Heywood District. A relatively calm area, due to the collaboration of NCPD and the Valentinos. In one of the Glen Apartment suites, a woman could be seen fiddling with a small gadget. She sat next to the wall sized windows overlooking Night City.
This woman was as beautiful as she was creepy. A few asian features which implied a mixed heritage. Black painted nails on the hands and feet complimented her silky black hair. Her grey eyes were empty, save for the slight dullness of life within. Scars covered different parts of her shapely body.
She looked tired…and sickly. It was a miracle that she could move so deftly and swiftly. There was no Sandevistan attached to her spine. In fact, there was only a customized cyberdeck that was slotted at the base of her neck. It was incredibly small, specialized to allow holographic keyboards in her display. No need for the big gadget at her side all day.
A powerful looking handcannon rested on the desk behind her. It was a mix of black and carbon grey. A [Burya] tech revolver, personally augmented to allow extra propulsion with each shot. Modified to be a portable railgun.
A normal human limb wouldn't be able to handle the recoil. As such, a silver line could be found running down the side of the woman's left arm. It would handle the knockback. There were only a few pieces of actual chrome on her body. The cyberdeck on the back of the neck, the recoil dampener on the left arm, and the enhanced tendons near both ankles. These allowed her to jump higher and improve agility all around. High end sportsware.
Her cyberdeck was powerful, a [Raven Microcyber Mk.3]. It was the most powerful thing installed in her body. Adding some [Militech-Armalite Subdermal Armor] and that was all. Other small things existed on the inside but calling them cyberware was a disservice.
"And…done." She muttered.
The girl only wore a crop top shirt with no bra and hot pants, leaving her legs, stomach, and cleavage on display. She filled out her shorts nicely too. She couldn't help but stretch her back. The constant huddled position made her body ache.
After grabbing the engram chip from the desk, she then slotted it into the holo gadget she'd been fiddling with. A bunch of unrecognizable code flashed on the screen over and over. Five minutes passed before a loading bar appeared on screen.
COUGH COUGH
The girl sunk into her chair while wheezing into her hand. Her body started to shake as the feeling of being in control sapped away. It didn't take long for her to slide out of the seat and lay on the floor. Each cough left her feeling weaker. Almost fifteen minutes went by before her senses returned to her. Everything was blurry.
"Somehow I'm brought back to life and the first thing I see is a dying junkie on the floor. Fuck me." A gruff but arrogant voice sounded beside her.
Turning to her side, she saw the real time hologram of a man standing over her. He wore a wife beater hidden by a bulletproof vest. The left arm was entirely cybernetic from the shoulder, sporting a glossy silver. Sunglasses covered his eyes. Leather pants and rocker boots finished the outfit.
"Johnny…Silverhand." She muttered quietly. The man raised an eyebrow.
"And the bitch knows me. Who the FUCK are you?"
"I…I need your help, Johnny." She croaked. Hearing her words, Johnny shook his head and paced around the room.
"Ain't that a bunch of shit. A junkie knows who I am, found a way to bring me back, and needs my help. How fucking amazing. Why the hell would I help you?"
The girl crawled up to the nearby couch, the control over her motor skills swiftly returning. She could feel herself back to normal. All of the blood was wiped onto her shorts.
"I'm not a junkie. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and now I'm sick. It's an incurable disease that eats at the heart. Only targets people that have chrome." She said.
"Then remove it." He waved his hand as if it was that simple. The sickly woman rolled her eyes.
"As if it were that easy. Once it gets you, removing the chrome does nothing."
"I don't care about your problem, dumbass. The fuck you have me here for?"
"Come on Johnny. This is 50 years in the future since you died. Don't you have anything you wanna see? Things you wanna do? Just think of something. Let's make a deal." She explained.
"50 years…fucking hell. Ugh. I feel like a living person stuck to a circuit board. What the fuck AM I…siiigh." He growled at nobody in particular. Just venting his frustrations.
"....................."
"Woman. What can you even do? You're too weak to help." He sat on the table near the couch, directly in front of her. The girl gave a tired grin.
"The name's Lei. Watch me zero some gonks and you'll change your mind."
"Oh please." He scoffed.
"Come on, Johnny. Give it a chance. What do you have to lose? Work with me here." Lei pleaded.
"Hmm…working with a cyberpsycho woman. Fucking preem. Well as of right now, there's only one thing I want to know." He said.
"I'm not a cyberpsycho, this is just how my face looks… and spill."
"Is Arasaka still sucking the life out of the people? Out of Night City?"
"...Yes. All the megacorps are."
"Of course. Like a damn hydra. Cut off a head and another grows. I blew up their precious tower once." He revealed. Lei kept a calm smile.
"I know. I've studied you thoroughly. You're a terrorist turned rocker boy. A merc legend. Great at gunplay, but you're an asshole."
"An asshole? Nah. I just say what people are too pussy to admit." His words made Lei raise an eyebrow.
"Hence, you being an asshole…but your knowledge of Night City. I need it."
"Alright alright. Here's what I want from you first." He started. Johnny glitched to a different part of the room and started pacing. He was thinking.
"I want to taste a burger. And I need a smoke."
"What? How are you expecting me to-"
"You brought me here. Find a way. Chip me into your shard slot or find a way for me to feel things."
"No way am I chipping you into my slot. You'll overwrite me. No shot."
"Well, find a way-"
"But!" She interrupted. "I can chip you into my infovisor which monitors my bio readings and vitals. A slight modification might do the trick."
"Hurry up! I'm craving this shit…and I can't do dick." He demanded. An asshole indeed. Lei sighed before heading back to her desk.
Hours went by as she tinkered with her equipment. Johnny grew bored quickly and his irritation was starting to show. He laid sideways on the desk while swinging his leg off the edge. His face was directly in front of the woman, distracting her.
"Are you done yet? Holy shit. You take forever." He complained. Lei rolled her eyes.
"Did you expect this to take a few seconds? Here."
Suddenly, her body accelerated in speed. This allowed her to quicken the process considerably. Johnny took off his glasses in surprise.
"What the fuck?" He commented. Sandevistans didn't exist in his time period. It was his first time seeing such speed.
Lei finally removed the chip from her gadget before slotting it into the infovisor. She then put it on her head. Silverhand's hologram disappeared for a few minutes before reappearing.
"Something's different." He commented.
The sickly woman went to the kitchen and tapped on the food panel, causing a steaming cup of coffee to rise from the circular platform. She took a sip and turned to look at Johnny, who'd already glitched behind her. He was quite tall compared to her.
"Taste it?" She asked with a smirk.
"Tastes like shit. Of course a gonk like you would drink that. Like a pile of animal shit and back alley trash."
"I mean…this isn't the best coffee." She commented.
Lei couldn't lie. That had slightly offended her. Rude. Johnny waved his hand. He couldn't give a damn.
"Cut the shit, Loralei. Go make me a burger."
Now that he was chipped into her infovisor, he had more information about the person in question. Including her full name. The terrorist was now privy to many things about this woman he barely met. Some of them were quite surprising.
"A thank you would be nice." She grumbled.
"Maybe after I have my smoke. Get to it."
…
…
…
"That was good. I needed that. Burgers and fries are the life and soul of Night City…now go get me a beer."
The demands never stopped. Lei was beginning to understand just how much of a manchild this legendary merc really was. Her patience with him was astounding.
"Let's move on, Johnny. What else do you want to add to the deal? Once we shake on it, that's it."
"We can't shake hands, dumbass." Johnny quipped.
"Point still stands."
The arrogant man glitched across the room while he solidified his thoughts. A continuous motion, walking back and forth. It took almost half an hour for him to settle down. He eventually stopped before her.
"Here's the fucking deal. I want Arasaka burned to the ground. That's the long game. The big picture. Besides that, I want you to find my body and see if I can rechip. Revive. If not, put me on the net or in a new body."
"Taking down the biggest corp in Night City…well, I can try. Only thing about that is how long it would take. I don't have that much time to live. You gotta help me too. I help you, you help me."
"Of course, you gonk. It goes without saying." Johnny stated in a blunt tone.
"Deal?" She asked.
"Deal."
"Great. Speak now or forever hold your peace. You have one minute to make any changes." She commented before going to freshen up and change into better clothes.
Johnny watched it all, eyeing her from head to toe. He could give a shit about her privacy and modesty. Not as if she cared though. After checking out her curves and womanly features, he spoke up.
"One more thing."
"Hmmm?" She turned to him while fully nude. Just about to step in the shower.
"Once I have a body, you're gonna let me bang."