Chapter 6: The Afterlife
The Afterlife, located in Watson's Kabuki district—
For anyone running the streets, getting through the doors of the Afterlife meant you'd finally made a name for yourself in the biz. This high-end nightclub was the symbol of Night City's "night market," a holy site in the eyes of every edgerunner.
They'd called it "breakfast," but by the time they actually got to Kabuki, it was already late afternoon.
Most mercs work at night, so the Afterlife is officially closed during the day. That didn't mean you couldn't get in before 6 PM, of course. Well, unless you were V. Otherwise, how do you explain fast-forwarding the clock to 6 PM in the game, walking in the second it opens, and finding the place already packed?
Maine parked the car on the side of the street and was the first one out, with Dorio right behind him. Rebecca, who had been sitting in the back with Rhys, took a deep breath before pushing her door open.
As they approached the entrance, they saw a small crowd had already gathered. Maine seemed to know a few of them, giving nods and greetings as they passed. Soon, the crew stood before the cool, descending stairwell.
"Don't worry, Rhys. The Tyger Claws wouldn't dare start shit here. You can take the cap off," Maine said, giving Rhys a friendly slap on the back.
"I'm not worried about the Claws spotting me. I'm just used to wearing it," Rhys replied with a shake of his head.
It was true. It had become a habit. Starting in his second year in Night City, Korna began giving him small jobs, and that's when he'd started wearing a cap to work. Over time, he'd grown attached to the simple habit. Whenever he went out, he'd always put on an inconspicuous cap.
Maine exchanged a few words with the bouncer at the entrance. The bouncer's eyes narrowed as they landed on Rhys.
Rhys looked back at him. An old, familiar face. This was the guy who was always standing guard in the game.
"And who the hell are you?"
"He's with me, Emmerick. No problem for him to come in, right?" Maine cut in.
Emmerick was silent for a moment before replying. "Fine. But watch yourselves, Maine. You've only just started making a name for yourself."
"I know the rules here," Maine laughed.
With that, the heavy doors behind Emmerick swung open, and he stepped aside.
"Let's go, Rhys! Time to show you the big leagues!" Maine boomed, throwing an arm around Rhys's shoulders.
Inside, the Afterlife was nearly empty. It wasn't night yet. Rhys glanced at the bar and saw it wasn't Claire, but some other guy, polishing glasses and prepping for the evening rush.
Rhys took in the whole scene. The place was way bigger than it looked in the game. The feeling of being here in the flesh was completely different. The main distinction was the atmosphere. The Afterlife, a former morgue, had a built-in chill, a coldness that clung to the air, along with the faint but unpleasant smell of disinfectant.
"Those are the private booths and VIP rooms over there. We don't have the cred to get in there yet. That's for the major players to cut their deals. For chooms like us, it's over here. Look, Rhys, over here," Maine said, giving Rhys the tour like an enthusiastic big brother.
It wasn't surprising. From last night until now, Maine had probably asked Rhys to join his crew at least twenty times. Rhys's response had gone from flat-out refusal, to silence, and now to just ignoring him completely. A normal person would have given up, but Maine was different. He seemed to think his persistence was working, that he was slowly wearing Rhys down.
"Over here!"
A voice that sounded like a squawking duck cut through the quiet. Rhys looked over and saw Sasha on a sofa. Getting way too close to her was a guy who looked like a monkey with Gorilla Arms. The massive chrome limbs were completely out of proportion with his stick-thin body, making him look like a bamboo pole with two steel girders bolted to the sides.
"You bastard!"
Rebecca, who was standing next to Rhys, shot forward like a rocket. She leaped into the air, latching onto the skinny guy like an octopus. She started biting his head while pummeling him with a rain of tiny fists.
Amid the clank, clank, clank of her fists on his chrome, the skinny guy with the Gorilla Arms started yelping, but he made sure to keep his massive arms wrapped around Rebecca to keep her from falling.
Maine led Rhys over to their small table. Sasha looked up, her cat-like face breaking into a smile as she gave Rhys a small wave. She knew he was here to be her protection.
"You asshole! You total asshole! You said we'd come together, but you ditched me to come flirt with girls! You bastard, how dare you leave me behind!"
"You're safer with Maine! What do you mean I left you behind? We just got here! Emmerick didn't even show up until five minutes ago!"
"Shut your mouth! Just lie down and die!" Rebecca yelled, still tangled up with her brother, Pilar, on top of his head.
Maine looked at Rhys with a helpless expression, but behind his lowered sunglasses, his eyes were full of amusement.
"Rhys, the whole crew's here," he said. "Let's do this right. I'm Maine, the leader, the muscle. That's Dorio, my woman, second-in-command, also muscle. Sasha is our netrunner, the most important person on the team. Don't let her cute face fool you, she's a master of the net. That guy over there is Pilar, our techie. Gun repairs, chrome maintenance, he can do it all. And he's a true Night City native, born and raised. Most of the gigs we get come through him. And Rebecca, who you've met, is his sister. She provides support... and is also, I guess, muscle?"
Rhys just nodded, saying nothing about Maine's repeated use of the word "our."
Maine didn't seem to mind. He pulled Rhys down to sit, then finally called a stop to Rebecca and Pilar's roughhousing.
Once everyone was settled, Maine got straight to business. "So, we're doing the gig tonight, right?"
Sasha looked up. "I don't care. If you hadn't insisted on finding me a bodyguard, I would have had it done two days ago." Her voice was filled with confidence.
"Maine's just worried about you. This is our first corpo gig. Once we pull this off, we'll be on the fixers' radar for real. We'll never have to worry about finding big jobs again," Pilar said with a grin, leaning in closer to Sasha.
Rebecca, sipping a cocktail, jabbed her brother in the ribs with her elbow. "So what are we doing today? The same as the last few nights? Drinking in a bar until dawn?"
Maine looked from Rhys to Sasha, then lit a cigar. "We can't put this off any longer. We finish it tonight. Rebecca, you and Dorio will wait here at the Afterlife. The rest of us will go."
"Why?" Rebecca protested immediately.
"Because none of us are built for stealth. We're stealing data, so the fewer people, the better. You're small enough, which is good, but your personality..."
Maine trailed off, then changed the subject. "So, the only ones infiltrating Biotechnica will be Sasha and Rhys. I'll be on getaway driver duty. Pilar, you're with me. You'll be responsible for jamming their comms. The second I get the word from Sasha, I'm coming in to pick them up."
"No problem," Pilar said.
Rhys just nodded.