Chapter 99

V went silent after my victory with nothing to refute my perfect argument for what Samurai song was the best. I settled down as well. V looked… Tired.

 

Honestly I kinda wondered who would look more worn. V now, Or V dying from the engram?

 

I felt a little sad for the woman knowing her future. Knowing that all the stress and heartache and pain she was suffering under from Arasaka would all amount to nothing. Hell less than nothing. A bullet to the head, if Jackie hadn’t been there.

 

“And two drinks for mis amigas!” Jackie said, showing up with his hands full of drinks, dropping a tumbler in front of V, one for himself, and to my surprise a martini style glass, and a can of soda in front of me. “You don’t have to drink the alcohol Hermanita, but me and V do this every time after a gig it’s our little tradition.” He said as he settled down.

 

“V?”

 

“I’m fine Jack. Just been needing a drink.” V said, arching an eye at Jackie who chuckled.

 

“Sorry choom. The lines were a little long tonight, had a big group dropping off like forty orders right in front of me.” He just laughed it off and V looked for a second like she was going to go bust some assholes down to size but just shrugged it off and grabbed her drink.

 

“To good fortune.” V offered.

“To good friends.” Jackie replied back.

 

“To the good fortune to have good friends!” They both said at the same time and then looked to me.

 

Ugh. Miserable bad influence adults!

 

I grabbed the stupid martini glass.

 

“To adding new friends to that list.” I added on my own and Jackie burst into a bright smile. I guess I had done well then we clinked out drinks and took a swallow.

 

Blegh! So gross!

 

—–

 

“A thing of beauty! I know! Will never fade away!” I shouted out standing on top of the table V right beside me singing along with me. The Corpo woman had a pretty good voice!

 

“Motoko! Get off the table!”

 

“Rita! Hey! Hold on the songs almost done!” I called back. I don’t know why she winced. I had just yelled a little!

 

We were partying! V and I were great chooms now! Sure she was a little drunk, having been absolutely hammering back shots, but that was okay! One of us had the brilliant idea of requesting some Samurai songs from the system, and one thing led to another.

 

I don’t remember exactly who got up on the table to sing first, but I was having a great time!

 

“Oh no you don’t.” There was a jumble of movement or something there and the next thing I remember is waking up as I crash into a pile of trash bags.

 

It had been surprisingly gentle though.

 

“You able to get a handle on these two?”

 

“No p-prob-prob… I can do it! Come on now Hermana! Hermanita, let’s stand up yeah?” Jackie was there and I blinked, raising my head out of the trash.

 

“You okay there kid?” Rita asked and I checked myself. No injuries. I threw her a thumbs up. “You good to have these two help you get home?” She asked as well, glaring a bit at Jackie which was unfair. He was really struggling with V from the looks of it. Was the Corpo woman passed out face down in the trash? Oh no she was just puking.

 

“V and Jackie and I are chooooooms!” I called out in response. I even reached out and pulled V’s head out of the trash.

 

The regurgitated flood of nastiness meant I quickly let go of her hair ignoring the slimy plop as she fell back.

 

“We’ll be okay Rita, Honest. I’ll drive them home.” Jackie offered. The man sounding a little tipsy. You shouldn’t get so drunk Jackie.

 

Wait. Driving and drunk?

 

“NO! Drunk driving is bad! BAAAAD!”

“I’ll call a cab.”

 

“Yay!”

 

—–

 

I blinked awake instantly. “Unfamiliar ceiling.” I muttered as I Rose up and stretched. “Oh gross what died in my mouth?” I grunted wanting to stick out my tongue at the taste, but other than that I was fine.

 

No headache or anything, I patted myself down noticing most of my gear was settled on the table next to me, but my Kang Tao armor was missing…

 

I don’t remember what happened to it.

 

Looking around I tried to figure out where I was.

 

The array of men stuff around the room gave me a hint to where I was. “This Jackies place?” I asked, looking around in surprise. I was on his couch with a little blanket strewn over me.

 

“Oh you awake too kid?” I sat up and there was V. Not a hair out of place, the corpo woman looked like she was ready to step into a boardroom or a battlefield.

 

“You can just call me Motoko.” I told her as I got up and stretched.

 

It hit me then. Aw man. I got drunk. I hated that! It was so gross! “Huh no hangover or anything huh? Must be nice to be a kid. Poor Jackie is still laid up.”

 

“Heh. Really?”

“Yeah nasty hangover. The oaf.” V said as she sipped on a can of something. “I’ll be heading out soon. Kid, it wasn’t horrible working with you.”

“Is that your nice way of saying I’m more competent than you expected and I’m useful?” I asked as I took a seat across from her.

 

She scoffed but didn’t actually deny my words.

 

So I threw her my deets.

 

“Really?” She asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Hey, I know what it’s like up in that stuffy office they probably got you in. If you ever need someone you can trust to watch your back, I am a merc.” I explained and she seemed kind of surprised at my words for a moment before her face blanked as always.

 

“I’ll keep it in mind.” She sends her own deets back. Giving me a number and even an email although it was a .Arasaka address which meant I wasn’t going anywhere near it. “Oh I looked into our little jaunt last night. Kang Tao are frothing mad, but they don’t have much to go on. I’d suggest you get your car repainted, maybe reset the ID, and don’t let it spread around.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“It wasn’t exactly a big deal.” I said honestly. I mean you don’t see AV’s much in the game, but that was engine limitations, those things are everywhere in Night City. I’d honestly been surprised I hadn’t gotten involved in an aerial chase through the city until now.

 

“Pfft. You took out a Kang Tao AV kid. You do know the price tag on those things right?”

“Million or something?”

“More like twenty.” She said with an actual laugh. “And worse, it crashed in the city. NCPD, get involved for things like that, which means KT is paying fines and bribes to make it go away. Like I said. Alter your car a bit, and keep it quiet.”

 

I hesitated but nodded. “Shame. I wanted to make a BD of that explosion. Commemorate it a bit.”

 

V went still for a moment before speaking. “You record BD’s while on gigs?”

“Yeah! It’s preem! I have a choom with the mox that edits and then another that sells them off.” I explain in a rush, happy to share. V just shakes her head.

 

“Not sure if that’s preem, or just crazy. Be careful kid, and don’t put me in any of them. Last thing I would need is my boss finding out.”

“Deal.”

 

“Alright I’m out. I already checked on Jack. If you’re feeling good feel free to leave when-”

 

“YOU BITCHES!” A voice screamed out as the door opened and a woman I didn’t know stomped in. She started absolutely going off in spanish, which my limited vocabulary recognized most of them as insults.

 

“Hello to you too. You’re Camillla right?” V said calmly, seemingly unbothered by the slightly short spanish woman that was ranting and raving at her.

 

Oh and me. The woman spit out something at me too.

 

“Who wants to know some homewrecking whores in my Jackies home!?”

 

I blinked.

 

Did… That’s right. Jackie mentioned he had an Output.

 

So this was the girl that Jackie had left, eventually dating Misty.

 

The girl that Mama Welles had preferred.

 

Huh. No accounting for taste Mama Welles.

 

“I’m V. An associate of Jackies.”

“Yeah I’m sure he associated with you all night you-” And there was the string of spanish added on.

 

Awkward.

 

This was so awkward. My cringe meter was absolutely blasting and that thing was broken half the time.

 

“Hey, how about we all take a second. Jackie V and I all had a gig last night. We didn’t like… Do that.” I said, waving my hands in different shapes to show the things that we didn’t do.

 

Before the woman could turn to me and start exploding because she was definitely about to Jackie came stumbling out of his bedroom.

 

Jackie looked like shit. I almost wanted to giggle as he stumbled into the room clutching his head. Voice croaking as he barely could open his eyes.

 

“Cami? That you? Everything alright?” He asked as he stumbled over and finding the right woman pulled her into a hug. But she slapped him away and started screeching.

 

Ow.

 

That was making my head hurt, and I didn’t even have a hangover. Jackie looked utterly fucked up.

 

“Jack. I’m gonna head out.” V said showing zero sympathy as she just walked out after everything leaving poor Jackie to his fate.

 

I followed after her, because I wasn’t a gonk.

 

—–

 

V and I split up, and I did as she recommended. Jackie had dropped some eddies into my account last night at some point, so I just headed over to a detailing shop.