OG: Chapter 29

The Walk of Shame back to my apartment after the all-night bit of Stuffit with Meredith Stout at the No-Tell Motel wasn't much of a Walk of Shame, actually. The No-Tell Motel was used to Gonks showing up for a random sexual rendezvous, and there was a lot kinkier stuff that'd gone on here than a bit of wax play, some choking, and so on. Accordingly, nobody said a goddamn word as I made my way out to my car, not even the Joytoys in the Lobby, one of which had a knowing smirk on her face. As I got into my Paladin Five Hundred to drive back to my apartment, I reflected that Meredith Stout's kinks could've been a lot worse.

"Nothing went up my ass, at least." I muttered as I pulled out of the No-Tell Motel's Parking Lot.

I'd been half-afraid that being a Corpo would've meant she was into stuff like that. Not that there was anything wrong with pegging, I didn't judge, but it just wasn't my thing. Of course, I'd just made it onto Allen Street when I got a call from Suzie Q. Answering it, Suzie Q's voice practically brimmed with excitement as we talked.

"Go." I answered.

"Big E! I hope you're ready to Slammit On, cause we've got to follow up our big show." Answered Suzie Q.

"That's what you're paying me for, isn't it?" I questioned.

"Damn straight! How quick can you get your Chooms together and get over to Lizzie's?" Queried Suzie Q.

"Jackie mentioned he was gonna go see his Mainline last night, so that depends." I warned.

"Well, flick me the detes when you know. I want us to hit the Tyger Claws and Russkies while they're reeling!" Insisted Suzie Q.

"That might not even be necessary." I pointed out.

"Oh yeah? What do you mean?" Asked Suzie Q.

"Yeah, have you heard about what's been going on with the Tyger Claws lately?" I questioned.

"Aside from that ass whipping we gave them, I ain't heard nothing. Why? You got a source in the Tyger Claws or something?" Queried Suzie Q.

"Or something." I smirked.

"Well, don't leave me hanging like some Leadhead, now. Spill." Demanded Suzie Q.

"Word is that Wakako Okada got summoned to the Nakagawa Kabuki Theater to face judgment from Shinobu the Second for starting this war. You might want to put out feelers to the Claws. I get the feeling their appetite for peace has just grown a Scopload. With or without the Organiskaya." I answered.

"Shit, really?" Asked Suzie Q.

"Really. I wouldn't be surprised if Wakako wound up Zeroed at some point in the near future." I confirmed.

"All right, check in with your Chooms. I'll send Rita out to Japantown to offer terms. We'll see if we can't come up with a strategy for hitting the Russkies when you get here." Intoned Suzie Q.

"Not gonna check and see if the Organiskaya want peace too?" I questioned.

"Why? You got a source in there, too?" Queried Suzie Q.

"No. I don't." I admitted.

"Then we're still at war with them till I say otherwise." Huffed Suzie Q.

"Fair enough. I'll let you know what the Sitch with Jackie and V is." I responded.

And with that, Suzie Q hung up, and I made a beeline for Jacquito's Apartment. He'd moved out of his Mom's Place and into a place near the Garage he was renting for his ARCH a while back in the Glen. A preem loft on the twelfth floor of some building on Los Lobos. It was a pretty Nova place, but it cost way more than I'd be willing to pay for an apartment in the Glen. Eighty Grand in Eddies as a down payment. Pretty damn Draga, if you asked me, but they were Jackie's Eddies to spend, so I couldn't say shit about it. As I made my way south across the bridge toward Corpo Plaza, I gave Jacquito a call. The phone number rang out, and I had to call him again. This time, Jacquito answered after three rings, voice sounding a bit annoyed.

"Damn it, Ernesto! Can't you give a Guy a moment with his Output?" Questioned Jackie.

"We got Biz, Jacquito. Suzie Q wants to see us ASAP about bringing the hammer down on the Organiskaya now that they're on the backfoot." I informed.

"Chingada Madre! Now, or can it wait?" Queried Jackie.

"ASAP means as soon as possible, Jacquito. She's paying us, and we took the contract, our time belongs to her, remember?" I pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah. Just gimme an hour and a half. She can't bitch about that, can she?" Asked Jackie.

"I'll be by in an hour, Jackie. You know how this works." I sighed.

"You know, just 'cause you don't have an Output doesn't mean you can butt into my time with Misty." Grumbled Jackie.

"I'll have you know that I did get to Stuffit recently." I huffed, annoyed at the constant jokes.

"Oh yeah? When?" Questioned Jackie.

"Yesterday." I explained.

"Wait, I thought you were going to see that Millitech Chick about that Biz you did for them yesterday?" Queried Jackie.

"I did." I answered.

"Ernesto. You didn't Stuffit with the Millitech Chick, did you?" Asked Jackie.

"One hour, Jackie." Was all I said.

"Oh, man. How the hell did you swing that? And how are you not zeroed right now?" Questioned Jackie with a laugh.

"Cállate, Jaquito!" I hissed.

"Sure, no problem. I can shut up, just you know how crazy that is, right?" Queried Jackie.

"One hour, Jackie. I'm starting the timer now." I growled.

As I hung up on Jackie, all I could hear from his end of the phone was laughter. Had agreeing to be Meredith Stout's Joytoy for the night actually been a bad idea? I mean, I had a good time, and I was pretty sure she had as well, but would she send a Millitech Cylon team after me or something to tie off loose ends? Probably not. That was probably a waste of Corpo resources. Besides, if she was gonna zero me over it, you'd think she would've done it while I was sleeping. No, it was just Jackie being Jackie, I decided.

As I turned onto MLK Boulevard after coming out of the Corpo Plaza Roundabout, I decided I might as well try and call V now. This time, when the phone rang, it only took two rings for V to pick up. As she answered, I heard the sound of the shower running in the background, signifying she'd had her Output over. That Smuggler Chick from Stateline she was seeing, Daniela, was probably taking a shower right now. I couldn't exactly judge, though, not unless she was gonna pull a Jackie and ask for more time with her Output.

"Ernesto, what's the Sitch?" Questioned V.

"This a bad time?" I queried.

"No, Daniela has to leave soon. Why?" Asked V.

"Suzie Q has Biz for us. She wants us to hit the Organiskaya hard while they're steel reeling." I responded.

"But not the Tyger Claws?" Queried V.

"Word is the Tyger Claws are getting rid of Wakako. She got summoned to the Kabuki Theater last night to answer to Shinobu the Second about starting this War. Suzie Q put out peace feelers for them." I answered.

"Who'd she send?" Asked V.

"Rita." I responded.

"That might not go over well. Rita's an Enforcer, after all." Mused V.

"She's also one of the top three people in the Mox." I reminded.

"Fair. So the Organiskaya?" Questioned V.

"Seems like Suzie Q wants to wipe them out as a threat. I can't say I don't agree, either. Give them time, and they'll come back to bite the Mox in a big way. Organized Crime isn't like the usual Gangoons that run around the City. They can hold grudges for decades if they have to. They're old school like that." I informed.

"Right. Well, I can be ready in fifteen." Offered V.

"Take your time. Jackie won't be ready for another hour." I remarked.

"Misty, right. He mentioned he was going to see her last night." Muttered V.

"Yeah. I'll swing by with Jacquito once I've picked him up." I intoned.

"I'll be ready." Agreed V.

Then she hung up. Not too long after that, I arrived back at Megabuilding H-Five, heading into my apartment. I tooled up here, grabbing my Xipe Totec and Fuerza Crispa, buckling on my fresh armor, and, on a whim, having my autofactory make up a few grenades, one each of Plasma Grenades, Krak Grenades, and Frag Grenades. The Grenades only took up around fifteen minutes to make, and that meant that I was free to do some design work while I could. What I wound up with by the time I had to leave was a capacitor that used specially enchanted vibranium to store energy at a much higher level than the Imperium, Tau, and Squat tech I had access to, thanks to the properties of Vibranium and the Enchantments.

The next goal would be to create a special type of railgun using those capacitors, based on the schematics of the Kinetic Destroyer that I had access to from the Age of Technology. That would require further tweaking of the design so that the rails wouldn't overheat for the higher weapon tolerances, which would likely require them to be made of Adamantium. I would also need to be able to handle the recoil of such a weapon, which would require me to use a minaturized Inertial Dampener of the kind used on certain Starfighters from Star Wars. That would require its own design time, of course, and wouldn't be something I could do now, but I would dedicate time to it in the future.

It was doable, and would give me a personal weapon with the power of a contemporary light artillery piece. That would be a light artillery piece from the Age of Technology, too, which was big. Of course, it would likely be more shotgun or carbine-sized than pistol-sized, with much of that being the barrel, but it would be doable with time, materials, and effort. Once I had a weapon like that, it would take something big to stop me. Something like a Higher-level Demon or Small God. Quite honestly, the way the Celestial Forge could scale was insane.

Unfortunately, I only had time to design the capacitor before I had to head out to pick up Jackie. I finished my design, grabbed my finished grenades, and headed out the door to head out to the Glen. When I arrived, Jackie was already waiting for me. He got into my Paladin Five Hundred's Passenger Seat and nodded at me as I pulled out onto Los Lobos and headed North for Watson.

"We're picking up V?" Queried Jackie.

"Seems like everyone had a bit of Stuffit last night." I nodded.

"Yeah, some more crazy than others." Smirked Jackie.

"I thought I told you to quit it with that?" I asked.

"I did. While you were on your way I didn't say a damn word to Misty about it. Seriously, though, Hermano. You're playing with fire. Corpos aren't exactly the kind of folks who give a shit about guys like us. Your Corpo Booty Call might just have you zeroed to protect her Rep in the C-Suite." Warned Jackie.

"I don't know about that. If she was gonna have me zeroed, she'd have done it by now." I pointed out.

"Whatever, Hermano. Your funeral." Grinned Jackie.

That was all the conversation about that there was on the drive over to V's apartment in Watson. The silence was filled with the news as the tones of Stanley Media laid out what had gone on in the last day or so, where we'd all been celebrating or reporting back to Meredith Stout and then celebrating on top and underneath her, in my case. Apparently, the lull in the Japantown Gang War had been noticed by the wider city. Unfortunately, it'd apparently been offset by an outbreak of violence in Pacifica between the Voodoo Boys and Barghest that saw thirty-one Zeroed Gangoons hit the floor in a firefight near Luxor Heights.

That was just life in the Combat Zone, though. Japantown flaring up as we, the Organiskaya, and the Tyger Claws had decided to Slammit On was an anomaly. One that apparently still had Mayor Lucius Rhyne calling up the Night City Council for a meeting about declaring Japantown a Combat Zone. That was still on for next week, it seemed. At least according to Stanley Media, anyway. To be fair to the Mayor, he was right. We were about to Zero a bunch more Organiskaya Gangoons, but if we did this right, we would have ended the War in our favor after we did. Just one more day of zeroed gonks, and this whole thing would blow over.

By the time we got to V's apartment, V was waiting for us. She waved us down as I pulled my Paladin Five-Hundred into the Parking lot out front, pointing over to her Ao Guang. I rolled down the window and nodded over to her.

"I'll follow you. It looks good if we show up together." Opined V.

"Roger that." I concurred.

And with that, I pulled out of the parking lot, V following behind as we made our way down to Lizzie's via Martin Street, heading south. About five minutes later, we crossed over into Kabuki, the voice of Stanley Media having given way to Chromatic Rock, Chippin' In by Samurai blaring over the speakers. As we turned onto Sutter Street, the last strains of the song began to fade out, and we pulled up into the parking lot of Lizzie's. I got out, waiting for Jackie and V before locking my Paladin Five-Hundred, and entered Lizzie's Bar.

The place looked like the Mox had thrown a rager in here, with empty bottles still spread out all over the place. Some of the newer members were still cleaning up after the celebrations, it seemed. At the bar, V, Jackie, and I took seats, and I ordered a Calavera Feliz, sliding forth a few physical Eddies as I got my drink, taking a sip and letting the cold beer wash out the taste of cigarettes, whiskey, and black cherry that I still tasted even hours after leaving the No-Tell Motel from my mouth. I didn't have to wait long, as Punchin' Judy made her way upstairs from her basement lair and spotted us.

"Ernie!" She grinned.

"Punchin' Judy." I nodded.

"You know that nickname annoys me." Growled Judy with faux anger as she stepped up to me and slugged me in the shoulder. As she did so, however, she seemed to catch a whiff of something because her face scrunched up in confusion.

"Why do you smell like sweat and anger and shame?" Demanded Judy.

"Ernesto had a bit of Stuffit with a Corpo Chick last night." Grinned Jackie.

"What?" Questioned Judy.

"You didn't?" Asked V.

"I did. Get your jokes out now." I sighed, resolved to take the ribbing.

"Man, that's crazy! Corpos are into some messed-up stuff!" Exclaimed Judy.

"It wasn't that bad. She wanted me to choke her, and then she wanted to drip melted wax on me." I shrugged.

"I didn't need to know the details, Hermano." Huffed Jackie.

"I mean, choking I get, but Wax Play's a little much for a first time with this chick, isn't it?" Wondered V.

"You got off lucky. The Mox does protection for a lot of independent Joytoys. You hear stuff about how Corpos can be in the bedroom. Sometimes, the Joytoys don't come back from a Corpo Client, and you have to call in a Cleaner to get rid of a body." Cautioned Judy.

"Must be all those Eddies and all that power. You hear stuff about some of the higher-level Solos, too. They say Boa Boa Weyland used to like to make Chicks bleed in the bedroom back in the day, and everyone knows Adam Smasher's a complete psychopath." Offered Jackie.

"It wasn't that bad. I actually had a good time." I defended.

"Like I said, you're lucky you got a tame one." Reiterated Judy.

"You're not gonna see her again, right?" Questioned V.

"I dunno. Probably not, but who knows?" I shrugged.

"Estas Loco." Muttered Jackie, shaking his head.

"Yeah, who knows what she could be into by the time you see her again?" Queried V.

"Hey, better you than me." Mused Judy.

As the ribbing continued, however, I just took another sip of my beer and let it wash over me. If they wanted to joke, I'd let them. I could take it. Soon enough, however, about fifteen minutes after we'd arrived, Susie Q came strolling in, Rita Wheeler at her side. Suzie Q had a giant grin on her face as she made her way over, nodding at us.

"Hot damn, but you were right! The Tyger Claws wanna make peace, not only are they offering to let us have all the Animals' old territory, but they're paying us Preem Eddies for the privilege!" Beamed Suzie Q.

"Told you." I smirked.

"What? How many Eddies?" Asked Judy.

"Thirty-one-million Eddies, roughly a month of revenues from Wakako's Former Pachinko Parlor." Answered Rita.

"Former Pachinko Parlor?" Questioned Jackie.

"Yeah, did Wakako get Zeroed?" Queried V.

"Not yet, but she's out of the Tyger Claws. She's been declared Yono." Answered Suzie Q.

"What's that mean?" Asked Judy.

"It means that she isn't someone the Tyger Claws will do Biz with anymore." I answered.

"Yeah, and it also means they won't protect her if someone goes to Zero her." Added Rita.

"Which someone definitely will if she doesn't leave town fast." Remarked Jackie.

"So it sounds like that's the Tyger Claws all wrapped up then." Opined V.

"Which just leaves the Organiskaya." I intoned.

"Right, the Russkies. They're still at war with us." Nodded Rita.

"Not for long. We have a few locations they could be using to hunker down in. Now we need to hit them hard." Insisted Suzie Q.

"Where?" Questioned Judy.

"And why aren't the other two, Erica and Jessie, in on this?" I queried.

"We sent them to Stateline on Biz. The D'amico Mob Family is holding onto something out there for us. It's a milk run that we should've been sending them on all along. Wartime tends to zero planning like that, though." Answered Suzie Q.

"Right, so I guess the two Rookies are out on this, then?" Asked Jackie.

"They are. It'll just be you three, me, and Punchin' Judy over there." Confirmed Rita.

"Right. So let's hear it. Where could they be hiding?" Questioned V.

"So, right now we've narrowed their rat hole down to one of three places. Club Perun, a nightclub out in Charter Hill, near Lele Park, is a club owned and operated by the Organiskaya. That's one place. The second is the Old Kang Tao Warehouse and Pier out on the Kabuki Docks, they use the docks there to smuggle in stuff from overseas, Iron, Dorph, Joytoys, the works. The last is out on Silk Road West, a Dollhouse Masquerading as a Russian Tea Room called The Sakhalin Room." Explained Suzie Q.

"Pick two to hit, I'll take the last one with Punchin' Judy and the Girls." Offered Rita.

"Thanks for volunteering me." Snarked Judy.

"You're a big girl." Snorted Rita.

"Right, so I'm thinking that I'll take the Kang Tao Warehouse by myself." I informed.

"Right, what do you think, V?" Queried Jackie.

"I think Club Perun sounds good for us, how about you?" Asked V.

"I'm good with that." Affirmed Jackie.

"Which leaves the Sakhalin Room for Rita and Judy. All right, you have your targets now, get to it. I want Pavel Kublanov and Aleksander Yurinov Zeroed by the end of the day." Ordered Suzie Q.

I nodded, standing up and draining the rest of my beer. Once I'd done that, I tossed the bottle and headed out to my Paladin Five Hundred. One way or another, this was gonna end today, and as I turned the key and revved the engine of my Urban Combat Vehicle masquerading as a Street Legal Car, I vowed that if it was Aleksander Yurinov or me, I was gonna make damn sure he got zeroed instead of getting zeroed myself. As I pulled out of Lizzie's Parking Lot, I could only hope that I'd picked correctly. It seemed like I had. If the Pakhan of the Organiskaya was going to be anywhere, it was going to be the place where he could get on a boat and flee the city, at least that's what I thought, anyway. I put the question out of my mind almost as soon as it came up, though.

I would find out if that was the case soon enough, which made any worrying about the issue pointless. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. We're heading into the final batch of Chapters for Cyberpunk before the Jump. The MC meets up with V, Jackie, and the Mox and gets the lowdown on the last mission he'll undertake for Suzie Q and the last mission he'll undertake in Cyberpunk period, as he'll be jumping out soon. He's headed to the Kabuki Docks to try and finish the fight with the Organiskaya.

The next chapter will be the penultimate Cyberpunk Chapter for the fic, as we'll effectively only have two more before the SI jumps out of Cyberpunk. The next one and an Epilogue interlude showing the aftermath of his actions in Cyberpunk. Once we finish the Epilogue, there will be a series of interludes showing how all the other SI's who survived their first jumps did.

Stay tuned. . .