Street Kids

[9 years ago]

The sky was overcast, a few rays of sun breaking through. The smell of rain was in the air, mixed with the stench of stir-fry, ramen, and scop in all colors of the rainbow from the various food vendors spread throughout the Kabuki Market. The surrounding alleyways were a veritable maze; it was easy to lose one's way unless you were intimately familiar with it, making it a prime target for the multitude of young thieves and other miscreants native to the area.

A much younger Mizuki leaned against a wall, peeking around a corner at her current mark. Fifty feet away, an obese man in an ill-fitting corpo suit was sitting on a stool, hunched over drunk on the countertop of a scop vendor. Next to him were two empty sake bottles and an ashtray with a smoldering cigarette. Looks to have been a bad day, and thanks to a crafty young streetkid, it was about to get worse.

Mizuki kept a watchful eye of the alleyway; no cops, mostly just people going about their lives without a care in the world. She snuck out from the wall, signaling to her friends to stay put. She walked casually, but cautiously, down the alleyway towards the mark, trying her best to look anywhere except exactly where she was going.

As she got closer, she heard the pitter-patter of spatulas clattering against a metal cooktop as the vendor was stirring something up. It smelled delicious, and her mouth began to water. But, she had to focus. She could eat later... hopefully.

Only a few more steps, she ducked in a corner, out of sight from both the vendor and the man as she considered her options. She looked for a moment back to her friends, seeing only their eyes peeking around the corner, wide and waiting. She looked back to the man, the same wad of eddies hanging out of his back pocket as had been every day for the last three days. Believe it or not, some people in Night City still carried physical scratch. Gonk move to keep it in plain sight like that, though.

Mizuki knew she wouldn't get a better chance than right now. Checking around her one last time, she crouched and snuck her way up to the man, peeking her head just high enough to make sure the cook was still facing away from her. She readied her hand, moving slowly and deliberately. She gripped the money clip with two fingers and a thumb, pausing to make sure the man didn't stir. All clear, she took a few deep breaths. One, two, three!

She yanked the money clip with precision and a light touch, still crouched and weaving around to the other side of the man, keeping her eye on him. He stirred slightly, scratching his side and groaning before the snoring returned. Mizuki smirked back to her friends, waving the money clip as they silently cheered. Then it all went to shit. The cook began screaming at her in Chinese, banging his spatulas on the countertop to get her attention, and the attention of anyone within earshot. The man shook himself awake, grumpy at being disturbed before everything came into focus. Some little shit was standing six feet away, fistful of his scratch. His stupor turned into a sluggish rage as he stumbled off the stool and reached for air, Mizuki already having dove out of his reach and scrambling to recover. Unable to stop his forward momentum, the man continued stumbling, quickly covering ground as he grabbed for anything within sight to regain his balance. Quickly, the other two kids ran past the man, teasing him as they both split off in opposite directions.

Mizuki knew when it was time to keep running, and she wasn't chancing it; fat gonk or not. She had already turned several corners before going vertical. At only fourteen years old, she had proven herself a capable freerunner. She planted before taking a step forward and lunging up towards a wall. She turned, kicking off to a ledge on the opposite wall, pulling herself up. She climbed up another story on the outside of a cramped complex to be safe. As she scanned the ground below, she caught sight and sound of heavy breathing, the man grunting and gasping for air as he continued stumbling incoherently. Once he was around the bend, Miz hopped back down to the ground, smiling as she pulled up her hood and headed back the way she came, careful to avoid the same food vendor.

An hour later, all three kids met up at their usual spot. Mizuki's cheeky smirk hadn't left her face yet, and likely wouldn't for the rest of the day. One thousand eddies wasn't anything to scoff at. They had made their way to a clothing shop on an elevated walkway parallel to Pinewood Street. "Shop" was a loose definition; it was a series of clothing racks and crates of junk maintained by a Tyger Claw in a wheelchair. He was nice enough, always let the kids hang out, and kept a good stock. Mizuki was trying on hats in a mirror, flashing made up gang signs. The others were looking through shirts and a small collection of vinyl records. One of the kids was a slight young boy with light blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and soft features. Even though he was around the same age as Mizuki, he was considerably smaller in size. Miz called out ot him, "Hey Luca!"

He rolled his eyes as she was modeling yet another hat. The ganger running the shop joked with her, "You better not get any lice in my hats, kid! I might just have to get up out of this wheelchair."

Mizuki laughed as she placed the cap back on the rack. She was hungry and in the mood for scop ramen; she thought she'd treat the others as well. This little "crew" had been together for several months, pulling off "heists" all over Kabuki. It was mostly just pickpocketing and some petty theft, but they felt important, and in Night City, that wasn't nothing.

Their day took a turn for the worse as the drunk gonk from earlier yelled out, "There's the little shits that robbed me! Do something!"

He had two NCPD officers with him, both trying not to laugh at the fat rich guy getting rolled by a bunch of kids. They must have been bored, as they took to chasing the kids anyway. Miz and Luca were gone at the proverbial drop of a hat, the third kid took off in another direction altogether. Miz leapt at the concrete wall in front of her, planting her feet as she jumped onto a ledge above her and made her way to the nearest rooftop. Cops didn't get paid enough to climb the jungle gyms that were Kabuki apartment buildings.

From up high, she could see Luca navigating the walkways and alleys, turning here and leaping there. She tried to track his movements, hoping he'd be smart enough to lose the cops in the market roundabout. Luca was agile, quick, but he had a tendency to panic in situations like these, often finding himself backed into a corner. And he wasn't a fighter either. Mizuki could hold her own, but Luca was more sensitive.

She carefully but quickly leapt from roof to roof as she followed Luca's path, subconsciously trying to guide him. He was backing himself into a corner again. Mizuki scoffed as she called out, "Luca!! The Market!! Lose them in the Market!!!"

Luca's eyes flashed to hers for a second, and he finally made the right turn, heading down a cobblestone lane as the cops turned to follow. He went vertical, jumping up to a dumpster, then to a ledge, finally making his way to a fire escape. The cops stopped dead in their tracks, staring up from fifteen feet below and gasping for air. Finally, one of the cops pointed and said, "You'll get yours, you little shit! Not today, but soon!"

The other cop punched his partner's arm, "C'mon man, let's find some food."

Luca made his last jump up to a solid concrete path leading out to the Kabuki Roundabout, a smug smile on his face. Good looking out, Mizuki.

As he walked casually, trying to catch his breath, a tall body stepped out from behind a dumpster, holding a switchblade in his cybernetic right arm, eyes glowing in the shadow. After a moment, the body spoke in a raspy voice, "Looks like you rats have been causing trouble again", as he approached Luca, holding the knife out.

It didn't matter how well Luca did, he was once again backed into a corner with nowhere to run. He began to whimper, his back meeting the end of the alleyway as the man only got closer.

Out of nowhere, a figure fell from above like a cat, landing on the man's shoulders and grabbing his head. The weight was enough to send him reeling into a nearby wall as his face met brick. Mizuki had her legs wrapped under his shoulders, wailing away at the back of his head as he lost balance and finally collapsed to the ground. She recovered to her feet, kicking the blade from the man's hand as she turned to look at Luca, himself on the verge of tears. The man groaned and tried to look up before Mizuki planted a tactful foot in his face, the crunch sending a squirt of blood and several teeth flying into the alley. She looked back at Luca with narrowed eyes and said one word, "Run."

--

[Present day]

Miz leaned against the bar as she stepped off the stool, the memories rushing back. She stumbled for a second, but caught herself. Billy readied himself to go after her, but Pops gave him a gentle shake of his head. As he had learned, it was best to let Miz sort through these episodes on her own.

After a few seconds, she turned to Pops and said, "I know who Tooley's joytoy is."

This caught everyone by surprise, because until now, they'd likely forgotten there was even a joytoy in the mix. Pops' eyebrow raised in curiosity and he joked, "Well, don't keep us in suspense, Em."

Miz leaned against the bar, looking down as she tried to sort through it all in her head to make sense. She looked up and said, "The morning that he gave us the Waterfront job, he was fucking someone upstairs while we waited. The look that he gave us as he left, I'd seen that smug smile somewhere before; a long time ago."

Pops took a seat as Miz continued, "Before the TC's, there was a small group of kids I ran with in Kabuki. We used to get into all sorts of trouble; but there was one really soft and sweet kid among them. He was smart, but we wasn't tough like the rest of us. His name was Luca."

Pops cut in, "And you think that kid was the joytoy we saw the other day?"

Miz kept going, "He said he was someone close to Tooley, and when I asked him why he was helping us, he said that I had saved his life nine years ago, and this was his way of getting even."

Billy spoke up, "So what happened nine years ago?"

Miz chuckled, "We rolled some fat drunk 'Saka pig for a thousand eddies. We thought we were in the big leagues then. He found us later with a couple of NCPD fuzz, they gave chase. We got away, but Luca ran into some 'psycho in an alleyway looking to carve up kids. He was backed into a corner, so I jumped the guy, gave Luca a chance to run."

Billy asked again, "W-what happened after that?"

Pops' eyes narrowed as he already knew the answer. Nine years ago. Miz only confirmed it when she answered, "A few days later, I was brought to the local TC underboss and given a choice; I either work for the Claws, or I cut the shit right then and there. He said I was 'at the age where I had to make a choice that would determine the course my life would take'. I didn't see Luca again after that..."

Pops asked the obvious question for everyone else's benefit, "And that's who just warned you about H10?"

Miz sighed, "Yeah. Fucking unreal, man."

Pops smiled as he leaned in and joked, "Sounds like the Miz I know. Makes friends for life with her raw charm and protective instincts."

Miz laughed, as did the rest of the crew. Even V cracked a smile at the warmth of it all. She was still mulling the options in her head, her eyes flashing blue. Max was up to something as well, eyes flurried.

As V's eyes returned to normal, she addressed all five edgerunners at once, "The intel is accurate. He hasn't activated the block's wartime defense protocols yet, but he has locked down the entire building. Teams are sweeping floor by floor, and all entrances and exits are blocked off. There's no easy way in or out from the ground level without alerting someone."

Max spoke up, "Na' easy way, but dey is de utilities entrances."

V pointed a finger at Max as she said, "Exactly. H10 has several underground utilities' entrances from the sewer levels. The tunnels are tight, but someone small enough should be able to navigate inside."

All eyes turned to Miz and Max. After a second, Max's eyes returned to normal, and she said, "Na' can access de subnet. 's gone dark."

V continued, "Tooley's probably already got some serious ICE running through that building, meaning you'd have to jack in from a terminal inside the network to control anything to our advantage. Cameras, automated defense measures, blast doors if he goes that far."

Miz spoke up, "These sewer levels, how do we access them?"

V gave Miz a side-eye and a smirk, "Ain't going to be pretty, honey. There's a side road off Palm View, passes under the Watson Bridge to some rickety boat docks. There's several large drainage pipes dumping in the harbor next to these docks. That's your ingress point. The pipes should run more or less directly to the underground levels of H10."

Pops took a turn, "Tooley doesn't miss details. What's the chances those tunnels are unguarded?"

V confirmed his suspicions, "Very low, but that's where the rest of the crew comes in. We have 3 above-ground ingress points; main entrance, parking garage, and the NCART station."

Ky interjected, "Woah, NCART's a bust. Enclosed space like that with no cover, it's a meat grinder."

V nodded, "Agreed. Our best option is three two-man teams. First team engages on the main entrance, street level. Diversion only, draw as many bodies as possible into a concentration point so everywhere else is spread thin. Second team approaches from the Ferris Boulevard bridge at the top level of the parking deck. They'll expect a ground strike, so the upper levels will be less guarded, especially with the main strike in front. Work your way down from the top to the elevators. Third team takes the tunnels, works their way in through the utilities entrances to restore control of the building. Once that's done, they can work their way up from the inside."

Billy said what everyone was thinking, "Tunnels are going to have to be Max and Miz, right? Nobody else can fit in those corridors."

Miz and Max both agreed, everyone else nodded as Billy continued, "So that leaves Pops, Ky, and me. And you're calling for two other two-man teams?"

V smirked as she stepped forward proudly, "Maybe you forget, but H10 used to be my home, too."

This even caught Rogue's and Claire's attention, as their eyes both went wide along with everyone else's. Not to say V wasn't willing or able, but she hadn't taken part in a job herself since the Crystal Palace.

Pops couldn't help himself, "Now, you said whatever we need, and if it comes to that, I'm willin' to take you at your word; but takin' up arms with a crew you barely know?"

V laughed as she looked down, "I've made bigger gonk moves, believe it. Half of them got me where I am today. But I did my homework on you, Phoenix. You're an honest man who looks after his chooms no matter what. Reyes can't say enough good things about you and everyone on your crew. You even left an impression on Rogue years ago that she remembers you to this day. Your netrunner carried major hate for two years and still saw reason enough to hear me out. Plus, your shinobi reminds me a little bit of someone around here."

Everyone blushed as V continued, "As far as throwing my weight behind someone, there are worse crews to back."

Pops tried to come up with something to maintain his cool, but he choked on the sentiment and instead gave a sincere, "Thank you."

V nodded, "Now, obviously you can't go home. The building above us is a hotel. We have rooms, and can put you up if needed.

Pops politely refused, "We wouldn't want to impose. Got a space off Kennedy and Duzois that Lex doesn't know about. We can park it there for the time being."

V chided with a smirk, "It's not an imposition if I'm offering. Your lockup is too close to ground zero. Lex will have goons on the street in a matter of hours. This is neutral territory, you'll be safe here."

Pops wanted to protest, but V cut him off, "Please, Phoenix, I insist."

Pops resisted as he looked over at his crew, "I'm not lookin' for charity on this. I'm not lookin' to be in someone else's pocket. We do this job, we do it our way, on our terms. That's why you're hiring us."

V couldn't help herself as she said, "So you're accepting the job?"

Pops smiled as he stuck his hand out. V smiled back, and they shook on it as she said, "At least let us give you a ride back. That way you're not exposed."

He conceded with a sincere nod.

--

[A few hours later]

Pops pulled a stack of blankets from a nearby closet, laying one at the edge of each cot. While the hotel rooms likely would have been more comfortable, and offered more privacy, the lockup gave them the tactical advantage of familiar turf, and that was worth more than anything. They already knew all the angles to watch and all the ingress and egress points.

V was gracious enough to volunteer herself as an extra body, along with 4 other crew from the Afterlife to provide cover. What was supposed to be an execution gig had quickly become a full assault on a veritable fortress.

Nobody was happy about the situation, they would all much rather be sleeping in their own beds. Max had grown accustomed to sleeping in Ky's arms, and given more time, Miz and Billy would probably be in the same boat.

At V's insistence, the edgerunners all agreed to cool off for 24 hours before attempting the job. Tooley's goons were likely on high alert this early on, but after a few shift changes, they'd start to get comfortable, lazy even.

As they were all settling in for the evening, a holocall rang in Pops' head, followed by V's voice, "Hanging in there?"

Pops smirked, "Hello, Ms. V."

V rebuked him, "Just V."

Pops was committed to having his bit of fun, "Hello, just V."

He could hear her laughing from the other side as she continued, "Really wish you would have taken me up on the hotel rooms. Would make it a lot easier to keep an eye out for you."

Pops played into his age as he answered, "Oh, well you know; old dog and all. I'm set in my ways."

"Could you stop being such a fucking gonk cowboy for 10 seconds?!", V fired back, "God, I don't know what it is about you that has Rogue all bent."

Pops laughed out loud at this, drawing the attention of everyone else in the room. After a few seconds, he said, "All fun aside, I really appreciate everythin' you're doing for us. And for the opportunity."

V reassured him, "It's amazing what common interests can do for a flowering relationship."

Pops juked on V, "I suppose I should quit wastin' your time. What can I do for you?"

He had caught her off-guard, and she stumbled with her words for a second, "Oh... no... I wanted to check in, make sure the crew all got to lockup safe and sound. Also wanted to remind you that it's best to lay low, keep your heads down. Don't leave the lockup if you can help it."

Pops gently chided her, "Ain't my first rodeo, darlin'."

V could feel her cheeks burning. Now she understood where Rogue was coming from as she continued, "W-we'll talk in the morning, finalize a plan. For now, get some sleep."

Pops nodded as he said, "You too, V. Sleep tight."

--

Tooley stood, leaning over his desk. He had a half-empty bottle of Donaghy's close by, with an empty glass next to it. His jaw was clenched, eyes full of fire. It had been almost 6 hours, and no trace of Pops or his crew had been found yet. Tooley's men were able to lock down and seal off the block in less than an hour, and all of the residential levels had been swept. And yet, the only calls Tooley had received all night were to inform him that they had found nothing. In his mind, this was tantamount to failure, and failure was unacceptable.

His spiral was interrupted by someone bursting through the doors and yelling, "Mr. Tooley, we may have something!"

Tooley said bluntly, "Out with it then", as he took his seat.

The goon continued, "An informant outside of the Afterlife spotted Phoenix Gray and his crew entering around 20:00."

Tooley was unimpressed, "How fortuitous, that they were gone from the block altogether. Where are they now?"

The goon hesitated before answering, "W-we don't know. We lost contact with him shortly after that."

Tooley's jaw clenched further as he rebuked the goon, "And nobody thought to check up on him?"

The goon looked down as he said, "Scavs dumped his body at the main entrance stairs 10 minutes ago. They ripped out his Kiroshi's, but left everything else. It doesn't make sense."

Tooley kept looking forward as he said, "They're sending a message. Do you know what it means?"

The goon shook his head as Tooley locked eyes with him and continued, "It means we should fear that which we cannot see coming."

--

Billy stirred awake, his eyes focusing to the dark room; his HUD read 03:23. The room was silent, save for a few light snores from the others. Even the ambient noise of the city was seemingly absent. So why was he awake? He sat up quietly and shook his head, his eyes finally adjusting. He glanced over at Miz, admiring how peaceful she looked in her sleep. He smiled, wanting nothing more than to scoot up next to her and hold her tight. Unfortunately, the cots only fit one body, and they had no privacy.

He was distracted by the smell of a freshly lit cigarette from the other room. He carefully stepped up from the cot, navigating his way to the door of the side room. Pops was sitting in a chair, looking out the window, keeping watch. He looked over to see Billy standing in the doorway as he smiled, taking a drag of the cigarette. He seemed almost sad in a way. It was a look Billy had never seen from Pops before, and his gut sank from it.

Pops motioned him over as he held up a softpack with a cigarette shaken loose. Billy smiled, walking up to grab the cigarette as he took a chair across from Pops and lit up. With a soft chuckle, he whispered, "You know, they used to tell us in school that these things would kill us."

Pops smiled again as he held up his own cigarette and said, "If you get to the age where this is what kills you, may as well have won the damn lottery."

Billy smiled back as he took a drag and exhaled. Pops asked him, "Can't sleep?"

Billy shook his head, "Nah, I've never slept well in new places. Hell, it was three days before I finally slept a full night when I first moved into H10."

Pops nodded, "First time away from home, from everythin' you've ever known. It can take a toll at first."

Billy tried not to think about it as he asked, "What about you?"

Pops smirked, and answered like a true cowboy, "Hard to sleep much with one eye open. Perks of a chosen profession. Never sleep more 'an a few hours at a time."

From the other room, Miz stirred at the sounds of their voices, focusing her ears to listen as she kept her eyes closed.

Pops looked down before he caught Billy off-guard with a question, "You've never killed anyone, have you?"

Billy nearly choked on the smoke, trying to keep from coughing. After a few seconds of agony, he muscled the cough down as he locked eyes with Pops. He knew he couldn't bullshit the man. He shook his head as he answered, "No. Those gangers at the Red Dirt were as close as I've come."

To his surprise, Pops was happy to hear that, "Good. Keep it that way as long as you can."

Billy cocked his head, puzzled and curious, as Pops continued, "It's a hell of a thing, to live with another man's blood on your hands. Your first time, you think you'll never get rid of the stains. After a while, you just stop tryin'."

Billy leaned forward, trying to look Pops in the eye. There were tears forming at the edges. It broke his heart to see Pops like this as he asked, "Pops... are you alright?"

Pops quickly looked back out the window as his voice cracked, "I-I should have taken Em away from all this, from this city. I n-never should have let her know this life. Look what it's all come to..."

Billy tried his best to comfort Pops, but what could he really say, "Hey, you can't blame yourself for Night City. You both had to make a choice to survive. Nobody can blame you for that."

Pops looked him in the eyes as he said, "It's a choice she should have never had to make."

They were both surprised as Miz called out from the doorway, "But it was my choice. And I'd make it again, and again, and again."

Pops cut to Miz, trying to dry his eyes, as she continued, "You know that I'd be dead if it weren't for you. If we'd crossed Wakako, we'd both be dead. If we hadn't gone after Kenji, we'd both be dead. Billy's right, we both made our choices to survive. And I'd make it again if it meant I got to be right here with you. With both of you."

Billy's eyes shot up at that. He followed Miz as she walked over to Pops, leaning over and wrapping her arms over his shoulders. He sniffled as he placed his hand over hers. Billy felt himself welling up at the warmth of it all as he said, "So that's that. Every one of us made a conscious choice to be exactly where we are. And I'll bet you Ky and Max would make that same choice again too."

Pops smiled as he thumbed away the tears in his eyes. After a few seconds, he said, "So that's that?"

Billy laughed, "Plain and simple. As plain and simple as the fact that in 18 hours, we're going to unleash serious hate and take back what's ours."

There was a spark in Billy's eye, Pops recognized it. Just because he hadn't killed anyone yet didn't mean he was going to hesitate when the time came. Pops could see it clear as day; the pup was ready to go. Miz picked up on it too, as their hands instinctively tightened around one another's.

After a few seconds, Pops chuckled and gave Billy a nod, "Yeah, well, I guess I won my own lottery with all of you, didn't I?"

--