got music, TV, food. Not to mention the fact that this room is temperature controlled for optimum comfort." Becca flopped onto the daybed, her head landing in Gloria's lap. "Plus, I get to see my favorite MILF."

Gloria shook her head, no doubt choosing to ignore the last word of the sentence. "How am I your favorite?"

"You're not crazy. You have a really nice pair of Latina titties. And we might be fuck-buddies in the future." Rebecca tapped her chin playfully, "and friendship might be somewhere in that list..."

"You never change, do you?" There was a smile on the red-head's face as she poked Becca's cheek.

"Nope. I'm still everyone's lovable little gun toting gremlin." She favored Gloria with dual finger guns, sitting up as she did.

"I can tell. So speaking of everyone, how is the rest of the crew doing?" Gloria picked up her tea. "Maine didn't really tell me much when he brought in the presents. Which, thank you by the way for that. Really added something to my bedroom. Like I told him, I can take those with me and hang them up at home once I'm out of here."

"Welcome, though when are you gonna be out of here?" Becca frowned just slightly. "I mean, I don't mind coming here to visit but..." She gestured to the medical equipment to dot the room and took a big obvious sniff of the stale antiseptic air.

"Any day now." The red-head showed off the bracelet-like biomonitor. "Once this thing finishes recording my vital signs and a few other things, I'll be cleared for surgery."

"Why do they need that? Can't they just cut out the old, replace with new, and send you on your way?" She knew there was more to it than that, but Gloria had been oddly quiet about her upcoming treatment.

"They want this to be a good installation, not a street-swap as this procedure's a little more involved. According to Doctor Weiss, having a few days worth of vital signs stored allows for the new chrome to sync to my organic parts better."

"Makes sense." Becca nodded and leaned in close, "so you gonna tell me what you're getting or?"

"You get to be surprised like everyone else." Gloria poked Becca's forehead, pushing her back. "Only V knows, and I've already sworn him to secrecy. So don't think you can get the answer from him."

"Darn it!" The green-haired girl snapped her fingers, scoffing as Gloria laughed at her reaction. "There goes my idea of getting the crew together and beating the answer out of him."

"Don't even joke about that. If even a hint of what David's told me is true, I think he'd kill you guys."

"Probably." She couldn't argue with that assessment, "and that's even with our new gear. Oh! Speaking of, I'm sure you saw how Maine got some new chrome?" Gloria nodded, and Becca took that as an invitation to tell her all about their latest jobs, upgrades, and other little anecdotes. Currently, she was recounting the crew's escapades with V's offering them supplies. "The only one who hasn't asked for anything special from V is Dorio. I mean, I thought she might want some new chrome like Maine got but..."

"I think she's just happy Maine's now at less risk of going cyberpsycho. Though, it might also be because V can't give her what she wants..." Gloria paused, a tiny smile on her face. "Strike that, he could...but Maine would probably kill him."

It took Becca's brain a good thirty seconds to process what Gloria's words meant. "Oh god, no! We don't need another one of either of them running around." The mental image of Maine in full 'dad fashion' – complete with socks and sandals wormed its way into her brain, making her wheeze.

"Becca? Are you okay?" She felt Gloria's hand on her back, alternating between patting and rubbing it.

"Just...Maine...dad-bod..." Becca forced out, struggling to breathe. Those words seemed to send the same thought to Gloria's head, and she started laughing along with her. "Why...Why are you...laughing?"

"Imagined a father-son picnic." Gloria shook her head, eyes watering. "V and David, along with Maine and-and his boy. Mini-Maine...just with, Dorio's smile."

The two women continued to laugh at the thought, both of them laughing as Nadia excused herself to go get a couple of sedatives and some oxygen tanks. Seeing that they were alone, Becca used that as an opportunity to ask another question that was on her mind.

"So, speaking of children...Think you and V are gonna give David a sibling?"

"Huh...What?" Gloria regained her faculties, the question wiping some of the amusement from her face.

"Come on. It's a cliché love story here." The green-haired girl sat up straight. "Two lovers parted by circumstance reunite and rekindle the old flame. Eventually settling down and having the life they wanted, but didn't get to have. And that...Would include raising a child together." She wiggled her eyebrows, enjoying the faint flush to move across Gloria's cheeks.

"Becca." The red-head sighed. "I...I don't know. I'm, not even sure if V still feels anything for me."

"Uh hello. Your brain still scrambled?" She reached up and gently tapped Gloria's skull a few times. "The man strapped you to a preem trauma plan. Came running after being apart for eighteen years after a call from a stranger." Becca's finger moved to poke her nose. "Never mind that stranger turned out to be his son. Who, need I remind you, he helped get out of a few tight situations to help you."

"He might have just been honoring the promise he made to me all those years ago. Towards the...end of our..." Gloria's eyes were slightly glassy, and she was struggling to find the right words. "Relationship, V told me that he'd be there for me if I called, no matter what. He's always been a man of his word."

Becca couldn't think of how best to respond to such a heavy answer, so she called upon her usual level of blunt snark.

"Wow, a Corpo who kept a promise. You don't see that everyday...if at all." She grinned, noticing it did little to change Gloria's expression. "Aw, don't look so down. Look, it's painfully obvious that he stills feels something for you. And I'm guessing you feel something for him?"

"I...I do." A stray tear fell from Gloria's eye, and Becca handed her a tissue off the nearby table. "Seeing him when I woke up? Felt warm. Felt like..."

"Home?" Becca offered, having heard it used far too often in romance films and the like. She couldn't exactly compare her own life to those movies and that trope but...

"Maybe not quite home but...More like getting to visit your favorite hole-in-the-wall coffee shop after being away for an extended period of time. It's familiar. And while its not the same warmth you get from actually going home..."

"It's something." She smiled as Gloria nodded. "Well then, what are you gonna do about it?"

"Excuse me?"

"You've got a chance to visit that coffee shop, maybe even buy it out from the owners...Okay, bad example." Becca noted Gloria's expression. "But seriously, you two need to figure out where you both stand on the subject."

"Becca, mine and V's relationship is the last thing on both our minds right now." Gloria seemed highly interested in one of the bruises on her arm. "I'm focusing on getting better, and he's dealing with...well, everything else."

"Seriously? That's your argument against getting back together with him?" Gloria nodded, and Becca felt an odd pang of disappointment at the answer. That quickly faded as another thought came to her mind. "So, if that's your logic on not getting back together with V yet...What was your logic on staying single this whole time?"

"David." The red-head answered with no hesitation. "You have no idea how hard it is to date as a single mother. You need to make sure that they like your kid, that your kid likes them. Oh, and make sure your kid isn't hurt if the relationship doesn't work." She met Becca's challenge. "Believe me, I tried dating when David was younger...And only one of them stuck around past the first week once they learned I had a kid."

"So what?" That had Becca raising an eyebrow. "You swore off the dating scene and decided to be single forever?"

"Not intentionally." Gloria looked a little red. "I'll admit, I thought about trying again when David got older. I mean, least that way he'd understand if things didn't work out...and guys might be more inclined to stay if they see they don't need to worry about a child."

"But?"

"But I realized it would be a fool's errand at my age." Gloria frowned, rubbing the back of her neck.

That made Becca deflate, but she had to try and make her friend feel better. "Gloria, you're what? Twenty-nine? Thirty?"

"Thirty-four."

"Gesp!" Becca playfully mispronounced as she covered her mouth, flopping forward to lay prone on the daybed in exaggerated shock. "That's so old when the average lifespan of a person is over a hundred years now."

"Becca."

"What? Said it before and I'll say it again." She placed her head in Gloria's lap. "You're quite the MILF."

"Down girl." There was a faint smile on Gloria's face as she ruffled Becca's hair.

"What? David's nearly an adult so that shouldn't be a factor for you anymore." Becca pushed into the touch. "And I'm just sayin', if things don't work out with V...Well, you've got options."

"What options?" The other woman seemed confused.

"Ugh, what's that old saying?" The gremlin sat up again, meeting Gloria's eyes. "Actions speak louder than words?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with an-"

Gloria didn't get any further as Becca showed her what she meant. With deadly accuracy, Becca had locked her lips with Gloria's, tongue darting into the older woman's mouth. Her eyes closed in contentment as she savored the feeling. While both kisses with her odd crushes had been spur-of-the-moment, she couldn't help but note the marked differences between their lips. V's had been slightly chapped, thin and rough. Gloria's were plump and soft (no doubt the result of nurses constantly applying balms or similar medicines to keep them from cracking and possibly causing her an infection.) Either way, both were a taste of heaven and hell at the same time.

"Miss Martinez, is everything alright?" The sound of Nadia's voice made Becca open her eyes. "Your heart monitor spiked and..." Becca turned, seeing Gloria staring at the door where a blank-faced Nadia stood looking at the pair. "Oh my..."

"N-Nadia! This..." Gloria stammered, gently pushing Becca away. "This...Isn't what it looks like!"

"Miss Martinez, there's no need to explain yourself to me." The nurse had a half-smile on her face, "I don't judge."

"It's not...I mean-" Gloria's face was now as red as her hair. "Becca and I. We're not..."

"Gloria, relax." The brunette requested. "Again, I don't judge."

"But I'm not...I mean V and me..." Becca was starting to wonder what it was about her kisses that had such an effect on people. V appeared to suffer a system error and crash, while Gloria seemed to be stuck in a loop as she tried and failed time and again to explain to Nadia what happened. At the same time however, Becca couldn't help but notice the way Gloria's eyes kept flicking to her.

"Miss Martinez. Gloria...Look, it's the twenty-seventies. Everyone's more open and accepting of sexuality than ever, and open relationships are a thing." Nadia explained, smiling gently. "No one is going to judge you for this. Though in the future, I would appreciate a little heads up if you want some private time with a partner."

"Private time?" Becca chorused alongside Gloria.

"Hey, call it whatever you want." The nurse shrugged. "But this way, I know to be out of the room, and won't have to worry – as much, about spikes in certain vitals. I just ask that you be careful and take it easy as your body is still not fully up for strenuous activities."

"Strenuous activities, ha!" Becca cackled as Gloria whined and buried her face in her hands. "Oh god! Imagine having to explain to the doctors your recovery took a step backwards because of us having mind blowing sex!"

"Becca!?" The red-head looked up, a shy smile on her face even as eyes begged her nurse to not get the wrong idea.

"It's happened before..." Nadia replied, the words only making Gloria whine more.

"You're both terrible people..." Gloria pouted, looking between them. She was about to say more, but instead her stomach rumbled. "Nadia, go act like my nurse and get me something to eat."

"But you've a meal right here." Becca grinned, pushing her chest out and sitting up full height. In reply, Gloria groaned and once again retreated into her hands. Still, Becca noticed that the shy smile had returned, and that Gloria was peeking at her through her fingers. To her credit, Nadia stayed silent, but the grin on the brunette's face told Becca the woman was trying not to laugh.

"What would you like Miss Martinez?"

The red-head heaved a sigh, seeming thankful at the shift in conversation. "Either tacos or empanadas. Traditional Mexican cuisine has been sounding amazing since Becca talked about the crew eating at the Cojo."

"Let me see what we have on hand..." Nadia moved over to the kitchen and started looking through the fridge and cabinets. "Got plenty of meat, vegetables...Missing tortilla shells of either kind." The nurse paused, looking something up on a tablet. "And no eggs to make a proper dough. Which would you prefer, the tacos or the empanadas?"

"Empanadas. Preferably chicken as opposed to beef please."

"Alright." Nadia nodded, "I'm going to take a walk down to the cafeteria, see if they have some eggs I can have to make the dough. I'll go to the store later for more."

"Thank you." Gloria smiled, and Becca watched as the nurse took her leave. She looked back at Gloria, seeing her face had shifted into a frown.

"Aw, what's wrong?" The green-haired girl slipped an arm around Gloria's waist and snuggled into her, offering comfort.

"One, what the hell was that kiss about?" Once again, Gloria's face had taken on a reddish tint. "Two, Nadia's probably going to call V about it...And I don't know how he's gonna react."

"One? Wanted to show you you still have options in the dating world and that I'm available if things don't work out with V..." She saw Gloria's mouth drop open, and saw the disbelieving smile in her eyes. "What? Wasn't kidding when I said you're a MILF."

"I, uh, okay...Thank you?" Clearly, Gloria still couldn't quite fathom the idea that she was wanted by more than just V.

"You're welcome. Two, told V if you two didn't stop dancing around your 'relationship' that I was gonna drag both of you to the no-tell and, as a group, we were gonna work things out physically. So he might not be as surprised as you'd think if she makes that call." Becca grinned even as Gloria whined in embarrassment, muttering something unintelligible while wiggling in place. "Hell, he might even decide that's how we should celebrate when you're back on your feet fully!"

"Rebecca..." Gloria sighed, though it sounded much more fond and less reluctant as the thought of a three-way between the two of them and V settled into her mind. Shaking whatever thoughts away, Gloria continued. "Well, least that's two of my problems kind of solved."

"Uh huh! And the others?" Becca prodded, noticing Gloria's eyes flick to the door of her room.

"All your talking about partying with the crew really made me want some authentic Night City food, you know?"

It was Becca's turn to feel confused. "Isn't Nadia going to make you something to eat?

"She is, but...Ugh, all they let me eat here is 'good food'." She made air quotes around the words. "Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying the 'ganic and high quality synthetic stuff...But all I really want is some cheap ass, grease loaded, street food."

There was a strange hunger in Gloria's eyes that Becca appreciated, and she decided to use it to her advantage.

"What do you want?" She ran a finger under Gloria's chin, moving her head to meet her eyes. In reply, Gloria leaned in close, mouth coming to rest besides Becca's ear.

"Buck-A-Slice." The whispered words caressed Becca's ear, and she noted the dead serious tone of Gloria's voice. "Like, I don't care if its a single slice or a whole damn pizza. But their chilispurt scopperoni would be amazing right now."

Becca raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that a special request item?"

"Girl, I would give literally and metaphorically anything I had to give for a slice." The woman placed a hand on her stomach. "I swear, my pregnancy cravings weren't this bad."

A whole assault of ideas suddenly bombarded Becca's mind. "So you're saying I should smuggle a whole party-size pizza pie in for ya?"

Gloria seemed to remember their earlier conversation, a mischievous twinkle in her eye that made Becca question if she was the one being played. "Do that and I'd thank you so well V would get jealous."

"Woah-ho! Don't tease me with a promise you won't keep." The gremlin tickled Gloria under her chin, making her laugh. "But, as I said – I like you, so I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you." Gloria hugged her, and kissed the top of her forehead, making Becca squeal. "I owe you one."

"No problem." Becca returned the hug, noticing then that Nadia had returned to the room, a carton of synthetic eggs in her hands. Not wanting to cause Gloria anymore undue embarrassment, she released her hold on her now crimson crush. "Anyhow, I should probably get going. Get myself something to eat."

"You're welcome to stay and eat with me if you want Becca."Gloria offered, looking to where Nadia was starting to work on mixing a basic dough.

"She's right." Nadia gave a nod, "I don't mind feeding Miss Martinez's companions."

The offer of a sort-of home cooked meal was tempting, but Gloria's other offer even moreso. The green-haired girl tapped at her chin, before leaning to whisper into Gloria's ear. "But Gloria, the sooner I get out of here...The sooner I can figure out how to smuggle in some buck-a-slice."

"Tease." Gloria pushed her away, noticing Nadia's expression. "Entirely up to you Becca. Likewise, if you want to leave and come back with something else to eat, that's also an option."

"That sounds like a good idea. Might do that next time." Becca caught on to the not-so-subtle hint. For a moment, she debated going out, getting Gloria's pizza, and coming back...but feeling that it was a little too soon to attempt it. And by the way her own stomach was protesting. And the knowledge that she couldn't go back to her apartment. "But for now, if the offer to stay for lunch is still on the table? I'll stay."

Gloria let out a little cheer at that, looking oddly grateful at her acceptance of the offer. "Good. Nice to have some extra company for awhile."

"Fair, not like I can do much else anyhow." Becca pouted and adjusted herself on the daybed. "Don't got a lot of eddies on me, and I still need to figure out where I'm gonna crash tonight." Her hands gently pushed down on the bed, an idea forming. "Say, any chance I could stay here?"

"If Miss Martinez allows it." Nadia answered, "the platinum package does allow for a guest or two to stay the night if the patient wishes."

Becca fired up her best puppy eyes. "Gloria, can I spend the night here?"

"Sure." The woman nodded, "haven't had a sleepover in forever. Though, I'm not sure how comfortable you'll be sleeping on the daybed here."

"Aww, can't I share your bed?" She batted her eyelashes at Gloria, and almost felt guilty at how Gloria's vital signs spiked again.

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Having slept better than she ever thought she would in a hospital, Becca had awoken feeling refreshed. Couple that with the delicious breakfast of fresh baked cinnamon rolls, and that unless something came up, she had the day free. Oh, and the arrival of her payment from the reconnaissance mission she went on with V. Becca made the decision to treat herself to another 'spa treatment' at Nina's clinic. Similar to before, two pairs of hands had rubbed, squeezed, and folded her muscles into putty. It was so relaxing. So rough yet gentle, that Becca found herself wanting to cry from the sheer relief the treatment brought her. Scratch that, she did start crying when one of the masseuses took to scratching and rubbing at her scalp.

"I'm sorry..." She whined as one massaging her head finished and took to gently drying her tears. "Everything just feels so nice."

"It happens." The woman replied, "if it makes you feel any better, least you didn't moan."

"People have done that?"

"More than we care to admit." The other masseuse replied as he helped Becca to her feet. Her body felt like jelly, and the whole experience gave her an endorphin rush that she hoped would be enough to counteract the shit-show she was liable to walk into when she finally went back to her (degenerate-brother-had-sex-in-it!) ruined apartment. "And you're all set. We hope to see you again."

"Thanks a lot. Really appreciate it." Becca took a moment to stretch, reveling in how loose she felt before taking her leave. She stepped out of the clinic, a huge smile on her face as she started doing some window shopping as she made her way back towards Watson and to her apartment. So far, none of the shops had really caught her attention, though there was an oddly alluring scent coming from one of the portable food carts that patrolled the street she was currently walking. It took her a few minutes of wandering around before she found it; a cart selling soft baked pretzels. No doubt loaded with artificial smells and flavors, but dammit one was dripping with butter flavored oils and crusted with synth salts.

"Treat yo'self girl!" A little voice taunted in her head as she looked at the cart, and Becca listened. She had just found a nearby bench and took a seat, hoping to enjoy her snack in peace while gonk-watching. That peace was short lived however, as she briefly locked eyes with a man in a burgundy suit. She had only seen him a handful of times in person, but Becca recognized him at once.

Faraday.

Quickly looking away, she prayed the man didn't recognize her. After all, she usually hung back while Maine negotiated with the guy. Unfortunately, fate decided the green-haired girl was having too good a day, and the suit was quick to move over to where she sat.

"Correct me if I am mistaken but you are a solo on Maine's crew correct?" Faraday stopped a good arm's length away, appraising the situation.

"Cra- Ah, yes." She turned a forced smile to him, happiness from earlier dampened. "Yup, yes I am... why?"

Faraday blinked, mouth twitching just slightly. "If you could spare a moment of your valuable time, I had some questions I'd like to have answered."

"Can I give you a rain check on that buddy?" Becca took a bite of her pretzel, "I got stuff I have to do later, and I don't want to be late."

"That was less a request and more of a suggestion." He replied, posture straightening the tiniest bit.

"Look pal, I'm more a grunt than a thinker." Another bite. "Need a gun, I'm your girl. Gimme a map, and I'll still get lost."

"And yet you are an ear on the inside, which is what I need right now." Faraday crossed his arms, eyes still focused on her.

"I get that you're Maine's boss, and that makes you my boss too I guess, but snitches get stitches." She grinned, "that's why informant's get paid, get me?"

Faraday's expression didn't change. "How much?"

"A thousand eddies, and I'll sing like it's an NC talent show."

A single nod came from the suit, and Becca's smile grew as the money was wired over and into her eager possession.

"Sweet biz, what you want to know?" She moved to the end of the bench as Faraday took her words as an invitation to sit down.

"Where has Maine been getting all of his new chrome from?"

"Ripper in Watson, I heard from a guy he's mid-district but don't quote me." She pointed in the general direction of Watson. "I just know he's not advertised and back alley."

"What about the money and guns?" He pressed, and Becca shrugged.

"I know where he got them but not who from, the dead drop was at Dakota's garage. Three trucks of cherry guns and gear."

An almost imperceptible nod came from Faraday. "Who was behind the wheel when your crew gathered it up?"

"Three nomad types. I recognized one as one of Dakota's drivers." She closed her eyes a moment, trying to recall the meeting. "I mean, two and two the stuff probably came from her too."

"What about the jobs he has been getting?"

"Oh yeah, that might step on your toes." Becca couldn't help the giggle that escaped her. "We've been taking gigs from a load of different fixers lately. Nothing small time either. Did a delivery for Dino the other day, and been making a mint collecting on NCPD subcontracts. Street level grunts mostly, but when you can haul in eddies by driving down a street it's easy money."

She took a large bite of pretzel then, using it to hide the nervousness she felt at seeing Faraday bristle at her admittance.

"Why has Maine been collecting all this cash?"

"I think he's getting ready for the major leagues." Becca gently kicked her legs as she thought about it. "Wants to make a name for himself instead of being a beck and call kinda merc. Can't blame him for wanting to move up in the world."

"Are you sure that's all?"

"Sure? Nope, just my guess." The final bite went into her mouth, and she continued speaking. "It's not like we've got some corporate sponsorship, we ain't that fuckin' lucky."

Briefly, Becca saw the flash of a frown to grace the fixer's face before he willed it back to his usual stoic yet polite expression.

"Wait. Seriously Big boss?" Formality was never her strong suit. "Where the hell are a bunch of baseless street runners gonna get any corpo recognition? We've got enough brains to stay away from the suicidal jobs. Both of us know that if a corp is involved the only thing we get at the end of a gig is a bullet."

"Right." He nodded, almost as if agreeing with her. "Nevertheless, if you find any... dirt on Maine, inform me and I shall see to it you are well paid for it all. Understood."

"Gotcha Big boss." She shot him a pair of thumbs-up, hiding her nervousness behind a grin. "Find out for ya if Maine's tryin' to get greedy and turn him over. Not a problem, as long as my pay day for it is five digits and change." She winked, getting an amused huff in reply.

"Such a fee will not be a problem." He stood up then and brushed his pants off as his car rolled up to them. Getting in, he gave Becca final nod. "Enjoy your errands."

She watched as the car rolled away, now feeling unsettled from the whole situation. From the moment he confronted her, outright lying probably would have seen her eating lead. But was it really okay that she had told him the truth? She really didn't know where the majority of their stuff came from. And it wasn't her fault that she had blanked on Viktor's name. She never met the guy and only knew of him because of Jackie talking about the guy. Then there was V's involvement. He worked for Arasaka, and they worked for him...Did that mean they were working for Arasaka and by proxy, had corporate backing?

Unsure of the best course of action, she placed a call to the two men who could probably help her the most.

["Becca?"]

["Rebecca?"]

["Hey Maine, hey V...Got a bit of a problem."]

["What's wrong?"] Maine's voice took on a protective tone.

["Had a run in with Faraday not to long ago. Think he's getting a little suspicious of us."]

["How so?"]

["Well, I was on my way back home-"]

["From where?"] V cut in, the question making her smile for unknown reasons.

["Westbrook, treated myself to one of Nina's 'spa packages'."] She stretched, thankful that the thousand eddies Faraday had wired her covered the cost of the package twice over, or she'd have been pissed on top of everything else that he ruined her morning. Becca filled the two of them in then on her conversation, a tiny bit of guilt washing over her as she told the two men her answers to Faraday's questions.

["Is my dirty laundry really only worth five-digits to you?"] Becca felt the sass in Maine's voice.

["That depends. Might be worth more if it's something really juicy."] She let out a reluctant laugh. .["Seriously, I'm just hoping I told him enough to keep him off our backs, but not enough that its gonna bite us in the ass later."]

["You did the right thing."] V's words reassured her just slightly. ["Faraday would have known you were lying if you tried to answer any other way. In your case, you've got plausible deniability as you genuinely don't know where the stuff is coming from."] She heard what might have been a genuine laugh come from V. ["Not that that'll matter much given that we're going to kill him soon."]

Maine let out a nervous chuckle at that. ["Wait, we are?"]

["Huh?"] Becca blinked, a finger moving to clean out her ear.

["Do you really think Rogue's gonna let him live?"]

["Can't argue that."] The nervous laugh from Maine turned into a more amused one. ["Anyhow, got a few things to take care of. Just keep me posted with updates, alright?"]

["'Kay. Catch you later Maine."] She smiled as her boss bid her goodbye and dropped from the call. ["Guessin' you need to tap out too V?"]

["Yeah."] V paused. ["Becca, while I've got you on the holo. Got a quickie gig for you."] She resisted the urge to make a joke about V's choice of words. ["Already contacted Jackie and Pilar. Simple bounty run: Darius Miles. Sixth street enforcer in charge of a drug crew. NCPD wants him dead for murder, while I want them dead for our other gig. Sending you the detes."]

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After hanging up with V, Becca decided to return to her apartment to await word from Jackie. She stood in-front of her door, readying her guns to purge whatever damages Pilar and his 'date' might have caused. Much to her shock, she opened the door to find the place almost as she had left it. There were a few more dinner mix boxes in the trash, and the unmistakable scent of burnt mac and cheese in the air...But nothing was broken, exploded, or missing. Steeling herself, she looked into her brother's room, surprised to find him alone and slightly dozing on his highly rumpled bedsheets.

"Oi, asshole. Wake up!" She hollered from the entrance. "We got a job to do, remember?"

After a string of nonsensical mutterings, Pilar gave a coherent response. "...resting my eyes."

"What eyes?" Becca glared at her brother, ignoring him as he tapped his optical implant and arguing it counted. "Anyhow, just got a message from Jackie saying he'll be here in ten. You got the detes V sent?"

"Yeah, got 'em right here." Her brother tapped his head, taking a moment to stretch before he yawned. "Sorry, bit worn out from last night. That woman..." He yawned again, "fucks like a machine."

Becca shuddered, "I don't wanna know. Just...Thanks for not trashing the place this time?"

"I learned my lesson from last time." Pilar followed Becca back to the common area of their apartment.

"You...actually cleaned up after yourself?" That explained a lot, while also raising further questions.

"Yeah. Cleaned last night, and again this morning." He grinned. "What? Can't have my girl or Jackie-bro thinking we live like slobs."

"Jackie-bro?" Becca raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it further as she moved into her room. "You packed already?"

"Yeah, got it all in my duffle." She turned, seeing her brother's hand holding the bag at her door. "And hurry up! Jackie-bro says he'll be here in five." The bag vanished from her line of sight, and Becca returned to her own packing. The plan was simple, the three of them would go to the Dewdrop Inn – the motel that the drug den was supposedly in. Jackie would rent them a room as cover, giving them free reign to look around the place. Once they ID'd the target, it was just a matter of get in, ice 'em, and clean up.

"Come on Guts, let's have a little fun." She slipped the carnage into her bag, along with the Unity she had taken from V's first shipment of gear. Both weapons were then covered with some spare clothing, completing the illusion of the parcel just being an overnight bag. Shouldering it, she smiled as the two weapons within barely made a rattle. The smile grew when she heard a knock at the door, followed by Pilar enthusiastically opening the door.

"Jackie! Welcome to our humble palace!" She looked out of her room, seeing Jackie standing in the door frame while Pilar bowed with a arm held out to invite Jackie inside. "Sure, it's not much of a palace but its ours."

"I can see that." The Latino man nodded, eyes looking around the room. "Anyhow, you kids ready to go?"

"I'm older than you..." Pilar frowned, not really upset.

"Just finished packing." Becca stepped from the room, turning so Jackie could see her bag. "Your stuff in the car?"

"Yeah." He nodded, "so its whenever you're ready to go."

"I'm good." She turned back around, "Pilar? You good?"

"Let me fix my boots...Alright. Let's, go." Her brother shouldered his bag, yawning. "Ugh, either of you care if I sleep for the ride?"

"If that'll make you more alert for tonight, then no." Jackie was the first out of the apartment, Pilar just behind him leaving Becca to shut and lock the door.

"It'll def make the ride quieter." Becca quipped, making Jackie laugh and Pilar grumble as he lead them over to the car. If Becca had to describe the vehicle it in one word – junker. "Aww, couldn't get one of V's fancy cars?"

"Not this time." He popped the trunk and motioned for them to throw their bags in. "Felt we needed something a little more discrete, so I bought this rust bucket off Padre."

"Fair enough." She tossed her bag in, not caring that it landed on top of Pilar's before taking shotgun while Pilar stretched himself out on the back seats. They had barely gotten two blocks away from the apartment before the sound of soft snoring filled the car.

"Thought you said this would be a quiet ride?" Jackie gave her the side-eye, making her sigh.

"It's this, or deal with him singing along to the radio." She threw a thumb at the back seat, "so pick your battle."

"This is fine." Jackie tapped the radio, pulling her attention back. "Though speaking of tunes...Got a preference for what we listen to?"

Becca shook her head as Jackie cycled through the stations until he found a song he liked. The music worked well to block out Pilar's snores, while still allowing her and Jackie to maintain a conversation as they drove to their destination in Arroyo. Despite the age of the car, it ran smooth enough and got them to their destination in one piece.

"Let me just find a parking space..." Jackie muttered as they rolled up to the motel. If it wasn't for the sign advertising its purpose to those passing by on the street, Becca would have just thought it to be another old building left to the mercy of the city.

"So our big boy bounty is in there?" She pointed to the building. "That two-ish story shitshow hotel?"

"Yup." Jackie nodded as he parked the car in a side lot.

"And this is supposed to be a Sixth Street drug den?"

"Uh-huh."

"That building is so small tho', how in the name of V's tight 'ganic ass is it hidden?" Becca's head tilted side to side, appraising it. "Does the place have a secret basement or something?"

"Two things chica: First, please don't use my bro's booty as your go to curse. It gives me the willies. And second, nope. According to intel I got from a friend of a friend they locked off a few rooms and broke down the walls between them to make their den." He sent her a file over the holo. "Did it under the guise of making renovations."

"First, no I don't wanna. Second, neat." Her eyes wandered from the building to Jackie. "So, wanna change plans and just firebomb the place and wait for them to run out or...?"

"Nah. Don't want to risk damage to any innocent who might be staying here." He replied, indicating the other couple cars in the lot with them. "Figure while you and me go back and forth around the place, we can have Pilar jack their tech to double check what we scout."

While it wasn't as fun as blowing the place up, it was still a sound plan. "Sounds good, lemme just wake sleeping dumbass."

Becca fully turned in her seat, arm stretching out to its fullest to give herself maximum reach and force. Raising her hand, she slapped him with as much force as the angle allowed her. "Wake up dickless dipshit! You gotta earn money to keep wooin' your girl!"

The impact caused Pilar to roll off the seat, body coming to rest on the floorboards between the front and back seats of the car.

"Gah! I'm up! I'm up!" His arms flailed, one leg kicking out. "Shit! I'm stuck! I'm stuck!"

Jackie laughed as he looked at the struggling techie. "Good thing we've arrived cabron or you'd have to spend another half an hour stuck like that." He reached out a hand, which Pilar was quick to grasp and helped haul him out from his automotive prison. "Come on. Get your shit and let's head in. Oh, and let me do the talkin', alright?"

The siblings needed no further urging, and hopped from the vehicle to grab their bags. As agreed, Jackie took the lead and soon the trio had been given access to room one-hundred and six.

"Finally, someplace that's not nicer than my apartment." Becca cheered as she stepped into their room. A full-sized bed with questionable stained sheets sat in the middle of the room. Beside it was a large armchair with similar stains dotting the surface. Both pieces of furniture faced a TV that had been mounted on the wall just above a dresser that looked like it would fall apart with a strong enough hit. She poked her head into the bathroom, seeing water stains in the sink and toilet. The tub and shower were slightly cleaner, but there were clear indicators that the grout between the tiles wasn't actually black.

"Was that an insult to this place, or a compliment to your apartment?" Jackie asked, setting his bag down on the chair.

"Both." Becca moved to his side, setting her own bag with his. "I'm still trying to figure out how these sheets look cleaner than yours Pilar."

"Better detergent or machines?" He replied, hopping onto the bed. It wasn't as soft as it appeared, and Pilar groaned as his ass connected with the firm mattress.

"Think that's why there's a rule about not jumping on the bed choom." Jackie laughed, shaking his head as Pilar got to his feet. "Anyhow, think I'm gonna check the place out. Want to come along chica?"

"Eh sure." She gave a nod, pulling the Unity from her bag to hide it beneath her coat. "Could do with stretching my legs after being stuck in the car so long. You gonna be fine here bro?"

"Yeah, soon as my ass stops hurting." The techie gave a thumbs up, looking around the room. "Hmm, think there's an access point 'round here. Wonder if I can crack the security and get the pay-per-view channels for free instead of them charging us more?"

"So help me, if we come back and you're jackin' off instead of jackin' in..." The Latino man fixed her brother with a hard stare, making her laugh while Pilar swore he wouldn't do such a thing. "Come on, let's go."

"Right behind you." Becca gave a thumbs up as Jackie held open the door and let her exit first.

In testament to the building's owners and location, there really wasn't much to see. Their room was at the end of the hallway, the only thing beyond it being a laundry room for both guest and staff use. Heading up the stairs to the second floor revealed more rooms set up in an identical fashion to where their room was. Seeing the door to room two-hundred slightly ajar, Becca stole a peek inside to see the same furniture and fixtures within. The only difference was this room had blue sheets while their room had black. There was also an odd chemical smell permeating this floor that while detectable on the first floor was overpowering up here.

"How does this place stay in business?" She pulled away from the door, eyes going to the rooms across the hall. The door across from her was bare, but the next three on the same side all had a note on the door stating they were 'undergoing renovations'. "Oh right..." Her inner voice couldn't have sounded more sarcastic even as she tried to open one of the doors. It wouldn't budge. "If anyone asks, we're just a curious kid."

["Jackie? Think I found the rooms. Second floor. 203, 205, and 207. All Locked."] She sent the message as she made her way back to the first floor. Jackie met her at the bottom of the stairs, a few bags of assorted snacks and some Cirrus Colas in his arms. "Just more rooms. Nothing interesting. Say, where did you find those?"

"Vending machines over there." He pointed to a small room near the reception desk, dropping a bag of Moonchies as he did. "Though according to the nice lady here, there's a convenience store just up the road if you're after something slightly better than snack foods."

"Might check it out. Don't really feel like Moonchies or Holobites pies." Becca looked towards the entrance, before looking back at Jackie. ["At the very least, might be able to see if there's a way in from the outside."]

"Fair enough." Jackie relieved her of the dropped snack. "Hey, if they got any. Mind bringing me back some slaughterhouse jerky?"

"Nope. I'll be back." Giving him a lazy wave off, Becca made her way outside as Jackie went back to their room. Stepping outside, she took a few steps away from the building, not caring if she was actually heading towards the store or not. Her eyes looked at the second floor, seeing several rooms had a small porch-like balcony with a fire escape leading down from the first and last room. "But are they on the correct side?" The green-haired scout turned, orienting herself to how she had been in the hall while making it look like she was trying to get her bearings. The locations matched, and she quickly sent the confirmation to Jackie.

["Good. If you've not gone too far, come back. Anyone asks, you forgot your cred chip."]

Becca complied, and made her way back inside, seeing the receptionist raise an eyebrow at what she probably guessed was a speedy return. "Did you get lost?"

"No, forgot my cred chip." She looked down, feigning embarrassment as she moved back towards their room. Upon opening the door, she was greeted with the sight of Jackie sitting in the chair, his and her bag on the floor to the side. Her eyes fell on Pilar, who was disconnecting himself from an access point near the TV. Her brother heaved a sigh and reached out to relieve Jackie of a Holobites pie as he sat on the bed.

"Uh oh, I don't like that reaction."

"Okay, the goons in the badlands I get." The techie looked down at the snack pouch. "But what's the excuse for these gonks not having any security? And can I get a soda?"

"This again?" Becca joined her brother on the bed, seeing Jackie roll his eyes as he tossed Pilar a cola.

"They have crap cameras, no alarms, no motion detectors. Fuck, doubt they even have smoke detectors." He worried the pouch in his hands. "I mean, if there's not a guy watching the screens then they're blind. The only security they have is a trio of bored dipshits planning on taking off for lunch. Not talk of waiting for replacements either, so I'm thinkin' they ain't got a backup guard. From what I can get, there's four in the building. Three in the lab and one in the manager's office. If the girlie at the front desk isn't a six`er then they've only got a seven man team."

"Aren't you overthinking this?" Jackie cracked open his soda and took a drink. "The building is kinda cramped, and the last thing they'd want is to pull eyes by having a fuckton of grunts goin' back and forth. This place is brushing Padre's turf and he's not a fan of drug pushers."

"Fine, what's the plan then?" Pilar ripped the pouch open and took a taste.

"Becca takes them from a balcony door." He pointed to himself, then to Pilar and back again. "We bust in from the hallway doors. They're clear right?"

"Center on in the hallway is blocked by piles of parts, same the the two balcony doors closest to us." The techie closed his eyes a moment. "Might be able to force open one of the doors. Saw a report saying the lock was busted on the second door."

"Nice." Jackie raised his soda in toast. "Think we should wait 'til the reinforcements outside leave. Gut the guy in the office, then when Becca gets into position we storm the lab." He took a drink. "Once the gonks are zeroed, we gather our 'proof', make the bounty call to the NCPD and go for some synth sirloin to celebrate? Sound good?"

"Works for me." Pilar nodded, giving a thumbs up. "Becca?"

"I'm just wondering if you've got synth sirloin money?" It was only years of dealing with Pilar's bullshit that allowed Becca to catch the Moonchies Jackie threw at her for the sass.

"V owes me dinner for babysitting his boy." The big man grinned, "and he never said I couldn't bring guests."

"Fair enough. Toss me a cola?" Jackie complied, and Becca cracked it open. "To V and his deep, deep pockets."

"To V!" Pilar and Jackie echoed, the three of them sharing a laugh as they flipped through the TV stations, looking for something to watch as they waited for the perfect moment to launch their plan.

Three and a half-episodes of Watson Whore later, Pilar got a notification that the three guards were taking a dinner break. This left the place unguarded, save for the other four in the building. Picking up Guts and holstering him on her back, Becca left the room first. The receptionist paid her no mind as she stepped outside and made her way around the side over to the fire escape. Mounting the steps, she kept close to the side and carefully climbed to the balcony that was connected to the drug lab.

["Alright, I'm in position."] She contacted both men over the holo.

["Can you see anything in the room, chica?"]

["Not well, they've got the curtains closed but I can see through the gaps. Lots of chem bottles and equipment...Can't see our friends however."]

["Desk jockey is down, and cameras disabled."] Pilar sounded bored. ["Dumbass didn't even lock the door."]

["Alright. Ready hermano? Count of three, we force the door. Chica, be ready to bust in."] Jackie ordered as Becca held Guts before her like a battering ram to break the glass. ["One. Two. THREE!"]

She heard the sound of the door breaking from inside, and struck at the glass door. It shattered with her first hit, granting her access to the room. As the intel said, walls had been knocked down turning three separate rooms into one large room. Their targets stood on the opposite side of where they were, all of them focused on whatever chems they were mixing.

An unspoken agreement passed between the three, with Jackie shooting the first. Pilar the second, and Becca the third. All that was left to do was wreck the lab, toss the corpses, and contact the NCPD to collect their bounty.

"Anyone else feel cheated?" Pilar voiced the question that was on all their minds even as he tipped over a shelf of assorted lab equipment.

"There's cheated, and then there's this." Becca smashed a few bottles filled with assorted chemicals. "Jackie? Thoughts?"

"Starting to get nervous with how easy our last few gigs have been." The big guy grunted as he dragged the bodies over to the door Becca had busted. "Then again, shouldn't look a gifted gun in the barrel." Jackie took a moment to stretch. "Okay, if you guys have this under control, I'm gonna pull the car around so we can load up these meat bags."

"Yeah, we're good." Becca picked up another flask and threw it at the wall as Jackie left the room. It broke into several pieces and left a dark yellow stain, making her laugh.

"Cool, let me try one!" Pilar picked up a bottle containing a dark liquid and copied his sister. The resulting splatter looked like a bloodstain, but smelt like pure garbage marinade. "Oh fuck!" He clamped his hands over his nose and moved towards the broken door. Becca herself was half-coughing and half-laughing even as she joined her brother in gasping for fresh air as they saw the car come around.

"What did you two do?" Jackie asked, seeing both of them leaning over the side as he popped the trunk.

"Broke a bottle of liquid ass!" Pilar wheezed.

"You got any gas masks in that car?" Becca asked, "because I am not going back in there without something to cover my nose."

"Sorry chica." Jackie took a moment to think. "Hang on, I'll give you a hand." The Latino man mounted the stairs two at a time, nose wrinkling slightly as he came even with the pair. "Yeah, dumpster behind the Cojo on a hundred degree day smells worse than this." Becca took a hesitant sniff, the worst of the smell having faded. "Anyways, I'll drag 'em out and you and Pilar can toss them over the side. Then we'll load 'em up, make the call, and delta."

"Works for me." Becca agreed as Jackie stepped inside the room and hauled out the first of the bodies. It was sent over the balcony and onto the ground below, landing with a wet thump. "Hope V doesn't mind damaged goods."

"A good coroner can identify postmortem injuries." Jackie answered as he dragged out the second goon. "Thankfully, all the good ones only work to figure out how the rich died and couldn't give a shit about gangoons." The green-haired girl smiled as he appeared with the final body, sending it over the railing himself before motioning for them to move down to the car. "Becca, you mind running back to the room to grab our stuff while Pilar and me load up the car for the big day?"

"Sure." A teasing smile took over Becca's face as Pilar's took on a shit-eating grin. "Be right back."

She had taken maybe two steps before she heard her brother start to sing.

"We gotta get things ready for the big day, Big!~Day! We gotta get things ready for the spec~ial day!"

"Pilar, I swear to the Santa Muerte if you don't stop singing those shitty kiddie tunes I'm gonna kick you in the dick!" Jackie must have kicked the car or something, as a loud thud made Pilar whine and shut up. Shaking her head and hoping she wouldn't come back out to find an extra body in the trunk, Becca made her way back to their room.

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The next day Becca woke. The sun was shining, the traffic was dull. The air didn't reek of chemical saturation. Only one thought occupied the mind of the aforementioned young woman.

"Wait...Where's V hiding the bodies?"

She stayed on her bed a good five minutes, brain trying to fill in the pieces of that particular puzzle. Dozens of options passed through her mind, going from the obvious of large fridge or freezer. To the insane of him using some Arasaka tech to reanimate the bodies to act alive until needed. Adding onto that thought came the image of her and V playing the part of heroes in a zombie movie. A whole hoard of undead Sixth Street goons closing in on them, with V tossing her a big ass machine gun with the instruction of 'shoot everything that moves' as he drove their escape vehicle. She smiled, imagining the goons being mowed down in a spray of bullets as V hauled ass. Becca could have kept the story going, but the sound of her brother tinkering with some piece of tech or another pulled her from her day dreams.

"No. No. I'm gonna do something productive with my day." Becca scratched at her head as she tucked away her thoughts, wondering if she could continue the story in her dreams that night. "Maybe in my dream we'll reach a safe house with our supplies and Gloria will be-"

A tiny gasp escaped her, the plan for her day clear.

Deliver Gloria the promised pizza.

Given Trauma's rules on outside food for patients, Becca knew it wasn't gonna be easy, but she had a plan. It was a plan on par with those of the old per-collapse spy movies. She tossed the covers aside and moved to her dresser, thankful she had milked V for some extra clothing at Jinguji. The short sleeved teal blouse paired nicely with the black mini skirt, and if Becca actually had any real fashion sense. She'd be more upset that her only footwear options were her usual sneakers or the fancy pumps she wore at the club.

"Sneakers." She decided, wanting the freedom to wiggle her toes. Given that they were black with green accents, they weren't too out of place compared to the rest of her outfit. Taking a few minutes to brush her hair, Becca opted for a low ponytail over her usual pigtails. To complete the outfit, and grant her another layer of protection, Becca covered everything with her jacket. "Perfect."

"Well somebody looks nice." Pilar's voice met her ears, head poking out of his room as she moved into the kitchen. "Got a date or a gig I don't know about?"

"It's a gig." She poked around their cabinets, deciding on a protein bar and can of soda for her breakfast. "Smuggling job."

"Alright then." Her brother nodded, head retreating back into his room to finish whatever he was working on. The words and gesture might have seem cold, but Becca knew that was his way of saying he had faith in her abilities. Taking a seat, Becca quickly polished off her breakfast, checking for the location of the closest buck-a-slice to the Med Center. She didn't think Gloria would mind her pizza being cold, but damn if Becca wasn't gonna turn over half of Night City to deliver a hot, fresh slice of desired ambrosia to her favorite MILF.

Throwing out her trash, Becca bid goodbye to her brother and set out for her destination. The nearest one was about five miles south of the MedCenter, and didn't open until eleven. She took her time walking from the apartment and over to Little China, window shopping as she did to kill time until the local buck-a-slice opened. Her timing was off, and she arrived to her destination about six minutes after they had opened.

["Gloria, I hope you haven't eaten lunch yet."] She sent the message off even as the clerk behind the counter asked if he could help her. "Yeah, can I get two slices of the chilispurt scoparoni please?"

The clerk raised an eyebrow, eyes flicking to his companion who was standing beside the oven. Becca saw the other man nod, and watched as he took to boxing up a couple slices of pizza sitting on a nearby warming tray. After she handed over her eddies, the boxes containing Gloria's gold was handed to her and she removed her coat, wrapping the boxes inside to help maintain the heat she could feel radiating off them.

Getting the food to the MedCenter was issueless, entering with the soon to be smuggled goods was effortless. After checking in at the desk, she took the short ride up the elevator, walked down the hall and stepped into Gloria's room.

Now came the challenging part: dodging the guards.

Gloria wasn't in the common area like she expected, instead Becca found her in bedroom. She was seated on the bed, legs stretched out before her with a book in her hands. "There you are!"

The red-head's face brightened as she noticed Becca, eyes flicking to the jacket in her hands. "Becca. So nice to see you again." Gloria opened her arms for a hug, and Becca quickly reciprocated.

"Same." She released her, eyes flicking to her reclining form. "There a reason you're still relaxing in bed?"

Gloria's face took on a reddish tint. "Tripped coming out of the bathroom and pulled something." She pointed to a bruise on her leg. "Hurts like a bitch to have any pressure applied."

"Aww. Well, maybe having lunch with me will make you feel better?" She planted herself in the chair by the bedside, and unwrapped the bundle that was her jacket, revealing the treasure within. The smell of acidic, greasy goodness filled the air, and Becca tried not to laugh as Gloria's mouth visibly watered. This was it. This was the moment that Becca had waited for, and everything was perfect. There was just one little last hurdle to take into account.

"Provided that lunch is on the approved lis-" Nadia had appeared in the door, the professional mask cracking just a moment as she noticed what Becca was holding. "How did you get that in here?"

"This?" Becca held up the boxes. "It's my lunch. What? Trauma's got no rules against outside food for visitors. And while your cooking is good, and I like the 'ganic stuff you made last time I was here...My body wasn't too fond of it." She set the boxes down on the folding bedside tray, "so I figured this would be the perfect way for me to enjoy lunch with my girl."

Becca shot Gloria her flirtiest expression, making her turn away in shyness while the nurse nodded reluctantly. "Miss Martinez, would you like me to make you something to eat?"

"N-no." Gloria shook her head, face once again red as she looked at Nadia. "I'm, still full from breakfast." The older woman rubbed her stomach. "T-though if you wouldn't mind stepping out, for a few so I, we can..." She looked at Becca, then to Nadia, then to a point somewhere on the other side of the room. Becca couldn't help but laugh at how shy Gloria had become.

"Of course." Much to Gloria's relief, and Becca's amusement, Nadia understood what Gloria was trying to ask for. "Told you I have no issues in leaving to allow you some private time with your sidepiece. Just remember to take it easy, and nothing to strenuous, alright?"

Gloria nodded as Nadia excused herself from the room, and Becca followed behind to make sure she left under the guise of getting a drink from the kitchen. Only once the nurse was gone and the main door to the room closed did Becca return to Gloria's bedroom.

"Bone apple tea, or whatever that fancy saying is." She positioned the tray so that it rested in front of Gloria, opening one of the boxes to reveal the grease-soaked delicacy her girl craved. It was almost sexual watching as Gloria reached out. Her thin yet calloused hands gently cradling the slice as she brought it to her mouth and took a bite. Cheese product stretched and broke, and some grease ran down the corner of her mouth as she returned the slice to its box. She chewed slowly, savoring the flavor with an expression of pure bliss on her face.

"I am so turned on right now..." Becca muttered, shifting and rubbing her legs together. Her mind filled with all matter of naughty thoughts, one of which reminded her of why she took this smuggling job in the first place. "Hey Gloria?"

"Hmm?" Gloria opened her eyes, already moving to take another bite of her treat.

"Remember how you said you'd give me 'anything' for this tongue-gasming pizza?"

Manners forgotten, Gloria responded with her mouth stuffed full of the unhealthy goodness. "...yeah?"

"Mind if I woo V into being my dark and spooky corporate joytoy?" Becca rubbed her thighs together, hands clasped before her and eyes batting in over-exaggerated cute begging.

She half expected Gloria to choke on her food, but instead the woman's face took on a more contemplative expression. Becca heard her swallow the bite she had been chewing, no longer seeing the joy in her face. Looking closely, Gloria seemed defeated. Her posture slumped, and everything about her suddenly screamed that she was falling into a mire of depression.

"It might be better if you took him off my hands..." Her voice was soft, lacking the usual energy and bright tones. It was such a sharp contrast that all of Becca's building horny evaporated, leaving her dry and confused.

"Okay, pause the depressing." The green-haired girl held out her hands in a gesture of stop. "I was talking about friends with boinking benefits."

Her words did little to cheer Gloria. "Rebecca? Things are good now, but I... I don't know what the future holds you know." Gloria couldn't seem to meet her gaze anymore. "He'd probably be better off with a powerhouse pixie than a drama bomb mom ya'know."

"Girl, you couldn't sell that pile to a scav for an eddie." Becca shook her head, not agreeing for a second with Gloria's flawed logic. "Wait, this has more to do with the drama between you and V, doesn't it?"

"It's... I just..." Once more, Gloria was reduced to a zero confidence stuttering mess. It pained Becca to see her friend like this, and after remembering what V told her at the Ramen shop, she made a decision.

"Forget the last request, I'm trading it in to know what happened."

"Huh?"

"Don't 'huh' me. You and V have been lore teasing me for weeks about your history, and I want answers." Becca took a moment to think of the best way to explain it, while also trying to bring Gloria out of her funk. "Its like goin' down on a lady: you wanna know what you're diving headfirst into. If it's a rose made of prosciutto, I'm gonna be eager and drooling. And if I have to dodge a dirty cunt with mange, I want advanced warnings."

"That is a very... vivid metaphor?" The tiniest hint of regular Gloria came back, and Becca crossed her arms.

"The point stands."

"Fine." Gloria sighed, thinking. "Just gimme a second to see if I can't get something strong from Nadia or another nurse. Either booze or meds, because I can't talk about this completely sober."

"It's that bad?" A tiny smirk appeared on Becca's face, and she reached into her coat to reveal a small flask that Gloria motioned for Becca to hand over. "Wait, should you even be drinking with your meds?"

"Yes, and no but..." Gloria unscrewed the cap and took a sip, a single cough escaping her as the contents passed her throat.

Gloria took a moment to think about what to say. The silence was thick enough to block tech-launched bullets, and went on long enough that Becca almost took back her request again.

"I'll skip to the end. Easier for me to start from there. V and I had been dating for about a year at this point. He had met my parents a few months prior, who were both happy that I met someone nice, but weary that he was a suit...And V felt I was finally ready to meet his." She traded the flask for her pizza. "Right away, I could tell they despised me. His mother did her best to be polite during the meeting, but all his father did was glare at me. Most acknowledgment I got from him beyond the initial greeting was the occasional tsk from him in response to my answer to one of his wife's questions."

Becca nodded, recalling V's theory about her disappearance.

"After we left, I told V on the ride back to my place how I didn't think his parents liked me. And he agreed, stating that he knew they wouldn't approve." Gloria chewed a bite of pizza, gathering her emotions. "Those words chilled me, and V proceeded to pull over to the side of the road. I half expected him to end our relationship right then and there. For him to tell me to get out and walk the rest of the way back home. Instead, he pulled me into a hug, and told me that didn't matter to him."

The short-stack resisted the urge to aww at the picture Gloria's words painted, knowing there was more coming.

"Things were good for a couple of weeks after that meeting. V would stop by to visit and hang out in between work, or just relax with me while I tried to figure out what I'd do with my life." There was a sad smile on Gloria's face. "I had just decided that I wanted to help people, and was looking into taking the EMT classes offered by Night City health services when I met the Linders again. They had confronted me as I left the office, and in no uncertain terms, told me to leave their son alone."

"So what did you do?"

"Honestly? I laughed." She took another sip from the flask. "I didn't think they were being serious until I saw the expressions. The Missus looked dour, while Mister Linder's face was emotionless, save for the anger I could see in his eyes. I couldn't move under that gaze. Just stood there, watching powerlessly as he reached into his suit jacket. Instead of the gun I expected to see however, he withdrew a large stack of eddies and held it just out of my reach. 'I mean it. Twenty-five thousand, and you get the fuck out of my son's life.' Shit." Gloria cursed, "I was shocked. I knew Corpo-types solved their problem by throwing money at it, but seeing it in the flesh was too much. I turned down the offer, something the Linders hadn't expected if the way his mom's eyes had widened just a fraction while his father's scowl deepened. He offered me another five thousand eddies on top of it, but I still refused his offer before excusing myself as I had a train to catch."

Becca nodded, urging Gloria to continue as she opened her soda and took a drink before pouring a shot from the flask into it.

Anyhow, I had returned home that night to tell my parents of my decision to become an EMT. Mama and Papa were so proud of me, and the atmosphere in our little house was so light that I didn't have the heart to tell them about my run in with the Linders." The red-head ate another couple bites of pizza. "Things were good over the next week or so. Got to see V once or twice, started taking my classes. But of course God had to shit in my breakfast and once again I had a run in with Mister Linder."

"'Fifty thousand this time, and you stay the hell away from my son'. He hadn't even greeted me properly, just shoved the money in my face with his terms while staring at me with those hollow eyes." Gloria ran a hand through her hair, an almost nervous laugh escaping her. "I couldn't believe it. Here was a red-faced Corpo confronting a street kid in broad daylight on the streets of Night City. And while I I'm ashamed to admit that my heart stopped at the sight of so much money. Mind thinking of everything I could do with that money for myself, my family...But all those thoughts shattered as I thought about V and how he would feel. Steeling myself, I looked Mister Linder in the eyes and told him no before telling him to fuck off."

Becca had picked the worst time to take another drink. "Wait, you told an Arasaka Executive to fuck off, and they just let you walk away?"

"Yeah, in hindsight its amazing that I wasn't fed a lead sandwich to the back of my head." She placed a hand over the spot in question, as if to protect it. "I could feel the unspoken anger radiating off him, but his years of corporate professionalism and hostile negotiations reigned supreme. He had simply nodded and returned the eddies to his pocket. 'Are you sure about this? Think of what this money would mean. How it would come in handy if something were to happen to you...Or your family.'" An annoyed grunt escaped Gloria. "Stupid me thought he was just trying to sweet talk me at the time. Didn't realize it was a threat until after I was halfway back to my place in Santo."

"Did...Anything come of that?"

"Yeah, he sent a few threats here and there, along with additional offers of cash. I just ignored the threats, and turned down the cash, hoping he'd get the message that he wasn't gonna get anywhere with me." A flash of guilt moved onto her face, "he realized this, and instead targeted my parents." Becca gasped and Gloria nodded. "Don't worry, he didn't hurt them physically...Just targeted them fiscally. Linder put the screws to my parents jobs, heavily crippling us but stopping the threats."

"Did V know about any of this?"

"I didn't tell him directly, but I could tell he knew something was up when we'd talk on the holo. Plus, V suddenly had a fuckton of work dumped in his lap, leaving him with no time to come and see me in person. And with my classes, I didn't have a lot of free time either. Wasn't until about a week after that that our schedules lined up to where we could see each other."

"And guessing you two jumped on that like chem fiends on glitter?"

"Oh yeah." Heavy as the conversation was, Becca could see the nostalgia in Gloria's eyes. "V called me bright and early, asking what kind of donuts my parents liked so he could get a dozen so we could all have breakfast together. Mama broke down when she saw the box, and Papa told V about how they lost their jobs. V didn't hesitate, and offered my parents enough eddies to get us through the next couple months as a sort of apology gift. Right then, I knew I had to be honest with V about everything but..."

"But..."

"After the drama bomb that Mama dropped, V stated he wanted the two of us to have a no drama day. And given how shit a week I had, I couldn't bring myself to disagree and argue with him. Instead, we went to Japantown to a ramen joint in the Cherry Blossom Market. I didn't understand the big deal about the place at first, but V told me how it used to be a chrome-rock club. Over bowls of ramen, he told me about the club and its history, and also a little about his family's history with the place."

Becca nodded, having heard V say the same thing.

"Aside from the family issues, it was so cute seeing him talk about performances that happened long before he was born. About sights he never got to see." Gloria laughed, but it wasn't exactly a happy sound. "After lunch, we just went driving through the city and out into the badlands. It was liberating, driving around the dunes and throwing up the sand. By the time night fell, we had found a secluded spot behind a rocky outcrop and parked the car, watching the sun go down while cuddling and making out on the hood of V's car." Her face flushed slightly, "details are a little fuzzy, but things quickly heated up between us and we took the relationship to the next level."

It took every ounce of control for Becca to not pester Gloria for more details, but that didn't stop her from punching the air and letting out a yes at getting just a hint of what Gloria and V's first time was like.

"So sounds like things were starting to get better? What brought it all down?"

"Promise me this doesn't leave the room?"

"Cross my heart." She ran a finger over her chest in an X.

"I got pregnant." Gloria moved her hands to her stomach. "Started getting sick, and one day it was just so bad that I bit the bullet and went to the clinic for a check-up. Got the news and boy, if that wasn't a rush of emotions...I struggled for days on what to do, on how best to tell V he was gonna be a dad."

"But you never did."

"Wasn't my intention. Remember I told you how V's parents threatened me? And how after they screwed over my parents that they virtually stopped?" Becca nodded, "turns out the only reason that happened is because they were waiting and watching. Looking for anything he could make an offer I couldn't refuse with."

"And they got it when you found out about David." It was part-question, part-statement, and by the way Gloria's face fell, all the green-haired girl needed to know.

"Yeah. Those assholes sent a high-class merc after me. I did my best to outrun him, but he cornered me eventually. Told me flat out that he had been sent to 'retrieve' my unborn child. He gave me an ultimatum of going with him willingly to whatever back alley med team he had set up to have the fetus removed, and improve my chance of surviving the procedure just slightly. Or try and run with the guarantee of both me and my child ending up dead." She closed her eyes, tears forming at the corners. "Like a fool, or maybe it was my maternal instincts kicking in, but I chose to run. I charged him, using my arms to shieled my stomach and head. Gonk was more skilled than I thought and managed to get a swing in with the knife he was holding. Gave me a nice gash across my belly." She lifted he shirt, and Becca could see the six inch long faded scar. "Blinded by pain, I screamed and lashed out. I got in a one-in-a-million lucky strike and caused him to stumble backwards over a guard rail into the street. Gonk had just enough time to turn his head to see the tire of the truck that crushed his skull."

Gloria was crying now, and Becca left her place in the chair in favor of climbing on the bed to hold her friend. She had no idea that Gloria had been through so much. Through tears, the red-head told her how after that she had gone to her parents and told them everything. Told her how they helped her go off the grid, to get out of the city and live someplace she'd be safe until enough time had passed that she could return to the city and pick up the pieces.

Becca couldn't believe that V had been right about his hunch that she had been threatened. Nor could she believe how much Gloria went through to get to where she was now. Even harder to believe was the fact that, even after everything that had happened, that both V and Gloria still felt something for each other. Something so strong that V was risking it all to take care of Gloria, while she in turn fought to get better for the chance at the life she left behind.

"Wow." Becca answered after Gloria finally calmed down enough to hear her. "I never thought I'd be a witness to a story like this... In Night City of all places."

The red-head blew her nose. "I know it's kinda dark, and hard to believe."

"Not that, it's that I've never seen such a pair of gonks in love. Seriously. How are you so dumb. Lucky, talented, pretty, but dumb."

Gloria frowned, "I'm kinda feeling insulted."

"You should, at least a little bit." Becca's head tilted to the side. "I mean did you ever look him up when you came back."

"Looked up and found him." She sighed, grabbing another tissue. "It wasn't like he was hiding or trying to make it difficult."

"And?"

"When I found him, he had a nice apartment in city center. A job in Arasaka Tower. Preem car. Eddies to burn." Gloria blew her nose again. "Hell, I'm still certain I saw a woman on his arm a time or two. Compared to that I thought all I could offer is a kid he'd never heard of, a bunch of old drama, and maybe a nostalgia fling if I was lucky."

Becca nodded, not really disagreeing as she thought about everything she had seen and heard since meeting the two of them. She let a teasing smile come to her face. "Happy you were wrong?" the green-haired gal questioned.

"Very, very happy. " The smile on Gloria's face was genuine, though it quickly fell away, "and just as guilty."

"Nope. None of that." Becca gently karate chopped Gloria's head. "Stop it!"

"Wha-?"

"I don't care what uncaring deity I have to spite to make it stop, but I am gonna kill this drama wall between you two." She threw a couple punches at an invisible wall. "Then I'm gonna smother it in it's crib when it tries to reincarnate."

Gloria now looked more confused than anything, and Becca was pleased. "Why?"

"How else am I gonna get you two to serve in my Great Harem Plan?" She threw her arms out to the side, mimicking a scale as she continued. "I can't have just one or the other, I'm a greedy bitch and I've decided I want to keep you both."

Becca could see her distraction was working with the perplexed and poleaxed expression on her friend's face. "I'm confused, what harem plan?" The mother asked for clarification.

"The Great Harem Plan. You gotta say it so everyone feels the capitalization in each word." Becca lowered her arms, one hand coming to rest on her chin as she thought about it. "I admit, only two members isn't big for a harem, and usually its only all guys or all gals, but I'm a quality over quantity type so it works in my book."

"Sooo what? You're gonna figure out how to solve all mine and V's relationship problems just so you can fuck us both?"

"Pretty much." Becca went full gremlin mode, all her teeth on display as she watched Gloria process her words. After a moment, the red-head smiled, eyes falling on the still unopened buck-a-slice box.

"Not sure this was worth it." Gloria pulled out the second slice and took a bite, and Becca just savored the view with her gremlin thoughts brewing silently in her head.

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The execution of the raid was just as much a disappointment as every other part of it had been. Not on the crew's part, but from the opposition. The low security, they could handle. The shitty side quest to get the Sixth Street corpses? No problem. What pissed Becca off was the fact that the actual raid lasted as long as Pilar did with his autoblow.

Maine's scouting brought back much the same her own had, and they had come up with the plan to take the camp by surprise just in case they had somehow missed something. Loading up the Colby's – the crew had driven around the camp, tossing flash bangs at various points to blind everyone within. Only once the last grenade went off did the crew jump from their vehicles and run through the center of the camp with guns blazing. As expected, the Raffens were taken completely by surprise, and ended up utterly fucked.

In Becca's opinion, it was taking longer to stage the scene to look like a trade-off between Sixth Street and Raffen went bad. She and Pilar had been paired with Lucy and David, and it was their job to be planting drugs and money around the place to add to the appearance that chaos had broken lose. Maine and Dorio were re-positioning weapons dropped by the Raffens, while Kiwi was double checking anything she could hack to make sure they didn't miss anything. Falco had been grabbed by Jackie and V to help move and stage the Sixth Street corpses...Which Becca still couldn't figure out where V had hidden them the last few days.

"Think that's everything?" Lucy asked as she scattered the last handful of eddies she had pulled from the pocket of the corpse nearest to her.

"Looks like it. Nine dead Raffens, including our target according to Maine. Three Sixth Street stiffs. Scattered drugs and money..." The sound of one of the tents collapsing interrupted Becca. "And whatever collateral damage the boys are causing."

She motioned for Lucy to follow her over to where Pilar and David were. The latter was staring open-mouth at the former, who was grinning while holding some kind of fresh forged katana.

"Holy shit David, where the hell'd you get that preem piece of edgeware?" Pilar asked, "wait. Where'd you learn to use it like that?"

David took a few swings with the sword. "It is amazing what you can get when you don't spend all day looking at porn!"

"I try to give you a compliment baby-bro, and what do you do? Cut me down." The techie grasped at his chest. "Betrayal!"

"Can it Pilar." Becca shook her head, gesturing to the surrounding area. "We gotta finish planting everything before we can rag on David for being a weeb."

It was David's turn to look hurt. "I feel the love guys, I really do."

"To be fair David, you have a solid black sword in your hand that's as long as your arm." Lucy moved to his side and raised his free arm. "That is kinda...silly?"

"Lucy, not you too!" The rookie cried, making everyone else laugh.

"Everything good over here?" Maine's voice came from behind one of the tents, V just behind him.

"Yeah, we're good. Just David being a weeb." Pilar replied, and Becca chuckled as Maine told them to finish up. She looked around the area again, eyes wandering to the edge of the camp. Nothing seemed out of place or out of the ordinary, until she realized that one of the cactus silhouettes was a little more humanoid than the others. At this distance and with the lighting, Becca couldn't make out all the details, but she knew what she was seeing. The silhouette seemed to realize it had been spotted, and quickly moved.

"Shit. We got a live one." She hissed, loud enough to be heard by Maine and V who were quick to turn where she was pointing.

["Fuck! Falco, Jackie – check your six. Got a watcher."] V's voice went over the holo, and him and Maine gave chase. Becca and the others followed behind, but quickly realized they'd be doing more help than good. She heard the sound of an engine revving, and not recognizing it as belonging to anyone on the crew, figured it belong to their unwelcome guest.

["Everyone, trucks now!"] Maine ordered, and the four ran to where Pilar had parked their Colby. She jumped in the back with David while Lucy hopped in the cab with Pilar. ["Stay close, but keep your distance."]

["Got it!"] Pilar agreed, starting up the truck and joining with the others in chasing their target. It really was an odd sight; three Little Mules and a modified Ragnar chasing an old junker through the desert. Becca had to give their watcher credit, they knew how to drive and handle the dunes.

Too bad their car didn't know how to handle the large rock that was hiding under one of the dunes they drove over. With a metallic groan, the chassie on the junker gave up the fight and rolled over onto its roof. She watched as the driver crawled out and tried to book it on foot, but a well-aimed shot from Jackie hit him in the leg. The four cars surrounded the area, headlights focused on their subject.

["Shit. Isn't that a camdrone scrapped on the ground over there?"] Dorio's voice came over the comms, and she heard Jackie cuss in agreement with her assessment.

["Let me handle this..."] V's voice, and while she didn't have the best view, she could see V climbing out of one of the trucks, a gun in his hand. A loud gunshot rang out, along with a curse from V. ["Fuck. The bastard Cobain'd himself."]

["Shit...What now?"] Maine's voice was gruffer than normal.

["We call Rogue and inform her that her target is catching on. Then I call Jenkins and let him know Bruce was taken care of."] Becca saw V spit on the corpse. ["Then, once we get paid? We celebrate."]

A playfully hearty cheer went up from the crew at that proclamation, and Becca found her annoyance at the simple gig had been overtaken by the thought of partying with her friends.

She just wished that nagging from her gut would shut up.

Meh. Some booze and good natured flirting with V was all she needed to settle the foreboding sensation.