1
"Hey, V. Got a second?" Claire waved at him from behind the bar.
He was in a rush to head out for a job but the look of concern on her face was unusual.
"What's up?" He leaned on the bar and she poured him a drink, closely watching a group out of the corner of her eye.
"The guys at the end of the table, know any of 'em?"
V snuck a glimpse at the group, two men and a woman were huddled at the end of the bar. They appeared to be caught up in a serious conversation.
"Nope, never seen any of them before. Why?"
Claire nodded, "thought so. I've never seen them either. But I overheard a bit of their conversation." She motioned for V to lean in closer. "Apparently someone put out a hit on your input."
"What?" V's breath hitched. "What fixer would be gonk enough to take that?"
"From the sound of it, some small timer from Heywood. Heard something about a bar. Coyote something." She frowned.
V's hands curled into fists. "Fuck me. I know that bar. And I know the fixer." He stood, "keep me posted on anything else you find out. I've got a job in Heywood tonight anyway. And thanks, Claire."
"Don't mention it, V. The Prince of the Afterlife deserves to know all that goes on in his domain." She laughed and went back to serving other customers.
"Quick and clean as usual, V. You have my gratitude." Padre said on the phone. "The eddies are on their way."
"Thanks, Padre. Got a quick question for you. Heard someone put out a hit against one Kerry Eurodyne. I can't think of any fixer gonk enough to take on such a public figure. Have you heard anything about it?"
"I'm sorry, V. I haven't heard anything. I can assure you, it wasn't me."
V chuckled. "I know, Padre. You're a decent man. Let me know if you hear anything."
"I will. Now, go with God."
It was only 5pm and he was in the neighborhood, V decided to pay a visit to the Coyote Cojo.
"V, what are you doing here, mijo?" Mama Welles gave him a hug.
"I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop in. Haven't been by in a while." They sat at the bar and Pepe came over.
"How you feeling V?" He smiled.
"Pretty great now that I'm not dying." V chuckled. "I'll take a glass of Centzon, if you don't mind."
Pepe poured and the three sat and chatted. After a while, V noticed three people walk in the door. The same three that Claire had pointed out as he was leaving the Afterlife.
"Ugh," Mama Welles groaned. "Those three again."
"You know them?" V set his glass down.
"Niños con deseo de muerte," she shook her head. "Been coming in here almost every night for the last week."
The group walked upstairs and V stood up.
"That so? Interesting."
Mama Welles stood also, "why? You know them too, V?"
V shook his head. "No, but they were at the Afterlife earlier. Heard about their biz. Trust me, Mama Welles. You don't want them anywhere near this place."
He walked up the stairs about three-quarters of the way and ducked down. Kurt's booth was only a few feet away and V could hear everything clearly. He'd recently gotten an audio recorder implant and he flicked it on.
"I dunno, Kurt. For the best fixer bar in town, we didn't learn much. Everyone said we are crazy for trying."
"Maybe, but the client is highly informed, well funded, and there's no one with a better view into the target's life. He's assured me that the show is the perfect place." Kurt's voice was full of the same cocky attitude as the day V and Jackie took their first job.
"But won't we hurt a lot of other people? Can't we just pop him backstage after the show?"
"The client is very insistent that it look like an accident. A pyrotechnic malfunction."
"Seems like a lot of extra work to me. There better be a bonus for us."
"Don't worry. Not only are you all getting bonuses, but the client said he'll take us all out for a party on his new yacht when all is said and done."
V heard the creaking of vinyl as people started to stand from the booth and silently retreated down the stairs and back to the bar.
"Oi, V, estás bien?" Mama Welles took his face in her hands. "You're pale."
V hugged her. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I gotta go. I'll stop by again soon, promise."
He left as fast as he could, Kerry's concert was in just a few hours. He had to think fast.
V nearly flipped his Arch as he came to a screeching halt outside Riot. The line to get in stretched the length of the block and around the corner. He'd tried to call Kerry on the drive over but he didn't answer.
He huffed and gently hit one of the handlebars on his bike. "Fuck." He'd never get in in time. Then he remembered the night he and Kerry snuck in to deal with the girls from Us Cracks. There was a loading dock around back.
He restarted his bike and cruised around the block. There were a couple trucks in the loading bay. Probably Kerry's gear. V parked his bike across the street.
As he got closer, he could hear voices from behind one of the trucks.
"Kurt said it'd be in this truck." There was the sound of the trailer being opened. "Jackpot. Plug this into the control panel and hurry. They're going to unload this any minute."
The three gonks Kurt had hired beat him here and it was too late to stop them. Then it hit him - he was Kerry's input. Not publicly, but it had to earn him a place on the VIP list.
V checked the time, he still had an hour until the show. So he made his way back to the front of the building.
Several fans yelled at him when he cut in front of the entire line and walked straight up to the hulking Animal bouncer.
"Get in line, kid."
"Name's V. Should be on the VIP list." He held his breath while the bouncer scanned him and then checked the list.
With a grunt, they stepped aside and a wave of relief washed over V as the door slid open. "In ya go."
As he walked in, a message flashed in the corner of his optics. VIP+ Access Granted
There were a few other people milling about in the bar area, watching as the crew set up the stage for the show. V watched them carry in some of the pyrotechnic machines before walking over to the backstage door.
"Where do you think you're going?" A man stepped in front of the door.
"VIP, personal guest of Kerry." The man looked him up and down. V straightened his Samurai jacket and the man's optics lit up before he nodded and stepped aside.
V was running down the stairs before the door had even slid closed behind him. He made it to Kerry's dressing room in record time, not bothering to knock.
"Woah, didn't I tell you to knock before barging in?" Kerry snapped, looking up at the mirror. He was in nothing but his jeans, shirt sitting on the counter. "V? What're you-"
"Call off the show," V said breathlessly.
Kerry's eyes widened. "What? V, it's less than an hour to showtime. I can't do that."
V straightened up and walked over to his input, wrapping him in a tight hug. "Kerry, please. Kovachek put a hit out on you. You're not safe."
"Hold on, what?" Kerry stepped back and leaned against the counter.
"It's a long story. Listen, if you're going to play, at least let me check your stage setup. The plan is to make it look like a pyro accident. Overheard someone messing with your kit before I came in."
"You sure it was Kovachek?"
V nodded. "Must be holding some festering grudge about the Seamurai. Stay here and lock the door. Don't let anyone in until I come back. Alright?"
Kerry nodded.
V put his hands on the rockerboy's shoulders. "No matter what. If you hear gunshots, hide. Just don't leave this room."
"Alright, alright."
He planted a quick kiss on Kerry's cheek and walked out of the room but waited until he heard the lock click into place before walking away.
Peaking around the corner and into the loading dock, he spotted the three he'd seen at the Afterlife and the Cojo. Unholstering Archangel, he approached them.
"Kurt is going to get you killed." He said.
"Who the fuck are you?" A young man stepped forward, pistol in hand.
V shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Kurt is a bad fixer. Nearly got me killed the first time I worked for him. So I'll give you a choice." He clicked the safety off on his revolver.
"You tell me exactly what you did and then get the fuck out of here, or I kill you right here, right now."
The man hesitated. "We were just looking to make a buck, man. Kurt said the pay was good."
"I know you," the woman stepped up. "You're from the Afterlife. The Prince of the Afterlife…" she trailed off, the color draining from her face. "Fuck…" She took off running.
"Last chance, guys. Gonna follow her or-" Before he could finish, both of them ran off in the same direction.
V nodded to himself. "That's what I thought." He approached the truck they had been tampering with and hoisted himself into the trailer. There were several pallets of different fireworks and effects but the control panel was missing.
"Fuck." He jumped down and headed back in. He asked a roadie where the panel was and walked over to it. It appeared that the only way to operate it was via personal link.
"Well, here goes nothing," V plugged into the console.
The pain was instantaneous. His optics crackled and flashed.
"Gah! Fuck!" He was parylized for what seemed like ages.
"Holy shit! You alright?" The roadie asked as he pulled V's link. "What happened?"
V lay on the ground, gasping for a moment. "Someone, someone spiked the panel." He sat up slowly. "It should be. Clear now. Fuck." His vision was still glitchy and his ears were ringing.
BOOM
V was just starting to stand when an explosion knocked him back down. He turned to the loading dock. What had been a truck full of special effects was now a blazing inferno. Black smoke poured into the backstage area.
"Kerry!" V sprinted to the dressing room door. "Ker, it's me. Come on! Gotta get out!" He coughed violently as he pounded on the door.
Kerry flung open the door and V pulled him into the room. They ran up the stairs and out the door into the club. Smoke was starting to spill into the room from backstage and they made their way to the front door. Both were coughing and choking as they staggered out onto the street.
Outside was chaos, people were screaming and running in every direction. Thick smoke billowed up from behind the building.
"Come on," V took Kerry's hand and pulled him through the crowd. Once they were a few blocks away, V called his Hella. He popped the trunk and was relieved to find his emergency stash of clothes.
After sifting through them, he handed a sweatshirt, hat, and a different pair of sunglasses to Kerry.
"What do I need these for?"
"You're not safe alone, and I've got some work to do."
"What about Kovachek?" Kerry pointed back towards Riot.
"We'll get to him, don't worry. First, there's someone else we need to deal with."
While Kerry got changed, V made a call to Padre.
"V, how are you?"
"Padre, can you send someone over to the Coyote to pick up Kurt and bring him to the Afterlife? Don't care if he's conscious or not. Just need him alive."
"Of course, I'll have him there soon."
"Thanks, Padre. I'll send you the detes."
He hung up and turned back to Kerry.
"Now who looks like a small-time klepto-punk from the Afterlife?" V gave Kerry a playful shove.
A look of embarrassment briefly crossed his input's face. "Yeah, Johnny told me. Though, to be fair, I was a small-time klepto-punk from the Afterlife at the time."
They laughed and V pulled Kerry towards the parking lot that lead to the Afterlife.
"Oh, shit," V stopped and opened his holo. "I should call Mama Welles and let her know what's coming."