See the World Through New Eyes

What the fuck are you doing?!

The door slid shut behind Miz. With a deep sigh, she rounded the corner and made her way down the hall toward the atrium gates. Pops was leaning against them and smoking a cigarette. As he caught Miz out of the corner of his eye, he dropped the butt and stamped it under his boot, turning to face her with a smirk. She rolled her eyes and walked past him as he shrugged his eyebrows and chuckled to himself, turning to follow.

As they both boarded the elevator, Miz took to one corner, almost standing in shame as Pops stood slightly off-center. She was avoiding eye contact as he looked over at her before looking down at this own shoes, then raising his eyes back to level.

The silence was driving Miz insane. She finally caved, "It's not what you think."

Pops smiled, "Didn't say a word."

Miz snapped back, blushing deep red and stepping up next to him, "Yeah, well fucking say something, man!"

Pops kept poking, "You say it's not what I think; what I think is it looks like you were givin' the pup the ride of his life."

"Oh fuck you", Miz laughed, cheeks still hot.

Pops broke into a full laugh before he finally relented, "Em, you're fully grown now. You don't have to rationalize to me or anyone else who you take for a ride."

Miz asked, "Then why is this so embarrassing?!"

"Gettin' caught, or that it was him? That's between you and the wall to figure out", Pops chided before looking down at her bare feet, "Hmm, he do so well that you forgot shoes?"

Miz exhaled with a smile, "He's... got potential. But no, this is a calculated move."

"If you say so... so, you like him?", Pops replied, smirk creeping up again.

Miz looked down, not even sure herself, "He saved my life, twice in one hour. If he hadn't been there, I'd be... anyway, I needed to blow off steam. And after the whole shard thing..."

Pops finished her sentence for her, "He's got an honest heart. He made a hard choice this mornin', but he's stickin' to his guns on it, no matter what... so, if you had to do it again?"

Miz looked down again with no answer, but a slight smile cracked and her cheeks flushed. Fuck. I'm in trouble, aren't I?

Pops smiled, because he'd seen that look before. A long time ago...

After a moment, he spoke again, "You know, while we were waitin' on Max, he asked me about your mom's tattoo."

Miz's eyes shot up to Pops, "W-what did you tell him?"

"The truth", Pops continued, "That it's not my story to tell."

Miz's eyes went soft and slightly misty as she turned away.

It was another minute before Miz broke the silence, her tone heartfelt, "Thanks, Pops..."

He shot back, "I don't know what for, but you're welcome."

In an instant, Pops felt Miz grab him from the side, giving him a squeeze. He smiled, placing his arm around her for a few seconds before they both let go.

The elevator eventually came to a halt. A wall of a man in a corpo suit stepped in front, verifying the guests before sliding open the cage doors. With a sarcastic tone, he spoke in the same deep muscular voice from the call to Pops earlier, "So kind of you to clear your schedules on such short notice."

Miz took the lead, walking past the man without looking at him and said, "Bite me."

Pops followed out with a shrug and a chuckle. They entered through similar atrium gates as the other levels in the megabuilding, being met with two out-of-place heavy faux-wooden doors adorned in brass fixtures and accents. Another wall of a man in a similar suit stepped in front of them before opening the double doors, revealing an ornate office, the style matching Tooley's penthouse suite. A wall of smartglass panes wrapped around the office, light pouring in from all sides. As Pops proceeded to walk in, a heavy hand against his shoulder stopped him, followed by another deep voice, "No weapons in the office."

Not breaking his gaze, Pops spoke firmly, "Try and take it from me."

"That will be all Samuel, thank you", rang out Tooley's voice from inside the office. The bouncer turned, lowered his head in affirmation and stepped aside, allowing Pops and Miz to enter before closing the doors behind them.

Tooley was facing the windows, looking out over the Watson Bridge and across the water into Japantown. From this high up, it was quite a view to take in. He was considerably more put together than when they had last met. His hair was meticulously styled, beard almost manicured. He wore a pressed white button-down shirt under a golden vest, the shirt tucked into pleated black slacks with pinstriping to match his vest, and polished black Oxford-style shoes. Gaudy and obnoxious, to say the least, but it was a symbol of status in Tooley's mind that he dress like the Corpos he wanted so desperately to rub elbows with.

Turning to face Miz and Pops, Tooley gave a disingenuous smile and said, "Fine morning in our City of Dreams, wouldn't you say?", while directing their attention to a large flatscreen TV on a far wall where Gillean Jordan was once again discussing their exploits in the Arasaka Waterfront.

Pops stood in the middle of the room while Miz marched right over to Tooley's desk, kicking back a lounge chair with disregard before crashing into it and perching her now filthy bare feet on his solid desk. It had all the imprudence of a small child throwing a tantrum, but anyone who knew Miz knew there was a method to the madness. She had a gift for getting under people's skin, putting them off their guard. Tooley leaned on his desk, trying to maintain his composure as he looked at Miz and said, "I trust you heard my words to your associate yesterday regarding the disrespect of me or my property?"

Giving no emotion or response, Miz locked eyes with Tooley as she lit a cigarette hanging in her mouth, drawing in and exhaling smoke before stretching out comfortably in the chair. Crossing her legs on the desk, she began to curl her toes repeatedly, moving her head to the side, narrowing her eyes and biting her bottom lip to gauge Tooley's response.

Bingo. Nerve struck. Tooley's jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. Miz didn't break eye contact, even as Pops walked forward and stood behind her. He always had her back.

After a tense few moments, Tooley regained his smile and spoke, "There's no need for ugliness here. I simply want to check on how my assignment for your team went."

You smug shit, thought Miz as she took a drag and exhaled before speaking, "Oh you know, it was textbook; a fixer high on his own supply gives 4 edgerunners a job, blatantly lies to their faces about the particulars, and drops them into a FUCKING COMBAT ZONE!"

The doors swung open as the large huscle stepped in, hand on his holstered iron; Tooley raised his hand, and the huscle backed out, closing the doors again.

Pops placed his hand on Miz's shoulder, staring intently at Tooley as he followed up, "The job was... less than ideal."

Tooley chuckled at this, "Well, it seems like you made out alright."

"We made out alright on account of your newest team member.", Pops fired back, narrowing his eyes and testing Tooley, "Thanks for orderin' us to take him along. Would have been mighty dicey without his observin' eyes."

Miz noted Tooley's pupils constricting, pinging a holocall to Pops, "Got his ass.".

Tooley replied, "I didn't order anything. This was at the express request of the client to avoid any unpleasantness. I see young Billy is worth the investment. And where is he at the moment?"

Pops answered, "He's your pup, not ours; but I'd wager he's gettin' some well-deserved rest."

Tooley smirked at Pops, "I should certainly hope so. I have great expectations for him. It's rare to find someone of his fortitude in this business."

Miz hated herself for what she blurted out next, "You really didn't insist on us coming up here just to sing the praises of your newest wet-nosed little shit, did you?" Motherfucker, if you only knew.

Pops spoke in the holocall, "Don't oversell it", before speaking out loud, "We're all a little tired, Lex; perhaps we could dispense with the usual bull and get down to business, just this once? We have the data you wanted, so why not flash us our eddies and we'll be out of your... oh so pretty hair."

Miz bit her lip to keep a straight face. Tooley led into his next point, "Well, you see, there's been a complication", rotating a monitor around. On it was a glitchy and artifacted video recording of Chrome-dome's demise at Miz's hands. She tensed up at hearing his voice again, Fuckmeat.

Tooley continued, directing his words towards Pops specifically, "While the presence of the Maelstrom was unfortunate, and entirely unforeseen I assure you, your little stray here managed to kill one of their top lieutenants, and in a particularly gruesome fashion, I might add."

Miz interjected, nonchalantly buffing her nails against her hoodie, "One less shock-jock chrome junkie wreaking havoc on the streets; and it sent a message. I'm not seeing the downside here."

"No, as young and naïve as you are, I would not expect you to possess the foresight of taking accountability for your actions," Tooley spat at her, slowly losing his grip before turning to Pops again, "This was supposed to be a discreet operation, not a full frontal assault to draw the ire of the NCPD and every media in the city."

Pops chuckled, "Well, I don't know about frontal seeing as we entered from the rear..."

"Yeah, you know something about that, right Lex?", Miz flicked her cigarette butt at Tooley, the filter-end still moist with saliva hitting him in the cheek before dropping and smoldering on the floor. At this point, all feigned kindness left his face and he nearly growled at Pops, "This conversation goes no further while this child is still in the room."

Before Pops could say anything in response, Miz kicked off of Tooley's desk, the feet of her chair scratching against the floor. As she stood, she fluffed the lapels of her hoodie at him with a sneer as she turned, planting a firm hand on Pops' shoulder. Pops tried his best to keep from cracking a smile.

Tooley's eyes followed her the entire way out of his office. With the double doors closing behind her, he cut his eyes back to Pops, who met his stare and smirked, "Ya know, you cut into her celebration; she has a right to be pissed."

Tooley rubbed his brow in exasperation as he took a seat, directing Pops to do the same. Pops obliged, nodding back as Tooley spoke, "You've raised quite the little liability there, Phoenix. I'd be worried for how much longer you can shield her from the repercussions of her actions."

Pops calmly replied, "Miz looks after her own well enough. She just doesn't like you."

"And after I've been ever so accommodating to your crew's boorish methods?", Tooley gave a disapproving click of his teeth before continuing, "Perhaps it's time you were reminded of our agreement that allowed you to conduct affairs under my roof in the first place."

Pops cut Tooley off, "Lex, we've been here longer than you, and that debt's been paid a dozen times over with the jobs we've done for you. You would prefer I cut to the chase?"

Tooley gestured, "Please."

Pops stood up, leaning forward against the desk and looking down at Tooley, "That entire warehouse's subnet was encrypted with next-gen Arasaka ICE, the likes of which we've never encountered in the wild. For us to pull your data, we had to access a terminal directly connected to the servers with a shard that contained the access keys. But you already knew that, didn't ya?"

Tooley's eyes flashed with intrigue as Pops continued, "You knew there wasn't a single Arasaka crate in that warehouse."

Tooley cut him off, "Pray tell what you believe is at play here, Phoenix. I only operate with the information given to me by the clients from which I source these jo—"

"There is no client, Lex," Pops interrupted, "The last place anyone's lookin' for off-books Biotechnica crates in bulk is an abandoned Arasaka warehouse. Scavs givin' hired muscle is an even better scapegoat if the shit goes south. This was never about stolen 'Saka tech. This is your power play to move in on the Slo-Mo game in Night City."

Tooley looked away, guilty as charged, "Well, shit... Ms. LaGuerre's reputation precedes her..."

Pops continued, "You knew we'd have to jack in directly to get your data, but you also KNEW that'd kick the hornet's nest. The Maelstrom hit squad was your insurance policy to make sure nobody got out alive; that way you could swoop in at your leisure and wrap up the whole crate 'n barrel."

Tooley turned back to Pops, stroking his beard in contemplation, "I must admit I did not expect the Maelstrom gangers would be so bloodthirsty. But, I suppose that's what happens when you contract a bunch of shock-jock chrome junkies."

"My take, the Maelstrom crew wasn't supposed to get involved unless we shot first," Pops speculated, "Bad idea pointin' a group like that to a Scav operation squattin' in their backyard. Worse idea puttin' my crew at risk. A fixer willin' to zero his best contract crew? Not to mention one of his own pups. Now that's not somethin' you want gettin' out, I'm sure."

The grim look on Tooley's face all but confirmed Pops' suspicions. He turned in his chair, looking out the window. In a flash, he turned back with his hand reaching under the desk, but Pops had beat him to the punch. Tooley was staring down the end of a revolver as Pops cocked the hammer in his face. He spoke in a cool but stern tone, "Bad move."

Tooley's hands raised slowly as he backed away from the desk. Pops made his way around and pulled the concealed handgun from its mounted holster, never once taking his eyes off of his soon-to-be former fixer. Leaning against the desk, he continued, "Now, I'm a man of my word. I hold up my end of a bargain, I expect to be compensated appropriately. All thing's considered, I'd wager we're due a bonus."

Tooley scoffed, "What did you have in mind, Phoenix?"

Pops let a moment pass before he answered with a cheeky smile, "Mm... double our agreed-upon rate ought to do it. Don't want to get greedy now."

Tooley chuckled, "Yes, greed can be a powerful thing... you know, after this, it might be difficult to secure work for your crew."

Pops' HUD flashed with a transfer, €$200,000, distracting him just long enough for Tooley to try and make a move. Pops stepped back as Tooley took a hook swing at him, deflecting with his right hand still holding the revolver. With the concealed handgun in his left, he swung across, catching Tooley on the cheek, sending him crashing into the desk before slumping onto the floor.

Pops reached down to check Tooley's pulse, both relieved and frustrated to find one. Removing the shard from his own head, he placed it on Tooley's desk, thus honoring the contract. Speaking more for his own benefit, he remarked, "Yeah, I s'pose we'd reached the end of the line anyway."

--

Outside the atrium gates, Miz leaned against a railing, observing the open space going down 60 stories through the center of the megablock. The giant cavity was awash with the noise of its 128,000 residents going about their business. There was a strange calm in the hustle and bustle. Miz reached in her hoodie pocket for her softpack before a jerking motion sent her flying backwards. She turned to find herself face-first against a wall, two of Tooley's gangers holding her in place by her arms and bracing their legs against hers. She was splayed out, helpless, vulnerable.

Looking to the side, past one of the gangers holding her, she saw a swarm of red optics glowing in the shadows that the sun pouring into the atrium hadn't yet reached; the optics moved separately, and yet as one whole. A wretched, robotic voice spoke familiar words, "Hello... fuckmeat."

The optics began to move toward her, the shape taking form. This one's facial implants and body modifications were even more vile than Chrome-dome's. He pressed himself against Miz; a grotesque, almost artificial sound of sniffing assaulted her ears like nails on a chalkboard before he spoke again, "You smell like a fresh fuck... soon I'm going to get mine. Me and all my chooms, we're gonna take turns on you for what you did."

Tears formed in Miz's eyes as she struggled. Her entire body recoiled as a cold metal hand touched against her back, moving under her hoodie and around her ribcage while a devilish laugh filled the air. Finally, the feeling of a dry and mutilated tongue rubbed up and down her cheek.

The horror was short-lived, as a hammer cocked and a barrel pressed into the back of the Maelstromer's head. Pops' voice rang through the top floor, "Let. Her. Go. NOW."

The Maelstromer backed off, hands raised, "H-hey choom, you want to think real hard about what you do next. Do you know who I a-a-A-A—"

The Maelstromer's voice trailed off into a scream as Pops grabbed him by his neck, pulling him back and effortlessly throwing him over the railing. The screams rang out for at least 5 levels down. Pops turned back, holding Tooley's handgun in his other hand as he leveled both guns towards the gangers holding Miz and said, "Last chance."

The gangers both let Miz go, hands in the air as they backed away. Miz turned around, hate in her eyes. Pops tossed her Tooley's handgun and said, "You okay?"

Miz caught the weapon with her left hand. She stumbled forward, taking her place next to Pops. She turned to face the gangers, voice shaky as she said, "Never better."

She performed a one-handed press check on the weapon and, without hesitating, put a round through each ganger's head, painting the walls deep red.

Bringing her right hand up to wipe her nose, she looked up at Pops and said flatly, "I always wanted to redecorate this place."

Pops wasn't convinced. Miz was known for being disaffected, but he'd only seen this type of utterly detached reaction out of her once before. He reached his hand out and said, "C'mon Em, let's go."

Miz almost fell into him as he wrapped his arm around her, both of them walking towards the elevator. With one last turn, she looked at the bloodstains on the wall with narrowed eyes, still fighting back the tears.

The large huscle guarding the elevator got the message and backed away. Tooley didn't pay enough for this kind of action.

It was a silent ride down at first. There was nothing to say. Pops just held Miz close; held onto her for dear life. She was his world at this point.

Miz finally pulled away. Wiping her face, she asked, "So where'd it end up with Lex?"

Pops considered whether to entertain her question for a few seconds before answering, "Not likely we'll be gettin' anymore gigs from him."

Miz stared ahead blankly and uttered one word, "Good."

The elevator stopped at Level 7, and the gates slid open. Miz stepped forward and out of the cage. Pops noticed a slight stumble in her gait and called out, "Em...?"

Miz stopped. But she didn't turn around; she just stood there, thinking, before she finally said, "It's okay, Pops. I'm okay", and kept walking.

He didn't buy it, but he knew better than to press her when she got like this. At least he could be close by. He stepped off the elevator and leaned against the atrium gates, watching Miz stumble back to her apartment. He lit a cigarette, content with not going anywhere for a while.

Miz finally reached her apartment, holding her hand out to the bio-lock. She was nervous at first, not knowing what to expect. The door slid open, and to mixed relief and a hint of sadness, the apartment was empty. The tequila bottle was left on the table, albeit half empty. She made her way over, dropping the handgun on the table. She reached down and picked up the bottle before noticing a piece of paper with a handwritten note had been placed under it. She placed the bottle down and picked up the note. The handwriting was definitively masculine, but youthful.

Thanks for the drink. -B

Miz's whole body began to shake. She crumpled the note as her hands curled into fists. In a few seconds, she collapsed to her knees. Head hung low, she brought her arms up to her face and began to sob quietly.

I am not okay.

--

[11:55]

Billy arrived at the corner of Bradbury and Buran. It was oddly familiar, though he couldn't place why. Walking down the street, he passed a Softsys service point, the Gomorrah dollhouse, a VERY out-of-place Netwatch agent harassing passersby, and a slew of other small shops and vendors until he saw the bright blue neon sign for Misty's Esoterica sticking out worse than the Netwatch agent. He took a deep breath and made his way towards the door, voices and laughter from inside trailing out. One voice was particularly catching, a strong and yet warm female voice, "Misty, babe, you HAVE to come by the Afterlife for a drink one of these days! Be my treat, c'mon! Claire wants you to do a reading!"

Billy looked away for a second as he accidentally bumped into the woman, apologizing. The woman kept walking briskly without saying a word. He took notice of her jacket, bearing the old Samurai band logo and the word "SAMURAI" emblazoned across the collar. He turned back before doing a double-take, but the woman had already disappeared into the crowd. Shaking the thought from his head, he walked through the open doorway and into the shop. Standing at the desk was a young woman with deep green eyes, messy blonde hair and black makeup; she wore several spiked collars and charm necklaces, with a blue sweater, black syn-leather skirt, fishnet stockings, and studded black platform shoes.

As she locked eyes with him, a kind but reserved smile crept onto her face and she spoke in a silky and calming voice, "You must be Billy. I'm Misty."

Misty stepped out from behind the desk, her hand outstretched. Billy carefully put his hand out, exchanging a delicate handshake as he asked, "H-how did yo—"

Misty giggled, "Pops said to keep an eye out for an honest heart and a powerful aura."

Billy narrowed his eyes with skepticism, but before he could question it, a powerful and masculine voice trailed in from the back of the shop, "C'mon Misty, don't bullshit the kid."

The older man stepped forward, and leaned against the door frame. He was built like a tank, with powerful arms crossed as he tilted his head down, looking over the rims of his old-world wayfarer sunglasses at Billy. He continued, "What Pops really said was to look for someone wandering around Urmland Street like a lost li'l pup."

That tracks a lot better, Billy thought as he chuckled nervously, stretching out his hand, "I'm Billy."

The man took his hand in a firm handshake with a smile and said, "Call me Vik. Let's get down to it. C'mon, follow me."

Billy looked over at Misty, who smiled and nodded reassuringly. She made her way back to the desk as Billy followed Vik out the back of the shop and into the alley. It was strange to him how the alley was only thirty feet removed from the street, but the air was completely different. Out on the street, it felt like you could get rolled at any moment. But back here, it felt safe, almost warm.

Billy's attention was grabbed by a hairless cat mewing softly by the railing of a stairway leading down. Vik looked back and said, "She doesn't bite. C'mon, this way."

Billy gave a light scratch to the cat between its ears before making his way down the stairs into Vik's clinic. Vik reached up and pulled the sliding gates open with almost no effort, taking a step back and guiding Billy ahead of him, "Welcome to my humble clinic, kid. It ain't much, but it gets the job done."

Vik didn't give himself enough credit. His shop was meticulously maintained, as well as it could be given its location. Billy was impressed, noticing posters adorning the walls of old boxing matches, cyberware advertisements, and other accoutrements. A small screen sat on Vik's desk with a recording of a heavyweight bout playing, the announcer's voice carrying through the open space. His focus was pulled to Vik, "Take a seat, choom. Let's see what we're looking at."

Billy made his way over to a partially reclined examination chair, overhead lamps enveloping the entire area in bright light. He removed his jacket and placed it on a nearby coat rack. As he pulled himself into the chair, he couldn't help but feel nervous, a light shiver as the cold vinyl of the chair touched the bare skin of his arms. He had only been in a ripper's chair once, recently, when his modified Kiroshi optics were installed at Tooley's insistence. And that office didn't have a fraction of the warmth of this space, cold chair aside.

Vik pulled up a rolling stool and sat down, grunting as he stretched his back up and swung around a mounted screen before leaning forward. He reached out to Billy with a corded socket connected to the screen, "Need to jack in."

Billy pulled his personal link from his left hand and plugged it in, his HUD showing a progress bar of a connection being made. Vik continued, "So Pops says your employer had some modified Kiroshis installed? Who did the work?"

Billy cleared his throat, "Some 'doc in Corpo Plaza, never even got so much as a wave, much less a name."

Vik scoffed, "Yeah, that tracks. Tooley's a real piece of work. He'd tell you he operates at a higher level than most. Just another sad little king of a sad little hill."

Billy was surprised at Vik's forward demeanor. Everyone he had met over the last 24 hours seemed to have major beef with Tooley. Not like he had to ask why. Vik touched a few inputs in the screen and furrowed his brow with a slight, "Hmm..."

Billy questioned him, "Something up?"

Vik pulled down his sunglasses and continued studying for a moment before he turned to Billy, "No, pretty much run of the mill from what I've seen of Tooley's goons. By the way, don't panic."

Before Billy could register the words, his vision glitched for a moment before going black. He was blinded. He began to squirm in the chair before a strong hand on his chest pushed down, "I said not to panic, kid."

Billy tried his best to calm himself. As with the flip of a switch, his vision came back, and Vik came into focus, standing over him. Billy shouted, "What the fuck was that?!"

Vik laughed as he removed his hand from Billy's chest and took his seat again, swinging the screen around for Billy to observe as he spoke, "Okay, so look here. This is your standard Kiroshi Mk.1 cyberoptic implant. Nothing special, right? Scanning, 2x zoom, regular stuff really."

Billy nodded, waiting for the catch. Vik swiped over on the screen and continued, "And here's your model, a Lex Tooley special-order."

At first glance, there was no difference between the two models, but Billy's eyes widened as Vik pointed to the clues on the screen. Recording capability, he already knew about, but the real kickers were Remote shutoff and Optic nerve burnout. His hands curled into fists over the chair's arms as he said, "That motherfu—"

Vik cut him off, "Yeah, I've seen this before. Tooley cuts loose one of his goons from employment, and if he feels there's a liability, he can either cut off the vision temporarily, OR he can literally fry your optic nerves inside your head. Hell of a guy, right?"

Billy's jaw clenched, his blood beginning to boil. Vik took notice and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry kid, we'll get you sorted."

Angry as he was, Billy felt a peace coming over him at Vik's words. It took a few seconds, but he loosened up and laid back as Vik went to work, pulling up a circular metal rig with syringes fixed to it. He spoke calmly, "Need your right arm in here."

Billy hesitated at first, but obliged after a few seconds. Vik pulled around a second screen and punched a few inputs like it was muscle memory. Within seconds, Billy felt two needles poking into his right arm, and he tried not to instinctively jerk his arm back. Vik chuckled under his breath and said, "I'm giving you a light anesthetic and a calming agent. Count backwards from ten for me?"

Billy laid his back and began to count, "Ten, n-nine, eight, s-sev..."

His eyes rolled back and he was out cold. Vik reached up for some sterilized tools and went to work.

--

The mechanical shutters were closed, blocking out the light from entering the dark room except for what broke in through the small slits. The small framed photo taken at the Badlands Dam sat upright on the table in front of the couch, Miz's eyes locked on it as tears rolled down her face. She was curled up on the couch, holding onto a pillow like a life preserver. Her whole body tensed up in a sheer panic as there was a soft knock at the door of her apartment, followed by Pops' voice, "Em? Can I come in?"

Her eyes cut to the door for a second before cutting back to the photo. A few seconds felt like an eternity before she flashed back to the door again. With an unconscious twitch, the door unlocked and slid open. Pops stepped in and leaned against the wall of the entryway for a moment. He spoke softly, "Hey, kiddo."

The tears began flowing again and she buried her face in the pillow, gripping tightly. She didn't want to be seen like this, not by anyone. Pops gave her a moment as he lit a cigarette, hitting a switch on the wall to open the window, taking care to leave the shutters closed.

After a minute, he walked over to the shuttered window, taking a long drag and exhaling through his nose. The smoke carried through the shutters and out into the open air. He took another long drag and ashed his cigarette into a tray sitting on the window ledge. He leaned against the ledge and turned to face Miz, who was looking up at him cautiously. He took notice of the picture frame on the table. Placing his cigarette back in his mouth, he grabbed the ashtray and walked around the table to the other side of the couch and sat down, making sure to give Miz enough space. Placing the tray on the table, he reached over to grab the picture frame, but held off for a second as he looked at Miz. Her eyes darted to him, back to the picture frame, and then off to the side. He carefully picked up the frame and held it in one hand as he placed his cigarette down in the tray and leaned back into the couch.

A warm smile broke on his face as he looked longingly at the photo. It was one of his fondest memories. It was a day that he was able to take Miz and her mother away from the muck and mire of Night City, even if only for a little bit. In that time, they were free and happy. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

Pops felt a shift on the couch as he turned to find Miz moving closer to him, but still a few feet away. He placed the photo down and moved closer to meet her in the middle of the couch as he leaned forward and thought for a moment before he spoke, "You know that was the second happiest day of my life."

"What was the first?", Miz asked, her voice muffled by the pillow still covering her face.

He answered with no hesitation, "The day she brought me home to meet you."

Miz slowly pulled the pillow away from her face, revealing a cracking smile through the tears. She inched closer to Pops as he put his arm around her. Voice cracking, she spoke, "I miss her every day."

Pops rubbed her back reassuringly as he said, "So do I, kiddo. There's not a moment that goes by that she's not on my mind and in my heart."

Miz frowned as the tears began to form again, her face twisting, "I... I just hate that I wasn't strong enough to save her."

Pops pulled her closer into a full hug, nestling her head under his as he comforted her, looking for the right words.

Miz continued, "I... s-swore to myself, and to her, that I would never be that weak again. I w-wouldn't let anyone hurt us ever again. Back there, u-up against that wall, I felt like I had lost e-everything all over again."

"Em, your mom would be so proud of who you've become", Pops reassured her, "You're strong, a survivor, just like she was; and in this city, that's not nothing."

Miz smiled, still trying to hold the tears back. Pops continued, "Had I known what was happening, seen what was coming earlier, I could have protected you both."

In an instant, Miz shot up to stare Pops directly in the eye as she rebuked him, "None of that was your fault. Mama would have told you the same."

Pops smiled, "See? I guess we are just two peas in a pod."

Miz looked down, "I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you, Pops. You saved me from all of it."

"Out of the fryin' pan and into the fire?", Pops smirked.

She smiled and rolled her eyes at him, sniffling and wiping the tears from her face. Pops took his opportunity and leaned forward, giving her a gentle peck on the forehead.

After a moment of silence, Miz asked, "So, what really happened with Lex?"

"Well, I meant what I said", Pops began to explain, reaching over and grabbing his cigarette from the ashtray, "Not likely we'll get anymore work from him. Max found details of what was really goin' on in that warehouse. It was never about the stolen tech. There wasn't any."

Miz's eyes lit up, "The Biotechnica crates."

Pops nodded and continued after a drag, "Yeah, it's a checkpoint for storin' off-books chem-crates in bulk; somewhere downstream, that nasty shit gets processed into Slo-Mo. Our whole gig was Lex's attempt at movin' in on the business. Wanted eyes on the whole operation so he could grab it all at once."

"And the Maelstrom squad?", Miz asked.

"Insurance", Pops answered bluntly, "Lex didn't want anyone leaving that warehouse with the knowledge of what was really goin' on. Problem is, Maelstrom got itchy trigger-fingers. Jumped the gun."

Miz scoffed, "And we're just that good that we survived Scavs and Maelstrom bearing down on us?"

Pops took a drag and laughed, "Yeah well, I guess I didn't do such a bad job of trainin' ya, now did I?"

Miz playfully punched Pops' arm as she sniffled, "Yeah, and new guy held his own pretty well, too."

Pops fired back, "Looks like he held his own with you pretty well, from what I saw."

Miz glared at Pops, "Shut. Up."

Pops gave a hearty chuckle and continued, "Look, Em, you make your own choices. I can't tell you anymore which way to turn when you come to a fork in the road. I've taught you all I know how. But take it from me, I know what I see when I see the way he looks at you."

Miz sucked her teeth, "Yeah, and what's that?"

He looked down for a moment before answering, swallowing a knot in his throat, "The same way I used to look at your mother."

Miz shot back, "But it's only been a day! How does that eve—"

Pops cut her off, "Sometimes a day is all it takes. Less, even. Pup's got a good heart, and he's opened it to you."

Miz's cheeks flushed a little, and Pops saw the creep of a smile as he continued, "Looks like it might not be all a one-way road. I know you got your guard up, hell I can't blame you; but if there's a chance for happiness in this city, even just for a little bit, you deserve some of it."

Miz quickly changed the subject, "So... did we actually get paid?"

Pops smiled, "And then some. Double the rate."

Miz's eyes went wide, "How did you swing that?!"

Pops answered, "I reminded him it'd be bad for business if word got out that a fixer was willin' to zero his crew and one of his own."

"And he took that?!", Miz asked, dumbfounded.

"Well, he tried to pull a gun on me, same one sittin' on the table, actually", Pops explained, "Then used the wire confirmation to try and take a swing at me, so I left him in a pool of his own spit and blood."

Miz scoffed, "I... I need to wash my hands now..."

Pops laughed as he stamped his butt in the tray, "Looks to me you could use a hot shower and a drink."

"I just need some sleep", Miz replied flatly as she rubbed her eyes, the sinus headache setting in from crying.

Pops placed his hand on Miz's shoulder and squeezed, "Well, I'll leave ya to it... hey, you going to be okay?"

Miz smiled as she reached up and placed her hand on his, "Yeah, I think I will... thanks, Pops."

He planted another peck on her forehead before he stood up and said, "I love you kiddo, you know that."

As he turned to leave, Miz's HUD flashed with a transfer of €$50,000, leaving her in utter disbelief as his voice trailed off, "Good work last night."

--

Black became a blur of dimmed light, shapes moving like shadows in and out of sight. The voices were dull and muffled. After a few moments, the shapes sharpened and the light intensified. Billy winced as the dull roar became increasingly clear. Vik and Misty were talking over him, cleaning this and organizing that. He slowly brought his hand up to shield his eyes from the surgical lamps assaulting his eyes as he let loose a low groan.

Within an instant, Misty was by his side, her warm hand resting on his forearm as she spoke to Vik, "Hey, he's awake."

Vik scooted over on his stool, the wheels grating against the concrete, causing Billy to wince again.

"Oop, sorry kid", Vik chuckled as he stood up and leaned over with a pen light, "And, sorry again in a sec."

The light flashed into Billy's eyes, offending every bit of him as Vik held his eyelids open, one after the other.

"Pupillary response is good", Vik said, "Now, keep your eyes open and follow the light."

In this moment, Billy wanted nothing more than to look anywhere OTHER than at the light, but he obliged, slowly following the pen light to the right, to the left, up, and down. In a comedic stroke of genius, Vik twirled the light in a circle, to which Billy said, "I-I'm going to hit you."

Vik's face strained for a moment before a smile cracked and he said, "Yeah, I believe you would, killer. Come on, sit up slowly and blink for me."

Billy blinked his eyes three times, things finally coming into focus. To his right was Misty holding a cup of still RealWater. To his left was Vik sitting on his stool with a shit-eating grin, "How ya feeling, kid?"

Billy answered, "Okay, a little lightheaded."

Vik explained, "Yeah, that's the anesthesia wearing off. You'll be okay in a few minutes. Just sit still for a bit. Misty?"

Misty stepped forward, holding the cup to Billy's mouth as she said cheerfully, "Open up."

He cracked his mouth open, and Misty carefully tipped the cup, pouring a small amount of liquid in. It was heaven. He swallowed and said, "You're an angel."

Misty giggled, and Vik fired back, "Sorry kid, but silly remarks like that aren't a side-effect of the drugs. You'll have to work through that one on your own."

Billy laughed, holding his hand up in front of his eyes before looking past it. To his surprise, his vision was clearer than before, sharper, and he was able to focus quicker. He asked Vik, "Was the other 'doc a total gonk, or am I actually seeing clearer now?"

Vik laughed, "As much as I'd like to shit on Tooley's friends, I can't in good conscience without a good reason. Your old optics were heavily modified, sure, but they were still a base-spec Mk.1 model. What you have now is a combat-spec Mk.3. Higher resolution, better zoom, all-around better clarity, lowered response time on nearsight/farsight focus, the works... actually, the very same model Pops' kid has."

Billy's eyes cut to Vik. Was he talking about Miz? Got to be.

Vik took notice of the blush in Billy's cheeks and smiled, "Uh oh... I think I hit a nerve, Misty."

Misty giggled again and replied, "Nail on the head."

Billy was embarrassed, but didn't even try to deny it. He gave his new optics a quick test drive, zooming in on the boxing match playing on the screen at Vik's desk. He blurted out, "Six times zoom?!"

Vik laughed from his gut at this, "Yeah, believe it or not, they even have models that go to 10x and above, but you can't get those on the street. So, everything check out?"

Billy nodded, still looking around, "Yeah, they feel great. What do I owe ya?"

Vik waved his hand dismissively, "Nah, Pops got you squared before you even got here. Unless you need more work done?"

Billy chuckled nervously, "I, uh, I wouldn't even know where to begin at this point."

Vik paused for a minute, looking Billy up and down before he spoke again, "Yeah, that tracks."

Ouch.

Vik continued, holding out an airhypo canister, "Anyhow, you're already chipped and accustomed to Kiroshis, but I'd be remiss as a medical professional if I didn't give the usual spiel: take this, two whiffs now, another two in an hour. Any weirdness tomorrow, anything out of place, come back and see me."

Billy took the canister graciously and nodded, "Thanks Vik", as he took two whiffs back to back. Poison.

Vik saw the contorted look on Billy's face, "Yeah, sorry about that. Best medicine and all that, right?", as he pulled a relatively recent copy of a cyberware magazine from his desk and rolled back over, handing it to Billy, "Time to get schooled, kid. If you're gonna keep running with Pops' crew, you want to get to know your cyberware."

"Oh man, homework?!", Billy joked.

Vik continued, "Now, I'm not saying I'll chip every shiny shard o' shit you bring me, in fact quite the opposite. But, you get to reading, really understand your body, and maybe we can squeeze in a few new toys."

Billy immediately flashed back to Miz's claws and the Mantis Blade. Not his style, but maybe some added oomph to his right hook?

Misty offered a steady hand to help Billy out of his chair, and he happily accepted as he stood up, grabbing his jacket off the coat rack and putting it on. As he turned to leave, Vik called out to him one last time for this visit, "Hey. Good luck Tiger, you might need these", as he tossed him a bag containing his old Kiroshis.

Billy smiled and caught the bag in one hand, "Thanks, Vik."

--

Pops pinged a holocall, Ky answered on the other end, "Mmmf, hey boss."

"You get any sleep, Ky?", Pops asked in a fatherly tone.

Ky answered, "Yeah, just caught a catnap on the cots at the lockup. What's up?"

Ky's HUD flashed with a transfer of €$50,000 and he almost shouted, "Holy shit!... wait, do I even want to know?"

Pops answered plainly, "Long story, but the short of it is we need to find new work."

"Shi-i-it", said Ky, "I'll call Dino and Reyes, see if they have anything for us short-term."

Pops replied, "Thanks. And good work last night."

A moment of silence passed before Ky said, "You too, boss."

The call ended; Pops sent out another call, this time with Max answering, "Wi, bosmang?"

"Slept yet?", Pops asked, already knowing the answer.

Max answered dryly, "Mmm, you need some'ting?"

Pops replied, "Good work last night, you really came through", as Max's HUD flashed with a transfer for her share.

Max paused for a moment, "Any'ting fo' da crew, you know dat. And mèsi... Pops. So, we lookin' fo' work again?"

"Seems that way", said Pops.

Another moment of silence before Max said, "Hmm, I make some calls. Let you know."

The second call ended.

Pops stood in quiet contemplation, considering his options. There was always one call he could make, but he didn't want to cross that threshold unless he had no other choice. He would only be opening old wounds if he did.

--

Billy made his way up the H10 steps into the ground floor atrium, nodding at a few vendors as he passed. Not really knowing how to cook, he had subsided the last few months on the varieties of scop offered at the stalls and kiosks, inevitably ingratiating himself with the folks running them.

No such luck this time on an elevator already there, Billy pressed the call button. Hands in his jacket pockets, he was jumbling around his old Kiroshis still in the bag. He had an uneasy feeling, like someone was watching him. The elevator gates had a large mirror affixed, offering a good vantage behind him, but nobody was there. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling.

His anxieties were quelled somewhat as the buzzer rang and the elevator crawled to a stop, the gates sliding open. A small crowd of people exited before Billy could board. As he stepped on, he turned to press the button for Level 7 before two large goons in corpo suits boarded the elevator with him. He withdrew his hand, placing it back in his jacket pocket as he stepped into the middle of the cage, jaw clenched. The two large men stood on either side of him, the one on his right reaching out and pressing an unmarked button at the very top of the stack. The cage doors slid shut and the elevator began to ascend.

Billy looked up at both of the goons on either side of him, sizing them up. While they all stood in awkward silence during the long ride to the top, Billy decided to test the scan functionality on his new optics. To his surprise, his HUD flashed for each of them with the number and types of implants each goon had installed. That could be handy in a pinch.

After a long silence, one of the goons spoke, "Mr. Tooley's not having the best day, so you better have something good for him."

Billy replied, "And here I thought he wanted all transmissions done from a secured link."

The other goon spoke, "Don't get cute, wiseass. You ain't been around long enough."

Eyes forward, Billy channeled a little bit of Ky as he nodded, "You guys are fun."

Both goons side-eyed Billy, but said nothing. The rest of the ride was silent.

Finally, the elevator grinded to a halt. One goon pushed open the cage doors, and the other pushed Billy out of the cage. The gates slammed shut behind him. He wasn't going anywhere until he met with Tooley, that much was apparent. Looking forward, another large goon was motioning for him to approach.

Billy swallowed the knot in his throat and walked forward, the large goon opening the double doors and stepping out of the way. He walked into the office, the doors closing behind him. Like a scene from a cheesy old-world movie, Tooley's chair was turned away, but Billy could see his legs crossed and sticking out. After a moment he called out, "You wanted to see me, Mr. Tooley?"

The chair didn't move, but Tooley's voice spoke from behind it, "Yes, thank you for seeing me on such short notice Billy. Come closer."

Didn't give me much choice, asshole, Billy thought as he took a few steps forward into the middle of the room. Tooley chuckled, "I won't bite. Come closer."

Billy stood his ground, "No, I'm fine right where I am, thanks."

He could almost feel the blood boiling. Finally, after several seconds, Tooley's chair spun around, revealing a bloodied bruise occupying most of his left cheek. What the fuck. Had to be Pops.

Billy fought to keep a straight face, but he played ball nonetheless, stepping forward to within a few paces of Tooley's desk as he spoke, "So what can I do for you?"

Tooley glanced to the side, catching his own reflection in a mirror on the wall. He looked back at Billy, the disgust painted all over his face. He finally spoke, "I need to know what all you gathered on that shard last night. A great injustice must be rectified immediately."

Billy nodded, looking down and to the side in thought before he locked eyes with Tooley and said, "I, uh, I don't have any recorded footage."

Tooley's jaw clenched, "And why not? A problem with the shard?"

Billy fired back, "Nah, nothing like that. More like a problem with your methods."

"Explain yourself", Tooley demanded.

Billy continued, "Well, as it turns out, Mr. Grey's crew and I share something in common. We don't like being hung out to dry."

Tooley's eyes narrowed as he stared down Billy, who returned his stare right back. Not this time, you prick.

The tension was palpable. After almost a minute of silence, Tooley turned and squinted inquisitively as he scoffed, "That little stray got her claws into you, didn't she? Well, I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Billy stepped forward, pulling the shard from his pocket and placing it on the desk, "I won't be needing this, Mr. Tooley. I'm not going to be your tool."

"Ah-ah-ah", Tooley interjected, "There is still the matter of your Kiroshi optic implants. Those were no small expense."

Billy pulled the bag from his pocket, "Oh, you mean these? These Kiroshi optics? That you could remotely trigger at any time to render me blind?"

Tooley's face went blank as Billy dropped the bag onto his desk with no regard for the contents. Finally, he turned to leave as Tooley's HUD flashed with a transfer of €$2,500. His voice trailed off, "Oh yeah, I looked into it, this should cover the month's rent, so make sure to leave me the fuck alone, or I'll kill whoever you send after me."

Billy opened the door and walked out, leaving Tooley alone in his office to stew. As he approached the elevator, one of the large goons stepped in front of him.

"Get the fuck out of my way", Billy said, pointing to the other goon, "Before I rip your dick off and feed it to your boyfriend for lunch."

Tooley's voice rang in a holocall to all of the goons, "Let him go. He's their problem now."

The goon in front of the elevator narrowed his eyes, but still obliged, opening the cage doors and stepping aside. Keeping his eyes on the big boy, Billy stepped into the cage and pulled the doors closed himself before pressing the button for Level 7 like he'd originally intended.

The elevator began its descent, Billy keeping a half smirk on his face until he was well out of sight and earshot. At last, he let out a deep sigh and nearly doubled over from the anxiety, his eyes wide as he gasped for air. It took him at least a minute to regain his composure, but he was finally able to normalize his breathing and stand upright again. Had he pulled it off? Only time could tell. For now, his focus was elsewhere.

Halfway down, his HUD flashed a 1-hour alarm, set shortly after he had left Vik's clinic. He reached into his jacket, pulling out the airhypo canister. He let loose a deep breath as he brought it to his mouth and took two whiffs back to back. Just as the doctor ordered.

He was pleasantly surprised to find the airhypo calmed his nerves within a minute. He figured he must not have noticed earlier on account of what Vik gave him before replacing his optics. Placing the canister in his jacket, he leaned against the back of his cage, feeling as cool as Pops for a brief second. If only I had a smoke. Maybe... no, she won't want to see me.

The elevator crawled to a stop as it reached Level 7, the cage doors opening. Billy made his way out quickly to avoid an influx of residents trying to enter. He walked through the atrium gates and turned right to meet the hustle and bustle of daily activity; people standing in doorways and conversing across the hallway, or cluttering the hallway itself and just taking up space. He carefully navigated around, trying not to run into anyone as he made his way down. He saw 0618 lit up as he approached the corner and stopped for a second. He really considered knocking on the door. Something in his mind told him to look behind him immediately to make sure he wasn't followed. He obliged, turning to check as he activated the scanner on his Kiroshis. He stood for a solid several seconds, but found nothing.

As he turned to make the corner towards his apartment, he was run into by someone, a shorter female, head down and hood pulled. He turned around to try and find her before catching a glimpse of the foxtails tattoo wrapping around her lower back. He shook his head for a second, but she was gone. She had disappeared completely from the chaos in the hallway. A little saddened, Billy turned back and made his way down the hall, avoiding bodies left and right, until he finally approached his door, 0639. As he stepped in front, he noticed a half-empty bottle of Centzon Tequila tucked carefully in the corner of the door and frame. There was a piece of paper wrapped around it and secured with a piece of twine tied in a knot. A smirk on his face, he leaned down and picked up the bottle before waving his door open and sliding inside. Door shut behind him, he held the bottle in one hand and undid the twine with the other, careful to keep the paper from falling off as it unfurled. His smirk grew into a wide smile as he found a note with definitively feminine handwriting.

The next bottle is on you.
-M <3

--