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corpocyborg · 9 months

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Secure Your Soul: A Cyberpunk 2077 Fanfiction

This fic was previously published under the title "Before the Event Horizon."

Summary: Six months ago, V's boss at Arasaka ordered her to assassinate his rival. Instead, with the reluctant but invaluable help of her old friend Jackie Welles, she pushed them both off their thrones and claimed one for herself. Now the new Director of Arasaka Counter Intel has a problem. She's uncovered information that indicates that Yorinobu Arasaka, the heir apparent to the Arasaka dynasty, is a traitor. But without solid proof, she's forced to take matters into her own hands.

CHAPTER TWO: PLAN A

[read on ao3]

Jenkins’ office was decorated in the same sleek, classic Arasaka design as the rest of NCHQ. The primary color scheme was, of course, red and black—“the color scheme of prosperity,” as most high-end clothing stores in Corpo Plaza called it. Textured black walls were lit up from underneath in red, and the mostly black furnishings also included several small potted saplings of the bioluminescent plant species Arasaka had had genetically modified to obtain its signature red glow. Best of all, the office had a perfect view of the koi fish holograms that circled outside the tower, though it was currently blocked by a large television screen showing the European Space Council’s meeting room. Jenkins stood in front, speaking on a handheld phone.

“Have a seat, V.” He briefly interrupted his call when he noticed her. “I’ll be right with you.”

V did so. She wished he hadn’t blocked the view—she’d have liked to have seen it one last time before she transferred to Spec Ops. She remembered appreciating that view on frequent occasions when she’d had to work directly with Jenkins late at night. When the sky turned black, the lights of the skyscrapers, the blur of the AVs zooming through the sky, and the koi fish with their endless circling created an intoxicating display. V’d often heard old people complain about light pollution in NC making it impossible to see the stars. She didn’t understand what their problem was. Mankind had learned to make their own light shows centuries ago.

V was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of screams and electrocution. She watched as the council members she’d spent all day learning about convulsed into violent spasms for several seconds, then finally went still. What a waste.

Jenkins directed the television to rise into the ceiling, and took his place at his desk. His phone began ringing even before he’d sat down. Jenkins made a show of taking his time to answer it.

“Director Abernathy,” he said when he finally picked up.

“I watched the vote. What the hell was that?” the Director’s voice was projected into the room.

“A deep clean. After the shit Frankfurt dumped on us. As we agreed, I got rid of the problem.”

“I told you to resolve the problem, not massacre the European Space Council. Do you understand what the cover up will cost?”

“We would’ve lost the license, now we gained a week. That’s a win.”

“Path of least resistance. Always. No nuance. Has ‘you’ written all over it.” As Abernathy spoke, Jenkins’ body language became increasingly irritable. He shuffled restlessly in his seat, and made a circular motion with his right hand as if rushing her to shut up already.

“We’re not done talking about this,” Abernathy said.

Jenkins waited for the tone that signified the end of the call. He spun in his chair so that he was facing away from V. “I hate that bitch. I always have.”

“This isn’t the first time the two of you have been in conflict with each other,” V observed.

“No. Not the first.” Jenkins stood up and walked over to the couch on the other side of the room. V followed. “Smeared me in front of Japanese execs, so she’d be the one promoted to Director of Spec Ops. What a cunt.”

Jenkins went over to the alcohol cabinet and poured himself a drink. Bourbon, V noted. His favorite. He turned away from the cabinet, drink in hand. “Now she’s holding a gun to my head to make sure I don’t try anything. But she won’t pull the trigger because she needs me. I do what she doesn’t have the guts to do.”

“Divide and conquer,” said V noncommittally. “Effective strategy.”

“Effective,” Jenkins scoffed at her word choice. It seemed he was starting to suspect she was holding back. “What would you do, if you were me?”

V considered her answer. There were several different ways she could craft her response. But since her time with Jenkins was nearing its end, she settled on the truth. “I’d adjust my methods in the future. I wouldn’t budge on the Space Council issue. There was no other solution, not that I could come up with in time, anyway. But I’d be more discreet from then on and try to limit any further cover up expenses.”

“So you’d take her complaints into consideration?” Jenkins asked. He took a sip of his bourbon.

“I would,” V confirmed. “No one ever made it far by living in an echo chamber.”

“No one ever made it far by acting like a doormat.”

“Also true.”

“Hmm. So they’re both true. Sounds like a really clever way of not actually saying anything. But it doesn’t matter anymore anyway. Come here. I want to show you something.” Jenkins stepped over to the couch, sat down, and pulled something out from under the table.

V moved closer. “A datashard? What is it?”

“Proof of my trust. Go on. Take it.”

She pulled the shard out of its case and hesitantly plugged it into the port on the side of her head. Her vision was flooded with data. All of it about Abernathy. Her stomach sank.

“It’s what I’ve collected over the past weeks,” Jenkins explained. “Biometrics. Trauma team card. Names of her closest associates. Driver. Chief of Security. Lover. Lover’s husband. Everything. Use it. Make sure Abernathy won’t be a problem anymore.”

V ripped the shard out of her head. “This is a huge gamble. If anyone finds out we even talked about this, it’ll be my head on the chopping block.“

“Maybe. But everyone knows you only made it to where you are because of me. So it’s not like they’d believe you weren’t involved anyway.”

Bastard, V thought. I should’ve cut your ripcord years ago. You’re dragging me down with you for no goddamn reason.

“Okay,” V said. “Understood.”

“Good.” Jenkins pulled a wad of cash out from under the table. “Take this too. Use this money only. Find the right people for the job. No corporate affiliation. And for the core task—use someone you know inside out. Are we clear?”

V’s indignation was roiling. She wanted to hit him. Scream at him, at least. She nodded. “Yes. We’re clear.”

“Good. In that case, I’ll await your report. And good luck with it.”

So that was that. V took one last glance out the window. With the sun finally fully set, the view tonight was much the same as it had been in her memories. She turned to go.

“I have my AV waiting outside. It’s yours to use,” Jenkins added. “And V? Don’t disappoint me.”

—

V walked back to her office in a slight daze and plopped down in front of her desk. Her monitors were in the same state she’d left them in. She stared at the bios of the European Space Council. After her constant rereading, every detail was still in her memory, from their birthdays to their children’s names. She wondered how long it would be before she forgot that information. She clicked the exit button.

“I need your stamp on something,” V’s subordinate, Harry Wickman, spoke up. He had the good grace not to acknowledge her condition the last time he'd seen her. She was grateful for that. "It’s possible one of our assets was exposed.”

V nearly jumped out of her chair at that. She rushed over to his side of the office. “Is it Frankfurt again?”

“No, different issue. Local. Our agent at Biotechnica—'' He started to explain, but V nudged him aside and pulled up the report on his computer. Then she activated her Sandevistan. It didn’t slow time, not truly, but it slowed down her perception of time enough to increase her speed and mental acuity. It proved invaluable in combat, and just as effective for speedreading. Within seconds, V had a full picture of the situation.

“Pull him out,” she told him. “But calmly, don’t raise any eyebrows. Otherwise they’ll catch on.”

“Jenkins will be livid,” Wickman warned.

“I’ll handle Jenkins.”

“Understood.” He turned away from her and returned to his work.

With that taken care of, V sat back at her own desk, feeling much more energized than before. Nothing quite as satisfying as a crisis averted. Now on to the next one. V steepled her fingers and leaned her forehead against them. Her next step had become clear. She’d promised Harry she’d handle Jenkins, and that was exactly what she’d do.

V rummaged around in the bottom drawer of her desk until she found a burner phone. With the secretive nature of many of her missions, she made sure to keep a few ready at all times. She grabbed her coat out of her locker, slipped the phone into one of the pockets, and headed down to the first floor of the tower, then out into the crisp night air.

—

When she’d put a sufficient amount of distance between herself and Arasaka Tower, she pulled the phone back out and dialed the number of Director Susan Abernathy. Not her office, but the personal line she’d found in the datashard. On the third ring, Abernathy answered.

“Who is this?” she asked suspiciously.

“Director Abernathy,” V began. “This is Valerie Locke. I work for Arasaka Counter Intel, under Arthur Jenkins. You may know me by my codename, V.”

“Yes, I believe Frank Nostra just mentioned you to me recently. Is this about transferring to Spec Ops?”

V felt a rush of gratitude towards Frank for holding up his end of the bargain. It might give her an edge in this conversation. “No, this is about a more serious matter, ma’am. Earlier this evening, Arthur Jenkins tried to recruit me into a plot to assassinate you."

For a while, there was silence on the other end.

"That idiot. I might've expected this from him. Always was reckless and insubordinate." Abernathy paused, and V heard the sound of papers being shuffled around. "Do you have any proof to back up these accusations?"

"Nothing concrete, unfortunately. I have a datashard of intel he's collected on you."

“I’ll be expecting you to hand that over.”

“Of course. When can we meet?”

"I’ll send someone to pick it up. Do you have a suitable location you can get to quickly?”

“Lizzie’s Bar,” V said instantly. “In Kabuki.” A dark and noisy location was better for discretion, an unexpected location even more so. Lizzie’s wasn’t exactly a hot spot for Arasaka employees; V herself only frequented the bar because it was a favorite of Jackie’s.

“Be there in an hour,” Abernathy said, and then the line went dead.

V smiled to herself. Normally she’d be concerned about whether her car could make it there on time, but luckily, Jenkins had given her access to his AV. Time to make good use of it.

#cyberpunk 2077 #corpo v #fanfiction #cyberpunk 2077 fanfiction #corpo lifepath #the corpo rat #corpocyborg #wip #secure your soul: a cyberpunk 2077 fanfiction #plan a #valerie locke #i finally gave her a real name!#it's inspired by peter wiggin's locke alter ego from ender's game #and by extension i suppose john locke #spotify

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