V raised his head to the mirror, feeling a few drops of water drip onto his forearm. He had visible dark circles under his eyes, more visible than he would have liked. He looked and felt more tired than last night.

But fuck it, he told himself he would take back the reins of his life, and that's what he would do. So, for now, he would just make an effort to put that message aside, get used to the feeling and move on.

He lowered his eyes to the sink again. It was still early, very early in fact, just before 6am.

Before he could do anything, he heard three knocks on his bedroom door.

"V? Are you all right in there?" It was Mamá Welles. Apparently, she woke up as early as he did.

"Yes, ah, I'm fine." He replied, clearing his throat a little as he realized his voice was abnormally hoarse, and hoping the woman hadn't noticed his tired tone.

But he knew they were futile hopes. The woman could notice things, there was no point in trying to hide it.

"... Good. Anyway, can I come in?" She asked, and he closed the bathroom door a little in an attempt to hide his tired countenance, at least a little.

"Sure, sure..." The door opened, and he saw the woman in the reflection of the mirror, a small pile of clothes in her hand.

"These are some of Jackie's old clothes... I think they'll fit you." She said, looking in his direction for just a few moments, before turning and leaving the clothes on the bed.

"Oh, you didn't have to, Mamá... I appreciate it." He said, sure that she had noticed his state, and grateful that she hadn't asked.

"No thanks, Hijo... now hurry up, breakfast is ready." She said, leaving the room shortly afterwards.

Sighing, V turned and left the bathroom, looking at the clothes on the bed.

He tried not to take too long in the shower, not only because he had things to do that day and the sooner the better, but also because he felt his mind wandering too easily.

Perhaps Mitch's message had left him more frustrated than he seemed.

Now dressed, he looked around the room for a few moments before leaving. He knew, and probably Mamá Welles too, that he would never go back there again.

He crept down the stairs at a silent pace, seeing from above the woman sitting at the table, not touching her food, apparently waiting for him.

"... Good morning, Mama." He approached. He thought he would feel awkward after yesterday's conversation, but he was pleasantly surprised to see that he felt good about her.

"Good morning, V." She watched him approach, and it was only when he sat down that she began to eat. "I'm... glad you stayed. Part of me expected to go up to your room and not find you there."

V sipped his coffee, his eyes focused on the table. The sooner he resolved this situation with her, the better for everyone. It was better to be direct, to get to the point.

"I couldn't do that, Mama, not with you. However, I can't stay long either." He said, expecting some kind of reaction. However, to his surprise and relief, she just carried on eating, not looking too surprised.

"I figured as much. You and your work, you have things to do, I understand." She said, and V clenched his fingers around his fork with some force, his expression becoming a little colder.

"No, Mama. It's not just that. I really can't stay in the city for long. Night City... it's not for me anymore. I can't go back to doing what I used to do." He explained, avoiding looking into the woman's eyes, but happily accepting the gentle squeeze she gave his hand.

"V, believe me, I understand. I don't know the exact details of what happened to you, and to be honest, I don't really want to know. But I can see, Hijo, you're different. And I realized the moment you walked through that door that things couldn't go back to the way they were." She said, her eyes so kind and caring.

V didn't know exactly what a mother was like, growing up in the middle of joytoys and gang fights. But if he had to say, he would say that Mama Welles was the definition of one. The affection he saw in those eyes, and that he received in those touches, were unique. They had to be a mother's.

"I... I'm going to do some things, sort out some unfinished business. When I finish, I'll leave Night City, and I think you should come with me." He proposed, and with a somewhat sad smile, the woman lowered her gaze.

"Ah, V... Night City es un lugar de mierda. But there's nothing for me out there. Everything I know is here." She shook her head. "You shouldn't worry about me, my time for that has passed. You should worry now about where you're going with your life."

V sighed at the answer. Although deep down he already suspected that she would say that, he still had a certain hope that she would accept his offer. He hated the idea of having to leave her behind once again.

"I hate leaving you alone..." He muttered, more to himself, but loud enough for the woman to hear.

"But I'm not exactly alone. Pepe's family is kind of my family now." She said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "They'll be here later, by the way. Are you staying? He'd love to see you."

V shook his head, taking one last bite of his food before dropping his fork.

"No, Mamá. The longer I stay, the harder it will be, for both of us. I don't think Pepe needs to know I'm alive, but if you want to tell him, tell him I said hi... and I'm sorry." He said, getting up with his plate and cup in hand and walking towards me.

"All right." That was all she said, and they were silent from then on, each in their own world, so to speak.

V was enjoying that feeling of "normality", the feeling he had long ago when he still lived there before leaving and having to face that city once again. And Mama Welles, for her part, was enjoying the feeling of having someone else with her, the feeling of not being alone in that big, empty house.

V's back looked a little smaller, he had lost weight since she had last seen him, he looked more tired and she doubted he had slept that night. However, she still had a small feeling of nostalgia, remembering the times he, she and her beloved Jackie used to eat together at the table.

It seemed like forever ago, and she tried to ignore the lump that formed in her throat at the thought that, once again, V would be leaving. And maybe that would be the last time she would see him for good.

It was strange to lose the same person twice. But she could at least be grateful to have seen him once again, to know that he was alive, and above all, to have gotten the chance to say goodbye in the right way.

Time passed much faster than she wanted, and her saddened eyes watched V put a backpack on his back and a cap on his head, then walk towards the door.

She tried her best not to cry when he turned to her, the door already open. In a way, she was losing a son once again.

"... You better take care of yourself, V. You've come back to me after all this time, I don't want you to go now. I don't want you to die before me." She said, gently clutching the vest that had once belonged to Jackie, her head down and her eyes staring at her feet.

She didn't feel she could look into V's eyes, not for long. They were always so full of ambition and determination.

She felt V wrap his arms around her, and she pulled him close, gasping softly in a mixture of happiness and sadness.

"It's okay, Mamá." He said in a hoarse voice. Seeing her cry was hard... actually, that was a huge understatement. Seeing her cry was fucking devastating. "I... I don't know if I'll come back-"

"I know." She interrupted him, undoing the hug and finally gathering the strength to look him in the eye. Her heart bled to see him go, but she knew it was necessary. "Just... call sometimes. Or even text. Anything to know that you're okay. I just ask you, don't disappear again, Vincent."

"I promise." He said, letting the woman caress his face for a few brief moments, before turning and walking outside.

He descended the stairs at a heavy pace, gritting his teeth and clutching the strap of his backpack tightly. The moment he reached the sidewalk, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and raised his head...

... And then, he simply released the strap, relaxed his body, and walked with calm steps towards the parking lot where Del was. From the moment he stepped onto that sidewalk, he left a part of his life behind.

Perhaps that was his first act of "moving on". As painful as it was.

As he walked, he picked up his cell phone and looked at the name on the screen.

V took another drag from his cigarette and shifted his weight. His back was resting on one of the beams that now supported a roof over the benches.

The view of Night City from that spot would have been beautiful, if it hadn't been for the cloud of toxic smoke that blended into the landscape. He found it incredible how much worse that place had gotten in the time he'd been away.

Getting there was... intriguing. As far as he could remember, that place had a lot of movement from the members of the 6th Street. And it wasn't that far from where he'd taken part in that drunken shooting competition. However, there seemed to be fewer of them. Or at least, he didn't notice many of them.

Even so, he made a point of keeping his head down and his cap firmly on his head. If he were recognized in that competition by a guy who had only seen him once, he could certainly be recognized now.

He heard the engine of a car approaching, and turned to look at the vehicle parked in front.

El Capitán, as people liked to call him. He didn't look much different, apart from his shorter hair and more discreet clothes.

V threw down his cigarette and stepped away from the beam, watching the man approach.

"Holy shit, V! Fuck, and I thought it was a trap!" The man said as he approached, raising his hand and shaking V's, who shook his head with a small smile.

"Yeah, I noticed." He said, pointing at the shotgun on the man's back. "You look different now, wearing fancy clothes. You look like a genuine businessman now."

The man snorted.

"That hurts me, I've always been a businessman." Muamar said, putting his hands on his waist as he looked at V. "You look awful, if I may say so."

V snorted.

"And I feel awful."

"Well, it's obvious that something's happened to you. But I'm not even going to ask. What I want to know now is what can I do to help you?"

V almost laughed sarcastically.

"Look, I'll tell you straight away that whatever you're planning, I can't do it." He said, and saw Muamar arch an eyebrow in confusion. "Help usually comes at a price. And I've learned that when someone approaches you eager to help, they usually want something big in return."

Muamar seemed to understand, and then he turned to the landscape ahead and crossed his arms.

"V, do you remember when you brought that medical truck from Arasaka?" He asked, and V nodded. "I told you at the time that the medicines you brought saved lives, but that was only the beginning. The cars you 'recovered', the medicines, your actions... your actions ended up inspiring people, and they had the courage to take back power for themselves. I won't forget what you did. You can argue that it was just work, but still. Whatever you need, I'll help in any way I can. Just don't expect too much, we're having problems with what's left of some gangs." The man explained, and V was silent for a few moments.

He wouldn't be lying if he said he'd expected a more professional tone to the conversation, rather than a thank you from the man.

"Well, I'll get straight to the point then. I'm... in a pretty fucked-up situation. I need a car, something simple, and if possible, even a place to stay for a while." V said.

"Hm... I figured things were bad. You weren't the type to hide like that." Muamar said, sighing slightly. "Anyway, I can do that. I've even got a place in mind where you can stay. The car, well, as I said, we're having problems with gangs, and unfortunately, I can't provide anyone to pick it up for you, so you'll have to go there yourself." He explained, and V breathed a sigh of relief.

Well, one less problem. Despite being programmed for a combat system, the Delamain didn't have any weapons attached, so it wasn't a good idea to use it all the time.

At least, not yet.

"That's more than I expected, actually. Thank you." He thanked him, and Muamar just nodded.

"No problem, man, it's nothing. I'll send you the coordinates. My people are there taking care of some problems, just say 'A petición del capitán' and they'll let you through." He said, nodding to V and turning away soon after.

"Good to see you, V. I hope you'll be okay. Good luck." He said, getting into his car and driving off.

V leaned on the small wall. One less problem solved, quicker than he'd even thought. Now he would have to think of a way to make money, and fast.

In all honesty, he didn't see many options. He could sell information, but with his luck, he doubted he'd get far enough to even smell the money.

Maybe as a Fixer... fuck no, he was too well known in the underworld, it was only a matter of time before he was found and fucked because of it.

... He had an idea. Perhaps a stupid idea, idiotic even, but he had an idea. He just needed some equipment.

Turning around, he stood with his back to the landscape and held up his cell phone, calling his other contact.

The call beeped about four times, and the person's image appeared on his screen.

"Now, that's a surprise." He almost smiled at the way Rogue said it, her expression almost unresponsive. "I didn't think I'd get a call from you. Like, ever."

She hadn't changed much, maybe she'd had a haircut and a change of clothes, as well as an implant or two, but other than that, she was still almost identical.

"... Me neither, really."

"Apparently you have a habit of turning up when we least expect it, eh?" She said, settling down on the sofa. V recognized that place, that music. It was no surprise that she was at Afterlife. "Where have you been all this time? I almost missed you when some new jobs came up."

"I had a few... problems to sort out."

"Uh-huh... related to Johnny? Is he...?"

"He's gone." He said, and she bowed her head slightly.

"You like to throw us for a loop, don't you? You know, there's been a lot of talk about you around here. Some people even argued for a drink with your name on it. By the way, I have to say, Claire doesn't seem to like you very much." Rogue said, and V almost gasped a little.

Was she still angry? Damn.

"I imagine... she wanted revenge, I tried to convince her it wasn't worth it. She wasn't convinced, and I didn't want any part of it." He said, and Rogue seemed to shrug.

"Yeah, I heard. Anyway, why did you call? I have a feeling it wasn't because you missed me and wanted to ask me on another date." V nodded, realizing that Muamar had already sent him the coordinates.

"Well, as tempting as it sounds... I'm after a favor, Rogue." The woman crossed her legs, assuming a slightly more professional posture.

"A favor, huh? The Hellman kind?" He shook his head.

"The simplest kind. Look, I took Johnny out of me, and it cost me a lot. I need to find some... personal items. I'll send you the information." V said, sending Rogue the serial numbers of some of the weapons, models, descriptions, license plates... everything as detailed as possible about all the items he needed.

Rogue was silent for a few moments, until she muttered something and a somewhat disdainful smile appeared on her lips.

"Oh, is that why you came to me? Did you think I'd accept because I have a soft spot for Johnny's car?" she asked, and V could almost imagine Johnny himself complaining about what an ass she could be sometimes.

"No, I thought you'd accept because it's a friend request." Rogue raised a glass of drink to her mouth, saying something to someone next to her that V couldn't see.

"Ah, it's great to know that you still value our friendship after two years without even a phone call." Thaaaat's the bitch i know, almost missed her.

V shook his head, blinking a few times at the comment that didn't sit well with him.

Fuuuck, Johnny

"Let's say I accept... what do I get in return?" V snorted a smile.

"My eternal gratitude." He said, and this time, it was Rogue who snorted.

"Wow, tempting... but I don't know if it's enough." V rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Rogue. I know you can get that information in a snap of a finger if you want to." The woman sighed, resting her chin on her hand.

"Actually, V, I'm a little curious. What happened?" Rogue asked, and V watched the Delamain approach.

Stepping away from the small wall, he walked over to the car and climbed into the back seat.

"Getting Johnny out of my head had some consequences. I can't do mercenary work anymore, my body can't take any kind of implant." He explained, staring at the screen of his cell phone with a serious expression. "And I don't need to tell you that this information shouldn't come out of your mouth. The fewer people who know about it, the better."

"... Shit, the asshole has certainly made a fucked-up impact on your life. Relax, I won't tell anyone." She said, lowering her head again, now looking somewhat thoughtful, as if in an internal conflict.

"... All right. But look, V, this will be the first and last time I do you a favor. And only because I like you." She finally said, and V held back a smile, feeling a certain relief in his chest.

"And this is the first and last time I ask you a favor, Rogue. Really." He said, noticing the woman's arched eyebrow. However, he didn't say anything else, and she seemed to get the message.

"Okay, then, I won't even ask. I'll keep in touch. And make sure you stay out of trouble. Night City hasn't changed much in the meantime. In fact, I'd say it's worse in some areas." Rogue said, and V nodded, giving the coordinates to Delamain, who started driving.

"Understood. Thanks, Rogue. Talk to you." He ended the call, and with a somewhat exasperated sigh, he threw his head back against the seat and closed his eyes.

"V, I must warn you that part of the route to the destination is currently in conflict. I'll take a different route." Delamain warned, and V waved his hand.

"No problem..."

Time passed slowly for V, who watched the streets from the window without much interest in his eyes. However, his attention was soon drawn when he approached the southwest of the Santo Domingo area.

Despite the conflicts, as far as he could remember, that area still looked like part of the urbanization. However, as he drove further into the area, the signs seemed less conspicuous, some were broken and marked with gunshot marks, the buildings were increasingly dilapidated, and the smell of gunpowder, chemicals and blood seemed to flood the car.

"Oh, wait a minute, Del, you can stop here." V said suddenly, noticing the looks he was getting. Few cars moved around there, and many didn't look as inviting as Del's. Not to mention that Delamain was usually used by more "noble" people, located closer to the center.

"We're three hundred meters from our destination, do you really want to stop here?" Del asked, and V opened the door to get out.

"Yes, go to the coordinates I'll give you now and wait for me there." V said, taking out his phone and passing the coordinates of his new "home" to Delamain.

He felt something was wrong. Something was nudging his instincts, and generally, his instincts weren't wrong.

"Understood. See you later, then." Del said, turning around and driving away after V left.

He watched Del for a few more moments before lowering his head, making sure his cap hid his face, and starting to walk towards his destination.

Muamar wouldn't send him into a trap, there was no reason and it didn't make sense. If he wanted him dead, he could have blown his head off with that shotgun. But the current situation didn't make sense either.

This was his territory. It's true that over the years various conflicts had taken place, whether by the corps or the gangs, but it had never reached a state like this.

And he could feel it... something was happening.

Well, Muamar also said that his men were solving a problem over there. He just wished he'd been told what kind of problem.

The closer he got to his destination, the fewer people he saw on the sidewalks or in front of the buildings. At one point, he even thought he was back in Dogtown. It wasn't as extreme as that shithole, but it was similar enough.

After a few more minutes of walking, he came across an alley. V looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone around, the place was silent.

He didn't like that.

The alley was relatively wide and was the exit to some businesses and buildings. According to Muamar, there should be a garage straight ahead, and in front of the garage, a rather old warehouse that they were using.

Before entering the alley, he made sure his pistol was within easy reach, and with slow, careful steps, he walked down the alley.

His eyes looked both ahead and behind him with a certain seriousness and attention. A few meters ahead, on the right, was the entrance to what appeared to be a garage. However, before he could even get close enough, a man appeared at a fast pace, his clothes thick, his face covered by a mask and a rifle pointed in his direction.

"Wait! I'm here A petición del capitán." V said quickly, and after a few seconds still in the sights of that rifle, he suppressed a sigh of relief when he saw the man lower his weapon.

V continued walking, but with each step, the sensation he felt became stronger, and his steps slower, until he came to a complete stop a few meters away from the man.

It was then that he noticed the faint red glow beneath the mask. Red optical units... holy shit!

V's eyes widened and he tried to reach for his gun, but in an instant he found himself flying into the wall with extreme violence.

The former mercenary felt his world spin. First came confusion, he felt dizzy, disoriented, and with that, sharp pain followed. V closed his eyes tightly and grabbed the side of his body. His ribs... either cracked or broken, for sure.

"This one doesn't look like one of them." He heard a robotic voice, and opening just one of his eyes, he stared at the red optics of another man, this one with a visible cybermodification, to the point where part of his skin looked rotten because it was no longer connected to living tissue.

Maelstrom... what the fuck were they doing there? They were in Watson's industrial area, they didn't usually venture beyond that.

"And he doesn't have implants. Hah, we can use this one!" The man who had attacked him said, and the one with the rifle in his hand approached.

"The boss has to see him first. Bring him here." The man said, and V grunted loudly as he felt himself suddenly lifted off the ground.

V kept his arms around his torso as the man pulled him like a doll towards the garage.

"Hey, boss! That piece of shit Muamar sent another one!" The man shouted, throwing him to the ground in front of the garage.

The garage doors opened, and V's eyes widened slightly. There was blood on the walls, a few holes scattered across the concrete. The car that Muamar had probably parted with for him was apparently intact.

However, it was hard to tell with the bloodstains, the bodies scattered around and, above all, the body of a man slumped over the hood.

Those freaks... they were ripping him open. Arms, legs, chest... fuck. He didn't know if they were removing or inserting implants, but it was sick.

As sick as the fucking Scavengers.

"And why the fuck isn't he dead yet?" He heard the voice of what sounded like the leader, and his eyes focused on the man who came out of the garage with bloodstained hands.

"Ah, fucking hell..." V gritted his teeth. He'd recognize that piece of shit anywhere.

The former mercenary felt goosebumps run through his body when the "leader" focused his optics on him. His neutral face gradually gave way to a gruesome smile.

"No way... ahaha, no fucking way! It's you!" Dum Dum practically shouted, laughing in excitement as he approached V. "Fuck, sometimes sweet lady luck smiles upon me!"

Dum Dum looked around, waving his arms dramatically, almost comically if it weren't for the situation. There were four people there, including the two men who had brought V to him.

"Come on, don't you recognize him?! That's the guy! The son of a bitch who killed Royce, and then went after Patrícia!" He said, kneeling down in front of V and punching him in the face. The smile on his face had been forgotten, and his features were now rigid.

"The same son of a bitch who fucked us over! So you were hiding with fucking Muamar?!" Dum Dum grabbed him by the neck and lifted him towards him, tempted to simply break V's neck right then and there. "And where are all your cute little implants?" Dum Dum looked him up and down, smiling in arrogance and disdain.

"Do you have any idea what a mess you've made? After you killed our people, more than once by the way, I tried to take charge, but it was too late, we were up to our necks in shit! We had to hide, just like you!" Dum Dum said, letting go of his face and getting up shortly afterwards. "The Maelstrom almost went extinct! The good thing is that nobody cares about a few Scavs disappearing into the streets!"

Dum Dum then kicked V in the stomach, who spat out a certain amount of saliva mixed with blood. His eyes went wide and he felt all the air being expelled from his lungs.

"That pretty little face of yours will soon be gone, along with your weak flesh! But tell me, why did Muamar send you?" Dum Dum asked, kicking V in the stomach again.

The former mercenary coughed, gasped and spat blood onto the floor. And soon, he grunted again as he felt himself being lifted by the arm and forced to face Dum Dum's optics.

"You'd better say it quickly, you won't want to-" V gritted his teeth and, in one swift movement, reached for his pistol.

Again, in the time he'd used it when he was still a mercenary, he'd made modifications to all his weapons, and it was no different with Johnny's. In this case, he really focused on improving what was already part of the weapon.

A wall of fire hit not only Dum Dum, but the men next to him. V tried to run away, using the adrenaline coursing through his body.

However, Dum Dum's grip on his clothes was strong, and he couldn't even take a step away. And again, V felt his world spin.

In the blink of an eye he was "flying" towards the warehouse gate. His body flew through the old gate and into the abandoned warehouse, crashing through piles of junk and knocking over rotting wooden shelves.

The former mercenary felt a sudden urge to vomit. The pain was strong, as strong as the spasms he felt when he still had Relic in his head, but worse.

Adrenaline could do up to a certain point, and at that moment, he could barely stand up.

Blinking a few times, he looked around. The place was full of forgotten things. Old or abandoned vehicle engines, generators, capacitors... the place was practically used to store dated technology.

Coughing a few times, V gets down and tries to crawl for cover when a hail of gunfire hits the place. Trying at all costs to move quickly, he threw himself behind the cab of a truck, old, worn, but still with all the engine components inside.

He ran his eyes around again. The place was huge, and there was so much around that it was easy to get lost. All the better for him.

Reloading his pistol with the little ammunition he had, he fired blindly in the direction of the gang members when they stopped shooting. Getting up, he used the little time he had bought to look at the truck's engine.

Thinking quickly, he grabbed some plastic tubes along with the battery, and then ran (limped) as fast as he could into the warehouse.

He heard the rest of the gate being destroyed, and tried to ignore the burning in his chest. He was already getting desperate, and that was bad.

"One of you idiots, go around and stand in front of the building. Shoot him if he comes by." Dum Dum said, gesturing to the other two who had stayed with him to follow suit.

Gasping for breath, V leaned back against the wall to get some air, and then opened the power panel of the building with some force. The technology stored there might be old, for many it might even be junk. But he could very well use this "junk" against highly augmented opponents.

Taking some wires and winding them up, he finished the first part of his plan and moved on. He had the advantage of not having implants, meaning they couldn't track him. And they had the disadvantage that their optics shone brightly, which was easy to see in that dark place.

Within moments, a gunshot was heard. One of the men fell to the ground with a shot to his shoulder, causing him to drop his rifle to the ground. The other two turned and fired in the direction from which the shot came, retreating to cover.

Meanwhile, V focuses his eyes on one more of the components he needs, and soon places the huge battery on the ground, next to a capacitor bank.

"I wasn't going to kill you right away! But you leave me no choice! You shouldn't have come back!" He heard Dum Dum shouting, and hurried to his work.

Another shot was heard, and Dum Dum signaled for his partner to cover him. The man nodded, and quickly left his cover, firing towards where V was supposed to be and giving Dum Dum the chance to move.

Taking cover further ahead, he turned and signaled to his wounded man to flank V, and the man, his arm inactive from the shot, nodded and picked up his pistol, firing towards V as he moved.

V, for his part, was trying to finish his little "project" as fast as he could, praying and hoping that this shit would work.

Dum Dum raised his hand and pointed three fingers upwards. Slowly, he lowered them one by one, and at the last one, he nodded and came out of cover with his men, firing at V as they went.

When the silence lasted, they looked at each other, and in confusion, looked around.

"What the..." Dum Dum muttered in disorientation. Instead of finding V's body covered in bullets and holes, he only found a pistol lying on the floor, a string tied from the trigger to somewhere behind the shelf.

"Motherfu-" He was interrupted by a loud static noise. Dum Dum and his men screamed in reflex as their optics began to fail, a deafening noise disoriented their senses and they felt their bodies stop obeying their commands.

Their weapons fell to the ground, as did they, who struggled violently and grunted in discomfort, pain and confusion.

Their implants were suffering strong interference, forcing some to shut down. Sparks began to fly from some parts of their bodies, and they lost some of their functions.

V quickly emerged from his hiding place and ran towards the rifle that one of the men had dropped. Letting himself slide to the ground, he picked up the rifle, stood up and fired at the fallen men, hitting them in the chest, stomach and head repeatedly, until the rifle ran out of bullets.

The former mercenary immediately fell to his knees. Blood dripped onto the concrete, but despite the pain and blood, he smiled.

Fuck, he'd just killed three heavily augmented individuals, no implants, not a fucking thing, just his head, a rifle, and a makeshift EMP system.

He heard the sound of something exploding, loud, uncomfortable, and saw something fly through the warehouse. Probably the battery or the capacitor bank that had overloaded, but fuck it, he'd made it.

Coughing a few times, he got up from the floor and walked with a limp pace towards the bodies. To be quite honest with himself, he never imagined that the crazy Dum Dum would soon be smart enough to get the mealstrom back on its feet. In fact, he couldn't even imagine the guy as a leader, let alone as a gang revolutionary.

Pff, nah, someone else should be in control. Not that that was his problem.

V grunted again, he needed to go to a ripperdoc. But on the bright side, he could make some money selling those guns. He had no idea how they got them, but those rifles weren't cheap.

"Boss?!" He heard the last man shout, and taking a few deep breaths, he picked up his pistol from the floor.

The man entered the warehouse with his rifle raised, cautiously looking into every corner as he went. And although he was certainly a dangerous man, he was alone in a dark warehouse.

Little did he know...

His optics soon focused on the fallen bodies of his companions, but he didn't have time to react. Another shot was heard and two bodies fell to the ground. The gang member with a huge hole in his head, at least 90% of his skull gone, and then, V.

His pistol had been modified to cause a massive amount of damage, and because of this, the recoil had also become stronger. This wasn't a problem for him before, but now, his arms could fly off with just one shot from the thing. Well, in this case, he flew backwards until he crashed into the wall.

Shaking his head, he grunted as he tried to get up. Every movement hurt, every breath felt as if his ribs were about to puncture his lungs. Leaning on the wall, he finally gets up, looks around, walks over to the bodies and grabs what he can. Four rifles, four pistols, two flash grenades and an incendiary grenade. Great, that was better than just having a pistol.

V limped back to the garage, avoiding looking at the massacre. The mealstrom had always been pretty brutal, competing for the title of most dangerous gang with the Scavs. Knowing that, it used to be death on sight whenever he met any member of the gang.

Apparently, not much has changed now.

Pulling the man's body off the car, he entered the vehicle and opened the glove compartment. As Muamar had said, the key was there. He started the car and put his foot on the gas, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.

While driving, he took out his phone and called the man.

"Hey, what's up, V? Did you find my people?" He heard Muamar ask. V was experienced enough to know a person's intentions just by the tone of their voice, he knew when someone was lying. Muamar seemed to have no idea about the Maelstrom in his territory.

"... I did... fuck, Muamar! Why didn't you tell me... that you were in trouble with Mealstrom right away?!" V asked angrily, shaking his head somewhat frantically. He was feeling light headed, and his vision was starting to blur. This was not good.

"Oh fuck, what's wrong?! V, you don't sound so good!" Muamar said, and V took his foot off the gas. He didn't want to risk crashing the car if he passed out.

"The maelstrom... it was here in your territory... it got your people. Hardly got out alive!" He said, trying to stay awake and focused. If he could get to Vik, he wouldn't have to worry. The problem was staying conscious until then.

"What the fuck! Ricardo! Send the guys to the southeast area now! And get my car!" Muamar shouted down the phone, probably to someone on his team. "Look, V, I'm really, really sorry to have you involved! We'd managed to drive those fucking invaders out of our territory a few days ago, it looked like everything was all right!" He explained, his voice altered in frustration.

"A while ago the Maelstrom was hunted down, the death of practically all their leaders destabilized the gang for a while, and it was the perfect opportunity for their rivals to attack. They disappeared for a while, until they reappeared a few weeks ago in search of new territory. And the territory they chose was mine." Muamar explained, and V tried to control his breathing. He could feel his body beginning not to respond to his commands.

"Tell me where you are, I'll come and get you!" Muamar said, but V couldn't even process the question properly. "V?!"

He ended the call with trembling fingers, and soon found Vik's contact.

V closed his eyes tightly and opened them again, feeling weaker and weaker. And the moment he pressed call on Vik, he felt his consciousness leave him, and everything faded away.

Hello my dear readers. Just a warning, this won't be a long story. I'll be writing each chapter in at least 5000 words, which is quite a lot if you consider the average typing speed of most people. However, I assume that this story will have between 10/15 chapters. In other words, things will happen "fast", not because I'll be rushing through the story, but because I'll always get straight to the point and write the most important parts of V's journey. Think of it as an epilogue, a post-credit of the game or something like that.

Well, thanks for reading and see you next time.