Cyberpunk 2077: V

Chapter 42: Hippocratic Oath

"Reg, it's barely been three hours since I dumped a psycho at your feet, and you're callin' again? People will start to talk."

"Cute. But I'm calling for good reason. You stumbled onto something with that drug distro, V... Hope you're up for it because I've got another gig for you. Not a potential psycho, but there's a tight timeline, so I need you to get over there stat."

V stared at Regina's face in the top left of her HUD, feeling the urge to deny the gig. She was still feeling off after witnessing what she did with the Maelstrom psycho, and this would mean two high-level gigs in one day. But Regina paid well, and V couldn't wait to show Jackie all the eddies she'd stashed aside so far.

"Well, I just slurped down some java, so I guess I'm ready as I'll ever be," V sighed, pausing to lean against the side of the mega-building. "What'ya got?"

Regina shifted and crossed her arms. "The psycho, Carter? Not kickin' around very much, but I was able to find some intel in his soft; and boy was it some intel. Ended up answering a long-standing question one of my clients asked months ago. The thing is, Maelstrom has a particular ripper doc... and not one that they hired. She's no volunteer. They're keeping her against her will, forcing her to work for them. She's who the gig is about."

V raised an eyebrow. "Retrieval?"

"Retrieval," Regina confirmed. "Her brother's been trying to figure out where she was for months. Turns out all this time she was at a little Maelstrom clinic called 'Clean Cut.' Need you to get her outta there. I'll have a driver waiting for her at the corner."

"Driver for her? I can drive her home if ya want," V offered.

Regina shook her head.

"Thing is, V, I need to talk to her ASAP.  The intel out of Carter's head, plus the info you sent me from the docks, and what you found earlier today... it's all addin' up in a way that I really don't like. Based on all that, I think the doc might be able to fill in some of the blanks in the equation." 

She held up her hand just as V opened her mouth to ask a question.

"Can't tell you anything yet, V. But let's just say that you might have some more gigs comin' your way soon. Anyway, get the doc. Sending you a text with some more deets attached. Hit me up when you've got her, and my driver will pull up. Chao."

With a chirp, Regina disappeared, and a text came through. V pulled it up.

Gig Profile: Retrieval

Objective: Rescue Doctor Lucy Thackery from Maelstrom captivity
Location: Clean Cut clinic on Longshore North St.
Details: Blood looks out for blood. Bertie Thackery's a leadhead who was gonk enough to join up with Maelstrom. Realized pretty quick the psychogang operates by simple rules—you stay, you die, or you pay.

Enter his sister, Lucy, who chose option number three. Instead of hard scratch, she bought out her bro's freedom with her expertise and services. She put 3 months of cyberware repair on the table. Problem is, five months have already come and gone.

Now in comes you. Do what you gotta do, but the doc gets out in one piece.

V inhaled sharply, then let out a long, slow sigh. This was going to be a loooong day. She foresaw a lot of nomad ninja-ing in her immediate future. After a beat, she summoned her Orange this time, looking up the Clean Cut Clinic's location on her map while waiting. It was about a twenty-minute drive away, back in Maelstrom territory. V didn't know why she kept running up against Maelstrom the whole week; seemed fate decided that she and the cyber-spiders were supposed to get real intimate.