Some people would tell you Night City was named in memory of its founder, Richard Night, to honor his memory and legacy of creating a truly "free" city during the tumultuous "Collapse" of the mid-1990s. Others would tell you it's because there are some parts of the city where the sun just doesn't shine. Whether from interwoven streets and overpasses all layered on top of each other, or the sheer size and proliferation of the mega-metropolis' massive skyscrapers and megabuildings as far as the eye could see, in some places your only hope for light was a polluted neon glow illuminating the darkness. For those lucky (or wealthy) enough to crawl out of the seedy undercity, the sunrises and sunsets were just one of life's little luxuries each day.
[08:00]
The morning sun was creeping over the manmade horizon of highrise towers in the distance, the polluted haze giving it shades of brown and green. The smartglass panes encompassing the penthouse suite adapted to the rays of light pouring in, dimming themselves to provide the perfect ambience without offending the eyes. Four bodies stood in the centered expanse of the suite around a large dining table, waiting impatiently.
Miz leaned against the table, her hands fidgeting in the pockets of a half-zipped hooded cropped sweater. Her eyes kept darting around, but specifically returning to glance at the large hired muscle standing by the cargo elevator at the rear of the penthouse, who was watching their every move. A few feet away, Pops was standing upright, arms crossed, brow furrowed in contemplation. Ky had availed himself of a large syn-leather couch, feet imprudently perched on the faux-wood coffee table. Across the expanse, Max, the crew's netrunner, was leaning against the kitchen island. She was careful to keep her head turned away from the large man, eyes flashing blue as she scanned every inch of the penthouse, meticulously cataloguing everything her Kiroshi optics found.
Maxine LaGuerre, aka "Max", or "m@dm@x" on the Net, a netrunner from Pacifica. Formerly of the Voodoo Boys, and illegitimate daughter of the late Wilky "Slider" LaGuerre, a famed netrunner turned FIA informant who died unceremoniously in Dogtown two years prior. They weren't ever close, but her father's name had followed her everywhere for better or worse. Having been born in Pacifica in the late 2040s, she was spared the horror her fellow compatriots witnessed as climate change wiped their home country of Haiti off the face of the Earth. Max wasn't one for many words, preferring to let her raw talent speak for itself. Like her father, becoming a top 'runner in the VDB ranks, she was lucky enough to be on another job when Netwatch massacred the rest of Maman Brigitte's crew with the help of a Night City "Legend" in 2077. Max harbored some resentment for this, as the same Legend was also involved in her father's death, but such things were just a fact of life for those who chose to live on the Edge in this "City of Dreams".
A holocall rang silently between the four crewmembers. Ky spoke up first, "Man, it's way too early for this shit."
Miz spoke next, "Awww, did the poor baby not get enough beauty-sleep?"
A single hand raised past the couch with an erect middle finger loud and proud. Miz chuckled before continuing, "Hey Max, you, uh, you casing the joint? Eyes are going crazy, babe."
The flashing blue in Max's eyes intensified as she answered in her heavy Creole accent, "Seem 's pertinent if shi' go down, we have un way otta dis mess."
Pops chimed in, "Good thinkin', Max", as he made his way over to the kitchen counter, eyes deadset on a coffee machine, a small luxury in Night City, as he continued, "True, Tooley's never had all of us in one room before, but if he had ill intentions... well, 's not like we're hard to get to."
Pops had a point, they could all agree on that. A major factor that brought this crew together was they all lived on the lower levels of Watson's "H10" megablock, a massive 60-story arcology situated in the Little China sub-district; one of 12 identical structures across Night City. The complex provided housing for 128,000 residents, over 90% living below the poverty line, and this didn't include the sizable homeless population squatting in the publicly accessible ground floors. Besides apartments, the block hosted a myriad of storefronts, restaurants, cart vendors, and other services. The block was its own self-contained city within a city. And the crown jewel at the top? A 2-story penthouse suite rivaling the mansions in the hills of Westbrook's North Oak. This penthouse was Alexander Tooley's base of operations as a mid-level "fixer" in Night City. From this perch, he ruled over Megabuilding H10 with an iron fist. No business, legitimate or otherwise, was conducted on H10's grounds without his knowledge or approval. And for that privilege, he got a taste of everything.
The penthouse was decorated in a mix of new and old, with black metal, syn-leather and dark-finished faux-wood adorning most of the furniture and accents. One entire wall was covered in bookshelves surrounding a large flatscreen panel TV, but no books. Real paper books were a rarity, often only preserved in the few remaining public libraries around City Center. Instead of books, the shelves were adorned with personal odds and ends; small framed pictures of people shaking hands, smiling, dressed in Corpo suits, awards in shiny metal and crystal glass, and other items of seemingly "spiritual" significance. One item of note that caught everyone's eye was a conspicuous safe with biometric locks mounted in the wall below the TV.
Pops carefully pulled 4 white ceramic cups over, placing one under the coffee machine's spout and pressing the button to activate. Within a few seconds, the machine sprang to life and began spitting a dark liquid. Steam rose from the machine as the faint smell of Continental Brands "Real" Instant Coffee filled the air. The machine buzzed and the spout stopped. Pops moved the filled cup out of the way and replaced with a second empty cup, pressing the button again. A small panel indicator on the machine ticked down from 17 to 16 as the second cup filled. He turned to face Max, holding out the full cup, which she accepted with a light smile, eyes still a flurry of activity. Second cup finished, he replaced with a third before bringing the second full cup over to Ky, who spoke up in the holocall, "Pardon me, garçon? My croissant?"
Smirk on his face, Pops made his way back to the coffee machine, replacing the third full cup with the last empty cup and pressing the button for the last time. Once finished, he carried both cups over to where Miz was still leaning against the table, and offered her one. She accepted, "Thanks, Pops."
Miz brought the cup carefully to her lips, blowing lightly before taking a small sip of the dark liquid. Her eyes closed for a moment as her head rolled to the side, eyes shooting open as she uttered a quiet, "mmm". Real coffee; that was tall cotton, as Pops would say.
Ky spoke up in the holocall, "So really, what's so damn important that Tooley ordered us all up here at the same time this early in the morning?"
Max added, "Go'ta be somet'ing beeg, das fo' sure. Scans no picking up no'ting."
The relative silence in the room was broken by grunting and moaning from two distant, distinct male voices emanating from behind closed grandiose double doors reaching from floor to ceiling on the second story; one voice masculine and gruff, the other more effeminate, both equally enthusiastic. Ky's eyebrows raised with a smirk as he, and everyone else, turned to look at the closed doors. The grunts continued, and Ky, unable to help himself, quipped in the holocall, "I guess they call him 'Alexander' for a reason, huh?"
A not-so-subtle reference to an old Greek king known for his love of young males in his entourage.
With a long and drawn-out exclamation from both voices, the noise ceased, followed by indistinguishable conversation. At last, the heavy doors swung open. First to exit was a petite young man with tan skin and a tousled platinum blonde faux-hawk; his soft face had the smeared remains of pink lipstick and he was scantily clad in a black fishnet crop-top, denim shorts cut off and barely covering his backside, and stylish hot-pink kick sneakers. The hot-pink handbag under his arm was the proverbial cherry on top. He made his way quickly down the stairs and past the four pairs of eyes glued to him as he flashed a smug look of satisfaction. The large man pushed open the gates of the elevator, directing the boy inside, then closing the gates behind him. As the elevator began to rumble to life, Miz looked up and over at the boy, who smirked and gave her a finger wave as his faced descended out of view. She knew his face, but from where?
A second figure emerged from the double doors, folded in a gaudy gold-tinted syn-silk robe with bedroom slippers. A face matching the pictures on the bookshelves, he was noticeably older than the boy and bore much more masculine features; a chiseled jaw masked by a full dark beard and a toned and muscular build, strong legs showing from beneath the robe. His hair was almost identical to the boy's, but more coiffed, owing to his desire to appear as stylish and cultured. A renaissance man, if you will.
As the man descended down the stairs, Pops stepped forward and nodded, "Mornin', 'Lex."
Always putting the best foot forward, Miz thought to herself, A true gentleman to the end.
The man nodded and answered in a gruff but refined voice, "I have to thank you all for being here so early and on such short notice," he looked at the coffee cups in everyone's hands, and at Ky lounging on the couch, "I see you've already availed yourselves of the amenities my humble abode has to offer."
Max stopped her scan, eyes returning to their 'ganic dark brown. Pops furrowed his brow for a moment before straightening his back and replied, "Apologies for the indiscretion, Lex. I might just be a backwater nomad, but time's I remember a man invited people into his home this early in the morning, fresh coffee was a cordiality."
"A quaint custom from a simpler time, I'm sure", Tooley smirked, "Nonetheless, let's proceed. Mr. Gray and Ms. Hasegawa, I already know. For the rest of you, my name is Alexander Tooley, and I am your gracious benefactor in these uncertain times of our great city."
"Tooley?! More like a FUCKING TOOL!", Ky remarked over the still-open holocall. Miz had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from cracking a smile.
Tooley continued, "What I have for you today is a tremendous opportunity, albeit of a time-sensitive nature. I trust you are all familiar with the Arasaka incident from two years ago?"
Everyone in Night City (and then some) knew about the "Arasaka Incident". Depending on who you ask, you'll get a different story. One story is that a "crazy" solo Edgerunner stormed Arasaka Tower with the relic of a psychotic terrorist rockerboy in her brain giving the orders. Another story is that of someone beating Night City at its own game against all odds and becoming a legend in the process. A third less popular story would tell you it was nothing more than a tragic cyberpsychosis incident. No matter which story you chose to believe, the fact of the matter is that the largest Corp in the world was brought to its knees in a single night by a single person. In the weeks that followed and the ensuing chaos, billions of dollars in protected assets went missing. Within two years of this, Arasaka was once again forced to fold its Night City operations, at least on paper, leaving the door open for Biotechnica to take it's place.
Everyone in the room nodded in affirmation as Tooley continued, "Since Arasaka closed its NC operations, the black market has been flooded with stolen Arasaka tech. Weapons, cyberware, software, you name it. I have been provided reliable intel sourcing a Scav operation here in Watson as a major distribution relay point for these ill-gotten goods."
That got the crew's attention. Tooley flicked his wrist towards the table against which Miz was leaning, bringing up a holographic heads-up display. She jumped away and turned to look at the "screen" with everyone else. This was even enough to stir Ky from the couch. All four edgerunners gathered around the table as Tooley stood across, facing them as he gestured and continued speaking, "Now, do not mistake your purpose here. This is not some smash and grab operation for stolen goods. We are not interested in 'missing' Arasaka tech, not at this juncture. What we are after is the data residing on a server inside the facility. I am told this data holds a map and schedule of the entire Scav distribution network throughout Night City. They are using this network to safely and discreetly move product between locations as they source buyers and sellers."
Ky could not help himself, "So, what you're tellin' me is... Scavs ain't scavvin' anymore?"
Max almost shouted in the holocall, "Fèmen dyol ou, enbesil!!!" (Shut your mouth, imbecile!!!)
Tooley glanced at Ky with disinterest before continuing, "The timing of this venture is of utmost importance. Once the product is moved to the next relay point, the operation is temporarily folded. The Scavs have become quite adept at making sure no traces are left behind. This includes the servers on which your objective resides."
At this point, Pops leaned in on the table, glancing down briefly before locking eyes with Tooley. He noticed Tooley's eyes were slightly hazed over with a green tint as he spoke, "I don't know, Lex. Trackin' stolen corpo-tech? Distribution and logistics? Sounds to me like whoever's feedin' you this intel wants to wrap up the whole operation in one go. Unless someone's got a penchant against scavs, and hell who doesn't; this doesn't sound like they're tryin' to muscle in on the business. Sounds like a corp wants this tech in bulk to reverse engineer. This reeks of Biotechnica."
Miz picked up on Pops' tell; an unconscious mustache twitch. Gotta ask about that later.
Tooley's face hid nothing, but he nonetheless retained his stiff composure, "Who and why, Mr. Gray, are simply not your concern. What is your concern is the matter of pay; one hundred thousand eurodollars to split amongst yourselves."
Def a corpo gig; Pops was right; hell, he always is, Miz thought.
Tooley signaled for the bodyguard standing by the elevator. Pops stood back from the table and crossed his arms, pinging the holocall, "Well? How 'bout it?"
Miz answered first, "Money's good, as long as the intel is."
Followed by Max, "Can likely jack in thwu un access point on ex'erior wall. Easy in, easy ot. Wi."
And Ky, "Let's rock and roll, baby."
Miz nearly vomited a little in her mouth.
The bodyguard walked in and stood next to Tooley, his massive back towards the edgerunners. Tooley leaned back, turned his head towards the bodyguard, and with two fingers concealing his mouth whispered, "Send Billy up, please."
The bodyguard nodded and raised a finger to his ear as he left, deep voice trailing, "Yeah, it's me. Boss wants to see the new kid... send him up... alright..."
Thus came the next question from Pops to Tooley, "Any job constraints?"
"Well, we would always prefer a clean in and out", Tooley gently chided, "But we also understand that scavs can be... unreasonable at best. Your methods and rules of engagement are yours to decide."
The elevator rumbled to a stop, the bodyguard pushing the sliding doors open. Billy walked in to the expanse of the penthouse, looking nervous as ever. It was his first time in the boss's home. He walked into the kitchen and cautiously took his place in the background, everyone else paying him no heed.
Pops pursed his lips while measuring up the scenario. After a few seconds, he said, "Well, sounds to me like all we need's a where and a when, maybe a how-many if you're feelin' generous."
The rest of the crew smiled, as did Tooley. With a flick of his wrist, the HUD changed to a map of Watson's Arasaka Waterfront subdistrict as he answered, "As for the time, it needs to happen tonight, midnight to be exact. The Scavs will be cleared out by morning, so we must strike tonight. I... apologize for the short notice. As for body count, I don't have an exact figure, but my sources tell me to expect no more than 30 hostiles."
The smiles subsided as Miz's eyes went wide in shock and she said out loud, "Oh FUCK no!"
Billy jumped a bit at this. He'd only been on the crew a month, but even he knew you don't speak out of turn with Alexander Tooley.
Tooley's eyes locked on Miz, "Now now, there's no need for unpleasant outbursts. I assure you the entire situation is manageable."
Miz's arms were now rigid at her side, fists clenched as she stared down Tooley. Raiding Arasaka Waterfront with less than a day to plan was about as stupid a move as you could make, and everyone in the room, including Tooley, knew that.
Pops pinged a private holocall to Miz, apart from the rest of the crew, "Bad move, Em... I know it's not ideal, but this is a meal ticket to something greater..."
Miz's jaw clenched for a moment before she eased up, fists uncurling. Tooley raised a wary eyebrow as his eyes shifted over to Pops and said, "You might want to leash your little stray before she goes fully feral."
That's FUCKING it!, Miz thought as she started to round the table before Pops calmly caught her arm and reeled her back into place. Between short shallow breaths, she spat at Tooley, "You want to see feral, come find me in the ring! I'll ruin your whole fucking day!"
At this point, the bodyguard had stepped forward, hand on his iron if things escalated any further. Billy stood wide-eyed looking at Miz face off with possibly the most powerful man in Little China like it was nothing. At this point, he wondered if he should have brought his iron as well.
Arms still interlocked, Pops clenched his jaw as he looked Miz in the eye. It was the look. She couldn't even keep eye contact with him when he gave her that look. Focusing her breath to a calm rhythm, she loosened up and looked down and away. Pops could feel her body ease up, and he cautiously let go.
Tooley couldn't help himself but give a light applause as he teased, "This... this is quite touching, Phoenix..."
Pops turned to face Tooley, jaw still clenched, "All due respect, Lex, but you keep carryin' on, I just might not be able to hold her back much longer. Cross that line if you want. Or can we collect ourselves and get back to business?"
Who ARE these guys?!, Billy thought. His jaw felt like it was on the floor. The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. He was now kicking himself for not having brought his iron.
The persisting smirk on Tooley's face left as he clenched his jaw and stared Pops down for what felt like a very long time. After a while, the light returned, and Tooley spoke up, "Ah, one small detail, a stipulation for the job", he signaled to Billy to step forward, "A five-man team has been mandated from on high."
Billy walked around the crew, taking care to steer clear of Miz as he stepped in place next to Tooley, and sheepishly waved.
Ky couldn't contain himself any longer. He looked Billy up and down and turned to Tooley, "Hey, uh, boss? This kid even have hair on his balls yet? Last I checked, we're not a daycare."
Tooley retorted, "I'm sure he must look very young to all of you experienced edgerunners. Yes, he is a new addition to my crew, but I assure you he is every bit as capable as you need him to be. He will perform. And count your blessings; I highly doubt you can find a reliable 5th man for this job with less than 16 hours now to prepare."
Pops asked the question that was on everyone's minds, "His cut comes from our pay?"
Tooley answered, "No. Seeing as the boy is my responsibility, I will compensate him separately for the work performed."
Pops pinged the crew's holocall, "Look, he's not going to back down from this. Not sure what his play is, but an extra mouth that we don't have to feed? Where's the harm?"
No answers. Pops continued, "As long as he can look after himself, I can't see the harm in an extra set of hands."
"Excellent, then it's decided", Tooley exclaimed, flashing everyone Billy's contact details.
Tooley walked briskly to the wall of smartglass, a seamless sliding door revealing itself as he walked onto the deck and into the sunlight. Dropping his robe, he left nothing to the imagination. That was everyone's cue. Time to get gone. As the four edgerunners turned to leave, Tooley gave his final words for this meeting, "Oh, and to the imprudent filth who had his feet on my coffee table", Tooley turned, baring all with no kindess left in his face, "If I ever catch you treating me with such disrespect again, I will fill your lungs with Slo-Mo and toss you off this roof; let Sir Isaac Newton sort out all of your problems. Do we understand each other?"
Ky gave an incredulous smile as he turned to leave, but not before running his hand up and down Billy's cheek and laughing, "Heh, he's adorable, you guys!"
As the crew filed out one behind another, Miz turned at the last moment to find Billy's eyes stuck on her. She narrowed her eyes at him, and he quickly looked away. The bodyguard was still cautious of the crew, hand on his iron, but he used his free hand to push open the gates to the elevator, motioning everyone to board. All four edgerunners in the cage, the gates were shut closed in front of them. As the elevator began to descend, Miz noticed again that Billy was still staring in her direction.
With the elevator safely out of sight, Tooley called out, "Billy?"
Billy turned, trying to not stare as Tooley approached him, still fully nude. Tooley spoke again, "Oh come now, you're not my type. So... how are the new Kiroshis?"
Billy stuttered slightly, "T-they're perfect, Mr. Tooley, thank you."
"No issues adjusting?", Tooley asked, feigning genuine concern. Billy shook his head, and Tooley continued, heading towards the safe, "Good, because I have a task for you on this job. Those Kiroshi optics are not your standard model. They have an embedded recording functionality. I want you to monitor Phoenix Gray's team closely, particularly the young stray. She is a problem."
Billy already didn't like what he was being asked to do, but knew better than to cross Lex Tooley this early in his career. Tooley unlocked the safe and pulled out a single data shard, securing the safe and turning to walk back. Standing directly in front of Billy, he held up the shard, "Head up and to the left please."
Billy obliged, and Tooley slotted the shard in one of two sockets behind his right ear as he continued, "This is a high-capacity data shard, capable of storing up to 72 hours of recorded footage. We can't risk a direct-link broadcast. That netrunner of theirs is too talented, she'd trace the signal immediately. So instead, you will record and dump to the shard. Then, when you are safely back in your apartment, you can transfer the data to me over a secured link from your terminal. Is that clear?"
Billy hesitated for a moment. Tooley reassured him, placing his hands on Billy's shoulders, "Billy, you are meant for great things. I am helping you pave a way to achieving them in this clusterfuck of a city. Do you understand me?"
Billy focused and locked eyes, "P-perfectly, Mr. Tooley."
Tooley smiled, "Good lad. Be safe, and be seeing you."
--
In the elevator, the edgerunners stood in somewhat stunned silence by the events that had occurred over the last hour. Holocall still open, Ky took the opportunity to break the awkward silence, "Was that... did Tooley have a Mr. Stud—"
Miz cut him off, "REALLY don't want to think about it, Ky."
Max mirrored her earlier statement, "Enbesil."
Pops agreed with Max, "Yeah, I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing that."
Ky started again, "Yeah, but don't you feel like a hole you once had is now filled?"
Pops quipped back, "GOD, I miss Falco. At least he knew when to shut up."
Everyone shared a laugh at Ky's expense as he lightly punched Pops in the arm. Miz stood silent for a moment, mulling her thoughts and finding words. Finally, she spoke again, "Hey, anyone see the new kid staring at us like we were the next big thing since Us Cracks?"
Pops shifted uneasily at this comment, "By my eyes, he was only looking at you, Em..."
Ky again, "Yeah, I don't know if you've looked in a mirror lately, Miz. You're hot."
"I'm not going to fuck you, Ky. We've been over this.", Miz chuckled.
Ky fired back, "Good, I prefer my dick in one piece."
Pops and Max were both facepalming at this point as they said in unison, "SHUT UP!"
--