Chapter Text
It's funny to think about Nix who is always so proper and professional, two sheets to the wind. He'd greeted her at the door of the Afterlife, actually she started to come inside when he stepped out from a shadow and grabbed her hand. He was sporting a black eye and the remnants of a split lip. At first she was worried then he began explaining and she was terrified.
"Fuck happened to you?" V asked.
"My old inclinations." He said and nodded his head towards the parking lot and she followed him out. She stopped by the Herrera while he leaned against it, he stared up at the smog covered sky.
"Meaning what?" V asked with a particularly demanding tone, she reached up, cupping his jaw and turning his head from side to side. A little beat up but nothing fatal from her scans.
"I don't always play but when I do I play hard." He said and she dropped her hands to her side. He'd live.
"Swung on somebody?" She asked, she didn't need to tell him he got his ass beat because it was evident.
"May have gotten shaken down for some daemons by Maelstrom rats." He said and sighed.
"You?" V said and tried not to laugh. Maelstrom was no joke, from her frequent scuffles with them they could be a threat in numbers.
"I may have been drunk."
"You seem above that." V said.
"Why?" He asked. "Just because we're not out here in the streets like edgerunners doesn't mean Netrunners can't party hard."
"Didn't mean to offend, just kinda hard to imagine you at a NID rave."
"It was Pacifica Underground, actually." He said and exhaled pink smoke. "Exclusive shit only, V."
"Maybe one day I'll understand the appeal."
"Leagues better than Riot or Seventh Hell."
"Can we get back to the point of this or do you just like hanging out with me outside the afterlife?"
"Could be both, V. You're likable when you're predictable."
"Have you been drinking tonight?" She asked, didn’t want to investigate what he meant by predictable. Being predictable in Night City got you shook down and packed full of lead in some dead end alley. “You drunk now?”
"Just one for the road, but I'm not drunk now, I was very drunk last night." He said, "Left the Underground with Angie and–"
"Who is Angie?" She asked. He was drunk, at a club, with a girl named Angie. Why did that get her so ruffled?
"Beats me." He said and shrugged and took another drag on cigarette. "Met her at the Underground."
"And then got robbed?'
"You think they're connected?" He asked.
"Possibly." She said. "And Angie? What happened to her?"
"Jealousy doesn't suit you, V."
"You are grossly overestimating my interest in this story where you could've gotten yourself killed. And if she has anything to do with it I need to make sure there are no loose ends." V said.
"She was VDB." He said.
"And you're a hot commodity. Doesn't mean they wouldn't work together to fuck you over."
"Color me impressed that you think so. I do know it was a religious sect that grabbed them. They're dangerous daemons, V. Don't need them linked back to me just yet."
"You have Bartmoss beat?'
"Maybe one day." He said and V nodded her head and started towards her car, he reached out and grabbed her hand again, this time tugging her over to him with more force than necessary. "Not sending you out into the battle without necessary equipment."
"What?" She said and looked down to see a handful of shards in her hands. "Not gonna kill me, is it?"
"Of course not, V. I like you too much." He said and she pressed a daemon to each of her fingertips and pressed them to the back of her head, they linked and then the skin grew over them sealing them in.
"Just promise me you won't be getting completely shit faced in dangerous places."
"All of Night City is dangerous but I'll try to make sure I only get blackout drunk at the Afterlife."
"Deal." V said, and that's how she found herself in Coastview, raiding an old Militech armor site. Maelstrom moved on it like rats and roaches into Watson. They hadn't stood a chance, she sat on top of a tank surrounded by fallen Maelstromers and dialed Bryce.
"Got some naughty, naughty children of your over here. Seems they're trying to grab their own slice of the pie." V said.
"Fucking Coastview? Didn't authorize that." Bryce said.
"I'll leave them and this Militech gear for you. Ancient fucking tech but maybe something your guys could do to you."
"Out of the goodness of your heart, V? What's the catch?"
"Know an Angie? Hangs out at the Underground."
"An unloyal soldier, moves between VDBs and us." He said.
"Give her to me and this is little palace of yesteryear is yours."
"And if I don't?” He asked.
"This and your band of merry thieves go up in smoke. Would give you a foothold on Pacifica and everyone wants a piece of that pie." V said.
"Sending you her detes now." He said.
"Good doing biz." V said. Surprised as ever Angie actually stayed in Watson in a nice little high rise, high enough to pretend they weren't apart of the squalor and filth below. Her apartment was nice, spacious, minimalist with sleek chrome appliances. And at the back of her closet was a secret panel.
V slid inside making a copy of the files on her computer. Seems she was in constant contact with someone at Arasaka and was keeping tabs on Nix. From the messages it just looked like she was suppose to observe and not set him up. So what was her plan? V deleted the codes for the daemons and then made herself comfy until Angie got home. A few hours passed when Angie finally arrived. Slamming the door shut and throwing herself on her couch.
"Long day, eh?" V said, Angie scrambled to get to her feet but V was faster, had the business end of her pistol at her throat quicker than she could stand. "Playing Maelstrom and the VDBs against one another is a bold tactic, you got guts at least."
"What do you want?"
"Why did you set Nix up?'
"Gigs a gig." She said through clenched teeth.
"And who gave you the gig?"
"Why does it matter to you?"
"I'm thorough, leave no stone unturned." V said.
"Not telling you." She said.
"Fine with me, can work with what you already gave up." V said and shot her three times, Angie slumped back onto the couch covered in her own blood before she called Nix. "Got your daemons and your girl."
"What'd she say."
"Not much, and don't expect to run into her at the Underground anytime soon." She said.
"Thanks again, V."
"So where do you want these guys?"
"Can swing by my place."
"Wouldn't it be easier to throw it in the drop box?"
"Yeah but then I'd have to leave to get them, don't feel like doing that."
"So I'm the delivery girl."
"It'll be included in your fee, see you soon." He said, V made the trek over to Charter Hill. She'd walked through the glossy lobby, taking the elevator upstairs and was surprised to see him waiting in the hall. The place was shiny, clean, no tweakers in the hall, no cyberpsychos moseying around. Reminded her of NUSA, the illusion of normalcy. He waved to her and she made her way over.
"Thought I'd get lost?"
"You're carrying precious cargo." He said and she followed him to the room at the far end of the hall. "What'd you do to Angie."
"Tied up your loose end." V said as they entered the apartment. She expected only the best from him and that's what she got. Chrome appliances, marble counters, spacious living area and a handful of rooms tucked away in the back. V took a seat at the island while Nix disappeared into a pantry.
"Know what she was after?"
"You mostly. Sent by some woman named Beverly." She said. He returned with two glasses and a bottle of wine.
"Beverly." He said, and let out a bitter bark of a laugh.
"Arasaka exec. You know her?"
"Yeah, something like that." He said and poured her some wine. She placed the handful of shards down on the island and rested her head on her forearms.
"There's something you're not telling me."
"There's always something but not tonight." He said and took the glasses over to the living room. V followed him, taking a seat on the couch, it was comfortable unlike the faux leather couch back at her apartment, felt like sitting on a cloud and she could practically float away. Reminded her of trips to NUSA to visit her grandparents. The yapping of the dogs, chirping of crickets at night, T-Bug’s chatter to friends back home and then… "You came back unscathed tonight."
"I can take care of myself some of the time." V said, "And other times it's necessarily to tackle people off of a roof."
"Only in Night City."
"Pfft, only when it's me, hell of a finishing move." V said, “So what type of daemons are we dealing with?”
“I only talk shop at the club.” He said and blinks twice, his white eyes turn to a soothing brown. It’s a small thing but large in their circles. People like V and Nix were marked for things worse than death by Arasaka, most people didn’t jump from those tall buildings they were pushed and took Arasaka’s secrets with them. They managed to do what most hadn’t, was that by chance or design? V knew something or someone was pulling the strings but never knew to what end or in what direction.
“That your fun netrunner way of telling me to leave.” V said.
“Not at all.” Nix said, “Really bugging me that T never said anything about a sister.”
“Didn’t part on good terms initially.” V said. A screaming match, actually. T-Bug calling V self centered, reckless, and a fool. V telling T-Bug she hoped she got fried to death chasing her ultimate end in the net. Both were cruel, cruel truths that haunted V.
“I mean, T does have a sister. Just never mentioned her. And her name isn’t V.”
“Can you get to the point before this buzz wears off?”
“Savannah was a decent cleaner—“
“—Tread lightly—“
“—High tailed it out of Night City and never came back, now someone comes back looking like her, acting like her, climbing their way to the top. You’re Savannah, right?”
“Why would it matter who I am?” She said, “This isn’t a sleepover and we’re not trading secrets.”
“You don’t strike me as the type to spend the entire night.”
“This is cute, almost forgot you were top brass.” She said, “Now that’s something we can sink our teeth into.”
“Not tonight.”
“Oh you want to dig up some Night City Legend—“
“—You? A Legend?” He said and laughed.
“But when I asked about Arasaka you don’t want to share. Got to give a little to get a little.”
“I was someone when I was at Arasaka, I was an important someone. But before I ever gave a fuck about Corps I was an army brat.”
“That your sad story? Corpo war destroyed the ‘rents minds and left you all alone?"
“Was a child prodigy, a golden child, and I’d been selling government secrets for a long time, long before you and T-Bug were anybody to be noted of.”
“A regular 8bit murph, eh?” V said and sat her wine glass down on the table, they’d moved closer and closer through the conversation and now they were knee to knee.
“One can dream.” He said and stood up, “Found things out there in the net that would destroy weaker willed people, got a view of the wall from a distance. The corps out there are terrible. I may have been turned out but I didn’t blow the Defense scandal open.”
“You were set up by someone?
“Or something.” He said and shrugged.
“And yet after that lovely story,” V said and stood up and followed him into the kitchen. “Still no name. No past. More questions than answers.”
“I wonder what’s the use in telling a dead woman my name?” He said.
“Excuse me?”
“You’re running to the end of things, V.” He said. “The net is buzzing about V.”
“And what about Savannah?”
“Some say she’s back in town and working again.” He said and laughed softly to himself, he reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a stack of eddies.
“Seems you’re doing well for yourself after Arasaka.” She said and flipped through the eddies. “Ever miss it?”
“Not a day passes. May have been a viper nest but it’s the closest to home I ever felt.”
“You try building a new home with new people?” She said, he placed his hands down on the countertop and leaned closer to V.
“They always leave or die, sometimes it’s safer to be alone.”
“Fucking Netrunners” She said, she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pressed her lips to his. She expected to be pushed away, to be threatened with conversations about business and pleasure and never mixing them. But he kissed her back and suddenly he was too far away and she needed him closer, on top of her, in her, as close as she could get. She pulled back from him and over Nix’s shoulder she could see Johnny sitting on the counter top wagging his finger at her. “I think I should go.”
“Yes, this was…something.” He said sounding far too disappointed for her taste.
“Okay, what the hell does that mean?”
“It’s nice, I’m flattered—“
“You kissed me back, you bast—“
“You’re bad for biz, V.” He said, “I would say sorry but…”
“Fuck. You.” V said and held up her hand, the bottle of wine flew into her hand from the next room, she shoved the eddies and bottle in her bag and started to walk away with one middle finger in the air. When she got to the door Nix was already there.
“You’re reading too much into this.” Nix said.
“If you find yourself in any trouble please call another edgerunner.”
“So you’ve been answering the holo because you thought we would—“
“No, hell no, thats not why. A gigs a gig.”
“So why won’t you—“
“Because things changed, they’re different now. I’m different now. And I’m busy, too busy to be at the After Life.” V said and hacked the door to unlock, he hacked it back to stay close until they both fried the lock. V pried it open with hands and bumped him out of the way. “By the way, lose my number.”
“The copies you made of those daemons—“ He started. He knew her too fucking well already.
“Maybe I’ll put them on the net for sale.” V said.
“I’m not the type you fuck over, V.” He said and stepped out into the hallway. He said it but his words held no malice, no threat, he looked a bit exhausted at the moment.
“I guess you just need to keep your ears to the street then.” V said and headed down the hall to the elevator. She heard the door close behind her and Johnny materialized next to her on her way down.
“Do you always scandalize the neighbors when you make a fool or yourself or is this guy special?” Johnny asked.’
“Nobody is fucking scandalized.” She said, her lips still burned from the kiss.
“Right, sure.” He said and blew out smoke. “So say he calls in a couple days you sure you’re not going to come running?”
“Nope, kind of got a dumb-ass bomb in my head need to find a way to make sure it doesn’t go off.”
“Mikoshi.” He said, relieved, finally finding a way to get them out. “Fucking finally!”
“Yes, we’ll investigate Mikoshi.” V said, “And I think I got a lead.”