Cyberpunk 2077: Hyper Light Drifter

Placide was not happy. Once the feed was cut off, he sat in the same place. His arms were crossed as he waited. Minutes went by…minutes turned to hours…There was no point. The connection didn't reestablish. The Haitian man picked his teeth. 

"Damn ranyon." He growled.

That was why he never trusted mercs. They were only good as meat shields. Fodder to be used whenever they needed a distraction. A way to ease their burdens and losses. Only his people mattered. Everyone else was trash among the gutter.

Now…Imagine his surprise when that same merc casually strolled into the room. The first thing he heard was the mechanical breather. Its filtering was incredibly loud…especially in this quiet room. Of course, the room within the glass doors behind him was much louder. 

Lei's footsteps echoed and her form came into view. Placide grimaced at her empty eyed stare. Walking in here like the deal wasn't off. 

"You cut the feed." He said. 

"Wasn't something you should see." She answered.

"That isn't for you to decide."

"Obviously it is, or you would've seen."

"Chen sòt. Evelyn Parker's tracker has disappeared. Is she dead?" He insulted her in his own language. Lei was getting tired of it. 

"She is dead." She lied. Placide raised an eyebrow. 

"See, now it is hard to believe you. I need proof."

"Proof is in the pudding." She joked. 

Lei's words pissed off the man. He rose to his feet, circled the desk, and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck. Her back slammed against the wall. 

BANG

"You aren't safe here. One more piece of shit out your mouth and you are done." His accent was thick with anger. 

"....................."

The drifter's eyes narrowed. Her fist crashed into Placide's face. It was strong enough to make him backup a few steps. His grip on her was released. 

It wasn't the end. A low sweep kick, and the Haitian man was swept off his feet. Lei then raised her other foot high…ready to come down on his head for an axe kick. That was when time slowed down. 

Placide also had a Sandevistan. He didn't use a cyberdeck. That was why he wanted to jack into her cyberware earlier. He needed a medium. A catalyst. 

He rolled away from the frozen axe kick and rose to his feet. The man couldn't help but crack his neck. Only then did he throw a hook at the side of her face. He was sure that the fight was over. With his strong physique, he truly expected this blow to kill. 

Unfortunately, that was not to be. Lei's frozen body suddenly accelerated. Even faster than Placide. She parried his punch by grabbing his wrist, her other hand going to the back of his head. Then she pulled. 

The Haitian man couldn't stop his momentum. Couldn't stop his head from going where it was pulled. Down. Right down into a rising knee. It connected with a crunch, Placide's vision turning bright and starry. His body crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes. 

"I've been hearing the word ranyon all…day. Your whole community, whoever I passed. Calling me that word as they spoke between themselves. Even you yourself." She commented eerily.

Drifter grabbed the scruff of his coat and pulled up his limp body. The man was still disoriented. She then slammed his skull into the wall. With speed. Something definitely fractured. 

As Placide tried to crawl back to his feet. His hands slipped on the blood pooling on the floor. Only then did he look at his hand and realize it was his blood. Coming from his head and nose. 

His vision was swimming. That was when he heard the sound of something igniting. The artificial lights above started to flicker…and the surroundings began to glow with a deep red hue. 

VRMM

The beam saber had ignited. Placide turned to the source, but couldn't tell exactly what he was looking at. It was bright and seemed alive. Flowing like a river. The blade itself.

Then he felt pain. A raging pain. One that burned. Right on his left arm…The same one that grabbed Lei. Looking toward it with a painful scream, he realized the limb was missing. Drifter's lips curled into a grin as she lazily sat down on his chest. 

Her blade stabbed into the ground beside his head, but not with enough intensity to drill right through. Then it slowly moved toward his neck. 

"How many mercs have you disposed of? Not really my problem…but you chose wrong this time. How did you plan on killing me? I'm so curious." She pondered. 

"Chen sòt. A ranyon will always be a ranyon." He answered. 

"Calling me a stupid bitch again? And a floor rag…again. I'm getting bored. Do you have anything better?" Her words made his eyes widen. 

Only then did he make the connection. This merc could understand their language? Doubtful. A translator…she'd been hiding it. No wonder things went bad. Still, that didn't change that she was an outsider.

"You won't be going to the Blackwall anytime soon. Our doors are forever closed to you." He groaned. Lei shook her head. 

"Incorrect. I found some juicy intel on Evelyn's body. I'm sure Brigitte will be happy to listen."

The masked girl finally got off his body and pointed her blade at his face. Why was she taking so long with him? Lei wasn't the type to drag things out…unless there was a reason. 

"STOP" A feminine voice called out from behind. A pistol was pointed at the back of Lei's head.

A Haitian woman with short hair stepped into the room. Everyone could see through the sliding glass doors. Only when the red beam saber lit up the surroundings did the workers notice. 

"Are you Brigitte?" Lei asked in a casual manner. 

"I am Brigitte. I am the Leader." A loud declaration. 

"Alright, Ms. Leader. Here's the spill. Arasaka's relic is with me right now. Johnny Silverhand's engram. You're going to help me reach the Blackwall. He knows an AI there. Don't you want to meet one? Think of all the things you could achieve." Drifter explained. 

It was bait. Plain and simple. Purebred Netrunners would have a hard time turning this one down. Especially when they have a subnet that's heavily armored for such a task. The gangleader's eyes widened. So did Placide's.

"You have the engram…"

"Correct."

"Fine. After we help you, you must leave the engram with us."

"Sure." Lei agreed.

'Gonna drop me off just like that?' Johnny questioned. He seemed disappointed.

'Of course not, you gonk. Just an incentive so they don't fry me while I'm deep diving.' 

'Hm. You're set on crossing the Voodoo Boys now?'

'Their word isn't trustworthy…so neither is mine.'

"We will help. But leave Placide. What is going on?" Brigitte questioned.

"Placide?" Lei turned her gaze back to the recovering man on the ground. They glared at each other. "This man has been more than unprofessional. It's a closed community. I get it. Still, why even bring me in if you planned on being this way? He's lucky I didn't kill him already."

"Placide is just stubborn and hard headed. If you come with me…We can get started immediately." The gangleader gave Lei incentive to spare him. 

"Okay!" The drifter's attitude did a complete 180 degree shift. Her voice was completely carefree and jovial. As if her anger was all an act.

'Score.' Johnny couldn't help but comment.

Brigitte was a bit surprised at the change of attitude but not much. Life in Night City required a different kind of fortitude. Lei deactivated her beam saber while backing off. As if Placide didn't exist, she gestured for the gangleader to continue. 

The gangleader led her through the lab where people were working frantically. Lei was quite curious about what the hustle and bustle was. Noticing the girl's observation, Brigitte pointed to a scrapped paper hanging off a trash can. There was a logo on it. 

{Netwatch]

Beefing with Netwatch…now that was quite ballsy. Lei could feel the pride every member exuded. It was reflected in their actions and words. Except Placide though. Fuck him. 

Eventually, they found themselves entering the Serenity Bible Church from a different side. Ignoring the main sanctuary, Brigitte opened another door, and they slipped away. This led them deep underground. 

An abandoned train was a mandatory part of their travel, the body connected to the end of a hallway. Several cars had open walls, revealing the abandoned train station.

That was when the destination could be seen. Rezo Agwe. An expansive room that resembled a military hangar. Terminals and storage drives were all throughout the area. Chords that started from another wall sized terminal, going underneath the pavement then reemerging next to several diving chambers. 

Diving chambers. These were the coffins a Netrunner would lie in when they wanted to do much more than travel the Net. Netrunner chairs were enough for normal operations. These were incubated capsules installed with cryo batteries. Able to keep the body, mind, and cyberware chilled. A great showing of craftsmanship and engineering. 

Several Netrunners could be seen hanging out around the room. They were all dressed in the commonly known runner suits. Skintight fabrics for optimum temperatures. 

"Welcome to Rezo Agwe. Our entry to the Net." Brigitte said. 

Lei marveled at the technological masterpiece. It was like a fortress. A Netrunner heaven. Not bad. Perfect for her plans.