Meredith's lips curled into a tiny smirk upon seeing the sickly girl stumbling out of the elevator. It disappeared way before Lei was able to notice. With tired steps, she trudged over to the armored car.
"Sending the schematics." The tone of Lei's voice was curt. Both of their eyes flashed blue for a moment.
"Received." Stout said.
There was a moment of silence as the corpo lady went through the data package. Almost ten minutes went by. The empty eyed girl leaned against the Millitech truck. It took a few more moments for Meredith to nod in confirmation.
"Good. You did well, Drifter."
"My payment?"
"Ah yes. Of course."
65,000 credits were wired over to Lei. She didn't even bat an eye at the amount…Her gaze was like daggers staring into Meredith's face. There was yet another pregnant pause. Silence. Right when Lei opened her mouth to speak, Stout nodded to her Borg guards.
One of the brolic men opened the trunk and pulled out a high tech duffle bag. It was handed over to the cold woman, who then handed it to Lei. The sickly girl found herself impatient. She immediately zipped it open.
A polycarbonate glass box. Pristine. Inside the glass…an extremely high tech item of sleek design. Thin titanium polymer on the outside but coated in soft gold on the inside. Blue sensors danced across the soft gold material.
It looked like a tiny sleeve…as its name suggested. Something that could comfortably wrap around the heart. Almost resembled a tube top shirt. It was held in place on top of a pedestal. Beautiful in Lei's eyes.
"Our doctors can help you with the procedure. Of course, that would require another gig." Meredith said.
Seems that the cold woman already had things planned out. Trying to wrap Lei around her finger. She believed she was making progress, but the sickly girl wasn't clueless.
"It's fine. Got my own doctor for now."
"Is that so…" Stout trailed off.
Her tone showed that she wasn't too pleased about that answer. Still, she gestured to the Borgs. It was time to disperse. Both the men and Meredith got into the Millitech truck. Only then did she roll down the window.
"Drifter. This is only the surface of what I can do for you. Keep working for me and the rewards will be plentiful. Don't get complacent…not every job will be as…lax…as this one." She stressed the word. Lei rolled her eyes.
"Lax…right."
With those final words, the armored car drove out of the facility. Lei watched as the car disappeared around the corner. Only then did her blank expression turn into one of extreme joy. Her hands shook with excitement as she closed the bag and strapped it around her shoulder.
…She'd completely forgotten about the promised extra benefit.
The Kusanagi roared as the biker girl zoomed out of the warehouse. She couldn't wait to get home and get a better look at the heart sleeve. Only then would she call Parzik and plan a surgery.
Dodging and weaving through traffic, sliding around corners, and ripping past NYPD cars. They didn't even bother to chase. Seemed like a hassle. Lei was moving at more than 180 mph.
'Are you trying to be the next Adam Smasher?' Johnny spoke up out of the blue.
'What do you mean?'
'Being on a corporate payroll. Is that what you plan on doing? Being a dog for Meredith?'
'Johnny.'
'Going to burn down Arasaka and give the remains to Millitech?'
'Millitech will take the remains regardless. Those two have always been against each other.'
'I'm not a fan of what you've been doing-'
'Shut the fuck up.' Lei interrupted. 'Unlike you, I'll do what I must to reach my goal. Work with a megacorp? Don't like it but I'll do it. I'm not a good person. Never said I was. I have enemies outside of Night City. Plenty. It's because I can play a role to get what I want.'
'What else have you done, Loralei?' His voice was stern.
'Worked with Arasaka. It's how I got your engram.'
'You fucking joined hands with Arasaka?'
'Damn right. Plenty of others too. We aren't the same but we made a deal. You help me, I help you. Arasaka will be a fraction of what it was once I'm done. So fuck off.' She growled.
Only minutes passed and the excited girl was back home. The sheer progress that she'd made since entering Night City was astronomical. Of course, this wasn't a cure. It was a strong supplement that aided her heart. Made it stronger. Tougher.
Adding that alongside the pills, Lei might only break into coughs once every few weeks. Strenuous exercise won't exacerbate her symptoms. Her ending lifespan could be extended by a good amount.
She immediately put her combat gear in the washer, stripped out of her biker suit, and lied down on the couch. Nude. Not a single article of clothing. The glass case was in her hands. She couldn't help but stare at the item within. It was so beautiful.
"Need to call Parzik." She muttered.
'Without any clothes?' Johnny commented. Lei shook her head.
'Not gonna turn on the cam.'
Lei pulled up her contacts list in her display. After scrolling for a moment, she dialed his number. The screen expanded on her display. It rang for a few seconds.
RING RING
A few seconds turned into minutes…Then fifteen minutes. Lei stopped calling and checked his message once more.
'Some weirdos have been looking around lately. Soon as the cops bailed. Thought you would want to know.' ~ Parzik
"Hmmm." She hummed while reading it again.
The sickly girl called a few more times…but he didn't answer. Eventually, it wouldn't even ring anymore. Just immediately cutting off. That's not good. Was he somewhere with a bad connection?
Lei pulled up the feed from the black teddy bear's hidden camera. The same eyepatched plushie that she stashed in his living room. Live footage appeared on her display….he wasn't there.
"Alright. Maybe he went out." She hummed. Her expression had turned to a slight frown however. There were glass shards on the floor.
Rewinding the footage by almost 12 hours, she finally saw a change in the feed. The slight bit she saw made her fists clench…but she would watch it all from the start. Breathe.
The doctor could be seen in his favorite rocking chair. Per usual. Watching TV as he would normally do. That changed after another five minutes. He slowly struggled to his feet and peeked out the window blinds. Something was happening outside. He watched something off screen for a moment before jumping back in fright.
As he tried to back away, the window shattered. A fist had gone straight through. Two figures arrived on screen from the other side. Most likely through the front door.
They approached Parzik and put something over his mouth and nose. The doctor wasn't a strong man. He couldn't resist their advance. A few seconds passed before he slumped to unconsciousness. A third man leaned through the broken window…most likely the one who punched it in. His head turned toward the camera….
A holographic mask covered his face. Upon seeing it, Lei's expression turned psychotic. Scary…but eerily calm. Like a shell of a person.
"Scavs." She whispered.
'What shit luck. One problem after another.' Johnny commented.
A chip was tossed to the men inside. One of them caught it and slotted the chip into Parzik's neck. A jammer most likely. Next, they dragged the old man out of the room. The end.
Lei approached the washer with an eerie calm. Taking her wet combat gear out of the machine, she slowly strapped up. Her next destination was obvious. Santo Domingo. It was time to hunt.
…
…
…
The front door had been kicked in. It was barely connected to the hinges now. Fragments of the door were all over the hallway entrance. Lei marched into the home.
Dining room. Ransacked. The scavs took anything worth a damn. Living room. Ransacked. Bedroom. Ransacked. Damnit.
'There's a chance he might be dead. Don't forget that.' Johnny said. He leaned against the wall and observed. Lei shook her head.
'No. He doesn't have much cyberware. If they took him, it was for his skills.'
'Using him to chip in the new chrome?'
'Possibly…or using him to rip out the chrome from other victims.'
'All bad either way.'
'Yes.' Lei agreed.
Each room looked like it had been turned over, flipped, and smashed with bats. The drifter's breathing grew a bit deeper. Going over to the thermostat…she turned the temperature down to 64 degrees. Then she tapped the fan button three times.
Immediately, a click sounded. The wall opened up to reveal a hidden staircase leading downwards. Lei quickly went down.
Beneath the house was a laboratory. A place she was well acquainted with. Everything about it was still clean and spotless. The scavengers hadn't noticed this place. Good. She left the room as quickly as she entered.
"Alright. Street camera feeds. Let's see where they took him."