A/N: So, I'm back, and alive. Sorry for the long silence, had a few problems in real life concerning being a responsible adult and stuff, it was a general mess and I'm not much better… mostly. Anyway, I'm back, alive, and working on stuff again.

Not much else to say, I have a beta reader and they gave me the greenlight for this chapter. That said, if I missed something or the characters are a bit… off, don't be afraid to point it out. Or, if you find yourself enjoying this chapter in particular.

That said, onto the chapter!

Ch'en gurgled, leaning over her bed, spitting whatever was in her mouth into a trash can to the side, the warmth of her bed not doing her pulsing head any favors. She blinks as she tries to make sense of the series of events that led to her being in her bed.

"… Fuck." She hissed, her hands slid up as they covered her face and she groaned. "Fuck~." She said one last time, practically agreeing to moonlighting, not even just in an attempt to get them arrested, but because they're genuinely doing good.

Her eyes glance at the clock as she panicked for a second, her hands already in the process of pushing herself off her bed to get ready for her job that she's late for. However, she had today and tomorrow off.

The thought caused her to pause, her hands shaking before they gave in, letting her flop on the bed with a groan. Speaking of, she hadn't finished going through the series of events.

Right, so she's now complicit in what is probably legally a crime but morally a good thing because she decided to let him climb to the top of the LGD tower…

Then they met later in the afternoon, after… the meeting, met W and Scarp, got the details of the job from the Rat King, traded information, and compiled a 'to-do' list, has to seem like she's having time off that she thought she'd be doing fighting or something. Then, there was the bar, Chi Xiao, the talk about cyberware, then…

They got really, really, drunk, it was almost unnatural how much both of them drank as a consequence of having no one to stop them or limit them after she goaded him into doing so. Then, there were the drinking games, Josue being fairly flirty when he's really drunk, then the small scuffle, and then… well she had to have been left here at that point.

She reviewed the night again and again before bringing both hands to her face. "I swear, I'm never going drinking with Josue again."

The door to her room opens as she lowers her hands before her eyes widen. For one, Josue was shirtless, only in jeans as he had some water, his own face set in it's usual placid expression. "Morning." He greeted her, placing some eggs and bacon to the side while placing a cup of water down beside her.

"Where is your shirt?" She asked, glancing at the eggs as he stepped back and sat down on the chair of the desk in her room. "And why are you in my home?"

"In order, you puked and used my shirt as a napkin." He answered as he leaned back on the chair, his muscles flexing as she wondered how much of it was real and how much wasn't. Though she could tell that he did take care of himself when it came to training, "As for why I'm here, I was drunk off my mind and I wasn't going to see whoever is in charge of interrogations shirtless and drunk out of my mind."

For a second, she didn't answer instead, inspecting his upper body as the only visible part.

It wasn't peppered with scars, but there were a few discolored areas signifying scars, specifically a swathe of cuts by where his liver would be. There were some extra here and there, discolored circles and lines to signify gunshots and cuts or stabs respectively as she inspected his right arm.

Well-muscled and a light brown that smoothly melds into the rest of his body, with no surgical scars but normal scars instead. It was a bit… unnerving, hearing the modifications he's gone through yet seeing no evidence of it.

Then, there was his left, his 'cybrerarm'. Even without the knowledge, if she saw it clearly as she was at the moment, she would have been able to tell that something was different about it.

There was a slight discoloration to the skin starting from the bicep down like the skin wasn't original and incapable of getting tanned. Then there was the subtlest of lines that must be the circuit-like lines that make up his Synthskin, similar lines on his right arm for the roses. To anyone else, it wouldn't have been obvious, but to Ch'en, who was used to fighting and noticing small things, it was obvious.

There were also the silver lines on his arm and his face, two of them curving from the corner of his eyes and connecting at the bridge of his nose. Ch'en couldn't help but notice that he was fairly handsome.

He was also shirtless after a night out drinking without someone like Hoshiguma to limit her. She eats the scrambled eggs, pretty good in her opinion as she doesn't feel the anxiety she thought she'd have in this situation.

She glanced to the side, Chi Xiao sheathed and resting by her door as she could feel the vague connection it had to Josue, the memory souring her mood. "So," she started, turning to him, "what are you still doing here?"

"I don't have a shirt." He pointed out, "It's in the trash after you ripped it."

A slight blush lit up her face, "… Sorry about that."

"It's fine." He said, bringing a hand up and yawning as he stretched. "For now," he begins leaning back, "how're you thinking of spending your day off?"

Ch'en looked at him in confusion. "Because we need to spend today doing something, I've got a few pre-DataKrash movies sitting on a laptop somewhere. Quentin Tarantino or something." He waved off the name as Ch'en looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean 'we'?" She asked, narrowing her eyes, "Shouldn't you be back at the auto shop?"

"I haven't gotten a call, so it probably doesn't involve me if Scarp is handling something. Speaking of, here." He reached into a bag behind him and he passed her a radio communicator. It was different from the one she used due to its weight and design. She grabbed it and fiddled with it slightly, getting familiar with the communicator. "I'll grab a shirt from somewhere and be out of your hair. Well, until the afternoon. Wanna hang out then?"

"And what would you suggest we do?" Ch'en asked, raising a brow.

"Watch a movie?" He suggested, "There's this ancient practice from where I'm from. Set up a projector, and some speakers, and you can watch a movie without needing a big screen." He pointed out as he stood up. "Still, I'm gonna be entering the Clerk's office, see if I can find those deeds and get them sent to W."

"Well…" She trailed off, looking around before bringing her hands up and letting them fall to her sides. "Guess I'll stick around here."

"Why don't you think about a gun?" Josue asked as Ch'en blinked.

"...Excuse me?" She asked and Josue raised a brow.

"Well," he trailed off, leaning by the door, "it'll be a bit suspicious if we pay you directly, right? Especially if it's suddenly cleaned and whatnot." He pointed out while Ch'en's eyes widened before shaking her head as she relaxed visibly.

"The safety of the people of Lungmen is what matters to me." She answered as Josue frowned.

"That isn't enough for me." Josue answered, "You're risking your career for this, the most you deserve is something that's at least worth what you would be getting paid for it."

"As much as I'd rather not do that," Ch'en started, "it's truly fine, Josue. It's my responsibility as the Head of the LGD's Special Unit to make sure all Lungmen citizens are safe and sound, even the Infected." She tried again but Josue shook his head.

"No." He said. "I'm the one running the show, and I say that you're getting paid by getting a custom gun for you and you alone. So, I'm going to go to the Clerk's office, get the information I need, and when I'm back, you'll have some idea of what gun you'd want, alright?" He practically ordered, stepping away before turning, "Also, don't forget to eat. I'll be back in the afternoon, bye." He said, waving as he made his way out of Ch'en's room and she huffed after a beat of silence.

"What a stubborn fool."

Showering, brushing his teeth, and changing clothes took a while as Josue found himself in front of the Clerk's Office an hour later. He wore a pair of slacks, gloves, a button-up shirt, and a coat as he made his way inside. "Lung," he muttered under his breath, "this is Tiger, making my way inside, over."

The Clerk's Office was large right at the heart of Lungmen's government district, between an alley and a corner, expansive and filled with paperwork while he waited outside on a bench. He could see other people dressed like him pass by, of course, unlike them, Josue's clothes were simpler, less sophisticated, and dull. He could pull out the suit he got as thanks for helping Torrell and Chiang, but he decided against it.

There was a sigh from the earpiece in his ear, connected to the communicator, while Ch'en answered a second later, "Copy. This is Lung, Tiger, what's the sich?"

"This place is a nice building," he noted out loud, "so, how do I get to the paperwork without alerting the cameras."

"It's not like the place is a prison," Ch'en noted, "why all the secrecy?"

"'cause we'd have to pay to get the records," he pointed out, "besides if we got all the records, it'd tip him off. While I'm here, I'll try to find some court cases and whatnot."

"Well, how are you going to get in?" Ch'en asked while Josue stood up and made his way into the alley, looking up at his target, he raised his left arm after making sure no one was looking. There was a hiss as his hand changed form, the fingers bending back and sharpening to resemble an anchor, before it flew up with a hiss, landing on the edge of the roof.

He jumped up, the rope receding back into his arm with a subtle whir, pulling himself upwards and to the second-floor window, grabbing a hold of the windowsill before tugging at his Grapple Hand while it returned to the shape of a normal hand and returned to his arm, clicking together while Josue opened and closed the hand, normal as ever like nothing ever changed. He opened the window with a bit of a struggle before hopping over and onto the second floor, "I'm in. What am I looking for?"

"Wha-? Al-. Actually…" She trailed off before she continued, "The paperwork is usually organized by sections. You're on the second floor, right?" Ch'en asked while Josue hummed.

"Yeah." He confirmed.

"Good, they should be in there," She noted as he crouched down, hiding his presence while looking for cameras. None were looking at his location at the moment, so he began to make his way through the building.

He kept his hand on the nearest surface, his gloves hiding any possible marks his hand could have left while he made his way through the area. His shoes made no sound as he kept his eyes peeled for anything that might be useful.

"You're pretty good at sneaking around," Ch'en noted out loud, the sound of tapping ringing in his ear as he paused, his brow twitching.

"Aren't you supposed to be off, why are you working?" He asked under his breath, the tapping only stopping for a second before continuing.

"… Not used to having this much free time." She admitted as Josue sighed. "Not to mention…"

She didn't say it out loud, but Josue's worked with Lawmen before, the good kind was always his least favorite type of Lawman to work with. Many of them were good people tired of the situation, but even more were the type of people Josue might have ended up shooting in one of his escapes. Ch'en? She's a good woman. Not exactly a good cop though.

After all, would a good cop really question her orders? Would they be doing all of this with Josue?

To an extent, he couldn't help but pity her, this isn't Night City where a Fixer can pay off a judge to get a Lawman out of trouble when they did their job. Lungmen is prosperous, far more than Night City ever was, and the price of such prosperity comes at the cost of the Infected.

Besides, Ch'en was a horrible undercover cop.

"Yeah, sneaking around was something I did regularly." Josue admitted, "How I escaped you… four times."

"Don't remind me." She sighed, "Those cruisers you modified still haven't come back from their inspection."

"Heh." He chuckled to himself before pausing. "Ch'en, I think I found the deeds."

He read the label again and nodded to himself as he opened the cabinets, looking through the files and papers. The various signatures meld together, his mind already wondering if he could forge a transfer of property before he shook his head. Not the time.

The sound of shuffling papers was quiet, no one on the floor listening as he internally counted the papers. "One, two… four… seven…"

His cybereye took pictures of the various deeds, Scarp sending him some pseudonyms and various other identities that were used to buy property as he finds those as well.

The count continued to climb before ending as he finished parsing through the files before closing the cabinets and moving to his next target.

Court cases. No Corpo has gone through life and not accumulated a few. The files were easily found and no one noticed as he looked through them.

Josue hated to admit it, but he's clean, almost squeaky clean, doing a lot more good than bad with a few accidents. Josue would even call him a good man if it wasn't for the fact that he's organizing an underground fighting ring of Infected.

His lips curled in disgust while he made his way to the final part. Shipping manifestos.

After a bit of searching, he found the electronic database and jacked in, breaching the admittedly flimsy firewall without tripping any alarms as he looked for them. Downloading them, he jacked out, tugging at the plug as it returned to his wrist, and his job was done.

"Done, making my way out of here." He answered, Ch'en humming while he hopped out the window he entered and landed in the alley easily, the hydraulics of his Jump Boosters hissing subtly while the feeling of strain coursed through his cyberlegs from the synthetic muscles.

He slipped into a crowd and left before anyone was wiser.

In front of his terminal, he parsed through the information he gathered, back in his normal clothes. He cross-referenced the information with a map, marking new locations and possibilities as he began thinking of another conundrum.

How to incriminate Aaron Coten. There's not enough information to come up with a solid plan, what's worse is that he's done nothing legally wrong. Morally? A few scientists who insist that the Infected aren't human wouldn't see it as such. To everyone else? Debatable.

Still, if people suddenly popped up, accusing Aaron, then there's a high chance that it'll just be buried by his partners. Who will also be investigated and have far more incriminating crimes under their belt, like dodging taxes, accepting bribes, or

There was an idea, he had, but it's not a very morally acceptable one. Well, the ending especially wouldn't be, but everything else? Also very much not morally acceptable.

W would've loved it.

Still, he finished compiling the information, with a tap, the new map is sent to Scarp and W as he leans back and turns to his workbench from his place beside his terminal. He shook his head, after all, he's yet to run diagnostics on the vehicle's systems.

"Tlaloc," he called out to the AI working as his Agent, "run a diagnostics on the kombi."

The screen where Tlaloc usually was changed, displayed an image of the kombi. "Everything is working well, but you should check the generator and the material synthesizer."

"Right, can't believe it continued slipping my mind." He noted out loud as he moved to where the generator his Family stole was located. The panel that hid the device was moved, revealing the piece of machinery that his Family thought was a terraforming machine, but it wasn't.

If anything, if it was a terraforming machine, it was made in such a way that it wasn't. Emitting energy rather than directing, but, if one thought about it, then the words used in the file were fairly ambiguous as hindsight offers an answer. "Shit, were they going to use this to strip another world of its resources?"

Sounds like something Arasaka would do, but back then, Josue only knew that it had energy, so he could hook it up to the kombi to work as an auxiliary generator. It did its job, barely using any energy when he activated it for long periods of time.

Strangely enough, it was practically empty at the moment, according to the gauge on the side, it was recovering its energy. He flicked at the screen a few times as he nodded along, this must have been what brought him here, yet, that still doesn't answer one thing.

The Lost Months. Those months before he appeared here, months he just can't seem to remember exactly.

The closest he can equate it is the time he went psycho after Maelstrom caught him. The second closest would be when he was chippin' in a Sandevistan after he got his cyberarm and cyberlegs. He still has the Sandevistan, he's still working on it, and he's not putting it on any time soon, after all that thing had a virus in it. It's been purged, but Josue was still working on it.

Granted, he hasn't touched it in his time in Lungmen, he had another… project that took up most of his free time.

Another is the times he's slept, woken up, and slept right back again.

His hands moved as they inspected the generator, his mind busy while he maintained it, which wasn't too hard. "Done." He muttered, closing the panel. "Now, material synthesizer."

What would usually be a large and wieldy, usually only used in labs, was reduced to the size of a 3D printer, integrated into the wall right by the workbench of his kombi. Through the years, it's gotten upgrades, broken down, rebuilt, replaced, and fixed, until it got to the point it is now. Reaching into a cabinet in his workbench, he brought out a tablet tapping it as it came to life and he frowned.

"… What?" He muttered, the words on the tablet confusing him.

If you're seeing this, you survived. Well done, Tiger.

It was… strange for Josue, he didn't remember programming something like this. He tapped the screen again, the words disappearing to reveal new ones.

You have questions, and I… don't have answers. So much happened so quickly, and you work better without many answers. Just keep this in mind: Style over substance, attitude is everything and live on the Edge.

The screen disappears as Josue raises a brow, his face twisted in confusion, "Jesus… You forgot the last one." He muttered, sitting down, as he looked through the list of materials and muttered out loud. "Break the rules."

After he chanted what's basically become his prayer over the years, he began to inspect the synthesizer and frowned, "What the hell did I do during the Lost Months?" He muttered under his breath.

While there were the usual components found within, there were also more within, materials he vaguely recognized and schematics he never remembered making or downloading. For example, 'Cold Steel Flechette', 'Cold Steel', 'Cold Steel Slugs', and more that he doesn't recognize. With a tap, he chooses the Flechette rounds, he does need some for his Malorian Arms Sub-Flechette Gun.

"Jesus that takes up a lot of material." He muttered to himself before accepting, his curiosity pushing him forward as the synthesizer did its job. He stood up and opened his gun locker, pulling out the Sub-Flechette Gun, a Heavy Submachine Gun that fires flechettes instead of rounds. Or, it would be if Eran didn't decide to go behind his back to make an actual gun for him instead of just the bow.

While the Flyswatter was a beautiful piece of machinery, a compound bow that makes next to no sound, the 'Comanche', a variation of the Sub-Flechette Gun was installed with a Smatgun Link, compensator, internal suppressor, and capable of semi-auto and full-auto. It's also useful on land and sea, even if he's firing into the water, the flechettes never lost power or accuracy even under water.

It was a good weapon, but the modified Malorian was more his style, not that he rejected it.

Regardless, 'cold steel'? He's heard the term a few times, but it doesn't come to mind as he sits down and leans against his chair. He's worked with it a few times, but this feels different, somehow.

He shook his head, he needed to focus on other things, like setting up a movie for tonight. This brings up the first problem, he doesn't think he has any that Ch'en would like, so…

Well, the classics are classic for a reason, Reservoir Dogs was one he, and his Family, loved watching on occasion. So, why not?

Now, what else could he do for today?

The Synthesizing process is long and limited, he can only do one thing at a time, which is fine considering he hasn't needed to do more at once, but that might change. His eyes landed on a pile of scraps he had of abandoned projects or discarded ones.

His mind began to turn before he grabbed them and began the process of breaking the things apart and putting them back together in a new form.

For years he's worked with tech, and for years, he's always been best with vehicles. Slowly, his mastery came into play while the components came together to create something not unlike a joystick but with more buttons.

He continued to work on the smaller components of the project he was working on for a while until Tlaloc informed him of someone making their way in his direction. He put away his weapons, slinging the M-2012 over his shoulder, placing his Peacemaker at his hip, and slipping the Malorian Arms 3516 into his shoulder holster under his jacket before releasing a breath in preparation.

He stepped out and made his way to a seat while a vehicle made its way into the auto shop he stretched, waiting for the ones inside to step out.

One of them was a red-headed angel, a Sankta, with a Kriss Vector on her back and brown eyes, wearing casual clothes like a sweater. The other was a Lupo with black hair, a sword by her side, and brown eyes aimed right at him. She wore clothes similar to the Sankta.

Finally, an orange-haired Forte stepped out, her eyes glistening with interest, particularly at the newly-christened 'Sand Rail' covered by a tarp.

"Afternoon," the red-haired girl began, a smile on her face, "Penguin Logistics at your ser…" She trailed off, her eyes suddenly very, very interested in Josue. Particularly, his Peacekeeper.

"Right," he began, shifting as his hand traced the grip of his Peacemaker, "Josue 'Tiger' Mondragon, at your service." He answered, trying to relax.

"Texas." The black-haired Lupo began, bringing out some pocky and slipping it into her mouth like one would a cigarette. "We heard you can repair and maintain cars?"

"Sure," Josue answered, standing up as the Sankta gasped, his leather jacket shifting as the Forte whistled. Even the Lupo seemed interested. "That what you want me to look at?"

"Yeah, darn thang's squeakin' at every turn." The Forte complained, walking to him before extending an arm as he reciprocated, shaking it, "Name's Croissant," she introduced herself with a wink, "call me if ya ever need some ammo for those nice lookin' guns, I'll even give you a discount."

"Where'd you get them?" The redhead angel started, nearly leaping to him as he moved, keeping his hand on his Peacekeeper as he had to stop himself from drawing them. "What are-?"

"Exusiai," Texas interjected, the Sankta pausing under the stern look of the Lupo. She sheepishly scratched at the back of her head as Texas turned to him. "I'm sorry about her."

"It's fine. Just don't try that again, please?" He requested, especially since the M1911 was the weapon he first bought, while the Peacemaker was his first gun, period. He found it, maintained it, and brought it back to full capacity by himself.

"Ah, sorry, sorry." The Sankta said, sheepish, "It's just the first time I've seen weapons like those. Ah, right." She said, smiling as she extended a hand. "I'm Exusiai, I like apple pie and guns."

"Well," Josue huffed, extending his own and grasping it, "that makes two of us, though I'm more partial to pistols and I'd take a nice horchata and capirotada myself."

"Huh, so you're from Bolivia?" Exusiai asked as Josue paused, letting go of her hand while raising a brow, recognizing the country from his world, so it must be one here too.

"Nah." He admitted, "Parents are though. So," he interjects, looking at the car, littered with bullet holes, "squeaking, huh?"

"Yeah." Texas confirmed, "Can you do something about it?"

"Sounds like a problem with the suspensions." He noted, circling the car, checking the model while his mind went back to the various manuals he read thanks to the Rat King. "Jeez, you've been working 'er hard, huh?" He noted as he flicked his hand against the rubber of the wheels, "Wheels missing some air." He noted out loud as he opened the trunk, "Huh… Looks fine, and everything's in place…" He trailed off, muttering as he inspected the car.

Finally, when he was done, he stepped back, "Suspension's busted, probably gonna need a new one, the wheels need some extra air and the obvious bullet holes." He noted out loud, leaning on it, "How quickly do you need this fixed?"

"How soon can you get it fixed?" Texas asked while he held a hand to his chin.

"Probably best to send it back for the bullet holes, everything else I can do." He answered as Texas nodded. "So?"

"Replace the suspension." She answered as Josue nodded. "We can take care of the rest."

"Should be easy," he muttered, stepping back as he entered a different room, "there should be…" His voice trailed off as the members of Penguin Logistics glanced at each other.

"That was pretty interesting Exusiai," Croissant grumbles, the red-haired Sankta scratching the back of her head sheepishly, "Never seen ya react like tha' before."

"Well, you know how expensive guns are," Exusiai muttered, scratching the back of her head, "even if they're mostly pistols, I wanna know how he got them, how they work, everything," Exusiai said, excited as Texas glanced around.

Exusiai was right, guns are expensive and hard to come by, not to mention unreliable. The ammunition on its own tends to reach astronomical levels, enough that Exusiai uses rubber bullets to save on costs. The auto shop definitely didn't look like it belonged to someone who could afford it. Still, her pocky snapped when she bit down on it and ate the rest, they're here to get their car serviced.

"Hey Texas, think he'll agree if I ask if I can see his guns?" Exusiai asked and Texas shrugged.

"Probably not." Texas answered, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, "I don't think he'd appreciate the unwanted guests."

Croissant, Exusiai, and Texas turn to the garage door, suited men ambling in with bats, axes, swords, bows, and more, "So, this is where you went? Don't think you can get away this time."

There was a beat of silence, Croissant, Exusiai, and Texas ready their weapons while Exusiai tilted her head, "Er… Who are you?"

Another beat of silence stretched out as the thugs began to heat up, gritting their teeth and glaring. "You-!"

"Here it is," Josue said, stepping out of the room with a box. He opened it to reveal the suspension inside before he looked up, pausing at the group that stood in front of his auto shop. "What the fuck do you want?" He asked, his entire nature changing from 'slightly suspicious mechanic' to 'experienced combatant' in a second.

"We're-." He started, interrupted by something being placed on a table roughly before Josue surged forward and stepped in front of them, glaring at the man.

"Being a nuisance. Considering all of you broke-ass motherfuckers didn't bring a car, means you're looking for something. Now, unless the ears ya got," he said, flicking the man's dog ears as he tried to swat Josue's hand away, "are for show, I asked, what you're doing here. Not." He began, placing a finger on his chest and pushing the man back, "Who."

There was a beat of silence as the man glared, his eyes relaxed but a vein bulged on his forehead. He was angry.

Josue smiled, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. The man swung and Josue's eyes widened imperceptibly as the fist landed on his jaw.

Strong. Like way stronger, he feels like he just took a hit from a Solo. Still, he's been punched by a cyberarm before and his Skin Weave absorbed a lot of the damage, and he already knows this. They're strong, but not that much.

Well, never bring a knife to a gunfight.

In one smooth movement, he drew his Peacemaker, cocking the hammer as it clicked in place and rested the barrel against his leg. The man seemed smug, about to gloat and Josue wouldn't have minded, hell, he wouldn't have brought out his revolver usually.

Honestly? He missed the smell of gunpowder and the violence. A feeling he can push down, but his experience with the mafia and the bratva was never good, and with these people dressing like them? Perfect for relieving stress.

Blood splattered at the press of the trigger and the crack of a gunshot, the man screaming as he fell, holding his leg as the others stepped back, shock and surprise on their faces. He straightened up and twirled the revolver once, cocking it with the spin as he placed it by his hip and released a breath.

Don't kill, not yet. Too many questions, too many problems. Not his way of doing things.

He fanned the hammer, and his six-shooter fired five more times, ending it with a spin of his revolver, the thugs falling, holding their legs or arms while the others shook. "Pick 'em up." He said, stopping the revolver from spinning. "I'm already gonna be stuck cleaning the blood, disposing of bodies will just waste my time."

As the others scampered to get the injured, one of them yelled, "We'll get you back! We don't forget insults like this!"

"What a coincidence." Josue noted, opening the loading gate and spinning the cylinder of the Peacemaker, the empty casings clattering to the ground, "I don't either." He hissed under his breath roughly, loading a round into each chamber before closing the gate. "So, here's the deal, you go home, cry about it, and do nothing or I kill everyone in your group. Comprende?"

There wasn't an answer as he rolled his eyes, aiming at the other leg of a man being carried by one of the others and fired, their screams ringing out along with their sobs as they nodded. "Y-Yeah, we get it."

"Scram!" He punctuated, waving his Peacemaker at them as they ran far and hard.

Once their screams and sobs were out of earshot, which took a while, they were crying, he huffed, unloading the spent cartridge and putting it away like he did the others before loading a round and closing the gate. Holstering the gun before turning to the others, who seemed more than used to the violence, but still seemed unnerved, except Exusiai, who was now looking at him in confusion.

"So," he started, "want me to clean out the blood first or do you want the suspension installed first?"

As Penguin Logistics drove away from Scarp's Scrapyard, Exusiai was strangely serious, Croissant was pouting, and Texas was chewing away at her pocky.

Exusiai got her wish, inspecting, what Josue explained to be, a 'Colt Single Action Army Peacemaker'. Chambered for Colt .45, it's a single-action revolver with an elongated barrel and the hammer modified to be fanned. The classic revolver was famous for its use in the 'Wild West' and its style.

He said more, but Texas didn't really understand it, and even Exusiai seemed confused at points as he worked on replacing the suspension while she inspected the weapon.

"We need to call Rhodes Island." Exusiai said suddenly, strangely serious, "Those guns… They didn't use Originium."

There was a beat of silence as Croissant asked, "Seriously?" She asked, reeling. After all, while an alternative to Originium would be revolutionary and would net her a bunch of cash, something like what he used? Allowing normal people to use guns without Arts? Only an idiot or the corrupt would be blind to the consequences of such an act.

"Yeah." Exusiai confirmed, "Not a lick of Originium. If someone manages to figure it out…" Exusiai trailed off, her words hanging over them.

There was no answer, but Texas sped up slightly.

Within Rhodes Island, a woman with silver hair sipped at coffee, her spine thrumming comfortably as she stared at the file in front of her. Her green eyes narrowed at the image and the familiar thrumming of her spine as its 'creator' was revealed. At least, of its prototype.

The Feline, her racial features reminiscent of a lynx's, didn't show any reaction, but the tightening of her grip on the grip of her mug was visible. She's lived a long, long, life and in her life, she's only truly hated one person. The number hasn't changed, yet, only the person has.

Taking another sip, Mon3tr vibrated behind her. The crystal rested along her spine covering the secret behind it, a piece of technology indecipherable to her and even the few Aegirs she's met.

A part of her hoped she wouldn't have to meet him in person.

Josue finished cleaning the auto shop before anyone could inspect as he drove to Ch'en's apartment, the Parallax hummed under his hands as he waited, a projector and a speaker resting beside him as he waited. He already scoped out a pretty good location, so all he has to do is wait now.

He didn't have to wait for too long, Ch'en stepped out of the front, her eyes closed, a vein bulging as Josue whistled, her arms visibly shaking in outrage. "You look good." He noted.

She did, her horns peeked out of the hat she wore with a black off-the-shoulder top that revealed a bit of her stomach, something she was slightly conscious of as she occasionally tried to pull it down, jean short shorts, and sneakers.

An outfit that revealed her athleticism as she tried to glare at Josue, the Edgerunner taking it easily as Ch'en relented. "Y-You do too." She admitted.

Josue wore a black shirt under a thin white coat with some jeans and sneakers. Of course, he might look unarmed, but nothing the Hidden Holsters in his cyberlegs couldn't change. This isn't Night City after all.

"You wearing makeup too?" He asked, a bit surprised as Ch'en stiffened and tried to deny it as he huffed, "Now you're making me feel bad, probably should have come in something better."

"N-No." She said, looking back before gritting out, "L-Let's just go."

"Sure." He relented, "Hop on." He said as she did so, before speeding away at a reasonable speed. "So, what happened?"

Ch'en grumbled something as Josue glanced back and she repeated her answer louder and more clearly, "My aunt." She grumbled, "She thought I was going out on a date."

"So, this isn't a date?" He asked and she sent him a raised brow. "If you want-," He continued, smiling as she shook her head, shoving him slightly.

"Just shut up and drive." She interrupted, "Speaking of, what are you going to do about Swire?"

"Well," Josue started, "we're currently prodding, trying to keep 'em from figuring out what we're doing. Both the LGD and the targets. I've informed W and Scarp, now I'm just waiting for tomorrow so we can get some deets. If she wants her car modified, I'll do it, the information-gathering should take a week at most, and that's currently Scarp's and W's jobs, the modifications should take a few days at most."

Ch'en was silent as she looked at his back, broad and well-muscled before shaking her head and looking around, "… How the hell did I get here?"

Josue couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Really? Now?"

"You…" She trailed off, swatting his shoulder, "How the hell did you manage to pull me along with this?"

"I didn't do anything." He said, "I just allowed you to do good, you're just taking it, even if it's technically a crime under the law."

Ch'en didn't answer for a while until she sighed. "… You fucking bastard." She finished as Josue chuckled, noting a lack of anger in her voice, instead, she seemed lost as he shook his head.

"That, I am. Though my parents were happily married, they seemed to have a… strange habit of inviting others for nights, so-."

Of course, Josue knew who his mother and father were, even if his dad died when he was young, emotionally and physically.

Still, "Shut up!" Ch'en said, swatting at him again got a laugh out of him as he continued driving. "So, where are we going?"

"Managed to find a good spot," he noted out loud as he looked up at the sky, "should be dark enough by the time we get there."

"Really?" She asked as he nodded, "So, explain to me again what we're doing?"

"So," He started, turning a corner before continuing, "we're going to set up a projector, and some speakers, and project the movie onto a wall and watch a movie."

"That's it?" She asked, as Josue nodded.

"Just a movie and hammering out any details on the gun I'd make for you." He added as she flinched.

"So you still remembered." She noted as Josue rolled his eyes.

"Of course I would, I've got a few ideas in mind." He added, "But let's leave those for when we get there."

"Well, if you're sure." Ch'en said, shrugging, "If the movie isn't good, I'll pummel you."

"How violent," Josue said, reeling as Ch'en rolled her eyes.

Soon, they found the spot, a tall building within the outskirts of Lungmen obscuring the sunset in the distance as Josue and Ch'en were within another abandoned building a street away. "D-Did you clean this place?" She asked as Josue set up the projector to his laptop within the strangely clean room.

It resembled an office with a long couch right in front of the windows looking out. One of the windows was broken, though it looked more recent, as Josue placed a table at the edge and set up the projector there.

While the outskirts of Lungmen aren't the slums, they're not exactly a very safe place, only marginally more unsafe than normal. "Actually, are we allowed to be here?" She asked as Josue turned to her, raising a brow as he leaned on the table.

"Do you want the answer, or would you rather not so you can pin it on me?" He asked as Ch'en gaped, "Besides, no one's here at the moment, so we'll be fine. It's one movie, we can get some actual dinner afterward."

"I can't believe this," Ch'en grumbled under her breath, rubbing the space between her brows.

"At most, it'll be a sound complaint," Josue said, as Ch'en was suddenly a lot more anxious, as she glared at him. "What?"

Ch'en sighed, bringing a hand to her head as she rubbed it. As good as he was at hiding stuff, Ch'en was just as good at finding stuff. Because as impassive as he was, as slightly amused he might seem, he clearly put effort into this. The other rooms they passed were dusty and old, but this one was cleaned, even the couch she was sitting on didn't seem like it was left to be abandoned, not to mention the fact that there was a couch in an office.

Clearly, he knew what this was, two friends hanging out, or acquaintances, and he wasn't saying anything, but he put in a lot of effort.

The cuts and gaps on the couch were sewn together, there was a coffee table in front of them, snacks piled on, and he genuinely seemed to want to watch the movie.

The least she could do was look the other way, she's off-duty anyway. Sighing, she leans back, grabbing some chips and popping them open, "Nothing." She finished as he visibly relaxed.

He returned to the projector and asked, "So, not gonna tell me how your aunt found out?"

Ch'en stiffened before sighing, "She heard from that pussy," referring to Swire, "that I was taking time off for the first time in a while. She called me to make sure I was fine."

Even if Wei Fumizuki was her aunt, she still treated Ch'en like her daughter and acted like so on occasion. This time was one such occasion.

Ch'en, after having helped Josue through the Clerk's Office, got a call on her PDA. The Lung was going through non-essential paperwork of recent investigations to refresh her memory, waiting for Josue to pick her up for the afternoon. Idly, she grabbed her PDA and looked at the screen to see who was calling her.

'Fumizuki' was on the screen as she answered with a formal tone and a straightening of her posture, even if the woman wasn't there physically, "Yes, Lady Fumizuki?"

There was a pause on the other end of the call before a long gentle sigh rang out, "Ch'en, you know you don't have to refer to me as such, especially when you're not even on duty."

"Right…" She trailed off, looking at the reports on the screen of her laptop, "So, can I ask why you're calling?"

"I was worried." Fumizuki answered directly, "You never take days off, even when you should, so I was worried something happened that forced you to do so."

"It's… fine." Ch'en relented, despite the slight sour expression. After all, how else can you justify the existence of an underground fighting ring of the Infected? "Just… had some things to do."

There was a pause as Fumizuki's voice narrowed, "So, Ch'en Hui-chieh if I went over at this moment, I won't see you working on your requested day off as you usually do on your normal days off?" She asked pointedly as Ch'en stiffened and saved her progress before closing the laptop subtly, her PDA pressed up with her shoulder.

"N-No, of course not," Ch'en answered quickly.

"Really?" She asked, "Then what are you going to do today?" She prodded as Ch'en's eyes frantically looked around.

"Uhh… Stuff. Read." She added, trying her best to evade the subject as she remembered something. "Right, I'm going to watch a movie with a friend."

"… With who, if you don't mind me asking?" Fumizuki asked, "Swire and Hoshiguma are on duty today, and Lin…" She trailed off as Ch'en flinched at the reminder.

"Just someone I met recently, he-." She started, unaware of the box she opened unknowingly as she tried to find a word to describe Josue that wasn't 'criminal' or 'shady'.

"Hold on." Fumizuki cut through her words, "You're telling me you're going out with a guy? Unrelated to the LGD, Swire, or anyone else we know?"

Little did Ch'en know that Fumizuki was having this conversation within earshot of Wei Yengwu, much less that his head snapped at the mention of her going out with a man. Still, Fumizuki has had years of experience hiding far less… acceptable secrets, a bit of amusement was child's play even if she made no effort to hide the amusement in her eyes, visible to the Chief Executive of Lungmen.

"It's just a movie, maybe some dinner afterward," Ch'en explained, though the connotations did leave her blushing slightly and shifting in anxiety before shaking her head. "It's just an afternoon with a friend."

For a second, there was a beat of silence as Fumizuki made her decision, "I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Huh, wha-?" Ch'en tried to speak, but Fumizuki hung up before she could finish. Ch'en looked at the PDA before looking at her room, "Oh shit." She cursed, getting up while spouting Lungmen curses while cleaning up her home as best she could to entertain her aunt.

Meanwhile, Fumizuki amused herself with the uncertainty in her husband's eyes before slipping away before he could say anything. She might be Ch'en's aunt, but, regardless of status or truth, it's the responsibility of the family to tease each other, especially when it comes to nights out with someone of the opposite gender.

Besides, it's been a while since she's seen her niece.

From there, she appeared in front of Ch'en's home, with enough clothes to supply a shop as Fumizuki gave her opinion of Ch'en's clothes until they decided on what she was wearing.

Josue was releasing a steady stream of laughter, the sky darker than before but still not obscuring the blush on Ch'en's cheeks as she glared at him, "Shut up!"

"I-I'm-ahaha!" He trailed off, nearly falling to his knees as her brows twitched. "Just, God, how'd it go from there?"

"Horrible." Ch'en admitted, grimacing with a light smile, "Like I went shopping with the rich bitch, but I couldn't say anything."

After all, Fumizuki was her aunt, practically her mother, so she couldn't retort when she teased her or criticized the fact that she was going to meet Josue in her usual clothes.

Josue wiped his eyes, "Right, that was fun." He exhaled, releasing the occasional chuckle before coughing. "So, you've also got a nosey family?" Josue asked with a sad smile.

Right… He lost his family when he was young…

Before Ch'en could apologize, Josue shook his head, his smile more nostalgic, "Well, that's good." He said before standing up and leaning on the desk where the projector was. "So, gun?" He asked again and she groaned.

"Really?" She asked before sighing, "You're really insistent on it, huh?"

"'Course." Josue scoffs, "I pay back what I owe, and considering you can't be paid normally, I'll do it." He answered as Ch'en stared at him before sighing.

"Fine." She relented, "Though, I don't know much about guns."

"Well," he said, leaning back as he looked at the ceiling, "an assault rifle, shotgun, or sniper would be too big, so it'll have to be a pistol. Light one since you probably don't want to kill."

"No." Ch'en confirmed, "Not every time."

"Then nine millimeters should work." He confirmed, "Hmmm, gonna need to take measurements of your hands, wanna make it digital?"

"Er, mechanical," Ch'en confirms as Josue nods.

"So a safety, a Smartgun Link too, probably." He muttered, "Gonna need to refine the code, probably make it as non-obtrusive as possible not to mention compact. So… polymer frame, is not my preferred, but that's fine. Probably stick to caseless ammunition." Easier to hide it as Arts.

He trailed off, Ch'en losing it before she turned to the laptop. "Oi, is the projector ready?"

Josue stopped, shaking his head as he returned to the laptop, unaware of Ch'en glancing at his legs, wondering if they also have the synthetic skin his arm does. "Yup, speaker too." With a press, the projector comes to life, displaying the image of the laptop. "Ready?"

"Sure." Ch'en relents, shifting to get herself comfortable. "Play it already."

"Right, right." Josue relented, tapping the space bar as the movie began to play and he made adjustments to the volume before joining Ch'en on the couch as the movie plays on the wall on the other side. Josue grabs some snacks and kicks up his feet on the coffee table, grabbing a bottle of beer and pointing it to Ch'en. "Beer?"

Ch'en sent him a suspicious look, "I only brought a six-pack, or what, you're gonna get drunk off of one bottle of low-alcohol beer?" He asked while Ch'en checked it before sighing.

"Sure."

Using his cyberarm, he popped off the cap and gave it to Ch'en as he grabbed his own, popping it open as he took a drink.

"What the hell…?" A young woman asked, frustrated after losing her charge, again, within Lungmen, except this time, she was in the outskirts atop a building, some light appearing as a screen seemed to appear on the wall of the opposing building from the building beside her, an abandoned office. She could vaguely hear other voices, but also music and people as she realized it was a movie. Not one she recognized.

She looked at it for a second, a long beat, her frustration bubbling before she snarled. She went down to the roof of the abandoned restaurant she was in, grabbed a chair, and made her way to the roof, slamming the chair down roughly and sitting on it. "Fucking… I'll just cool down, if it's good, then great, if it isn't, I'll have something to complain about." She huffed, "At least this might get her attention, so she'll come here, and I'll get her then." She added darkly before returning to the movie. The good thing was that the building she was on was slightly higher than the screen, so she didn't have to crane her head up to look at the screen.

Citizens of Lungmen in the outskirts came out, some even inviting others as the speaker was located outside, so it was fairly loud and many could hear. For many, this was their first exposure to Quentin Tarantino and Reservoir Dogs. Many were entranced by the nonlinear storytelling, others by the acting.

Finally, they watched as the last man standing cried their heart out after the truth was revealed.

The screen went dark after the gunshots as Ch'en was gaping, her beer left to the side as the end credits began to play.

"So, how was it?" Josue asked, turning to Ch'en as she shook herself.

"It… was impressive." She admitted, even if it wasn't up her alley. The crime drama has never been her thing, even less so the police dramas she's seen. Still, she quite enjoyed it. "It was pretty good." Ch'en relented as Josue smiled, an expression she thought fit him better than the vague amusement he usually had.

"Good, now let me pack u-. Wait." He stopped, crouching down as Ch'en followed after him. He peeks over and ducked back down. "Pinche-."

"What's wrong?" Ch'en asked, trying to look over as she froze.

In a nearby alleyway, they saw someone grab a man and tried to pull them in, but the man struggled. The most notable thing was the shards of Originium on their body. Josue went to his laptop and immediately went to what he knew best in movies, classics, not the trite Corpos try to push.

Fast & Furious. Tapping at his laptop, he went for his carryall and began setting up a few things to Ch'en's confusion, "What are you-?"

"I'm rigging this to short circuit." He explained, opening the base of the laptop and shifting a few thighs around without interrupting the movie. "We've got a lead, we've gotta follow it."

"Right," Ch'en said as she looked around. "Do you think we'll need to fight?"

"More than likely," Josue admitted. "We'll probably have to take something from them for you."

"But, you don't-." Ch'en started, about to point out that he didn't have a weapon either. Instead, he shifted, raising his jeans to reveal synthetic skin before a section of it was released as he reached in and brought out a pistol. He pulls back the slide of his pistol before letting it click back in place as the section of his calf returns to normal before he goes to the other, raising the pants leg as it also drops, instead of it being a weapon, it's bricks of… something. "What's that?"

"C4, or plastic explosives."

"Pla-! You brought explosives!?" Ch'en yells as Josue looks at her in confusion.

"Well, yeah. You don't just take weapons with you on hangouts/dates and have them out in the open." He pointed out, "Besides, these aren't Originium. I can't explain right now, but let's go." He said, setting down the laptop as he set something in the doorway. "Don't put your foot in front of it." He warned. Ch'en listened as they made their way out of the building.

The two dash to the location where they last spotted the kidnapping victim as Josue crouches down, "Where'd they go?" Ch'en asked as Josue placed a hand on the floor. "Josue?"

"Tiger." He reminded her. "Let me call W and Scarp, they can send some people our way." Blood must have scratched their foot. "Got a trail, hurry." He said, bringing out his flip phone and calling W.

The phone rang once as W answered, "Oh, Ti-."

"Outskirts, Northside, get some people over here. Lung and I got a lead." Was all he said before hanging up slowly making their way through the alleys.

Josue stopped at an intersection, Ch'en following as he peered around a corner. "You remember what he looked like?" He asked as Ch'en nodded.

"Yeah, suit and tie, hard not to stand out around here," Ch'en said as she peered over the corner and spotted two other people in suit and tie waiting in front of a building. A building with lights on. "Could it be…"

"No." Josue interjected, looking around, "They've got bruises, if I was Infected with Arts, wouldn't you use something more… effective?"

"These people are new to Arts." Ch'en pointed out as Josue relented on the point. "So is it or isn't it?"

"It's not on the list," Josue answered as he trailed off. "Wanna see what kind of reaction we'd get if you walked up?"

"I don't have that authority." Ch'en pointed out. "Why don't we try the roof?"

"Good point. We can just jump over to the next building." Josue noted. "Think we can call Hoshiguma and Swire? Leave a tip?"

Ch'en thought about it for a second, grimacing before shaking her head reluctantly, "No, at least, not at the moment." Ch'en admitted, almost as if in pain. "The victims are all Infected, the LGD would tear it down on principle, but the Infected will fall by the wayside. I can try and mitigate it, but, I hate to admit it," she started, looking down as if reminiscing on a particularly difficult memory, "issues like these are better left to the Rat King."

Josue paused and nodded, "Yeah, I thought so, too. I'll try and get confirmation." He stopped, his flip phone vibrating as he opened it to see Scarp's name, and he brought it to his ear, "Tiger speaking."

"Tiger," Scarp began, "I've talked to some contacts and I figured out a few things."

"Go ahead." Josue requested as he leaned against the wall.

"Seems like the area you're in was abandoned a few years ago due to some issues with the Infected, there are a bunch of properties that haven't been able to be sold due to more Infected trouble." Scarp explained, "For example, last month there was a death, then there was another and another."

"Like clockwork," Josue noted, his eyes widened as Ch'en did the same. "So," he muttered, looking over, "we've got a possible location, but it can't be the only one. They must have been curious from the movie and went to inspect, but stopped, allowing one of them to escape."

"I can believe it." Ch'en muttered, "So, what do we do?"

"Find how they got out, confirm as much information as we can, then get out and plan the next step." Josue recounted, "That it?"

"Yes." Scarp confirms, "I'll inform you of more tomorrow." He said before adding, "Good luck, Tiger."

With that, the line goes dead as he puts away the burner. "Right, roof."

"Su-mph!" Ch'en began before forcing her mouth close as he circled his arm around her waist before aiming his left arm up. In a second, it resembled a grappling hook as it flew from his hand and caught the roof's edge.

With a hiss, Ch'en and Josue make their way to the roof.

A/N: So, we're back, and here's the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it since I can't remember when I wrote this, this chapter has been in the back burner for a while. Don't have much to say.

Right, also I have a ko-fi you guys can donate to. You don't have to, but it's also where I'm starting to get into the habit of announcing new chapters and… stuff. Maybe even commissions one day. Probably mostly polls.

I'd offer a link, but my ko-fi is the same as my name here: 501ar.

Anyway, my greed aside, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.