Rogue was obsessing. And the worst part was, she knew she was obsessing too. Yet… knowing something and changing one's behavior were two very different things. She couldn't help herself. Really, she should have been able to. Rogue was the motherfucking Queen of the Afterlife, after all. She was the biggest, baddest bitch of a Fixer in all of Night City.
Johnny Silverhand, meanwhile, was an all-but-forgotten has-been who'd been dead for more than half a century. Rogue would be lying if she said she never thought about him, just from time to time, but all the same… he was in the past.
Or rather, he should have been. V was making it difficult to keep the past where it belonged.
As he saunters up to her booth in the Afterlife and is allowed to sit down with her again, the first thing Rogue notices is that he's still wearing Johnny's fucking shoes. But because she's looking down, the next thing she notices is…
"Where did you get those pants, V?"
She regrets how sharp her tone is a moment later, but she regrets even more how interested she can't help sounding as she stares at the pants V has on. There's just no fucking way that he…
"Huh? Oh these? Did a gig for Padre, you know over in Heywood?"
Sebastian Ibarra, yes Rogue was well-acquainted with the man. In his younger days, Padre was a member of the Valentinos. It was only after surviving a bloodbath that he'd turned away from the gang life and become a Fixer instead. A familiar tale among their very small community, Rogue had to admit.
Still…
"You did a gig for Padre and he… paid you in pants?"
V blinks and then lets out a chortle.
"Nah. Eh, I guess it doesn't matter too much if I tell you, the gig is done. Padre hired me to steal a guitar that some Samurai superfan got his hands on. Apparently, this guitar belonged to Kerry Eurodyne or something. And get this, the dude who had it… he was planning to get surgery to look more like Eurodyne. Even had the guitar in a shrine and everything. Utterly freaky shit."
It was, but Rogue was well-used to freaks in Night City. Indeed, superfans like the man that V had robbed were a dime a dozen, even for an old band like Samurai.
"Anyways, while I was there, I found these pants among the dude's belongings and… I dunno, he was already gonna know he got robbed anyways once he realized the guitar was gone. Plus, they were just kind of calling to me, y'know? Like a voice in the back of my head."
Grinning cheekily, V twists this way and that, showing off his new attire.
"I totally rock them, don't I? Heh, could be a Rocker Boy myself, if I wasn't already a damn good solo."
Rogue's mouth is dry as she's forced to admit that yes, V very much does 'rock them'. At the same time, it's rather easy to tamp down on her arousal given the horror she feels over what's happening to the younger man. Does he even know he's doing it? Or is he being replaced by Johnny, turned into the other man more and more day by day?
It's not as bad if Arasaka was on the up and up when they downloaded Johnny into V's head and turned him into their disposable asset… but this was fucking Arasaka they were talking about here. Rogue wouldn't put it pass them to have kept V in the dark about the true nature of what they were doing to him… or what might happen to him afterwards.
"… Those are Silverhand's pants, V."
She doesn't know why she tells him that. Maybe because she wants to see his reaction, maybe because she thinks he deserves to know. Either way, V pauses and looks down at himself blankly for a moment, just long enough for Rogue to wonder if he's putting two and two together right there in front of her eyes.
"… Huh, no wonder they go so well with the boots."
Nope. Rogue feels another part of herself die as V just… completely misses it. Or does he? They already knew he was an excellent fucking liar. He could be playing her right now and Rogue wouldn't even know it. And yet, that doesn't stop her from seeing Johnny super-imposed over the younger man just for a moment. And then... she sees her.
Not in the booth with them, to be clear. It happens because Rogue finally tears her eyes off of V, deciding to look anywhere else except for the young man who so heavily reminded her of a past flame. In doing so, she looks out into the greater expanse of the Afterlife for just a moment… and there she is.
Seated at the bar, nursing a Johnny Silverhand, she looks just like Rogue remembers her. Golden blonde hair, white tank top, blue jeans, black leather jacket. She even has a cigarette in between her fingers as she makes eye contact with Rogue… and smiles.
Her drink comes up in a silent toast as Rogue sits there stupefied for a long moment, but then someone, some nobody, passes between them, obstructing Rogue's view of the bar and Alteria Cunningham for just a split second. When they finish passing by… Alt is gone.
Rogue is half-tempted to lunge out of her seat and rush to the bar for answers, but decades of training and serious self-control make her lock up and hold herself still instead. She wasn't… she hadn't… there was just no way. It wasn't real. Just her eyes playing tricks on her.
Shit. Was Rogue going cyberpsycho? Was V contagious? No, she was just letting her fears get to her. She needed to calm down, needed to take a moment and just… breathe.
"So… did you have a reason for calling me in Rogue? Or did you just want to see my handsome face again? Because if it's the latter, I might just have to charge you anyways. I'm kind of busy at the moment."
Pulling herself out of her thoughts and trying desperately to put the sight of Alteria Cunningham out of her mind, Rogue refocuses on the matter at hand. Forcing a grim smirk that she doesn't really feel onto her lips, the Queen of the Afterlife nevertheless tilts her head to the side and regards V carefully.
"Yes, I've noticed. You've been on a tear since attending the funeral of your late partner, haven't you?"
If V is taken aback by Rogue's knowledge of his activities, he doesn't show it. Instead…
"Ofrenda."
At her frown, he elaborates.
"It wasn't a funeral. It was an Ofrenda. Combination of a memorial and establishing an altar to the dearly deceased, so to speak. But yeah, I figured I should get back to it. Honor Jackie's memory and all that."
Rogue leans forward, finding her rhythm a bit more and getting back into her element.
"Seems like it's more than that, V. You were already doing quite well before your friend's ofrenda. But after… you've torn through half of Night City doing every gig under the sun. You've easily doubled your previous output. People were already taking notice before but now… now you're starting to ruffle feathers."
V raises both eyebrows at that, his smile never leaving his face. He doesn't seem bothered in the slightest, but then Rogue already knows he's very, very good at hiding his true feelings.
"Did you bring me here to warn me off, Rogue?"
He sounds downright amused by the possibility. Like her reputation and the authority that comes with it doesn't matter to him at all. Technically, Rogue could run V out of this damn town. She has the influence to make sure he never gets a gig from a respectable Fixer ever again.
But either V doesn't think she'd ever go that far just because of a little disrespect... or he's simply not concerned with the idea that she might. Both options were very much Johnny coded and Rogue's jaw clenches a little at that thought before she shakes her head and forces another smile onto her lips.
Actually, it's not that forced. In fact, it's a bit more real as they finally get to why Rogue truly called V here to the Afterlife.
"Of course not. I came here to offer you a solution to your woes. It's rather obvious that you need a large sum of eddies for something. Work for me directly and I'll see that you get paid a premium so long as you continue to give such stellar results as you gave before. You would still be allowed to take other gigs from other Fixers of course… when you're not working for me. But we would try to manage your output a little bit more… bring you back down to the level you were at before your friend's memorial service."
It was a win-win-win situation as far as Rogue was concerned. Even the other Fixers of Night City were starting to get a little worried about how much work V was doing for them. Rogue knew they felt trapped. On the one hand, V was leaving them without much left to give their other mercenaries. On the other hand, V didn't fail. He always got the job done, and hadn't once fucked up a single task so far.
By making him one of her retainers, Rogue was taking the dilemma out of her peers' hands. And because she was the Fixer Queen, they would let it happen while barely raising a fuss about it. But also, most of them would be secretly relieved and she knew it.
Meanwhile, she could easily pay V more than anyone else in this city could, so it was a winning scenario for him too. And finally… she could keep a closer eye on him.
Really, the only downside was potentially accidentally tying herself closer to Arasaka. That was the last thing Rogue wanted to do, but she'd had her people watching V for weeks now and they hadn't seen him contact or be contacted by Yorinobu or anyone else at Arasaka a single time. So she felt it was ultimately worth the risk.
V, meanwhile, is sitting back and staring at her, still processing her words apparently. It's the first time she's seen him look truly surprised… though even now Rogue can't tell if this is real or not.
"… You want to put me on retainer? I suppose the starting bonus is going to have to be rather large to entice me, hm?"
Snorting derisively, Rogue's eyes flash golden as she sends over the sum of eddies she's prepared. V ponders the amount for a moment before accepting wordlessly. Then, he smiles that same carefree smile at her again.
"What's the first gig, boss?"
Rogue huffs at the cheekiness before her eyes flash blue as she sends V a message.
"All the details are there, V. Try not to find more of Silverhand's old clothes to wear on this one, yeah?"
V lets out a laugh as he rises from the booth.
"No promises!"
And then he's gone and Rogue is left watching him go. Fuck his ass looks good in those pants… but then, so had Johnny's and they knew how that had ended.
Once V is fully gone though, Rogue can't leave what happened earlier alone.
"Nix, send me the Afterlife's security footage for the last hour."
"Done."
At her side, Weyland shifts in his seat but doesn't say a word. Rogue is grateful for that because she really, really didn't want to have to explain what she'd seen.
Combing through the footage at sped up speeds, Rogue frowns as she watches the barstool she'd seen Alt on through the cameras of her club. But as far as the security footage is concerned, Alt was never there. Nobody had sat at that barstool for the entire past hour.
… But then Rogue watches it again. She watches and sees something that causes her to come up out of her seat and march right out of the booth. Ignoring everyone trying to make eye contact or nodding in respect to her, Rogue marches right up to the bar and snaps her fingers, pulling Claire away from the customer she's currently helping.
"Boss?"
Tapping the bar, Rogue looks down at the barstool where she'd seen Alt sitting, nursing a Johnny Silverhand. Even now… even now, she can see where a glass had been sat on the bar itself right in front of the seat.
"Who did you serve here twenty-two minutes ago, Claire? What did they look like, what did they order?"
Furrowing her brow, the bartender thinks for a moment before answering.
"Blonde. Beautiful. She was dressed a little bit retro. She ordered a Johnny Silverhand but… when I came over ten minutes later the drink was untouched and she was gone. She paid for it so I gave it another ten before taking the drink off the bar and emptying it out to clean the glass."
When Rogue just stands there, silently staring down at both barstool and bar, Claire tilts her head to the side and frowns.
"Why boss? Was she someone important?"
What did it mean? What did it mean that she and Claire had BOTH seen a dead woman? The security cameras hadn't but then based on what Rogue knew of Alt's skills, getting past such things would have been child's play for the other woman. But what did it mean that she hadn't actually touched the drink? That she wasn't really here at all?
"… Should I keep an eye out for her and let you know if she shows up again in the future?"
Jolted out of her thoughts by Claire speaking up again, Rogue realizes that she's standing there looking like a dumbstruck moron in the center of her power. Rallying quickly, she forces herself to calm down and give the bartender a single sharp nod.
"Do so."
Then, she turns and retreats back to her booth while trying not to make it look like a retreat. Sitting back down, Rogue finds herself stewing, her thoughts going around in circles.
V and all his nonsense. Rebecca Carmine coming back from the dead. And now Alteria Cunningham appearing like an apparation to only a couple select people, one of them being her.
Fuck… what did it all mean?
**-x-X-x-**