Heywood, Glen District.
After a heavy round of crying, V and Yogan were now sitting in a small diner. Perhaps because it wasn't a mealtime yet, there were only a few scattered patrons inside.
"How are you feeling, V? Any better now?"
"More or less." V gently rubbed the rim of her coffee cup with her thumb, replying in a soft voice.
An awkward silence followed.
"I wanted to ask something…"
"I wanted to ask something…"
…
"You first."
"No, you first."
…
Yogan raised both hands in surrender. "Alright, one question each."
V raised an eyebrow. "Who goes first?"
"You."
Yogan took a sip of coffee—it was unbearably bitter. To be honest, he'd never been able to appreciate this kind of drink, not even in his past life. He had a lot of questions, but in order not to kill the conversation, he decided to let V go first.
V glanced around; the nearest customer was at least four or five seats away.
"Where are you from?"
"Huh?" Yogan didn't quite understand the question.
"I mean, back in the building, you were still sobbing. Then the moment the Scavs showed up, you turned into a cold-blooded killer."
Yogan touched his cheek. "Can I say I don't know?"
V put down her cup and looked at him like, are you serious?
Yogan knew that if he couldn't give a satisfactory answer, he wouldn't be getting any info from V either.
"To be honest, I don't remember anything before I was captured by the Scavs."
"Yeah, right~~"
Yogan ignored her sarcasm and continued. "All I know is that I seem to have some kind of special cyberware in me. It can temporarily block the hormonal stimulation of certain nerves, keeping my mind in a constantly calm state. But the downside is obvious—it only blocks hormones. When it deactivates, all the emotions it suppressed come flooding out at once. So… yeah, I get a bit overly emotional when it wears off."
"But I didn't scan any trace of cyberware on you. Even the monks on the street need chip slots to beg, and you've got nothing—completely clean. Like…"
"Like some antique from the last century."
"You get what I mean. I'm not mocking you, but yeah, it's weird." V took another sip of coffee to hide her awkwardness. "Alright, your turn."
Yogan set down his cup and locked eyes with V. "I want to know—what was this job you took?"
"Why are you asking that?"
He shrugged. "I should at least know what kind of mess I've gotten dragged into."
"A mess? This has nothing to do with you anymore."
He nodded toward the package beside V. "What's in there?"
"Cyberware…"
"And what was it originally?"
"A corpo dog… Fine, you've got a point."
In Night City, anything that even slightly involved a megacorp meant huge trouble.
"Last Sunday, a fixer gave a job to me and Amuedo. Said Arasaka lost an employee in the Vista Del Rey area." V's expression dimmed. "The pay was good, and the intel was detailed, so we took it."
"Wait—what do you mean by 'detailed intel'?"
V scratched her head. "Time, location, people who might be involved, a whole pile of stuff. They even narrowed the guy's possible location down to just two or three blocks."
"So all you had to do was find the corpo's hideout?"
V nodded. "Then Amuedo and I split up. I found a Scav hideout, but it was already empty. I grabbed a local thug and he said that place had been abandoned for days."
"And then?"
"That bastard called in backup. Right then, Amuedo found another Scav base—the one we escaped from. He came to help and ran straight into the ambush. While covering my retreat, NCPD decided to raid the place. Dammit, those pigs were never that 'punctual' before."
"And it wasn't just beat cops. The riot squad showed up with a flying van right after. Amuedo got caught in the crossfire. You know the rest." V rubbed her face, clearly not wanting to relive the memory. "He sent me the intel he found before he got caught. Then I saw a grenade land next to him. After that, I followed his info and found that Scav base… and met you."
Yogan frowned. "V, do Scavs and street gangs have good 'neighborhood relations'?"
"Hell no. Street thugs are one of their top organ suppliers."
"Then are you sure that punk you let go wasn't working for the Scavs?"
"Unlikely. I caught him because locals reported a guy snooping around who looked like a Valentino. I thought he was spying on the Scavs, so I tried to squeeze info out of him. But he knew nothing except the hideout was empty. So I let him go."
"So, he's basically a mystery."
V didn't deny it.
"V, this job stinks from start to finish…"
"What else could we do?!"
V suddenly stood up, glaring at Yogan.
"Amuedo was like family to me! After I lost mine, he took care of me. And now his daughter is dying—only a corpo medical center can save her! But those greedy bastards refused treatment just because they didn't have some stupid 'medical membership.' Said their 'basic plan' didn't cover her illness. Damn it, that's not what they said when they scammed Amuedo out of his life savings! Now they want another ten thousand eurodollars just to keep her stable. Want a cure? That'll cost even more!"
V collapsed into the seat, burying her head in her hands. "Damn it… it should've been me who died…"
Then something clicked.
"Damn you, Johnson… This was your job. If you dock my pay, I'll—"
V called the fixer. Unexpectedly, Yogan's system picked up the signal too.
[Signal detected]
[Decoding… compiling…]
He heard every word of the conversation.
"Hey, Johnson. I found your guy."
"Nice, nice. He still alive?"
"He's dead."
"Tsk, tsk. That's not a clean job. The big boss won't be happy, so your payment—"
"What?! That corpo dog was already dead on Friday! You gave us the job on Sunday!"
"That's your problem, Miss V. You messed up. I'm covering for you with the boss. That costs me. You caused me a loss—asking for a little compensation isn't too much, is it? You punks always go in loud. If you were more careful, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. Where's Amuedo? Let me talk to him."
"Amuedo's dead."
"Dead too? Damn, unlucky bastard."
V clenched her fists.
"Please, Johnson. His daughter's still sick…"
"What's that got to do with me? Business is business, Miss V."
V bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.
"Fine. What do I have to do to get my money?"
"Heh, I like your spirit, Miss V. Since you found the target, you got his storage chip, right?"
V opened her bag, pulled out the neural jack—empty.
"No. When I found him, he was already a pile of scraps. Someone else has it."
"Well, that's unfortunate. The big boss just called. All he wants is the chip.
If you want your money, go get it. Tick-tock, Miss V. Amuedo's poor daughter is still waiting."
Before V could reply, Johnson hung up. She smashed her coffee cup in rage. The diner owner came over to confront her, but Yogan stepped in, shoved a few eurodollars into his hands, pushed him away, and returned to his seat.
V cradled her head, still furious. "Sorry… I shouldn't have taken it out on you. But this really has nothing to do with you anymore. Just go."
Yogan grabbed some napkins and started wiping up the spilled coffee.
"It does now."
V slowly looked up, staring at Yogan blankly.
"That coffee cup you broke—I'm the one who paid for it."
"I'm broke."
"But that scumbag fixer isn't. If he hadn't pissed you off, I wouldn't be out a cup. Damn it, if he cost me something, I'm going to collect."
V looked at him for a long moment, then finally smiled faintly. "Your excuse sucks, but… thanks, Yogan."
---