An automated female voice sounded from the phone's speakers, "No holo-input detected, please jack in to re-establish holo-link."
"You've got to be kidding me." I said, staring at the phone in disbelief.
"Out of all things to go wrong this is wha-"
I was cut off mid sentence as the AI spoke again.
"If you would like to proceed to a regular call press one. Customers may note that non holo-calls are not supported in our data bundle, so additional fees may apply."
I scowled at the phone, irritated. It seemed that money hungry data companies also existed in this world, truly the peak of dystopia.
I pressed one, listening as the line beeped and went silent. Next second, I heard the looping sound of the phone ringing. To my surprise, the call connected almost immediately.
I guess having a loud ringtone literally playing inside of your head increased people's motivations to answer or decline any calls.
["Hello, Angel is that you? Geez you're such a gonk, why are you calling from the regular net? Its so expensive compared to the holo."]
I was nervous, as I hadn't played an innocent child before; even with my extensive experience acting.
'Oh well, here goes nothing.'
My breath hitched, followed by a fake choking sound and my own weakened voice.
"H-hello? Are, are you Judy?"
["Huh? Hey who is this? Where's Angela?"] Judy's confusion was palpable, and most importantly; not suspicious in the slightest.
Yes, I could work with this.
"Y-you mean my mom right?"
["Wha- Your mom? What are you talking about? Angela didn't have a kid."]
'The fuck?' I thought furiously, 'Was I wrong? Its too fucking late to go back now, dammit.'
If I answered any of her pending questions before I got my point across the act would be fucked and she would hang up, thinking it was a prank call.
I had to play this carefully.
I continued in a smaller voice, almost as if I was talking to myself rather than Judy.
"She didn't tell anyone about me did she…"
["How did you get this number, wait damn. Did a brat like you really manage to nick her phone? God she's such a klutz."]
"J-just come over to her apartment please," I begged Judy, adopting a devasted and desperate tone for her to hear. "She - she's dead. And I don't know what to do."
I teared up at the last part, recalling my past tragedies in a form of method acting to make myself sound more believable.
["Her apartment? The one in megabuilding H11? Fine. I was going to go over and check on her anyway, so you'd better stay still until I get there. Hey are you listening?"]
I was faking tears audibly now, and while she clearly wasn't buying any of it; in the end Judy still decided she was still going to come over and check the place out - perfect.
"I'm listening. Okay ill wait here. Please hurry."
She hung up.
Wait, did she say megabuilding H11?
I whipped around towards the window, staring at the red skyscraper in the distance. It had the giant number twelve I had seen earlier attached to it, "V doesn't live in H11, she lives in H10. That means I'm not actually in her apartment."
My eyes narrowed, and I stared at the offending building ahead of me.
'The more I think about it the more it makes sense, but how far along in the timeline am I then?'
Judy was still in night city, and still associated with the Mox and Lizzie's bar; so It can't be post V's adventures or she would have left the city by now.
This uncertainty irked me, but if I recalled correctly this megabuilding was barely a few minutes away from the bar; and I would have very little time to prepare for her arrival.
I pushed all of these thoughts aside, and willed my mind to refocus back onto my own past sorrows. I needed this to look convincing, and a crying visage would assist with this perfectly.
It took around half a minute of reminiscing, but tears began to slide down my cheeks nonetheless. I let this continue just long enough for the voice of the cold to briefly scrape my surface thoughts, before crushing them back into line.
My sadness ended abruptly. This would do, for now.
'I need one last finishing touch,' I mused inwardly.
My eyes strayed to the photo near the bed; "Perfect, proof of identity and something I can hold onto without raising any unwanted questions."
I grabbed it from the shelf before leaving.
My intention was that she had to come to the conclusion I was Angela's son without me shoving it in her face like I'm trying to prove something. It would leave far less room for doubt in the long run.
I walked over to the window, stopping directly in the middle of the back wall.
My legs bent, and satdown under it. I turned around and lent against the wall, bringing my arms to clasp around my legs in a fetal position. One minor detail left in was the photo; I had it grasped in my uninjured hand, Angela's phone still held in the other.
Both were gripped loosely, and I tilted the photo so that the holographic picture was facing the entrance of the apartment opposite me.
It was upside down, but I didn't think that would matter. When Judy came bursting through the door like I expected her to, she would see me and then hopefully the photo of me and Angela clasped in my hand.
This subtlely planned action could feasibly cement me as someone who at the very least, was close to Angela for a long time prior to her death.
Whether or not it would actually come to pass was a different story; worst case scenario I would have to show it to her personally and risk any potential suspicion towards me.
Ok, all set up.
All I had to do now was wait.
~~~
Five minutes later, and there was a rapt knock on the door; signaling somebody's arrival.
A moment later and the door slid open; Judy hadn't bothered to wait for a response before barging through the unlocked entrance.
"Hey Angel are you okay?" Judy shouted, disreguarding me entirely as she loudly called for her friend.
There was no response.
She strode into the room, and I lifted my head slightly in order to sneak a look at her in person for the first time.
'Incredible, not a shred of detail out of place.' I thought, slightly awestruck. 'Exactly as she was shown in the game, right down to the facial structure.'
Before me stood a woman in her mid twenties, not much younger than my mother could have been.
Her hair was a darkish green; its tips fading into a dark magenta the longer it got. Judy's whole fringe was combed over to the right, while the left side of her head was shaved down to complement a sleek metal implant that stuck out just above her ear.
Numerous rose tattoos dotted her exposed skin; their color matching the glossy lipstick she wore which practically glowed under the limited sunlight within the apartment.
Adding to the punk-esque look given off by her spiked dungarees; the left strap was not even hooked on her shoulder properly, instead hanging off the side down by her hip; whic imadvertantly displayed a light grey croptop worn underneath her heavy attire.
"Hey kid, where- Where's Angela?" I saw her eyes finally reach the photo I held; and her tone changed from accusitory to panicked.
I could understand why.
If I was actually Angela's son then could only mean I probably hadn't been lying about her state of being either.
"In the washroom," I said quietly, now raising my head fully so she could see my empty expression.
I watched as she ran for the place, nearly tripping over my discarded shirt as she slammed the door open just as I had earlier.
"No, no no no no. Angela? FUCK! ANGELA?!" Judy screamed, her anguish audible as I heard a slight splash of water and a loud thumping noise.
I stood up, leaving the phone to the floor and beginning to walk over to the washroom.
My now free hand reached up and brushed the stray hair out of my eyes, so when when Judy turned around she would see the full extent of my preparation instead of a mere glance; the dried up tears that streaked down my face and neck; red, sore eyes; and most importantly, another look at my carefully crafted facade as a whole.
I slowly turned the corner; seeing her knelt down in the water, clutching Angela's now overturned body with both hands as she clutched it tightly.
She cried.
I watched for about a minute before I started to get irritated by the fact she hadn't turned around yet.
This feeling of annoyance flashed visibly across my face for a moment before regressing back into one that looked empty and broken.
Spurred on by her lack of reaction to my ploy, I decided to do something drastic.
"What do I do now?" I said, my tone now dull and unresponsive.
I dropped the photo to the floor and reached for the knife I left in the sink.
Judy turned around; so engrossed in her sadness that she was startled by my sudden speech, and doubly so by the clattering noise caused by the heavy metal frame of the photo hitting the floor.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her turn around; the eye shadow she wore dislodged by the tears now streaking down her face, painting the clear liquid a matte black.
"Hey what're you doing? HEY STOP!"
I had, with some difficulty; extended my arm over the basin and grabbed the knife from where it was perched. I grasped it with both hands, my arms shaking uncontrollably as I aimed the blade at my own throat.
It was a bluff, naturally; but Judy didn't know that.
I brought it closer to my neck, carefully sculpting my expression into one of fear amd regret as I did so.
Finally realising what I was intending to do, Judy dropped Angela; the corpse flopping to the ground as she dived wildly at me, ripping the knife from the weak grip I held it in as we both toppled to the ground.
I stared disbelievingly at her, real emotion mixing into the act I had put onto display.
If I hadn't moved the knife slightly beforehand her lunge at me would have resulted in the sharp object lodging itself in my throat. Was she stupid?
We both lay opposite each other on the ground, her arms clasped around me in a tight hug.
"I'm so sorry." She muttered, over and over again as she pulled us closer together in an attempt to comfort me; even though she was far sadder than I could have ever been.
I flinched, not expecting to recieve this kind of response to my act.
What I thought would happen was that she would take the knife away and shout at me for being so stupid, then maybe pat me on the head or something.
I wasn't comfortable with this level of contact, and her physical handling of me didn't help de-escalate the growing repulsion I felt as her makeup-stained tears mixed with my formerly clean hair.
I gradually warmed up to the sensation of being touched as she sobbed in my ear uncontrollably.
I returned the hug reluctantly while thinking, 'How close were they for her to react like this? I don't think she even cried this much over Evelyn's suicide in the game."
Outwardly, it looked like we were both consoling each other; but in reaility it was very one sided.
Feeling a bit helpless, I just lay there quietly. Allowing Judy to wallow in her sadness while I comforted her with my presence.