The lower floors were filled with gaunt, hollow-eyed people, their faces pale and lifeless.
In the hallways of this massive apartment building, homeless vagrants wrapped in rags slept on piles of garbage.
This so-called megabuilding was, at its core, nothing more than a trash can designed by Night City.
Only this "trash can" was meant for discarding people.
At the turn of a stairwell, in a narrow space, a small group blocked Arthur's path.
On the ground lay a man, stretched out and still. From the murmurs around him, it wasn't hard to guess what had happened.
"When did this guy die?"
"Yesterday, I think. I usually gave him my leftovers."
"Yeah, I helped him too—clothes and all that."
"Remember he used to work at a food processing plant? One day, a machine malfunctioned and blinded him."
Every word reached Arthur's ears, but he didn't stop, only letting out a quiet laugh.
It seemed every dead vagrant had once been shown kindness, yet most still starved in the end.
When he'd first arrived, Arthur found it strange. But eventually, he realized—only when the homeless became corpses did anyone bother to stop and notice them.
Not that he could blame the locals. Arthur had once tried giving alms himself, only to be swarmed by the same seemingly pitiful crowd, demanding "charity" by force.
Taking the cage-like elevator down, he finally found Jackie at a small food stall.
The guy was hunched over his takeout box, eating in silence.
"Weren't you supposed to treat me to a meal?"
Arthur called out, pulling Jackie's attention away from his food.
"Buenos días (Good morning)."
Jackie greeted him, then immediately turned back to the vendor to order another box.
"Yours'll be ready soon."
Arthur dragged over a chair and sat down, pressing on.
"Really? Nothing else?"
Jackie spoke with his mouth full, cheeks puffed out.
"Eat, drink, fight.
We've got a whole day ahead of us!"
As they talked, the vendor handed Arthur his small box. Steam rose into his face, washing away some of his lingering irritation from the morning.
"Cheer up, Arthur. Eat something, warm your stomach!"
They finished the modest meal while chatting, but just then, Jackie received a call.
"V? I thought you were working in Europe. How do you have time to call me?"
Meanwhile, in a studio inside the Arasaka Building, V set down her microterminal.
Hearing Jackie's voice gave her a faint sense of finally being home.
"The higher-ups are at each other's throats. Long story short, they tossed me around like a damn ping-pong ball.
Those bastards throw me into every mess, then pat themselves on the back once I clean it up."
Hearing the exhaustion in her voice, Jackie frowned.
"Girl, I told you—the company's filth will eat you alive. Damn."
That genuine concern eased some of V's tension. She slumped forward onto the table, speaking weakly.
"Jackie… I'm in the fire right now, I can't get out.
Let's skip this talk. You free? I need your help with something. Big job. I need someone I trust the most."
"Listen, sis, you know me. I kill, but not just anyone.
Sounds like bullshit, I know—like a whore pretending to be pure—but I won't be some soulless butcher.
Other than that, your business is my business. Don't treat me like a stranger."
Reclining in her chair, eyes half-closed, V felt reassured. Four years had passed, yet this old friend hadn't changed at all.
"Tonight," V said slowly. "Pick a place. We'll talk then."
"Alright. Lizzie's Bar. My treat. Call it a welcome back.
Oh, and since it's work, I'll bring my partner. That cool?"
Jackie thought a moment before choosing the spot.
Hearing he wanted to bring someone along, V hesitated but didn't refuse.
This job wouldn't get done by just one V or one Jackie. Others would need to join.
"If they're reliable, bring them. But remember—if word gets out, I'm finished."
"Relax. Absolutely trustworthy. We're brothers who've bled together."
The call ended. Jackie turned to Arthur, who'd been standing nearby.
"Looks like we've got a job. A big one."
Arthur immediately noticed something was off. Normally, whenever Jackie mentioned a big job, he was all fired up. But now, his face was grim.
Thinking back to Jackie's expression during the call, Arthur asked cautiously,
"An old friend?"
Jackie didn't even question how Arthur guessed so quickly.
"Yeah. A friend I grew up with. Said they need my help."
Arthur could see how much Jackie cared about this and asked,
"Can we trust them?"
In this city, even friends you saw every day could betray you—let alone someone gone for years.
But Jackie's face didn't waver.
"Absolutely trustworthy."
Arthur didn't press further. Jackie might look simple, but he wasn't stupid. And when it came to friends, his gut instinct was almost never wrong.
"So, what's the job?"
"We'll head to Lizzie's tonight. I'll introduce you then."
...
That night, under the swirling purple lights of Lizzie's Bar, Arthur and Jackie already had a few empty glasses on the table.
Jackie sipped his liquor, his gaze fixed on the bar's entrance.
"About time. She should be here soon."
Sure enough, a woman in a black tracksuit walked in.
Her figure was striking, her chest full and confident.
Arthur looked away, embarrassed, and shook his head slightly.
Damn it—definitely a leftover cowboy habit.
She moved with quick strides, carrying a sharp, confident energy, and soon reached their table.
"Jackie, long time no see."
Her features were striking—black eyes, black hair, Asian through and through, yet her nose was high and elegant.
Her eyes shone like stars, her long lashes fluttered with life, and her lips were soft and pink like peach petals.
If not for those sharp, sword-like brows, she would have been a flawless beauty.
"V, it's been a while. This is Arthur Morgan."
Jackie stood and introduced her.
She frowned, immediately scoffing.
"Fuck, I hate that name.
The asshole above me's called Arthur Jenkins."
Just like that, V shattered Arthur's first impression of her. Which, honestly, fit—she was Jackie's friend after all.
"Ha! No point bringing up bad memories when drinking. Ruins the buzz."
Jackie laughed loudly and slid a glass of liquor toward V.
She downed it in one gulp, exhaled deeply, then stretched without restraint, as if she'd just come alive again.
She didn't seem to care that she was a woman or that a stranger sat beside her—she moved freely, without hesitation.
After a bit of small talk, they finally got down to business.
V explained,
"Arasaka's hit a tech bottleneck. Not sure what exactly—they're guarding it like it's locked in a vault.
Anyway, they've set their sights on a Biotechnica drug, say it's crucial.
But Biotechnica doesn't bow to Arasaka. So the old bastards sent us—mad dogs—to steal it."
"Steal from Biotechnica?"
Jackie muttered, glancing unconsciously at Arthur.
V caught the look immediately and asked, puzzled,
"What? You've crossed paths with Biotechnica before?"
Arthur shrugged and gave a rough account.
"Biotechnica's scum. They've got secret ties with the Scavs and the Maelstrom. Use the gangs as cover for human experiments.
We had a gig tied to them—rescued a little girl from one of their facilities and torched a base on the way out."
V nodded, unsurprised. She'd long since grown used to corporate filth. Nothing about it shocked her anymore.
...
(70 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser