A/N: I should be really working, but when the Muse strikes...

Wakako Okada, sat in her comfy chair, in her comfortably arranged office and watched her favorite drama, while keeping half an eye out on the city, making sure that nobody did anything unsightly, or if they did they did it in a way in which she could profit from. She was slightly relaxed, as the infernal chaos gremlin, whom some thought was an actual human child was out of town. Which somehow decreased violent incidents by an entire percent in the entirety of Night City by the time she stepped over the border. On one hand, she was curious, but in her long life, she learned not to look too closely at certain things.

What Motoko did and how she did them was one of those things.

Having the child in her 'employ' was a rather nice surprise for her enemies and a boon to her accounts, but even so, sometimes she was a little too much. Especially, after she declared all scavs her mortal enemies. Wakako didn't like the scavs any more than any random person on the street, but she actually realized how futile an effort it was to want to eradicate them. Scavs were not a simple group. It was an idea, philosophy, and sometimes religion meshed together in a rather obscene package.

Still, the chaotic child was out of Night City and she decided to relax.

Which worked for a few days.

She only had to deal with the usual imbeciles, grandstanding solos that thought that they were the next Blackhand while making sure that the upstart in her little dinky morgue stayed away from her territory. Then, while immersed in a rather romantic scene, her agent pinged several times, as a deluge of messages flooded it.

Doing the usual checks, she opened the first one and was almost hit with the physical presence of a scream with several people yelling something. However, as they were yelling over each other, the entire thing became a mish-mash of sounds.
Frowning a little, she activated several defenses that would ensure that she wouldn't be interrupted and began working on the files.

Dealing with people was her choice of work, but she was no slouch in the cyber department either. And if everything failed, then she was a fixer and had access to a multitude of netrunners or specialists who would jump at the chance to work for her.
Surprisingly, it only took her only half an hour to detangle the chaotic message.

Running another dozen scans to make sure it wasn't an elaborate trap hidden inside an intriguing puzzle.
Nothing came up. Nodding slightly, lips pursued, she began to go over the details of the message.
However, she stopped cold when she looked at the location.

'Oh, no...'

There, in bright letters was one line she really didn't want to see.

Location: Seattle

'Motoko, you devil child, what did you do?' she thought mournfully while she opened the first sound file.

"-shooting! I said stop! It's too dark, we can't hit her this way! Somebody turn on the la-" the first sound file ended with a crisp shot of an overturned and no doubt enhanced pistol.

She clicked on the next one. It was just desperate screaming. The third contained somebody singing nursery rhymes while sobbing. The fourth finally had some actionable information.

"-ako, you insane old bi-the hell did you send this insane woma-we are getting slaughte-top! I said STOP!-AAAARGH!"

Ignoring the blood-curdling scream at the end she continued.

Thankfully, the next was done by somebody sane.

"Wakako, I don't know how we upset you, but please, please tell us. We are read- The heads of the Cougar Claws are willing to-the Rats keep dieing and we can't stop it!"

The next one was similar.

"We are willing to pay-NO! Don't go in the... they are dead...- Listen, you ancient troll, tell me how much to pay to take that insane cyberpsycho back to the hole you got it from!"

She frowned at the language but kept going. While she dreaded the fallout from the entire chain of events, she had to admit, for once it was rather enjoyable watching it happen to somebody else.

'Better Seattle than Night City...'

The call went through and rang exactly three times before the devil child picked it up.

Instantly, Motoko's cheerful face was displayed on one of her monitors. Wakako never could understand how the girl could be cheerful in this dreadful city where joy and hope went to get high and die in a blaze of glory in the hope that maybe somebody would name a drink after them. The current top contenders in the betting groups őlaced their money on either that she was always high on something she made, or plain crazy after her experience with the scavs and Maelstrom.

"Child," she spoke trying to convey her disapproval through her eyes. Naturally Motoko ingored it.

"Hey, Wakako! Want some souvenirs from Seattle? I found this super cute shop selling animated Space Needle keychains," she declared with a grin, then she frowned. "Dunno why... nobody uses keys anymore..." Then as expected from somebody with her limited attention span she instantly perked up. "Anyway, why did you call? The super cool hush-hush thing you had with my new friend, Panam, was completed. No trouble. Expect for the Rats and..." Here she obviously tried to keep herself from sniggering. With little success. "...Cougars. But I dealt with them." She finished her 'report' with a cheesy grin and thumbs up.

"I heard."

"Oh really? Am I famous in Seattle too? What do they call me?" she asked rapidly, leaning closer to the screen. Close enough that Wakako could see the naked excitement in her eyes.

"Mostly screams of the dying and desperate to please remove you from the city. But to your unbelievable luck, child, they are willing to pay for it," she said, keeping an eye on the girl.

The moment the words left her lips, she saw the spark of intelligence and ruthlessness that told her the girl only pretended to be airheaded. Under all that bluster was a cold, calculating machine that had plans. Plans she didn't even want to think about.

"Ninety percent!"

"For me, you mean," she countered, sinking into the familiar feeling of negotiations. "For my tireless work trying to convince you to leave Seattle."

"Pff, don't be mean, old lady. Panam is just doing a last supply run, we were actually about to leave. So, you basically did nothing. Eighty. For me!"

"Seventy-five for me..."

Wakako put down her agent and leaned back in her comfortable chair, letting out a sigh of contentment.

The devil child was heading back to Night City, the people of Seattle owed her several favors and large payments.

'Not bad for almost no work...' she mused, then with a wave of her hand the television set restarted and a few seconds later she was back enjoying her drama, while the city that never slept almost buzzed in excitement at the thought of Motoko returning.

Almost.