"Dimitri!" The portly bartender called my name as I sat down at the bar. "What can I get for you?"
I could barely hear the man over the pounding music, the deep rhythmic sound mixing with the chatter of the massive crowd to make an almost impenetrable wall of noise. "Just get me something strong!" I responded. I was hoping to get fucked up tonight, and I was hoping to get it done the right way. He nodded, and turned to make my drink.
I felt a strong hand on my shoulder, to the point it hurt a little. "Buddy! Haven't seen you here in a while how are you?" I looked at the source of the voice and smiled. It was Viktor, one of the Boss's lieutenants. Viktor wore a toothy smile on his face, his entire mouth a flash of gold. "The boys have been wondering were you've been!"
"Had classes." I replied flatly as the bartender handed me my drink.
Viktor pulled me close, practically giving me a one armed hug. "Damn look at this guy! Met any girls in class? I know how hard you've been tryin to loose your V-card Dima." He gave me a playful elbow.
"Not really." I said before tasting whatever the barkeep gave me. It tasted like antifreeze with a hint of lime. I drank half of the glass, shuddered, then finished the rest. "None worth going after that is."
Somehow, Viktor's grin widened even more. "Well, do I have someone for you to meet. I think you two will hit it off." He practically dragged me off the barstool and towards the back of the club. On my way off I called to the bartender and told him to put my drink on my tab. Viktor took my past a crowd of dancing patrons, a mass of barely clothed flesh bouncing up and down in the center of the room. We passed by a man with a metal jaw, a woman with an extra arm, and the biggest man I had ever seen, his colossal frame covered in a comically large trenchcoat.
Finally, we arrived at a particular booth. "Hey Anais! I have someone for you to meet!" As we approached, a girl in a rather flimsy looking outfit turned to face us. My jaw almost dropped. She was gorgeous. Her face was petite, with two almond shaped eyes and soft lips. Her flame red hair was tied into a long ponytail, and hung over her shoulder. Her body was amazing, thin, but well muscled, and with curves in all the right places. Her caramel skin was unblemished, save for a single small scar on her left eyebrow. "Hey Dimitri, this is Anais. She started working here a few weeks ago. And Anais, this is Dimitri. He's been around here since he was just a kid."
Anais smiled and held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you monsieur." Her voice was like velvet, it's sensuality only added to by her strong French accent. I stood there for what felt like an hour before responding.
"I-it's nice to meet you too."
"It's nice to meet you? Nice to meet you!? Say something smarter man! We might never get a chance like this EVER AGAIN you idiot!" I thought to myself.
Viktor pushed me towards her and walked off, grinning his golden grin. I looked back at Anais, afraid to look back, almost as if looking back at her would make her disappear. Luckily for me, she didn't. I cleared my throat. "Could I get you a drink Anais?"
She smiled. "I'd like that monsieur. I have a bit of time."
"No need to me so formal. Just call me Dima. That's what all my friends call me." I said, trying to act confident.
She saw right through the act of a stupid eighteen year old, but she played along with me "Alright Dima."
I had found us a nice private booth, away from the big crowds. We sat together, with our own drinks. I nervously took a drink of my lime flavored antifreeze, trying to think of something to say to this absolute bombshell. Anais held her glass gracefully, occasionally taking sips from it. "So, do you come here often?" My heart dropped when I heard there words come out of my mouth. How could I be so fucking stupid? You fucking moron! You did it again!
To my absolute shock, she chuckled quietly. "Not as much as you do apparently. What was Viktor talking about back there?"
Okay, she threw me a softball. A chance to talk about myself. Hype myself up. Thank you Anais, you angel! "Oh, I've been running with the 311 Gang since I was thirteen." I took another drink, trying my best not to show a reaction to the strong drink.
"Oh, you must be a real bad boy then." Anais said softly, her green eyes boring into me like a predator watching it's prey.
My heart skipped a beat. "Y-yeah I guess you could say that."
She slid closer to me, placing a hand on my thigh. My heart started to beat faster. "That's good, I've always liked bad boys."
"Yeah, I'm super tough." She was so close, her hair smelled of blooming flowers.
"Hmm I bet." She was basically sitting on my lap now. She moved one of my hands onto her thigh. I could feel all the blood in my body rushing to my nether region. "I bet a tough guy like you is trusted by the boss right?"
"Y-yeah. Of course." My heard was roaring. I couldn't hear the music anymore. Only thunder of my heartbeat in my ears. Anais leaned in even more, pressing her lips into mine. My mind was going crazy. Was this really it? Was I going to loose my virginity tonight? And to a woman like this no less?
"Is the boss here right now?"
"Huh?" That was kind of strange. Why was she asking about him? "Yeah, here's here right now. Why do you ask?"
She actually looked a little disappointed. "That's a shame"
"Why is tha-" I didn't get to finish my sentence. Pain flared on the side of my head, and I was sent sprawling into the table, knocking it over. Stars filled my vision, as I looked up at Anais. "What the fu-"
"Don't get involved monsieur. You don't seem like a bad kid. Just a bit stupid. I'd hate to have to kill you." The last thing I saw was the bottom of Anais's shoe.
I woke up to the sound of gunfire and screaming. My head throbbed, like a borg was playing it like a bongo. I was still in the booth Anais and I had been in. More gunfire, less screaming. I felt around in my pockets for my pistol. It was still there. I slowly got to my feet, mentally preparing myself for what I was going to see. I clearly hadn't prepared well enough.
The nightclub was in chaos. People where fleeing as bullets wizzed though the air. There were bodies laying on the ground. A mix of patrons and 311 gang members. Gunsmoke hung low in the air, filling the room with sulfurous smell of gunpower. Anger built up in my chest. That bitch. First she leads me along, now she gets her buddies to launch an attack on the 311 gang? She was gonna pay. Adrenaline flooded my body, pushing the pain in my head away. I drew my pistol from my coat and marched towards the fight.
The battle was one sided. The guys who hit us were good. The most noticeable was the massive man I had seen earlier. He was firing away at the gang with a 50 cal machine gun he used like a rifle. The bullets it fired ripped though gangbangers, as I watched a man in a wifebeater and a silver arm get blown apart by the massive rounds. But the big guy wasn't alone. Alongside him was a man in a long black cloak wielding a crossbow. It fired darts so powerful it pinned men to furniture. A man tried sneaking up on the big guy, but got a knife in the throat, courtesy of black cloak man.
Standing in the rafters of the building was a small figure. I didn't even notice they were there until they fired. The shot wizzed past, and blew open the head of a guy who was trying to draw a bead on the big guy. He fell over with a thud. In the middle of it all was a strangely dressed woman slashing at 311 gang members with a sword as tall as she was. I had no idea how she lifted the thing, let alone swing it, but it's size clearly didn't bother her, as she cleanly cut a particularly large gang member in half. The four of them weren't alone though. They had help. Men in black body armor swept through the building, killing civilian and enemy alike. They swung their rifles from target to target, killing with ruthless efficiency.
"Dimitri! Thank god you're alive!" I looked over at the source of the noise. It was Viktor, taking cover behind a counter, waving me over to him. In his other hand was an antique submachine gun. "Get over here!" I dashed over to him.
"What the hell is going on? What happened?"
"I dunno! Those four just pulled out weapons and started going crazy! Once they started, the men in black came in after them." He popped out of cover, firing a burst from his submachine gun. It fired so quickly, I couldn't hear the individual shots. His aim was true, and two of the men in black armor fell. Viktor fell back behind cover. He stared at me with a look I had never seen on his normally cheery face. "Get out of here kid. Use the back exit."
"What?! No! I'm gonna stay here and-"
"Shut up. Get out of here. I'm not going to watch you-" His sentence was interrupt when four of the men in black came around the corner coming for us. Viktor turned around fast as a whip, and fired. Three of them fell, their bodies jerking as the bullets ripped into them. Unfortunately, the last man fired, hitting Viktor in the chest, sending him sprawling onto his back.
"You bastard!" I shouted. I fired my pistol. Once, twice, thrice. I fired all fifteen rounds in the magazine into the man, even though he dropped after the fourth bullet. I moved over to Viktor. He was bad. His white shirt was being stained red from three bullet holes. He was already coughing blood.
"Good shooting *cough* kid." He smiled, his golden teeth stained red. I held him in my arms, staining my own clothes red.
"Come on Viktor, lets go, I'll bring you with!"
He shook his head. "Nah Dima. This is the end of my road." He looked over at the Submachine gun he had used to reap a deadly toll on the intruders. "Take it. You'll need it more that me."
"No, you'll be fine. You keep it."
He laughed. A raspy pained laugh. "Your optimism has never failed to amaze me kid. Your mo-" He never got to finish his sentence. The big guy, having noticed our presence, had begun to fire into our cover. A .50 round hit Viktor in the head, bursting it like a melon. It spattered me in blood and brain matter, and I felt a sting on my cheek as a shard of bone went into it.
"Oh Jesus Christ!" I screamed and the rounds ripped though my all too flimsy cover. I huddled a close to the ground as possible, almost as if trying hard enough would give me the ability to melt into the ground and make myself safe. Another bullet smacked through the counter right were my head had been three seconds ago. It left a hole big enough for me to stick my fist through it. I sheepishly fired back with my 9mm peashooter, very aware of how laughably outgunned I was.
I looked over at the Submachine gun, lying in Viktor's hand. I grabbed it, and aimed though the hole in my cover. Click. Shit! It was empty. As I frantically started searching though Viktor's clothes for more ammo, bullets wizzed past me, making a bowels loosening wizzing noise. Finally, I found a large drum magazine, the same as the one already in the gun. With fumbling hands, I reloaded the gun.
I jumped up, aiming at the big guy down below. BRRRRAAAT! The gun spat death. I swept it back and forth, raking the entrance of the building. The big guy fell, along with the guy with the crossbow, and two more of the men in black armor. "Ha ha! Fuck you bastards! I'll see you all in hell!" My celebration was cut short, when I heard a loud crack, and I felt a pain in my thigh. I looked down, and saw a small hole in my pant leg. I had forgotten about the sniper. I looked up at the rafters, firing my submachine gun wildly. Another crack. Pain in my shoulder. I fire some more. Crack! This time it's my arm. I fall backwards. I look over at Viktor's body, and my eyes closed.
I woke up to sirens. I slowly got to my feet, my whole body feeling like it's on fire. The building was empty now. Only bodies were in here with me now. I hobbled down the stairs, Viktor's submachine gun still in my hand. I nearly fell down going down. I had made it halfway to the entrance when men in blue uniforms burst into the building.
They spread out, most of them aiming their guns at me, while others went around, some checking bodies, others clearing rooms. "DROP THE GUN!" One of them bellowed.
"Huh?" I said, still dazed.
"DROP THE FIREARM NOW!"
I looked down at the gun, then looked the Militsiya trooper. I threw the gun down. "Good choice." A feminine voice said. As a Militsiya trooper grabbed the firearm, the others parted and let a woman in. "Shit" I thought to myself. She was tall, and had a red cybernetic arm. Her shoulder length blonde hair was let loose. "You made a good choice there." She held out her hand. "Captain Anna Leonova. KGB." I looked at her hand, then at her face. Her grey eyes were like ice. After I didn't shake her hand, she retracted it. "Cuff him."
"What?!" I shouted, and one of the troopers grabbed my arm, pulling it behind me. I shouted in pain, the bullet wound throbbed. "I didn't attack this place!"
"I know." She responded coldly. "You don't fit the description of any of the suspects."
"Then why the hell am I being arrested?!"
"Order 57 of the People's Safety Commission. Ownership of a firearm, unless given filed with the correct paperwork, is punishable by hard labor."
I stared at her, dumbfounded. "Move." Said the trooper behind me. I began to limp towards the door. The entire time, Capitan Leonova watched me leave, a smile on her face.
Thank you so much for reading! I've always loved the cyberpunk setting, ever since I first played the TTRPG back in 2018. I decided to set this in the Neo Soviet Union because it's a pretty interesting place in the setting. It's a mix of Communism and Capitalism, much like the China of our own world. The writing opportunities were too good to let up on! I'd love your feedback. I'll try and update this as much as possible, but I am in college, so my writing schedule is kinda all over.