Chapter Text

Chapter 1 - I Fought the Law

V

I had no idea what to think when I got the call from Elizabeth Peralez as I was cruising through the city on Jackie’s Arch, just mulling my life over, thinking about what the best course of action after meeting with Takemura would be. I didn’t trust the guy. Not one bit. Even after he pulled me out of the trash heap.

I recognized Elizabeth’s last name, being the wife of Jefferson Peralez, who’s all over the news, running for the position of the mayor after Rhyne’s death. I figured they would want me to find some dirt on his rivals or hire me to do some other shit politicians like them usually want done. I hate getting into vehicles with people I don’t know, but they are loaded and I knew the pay itself would be worth it.

Still, they were not at all what I expected in person. They were… normal. Nice, even.

They weren’t trying to scheme against someone, they were trying to find out what really happened to mayor Rhyne. Of course, they already pulled the necessary strings before I took the job, having acquired the braindance footage of the guy that wanted to attack the mayor shortly before his death. Not a fan of BD, my brain’s fucked-up enough as is. But it needed to be analyzed, so I took a look. Johnny was there, of course, spouting his bullshit, as ever. Sometimes, I really wished he would just shut up already. I didn’t really mind him, we agreed on many things, but he was always making comments about everything. It was annoying.

So was the lack of real leads I had after I came out of the BD. The only things I had were the perhaps coincidental leaving of the mayor’s chief of security, the now long dead attacker, Horváth, and Ward, the gunslinger badge that took him down before he could have gotten to the mayor.

It was a curious case that had my attention. Too many coincidences made me believe there were no coincidences. It was a hunch I could only follow up with the badge, so I got his contact info from Jefferson, who surprised me when he praised Ward. Said he’s a good detective. I needed proof of that.

Out of all the places we could have met, it had to be Chubby Buffalo’s. I had been living in NC for over a year by then, and never even visited the place. I wondered just how prepared I should be for some dirty cops to drop out of thin air and ambush my ass for even daring to ask questions, so I went there all suited up, packing my best revolver. Rarely had need for firepower, the built-in blades in my forearms more than made up for the lack of it.

The diner wasn’t a good place for an ambush, too open, with near the highway. I scanned the area, just to be sure no sniper was hiding behind the concrete, but my implants picked up nothing. Was Ward really stupid enough to meet a merc he doesn’t know, who’s intentions he has no idea of, without any sort of backup? Seemed like it.

The smell of greasy burgers and fries instantly filled my nostrils, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten anything in almost a day. Somehow, running after clues that could help me save my life and scrounging enough eddies together for said intel takes effort and time. That’s why I was hoping the Peralezes would be paying well.

The badges at the table I approached stood out like sore thumbs and were in the middle of conversation. Unlucky for them, I didn’t give a shit about it and strolled up to their table, instantly getting their attention. I might have been wearing all black to blend in, but still stood out from the rest of the people around with my striking blue hair. I resisted the urge to lean on the table and just looked at Ward instead.

I recognized him the moment I stepped into the room, even though the BD footage was all pixels and glitches. He was jacked, but I had a feeling the heavy coat he was wearing added a few sizes to his build. His organic eye was tracing me the moment I stopped near them, with the cybernetic probably analyzing what he was seeing.

And honestly? I didn’t mind it, since I was doing the same to him. He was a handsome guy with a five o’clock shadow on his face and barely visible circles around his eyes. He hadn’t slept in a while, which might be the reason he was cradling a large cup of coffee in his hands as he was talking to his choom. Ward’s partner was more than surprised when he heard what case I was interested in and wanted no part in it, to my absolute delight. And he had the gall to wedge himself between me and the table, effectively pushing me back a step as he got up to leave.

I had killed for less, but I settled on giving him the stink-eye until he closed the door after himself. Only then I sat down in front of Ward. Of course, the first thing he asked me was the identity of the people that hired me. I saw the determination on his face and knew, that I needed to pony up to have a chance of getting anything out of him. His surprise only lasted for but a moment, and he went quiet, silently looking at our surroundings. That was the moment I knew I had him; that he was going to talk.

But… what’s up with everyone offering me rides on this job? I can drive, people! I was driving when I was five. Wasn’t good at it, but I could get from point A to point B without running over anyone. That’s what mattered.

Sure, sure, in this instance, he wanted the privacy of his truck, but he could have easily just told me to follow him somewhere away from prying eyes. And I would have followed. He didn’t strike me as someone I needed to watch my back around. I never let my guard down completely, of course, but the paranoid and alert part of my mind was quiet as we discussed the case. He asked what my read on Jefferson was, the real reason he hired me. I had been thinking about that myself, so telling him that I thought he was scared something like this might happen to him if he gets elected was easy.

I wasn’t at all surprised when he practically invited himself along, but seeing as he was the guy with the informant that could tell us the location of the club we were trying to find, I didn’t protest. Besides, I was still sitting in his truck and it was raining, and my car was parked in my garage. It would take it a long time to get through the city and arrive at my location. Then again, Jackie’s Arch was still parked at Buffalo’s, so…

I should’ve asked Ward if I could put my bike on the back of his truck. There was enough space for it… Damn, should’ve thought about it there. Then I wouldn’t be worried sick some gonk will try and steal it.

We lapsed into silence after deciding on who we would pay a visit to first, and it was all going swell until I got a few calls myself. One was from Rogue, calling me back to Afterlife, the other was a job offer to sneak in somewhere and get some data and the third was Misty checking up on me, on how I was doing. I nearly snapped at her, that I would be doing better if I had a moment to breathe, away from clients and job offers and constantly being on the Holo even during my jobs, but I knew, that she was worried about me. So, I gossiped with her for a bit, had her read me tarot and was just as clueless afterwards as ever. I just… didn’t get it. How could she tell all that from some images? How…

I heard a scoff, that was bordering on a laugh coming from Ward. “You’re a busy woman, it seems,” he commented without taking his eyes off the road.

I cracked a confident smile at him. “I’m good at what I do.”

“Been doin’ it for long?”

There was no point in lying to him, nor shooting his attempt at a conversation down, so I decided to answer. “A little over a year now. What about you? When did you join the NCPD?”

“Been ten years now, I think. Patrol officer for a while, then I was made detective. I… had a habit of being nosy around crime scenes we needed to secure. Eventually, word spread about my suspicions and observations being right, so here I am.”

“Working a case behind your superiors’ back,” I added, eliciting a small chuckle from him.

“Yeah, I guess so. But I know, that I’m right about this case being more than what the public was told.”

“I agree with you on this, that’s why I took the job. And the fact that Jefferson was singing praises about your skills as a detective made the decision easier. I don’t like working with amateurs. More things could go wrong. I’ve had enough of wrong lately,” I murmured under my nose.

“Oh?” he asked, prompting me to elaborate.

I didn’t feel like it, so I shrugged. “Do a lot of jobs; sometimes, they don’t go according to plan. That’s all I’m saying.”

“I get it. Gotta protect your rep.”

“Gotta protect my privacy,” I countered.

“That the reason you go simply by V? You know, I looked you up after you called. You have a rep in certain circles as someone that can get things done. Yet not one source could tell me your real name.”

“Why are you interested in my real name?” He didn’t react, as he was too busy honking at an asshole that slammed on the brake in front of us for no fucking reason. “Giving you a hint: it starts with a V.”

“What a surprise!” he snarked at me, then honked again, this time at another driver in front of us.

He was not a patient man. I sort of understood. He was solely focused on solving the case and that was a familiar mindset to me. I had been called to solve some mysteries by myself, so I had some experience with cases like this one.

“Do you usually work jobs like this?” he soon restarted the conversation. He was right. He was particularly nosy.

“Whatever’s available. I’m not the only Edgerunner in the city.”

He raised an eyebrow at me, glancing at me briefly before giving his attention back to the road ahead. “Assassinations, too?”

“Why?” I asked back tentatively. It was way too specific. Why did he single out that one? “Do you want to hire one? I know a few, but I don’t do assassinations.” I went quiet for a second. “Okay, only if the fucker really, really deserves it. And I always make sure, that they do before I accept the contract.”

He scoffed. “Like what? Scorned wife hires a hitman to kill her cheating husband?” I could tell by the tone of his voice, that I was dancing on thin ice, but I didn’t care.

“I don’t care about disputes like that. I’ve only accepted two so far, out of the dozens that were offered. One was a pedo, that was kidnapping kids under ten, selling them off to the scavs after having his way with them and or violently mutilating them. I usually work in absolute silence, but I made the fucker scream his lungs out for hours before I let him die,” I all but snarled, clenching my fists. I could still see the scene I found after I finally tracked him down. No matter how much I tried purging it form my memory.

“Damn,” I heard his quiet reaction. “I didn’t even hear about this case. Why were the police not informed?”

“They were, they just didn’t feel like spending enough energy on a bunch of kids, who grew up in the gutter. Probably thought them worthless. One of the parents hired me, scrounging up whatever money their small community could find. I couldn’t bring any of their kids back, so I refused the eddies.”

“You were too late,” he deduced with a contemplative, quiet voice.

I nodded before continuing. “One of the girls died in my arms. I think about her a lot. About what I could have and should have done differently. But… the thing is, that job took priority the moment I accepted it. I spent my own money to get all information I could from the local fixer, and as soon as I had his location, I hightailed it over there, driving like a maniac. I couldn’t have done anything else.”

“You did good, V. You gave their parents closure and ensured something like this wouldn’t happen to anyone else.”

“Don’t kid yourself. There’ll always be predators like him around. Sick fuckers.”

He sighed. “Sometimes even I wish I could be freer with how I do my job. Only I’m bound by a set of rules and regulations that are just a pain in my ass and good for nothing. If we were allowed to utilize every resource at our disposal, the NCPD would be solving cases like that one.”

“Then I’d quickly be out of business,” I pouted at him, which he couldn’t see, as we finally arrived to the small market we would find Horváth’s employer at.

We were swiftly out of the car, the conversation all but forgotten, and we separated, taking different sides of the market to investigate. I got lucky, the owner of the first noodle stand I came across was able to tell me where we could find this Christine. And while I was there, I used the situation to buy myself some food.

I was already slurping down the noodles when I caught up to Ward. He gave me a look as he spotted the food in my hand, but didn’t comment. He kept staring, though, even after I pointed Christine’s shop out to him.

“D’you want ‘ome?” I asked him with a full mouth.

“I’m good, thanks.” He was giving me a small smile.

“Then stop starin’ at me. I gotta eat too, you know. It’s been nearly a day since my last meal. Trying to save a life keeps me occupied,” I muttered as I swallowed and began stuffing my mouth full again.

We were nearly at the electronics stand when he stopped. “Trying to save a life? Then why are you working this case?”

I chewed a bit to be able to speak. “Info costs money. I make money on jobs like this. Come on,” I encouraged him and kept walking towards our destination. The sooner we interrogate her the better.

In the end, this trip was completely useless, barring the food I managed to eat without throwing up shortly afterwards. It was becoming a rare occurrence. I was quickly running out of time. Damn, I knew, I should’ve saved some eddies for an emergency such as what I found myself in. A race against time itself. Just my luck.

The same luck that pulled me into the vicinity of a badge who is apparently known by the Tygers enough that they recognize his truck. He asked me to let him handle it and I was fine with it, still munching on the last portion of my food. One of the gangmembers tried to knock it out of my grip as he walked past me, but I was quicker and dodged his half-hearted attempt. If Ward wasn’t there, leaning on the wall by then, I would’ve impaled the guy on my blades and he never would’ve seen me coming.

I only gave the badge my attention when they were out of sight and he cleared his throat. I decided to tag along to his CI, since my bike was still kilometers away and so was my car. Besides, he was the one that actually knew the guy, so it was only logical that I accompanied him. I threw the container of the food into the first trashcan I saw, without even looking at it, then shrugged as I saw Ward’s baffled reaction and just got into his car.

We were barely out of the area before he turned to me. “Who are you trying to save? Someone close to you?”

“Don’t fucking tell him a word, V,” I heard Johnny pitch in.

“I wasn’t going to, don’t worry. I know just what to keep private.”

“Really? Because you seem to be awfully forthcoming with this badge.”

“I hadn’t told him anything of import, Johnny. Cool it, okay? I need to keep the conversation going, since I’m stuck with the guy for now. Need to be able to work together.”

“Better not bite us in the ass, is all I’m saying,” he added, then he was gone again, with me nearly forgetting Ward’s initial question.

“I’d rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind.” He simply nodded in understanding before lapsing into silence again, one that lasted until we were nearly at his CI’s location.

It happened to be a sex shop. Ward didn’t strike me as the kinky kind of person before, but to have an informant in a shop such as that one quickly changed my mind about him. He couldn’t see the curious look I was giving him as he pulled up on the sidewalk. Then he promptly told me that I should be the one handling this, since he was on the outs with the guy; their latest info-exchange didn’t go in his CI’s favor.

I rolled my eyes, agreeing to go talk to the guy on my lonesome, and while I was there, I observed the shop’s available items. I saw a toy, that I would’ve even bought a couple months ago, but nowadays, sex was the last thing on my mind. Especially since I began sharing headspace with a rockerboy turned terrorist, who had a habit of making comments at the most inopportune moments. I definitely didn’t need him to see me getting off, even by myself. Especially by myself.

Walking up to the counter, I was met with a guy, who was sporting the absolute worst haircut I had ever seen. I only barely managed to contain the frown that was tugging at my lips and focus on the codephrase Ward told me. The guy’s entire demeanor changed within a friction of a second and he bolted out the door behind him. I vaulted over the counter before the door had a chance of closing and slipped after him.

The cop must’ve been watching this unfold, since by the time I was out in the alley, right on the CI’s heels, he was on the other side, imposingly blocking off the man’s only escape route. And yeah, I wasn’t surprised to see that he was strong enough to practically throw the guy into the wall to prevent him from leaving. I was surprised however, that he pulled a gun on him, trying to threaten the guy into spilling the info we needed.

I figured he was playing bad cop, so I decided on playing the good one, trying to assure Neil, that he would be kept safe, that no one would be able to tell where we got the information of the club from. He did tell us what we needed to know, so we were one step closer to finding the truth.

I dare say Ward looked impressed as he looked at me and asked if I would be meeting him at the location or tagging along. He didn’t even need to ask. I had a feeling we were close to solving the case and it made no sense to split the team up at that time.

In a minute, we were already heading to the location. I noticed Ward stealing glances at me, so after a few minutes, I sighed.

“Spit it out already,” I prompted him to speak.

He cleared his throat, almost embarrassed. “I’ve never worked with a merc before, and honestly, you’re not at all what I was expecting.”

“What did you expect, then?”

“Someone that’s more likely to pull a gun out and threaten people into spilling the info they need and not someone, who’s an expert weaving her words charismatically enough to get the same results.”

I made a thoughtful sound. “Isn’t the former what you just did, though?” He snorted a laugh at that. “In this case, I figured since you were playing bad cop, it would fall to me to play good cop. It worked.”

“Yeah, that was my intention. You let me handle the Tygers on my own, so I was hoping you would be smart enough to follow my lead this time, too. It was a surprise, though, that you did indeed let me handle it.”

I shrugged again. “We are working together on this. Countering your every move would only hinder our investigation and would make no sense. It’s better we do this as a well-oiled machine, than through teeth-clenched teamwork. Just because I’m a merc doesn’t mean that I cannot work with others when needed.”

“So I’m beginning to see. You’re good at this.”

I smiled at him. “Just like I told you. You should’ve believed me the first time, detective Ward,” I playfully teased him. I had a feeling he wouldn’t mind, and the smile he reacted with confirmed it. I found him exceptionally handsome when he smiled.

I was beginning to think, that teaming up with him was not such a bad idea after all. Might even be beneficial to us both. I certainly found myself enjoying his company. I hadn’t worked together with anyone since Jackie… Since he…

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to work with anyone. Maybe I was bad luck.

Damn, I missed him so much. My one true friend, pretty much since the moment I met him. To think, that if he hadn’t taken the chip out and given it to me, he would be the one in my shoes, having been revived by said biochip… I would’ve gladly changed the outcome in his favor. He had much more to lose, than I ever did. His family and Misty most importantly, while I had no one. My family literally fell apart with my parents joining another rival nomad family after my brother died. They were adamant on their own survival, disregarding the fact, that several of them attempted to rape me when I was younger. My only luck was that I was always a fighter. Breaking off from the family that didn’t seem to care about me the least was the best decision of my life. Mama Welles cared about me more while I was living under her roof than my own parents ever did. How fucked-up is that?

“Alright, we’re almost there,” I heard the cop’s words, breaking through my trip down memory lane.

I blinked rapidly, clearing my head and focusing on the area around us. We were on the outskirts of the city, in Animal territory. Ward parked the truck a ways away from the warehouse, that was supposedly hiding the club we were looking for. I couldn’t say I was surprised when he decided to hang back, not wanting to be involved in any fights as a cop without a warrant to search the place. It was fine by me. I snuck my way to the front gate, while Ward called me to be in touch during my infiltration. I hid behind the concrete wall as I hacked into the nearby camera, out of view to the nearest gangoon. I spotted a few of them, marking each with my implants, then jumped from one camera’s views to the other, marking as many of them as I could. I even found the club, trashed and empty.

Since I wanted to do this quietly, I snuck my way around, staying low and out of sight, until I saw an opening. I informed the badge, and then I was in, opening a floor grate into a small building. Barring some equipment, it was empty, no Animals in sight. I opened the door, then was nearly spotted by a camera over the warehouse’s entrance. I decided to breach it, and successfully shut all of them down, giving myself a few minutes to move around freely.

I wasn’t going to use the front entrance to enter, and circled around the van nearby, heading towards the back of the building, looking for another way in. I found it and using my technical knowledge, was able to open it. I was looking for a basement entrance as I entered the main area, knocking out all of the Animals I could see and dumping their bodies into various containers to cover up my tracks. I even went upstairs to the catwalk, when I realized, that I saw no obvious entrance to another room. One led outside, and I was almost caught as I opened it. My only luck was that the gangoon was leaning on the metal railing, facing away from me. I dealt with him, too, then was back again. There was a control room upstairs, that I was hoping could give me the location of the club, but there was still nothing.

I still had a few minutes until the cameras were back online, so I used this time to lean on the railing of the catwalk and just observe the area below me. I knew, that the entrance was closer than I would expect, probably hidden somewhere away from prying eyes. And what would be better, than a large shipping container in the middle of the warehouse?

I quickly made my way down to it and tried the door. It was not locked and revealed some stairs leading down towards an elevator. Clever.

“I found the entrance. The shipping container inside the warehouse, the middle,” I whispered to Ward. Just in case I missed someone.

“Good job, V. Keep me posted.”

“Will do.”

I made my way to the club, arriving to a small hallway. Through the glass of the door, I spotted two gangmembers, talking about something I didn’t give a fuck about. As soon as they got going, I entered, heading for the one that stayed downstairs. I choked him out in one of the hidden booths, arranging him as if he was just sleeping. There was no place for me to hide him in, no crates, wardrobes, nothing. This was the best I could do.

I scanned the upper level for the other guy and found him patrolling back and forth. I made my way over to him, then was nearly spotted by the camera that came back online and that I promptly disabled within a second. The guy was sleeping on a chair soon, booze in his hand. I wasn’t going to leave him sprawled out on the floor.

I entered the next area, hearing a conversation coming from the office to my right. Before going in there, I handled the last member downstairs, also in a booth. She spotted me and was already opening her mouth to cry out when I put her in a chokehold and broke her neck, lowering her body onto the seat. The last person upstairs was still on the holo, so sneaking up on her was easy. She was a large woman, so it took me a while to choke her out. But at least I managed to get some information out of her while I was at it.

At last, I was free to investigate the nearby computer, finding the evidence needed to finish up the investigation. I believed Ward when he said he didn’t know that his choom was involved.

“Hold on. The room he died in is right next to the one I’m in. I’ll investigate it for more clues before I leave,” I informed him after he told me to get out of there.

“Okay. The more we have, the better.”

It was a filthy nook, the same as the others before, with the only thing my eyes were picking up being the BD headset that lay abandoned on the seat. Since the mayor supposedly died in a heart-attack, I was curious what he was watching that could have induced that if it were true. I regretted putting that thing on my head the moment I did it.

The world glitched out around me and everything went black as I screamed myself hoarse from the virus that began attacking me the moment I entered the braindance. It seemed like all but a second, before a mildly panicked voice called out to me and large hands took the headset off my head, only to then wrap around my biceps to steady me.

I let out a string of curses as my vision focused on the cop crouching in front of me, desperately trying to get through to me. And he had the gall to snark at me when I asked him what he was doing there. I didn’t hold it against him, though. He looked genuinely scared that I got hurt. His response was a defense mechanism involuntarily activated in a panic-inducing situation. He must’ve heard me scream and hightailed it over as fast as he could.

His hands stayed wrapped around my arms even after I stood up, standing on wobbly legs for a few moments. But the pain subsided quickly and we could leave the club, sure of our findings. The death of the mayor was no accident. He was killed by Weydon Holt, no doubt about it.

I could practically feel the anger radiating off Ward as he made contact with Han, calling for a meeting at Chubby Buffalo’s. His jaw was tight enough I thought even the slightest more pressure would make it pop out of its place and he was gripping the steering wheel with such force his fingers were going white. I saw it best not to strike up a conversation, and I was too busy with my head, that was still doing its best trying to explode. This fucking virus didn’t help my decaying health at all…

Fuck!

“Fuck!” Ward unknowingly echoed my own thoughts as he pulled up to the diner. Han was already there, smoking and circling Jackie’s bike.

“No touching,” I warned him as I got out of the truck and closed the distance between us.

He scoffed. “Yours?”

“Why the surprise? I need to get around the city somehow,” I reacted, keeping the cold tone. I wasn’t about to make a friend out of the guy, and he became painfully aware as Ward stopped next to me with his arms crossed above his chest.

He was still fuming, and I suspected he lost all respect he had for his choom, as well as all common sense when he threatened Han to take matter to internal affairs and get the case officially reopened. I completely agreed with him, but it was a stupid thing to do, one that could jeopardize his entire career in a matter of weeks. He didn’t care, though.

I stayed out of their conversation, pointily ignoring all of Han’s attempts to bring me into it. I was only there to solve the case; I didn’t give a shit about NCPD internal debates and problems. My job was done already, with only reporting back to the Peralezes remaining.

I debated calling her right there, but Ward was already leaning on the concrete wall, looking out over the city, angry as ever. I knew, that if it was up to him, his partner would’ve been arrested already. But he was smart enough to know when he is beat. I joined him there, watching the city for a minute, staying silent until he spoke. I encouraged him to keep pushing for justice to be served, then tentatively put a hand on his shoulder. He looked like he needed some form of support.

“You’re a good cop, a good man. Don’t let assholes like him get to you,” I told him as I squeezed, then dropped the hand, ready to leave. “Take care.”

“You too, V. And thanks.” I gave him a small smile before I approached Jackie’s bike and reached out to Elizabeth, forgetting about it being the middle of the night.

Turned out, neither of them were sleeping yet, so I was invited to their apartment. It was… spacious. I could’ve lived in a place like that, too. Maybe one day.

I told them everything we found in detail and warned them about Holt. Jefferson was also running in the mayoral election, so he needed to be vigilant when it came to his rivals. They paid me generously, so as soon as I was out of the building, I dropped a text to Ward.

“Transferring you half of my payment. Couldn’t have done it without your help.” I barely sent it, I was already sending the eddies his way.

“Didn’t you say, that you are trying to save someone and that’s why you need the money?”

“There’s always another job for me. Don’t start fighting me now and just accept the eddies.”

“Thanks, V. It’s appreciated.”

“And well deserved.”

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I took this job from the Peralezes but meeting the one good badge in the whole of Night City certainly wasn’t among those expectations.

____________________________

River

It was just another day in the office for River, filled with mandatory paperwork about his active and just closed cases. He wanted to finish up early, since he was supposed to meet Han at Chubby Buffalo’s to finally have that coffee together and discuss his nephew’s recent disappearance. It weighed heavily on him, he practically helped raise Randy when Joss’ husband turned out to be a good for nothing gonk.

He was aware, that the kid had problems, but he wouldn’t have thought him the type to just up and leave his family behind, especially not without a trace that could be followed. And there were no traces for the NCPD to even begin an investigation. Randy became just another person, whose files were promptly shoved on the shelf to be forgotten forever. He simply couldn’t allow that. There had to be a way to find him, to bring him home!

River had to hold out hope, that he didn’t run off to join a gang, nor was he kidnapped off the street, like many others before him. But none of his contacts heard anything, so he had Han put his own informants to work. That’s why they were to meet in the diner.

Just as River was finishing up at his desk, he got a call from a merc that went by V. She told him she was investigating the death of the mayor and was told he could provide some intel. Out of curiosity, he decided to indulge her request and set a meeting at Chubby’s, no better place suddenly coming to mind. And he was already headed there anyway. It was as good a place as any to see if she was even worth helping.

As he was driving, he went through the police database, looking for any mentions of an edgerunner called V. He didn’t have much info, she tended to stay out of police business and had no warrants against her, no bounty on her head. He even asked a few mercenaries he was acquainted with about what is to know about her. They both told him she was the merc that people turned to when they needed something done. She had done many different kinds of gigs for many, vastly different people. A merc without a code and a love for eddies. She was the same as the others. What a surprise, that one.

She must’ve already been nearby, since she arrived there minutes after they did, dressed in black from torso to toe; her striking blue hair was short, half of it tucked behind her ear. A pair of also black aviators were pushed up to the top of her head, since she had no need of them in the current, cloudy weather. Her face was… well, River found her pretty on first sight. Pierced eyebrow that was elegantly shaped, light makeup that emphasized her eyes and her cheekbones, complete with black lipstick on her lips that were tugged into a smirk as she was also analyzing him, no doubt.

And despite being a merc, she wasn’t running around with an arsenal full of weapons. He saw nothing but a revolver as his cybernetic eye raked her body, looking for anything hidden. Something they had in common, then.

It was no surprise to him, that Han wanted no part in the investigation she was conducting and tried to persuade River himself to just drop the case already. River couldn’t. There was something, that didn’t add up. Something, that kept him captive, that urged him to hear V out, help her with the case. He knew the people that hired her, even trusted them to an extent, so that was absolutely in favor of assisting her.

He wasn’t about to let her walk away with the information he had, though, so as a way to coerce her into working together with him, he proposed they take his truck for a ride to talk away from prying eyes and ears. It always took him a while to warm up to people, yet he found it easy to talk to her. She was so confident in her own abilities, almost to a fault, that fascinated him. He was testing her, testing how far he could push her before she revealed her real self, what she really was like underneath the merc mask, but after their conversation in the truck, he had to realize, that she wasn’t wearing a mask. She was laying all the cards out for him, not lying about herself. At least, he didn’t think so. She seemed genuine. A professional.

Then she went ahead and decided to get herself some food in the middle of an investigation, like it was the most natural thing to do. Not a care about his opinion, not an ounce of wanting to apologize for prioritizing her rumbling stomach, nothing. Yet she found Christine’s location before he did and beckoned him to follow her. River couldn’t help but wonder whose life she was trying to save. Family? Friend? A significant other, perhaps? He decided to ask her later, when they were back in his truck.

He knew, that Christine’s wasn’t her first interrogation by the questions she asked, even though she was not at all embarrassed to speak with a mouth full of noodles. He was beginning to think nothing could embarrass her. Oddly, it only added to the charm.

They didn’t learn much at the market, but he knew, that all information counts, they didn’t know what could prove useful in the end. V seemed to agree as she nodded, still chewing as they made their way back to his truck, that was being vandalized by two Tyger Claws. He called out to his partner to let him handle this; he didn’t know just how gung-ho she was in a dangerous situation. He didn’t want this to escalate into a full-blown fight. The merc just nonchalantly shrugged in response, finishing her meal and staring at the gangoons with a hardened expression. She was all ready to enter combat mode if needed, he could see. She was alert, but made no effort to react to the gangmembers, ignoring their remarks to her. V was doing as asked, following his lead. Honestly, he didn’t expect her to, when he asked.

She was less than impressed with the Tygers, as one of them bumped into her, earning a gaze that could kill. He had a suspicion that it could if she wanted it to. She was packing some serious cybernetics underneath her light skin.

He couldn’t help but smile at her remark of the streets being too dangerous by his side. It was rich, coming from a merc who constantly puts her own life in danger on the jobs she is hired for.

Unsurprisingly, he didn’t get an answer to the question he was aching to ask, but he could see her confidence crack a little, falter with something that looked a lot like grief and pain. No matter his own curiosity, he respected her boundaries, her privacy. It was… refreshing to hear that even a merc has loved ones they are willing to risk their lives for. The two he was familiar with? They were both loners through and through, not at all like V.

As soon as they arrived to Neil’s shop and he informed her that maybe going in all by herself would be best, she was giving him a look of amusement mixed with incredulity. He had no idea why, until she was out of the truck and on her way to the entrance. To the sex shop. Right. He suddenly wondered if that was why she was looking at him like that before. Just what kind of pervert could she think he is, having an informant that owns a sex shop?

Fuck.

He was out of the truck in the next second, manning up to join her, but all he could see from the entrance was Neil bolting through the door that led to the nearby alley and V running right after him. He turned around immediately, deciding to close off Neil’s escape. V joined him all but a second later, not even winded after the short sprint. She wasn’t pulling a gun on the CI, though, just stood there as nonchalantly as she could, with her arms crossed above her chest. She practically weaponized her words, changing her voice to one full of compassion and honesty. It worked like clockwork, smoothly, and the man was spilling the location of the club within a minute. She rewarded the guy with a charming smile, one that held even River captive and only lasted until Neil was out of their sight. Then her neutral expression was back, staring him in the eye as they decided to go to the club together.

He couldn’t help himself but comment on her ability to talk her way out of certain situations, and she took the compliment in stride adapting a friendlier tone that he was quickly fond of. He only wished it lasted longer than it did. V had a lot on her mind, he could tell by the series of emotions he could see on her face after their conversation died down. He was all but sure, that she was grieving someone close to her, but also felt guilty for something. Survivor’s guilt, perhaps? Did she lose a partner recently? Was this individual’s death what she meant earlier? Was it a job gone wrong?

It was not his place to ask. She was closed-off and wouldn’t have given him an answer anyway. So he drove in silence, parking his truck a good distance away from the location they were given. She was quick to pick up on his problem with the city’s gangs. So quick it almost annoyed him. She wasn’t only quick-witted, she was also extremely intelligent.

She had to have a bad side too, right? She couldn’t have been this… this perfect. No one is perfect, no one is without flaws. But V… V was a whole another category.

River was restless as he was waiting for any signs from her, any news about her progress within the warehouse. He hated sending her in alone, but she worked quietly, her dark outfit blending in with the shadows. He could sometimes hear faint sounds of choking and containers being shut and could tell that she was covering her tracks. He wondered whether she left them alive at all.

He was close to boring a hole into the pavement with his restless movements as he waited for her. After around ten minutes, she found the entrance and headed down immediately. River had to remind himself, that as a cop, he definitely shouldn’t be seen there, when he had the not so bright idea to join her. He resisted the urge to follow, letting her handle it.

A few relatively quiet minutes later, sounds of a scuffle was back, as she probably held someone in a chokehold. He could hear her interrogation, with her voice losing all of its gentleness. V was practically snarling the words to her captive, appealing to her gangoon nature to get the needed information out of her. Then she promptly choked her out.

Not even a minute later, she was forwarding him a video. About his partner, Han. Covering up the mayor’s death.

Son of a bitch. No wonder he was so against this investigation.

River barely managed to stop himself from growling like a feral animal. He had never been this furious before. Right in front of his eyes. His own partner. What the fuck was wrong with the world?

How could he not see it? It should’ve been obvious.

Fuck!

V’s voice cut through the fury that threatened to overwhelm him, saying that she wanted to investigate the exact spot the mayor died. Then she was screaming into his ears with clear agony. It was a sound he never wanted to hear, and one that didn’t let up and nearly deafened him.

That was the point he decided not to care about being a cop and just hopped into his truck, riding straight at the entrance of the warehouse. He shot the camera above the gate before it could’ve recorded him, then shot the surprised gatekeeper gangmember, that was completely unaware of what happened to the rest of her friends and what was happening in the club. This was an unauthorized investigation, which meant he couldn’t leave any traces behind, nor did he need to write a report that detailed his actions. As far as everyone’s concerned, he was never here. He only needed to make sure to avoid the cameras. He ended up shooting all he saw. He didn’t know how long V had, by the sound of her agonized screams, so he had to hurry.

He rewatched the footage she forwarded him to make sure he was going the right way, straight at the booth the mayor died in. He found her there, sitting on the floor, writhing in pain, with a BD headset on her head, her nose bleeding and her eyes glowing. He wasn’t even thinking, just approached her and ripped the headset off her, being sure it was the cause of her pain. A wave of relief washed over him as after half a minute of him not doing anything, but desperately calling out her name, her eyes slowly focused on him and her erratic breathing slowed as she attempted to calm herself.

For the first time since they met, she was vulnerable and weak, her face still full of lingering pain as she just breathed and all but demanded to know what he was doing there despite being a cop, going against his own words. He just wanted to tell her that saving her life sounded better than losing her because of her carelessness, but she was frowning at the response he ended up giving her. Then informed him, that Rhyne was definitely murdered by whoever installed a virus onto the headset.

A virus, that was slowly killing V, too. If he decided to wait a little longer…

He shuddered at the thought. To be killed this way… It was…

She murmured her barely audible thanks to him as she stood, with his hands still around her biceps to steady her. To her credit, she pulled herself together in record time, as if things like this happened to her on a daily basis. What if they did? What if she got close to dying every day? What if she actually enjoyed the thrill, the adrenaline?

But no, River didn’t think so, as she was obviously still recovering even in the car, staying silent. He had a feeling she was more shaken than she let on. Focusing on her made him feel slightly better, but even it wasn’t enough to quiet the storm that was brewing inside him. To say that he was pissed was the understatement of the century. He made sure to let it all out at Han the moment they arrived, and his ex-partner’s lack of regret and emotion made him all the more furious. Han showed absolutely no incentive to take responsibility to his own actions, instead trying to shift focus onto V, who was expertly staying out of their squabble. Disdain was more than readable on her, though, as she watched Han leave in his car, without so much as sweating after their encounter.

Looking over the city calmed him a bit, and so did the featherlight touch on his shoulder and her encouraging words to not give up despite the setbacks. She could be really sweet when she wanted to be. But she was already walking away, having completed her job and having no need of him anymore.

A part of him hoped, that they would be in touch afterwards, but he sincerely doubted it. She didn’t even look back over her shoulder at him, just hopped on her bike and sped away. She still stayed in his view for a while, expertly making her way around cars, caring nothing about traffic laws and red lights. How she never got hit, he had no idea. It was downright suicidal, the way she rode that bike.

He was in his truck a few seconds after he lost track of her, planning on heading to his apartment to get some rest after a night like this. He would go to internals in the morning, when he had a clearer head.

He was nearly home, stopped at a red light, when he got a message. From V.

Before he got to the end of it, he got the notification of receiving over a thousand eddies from her. Well deserved, she added.

River didn’t know what to expect, when he decided to tag along on this investigation case with V, but finding Night City’s only merc with a heart of gold certainly wasn’t it.