Authors Note: I do not own Cyberpunk 2077, just an avid game fan.

Rated M for MATURE.

I'm still writing! Just finished up Chapters 14 and 15 this morning and posted! Oo-oooh I just love this chapter! Walls being broken down, intense eye contact, reassurance! Hope you enjoy it! :)

Leaning my arms against the balcony rail, the black metal cigarette case felt cool in my hands as rain poured down. The metallic rainbow studded bunny design, adorned with a golden heart, gleamed under the neon lights.

"Come on, is it really that hard?" Johnny groaned, "Please, just one, for me." He begged with hands clasped.

"Fine, have it your way! Smoke to your lungs content." As I scoffed, the memory of his earlier rant lingered, and I turned toward Johnny, who leaned against the rail beside me. Flicking open the case, I placed a cigarette in my mouth, ignited it, and inhaled deeply, relishing the sweet relief from the persistent nicotine cravings as the rain continued to pour.

"Ahhh… finally. Something besides the stench and exhaust of the city, don't tell me you don't feel it too." He sighed deeply, closing his eyes.

I definitely did. It was nice to breathe something, anything besides this acrid city stench.

Johnny looked towards the door as he put his hands onto the rail behind him, he nodded, "We goin' in?"

I took a puff looking at the door as well, "What's there to wait for? Didn't go through hell and back just to stand by a door."

"If it was my way, I would've splashed water on her back in the studio an' asked her straight up." He threw his hands up, still irritated with me.

"It's not up to you though, is it?" I rolled my eyes at his asinine comment before finishing the cig and flicking it past the balcony. I stepped inside and pressed the door com for Jude's complex, it opened unlocked.

Entering the dim interior, similar to most apartments but superior to a megabuilding, I noticed the small bathroom near the door. The quaint kitchen, complete with a bar, led to a spacious living area featuring an L-shaped couch by a window. Adjacent to the couch, a desk housed a robotics setup. On the left, rooms branched off, first leading to Judy's bedroom, and the other designated for her work. The distinctive touch was a large hand-drawn mural above the couch—a neon purple light bar radiated across a giant blue octopus swimming amid trailing bubbles—and a substantial aquarium gracing the kitchen bar between the two rooms.

As I walked towards her bedroom Judy leaned against the door frame with arms crossed looking in at Evelyn sleeping on her quant twin mattress.

"She's sleeping." Judy wisphered at my presence before turning to me as her eyes flicked meeting mine, "Augh- at least I think she is? Her eyes're closed and she's not shaking anymore." She squinted.

"How's she feeling?" I gently asked scrunching my eyebrows in worry.

"Tsk- Use your imagination." she spat sarcastically before shaking her head, "That place sucked every last drop of humanity from her." She peered behind at Evelyn, "It's not enough she gave up everything she had, they just kept takin' more and more..." her voice trailed as she gazed into me.

She puffed her lips before shaking her head, "I would've killed her by now if I didn't feel so bad for her." She admitted leaning back and forth on her feet as turned her head to the side in anger towards Evelyn.

"You're mad at her? Why?" Surprise creeped into my voice.

"When you asked me to scour her behavioral chip, I was about done dealing with your shit." She raged, narrowing her eyes.

I held up my hands, "Judy I- I didn't have any other—"

"I know, I know. It's OK." She waved one hand at me to stop before tucking it back into her crossed arms.

"I need to talk to her." I pleaded, raising my palms.

"Listen, I know you have some serious questions that she's got the answers to. I mean, if I were you… I'd wanna know too." Jude looked at the floor, arms still crossed as she shifted uncomfortably before meeting my gaze, "But it's just not gonna happen, she's completely out of it." She stared me down firmly as I looked between her and Evelyn.

Johnny digitized leaning against the bedroom wall with arms crossed facing the bed, "You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me!"

With a deep breath she ran her hand swiftly through her hair explaining, "Vik said she's in some kinda trance— like she's folded in on herself. No reaction to her surroundings whatsoever." She looked at Evelyn a long time before continuing next with a shaky voice, "I really- really didn't want to poke around in her head..."

Oh Jude…I couldn't imagine the roles reversed and if it was Misty or somethin'…

Turning her head to me once more, she squeezed her arms tighter, taking a step back. Leaning close, she looked directly into me and stated with raised eyebrows, "I did it for you, just want you to know that."

"Ok.. I don't get why…" I nervously started.

You're mad at me. You understand I have no choice.

"You'll find out in a sec, I'll show you the virtue's I found." She nodded her head to the side.

"Guessin' you saw them already?" I raised my eyebrows crossing my arms as well.

"Yeah. Had to wrestle to make sense of the whole thing. But, I don't wanna say anything and taint your perspective. You should go in with fresh eyes." She still stood firmly with her chin raised.

I nodded, biting my lip, "How many BDs did you manage to rip?" My eyes flicked to hers.

"Two. Only two of 'em intact. Understandable, though. Anything else is…" she raised her head tensely sideways not wanting to think about what she was about to say. "Well they're in the same shape as Evelyn right now." She finished.

"Ok. Show me." I squeezed my arms tight as I looked at the floor myself.

"Give me a sec while I set the parameters." She stated as she passed me by to her work room.

I stepped into the doorframe now looking at Evelyn laying on her side in the twin bed against the wall, she wore Vik's clothes, sweatpants and a white muscle tank facing the wall curled into herself, very different from the glamourous woman I met before the heist. I slowly entered the room and sat beside her feet on the bed.

"Guess we'll find out if our doll really did lose her tune." Johnny commented.

Hesitantly my left hand hovered slowly towards her before resting on her hip. With a slight jerk from her body to push my hand off I retracted it.

"Hey… how ya feelin'? Need anything?" I gently inquired but only received silence.

"I'll be the first to admit this does not look good." Johnny shook his head as I heard mechanical chittering.

"I'm not here to nag, just talk." I attempted to reassure her while still receiving silence.

"You're right. This is a complete waste of time." Johnny pushed off the wall in frustration before disappearing.

I slowly pushed off my knees standing from the bed before walking into Judy's workroom behind a purple bead curtain. She sat within a multi desk set up with one..two.. roughly eight monitors, some awkwardly placed above others as the screens rolled with datacal numbers skimming and posters littered the walls elsewhere.

"Have a seat." Judy ordered with her back to me still. I took the stool to the right of her massive setup.

"Alright. Roll it." I nodded towards her with my face grim.

She glanced at me sideways, "Data was in pretty rough shape— not all that editable." She warned.

"Hm… Glad you managed to salvage 'em in the first place, could'nt been easy."

I raised the sweet dreams laminate wreath over my head letting it suction to my temples.

"Needs ah… second to load." she clicked at the computer, "Quality's lousy. But I did what I could." She shrugged.

The lights from the wreath overtook my vision as I was immersed into Evelyn's body sitting in a church pew to another woman with a netrunner suit. The woman's face was blocked out ordering Evelyn's mission to spin a virtue of Yorinobus complex with a thick accent.

"Under normal circumstances, that kinda encryption is easy to crack in my room. But not this time, whoever she is, she's got serious net running skills." Judy's voice reverberated through.

Evelyn sat beside a red holographic wall design, "Hmm… I think I recognize these." I started trying to search my memory.

"What are they?"

"Veve markings." I breathed.

"Your familiar with them?"

I sighed, "Not enough to know what they mean, heard who might use 'em though."

"Who?"

"Could be the Voodoo boys, but that's just a hunch, can't be sure..."

"That spine chillin' netrunner crew? Hard to find, 'cause they don't wanna be. I wouldn't know where to start…" Judy's voice trailed.

Evelyn's body leaned over to rub her calves as I scoured the newspaper articles littered on the floor.

"All of them…Narrows down our search at least. Looks like I'm going on a field trip to Pacifica."

When the lights faded off to normal vision Judy slumped in the desk chair now facing me with her legs spread and hands resting on her inner thighs.

Evelyn, a personal toy for Yorinobu, contracted by the Voodoo boys, hiring Dex as a fixer and us. Flipping on everyone…

"Woman who hired Evelyn… any idea who were up against?" I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion as the only lead was the elusive Voodoo boys and Pacifica.

Judy shook her head before shrugging lightly, "Your guess is as good as mine." She met my gaze, "Sorry V."

With a deep breath, "Now we know what happened at Clouds. They're the ones who tried to flatline her." I grimaced remembering the haloview adding, "Launched a nuke at her chip."

Judy raised her head in thought as she rubbed her bottom lip with her pointer finger, "So it was punishment?" She dropped her hand to her lap again, "Augh- For gettin played by her!?"

"She knew more than they thought she knew." I nodded in agreement, "Couldn't let that go." I waved towards the front of me like a backhanded throw.

"So that's what she's running from…" her voice trailed as she continued staring at me.

"Looks like Evelyn never told us the whole truth." I agreed.

Judy nervously laughed, "Your tellin' me?!" She sat forward suddenly with her arms on her knees with hands hung between her legs as she drew the desk chair close, "If I had known what she gotten herself into…" she started with her chin raised before her eyebrows and lip snarled as she punched once rapidly towards the floor. "Arrgh!— I'm so mad at her!" She ground out through grit teeth.

"Her only job was to record a virtue for them" I nodded in agreement, "Pretty damn amazing she managed to organize a full blown heist behind their backs." I raised my eyebrows impressed, "And swipe the biochip under her boss's noses."

She was workin' against too much, wanted it all.

Judy closed her eyes letting the anger drain from her as she met my eyes, her framed short hair spilled into her lips, "So that's where you came in, she hired you."

Her gaze flicked away slowly to the computer monitor next to both of us with the BD data, "And brought all this on herself." She halfheartedly waved to me before meeting my face.

"On you too." She nodded still very close to me with worn eyes.

"There's still one more recording." She bobbed her head wearily, "Wanna see it?" She raised her fingers.

"Sure. Why not." I shrugged, "Nothin' can surprise me at this point."

With a tap from the keyboard the BD wreath still on my head laminated once more as I saw Judy's blue eyes escape my vision last.

Inside Evelyn's body she hid on a stairwell listening in on the supposed Voodoo boys halo call, once translated from their native tongue by Judy's addition to my system it mentioned Johnny Silverhand leading them to Alt.

I pulled the wreath off my head as my vision was still trying to return.

"I don't get it— What's this have to do with Johnny Silverhand?" Jude shook her head slightly and slowly, still leaning close like before as I could see the wheels turning in her head, "He died like… forever ago."

I swallowed a lump in my throat as Judy suddenly pushed from her knees to slump against the back of the chair with her hands in her lap. She gave me a chin nod, "V, you got an idea?"

Do I trust her, after everything?

Undoubtedly, she's been involved.

I nodded, "Euhh.. biochip we stole?" I rubbed my chip slot nervously in the nape of my neck, "It's ah.. got Silverhand's engram burned onto it. A digitized psyche— personality construct."

Judy whistled characteristically impressed before looking at her monitor suddenly, I could see her visually connecting the dots. "Engram…that's why…Johnny?" She waved her hands erratically, shaking her head in confusion, "What's the problem?"

"Eugh— Hellman actually created it, was an… experimental version, trial phase. Arasaka's prized creation." I stated bitterly rubbing my spread legs nervously before leaning on my knees. Biting my lip slowly staring down the floor before continuing, "Ment to install and activate in a new body."

"Wait— what? You mean to tell me…" Judy leaned forward, hands gripping her knees, mouth agape, with eyebrows raised. "How?!" She demanded waving her arms in disbelief.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably as I took a deep breath looking at the ceiling, "A dead body." I responded hollowly. I avoided her gaze as I looked at Silverhand's engram smoking beside Judy instead.

"When Dex flipped on me." I tapped the ugly red scar on my forehead. "Shot me. I died. Construct rebooted me but now's takin' over my psyche to do it… I'm a walking talkin' corpse Jude." I finally looked at her.

Judy had gripped her hair with one hand slowly releasing it tensely shaking her head with her face scrunched, "V I— that's awful. I can't even- I thought you were bullshittin'—"

About catching lead myself? I could see that.

I waved my hands at her to stop, shaking my head vehemently, "No. S'all good— We're good." I wearily smiled at her with my head tilted to the side.

Her gaze flickered at me up and down before meeting my eyes nervously grimacing and resting her elbows on her legs.

"What'd else you learn from Hellman?" She nodded, pulling her fingers vulnerably.

"Eh, not much. My neural network is disintegrated- unable to function independently now." I shrugged, waving my hand, "Few months maybe… if I'm lucky." I scoffed looking around the room as I teetered back and forth on my knees, "Got blueprints. Buncha good that'll do without turnin' myself in for a second death."

Silverhand without aviators shook his head walking towards the window within the work room before leaning his arms against it solemnly.

I felt her warm touch grip my knee as I slowly met her eyes, "Hey…each breath is a new life right?" She shrugged one shoulder, halfway smiling for me with soft eyes before looking at the floor.

I never…thought of it that way.

"Lemme make a copy of the blueprint. Can't promise a big fat nothin'…" she cleared her throat as she squeezed my knee, "Another pair of expert eyes, right?" She smiled into me warmly now, I couldn't help staring into her dimples and full lips as my chest fluttered.

"Can…Can you give me a minute? Need to go over stuff, in my head." I thumbed towards the nearby window as her slender hand reluctantly retreated.

"Ahem, 'course." She nodded, getting up from the chair and leaving the room to me and Johnny.

"Know who they are— Who the woman is? How to find them?" I quickly questioned him as he blew out smoke.

"Fuck V… I've been dead the last half century." He turned his head towards me scrutinizing before looking back outside, "Sorry if I'm unable to hand you all the answers on a chrome fucking platter when you snap your fingers!"

I pushed off my knees standing, "These people- what could they want from Alt?"

Johnny leaned further out the window, "How the hell should I know?!"

I stepped towards him, "Anything, whatsoever?"

"One way or another, everything leads back to that netrunner. Finding her's our biggest priority." He took another long drag before pushing off the window seal turning towards me. "If she knows as much as I think she knows about the chip, she can help us out." He nodded pacing slightly while smoking still.

"Thought you said nothing could help us?" I inquired.

"Ugh, just find us that juju wirehead, OK?" He stopped pacing to stare me down.

I stepped through the beaded curtains into the living room once more as Judy stood in the kitchen rubbing her crossed arms attempting to not listen as unmasked worry etched on her face.

I'm gonna need serious chrome, involving serious eddies.

I glanced over at the aquarium and now closed bedroom door as I walked past.

"Wait- you got any idea how to get in touch with the Voodoo Boys?" She urgently called as I looked at her now she shifted on her feet uncomfortably refusing to waver as she lifted her chin.

Why do you care? You've got Ev now.

"Why? Worried I'll give Evelyn up to them?" I scoffed bitter.

"No." She turned her head to the side briefly and tensely before staring at the floor, "I didn't trust you at first, but…well if you wanted to get back at Evelyn, you woulda done it already." She sighed looking up at me before retreating her gaze to the floor and shifting again.

"So… why the worried look?" I softened my tone, stepping close towards her as I trailed my hand on the bar.

She met my eyes with a smile and stifled chuckle like she was looking at an oblivious gonk, "I just… I want it to work out for you." She stated plainly as her smile shifted into a serious expression, "You got a plan?" She nodded with her chin.

With a tense breath of air at the task ahead I ran my fingers through my hair, "I'll make a few calls…ask around." I reassured her before leaning against the bar with elbows on the counter, "Lemme put it this way, the Voodoo Boys wouldn't trust a cat if it walked onto their turf… but someone's gotta know a way in."

Judy brushed her hair aside briefly, "Well good luck. Hope you won't need it." She responded tightly.

I bit my lip nodding, "Thanks Judy."

She avoided my stare adjusting her hair again, "No, thank you V." Her petite face looked up at me with vulnerable eyes, "You're…you're a good person." She quickly retreated her gaze to rub her lips with the side of her pointer finger in thought before flicking her hand down.

"Evelyn could never see what's under people's skin…hell even bein' her close choomba." She slowly continued, slightly shaking her head in anger.

"If she could've gotten to know you better, who knows?" She adjusted her hair quickly again, meeting my eyes before staring at my lips briefly, "Things might've been different." She retreated to the floor again.

Warmth pulled at my chest as I slowly licked my lips. gently setting the blueprints on the counter as I took my leave. Trying not to think about the certain pink tipped BD specialist more.