Chapter 22: Double Date
Elsewhere within an unknown location, Yorinobu is looking over the situation to see his niece Michiko is gaining ground on him using the Nomad and her other troops against them.
"Seems like she has managed to get me good but I will not give up so easily," Yorinobu said as a tall large figure was beside him.
"They are very bothersome, why even try to save Arasaka?" the man said.
"Michiko has her reasons but I must complete my mission. This accursed company must burn but she is holding me back," he said.
"We will kill her and her allies. Then the plan to implode the company will be completed," the man said.
"We must trigger the fifth corporate war and make the world destroy Arasaka," Yorinobu said.
"That would kill millions of people," the man said.
"We have gone too far to fail now. No need for weak commitments. I have saved you to serve the purpose of killing Arasaka. Do you have doubts?" he asked.
"No, I will help you destroy it from within," the man said.
"Good, once you have done this, I will give you what you want," Yorinobu said to show him a person whom he cares about most in the world.
"Soon my love, soon we will be together and Arasaka will pay for splitting us apart," the man said as he looked longingly at the woman, determined to finish his mission.
Rebecca, Stella, and Lucy were at the campfire in the middle of the nomad camp to see the stars above to enjoy some home cooking from one of the nomads. "This isn't too bad," Rebecca said as she was eating a meat stew to bite into the chunks of meat.
"The meat is a bit of mystery, it tastes good at least," Lucy said.
"Indeed, so got any plans?" Stella asked.
"Well, I want to go to the city and go do things at night with Cortez. I was hoping you could come along, it could be fun," Rebecca said.
"Nope, I got to do something for Panam. She wants me to deep dive into this guy's head for a job. Can't go, sorry," Lucy said.
"I am game for it," Stella said.
"Nova, Cortez is going to tell Yuri to come too. We can spend some time together. We are going to head for the bowling alley and then hit up the karaoke bar," Rebecca said as Stella was interested in this.
'Sounds like a good time to me," Stella said feeling excited about this.
"Hell yeah," Rebecca said.
"I hope you two have fun. Also, I heard something interesting. There is a new bodyguard for Yorinobu," Lucy said.
"Oh, you mean like an Adam Smasher?" she asked.
"Maybe. Michiko talked about this guy coming out of nowhere and he is working with her uncle for certain reasons," Lucy said.
"Very mysterious," Stella said.
"So, we got to go through this guy to get to the big cheese. We can do this," Rebecca felt bold about this. Lucy feels odd about this as she wants to look into it.
"I wonder, Adam Smasher is dead. Who would he replace him with?" Lucy wondered.
"Anyway, we are going tomorrow night. Get something nice now," Rebecca said as she had a cute outfit ready for her date with Cortez.
"Preem, I haven't been bowling in a long time," Stella said as Lucy was in deep thought.
V and Panam are talking with Ren on the radio. "You do know we are in this together. FSA and Nomads nations are on the brink after what happened with Night City," Ren said.
"Yeah, we know, she is going to make America great once again by conquering the FSA and wiping out the nomads," Panam said feeling angry at this thought.
"Yeah, it would be just like the Native American tribes. Destroying another lifestyle to appeal to her ego," V said.
"Weakening Arasaka has emboldened Myers. Doing all these crazy stunts and terrorist attacks. Putting Michiko on the throne of Arasaka is a good movement to counter Myers and Militech," Ren said.
"I hate to admit it but you are right. This is a balanced scale here, we need to be careful," Panam said.
"Or World War 3 can blow up in our faces," V said.
"Yes, it would, Lucy needs to be protected. Being an FSA citizen will make it more difficult for Myers to just steal her away. Knowing her important role will trigger another war between the FSA and NUS, or worse, NUS against the rest of the world," Ren said.
"The Blackwall can not be fucked with. I wiped out the Voodoo Boys after they contacted Alt when they were going to betray me. Knowing the full context now, I would gladly do it again," V said.
"The Blackwall, that woman is a traitor to humankind. What she did with Songbird is unthinkable," Ren said being told the whole story by V. "I need to speak with the FSA government council and keep them in the loop. We need to have each other's back in these trying times. If we fail, we lose everything," Ren said.
Within the next day, Cortez is waiting outside his trailer for Rebecca to get into her outfit. "Hey babe, look at my cute outfit," she said as she was sporting a blue crop top and white short shorts with green sneakers. She puts a pink hairband within her hair.
"Pretty nice," Cortez said.
"Looking nice big guy," Rebecca said as he was wearing a red shirt, blue jeans, and brown sneakers.
"Thanks, Yuri is in the car waiting for us. Where is Stella?" he asked.
"She is coming," Rebecca said as Stella came their way to look very pretty.
"Hello, how do I look?" she said as she was wearing a purple sweater, white skirt, and brown knee-high boots.
"Very pretty," Stella said.
"Look nice, Yuri will be very interested," Cortez said lightly as Stella was confused by this.
"Okay. Just the four of us?" Stella asked.
"Yep, we are going to have a lot of fun. We are heading for the bowling alley first," Cortez said.
"Come on Stella, let's go," Rebecca said as they entered the car to see Yuri looking out the window.
"Hello there," Yuri said as he found Stella very pretty. "Looking good," Yuri said.
"Thanks, Yuri, you look nice too," Sasha said as Yuri was wearing dark clothing fitting his lean frame.
"Thanks, let's get going," Yuri said as the four drove off the camp to head back to the city to see the moon casting a bright light into the California wasteland.
Rebecca is switching the car's radio to hear a news report from an interview with Rosalind Myers. "Keep it on, I want to hear this," Cortez said as Rebecca stopped with the group hearing the radio interview.
"Seems like things are going well for you," the interviewer said.
"Of course, we managed to capture Night City. We are going on the path to restoring America to its rightful place," Rosalind said.
"Myers is full of shit as always," Cortez showed real spite for the woman.
"What about the rumors of you being involved in the dropping of the Crystal Palace and the Asteroid destroying the Luna town of Wells?" Interviewer said.
"These are baseless, there is no evidence that has connections to the NUSA," Rosalind said as Cortez is pissed with this.
"Bitch, you were involved. You covered that shit up," Cortez said as Rebecca placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Please calm down, you look angry," Rebecca said as this nice calm guy looked like he was going to rip her head off.
"I did so much for that woman and the NUS. Killing kids for the greater good, my ass," Cortez said trying to calm down as Rebecca understands all the bad things he has done when he was younger for the sake of his nation. In the end, it was for nothing but pain and regret.
"Baby," Rebecca feels his pain giving him a side hug wanting him to feel better. "I am here, we are here. It's okay," Rebecca said as Cortez looked over to see Rebecca's sweet, cute face to calm him down.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to get mad at you," Cortez said as Rebecca kissed him on the cheek.
"It's okay, she will pay for what she did," Rebecca said.
"Rebecca killing the NUS president. You would be a war criminal for life," Stella said as Rebecca nodded her head.
"I am a big-time criminal, just adding another count to the list," Rebecca said.
"Yeah. That bitch wants to purge the Nomads and remake America in her image," Cortez said as they are in a fight for survival against Militech and the NUS government.
"Yeah, we need to bring our A games up. Enough of that, we should focus on having fun today," Stella said.
'Yeah," Rebecca said brightly as Yuri thought to himself.
"Nothing has changed. The NUS and the Soviet Union, same shit different coverings," Yuri thought as he did awful things for the Soviet government and SovOil. He can relate to Cortez's pain.
"Okay time to head to the bowling alley," he said entering into the city to go into the city streets to enjoy the rich atmosphere.
"It's nearby," Cortez said as they walked up to the building to see the bowling alley.
"Quite big," Rebecca said as they entered inside to see a bunch of people enjoying themselves.
"We should get a lane and her bowling shoes," Cortez said as they went up to the counter.
"Hey, no cyberware used here. I don't want you to break my pins," the guy said as Rebecca placed her hand on the scanners to disable her gorilla arms. "Preem, enjoy yourselves," the clerk said as he sorted their shoe sizes to hand them their bowling shoes.
"Thanks," Yuri said as they came to their lane to put on her shoes.
"Like a glove," Rebecca tips the hardwood floors with her new bowling shoes.
"Okay, how are you going to do this?" Stella asked.
"How about couples? Me and Cortez against Yuri and Stella. Whoever gets the most points in 2 out of 3 wins," Rebecca said as everyone nods at it.
"Okay Yuri, let's do this," Stella said as Yuri calmly nodded his head.
"Of course," Yuri said as they began to set the rules into the terminal by the bowling balls. They each get 10 frames per person and they will add up their total between the two teams.
They each go one at a time. Cortez, Rebecca, Stella, and Yuri are the order they have chosen.
"You know how to bowl Yuri?' Stella asked.
"Not really," Yuri said as Stella nodded his head.
"Okay, I will teach you how to play. It's not too hard," Stella said as Yuri looked happy to be close to Stella showing him a kind smile.
"Thanks," Yuri said as both Cortez and Rebecca took note of this.
"He is crushing on her huh?" Rebecca asked.
'Yeah, but I told him to go slow. Since her husband died recently," Cortez said as Rebecca nodded her head.
"Makes sense, she will move on, and she will have a new love to look to. Like me," Rebecca said feeling excited about this.
They take turns to begin rolling the ball to strike the pins. Cortez and Rebecca were good at it while Stella is doing well but Yuri is getting gutter balls.
"Shit," Yuri said as Stella gives him some pointers to aid in his tossing and technique. "Seriously, there is more to this?" he asked as Stella nodded her head.
"Yes, you need to make your form better and toss the ball like this," Stella tosses the ball to see it slide towards the pins to knock them down.
"Oh, I got it now," Yuri said as Stella's warm smile made his heart feel funny. "Gee, she looks so pretty," Yuri said as Stella stared at him wondering what was wrong.
"Oh Yuri, is there something wrong with my face?" she asked as Yuri pulled away to feel the heat in his cheeks.
"No, it's nothing. It's nice as usual," Yuri said as Stella showed him her calming smile again.
"Thank you, come on. We need to catch up," Stella said as Yuri nodded his head for the game to keep going on.
"Strike," Rebecca hits the 10 pins with ease as she gives her boyfriend/partner a high five.
"That's my girl," Cortez said as he came in to take out 8 pins and then take out the rest. "Spare," he said.
Rebecca/Cortez managed to push ahead with 200 over Stella/Yuri. "We win the first one," Rebecca said as Stella was pumped for this.
"This is just getting started," Stella said getting competitive.
"So, I wondered something. How long did you know your husband, Bill?" Rebecca asked.
"Oh well, it's a bit of a weird story. It wasn't soulmate stuff like Lucy and David had. It just kind of happened," Stella said.
"Serious Choom?" Rebecca asked.
"Yeah, I mean. We used to live together to pay for rent since the housing in Night City sucked. Then things went off from there and then he proposed to me. I didn't take it at first, but he seemed like a good man, so I took his deal," Stella said as Rebecca was listening to this, and this felt off to her.
"I was hoping your meeting would be more romantic maybe," Rebecca said.
"How about you? How did you meet Cortez?" Stella asked.
"We met when he came to rescue me at DreadZone like a handsome demon. I had fallen for him so easily," Rebecca said.
"You have a romantic soul despite your boastful nature," Stella said as Rebecca felt offended.
"Hey, there is more to me than meets the eye," Rebecca repeated what Cortez told her before about how he loves Rebecca for the more nuanced parts of her personality.
"Sorry, you are quite the interesting one. Always keep things light and easy. Best choom, a woman can ask for," Stella said remembering Rebecca showing her new tattoo about her new strong friendship with Stella and Lucy.
Rebecca playfully taps her on the arm. "Right back at you Choom," she said as it was their turn to play bowling to begin gaining on each other.
Rebecca tosses the ball to score a strike knocking down all 10 pins as Stella got a strike as well.
"Yes," Stella passes to Yuri who manages to get a spare. "You are getting the hang of this," Stella said feeling happy he was doing a good job.
"So, Yuri, what is the Soviet Union like?" Rebecca asked.
"Well not as bad as here but still shit. Three groups trying to screw the people over the State, SovOil, and the Mafia. It's a free-for-all there while everyone is dogmeat," Yuri said.
"Damn, sounds just like home," Rebecca said.
"The countryside is completely owned by SovOil, especially in Siberia. It used to be a snowy landscape, but now parts of it have become jungle there due to the climate change SovOil was doing in the area trying to turn it into farmland. Complete idiots," Yuri said.
"Sounds like it, no different here," Rebecca said. "
"Not all of it was bad. Many Soviet citizens were guaranteed free public health care and access to the latest medical technology, and new cities were being built to house and employ the USSR's increasingly nomadic population. It's better off than the NUSA but that is not saying much," Yuri said.
"Man, NUSA is beyond fucked at this point, why even bother fixing it?" Rebecca said that she thinks the FSA should go its own way splitting America permanently.
"Myers would never let this go. It's her league on the line here. Uniting America and killing off the nomads will make her a legend in American history," Yuri said.
"Well, we will have to give a hard slap to reality," Rebecca said with a smile.
Soon enough Rebecca/Cortez team won two games in a row to win the battle. "Oh right," Cortez said as he gave Rebecca a high five.
"Good work Choom, always got my back," Rebecca said as he poked her in the rear making her jumpy.
"It's worth it for the view alone," Cortez said as Rebecca had a dirty smile to get on her toes to kiss him on the lips.
"My dirty boy," she giggled.
"Well, we didn't win," Yuri said as Stella patted him on the back.
"Hey, we had fun and you got better. That's what matters besides we can go together again on our own time to keep practicing," Stella said as Yuri nodded his head.
"Yes, of course," Yuri said as they finished their session.
"Oh boy, that was fun," Rebecca said as she returned their shoes to get back into their own and Rebecca reactivated her gorilla arms.
"I know right, let's hit the karaoke bar. It's nearby," she said as they saw a bright pink sign called Bright Haven. They go inside to hear the blazing music, the smell of good food, and a dance stage in the middle where everyone can showcase their skills at the karaoke machine.
"Wow, this place is quite lively," Cortez said.
"Sure, it's exciting in here. Girls, let us get our seats," Yuri said as they sat in a booth with the waitresses taking orders. They placed their orders, and the waitresses went off to get their stuff.
"We are going to look around," Cortez said as Rebecca and Cortez looked around the place leaving the two Slavic nomads alone.
"Well, I heard from Cortez, you are from the Soviet Union as well?" Yuri asked as Stella nodded her head.
"My family moved from the Union a long time ago to head to America to seek a better life, but it's even more depressing here," Stella said.
"Yes, the Soviet Union has its bright spots, but the rich have total control over the whole nation. It's a mess," Yuri said.
"Not much different here except certain groups are fighting each other over the scrap of this broken nation," Stella said.
"Speaking of family, Cortez said you had a younger twin sister?" he asked.
"Yes. her name is Sasha," Stella shows him a photo of Sasha in his eyes.
"Oh, she is very pretty. You two are certain twins, very much alike," Yuri said.
"Thank you, did you say I was pretty?" she asked, as this made the cold man look a bit sheepish.
"Sorry," he said as Stella laughed at this.
"It's okay, I like compliments," she said making Yuri feel relaxed.
"Okay, your sister became an Edgerunner, and you became a cop," Yuri said.
"Yeah, I was a cop until my former husband had a dream to open a hot dog shop," Stella said.
"Seems nice," Yuri said as Stella's face looked sour.
"Until he got into trouble again and he paid for it with his life. Old habits die hard," Stella said.
"I know that feeling too well. I hope you are doing well?' he asked.
"Yeah, I am. It's going to take time. I know you are trying to size me up," Stella said as Yuri was flustered by this.
"Oh sorry," he said.
"It's okay. I need time okay, but I enjoy your company. We can be friends," Stella said to grab onto his hand softly.
"Understand, I would like that," Yuri said looking into her pretty brown eyes.
"Hey you two, getting comfy?" Rebecca teased them as this made the two jump up and blush.
"Hey Rebecca that is rude for spying on us," Stella said as Cortez and Rebecca sat down at their seats beside each other.
"It was fun to watch," Cortez said slyly at Yuri as he was happy his good friend was pushing forward with Stella but at a good pace.
"Shut it, we should get our orders now," Yuri said as they got their meals for them enjoying the tasty food. Rebecca is eating a plate of mozzarella sticks to enjoy the gooey cheese inside.
"Man, this is good," Rebecca said as Stella looked on with jealousy.
"Gee, you know how to put away food without your stomach blowing up," Stella said.
"Yeah, Rebecca has a black hole for a stomach," Cortez joked.
"Hey; I like eating good food, what's wrong with that?" Rebecca said to drink down her citrus wine. "Oh, that hits the spot," she said.
"Hey, the karaoke machine is opened. Hey Rebecca, show us your voice," Stella said.
"Okay, I am a little nervous," Rebecca said as Cortez put a gentle hand on her shoulder to encourage her.
"Come on, let's see what you got," Cortez said as Rebecca nodded her head to kiss him for good luck.
"Okay, here we go," Rebecca said as she reached for the stage with everyone watching her. "Oh crap, Cortez is with me. I can do anything," Rebecca said as she had her boyfriend in her thoughts to give her strength and courage. She grabs the mic to begin choosing a song to sing too. "Oh, perfect Diamond in the Sky. I love this one," Rebecca smiles at this.
The machine sets up the music with this bright pop music coming out of the speakers with lights on Rebecca. Rebecca taps her sneakers on the stage to let the music flow through her body.
"And so today I know that it's a new start. I know the bad times are disappearing. Cause now I know that we'll never be apart," Rebecca's voice picks up with the crowd getting excited by her beautiful singing voice.
"Wow," Cortez said as Rebecca seemed to be into the music as she started to sway her body along with the pop music.
"You are the one that makes me feel so high. Just like the diamonds in the sky. I never want to hear you say goodbye. Cause you are my diamond in the sky," Rebecca begins to get off the stage to memorize the song by heart to walk towards Cortez.
The crowd looks on with awe to see this young woman singing her heart out to this love song.
"You're the one that makes me feel so high. Just like the diamonds in the sky. I never want to hear you say goodbye. Cause you are my diamond in the sky," Rebecca said as she went through the crowd with men envying Cortez for Rebecca is clearly singing for him and only him.
"Another road that we must travel. Another night for you to show me the way. And so today, I give up dreaming, Cause now I know, I need you every day," Rebecca's voice explodes to look deep within Cortez's eyes. His presence gives her the strength to push aside her nervousness to sing her feelings for him to everyone around her.
"Damn this girl got some pipes," Stella said sounding very impressed.
"Yeah man, wish someone could sing like that for me," Yuri said as Stella patted him on the back.
"I am quite bad at singing, I will fuck it up badly," Stella said for them to see Rebecca next to their booth to be standing beside Cortez.
"You're the one that makes me feel so high. Just like the diamonds in the sky. I never want to hear you say goodbye. Cause you are my diamond in the sky," Rebecca finished planting a big kiss on his lips to end it off with the crowd clapping and cheering.
Yuri and Stella cheer along as well with the couple sporting deep blushes.
"This is for my boyfriend Cortez," Rebecca said proudly gently brushing her hand across his cheek. "He is the most caring and sweetest man I have known, this song is for him," Rebecca said to go back to the stage to place the mic down to head back to the booth.
"That was great Rebecca, the people seem to like it," Yuri said as everyone was talking about it. Rebecca sits beside Cortez to feel very embarrassed.
"It was embarrassing but with Cortez there, I managed to summon the courage to do it," Rebecca said to lie her head on his shoulder.
"You were amazing as always," Cortez said as Rebecca sports a big smile.
"When we get some private time., You can put your head on my lap and I will sing until your heart bursts from all my love pouring into it," Rebecca said the double date went through without any trouble for everyone had a fun time and disburse.
"Well, that was fun," Stella said as they headed back to the car to get inside to head home.
"Yeah, it was, can we hang out more often?" Yuri asked.
"Oh yeah, we will," Stella said.
"Getting cozy," Rebecca said to tease her as Stella tapped her on the head.
"Will you quit it?" he asked.
"Why, it's so adorable," Rebecca said making the Netrunner blush.
"Well, you were pretty cute when you were singing your heart out to your favorite babe," Stella said as this made Rebecca flustered.
"That was from the heart. I am like the Bonnie to his Clyde," Rebecca said.
"Rebecca, those two got killed by the cops," Cortez said.
"You get what I mean, we are real outlaws fighting against the system so we can live in peace," Rebecca said as he patted her on the head.
"Yeah, we do without the dying part," Cortez said lightly.
"Come on, we got each other's back. We can handle anything together," Rebecca said to kiss him on the cheek.
"Don't jinx it," Yuri said lightly.
"You know, you and Bonnie are at the same height. Around 4'10 tall, pretty funny you both are cute petite criminals," Cortez said as Rebecca found it to be a badge of honor.
"Big things come in small packages, my Clyde," she said playfully as the double date had come to a pleasant end.