Cyclops
Last name, first name, sex, ethnicity: unknown
Affiliation: Maelstrom.
Known contacts: ...deceased ...deceased ...disappeared ...deceased...
Supposed crimes: Theft, blackmail, threats, assault and battery, resisting arrest, break-ins, burglary, extortion, smuggling, arson, organized crime, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, torture, manslaughter, assassination...
Situation: Unknown.
Malik thought back to the information he had received during the day for the following summary.
Antonio "Tubio" Moreau.
H2 resident;
Affiliation; Valentinos/Lianovak
Father: deceased, mother: living. Father-in-law: disappeared. Sister-in-law: living.
Alleged crime: sexual assault.
Allegedly attacked a young woman at a party. Details unclear, possible set up, witnesses of possible collusion and accusers missing. Case dropped...
Cross-referencing dates, Mailk could almost trace what had happened. Accused of rape, Tubio became ostracized from his band and, after a night of drinking, was grabbed and pulled by the leg into the Maelstrom.
His sources had washed him clean of Cyclops info. One of the killer news like to talk about. But the more he got the more it's clear she has been really cautious not to appear in person. Report of her Eye on the screens and other subterfuges waste the time of her pursuers, allowing her to flee at the last moment, while the victims and pursuers expect a counter-attack. One of the alleged murder victims was Filamark Ouilida. An African who had come to Night City officially to meet a friend. Under close protection after threats, he was found dead in a hotel room after having outrun his own protection. A soundless recording found in his car suggests that someone guided him away from his own safety. The association with Cyclops was a simple image of a circle with a dot on his car's built-in screen. Without this recording, there's no proof, even if it's all the same with or without it.
Others were less elaborate, but there were few times when her face could have been on camera. Face scrambler on a mask... Yeah a little overkill but if she is as paranoid as I am she will do it. That's what I'd do.
Drinking his coffee and looking at the information he had, he knew that if the operation had the slightest hitch their heads would roll. Pat knew who they were and where to find them, so there was no point in double-crossing him unless they left town next. With S4nd0t, they'd recruited people who were both expendable and easy to persuade. Money. At least for several of them. Malik hadn't been able to check. But he knew for a fact that Clash was looking for money and had multiplied contracts. Samir had debts and Wang's father was in a delicate position...
As he went over and over the identities and information trying to decipher or understand each other's motives, the sound of the front door echoed. Malik looked at the camera and saw a lady waiting at the entrance covered by a raincoat. This woman's "incognito" outfit was totally useless when you could see her jewelry and make-up in addition to her hairstyle straight out of a beauty salon.
Grunting an insult, Malik got up, dusted off his clothes and looked to see if the room was presentable. Dusty but fine.
The door opened and the woman entered the room as if she owned it, passing Malik as if he didn't exist. Not waiting for his permission, the lady lit a cigarette. Turning to Malik, she ignored his courtesy, cutting short any greeting and getting straight to the point.
-Mr. Malik, I'm here for our business.
-Madame Rolaty. I apologize for not informing you of the situation.
-My son...
Malik swallowed. The gloves or the hammer?
-The information I have doesn't allow me to confirm his situation, and after all this time. Your son probably left Night City to keep a low profile. I'm sure he'll be in touch soon...
-So you failed. Then why did my husband make a wire payment to you last week?
Shit. Well, he watched the woman take off her glasses, her eyes red, she was only holding on because she wanted to. Maik lowered his head, so it would be the hammer. Going over to his computer, he turned the screen towards the chair opposite.
-I want to know what you told my husband.
-The truth, madam, and not to tell you. Sit down... please.
Pulling the chair out for her, she sat down, almost trembling, as Malik launched a video on his computer facing her. Malik got up and went into another room, he didn't want to be there... in no time at all, Mme.Rolaty's cries resounded, pain, indignation, rage, despair. Her cries tore at Malik's heart. Her son was no saint, but he didn't deserve what had happened to him. He waited a long time for the sobs to subside before going back inside. Mrs.Rolaty held her face in her hands, weeping profusely, her face twisted in pain at the knowledge that her beloved son was dead. Recovering quickly, she turned to Malik, full of anger.
-Why wasn't I told?
-Your husband's orders. By the way...
Malik transferred to her the money he'd received from her husband.
-I don't deserve this money. I'm very sorry.
Mrs.Rolaty swallowed words she would have regretted, but nodded, murmuring a thank you, she stood up, lighting a cigarette with a trembling hand, glancing furtively at the screen. Taking a deep breath, she took a few steps around the room before turning to Malik.
-I want the names of everyone in this video. I want to know how my son ended up with these people and who is to blame. I want those who are responsible.
-Alas, once again, your husband has preceded you. He'll be in a better position to give you information about what he's planning or... has done to them.
Malik's silence was understood. Crushing her cigarette in the ashtray, Mrs.Rolaty looked at the screen. On it, her son had just been executed in a remote corner of the city.
-His body?
-Gone. But your husband said he knew some mercenaries who'd be happy to take care of everything. My job ended when I showed him the video.
-Well, well... Mr.Malik, thank you for everything you've done. You disobeyed my husband's orders. It goes straight to my heart, now I'll be able to talk to him. He hasn't been himself since... his visit here. I can see why... I'll be going. I wish you well Mr.Malik, I apologize if my arrival has inconvenienced you.
-No, Mme. Rolaty. The case I'm on isn't the happiest too.
-What's it about?
-Child kidnapping. A young girl...
-Oh...
Mrs.Rolaty had heard, but she didn't care; still in shock, she had moved closer to the door, absent and lost, her emotions in turmoil. She could no longer stay in place, she had to leave, get away from this screen. With a final thank you, Malik closed the door behind her. Heaving a long sigh. The husband was bound to call now. A problem for later. But his conscience was clear. Looking at the photos around him, he looked at the other two empty desks.
-You're all a pain in the ass.
*****
Tubio and Ruby left the hotel glued arm in arm. Even though Ruby had things to say, she didn't want to spoil their moment.
-Tubio, I don't want to go back to the group. I mean, IRL.
-Why not?
-I... I don't know how to work in a team.
-You did very well, though, didn't you?
-I don't want to get attached... okay? I don't want to have my back turned to them. I just...
-Okay.
Tubio had cut Ruby off. Guiding her face, she closed her eyes when he bent down to kiss her. Taking her in his arms, the squalid hall they'd just left didn't look so bad in this position.
-You don't want to stand next to them. No problem, they'll understand.
-Sorry.
-Don't be. I'd never force you into a position you didn't want to be in if you wanted to get out of the whole thing, there's no...
-No. -I'd rather die, I'm in, I'm staying in. I just... I don't want to interact with them directly...
-You're stressing yourself out over nothing. You were perfect yesterday.
-Yesterday.
-It's going to be fine... I've got you in my ears and so will the group, we'll do it again and everything will be fine... And then I'll protect you if anyone tries anything, so if you want to join us, do as you feel.
Looking at him for a moment. She pulled one of her drones from her pocket. She reached into Tubio's jacket, threading her pointed paws through the fabric until the body acting as a camera was firmly attached to his shoulder with its paws mashed into it. A steel protuberance with a red lens sat on his shoulder.
-I've already got the one on my mask...
-But with this one I can move. Move myself, you'll just have to put me where you want and I'll have another eye in the room. You can't imagine how easy it is to let this kind of thing slip by. I'll move it any time I can. Whether it's in a corridor or a hangar. The quality isn't great over long distances. But in tight frames and when I'm close, it's as if I'm omniscient for my interlocutors. Even worse if I manage to hang it on their clothes. I found some old animal tracking chips and reconditioned them a bit. I put them inside my little robots and boom, I've got a remote-controlled tracker with a camera that can hook onto my target, plus this one's got a little speaker.
-Uh... Wow. Ok I did not expect that much.
-Mm? Impressed?
-Well yeah, a lot.
-It's not rocket science, it already existed 50 years ago. it's just that people don't know how to use their fucking technology.
-You're too modest. What are you planning to do while we're doing our spying?
-Prepare the escape. Always. When you're on an operation, there's always an escape route. I'll make sure there's an elevator waiting for you upstairs and that the coast is clear downstairs. Even if it means giving up some of myself for the last part.
-You don't have to...
-I want to. Ok?
-Ok.
******
Each group had made their preparations, eating and taking care of the final details on their side as the meeting time approached. Pat's radio silence confirmed the plan. The objective Mia information. The group met in the same bar as the day before, and listened to Tubio explain that Cyclops preferred to keep his distance, provoking some frustration on the part of Aria and Clem. Malik, expecting this, and Janissa, used to Cyclops' method, she even noted the new accessory on Tubio's shoulder but said nothing.
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Riding in an elevator to the suspended bridge, the group knew what had to be done and discussion was rare, even Janissa was silent as the group reached the hanging street. As they reached the ladder, Cyclops spoke to them via holo.
-Something off.
The group stopped immediately. Malik asked.
-What do you see?
-An increase in power consumption around.
-It could just be someone returning from vacation who wasn't there yesterday.
-... Be careful.
If the group wasn't tense, now they were, and Janissa's remark didn't calm them down. One by one, the group climbed up, Malik having the hardest time. The door, still unlocked from the day before, let them in. And once again, silence. Aria went to see where Tubio had climbed down before stepping back with a sigh of unease, even though she wasn't normally afraid of heights. Malik secured Tubio this time with a real knot, using strong ropes hooked onto quality carabiners. Tubio thanked Malik, who muttered a mix of insults and warnings.
-Ready to go?
A final word of encouragement and Tubio descended. More confident this time, even without drugs in his system, his mask perfectly concealed any stress he might have been under. Not looking down, keeping steady one step at a time, it took him only a fraction of the time it had taken the day before to reach the window he was interested in. Tension was running high as the group listened to Cyclops and Tubio.
Mia was sitting on the bed watching the news, clearly ready. Kind of, dressed in a strict, practical outfit, Tubio could see the gun she had under her jacket. Signaling he was ready, Cyclops started up the screen, bringing Mia immediately to a higher level of stress. Tubio could see her stand up and swallow her saliva as the eye landed on her.
It didn't take thirty seconds for Mia to speak, promising information before demanding conditions. Tubio was about to ask to be pulled up when, from his vantage point, he saw something in the living room. The previously unlit and silent room came to life as light from the corridor filtered through the wide-open front door. Tubio saw two armed men go inside.
He didn't need to tell Cyclops what he saw...
-You've been compromised.
His words shocked Mia, who opened her mouth in astonishment. But she too seemed to have heard the front door and her hand was already on her gun. While Tubio could see the two men raising their assault rifles in front of the wall behind which Mia was standing. He was completely caught off guard when Cyclops shouted GET DOWN! at Mia.
The scene was worthy of a sensory dance Tubio spectator could only watch the room shatter as bullets whistled inside, Mia on the floor beside the bed screaming. Gun flashes illuminated the interior of the living room, while the impact of the bullets left a trail of dust in the other room.
When the situation seemed to calm down, the attackers weren't finished yet. Opening the bedroom door, a flash grenade flew in, and Tubio could only look away when he realized what it was. Mia retaliated, firing blindly at the door, delaying the two men's timed entry.
Tubio saw Mia try to throw herself towards the bathroom, only to be hit in the attempt and end up on the floor. Fear, panic, Mia's face was a mixture of both as her assailant closed in to finish her off.
Then he fired. He hadn't even realized he'd drawn his gun, putting his position and the whole team in danger. The shot went through the glass into the man's head, and he fell to the ground dead on the spot. Luck or not, Mia didn't stand idly by. Raising her gun, she shot the second man, who collapsed in the living room lifeless.
Mia crawled along the wall holding her clearly wounded shoulder, no doubt going to close the bedroom door or look into the living room. She picked up one of the assault rifles. But just as she passed her head. a new figure shot at her from the front door. Mia quickly replied
During the situration, Cyclops told the group above him, shocked as much as Tubio at what was happening. Tubio asked the slightly panicked group what to do. Aria spoke up.
-What do we do?
-Pick her up!
-What?
-Tubio, you break the glass and we'll take her up with us. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
-This is stupid.
-Do it Tubio!
Waving to Mia, she finally seemed to see him suspended behind the glass. Mouth agape, she froze for a second as Tubio tried to make himself understood. She thought fast, however. Firing a burst towards the front door, she turned and emptied her clip into the pane, shattering it into a thousand pieces. The icy night air rushed into the apartment.
As if it were natural for him, Tubio entered the apartment in one fluid movement, his gun pointing at the entrance door and firing several times at the silhouettes lining its frame. Completely ignoring the rifle pointed at him. Ignoring the threat, Tubio closed the bedroom door as Cyclops spoke from his shoulder.
-Come or face them.
Mia, always quick to grasp the situation, dropped her rifle and moved closer to Tubio, who immediately began passing her the rope. Almost tearing it away from him, Mia tied her own knots, passing the rope around herself, tying quick and effective knots and finding herself stuck to Tubio in more ways than one. Holstering his weapon, Tubio looked at Mia, clearly panicked but under control. Tubio had heard Cyclops compliment on Mia's good choice. He was about to check if the knots where good but then…
-Jump Tubio!
Tubio jumped without thinking. Pulling Mia with him into the void, she cried out in fear. A hail of bullets hit the door and passed through the wall they were just standing against. Mia screamed in fear, clinging to him all the more as the group above pulled with all their might to lift the two. Tubio tried to calm himself as adrenalin drove him to look up and down at the blown-out window that had signalled their departure. Mia, snuggled up against him, opened her eyes only to have Cyclops taunting her.
-Well? Are we afraid of heights?
-This is no time to make fun of it, because so am I!
Mia looked lost and confused, but didn't panic, not even a little. When they finally reached the construction site. Mia frantically grabbed the tiller to get over the edge and onto solid ground. Pushing Tubio away as best she could, she tried to remove the rope binding her as quickly as possible. When she and Tubio were finally separated, she rolled onto the ground, trying to put as much distance between herself and him as possible. Without realizing the presence of three women pointing their weapons at her face. Aria made a remark that made the group smile.
-Well, old men. I've never fished, but is this how you catch a corpo?
The situation seemed to last longer than it should have until Malik and Cyclops woke everyone up.
-Hey chooms, this is no time to be witty, we need to delta ASAP.
-Emergency exit now.
Raising Mia. She followed in silence as the group headed for an emergency exit. opening it. Mia was about to follow the old man down the ladder, but the small platform overlooking the void reminded her of what had just happened, stopping dead in her tracks against the railing. Aria grabbed her by the collar and slammed her against the wall. Weapon tucked under her chin, Aria looked her straight in the eye.
-You do something stupid, you're dead before you hit the ground.
Pushing her unceremoniously towards the ladder, Mia descended in silence, following Malik's footsteps. Once the group had reunited, they followed Cyclops' directions, Aria and Janissa guiding Mia with both hands behind her back as they reached the elevator. Meanwhile, Cyclops gave information in their holo-discussion, hidden from Mia's ears.
-There's movement, lots of movement, guys downstairs in suits getting frantic. I think it's Keng Tao.
-She sold us out.
-What did you expect? What do we do now?
-If we let her go like this, we'll get nothing more for our troubles and now it's too late to back out.
-I've got a hideout, we'll take her there, cook her up a bit and keep her warm until Pat calls us. We'll release her once Yumi's free and say goodbye.
-How secure is this place? How can we stop it calling for help?
-There are chips for this kind of situation... or we could drug her...
-No, we're not going down that road. We're not scavengers.
-Maybe we should be.
-Let's go to your hideout and talk about this.
Mia was clear on keeping silent, with several groups and agendas present best to be careful, her rescuers were at least keen on to keeping her alive. She could have run, but she was wounded and resisting against several people would not be easy. Especially in hostile or unfamiliar terrain. She tried to send a holo to Wellov only to be cut off again with no response. She wasn't going to try to contact her father, no thanks. Her only option was to wait and follow these people. It might be her only chance of getting some fucking answers.
When they reached the ground, she found herself in the middle of the group as they made their way quickly, but without running, towards a van. Night was queen but the rain had reduced the number of people with whom they could have hidden in a crowd, and the neighborhood lights worked more than well.
-Everybody aboard.
-Sorry to bother you but I'm pissing blood, do you have anything?
Once everyone is on board. The one with a mask, the one who had taken her out of her apartment and who was the only young man present took out a sort of tranquilizer injector, putting it in her hand, Mia looked at the object then at the guy. After a second or so as the red lenses stared at her and vice versa. Seeing her not moving. He took the tranquilizer from her hand, planting it in his own thigh and injecting the product himself into his leg, before taking a second one out of his bag and putting it in Mia's hand as if nothing had happened. One of the women off to the side snickered at Mia's open-mouthed shock at the junkie in front of her.
Imitating him, she stuck the object in her thigh pressing the button and felt the sting and the fluid enter her body. She had been told more than once not to take any product of unknown origin but damn it felt good a wave of calm spread through her. Letting out a sigh, almost in relief as she finally asked a question.
-Where are you taking me?
-A...
-... Cell in a basement to torture you. What do you think, silly?
The sound came from the lens on the young man's shoulder. Mia was confused, thinking it was a joke, but the group said nothing and Mia was forced to stare at the red lens facing her.
-I want to know what you know about Yumi.
-After ratting us out?
-What would you have done? Someone invades your bedroom just as you're getting out of the shower and you choose to trust the voice coming out of your TV? By the way, I hope you've had a good show, you pervert.
Mia was addressing Cyclops, but Tubio felt more targeted than him. Cyclops' disembodied voice chuckled.
-Your negotiating tactics aren't very good if you start insulting your saviors.
-My saviors? How do I know you're not the reason I'm in this mess?
-Easy. Give us the information on your father and we'll give you what we have on Yumi.
-And then you'll kill me?
-Yes, we saved a corpo on the verge of death to take away information we don't necessarily need, putting ourselves in danger for nothing.
-So you need me.
-Actually... No. That was sarcasm. I'll give you a little free information...
The old man coughed loudly as he cut Cyclops off. Mia understood that there was a silent discussion in progress and decided to keep quiet. A cold sweat broke out on her back as the van made its way through town. If they'd saved her on a whim, it was in her best interest to cooperate. But that would be a leap of faith. Something she and anyone else would never attempt, especially in this situation.
The journey continued in silence, Mia not pushing her luck. Looking around her, the three women wore low-end facial scramblers, different-colored lights forming distorted faces to censor their faces from the cameras. The old man at the front had the same thing on, even if he was older and more obscure. Finally, the junkie for a better term was in front of her with a facial protector or implant framed by his long black hair, looking like a rocker from the 2020s. Black on white and red on face. He stared at her, not moving an inch unless the van did. The van had nothing in the back and four people were sitting on the ground, rocked by the vehicle's movements.
The whole situation didn't seem to affect Mia as the van finally came to a halt. She could see through the windscreen that they had stopped in an alley. The old man spoke.
-We've arrived.
Mia couldn't help but ask if this was a safe place.
-The last owner was a man addicted to gambling. The apartment was in the name of his daughter, who had cut ties with him years ago. She had literally fled the city to have nothing more to do with him. The bastard still managed to pass himself off as her by redirecting requests for payment of the apartment's rent to himself. On paper, the apartment was hers, but in reality, he was paying for it.
-Are we going to run into him?
-He's dead now. I guess hiding out in an apartment belonging to his daughter wasn't such a good idea. No one will bother us as long as we don't make a mess. I don't know if the water and electricity are any good now, but as long as there's money in his account, we'll have every possible comfort. Don't be picky. There's even a restaurant below.
The group moved quickly through the night. The smell of garbage assaulted Mia as she followed the group into a stairwell leading upstairs. Once inside, the lights came on and Mia could see signs of a struggle, broken and upturned furniture and blood on the floor and wall.
-The... NCPD came?
-Mm. No report or complaint, just blood and broken furniture, nothing more.
-The collectors?
-Were after him, nobody bothered to come back especially not his daughter.
-And what about you?
The group looked around the rooms. The whole floor was a single apartment, rather chic if you overlooked the bloodstains. Wide with several bedrooms, the place was centralized with the living room in the middle, with several windows bringing in the night light. The open-plan kitchen had a counter separating it from the living room, with a TV in the middle of the wall opposite the entrance. Several sofas were arranged around a shattered coffee table.
-I was working for a different betting place than the ones that caught him. Ironically, they found him before I did.
Mia was somewhat unsettled by the lack of emotion on the part of these people, but as much as Mia enjoyed the conversation, she was there for something else.
-Now, then. Would you mind telling me who you are and how you're related to my cousin?
The junkie looked at the TV before sitting down on the middle sofa facing it. The TV, like the one in her apartment, lit up, giving way to the eye. The TV speakers once again spat out that distorted, robotic voice.
-We shouldn't make any introductions, for everyone's sake. We know who you are, and that should be enough for you. But I'm fair. I'm Cyclops and I'll be your interlocutor. As you may have guessed, we hadn't planned to take you with us, to be honest - your death would have saved us a lot of trouble. But my friend here found the wrong moment to be a good shot. We're not here to talk about him, we're here to talk about your uncle. Tubiki Gong.
The masked man shrugged under Mia's gaze, and all around her, those who up to that point had only looked at the apartment were now focused on her. Mia knew she wouldn't get two chances: she had to cooperate if she wanted to get what she wanted, and possibly not die at their hands in an apartment where no one would come looking for her body.