Work Text:
We come to beginnings only at the end. - William Throsby Bridges
The faint light of the dawn trickled over the horizon of Night City, stripping away the profane neon blanket of holographic dreams. Still, the weak sunlight could only reach so far, never touching the lurid and filthy pinks and blues of Clouds.
Deep in the tech room, the tiny clock on the computer monitor was the only sign that Judy Álvarez's shift had run late. Her edits were compiling, and she was twiddling her thumbs. But her work was an excuse to wait for her output that was still locked away in the main office above, doing fuck all.
The output that was now calling her holo after ignoring her all night. “Judy.”
“Por fin…" Judy drawled. “Can we head home now?”
“Not yet,” Maiko said sharply. “There’s a customer who hasn’t left yet. You need to go talk to her and kick her out.”
Judy scowled. “What the fuck are you paying security for?”
“This is over their heads,” Maiko retorted like a gunshot. “And on special request. So don’t piss off the guest,”—her voice drops low and husky—“and do what you’re told like a good girl. 割った?”
Judy closed the call without responding and slammed her fists on the desk, using that force to get out of her chair. She growled, rolling each of her shoulders to wake up her body before stalking out of the employee area.
She immediately found the unwanted guest sitting at the center of the bar as if she owned the entire space.
The first detail Judy noticed was the dark scarlet hair, an immaculate undercut slightly longer than her own. The second was the cigarette. The synthetic smoldered away into ash between the woman’s painted lips, wisps drifting up from her lazy exhale.
The third was the corpo suit and slacks. The woman’s high-quality silk suaveness was tailored to trim curves and lean muscles. Here was an apex predator, not some polyester affect of a misfit, fresh-faced recruit playing at riches. And, even offset by the colored lights of the club … the bold Arasaka red.
Fuck.
And last of all, the woman was already staring back at her. The corpo's features were pristine, beautiful, and unreadable like a marble statue. In other words, inhuman perfection bought by an exorbitant, unimaginable amount of capital.
“Sunrise. Time to delta,” Judy bit out.
The woman said nothing and took another deep draw from the cigarette. Then she brought it down and tapped away the ash in a too-familiar smoker’s salute. Twin twines of gray spiraled up from her mouth and hand, backlit by the woman’s cybereyes that flickered blue.
“You don’t belong here,” the woman said, unhurried and calm. Her voice was low and quiet, as if expecting the world around her to quiet down to hear her speak. The corpo was every bit the arrogant vampire that Maiko imagined herself to be. “A Mox, right in the midst of a Tyger Claw stronghold.”
“You don’t either,” Judy threw back, too tired to play this woman’s games. “We're closed. There’s nothing here for you.”
The woman smiled, and Judy blinked in surprise. The sudden naked amusement was indulgent and respectful rather than condescending and scornful. The corpo-rat said, gesturing to the barstool at her left with the cigarette, “Join me, if you please, Ms. Álvarez.”
At the abrupt address, Judy stayed still. She assessed the dollhouse before squinting at the singular point of suspicion. “Doesn’t seem like I have a choice,” she said, dredging the exasperated words free from the exhausted depths.
The corpo paused, her pleasant expression glitching frozen for a breath. Then the woman shrugged elaborately, remaining open and inviting like a lotus flower. “Of course you do. But I’m in no rush. And if you want me to go so bad, then this would be your best option.” She produced a box of high-end synth-cigs from her inner suit pocket and set it on the bar beside her. “I won’t bite …”—a glitter of something sharp and venomous passed through the woman’s eyes—“unless you want me to, of course.”
Judy shifted in place, containing the urge to rub her arms and push away the discomfort. Then she sighed and slouched into the chair next to the crazy corpo lady. She fished a cancer stick out of the box, taking a moment to roll it between her fingers and admire its quality and make. Then, placing it between her lips, Judy patted her pockets, searching for her lighter.
“Please, allow me.” The corpo snapped her fingers, and a curl of plasma sparked to life between the tips of her thumb and index finger. She reached out to Judy, but only halfway.
Well, at least the corpo wasn’t completely shameless. Judy bent closer and let the woman light her cigarette, then leaned back in her seat and breathed in, slow and deep.
The familiar foreign heat bloomed in her chest, and the wash of chemical joy was immediate. It swelled up like the tide, lapping at her feet and shins but steadily climbing to drown her troubles.
A minute passed as Judy savored the cigarette. The other woman seemed content to do the same, contemplating the traces of their breath in the air.
”This is some preem shit,” Judy finally said, using her seat to tap some of the ashes away onto the floor. “But still, I want to get the fuck home, so.” She sat forward, set her elbows on the bar, and her head in her hands, and turned to the corpo. Then she asked, voice flat, “Who are you, why are you here, and what do you want?”
The woman looked back, remaining prim with perfect upright posture. Then, after another puff of smoke, she answered. “You can call me V,” she began, voice settled and absolute. “As for why I’m here … you must have heard some gunshots earlier?” The corpo barely paused, the question clearly rhetorical. “Some Claws forgot their place, so I came here to remind them of it, which I’m sure you’re happy to hear.”
Judy smothered her small but blooming, vicious grin. Any news of the Japanese gang’s suffering was good news, even if the cause was a corpo. “Sure. But that was hours ago.”
”Oh, certainly,” V said. “I prefer to handle my work with expedience. But with some time on my hands, I decided to sample the wares.” The woman pulled out a piece of tech from her pocket, unfolding it to reveal a braindance wreath. “And the experience was unforgettable. Far beyond my expectations.”
Judy coughed and looked away, thrown by the sudden turn. “Um, yeah. That’s cool. I, uh …” She focused on the wreath in V’s hands, then reached out to grab it, to which the corpo let her take it freely. “Mierda, you’ve got some rare parts. Where did you find a DMS-MamG60? And everything is custom … who built this?”
V sidled in closer to whisper, and Judy didn’t even flinch away. “Broke into a Militech facility and found some parts wasting away in dusty cold storage. I also found those old JG-series flash pads from there. Takes a few seconds longer to launch the dances. But the lights and neural load being less taxing is worth the tradeoff.” She paused as Judy turned the wreath over again in her hands, peeling back a panel to look at the circuit boards. “And I built it, of course.”
“Well … impressive,” Judy said begrudgingly as she gave it back to V. “Wouldn’t think a suit would have the time for such a thing.”
”Maybe not.” V secured the wreath back into her pocket. “But we all have our interests. And the tech is nothing without the braindances. And I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything like yours tonight. It was … simply art.”
Judy flushed, quickly taking another drag of her cigarette to hide her face. “That’s what happens when you have good actors who love what they do. Not that this shithole of a joint helps with getting the dolls in the right state of mind.”
V shook her head. “Sure, that’s true. But your dances almost feel like virtus with how light a touch you leave with your edits. The sex was almost mindblowing on its own, but the foreplay and the emotions … they were so pure. With work, I’ve almost forgotten how hope felt before scrolling tonight. I wasn’t expecting to find it in a braindance.”
“That’s …” Judy couldn’t help but smile. It was the heat and pride of being seen and recognized for her thousands of hours of work put into her craft. Even if the praise came from someone as unexpected as a corpo-rat. “That’s preem. It’s good to know someone knows what actual quality is, not all the shock factor garbage in the market.”
V hummed quietly. “Yes. I asked the desk about it. I couldn't imagine that the editor was in-house, not some big-name locked up under some studio. And someone with the proper touch of a woman’s woman. I had to meet you if I could.”
“I …” Judy trailed off, taking in the corpo beside her with as little bias as possible. She’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop, for some sly threat or underhanded purpose to make itself known. But V seemed actually knowledgeable about tech, if a bit too fawning. Almost ... honest. “Thanks. I’ve met a few fans before, but no one’s ever really gotten it. I was starting to think no one would feel what I was trying to make. But it seems like you actually do, and that’s … just preem.”
V simply smiled and nodded, looking Judy up and down again. “You weren’t what I expected when I came here, but some surprises can be good in this city.” The corpo took one last drag of her cigarette and then tossed it into an ashtray on the bar. “You certainly could do better than this dollhouse.”
Judy scrunched her nose. V’s agenda was clear now. “Is this where you try to sell me on some contract jail? No chance, fuck off.”
But V simply laughed and stood up. “Just an observation. As I said, you don’t belong here, not with these Claws. And I look forward to seeing where you go. Keep the rest of the cigs, yeah? A gift.” She turned and began to leave. “Be seeing you.”
Judy called out when V reached the top of the stairwell. “You don’t seem to be much of a suit either. Thought you’d be a bitch, but … was good to meet ya.”
The corpo smiled, dark and malicious and teasing. “Maybe next time.”
Then she was gone. Judy turned back to stare at the unexpected gift while finishing the last of her cigarette.
But the idle morning peace was once again disturbed by the ringing on her holo. Maiko’s name blinked into persistence at the corner of her eye. Judy groaned and stubbed out her cigarette, too. “Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, heading back toward the tech room. “Something better than here, hm?”
A year later…
“I’m looking for Evelyn Parker. You know if she’s here?”