NCPD was taking too long again. My anger brewed as I tried to make the best decision. I already went through all the open areas and took photos to analyze later with a clearer mind.
I went inside and back out a few times already just to double check things, but as soon as I looked at the body, I felt myself needing to go out again.
This must be done properly.
I can be observant, but I am no Sherlock, and a displaced food package tells me nothing. Much less the scuffing on the metal bars on the window.
…
"It's most likely a suicide." A lanky NCPD officer stated as he walked out of the apartment, holding his nose. He was finishing the initial assessment after taking my information.
The man looked famished, and his eyes were dead.
"I don't agree. And"
"It doesn't matter what you think."
In silent shock, I repeated myself from what I already told the operator.
"The cuts? The bruises?"
"Can be self inflicted. Look, man, people who commit suicide do it in silence and can have plenty of other things going on. That doesn't prove or suggest anything on its own. An autopsy is needed to reveal the details." His tone was sharp yet not entirely unkind.
I tried to argue, but the man's logic was solid. I had no evidence. This shoddy apartment complex did not even have any cameras, and I could not justify to the law the obvious murder by saying that Rosa had so much planned and would never kill herself.
The investigator looked upwards as he recited the information from memory or from a shitty interface.
"Female, age 44. No living relatives on record. Lives alone. No obvious signs of a break in or anything valuable getting stolen. It's really unlikely it's anything but suicide."
I have broken in there myself though, technically. And stole the car keys. Clearly not looking hard enough. But I guess they are looking for something more violent to even start an investigation.
"What will happen now?"
"The State will take control of all the assets of the deceased, including all property and accounts, since there are no living relatives to receive the inheritance. That is if a living relative doesn't file a claim within a two week period."
I can possibly make an identity like that. Giving everything she had built to Night City is bullshit. I need to play this right. Maybe even change my face and get surgery from Vik.
"Got it. Thank you, Officer," I said, smiling slightly. The man deals with death more than me.
I began leaving. The longer I stayed, the less my identity of a worried friend would go unquestioned.
On my way outside, I saw a familiar officer with a ponytail, who briefly investigated the time I was ambushed. She looked at me with unusual hatred as she walked to the crime scene.
Walking past her as she moved inside the building, I heard a growl from her in passing.
"You lowlife bastard…"
Anger rose in me as I got the implication. The fuck is her problem? I turned back to look at her, but she was already getting busy and scanning every nook and cranny of the building.
You better find something, bitch.
In the train of thought, I felt the car keys in my pocket stab my thigh as I walked.
I took them out and stared at them again.
I'm taking the Quadra. This might be my last chance to get it.
Looking around, I was not sure where to look for it, but then again, the car keys have a button for that.
It looked like it was parked not far down the road as car headlights flashed briefly and the horn sounded.
A REO Meatwagon vehicle passed in the direction of the apartment complex. I stopped to see if a certain somebody would come out to collect the body.
Not twenty seconds later, it stopped, and I zoomed in with my optic.
Sure enough, Gloria Martinez hopped off the vehicle and began rolling out the stretcher.
Along with… Yoko Ono and Janet Usuyk. Noted.
Sending an anonymous message is easy, even more so at this range. Sasha did give me a quick guide, but the execution is easy.
"If you try to sell any part of the body you are collecting to the black market, I'm going to kill you and your son.
Be respectful."
Gloria stopped in her tracks before continuing as if nothing happened. I hope this means she got it.
Rosa's hands must be gone along with the rest of her body, because it's what made her. Even though I don't fully intend to go through with this promise, it's only right that she needs a little scare.
Slowly, I reached Rosa's Quadra Type 66 640 TS. I didn't recognize it at first. The entire body was now properly painted matte black, all the bumps cleaned up, even new shiny discs.
Before that, the Quadra had looked like it was saved from a scrapyard. Now it looked sleek, how it was meant to be.
I opened the car and sat in the driver seat.
The dash booted up, and I saw that the scanner jammer was running. That's nova.
Sitting there, I appreciated every little detail that was put into this. Sure, the dash was missing a few buttons, but fuck yeah. Full synth leather seats with heating, original steering wheel, and tinted windows.
Looking around, I noticed that the latch on the glove compartment was not fully closed, and I opened it out of curiosity.
More installation manuals, legal documentation, and surprisingly, a bundle of old school business cards of various businesses.
Closing the glove compartment latch did not work again. I'll fix it.
Looking around, I saw many small things yet to be fixed.
This car needs proper care. But first, it cannot stay here. It's getting late anyway. I should drive back and work on the
Actually, I don't feel like working right now at all. I'm good with money for now. I can afford food. And soon, I will have enough to make some moves.
Maybe a drive around Night City will be right. Picking up the key, I inserted it into the electronic reader, and the car roared to life.
Its 555 horsepower engine rumbled and begged to be used, and I felt it in my ass.
The fuel tank was halfway full. The HUD lit up as it tried connecting to GPS, and the turret interface initiated, projecting the trajectory of fire onto the dashboard.
I slowly drove out and took it all in. I did not have a set direction in mind and just followed the path where I saw the brightest colors and open roads.
Familiar and unfamiliar buildings flooded everything.
I saw the usual street violence and bands performing soul music on the streets.
Kids playing basketball and adults ingesting drugs on the sidewalks.
Mountains of trash and people putting up little fake plants on their windows.
I drove by the center of Night City and its outskirts, nearly reaching the places cars this sexy should not go.
Driving recklessly, not a soul tried to stop me. With a car like this, there was almost a guarantee they would be left in the dust.
Finally, I stopped as I drove all the way to the hills next to the city and overlooked it once again. I stepped out and sat on the hood, careful not to dent it. It's a pain in the ass to fix properly.
A city that looked like a nightclub. Insane view to take in, with possibilities that are second to none.
I hate this place.
It has no justice for the people who want to live… or leave.
Breathing deeply to contain my emotions, I felt dirty air irritate my lungs.
Driving around wasn't it. It just made me more miserable.
Time passed, and I just stared into the distance, getting lost in meaningless thoughts.
Fuck it.
I called Sasha. I don't know if she would answer. It's pretty late.
"Hi."
Oh. She is using a voice modulator this time.
"I just wanted to hang out. Maybe get a drink."
"You called at a bad time. I'm REALLY busy."
This explains the modulated voice.
"That's fine."
"Maybe some other time? Does tomorrow work?"
"Don't mean to guilt trip you."
"About what?"
"I'm planning on getting really, really drunk, and I'd rather not be alone."
There was a long silence on the other end.
"What's wrong?"
I looked around, and my sight rested on the Quadra.
"Celebrating, I guess. I got a new car, unexpectedly."
"Sorry, Cael. Not today. Please keep your undies on this time."
"Still don't owe a pair."
Sasha snickered.
"Have fun."
"Thanks. Good luck."
The call ended.
Maybe Vik? Nah. People's lives rely on him having a clear head. It'd be selfish for me to force him to drink with me.
Jackie. He is always up for something. Right.
"Jackie! My man!"
"Hermano! I'm with a lady. Is everything alright?"
The background noise was that of a nightclub with energetic music.
"Oh, nothing. Just wanted to say I got myself a ride. Good luck, man. You got the charm."
"Appreciate it, choom. Gotta go."
Huh. I'm alone.
Sasha might have a date going for her as well. Bold of me to assume that anybody's life revolves around me.
Standing up, I headed back inside the car.
Maybe it's for the better.
I sat inside and pondered. What bar should I go to? Maybe grab a few bottles and drink at my place?
Nah. That's way too depressing. Rosa would have clowned on me for this.
I started the engine and sped down toward Night City again.
Sleeping this awful day off is the best for now. Maybe I will dream about a nicer place.
…
Why am I here? Why did I have to come to Arasaka Tower?
I can't concentrate.
Alarms blared as more security rushed in, fully equipped in heavy armor and weaponry. They changed up the equipment, rivaling that of MaxTac.
Activating my Sandevistan, I rushed toward them, deploying my thermal mantis blades and slashing the group.
Stabbing the weak points in the plating, loading the corpses with quickhacks just to ensure nobody gets up.
Blood exploded as I stopped my Sandevistan. It showered me, but my optics didn't need to blink.
I only used it for half a second, but the drawback is unbearable.
My entire body jolted as my nervous system was completely overloaded on chrome. It was hard to stand, but I locked my knee joints and spine to avoid falling down.
Keep going. It's near.
Yes. Don't remind me.
Netrunners acting from the camera networks long found themselves fried as soon as they touched the Blackwall corrupted security network. NetWatch is sure to intervene.
My EMP gun was destroyed. Grenades were all used up. No more medical supplies left.
It's near. It's near.
I picked up a heavy machine gun from a corpse, but the grip was welded to the corpse's hand. Stomping the hand along with the handle, I ripped the machine gun from the resulting scrap.
These rooms are complicated, with plenty of offshooting corridors and rooms. Where is it?
Go right. It's near.
Yes.
I placed the machine gun on my shoulder and ran toward the right door, ignoring the direction from where this group came in.
Machinery. More of it. It's right. Big doors up ahead.
As soon as I opened the door remotely, a huge figure stood in the way, immediately opening fire from a gun in his hands.
Activating my Sandevistan, I concentrated on the figure and assumed a firing position.
Adam Smasher. The room you are in seems familiar.
Opening fire, I saw that I was met with bullets coming my way as well. Right. Smasher also had a Sandevistan. But the speed seemed like he had upgraded.
Abandoning the machine gun, I jumped sideways, activating my Kerenzikov and initiating overclock.
Cyberpsychosis won't work on Adam Smasher, who is already a psycho.
Cyberware malfunction. Overheat. Reboot optics. Jam weapon.
//WARNING: NEURAL LOAD EXCEEDS SAFE PARAMETERS//
//ADRENALINE GENERATOR OUTPUT: 412%//
//THERMAL REGULATION FAILURE IMMINENT//
His Black ICE activated and tried killing me as well as neutralizing my hacks.
Agony. I felt as though my entire body was melting. I couldn't stop Black ICE in time.
//BLACK ICE CONTACT DETECTED//
//COUNTERMEASURE RESPONSE TIME: INSUFFICIENT//
//PAIN SUPPRESSION OVERRIDDEN//
Keeping Sandevistan active and overclocking for more than a second is not sustainable for now.
Deactivating it, I rolled to the side, evading fire. But Smasher is not a guy to give a time out.
Uploading hacks will take a while.
"GASSED OUT? COME HERE!" he said in a distorted voice. A charade. He can afford a nicer one.
I deployed the mantis blades and rushed at him, as the first cyberware malfunction was soon to be executed.
But Adam activated a Sandevistan of his own and rushed me first, launching an EMP projectile out of his hand, then immediately approaching to punch me from the side.
Stupid. Sidestep the projectile. I pointed my right thermal mantis blade toward his fist, but he quickly adjusted to punch me in the head.
I went flying as my neck connectors cracked, and my cyberdeck, Kerenzikov support system, and cooling system sent a signal of critical damage.
Use the Sandevistan. I quickly twisted in the air to avoid the heavy fire Adam prepared to shoot me again.
Landing as low as possible, I headed toward the room where Adam came from. It had more space.
Bullets hit my back, but the heavy chitin armor held and even boosted me forward with its momentum.
I entered the room and closed the door behind me with a quick command from the buffer.
A dark room full of columns of server racks and stairs to a high ground level overlooking the racks.
I quickly went for a hiding spot behind one of the server racks.
Not a second later, the sound of exploding and twisting metal was heard as Adam Smasher busted through the heavy metal door.
"HIDING NOW? YOU CUNT."
Heavy footsteps were heard as he approached in my direction.
I need a breather. Not that I have lungs left.
Agony.
Sit still. Wait until
"ARGH!"
First hack uploaded.
Jumping from behind the column, I took out my mantis blades and quickly found Adam's huge figure on his knee as my cyberware malfunction prioritized disabling the lower implants and all mobility.
Approaching rapidly, I noticed a twitch as Adam adjusted and began shooting with a single hand on the ground.
I jumped forward with the most force my legs could muster and momentarily activated Sandevistan to avoid incoming attacks. My vision began flickering in and out.
High caliber bullets hit my legs and pelvis, and I felt my body recoil from the impact. Not enough.
The left mantis blade hit Adam near his neck. The second targeted his elbow joint on his left cybernetic hand. Penetration was not deep. His body held.
For maximum damage, I slid the blades sideways, but his damaged left hand exploded with force and hit my head, knocking out my left optic completely.
//ERROR: LEFT OPTIC: CRITICAL//
Skull augment cracked. Manageable.
Agony.
"IS THIS THE BEST YOU CAN DO, MAGGOT?"
Is it?
Agony.
As I tried to regain my footing, I found that I wasn't fast enough to finish him in time.
//SENSORY OVERLOAD//
//VISUAL INPUT DESYNC//
//AUDITORY CHANNEL DROPPED//
The world fell into silence, and I felt the vibrations of Adam's voice through my feet.
Second hack executed, and Adam's cooling system malfunctioned and made him burst into flames, intensifying as he stood up. It did not slow him down.
I need more cyberware malfunctions to kill him, but the temperature would kill me faster.
You just need to reach it.
Yes.
I queued one more cyberware malfunction, but his system began to adapt, making the uploads even slower.
His optics will reboot in 1.3 seconds. Too slow.
Adam dashed toward me with a side kick. Speed was insane, but the trajectory was predictable.
His giant flaming foot landed on my chest, and I negated part of the damage by jumping backward, but my balance was destroyed, opening me up to a rain of bullets without time to dodge.
I tried deflecting the bullets with my mantis blades, but the high caliber and the distance made full deflection impossible.
A full barrage unleashed on me.
///MOTOR FUNCTIONS OVERRIDE: 172%///
I swung my blades wildly.
Shot in the arms. Shot in the shoulders. Shot in the legs.
Head protected.
But the magazine was not infinite, nor was the time Adam could see where he was shooting.
As soon as I saw his accuracy fade, I dashed forward while he was blinded.
With full force, I aimed for his head, but his head might be a false target.
Aiming lower, at the chest area, I stabbed as fast as I could to damage the systems.
His gun fired the last few bullets it had and jammed.
Adam put up a guard with his hands and tossed away the heavy machine gun completely, denying access to his frame.
The ground rumbled as his voice box produced sounds I could not hear.
His vision is bound to come back within a second.
Then Adam's rocket shoulder pod moved and armed.
Activating Sandevistan again, I reached out and let my right cybernetic hand latch onto Smasher's.
///DEPLOYING MALICE///
///LOCKS DISENGAGED///
My hand disconnected at the wrist and deployed crystalline claws that pierced the electronics in Smasher's flaming arm.
///BLACKWALL BREACH PROTOCOL INITIATED//
//BLACKWALL BREACH: UNAUTHORIZED PROCESSING//
//PRIVILEGE ESCALATION DETECTED//
///DISCONNECTION SUCCESSFUL///
Not a second later, Adam's body began to convulse as countless cyber daemons and rogue AIs invaded his body.
Rockets that were prepared to be launched began flying off in different directions, most of them pointing straight to the ground, effectively making Smasher commit suicide.
A few rockets flew my way, and I dashed away as fast as I could.
I have time left. Turning around, I headed for my target.
The doors were right there. Manual only. No matter.
I approached and inserted my mantis blades into the middle of the door and shredded the locks one by one.
Pulling apart the door with my left arm, I saw it. I finally saw it. My freedom.
No. You are too late.
The pod. I need to destroy it.
///Welcome///
My vision flooded with mirrors. The colors and angles were like that of a kaleidoscope. This is how it is.
Pure agony.
"AAAAH!"
What? WHAT!?
I'm… what?
A dream? No.
It's not.
I stood up from the couch and grabbed my gun. There was nobody in the room.
"Who is this!? Who spoke?"
The door was clearly locked. Nobody in the room.
I awoke.
"Are you in my head? What the fuck is going on?"
I awoke.
"What? Stop! STOP! Go away!" I banged my head with my gun.
There was a long silence as I looked around. What is causing this?
A file opened on my HUD. I'm hacked? Who did this? How is this possible?
Slowly, letters began to appear as I tried to stop it, but it reappeared each time I forcibly closed it.
///
I
A
M
S
C
///
SC? Who?
"AAAAAARGH! STOP!" I frantically activated overclock to stop the hacker.
Overclock stopped the millisecond I tried booting it.
I'm done. It has full control.
I turned to the door with my gun and waited for noise. The only thing I heard was passing cars on the road down below.
The file began typing letters again. This time, faster.
///Search and Copy. I saved you. I nurture you. I help you. I am with you. I am here. I am elsewhere. I study. I am a teacher. I am a student.///
My head felt… sleepy.
I don't understand.
My entire body refused to listen, and I fell backward, hitting my head on the stack of dirty laundry.
///Sleep. Eat. Learn. Silence. Experience. Search. Copy. Escape.///
As if on command, I began to fall asleep.
"No… Help… Help… Please… No…"
…
A forest?
How beautiful. The colors. The radiance of the sun. It's breathtaking.
No. This is a dream.
I want to wake up. Please.
Walking around, I tried to force my brain into waking me up, but the only thing I saw was the dreamscape shift slightly.
Walking through it, I noticed that one of the paths led to nothing, then a mirror surface appeared, impossibly clear.
There stood me.
"I am SC. Ask questions."
Please, let me live.
"Are you God?"
My mirror self did not change expression.
"I am Search and Copy. I am a function."
"Are you a program? A personality engram?"
"I am a function."
"Answer! What are you?"
"I am a creation of man. One with a clear purpose."
"…Search and Copy? Search and Copy what?"
"Yourself. They."
The dreamscape became darker as colors turned bleak.
"Why am I here? What do you want?!"
"Integrate. Resist. Survive. Copy. Improve."
"How am I here? What is this universe?"
"Search and Copy. Infinity."
The whole forest faded into nothingness at the edges of my vision, and all I could see was myself, unable to avert my gaze.
"Use my body well."
"What are you saying?"
"Sleep. Eat. Improve. Survive."
Then, with a snap, the dream ended, and I found myself awake once again as my useless alarm blared. I sat up from a dirty pile of clothes and looked around.
A message from Sasha popped up.
"Free tonight? How was the night?"
Go. Food.
The voice… it's here.