March 21st, 2077

Johnny was currently sitting on a couch in the suite picked out to use for the upcoming heist when he heard a voice "What do you think? Why'd he give it all up?" Prompting Johnny to look up at his longtime friend from the streets and current partner-in-crime, Jackie Welles, as he responded "Who gave up what now?" Prompting Jackie to say "Yorinobu Arasaka, the good life I mean. Old news I know, just got to thinkin's all."

Johnny then said "Lots to speculate about, what's got your head spinnin'?" Jackie then responded with "I mean, think about it. Guy's got everythin' growin' up right? Eddies, education, his pops could snap his fingers and turn half the fuckin' planet into a nuclear wasteland. But instead he's like 'nah fuck it!', and what's he go do? Start a fuckin' gang, Steel Dragons or whatever. Ghosts from his fam, chips some Realskinn and plays gang leader for a few years, for what?"

After a moment Johnny simply says "Can't say I know how to answer that Jack, you ask me it's like what you said before. You can kick the rat outta the corp," To which Jackie finished with "But you can't kick the corp outta the rat." Before Johnny stated "Every corpo's got somethin' they're after, maybe Yori decided flipping Saburo's empire the finger wasn't it." The former of which Johnny would know given his own history with that life.

Jackie then just gave off a "Hmph" before saying "Fuckin' tourist." And immediately after, the hololinks in their cyberoptics chimed as their netrunner T-Bug spoke up "Tourist or not, he just walked into the lobby. Penthouse security's out for the count too, so we are back in biz."

Johnny stepped out of the elevator alongside Jackie as they entered Yorinobu's penthouse, now completely empty and theirs to raid for their target. Jackie then spoke up as they entered "So this is how it is bein' the heir to the Arasaka empire. Sure as hell beats being the son of Raúl Welles." And as Jackie was speaking Johnny went over to the panel on the wall to poke at Yorinobu's messages, remembering their client poking through them during the Braindance they were given to canvas the penthouse. He looked at the most recent message about the Relic from a guy named "Anders Hellman" before thinking to himself (Hellman huh? Wonder if this was who Yorinobu spoke to during the - ) finding his thoughts interrupted as T-Bug spoke "Got a sich, sig on Yorinobu's gone dark. Find the Relic and get the hell out of there ASAP, should be a switch linked to the safe." Prompting Johnny to close out the screen and run over to where they spotted the vault in the braindance, scanning the floor and picking up a signal linked to it on his Kiroshi HUD "Think I got somethin'." before running over to the bedside of the penthouse, choosing to grab Yorinobu's iron and some ammo clips left beside it before spotting the switch and hitting it. Jackie then spoke up "Johnny, got somethin' ejecting. Come on." After hearing which Johnny ran over to the safe, watching it pop out of the floor "What now?"

"Jack in your personal and make us rich."

Johnny then proceeded to do exactly that, his optics lighting up as he watched the vault slowly work its way to opening. As he was watching the vault he saw light reflecting off it, prompting him and Jackie to look outside to see an AV and a pair of drones flying up over the penthouse, Jackie speaking up "Hey, we got winged visitors, Bug?" Both of them receiving a response from T-Bug "Uh, don't know who but the staff's abuzz. All two hundred on their feet, can't keep still." Prompting Jackie to say "Can't say I like this…" and just afterwards T-Bug spoke up "Shit, Yorinobu's penthouse bound!" Prompting Johnny to say "I'll keep an eye on the safe, head to the elevator and be ready to call it as soon as I've nabbed this thing!" Jackie nodding upon figuring out their half-assed plan before running to the elevator, Johnny looking back down as he saw T-Bug about to wrap up on opening the safe.

Once it was done Johnny disconnected and saw the briefcase be revealed. He then took it out as T-Bug chimed in "Johnny, how's it look?" Johnny responding with "Bioshard integrity 100 percent, we're good to go!" And he then picks up the case by the handle and attempts to make a break for the elevator, however he nearly stumbled over onto his face upon needing to set the case down "Damn it, this thing's heavier than it looks!" Prompting Jackie to run up and grab the handle of the case, saying to his partner "Got you mano, go for the elevator!" Before Johnny nodded and booked for the elevator… and seeing a bad sign "Jack, you got the lift moving already?" Prompting Jackie to mutter "Oh fuck…" The young merc's suspicions being confirmed when T-Bug spoke "It's Yorinobu, he's on his way!" To which Johnny responded "Gotta hide somewhere, any ideas?!"

"Pillar behind the smart glass, go!"

Jackie then said "You fuckin' kidding?!" Before Johnny responded "No time, hide!" Both of the mercenaries ducking into the opening and hiding behind the glass just before the elevator chimed, signaling the arrival of Yorinobu… and an all-too familiar cyborg. Jackie then whispers "Is that… is that Adam Smasher?" To which Johnny whispered back "Know any other 'borgs who'd be in a corp hotel alive?" And after getting a look from Jackie Johnny whispered "Let's keep hushed, once they leave we can delta the fuck out of here."

"I be-been made! A-aaaaaaaah!"

Johnny reeled slightly from the scream as he called out "Bug!" Before the call had cut out entirely. In frustration Johnny turned to shout at Jackie who was standing over Saburo Arasaka's corpse "You happy now Jackie?!" Before muttering with a bitterness in his voice "'Cruse into the major leagues', my fuckin' ass." Before Jackie said "Don't gotta take this out on me mano, let's just get outta here." And they both headed out through the window entrance, heading over to the ladder until Johnny stopped to find a ledge in front of them, looking down at the slope down below. He quietly uttered "Fuck…" before turning and shimmying across the ledge, hearing Jackie comment about how high up they were. Just as Johnny started believing they could actually make it over, a drone flew over that spotted them, uttering something that Johnny's optics translated from Japanese before Jackie shouted "Time to bail!" And seeing the drone's guns starting to take aim Johnny thinks to himself (Fuck it!) and he and Jackie both jumped off the ledge before sliding down the slope of windows ahead of them, gunshots from the drone drowning out Jackie's screaming as they slid off, Johnny bracing himself for impact as he and Jackie fell through a window below and down into a maintenance corridor, the young merc being knocked into a daze upon hitting a pipe before flying into something and being knocked out from hitting the floor.

Johnny wasn't sure how long it was before he came to, but he assumed it probably wasn't long. He then looked over to spot Jackie next to the case… which was sparking as Jackie examined it, saying "Oh shit!" While Johnny groaned a little as he set two fingers on his forehead, the prior impact leaving him a little out of it. Jackie then exclaimed "¡Madres! Oh this ain't good, ah…" and that was when Johnny saw it, blood on the cryocase… and on Jackie's hands. Johnny had said "Fucking Christ choom, you're bleeding hard!" To which Jackie had responded "Worry about me later Johnny, gotta check the Relic!" And he then proceeded to read off what was on the monitor "Container depressurized, bioshard integrity at 94 percent! And fuckin' droppin, carajo." Although mentally Johnny was chastising this, they fell into the deepest pile of shit they've ever been in and the Relic's still a priority? They needed to get out of - "Parker, call her!" To which Johnny responded "And tell her we fried this thing?" Only for Jackie to say "Just do it." Before setting a hand over where his liver is. Deciding that there was no time to waste Johnny dialed Evelyn's number, being met with Evelyn saying "Johnny? Konpeki's all over the feeds, what the fuck is going on there?" And Johnny responded with "Got a sich, cryocase is damaged! Biochip integrity's at… Jack?" And after hearing an answer he continued "Eighty six percent and dropping!" Only for Evelyn to respond with "Shit! Ok, there's only one thing you can do. One of you's gotta slot the Relic into your neural port!"

Johnny then said after a second of processing that "Is that supposed to be what we're doing with it? I doubt this belongs in there!" To which Evelyn responded "There's no other place where the Relic will be able to maintain its integrity!" And after a moment Jackie spoke up "Well… someone's gotta do it." Before opening the case, uttering a prayer as he removed the bioshard and slotted it in, his optics shining blue for a moment. After a bit Johnny said "Jackie, you alright?" To which Jackie responded "I guess… eh, thought I heard music just now but I don't feel any different." Evelyn chiming in immediately after "Once you're back we'll examine the Relic and run a full brain scan and sweep. But right you two need to get the fuck out of there!" To which Johnny stated "We're working on it!" Before hanging up.

By the time Johnny and Jackie had made it to the elevator down to the garage it was practically a bloodbath, they had to shoot up maybe a dozen guards after getting spotted before they made it to the lobby and then they had to survive a fucking mech. They both saw the Delamain come to a halt in front of them as a bunch of Konpeki's security forces spot them and start shooting, Johnny firing back with a stolen Shigure before it got shot out of his hands, both he and Jackie making a break for the cab before getting into the backseats "Delamain, get us the fuck outta here now!" Johnny keeping his head low as the bulletproof glass started taking shots while the cab sped off towards the exit, busting through the gate. Jackie then stated "Heh, not bad Del." To which Delamain responded "Client feedback noted." And Johnny proceeded to follow up with "How's our ride looking?" Delamain stating to the mercs "Tiptop, though alas, we are being pursued." And barely a second later Johnny and Jackie heard something, Johnny going wide-eyed upon seeing Adam Smasher himself ram into the cab, which was now facing directly towards the 'Saka borg as Delamain stated "Combat mode initiated." Before a bunch of concealed firearms had fired off at Smasher, but it all just bounced and sparked off his armor and metal plating as the Delamain cab began pulling in reverse and turning to start ramming for the gate as the windshield took fuck knows how many bullets, Jackie screaming "¡Oy mis huevos!" Before Johnny shouted "Fuuuuck!" As they bursted right through and began speeding off.

Johnny took a breath as they finally seemed to be in the clear, Jackie saying "Nice work there Del…" before Johnny spoke up "We did it Jackie, we fuckin' made it!" Pumping his fist in the air in triumph. But it was short lived when Delamain said "My medical diagnostics indicate that Mr Welles' condition is critical." Prompting Johnny to go over to his friend and place his hand over Jackie's, keeping it firmly over the bleeding area as he said "Get us to a Ripperdoc now!" Delamain stating in response "I apologize, but that will not be possible. Our itinerary has been pre-arranged and paid for in advance, I am not at liberty to alter it." Only for Johnny to shout "Fuck your liberty and fuck this job! Do what I say damn it!"

Jackie had caught Johnny's attention as he spoke up then and there "It's alright Johnny, I'll hold out…" before Delamain added "I would advise trying to keep Mr Welles conscious." Prompting Johnny to start saying "Jackie, come on. Just think about all the good shit we're gonna get out of this. Living legends of Night City, you and me, remember?" A short pause following before Jackie said "'Course… you're gonna be rich mano, I know it." Johnny responding with "No Jackie, we're gonna be rich. Whole city's gonna know our names!" Being met with Jackie coughing before he turned to him and grabbed his face "The… biochip." And he proceeded to pull the chip out of his neural port before continuing "Hold on to it… for me." And while Johnny wanted to stop him, as Jackie slipped the Relic into Johnny's neural port he knew what he was trying to say.

"Reaper's here to collect hermano, but you can still finish this."

And the official sole survivor of the Konpeki Plaza heist fell into silence as he felt his best friend's hand slip out of his own, hearing the faint sound of a guitar playing somewhere in the back of his head.

Johnny had ordered the Delamain to wait outside before he stepped out of the cab, leaving behind Yorinobu's pistol that he stole from the penthouse beside Jackie's gold-plated Nues and his own Lexington. He had headed inside in numb silence, practically on autopilot as he headed for room 204. By the time he walked up he proceeded to knock on the door, more ready than ever to part with the Relic and this fucking city…

When he didn't get a response he knocked again while saying numbly "Just let me in." Before the door opened, Dexter DeShawn's muscle pushing Johnny back slightly to look down the hallway before saying "He waiting." And stepping aside, Johnny proceeding to walk in to find Dex glaring at a TV with a cig in his hand. Dex then spoke up by the time Johnny was able to look at the monitor to see a news station talking about Saburo's demise "WNS… N54… even the pirate networks. You blowin' up everywhere… and the Jackster, he out in the car?" Johnny responding with a voice that was stone cold and almost numb "Yeah he's there. Flatlined." Prompting Dex to look at him before turning away from the monitor "Condolences friend… and the Relic?" Which led to Johnny tilting his neck a bit and pointing to it "Got it right here choomba." To which Dex responded "Mm… I was afraid of that." And just like that Johnny's emptiness was replaced with shock and slowly rising anger as Dex started pacing, Johnny saying "Excuse me?" Before Dex spoke, his voice slowly rising "Saburo Arasaka, dead. You got any notion of the shit you pulled me into? You offed the fuckin' Emperor! His majesty! Anyone with so much as a pinky toe in this mess is as good as dead!"

As Dex continued pacing Johnny's hands slowly clenched before he started shouting "You're the fuckin' reason we got into this mess! You and Evelyn, sending us in on this gig without telling us shit! Did you even have a clue Saburo was gonna show up?!" To which Dex responded "I don't have access to his personal fuckin' schedule, and besides no one asked you to kill the old man!" Prompting Johnny to say "That wasn't us!" Only for Dex to state back to him "No shit? Tell that to the 'Saka ninjas they send after you!"

After a moment of heated silence Dex decided to take a long drag from his cig as he said "A'ight settle down, gotta be tactical about this." Before sitting down as he continued "Parker, eddies, then we leave the city limits behind. But first… your face Johnny, got blood all over it… go get yourself cleaned up. Bathroom's over there." Prompting Johnny to glance over before looking back at Dex and saying "Fuck you Dex, you and this whole fuckin' city." Before flipping him off and heading into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and leaning on the sink as the mirror activated. Johnny gave his face a close look, from the black hair with the sides shaved off to the 5 o'clock shadow and the facial cyberware that remained after his removal from Arasaka, the final mark he could identify from his time as a damn corpo-rat. He then dipped his hands under the faucet as the water turned on, washing the blood off his hands and ballistic coprocessor before splashing it up at his face to clean the rest of the blood off.

As he gave himself one last look in the mirror Johnny thought to himself (Fuck this city… this city and everyone in it. Nothing but a cage that should just be blown to bits.) before stepping away from the sink and heading to the door. But just as soon as Johnny made it past the doorway he was met with a powerful hook to the face, knocking him to the floor and only having a second to look up and see Dex's muscle standing over him before he kicked him in the face. By the time Johnny came to he saw Dex being given iron that he took in his hand, Dex saying "Can't risk it Johnny." Before turning to walk over and then following up with "'Member our first convo?" Before taking aim "Seems I've chosen the quiet life after all. No blaze o' glory for me." And just as Johnny was about to swear he'd kill this son of a bitch he was silenced by a gunshot, feeling his consciousness slipping away as he vaguely watched his bio analysis running. Not that he registered it, he couldn't even think. Didn't even know that -

Engram transfer commencing. 0.01%

Author's note: Yep, as well as updating Back from the Edge after so long, I deliver to you a role reversal fic featuring Johnny as the merc with dreams of reaching the top and Valerie (V) as the mysterious Night City legend who sought to burn her way through all who would see the corporations reign. Expect more to come soon and I hope to see you all then!