“What’re you doin’, gearin’ up for war or somethin’?” Johnny scoffed at my choice of attire.

  “If it’s on the menu, yeah.” I parked up next to Jig-Jig Street, the unofficial central Red Light District of Night City. “We had a place like this back home, you know. Kajyou, it was called…” Burger hit the spot though. Had to take any advantage of the brief amount of time I found to sit down.

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, it was built out of the remnants of an old disused Shinto shrine to Amanozako. A building collapsed next to it, and people started assembling scaffolding around the husk before any city workers had time to clear it. Eventually Yokosuka figured they’d just leave it to its own devices. We even gave it a nickname – the ‘miracle falling,’ for the fact that the building didn’t touch a single stone of the shrine itself. And it ballooned from there – sex dens opened up in the adjacent buildings. People started squatting in the lower floors. Drug dens, illegal BD shops, you name it. And the shrine became a Yakuza hub.”

  “Hmph, no ties to Yakuza yourself, I’m guessin’?”

  “No… Man, where’s Judy?” I got up and threw out the wrapper, leaning up against the concrete barrier separating the entrance from the side street, “Guess she got stuck in traffic.”

  “Not gonna lie though, place’s got a wicked vibe.”

  “Like it a bit more lively than Clouds?”

  “That and at least here you know whatchyou’re getting,” he lit up a smoke and took a seat on the barrier, “Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. What’s not to like.”

  “I wouldn’t know, never actually came here to party,” I shrugged, “Friends did. But this sort of thing was never my jam.”

  “Bah, figures,” Johnny shook his head and looked down the street, “Don’t drink and don’t sleep around. Fuckin’ priss.”

  “Oh, I’ll sleep around just fine,” I corrected him, “I’m poly, for one. And I’m not exactly shy. I’m just not interested in places like this. Look around you. No one is here because of the love of the game. They’re here because they’re lost, desperate, in a hopeless situation. You criticize me for being on a corpo leash, I bet. But make no mistake, there’s absolutely no difference between the two situations, apart from a coat of neon and more revealing clothes. I had my boss, these workers have their pimps. And both’ll bury you all the same if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “Spoken like a true whore, yourself,” he tossed his cigarette down the alleyway, “What is it with you and Evelyn, anyway? Why go after her so hard?”

  “Apart from her potentially holding the key to my salvation from you?... I don’t know. I like her. And I don’t think she deserves this fate. Why do you care?”

  “Just makin’ sure you got your priorities straight.”

  Fuck, got a call… “Judy?”

  “Hey, just got here,” she told me, “Waitin’ outside the clinic. Know where it is?”

  “I’ll find it, don’t worry.”

  “Just head down, take a left when you get to the end of the street, should see a sign.”

  “Got it.”

  Like any Red Light District, Jig-Jig Street has a bit of a reputation for being a rather unsafe place. Walk into the wrong shop or down the wrong alley, and you’re liable to leave with far lighter pockets and a far heavier jaw. Of course, going through the street with a fuck-off sword on your back makes things considerably easier. Cheating husbands and wives, pachinko parlors, sex shops, seedy bars… this place really was like back home. Though I suppose that there’s only so many ways to filet a fish. People want love by the hour, and streets are happy to provide, among other services.

  Let’s see… turn left and head down. Okay… what's next…

  This seemed to be the shadier part of town. Looked like the remnants of an old subway station or something. Industrial shutters everywhere, open pipes… they certainly nailed the smell, that’s for sure. And the odd karaoke bar, solely populated by those too embarrassed to be seen on the strip for one reason or another. What a sad, desperate place this was. Passed by some guy selling illegal braindances, another tried to set me up with a couple dolls… Who would’ve thought they’d have perfectly emulated Japan’s refuse, of all things.

  Every alley seemed to be its own unique descent into madness, riddled with used needles, increasingly abstract graffiti art, and collapsed joytoys. Places like this look ripped right out of noir films. It felt like I was entering the bowel of a great and terrible beast, slowly wading through its bile and excrement to get to my destination.

  At last, I rounded the final corner and caught a view of the clinic. Judy was right – this place was a shithole, even by Jig-Jig Street standards. The sign on the front read “Fingers, MD” but I somehow doubt that he’s all too conservative about the Hippocratic Oath. If I find any evidence of scavs, I’ll be adding his organs to the donor pile he’s surely got somewhere.

  A few shady characters were in front of the place, clearly skezzed out of their minds. Be a terrible waste of Shinden’s blade to skewer them, I hate cleaning up filth. But I best be ready nonetheless.

  “Well, well… whadda we got here,” the apparent leader grinned slyly at me, tucking back his dreadlocks, “Ain’tchou just the cutest thing… Great cans, nice ass… If you’re lookin’ for a release, I might just be your man.”

  “Really?” I raised an eyebrow, “I’m here to sort out a personal issue, nothing more. So let’s live and let live and no one will be any the wiser.”

  “Tsk-tsk… so serious, sheesh,” he rolled his eyes at me.

  I gently drew Shinden, letting it rest in my hand. “Deadly serious, to be precise… Unfortunately, I have no argument with you. So if you let me pass, I won’t show you what your friends’ hearts look like.”

  “Mm… a, uh… compelling argument,” he stammered, “Shit, let’s get the fuck outta here!” Unsurprisingly they ran off into the night. Fucking junkies aren’t worth my time.

  “Yeah, you tell ‘em, girl!” someone shouted from up top in the clinic window as I sheathed my sword, heading inside without another second’s delay.

  “O gracious creature from the b-benign!” a woman chanted in a room next to me, so high that she probably couldn’t even see, “Reveal to me what is obscure!”

  Man… a fucking doctor operates out of here?

  I passed by pimps manhandling prostitutes, junkies, and what little remained of whatever apartments used to be here before I finally reached the stairs. No words could ever describe the smell. That hanging stench of blood and alcohol – strong vodka and absinthe. This was easily the worst ripper clinic I’ve seen in years. The only one worse was one I found during a gig I went on with Jackie, when we uncovered a scav haunt in the basement of some kid’s garage. They were cooking meth using discarded organs to add some ‘zest’ to the recipe… I really hoped that Judy wasn’t going to play nice. Because I sure as hell wasn’t.

  “V, hey,” Judy nodded at me as I entered before banging on the door. Probably something she’s been doing for the past five minutes.

  “Heeelloooooo, there’s a line!” a joytoy stood up and interrupted her. We really don’t have time for this crap…

  “Should I just pry it open?” I asked her as I gestured to my sword.

  “Nah, last thing we need’s to lose our one shot. Need ‘im to be honest.”

  “Right…” I blew out the side of my mouth, impatiently looking around. This place looked more like a fucking sex dungeon than a ripper. Mannequins with sex toys and strapons, joytoys lined up with cheap, malfunctioning hardware… Part of me knows they’re only here because they have no other choice. But another part of me wants to put the fear of God in this man regardless. “You know Fingers personally?”

  “Heard some things…” Judy nodded to me, “Like his hand sometimes slips.”

  “Glad you came,” I said pensively as I relaxed a bit.

  Judy couldn’t help but pace around, fidgeting like a lost puppy. “I’m worried sick ‘bout her, V… I didn’t even know anything’d happened… What if she’s in trouble?!”

  “We’ll find her. I know we will,” I tried my best to reassure her, with mixed results. “After the Heist, Evelyn went to ground at Clouds?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Why didn’t she hole up at Lizzie’s with the Mox? If you don’t mind my asking.”

  Judy shrugged, “Thought she’d be safer at Clouds. God knows why. Tried to get her to see straight, but… she didn’t listen.”

  “I see a lot of Mox colors here… They have an eye on this Fingers character?” I noted as I glanced around the room.

  “No, why?”

  “This seems like a place where workers go in and come out the other side far worse.”

  Judy frowned and tilted her head down slightly, “Yeah, well, can’t solve all the world’s problems at once… Looks like you’re ready to do just that, though.”

  “I wanted to come prepared, that’s all. Didn’t know what’d be waiting for me.”

  “Appreciate it. And thanks. For lookin’ out for us.”

  “Thank me when this is over, Judy…” I pulled up my backpack and shuffled in-place, “What the fuck’s taking so long?”

  “Ugh, we’re gonna be here forever, I just know it… Fine, can try pryin’ it open if you want.”

  “Hang on, before I do that…” I looked back at the couch. I couldn’t just leave them there. I walked over and took a free seat instead, placing my arm on the couch. “Fingers help everyone around here?” I asked them.

  “Helped me,” an Asian lady said. She looked to be no older than 16… “I’d be in a wheelchair if it wasn’t for him.”

  “Heh, girl, he chipped you some RealSkinn and it peeled off,” Judy hissed, “What he replaced it with looks like a bathroom floor from a senior home.”

  “Better’n bein’ a cripple.”

  “Here,” I took out my phone and wired them both 50,000 eddies each, “This should cover things. Go get yourself some real chrome. You too, over there,” I nodded to the other worker standing in the corner, flipping him the same amount, “Go get a real ripper.”

  “If you’re that flush, then what the hell are you doin’ here?!” the Asian woman protested before the black lady stopped her dead in her tracks.

  “Uh-uh. You gon’ tell her, ‘thanks for the help’ and leave, ‘cause she jus’ gave you enough scratch to cover 10 years of high school. She’s here ‘cause she feels like it.”

  “Fine, thank you…” she smiled at me and all three of them left at once. Good karma for the day has been earned. Now it’s time to undo all that.

  “Ugh, think he’s done,” Judy interrupted me, “Come on, door’s open.”

  I got up and headed over and, sure enough, he left the door unlocked. How kind of him not to potentially damage Shinden’s blade with the inconvenience of prying the bastard open.

  We stepped in to see a small, gangly man washing his hands. He looked more like a weasel than a person, though it wasn’t his looks that concerned me, but rather his mind. He knew something. No way Evelyn comes into a place like this and doesn’t leave without stopping by his chair for some personal attention… Fuck… Alright, let’s stick to the facts. Relax. “Yes, hello? What can I do for you?” Fingers asked us as he dried off.

  “A woman named Evelyn Parker was at your, uh… clinic. We’re here to find her and bring her home,” I replied.

  “Ahhh, so that’s what this is about,” he spoke with this conceited, wheezy emphasis to every other word, jittering and stuttering.

  “Where is she?”

  Fingers sighed and deflected, of course. “Aahh… A loaded question, if ever I heard one.”

  “I’ll show you loaded,” Judy sneered at him.

  “Hang on, Judy.”

  “You Tyger Claws?! Don’t recognize that accent, but sure as Hell recognize the language. You know I’m all paid-up, right?” His back was still turned to us as he squirted some hand sanitizer on.

  “We’re with the Mox,” Judy quickly corrected him.

  “The Mox?” Fingers smiled as he turned around to finally face us, “Why didn’t you say so? What brings you here?”

  “Interesting setup you have,” I noted as I looked around at the haphazard, old implants, “They know you’re peddling faulty chrome?”

  “You might say so, I say they’re the very best I can find. See?”

  “What’s in it for you?” Judy glared at him.

  “Whatever they have to offer. And they always have something to offer… hehe…” I can’t believe he laughed at that…

  “You’re a sick fuck, you know that?!” Judy shouted at him.

  “Heh, well, very few children play with broken toys. So when skin goes flabby, sockets go out-of-whack, chips malfunction… I-I’m sure you get the gist. You pay for goods, you expect top quality. Consumerism 101. I’m just providin’ em with that top quality service.”

  “Enough of this,” I interrupted him, “Evelyn Parker. Please.” I shot him a glare to let him know I meant business.

  “Very well, step into my office, please,” he smiled and led us to a back room, “Many girls come through here - so many. Let me put it this way - I believe in giving them a personal touch. Ask anyone.” He took a seat in his stupidly-ostentatious little pimp office. “See, I’m more than a ‘chop-doc.’ I know what people truly want. To be… flattered. Praised. Patted. To feel like… like they deserve it.” I couldn’t believe what revolting people Evelyn came across… This Earth would be a far better place without him in it. “Of course, I can’t remember each and every one… Even if it’s as an exquisite a woman as you. Please, set your exquisite derriere down.” I think not.

  “No. You know exactly where she is. Something caught your throat the second I mentioned her name.”

  “I–I have a neurological condition!... Not easy livin’ with tics. Really, I’d love to help you but I have no idea who you’re talkin’ about!”

  “Oh, you have a memory problem?!” I snatched him by the ear and dragged him up and out of his seat, “That’s a shame. Here I thought you had a good memory. Maybe you’ll remember a face more easily if I take a more direct approach.”

  I threw him down on the ground like the filth he was, practically ripping his ear off in the process. “T-two beefers from a BD studio took her! Didn’t even know their names!” I planted my fist directly in his eye socket, swelling it up like a tangerine. “Th-they mentioned a moth, of all things! V-virtu’s called Death’s Head! Said she’d be good for it!” I slammed him one more in the side of the temple, leaving him weeping and pissing his panties.

  “I’ll be outside…” Judy scoffed, “Let me know when you’re done.”

  “With pleasure,” I nodded as she headed off, leaving just me and this worthless piece of shit.

  “I-I told you everything… Please…” he whimpered pathetically on the ground. “Please, just let me go, PLEASE–Agh!”

  I drew my sword and quickly slapped him across the face with the flat of my blade, leaving a welt behind as I slowly receded it from him. “Be quiet,” I instructed him, “I’m dealing with enough of a headache already.”

  “I-I don’t know any more… please…”

  “Hmph,” I sneered at him, leveling Shinden with his neck, “I was sent here to find Evelyn Parker. Yet what I found is far more disturbing. Would you agree?”

  “Y-yes, please…”

  “What’s your name?”

  “F-Finn… Gerstatt…”

  “You see, Mr. Gerstatt, I’ve met a few people like you in my life. People who’ll try talking their way out of anything– Look at me when I’m speaking to you.”

  “Oh… sorry…”

  “I’ve done this long enough to have a keen intuition to know when people are lying. But I’m a detail-oriented woman; I’d be remiss if I didn’t make sure you’re telling me the truth.” I held the sword to his belly, gently running the tip along his skin just enough to score the surface, but no more.

  “AAAHGH! I’m– I’m not lying!! I swear! PLEASE!” Fingers’ body started seizing and convulsing uncontrollably as he begged for his life beneath me. He was never in any real danger, but his brain certainly didn’t know that. He flailed around in a blind panic, nearly killing himself a couple times if it wasn’t for my reflexes. “You sure?” I finally removed Shinden after five excruciating seconds. What may have felt like a lifetime for him.

  “Y-yes…” he weakly whimpered, clutching at his bleeding chest with shaky hands. I cleaned the filth off my sword and re-sheathed it, satisfied with his final answer.

  “And one more thing. You better pray I don’t hear anything less than stellar reviews,” I balled my trembling hand into a fist, “Do your job, or I’ll be sure to cut deeper next time.”

  “Wait… help…” he cried, trying desperately to collect his soiled pants. I had enough of his shit and punched him square in the side of the temple, knocking him out cold.

  “Help yourself. You’re the doctor, not me,” I scowled at him before leaving the room. He fucking sold her. He deserves far worse than bleeding a little on the carpet, but it’s not my place.. Maybe he’ll see the error of his ways, if he survives this night with his sanity intact. Not that there was much there to begin with.

  I walked outside the office to find Judy breathing fire by the stair landing rail. In a way, she reminded me of myself, I think. That persistence of hers. Or maybe it was Jackie she reminded me of…

  “I let her go back to Clouds,” she thought out-loud, resting her hand in her palm. Her pain created a pit in my stomach. “I could’ve stopped her. But I didn’t.”

  “We’ll find her. I know it,” I tried to reassure her, knowing full-well that nothing I said would make any difference.

  “We’ll fuckin’ find what’s left of her butchered corpse!” she shouted down the two-story building.

  “No,” I stopped her, “We don’t know that. Now you wanna give up on her?”

  “No…” her head stooped lower, falling to the railing itself. She seemed so small… I felt terrible for her… “You get anything else out of him?”

  “No…” I frowned.

  “Then the only lead we got’s an XBD. I mean… where’s that get us?”

  “We also know it has a Death’s Head moth on the cover. Seems distinctive – maybe we can find a source,” I calmly suggested, standing back up with Judy turning around to face me.

  “I don’t get your optimism… Still sounds like a big fat nothin’ to me,” she sighed, “This… industry. I mean, market’s lookin’ for every cut, every kinda fetish out there. It’s cavernous. But an XBD outfit’d be on the move. Always. Makes ‘em harder to nab, harder to sting.”

  “Regardless, they have to shoot this stuff somewhere. If we can get a hold of this thing, you think we can backtrace it?”

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Yeah… Gotta be somewhere quiet, outta the way…” Judy pondered, “Ugh. Have to be real gonks to leave a clue.”

  “Look, if there’s one thing I’ve learned working counterintel, it’s that everyone leaves a trace. Luckily for me, I’m running around with the best BD expert in-town. She’s motivated, skilled, and won’t give up that easy. Will she?”

  “Thanks… But your ‘BD expert’ has a better idea. ‘Pleasures of Night City.’ A domain with its twin on the dark net.” Judy headed back downstairs. Glad to see her moving again. “Every kind of thing goes on there. Might find something useful.”

  “Hang on a second,” I stopped her on the ground floor, “We know this thing exists, right? Maybe it’s as easy as just, well… buying a copy. I passed by a guy selling XBDs in the alley I took, could just see if he’s got what we need.”

  “Hmph,” she shrugged, “Alright, the pusher – what about him?”

  “Don’t know, didn’t talk to him, I came straight here.”

  Judy brushed her hair out of her face, “Alright, well it’s a start, I guess. Meantime, I’mma see if I can find anything on the NCP domain. Where’d you park, anyway?”

  “Side of the alley, out front.”

  “Alright, I’ll pull the van around. Got anything in there that can help us?”

  “All my gear. Don’t worry, I came prepared.”

  “Good. ‘Cause we ain’t goin’ home ‘til we find her.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I said reassuringly, “Meet you by the van in five.”

  “I’ll walk out with ya,” she nodded, following me out the front door, “Can I ask you something personal?”

  “Sure.”

  “Why Evie? What’s she to you ‘sides a job?”

  “She, uh… reminds me of someone, I guess.”

  “You guess?” she openly criticized me, “Whatcha mean by that?”

  “I–I don’t know,” I stuttered, “I’m sorry.”

  She looked at me with a stare of genuine confusion. “What? C’mon, ‘s a simple question. You came down to see me ‘bout her, even when I told you off multiple times. ‘S not what someone does for jus’ anyone. Not someone in Night City.”

  “Well, I’m not from Night City,” I smiled at her, “Look, this heist has been a mess. And I’m sorry to have brought it on you and Evelyn.”

  “What, so this is about retribution?”

  “Huh? No… Why, why’s it gotta have an agenda? I’m just trying to be a good person for a change.”

  “Yeah, well, in my business, nobody’s a good person,” she shook her sullen head.

  “Here, the BD guy’s down there,” I pointed, “Wanna come with?”

  “No, I, um… I should get the van ready,” she scratched the back of her head, “Meet you up there.”

  Was it something I said…?

  Of course, this fucking guy called me a ‘connoisseur’ and offered to sell it to me straight-up. I felt filthy even asking him for it, like I needed a shower or something just to cleanse myself of this rot.

  But, sure enough, he went in what I assumed was his room and produced a single scroll – one with a death’s head moth on the cover. I thumbed it around as I headed back to the van, wondering what on Earth it contained… Was this just a company logo, maybe? Then we might be back to square one, not having any solid lead on Evelyn. But at the very least, this BD was shot on-location, and we could at least find that out. If she wasn’t there, then I guess this was all just a huge waste of time, but at least we can say that we tried our best.

  I approached Judy’s van parked out front just as she climbed up into the driver’s seat. “Hey, needed to change… Could feel the stink o’ that place on me like an infection or somethin’... Anyway, find what you need?”

  “Yeah, one death’s head XBD, ready to go,” I took it out and handed it to her, “Let me go get my shit real fast.”

  “Sure thing, I’mma load this into the soft.” I took the opportunity to collect a spare firearm for Judy as well. Just a pistol under the seat, but it was better than nothing, and she’ll need protection where we’re going, if this XBD’s hype is to be believed.

  “Hop in,” she instructed me as I threw my gear in the back. The passenger seat was ripped and torn beyond all recognition, a true beater van, if ever there was one. “Alright, you just make sure that BD wreath o’ yours’s sittin’ snug on you. I’mma be editing in real-time, the ol’ one-two.”

  “Got it,” I nodded and inserted the braindance into the modified wreath Judy herself gave me before the heist, “Ready to receive.”

  “Alright, wantcha to describe whatcha see. Might catch something I missed.” The BD wreath fired up, leaving me in… in…

  Fuck… “Um… alright… I see… a large industrial building. Factory, some sort of plant, maybe…? I’m being dragged down to a floor below… I’m terrified…”

  “Focus, what do they look like, the people draggin’ you down?”

  “Person… One person. You synced yet?”

  “Five seconds… four… and I’m in… fuck…”

  “Well I can tell you right now that these are scavs. I’d recognize that smell anywhere. It’s ammonia and formaldehyde. Organ harvesters.”

  “Shit… Wait, there… pizza. Still hot, ordered recently.”

  “Good spot, Judy,” I complimented, “There a droning sound on your end…?”

  “Yeah… Some kinda low hum.”

  “And I see a lab suit… No. It’s a uniform… Electric Corp. So we’re in a power plant?”

  “No way of knowin’ for sure, they stay mobile, could’ve gotten it somewhere else,” she pointed out, “Gotta keep lookin’.”

  “Alright… Hm. Ordinary cardboard box in the corner. Decker, Tanaka, and Rogers logo…” I pondered. This place felt wrong, on so many levels. I could hear so many screams from adjacent rooms… The person I was following was being dragged to a netrunner chair to have his brain fried with a daemon… Fuck me… Who buys this shit… Well, to get their rocks off to, anyway. “And a cup of coffee next to it… a room-temperature cup. Wait, you mentioned a pizza, right?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “The cup’s label. Buck-A-Slice.”

  “Soo?”

  “So, that means somebody’s been ordering Buck-A-Slice regularly. Fresh pizza with a cold coffee from the same place means the orders are from hours or days apart. That plus the outfit and the droning noise… I think I know where this is.”

  “Mhm, me too,” Judy shouted with excitement, “Old Electric Corp power plant in Charter Hill. How can we be sure, though?”

  “We’re not. But it’s our best shot,” I told her as I exited the braindance and removed the wreath, “Got you a weapon as well, it’s in the back.”

  “Perfect, then we got everythin’ we need.”

  “Alright, then let’s punch it.” She started up the van and hit the road, while I took the opportunity to slip into something more appropriate for the job at-hand. And, of course, it starts raining. I suppose it’s Raiden’s way of teasing us yet again. “Fuck…” I cursed out-loud to myself.

  “What’s up?”

  “This whole situation… the XBD, the scavs… I just can’t help but assume–”

  “Stop it,” Judy sharply interrupted, “They’d… They’d have to be utter gonks to waste her on somethin’ like that. We’re talkin’ about a girl who’s not only a natural at what she does, but has a doll’s implant. I mean, that’s not a package you find lyin’ around on the street.”

  “True enough… So there’s still hope…” I crimped my lips as I slipped on my shoes.

  “Mind me askin’, you do this a lot?”

  “Do what?”

  “Go up against people like this.”

  “Not so much anymore. But I used to, yeah,” I nodded as I climbed up to the passenger seat again, “I was a Captain with Arasaka’s military. Fought in the Unification War. Did counterintel with the occasional wet-work job like this when things got wrapped up. Couple years ago, the company decided to drop me like a rock. Became a mercenary, and that’s how I crossed paths with Evelyn.”

  “Sheesh,” Judy blew out a full breath, “Sounds like Evie’s in no better hands.”

  “I give you my word, Judy. If she’s there, I will find her. You want to come with, watch my back?”

  “Absolutely.”

  –

  “And here we are,” she muttered, “Find us a way inside. I’ll scan the subnet, see if I can find any blueprints of the building.”

  “Got it,” I nodded, clipping on my devices.

  “Wait, is that an Agent?!” she froze in-place, glaring at the deck I strapped to my forearm, “I haven’t seen one of those in years.”

  “Yeah,” I nodded, “My first time using it since the War, actually. Just a basic model, though. You like it?”

  “Girl, that shit’s so cool,” she exclaimed, “Your stock with me’s jus’ gone up a few points, heh. Wha’ss its name?”

  “Moto,” I smiled, “Was a good little companion. Went with me from the Concrete River to Night City and everywhere in between – well, everywhere with service anyway. Hah, never got much use outta the SAAI functionality. I just used it to make phone calls and keep a running record, like a Black Box.”

  “Mm, clever,” Judy played with it a little, analyzing the archaic tech, “You’re really into the classics, huh?”

  “Wait until you see my Noh mask,” I grinned, retrieving the kitsune mask from my backpack.

  “Huh, wha’s with that? Intimidation?”

  “Not really,” I smiled behind the lacquered ballistic surface, “It’s proof to rifle-caliber fire. That and combat is a performative art. Maybe some day, when this is all over, we can talk about it.”

  “Heh, deal, Foxy,” she chuckled, “Now get goin’.”

  “Mm,” I obliged, getting out of the van and scanning for a vantage point. It’s been so long, I almost forgot how to activate my Agent in the first place. I flipped the switch on the bottom panel, listening to that familiar sound of the hard drive spooling up before the screen displayed a rush of red text. I miss Moto… Shame all the networks have been down since 2070. I could probably boot her up in a pocket with a legacy net. Well, no time to mull over that. Evelyn can’t wait.

  Looked like an easy way up on the western building, partially-collapsed by who-knows what. Perfect overwatch position as I stalked the enemy. “I see… Four, five of them,” I noted over the phone to Judy, “Soviets. Russian language. Gonna have some serious heat in there, I have no doubt.”

  “That be a problem?”

  “It might dull my sword a little.”

  “Heh… I’m sure you’ll live,” she chuckled, “Still searchin’ over here. But I’m willin’ to guess there’s a basement level. Prolly somethin’ like a generator room underground, where the electricity can run to ground in case of a lightning strike. S’prolly where they’d keep their victims.”

  “Mm, noted,” I continued scanning, “One woman said she’s been doing this for five years… That places these people as veterans, most likely. Liable to know what they’re doing.”

  “Alright, so? What’re your orders, Captain?” she asked me.

  “Hm…” I scrunched my face, “You don’t have the armor for this, and this herd’s not gonna thin itself. We hit fast and hard. You a good shot?”

  “I can handle myself.”

  “Alright, then you stick to me like glue. My sword’ll do a lot of the work, but I’ll need you to return fire to the people I can’t hit.”

  “Your sword…?”

  “Do you trust me, Judy?”

  “Uh, yeah, sure. Why?”

  “Then stay behind me and you won’t get hit. I need you with me, okay?”

  “Yeah, okay…”

  “Alright, I’m gonna keep this simple. No hand commands, just stick and move, got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “Good, now disable the alarms.”

  “Alright, and… done.”

  Right, time to go to work. Captain… It’s been too long. “Record,” I muttered into the Agent as I drew Shinden and silently leapt down from the adjacent building, stalking each enemy in-turn. I couldn’t count on this place not having exceptional security. Soviets were always paranoid about people finding their dirty laundry… At least we know we have the right place. Or certainly one of the right places.

  I looked inside to see nothing more than piles of boxes and guards on patrol, desperately trying to radio in the five missing guards outside… That’s it… come on out, you morons… fuck, they’re too well-trained. Right, gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way, then…

  “Got the blueprint, be there in a sec,” Judy told me over the phone, “Try and find the lower levels.”

  “Mm,” I quietly grunted as I snuck through the building, putting my infiltration skills to good use for a change. It was nice to be fighting on the side of the good guys for once.

  Eight guards total on the first floor alone… This was a massive operation, indeed. I buried my sword down far enough to split the final enemy’s neck and spine to the second rib, with her corpse erupting into a shower of lightning and sparks – all too common an occurrence for these borged-up scavs. “Floor’s clear,” I told Judy, beckoning her inside.

  She took a big, long sniff. “Fuuck meee… What’s that smell…”

  “Nothing,” I muttered, “Just what these places smell like. Come on, found a set of stairs over here.”

  “We need to get to Sector Minus-2,” she told me, “Seems like that’s where they’d be keepin’ her.” Alright, so this is Sector 0. That means another two levels… We can do that.

  “Blood,” I noted as we descended the stairs, “Handprints facing up. Someone tried to crawl their way out.”

  “Fucking hell, who are these people…”

  I could smell nitroglycerine… Some sort of glycol. Drug lab, maybe? Benzo tablets on the floor… Shit. She’s way deeper than this. Drug labs are par for the course for scavs. But they’re smart enough to keep the drugs and merchandise separate, so the two don’t contaminate each other… Right… time for another floor of these fucking Russian animals.

  Hmm… Odd. “Section 1?” I asked Judy, “We heading in the right direction?”

  “Yeah, yeah, that's minus 1. Just take a left, and– Oh…”

  “Oh? ‘Oh’ what?”

  “Her shirt…” Judy approached the pile of clothes on my left.

  “You sure?”

  “Positive. I bought it for her,” she confirmed with a heavy sigh.

  “Wait– shit! Get back!” I shouted at her.

  –

  V snap-drew her weapon, instinctively tucking Judy behind her as she raised the sword just in time to deflect the oncoming hail of smart SMG rounds from the scav who just so happened to stumble upon them both. Judy drew the Chao that V gave her in the van, returning fire into someone who was already riddled with their own bullets.

  “H-how did you–” she stammered before two more scavs entered the room. V dispatched them just as easily as snapping her fingers, launching herself forward and plowing the first scav directly through the eye socket, spilling blood all over the back wall as the second raised her weapon to return fire. V ripped Shinden out through the deceased scav’s ear canal, bisecting his head as she casually batted the first round into the wall.

  “後ろにいて [Stay behind me]!” she yelled over the deafening sounds of the incoming fire echoing through the basement, threatening to blow out the pair’s eardrums as the shots rang off her sword like a bell. V pointed to a high-ground cover for Judy to utilize as she charged ahead, jumping down and skewering a man straight down the length of his body. Sparks erupted from the corpse as two more were drawn like moths to a flame, with Judy delivering a few well-placed shots to one and V easily deflecting a pair of rounds into the other’s skull, painting the wall with the scav’s gray matter.

  The pair sprinted through several storage rooms in various states of conversion to ad-hoc lounges. Judy called out every enemy she saw, directing V’s attention as she slapped away round after round with Shinden. A mixture of old and new blood painted the floor and walls, leading to a slick surface on the flat metal floor that V’s steel-soled boots had trouble gripping. Subtlety was well out the window at this point, though thanks to Judy’s disabling of the alarms, they still somehow managed to catch a few guards by surprise.

  “GAAAHH!” a lone machine gunner screamed as he stormed up the stairs, drawing V’s attention as Judy mopped up the remains with a single headshot per body. “GET OVER HERE, BITCHES!”

  The scav started wildly firing into the air, egging V on to single combat. Judy, a combination of horrified and utterly transfixed, took cover behind some boxes to observe as he leveled the massive weapon against her vigilante friend. Yet, remarkably, V simply buried her shoes in-place and raised her sword to eye-level.

  –

  Anticipate the attack… That’s it. Closed-position waltz… Opening alignment.

  Rise into a six-step chassé… Bold.

  Sidestep, kick the bullets one at a time. Fluidity… And rise again. Body flight to low-guard transition. Kick left foot back, sweep a half-circle angle.

  Raise the guard, check to middle. Collect left foot, step forward. Keep fluid motions. 600 BPM, tempo solved. Beat, beat, beat… Cross-turn, riposte.

  “What the fuck is THIS SHIT!” he shouted in frustration as I struck him in the leg, forcing him back… Still firing. Keep the beat.

  Drag right foot forward, let the arms glide freely. Another hit to the sternum.

  “GUH!” he stammered back. Hesitation. Press with heel lead… Low-guard to upper feint… hover… and corté.

  Both of his arms flew across the room as he collapsed and fell down the stairs he originally ran up, snapping his neck with an audible crunch. That’s all she wrote.

  “V, Jesus Christ…” Judy exclaimed as she entered the room, “That was the most dazzling thing I think I’ve ever seen…”

  I briefly took my mask off, leaving just the scarf underneath, “I told you, combat’s a performative art,” I smiled, “Don’t worry, they’re no longer in any pain.”

  “To be honest, I kinda wish they were…” she muttered, “That make me a horrible person, V…?”

  I breathed out, not quite sure how to respond to that, “Given what’s in here, I can see why…” I took a quick look around… Looks like this was the staff quarters. And the prisoners’ chambers.

  I’ve seen many places just like this… Desperate writing on the walls. A singular, decorative toilet and one bunk cot for a dozen people… The worst was when Militech involved nomad children. Saw them as expendable meat. I tailed one officer who toyed with a little arm before uncuffing it from the bedposts to make room for some other poor soul’s little arm… Scavs were no better… preying on the lost, forgotten, and desperate of this world. I’ve lost too many friends to people like this. I was not about to lose another.

  Handcuffs were stained with blood. Old, multi-layered stains. There was not a doubt in my mind they’d seen a lot of use, possibly for over a year here, in this very spot. This whole place felt old. Worn-in like jeans. They were comfortable here. And with the storm drain just around the corner, why leave? With all the water in the world, no point in finding a new place to drink.

  Went into an adjacent room, scanning for anything on the computer… “Check that closet over there,” I motioned Judy over to my left.

  She nodded and broke in – just more storage. “Barrels filled with some sort of chemical agent… No Evelyn,” she sighed, checking her round count and returning to me, “Find anything?”

  “Maybe… Someone requested a BD with a white woman ‘capable of withstanding a lot, no anesthesia.’ Said she needed to be cute and was to be kept alive, which bodes well for us.”

  “Fuck… Alright, so we’re lookin’ for a BD studio…” Judy’s lips started trembling. “Fuck, Evie…”

  “Here, let’s go,” I ushered her, hoping to break the deadlock in her mind.

  “Yeah… yeah. Right behind ya.”

  I checked the lounge… magazines on the table. s of joytoys. The bastards were doing some shopping…

  Johnny appeared with his arms resting on the counter, “Y’know, back in the Samurai days, we used to place ads in these things. Lookin’ for background dancers.”

  “Hmph, looks like you weren’t the only one with that bright idea.”

  “It was a veritable goldmine of women,” he lamented. I really didn’t want to hear his shit right now… not after what we’ve seen… Let’s just find her and get the fuck out of here.

  What about in–FUCK!

  I quickly drew my sword and slashed the first scav’s head clean off – ambush. Two men, one more… Right, just bring him in closer and–FUUUCK!!

  A pipe ruptured behind him, utterly obliterating him and sending body parts flying across the room…

  “Scream…”

  No… No, please…

  Safety. Find safety. Corner.

  Stop it. Stop. The fire – stop. Stop it…

  Please, let go…

  Stop it…

  Let me go…

  It’s too tight… please, let me go… I can’t move…

  V… stop…

  V…

  “V!” Judy snapped her fingers in front of me, “V, Earth to V!”

  “Wha– GGAHH!!”

  The screams… I can’t stop them… The fire… the screams…

  “V, stop it!” I heard a voice echo in the blackness. A hand on my shoulder… “V!”

  “Jackie…?”

  “What?– No, it’s Judy, I’m here.”

  “J–Judy?” I stammered, the world snapping into view, “I– I’m sorry,” I removed my mask, struggling to catch my breath… What is this… What is this room… An execution chamber… two bodies. I can hear them… screaming…

  “V, come on… V, we gotta go!”

  “Y–Yeah,” I shook my head to wake myself up, “Alright.”

  “V, what the fuck was that?” Judy whispered as we walked back down the main hall, having cleared the rest of this floor, “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just… had a few bad experiences, I guess,” I sighed, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

  “You sure?” we climbed over the various body parts littering the stairs, careful not to trip.

  “Yeah,” I nodded, unsheathing Shinden and wiping the blood off it.

  “Man, what a load’a shit,” Johnny appeared, walking beside me, “I know military PTSD when I see it. Best tell her to ditch ya right now, so you don’t go all ape all over her by accident–”

  “Shut it,” I sneered angrily behind my mask, swiping at the thin air he occupied and playing it off like I was flicking the blood off the blade. No, this had to be done. Judy wouldn’t last two seconds, and neither would I without backup. Too many nooks and closets…

  Wait… Sector -2. This is it… Alright. Just one more door left. She’s here. No doubt in my mind.

  “Hey, that’s a maintenance room,” Judy poked me in the shoulder, drawing my attention to the computer suite next to us, “See what I can stir up.”

  “Alright, good plan,” I patted her bicep, “I’ll head in. Work my way clockwise. Keep an eye on my six and let me know what’s around the next corner.” Man, this shit was dark. That’s one thing I do miss about cybereyes, is the night vision capability. As-is, I had to lift up my mask every two seconds to get a clear, unobstructed view. Impractical as hell in these conditions.

  “Sure, can get the camera feeds from here,” she smiled, “They ain’t hidin’ nothin’ from me.” Atta girl.

  “Alright then…” I flipped my mask back down, taking a low stance as I broke into the room.

  –

  V entered a small galley in front, piercing a scav through the heart while he was getting some coffee. His body unceremoniously slumped as her blade carved a path through his windpipe, ensuring he fell silent and quick without so much as a chance to shout for help.

  She stumbled upon a far larger operation than they had ever anticipated. This wasn’t just a scav haunt, it was a major drug operation and organ harvesting clinic.

  A woman laid on an operating table directly next to the galley, layers of blood coating instruments and surfaces alike. V gently approached, weeping silently as she gazed upon the horrifying sight.

  Her cyberware was removed… she thought, But they didn’t stop there… took her heart, lungs, liver, kidneys… in who knows what order…

  “How so very resourceful…” Johnny appeared on the far end, sighing right along with her. Not even he could stomach such gruesome sights as a woman lying vivisected, permanently wearing a look of sheer terror upon her face.

  V provided her with a little dignity, retrieving a dusty old blanket and partially covering the poor woman’s remains. Images that would likely haunt her dreams if she left it alone, joining in with the many other ghosts of her past.

  –

  I took off my mask to pay my respects to the poor girl. She looked to be just a doll. An actor, perhaps… Someone with dreams. “Scavengers…” I muttered to Johnny, “No matter how many you kill, more will take their place. You know, back in the day, we used to have an honor-system… live and let live. War brought everyone to their knees equally, and we all knew that… But now? These people have nothing… they are nothing… I cannot believe one human being can do this to another…”

  “Take it you’ve made their acquaintance?” Johnny raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah… More times than I care to admit. And each time they come up with new, sickening ways to turn a person into meat and chrome for sale…”

  –

  V grabbed her sword and carried her bloodlust into the next room. She quietly slit the throat of a scav packing cyberware into a box, letting him bleed out on his own as she proceeded deeper. A faint orange glow came into view… a fire. A furnace.

  She instantly realized the true magnitude of this place… it was a slaughterhouse. And these scavs simply discarded the bodies, cremating them with their organs loosely hanging out. She heard groans emanating from a pile in the middle of the room… Some of them were still alive. Bleeding out. Yet the scavs spoke to each other in Russian about wanting to go out and get some fresh air. Complaining about the smell, like all this horrible complex needed was a fucking air freshener.

  The scav took hold of one of the bodies, a boy who was still alive. He mumbled under his breath, delirious and in shock, as the man placed him into the fire… And the boy screamed.

  –

  I danced in the rain…

  Dancing…

  A great, fiery rain… Washing over me. Cleansing me.

  The sudden shove of an angry spirit pounded me to submission. Laid my heart bare upon the pavement for all to see. A boy cradled in his mother’s arms. And he screamed.

  “Scream…”

  No… not me.

  I tried. I tried so hard. Yet I was powerless against the tide.

  I felt it strike my soul. I rose and the world was no longer as it was.

  A foreign body. I felt false.

  Broken.

  A derealization, like waking from a terrible nightmare.

  Mom…? Dad…?

  I’m scared.

  Furious.

  I couldn’t feel my fingers. My face. My lips.

  I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t scream.

  Stop it. Please…

  I was dancing in the rain…

  And the rain was on fire…

  The rain was on fire…

  The storm… the fire…

  I could not stem the tides. I wasn’t strong enough.

  Please… I’m scared…

  A brilliant flash before my eyes as sparks showered me. Fire enveloped my arms.

  All I saw was red. A deep, dark red.

  A terrible, beautiful inferno.

  V…

  What is your name…

  Do not forget your name…

  V…

  He was gone…

  Don’t forget.

  “V!…”

  No… No, stop…

  “...here! Please!”

  Stop it… Let me go…

  “V…”

  Mom…

  Jackie…

  –

  “V!” Judy shouted as I returned to reality and collapsed on the floor, “V, oh my God, what happened?!”

  “I–I, uh… I…” I stuttered, blankly staring at the furnace before me… “H-He screamed… He screamed… Judy…” I shakily returned my sword to its saya, the magnet capturing it to compensate for my lack of coordination.

  “Fuck…” she let out a deep sigh over the call, “You just slaughtered the whole floor in seconds, what the hell was that, are you okay?!”

  “Yeah… uh, yeah…” I shook my head and gathered my wits back up, taking stock of what was around me… Bodies. Bodies strewn everywhere… Many of them missing limbs… fuck, Evelyn!!

  “Maybe she’s already here. Can start lookin’, if it’s not gonna make you go cyberpsycho again.”

  “Shut up, Johnny,” I waved him off… I was out of breath… What the hell did I do?!

  No… No… God, some of these people look barely out of high school… How is this real… How is this a place that exists… But the more I dug, the more I realized…

  “She’s not here…” I muttered, “Come on in.”

  “My God…” Judy exclaimed as she trudged in, nearly slipping on the blood even with the grated floor, “Who would do som’n like this…”

  “Scavs…” I replied with a gruff tone, “Scavs would.”

  “Yeah, uh – okay, I think I understand why you did whatcha did now…” she stuttered as we moved together through the rest of the complex, “But then where’s Evelyn?!”

  “Look, we gotta keep trying. She’s probably in a side room,” I motioned her to door after door…

  Nothing… Lounge room. Server farm… fuck… Hm– Wait… Oh my God, Evelyn! Oh no… “No… no no no no NO!” I wept as I sprinted over to her with Judy closely following me.

  “Wait! Stop! Don’t touch her!” Judy quickly shouted at me, “She’s still plugged in, look! You remove her now, you can fry her brain!”

  “Shit… uh… can you trace this line?”

  “Hang on, let me– Oh, God…” Judy retched, “U–uughh… I… V, I can’t–”

  “Come on, focus, Judy, we’ve got to help her!” I implored, “Hang on, Evelyn, we’re here…”

  “Ahhgh… Alright, uhm… yeah, terminal’s in the corner of the room…” she sprinted over, leaving me to tend to the poor soul as Johnny peered over my shoulder, “Do not touch that cable ‘til I say so, got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “Okay… Okay, I’m in! Alright, uh, one…” I gripped the cable in anticipation, “Two… three!”

  I gave the cable a firm tug, severing its link and finally freeing her… She’s completely unresponsive… This is horrible…

  “Thank God!” Judy ran over to me and Evelyn, bending down to caress her.

  “Wait, don’t move her!” I stopped Judy, “She could have a spinal injury!”

  “Fuck, okay, um… What do we do?!”

  “We have to stabilize her head. Gently move it back to check for any airway obstructions, then hold it firmly in-place, okay?”

  “Right…” she tucked her hand under Evelyn’s chin, slowly propping up her head and checking her pulse. “She’s still breathing…”

  “Alright… Fuck…” I breathed the fire out of my lungs, my adrenaline making my body shake violently.

  “Ev…?” Judy tried to speak to her, “Ev, can you hear me…?”

  “We’ve got no choice, Judy,” I sighed, “We gotta move her. Help me…”

  I lifted Evelyn up with Judy delicately propping her head with her hand so it didn’t move. “There’s an elevator… hang a left out here, we’ll take ‘er to the van.”

  “Mm,” I frowned… She was barely hanging on, yet showed no serious external injuries… Just… catatonic. Removed. I wanted to tell her it’ll all be okay… But I can’t…

  Let’s just get her to the van… and burn this hell-hole to the ground once she’s safe…

  ---

  V's Agent is akin to our world's smart-phones. Agents hold many individual functions, though hers is a mere "Basic" model, which even by itself is a rare find. The device is the pane of shatterproof glass itself, housed in a lightweight casing fastened to her arm at three points to keep it from moving.

  - Sending and receiving phone calls, text messages, emails, and data files.

  - Self-learning capability gained from receiving and interpreting data on subnets and open-source local-area networks, an adaptation from its interface with the old Data Pool system.

  - Wireless link to other devices on its network, including phones, machinery, drones, building utilities, cars, and other pieces of technology using wireless transmission.

  - Information storage, including storing audio, documents, videos, recordings, and other media formats.

  - Storage and maintenance of an ongoing record, including personalized notes which the SAAI will write based on behavioral patterns and deviations.