We open up with a flashback to the lead merc who kidnapped Brian, Zaunya and Audrey and brought them back to the Hotel Pistis Sophia. The mellow, late night white noise permeates through the halls as he slowly walks down its dark stretch... occasionally glancing into various rooms as he makes his rounds... overlooking activity like a logistics manager. He enters a supply room filled with various tools and equipment they use throughout the hotel. He makes a call on the holo causing his eyes to glow orange.
The call is answered.
=Monica. Its Rob.=
=Rob...? What the hell do you want? Got any idea what time it is?=
=Think I got somethin' preem for ya. Fresh crop just came in a little earlier. Chicks sportin' some serious chrome... had Kenny run some spec scans on her. Said shes been chipped with a bunch of custom pieces hes never even seen before. Military grade combatware and a bunch of Shit not even registered or on market. Had a few data shards on her with a bunch of Corporate intel and shit on different corpo projects... locations involving PetroChem.=
=Mm.. interesting. Sounds like a hell of a catch.=
=You know what that usually means right?=
=Sure.. Corpo.=
=Bingo.=
=Dangerous endeavor choom. High-end mystery chrome is some real, up there, corporate illuminati level shit. Try to think of it like havin' a tickin' time bomb on your hands... someone's bound to come sniffin' around sooner or later. You know how corps get when it comes to their... property... hm... might be best to just yank her off the reel and toss her back. Think you might've grabbed somebodies' runaway?=
=Shit, well, with the chemical concoction Tweaks givin' her, probably doesn't even know what planet she's on at this point... made sure Rhonda's got a jammer up just in case... And, Dunno... Streets been silent these days when it comes to the corps... hmm. I'll hit up a few fixers... See what I can find out on the- =
= -Wait! Do you remember that warehouse that blew up over in Arroyo a while back?=
=Uhh.. Yeah, what about it?=
=Streets ended up finding out it was a PetroChem warehouse! They put out a juicy reward for info on who did it. That chicks gotta be involved!=
=Hm... Dunno. Sure they haven't found em already..? Corpos aren't really the type to let some shit like this just slip through the cracks... NCs always got the next crazy event goin' on after all... meanin' they're not the type to be draggin' their feet. =
=Fuck that! I'm gonna make some calls. Watch her like a fuckin hawk Rob! Understand me? Do NOT process her. I'm on my way down there RIGHT now. We're gonna be RICH!= The merc ends the holo call... Ending the flashback.
Brian drives the Galena G240 through the dark, quieted Night City streets... the mellow rumbling of the engine warms the space. Its close to 2am as the neon glow of the streets flickers into the interior of the car. Zaunya, laid in the backseat is cradled in Audrey's arms asleep... Carter rides shotgun staring longingly out of the window. Its clear that hes in a trance... thinking deeply about something significant. Brian picks up on his energy... choosing not to think about it... instead frequently looking into the rearview mirror... silently checking on Zaunya and Audrey. BugBear on her yellow ARCH Nazaré Racer with Netty on the back, holding on tight, drives closely behind Brian's car as they leave Pacifica.
The tone... the energy of the crew is somber... exhausted. Having just been through a traumatic event, the experience has affected them all... leaving lasting marks in various ways. Night City has a way of driving your perspective... its forced upon you in ways often out of your control... regardless of how strong... how smart or... how capable you may be. Its not necessarily the event that defines you... those happen in the extremes regularly... its the person... the actions taken as a result of those events is where the perspective is born... later shaped with time and experience. Most haven't had the time to process the traumatic series of events that have just transpired... some have already moved on... however one thing is certain... undeniable: They're together.
Events like this... drive people closer together in an absolute fashion... sealing often unbreakable bonds through emotion and the unspoken word.
Connection through pain- You see Carter with his bloody face barely wiped staring down out the window somberly
Connection through violence- You see BugBear through her helmet visor with a serious look of anger on her face.
Connection through love... You see Brian in the driver's seat looking into the rearview mirror at a passed out Zaunya in Audrey's arms.
The wires that bind us are often not tightened by the forces that drive us closer together. They're tightened by the forces that try to rip us apart.
"Right here's fine." Carter softly says as Brian slowly pulls the car over with BugBear stopping the bike behind them. Carter glances into the back seat and nods at Audrey... she returns it. He hops out and closes the door before reaching through the opened window and shaking Brian's hand.
"Be in touch" Carter says in a low tone. He pats the roof of the Galena a couple times before turning and walking away up the street while Brian and BugBear pull off.
The crew is next seen slowly pulling up to Netaniel's house. Brian pulls the car forward as the bike slows up behind them. He hops off the back and walks up to the driver's side of the Galena... resting his forearm on the hood.
"Tracker on kid. See you soon." Brian says in a monotone.
"You got it." Netty replies while glancing over at a helmeted BugBear in her cyberpunk yellow biker gear.
He walks back toward her bike as she gets ready to pull off. The crickets and sirens waling off in the distance accompany that late night freeway white noise.
"H- Hey uh, hold up." He says in a serious tone... placing his hand on the front of her bike.
This causes her to raise the visor on her helmet and sit up. He continues.
"L-Listen uh... about that dance...-"
"-We.. uhm... we... don't need to talk about that." She says cutting him off... her tone gentle.
He struggles to find a response... she continues in a soft tone.
"Don't think after all this i've forgotten about that little dive into the net you did."
Netty looks down and away... she gently raises his chin with her hand... causing him to look at her.
"Don't forget... you owe me one huh." She whispers.
They smile lightly at each other... sharing a moment.
She flips her visor back down and speeds off on her bike... the engine's roar fades into the distance.
Netty watches her and the crew depart before looking up at his house. He takes a deep breath and walks in.
The low rumbling of the car's engine creates a soft white noise amongst the silence of the Galena G240. Brian glances into the rearview mirror and sees BugBear break off and take a turn down a different street headed home.
He glances at Audrey through the mirror... looking out the window and cradling a passed out Zaunya.
"We should head to your clinic." Brian mutters in a monotone... Audrey looks back at him through the rearview mirror... she nods.