The wet black asphalt rests with scattered puddles as the cold rain continues to pour down from the night sky outside... pattering the windows of the hideout hard with relentless consistency. Cigarette smoke calmy wafts through the air in the warm, cozy living room of the hideout while some mellow reggae plays on the radio with a low volume.
"Hahaha... no shit... Netty The Kid is ACTUALLY a fucking kid. Hah... what a time to be alive." BugBear says with a smile as she lays back into the couch and kicks her feet up onto the coffee table with a fresh smoke in hand. "Y'know what makes that so fucking preem? We didn't even KNOW that shit was possible! I mean carving INTO the blackwall like that? Leaving a mark that big? Fuck! Its gotta be permanent!"
"Yeah, but what does it do..?" Brian asks comfortably leaned up against the window, watching the rain pour down and occasionally checking the dark streets with sparse lighting. The occasional pair of headlights drifting by.
"SHIT!!" Audrey grunts gritting her teeth while sat hunched over, still working on and carving up the severed corpo rat's head... ripping and slicing skin as blood occasionally squirts and flys out past her shoulders.
"Psh!! What does it do? It sticks the biggest fucking middle finger EVER up to Netwatch and all the other corpos that have no choice but to look on at it. A clear sign of the Black Wall's potential vulnerabilities... leaving JUST enough left to the imagination for ANYONE to run with!" Bugbear shifts her weight on the couch and sits up slightly. She pours a few glasses of Centzon for everyone before getting up and walking over to Audrey... she rests one of the drinks in a pool of blood on the table shes working at. Audrey reaches for it with her bloody hand and takes a quick swig before placing it back down into the pool of blood... the high pitched buzzes and whirring of her tools get back to work. BugBear walks back over and plops down onto the couch next to Brian. The mellow energy and warm comfort of the safehouse contrasts the harsh elements and hazards just outside the walls.
"You see, not everyone has actually seen it like I have... its still just rumor amongst runners like most shit is. But any runner good enough and well... curious enough that's gotten past Netwatch's security to see it for themselves, AND crack the encryption to reveal the meaning of the abbreviation KNOWS the significance. To be straight with you.. its pretty fucking legendary. The simplicity of the code compliments the staying power of the hack. Its left Netwatch and any runners in the know COMPLETELY stumped! Just standing there... looking on at this thing with confusion and awe. Whether its Netwatch too hesitant to fuck with their safety net or runners too pussy to even get close enough to see it. Countless smooth brained gonks running the net with constant back and forth bickering and debate over who and why like it even fuckin' matters at this point right? Hahaha 'NTK'... Beautiful art permanently carved into a fucking wall of death. Hahaha... god... how the fuck did he do that." She smiles before taking a swig of her drink.
"Alright... it's almost ready." Netty says with a serious tone as Zaunya sits straddling a wooden chair with her back toward him and her shirt off in the dimly lit apartment room with muffled reggae seeping in from the living room. The rain continues to patter the windows and roof... her black leather Kuomori trench coat hangs off the edge of the bed as she feels the various wires connected to her augmented spine jostle around lightly. The intertwined neurological sensations of meat combined with metal is a stiff, discomforting feeling shes grown all too familiar with. The amount of chrome shes packing underneath her RealSkinn is intimidatingly hard to spot with the untrained kiroshi. She hugs the back of the chair tightly with both arms with restless anticipation and lingering pain. Netty has used several of Audrey's bio tech hardware to plug both Zaunya and himself into a central diagnostics interface... focusing on her sandevistan.
"Hey uhh.. listen.. I gotta ask. Didn't wanna in front of everyone else." He says while finishing his prep. Zaunya glances back at him.
"Your chrome. Its all corpo licensed... even got some experimental black lab models that i don't even have a point of reference for. Even the data to its origins is encrypted.. in my experience it usually means executive level clearance when it comes to high end corporations... and your sandy? Its not yours... the bios foundation doesn't match up. I'm guessin' that explains the compatibility malfunctions... Are you-"
"-Not anymore. Its... its a lot that... i'd rather not talk about right now m'kay?" She cuts him off... her voice soft and tired.
"Hey, listen I get it... My dad worked in service to them pretty much his whole life. Plucked him off the streets of Watson when he was just a kid messin' around wit city drop points and rippin' of vendits... they feel like they own everything... everyone." He says while grabbing a small piece of wrapped cloth. "They take what they want when they want it... to either champion it-" He hands Zaunya the cloth. "-Or dispose of it". He concludes looking at her eyes.
"Recognized some of your symptoms post quickhack... we're gonna need to do some major overhauls to the soft. Reinforce the ice and take care of the compatibility vulnerabilities. You're gonna wanna bite down on that... Shits gonna hurt." Netty plugs in to the hardware as the pattering rain on the windows combines with the whirrs and wizzes of Audrey's cyberware equipment dialing in. His eyes glow blue as he hears Zaunya's voice.
"Thank you Netty." She whispers in a genuine tone... he glances down at her... giving a warm smile.
"SO. What's going on now hm? What are you guys gonna do about this corpo chick?" BugBear asks Brian who has now joined her kicking back on the couch as they enjoy their glasses of Centzon in the warm living room.
"So many factors at play... so many moves to make... just a lot to think about." He says before taking a swig from his glass. "Fortunately, based on what we know so far and how I feel right now, we have some breathing room. Taking the time to cover our tracks has been a big payoff... Don't know... Honestly told myself I wouldn't be apart of shit like this anymore a long time ago."
"Apart of what? Had a crew?"
He pauses for a moment... taking another sip. "Somethin' like that." He mutters looking up at the ceiling... taking a deep breath.
"Familiarity can make the mind vulnerable... you make yourself responsible for people... and when they... they become apart of you-"
He hears the feint sounds of Marilyn's screams re-enter his mind with vigor "NO! NO! PLEASE! VARGA!! VARGAAAAAAA!!!!" causing him to close his eyes tight.
"Their pain becomes your pain... and when they're gone? Well... you lose parts of yourself. Like a fuckin joytoy on a scavs table." The two giggle softly together before taking another sip from their glasses. The rolling thunder alongside rain continuing to patter on the roof and windows creates a warming white noise complimenting the brain massaging reggae.
BugBear sits on the sentiment for a bit after another sip from her glass.
"Well, from where i'm sitting... seems like you know what you're doing... Zaunya doesn't stand by people she doesn't respect... hasn't in a long time... heh... Audrey especially." BugBear says giggling causing Brian to look over at her with a serious expression. "These are good people you have here Brian... hell, i've known you all of about 5 seconds and even I can see they look to you a lot."
She continues... looking at him in the eyes.
"Never lose sight of what brought you together. Remember what you stand against... crew's loyalty and trust... only as strong as their leader's." She concludes as the pair share a sincere smile with each other.
"Thanks Bear." He says softly as the two share a moment.
"FUCK YEAH! DONE!!" Audrey yells while quickly standing up at her table causing Brian and BugBear to look over.
The sounds of Zaunya's muffled screams rattle Netty as she bites down hard onto the wrapped cloth with eyes wide open. The wooden chair beneath her struggling to stay on all fours.
She shouts through the cloth in a frantic panic "NO! NO! STOP!! P-PLEASE STOP!! NO MORE! I... I CAN'T-" she begs before tensing up again... snapping her head back in uncontrollable pain.
"Stay with me! Breathe! J-Just Breathe... Shh.. Its ok.. we're almost there! Almost... there." Netty says frantically trying to keep her body stable and from falling out off the chair. Zaunya's grip on the back of the chair tightens as the wood begins to crack in and give way to her arm's squeeze.
"You're ok, hang on!" He says in a panic as Zaunya continues to muffle screams through the cloth with her veins protruding from her forehead.
She eventually passes out from the pain... her body goes limp over the cracked chair and her long black hair hangs down in front of her face nearly touching the carpeted floor.
"Easy... easy.. you're ok... you're ok... Alright, now i can REALLY get to work. No runner's fuckin' with you after this." Netty whispers to himself as his eyes continue to alternate glowing from blue to red and flowing with code.
"Check THIS SHIT out!" Audrey says holding up the golden Kiroshi oracle eye as coagulated blood drips down from the golden wires attached to it. Brian and BugBear stand up and walk over to the table. He glances down at the bloody gore covering the work area and a barely recognizable head of a human being... looking as if a cyberpsycho had dug into him.
"Holy shit! NOVA!!" BugBear shouts as Audrey hands the eye to Brian. He holds it up to the light, admiring the intricate workings of the small piece of chrome with a smile of success on his face.
"And NOW. We have a set." Audrey says as she walks over to a desk and pulls out a clean matching gold Kiroshi Oracle still sitting housed in its cylindrical metal capsule.
"I'm telling you. You're gonna love what all this bullshit was for!" Audrey shouts at Brian with a big smile on her face.
All 3 of them hear the door to Audrey's room slide open causing them to look over. They see Zaunya and Netty walk out... Zaunya clearly looking to be in a much better state. She takes a deep breath of relief as Audrey rushes over to her and gently grabs her face. Zaunya grabs Audrey's forearms as Netty steps past the 3 ladies toward Brian... Brian looks down at Netty in his eyes.
"All good?" He asks in a low tone. Netty returns it with a genuine look.
"She'll be fine... better than fine now." He responds in a low tone as the pair look over at the women talking and laughing amongst themselves.
"Good work kid... I owe you one." Brian concludes in a deep, sincere tone looking at Netty with pride as he taps him on the shoulder with force causing Netty to stumble.
"HEY! Listen. Lets get outta here." Audrey says to Brian causing him to look over confused. She continues.
"We just hit fucking BIG! Its time to celebrate! On me!"
"Probably not the best idea." Brian says as Zaunya quickly agrees with him. He briefly hears the sound of Graves' voice enter his head but we're not quite able to hear what he says... hearing only his feint laughs of joy inbetween him speaking.
"Fuck that, if we spend another minute in this fucking place playing hide n seek we're gonna lose our minds. Fuck the corps, fuck the trail, we need to unwind. CUT LOOSE!! I know the perfect place away from prying corpo gonk eyes filled with ONLY the right people. LETS MOTOR!!!" Audrey proclaims as BugBear and Netty cheer along with her.
The group slowly files out of the apartment talking amongst themselves.