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From Badlands To Good Times A Cyberpunk 2077 Tale	By : Crystal_Dreams_Writes Category: -Misc Video Games/RPGs > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 3887 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Cyberpunk 2077 nor the characters from it I do not make any money or profit in any way from the writing of this story

Chapter List
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V had gotten up early the following day, corpo jobs always meant big money but also a big risk, and considering how Vaughn had just gotten his new position, he was the new kid, and everybody wanted to dunk on the new kid. V found herself in the parking garage of her building, she had just conditioned the trunk of the Dusk into a solo’s dream case, she could now have a small arsenal on the go, room for rifles, handguns, submachine guns, grenades, and even MaxDocs and AirHypos. As she finished the setup, she got a call “Hey Jack, how’s it going?” Jackie smirked, he was used to a late sleeper V “Chica, got word from Gustavo, we’re on” V nodded as she closed the trunk “Right on choom, where’s the meet? His place?” Jackie shook his head “Nah chica, he’s gonna mix it up this time, he’s having breakfast with his girl at Reconciliation Park, and he’s gonna meet us there” V smirked and simply nodded afterward “Fancy… Want me to pick you up, or would you rather meet there?” Jackie thinks for a moment “You can pick me up, I’m at Misty’s, so it should be on the way, meet in five?” V nods as she opens the door to her car and starts the engine “Meet you in five, Jackie, corner outside?” Jackie nods again “You know it chica, ahí te veo”.

It wasn’t really a long way from her apartment building to Misty’s Esoterica, just head over to Tom’s Diner, turn right, drive one block, and finally turn left. But sometimes the early traffic in Night City could be an issue, people finishing the graveyard shift would meet the people just starting the morning shift on the way. As she was thinking that, she got another call, unknown ID too. This was getting so usual, it stopped bothering her. “Hello, is this V?” the usual line too, she simply nodded “Speakin’, how may I help you?” The caller smiled “This is Beatrice, you and your partner helped me and got me out of a jam recently” V blinked, the name didn’t ring a bell “Beatrice? I’m sorry, I’m having trouble remembering” The caller smirked “Try 8ug8ear then!” V chuckled, even if she carried her to safety she had trouble recognizing her “Ah, Wakako’s netrunner! Glad to see you’re doing better choom, what’s up?” The netrunner simply smiled “Wakako told me how you and your partner put your asses on the line to get me out of that building, I wanted to thank you both, and if there’s anything I can do to repay you, just let me know” V kept driving and she was approaching the destination “I’m just glad you are doing alright… Say, you’re a netrunner, perhaps you could do something for me?” Beatrice nodded “Of course, I normally charge for any kind of work, but I owe you, so, what do you need?” V continued “I was thinking of getting some daemons I could use on the field, I’m not a chair jockey, but I could use that extra oomph out there, you know? Think you could get me a few daemons that could be easy to use?” Beatrice grinned, and nodded “Yup, why don’t you give me a few days to work on something? I’ll code something nova for you, give you a call when done?” V nods, pulling over as she had just seen Jackie approach “Thanks 8ug—Beatrice, I appreciate it” Beatrice grinned “You can call me whatever you like… Talk to you in a few days!”.

The door opened and Jackie got into the car “Man, chica, I just can’t get over this amazing ride, everyone’s got their eyes on you” he looked at her and then grinned “Though that might be for a different reason” V smirked, he had reason to remark that. Even if they were on their way to meet with Gustavo Orta, she dressed as skimpy as ever: a leather microskirt, fishnet stockings, heavy boots, a knotted top with a very generous cleavage, and a short jacket. “Good mornin’ to you too choom” she says as they finally depart “Ain’t a bit too early for you to be all hormonal?” Jackie smirks, scratching the back of his head “Y-yeah, haven’t had sexy times with Misty for a few days now, think she’s mad at me, and that game you’re playing with that cute Mox is just makin’ my mind fly chica” V chuckles as they slowly drive away from Watson and head to Heywood “What’s wrong with Misty?” Jackie simply shrugs “She worries, y’know? She gets scared whenever she hears we’re doin’ Valentino gigs, and I haven’t even told her we’re doin’ corpo jobs too, she’d lose her mind. She thinks I don’t take shit seriously, you know?” V continues to drive while listening to Jackie “Might have a point, choom. You know how she feels about you, she’s just worried” Jackie groans, but ends up nodding “True V, but I don’t feel like lying to her about the jobs. I can’t just tell her we’re doing light stuff. I lie to her plenty about… Well, everything else” With those words, he slides his hand on V’s leg, caressing it, she grins, turning to look at Jackie momentarily “Easy Jack, don’t start somethin’ you know you can’t finish”.

Eventually, they make it to Reconciliation Park, it was surprisingly one of the newer parts of the city, built sometime during the latest Reconstruction period of the city. Night City hadn’t been exactly fortunate when it comes to keeping itself together: Natural disasters, the mob, gang warfare, nuclear detonations. The districts had been redrawn and renamed so often that it was a miracle people could tell where their homes were. The way V heard it, Reconciliation Park was a tribute to Richard Night, most of his trademarks in architecture were present around it, it was surely designed to be one of those peaceful and family-friendly corpo spots, but the presence of Valentino members and homeless people were a rude awakening. It was a massive park with an artificial lake and a quaint little restaurant near the center. “Alright V, let’s get going” Jackie got out of the car, and looked into the park, breathing in “It sure looks pretty, would be nice if the trees were real though” V remembered that at one point, Biotechnica’s collaboration with the park was to supply the vegetation, and in spite of the park looking good, and the trees looking sufficiently real, the smell of the pollution tended to break the illusion.

As the duo made their way down the park, they started to see more and more Valentinos around the area, and the catcalling almost immediately started. Jackie almost got in a scuffle against a big guy who had gotten a bit too handsy with V, not that she minded, but Jackie felt he had to be protective of her for some reason. Of course, the closer they got to the restaurant, and Gustavo, the catcalling diminished, it was one thing to mess with Jackie and get on his nerves, but mess with Gustavo Orta, underboss of the Valentinos? That was an entirely different thing. V and Jackie finally arrive at the restaurant, Gustavo was dressed impeccably as always and he was accompanied by his beloved Martha “V, Jaquito! Welcome, can I offer you something to eat? Come, come, siéntense” he offers the duo to sit in front of him and Martha, V nods and as she takes a seat, she looks at Martha “You look good today” she says as Martha smiles “Thank you V, things seem to be looking up” Gustavo glanced at V more than once, though he was far more discrete in doing so than any of his men “So what’s this all about? Jaquito told me you need to see my cousin?” V nods “He’s been doing some work for a corp, and I fear the corp is about to turn the tables on him” Gustavo frowns, leaning against his seat “José Luis always keeps his biz to himself, I never question him and he always delivers, what makes you think he’s about to be crossed?” V continues “He’s been procuring weapons, gear, and vehicles from Militech, for Arasaka, I have a contact in Arasaka and he tells me they are about to roll against him, some sort of sacrifice for the media” Gustavo sucked air through his teeth “Mierda…” Martha instinctively holds his hand, Gustavo simply nods, his eyes glowing as he makes a call “José Luis… Tavo here… Listen mano, I am sending you two peeps to meet with you at the depot, make sure your people don’t fucking shoot them, they have something important to tell you… Sí… Sí… Jackie Welles and V. Yeah, that V. Orale mano, cuídate. Hasta luego”.

As the call ends, Gustavo looks at V and Jackie again “He’ll be waitin’ for you at the bus depot… V, Jaquito… Do me a favor, and whatever bullshit this pendejo got himself into, pull him out of, please?” V nods as she stands, Jackie follows suit “That’s why we’re here, you think of us as family, we’re returning the courtesy before things go to shit” Gustavo nods, kissing Martha’s hand “You know where the depot is, right?” V nods as she turns around, starting to walk away, Jackie following her “I know, we’ll be there in no time” and with that, both V and Jackie made their way to the car. A few minutes later, they were on their way to the bus depot “That’s quite the story you told Gustavo, chica” V could sense the disapproval in Jackie’s tone, she nods as she keeps on driving “I just couldn’t tell him we had the contract from the corp that was planning on fucking his cousin over, Jack. Unless you had a better idea?” Jackie shrugs “No, but that’s the thing with these corpo jobs, they always make you feel so dirty” V smirks, glancing at Jackie “Just take a shower with all the eddies that will be comin’ your way, choom, the dirt washes off just like that”.

They eventually reached the bus depot. One of the many alternatives Night City used to have for public transportation, but once Night Corp took over the NCART, buses and most other forms of transportation were put out of business, the bus depot had been taken over by the Valentinos, it was both a car shop, a storage area, and the main base of operations of José Luis Orta. As they approached, a heavily augmented Valentino girl wielding a gold-plated Ajax rifle approached the car. “Cuál es tu biz, mami?” V simply nodded “We came to see José Luis, Gustavo sent us” The Valentino girl glanced at Jackie, and gave V a good look, she chuckled “Get rollin’ mami, José Luis’s office is in the main building, second floor” V drove past, looking for a spot to park as close as possible to the building. The same action and reaction, the more the Valentinos saw V, the more names they called her. Under normal circumstances, she would have given them a little show, but she had to prioritize.

As they walked into the building, they immediately noticed the Militech trucks, there were Militech uniforms and gear on a shelf, and Militech-issued weapons and ordnance too. It looked like they were ready to start a war. As they made it to the second level, they gained access to José Luis’s office, a comfortable room with a view of the entire area. José Luis himself was a rough-looking man with a fully shaved head and cybernetic hands “You los vatos Gustavo sent?” he asks as soon as Jackie and V enter “Yeah, that’s us compa. We need a word with you”. José Luis approaches them, he was as tall as Jackie, maybe a bit bulkier “Make it fast, I’m a busy man” V had a feeling he wasn’t going to be exactly easy to convince “We know what you’re doing here” she starts, José Luis doesn’t look surprised, in fact, he just looked annoyed “Oh yeah? And what am I doing here, cabrona? If you’re tryin’ to blackmail me, I’ll fuck you up before you can make a move” The man had an extremely short fuse, V had to be careful “We’re not here to blackmail you, José Luis, we’re here to warn you. These people you’re working for, they are gonna fuck you over, they may already be doing that” This time, the man simply rose his eyebrow “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, I don’t work for anybody, me entiendes? All I do is for the Tinos, if that’s all you came here to say, you can go, tell Gustavo to stop wastin’ my time” V breathed out, pushing her luck “It’s Arasaka” José Luis stops in his tracks, looking at V “Careful what you’re gonna say next, pendeja, I don’t care if Gustavo thinks you’re hot shit, I don’t know you, I don’t like you. But you said a magic word, that buys you some more time, habla” V changed tactics again “Alright choom, for some reason, Gustavo thinks the world of you, he says you’re family, I promised him I’d do what I could for his family, but if you’re just gonna turn this into a pissin’ contest, you can forget it and you can deal with what’s comin’ on your own” as V turned to leave, Jackie looked at José Luis “Mira mano, she’s tellin’ you the truth. Just hear her out, it could save your life” José Luis, now enraged, turns to Jackie “That a threat, puto?” Jackie shakes his head “Not a threat at all, carnal, just listen to what she has to say, and if you’re still not convinced, we’ll fuck off and leave you in peace” José Luis sighs, looking at V “Alright, I’m sorry, I’m too hot for this… Just say what you came to say, I’ll listen, I promise”.

V thanked Jackie internally, as she returns “Arasaka has you stealing Militech vehicles, gear, and weapons” she starts, José Luis was quiet, but it was clear he didn’t expect any outsider to know details of his operation “Once you have enough, they’ll order you and your people to suit up to look like Militech agents and stage an attack on Arasaka property, Arasaka will react in kind, and you probably were told you had an escape route, but you know deep inside that’s not the case, is it?” Jackie looks at José Luis, and he just ends up sighing again, nodding “A few months ago, I zeroed a fuckin’ badge near Corpo Plaza” he starts “The rest of the pigs got all over me, they were gonna send me to the Night City facility, tagged as a cop killer, cop killers don’t last long inside, y’know? Even if you have connections, all a badge needs to do is make a call, and suddenly, accidents will start followin’ you. After two days in the detention center, this lady started visiting me and told me she could get me out if I was willing to do her a favor. She said one word from her and I wouldn’t set foot on the facility, and I’d be free. Now I feel like I’m over my head and I am seeing enemies everywhere” V was more or less putting together the whole picture “Do you remember the name of this lady?” José Luis nods “Susan something, she kept her part of the deal, I was free a few hours after I took her deal, and my record disappeared from the NCPD files too” V nods “Susan Abernathy, right?” José Luis curses upon hearing the name and nods “I’m fucked, aren’t I?” V looked at Jackie and then at José Luis “No, we can help you, but I need you to do something” José Luis looked at V, he still had that rough and mean look about him, but it was as if he had just finally noticed V “And what would that be mami?” Jackie rolled his eyes, he was lucky the man was focused on V “Give me the vehicles, the gear, and the weapons” José Luis scoffs “No fuckin’ way, nena. We’ve invested about 35 big ones to move resources and secure all this gear, if I’m not seeing that money again, I’m not losing shit” V shows the credit ship and taps José Luis’s chest with it “There are fifty grand here, check it, no bullshit, no rot, legit eds. This is a one-time offer, take the chip and give me everything else”.

José Luis was surprised, not exactly in a good way. V receives a message from Vaughn “We’re detecting an unsanctioned Arasaka team moving to the bus depot, they’ll be there soon” V gritted her teeth as she glanced at Jackie. Jackie understood the sign and drew his guns, alarming José Luis “Wait, what the fuck is this?” V turns to José Luis “Trouble, better get your iron” A few seconds later, the Valentino watchers started whistling loudly “Corpo camioneta rollin’ through!”.

The gunfire was heard a few seconds later, and a group of Valentinos got up to the office, guarding José Luis “Arasaka team! Four, maybe five!” Jackie screams as he had just scanned them as V was about to say something, a blast pierced the wall and the windows, going through the body of one of the Valentinos “Shit, Nekomata! Be careful Jack!” The Nekomata was a high-tech sniper rifle that was able to accelerate every shot, making it extremely loud, but also enabling every shot to go through concrete, metal, and everything that stands between the shooter and their mark. “We gotta move chica, or we’re sittin’ ducks!” The gunfire resumed, and the Valentinos were ducking it out against the Arasaka team. Jackie and V made it downstairs, several Valentinos were already wounded. “How do you we do this, chica?” Jackie asks as he looks at V, she was taking cover, thinking of a strategy “Shock and Awe, choom!” Jackie nodded as he rushed out of cover and reached one of the cars, tipping it over for cover “Alright you motherfuckers! You shouldn’t have come here! Look and you will find, cabrones!” The louder Jackie got, the more revved up the Valentinos were, and the more the Arasaka team’s attention was drawn, V took the chance to trigger her Active Camouflage and move about. The Arasaka team was well-trained and moved as one, all of them had state-of-the-art cyberware, and in addition to the sniper, they also had a netrunner. V just had to find them. As she thought about it, she started to see Valentinos being afflicted in different ways, some had their weapons jammed, some had their optics rebooted, and some would freeze in place. As she finally positioned herself behind the Arasaka truck, she scanned for the team members. The Valentinos had finally gotten organized and were firing back, a few grenades were lobbed against the team. V knew they had to move fast before they thought of calling reinforcements. Moving unseen, she got into the truck and started the engine, going in reverse and stepping on the gas. With their cover removed, most of the team were exposed and picked up by the Valentinos one by one. “Jackie, they have a netrunner too, be careful!” just as she sent that message to Jackie, she felt an intense pain in her abdomen, one of the wounded Arasaka soldiers had managed to land a hit on her from their Kenshin pistol. Angry at herself, more than at the corpo, V drew her own Kenshin and emptied the clip on him. “V!? You alright chica?” Jackie had finally replied to her message with one of his own “Don’t worry about me, find that fucking netrunner!”.

The Valentinos started to get bolder, so much so that they set the Arasaka truck on fire. V was taking cover the best way she could. The pain was so intense that she couldn’t concentrate to engage her Active Camouflage again, and it was vital for the Netrunner not to have a visual on her or she’d be done for. She suddenly had an idea “Jackie… Take over the cameras, and cycle them, that’s how you’ll find the ‘runner” Jackie did as V asked, taking over one of the cameras with his Kiroshi optics, and cycling through the other cameras connected to the network “I got you puto… Azotea! Está ahí!” The Valentinos started to move to the rooftop, with the distraction, the Arasaka Netrunner made his way to the roof and picked several Valentinos that way. José Luis was the first to make it there, he was wielding his gold-plated machete, and was a few feet away from the Netrunner “Se te acabó la suerte, perro!” despite the netrunner’s attempts to disable the enraged José Luis, the fearsome Valentino rushed the netrunner, throwing him on the floor, and then proceeded to unceremoniously hack him to pieces, as the rest of the Valentinos fell silent, the only thing they could hear was the sound of the machete hacking through flesh and chrome, and the screams of the netrunner, until he couldn’t scream anymore.

The Arasaka attack had been repelled and in spite of several Valentinos dying during the attack, José Luis was still alive. Jackie had found V and had set her up with an AirHypo and a MaxDoc. José Luis and his people approached the mercs “You were right… You were right since the beginning and if I hadn’t tried to make you eat shit, this could have been avoided” Jackie helps V stand up as she groans in pain. Her wound was closing, but she still was pained. “Coulda woulda, choom. The important thing is that you’re still kickin’. We promised Gustavo we’d pull you out from this shitshow” José Luis sighs as V shows him the credit chip again “You know they will keep comin’, and that this depot is not gonna be safe for a while choom. Do yourself a favor, take the chip, take your people, and go hide for a while, I’ll deal with everything else”. José Luis looks at the chip, then at V, at Jackie, and finally at his people, including the fallen. “Mierda… Fine, fine… I’ll do it, we’ll pick up our dead and we’ll leave. I’ll arrange a way out with Padre” V nods, groaning “Yeah… do that…”.

The Valentinos didn’t take long to evacuate the depot, once they were alone, V noticed Jackie’s look of concern “Chill choom… It’s just a scratch” Jackie chuckles, shaking his head “That’s supposed to be my line, hermana… We gotta get you to a ripper” V shakes her head “I still got a call to make, choom… We’re almost done”.

Jackie sighed, he knew the job wasn’t still done, and even if dealing with corpos sickened him, the job was almost finished. V took a few minutes to herself and finally got on the holo.

“Who’s this, and how did you get this number?” Corporate hospitality, she was getting used to it “Anthony Gilchrist, choom, been a while, you remember me, right? I’ve been catching up on my TV times, you look good on the camera” Gilchrist chuckled when he recognized V “Well, well… V, was it? It has been a while. But as you said, I’m too busy, if you’re looking for a job, this is a terrible time for that” V shook her head “Not a job, choom… I’m here to do you a favor, you know, just like old times at All Foods” Gilchrist straightened up, changing his expression “I advise you choose your next words carefully, merc… What favor?” V grinned as she knew she had Gilchrist’s attention “You’ve been losing a lot of shit lately, a truck here, some gear there, a crate of weapons over there… It just so happens that I know where it all is, and I’m more than willing to tell you, so you can get another win in that lovely corporate world of yours”. Gilchrist rose an eyebrow, it was true that a few Militech convoys within the city had been robbed for the past several months, but that wasn’t exactly public information “Officially, I don’t know what you’re talking about… Extraofficially though… How much do you want for the information?” V shrugged at the question “Choom, I’m a merc, not a food vendor, and you and I have worked well in the past, so why don’t you give me what you feel is fair for this kind of information? I’m looking at the gear and that lovely truck with the Militech logo, right here for the takin’” Gilchrist took a moment to think “I’m willing to give you twenty for the information for the pickup… But…” He looks at V “If you happened to know a name linked to this… A name we could use… Well, I could sweeten the deal” V smirks “C’mon choom, I said I’m a merc, not a—” Gilchrist interrupts her “Forty” he says, V blinks “Sixty” she rebukes, Gilchrist grins, knowing that V definitely knew something “Fifty and not a eurodollar more, otherwise, take your twenty and we’ll take the rest” V stops for a moment, thinking, and then just sighing “Okay fine, you’re makin’ me burn a very sturdy bridge though” Gilchrist smiled “If the name is a good one, not only will you get your fifty, but I’ll build you a new fucking bridge… So, the place?” V waited a few seconds, feigning indecision, and she finally speaks “The bus depot in Heywood” Gilchrist nodded, looking at V again “And… The name?” V sighs, nodding once “Susan Abernathy”.

Gilchrist’s eyes widened, then a gigantic smile appeared on his face “Come again? Did you just say Susan Abernathy? Arasaka Special Operations Director?” Still, in her acting role, V nods slowly “I knew she was Arasaka, didn’t know she was a higher-up” Gilchrist could barely hide his happiness “I suppose you have evidence to back this up?” V nods again “She hired a bunch of Valentinos to rob Militech convoys, and was payin’ them for something else. I dunno what though, but there’s a shit ton of weapons and gear here. You’ll also find a still burning Arasaka truck in the place with a dead Arasaka team, the Valentinos bailed” V received a notification, her account had just gotten a deposit, in full. Gilchrist looked at her “I advise you to leave the premises, now. A Militech Recovery team is on its way, anyone still in the area will be treated as hostile… And V… Let’s meet one of these days” Gilchrist had a sly smile on his face before killing the call. V finally breathes out as Jackie approaches and holds her “He bought it?” he asks directly, V sends the man his cut, and Jackie’s eyes widen in surprise “W-what’s this chica? W-what’s going on?” V smiles “Your Militech cut, amigo… Come on, we gotta delta, a Militech team will be here in no time”.

Instead of leaving right away, they had parked just across the street from the bus depot. Jackie had gone and gotten something to eat, returning with a taco, or what could pass for a taco in Heywood, and almost on cue, they witnessed a Militech truck speeding through the street and rushing into the bus depot. V called Vaughn “It’s done, José Luis got paid and is on his way out to lay low for a while, called and dealt with Gilchrist too, gave him the name, and they are currently going through the whole bus depot” Vaughn smiled slightly, nodding afterward “Wonderfully done, V, any trouble?” She shook her head “Just a couple of bruises, might get a new preem scar too, nothing too serious” Vaughn nods again “You may wanna lay low on corporate contracts for a few days, the second Militech recovers their missing inventory they are going to go to the media, and it’ll be a massacre in Arasaka too, I’ll deal with it and call you and Jackie once the coast is clear. Check your account and tell Jackie to do the same, the contract’s closed” V nods, with a smile “Pleasure doin’ biz with you, choom”.

V drove Jackie to El Coyote Cojo, he was over the moon with the number of eds he had gotten in less than 48 hours, and he didn’t expect V to cut him in on the Militech deal either. He wanted to take her out to celebrate, but in spite of her no longer being wounded, the shot had taken the wind from under her sails for the day. “Jackie, clear your schedule tomorrow, choom” she says as Jackie leaves the car “Huh? I thought we were gonna take it easy with the gigs for a few days” V nods “We are, but we’re also takin’ Rita for a ride” Jackie grins widely and rubs his hands together “A huevo, I had almost forgotten about that… Will you be alright to, you know… Party?” V grins, looking at Jackie “You’re not the only being cockblocked Jack, haven’t had fun in a while… And tomorrow, you and I are makin’ up for it” Jackie chuckles, not believing his luck of finding V, who was both a skilled merc, but also an insatiable whore, he finally nods and taps the car “Right on chica, then tomorrow we party… Thank you for cuttin’ me in… And if you need anything like… You know, company for the night or somethin’, just drop me a line, huh?” V smirks, as she starts the engine “See you tomorrow, Jack”.

As V was making her way back to her apartment, she checked her balance again, it seems that after all she invested in Dusk, and what she had earned with this contract, she might be able to afford that Heywood loft sooner rather than later. It didn’t feel like she had made her way to the major leagues, but it sure felt like she was cruisin’ through them.
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From Badlands To Good Times A Cyberpunk 2077 Tale