Cyberpunk 2077: V

Chapter 32: The Plan

"Mr. Deshawn will see you now."

A man as wide as he was tall towered over Jackie and V on their bar stools. He had the beefy fit of someone who took the juice and spliced the chrome but also did the natural bodybuilding on top of it all. V wouldn't have been surprised if he could crush a whiskey bottle in one hand. 

The bartender chuckled. "Break a leg," she said with a bemused voice.

Jackie's eyes glowed as he gave her a wink and said, "Thanks chica - and keep the change."

The bartender turned to tend to someone more silver and blue chrome than flesh stamping up to the counter, and Jackie and V stood.

"All right chico, where's Dex?" Jackie quipped.

The man didn't say anything - just stared them with a dull red eyeplate before turning and walking back towards the private rooms and water tanks without a word. Jackie gave V a look and shrugged before following after. V trailed behind, trying to stave off the sudden weird feeling in her spine.

They followed the bodyguard to the back of the bar, where he turned around the corner and led them into a dark hallway. There must've been active noise dampening or thicker metal here, because as they passed through the doorway the music faded considerably.

Smells of old pizza, spilled spoiled beer, thermal paste, and electrical wire rose up to greet them as the man led them through the backrooms of the bar - storage areas and the like. Jackie couldn't keep quiet it seemed, because he suddenly asked, "Daaammn, holmes; you're huge! Work out?"

The bodyguard kept stamping along, only acknowledging Jackie's question with a low grunt. 

Jackie, unperturbed continued with, "Same here, y'know, in the ring. You do some kinda exotic shit? Kempo? Ninjitsu?"

"Mhhmgh," came the reply.

"Think you could take me? Drop me?"

"Mhhmgh," the hustle grunted again.

Apparently, the meathead was paid to walk, not talk.

The temperature dropped about twenty degrees as they turned down another dark hallway lit by neon blue lights. There was clutter everywhere here too, but instead of bottles and food wrappers there were a lot of mismatched server racks, status screens, and old Insta-food vending machines. V wondered if this was where the "cold storage" of bodies had once been. Would've made sense from a practical standpoint. Bodies needed to keep cool, and so did circuits.

Dex's hustle led them to a dead end hallway and stopped at a door, coming to stand with his hands clasped in front.

"In here," he said curtly, nodding to the door before staring straight ahead. 

Jackie looked at V over his shoulder and muttered, "Este maldito tipo...".

They both moved to the door, which let out a ding! sound as the overhead light turned green and it slid open. Jackie stepped forward with V at his heels, and they found themselves in a darkly lit room that once been full of equipment long ago. Scars and scuffs and old anchor points in the floor had been left to time. Turning another corner, they saw a strange smoky blue glass box set in the center of the large space; some sort of private talk box. As they approached, V's ears perked up. Ever so faintly she could hear Dex's voice saying something on the other side.

"That's right, Excelsior....Cold hard eddies as per usual."

Jackie and V rounded the side of the box to see an open doorway leading into a bare bones but spacious meeting space with couches and a coffee table in the center next to a standalone chair. Dex was sitting at the far side, facing them directly. When he saw them he let out a huff of smoke as his eyes glittered gold. He was on a call.