Firstly, the hope of Lucy reaching out to him shattered. Sitting in the car, he closed his eyes again, sinking into the seat. Then, it hit him quickly: R3V wanted something done, and the rusty man wouldn't stop until he got it. The thought made him feel a knot of trouble in his stomach. Still, he wanted something from R3V as well. Maybe it was time to return to the life he had avoided for some time and start being what he once was again.
While the early morning was quite silent around him, the evening was certainly livelier. People were going to work, walking on the pavement, or driving around in fancy cars. It's interesting how many nice cars there are on the streets in the morning, with corporate suits heading to work—it's like a parade, he thought.
He started his car and drove to a place where he used to have breakfast, Neo-Diner. It wasn't a good place—the smell, the sights, the grime beneath his boots. The odors of burnt meat and overly roasted coffee filled the air. In the past, it was what he could afford; now, it was what he wanted. Clinging to his memories, he felt nostalgia everywhere in Night City.
After finishing his breakfast, he took a coffee in a paper cup and sat on the hood of his car while sipping that terrible drink. Falco initiated a call to R3V on the holo; the moments before the line connected felt like minutes, even hours. He wondered what he would say—should he address the obvious, the Afterlife incident, or would it be better not to? But eventually, they connected.
"Falco here. We haven't finished our talk." he said dryly, in a monotone voice.
"Good morning, comrade. A pleasant surprise; you've called this soon." R3V replied in a playful and sly tone.
"Wanted me for something; here I am. What's the deal?"
"Almost seems like you're in a rush!" A faint snicker could be heard through the holo, then the sly voice continued to speak. "But who am I to waste time? Mirage- the hotel, 7 p.m."
"Good. I'll be there."
Falco disconnected the line, and after, he sighed softly. He didn't know what was coming, and it made him melancholic. At the same time, he felt a fire within himself that had been extinguished for a long time. He got into his car and contemplated various outcomes.
The day passed slowly, with not much to do or even the desire to do anything before the time came. He didn't know what to expect; he couldn't even tense up or be nervous. He just waited for the time to pass until he got through the day and started driving to the location.
Late in the evening, upon arriving, he saw the city buzzing with life again. Gazing at the people around and the high buildings illuminated in neon, he lit a cigarette in his car, inhaling the smoke deeply. His hand trembled as he thought about this gig; it had been so long since he had been in this position. Halfway through the cigarette, a hand opened the passenger-side door, and soon, R3V was sitting inside.
"So, you are meeting me after everything that happened the other night, truly interesting. You know it was me, don't you?" R3V said without any sign of regret or emotion. He sat next to Falco and patted his shoulder quickly. "I'm sure you've figured it out, but it didn't change a damn thing."
Falco felt disgusted by the hand on his shoulder. Every bit of his being told him to be cautious with this man, or even to leave. "Figured. What are we doing here?" he asked, resting one hand on the wheel and the other outside the window with the half-smoked cigarette.
Silence followed as the two sat in the car. R3V changed the radio station to something more relaxed and elegant. Falco raised an eyebrow; it was very out of character for the rusty man, or so he thought. He didn't know anything about him after all. Upon finding the right music station, R3V opened his mouth to speak.
"You just have to drive; it's nothing you can't do." R3V said confidently. "What interests me most is, why are you here? What do you plan to do with the information I'm willing to share?" He lit a cigarette of his own.
Falco looked at him with an aggressive gaze. "Not a smokin' car," he said, cigarette in hand. He waved dismissively, signaling for R3V to trash the cigarette.
A few moments of tense silence followed as they locked eyes without saying a word. Eventually, R3V rolled his eyes and reacted with a sly chuckle. "Ain't you a funny choom." he replied, not giving in to Falco's power play.
"The Relic program? It's an utter failure of humankind." R3V said suddenly. "There are two points in a person's life that are certain: birth and death. Now they're taking that away too. Bringing back the dead's mind to comfort the living; they won't move on, ever."
"What do you mean? You can talk to them?" Falco asked, eyeing the man curiously, a tense look on his face.
"You can hear them, see them. Talk to them, yes. Their behavior is just as it was when they lived, but they can even acquire new memories and such. Technically, they're living a false life, a programmed life, a lie." R3V took a drag from his cigarette and flicked it out of the car's window while looking into the distance somberly.
"Tech—both a blessing and a curse. How do we stop it? At least David's."
"Don't you worry, cowboy. We'll shut down the program altogether." R3V nodded firmly, looking at the building beside him. "After we are done here, of course."
"Do you have someone involved in this too?" Falco asked as he flicked his cigarette out of the window, not looking at the rust-faced man. "Is that why you're doing this?"
R3V chuckled—a dry, painful chuckle, not the cheerful kind. For a moment, something flickered in R3V's eyes—grief, anger, something buried deep. Then, just as quickly, it was gone. He hesitated to answer, taking his time to think before changing the topic. "You'll meet my crew soon. They call themselves the Sisters, not very creative if you ask me, because, well; they are indeed sisters. They should be here any minute." He glanced out the window with a soft smirk.
Rain began to fall from the skies above Night City. Falco held out his hand from the comfort of the car, raindrops hitting his palm softly. He looked up at the skies, seeing dark clouds forming overhead. The moon was absent that night, with only faint light filtering through the harsh clouds.
Looking up from the car, Falco received a text that activated his holo. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was from Lucy. He opened the message while R3V hummed with interest, observing Falco.
'Turbo, tonight, 10 pm'
As brief as she tended to be, Falco stared at the message a little longer and then checked the clock in the car. It was nearing 8 p.m. He closed his eyes and smiled briefly, one hand still catching raindrops while the other tightened around the wheel. It seemed like a meetup was coming after all.
R3V noticed the shift in Falco's mood and body language. His body turned toward him. "Anything important?" he asked, intrigued, with slow words.
Falco didn't reply at all. He didn't want to and was too busy daydreaming about what he would say, already planning the encounter with his long-lost friend. Maybe this was what he needed all along: a friend by his side, a gig, and, of course, a bit of sweet revenge on Arasaka.
R3V snapped his fingers. "Choom, you okay?" he asked, shaking Falco's shoulder after the snap.
"Yeah, sure. It ain't getting better than this." Falco answered, somewhat flippant but truthful.
The car's trunk opened, and in the rearview mirror, Falco could see two women carrying a knocked-out man, who was being thrown into the car's back.
One of the women appeared taller than average, with a short, almost neon-like, vibrant pink pixie cut. Under the black bulletproof vest she wore, she had a muscular build. On her side, there were not one, not two, but three pistols. When she opened the back seat door, a metallic noise was heard as her hand was heavily chromed with cyberware.
"Nice ride, R3V. You didn't mention we'd get a luxury escort." she said before looking at Falco. "Name's Maggie. Let's roll."
Trailing behind, the other woman was one of average build, neither too tall nor too short. She wore sunglasses in the middle of the night. Mostly druggies do that in Night City, but she didn't seem like one. There was something ominous about her presence as she slowly got inside the car. As she entered, she let out a sigh, undoing her blonde hair from the bun atop her head.
"Are we waiting for something?!" Maggie asked with a strong, rasping voice. "Hello?"
Just as she asked, an alarm started sounding from a tall building next to where they parked. Falco snapped out of his daydream and the shock that his new fancy car was now being used to take either a hostage or a flatlined individual. He rolled his shoulder and cracked his neck as he started the engine. Scanning the building and the streets around, he nodded, not finding any gazes on them.
"On our way, ma'am." Falco said, and with that, they left the scene in a hurry.