V and Jackie Wells are the frontmen, T-Bug the netrunner, DeShawn the brains, and Parker the employer. We know how this will go. We know who will live and die, and we know who's left in the wake of the failed op on Arasaka tower; but what if things were different? What if the chip found its way into the head of a nobody? Not a merc, solo, or netrunner, but a chump off the streets or a janitor?
Forward:
I don't really know the etiquette of writing fanfiction, the last time I did was over 10 years ago, but coming off of autistic burnout I've found myself obsessed with Cyberpunk 2077 and hoping to regain the ability to write again. I don't have any big plans for this fanfiction and don't even know if I will continue it for more than a chapter. Either way, thank you in advance for reading and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
I - The Heist
Konpeki Plaza was supposed to be a safe job. A swanky hotel in the good end of town attended by the upper crust of society, so well funded that even the janitors had a trauma team package. Chloe rarely had to worry about putting bread on the table since starting and while it was a dead end job, gone were the days of considering joining a doll house or the military just to get by. Neither of which she would do well in with her soft body, short stature, and meek nature. The only thrills she got were from watching Watson Whore in her tiny apartment, and from her Samurai-fueled daydreams while she changed out the Konpeki Plaza bedding in a trashed hotel room.
Her cochlear implants were the only cyberware she sported other than the standard personal link and ports. She spent her life glued to the radio as she dreamt away her day cleaning a hotel that made more money on a single-night rental than she made in a month. Rarely was her attention ever diverted from her tunes and her chores. When it was, it was because the shit hit the fan. A corpo cunt got zeroed and she got the honours of picking up the room afterward, a bomb threat after a Militech negotiation went wrong, and of course, that one time a cyberpsycho decided to shoot up the bar. She was expecting a similar shit show when she clocked in and was met with her manager's glowering face.
He was never a happy man. He could have Lizzy Wizzy riding him with a fist full of eddies and a head filled with drugs and he would still find a reason to run his mouth, but today was different. His scowl and posture were more akin to a drill sergeant than a hotel house keeping manager. There was purpose and pride behind it.
"Yorinobu Arasaka will be here today-"
Chloe rolled her eyes and held back a "Isn't he always?"
"- but that's the least of our worries. We have it on good authority that The Emperor himself will be giving us a visit."
The words set Chloe's hair on end. The Emperor. Saburo. What could he possibly be doing here? If it were an official visit, all of Night City would know, but this is the first time anyone was hearing about it.
"I don't need to tell you that this needs to stay under wraps. Don't go bragging to your chooms that you served him, talked to him, or wiped his ass. Don't slack off, no tunes, no phones, no unapproved implants, we are running a tight ship tonight." He paced, arms held behind his back. It was like watching an oversized child playing soldier as his words slurred, struggling under the overwhelming weight of his own inflated ego and alcoholism.
He rambled going over basic chores and duties as if they were all new hires and not people who have been working there for years at this point. Konpeki has a low turnover and a lower hire rate. Chloe's mind wandered to the upper gardens by the penthouse where she was set to tend to this week. Nobody else knew how to keep the plants alive and vibrant to the hotel's standards. She lacked the pressure this visit placed on the others. No beds to make, no complaints to listen to, no accusations of theft from the upper class, just her tunes which she would use despite her manager's demands, and the plants. She came to when he demanded, "Got that?". She gave a curt nod, headed to the changing room got into uniform, and wandered off expecting another uneventful day.
The day was as uneventful as she expected until sundown. She made idol small talk with some of the guards, pruned the hedges, raked the stones into their perfect little patterns. In the evening she swept the halls as the wall mounted TV's chattered over the muffled typing of the security manager's computer.
"- Karina, what is relic exactly, in a word if you could"
"In one word? I'd say Immortality."
"Immortality, really?"
"That's right! Relic allows you to transfer the consciousness of a dying person finding a new home for a soul on a transferable chip. This person, they'll never leave your side; a companion forever with you in your own consciousness! Just imagine if-"
"Child, child, think for a moment about what you're saying. This relic is an abomination that feeds on human misery. It is an unnatural likeness, a golden calf born by false prophets! What's more this technology is just another tool for correction and corruption. Only the wealthy and powerful elite will have access and they will pay any price in exchange for a chance at ""immortality"". Arisaka speaks of preserving the soul but they can promise nothing more than a heartless mindless algorithm speaking with the voice of the departed."
"W-Well that is true that Arisaka corp has specifically limited access to the relic to-"
"Your promise is a lie! An evil lie motivated by greed and lust for power-!"
Chloe groaned and rolled her eyes.
"What? Not a religious person?" One of the guards, Tom, asked.
"Not particularly, no, but that's not my issue."
"Well?"
"I'm pretty sure I shouldn't say considering our guests of honour today."
"Come on, Chloe, It's not like they care what we say. Certainly not what you say, anyway."
"Gee thanks man." She sighed. "I dunno. They're both tools. I don't care if they can directly clone your personality, ego death still happens when your body dies. They can copy you but you still die, all that they do is have a probably not completely accurate copy of you for the living to control."
"Ego death? You been hanging 'round that Misty chick again?"
Chloe blushed. "I mean- yeah but what's that got to do with it? I'm right."
"So you're on the father's side?"
"No fuck that tool. Ziggy's right, they're shilling out the same crap but on a spiritual level. The only difference is the corps pray on the rich and the church preys on the poor. Same shit, different ass."
He let out a sigh. "Damn choomba, you're a drag sometimes, you know?"
"Nah you're just bored and wanted me to argue with you. We should grab drinks when we're off. This place is melting your brain."
"Can't argue with that. If I have to tell one more rich idiot that I can't give them a refund and don't control the room temps I'm gonna blow a fuse. Do I look like a maid?"
"To the rich assholes here, anyone who's not them or their superiors are. Trust me it doesn't get better when you actually are one. You can point your gun at them, what do I have? A mop and 5 feet 4 inches and 30 years of spite with nothing to back it up with. Y'know a guy last week took a wine bottle-"
"Attention-" The lights flicked to a malicious red gleam. "-code red as been initiated throughout Konpeki Plaza. Please remain in your rooms, and follow all instructions given by staff."
"What happened? Tom?" Chloe's heart fluttered and her hands tightened around the broom handle.
He was pale as a ghost as information was passed through his implants. "Saburo has been murdered.."
"What?! HERE?!"
"Here. The hotel is on lockdown. Let's get you to the meeting point- never mind, just got orders all staff on this level are under suspicion-"
"All? Lilly's shift ended and Jay is late! It's only been me for a half hour! You guy know-"
"Orders are orders. You didn't do anything, you'll be fine." He planted a firm grip on her arm and started pulling her towards a room by the security desk. "You'll be ok, it's fine, just stay put and-"
Gunshots echoed through the glistening red halls. He turned away only for a moment before his head popped and hot blood, brains, and skull pelted her face. Her ears rang so loud she didn't hear her own scream as guards fell around her. She covered her head and pinned herself against the wall, the world blacking out for a few seconds as her brain tried to shield her from what was happening. When colour returned Jackie was there. Covered in blood, his giant hands pulled her own away from her face.
"Chloe?! Chicka p-please say that's not your blood!"
"J-Jackie?! You killed Saburo?! You killed Saburo!"
"We didn't!" A frantic voice insisted from behind the behemoth of a man.
V, clad in corporate silk and blood, pulled Jackie by the shoulder away from her. V was a skinny woman she only met once. A friend of Misty, basically family to the Welles's, and a two-bit street kid with nothing notable behind or ahead of her.
"But it doesn't matter now, we gatta get the fuck out of here!" V stammered. "Do you know a way out?!"
"Fuck you, I ain't goin' down with your shit! There's a goddamn reason I'm a maid and not a fucking thug, and it's shit like this!" Chloe pushed Jackie away.
He stumbled back into V's steadying arms. "Jackie doesn't have much time, this ain't about the chip, he's gonna die!"
"I- what chip? Jack-!"
More guards flooded out of the elevator and the halls were once again filled with the cacophonous echoes of gunshots. She plastered her hands over her ears and adrenaline filled her body with the need to run or fight or do something. It sharpened everything and made time slow to a crawl.
Jackie dispatched two guards with his gilded Tsunami Nues. They fell, V rebooted another's optics. As he stumbled back V plunged a dagger into his throat. Blood slicked her hands and the last guard locked eyes with Chloe and raised his Shigure submachine gun. His finger tensed on the trigger at the exact moment Jackie's bullet took his jaw off.
"Come on mija we gatta go! 'Sides l-looks like they made their minds up about you."
"Fuck you!" Chloe wiped the viscera off her face.
V huffed "Stay if you want but we need to go!"
V pulled him towards the elevator. Chloe froze for a moment but the sounds of boots rushing towards them pushed her to follow. Jackie stumbled in and her throat tightened. It looked bad. She swatted away V's hand from the floor buttons and punched the 4th floor.
"What are you doin'?!"
Bullets pelted the wall and a few whizzed passt as she flinched and imbedded themselves into the elevator's glass accent panel behind them. The doors closed, protecting them from the hale of gunfire.
"There's a maintenance elevator we use for shipments." Chloe exhaled and wiped the grime from her face with her pink apron. "Few cams, low security, garage access. Faster and safer than the main way. You have a ride?"
V blinked, clearly not expecting her to be of any help.
"V?"
"Uh, yea, hopefully. You have access?"
"Assuming nobody's flagged my account yet, yeah, my card should work."
Chloe's green eyes honed in on Jackie's side. "Looks bad."
"I've had worse."
They lurched to a halt and the doors opened into an empty corridor bathed in red strobe light. The trio trotted through, weaving between carts filled with towels, toiletries, and linen. They turned a corner and Chloe grabbed a sheet from a stack of clean laundry.
"Jacket off. Now." She barked as she struggled to fold it flat and thin.
Jackie forced a chuckle. "I'm a taken man-"
V peaked behind the corner they turned. "Jack, do what she says."
He struggled to shrug it off. It clung and stuck to his soaked torso.
"V. Take this end. Hold it here. Apply pressure."
The pink-haired mirk did as she was told. Chloe could see her hands shaking. She wrapped Jackie as tightly as possible and tied a tight knot.
"Fuck, tight enough?" He hissed.
"Not nearly but it'll do." Chloe muttered.
Flashes of med school flicked through her vision. Books, diagrams, rotations, the look of her mother when she dropped out after her first cyberpsycho victim. She pulled a booster from a medkit on a trolly and plunged it into Jackie. The massive man hissed as it was tossed away.
"Bought you a few more minutes but we need to get you to Vic's, stat."
"After you, then." He wiped the sweat off his pale brow.
The labyrinthian halls were disorienting in the dark. She nearly took more than a few wrong turns but found her way past the staff meeting point. They snuck by unnoticed and into the elevator. They were nearly in the clear. She tried to shove down the anger that was bubbling in her gut.
"Saburo fucking Arasaka…" Jackie muttered.
"And you gonks zeroed him. What did you think you'd get from this?"
"Wasn't us, wasn't what we were here for." V grumbled. "Just wanted the fuckin biochip, wasn't our fault Yorinobu-"
"Shh!" Chloe waved at her and pressed herself against the wall as the doors opened.
More guards than she could count huddled together, guns trained on the main garage access.
"What do we do?" She whispered.
"See that Delamain?" V motioned with her head to the car in the middle of the sea of guards.
"Yeah?"
"Run for it!"
V launched herself out of the elevator. Jackie tried to follow but wasn't nimble enough. Chloe pulled his arm over her shoulders and tried to speed him up, half in an attempt to help, half to use him as a shield. The men took a millisecond to notice the trio running from across the parking bay but their autoaim implants reacted almost immediately. A bullet grazed Chloe's cheek and thigh but she stumbled into the Delamain and pulled the massive man with her.
The three were piled upon each other as the cab's tires screeched against the pavement. They peeled out of the garage and for but a moment, there was a sliver of hope. The way was clear.
And then it wasn't.
The earth shook as the biggest borg Chloe had ever seen made impact with the ground. Tarmac went flying and the unshakeable Jackie screeched as the man sprinted towards the car.
"Please remain calm. Roadblock ahead." The car's VI chimed cheerily.
"No shit "road block"!" V screamed.
Chloe covered her head as the cab made a U turn and gunned it for the exit. There was a barricade of cars waiting for them which the cab paid no mind to. They plowed through as bullets peppered the car, shot from behind the death machine in pursuit.
"A hostile enemy aircraft has a lock on us." The car reported.
"Leave it to me!" V pulled her sidearm from the center console and hung out the window, taking potshots at the drones that pursued.
"Ugh! Why can't they just give up?!" Jackie demanded as he clutched his bandaged side.
"Head down!" Chloe demanded. "It'll be ok, Jack!"
"Don' think it will, Chika." He groaned, head on a nod and eyes losing focus.
"Jackie? Hold on, we will get you to Vic's! Take us to Vic's!" She demanded as V took down the last of the drones.
"I'm afraid that will not be possible. Our itinerary has been arranged and paid for in advance, I am not at liberty to alter it."
V punched the back of the seat. "Fuck your liberty!"
"I'm fine… it's fine… V… the chip-"
Jackie pressed his finger against the port behind his ear and a glowing red chip popped out.
"Nuh uh! No way! I'm not putting that thing in my head! After all this-"
"Someone has to, I'm not gonna make it."
"Don't talk like that" Chloe reprimanded. "You'll be fine, just gotta chill and keep pressure-"
She was cut off by V's cold wet hand pulling her by the hair to her. She pulled the chip from Jackie and thrust it into Chloe's port.
"The fuck, V?!" Jackie demanded. "Civilian! She ain't part o' this!"
"She is now! Not about to let her wander off and tell the PD about this, no free rides!"
Chloe pushed V's hands away. "Mother fucker if this thing has some sort of virus-"
"You'll do what? Clean me to death?!"
"Chingada madre! Will you two stop?!" Jackie yelled. His laboured breaths spoke louder than his words.
"Fine" Chloe grit her teeth. "Delamain, after we reach our destination, take him to Vic's right away-"
"That will come at a cost-"
"DeShawn is footing the bill." V huffed. "He can-"
"Request has been denied on the part of your benefactor."
Chloe let out a yell and clawed at her hair. "Fine, I'll pay, I'll take your stupid chip to your stupid fixer, and I'll deal with the fallout of your stupid fucking decisions!"
"Transfer received. We are arriving at your first destination."
He pulled into a back ally behind the No Tell Motel and V pushed her way out, dragging Chloe with her.
"... knew this was a fucking bad idea, shit two-bit fixer, shit job, shit team- keep up!".
Chloe was tripping over her own feet as V led her by the collar through the roach-infested motel. The room where DeShawn was held up in was no cleaner than the rest of the dive.
"WNS, N54, even the pirate networks… you blowin' up everywhere! And the rando! You got the chip?"
Chloe swallowed hard "Yes! Take it. I just wanna go home!"
"Hmph. I was afraid o' that. Saburo Arasaka dead. You got any notion of the shit you pulled me into?" He turned from them, taking a drag on his cigar. "You offed the fuckin' Emperor! His Majesty! Anyone with so much as a pinky toe dipped in this mess is as good as dead!"
V bristled. "You're the one who got us into this mess! Let's start with your "prep work" You had no idea Saburo Arasaka'd be at the hotel?!"
"I don't have access to his personal fucking schedule, and besides, nobody asked you to kill the old man!"
"That wasn't us!"
"No shit?! Tell that to the 'Saka ninjas they send after you!... A'ight settle down. Gatta be tactical 'bout this." He sat down. "Parker, eddies, then we leave the city limits behind…"
"W-What about Jackie?" Chloe asked.
"Choom wasn't well enough to drag his ass in here, he's on his own. You, girl, your face… got blood all over it. Bathrooms there. Go get yourself cleaned up."
Chloe shakily nodded and stumbled into the bathroom. She b-lined for the toilet and let the day's lunch out into the bowl. Her body started to shake as the quiet sank in.
"God… Tom." She wiped her forehead. A chunk of grey matter plunked into the vomit-filled bowl below. She filled the sink with cold water and plunged her head in. Partially remembering her therapist saying that's how you should handle anxiety, but mostly because it was everywhere. Blood and skull and brains and gore mixed with tears she didn't know she shed and snot she didn't know was running. She looked into the mirror, black bangs clinging to her face, mascara streaking down her cheeks, and her two braids still sporting mysterious chunks.
She turned to leave and the moment the door opened two shots rang out and the world went black.