Edgerunners2077

V: 25

District: Corpo Plaza, City Center

I got out of Vik's office with a message from David, he wanted to meet at Corpo Plaza. That's a big step up considering the last time we met was near an alleyway in Watson. Instead of making the gonk wait for me at some streetside or rooftop, I give him the coordinates to my high-rise apartment in City Center. 

City Center, the beating Corpo heart of Night City. Near Union St. and Halsey Blvd., the structure stood tall, competing with other skyscrapers in the surrounding area. Republic Way, the streetside was lined with Palm Trees with not a single piece of garbage in sight; vandalism was a rare sight to see.

 Traffic moved with hustle. People traveled in haste. Here was a different realm compared to the rest of the city. It was No Man's Land, Corpo Land, unironically. No gang owned rights to claim City Center, MaxTac saw to that. Night City's military-operated reinforcements. They, along with the NCPD, kept the streets of City Center crime free, for the most part. 

My place is right beside a bar called Empathy, the kind of high-class establishment where it's invite only and weapons are left in a locker by the door. I pass the club on my way in, checking through my own apartment buildings' security as I step through the scanner. Fancy shit. Nothing like this at my old apartment in Megabuilding H10. 

I get off the elevator when it opens to my floor and my eyes are met with the familiar black velvet on black marble, with the red ambiance lighting hovering the coves giving the mini tree planters an ominous yet phosphorescence glow. Each apartment door had a modern sleek design, dark metal with lines of gold plating.

Inside passed the sliding door is a mixture of marbles and stained wood with a deep smoky finish. Everything was outlined in gold plating. The wall trimming, the accents, the filigree. This place screams bougee. All the furnishings were pristine, sleek and modern with a reoccurring geometric design of angular shapes. 

To my right a flat screen TV hung wide against the stained wood plaques, nearly taking over the entire wall. I had to take two steps down to get to my lounge area, and two steps back up to have a seat at the table. Behind the living room was the dining area, with long panel windows giving a wonderful view of the city. I could see all of Corpo Plaza from the comfort of my dinner table.

 Pretty fucking Preem if you ask me. 

Walking back to the front door, near the bamboo wall divider, I light a stick of incense to give the apartment a smell patchouli and cover up the fact that it's been unattended for weeks. I crack a window and turn on the record player, a Samurai vinyl still on the spinner. 

A knock comes from my door, just moments after I got the coffee machine going. Shit, that was quick! Either he's punctual as hell or was waltzing around in the fucking neighborhood. Suddenly my face is flushed with red hot blush on my cheeks. Why was I nervous all of a sudden? It's just David.

 I have yet to get cleaned up, and knowing him, he'll start by making a fuss about my wound. A small smirk forms on my face, knowing he'll have nothing to say on the matter. Vik did a good job, as always, and I was made aware that I would heal up rather nicely. 

I allow the sliding door to open finding David in the hall, mouth hung open, looking out of place. Grinning, I snatch the gonk by the arm and yank him inside.  Immediately, his eyes widen as he takes a look around.

As he scopes the place out, I watch him like a ravenous hawk, my eyes drink in every drop. I wasn't the only one who got patched up and went to work afterwards. Well, I did those things in reverse order, but I'll never tell him that.

As much as I try to nonchalantly give a fuck, I really did miss him. I was gnawing my teeth while I held back from hitting him up on the Holo. I fought every urge I had to call this man after we parted ways. Call it pride but I didn't want to make the first move. Not when his romantic affairs were so complicated. As much as he tries to hide his somber expression with his strong smile, ending things with Lucy really took a toll on him.