Every beginning has an end and every end has a beginning.

Deep underground, a steady pulsing of purified air was being pumped throughout the impressively large cement structure. Behind the walls, sounds of water surging along its path underneath the city high above could be heard. Luckily, they had been built thick, preventing the stench of waste materials from penetrating the prison complex, but if someone stopped and listened, the telltale rush and gurgles of a thick soupy liquid could be heard. Inside, a lone guard walked along his perimeter, maintaining his motion while whistling to himself in an effort to drown out the noise. It wasn’t so much that he disliked the sound, but the idea that the city’s filth was both just beyond the walls, as well as within, was enough to make his hair stand on end.

He paused along his circuitous route to gaze into one of the cells to his right and raised his lip in scorn. There lay a woman, jet black hair, slender with protruding cheekbones. Her chest rose and fell at a slight but steady pace. Still sleeping. All bar one of the cells' interiors were visible from the catwalk through a hardlight holographic bit of tech. It allowed the guard to see everything inside while the inhabitants could only see their own reflection. The cells themselves were all the same, a cube with a small slab of cement sticking out from one of the walls where the prisoners were allowed to lay. There was only enough space for them to stand at full height and spread their arms wide from all sides. More than these ingrates deserve. The guard thought to himself.

Continuing his along the metal catwalk, he left the four cells on the southside wall, passing the locked tight eastern door and heading over to the northside wall with four more identical cells. Refusing to even glimpse to his left, the guard hugged the walls, well away from the railing that overlooked a sheer drop. Below was a well of prison floors that stretched so deep underground, even the most daring thrill seekers would think twice about venturing over.

Passing a blacked out screen, the guard wondered about the man held on the inside. He had overheard his supervisor mention the prisoner was a journalist. Perhaps that was the reason for the darkened screen, anyone who preached the truth in Night City made enemies and could’ve copped a heavier beating from it. Though that was one of a hundred potential reasons, in truth the man was as much in the dark as the prisoner.

Taking in a deep breath, the guard sighed in relief, thankful he could leave such a place at the end of the day. You had to have true grit to survive such employment. Sure, the pay was good but the monotony... innumerable floors laid out in the same fashion, each of them could be seen repeating floor after floor below, almost as if in an unending recursion. Better to keep walking. At least he was on the top floor, new prisoners were always kept here first before finding more permanent homes in the cells below, so he had a constant supply of new subjects to observe.

Approaching another cell, he saw a woman sprawled awkwardly on the cement slab, arm draped over her face and legs showing just enough skin to make the mind run wild. A lecherous smile crossed his lips. It was rare he was granted such eye candy, and this cell had become his favourite part of the circuit since this batch was brought in. He always lingered a bit longer, slowed his steps and ensured his observation of this particular cell was elongated. Unfortunately, however, he always reached the end of the cell before he was ready to give up his inspection and was met with a disgusting view of a man slumped on his stomach with his bottom raised into the air as if taunting the guard. A mix of cyan and green, the man was dressed in a dishevelled manor, his hair rough as if he had slept peacefully for days. The guard grunted in annoyance at the sight.

Rounding off the final cell on the northside was another male, though very different in appearance and demeanour. He slept on his back, his legs straight as an arrow while his arms were crossed across his chest, as if he were a vampire. Sleek and slick, he was dressed to impress. A Corpo through and through if the guard had ever seen one.

Round and round the man walked, passing the elevator down on the western wall and back to the cells on the southside. A foreigner from a distant land was first, a man in the wrong place at the wrong time, then a woman who had been searching for her missing brother. Neither were much of note. The third, however, had a man who made the guard shudder. A daunting hulk of a thing, the man inside the cell had slept with his eyes open. A gut churning sight that almost made the guard brave enough to peer over the edge as he passed by.

Back to the start, he sighed. Right, here we go again. But before he could take another step forward, the guard suddenly froze. Raising a hand to his ear, he cocked his automatic rifle before running through the high security door to the east.

As soon as the door closed behind the guard, the holographic hardlight screen flickered. Fuzzy static focused into an image of a seated figure obscured in shadow behind a desk. Their features were entirely obscured and when they finally spoke, their voice was distorted and garbled.

“Wake up,” they said, their voice steady, unhurried. The air flowing into the vents in each cell changed. A dense gas seeped out, rousing those that slept below. As soon as it was clear the prisoners were stirring in response, the voice continued. Its tone was matter of fact, direct, as if the figure was reading from a prompt. “You are currently being detained in a Militech facility and you have been infected by a virus. This is a novel but highly advanced agent that is being developed and researched now in the very facility you find yourself in. The effects of this virus leave us with little time, therefore, all I can say now is that unless action is taken, you will succumb to Cyberpsychosis in less than 24 hours. Follow my forthcoming instructions carefully and you will not only avoid that end, you will be cured.”

The holographic screen flickered once more, static overtaking its entirety before the picture vanished completely. Raising up, the hardlight structure disappeared into the ceiling opening their cells to the facility.

“Take the western door,” came the voice, perfectly audible to the prisoners despite the lack of accompanying visuals. “But beware, the guard is trapped in the hallway.”

@Awesomoman64@spicykvnt@Shift@Shu

Kade's eyes slowly peeled open as the gas disturbed his "vampiric" slumber. His entire body was overcome with a slight aching pain, either from sleeping on what couldn't even be considered a bed, or from the encounter that landed him in this broom closet of a cell. Slowly he lifted himself up and placed his feet on the floor while remaining seated on the bed. He listened to the voice on the screen while inspecting his arms for any sign of cuts that could harm the artwork inked onto them.

"A Militech facility, eh? Heh. Not the worst place I've woken up. But definitely in the top 5." Kade mumbled to himself as stood up and began stretching his arms. "Probably should have realized working for them would have landed me here eventually. No matter. Seems someone else is interested in my services. Better not disappoint them."

Ready to take down the guard and every other sorry gonk that got in his way, Kade strode out of his cell confidently, only to stop a few steps outside. To his shock, the other cells around him were opened as well.

"Oh…Hello there." Kade greeted his fellow inmates, careful not to let his surprise slip past his professional mask. "The name's Kade. I see my anonymous benefactor was not mine alone. Pity. Thought I was special for a moment there. No matter. I suppose having help to cure…Whatever this is and escape wouldn't be such a terrible thing. That is, if you are all up for the challenge?"
–
JV rose, steadily. Where had his curse taken him this time? Cold, hard concrete surrounded him, the walls seemingly closing in on the man. Hmm. Claustrophobic. Despite his colourful past, he had never seen the inside of a prison.

Sitting up on the slab, JV listened to the disjointed figure haphazardly. The man would not be guided by a figure shroud in darkness, even as the veil of his cell rose, only the Loa had that honour. Without leaving the room, JV got down on both knees, removing his bone idol necklace.

Squeezing the totem tight, the man closed his eyes and spread his arms wide. "Bondye, guide me." Chanting in Haitian, JV remained on his knees as the rest of the group stirred.

Up two cells on the southside wall, Russell panicked. "What the fuck do you mean mate? What farkin' virus?" He shouted at the figure in vain, expecting an answer even as the door disappeared into the ceiling.

Everyone and their Aunt had warned against backpacking across the US but the tourist from down-under wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, claiming "She'll be right, mate." Listening was never one of his strong suits.

Dashing out of the cell, Russell's heart leapt into his mouth as he reached the railing. The seemingly never ending hole in the middle of the room gave even the strongest willed man vertigo. In Russell's case, he almost fainted.
–
Rodrigo lay in an almost fetal position, rear end held high, face turned to the side, arm draped haphazardly over his eyes as a dribble of saliva pooled beneath his cheek. At the demand he awaken, he instinctively murmured, "Ay, mama, five more minutes."

The voice continued in English, in an even and moderated tone that was the opposite of everything he would have expected from his mother's response to his plea. It wasn't until half way through the speech that he'd realized it would have made no sense for him to even be at his mom's house instead of the clinic where he'd last been. What had happened? Where was he, and why were his memories of the previous night so fuzzy? Certainly, the party at Rene's couldn't have gotten that out of hand to have gotten him arrested. No, he vaguely recalled reaching the clinic...

A shaky look around the tight quarters chilled him, and all he took from the garbled message from the obscured person on the screen in the enclosed space was 'Militech', 'virus', 'cyberpsychosis', and 'cure'. This was more serious than he could have ever imagined.

As he stepped out from the room, glancing to his left and right, he was met with a few others doing the same. One in particular however seemed more confident than Rodrigo understood any of them had reason for. He looked to the man in fancy attire, a corpo certainly, with furrowed brows and confusion in his eyes.

"Rico," he stammered. "Uh, name's Rodrigo." He couldn't fathom the strange humor the man beheld them all with. Was this all just a game, a prank?

Along the opposite wall, a woman with dark hair stepped out of the newly opened door with distrust in her eyes. She looked from left to right and back again, hands twitching as she surveyed the others. Lauren was certain she'd gotten mixed up with her brother's captors. It was the only thing that made sense, but everything else- the strange voice, the release... What was it all for?

All she knew was that she trusted no one. It'd been weeks since she'd been on Trey's trail. She'd asked the right questions to the wrong people, and it had landed her here. Of this, she was certain.

With narrowed eyes she took another tentative step forward and gazed down the gaping hole in the center of the walkway, but pulled back quickly as vertigo threatened to overtake her.

"We don't have time for this," Lauren said aloud, irritated. "Let's get out of here," She needed to find Trey, he had to be within these walls.
–
Just as the others had begun to, so too did Bea Adler stir from the depths of her drugged slumber. The familiarity of her dressing room at the Cat Scratch now miles away.

As her consciousness returned, Bea's bleary eyes fixated on an incongruous sight: one of her vintage silver pumps, unceremoniously discarded in the corner, the six-inch heel and bejewelled adornment gleaming dully. Its counterpart remained faithfully on her foot, albeit slightly scuffed. Adding to the sharp realisation of her situation, she noticed a strand of fringe had snapped from her outfit, scattering a constellation of diamante beading across the unforgiving and unfamiliar concrete floor. She extended her limp arm to retrieve them.

Deprived of any kind of cushioning beneath her, she voiced her protest with a low, sultry groan. Where am I? Then, a voice wormed its way to her with a commanding set of instructions.

Cyberpsychosis? "Couldn't be me," she murmured melodically to herself.

A peculiar audition had transpired just a week prior—Could this be some sinister aftermath? Bea brushed the notion aside, unwilling to accept such a banal explanation. A stalker, perhaps? A cruel prank or an intricate puzzle designed to amuse some unseen spectators?

With a great effort, she hoisted herself upright and hopped over to the abandoned shoe and slipped her foot back into it. She then tugged at the bra cup of her dress and let the loose beading fall into there for safekeeping, readjusting herself accordingly.

Bea inhaled deeply, she'd already heard others stirring, an impatient woman, a well spoken man introducing himself as Kade, and someone named Rodrigo. She wasn't quite interested in speaking to any of them just yet. No, she wanted to address the stranger who seemed to be running the show.

As she stepped out, she felt a further chill against her bare skin - to which there was a lot on show. The beaded fringing of her dress did very little to cover her, and with each step it swished from side to side. "Listen Mysterio," she began - looking up and around to find the best place to speak to the disembodied voice. "I don't know what this 'virus' has to do with me, but cut it out and let me go already."
–
Dejah Kan stumbled forth, feet clapping against the hard floor as she struggled to keep herself upright. Like the others she had heard the voice after coming to and the provided instructions, or at least most of them. Dejah fiercely squeezed at the sides of her cranium, fingers pressing into the tender flesh beneath her ebony hair. Her head was pounding like a drum and the clamoring of the other presumed prisoners was just making it worse.

What even happened? Why the fuck am I here? How long have I been here? Who is the reason for me being here?

Dejah twisted her head, the muscles in her neck popping fiercely. She rolled her shoulders, blinked her eyes, trying in every little way to shake off this lingering disorientation. Did they say… fucking cyberpsychosis?! As Dejah’s head cleared and she began to process more of what she had heard the assassin found her chest starting to swell with panic. Her heart pounded and her entire body tingled with cold waves of anxiety and fear. They said a cure… I just need to follow directions?
Dejah looked around at the other “inmates”, sizing them up as best she could. A diverse bunch they seemed to be shaken up as she was, some more than others. A blonde woman in particular seemed less perturbed and more outraged, and quite frankly her finger-wagging caterwauling was making Dejah’s head hurt more. Dejah suppressed the urge to yell “shut the fuck up” and instead tried to garner more focus

I need to get out of here. Maybe these saps can be of help.
–
The sound of the disembodied voice came from all around the group as it used the facility's PA system. With no change in its tone, it answered the woman's challenge. "What I've told you is true. You are being held in a Militech facility, you have been infected by a virus and you will die if you do not follow my instructions. Whether you choose to accept your new reality or not is on you."

A distant pounding from the eastern door interrupted the voice as a series of muffled yells could be heard.

"Each of you have only minutes to decide how to deal with the guard on the other side of the door. He is armed and will shoot on sight. Kill him and acquire his radio, we do not want to telegraph our next moves over the PA as we move through the facility."
–
Kade gave a friendly smile followed by a slight bow to Rico. “Good to see one of you still has manners. Pleasure to meet you, Rico.” Kade maintained his elegant tone and almost welcoming demeanor in contrast to where they were and the situation they were in.

While he did have a slight semblance of fear and a bit of panic in his heart, none of those would do him or these inmates any good. Besides, waking up to dangerous situations with a disembodied voice telling him what to do wasn’t completely unlike his old job. He could roll with it.

Speaking of, the voice returned to assure everyone that the virus was real and that they could cure it, but there was a much more urgent matter that needed to be attended to regarding an armed and trigger happy guard trying to break in. Time was of the essence and Kade wasn’t going to wait around for them to show him the same common decency.

“Fine. I’ll get your names later.” He stated with a shrug. Assuming any of you are worth remembering. “Rico, be a gent and get back to your cell.” Kade calmly instructed and began walking down the hall. “That goes for all of you. Stay hidden or get shot. If you happened to smuggle a weapon in, however, then follow my lead.”

Whether the inmates followed his instructions or not, hastily repositioned himself next to the eastern door. He placed his back against the wall to the left and flattened himself as best he could. His fingers on his left hand slipped into the base of his glove on the right, and unfurled the monowire concealed in his wrist. Kade’s eyes flickered with light as he hacked into the door, prepared to open it at a moment's notice. All he needed now was for the guard to take a single step inside the room, and they would have a wire around their neck or sliced across their face.
–
Bea still wasn't sure what any of this had to do with her, but the situation did appear to be escalating, with Kade taking to the door that the voice had warned about. The woman didn't like this, any of it.

With her hands still on her hips, she released the tension in her brow and sighed quietly. She wasn't about to argue with him. He was halfway through his task. Instead, she looked across at the other gentleman. 'Rocko' was it? That didn't sound right, but she moved into his cell, and not her own. "Hope you don't mind, Sugar," she said cooly, betraying the anxiety she felt inside. "Two's going to have to be company. Shit might hit the fan you know?"

Truthfully, she just really didn't trust the situation, she didn't know if that hack would backfire and lock them back up again, or worse.
–
Rodrigo blinked rapidly when the suit told him to get back in his cell, but after patting himself down and realizing he had no weapon of his own, he figured it was likely his best bet. He nodded at the man, who seemed to know what he was about, or at least, the most prepared to take action.

Kade's confidence was having an effect on the others too, they were all retreating back to their own cells. Well, all but one. She'd caught his eye earlier. Aside from being breathtakingly beautiful, Rodrigo had been almost sure he recognized her as... but no. It couldn't be. The stress from this whole situation had to be making him see things that were impossible.

When she approached him, he felt his breath catch, but quickly swallowed down the accompanying anxiety. There were worse things than potentially being locked in a room with her. He held out his arm for her in response, and they stepped inside. "Mi casa es su casa," he said before he could help himself. Immediately wishing the ground would swallow him whole, he turned away from her to watch as the suit positioned himself against the wall.

"Those are some high grade wires," he murmured, not realizing he was speaking aloud. "I should get his supplier's contact."
–
"I wouldn't go calling this your casa." Bea answered quietly as she leaned back against the wall. "This place is a dump," she refused to fidget and pinned back any flickers of anxiety with a laissez-faire expression.
–
JV felt nothing. He had clutched his totem tighter, chanted louder, squeezed his eyes shut with all of his might and still, nothing.

Of late, it had taken more and more of a concoction of chemicals to hear the words of the Gods. During these bouts of inebriation, he'd heard them loud and clear, speaking to him, guiding his actions and giving the man some small semblance of comfort. But here, under all this concrete, there was nothing but the gurgitation of sewage that passed outside the walls of his cell. JV had hoped that whatever Militech had pumped into his system lingered, helping him reach out to Bondye but this was not so.

The man grunted, releasing his iron-like grip of his talisman and returning it to around his neck. He might not have liked it but at least the voice had given them a chance to escape, honest or not. Stepping out of his cell, JV adjusted his trench coat, pulling it forward before rolling up its sleeves. Moving past the others, he took the opposite side of the door. Eyeing off with the man on the other side, the former Voodoo boy balled his fists, the mechanical gears of his gorilla arms hydraulically whirring in anticipation.

The skinny, twig-man can distract the guard with his piece of string, I'll land the killing blow.
–
Inside the cell, Rodrigo pulled back from the door to give the woman a wry smile. "Oh, I've been in worse," he said. "But you're right. Mamá would hate it if she heard me call this place home." With a shrug, his attention returned to the door behind which the guard was still banging. Another one of their numbers had joined the suit. Gorilla arms. Interesting. He'd installed one recently but never had the chance to see it in action before. Yancy was determined to stand toe to toe with the worst of the Animals, and Rodrigo hadn't seen him since, so that meant he was making a name for himself, either on the streets or in the obituaries.

He glanced back at the woman, suddenly aware that she might have joined him in his cell out of fear. "We'll get you home soon."
–
Dejah rubbed furiously at her skull, the dizziness but not receding any. She felt like she had been pummeled over the head with an iron bar. The other prisoners were stirring themselves about, aside from the idle prattling Dejah heard the one man speak of dealing with the guard.

Dejah had nothing on her and decided it best to leave it to the man - Kade was it she had heard? - to handle this, gung-ho as he seemed to be. Another few minutes and Dejah might be oriented enough to handle herself, for now though she was following lead.
–
As most went back to their cells, three remained, approaching the door. Kade took the left, JV the right, both ready and gritting their teeth as their mysterious benefactor began the hack.

"Guys, this is fucked, surely we can explain that they've just got the wrong people." Some would call him an optimist, others an idiot, either way Russell approached the door front on, surprising everyone.

Woosh.

The door opened and the guard stepped forward, just far enough for his pointed rifle and arms to come into view for both Kade and JV. "INMATE! BACK TO YOUR CELL!" He yelled, flicking the gun into full auto.

"Mate, I'm sorry but you've got the wrong guy." Russell stepped forward, his arms next to his head in surrender.

"I said, back to your CELL," the guard repeated, lifting his rifle to train it directly on the prisoner. How had he gotten out? It was unclear whether this was related to the emergency, but in all his years with Militech there had never been a prisoner escape.

"Whoa, whoa, I haven't done anythin-" That was as far as Russell got when the first shot rang out. His face distorted in agony, mouth making a small O shape as if in surprise. A second shot followed in rapid succession and Russell cried out before he fell to the ground, gripping his wound.

The guard took a cautious step forward, not noticing the danger awaiting him on either side of the door. He wasn't about to take any chances with this filth, particularly with a tier 1 alert taking place just beyond the corridor. He needed to lock things down and show he meant business. "That's the problem," he said as he stepped through the door, "you should've done what I said."
–
The former corpo spy couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the man’s attempt to reason with the guard. Even if they were the “wrong people” why give yourself up like that? This was a chance at escape and no one was going to stand in Kade’s way. Besides, didn’t their mysterious benefactor warn them the guards would shoot on sight? What part of that made it sound like they would be open to talk? Though Kade took no pleasure watching what unfolded next, he also wasn’t devastated seeing the foreigner take two to the torso before he dropped to the ground. Well. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Still, Kade wasn’t going to just let the poor man be executed, assuming his injuries weren’t already fatal. So instead of holding his position for the guard to walk past, Kade only let him take one more step forward before he sprung the trap. In one fluid motion, his grip tightened around the base of his monowire as he pivoted towards the guard and whipped the wire at his arms. He didn’t have the angle for a lethal strike, but if he could at least disarm the guard, then the large Voodoo boy flanking him could finish the job.
–
The guard hadn't expected the surprise attack, but years of training suddenly surged through him. The sight of the prisoner's movement at the edge of his vision allowed him to shift his body just so at the last second, which resulted in the monowire wrapping itself only around the rifle. This was all well and good, because had the wire touched any part of the guard's skin, it would be more than just pieces of metal that clattered to the floor. The pull of the wire was enough to break his balance, and the man stumbled forward, but as he did, he deftly pulled a sidearm from his waist. Huffing from the movement, the guard steadied himself and trained both his eyes and weapon on the man before him. There was no warning this time, he was going to pull the trigger.

On the floor, a pool of blood slowly began expanding around Russell, who had ceased his low moans in pain. Rodrigo watched cautiously from the doorway, brows furrowed. He wouldn't risk leaving the cell while the guard was still armed, a medic was of no use to anyone injured... or killed.

One of the shots struck a bit high and seemed to have hit the Aussie's shoulder, but the second had hit much closer to home in his chest. It was nothing he wasn't familiar with patching up given his experience both with the Valentinos and the Trauma Team, but Russell needed medical intervention immediately if he was going to pull through from this. Rodrigo patted his pockets for a second time to ensure there were no stray tools he could rely on to assist the man. Unfortunately, whoever had captured him had done a thorough job of removing everything. As the guard lifted his weapon toward the Suit, Rodrigo's breath caught. Not another one.. He wouldn't be able to save two lives tonight, not at that range, not with no tools, not when the pool of blood around the Aussie indicated every second that ticked by decreased his chances of survival tenfold.
–
Fool. The Corpo was slow off the mark, unable to fling his string at the guard before he fired. JV watched as Russell's body slumped backward, going down in only two bullets. Pathetic.

Finally, as the monowire wrapped itself around the rifle, the former Voodoo boy leapt into action, literally. Jumping as if he were going for a slam dunk, JV twisted his torso, bringing his fist back. Distracted by Kade, the guard didn't see the 106kg man bearing down on him.

Thrusting with all his might, JV ploughed his fist through the back of the guard's skull. Exploding like a watermelon, chunks of brain matter painted the walls along with the Corpo before another shot could ring out.
–
Gunshots. A squash. Splattering. The ground becoming wet. A scent in the air that was unfamiliar.

Bea's face still held resolve that she wasn't afraid; she moved out of the cell again - curious, unable to stop herself from being drawn to the macabre. Unwilling to wait for her cellmate. She held out her manicured hand in front of her, the other against the cold bare skin beneath her collarbones.

Her heels in step kept in time with her heart as it quickened in this changing face of impending uncertainty after the sounds that she heard.

Red everywhere. Just red, like ragu. Like rose petals. Merlot. A pomegranate.

She'd never seen such violence before. Heard of it? Yes. But... Been this close to a scene so gruesome, so close to it? While a body was still warm - painting the grey walls... Urgh...

Parts of him existing too on someone else's hands.

"Just corn syrup Ms. Adler..." she muttered quietly as her gaze continued to trace the tapestry of viscera. A feeble attempt to reason with it.

The ground beneath her changed, and instinctively she looked down to see that she had stepped in it. Her shoe had quickly taken in a fearful asymmetrical ink blot of blood - seeping through the satin, turning it ruby red - the jewels gleaming back up at her like tiny eyes.

She thought, in fact, that were her shoes to become so drenched, she could tap her heels and "there's no place like home" her way out of here. Or was that just the... Air is getting thin... She swayed, side to side, in a swirl of slow motion - her eyes blurred -the image of the guard's burst head burned behind them. The colour dropped from her face, and so too did she - falling forwards.
–
As Gorilla Arms prevented the guard from taking out the Suit, Rodrigo sighed in relief. Only the Aussie would require his attention, and he would need it quick. As Rodrigo moved to step out into the passage way to see what he could offer the fallen prisoner, he noticed the woman who had followed him was already standing outside the cell, transfixed. When had that happened? His Kiroshi optics picking up her increased temperature and heart rate, the perspiration accumulating on her skin. Not an untypical reaction to the scene before them, but there was nothing outright wrong with her. His attention began to shift toward the Aussie once more, but he noticed the woman swayed where she stood and as she began to fall, Rodrigo rushed forward to prevent an injury, catching her just before she gave way, his arm supporting her back. Guess it was more than one after all, he thought to himself. He lowered her quickly but carefully with a hand carefully cupping the back of her head as he lay her down. In his rush however, he was unable to prevent some of the splattered blood and brain matter from staining the short dress she wore.

Some of the other prisoners began leaving their cells too, now that the worst of the threat had passed. A woman with dark hair made eye contact with Rodrigo and he motioned to her. "Keep an eye on her while I check on him," he said, quickly kneeling before the Aussie. Russell?

An initial scan of the body indicated severe blood loss and low blood pressure. Rodrigo attempted to slow the bleeding to the two wounds, but that would leave him without any hands. His eyes shot up to the Suit. "Please," his voice sounded higher than normal. "Put all your weight on these bullet wounds, quickly. We need to stop the bleeding."
–
As if he was unfazed by the gory death in front of him or the bits of flesh and blood that now covered his suit, Kade calmly retracted his monowire and gave a quick smile and nod to JV. With the immediate threat dealt with, he walked elegantly over to the injured Aussie, ignoring the woman who had fainted on the ground, and followed Rico's instructions. He knelt down and placed his hands firmly on the wounds and applied pressure.

"We really do not have time for surgery. Patch him up quick and lets go." Kade said to Rico before looking down at Russell. "Maybe next time you'll follow instructions?"
–
The man was in no condition to offer a reply, he was no longer conscious.

With his hands free, Rodrigo checked the Aussie's pulse to confirm what he already knew, Russell was fading. Fast. There were no tools to pull out the bullets, and even with all of the weight Kade was adding, the blood still seeped around the Suit's hands. There were no options here. There was nothing Rodrigo could do to prevent the inevitable. Too much blood had already been lost, and without any equipment– he was helpless.

A deep gnawing darkness crept up from the base of his gut, consuming him. A voice unlike anything he'd ever heard before whispered in his ear, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand. A raspy, guttural, feral sound. "How many more will you be unable to save, Cas?" Suddenly, Rodrigo was no longer in the prison complex. Before him was an examination table where a young girl lay, dead. Her chest cavity open, blood drained from her arms down to her finger tips. Drip. Drip. His hands trembled as he looked down on her lifeless body. "Wasn't it you who boasted your skills? Told them they could bring her to you? Told them you would handle it?" The voice continued, each sentence striking him like a bullet. "Had they taken her to the hospital, she would have been saved. But you insisted, didn't you?"

Rodrigo fell to his knees, shaking his head. "That's not how it happened," he said, voice low at first. "That's not how it happened!" He repeated, louder, raising his head to yell at the incorporeal voice around him. But as he did so, he realized he was back in the prison complex, kneeling next to Russell and the Suit. Rodrigo refused to bring his glistening eyes to meet Kade's. Slowly, he shook his head. In a low voice he said, "There's nothing we can do."
–
Dejah found her arms half raised as of preparing to take a defensive stance, her entire body tense from the scene that had just played out. The one man laid out by the guard who then was eviscerated by the larger man, blood and red chunks everywhere across the floor around the corpse. The blonde had fainted it seemed, truly a sorry thing, and the rest were debating between fixing up the downed Russel or just leaving him. Dejah, truly, did not care which - all she was worried about in the moment was herself. As long as the rest of whoever these fucks were drew the fire of these pigs for her she was fine if they all went down, so long as she got out of here and to whomever this person was that claimed to be able to cure this affliction.

“Leave him.” Dejah finally spoke for the first time, echoing what Rodrigo said. “Let us go, shall we? Before this gets any messier.”
–
Blood and matter steadily slid down JV's arm as it fell to his side. His head turned up, facing towards the ceiling with his eyes shut. Breathing heavily through his nose, the man's jaw was clenched tight, almost as if it were wired shut. Softly he hummed, a deep thrum of a noise that came from his belly and sat in his throat.

Falling into a deep, meditative trance, the wails of the Doctor slipped away. The saturating smell of gunpowder and iron evaporated just as the taste of blood dissipated.

Was this enough? Would this violent sacrifice appease the Gods?

JV's ears strained. His heart thumped, calling out, begging for anything. A word, a noise, whatever to help guide him.

"I warned you."

The voice cut through his trance like butter. A garbled, static-y voice that came from the hip of the headless guard. Flicking the blood from his arm, the Haitian bent down and grabbed the shortwave radio attached to the guards belt.

"Down the hallway there is a left turn, follow that passage to the barracks. Inside there is an automated turret and another guard. Dispatch them and collect the weapons that were taken from you. You're going to need them."

The voice paused as JV looked over the group. One of them was already a mere moment away from death, another had passed out with a third distraught.

"Get the Ripperdoc under control and see if he can rouse the woman. Leave the man to his fate."

Tucking the radio into the inside pocket of his trench coat, JV approached the medic and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Bring the woman around, I could carry her but there are more to kill."
–
Rodrigo felt the touch on his shoulder and was surprised by how gentle Gorilla Arms could be. He nodded and stood, Russell's blood still staining his hands. There was no time to grieve now, they needed to get out of here.

As he moved closer to the woman who'd fainted, the other woman he'd asked to watch over her shrugged her shoulders. "I tried shaking her awake, but she's out of it."

He dipped his head toward her and wordlessly bent down to collected the woman in his arms. He had nothing on him to rouse her and would have been able to achieve only what the other woman had already attempted and failed. The shock from the scene would eventually wear off and she would awaken, but they didn't have the luxury of waiting around for it to happen. If the disembodied Voice was right, and there was no reason to doubt them at this point, there would be more battles ahead and Gorilla Arms would be better suited to protect the group. Kade and his wires as well. Without any of his tools or weapons, Rodrigo's own useless arms would at least serve some purpose in carrying the unconscious woman until she stirred.

Turning back to the grisly scene, he gave the Aussie one last look, straining to remember the man as he had been before he fell. It was the most he could offer since they would leave his remains behind. "Que dios lo bendiga," he muttered softly.

The Suit and Gorilla Arms both stood at the door and Rodrigo nodded once more to indicate his readiness. It was then he caught a glimpse of the old radio from which the Voice had spoken to offer further direction. It was old world tech. Something he had only ever seen virtually in ancient films. Scraps might still be found in the municipal landfills but no one bothered with them anymore, even antique collectors. Glad to have a distraction to occupy his thoughts, Rodrigo considered the benefit of using such dated technology. It was hard to detect, particularly underground, ensuring this secret facility remained just that.
–
As the Doctor left, JV lingered over Russell. The blood leaking from him had slowed to an ooze. Taking a knee beside the Aussie, the Haitian noticed his mouth had been left agape with his eyes wide open. Terror had filled the man’s final moments.

JV placed a hand over his face. There was no water to wash the body with nor was there anything to wrap it with. What would Militech do with it once they found it? Where would it be in nine days when Russell’s soul escapes?

Shutting the dead man’s eyes and mouth, JV could do nothing but offer up a prayer. “Mwen priye nanm ou chape kote sa a.”
–
“Shame.” Kade simply stated in regards to a man dying in his hands. He released his hands from the wounds and attempted to wipe the blood from them off on the deceased Aussie’s clothing. It was already going to be hell washing the stains out of his suit. He didn’t want his gloves to be drenched in blood as well. Besides, Russell certainly wouldn’t object to his clothes getting a little dirtier.

Once he was satisfied with the amount of blood he managed to remove, he stood up and left the corpse to JV and glanced back at Rico, curious to see how the ripper doc was fairing after his little outburst. The corpo looked at the fainted woman he held in his arms, then back at Rico and raised an eyebrow. Kade said nothing on the matter, but it was clear he was silently questioning the doc’s choice in carrying someone out of here. Time was not a luxury they had, and this distressed damsel would only slow them down.

“I could not agree more.” Kade replied to Dejah’s comment. Gracefully he strode back to the headless guard. His eyes darted back and forth as he scanned the body for anything else of use. The rifle would have been a great asset, but Kade has sliced it to bits in an effort to save Russell. Ugh. What a waste. He should have just stuck with his original plan even if the guard got more shots in. But it wasn’t a total loss. The guard did have a pistol, and JV had killed him before he could even fire it. The mag should be full along with any spares he had. With a sly grin he bent down and retrieved the weapon.

“Anyone here besides me good with handguns?” He asked, holding the weapon aloft and giving it a slight shake. “The more people we have armed the better.”
–
Dejah was starting to become more oriented, albeit slowly. She saw Kade lift the dead guards’ weapon and without any hesitation took an assertive step forward, right arm extended. “I will take that.”

As a professional assassin suffice to say that Dejah had no shortage in firearm use, namely pistols and smaller automatic weapons. She imagined the guards all carried the same weapons or close to it, anymore guards killed could be stripped of ammo along with anything else they had on them.
–
"Wonderful!" Kade said. His fingers wrapped around the front of the gun as he stood back up and placed the grip of the weapon in Dejah's palm.

"Now then. You and hammer hands over there will be on guard duty. If either of you see someone in a uniform, kill them. As long as you can do that, I should be able to take care of the turrets or any other automated defenses they have." Kade turned his attention to the rest of the inmates as he continued speaking. "The rest of you, just stick close and do as I say. I will try to keep you alive, but from here on out if you get shot you get left. Understood? Great. Now let's not waste anymore time." With his final words, Kade turned on his heel towards the exit and began walking down the hall as the voice had instructed.
–
The blonde did rather quickly stir once she was picked up, and from the noise. Rather than being embarrassed about the whole thing, the first thing that struck Bea was a feeling of annoyance that she was still here - and that she hadn't been out for longer. For the second time, her eyes opened to a sea of grey. She lifted her head to peer over Rico's shoulder, back at the scene. That poor man, she thought to herself as she looked at Russell.

She wriggled free of Rico's grasp and stood back on her feet - she felt less stable, but, should bullets start flying again, she wanted to be able to run. Still, she found time for a remark. "If you moved your hands any further north you'd owe me dinner, Sugar."

She ran her hands over the fabric of her costume dress once more. "But thanks," she added with a quiet sincerity. "Name's Bea, by the way. If not dinner, at least first name terms."
–
Rodrigo felt the woman in his arms stirring, but waited until she'd fully come around to place her on the ground, which ended up not being necessary as she slipped free from his grasp much like a cat he'd held on to for too long. Hm, the cats missed their dinner last night, he suddenly remembered. Probably wondering where I am.

At the woman's comment, Rodrigo blushed, unsure of how to respond. He'd had no ulterior motives in holding her as he'd been, but she'd have no way of knowing that about him, especially considering how many creeps there were in Night City. Then again, he'd be lying if he said he didn't appreciate what he saw, or how soft her skin felt in his hands. He was grateful she introduced herself through his blustering. Mentally slapping himself, he thought, I should've done that ages ago.

"Rodrigo," he answered, holding out a hand only to realize it was coated in dried blood before pulling it back sheepishly. "Sorry about the stains. I guess I do owe you dinner once we manage to get out of here."

Wait a second. Had she said Bea? As in. The Bea Adler? It couldn't be...
–
Respectfully, after we get out of here I hope to never see any of you again, was what Bea was thinking. Her smile, however, responded to Rodrigo's offer as was to be expected. Her life depended on connections down here, it seemed.
–
JV stood, leaving the dead mans side to follow the corpo down the hallway. Dank and dark, the passage way was what you expected from an underground facility. A series of pipes and wires ran along the ceiling, darting off here and there to panels and gadgets that littered the wall. Solid and ugly concrete covered the floors, without so much as a colour or a pattern to brighten it.

What little lighting there was flickered on and off dimly, as if the facility was being drained of power. Halfway down was a right turn, a T-junction, the ends of which each led to doors that looked exactly the same as the one they entered through. The only difference was the noise.

Down at the far end, beyond the right turn, muffled noises echoed, drifting their way up to the group. Shearing metal, screams of terror, maniacal shouting, wails of pain, all were followed by the occasional sporadic gunshot. Something was tearing the facility apart on the other side of the door.

"Turn right." Commanded the voice. "We cannot go that way, not yet."

JV rounded the corner, his mind focused on the task at hand.

"As stated," the radio continued, "there is a guard and a turret on the other side of this door. The guard is preoccupied trying to hack the lift I disabled while the turret is in 'sweep' mode. Make your plans and signal when you are ready."
–
The halls of the Militech prison were far more dark and dreary than the corpo cared for. Sure it might have been cost efficient to make a place like this so bare bones, but a little class never killed anyone. Not to mention decent lighting would at least make it easier to navigate. Though in the absence of light, the blood curdling shrieks and screams accompanied by gunfire was a decent way to guide them. Specifically in telling them where not to go. Once they had reached the door and the voice indicated they were in the right place, Kade placed his arms behind his back and sat up straight and proper as he turned to address the ragtag crew following him.

“We’ll make this quick. Pistol. Arms.” Kade looked to Dejah and JV, still attempting to work with the fact no one gave him even a codename to go with. “I’ll hack the turret and short it out. Once it’s out of the way, you two take care of the guard. I suggest Arms here tries to sneak up and give him the same treatment he gave the other one. Hopefully we can save our bullets, but if the guard catches us before Arms gets close, I’ll need you to start shooting, Pistol.”

“The rest of you.” Kade’s gaze slowly passed over every other inmate before he cracked a devious smile. “Stay put and watch our backs. I’d rather you all look away, anyway. We really can’t have someone fainting every time things get… Messy.”
–
Lauren nodded, she had no problems standing back until she had a weapon of her own to contribute. Once she had that, nothing would stop her from finding her brother. Mysterious voices be damned.

Rodrigo ran a hand through his hair. "Look," he said to Kade in a low tone so their voices didn't carry to the room inside. "I appreciate you stepping up, hermano. But we should learn a little more about each other before orders start flying around." He looked to Gorilla Arms and the woman holding the gun. "I can glitch the guard's weapon so he'll be harmless for a few moments which should give you enough of an opening. If there are no other suggestions, this seems like a solid plan," he finalized, giving Kade a nod.
–
There was something deeply unsettling and frightening down that hallway, and Bea didn't exactly want to find herself next in line for it, whatever it was. Ignorance could be bliss - at least, that could be true if the sounds weren't so... detailed. She pushed the thought away.

Learn about each other? Was it not obvious for her at least? Although she supposed the remark was not made her way to begin with, she had no weapons or propensity for violence. She had diamante studded tits and a catalogue of show tunes. Big whoop here! Still, she wanted to speak for herself. "Well you know," Bea began, her sharp eyes glancing around the space and the individuals occupying it. "Unless there's an escape hatch controlled by a guitar, I'm best staying put in the back."

Her brows quirked, and her fingers fidgeted, a hand placed on her hip - the other free. She wanted a cigarette. Hands were too idle like this.

"Nothing to offer this game of escape but the promise of martinis and a show on the other side if we make it out in one piece..." Her voice was once again melodic, a sing-song purr against the awful torturous sounds from the hallway. Slacks was right. "We should keep moving. Quickly."

@Awesomoman64@spicykvnt@Shift@Shu

Hunched over the control panel, another nameless guard of Militech punched in key after key.

Access Denied. Access Denied. Access Denied.

Over and over again the man furiously typed into the pad, hopelessly getting no where. The whir of the turret next to him, shifting from side to side, combined with the error codes of the elevators control panel were not enough to drown out the distant noises of horror and death. "Code red, code fucking red!" He yelled into his radio, nothing but static echoing back. "What the fuck is happening?! I've been locked out of everything and I can hear nothing but gunshots ou-"

The whoosh of the door to the hallway interrupted his rant, his heart swelling with hope. Had it worked? Had control been rendered back to the facility?

Unable to turn fully around in time, the motley crew of prisoners had only seconds of advantage. Neither the guard nor the turret had properly seen them. JV broke into a full sprint, the electric from his fists crackling up his arms with excitement. The man would see his part of the plan through, would the others?
–
Kade raised an eyebrow at Rodrigo’s suggestion before letting out a short chuckle and shaking his head. Did he not fully comprehend their situation? Of course Kade would have preferred a slow methodical approach to their escape, but that wasn’t in the cards. They needed to get out before Militech brought reinforcements and stopping to plan every situation was not something they could fit in the window of time they had.

“Oh Rico.” Kade responded in a tone matching Rico’s and placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Tell you what? When we’re not in a time crunch and people aren’t trying to kill us, I promise we’ll pause to have a lovely chat. Until then, be a gentleman and let the professionals work.” Kade pulled his arm back from Rico and turned away to face the door before looking over his shoulder. “Oh, but do use that weapon glitch on the guard. I think that should help make this go very smoothly.”

Standing at the side of the door again, Kade was ready to peer around when the door opened and locate the turret. What he was not ready for was JV’s sudden rush into the room. Did he forget about the turret? He was supposed to wait! Shit. Kade had to act fast. His eyes flashed with light as he pivoted around the doorway and hastily located the turret. In an instant he connected with the system and uploaded the proper hack. A burst of electricity erupted from the turret as its systems were overloaded with power. A small trail of smoke bellowed out of the now destroyed- Why was it still moving?

“You have got to be joking!” Kade cursed to himself as he watched the machine continue to rotate, albeit at a much slower rate than before. “Arms! The turret is still up!” Kade warned JV before pivoting back behind the doorway for cover.
–
Rodrigo's deadpan expression was directed toward Kade's back as the Suit turned away. Leave it to a Corpo to give a condescending lecture only to follow along exactly with what had been suggested. He'd wait for that lovely chat to speak his mind. For now, there was too much that required his focus, and if he wasn't concentrated, more lives could be lost.

A panging ache tugged at his heart, the Aussie's face flashing in his minds eye along with another smaller, rounder, younger face - but Rodrigo turned away from those images, willing himself to focus intently on what was happening before him.

He followed the action closely, no longer surprised by the speed and deftness of Gorilla Arms. Rodrigo could be fast too. By the time the other man had gotten a few feet away from the guard, Rico had managed to break through the guard's ICE. A complicated manoeuvre, and due to the high level security implants Militech had undoubtedly equipped their employees with, all his hacking accomplished was to jam the weapon momentarily. No problem, Gorilla Arms should still have enough time to--

Kade's surprised yell pulled Rodrigo's attention away from the guard and to the turret, and called the guard's attention to their presence. Oh no, he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. There wasn't enough time for Gorilla Arms to handle both, and there definitely wasn't enough time for Rodrigo to attempt another glitch on the turret. His gaze turned back to the woman who held the gun, eyes pleading. Was she a good shot?
–
Oh, for fuck sakes.

Either pretty boy had screwed up with his hack or that turret systems were on the next level. Either way, the glitch in their little plan here paired with the sudden shout and alerting of the guard had just complicated this to say the least. Luckily Dejah was good at handling sudden shit situations like this, most of the time.

The turret was crippled, or at least slowed, and the guard while alert was still a wide open target - and Dejah was a crack shot. Acting on training and a tad of raw reflexive instinct the assassin brought her pistol up with a snap - like a snake arching for a strike - and fired, the pistols’ discharge loud and bright in the tight quarters. The guards’ head snapped back, red sprayed across his face and from the back of the head as his knees buckled and down he dropped, the thud of his body following the clink of an empty casing on the floor. Dejah exhaled slightly through her nose, otherwise keeping a cool composure. Now just to handle that turret.
–
JV felt the rush of the bullet tear by him through the air. Expertly aimed, it missed his head and plunged deep into the guards. The Militech agent hadn’t even fully pivoted in place before Dejah’s target found its home, his blood painting the wall and elevator panel behind him.

Without flinching or looking back, the Haitian changed his trajectory in an instant. Stepping heavily off his left leg, the man skipped into a bound, bouncing off his right leg as if he were performing in the long jump. With a final leap off his left, JV sailed through the air towards the turret, his torso twisting back as he loaded his fist.

There were no screams, no war cries or bursts of rage, the man was silent, simply bringing down the hammer. Slamming his gorilla arms through the machine, the metal gnashed and shredded as if it were made of foil. As the turret practically disintegrated, the ceiling creaked and groaned as a chunk of concrete gave way, tearing from the roof. Dust billowed up like smoke as exposed wires zapped. It was safe to say the turret was no more, nor would it ever be again judging by the damage.

Walking out from the cloud, JV flapped dust from his trench coat and wiped debris from his shoulder. Without a word, the Haitian walked back into the centre of the room and waited for his next order.

Looking around he noticed they were in a barracks, which was perhaps somewhat of an armoury too. Along the eastern wall sat a series of bunk beds, each personalised in different ways. Some had posters or pictures on the wall above the bed, some had bedside tables covered in personal effects and one was made up perfectly aside from a pillow that looked slightly lopsided. Further down was a lounge area, complete with a fridge and kitchenette. An opened packet of chips sat on the coffee table, some of its contents scattered about as if they’d been thrown down in haste.

On the opposite side of the room sat a series of lockers. Some were opened and empty while others appeared locked. With solid doors, there was no way to see what was on the inside, though each had a digitised lock with a keypad. At the end of the row sat a rather large trunk. The chest looked heavy, fortified well with no number pad in sight, rather just a small pane of glass on top, no more than an inch and a half long and wide. Just as JV’s eyes fell upon the hardcase, the radio chimed, as if the voice knew where he was looking.

“It’s biolocked.” It said, still with no hint of emotion. “Lucky for you, we don’t need that guard's face to unlock it. His thumbprint is the key. All your items are in there. You will need them to escape.”

Dragging the corpse over, JV did as he asked, mashing the guards thumb into the glass pane. The trunk hummed to life as the panel lit up with a green colour. Gears turned as the lock disarmed and the chest opened. It was a small treasure trove of goodies, with the man quickly spotting and retrieving his revolver.

“Search the room, there may be other items of use in here.” The voice commanded.

Bending down, the Haitian removed a Unity Pistol from the dead guard's holster. A middling weapon as far as handguns went, it would be enough to do the job.
–
Back outside the room, Bea had listened, while trying not to listen - while being forced to listen anyway to the riotous din of it all. That unease kept growing and gnawing away at her. She really was just among killers, wasn't she? Should they have actually been allowed out?

Her fingers grazed the cold steel of the doorframe and she let herself into the room. Her cold gaze drawn to the Rorschach painting across the wall. Urgh she thought, not daring to vocalise it - lest his Royal Prince of Darkness try and quip off again.

Despite being filled with light, and having housed the guards, this room too, felt eerie to the woman. The way that each bunk had character even in the cold, unforgiving space. God it was ugly here, those fluorescent lights seemed to sap energy rather than light up anything. She closed her eyes and thought of something more comfortable.

Her fellow escapees would all scramble for their belongings - whatever they were. Hell, it wouldn't have surprised her if one of them had been packing a rocket launcher or something of the sort. Who were these people? Oh, let them scramble over the box of tricks, she thought - eyeing up the kitchenette for herself. Bea realised that it could have been hours since she was down there - and seeing that tap woke up an incredible thirst, and she headed immediately to it like a moth to a flame - next to the sink was a bottle of water, half filled, and she brought it to her lips immediately.

It didn't take her long to finish off the bottle. "Holy shit," she sighed aloud, leaning over the sink. Next to take her eye was a locker - and a little box that was sticking out. Is that...? she thought to herself. "Yes!" she said allowed again, shimmying on over to find a cigarette box, and a lighter. "Thank yooooooou Mr Guard," she sang out, tipping out the single cigarette into her hand and lighting it up. Her lips clung to the butt of it as she drew it back, a long breath powered by her bionic lungs. "Holy shit," she repeated.
–
From behind the doorway, Kade peered back into the room and confirmed it was safe before pivoting around the corner and strolling in. Things may not have gone exactly as planned, but the turret was destroyed, the guard was dead, and they were not. All in all it was a success. And to top it off, they now Had access to their equipment. Nova.

Kade slipped up next to JV in front of the unlocked chest to snag his own gear, but couldn't help first looking over the body that had been dragged over.

"A single shot clean through the head." Kade spoke as he analyzed the dead guard. He turned back to Dejah with a glint of admiration in his eye. "Damn good job, pistol!"

Though speaking of pistols, it was time he got his own. Reaching into the chest, Kade pulled out his automatic M-10AF Lexington and his customized silenced Nue. The grips of his reliable weapons filled the corpo with renewed confidence. One for keeping quiet, another for going loud; A pistol for each occasion. Now he was more than prepared for anything that lay ahead. The only thing that could have made this moment better was-

“What's that smell?” Kade asked as the tantalizing aroma of nicotine suddenly filled the air. His eyes darted around until he saw the source. Bea was smoking a cigarette and holding an…Empty carton… Kade’s eyes widened. His jaw nearly hit the floor in response to such an atrocious sight.

That fainting floozy! He thought as he watched her take another satisfying puff. How dare she? They had done all the work while she sat around yet she saw fit to take the only thing that offered any relief from their stress? She didn’t even offer to share! How easy it would be to hit her with a quickhack and take it, but Kade’s senses won over. Now was not the time to turn on each other over petty squabbles. Regaining his cool, Kade closed his mouth and eyes, took a deep breath, and allowed his smirk to return once more.

“Just so we’re all clear.” Kade strode over to Bea and gestured to the cigarette in her hand. “I call dibs on the next one.”
–
Bea turned her eyes to Kade, watched him cycle himself through the stages of grief for a cigarette. She smirked too, drawing again from the cigarette. "You know," she sighed with a faux wistfulness. "Nothing like this to keep away any more of those screaming fainties that you so wanted to keep away..." Her eyes sparkled. ""Besides Cupcake, if you want some, all you have to do is ask." After a pause, she blew out a ring of smoke that momentarily framed his porcelain mask before it was whisked away by the air itself.

""Would anyone else like some?" She added with a flourish of her arms in their direction.
–
JV approached the two just as the smoke dissipated from the Corpo's face. He didn't care about their back and forth, nor was he bothered about the cigarette or its fumes. Instead the man loomed over the woman, presenting the butt of the pistol he'd taken from the guard.

"Take it, you will need it before the end." The Haitians face sat like stone, his thoughts or feeling impossible to gleam. Deep down, he knew the truth, they were all cursed just like him. This wouldn't end with their escape from the facility, no, their lives were forever changed. The woman would need to learn to use it. Either on them or on herself.
–
I'll play along, Bea thought, quietly taking the gun. It was heavier in her hand than she could have thought. So heavy. The trigger was nothing to them, so much more to her. A line uncrossed. JV's face was the stark reminder of their situation, and while she would not flinch at his presence, she dared not press at his request. Not now, not now...
–
Relief flooded him when the woman's shot rang true and took out the guard easily so that Gorilla Arms could dispatch the turret in full. The irony that this loss of life was acceptable, and even welcome to him, was not missed by him. The memory of the raspy voice from his earlier vision caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand.

While aware of the spat between the Suit and Bea, Rodrigo chose to avoid the exchange. It wasn't like he smoked, or even had reason to give a lecture against it. Gone were the days when lung cancer was a concern over a smoke, when new lungs could so easily be exchanged.

There were other options to keep his mind occupied, anyway. First objective, to obtain his weapons. Stored away with other interesting finds were his pistol and poisoned blade. He quickly took those but was unable to find his supplemental tools. "Puta mierda," he cursed under his breath. He wouldn't allow this to happen again. At the first opportunity he had, he would get cyberware implanted to prevent anyone from removing his tools from him.

Done with the chest of weapons, he pulled back and ran a hand through his hair. "Anything else of interest over there, or just the cigs?"
–
Kade stood perfectly still as the ring of smoke circled his face. He wasn’t about to beg for anything, especially not something as miniscule as a used cigarette. The man’s smile hid his anger well, but the audacity of this woman was starting to get to him. Luckily he wouldn’t even have to excuse himself as JV took Bea’s attention, giving him the opportunity to slip away without another word.

The voice in the radio had suggested they search the room before moving on, but Kade wasn’t keen on sticking around longer than they had to. After a brief internal debate, he decided they had enough bodies to search the room quickly before moving on so long as they each took a part. Under the assumption his hacking skills were the best of the group, he stepped to the lockers and attempted to open the leftmost one. His eyes illuminated as he connected to their systems. What he assumed would be a simple firewall turned out to be some very advanced ICE. What were they hiding in these lockers that needed this much security? It would take a long time to break through this way, time they didn’t have. However, he did just acquire the tools for a more uncivilized yet effective method.

The corpo took a step back from the locker, aimed his Nue at the keypad, and fired a single shot. The silencer kept the sound to a minimum, not that stealth was needed, and the bullet proved more than capable for the high tech security. Unfortunately, it was also more than a match for the only item the locker contained; a tablet that lay right in the path of the bullet. The device had been rendered completely destroyed by the hole Kade put in it. Any data it may have contained was now forever lost.

“Oh forget this.” Kade grumbled to no one in particular as he turned his back on the locker and headed for the door. “Let’s just delta already. The sooner the better.”
–
“Hold on.” Dejah said sharply, raising her gun again. The woman lined up her shot on the locker next to the one Kade had shot, the dot sight centered slightly to the left center of the keypad. Hand steady the assassin fired, the keypad shattering apart and sparking as the shot connected. Unlike Kade, Dejah had better luck in her “find”. The locker door swung open to reveal a ballistic vest in good shape and untouched by Dejah’s shot. Dejah eagerly slipped her gun away and seized the vest from where it rested, slipping it on and securing it over her torso with a satisfied smirk. While not of the highest quality the vest was better than nothing and would do well enough at protecting her from any stray rounds sent her way.

“Perhaps better luck next time, Slick.” Dejah smugly said to Kade.
–
Cigarette in hand, Bea's attention was taken by the beds. They looked comfortable right about now, and that thought disgusted her. She needed to get out of here. I need to get out here, being a barbarous bitch isn't going to help at all, she mused. God that pillow looks off - wait. Wait...

She walked over to it, the others distracted by their belongings, Slacks doing something to the locker, and doing it badly.

HA! she thought as her hand landed on a stash of eddies. Quite a nice one too. Just as she had with her fallen beads, she made some adjustments with the cups of her dress and found those eddies a home between underwire and a double d. Might come in handy later, oh well. Tits up, she thought with a small smile.

Then there was the Suit. He was ready to leave, and pouting about it too. He needed to pick himself up. In the pecking order of usefulness in this shithole, he was still way above her and she knew it. Opportunity to right a wrong.

She softened her stance, wrapped one arm around her other bare arm, and made her way to him. Her face was soft too, her eyes pointed to the ground, "Listen," she said quietly, sighing ever so, biting at the corner of her lip. "Take it." She held out the last half of the smoke to him. "I'm hardly any help down here." She rolled her eyes a little. "I'm just a dancer, you know. So, maybe this will help you. You have it."
–
Kade looked at Bea, then at the half gone cigarette, then back at her. Was she actually trying to make amends? What possibly could have made her change her tune from before? Wait... did she see his pathetic display with that locker? Oh god. This wasn't her trying to apologize, this was pity. And worst of all, he was seriously tempted to take it... Fuck it.

He reached out and took the cigarette from her hand. "Thank you... Bea was it? I appreciate it." He said and took a long satisfying drag. As he exhaled he made sure to blow the smoke away from Bea's face. "Heh. A dancer, huh? How did someone like you end up... Actually, hold that thought. There will be plenty of time for talk once we're out of here."
–
Jean.

A whisper echoed down the hallway, its familiar tone causing JV’s head to snap away from Bea and the others instantly. Obviously he had misheard it. Perhaps it was the dying gasp of some poor fellow from the other room? Or maybe a squeal from structural damage to the facility? Taking a step closer to the door, his chest tightened. No, no, this was impossible, surely, there was no way it could’ve been her could it?

Standing at the threshold of the hallway, JV closed his eyes, straining his ears for anything. Oddly, the noise from the other room had ceased completely, hell, even the team behind him was dead silent. Turning to his head to look back at the gang, he heard it again as if there were someone right next to him.

Jean.

Her voice was smooth like butter. Deep and sultry, as if you could feel them drip from her plump lips.

“Oshun.” Her name escaped his lips, as if drawn from him by a snake charmer. The Haitain's head snapped back to the hallway and he began marching down the corridor.

Jean.

It came from around the corner to the left, where the prison cells were but just as he rounded it, it happened again, instead coming from behind him. The man’s heart began to pound, his breath drew heavy as if he had run a marathon. Swinging around there was still nothing but dead silence. A bead of sweat dripped down past his temple as he grabbed the radio.

“Voice, is this you? Sa fout la ap pase?”

Nothing, not even static echoed back. Feelings long suppressed flooded back into the man causing him to hoist the radio above his head, ready to destroy it when…

“Stop!” The voice responded, its first tone change of the night. “Whatever you are seeing is not real, the virus has begun its infection.”

Breathing heavily, the Haitian looked around, hearing the sounds of death coming from the next room and the quiet chatter of the prisoners down the hall. Closing his eyes, JV attempted to meditate, quiet the noise from within. Bringing the radio to his lips, he replied. “What is next?”

“Return to the group and I will give you your next instruction.”

Doing as told, JV returned to the others, not bothering to ask if anyone had seen his outburst. Holding the radio out for all the group to hear, it explained.

“The next room is the experimentation room. In there, I have unleashed a distraction that is currently occupying the main contingency of guards in this facility. Your objective is to retrieve a demolitions expert and use her to blow a hole in the weak point of the facility. That weak point will lead you to the sewers and freedom. It is recommended that you do not engage the distraction or the Militech team unless necessary as it’s more than likely you will not survive the encounter. Maxtac is also on its way to contain the threat, you will not have long until they arrive, so act quickly.” The radio paused, allowing the instructions a moment to sink in.

“Good luck.”

@Awesomoman64@spicykvnt@Shift@Shu@Vampy

Lauren narrowed her eyes at the woman as she put on the armor from the locker. Of course this lot wouldn't consider anyone else before themselves she thought, rolling her eyes. Though, she could barely blame her for it, it wasn't as if she cared for any of these people either. Her priority was finding Trey.

The woman checked the magazine in the sub-machine gun she'd located in the room. Still plenty of ammo. It must've belonged to one of the guards, the gun had a few stickers associated with a well known BD celebrity. She cared little about this, however, it was a useful tool regardless of appearances.

The lighter atmosphere of the room, if it could even be called that, vanished with the words that emanated from the radio. Everyone sobered and before long, the group nodded to each other and headed back to the hallway in the direction of the screams and gunfire behind the closed door ahead. Whatever their mysterious benefactor had come up with for a distraction, it seemed to be working well enough. What kinds of Militech experimentation would await them inside?

Kade, the smooth talking Corpo, took the lead as before, and signalled to the group before opening the door carefully. As before, the Voice's instructions were trustworthy and the door opened without any resistance. The first thing Lauren noticed was a gurney, located a few feet directly ahead of the doorway, a young woman with pink hair lay strapped upon it unconscious. Likely, the demolitions expert they needed to rescue. Lights shown on her body as if she were prepped for some kind of surgery, beside the gurney was a small metal table with frighteningly sharp tools. Lauren found herself gripping the gun in her hands tighter. As her eyes scanned the room, it was clear the distraction was taking place in the other end of the room, just out of sight from where she stood behind the Corpo. All she could hear, other than the frantic shooting, were the chaotic cries of guards as they scrambled to get around what sounded like a massive creature, its yells a mixture of anguish and rage.

Strange... There was something familiar...

Lauren drew herself closer to the door, no longer paying attention to the prisoners around her as they quickly worked out a plan to extract the woman on the gurney. The more of the room that came into view, the worse it became. Containment chambers lined the walls. Inside them, suspended in an unknown viscous liquid were innumerable human bodies in various states of suspension and with varying levels of external cyberware. Almost like a collection.

But that wasn't what held Lauren frozen, jaw agape and heart pumping. Over a dozen guards aimed high caliber weapons at a massive man at the far corner of the room. Behind them was an elevator they seemed to be protecting and attempting to prevent the man from entering. He was larger than any man Lauren had ever seen. His body took the bullets as if they were raindrops. Thick arms, like metal tree trunks with countless barrels protruding from them returned a fiery volley of bullets back at the guards and easily swatted the men away like flies. In seconds four of the guards lay unmoving on the floor. But it wasn't this that made Lauren a human statue. No, it was the man's face. He had Trey's face, her brother's soft eyes and button nose, his raised cheekbones, and square jaw.

What have they done to you!? Lauren stood. To hell with the plan, with this disembodied Voice. To hell with all of these strangers, she was going in there and she would kill every single last one of those guards and she and Trey were walking out of here together. No one could change her mind, and no one would stop her-- unless they too wanted a bullet through the skull.
–
Kade’s eyes glanced around the room taking in every last detail as a plan started formulating in his head. He inhaled the last of his cigarette before dropping the smoldering butt to the ground and stopping it beneath his shoe. This room was a nightmare in every sense of the meaning, but they had no time to gawk and recoil at the horrors. Their ticket out of this place was currently strapped to a gurney and the last bit of resistance was distracted by some sort of hulking abomination of flesh and cyberware. They needed to act fast but not carelessly. If they could get the woman off the gurney or at least wheel it out without drawing any attention they would be able to slip back out no problem.

That is, unless someone just waltzed right in and made a beeline to the guards ignoring the huge advantage they had! What the hell was Lauren thinking? Was she out for blood? Or maybe she just wanted to end things in a blaze of glory? Whatever her reason, she was about to reveal their presence!

“Hold on! You shouldn’t just-” Kade tried to explain as he reached for Lauren’s shoulder to pull her back. However, his hand met with Rodrigo’s who was attempting the same thing. Incidentally, they had also stepped with the same foot. With their arms and legs tangled, the two fell to the ground as Laruen simply continued towards her path of revenge. Kade blinked a few times as he processed what had just happened before slowly turning to look at Rodrigo.

“Well…I hope you don’t mind losing another one. Probably won't be able to patch her up after this."
–
Bea tried too, to halt the woman in her tracks. Not sure exactly how - maybe hold that gun to her head? she initially thought... But the margin for error was, well. A margin indeed. "Hey-" She hissed instead, her voice low. "You'll get us all killed!" She continued through gritted teeth, trying to grab hold of the woman, but really, Lauren was too determined to stay. Oh boy Bea thought, bracing herself all of a sudden, however she could, for death. Was never going to get that fucking EGOT anyway.
–
Dejah’s arm came up again as before, fingers wound right around the grip of her pistol as she took aim right at Lauren’s back. The shooting across the way will cover it. Dejah’s cold internal calculus was the only thought to cross her mind as she lined up her sights and pulled the trigger. A single bang and Lauren went tumbling down onto the floor in a heap, arms and legs sprawling out as she rolled over facedown. At first Dejah thought it had been a kill until Lauren weakly moved her hands and arms, fingers curling and flexing raggedly, Dejah could hear Lauren’s sharp whimpers of pain over the chaotic sounds of battle.

Dejah sighed slightly aloud and took aim again, training her sights on the rounded shape of Lauren’s head where it lay as she prepared to fire a killing shot. No way did they need to slow themselves down hauling this brainless liability around with them.
–
Rodrigo audibly gasped, horrified, affronted, and genuinely disappointed. Dios... Who were these people he got himself thrown in with?

Still disentangling himself from the Suit, he'd been unable to prevent the first shot, but as Dejah took aim again, he found his footing and pulled her arm sharply down. "What do you think you're doing," he hissed angrily, preventing any further action.

Inside the room, Lauren moaned loudly as the shock from what had occurred wore off and the pain from the bullet wound in her back surged through her like a tidal wave. Unyielding reverberations of crippling agony burning through her entire body, emanating from a spot in her back. It took her a moment to understand what had happened, but it was amazing how much clarity she was able to attain despite the miserable aching she felt. One of the others had shot her to prevent her from reaching Trey. She wondered if they were involved with Militech all along and whether this was all some ploy against her and her family. The bastards! It didn't matter, she would get her revenge on all of them, but first, she needed to protect her brother. The woman pulled her arms and legs under her, finding the strength to crawl forward while maintaining her hold on the submachine gun. Pure adrenaline, an insane amount of will power, and the unconditional love of an older sister, fueled her forward. There was nothing she would not overcome to reach Trey, to bring her family together again. Her sight was laser focused and she heard nothing but the pounding of blood in her ears as she approached the skirmish ahead, leaving a small trail of blood in her wake.

When she'd gotten closer, Lauren found the strength to lift herself, leaning her weight on one of the metal structural beams in the room, letting out an exasperated and painful yell as she succeeded. "You fuckers!" She lifted the gun and fired a few rounds at the guards, whose attention were now split between the man before them and the wounded woman. Her eyesight was darkening though, her strength failing, and the shots found no targets but the walls behind the men she aimed at. Trey turned toward her then. Their eyes met and Lauren's filled with tears. Her baby brother was still in there. "Trey," she sobbed. He took a few steps toward her, and she found herself sliding back down to the ground. She would leave the rest to him. She had done what she'd come to do, she'd found him. They were together again, and though he was different than when she'd last seen him, he was still her Trey. His new body would have no difficulty in lifting her, protecting her from the shower of bullets that continued unceasingly. They weren't as loud as they'd been before. Lauren lifted a hand toward her brother as he neared, everything else around him fading away. "Brother," she cried.

The hand that had once fit in hers, that she'd held while he was feverish and sick, that she knew better than her own, was now the size of a garbage can lid. Trey reached out this hand, and a smile formed on Lauren's lips. The last she would ever share. The hand became a fist that crashed down on her as easily as it had the guards that were firing at him. What was left when he lifted it away was little more than puddle and mush. What had once been known as Trey was now nothing more than an agglomeration of flesh and cybernetic parts, strewn together in such abominable configurations that all he knew was anger and pain. Nothing human remained inside the cyberpsycho, and his attention returned to the guards.

"Where did she come from!?" One yelled above the gunfire.

"Who the fuck knows?"

"Two of you, check it out, quick! Maxtac should be here soon, we just have to hold out a little longer!"

Two guards pulled away from the others and followed the trail of blood. Distraught by the behemoth behind them, they weren't as careful as they might otherwise have been and did not see the group huddled near the hallway entrance.
–
Kade let out a soft sigh and shook his head after no one was able to get Lauren to return and Dejah had to put a bullet in her back. It’s not that he didn’t agree with such a method, sometimes you have to eliminate the liabilities even if they are “on your side”. But blatant betrayal in a group setting usually did not go over well. Not to mention, Lauren was still moving and making noise! The whole point of putting her down would be to keep their cover. Now all that had been accomplished was straining the team evident by Rico pulling himself off the ground and confronting Dejah.

Amatures. Kade thought as he picked himself up and straightened his clothes. All the while watching as Lauren approached the abomination acting as though she knew it. Oh lord that thing must have been a loved one. Kade rolled his eyes at the scene in front of him. Maybe she would be able to distract them after all? As long as she kept that thing busy they could-

SMASH

Kade’s face scrunched in disgust as Lauren was pulverized by what she believed was her brother. He had seen a lot in his time; but that was something he never had nor ever wished to see again.

“That’s it. I’m done.” Kade tossed his hands in the air and began to walk towards the pink haired woman encased in the gurney. “Let’s just get the person we came for and leave.”

As grotesque as the scene further in the room was, Kade kept a watchful eye on it just in case the guard’s got curious as to where the interruption had come from. His intuition served him well as two guards disengaged the abomination and started heading their way. Kade narrowed his eyes which lit up once again. Oh no you don’t. Why the guard’s had weaker security than the lockers he’d never know, but the spy was able to bypass one of their systems with ease and use one of his most favorite tricks; uploading a virus that wiped their short term memory. And as an added bonus, since it was already past their firewalls, the virus jumped to the other guard and did the same to him.

They would forget what they were doing, and their attention would no doubt be drawn back to the large cyberware monster nearby. Perfect. Now all that was left was to wake sleeping beauty and get out of there.
–
To say Bea was appalled was an understatement. Confused, tired, devastated, frightened, horrified - the whole bag. And then some.

She'd had to turn away when Lauren crawled off, the sound of that shot ringing in her ears. She tuned into the woman's pain immediately. Even as she turned her back to it all she felt completely unsafe. She didn't want to look. She didn't want to be the next to be callously shot for being a liability to the group.

She wanted to go home.

The only thing stopping her from fainting this time was the rocketing fear that if she did, she'd wake up in one of those tanks. Or worse, just not at all.

All Bea could picture was the forlorn expression of her dog sat by the door of her apartment, waiting forever.

Who the fuck are these people?

The only one she vaguely trusted was Rico. He seemed to be reading from the same page as her, he was the only thing gentle down here.

Oh, but think of the book deal when you do get out of here... An intrusive thought, but not uninspiring.

Determined to not be on the chopping block next, she set to looking around the room. We have to keep going. Kade had done his job in distracting the guards, but they needed to rescue the girl in the tube.

She seemed to be locked in there, some kind of medical device no doubt to induce a heavy sleep. As she observed it further from her vantage point, she made sight of cables and wires in the floor, all the way up to a button. Way up on the wall. Now, Bea couldn't be sure but... What was driving her was the need to get out, and fast. I can make that. Just like that number I did in Chicago...

"Hey, hey Sugardoc," she whispered, tugging at the sleeve of Rico's jacket. "You're being my backup dancer tonight. Follow my lead," she said quietly, letting a sparkle take hold of her eyes to inspire him.

"Oh and Cupcake," she added, motioning to Kade, "go make sure Arms is alright..." she glanced back behind them at JV, quirking a brow. They needed him too. "I'm going to get Bombelina..."

She moved as sneakily as she could towards the tube - walking on her toes so as not to make too much noise at all on the concrete floor. She was like a cat on the prowl, ducking to the shadows until she made it to the wall and began to climb - not taking too much time on any one shelf - she felt how unstable they were and yet, that was all too familiar. Stage sets were often cheaper, and less stable. As quick as she could, she scaled the wall - looking like a bejewelled spider in her silver costume, her long legs agile and able to reach every spot until - there it was. The button.

She pressed it.

You better be down there Sugardoc she thought, finding that actually, she had a lot of trust in the man because she flipped back from the wall, knowing he'd catch her.
–
Despair gripped him as the woman crawled toward what remained of her family, knowing that he would have acted no different. Rodrigo could not watch as the fist came down mercilessly upon her. Instead, he turned away and crossed himself, eyes closed.

The callousness and inhumanity displayed by the woman who shot her gun tore at him as he wrestled with the guilt that he could have prevented it. Had he been more aware of his surroundings he and the Suit together would surely have been enough to stop the woman. Even if they hadn't, he would not have stumbled to the floor when he should have intercepted the murderer. Because that's what she was, he confirmed to himself, looking over his shoulder at the woman who watched the events unfold without so much as a reaction.

And what does that make you?

The hair on the back of his neck stood as the thought echoed in his mind. Rodrigo wasn't sure if it had been his own or if the strange voice from his earlier vision had returned. Darkness seemed to surround him, isolated and alone in the depths of this unforgiving and hellish prison, the sinking feeling overtook him. Even with his tools in hand, what could he do-- what purpose did they serve when he failed to act, when those he considered companions were nothing but disguised dangers.

A pull at his sleeve brought Rodrigo's presence back into his own body, returned his awareness to the room where gunfire and chaotic screams continued as if they were part of the very fabric of this infernal place. He looked up and met Bea's eyes which sparkled with the promise of hope, of confidence and surety of escape. In the light of her presence, the darkness waned and cowered behind him. He was uncertain why she led him to the far wall, but she asked him to follow, and he did.

It took a few moments of her scaling the wall before he understood, all grace and lithe movements as toned limbs expertly found hold where he doubted anyone else could. More than once he averted his gaze as her short dress shifted and swayed with her movements, but his focus never left her. When she pushed off the wall after pressing the release button, Rodrigo caught her in his arms easily, holding her much as he had earlier.

Their eyes met once more and his softened, the corners of his lips quirking upwards. "That's the second time you've fallen for me," he said before gently placing her on the ground. Quietly, he wondered to himself whether she knew that despite his catching her, she had been the one to save him from a precipice.
–
Ember’s eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the harsh lighting of the room. “Oh, just five more minutes.” She groaned, stretching her arms above her head and releasing a dramatic yawn. Blinking away the grogginess, she took in her surroundings. First noticing that she wasn’t in her bed, instead an uncomfortable chamber-like pod. Where the fuck? she mused to herself as she spotted the rows of tubes filled with bodies, all of the test and lab equipment and of course the giant cyberpsycho across the room.

Shear confusion consumed her mind. The psycho was heavily distracted by a group of Militech soldiers who’s bullets were flying desperately at the beast. Despite the concerning surroundings, she couldn’t help but let out an almost delirious giggle. “Looks like they’re having fun.”

With a surge of energy, she pushed herself up, feeling the cold metal beneath her fingers. Sitting up and jumping to her feet she braced herself against the gurney. That’s when she saw them. Right there next to her. On a beautiful shiny metal table. Ember practically skipped over to the table, her fingers eagerly wrapping around the familiar grips of her arsenal. With a playful giggle, she embraced her personal assortment of mayhem before swinging her rifle over her shoulder, hooking her knife to her belt, and slipping the various grenades in the inside pockets of her jacket where they belonged.

Turning on her heel after retrieving her things, her eyes fell on two figures. A handsome man who was releasing a stunning woman from his embrace. "That's the second time you've fallen for me." The man said, a small smile appearing as their eyes met and the woman's feet met the ground.

Ember couldn't contain her joy at the sight of new faces, especially ones that seemed so familiar with each other. "My turn! Catch me!" She called out, her voice a hushed exclamation, before sprinting towards the pair and leaping into the air.
–
Bea didn't have much time to respond to Rico's smooth talking before the other woman popped out of her pod like Christmas Day. All energy and excitement. Down here, of all places? she thought as she got back on the ground again - in time for the young woman to come barrelling over. She stepped to the side, a trailing whisper of "she's all yours angelfish," to Rico. He seemed to be forming a habit of catching them. Why not another?
–
Rodrigo blinked, surprised by the flurry of energy that sprang toward him. She’s like lightning freed from a bottle, he thought, instinctively opening his arms to catch the small woman, thankful that nothing else needed to be dropped to do so. And goodness was she small, she fit in his arms almost like a child would.

“Uh,” he began, unsure of how to continue the abrupt interaction. “Hello.” In a smooth motion as he had done with Bea, he placed her gently on the ground before him, lowering his voice in hopes she would do the same. “I think you’re meant to help us get out of here. You’re the demolitions expert? I’m Rodrigo,” he introduced himself.
–
Ember wasn’t shocked the man caught her already seeing his strength. She knew she could trust this random person she had never met! He placed her gently on the floor and in a quiet voice he introduced himself. Ember’s smile stretched from ear to ear, New choom acquired! She stared off for a moment, not answering his previous question. Thinking all about how much fun they would have together! Hey, hey focus, She shook off the thoughts bouncing back to reality. “Demolition is what I do best! Just point me at what you’d like me to make disappear.” Both her hands were up by her head opening dramatically as she mouthed the word boom.

Your name, tell him your name..

“Oh right, my name is Ember, simple to remember… eh team member?” She said with a wink and nudged Rico with her elbow.
–
Strange how despite it all, he was still able to offer her a bemused smile. How could this woman be so positive when faced with such horrors?

Rodrigo looked up to see Kade near Gorilla Arms, who still held the radio. They needed to know what wall to direct Ember to, or… he wouldn’t be surprised if she just took it upon herself to start blowing things up.
–
"Fuck."

The Captain of the Militech squad swore. Fifteen men he had started this fight with, now he watched as another was caught in the grip of that thing and torn in two. Nine remained and if that Maxtac backup didn't arrive soon, none of them would make it out.

"This is team Delta requesting for back up again! Where the fuck is Maxtac?!" The man's cool was long lost. The corporation hadn't even told them what was down there, just that there was a code red and the scientists needed back up. Now the entrails of all the scientists were strewn about and they were all that was left.

"Demolition is what I do best!"

What the fuck was that? He thought, looking up and over the desk he was in cover behind. Rows and rows of people in vats obscured his line of sight but he had definitely heard someone yelling. Maybe the woman who had been turned to paste earlier wasn't a scientist, maybe his men he'd sent searching had missed something.

But what could it be? He knew they were under attack by an unknown netrunner who had locked down major parts of the facility. Not even their brightest runners had been able to crack through, so it couldn't be back up.

Suddenly, realisation dawned on the guard like a 3 ton fist coming down and splattering a woman.

"Leeman, French, Carter and Harold. Get your asses up and find out whatever the fuck is going on towards the barracks. I think we're being taken on a ride here boys."
–
God she's loud. Bea thought, tempted to roll her eyes, but truthfully, she couldn't blame the woman for being excitable. Who knew how long she'd been down here. If there wasn't an entire fire fight happening in this house of horrors, she'd have been more inclined to find it somewhat endearing.

As it was, they were in a house of horrors. One of their allies was trigger happy, and they were surrounded wall to wall by people in tubes. Bea had witnessed more incomprehensible violence in this last hour than she ever thought she would have in her life. This Emma girl was their way out.

She was just very loud.

And as Bea glanced down the row of tubes, she noticed that the enthusiasm had alerted the guards. Shit, she thought clenching both fists in fear at her sides. Wait, she thought, the fringe beading... Perhaps, a booby trap? Well, fuck. It's not like you're going to be able to do anything else Doll, she said to herself. She tore at the strands- a fistful of beads in each hand.

With a graceful motion, she tossed them both down the rows and watched as they disappeared into the dark. Worth a bloody shot, she shrugged - eagerly grabbing Rico's sleeve again, moving to drag him along - and their pink-haired ticket out of there.

"Move!" She hissed quietly. "Quickly!"
–
Rodrigo placed his hand on Bea's, pulling his arm back gently. "One moment," he whispered, indicating that the other two should continue ahead without him. Speed was surely of the essence, but he needed to make sure they wouldn't be followed first. Bea's quick thinking with the beads was incredibly ingenious, but he'd never known a stunt like that to work in real life and his need to confirm outweighed his need to run.

Hunched slightly to minimize his height and visibility over the rows of containment chambers that stood between the three of them and the chaos on the other side of the room, Rodrigo approached cautiously to glance down the rows four Militech guards approached from. A smattering of beads rushed forward, the sound of their gentle strikes on the cement easily masked by the ricochet of bullets and discordant yells. The small spheres littered the floor directly before where the guards approached, unnoticed. For a moment, Rodrigo thought Bea's plan might just work, until the guard in front finally reached the small beads which were easily crushed under the man's heavy duty boots. He paused, lifting a hand for the others to follow suit and lifted his foot to rest on his opposite knee as if checking for dog feces.

"What the fuck is this?" The other guards approached and shrugged or made non committal noises, one shined a light on the floor ahead to reveal the other land mines before them. "Where the hell did these come from?"

While her efforts hadn't quite worked as she'd intended, their delay in examining the small objects gave Rodrigo an idea and enough time to execute it properly. Aiming at the nearest guard, he hacked through the man's ICE and struck him with a contagion quickhack that easily spread to the guard beside him. As the effects of the poison took hold, they began to sway and draw the attention of the other two. Before they knew what had happened, Rodrigo easily performed the same action again and the two remaining guards became equally as affected. By the time he turned to rush back to the women, the sounds of their toppling over themselves could be heard as their weapons and equipment struck the ground.

"Good work with the beads," he whispered to Bea with a wink as the trio rushed forward.
–
Kade stood back with Dejah and JV observing Bea and Rico as they went to work freeing the trapped demolitions expert. It was actually very impressive how they worked together despite meeting for the first time in this prison. Bea’s skill had especially surprised the spy who was finally happy to see her more than pull her weight in this operation. With any luck, they might just be able to grab the person in the tube in and leave without any one ever-

"My turn! Catch me!"

The smile on Kade’s face briefly vanished as the woman who emerged from the container proved to have no volume control. If he could hear her all the way over here, then it wouldn’t be long before the Militech guards caught on. Oh well. At least in her shouting he was able to catch that her name was Ember. Now he wouldn’t have to come up with yet another callsign on the fly. In addition, they were well aware of the attention they were drawing. Kade couldn’t quite make out what they were doing, but they had set up some sort of trap before taking off full speed down one of the rows of tubes. If they had thrown caution to the wind, then it meant they needed to move and now.

“I think it’s time to go!” Kade said to the others. He bolted out the door and made a sharp right turn, leading them down an adjacent line of tubes. Hopefully there was some form of plan in motion as cover would be limited once they met back up beyond these tubes.

Ember followed quickly behind Rico and Bea after their impromptu diversion. Swiftly moving as fast as her feet could carry her, she didn't even notice the bodies suspended in the tubes around them. As they came around the end of the tubes, three new faces rounded the corner to meet them. Though Ember didn't know them, none of them opened fire on her or her new pals, which in her experience usually meant they were friendly. The very idea of which sent her heart racing with excitement.

“No. Way.” Ember said in a giddy tone. “More new frie-”

Kade flicked out his pointer finger and placed it over Ember's mouth, silencing her mid sentence. “Yes yes we're all the best of chooms here. We'll have time to celebrate that later but right now we need you to make us a new door, one that leads to the sewers. Can you do that?” He asked. The corpo made sure he was able to finish everything he needed to say before removing his finger from Ember's lips.

When the corpo lowered his finger, Ember kept quiet this time. Nodding in understanding. Sewers….sewers…. She thought to herself as she scanned the nearby floor and walls. There were cracks and signs of decay everywhere in this room, but not what she was looking for. Come on, there’s got to be some- and there it was. Just ahead was an area of the wall with cracks running down the surface, but with stains and discoloration around it; telltale signs of prolonged exposure to and damage from water.

“There you are!” She thought aloud. Without warning or hesitation, Ember raised her arm and pointed it towards the area. Her forearm opened up, exposing a small projectile launcher hidden within and firing a miniature rocket. It impacted against the wall blasting away the weakened concrete and revealing an opening. “One passageway to the sewer as ordered! Is there anything else I can blow up for you?... Please?”
–
"Leeman, French, Carter, Harold! Anybody come in!" The Captain's voice shook, haggard with hopelessness. The static reply over the radio told the man all he needed to know.

In their absence, the beast had mowed down 3 more of his men, leaving only him and one other.

"Arghhhh!!!"

Crashing through the barrier, the cyberpsycho stepped on the leg of the final man. Though his wails of pain were short lived as the thing crushed his head in its hand.

"Fuck." This was it, the Captain was the only one left standing among the guards. Coming out from behind his barrier, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "C'mon you fuckin thing! Do it! End it all!"

Thumping across, the cyberpsycho slowly moved its way over to the guard. Raising its arm above its head, the beast readied itself for the final blow.

Suddenly, the elevator dinged. The Captain's head snapped to the side as his eyes widened. Maxtac had arrived, everything was going to be...

Boom!

An explosion sounding from behind the guard caused both him and the psycho to pivot around. Several figures from across the room poured through the hole in the wall, none of them daring to look back. So, this was all for them. The guard thought to himself as mantis blades pierced into the back of the creature.

Roaring in pain, the psycho spun around but the Maxtac soldier was already hooked into its back. Expertly, the other two soldiers activated their Sandevistans, dodging the beasts flying fists with ease. Together, they both fired off multiple rounds of high powered, single-shot rifles into the psychos head. Roars turned to groans, then finally gurgles as it fell to the floor. With a final spike through its head, the Maxtac soldier hopped off the creature's back standing among the other two.

Looking over towards the guard, the one in the centre asked, "the threat has been neutralised. Next order?"
–
As the group crossed the threshold of rubble into the sewers, smoke rose in plumes before it fell down as rubble, landing on their clothing, in their hair, and powdering their faces. They had to keep moving. Bea ran as quickly as she could, surprisingly fast too. Surprising that her heels were holding on too, considering the abuse they’d gone through throughout the whole ordeal.

Like hell would she be taking them off any time soon, certainly not in the sewer. Fucking filth she thought - but she was interrupted before she got to voice her disgust to the group.

Something had happened behind them, and as the group kept speeding towards a dark nothing, Bea looked back at the hole in the wall. They weren’t out of the woods yet, were they? The sound of static reminded her of their mysterious friend. She reached for the radio, it was with JV, and she snatched it away - her brow furrowed with deep concentration and her words came clear as crystal as she spoke into the receiver.

“You.” She began. “We’ve done everything you asked,” she was moving slowly - eyes transfixed back at the room of horrors as the events continued to escalate. “Something tells me we’re valuable to you, and if you want us to make it out of here alive to whatever the next part of your plan is... Please be a doll and put those skills of yours to good use.” Bea’s hand clenched the radio. “If we’re followed down here, we’re going to die.”

As she took her finger off the button, her breath trembled. In the space of light from where they had entered, she saw a chair materialise in the thin midair, then heard a chord… A guitar. Followed by some more notes that she recognised from a long time ago. A humming.



“Who the fuck is that?” Bea asked aloud, turning on her heel.



“You better stop singing that song!” Bea called out, glancing left and right.



In the dimness, Bea's eyes widened - pupils dilated as she fixated on the eerie silhouette that was now perched in the distant chair, barely visible—an almost spectral presence. The tiny frame hunched over a guitar, its form barely more than a whisper against the deepening darkness. Strains of that familiar tune emanated, drifted hauntingly. The cadence reverberated through the desolate sewers, twisting and contorting the melody within the circular chamber, transforming into an otherworldly incantation. The child’s voice wailed around the walls.

She shoved her hands on her ears, squeezed her eyes shut but she heard it still.



That wasn't part of the song - she knew that song. That wasn't part of it. But that alone was enough to break the spell of it, tear her away from the spectral hold. A horrible, awful clammy chill took hold of her - and now an earworm nestled itself in her mind too. She clenched a fist and drew herself away, back to the front of the group - shaken by what had happened, but only more determined to press on.

"FILTH down here," Bea cursed, emphasis on the disgust, "and what now?"

The radio stood silent. Perhaps the mysterious voice didn't take kindly to the woman's tone, or perhaps they had moved out of range of the transmitter. Bea's question lingered, the moment stretching out for what felt like an eternity.
–
Suddenly, a scream cut through the air, funnelling its way up from the facility. It was no ordinary scream, the tone was way off, as if a body with no soul had made the noise. Haunting.

It wasn't long before another sounded, and then another. Quickly more and more joined until there was a symphony so loud it deafened the gunshots that followed. Without another word, the crew took off, running as fast as their feet would carry them. For miles and miles they ran until daylight eventually appeared on the horizon along with the stench of Night City's fresh air. Those who possessed real lungs would feel them burn as they finally broke through the other side. Standing on the edge of a round pipe, the group would find themselves on the border of Westbrook, looking over at the City Centre.

They had found freedom.

"There is a van parked above on the street."

Well, partial freedom. The radio came to life as the voice delivered its final instructions.

"Climb the ladders and get in. The driver will take you to where you need to go. Remember, I am the only one who can help you, follow the trail of breadcrumbs and you will be cured."

Part 4

@Awesomoman64@spicykvnt@Shift@Shu@Vampy

“God. I never thought I’d miss the smell of this city.” Kade proclaimed as he took his first steps out of the sewer and into the street. Between the stench of blood, whatever medical crap Militech was using, and the rotten wastes they just ran through, the polluted smog of Night City was almost pleasing.

Of course, freedom wasn’t fully in his grasp just yet. The voice was still giving orders under the guise of curing whatever virus was in their system. A virus Kade wasn’t even sure existed. He had played along knowing the voice was indeed trying to break them out, but now it was time to see if he was indeed bound to continue listening or if he could take off on his own. Anyone looking at Kade would see his eyes light up similar to his hacking, only this time he was running a full diagnostics on his system. If there really was a virus, it would show up. Or at the very least something would be off.

It only took a few seconds, but the results came back clean as a whistle. Seems the voice was trying to pull the wool over his eyes. Trick them into further servitude even after they no longer needed him. Well Kade certainly wasn’t about to fall for… Hang on… Kade looked over the report again. The numbers were good. Too good. After everything he just went through there should be some sign of stress. Hell they just ran for a few miles nonstop, yet even his heart rate was coming back optimal. Something was definitely wrong.

His eyes flickered again as he ran the check a second time. The results came back the same. Exactly the same. Not a single digit had changed. This was a false report or at the very least false numbers being returned. Something really was messing with his system.

“Well, looks like our friend is actually being truthful with us.” Kade said with a laugh and shook his head. “There is certainly something fishy going on with my system at least. All of you can do what you will, but I’ll be getting in that van.”
–
Not a chance.

Dejah was lurking at the back of the group, having stayed out of the conflict back in the last large room they had been in. She had made her escape with this bunch, having gotten out of the cells they were in and played her part in getting them all past the defenses between them and freedom. And frankly she had been done with them from the very beginning. Dejah was no fool, she knew that there was strength in numbers and collaboration - but the way she saw it she was free now and she had no interest in hanging with this bunch any longer.

And as for the mysterious voice guiding them, frankly she was calling bullshit - to herself anyway. This cryptic, unseen, “helper” was the sole holder of the cure for whatever allegedly they had all been implanted with and no one else was in the know? No. Dejah did not believe that. She was not putting blind faith in “maybes” and “trust me’s”, not when she had reliable sources and points of connection high and low. Did the concept of cyberpsychosis scare her? Absolutely. But so did the idea of trusting someone she had no reason to trust, at least how she saw it.

Dejah’s lips parted slightly, she hesitated, then sighed through her nose. Who even cared? She would find her own way, her own cure if needed. She had money and she held a few favors. Kade spoke up, intent on hopping into the ride waiting for them and drawing the attention of the others. Without a word the assassin slipped off to the side, making no noise as she was trained, melting into the shadows and by the time any of the others might have noticed she would be nothing but a thought.

See you sorry lot in Hell.
–
Rodrigo blinked a few times as he stepped out from the sewers into the city, though really, there wasn't too much difference between the two, at least when it came to the odors. His eyes had become accustomed to the darkness below and he needed a few moments to acclimate to sunlight again before everyone came into view.

Feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin and hearing life go about normally around them was a bit unnerving. Such a strong juxtaposition to the horrors they'd just experienced underground. Rodrigo could still hear the distorted and painful screams, the sounds of crushing... He shook his head firmly to rid his mind of the thought, but the after images remained nonetheless.

Directions from the voice and the Suit's confirmation of his decision offered a momentary distraction, and Rodrigo willingly took it.

"Estas bien," he agreed. "But I don't see why we can't just head straight to my clinic." Aside from having access to all of his equipment, Rodrigo wanted to check in on his mother. And the cats.
–
The blinding sun disoriented Ember as she got above ground. She took a deep breath inhaling the unique fragrance of the city. While the odor was dreadful, Ember couldn’t help but enjoy the memories that it instilled in her. Ah the Night City stench. She thought, her lips curling into a small smile. It was a scent that, despite its unpleasantness, felt like a bizarre comfort, a reminder that she was home. She heard the mysterious voice on the radio telling the group to get into the van to be cured. The group seemed hesitant of the voice but Ember could only think about all the potential fun she’ll have with her new chooms. Her unbridled enthusiasm was quite unlike the others. She’d just been so restricted all her life she needed to be happy now. Always. How could she not be?

Hold on, cured, what does that mean? Billy’s almost concerned voice rang through Ember’s ears. A question she should care more about but didn’t pay much attention to. “Shush, Billy. The nice people are talking.” Ember audibly hushed the voice in her head with no care who heard.

“Wait, wait,” she announced, pausing dramatically. All the talk of examinations and being cured, they were overlooking one thing. “Does this mean we get to go on a road trip together!?” The absurdity of the idea amused her, as she quickly jumped into the van making herself comfortable. Ember glanced up at the remaining faces, eager to learn more about them.
–
Daylight always felt so abrupt, and it was especially so now. Bea was, for the most part, a creature of the night. She was surprised, actually, to see that it was day. That there was a real world after all. How long was I out? she asked herself. She was uncharacteristically quiet, suspiciously so, in fact. She'd done what she set out to do - to get out of there.

She vaguely recognised the landscape, but pressing a hand to her chest, she felt her stash of eddies. That would be more than enough to get her home. Might need to grab a coat on the way, was her next thought as she looked at the tattered fringing of her dress. Nothing a needle and thread couldn't fix. The shoes were probably done for, though. She didn't much like the thought of scrubbing blood from them. It all felt so... Unreal, and yet there was still a constant ringing in her ears, and her heart continued to race.

She wanted to come down from the adrenaline in her own bed. A hot shower. Hell, have a martini (or four...). Life would feel okay again when she got back to the stage. The woman scaled the ladder, took one hard glance at the van, almost swayed to get in... No, this is not real, it's not happening to you. You are fine. Move.

One foot in front of the other, she let Ember's commotion and the questions of the others disguise her attempts at a swift escape. Just make it to the end of the street, then run.
–
The childlike excitement that bubbled forth from Ember was enough to distract Rodrigo as he wondered how the woman could take the events they were undergoing so lightly. This went far beyond a simple ‘road trip’. Was she perhaps much younger than he’d initially assumed? That might explain her small size…

As he was gearing to speak up for a second time about where they would be headed next, he turned to address the others. Multiple things hit him at once.

First: The woman who’d proven to be a remarkable marksman was gone. Vanished without a trace. He hadn’t heard her leave, wasn’t even sure she’d made it out of the sewer tunnels along with them. Should we go back for her?

Second: Bea was seemingly trying to take a similar route, making her way down the street, back straight, eyes forward as if refusing to turn back to their makeshift group. He frowned, concerned. Where… In the state she was in, she could find herself in more danger out here than they’d faced underground.

Third: They were in Tyger Claws territory. Some of the Valentino boys had had a run in with them a few days back. Thankfully it didn’t end in any casualties or serious injuries, but there had been some business at the clinic from the encounter. In fact, Rodrigo was working on finalizing a few Cyberwear orders before he woke up in the cell below. Hell, that might mean his clinic was compromised. His thoughts immediately jumped to his mother and her safety, but no. She was deeply embedded in the Valentino’s territory, Militech wouldn’t want to start a war, especially not when they often called on the Valentino’s for the odd job. Ay mama… It would be best to stay away for the moment, at least until he had a better idea of what was going on, why he was targeted and what this all meant. I’ll send her a message later so she doesn’t worry… Perhaps it would be beneficial to follow along with the directions of this mysterious Voice a while longer. It had worked out well for them so far.

There was nothing he could do about the first, and the third, while upsetting, served as nothing but confirmation of the next step he should take. But there was still something to be done about the second. “Bea,” he called out, taking a few steps forward. “Bea, where are you going?” The woman didn’t turn around. Rodrigo took another step forward as if he was going to jog after her.

Placing a hand on the Valentino’s shoulder, JV stopped the man in his tracks. Though he possessed more than enough strength to hold Rodrigo back, the Haitian opted for a different approach. His touch was soft but his grip was stern. “Let her go, she doesn’t understand.” None of them did. They had only lived with the curse for a couple hours but the Haitian had a lifetime of experience. “She will soon and so will you. For now, she needs time to process, to see what life is like with the curse.”

Turning, the former Voodoo boy released Rodrigo's shoulder. “Come we need to leave, she will be back…” The man paused as he thought of the woman with the pistol. Her attitude was different, stubborn and mistrustful of the world. No, he would make no promises for her. No way to be sure, not yet.

The strong but comforting grasp on his shoulder was enough to shake him out of the spiral Rodrigo was quickly headed toward as he turned to face Gorilla Arms. His certainty and calm was reassuring, and Rodrigo found himself believing the other man. Yes, surely Bea just needed some time, needed to process the horrors they’d all just experienced. He thought that would best be done in the company of the others that shared the experience alongside them, but perhaps she thought differently, and it wasn’t like he was going to force her.

As JV stepped away and climbed into the van, Rodrigo turned and gave Bea one last glance as she walked down the street, steps purposeful, head held high. He hoped this truly wasn’t the last time he would see the woman.

The van had lurched heavily from side to side as JV entered, causing the driver to spill their coffee all over the front seat. “Jesus fuck big man! This is my personal car, aye my friend, not an 18 wheeler. Careful moving around.” Popping over the driver's seat, a skinny man covered almost head to toe in tattoos and cyberware appeared. His voice was thick with the accent of a far away land and although it seemed similar to Russells’, a distinct difference could be heard.

“Que dios le proteja,” Rodrigo mumbled. Sighing, he turned back toward the van after the others. What had started as seven had now diminished to four. “Guess it’s just us,” he said to the driver, “Where we headed?”

As Rodrigo entered the van, the driver took one look at the group and laughed, “ok my friends, perhaps I will not be too hard on you huh? The three of you look as if you’ve been through twelve rounds aye.” Focusing on Ember, the man smiled. “You, buttercup, look as if you could go another twelve.”

Cackling, he turned back around and started the car. “You can call me Livewire and I’ll be your guide. As for where I’m taking you? Well my friends, we are going home.”

Part I

There was a fractured glow of neon that bathed the Night City streets. A sickly hue as Bea made her way home, stepping in and out of broken spotlights along the concrete streets. Her previously-glamorous dress was now torn and stained, telling the story of the events that she was trying so hard to push back. The not so distant memory was following her, stalking her home and hiding in the echo of her worn-out heels. Each step in the silence that created an echo felt like another gunshot. She’d never heard so many. She hoped to never hear another.

The buildings stood like hollow giants in a labyrinth. Skeletal frames that outlined a dimly lit sky, and the air was thick as always with the acrid scent of desperation, a perfume of lost hopes and shattered illusions. Far from the comforts and luxury of penthouses that she dreamed about and longed, to the towering apartment she called home in Heywood.

As she approached the narrow alley leading to her apartment, a concrete staircase was all that was between her and bed. The steps, chipped and weather-worn, were sharp at their edge, and often slippery in the rain. The familiar battered elevator awaited her. Bea, exhausted, pressed the button, the metal doors creaking open. The city's pulse throbbed beneath her feet as the elevator carried her to her floor.

Her front door groaned open, revealing a stark contrast to the harshness of the Night City outside. Bea stepped into her sanctuary. Bathed in warm hues, vintage lamps cast a soft, golden glow over well-loved furniture, each piece bearing the patina of a cherished memory. Piles of well-read books and vinyl records stood in spare corners, their faded covers and scratched surfaces telling stories of the bygone eras that inspired her. Specks of dust danced in the mellow light, catching glimpses of sequins and crystals that peaked out of a bulging open closet - lines of costume that set a plethora of stars around the walls in the morning light.

Right in the middle of her apartment was Cookie. A massive beast of a dog, jet black fur that was polka-dotted with the reflections from the various sparkling sources. His stare was intense - eyes small, like two pieces of coal in a huge skull. He growled low from the depths of his chest. Unimpressed by Bea’s sudden appearance. He huffed into a rug on the floor.

“I know buddy,” Bea sighed, relenting to his attitude as she kicked off her shoes and got down onto the floor to greet him.

He lifted his heavy head up from the fabric, sighing again, a petulant little rumble came forward until Bea took his chin into her hands and kissed his head. “I’m sorry, I know, I know…”

Finally, the tap, tap, tap of his tail could be heard as he wagged it against the hard floor. He pressed his nose against her and took a sniff - his posture changed, and he pushed himself against her, his cold stare darting to the door as if he was expecting a presence to follow behind her. He felt her fear and anxiety and responded by standing up, moving to the door with another growl - his short fur still managed to form hackles around his wide shoulders. He watched for a while, squared up and ready.

While Cookie stood defensively at the door, Bea made her way to finally wash off the events. She was safe now.

_____

After a nap, Bea rushed to her tablet. She summoned her messages, amongst the mundane notifications, an invite from her manager, Crash, stood out. The text blinked insistently, urging her to attend the upper echelons of the city—a Christmas party for the corpos. A gig.

She instantly pulled out a dress. A harlequin patterned minidress made up of tiny sequins, in a carnival of gold and blush pink. Wearing it felt like wearing a full suit of glimmering armour, the dress clung to her curves like a second skin, and she felt like herself again.

A new pair of killer heels. Sleek, towering, and without a drop of blood on them. She put on her favourite scent to mute the taste of gunpowder that still lingered in her senses. A bold red lip as a proclamation that tonight, she would return to her stage, and return to being a starlet. Not a victim. The allure of Crash, mingled with the promise of attention was the narcotic elixir that promised to erase the ache of her escape. A deliberate act of defiance against the shadow and memory that she felt nipping at her heels, the spectre in the corner, an unnamed face - a gun at her back, a finger on a trigger…

Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.

As she stepped into the artificial glow of the Night City, Bea embraced the invitation and promise of glamour.

@Shift

The trip from Westbrook had been relatively silent. Livewire hadn’t said anything beyond his vague joke, choosing instead to chat with the other drivers of Night City as they drove along.

“Hey you, you fuckin’ dickhead, where did you learn to drive, ay?”

It was sunset. Though the high rises of the City Centre blocked a complete view, fingers of rays poked through, allowing for pockets of warmth and light to flutter through the vehicles windows. Anyone looking out of them would see the sky had turned a beautiful lobster coloured pinkish-red. They could watch as the tall buildings of the city faded into the residential nightmare of Santo Domingo. The further along they travelled, the more dilapidated the houses became, until finally;

“Welcome home!”

The sliding door of the van rolled aside to reveal a run down construction site. Looming over the group as they stepped out were the skeletal beginnings of a Megabuilding.

“Isn’t she beautiful? I know it’s not quite the castle to bring a princess back to, but everybody knows you need to slay a few dragons first, ay?” Slapping the chest of JV, Livewire laughed. “Big man knows what I’m talking about, right my friend?” Slowly the Haitain’s head moved towards the man, his stone-faced look unflinching. “On second thoughts, maybe not. C’mon, follow me.”

Gravel crunched under the collective boot of the group as they marched inside. The rickety scaffolding groaned and whined as they climbed the staircase up towards the first built floor of the building. As they got higher, some of the group would be able to appreciate a beautiful view of the whole city on one side, while others would notice the stark contrast of the mountain of garbage on the other. The smell of which had also become a lot more potent in their climb upwards. “Don’t mind stench my friends, you’ll get used to it.”

Rodrigo frowned slightly as if contemplating their situation, perhaps debating whether he shouldn’t have taken the blonde’s lead after all and left while he still had the chance. “And what’s the deal here?”

“Don’t worry, it’s abandoned. This was Lucius’s pet project before he kicked the bucket, Jefferson’s anti-homeless policy is shaping up to be a lot more aggressive. There have been a few previous occupants, from Wraiths to the bottom rungs of society but it’s all empty now. Empty and forgotten”

“No, I meant you specifically, how are you involved with this whole… mess,” he continued, waving his hand around at nothing in particular.

“Oh that. Easy my friend, I procure “special”, sometimes off market items.” Livewire giggled as a warm and funny feeling washed over him. He really did enjoy his job. “My shop is in Watson in Megabuilding 11. If you’re from around there you’ve probably heard of me.” The man stopped, placing his hand on his hip bending forwards with heavy breathing. “Fuckin’ stairs, ay?”

Getting his breath back, Livewire continued upwards, “so, I get this call from some shady garbled voice; which isn’t totally abnormal in my line of business, right my friend? Everybody wants to be some mysterious gangsta’ or a big shot fixer like Mr. Hands, fuckin’ gonks. Anyway, they call asking me to drive my van to a spot to pick a bunch of people up and drop them here. I was ready to tell them to get fucked when they also say they will buy some of my lower quality items too and if all went well, they’d keep me around.” The man laughed dismissively.

“By this point, I’m intrigued, ay? Who the fuck talks like this? Normally I would laugh and hang up the call, maybe make a threat but then I see the full amount get deposited right there and then. So,” he shrugged, “here I am.”

Finally, with the last few stairs behind them, the group had reached the first floor. The place was sparsely lit. Flood lights dotted the very wide corridor that ran from one side of the building to the other. A generator to their left coughed and sputtered as tattered wiring spilled out of it in all different directions. On the group's right was what was left of a small tent city. Empty homeless shelters of the previous occupants complete with rubbish and all sat on the edge of a railing that looked into the open centre of the building. There rested a crane that looked as if it would make more money from being scrapped rather than trying to get it operating once more.

“Mumma!”

Whipping around, the group watched as an old woman, covered in tattoos and slightly bent over emerged from a tin shack. “Mumma, what are you doing, ay? I asked you to finish setting up the table.” Gesturing to an empty fold out table in front of where the group had come up the stairs, Livewire groaned. “C’mon Mumma, I’m trying to do business here!”

The old woman hobbled her way over to the group, smiling warmly at all of them. “I’m sorry dear, when you said you had friends staying here I had to do something. I found some cooking utensils and a kind of kitchen in that shanty over there. A pot of stew is almost ready.”

Livewire rolled his eyes, “clients Mumma, I said they’re cli-”

Smacking his shoulder lightly, the woman tsk’ed her son. “Where is my kiss young man?”

Groaning, Livewire bent over and kissed his mother on the forehead. “Fine, finish your stew and I’ll go set up the table. Love you, Mumma.”

As the man left, the old woman turned to the group. “Ah, he’s a good boy. Does a good job for our family and isn’t one to be… messed around.” Her final words were as sharp as her tone was tough. Breaking into another warm smile, she clasped her hands together. “Now, who’s hungry?”

Part II

The Next Day

Bea’s eyes opened to spoiled and cloying sunlight that shifted through every corner of her apartment. Those sequins that usually sparkled decadently around the place, fired at her now like daggers. Her head hurt. She was still in her dress - freezing. Everything hurt, but especially her face.

As she brought a hand to it, she saw the blurring image of a bruise all the way around her wrist come into focus. It hurt too, once she acknowledged that it was there.

“You on drugs or something?”

The voice startled her initially as she was coming to, she almost jumped, but kept her composure. Bea soon came to recognise it as the voice of her neighbour, Shelby, and all of her apprehension slipped away and she relaxed back into her bed with a groan.

“No.. What do you mean?”

“Last night!” Shelby began, incredulously. “There I am, getting ready for bed and I get a call from Aurora who found you to get me to help her bring you to bed!” The woman sighed and paced the apartment. Cookie watched her, wagging his tail slightly. “And you just kept prattling on about the Sugardoc, the Sugardoc - ”gotta find the Sugardoc”. He some coke dealer? You know if that’s what you’re into I know a few better ones…”

“Ew. Aren’t you pushing 90?…” Bea said acerbically. She dragged herself up from the bed, feeling that pulsing ache in her head again.

“Yeah, but I was your age once, and already divorced 3 times by then. You think I got through all that shit on wishful thinking?” Shelby paused, and softened her scowl. “You sure you’re okay?”

The blonde made her way to the mirror, finding the source of the pain - a gash across her eyebrow that had already started to form bruising around the socket. Damn… she thought, unsure of where it had come from. Nothing came to mind. “Yeah… Just a migraine and too much booze….. I got… Pretty out of it, it just really hurt. Thanks Shel…”

Shelby folded her arms and sighed, walking towards Cookie, who still lay on the floor lazily. Unbothered by the presence of the older woman. “It’s from the staircase - you slipped and hit your head.”

I remember… Bea suddenly thought, reliving the moment her shaky legs fell from under her and brought her crashing onto those damn steps. She’d been running. From what?. “Hmmmm…”

Shelby finally materialised into Bea’s view from the dim morning haze in the room. A figure carved by the harsh brushstrokes of time. Her hair, once a cascade of honeyed waves, had surrendered to the relentless march of gray, a testament to the years etched into the lines of her face. Her eyes, sharp and unyielding, held the wisdom and wit of the thousands of punchlines she’d delivered through a vast career.

“You really had a migraine attack then?” Shelby asked, disbelief laced the words and she raised a brow, folding her thin arms across her chest. She knew the kind of lifestyle Bea led. She’d led the same one too, once.

Bea nodded sincerely, dropping her facade. “I’m telling the truth. I… Saw some strange things, but it was all from, well…. Pain, up here.” She pointed, glancing at her wrist again. The more she looked at it, the more she felt that the bruise had the shape of a handprint. Crash, she recalled. He’d grabbed her - the weight behind his cyberware had been too much. She was brought back to the nightclub. His face came to view. That stare… His eyes, piercing and green. His words, a warning. She’d missed a show. An important one.

He’d never touched her before though… No… More memory. She saw a glimpse of her own hysteria. Visions of Militech….. That woman with the gun chasing her down.

Bea remembered falling, Crash grabbed her to help her and she’d fought back when his face changed to that of a child. Right in front of her eyes. STOP IT.

“You know, maybe I need to sleep it off, Shel” Bea said softly, as a wave of urgency to be alone, to move. To do something. Anything... She had to find the Voice... She feigned some absent-minded poking and prodding at the gash across her eyebrow - the bruise darkening into shades of purple and blue like splodges of watercolour dye.

Shelby sighed again and made her way to the door, stopping to place a friendly hand on Cookie’s head. “Well if you want some dinner tonight, give the wall a knock or something. But I’ll tell you this - no vodka for you,” she scoffed, shaking her head before leaving.

—

Later that morning…

Suitcase stuffed full with clothes, comforts and… the gun. Cookie was at her side. Bea left her apartment. Locking the door, glancing left and right - hiding her face behind a pair of sunglasses - a brimmed hat. Her hair was fashioned differently. Long and dipped with bright pink at the ends. The two began making their way quickly away. Bea, as if by instinct, looked at her phone. Willing it to ring, to flash - anything.

“Go on then.” She hissed under her breath. “I dare you to tell me something Mysterio. I double dare you. I’ll play along.” She closed her eyes, biting her lip. Hating what she was about to say next… An admission that she’d been wrong, that she needed help.

“I’ll get in your damn van.”

Ascending the stairs up the Megabuilding he would now be calling home, Kade listened intently to Livewire's story. Learning about people was his job after all. You never knew when you'd need to know something about someone. Even the most mundane facts could contain important information about more than just the subject. Of course, the higher they got, the harder it was to concentrate on anything but that rotting garbage smell. Once they had completed their climb, Kade quickly turned to the group.

“I'm going to go ahead and call dibs on a room facing the city. Anything to limit that… ‘delightful’ Santo Domingo odor.” Kade said and playfully waved his hand in front of his nose before pivoting back to face Livewire and his… was that his mother?

It was off-putting to say the least. Not only had their contact brought his mother along, but now they had to watch the two squabble and fight about stew that probably came from a can being served on a foldout table that could have been scrounged from garbage mountain for all he knew. Yet despite how trivial it all was, they seemed genuinely happy just to be doing it together. To have each other's company. It was already making Kade feel uneasy to see, but it was one phrase that really got to him.

“Love you, mumma.”

The words pieced Kade’s ears and echoed in his mind. All sound around him began to distort and blend into a high pitch ring. His vision blurred in and out of focus. His left foot stepped back as his balance fled. It was as if reality itself was collapsing, then all at once, his sense snapped back into place. Everything returned normal, save for the extra guest now sitting at the table. A pale blonde woman in a steel blue designer silk dress had placed herself near the head of the table. Her eyes of a matching color looked every person there up and down as she slowly sipped at a martini until they landed on Kade and rolled in their sockets.

“Really? You went through an entire militech prison facility without a care, but seeing someone actually love their mother sets you off?” Rachel scoffed and turned away from her son. “How pathetic.”

“Mother, please.” Kade replied with a thought, taking great care to keep the conversation inside his head. “Let's not start anything in front of the help.”

“What are they going to do? Leave like the other two? Believe me you're better off without this rabble. You'd find more reliable help from the junkies in pacifica.” Rachel sneered.

“Well I have to start somewhere. Beggars can't be choosers and all that.” Kade explained hoping she would realize their situation and relent.

“Beggar is right. I mean look at this place!” Rachel fired back as she gestured to the unfinished building they stood in before shaking her head. “And here I thought we couldn't sink lower than that broom closet in Watson.”

“Look if all you're going to do is complain, I'm going to have to ask you to leave.” Kade firmly stated while still trying to keep his mask of a smile from cracking. “We don't want any more deserters, so it's imperative that I don't give them further reason to delta.”

“Haven't seen me in weeks and you're shooing me away to have dinner with coworkers.” As the words left Rachel's mouth, her face began to warp, slowly twisting and changing until it was no longer Kade's mother, but his father staring back. “Like father, like son, it seems.”

“How dare you!” Kade shouted out loud. Immediately he froze in terror realizing his outburst had escaped the confines of his psyche. Trying to think quickly, he plastered on his deceptive smile and continued. “Not let me help you with dinner. At least allow me to take care of the dishes after.”

His eyes darted to each person to see if they had bought it before settling back to where his ‘mother’ had been sitting only to find the chair vacant. “Guess she's still good at vanishing, thankfully.”

Rodrigo was uncertain how he felt about Livewire as the man explained his involvement with their mysterious benefactor. He'd worked with others of Livewire's ilk before -- you needed parts to be able to perform cyberware upgrades, after all. The equipment was necessary not only for upgrades to paying customers, but there had been many times Rodrigo had offered assistance to those in his community that simply didn't have the means to repair damaged or broken components. All of the shady back dealers who had provided these goods were unsavory types, typically men that Rodrigo would arrange to meet well far enough away from his clinic so they would be unable to connect him with his family or the Valentinos.

The more he heard about Livewire's outlook, the more he saw the way the man carried himself, distrust blossomed in the pit of his stomach. After the harrowing experience they'd all shared below ground, and with the reality they were now facing as escapees from Militech who would surely seek their missing assets, it was highly unclear who they could fully trust. For all intents and purposes, Rodrigo had classified Livewire in the same category of the other solicitors he'd worked with.

At least, this was the case until the man's mother appeared unexpectedly. Rodrigo watched the interaction between the two and couldn't help but picture himself with his own mother, his cousins with his aunts, and a number of other women that he'd met in his life that would fit a similar description. The gentle care Livewire showed the woman suddenly changed his initial opinion of the man and Rodrigo found himself suddenly relating to his struggles. They were both trying to find their way in this hellhole of a city, keeping their family safe and scraping enough by to survive.

At the mention of a stew, Rodrigo's stomach rumbled, and he suddenly realized how hungry he was. How long had it even been since he'd last eaten? The state, smell, and condition of the building mattered little to him, it was nothing he hadn't seen before, and the inhabitants were nothing other than people like him. Skin of the Earth, as his mamá would say. As Livewire's mother turned to return to her preparation of the stew, Kade let out a loud outburst, which he quickly tried to play off.

Rodrigo glanced at the man with confusion, but decided not to comment on the strangeness of his offer to assist the woman in whatever makeshift kitchen she had in the back.

"Why don't we focus our efforts here, instead," he said, motioning to Livewire and the table he was setting up with various wares. "I'm sure Livewire's..." he paused, realizing he'd neither introduced himself to the woman nor asked her name. Appalled at himself for his lack of manners yet again, Rodrigo made a note to rectify this when the woman returned with stew. "Uh, 'Mumma'," he continued, "is more than capable of handling a stew."

He stepped forward as Livewire continued to lay out the many pieces he had available. Each one was placed on the table with care, it was obvious he took his job and wares seriously. Frowning in consideration, Rodrigo's eyes wandered over the various options until his eyes fell on one in particular. "This padding here looks to be a good fit for me." He turned his head to the others, "Anything in particular catch your fancy?"

--

JV eyes lingered, watching as Mumma Livewire walked back to the shack. Maman Nadège would've done the same. Prepared a feast for the guests, fussed over them, urged them to take care of their stomachs before anything else. She'd give JV an ear full too. Forced the man to hug her, to help her prepare, to get Jean-Baptiste to set the table.

As Livewire's mum disappeared behind the curtain, JV exhaled. A warm feeling washed over him, tingling all the way down his spine. Things were better this way. They were better off. While the Gods had been cruel to him, they had at least spared his family. Now more so than ever.

Wandering over to the table, JV perused over the options. He had never picked out his own anything before nor did he have much of an idea about cyberware. It's not exactly as if they were labelled either.

Livewire smiled, recognising the lost look in the man's eyes. Scorch marks and dried blood climbed up both JVs arms, from knuckle to elbow giving the South African all he needed to know. "Ay big man, check this one out." Picking up a large bit of plating, he tossed it to JV. "Countershell, it's an older version so not as reliable as the latest models but it's still got a good chance at reflecting damage. Good for anyone who gets up close and personal to take care of business, right my friend?"

JV nodded, slightly. Shoving the cyberware into Rodrigo's chest he spoke. "Doctor, I will take this one. Fuse it to me once I have finished my meal." Leaving before the man could answer, JV headed off towards the kitchen.

--

Resisting the urge to complain about the force with which Gorilla Arms pushed it into him, Rodrigo held the cyberware with a grimace. It was likely the man was entirely oblivious to his own strength. "Sin problemas," he replied, before giving Kade and Ember a sidelong glance and continuing in a lower tone, "I just can't say how much longer after you've finished your meal it'll be, hermano."

He looked down at the ware in his hands with a critical eye, noticing where the piece had been worn and how it truly wouldn't hold up to a more modern version, just as Livewire had expressed. He was honest, he thought, further convinced his initial judgement of the man had been made too hastily.

Rodrigo picked up the padding that had caught his eye previously and placed both items to the side. "I suppose I'll get all of you situated, but I need to get some food in me first, and perhaps some rest."

--

Rico was the only one who paid any attention to Kade after his little outburst, but he seemed to be content to take the corpo’s attempt to twist it at face value rather than try and pry. Perhaps Kade had played it off cool enough? Or they were just trying to keep things more civil. Whatever the reason, Kade wouldn’t push his luck and continued with the conversation.

“Yes, I suppose we should browse our options.” Kade replied to Rico and approached the wares Livewire had set out. Though glancing over them he spoke under his breath “Afterall it would be rude to refuse free implants offered by a complete stranger.”

Kade’s eyes meticulously combed over each and every piece that had been offered. He wasn’t an expert on chrome by any means, but he at least knew their function well enough to make an informed decision. He could also tell the quality was, as Livewire had even admitted, less than what modern or what was currently market standard. It wasn’t ideal, but if he was going to get back to the top of the spy game he’d need any boost he could. Like a cyberware that did exactly that!

“Well, hello there!” Kade excitedly exclaimed as he picked up a circulatory enhancer commonly known as the Heal-on-Kill. He wasn’t familiar with the specifics, just that it artificially boosted all senses in high adrenalin moments such as the rush you’d get from flatlining someone. A perfect edition to his already existing implants, assuming they were still functioning properly with that virus. Speaking of…

“I agree, Rico. We could all certainly benefit from a meal and a good night's sleep. But in case you forgot, we are still racing against a clock here.” Kade stated rather casually as he strolled over and placed the Heal-on-Kill in front of the ripper doc. “Livewire, I don’t suppose our Anonymous Benefactor mentioned anything about a virus before imploring your services?” They were already operating on the timeline of ‘Less than 24 hours’. Kade would need assurance that sleeping through the night wouldn’t be a death sentence.

--

Livewire took an immediate step back. The man's face crumpled in disgust as he began to wipe his hands on his tank top. "A virus? What the fuck man, what are you talking about? Is it contagious?"

Whether the slender corpo was talking biological or cyber did not matter, with his mother in the room, Livewire was not fucking around. Loading up his 'detonate grenade' quickhack and looking towards Ember, he replied. "This better be nothing like the Wasting Plague, ay my friend. I do hate when I have to kill paying clientele."

--

Kade chuckled and shook his head. A simple ‘No’ would have sufficed. Instead Livewire flipped from gracious host to potential hostile immediately. Oh well. This wasn’t the first time Kade had to diffuse an escalating situation like this. Keeping his smile, he took a step to the side and placed himself between Livewire and Ember hoping to maintain his full attention.

“First off; I never said anything about being infected. I simply asked if it had been mentioned. Second; If we were infected and it was contagious, you’d already have it. You have been in a car in close proximity with us for some time, but I think you’ll find you are completely clean. Finally; I believe you mentioned the deal was ‘if all goes well they’ll keep you around’. Killing all of us doesn’t sound like all going well, does it?” Kade explained as calmly and rationally as he could. “Now, if you would please refrain from threatening us for the time being, may I at least ask if there were any further instructions? Maybe a second location we’ll be going to or are we just waiting around until we get a call?”

--

Ember eagerly inspected the cyberware options, searching for the one that suited her best. Each of them had something to offer, but which one? She hated making decisions like this. Normally Billy would do this for her. Where was he anyway? Her excitement was starting to turn to stress as she tried to make a choice, when Billy finally arrived. This version of her imaginary companion, however, was a stark departure from the usually cheerful and quirky entity she knew. The cartoon bomb’s features now wore an unsettling combination of aggression and malice, manifesting in red eyes and a menacing smile. He ambled around on the table observing the cyberware himself.

“Well, well, Emelia.” His tone was cruel. He flung her old name at her as if it were an insult. “Still struggling to make such a simple decision?” Ember felt a wave of unease, unsure how to handle this more aggressive incarnation of her choom. “Yet you had no hesitation to follow these strangers. You trust too easily, Emelia.” He added once more putting a spiteful emphasis to her rarely used first name. “Only a gonk like you would get into a mess like this.”

“They are my chooms, Billy,” Ember retorted in her mind trying to assert herself, ”Everything is fine. Now stop being a bad Billy and help me pick something. I need to be stronger.”

Billy simply laughed loudly, sending a shiver down Ember’s spine. “Why? Afraid you’ll be too weak and get these ones killed too?”

Billy’s words cut deep. Ember became speechless and the voices of her squad echoed through her mind. Each one slowly got loud and louder until her head was filled with the shouting of ghosts. She froze, unable to move much less make a decision about the cyberware choices before her.

Billy sneered, relishing in his perceived victory. She was determined not to let this evil Billy dictate her choices, but hesitated nonetheless. “I thought so,” he stood next to an optic and kicked at it. “This one, you gonk.” Ember tried to shake her head, close her eyes, anything to get rid of this Billy.

Finally, his aggressive features began to disappear, replaced with her familiar Billy. He smiled playfully with his usual sweet demeanor. She felt a rush of relief as he spoke, “Ember, you okay choom?” He stood where the other had on the table. “You should pick these Kiroshi optics, they’ll be helpful.” Billy’s encouragement seemed genuine, and Ember, shaking off the residual unease, nodded, her mind settling on the cyberware.

“Y-yeah. Thanks, Billy,” she replied aloud but quietly. Looking towards Livewire, she held up the optics and excitedly proclaimed “I’d like those Kiroshi “Stalker” optics, please!” The switch from spiraling after such an ordeal to her normal peppy self shocked even her.

--

"Now you listen here my friend," Livewire's hands slammed down on the table. He wasn't about to be talked down to by some wannabe Corpo. "I have told you everything I know. I get paid to not ask questions but at the same time, do not take me for some fucking dickhead, ay? It's obvious that you and your crew are in some sort of fucked up shit, so you talking about some virus rings true."

Pointing towards the shack, Livewire spoke in a tone that bordered on fury. "And when it comes to protecting my Mumma, I couldn't give a single fuck about any amount of ennies. I will kill whoever needs to die. Now you-"

At that moment, seemingly oblivious to the tense conversation going on, Ember strode up to the table, quietly muttering to herself before choosing her cyberware. "Great choice my dear," Livewires demeanour flipped quicker than someone tossing a pancake in a pan. "these will ensure your SMART weapon is even more accurate, finding those hard to reach gonks no matter where they hide. Again, this early version means you'll need to be close by for it to work. Enjoy ay?"

Handing over the optics, the man turned his attention back to the Corpo. "Listen to me, my friend, you confirm to me that my Mumma is safe from your virus and nobody needs to get flatlined, ay?"

--

Kade's eyes narrowed yet his smile remained even as Livewire grew more agitated. Politely he waited as Ember and Livewire chatted about her choice in cyberware all the while trying to decide how he wanted to handle this. Livewire was on edge ready to start lashing out. Another remark beating around the bush or returning the threat could set him off. Kade considered attempting to ‘shoot first’, but he and his group were tired and unprepared. A fight wouldn't end well for either party. His only option was the truth, but even that did not guarantee their safety. If this was going to work, he had to make sure Livewire had more of a reason not to attack than to kick things off.

“Fine. You want the truth, ‘friend’?” Kade said. He leaned it a few inches closer to Livewire before blurting out, “The truth is, I have no fucking clue!” Pulling away, Kade corrected his posture as he continued. “All we know is that we have a virus in our systems and less than 24 hours from when we woke up to cure it. Something the same person who hired you promised us they could do, but failed to specify when and where.”

It wasn't a great answer, but it was exactly what Livewire had asked for. The honest truth. But Kade wasn't about to let their fate be decided based on if this random gonk liked that answer or not. The corpo proceeded to hold up a finger to indicate he hadn't finished speaking.

“Now before you decide if you'd like to make good on those threats, maybe you should consider the consequences of such actions beyond the eddies? Assuming you did manage to kill us all, you’d be screwing over our employer who, may I remind you, is a mystery figure you have no information on but who clearly knows a lot about you. One who has the ability to hack a secure militech facility from a completely remote location and the resources to pay people up front for any job. So ask yourself, would killing us and gaining such an enemy really keep your mumma safe?"

--

Militech? Livewire's eyes widened. Such a juicy piece of information meant a lot to a guy like him. Though, only time would tell if it could be used to his advantage. Almost just as interesting was the fact that the mysterious benefactor was just as real as they claimed. All too often people in Night City failed to both talk and walk.

Livewire chuckled, clasping his hands together and nodding slightly. "Ok my friend. I appreciate the honesty. Maybe I stick an ear out for you, ay? If I come across any information that might help, I'll pass it on. For now, take your piece of cyberware and a hot meal, this is all I can offer."

--

With a sigh of relief, Rodrigo shook his head at the entire interaction, wondering for what seemed to be the hundredth time about what kind of people he’d gotten himself involved with. Dios, Gorilla Arms was impenetrable and impossible to read, Ember was in her own little world, but the most enigmatic was likely Kade. He couldn’t believe the Suit would simply divulge the details of their predicament to Livewire when it was still so unclear whether they could fully trust the man. The daggers Rodrigo shot from his eyes as Kade started to ramble went entirely unnoticed, but it ended up mattering little anyway since Livewire seemed satisfied with his newfound insight. His initial outburst and sudden antagonism couldn’t even be blamed, given Rodrigo would likely have felt similarly were their roles reversed.

Now that the boys seemed to be done swinging their dicks around, Rodrigo placed a hand on Kade’s shoulder and directed him toward the back where a tempting scent had begun wafting from the kitchens. Likely, Gorilla arms had already been served and Rodrigo wanted to at least be sitting before the man had another chance to shove anymore hardware into his chest.

“And we thank you for both,” he directed to Livewire before nodding to Ember to follow him and Kade. Never mind that the Cyberware had been paid for by whoever this mysterious Voice was.

Livewire’s mother had done the best she could with the little she’d been provided with. A makeshift table hobbled together out of items with flat surfaces that sat atop a number of other items so they all reached a similar height sat near a roasting fire that warmed a metal pot, the contents of which bubbled enticingly. Around the table were a number of smaller objects that served as stools. Gorilla Arms seemed a bit out of place, large man that he was, his arms and legs tucked in as close as they would go to fit into the small space. When the trio came around the corner, Livewire’s mother smiled at them and began pouring each a bowl.

The taste of the dish was unexpectedly complex, layered with savory morsels of synthmeat, a combination of spices, and a few hearty artificial vegetables that Rodrigo simply hadn’t anticipated. It was something he could have been served at home. The sudden memory jolted his heart and he wondered how distraught his mother must be with his absence. Tomorrow he would discover some way to contact her safely. Perhaps the Voice would be able to assist in delivering a secure message. For now, he would have to hope his aunt and cousin would comfort her …and ideally, feed the cats.

Dinner was a quiet affair apart from the comfortable conversation between Livewire and his mother, who aside from discussing personal affairs that might have been better left for private, also directed everyone to find a space they felt comfortable with to claim as their own. A few cots had been identified along with some sleeping pads, and they’d been given free range to utilize any of the discarded items both within the building as well as its surroundings.

Rodrigo found an old reclining chair in a back corner, ripped in places where some of the cushion poked through. The mechanism to recline still worked however, and the old furniture was comfortable enough. Not too far from where it sat was an old metal desk. Perfect. Aside from offering a relatively comfortable place to sleep for the night, it could serve as an installation table for Cyberware. Deciding he would procure further necessary items in the daylight, he sank into the chair, falling asleep immediately.

--

As Ember followed behind Rico, the enticing aroma of food wafted towards her, overpowering her senses. It dawned on her just how hungry she was, realizing she couldn't recall the last time she had a proper meal. They settled at the makeshift table. Despite her attempts to savor the moment, Ember found herself unable to resist the temptation of the meal in front of her and devoured the food in an instance. While she was particularly fond of silence while eating, she enjoyed the casual conversation flowing between Livewire and his mother, a small, appreciative smile gracing her lips. As the meal concluded, Ember expressed her gratitude to Livewire's mother for the delicious feast.

After they all had their fill, the group dispersed in search of their own places to spend the night. Ember, feeling the weight of the day's events, gravitated toward one of the nearest cots. She collapsed onto it, her boundless energy depleted by the whirlwind of experiences. As she lay there, the fatigue from the day took hold, and Ember quickly succumbed to a deep and restful sleep.

--

It seemed Livewire was finally backing down thanks to the extra ‘clarification’ Kade slipped him. Only time would tell if Livewire came to regret such a transaction, but that wasn’t Kade’s problem. He just needed to keep Livewire from going full psycho on them, and it appeared he had succeeded. Rico made it clear he didn’t want to take any chances of things becoming heated again and quickly pulled Kade away and ushered him to the table. It was time for family dinner.

Aside from Livewire and his mother, no one was really in the mood for talking. Maybe it was the unpleasant tension between him and Livewire moments ago, or more likely it was the fighting for their lives to escape that god awful facility, but everyone chose to sit in silence as they scarfed down their meal. Though Kade had to admit, while he was a bit more accustomed to meals of a more refined quality, this was some good stew. Once dinner had concluded, Kade made good on his promise and assisted mamawire with clearing the table and washing dishes. Even if he had offered in an attempt to cover his outburst, Kade was a man of his word. Not to mention it wouldn’t hurt to at least be on her good side.

With the cleaning done and night fully blanketing the sky, Kade began his search of the encampment. Unlike the others, he wasn’t searching for a place to sleep. He was once again on the hunt for a cigarette to satisfy that accursed craving of his. He had already asked Miss Wire if she or her son had any he could borrow, but much to his disappointment neither of them smoked. A pity, but no matter, surely somewhere among the trash was a pack abandoned too early by its previous owner.

After a short search, Kade found himself lounging at the edge of the building. His back against a steel beam, one leg placed on the concrete floor with his arm rested on his knee, while the other leg dangled off the side. Nestled between two fingers in his free hand was a lit cigarette. There was no telling how long it had been laying out in the open, but just like the moment similar in the facility; beggars can’t be choosers. As he looked over the Night City skyline, he took a long drag from his cigarette, then slowly released a cloud of smoke as he mused to himself.

“Just you wait, Night City. I’ve climbed to the top before. And mark my words; I’ll do it again.”

--

Bea, having paid close attention to the instructions given, had eventually found her way to the base. She looked upon it from far down the road. In disbelief she slowly removed her sunglasses, narrowing her eyes at the huge shape and run down form of it, discomfort crept in and she sighed, placing the arm of the glasses against her glossed bottom lip she took another breath. There wasn't much that she was thinking, other than about how much she really didn't want to be here. How much she couldn't remember of the night before, except for the terrifying parts.

How embarrassed she was about to feel, walking back in.

The orange glow of midmorning warmed up the sky - an almost cloudless one save for some that were clearly holding onto their rain for dear life. She felt that change in the air too, that it may rain later. She was holding back her own storm too, pain still clung to her face and wrist. An ache throughout her body. Still, she had dressed it all away. A patterned skirt that clung to her figure, a crisp and clean shirt that was barely buttoned was tucked into the waistband. Her hair long today, poker straight and bright blonde - hot and baby pinks at the tips in an ombre to the middle of its length. "Come on..." she muttered, as if trying to muster her own energy to take more steps.

The woman reached for her suitcase again. She began wheeling it behind her as she trundled forwards - head held high, shoulders back.

At her side, and closely too, was Cookie. In the daylight, he was a remarkable beast - like somehow while huge in the apartment, he appeared bigger outside in the real world - void of any colour of pattern to his coat, from a distance, he could have appeared to look like a panther in the way that he moved with purpose and grace that betrayed his size. His eyes held the only colour, the reflection of orange from the atmosphere that gave his eyes the look of headlights. An intense gaze, watching for any threat.

The two of them had managed to cab most of the way, until Cookie had grumbled too loud, pushed his head too far forward in the cab to make the driver uncomfortable.

As they arrived at the base, Bea took a look at the stairs and the climb ahead. Heels were not ideal for this, certainly not these heels. Patent leather pumps in hot pink that had such a shine it was almost as if they had been striped with white.

Those heels tipped and tapped against the scaffolding and stairways, and Bea huffed out an annoyed breath, dragging her suitcase up too. Even Cookie seemed to be unsure of it. At some point, she wobbled too with the movements and let out a panicked "oooh!" until she found her balance again and continued. Eventually, she had arrived at the first floor. She had made sure to tuck her hair behind her ears and put her sunglassed back on. She cleared her throat in the dusty space. "Now, I don't want to hear any ‘I told you so’,” she announced in her confident, melodic voice - a noticeable rasp in her throat. "Wow, the Ritz never looked so good," she added with a shrug. Cookie, meanwhile, was still scoping the stairwell out and wasn't quite ready to join her just yet, so, alone she stood - a hand resting on the handle of her suitcase, and the other on her hip.

"Alright, I made it. Fix me already."

--

Ember sat on her cot, tinkering with some scraps she had found. Making what appeared to be a grenade shaped device. Deep in her building process, she was momentarily pulled away when she heard a woman's voice as Bea reached the top of the stairs. He head snapped up to see that beautiful blonde woman again.

“It’s you!” Ember practically yelled, as she tossed the contraption to the side and bolted towards the woman. She wrapped her arms around the taller woman in excitement. “You're back!” Ember gushed, giving Bea another squeeze before she stepped back. As she did her eyes caught sight of him on the stairs following Bea. Ember's tone shifted to a whisper as her eyes grew wide. “Puppy!”

--

Bea's entire body stiffened as the excitable woman hugged her. Immediately hugged her. Without warning. Bea thought back to the moment when they had first freed her, and decided that actually the greeting wasn't so unexpected at all. Her eyebrows raised and she exhaled a long breath she was sure the woman wouldn't notice - her attention had already moved on. Awkwardly, Bea patted her on the shoulders. "Yes... Uh huh. Me again."

Once she was freed from the enthusiastic greeting, she placed a hand on her hip and nodded. "Yeah. I brought him too. That's Cookie."

Cookie's head tilted as he eyed Ember up, as if trying to decide if the woman was safe or not. He gave an indifferent grumble, and hadn't immediately leapt to action when the woman had grabbed Bea. Anyone that Cookie didn't trust, wouldn't have gotten away with it with all of their limbs intact.

--

Upon releasing Bea from her tight grasp, Ember excitedly bounced while eyeing Cookie. Pointing towards the large dog she asks a bit louder than her whisper, “Can I pet him? Please, please, please!?” She asked already slowly walking towards him.

--

Kade stared into the remains of a discarded mirror, studying what he could view of his figure in the cracked reflection. He had just finished carefully smoothing his hair back and was in the middle of adjusting his suit coat when a familiar voice sounded from the stairs. Kade turned to see Bea as glamorous as ever standing at the top of the stairs. Ember was overjoyed and immediately wrapped her arms around the returning diva. Kade on, the other hand, merely looked Bea up and down before returning to his reflection.

“All of you?” Kade called out in response to Bea's request to ‘fix her’. “I don't think there's enough time in the world for that. But if you're referring to the little bug in our systems, I'm afraid we're still waiting for that as well.”

--

"Well obviously you speak from experience, Cupcake," Bea retorted - eyeing up her nails as she outstretched her hand. At Ember's request she merely shrugged. "Sure."

Cookie approached Ember carefully, his eyes cautious, and his steps slow. He opened his mouth, and took her hand in it gently - applying no pressure to the bite. He bopped her around at the wrist with a wet nose. He let go of her, leaving a trail of slobber behind him and huffed out a breath as if to say "you're a good people."

--

Livewire had just finished setting up his table when the woman arrived. He'd been called in once again this morning by the mysterious sponsor and this must've been why.

"S'cuse me, miss?" he yelled, interrupting the reunion. "Your secretive friend has charged me with giving you a piece of cyberware." Livewire's eye lit up as he checked his schedule for his next appointment. "So please, come choose as my clock is ticking, ay?"

--

"Oh no no no," Bea began, wagging a finger towards Livewire as he hurried her. "I didn't realise that was part of the plan - is this part of the plan? The one to get well that is? Cyberware?" She narrowed her eyes, suddenly becoming more acutely aware of the surroundings - of the disarray around her, of the mess. Was this really where she was to sit this one out? The back of her neck prickled, and agitated, she huffed out a sigh. "Where's the good Doc? You know what, maybe I'll leave that decision in his hands - "Cyberware" is not exactly.... Familiar to me..."

--

After having discovered a motherboard that was still functioning and successfully connecting it to a display that was only moderately cracked, Rodrigo had cleared off and finished the setup on the desk beside the armchair he'd slept in. All things considered, it had been much more comfortable than the concrete block from the previous evening, and though he'd prefer not to wake with the sun in his eyes, he found himself to be in much better spirits than the last time he awoke. Can't imagine why, he thought sarcastically to himself.

With his tools in hand and everyone's cyberware secured, he'd spent the better part of the morning outfitting his new companions with their chrome, and was taking a moment to finalize his own installation when he overheard a honey sweet voice from beyond the corner that he'd half expected never to hear again.

His pace picked up as he rounded the corner to see Bea tackled in delight by Ember. The movement jostled the blonde and added noticeable strain to the few buttons on her shirt, but they remained securely in place. Malditos botóns, he cursed silently, unable to keep himself from smiling in relief at the sight of the woman. Looks like JV had been right after all, and she'd obviously used her time away wisely, her hair shimmered in the sunlight, her skin glistening with ...was that glitter? His eyes trailed down her short skirt to her bare, sleek legs and Rodrigo was suddenly overcome with the disturbing thought that he wasn't certain how long it'd been since he'd last showered. Even the dog she'd brought along seemed cleaner than he was, if that beast of an animal could even be considered a dog, large as he was.

Throwing a rag he'd discovered over his shoulder after wiping his hands, he approached with a half smile, figuring there was nothing he could do about appearances so he shouldn't bother worrying about it. "It's good to see you again, Bea. Looks like you had a better night than the rest of us." The ripperdoc eyed the dog a little warily but extended his hand for a sniff regardless. "Even brought a guard dog, huh? Not a bad idea to have extra security around this lot," he chuckled, referencing the others around them. A newfound excitement bubbled within him that was difficult to disguise. His eyes raced over the cyberware on Livewire's table and he instinctively paused on one piece. "How would you feel about an adrenaline boost?" He asked, his eyes meeting Bea's. "Once you've found somewhere to place your things, I'd be happy to hook you up."

--

Bea watched as Rodrigo approached, eyeing him with almost as much attention as he had to her. The one person she trusted. He seems fine... They all seem fine... Didn't they also see anything last night...? she wondered. The sound of bullets intruded her thoughts again but she didn't flinch, instead, she took a slight step back, pushing up her sunglasses further as an awful dreadful feeling sank into her chest. "Yes. Busy evening of course," she began. "This and that. Champagne and canapes on the rooftop..." she added with a wave of her hand as if that was almost boring to her.

"This here is Cookie," Bea said with a smile as he moved back to her side, eyeing up Rodrigo cautiously, sniffing at the air to catch his scent that was quite familiar. It had been on Bea's dress. Unlike with Ember, he didn't mouth at the doctor's hand, and just let out a single grumble, but nothing more.

"You all.... Seem in good spirits," she added, a probing comment to see if any of them would mention anything out of sorts. Any Militech presence, even. Without waiting for an answer, she met Rodrigo's eyes, "Adrenaline boost? Is that.... an easy procedure, Sugar? It's not going to be visible? On my face is it? Is this... really a sterile environment?" She asked, stepping forward and looking the place over with an uncertain tone. "I... does it take long? Is this what's going to help us? More cyberware?" There was a nervousness in her voice that she couldn't disguise, but after a moment, she forced a smile.

--

As Bea stepped back, Rodrigo worried it had been due to his odor and frowned slightly, deciding his next priority would be to find running water. And soap.

"You a good boy, Cook?" He stepped aside as Ember knelt beside the massive pup, who relented to her pets with begrudging friendliness as if in answer to Rodrigo's question. Seemed well mannered enough, but his reluctance didn't inspire complete confidence.

Moving his attention back to Bea, he nodded to her comment about their general well being and opened his mouth to respond further when he was met with a flurry of questions. It was clear she was more than a little anxious about cyberwear, and it softened Rodrigo's heart to the dog to see Cookie steal protective glances up at her as she rambled. He began taking a step forward to comfort her when he remembered her earlier reaction and instead pivoted to the table to grab the chrome before meeting her gaze once more. Softening his tone, his voice calm and even, he said, "I promise I'll take good care of you, Bea. You'll be safe, it'll be done before you know it, and it will be completely invisible to the naked eye." Rodrigo sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as memories of their imprisonment and Bea's reaction to the horror of it all replayed in his mind. "I don't know that we'll be able to avoid conflict, and... this might be a better option for you than a gun."

--

"More conflict? You think we'll have more...?" Bea asked, knowing that she'd had some of her own already - unless it hadn't been real. She wasn't confident enough to say whether the events of the night had been in her head or real. It seemed however, that they had not gone through the same thing. Perhaps she should have gotten in the van in the first place afterall... Although, who could say when she would have seen Cookie again had that been the case. "Alright, I'll do it," she said. Part of her wanted to confide in Rico - to tell him she didn't want to end up like Lauren. A liability. But, the others were around -- and, still she trusted him, but not that much yet.

She didn't want any of them to perceive any kind of weak thought. Was that all it would take for someone like Kade to pull a trigger? She doubted Ember would... the Gorilla Arms... He'd given her the gun, but - if she was unwilling to use it then maybe he'd take hold of her with those arms and tear her apart too... The only option was to comply.

"Well alright then Sugardoc." Bea sighed. "Cyberise me already," she uttered quietly, her gaze turning to his chair, and she understood from the equipment around it that was where it was to be done. She didn't let her steps towards it falter even if her legs felt heavy as she approached. What he saw as a safe workstation, she saw as a trap. It was like a form of stage fright that was taking over her as she got close, and that dreadful sensation swirled around. She felt lightheaded again, just like in the prison. Don't be weak, this isn't like... she told herself and took a long breath.

"This the spot?" she asked, her comfortable expression a complete betrayal of how she was feeling inside. "Dressed or undressed?"

--

Rodrigo followed behind Bea with a concerned expression, unsure exactly why he was unnerved by her reaction. Perhaps it was the way her jugular pulsed when she walked by.

Cookie pushed past him in a rush to stand beside his owner. Small whines escaped the dog, and he gave the woman's hand a gentle lick. Did he feel something amiss too, or was this Cookie's typical behavior? There was no way of knowing.

Once again, Rodrigo nodded to her initial statement, only to balk at her second question. "Dressed," he answered a little too quickly. After a slight pause he added, "I'll only need to reach the base of your neck." As thrilling as the latter option sounded, it wouldn't do to perform surgery while his heart pounded in his ears. Feeling the eyes of the others on his back, the ripperdoc realized he should've sought out a privacy screen to enclose the makeshift clinic he'd thrown together.

Bea appeared entirely unbothered either way as she sat on the tattered armchair, where more cushion protruded further from the larger tears. Taking a breath to steady himself, Rodrigo approached and focused his gaze on the woman once more, only this time, using his cyberoptics to assess her vitals. Cortisol, blood pressure, and heart rate elevated. He frowned. There definitely was something bothering her, no denying it now.

Taking a step closer and kneeling on the ground before her, Rodrigo lowered his voice so only she could hear his gentle tone. "We don't have to rush into this. Have you eaten yet? We can get you settled first."

--

He had a point. The equipment had just been plucked off a table in a dirty warehouse. Did Bea really want to hurry and put that in her body to do goodness knows what? An adrenaline boost, Rico had said, whatever that really meant. Her smiling expression faded to neutral, and she brought a hand to the side of her eye where she'd fallen. "Settled? Here? I just want to know what this Voice wants? How we're going to be cured."

She leaned forward in the chair as he knelt down, running a hand through her hair so as to bring it across her shoulder so the back of her neck would be revealed to him. "I saw the alternative - the not listening to it..." her voice was quieter, and momentarily vulnerable. Rico had created an air of trust between them, and Bea pulled down her sunglasses and looked down to him, to show him the marks on her face until she realised that she was doing it.

"Do it already," her sharp chirp returned and she leaned back. Her finger pushed the sunglasses back up quickly and she crossed one leg over the other moving her foot in small, slow circles. Breaking the close proximity they had shared. "Oh, and I want to watch -" she added cooly, looking up into the corners of the room now. "When you put it in that is. I want to watch."

--

At first, all Rodrigo noticed was the fear in her eyes as Bea pulled down the sunglasses he now realized she'd worn as a form of armor. The unguarded look so contrasted the heavy walls Bea typically had raised all around her, it awakened a surprisingly strong protective desire in him which only grew in force when he registered the rest of her face. The bruising, the pain etched into the curve of her cheeks. Instinctively, his hand twitched with the desire to cup them, to run the pad of his thumb over each scrape and have them vanish at his touch, but just as quickly as she'd opened up to him, she was a vault once more. Rodrigo's hand moved instead to the base of her neck, gently brushing a few remaining strands to the side as he scanned the area for the best incision.

Just what had she experienced last night? An unexpected anger blossomed within him at their situation, at the Voice, and at Militech who had created this hopelessness that crushed the woman's spirit. His Mamá's words came to mind, "Use anger as a tool, mijo, channel it, instead of letting it use you." With that thought in mind, his anger molded itself into the resolve that he would do everything in his power to keep them all safe.

A disembodied laughter Rodrigo knew belonged to no one in the room echoed in his mind then, and he braced himself for the horrible, gravely voice that accompanied it. Only this time, it was some mutilated version of his own mother's voice. "And just what does a weakling, failed healer like you think you'll be able to do, hm?" More disjointed laughter reverberated in his mind, broken and garbled, striking him as if like shards. He shut his eyes tightly until it dissipated, and what felt like long excruciating minutes lasted only a few seconds.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Cookie resting his head on the footrest of the armchair, ever the guardian, and Bea lazily rotating her foot with a bored expression as she eyed the room. At her request to watch the procedure, Rodrigo reassuringly squeezed her shoulder. "I'll do it nice and gentle. We'll get you a mirror so you can see every detail."

--

Following closely behind Cookie, Ember sat next to the pup. Scratching behind his ears as he comforted Bea. Once she heard Rico mention the mirror her eyes snapped to Kade who was still admiring himself in a mirror.

“He's got one!” Ember pointed at the corpo with her other hand still petting the dog.

--

Kade’s head popped around the corner with a sharp glare at Ember.

“Is that what we're doing now? Offering other people's things?” Kade asked sarcastically.

--

Ember looked up at him and thoughtfuly put her finger under her chin. Then looked back with a smile.

"Yep."

--

Holding out his hand, Rodrigo smiled to the Suit. “You don’t mind, do you, hermano?” He then turned his attention to Ember. “Think you can find us another one? We’ll need two so she can see what’s going on. Maybe Cookie can help.”

--

Kade rolled his eyes, but knowing it wouldn't do him any good to protest, he begrudgingly brought his mirror over to the surgical chair.

"Fine. But try not to chip it any further. Our luck has already been questionable. Last thing we need is seven years of the bad stuff."

--

At Rico's request she stood, “Aye Aye doc!” Ember chimed with a silly finger salute. Bending down to look at Cookie she asked the pup, “You want to go on an adventure, choom?”

--

"Ahh," Bea began, a quiet sigh as she glanced down to Cookie who appeared to be tolerating the extra attention just well enough. "He's not that kind of dog, sweet petit pois," she said to Ember, making sure to scratch the top of his head as she leaned forward to pick up the mirror from Kade.

She didn't want to quite break the girl's heart with the blunt delivery of explaining how the dog would not be leaving her alone with Rico. "But there's a mirror in my suitcase," she added. "Just.... Be careful. Cosmetic case. Should be in the side."

--

After another quick scratch for Cookie, Ember skipped over to Bea's suitcase. Fumbling around the bag until she spotted the glint of the mirror. [color=872187]Nova![/color

“Found it!” Ember informed the others while hurrying back and handing the mirror to Bea.

--

"Thanks doll," Bea said, taking hold of the small compact. She brushed her thumb across the patterned surface of it. A pristine relic of the 1950's. She sprung it open with a click of the button and looked into it, unable to resist checking her lipstick. "Maybe you'd like one of these too, Cupcake," she added absent mindedly, snapping it shut and looking over to the corpo.

"Alright sugar," the woman said, turning to face Rico again, straightening up in the chair, a hand twirling the lengths of her hair between her fingers. She paused as she looked at him, trying to sense what was going on behind those eyes of his. The thought of a scalpel was more than unpleasant - especially to the back of her neck of all places. She could tell him how she was scared he'd catch a nerve and paralyse her, or even kill her. She could tell him she was scared that it would hurt. That she was scared he was about to add in a different piece of equipment to that which he'd told her about... Against everything she was telling herself, every question she had about the safety of this, the reasons why - and still the sound of the Voice and their commands in her head. Lauren crawling across the ground - that thickened trail of blood behind her...

Focus.

"I'm all yours," she smiled - blocking it out.

--

“Well, can’t say I wouldn’t be against the idea.” Kade chuckled when he saw the mirror Bea was using.

He stood at the side of the chair for a moment longer, watching as they prepped the area for the surgery when it finally occurred to him. Perhaps this was one instance where Bea did not want an audience. Not to mention it could make Rico nervous which could be disastrous during surgery. And third. Something about the way Bea was talking to Rico, almost seemed like she preferred being alone with him and not just for the surgery. In any case, Kade decided it was best for everyone if they were left to work alone.

“Alright, Ember. I think it’s time we let these two have a little privacy.” Kade stated with a wink aimed at Rico. He then gently grabbed the back of the collar on Ember’s jacket and pulled her away from Cookie and Bea. “I’m sure we can find something explosive to distract you in the meantime.”

--

Rodrigo’s cheeks flushed with heat at Bea’s declaration. Feeling a little too flustered to offer an immediate response, he was grateful for Kade’s interjection and subsequent retreat, pulling Ember along with him.

After they stepped away, leaving just Rodrigo and Bea, as well as a grumbling Cookie who’d curled up on the floor beside the armchair, he offered his patient a smile he hoped would convey his confidence. She was nervous, that much was clear, and Rodrigo planned to do whatever necessary to help put her mind at ease. It wasn’t necessarily a simple procedure, cyberware installation never was, but he felt secure in his abilities and knowledge. It wasn’t the first time he’d implanted someone with an adrenaline booster, and if he had anything to say about it, it wouldn’t be the last either.

Rodrigo secured Kade’s mirror behind the chair with the help of some clamps the surgery wouldn’t require, and angled it so Bea would just need to hold her compact to have a clear view of the back of her neck.

“Take a deep breath, Bea, and try to relax,” he soothed, knowing her vitals were still elevated. “I’m going to connect to your system now so you don’t feel any pain.”

Taking care to explain every aspect of what he was doing before he did it, Rodrigo hoped to remove any doubts she may have, going as far as offering elaborate detail on the individual components and functions of the chrome he installed, his voice calm and clear all the while. By the end of the surgery, his mouth was dry from the lecture, and it was only then he realized he should have asked whether Bea even wanted to hear the additional anecdotes and factoids as he worked.

--

While she wouldn't really outright express her gratitude, Bea was thankful that the man had been both informative and gentle in his approach. With her mirror open, she inspected his work one last time. "I can barely see anything," she said, turning her head from left to right. She stole a glance at him through the compact as he tidied away his things before leaning back towards him in the chair, moving into his space. "You're very good at your job," she whispered reassuringly, in case he had been thinking about it at all. "Wonderful bedside manner and all."

Then, she stood up, placing a hand on her hip as she took a step forward - having been sat for so long in such a tense manner, she felt slightly out of it - but managed to hold herself up still enough. "I'm sure you have more thrilling things to be doing than taking care of me, so, I'm going to make sure that our darling Sweetpea hasn't managed to blow Cupcake up, and perhaps I'll.... Settle myself somewhere," there was a hint of annoyance still in her tone. She wasn't happy about being here, but there was very little she could do about it. Very little any of them could do about it. As was to be expected, Cookie followed behind her. "I owe you one, Sugar," Bea said, "again."

--

Grabbing the entrance flap to the tent, JV lifted up, tearing through the fabric with ease. Who cared for delicacy, rubbish left behind deserved no respect. He had gone through most of the tents so far with the only thing of use for him being a few egg shells. Though they would be useful later, the Primordial Father Damballah, was not the intended Iwa of todays prayer. No, for this, he needed..

Ah.

Dark spiced rum. JV opened the bottle seeing that half of it remained. Breathing deeply through his nose, he took in the smell, fighting back the memories it ignited. Grabbing a few bits of paper, the man shuffled off to his room. Aside from a discarded and thoroughly used mattress in the corner, JV had set up a shrine on the opposite side, made of several cinderblocks. Atop the pyramid he placed the pieces of paper, while on the second rung sat a spare serving of broth from Mumma Livewire. Finally on the bottom he placed the bottle.

Rummaging through his pockets, he brought out the final two pieces of the puzzle. A lighter, borrowed from Kade, and a bright red lipstick, donated by Ember. Where she got it from, JV didn't know or care but he did note that her breath smelt awfully strange. Lighting the paper, he began to draw and chant.

Legba, Guardian of the Crossroads, hear me, connect me with Baron Samedi. I must speak with him, my curse, it has manifested, spread to others. I need guidance, I ne-

The darkness was sudden but quick. Enveloping the room around him, JV sunk into an abyss.

She prayed to me you know. Disembodied, the voice came from all around him, her accent foreign, yet familiar. Oh, how she prayed. The child's birth was difficult enough but the disease? That was something else.

JV stood, his fists tightening as he spun around. Salvation is what she sought. Not for herself though, no, it was for the boy.

The ground in front of the man began to bubble and boil. Slowly a hand rose, peeling its way out of the ooze followed by the other. Crawling out of the darkness, Oshun emerged, screaming. You promised me!

You promised her! The voice echoed.

Maman Bridgette, JV replied, his voice croaking. I-I can't, the curse it-

Oshun rose, standing for a moment before rushing towards the man. The curse?! THE FUCKING CURSE!! That's all I ever heard! Black tar-like ooze dripped from her as she closed the gap between them. You promised! Leaping into the air, the woman yelled as JV shut his eyes.

Coming to, the man found himself sat on the ground with his back against the wall. The paper had burnt to a crisp with its smoke having dissipated. He also had a call coming in, as did everyone, number unknown.

"You have all followed my instructions. Congratulations on avoiding death. The cyberware you have inserted into your bodies will help keep you alive. This virus requires a gradual accumulation of augmentation in order to stave off cyberpsychosis. Though it is delicate, too much and you will succumb to it, too little or too long without augmentation and you will also succumb to it. Prolonging your lives is the current priority. Stay on this path and you will be cured.

For now, a Fixer will be in contact soon. Upgrades cost money and we have an ultimate goal to save for. More on that later. Lives and trust first. Good luck."

--

Rodrigo wiped his hands on the rag he'd found from earlier, a smile on his lips as he watched Bea leave his quarters. "My pleasure," he called to her, "and thanks," he added as an afterthought, gladdened by her comment about his job well done.

It was doubtful whether she'd heard the final word however, as all the response he received in return was what could only be described as a sneering huff from Cookie before the pair rounded the corner. He shook his head, that silly smile still playing on his lips as he looked down to see the rag he'd been using was causing more mess than anything else. His face fell and he sighed, discarding the fabric. Shower. He needed a shower.

Before he could make any headway on that front, his attention was occupied by a call from their mysterious benefactor, which answered very few questions. It was unclear why or how cybernetics would stave off the virus Militech had infected them with, much less what was delicate about it. Out of curiosity, Rodrigo had done some digging into his own system and the other's while he was implementing them with their new wares, but found no visible trace of the virus. At least, nothing immediately detectable. Whatever this was it was beyond military grade, and not for the first time, he wondered who was behind their jailbreak. Had to be someone in the upper echelons of society, well connected and powerful, but if that was the case, why would they need eurodollars for augmentation? None of it made sense, but there was really nothing to do but play along.

A short while later, a booming bark erupted from Cookie, concealing the sounds of footsteps that pounded up to their floor.

"What's crackin', data-slingers?" Voltage, an obvious street kid with tenacity in his eyes that dared for someone to challenge him so he could prove himself, made his way up the stairs as if he were in his own home. "Welcome to the urban jungle, amirite?" He chuckled to himself as if he'd made a witty joke. Walking to the makeshift community area, the youngster sat back on a chair and lifted his feet onto the nearby surface that was being used as a table. He waited until the others began to approach before delving into more detail. "I'm your new Fixer, name's Voltage. Got two gigs right now, gonna have to choose one cos I've got mercs who want the other." As he introduced himself, Voltage used a pinky to pick something out of one of his back teeth.

--

Prying Ember away from the dog was the easy part. The hard part was finding something to keep her distracted long enough for Rico to perform the operation. Surprisingly, there wasn't much to do in an abandoned megastructure. After searching around for a while, they found themselves in Ember’s room where she was showing off her latest constructions when the call came in. Kade listened intently, hoping to hear some good news, but much to his dismay they were going to be infected longer.

“Stay on the path and we'll be cured?” Kade repeated with a scoff and rolled his eyes. "Sounds to me like he's just treating the symptoms to keep us on a leash. Well, not much else we can do at the moment but wait for the fixer.” Unsure how much longer he needed to stall, Kade figured he could just get Ember talking and hopefully that would occupy enough time. Looking around, he pointed to one of Ember's bombs and asked, “So… Do you know a lot about grenades?”

--

Taking hold of the custom made grenade in her hand, Ember answered Kade. “Grenade is actually French! It means pomegranate.” Without waiting for a response she continues, “mostly because of the way it looks. Though, at another point in time it was compared to a pineapple.” She flipped the grenade from one hand to the other, “and now they dont look like either. So silly.” Ember giggled, another fact coming to mind and she pointed to a part of her grenade. “This is the pin, you've got to pull that before it's ready to be thrown. Then once you release it,” She mimed tossing the grenade as she explained, “the arming safety gets released, which allows the striker to trigger a primer and ignite a fuse.” Ember grabbed another partially built grenade to show Kade the inner workings. “Right here, it burns down to the detonator and then…. BOOM.” With the final word she got right in Kade’s face. “Now if we were making some C4, the first thing we would need is–” Cookie’s bark near the stairwell grabbed her attention and the excitement of a new choom approaching stopped her explanation. “Oooo company!” She sang as she quickly ran out of her room.

“Hellooooo!” She exclaimed, greeting Voltage while she pet Cookie.

--

The amount of information Ember had just off the top of her head left Kade stunned. How was it that the same woman who moments ago was captivated by shiny objects in the trash also has such a clear understanding of explosive devices? She really did fit into this motley crew of mercs. Shaking off the surprise, Kade once again straightened his suit and made his way to the staircase to greet the new fixer.

“Do tell. What jobs have you lined up for us?” Kade asked, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

--

"Funny to talk about trust..." Bea had spoken in the room she had chosen for herself as she eyed up the dirty walls of the place. She wasn't trying to be loud - but she was making no effort to be quiet at that moment either. "We haven't even seen your face, know your name, or anything. And yet!" she pointed a finger at the air. "You seem to know every fucking thing about us." She huffed out a long sigh, blowing away a section of her hair that had moved in front of her face. "Trust? Yeah right." She was agitated, more now than earlier. There was no cure. No cure.

"This time last year I was in London on the West End," she muttered to herself quieter now as she lowered down to her knees, now look at me. Camping up in some eyesore warehouse. Bea rifled through her belongings. "I was Anastasia in Anastasia, for Christs sake!" she continued, whispering out her exasperated disbelief. Her things seemed to have already been tampered and toyed with. Bombelina... she thought, shaking her head. Nobody here wants to ask the questions that are going to fix this. Why are they so damn quick to accept this?

In the time between their call and the arrival of the fixer, Bea managed to fix her hair into a ponytail, and took off her sunglasses to apply some more concealer to her face. She tugged at her sleeve to pull it over the marks on her wrist too and wondered what Crash was doing, if he was thinking about what she was doing... A glance here and there at her phone - nothing. No messages. Nothing. She sighed.

The young man's appearance got a raised brow from Bea, and she eyed him up and down, catching every detail on him in that cursory glance like she'd done so many times before. Reading the chap like a book before he'd even sat down. Upstart. Thinks himself an entrepreneur. Too intense. Potentially a big family? Maybe siblings? Trying to prove himself in a big world. Compensating for something. Find out what that is and crack him. Find the Voice.

Bea wanted to yell at him already, to fire a set of sharp jibes his way to find out more about the Voice, why he was here. But apparently they had work to do. A held tongue would yield better results for now. Unless this gig involves the wagon wheel watoosie they're on their own.

--

Voltage eyed the group with a raised brow, nodding in response to Ember's greeting, concerned that they might not be up for either of the two jobs he had lined up, at least until Kade appeared. Now that was a man who looked like he could handle himself.

Directing his attention to him, Voltage smiled. "Might be less than what you're used to, choomba... First gig's for the Snake Nation. Simple stuff, smuggling some iron out of Watson and delivering it to the Badlands. Second's for the Moxes. Seems one of their Joytoys has gone missin' in Scav territory. They're hopin' someone can locate and bring her home... if there's anything left to find, anyway.

Payout's the same for both gigs, 3.5K eddies, so it's just about how you feel like gettin' your hands dirty."

After his explanation, the fixer's gaze trailed to Bea's bare legs and he licked his lips, not bothering to hide his attraction. Winking at her, his smile turned wolfish, "Like what you see, sweetness?"

--

Having taken a moment to wipe the sweat from his face, JV stepped out from his room. Joining the others, he too eyed up their new "Fixer".

A child? They are trusting the word of a child?

Were the man anything but a bottomless pit of no emotion, he might've rolled his eyes.

--

Before the blonde bombshell had a chance to respond, Voltage's attention was stolen by the massive stature of JV, who loomed over all the others in his approach, which was like some feral animal, as if he were ready to pounce at any moment. So, this is how these mercs could survive with such lack of evident power, they had a literal tank to rely on... The fixer's eyes didn't reach the man's face. There were some challenges you just didn't make.

--

Just as I thought. Compensating for something, fancies himself as a big boy until he actually sees one. Bea raised a brow at Voltage's reaction to JV. He wouldn't know what to do with a woman like me if I landed in his lap, in a box, and with clear instructions.

She wanted to take a painful jab at him, in fact her burning instinct was to slap him for such a comment but.... You catch more flies with honey... And she wanted to catch this fly, or at least the fly he'd been hired by. Redirect the agitation, she told herself, softening her posture. Using her body always felt like such low hanging fruit when it came to getting her way. Boring. But, at least effective. "Not as sweet as I look," she said playfully, looking straight across the room back to him, a smirk played across her lips. She could tell he was exactly the type to play along before balking at it all when it got too much.

Bless.

As for the gigs... "I should stay behind -- you can all do whatever but, I'm not going."

--

Voltage’s attention snapped back to Bea as if anything else in his mind but the thought of her vanished. He leaned back in the chair, legs spread and arm resting on the back of the chair beside him. The wolfish smile returned as his eyes worked their way over her body. Shame was not an emotion he was familiar with.

“I’m sure we can find some way to occupy our time while they’re away,” he mused, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Rodrigo couldn’t help the annoyed exhale that escaped him then, his eyes rolling as he crossed his arms. It was one thing to take orders from the kid, but to be forced to watch him undress Bea with his eyes was a bit beyond what he was prepared to tolerate.

--

Step into my parlour.... Bea thought, her own internal voice had even softened. Disgusting, she resumed. The sharp edge returning, but still - this one was all too easy. Like Rico, she too was barely tolerating his lack of shame, and to an extent, her own. She gazed over at his flagrant manspread, forcing a smile, albeit followed with a raised brow.

Then, as she expected, Cookie lunged forward from his sitting position - his short fur spiked down in his spine in an angry hackle. He held a staunch, powerful position right in front of Voltage, his mouth tense with a growl that threatened to become a bark, his lips quivered as he fought his own instinct to bare teeth.

--

Frightened by the unexpected attack, Voltage released a high pitched yelp and jumped, chair flailing behind him as he stumbled to gain his footing over a mess of legs and chair backs.

“What the fuck?” He yelled, forcing his voice an octave deeper and lifting his hands in what would be a feeble defense if put to the test. He looked to JV between furtive glances at the growling hound, assuming the large man was the owner in question. “Call him off! How’re we s’posed to do biz like this?”

Rodrigo chuckled as he watched the antics, feeling only slightly guilty at how much he was enjoying this.

--

JV, unfazed by the entire interaction, found a seat of his own nearby. Dragging a metal chair across, he sat to the side of the group and their Fixer. "The dog is not mine." He said, finally acknowledging the boys question. "I make my own threats."

Looking through those in front of him, he stared at the skinny man, wondering how long it would take for him to make another decision for the group.

--

Once the boy finished telling them about the available gigs, Ember quickly tried to respond, “My vote is-” Though just before she could finish, Bea appeared and Voltage’s attention was drawn to her. Giving them time to chat, Ember waited patiently for them to finish, watching as Voltage eyed Bea up and down with a lustful look; something that clearly disturbed Bea. She played along, however, then cast her vote to stay behind.

There was a small pause in the conversation as JV entered the room and temporarily silenced Voltage who seemed quite intimidated by the large man. Ember saw her chance and tried to take it. “I think we should-” But just as before, Voltage went right back to ogling Bea. That was until Cookie stepped in. The dog lunged forward causing the fixer to jump back. Once JV confirmed Cookie wasn’t his, Ember found her opening and spoke quickly. “I say we do the Mox gig!” Practically yelling it at the boy. She let out a breath in slight frustration.

--

As Kade mulled over the options, he simply stood back and watched as Voltage tried and failed horribly to be smooth with Bea. He had worked with younger and sometimes sleazier, but all those contacts had earned their place as it were. This fixer, on the other hand, was showing just how green he was despite acting like he was top dog. Fitting as it was an actual dog who put him in his place.

Ember was the first to vote. Well, second if he counted Bea voting to bow out. Fine by him. Her share would make a nice bonus for those actually going. But as for the job Ember picked, Kade had to disagree.

“I'd prefer the smuggling job, personally,” Kade chimed in. “Weapons are much easier to conceal and move through the city. Best of all they can't disobey and throw wrenches in things. People, on the other hand, have a habit of doing what they want instead of listening like they should. Wouldn't you agree, Bea?” He tacked on with a smug grin aimed at the starlet.

--

"What can I say Cupcake?" Bea chimed with a smile, "I've always been a handful." Despite his attempts to be smug and take a shot at her, Bea actually appreciated his repartee. She felt a sense of odd kinship with him, perhaps it was that he was clearly old money, like her. Feeling of kinship aside, she still knew that he wouldn't think twice about putting his monowire around her neck if asked. He was a listener after all.

Speaking of... She thought, amused. "Cookie." The woman spoke out confidently, walking forward from the wall where she had been, towards the centre of the room. "Sit." Immediately, the dog listened to her and sat back down. Bea picked up the chair that Voltage had been sat on, and dragged it slowly towards her as she closed the distance. She propped it back up. "Down." She commanded again, and Cookie did as was told and laid down. His eyes remained fixed on Voltage.

The woman then sat down on the seat previously occupied by Voltage, with a nonchalant grace, before placing her feet up too and crossing them one over the other.

"That's a good boy now."

--

His arms unfolded and a satisfied smile curved Rodrigo's lips as he watched Bea take her seat beside the attentive Cookie. Regardless of where the canine's focus was directed, there was no doubt he was acutely aware of his owner at all times, ever the guard dog. Voltage was lucky she'd decided to give him only a warning instead of a lesson...

There was something about the way she handled herself that drew Rodrigo's admiration. Whether it was her confidence, grace, or merely the way she expertly put that arrogant jerk in his place as if it was the most natural thing in the world, it confirmed what he'd suspected from the beginning. Bea was far from the helpless damsel Kade painted her as. He wondered whether she was aware of this herself. The way she weaponized her beauty, sharp as a razor's edge, while also wearing it like armor against the harsh world made Rodrigo wonder, not for the first time, what this woman's story was.

Trying to regain his composure, Voltage sneered, peeling his eyes away from the monster and his succubus, attempting to mask his surprise at the reveal by running a hand through his hair. After clearing his throat, the fixer strategically added more space between himself and the vicious mutt by standing to the other side of the table top, resting both hands on it and leaning forward with a cunning smile as if nothing had just occurred.

"Gonna need you to make a decision here," he said. "Time's runnin' and I have another group waitin' on the sideline."

The vote was currently tied since Bea refused to cast her own. I'll come back to that, Rodrigo thought, hoping the blonde could be persuaded to change her mind about joining them. Even after what she'd disclosed to him before the surgery, Bea was stubborn enough to resist the Voice. While he appreciated her grit, dogged obstinance was likely not the best way out of this. It wasn't as if he could offer much in terms of protection, but she had to be safer with them than alone, even with Cookie beside her. Not to mention, without her share of the earnings, it wasn't clear whether she would have the funds to cover their continued need for Cyberware.

Rodrigo glanced at JV, but his vacant expression and hard set jaw told him all he needed to know, the man couldn't care less which gig they took. The decision would fall on him. His eyes traveled to Kade and then Ember before hardening with resolve. There wasn't much to consider, in the end. "We should help the Mox," he said. "She'll need us more than the Nomad needs his weapons."

--

Kade let out a soft annoyed huff as Rico cast his vote and secured the decision to take the Mox job. Of course the doc would go for the rescue mission. They could just do a simple gun run for the same pay and half the hassle but no, Mr. Hero had to save the damsel in distress. Oh well. They didn’t have time to argue or discuss it further. They still had to get more info on this job and thanks to Cookie, Voltage wasn’t wanting to stay here any longer than he had to. Pushing his frustration aside, Kade began pondering their new mission and what details they were missing.

“Well, if we’re going to be staging a rescue, there’s a lot we need to know first.” Kade said and pinched his chin between his finger and thumb. “It would be useful to know who we are rescuing. Any photos? A name, perhaps? And what sort of resistance are we looking at? Scav security is rather… Inconsistent. It would be useful to know what they are using for this hostage.”

--

"You could always go find out about her at Lizzie's," added Bea from her seat, glancing up at the ceiling and swaying her foot from left to right. "Not a lot of people will know her better than her own people."

--

"Hmm. Not a bad idea," Kade said.

--

Voltage stood straight. "No photos. Name's Nova Frost. Moxes will have more details," he explained, not bothering to offer the details as to why the gang hadn't trusted him with further intel on the situation. "So, hittin' up Lizzie's is a good next stop. One last thing before I leave." Voltage rotated his shoulder as if already bored of the interaction, though Rico could tell from a quick scan that the man's vitals were still spiking. "What're your callsigns?"

--

JV stood, not bothering to move the chair, moving off towards Kade instead. Now that they had their mission, preparation was in order. The Haitian had caught the look the Corpo gave earlier, when Rico chose the gig. He knew that the skinny man was going to need one thing before they left.

Arriving at Kade, JV reached inside his trench coat, fishing out a lighter from his breast pocket. Giving it to the skinny man, he decided that no words were needed to accompany the return of his own item. Instead, he turned to Voltage.

"Baron Samedi is the only of the Iwa who can guide us through this storm. As an offering of respect, I will follow in his name's sake. Samedi will be my sign."

--

Callsign? Kade had been given many of those over the years, but he'd never been allowed to pick one before. As he contemplated for a moment what would suit him best, JV approached, wordlessly returning the lighter. Taking it back in his hands, Kade flipped the small box between his fingers as an old favorite of his came to mind.

“Call me Sly.” he confirmed before gracefully sliding the lighter into his jacket pocket.

--

Ember jumped from her spot excited for their new outing together. “My callsign is Ember!” She smiled big as she announced it. “Reporting for duty!” A giggle escapes her lips following the last word with her usual silly salute.

--

"No, Ember.” Kade sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You're not supposed to use your real name.”

--

"That's not my real name you silly goose!" Ember informs him while skipping over to him.

--

“Oh?” Kade replied, his hand dropped from his face as he looked at Ember with intrigue. So not only did she display a high level of training with explosives, but she had been going under a pseudonym this whole time? Kade had to admit, he was more impressed than anything. “You certainly are full of surprises, Ember.”

--

Rodrigo frowned in confused amusement at the interaction between Kade and Ember. What was her name then? Though, he supposed it didn’t make much difference, if Ember was what she wanted to be called.

Finding their callsign selection, as well as JV’s, interesting, Rodrigo gave some thought to the question. He’d been called by many nicknames throughout his life, but never by an official callsign.

“Ripper,” he decided finally, realizing his role meant a great deal to him. Aside from the personal significance, they all now relied on his skill to keep this mysterious virus at bay.

--

"I could go to Lizzie's," Bea added, drawing circles her foot again. "I've performed there many times, I know the place well... And well... They make the best Sea Breeze in Night City." They're going to need me if they want to navigate that kind of club...

The woman stood from the chair, Cookie glanced toward her - awaiting his next instruction perhaps, but he would wait it out until Voltage had left. He grumbled low as low as Bea began walking away.

"Callsign?" She spoke out, looking over her shoulder. "Never had one," her eyes found Rico as she drew nearer to the ripperdoc and her gaze softened for him. "How about you give me one, Sugar," she suggested quietly, before pushing forward to her room - humming away as she went.

--

Rico's eyes trailed after her as she went, her melodic humming reverberating through the bare walls, sparking inspiration.

"Echo," he said, turning back to face the fixer, all the tenderness that had momentarily colored his features gone. "Her callsign is Echo."

Voltage raised a brow in response, but offered no words. His attention was taken once again by the growling menace before him. "Keep me updated on your progress," he directed at Kade while taking the long route around the room toward the stairwell exit. "Once the job is done, I'll transfer the eddies." Before vanishing down the stairs, he offered a salute and wink to Ember, and smirked. "Ejecting for now, but remember, Voltage is always in the circuit."