The final boom of barking iron echoes throughout a spacious compound. A smoking barrel comes into focus pointed over a now dead Animal booster ganger. A big and brutish bastard belonging to a tattooed group of ragtag, over augmented savages now tamed by the powers that be. Anna's jet-black corpo higheels are caressed by pooled blood beneath them amongst the stray groans of pain from battered and dying gangers throughout the compound. Fresh blood from a proper scrap slowly trails down her bare legs, past her ankles attempting to breech the well fitted seal of her high-heels housing her bare feet. The air was thick with the smell of gunsmoke… blood… and cracked chrome leaking tainted synth oil. She takes slow, deep breaths with her eyes closed… physical satisfaction rests within her quietly… privately behind her black shades as her team scours and secures the area.
She takes the time to enjoy the aftermath of her release… an unimaginable level of pent-up energy and anger within a lifetime of suppression. Can see why A-Tens like her can be in such a rush to volunteer for these... counter-offensives. The pressing weight of structure and order that bares down on her on a daily basis offers very few moments of raw, unfiltered… human release like this.
To Anna…. It's almost better than sex.
She retracts her Mantis Blades and auto-cools her various implants while looking about the Animal's compound. Several of her team members comb through rooms, interrogate half dead gangers, and catalogue event entries for later debriefs. Several of them approach her to check in and confirm the lack of what they came here for. Her eyes suddenly begin to glow orange as she receives a call on the holo... she steps away.
"Sitrep." The executive says in a flat tone.
"Tamed sir. Team is clear in their understanding of our data consolidation, however the p.o.i has not yet been located." Anna responds.
A long pause rests between the two amongst stray double taps and shrieks of pain going on in the background as he thinks. Anna takes a brief glance over her shoulder at the subsiding massacre.
"Internal search expansion beyond just the EPV is something we should've did from the jump." He stressly rubs his eyes with exhaustion. "Even with our obscurity limits there's still potential leads... privately funded contractors such as moles, manufacturers-"
"-And even ripperdocs…?" Anna interrupts.
The rarity of this moment grabs hold of both of them unexpectedly.... shes never talked out of turn.
"E-excuse me sir… but don't you think this is an overreach? Tampering with in-house contractors not under our direct supervision can be risky. Policy directives that step on other department's.. toes is..."
Seeing his dead stare through comms… she trails off… finally realizing just how out of place her interjection is. Maybe its just the release of adrenaline gifted from killing… or… perhaps this tiny ounce of psychological freedom shes been allotted to conduct this raid of theirs has her......…. out of line. The reality of who she is… what she's apart of… comes rushing back into focus like a dog yanked on a tight leash… tamping down whatever pesky individuality she's inconveniently sprouting.
He holds the lack of his response and silence like the sword of Damocles dangling above her neck. Her mouth dries out from the intensity of the silence as her throat begins to close. She suddenly pictures the elevator she rides up to the executive floors for privacy… where her humanity lives. Even with those levels of emotions creeping up to her surface… she remains poker faced. A true expert in her field.
He finally responds.
"Allow me to make something very clear to you Anna. Dawning Perpetualis being a black project under our responsibility means one of two things will happen.
One…
It's a success… and you and me make our way to board seats in the company that we, with our undeniable bodies of work and qualifications, obviously belong in."
He pauses and looks directly at her through the holo.
"Two…
It fails... In which case the fallout will be the likes of which neither you, nor' I… or any corporate conglomerate in the modern day for that matter could possibly be accustomed to."
Anna's entire body tenses up at his words hurled at her like brick walls.
"I need not to remind you of your place in this equation… do I Anna."
"N-no sir." She replies from the back of her throat shakily.
"Excellent." He replies promptly before a brief pause while he blatantly double checks her reaction and heart rate on his interface. Satisfied with the balanced results of fear and discipline. "Sync up with that street trash fixer of ours again and find out what the hell he's been doing.. his timed task is officially concluded if his progress lacks. Then make your way to our p.o.i's clinic.
Should be one..... Audrey Presca."
Back at Audrey's hideout, the crew is again preparing for war.
With his hand clasping the doorknob, Brian takes a final look at Zaunya's medical cocoon now laid resting in one of the rooms. He stares at her motionless frame… the echoes of past conversations of theirs float by gracefully in his head. The rare sound of her voice giggling in conversation with him during those times alone... a not so much simpler time he's grown to already miss. He closes the door.
He turns and faces everyone to the various sounds of preparation. The place was as busy as any Night City hub. Metal clinks together and licks leather as tools and weapons are sorted and holstered. The smell of freshly applied gun oil combines with the feint scent of metal and cigarette smoke. The crew moves about the space with busy grace as iron slide locks into place. Side conversations on strategy and contingencies rumble amongst them as the different beeps and whirrs chirp from prepping implants. Brian suddenly feels his arm yanked with force.. he quickly looks down to notice Audrey ushering him aside into the remaining open bedroom.
"B-Brian… i... i don't know about this. I… i d-don't like this." She whimpers.. beginning to hyperventilate in a panic filled with emotion.
He stoops down to get a good look into her eyes. "Listen… we both know they've started sniffin' around beyond our optics… if they show up to your clinic and you're not there… its over." He insists... his tone soft.
"B-But Brian… i…. i c-can't-"
"-Someone your asset class is gonna trigger a bloodhound search that neither of us can even begin to understan-"
"-YOU DON'T GET IT!!!" She shouts causing the house to stop and glance in the direction of the sound before they all continue getting ready.
She swats his hand off of her shoulder and takes a step back away from him… looking deep into his eyes in a frantic panic.
"ME!?.... ZAUNYA!? TH-THIS WAR!?!.. W-WE'RE NOT!! FREE!!!! S-SHE'S PETROCHEM!!-" Audrey gets choked up with emotion… unable to finish the statement as the weight of her world and what's being asked of her collide with a stranglehold in her chest. Her hands shake uncontrollably… covering her mouth. She helplessly weeps in Brian's chest as he pulls her in and holds her tight.
He feels the weight of her fear… doing his best to hold it with her. Understanding full well that what he's telling her to do is something he himself would never have the strength to.
Her panicked shaking in his arms feels far too familiar... It yanks the emotion out of him.
"I'll find you i… i promise Audrey… I'll….. I'll f-find you. I'm not gonna leave you." He whispers familiarly… cracking his voice. Intense fear and emotion grips the two of them as they embrace each other tightly. She's afraid….. and so is he.
A close up of Netty's cyberpunk yellow Kiroshi Oracles slowly zooms out. The black pupils on them shrink and expand… adjusting while he focuses on tweaking his mask resting on his lap... blinking yellow pixels with a subtle calmness. A gritty look of concentration rests on his face as Beatrice walks past him… she eyes that DR5 Nova she gave him patiently nested at his side on the couch. She promptly pulls up her holo pink runner interface to do some final checks while prepping her programs. She yanks a length of one of her neon-pink monowires out of her forearm… the sound of blazing hot wire from a more than active deck unzips. She double checks the new model... using the heat to light a fresh smoke... ensuring its spec's dialed in just right before rechambering it back into place in her forearm. Carter Blix steps past her headed in the opposite direction. He does some last minute stretching along with a breathing exercise he was taught and grown accustomed to. He feels the weight of his new chrome.. angling his hands under the lights of the living room… admiring the sleek shine of the cyberware's jet black finish. The servos in his gorilla armed hands whisk and whisp with every twist and turn of his tendons. He revels in Audrey's handiwork… having had her not only refine his ice but tailor his new implants to the ones he already had. Almost like what he got chipped was just the cherry on top.
Everyone does final checks… grabbing their various bags and equipment, armed to the teeth. They drape their jackets onto their backs and go over final thoughts and clarifications amongst each other while heading for the back door.
It closes.
A short time later, Audrey is next seen laying curled up alongside Zaunya's cocoon in her bed. She stares at her as her cocooned chest rises and lowers from slow steady breathing. Tears run down her face as she hesitates to let go... Audrey again hears Zayta's voice in her head during some pillow talk. She thinks back to the very last time they were ever together:
Zayta and Audrey giggle naked under silk sheets, cuddled tightly together. We catch them at the end of a very warming conversation.
"So, tell me about her… I see you laying there with those flushed cheeks and a smile you can't put down." Audrey whispers with a big smile and flushed cheeks of her own.
The ladies giggle together while adjusting their position in bed, Zayta responds.
"god she's…. she saved my life Audrey. Shes just…. so… Incredible..... my beautiful baby girl. Words can't even describe the changes she's made me go through overtime. Almost like shes teaching me just as much as I'm teaching her. Hasn't… really been easy navigating service and parenthood... the time they give me with her's just been getting shorter and shorter. Geez… with how she's been growing up… something's telling me its only gonna throttle." Zayta lets out a laugh with a soft smile before Audrey plants another kiss on her lips and shifts her position in bed. "I think you're going to love her Audrey… I really do."
"Oh yeah?" Audrey softly replies smiling... tracing circles on Zayta's chest.
The two stare deep into each other's eyes during a lengthy pause.
".........Her soul is kind." Zayta gently whispers... a tone of relief and gratefulness. She smiles hopefully into Audrey's gaze as the memory concludes.
Audrey's next seen with her jacket on standing over Zaunya's cocoon. An emotionless look rests on her stare… drained of the feelings that've led to this point in her life. She places a firm hand on the cocoon… continuing to gaze directly at Zaunya.
She finally removes it and stands up straight… a look she hasn't displayed in years returns… one of determination combined with grit washes over her as she turns to exit the hideout… sliding the door closed.
"And you're certain conducting an operation that entangled is going to yield the results you're looking for?" Aces asks Anna at the end of a angsty back and forth while glancing uneasy at his entourage of huscle being held back at the opposite end of a barricaded alleyway by Anna's corpo huscle.
Even with the circumstances of their dealings… the pair find a modicum of fleeting comfort in each other's familiarity. You can hear it in their voices.
"Results be damned. Even execution at this point doesn't take priority. Knife's falling. Anything in the way of it is getting sliced." Anna replies before glancing over at him. "And I won't be having any of it."
She says plainly as she reaches over and grabs Aces by his throat with one hand and effortlessly lifts him into the air. His violent, choking gasps for air give way to desperation. His people looking on get frantic... seeing their cashflow literally hanging in the balance.
"W-WAIT!! Y-YOU'RE… YOU'RE MAKING A MISTAKE!!"
"Too late fixer.. you had your run. Time's up." She concludes as she engages her mantis blade with her free hand. The crisp sleekness of the chrome quickly chambers with excitement… thirsty for more blood. Almost as if it engaged itself in hungry anticipation.
"P-PETROCHEM!! Y-YOUR WAREHOUSE EXPLOSION!! S-still lookin' for t-the struck match that sparked it right!!? I can…. I can bring them to you!" He struggles to say while being choked in the air.
Anna hesitates... squinting her eyes.
"….How the hell do you know about that." She mutters under her breath, relieving a bit of the pressure.
"O-one of my associates!... c-crossed paths with a… a jane! An operator! P-packed some… serious cyberware! Had a… bunch a… data shards on the cooked warehouse!!" Aces struggles to belt out.
Instead of a response, he gets a tighter squeeze around his throat nearly sealing his airway. He struggles with all of his strength… hoping his motor mouth spewing spit alongside words can outpace the jaws of life.
"I C-C….C-C….C-CAN F-FFFFIND HER!!!" He squeaks out as Anna continues to stare deep into his eyes suspended above her.
She stands silent for a clear moment… thinking… on her own.
She glances over at her convoy doing their job for a brief moment then back at Aces.
"Bring her… to me… immediately." She concludes in monotone… never relieving the pressure of the choke. Aces' eyes open wide as he realizes what she's doing.
His body goes limp in Anna's grasp… she drops him to the grime ridden concrete of Night City unconscious. Her high heels turn to stomp away back up the alley… one clop after another.