David blankly stared at his mother, who was sleeping in one of the Trauma Team's hospitals at Corpo Plaza.
As David gently took hold of His mother's hands, which were uncomfortable still, his mind wandered to the day that led to her mother arriving in the hospital.
-
David's day was going well, really well, to be precise.
With his mother's approval of allowing him to join Builders Security Service, David left Arasaka Academy entirely in exchange for the rather eventful days of being a member of Builder Security Service.
From the monotony of suffering under the beatings of Tanaka to experiencing real-time combat in the form of fighting Maelstrom, David realized that he should've just left Arasaka Academy in the first place if this was the day-to-day activities of the company.
David never felt more in control of his life than fighting side-by-side with his co-workers, who were more accommodating to his presence than the snobs at Arasaka Acadamy, who only looked down on him.
"David, get down!" Juan Juarez, a former member of 6th Street and veteran of the Unification Wars, shouted as he chucked a grenade to the Tyger Claws shooting their position. Ducking down, David felt the grenade's heat overlapping his cover, almost as if he was being cooked alive.
"David, provide cover to Gilbert! Gilbert, can you find any way to scramble their sig-jammers? We need reinforcements badly!" Juan ordered as David saw him kill two Tyger Claws shooting at David before moving forward and approaching David.
"Here, take this Bounce Back. You need it more than I do." David only nodded as he felt the Bounce Back do its thing: his adrenaline recovering to normal levels as his wounds were quickly closed up.
"Thanks, Juan." David thanked, causing the man to slap him on the back.
"Don't mention it, kid. Besides," Juan's smile turned into a grin, "Your mother is sexy as fuck, David. There's a reason why I took you under my wing, after all."
David snorted before kneeing Juan in the stomach, kneeling in pain as David stood up.
"Ass," David said as he jogged to the objective, unknowingly giving a grin to the man.
Despite Juan's words and comments to his mother, Juan is an effective squad leader due to his experiences in service to the NUSA during the Unification War. Not only that, the man is charismatic as hell, being able to quickly rise to the ranks of 6th Street and cement himself as one of the commanders during Rick Morton's tenure as 6th Street's leader. Unfortunately for the man, Rick Morton died in the coup launched by Will Gunner. And seeing the signs of discord within 6th Street jumped ship and joined Builders Security Service, which back then was an actual gang supported by the company it gave birth.
When the Builders integrated into the company, Juan quickly became one of BSS' most prominent squad leaders, proving his worth when the gangoons of Night City attacked Builders Incorporated.
Though, as much as David looks up to Juan for guidance and mentorship, the man could be irritating, especially when he's making comments about his mother.
"David. Where's Juan?" Gilbert asked as his eyes turned to David.
"Juan's nursing his gut, calling my mom sexy." Gilbert snorted at David's words.
"That'd do it," Gilbert said before focusing on his work.
Gilbert Hyppolite was an old Haitian man who was a refugee saved by Oreste, a legendary Agwe within the Haitian community. When the last Agwe died, and the Voodoo Boys stepped up to become the 'protectors' of the Haitian community within Night City, Gilbert was one of the few Haitians who vehemently decried the Voodoo Boys' actions, moving to Watson when the Voodoo Boys rid off their opposition within Pacifica.
During the heydays of the Builders, Gilbert was one of the few Netrunners the Builders had in employ. Now, as the Builders grew in scope, Gilbert served as the head instructor for any budding Netrunners that wanted to become one and in service to Builders Incorporated. Though, the fact that Gilbert's in the frontline means that he was put on the ground by the higher-ups or he had a grudge against the chooms of Night City.
David thinks it's the latter. Why else would an experienced Netrunner willingly throw his life killing gangsters left and right instead of chilling in his chair in the Megabuilings?
"Got it!" Gilbert exclaimed, snapping David out of his musings.
"Good work, Gilbert. What do you see?" Juan spoke as he moved near them.
"Well, there are no more gangsters protecting the server room since I killed them. Stupid gonks, who put a turret inside the server room?" Gilbert muttered as David sighed in relief.
"Nova. David, check if you can find anything within the server room. Gilbert would cover you in case anyone dares to return." David nodded as he marched into the room. But before he could do that, he felt his pocket ringing. Taking out his phone, he answered the call.
"Yes? Who's this?" David asked as he searched for anything of value within the ruined room that Gilbert's turret decimated.
"My name is Geroge, and I'm a representative from Trauma Team. Is this David Martinez?" Confirming the question, the voice continued, "I'm sorry, Mr. Martinez, but I called because your mother is currently in our hospital."
David stilled as his grip on his Malorian gun almost fell out of his hand.
-
"What happened?" David blankly asked as Juan sighed while Gilbert understandably looked at David.
"Well, kid, the Maelstrom decided to commit to a last hurrah before running to the Badlands. Unfortunately, your mother is one of the many victims harmed at the factory where your mom is working." Juan replied as he took a sip of his Diente Dorado.
"Maelstrom? Maelstrom's the one who did this to mom?" David intoned, his grip almost bending the bar where his mother was sleeping.
"David, calm yourself. Nothing good happens when you let your rage envelope your rational thinking." David took a deep breath at Gilbert's words.
After a moment of silence, David turned to Juan, giving David a raised eyebrow, "I want them dead."
Juan snorted, ruffling David's hair, "Don't worry, kid. The higher-ups are already working on that. Regrettably, we still have other gangsters to worry about."
"Yes, the Animals and Voodoo Boys are our current main priority. With them being the only main prominent gangs hostile to us, Michael decided to focus most of his efforts on Pacifica." David nodded as he walked off the room.
"And where are you going, kid?" David stopped as he turned back to look at Juan, eyes blank.
"To relieve some stress." As David walked out of the floor, Juan sighed as Gilbert informed the higher-ups where David was going.
"God, that kid is going to be a mess."