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quickhacked · 2 years

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Chapter >> 7 [x] Characters >> Cato Wu (oc), Eddie Wolfe (oc), Goro Takemura, Huxley Byrne (oc), Ivan Dupoint (oc), Judy Álvarez, Matvey Dobrynin (oc), Mikhail Koshechkin (oc), Panam Palmer, Shiro Nakano (oc), Vincent Mayer (oc), Vitali Dobrynin (oc) Total >> 11.3k words Warnings >> Blood, death, dissociation (sort of), injury mention, parents / family, violence

The sun hung low on the horizon, the air significantly cooler than earlier that afternoon. A strong breeze blew in from the ocean, the smell of salty seawater mixing with the strong and questionable scents that usually lingered in the streets of Pacifica.

Vincent hadn’t been there since his brief collaboration with the Voodoo Boys. More so a subconscious decision than an active one; he had received a single warning from Placide and had decided it was probably in his best interest to not take it lightly, and he had wisely stayed away from the gang’s territory.

Though now, he had no other choice.

He got up from the passenger seat, popping up the collar of his jacket upon feeling the cool late-afternoon breeze. The sunset over the pier was pretty- orange colored sky with deep reds and purples and blues, some stray clouds drifting by like boats in the water.

He stopped to stare for a while. He had always loved watching the sunset; the golden glow it would leave Night City in made for a beautiful view and on occasions it would even make him feel at home, despite the hostility its streets more than often held.

‘Strange, huh?’

Vincent glanced to his right and Panam appeared in his view, and she softly punched his upper arm with a wry smile decorating her face.

‘Life just…goes on,’ she said, eyes pulled toward the setting sun. ‘Just a regular day, sun rises, sun sets- ‘s if nothing bad’s happening. And yet here we are.’

‘Here we are,’ Vincent repeated, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jacket and flinching lightly when he heard an explosion in the distance. ‘Just another fuckin’ day in Night City.’

‘Damn right. God, I need to get out of here.’

‘Hey- You can always go back to Arizona.’

‘And leave you here? Didn’t think so.’ Panam paused, licking her lips and dropping her head. ‘Saul’s got everything under control there. Mitch, the others- they miss me, but, you know. They’re well. I’ll go back one day, but…not yet. Got unfinished business with this hell of a town.’

Vincent clenched his jaw and lowered his gaze too, a strange feeling of nostalgia he couldn’t exactly place washing over him. He briefly looked up again and raised his hand too, to softly punch Panam’s upper arm in return.

‘Well, just- Don’t let me stop you, ‘kay?’

Panam scoffed and smiled at him. ‘When have you ever been able to stop me?’

‘A’ight. Touché.’

‘Yo, gentlemen- Time to go.’

Vincent turned his head to look at Cato, who slapped her flat hand on the hood of the car twice while nodding at the fourth member of their squad- Goro, who had already wandered off toward the abandoned apartment building they had parked next to.

‘Yes sir,’ Panam jokingly replied and both her and Vincent quickly followed Cato, jogging a bit to catch up.

‘Is the comms line open already?’ Cato asked as they walked up the stairs on the outside of the building, all the way to the roof. She adjusted the earpiece in her right ear and tapped on it a couple times. ‘Test, test. Hello?’

‘Hear you loud and clear, Cato.’

Vincent smiled upon hearing his boyfriend’s voice in his ear and balled his fists in his pockets in order to stay in control of himself. Panam shot him a glance and gave him a teasing nudge with her elbow, well aware of how Vincent could always barely contain himself when Vitali was around- or speaking to them over holo or comms.

What could he say? Vincent just loved him so much.

Soon enough they reached the rooftop, the wind even stronger all the way up there; though Vincent did not mind, the cold leaving him mostly unbothered. If anything, it helped him keep his attention on the matter at hand, and he squatted down next to Goro who was already peering through binoculars, focused on something ahead of them.

‘Your captive speaks the truth,’ he said, lowering the binoculars and nodding at a building in the distance. ‘The facility is still there. Curious.’

‘Thought they razed the whole thing to the ground, couple months back?’ Panam said, while Vincent took the binoculars from Goro and looked through them as well. He had thought so too, but no- It still sat exactly where it had always been, surrounded by old apartment buildings and entirely out of place in the rest of Pacifica’s landscape.

‘Apparently not.’ Goro paused, a sharp exhale leaving his lips. ‘And now this “Broker” resides there? A worrying thought, if any of what was kept inside is still there, and operational.’

‘What’d they manufacture?’ Vincent asked, handing Cato the binoculars and leaning forward on the elevated edge of the rooftop. ‘Just good ol’ weaponry, or…?’

‘High-end security machinery,’ Goro replied. He paused again. ‘Off-radar, for…good reasons.’

‘Oh-! We’re talkin’ heavy illegal shit,’ Panam said, lowering through her knees as well. ‘Great! Wonderful. Heard that, Vito? Your dad’s sitting on quite the fuckin’ stash.’

‘…Affirmative. Please focus on the mission, Panam.’

Dupoint had tossed them a new location to work with. An old Arasaka facility, similar to the ones they had been attempting to raid a couple months ago when they had still been looking for a cure for Vincent. Hidden in plain sight in Pacifica, and now one of the Broker’s hideouts; one of many, if they had to believe the Frenchman.

‘Ever set foot in the place before?’ Vincent asked, sitting himself down more comfortably on the rooftop with his side pressed against the elevated edge.

‘Once. Long time ago.’ Goro glanced at the girls behind him, then back at Vincent. ‘It will not be easy, to get inside.’

‘Never is, for some reason,’ Cato replied. ‘Any suggestions?’

Vincent stopped listening, somewhere along the way.

His gaze wandered off and found the facility again. Without the binoculars, it looked entirely abandoned; not a single light inside was turned on, unless they had all the windows blinded. But he knew it was anything but empty, crawling with mercs and contracted gang members-

And Vitali’s father.

Vincent dropped his chin on his arm on the elevated edge, eyebrows narrowing into a frown as he tried picturing his own father in that position. A ridiculous thought; Richard was a cop, a whole different flavor of bad, and if he hadn’t changed since Vincent had left home he did not nearly have the resources, the guts or the brainpower to be able to pull something like that off.

Vitali had not told Vincent much about his family yet. Vincent had never asked- he’d just assumed it was a sensitive topic and Vitali would talk about it in his own time, if ever at all. And it wasn’t as if Vincent had told him much about his own, either.

There was a reason he no longer had contact with them. Though now, Vincent knew that in his case it was for vastly different reasons than for Vitali.

‘V, are you listening?’

Vincent blinked and quickly turned his head again, blood rushing to his ears when he realized all three of his friends were looking right at him with expectant looks on their faces.

‘Sorry, completely zoned out,’ he admitted, lifting his head from his arm again. ‘What’d I miss?’

‘We can’t barge in through the front or the back,’ Cato said, handing him the binoculars again and nodding at the building. ‘Too much of a risk with their, uh, available firepower. So- rooftop, or waste deposit entrance.’

‘Once inside you will have to manually shut down the security protocols,’ Goro continued. ‘I assume they have a Netrunner; you will have to deal with them timely as well. By then, they’ll most likely be aware of your presence, so whatever it is you are planning to do there, handle it quickly.’

‘Yeah, about that.’ Vincent lowered the binoculars. ‘Vito- What exactly are we doing in there again?’

‘Dupoint will lead us to my father,’ Vitali bluntly answered. ‘I need to speak with him.’

Same answer as before. And it cleared up next to nothing.

Vincent shared a look with the others, but said nothing anymore as he quickly redirected his attention to the building. He wasn’t entirely sure what Vitali was expecting from the conversation; Dupoint’s words still bounced around in his head on repeat, and he feared they wouldn’t make it out alive were they to get too close to the Broker.

It was a tricky situation. Had it been anyone else, the solution to their problem would’ve been obvious. Yet now-

Despite everything Matvey had already done, Vincent understood why Vitali was unable to pull the trigger.

There were still many uncertainties. Many questions- What was Matvey planning? How far would he go? How much of it all had been him, how much had been Dupoint- How much had been Ravager?

Vincent clenched his jaw as he watched several mercenaries wander around the premises, carrying big guns and wearing nearly Arasaka-esque combat gear. He hadn’t been around for too long yet, when everything had gone wrong during their failed heist from the year before; six months only, not long enough to familiarize himself with all of the other mercs on payroll.

But he knew some of the mercenaries he was looking at at that moment used to walk through the same office door as he did every morning, and it made him nauseous just thinking about it.

‘So all we gotta worry about is get in, and get out,’ Panam mumbled. ‘Whatever happens between that- in the reaper’s hands, if anything.’

‘Just gotta stay alive,’ Vincent muttered in reply. ‘Dupoint tell us any more of use? Things we need to know before planning an attack?’

‘Talkative as ever, but somehow still managed to say very little.’ Vitali briefly paused. ‘He claims they control building’s security system now, so old Arasaka access codes are essentially useless.’

‘Does he have access to the new codes?’

‘Supposedly so.’

‘Do we believe ‘im?’

‘Not exactly.’

‘Worst case scenario- we give the whole caboodle a hard reboot ‘n finish our business while it’s running,’ Cato said. ‘Judes on Net duty this time?’

‘Yes. Unless Lauren is up to the task.’

‘Preem. Either way- if we can get to a utility room, whoever's in the Net at the time can reset the system. Just gotta make it there without gettin’ riddled with bullets.’

‘Good thinking- Thank you, Cato.’

Another pause on the other end of the comms and Vincent turned back to the rest of the group, smiling softly when Panam gave Cato an encouraging nudge with her elbow. He gave the binoculars to Goro again and rolled back his shoulders while Vitali spoke up once more.

‘I’ll see if I can gather some more intel on the facility itself. I can still access Arasaka’s network- perhaps I can find something there about this…security machinery you speak of, or facility blueprints if we’re lucky. And I’ll contact Mr. Hands, ask if he knows more about recent activity in the place.’

‘Preem,’ Vincent answered. ‘We’ll wrap up here- map out entrances and escape routes, full perimeter check, all of that. It’s gettin’ late, so- see you back at home?’

‘Sounds good. I’ll pick up some food on my way there. Closing the line now.’

A soft beep marked the end of their communication and Vincent took out his earpiece to stuff it in the pocket of his jeans. The others did the same; and Vincent couldn’t help but notice the thoughtful frowns decorating their faces, eyes fixed on random focus points in the distance so as not to make direct eye contact with him on accident.

‘Somethin’ up?’ he asked, managing to catch Panam’s gaze.

‘Worried,’ she plainly answered with a shrug. ‘Everything’s happened so fast since yesterday night.’

Vincent clenched his jaw and averted his gaze, the memories from the night before instantly flooding back into his mind. He had already been home, had been called by Lauren- Vitali had left by himself, Hux and Lauren had been unable to track him down, and to top it all off they had accidentally triggered an alarm on their way out and had been hunted down by NCPD through the entire Westbrook district for an hour or two.

‘I have not heard the entire story, but everything is…alright now, yes? Despite the circumstances.’ Goro expectantly looked between the three of them, and both Cato and Panam turned to Vincent.

‘Well- All things considered, I guess it could be worse,’ Vincent slowly answered, knowing his answer cleared up nothing. ‘Vito came home last night- or, well, very early this morning actually, but- he came home, at least. He’s mostly just tired. And stressed. Like all of us.’

Viktor had told them what had happened. Vitali hadn’t said a word- not to Mikhail, not to Vincent. Had taken a shower and had gone to bed, and Vincent had slept in Mikhail’s bed for the night as he had not wanted to disturb his boyfriend any further.

And he still vividly remembered that morning, when Mikhail had already gone to the office; how Vitali had woken up much later than usual, and had retreated to the bathroom for nearly an hour; how he had refused any help, and how Vincent had heard him cry all the way from the living room; how they had driven through Wellsprings in complete silence, and how Vitali had quietly apologized to him before he had disappeared into his office-

But he was already doing better again. Or at least pretended to be- but he was good at it, and Vincent knew the effort it took for him to pretend which on its own already meant something, since it meant he had some energy back. Possibly caused by their small victory- Dupoint finally speaking- but Vincent still worried, like everyone else.

Panam was right. Everything had gone insanely fast, since the night before-

But Vincent knew Vitali wasn’t going to slow down now. And neither was he.

Some days passed.

If it had been up to Vitali- even though in a way, it technically had been- he would’ve launched an attack that same day, still. But his own words had continuously echoed through his head, and he had known that acting too rash was not going to work out well for them, as earlier situations had already proven.

He stood in front of the mirror in the private bathroom of his office, leaning heavily on the sink with the water still running. He blinked- had no idea how long he had stood there, and his head felt heavy as if it was filled with cement.

It was the fog again. Vitali had been zoning out randomly all day already, his sudden loss of control most definitely caused by stress and fear for the night. Too exhausted to fight it, so he had allowed it to happen; at this point he was about as familiar with it as the constant, soft hum in his right ear.

He reached for the water and let it run over his skin, watching carefully as drops of water remained on his fingers and the gentle stream cooled the bruises on his knuckles. He cupped his hands, then splashed some water in his face, and instantly felt the fog retreat to the edges of his mind.

A few hours of clarity was all he needed.

Vitali turned off the tap and quickly left the bathroom and his office, already in full combat gear and leg brace on once more, and he joined the rest of his mercs in the waiting hall. Not everyone was there- they had all been more than willing to help, but Vitali had only allowed some of them to tag along.

Cato and Panam for hacking and tech-related stuff. Eddie, Huxley and Vincent- firepower. Mikhail for medical aid- would they end up in the need of it- Shiro to drive their transport, Judy on comms- and lastly Vitali himself, to take control of the situation once they would make it to his father.

The last few days had been strange. They had prepared the attack thoroughly; several strategies, escape routes, rendezvous, backup plans- they had even managed to steal a limited edition Aerodyne, able to camouflage itself to the point it was nearly entirely invisible, especially in the night sky.

But as prepared as they were, none of it sat right with Vitali. During those days he had often made eye contact with Vincent, and had been well aware of the look in his eyes; a look of recognition, and Vitali knew exactly because of what.

Occasionally he had turned his head, and had expected Jackie to be there with them.

Or to hear T-Bug’s voice over holo.

‘Boss- a moment?’

Vitali looked up and was met with Mikhail, arms crossed tightly in front of his chest as he nodded to the far end of the hall, where Vincent was already waiting. A knot took shape in Vitali’s stomach, but he still nodded and quickly followed him, until they were out of earshot of the others.

‘What’s wrong?’ Vitali asked, a little unsure why- he could already think of a thousand things that weren’t right.

‘How’re we gonna do this?’ Vincent quietly asked, glancing past him at the rest of their team. ‘Which way in?’

Vitali knew this moment had been coming. He clenched his jaw and ran his thumb over the side of his index finger, going over all their options in his head once more; yet for some reason he was unable to form a coherent answer, wanting nothing more than to call the whole thing off and just go home.

‘I think a quiet approach might be more beneficial,’ Mikhail said, noticing Vitali’s hesitance and slightly leaning down, hands balled into fists to the point his knuckles were white. ‘Waste deposit entrance, work our way up slowly.’

‘Still think it’s too risky,’ Vincent said. ‘We’re with a decent group- it’s gonna slow us down, and the longer we’re in there the bigger the risk.’

‘Then we take less people.’

‘We’ll get caught with our pants down if something goes wrong. We need the firepower- especially if we fail to disable their systems in time.’

‘Fair enough.’

Vitali zoned out while Mikhail and Vincent continued discussing pros and cons, heartbeat suddenly audible in his ears as he took a deep inhale. Every strategy they had come up with came with risks- to the point there really wasn’t one better than the other, and it would all depend on circumstances how successful they would be.

All he needed to do was reach his father. He needed to see him, talk to him; he was not entirely sure yet what he would say- what he could say- but he needed answers, and he knew only Matvey could give that to him.

‘I say we land on the rooftop, claim the high ground,’ Vincent said, pulling Vitali out of his thoughts. ‘Shiro stays behind to keep the place secured for our departure, we work our way down to Utility, fry their Deckhead and their systems, then find Vitali’s father. Quick in ‘n out, we’ll be halfway through the plan before they realize what hit ‘em.’

‘So we focus only on rooftop?’ Mikhail asked. ‘What if we lose it, or our transport? You heard Goro- overriding lockdown is nearly impossible if they initiate one.’

‘There’s always the fire exit on the backside of the building. As long as we can still reach the roof it shouldn’t be an issue.’

‘And the fence around premises?’

‘Wouldn’t be the first time we’d have to jump one.’

‘We land on rooftop,’ Vitali softly interrupted them. ‘Take the high ground, work our way down. It will give us a temporary advantage that is more beneficial to us than if we go in quietly- I agree with V, we cannot take less people with us for this and a stealthy approach won’t last long enough for us to get anywhere.’

‘Are you sure?’ Mikhail quietly asked. Vitali opened his mouth to answer, but paused and looked up at him-

He merely looked worried, and despite relief filling Vitali’s chest, the heavy weight pressing down on his shoulders stayed in place.

‘No,’ he admitted. ‘But I have to make a decision either way.’

He hated disagreeing with Mikhail, but it was necessary at times. Especially now- Vitali did not mind a stealthy approach and if anything preferred it over anything else, but they were not taking the right people with them for that and to change the whole team now would be anything but helpful.

‘Can I count on you?’ Vitali asked, gently reaching out for Mikhail’s arm, but stopping mid-air the moment he noticed the near-invisible flinch of Mikhail’s shoulder and realized what he was doing.

‘Of course,’ Mikhail answered. ‘Always. You lead.’

Vitali’s heart made a jump, and the corners of his mouth turned up into a small smile.

‘If we fall, we fall together.’

‘As long as you patch me up when it’s over.’

Mikhail stepped forward, reaching out to ruffle Vitali’s hair and press a soft kiss on his forehead. He quickly hugged Vincent with one arm, then wandered back over to the rest, leaving the two of them in the corner of the hall.

‘You two good?’ Vincent carefully asked, reaching out for Vitali’s hand and gently taking his wrist.

‘We are.’ Vitali turned his hand and curled his fingers around Vincent’s, softly tugging him closer to kiss his cheek. ‘Don’t worry. Wouldn’t be the first time we have different perspectives on something.’

Plenty of times had they disagreed in the past. They had never let it get to them and whatever happened, happened- and never had they held any of it against each other. Vitali hoped it would be the same now, but he worried; it was such a personal matter, and with everyone as exhausted as they were-

‘Looks like everyone’s ready.’

Vitali blinked, the sudden weariness to Vincent’s voice dragging him back to reality and he turned his head, patiently waiting as Vincent stepped a little closer and pressed their bodies together, dropping his head against Vitali’s shoulder.

‘I’m worried,’ he quietly said. ‘Dunno what to expect.’

‘Me too.’ Vitali raised his hand and ran it over Vincent’s buzzcut, gently scritching him behind his ear when he slightly tilted his head closer to Vitali’s touch. ‘But it will be over soon. Once I know how far gone he is- what he’s trying to do- I’ll know how to deal with him. Okay?’

Oh, and how worried Vitali himself was as well. Yet he could not just do nothing- and as prepared and simultaneously unprepared as they were, waiting for Matvey to strike again was not going to do them any good.

He needed to know.

He needed to know what his father was doing, needed to know how far he was willing to go- and once he knew that, he could make a decision. Even if it would hurt.

Vincent finally nodded in response. But Vitali saw him swallow his words.

‘We’ve arrived. Unlocking doors now.’

Shiro’s voice dragged Vitali out of his thoughts and he blinked a few times, slowly but surely realizing where he was.

Squeezed on the backseat between Vincent and Cato, he straightened his back and rolled back his shoulders, then carefully pushed his way past the others to open the door of their transport- the stolen Aerodyne, absolutely not designed to carry nine people- and to allow the rest of his team access to the facility’s rooftop. He gave Shiro a quick nod, then followed everyone else outside, and the moment the door of their vehicle closed its camouflage sensors reactivated.

It was long past sunset, the air cool and the sky above them cloudy, rain threatening to fall down at any given moment. Apart from some distant sirens, it was quiet on the rooftop; almost worryingly so, but Vitali refused to give it any more thought.

‘Coast looks clear so far,’ Judy said, her voice loud and clear through Vitali’s earpiece. ‘No one on the premises alerted, activity as usual. Cams still deactivated for now, think I can hold it for another five minutes before they notice.’

‘Good,’ Vitali replied. ‘Keep us updated. Everyone- we’re going in. Utility room on third floor, then the office areas to look for the Broker. Eddie, up front with me; Mikhail and Hux in the back. Cato, Panam and Vincent- you three stay in the middle, guns at the ready but low profile.’

He paused, then turned to the one person with them who was not suited up like the rest; Ivan Dupoint, still wearing the ugly suit he had worn when they had captured him, hands unbound but mouth still taped shut to prevent him from screaming.

‘And you,’ he said, stepping closer until his face was only inches away from the Frenchman’s. ‘You stick with me. One wrong move and you will wish I would just kill you. Understood?’

Dupoint’s eyes were briefly drawn toward Vitali’s exposed forearm, as if he was searching for the lines of his cyberware- and he quickly nodded in response.

They went in, Cato hacking the rooftop door to the facility with ease; a building of five stories high, and much to Vitali’s relief the door instantly led to a staircase leading all the way down. They descended, and while they walked he reached into the pocket of his cargo pants, taking out a black, cloth face mask.

Hiding in plain sight. Like the facility itself.

Surprisingly easy, considering the mercenaries working for Matvey dressed mostly the same as them. Both in clothing and armor; Arasaka-esque, reinforced chest pieces and arm braces minus the logo, and the gear Vitali gave his mercs had a strangely similar design.

Some would be able to identify him, considering they had once worked for him- which is why he had decided to bring his mask along, hoping it would help. And with a bit of luck, they would be able to make it to the other side of the third floor without anyone batting an eye.

‘Silence beyond this door,’ Eddie said, turning toward the others as he stopped in front of the entrance to the third floor. ‘Walk with confidence, don’t make eye contact with anyone- and please, speaking from experience, whatever you do, do not try to make small talk.’

Vitali put his mask on and took out a second one, yanking Dupoint closer to put it over the duct tape covering his mouth. He held the man’s arm tightly and turned him back toward the door, then gave Eddie a solid nod as confirmation- and he was the first to leave the staircase the moment the door opened.

A surprisingly bright hallway, and Vitali squinted a little as he dragged Dupoint along. The walls were glossy white, decorated with pipes leading up into the ceiling and a colored horizontal line of which the paint was a little uneven in places. Not the Arasaka interior Vitali was used to, but it wasn’t a first; he just had not expected this facility to be arranged like one of their science departments.

He had memorized the route they needed to take. Had been lucky to stumble upon a blueprint at all- despite still having access to Arasaka’s database a lot of it was outdated, and any updates they had made to it since he’d been fired were inaccessible to him.

Vitali turned left, momentarily slowing his pace when he noticed a small group of people at a door; Maelstromers, by the looks of it, though different from Ravager’s people. Eddie gave Vitali a gentle nudge forward, not slowing down themself at all, and despite his heart nearly beating out of his chest Vitali continued too.

One of the gang members shot him a glance as they walked by. Vitali gave her a nod- and she returned it, averting her gaze again.

Vitali exhaled sharply as they turned another corner, the door to Utility now in view. Eddie took initiative and quickened their pace, maneuvering past some mercenaries and reaching the door as first of the group. Vitali watched them try the door handle, then glance at a pad on the wall and run their thumb over it.

Great.

‘Door’s locked,’ Eddie mumbled, repeating it in sign language as they turned to the others while leaning back against the wall as casually as they could. ‘Need a fucking keycard to scan.’

‘Fantastic,’ Panam replied, as they all quickly gathered closer around the Utility entrance, stepping aside for some other mercenaries to pass- they glanced in their direction, but said nothing.

‘Can’t get it from here,’ Judy said. ‘Not connected to the main system. You’ll have to crack it yourself.’

‘Easier said than done,’ Cato muttered, pushing herself past Panam and Vincent to get to the door, but she froze the moment her eyes landed on something behind Vitali; and slightly above him too, instantly causing his heart to skip another beat.

Vitali slowly turned around and was met with what he guessed was one of Matvey’s security guards. The man was at least a head taller than him- taller than Mikhail, even- and stared down at him with piercing yellow eyes, hands resting on hips- though one of them very close to his holstered gun, fingers softly tapping on the grip.

‘Lost my key,’ Vitali bluntly said, straightening his back and switching to his best American accent. ‘Boss told us to reroute more power to the turbines before heading out. It’s- It’s been a day.’

A tense silence fell over the hallway as the guard’s gaze moved over all of them. He raised his eyebrows, a sharp exhale leaving his nostrils, and then slowly reached for his pocket to take out a pile of keycards.

‘He’s just sendin’ anyone into off-limit areas at this point,’ he muttered, flipping through the cards at a snail’s pace.

‘It’s been rough since Ravager and Dupoint got captured,’ Vitali replied, shooting Dupoint a warning glare as he briefly turned his head toward him. ‘I’ve- I’ve been assigned to Ravager’s duties until his return- if ever at all.’

The guard scoffed, briefly glancing up at Vitali with one eyebrow still cocked. ‘You expectin’ me to know who those people are? I don’t keep track of what kinda junkies Dobrynin’s been picking off the streets ‘n frankly? I don’t care.’ A pause, as he finally flipped a keycard out of the pile and scanned it, successfully opening the door for them with a soft beep. ‘Finish your business, close the door behind you when you’re done.’

‘Thanks,’ Vitali said and gave him a nod, before the man turned around again and wandered off like nothing had happened.

Silence washed over the hallway and Vitali slowly turned back to the others, their facial expressions all in different stages of slight panic. He shrugged, unsure what to say, and quickly pushed the door open and gestured for the others to walk inside.

‘Didn’t know you could do an American accent,’ Vincent quietly said, briefly stopping next to Vitali while the others went in.

‘Taught myself when I still worked for Arasaka,’ Vitali answered, slipping back into his own accent effortlessly. ‘Sometimes clients would have…prejudices. Had to find a workaround.’

The two of them quickly went in as well, only Panam lingering in the hallway as she checked if anyone was looking at them. She entered as well, closed the door behind her and switched on the light, next to them on the wall.

‘Alright, baby, we’re in,’ she said, clapping her hands together. ‘Now- What do we do?’

‘Good stuff.’ Judy paused, softly clicking her tongue- taking a moment to look for something, Vitali assumed. ‘Alright, got it. If you reroute all power to the top floor, I can use it to fry their Netrunner.’

‘And how do we, uh- do that?’ Mikhail asked, standing in front of one of the panels with his hands held mid-air indecisively, fingers wiggling a bit as his eyes scanned the hundreds of wires plugged into sockets and ports.

‘Don’t worry- I got this,’ Panam answered, gently shoving him aside and kneeling down to reach the bottom of the panel. She looked up and wiggled her eyebrows at him. ‘Tagged along for a reason, didn’t I?’

Vitali stood back as Panam worked, taking a moment to check how the others were doing. Most seemed fine; Huxley, Eddie, Cato, Mikhail- all patiently waiting and used to doing gigs and missions similar to this one, despite the end goal being vastly different.

Panam was keeping it together, though Vitali knew she was nervous. Hadn’t meddled with gigs concerning megacorporation facilities all that often for understandable reasons, and being in the middle of one right now- even though it was no longer in Arasaka’s control- was miles out of her comfort zone.

Vincent was not doing well either.

He once again had the look of recognition in his eyes and a shiver ran up Vitali’s spine. He tried to imagine Vincent in Konpeki Plaza, waiting with that same look on his face while waiting for Vitali to finish maneuvering the Flathead through the hotel, all the way to the enemy Netrunner-

‘That should do the trick,’ Panam suddenly said, getting back on her feet. ‘Judes?’

‘Got it. Stand by.’

Vitali clenched his jaw and pushed the memories out of his head, inhaling deeply as silence once more fell over the utility room. This was different; despite the similarities it had nothing to do with what the heist had been about, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let it end in-

‘Ah- Fuck!’

A loud crackling noise blasted through Vitali’s earpiece and he winced, like everyone else. Judy cursed in Spanish and yelled something at them, though she was barely audible over the comms’ interference and the sudden high ringing in Vitali’s hearing aid wasn’t helping either.

‘Judy, repeat!’ Vitali said, holding his hand over his earpiece as he took a step forward.

‘They reverse engineered the fucking connection-!’ Judy cried out, her voice breaking as static started filling Vitali’s earpiece. ‘They knew we were coming, they’re- they’re in my fucking systems! Unplug it-! Reset the power!’

Panam cursed and bolted forward again, grabbed a handful of wires and forcefully ripped them out, leaving the team in complete darkness-

And in complete silence.

Nothing happened. Vitali stood indecisively, hands clenched into fists as he felt a drop of sweat trickle down his forehead over his brow. He listened closely, and could hear faint yelling further down the hallway- though the people moved into the opposite direction, much to his relief.

‘Judy?’ Vincent quietly asked from the darkness, his voice suddenly a lot closer to Vitali than before. ‘Are you okay?’

Deafening silence.

Vitali noticed he was holding his breath, heart pounding in his chest as he reached out and found Vincent’s hand in the dark. Both his earpiece and hearing aid were still producing static, filling his brain to the point it nearly made him nauseous.

He noticed a screen light up on his left- Panam’s phone, and she clicked on something as she slowly got back up on her feet again.

‘She’s alright, thank fuck,’ she breathed, cursing again while everyone else let out various noises of relief as well. ‘Locked out of comms, they severed the line. I can put her on holo if we still-’

Her voice faltered the moment the lights in the room suddenly turned on again. Backup power, Vitali first assumed; but an automated voice instantly announced security protocols were in effect and he quickly realized the facility’s Netrunner had access to a different control panel and had managed to get the power back on from the comfort of their chair.

‘And they locked me out of my phone, too,’ Panam continued, throwing up her hands and then quickly stuffing her phone back in her pocket. ‘Fuckin’ fantastic.’

Mikhail loudly cursed in Russian and a couple of tics left his mouth with it while everyone started talking at once. Vitali stepped back, sinking with his back against one of the control panels of the room as he rubbed the bridge of his nose and pulled off his mask.

A brief alarm echoed through the hallway on their right, and a red light began blinking above the entrance of the room. Vitali immediately looked up at the ceiling, to check for-

An even ceiling, no turrets whatsoever. They were safe- for now.

‘What’s the plan, boss?’ Eddie asked, stepping closer to Vitali and lowering his voice a little to not draw attention of the others who were still talking to each other in stressed voices, trying to come up with a way to get out of there.

Vitali was unable to answer him. He let his eyes trail the room, feeling the fog start to act up again-

Until his gaze landed on Dupoint, who was visibly trying to get his attention.

Vitali stepped forward and ripped the mask and the duct tape from the Frenchman’s face, causing him to wince and whimper. Vitali grabbed the collar of his shirt and shoved him into the control panel, the loud thud upon impact immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

‘There is- There is a security room, n-nearby,’ Dupoint stuttered. ‘It is not the main office, but- I have the codes. I can- I can shut the protocols down temporarily, giving you enough time to get to the office of your father.’

‘Horrible idea,’ Mikhail immediately blurted out. ‘Vito-’

‘I know.’ Vitali exhaled sharply and shook his head. ‘Fuck. What else can we do?’

‘Что еще мы можем сделать- Get out of here, maybe? Is this really worth it?’

‘I need to speak to him, Misha!’

Vitali squeezed his eyes shut, instantly regretting raising his voice. He turned his head and looked up at Mikhail, opening his mouth to apologize- but Mikhail already nodded, one hand running through his hair and the other resting on his hip.

‘Sorry,’ he said, vaguely gesturing around the room as a shallow exhale left his lips. ‘Panicking.’

Vitali clenched his jaw and briefly lowered his gaze, heart beating so loud he feared the others could hear it. He slowly looked back up at Dupoint, shrugged, and sighed sharply as he let go of the man’s clothes and gestured at the door.

‘Fine,’ he bluntly said. ‘Lead the way.’

Vitali was only partially present when they left the room.

He was vaguely there when he took out his gun, and readied it for use; vaguely there when checking the hallway, which was clear, for the time being; and vaguely there when a turret on the wall noticed them after they turned a corner, and began shooting in their direction.

The fog was thickening again, exhaustion overtaking him and forcing him back in the passenger seat of his own body- like many times before, too many times, and no matter how much he tried to stay in control, the longer they ran the further he fell. Only barely present to catch a glimpse of another turret, just in time to grab Huxley’s arm and drag them back out of the line of fire; only barely present when enemy mercenaries showed and readied their weapons at them; only barely present when Cato tripped over her own feet during their escape, but still present enough to turn back for her and drag her along.

‘This way!’ Dupoint yelled over the clamor and commotion, disappearing into a narrow hallway on their left. Vitali threw himself against the wall, leaning heavily against it as his eyes trailed over his friends while they followed the Frenchman one by one- he counted them, needed to know everyone was still there-

A strong hand forcefully grabbed his shoulder and he was dragged back, world spinning around him as he fell and landed on his back on the tiled floor of the facility hallway. A familiar face appeared in his view- the security guard- and a knee was pushed down on his neck, a choked gasp leaving his lips as his windpipe was forced shut.

‘Knew I recognized you from somewhere,’ the guard said, leaning down as he pinned Vitali’s wrists to the ground too, rendering him unable to free himself or use his gun. ‘Your eyes gave you away, kid- You’re just like your fuckin’ father.’

Vitali kicked up his knee, the plating of his leg brace forcefully colliding with the guard’s exposed side. He lost his balance, grip loosening on Vitali’s wrists- and Vitali yanked himself free, raising his gun and pulling the trigger without hesitation, the kick causing his shoulder to slam into the floor and crack loudly.

Ringing filled his ears as he pushed the guard off his neck, coughing and gasping for air while turning on his side. Another strong hand grabbed him- he tried shaking it off, but was dragged back to his feet and into the hallway, and he finally realized it was just Eddie, still tightly holding on to Vitali’s shirt while they ran as if he feared Vitali would fall again the moment he would let go.

Blink.

They were no longer in the hallway- but in a room, kneeled and leaning against the wall, waiting- hiding-

Blink.

Several drones swarming them in another utility room, Panam grabbing a wrench and slamming one of them out of the air-

Blink.

The Maelstromers from earlier, emptying heavy assault rifles into their direction, Mikhail’s face pressed against Vitali’s chest as they took cover behind some lockers with his hands covering his ears-

‘Over here!’

Blink.

Vitali watched Dupoint disappear into a room. He gestured at the others to follow, then barely managed to yell out a hurried “get down!” before another turret started firing in their direction, tiny shells falling like raindrops and clattering on the floor as Vitali’s friends sought cover again.

His head hurt. Everything was still spinning, and he could barely breathe- quickly checked how many bullets he had left, and exhaled sharply upon finding only one still there. He glanced at the other side of the hallway, where Vincent and Panam sat crouched behind a cabinet- Panam held up an EMP grenade for Vitali to see, and tossed it with full force into the hallway.

A crackling explosion followed by silence, the turret temporarily disabled by the electrical discharge. Vitali jumped up and bolted at the door Dupoint had disappeared through, kicking it open and waiting for the others to reach him- counting them once more as they entered one after another-

Vitali entered last, slamming the door shut behind him as he flinched the second the turret started firing again. The door was thick enough to hold the bullets, but he still darted out of the way, in case-

Oh.

He froze, eyes slowly trailing the room as it finally dawned on him Dupoint had led them straight into a trap. No security office, but a room with cargo- his own cargo, everything they had not been able to find at the other location Dupoint had given him- and several mercenaries, all holding their weapons at the ready and pointing them in their direction.

‘Get ‘em on their knees,’ one of the mercs said and started moving toward Vitali. ‘Him, and the Afterlife merc- everyone else along the walls.’

You could have known this would happen.

Vitali was grabbed and dragged toward the middle of the room, his mind once more rapidly becoming hazy now that he realized it was over. He briefly managed to pull himself free, to lunge at Dupoint and he punched him hard in the face and kicked him to the ground; but the mercs managed to get hold of him once more and a gun was rammed into the back of his head, to stop his struggling.

He was forced on his knees, another gun to his head and his teeth clacked together painfully the moment the metal collided with his skull. Vincent was pushed next to him, their shoulders pressed together as they were held at gunpoint- and everyone else was held in position scattered across the room, giving Vitali no clear overview of the situation.

He watched as one of the mercs helped Dupoint back up on his feet. The look of relief on the Frenchman’s face made his blood boil; he had to avert his eyes, the dark clouds in his head getting heavier and heavier with the second- this was not the time to lose control.

‘Got the fixer and his mercs in Storage,’ a merc said into a microphone in the device around her wrist. ‘Awaiting orders.’ A short pause, as she listened to an inaudible voice on the other end of the line. ‘Yessir.’ Redirected attention to the room.

‘Stand by.’

Vitali knew exactly what for.

‘Four to our left, three to our right,’ Vincent suddenly quietly said, leaning closer to Vitali until his lips nearly touched his ear while the mercenaries all relaxed and turned to talk to one another as they waited. ‘Two behind us, the one over there- Cato and Misha seem ready, if we act quickly we-’

Vitali shook his head, and Vincent’s voice faltered.

Of course he wanted to leave. And yes, even with guns pointed at their heads there was still a window of opportunity- Vincent’s quickhacks had saved their asses plenty of times before, and Vitali knew Cato had access to several of them still as well. They could short-circuit the ones closest, eliminate the bigger threats using their own weapons against them, then get out of there before anyone else would show-

But Vitali was scared.

Terrified, even, forced to his knees with his friends in danger, and his father on his way there. He did not know what to expect, and he wanted to leave, truly, more than anything-

But he couldn’t.

‘Such a shame,’ Dupoint suddenly said, dusting off his shoulders as he took a few careful steps toward Vitali. ‘For a moment I genuinely thought you knew what you were doing, but- I suppose I was right all along. You truly have no idea.’

Vitali defeatedly lowered his gaze. How embarrassing- Dupoint was right, and Vitali had nothing else left to say. It seemed stupid now; of course they were unable to take on the hideout, and of course it was not going to be “just” a talk.

Should’ve taken the quiet way in.

But it was far too late for that now.

Meaningless afterthoughts, empty promises for a “next time” that was most likely never going to happen anyway. Yet it still haunted Vitali- that perhaps things would have turned out different for them if he had listened to Mikhail-

The door of the room swung open.

Matvey Dobrynin had always been an intimidating presence.

A figure of authority through and through- both in spirit as in appearance, standing about as tall as Vitali and with the same lean yet surprisingly defined build. A bit more gray than Vitali remembered him being, the dark rims around his eyes darker, a few new wrinkles to his visage and with some new lines of cyberware decorating his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose-

But still his father. Unmistakably so.

Vitali sat frozen to the ground as he watched Matvey descend the steps while buttoning his suit’s jacket. A heavy weight pressed down on his chest and the air around him was suddenly thinner than before, barely able to provide him the oxygen he needed.

Dupoint stepped forward again, a nervous smile on his face and his entire attention now directed to Matvey. Pathetic to watch; yet much to Vitali’s surprise, his father smiled back at the man, not even acknowledging his own son’s presence in the room.

‘I brought them to you, sir,’ Dupoint said in Russian, a slight thrill to his voice as he spoke. ‘Just like you asked.’

Stay ahead of your opponent.

‘A little early, no?’ Matvey merely said in response, briefly glancing at one of the mercenaries in the room. His voice was just like Vitali remembered- and for some reason, it slammed all remaining air straight out of his lungs.

‘Well- I suppose.’ Dupoint paused and nervously tugged on the bottom of his jacket. ‘It was- Well, there were some- difficulties, along the way. Not everything went as planned, but I- I improvised a little, and- and, well, here we are.’

Vitali slightly tilted his head and shot a glance at Vincent, whose eyes darted rapidly between Dupoint and Matvey. Despite not being part of the sudden tension in the room, Vitali’s heart was pounding in his chest, and he watched in silence as his father’s smile widened and he stepped forward, closing the distance between himself and the Frenchman-

A kiss on the cheek, and an embrace. Yet there was nothing warm or welcoming about it.

‘You did well,’ Matvey said, face unreadable as he reached out for one of the mercenaries standing behind Dupoint. ‘The best you could. And for that, I am grateful.’

The mercenary placed a handgun in the palm of Matvey’s hand. He broke the embrace, twirled the gun in his hand and in one swift movement he placed the cold barrel against Dupoint’s forehead and pulled the trigger.

Vitali flinched.

And Dupoint fell.

Ringing filled his ears as Dupoint’s lifeless body dropped motionlessly on the floor, right in front of Vitali. Deep red blood spilling over cold concrete, rapidly gushing over the uneven floor, seeping between cracks and staining Vitali’s pants.

His eyes slowly moved back up, and Matvey was staring straight at him.

‘Jesus,’ Vincent blurted out and Vitali lowered his gaze again, instantly drawn back to reality as his hearing returned to him. The temperature in the room had dropped significantly and he still had trouble breathing, as if he could lose consciousness at any moment.

‘Useless,’ Matvey said, loosening his grip on the gun and allowing it to roll around his finger as he handed it back to the merc. ‘Improvising is one thing, but deviating from the entire plan in favor of your pointless personal quarrels…’

The game of chess.

Vitali knew if he had been Dupoint’s opponent instead of Vincent, he would have lost.

‘Leave him.’

Matvey’s voice was louder than before and Vitali flinched again, blinking a few times as he watched the mercs who had walked closer to Dupoint’s body quickly retreat to their corner. Matvey ran a hand through his hair- neatly kept, as Vitali remembered it from when he was younger, though some strands had fallen down in front of his face- then redirected his attention to him.

‘You found me,’ he bluntly said. ‘With- some help from Ivan. Not “just like I asked”, but- I can’t complain.’

He took a few steps closer, stepping over the corpse on the floor without even acknowledging it and Vitali defensively straightened his back, feeling Vincent press himself closer against his arm.

‘You have managed to make some powerful allies, over the years. Planned your attack well, and- here you are.’ Matvey paused, stopping right in front of Vitali, and Vitali quickly averted his gaze- but his father reached out, and tilted his head right back up by his chin.

‘Pathetic execution,’ he spat, and Vitali felt a knot take shape in his throat.

It had gone fine. All up until they lost their link with Judy and the Netrunner fucked them over- without them in place they could have kept the power out, navigate to Matvey in the dark, or they could’ve attempted to only partially restore the power, leave the security network offline somehow- or allow it all to happen and then bypass the lockdown by rebooting the system, like they had planned on doing in the first place-

‘I even left sewers open for you, but- no, you attack from the skies!’ Matvey scoffed, a mocking smile taking shape on his face as he tilted his head to catch Vitali’s gaze again. ‘It would have worked, I suppose. Had Netwatch not been active here. We have their systems hijacked- you showed up on our radars long before arriving in Pacifica.’

Ah- Netwatch. Blyat.

‘And then you fail to take down our Netrunner.’ Matvey shrugged, glancing at his own mercs, who shared a quiet- somewhat forced- laugh together. ‘Makes sense, since they are the best in Night City. A shame they used to work for you, though.’

A sharp exhale left Vitali’s nostrils and he lowered his gaze to the floor, heart nearly beating out of his chest and head becoming light. He noticed Vincent glance in his direction from the corner of his eye, but was too ashamed to look back.

‘And then? What do you do then?’

Matvey suddenly turned around again and violently kicked against the lifeless body of Dupoint, causing it to roll around and Vitali immediately closed his eyes the moment he accidentally made eye contact with what remained of the man who had led them there.

‘You put your faith in what is the weakest and most pathetic excuse of a man in all of Night City if not the entire west coast of this godforsaken country,’ Matvey snarled, leaning down until his head was at the same height at Vitali’s again. ‘Truly? I thought I raised you better than this.’

‘Strong words, coming from a man who trusted him too.’

Mikhail’s voice was unexpected to Vitali, and judging by the look on his father’s face it was unexpected to him too. He tilted his head to the side, straightening his back again as he slowly wandered over to the wall, where Mikhail was held back by two mercenaries, both more than a head shorter than him.

Vitali’s heartbeat sped up in his chest, as he watched his father come to a stop right in front of his friend. He reached out to him- a gesture that caused Vitali’s stomach to tighten painfully- and gave him a soft tug on his chest armor, before looking back up at him.

‘Good to see you too, Mikhail,’ Matvey said, his voice a lot more in control in his native tongue. ‘I suppose I have always been right about you being a bad influence.’

It did not feel right.

Of course it didn’t- already hadn’t, not at any point. Yet now, being in the same room as his father, Vitali felt like he was asleep. Dreaming, stuck in a never-ending nightmare, possibly one of his own making, and he had dragged everyone in it with him.

He watched as Matvey turned around again, to look at him. A curious look in his eyes as he tilted his head, studying him for a few seconds in complete silence.

‘You’ve grown up,’ he then bluntly said. ‘It is…interesting, seeing you again. Though I don’t think I have to tell you that. I have been watching you for some years now, you know- watched you join Arasaka. Watched you get kicked back out on the street.’

Vitali couldn’t look at him for longer than five seconds at a time, it seemed. Jaw tightly clenched once more the moment his father wandered over again, knot in his throat tightening to the point he nearly began crying. Matvey kneeled down once more, and tilted his head until he caught Vitali’s gaze; two piercing, pale grayish blue eyes staring right through him, almost as if Vitali was looking directly into his own.

‘What did you do, Vitali?’ Matvey asked, his son’s name effortlessly rolling off his tongue as if he had never stopped saying it. ‘You had- a promising career ahead of you, I will not lie- what happened? Made a mess you couldn’t fix, as usual?’

Got ratted out. For a job I did not even want to do.

‘None of your business,’ Vitali merely mumbled in response.

‘I would almost agree with you had it not been for the fact your act of rebellion, whatever it might have been, got me fired as well. And your mother.’

Vitali had already known. But to hear it confirmed did not make it any better.

He watched as his father stood up again with a deep sigh, glancing around the room- eyes momentarily lingering on Mikhail- and he shook his head, another smile spreading on his face.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ he said. ‘I have built up something new. So have you, it seems. Never thought you would have it in you to become a fixer of all things, but… I suppose I underestimated you. Big mistake to leave town, though. All those mercenaries, and clients- Confused and angry, and right for the taking.’

Vitali wished his father would stop talking.

None of this information was new to him, but hearing it all spelled out like that wasn’t helping; the knot in his throat tightened again and involuntary tears welled up in his eyes as he thought about all the people he must’ve let down, the trust he had broken by getting up and leaving like he had-

But if he hadn’t, Vincent would never have gotten help in Arizona.

He tightened his shoulders and tried to quickly rub the tears away without anyone seeing, though for some reason he now couldn’t stop. Not all that quick to cry most of the time, yet with everything that had been happening as of late-

And of course Matvey noticed.

Mouth half open as if to speak, yet no sound left his lips as he watched Vitali turn his head away in shame and embarrassment.

‘Tears?’ he spat out, the mockery in his voice like solid punches to Vitali’s stomach as he flinched at the sudden sound. ‘How old are you- five? For a moment I truly thought I was looking at a grown man, but I suppose you-’

‘Pick your next words very fuckin’ carefully.’

Vitali’s head instantly snapped up at hearing Vincent’s voice and he felt the blood drain from his face. Vincent did not notice, however, eyes spitting fire and fixed solidly on Matvey, slightly leaned forward to the point the merc standing behind him had grabbed the collar of his jacket to hold him back.

Of course he could not keep his mouth shut- Vincent rarely could, when something truly bothered him. Vitali admired him for it, loved him for it; though in that moment he wished Vincent had not spoken up at all, knowing how harsh his father could be and not wanting any of that to be directed to his boyfriend of all people-

‘You must be V, then,’ Matvey slowly said, a smile lingering on his face as he tilted his head. ‘Pick them carefully, or what, exactly? You will do something about it? Can you? Because the way I see it, you would be nowhere without Vitali right now. Using him for his connections, his money- to satisfy your own needs and delusions-’

‘Shut the fuck up!’

Vitali bolted forward, both his arms instantly grabbed by mercs behind him and someone hit him in the back of his head, but he did not care. He bared his teeth at Matvey as he struggled, nearly able to yank himself free but one of them kicked against his right hip and he sank back onto the floor with a quiet, pained whimper.

‘Don’t talk to him like that,’ Vitali said in Russian, wincing when he received another hit to the head with a gun. ‘Say whatever the fuck you want to me, but leave him out of this- I would burn this entire fucking city to the ground for him, no questions asked. Something I could not say for you.’

The words had left his lips before he could stop himself.

The air surrounding them was static, stinging Vitali’s skin as he leaned back again, exhaustion washing over him while his heartbeat painfully thrummed in his side and thigh. Matvey scanned his face with tilted head, then glanced at Vincent, and back- and realization kicked in for him and Vitali at the exact same time.

‘Oh,’ he said, and Vitali wished he had kept his mouth shut, shoulders caving in as he sank closer to Vincent, desperate for the comfort of his arms- keeping up appearances was already pointless now anyway.

‘I see how it is.’

A deafening silence fell over the room and Vitali carefully looked back up at his father, watching him glance into Mikhail’s direction with an almost questioning look in his eyes before shrugging and turning back to look at Vincent instead.

‘Why are you doing this?’ Vitali quietly asked, desperate to try and draw his father’s attention away from his boyfriend. ‘Not- I know why, but- All of what you’ve been doing. What is it for?’

‘This city is corrupt to its core,’ Matvey plainly answered him, wandering back to the mercenary who had handed him a gun before, and taking the weapon from them once more. ‘I plan to put an end to it- starting with cleaning up streets until this paltry excuse of a vigilante network is eradicated and whatever remains of it is under my control.’

‘You truly believe attacking fixers and their mercenaries is going to solve what’s wrong with Night City?’ Vitali immediately cut him off, a flare of frustration intertwined with his words. ‘I’m sorry- do you have that little self-awareness? I always thought you were smarter than mother, but-’

‘Do not talk about your mother like that.’

Vitali shut his mouth instantly, blood rushing to his ears when his father glared in his direction- and for a moment, he felt like he was sixteen years old again, sitting at the dining table opposite of his father, seconds after realizing no matter whatever would happen he would never have his father to back him up-

‘You should know better than trying to go against corporations, Vitali,’ Matvey mumbled, turning the gun around in his hand for a bit as he pretended to study it. ‘What are you hoping to achieve? Do you truly believe you can beat them? No, you work with them. Set them to your hand. Not all of them of course, but- I have NCPD. An entire Militech division. Contacts in Arasaka. To keep them…leashed, so to say.’

Matvey paused and lifted the gun, then slowly pointed it in Vitali’s direction, causing Vincent to bolt up and Mikhail and Huxley to yell out in protest.

‘Corporations in my pocket,’ he said, ‘but one loose end remains.’

One loose end.

Vitali’s mind wandered off, back to when he had first heard of the Broker; killing mercenaries, putting fixers and their networks up against each other, tearing their carefully crafted hierarchy apart from within. Matvey was telling the truth- he was working his way through all of them, and taking what he could along the way.

But that still did not explain why he was singling Vitali out this time.

‘Why me?’ Vitali asked, eyes wandering off into the room as Matvey pressed the barrel of his gun against his forehead. ‘Why now?’

‘You vanished from my radar for a while,’ Matvey bluntly answered. ‘Sources tell me you were back with Arasaka for some time. What is the fun of attacking you when you’re not even home? Kept myself busy with others in meantime. Plenty of fixers to go around in this town.’

‘And you want them all dead?’

‘If they refuse to cooperate, there is not much else for them here.’

‘And what about me?’

Silence.

Vitali’s gaze caught his father’s again. He stared up at him, eyes still hazy, looking past the gun solidly pressed against his sweaty skin- and his father stared back, brow narrowing as his son’s words settled in his head.

‘I have bigger things planned for you,’ he answered, and slowly lowered the gun. ‘Which is why I still need you, now.’ A pause, and he raised his gun again- yet pointed it at Vincent this time. ‘But not everyone else, of course.’

Vitali’s stomach turned and he shook his head, words caught in his throat as he watched his father take the safety off and curl his finger around the trigger. The others were yelling again, but Matvey did not listen to them, eyes still fixed on Vitali, gun comfortably resting in his hand.

‘Don’t do this,’ Vitali managed to blurt out, leaning in to Vincent as to position himself in front of him, but he was yanked back by the mercenary behind him. ‘He’s got nothing to do with this.’

‘Really?’ Matvey asked, slightly tilting his head. ‘You seem to care a lot about him.’

‘I didn’t know him yet when I was fired-’

‘So?’

Matvey stepped forward and pressed the gun directly against Vincent’s forehead, causing Vincent to flinch. Vitali tried to free himself from the mercenary’s grip, a quiet sob leaving his throat as he was once more kicked against his leg through the gaps of the brace.

‘Please,’ he begged, slipping into Russian as he leaned forward again, trying to catch his father’s gaze. ‘Please, just- Please leave him alone, leave him out of this-! You can do whatever with me, I’ll do anything, but- Not him, please not him-’

‘You went to my home,’ Matvey coldly said, his voice barely audible above the screaming filling the room. ‘Put Nadya and Roksana in danger.’

‘I never planned on hurting them!’ Vitali yelled back, tears freely flowing from his eyes. ‘All I wanted to do was talk- I didn’t know it would be them! I wasn’t- I wouldn’t hurt them- That’s not who I am! Please-!’

Vitali finally turned his head to look at Vincent- but Vincent was not looking at him. His hazel green eyes stared up at Matvey, lower lip lightly quivering upon a shallow exhale, face pale and filled with what Vitali could only identify as fear when Matvey pushed the gun closer against him-

And then finally lowered it.

A strangled sob left Vitali’s throat as he was yanked back again, away from Vincent; he tried to reach out but another kick to his hip stopped him, vision fading as he nearly lost consciousness. How embarrassing- he felt pathetic, yet could not stop another sob as he was put back in his place, held down by three people at this point, while Matvey slowly kneeled down in front of him.

He reached out- cradled Vitali’s face while still holding the gun, a triumphant smile lingering on his lips as he leaned in- and kissed Vitali’s forehead. Vitali could barely look at him, another tear rolling down his cheek as his father opened his mouth and spoke to him again.

‘All these years, мое солнышко,’ he said, ‘and you are still the deplorable disappointment you were when you abandoned us.’

Vitali looked up, and for a split second-

Something changed.

He was unsure what, though the way his father looked at him, the way their eyes- his father’s, cold and strict, and his own, flooded with tears- met in the middle, the air surrounding them becoming thin, the metal of the gun cold against his cheek-

Something changed.

But Vitali could not place it.

And without breaking eye contact, Matvey lifted the gun once more and pointed it at his right, to the wall on the other side of the room, where Mikhail stood-

BANG!

#nuclearwriting #rbs much appreciated :) <3 #hii. hello. hiiiii #adding the parents / family warning to the chapters with the kind of stuff i think is the heaviest by the way #because it's kind of a thing in every chapter now. knowing who the broker is and all that. but yeah i'm tagging it only when Relevant #anyway! tee hee!!! [explodes]#LOTS OF THINGS HAPPENING HERE :D this is fine i'm normal about this one #this was insanely fun to write though i've never been this excited about adding an antagonist to a story LMFAO #hope you all like it as much as i do i'm eyes emoji at all of you rn #ch:the broker

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meitukong · 7 years

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很多老爺問過我，男人戴甚麼配飾才不會顯得娘炮？其實直男想要戴好首飾只需滿足兩個字：「銀」、「髒」。作為一名硬漢，氧化到發黑的美洲印第安民族銀飾就是你的荷爾蒙放大器。今天，杜少請到蟬爺聊一聊古老卻硬漢的印第安銀飾，動不動就賣到幾千幾萬，它到底好在哪？許多人對於印第安銀飾的第一印象就是外表「髒髒舊舊」的，而且這樣的東西，價格居然比iPhone x還要貴。一些具有代表性的品牌，比如Goro's，不僅購買需要排隊拿號等一系列流程，售價也是動不動就飆到萬元甚至更高的級別。它們到底好在哪，又憑甚麼賣得這麼貴？其實，印第安銀飾舊舊的外表正是它的魅力所在。銀器與人體接觸後逐漸氧化，不同氧化程度的印第安銀飾會成為穿戴者獨一無二的標志。而印第安銀飾高昂價格則是因為它承載著印第安文化與複雜的制作工藝。潮流會隨著時間不停的更迭變換，但堅毅的印第安文化不會。它經受住時間的考驗，並將通過印第安銀飾一直傳承下去。它可不是甚麼「髒東西」，是數千年的印第安文化精華美洲珠寶飾品的發展历史最早可追溯到公元前8800年，而具體到銀飾分支是在公元前1100年前。以地區可分為大平原、東北林地、西部海岸、東南林地和西南部五個區域。其中又以西南部最為活躍，西南部的多個部落因其不同的習俗形成了多樣化的銀飾制作技藝。1898年，Sikyatata成為了霍皮人部落的第一個銀匠。1946年，美國內政部印度教育部主任威拉德・比蒂看到了霍皮部落藝術的展示後被激勵，為二次世界大戰的霍皮老兵制定了一系列制銀程序。而自此開始使用的曡加技術用於銀首飾設計至今仍聞名於世。Navajo打造銀飾的历史要追溯到19世紀。Atsidi Sani是史料記錄的第一位Navajo銀器工匠，他於1853年從墨西哥銀匠那裡習得銀器的打造技術，開創了Navajo的銀器历史。大約1875年左右，Navajo工匠開始使用沙糢鑄造的工藝打造飾品。通過沙糢鑄造工藝制作的Naja吊墜使用在Squash Blossom項鏈上。是Navajo的傳統首飾之一。Santo Domingo保持了印第安銀飾的原始風格。相比其他部落，Santo Domingo的工匠更加喜歡將各種寶石、動物的牙齒、骨骼等打磨成圓珠或筒珠的形狀。Santo Domingo另一個值得稱道的特點就是使用馬賽克鑲嵌（Mosaic Inlay），將不同的寶石拼接成一些圖騰式的造型。Hopi，Navajo，Santo Domingo都是現如今比較有代表性的印第安風格。不同部落風格上雖然有些許不同，但其包含的印第安文化是一樣的。通過口述的方式將制作技藝傳承至今，是要有多堅持才能做到如此？印第安文化居然能在日本落地生根，完全是因為他印第安風格銀飾因為其獨特的風格與工藝曾邁進輝煌，同時也因飛速發展的現代工藝與現代設計經历著低穀。直到高橋吾郎的出現，印第安之魂在日本重新燃起。毫不誇張的說，他影嚮了印第安銀飾的發展史。1939年出生於東京，學生時期從駐日美軍學習皮革彫刻技術，27歲於東京青山開了銀飾手工制作店。隨後，出於對印第安文化的熱愛，遠赴美國印地安部落生活。並擁有了屬於高橋自己的印地安名字——YELLOW EAGLE（東方雄鷹）。成為了該部落的勇士，並學會了最傳統的印第安銀飾制作技藝。印第安銀飾的制作工藝十分複雜，單是金銀融合這一點便足以讓人頭疼。由於金銀兩種金屬沸點不同，所以要融合這兩者並精細的呈現出來，需要很好的掌握融合的溫度。這不經過多次的練習無法做到。這只是其眾多技藝之一，唐草紋等紋路彫刻和綠松石等寶石的鑲嵌也是同樣的高難度。除了得到制作印第安圖案銀器的技術外，高橋吾郎還學會了當時印第安的另一種傳統制銀祕方，令他所制作的925純銀單品，有著非一般傳統銀器出品所有著的色澤。在長時間佩戴後，所有的銀器會轉化為帶灰黑的銀色。在印第安部落學習完制銀技藝後，高橋回到了日本，建立了印第安銀飾品牌Goro's。因其獨特的款式設計與精湛工藝，Goro's迅速走紅。由於高橋對購買者的挑剔要求和年齡的增長，再加上木邨拓哉、餘文樂等明星的加持，Goro's銀器價格不斷的攀升，達到了幾萬甚至幾十萬的價格（嗯，都夠買很多部iPhone x了）。它可不是隨便往身上套就行，懂得組合玩法，才更有意思印第安銀飾作為配飾，對穿搭是起著畫龍點睛作用的。但不同於其它，銀飾的組合玩法千變萬化，可以根據自己的喜好隨意自由搭配，這也是它最吸引人的地方。印第安銀飾的組合玩法最好是遵循它的一般規則，即從素毛、上金羽毛（即金融合在羽毛梗部）、先金羽毛（即金融合在羽毛下部）等最終到老鷹這樣循序漸進的搭配穿戴會更有意思。否則一開始就購買老鷹，那就如玩游戲開掛直接打爆機一樣，會丟失這一步一步進步的意義。此外，印第安銀飾所特有的氧化屬性也是它的特色之一。每人購買的器物不同，穿戴習慣的不同，甚至於體質的不同都會影嚮印第安銀飾的氧化情況。因為銀飾與穿戴者身體流出的汗發生氧化反應，而每人體質不同，所以氧化程度都會略有不同，這也是戀物癖們最喜歡的吧。除了養牛，你還可以養銀飾了。Goro's被炒得太離譜了不如先從這五個價格親民的品牌開始作為日本印第安銀飾的先驅品牌，Goro's價格的不斷攀升，以及對購買者的苛刻要求，導致很難入手Goro's銀器。所以，蟬爺為大家推薦下面這五個印第安銀飾品牌。它們在繼承傳統印第安元素的同時，也開創出屬於他們自己的風格，很值得一試。FIRST ARROW'S是伊籐一也先生於1996年創辦的印第安風銀器飾物，品牌以太陽與箭矢作為品牌象徵，喻意指引光明前路以及好運。一般銀飾品牌是使用925銀進行制作，而FIRST ARROW'S不一樣。自主研發出950純銀制作技術，在提高了銀的柔韌性同時，還保持了銀器的堅硬度。推薦單品：品牌：TRIPLE ARROW WITH TURQUOISE(K18 BOX & ROPE)售價：約¥4087買FIRST ARROW'S的銀器，當然要選擇最具品牌特色的箭矢了。這一款由三支箭矢交叉而成，中間交叉點處鑲上精美的綠松石，並用18K金包圈。箭矢代表著一種正確方向的引導與好運，給使用者帶來美好的寓意。Larry Smith由林田喜文先生創立的一個印第安銀器品牌。品牌秉持美國土著人一直與大自然並存的理念，並一直將其土著文化努力發展。Larry Smith就致力於研究錯綜複雜的印第安銀飾，他們的靈感是受19世紀晚期至40年代的傳統風格影嚮。他們提供的產品與傳統元素相結合，因此這樣的品牌從來不會被當前流行趨勢所左右。Larry Smith十分註重細節的處理，比如在羽毛上的扣換成鷹頭，又如最出名的風切羽。種種細節，都是Larry Smith占有銀飾一席之地的原因。推薦單品：品牌：LARRY SMITH KAZEKIRI FEATHER 18K POINT售價：約¥1900推薦的單品是Larry Smith設計獨一無二的斬風羽。斬風羽是老鷹雙翅最尖端的羽毛，是老鷹在飛行時最重要的羽毛。斬風羽的羽毛有分左右長的不同方向，羽毛朝左則帶左邊，反之亦然。同時購買的朋友也需要有足夠的耐心，為了維持一定品質，Larry Smith制作期越來越長，一般都要超過3個月。2002年在日本橫濱六角橋的舊商店街裡，由著名銀彫大師，吉原直一手成立的手作銀飾品牌Legend正式誕生。吉原大師以其精致細膩的彫工，在日本享譽「橫浜銀技富豪」稱號。品牌除了經典的羽毛飾品，唐草紋銀飾也是最具特色的銀器。legend銀器完美呈現出該品牌的纖細手工及特殊立體感，不管其作品置於何處都是該店最亮眼的商品。品牌：唐草紋手鐲售價：約¥2632唐草紋彫刻是legend品牌最具特色的技藝。推薦的這款唐草紋手鐲，手鐲表面的唐草紋路彫刻十分精細，飽含吉原直先生多年鍛造出的彫刻技藝。內裡則為光滑面，保證了穿戴的舒適性。手鐲有16cm-20cm可供選擇。ARIZONA FREEDOM創立於1989年日本千葉縣，是日本最有名的原創銀飾品牌之一。他們以太陽神作為主題的名作數不勝數，博得了消費者長年的支持。同樣作為印第安文化中不可缺少的羽毛與老鷹，也是ARIZONA FREEDOM的招牌，對於創作的極致追求便是他們如此高人氣的理由。印第安銀器自身攜帶的粗獷屬性，與ARIZONA FREEDOM特有的精致柔軟更是品牌的制作理念。制作出來的每一個產品的設計和細節，讓使用者就像寄宿在日本匠人的心中，永遠感受到銀器的溫度。品牌：8HU Denim Overalls售價：約¥1248推薦的這款是ARIZONA FREEDOM最具特色的太陽神吊墜。這一款銀飾發布於2015年6月，輕輕敲擊的925銀色金屬變成不規則的圓形，並且在每次加工的同時留下了自然的紋理，使整個銀器呈現出複古的意味。同時圓形銀器中間鑲嵌著18k金制作的太陽神。太陽神，是印第安文化中自由的標志，是一切生命的源泉，偉大的愛的象徵。通過太陽神傳遞了印第安文化中的歡樂和溫暖。Taro Washimi成立於2009年，主理人鷲見太郎在日本印第安銀器制作業內享有很高的聲譽，師承邨田高詩先生，而邨田高詩先生曾在Goros高橋吾朗學習銀器制作手藝，所以鷲見太郎可以說是高橋先生的徒孫了。品牌使用印第安銀器傳統的制作技術與風格。在棒狀或板狀的銀中進行手工彫刻。產品擁有流動的美麗曲線，充滿活力的動感設計，整個產品呈現出一種舒適的感覺。品牌的超高技藝和細膩美觀獲得外界的高度評價，在廣泛年齡層都擁有相當的粉絲。品牌：L size feather/heart feather・Opal/K18gold cup售價：約¥3906推薦的這一款銀器可以說是Taro Washimi擺脫Goros糢仿這一標簽的重要舉措之一了。關鍵並不在於羽毛這一印第安傳統風格銀器單品，而是羽毛梗部所鑲嵌的OPAL寶石，這種OPAL石顛覆了一直以來以松石為主的寶石羽毛風格，在陽光下的OPAL石會閃現出七彩，很是吸引眼球。而這也是主理人鷲見太郎的追求，融合所學技藝，並創造出屬於Taro Washimi自己特色的作品。印第安銀飾的「髒」是在長時間穿戴氧化後，成為你最具個人特色的標志。印第安銀飾的價格背後，是它承載著的數千年文化與精湛制作工藝。所以不要被「髒」「貴」這些刻板印象所束縛，而不去了解並欣賞印第安銀飾真正的價值所在。這樣不經思考而否定印第安銀飾可不是一個好習慣。我們需要拋棄這些過氣的想法，培養獨立審美能力。而印第安銀飾可以成為你培養這一能力的開始。

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