#Body Brokers

[bigger-picture-darwinism]

My Movie List (November 2023)

I've started writing down the movies i watched each month, so here's November :) I'm also always open for recommendations!

Scream 4 - 11/2/23

Palo Alto - 11/4/23

Summer '03 - 11/4/23

The Pretenders - 11/6/23

Body Brokers - 11/6/23

Metal Lords - 11/7/23

Scream - 11/8/23

Scream 2 - 11/9/23

Scream 3 - 11/11/23

Senseless - 11/11/23

Hackers - 11/11/23

The Nice Guys - 11/11/23

Len and Company - 11/11/23

Zach and Miri Make A Porno - 11/15/23

Singles - 11/17/23

Lymelife* - 11/17/23

Ghostbusters: Afterlife - 11/19/23

Fast Times at Ridgemont High - 11/21/23

Empire Records - 11/22/23

SFW - 11/22/23

Movie 43 - 11/22/23

Chasing Amy - 11/22/23

The Music of Chance - 11/24/23

Fantastic Mr. Fox - 11/28/23

Dead Man's Hand - 11/29/23

Jack's Back* - 11/29/23

total: 26

loved - disliked - watched before*

[jp-hunsecker]

What the movie really is about is so complex that, even after several explanatory Frank Grillo voiceovers complete with visual aids, it still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

[mossy-paws]

Commission! (PHIGHTING!)

WOOHOOO finished commission for @/.r9cket on discord :3! This was a really fun project to work on + I learned a lot of things with it!

commissions are currently closed as I’m backed up at the moment with other owed art pieces and art fight reference sheets! I’ll probably open them in a few weeks once I get done with some of these other projects I have, but for now they are closed indefinitely >:3!

[hallowknighttt]

work-life balance

[ reblogs > likes ]

[gameshowsandhosts]

Save me old depressed man

⚠️ do not use my art. reblogs appreciated!!

[spaceratprodigy]

did I mention at this point he still has her locket in his pocket

[ruvviks]

Chapter >> 13 [x] Characters >> Cato Wu (oc), Eddie Wolfe (oc), Judy Álvarez, Mikhail Koshechkin (oc), Rogue Amendiares, Vitali Dobrynin (oc), a long list of side characters Total >> 6.6k words Warnings >> Alcohol, blood, brainwashing mention, death, descriptions of suffocation, injuries, violence

The sun had long set, the sky a deep, dark blue color yet too polluted with light and fumes to show any of the stars it held. Bright beams of advertisements between skyscrapers and Megabuildings illuminated the city and even at that hour of the night the streets were crowded and full of life.

Truly a place that never slept.

Tucked away between buildings in Watson, muffled music rose up from the underground club the Afterlife. Especially busy that day; for no particular reason, though the entrance itself was already crowded enough to signal to anyone who wanted to enter what the rest of the club’s grounds would be like.

The bright neon lights above the entrance flickered lightly when a car came to a stop on the club’s parking lot. Some curious glances in its direction- innocent, mostly, simply the gazes of those wondering who had arrived.

Though those very same gazes lingered just a little longer when three people exited the car- one of them dressed in a deep red suit with golden accents and stitched embroidery of flowers decorating the back of the jacket, and the other two in full combat gear- and slowly made their way inside.

The Afterlife was known to be the place for mercenaries and fixers to discuss business; no one would bat an eye upon seeing even the most popular of fixers- or the most infamous, for that matter- enter and make themselves right at home.

Though this was different.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Slicked back bleached hair; recently cut, a few loose strands covering a freckled forehead. Head held high, shoulders pushed back and a black cane with the same golden details as the ones decorating the suit in a gloved left hand and two piercing blueish gray eyes staring straight ahead, ignoring the stares of the rest of the club’s clientele.

Vitali Dobrynin was not a fixer often seen at the club. Most if not all of his business took place in his own office building in Wellsprings, far away from the prying eyes of nosy mercs looking to only half-commit to a job and jump ship with their payment before the contract would end.

Though people talked about him. Many visitors of the Afterlife did not want to work for him- believed him to be a faulty fixer still knee deep into the corpo life, ignoring the fact he had managed to build everything he now had up from ground level with nothing but hard-earned eddies from his own time as a merc.

Especially now, with the Broker running around; with ties to that very same Vitali Dobrynin, mercenaries rumored to work for him wreaking havoc in Night City not too long ago- and especially after that very same Vitali Dobrynin had supposedly worked for Arasaka again, about half a year back.

Rumors, rumors, rumors.

Nobody there knew Vitali had been brainwashed by the corporation, used like a puppet by them to try and tie up the final loose end of the disaster with the Relic. Nobody there knew the mercenaries in question no longer worked for Vitali, and now worked for the Broker instead.

And nobody there knew the Broker was not Vitali himself, but no one other than his very own father.

But that was about to change.

‘Eyes on the prize, boss. Milf spotted in the back booth, left of the bar.’

‘Cato, can you please be respectful for once in your life?’

Mikhail’s voice was only barely audible to Vitali over the noises surrounding them, earpiece in his right ear and earplug in his left. His friend’s exasperated comment was merely met with laughter from Eddie- there with them in the Afterlife- and Judy- on the other side of comms, with Cato.

‘Aw, come on, Mish- Am I wrong?’ Cato playfully asked. ‘Rogue’s a hot piece of ass, everyone can see that! ‘s Not as if she can hear me from all the way over there, anyway.’

‘Usually we try to handle these kinds of operations with a bit more…elegance,’ Vitali responded as he slowly maneuvered through the crowd, a greeting nod in Claire’s direction as he passed her by. ‘But, you have a point. So I’ll allow it- this once.’

‘See? Even the boss can appreciate- Wait, what?’

Vitali reached for his earpiece, switching channels with a hint of a smile lingering on his face as he stopped at the far end of the bar, carefully lowering himself on one of the barstools. Claire had followed along and reached for a bottle to pour him the usual- but Vitali caught her gaze and signed a quick “just some water, please” before she could lift it up.

‘She’s still busy at the moment from what I can tell,’ Judy said over comms, Cato’s confused stammering still slightly audible in the background. ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to send her a quick ping? Both you and V are on her good side. Shouldn’t be an issue.’

‘Thank you, Judy, but it’s alright.’ Vitali smiled at Claire and swiftly stopped the glass of water shoved into his direction from sliding any further. ‘The Council does not need to know about my visit to her. Off the records. Surely she will understand.’

‘Your call, jefe. I’ll let you know when there’s a window.’

Mikhail and Eddie stood on either of Vitali’s sides as the minutes slowly passed by. He had not wanted to bring them along; but Vincent had not allowed him to visit the club all by himself and had even threatened to come after him were he to try it anyway.

In hindsight, it had been a good decision. It had been a long time since the last time he had walked in there; well over a year now, as a matter of fact. Vitali knew he wasn’t liked and he knew he had to watch his step in there, well aware it would not have to take much for him to end up with a bullet or two between his eyes.

Eddie leaned backwards against the bar, elbows on the counter as he slightly tilted his head toward his boss to get his attention. He gave him a playful wink the second Vitali’s gaze met his, and in return Vitali softly slapped him with the glove he had taken off, right before shoving it into his pocket.

‘What are we here for anyway, if I may ask?’ Eddie asked, a grin on their face as they bumped their hip against Vitali’s thigh. ‘Talking to Rogue. Not really your style, considering- well, you know.’

‘Things were different back then,’ Vitali answered, crossing his arms on the bar and leaning on them a little as he shifted position on his seat. ‘Through…unfortunate events, we have history now. And I- I need to talk to her about the Broker. Who they are.’

Eddie slowly nodded, their gaze trailing their surroundings as they checked if anyone was trying to listen in. Vitali finished his drink in the meantime and fiddled with it a little, the rings on his right hand softly ticking against the glass.

‘I am hoping to clear my own name,’ he continued, ‘call in the Council. Not sure if it is even possible in these times, but- I need to speak to them. Situation might escalate again soon and I would like to have things sorted out before that happens.’

‘Understandable.’ Eddie made brief eye contact with Mikhail and gave him a solid nod and Vitali briefly glanced over his shoulder, just in time to see his friend wander off into the crowd. ‘You think she’ll help?’

‘I sure hope so. Though with my track record of “getting help” these days I feel like it’s not going to lead to anything. But at least I’ll have tried.’

Even the act of visiting the Afterlife was already a big risk Vitali was taking and he knew it; yet nobody had been able to talk the idea out of his head. Another dumb mistake, possibly- but who would he be if he would not even give it a try?

‘Boss? Trouble.’

Vitali instantly perked up, first glancing at Eddie and then quickly turning around on his seat to assess the situation.

Mikhail had started making his way back to the two of them but had been stopped by- someone Vitali did not recognize, from that distance at least. A tall, muscular enough man with blond hair, wearing DIY combat gear over a jumpsuit; almost as if he was an NPC that had somehow wandered its way straight out of a video game.

Vitali tightened his jaw and hopped from his seat, grabbing his cane before slowly making his way over to the two men. A small crowd had formed around them, for some reason; friends, possibly, or just random bystanders waiting for a show.

‘Gentlemen,’ Vitali said, raising his voice slightly to make himself audible over the partially incoherent yelling of the man. He stopped, turning his head to look at Vitali- who used the split second of silence to his advantage and gently tugged Mikhail on his sleeve, positioning himself between his friend and the man despite the fact Mikhail was suited up for exactly these kinds of situations and he himself very much was not.

‘Can I help you?’ Vitali asked, and watched as a wide grin spread on the man’s face. He pointed at Vitali and turned to look at some others- they all looked like mercs of some sort on closer inspection. A gang, perhaps? Though Vitali had never seen them before in his life.

‘Been lookin’ for you,’ the man said, wagging his finger around in Vitali’s face before moving it over to Mikhail behind him. ‘That motherfucker screwed me over. You’re the big man in charge, right? I want my eddies back.’

It only took Vitali a fraction of a second to realize what he meant- A job done in the time he had been in Arizona with Vincent, when Mikhail had temporarily taken on the role as fixer to keep business going.

‘I’m sorry- screwed you over?’ Mikhail repeated and scoffed. ‘You provided us with shady, unreliable information, your informants didn’t show up and you nearly got several of our mercs killed. You should be glad I decided to let you walk away from the situation alive, you fucking-’

‘Alright, alright,’ Vitali gently interrupted him and raised his hand, ignoring the whispering and laughing of the crowd surrounding them. ‘Any of that true, sir?’

‘Well, I- uh-’ The man paused, visibly clenching his jaw as he straightened his back, towering high over Vitali; a weak attempt at intimidation, perhaps, though it did him very little and he merely patiently waited for his answer.

He knew his absence had not been easy for Mikhail and he knew not every job had gone as smoothly as they had usually gone, before his sudden departure. Did not blame him for it either, if anyone had to take the blame it would be Vitali himself and he had made sure Mikhail knew he had done everything he could and any trouble they would get because of it would not be his problem to deal with.

Hence why Vitali stood there now, positioned between Mikhail and the man- who was visibly starting to become more frustrated and took a few jumpy steps back as he ran his hand over his face and shook his head.

‘Listen,’ he said, once again pointing his finger in Vitali’s direction. ‘I’ma give you to the count of five, and if I don’t have my eddies back by then- all three thousand of ‘em- that dark red suit o’ yours is gonna be red for vastly different reasons.’

‘Really now?’ Vitali asked, raising his eyebrow and slightly tilting his head, a smile taking shape on his face as he let his eyes trail the crowd; people were starting to get rowdy, starting to cheer. A rush of adrenaline was already soaring through his system, reminding him of the street fights he used to participate in-

Sure, he was there for business now. But he could have a little bit of fun.

‘One!’ the guy yelled, his voice barely audible above the buzz of the club, the music suddenly a lot louder than before; though it could just be Vitali’s imagination, straightening his back and redistributing his weight to his left leg while grabbing his cane halfway down the shaft.

‘Two!’

‘You sure you’re going to do this, jefe?’ Judy asked. ‘Viktor’s gonna kill you.’

‘Only if I get hurt,’ Vitali replied, rolling back his neck as the man yelled out a loud three, dragging it out a little bit longer as if he was trying to give Vitali time to reconsider.

Another day, another client turning against him. Far from the first time and far from the last; though usually Vitali dealt with these sorts of things with a bit more finesse than he was about to do.

‘Four!’

He did not care. His reputation preceded him; the bruising of his knuckles as dark as the rims underneath his eyes, everyone knew Vitali Dobrynin was a fighter first and a fixer second. All to protect, all out of love- but no one cared about that. They only ever saw what was on show.

‘FIVE!’

The man wasted no time and went for a swing- and Vitali intercepted his arm with his cane with ease, hitting it from the side and causing the elbow to bend the wrong way. He swiftly stepped aside, allowing the man to stumble past him and he used the momentum to kick him down to the ground.

Accidentally used his right leg for it. It hurt a lot more than he had anticipated.

Vitali noticed people reaching for their weapons and glanced at Mikhail and Eddie who immediately drew their guns, keeping the crowd under control. The man was on the floor now- squirming, cursing and coughing his lungs out as he clutched his broken arm close to his body.

‘You have some nerve, I’ll give you that,’ Vitali said, tossing his cane aside and taking off his jacket. ‘Endangering the lives of my mercenaries with faulty information and then crawling back on your knees to beg for your fucking eddies. I should stuff them up your ass. Deliver your body in a box to your parents.’

‘Every job comes with risks, man!’ the guy cried out, trying to scramble to his feet as Vitali rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and walked closer. ‘Look- Sure, maybe I could’a been a bit more careful with some things, provide more detes, but-’

Vitali set his foot down on the man’s hand before he could finish his sentence and a strangled cry left his throat. He leaned forward and reached for his collar- but before he could get close enough, two pairs of strong hands grabbed him by his arms and violently dragged him back.

The world spun around him as a fist collided with his jaw and only a split second later he was face down on the floor, people screaming and cheering around him. Oh, and it felt good- the stinging pain burning through his muscles and the taste of blood in his mouth and he pushed himself back up on feet with a grin decorating his face.

A man and woman had joined the fray- both twice his size with biceps about as big as his head- and Vitali steadied himself and with a single blink of his eyes he was suddenly looking directly at Jackie and Viktor instead, a bright and warm sunday morning in the ring.

‘Watch your footing, Vito,’ Viktor said. ‘Can’t have you gettin’ swept off your feet before you can even land a hit.’

Vitali spat some blood on the floor and dodged another incoming swing, balling his fist and ramming it between the woman’s ribs before running straight into the man and shoving him violently into the wall. His hair was grabbed and yanked back- but it did nothing as he turned his head and sank his teeth as deep into the man’s wrist as he possibly could, until he let him go.

‘Dirty fighter, huh, V?’ Jackie grinned up at him as Vitali pinned him to the ground. ‘And right you are- Night City don’t play by the rules, either.’

The woman kicked him hard on his leg- his right leg once again, causing him to wince in pain and nearly sink through his knees. She wrapped her arm around his neck and lifted him from the floor, squeezing as hard as she could and he could feel his windpipe getting crushed.

Tears sprung in his eyes as he dragged his nails over the woman’s arm, cutting into skin and flesh and drawing blood but not nearly enough to cause her to let him go. He swung his leg back and managed to kick her in the crotch- with barely any effect- but she slightly loosened her grip giving him just enough space to push his arm between the two of them and elbow her hard in the chest.

He was dropped to the floor and landed painfully on his knees, coughing and wheezing as he tried to catch his breath. The man had regained himself in the meantime and walked forward- and without warning went for a kick, hitting Vitali in his ribs.

He grabbed the man’s foot and rolled to the side, dragging him along and causing him to fall backwards and hit his head hard on the concrete floor. The woman tried to stomp on him- but Vitali was a lot faster and dodged her foot, then reached for his belt, flicked out a knife and stabbed it through her shoe as hard as he could.

He was back on his feet within seconds, the world only slightly spinning as he swayed from side to side and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The woman had yanked the knife out of her foot, cursing loudly at him as she swung it around and then hurled it through the air-

‘You need to be quicker.’ Viktor smiled gently as he extended his hand, and Vitali begrudgingly took it and allowed the man to pull him back to his feet. ‘Reflexes are key, Vito. You’re agile, you’re perceptive; use that to your advantage.’

Vitali caught it.

He licked his lips as he carefully twirled the knife between his fingers, watching the blood drain from the woman’s face right before she quickly raised her hands in defense and took a few steps back until she was once again part of the crowd.

People were a little bit quieter, now. The man on the floor hadn’t moved yet.

Vitali absently wiped the knife on his pants as he redirected his attention to the man who had started it all; still sitting on the floor, holding his arm tightly and looking even more pathetic than he had done a few minutes ago. The second he realized Vitali was looking at him, he made another attempt at scrambling to his feet- but slipped on the little pool of blood that had taken shape underneath the head of the man lying dead at his feet and he fell down on his ass again.

‘If I can’t even beat the two of you, I’ll never make it out there.’ Vitali tilted his head up and allowed Jackie to pinch the bridge of his nose for him, while holding a tissue up against it.

‘Just give it time, mano,’ Jackie simply answered, and playfully kicked his foot against the side of his friend’s leg. ‘You tackled me to the floor just now like I weighed nothing- you couldn’t do that a month ago.’

Vitali walked over to the man and grabbed his collar- then seemingly without effort dragged him on his feet and tossed him on one of the benches to his right, only to then ram him violently into the wall and climb on top of him.

‘It’s funny,’ he sneered, leaning in until his forehead nearly touched that of the other man. ‘You even admit that you were in the wrong. Do you truly think that will save you?’

‘You’re fucking insane!’ the man yelled back at him, struggling in his grip- but his broken arm prevented him from doing anything, and with Vitali straddling his lap there was nowhere for him to flee.

‘Piece of- corpo trash! Fucking- Get off of me!’

‘Shh,’ Vitali gently shushed him, letting the back of his fingers run over the man’s cheek- leaving behind a trail of dark red blood. He wasn’t even sure if it was his own or someone else’s.

‘Just let me go, man! I won’t bother you again, I swear!’

‘I know, I know.’ Vitali paused, and he felt the eyes from nearly everyone in the club on his back. Could almost hear their thoughts, could feel their judgment like acid burning through his skin-

‘But you almost got my mercenaries killed. And I can’t let that go unpunished.’

And he balled his fist, and let his knuckles collide with the man’s jaw.

One hit.

Two hit.

Three hit.

He grabbed his collar again, ignoring the blood dripping out of the man’s mouth and his eyes rolling back in their sockets. Wanted to speak- but then noticed the man reaching for his knife and grabbed his hand before he could get to it, twisting it around and pinning it against the wall.

‘Alright, enough!’

A sudden silence washed over the crowd and Vitali slowly turned his head. People had stepped aside- to make room for no one other than Rogue Amendiares, her arms crossed in front of her chest as she slowly let her gaze move over the scene playing out in front of her.

‘Show’s over, everyone get back to your fucking business,’ she said. ‘Vitali, get off the man. You got your point across.’

Vitali clenched his jaw and turned back to his victim, who was only barely conscious anymore. He slowly let go of the man’s wrist and instead firmly gripped a handful of his hair, to yank his head up and look him in the eyes.

‘Did I?’ he asked, slightly tilting his head again- adrenaline still coursing through his veins yet his heartbeat as stable as ever.

The man weakly nodded in response.

Vitali slowly got up and stepped back, exhaustion instantly washing over him the second his body realized the conflict was over. Mikhail carefully walked closer to him- and after brief eye contact as confirmation handed him his cane again, his jacket held tightly underneath his arm.

Breathe in, breathe out.

‘I’m surprised to see you here,’ Rogue said, turning back around and making her way back to her booth, gesturing for Vitali to follow her. ‘Thought this place was- how did you word it? “Not your style”?’

‘Times change, Rogue, you know that,’ Vitali coldly responded, wincing a little as he set his right foot down and he leaned heavily on his cane while following her down the steps.

‘Just fuckin’ with you, kid. Here.’

Rogue turned around, snatching a tissue from a box on the table and she grabbed his chin to keep his head still- and he allowed her to wipe the blood off his face.

Last time Vitali had been to the Afterlife, he had asked Rogue for help- had needed information on the Relic and had thought she would be willing to provide that in exchange for eddies, or resources, whatever she desired; one fixer to another.

But given his history with Arasaka she had not been willing to even sit down for a conversation with him. Which he had understood, mostly- but in all his desperation to find a way to save Vincent’s life, he had not handled the rejection very well. And that was putting it lightly.

‘What brings you here?’ Rogue asked, tapping Vitali’s chin the moment she finished and sitting down on the couch of the booth, gesturing for him to follow her lead. ‘Doubt you showed up just to put on a nice show for the regulars.’

‘Needed to see you.’ Vitali sat down and briefly glanced into the rest of the club, watching Eddie and Mikhail take their positions at the opening of the booth, turned sideways to both keep an eye on their surroundings as well as Vitali himself.

‘That’s one way to get my attention. Could’ve called.’

‘Would like the Council to not know about my visit here.’

‘My lips are sealed. Let’s hope the dead don’t learn how to talk in the meantime.’

Vitali clenched his jaw, eyes once again momentarily pulled to the outside of the booth as the body of the man who had attacked him was carried outside. He hadn’t meant for that to happen, of course; but it also did not do him much. He had other, more pressing matters to worry about.

‘How are you doing?’ he asked, biting the inside of his cheek as he turned back to Rogue.

‘Oh, cut the bullshit, Vito-’ She leaned forward and shook her head. ‘To the point. What do you want?’

‘The Broker is my father.’

Silence washed over the booth and something about Rogue’s expression changed- softened, almost, before she clenched her jaw and a frown slowly took shape on her face.

‘Matvey Dobrynin,’ Vitali quietly continued. ‘He’s doing all of this.’

The last thing he wanted was for the Council to find out about that. But he needed Rogue to know; he knew she was the only one who would believe him when he would tell her he had nothing to do with it, and with her on his side he could finally have a chance at clearing his name.

‘Shit,’ Rogue said, dropping her head briefly and sighing. ‘Must’a been quite a shock.’

‘I’ve found peace with it,’ Vitali replied, crossing his legs and sinking back into the cushions of the couch. ‘Complicated family.’

He clicked his tongue and Mikhail walked closer, handing Vitali his jacket. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a datashard; and after a brief moment of hesitation he handed it to Rogue, who slowly brought it to the slot behind her ear.

‘Evidence,’ Vitali simply said, watching the rings around her pupils light up bright blue. ‘The attack, those mercs- ex-mercenaries of mine. They no longer work for me. Left my network during my absence and my father used this to his advantage to win them over, turn them against me.’

‘He’s behind it all and tryin’ to frame you for it,’ Rogue slowly said. ‘Clever.’

‘The Council cannot know it’s my father, but- I need them to know that it is not me.’ Vitali paused, sucking in a shallow breath as he watched Rogue pull the shard out again. ‘I don’t need their help- I can handle this myself- I just don’t want them as my enemies, either.’

‘I understand.’ Rogue gently placed the shard on the table, visibly thinking, her leg lightly bouncing up and down. ‘Have you heard anything new? Any developments?’

‘Nothing new as of right now,’ Judy said in Vitali’s ear. ‘Only what we picked up earlier.’

‘There’s been chatter, the past few days,’ Vitali said. ‘Matvey is preparing another attack- I don’t know when, or where, but something is happening again. We’re monitoring the situation as best as we can but whatever it is he’s planning, he is going to try and put the blame on me.’

They had not picked up much yet; too vague bits and pieces of conversations, encrypted messages, snippets of plans. Piecing together what Matvey was working on would require a lot more information and Vitali knew that very well- but knowing things were being set in motion again at the earliest notice at least helped him prepare himself and his mercs alike.

But he was not there to talk about what his father had planned out for him.

‘I want to defend my case, to the Council,’ Vitali slowly said, swallowing heavily and gesturing at the datashard on the table. ‘That is why I came to see you. I was hoping you could- I don’t know, arrange a meeting. Call them together. Just- an hour of everyone’s time, and-’

‘I can’t do that.’

Rogue’s voice was strict, as always- though surprisingly gentle at that, and she couldn’t look Vitali in his eyes as she shook her head.

‘Too dangerous,’ she continued, and slowly leaned forward to move a little closer to him. ‘One thing we know is that the Broker is targeting fixers. You specifically now- and I’m startin’ to see why- but the Council isn’t paying attention to that. Say we get everyone together, what if he attacks? Half the Council dead. Your point proven, but at what cost?’

Vitali leaned forward too and lowered his gaze, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to keep his breathing stable as what he had already feared for became reality right in front of him.

‘A lot of ‘em are trying to lay low until the situation’s over,’ Rogue quietly explained. ‘They’re scared, Vito. Won’t ever admit it, but I know they are. I can present the evidence you put on that shard, put in a good word for you, but- that’s all I can do right now. We gotta wait for the situation to settle down, first.’

Vitali understood.

Of course he did; deep down he was scared too and if he could disappear and wait for his father to just give up and leave him alone, then he would do that in a heartbeat.

But how many more people would get injured or lose their lives were he to do that? How much more of Night City would end up in rubble, how many more attacks would take place? How far was Matvey willing to go, just to get his revenge?

‘Just don’t mention that it’s my father,’ Vitali quietly said, as he slowly looked up again. ‘I can’t have them know.’

‘I know. Secret’s safe with me.’

Silence fell over the booth once more and Rogue reached out for the bottle of liquor on the table, to fill up her own glass. She grabbed a second one, put it close to Vitali and gave him a questioning look- he merely shook his head in response, fingernails digging deep into the palm of his hand on his lap.

‘What’s your plan?’ she asked, picking up her own glass and taking a swig.

‘Not sure yet,’ Vitali honestly answered and slowly sank back into the couch again. ‘Cards are finally on the table now, that’s a start. I know what- who- I am up against. I just need to get closer again. One last time.’

‘Good luck with that.’ Rogue paused, slightly twirling her glass around and causing the ice cubes in it to softly clink against the sides. ‘Whatever you do, though, do it quickly. It’s been going on for long enough. People are getting restless.’

‘I know. Eager to blame me for it?’

‘Some of them are. That Dinovic especially- the cunt’s got beef with you, from what I could gather. What’d you do?’

‘Threatened him at his stupid fucking bar after he dared to withhold V his payment following a gig gone wrong because of his own fucked up intel.’

‘Yeah, that’ll do it.’

About a year had passed since that unfortunate incident, but Vitali knew Dino could hold a serious grudge. Not that he cared at all- the man meant very little to him and were he to ever try something like he had again, Vitali could not guarantee he would leave the fixer alive.

He stared at the shard on the table in front of him for a while as Rogue slowly finished her drink, and listened to the noises of the rest of the club. He mostly just heard the music again- even within the booth he’d had a hard time hearing Rogue speak on occasion, but at that point he could read lips well enough to manage.

He knew there was not much else left to say. Rogue made good points- a Council gathering could very easily end in disaster with Matvey still out for blood and although it would at least prove Vitali was not the Broker himself, it would still point fingers in his direction as a possible collaborator.

And if they were to find out the Broker was his father, it would only make things even worse for him.

‘Well, if that was all,’ Rogue suddenly said and set her empty glass back down on the table. Vitali felt his heart drop, but kept his mouth shut as he inhaled deeply and watched her slowly get up-

‘Ask her about the Arasaka thing, boss,’ Cato suddenly quietly said through his earpiece. ‘Thought you wanted to mention that too.’

That was very true. He had almost forgotten about it.

‘Rogue,’ Vitali quickly said, and she stopped mid-movement to look at him again. He shifted position on the couch, moving a little closer to her- and she slowly sat down again, leaning in to make sure no one else would hear them speak.

‘Do they still think I willingly went back to Arasaka?’ he quietly asked.

He was almost scared to get an answer to his question.

He knew that on a surface level it had looked exactly like that. He had vanished- had gotten shot and Arasaka had taken him in, patched him up and had put him through their latest brainwashing program in secret, and when Vitali had finally shown his face to the outside world again he had been entirely in their control-

But to everyone else it had simply looked like he had decided to switch sides.

‘Some do, yeah,’ Rogue finally answered, a frown on her face telling Vitali she did not find it easy to say. ‘They don’t know about what went down there.’

‘But you were there, too.’

‘Only Wakako knows about that.’

Vitali clenched his jaw and lowered his gaze, an exhale leaving his chest a little sharper than he had meant for. Deep down he had already known about all of it; but to hear it come out of Rogue’s mouth like that made it even more real to him and he clenched his fists again, a desperate attempt to keep himself under control.

‘Hey.’

Rogue reached out and placed a hand on the side of his upper arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze before pulling back again.

‘I’ll present them the evidence,’ she said, ‘as my own, not yours. You were never here, they’ll hear it from me, it’ll ease their minds. For now. You deal with your old man in the meantime, and this will all be over before you know it. Alright?’

‘Thank you,’ Vitali quietly said and she shook her head, waving her hand vaguely in the air.

‘Don’t mention it. Now get outta here, kid. This place isn’t your style.’

With a light smile on his face, Vitali carefully stood up and left the booth, leaning a little heavier on his cane again as he walked. The fight had been fun- but it had not done him any good and Judy’s words from earlier began bouncing around in his brain again.

Viktor really is going to kill me, huh.

‘Ladies, we are leaving the club as we speak,’ Eddie dramatically said, slowly following Vitali with Mikhail by his side. ‘Thank you for tuning in and we will see you back at the office.’

‘Not me, I’m going home,’ Judy replied. ‘Well done though, boys. Hope you’re okay, Vito. You did great.’

Vitali was not listening to their conversation anymore.

Eyes focused straight ahead, trying to ignore the stares of everyone around him as he slowly made his way through the club back to the entrance. Some people actually stepped out of his way as he passed them by- as if he would hurt them were they to get too close.

Vitali would never do such a thing unprompted.

But they did not know that. No one cared about that.

They only ever saw what was on show.

The cool midnight air of Night City was a welcoming breath of fresh air- as fresh as it could be, at least. A pleasant change from the heavy air inside and Vitali could not complain, briefly slowing his pace as he closed his eyes and breathed in deep a couple of times.

He was exhausted now. Partially regretted the fight; his ribs were sore and his leg was screaming at him to sit down, and he quickly made his way back to the car they had arrived in.

‘Small victory, yes?’ Mikhail asked, sitting down in the driver’s seat as Vitali himself took place in the backseat of the car, right in the middle.

‘Small victory,’ he repeated and buckled his seatbelt. ‘I’ll take what I can get.’

Of course he had hoped for more, but to have Rogue in his corner was a relief; if she could turn the heads of the Council away from him, even if it was just for a little while, it would be a big weight off his shoulders and he would be able to focus on dealing with Matvey in peace.

Vitali said nothing as they slowly began making their way back to Wellsprings, eyes glued to the scenery of the city outside- flashy, neon advertisements and bright car lights alike blinding him until he inevitably lowered his gaze.

He wondered what his father was doing at that very moment. A curious thought- but one that refused to leave his head, that single question repeating itself over and over again like a broken record.

What was he planning? When would he make his next move?

Vitali looked down at his hands. He hadn’t bothered to clean them yet; the blood on them had dried, and the bruising on his knuckles had darkened.

Another sharp exhale as he quickly averted his gaze. It was fine; they’d had it coming. None of them good people- and neither was he, and he knew that, and it was far too late for him to come back from that now.

‘Let’s stop by a diner or something, I’m starving,’ Eddie suddenly said, breaking the silence as they pointed at a building nearby. ‘I’ll just hop in and out real quick- Misha, the usual? Anything I can get you, boss?’

‘No, thank you,’ Vitali politely declined, shooting them a small smile as Mikhail turned to the side of the road and parked the car, allowing Eddie to jump out and hurry their way over to the diner.

‘You okay?’ Mikhail asked after a brief silence, slightly turning in his seat to look at Vitali. ‘You look sad.’

‘Just tired,’ Vitali answered, the smile on his face turning a little weary. ‘Didn’t go entirely as expected.’

‘You could have let me handle it. I’m your bodyguard, remember?’

‘This was more fun. I gave them a good show, no?’

‘Hm, you always do. Showoff.’

‘Asshole.’

Vitali closed his eyes and smiled as Mikhail reached out for him and ruffled his hair before leaning in and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. He turned back on his seat, a few soft clicks and coughs leaving his lips as he tapped on the steering wheel and waited for Eddie to return.

Vitali leaned back again, relaxing in the backseat and once more allowing his eyes to wander outside- from his position, he could see the pier in the distance, overlooking the dark and empty ocean.

He could see a storm rolling in.

[pinkfey]

tagged by @lexcanium @shadowglens @druidgroves @risingsh0t to make some ocs in this picrew !!! thank u all so much!!!!!! mwah mwah !!!!!!!! tagging @kirnet @narshadda @malefiicarum @rosebarsoap @kymal @nuclearstorms @shepardgf @aartyom @steelport @arklay @devilbrakers @merry-harlowe @gelvaan @morvaris @calenhads @brujah @cultistbase and you !!!!

finally breaking my tag game silence!!!! have some star wars ocs 🫣

ilya (she/her) ♡ kinasi (she/her) ♡ safiya (she/they) ♡ alicent (wip) (she??)

[somegirlsfromk]

CULTURASIA NEWS (FILMs & DRAMAs) 🎬

Quelques films et dramas à venir ou dispos.☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️Si vous voyez une petite tête de mort en émoticône, c’est que le film ou le drama sera à base de machettes, zombies, monstres, sang et autres joyeusetés!☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️ Si vous avez raté ça, il n’est pas trop tard!: SOULMATE: (Film sud-coréen (adapté d’un film chinois) déjà disponible et à ne pas rater. La vie de deux jeunes femmes…

[requiemforthestars]

Liara and Leliana are my two favorite Bioware LIs/characters as a whole because they're both like she's nice, she's sweet, she looks super innocent, she's an angel, she's highly unethical, she makes a living blackmailing people, she wouldn't hesitate to torture and/or kill whoever the fuck gets in her way in any way shape or form

[jp-hunsecker]

Body Brokers

#BodyBrokers #FrankGrillo #MovieReview You should take this movie with a grain of salt. considering it has absolutely nothing at all to do with actual body brokering

Body Brokers ends with a series of captions informing us that 15 people OD’d in the preceding 110 minutes (“While you were watching this film”), plus about a million more “in the last 20 years;” all told, more US casualties than pretty much every war fought in the past century and change. Boss Level What simultaneously saves and sinks Boss Level is that co-writer/director Joe Carnahan handles…

[shadowzgather]

Rose, how did you manage to stop picking at your feathers and beak?

"The feathers kept regrowing after I plucked them. Picking them out was a painful endeavor, and eventually, the pain became too much. I realized after that that pulling them off, picking at them... these things weren't going to work. That I wasn't going to be rid of these new pieces of my anatomy. I needed an actual cure..." She replied with a pause. "Also, I avoid mirrors. That helps a bit." She added. Was she completely over the whole ordeal? No, not by a long shot, but not seeing herself and the changes to her body did help a bit.

[wispisstillverybored67]

All Star Apologies

"A body has been discovered!! Now then, after a certain amount of time has passed, the class trial will begin!"

______________________________________________________________

This search has been nothing but a waste of time.

So a bit of base for this. Out of all of us, 1 of us has apparently died. I refuse to say whom at the moment. And this asshole bear thing had recently announced a motive; there will be an obscene number of lire waiting towards any one of us that manages to kill, and escapes freely. Naturally, this created something of a schism between us among us in La Squandra di Esecuzione, the professional hitman team to the boss, the ones with the shitty payment from said boss, and La Unita Speciale per Boss, said boss’s personal guard. Nero has chosen to keep quiet about this fight, while Doppio explicitly said that he won’t take sides on this, with what the woman he loves on the other side as well. So us hitmen (and the little one) decided to go look for the body as someone disappeared. Because wherever he, whoever he is, did the crime shouldn't be that far, right? Who's he? Oh, no one in particular. But I am the only woman in this group, so everyone else is a man. Hehehe...

After about half a day of searching, we all just gave up. And by "we", I mean me, Melone, Illuso, Doppio, and perhaps Nero himself. Well, Nero says that he won't stop the search, and chided us for giving up, but a: his tone is just dripping with weariness, and b: he "excused himself" in the bathroom, and won't get out (I heard faint crying noises too so he's not helping his case). So our group is heading back to our rooms. Actually, I think the others should be heading soon enough, it's almost time to check in. 'Cuz if they don't in about an hour or so, they'll end up like a pincushion just like Carne. What was it called again...? Oh, I don't wanna know! At least being temporarily Stand-less has it's perks. I do NOT wanna clean up the Notorious goo mess.

"VoUlEz-VoUs CoUcHeR aVeC mOi," That's a French phrase. We got told that because we gave up quickly. Only France gives up easily. Do you think the boys know what that means? Hell no. Illuso is the LAST to know. "The hell's that supposed to mean...?!"

"Will you sleep with me," I remarked, annoyed.

"The fuck?! No!" He exclaimed, horridly.

"No, not like that. The phrase means 'will you sleep with me'," Why would I want to do you? Don't get any ideas. "Melone, don't even try,"

"Alright alright..."

Pass through the hallway, then take the door on the left. I guess the search would go on the next day. Now I told you this before, that two of us are missing from each group; the lovebird duo on our side, and the medic and his human pet on the other side. One of them may be dead, while the other is perhaps looking. I wonder where the place is being powered from.

And then.

It happened.

*fwush!* The power blew out. Uh, does my GBA need charging? Guess not.

"...Dammit," Whenever the power in the building goes out, Melone is almost always is the first to go. Do you seriously use that computer while you're walking? You do, don't you ya freak. "Okay, okay, now where's the fuse box?" Planning to turn it on again, I suppose? I guess I could tag along. The other two would follow with.

"On the other end of the hall with Izza's room," Wonder how'd Illuso find that out, poking around in the incinerator I guess? "Hey Paulla, do you have a flashlight?" someone asked sheepishly. It was Doppio. Of course it was.

Without saying anything, I turned on the little backlight in my GBA. That should suffice. Or maybe not, who knows. But with this, we took a detour to the boiler room. Who even flipped off the switch, anyhow? It can't be because someone's planning a murder... yet.

Let's see. Monopad ping the door, then file inside. Find where the box is... unless you get hit with something squirming at the legs.

This caused a bit of a ruckus among us 4, because we couldn't see what was there, and it was too dark to stray even WITH the GBA light. The fuse-box SHOULD be somewhere... right?

"Aceto, let go of me," I complained to the little guy, who currently had his arms and legs wrapped around my top half. He doesn't budge. Man, for a so-called "Ultimate Bodyguard", he sure is un-threatening now, isn't he? Look around, see what's there.

"...There it is!" Illuso was triumphant after all. It was wedged on-top of the incinerator chute itself. I would've thought it was on the other side of that and the boiler, but I guess not. And with a flick of Melone's wrist and switch, the lights turned back on. Chattering all the way in the dining room came all the way to here. Ah well, the stampede should awaken in... 30 minutes or less. So without further ado, let's turn off the GBA and go back to our rooms like intended. Until...

We saw it.

In broad daylight (not literally).

Gelato was bound up extremely tightly and gagged on the floor, but he's still alive. Blood stains all over the floor and walls, and whatever happened to him had his face absolutely stained with tears (still crying, I may add!). A piece of paper that read "PUNISHMENT" was taped to his forehead. Handwriting is unlike anything I've seen in the last 2 days. What the hell happened in here? Was he the one that kept bumping into our legs? Why didn't he try to make any noise indication that he WAS here? Ugh... it's getting really hot in here.

"The fuck?" "What the-?!" Half of us were more reactive than others.

"Why are you just sitting there, watching this?! GO HELP ME OUT HERE!!" Melone scolds me in a moment of wild uncharacteristic fear.

"I'd love to if he'd stop SQUIRMING!" I complained in the back. Melone can handle it on his own. ...Aren't I forgetting something?

"Hold on hold on," I think Illuso noticed it too. "If Gelato's over here, then what happened to Sorbet?" Motherfucker, you're right. Ugh. Those two NEVER leave each other's presence for too long, if I didn't know any better, I'd think they were just having sex in their room.

"We'll look for the other one later. Now come on! Help me get this off of him!" Yeah, that gag is done on WAY too tight. One wrong move earlier, and he'd already be dead through suffocation. "Aceto, go get Nero-chan," Stained blood has better iron generations in it, right? Oh wait, he doesn't have Metallica on hand. But I think that wouldn't matter, he's always got something sharp on hand. "You got it, Paulla!" At least he's eager. "Let me see what's up here..."

Whatever happened to him, he's rendered to a shell of fear and nerves, a far cry to his usual self. You know, I'd expect this to be slightly more from the other one, not him. I took off the taped note, revealing a moderate gnash on his forehead, most likely from hitting one of us, or the wall. I wonder who should go look for Sorbet, with us handling the other one. Does he even know that he's here? I don't think so. Why is he not looking for him? Can he look for him? Is he still alive, even?

"Okay, howzabout we go look for the other one, y'all? Does that sound good?" I don't know how to comfort people. Much less people in this position. Still, as I picked him up, at least his cries were softened a bit. Listen, just WHAT do you want me to do?

"Uh... you guys?" Hearing Doppio's sheepish voice again can't be good. From afar is even worse.

"Aceto..." We all (surprisingly) began. The other two had corrected themselves, since only I call him that. "Uh, Vinegar..."

"What happened to Nero?" Not even I could've torn off his gag.

"No, not that, just..." He looked back to where the others were, as if he was remembering that something came up. "Come over here really quickly! You guys have to see this!" He shouted, then ran back to the others.

We all gave each other a glance, feeling dread settle upon us. Maybe they found the other three... I sighed, then we all went over to where he told us to go. The gym gates open to reveal...

Sorbet's spliced up corpse.

The Ultimate Opera Singer has been killed.

Sectioned into 39 pieces, and dipped in formaldehyde for preservation, his face is permanently twisted into a gape of pure agony and despair. I would've showed this to little Gelato, but he's already unconscious, as I had checked. Or is he? Eh.

*ding ding dong dang* What the?! The loudspeaker came on... Don't tell me it's-

"A body has been discovered!! Now then, after a certain amount of time has passed, the class trial will begin!" *Fwush* An announcement came on from the big screen in the gym room. It was that jackass bear. How come he didn't announce it before, when the group had most likely found it? Probably just to rub it in our faces...

We all faced the artistic corpse again, all in various faces of either horror, disgust, or fear. Even those among La Unita aren't hiding their shock. Well, most of us, at any rate. I, who can't feel anything at this time, and the now found duo for the special unit, Dolcio and Secco. I'd expect that those two aren't very worried either. As a surgeon, you'd have to expect the worst in damages. And I'm assuming that human pets simply don't GAF. Of course, one COULD use it for... discerning evidence.

Illuso is the first to leave, quickly dashing towards the nearest trash can to gag in. Doppio and Pesci refuse to look at this, clearly too terrified at this to continue looking. It's strange. I can sense everyone's despair, but none of us have our Stands, and that was a plus from Smooth Criminal, so what gives? None of us say anything the whole time, I just fake being horrified to suit the others. Hardened assassins, running about like children stumbling upon 2 month old leftovers in or out of the fridge. Look at us... who'd have ever thought? At least Nero is out of the bathroom now, so we can get Gelato un-bound-and-gagged with. Oh! I see a lighter on the stage! That makes this even better! And since he's unconscious... that makes it easier for us to do so without interruptions. Just gotta make sure the smoke doesn't hit him. Once he's freed, we can squeeze an answer out of him.

We had to go to sleep soon enough, so Nero and the others grabbed up the pieces of Sorbet, and moved it to the stage. Investigate later, that sounds better. When the guys went to leave once they were finished, I went to grab the lighter over there. Make sure to tilt his head back so he doesn't inhale the smoke. Doppio is the only one to linger. I motion for him to go help me out here, so he held up the body carefully on top of the stage so I wouldn't have to bend down.

*click!* Steady now... Don't move much. Watch the flame. I'm so glad Gelato doesn't have messy hair! Halfway done. Hmm...

"Aceto,"

"Yeah, Paulla?"

"Do you know what's going on here? Does the boss, like... know that we're stuck here?" On the hitmen's end, we were just chatting in the hideout, but when I went to go get a drink, the others fell unconscious. I soon joined their fate once I got back to the other guys. We all woke up in here alongside the unit.

"I've tried calling him, no go. I wonder what happened to him?" Worried about him? Well, I guess that is rather like you...

"What I want is for this to wrap up quickly. Destroy the bear thing, or wait until someone tries to get us," ! He's waking up! Almost done, you hear? The weight radiating from him in the boiler room is coming back!

"GUYS! HE'S AWAKE!! GELATO'S ALIVE!" I tried to call out for the guys. "NERO?! TIANZO?! HELLOOOOOO!!" Tianzo? Tiziano? Whatever. He's the only one not named Aceto that I talk to in the unit. Doppio himself went to go fetch the guys for the discovery. I had to go carry him again carefully so the others could see. But what happened next is a different story.

What did he see then? You'll figure it out. What we saw then, however, were fireworks.

A screech hits the room, loud, discordant, despairing. A violent and horrified yell, at the sight of something that caught his eye in the stage. The stage where we kept his husband, or rather, the corpse of his husband.

"AREEEEEEEEAIIIIIIIIHHHHHH!!!"

Oh, this is gonna be a long, long day. And now my head hurts...

[the-kandiman-cann]

how to ask my mom for a binder without getting nervous no communication no glue or borax

[sayruq]

Police in the Turkish city of Adana detained 11 suspects, five Israeli and two Syrian, on allegations of organ trafficking, the Daily Sabah reported on 5 May. The Provincial Directorate of Security's Anti-Smuggling and Border Gates Branch began investigating after examining the passports of seven individuals who arrived in Adana from Israel about a month ago by plane for the purpose of health tourism. The two Syrian nationals, ages 20 and 21, were found to have fake passports. Further investigation revealed that Syrian nationals had each agreed to sell one of their own kidneys to two of the Israeli nationals, ages 68 and 28, for kidney transplants in Adana. During searches at the suspects' residences, $65,000 and numerous fake passports were seized. Israel has long been at the center of what Bloomberg described in 2011 as a “sprawling global black market in organs where brokers use deception, violence, and coercion to buy kidneys from impoverished people, mainly in underdeveloped countries, and then sell them to critically ill patients in more-affluent nations.” The financial newspaper added, “Many of the black-market kidneys harvested by these gangs are destined for people who live in Israel.” The organ-trafficking network extends from former Soviet Republics such as Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova to Brazil, the Philippines, South Africa, and beyond, the Bloomberg investigation showed. Accusations of Israeli involvement in organ trafficking also apply to the occupied Palestinian territories. In 2009, Sweden's largest daily newspaper, Aftonbladet, reported testimony that the Israeli army was kidnapping and murdering Palestinians to harvest their organs. The report quotes Palestinian claims that young men from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip had been seized by the Israeli army, and their bodies returned to the families with missing organs. "'Our sons are used as involuntary organ donors,' relatives of Khaled from Nablus said to me, as did the mother of Raed from Jenin as well as the uncles of Machmod and Nafes from Gaza, who all had disappeared for a few days and returned by night, dead and autopsied," wrote Donald Bostrom, the author of the report.Bostrom also cites an incident of alleged organ theft during the the first Palestinian intifada in 1992. He says that the Israeli army abducted a young man known for throwing stones at Israeli troops in the Nablus area. The young man was shot in the chest, both legs, and the stomach before being taken to a military helicopter, which transported him to an unknown location. Five nights later, Bostrom said, the young man's body was returned, wrapped in green hospital sheets. Israel’s Channel 2 TV reported that in the 1990s, specialists at Abu Kabir Forensic Medicine Institute harvested skin, corneas, heart valves, and bones from the bodies of Israeli soldiers, Israeli citizens, Palestinians, and foreign workers without permission from relatives. The Israeli military confirmed that the practice took place, but claimed, "This activity ended a decade ago and does not happen any longer." Israel’s assault on Gaza since 7 October has provided further opportunities for the theft and harvesting of Palestinians’ organs. On 30 January, WAFA news agency reported that the Israeli army returned the bodies of 100 Palestinian civilians it had stolen from hospitals and cemeteries in various areas in Gaza. According to medical sources, inspection of some of the bodies showed that organs were missing from some of them. On 18 January, the Times of Israel reported that the Israeli army confirmed reports that its soldiers dug up graves in a Gaza cemetery, claiming its soldiers were trying to “confirm that the bodies of hostages were not buried there.”

[ruvviks]

my liege what abt "rampage" with either vitali or vincent,,,,,,,

RAMPAGE [x] chapter >> 3 [x] characters >> vincent mayer (oc), vitali dobrynin (oc), [redacted] total >> 4.4k words (SORRY) warnings >> blood, brief mention of attempted sexual assault, injuries, torture mention, violence

‘Checkmate.’

It was dark.

Vincent lay unmoving, arms hooked in an uncomfortable angle behind his back. His head felt heavy; a dull, constant thrumming filled his ears and numbed his brain, putting painful pressure on the back of his eyes to the point he feared they could pop out of his skull at any given moment.

Checkmate.

God, he had been stupid- naive, but most of all stupid, believing Dupoint would let him walk. He should have known- he could have known, from the moment his gaze had caught that of the Frenchman- whatever was going to happen would not end well for him.

A quiet whimper left Vincent’s throat as he tried to move and he sank back onto the floor, unable to push himself up against the wall. His muscles were stiff, exhausted from the pain he’d had to endure, and each tiny move felt like the equivalent of a sharp knife carving away at his skin and flesh.

He had won. Of course he had. It had seemed dumb to him, even- why a game of chess, of all possibilities? But it did not matter. What mattered is he had won, which had meant his friends would get to walk away- with all limbs attached- and so would he.

Checkmate.

But of course Dupoint had refused to give him that satisfaction.

Vincent's stomach turned as the events of a few days before flooded back into his mind, a tidal wave of memories slamming itself violently into the inside of his skull.

‘Let them go. You can keep me- I don’t care, just- Please, let them go.’

Tears burned into the corners of his eyes. He had meant it. Of course he had. All he wanted was for his friends to be safe, to be as far away from that place as possible, and- well, rules are rules. Someone like Ravager would not understand- but Dupoint had to.

So he had let them go. A consolation prize, even though Vincent had won fair and square- but he had accepted it anyway, knowing the only alternative left at the time was far worse than what would have happened if he had lost.

And they had fought- had tried to, at least. They had screamed and begged Dupoint to let Vincent leave with them, and Ravager had needed to call in extra forces to remove all of them from the premises without anyone getting severely hurt.

Vincent squeezed his eyes shut when he remembered Vitali- kicking and screaming, held back by at least five men- perhaps six, or seven- and still nearly managing to escape their grasp; how he had tried to lunge at Dupoint, a bright fury in his eyes Vincent had never seen in them before, how he had sworn to come back- I’ll come back for you, душа моя, if it’s the last thing I do- and how he had warned for the violent rampage he would unleash on them once he would find his way back inside-

A quiet sob left Vincent’s throat.

It had been days. And he was terrified.

A sudden alarm cut through the deafening silence, blaring and echoing through the room and causing Vincent to bolt up; his body protested at the unexpected move and he winced in pain, muscles cramping up and the heavy thudding of his heartbeat rapidly filling his head. He sobbed again and crawled backwards, until his back hit solid wall- only then he noticed the sharp, cutting pain in his wrists, caused by the ziplock ties keeping them together.

Even now that his eyes had gotten plenty of time to adjust to the deep void surrounding him, not much had changed- either a room deprived from light entirely, or the horrifying possibility of Vincent’s eyesight no longer being with him.

He pulled his legs closer to his chest and pushed his head down onto his knees, the overwhelming noise burning through his skull- it hurt, and the longer it went on the louder it seemed to become, flooding the space around him until it felt like he was drowning, unable to keep his head above water-

Christ, V. Pull yourself together.

It wasn’t the first time Vincent had had to endure torture. Certainly not the last time either- it was something to be expected in his line of work, especially as someone prone to being captured by the enemy. An occurrence that happened to him, every now and then. A lot more often than he was willing to admit.

Though this was different. This was personal- Dupoint’s little power fantasy, starring no one other than himself, Vincent, and each and every single fucked up tool in Night City he had managed to get his hands on.

Still, Vincent endured. He had a decent pain tolerance, and was able to zone out on command in nearly every situation if desired- though the longer it went on, the wearier he became and the more he struggled holding himself together, and he feared he was going to have to rely on himself alone if he ever wished to see sunlight once again.

Similar to the alarm cutting through the silence, a sudden beam of light broke up the dark and nearly blinded Vincent- he squeezed his eyes shut and winced again, partially relieved he could still see, but most of all terrified of whoever had entered the room.

‘Alright, pretty boy- get up.’

A strong hand grabbed his upper arm and dragged him to his feet, giving him no time to adjust; a familiar voice, though all but the good kind of familiar, and Vincent struggled briefly as he tried to pull himself out of the grip of Ravager’s right hand man.

‘Relocating the merc to sector C-6.’

A second voice- female, unfamiliar. She sounded on edge, voice slightly unstable as she continued to exchange some words with whoever was on the other end of the comms.

The alarms were nothing new. A scare tactic- effective at that, but common enough for Vincent to have grown accustomed to it; though his earlier anxiety was entirely replaced by alertness, now, as it finally dawned on him something serious was going on inside Ravager’s facility.

Perhaps-?

‘Ready?’

Vincent blinked and lifted his head; he quickly realized the woman had not spoken to him, but instead looked expectantly at the man still holding on to Vincent’s arm, her jaw tightly clenched and her eyes restlessly darting around, scanning the man’s features as she waited for an answer.

Silence followed- a nearly agonizing hesitation, somehow frighteningly similar to the brief moments before combat Vincent sometimes shared with his friends, including the reluctant looks painted on their faces as they slowly realized it could easily be one of the last times they would look at each other-

Fuck- for your sake, I hope it is.

They left the room.

Vincent squinted as he was pushed into the hallway, the bright light causing his headache to flare up again. He was dragged through the hallway at a brisk pace; his legs could barely keep up, though he forced himself to continue, knowing whatever would happen to him were he to collapse to the floor would not be good.

He recognized the hallways. He had been there before- three times, to be exact, each a different occasion though all for the same reasons.

He had not been the first to end up in Ravager’s captivity, unfortunately; had managed to meet the same fate as Mikhail- ironically enough while on a path of revenge for what Ravager’s people had done, and had tried to do, to his friend- and had then been forced to deal with the consequences.

Dupoint was a new player, however- a somewhat unexpected turn of events. An important asset; though still merely a pawn in the game the Broker was trying to play with them. Like chess, almost- though Vincent was unsure if his opponent was still playing by the rules.

Something about it all felt wrong, somehow. For Ravager, it was the eddies; for Dupoint, it was personal, a burning hatred for Vincent over something that had happened long enough ago he had honestly already forgotten about it. But the Broker- what was in it for him?

The rook, the bishop, the king.

Who sat at the top? Who was looking down on them from their throne of bones and corpses, watching their every move, hunting them down like prey?

And why- Most of all, why-

Why a fucking game of chess?

Vincent clenched his jaw as he was yanked forward, his pace clearly too slow for his escort’s liking. The further they had walked, the busier the hallways had become- people gathering, yelling at each other, readying their weapons and putting on whatever makeshift armor they could find.

‘They started a fire in the lower levels,’ the woman suddenly said, slightly raising her voice to be able to carry it over the chaos surrounding them. ‘Partial lockdown’s been initiated to-’ A clearly audible sucked in breath, followed by a shaky exhale. ‘- to keep it under control.’

‘What-? Keep it under-’ The man cursed under his breath and momentarily slowed his pace. ‘Jesus- Boss cut off the fuckin’ oxygen?’

Killing his own people? Bold strategy.

Vincent watched the blood drain from the woman’s face as the harsh reality dawned on her. She opened her mouth as to speak; but no sound came out, and she quickly closed it again, bottom lip quivering ever so slightly as she averted her gaze and continued walking.

He nearly felt sorry for her. Nearly.

Until he remembered how they had found Mikhail- broken and bruised, hair thin from stress and fingernails torn and bleeding- how he had been screaming and begging for it all to stop only moments before they had entered the room he was being held in, hands tied above his head as three of Ravager’s people pushed him down over a table-

Had they found him only a minute later, had they taken any longer fighting their way through the facility, had they taken any wrong turns- they would have been too late. And Ravager’s men would have- they would have-

A wave of panic rushed through Vincent and the ziplock ties around his wrists suddenly felt a lot tighter than before. He sucked in a breath and felt new tears well up, stinging in his eyes and blurring his vision until he could barely see where he was going.

Hey- Keep it together, kid. Nothing’s happened yet. Eyes up.

Right.

Focus.

Vincent clenched his jaw and his gaze moved back up, a single tear escaping his eye and rolling down his cheek- though his previous panic was now replaced entirely by boiling rage, suddenly vividly remembering the look of pure relief on Mikhail’s face when he had noticed them enter, and the way he had clung to Vincent the moment his hands had no longer been tied together-

He was going to make them pay.

That’s why he had come back there in the first place, right?

Now that’s the V I know. Get ready.

Gunshots. Nearby. A few hallways away, perhaps- but they echoed through the entire facility, startling Vincent’s escort, and he was dragged out of the hallway into a side room. The man was squeezing his arm painfully tight now, to the point he could feel a bruise take shape underneath his fingertips; and the woman was cursing, turning her back toward the both of them as she stood in the doorway, gun at the ready, waiting for anyone to cross her path-

Now.

Vincent turned around and forcefully kicked up his knee, placing it right between the man’s legs and causing him to buckle over- a second knee kick, right to the nose, followed by a third kick in the stomach to send him flying backwards, tumbling over some machinery. Vincent immediately steadied himself again and ran toward the woman- he rammed his entire body into her before she could lift her gun, causing the both of them to crash onto the white tiling of the hallway floor.

He scrambled to his feet, struggling- without his hands he could barely get any grip, and by the time he’d positioned his legs underneath his body again the woman was already up as well; she grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him toward her, reaching for something in her belt-

Vincent used the momentum to launch himself directly onto her again, headbutting her on the nose in their fall- he landed on top of her and her head bounced off the floor with a loud thud, and a single shriek of pain left her lips before she lost consciousness.

Good. Now get out.

Get out.

Get out. Get out, get out, get out-

Vincent pushed himself back up, panting and gasping for air as he stumbled away from the room and quickly made his way through the still-empty hallway, begging for it to stay that way. He was running out of adrenaline- his only source of energy, the events of the past days having drained him entirely from his reserves, and his entire body felt heavy as he dragged himself around the corner.

Where to go, where to go- the monotonous hallways all looked the fucking same and he was not entirely sure what floor he found himself on and which way he had come from in the first place, and the narrow side hallways he was moving through were a disorienting clusterfuck to the point he believed he was just going in circles.

Another turn, another turn- Vincent lost his footing and the world spun around him as he crashed on the floor again, whimpering when his head collided with the cold tiles and he momentarily lost his vision.

Get up.

Get up.

‘Fuck all of this fuckin’ bullshit,’ Vincent whispered to himself, barely able to force the words out of his throat as he pushed himself back up, leaning heavily against the wall for support.

Alright, potty mouth. Done feeling sorry for yourself?

Shut the fuck up.

Kiss my ass.

Vincent grunted and continued to walk, listening closely to the distant gunfire and trying to pinpoint where it was coming from; he stumbled upon another t-junction and turned left, putting as much distance as possible between him and the ongoing armed confrontation.

He knew what- and who- he could possibly find there. Still, walking face-first into battle with his arms bound to his back sounded like the dumbest idea that had ever crossed his mind, and even though he knew he could stumble upon allies he preferred his body in one piece, rather than shot full of holes.

He just- he had to get out. He would find his way back home once he would set foot outside again.

Staircase.

Vincent pushed the door open with his shoulder and began descending- he tripped over his feet again and tumbled down the stairs, unable to catch himself in his fall and crying out in pain when a sharp jab shot through his shoulder, all the way down his spine to his hips.

Careful.

‘God damnit, Johnny.’ Vincent let out a strangled sob as he rolled on his side, carefully moving his legs to feel if his bones were still intact.

It felt weird to say his name out loud.

Vincent knew he wasn’t there anymore.

He forced himself back up on his feet, grunting as his knees nearly buckled under his weight again- nothing felt broken, but everything felt battered and bruised and the burning pain in his hips was still there, clawing away at his muscles. He carefully straightened his back and glanced at the sign above the exit-

Ground floor. Good.

Vincent pushed himself back into another monotonous hallway, ducking behind some lockers just in time, only barely able to jump out of line of sight of an entire armed-to-the-tits squad of guards; Dupoint’s backup, he could only guess.

Another rush of panic. He had to get out. Get out of the building, and quick- Ravager’s men were one thing, a poor excuse of a street gang with lousy combat training under their belt and the aim of an eight-year-old on a sugar rush at the fair; but Dupoint’s people were something else, serious business, a selection of top-shelf quality hired guns who would, upon spotting him, riddle Vincent with bullets before he could even turn around.

Hallway. Corner- turn left. Hallway. Turn right. Another right.

It was a fucking maze- designed specifically like that to trap people inside forever, and the longer Vincent walked and the more he had to jump back around corners or dive behind any piece of furniture he could get cover behind in order to stay out of sight, the more he began fearing he would never find his way out-

Another squad.

Vincent immediately threw himself into a room, muscles cramping up the moment his shoulder came in contact with the door. He did not bother to close it properly behind him- the squad continued their hurried pace either way, unaware of him hiding right around the corner, right in arm’s reach had they bothered to pay a little more attention.

He exhaled sharply as he took a moment to catch his breath, allowing his heartbeat to settle down.

BANG-!

The room had not been empty.

Vincent flinched involuntarily upon hearing the noise, freezing as he listened to the sounds of someone whimpering and gasping for air, barely audible over the still blaring alarms of the facility. His eyes slowly trailed the room- and with that, the nauseating amount of corpses scattered across the floor, Ravager’s men and Dupoint’s security retinue alike, and he quickly found the perpetrator, in the midst of adding another body to the pile.

Vitali.

He sat with his back toward Vincent- though it was unmistakably him, his bleached hair tousled and white shirt torn and stained with blood and sweat, sleeves rolled up as he leaned heavily on his arms with his fingers wrapped tightly around the neck of one of Ravager’s people, his knuckles whitened underneath the dark bruising decorating the back of his hands.

Someone else walked in through the door on Vitali’s right, gun at the ready- though before they could do anything or Vincent could call out, Vitali was already back up on his feet, hand reaching for the knife in his belt while he dodged out of the guard’s line of fire and threw his body at them at full speed.

He worked fast- he always did. Vincent watched as he knocked the gun out of the guard’s hand and ripped their helmet off, revealing a pale, sweat-covered and most of all terrified face- and a single cry left their lips as Vitali plunged the knife into their throat, blood spraying into his face as he dragged the blade through their artery.

The alarms around them finally stopped.

Silence fell over the room like a sudden vacuum as the guard clawed at the gaping wound in their neck and sank down on the floor. They reached out, a bloody hand grasping at Vitali- he simply stepped back out of their range, spitting on the floor as he rolled his shoulders back and cracked his neck.

Vincent was too scared to make a sound.

He watched Vitali drop his head as the guard spluttered incoherently before drawing their final breath, and a knot took shape in his torso as Vitali suddenly walked forward toward the door, getting ready to leave the room without as much as shooting another glance at the massacre he had left behind-

‘Vito?’

Vincent’s voice was barely audible, hoarse and weakened by the amount of screaming he had been doing- though Vitali heard him, loud and clear, and he turned around while steadying himself, knife at the ready, as if he was expecting more enemies to show.

He had the look in his eyes again.

The bright fury- the wild, blinding rage that had overtaken him once before, and Vincent could barely hold his gaze as the knot in his chest painfully tightened.

Though the moment Vitali realized it was him, his eyes softened, and he mouthed Vincent’s name in a relieved sigh- and he stood motionless as Vincent stumbled over to him, legs barely able to carry his weight anymore and knees buckling with each step but he did not care and it did not stop him, repeating Vitali’s name- once, twice- and crying out when his ankle twisted and he fell-

A soft landing.

Vincent buried his face in Vitali’s chest as he sobbed, exhaustion washing over him as the stress that had built up inside his chest finally released. Vitali spoke to him in Russian- it’s okay, I’ve got you; you’re safe, my love, you’re safe- and he dropped the knife, blood-covered hands trembling mid-air as he held Vincent in his arms.

Hesitation. Again- but still, still, he carefully cupped Vincent’s cheeks- hands that had choked, and carved, and killed- but ever so gentle and patient as they cradled his face, fingertips softly brushing over his skin and instantly easing his pain.

‘Look at me- V, please- please…’

Vitali’s voice broke.

Vincent sat unmoving. The situation had forced him to his knees; literally so, his hands still bound tightly behind his back, wrists and head bleeding, eyelids heavy and breathing shallow as he listened to Vitali’s pleads.

He forced himself to lift his head- and he felt vulnerable. Vulnerable and exposed, unable to defend himself would circumstances call for it, and he could not help but feel a rush of terror when Vitali’s hands moved dangerously close toward his neck as they caressed his jaw to tilt his head higher-

But Vitali merely kissed him.

Vincent was starving. But Vitali’s lips only softly brushed past his, a careful and hesitant gesture; a question, almost- May I? Will you still let me?

Of course, baby. Of course.

Vincent answered by leaning closer, gasping for air into their kiss as Vitali’s grip on his face momentarily tightened- and Vitali’s lips quivered as they finally parted, his hands dragging down Vincent’s neck and gently pulling him closer as he allowed Vincent to sate his hunger.

Vincent’s chest filled with relief and he collapsed further into Vitali’s arms, their kiss messy and entirely out of sync- but for a split second he was home, no longer in the facility, no longer in pain and no longer tied up, and no longer worrying about people running in and finding them there-

Sounds like you kinda should be worried about that, though.

But it wasn’t enough yet. Vincent wished his hands were unbound; oh, how he would have clung on to Vitali, then, like he was afraid if he would let go he would disappear- how he would have gently held his head, how his fingers would have explored each and every inch of his bare skin and how he would have tugged softly on the back of his hair in an attempt to pull him closer-

They broke the kiss, both gasping for air as their foreheads collided and Vitali dropped his hands on Vincent’s thighs. Vincent’s eyes fluttered shut again and he allowed Vitali to softly and reassuringly kiss his cheek- leaving a trail all the way down over his jaw and neck, like bandaids on his wounds.

Their gazes met again. Vitali’s eyes were hazy- a single tear rolled down his cheek, mixing with the dark red blood decorating his freckled skin. He hesitantly cupped Vincent’s cheek once more; and Vincent leaned in to his touch, resting his face against Vitali’s palm and exhaling slowly as the tension in his upper body finally released.

He still sometimes wondered how he had found his way to Vitali. Even more so, how he had managed to find his way to his heart- utterly convinced from the moment they had met that Vitali already had everything in the world and Vincent could never be someone he would long for or would want to be with.

Falling in love with him had been terrifying, in a way. Vincent had just been a merc- small, nearly insignificant compared to Vitali, or to anyone else in his inner circle for that matter. Just one from many, not close to him like Mikhail was- a lifelong friend, someone Vitali trusted with his life- and not nearly as powerful as Vitali himself to be able to call himself an equal.

Rook, bishop, king.

But it was worth it, right?

Vitali reached for the knife again. A sudden move that caught Vincent off guard; he froze, and held his breath, yet still allowed Vitali to move closer and lean over Vincent’s shoulder-

He carefully cut through the ziplock ties around Vincent’s wrists.

‘You came back for me,’ Vincent quietly said, embarrassment rising in his chest as he watched Vitali lean back and quickly push the knife back into his belt.

‘Of course I did.’ Vitali paused, and visibly clenched his jaw. ‘I… I am sorry it took this long. We did not waste any time- please know that.’

Vincent nodded, unable to speak.

He was unsure why he had doubted him before. He had watched how Ravager’s men had struggled to contain him- if Vitali’s rage alone had been able to kill, he would have left the entire facility littered with corpses right then and there.

Vitali reached out for him again- carefully, as not to startle him- and gently pulled him toward his chest once more. Vincent gratefully allowed him, eyes closing momentarily when Vitali’s arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and his hands found their way to his hair.

Of course he had come back. Of course. Had it been the other way round, Vincent would have done the same for him.

‘We should go,’ Vitali mumbled, pressing a soft kiss on Vincent’s hair. ‘The others are waiting.’

Vincent slowly sat up again, exhaustion overtaking his body- but he paid it no mind, smiling up at Vitali as he scanned Vincent’s face, hands softly running over his shoulders.

Nearly over. Nearly safe again.

Vitali pressed a kiss on his forehead, and he carefully helped him back up on his feet, voice slightly shaking as he spoke again.

‘Let’s get out of here, my love. Let’s go home.’