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Misha sat on the edge of the barstool, hovering over the digital menu as if it would protect them from feeling like they were in way over their head. Their choom, Jeiyun, had taken his drink…a Jackie Welles, which had only made Misha roll their eyes at the ‘splash of love’ description… and spun around on the seat to get a better look at the club.
“We made it, my friend! We are at the top!”
Claire snorted a laugh from her spot behind the bar, which made them look up.
“Sure, sure. Right at the pinnacle. You decide on anything, hotshot, or you stickin’ with water?”
“Who’s Vincent Ashe?” They pointed at the listing. The drink was simple, but elegant: top shelf imported bourbon, brown sugar and a spoon of fig preserves, garnished with a cinnamon stick. It was also ridiculously expensive…even more than the Johnny Silverhand.
Claire stopped wiping down the bar and just stared at them. “You’re… joking, right?”
“Uh… no?”
Jei shoved him on the shoulder hard enough to make him sway in his seat. “What the fuck, gonk? You’re gonna get us thrown out!”
“Over a drink?”
“He’s V…the fucking legend. Guy who took down Arasaka? Reported to have pulled not one, not two, but THREE of the biggest heists in Night City history? If fixers have a king, he is it.”
“I thought you had to die to be an NC legend.”
“Only room for one legend here, kids, and that would be me,” a gravelly voice interrupted them, accompanied by a plume of smoke between them as a heavily ringed hand reached for the drink Claire had poured and held out for the newcomer to take. “Claire, you are my best friend in the entire world. For tonight.”
Misha and Jei both stared openly at the infamous rockerboy as he threw back the dark amber liquid and slid the empty back to her.
“Whatever makes you happy, Ker. Boss is in back with Nix. Cozy up, he’ll be out in a few.”
“Gonna make me jealous, talkin’ biz on my time!” He grinned crookedly, sashaying backwards away from the pair, flashing them a devil horns sign that somehow looked iconic, obscene, and personally insulting all at the same time. Spinning entirely around for the pure showmanship of it, he strutted away as if he was completely oblivious to the eyes on him, heading into a private room where a very large bouncer stood watch. He paused, chatting with the big man for a few minutes, both of them laughing as they parted. It was genuine laughter, too, Misha noted, not that fake ‘just being polite to the boss’ bullshit.
Misha turned to Claire, knowing they probably looked like a gaping tourist to her. “Was that really…? I mean… there’s no way THE Kerry Eurodyne hangs out in a merc bar.”
“Yeah. It really is.”
“Oh my god, he is even more beautiful in person than on tv,” Jei gushed, drink in his hand entirely forgotten.
“He’s also married,” Claire interrupted, clearing Kerry’s glass and pouring two more of the same, setting them on a delivery tray for one of the waitstaff to take back to the glassed-in booth.
“Yeah, but how married?”
“Extremely.”
“Damn.”
“Consider yourself lucky that I’m not the jealous type.” They were interrupted yet again, this time by another patron who didn’t look like he belonged here, either.
His hair held highlights of distinguished grey, but hadn’t gone entirely silver the way Eurodyne’s had. A corporat through-and-through, if the way he dressed was any indication. Tailored, obviously from Jinguigi, but the way he carried himself wasn’t as arrogant as a typical corpo. If anything, he looked like just another guy, but in a much nicer suit and better chrome. He certainly didn’t look dangerous enough to be in a place like this.
“So, are you two coming, or are you going to sit there like a couple of empty-headed gonks all night?” He walked around them to the tray Claire had set aside, picking up the drinks and ignoring the tray, taking a sip from one and only barely glancing to the freelancers.
Jei and Misha exchanged confused looks, and the man sighed.
“Claire… one drink each, on the house, then have Emmerick escort them to their ride. They’re not ready for this gig yet.” He gave her a nod and walked away without waiting for a response.
“Alright boys,” Claire leaned on the bar, glancing between them. “You heard the boss. So what’ll it be?”
“Wait…that was him??” Misha had a moment of panic, watching his retreat to same room as Eurodyne had vanished into. The rocker reappeared in the entry, taking one of the drinks from him and exchanging a quick, familiar kiss before they both vanished behind the tinted glass. “Oh… oh shit…”
They had just fucked themselves out of a reputation-making job. That was V… the man they were supposed to meet and the one person they should have known and recognized immediately...or at least been actively expecting.
“I see you’re a little quicker on the draw than your friend there,” Claire noted, nodding to the still-gaping Jei. Misha sighed heavily and started to flick Claire payment for the drinks, but she shook her head. “Nope. Boss said they’re on the house. Consider yourself lucky. Normally, he would have had you hauled out and thrown on your ass in the street for wasting his time.”
Jeiyun sulked as they left the Afterlife, hands stuck in his pockets as he headed for the car.
“Hey, you go on ahead,” Misha called after him. “Got a couple’a things I want to take care of first.”
“Want me to come with?”
“Dude! Personal time!”
“Whatever… later, ‘Ish.”
Misha waited till he drove away, then sat on the curb outside to wait until the place closed down.
“You’re still here?” V sounded surprised, but not concerned. He shook his head at Kerry’s insistent pull, and the rocker kissed his cheek before walking toward the row of cars in the employee lot. Misha watched as they held hands until their arms were nearly fully extended, then pulled away until only their fingertips brushed…touching until the very last second.
That was what true love looks like, they thought, not just some fling for the screamsheets. It made him think better of the merc-turned-fixer.
V paused to light a cigarette, handing it to Misha, then lit another of his own and took a long drag before saying anything more. “I’m surprised… but you’re not here to try to take me out for slighting you, or you would have tried to jump me already. So… color me intrigued.”
“Honestly… just got nowhere else to really go.”
“You’ve done fairly well for yourself, or you wouldn’t have been here in the first place.”
“Nah, not like that. I mean… I don’t know where else to go from here. Anything else feels like…giving up.”
“Ah… the merc’s mid-life crisis. You’ve hit it a little early, haven’t you?”
“I’m not an idiot.”
“No, but your partner is.” V took another drag and hopped up on the hood of the nearest car. If anyone else had seen, they would have sworn it looked just like Johnny’s ‘I’m listening’ lean. “Look… I don’t turn people away to be mean. I turn people away because they’re not ready, and the first big time job they take is going to get them killed. I don’t do charity and I don’t dole out the little gigs. People desperate enough to come to me have tried everything else first, which means by the time I have it, it’s fucking dangerous. Get me?”
“I know. I’m not upset, really. Jei is, but he’ll get over it.”
“Then what about you?”
“Disappointed. But I… guess I don’t have the urgency for it that he does, yanno?”
“Ahhh… V leaned back, resting his hands on the hood of the car, cig dangling from his lip as he spoke. “I get it now. You like being a freelancer, but the dream to be a Night City Legend is his, not yours.”
“How did you…?”
“Because that was me.”
“What? Are you kidding? You rose the ranks faster than any merc except maybe Morgan Blackhand.”
“You know Morgan, but you didn’t know who I was,” V snorted softly as he raised a hand to take the last drag from the dwindling stub and flick it away, sending bright sparks showering in its wake. “Shouldn’t surprise me, but it still does.”
“Everyone knows your name.”
“But you couldn’t be bothered to find out who you were meeting with. Not who you were expecting based on the reputation and your own imagination?”
“Nah, nah… I know…just… awestruck, I think. Didn’t expect it to actually be you, yanno. Like… you’d be on a pedestal and send your goons to retrieve the peons. Make everyone come to you.”
“Good save, kid. But is *that* the reputation I have?” He smirked when he said it, as if he didn’t know exactly what kind of reputation his name carried.
Misha was starting to relax in his presence, the rumored charm and infectious smile weren’t a lie, either. “No, but people are still scared of you. No one understands how you went from no one to Arasaka’s most wanted to the biggest fixer in the city in less than a year. You’re either stupidly lucky or really fucking dangerous.”
“Depends on who you ask. But truth? I didn’t plan to be here. I’d honestly still be happy if I was working in the shadows. The dream of Legend was always my partner, not me. All I wanted was my name to mean something to someone in the end.”
“You do get it.”
“I really do.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“Your buddy you came in with…he your choom, or just some gonk you’re partnering with for now?”
“We grew up together. He’s like a brother.”
“But he wants this, right? It’s his dream?”
“Yeah.”
“Then follow him, because it’s what he wants and that’s what chooms do. Let him be the dreamer for both of you. Your job is to keep him grounded and out of trouble. Be his voice of reason ‘cause he won’t always be able to. If you make it, great. If you don’t… then you at least had an amazing ride along the way.” He slid off the hood, extending a hand to Misha. “One of these days, when you have a little more experience under your belt, when you have a solid reputation as someone reliable and efficient, when you’re both a little less reckless and know a few more people…I’ll be here waiting. In the meantime… I might know of a few smaller gigs with other fixers I can recommend you for, provided you keep your head. Sound good?”
“Yeah… I mean yes! I mean, yes sir!” Misha scrambled to their feet, feeling every bit a kid in the presence of an actual Legend…but they understood. Taking V’s hand, they shook it. “Thank you, Mr. Ashe. Appreciate it. A lot.”
“All good, Misha. And you can call me V.”
______
Kerry was leaning against the car while V watched the kid saunter off with their hands in their pockets, head held high. He’d heard most of the conversation, and was once again amazed at the way V so casually and easily wrapped someone around his finger.
“You talk down another assassin?” Kerry smirked as his beautiful mercenary returned to his side.
“Not tonight. Just a reality check.”
“You know you’re a terrible example of what not to do, right?”
“I can’t help it if I ended up with a famous rockerboy on my arm.”
“And the world in the palm of your hand.”
“Not the world,” V smirked back, leaning in to give Kerry a kiss and open up the passenger side door for him. “Just Night City.”
“My dear naive husband, that is the world.”