Neon Cogs: Interlude 1 (Patreon)

Adversary or Friend?

David stared up at the white washed ceiling while the sound of the news droned on in the background. There, he lay in a comfortable bed while his former bully, Tanaka, sat beside it. There was silence between them as Tanaka just sat there, hunched over and staring down at the floor while his feet tapped upon it while he on the other hand contented himself just listening to the news. It was just him, Tanaka, and the other boys foot tapping

The rhythmic tapping had David frowning as it kept going and even the volume of the news couldn’t mask it. His frown deepened as he slowly got up with Tanaka ignoring. “Hey, Tanaka,” He called out, making the other boy look up.

The rich kid would see David’s fist cocked back before it slammed into his jaw. The boy shouted in surprise and anger as he was knocked off his seat. Tanaka glared daggers while he clutched his mouth at him as David shook his hand before checking for any sunken knuckles, “God damn your jaw’s harder than I imagined it to be,” he muttered as he found that he had not broken anything.

“What the hell was that for?!” The boy shouted in protest, fuming mad with his teeth barred out at David. Surprisingly, not a single tooth was knocked out.

“Just knocking the stupid out of you,” David casually replied, which made Tanaka sputter out before looking at him in disbelief. He glared at the other boy as he did not like the look the other boy was giving him.

“Bwah-! I can’t even.” Tanaka shouted as he threw his hands up in disbelief before he started pacing around. “Just what the actual hell. You’re fucking insane,” The boy accused him which only earned him a flat look.

“Says the one that visits twice a day for the last three days,” David pointed out making the boy stop as he looked at him and met his glare. There was a lot of anger in those eyes, anger and confusion? Shaking his head, he then asked,  “Like, what the hell man? Why do you insist on visiting me when we’re not even close?”

Tanaka looked away and David scratched the back of his head. He was honestly confused here and he did not know the boy’s deal was; he just didn’t get it. Back then, he kept on riding him about how he didn’t fit then he suddenly stopped and now, he was the only one that visited him?

“Because I’m looking to see if you're alright! There, happy?” the boy all but exploded as he sucked in his breath before letting out an annoyed huff.  

“Fucking finally. I thought you were going to ask me to pay or something. This is on my plan by the way so you don’t have to worry,” David blew him off, not wanting to deal with a potential debt collector as he had enough of that with his old landlord. As for his current situation, this was currently covered by his plan. Being a guinea pig did come with perks, extremely expensive and worthwhile perks.

The other boy stared at him, mouth opening and closing akin to that of a fish before he asked him, “... Do you think of me that lowly that you thought I was going to ask you to pay some form of debt?”

“Yes,” he answered, to which Tanaka winced as if struck once more.

Tanaka scratched the back of his head as he plopped back on his seat before he nodded, “I…Yeah, I deserved that,” his classmate acknowledged his fault as he deflated on his seat.

“That you fucking do, choom,” David huffed out as things returned to the original awkward silence. David would have been content with just letting things stay that way but his trouble with Tanaka was still not over just yet.

“You held back on your punch,” Tanaka remarked as he rubbed the bruise forming on his jaw.

“Yeah, what about it?” David asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Why?” Tanaka asked simply.

David looked at Tanaka, squinting at him as he gave him a confused shake of the head “Why what?” he echoed back which pissed the guy off.

“Don’t fucking play dumb with me! I made your life hell in school. I made sure not a single person talked to you. I kept telling you, you didn’t belong there and I rubbed the fact that I was richer than you every single day so why, why didn’t you hit me harder?” The boy asked as he looked at him with questioning eyes.

“If you have a masochist fetish, please do not get me involved in your weirdness.” David joked with a shit eating grin before adding, “Plus, if you call that hell, best to step up cause the streets of Night City have you beat in that regard,” Night City was an unforgiving mistress who simply did not care for its citizens. It’s a dog eat dog world out there and he was lucky to be sheltered in the corpo school.

“You bastard-!” His former bully shouted as he stood up before David cut his outburst off.

“And to answer your question, because I don’t see the point,” David interrupted as explained in as simple of an answer as he could.

“You don’t see the point? You think you’re better than me?” The boy asked and David couldn’t help but snort out at that. There was the old Tanaka that he knew and he was strangely happy to see it back again. At least now it wasn’t as if he was walking on eggshells.

David shook his head in the negative as he said, “No, seriously. I just don’t see the point of getting revenge. I kick your ass then what? I’d get satisfaction but that’s it. I don’t learn anything from it and don’t get anything worthwhile from it. All it would get me is your family hating me. I’m learning to become a corpo here and besides, we’re sorta even.” He just simply didn’t see the point of going out of his way to put somebody down when he could be clawing his way further up in the world.

His classmate looked at him in disbelief before he started laughing. Now it was David’s turn to stare at him as the chuckle turned into a full blown laughter as he held onto his stomach. David’s fist twitched as the boy looked like he had just been told the funniest joke in the world. He raised his fist and was about to cock it back before he held back and lowered in back as he took in deep calming breath.

David raised both hands up as he growled out through gritted teeth, “Look man, I saved your ass and you were the first one that snapped into action and called an ambulance.”

“That has to be the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. That’s not even close to even David, not even close. If you do become a corpo, they’ll fucking eat you alive,” Tanaka declared as he wiped the tear off his eyes.

David huffed as a sardonic smile stretched across his face. “I’d like to see them try,” he told him. He might not be the best fit for being a corpo like his mom dreamed him of becoming but he damn would try his best to be the greatest there ever was.

Tanaka shocked his head in disbelief and amusement before looking up at him, “You are insufferable David. Tell you what, since I owe you for saving my life, I’ll be kind enough to show you the ropes on becoming a real corpo. Every little trick in the book, the hierarchy, and who answers to who, sound good?” he offered with a cocky smile on his face.

David chuckled as a smile stretched across his own face. The damn bastard had balls, he had to give him that, “You offered this, not me but who am I to say no. So long as we’re even,” David accepted. He really wasn’t going to get rid of him unless he relented and it was no skin off his back.

Both of them laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation until every last hair in his body stood up. Their laughter was cut off as David noticed a large looming figure behind Tanaka. The boy froze as the roughest and coldest voice he had ever had the pleasure of hearing called out, “It’d be a shame if you become nothing more than a pencil pusher boy.”

There was no anger in that voice, no hate, no nothing. It was just simply a machine talking to them in the guise of a human shaped borg. David slowly looked up and emotionless pits of red stared back at him. He couldn’t help but shiver at the thing before him kept staring.

Tanaka finally turned and it was as if he saw death itself as he jumped off his seat and back away before placing himself between him and the borg. “W-wha-! S-smasher! No, s-stay back! Whatever my father did, we’re not involved in any of it, I swear!” Tanaka squawked out in fear as he stretched his hands out in surrender. Just who the hell was this Smasher?

“Cease your useless meat hole flapping or I will.” The borg commanded and all David heard afterward was the audible click of teeth against one another. He frowned as his hands slowly reached for anything to arm himself. When he overlaid his combat vision over this Borg, all he saw was red. It was as if every last part of the man was jammed chock full of weapons.

“Who the fuck are you supposed to be? Visitation only for close friends and family.” David asked heatedly as his hands balled up into fists. He was already sending out distress signals to the nurses who were hurrying on their way.

“D-David, I know you're brave but please, for once, do not antagonize this man.” Tanaka tried to reason but David did not see any reason for him not to antagonize the man. He simply barged into his room unannounced as if he owned the place. If he knew any better, he might be dealing with a cyberpsycho.

“Ah, but I am. You can say that I know your mother well.” The borg drawled out making David’s hackles rise at that. Tanaka let out a choking sound as his shaking legs finally gave way.

“Is that a fucking threat?” David growled out warningly. People can treat him like dirt, he had worse, they could threaten him, but to threaten his mother? That simply would not stand.

“No. I’m simply stating the facts.” The borg stated. David snorted as his implant was letting him know that he might not be lying or at least believe he was not lying.

“What’s the deal, choom?” David asked, humoring him for a bit to buy him and Tanaka some time.

“Ah yes, cutting to the chase. Refreshing.” The borg droned out before he answered him,“My goals here are simple, I’m here to offer you an apprenticeship.” That got his eyebrow rising. Did he save someone important enough that they have a trained killer as a retainer? The borg was kitted out and every single read out was telling him that there was nothing cheap or low calibre in this person's arsenal.

“Tell your master that if they want to make a deal with me, I’m here to listen.” David waved it off, without outright dismissing him. The offer was mighty tempting but he wanted any deal he was being offered to be done not through proxy. He simply could not trust someone who hid behind a wall.

“David, please-!” Tanaka piped up before he whimpered as the man pulled out an Arasaka Bolter, correction, a double barreled bolter, and cocked its hammer. He then tossed it between his legs which confused the hell out of David. Why did the man give him a gun of all things?

“You misunderstand, boy. I’m the one offering you the apprenticeship.” The borg stated. David cocked his head as the man pulled out a rather thick looking stack of paper before offering it to him. His day had just gotten a whole lot weirder.

-x-x-x-

The Scorned Man

Faraday stared down at the slowly melting ice in his glass of whiskey while he sat in the comfortable chair of his safehouse. He grimaced as he pulled the crystalline cup to his lips and tipped back, downing the burning liquid before slamming it down on the ebony coffee table he had by his side. The decanter barely shook as he fumed in his seat, gritting his teeth as he leaned back to try and gain some comfort. He glanced down and noticed that he had just scratched the thing but snorted as he saw the countless other markings on the table. It had seen better days and so had he.

“You know, you shouldn’t really be destroying your property when you can pawn it off.” A woman’s voice pointed out as he heard from behind him. Before he could even react, the white haired girl grabbed his decanter and poured herself a generous serving in the shot glass she borrowed from his kitchen.

Faraday’s frown deepened but he refused to get up as he was far too tired right now, “Lucyna, Shouldn’t you be out there helping the Voodoo’s like I ordered?” he pointedly questioned as he ran his hands across his hair  before looking down on his open palm. He clenched his fist around the strands of hair that stuck to his palm.

“The cell I was contracted to was wiped out. More specifically, they decided to wipe themselves out. Almost got caught myself but I managed to steal something from the team that was sent to capture me.” His contracted edgerunner replied as she tossed the severed head of one of those servitors that Arasaka always brought around with them at his feet.

He let out a frustrated groan as oil seeped down to the tiles below. He hated having to deal with these things. While people would see them as nothing more than advanced drones, those in the know knew them for what they were. His nose wrinkled as he carefully kicked the thing away. As important as they were in accessing parts of Arasaka’s nigh unbreakable Data Fortress, he could barely stomach the sight of them at times.

“I expected them to last longer.” He grumbled out as he held out his empty glass save for the half melted ice inside. Lucyna smiled at him beatifically as she poured him of what remained of his decanter. There was still more than enough for him to enjoy this last glass.

“And didn’t that smug self assured self of yours landed you in hot water with Arasaka.” The petulant girl teased him with a smug smile as she sat down opposite him.

“Why are you here anyways? Can’t you see that I’m busy.” He asked as he took a sip from his glass. He clenched his teeth as the girl opened the news and made it so that it was playing the advertisement of that blasted kid. He glared at the girl who merely shrugged at that. He had lost almost everything the moment that kid met with his crew he had as retainers.

He did not know what he did but everything went down the drain when Maine stopped taking his job. His contact with Arasaka practically ceased and his contact on the streets avoided him like the plague. He wasn’t even allowed back in the Afterlife to find another crew to serve under him. The only saving graces in all of this was how Maine’s pet cat burglar landed directly into his awaiting lap. He earned himself quite the netrunner and he could not afford to have her run off.

“Busy drinking yourself to death I see. Wasn’t I supposed to report to my boss after every job?” The girl purred out as she leaned forward. Sometimes, he wondered if it was even worth keeping her as his contracted Netrunner.

“Fine. You made your report so you can go now.” Faraday waved her off, hoping she’d get bored of tormenting him. This was still his house and she was only there at his convenience. She had her own home, she could live there.

“And leave before I can give you the offer I had from a certain rival of Arasaka?” The girl then asked.

He paused before slowly setting his drink down; he’d had enough whiskey for the day. “...Go on” he coaxed her on as he was intrigued by what she had just stumbled upon. The girl gestured to his side and there, leaning against his seat was a lone briefcase. It wasn’t your cheap mass produced plastic apparel but an exquisitely made full grained leather briefcase sporting chestnut brown color.

“They only gave me that to contact them. Don’t worry, I double checked that it’s not bugged and I can vouch for them not being an Arasaka agent.” The girl confidently declared as his hands ran against the fine grain of the leather case; this was made of horsehide.

“How can you tell?” He asked, wondering how she could consistently pick out Arasaka agents even if they hadn’t spoken at all. It saved him countless times especially after he started dealing with the Voodoo Boys and the Sixth Street.

“A girl has the right to keep her secrets after all,~” The girl smugly replied as she downed her drinks before she got up.

“Fine. Let’s see what they have to offer.” He muttered out but before he opened the case, he motioned for her to stop. The girl looked at him, asking him silently why. He ordered her, “No, you stay here with me.”

“Oh?” The girl asked with a raised brow.

He merely smiled as he answered, “After all, you are my business partner. Best to keep you in the know.” He also did not truly trust her. While their arrangement was mutually beneficial and it was for them to keep each other happy, best to verify if she was still

“Whatever you say, boss.” the girl replied. He did not miss how she rolled her eyes at him but he chose not to comment as the white haired girl crossed her arms and rested them upon the backseat of his chair. Overlooking him, he finally opened the device and found himself face to face with quite the old fashion tech. The pixelated screen that lit up and the almost garbled voice emanating from the speakers spoke of how analogue the device was. This was just a two way communication device, nothing more nothing less.

There in the screen was the image of a plain faced bespectacled man who could meld into a crowd and he would be none the wiser. The man smiled as he greeted him warmly, “Ahh, Mr. Faraday, it’s good to finally see you. I wanted to reach out to you earlier but the situation in Night City had become rather volatile as of late.”

He quirked a brow at that as he replied, “If you call a fight between four gangs and a major corporation merely volatile, then I’d like to see what you call an explosive situation.” Things were getting more tense by the day and now 3 gangs were in the fray. All that was left was for Maelstrom, Tyger Claws, The Animals, and the Mox to join in and things would get really spicy.

The man grinned as he answered back, “Think bigger Mr. Faraday, much bigger.” Well, this was certainly more than he had expected but, of course, they were the most likely to see his talents.

He reached up and fixed his slightly disheveled suit and crooked tie as he gazed back at the man. “So, what can I do for a representative of Militech?” he probed inquisitively.

“Was it really that obvious?” The man chuckled out with an empty laugh.

Faraday snorted as he leaned forward with steepled hands before answering him, “Let’s see the facts here shall we? Why would someone specifically ask for me when there are hundreds of other Fixers around? You specifically called me, someone that has grown to hate Arasaka lately, someone that used to be in touch with Arasaka until a certain brat came into play.” It was childs play for him to figure it all out.

The mans eyeglass glinted as he chortled out, “I see that your reputation precedes you Mr. Faraday. ”

“I’m merely stating the obvious. Now, let’s get down to business. Is there something I could help you with?” He inquired, cutting to the chase. He wasn’t a simpering fool that would fall for false praises. They asked for his time, now he was giving it to them as he pleased. He still held a bit of pride for himself, best not to look too desperate.

“You see, we at Militech find the current state of things in Night City to be untenable… There are undesirable elements currently working against our interest inside the city,  elements that we would like to keep Night City from joining the greater union.” The man explained, hinting upon a certain someone, a certain someone that had his blood boiling.

“I’m listening.” he growled out softly as he struggled to keep his emotions in check.

“We are in need of eyes and ears on the ground and who better to look for help than a man that used to work with the very element we desire to see removed… or maybe eliminated.” The man inquired and to that, Faraday couldn’t help but smile.

“I think you just found the right man for the job but, of course, my service comes at a price.” He replied smoothly as he felt elated at the chance he had just been given. He might just have found the rope to drag himself out of the hole that Arasaka dug and tossed him in. They tossed him out with no real explanation, now he could have his revenge.

“Naturally. So shall we get down to the details of the task that we require?” The man confirmed as the haggling for his service began. So engrossed was he that he did not notice his companion slipping off to walk to the balcony and stare up at the moon.

“He’s in way over his head.” Lucyna whispered as she stared down to the gothic tower leaning in the distance, a tower that threatened to eat the moon with its clawed spire.

-x-x-x-

A Promise

Yorunobo Arasaka sat beside his wife with nothing but his thoughts and the constant beeping from the health monitor she was hooked up to. She laid there, motionless, as perfect as the day she was taken from him. Cryogenic technology did wonders to slow down her metabolism to a point that it looked like she never aged. As cold as the room was, he remained there in his vigil.

“I shouldn’t have accepted that job. We had enough money, we could have just ran away and lived in the desert but I had to do one last job to spit at my fathers face and for what?” He whispered in despair. His hands were already hurting but he needed to be with his wife.

“We could have been a happy family. Just you, me and our son but now… I don’t think we’ll ever have that after my grandfather sunk his claws in him.” He lamented, speaking to her even if she was deep in her sleep. He hated his father, he hated the company, and he hated how it twisted his own son into something unrecognizable.

He was the same bright eyed boy as before but now, he was looking forward to being part of the company that took his mother away. His son gave Arasaka the tools to rule the world and now it would only be a matter of time till it comes to fruition. He could feel it in his bones, even far away from the streets, he knew that trouble was already brewing and it would be only a matter of time before a 5th war came this way and Araska would not be made to bow this time around.

He shook his head of such negative thoughts as he reached out to touch the glass canopy separating him from his wife. He then happily announced, “Hanako is making great progress with the Relic project. They had just tested a new subject and they lasted a whole month longer this time around. Just a few more months and the product would be made but Hanako’s been experiencing problems with our son.” His brief smile turned to that of sadness at that and the taste of bitter bile rose up to his throat.

He chuckled bitterly at the thought of his son whose green eyes haunted him, “Unfortunately, our son's projects have been siphoning every last eddy available for any R&D projects. Oh how I wish our boy grew away from Arasaka. With the wonders he created, he could have made a name of his own without the stain of the Arasaka name but now…I fear that he may become just like his grandfather.” He mourned out with a heavy heart. Without his guiding light, he was now lost.

“Please, please Asuka, just wake up. I don’t know what to do without you.” He begged her but she remained silent and as still as a corpse. He clenched his fist as he rested his forehead against the glass of her pod. He closed his eyes as he held back the tears while he forced himself to calm down.

After a while, his aching heart stilled as he pulled away and sat up. Gazing to his wife, he made her the promise he made to her all those years ago, “Somebody, we’ll be together again and when that day comes, we’ll have a city to burn.” He whispered before he turned and left, leaving her all alone in the confines of a room beneath the towering behemoth that was the Arasaka tower.

-x-x-x-

Office Gossips

A day in the life of an Arasaka employee was not as glamorous as one would imagine, especially those attached to the office held by Hiro Arasaka. Vincent yawned as he chowed down on the instant noodles before him. He had packed some vegetables to go with the noodles and now, he was savoring the meaty taste of the broth while chewing on the spring onions he had tossed in.

“So, did you notice the new Servitor we have in the office, Vanessa?” Asked one Viktor, his buddy from Accounting to Vanessa, a mutual friend of theirs from PR. He on the other hand was from IT and together they made quite the eclectic group.

“Yeah, what about it, Victor?” The woman asked as she placed down her Buritto XXL. For a woman that’s as skinny as a rail and a head shorter than most people, she could eat like no one's business.

“You know, it has the same height and shape of old Vlad…” the man speculated, making Vanessa groan out as she cut him off before he spoke any further.

“Oh come on, you honestly believe that crap how Servitors are just reprocessed workers?” The girl scolded his coworker and Vincent couldn’t help but nod along. It was just some harmful rumor being spread around by people detracting their company.

“I mean, think about it. Whenever a new servitor shows up to replace an old one that’s being reassigned, a coworker of ours dies. There’s also that weird clause in our contracts about how we can offer up our bodies for science.” The man raved on but Vaness was not having any of it

“A clause that would provide the family of those that volunteered a lump sum that adjusts itself to inflation. Like, come on choom, just be happy about the money your wife could have.” The girl pointed out. Yes, it was morbid but it was a reasonable exchange. The lump sum was big, more than enough to help their loved ones if they ever died.

“Say Vincent, what do you think about this?” The man turned, looking for someone to back him up.

“Honestly? I don’t care either way. I have a high paying job, I have a good boss that can randomly give you rewards if you do well enough, and I have coworkers that wouldn’t toss me under the bus.” VIncent threw in his two cents into the matter. Even if he was to become a servitor, at least his body would still be useful.

“Aw shucks, thanks man.” The other man smiled at him. They had been through thick and thin and even if they had disagreements, things were pleasant in this part of the corporation. It was an island of stability.

“You know, nobody’s a blue falcon in our office cause the last time that happened… well… Our boss’s pet cyborgs blended him. Probably drank him as a protein shake afterwards.” The girl reminded their coworkers of the fate of those who tried to climb over others. Those crabs did not stand a chance. The girl shivered as she swore, “Brrr!, fucking hell, I’d rather jump off the building than ever meet that guy again.”

“Amen to that.” Both he and Vic wholeheartedly agreed. How such a sweet boy such as their boss could keep a monster like Adam in check was beyond him and quite frankly, way above his pay check already.

“Ok, let’s talk about other less gruesome news. I’m eating damn it,” Vanessa begged them with a shake of her head. Vincent looked down on his bowl before shrugging as he started wolfing things down so that he didn’t have to hear those things while eating.

“Yeah, yeah. Did you see the boss’s girl?” Viktor then asked with a lecherous grin. He rolled at the dirty old man in the form of a young man in his prime.

“The Mox girl?” Vanessa replied while she took a large bite out of her burrito.

“No, I mean, the Boss is probably seeing her but I meant the Med Tech he has around.” Viktor ever so sneakily pointed towards the women eating by her lonesome. She wasn’t horrible but people were far too afraid to even interact with her as she was headhunted, not promoted to her position.

“Damn it Vic, your wife’s going to skin you alive if she finds out.” Vanessa growled out warningly as she stood up to cuff the man for his gal.

The man simply leaned back and allowed the shorter girl's hand to sail past his face. “If my wife finds out, she’d probably want to join me because god damn she’s fine for a single mother.” he waggled his eyebrow at them.

“You did say she might be the boss’s girl. You do know what might happen if the boss got mad with you.” Vanessa then mentioned as the gears in Victor's head turned.

It took a while but eventually, the poor man paled as he mouthed out, “Oh…”

“Oh fucking yes you dumbass.” Vanessa scolded him once more.

As he finished his ramen bowl, he then tried to change the subject. “Speaking of a single mother, isn’t her son that hero kid? The one that saved a whole train's worth of people.” he asked, bringing up the woman's son. The boy was all over his news and the fact that that boy was a rag to riches story with top grades and a spot in the varsity team was just icing on the cake. He wouldn’t be surprised if he got a show of his own.

“Yeah. Kid was ice cold I tell you. He didn’t move like a normal human when he put a cap on their heads,” Victor went on before he vividly described how the kid just went on to kill several armed and experienced gangers.

Vanessa chuckled as she then said, “That’s because the kid received the boss’s extremely rare implants. All of those are hand made last I checked.”

Both her and Vicktor turned towards the woman as Vic then asked, “How do you know about that?”

“Part of the PR team, durr.” The girl pointed out with an eye roll before she then complained, “We’ve been working overtime to advertise the boss’s product but it's not like we need to cause the results speak for themselves.” Boredom was often the enemy in this part of the corporation, not the competition to the top.

“Right right.” Vicktor nodded before their group returned to a lull as they sat there, enjoying their hour-long paid break with no supervisors screaming behind their backs because said supervisors were having a loud conversation just several tables away.

As there was nothing to do, he then prodded Vicktor for more gossip, “Hey Vic, I know you have ears on the ground. What do you think’s going to happen now that the Voodoo targeted some pretty rich kids.” he asked him, wondering what he was hearing in the streets. Vic was from the rougher part of Watson as his wife refused to move out and just opted to buy more guns. Something about the rent rate being grandfathered from before the corpo wars.

The man looked somber down on his meal before he replied, “Well, that’s easy. Blood’s going to run in the street though, I’m surprised that the Valentino’s are on our side, but that might be because a niece of some higher up got captured by the Sixth Street. Nasty business I tell you.”,

“Whatever the results are, Arasaka’s going to be on top! To Arasaka!” Vanessa then shouted as she cheered for the company. Almost everyone in the lunch room, except those way too engrossed listening to their music, raised their drinks to that.

“To Araska” He chuckled as he lowered his drink.

“The company’s really been shaping up after this Hiro kid came into the scene. All those pictures of Seoul and Kyoto make me want to see the day that Arasaka finally kicks every other Megacorp in the city.” Vanessa dreamily wished.

“That’ll take ages though.” Vicktor complained before the office beauty sauntered in the room with her lunch in hand. The red head beauty was quite the looker as she had heads turning as she passed and of course, Vicktor tried his luck with her. “Heya Valerie, want to join us? The V Club always has another seat.” He called out, offering the seat beside them but the girl ignored them.

Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose. The fact that a sizable chunk of the workforce had V in their first name did not mean anything. Vanessa did not take their group being made into a laughing stock kindly. “Oh fuck off with that weird nickname for our lunch group.” She hissed out as she pelted the man's shoulder with punches.

Vincent snorted at the sight. Truely, nothing really amazing or sinister happened over at Arasaka;  It’s just people doing their jobs. He really didn’t get why people hated them so much. Hopefully, things changed when the bossman's secret net project rolled out.