\+/ Tales From Night City \+/ Chapter 61 - Drop Off
We open up with a flashback to the lead merc who kidnapped Brian, Zaunya and Audrey and brought them back to the Hotel Pistis Sophia: Hes slowly walking down a dark hallway in the hotel, occasionally glancing into various rooms. He enters a supply room filled with various tools and equipment they use throughout the hotel. He makes a call on the holo causing his eyes to glow orange.
=Monica. Its Rob.=
=Rob...? What the hell do you want? Do you have any idea what time it is?=
=Think I got somethin' preem for ya. Pickup just came in a little earlier. Chicks sportin' some serious chrome... Had Kenny run some spec scans on her. Said shes been chipped with a bunch of custom pieces hes never even seen before. Military grade combatware and a bunch of Shit not even registered or on market. She also had a few data shards on her with a bunch of Corporate intel and shit on different black projects... locations involving PetroChem.=
=Mm.. interesting. Sounds like a hell of a catch.=
=You know what that usually means right?=
=Sure.. Corpo.=
=Bingo.=
=Dangerous endeavor choom. High-end mystery chrome is some real, up there, corporate illuminati level shit. Try to think of it like havin' a tickin' time bomb on your hands... Someone's bound to come sniffin' around sooner rather than later. May be best to just yank her off the reel and toss her back. Think you might've grabbed somebodie's runaway?=
=Shit, well, with the chemical concoction Tweak is givin' her she probably doesn't even know what planet she's on at this point... made sure Rhonda's got a jammer up just in case... And, Dunno.. Streets been silent these days when it comes to the corps...hmm.. I'll hit up a few fixers... See what I can find out-=
=Wait! Do you remember that warehouse that blew up over in Arroyo a while back?=
=Uhh, Yeah, what about it?=
=Streets ended up finding out it was a PetroChem warehouse! They put out a juicy reward for info on who did it. That chicks gotta be involved!=
=Hm... Dunno. Sure they haven't found em already..? Corpos aren't really the type to let some shit like this just slip through the cracks. NCs always got the next crazy event goin' on after all... meanin' they're not the type to be draggin' their feet. =
=Fuck that! I'm gonna make some calls. Watch her like a fuckin hawk Rob! Understand me? Do NOT process her. I'm on my way down there RIGHT now. We're gonna be RICH!= The merc ends the holo call, Ending the flashback.
Brian is seen driving the Galena G240 through the dark and quieted Night City streets as the mellow rumbling of the engine warms the space. Its close to 2am as the neon glow of the streets flickers into the interior of the car. Zaunya is seen in the backseat being cradled in Audrey's arms asleep while Carter rides shotgun staring longingly out of the window. Its clear that hes in a trance, thinking deeply about something significant. Brian picks up on this energy but chooses not to think about it any further... instead he frequently looks into the rearview mirror silently checking on Zaunya and Audrey.
BugBear is seen on her yellow ARCH Nazaré Racer with Netty on the back holding on tight driving closely behind Brian's car. The tone and energy of the crew is somber and exhausted. Having just been through a traumatic event, the experience has affected them all, leaving lasting marks in various ways. Most haven't had the time to process the traumatic series of events that have just transpired... however one thing is certain and undenyable: They're together.
Events like this... drive people closer together in an absolute fashion... sealing often unbreakable bonds through action and the unspoken word.
Connection through pain- You see Carter with his bloody face barely wiped staring down out the window somberly
Connection through violence- You see BugBear through her helmet visor with a serious look of anger on her face.
Connection through love... You see Brian in the driver's seat looking into the rearview mirror at a passed out Zaunya in Audrey's arms.
The wires that bind us are often not tightened by the forces that drive us closer together. They're tightened by the forces that try to rip us apart.
"Right here's fine." Carter softly says as Brian slowly pulls the car over and BugBear stops the bike behind them. Carter glances into the back seat and nods at Audrey whom returns the nod. He hops out and closes the door. He then reaches through the opened window and shakes Brian's hand.
"Be in touch" Carter says in a low tone. He pats the roof of the Galena a couple times before turning and walking away up the street while Brian and BugBear pull off.
The crew is next seen slowly pulling up to Netaniel's house. Brian pulls the car forward as the bike slowly pulls up behind them. He hops off the back of her bike and walks up to the driver's side of the car and rests his forearm on the hood. "Tracker on kid. See you soon." Brian says.
"You got it." Netty replies while glancing over at a helmeted BugBear in her cyberpunk yellow biker gear. He then walks back toward her bike as she gets ready to pull off.
"H- Hey uh, hold up." He says in a soft, serious tone while placing his hand on the front of her bike. This causes her to raise the visor on her helmet and sit up. He continues.
"L- Listen uh... about that dance...-"
"We.. uhm... we... don't need to talk about that." BugBear says in a soft tone cutting him off. She continues after a brief pause of him struggling to find a response.
"Don't think after all this i've forgotten about that little dive into the net you did."
Netty looks down and away. She then raises his chin with her hand causing him to look at her.
"Don't forget... You owe me one huh." She says causing the both of them to smile lightly at each other.
BugBear flips her visor back down as she speeds off on the bike. Netty watches her and the crew depart before looking at his house. He takes a deep breath and walks in.
The low rumbling of the car's engine creates a soft white noise in the Galena G240. Brian glances into the rearview mirror and sees BugBear break off and take a turn down a different street headed home. He then turns his attention back to Audrey looking out the window while cradling a passed out Zaunya.
"We should head to your clinic." Brian says in a gentle, dead tone causing Audrey to look back at him through the rearview mirror... She nods.