Cyberpunk 2077: V

Chapter 11: Slice of Life

V blew at a wisp of hair that settled over her face, but the rain had already slicked it to her cheek. As she brushed the strands back, V turned and briskly strode over to the Bandit. When she slipped into the seat and slammed the door, an involuntary hiss escaped her as a jolt of pain pulsed through her jaw. The MiliTech meathead's Gorilla Arm packed a solid punch; V knew that she'd have a nasty bruise for a couple of days, and it would be hard to sleep or eat comfortably. Sighing, she brought the Bandit to life and pulled into the tunnel. Her car sat low, but the suspension was good, so mounting the curb was a slow but relatively easy feat.

As V slowly drove through the tunnel, red lights buzzing overhead, she ruminated on the meeting.

V didn't like how quickly Meredith had handed her an eddie shard. It smelled like a trap, especially when V noticed that the shard was the kind that had ICE on it. There was definitely something up the MiliTech agent's sleeve. When she got back to her apartment, she was going to sneak past the encryption and take a peek at what lay underneath. It was a strange scenario, and V worried that she'd made a mistake...now Meredith knew that V knew about the robbed convoy, what was being shipped, and where it was being held. But instead of torturing her for information like the poor schmuck Gilchrist, or putting a bullet in V's skull to tie up a loose end, Meredith instead let her walk with MiliTech money.

V felt the shard in the inner pocket of her jacket. What was it hiding? 

When V finally emerged from the tunnel and onto the Northside streets, she saw that they were still devoid of all human life. It wasn't until she started to make her way back towards China Town she started seeing pedestrians again, which brought her a sort of odd comfort. For a few minutes in the empty streets, she'd almost felt like the last human on earth. Jaw throbbing and mind ticking, V was ready for the day to be over. She decided to call Jackie and tell him as much.

The phone rang and rang and rang, then disconnected. V felt worry creep through her chest, and she immediately dialed again. The rain had picked up and it pounded at her little Bandit, nearly drowning out the rings. After a couple of seconds Jackie's face appeared, water trickling down his face and flattening his hair.

"Oy V - sorry I missed ya, the sky decided to take a massive piss on me!"

V laughed at Jackie's joke as much as her own apprehension. Of course Jackie was fine. He was always fine. Always would be.

"Yeah me too. Take it the bloodhound doesn't wanna stick around in the rain? Want me to come get ya? We could grab a bite."

A nervous look fluttered across Jackie's eyes, and he looked to the side. V cocked her head.

"Ahm...no, chica, I'll be fine. Got a ride arranged. And I promised Misty I'd grab some grub with her."

V's eyebrows rose at this strange nervous expression, and she wanted to press him, but Jackie didn't seem to want to talk about it. Perhaps he'd ended up calling Misty to come pick him up, a hit to his pride. Or...maybe Misty had said something about how much she and Jackie had been hanging out lately; pullin' gigs and tossing back tequila shots. Admittedly, they'd been very busy the past year. ESPECIALLY the past three months. When V really thought about it, she realized Jackie really hadn't had much of a chance to spend much quality time with Misty. Certainly not the same amount of time he was spending with her. She felt bad.

Her brain was starting to roll into overthinking. V dropped the subject, moving on to what she'd originally called him about.

"Aight, sounds good Jackster. Tell Misty I say hi. As for me, think I'm gonna head home and take a shower instead of letting the sky piss on me." 

She smiled when Jackie chuckled at her joke, then pressed on.

"Gonna need it too after my meetin' with old sourpuss herself. Stout knocked me around a little to put on a show, but after that I managed to get her to front some money to pay for the bot. She agreed a little too quickly though...eddie shard has some crypto on it, so I think I'll take a look at it. Make sure it's not a plant or anything."