As Rita and I made our way towards Afterlife, I was lost in thought, still trying to process the gravity of the situation I had unwittingly stumbled into. It all began so innocently, with me and Henry simply attempting to retrieve a briefcase filled with Redeye. But now, I found myself in the dangerous world of gang warfare. A realm I had thought I had left behind when I left the Almano crime family.

We arrived outside Afterlife, a bar frequently visited by mercenaries back in the day but has now been transformed into a popular gathering spot for Knight Riders. As we descended the stairs, we were greeted by Emmerick, the bouncer who had become a friend of mine since I joined the Knight Riders.

“Well Well. Max Carver. It's been a while since you showed your face here.”

Emmerick took a glance at Rita.

“Who’s the punk chick?”

Rita pushed me aside with quite a lot of force. "Name's Rita “punk!” An who the hell do you think you are? Just some gangbanger who couldn’t hack it so decided to become a bouncer!”

I could tell that really pissed off Emmerick. He started to get close to Rita, too close to my liking making it rather unsettling.

I knew that Emmerick was a member of a notorious group called the Animals. They're known for their impressive muscular build, raw power, and dependence on a substance they refer to as "the juice." The substance is rumored to enhance their strength and speed significantly, making them an unstoppable force in close combat. It is not surprising that you see them constantly being hired for protection as that would be the best decision rather than getting into a fight with them.

“You're a long way from Pacifica. You sure you want to fuck with a member of the Mox?” Rita said asserting her dominance.

After what seemed like hours of silence, Emmerick finally broke the silence with his laugh.

"Haha. I admire her courage, Max. Why don't you all go in and grab a drink?"

Emmerick opened the door leading into Afterlife.

I have visited Afterlife numerous times, the first time I was at Afterlife was when I became a Knight Rider, and the last time I was here was for Henry’s birthday two months ago. Since then, I'm only ever here to do some gigs or have a drink.

We took a seat at a booth and ordered two drinks. I allowed Rita to choose our drinks and she opted for two mixed cocktails named after famous legends of Night City. Before our drinks arrived, I apologized to Rita for Emmerick's attitude towards her. Our drinks arrived shortly after, Rita began to ask about what happened at the docks involving the Tyger Claws and Crimson Blades.

“So, I managed to talk the Tyger Claws into a ceasefire, but you gotta keep in mind that it's not gonna last forever. Just to be safe, I think it's a good idea to get ready and maybe even make the first move." I took a sip of my drink before continuing with the events at the docks.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Oh, and I completely embarrassed the Crimson Blades by proving that they were the ones who set up the meeting and how Japantown is the furthest they've been in Night City. Gotta love exposing those assholes.”

Rita appeared to be impressed with what I had done. "Nice work Max, you put those Tyger Claws and Crimson Blades in their place. Anything else happened that I should know about?”

“No, nothing else important happened.”

Rita grabbed her drink. "How about we have an amazing night to celebrate our triumph?"

I let out a little chuckle. "Sure...cheers.”

As for what happened next, it was a blur.

The next morning, I found myself in a strange room that didn’t look anything like my apartment and to top it all off an excruciating headache made its appearance. The preceding night's events were a hazy memory, I struggled to recollect how I arrived at this location.

As I lay in bed, I became aware of another individual asleep beside me with their arm across my chest. I began thinking to myself trying to figure out how the fuck have I ended up in this position. I noticed that the person beside me possessed purple hair.

Immediately, Rita sprung to mind, as she was the only person I knew with such distinctive hair. “Oh...Shit,” I thought. I only just met her, and now, we have spent a night together. I didn’t know what to do, I wanted to get up from the bed and grab my clothes, head to my car, and go back to my apartment and forget what had just happened. I decided that would be the best option. As I started to put my jeans on, I heard Rita’s voice.

“Leaving already?”

And there goes my attempt at a sneaky escape. That’s three in a row now that I've had a bad start to the day, I said to myself.

“Yeah...look about last night I... I don’t know what happened.

There was a long pause... I didn’t know what to say as she wasn’t a joytoy you can just get up and leave once you're done.

”...I’m going to go...but it was nice being with you, Rita. Here, is my number.”

I wrote down my number on a piece of paper and left shortly after. Shutting the door behind me a wave of emotions flew through not only my body but my head. There was something about her that made me feel a certain way about her, I don’t know if it was genuine love that I felt for her or if it was something else.

Unknown Number

Max: “Who’s this?”

???: “Is that a way to greet someone you know so well”

Max: “Suzi...thought I told you to give up your netrunning days”

Suzi: “Eh got bored with my job and wanted some excitement in my life. So, I decided to pick up my laptop and get back to doing the thing I love. Besides I should spread my wings and fly, do what I want in my life instead of people telling me what to do.”

I felt that the last part was a dig at me.

Suzi: “Who’s the lucky lady?”

Max: “Don’t know what you're talking about.”

Suzi: “Max do you take me as a fool? I can see you’re at the No Tell Motel, I also know that you had someone with you last night.”

I franticly looked around and spotted a camera looking at me.

Max: “I take it you hacked into the cameras.”

Suzi: “Perhaps.”

Max: “Here.”

I flipped the middle finger at the camera.

Max: “I assume you didn’t call me for a chit-chat?”

Suzi: “Your assumption would be correct. Meet me at Paradise Ranch in the center of Heywood”

---Call Ended---