The loud booming sounds of party music ring out into the air. Various Night City natives gathered at a local kick it spot hidden away from those not in the know dance, clink glasses and network surrounded by a neon soaked district. Tables and open neon bar counters form a huge semicircle filled with various people smoking and loitering around parked luxury and super cars. Rainbows of vibrant colors overwhelm the space with hyperstylised chrome and fashionware dripping with eye catching aesthetics. Breakdancers in the center of a hyped and cheering crowd put on a show using their implants to execute flashy, jaw dropping moves. The high energy atmosphere of the area causes our crew to blend in perfectly throughout it as they each go about doing different things in various places.
Netty glances over and sees Audrey and Zaunya looking to be engaged in a serious heart to heart with each other with drinks in hand. He looks back down at his lap and stares deeply at the DR5 Nova he was unable to shoot as the various sounds of cheers and a lively party fill the space. His mind drags with various thoughts… overwhelmed by this fast life of violence where life and death linger relentlessly… where the experiences you have and the connections you make are just as intense as they are fleeting. A lifestyle he never intended nor probably wanted to even live.
His attention is turned to Brian as he comes over to sit right next him.. he puts his mind racing on hold.
"How ya holdin' up kid." He asks in a deep tone in a loud atmosphere. He takes a swig of his beer... Netty looks back down at the DR5 Nova.
"Alright I guess…" He responds in a monotone.
"Should cheer up. That score set us up pretty nicely… you saw how deep that vault was stacked. Even though it wasn't as chunky as we hoped.. shit in life's about to change… whether any of us want it to or not. Gotta know that as well as I do by now."
Brian pauses as he and Netty gaze out at the neon glowing party scene. He continues over the party music and crowds cheering off in the distance.
"Consequences of actions… in Night City… They don't just hit, they stick… some permanently in the game we play…" He claims looking out at the crowd.
Netty quickly looks over at him... a serious look of concern... fear puncturing beneath the surface.
Brian, picking up on his energy, glances at him before a brief pause and a nod.
"Easy kid… There's always a way out. Just... usually never the way you want it to be."
The moment grabs ahold of Netty... the bare bones truth of the weighted fate... the choice... the Night City price... taken like a tax on the soul bereft of any physical material... nothing to relinquish. He looks at Brian swig his beer... already sitting in this reality... living in it... he looks over at Netty... deep in the eyes.
"There's always a price." He says conclusively... Netty catches the sentiment to hold... looking down and away... allowing the sounds of party music and commotion take over.
Brian reading where Netaniel's head is at continues
"That scav runner we hit back at the compound. Fuckin' gold mine of stored data... Bear pulled a shit load from that chairjock after you wiped the place. Apparently they were in deep with Maelstrom... doing chrome swaps and dealing in iron with each other on a pretty regular basis. They'd split leaked corporate convoy intel and share spoils with each other. Even had corpo moles on their payroll... scavs with legitimate business fronts... deep shit. Of course, Maelstrom was gettin' the better of this exchange in a huge way. Easy guess is this scav hive we busted had scraps compared to their former partners." He pauses. "Other than that of course... they'll be curious what happened with their scav pipeline suddenly runnin' dry... soon enough…. they'll come sniffin' around... that's next stop choom."
Brian notices Netty looking down.. uninterested in what hes saying. A lot to take in for a kid who already feels in way over his head. The varying forces at play tugging at his emotions and nerves weigh heavily on him. Brian decides to change subject.
"See that burly gonk over there in the cheap suit lookin' like hes trying to figure out how to stand?"
Netty looks up and over at the guy.
"Marcus Santello.." Brian says as Netty sees the barely put together cheap suit standing alone at a bar counter looking impatient. He continues.
"Hold em responsible for the death of my best friend. Gonk found out I was still breathin'... did the smart thing and came runnin'….. Wannabe fixer. While most of us were playin in the mud and chasin' tail he was doin his best to be someone he clearly wasn't. Trying to make connections, network with the local huscle, introduce himself to corpo rats, the works."
"A lot of talkin' with a lack of accomplishment ain't gonna get ya very far in Night City. False promises.. ineptitude and an embarrassing string of gigs that went belly up. Tch... why I personally always stayed away from the gonk. Its like accomplishment tends to jump up and slap him in the face before slippin' right through the cracks. Watchin' him honestly illuminated to me why the merc life is such bullshit…. just not my steelo ya dig."
"You mean you're… not.. a merc?" Netty asks quickly looking over at him.
Brian giggles softly... a pause allows the party atmosphere to take over briefly.
"Lofty aspirations of becoming Night City Legend. Not only having the wealth.. but the entire city and it's networks revering who you are... eatin' out of the palm of your hand….?"
He pauses... taking another swig of his beer as Netty listens on.
"Sounds nice…. then you remember what Night City is…. the people who live in it… the people who play in it… and the people who truly control it. Scratching and clawing to reach the top of a shit heap... only to realize a shit mountain towers the fuck over it. Not the life for me." Brian concludes... taking another swig of his beer.
"So fuck status and fame for wealth and power… that the point-" Netty asks flatly.
"-The point is to get you and yours kid… and fuck the rest." He forcefully says. "Night City has no shortage of things... free for the taking. What that ends up bein' is on you... and you alone." He concludes before finishing his beer.
Brian glances down at Netty again... noticing him still in a haze, not much interested in the shit Brian is talking about.
He then notices him staring at something. He looks over to where Netty's gaze is locked in the distance and sees BugBear and Carter at a bar counter with their backs turned toward them... sharing drinks and laughing away. Their energy looks lively and celebratory as they chat together.
Brian connects the dots and starts to smirk.
"So what's goin' on with that." Brian mutters causing Netty to snap out of it and quickly look up at him, realizing what hes asking about.
"Wha-? Oh uhm… nothin. Why."
"Heheh… gotta work on that poker face kid. I'm assuming there was a reason neither of you showed at the deal originally."
"Dunno... she won't talk to me... trust me I've tried."
"Heh. Somethin' DID happen then huh." Brian says prodding like an annoying older brother with a smile.
Netty instantly thinks back to him and BugBear slowly dancing connected in his house. He sees her smiling face and feels her touch... her warmth. He doesn't respond... instead taking a deep breath while looking down.
Brian takes a few moments to look over at Carter and BugBear at the bar past foot traffic and people dancing.
"She might be scared." He claims
"Scared…? Tch.. Scared of what." Netty says dismissively frustrated.
"Ohh, Netty… my inexperienced choom... this is Night City... where yesterday's history and tomorrow's a mystery... gotta be careful what you choose to grab hold of and hold onto."
Brian says causing Netty to look over at BugBear and focus in on her.
"Sooner or later… for one reason or another… you just might be forced to let go of it." He concludes as he gets up off the chair next to Netty and begins to walk away toward Marcus. "Stop thinkin' about it too hard... grab a drink. We're celebrating.. remember."
Netty takes another glance over at BugBear and Carter.
"Get you and yours kid... fuck the rest... remember that." Brian shouts back over his shoulder over the booming music... leaving Netty to sit and ponder alone.
After sitting alone, sulking in the atmosphere for a while, Netty stands up and walks over to a trash bin to throw something away.
He stands there for a while checking out the party scene... finding nowhere really to fit in. Seeing a flood of vibrant colors and intense activity. He can't help but glance over at Carter and BugBear again.
As soon as he does, he sees Carter put his arm around BugBear's shoulder... breaking the touch barrier while laughing and talking to her... clearly they've had a few drinks.
Suddenly, Netty's vision gets covered as he hears a notification ping, causing him to look down and away. An icon of a cartoon, brown recluse spider pops out of a hole and roars at him like a lion before quickly retreating back into the hole and disappearing. A text message follows up the animation.
=Its me. We need to talk.=
A pause happens while she types. ...
=Jack in. You know where to meet. =
He reads the text messages before they promptly delete themselves which catches him off guard. He then quickly looks back up at where BugBear and Carter were sitting to find them no longer there… nothing left behind but a few empty glasses and barstools.
He takes a deep breath before looking down.
As he stands... alone... to the sound of loud booming music and crowds of intense party atmosphere, he receives a call on the holo. It's the same number that just texted him...
Netty pauses briefly... letting it ring a while unanswered before ignoring the call… dismissively chucking his thoughts and obligations out of his mind.
He pulls out a crinkled black cigarette he held onto from earlier and lights it. Attempting to take a very light drag... he begins to cough his lungs out. Cutting to black.