Cyberpunk 2077: V

Prologue: Chapter 4 - A Name

V's head spun as her boots crunched over the red sand, trying to make sure her story was straight. She didn't have to fake the exhaustion she was sure blurred her eyes and pulled at her cheekbones, which would help her sell her con to Marnie. Slipping through the camp, no one batted an eye as V maneuvered towards the salvage truck. The huge rig was an old corpo transport the Bakkers had turned into a traveling storage bay and workshop. Marnie would set up her table each morning with the manifests and be available to hand out spare parts or help people with their projects and chores.

There was a rattling sound to her right, and V looked over on instinct. A small bolt of adrenaline shot through her system when she saw Tom and David standing together near Tom's truck. The whole front end of the desert tan, three ton vehicle was mangled, the huge metal bumper guards twisted and bent. 

V overheard Tom mentioning it had happened when, in a rush to get back to the clan and tell them of the huge salvage opportunity, Tom had run into a huge boulder that had been hidden by some brush.

The cold ice cube forming in the back of V's brain stem called him a liar.

Most of the clan was either still asleep or just waking up; Marnie herself still had her hair twisted up into her dark green turban as she pulled the folding table out of the back of the truck. V felt her body tense the closer to the heart of camp she got. It would have been easier if everyone was staring at her; instead it was as if she was a ghost.

Marnie certainly noticed her, though. She always seemed to have an eye on V. Marnie had been worried about V trying to break into the trailer or hurt the twins out of revenge for taking her and Freddy's home. V had never once considered it. She didn't hate Marnie and her family, and as the years went on, she'd agreed that it made sense to give the trailer to a larger group. The problem she had with the situation was how mean and coldy it had been handled; by Zach and Marnie. 

"Yer up late."

Marnie's raspy smoker's voice hit V's chest like a precision dart. The tone of the older woman's voice was one of cautious acceptance, like the way one would talk to wild dog you weren't sure was friendly or not. V swallowed and felt her shoulders dip slightly. 

"Yeah. Coyotes kept me up all night, wouldn't let me get a wink in."

Eyes the color of dusty tires traveled over V's face.

"Hmm. Same here." Marnie set down a sheet of engine heat shielding, from the looks of it the same piece V had brought in the day before, and folded her arms expectantly. V felt a yawn creep up and let it play out, opening her jaw wide and rubbing the back of her neck.

"Sure the coyotes kept other people up too. They were really close to camp, like, way too close. Remember what happed to Anna? Don't want somethin' like that happenin' again."

Marnie's eye twitched. Anna was once called the most beautiful girl in the clan. Then a pack of wild coyotes came prowling through camp one night. Anna had been on her way back to her tent after "meeting" with Wally. The coyotes had gotten her, leaving a thick scar over the side of her neck and a shredded ear. She wore her hair long and parted to the side to cover the scars, but the hair couldn't cover the darkness that swirled in her eyes.

V continued, pleased that she got a reaction so quickly.

"Plus, I just wanna get a good nights sleep. I took care of some coyotes before, remember? I'm thinkin' that I go drive around a bit and find their nest, take'm out, and bring back their pelts. What do you think?"

The other woman's eyes scanned V's face for a moment, but V could see her mind start to turn to agreement with V. Eliminating the coyotes was a task that V had accomplished before; rather easily too, with her ability to sneak around. And the pelts and useable meat she brought back had helped feed hungry people and clothe a couple of small children.