"Then let's talk about Evelyn," Judy said, her voice trembling slightly. "Neo… can you really help me?"
Neo smiled faintly, leaning back against the desk. "Judy, I'm standing right here, aren't I? Besides," he gestured toward the young man beside him, "I brought backup. Meet David—Night's Ember's sharpest hand in the field."
Then, with a perfectly deadpan expression, he added, "And David, this is Judy Alvarez—the best braindance editor in Night City. Odds are, you've probably watched one of her adult BDs before."
David froze, face going red as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh… Neo, that last part… you could've left out."
Judy gave a soft laugh despite herself, the tension around her shoulders easing for the first time since he'd arrived.
Once introductions were over, she exhaled deeply, forcing herself to start from the beginning.
"About Konpeki Plaza… I owe you and your crew a thank-you, Neo. You probably didn't realize it, but when you kicked Evelyn off the job, you actually saved her life—for a while."
Neo raised a brow. "Saved?"
Judy nodded slowly. "You remember the first time we met? Evelyn recorded a first-person braindance inside the Maelstrom's hideout to help Jackie scout the place. But that was just the setup. What she really wanted was for you to explore a BD of Yorinobu Arasaka's penthouse—so you could study every inch of it before the heist."
Neo's eyes narrowed. "Wait… she had that data?"
Judy bit her lip. "Yeah. She'd… serviced Yorinobu once. Recorded the entire night."
Neo frowned, his tone sharp. "You told her to drop it."
"I did," Judy said quickly. "I told her it was suicide—messing with Arasaka's heir? But Evelyn… she always thought she could dance too close to the fire and never burn."
Her voice cracked. "I helped her edit both BDs, you know? I should've stopped her. Should've locked them away. But I didn't. I wanted to believe she knew what she was doing. And then… and then the old man died."
Neo didn't need her to say more. He knew what came next.
After Saburo Arasaka's assassination, the corporation had unleashed a purge so thorough it rewrote the city's definition of paranoia. NetWatch, Arasaka ninjas, black ops—all of them sweeping through Night City like a cybernetic plague.
Everyone connected to the heist—Dex, T-Bug, Evelyn, even the getaway drivers—were systematically erased.
No one got away clean.
Judy's voice was barely a whisper now. "She's gone, Neo. I can feel it. I just… I can't accept it."
Neo rested a hand on her shoulder. "Then don't. Not until we know for sure."
He straightened. "We start now."
Judy blinked, startled. "Now?"
Neo nodded. "Now. You said she worked at Clouds before she disappeared, right? Then that's where we begin."
...
Japantown, Night City.
Neon rain reflected off the chrome walls of a towering skyscraper. The building shimmered like a siren in the dark—glamorous, dangerous, intoxicating.
Clouds.
Once a Mox establishment, but long since seized by the Tiger Claws. The Mox were tough, but the Yakuza-backed Claws were a different breed entirely. When the Mox split, half stayed behind—turning into indentured sex dolls under corporate "contracts." The rest broke away, building Lizzie's Bar from the ruins.
Both Clouds and Lizzie's still specialized in braindance pleasure suites—only one catered to corpos and power brokers, while the other catered to the desperate and the broke.
If Lizzie's was the underground club of rebellion, then Clouds was the cathedral of indulgence.
And like any cathedral in Night City, you could buy salvation by the hour.
Neo, Judy, and David stepped into the elevator.
David's eyes flicked up to the holographic advertisements playing above. A soft-voiced woman whispered over the music:
"Clouds—where desire meets data."
He scratched his cheek awkwardly. "I'll be honest, Neo… back before all this, when I was still scraping eddies together, I used to pirate Clouds BDs. Always wanted to come here for real one day."
Neo smirked. "Well, looks like you finally got your wish. Want me to book you a doll?"
David choked. "W-what?! No, no, I'm good! I mean—if I ever did, I'd come alone, you know? Not with my boss."
Judy rolled her eyes.
The elevator chimed.
Ding. 12th floor.
They stepped into a haze of violet and pink light. The air smelled faintly of perfume, sweat, and ozone. The walls pulsed with holographic waves and painted silhouettes of longing.
A hostess with silver hair and a smile too perfect to be human greeted them.
"Welcome to Clouds," she said warmly. "A place where fantasy becomes flesh. Would you like to connect to our terminals?"
Neo gave David a subtle look.
David blinked, then realized—Neo didn't have a neural port.
Right. He was one of the few people in the city still walking around unmodified.
Awkward silence stretched.
To cover for it, David extended his own wrist cable toward the hostess. "Here. Plug me in."
The hostess' synthetic eyes scanned his ID, and she gave a soft hum of amusement. "A minor, hmm? How… refreshing. Don't worry, Clouds welcomes all who seek pleasure. But remember—what happens in here might surprise you. If you can't handle what you see, just say your safeword to end the session."
David swallowed. "Right. Safeword?"
"Choose one."
He thought for a moment, then grinned. "Night's Ember."
The hostess typed it in. "Excellent. Please wait while we match you with the perfect doll."
Her gaze shifted to Neo and Judy. "And for you two? Would you like to pair up? Or perhaps book a themed suite?"
Neo opened his mouth to say pair up, but Judy quickly interjected, her tone clipped and dry. "A private suite will be fine."
The hostess smiled knowingly. "Of course."
Meanwhile, David's interface flickered alive before his eyes. Rows of names appeared across the holographic display:
Gale. Seraph. Sky. Azure. Halo. Tempest. Dawn. Rain. Storm. Angel.
Ten dolls. All active. All available.
The hostess blinked, surprised. "My, my… all of our dolls are requesting to service you. That's… rare."
To be fair, David wasn't bad-looking. And for dolls who'd seen it all, a handsome, nervous young man was something of a delicacy.
"Go ahead," she coaxed. "Pick your pleasure."
David hesitated. "Uh… Neo? Should I just… pick one at random?"
Neo smirked. "Go for it."
David scanned the list again. His gaze caught on one name—simple, pure, almost radiant.
Angel.
"That one," he said. "I'll take Angel."
The hostess's lips curved slightly. "Excellent choice, sweetheart. She's one of our best. Please complete payment and enjoy your stay at Clouds."
David fumbled his credchip, cheeks burning as he paid.
Neo raised a brow. "Angel, huh?"
David nodded earnestly. "Yeah. You said I could pick anyone. And out of all those names, 'Angel' just sounded the nicest. She's probably… you know, kind. Gentle."
Neo chuckled under his breath. "Sure, kid. Let's hope your angel's got wings—and not claws."
The elevator doors slid open again, swallowing David into the violet light beyond.
Judy crossed her arms, frowning slightly. "You really had to let him do that?"
Neo smiled faintly, his reflection glinting off the glass walls.
"Sometimes," he said, "you've gotta let people see how deep the rabbit hole goes."
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