Chapter Text
If there was ever a word that David Martinez would never have used to describe his mother, it would be ‘weak’.
Oh sure, he’d watched Gloria stumble back home and collapse onto the couch out of pure exhaustion countless times, but that had made her all the stronger in his eyes. Night City was a place where working to the bone, was not only expected, but celebrated. That his mother willingly did so to not only provide their livelihoods and send him to the best school money could buy, but also to save lives as an EMT, was something David truly admired about her. In David’s eyes, Gloria Martinez was emotionally strong, frustratingly stubborn, and infinitely compassionate.
Never ‘weak’.
However, ‘weak’ was the only word he could use to describe the woman who lay unconscious on that hospital bed. The only signs Gloria Martinez was still alive was the almost imperceptible rise and fall of her chest and the rhythmic beating from the medical equipment she was hooked up to. As much as David’s mind railed against the very idea his mother could ever be in this state as he sat by her bedside, David knew this was reality.
“Is… is she ever going to wake up?” David asked, his eyes never leaving Gloria’s sleeping form.
“To be honest, we don’t know,” The aged doctor replied empathetically, placing a comforting hand on David’s shoulder, “I won’t bore you with the details, but your mother’s medical records show she wasn’t in the best shape before the crash. She was… badly overworked. And with all that brain damage? Trauma Team did their best to patch her up on the way in and we did the best we could, but at this point it’s all up to her. Even with all the medicals advances we have in this day and age, there are some things we just can control. I’m sorry, young man.”
“We never would have been driving down that road if I hadn’t gotten into a fight at school.” David whimpered, tears forming in his eyes.
Guilt welled in David’s chest. His mind remembered the heated argument he had with his mother, right before their car was shredded in the crossfire of an assassination attempt that they had the misfortune of getting caught up in. Pure bad luck, nothing more.
His complaints to his mother about how he didn’t belong in Arasaka Academy and accusing her of forcing her dream onto him seemed so petty now. The mere thought that the last conversation he would ever have with Gloria would be throwing all her effort and love into her face sickened David more than anything he’d ever experienced before. After everything she did for him…
The worst part? Gloria could still die on that hospital bed. As with everything else in Night City, medical care did not come cheap.
“How… how much is this going to cost us? Keeping her here like this.” David asked with a shudder.
The Martinez’s were barely making ends meet, and the Trauma Team bill alone would break their finances several times over. Long term care? David couldn’t even put a number on that. The second the eddies ran out, Gloria’s comatose body would be thrown out on the street like yesterday’s trash at best, or harvested for organs for sale on the black market at worst. This was Night City after all, the city of vultures waiting for carrion to feast upon.
So focused on the hopelessness of his situation, David almost missed the door to the room opening.
“I would not worry about the cost, Martinez-san. However much it is, Hiden Intelligence will bear your burden for you.” The crisp, courteous voice stated firmly.
“Miss Hiden!” David pretty much bolted from his seat to attention.
The Asian woman who had just entered the room, dressed in a white, turquoise, and black company uniform that was adorned by a scarf tied into a large bow around her neck, was one of the richest, most powerful women in the world.
The effective owner, and current President and CEO of Hiden Intelligence International, Isu Hiden was right up there with Saburo Arasaka in terms of the Corporate Elite. Rumor had it that Isu even had the ear of the long serving Emperor of Japan herself
Political Influence. Vast personal riches. A multinational corporation with mindboggling resources at her fingertips. Isu Hiden’s position in the social hierarchy was the polar opposite of David’s.
She was also likely the only reason Gloria was still alive, so David had every reason to be on his best behavior. As much as he disliked Corpos, David wasn’t stupid enough to insult the woman who was paying is mom’s medical bills.
“Konbanwa, Martinez-san. Campbell-sensei. I assume Gloria Martinez-san is stable.” Isu addressed to the elderly doctor in question after her greeting.
“As stable as she can be, given the circumstances.”
“I see. Could you please check on Kushinada-san on how her own recovery is coming along? I wish to speak with Martinez-san.”
“Understood, Ma’am.” Doctor Campbell nodded and made to leave. Within monuments, Isu was alone in the room with David and his unconscious mother.
“Be at ease, Martinez-san,” Isu informed David in a polite, almost robotic, tone, “That attack you and your mother were involved in was aimed at our company and our employees. It is our fault that your mother is in this condition, so it is only natural that we provide for her as best that we can until she can make a recovery.”
David wondered how Isu was able to remain this calm, considering she was one of the ‘employees’ who had been IN that limousine when the bullets had started flying, but he held his tongue.
If Isu hadn’t politely, but firmly, told the responding Trauma Team leader to tend to the wounded Gloria Martinez instead of just her own employee, David was pretty sure the paramedics would have just left his mother for the meat wagon. She even did so after crawling out of her own upturned limousine while dragging her injured employee. Hell, right now Isu didn’t even look like she had a hair out of place, let alone having just survived an assassination attempt and limousine crash.
Corpo or not, as far as he was concerned, Isu was Preem… not like that gonk Tanaka.
“We at Hiden Intelligence take our debts very seriously, Martinez-san,” Isu informed him, “We will keep her here in the Hiden Private Medical Hospital as long as it takes for her to recover.”
“I… I don’t know what to say, Ms. Isu.” David stammered, unable to believe he and his mother were being showed such generosity. By a Corpo of all people.
Did he actually die in the crash, and this was some dying hallucination as he slowly flatlined from blood loss? That would have been more believable than a Corpo with a bleeding heart.
“We also understand that your mother was also the primary breadwinner of your family,” Isu continued, “I have been arranged for our branch office in Night City to can provide you a small stipend for your living expenses, equal to your mother’s normal wage, until she recovers. For avoidance of doubt, I wish to clarify that this is not a loan, and your family will not be expected to pay any of this back-”
“Yep, definitely flatlined in the crash.”
“Excuse me, Martinez-san?”
“Oh, I, uh… thank you, Miss Isu,” David shook himself back to attention, “This means a lot to us. I can’t possibly thank you enough.”
“I am also given to understand that you attend Arasaka Academy-”
Okay, this was getting a bit much.
“That won’t be necessary, Miss Isu. I can figure that out myself.” David interrupted.
David had heard that Japanese big shot blue bloods like Saburo Arasaka, and Isu Hiden it seemed, took this ‘honor above all else’ thing seriously, but at this point he was feeling a bit insulted he was being treated like a charity case.
Okay more than a bit.
The situation might be bad, but dumb as it was, the David still had his pride. There was a limit to how many handouts David could accept before it started to feel a little insulting. He was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, for fucks sake! Corpos were supposed to eat people’s souls and spit the corpses back out, not… whatever Hiden was doing.
“I was about to offer you an internship with our company,” Isu said, practically unphased at the interruption, “One of our Night City branch’s cybersecurity specialists was injured in the same incident. In return for us assisting in your continued enrolment at a Private School of our choosing, we would like you, among other things, to intern with us and assist her while she recovers.”
There was a short pause as David parsed what Isu had just said.
“Wait, is this a job offer?”
“If your performance is satisfactory, we are also open to offering you a more permanent position.” Isu continued seriously.
“This is a job offer.” David balked in disbelief, wondering if this woman was right in the head.
“We believe you have potential, Martinez-san. Based on our findings, your grades at Arasaka Academy are exemplary. Given your talent and our need for capable employees in Night City, we believe you would be an excellent addition to our team should you prove to be a good fit. It would be a pity if your talents were to be taken by Arasaka.”
“…that’s probably the most realistic thing I’ve heard from you since this conversation started.” David murmured. Well, at least this is something he’d expect from a proper Corpo.
All that charity stuff seemed like the woman was setting him up for the biggest trap ever, or that she had completely lost her mind. This, however? A smaller company stealing talent from Arasaka using what was effectively a medical bill and scholarship sounded more like the corporations David knew.
Still very much of a stretch of his believability, but not as far-fetched as it had been a moment ago.
“That is correct. Are you interested in the internship, Martinez-san?”
As much as he hated going to school for a dream that wasn’t his, when David turned to look has his comatose mother… the woman who had sacrificed her every waking moment for him, he realized he had only one thing to say to that.
“You have yourself an intern.”
-=-=-=-=-
David didn’t know very much about Hiden Intelligence International, and what he did know was only what he picked up from the street and the occasional news report.
Despite being a multinational tech giant, Hiden Intelligence International had only just begun their overseas expansion into the NUSA after their very successful expansions across in Asia, Africa and Europe. Naturally the first place any self-respecting corporation looking to get into the NUSA was Night City, the City of Dreams, and they did so by having their Medical Division set up a modestly sized private hospital in Watson about two years ago.
It wasn’t the most ambitious way to get into Night City, but word on the street was Isu Hiden wanted to get a feel of the new market first before moving onto something bigger.
David wasn’t sure what else Hiden Intelligence did in the wider world, but as far as Night City was concerned, Hiden Intelligence was known for their newly opened private hospital, top-of-the-line medical equipment, state of the art home robotics, and, of all things, children’s toys. They’d also apparently been working very closely with Netwatch and some cybersecurity firm called Ex-Aid Associates on the Blackwall, but David only knew about that from the odd headline in the news.
Other than that, Hiden Intelligence was the very epitome of discretion. They made sure to honor their dues to the Trauma Team, had generous deals with the Pharmaceuticals, and always, always made sure never to anything that could anger Arasaka on the other corporate empire’s turf.
“You sure that Arasaka would be okay with you guys pinching one of their students like this?” David asked as he followed behind Isu, quietly wondering how the woman was able to walk at such a fast pace while keeping both of her hands firmly folded at her waist with her back perfectly strait despite her relentless gait.
“That will not be a problem, Martinez-san,” Isu replied calmly as she marched through the halls of the hospital like a woman with a purpose, “While your grades were exemplary, repeated complaints by your classmates about your purported ‘delinquent behavior’ have labelled you a problematic student. I have already contacted the Academy’s Principal, and it seems he is amenable to your transfer to the Hiden Private International School in the Watson District.”
“You have an International School?”
“As of the start of this year, yes. It is a small institute at present time, but Hiden Intelligence hopes to see it expand to become one of the premier educational institutes in Night City.”
“I thought you guys opening a private school after your hospital would have more publicity.”
“The Board decided against a large public announcement for now. We originally established the school for the children of our employees in Night City because I was dissatisfied with the education system here, and we only decided to expand the project’s scope to include open enrollment very recently. Accordingly, the student body is currently only comprised of the children from our local and expatriate employees at present time. We will make a formal announcement once we open to public admission. My apologies if you wished to continue your schooling at Arasaka Academy, but we believe it would be safer for our company secrets if your education is conducted at our school.”
“No problem. I didn’t really fit in Arasaka Academy anyway,”
Granted he wasn’t sure he’d fit in with the new school either, but as long as he was still shooting for his mom’s dream David would take what he could get. He owed her that much.
It was also dawning on him that Isu’s way of speaking was also a bit… odd.
Still, in the madness that was night city, the overly complex and infallibly polite manner of speech wasn’t the strangest thing David had seen.
“Do not worry about your education. Hiden Private International School has partnerships with some of the best academic institutes in Japan and Europe. Rest assured, your diploma on graduation will be as competitive as it would be had you graduated from Arasaka Academy,” Isu came to a stop in front of the door to one of the hospital’s private rooms, clearly reserved for high paying corporate clients, “We have arrived.”
“Arrived?”
“While I process your employment contract, I thought it best to introduce yourself to the woman you will be primarily interning under,” Isu said pivoting on her foot like a machine and motioning to the nameplate that adored the door, “Lucyna Kushinada-san is an important member of our NUSA branch’s Cyber Security Department. The deputy chief of the department, in fact. She was injured in the attack, and it is our intention that you can render her assistance until she fully rec-”
“BWA-HA-HA-HA! THAT NECK BRACE MAKES YOU LOOK RIDICULOUS! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, A NECK BRACE IN THIS DAY AND AGE? AND AN ARM CAST TOO? THIS IS PREEM AS FUCK!” came a booming, gremlin like voice from inside the room.
“…it appears that Lucy-san has guests.” Isu stated.
“SOMEONE GIMME A PEN! I WANNA WRITE SOMETHING! THIS IS FUCKING GOLD!”
“Her guests are very loud.”
“Didn’t you tell me these private rooms are sound proofed?” David asked.
“They are…”
“THE FUCK, BRO? YOU GONK, WHY’D YOU DRAW A DICK ON HER CAST?”
“…but it appears Rebecca-san is louder than the soundproofing can handle.”
“HA! SHORT OUT HIS ASS, LUCY! SERVES YOU RIGHT, YOU PERVERT!”
“Much louder.”
Isu, completely unperturbed by what she was hearing, pulled open the heavy door to the room and walked in with an increasingly nervous David following in tow.
-=-=-=-=-
What David found in the room, or more accurately who he found in the room, was so far from his expectations he found himself gawking openly.
“Konbanwa, Maine-san, Dorio-san, Kiwi-san, Rebecca-san, Pilar-san. It is good to see you are visiting Lucy -san.” Isu bowed politely at the motley crew that was surrounding a hospital bed containing a very embarrassed pale young woman.
This simple act was made impressive by the fact every single one of those people Isu had just greeted had pulled their irons on Isu at her entry as a reflex before they’d realized who she was.
Isu might have a spine of reinforced steel for being able to look down the barrels of all those guns without flinching. David’s spine on the other hand was still flesh and bone, so he bravely hopped a few steps back in case someone had actually started shooting. Yep, perfectly understandable why he felt like shitting his pants.
“Oh, hey Boss. You actually dropped by.” The dark-skinned mountain of a man said to Isu as he flicked a finger to deftly engage the safety of the largest shotgun David had ever seen.
“And I’m now 50 eddies richer because of it. Pay up, Bro,” A diminutive pale skinned and red eyed woman in that bomber jacket slid a hand cannon back into her jacket and turned cheekily to the annoyed looking long limbed, half naked Techie beside her. The latter seemed to be wincing in pain from some kind of short circuit on his cybernetics for some reason.
“Lucy -san is a valued employee of our company. It is only natural that I come by to check up on her after such a harrowing ordeal.” Isu replied.
“You do know that this isn’t anything new for us, right? Not like we haven’t all been shot at before.” Explained a pale and blonde woman in a long red trench coat in a mechanically tuned voice.
“I understand that, Kiwi-san. Be that as it may, Lucy-san was still injured in the course of her duties. It behooves us to ensure the wellbeing of anyone was injured in the course of her duties.”
“Geez, we lucked out on this one big time!” Rebecca laughed, “Damn, Luce! Who knew you trying to pick-socket the wrong person could land us all with such an awesome gig!”
David couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing in the room with him were Cyberpunks.
Actual, honest to God Cyberpunks.
Chromed up elite mercenaries who lived fast, mostly died young, and if they were really lucky, went down as legends in blazes of glory that everyone would talk about forever. David had seen Cyberpunks on the streets occasionally, but always at a safe distance and never this close. After all, getting close to Cyberpunks was generally a very bad idea for anyone without a death wish.
A crew of them were here, in this hospital room, trading banter with a Corpo…
…who as their boss?
“Here I thought my day couldn’t get any weirder.” David said.
Which evidently was a pretty stupid thing to do, since it caused every single one of those aforementioned Cyberpunks to turn and look and him.
“And who’s this gonk?” Rebecca asked, jabbing a thumb in David’s direction and causing David to feel very, very self-conscious.
“This is David Martinez-san,” Isu gestured to David while he gave the assembled Cyberpunks a small wave, “He is our new Intern who will help Lucy-san with her duties until she fully recovers.”
There was a moment of silence as everyone in the room processed what Isu had said. A moment, where every single one of those seriously chromed, highly lethal and heavily armed mercenaries stared at David in disbelief, as if waiting for someone to jump out and declare they were all part of an elaborate practical joke. A moment that stretched for far longer than David was comfortable with.
“Uh, hi?” David said awkwardly.
Then the laughing started.
“Fuck, Dawg! Nobody in the Afterlife is gonna believe this shit,” Maine guffawed as he pounded a hand on his thigh, struggling to reign in his mirth while a similarly laughing Dario rubbed his back, “Our little Netrunner’s got herself an intern!”
“Babysitter’s more like it. I’d make a joke about Corpo life making you soft Luce, but between this, the neck brace and the cast, I think I’ll refrain from adding to your humiliation.” Kiwi said, the smirk practically dripping from her words.
“BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA! FORGET GOING OUT IN A BLAZE OF GLORY, LUCE! YOU’RE ALREADY A LEGEND! WE HAVE TO TELL ROGUE AND CLAIRE ABOUT THIS!” Rebecca howled, practically rolling around on the floor with laughter alongside her long-limbed brother. “YOU’LL BE THE FIRST PERSON IN THE AFTERLIFE WITH A DRINK NAMED AFTER YOU WHILE YOU’RE STILL BREATHING, ‘CAUSE IT’S YOUR DIGNITY DIED FIRST! SO PREEM!”
“…now I wish the crash killed me.”
It was only then David finally turned his attention to the person on the hospital bed.
He’d known, logically, that the young woman who was on the bed was there before. However, with such colorful personalities surrounding her, especially since many of those personalities were packing iron, David had been a bit distracted. But now, David finally took a long hard look at the woman he’d come to see.
Pale skin and snow-white hair with pastel highlights. The light red eye and lip makeup perfectly accented her sharp, but soft features. Despite the long hospital gown and cast around her right arm, David could tell she had an athletic build. But her eyes… those purple and red pupils were so deep, mysterious and ethereal that David found himself getting lost in them.
“Wow.” David gulped.
“It’s rude to stare.” Lucy said.
“Oh. Oh!” David shook himself out of his trace, his face flushing with embarrassment. “Uh… hi?”
“Damn, this is fucking adorable.” Rebecca leered cheekily from where lay on the floor. For that matter, all the other Cyberpunks were looking at David with various states of amusement. Then there was Isu, who had adopted a look that could only be described as ‘very pleased’.
“We’re never going to live this one down, huh?” David surmised.
“Noooo-pe.” Lucy agreed with a long-pained sigh.
-=-=-=-=-
“So, uh, is there any particular reason why Lucy here has to wear these casts instead of, I don’t know, using some meds or swapping out for some implants?” David asked once the gaggle of visitors had been politely ushered out of the hospital.
“It is one of Hiden Intelligence’s core values to encourage natural healing instead of an overreliance of pharmaceutical drugs or mechanical augmentations to heal ailments.” Isu replied.
“By that she means they skimp on drugs and chrome to keep costs down, even if it takes a longer for something to heal.” Lucy groused from the hospital bed.
“Selling products to customers who do not need them when a more affordable alternative is available is not good business ethics, Lucy-san.”
“Well, I need them. I can’t work like this. I’m a Netrunner who can’t jack in because this neck brace is blocking all my diving ports!” Lucy insisted, “You’re my employer, damn it! Shouldn’t you care that I can’t do my job?”
“I would rather you make a full recovery before anything else, Lucy-san,” Isu replied with a hint of a smile, “But more to the point, while we are confident that medications will not interfere with the experimental Cyberdeck and Monowire implants that we provided you, our project lead believes watching your biological organs heal naturally while the augmentations are still installed is an excellent opportunity to gather data.”
“Oh. Joy,” Lucy said dryly, her eyes looking down at the cast that was now decorated with enough graffiti to rival a bridge underpass, “I should never have agreed to getting that Cyberdeck installed. I knew this was a bad idea, but Maine and Kiwi just had to talk me into this anyway. Two hundred‘k e-bucks is not worth this.”
“Tw-T-TWO hundred thousand eddies?” David shook his head in disbelief at the small fortune that Lucy was sitting on. That was several times his mom’s yearly wage! “They paid you two hundred thousand to test out their gear? What kind of chrome is worth that kind of money?”
“That would be a confidential information under your employment contract, Martinez-san.” Isu said firmly, “I will be happy to give you the details on the projects Lucy-san and her associates are involved in after we have fully processed your employment contract and completed your transfer of schools, but until then we will be unable to do so for security reasons.”
“Ah. Well, that sounds nova-I-I mean, that sounds reasonable.”
“It will be best that I will be best that I have Human Resources produce your employment contract at Hiden Intelligence, Martinez-san,” Isu declared, giving her two employees a perfect Japanese bow, “I shall be back momentarily with a draft Internship Contract for you to read and sign. In the meantime, I will leave you two to get acquainted for now. I will see you soon, Martinez-san, Lucy-san.”
“Uh, yeah bye.”
Satisfied that the pair were in each other’s company, Isu spun on her heel and marched out. Once Isu had departed and the door had closed firmly behind her, David turned to his soon to be direct superior with a question already leaving his lips.
“Is she always like this? Because I’m never seen anyone that square before, and I’ve seen my share of Corpos back in the Academy,” David gestured at the door.
“Yeah, President Hiden’s always like that.” Lucy replied dryly.
“Huh. Had to believe she’s the company’s President and CEO.”
“Yeeep,” Lucy sighed, “So… school, huh?”
“Yeah. Said she’d pay for my education… among other things.” David said sheepishly.
“Oh, I know,” Lucy’s eyes were slightly vacant as she spoke, a sure sign she was looking at something only a Netrunner could see, “Huh, so you and your mother got caught up in that shitstorm from before. I’m sorry about that.”
“Not your fault. Blame the Animals for shooting through our car to get at yours.” David replied. Although he was furious that his mother was in a damn coma, David had lived long enough in Night City to understand that shit like this happened all the time. He wasn’t that much of a gonk to put the blame the people who got shot at over the gangs who did the shooting.
“I can’t believe Director Hiden gave me such a preem deal though. Seems almost too good to be true. If the Prez is on the level about this, then it’s like she’s living in a different world from the rest of us or something.” David admitted, drawing a folding chair to sit himself down next to Lucy.
“Realized that, have you?” Lucy raised an eyebrow.
“Even if I buy into her talk about me having good grades and that she had a debt to pay, this isn’t good for business. Night City is full of sharks. Generosity like this? Plenty of Corpos, Gangs and other gonks will perceive it as weakness. They’d eat this business alive.”
“You’re not as naive as I thought.”
“I grew up in Santo Domingo. I know how this city works. If Miss Hiden hands out charity like mine on a regular basis, it’s a wonder this place lasted a week, let alone two years.”
“What’s your guess on how they did it?” Lucy asked, her eyes refocusing on him now that she was done with whatever she’d been doing on the ‘net.
“Same story with every other business around here. Hiden Intelligence has deep pockets and are big enough nobody wants to piss them off,” David replied honestly, “Push comes to shove, even the nicest choom around here can go full on Cyberpsycho given the right push.”
“That’s a good guess,” Lucy frowned as something seemed to cross her mind, “Here’s your first job as my intern. Get me a cig from that bag over there would you? Lighter’s also in there.”
“You sure you want to smoke in a hospital while wearing a neck brace?” David jabbed a thumb at the prominent no smoking sign that lined one of the room’s walls.
“Like I give a shit. Get me my damn cigs already.”
“You’re the boss.” David smirked as he got up to carry out his first orders. It wasn’t long before David had put one of Lucy’s prized cancer sticks between her lips and given it a light.
“That’s nice. Thanks. I could get used to having you around.” Lucy mumbled, somehow able to keep the cigarette from falling out of mouth while she spoke.
“Out of curiosity, how’d a bunch of Cyberpunks like you guys wind up with a job like this anyway?” David asked while he put the cigarette pack and light back in Lucy’s bag, “Your friend said something about a botched pick-socket job…?”
“You heard right,” Lucy said as she savored the nicotine, “Tried pick-socketing a random Corpo on public transport. Turns out, my mark was the CEO of a Corporate Empire incognito. She caught my hand before I could even start on her credit chip and used my own mono-wire to cuff me. Didn’t think anyone could move that fast. NCPD showed up, thought I was screwed… Then she hired me.”
“Okay, I’m calling bullshit.”
Using someone’s own monowire to subdue them? That was unbelievable.
“I was halfway into an NCPD squad car when the Prez changed her mind. Turns out she looked into my background, found out I ran with Maine’s crew, and she wanted an in with them,” Lucy explained, completely unphased by David’s disbelief, “It was before my time, but Maine’s crew were the ones who broke the Biotechnica painkiller scandal. One of them got zero’ed doing it too.”
“Yeah, I heard about that. Painkiller that caused neurodegeneration. Whoever broke that story saved a lot of lives.” David recalled. In a world like this, acts of true heroism and self-sacrifice were precious, beautiful things. He could see why President Hiden would have been impressed. “So, Maine’s crew was behind the leak to NN54, huh?”
“Yep. Like I said, before my time, but Maine’s crew did it. Prez Hiden is pretty big into corporate ethics if you couldn’t tell, so that really, really impressed her. Wanted us on her payroll. Promised us protection in case Biotechnica or any other Corp tried coming for payback. Also, six figure salaries, bonuses, paid leave days, and a full health plan with Hiden and the Trauma Team,” Lucy shrugged, “We’re Mercs, but once we saw what was on the table only a gonk that’s had his brains painted across a wall would say no. So ridiculous as it sounds… here we are, Corpos through and through.”
“Wait, wait, wait. Back up. Paid leave days? I thought Ms. Hiden was joking about then I she said she’d put that on my contract.”
“Wait until you see what else she puts in there. Between what she offered be and what she offered you, Hiden must have been dropped on her head as a kid or something to be this charitable,” Lucy concluded as she took long last drag and reduced her cigarette into a small bunt, “So yeah, that’s how we got hired. And we’re not the only ‘Strays’ Hiden’s picked up. Just ask around and you’ll hear plenty of interesting stories.”
“Really?” David tilted his head curiously.
“Woman practically lives and breathes the company motto.” Lucy raised her good hand and gestured to the poster on the far end of her hospital room. “To create a world where everyone can smile from the heart. Catchy, idealistic… naive. Something like that’ll only exist in your dreams.”
“Well, Night City is the city of dreams and all. If Hiden has a dream, might as well shoot for a good one,” David replied. “Still calling bullshit on that mono-wire story though.”
-=-=-=-=-
True to her word, Isu had returned later with David’s Internship contract, and it was just as generous as Lucy had warned him it would be.
David even used every bit of his Arasaka Academy education to read the thing several times over in an attempt to find where the ‘catch was’, but couldn’t find anything. It was mind boggling to David that any company that hailed from the same nation as Arasaka could be this employee friendly, but Isu had insisted that the terms in his contract were the absolute minimum standard for all Hiden Intelligence employees without exception.
“It is a pity the working in conditions in Night City are so abysmal, that the terms of Hiden Intelligence’s basic internship contract are better than even what Arasaka offers for its fulltime employees,” Isu had explained with a frown as David finally signed on the dotted line, “It is my hope that Hiden Intelligence’s example will lead other companies into improving the rights of employees around the world.”
Well, nice as that sounded, David wasn’t going to hold his breath for that happening anytime soon.
David hadn’t hung around the hospital for much longer after that. He’d gone back to check on his mother again, but by that time it had gotten very late and the attending nurse had advised David to go home and rest since visiting hours were almost over. David was going to be dealing with his transfer of schools before starting his first day of work in a three days’ time, so it wouldn’t do to tire himself out unnecessarily.
“Man, what a day. Car crash, changing schools, getting scouted by the second most powerful woman in the world, getting hired to Intern under a real Cyberpunk… I’ve no idea how I’m gonna explain even half of this to Mom when she wakes up,” David exhaled heavily when he finally reached the front door to his home back in Santo Domingo, “If I have too many more days as exciting as this one, I’m gonna need Doc to install something for my heart.”
“If it’s excitement you are looking for, then ‘Congratulations’.”
“WHAT THE-” David yelped as he jumped to flatten himself against his front door at the haunting voice that had abruptly spoken up from behind him.
“You have taken your first steps on the long road to fulfilling a great destiny.” A tall Asian man in a long brown coat and brown scarf that wrapped around his head like a hood had snuck up behind David. In the man’s hands was a large open tome that was titled ‘Rider Chronicles’ that the man was apparently reading from. Even in the poor lighting of the corridor, David could see the man’s lips curl in an amused, knowing smirk.
David couldn’t picture a more suspicious person if he tried.
“It will be different from the legend you would have carved had Hiden Isu-san not intervened, but even the flapping of a butterfly’s wings will not change who you are.”
“O-okaaay. You’re being real creepy asshole. Have you ever heard of personal space?” David said as he debated on punching this gonk and teaching him a lesson, or doing his best to delta because this maniac had ‘psychopath, do not touch even for eddies’ written all over.
Definitely leaning towards the latter, since the mysterious man’s words chilled the young boy to his very bones.
“I look forward to see how you will seize your potential, David Martinez.”
“Wait, how did you know my na-?”
David blinked, his gut had an odd feeling that the world had just spun sideways… and suddenly the man disappeared. One moment he was there, and the next David was staring at the empty space just in front of his apartment. Vanished, like a ghost.
“What?!”
David snapped his head about, taking in the deserted, dimly lit corridor that definitely didn’t have any creepy hooded Asian dudes with absurdly big books loitering around in it.
“Ooooo-kay. That was fucking creepy,” David hurriedly fished his pockets for the keys to his house, the feeling of discomfort he’d felt having not abated in the slightest, “I’m getting home and going to sleep. No more excitement for today. Nope, nope, nope, not for me.”
Maybe he’d see Doc for some chrome for his heart after all.
If every day at Hiden Intelligence was going to be like this one, he’d definitely need sterner stuff.
-=-=-=-=-
On this fine morning of several days later, David received a very interesting phone call from a now former classmate of his.
“I don’t know how you managed to do it, but impressing Isu Hiden doesn’t change who you are!” Katsuo Tanaka didn’t waste any time in launching into an angry tirade the moment David had accepted the call, “You’re a charity case! Her pet! Someone Hiden plucked up from the street so she could feel better about herself! Nothing more!”
“Well, hello to you too, Katsuo,” David replied with the biggest shit eating grin he’d ever had in his entire life, “Are you sure you wanna get worked up like this at 7 on a Saturday? I mean, sure I have actual work to do in just a bit, but I this is your day off. You’re spoiling your own day here.”
“Fuck you, Martinez! You’re a street-rat! One internship and a change of schools doesn’t mean anything! Once Hiden’s bored of you, you’ll will be back on the streets where trash like you belong!”
“Look, choom, I’m going to start my orientation day at Hiden International in about ten minutes. Are you going to say anything nice to me, like good luck or something? I really gotta delta.”
“Just you wait, Martinez! When you’re homeless without an eddie to your name after Hiden ditches you, I’ll be waiting so I can have the chance to say ‘I told you so’! You can bet on that!” Katsuo snarled and angrily disconnected without another word.
“Ah, music to my ears.” David savored the satisfaction of getting one over that arrogant prick.
The sweet, sweet memories of walking into Arasaka Academy with his transfer papers was still fresh in David’s mind. Katsuo and his cronies had wanted David out of the Academy? He was very happy to tell the bullies they were getting their wish. The faces his classmates made… now that was Preem.
Stretching out his arms and back as he stood in the shadow of the boxy twenty-story tall Hiden Intelligence Branch Office in Wellsprings, standing out from the surrounding buildings with its’ white and turquoise paint, David Martinez decided his day was as nova as it was going to get.
It was orientation day, first day on the road to an entire new future with endless possibilities!
Nothing could possibly go wrong!
-=-=-=-=-
David was staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, and that new future suddenly was looking very short. In fact, the possibilities had narrowed down to considerably to ‘pistol caliber brain surgery’.
“Oh hey, it’s the new guy. What up, choom?” The short young woman who was holding said gun in David’s face, Rebecca if memory served right, regarded David with an appraising look, “You’re a little early for work, dude.”
“Uh, yeah,” David gulped, doing his best not to piss himself before he could even clock in properly “I-I’m here for orientation?”
He’s just knocked on the door to the Cybersecurity Division office when the door opened and a gun was shoved in his face.
“Oh, wow. Bit of a go getter, ain’t ya?” Rebecca pulling the gun away from David’s face and holstering it somewhere inside her oversized jacket, and she stepped aside to admit him further into the room, “Sorry, choom. Lucy is supposed to be the one giving you the tour, and she ain’t here yet. Most of the crew isn’t, actually. ‘cept Kiwi over there. Say hi to the new guy, Kiwi.”
“Please stop traumatizing the other employees,” the tall, red coated Netrunner said from behind her desk, a desk plate reading ‘Chief of Cybersecurity’ proudly denoting the woman’s role, “And don’t threaten them in my department. If I have to deal with another complaint from H.R. again…”
“Yeah, yeah. Just saying hello, Kiwi. You can only make a first impression once, so I gotta make it a good one.” Rebecca waved off the Netrunner’s concerns as she hopped onto one of the vacant chairs and made herself comfortable while David took his first good look at his new office.
To be honest, David was a bit disappointed about what he was seeing.
In contrast to the colorful, and very dangerous, Cyberpunks that supposedly worked here, the room was positively mundane. Cheap even. Concrete walls with white paint, plain tiled ceramic flooring, pain but sturdy wooden and metal furniture, office chairs that had padding instead of leather, reliable overhead white lighting, actual steel filing cabinets for hardcopy files… sure, the computers and office equipment that were needed for actual work were state of the art, but that only served to highly how comparatively dull the rest of the room was.
It wasn’t even a very large room either. There was main desk for the department head and eight cubicles for the other workers, only one of which actually seemed to have an occupant, judging from how only one desk actually had stuff on it and the rest were practically barren.
They didn’t even have a watercooler or coffee machine.
“‘Nova as it is ever going to get’, my ass.” David muttered under his breath.
“Looking slightly disappointed there, buddy.” Rebecca cheekily smiled.
“Uh, I’ve seen the inside of Arasaka Tower in one of my class tours. This isn’t anywhere close to what I saw there,” David admitted as he gestured to the most boring looking office he’d ever had the displeasure to lay his eyes on, “I thought Hiden Intelligence would, you know, doll this place up a little. Are all the rooms in this building like his?”
“Sort of. They were boring as shit when we all first moved in, but once the rest of us started decorating our places they started looking a lot better,” Rebecca grinned, “It’s just that Kiwi and Lucy here don’t bother with theirs. Seriously, not even one calendar or pin up.”
“Why would I waste good eddies on company property?” Kiwi responded without taking her eyes away from her computer terminal, fingers flying across her keyboard with well-practiced ease.
“Because you spend at least eight hours a day in here, duh? Throw up a poster or something, why don’t cha?” Rebecca rolled her eyes at the older woman before pivoting right back to David with an excited smile, “Hey, new guy! When Lucy’s done giving you a run of the place, you should come over and see what Pilar and I have done with our pad over in the Cyberpsycho department! It’s totally Preem!”
“Uh, I’ll have to think ab-wait a sec we have a Cyberpsycho what now?”
“Rebecca and Pilar run our Cyberpsycho response and retrieval department. Their job is to go out and capture Cyberpsychos that have subscribed to Hiden Insurance premium health plan.” Kiwi explained dryly, “We capture cyber-psychos alive to rehabilitate them. It is insane as it sounds.”
“Awesome as it sounds you mean.” Rebecca grinned proudly as she puffed out her non-existent chest in pride. “The boys and I have 13 successful baggings to date! Totally Nova right? I didn’t think I’d have this much fun in a job where I’m not supposed to kill anyone, but man I’m loving this gig!”
“Apollo Wright from Legal snapped and tried to strangle you after you blew up Susan Abernathy’s penthouse suite.”
“Eh, don’t see why she’s complaining. She’s still alive to sue us after that Merc she double crossed went psycho and tried zero’ing her. Anyone else woulda left her to die, ungrateful Corpo bitch,” Rebecca snapped her fingers, “Hey, David! Why don’t you ride along with my team one of these days? Do some on the job learning? It’ll be good for, ya!”
“I wouldn’t advise it. Hiden Intelligence employee health plans are good, but they are not THAT good.” Kiwi stated.
“I think I’ll stick with Cybersecurity for now, thanks.” David replied with complete seriousness.
“Aw, man. Why you gotta be such a downer? Not like our medics can’t patch you up if you take a stray bullet of something,” Rebecca sniggered devilishly, “Oh, hey, Intern. Go down the hall and get a soda for me from the vending machine, will ya? Don’t matter which one, just do it!”
“Uh…”
“Why are you even here harassing the Intern, Rebecca?” Kiwi cut in with a voice just dripping with annoyance, “You never work weekends, let alone at 7 on a Saturday morning. Why are you here bothering our intern, in the middle of my office, while I am trying to write a report on the attempted attack by Voodoo Boys on our hospital server last night?”
“C’mon, Kiwi. Can’t you see how funny this is? We got ourselves a fucking Intern!” Rebecca laughed, “Since when do Edgerunners like us get Interns? I’m gonna record this kid’s whole orientation myself so I can gloat about it to everyone, forever! Maybe make even a BD out of it! Do you know how many eddies I could make off that?”
“Am I a joke to you?” David shuffled awkwardly.
The thought of Ketsuo laughing at him getting thrown out on his ass after getting fired at Hiden didn’t seem so bad now. Ketsuo may be the Gonk to end all Gonks, but compared to every Cyberpunk in the city knowing David’s shame… well, he’d take Ketsuo any day.
Thankfully, David’s new boss had his back.
“Get out of my office.” Kiwi fixed Rebecca with a glare.
“Aw man. You’re no fun, Kiwi. I’ll just come back later when Lucy shows up. Gonna delta now. Later!” Rebecca nevertheless hopped off her chair and all but skipped out of the room.
“Uh, thanks boss.” David said gratefully to the Netrunner that had saved his pride.
“No problem,” Kiwi noted before refocusing on her work. “And Martinez?”
“Yeah?”
Kiwi held up an empty, palm sized box that used to contain what was clearly her favorite vice.
“Go down the hall and get a pack of cigs for me from the vending machine. I’m out.”
-=-=-=-=-
It was nine am on the dot when Lucy finally arrived, neck brace and arm casts and all.
“There you are, Luce,” Kiwi greeted the younger Netrunner when she stepped through the office door, “Kid’s been waiting for you for the last two hours.”
“Wait. Two hours? He’s been here since seven?” Lucy said incredulously, her eyes snapping over to where David was sitting at one of the cubicles, the one right next to hers, adjusting his new workspace to his liking.
“Uh, hi.” David waved shyly in response to Lucy’s stare.
“I thought we told him to be here at nine?”
“We did. But that kid’s eager, I’ll give him that. He’s already claimed one of the cubicles and gotten himself in the sorted out in our company net,” Kiwi said in between puffs of her nicotine stick, “Haven’t really done much more than send him to do coffee runs for me though. ‘Was waiting for you to show up and give him the grand tour.”
“So, when does orientation start? I can’t wait to see what the rest of this place is like.” David said eagerly, causing Lucy and Kiwi to share a look.
“See? Real go-getter type. I bet he’s the type to work on his days off,” Kiwi said bemusedly, then turned back to her computer terminal, “Anyway, I’m almost done with this report to Head Office, then I’m gonna jack in and check the ICE myself.”
“Need any help?” Lucy offered.
“Nah, the ICE held. Just annoyed, that’s all. I made a career of breaking into places to steal stuff, not stopping people from doing the same. But anyway,” Kiwi motioned over to where David was patiently waiting, “What I need you to do is show the kid around for his orientation. Where each department is, where to find the pantry, where to take a shit… you know, the basics.”
“I’m not walking a dog, Kiwi.”
“Hey, the Prez hired him in the first place because of she thought you needed a hand until you recover. If the woman paying that six-figure salary says you have show a kid around, then you show the kid around,” Kiwi said as she stubbed out her cigarette, “Besides, you can’t properly do a dive with your neck brace. You’ll be doing all our paperwork until you heal up, so you’ll need allllll the help you’re going to get.”
“Oh joy. This was supposed to have been my day off.” Lucy sighed.
“It’s not so bad, Luce. Orientation should only be an hour tops, then both of you are off for the rest of the weekend,” Kiwi pointed out, “Paperwork hell starts Monday.”
“Bitch.” Lucy muttered and flipped Kiwi off before she turned to their department’s new Intern, “Okay, David. You’re coming with me.”
“Right, Ma’am!” David said excitedly.
“Don’t call me, Ma’am.” Lucy grimaced as the pair made for the door.
-=-=-=-=-
“Just to be clear, not everybody H.I. hires is a Runner. The crew are the exceptions, not the rule,” Lucy stated as the pair marched through the corridors, occasionally stopping for Lucy to point out some point of interest like the emergency stairwell, the employee bathrooms, the pantry, and other such necessities of a corporate wage slave, “Over seventy percent of our Night City staff are locals. The rest are expats from Europe, Africa and Japan. Anyone with kids has the option send them to Hiden’s International School two blocks down from here. Same one you’ve been enrolled in.”
Unlike Arasaka who did their best to exult their power throughout every square inch of their vaulted skyscraper, Hiden Intelligence’s modest branch headquarters focused entirely on function. There were no sculptures, no priceless works of art, and only the odd painting or office plant to liven up the corridors. David had seen the white paint and plaster walls on the way in, but it hadn’t really sunk in to him that the entire building was like this until he’d seen his own workspace. Now it was clear frugality and function over form was very much Hiden Intelligence’s style.
“I would have thought H.I. would have brought in more foreign talent, them being such a new face in Night City and all.”
“The Prez believes hiring locally is better. Night City is a pretty unique beast. That’s also why she specially hired Cyberpunks like my crew to handle her local security needs since we know the lay of the land better,” Lucy admitted as the pair walked out of a room that consisted of several bathtubs filled to the brim with green liquid and ice, “Now, we’re on floor nine. This is where Security, Cybersecurity, and our main server-rooms for the Branch HQ are located. You won’t see many other employees from other departments come by here very much.”
“That explains why this floor seems so empty.”
“It’s also a Saturday. Unlike other Corpos, H.I. doesn’t require their employees to work weekends,” Lucy informed him as the pair now proceeded towards the main elevator lobby, “Most do so anyway because that’s what most of us in Night City are used to, but expect to see less staff up and about in the office on a Saturday and Sunday.”
“Damn, H.I. really is trying to rock the boat, huh?” David said with a low whistle.
Even Night Corp, arguably the best company in Night City to work for if you wanted a work life-balance, capped mandatory workweek hours at 80. This was leagues beyond that.
“Pretty much. By the way, the big project we’re all working on is the new General Hospital in Santo Domingo. The Prez wants to use it to give affordable healthcare to the masses,” Lucy shook her head, “I give it one day before someone runs in there and demands extortion money. Her Private Hospital is one thing, but what she wants to give Night City is a pipe dream.”
“I think it’s more likely that someone will start selling chrome from patients under the table. Or spare parts from her fancy equipment will end up on the black market,” David shrugged when Lucy regarded his statement with a raised eyebrow, “What? Mom was an EMT at Night City General. I’ve heard all the stories.”
“Well, if her General Hospital goes belly up, that’s on her. I’m just paid to protect Hiden’s Servers, not from their bad business decisions.” Lucy stated dourly as called for the elevator. “Anyway, our local Cybersecurity Department is only has two Runners at the moment. Myself and Kiwi.”
“Huh, didn’t you say Hiden wanted a more local touch? I thought she’s need more of you.”
“Hiden Intelligence’s Head Office has hundreds of Netrunners working on our defenses worldwide. Our job here is to keep an eye on the local ICE and upgrade them where we can. Anything goes really wrong? Message head office for backup.”
“Huh, that’s news to me.” David admitted.
“Netrunning is a little different from most jobs in that regard. Besides, Kiwi and I are more than enough. Best way to prove that is that H.I. hasn’t had a single data breach since we started,” Lucy stated with confidence and more than a little pride, “Physical security on the other hand is different. Maine’s got almost fifty people working under him now. Mostly street kids wanting to go straight, so they don’t amount to much in an actual fight. Still, they get the job done.”
“I heard you guys also have a Cyberpsycho Department. How many Cyberpunks are in there?”
“Becca and Pilar’s crew? Not even going to touch that with a ten-foot pole.” Lucy declared just as the elevator doors opened to reveal a certain very bemused looking, gun toting solo.
“Heya, Chooms! Aw, tour started already? I guess I’m a little late, huh?” Rebecca cheered as she stepped back and motioned for David and Lucy to enter the elevator with her, “Done with the floor already? Damn, I was hoping to see if David would get all shy when he finds out you and Kiwi like to go all natural in ice baths instead of using suits.”
“Wait, that’s what those ice baths are for?” David’s face burned red when he belatedly put the pieces together in his head, casing Rebecca to let out a snort and some laughter.
“What are you doing here, Rebecca?” Lucy glowered while using her good hand to pull a stammering David into the elevator with her before punching the console for the second floor.
“What else, Choom? Joining your tour,” Rebecca held out her hands innocently in the face of Lucy’s increasingly annoyed scowl, “Can’t a girl decide how she wants to spend her free time since you’re giving out free tours? Hope you don’t mind that I’m gonna tape all of this on a BD. Know plenty of chooms down in Afterlife who’ll pay good eddies to see this.”
Lucy hung her head and let out a longsuffering sigh.
“Am I a joke to you?”
“Ha! David here said the exact same thing earlier! Oh man, it’s like you two were made for each other!” Rebecca chortled, shamelessly soaking up every ounce of Lucy’s embarrassment.
-=-=-=-=-
The tour itself wasn’t too eventful, even with a cackling gun toting gremlin nipping at their heels and recording Lucy’s every word through her ocular implants.
David did enjoy learning where everything was, even if Lucy advised him that he wouldn’t need to venture beyond the ninth floor in most days. The utilitarian nature of Hiden Intelligence’s Night City HQ had an air of humility in the air, one that nevertheless had focus and purpose.
“…and that’s the end of the tour, and your orientation,” Lucy concluded as the trio came to a stop at the reception desk at the entrance of the building, “That’s all that we have for you for now. Your first work day starts on Monday at 4pm after school hours. A company car will be waiting to pick you and other students with internships up at the school to bring you here at 3:30pm. Any questions?”
“Uh, yeah. So, I don’t have a cyberdeck, so I can’t do Netrunner stuff. Kiwi said I was supposed to be helping you with… the ‘paperwork’?” David asked, causing Rebecca and Lucy to both let out a pair of frustrated groans.
“Yup. You’re going to help us deal with the paperwork. All of it.” Lucy confirmed.
“Ugh, the thing I hate most about this job. Bureaucracy,” Rebecca concurred, “This job would be fucking preem if it wasn’t for that. Sure the budget lets me buy all the iron I could ever want, but when I have to fill out a bazillion forms to do so? Form 117AJ for every bullet I fire? Makes me want to zero myself. But David, my man! Now that you’re here, I am gonna-”
“David’s with Cybersecurity. Not the Cyberpsycho Department. He’s going to be helping us with our admin, not yours.” Lucy cut off the gun toting gremlin with a firm glare.
Suddenly, it was like the temperature of the entire office lobby dropped ten degrees, and David was wondering if it had been such a good idea opening his damn mouth.
“Oh, c’mon Luce. Didn’t Kiwi ever teach you that sharing is caring? I’m sure David here will be happy to help the rest of us out with a few errands.” Rebecca said sweetly as her hand reached into her jacket and pulled out-ohwhatthefuckthisisahospitalhowdidsheevenfitthatshotguninthere?
“This isn’t sharing. This is proper use of company assets. Specifically, our department’s assets,” Lucy’s glare would have been much more intimidating without the neck brace, but props to her for trying, “I am NOT doing all that paperwork by myself. You want a gopher, go hire your own.”
“That’ll cut into our firearms budget, so… no. Besides, this dimples over here is adorable. Can’t you be a choom and share? Pretty please?”
“No.”
Jesus Christ, Rebecca just flipped the safety off, and the glow from Lucy’s eyes indicated that the Netrunner was warming up some kind of quick hack.
“I’m… I’m done for the day, right?” David stepped backwards towards the exit as carefully as he could without setting off the two highly dangerous former mercenaries. “You know what? I’ll just ask my questions on Monday. Got things to do, places to be, that sort of-”
Rebecca snapped her gun up, but the shot containing a beanbag round went wide when Rebecca’s optics flared and shorted out, throwing the solo’s aim off. The smug look on Lucy’s face for the successful quick hack didn’t last, for the Netrunner was caught completely off guard when Rebecca’s leg lashed out right into her shin.
“FUCK! MY LEG! WHAT THE HELL, BECCA?”
“HA! STILL GOT YA BITCH!”
“…see you Monday, bye.” David bolted.
-=-=-=-=-
“I have t’ say Davey, you have da weirdest luck of any guy on da street I’ve eva seen.” chuckled the back alley Ripperdoc that David frequented as he handed over a small fortune in eddies to David, “And thanks for the Sandevistan. Lots a people look’in for tech dis grade.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Doc.” David muttered as he accepted the payment.
David had no idea his mother had been selling augments under the table, let alone having possession of a military grade Sandevistan. The second he found out there was one just lying abound in his apartment David knew he needed to get rid of it. That Sandevistan, which he’d quickly discovered belonged to that cyberpsycho on the news a few days ago of all people, was too much heat for David to deal with. Even if David was offloading it to the doc at a price that was well below street value, the fact it was out of his hands was payment enough for the Stree-kid.
Imagine if some borged out Cyberpunk kicked down his front door one day to take it from him? Not a chance in hell David wanted anything to do with that.
“This is probably the first and last aug you’ll be getting from me. Only selling it because that’s the last thing Mom was going to do. After this, I’m going straight.” David noted firmly. “This might be my big break. Wanna do this internship right.”
“Not surprised, Davey. Even if ya did come back with things ta sell, I’d smack youze,” The Ripperdoc smiled at the young man in a rare show of genuine affection, “Too many dreamers neva having a chance to get ah big break. Youze lucked out getting one, and you’ze a good kid. Dun waste dis chance, Davey.”
“I won’t. See you around, Doc.”
Stepping out from the Ripperdoc’s clinic and back into the sunlit streets of Night City, David took in a nice long breath.
It felt… good.
Parting from that Sandevistan was like parting with the last fragments of his old life.
Gloria Martinez had been selling pilfered cybernetics from stuffs on the black market to fund David’s education. Closing that chapter felt like a clean break for both him and his mother, a chance to do step away from a shady past and doing things right for a change.
With David’s internship and his place in Hiden’s school, doing risky business like that just to build his future wasn’t a necessity anymore. Anything he did now, he could do with his own will without the specter of impending financial collapse driving him to take risks he shouldn’t.
Sure his mother was still in the hospital in a coma, but David had made up his mind. He wanted Gloria Martiez to wake up to a world where her son had become someone she could be proud of. Proof that all her sacrifices were worth it. Not a school dropout, or some gangbanger who was forced hurt others to make ends meet, but the kind of man she’d dreamed he could be.
“Top of Hiden Intelligence isn’t as high as Arasaka Tower, but I think she’ll be fine with that.” David chuckled just as a call came in, “Huh? Hiden Manufacturing, Crystal Palace Branch? What the hell?”
Although he was a bit suspicious about the call, a quick check showed that it was going through legitimate company channels. As far as he could tell, the whoever was trying to contact him was legit. While he had his reservations, David nevertheless took the call.
“Hello there! Is this David Martinez? The new guy that Isu hired in Night City?” A jovial voice greeted immediately after David picked up.
“Uh, yes. This is David Martinez speaking. How can I help you?” David replied.
“This is Hiden Manufacturing’s Crystal Palace Branch. Oh! You probably don’t know ‘cause you’re new, but we’re a subsidiary of Hiden Intelligence. We do all the actual manufacturing for all of the Hiden groups’ products. I guess you could say we do a Satis-Fac-tory job! Eh? Eh?”
David stayed silent, unsure what to say about the lame pun or why a different branch of the Hiden Intelligence Group was even calling an intern. From space, no less.
“…no laughter? Man, tough crowd. Anyway, I’m calling because someone in archives up here really messed up on our end and mailed you something from storage warehouse B that really, really shouldn’t have been sent out. Like messed up so bad they actually printed your name on the box and sent it to your actual home address.”
“Wait, what?” David blinked in shock. “But I’m an intern. I just finished orientation three hours ago.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t kidding when I said the mistake up here in Space was big. You could say it was a mistake that was Out Of This World!”
“…isn’t this a work call? This failed comedian act isn’t very processional at all.” David responded, completely unamused by what he was hearing.
“Oh c’mon! First chance I get to flex my comedic skils in forever, and this happens!” The voice despaired, “Urgh… anyway, what I wanted to tell you was that this package contains an old prototype that we’d stuck in storage. It’s old tech, but still, something that contains company secrets. If any of our competitors knew this was in the wild, they’d kill to get it. Like, ‘paid mercenaries kicking down your front door to take it from your dead body’ kind of kill to get it.”
Well… shit. David had only just gotten rid of the Sandy too.
“That sounds like something that could really get someone fired,” David swallowed deeply, wondering why was treating him like a goddamn yoyo, “And I want anything to do with this fuck up because…?”
“…we printed your name on the box and mailed it to your house?”
“Oh for… fuck you, asshole! Why did you…? How did you…? I only just got this internship!” David dropped his head into his face and groaned. David Martinez, chew toy of fate. Every good thing accompanied by a bunch of bad things had shortened his lifespan by a considerable amount.
“Uh, it’s not so bad! Just uh… take the package when it arrives at your place, and give it to Isu directly,” The guy’s chipper voice explained in a tone that didn’t do anything to soothe David’s nerves, “Look, the mistake was on our end. Isn’t your fault, so you won’t get fired or anything. Just make sure you hang onto it until you see Isu, and you’ll be… huh, what’s a good joke to make here…”
“Enough with the jokes, man!”
“Okay! Okay! Geez. I know I put you in a tough spot, but you got this, kid! I believe in you!”
All that time in space must have given this guy brain damage, because that was the only explanation as to why this gonk could be this much of an idiot.
“Okay, I’ll take your stupid package.” David sighed. “But you do know I’m an intern, right? She may have personally inducted me into the company, but I can’t just walk up to her office and ask to see her. Should I hand it to one of the department heads or…”
“Yeah, better not do that. Less people who know about this, the better,” The voice decided, “I mean, if people know about this, then there is a good chance you’ll have Ninja-neers from Arasaka’s Engineering department will drop by to see you!”
“…man, you suck.” At jokes and at life, but David chose to refrain from saying that.
“Look, just drop my name to Isu and she’ll see you immediately no questions asked, intern or not.”
“And you aren’t calling her directly because…?
“Um, so a few guys on our end can have a little more time to figure out how to explain this to Isu?”
David, really, really wanted to smack this guy in the face.
“You are fucking crazy, you know that. So, what’s your name?” David asked, dragging a palm down the side of his face.
“Aruto! That’s A-R-U-T-O. You’re a real lifesaver, David! Mail tracker says package should reach your house Sunday evening. Thanks a bunch, don’t tell anyone other than Isu, and remember, you got this, kiddo! I’m sure you’ll deliver the goods! Ha! Aaaaand that's Aruto, folks!”
“Any last name to go with thaaaaaa-and he’s hung up,” David grumbled shaking his head at the fact some Gonk in space fucked up so badly he’d gotten caught in the crossfire. All that good feeling David had been having a moment ago?
Yeah, David wasn’t feeling it anymore.
“Haven’t even started work yet, and some Corpo Gonk’s already trying to screw me. Welcome to the Corporate life, Davey, hope you don’t get fucked too badly.” David sighed.
Fuck it. This was David’s weekend off before he went to work in an office with gun toting Cyberpunks, failed comedians mailing him top secret prototypes that people would kill for, and all the paperwork in the whole damn world. This was a problem for future David.
For now, he’d go see his Mom to tell her about his day, and worry about this cloak and dagger, company secret bullshit on Monday.
It was one damn package after all. How bad could it be?
-=-=-=-=-
CYBERPUNK: ANOTHER DAYBREAK
A Cyberpunk 2077 & Kamen Rider Zero-One Crossover
Chapter 1: Butterflies and Hurricanes