The screen lit up with the typical news animation: animated lines moving around the world while a voice-over announced the start of the program, ending with a shot of the ``54 News´´ the program symbol.
After a few seconds, the shot went up, and a long-haired elegant blonde woman appeared, sitting alone at a table with a serious and professional expression.
["Hello Night City, I'm Gillean Jordan, with 54 news and I welcome you to our program today"] the presenter began with a clear and firm voice. ["Today, in international news, the human colony on the moon has been officially established. Armstrong Outpost in Shackleton Crater has become the first human community on the moon, right on the 100th anniversary of the first moon landing."]
A window appeared next to them showing images of the lunar station.
The presenter smiled, changing to a lighter tone. ["The colony is expected to be the first community outside of Earth and self-sufficient. From the news team of Channel 54, we are looking forward to informing you when the first human born on the moon occurs."]
Returning to her usual serious tone, she continued: ["In national news, today in Night City, we witnessed a strange event that has left the city's inhabitants perplexed.
When most of the city's servers were infected with an unknown program. Fortunately, no data theft or device destruction has been reported. Apparently, the program broadcast a video of a piano performance by a white silhouette, leading many to think that it was some kind of "performance" rather than a cyber attack. Some witnesses claim that it is the same figure as the famous anonymous singer on Cybertube, Jackie Blackhand.
The megacorporation Cygle has yet to respond to these accusations, which many users have asked on their famous social media platform "Cytter. Due to the importance of what happened, we have sent a team from Channel 54 to the Netwatch offices in Night City. These are the images."]
The presenter continued her report on the strange event in Night City with images of the city's own citizens who recorded the video of the white figure playing the piano on all the screens and holgrams of the street where they were located, and uploaded it to the network. Giving way to some images of the Channel 54 team, which was at the entrance to the Netwatch offices in Night City.
In the images, a man dressed in a white shirt and black tie could be seen leaving the building to take a break from the hectic and tense atmosphere in which all Netwatch offices found themselves.
The worker seemed overwhelmed by the avalanche of journalists surrounding him. His face reflected a mixture of nervousness and confusion at the journalists' insistent questions. The Netwatch worker remained silent, avoiding giving any details or explanation about what had happened.
Finally, the worker limited himself to saying that Netwatch would issue an official statement once they had a clear opinion on the incident. With these words, he tried to re-enter the building, but the cameras captured a brief glimpse of the interior of the building's hall before the door closed behind him.
Showing the tense atmosphere inside the Netwatch offices, in which even the hall of the building their workers were running, moving ceaselessly in frenetic activity.
When the images ended, the news presenter reappeared, who continued: ["We will continue to report on this issue as we have more information.
In breaking news, the Trauma Team headquarters has issued a statement informing that they have successfully rescued a group of premium customers who had been captured by a local gang.
Trauma Team International (TTI) has expressed its pride in knowing that their clients who hired the Premium package were successfully rescued and are safe, and they have pledged to provide all the necessary support for their prompt recovery.
However, the rescue was not without cost. Three valiant members of the Trauma Team lost their lives in the fight against the gang responsible for the kidnapping, who, according to surviving Trauma Team witnesses, were attacked by a military-grade exoskeleton.
This has reopened the debate about the need to create a registry of lethal high-tech hardware, given the danger posed by criminal groups obtaining military-level technology.
From the Channel 54 news team, we express our concern for the well-being of the rescued clients in the operation carried out by Trauma Team. We hope for their speedy recovery and that they can resume their lives normally as important pillars of our society."]
The presenter interrupted herself abruptly, as if she was listening to someone. Then, she looked back at the camera and said, ["I am being informed that, we have our Channel 54 colleague at the scene. Good evening, Bess Isis, what can you tell us about what happened?"]
The screen split in two, showing the blonde presenter, Gillean Jordan, on one side and Ben Isis on the other. The latter was dressed formally but with small details in her clothing that denoted her past as a rocker. With a serious expression, Bess was framed by the six-story building ablaze behind her.
["Good evening, Jordan. Unfortunate words you just said. Let me tell you what's happening here. What you see behind me is a burning building in the Japantown district of Westbrook, used as one of the Tyger Claws' bases in Night City.
The so-called 'pillars of our society,' whom you mentioned, are not victims of a kidnapping. In reality, this building was one of the main networks of human trafficking and illegal prostitution in the city, and the 'pillars' were simply their most important clients"] Bess said, throwing a live indirect at presenter Jordan, who always seemed to babble corporate propaganda.
After a brief pause, Bess continued, ["The fire was caused by a violent battle between the Tygers and a young mercenary named Okami, hired by an unknown third party, for uncertain reasons.
Thanks to the chaos that occurred, evidence of the Tygers' abuses and rapes has been discovered as part of the atrocious initiation they subjected women and men to, kidnapped to satisfy the repulsive sexual tastes of 'the pillars,' as you called them."]
Bess said enjoying every second of it, using a speech full of irony and acidity in her account of events.
["Unfortunately, or fortunately, the 'pillars of our society' were caught in the crossfire of the heated battle that took place in the burning building behind me. Furthermore, as you can see, the Trauma Team survivors were correct. The Tygers really had a military-grade exoskeleton, and what you see is a Centaur model exoskeleton from Militech with a Tyger's corpse mounted on it."]
Bess said as the camera that recorded her focused on the burning building and the exoskeleton outside it, between the police cordoning off the area and the firefighters working to put out the flames.
["And as you reported, the three brave members of the Trauma Team who had to lose their lives to save them, I don't think it was worth it."] The screen, again cropped respecting the half in which Bess was standing, cut out Jordan's reluctantly, ending up square in the corner of the screen.
In the square above her, showing a recording of a group of men in expensive clothes of different styles, all of them kneeling as they began to fight and recriminate each other for their heinous acts, betraying each other .they even mentioned the corporations they worked for, attempting to intimidate the others.
["What we just showed you are the clients of the Tygers and the same clients of Trauma Team, in which three of their workers lost their lives trying to rescue them. The recording was made by Eddie Brockton, a rising star at Channel 54, when he was incognito inside the private brothel of the Tygers, pursuing the story we're telling you right now.
But that video is just a small part of what this incident has unravelled..."] Bess paused, recalling the moment when Brock contacted her to meet in an alleyway...
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A few minutes before the news began
In a dark alleyway near the Tygers' base
"Someone's coming," said a muffled female voice behind a mask, seeing the headlights of a van entering the alleyway.
"Are they the Mox?" asked a male voice.
"No, they told us to wait for the Mercs they sent to rescue us. They want to spend as little time as possible on Tyger territory, and they will come to pick us up when we are all together" replied the muffled female voice.
"Then it's..." said the man shielding his eyes with his hand from the headlights of the van, which had stopped in front of them in the alleyway.
A figure emerged from the van, unable to be seen by the lights pointed at their face until they spoke:
"Brockton! What the hell happened? Do you know what's going on all over the city? Someone has hacked into most of the city's servers. I hope you have a story as good-... wait, who are all these people?"
"Hi Bess...about that...we need to talk," said Eddie.