Ghost in the City

V

It was time to get the fuck out of here. V ran straight towards the first Van Jackie right behind her.

She might make fun of Kang Tao as a corporation, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t send enough hardware at her to end her bought and paid for ass.

She slid right through the driver door into the passenger seat Jackie right behind her as he instantly started up the car and started driving. There was a parking garage a few blocks away that they could stash the van call in their own rides and get out of there. Then all of this would be over with and she could go home and get drunk.

Which is why she really wanted to murder her luck as she caught what was happening out of the corner of her optics and reached out and grabbed the wheel from Jackie and spun it moments before they would have even left the warehouse gate. The van spun out Jackie cursed, but they both survived the high caliber rounds, and missiles that shattered where the van had been a moment before.

The feel of the Van knocking around from the impact of the high explosive causing her stomach to flop as it just barely managed to stay on it’s four wheels.

They were stopped though. Whether the van was damaged, or just pinned on what was left of the entrance checkpoints little hut was up in the air. She looked around and grimaced. The other vans were now burning wrecks smashed and crumpled from the power of a corporation not playing around anymore.

An AV was here.

“Fuck.”

“Shit Hermana. I don’t think we are outrunning that.” Jackie admitted trying to back up, probably to head back into the warehouse to get some cover, but the van was sputtering, and they weren’t moving.

V looked around. They wouldn’t make it back inside the warehouse. But there wasn’t any other cover. Even the fencing was chainlink. Then suddenly the sky lit up. The sound reached her. Hissing fuel and shrieking air. V looked away, not willing to look at her end. But she noticed that despite having been looking through therear of the van trying to get the van looking. Jackie actually looked forward at the sound.

A man to the end her Jack. Looking straight at his death, staring it down.

V would remember to tell him that because that wasn’t today. The explosion was far enough away V realized she wasn’t dying.

A rocket had been fired, but not at the van. As the AV was lining up for a landing probably to disgorge troops, or just block the road while broad siding them. A rocket slammed into it. A horrid rancor of erupted steel and fire echoed out as the AV spun from the blow.

V knew Av’s. They were tough fuckers. One rocket wouldn’t completely kill it. Maybe mission kill it for a bit, but it wasn’t a fucking movie or something, it wouldn’t blow up. It should be able to stabilize and reorient, or at least safely control crash.

But the missile had nearly hit the cockpit. It was damaged enough that V was sure it must have jumbled the pilot, chrome or not. It spun and before it could stabilize it slammed into a nearby building.

The horrible noise as it ground itself into the concrete stonework was bad enough.

Then it tilted with a sharp jerk, something catching on the interior of the building and then there was no saving it as it was pointing straight down.

It came loose and smashed down onto the street crushing a car beneath its flaming bulk.

Then there was silence for a minute as she barely breathed just taking in the fact she wasn't dead.

Then the silence was broken.

“I FUCKING KNEW I WOULD NEED THIS SOME DAY! FUCK YOU SAUL!” A yell absolutely blasted from their right and V looked out the window and couldn’t help but stare at the kid.

The kid had a fucking Uragan Rocket Launcher!?

Who the fuck gave a teenager a rocket launcher!?

Then much to V’s confusion, while she was standing on top of a Black Nomad Quadra 66, arms raised above her head holding the Rocket Launcher between them. The kid was shaking it up and down then she started making a… Honking noise?

“Van is fucked.” Jackie interrupted her from the horrified shock at what she was seeing.

“Right we need to go.” She said kicking the door open and jumping out. There were plenty of other vans…

Or there had been. Fuck.

The roar of engines as another Kang Tao van turned onto the road obviously driving like mad.

“Shit! C’mon you old folks! Get in the car!” The fucking little brat yelped as she jumped down and tossed the rocket launcher into her open trunk before slamming it shut.

The desire for V to scream about what would happen if that launcher went off while in there was just thrown away because this entire gig was now officially shit show status. She raced around the gate. Jackie puffing along right behind her as he carried the big metal case that was the cause of all the trouble.

“I drive!” V yelled as she raced towards the car but the purple haired girl took the time to turn, give her a single look and then slide into the driver seat.

Fucking little shit!

The car roared to life and for a second V wondered if they were about to be abandoned, but its tires screeched and it spun out flipping it around and revealing the open passenger door towards both of them.

“Run faster!” The kid yelled back and V grit her teeth. A gun shot rang out and then another. “Jackie get in!” She yelled as she hit the side of the car and turned Shingen pulled free and unloading towards the van that was racing at them. As Jackie nearly leapt in she fired until she was dry and then with an internal sigh leapt in landing basically ontop of Jackie.

The moment she was in the wheels squealed, and the Quadra kicked. Racing down the street away from the pursuing vans.

“Oh man you guys! I’ve been wanting to get in a car chase forever! Jackie! You're my favorite fixer… Don’t tell Wakako!” The kid said laughing in delight as she hit an intersection and the Quadra roared as it got some air before continuing its race through the streets.

V and Jackie weren’t having such a good time. Jackie was sitting, barely fitting with the case by his feet, V flopped over his lap. Her legs half out the car.

“Jackie grab me.”

“Trying Hermana! A bit out of place myself!” He said but his burly arm thankfully grabbed her tight as the street turned a bit and she wasn’t flung out of the car like she feared was going to happen.

Then a gun shot thunked into the back of the car.

“Asshole!” The kid yelled angry at the noise. “We have a turn coming up! Get your ass situated!” She yelled at V.

V listened. Reaching up to grab a car handle she flipped, thanked her chrome for giving her incredible flexibility, as she basically turned herself into a ball and spun around. Now her legs were in the girls space. But Jackie could hold her easier, and V could actually do something. She reloaded her Shingen as Jackie just sighed at her. Probably irritated, he had to grab her around her chest.

Grow up Jackie you gonk these puppies were fucking preem chrome. Chest sticking out of the car. She aimed and started firing at the van that was following her.

“Trying to drive with your stupid corpo shoes in my face here.” The kid yelled and V ignored her as she kept firing.

Kid was obviously competent enough she’d live.

“Jackie hold on! I’m drifting!” The kid warned and Jackied clamped down on V which was one part of the warning because a moment later they were suddenly going sideways.

“Ahhhh!” V Screamed. She couldn’t help it. Her face was very very close to that light pole, and the street and they were going sideways! Cars don’t go sideways!

The massive bark of a Burya had her jerk her eyes away from her imminent death to the inside of the car where the kid was actually.

Okay fine. That was maybe slightly preem. The kid was drifting the car while shooting a handgun that she should not be able to handle with her left hand.

Then they were straight and the kid returned the gun to her holster a moment later. “I missed the driver. Bet I spooked him though… Jackie Grenade! Red top.” She demanded holding out her left hand as she continued driving with her right, eyes locked on the street.

“Sorry Hermanita. Hands are a bit full here.”

“Fuck off Jack! Where are the grenades?” V Demanded, she would punch Jackie for that joke another time, just cause he had his hands on her tits. That wasn’t funny!

Maybe a little funny.

Maybe just some teasing at Lizzies later.

“Under the seat. C’mon hurry it up!” The kid demanded, and V rolled her eyes leaning into the car and digging around under the seat which was pretty awkward. Jackie better not make a joke with her digging around his crotch.

“What the fuck are these?” She asked, looking at the very much non-standard grenades.

“Red top!”

V found one and handed it over. She had thought about using them herself, but she didn’t recognize the brand. “Where did you even get these things?”

“Made them!”

“Jackie jump out of the car with me.” V said instantly. Sitting on a box of homemade grenades while in a car chase was not how she wanted to die.

“Oh fuck off.” The kid snappedback, then with one hand popped the tab, spun the timer on the top and then released.

“Kid…”

“One sec.”

“KID!”

“One Cooking Potato…” The cook offered back and V literally thought she was about to die as the kid just held the ticking fucking grenade.

Then she dropped it out the side of the car.

A second later it exploded and the Quadra barely even rumbled…

“We’re alive?” Jackie asked. And V looked to him. The gonk literally had his eyes closed.

“I made those timers myself!”

“That’s why we’re worried!” V snapped back but then it got quiet.

“The Van?”

“Took out the tires. They are losing us. I’ve been running them around this industrial park, gonna get onto the freeway and we’ll be long gone. Would you two sort yourself out? You’re embarrassing me.” The kid joked flashing a grin despite her eyes never leaving the road.

“Where did you find this kid Jack?”

“She sorta found me to be honest Hermana.” Jackie said with a shrug. V finally just decided to fuck it and relaxed went limp as she flopped on Jackie for a minute.

“Jackie, this was a total shit show.”

“Sorta like the border yeah?”

“Jackie, I've told you. You aren’t allowed to make reasonable points to me, when I’m angry.” She denied him.

“You two are great!” The kid offered and V seriously considered just kicking her.

Nah. She’d probably be the one to die in the accident not the kid who was wearing her fucking seatbelt.

Who did that?

When they finally stopped it was by unanimous consensus. The kid had just pulled them off the freeway in Heywood. Found the first parking lot and basically just slid into a spot.

V was so done with tonight. Despite the camaraderie filling a piece of her she knew she would have to smother again come morning she had not exactly enjoyed the shitshow. She oozed off of Jackie the only way she could actually get out of the car as she finally got free. Ignoring the mess on her hands as she had to pull herself free by crawling out fo the car.

She rose, flicking her hands to remove the worst and shifted her shoulders and back her suit adjusting back to how it should be. Good. She didn’t look like she had just gone through hell.

Jackie took a bit longer. Untangling himself from the big case they stole. The box of grenades, and just the awkward angle he had been sitting. He got free and stumbled a few steps as he stretched and groaned.

The kid popped out the driver side and rested both arms on the top of the roof seemingly just watching.

“Okay now that I can feel my-well there are ladies present. I’m going to call Padre.” Jackie said cutting him off as he realized he was the lone guy present. Fuckin’ Jackie. Always telling a joke to break the tension.

“You do that Jack.” V said as she looked around. Just a bunch of shops and kiosks. Shame she could use a smoke right now. So instead she focused on the stray. V was a meticulous woman. Had to be to last in counter intel.

Netrunning. Shooting. Driving. Heavy weapon on hand. Stealth. That last one was probably the one that as she made a thought of it caused her eyes to narrow.

The kid had been right above her. Literally laying a few feet above her without a care during an intense firefight. She hadn’t even known she was there. She had searched that warehouse. Her eyes were high end Arasaka optics meant for intel gathering.

They hadn’t even noticed her.

“You’re all glary right now.” The kid offered back with a smirk.

“You were laying above me on the catwalk.”

“Heh! Yeah that was funny. You should have seen your face when I spoke up. You whipped around like a freaked out cat.”

“People don’t sneak up on me.”

She shrugged without a care. “I’m an infiltrator. It’s my specialty… Wait, should I be telling you this? Eh. Hiromi’s parents are with Arasaka too. So I guess it’s fine.” She added talking more to herself than anything.

Hiromi?

A few seconds of searching, and she got it.

Hiromi Mitsunashi. Only child of Keiko and Albert Mitsunashi. They were unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but they had known about the girl?

She did a quick check, and yes. She wouldn’t have to have a firm conversation with them. They had updated the Flathead project with information gathered from a contact and even marked it appropriately. But had marked it questionable, which meant it wasn’t flagged in the system directly to intel to look into.

A fourteen year old had gotten info on the Militech Flathead? Bullshit. Absolute bullshit. Militech were acting like mother bears about that project. Nothing had come out yet. V had been on the taskforce trying to steal the plans.

Twice.

“Who the hell are you?”

The girl blinked at the question before seeming to smirk as her head disappeared and a moment later she had leapt onto the top of her car.

“Glorious Infiltrator Motoko Kusanagi! Netrunner and all around amazing person!”

Then she struck a pose. Hand on her hip which was cocked out and making a V with her fingers over one eye.

V really wanted to shoot her.

“Yeah! You tell them hermanita!” Jackie called out as he finally walked back looking pleased and Motoko seemed to take the attention to heart and puffed up even more.

Why was V dealing these idiots? Why was she wasting her time working with a fucking washed up merc that couldn’t ever seem to get himself out of small time, without everything going to shit, and a now a teenage wonder that V desperately wanted to either put a few hundreds bullets into. Or drag back to Counter Intel.

As an experiment or the future super thief she wasn’t sure which yet.

So why wasn’t she?

“C’mon Hermana! Padre promised a lot of eddies for all the trouble! Rounds on me at the bar tonight!” He said dropping an arm over her shoulder, and pulling V into his bulk in a side hug. The first gentle touch not gained from joytoys or people literally trying to honey trap her in…

Oh right. She was a lonely friendless gonk, and Jack was literally the only person in the city she could put any trust in without being burned.

“Fuck it, fine. But you are gonna pay for that Jack.”

“Hehe. Go a little easy on me choom.”

“Fuck no.”

—--

Half an hour later everyone pulled into Lizzies.

V’s bike had showed up. Jackie just decided to stick with the kid. A runner for Padre had come around and taken the case, freeing them of that concern.

“I still can’t believe you both come to Lizzies! I’ve never seen you here… I mean I don’t come here to drink, so that’s probably part of it.” The girl blathered as soon as V stepped off her bike.

“We usually hang out in the private booths Hermana.”

“That must be it. Hey Rita!” The little gonk ran off to Rita fucking Wheeler with a hand over her head waving like a kid. Ignoring the line ran right up and to V’s surprise didn’t get a bat to the face, instead Rita nodded her head inside without a seconds thought. But the kid didn’t just disappear, instead throwing a finger to V and Jackie.

If V wasn’t who she was, she would have missed it. But like Arasaka wouldn’t put in listening devices into a Counter Intel agent.

“Rita these are my chooms, we just did this massive gig! We’re here to party! Should we get in line? They’re here to drink. I’m never sure of the rules of that kind of thing.”

Wheeler looked over the kid then Jackie and V before just letting out a chuckle. “Heh. It’s fine Motoko. Take your chooms in. I recognize Welles, and his stiff bitch corpo. Neither will cause trouble. Or else.” She said looking up the last part of the sentence they had been close enough to catch.

“Rita you’re the best!”

“Well you owe me one. I want a private rendition of that song of yours.” Rita said teasing smile going wide as the kid gasped

“How did you-Judy squealed!”

“Of course she did! She came up the other day legs shaking and needed an actual drink. You okay kid? Judy said it was pretty brutal.” She asked the kid who looked a little nervous about something.

“Ah…” Motoko made a noise before coming together, clearing her throat and straightening up. “I’m good Rita. That was more of a forced experience. I finished the song and it was so brutal and heavy I wanted to… set the scene? Just… don’t watch it! It’s not good! Yeah you should totally not watch it!” The girl rambled on but the fucks waiting outside were making noise and Rita was forced to focus on them.

“Fuck off! They’re allowed! Go on Motoko we’ll talk later. Remember what I said! You owe me!”

“Never!” The kid called out behind her as she slipped inside and rejoined them. So the kid had Mox connections too.

V shook it off. She wasn’t here for intel.

She was here to get fucking drunk and forget all the trouble she would be in come the morning, when Jenkins found out what she had been up to. He would cover for her. He always did. She was too useful not to. But he was still going to grill her ass and probably have her do scop work for weeks.

They passed through the bar and grabbed one of the circular private booths along the edge of the bar. Settling in.

“I’ll get us some drinks then! V the usual? ‘Toko what are you drinking tonight?”

“Oh I’ll just get a soda Jackie. I don’t drink.”

“Fuck that.” V said, slapping the table and pointing. “You fought beside us. We survived, we celebrate. Grab her something fruity Jack. But she’s gonna drink it.”

“I don’t drink V.” The kid responded back flatly. No give at all.

V actually felt impressed, most teens would have folded with just that.

“You can’t toast a new friendship with just soda Hermanita.” Jackie said having not run off just yet. He reached over and patted the kid on the shoulder. “I’ll bring something, and if you don’t drink it you don’t. But you should at least for the toast!”

“Ugh you drunks! It’s just alcohol! It has no actual meaning!” She hissed back, but Jackie was just laughing.

“Stubborn kid aren’t you?”

“Can be!” She settled into the wide booth as V took her own spot and finally relaxed. No one was coming to kill her here. Jackies crazy gig was done with, and everything was just… Quiet.

Until the girl started humming along to the pop song that was playing above them.

“Like the song or something?” She asked half trying to point out that it was annoying and half teasing.

Fuck Jackie had been right. She had sorta grown on her… Probably right around the time she had drifted them through that intersection.

V could respect a preem line like that.

“Huh? What? Oh! The humming. Not really! It’s kinda shit to be honest. Bad habit I picked up. I tend to sing along to stuff now.” She mentions and just laughs at herself. “This stuff isn’t my thing. I like Samurai and that sort of stuff.”

V sat up a bit. “Chippin ‘In.” V said instantly, and the girl scoffed.

“Never Fade Away! Obviously!”

“Never is good, but Chippin ‘In is the song that speaks best!” V argued pounding a fist into the table.

“Says the borg. Never Fade Away is the best. It does the best job representing human spirit! Never stopping!”

“It’s barely even a Samurai song! Silverhand wrote it when he went solo, and just integrated it into the band when he came back for their reunion tour!”

“Oh no the band only played it together on stage during their all come together tour. Are you going to say Black Dog doesn’t count too?” The kid hissed back.

“Hey Black Dog even existing is a fucking miracle! Everyone gives it leeway!” V retorted back. That song had almost been completely lost when the one copy of it had gone to shit after the Arasaka tower bombing.

“Besides, Never Fade Away was shit as a Johnny Solo song. It took Kerry on Guitar to actually make it work.” She offered and V damn near leapt out of her seat.

“You take that shit back! Without Silverhand Kerry wouldn’t be shit!”

“Oooh. Feisty. We got a Silverhand Fangirl? Really?” The kid seemed absolutely thrilled at this little piece of knowledge.

Thanking her hormonal control implant V just scoffed instead of sputtered. “No. I just know the truth. There’s a reason that for all his fame and fortune and plat albums and shit, Eurodyne doesn’t have the cultural impact Silverhand had.

“Eurodyne is the better musician.”

V had to stop herself from popping her blades at the audacity of this bitch!

Then she realized.

She was having fun. When was the last time she got to talk music with someone? Enjoyed getting into an argument about her favorite band?

What was she even doing with her life? When having a conversation with a teenager made her feel this invigorated…

She flopped back into the couch, the fight going out of her. She really needed that drink. The intrusive thoughts were getting to her.

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