Making It in Night City - Chapter 24

It was evening later that day, and I was sitting at the counter in the infamous Lizzie's Bar. Mateo, the bartender, walked over and handed me the shot of vodka I had ordered. I picked up the chilled glass and felt the condensation that had turned to ice melt from the heat of my fingertips. I downed the shot and continued to survey my surroundings.

Lizzie's Bar's namesake was Elizabeth Borden, a former prostitute notorious for breaking clients' bones when they got too rough with her employees. Working girls and boys flocked to her because of that mentality, but it also created her downfall. One night, a group of Tyger Claws raped and killed one of her girls. In a fit of murderous rage, Lizzie tracked the perpetrators down and hacked them to bits with an axe.

Not stopping there, Lizzie then hung the corpses in front of her bar as a message to anyone that wanted to try their luck. The Tygers couldn't let this stand, so they flatlined Lizzie in retaliation. All the prostitutes in the city were outraged at the death of their protector, and they banded together to cause riots all over the city. The riots birthed The Mox, a gang that took up the mantle as the protectors of any joy toys seeking security.

The Mox gave it their best try at protecting as many people as they could, but it stretched them thin and made them vulnerable to more prominent gangs. Fighting everybody on behalf of the workers meant that The Mox made enemies faster than they were friends. Eventually, they had to make the hard decision to consolidate at Lizzie's bar and limit protection to those working for them.

Another fairy tale dream crushed by the brutal reality is Night City. But despite its perceived shortcomings, they still garnered a certain level of respect and trust for sticking to their original purpose. The best showcase would be how I didn't feel in danger despite technically being in a bar with armed gang members. Well, any more in danger than the NC yuzh, anyways.

Lizzie's Main Floor

While thinking about how funny it was that I felt safer next to prostitutes with spiked baseball bats than most police, a woman with pink hair walked into the bar. It was V, the focus of my attention for tonight. After telling her I had information on Hellman, I told V to meet me at Lizzie's tonight. While she was making her way to the bar, I hailed Mateo and asked him to give me another shot of vodka and make a special drink. As Mateo left to get me my order, V took the empty seat next to me.

If I had to use one word to describe V, it would be 'grizzled'. Like someone tired from a long day of manual labor or bashing in skulls. From what I could gather, this V had the 'streetkid' background and mainly did odd jobs for the smaller fixers and the Valentinos. That all stopped when she met Jackie Welles, and the game's main story started.

"Hello, V. Nice to see you still alive and well."

V gave me a once over, from head to toe, and grunted a greeting.

"Mmphm. I take it you're Basil. Let's cut to business. What do you want for Hellman?"

Mateo then walked over and dropped the two drinks I ordered. Being the excellent bartender he is, he sensed some serious business going on and left the scene right after doing his job. I slid the special drink I ordered for V over to the merc.

"Relax a bit. Here, have a drink on me."

V noticed the lime and the distinctive smell of ginger beer and immediately recognized the favorite drink of her former amigo. Her eyes filled with sadness and rage for a split second before squinting and focusing back on me, picking up the meaning behind the drink.

"As I said, relax and enjoy your drink."

I downed my shot of vodka and slammed the glass on the counter. V decided to trust me and raised her glass in a silent toast before swallowing it. Seeing her finish the drink, I stood up and beckoned her to follow me. We walked out of the main lounge and into a hallway with private booths. I opened the door to a room I rented ahead of time and motioned for V to get inside. I followed after her and closed the door behind me.

Once we took our seats, I grabbed the shard with Hellman's info and lightly tossed it to V. She caught it mid-air and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"The basic information on Hellman is there. Review it at your own pace, and then we'll talk details."

She hesitated a bit before inserting the shard into the back of her neck. Her eyes glazed over with the familiar blue as she perused the information on the convoy. Once done, she removed the shard and placed it on the table in the middle of the room.

"How can I know this information is legit?"

"Because I got it from Rogue. Check with her if you decide to waste more time while Johnny eats away at your brain."

The shock on the hardened merc's face after I dropped one of her most well-kept secrets was hilarious. Maybe a handful of people in this world know about Johnny's engram, and I sure as shit shouldn't be one of them. V's shock didn't last, and I watched as she collected herself and stayed silent, probably talking to the rocker-boy terrorist. Knowing Silverhand, he's probably telling V that this was all a trap and to zero me right now.

"Is he here right now? Did mentioning his effect on you get his attention?"

V hesitated for a moment before confirming my suspicions.

"Yeah. Know a way to get him to shut up?"

A small joke to lighten the mood. At least we're on the right track. It seems this V also doesn't like Johnny too much. I didn't trust Johnny at first. I mean, he did nuke Arasaka tower and kill god knows how many people. And the first thing Silverhand tried to do in my body was attempt suicide. First impressions are crucial, and Johnny's was the equivalent of walking into my room and shitting on my desk.

Over time, I formed a certain level of empathy for the guy. An unchecked anti-establishment sentiment fueled by drugs and loss almost made the end of his life predictable. If I was a deranged, depressed, and egotistical lunatic like him who had the same means and capabilities, I might have done the same things. It doesn't justify what he did; it just makes it understandable.

That's all besides the point. I need to focus back on track.

"There's only one way I know that will safely remove Johnny's engram from you, and it requires access to Arasaka's most well-guarded facility."

Before I could go any further, V interrupted me by holding her hand.

"Hold on a sec. Before we go any further, what's in it for you?"

I raised my hand to my face and rubbed a nonexistent beard. V is an integral part of my plan, but I wonder if I could trust her. Instinctually I want to because I associate V with myself, but this isn't the game, and she's effectively a stranger.

"I want the world to not burn to a crisp. To do that, I will need your help. Manners dictate I help you in return."

V bit her lips while she pondered whether to trust me or not. My lead on Hellman was probably the closest she's gotten to progress in a long time, but being a good merc means being suspicious of strangers.

"I'm going to need more."

Could I trust her? If I divulge what I know and my plans, she might turn around and try to cut a deal with Arasaka. Working with the megacorp is an option, after all. But then I remembered her eyes when she saw Jackie's drink. She missed her friend and wants a shot back at Yorinobu, Saburo, and Smasher. That pain was real. Fuck it. If I can't trust that, what can I trust?

"Fair enough. How about some bad news? Hellman can't help you."

V was stunned for a second before looking at me like I had just played the worst practical joke on her.

"What do you mean Hellman can't help me?! He's the lead engineer for the relic project. And if he can't help me, why the hell are we going after him?"

"He can't, but he'll be the ticket to the piece of tech that can. Arasaka stores and processes all its engrams with a supercomputer called Mikoshi. Once we nab Hellman, I'll use a favor to contact a board member who will help us eliminate Yorinobu. We'll then colle-"

"Wait! What's this about Yorinobu? Are you planning to overthrow the head of Arasaka?"

I could almost hear the dry laugh of Silverhand, who was either doing an 'I told you so' about me being crazy or saying he's starting to like me.

"Yorinobu has a death wish, and he's set on kicking off another Corpo War. Since I like being alive, Yorinobu's gotta go. Also, as long as he's in power, don't even think about getting close to Mikoshi."

"Shit. What the fuck did I get myself into."

"Honestly? Something that's probably way over your head. If I were you, I would have walked out right now if it weren't your only option."

V then gave me the stink eye and made a hand-waving motion, telling me to continue explaining my plan.

"As I was saying, once we get the board member on our side, we start collecting evidence that Yorinobu will light the place on fire and also find dirt on Saburo. We then give that information to Hanako, who will get rid of Yorinobu and become the new leader of Arasaka. Questions?"

"Why are we collecting dirt on Saburo? He's a dead man."

That's right; she doesn't know.

"Forgot to mention that. My bad. Saburo's not dead and is being kept in Mikoshi as an engram. We can't have that senile nutcase hellbent on world domination back in power. Next question."

"You can't be serious..."

I looked V in the eyes and mustered every ounce of truth into my words.

"Dead serious. I can't tell you how I know and why I would need proof if these were facts, but they are. And if we're to work together, you'll have to get used to trusting me on a bunch of the wild shit I'm going to say."

"Jesucristo. How confident are you that we can find information that will force Yorinobu's sister to get rid of him?"

In the game, the reasoning behind the emergency board meetings was so that Yorinobu could kill everyone not a part of his faction. It was never expressly mentioned, but it was evident that he was willing to kill family members in this process.

"I have intel that Yorinobu is planning a military coup against the other factions in Arasaka, killing anyone that disagrees with him. We get evidence of his plans, and even Hanako wouldn't save him."

"And Saburo?"

Ah, yes, the thorn in my side. This wily ol' fox didn't live so long without knowing how to cover his tracks. I didn't have anything on the guy other than that he wanted to destroy the NUSA and rule the world. The current hope was that Hanako didn't know about the true goal of Arasaka, and finding proof of Saburo's world domination plans was enough to convince her to abandon her father.

"Saburo's been building Arasaka into the global power that it is so he can take revenge on the NUSA for Japan's loss in World War Two. The old fart wants to wipe the states off the planet and take over the world. I don't believe Hanako is aware of this, and if we show her proof, it should be enough to sour her relationship with Pop. But just in case she knows, we'll need to find as much shady shit as possible to hedge our bets."

There's a slim chance that Hanako would be in the position she is in without knowing, so we'll need to cross our fingers on finding something worse.

Hearing my crazy plan and all the info bombs I just dropped on her, V rested her chin on her hands and started restlessly bouncing her legs. I could see her thinking about her chances of success without me and whether a small team could pull off what I had just outlined. A million thoughts were probably bouncing in her mind. I understood the gravity of what I was proposing, so I stayed silent and let the woman process the information for herself.

After a minute, she finally took a deep breath and sighed deeply.

"Fine. I'm in."

I smiled from ear to ear, happy to have V on board.

"Excellent. To celebrate, how about we go find a missing doll?"

It was evening later that day, and I was sitting at the counter in the infamous Lizzie's Bar. Mateo, the bartender, walked over and handed me the shot of vodka I had ordered. I picked up the chilled glass and felt the condensation that had turned to ice melt from the heat of my fingertips. I downed the shot and continued to survey my surroundings. Lizzie's Bar's namesake was Elizabeth Borden, a former prostitute notorious for breaking clients' bones when they got too rough with her employees. Working girls and boys flocked to her because of that mentality, but it also created her downfall. One night, a group of Tyger Claws raped and killed one of her girls. In a fit of murderous rage, Lizzie tracked the perpetrators down and hacked them to bits with an axe. Not stopping there, Lizzie then hung the corpses in front of her bar as a message to anyone that wanted to try their luck. The Tygers couldn't let this stand, so they flatlined Lizzie in retaliation. All the prostitutes in the city were outraged at the death of their protector, and they banded together to cause riots all over the city. The riots birthed The Mox, a gang that took up the mantle as the protectors of any joy toys seeking security. The Mox gave it their best try at protecting as many people as they could, but it stretched them thin and made them vulnerable to more prominent gangs. Fighting everybody on behalf of the workers meant that The Mox made enemies faster than they were friends. Eventually, they had to make the hard decision to consolidate at Lizzie's bar and limit protection to those working for them. Another fairy tale dream crushed by the brutal reality is Night City. But despite its perceived shortcomings, they still garnered a certain level of respect and trust for sticking to their original purpose. The best showcase would be how I didn't feel in danger despite technically being in a bar with armed gang members. Well, any more in danger than the NC yuzh, anyways. Spoiler Lizzie's Main Floor collapse While thinking about how funny it was that I felt safer next to prostitutes with spiked baseball bats than most police, a woman with pink hair walked into the bar. It was V, the focus of my attention for tonight. After telling her I had information on Hellman, I told V to meet me at Lizzie's tonight. While she was making her way to the bar, I hailed Mateo and asked him to give me another shot of vodka and make a special drink. As Mateo left to get me my order, V took the empty seat next to me. If I had to use one word to describe V, it would be 'grizzled'. Like someone tired from a long day of manual labor or bashing in skulls. From what I could gather, this V had the 'streetkid' background and mainly did odd jobs for the smaller fixers and the Valentinos. That all stopped when she met Jackie Welles, and the game's main story started. "Hello, V. Nice to see you still alive and well." V gave me a once over, from head to toe, and grunted a greeting. "Mmphm. I take it you're Basil. Let's cut to business. What do you want for Hellman?" Mateo then walked over and dropped the two drinks I ordered. Being the excellent bartender he is, he sensed some serious business going on and left the scene right after doing his job. I slid the special drink I ordered for V over to the merc. "Relax a bit. Here, have a drink on me." V noticed the lime and the distinctive smell of ginger beer and immediately recognized the favorite drink of her former amigo. Her eyes filled with sadness and rage for a split second before squinting and focusing back on me, picking up the meaning behind the drink. "As I said, relax and enjoy your drink." I downed my shot of vodka and slammed the glass on the counter. V decided to trust me and raised her glass in a silent toast before swallowing it. Seeing her finish the drink, I stood up and beckoned her to follow me. We walked out of the main lounge and into a hallway with private booths. I opened the door to a room I rented ahead of time and motioned for V to get inside. I followed after her and closed the door behind me. Once we took our seats, I grabbed the shard with Hellman's info and lightly tossed it to V. She caught it mid-air and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "The basic information on Hellman is there. Review it at your own pace, and then we'll talk details." She hesitated a bit before inserting the shard into the back of her neck. Her eyes glazed over with the familiar blue as she perused the information on the convoy. Once done, she removed the shard and placed it on the table in the middle of the room. "How can I know this information is legit?" "Because I got it from Rogue. Check with her if you decide to waste more time while Johnny eats away at your brain." The shock on the hardened merc's face after I dropped one of her most well-kept secrets was hilarious. Maybe a handful of people in this world know about Johnny's engram, and I sure as shit shouldn't be one of them. V's shock didn't last, and I watched as she collected herself and stayed silent, probably talking to the rocker-boy terrorist. Knowing Silverhand, he's probably telling V that this was all a trap and to zero me right now. "Is he here right now? Did mentioning his effect on you get his attention?" V hesitated for a moment before confirming my suspicions. "Yeah. Know a way to get him to shut up?" A small joke to lighten the mood. At least we're on the right track. It seems this V also doesn't like Johnny too much. I didn't trust Johnny at first. I mean, he did nuke Arasaka tower and kill god knows how many people. And the first thing Silverhand tried to do in my body was attempt suicide. First impressions are crucial, and Johnny's was the equivalent of walking into my room and shitting on my desk. Over time, I formed a certain level of empathy for the guy. An unchecked anti-establishment sentiment fueled by drugs and loss almost made the end of his life predictable. If I was a deranged, depressed, and egotistical lunatic like him who had the same means and capabilities, I might have done the same things. It doesn't justify what he did; it just makes it understandable. That's all besides the point. I need to focus back on track. "There's only one way I know that will safely remove Johnny's engram from you, and it requires access to Arasaka's most well-guarded facility." Before I could go any further, V interrupted me by holding her hand. "Hold on a sec. Before we go any further, what's in it for you?" I raised my hand to my face and rubbed a nonexistent beard. V is an integral part of my plan, but I wonder if I could trust her. Instinctually I want to because I associate V with myself, but this isn't the game, and she's effectively a stranger. "I want the world to not burn to a crisp. To do that, I will need your help. Manners dictate I help you in return." V bit her lips while she pondered whether to trust me or not. My lead on Hellman was probably the closest she's gotten to progress in a long time, but being a good merc means being suspicious of strangers. "I'm going to need more." Could I trust her? If I divulge what I know and my plans, she might turn around and try to cut a deal with Arasaka. Working with the megacorp is an option, after all. But then I remembered her eyes when she saw Jackie's drink. She missed her friend and wants a shot back at Yorinobu, Saburo, and Smasher. That pain was real. Fuck it. If I can't trust that, what can I trust? "Fair enough. How about some bad news? Hellman can't help you." V was stunned for a second before looking at me like I had just played the worst practical joke on her. "What do you mean Hellman can't help me?! He's the lead engineer for the relic project. And if he can't help me, why the hell are we going after him?" "He can't, but he'll be the ticket to the piece of tech that can. Arasaka stores and processes all its engrams with a supercomputer called Mikoshi. Once we nab Hellman, I'll use a favor to contact a board member who will help us eliminate Yorinobu. We'll then colle-" "Wait! What's this about Yorinobu? Are you planning to overthrow the head of Arasaka?" I could almost hear the dry laugh of Silverhand, who was either doing an 'I told you so' about me being crazy or saying he's starting to like me. "Yorinobu has a death wish, and he's set on kicking off another Corpo War. Since I like being alive, Yorinobu's gotta go. Also, as long as he's in power, don't even think about getting close to Mikoshi." "Shit. What the fuck did I get myself into." "Honestly? Something that's probably way over your head. If I were you, I would have walked out right now if it weren't your only option." V then gave me the stink eye and made a hand-waving motion, telling me to continue explaining my plan. "As I was saying, once we get the board member on our side, we start collecting evidence that Yorinobu will light the place on fire and also find dirt on Saburo. We then give that information to Hanako, who will get rid of Yorinobu and become the new leader of Arasaka. Questions?" "Why are we collecting dirt on Saburo? He's a dead man." That's right; she doesn't know. "Forgot to mention that. My bad. Saburo's not dead and is being kept in Mikoshi as an engram. We can't have that senile nutcase hellbent on world domination back in power. Next question." "You can't be serious..." I looked V in the eyes and mustered every ounce of truth into my words. "Dead serious. I can't tell you how I know and why I would need proof if these were facts, but they are. And if we're to work together, you'll have to get used to trusting me on a bunch of the wild shit I'm going to say." "Jesucristo.How confident are you that we can find information that will force Yorinobu's sister to get rid of him?" In the game, the reasoning behind the emergency board meetings was so that Yorinobu could kill everyone not a part of his faction. It was never expressly mentioned, but it was evident that he was willing to kill family members in this process. "I have intel that Yorinobu is planning a military coup against the other factions in Arasaka, killing anyone that disagrees with him. We get evidence of his plans, and even Hanako wouldn't save him." "And Saburo?" Ah, yes, the thorn in my side. This wily ol' fox didn't live so long without knowing how to cover his tracks. I didn't have anything on the guy other than that he wanted to destroy the NUSA and rule the world. The current hope was that Hanako didn't know about the true goal of Arasaka, and finding proof of Saburo's world domination plans was enough to convince her to abandon her father. "Saburo's been building Arasaka into the global power that it is so he can take revenge on the NUSA for Japan's loss in World War Two. The old fart wants to wipe the states off the planet and take over the world. I don't believe Hanako is aware of this, and if we show her proof, it should be enough to sour her relationship with Pop. But just in case she knows, we'll need to find as much shady shit as possible to hedge our bets." There's a slim chance that Hanako would be in the position she is in without knowing, so we'll need to cross our fingers on finding something worse. Hearing my crazy plan and all the info bombs I just dropped on her, V rested her chin on her hands and started restlessly bouncing her legs. I could see her thinking about her chances of success without me and whether a small team could pull off what I had just outlined. A million thoughts were probably bouncing in her mind. I understood the gravity of what I was proposing, so I stayed silent and let the woman process the information for herself. After a minute, she finally took a deep breath and sighed deeply. "Fine. I'm in." I smiled from ear to ear, happy to have V on board. "Excellent. To celebrate, how about we go find a missing doll?"