OG: Chapter 25

The next day, the Japantown Lockdown lifted, and I drove my Paladin Five-Hundred over to V's place. I'd never actually been to the Apartment in Watson that she rented before, but as I pulled up to the Piece of Scop Motel that she apparently had her rooms in, I couldn't help but shake my head. With all the Preem Eddies we've been pulling down, V could've definitely sprung for somewhere a lot more Draga than this. I parked my Paladin Five-Hundred and made my way over to Unit Twelve-Twelve, where V was supposedly living.

The place looked run down, more so than usual for Night City, with panels missing from the balcony glass, bullet holes in the structure that'd been painted over in a Scop Job that did nothing to hide them, and so on. V's Ao Guang was missing from the lot, having still been stuck behind the lockdown that was lifting soon. Suzie Q had gotten it to a safe location, though, which was more than I could say for this parking lot. The only thing that was stopping folks from klepping most of these cars was that they were Scopheaps. Most were beat up or worn down, like the Thorton Galena that looked like it was being held together with spit and duct tape.

There was one vehicle that stood out, though. A Zonda Parallax, which would cost a hundred grand in eddies easy to buy. That definitely didn't belong here, but I wasn't quite ready to flip the switch and slammit on just yet. I figured I'd better check in on V's Apartment first, just in case. Stopping in front of the second-floor apartment door labeled Unit Twelve-Twelve, I got ready to fight just in case, tensing for the potential.

I knocked on the door three times fast, pausing before knocking one last time. That'd been something that Jaquito'd insisted on, just in case. A security type of thing to avoid opening the door for just any Gonk claiming to be one of us. I still figured that it was all Bullshit. If someone was gonna try and zero one of us, they wouldn't pose as anyone, they'd just come in shooting. Jaquito watched too many Vids growing up, apparently.

A few moments later, however, the door opened, and V was standing there in her Skivvies and a Tanktop. I cocked an eyebrow at that, all tension leaving my body. She couldn't help but smirk at seeing me.

"You looked about ready to crush coal into diamonds with your ass." Teased V.

"I saw the Zonda Parallax and figured some Corpo hitman might've tried something." I shrugged.

"I would've handled anything like that. Just cause I was recovering didn't mean I couldn't zero any Gonk that tried to pull something." Scoffed V.

"Good." I nodded.

"Not that this isn't a pleasant surprise, but why are you here?" Questioned V.

"We're on the Clock, Chica. With Suzie Q and the Mox, remember?" I queried.

"Japantown's still in lockdown, isn't it?" Asked V.

"Only for another forty-five minutes. Mayor Rhyne said they were halting the lockdown at noon last night. Didn't you hear?" I questioned.

"I was a bit busy last night." Huffed V.

"With what?" I queried.

As I posed that question, the sound of a flushing toilet could be heard in the background, and I immediately locked onto it, before looking back at V. My face broke into a massive, shit-eating grin as I realized just what was going on here.

"Maybe I should've been asking with who instead, huh?" I asked, teasingly.

"Hey, not my fault you haven't had a chance to Stuffit in months. Don't take that out on me." Retorted V, trying to deflect attention. I wasn't having it, though.

"So is that bike out there theirs? It's pretty Draga, must have cost quite a few eddies." I questioned, pressing my advantage.

"Daniela's a Transporter from Stateline who does the cross-border circuit from Night City to the LA Metroplex. She can afford it." Informed V.

"Is that so?" I queried, grinning.

"Look, just be chilled, alright." Sighed V.

"Wouldn't dream of scaring off your Sugar Mama." I chuckled, getting an elbow in the ribs for my troubles. It was worth it, though, to get one last jab in. V had to know by now that when you roll with Jaquito and I, teasing was the way you bonded.

As soon as her elbow landed, digging into my ribs, however, Daniela emerged from the positively tiny side room that seemed to function as a bathroom. She was a fit blonde, with shoulder-length hair left tousled and loose. Her arms and legs were covered in various tattoos, and she was mostly naked right now, only wearing a matching yellow and neon orange bra and panty set. Around her neck, a black choker with a silver ornament hung on the front. All told, V could have done worse.

"V? You didn't mention you'd have company this morning?" Asked Daniela.

"Apparently, the Mayor announced the Japantown lockdown is lifting while we were in bed last night. I need to go to work today." Answered V.

"Wait, is this one of your Chooms?" Questioned Daniela.

"Ernesto, but you can call me E. V's been so cagey about her new Output that Jackie and I had a bet going on whether you were real or not." I introduced.

"You bet on my relationship?" Questioned V.

"This is why we didn't tell you before." I shrugged.

"And how did you make out?" Queried Daniela.

"Like a bandit. Jaquito owes me a cool five hundred eddies." I chuckled.

"Five hundred on a bet? That's a ridiculous amount of money for that!" Hissed V.

"I mostly make everything I need, I can afford to do shit like this. It's not like I'm buying Chrome or Iron, or anything." I shrugged.

"That's not the point!" Insisted V.

"It's not?" I asked.

"No, you and Jackie Bet on my Relationship!" Reiterated V.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Jackie's not in the same frame of mind he was when he made the bet. He got real into his own head when it looked like you'd been nearly zeroed. He thought it was his fault. I don't think he'll be making any more bets like that anytime soon." I offered.

"That still leaves your side of things." Pointed out V.

"She's got you there." Affirmed Daniela.

"Well, to that I can only say that taking out your anger on some Tyger Claws and Organiskaya Gangoons might help there." I tried.

"Ernesto." Pressed V.

"All right, I'm sorry. You really should get suited up, though. We need to bombshell if we're gonna make it to Lizzies in time. Suzie Q has some special kind of assignment for us when we arrive, she said." I responded.

"Oh yeah?" Questioned V.

"Yeah, so grab your Iron, get dressed, and meet me in the parking lot in fifteen minutes." I nodded.

"Nice to meet you, E." Offered Daniela.

"You too, Daniela. V's a Choom and I'm glad she's found someone." I responded.

Then, I headed out of the Scopheap of an Apartment and made my way down to the parking lot once again. I made my way over toward my Paladin Five-Hundred, unlocked the car, and got inside. Then I turned on the Radio and waited for V. Stanley Media was apparently doing a piece on the Japantown Gang War, with the official death toll for what was being dubbed Big Bloody Saturday reaching one-hundred-eighty-three people. Between the fights I'd been part of, the remnants of the Animals trying to run the Lockdown, and what had apparently been an Organiskaya attack on the last of the Scavengers' Safehouses in Japantown, I could believe that easily enough.

Honestly, about the only gang in and around Japantown that hadn't jumped into the fighting had been the Valentinos. Their Holdings on the border of Tyger Claws Territory in the Skyline East Neighborhood meant that they could easily interject and Slammit On if they wanted. They hadn't though, and I suspected Tio Padre had a hand in that decision. After all, they'd just wiped out Sixth Street, sending that gang fleeing out into the Badlands for Stateline with their tail between their legs. Tio Padre probably felt that the Valentinos were already digesting enough conquered territory as it was and didn't need a new War to get mixed up in at the same time. And if he counseled, then both Gustavo and Campo Orta would listen.

As I listened, the news came in that Mayor Rhyne had been close to declaring Part of Japantown a Combat Zone and that he would have if the death toll had exceeded two hundred. It'd been damn close as it was already, only eighteen more Gonks would've needed to have been zeroed for that to happen. Instead, he'd sent the badges in to lock down the district. Apparently, he was warning that he might do the same again if the death toll got that high again. We'd need to finish this war in the next stretch of fighting if we wanted to avoid that. Suzie Q had to be thinking the same thing, probably what her meeting today was for.

Eventually, V emerged from the Scopheap she called an apartment, and came down to the parking lot. I let her in and shut off Stanley Media in favor of music. As the strains of the Ballad of Buck Ravers came on over the Radio. As I turned onto Sutter Street, with a straight shot from here to Lizzie's, I focused myself, trying to get back into the mindset I needed to be in to carry out whatever Biz that Suzie Q wanted us to carry out.

"Where's Jackie?" Queried V.

"He spent the night with Misty. You weren't the only one having a good time with your Mainline last night. He took his own ride to Lizzie's. He'll meet us there." I answered.

"I dunno if Daniela's my Mainline yet. It's all still too new for that." Opined V.

"Hey, it could be worse. You could be with some Straphanger Princess coming down from Beaverville to spend her Corpo Daddy's Money slumming it." I pointed out.

"You didn't think that, right?" Asked V.

"No, or at least I didn't believe it when the thought crossed my mind. You know if that had turned out to be the case, I would've been obligated to keep bringing it up till the end of time, right?" I responded before teasing her a bit.

"Ass." Scoffed V.

Thankfully, her anger at the whole situation seemed feigned. As I turned onto the bridge across the channel, however, V spoke up again. This time, she came at me with a question I didn't have a ready answer for, or at least, not a believable ready answer.

"You know, you've been kind of refusing to go out with anyone since we met. Jackie told me you had an on-again-off-again thing with the Woman who runs the Second Amendment Store out near your place, but you broke it off suddenly around the same time we met a few months back." Mused V.

"Meaning what exactly?" I questioned.

"Well, out of the three of us, you're the only one without an Output." Pressed V.

"So what?" I queried.

"I guess I'm asking why avoid relationships like that?" Asked V.

That, I couldn't answer without sounding completely insane. How do you tell someone that you have to go into firefights alongside that you're avoiding relationships because you'll never stay in the same universe for long enough to do more than just have a short-term thing? It sounds completely bonkers, and they'd start wondering if they can trust you to not point your Iron in their direction because the voices told you to or something. It was a great way to lose a Choom. Thankfully, Cyberpunk came with its own tropes I could use for something like this, not that those tropes would be at all useful for things in other worlds. I'd have to come up with something eventually. For now, though, I leaned on the Cyberpunk Tropes hard.

"This is Night City, V. In a place like this, in a job like ours, you don't get to settle down. Not if you want to be the best. You ever wonder why the Afterlife has so many drinks named after Solos? It's cause in this town, to be a Legend practically requires you to get Zeroed. I'm not gonna subject a Mainline to that sort of heartbreak." I lied.

V didn't have a comeback to that, and I took her silence as an opportunity to refocus on my driving. Either way, we pulled up to Suzie Q's about five minutes later, the lockdown having just lifted a few minutes before we crossed the district lines. Interestingly, Jackie hadn't brought the Volkhov, with its machine-gun mount and armor panels, but his Modded ARCH Nazare Motorcycle. V's Ao Guang was also parked in the lot, a fact that made V smile as I parked the Paladin Five-Hundred. I got out of the car and headed inside, giving Rita Wheeler a nod as I passed her at the door, with V following after me.

Suzie Q was standing near the bar, where Jackie, Jessie Nyan, and Erica Nightly were all hanging out. Punchin' Judy was also hanging around, fiddling with some sort of screen that'd been mounted to the wall. As soon as V and I entered, though, Suzie Q nodded at us, then made a gesture toward Rita. The Doors to Lizzie's closed shut, with a sign claiming that the Bar had been rented out for a private party placed out front.

"Good, you're here. We can get this started, then." Intoned Suzie Q.

"We're here. You said something about some Biz you wanted us to handle?" I questioned, prompting as V and I took up spots next to Jackie at the Bar.

"Yeah. We've got a number of targets here, just hang on, grab a drink, and wait till Punchin' Judy gets her setup fixed." Nodded Suzie Q.

I turned to the Bartender, who slid forward a bottle of Calavera Feliz Cerveza. I nodded and cracked the bottle, making sure to tip more than twenty percent as I flicked payment across. Then I took a sip, nodding at Jackie.

"We keep you waiting long?" I queried.

"Nah, you're good Hermano." Chuckled Jackie, sipping his own beer.

"By the by, I met V's Output earlier. You owe me five hundred Eddies, Choom." I grinned.

"Chinga tu Madre, was that still going?" Asked Jackie with a swear.

"Tell you what, Hermano. I can wave the bet, you just gotta get me a bottle of Centzon Totochtin Indigo." I offered.

"That's gonna be tough, they don't make a whole lot of it, after all." Frowned Jackie.

"But not impossible. Besides, a bottle is less than five hundred eddies." Chimed in V.

"Fair. Gimme a bit to work on it. I think I know a guy who might be able to get some." Agreed Jackie.

"Hold on, looks like the presentation is starting." Cut in Erica Nightly from nearby.

"Yeah, seems like Punchin' Judy's got her screen all worked out." Added Jessie Nyan.

I refocused on the area over by where Punchin' Judy was fiddling with the screen she'd managed to get jacked into the grid through the wall there. I had no clue what she was planning to do with it once everything was finished, but presumably, there was other Biz they could use it for in day-to-day operations. Suzie Q nodded at Punchin' Judy as the screen switched on and a row of Gonks was reflected on the screen. Some of them I knew, Wakako was there, Burai, who was the right-hand man of Nakagawa Hayato, overall leader of the Tyger Claws, and Hayato himself. I spotted Aleksander Yurinov, alongside Pavel Ivanovich Kublanov, the Pakhan of the Organaskaya in Night City.

Others I didn't recognize. A Bald, Gray-Bearded, Russian Man whose tattoos suggested he was the Sovietnik for the Local Organiskaya, another two, one large and muscular, and the other shorter and wirier, who seemed to be Avtorityets for the Organiskaya, one more, a Fat Man whose Tattoos indicated he was the Obshchak for the Bratva, and a long-haired Japanese Man with a goatee who I took to be one of Wakako's Allies in the Hierarchy of the Tyger Claws.

"All right, pay attention, cause we don't have all day. Up on this screen, I have the list of Motherfuckers that are still trying to zero all of us. For the Tyger Claws, that's Wakako Okada, Burai, Hiromi Sato, and their Big Boss, Shinobu the Second, AKA Hayato Nakagawa. For the Organiskaya, that's Avtorityets Arkadiy Ulyanov and Igor Baranov, Sovietnik Sergei Antonov, Chief Hatchetman Aleksander Yurinov, Obshchak Nikita Letov, and their Supreme Godfather, Pavel Ivanovich Kublanov." Spoke up Suzie Q.

"That's a lotta guys with OV at the end of their names." Mused Jessie Nyan.

"They're Russians, what were you expecting, John Smith?" Questioned Punchin' Judy, snarkily.

"Still, they could stand to throw in an SKY or something every now and again." Opined Erica Nightly.

"That's more of a Polish thing than a Russian thing." I added.

"Not that it matters. These Organiskaya Gonks'll recruit from anyone that they think fits their profile. By force if they have to." Scoffed Jackie.

"You know about the Organiskaya?" Queried V.

"We know enough to know they're bad news. The Organiskaya isn't just a bunch of random Gangoons. They're organized, more than the usual boostergangs tend to be. They're the New Russian Mob, an evolution of the old Bratva, just as organized and twice as cold." I responded.

"Whatever they are, they're the driving force behind our problems right now." Informed Suzie Q.

"How do you know that?" Asked Jessie Nyan.

"Simple math. The Tyger Claws could be burying us in Gangoons. They've got the numbers for it. They aren't, though, and the fact that they aren't indicates that this War doesn't exactly have everyone on board." Responded Punchin' Judy.

"You think some of the Tyger Claws went off the reservation?" Questioned Erica Nightly.

"I normally wouldn't consider it, but. . ." Trailed off Suzie Q.

"But Wakako has clearly cozied up to Saka. More so than Shinobu the Second might have wanted. When the Corpos get involved with the Scop that goes down on the street, it tends to make things murky." I summarized.

"We think it's more than that." Refuted Punchin' Judy.

"More how?" Queried Jackie.

"Shinobu the Second hasn't made a public appearance in a while. We think he might be sick, crippled, or otherwise incapable of reining in his subordinates directly. We think that Wakako was testing the boundaries of what she could get away with by starting this War, but now it's taken on a life of its own. The Organiskaya has remained pretty remarkably unscathed in all the fighting, but the Tyger Claws have taken a couple of beatings." Explained Suzie Q.

"So you think the Organiskaya is forcing Wakako's hand here?" Asked V.

"Think about it. She can't go to Shinobu the Second and outright admit that she needs more men, because then he'll see just how many moves Wakako has been making while he's been indisposed. At the same time, the Organiskaya is just going to keep fighting to seize more territory since they haven't been hit hard in the fighting at all. Caught between her allies and her Boss, Wakako has no other choice but to stay the course and hope she zeroes all her opposition before someone, probably on Shinobu the Second's orders, zeroes her." Summarized Suzie Q.

"That makes sense. So now that we know about this, how do we exploit it?" I questioned.

"We hit them hard in the right places." Smirked Punchin' Judy.

"Yeah? That simple, huh?" Queried Erica Nightly.

"I assume you're gonna tell us what the right places are?" Asked Jessie Nyan.

"Let the lady speak." Remarked Jackie.

"Thanks, I was getting to that." Interrupted Suzie Q.

The Screen that Punchin' Judy had rigged up shifted to show a few different locations. Two were clearly Organiskaya Hotspots. The first was the Cyclone Russian Bath House out near Capitola Street, and the second was the Hotel Vladivostok out near where Japantown and Charter Hill met. The other two locations were Clouds, the High-End Dollhouse, and the Main Tyger Claw Casino in Jig-Jig Street.

"We've identified these four targets as the best ones to hit in order to shatter Wakako's little alliance." Smirked Suzie Q.

"I don't like the idea of hitting Clouds with the Joytoys inside, but we don't really have much of a choice if we want Shinobu the Second to take notice from wherever he is." Admitted Punchin' Judy.

"Then what's the Casino attack for?" Questioned V.

"Insurance probably." I shrugged.

"Smart." Grinned Erica Nightly.

"Of course, you're not in the kiddie leagues anymore, Chica." Chuckled Jackie.

"Apparently." Huffed Jessie Nyan.

"Moving on, how do you want to do this?" Queried V.

"That I'll leave up to you. However, I need you to divvy up three targets among yourselves. If you can do that, the Mox will handle the fourth." Intoned Suzie Q.

"That's spreading us kinda thin, no?" I asked.

"It's what needs to get done to end this, Ernie." Insisted Punchin' Judy.

"Fine. In that case, I'll take the Bath House by myself. Jackie, you and V deal with the Hotel Vladivostok." I proposed.

"No sweat, right V?" Questioned Jackie.

"Right. Can you handle the Bath House alone?" Queried V.

"Probably." I nodded.

"Which just leaves us handling either the Casino or Clouds." Mused Erica Nightly.

"Which one should we take?" Asked Jessie Nyan.

"It's up to you, but there can't be any mistakes here. If you take Clouds, you need to have a plan and follow through as best you can on it while zeroing as few Joytoys as possible. If you take the Casino, you need to be ready to Bombshell as soon as you've ripped the place off. Jig-Jig Street is the heart of Wakako's Territory, after all. There's no way she doesn't have a team she can call in to help on short notice, there." I warned.

As Jessie Nyan and Erica Nightly conferred among themselves, I nodded at Jackie and V. They nodded back, and together, we headed out for the parking lot. V climbed into her Ao Guang, and Jackie piled in after her, while I got into my Paladin Five Hundred. Unlike the two Rookies we were sort of mentoring on the job, V, Jackie, and I were experienced enough that we could work off of improvisation for an Underworld Job like this. We would bang out these attacks right away. The only thing I was worried about, really, was what if Aleksander Yurinov was at the Hotel Vladivostok? Could V and Jackie handle him themselves? I had to trust that they could. One thing was definitely for certain, the Rookies wouldn't have been able to handle him. That was why I'd voluntold us for the Organiskaya Hot Spots.

In the end, only time would tell. As I pulled out of the Lizzie's Parking Lot, heading North for the Cyclone Russian Bath House, I couldn't help but thank my lucky stars that I had crafted my new armor and equipment. I would need it if I ran into Aleksander Yurinov during all this. Little did I know that this would only be the first of two times I would find myself up against the Organiskaya to Slammit On.

And they would wind up being no less dangerous an opponent either time, too. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter. We are now officially in the Endgame for the Cyberpunk Section of the Story, as this whole operation is going to effectively be the first half of the end of that part of the story. I plan to have interludes showing the other battles and missions going on alongside the SI's attack on the Cyclone Russian Bath House, but we'll get his POV first and foremost.

The start of that is coming up in the next chapter, but I'll also have character sheet updates and some more images out before then as well.

Stay tuned. . .